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// Chapter Zero: In The Beginning 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: Standing Tall 
// by Pyrolich66 
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“There is always a sadness about packing. I guess you wonder if where you’re going is as good as where you’ve been.”


I walked down the halls of my high school, chatting with my friend Tom. It was lunchtime, and the two of us were making our slow way to the lunchroom. A calm spring day, getting close to the end of the year. So we jumped pretty high as a classroom burst open to release a bunch of panicked students. They didn’t pay attention to us, just shoved past and kept running down the hallway. Me and Tom were still standing in shock when the mob disappeared around a corner in the hall.
Most people probably would’ve followed the bunch of screaming kids, but I was curious what they were running from. I peered into the now-empty room, and saw something completely new. A crackling ball of purple light hovered at the far end of the room, occasionally sending out arcs of purple lightning. I knew it should be scary, but…. it just wasn’t. Instead of driving me away, the ball felt like it was pulling me towards it, calling me to dive into the rabbit hole. I was in a daze, slowly walking closer and closer to the sphere.
I was vaguely aware of Tom shouting behind me as I reached out a hand towards the sphere. I touched it and gasped as an electric shock coursed through my body. All at once, it was painful and wonderful to feel. Every possible emotion coursed through my body, overwhelming my mind and making everything a blur. I watched as the ball expanded, slowly engulfing my arms. All I could do was turn my head and give Tom a last smile, then my world became a brilliant purple glow, and then pure white light….
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My eyes drifted open, but I was not in my bed. Nothing even close. I was in a…. case? My body was suspended in some sort of clear gel that cushioned me all over. Directly in front of me was a curved glass wall that totally blurred the world beyond it. I couldn’t feel any clothes on my body, but I could see and feel a number of tubes wrapping all over my body.
I became aware of sounds and shapes outside my confinement. Muffled voices came from distinctly inhuman shapes. The fuzzy forms came in an assortment of bright colors, and they were far smaller than people. To my eyes, they looked like they walked on all fours, like large dogs, or very small horses.
One of the forms stopped in front of me, raising a…. foot? Raising a foot to wipe away some of the condensation on the glass. For a moment I stared into a pair of huge green eyes, then they went wide in surprise. The owner turned away quickly, the noises and movements outside growing more hurried. One rushed towards me, there was a purple glow, and the world blurred back to that bright white mist.
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