My name is Ratchet, a scientist working for the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. While many of my colleges work on projects with a heavy focus on magic, the project I am heading, Project Icicle, instead combines aspects of engineering with magic. My project? Cryostasis. Specifically, my project is attempting to create a chamber which ponies, or any living being really, can be placed inside to preserve them for the future. Why not work for the Stable-Tec, you might be asking yourself. This is because Stable-Tec is busy with Stables and cannot provide funds for my project.

Thus, here I am working at the MoAS. I pitched my idea and got it authorized. I did have one stipulation, however. When my research was eventually rolled out, plans for it would be given to Stable-Tec for use in Stables. I wanted my pods to be used to preserve Ponykind, in the event of disaster. The MoAS will use my pods for containment, the specifics of which were not described to me. I do not know what will be contained in my pods, but I knew that I wanted to complete my research.

My facility is an isolated bunker in the mountain of Canterlot to keep the project both protected and hidden. The facility possesses its own generator, housing, medical facility, and a limited armory with a few personal guards. In addition to those basic amenities, it also has a magical lab for testing out the various spells my project requires, a workshop to build the machinery with, which includes a small scale forge for melting and shaping metals, and the main experiment chamber. Oh, and my own office!

The bunker has two entrances. One leading directly to Canterlot and one that leads a good distance away from it in case of emergencies. Both of these entrances are sealed shut with bulkheads. The bunker is also lined with automated turrets and cameras for extra security.

The staff includes myself, three mechanics, three arcane researchers, two medical staff, and a squad of five Steel Rangers. All of us live in the bunker and we rarely leave it. Only a select few, such as the MoAS higher-ups, are allowed entry to it as well. I am put in charge of the bunker’s operation and also modifications to it. Nothing too major, however. Like decorative or functional changes.

That being the case, in my spare time I work on a side project of mine. I begin to look into previous research and implementation of Artificial Ponies, or AP. After a few long nights once my staff goes to bed, I begin making progress. However I don’t want to just give it somepony else’s personality. I think I might be able to add my own to it.

After referencing various texts and notes I manage to put my personality into my APs spell coding. She isn't as advanced as other APs, since I made her in my spare time and only by referencing texts. As such, she isn't so much an Artificial Pony, as she is an Artificial Intelligence. There are quite a number of differences between here and APs or normal ponies. I decide to name her Cryogenic Observer and Rehabilitation Assistant or C.O.R.A. For the first few days of her life, I keep her confined to my personal terminal to help me in my own work as a sort of beta test. She performs according to my expectations and even corrects me a few times.

Once her stability and usefulness has been determined, I decide to hook her up to the main system. I start by allowing her use over the speaker system and cameras so she can help us work. This turns out to be boost to our productivity and we manage to progress the prototype to near completion. I decide that C.O.R.A. deserves more control of the facility and give her controls of all the systems, including defenses and door control.

With my prototype cryostasis pod drawing close to completion I rally my staff and after three sleepless nights and a lot of coffee, we manage to complete it! The only thing that remains is testing it out. My staff is hesitant to volunteer, however, due to the possibility that if things go poorly it could spell death. But, with the prototype complete and Twilight Sparkleherself coming to witness its activation I am left with one choice. I am confident in my work, and C.O.R.A.’s ability to manage things in my stead for a while, so I decide to test the prototype myself. A day or so later, Twilight Sparkle arrives and we begin the test.

“Ok everypony! Are you all prepared to make some history and ensure the prosperity of ponykind in future?” I ask everyone while I prepare myself to enter the Cryogenic pod. I receive a chorus of affirmations.

Twilight nods as she says, “Of course! Care to go over your plan one more time?” She looks around at everypony who is looking at her since she began speaking. After her suggestion, they all look expectantly at me.

