In Stable 37, love was not permitted.
It may sound harsh to those unfamiliar with the concept of their homely little stable, but in truth, nopony that lived in the stable actually cared. It was their way of life down there, deep underground. The way things had always been.
But the thing that made Stable 37 special wasn’t the fact that love was forbidden, but that there were scouting teams that were allowed to leave their humble underground home and go out into the Equestrian Wasteland. And while that was not something that the unicorn Ivory Locket aspired towards, she could see how ponies might want to participate in such a dangerous, adventurous activity. Being on the scouting teams was a high honor amongst the stable – those on the teams were almost as esteemed as the Overmare herself. Such a feat was highly praised, and anypony who was daring enough to try their hoof outside was rewarded for their bravery and courage. What the reward was, Ivory Locket didn’t know, but she knew that they were rewarded greatly.
The scouting teams always tried to bring back a “special prize”, as well as the usual irradiated food and drink, which would then later be cleansed inside the stable in a special machine that Ivory Locket didn’t understand in the slightest. In her youth, the unicorn had heard much talk amongst the mothers about the “special prize” that the teams had nabbed on their most recent trips outside, but only once in her life had she ever seen one of the prizes for herself.
A colt.
A colt that, at the time, was maybe only a year or so older than herself, with a dark blue coat and a wispy silver mane, and indigo eyes that bellied a dark hatred that far surpassed his young age. He was handsome, she had thought then. And all the fillies and mares of the stable had clamored and crowded around the doorways to try and get a glance of the elusive male. She remembered the mothers sighing and cooing over the colt, saying that they were happy that the team had brought back a young one – one that would someday help father the next generation. Back then, Ivory Locket didn’t quite know what the mothers had meant by saying that, but growing up, she understood it much better.
In Stable 37, love was not permitted.
In the far back rooms - far from the passing gazes of the female ponies that trotted freely around the stables, far from convenience – there was the Holding Zone. And in that Holding Zone, held the stable’s prizes.
Stallions.
Captured stallions.
The Holding Zone, at its most, held approximately 45 stallions comfortably. Not that it had ever been that full at any point in the stable’s history, but the way that Ivory Locket saw it, the less stallions that were in the Holding Zone, the more comfortable the stallions, that were there, would be.
Of the small 250-or-so mares that lived in the stable, once they reached the certain age of 21, would receive a letter of acceptance from the Overmare herself, Fortune Fame. That mare would, from then on, have the opportunity to go down to the Holding Zone whenever she so wished, and present her letter to the multiple guards that watched over the area. The mare would then be permitted to pass through to the Holding Zone, where she herself would get to personally meet and interview any of the stallions she wanted. And whichever one she chose would then be allowed to traverse back to the mare’s apartment - accompanied by a guard, of course - and would proceed to impregnate her. After his business was completed, the stallion would be escorted back to the Holding Zone, and wait for the next mares to come. Once a stallion had fathered a maximum of ten children, or reached a certain elderly age, they were escorted out of the stable, never to be heard from again.
No feelings.
No emotions.
No love.
And that was Stable 37’s way.
Yet no mare blinked an eye in seeing a stallion get escorted away. Either they were too elderly and were going to die soon anyways, or he was a very, very desirable stallion who had gotten picked multiple times. On occasion, a mare would wait at the stable door to bid farewell to her child’s father, but more often than not, even the mother did not care.
If, on the very rare occasion, a mare fell in love with a stallion from the Holding Zone, or tried to free the stallions that lived there, the mare would mysteriously go missing the next day. Nopony from the stable asked where she went – but many had a nagging suspicion about it.
Even when the stallion had fathered a colt, he was not given special treatment. In those certain, special cases where a mare birthed a colt, the mare was showered with gifts and praise and offered better living conditions. Colts born into the stable were kept by the mother until they reached the certain age of 21. After that, they bid their mother farewell, and lived in the Holding Zone for the rest of their days. That’s not to say that the Holding Zone wasn’t a nice place, from what Ivory Locket had heard, it just got boring being in the same confined place every single day.
And it just so happened that on this very day, Ivory Locket had received a carefully folded letter in the mail, with the words From Fortune Fame artfully written on the front.
To Ivory Locket, on this day, her 21st birthday,
Allow me to be the first to give my congratulations to you. Life in Stable 37 may not be easy, but you have made it this far!
