Fluttershy stirred, her breath hitching for a moment before continuing as normal. She rolled over, from her back to her side, attempting to snuggle deeper into her blankets…
…Only to place her cheek into something cold, wet and mushy. She gasped in surprise, reflexively pulling her head from the cold surface…
…Only to then bash her head on something. Reeling back in pain, her foreleg then lost footing, causing her to slip back down to the ground.
For a few seconds, Fluttershy laid still, whimpering, before finally opening her eyes.
She wasn’t home, that much she could tell. Her eyes quickly scanned the darkened room. The floor, if you could even call it that, looked to be nothing but puddles of water and mud, covered with pieces of trash and debris. The walls were made out of old brick, being a cylindrical shape than ended with a wall. Metal pipes snaked across the ceiling, and metal grates hugged the ground.
The room wasn’t large, and the only exit seemed to a door lit up my a small light at the end of the hall.
Slowly, Fluttershy stood up to all fours, scouring the room with wide eyes. Though for some reason, the position seemed kind of uncomfortable. And this itch behind her ear. Reaching up, she scratched it with on her claws, instantly relieving…
Claws?
Looking down at the limb, her eyes widened in shock. 5 long, razor sharp talons extended from a scaled hand.
Her hand.
Her eyes moved over the rest of her foreleg, now completely covered with light yellow scales.
Mirror!
Quickly, she moved to one of the puddles on the floor, looking down at the reflection.
The face she recognized was no longer there, instead replaced by something else entirely. It looked almost like a dragon’s. A yellow scaled face with two large horns and a large muzzle, sharp teeth poking from her mouth. Small slitted blue eyes stared back at her, both wide with fear.
…
For a while, Fluttershy just stared at the reflection. It would blink when she did. It would move she moved. She reached with a now clawed foreleg and felt the scaly skin. It was all too real.
Moving back and sitting down, her eyes again traced over the foreleg… forelimb? While the talons were far to long to allow her to grab anything comfortably in her… palm, I think it’s called that, she probably could still grab things between the claws. The limb looked heavily muscled, much larger than even somepony's like Big Mac or maybe even Bulk Bicep's.
Maybe not that big...
Her rear legs were similar to the front, but instead of… hands, they ended with something that resembled paws or maybe feet, with 3 large claws as opposed to 5. A large tail also lay on the floor behind her. While it was hard to turn her head, she could see it had small pink spines that covered all the way up to her back.
This is so... strange.
The former pony took a couple deep breaths, calming herself. It took a couple minutes, but eventually, Fluttershy felt just a little better.
Maybe I should try leaving this place...
Slowly, she stood to all fours again, but again found it uncomfortable. Maybe I'm supposed to walk on two legs? Like a minitour? Carefully, she pushed herself into an upright position. While the position was more comfortable, she'd have to learn walking on twos. Not only that, but it seemed like this room wasn't built for her height. She had to duck her head to prevent her horns from colliding with the metal pipes above.
Steadily, the former pony wobbled as she took a couple steps towards the only door in the room, her clawed hands keeping her from falling over more than a few times. When she got to close, she noticed some faded text on a metal plaque. Concord Civic Access? Where in equestria is that? To her right, the door, made of blue rusted metal, stood. On it, a sign marked 'restricted area' in large text. I hope nopony get's mad if I need to go through here... It was small compared to Fluttershy, the top only reaching to about her chest. Gingerly, the mare poked her smallest claw through the small handle, pulling gently.
The door made a horrid squeaking as it opened, revealing a darkened area. Along with this, a horrible stench left the room, finding its way to the former pony's nose. It smelled like somepony had left a fish out to rot for weeks. She gagged, tears forming in her eyes as she quickly pushed the door back shut. The mare gasped for the slightly fresher air in the tunnel, coughing heavily.
"...Not going... to go in there..." She breathed out. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Her voice sounded a little rough, but nonetheless, she could still speak.
"Oh thank goodness..." She sighed in relief. At least something was going her way.
Her moment was ruined when something rattled the roof violently. She involuntarily let out a eep in surprise, retreating against the nearby wall.
"What in Celestia..." She whispered. Slowly, she crept forwards, moving towards the epicenter. The roof above had a patch replaced by metal, though it noticeably looked deformed, light now creeping in through the edges.
"A grate! I can leave!" She 'yelled' excitedly, reaching up with both arms, taking great care to not topple over, the pony pushed on the grate. It lifted, revealing more light. The former pony stood out on her tippy toes, peeking out the now open gap.
What she saw did not look hopeful. While her eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the influx of light, she could make out movement, and shouting the did not sound pleasant. Old buildings, at least, what looked old to her, stood around a beat up road. Banners with faded text reading 'Celebrate History!' fluttered in the wind above. What caught her eyes, however, were the occupants. Several creatures, all of them wearing strange helmets and tattered clothes, would peak their heads out, pointing objects that would make a noise that sounded almost like a thundercrack. At first, Fluttershy thought they were looking at her, but she was relieved to realize they were more focused on another one of the creatures.
This one looked different from the rest. Instead of wearing drab clothing, this one wore a deep blue jumpsuit, accented by gold in some spots. A satchel dangled off his shoulder, made of some brown material. His hair, I think its hair... was a deep brown, and his coat looked to be a light beige. In his hand was a strange silver object, which he occasionally poked out from around the small pile of bags he sat behind. Beside him, a dog, a germane shepherd she remembered, stood beside him, crouching low, barking at the other creatures.
"WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU, ASSHOLE!" One of the further creatures shouted.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy whispered. She watched as a couple of the further ones moved closer, as another threw some sort of bottle. She gasped when it smashed nearby the Blue creature and the dog, bursting the ground into flames. The creature scrambled away, kicking away at a flame that had landed on his boot.
