Chapter 7: Foalsitting
Edited by uSea
CHAPTER 7: Foalsitting
What? These sweet little angels? They'll be no problem at all.
DAY 6 - TIME approximately 9:00 P.M. - LOCATION: Tunnel Town, Big 52 N Branch
Trigger Happy had been a guard for a good half of her life and she was pretty sure she’d seen everything that could try to go through the Tunnel Town gates. Tonight the mare had to admit that she had been wrong, but the fact that all her guards were cowering behind her because of a foal in a funny costume was still upsetting.
“Alright, scaredy-ponies, I'm taking this one. Just relax and for the sake of my sorry tail, don't shoot blindly.”
The unicorn mare stepped out of the guard post and trotted toward the yellow foal who was surrounded by an eerie pink light. “Okay, that's close enough. Stop right there and tell me what the hay are you!”
Trigger didn't actually expect the foal to comply, but when she sat down the guard chief felt relieved.
The strange pony rose a hoof and waved it. “Hi! I'm Puppysmiles! Have you seen my mom?”
Trigger Happy frowned. “Puppysmiles as in 'Puppysmiles the ghost'?”
“I'm not a ghost, I'm a filly!” protested the foal; she was carrying something long and red strapped on her back; it didn't seem a weapon, nonetheless it was quite large.
“Let me guess: you zoomed all the way from Salt Cube City through the Marshes on a Red Racer?”
Puppy giggled. “Nope, I had to trot a bit because the fat unicorn was super boringly slow...”
“The who now? No wait! On a second thought, I don't care.” Trigger sighed, “Now I'm coming over. You just don't do anything... ah... ghostly.” For a moment the mare turned her head toward the guard post just to meet three pairs of eyes that were carefully hiding behind the barricade; one of her guards waved a little white banner for a second. She wished for a less stupid crew, then trotted toward Puppysmiles.
“Hi! You're pretty, miss pretty pony! What's your name?” The foal smiled her friendliest smile.
It's... it's... just a filly with a pair of glowing eyes, probably caused by a mild case of radiation poisoning... Trigger chuckled. “Are you serious? You are the Puppysmiles from the news? The one from the Carnival and Salt Cube City?” the guard laughed, “Oh please gimme a break!”
Puppy smiled and laughed too. “Ah ah ah! That's funny! Uh, why are we laughing?”
At the filly's question the guard chief laughed even louder. “Name's Trigger Happy, you can call me Trigger.”
Puppy frowned. “Ah, can I call you Happy?”
“Sure. Anyhow, I have something for you...” The guard took a yellow piece of plastic and handed it to Puppysmile, “here's your pass: a Griffon by the name of Henrietta was here at noon; she waited until dusk for you but then she had to move. Before leaving she bought you the ticket saying that you were arriving tonight or tomorrow at worst.”
“Uh, Henri was here? Was she alright?”
“Yes, I think... she wasn't very chatty, but I never met a chatty griffon.” The guard turned on her tail and trotted back to the guard post. “Come in! Staying outside this late is unhealthy: we have some bloodwing issues 'round here.”
“What's a bloodwing?” Puppy asked trotting behind Trigger.
“If you ask me, they’re trouble: think of them as large flying leeches.” The mare snickered and beckoned Puppy inside the guard post. The place was a low building surrounded by sandbags and rusted plates of metal; a couple of miniguns were placed in front of the windows overlooking the bridge and there was a stack of ammo boxes stashed in a corner. Three ponies greeted Puppy with scarce enthusiasm when she followed the mare inside.
“Look alive guys: this is Puppysmiles, the hero of the Carnival. As far as I know she's on our side, so now we don't have to fear nothing.” The guard chief snickered, “I'd give my cutie mark to see how Lonesome Pony would react if he knew what his 'hero' really looks like. Anyhow, this is Green Pear, Jammed Gun and Little Bean.”
“Hi, I'm Puppysmiles!” The filly trotted toward the trio of ponies; since her new friends seemed a bit uneasy, she felt that something more had to be said. “I'm looking for my mom, she's somewhere inside the mountain!”
One of the three guards raised an eyebrow and mumbled. “Well, that could be a problem...”
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 9:45 P.M. - LOCATION: Tunnel Town, Big 52 N Branch
“Wow, it's huge!” Puppy sat in front of the tunnel entrance: it consisted of a large archway high enough to let in both ground carts and air wagons for emergencies or maintenance; the entrance was so wide it could have handled passage from both directions at once. The concrete of the tunnel walls ended abruptly twenty meters into the mountain, where a rusted metal bulkhead sealed it. On the door there was the symbol of a white alicorn, but this one seemed more bulky and manly than the goddesses; around the symbol ran a motto: Solaris inc. – Try the alternative. Under the company slogan there was a big red symbol suggesting danger that occupied most of the door.
“See?” Trigger Happy knocked at the metal door a couple of times, “It's sealed. I'm afraid that your journey ends here, little one.”
“But my mom is in there! Look at the arrow, see? It points to the door! I have to go inside the mountain! Open it please!” Puppy put on her best pout. “Puppy please, miss Happy pretty pony?”
