Fallout Equestria - For a Sparkle Cola

Chapter 7 - Destabilized Stable Society

Stepping into Lunar Park was about as close to stepping into a monument to space and the stars as Smalls had ever seen. Every single corner of the park was covered with pictures of the night sky. There were little carts that looked like comets that looked as though they were designed to be hooked up to foals and be pulled around. One thing that seemed to be missing was the number of skeletons. Every other park had several pony skeletons in various parts of the park. On benches, in restrooms, sitting inside of the carts of a broken roller coaster, and sitting at the various food vendors.

Lunar Park looked to be just mostly abandoned. Poetic Pen listened to the sounds around him as they walked. He knew that this section of the park was basically the area that was showcasing the robotic advancements that Horse had been making. Naturally Stable-Tec was showcasing their Lunar Stable. He wasn’t sure that it had actually ever been constructed, but he’d heard about it. From what he heard the idea was to actually put a stable on the surface of the moon.

Here in the park there was a stable that was designed to look like the Lunar Stable, and if he remembered what Sugarcoat had told him it was a functioning stable in and of itself. She had said that it had been built inside of a false mountain, and that it actually went all of the way into the mountain. There were resident rooms, an atrium, and a dozen other things. If it was a real stable then there was a reason why there weren’t a ton of skeletons out here. They had evacuated everypony into the stable itself.

That meant that there was a very good chance that Sugarcoat had made it into the stable. If she did then that meant that she managed to live through all of this. He was happy to think that, and he was certainly happy to believe that she managed to have a full life. Sure, a life inside of a stable would be difficult, but it would be better than dying of radiation poisoning. As they walked he noticed other things in the park. There were a huge number of modified looking protectron ponies and gladiators that looked like they were designed to be used in space.

They began moving, as if they were watching all of them, and then two of the gladiators jumped down from the stands they had been positioned on. The first one’s eyes glowed red, a beam of light hitting Smalls, and Poetic knew what it was. That light was the tracking beam for it to fire its internal magical weapon. He moved closer.

“Lunar Park is currently closed,” it said in a slightly mechanical mare’s voice, “Please present your official work ID.”

Smalls looked at it, and then he dug into his saddle bag. Poetic was prepared to fire when he presented a small badge to the graceful mechanical mare. The light disappeared, and it stood by. For a moment it did nothing, and then it backed up.

“Welcome Stable-Tec maintenance technician Small Fry. Your Official Stable-Tec badge has been accepted,” it said, “Please Proceed to the Lunar Stable Exhibit.”

Poetic looked at him, “You have an official Stable-Tec badge?”

Smalls nodded, “Uh huh,” he said, “Our stable had an old job assignment machine, and I got it to working. I entered what I liked to do, and it assigned me as a lead maintenance technician.”

Poetic shook his head, “Well, I suppose that if it was an official Stable-Tec job assignment terminal then it had been programmed to create badges that would be read by any and all robots.”

He laughed, “Somehow Smalls, your dumb luck has kept us from getting in trouble.”

Cosmic listened and shook her head. It really was dumb luck that Smalls had fixed a job assignment machine, and it was even more dumb luck that he had managed to hang onto the badge it gave him. Of course that dumb luck had made it easier for them to move in the park, but she had a feeling that if they attempted to go much more than the stable they would be in for a world of hurt. Both of the gladiators seemed to have the ability to move and act like Zebras had done. They practically danced on their mechanical hooves, and that meant that they weren’t something to be taken lightly. She had a feeling that if push came to shove they would be far more dangerous than the traditional protectron ponies. Which in truth the protectron ponies were dangerous enough.

One by itself wasn’t really a problem. After all, if it had been out in the weather long enough it was likely weathered, chipped, cracked, and ready to be broken into a thousand pieces. Even the more intact ones were likely to be easily stopped by a decent enough shot. But dozens of protectron ponies were a problem. They had targeting talismans that bordered on the accuracy of a Pipbuck. The gladiators were different in that they moved like a living being, and on top of that they likely had the same targeting talismans.

