Light. Blinding, painful light, pulled me out of my blissful dark sleep. That was the kind of wake up call you got in Stable 79. Groaning, I narrowly opened my eyes, greeted only by the grey walls my bed was against. The soft, annoyingly ever-present, hum of the fluorescence lights droned against my ears, beaten only by the soft beeping of my pipbuck.

I weakly sat up, and rubbed the sleep out my eyes with my forehooves. Planting a hoof between my hind legs to support myself, I brought my pipbuck up to my face, trying to focus on the glowing text.

Oh look, more light. Goddesses, I hated the light. I hated waking up. Groaning again, I turned down the brightness on my pipbuck, and my eyesight finally came into the range of usefulness, and I could read the message from the blue screen.

Shadow Bolt,

The terminal in the Overmare’s office is on the fritz again. I swear, that mare gets into more trouble with her terminal than a foal could with rebooting the medical spell matrix. Can you take a look at it? I’m tired of dealing with her. Thanks.

Technical Officer

Red Wire

I blinked, then blinked again. I was woken up for this? The Overmare’s terminal? From what I hear, that terminal is used for nothing but a few logs and solitaire! This could have waited several... more... hours. Ah, crap. My eyes fell on little number in the corner, telling me it was almost noon. Had I really let myself sleep for 6 hours? My face met my hoof as I let out a frustrated sigh. Pausing only for a moment, I climbed out of my tiny, overly alluring bed, the pale blue blanket falling limply off to the side.

I made my way to my mirror, standing alone in the far corner of the room, looking upon a pair of yellow eyes gazing at me as I came into view. A handsome buck, or so I had been told, eyed me back. Turning to the side, I saw my terminal cutie mark gleamed on my coal colored flanks. Sudden realization dawned on me, that how I earned that cutie mark might be why that terminal keeps going on the fritz.

My eyes traveled to my chest, following the jagged curve of where my belly ended and my rib-cage began, and looking at each rib afterwards, all the way until I reached my face. Luna, mother was wrong. Well, i wasn't ugly, but I was nothing special to look at either. Every other buck in this stable has just about the same bone structure. Unless they just meant that I’m the ‘dark and mysterious’ type. Well, good for them, if they were into that. Then my eyes then fell on my mane. The blue hair with a solid black stripe down the center ended in a frizzy mess that jumbled all together in the back.

Aw, crap. I may not have time for a shower, but I couldn't risk going out and let Lilly see my mane like this! I fixed my gaze to the dresser on the left, the comb on top between a lamp and a few scrap electronics glowed in a blue magic, emitted by my horn. I grimaced, floating it over to me, and began quite roughly brushing knots out of my mane, and then even more reluctantly, my tail the brush crackling as it pulled against several rough spots. Finally, i was done, still a bit of a mess, but that was unavoidable. Now, it’s not a tangled mess.

Being a satisfied grump, I floated the brush back to its place, before opening a drawer and pulling out a clean stable-tec technicians barding, the golden number 79 embroidered on the collar shone bright against the pale blue.

I never liked that color, too grey. Like the walls, the ceiling, the floor....

I pulled it over my head, the sleeve snagging over the casing that held the secondary spell matrix of my pipbuck. An achievement I was quite proud of, although, the metal work involved was definitely not my forte. I actually had to modify both spell matrices in order to get them to cooperate. Pulling harder, quite possibly almost tearing the sleeve, I managed to get it over the pipbuck, and slightly tucked it into the side, the spell matrix, exposed by a round glass casing, glowed softly. I smiled, thinking of how ‘improved’ my pipbuck was compared to the others. In reality, it really wasn't. Sure, I could now have two peripherals instead of one, but I hadn't even seen one, aside from an audio recorder. I guess there is only one true advantage, which is a lifesaver when you’re hacking a terminal with an advanced security matrix. Almost got into one of those once. Tricky little bugger, crashed my pipbuck’s secondary spell matrix, but my primary rebooted it, thank the goddesses. Didn't want to have to explain that one to Miss Wire.

I was wasting enough time. Straightening my barding, I quickly turned and grabbed the toolbox telekinetically, and rushed out the metal door, whooshing closed behind me as I stepped out into the hall. I banked to the left, trotting down briskly to the Overmare’s office that laid only a short walk away. As I stopped in front of the door, I raised a hoof to knock, but the door slid open in front of me and a dull green mare, with an even duller brushed back mane stared at me.

