//------------------------------// // Beginnings // Story: Fallout Equestria: Soft Rain Falls // by BurningBright //------------------------------// My Pip-Buck shrieked and squalled, rousing me from an awesome dream. The horrible caterwauling practically felt like a drill in my skull, and the hangover didn't help either. But, I guess you only get your assigned duties once, and a lil' celebration never hurt anybody... Least, not till the morning after. Getting unsteadily to my hooves, I grumbled to myself. "Bucking mornings, why do they have to start so early?" Feeling my anger at the incessant shriek rising, I shut down the alarm and pushed the red button on my pipbuck. The hiss of a nanoinjector, then a feeling of calm, and I was ready to face my day. It would have been nice to keep dreaming of Pine and those long legs of his. Hay, most does would kill for legs like his. Myself included, shortflank that I am. Or the pretty doe eyes on Fern, for a little longer. But it was time for work. “Wintergreen, are you up yet?”, my mother shouted from the main room. “If you don't hurry, you're going to be late for work!” “I'm up, mom!” I shouted back, fastening on my utility barding and buckling up my tool belt. Today was the first day of active service, and hopefully I wouldn't get crappy jobs like cleaning the recyclers or something. I quickly placed my leg in the alcove, and there was another hiss as my pipbuck slotted new doses in place. After a few seconds, the device beeped and I pulled my leg free. I really didn't think my gut would thank me for a big breakfast this morning, and no doubt Mom would have something suitably greasy and gross to teach me a lesson about drinkin' too much. So, grabbing a couple of slices of toast, I bolted out the door and headed to the Ponics bay. Well. First day on the job and it seems I got the worst jobs; first off, cleaning the organic waste recyclers. Then, some dumb buck had sprayed bars over the forest mural in the main bay, and they'd busted the speakers too. End result? Me strapped into a pressure washer type saddle, hooked into the water main until the tanks filled, then washing down the walls ready for repainting. Now, I am NOT what you would call a strong doe. I'm a decent sprinter, but I do not have a muscly physique, so until I got stronger, every squeeze of the bit was practically sending me slamming into the wall. At least once I got the fill line disconnected, the weight of the tanks served to steady me a little. My legs wobbled unsteadily, as I figured out how best to brace myself. Not an easy task--every time I thought I'd got it, the water in the tanks would slosh and throw me off kilter again. Whoever had done this was in for a world of trouble. The Overdoe had been pissed, ordering immediate cleanup. She had sicced security on whoever it was too... I didn't envy them when Oak and Rowan caught up with them. Last time I'd been caught by those two, I hadn't been able to sit down for a week after the tanning I'd got. As if my pelt wasn't red enough without that sort of treatment. Least everybody learned not to get caught, fast. I really would have liked to get this job over with as soon as possible. I had to be careful, though; we'd all seen in training reels just what these things were capable of if they hit flesh, and the end results were not pretty. Given the overkill way Stable-tec designed their technology, the damn things were more like a sandblaster than a hose on high settings. Relying on the safety regulator was probably a bad idea, and the safety cutoffs apparently never worked as they were designed to. Last time there had been an incident, the nozzle head had slipped loose. Because of that, according to Aspen, there had been a metal nozzle embedded 6 inches into the concrete in Maintenance wing, and it had taken them almost an hour to lever the damn thing free. Strangely, as work went on, I found I quite liked the task after all. It was relaxing, didn't require much thought, and I hadn't had to press my Pip-Buck's regulator once the entire afternoon. I reached out and set my radio to play. Soothing classical music started, and I found myself relaxing into my new duties... Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all. Within a few hours, I had the wall all clear, ready for a new coat of paint. That done I checked in but apparently nothing else needed doing at the minute, and they had my tag if they needed to reach me anyway so I excused myself and slipped off to the ponics area. I loved it there, all those bright colours, you could practically feel the life in the place. No stupid painted on trees, these were the real deal. Massive apple trees surrounded by other crops. I lay back with a sigh basking in the artificial sunlight. Something just felt right about this place. I would have done just about anything to work down here, but my tests didn't pan out that way. I lay down as best I could with the saddle strapped to me. I'd have taken it off but they were a nightmare to get back on. My shift ended in ten anyway so I just settled in to enjoy the gardens until I was needed. Eventually, the work klaxon went off, and my Pip-Buck flashed a reminder. I hit my dose again, the beeping fading as I felt the calmness wash over me. Turning around, I headed towards the break room... What I saw there, well... I really wish I had never seen it. Aspen was just sitting there, like a fawn who'd just broken their favourite toy. His face was bloodied, antlers shattered, desperately pressing the button on his Pip-Buck. Tears streamed down his face. “Why isn't it working?!", he wailed, his Pip-Buck just giving him the empty tone time and time again. Pushing my own button to calm myself, I radioed for security. "Aspen, buddy?" I said, cautiously stepping forward. "What's wrong?" Looking up forlornly at me, he asked again. "Why isn't it working? Why can't I just feel normal?" Then his gaze turned. The crazed look he was already wearing got even creepier, as he reached for my Pip-Buck. I backed away nervously, as his expression changed. He lowered his antlers and rushed forward. "I NEED THAT!" he howled! I barely got out of the way, scrambling aside and feeling the searing pain as his antlers scraped my ribs, before I could quite get clear! “Hoof it over!”, he gibbered, as he came at me again. The shattered remains of his antlers lowered, he looked like a bloody nightmare, charging towards me. I was scared alone and unarmed, trying my best to calm him, but he was shutting me down. As soon as I tried to speak, he would attack again. In my panic, I... guess I used the only weapons I had. Toggling VATS, I bit down on the firing bit for the pressure washer The washer started up with a hiss, driving him back, the jets slamming him into the wall and pulping his skull inside a second. On seeing that, I did what anybody would do in my situation. Apparently, dry toast doesn't taste any better than anything else coming back up. I heard Oak rushing in, before everything went black.