The guard chief stepped back frowning. “Wow, those eyes should be classified as illegal military ordnance... still, I'm sorry Puppy: there's no way inside the Tunnel. We have tried our best to reopen it but as you can see, it's winning the match.”
“But I really, really, REALLY have to go there! My mom is waiting for me!” The filly stubbornly stomped her hooves.
The guard named Jammed Gun tapped his chin with a hoof and muttered. “I think that TNT once said something about getting inside using the vents...”
Trigger's eyes widened, “Shush!” She launched an angry stare at her subordinate before quickly turning back to Puppy, trying to hide a concerned look under a fake smile.
“See? No way inside!” She tried to hold a poker face but the foal was already frowning.
“Uh, vents? What are the vents? Please, I'll do anything I... I have this!” Puppy produced one of the tank shells from the military base; this one had a black band around its head. “See? It's shiny and super duper nice! You let me go inside and I'll give it to you! Deal?”
“Puppy... it's dangerous, I can't let a foal trot to certain death. I'm sorry.”
The foal stepped back, on the verge of tears. “I'm not afraid and you are unfair! If it was your mom that was closed inside, you would already be opening that stoopid door! And... and...” the filly bucked the door, “I can't stop now! She is there, she MUST be there!”
Jammed stepped next to Trigger and whispered. “Why not let her in? After all she already saved two towns... Besides, I don't think she's just a foal...”
The unicorn guard sighed before she replied. “We don't know what's going on inside the Tunnel right now, but I'd like you to recall the day the door closed. I clearly remember the ponies trapped inside hitting the door and asking for help, the sound of the guns and the voices screaming in pain and terror.” Trigger softly bumped Jammed’s forehead with a hoof. “Look at her: maybe she's not your average little pony but she's a kid and I'm not sending kids to clear minefields.”
The stallion guard looked into her chief's eyes. “Do you think that she'll give up this easy? If she really is the famous ghost, I bet that there will be nothing that can stop her.”
Trigger Happy facehoofed. “Are you really falling for those fairy tales? Please, get real! She's just a filly with a full enviro suit and mild radiation poisoning!”
In the meantime Puppy was still standing in front of the door muttering by herself. “I'm not a foal, I'm a big pony... I've made a balloon fly!” The filly frowned but suddenly a new idea hit her head making her smile cunningly, “Say, mister Voice, what is this vent they are talking about?”
“Vent: ventilation system. Device used to move fresh air inside close spaces. In the case of a tunnel it consists of a long web of passages that take air from the outside and pump it inside using fans and small ducts large enough to let a single pony crawl through them for maintenance – the more you know!”
“So, ah... there are other doors to go inside the mountain from where the air gets in?” asked the foal, trying to translate what she was just told.
“Affirmative. Loading local maps. Solaris Inc. Tunnel n° 2. Analyzing technical blueprints. Warning. Part of the blueprints are not available due to military restrictions. Loading section A01 A02 and A03. Loading Maintenance tunnels blueprints. Analyzing. Elaborating route. Maintenance hatch A01-104 set as new way point.” The pink arrow disappeared from the compass and appeared again pointing to a new direction.
A grin appeared on Puppy's muzzle: once again she outsmarted her rivals.
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 10:15 P.M. - LOCATION: Tunnel Town, Big 52 N Branch
“And I'm saying that I've never seen a pony survive inside a sealed suit for more than three days! Your 'kid' seems just a bit too fine to be normal!” Jammed Gun pointed a hoof at the empty place where Puppy was supposed to be, then he looked at the empty place and at last he realized that something was missing: something of the size and color of Puppysmiles. “What the hay?”
Trigger Happy jumped on her hooves, looking around frantically. “She was here moments ago! Why didn't you keep an eye on that filly?”
“Oh, now I had to watch after the yellow glowing pony lamp! And what were you supposed to do?” Jammed snickered, “See? Exactly what I was saying: you can't stop the Ghost of the Big 52.”
“She's not a ghost, stop blabbering.” Trigger Happy waved a hoof dismissing the idea, but her companion kept talking.
“Now, please Happy, listen to me for a moment: this place is getting worse every day... When we were kids we used to play outside and the Big 52 had way less slavers and bandits. The tribes were strong enough to keep order and make everypony feel a little safe...” the stallion sighed, “don't you miss those days, Happy?”
The mare looked down, sadness filling her eyes with a dim shadow of tears. “Yeah, but at that time it was easier... the tunnel was still open and Sun City was a civilized place... now the Big 52 is just a bunch of detours and dangerous trails.”
“Yeah, I know... so I was wondering this: they say that everything has a spirit, right?” Jammed Gun was trying hard to explain a thing that was quite clear in his head but not that easy to put down in words, “It's like a city: a city is more than the ponies that live in it; the efforts of the community and the hopes of the families sustain each other, feeding a common will that makes you feel as if the whole place is alive...”
“Yeah, it's called community... so what?” Happy looked at the stallion with a dubious expression. “I hope you're really going somewhere with this because we have a lost filly right now...”
