Fallout Equestria: Grim Prospects

by RadiationRed

Chapter 5

FALLOUT: EQUESTRIA
GRIM PROSPECTS

Chapter Five

Soul

An MLP:FiM fanfic by Radiation Red

“The sins of the past will always haunt the present.”

With a resounding rattle of metal and stray bolts, another flailing-tube robot exploded in fiery sparks. This time, Euphoria had been too close and was flung against the side of a wall. She groaned, as she steadied herself and wiped her nose. For a moment she studied her own crimson blood, before her mouth twisted into a grin and she licked her hoof clean. “I won't bleed for you....” she muttered, and grinned back at Yiltse, just as the zebra kicked one of the robots into an adjacent wall; the sound alone, made her entire body twist in sick pleasure.

She looked on in wicked glee, as his hind-hoof shattered the glass-dome shielding its brain. Blood, viscous brain-matter, and oil hit the rusted wall behind the robot. He didn't even look winded, Euphoria noted to herself; finally being able to see Yiltse fight. Before she was able to contemplate the act fully, her ears twitched in response to an all too familiar sound.

“This is no way for friends to act!” came the polite, electrical, crackling voice of the robot as it slowly rounded the corner of the hallway, seeming not too bothered about taking its time to butcher the two ponies – as if they were mere bugs intruding. As it came into view, Euphoria bit down on her bridle, but her rifle only gave an alarming click! In response to her futile attempts.

“Fucking shit!” she cried and pressed herself against the nearby wall, as a blazing hot line of red flared down the hallway, only missing her by mere inches. She sniffed once, and clutched her head with a hoof, as the smell of burnt hide, and crackling ozone flared up a headache. Euphoria panted and shook her head, fixating her gaze on the robot as it trundled into the hallway, firing more plumes of red down towards the end of the room.

Seeing as the thing was occupied with trying to kill Yiltse at the moment, Euphoria took the opportunity, and swung the rifle out of her battle-saddle. Biting her tongue, she looked it over and used a hoof to move away the severely rusted piece of metal that was meant to reload it. At first, it wouldn't budge, but after Euphoria had thrust it up and back a few times, it gave away with a twang, as a puff of rust filtered into the air. Another loud click! sounded, and a still smoking, but spent shell hurtled out of it.

With a grin on her face, Euphoria looked up to see one of the robot's flailing tubes of hot death, right in front of her head. Using her free hoof, she shoved it away with all her might – dropping her rifle – as the robot fired, scorching the already dented and wrecked wall behind her. For a moment, the robot was distracted as it tried to recover.

Euphoria threw herself at her trusty rifle, and fumbled with the weapon. “Damn hooves!” she snarled, as she held up the weapon and took aim at the glass-dome of the robot. Despite her flailing hooves, she managed to find the firing pin under the wooden texture, and she pulled it in quickly. The glass-dome of the robot shattered and it rolled backwards, until it hit the opposite wall. For a few seconds, its tubes of death flailed wildly, and Euphoria ducked so she wouldn't get hit by its beams of red.

The robot sputtered, and with an electrical hiss, it died. Euphoria watched as the red line on her display winked out, so she let out a breath; only glaring briefly at her rifle. The rust-stained metal, looked brittle and the wood had cracked in several places; sending a long jagged line down the middle of the gun.

Frowning, Euphoria slid her .32 Hunting Rifle back into her battle-saddle, and rose from the floor. With determination flaring in her eyes, she wandered over to the robot, stopping in front of it as she looked towards the end of the hallway. There, Yiltse slowly stepped out from behind the wall, and trotted over towards her. “Great start,” he commented smugly; Euphoria half-expected him to smile, but let the thought slip away quickly.

“Yeah, we're alive,” she said and snorted as she turned her attention back to the robot-carcass in front of her. As it had died, the robot had rolled backwards, and was now leaning against the wall – it had rolled over a dimple in the metal-floor, and lost its balance. A grin came on Euphoria's face, as she reached a hoof out and ripped open a panel in the side of the robot. “There has to be something I can do with this,” she said, as she pulled out a hoof full of wires, screws, a cracked board – essentially, the insides of the automaton.

She shared a disgruntled look with Yiltse, as she put some of the contents into her saddlebags. “Before you ask,” Euphoria said, and resumed walking further down the hallway, towards another bend. “No, I don't have a plan,” she finished, but Yiltse said nothing, so Euphoria was left with listening to the distant sound of whirring wheels.

Somewhere, further inside this doomed sea of rust, there were more of these robots, but Euphoria couldn't be sure as to how many there were. Her trusty satin-black Pip-Buck, was on the fritz. It had started only a minute after the door to the outside world had closed; sure, for the most part it displayed what it should, but from time to time, the screen flickered and a loud pop rang out from its speaker; it put Euphoria on edge.

Quickly, and decisively, Euphoria shook the unnerving thought away, and just focused on the new hallway ahead of herself. Flickering lights beat down on them, but they were cold, and cast a dim blue-light against the metal – the rust being highlighted in grim detail. A capsule of rounded steel, embedded in the ceiling sparked to life, as the two neared it.

Level 1: Reception. As her eyes scanned across the word, Euphoria fought with hiding back a laugh, and snorted hard into her hoof as she brought it up to stifle herself. Reception... yeah, we got an awesome one of those! Her mind called out, and Euphoria couldn't help herself. Her soft giggling filled the hallway, but was silenced quickly.

An awfully familiar sound reached their ears, so Euphoria pressed her weight against the wall to her left, inching forward at a leisurely pace. No more than five paces in front of her, a doorway into a room stood open, and Euphoria twitched her ears as she neared the open portal. From within, she could hear the mechanical clatter of moving gears rise in pitch, along with the stomping of hooves; metal, she assumed.

“You will die a coward's death!” The tinny voice of a metal-stallion snarled, as it stepped out in view of Euphoria. Once it had cleared enough of the doorway, she bit down on her bridle, and watched as the bullet pinged off of the metal, and hit the ceiling. “Equestria's enemies, will be punished!” the robot tossed at Euphoria, as it turned slowly.

Burning-hot death lashed at Euphoria, and she jumped backwards, stumbling over herself. “Say hello to Celestia, zebra-scum!” the electrical voice of the metal-stallion once again hissed at Euphoria, and she looked up just quick enough to allow her vision to blur from red. She heard some-pony scream as darkness surrounded her, and her entire body felt numb.

Coldness encompassed her entire being.

*

Euphoria looked up at the behemoth with big orange eyes as it towered above her, but she couldn't help it and smiled wide; even as the monster's shadow loomed over her entire body. Biting her tongue in concentration, she dropped her teddy-bear and wobbled forwards, giggling at herself, as she inched an hoof out towards one orange, but mottled with patches of worn silver, metal-leg.