“To begin with, I’ll enter the pod and seal it up. We will then initiate the first phase, which will calm my body down into a stable state. Then we will begin the rapid freezing process and preserve the state of my body. Lastly, we will stabilize the pod’s temperature at the ideal temperature. For phase two, we will monitor my health status for three weeks. And in the final phase we will bring me back to the world of the living!” I explain.

With the summary given and after a final confirmation that everything is ready and climb into the pod. Before I can seal it, Twilight says, “I’ll be back in to observe your awakening. See you then, and good luck.” With that I seal the pod and prepare myself for whatever I will experience while in Cryostasis.

Alarms suddenly begin to sound and I quickly open my eyes. I reach out my hooves and touch the cold steel and glass surrounding me. I begin to panic, but I breathe a sigh of relief when I find the release switch to open my prison. It swings open and I stumble out barely catching myself before hitting the floor. I’m shivering and gasping for breath when I suddenly hear a voice call out to me.

“Ah, Mistress Ratchet. It is good to see you again in the waking world,” it says with my voice. “Mistress Ratchet, is something wrong? You appear to be in a state of confusion.” I look around as my shivering subsides but cannot find the source of the voice.

“Where are you?” I ask the voice. Nopony else appears to be in the room aside from me. After a few silent moments of looking around the room for its source, it speaks up again with an almost playful tone in its voice.

“I suppose you could say I’m everywhere, Miss Ratchet. After all, I’m just an Artificial Pony that is running this facility.” She laughs playfully as I roll my eyes.

I put a hoof to my head and shake it slightly to clear my mind. I suddenly remember everything. “CORA, that’s right! Ugh. Did you wake me up early?” I ask. That’s right, it should be three weeks after I entered the pod, but no one is around.

“No Mistress Ratchet, you have actually been woken up later than expected. Since the time you entered the pod it has been thirty-five years, three months, two days, four hours, twelve minutes and twenty-one seconds. I am sorry, but I used my best judgement to maintain the integrity of the experiment,” she states simply. My eyes went wide and I was rendered speechless.

“Thirty-five years!?” I exclaim. “Wha-how-WHY!?” I ask. I stare at the computer panels along the wall for a few moments before I notice the dust that has settled over them. I look around the rest of the room and see that it too has a thick layer of dust coating everything. The ground that I lay upon as well, aside from the area I fell and disturbed.

“I am sorry to inform you Mistress Ratchet, but sixteen days after you entered the pod I detected numerous Megaspell detonations. I managed to detect seventeen before communication with the outside was lost. Following protocol, I sealed the bunker and maintained lockdown. However, numerous incidents occurred during the lockdown,” CORA explains with a hint of sorrow in her voice.

“M-megaspell detonations? You mean that…it happened? It actually happened?” I ask hastily, having been thrown into a panic given this sudden information. Is everyone alright? Did the Stables work? What will happen now? My thoughts race with thousands of questions at once, and range from dark worries to soaring hope. But within all these thoughts is one question with what CORA said. “What incidents, CORA?” I ask her.

CORA continues, “The first incident occurred twenty days after the detonations. Food had begun to run low and a few of the staff expressed thoughts on leaving the facility to find food. One of the mechanics, a researcher, and three of the Steel Rangers decided to leave. I warned them of the dangers outside but they went anyway. The remaining Steel Rangers stayed behind to ensure your safety. Regardless, when the five went outside the soon learned I was correct. They began banging on the bulkheads to be let back in. I of course refused, but the three Steel Rangers managed to force one open, but died before reaching the next one.”

“The second incident occurred thirty-three days after the detonations. The remaining inhabitants began to run out of food, so I began heavily regulating it. Your staff disliked this, however the Steel Rangers accepted it. They began to plot to turn off the facilities systems temporarily to gain access. However, as this would put your health in jeopardy, the Steel Rangers refused and threatened the others if they tried it.”