“So, even the Big 52 is something like that, right? I mean, The Red Trotters, the White Apples, the Sand Sweepers and all the other tribes... maybe they are separated but they all live on the same long route from the Ridges to Emerald Shores. We are all on the same road and we all are citizens of the Big 52.” Jammed Gun raised a hoof pointing north, then arching to south with a slow movement. “Salt Cube City belongs to the White Apples, yes, but the Big 52 belongs to everypony that lives along it.”
“This is a very poetic idea, still I can't see how this will help us to find Puppy.”
“I'm almost there. We both had that feeling, you know, that the Big 52 is dying: slowly but inexorably sliding into the same horrors as the rest of Equestria. And suddenly... bang! This Ghost appears and starts solving problems that vexed us for years.”
“The Redtrotters were slowly giving up: the Carnival was killing more than a foal per year, it was killing hope. Once I heard a trader say that the mares of the tribe refused to have foals because they were scared to lose them. And the ghouls? Do you know how many caravans traveled only as far as Exchange Station Badlands because making the trip to Downtown wasn't worth the additional escort?”
“Well, yes okay, but I don't think that a foal can-” Trigger was interrupted by Jammed.
“And I think she can.” The pony was dead serious, “Think about that griffon today. Have you seen her eyes? She had this... light... as if things for her sucked for a lifetime but finally they were going to get better. She had hope, and she showed gratitude. Think about this, Happy: how many ponies in this sinkhole value gratitude? Maybe some years ago it was still common to think of other ponies as something other than a potential threat; nowadays if you don't have the pass you aren't given even a chance.” Jammed paused for a moment, but now Trigger was listening carefully and didn't interrupt him.
“And now she needs to get into the Tunnel. Maybe she is just a lucky foal, or a dead one, but... But I want to believe that she's something more. Okay she's not the Stable Dweller nor Security, but she's all we got down here. Just... the good old Big 52 trying to fix things by herself.”
Trigger Happy sighed. “You are a dreamer and a silly pony, Jam. If you have a problem you can't just wait for somepony else to come and solve it for you. You have to face it and work hard in order to earn something.” The mare looked away at the ever clouded sky, “But I have to admit that on one thing you were right: that filly doesn't know when to give up. I think I know where she's headed and Luna curse my soul if I'm letting her wander into trouble.”
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 10:15 P.M. - LOCATION: Solaris Tunnel, Tunnel Town
A metallic sound echoed through the ventilation ducts; the whole place was pitch black except for the dim light from Puppy's eyes and the helmet’s HUD. For the filly it was more than enough to see where she was going; after all she was following the arrow, she couldn't be wrong.
“So, when I find mom I'm hugging her super strong then she'll kiss me and we will be together forever.” The filly was reviewing the vital passages of her new plan, “because this time she didn't move away, right mister Voice?”
“Negative. There is a 99.9% probability that your female parent will not be present or in condition to-”
“Hey don't even try that! A positive attitude is everything.” Puppy stopped for a moment and looked around, “Hey, did you hear that? Like... somepony calling?” The filly took a deep breath, “I'M HERE! WHERE ARE YOU?”
The sound of Puppy's voice echoed for a lifetime in the dark and lifeless tunnels before dying. A distant voice seemed to reply but Puppy couldn't hear it very well.
“Where is this voice coming from?”
“Analyzing. White noise and distortion are too high. Impossible to determine the source of origin.”
“Oh well, then let's move.” Trotting away Puppy found herself looking down from a grate; just below her there was a black and bottomless void ready to devour anything.
“Uh... why is the arrow pointing down now?”
“Loading instructions. You need to reach the main tunnel ground level in order to proceed. Maintenance grate A01-001 is the nearest passage to reach the next section of the tunnel.”
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 10:15 P.M. - LOCATION: Tunnel Town, Big 52 N Branch
“I don't give a fuck about your opinion, Jam! Now give me the light helmet and help me with that checklist.” Trigger happy was wearing a worn-out maintenance suit equipped with a wide variety of tools.
Jammed Gun sighed, trying to appear annoyed; it wasn't hard to sense that he was worried to death. “As you wish, Happy... but please, come back...”
Trigger snorted and looked away. “The list.”
The stallion sighed again and shook his head. “Rope”
“Check.”
“Batteries.”
“Check.”
“Canteen.”
“Check.”
“Shotgun and slugs.”
“Check, check.”
“Common sense.”
“Che- Hey, stop playing around!”
Jammed Gun snapped, this time he couldn't keep it inside. “And you stop trying to kill yourself Happy! You are a good shot and an action pony but you're still a pony! You could get killed and I don't want to lose you!”
The mare cocked her head. “Lose me? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I love you, Trigger Happy! Since we were just little more than foals! Why do you think I enrolled into the guards instead of keeping pa's tavern? Please don't go or at least let me come with you!”
Trigger tilted her head frowning. “You mean... you had a crush on me for, like, twelve years and never said a single word? Even when Black Hat and I...” Trigger shook her head, ”you’re kidding me. This is another fucking joke, is it?”
