Fallout Equestria: Overture

by SoundOfImpact

Prologue: Silver's Situation

Prologue: Silver's Situation

"When it's over, when this is over, I want sleep!"

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I was sat alone in a very clean (if sterile) office, perched upon one of the most uncomfortable seats I’d ever had the pleasure of using. Honestly, what ever happened to a cushion on the floor? I sighed and glanced around the room, since there was little else to do. A clock ticked away on an off white wall, and the light whirr of a desk terminal filled the space. I internally groaned at having ended up in possibly the dullest room ever, it didn’t even have a window for Celestia’s sake!

There was a, I suppose, decorative poster on the far wall, really no different from any other propaganda poster: a picture of Celestia and Luna smiting hordes of Zebras with their magical might. I was sure I’d seen it before and would almost certainly see it again.

I settled on watching the little motes of dust floating by the ceiling light for a while. If I pretended that they were pegasi it was almost entertaining.

Eventually the occupant of the office, Dr. Healing Touch, returned and broke the tedium, hurrying to his seat, a ream of papers following in his magical grasp. “Apologies for the wait,” he said, setting down the sizeable stack of documents on the desk. “There was an, ah, admin issue. All sorted now, of course!” He finished with a smile, edging the papers towards me.

“Now then, Ms. Sterling, all we need is for you to fill out these forms, and we’ll proceed from there once that’s done.” He levitated a pen and the about half of the papers towards me before turning his attention to the terminal. I sighed again and picked up the pen. I hated paperwork. Who didn’t? But I suppose if you have to do it, you have to do it. I looked it over and it wasn’t really anything too mind numbing or vicious, essentially a standard medical type form, some disclaimers, yadda yadda yadda.

Name? Silver Sterling. Race? Earth Pony. Sex? Female. And so on, right on down to the ‘By signing this document you acknowledge…’ at the end. Pretty painless, as far as playing pencil pusher goes. The next page was something more of a cause for concern, consisting mostly of blocks of waivers and disclaimers for me to sign, which wasn’t foreboding in the slightest. I guess it’s supposed to be a general all-encompassing document, but the sheer number of mentions of ‘accidents’, ‘incidents’ and ‘unintended side-effects’ was not reassuring.

Once I was sure I now had no rights left whatsoever I turned the page over to a much more welcome sight: money talk, the real reason I was here.

That’s not to say I didn’t care about what this programme was about, goodness no! Anything that could help our troops finish this war quicker can only be a good thing by me, it’s just…

Let me fill you in a little. My name is Silver Sterling. I’m a jeweler specialising in, you guessed it, silver. Have been ever since I got my cutie mark, and I love it. Sadly, it wasn’t an especially lucrative market in harder times. You can’t magically charge silver like you would, say, a gemstone of some kind, it’s very a much a decorative item. Which is fine! Everypony loves a bit of sparkle and shine, it’s just that it is what it is: decoration. And as decoration goes, it was pricey, which made it a very low-demand item during more trying times, which while being very understandable was also bad news for me.

I needed money, and I needed it fast. It just so happened that the Ministry of Arcane Science hub nearby were looking for participants in a trial run of some kind of new crazy gadget they whipped up, and were paying for test subjects. And not just money, danger money. Usually I tend to shy away from taking risks, but it was a lot of bits. So that's how I ended up here signing these documents.

Finishing up, I looked over everything to make sure it was right, and once I was satisfied I cleared my throat to get Dr. Touch’s attention.

“All finished?” He asked, looking up from the terminal. I nodded and he smiled. “Excellent! Just let me give these a quick once over.” He said, grabbing the forms in his magic.

I sat in silence as he scrutinized the papers, humming quietly to himself as he looked through. He was young-ish but professional looking, certainly not hard on the eyes, if a little plain. I settled on watching the way his magic aura sparkled and danced in the air before turning back the dust motes.

The sudden sound of a stamp broke me out of my revere, and I looked at the desk to the the stack of papers now sported a big green ‘approved’ sign across the top. “Well Ms. Sterling, I’d say you’re all good to go!” Said Dr. Touch, getting up from his desk. “If you’d like to follow me, I’ll get you up to speed with the finer points of the test.”

---

“Now as you’re aware, this test is a trial run of a new kind of preservation spell we’ve developed, in conjunction with the Ministry Of Peace and Stable-Tec. After the test we’re hoping to roll it out for military use, and eventually civilian hospitals too.” Dr. Touch explained as we navigated the frankly enormous building. “I’m sure you know the trial is a week long, but it’s probably a little more literal than you’re thinking.” He led me into an elevator, descending to a ‘Sub Level 2’.

“Now, what do you know about Cockatrice?”

I gave him a wide-eyed stare, and for a moment the only sound was the gentle drone and clanks of the elevator. “Cockatrice, as in the incredibly dangerous magical creature Cockatrice?”

Healing Touch chuckled.

