"Come on Onion, is that the best you've got?" I spat back at the blue colt standing above me. Oh have we started now? Sorry, allow me to introduce myself - my name is Short Circuit, and I'm as you would say a runt of a late bloomer. This ugly mug standing over me is Orion, but I call him Onion because that pisses him off.
"What did you call me you little cunt?" Orion shouted. Oh and did I mention he was big? No? Well, now you know. He is a blue colt with a light green mane (perhaps turquoise, it's hard to tell in this stable light), and he is about twice the size of me. Oh, and he’s a security trainee, so he basically gets to do whatever he wants to do in the stable... I hate rules!
"I called you Onion, but if you didn't hear me the first time then maybe you should go to the infirmary and have your hearing checked, because I tho..." I retorted, but was rudely interrupted by Orion smacking me across my face with his hoof. I guess I'm not going to get my point through to this big buffoon, so I might as well finish this now, before things get out of hand...
"Pleh…" I spat out blood onto the cold steel floor beneath me. I may have also spat a tooth out, but that's nothing to worry about right now. It will grow back - something he won't have the pleasure of.
"You see, you have me at a disadvantage here..." SMACK! Again, I was rudely interrupted by his hoof… He just won't stop will he? No civility in this one.
"Why won't you shut the fuck up?" Orion shouted at me, spraying spittle all over me… disgusting colt! Besides, I think the Overmare might have heard that one, so I guess I should end this rabble now then, hmm? I wrapped my forelegs around his neck, and used the momentum to swing my rear legs into his nuts. Suffice to say, I think all the other colts watching felt that one - all I felt was something go pop!
"AARRGH! You little fucker!" Orion bellowed in a slightly higher pitched voice. I let go of Orion, dropping him to the floor in a coughing fit - just in time to see the Head of Security coming down the corridor as well… and boy, did she look mighty pissed off!
"Short Circuit! That is the fifth time I have found you assaulting one of my security trainees, and it appears to be the same colt at that! Any more infractions from you and you'll be spending the next few months in a cell all by yourself!" she screamed. The Head of Security, Ruby (otherwise known as Ruby Shield), is a small-ish red mare with a steel grey mane and one hell of a 'tude. I'm yet to find out what her cutie mark is, due to the fact that she goes everywhere wearing that security barding of hers. Orion's cutie mark is a security baton... Seriously, a baton? What sort of a cutie mark is that? We all get cutie marks that depict what our role in the stable will be, except... well, I haven't got mine yet - that's why I said I'm a late bloomer.
"And for the fifth time, I'm going to tell you that he was the one assaulting me!" I complained to Ruby who, of course, won't believe me because she just saw me kick Orion in the nadgers.
"No matter, go to your room! You will be confined there for the rest of the week as punishment!" Ruby said. I hate it when she treats me like her foal... My mother is dead! Stupid bitch… or does she not remember the incident?
"Fine!" I growled and started making my way back to the Atrium. The Atrium is basically a giant social area for ponies to gather and… well… socialise, I guess… It also contains most of the stable's private quarters on the first and second balconies. As I walked through the Atrium, everypony looked at me and started whispering amongst themselves… Oh, did I mention that nopony in this stable likes me?
I headed upstairs to the second balcony of the Atrium and walked to the end to my room, all alone... I punched in the code for my door. You see, in this stable (Stable 42), everypony is apparently so paranoid that we all feel the need to protect everything with keypad locks - it's annoying having to remember so many different combinations just to get around this damned stable! Luckily, mine is an easy code to remember... the value of Pi.
(31415926535898)
The door slid open, revealing my room in a state of... cleanliness. What? You thought I was going to say “disrepair” or “messiness”? Well, you are wrong! You see, I like to keep things clean and organised, unlike ‘some’ ponies… (Orion!) I headed over to my desk as the door swooshed shut behind me, clicking into place on the keypad lock and a resounding beep went off somewhere. I caught my reflection in the mirror beside my desk… Well, who's that handsome colt? Oh wait, that's me! My coat was a solid grey in colour, (note the lack of cutie mark on my butt) while my tail and mane are red with black stripes… or was it black with red stripes? Doesn’t matter, I could look at myself all day...
