Three dim industrial lights illuminated the impressive, yet undoubtedly outdated, topographical map of the Reyzar bay. Three seats had been filled, one less than the usual crowd. This was far from an ordinary meeting however. Papers and manila folders, some older than any living inhabitants of Stable-Z, stretched around past the dozens of empty chairs. From a glance you would never be able to tell that this rusted hole was once a war room for the most powerful military Equius had ever seen.

“All things considered, it might be best to just open the door and peek outside, if only to return some semblance of order.” The mare leading the discussion said with both hooves on the elliptical meeting table.

“You know a party would accomplish the same thing.” Stonesaddle said mildly towards Oakshade. “I’m sure we could find a reason to make up a new holiday.” He had managed to maintain a light sensibility despite the length of this meeting and his position as head of the Ministry of Wartime Technologies, M.W.T for short, not that the title mattered. The Ministries had been dead for hundreds of years, assumably anyway.

“Not if we want to be prepared. I highly doubt anyone on the surface would be amicable, but that doesn’t outweigh the benefits of knowledge.” The mare’s jewelry, a pair of golden loop earrings and a bronze necklace, jingled as she looked directly at the faces around the table. “An expedition would bring in supplies and information- we may even come to find what befell the princesses.”

“What do we need more of exactly?” A heavily built gentlecolt wearing his carefully primed military attire learned forward pointedly. Several sleeves were decorated with patches rather than metals. “Our orchard is running as efficient as ever, we’ve got spare water modules to last us another 150 years and your obsession with the princesses is not going to hold in an argument where the lives of the ponies under my command are threatened.” Granite leaned back rolling into a more slouched position. “At the moment I don’t like the idea of even sending one person out into that abyss let alone- what was it” he gestured to Oak. “-round five?”

“Six, though if we really want to ensure their safety we have to account for both the possibility of survivors and the need of maintaining secrecy all while ensuring superior firepower to whatever we may encounter.” She crossed her legs. “Six is a minimum for a survey team, you know that.”

“There’s no reason to believe this won’t blow over in a few months.”

“We can’t simply push this issue off on another generation!” Oakshade cut off Stonesaddle. “If this unrest about the damn reactor keeps going on people are going to question our judgement in ignoring it. You might not think they are all that capable of much, but what if something did go wrong? We would be forced to make a decision biased towards exploring the outside or face an uprising as ponies died and every last life line was bled dry. An evacuation would leave us entirely unprepared for existence on the outside. Where would we be if we waited til then?” Stonesaddle looked back toward the roof no longer enjoying this conversation.

“That’s a big leap in assumption Oak. The reactor will be fine, Torbernite said she and the mechanics were figuring out what could have cause that momentary spike in radiation and that there was no logical reason why it happened. Just a fluke-“

“A fluke which hospitalized my daughter lets not forget. How many more flukes do you think we will have from that ancient machine huh?” She said stabbing a hoof towards Stonesaddle resisting the urge to make things personal. “But…” she pressed on with an exasperated sigh. “What’s the worst that could happen from a peek outside? Stable-Z was hidden beautifully during the war. That must have been a nightmare to accomplish. We need to follow the Stable’s directives. I don’t know why it took this long for us to even come to this discussion, but if there is something out there, we really do need to know.”

The omnipresent whirling from the fan above doted the silence. Granite sniffed once and papers were shuffled.

“An away team of six... would be fine.” He said before looking off to Stonesaddle who simply nodded before grasping a glass, etched with a trio of apples, with his magic and taking a drink. “I’ll notify the Overmare of our decision.”

“Well this ought to be fun...” Oak stretched, stood then stepped away. She gave a passing glance for just a moment too long towards the ventilation shaft before moving out with the other members.

Shit shit shit shit shit. I had nearly been caught spying on Council once, twice would have really ruined my track record. Thankfully I decided to be a bit smarter this time, hide in a different location and not make a racket louder than the annual wine festival while backing up.

Now you might think that some place as important as the meeting room for the highest ranking members of the Stable would be more secure than that, and it probably was at one point. But not now, not when there was so much second-hoof ductwork and half completed repair jobs using old and rusted bolts.