As you are aware, for the next twenty years of your life here in Stable 37, this letter will give you permission to enter the Holding Zone whenever you wish, from the hours of 8:00 am through to 9:00 pm, and choose a father for your first child.
No one is rushing you down to select a mate, but let me bring to your attention that a desirable stallion may already be gone by the time you choose to bear a child.
Please keep a close eye on this letter, as if you lose it, you will not be permitted a replacement, and you will not be permitted to enter the Holding Zone otherwise.
Allow me to remind you that mares who make the conscious decision not to bear a child by their 41st birthday are formally escorted out of Stable 37 and are not, by any circumstances, permitted back inside.
I hope that you have a marvellous day full of fun and laughter, and wish you good health and fertility in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Overmare Fortune Fame.
Fortune’s hoof stamp of approval filled up the bottom white spaces on the crispy paper. Ivory Locket sighed and levitated the letter of acceptance over to the small shelf above her bed. Aside from the master bedroom, the apartments in Stable 37 had three other rooms: a washroom, a room for a child that could be decorated alternatively if the child had moved out, and the main room, with a kitchen, dining room, living room and hobby space. Many mares considered the apartments to be too small, but for a single mare like Ivory Locket, it was just perfect. The large window in the main room offered little in the way of privacy, with mares constantly trotting by at all hours of the day, going about their business, yet luckily none of them ever glanced in at the unicorn that sat in solitude every day. Ivory Locket was thankful for that, at least – she preferred to be alone anyways – but even introverts got lonely sometimes. The mare could only count one pony as a true friend: Seaspray.
Ponies in the stable could scarcely believe that Ivory Locket and Seaspray could tolerate being in the same room as each other, the two being polar opposites. While Ivory Locket was a pale ivory unicorn with a cream colored mane, Seaspray was a teal earth pony with sapphire eyes and a sky-colored mane. Ivory Locket was an introverted jeweller who preferred to be by herself; Seaspray was a loud, popular mare whose occupation down in Stable 37 was being an actress. Both were considered popular in the stable, but in very different ways – Seaspray brought the other mares much entertainment and laughter with her acting, while Ivory Locket crafted the most beautiful ornate jewelry for them all to wear. Yet it was no secret that Ivory Locket was awkward in a crowd, which caused her to avoid others actively. And it wasn’t simply for the fact that she was shy, which she wasn’t, but for the fact that, aside from making her jewelry, Ivory had absolutely nothing else going for her.
Since there were no stallions free to wander in Stable 37, there were no beauty competitions amongst the mares. Compared to some other girls in the stable, Ivory could be considered ‘pretty’, but in truth, she was nothing special. Ponies wouldn’t stop dead in their tracks to gawk at her, like they did when they saw the elaborate and beautiful Overmare, nor would they sneer at her ugliness. Besides her cutie mark, a necklace chain surrounded by rings and bracelets, Ivory was nothing special. The only reason ponies ever talked to her was so they could request a piece of jewelry be made.
The unicorn glanced out of the glass window into the hallway, watching as a sudden influx of mares quickly ran by, all yelling at each other to hurry. Ivory cocked her head and trotted to the doorway, peering out into the corridor. Once she was certain that nopony else was coming, she gingerly stepped out, the sliding door whizzing shut behind her as she started towards the commotion. Before she took even one step, she was barrelled into by her teal earth pony friend.
“Seaspray, by the Goddesses, slow down! What’s going on out here?” Ivory asked, picking herself up off of the floor with her nose scrunched up. Seaspray, at least, had a slightly apologetic gleam to her eyes.
“Sorry Ivy – scout team just came back! Apparently brought a stallion!” The actress jumped up and down in excitement. Ivory feigned a smile, but deep down, felt nothing. For some reason, the arrival of a new slave to their little stable just wasn’t exciting to her.
“Oh, really? That’s nice. Let’s go try and see him.” Ivory muttered as she motioned for Seaspray to take the lead, which the mare did so gladly. The two friends trotted along, the buzz of voices growing louder and louder with each step they took. Turning a corner, Ivory was welcomed by a sea of flanks blocking her path, each one shifting in place trying to get a better view. Seaspray kept bouncing as high as she could, trying to get a better glance.
