//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Sights Unseen 
// Story: Fallout: Equestria - Shadow of the Day 
// by Kaciekk 
//------------------------------//

Low traces of light scattered across the end of the cave. The damp air gave way to dry as SwiftHaze emerged from the earth. At first, shrubs blocked her view, but as she trotted down the winding path, the view became more clear. 

Stopping in her tracks, Haze took in the marvel of the outside world. The air stretched for miles in all directions. Far above, a curtain of bluish grey clouds hung over the wasteland. Ahead the mountainside sloped down into suburbs. Beyond the mountain was a vast cityscape, its skyline shrouded by hazy air. Skyscrapers towered over the city, most of them diminished to just their skeletons. One, however, appeared to be in adequate condition, most of its paneling still attached. It was also the highest tower in the city, which seemed to pierce the clouds above.

Haze was so astonished by the sight that when OrchidRays bumped into her, she was jolted back to her surroundings, as if she was in a trance. She tried to move out of the way to let Ray look too. The path that ran down the mountain was narrow, only wide enough for one pony to walk at a time.

“It’s so…” Ray began, but was too mesmerized to continue.

“Big!” Haze finished for her. “Look at all of it!” She threw her head up and yelled into the air. “This is amazing!” She bounded upward and began hovering.

“Where should we go first?” Ray asked.

“Hmm.” Haze peered around, unsure. She looked at the map on her PipBuck. Their location was marked as ‘Stable 47’, as well as ‘Applewood Sign’, the latter confusing Haze. She threw on her Eyes Forward Sparkle spell just to be on the safe side. Once again, she stared down into the valley below.

“It might not be safe to go into the city. We won’t be able to tell where enemies are hiding,” she proposed. She wasn’t completely confident in the accuracy of her E.F.S. She pointed to the east. “Why don’t we go that way? We could explore the mountain.”

She gently fluttered downward, checking back every few seconds to see Ray make her way down the path. Haze surmised that the path was once wider, but over a century of plant growth blocked the edges of the path. At the end of it, the ground was more even, and a larger concrete road traveled eastward. 

Pivoting in the air, Haze glanced back at her home. She suddenly realized what that other map marker meant. Affixed to the mountainside were massive letters that spelled out ‘Applewood’, however the second O was missing. Below it was where the mares had come out of. The entrance to the cave was completely obscured by shrubbery from this angle.

“What does ‘Applewo- D’ mean?” Ray wondered, turning her head towards where Haze was staring.

“Applewood,” Haze corrected. “I have no idea.” 

As they traveled east, they saw the mountainside become more even, but it was still elevated above the city. To the north was a patchy forest area. Labeled on Haze’s PipBuck was ‘Griffon Park.’ 

SwiftHaze enjoyed the rush of wind through her mane as she flew. The air felt different than inside the Stable, and she wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. She dove down through the open air and circled around where OrchidRays was walking. Haze was able to pick up speeds she had never accomplished before in the Stable, where there had always been a wall or trees in the way.

“Wow, you can fly so fast!” Ray remarked.

Once again, Haze circled around. This time she dove downward, gravity aiding her speed. Zooming over Ray, her feathers nearly collide with her head. With wings outstretched in a glide, Haze rose upward again. Completely overwhelmed with bliss, she called out a “woo” into the sky, letting her forelegs dance around.

A few moments later, SwiftHaze regretted yelling so loudly. To her right there was the sound of gunfire. Her E.F.S. showed several red dots from the same direction. Haze couldn’t see who was shooting, but she could pick up the sound of ponies yelling. Bullets flung her way, but she was quick enough to juke them. One of them clipped the feathers of her wing. 

Tilting to the side, Haze descended to the left until she could land into a canter. OrchidRays was running to catch up to her. The gunfire continued. It seemed to be coming from a large, decayed building on the side of the clift. 

“C’mon! This way!” Haze motioned.

They galloped towards the forest land and sheltered behind some trees. Haze peeked out between the trunks. She could see movement among the building, but no ponies seemed to be chasing them. She pressed a hoof to the assault rifle that hung at her side, just in case she needed it for defense. After a few long minutes, the comotion ceased. The dots on her E.F.S disappeared. 

Haze let out the breath she was holding. “Okay, maybe no more aerial acrobats and shouting.”

“But you were able to dodge those attacks!” Ray said.

“Yeah but I’m not taking that risk. I’ll stick to low flying,” Haze replied. Her eyes darted around. “Well, maybe not in this forest. I’ll stay on the ground with you.”

As they pressed forward, Ray asked, “Do you think they’ll come after us?”

“I think they’re just protecting that building. It must be a gang or something. Maybe they claimed this as their territory,” Haze explained. 

