The Equestrian Wasteland, a harsh and unforgiving expanse. This irradiated and tainted hellhole is all too happy to knock you down and take all that’s precious to you, then kick you a few times for good measure.

Of course, there’s little one can do about it when it’s your home. Just trying to get by from one day to the next can become too difficult a task, leaving many to simply wither away. Others don’t go so quietly, living through struggles and anguish until they’re broken and hollow. You could be holed up in a Stable, nice, safe and cozy, also cramped and stagnant. My Stable – Stable 85 – was just that, but was destroyed around the same time the Enclave fell. We were lucky enough to be given warning and were able to find a new home, but we all got a taste of the wasteland in the move – if from a distance. The flavor was foul; it made most retch and scared them away from a second taste. As foul as it was, though, I was drawn to the aftertaste – potential.

After a routine and dull life others may have been desperate to return to the status quo. Not my thing. I played along as long as I could in our new home – Stable 24 – but I was driven to step into the breach by the desire to pursue the ambitions planted in my head following that bittersweet taste of Equestria; and as a result, I threw myself into the meat grinder of the wasteland.

* * *

“KnickKnack, get the fuck down and back to the safe house! The surface is a warzone and it’s spreading down here!” Wind Seeker shouted, galloping up and pulling me down behind a concrete slab with an olive green hoof as it was showered with bullets. “Go, go, go!” He ushered me around a corner.

“What?! Who? Why?” I asked over the sound of shouting and shooting.

“Everypony!” he replied, pushing me onwards. “Through the hatch!”

“What do you mean, ‘everypony’?” I asked, baffled, as he pulled the door closed and span the wheel closed. The sounds on the other side grew, but I couldn’t hear any bullets pinging off the steel door – yet.

Wind Seeker turned to me with a strained, anxious face. “Exactly what it sounds like, every pony who can fire a gun, swing a bludgeon or buck heads in is up there right now battling over dominion of this Goddess-forsaken city!” He cocked his head left and right. “KnickKnack, where is your brother? I told you to stay put! We’re up to our necks in shit and need to get the fuck out of here!”

He was a pony who had seen it all, but I could tell this was pushing him to his limits. Things were wrong. Very, very wrong and he knew it far better than I did. “I-I don’t know, he didn’t say a word to me. After you left, he just disappeared and I was just running out to go looking for him when you showed up. What’s going on, what’s causing all this fighting?”

He laughed mirthlessly, his blue eyes wide. “The same reason ponies with power two centuries ago waded through extra-toxic ruins to set up shop in the subways below – profit and power. There are treasures to be found here that have been deemed worth fighting over.

“Previously, they sent small, highly trained and heavily armed scavengers to search for their prizes and pick the surface clean of anything of value while they were at it. Problem was that they were always on a clock – the perpetual ticking on the Geiger counter; that thick, polluted air restricting visibility and threatening to choke those without a means of filtration; all the creatures, particularly come nightfall, that are ready to tear you to shreds

“Now? Now they can get out there en mass. Every faction, every bracket, fringe movement, bloc, clique and syndicate is rising from the depths to claim the city as their own to claim its treasures. The small-scale conflicts have ended, my friend. This is war.”

* * *

I was a mess. Blood dripped down my face, matting my fur and getting in my eyes. My body ached and my skull pounded furiously, but I trotted on.

I entered the clinic, the sound of the hydraulic door getting the attention of a cream unicorn mare in a lab coat.

“KnickKnack, dear, what’s happened this time?” called the honeyed tone of my mom, Salve, who was all too used to me walking into her workplace with some kind of grievance that needed healing. She looked concerned, nonetheless.

I smiled gauchely “Well I was working with a hydraulic pump and it seems someone had damaged the motor and replaced it with one with a bit too much pressure – without reporting it either. I started up the pump and the pressure rose through the roof before I could react and the hose exploded off the fitting, hitting me in the head and knocking me off my hooves an-.”