“Ugh, that’s just my luck, isn’t it?” The earth pony pouted as she halted her bouncing and stuck out her lower lip. “I’m not gonna get my letter from Fortune Fame until next year, and now I can’t even see the new stallion!” Seaspray stuck her tongue out playfully at her friend. “You’re lucky, Ivy – you got your letter already! You could go see the new stallion right now if you wanted to!” She turned forward and kept trying to look over the sea of heads, but Ivory looked over to the corner and scowled.
“Yeah, I guess I could.” The jeweller muttered. Seaspray gave a quick glance to her friend as she jumped up again.
“What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy.”
“What makes you say that?” Ivory retorted, a little more hostile than she intended. Seaspray looked quizzically at the unicorn for a moment. Ivory sighed inwardly. “I’m sorry, Sea. Just haven’t been feeling too good today I suppose.”
“Are you crazy?” Seaspray gaped at her, astounded. “Today is your birthday! And not just any birthday either!” Ivory rolled her eyes as Seaspray continued, “It’s your twenty-first birthday! Do you know what that means?!” The mare stared hard at the jeweller, leaning forward impossibly on her hooves.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a big deal that-“
“Not a big deal?! It’s not a big deal that you’re allowed into the Holding Zone now?!” Seaspray rocked backwards and gave her an almost-dirty glare. It was no secret that the actress desperately wanted to go to the Holding Zone, and had to wait another whole year to do so. Ivory felt a twinge of guilt for basically rubbing it into her friend’s face that she could get in, and Seaspray couldn't.
“Sea, if I could, I would give you my letter. It really doesn’t interest me all that much in going.” Ivory shrugged her shoulders at her friend and turned away, beginning to walk back to her apartment. Seaspray ran up beside her and walked back with her.
“Why don’t you wanna go, though?” The actress asked, earning another shrug from the unicorn.
“I dunno, the idea of being born for the sole purpose to procreate has never been something that was considered to be high priority for me. I suppose.” Ivory mumbled, embarrassed. Her face flushed slightly pink as she said so. Seaspray didn’t seem content with the answer.
“But haven’t you ever wanted to go in and meet a stallion? Have a beautiful little Baby Ivory?” The earth pony swooned in place slightly as she waited for Ivory to unlock the door. The unicorn smirked at Seaspray’s obvious want for a child.
“Well, hopefully for me, ‘Baby Ivory’ is far off. I’m fine with living on my own, Sea. Honestly.” The door whizzed open in front of the two mares, blowing their manes slightly. Tilting her head, inviting her friend in, Ivory Locket continued. “I’ve never really liked children that much anyways.”
“That’s ridiculous. Children are great!”
“Maybe for some mares, like you. You’d be a great mom, Seaspray. I wouldn’t.” The unicorn mused sadly as she took a seat on the couch in the living room space.
“That’s just silly talk!” Seaspray lightly shoved Ivory Locket, “You would be too. I would give anything to go down to the Holding Zone and even just meet all the stallions down there!” The actress leaned over and rested her head in her hoof, sighing dreamily. “All those stallions, there to serve you. Who wouldn’t want that?”
“Me.” Ivory Locket hid a smirk as Seaspray glared in her direction.
“Well, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to just go down there and see the stallions, would it?” The mare continued.
“What’s the point in that?” Ivory asked, cocking her head to the side. Seaspray fixed her with a dull glance.
“Honestly, Ivy, do you ever think ahead?” Without giving Ivory a chance to speak, she continued. “Who knows when you’re going to want to have a filly of your own? You might want to next year – if you go and meet all of your choices right now, when you finally do decide to have a kid, some of the burden will be taken off!” Seaspray shot her arms up in the air enthusiastically. At Ivory’s confused look, she dropped them and rolled her eyes. “You’ll already have an idea as to what they’re all like.”
“Ohhhhhh…” Ivory nodded slowly with understanding.
“And who knows,” The actress leaned over to her friend and nudged her, winking one sapphire eye, “You might actually meet somepony down there that will change your mind.” Seaspray sat back and laughed at Ivory Locket’s disgusted look.
“I seriously doubt that will happen.”
“You never know. I would give it a shot. And besides – you would be doing your old pal Seaspray a big favor!” The mare quickly glanced up to the ceiling and started innocently whistling to herself. Ivory pursed her lips and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“How so?”
“Because next year, the second that I get my letter, I’m heading down to the Holding Zone right away. If I already knew who some of the stallions were down there, it would make my job a whole lot easier…” Seaspray fluttered her eyelids at Ivory. “Because you know how much I want a baby…” Ivory squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hooves.