As they passed through the trees, some lizards scurried by and a bird fluttered away. Haze kept an eye on her compass for any hostile life. These woods could be home to mutant animals.

“So, what kind of tools did you bring?” Ray asked, attempting to spark a conversation.

“Oh, just some supplies for basic survival or to fix weapons. Screwdriver, duct tape, wonderglue, a lighter for fires, a switchblade- oh!” Haze halted as an idea struck her. “That actually might be a good weapon for you!”

“Me? Why would I need a weapon?” Ray wondered.

“It’s dangerous out here, and I won’t always be there to protect you.” As Haze said that, there was a glint of distress in Ray’s face. “We could make you some sort of cuff or something, and attach the blade to it. Then you can flip it any time when you need it!” Haze flicked her hoof out in front of her as if replicating the action.

“I guess,” was all Ray responded with.

They continued walking to the north. The trees were beginning to thin into low hanging brush. Haze could just make out a gated area past the grassland. 

“What’s that?” Ray pointed at the steel fence that blocked off a large portion of the park. 

“I’m not sure. Let’s get closer.”

Finally when they got close enough, a marker appeared on Haze’s map. Los Pegasus Zoo. 

“Oh, a zoo! Do you think there are any animals still there?” Ray grinned. 

“Eh, I don’t know,” Haze said. “They probably all died. Or… mutated.” Haze grimaced at the idea of stumbling across dangerous animals in the zoo.”

“Could we at least check it out?” Ray pleaded.

“Okay,” Haze replied with an exaggerated sigh. “But if anything tries to bite us we’re heading the fuck out of there.”

The ornate metal gate door swung open with a creek. Haze stopped dead in her tracks. There were dozens of pony skeletons littered around the entrance clearing. Slowly, she creeped into the zoo, Ray tagging behind. Horrified, she passed by a stroller with the skeleton of a foal. Her gaze drifted upward and saw the admissions office. She decided that was where they would go first.

A couple skeletons laid in the office, one being slouched over in a chair. Just ahead of it was a still functional terminal with its screen glowing a sickly green. Haze pressed a hoof on it, and found that it was password locked. She gave it a few tries before backing out and cursed herself for not knowing anything about terminals.

“How am I supposed to find the password!” She muttered.

“Oh, here it is!” Ray said behind her.

“Huh?” Haze whipped around. “What do you mean?”

“Look.” Ray pointed to a folder she had found. It looked like a training guide. Sure enough, the password was displayed for employee eyes only: Tortoise.

“How the hell do you just find that?” Haze exclaimed.

“I dunno.” 

Returning to the terminal, Haze entered the password. Most of the entries were standard update logs. However, one entry caught Haze’s eye. 

The Ministry of Morale is set to implement sprite-bots in zoo parameters. Supposed security protocol, with a benefit of music for the public. Unique animal designs for the bots are still being processed.

Haze had heard the word ministry before inside Stable 47, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was about. It was something to do with the government during the war, but she had never heard of the Ministry of Morale.

“Haze, look!” Ray said. She was pointing out the window to the opposite side of the clearing. A sign above a door read Gift Shop. “Can we go look?”

Haze shrugged and followed the Earth Pony mare outside and across the clearing. 

The inside of the gift shop was dark, so Haze turned on her PipBuck’s lamp spell. Most of the shelves were half barren, as if ponies had already come here to loot. Collector’s drinking glasses were scattered around as glass shards on the floor. A few stuffed animals hung from hooks on the wall. A container labeled ‘crystals’ was completely empty. Why would ponies want rocks so bad?

With ears flickering, SwiftHaze thought she heard something outside. She looked over to OrchidRays to see if she noticed, but her friend was trying on different sunglasses.

“Ray!” She murmured. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” Ray mused, cocking her head. She popped an earbud out of one ear.

“Ugh, Ray! This isn’t the time to be listening to music!” Haze snapped. “We’ve got to use all our sense when we’re exploring!”

“Sorry,” Ray whispered, putting the bud away.

Both of them were silent for a moment. Haze was certain she had heard something high-pitched. She dashed outside to get a better listen. It seemed to be coming from further inside the zoo.

“It sounds like a pony screaming,” Haze said as Ray stepped up to her side.

“Should we leave?”

Haze hesitated. “No. I want to see what’s going on.”

They trotted deeper into the zoo. Haze kept her ears perked to follow the sound. The further they got, the more clearly the screaming was heard. Slowly, they snuck around the paths between enclosures, which were filled with animal skeletons. The screaming was cut off, but they were close enough that Haze was certain which way it had come from. Other sounds became clear too; indistinguishable voices, the splashing of water, and a low growling noise.