"SUPRISE FUCKER!" One of the other creatures snuck behind Blue! He, It sounds like a he... makes a grab at Blues throat, wrapping its arms around Blue's neck, Blue swinging his arms wildly at him. Beside him, the Germane Shepherd growls, lunging at the creature.
"FUCK OFF, YOU MUTT!" Her eyes widened as the thing kicked the dog in its jaw, the shepherd yelping in pain as it fell to the ground. Her initial reaction, that of fear, is quickly shaken off by a feeling of anger. Hastefully, the former pony pushed the grate, letting it slide off to the side, before climbing out of the sewer.
I'm going to give this meanie a piece of my mind!
Nate's breaths were becoming more laboured as the Man squeezed his arms tighter around his neck. Dogmeat laid nearby, but only let out whines as the dog tried to relieve the pain in its snout.
Shit... It's only been 30 minutes since I...
"I'm going to gut you." The man behind him hissed, pulling out a switch blade and bringing it to Nates throat. As hard as he attempted, Nate couldn't break free from the Man's hold.
"Hold still..." The man trailed off, before dropping the knife. His grip loosened on Nate, who ripped free from the man before pushing away, falling to the ground on his knees, before quickly turning to face the man again.
Expecting to fight, Nate was surprised to see the man's face had gone completely pale, all former Bravado abandoned. The man's hands hung at his sides, the knife now laying uselessly on the cracked street below.
Scrambling for the knife, Nate grabbed it, bringing it up, only to see the attacker was gone. He caught a glimpse of the man running full tilt around a corner. Turning his head, Nate similarly watched as the rest of the people attacking him ran, one being caught by a red streak of light from the balcony.
"What the..." Nate breathed out, confused greatly, only to be shaken from his stupor when he heard the whimper of his dog.
"Dogmeat! Are you okay boy?" He scooched closer to the animal, noticing the crimson fluid dripping from the dogs snout. "Hold still boy, this'll help you..." Reaching into his satchel and digging around for a moment, the man pulled out a stimpack. Carefully, the Vault dweller pushed the needle into the dogs neck.
The dog gave a soft whine in response, but his ears relaxed, no longer pressing against his head. "Give it another moment, Dogmeat, you'll be fine..." The man gave his companion a few gentle pats on it's side, listening to his dogs breathing...
Why is he breathing so hard? The man gave a alarmed glance at his dog, but realized quickly it wasn't his breathing. Who is...
"Um... Excuse me?" He heard a soft voice, sounding feminine, behind him.
Nate jumped involuntarily, clutching his chest to calm himself. Slowly, he stood up and turned around, "Sorry. I was just..."
His breath hitched when he saw what was behind him. A large lizard thing, looking like something straight from Grognak the Barbarian, stood. He had to look up to meet its blue slit eyes, as it stood a good 3 feet taller than him. "Wha-" He choked out, a wave of fear passing over him.
"Oh. Sorry I startled you... I just wanted to ask if you were okay..." He heard the same soft feminine voice come from the creature.
"Who... What... huh?" The shocked Vault dweller managed out.
"Well... it's just that other... person, hurt you and your dog, and I just wanted to see if you needed help..." The lizard seemed to wilt under Nate's ever present gaze.
Said Man stood there for a couple seconds, lazily bringing a finger up. "A talking yellow lizard... asked if I was alright..."
"Oh, um, I'm a pony... or at least I was..." The lizard looked sad for a moment.
"A pony..." Nate began to pace, not because he wanted to, but he needed to think, "I've gone crazy, haven't I? 210 years in a freezer has done something to my head..." He grabbed his head as he said it, almost like it was going to pop right off.
"...Are you okay?" The 'pony' asked, concern written on its face somehow.
Nate glanced over, before reaching out with a hand, pausing for a moment before contact, "Can I... touch you? Just to see?" He said quietly.
"Um, okay." The lizard reached one of it's clawed hands out. Gingerly, the human slowly reached before tapping on one of the claws. He felt it. He then touched the scaled base of its finger, which he also felt, being strangely soft.
"...Um...Why'd you need to touch my hand?" The lizard asked, looking a little confused.
"...Sorry... Just needed to see if... you were real." Nate's hand retreated, falling to his side. He just stared up at the large creature for a while, half expecting for it to disappear the next time his eyes blinked.
Beside him, Dogmeat slowly stood, walking past the human and to the lizard, who reached out with a clawed hand, palm facing upwards. The dog sniffed it curiously, before licking her it. The creature giggled, This is so strange... before scratching the dog behind his ears. At least Dogmeat is fine with this.
"Can I... ask you something?" The lizard asked timidly, still petting Dogmeat. When Nate gave a nod, it... she continued, "Could you help me?"
Raising an eyebrow, he replied. "What does a... 'pony' need help with?"
"Well... I'm lost, and I've been turned into... this." She gestured to herself, "Do you know where we are?"
Nate only took a second to respond, "We're in Concord, in the New England Commonwealth, which is part of the United States of America... at least, it was until..." He trailed off, sounding more somber at the end.
The creature stayed silent, Nate noting the worry forming on her features, "I've never heard of The United States..." she paused, "Can I... stay with you for a little?" She asked.
"Uh..." Nate considered this for a moment. She'd scared of those guys, maybe her staying will make finding... "Sure, I guess." She beamed happily, Nate taking note of her large teeth, "My name is Nate, this is Dogmeat... Do you have a name?"
"My name is Fluttershy."
Author's Note
I have no idea what I'm doing. I can never quite finish a story. :P