“Ugh, just be quiet already. If I go down and check out the place, will you stop nagging me?”
“YES!” Seaspray launched herself in Ivory’s direction, knocking the two mares to the floor. Ivory winced from the earth pony’s weight. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Ivy! This is the greatest thing! I know you’ll like it down there! You have to tell me all about it – ooohh – you’re just the greatest friend ever!” Ivory rolled her eyes sarcastically, but smiled at Seaspray’s unchecked joy.
“Whatever, get off me now.” The unicorn pushed the actress off of her and the two stood up, brushing their stable uniforms off. Ivory’s horn glowed a pale yellow and her magic wrapped itself around the letter that was sitting on her shelf above her bed. It floated over to the two mares, and each regarded it differently – Ivory with a look of disgust, Seaspray with excitement and longing. Folding it neatly in half so that Fortune Fame’s beautifully written signature wasn’t creased, the jeweller stored it away in her pocket while being pushed out the door by Seaspray.
“Now, run down there as fast as you can and tell me all about it when you get back. Remember to talk to all the stallions when you get down there, okay? You can’t be biased!”
“Aren’t you gonna walk down with me?” Ivory asked, turning towards her friend. Seaspray shook her head sadly.
“I wish I could, but I have a rehearsal to get to in a few minutes. But I’ll come over tonight, and you can tell me all about it! Okay?”
“If I have to.” Ivory said sarcastically.
“You have to.” Seaspray commanded in a deadpan voice. Ivory took a step back.
“Well, you have a good time at your rehearsal. Good luck.” The jeweller smiled to her friend. Seaspray gave her a quick hug before turning and started trotting off in the opposite direction towards the theater.
“You too! Remember – talk to all of them!” Seaspray yelled as she turned the corner and disappeared from view. Ivory listened to her hoofsteps trotting away before sighing lightly and starting down her own path, alone in the twisting hallways as she went down to the one place that she swore she would never go. The unicorn watched her metallic reflection trot in time with her, the clop-clop-clop sounding almost like a robotic rhythm to her. It almost hypnotized her, for when she reached the large, imposing doorframe in front of her, she nearly jumped from shock.
The dark doorway was shielded by two guards on either side, and a low buzz of electricity filled the corridor. Ivory peered around and saw that around the door, an electric fence barred escape. One of the guards, a stern looking earth mare, glared down at her, making Ivory feel very, very small.
“What can I help you with, ma’am? Here to go inside?” The mare asked in a deep, rough voice. Ivory shrunk under her gaze.
“Y-Yes, I am.” Her voice came out as more of a squeak than usual.
“Letter of Acceptance, please.” The mare stuck out her hoof, staring at Ivory. The unicorn fumbled slightly, searching for her letter. Finding it after an awkward few seconds, yellow magic levitated it out of her pocket and into the hoof of the mare. The guard unfolded it and read it over quickly, scanning it and turning it over to read Fortune Fame’s signature. “Well, all seems to be here. Go on through.” The mare nodded to the second guard, who nodded back as she disabled the electricity and swung the door open. Ivory Locket gulped, nervous. The electric hum died down, leaving the mares in silence.
“Please inform one of the guards inside if you would like a stallion escorted to your home. Take as much time as you need.” Ivory feigned a smile and nodded, stepping inside. The unicorn immediately felt as much of a prisoner in the room as the stallions surely did. All of the males wandering the room had an obviously forced façade of happiness plastered to their face. Ivory winced internally in seeing them all, walking around slowly, heads held down, only one or two engaged in conversation with another mare that was in the room. The jeweller’s thoughts were interrupted as the buzz of electricity suddenly started up again, making her jump.
“Enjoy your stay, Miss Ivory Locket.” The guard mare said as the door swung shut behind her and a locking mechanism slid into place. To her right, plastered lopsided on the wall, was a black and white photo of Fortune Fame glaring sternly at her, with the oh-so-familiar reminder below her beautiful face.
“In Stable 37, love is not permitted.”
Chapter 2 - The Holding Zone
Depression hung in the air like a smoky blanket all around Ivory Locket. From what she had heard when she was younger, Ivory had thought that the Holding Zone was a nice place, where the stallions were treated just as well as the mares were. The place was large – larger than she thought it would be. But the big box that she stood in was completely gray. The only furniture that was in the room was the necessities – tables, chairs, those sorts of thing. The only décor that she could see was the same poster of Fortune Fame over and over again with the stable’s catchphrase underneath:
“In Stable 37, love is not permitted.”