“Another one of your experiments blew up in your face.” said Salve, shaking her head amusedly. She telekinetically grasped a cloth with a teal glow and cleaned the gash on my forehead while I winced at the disinfectant, then covered it up with a healing bandage. I felt quite patronized while she checked my eyes with a flashlight, asked where else it hurt and performed a simple healing spell just to be sure. I was fine, I didn’t need this mothering!

“Mom, I just came in here for a bandage. I could’ve cleaned myself up.” I said to her, with slight annoyance in my voice.

“Don’t be silly, dear,” she said “I’m your mother and it’s my job to take care of my boys.” She kissed my forehead below my bandage and embraced me in a hug.

“Seems like it’s just me, these days, mom,” I said forlornly as I hugged her back. “Sturdy’s out there on a big mission for the Stable while we sit around and wait for him to get back.”

“Your brother is doing what he can for the Stable, as are you,” said my mother, breaking the hug to look me in the eyes and put a hoof on my cheek. “My boys are good at what they do and I won’t have anypony say otherwise, not even them.”

“That’s just the thing!” I said, furrowing my brow and stomping a hoof lightly. I began to pace around the room, pausing only to assist my speech with hoof gestures. “Sturdy is good at handling ponies – whether it’s talking to them or giving their rump a kicking when it comes to it - and that’s exactly what he’s doing out in the old world looking for a talisman.

“I’m a good engineer, whether you’re talking mundane or arcane. I could explain to you every detail of that talisman, from its structure to the expurgation process it incurs. I could install it no sweat and – after this latest incident – I’d be keeping track of every possible thing that could go wrong before starting it up while doing so.

“But my capabilities are wasted being cooped up in here. We have a team of good engineers who can handle this stable just fine, meaning I’m more of a convenience than a necessity. Out there, though, is the technology of the old world amidst the ruins.

“Just imagine the possibilities! I could sate my curiosity and really test my engineering capabilities, plus the things I make could help ponies. I could wait for Sturdy to get back, get the Overmare’s approval to go out there with him for whatever comes next, and then gather whatever tech I can to make use of it. It’s a win, win.”

Salve opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a blur of orange and green and blue hurtling into the room at breakneck speed.

“Oh wonderful, wonderful news, Salve!” bellowed Potage Pans, one of the resident cooks, as she flapped her wings, rising from the floor in her excitement.

My mother telekinetically yanked her onto her rump by her tail before she slammed her head on the ceiling. “Potage, breathe. You just nearly knocked yourself out, dear; these ceilings aren’t designed for pegasi,” she said routinely, as this was far from the first time she’d had to explain it. “Now, what is this wonderful news that required galloping in here and almost knocking yourself out? You nearly frightened the life out of KnickKnack and I!”

Potage flushed and ran a hoof through her grassy green mane, stopping where she would have hit her head on the ceiling. “Hiya, KnickKnack,” she said, turning to me. “Good that you’re here, because I was headed your way, next.”

She hopped to her hooves and looked positively ecstatic.. “They’re back! The party is back!”

A smile spread across my face and I could see one growing from Salve’s gaped mouth from behind her hoof. “You mean-“

“Yes! Sturdy, Short Wave and the others are back and I think they’ve got the water talisman!” Potage replied, jubilantly. “Quickly, we need to get to the Stable entrance before the Overmare announces it and we have a hundred ponies to wade through!”

With that, the excited Pegasus darted out the door. Mom and I followed her as she narrowly avoided bowling over ponies in blue and yellow barding on the way to the room that contained the Stable door.

We arrived to see a small group of ponies already waiting at the entrance for the party’s return, among them two members of security who waited at the controls. As Potage, mom and I found a spot to wait the PA system crackled to life and from it came the authoritative voice of the Overmare.

“Good afternoon, my little ponies. I have some very good news for you – the party we sent to retrieve a Water Talisman to aid in our new Stable’s restoration has succeeded! They have contacted me over the radio and should be here well within the hour. Friends and family of the returning, or anypony who wishes to see the team of victorious ponies who have done a great service to our new home – it is advised that you make your way to the Stable entrance in a timely fashion.”