The fact that she didn’t want to end up as a pile of ash certainly kept the idea of either just going to the stable, or finding a way of shutting them down on her mind. As they walked she noticed something. She pointed to it, and Smalls looked at where she was pointing. There in the center of the park was a large oval building. The glass was still in it, and as they walked closer he realized it wasn’t exactly glass.

“Welcome to Lunar Control,” Smalls read, “Home of the Security Control of the Future! This clear Unobtainium was created by the Ministry of Arcane Sciences together with the Ministry of Wartime Technology. It is a hundred times stronger than steel, resistant to magical energy weapons, bullet proof, and resistant up to two thousand degrees of heat. Look for our new line of Gladiator and Ultra Sentinels to be made from processed Unobtainium!”

Moving toward the Lunar Control Clouded Hope couldn’t help but notice how everything inside of it more or less looked as though it was in perfect condition. They neared the door, and Smalls pushed against it. For a moment it did nothing, and then it slowly opened revealing the climate controlled air of the large room. Inside was perhaps one of the biggest computers anypony had ever seen.

Smalls looked at it, and he noticed that there were several places that something looked to be missing. The bits that weren’t there didn’t seem to be very large at all. At most they were likely about six inches long, and about three inches wide, but he couldn’t tell what they were. At least he couldn’t until he moved behind the first set of terminal monitors that had been set up to interface with the computer.

Behind it was a pony on the ground. She looked young, maybe about fifteen at the most, and she was barely breathing. Smalls could see the burned spot on her armor, and he looked at Cosmic who nodded. She dug out a healing potion, and Smalls opened the Earth Pony filly’s mouth and poured the potion into it. He then closed her mouth, tilted her head back, and made her swallow. A moment later she began to breathe easier, and her eyes opened.

Her eyes, both a vibrant purple, looked shocked as she looked at the group around her. She shook, and she clutched a small rectangle, one that looked like it would fit into the slots in the huge mainframe.

“W...Who are you?” she asked.

Smalls grinned, sat on his haunches, and held out his right front hoof, “I’m Smalls, this is Cosmic, Poetic Pen, and Cloudy,” he said pointing to the group, “Who are you?”

She shook, “I’m Sparker,” she said, “I… My family found this place, and my Dad thought that it would be a really good place to salvage from.”

She sniffed, “Those robots got him, and Mom ran with my baby sister up to the Stable-Tec display.”

He nodded, “I see,” he said, “and you made it in here?”

She nodded, “Yeah, I was trying to get this computer up and working. I found one of the terminals on, and I read that it was designed to control all of the robots for the entire park.”

He nodded, “Oh, what is that you’re holding?” he asked, “It looks like it’s part of the computer.”

She nodded, “It is,” she said, “The terminal called these things Lunar Cores. They’re supposed to be little relays that allow it to fully use the memory and processing power it has. It needs at least thirty, but I only found six.”

Poetic looked at her, and then looked around the area she had been found in. He was sure that even Smalls noticed that she only had the single Lunar core. If she had found six, then he wondered where they could be. As he looked Clouded Hope moved toward her. She sat near Smalls and gave Sparker a small smile. She pointed toward the Lunar Core the filly was holding, “Are the other ones you found in here?”

Sparker shook her head, “Two were in my Dad’s saddle bags,” she sniffed, “We were up at the Assault on Asteroid Nine ride when the robots got him. I couldn’t grab his saddle bags, and we ran.”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes, “My mom has the other three with her and my little sister.”

Smalls nodded, “Do you know where the other cores are?”

She shook her head, “I know that there are some stored around the park,” she said, “The terminal said that there was six in the Stable-Tec exhibit, five in the Robronco arena, three in the Lunar Light theater, four in the Assault on Asteroid Nine ride, Three in the security office, and four stored in different buildings around the Lunar Zone. I don’t know where the those four are, and I’m not sure where in those other places the cores are either.”