Jammed Gun sat down, lowering his eyes. “I wish it was, but you can be really cruel sometimes. And I'm a shy guy, you know... but I can't just watch you kill yourself over a ghost.”
“She's not a ghost! Why must you be this stupid!? She's a little foal and she is in danger!” Happy grimaced, “Since she's not coming back, I'm going inside to get her and I'll spank her so hard that she will never do such things!” the mare paused for a moment, “Oh, and I'm sorry but after Black Hat I'm more into fillies than colts... uh... we should talk about this when I'm back. Is the list done?”
Gun's jaw hung open for some seconds before he regained control and slowly nodded.
“Sweet, I'll be back soon.” The guard crawled inside the maintenance tunnel disappearing in the darkness.
“Great. I got dumped. Twelve years to find the guts to spit it out and I got dumped! Fuck, I'm out of here. Maybe Little Bean didn't finish that Wild Pegasus.” The stallion turned on his tail and walked away stopping one last time only to whisper, “Please, come back all in one piece...”
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 10:30 P.M. - LOCATION: Solaris Tunnel, Tunnel Town
“Warning. You are doing it wrong.”
Puppy was jumping up and down on the ventilation grate, that after a minute of this treatment had begun to crack; a bolt detached from the frame and fell into the black nothingness underneath. “Don't worry, when the grate falls I'll jump away super fast! What could ever go wrong? After all I'm Space Captain AndromedaaAAH!”
…
THUD!
…
…
“Owie.”
“Repair spell activated.”
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 10:30 P.M. - LOCATION: Solaris Tunnel, Tunnel Town
Trigger Happy slowly crawled down the maintenance tunnels searching for some sign of Puppy's passage. The unicorn guard was quite sure that the filly entered the tunnels from the same hatch she did, but that place was a hell of a labyrinth; luckily enough she had a chalk and some decent light.
Passing above a ventilation grate the mare stopped to look down in the main tunnel fifteen meters below. The grate creaked dangerously under her weight but held.
“Sweet mother of Luna...” Right below Trigger there was the first trait of the tunnel, not far from the metal doors that separated it from the town. Piles of bones were amassed on the ground, as if about two dozens ponies were corralled there and executed on the spot. It was horrible.
Trigger could still remember the day the doors closed: it was an ordinary day of ten years ago; she had just begun her career as a town guard and still had to take tunnel patrol duty, though of course she had already been through many many times before. The passage connected Tunnel Town with Trade Station Tunnel South and it was the only way to get past Sugartop Mountain besides the pass, but the pass was dangerous on clear days and pratically suicide when it rained. If you wanted to reach the northern branch of the Big 52 from south you had to trot six kilometers underground, and pay good caps for it.
Then, the doors slammed shut.
There were no warnings nor telltale signs and worst of all there seemed to be no reason. Simply the thick gigantic bulkheads fell from the ceiling and sealed the tunnel with all the ponies that were inside at that moment. For about an hour ponies on both sides of the doors tried to open them, but suddenly those inside started screaming and beating on the metal, begging to let them out. It was at that point that there came the gunshots. the roar of two dozen machine guns that put a stop to the screaming.
After that day only silent darkness dwelt in the tunnel. At first a couple of adventurers tried to get inside and hack the doors, but they never came back. With time the ponies of Tunnel Town resigned to this turning of events and worked hard to make the pass a little safer. A lot of ponies died trying to exterminate the predator's nests along the path and they built a couple of shacks on the trail, but the caravans today were less than a fifth of the ones that used to pass when the Tunnel was open. Tunnel Town was slowly dying.
Those skeletons below were just the first victims of this senseless tragedy and maybe they were also the lucky ones: at least their end was fast.
Suddenly the sound of machine guns echoed in the tunnel. Trigger rubbed her ears to be sure that she wasn't hallucinating, but the guns kept firing.
“Fuck. I'm late.”
That poor filly. Why did Jam have to make me lose so much time? If I had been faster Puppy could still be- “Wait, why do they keep firing?”
The machine guns were still roaring in the distance as if they were fighting something rather than simply slaughtering it. Maybe the foal found some shelter and the security turrets couldn't hit her, maybe it wasn't too late! After all, as long as the guns fired it meant that Puppy hadn't still been killed.
Trigger took the screwdriver and the rope from her utility saddle. “Hold on little one, big sis is coming for you!”
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 10:45 P.M. - LOCATION: Solaris Tunnel, Tunnel Town
Puppy trotted toward an abandoned cart in the middle of the road. The filly tried sniffing it but it was a bit difficult since she was wearing a helmet. “This place is full of cool stuff like food, toys and those noisy guns that everypony is carrying around these days. Maybe it's some sort of super big closet...” the little pony shrugged, “very well, let's find mom.”
“STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!”
A boisterous voice echoed in the tunnel making Puppy turn her head. “Oh, hi there! I'm Puppysmiles!” A robot as large as a pony in heavy armor stood in front of the filly. It had the Solaris Inc. brand on its flanks and a couple of firearms attached to eachside.