“Ms. Sterling, I can promise that whatever you’re thinking right now is far worse than what we’re actually doing here.” He paused as the elevator stopped and the door opened, leading me once more. “But since you’re familiar with Cockatrice the explanation should be easier.”

I was starting to have second thoughts about this.

We were now walking through the basement of the facility. The place was like a maze, with corridors and tunnels branching off in all directions, all with different numbers and colours. Dr. Touch broke off down a long tunnel, labelled ‘2’ and with a green stripe running down the whole left hand side. I’m sure there was probably a map I’d missed that explained what it all meant.

Everywhere I looked there was something happening, ponies running from room to room, great big sheets of data being printed and moved, chemicals being pulled along on trolleys, this place really was a proper science facility.

The path took us past several labs and data banks, until Dr. Touch directed me into a room. “Now, this is going to be something of a briefing, so if you take a seat I’ll begin explaining the process.” He said, closing the door behind him. I settled onto a chair that was much more comfortable than the one upstairs.

“So,” Dr. Touch started, trotting in a slow circle at the front of the room. “You seem to have some knowledge of Cockatrice, do you know what they’re capable of?”

I nodded sagely, to cross paths with a Cockatrice was a cruel fate.

“Did you know” He said, slowly settling down in front of me. “That the Cockatrice’s ‘curse’ can be undone?”

I blinked in surprise, this was certainly news to me. “No, I had no idea.”

Healing Touch smirked. “That’s right, the whole petrification process is totally reversible. Fluttershy actually discovered this years ago.”

“That’s amazing!” I exclaimed.

“It is,” He continued. “But it’s not that simple. The spell can only be broken by the Cockatrice that casted it, and the chances of that happening in the wild are… infinitesimal.”

Okay, maybe not so amazing. But. “If the chances of it happening are so low, how did Fluttershy find out about it?”

“Fluttershy has a way with animals,” He explained. “From what I understand a Cockatrice had actually petrified Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy essentially berated it into reversing the spell.”

Huh.

“Now this is where the whole thing comes into play. Our Ministry was tasked with finding a method to halt grievous injuries until such time that proper medical treatment became available. Let me ask you, can you imagine a more perfect method than petrification?”

“Wait, what!” This was crazy, they wanted to turn the injured to stone?

“Think about it!” He continued. “Any bleeding would be stopped instantaneously, the symptoms of diseases and infections would be paused, and it would allow medical staff more time to work, with incoming patients effectively frozen in time!”

These ponies were insane.

“There will likely be one or two issues until all the kinks are worked out, but the theory itself is sound.” He finished, turning to me again. “That’s where you come in.”

I was really starting to have second thoughts now.

“After careful experimenting, our mages have managed to replicate the Cockatrice’s petrification spell, with some modifications to make the whole experience, shall we say, more pleasant. For instance, during our research we found that the recovery phase of the spell induced a rather unpleasant bout of amnesia and dizziness, so we've worked on removing that aspect, as well as speeding the whole process up, making a more comfortable transition for the patient." He paused, taking a breath. "What we’ve managed to do is work the spell into an arcane device, one that anypony could use. What we need you for, Ms. Sterling, is to make sure everything works safely.” He said with a smile.

‘Week-long medical trial’ my plot, they were going to turn me to stone! This is nothing like how it was described, and I’d already signed away all my rights upstairs! It was entrapment pure and simple, and I felt like I should really have just walked out then and there, except… I really needed the money. My shop was about to close, and I’d have to sell my home if I didn’t get some income going. And this test offered a lot of money. I resigned myself to the fact that if I wanted a place to live, I was going to need to do this, whether I liked it or not.

“You’re going to petrify me?” I asked, very much hoping I’d somehow gotten the wrong end of the stick, so to speak.

“That’s correct.” He answered. I mentally cursed, so much for a miscommunication, this really was happening.

“So, tell me what’s going to happen.” I said with great trepidation. Dr. Touch either didn’t notice my worry, or didn’t care.

“An excellent question!” He said, setting down in front of me. “At the moment, we’re beginning to test the application of the spell, so you’ll be in a small magical isolation booth. As it stands, we have a gem based arcane structure built around a discharge vane, a ‘magic wand’ if you will.” He chuckled. I didn’t really feel like chuckling.

“Essentially, the spell stored in the gem and cast through the vane, we can control it from the outside. We’ll set you up inside the booth, and all you have to do is look into the gem, and the test will be over before you know it!”

Yeah, I thought having my brain literally turned to rock might mess with my perception of time just a little.

“We’ll be monitoring how your body reacts to the spell being cast and broken, and there will be some simple follow up tests just to establish your condition once this is over.” He finished. Nothing he’d said had particularly filled me with confidence. There was no other way of looking at it, they were going to petrify me and then make sure my brain still worked afterwards.

“So, if there are no other questions, we’ll get you set up and ready for the test.”

I had several questions, most of them regarding the sanity of the ponies in control of this program, or the almost ridiculous danger of becoming a statue, but my mind went blank. My silence was apparently satisfactory enough, and Dr. Touch led me back out of the room and prepared me for the experiment.