Smalls nodded, “It’s okay,” he said, “I think that we can collect them, and it looks safe in here.”

She nodded. He dug into his saddle bags and pulled out a couple of fancy buck cakes, a box of Sugar Appel Bombs, and a Sunrise Sasspurilla. He scooted them over toward her. She took the first Fancy Buck Cake, opened the package, and quickly woofed it down. She did the same to the second, and then in an instant the box of cereal was opened and she was eating it as if she hadn’t eaten in days. She then popped the cap off of the Sunrise Sasspurilla, and practically drained it.

She let out a belch that sounded fairly close to a foghorn, and then then she wiped her mouth with her foreleg.

“Thanks,” she said, “I… I can’t go back out there. If you can find all of the cores the mainframe might be able to take the robots off of guard and set them to passive.”

He nodded, “We’ll find them, and we’ll also find your mama and sister,” he said, “We’re getting ready to head to the Stable right now anyway.”

She nodded, and watched as he got up. He gave her a wave, and she watched as they left. The door closed, and the feeling of security settled on her. The robots seemed to stay away from Lunar Control, and that was fine. She hoped her new friends all of the luck in the world, but there was absolutely no way that she was going to venture outside until those robots weren't attacking anyone.

The ment they were outside Smalls noticed two ramps that seemed to climb up to a second level of the Lunar Zone. The old signs for the ramps were still there, and a look at them told him that the right ramp led to the Lunar Stable exhibit. They began to climb. Moving up the ramp Poetic took a moment to study the park itself. Stable-Tec, and the Ministry of Wartime Technology, had practically designed this part of the park. It wasn’t just meant as an attraction. That much anypony could tell, but instead it was designed as a protected area for survivors to flock to.

The giant mainframe in Lunar Control was quite frankly one of the biggest he’d ever seen, and if what Sparkler had said was correct, and he had no reason to doubt her, then it was designed to control all of the robots not just for this section, but the entire park. Horse had gone above and beyond when it came to protection of Sparkle Cola World. It was a park, and it was designed to separate bits from ponies, there was not a doubt in his mind that was its main purpose, but it also served as a place for ponies to retreat to.

For good or ill The Ministry of Wartime Technology had designed Sparkle Cola World to become an entire Ministry Hub. The type of protection it had rivaled the protection he’d seen, and heard about, in the other Ministry hubs. But then it wasn’t just the Ministry of Wartime Technology that developed this either. There was evidence of the Ministry of Morale, the Ministry of Arcane Science, the Ministry of Peace, and with the lone spiral that stood just outside of the park itself even evidence of the Ministry of Awesome.

If they had all been included in the creation of the park then he had to believe that the Ministry of Image was as well. It was insane to think about. The various ministries had helped in the creation of this park, but why? He knew that Horse would have wanted the Stable to be a real one, perhaps on the off chance that he happened to be here when the bombs fell, but it felt like it was more than that. The entire thing felt off to him. He wanted to talk to Smalls about it. Smalls for the most part was smart, but he was naive.

He’d seen how far the fat Earth Pony would go for his friends, and he actually felt lucky to be considered in that number. On top of that Smalls wanted to attempt to save the ferals. He wanted to believe that the ponies they had been were still in there somewhere. Poetic wasn’t sure if that was right or not, but it spoke of Smalls’ character. He would fight to defend, but he didn’t want to kill anypony that he believed was innocent.

A small part of him wondered if it was possible that Smalls was somehow related to the Mare of the Ministry of Peace. It’d certainly make sense if that was the case. After all, the Mare of the Ministry of Peace believed that everypony, no she believed that everyone, deserved to be helped. She would assist zebra and pony alike. There were several that considered her actions treasonist, but she had stood steadfast with her beliefs. Poetic had been a soldier, and still was one at heart, but he understood the need and desire to stand by one’s convictions. For her to do that meant that she understood exactly the kind of fire and hate she would face for her convictions, and she had shown courage that was uncharacteristic of the small yellow pegasus.