Typical that I had to be born in this dump where there was next to nothing to do; spying on the council provided some juicy gossip, as well as a weekly dose of adrenaline. Working on the reactor, though a bit demanding at times, was not exactly what you would call exciting, no matter how important the Overmare said it was.

I guess it was good that finally something was going to happen, that maybe on the other side of that door the world finally got its shit together and there was civilization that didn’t involve a military dictatorship. Hell, the princesses would probably pull things off better than those steel spined brats. I removed the last of the screws with my magic and the vent cover clanged to the ground just a bit too loudly. A quick glance in both directions was enough assurance for me.

“So how did it go June?” Turnip, a sickly purple pegasus colt asked from around the corner. He had been waiting for the news and keeping an eye out.

“Looks like we might have ourselves an adventure after all.” I smiled as we walked out of maintenance and towards the cafeteria.

Stable-Z may have been drab but the populace always had a way of dealing with it as best they could. This particular hallway, for instance, had a colorful bit of graffiti detailing the exact length of the stick that was shoved up the Overmare’s bum. Security had tried to get rid of it but only managed to get it halfway before running out of paint. Funny, the rebels always seemed to have more than enough to go around.

I say rebels but what I really mean are the worst scourge this world has ever known. Teenagers. Thank goodness I graduated from that years ago. You couldn’t blame them though, living in an enclosed space stretched to the population limit wasn’t fun for no one.

“So anymore talk? I heard from Ross that there was more discussion about looking outside.” Turnip clearly didn’t care for art but was nearly bouncing with his racing mind.

“Looks like they are actually going to do it- send a team out into what's left of Roam, and they even have a good reason too.” I leaned over a bit grinning. “They are afraid the zonies will piss themselves.” It came off as intended, diminutive and cocky,. “The reactor scare seemed to be enough for them to get off their collective rear ends and make a decision.”

“June... “ He tried to raise a question.

“What?” I shot him a flat look. “I’ll give them credit now, but when did they do anything when the lights in the orchard went down for three days before miraculously turning back on? We could have at least sent out volunteers.” We ducked under some hissing pipes and moved into a more illuminated section approaching the stairs.

“Ok, that's fair, but security isn’t all about making rash decisions about ‘the survival of our Stable’.”

“Yea it is.” Ok so maybe I couldn’t help being opinionated about the subject. My mom was on the council, Oakshade in case you didn’t catch that and my dad was working his way up the ranks in security. I had the right to be biased.

“Whatever, the point is they are doing it, they are really doing it. The door is going to open and we are going to experience the great unknown-”

“-And probably contract some diseases in the process.” He laughed and I smiled. “Besides they are only sending six people, and who knows who they’ll choose.”

“Oh, of course it would be a small recon team.” His expression fell as he let out a sigh.

“Hey… maybe if everything is alright outside they will let some of us explore and live there, you know, if it isn’t a total wasteland. I even bet the clouds would be empty!” I gave him a reassuring nudge. He may never actually be able to fly high enough to touch a cloud, but maybe hope helped? The half hearted grin he gave told me it was about as crappy a prediction as I expected. We went up a few staircases, our hoofsteps clanging and echoing off the concrete and steel before having to part ways.

“So I’ll see you for cards tonight?” Turnip stopped to look back at me as a pair of gold covered guards pushed past politely.

“Yep.” I nodded before making my way up a floor myself until I came to the one floor to rule them all. The cafeteria. They were serving daisy soup today, which was odd as it was Tuesday and it was a general rule that Tuesday's had to suck. Crowded as always around noon, I maneuvered around the outer columns and on my way past a pair of tiny fillies who still tried to assault me with hugs every time I past. They knew my route, I should have known they were planning a sneak attack.

“Juney!!!” Oh no. And so came the awkward leg clinging. I tried out working for the daycare once and somehow managed to get the twins obsessed with me. It wasn’t the worst of fates to be loved, considering some of the occupants were less huggy and more grabby. Lets just say I lost a noticeable percentage of hair that day and move on.

“Well look what we have here! Lake and Cake.” If I exaggerated the words enough maybe they would be entertained just long enough for me to slip away and get some grub. They both grinned a silly grin and clung as I ruffled their manes one after another.