“SURRENDER NOW AND BE ANNIHILATED!”
Puppy giggled. “Silly robot, it's surrender or be anni- any... eenie... whatever.”
The robot opened fire, hitting the cart and the filly in yellow with no less than a dozen projectiles. Now, a rapid fire gun uses small caliber bullets that have a decent piercing power but are nothing special when it comes to dismembering things.
Puppy looked down at the holes in the suit as a thin tread of pink smoke snaked out into the air. “Hey, I was using this space suit! Oh, I get it now: you are a bullybot!” Raising a hoof, the foal stared at the machine. “I don't like bullybots. Rock.”
The security bot sprayed another salvo of bullets at the foal who charged it with The Rock Of Destiny floating at her side; when the guns stopped to reload, Puppy jumped at its head, hitting its the face plate with all her might and a stone. The foal was getting good at this hitting thing, in fact after just three consecutive strikes in the same place, the glassy visor of the robot cracked revealing it's sensor bay which was then destroyed in a single hit. The machine stopped functioning almost immediately.
“And stop bullying fillies, dumb robot!”
“STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!” Another two sentinels opened fire at Puppy, though at that distance they mostly missed her.
“Moar bullies? Very well I have something for you too, stoopid bullies!”
A hail of bullets almost tore away one of the foal's hind legs, but with Puppy almost wasn't good enough and the wound simply slowed her. “Don't you know that I am a nice filly and I always try to behave? You are making me not behave! I’m gonna get in trouble for this!” With The Rock Of Destiny in her hoof she was already on the second robot cracking its visor.
Three other sentinels arrived, emptying their barrels into the rumble but the foal was way smaller than the robots and their friendly fire destroyed another machine with just the sheer volume of bullets.
“Aren't you listening!? Are you stoopid or what?” Puppy jumped on another robot, springing off the carcass of her last victim. Tracers zipped all around and through her while the suit rang every sort of alarm. Puppy? She didn't care, she just kept going.
“Fillies are made of sugar!” Landing on the robot's face she hit the top of its head, piercing it with her weapon in just five strikes; in the meantime one of the two remaining robots ran out of ammo.
“SPICE!” Puppy put a hoof inside the hole she had made using The Rock Of Destiny and pulled out all the cables and circuitry she could. Something in the robot crackled and sparkled and it emptied what was left of its magazines all around, destroying the remaining two sentinels and then shutting down itself.
“AND!” Clank. “EVERYTHING!” Clank. “NICE!...” Clank.
The foal at last found some time to breathe while the smoke of the burning wreckage dispersed a little, mixing itself with the pink gas that leaked from the holes in her suit. Her ears still rang with the sound of firearms while a pink goo dripped from the larger tears evaporating as soon as it touched ground and mixing again with the cloud around her.
The pink cloud as usual didn't dissolve, instead forming a thick curtain of smoke around the ghoul and slowly beginning to vanish only when the holes in the suit were mended. The repairing was almost done when a familiar voice called for Puppy's name.
“Hold on on Puppy! Almost there!” The sound of galloping hooves echoed in the large gallery and in the pink eerie light cast by the ghoul appeared Trigger Happy's silhouette.
“Hi miss pretty guard pony! Did you fall from the ceiling too?”
The mare ignored Puppy's question and rushed to her, hitting the filly on top of her helmet. “You stupid, stupid... silly pony!” tears ran along the guard's muzzle, “You're alive, thank Celestia. I was so worried! Why did you run away?” Happy hugged Puppy, “Now we go back to Tunnel Town, your mom can't be here, see? There are just abandoned carts and... one, two, three fourfivesix destroyed sentinel robots?”
Trigger blinked, a bit stumped. “You... just single hoofedly destroyed... six sentinels?”
“Ah, please don't tell mom?” The foal's eyes were two pink watery lights in the surrounding darkness, “Puppy please?”
“Are you kidding me? How did you do that?” The guard pointed at the carcasses, “I mean, six sentinels and not a single scratch?”
Puppy showed Trigger The Rock Of Destiny. “Ah, but they were bullying me... I told them to quit, but they had those noisy things and kept being mean. Mom doesn't want me to beat other ponies, please when we find mom don't tell her!”
The unicorn studied the damage on the robots. “These three were shoot, but the other three... You actually stoned them to death.” Happy stared at Puppy. “What are you?”
The filly tilted her head, a bit perplexed. “I'm Puppysmiles?”
“Please, give me a break! I heard the firefight from the tunnel's entrance, you can't just stand there unwounded and smiling like a... a... ghost?” Realization hit Trigger Happy like a ten ton anvil. She wasn't an educated mare, but she heard a lot of stories from the traders and their guards. “You... are a Canterlot Ghoul...”
“Uh, yes I'm from Canterlot. Actually from Clover Leaf Terrace but even if it's downhill it's still Canterlot, you know?”
Happy backpedaled another couple of meters as she noticed the last ribbons of pink smoke vanishing in the dark air and suddenly felt very, very itchy. In a rush of panic she downed a healing potion in a single gulp and backed off even farther.
