Part 1 - Chapter 1

Fallout: Equestria - Rapture

Part One - Welcome to Rapture

Chapter One - Welcome to Rapture

Well, that's awkward. Two months in Rapture Hydrostable and I already can't look on the daylight lamps. Huh.

On a side note, I hate dentists. I HATE HATE HATE DENTISTS. As if we can't get enough misery because of the war, we must go get our teeth drilled, erased or whatever else you do with your teeth when they hurt.

"Steady, mister!" the Luna-damn hell spawn said. "I'm going to give you a shot of Med-X in the gum. Then we'll proceed."

Med-X. For all your little ouchies. How I loved and hated this ad. Loved because of a beautiful motherly pegasus mare looking at me from a poster. Hated... Come on, when a colt trips and falls flat on his face and gets a bruise, you're supposed to kiss it and apply some bandage, not give him freaking drugs! Sick, Ministry of Peace, sick!

How can you be mad at this timid smile?

"That's all, mister!" the monster put all her torturing tools away. "I hope you won't return!" She smiled.

"Me too," I groaned. I can't deny, it felt much better.

The lonely lighthouse was the only sign of civilization in sight. Stable-Tec logo glowed in an unsteady light on the creme-colored wall.

"Alright, yew! Get outta there 'n go inside!" an old captain shouted towards our little group. "We ain't got much time left! They can fall any second now!"

We obeyed. The little ship went away towards the war-torn land. We were left alone in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it was for the better after all.

"So..." Some mare shrugged. "What next?"

I just stepped forward and opened the door. My armor was shimmering in the light of the lamps. I was met by Scootaloo. No, not Scootaloo, of course. Just a picture of her in a formal attire on a huge screen. Her lips suddenly moved.

"Struggling through the war didn't do us any good. We lost more than just ponies and resources. We lost a little bit of our souls. To regain all that, we at Stable-Tec built the most advanced and the most comfortable Stable yet."

Little whispers crawled through our little group of refugees.

"To proceed, simply get inside any of the available bathyspheres and pull the lever. I will guide you forth."

Bathyspheres weren't the biggest kind, to say the least. Each one had enough place to fit just two ponies. I crawled in one of them with a pretty young mare. If only I wasn't wearing this piece of power junk...

"Everypony has their special talents. Somepony can be a great researcher, somepony can be a xenobiologist, somepony can be just good at loading boxes. It is up to ponies to use their talents.

"'No way!' they would scream in the Ministry of Arcane Science. 'They have to contribute their talents for the war effort so that we could win enough gems!'

"'No way!' they would scream in the Ministry of Wartime Technology. 'They have to contribute their talents to our facilities so that we could create another technological monstrosity!'

"'No way!' they would scream in the Ministry of Awesome. 'They have to contribute their talents to our secret pro--"

The tape seemed to jam. Then, a second ago, Scootaloo's voice got back.

"But fear no more, everypony, for this horror is over! 'How?' - you would ask. 'Like that!' - I would answer!"

The screen blinked and retracted away, opening a window in the bathysphere. We looked into the dark void outside.

Rapture's windows were glowing as I looked at them from the passageway. Where does this city - sorry, Hydrostable - get all this energy?

"Bad day?" she asked and gave me a little nuzzle.

"No. Just thinking," I answered and returned the gesture. "There must be a freaking fusion reactor somewhere."

"Why's that?" she smiled.

"They are always glowing!" I pointed at a lamp. "They are always showing something!" I pointed at a TV screen. "There is always music in the radio! Where else could they take the energy from?"

She giggled. "I don't know. But we can find out!"

"I don't think it's a good idea..." But she was already dragging me somewhere by my hoof.

"Come on, let's go on a little adventure! Don't be so boring!"

"Where are we going?"

"I have no idea!" she laughed happily. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling too.

We were finally safe.

There were buildings. Under the sea. Freaking houses and skyscraper-high towers! Under the freaking sea!

"Fillies and gentlecolts. I give you the place, where you can finally be yourself!"

"Unbelievable..." the mare whispered in awe.

"Yeah..." I agreed.

"Behold the magnum opus of Stable-Tec! The Rapture Hydrostable! And welcome!"

Being chased by a flock of crazy pegasi mutants would be really sickening. Being chased by the pegasus you love was just amazing.