Haze poked her head around a corner and froze. There were three ponies moving about, including a Unicorn that was looking over the edge into an enclosure. All of them wore crude armor and looked as if they hadn’t showered in weeks. Luckily, they all seemed more interested in the enclosure that they didn’t look behind at Haze.

Then Haze’s eyes drifted to the left. There were more ponies, but these ones were locked in a cage. The cage didn’t seem to be originally from the zoo, but instead was brought here. Inside, the ponies quivered with fear. They were caked with mud and blood, and were chained to the bars of the cage. The sight enraged SwiftHaze. These were raiders, or maybe slavers, that were holding ponies prisoner.

“So which one of you is next?” The tan Unicorn directed at the cage. “I’m sure Miss Chomper can use another snack!”

With his horn glowing, the Unicorn levitated something out of the enclosure below; a severed pony leg. There was a fierce growl from below. For a moment, a maw of sharp teeth appeared above the enclosure wall, then disappeared again. The Unicorn flung the leg back.

They were feeding ponies to something in the enclosure! 

Without hesitation, Haze snatched the assault rifle that hung at her side. She bounded into the air and took aim. A dark blue Earth Pony noticed her first. He snatched a spear from the ground in her teeth and charged the Pegasus. How exactly are you going to hit me with that? As she fluttered, Haze aimed directly at the Earth Ponies’ head, which exploded into a bloody mess within an instant.

The gunfire caused the other two raiders to spin around. A grey Earth Pony yelled. He then raised his foreleg, which had a small pistol attached to it. Using his teeth, he pulled the trigger. The bullet missed Haze. The Unicorn levitated a shotgun from behind the cage. He had much better aim, and Haze felt a few fragments strike her lower leg. 

Grimacing, Haze aimed for the next Earth Pony. At first she struck his torso, then adjusted her aim closer to his chest. The grey pony collapsed to the ground, wriggling for a few moments before falling silent. 

Again, the Unicorn fired his shotgun. This time Haze felt the pellets rip into her right wing. Of course, that didn’t stop her. Flying in closer and higher, she made it more difficult for the Unicorn to aim at her. Hovering almost directly above him, she fired at his head. Then she swooped downward, circled around, and dove straight for the Unicorn. With force, she pounded into him, sending him flying into the enclosure below. 

The growling started again. Haze peered down and saw massive lizard-like creatures chomping away at their new food, even if they hadn’t finished the first pony. Scowling in disgust, Haze turned away. OrchidRays was galloping towards her.

“Y-you just…”

“Killed ponies,” Haze answered, feeling dazed. “But they were killing ponies too.”

She turned to face the ponies in the cage. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out.” She attempted to open the cage, but realized it was locked. Of course it was locked!

“The… key,” a pink mare inside croaked.

“Where is it?” Haze demanded.

“The Unicorn had it,” another pony spoke up, his voice cracking.

Haze stood up straight. “The Unicorn? You mean the pony I just kicked into the enclosure?” She threw her head up and groaned dramatically. “Seriously?!”

Peering over the enclosure wall again, she watched the massive lizards feast. “What are they?”

“Radigators,” a caged pony replied.

Raising her rifle, Haze shot at the radiators. However, it took several shots to finally kill them. She hopped into the enclosure, using her outstretched wings to slow her descent. Her hooves splashed into a puddle of water that was stained red with blood. She scowled as she searched the half-eaten body of the Unicorn raider. Fortunately, the back legs were spared, which was where the key had been holstered. Haze flew back up.

She placed the key in the lock with her teeth, and then turned it with a hoof. The cage clicked open. The ponies stared at her in disbelief. At first, she thought there were only two ponies, but realized there was a filly hiding behind them. A filly! 

But these ponies weren’t free just yet, just like when Haze left Stable 47. Haze tried the key on their locked shackles, but it wasn’t a match. 

She muttered in frustration. “Don’t tell me there’s another fucking key I have to get!”

“Here, let me try something,” Ray suggested as she entered the cage. “Can you guys pull at your chains? Real tight.”

At first they looked at her, confused. One pony tugged his chain away from the bar, causing it to straighten. Ray lifted her metal leg in the air, then swung down hard on the chain. It snapped in half with the force. She repeated the action with the two other ponies.

“Thank you so much,” the pink mare squeaked. 

As they trotted out, the one stallion started to search the body of one of the dead raiders.

“What are you doing?” Haze questioned.

“Scavenging. Better take what useful supplies they have.”

Haze just raised a brow, unsure how someone could loot a corpse. The pink mare was looking among a crate, which was probably the raiders’ own loot.

“If you want, you could take their weapons,” the mare offered. “There’s an ammo box over here too.”

