Chapter 0 Prologue
PEGASKIES CORPORATION M29 OPERATING SYSTEM
COPYRIGHT 2015-2015 KILODEL
-Fallout Equestria: The Mare Behind the Curtain-
FoE: TMBC: Chapter 0
----------------------------
“We have some bad news everypony. Luna’s school for gifted unicorns was assaulted today in an atrocious terrorist attack by the nation of Zebrica,” a news stallion announces solemnly over a decrepit radio struggling to broadcast the news it receives for the ponies some 200 years dead.
“Six elements, six ministries, six ministry mares; This is Luna’s new plan, but is it a good one, can our nation truly be trusted to this princess of the night?” the mare’s voice questions her audience of ghosts.
“And that’s one small step for Mare, and one large step for-OOF!” The recording of an astronaut tripping out of the module locked away in a museum surrounded by a toxic cloud of pink.
“Ministry Mare Twilight Sparkle and Apple Jack sign on hoofing over all shares in the Equestrian Lunar Space Accusation E.L.S.A. to the Pegaskies Corporation for 470,000 bits in a deal that they produce rockets should the war effort require the need for such weapons,” an economist reports as he counts his now worthless bits and tosses a fortune of bottle caps into the recycling bin.
“This just in! Cloudsdayle, and Manehattan have been hit! We are still awaiting confirmation on Splendid Valley, reports on a detonation in Vanhoover are also coming in. Oh the equinity!” the panicked reporter cries over the end of the world, as his words outlive him and all he knows in the radio waves.
Beep. Beep. Beep. “This is an emergency Stable Tech Broadcast, any and all unsealed stables will be sealing in thirty minutes. All registered personal are to go immediately to their assigned stables. May the sisters have mercy on our souls,” a pre-recorded interrupts the whales of reporters. There is a click as an ancient computer reaches the end of its tape real. It rewinds and scans for any new news, none. The news stopped coming to this station two centuries ago. A procedure activates and a subroutine reads the weather and other data from damaged antennas. Its synthesized voice speaks out the only new news this station has to offer.
“And now for your local Neighagara Falls weather update. Temperature: negative twenty six Celestius, negative fourteen point eight Faustenheit. The wind is currently at: error antenna malfunctioning. Last recorded wind speed was: 1026 meters per hour. The sky is currently: overcast. The current humidity is: error antenna malfunctioning,” the choppy techno mare’s voice cuts out and the computer prepares to recite its record of news, unfortunately most of it has degraded and been cut from the listing leaving only about six broadcasts in its line up, “And now for the news, Pegaskies apologizes for the lack of any updated news to broadcast, but no new is good news,” and so it begins the 4204800 iteration of the looped news broadcast depicting the end of Equestria’s reign of peace.
“We have some bad news everypony…”
------
Along time ago in the magical world of Equestria, a utopia fell to its knees as it choked to death on its own fear and hatred, a hatred that was perhaps vital to its survival as some thing, well some things, cannot stand the taste of hatred. So while Equestria burned and its skies closed it was essentially burning the ground before the wild fire could reach it.
They say time heals all wounds, and if so, then the fields of Equestria have been growing green once more, and with it comes the threat of the wiled fire once more burning through. After all, the best hunters are patient.
------
“I can’t believe you did it, you convinced them to go forward with the mission,” the euphoric pegasus engineer says to the unicorn clad in an enclave officer’s uniform as they are bumped around the armored skywagon, “Commander Ruse I owe you big time.”
“Yeah, I know, I heard you the first twenty times you informed me, and Wink, you don’t owe me, you owe the Enclave Navy. This whole mission is about them after all.”
An older pegasus mare wearing scientist uniform minus one radiation shielded helmet, speaks up, “Well if so, why am I here. I’m a biologist. If our mission is all about salvaging new military ships then why have a pony who works on, well to put it plainly, ponies. I’m telling you there is more then meets the eye with this operation.”