Eyes were on Potage at ‘timely fashion’, to which she giggled in response.

The Overmare continued, “I will be with you soon, to greet our esteemed search party. Have a wonderful day, ponies. This was your Overmare, Sibilant Speakers.”

Ponies hoping to see the returning party progressively filled the hall and subsequent chatter about the outside and the mission inevitably found its way across the lips of almost everypony in the room. Over a hundred ponies – close to half the Stable – all chattered about my brother and his companions.

Silence swept through the room at the appearance of the Overmare. Ponies stepped aside as the grey and pink unicorn that served as our leader trotted her way through the crowd. She made her way into the clearance in front of the door that had been left unoccupied.

This silence made way for the clanging sound of metal on metal that reverberated from behind. Ponies parted once more, making ample room for two hulking, steel-clad figures to trot past and down into the clearing with the Overmare.

We’d learned about Steel Rangers in school, but they were always just words in a book and pictures on a page – things from the past that had no impact on us. However, their impact on us was far greater than we could have imagined.

A large group of ponies simply stumbling upon an empty, functioning Stable – and doing so before the wastes snuffed us out – would be nothing short of a miracle. The same could be said about having a contingent of ponies calling themselves ‘Applejack’s Rangers’ taking us into a Stable that functions as their headquarters and allowing us to stay. However, two groups of ponies coming to a mutually-beneficial solution to their problems is a far more plausible outcome. In exchange for their hospitality and protection, we’d agreed to maintain said Stable, take on some of their more menial responsibilities and find a way to provide food and water for ourselves.

In that last endeavour, we did one better. Having had successfully retrieved a water talisman, the team sent out, consisting of a group of Stable ponies and a Paladin from the Rangers to lead them, had secured the means to provide water for everypony in the Stable.

The two Rangers stood alongside the Overmare, staring forward at the door equably.

“This is unexpected,” said the Overmare, cordially as she regarded each of them. “Thank you for taking the time to join us in welcoming home these brave ponies. I understand your time is valuable.”

The Ranger on her left took off her helmet to reveal a pale green coat and citrine mane “Don’t let the getup fool you, ma’am. We’re busy ponies, but we’re still ponies. Paladin Creme Brulee is one of ours, and Peaches and I miss her like family.”

Peaches nodded.

“Well said, Paladin,” replied the Overmare, coolly before turning her head to the security guard at the Stable door control panel. “Well, best we don’t leave our heroes waiting. It’s time to open door!”

The guard pushed the panel’s lever, causing klaxons to bellow and yellow lights to flash as the door mechanisms pulled the colossal steel cog marked 24 from its place and rolled it away from the entrance and into grooves.

A Ranger stepped through the breach, with ponies lined up behind him. Ponies stomped and cheered as they trotted into the landing in front of the Overmare, who held a calm smile.

Potage hopped up to the railings and rested her forelegs upon them. I followed in suit. “They’re back, KnickKnack! They’re here! Oh, this is the best!” hollered Potage, who was particularly exuberant at the sight of her best friend, Short Wave, a small, lavender mare with a pink mane. However, just like the other Stable ponies in the party – and all of security – most of that was covered by Vault 85 security barding. Enough showed to tell who was who, though.

Peaches, who had remained a near-statue since finding their place, bounded over to Creme Brulee and tackled her to the floor in a display of affection.

Seven ponies stood on the landing. We sent eight to retrieve the talisman.

“Would you mind making some room for me, honey?” asked mom. “I can’t see your brother with the two of you up on your hinds, blocking the view.”

“He’s not there.” I said, bitterly, my hooves tensing around the railing.

“Where is Sturdy Rapport?” I shouted down at the group.

Silence swiftly encompassed the room.

“I was about to ask the same thing, myself,” said the Overmare, with a frown.

The party looked anxious and seemed hesitant to give an answer.