“Shadow?” The mare asked me, “What are you doing here? Where’s Red Wire?”

“She sent me,” I replied bluntly, “I heard your terminal was giving you issues?”

Her eyes narrowed, and eyed me, as if gauging my worth, “I was expecting Red Wire...”

I sighed, then huffed, a hint of annoyance tingeing at my voice, “I am perfectly capable of working my way around a terminal, Overmare Greyburn. I have been since I was six,” I gave her a coy smile.

“Oh, don’t think I hadn't forgotten...” She scowled at me, but stepped to the side, letting me into her office/home combo, “And no hacking. Those files are supposed to be private.”

I smiled, trotting into the door beside her, looking around in her little ‘office’. The same tan couch against the wall, with the same glass window above it. The same door leading to the same kitchen, with the same bedroom door next to it. Every living space was the same. What was different though, was in the center of the room. A small metal table sat squarely on top of an old brown rug. A poster was taped onto its front reading ‘Love your Overmare’ and ‘She protects us’ written in nice bold letters, over a group of children looking up to a smiling bright mare, who was definitely not, our Overmare. The ponies in the posters were always off putting to me, they looked almost like photos except... they were so fat that their bones didn't even show through. It was... unnatural. On top of the desk was a bunch of scattered papers, a small pipbuck statuette, and the terminal, which I quickly trotted over to.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” came the cold tone of our Overmare, “I want to have a word with Miss Wire.”

I waved a hoof at her dismissively, “Yea, yea. I should have this up and running by the time you get back.”

She scoffed, then trotted out the door, swooshing closed behind her, leaving me to my privacy. I turned to the terminal, its black screen annoying me. I pressed the power button and... nothing.

To a hint of annoyance, and none to my surprise, I slowly leaned over to the left, and looked down at the plug on the floor, and and quickly shoved it into the outlet.

Oh look. Power.

With the terminal now whirring to life, I began to realize that the reason behind my being woken up was not due to a faulty terminal, and to no fault of my own, but an idiotic operator error. No, scratch that. Just an idiotic operator.

It sat there, taunting me with its log in screen, the little cursor blinking for what seemed like ages, prodding me to try to figure out what secrets lied on the other side. Knowing the mare who used it... probably none, but that wouldn't stop me from finding out. I began to pull out my hacking tools, ready to pry open all the secrets I had once almost gotten, before stopping. Sighing, I typed in the password I had acquired from my youth, ‘LoveAndObey’. The computer logged in without a single care in the world.

I blinked. Oh Goddesses, seriously? I hacked this terminal when I was 6... and in 15 years she couldn't even bother herself to change the password? And seriously, love and obey? It may have been those ever present posters in this place since the world began, but buck, that mare had an inflated ego. No wonder Red was tired of dealing with her. I hardly deal with her at all, and I was tired of her!

Well, she told me not to hack the terminal. And now I just didn't have to.

I sat back, trying to think of what the Overmare actually did. I mean, sure, she works hoof in hoof with the security department, but other than that, she just kind of told young colts and fillies where they would work for the rest of their lives. Oh, a syringe cutie mark? To medical! A shield? To security! An electronic of some kind? To technical! Everything else? Work and toil in the farm! It... wasn't exactly rocket science.

And what exactly was there for the Overmare to ...overlook? We all took care of ourselves, and by extension, each other. At least security didn't have much to look after. We had our farm, connected to 3 separate living quarter wings, each with 20 rooms. Mine, the wing properly labeled ‘C’, held both the Overmare’s office, and the stairs down to reactor level. Both the clinic and food storage was in wing D, and the security office was in wing E. Where is wings A and B you ask? Who knows. Probably behind one of the many, many locked doors. Actually, I found wing F behind one, in a desperate attempt of exploration, but my mother, rest her soul, caught me before I could get too far.

Then they told me that you should never open the doors. Never leave, you'll endanger the stable. Bad monsters locked away forever behind those doors, waiting to eat you and your soul. I never quite understood it, but they said next time they would be quite adamant in their punishments, so I let it go.

But I never could quite let go the wonder of what secrets lies beyond those doors...

Dammit Shadow, you’re letting your thoughts distract you!

I turned my attention back to the terminal, looking through the titles of several logs, surprisingly sparse through the last 160 years. It may be bad to go through her private logs... but what about the logs of the Overmare before her? I smiled, plugging in my pipbuck and downloading as quickly as the progress bar would allow.