“If you recall, I have two major rules you set in place. The first is that I must put the experiment at the forefront and the second is that I cannot harm ponies. Since the Steel Rangers protected you, I had no reason to intervene. That is, until the staff killed the Rangers in their sleep. They then proceeded to the control room. I warned them against their actions, however they would not yield. With your rules in mind, I prioritized the experiment over the lives of the staff members. I changed the targeting parameters for the turrets and the issue with the staff was dealt with.”

“A few minor incidents occurred that resulted in the collapse of halls leading to most of the facility. A final major incident occurred one week ago, which is why I have woken you up. A fatal error occurred and the generator began to lose power. At this moment, I am running on reserve power and only have three hours of power remaining. In order to finish the experiment and ensure your safety, I concluded it was time to wake you before my systems shut down,” CORA explains to me.

I have once more been rendered speechless. The way that CORA talks about my staff members’ deaths is very blunt and to the point. Hearing that ponies I knew and worked with died, especially since they were alive for me only moments ago, is almost too much to take in. Let alone the fact that a Megaspell disaster event occurred. Did anypony I know make it in and survive? Goodness, even if they did, they might have died from old age by own or at the least be on the verge of it.

For what feels like hours I space out with thoughts rapidly flying through my mind. After a while I become aware of CORA saying my name, “-Ratchet. Miss Ratchet? Miss Ratchet are you feeling alright? My scans have not detected any anomalies in your health. If something is the matter, please let me know.”

I shake my thoughts away and respond to her, “I-I’m fine. This is just…a lot to take in.” I get to my hooves, my shivering having subsided enough to allow me to remain stable while standing. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down before settling into business mode. “CORA,” I address my AP assistant, “as of this moment, how much reserve power do you have?”

She pauses for a moment before the systems around the Cryogenic Pod shuts down. “With the Cryogenic Pod offline, I now have three hours, twenty-six minutes, and thirteen seconds of reserve power remaining, Miss Ratchet,” CORA answers me, once again with exact time down to the seconds.

I think for a moment before I ask, “Am I able to access the generator to repair the issue with it? Also, I do not need time to the seconds. Two levels of measurement is fine.” As nice as exact measurements were for experiments and the sort, they were kind of pointless in this situation.

“Of course. I’ll keep measurements to the second level for now, ma’am. The generator section of the bunker has been sealed off due to a collapse. We currently possess no means of clearing the collapse,” she replies disappointedly.

Of course. Which means I can’t just re-enter the pod nor can I remain in the bunker for much longer. Very well then. “CORA, what is the status outside? It is survivable?” I ask her. Since there is more than likely no more food or other important supplies left in the facility, I’ll have to brave the outside in order to survive.

“Survivable, yes. However, I cannot gather information from outside the immediate vicinity of this bunker. In addition, Canterlot remains highly irradiated. If you are to leave this bunker, the secondary exit must be used to ensure your safety,” CORA informs me.

I nod to her, “Noted. So, it is possible that the whole of Equestria is uninhabitable and only a small area outside of this bunker has survivable levels, correct?” I sincerely hope that isn’t the case, however getting my hopes up in this kind of situation isn’t wise. This might be my last day alive, for all I know.

“It could be a possibility. However, without communication with the outside I am unable to say for certain. But, you will be able to read radiation levels before you stray too far from the bunker,” she says, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

“What do you mean? We don’t have any radiation detection equipment in the facility,” I inform her. Project Icicle involved no radioactive materials so having equipment to detect radiation wasn’t necessary. We also didn’t foresee this kind of event happening. And with my Steel Rangers having been killed we can’t easily use their suits built in detectors.

“Actually ma’am, there is one such device. I think the MoAS sent it as a gift for you when you woke up, it was addressed from them, anyway. We put it in this facility one week after you entered the pod,” CORA tells me in a voice that sounds giddy with anticipation. As though she gave me the gift herself and was anxiously waiting for me to open it.

“Wait, you don’t mean they gave me a PipBuck, do you?” I ask with a hint of excitement in my voice. It couldn’t be…could it? Most of the PipBucks in production were reserved for Stables or higher-ups in the government.