She yelped loudly as her warm hoof made contact with the stark cold of steel. Clutching her hoof, Euphoria stepped backwards and shook her head from side to side. “Mean robot,” she said, pouting immediately. Sitting down in front of it – at a comfortable distance, in case she needed to run – Euphoria looked over at her mother, as she stood to the side, and watched.

Her mother's deep blue eyes stared back at Euphoria, so Euphoria pouted more, and threw in a lip-wobble – her ultimate weapon. Seeing her filly, almost crying, made the older mare soften, and a smile crept across her muzzle. “Say hello to Applejack, honey.” Euphoria looked back up, her eyes sparkling, both from joy and sadness, and she looked from the robot to her mother.

“She's pretty....” Euphoria said to her mother and giggled. She let the name of the metal-creature roll around in her head, as she scanned the orange robot all over. Plates of worn metal had been welded together, and trimmed to exact specifications to give this particular robot, the look of a mare; the builders had even put in nylon hair, to serve as a makeshift mane and tail. “She's mean though,” the young filly admitted, and looked back at her mother with a slight frown, but it was lesser than before.

“Euphoria, honey, she's not mean.” The filly looked at the older mare, and just blinked her eyes in confusion. Ever so slowly, she tilted her head to one side, as the mare stepped closer. “Applejack here, will protect you from now on.” Euphoria didn't understand what her mother was talking about, but seeing her mother's gorgeous smile, she giggled and just nodded.

Once the older mare had stepped close enough, Euphoria leaped to her hooves and rushed over, hugging her mother's right hoof close. “I missed you, mommy...” she said, and poked her mother's almost bright-red Pip-Buck with her nose. Another soft giggle escaped Euphoria, as she looked up at her mother. “Some day, I'm gonna be a great scientist, just like you!”

Daybreak only smiled down at her little filly, and nodded. “Sure you will, honey.” A heavy thumping echoed in the room, and Euphoria gasped as she looked towards the door. “I'll be with you in a minute!” Daybreak called out, sounding sterner now, but as she turned back towards her little filly, a soft smile appeared on her face again. “Mommy have to get this, but she'll be back in a bit.” Even though her lip quivered, Euphoria nodded and reluctantly let her mother's hoof slip from her warm embrace.

With a nod, Daybreak flared her horn, and switched 'Applejack' on as she walked past. “Unit zero-three-eight-nine – active!” a dark, metallic voice said, and the head of the metal-mare jerked to the left, before jerking towards the right also; Euphoria only sat back and watched with big eyes, as she tugged her teddy-bear close. “Voice-module, Applejack edition – activate!”

A high-pitched screech filled the room, as 'Applejack' lifted each of her hooves up and down, and Euphoria watched as the gears within turned. “Well, golly!” came the soft and sweet voice of a mare. Upon hearing the voice, Euphoria dropped her teddy-bear and inched closer, as the dead, black glassy eyes of the mare came to life, with a brilliant green glow. “Optics – active!” the soft voice called out, startling Euphoria.

“You don't have to be afraid, sugarcube,” the soft mare's voice of 'Applejack' spoke again, and turned its metal-head towards the table, where Euphoria had decided to seek refuge. “It's all right. Come on out now, won't you?” the filly pricked her ears, but shook her head. “Aww, there's nothin' to be afraid of. There's no scary monsters out here,” 'Applejack' added, and Euphoria watched as a spark flared between the hairs in the robot's mane.

“Bad robot, bad robot...” Euphoria said softly, and soon she only mouthed the words, so as Applejack wouldn't hear her. She clutched her teddy-bear tightly, and just stared at the orange metal-creature still standing in the middle of the room. “You're a meany-weenie!” Euphoria called out, and inched backwards – stifling a yelp, as her rear came in contact with a cold metal wall.

“What are you so scared of?” 'Applejack' asked, and tilted its head to the side. “You are safe with me. Nothin's gonna hurt you, while I'm here,” Euphoria could feel a shiver go down her back, as she shook her head from side to side quickly.

*

As the memory faded, and Euphoria could see again, she found herself cowering in a corner inside the room from where the Protectron had emerged. It didn't take long before her pain-sensors screamed at her, and Euphoria looked down at her one singed hoof – her coat still crackling red. “Fucking hell!” she screamed, and bit her lip, trying to stifle most of her pained squeal.

Though she had little luck in doing so, she kept it up until she had swallowed most of her scream. Beneath her singed coat, Euphoria could see her blistered skin, and bubbling blood as it oozed thick from a few open sores. On one side of her hoof, almost all of Euphoria's coat had been burned off, and the smell of cooking meat hung in the air as black smoke wafted around Euphoria.

She felt as if the insides of her hoof was on fire, as if she was slowly cooking herself. In a grim pit of irony, a strange thought crossed Euphoria's mind. Maybe I would get something to eat then... The thought itself didn't worry Euphoria, but the fact that she was salivating at the idea, was a scary feeling.

Trying to ease herself away from such grim thoughts, Euphoria looked over the room with scarce decorating. Hanging on one wall, half-scorched, was a poster of a light-blue unicorn mare, in a stable-uniform. Over her horn, hovering in sparkling yellow magic, was a small translucent packed of bright-orange viscous matter. Over that, in bold letters, it read: RAD-AWAY!

Euphoria's eyes slowly narrowed into a glare, as her muzzle formed a deep frown. “Seriously, now you're just mocking me, wasteland.” As pain flared up from her hoof, Euphoria winced and looked away. Her gaze feel upon two large, hollow tubes off to one corner. Each one had a terminal situated into the side, but both were empty and the terminals black.

“Figures...” she added with words swimming in sarcasm. A cough quickly followed, and Euphoria wretched, struggling to keep herself sitting against the cold, rusted steel wall behind her. Something twisted in her gut, and she coughed hard – spitting out blood onto the floor in front of her. “Not... good...”

Using her good fore-hoof, Euphoria looked over her inventory and fished out a health-potion – one of the last two she had. It was hard-work and her head swam from the effort, but after a few seconds of trying, she managed to uncork the thing and gulped down the bitter flavour. When she was done, Euphoria simply threw the bottle away, smiling briefly as she heard the glass break.

The mare watched in awe, as the parts of her coat that showed exposed – still smoking flesh – knit themselves together, rather neatly. It didn't take long, and within seconds her hoof look good as new, except for the scorch-marks still apparent, and the fur still missing; apparently health-potions, didn't heal hair – baldness was not curable, even by those.

As the liquid settled in Euphoria's stomach, she let her eyes drift from the tubes over to the overturned rack of wood, and perforated steel girders – despite the rust, some of them had faired pretty well, and still had some splotches of flaky paint on them. Between the wooden boards, she saw a clutter of stained bottles and rusted steel-blocks, that Euphoria surmised had been conductors at one point, but were now just a mockery of that technology.

Giving a snort filled with pain, Euphoria looked from that particular mess, over to the mess at the entrance. Sprawled halfway-through the metal-hatch, was the robot that had attacked her earlier, and its head was now less intact, she noted. “Yiltse...?” Euphoria's asked the emptiness of the room, and the flickering silver-blue light coming from the outside.