Oh, right… the desk! I walked back over to my desk and pulled some notes out of the drawers. I've been meaning to get out of this stable for some time now, but never even managed to find a plausible way out. These notes contain the times of each security patrol and where they will be, and also some of my… umm... failed attempts at getting out. Ideally, I need to get a hold of the Overmare's PipBuck which contains the passcode for the stable door… and even then, that will be impossible to get a hold of - I mean, come on! It’s not like she's just going to waltz right through that door and throw her PipBuck at me whilst shouting "Get out of my stable now!"
…You honestly thought that was going to happen then, didn't you? Heh... but seriously, it won't happen - this isn't some random story where everything is cliché and ironic! The only way I can get a hold of that passcode is by knocking her unconscious and removing her PipBuck. Shame that I can't use any spells... Oh, did I mention that I’m a unicorn? No? Well, it must have slipped my mind whilst I was looking into my own eyes...
Anyways, as I said before, all stable ponies have a job depicted by their cutie marks, and seeing as how I don't have mine yet, I was allowed a choice of jobs to do until one of them gives me my cutie mark... I chose to work on maintaining the spark reactors and keeping them from overheating, because they are so cool! (No pun intended.) Unfortunately, thanks to Madame Grumpy Bottom, I can't do my job tomorrow, and there are four days left in the week. Two days without work... Celestia-damnit!
Now, with me working on the spark reactors you might think: "Well, why don't you just re-route the power to the door-opening mechanism?” Good question, but also a stupid one at that… You don't think I've tried that? Like I’ve said before, all my attempts of escaping are on that paper; open door mechanism, steal Overmare's PipBuck, manually open door with magic (I was in the infirmary for weeks from magical burnout because of that!), and use an industrial laser to cut the door open. …Yeah, I don't even want to mention where that one went wrong... my back still burns from that.
Basically, you can assume that all the plans I create fail… You'd be correct in that assumption, but I still have one left, and that is to shut down the reactors, meaning that there will be no power holding the door mechanism in place. It should just fall out then, but this could also endanger the inhabitants of the stable because they’ll have no method of closing the door. After all, no-pony knows what is out there... I think I’ll leave that one as a last resort…
*knock, knock* "Who the bloody hell is that? Don't you know I'm confined to my room?" I shouted at the pony behind my door, which is still locked of course. *knock, knock, knock* This time the guest knocked on my door a bit quicker, so impatient... "I said I’m confined to my room! Who are you?" I shouted again. I walked over to my window to see who was out there... and there was no-one there. "What?! Now someone’s knocking on my door and making a run for it?" This just doesn't make sense! And then… BOOM! An explosion echoed throughout the stable. It came from somewhere deeper, probably from maintenance...
"What the bloody hell is going on?!" I heard a colt outside say. So… this isn't maintenance bucking around then? I then heard creaking noises coming from the ventilation shaft above my room. I think somepony is in there...
"H...hello?" I stammered, and… CRASH! A dark grey colt with a brown mane and tail fell onto the floor, throwing my notes around and breaking my mirror.
"Ow!" the grey colt said painfully. I helped him up and sat him down on my bed.
"Ok, so… who are you, and what were you doing in the ventilation system?" Good question as any, I guess… He rubbed his head, revealing a horn which had a slight crack in it from where he probably hit it.
"Ooh… that looks like it hurts! Are you gonna be alright? I would take you to the infirmary, but my door is locked, thanks to the Head of Security!" …Yeah, stupid question, I know. He fell about 5 hooves into my room, bashed his horn against something, and I'm asking him if he's alright... Very clever, Circuit. Very clever...
"Meh, I'll be fine! I was on my way out of here, but then there was an explosion, gunfire, and then ‘POOF!’ I fell through the ventilation shaft into your room…" he groaned. Oh, and I only just noticed that he has his cutie mark... Why must I be the only buck here who doesn't have a cutie mark?! Turns out his cutie mark was an active light bulb...
"Ok, so how'd that turn out for you, and who are you?" Also some good questions, though apart from the first, that was a rhetorical question. Sounds stupid, yeah, but I try my best to be funny... wait, that wasn’t funny? Damn!