Poetic Pen grinned as he followed Small Fry. Even if it wasn’t true, and there was no guarantee that it wasn’t, he would follow the belief that somehow Small Fry was related to Fluttershy. As he recalled, she did have a brother after all, and it was possible that Small Fry was related through him. He looked around as they walked, and he spotted the ride that Sparkler had talked about. He nudged Cosmic, who looked at him, and then she looked toward the ride that he was pointing at with his wing. She looked to see the ride itself, and she moved only to feel the extended ramp under it sway. She stopped and looked toward Poetic who looked ready to jump and save her if the need arose. She swallowed her nervousness, and she began to slowly move across the metal bridge. The bridge itself had stood for over two hundred years, bore the weight of countless families, science enthusiasts, and Ministry employees.

That bridge had borne the years spent in silent protest of time itself, and once more it was fulfilling its purpose by holding up yet another patron of the park. No longer was it silent, but instead it answered in pops, pings, and scrapes as the metal foundations of the bridge adjusted to the feeling of a living pony once again. When she had made it halfway a section of the bridge decided that it had done its duty for long enough, cried out with a sharp screech of metal scraping against metal, and then it folded in on itself and began to fall away. Cosmic was too far from the main part of the bridge to run back, but close enough to the ride to make a run for it. She ran, feeling the bridge sway, fold, and falling out from under her. She moved as fast as her legs would pump, and then she jumped the remaining stretch. As she jumped the red bridge, which had an old advertisement for Red Racer Scooters fell from its perch and crashed down on what had been a picnic area.

The fall would have been death to any pony unable to fly, but instead Cosmic found herself holding onto the ledge of the collapsed bridge that connected with the ride itself. She swallowed the fear she felt, attempted to focus her magic around herself, an attempt in pulling herself up, but her magic wasn’t strong enough. She felt her forelegs slipping, and thankfully she had something stronger than her magic. She had friends. She felt two forelegs grab her and she heard the beating of wings. A moment later she was deposited onto the ledge with Clouded Hope smiling at her.

Clouded looked back across the bridge and shook her head, “I don’t think that I can fly back across there,” she said, “It’s not that you’re that heavy, but well, I’ve never been very good at rescue flying.”

Cosmic grinned, “It’s fine,” she said, “This looks like the exit to the ride, and I bet that the entrance is either on the ground, or up higher. I’m betting it’s up near where the Stable exhibit is,” she said, “I can go through it, find my way up, and come out through the entrance.”

Clouded nodded, “One of us should go with you,” she said before looking back at both Small Fry and Poetic Pen, “Actually, we all should. I think that we’re stronger together than we are apart.”

Cosmic Light looked at the door, and then back at her friends. Clouded was right in that they were really better together than they were apart. When she had been captured, and made a slave, the one thing she had wanted more than anything else was to escape. She had wanted away from her captors, and she had wanted to taste the sweet freedom that had been stolen from her. Smalls and Poetic Pen had given her that, and then Smalls gave her something else she didn’t even realize she had needed or wanted. He’d given her friendship, and somehow he had dragged Poetic Pen into it.

With her friends by her side she had felt stronger, more capable, and far more able to deal with everything that could come. She nodded, “We are stronger, but I don’t know if Poetic can get Smalls over here,”she said, “And I don’t want him left alone.”

She watched as Smalls looked around, and then she saw him move toward what looked like an elevator ride. She tried to figure out what he was doing. The ride itself looked intact, but then she noticed that it had a ramp made further up that seemed to connect to the sign above the exit of the ride. She looked at either side and saw the aging Sparkle Cola Statues that seemed to make stairs down to the ledge they were standing on. She watched as Smalls ran up the stairs, moved across the ramp, and then got onto the sign itself.