“Short Wave, you managed communications in the group - if something happened to one of your party members, why was I not informed?” demanded the Overmare.

Short Wave brought herself to look at the Overmare directly, sorrow in her eyes, while the other party members – ranger excluded – looked down. My nerves were in overdrive and I felt as though I shook for an eternity in the time it took her to speak.

“Sturdy, he… He chose to stay on the outside.”

“He WHAT?!” bellowed the Overmare and I in unison.

Short Wave dropped her gaze to the ground. After a moment, she looked back up and surveyed the ponies in the room as she spoke “He- Our search for the talisman led us to a city with poisoned air and perilous levels of radiation. Creme Brulee took us underground, because it was much safer, but there were ponies living down there. We had to fight off bandits and avoid factions that seemed to be fighting with each-other, but there were whole towns down there caught up in the conflict who seemed to be struggling to get by as it was.

“There were so many, but everypony seemed to agree that they were just more victims of the wasteland and that it wasn’t our fight. Not Sturdy – he said he couldn’t sit idly by and watch so many ponies suffer.”

Concerned and conflicted chatter began to rise in the room while I stared down in shock.

Creme Brulee stepped up next to Short Wave and looked at the Overmare. “Sturdy Rapport seemed insistent that he could help the populace, that he could somehow stop the fighting. I told him it was a fool’s errand, but when we finished our affairs in the city, he refused to leave. The others tried convincing him to come, and he insisted we leave to finish the objective. He left before we came to any resolution. I ordered the rest of the party to head home, as going after him would have jeopardised the entire operation. I told Short Wave not to report it until we got back, because I felt things would go much more smoothly if we returned the talisman before addressing the problem.”

“This is outrageous!” The Overmare bellowed, “I was to be informed of the details of the operation as it progressed so I could best advise you on how to proceed!”

“Ma’am, Creme and the party returned from a venture into the wastes with a water talisman and you’ve only suffered a single stallion being M.I.A. That sounds like an outstanding success to me,” said the ranger mare with the citrine mane who had spoken to the Overmare earlier.

The Overmare looked furious, but the anger on her face faded into a prim expression and her tone became peremptory. “Very well, but I will be having a word with each of you later.” Following that, she raised her voice for the whole room. “We’ve attained our prize, fillies and gentlecolts! Water will no longer be a problem in this stable. Let’s let our heroes rest, and return to our duties – once they’ve hoofed over the talisman of course.”

No. No! NO! This couldn’t be happening. He- he was supposed to come back and I was going to ask him to take me out there, to see what the world held - the world of old. He was going to be there for me like he always had, not abandon us for ponies he couldn’t save.

But- but he did, and I needed to accept that and move forward.

First order of business, I had to get my way to the surface without Sturdy. Next I had to find my brother and convince him that his goal was impossible, then we’d scour the old world for technology. He’d listen to reason, that we’d use the technology to help ponies in the bigger picture.

Potage put a hoof on my shoulder. “I’ll take care of her, Knicky. I think Short Wave is looking to give you that talisman for Maintenance.”

I looked over my shoulder to see her gesturing for me to come over. I did just that, but before I took the talisman, I had some questions. “Short Wave, I- I need to find him. Where is he? How can I reach him? How can I get out of h-“

She stopped me with a hoof. “Take the talisman and make sure it gets installed properly – We risked our hides for it.”

“But-“

“We’ll talk later”

I took the elevator down to Maintenance and did as instructed. Installing the talisman was an easy feat. We’d already restored the purifier, repaired and cleaned the pipes, and ensured that the waste tank had been filled with any water too irradiated to drink and, of course... ponies’ waste. I locked the talisman it into its chamber in the centre of the huge machine’s tank, then powered up the purifier via the console. Dirty water gushed into the tank from pipes connecting to the waste tank for all the Stable facilities.

The talisman glowed as the tank filled, absorbing the muck at an astounding rate and discharging clean water through a tube leading to a separate chamber where it would be distributed through the Stable.