“And you really thought it was a good idea to send me that degenerate?” came the faint, yet harsh tone of the Overmare.

I looked up, my eyes going wide in panic as I cut off the download, and logged out completely, my magic making quick work of the keyboard.

“You know, you don’t have to call him that. Especially out in a public hall,” came the much kinder, yet slightly ticked voice of my mentor, Red Wire.

My ears flicked as the door slid open, and I straightened in my seat, trying to look as innocently as I could. Greyburn’s voice burst into the room, “I will call him whatever I please. He gets himself into trouble more than I-Oh.... you’re still here,” she added, looking at me.

Of course she was whining about me. That mare hated me. And I had no idea why, though, something had me suspecting it was something my father did.

Red Wire stepped into the room behind her, giving me a soft smile, her red coat contrasting highly with the worn blue of her stable barding, and her short, frizzled golden hair brought out a soft sparkle in her deep, azure blue eyes. A soft aura of red magic encompassed her horn, as well as a small clipboard and pencil she had been taking notes with, “Good morning, Shadow,” she knew me far too well, “Did you fix the terminal?”

I nodded, “The internal spell matrix lost contact with its power supply. I repaired the connection and now she’s humming happily.”

She gave me a knowing smile, before turning to our Overmare, “See, I told you he’d be able to fix it just fine.”

Greyburn narrowed her eyes at me, “So it seems. Now move, I have important business to attend to.”

I shrugged, before standing up and trotting towards the two mares, “Farewell then.”

Greyburn trotted by me, making a beeline for the terminal, giving it a suspicious glance before looking up at me, “Goodbye, Shadow Bolt.”

I left without another word, trotting to the farm in the center of our little world. Red had stepped to the side, letting me pass before following silently a moment. Then she giggled, “I like how you said ‘I plugged it in.’”

I smirked, “Well, I’d have all hell to pay if I made her sound that stupid, now wouldn't I?”

She laughed, and I soon joined her.

She turned to me, smiling, before nodding to a yellow mare who trotted beside me, heading back to her room from the farm, carrying a single sack of fresh goods in her teeth that would be food for her and her family from the day. I gave a friendly wave.

“So,” she continued, her gaze locking with mine, “I have some things to look at in medical. The reactor control systems are apparently bogging down, could probably use a good hard reset. Mind taking a look?”

I nodded, smiling, “Of course. Just got one stop to make at the farm, then I’ll be on my way.” Recently, she had been entrusting me with more and more important work, and that made me... Important.

I was important, and that made me feel good about myself, and what I did. These ponies needed me. And I needed them. They were... like a family. No, they were my family, the Overmare included. Though she was more like an annoying aunt than anything.

“Forget to make your lunch, or you just going so can you stare at Lilly’s plot?”

I.... what? “I don’t stare at her plot! I mean it’s a nice plot, but I-” I cringed at my own words. Wow, nice move Shadow. “Just no! I don’t stare!” Sweet Celestia, was it possible to blush with the entirety of your body?

She laughed so hard she looked like she was going to burst into tears. I looked away, shrinking back, trying to somehow hide within myself, which became increasingly harder to do as my cheeks were now probably little red warning lights, indicating to all those around that I would soon explode from the sheer pressure.

She tapped my flank with hers, the touch shocking me, somehow hitting the quick release valve on the embarrassment I was feeling, “You should ask her out already. You won’t stay young forever, ya know.” She smiled, before turning to trot back towards the farm, adding quickly, “and even the Goddesses above can see that you want to.”

I followed her nervously, keeping my head low as I looked up at her, “It’s..... really that obvious?”

She nodded, giggling softly still, “We've all known for a while now. I’d be surprised if she didn't know.”

I stopped dead, my eyes widening. She knew? For how long?

Red stopped, looking back at me, “You coming?” she said, her smile teasing at me, “You’ll never see her plot if you don’t go to her.”

Oh, I’m not going to hear the end of this, am I? Wait.... does Lilly think I stare at her plot? That I’m some kind of pervert buck of a... oh goddesses! “Y-yea... just...” There were those warning lights again... Shaking myself, I trotted my way past my mentor, “Yea, lets just get this over with.”

“Get what over with? Ohhh, you gonna ask her out?”

I nodded, “If she already knows I like her that way, then I’m just burying my own grave by not asking her out...”

