Fallout: Equestria: Shifting Tides

by T_Rex

Fallout: Equestria: Shifting Tides Ch. 5

[A/N: An update? Blasphemy!

Well, I guess I'm back. Sorry for the wait, guys and girls. I had some trouble with school and a summer job, so I couldn't write. I also want to rewrite the most recent events, so I'm just going to start back at the part when they first went into the Stable. Oh, yeah, and I forget everything about where this story was going so, we're just gonna wing it! Also, you can expect another one fairly soon. Can't say much about after that, though...]

I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.

Flare and I trotted into the Stable, our hooves clacking against the grate that served as the floor. I noticed two things about the Stable almost immediately; One: everything was a shade of grey or brown. No other colors seemed to exist in the entirety of the Stable, save for Flare's vibrant red and orange. And, two: Machines of all sizes stood silently along the far wall. I stared in awe at the complicated control panels and huge appliances that did Celestia-knows-what, silently maintaining the community once sheltered within. And then, I started grinning. The sheer amount of pre-war technology in the room was overwhelming! All of these machines had so many functions, so many stories! I could learn so much from them, if only we had the time!

The door mechanism, now silent, sat above the path into the Stable, connected to the huge cog that served as the door. Flare pulled the lever identical to the one outside, and the cog rolled back into place, sealing with another ear-shattering screech. It amazed me that something so huge could move so quickly, even if it did shriek like a banshee. I wonder, what type of oil do they use on giant steel gears? Do they even need to be oiled? I mean, it's been hundreds of years, and this one still works fine...

Shaking the thoughts of dismantling most of the Stable's front door out of my head, I tore my gaze away from the various contraptions littering the Stable's entrance and reluctantly ran to catch up to Flare, who had already opened the first set of doors.

As we continued into the bunker, we entered a room filled with criss-crossing overhead pipes and littered with sharp metal scraps. One of the overhead pipes had burst recently, dripping murky water, which pooled in the middle of the room. Flare and I stepped carefully, trying to stay as dry as possible, and I paused to stare up at the "Atrium" sign above the next door. Even if I was right in the head, I still don't think I would have had any idea as to what an 'atrium' was.

As it turned out, 'atrium' is another word for 'large room for lots of ponies'. It was indeed a spacious room, with most of the outside space taken up by chairs or tables. The middle of the room was empty, consisting of room probably used for parties or gatherings, while a set of walkways stood silently over the first floor. The atrium looked as though it had been used recently, but everypony had left in a hurry; The walls of the large, two story room were unmarked and clear of rust and decay, but none of the tables or chairs were upright.

Flare walked into the middle of the room and nudged a table with his hoof. "I don't think we're alone in here," he said, frowning. "But why would everypony hide from us?" He shook his head and stepped back, nearly tripping into a table behind him. I trotted beside him and levitated my hunting rifle into a more easily accessible position, making sure the safety stayed on.

"Maybe they thought we were raiders?" I offered, poking at a strange pastry that lay on the floor. The cake felt dry and stale, but still managed to spring back to its original shape despite my best efforts to crush it. "Yuck. Is this thing alive or something?"

Flare also poked it before speaking up. "It's a 200-year old snack cake. They used to eat these back before the war," he said, a small grin flashing across his face. "These things have so many preservatives in 'em, I'm not surprised they're still edible." He leaned down and took a bite out of the cake, then looked up, smiling at me. "Mmmm," he said. "Tastes like history."

I looked at him, a faint grin breaking through my disapproving glare, before looking away and shaking my head. He smiled back at me and turned back to search the room.

Looking around, it wasn't long before we both noticed the doors labeled "Armory" and "Living Quarters" on the opposite ends of the room. Flare turned to me and said, "Go to the armory and grab anything that you think we'll need. I'll head to the living areas to see if anypony's still alive down here." He pointed to the respective doors with a hoof as he said their names.

I nodded and levitated my hunting rifle over to him. "Here, take this. If anypony's still down here, they'll probably be holed up in the living quarters, and they might not be so friendly." Looking at the rifle, Flare shook his head and nudged it back in my direction.

"I've already got my pistol, and it'll be better for fighting in close quarters," he said. "Besides, it's more likely that they went to the armory." At my skeptical look, he sighed and continued. "When you think you're being attacked, do you run toward your bedroom, or the giant pile of guns?"

...Alright, so he may have had a point there. I nodded and reluctantly shifted the rifle onto my back, as Flare turned to enter the living quarters, a look of triumph on his face. Halfway to the door, he hesitated, and turned to look back at me. The smile had left his features, and after a few moments he spoke up, his words surprising me, but not as much as his tone surprised me. "...Please, just try to not get shot again." On that note, he turned and trotted into the living areas.

Confused by his random bout of worry, I turned to begin the trip to the armory. As I stepped past the upturned tables and misplaced chairs, my earth-pony compatriot's words reverberated in my head. ...Try not to get shot again, okay?

I was confused, but I really didn't have time for this. These thoughts were just clouding my mind, and I needed to stay focused. I had a mission to do, and Flare was counting on me to check the Armory. I trotted down the short flight of stairs, keeping my eyes and my hunting rifle forward. Soon enough, my hoof hit the last step, and only a hydraulic door and a long hallway stood between me and the armory.