After taking a moment to appreciate the payoff of repairs, grubby plumbing and poop transportation, I made my way to the living quarters.

“Short Wave, I’m here to talk to you about my brother,” I said, knocking on the door to her quarters. After a few moments, the the hydraulic door slid open and there stood Short Wave with puffy red eyes and muzzle. She looked tired and downtrodden.

“Come in, KnickKnack,” she said, though a sniffly nose.

I walked through, but voiced my concern, “You’ve been crying.”

She closed the door with a push of a button, “Thank you, captain observant. You’re not the only one who loves Sturdy Rapport.” She wiped her muzzle with a hoof, “This isn’t about me, though, it’s about him. I take it you’re planning on leaving by yourself to go find him out in the big, bad wastes?”

I pursed my lips, mulling over her blunt simplification, “I guess that would be an apt description of the plan, yes. Where is he?”

She sighed, “You’re a fool, KnickKnack, and you’ll probably die out there. Still, while you were gone, the Overmare called me to her office and made it very clear that nobody was being sent to get your brother. She was furious that I didn’t report to her more than the actual loss and said that she wasn’t willing to risk more ponies dying or deserting to Sturdy’s cause. Because of that, all the party is on a tight leash, especially me. The Rangers certainly aren’t going to potentially trade one of theirs for one of ours, either, so no help from them.

“Basically, you’re the only hope we’ve got on getting him back. A slim one, but if you’re willing to make the sacrifice, I might as well do what I can to help.”

“Where is he, Short, I’ll make my way there,” I begged, “I’m tougher than I look.”

She shook her head, wearing a troubled expression, “It’s not as simple as that, Knick. Can’t just go from A to B, talk him into coming back and then you’re home free.”

“Look, there’s a town about a day’s walk to the north. I’m sure you know how to use your Pipbuck’s compass, but just in case, keep the mountain range to your left and the ocean to your right. Past that mountain range, you’ll see the town on your left.

“The folks there are nice. Main trader in town is a bit of a grifter, but he’s friendly and helpful enough, for a price. Speaking of which, you’ll need some of these.”

Short Wave dug through a footlocker as I watched, curiously. She then threw a tiny leather sack at me with her teeth. I caught the bag in my magic - it was full, but light.

“Bottlecaps.They’re so abundant in the wasteland that they’re used as currency.”

“Bottlecaps?!” I asked, balking. “Like on Sparkle Cola?”

“The very same!” she stated. “Bits are still viable currency, but it seems that caps are the way to go on the surface.”

I nodded, accepting the fact. Bottlecaps though? Really?

“From there,” Short Wave continued, “you’re going to need someone to help you find your way to Stalliongrad. It’s far to the Northeast, but I can’t stress enough that the wasteland is massive and dangerous. We had a Steel Ranger as a guide, you won’t make it where you need to yourself. If nopony can’t take you all the way there, find somepony who can take you somewhere in that direction and start looking for another guide.

“Once you’re to the city, it’s imperative that you get underground as quickly as possible. Get your hooves on a gas mask, too, you’ll need it.The surface is a terrible, inhospitable place at the best of times, but the city of Stalliongrad is far worse, unless you’re in the tunnels. Once you’re down there, you’ve got a massive network of railways to travel through.

“Now for the really important part - you’re going to have to find a pony named Wind Seeker. He’s an aging pegasus who knows those subways like the back of his hoof. He’s also a bit of a legend down there. Hopefully, whoever takes you will know where to find him, or will know how to find a friendly town. This time it’ll be less of a case of who knows how to find him and more a case of finding ponies who won’t shoot you just for not being one of them.

“If you somehow manage that feat and find Wind Seeker, give him your sob story. Then you’re going to have to deal with your brother and it’s also where I stop being able to help you. Sturdy’s adamant about staying there and I don’t know how you’ll change his mind.

“As far as coming back goes - your journey’s going to be a lot tougher than mine and you’re a damned clever pony, Knick - you’ll know more about that than me by that point.”