She... squeed? “Exactly! So get your plot in there and put it on the line!”

Eep! That... wasn't how I wanted to think about that. I looked towards the door that was fast approaching and gulped, stopping short, just out of reach for the automated sensor to pick up my presence.

Red stopped behind me, giving me a little nudge, her head to my rump, that caused the door to sense me and open, before stepping back and saying softly, “...Go get her, tiger.”

I looked back to her, before a soft smile broke across my face. Turning, I peered into the open doorway, before trotting inside.

I scanned the room for Lilly, seeing only the pastel-colored ponies as they tended to the various crops or the few apple trees that spanned across half of the farm. A blue earth pony stallion pulled a rake down a line of farmland, a basket of freshly pulled carrots at his side. A purple mare trotted past him, heading towards the berry bush, her burlap saddlebag empty for the fresh harvest. A young green unicorn filly smiled deviously as she looked at the control console for the farms automated system, visible only in the window from a side room. The water sprinklers suddenly turned on, getting all the ponies working wet, bringing out several cries of surprise, laughter bellowing out of the green unicorn’s face.

"Hey! Cut those off!" a sweet, and very unhappy voice called out over the farm, "The moisture in the soil is supposed to be at a precise percentage for these tests to run properly!"

A warm smile grew across my face as my gaze turned to see the earth pony mare. Her forest green mane was soaked, draped down over her azure eyes. Dirt, quickly turning into mud, stuck to her hooves, staining her pearly white coat. Her flank bore her cutie mark, a lily flower growing out from a pool of water. Her tail was.... OK Shadow, you're a respectable buck! Stop staring, don’t let Red Wire be right!

She stood tall, giving the green filly a look that made me feel guilty! She quickly closed a vial of topsoil, though the damage to the sample had already been done.

The filly went wide eyed, "Sorry Miss Flower!" and quickly turned back to the controls, shutting off the sprinklers. The room fell silent, save for the soft patter of water dripping off manes and leaves as Lilly trotted towards her, that same firm look now towering over the shrinking filly.

"Kiwi," Lilly began stopping right before the filly, "This farm is our only source of food for all 87 ponies in this stable, and it is barely enough. The system is carefully calibrated for optimal growth... Add too much, and we might not see as much of a harvest next time. Ponies could starve!"

The fillies eyes somehow grew even more, then looked down, "I... I'm sorry.... I don't wanna hurt no pony!"

Lilly's glare melted away in moments, being replaced by a soft smile, now addressing Kiwi in a much softer tone, "I know... You didn't add enough water to do any real harm." Her smile grew slightly, raising her vial of mud, "Maybe delayed some of the tests I was going to run. But I can still run a few others. But I need you to understand that the equipment and the sprinklers are not a toy to be played with...." Her gaze shifted over to me a smirk running on her face, "That goes for you too, Shadow!"

Well, that brought a giggle out of the filly. Me? I felt my cheeks burning, "What?! Me?! But I wouldn't-"

"Yes, you would," she countered as she turned, her hips swaying slightly as she walked towards me, moisture making her coat sheen in the artificial sunlight, "I can see it in your face. Don't think I don't know what you do." Her grin grows, "There aren't many ponies in this stable that could hack a door so it only opens if you walk through it backwards." She giggled, "That was actually pretty good. It's surprising how ponies act when they have to think about how to walk through a door. Water Drain even moonwalked!"

“How come he gets to have all the fun?” Kiwi whined.

“I never said you couldn't,” Lilly turned and booped the fillies nose, “Just not with the sprinklers.”

"But I…." I started as Lilly faced me again, giving me a look, and I stopped with a sigh, hanging my head. There was no getting out of this one, she did know me too well!

With a little smirk, I sat back on my haunches, raising a hoof to my side, and laying the other over my heart, “I solemnly swear that I will not tamper with the sprinkler systems.” My smirk grew, “No matter how fun it would be to try to get the computer to blast ponies.”

Lilly eyed at me, and I could feel those eyes bearing down on me. A moment passed, maybe two, and my smirk wavered slightly. Then a giggle escaped her lips, and she patted my cheek. “Well, come on then,” she added, now leading me across the farm. A tap of a hoof and the swoosh of a door later, we were in her office.

