//------------------------------// // The Eye // Story: Fallout Equestria : MaelStorm of The Wasteland // by Harb //------------------------------// "Science and progress must always have sacrifice, but this, this is madness!" I woke up on a cold metal table in serious pain. I looked down where it was coming from. I was stripped down and it felt like I had been butchered, but the red scar running down my abdomen was a contrary to me thinking I was still cut open. On a table next to me was a set of surgical tools in a bowl of liquid. I turned my head to look at my Pip-Buck. Well glad you're still with me. After I had my bearings I tried to get up, only to find that I my front and hind legs had been strapped down. Okay, how do I do this? The straps were made of leather, that much I could tell. I tried to force my way out, but to no avail. Then it hit me. I closed my eyes and began to take deep breaths. I attuned the magical energies in my to one thing, teleportation, it was something magically gifted unicorns could do, to those that tried and failed, well, a bullet to the brain would have been a better death. The reason I had known this was that a unicorn in my class tried it one day. As I said, after what happened to him, a bullet to the brain would have been mercy. Well it was either I became a pile of my own organs, or I waited to be operated on again. On the last of my deep breaths I focused the energies withing me, I concentrated on my destination. I felt for a split second the immense pain of being disassembled and reassembled and a blinding light. I landed on the floor next to the table. I vomited, a lot. Every nerve, every twitch of a muscle was pain. Mental note: never teleport again! I looked up to see a camera staring at me. I looked for a way out before whatever was watching me came here. I saw a vent which I figured was large enough to fit in. I crawled up to it with pain flaring through me. I used what little energy I had left to rip off the grate and climb into it. Once I had manged to get In I crawled in deeper, then I let the relieving embrace of unconsciousness wash over me. I woke up still in the vent, which was a good sign. My strength had been renewed to a point. I was no longer in pain and I didn't feel like I was going to vomit anymore. I had two options, I could keep going in the vent, or come out. I went with the plan to keep going. Eventually I fell, a wave of shock went through me as I hit the ground. I then looked up to see a earth pony in a brown jumpsuit and a burlap hood and goggles look down on me. He gave a monstrous growl then he ran at me with a pipe wrench. I flailed for a weapon then my magical grasp came across a lead pipe. Just before he was about to brain me with I hit him in the temple. Blood from the impact zone came spraying on me. I took a few seconds, lying on the floor, breathing and covered in blood. OK, to recap the last few events, I was abducted, dissection and somehow revived, I teleported and I bludgeoned a pony, whose blood I was now covered in. OK, I had to find Calypso and 13, also some answers could help, allot. After I regained my sense and found something to wipe the blood off I began to follow a row of pipes in a small corridor. Then the room seemed to morph from a rusted brown to a chrome white that hurt my eyes. I saw a window at a turn in the corridor and out of that window I saw that I was orbiting Equestria. For some reason I smiled, like the feeling that this place and I would have a history and for some reason I didn't seem freaked out. OK, back to finding Calypso, 13 and my gear. Then something popped into my memory. Mundas said that if I ever need an answer to ask him, now all I had to do was find that revolver. My gear had to be around here somewhere. I kept on follower the corner and occasionally having to pick up my jaw from the fact that I was in space. Then I came to a security booth. In it was a large circular container and another one of the earth ponies in burlap hoods. He seemed to have his back turned to the door in a chair. I slowly approached the door, it automatically and silently. I slammed the the lead pipe on his head. The satisfying crack of a skull caving in was enough for me to tell he was dead. I turned the chair around and pulled his body out. Maybe to avoid me having to cave in several skulls, maybe it would be a good idea to wear one of the jumpsuits and hoods. So I took the clothes off of the body. I got the jumpsuit and the hood, when I tried to get the goggles I was horrified. Wiring was coming off the goggles into the wearers brain. The urge for me to vomit came back in strength. I pushed it down and I forced myself to put on the jumpsuit and bloody hood, it was most likely if they saw me without the whatever the hell these things where, they would attack, so if I stayed out of groups I think I could pull it off. Now to dispose of the body. I encased a hoof of the pony with my magic then I dragged it through the halls trying to find a vent to stash it in. Eventually I found a vent the size of one in th operating room so I shoved the body in there then I put the grate back on and I walked back to the booth. I then searched the container, to my surprise all of my stuff was in it, including my satchel. I found the distinctive red .357 revolver, I searched the desk behind me for