The sound of the metal popping could be heard on the ancient sign, and Cosmic Light scooted back closer to the door. She hoped that the sign would stay in place for her friend, but she didn’t want to be under it if it decided to give way after he made it off of it. Instead the sign held, and then she moved out to see Smalls hopping down the lids of the giant statues until he made it to the ledge. A few moments later Poetic Pen flew across and landed near them.

“So, a detor?” he asked, “Not that I mind. Sparkler did say that there were Lunar Cores in here, and there might be something else that we need.”

The four of them entered the exit. The inside was lit up in bright reds, whites, yellows, and pinks. They moved down the exit area toward the end of the ride. There they saw another Luna Statue. This one was wearing a very flattering Spacesuit, cut so that it revealed half of her cutie mark, the suit seemed to be skin tight, and the helmet was designed to fit over her horn. Poetic looked at it and shook his head.

“I wonder if Princess Luna ever actually saw this thing.”

Smalls looked at it and smiled, “She looks happy,” he said, “I’d like to think that she’d be happy to see it.”

The statue’s head turned toward them, its eyes lit up, and they watched as it raised its right forehoof. There was the sight of dust falling from it, the sounds of mechanical joints bending that likely hadn’t bent in years, and finally it began moving with far greater ease than it had to begin with.

“Thank you my little ponies!” the voice of the Princess said, “Thou hast helped me save Equestria from the Zebras, and together we have bent the very Stars to our aid! Thou are all now official members of the Junior Astroponies league!”

When she finished the sound of a printer filled the air, and in front of them, from a column, sprouted several sheets of paper. Smalls moved forward, and pulled the paper loose. Their images were printed on the paper, along with ‘Official Junior Astropony! Certificate good for one Free Sparkle Cola to be redeemed at any vendor in the park’.

He grinned, folded the certificates up, put them in his saddlebags, and then looked toward the ride. There was a track that seemed to go both left and right. But the doors that opened for it on either side were shut. He then noticed that there was a door that was painted to look like part of the wall. He moved toward it, and then he looked back at the others. They followed and he tried the door. He found it to be locked, looked around, and spotted something near the column he had gotten the certificates from. There near the column was the controls for the ride, or at least the controls to exit the ride, and near them was a single key. He grabbed the key, turned and moved back toward the door. Of course when he got there Clouded Hope had already picked the lock for it. He smiled, put the key into his saddle bag, and together they entered the door. Moving upstairs he looked at the old employee lounge.

An ancient couch sat against the wall, a small table sat in front of it, and on the table was a couple of empty bottles of Sparkle Cola, a lunch box, and what looked like a piece of pie that had somehow managed to be perfectly preserved despite being well over two hundred years old. The pie looked like a piece of apple pie, but the fact that it was still in great shape, despite its age, made him wonder if it was real or not. A sniff told him that it was indeed real. He studied it for a moment and considered taking a bite, but instead he looked at the others.

“Anypony hungry?”

Cosmic Light moved forward and smelled the pie, “Mmmm,” she said, “That smells like Apple Family pie.”

She took a bite, and soon she finished it off, “I know that thing has to have a ton of preservatives in order to have lasted, but it was so good.”

He moved toward the that likely was for a control room, and got out the key. He fit it into the door, found that it could turn, and then turned it. He took the key out, grabbed the knob with his teeth, and then turned it. The door opened, and inside it were several terminals, what looked like two Lunar Cores, and a single robot that had multiple limbs. The robot hovered for a moment before it turned toward them.

“Employees only please,” it said, “Show your identification please.”

Smalls dug out his Stable-Tec Job assignment ID and showed it to the Robot. It hovered for a moment later before turning back to the terminals.

“Small Fry,” it said, “You have been identified as a Stable-Tec employee. If you need to use the Assault on Astroid Nine ride to access the Stable you may; however, you are not permitted to access the more secure Employee areas on this ride. There will be no further warnings.”

Small Fry looked at it, “Ummm, what happens if I accidentally access them?”

The robot turned to face him again, its three robotic eyes studying him for a moment before it raised a lone saw blade that was attached to one of its arms, “Termination.”