Puppy looked at the unicorn and frowned. “Ah, is something wrong Miss Happy pretty pony?”
“This... this is ridiculous... you... you shouldn't be here, you shouldn't be talking with me now!” Trigger's eyes betrayed her fear, “You're just a... a...”
A what? A monster? A walking dead? A ghost? Shut the fuck up Happy, she's a kid. She talks like a kid and acts like a kid. I made all this way to save Puppysmiles and I won't go back without this filly.
The guard found the courage to put on a smile for the perplexed filly. “You're just a little lost, but I'm sure that I'll figure a way to help you if we go back to town.”
“But I can't!” Puppy stomped a hoof on the road. “Mom is here, the arrow says that I must keep trotting in that direction! Please don't take me back, I'm almost there! I... I need my mom!”
“I... I don't know, if this is really so important for you... I guess that if you promise to be really cautious, then we could try to go a little further... there were some other destroyed sentinels along the tunnel, maybe these were the last functioning ones...”
“Yay!” Puppy jumped all around like a spring toy.
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DAY 6 - TIME approximately 11:00 P.M. - LOCATION: Solaris Tunnel, Tunnel Town
“Please, state your identification code and your personal password.” This had to be the mother of all the sentinels: it was at least as tall as three ponies and had a payload of weapons that made the average steel ranger look like a toy. Hell, Trigger Happy couldn't even name some of the weapons that thing had.
“We should go back, Puppy...”
“No wait! I know this guessing game! It's a genie!” The foal cleared her voice, “FT... 0... 0... 1... 6... 5... RD... C... 1... G... A ”
There was a long pause, Trigger readied herself to grab Puppy and run like she’d never run before.
“Please, state your pass code for this ID.”
The filly smiled and declared merrily, “Hi! I'm Puppysmiles!”
Without even waiting for a reply, the guard mare hauled the foal on her back and started running. “Please holy Goddess of Acceleration don't fail me now!”
“Weeeee!” Puppy was not exactly sure of what was going on but she was riding a pony and riding a pony was always fun.
“ID accepted. First Class Technician Rainy Days. Access to maintenance section granted. Please do not enter into red marked areas without a Solaris Pass Card.”
Happy abruptly stopped almost sending her passenger flying across the tunnel. The filly grabbed the guard's neck and the two ponies found themselves looking into each other’s eyes. Puppy was smiling.
“That was fun, let's do it again! I like piggyback rides! Hey why are you putting me down?”
The unicorn sighed, patting the foal on the top of the helmet. “Don't worry, I'll give you another ride but now I guess that the sentry is letting us go inside...”
“Well, duh, sure! I said the magic words!” Puppy trotted to the metal doors behind the towering robot and tried pushing them; as soon as she touched the metal, the reinforced doors slid open revealing a corridor lit with dim flickering lights. A distant voice repeated a long sequence of emergencies in a dull tone.
“Warning. Primary power source cut off. Emergency shut down procedure engaged. Warning. Intruders in the sectors From A01 to A03. Warning. Security robots not responding. Warning. Comm Station offline. Warning...”
Puppy sighed. “Aw, another whinybot.”
“Come again?” Trigger tilted her head.
“You know: Whinybots...” The blank stare from the guard made Puppy sigh, “I really have to teach you everything! There are three types of robots: Funbots, they are friendly and funny, like miss Voice or Questioner... Then there are bullybots, that are nasty and not so funny... usually I have to break those ones and I really really hope that mom won't spank me for this... And there are whinybots, they can only whine because everything is wrong, like mister Voice and-”
“Negative. I am not whinybot, I am an advanced pony-machine interface designed for-”
“Yeah, sure, I was talking with Happy, could you please wait a moment?” the voice from the suit stopped while Trigger Happy stared at the filly in disbelief.
“You... you are wearing a talking suit?”
“Yeah and he's smart but don't even try that joke smarter than you and then I say yes and then you laugh!”
The guard frowned. “Hey what kind of pony do you think I am? I was just surprised, that's all...”
“Uh, okie dokie then: this is a super smart space suit that talks and tells me where my mom is. I follow him and usually find a lot of friends and some not-so-friendly ponies, but we still have to find mom. Maybe this time we'll be lucky. Oh yeah, his name is mister Voice.” Puppy smiled waiting for her reaction.
Trigger nodded weakly. “Uh, yeah, whatever... so, that thing works more or less like a very large PipBuck. I guess this explains a lot of things, like how the hay you knew where the ventilation hatch was...” the mare sighed before continuing, “alright, little one. Where now?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAY 7 - TIME approximately 1:00 A.M. - LOCATION: Solaris Tunnel, Tunnel Town
Long story short, it took a little more than an hour for the two ponies to reach an old rusted generator room and make the geothermal turbines run again. Luckily enough, it was just a matter of cables cut by a fallen steel beam; with some salvaging and jury rigging, mostly done by Trigger Happy, the electricity was now running along the cables again.
“Okay, lets see... yes, the elevator is working again. We can go up.” The unicorn mare cleaned the sweat from her face and pushed open the elevator doors.