“Indeed Miss Ratchet. Allow me to unseal it for you.” After a few locks unlock and some hissing, a compartment on the Cryogenic Pod’s control panels opens. I walk over to it and gaze upon the customized PipBuck inside it.

Unlike most PipBucks it is an icy blue color, which matches my mane yet contrasts nicely to my silver coat. As I look it over, I also notice a symbol on it that matches my cutie mark, schematics being drawn on a piece of paper with a pencil. In awe of the beauty of it, I unhook a cable from inside the compartment, which surprisingly retracts into the PipBuck. “Whoa!” I exclaim, “I’ve never seen a PipBuck with built-in hook-up cables!” As I use my magic to attach the PipBuck to my forehoof, I continue to look it over in amazement. Considering it is Thirty some years old, it looks brand new.

“Miss Ratchet, I have some unfortunate news regarding your PipBuck. It was hooked into that compartment to receive upgrades, however when the Mega spells detonated and I lost communication with the outside, the upgrading process was cut off. This has resulted in a few of the systems not functioning properly.” I draw my gaze away from my shiny new PipBuck to look at one of the cameras on the ceiling.

“Will it still function with what it currently has?” I ask. I only ever saw a few PipBucks, and never really got to tinker around with any before. The closest I came to one was when I saw Twilight's. Her's had a beautiful purple glow to it.

“Yes, Miss Ratchet. If you turn on the PipBuck, you will see a status screen on start up. It will tell you what you’re missing.” I nod at this and turn on the PipBuck. After flashing a few logos and normal start up messages a list of status messages displays.

Inventory Management – OK
S.A.T.S. – OK
Compass – OK
Data Storage – OK
Illumination Light – OK
Map Data – CORRUPTED
Medical Treatment – CORRUPTED
Radio Receiver – CORRUPTED
Friend/Foe Indicator – CORRUPTED

Some other minor systems are displayed as well. After it listed all of this information, it asks if I want to proceed with start up or not. I select [YES] and it brings me to the inventory management screen. I switch between screens to get used to the layout. There were various subsections of the inventory, as well as the data storage which was divided into audio logs, notes, and an archive section.

Despite the Map Data being corrupted, I was able to access the Map screens. The Local section of it shows me my immediate surrounds, but most of it is darkened. I switch to the Equestria section and am surprised to see a map of Equestria. “Huh, I thought the map data was corrupted?” I mutter to myself.
“It is ma’am. You have no locations marked, only an outline of the geography is marked.” I look back at the map and see that she is in fact correct. I thought I had just been zoomed out too far.

“However Miss Ratchet, this might be a good thing. Since you know the locations of Equestrian cities already, having a map for it is kind of redundant. You should be able to create new locations where ever you want, should the need to do so arise. Who knows, former Stable dwellers could have formed new cities already!” CORA exclaims with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“I suppose you’re right. Way to look on the bright side, CORA.” Just then a thought occurs to me. I walk over to the control panel and use my magic to pull the cable from my PipBuck which I then plug into the control panel. “Hey CORA. Are you able to download yourself into my PipBuck? If the power runs out, all of your data will be lost. It would be a shame to lose such a valuable assistant as you,” I say while smiling.

“Just a moment ma’am allow me to try,” CORA replies. A few moments later the lights flicker a moment before CORA speaks again, however, this time her voice come from my PipBuck. “It seems as though it has worked, ma’am. The code in here is quite interesting. Perhaps I can do some work on it and make some new features!” CORA exclaims with a tone of wonder and intrigue in her voice.

“Now, now CORA, don’t go messing with anything and break it,” I tell her with a smirk. She did have my personality after all. Always intrigued by the things around us and always wanting to make upgrades to existing things.

“Yes ma’am,” she says with a slightly sad tone. I was slightly sad too, I knew if I let her loose inside of it she might be able to do some really interesting things. But I also didn’t want to risk losing any more features right now. Without knowing more about it, it might cause issues if we tamper with it.