“You are here to ensure we all can fly back up from this operation miss Mirage. We are going to a land filled with ponies what want nothing more then to eat us for brunch. Your job is to keep us alive, and my job is ensure they are not,” an armoured pegasus guard reputes the biologist before returning to an at ease stance, earning him a stern glance from Ruse.
“Well, if you must know, we believe their may be a chance that we have to go to war with the surface, that is if the volunteer bureau fails in its peace making charity. And I’m sure you all can remember how the last peace organization betrayed us all,” realizing he was getting side tracked Ruse got back to his point, “with war comes the probable damage of our assets, and without the factories of old, the Enclave will not be able to make more cloudships. Therefore we have been dispatched to solve this problem.”
Wink sat staring at his white and orange radiation helmet. He was told it would protect him from the majority of the radiation they would encounter. Wink and Mirage were issued one, Ruse was given a gas mask but it would not give him anywhere near the protection the radiation suit promised him. Looking to the guards accompanying them in the armoured sky wagon he considered the new armour they were given. This was a new model, envisioned by the Enclave’s science division purely for surface missions. A simple gas mask was attached to the helmet to filter out any radioactive particles and the regular metallic plates were infused with lead. It made the pegasi fly slower but the other engineers back home believed it was a worthy trade off for the added radiation protection. The final addition was the rad-x injectors replacing med-x.
Wink had been told of how the old earth pony armour made by the ministry of wartime technology was anything but light and had multiple chemical dispensers for medication as well as a spell matrix capable of holding healing spells. The enclave had nothing like this, but perhaps he could get lucky on the surface and find one to brig back up for study. Looking over his own supplies he examined his Geiger counter and tools. Mirage had the majority of the medical supplies as she was their impromptu doctor for this flight. Not many other doctors or scientists were wanting to travel to the war ravaged saving infested surface of Equestria. If he were not such good friends with Mirage she probably would have skipped out on the trek too.
“Mirage, we are getting lower now, I think its time we seal our helmets,” Wink suggests as he slides his helmet on and twists it. The click informing him it’s locked, reaching back Wink connected the filter hose to his head. Feeling about twenty percent safer he began looking around the cabin. As one of the guards kicked up his gas mask he realized Mirage had not done the same, “Mirage, you don’t want to die do you?”
“Oh Wink,” she spoke with a hint of contempt in her voice, “You don’t believe all that crap the enclave spoon feeds us?” that earned her a disapproving stare from Ruse, “Besides, the area we are going to is not irradiated. The megaspells hit near by, but not directly here. We should be fine for the time being.”
“But the wind, it could carry radioactive isotopes into our drop zone,” ‘was she really not afraid of all of this?’ he thought, “by the way, were is our drop zone?”
It was now time for Ruse to speak up again, “There is a small factory located North Northeast of a military base. We are heading there first. I’ll let you handle the rest,” he muttered glancing out the window.
“Oh can we see it?” scooting in his seat he twisted his body around to peek out one of the skywagon’s windows. Below him was a sight he would never ever forget. A field of rubble, tilled with rows of concrete roads, streetlights sprung up like corn and the crumbling walls of the suburb as grass. Only it wasn't green. It was brown. All of it, brown. He had expected green. Books always showed Equestria as a green paradise, he knew it was not that any more. He knew it was a hell hole but he didn't expect it to be bland. Bland and dull. That’s all it was. Pure unadulterated disappointment. Sighing Wink looked back to Mirage, “Is that all there is to the surface?”
“Probably, I doubt there is much more out there to see besides the depressing view of not-cloud,” looking over at Wink’s belt she piped up again, “You should probably buckle up, while looking out the window you have nothing to hold into.”
“Oh come on what could possibly get us up here, we are flying and I’m not afraid of turbulence,” he turned again to look out the window, this time seeing something he rather forget. The red halo wrapped around a cylinder of an anti-air shell heading right to the sky wagon. ‘Pure unadulterated disappointment,’ Wink thought. And then he blacked out.
------
Footnote level up;
New perk- Sightseer. Your quick few minutes in the Equestrian Wasteland has taught you one thing: keep your eyes open.
+1 to Perception.
------