//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 Here and Now. 
// Story: Equestria Falls Book one; Paradise Lost 
// by Ashwood42 
//------------------------------//

Paradise Lost

All the alicorns were dead to begin with.

The earth crack underneath the hoofs of the traveling unicorn pony. This pony had a light blue coat with amber color mane and her cutie mark is six pinwheels around a  computer chip. The dry wind swept through her mane and scratch her goggles as she searched for her goal. The sun was high in the sky as it rolled through the sky but, blocked out from time to time by the strips of weak clouds. The pony felt the sweat of her brow trickle down her face as she finally made it to the dried up water fall. The pony raised her front left hoof and scanned the ground with her Technopad. 

"SCANNING... SOIL CONDITIONS. 16% NUTRITION. 3% WATER. 71% RADIANCE DETECTED. CONCLUSION SOIL UNUSABLE FOR FARMING."

The pony gave a heavy sigh. "Looks like this place is useless too."  

She took a seat on a large boulder and pulled out a water bottle and took a drink. "Well at least the shade is nice." Where she sat was in the shade of the ruins of Twilight's castle. After a short rest the pony got up and prepared to head back home. But she had one stop to make before she made the trip home. On the other side of the castle was once a beautiful garden but now it was nothing more and dead bushes.  She made her way to the center can come across five grave stones. Three were small stones worn but the sandstorms all unreadable. The two taller graves had what looked like ingrained images and their names of the ponies but were chipped away thus unreadable. But it had the cutie marks of the dead still intact. One had a sword tucked behind a golden shield. The other was a pink six pointed star with five smaller white stars. Underneath the marks were little inscriptions.

'Here lies the Broken King of Equestria. Prince of Aura. Faithful Husband and Caring Father. May he find peace in death where in life he did not.'

'Here lies the Queen of Equestria. The Princess of Friendship. Devoted Wife and Loving Mother. Spared from the fires of hell. May her teachingS lead us on.'

The unicorn pull five roses from her bag and placed it in front of each grave. She sat down and sighed. She looked up to gaze at the ruin castle behind her wondering what was it like before the Final War. A time were no one had to scavenge for rich soil or live in fear of the radiance. A time of comfort and friendship. Tears began to pool in her eyes. 

"I would do anything to fix this world." She muttered to no one.

"Anything..." 

The pony jumped and pulled out her Johnson 1941 LMG. "Show yourself!!"

"Now why would I do that? You are intruding into my home and you are tell me to show myself? HEEHEEHEE."

'BANG BANG!!!!' The gun roar bullets into the air. "I not playing games here. Are you them?! One of those flea bites..." 

"Now now now no need to get hee hee hee hostel" the voice laughed madly "What is your name?"

At first the pony was hesitant but spoke up "Abigail... Abigail Pinnwheel." 

"Pinnwheel!! HAHAHAHA!!! After all this time you ponies still come up with the strangest names! HAHAHAH"

Abigail felt a little tick mark grow on her head. "SHUT UP!! Where are you? Show yourself coward."

"Hee heheheeheeee. Ahh I haven't laughed like that in years." the voice finally calmed down. "So you want to change the world?"

The pony lowered her gun "Yes I want to return this world back to the was it was before the war."

"Come back tomorrow with your most precious thing in your life, then and only then will you know how!" And with that; the voice vanished. 

Abigail looked around but the voice and who ever made it were gone. "What just happen?" She said hoping for a response; but none came.

She packed up her things and began to head for home. The sun setting low near the mountains and Missing Peak. The shadows of dead trees and twisted pieces of machines still gave the young unicorn shivers. Her journey took her through a lonely ghost town. All the buildings looked normal but inside they were hollow shells. Remains of furniture either eaten away by rats or termites laid in waiting hoping beyond hope to be used again.

Abigail looked up and saw the moon rise into the sky without a care in the world as night fell. After a long day she finally made it to the abandoned farm on the edge of town. She looked to the left and gazed out towards Heavens Hill; her only contribute to a society long since dead. This hill was covered with crosses; hundreds of simple white crosses that stood out in the moonlight. On her first outing she found hundreds of skeletons of ponies foals and a number of other creatures she didn't know but in time she felt that they needed to be properly put to rest. For years she took time out her day to burry the remains of each creature and give them so respect they deserve.

She sighed and went around the barn to a cellar. After climbing down she followed a tunnel for a few minutes until coming upon a large gear-like gate. She went to the controls and pushed in the code. The screen turned on an a guard pony spoke "Name and rank..."

"LT. Abigail Pinnwheel" she called out

"Hold on while we scan you..."

Abigail rolled her eyes knowing the process of reentering. The computer scanned her and catalog the results.

'CONFIRMED. LT. PINNWHEEL OF AGRICULTURE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF S.T.A.B.L.E. 11. RADIANCE EXPOSER... 7%. YOU ARE CLEARED FOR ENTRY.'