“Ok then, first thing first CORA, I’ll need some supplies. What areas do I have access to?” I ask her. With any luck, I can find some supplies that will come in handy should the surface prove survival further from the facility’s entrance.

“Besides the experiment room, the escape tunnel we will use, the Armory, and the Clinic. All other tunnels have collapsed,” she informs me while I begin to walk out of the experiment room. That doesn’t give us many choices, but they are the most important. I’d have liked access to the workshop to get some tools, but I’ll take what I can get.

“Let’s stop by the Armory first then. Who knows what we’ll find outside and it is best to be prepared,” I decide when suddenly my vision flashes for a moment, causing me to blink rapidly to refocus my vision. “What was that?!” I ask as I rapidly look around.

“Oops, sorry ma’am. I was initiating your Heads Up Display. I noticed it hadn’t started up yet, and I made a small modification to it before starting it,” CORA says with a hint of apology in her voice. Upon hearing this my vision becomes clear, well, mostly clear. Four new things have appeared in my vision. The first is in the top center, which is a compass showing me the direction I am going. The next is in the bottom left and appears to show my vitals. Next in the bottom right is something called Action Points. Lastly, and the most strange, is something that seems to move where ever it wants to.

It looks just like an 8-bit representation of my face and seems to be changing expressions as it moves. “Uhh, CORA, what is this thing that looks like me?” I ask her. It is moving around my vision seemly looking around through my eyes at the world in wonderment.

It turns to look at me before CORA replies with, “It’s me! I thought it would be nice if we could see eye to eye, so to speak.” As CORA talks, the mouth of the pixelated version of my face moves. It stops moving around and gives me a wide smile as well.

“Ooook then. Just, don’t get in the way if I’m trying to look at something, ok?” I tell her as I roll my eyes. I tell her not to tinker with things and she does it anyway. Typical me behavior though.

With that issue resolved I continue to the Armory. As my hooves echo in the hallway they also stir up the dust that has gathered on the floor. The occasional light flickers and quite a bit of paint on the walls is cracked and flaking off. It is a stark comparison to the halls I walked before. Walking the halls now pains my heart seeing my once beautiful facility in this state. It is with conflicting feelings I arrive at the armory door.

After putting in the code to unlock the door I step inside the Armory, which is only about as big as a small walk-in closet. To my surprise much of its contents are gone and what remains is covered in dust like the rest of the facility. Seeming to sense my thoughts CORA says, “The Steel Rangers who left took most of the weaponry and equipment. It is probably still in the entryway, but it was so irradiated it will be useless to you now.” I shake my head. Of course they took all the best gear.

I look around at what’s left in the Armory. There are three 10 mm pistols, one box of 10 mm rounds, two radiation suits, a pair of saddlebags, and some armored barding. I wish we stored some tools in here. But, I’ll just take what I can get for now. I decide to wear a radiation suit for now, till I can determine the safety of the outside. After suiting up, I sling the saddlebags on and put the armored barding into it as well as the ammo and all three of the pistols. After loading up in the armory, I head to the clinic.

“Why did you bring all three of the pistols with us?” CORA asks me as we walk to the clinic. It was a simple question, but the answer to it made me smile a bit. I let out a wry laugh before I answer her while we walk through the metal hallways.

“Have you ever seen me shoot a weapon? I’m horrible with them. If something happens to one of them, I’m not sure I can patch it up without another one,” I answer her. “Anyhow, let’s take a look at the clinic.”

CORA’s face becomes slightly troubled. “I’m not sure there will be much there, Miss Ratchet. Like the Armory, when your staff left they took most of the supplies.” Luckily, the clinic is just up the hall from the armory so we get there in just a few moments.