“Yes,” came the zebra's voice after an all too long pause, but Euphoria still smiled as she leaned her head back, quietly staring at the ceiling above. Of course it followed the same patterns as everything else in this crappy place – rust.

Feeling well enough, Euphoria got onto her hooves, swaying just a little to one side, as she tried to steady herself. At the end of the room, sitting on a table next to the door, was a still, green terminal. “Easy,” she commented, gulping back down her own blood and vomit. “I'll never get shot by a magical beam-weapon, again,” Euphoria said and snickered as she wobbled over to the table, and its prize.

“Hacksaw,” Euphoria said with a grimace, as she gained access to the terminal and its single mail(!) Without hesitation, she opened it. “Worry...? Hmm...” she said, reading the header of the file in question.

“What is this shit? Suddenly the place gets all nice and cosy with Protectrons, just 'cause Robronco decided to buy us out? It worries me, really. They even installed a 'Morality-sensor,' in the entryway, so as nasty zebras wouldn't get inside. What do they think that would accomplish? Even if a zebra could get inside, they would have to fight through five levels of hostile ponies and machines, before they found the control-centre. Heck, I could even just give a zebra my module, and let them in – it just clicks into any- old Pip-Buck, even the old Model one-thousand! Paranoid-ass-holes, is what this shitty group is.”

“Well... that was a mouthful,” Euphoria said, as she swung her body away from the terminal and trotted back into the hallway. She didn't even turn, as she spoke. “New plan: We find the command-centre, get a module, and get the fuck out of here.” She looked over at the zebra, as she added: “Sound cool to you?”

*

The not-so gorgeous painting sizzled and crumbled into a pile of ashes, as Euphoria ducked back down behind the counter. “Fucking hell!” she said, and focused on unjamming her trusty rifle again. It had gotten to the point that she wondered why she even still had it. “Come on, you piece of shit hardware!” she angrily yelled, as her ears flicked at the sound of metal crashing against the floor outside.

“You will die!” the stomping robot said, as it strolled fully into the room, and fired a barrage of red-hot beams at the counter. Euphoria yelped, as it succeeded in punching a few holes through the wood, tearing away patches of fur on her coat along with its beam of pain. Still working one hoof on her jammed rifle, Euphoria inched to her right, trying to avoid the magical lasers.

“No! You will fucking die, you piece of shit!” Euphoria screamed as her muzzle twisted into a grin. With a glint of determination in her eyes, she rolled from her cover and broke into a gallop, as quickly as she could. Her vision filled with red, as the robot decided to fire a few more beams her way, so Euphoria darted from right to left.

Even in her heightened agile pace, the Protectron managed to get a few lucky shots in, and Euphoria bit the pain back as she neared the metal-monster; luckily, it was only surface-wounds. “Hey, you fucker!” she screamed, and bit down on the handle of her rifle, swinging it around.

It impacted against the metal-plates with a loud, hollow echo of metal that slowly dimmed. Except for looking slightly baffled and unable to act, the Protectron looked as if it hadn't taken any damage, so Euphoria brought her rifle around for another hit. Swinging her rifle hard, she aimed for the robot's single eye of shining cream-coloured light.

As soon as the muzzle of the .32 hunting rifle hit the glass of the robot, Euphoria wobbled backwards; her entire body shaking from the impact. “Why won't you die!?” she asked, and lunged at the Protectron, dropping her weapon in the process. The upper-half of the robot swung around, and fired its beam-weapons once again, painting half the floor in scorching red.

Euphoria didn't think about it, as her entire body impacted the robot, and the thing wobbled onto one side, then tilted long enough for it to fall over, onto the floor. “Officer down, officer down!” the robot cried in mock-sadness, but Euphoria just snickered to herself, as she rubbed her hooves against her temples, frowning at the pain.

“Well, well...” she said, as she walked over to the front of the Protectron and snickered again. “Looks like you're in trouble,” she added with a knowing smirk, as the robot's top-body tried to turn, but it was stopped by the floor. “What? Mare got your tongue?” Euphoria teased.

Evidently not liking her humour, the Protectron responded by firing another barrage of beams at Euphoria's face. With a loud yelp, she tossed herself to the floor and rolled to her right, dodging the Protectron's limited field of fire. “Shit, that was close...” she commented, but had trouble holding back her laugh as she looked back at the robot, still firing at the wall behind the bar-counter.

“I should probably not celebrate, before my target is dead,” she said, brandishing a wide grin, as she scooped up her rifle, and in one swift-motioned unjammed the thing. Cackling, Euphoria walked out of the room, just as the empty brass-casing of a cold, and long since fired bullet pinged off the metal-hide of another Protectron

“Zebra-scum located,” the thing said, as Euphoria turned to look at it, only grinning more, as she slid her rifle back into the battle-saddle. “Deadly force has been authorized,” the Protectron said, and stomped towards Euphoria, but before it could fire, she bit down on her bridle.

Still grinning, Euphoria watched as the robot fumbled to the side and torched the walls in blazing red. “Wow...” she commented, as she watched the sparks coming from the now open gash in the front of the Protectron, only marvelling at the fact that it was still working. As it kept firing, Euphoria frowned deeply. “Really? You're not gonna die?”

With a sudden sizzling pop, the Protectron stopped dead in its tracks. Not fully believing her eyes, Euphoria inched closer and poked it with a hoof. Several more times she did it, before she managed to push the thing over onto its side and nodded to herself. “Yup, dead as dead can be.” Her ears flicked again, and she heard another robot shatter with the dying sound of its voice, casting eerie voices down the lengthy hallway.

Grinning once more, Euphoria quickly leapt into a gallop, trying to forget the pain still flaring from her hoof. Her hooves echoed briefly, as they made contact with hard-metal, so Euphoria's anger rose at the annoying sound, and at the fact that she wasn't able to get to the end of the hallway quicker than she did.

When she got there, all Euphoria wanted to do was go back down the hallway again.

“Turret!” she screamed, as muzzle-fire screamed hot magical beams in her direction. As Euphoria clung her body to the wall behind her, she felt hot – her face felt hot. Slowly, panting, she lifted a hoof to the side of her face and pulled it back, so she could look at it. Crimson liquid dripped from her hoof, but she didn't scream. “Fuck...! You're dead now!”

A cackling laugh rose in Euphoria's lungs as she darted from the cover, and slid into the calm of S.A.T.S., taking aim at the turret in the roof. She loaded up two bullets, as she tried to conserve her ammo, as it was getting dangerously low. Slowly, the world sped back into normal rotation, and her rifle flared with muzzle-fire.

Erupting into a plume of orange, red, and greys – the turret exploded into shrapnel that reigned back down onto the floor. “Yes! In your face, turret!” Euphoria cackled and pranced past the debris, into the room to her left.

