Fluttershy was, confused, impressed, but confused as she read the Vault phamplet. The idea of a nuclear war was a terrifying prospect to her, even though she had no idea what Nuclear meant, she knew little about human weaponry and how they functioned. But the mare figured by how these Vaults were built, and judging from the cartoony pictures, they were rather destructive. She gulped, she hoped to never experience such a thing in her lifetime.
Or the next.
The Vaults seemed to be America's crown jewel when it came to protection. Samuel told her hundreds were being built across the country, and from the look of the price tag just to get in, it must be expensive to build. She sighed, setting the paper aside before looking out of the window and out into the wilderness off the east coast. The road they traveled along took them through a few small towns and vast fields of green, and ever so often she would see one of the human cars pass them on the road before speeding away.
She idly wondered how fast they could go?
That sounds more like Rainbow's department, She mused with a smile, Fluttershy had no doubt Rainbow would find fast vehicles interesting. Perhaps a chance to challange them to a race, and beating them, thereby setting in stone that she is the fastest flyer in all of the world.
"We'll be arriving in a few minutes," Samuel spoke up fomr beside her, pointing out of the window and at the town that was approaching.
Looking out of the window again, she focused her keen pegasi eyes on the town. She saw there were several houses situated near a hill leading to a construction site, the logo of Vault Tec on every wall blocking off entry. The road they were on led to an four way intersection, on the right was a small gas station and bus stop, and on the left were several houses, each one two stories with bright paint jobs, ranging from white to darker shades. Up ahead was a large building, three stories high with a bright yellow bus sitting out front, and several smaller humans walking inside.
The bus Fluttershy was in stopped by the gas station, which was empty as of now. Samuel unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, "well, time to go see your new home." He smiled, unbuckling Fluttershy from her seat so she could move and fetching her bag from above.
Fluttershy stood up, following Samuel once she had her saddlebags put on, and exited the bus. The warm feeling of the sun made the shy pegasus smile brightly, looking around she saw the gas station was a Red Rocket gas station, the statue of a large Red Rocket nearby giving it its namesake. Behind her, several other people got off, including the man with the blue eyes she had been caught staring at, he made his way past the soldier and pony, before heading off down the sidewalk away from the crowd.
Some passerby caught sight of the pony, and waved with friendly smiles. Fluttershy was a bit surprised, by waved nonetheless, it was comforting to know there were some other friendly humans around. She chanced a look over at Samuel, and saw him giving a smile.
"Want to see your house?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. When she nodded, he put his helmet on his head and guided the pegasus past the front end of the bus, and eventually across the street, hurridly moving across so they wouldn't be hit by passing traffic. The last thing Samuel needed was for the pony he was assinged to be protecting to be hit by a speeding car.
The two made their way onto the sidewalk, and Fluttershy honestly could not stop the smile that creeped onto her face, friendly smiles and faces were outside of their houses, waving to her as she went by, and she waved back. The front yards were nothing but the greenest and well trimmed lawns, and under every window there were bright colorful flowers that added a sense of beauty to the small town. Sitting in just about every driveway were several vehicles, like the ones she saw on the road, each one a different model, color and size. Human children - she figured - were outside in the yards, playing with balls and shouting out cries of happiness.
It warmed her heart to know there were peaceful places like this in the world.
So far, what she had seen in the town, at first glance, it was calm, quiet, peaceful, everything she liked. And most of the humans she saw here were friendly, waving to her, offering smiles and just giving off good vibes that she readily picked up on. She liked this place already.
Soon though, they arrived at a rather quaint looking house sitting on the left side of the road. It was colored a bright yellow color that Fluttershy swore matched her coat color, a white front door with a floral pattern style window on the front. It was two stories high, and obviously built with humans in mind, and the driveway had a van sitting in it, painted a dark grey color. The grass had been well trimmed, and several plants were growing out front.
Samuel stood out front, and held out his arms and said, "Welcome to your new home, Fluttershy." He smiled again when Fluttershy's own smile grew wider.
"Its such a beautiful looking house," The mare admitted, tilting her head. "its a bit big though." She noted, admiring the outside. She was used to living in the small cottage she had back in Ponyville, and this was a vast change.
"Well this is just the outside, and most houses in the states are a bit on the big side." Samuel explained, turning around to open the door with a key he produced from his pocket. Inserting it into the keyhole, he continued, "Personally, from what I've seen of your town, I think you would have done nicely with a ranch house, or something smaller. But the big wigs up top wanted to make sure you were comfortable and had plenty of room to do whatever it is that you do."
When Samuel opened the door and allowed Fluttershy inside, she gasped, jaw dropping in awe. The inside of the main room was well decorated, potted plants and othertypes of flora were inside of the house, some from Equestria itself! To her right was a opening leading to a rather moderate looking kitchen filled with plenty of appliances, most of which she had never seen before. In the foyer, there was a staircase leading to the second story - which she would have to check out later - a lounging chair situated by a table with a small pot of flowers on top and a radio. Far off to the left was what appeared to be a living room, with a comfortable looking couch, two chairs and a small box like object sitting by the window.
Samuel gave a quick look around the foyer before nodding his head. "Bedroom's upstairs, along with a bathroom and another bedroom." He told the pegasus as she stared wide eyed at the interior of the house.
After taking a few breaths, Fluttershy asked, "How much did this place cost?" The house itself was quaint, but looked expensive.
A good natured chuckle, "Hahaha, no, not as much as you'd think. Besides, you won't be paying for it, the government will be paying the bills, so you don't have to worry about it." The soldier explained as Fluttershy made her way up the stairs, he sighed softly before taking off his helmet. "You get settled in, I have to make a call."
Fluttershy nodded to the young man, making her way to the second story to inspect the rooms.
Samuel sighed as he made his way over to the kitchen, noting the phone that was set up by the door leading to the back yard. He made his way over to it, picking up the phone from the reciver and dialing the number he had been asked to memorize. After putting it in, he held it up to his ear and waited as the line rang. It took a few seconds, but eventually someone on the other end picked up.
"Yes?" A male voice responded, his CO.
"This is Sergeant Samuel Conner," Samuel responded to the man. "Reporting in from The Homefront."
"How is the subject?"
"She's taking it in rather well, so far everything is going well." He explained, a bit miffed that Fluttershy was referred to as a subject. "Any further orders?"
"Negative, keep an eye on her, make sure she is not harmed." The man ordered, before the phone hung up.
The soldier sighed before hanging uip the phone, taking a seat nearby.
Meanwhile with Fluttershy, she had discovered the master bedroom. A large room with a large double bed, a closet that was, as of this moment, empty. Two empty dressers sat on either side of the bed, with a lamp sitting on top of both. A window sat to one side, but she hadn't looked out of it yet, instead setting her saddlebags aside and with a flap of her wings flew over to the bed and landed on it. And to her surprise, it was probably the sofest thing she's ever felt, softer even than her own bed.
"Oh my." She giggled, kneading the bed and looking over at the window with a bright smile. Maybe... this won't be as bad as I thought.