---

It was only now that I found myself alone. In a small, unlit, very insulated room, wearing a highly uncomfortable jumpsuit and starting at what looked like a very eccentric radio, I had been left to my own devices. Except, I wasn’t truly alone, still connected to the outside by said uncomfortable jumpsuit, which I’d been told had various charms and spells cast on it, as well as a myriad of other gadgets, none of which I could think to remember. The booth was deathly quiet, and I’d ended up playing with my forelock out of nervousness, something I’ve done since I was a filly.

I was in one of three booths, one for each race according to Dr. Touch. I'd been told the next booth over was currently 'occupied' by a Pegasus mare doing the same test as me. The last one was empty, apparently they were still looking for a unicorn to run through the experiment with, although there certainly wasn't a lack of unicorns in the building by any stretch.

I’d only been inside for a couple of minutes at most, but it had really given me time to think about my situation. Yes, this really was happening. I was going to get turned into garden decoration for money. No, I couldn’t turn back now. And, though I was loath to admit it, yes, I was morbidly curious about the whole process.

I jumped as a burst of static filled my left ear, breaking me from my train of thought.

“Hello Ms. Sterling, can you hear me?” The voice of the unicorn I’d been informed was the project leader, Dr. Bright Spark, came through on the jumpsuit’s built in ear bloom at a near unbearable volume.

“Loud and clear.” I replied rolling my eyes, though I doubted he could see it.

“Good good. We’re just about ready to begin the test on our end, I thought it’d be pertinent to give you a final run down of what you need to do.” He said.

‘Final run down’ sounded more ominous than I liked.

“Go ahead.” I said.

“Wonderful. Now, I’m sure you’ve been told multiple times about how the process works, so I’ll keep this brief and we’ll get going. When the casting starts, you’ll see the gem light up as the rod discharges the spell. We need you to focus on the light and stand perfectly still. The whole thing will be over in a matter of seconds as far as you’ll know.” Dr. Spark finished.

“Okay, got it.” I said exhaling. Look at the light and don’t move, and it’ll be over and done with. It sounded simple enough.

“Excellent. We’re set to commence the test now, so if you’re ready we’ll begin.”

This was it. No big deal right? Just look at a gem and wait to be woken up again, no sweat. I took a deep breath, widened my stance and looked squarely at the strange device at the end of the room.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I said.

“Acknowledged, we’ll begin the spell. I’ll count you down as it’s cast, and remember, focus on the light.”

I heard a light chiming sound from the far end of the booth, and the gem lit up in a dull shine, painting crystalline light patterns across the walls.

“Five.”

The intensity of the light picked up a little bit, shimmering in the dark, the reflections on the walls started to move in a pleasant fashion, not at all unlike water. It gave me a little more to focus on as I stared down at the crystal.

“Four.”

I noticed the tell-tale aura of magic surround the rod-antenna-thing part of the device, and muted blue that sparkled in the air.

I was starting to experience a distinct, if hard to describe feeling of oppression, almost as if all the air in the room had suddenly gotten heavier, a subtle weighing down on my body. However, I didn’t break my gaze away from the light/ If anything having something to focus on help me relax just a little.

“Three.”

Things were starting to get strange. I was very sure that the time between 4 and 3 was longer than between 5 and 4. Was the spell slowing down? Was I slowing down? I really wasn’t sure. Something else had changed too: I couldn’t feel by hind hooves anymore. It almost felt like my body just ended midway down the legs. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it felt like they had been that way all along. I didn’t look back, I couldn’t pull myself away from the light, there was just some strange beauty in the way it shone and danced that was just impossible to ignore.

An eerie cool had filled the space, and I noticed that the quiet chiming sound was back, seeming coming from every direction at once. I could feel the unsettling sensation of nothingness rolling it’s way up my legs.

“Two.”

His voice sounder wrong, like it had been stretched out. Alarm bells started to ring in my head as the feeling of wrong-ness caught up to me. I wanted to turn and run out of the room, but I couldn’t feel anything from my barrel back, let alone move. And besides from that, I couldn’t bear to look anywhere other than the gentle, calming gleam of the light, I could just keep it in sight it would all be fine, I was sure of it.

I felt my forehooves start to go cold. I felt pins and needles in my frogs as the feeling slowly left my forelegs. It was an indescribably unpleasant experience, to have a wave of emptiness slowly creep up your body, and meet up with a part your brain is telling you isn’t there. Almost nauseating.

I panicked when I realised that not only could I no longer move, I couldn’t breathe either. The horrible tide of cold started to spread up my neck, and I shuddered, at least as much as I physically could. By now I could just about see the muted blue glow out of the corners of my eyes as the spell worked it’s way up my neck and to my head.

The feeling of the empty cold at the base of my ears made me feel sick, although I was very sure that I wasn’t capable of vomiting in my condition. The chiming sound of the spell got quieter and quieter, until it faded into nothing, and my vision started to darken as the whole world fell away from me.

I never made it to ‘One’.

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