In front of her, she could see Yiltse kicking his hind-legs into a Protectron, shattering its optics. “For the glory of....” was all the robot could say, as it drawled on and its voice died away to static. Its body however hissed, and popped, spewing an explosion of metal-shrapnel onto the warped floor.

“So...” Euphoria commented as she stepped into the field, and looked up at the distant metal pole that listed to one side. The glass-casing behind the single, metal hoop with a torn net still attached to it, had been shattered, and made Euphoria snicker lightly. “Are you that good at basketball?” she asked Yiltse, cocking an eyebrow, and tilting her head at the zebra as he delivered another kick to the robot, making sure that it was dead.

“I don't play any sport,” he answered flatly and looked up at the two poles standing at each side of the warped, and mold-stained floor. “Ever,” he added – sounding a bit more on edge than he usually did. Euphoria simply shrugged it off, and followed the zebra out from the basketball court and its broken down stands.

“At least that's one more level cleared,” Euphoria stated as she walked with Yiltse down the hallway. “But, I think after this, I'll stay as far away from robots as I can, even friendly ones!” she added, thinking briefly of the myriad of robots that had been present in her Stable. As she thought about it, she slowed her pace and let Yiltse drift ahead; he wasn't answering anyway.

It didn't take much for the thought to pull away, as Euphoria looked over a half-open door that had been made sure to stay that way – there was a bed, put onto its side, so that it kept the door from shutting completely, even though the mechanism was still desperately trying to. Euphoria moved past the bed, but lowered herself a bit as she walked under the door and into the room; shuddering briefly.

Flower-print wallpaper decorated the small room, and even though it had faded severely, Euphoria could make out most of the yellow flowers. Off to the side of the room, there was a dresser, so Euphoria headed over to it. Luckily, it hadn't been locked, but it was also empty; she didn't know if she wanted to smile or just bash the brittle wood.

As her gaze drifted towards the end of the room, Euphoria's eyes lit up. She immediately darted from the drawer to the table, and its terminal. On most of the table, papers had been scattered, but Euphoria didn't even look at them, as she accessed the ancient computer, grinning as it hadn't been locked.

Four mails appeared on screen, and Euphoria smiled wide as she opened the first one, even thought it had no title.

“How's it hangin', bro? Guess I won't be coming home for a while, so tell mom and dad that I'm sorry. These new Robronco guys, tell me I'm important to the cause – vital to their puzzle. Me? I think it's a bunch of bull-crap, it's just 'cause we have that one uncle in the family that's zebra. I'm telling you, this place is getting weirder by the day.”

Euphoria frowned and closed the mail, opening the next one titled: 'Far out, huh?'

“Now, I have a 24-hour detail of Protectrons 'protecting' me. It's weird, and I miss you. How did mom take the message? I bet she wasn't thrilled, but I'll just have to suck it up for the cause. Still, I can't help this nagging sensation I get every-time I go out for a glass of water. At least, they haven't taken away the court and bar – mare, I wouldn't last even a day in this place if I couldn't drink away my troubles. As always, miss you guys loads!”

The next one was titled: 'Super-weird,' and Euphoria simply groaned before she ducked into the mail.

“The level of weirdness, just topped like level ten! Not only can't I go where I want any-more, we also have a new investor. Some weird company way out to the East, named Acme or something. They've taken serious precautions, and now all we do is research weapons. I thought we were going to research countermeasures to bale-fire bombs? I guess not.... Oh, yeah, I heard about Firelight – I hope mom's okay. They only gave me a day off work here, and that time I was forced to stay in my room. Sorry, I couldn't be at the funeral... I really can't come up with anything to say now....”

Euphoria just went one to the next one, and didn't stop to ponder the meaning – she couldn't grieve for some-pony that she hadn't met, and was dead long ago. Just like the first mail, the last one didn't have a header or title.

“...They're coming for me, brother. Tomorrow, today, next week! I don't know when, but I got the message. Heck, I'm not even sure if you'll be able to get this message. They say it's because I'm a traitor to Equestria, and that's just 'cause I've been sending these mails! But, fuck it! They've been rounding up a few ponies for weeks now, and taken them down to Research and Experimentation. I don't know what's going on, I just don't! Tell mom and dad that I'm sorry, but I won't let those fuckers get me alive!”

As Euphoria pushed away from the table and the terminal, she glanced next to it, to see a scorched skeleton huddled up against the wall. “Looks like she got her wish,” she commented dourly and quickly stepped out of the room; minding the door again, fearing that it might just manage to force through the bed when she was under it. Euphoria winced at the thought, and moved down the hallway.

She passed a few more doors on her way, but all those were locked down and wouldn't budge, so Euphoria suspected that whomever owned this place, had locked the doors centuries ago, and now they were simply welded shut because of decades of rust. She simply shrugged and walked around the bend at the end of the hallway, and stopped in front of Yiltse.

A deep furrow appeared on Euphoria's brow as she looked at the wall in front of her, and the door to her left that lead to a staircase. “What the fuck? Was that really necessary?” she asked and gestured at the wall in front of her; Yiltse just shrugged and walked through the doorway. Euphoria groaned and sighed, glancing at the sign above the door as she walked up to it.

'Level 3: Experimentation,' the sign declared in flashing blue letters, before a quick message replaced the letters. 'Authorized Personnel only,' it added in stark red, that only caused Euphoria to smirk slightly. “Why don't you just suck a rock, and try and stop me, sign!” she cackled and stepped through the doorway.

The dull sound of perforated metal echoed in the tight corridor, as Euphoria walked down the winding staircase. In front of her, she watched as the tip of Yiltse's grey and white tail vanished around the corner. Euphoria quickly followed suit, and soon walked out into another hallway, lined with doors on her left, and only rusted walls on the right.

She frowned and followed after Yiltse, picking up her pace as she had fallen behind a bit more than she wanted. As she trotted, Euphoria glanced at the doors. Just as the floor above, these doors were locked, and even had a warning plastered above them. 'Contaminant,' each warning stated flatly in dark-red letters.

“Who would keep contaminated rooms on a level for research and experimentation?” she asked, and looked at Yiltse, but the zebra said nothing. Euphoria just snorted and trotted ahead. “Guess, I'll just find out on my own,” she added with a snicker, and turned to look back at Yiltse as she laughed.

Her laugh was cut short, as she bumped into something. “Fuck...” Euphoria groaned and shook her head, as she looked up, seeing the familiar glass-dome of a Brainbot. “Okay... fuck this!” she shouted, and shoved against the barrel of the robot as she got to her hooves. Burning lasers scorched the walls, as the robot cried another remark after Euphoria.

“You are in violation of code Orange, four-five-nine – explain yourself, scum!” Euphoria frowned, as she darted out of the way of another beam of light. How am I supposed to explain myself, when you're trying to torch my flank? She thought, and bit her lip, as she slid to the floor, just as a beam singed her mane.