I briskly trotted down the hallway, stopping only to press the button for the next door. With a sharp hiss, the second door retracted, allowing me to look into the Stable's weapon and armor storage

A grin spread across my muzzle as I took in the sight of the armory. The inside was as surprisingly clean as the rest of the Stable, but much less empty. Every wall was fitted with a weapons rack, with ammunition boxes sitting locked underneath. The middle of the room sported multiple lockers, one of which had swung open, revealing a jumpsuit lying on another piece of clothing. On the opposite side of the room from myself, a door labeled "Security" sat in between two tables, one of which held what looked like a high-tech rifle.

The lockers in the room sat side to side in a line of five, sporting combination locks in pristine condition. The fairly well-kept locks looked like they would be difficult to crack, and the lack of a keyhole made picking them impossible. Turning my attention to the weapon racks, I noticed that the majority of them were empty, and the remainder contained only pistols and the odd small-caliber rifle. I trotted up to them, my initial elation deflating with each step I took.

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Now that I was thoroughly disappointed in my find, I was able to organize the weapons in the room into three groups. The first group, pistols, included a few auto-loading 9mm's and one or two revolvers. I decided to quickly stow them in my bags, hoping that Flare could possibly find a use for them. The catch of the day, however, was the bag under one of the racks. The ammo boxes were mostly locked, but the bag was only zipped shut. Inside were a few boxes of ammo for the rifle, along with something else- A long, black tube, bearing a hole through it, with what looked like part of a screw coming out of one end. I placed it in my bag, wondering what its purpose was.

The second group was fairly more exciting. This category was comprised of explosives of various types and charges. I don't know why, but the entire time I was smiling inside at the thought of getting to use them on the raiders that were tailing us. There were three frag grenades, two mines, and another strange type of grenade. The new grenade had a blue band circling it, and I could deduce that it would have some new effect, rather than simply exploding. After a few minutes of staring at it, I shrugged, throwing the explosives in with the pistols.

With the first two out of the way, I walked on to the final grouping, just now noticing how heavy my saddlebags were becoming. I looked over the table, now filled with various rifles. I grabbed a hunting rifle similar to my own and slung it over my back, in case mine needed repair. There were two other rifles sitting there: One, a bolt-action rifle with a small scope, that appeared to use a round smaller than my hunting rifle, and the other, some sort of high-tech magical rifle. I couldn't find any way of loading it, but levitating it felt... right, somehow. I shouldered it, along with the two hunting rifles, and turned, finally, to the lockers.

I pulled the ajar locker open with my magic and peered inside. A light blue jumpsuit, devoid of markings, sat upon a bulky, black vest, with the word "Security" printed on the back. It took me a few moments to realize the vest was bulletproof, and a few more moments to pull the rifles off my back and slip the vest on. I packed the jumpsuit under my newly acquired explosives and pistols, then turned to the next locker, floating a screwdriver over from a nearby table. As I was fiddling with the lock, attempting to break it, a single gunshot rang out from back toward the atrium, causing me to spring to alert.

I levitated my saddlebags off of my back and stuffed them into the locker, then slammed the door shut and took off, running. Through the hallways, past the doors, and back up the stairs, up until I hit the Atrium. I skidded to a stop at the atrium door, swinging the newest rifle forward. Praying to Celestia that it was loaded, I hit the door button and slipped inside.

I was greeted with a bullet impacting the wall directly next to my head. With a yelp, I slid behind one of the overturned tables, trying to keep all of my limbs behind cover, even as shots blasted the wall behind me. When the barrage finally stopped, I quickly peered around the table, scanning the room for my assailant. My eyes caught a flash of color behind a table, and I aimed the rifle, waiting for them to give me a target. When they peered out, thought, I noticed that my target was...Flare?

As I sat there in shock, he noticed me and glared, firing a few more shots in my direction. I pulled my head back behind the table and yelled out to him. "Flare, it's me, damnit. Stop shooting!" The gunshots ceased, and I pushed part of a chair out from the cover as a decoy. When another few shots hit the chair, I pulled back behind the table and growled.

Cursing myself for leaving the grenades downstairs, I levitated the rifle up. I really didn't want to kill Flare, but... If it came down to it... it was better him than me. As I was about to move to try and get a shot, a voice called out from somewhere to my left.

"Psst... Hey!" A figure called out in a strained voice, appearing from behind a few chairs. "Hey, it's me!"

And, while stuck in a two-hundred year old underground ghost town, surrounded by steel and earth on all sides, while under fire from my only friend, I saw the first thing that completely confused me.

Because, from behind the chairs, another Flare stared back at me, disheveled and bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound.

Footnote: Level up!

Perks Gained:

Wild Wasteland - Not for the faint of heart.

Comments

[NeverKnown]

Haha nice to have you back ^^ No flair dont bleed out

[NeverKnown]

1875866 *Wipes away a drop from his eye* I miss them too bro

[NeverKnown]

1877860 For 20 years!! 20 years!! I only had one...