It took a few moments for everything to sink in properly. When it did, I was as determined as ever.

“I… this is not going to be easy, but I’ve got to try. I can’t just sit around here doing nothing. Thank you,” I said, “I’ll be much more prepared with this.”

Short Wave hugged me.

“Thank you, KnickKnack. Please bring him back,” she said with a hopeful smile.

“I will,” I said, hugging back.

“I can’t help you actually getting out, sadly. Overmare definitely won’t let me anywhere near the Stable door for a while.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan for that.”

“Of course you have, you’ve never been content living in a Stable. Good luck, machine boy.”

She broke the hug and directed me out.

I took to my quarters to prepare.

* * *

I should have left it one more day. Shouldn’t have tried to get into Maintenance early and grab the last couple things I needed to prepare for the journey.

“Leaving the Stable? Not this nonsense again!” said my supervisor, Motor Rote – a sturdy, yellow earth pony with a cropped green mane – incredulously.

I glared over at my apprentices – Molly Bolt and Toggle Bolt, twins – who had been the ones to guess what I was up to.

Loudly, too.

I then looked back in the direction of Motor Rote.

“Yes! Is that so inconceivable? I wouldn’t be the first and I hope you haven’t forgotten that we left to move here all those months ago!” I replied huffily, stomping a hoof to assert my point.

Motor Rote frowned and shook his head. “KnickKnack, moving as a whole Stable was something that had to be done and isn’t like going out on your own to go on some foolish adventure. The ponies we’ve sent out had specific missions from the Overmare and wer-“

“Were what? Stronger and better trained? More prepared for the wasteland? Don’t give me that horsecrap, old stallion! We’re all Stable Ponies down here! If they can survive, so can I!” I shouted, pacing around him and giving little in the way of eye contact. Other ponies in Maintenance stared at our altercation with wide, anxious eyes.

“They were guided by a Steel Ranger! Do you really expect to just walk out of the Stable and trot your way to a friendly little town where you can get directions to embark on some heroic journey like the ponies that DJ in Tenpony talks about on the radio? Is that it, are you trying to be the next Stable Dweller? You’ll get yourself killed out there! You’re better off in here, where you’re needed,” he said, stepping in close to me to lock eyes.

I stepped back from him, “HAH! There it is! Mr Motor Rote, Head of Maintenance, just wants to keep hold of his best goddess-damned engineer! I’m sick of this cramped little environment, getting by under the command of other ponies, keeping everything maintained so that we can hold together this stagnant existence, ignoring the outside and all it has to offer!”

“That’s not true, KnickKnack. I want you here because this ‘stagnant existence’ is a lot safer and a lot less wasteful than you walking head first into your grave!” he said, stepping in closer once more.

This time, I kept his orange gaze and moved in closer, leaving only a few inches between our faces. “Sure, yeah, I’ll pick the alternative. Instead I’ll just sit here and fix the generators and vents day-in, day-out and sit around waiting to die! I’ll also leave my brother out there to do the same! You might want to hide from the world, but I’m leaving and you’re not stopping me.”

Motor Rote remained still and held my stare with a hard look, speaking slowly. “You have a responsibility to your Stable and your Overmare to do your par-“

“But this isn’t our stable, is it?! Stable 85 is gone, obliterated, so utterly ruined that not even I could fix it!” I said, elevating in volume and pressing my forehead to his and staring angrily into his orange eyes. By this point, our fight was causing the other engineer ponies to skulk away to avoid getting caught up in it.

Motor Rote held my gaze. “That is beside the point! This attitude is extremely irresponsible and y-“

“No! I owe nothing to this place or it- GAH!” I yelped, covering my bloodied muzzle.

Motor Rote stepped back, his face softening from anger to shock and concern, staring from the hoof he’d swung and back to me. “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

I wiped my face with a forelock and gave him a heated glare, then turned my back, giving him only silence.

