New seeds for stable two

(A Fallout Equestria fan fiction by StardustIAppletree)

1. Prologue

I was sitting bored in my laboratory. Well, not exactly. I had to share it with my little sister. I had to, because in stables is a lack of space and we had the choice between an own accommodation or an own laboratory. I totally like my little sister but I need my privacy. I was further tapping on my terminal to enter the data of my last tests, which I received for my latest inventory spell. Appletree, my little sister, was the tallest mare, no, she was even the tallest pony in the entire stable 2.
Calling her my little sister is actually a little weird for me sometimes. She in her turn was currently busy writing down something to her labour with the apple seeds. It just looked a little strange seeing her using her “claws” for this. Don´t get me wrong, she is an earthpony. But due to an accident with an exploding gas pipe, she has lost her fore and back legs. She has jumped in front of that pipe to protect our stables voice, Velvet Remedy. She almost died, but the clinic staff and the maintenance compartment were performing their best. She had received four cyborg legs and Little Pip equipped her with some special gadgets. For example some claws with soft tips for writing and some sharp for work in our apple orchard.

“Ya Dusty?”, the green earthpony with the blonde mane lifted her head which was crowned by a red ribbon. A relict from our great, great, great, and so on grandmother Apple Bloom.

“Yes, little sister? What´s going on?”. She pointed to her notes. Finally she retracted those claws.

“It´s gettin´any worse. Any generation of apple get smaller and smaller. The artificial sunlight doesn´t reach in that form.” She said and I let levitate her clipboard with our findings to me. Yes, I was a speciality. An unicorn in an earthpony family. My mother and my sister were earthponies, but not me. I was looking at the clipboard. I only understood the half of what was written on it.

“Appletree, you´re the botanist, not me. You have to explain me that more detailed. I´m a magician, this is not my area of expertise.” I interrupted and looked Appletree in her eyes. I knew that view. Something depressed my little sister. I stepped to her and hugged her, for what I had to get on my hooftips, because she was so tall. And I am average tall. My light blue fur touched her green fur and my pink Mane closed to her blonde mane. “What´s the matter?” I saw her worried and I managed to levitate a handkerchief fast enough.

“I´d like to become friend with Little Pip! I extra baked a cake for her, the day before yesterday, as gratitude for her help with my legs” She sobbed and sit on her back legs and cried a half waterfall. Little Pip and Velvet were leaving the stable yesterday. Something that nopony has ever done before. Appletree was shy and tried to become friends with Little Pip since she was a little foal. But she always had been to reserved for. That´s why she only had us, her family and no actual friends in our stable.

“Sh, sh, sh. Everything gets right, little one.” I stroked her mane soothingly. After 10 minutes being sad she get back to her hooves with red eyes.

“I´ve gotta get to the overmare.” She said. She scratched on her head nervously. “Dusty, can ya get with me?” She asked with her usual uncertainty. I smiled. That giant mare with the power of two fully grown up timberwolfes, was shy as a little filly.

“Sure my little one.” I said smilingly. I could take that chance to report the overmare about our latest progress. And because it was common that I had to go with her to the overmare we only had to get one appointment.

We walked through the hallways of the research and plant compartments to the office of the overmare. I quickly booked the appointment via my terminal. Today it was pretty quiet around her, everypony was still absorbing the shock that Velvet was gone. We were called in and the overmare was sitting exhausted behind her desk. “Ah our keen research duo. What can I do for you?” Said the overmare with a slightly forced seemed smile. As usual Appletree tried to “hide” behind me.

I smiled and said: “Appletree is worried about the apples.” I just said. She stepped forward and looked to the floor, before she cautiously looked to the overmare.

“ou...our apples gettin´smaller and less nutrient. No later than a year our orchards become infertile.” Said Appletree and closed her eyes in fear of the reaction.

The overmare smiled smoothly to her. “Do you know any solution, Appletree?” She nodded quiet cautiously. “Yeah. But overmare you wont like the answer” she said and quickly closed her eyes again. The overmare just said calmly: “Everything is fine. Just tell freely what you think is the best solution.” Appletree extracted her smooth tip claws and clanged to my leg.

"We need to go to the Stabletech seed vault in Philadelphia." The Overmare and I looked at my little sister as if she really had just turned into a timber wolf.

After a few moments she said in a slightly tense voice, "I have to think about it first, parts of an important generation are running away from me here," she said, massaging her temples with her hooves. "Appletree, be so kind as to go home I still have to talk to Stardust about her results." Appletree trotted out of the room. After the door closed I was about to start to recite it.

But the Overmare choked me with a question "Do you think she'd be fine out there on her own?" She looked at me seriously and I hesitantly asked,

"She's as strong as two fully grown Timberwolves, even stronger with her new legs. But you're not really considering sending her out there alone. I don't think she can cope because of her shyness.” I saw the rattling in Overmare's head.

“Would you accompany her?” she now asked seriously. I thought for a moment. I wasn't strong but I was bright and can work with terminals. "If we save future generations with this, I'll be there."

It was evening. Our family had met in the atrium for dinner. It was easier since our parents split up and Appletree and I moved into our own quarters. Honey Drop, the youngest of us three siblings, with her white fur and her white purple striped mane, looked sadly at us through her veil. She actually adored a pre-war pop star named Countess Coloratura, of whom she had an old recording. She would soon be stepping into Velvet's hoofsteps as she was a gifted singer and actress, as evidenced by her cutiemark's smiling theater masks. "But you'll come back, kindly!" said Honeydrop and stamped her hoof on the table.

"Yeah, we will," Appletree reassured her, gently stroking her mane. "Overmare said we should report once every 2 days via Pib Buck transmission," I said calmly, although I was a bit nervous.

"But your Pip Buck signal doesn't reach that far." Our father said, a brown earthpony stallion with a mustache and brown mane." I giggled.

"Appletree, show us what a nice new toy you have," I said happily. Appletree got up from next to the table. The seats were too small for her anyway, so she mostly sat on the floor at the head of the table. A long antenna came out from her front leg. "We'll try to activate old pre-war relay stations along the way to strengthen the signal," I remarked happily. "We can be located from here to Phillydelphia and communicate with you via the relays!" Our mother, a white earth pony mare with silver mane and glasses like mine, hugged us both and said:

"Please be careful. I want a message every evening that you´re OK. And how's the equipment going?” I looked up at the security office,

“Overmare will take care of that.” The next morning we were given a matching Stable 2 Security Overall which was slightly better armored than ours. Saddlebags with provisions and two first-aid kits which Appletree took care of right away. For armament, I wanted a plasma pistol, which I knew was available from securety, Appletree just smiled shyly and spread her claws when the subject came up. I also took my lab coat. It was weird, but I needed it, just like Appletree didn't want to leave the stable without her favorite pillow. Now we stood ready in front of the door after saying goodbye to everypony for a while.

Only the Overmare was at the desk and opened the door, which was opened horribly squeaking by a crane arm. "Good luck! We rely on you.” Said the Overmare worried.

Author's Note

A special thank goes to my Sweet Rose https://www.fimfiction.net/user/370702/Sandy+Rose for the Translation from German to Englisch!
And a Big thank you at https://www.fimfiction.net/user/10369/Kkat that i can use the characters from Fallout Equestria
Do you like the coverart?^^here do you finde more for example pictures of Appletree and other characters from my Fanfiction^^ https://www.deviantart.com/keikoyamada