“Never!” she shot back, and bit down on her bridle, firing a set of bullets into the head of the Brainbot. The glass shattered, and blood painted the back of the dome, as fluids leaked out of the front, and the bot slowed to a stop. A distant ping rang out, and Euphoria looked at her rifle, tapping the muzzle. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Euphoria sat down, and slid out her rifle again, as she fussed about with the firing pin, in a desperate attempt to dislodge the thing, but it wouldn't budge. “You know what? Fuck you!” Euphoria growled, and slipped the rifle back into her battle-saddle. “I'll do just fine without you, I might even replace you...” she added with a sick grin, and cackled to herself as she got back up, and rounded the bend.

Rolling out from three doors on Euphoria's left, were two Protectrons and yet another Brainbot. Euphoria looked on with both amusement, and a bored look that mixed. “This place is like a fucking fortress, and those two stallions sent me here?” Yiltse looked at her, and cocked an eyebrow.

Snorting, Euphoria stared back at the robots that trundled and stomped into the long hallway, that stretched until it bent to the right again. “I told you they weren't normal,” the zebra stallion said coldly, getting Euphoria's attention for a brief second, as she tilted her head, enough to avoid a beam of red light.

“Maybe... but that's not enough,” Euphoria said dryly as she turned her attention back to the slowly attacking robots. “Whatever, I can think about that later. Now, it's time to finish this!” She grinned at the stallion, but he just rolled his eyes and galloped ahead. Euphoria stood back and watched, mouth half-agape.

Yiltse had no trouble in taking care of those three robots at the same time. He charged head on into the brain-bot, and crushed the cover protecting its central-mechanism. Taking the wires in his mouth, he yanked the power-module out, before staggered backwards himself. A laser had hit him in the flank, but he didn't look bothered at all.

Dropping the lump of metal and wires from his mouth, Yiltse dodged another set of lasers, and kicked out the legs of one of the Protectrons. With a satisfying crunch of metal, and the rattle of of nuts and bolts, the robot exploded. “Do not interfere with the law! Lethal force has been authorized,” the last Protectron stated simply as Yiltse turned his attention to the robot.

“Looks like they didn't think about him, when they made the security in this place.” Even as she said it, Euphoria couldn't help but think that something was off. “I guess, it's nothing,” she added with a drawl and a shrug, as Yiltse shattered the ocular of the last Protectron.

The sound made Euphoria snicker, as she got up and walked towards the first door. She quietly slipped inside, letting Yiltse stand guard for the moment. The room itself was surprisingly large, and was easily the size of two stable-rooms mashed together. Dummy-ponies had been rigged up at one end of the room, with crudely painted stripes on their bodies.

As Euphoria walked deeper into the room, she examined the dummy-ponies. Over the years, they had faded badly, and would no doubt crumble into pieces if she were to touch them now. Still, she could see that they had once been mannequins – evident from the pose they were in – though some-pony had added the stripes after the fact; probably a crude attempt to create zebra-targets, Euphoria figured.

On the other side of the room, opposite of the 'targets' a terminal glowed on top of a table, where several books lay next to it. Euphoria smiled, briefly wondering how the computers could look so beat up, and yet function almost perfect after so many years. Once she stepped up to the terminal, Euphoria found that user: 'Taffy,' was already logged in.

Quickly, she slipped into the calm of the first mail, that was apparently addressed to all staff in Glastinghouse shielded-bunker fourteen; at least now, Euphoria had a name for this place.

“We are all happy to incorporate every single pony in Glastinghouse Industries to the proud Robronco family, and we know that there will be some difficulties for you all, as you will have to adapt to our method. But, you will find that in time, you'll be safer being a part of a large company, rather than be an independent worker. One of these new changes, will affect the experimentation wing, that will receive a new chief administrator. Be kind, and remember the four rules of a pleasant working environment, and you will have no trouble in adapting to her... unique-style.”

These Robronco-fellows, seemed to Euphoria as if they wanted to run the entire world, and not only do that, they wanted to run it with an iron-hoof. The haze in front of the picture had begun to clear, and Euphoria found herself actually interested in finding out more. At first, she had only done it to waste time, but now it had become something of a hobby of her. She couldn't help it, and smirked as she darted into the second and last mail on the terminal.

“My transfer-request got pulled, by our new 'leader.' Sheesh, now I'm not even allowed to transfer out of here? Along with the fact that ponies have gone missing for weeks now, from the top-levels is odd. I see them go down here, or down to the lower levels, but I never see them come out. Oh, yeah, I got my access restricted last week as well. Fucking cunt! I didn't serve under Applejack for four years, to get put back behind a desk by some fucking bitch that doesn't know the first thing about leading. If I could, I would quit.”

The vitriol present in the message, caused Euphoria to frown, and she stepped out of the room quickly. Darting past the wreckage of the robots and Yiltse, Euphoria headed into the next room.

Within, she found an equally large room, but where the 'targets' had been, she only found four chains linked to the floor. Each set of chains, lined up perfectly with a pedestal that held a rusted gun, no longer operational. Euphoria frowned at the image, and felt as if this entire place was just taunting her.

Next to the central line, Euphoria saw a grey terminal – instead of the usual green-ones – and some sort of small-box on top, with a perforated grill on the front. Perked by her own curiosity, she walked up to the terminal, and flicked the on-switch. “...perminent twenty-three.” The strange voice of a mare boomed in the room, and Euphoria scooted backwards from the terminal.

The small grey box with the perforated grill, was now beaming a blue image of a unicorn mare levitating a clip-board next to herself. She was dressed in a lab-coat, and both her mane and tail was neatly tied into a pony-tail. Fixing the black-rimmed glasses on her nose, the mare spoke again, addressing a pony off-screen. “Are we ready?”

“Yes,” came a disembodied voice, as the mare walked out of the view. “Experiment twenty-three: Electrical current, displaced through the aperture of a rifle,” the bored-sounding voice of the stallion off-screen continued. As he talked, the image of a zebra-mare chained up to the floor appeared, and Euphoria held back a gasp; she already knew what was going to happen.

Talking in what, Euphoria suspected was zebra, the mare sounded frightened, and her eyes darted everywhere. Then, she slipped into equestrian. “Please, I have done nothing wrong. Let me go... it's not my fault...” the mare begged for her life, whimpering. She only got laughs in return, as something electrical buzzed to life off-screen.

“Firing...” the mare stated calmly off-screen, as a burst of blue light flew at the mare, shearing one of her ears off, and Euphoria watched as it simply evaporated. “Test successful. Head administrator Triage, will be pleased.” There was a pause in the recording, and Euphoria just watched the zebra mare scream and tug at her chains. “Finish her off,” the mare in the lab-coat said calmly.

Cutting out with a scream, and another burst of light, the recording ended. Looking at the terminal, Euphoria saw that there had at least been five recorded experiments, but from what the mare said, she knew that the story was way more gruesome. Half-dreading what she was going to see, Euphoria opened another file.