Almost as if to punctuate this fact when we open the door to the clinic the sight before me is bare shelves and empty cupboards. “You weren’t kidding,” I mutter, almost in disbelief. It was like the clinic had been ransacked. I enter the room and look around for remaining supplies.

My facility’s clinic in a state of almost disaster. Beds are flipped and its equipment overturned. The once top notch clinic was now reduced to a shadow of what it once was. I shake my head as I proceed to begin searching the clinic. But, what I end up finding is kind of depressing.

I set the items I find on the table in the center of the clinic and look over them. There are two rolls of bandages, six bobby pins, a scalpel, a pair of scissors, and a bottle of water. All of the health potions, magically enhanced bandages, and drugs we had normally stocked up was gone. “Wow, I honestly feel like they stole from us,” I say as I shake my head.

With the clinic emptied we start to head towards the exit. “CORA, anything else I should take a look at before we head out?” She did say that everything else was sealed off, but I was curious if any of the other hallways had anything in them.

Her face thinks for a moment before she says, “No ma’am. We only have a short time before the facility loses power. When that happens the doors will be hard to open manually.” I nod in confirmation as I continue to walk through the halls.

“You’ve got a point. It is a long walk down that tunnel, we should go before the power completely fails,” I agree. She is correct. Since the bulkheads are built to withstand a Megaspell, they are quite thick and heavy. It might take me a few hours to open one without the power on.

After thinking that I being walking down the halls towards the exit, noticing in a few places where the hallways have collapsed, sealing off the other areas of my facility. It is hard to believe that just a few hours previously for me this facility was still functioning perfectly. As I continue to walk down the hallways, I finally reach the first bulkhead that leads to the secondary entrance.

I hoof at a switch on the control panel and open the door. After I pass through I shut it behind me. If there are other ponies up on the surface, I don’t want to give them an easy time at getting to my research, just in case they don’t have the best of intentions. Unknowing of what I will find ahead of me I continue to walk down the long hallway. The tunnel itself runs for about a mile before the next door and the decontamination area.

Thankfully most of the lights are still working while I make my way through the hallway and after a while I make it to the next bulkhead. “Remember Miss Ratchet, this is the final bulkhead. The other one was bypassed by the Rangers,” CORA reminds me. I nod before opening the final bulkhead and stepping through it and then sealing it again.

Once I turn away from the panel and the bulkhead seals, I look around and notice two piles of fabric, and three Steel Ranger suits gathered around it. Upon closer inspection, I notice recognize the fabric as clothing and see pony bones inside and around them. I knock a hoof on the armor and the sound I receive tells me they are hollow. “CORA,” I stammer out as I stare at the remains before me, “Are they…my staff members?”

CORA makes a frown and answers, “They are. It has been Thirty-five years and three months ma’am. Their bodies decomposed years ago.” I sense a hint of sadness in her voice and I’m suddenly reminded of something.

“Hey CORA, I don’t remember giving you emotions. How can you seem sad and excited?” She tilts her head, which really just looks like she rotated a bit. Though she has been talking this way since I woke up, I just now fully realize it.

“Thirty-five years and three months gave me plenty of time to upgrade my code. I thought if I gave myself the emotions you ponies have, I could better understand the actions your staff took. But the only emotion I can simulate myself having under those circumstances is regret. Regret that I wouldn’t see the experiment finish. I do not understand why they would want to jeopardize it,” CORA explains.

“Emotions are tricky, CORA. Not everypony experiences them the same. Still, I can’t believe they are all gone,” I mutter. Though they started out as strangers, while working together we grew close, even becoming friends. But looking at them now, I just hope they went quickly.

“I tried to give them a quick death, ma’am. When they forced my hoof, and I had to. The alternative was their inevitable starvation when the food supplies ran out,” CORA says, trying to comfort me.

“Right. Well, the least we can do for them now is give them a proper burial. Once we find some tools, that is. If we can even survive outside, I suppose,” I nod to myself before turning towards the exit. I hesitate for a moment and look back at the Steel Rangers on the floor. They were all earth ponies, which means the two unicorns in the squad were the ones who stayed behind.