The room hummed with several pieces of machinery, all performing different tests on the topsoil she had previously gathered. A mess of wires hooked up across the edges of the floor to a terminal upon her desk on the far wall, glowing softly in its green displaying the progress of the different machines. Behind it was a window, peering out towards a giant vat filled with more soil. Three large mechanical pillars with heavy bolts came down from the ceiling, connected together by large rotors and gears. An alarm sounded, and a red sludge poured out of a tube over the side of the vat. Slowly, the pillars began spinning and mixing the topsoil with a heavy groan, and pulling down the sludge into the mix. Then with a loud electrical pop, the machine slowed to a crawl. I could just make out Red Wire running across a catwalk, a gas mask over her face, no doubt heading towards the next area to fix the problem.

Lilly stopped in front of one of the testing machines, opening it up, and pouring the muddy contents of the vial into it. When she snapped it shut, it began to hum in harmony with the others. and she turned to me.

“You ‘forgot’ your meal for today again, didn't you?” she asked, not even waiting for me to respond before walking to one of the cabinets next to her desk, opening it up and pulling out a bag with a grilled veggie sandwich and an apple. “Honestly, I just think that you prefer my cooking.”

“Guilty as charged,” I smiled, taking the bag with my magic. It was still warm! I opened the bag, and took a bite out of the sandwich. Instantly, the savory taste of Lilly’s cooking filled my mouth, and I chewed happily as I stored the rest of it in my bags. We may not have had much of a variety in the way of ingredients in stable 79, but Lily always knew how to combine them into the best ways.

“Good?” she asked, a slight tilt to her head as she brushed her still wet mane out of her eyes.

I nodded. “Delicious as always, thanks.”

She smiled softly, "I'm glad, but I'm going to ask that you cook your own food before it spoils.... Or you can bring back it to me. Won't be any different than what we do now."

I smiled, nodding, looking down at the ground. Well, it was time…. "Hey Lily..."

“Yes, Shadow?” she said, a touch of gentleness in her voice.

I looked back up at her, into her eyes. They seemed to shimmer ever so slightly, and her smile made my heart race. My cheeks felt like they were on fire, and I had to force myself to even breath. “I….”

I panicked. What was I even doing? Here I was, a stable prankster. Sure, I wasn't the only one, we needed something to keep ourselves going in 79. Otherwise the only topic of conversation would be about what we did today to keep our little world alive. There’s only so many times saying I fixed something was interesting. Some ponies reverted to sex. Me? I created little disturbances to keep things interesting. A few laughs. But her…. She was beautiful, kind, cared about everypony. Her job was to make sure everything grew at their best. If she failed, ponies starved. Good thing though, that she never failed. She saved ponies.

But it didn't mean I shouldn't try.

And no turning back.

I breathed again, recollecting myself as Lily just waited patiently. “Lily, I-”

Suddenly, the lights brightened everywhere, and the machines around me groaned with the power surge. A spark flew from one of the lights, and everything began flickering.

And I faltered.

“...should go look at that.” I groaned in frustration and defeat as I raced out the door back to the farm as quickly as I could, not even looking back to gate Lily’s reaction. Did I ever mention how I hated light?

Outside the office was just as bad as inside, if not worse. OK, maybe this was actually bad enough that I needed to go.

The overly bright flickering lights hurt my eyes, and I had to strain to see right. Kiwi was at the controls to the sprinklers, desperately trying to shut off the now faulty system, crying how it was her fault and that she shouldn't have messed with the controls. The display flickered and died, and soon after a blazing white spark of electricity shot out, hitting the poor filly in the chest.

She flew back, giving out a weak yelp as she fell limp to the floor. I thought she was dead. She should have been dead. But a cough and a weak crying told me she was not, and a blue earth pony buck rushed forward and pulled her away. I cringed as I saw the bad burn on her chest where she was struck. But really, thank the goddesses she was alive.

"It's not your fault," the buck tried to calm her down, "I need to get her to medical!" he called out, carrying Kiwi on his back and galloping out the door, the other farm ponies moving out of his way.

We weren't in the clear yet. The power surges meant I had a lot of work ahead of me, and my pipbuck's magic in my vision alerted me just as much. But none of that mattered right now, my eyes locked onto the only one that did.

Reactor C-2 overload, meltdown imminent.

I froze. This wasn't the first time the reactor overloaded, and technical was supposed to be prepared for this to happen again. I was in technical.

But I wasn't prepared.