Around the perimeter of the room were 45 doors. The jeweller didn’t need to count how many there were – the Holding Zone was made for 45 stallions. A few of them were open, and Ivory could see inside. The rooms were all the same - plain, with its only features being a single bed and a toilet on the opposite wall. Gulping loudly, feeling naked and exposed under the harsh stares of the males in the room with her, Ivory Locket felt like she was in a prison. A female guard who stood in the room with her raised an eyebrow in confusion at her.
“Ma’am? Are you alright?” The guard’s voice sounded unusually loud in the room. It felt as though the Holding Zone should be in silence at all hours of the day. Ivory nodded quickly at the guard wordlessly and took a shaky step forward.
“I’m not so sure about this anymore…” She thought to herself, stealing glances at everypony in the room. Some of the stallions returned her gaze, others quickly looked away. “I guess I should talk to one of them…” Stepping forward boldly, trying to put on a brave face, she scanned the room to find one gruff looking stallion who sat at a table. She trotted over to him and awkwardly stared down at him until he looked up.
“Can I help you?” He asked her, his voice shaky. Ivory fought to find words for a split second.
“May I sit down?” She asked as her horn glowed and a chair from a neighboring table was pulled over. He nodded wordlessly and stared back down at the plain brown wood. Ivory sat down and stared at the top of his head for what felt like a good long time before she cleared her throat. “My name is Ivory Locket.” Silence greeted her. She pursed her lips, sighed inwardly and continued. “What’s yours?”
“Steam Valve.” He muttered quickly without looking up at her. The two sat in another awkward silence. After a while, he looked up at her and raised a questioning eyebrow. Ivory returned it with a smile that was slightly too big.
“That’s a nice name,” She said, a little too enthusiastically. The jeweller was never good at social interactions. “What’s your special talent?” She waited for an answer, but when he lifted his head, she knew immediately that she had said something wrong. Steam Valve glared at her with harsh eyes and any trace of uncertainty and fright that he might have possessed before had vanished.
“Well, before I was taken from my home a few months ago and forced into here against my will, I was a repairpony in a little town not too far from here.” He barred his teeth at her. “But now that I’m here, I may as well not even have a special talent, should I?” Ivory quickly stood up, knocking the chair backwards as she did so. It fell down with a loud clang, and made the entire room look her way.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“
“Of course you didn’t. Nopony down here ever means anything. I don’t know what sick freaks brainwashed you all, but in the name of Celestia, if anypony here thinks that I’ll be impregnating a mare in this Goddess forsaken place, they thought wrong.” Ivory looked to the guards near the door for help. Two of them had stun rods in their mouth, and they were glaring hard at Steam Valve. A third one had hers levitating in the air, and spoke for the group.
“Stallion, step down. If you do not comply with us, we will use force. You know the rules, no threatening the guests, no yelling.” The guard lowered her rod so it pointed directly towards him.
“Guests?!” He barked out, laughing. “I’m a slave for your so-called guests. Why should I show any amount of respect for you pathetic mares? What sick social experiment is going on down here? If you want me to show your guests respect, why don’t you show some of us a little first?!” Steam Valve took a step towards the guards as they stood their ground. “Go ahead; hit me with your best shot. If you don’t take the initiative,” He lowered his head, glowering at the guards, “I will.”
The stallion attempted to charge forward. At the first sign of movement, the unicorn guard lashed out with her stun rod, pressing it firmly against his orange coat. The rest of the guards lunged forward and did the same. Ivory didn’t stay to watch. Shutting her eyes, tears pricking at the corners of them, she ran as fast as she could towards the exit, trying to block out his tortured screams of pain as she flung the door open. The two guard mares posted outside stared in shock at her before looking at the commotion that was happening within. Nearly tripping over her own hooves, Ivory Locket ran as fast as her tired legs could carry her, not stopping until her apartment door had slammed shut behind her, and her face was well and buried into the single pillow that lay on her single bed. She didn’t know how long she had laid there, sobbing and shaking with fear, until a loud knock and a concerned voice at the door interrupted her.
“Ivy?”
Ivory Locket looked up, and an even deeper pain filled her heart.
“What am I gonna tell Seaspray?”