At first, all she saw was four empty cuff-links, and chains. Then, she flicked her ears as she heard the screaming, and panicked-voice of a mare. “Get your hooves off of me!” the mare said. “I don't belong in here..!” Euphoria watched, as a pegasus mare got dragged into view by three stallions in lab-coats. She screamed and thrashed with her hooves, but the stallions had no trouble in chaining her down.

“You should be proud of yourself, Windswept. You'll be the mother of a whole new technology,” a suspiciously calm voice of what sounded as an elderly mare said, but Euphoria couldn't see her. “With what we learn here today, we'll be able to remake Equestria. We might even win the war, just by sacrificing your life. I think, that's a good deal.”

“Fuck you, administrator!” the chained up pegasus spat back, struggling against the short chains. “You're not allowed to do experiments on ponies, remember? When this gets out, I'll report you personally to ministry-mare Applejack.”

Off-screen, the administrator laughed. “You'll do nothing of the sort, since you'll be dead. I assure you though, that even Applejack will benefit from this research. Just imagine, you'll be the mother of an entirely new line of robots, and with those we'll crush the zebras and their lousy tribes.” The mare looked on with determination in her eyes, as the recording cut out.

After a few seconds of nothing, an image of the chained-up pegasus reappeared, but she had gotten some large guns fused into the side of her hide. The skin was bloated, and fur-less both where the gun had been attached, and the surrounding skin. As she awoke, the mare screamed, and flailed her hooves wildly in a desperate attempt to escape the horror.

“Initiate the pulse,” the administrator commanded. Before her eyes, the mare twitched, and Euphoria watched as the skin around the awkwardly sized gun, bulged out and the surrounding area, got more fur burned off. “Interesting,” the cold voice of the administrator commented, as the mare gasped for air.

“Oh Celestia! It's burning!” the flailing pegasus screamed, as the skin where the gun was attached had begun to redden horribly. “Please, make it stop!” she cried in agony, but as far as she could tell, the administrator didn't stop the research. “I'll do anything! J-just make it stop!” the mare added.

“You don't have anything we want,” the administrator answered back, laughing a bit, as the skin around the weapon simply melted away. Landing in a heap of fresh ashes, the weapon detached itself from the mare's side, and gave Euphoria a good view of her insides. “Write that up as a failure. Though, I believe there still is something to gain from this.” The mare only kept screaming in agony, as the recording finished.

As silence fell on the room, and Euphoria, she didn't know what to say – or even think for that matter. She felt a lump rise in her throat, as she pushed another recording – the last one on the list.

Appearing, in front of Euphoria now was a Protectron, standing silently where the chains where. It, compared to the pony and zebra, hadn't been chained up. “Experiment forty-seven,” came the voice of the administrator. A second later, a bright blue beam fired at the robot, and it disintegrated into a nice pile of black ashes.

“Test successful. I will send the message to Applejack, personally. She will be quite happy with the results we have achieved here,” the administrator said coldly as the recording shut off. Euphoria felt bile rise in her throat, and before she could even say anything, she wretched, coughing.

“For fuck's sake...” she commented, wiping some spit from the side of her mouth, adding to it with some coughs. “I haven't even had anything to eat in hours,” Euphoria added as her stomach replied by growling low. “Oh, just shut up,” she growled back and rose to her hooves. Taking one last look a the terminal before she walked out, Euphoria just grimaced.

Stepping back out into the hallway, Euphoria turned to look at Yiltse and gave him a curt nod. “I know... I know why you hate ponies so much now...” He didn't even flinch as she spoke, and stood unmoving, but Euphoria felt as if she had gained something here today. With the ghost of a smile on her muzzle, Euphoria trotted over to the last open door.

Inside, she found it to be a medical bay, but not just for ponies. The room was decked out with the usual beds, tables, blood-packs, and equipment to fix ponies, but it had also been supplied with enough scrap-iron to repair even the most faulty robot; it really hadn't come at a surprise for Euphoria.

She was more surprised over the fact that they even had a place to fix injured ponies, since they didn't seem to care about the lives of their workers. Using a stray piece of scrap-iron she found, Euphoria sat down next to the dirty hospital-bed, and took out her rifle. She sat it down on the floor, and took the sheared piece of metal between her teeth.

Lowering her head, Euphoria slipped the metal in-between the flat-piece of metal keeping the bullet-casing lodged inside her rifle, and the pin that refused to open. She wiggled it around for a few moments, using a hoof at the same time to pry the pin away. After some gruelling moments, the pin gave, and Euphoria went cross-eyed as the cold casing of .32 bullet hit her square in the forehead.

The piece of metal she had between her teeth, fell to the ground, as Euphoria tasted blood. “At least, we're friends again,” she lamented as she put the rifle back into her battle-saddle. Even as she smiled at the thought, Euphoria found it a bit odd to be thinking of her rifle as a friend.

She just scoffed at the idea with a snort, and searched the two yellow med-kits attached to one wall. Inside, she found one health-potion, and two syringes – which she threw away, though she kept the health-potion. Besides that, the room held little of value and Euphoria trotted back into the hallway, and headed down towards the bend in the hallway.

“Heard of Acme?” Euphoria asked as she slowed down a bit, so she was walking side by side with Yiltse.

“An important company, somewhere far, far out to the east. Though they, and their associates haven't been sighted here for decades, at least,” Yiltse said calmly. “They're of no concern,” he added quickly, as if he wanted to reaffirm the notion to himself more than he was simply answering Euphoria.

"Oh... guess, I won't have to pay the assholes a visit then,” Euphoria said angrily, as she stopped in front of yet another wall, and the staircase to the next floor. “Great layout,” she added sarcastically and looked towards Yiltse, smirking a bit. He looked back at her, and trotted briskly down the staircase. “Fine, then...”

'Level 4: Cells,' the sign above the open door to the staircase boomed in the same flickering letters, as the other signs. Euphoria looked at the sign, and frowned. Really? Who's bright idea is it to keep your enemies only one floor above your command-centre? She thought, and her mind quickly darted back to the holo-recordings.

Right... you could use them as leverage, if somebody did decide to invade, she thought, snorting. “Clever, administrator,” Euphoria said and wandered down the staircase as well. As she walked, the light in the circular tube dimmed, and by the time she stepped out into the hallway, it was completely darkness.

“Oh, great...” Euphoria commented and flicked on the light on her pip-buck. This hallway looked exactly like the others, except for the fact that there was only one door, at least as far as Euphoria could see. As Euphoria looked up, she wondered why the light was out. It didn't look shattered, she thought, and it certainly wasn't power-issues since the other levels had no light-problems.

Before she could contemplate over the reasons, a faint click made her ears twitch in response. “You are a piece of work, did you know that? If anything, you're committed to your cause. But, do you know how committed your companion is?” Euphoria looked over at Yiltse, who just looked back at her.