“Yay! I'm going to see mom! Thank you thank you thank you so much miss Happy!”
The guard smiled weakly. She didn't believe that Puppy's mother really was somewhere near this place, but she was proved wrong so many times today... maybe a little positive thinking is just what we needed, after all. “Good, we have just to hit the attic and see ourselves.”
The elevator ran for more than a minute, tormenting the two passengers with lousy music that made Happy regret restarting the generators. When the doors opened again, there was a room with a whole wall made up of windows and there were large screens everywhere. It was the tunnel maintenance control room and it hung above Sugartop mountain from a panoramic position that let Trigger see all the northern plains, even in the darkness of the ever clouded night.
Puppy trotted around for a bit: it wasn't a very large place but it had a lot of metal tables with terminals on them and some large maneframes stuck in a wall that could have actually hidden a crouched pony, but the room was clearly empty and Trigger wasn't completely sure that just calling mom louder was going to make her magically appear.
“Puppy, I... I don't think she's here...”
The filly turned her head toward the mare and for a moment the unicorn felt a block of ice paralyzing her guts. Those eyes... so angry, so desperate... so... empty... it lasted for just a moment but now the unicorn knew exactly how the filly had been able to overcome six sentinels with a rock. Never cross her if you value your life. “Uh, I mean... maybe she moved away?”
Puppy lowered her eyes and sighed. “Yeah, maybe... last time she left some voice thingie that said she was coming here... miss Voice could help a little with that...” The foal was now trying to smile again. That little ghost was full of anger but she fought it with optimism. How long will this last? How long before she loses hope? And what will happen then? “Mister Voice, we need a professional. Call miss Voice.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Footnote: Level up! (6)
New perk added: Hard Rock! - Okay you got a rock, now show us how bad you are with it. When using rocks, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target’s damage threshold
This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat; a familiarity with the source material may aid your understanding.
You can read Fallout Equestria by Kkat on Equestria Daily
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/story-fallout-equestria.html
If you enjoy Fallout Equestria Side Stories you will want to check the Fallout Equestria Side Stories post on Equestria Daily and the Fallout Equestria Side Stories thread on Ponychan
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/06/fallout-equestria-side-stories.html?commentPage=1
http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/58852.html
The Ponychan group is also a hatching ground that you can join if you want to share your experience, writing or comments with us.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KaoFWVlFlMjYR2KmTWxwCYnvTZQcjEULO9YHSaqqk9U/edit?hl=en_US#
Additional thanks to Anonsamurai and Llama Llumps for reviewing and a big help with some basics in English I completely missed.
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7152
Well, they were 6 fast chapters: I'm publishing a chapter every 2 days, as soon as I finish re-reading the GDocs; when the publishing om FimFic will reach the published on GDocs expect the pace to slow down (it won't take very much, the story on GDocs arrives at chap 9).
For the comments I was actually expecting something like this: Pink Eyes is a side story of a fanfiction, this cuts by far the potential readers.
So, Lonesome Pony, why are you writing a fic and publishing it if you don't expect somepony to read it?
I'm writing this story because I can't play a Fallout Equestria pony RPG campaign and this story contains more or less the adventures I was going to propose to an eventual party of players, with me giving the resolution to every adventure from the point of view of what was meant to be the mascotte of the group and now is the protagonist.
As soon as I have a party of 5 interested in the story that's enough for me, because as a game master i wasn't going to get more public.
But if you have something to say about the story feel free to comment or ask and I'll try to reply, just don't ask spoilers, Puppy Please.
Aww, poor Puppysmiles.
Hope her mom is aliveish somehow(Downloaded AI in a computer,ghoul, ect.). Seeing her mom dead would probably break Puppy and make the story quite hard to write I would think, but I'm sure you have a plan for that.
I'm really liking this story. It's well written, has an interesting plot, and one of the most unique main characters I've ever seen, especially for this type of setting. There are some grammatical errors, but less than alot of stories I've read.
Looking forward to the next chapters, just don't be too really mean to Puppysmiles! Puppy please? That would make me sad.
7425
Thank you for taking the time to comment ^_^ I'm sorry for the errors, the story goes trough a couple of pre-readers (two pre readers that help me a lot) but I lack an editor from chapter 2 so I have to deal with the adjustements myself and I'm not even English first language.
About the story, I don't want to spoiler in any way, but her armor of ignorance is something mighty ^_^
7431
Na. I wasn't looking for any spoilers, and her ignorance has shown to be truly mighty, as is the strength and weakness of innocence, and why she can smash anything in her way with no guilt. I am curios if she will knowingly kill any ponies during her travels, and how her ignorance will hold up to that. Again not looking for spoilers, just thinking.
Anyway, looking forward to the next chapter! Keep up the good work!
This fic is meme tastic.
I like the references to Little Pip and the securtiy guy from the Kkat approved side one (Project Horizen I think). I bet Little Pip would feel twice as depressed as she normally is if she met Puppy. A short side fic where they shortly cross paths would be interesting (especially if shown from both sides). I hope that Puppy will be able to pick up the Tenpenny signal and hear that for additional cross over awesomeness when DJ Pon-3 says stuff about Little Pip.