“Hang on. I’m sorry. Let me get something for that.” he pleaded, sounding desperate. I walked away, heading for the elevator. “Please. I’m sorry. Son? I-I’m sorry…”

I remained silent as the hulking metal elevator took me upwards. I was furious. Couldn’t he see this was better, that I was trying to find his son?! And he- he hit me - my own father! I- I… he’d never hit me before. Sure, I got spanked as a colt, but he’d never actually hit me, before. He wasn’t that kind of father. A rough stallion, yes, but loving and kind and- and I’d just thrown all that in his face and told him everything that his whole world was a farce.

I… I couldn’t hold it against him for acting the way he did. He’d been shocked by the move – as had many, especially given that not everypony made it – then Sturdy leaving and now me talking of doing the same right after we found out he’s not coming back.

He wasn’t scared of losing an engineer; he was scared of losing his sons.

With my ride in the elevator over, I was brought back to my current circumstances and realised that while I’d been thinking about my dad, I’d let my face gush out all over the floor. At the opening of the doors, I was greeted with horrified looks from ponies who quite clearly didn’t expect a bloody mess to step out and trot past them. I headed to medical.

“KnickKnack, dear, what’s happened this time?” asked mom once more.

“I’m leaving the Stable, Mom. I just needed something to clean up with first,” I told her.

Nothing. She just looked down at the ground, sadly.

“Mom, I have to go now. Not just for me, but for Sturdy.” I hugged her. “Tell dad I love him.”

Slowly, she returned the embrace. “Good luck, Knicky. I’m proud of you.”

I needed to go, and soon, someone would be letting the Overmare know. I took to my quarters to grab my things. I didn’t have time to finish the extra preparations, so the components jingled about in my saddlebags as I swiftly made my way to the Stable door.

“Alright hotshots,” I said to the two stoic security ponies standing guard at the Stable entrance, “We know how this is going to go down: You try to jump me, I do something tricky and escape while you're tie-”

One of the security ponies turned to the control panel and the other stepped to the side to allow access to the landing in front of the Stable door.

“Wait, what’re you doing? You’re not stopping me?” I asked in disbelief.

“We’re letting you through,” said the amber pegasus mare at the control panel, “Overmare’s orders.”

“Wait, what?” I gaped. “She already knew…”

The emerald earth pony standing next to the stairs piped up this time. “The Overmare isn’t going to send security personnel to go and find Sturdy Rapport, but if his brother’s foolhardy enough to want to wander out and get himself killed, it’s going to reflect badly on her if she stops you. She’s cutting her losses.”

Their voices were apathetic. Just another job. It wasn’t exactly wonderful news, but it did mean one thing. “I’m going to be back and take some more time to prepare, then.”

“No,” said the mare at the terminal, her tone becoming more assertive. She flipped the switch on the panel and once more, klaxons rang and the massive door to Stable 24 began to open. “You walk back down that corridor and it could damn near start a riot if ponies think we turned you back. You’re going through that Stable door.

“If you have a change of heart, you can wait outside a day and ask to come back in. At that point, the Overmare will make an example of your hasty return, letting these ponies know that saving your brother is too dangerous.

It’s now or never.”

“I…” I screwed my face up in defiance and trotted down to the landing. “I’ll be back when I’ve got my brother.”

“Good luck, hotshot,” called the security stallion.

Footnote: KnickKnack

S.P.E.C.I.A.L.:
Strength: 4
Perception: 8
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 9
Agility: 5
Luck: 5

Author's Note

Emergence is back off hiatus!
I never originally planned this prologue - I'd planned to start things straight out of the Stable and reference it later on.
The changes made were for the better, however.
Among other things, I've thrown in some bits and pieces for you to speculate about.

Chapter 1 will be back up after I've finished editing it so it suits the changes.
Chapter 2 is still going to take a bit, however. In spite of all the planning, not much of it was written before I went on hiatus.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out by reading the unfinished document and by talking to me about all the little details I needed to get right. Particularly my pals over at Drunk Blackjack.

~Immolated Poet