“I bet, you don't even know who he really is, do you?” As Euphoria frowned, the mare on the PA cackled. “Oh, really!? I can't believe that you're that dumb! History-lesson, dumb cunt!” Euphoria growled at the profanity in the pony... or zebra's message to her. “A few years ago, when Red-Eye was all lovey-dovey with the Goddess, this region was untouched!

“All we had were a giant fucking army of pegasi, 'protecting' us from ourselves. They kept the peace, and kept us subdued. Of course, it didn't take long for things to go bad further to the east, where Red Eye was prowling for turf, and that made the pegasi act. To be able to do that, they pulled the majority of their army from this place, to reinforce their new war-effort, as it were.

“Once they were gone, guess what happened? Raiders! Exactly! Born from the womb of the Enclave themselves, were the scum that permeate every acre of Equestria today. Of course, this place is quite unique. Compared to other places, the Raiders in this region knew what cooperation meant, and with a charismatic leader that kept them in line, they crushed everything in their path.

“Your friend, the zebra, was part of this group. Oh, yes, he was! For a fair amount of time, he worked as a Raider, so that he could keep his own tribe alive. You see, this group of Raiders subdued, and absorbed any tribe of ponies or zebras they could find, thus giving birth to one of the greatest Raider-gangs in the story of New Equestria!” The mare cackled maniacally, as Euphoria frowned.

"Is it true?” she asked Yiltse and turned her head to look at him.

“The truth, is what you make of it,” he answered dryly, which only made Euphoria frown more. Though, she did follow him, when he walked down the hallway, into the looming darkness. “I have done things that I'm not proud of, but so have you.” Euphoria didn't even hide it, and nodded her head in response, knowing how bad she still felt about Night Letter, her mother, HE, and all the ponies in her Stable.

“I guess it doesn't matter,” she said as they walked together. “Who am I to judge, as long as you're not working with those ponies any-more,” she added and looked towards Yiltse. Even though, she hadn't really questioned him, he nodded in response. Euphoria smiled to herself, and stopped in front of the single door in the hallway.

Before she went towards the door, she however checked down the next hallway. Slowly, she peeked her head over the edge and peered down the hallway towards yet another blank wall, and a door to the right. “Sheesh, they really didn't want zebras getting inside here at all...” She looked towards Yiltse, but he didn't seem bothered, so she didn't say sorry either.

Having surmised that there were no robots lurking in the darkness, Euphoria slinked back over to the door, and stepped inside. Grimacing, as she watched the door retract into the ceiling, before she went inside the room.

To either side of her, Euphoria was flanked by a barrage of rusted steel-bars. Each side held four cells, and within a few, she noticed the charred skeletons of ponies, or zebras. “When I find you, administrator, I'm going to kill you, and it's going to be painful,” she said with a light malevolence in her tone, as she took a tour of the cells.

All the accused ponies had in this place, were a bed with bad springs, and a hole in the ground so that they could shit. The entire thing was appalling to Euphoria, but it didn't surprise her at all. Just another day in Equestria... or is that New Equestria? Euphoria wondered, as she ended her tour back at the door.

She gave a curt bow to the skeletons, already decades old, then stepped back outside. Euphoria didn't talk to Yiltse, as they headed together for the door at the end of the hallway – unlike the others, there was no staircase blocking them, instead the door stood to her right.

The staircase down to the door, was short, and Euphoria stopped just in front of the door. She looked up, smiling as she confirmed it. 'Level 5: Command-Centre,' the flickering lights in the sign said. “Here we go,” Euphoria said, grinning wide, as she pawed at the ground briefly. Without thinking, she bolted through the door, as soon as it opened and vanished into the wall.

Her entire body froze, as she came to a halt just as she had ascended the short and soft incline into the large rotunda. Ancient computers glowing green stood into the circular walls surrounding her. To Euphoria's left was another short incline, but this one ended just in front of a large semi-circular office-table, with a cracked painting hanging behind it. Euphoria growled, as she noticed that the chair was empty.

Around her, the cackling voice of a mare rose, and Euphoria perked her ears as she heard the stomping of hooves. “What? You expected me to just let you take me? Fuck that, mare! I have survived far things worse than you, and survival is what I'm good at,” the mare said, just as Yiltse walked next to Euphoria. “It's a shame that you survived this long, I would have enjoyed to pick your body apart, but now I'll just have to finish you off myself, and that'll be much more painful for you.”

To the far side of the room, a bulky mare walked out from a door, and grinned at Euphoria. She couldn't believe her own eyes, yet she was staring right at her. Rusted plates had melded into skin, and was amateurishly fused with it – making it bloated, and scarred. Two giant laser-beam weapons, had been bolted straight into the side of the mare's midsection. As Euphoria's eyes wandered across the amalgamation of technology and biology, she finally laid eyes on her face.

Criss-crossing scars, and old stitch-wounds covered it from ear to ear, while her brain sloshed around in a glass-dome atop her head – steel-plates reinforcing the seams. She had one ear missing, and that had been replaced by a metallic one, with a large antenna attached to it. Noticing her eyes, the mare grinned and showed off a row of metallic-teeth, sharpened to deadly points; they glistened with spit in the light. “Shall we begin?” she asked, a mocking tone apparent in her surprisingly deep voice.

Euphoria dodged out of the way, as the beam-weapons slashed out to her. She bit back a loud yelp, as one of the beams hit her square in one of her hind-legs, and she wobbled unsteadily. Administrator only cackled loudly, as Yiltse charged for her. A loud bang echoed in the room, as Yiltse impacted the side of the Administrator. “Not so fast!” she spat back, and shoved Yiltse away – knocking him over. Cackling, the metal-creature slowly approached the zebra.

“Please... work...” Euphoria prayed, and bit down on her bridle as she crouched low. Her trusty .32 Hunting Rifle answered, by pinging off of the dome atop Administrator's head. “Gotcha!” she added victoriously, as the mare stopped and turned to her, snarling.

“Do you think you can kill me!?” Administrator asked, anger foaming at the mouth. “I've killed ponies better than you! You're nothing but another pony for me to absorb!” Administrator’s words slashed at Euphoria, but she didn't stop and think about it – she just moved around the room, making it difficult for Administrator to attack her with her superior fire-power. “Your skin will decorate everything in this room, by the time I'm done with you!” she added, as Euphoria skidded to a stop and dropped into S.A.T.S.

She aimed for the glass-dome and lined up two shots; having only three remaining after that. Orange muzzle-fire lit up the room in brief gashes of bright light, but Euphoria watched as the bullets pinged off the plates of metal, protecting the dome like seams of armour. Fuck! Euphoria cursed on the inside, as the mare just cackled.

Now having gotten back up, Yiltse charged for the abomination again, and this time, Administrator staggered slightly. Though, it didn't take long before she brought her guns to bare again, and shoved Yiltse away – painting one of his legs in red-hot laser-fire. Yiltse didn't scream, but collapsed in obvious agony as his entire body shivered; he was out of the battle.