Heh, Power Puff Girls cartoon thingy reference!
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice.
Just please don't hurt Puppy anymore, she is SO cute, I just do not jave the urge to resist when she's in pain or sadness!
STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM
that's an epic perk for epic ponies.
I'd like to see a crossover where black jack and puppy meet up
YAY! Hard Rock! 8D
Hail yeah, Hard Rock.
_ _
Derpy, out
Rocks=badass
THE EYES THEY BURN!
Yay, Project Horizons reference!
Wow. Puppysmile's luck must be easily in the 20's. Anyways, I read your first comment on this chapter, and I also REALLY want to play a tabletop RPG of Fallout: Equestria, just like the game "Wastelands" in FoE: Project Horizons. If you ever want to get a group to do so, count me in! Anyways, wonderful chapter! Your writing gets better with each one! This is what I like about reading finished fics; it's easier to see how writers develop throughout their story. Now, onwards! To adventure!
2474623
I'm pretty sure the original Fallout was inspired by Wastelands. (Or some similar tabletop RPG).
You could probably rework the original CRPG game mechanics and campaigns easily enough.
2957500 fallout was made by Brian Fargo. The same guy who made Wasteland.
Poor Jammed Gun.
Rock and roll, baby, rock and roll. Puppysmiles is by far the most cutely retarded character I've seen.
Really liking this story now, the tunnel is a really interesting and original idea. Original to Fallout anyway, even if you can compare it to the Sierra Madre and Poseidion Energy. Let's hope we see more of Solaris Ink in the future, those paranoid, over-doing-it pre-war idiots.
Almost all NPC would disagree with you.
OH GOD, THERE IS NO ESCAPING THEM! THE GUARDS FROM OBLIVION EVEN TRANSCEND THE GAME TO HUNT ME DOWN.
32707 Actually, it references the same old rhyme
Remember the rowdy rough boys?
or Snips and Snails?
he part about 12 years waiting for say "I love you" and then the reaction... I need a moment.
I don't want Puppy to find out the truth, but I want her to find out the truth too...AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
4348119
Oh! I never thought of it that way. I don't think it was the best choice though, considering that made snails talent being a-.... um, slow child....
Hohohoho, Puppy and her rock... so cute, hehehee.
This is great, so great! Nice work!
Rocks are the ultimate weapons if you are puppysmiles
Welp, whenever I face a deadly death robot, I'll use a rock.
Because holy hand grenades she is terrifying with that rock.
Also, forgot to put this in the last chapter comments, but
Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of Elderberries!
This needs to be said...
"It was a big rock."
4332515 Don't remind me of those Oblivion guards, one time i was on a little quest and had to steel a neck less, I got to the room where it was, the room in question was cut of from everything else by a loading screen, I was alone iun the room crouching and the game said I was hidden, so I grabbed the neck less.
"STOP THERE YOU CRIMINAL SCUM!"
Then the camera clips though the wall in front of me and there in a black void was some random guard, I gave back the neck less and got off mostly Scot free after that, I still call B.S. though.
By noe...her optimism is seeming pretty cheap.
This little filly has been fighting her way through all of Equestria on her search, what will happen when her optimism runs out?
I loved that reference to Littlepip and Blackjack
Be careful Trigger Happy, tagging along with Puppysmiles can be quite dangerous if you're not careful. So now Puppysmiles can survive a bullet barrage by multiple sentry/sentinel bots. Holy cow. Heck yeah, I love intertwining references to Littlepip and Blackjack! It makes the FoE universe feel alive with a lot of stuff going down in post apocalytia everywhere. They're the Stable Dweller and Security Mare respectively, don't wear their names out and don't you forget! That TES: IV reference had me grinning.
Nice Blues Brothers reference.
If she keeps getting rock related perks she's going to turn into Maud
I would love to see a crossover with Puppysmiles, Little Pip and Blackjack
(It may be that it happens in this story and I forgot)
And in her case, it looks like a bit of chemical X got mixed in...
nice one!
8098774
yall say that like it is a bad thing
A reference to two stories anyone?
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I love the idea that Puppysmiles could outlast most smaller ammunition calibers and just let them run out of ammo. By letting them shoot her over and over until they run out...reminds me of Fearless Fosdick, who would cleverly let the crooks run out of bullets...by shooting them at him! So he'd always end up full of cartoon holes.
So when exactly can Puppysmiles feel pain? When she's getting shot she doesn't even flinch but when she falls out of the vent it hurts a bit? Or maybe it's just a force of habit?
11493246
From what it seems, she has to understand it as something that can hurt her. She is dead, her nerves are gone, she can't feel pain. However, she remembers that say, dropping a book on your foot hurts. Her little brain says, therefore, "If things fall on me, they hurt. Ow." This means she won't feel pain if she doesn't know what a thing actually is.
She doesn't know what or gun is, or that it hurts people. Ergo, no ouchies.