Haze had been worried about running out of ammo for her rifle, even if she had brought plenty. She doubted there were any bullets that would fit her gun. Still, she could use the guns left from the raiders. She picked up the shotgun and found some shells within the ammo container. There were also a few bottle caps in the container.

“Caps are money, right?” Haze asked, trying to recall the information she had learned.

“Oh, yeah,” the mare said. “You could take those, as a thanks for freeing us.”

Haze shook her head. “You take them. You need them more.”

“Then… let’s split them.”

Accepting that, Haze passed over the caps. There were only about nine caps for each of them. Still, better than nothing. 

OrchidRay had offered to carry the shotgun. The stallion had looted the small pistol from the raider and given it to their saviors. Haze wasn’t sure if they’d use it, but they could always bring it back to Stable 47. Then again, looking at its condition, it may just be better to sell. They left the spear. 

“Be careful out there,” the pink mare warned. “Up north there are more raiders, so steer clear of there. The safest place in Los Pegasus is South Gait.

Haze noted that as she watched the freed ponies canter away. She thought she heard the filly say, “I can’t believe a Pegasus saved us!” Haze wasn’t quite sure what that had to do with anything.

“Haze, you’re bleeding!” Ray commented with concern. “Want me to get you a potion?”

“No, no,” Haze refuted. “Save those when we really need them. I think these just need bandages.”

Once her wounds were dressed, she decided that they needed to leave the zoo. Along the way, they heard cheery music draw closer to them. The tuba and harmonica mix sounded so out of place within the skeleton littered path. Floating out from a diverging path, a round metal robot bobbed in front of them. At first Haze thought it was rusted, but realized it had been painted orange black like a tiger. This must have been one of the sprite-bots.

She and Ray made it past the entrance clearing and through the exit. Still, Haze heard the upbeat music behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that the sprite-bot had left the zoo as well.

“Is it following us?” Ray wondered.

“Not sure. Let’s keep going.”

After a few minutes, the music had stopped, but the bot was still trailing them. Haze spun around to face the bot which was drawing near.

“What do you want?” She snapped.

“Hello there,” a tinny voice erupted from the bot.

“Ah!” Haze was taken aback, her wings spreading out in alarm. One of them comically slapped Ray in the face. 

“I saw you free those ponies,” it said.

“Uh, okay. And?” Haze shot back.

“That was very noble of you. Most ponies would run when they see raiders,” the bot explained. 

“I was only doing the right thing,” Haze explained. She found it odd talking to a robot. “I couldn’t see them suffering anymore.”

“Indeed you did do the right thing. The wasteland needs more ponies like you.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“As far as I can tell, you are new out here, right?” The mechanical voice inquired. 

“You would be correct. What’s it to you… you… robot?”

“Call me Watcher. I came to give you some advice.”

“What advice can you give me that I don’t already know!” Haze retorted with sass. “I have a weapon, actually a few now. I got armor-”

“Not very good armor.”

“Ugh, then I’ll find better! And I have potions and supplies and-” Haze turned to look at Ray. “A friend.”

“Off to a good start I see,” Watcher remarked. “I hope you continue to go on your path of ‘doing the right thing’. Out here, you’ll need all the goodness you can get. So, I wish you luck.”

“Uh- huh,” Haze murmured. 

Suddenly a crackle-pop came from inside the bot. It began floating away, belting out music into the air. Haze watched it with even more confusion. What just happened?


The two traveling friends decided to go in the opposite direction they had already gone. They carefully passed by the building of raiders they had passed on their way to the zoo. This time, no pony shot at them. Down the mountain side, they reached the street which the Applewood sign overlooked. The city to the left was barely visible between the overgrown shrubs and crumbling houses.

As they passed an intersecting street, a new voice called out from further down it. Both Haze and Ray stopped to look for the source of the voice. Haze had realized she’d become very unaware of her own E.F.S. compass and the dots on the edge of her vision. A few ponies were trotting towards them. By the looks of it, they appeared to be raiders as well. Haze was ready to whip her weapon in front of her, but stopped when she saw none of them had their own weapons drawn.

“You there!” A buff Unicorn stallion shouted in a low voice. “You’re trespassing on our territory!”

“Um, sorry?” Haze shrugged.

“We don’t want any trouble!” Ray pleaded.

The brown Unicorn telekinetically raised a pipe pistol from his side. “Give us everything you have, and we’ll let you go free.”

“What?” Haze yapped. “No way! We need this shit, and you aren’t getting it.” She pushed her assault rifle forward with a wing, and held it up with a hoof. “Or do you want a problem.”

Grinning, the brown stallion stated, “Like you’d give us any problems. You’re fresh meat, straight out of a Stable!”

A different voice called out from behind the two Stable mares. “And what did I tell you fuckers about messing with Stable dwellers?!”