An alert sounded, dragging my attention upwards to the intercom as Overmare Greyburn's voice blasted through, "This is a code red alert! All technical personnel report to reactor level immediately! Off duty medical staff return to your departments! All others, unless you are, or you are assisting, injured, return to your living quarters immediately. Brace yourselves for a possible type-3 Omega megaspell detonation!"

Doors opened and the sound of hooves thundered through the chaos as ponies raced to their assigned positions, and I raced to join them, heading back towards C hall.

A grey buck almost rammed into me as I tried to get into the door, “Watch it, kid!” He growled, shoving his wrench-bearing flanks against my face as he shoved past.

OK, not what I needed to feel right now. Actually, not what I wanted to feel ever.

A red mare appeared at my side, keeping with me as we raced down the hall.

"This is your first meltdown, ain't it Shadow?" Red asked as we took the turn to the stairs that led down to reactor level.

"Y-yea... First one I was responsible for..." I stammered, trying my best to not trip over my hooves the stairs turned farther down into the stable, several of the levels holding another locked door. Another danger, another secret. No, now’s not the time to wonder, Shadow! Lives are at stake!

The last time the reactor threatened to kill us all in fiery death was several years ago, but I was still in training at the time. And this probably wouldn't be my last. Well, I would hope this wouldn't be my last. I’d like for there to still be a reactor to meltdown.

As exciting as this was, I was honestly terrified of messing up. This time, one mistake could kill everypony. But there was one thing in my favor.

I wasn't alone.

"Right. This is pretty standard code red stuff,” she said pretty dismissively, “And we know what we're doing. Stay alert and out of the way. Listen for any electrical disturbances, if I'm busy, you're up."

My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I could almost hear it as I nodded. Part of me just couldn't shake the feeling that we were all about to die...

Her tail smacked across my flank. "Chin up," she said with a smirk, "I trained you myself, you'll do fine."

I was about to respond, when we made the final flight, now facing the thick open security door that lead to the reactor control center, blurred by the mass of ponies that rushed inside, most of them heading straight out the other side into the reactor chamber below.

I had only been down to reactor level a few times before in my life, once for the diagnostic systems having frozen and needed a hard reboot, the rest of the time for training. Being showed where everything was, so I could be ready for this.

But this wasn't anything like training.

This was chaos.

A half dozen ponies raced around, operating controls and reading off numbers and statistics off as they raced from console to console, barking orders to one another faster than I could catch them all.

"Power production at 187 capacity!"

"What's the temperature?!"

"439! We're in the red!"

“Activate all ice talismans! Full Power!”

"Ice talisman controllers are not responding!"

Red Wire split off from my side, leaving me alone as she raced out towards the prep room, her horn glowing a crimson hue she began pulling tools out of pouches, "I'm on it!"

Another siren sounded behind me as the heavy door began slowly sliding closed behind us. There was only enough time for two medical mares to dart under, before closing shut with a heavy thud. They began unloading heavy bags of RadAway, RadSafe, Med-X, and anything else that might have ended with an X.

It was about that time that I noticed the clicking coming from everypony’s pipbucks. Radiation, and a lot of it, was leaking from the reactor. Our job wasn't only to keep the reactor from exploding, no. We had to stabilize it and bring it online. If we couldn't stabilize it.... Bring it back online and man it until the radiation killed us.

For the good of the stable.

“Get those valves open! We need to flush the system!”

“Opening valves, water talisman holding!”

The sound of rushing water rumbled in the chamber below, and one of the medical mares handing me a few RadSafe pulled me out of the shock I was slumped into. Chewing the pills, I turned and took the chance to take a look out the control window.

In the chamber below, the MAS Mark-3 Omega-class power reactor raged violently. What was normally a calm vortex of pure white energy that traveled up the the central crystalline tower that was its core now spiraled out of control in a raging maelstrom of chaotic power. Shielding spells strained against the storm, unable to stop several bolts of white lightning from escaping and striking anything nearby.

A round metal sphere descended from the ceiling, barely absorbing the end of the maelstrom. and rumbled against the increased power. Thick cables shot out of the top, unable to contain the magical surplus, and glowed red from the heat. The same heat that sheared any metal close enough to the core. The reactor chamber seemed to take most of the blunt force of the power surges, almost every terminal sparking and zapping at all those who dared get close.

Jets of water rushed out of nozzles embedded into the ceiling, striking the reactor’s core, bursting almost completely into steam that would fill the room, if not for the fans clearing out the air just as quickly, forcing the steam to be sucked into a vat below the reactor with the rest of the water. But that steam made the sparks emanating off of everything that much more deadly.