He started to back up, and then looked at the Lunar Cores, “Oh,” he said, “The Stable needs access to the Lunar Cores.”

The robot studied him for a moment, “There is no access through the mainframe to determine the status of the Stable’s cores. Access is granted,” it said, “However, be warned, Assault on Asteroid Nine will not function correctly unless the mainframe is able to communicate with the ride. Removal of the cores will cause all robots to activate in emergency mode. You will need to keep your ID present for all Robots to verify. Access into the more secure areas will result in Termination.”

Smalls nodded, and the Robot disconnected the two Lunar Cores and handed them to him, “Very well,” it said, “Thank you for visiting Assault on Asteroid Nine.”

It turned away from him, and he stepped back. When he did the robot closed the door, and the sound of the lock could be heard.

“I’m calling it now,” Poetic said, “One of those damned cores is going to be in a secure area.”

Smalls shrugged as he moved forward. What Poetic Pen had said wasn’t exactly wrong. It was likely that one of the cores was in a secure area, and they needed the cores. But at the same time he wanted to get to the Lunar Stable. Sparkler’s mother and sister were there, and they had received that distress signal. He looked at his friends. They had been together through thick and thin, and they had been stronger for being together. They needed the cores, there was no doubt in that, but at the same time they needed to get going.

“I think that we should come back here, and go through it,” he said, “But we need to get to the stable. Sparkler’s Mama, her sister, and those ponies that sent the distress signal are waiting.”

Cosmic nodded, “Sounds good, lets look for the entrance, and we’ll go out that way.”

Together they moved through the next locked door, which was back down the stairs, and they could see the various brass tubes that made up the line. Following it out they came to the entrance, and once again there was a Luna statue. This one, also in a very flattering spacesuit, seemed to active as they got near to it. Its eyes glowed brilliantly, and it began to move. The sound of its joints groaning from being moved after so long of standing still filled the room, but finally it raised its forehoof toward them.

“Welcome hopeful Junior Astroponies to Assault on Asteroid Nine! We need thine help in reclaiming the Asteroid from the Zebras, and re-establishing it as an Equestrian Colony! Join me in thwarting the evil Zebras and in bending the very stars to our command!”

They moved past it, to the entrance doors, and after a moment the doors slid open, revealing the platform that connected toward a large open area. Near the edge of the area was a sign that Small Fry noticed. It was something he’d seen the moment he left Stable 124, and he grinned as he saw it again. It wasn’t a small sign, but instead it was in huge letters.

“Stable-Tec welcomes you to your new home!”

They moved together, and entered into the building. When they did Smalls saw the Stable door that was closed. He could see the controls for it, and walked toward it. He connected his Pipbuck to it, and a moment later the giant gear like door, with L-01 pulled back, and then it rolled out of the way. They walked in, and he saw something odd. It looked like tinsel, wreaths, mistletoe, and small fake trees with decorations were decorating the inside of the stable. A Unicorn mare noticed them.

“Another Stable pony?” she asked, “Are you the Stable-Tec representative that was supposed to be assigned to us?”

She smiled, “Oh, where are my manners, I’m Mint Julip,” she said, “Welcome to Lunar Stable. Unfortunately you’ve caught us at a bad time. The worker ponies are being completely unreasonable, and I’m afraid we’re going to have to liquidate them and start all over again. It’s a shame too.”

*Level up! You’ve gained Lucky shy! This ability allows you special dialogue options with certain robots, ponies, and gryphons. It also raises your luck +5 and gives an additional +2 to Charisma. This can be stacked with all weapons, apparel, and potions that give at least a +1 to either, or, Luck and Charisma.

Author's Note

(Merry Christmas! Well, it's been a while, and I've been working on this chapter for about a while. The new job has made writing a little more difficult, but I wanted to get something out. So, again, Merry Christmas, Happy Hearths Warming, and I hope that everyone has a blessed day! RJP)