"Oh, sorry… how rude of me! My name is Bright Spark - I'm a PipBuck technician… or at least I was until I tried to escape…" he said with a slightly posh accent. "Also, have you seen my glasses anywhere? I can't see very well without them." Oh, great… intelligent, yet partially blind! I guess we all have our bad qualities...
"My name is Short Circuit, I haven't seen your glasses, and you're trying to escape as well? Wait… what’s this about gunfire? I only heard the explosion…" Well, might as well keep asking questions until my mind can think of something better to do - like getting the hay out of this damned stable!
"Yes, the stable door was opened from the outside by some ponies… one of them was wearing what appeared to be a checker suit. They started acting kind and asked us what our stable experiment was, and then they started shooting everypony and blew up the spark reactor!" he said, out of breath. Great, so now we are being attacked... I really need to get out of this stable.
"Look, forget your glasses and help me open this door! We need to get out of this stable, now!" I shouted at him whilst shaking him with my hooves.
"Well, have you tried using telekinesis or some other kind of spell?" he replied. I’ll tell you, he is really starting to try my patience...
"Erm... well… I don't know a lot of magic... At the moment, all I can do is create an overglow and give myself a magic burnout, I don’t know any spells..." I said sadly. I hate not being able to use magic… That was one of the reasons Orion started bullying me…
"Oh, gee… I'm sorry, Circuit… Look, don't worry - I'll open the door whilst you find my glasses." he said apologetically. I started searching the room trying to find his glasses as he tried opening the door. I think several minutes went by (not to mention a lot of gunfire and explosions going on outside), until I found his glasses - one of the lenses was cracked, and the frame was slightly bent from where he probably landed on it… The clumsy buck.
"Got it!" we both exclaimed at the same time. I guess he didn't need his glasses to open the door then...
"You found my glasses? Gimme!" He reached out with his magic and surrounded his glasses in a yellow glow, which then hovered out of my hoof. I’d never seen this kind of magic before. Was it… telekinesis?
"Erm… A ‘thank you’ would be nice…" I said questioningly… I guess even the best of ponies forget their manners in a time of distress like this.
"Oh, sorry… Thanks! Now, we need to get out of here - do you know how to get to security from here? We may need some weapons…" he asked. Well, that would be a good idea but that would have been the first place they went if they had any idea of how this stable is planned out.
"No… the best thing to do would be to escape the stable. There's no point in trying to rescue anypony either, they'll all be dead soon." I said grimly. He frowned in reply, probably realising the truth.
"…I guess you're right. Still, we should gather any supplies like food or water, and maybe some weapons. Do you have anything like that?" he asked. How straight to the point he is…
"No, I don't keep things like that in here... I just eat in the canteen and I hate sports… too exhausting." Well, might as well be truthful here…
"Alright then, let's blow this haystack!" he exclaimed. We ran out of the room, looked out over the Atrium and saw a lot of blood and bodies. Most of the floor was covered in them, and the balcony underneath was falling down whilst the opposite side of the atrium had ponies in suits running across it. One of the ponies looked at us… he was wearing a black and white checker suit.
"Oh shit, time to go!" I said, and we galloped to the stairs where a suit pony was waiting with a machine gun in his magical field.
"Well, well… Lookee what we got 'ere. Two ponies on da' run, eh? Heh, not fo' long!" he said in a strange accent. He aimed his machine gun at us.
"Oh shi-" I shouted, and was then interrupted by gunfire and hot lead spraying at both of us. We ran back around the corner of the stairway, out of his line of fire.
"Shit! Now what do we do?" I shouted to Bright Spark, who didn't look at all phased by these turn of events.
"Allow me!" he said calmly as he turned to face the suit pony.
"Are you bucking crazy?!" I shouted at him. He lit up his horn, and a stream of fire was sprayed down the stairwell, burning the suit pony.
"AAARRGH!" the suit pony shouted in agony, burning to a crisp. Bright Spark looked back at me with a grim expression on his face.
"What the buck was that?" I asked him, as the smell of burnt pony lingered in the air.