some ammo and I found a box of .357 ammo. I loaded it and then I aimed it at the glass in the booth. The bullet lodged in it. I waited for Mundas to appear, suddenly a voice came from my Pip-Buck. "Yes?" "Mundas, is that you?" "Who else could go into you Pip-Buck?" "Okay, where in the hell am I?" "Hold on, let me search the system." I waited a few seconds. "You're with THEM." "Who is THEM?" "We are." Another voice came from my Pip-Buck. This is getting even more confusing by the minute. "I can't believe he escaped Quantum." "Silence Neuron. I am not blind. Listen to me. You are to return to you're operating table." I put the Pip-Buck up to my face. "Like hell I will!" "He refused. What should I do now Electron?" "Let me try. Hear this, if you will not go back wiling, you will be taken back by force." "'I'm in a heavily reinforced security booth. Just try and come at me." "You seem to be intelligent, we weren't prepared for this. If you'll excuse us." "Mundas, who where they?" "Remember how I said I was dying and they fixed me. Well those are the ponies who made me the ghost in the machine." "Okay, I've prepared a large list of questions in the short time I've been here. What are the ponies in the hoods, who just spoke to me, how can you speak to me like this, why am I in space, and how does all of this tie into 13." "As far as you're first and last question, I can't help. For your others: They are ponies known as the Celestial Equilibrium, an organization founded in the name of balancing magic and science. The reason why you're in space is because the station couldn't have been built anywhere else. This is a project so secret, not even Luna knew about it. I can also hack into any digital device anywhere." "Who's Luna?" I asked. "It's a long story, maybe someday I'll tell you." I began to formulate a plan. I probably couldn't use this disguise. Then I had the idea of rescuing 13 and Calypso. "OK, Mundas, could you look for 13 and Calypso." "On it." I waited for a a few moments then the mono toned voice of Mundas." "Ok, Calypso appears to be in room 125 on the surgical wing, no pun intended, and 13, well I can't seem to find his location. But I did find something, and get this, a 1 terabyte file on something labeled: Plan 13. It's locked though, and the firewall is damn good if I can't hack it." "Okay, store the file, we'll go get Calypso and then we'll try and find 13." I slipped out of the jumpsuit and hood and I put on my armor. At the bottom of the chest after I was done rummaging all of my gear, I found a helmet. It had a black visor that was on level where eyes would be. It in the shape of a unicorns skull, around the mouth was contorted into a toothy and crooked grin, almost like it was made to instill fear into ones enemies. I put it on my head to see if it would fit. It slid on perfectly, almost like it was made for me. Just as I took my hooves off of it I had a searing pain going into my skull. I tried to take the helmet off but it wouldn't budge. Next it felt like my right eye was being ripped out and something else replacing it. The pain went on for a while. At one point I almost blacked out. Once it was over, I felt like I had some strength added to me. I heard a beeping sound and I saw my stats from my Pip-Buck displayed on the helmet. "Mundas, what the hell is on my head?" "I don't know, I've cross referenced the helmets design with blueprints I have access to, and I have nothing on it. It's either one of two things. Something made here, or something BloodStone made." "Again, that name, who is he?" "I can't tell you. I was sworn to secrecy about The Eye. He said himself it would be something for you to learn." "As I can guess, he's already dead, how could he have known about me?" "The Eye, Maelstorm, it's something you'll learn of in time. Until then, I'm sorry." "Well, we'll speak of this when we can." "Ok." I began walking to the door. As soon as I set hoof out of the frame, I was struck by a migraine. A large blot of pulsating light began to grow in my eyes. It swiftly encompassed my vision and I blacked out. "Hello Maelstorm." I looked up, back in the black walled room, and sitting on a chair cross legged was the pony who looked exactly like me except for his right eye having a vertical pupil and the iris was mixture of a deep green and a blood red. "Hello Bloodstone. I take it this is a recording?" "Oh not at all. The helmet you wear is the first piece of my armor, the others you'll find in time. You see, when the war came, I knew I would have to keep a vigil for the next one who was compatible with The Eye. Several tried on that helmet. They either died from the pain of having the eye placed in, or their brain literally exploded. So my intelligence was preserved in this helmet until I found somepony who could withstand it. How can I store an eye in this helmet you ask. Well, I have a replication device in it, once it is put on, it'll rip out you're right eye and replace it with The Eye, like mine, but sometimes the iris is different." "So wait. That was the pain I felt, my eye being ripped out?" He smiled and then he nodded. Afterwards I snapped back into consciousness. I was still in the doors threshold. "Mundas, I need a mirror." The screen of my Pip-Buck became reflective. My right eye had a vertical pupil and the iris was a black and silver.