"So how did it go?" The guard asked cheekily 

Abigail smirked and rolled her eyes "You know MuffinTop; lifeless wasteland, no water sources anywhere, blazing heat of the sand. Just another day in paradise."

Abigail POV

I walked through the large retracted gateway of the S.T.AB.L.E. towards my dear friend MuffinTop. Now two things you need to know; First a STABLE means 'Sub Terrain Accommodations for Biohazard Laced Environment.' They were built to hold hundreds of ponies and other creatures for hundreds of years in the event that the world became too uninhabitable. It had science labs, sleeping stalls, and huge open areas for cows and chickens to rom around. And huge farming caverns to grow our food. No one remembers how the STABLES were build but twenty five were meant to be built before the MegaSpells destroyed Equestria but only fifteen were ever finished in time.

I live in STABLE 11, which mainly did agricultural research on the soil and water supply in the outside world. Which brings me to my other fact you need to know; a MegaSpell was a great and terrible weapon that wiped out huge cities in seconds. Even after the spell discharged it left a horrible cloud known as the Radiance. Radiance is to put it plainly; Invisible Death. It slowly drains the life out of every living thing. It would attack the brain of many living creatures and it drag them into a state of madness. It Can not be seen, taste, or smelled but can be detected by machines and computers. 

Several of this spells were detonated all across Equestria and some lands beyond but we really know nothing. Not on how the spell was created nor how to prevent the radiance effects. Only that the enemy of all pony kind heck all life itself. The wolfs used it on us and probably any who stood in their way. They were defeated at the battle of Missing Peak but we failed to stop the MegaSpells from detonating.

Now all of Equestria is a lifeless desert with few of us who still call this land home. But we live on and someday we will restore Equestria back to its original state.

Back to the present;

MuffinTop stood at attention and saluted me as the medal door slid back into place sealing us in. Now MuffinTop was a buff stallion who stood above everypony else but he was known as the gentle giant. He always looked out for little ponies like me and he had a thing for flower arrangements for his wife Dilly. He lowered his hoof and smiled down at me.

"Find anything today?" He asked in his soft tone.

"Maybe, but I would have to check it out tomorrow." I replied.

"Hey me and Dilly are going out this evening plus the guys wanted to know if you be hitting Lemay's later?"

I smiled "You have fun and tell the guys I will join them after I report to the Commander."

He gave me a simple nod and I continued down a steep metal catwalk lined with pipes and computer monitors. Going down the walk usually takes 25 minutes to make it to the bottom. At the end of the hallway the catwalk ended at a large round room. The rotunda was always full of ponies. Farmers, soldiers, civilians,and other STABLE workers going about their day with their friends or family. I looked up and stared at the giant dome that stood above us all holding up dozens of tons of rock. A shiver lid down my spine as the same thought crossed my mind as it has every time I see it. 

'This is truly our salvation or is it our tomb.'

I walked passed some other ponies and made to the main hall to the command center. Soon I came to the Colonel's office. I walked in and saluted the Commander. His name was Nighthawk a Pegasus with midnight blue coat and pale yellow mane like a full moon rise. He was a great colt, he was a great nighttime flyer. His only fault was that he never cracked a smile nor a frown. He always seems up tight, rather be working than having friends. Behind him in her desk was Colonel Greenhoof. Now she was a rock hard earth pony that took crap from no one. The Colonel took command of the STABLE a year before I was born. And for seventeen years now she as made huge progress with restoring nutrition back into the soil. 

I saluted and she salute back and returned to her paper work. "Master LT. Abigail Pinnwheel back from soil expedition. Ma'am."

Greenhoof nodded "And your results?"

"Negative. The soil is still over 70% contaminated with Radiance. And there is no water source within twenty five miles."

Greenhoof sighed in frustration and stood from her chair. "It's been over 200 years that soil should be clean by now. Thank you for your report. Your dismissed"

Abigail turned to leave but stopped "Ma'am is it possible for somepony to live out there with all the Radiance?"

"My Dear, No one can live out there. We can barely service two days out there with Radiance exposure. Even if there wasn't any Radiance what could they eat or drink?"

Abigail lowered her head feeling embarrassed but her question. But the colonial smiled and said "Enough talk go and enjoy your self tonight." 

Abigail gave a weak smile and saluted then exited her office. Nighthawk walked over to the colonial. "What brought that on?"

The colonial was silent for a moment. Her own thoughts going back to a moment when she heard laughing out there in the waste long ago.

"Colonial?"

"It's just a question. Nothing more."

Abigail headed back to her quarters to change for the evening. It was small like all officer' quarters. Only a bed, a side table, and a dresser for her stuff; a bathroom or course but nothing else. She took off her gear, Technopad, and her guns and set them off to the side. After a nice shower she wore some nice evening gown. She pick up a photograph of three ponies huddled together smiling like the sun. A tear rolled off her cheek as she stared into her family long since past a year ago today.

'BANG Bang.'

"You Ready Abby?"

She set picture down and went to door. "Yeah! I ready." And she left closing the door.

'Just another day in Paradise.'