"Hee-hee! Why are you so slow?" she giggled on top of me.

"Oh I don't know, maybe because of armor?" I smiled.

"Oh, sure!" She rolled her eyes and got off me. "Anyway, good luck!"

I nodded and lowered my visor, connecting the air mask to the air talismans. The airlock whooshed me with streams of water and when it opened, I stepped outside.

Before me was the city - sorry, Hydrostable - full of ponies, zebras and even griffins, who decided to buck their authorities in the jaw and live a happy life. Just like me. Just like my Featherbrains.

Behind the seascrapers was a hot glow, which reminded me of my cutie mark - a pair of tangerines. It was Celestia Power Plant, standing on a volcano of some sort. I didn't care much about it. When it was working properly, that is.

"Running late again, Tangerine?" the other Ranger asked from the edge of a coral reef I was standing on.

"Sorry, Salad. That freaking mare is quite... Catchy."

We both chuckled a little.

"So, what's the deal?" I asked as we jumped down from the reef and went towards other Rangers. "Another leak in the core cooldown systems?"

"Better," he answered. "But not too much."

He raised his rivet gun and sent a heavy piece of metal towards a too curious shark. Of course he missed. He always misses. Rivets instead of bullets. Underwater, for Luna's sake!

"Damn!" he stomped his hoof.

"Okay, chill, just tell me what we're gonna do."

"There was an order from the Overpony. The Streamer fucker just can't have enough fisheries."

"What, he wants us to build one? Let him lick my tail." I looked at the building site. The ugly house was already drained of water and pressurized. "We aren't just some engineer unicorns. We're freaking Steel Rangers!"

"I know, right! And he doesn't want us to actually build it. Streamer isn't involved, actually. But... There are rumors that he holds some kind of smuggling operations in these fisheries. We have to install the cameras over there all around the place."

"Pfft. Bo-oring!" I trailed off as we went through another airlock and entered a little mobile shack.

"Yeah, but it's important to Overpony. Remember whom we get our paychecks from now, Tang."

"I hear you. Just... Argh. I think it's easier for Overpony to feed this Streamer to the sharks," I received my own rivet gun from the armory.

"What are you talking about? It's Rapture. Nopony gets eaten, shot at, blown up or killed in any other way, remember."

"Yeah. Sometimes I think it's not exactly what Scootaloo wanted this Stable to be."

"Maybe. But who cares? She's days from blowing up to little chunks, if not already. I don't envy her."

"Neither. But still..."

"Tang, shut up and get to work, seriously." Salad helmet-booted. "You'll have plenty of time to ramble afterwards!"

"Okay, okay, whatever!" I loaded my rivet gun and went outside. "Dumbass."

We received a cold 'Welcome-to-Rapture' Sparkle-Cola upon arrival. I was never a fan of carrots, but this one tasted pretty cool. They said they added seaweed to it. Then we got a big and tasty meal and even some beer. These ponies were treating newbies like they were already good buddies. And after some time everypony relaxed and felt at home.

That cute mare I was in the same bathysphere with? She was positively shocked to find a pony under the power armor. She seemed to think that I was some kind of Robronco tin can.

"Y-you..." She tried to say.

"Well, freaking surprise!" I grinned and put on my helmet. "BEEP-BEEP, I'm a scary robot!"

She laughed. She had a really nice laugh.

"Sorry!" she said. "I... I've never seen a Steel Ranger so close before. I thought they were... Smaller?"

"You gotta be big to be able to wear a power armor. The thing is heavy," I explained as I neatly packed it into one of my suitcases. Not the best place to keep a high-tech armor in, but it was better than dumping it on the floor. "Plus, I'm a paladin. I have endured waves and waves of zebra invaders. I have slain two dragons. I have kicked my elder brother's butt when he was still alive. Do you think Rangers are small-framed?" I smirked looking at her jaw hitting the floor with a force of a balefire egg going kaboom.

"You..." Her wings started stiffening. Uh-oh...

"Just some Steel Ranger, milady, serving Equestria, as usual." I smirked even wider.

Then I went inside my quarters and closed the door. I heard a squeak and sound of hoofsteps trotting away.

"Mares..." I smiled to myself.

I caught myself thinking that I liked this Stable more and more.

Author's Note

IT BEGINS