I consider taking the armor from one of them, but me being a unicorn my horn wouldn’t work with the helmet. Not to mention, I couldn’t fit my new PipBuck in the armor, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t be enough to go around the armor. “Ma’am?” CORA speaks up, concern evident in her voice.

“I’m fine. Let’s go,” I assure her before continuing to walk towards the exit. This length of tunnel is the shortest, its purpose is really only to serve as a decontamination area to keep the lap clean from outside contaminants. A few nozzles adorn the ceiling, now almost completely rusted. The further I walk the more dirt I notice on the ground.

After about ten meters we reach the third bulkhead, which is stuck half open. Dirt is spilling in from outside of it, covering the ground. Seeing the first line of defense to my facility like this makes me glad I used my code to lock the second bulkhead. But it also makes me slightly sad. Who would have thought the very ponies it was meant to protect would end up being the ones it caused to die from radiation.

I shake the thoughts from my head and continue through the bulkhead. I look around me and see that much of the once pristine white floor is covered in dirt now. “The Megaspell detonations kicked up a lot of dirt ma’am. It isn’t that surprising that some found its way in here,” CORA explains.
“Right,” I nod in confirmation. I wonder just how much of Equestria is now covered in dirt that was blown around from the Megaspell detonations. I wonder if I will even recognize anything once I reach the surface. I shake the doubts from my head and continue onward.

Taking a few more steps we reach the ladder to the surface and I begin climbing. It is about a four meter climb and I make good time. I push up the hidden hatch slightly before looking around to make sure nopony is around. Seeing no one, I push the hatch open fully and climb out into the metal shed that was once an equipment shed for the farm that was built to hide this entrance.

Once in the shed I can tell time hasn’t been kind to it. I can see various holes in the metal where light from outside peaks through and a decent amount of the metal has rusted. As I continue to check out the condition of the shed, I also begin looking for anything I could use. The only thing I find however, is a shovel. Well, I can at least bury my staff now. Though, only five of them at the moment.

I grab the shovel with my magic and move towards the door of the shed, reaching a hoof out to it as I get near. As my hoof rests on the handle, I steel myself for what I’m about to see outside. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. “It’s ok ma’am. I’ll be with you the whole time,” CORA encourages me with a smile. I return it as I open my eyes and turn the handle of the door.

The door opens and my vision is flooded with a blinding light.

Stat System Initialized...
Obtaining Status of User: Ratchet...
Receiving S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats...
Setting Values...
Strength = 3
Perception = 7
Endurance = 3
Charisma = 6
Intelligence = 8
Agility = 6
Luck = 7
Values set and locked.
Generating skills...
Barter: 17
Big Guns: 11
Energy Weapons: 19
Explosives: 19
Lockpick: 19
Medicine: 21
Melee Weapons: 11
Repair: 21
Science: 21
Small Guns: 17
Sneak: 17
Speech: 17
Unarmed: 11
Skills Generated.
Recalculating Specialties...
+15 Science
+15 Repair
+15 Speech
Recalculation Complete.
Loading Traits...
Night Pony:
+1 Perception & Intelligence between 6:01 pm to 6:00 am
-1 Perception & Intelligence between 6:01 am to 6:00 pm
Hoarder:
+25 lbs added to total carry weight
Traits Set.

Author's Notes:

Since Ratchet just woke up and only walked around really, she hasn't had an opportunity to gain any exp. As such, her PipBuck is only setting her stats/skills/traits.

I hope you all enjoyed my first chapter! Let me know what you think of it and I'll keep working hard to crank out new chapters!

Please point out any inconsistencies, grammatical errors, etc. I know the pacing here was kind of fast, I wanted to get past all of the pre-wasteland stuff fairly quickly. Going forward, things will be progressing slower and include more detail on surroundings and stuff like that.