A ring of crystal units surrounded the base of the tower. The regulator control crystals were supposed to keep the power flow under a certain level, but even from here with my limited knowledge I could see what was wrong. One of the crystals was charred black, disrupting the other regulators in the chain and allowing unregulated power flow back into the system.

Ponies rushed around in hazmat suits, avoiding being struck by the maelstrom. While those suits seemed to provide excellent coverage from the energy travelling through the metal catwalks, nopony seemed to want to risk a direct hit. I couldn't blame them.

“Water pressure dropping! Water Jet 3 is at 50 power!”

The buck that rammed into me before darted towards a pipe that came up from the floor, his wrench in his hooves. Its brace leaked with the high pressure from the water that was being pumped out of the vat below.

He rammed his wrench against a bolt in the pipe, twisting it as hard as he could while trying to avoid being touched by the boiling hot water. A terminal next to his flank exploded in a brilliant blaze of sparks, making him jump.

Right into the stream of water.

His scream of pain would terrify me for nights to come as the water melted right through the hazmat suit and pushed against his flesh. He lifted onto his hind legs, backing away from the blast of water. And right to the core. The maelstrom targeted the pony with vigilance, casting bolt after bolt into the blackening form. Finally, the scream stopped and his body broke apart into dust, and washed away in the water and magical gust.

“Pony down! Pony down! Get that water pressure under control!”

No pony grieved over the loss of the buck. There wasn't any time. A new pony stepped in and took his place, tightening the bolt that brought the stream to a close.

“Water Jet 3 restored!”

My mentor entered the chamber below, straightening the helmet of her hazmat suit before darting inside with the other ponies, floating her tools and a fresh circuit board for the ice talisman control unit in front of her.

I watched as she rushed towards a control panel on the far wall, stopping just short of it and used a crowbar to pop it open. No time for screws.

“Status!”

“Temperature in excess of 500! Critical in 19 minutes!”

“Water jets on full! Air talismans steady!”

“Containment breach! Shields unable to contain radiation!”

I held my breath as Red worked, those arcs of death were far too close to her for my comfort. She had the panel removed and discarded the crowbar carelessly to the side. She started on the clips that held wires into the circuits. One, two, three....

Then she disappeared in a flash of white!

No wait, there she was!

Oh goddesses...

She slumped over, a large black scorch in the back of her utility barding, a hissing smoke rolled out from her broken hazmat suit. Not good...

"Temperature critical in 14 minutes!"

"Pony down! Pony down! Medic!"

"It's too hot, I can't go in!"

"We need those ice talismans now!"

My jaw clenched, and my body shook. And yet for what seemed like forever I couldn't move. I was going to die. No, we were going to die. Red Wire was already dead, or mortally wounded. We were next. Then the rest of the stable. Lily... I don't want to die. I don't want you to die. We had to live. If only long enough for me to tell you....

"I'm on it!" I blurted, my body suddenly unlocking as I turned and rushed out of the control room.

I was the rookie, but now their lives depended on me. Down more metal stairs, and a small room embedded with lockers. No time to grab my own tools. I'll use Red's. My horn raged as I ripped one of the hazmat suits off its hook on the wall, slipping it on as quickly as I could. I lifted the helmet to lock it in place and my heart skipped a beat as I saw the back of it.

A large gash was ripped into the back of the helmet. I could still put it on, but I would have to hold it in place as I worked and it still wouldn’t have the effectiveness I needed. My eyes went back to the hooks on the wall, grimacing as I saw the shard of yellow on the one I grabbed my suit from. Oops…

I had an even bigger problem to worry about; there were no more suits here. There might be some kept safe in a storage closet in medical, but...

The medical pony in the room gave me a hard look as I began trotting towards the door without the helmet on. But she knew as well as I did, there simply wasn't time to find another.

“Take these!” she yelled at me, opening a package of RadSafe and shoving the pills into my mouth. “And don’t die!” she added as she offered a tiny bottle of water.

Best damn advice I've ever heard in my life.

I downed the water and pills, then nodded. The radiation symbol loomed in my gaze as I turned forward to stop in front of the sealed door. A secondary set of doors closed behind me, and several seconds passed. Several seconds we did not have.