"I’d rather not talk about it right now, let's just concentrate on getting out alive." he said, still in that calm tone of his. We walked down the blackened stairs, avoiding the burnt carcass of the suit pony. I picked up the machine gun in my mouth, so I could at least do some damage to these bucks! A bunch of text then scrolled across my vision…
"Mrph mi mish?" I said with the gun still in my mouth. I meant to say “What is this?”, but it's hard to speak with a gun in your mouth… A yellow bar with red blips appeared along the bottom of my vision, as well as some numbers in the bottom right corner saying “42/0”. I have no idea what this means, but whatever…
"What? Oh… I guess this is the first time you've used a weapon, so this would be you finding out about the E.F.S. then…" Bright Spark pointed out.
"Eer erf esh?" I said, again blocked by the gun which I then spat on the floor, turning the numbers to “0/0”.
"Yes… E.F.S. or ‘Eyes Forward Sparkle’. It shows up allies and hostiles in the vicinity along the bottom bar, and in the bottom right corner it shows how much ammo you have currently in your weapon." he said. He is a bit of a know it all, isn't he? This is going to be a long day… I picked up the weapon again, changing the numbers back to “42/0”, just as another suit pony came into view at the bottom of the stairs. I pulled the trigger of the gun with my tongue and sprayed bullets in his general direction. A couple of them hit his legs and then in the head, quickly killing him. I stopped pulling the trigger as his body fell to the floor.
The ammo counter now reads “5/0”. So... I only have 5 bullets left? Crap! I spat the gun onto the floor "Useless piece of crap!" I shouted as I kicked the gun down the stairs. We walked down the stairs and ran across the Atrium, being careful to avoid stepping on any dead bodies.
"Why didn't you use S.A.T.S. on that buck?" Bright Spark said. Oh, great… another weapon-related thing I didn't know. He better not go into de... BANG! I faceplanted onto what was left of the stable door. I really should pay attention to where I'm going… "Ow!" I groaned as I stood up and looked out of the stable entrance.
"Well, we made it, Circuit. By the way, ‘S.A.T.S.’ is basically a spell which slows down time, allowing you to magically aim your weapon to specific areas of your hostiles and shoot them with extreme accuracy. Of course, whilst using this spell you cannot move..." Bright Spark said. Oh, brilliant! So I could have shot that buck with like, one bullet and saved all that ammo... bucking brilliant!
We walked through the stable door in silence, leaving the gunfire and screaming behind us. We then found what appeared to be some sort of cave, leading down to the stable which had a big yellow “42” on the gear shaped door. Oh, and there were also some charred skeletons holding signs near the entrance. I guess they didn't reach the stable in time… poor bastards. "Finally! I'm out of that hellhole, and I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I shouted with glee, whilst not noticing the wooden door in front of me, which I then walked right into… I then heard Bright Spark laughing from behind me as I rubbed my face. "Not funny..." I said whilst glaring daggers at him. I need laser vision or something…
"It is so funny! You keep walking into things whilst daydreaming or something..." he said whilst giggling like a little filly. We walked up to the door and I pushed it open, only to be blinded by something bright.
"Sweet Celestia's orgasms! What the hay is that bloody thing?!" I shouted in pain covering my eyes with my hoof due to the extreme brightness...
"Nice vocabulary. I don't know what it is, but I agree it is rather bright…" Bright Spark replied. As our eyes adjusted, we started to pick out details of the world around us; first of all, the world is brown and shit. Secondly, there is blue above us with grey patches and a big glowing ball which hurts to look at. And last but not least, there is nothing around. Nothing but... some kind of wasteland…
* * *
Short Circuit: LEVEL UP!
Short Circuit's S.P.E.C.I.A.L.:
Strength: 2
Perception: 4
Endurance: 1
Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 3
Luck: 1
Quest Added: “Checkmate”- Find out who this check suit wearing pony is, and kill him. Also, figure out what to do next now that you're in the wasteland… Perhaps find out who this buck works for?
New companion: Bright Spark
Bright Spark: LEVEL UP!
Perk Added: “Fire?” (Rank 1) - Using your knowledge of pyromancy, you can now cast short bursts of fire from your horn. (Note: This spell costs 4 AP in S.A.T.S. and exhausts your magic abilities for a short time.)
Brightspark's S.P.E.C.I.A.L.:
Strength: 2
Perception: 4
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 4
Luck: 4
Unlockable added: Soundtrack - Welcome to the wasteland