//------------------------------// // The Cavern // Story: Fallout Equestria: A New Generation // by Visharo //------------------------------// "What do you mean show us?" Zipp asked with her head tilted to one side. "OOH, are you going to reenact it?" Izzy asked with a smile. "I love reenactments!" "Filly, if we were to reenact what we are about to show you, Bridlewood would burn down. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it would at least destroy this house. Oh no, we are going to do something much more safer but a whole lot more traumatizing," Blackjack answered seriously. She and Littlepip trotted over to a bookshelf with only two books and a few plastic box thingies on the shelves, "Follow us and don't touch anything." The five nodded and watch as the smaller of the unicorns flared her horn. A magical green aura surrounded the bookshelf and the whole thing shifted. Littlepip only stopped when the bookshelf was considerably farther from where it was previously. Curious, the friends gathered around the small mare and saw a tunnel leading downwards. "Is this safe?" Hitch asked, his left ear twitching nervously. "Aw, come on Sheriff, it's not even that dark!" Zipp nudged him closer to the tunnel much to his annoyance and Blackjack's amusement. "Sheriff...I used to have a name like that. Security I was called, yeah, those were the good ol' days..." Blackjack's face went slack as she reminisced about the past, "Hey Littlepip, what were you called back then?" The unicorn looked up and got misty eyed, "I was the Stable Dweller. Those days were simpler, weren't they? What I wouldn't give to live those times again," She sighed deeply and swiped away a tear before anypony could notice. "Do you mean nicknames?" Sunny asked the unicorns, waiting her turn to go into the tunnel. "I suppose it was a nickname...more like our superhero name. We were feared back then, ponies beheld our names in awe, and the smart ponies didn't mess with us," Blackjack took a swig from her Wild Pegasus before answering. "Too bad there were very few smart ponies," Littlepip chuckled. "Sunny, are you coming?" Pipp's voice rang out from the tunnel causing the orange mare to stumble forwards. Blackjack came up behind her with Littlepip in the back. The seven ponies trotted through the tunnel before Izzy, the pony at the front, saw light. She grinned and took off at a canter without telling anypony. Before long, she gasped out loud, making Sunny jealous that Izzy saw it first. She slowly pushed through her friends and saw what all the fuss was about. When she pulled through Zipp and Hitch, her gasp echoed throughout the cavern. The five friends gazed at the strange looking devices scattered around the cave. The cave in itself was interesting as it beheld a large red stalactite hanging from the ceiling , the walls were multicoloured, ranging from grey to blue, and the far wall had drawings that Sunny couldn't make out. "What is this place? It's awesome!" Zipp walked around in a trance, looking at everything. "Stable 101, or what's left of it," Blackjack pointed at a large metal cog that was embedded in the wall. In the middle were the numbers, 101, in a large yellow font. "What's a Stable?" Izzy asked while bouncing around. "A Stable is a bunker that were built to withstand destructive megaspells that shredded old Equestria. I came from Stable 99 and Pippy came from Stable 2. We both knew a pony who came from this Stable, Red Eye. That cunt enslaved everypony in Filly. Most Stables though were death traps." "I've been thinking, how the buck did you find us? Every once in a while, a lost pony wanders up to our door asking directions, but you didn't seem lost at all. Who are you?" Littlepip interrupted whatever Zipp was about to say and stared at them intensely, her horn glowing green. Sunny glanced around trying to see what the small unicorn was trying to grab but saw nothing. "Sorry madam, my name is Hitch Trailblazer, those pegasi are called Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals respectively. The other earth pony is Sunny Starscout, and the unicorn is Izzy Moonbow. We hope we didn't cause too much trouble, and as for why we're here is beca...." Sunny interrupted, "Because we were sent by Pinkie Pie. Here's the letter if you need proof. If you don't know who Pinkie Pie was, she was a..." "Filly, we know who Pinkie Pie was. We probably know more about her then you do. In fact, most of what you were told about Pinkie was most likely a lie told by us," Blackjack butted in with a sigh. She tried to take another swig of her drink, but then grunted when she found nothing was left. "What do you mean a lie? My father spent his whole life researching Twilight and her friends! He knew everything there was to know about them!" Sunny shouted at the white unicorn. "Sunny, we did it for the good of Equestria. If you knew what we know, then you would've gone mad or at the very least suicidal. Believe me, Blackjack and I have been there. More times then we care to admit," Littlepip said soothingly. "Hmph, I don't believe you. I don't believe any of this, you being more then 1000 years old? Impossible! Bunkers built all around Equestria to prevent a megaspell holocaust? I don't even know what that means! Ponies who can't die? How does anypony live with that?" Sunny looked like she was going to have a mental breakdown. "Filly, nopony lived like that. After a while, you realize that life has no meaning, so then you start looking for a way to end it all," Blackjack said very seriously. The first time Sunny heard her say something serious in fact. "Sunny, what you need to understand is that old Equestria was not what you think it was. It was a time of war, death, deception, and madness. It's not too late to turn back," Littlepip's voice also took a serious tone. "M-maybe we should head back?" The orange mare turned back to her friends, her desire to leave was as plain as a bright sunny day. "Oh come on Sunny, I thought you wanted to know what the past held. If your dad was wrong, wouldn't it be great to finally know the truth?" Pipp said encouragingly. "Hoof to Heart. We're doing this together, anything they throw at us, we can endure it, right guys?" Hitch nodded immediately echoed by Izzy and finally Zipp saying 'Hoof to Heart.' "Bucking optimists," Blackjack muttered sadly, only soft enough for Littlepip to hear, "Okay, head inside the Stable and we'll show you the Wasteland!"