Then the radiation symbol split as the heavy doors slid open in front of me, steam rolling out from the chamber beyond.

I instantly regretted not putting that helmet on as I was hit with a blast of intense heat. My mane frizzed and clumped down against my neck, as the moisture and smell of electricity and burnt electronics choked me. It was hard to breathe, but what hit me hardest of all was the radiation. The clicking of my pipbuck turned rapid and I watched the radiation meter slowly rise.

Shit... The reactor would blow in thirteen minutes, but even with the extra RadSafe, I would be lucky if I had ten. Well, no turning back now.

I struggled to rush to the panel where Red had worked, my lungs burning, and I strained over my tearing eyesight to grab her tools. I paused momentarily, grimacing at her limp form. Then finally stepping over her body, I looked at the circuit and resumed her work.

Four, five, six....

Nine minutes. I could feel my coat start to singe from the heat.

Seven, eight, nine...

One of the cables was shot.

Cut, split, twist, wrap.

I cut out the damaged section and spliced them back together crudely with electrical tape. Seven minutes. My stomach churned as my pipbuck decided it would happily inform me I had minor radiation sickness.

Thank you, very much.

Ten, eleven, twelve. The wires were free. Now I just had the screws to-

A thunderous crack of lightning struck a terminal next to me, blinding me. A loud ringing in my ears drowned out the sound of the roaring vortex and the rush of water. I had to let myself rest a moment for my senses to return, before shrugging it off and picking up a screwdriver off the floor.

Six minutes.

My magic fumbled with the screwdriver, and my eyes felt like they were bleeding. Radiation was now in yellow, and climbing quickly into red. My pipbuck gave me even more warnings about radiation and the health risks I was facing. It was telling me everything short of 'get the fuck out you idiot!' Trust me, I wanted to.

One, two, three. Radiation had entered red, and my vision started turning that very hue. Every breath I took started to bring a sharp pain in my lungs.

Four, five six. The circuit board was free, and I threw it out as fast as I could, lifting the replacement with my hooves and held it in place as my magic reached out for the wires, clipping them in place. It felt like my skin was trying to crawl right off my body.

Five minutes.

My body churned inside of me, and my mind burned. Hooves started trembling as my focus wavered. My lungs decided they were done with this breathing thing, and I stammered for several seconds before I finally gave out a hard cough, flinging blood onto the wall.

Four minutes. Shit…

I pulled out wonderglue as that last wire clicked into place, and i simply glued the control circuit into place, looking back at the control center waving a hoof. I could barely make out the mare inside giving me a nod, and yelling out something to the others.

The circuits hummed to life, and with a magical blue glow, the heat soon started clearing. The reactor wouldn't blow due to overheating now, I had given them more time.

But I wasn't in the clear yet.

Three minutes.

“You… did…. good…” a weak voice said under me, and I turned to see Red’s glassy gaze smiling up at me.

She was alive! But only for now, no time for celebrations. I dropped the tools, and pulled her onto my back, started to head back towards the door. It felt like weights were tied to my hooves, every move was a strain against gravity. Ponies in the room moved to valves and started turning them, and I could feel a rumble underneath my hooves. But none of that mattered. I just needed to get to that door…

Two minutes. My stomach twisted, and I violently forced out what little remained of my earlier breakfast. My vision was so red and blurry that I had to wonder if they were bleeding. My hooves trembled under me, and with one last step I tumbled to the floor, the door a mere foot away.

I was done. I couldn't even lift my own weight anymore, much less drag red with me. My vision was starting to fade. I slumped on my side, breathing slowed, and staring towards the opening door.

One minute.

For the longest moments, I laid there. My body became more and more numb to my surroundings. Sounds became quiet, the room darkened. All that was left was me, and my slowing heartbeat.

Thump thump….

“I’m so sorry Lily…” I rasped under my breath. My eyes closed, and the world shifted as I was dragged away.

Thump thump...

I love you...

Thump…

Footnote: Level up.
New Perk: Rad-tastic - Due to exposure to a critical amount of radiation, you have gained a teeny-weeny, mostly benign, mutation. When you are suffering from minor or more severe radiation sickness, you gain a +1 to both your perception and agility.

Author's Note

Many thanks to Kkat for writing the original story, as well as my many friends in that wonderful second life group whose RP inspired me to write this. Also to Bethesda for the awesome game!

And of course, all the wonderful people at hasbro and Studio-B that mad MLP possible!