Turning back to Euphoria, Administrator grinned wide from ear to ear, and she shuddered in return. “I've watched over this place for decades, and you two poor excuses for friends are not gonna ruin it! Do you think you're the first? Hardly!” Euphoria just snorted and focused on darting around the room, never staying in one place long enough for Administrator to focus her fire on her. That's it... just keep talking... she thought, having trouble in hiding her laboured breathing.

“In fact, I've had dealings with your friends before!” the mare added, just as one of her eyes glowed briefly. The room filled with the static of a recording.

“Please...! D-don't do it...!” Burgundy!? “We haven't done anything to you! I... I wasn't with the ponies who stole food from you....” Euphoria stopped in a flurry of mixed emotions. Burgundy had been one of the mares that had been a part of the expedition to the outside, the day that Stable Nine had been attacked.

Everything came back to Euphoria in a flash, but she remembered the mare's blue mane, and her flowing smile. “What the fuck did you do to her!?” Euphoria snarled back, charging at the mare in a fit of anger; she only cackled viciously in response.

Her entire body flared in agony, as she impacted the mare and she shoved her away forcefully. Euphoria knocked against the floor, and coughed up blood, as she thumped her own chest with a hoof. “She became a part of me, but her friends escaped. So sad you'll never find them, even though the answer is so close...” Administrator added mockingly, but Euphoria put on her best grin.

“You're w-wrong...” she said, still having serious trouble with breathing. Administrator j
ust kept walking towards her, calmly. “First I'll kill you, and then I'll find them.... then, I'll kill the raiders.... then it's....” Euphoria stopped herself briefly. The idea of coming home had comforted her through everything, but it only now occurred to her that she might not be welcomed home.

The Over-mare would still be ruling the place, and apparent from the recording, she didn't like Euphoria. Even then, after everything she had gone through, would they welcome her, or had she become too different? No, she had to cling to the faint hope. “I'll return home!” Euphoria finally screamed, and rolled over onto her back when the mare was close enough.

Administrator's eyes went wide, and Euphoria grinned as she held the rifle in her hooves. “It's... your time to be a-absorbed,” she said in-between coughs and fired her remaining three shots. The first, tore through the mare's chin and exited through the top of the glass-dome protecting her brain. Blood, glass, and strips of brain cascaded out the top, as her body froze.

The second, went off-course and turned her left eye-ball to chunky matter of viscous liquid, that rained back down onto Euphoria, but she didn't even notice. The last one, pierced a hole through the mare's remaining ear. Her rifle gave out a resounding ping of metal, as it seized up again, but it didn't matter. She's finished... Euphoria thought, as Administrator staggered backwards, her mouth locked in mid-scream.

Her one good eye flicked about for a moment, before her entire body crashed to the floor, and just as the light winked out on her Pip-Buck, the static that had plagued her since she had arrived, also vanished. Coughing again, Euphoria sat up and tossed the rifle away, as she looked over at Yiltse still laying on the floor. “You... you all right?” she asked, worry clear in her voice, as she hadn't notice him moving in a while.

“I'm f-fine,” Yiltse responded in a cracked voice. “But, I think my leg is out of commission,” he added, so Euphoria rolled to her hooves, and struggled over to him; her own body was still screaming for just a warm bed to lay down in. As she sat down next to the zebra, Euphoria brought out one of the remaining health-potions and offered it to him. “Keep it. I failed you, and I deserve to be reminded of that failure.”

“Not to be rude, but we're not Raiders, so drink up. In your current condition, I could force it down your throat, but I don't think that would be good for you,” Euphoria said, barely being able to hide her own smile, as Yiltse looked up at her. He took the potion without another complaint, and drank it down.

She watched briefly as the fur on his wounded leg knit itself back together, but she rose only after a few seconds. Still wobbling, Euphoria stalked across the room, towards the terminal still spewing static. On it, she found logs going back years, but Euphoria was only interest in one – the last one on the list.

“Caught one of those damned stealing bastards last night. She identified herself as Burgundy, Stable Nine Security. She wouldn't give up her mission, so I simply disposed of her. However, it wasn't a complete loss in bringing her down to the lab, as she did say where her friends had planned to make a stop. I've embedded the coordinates in the message, and relaying it to you, Calico. According to this recent development, I would say that directive Nineteen is still in effect, and that you should push ahead with your plans. I'll be awaiting your response.”

Euphoria quickly attached her Pip-Buck and downloaded the coordinates from it. As the cable snaked its way back inside its protective covering, she moved to the map-menu. Seventy-clicks to the south-east, a new map-marker had appeared, and Euphoria bit her lip. “If I move quick, I can get there in less than two hours,” she said, loud enough for Yiltse to stir.

“Good luck...” he coughed, and Euphoria turned to look back at him. “I would have liked to follow you, but it looks as if my leg is still not completely healed,” he said and rose to his hooves; true to his word, Yiltse wobbled and limped badly as he made the short trek over to Euphoria. “Though, this is good right?”

She nodded, and glanced at the still glowing terminal again. “Yes, very good.”

*

Euphoria had quickly snatched the module from the Administrator's Pip-Buck and installed in her own. This time, true to the terminals, the door opened. Having no time to lose, she briskly trotted back up, and into the real world. Closing her eyes, Euphoria took a deep breath and sighed heavily; feeling relieved to be out from that place of horrors.

Seconds after, a familiar voice greeted her. “She's returned, brother.” Euphoria threw her eyes opened, and looked to her left to see the two stallions from before, standing there, a sly smirk plastered on both of their faces. “I think her quest has just gotten a nudge in the right direction, don't you?”

His friend, nodded. Euphoria still wasn't sure if that was Remus or Romulus, but he had blue hair at least. “That she has, but the question still remains. Where will she go from here? Will she take this new information to heart, and spirit off after her friends, or will she decide to stay in the shadow of those greater than her.”

“Are you two psychic or something?” she asked, tilting her head at them, as Yiltse limped up next to her.

“There are only so many different ways the future can evolve, and we are able to see them all. If that means 'psychic', to you then: yes,” the first one – green-maned brother answered quickly in that rich tone of there’s. “Of course, we can't tell you everything, since that would ruin your quest. Do, however take heed.”

You will be tested in the coming days, but you will soon have what you want. When that time comes, choose wisely.”

“The future is never set in stone, and we all do have an impact. Choose!” He added grimly, as both of the stallions poofed away in a cloud of smoke, and blue-green light. Euphoria just looked back at Yiltse, feeling befuddled. Though, the brothers had a point – she had just saved potential ponies from being killed by a complete psychopath.

In truth, it felt good. Euphoria smiled softly, as she got back on the path towards the town – now ready to collect on her missions.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Skilled – Each level of Skilled will add +2 skill points when you gain a new experience level. This Perk works best when purchased early in your adventure.

Comments

[RadiationRed]

2880972
You're allowed to have that opinion, and Euphoria would agree with you on that one. And thank you for reading.

[Deathpony]

Hopefully her friends are okay and another good chapter