Chapter 1 The Outside World
These grey walls have always looked the same since the first day I started working in the maintenance halls. All because of my cutie mark. Which was a gear with a wrench and through it I became a mechanic but there wasn't much in the Stable that I hadn't already fixed, so before too long I had started tinkering with several different parts and other miscellaneous objects in an attempt to stave off boredom but it just wasn't enough. So I started practicing lock picking but the Overmare has very much disapproved of it. As I walked down the Stable halls I noticed that Berryflask was inviting ponies to her latest party. I kept on walking, she's never had a reason to invite a lowly mechanic like me. As I walked past her I watched my twin brother, Ricky trot over to her. He's always had a crush on Berryflask and he's always been to her parties in hopes of attracting her. As for me I've never been interested in mares. I've kept trying to tell Ricky that she's just using him to try and attract me despite my preference for stallions but he seems convinced that he can win her over. As for his job in Stable 5, he works as a alchemist, so naturally he would be smarter than most ponies in the Stable(and several ponies often ask me how the two of us are even related). Soon I got to my quarters and flopped on the bed.
'Each day its the same old shit every single day.' I gazed down at my PipBuck and remembered the encrypted file I had found on the terminal in the PipBuck Maintenance Stall that I managed to hack. I'll admit that I probably shouldn't have done it but its another skill that I tried out to in an attempt to stave of boredom. I opened the file and it displayed what looked like some sort of passcode: The override code for the Stable door is CMC3BFF. My ears perked up as I realized what I had just found.
'Does this code actually work? Does the Stable door actually open? Even if it does what lies beyond it?'
That's when I decided that tomorrow I would go see if the code worked and what lied beyond it.
The Next Day...
With saddle bags loaded with some apples and two small water jugs in them as well I approached the door controls.
'Well I'm about as ready as I ever will be.'
I raised a hoof and input the code into the console. I watched as the metal piston lowered its self to the gear shaped door and started to pull it inwards and roll off to the right.
"Stop that pony. Do not let them escape!" the voice of the Overmare sounded over the loud speakers.
I had no intentions of stopping, I was going out there and nopony was going to stop me.
"Riley,wait!" I stopped for a moment as Ricky's voice called out to me. "Riley, think about what your about to do."
"I already did."
"But Riley if you step out there you won't be able to come back here."
"Better than living a boring life as a no one."
"Riley you're talking nonsense."
"I'm leaving Ricky and nopony is going to change my mind." I then stepped out, and the door rolled shut behind me. I took I deep breath and turned on my PipBuck's lamp. The murky darkness was lit up and I followed the tunnel out and into the open. Murky sunlight shinned through the gaps in the clouds. I couldn't help but turn my gaze upward and regretted it as a wave of nausea washed over me. I then got to my hooves knowing that I needed to get moving to somewhere that might be civilized.
'Where ever that is.'
I then picked a random direction and took off wondering if I would find anypony else. After walking about a three mile walk (but it could have been more than that) I could see what looked like a town that was in a very sad state. But as I approached, gunfire erupted on a small bridge leading into the town and at one end of it I could see two unicorns; one was a stallion and the other was a short structured mare.
Deciding to avoid this conflict I turned 90 degrees to my left and took off, hoping that the ponies wouldn't notice me. Before too long I arrived at a worn down cottage. I slipped inside and set up a place to sleep for the night, and as I sat on an old couch I glanced down at my PipBuck and started to wonder if maybe I should start an audio journal on it. I decided that it would nice to at least leave notes on my journey and for anypony who might find me to know more about my experiences.
Day 1: The outside is so much bigger than I had anticipated, but despite that I'm feeling like it might be better than Stable 5's humdrum life but I don't know yet. I saw two unicorns, a mare and a stallion, although the stallion looked like he knew how to handle himself but that mare, something about her seems to haunt me even now, but there was nothing very exciting about her; she had a plain brown mane and tail, and light gray coat and what looked like a stable uniform but that's impossible right? *sigh* I don't know. Well, PipBuck I guess I'm going to wait and see if maybe I can find that mare, provided that she doesn't want to kill me but I guess time will tell as will the morning. Goodnight PipBuck see you in the morning.
Prolauge: The Other Stable
There are a couple ponies that think that Stable 2 was the only one to survive Stable-Tec's crazy social experiments but they're wrong. Another Stable, my Stable, number 5. Stable 5 had closed its doors for two hundred years and (much like Stable 2) never opened them.
I never asked to be a hero, I never asked for the wonderful friends that I made. Life certainly has a way of sneaking up on you and pulling a rug out from under your hooves (or claws). Some call me a hero, others call me a mercenary, some call me a savior, while others call me a deranged psycho killer with an unsatisfiable blood thirst, but in the end none of those titles matter... I was simply paving the road for a pony with better morals, better friends, and a better skill set.
My name is Riley, former resident of Stable 5 and this is my story.
War. War never changes, but neither does friendship.