“We missed you Juney!” Cake said as Lake chimed in with a quick “Yea!”

“Aweee? I missed you both too! Have you been nice to the other foals, or do you cling just as much on them as on me?”

“Mommy says you can never love a friend too much!” Lake stuttered in agreement.

“Eh, your mother is right, and eh…” I glanced at the servers and then out into the crowd hoping to find Loving Rivers but to no avail. “As long as they don’t become your… coltfriend?”

“EWWWWWWW!” They shouted before giggling and hugging closer. Ok that was loud…

“B-but why don’t you show me where your mommy is?” They complied and dragged me towards a table far far away.

“Afternoon June!”

“Afternoon.” I said to whoever made the statement and to anyone else who commented as we braved the hundred of zipping striped bodies. Zebras parted way and held their trays close, the rabid twins had a reputation and which they weren't going to lose anytime soon.

I was garnering enough looks as it was with the twins but there was no denying the numerous pairs of eyes flittering over in my direction for another reason. Each open smile and warm greeting only served to aggravate me. One accident and then suddenly everyone has to be nice. That was bull but whatever.

“Ahhhh miss Torernite, what a lovely surprise!” Oh so funny. I didn’t put much effort into a response.

“Yea, just… keep a hold of your foals this time ok?” I tried to turn and dart away but Cake was still snuggled up against me.

“Oh but they adore you! And you know what they say, keeping a foal occupied is a full time job!” She let out a refined laugh while I just bunched my eyes and sighed. As easy as it would have been for me to attack her current employment status I refrained.

“Alright. Cake, Lake. Stay.” Somehow that worked and they sat on the bench. I worked to overcome the volume of the crowd. “I am going to get food, and then,” I bit my lip knowing I was going to regret this, “we can play-”

“Yay!” another hug.

“-or… something.” At least I was going to be able to grab lunch.

Part of the way through my surprisingly unattacked chewing session, the Intercom rang and what could only be described as the most annoying voice in the world started speaking.

“Greeting citizens of Stable-Z, I have an important announcement concerning the recent rumors that have been spreading pertaining to the unsealing of the Stable. I am putting them to rest as it has been decided…” A noticeable pause hung in the fragrant air. “that a team will be sent to the surface in the coming weeks.”

Talk about impatience, it had been what, an hour?

Now I don’t usually try to over exaggerate things, but what ensured was half panic, half shock as screams and confused shouts rang out making the guards by the door motion for everyone to settle down. It took a bit of time though so we missed some of the super important speech that would be a landmark for years to come, not that I cared as I continued to munch through the chaos.

“-have come up with the roster of who will be on the away team.” one clearing of the throat later she continued. “Brushfire,” he was a stoic dust brown full blooded zebra, not a bad choice for a team lead, “Topaz and Jaguar for fire support.” A pair of earthbound friends, chosen probably more due to their connections with Stonesaddle than their ability to carry a firearm, “June Torbernite for surveying, data collection and scientific input...” The tray I was eating from was suddenly covered in lukewarm soup as my telekinetic grasp vanished. There was a hush of silence as the zonies around me failed to subtly gaze in my direction. My jaw pulled up then my low lip curled over my upper as I slowly sat down.

They were going outside… and I was tech support!?!

Well maybe they had their reasons for choosing a stunning mare such as myself… Maybe it was publicity, what with my involvement with that whole ‘radiation leak’ thing. Mom no doubt wanted a good show so that I wouldn’t be vilified by all the engineers anymore. Personally I thought I was doing just fine with my mandatory month long leave. Or they made a mistake.

Wait what the hell. “I’m going outside.” My voice broke and shook as the Overmare called out the next names.

“Lastly are support specialist Oxide and the Ministry of Wartime Technologies Nimbus.” Oxide had trained to be a sniper with the military since she was twelve and Nimbus had a big fancy steel suit with self propelled rockets strapped to the side. “As of right now all of you are to report at once to General Stonesaddle’s office in the M.W.T Barracks. All of your questions will be answered in person. I understand that this represents a very drastic change in the lives of every member of this Stable. It was not an easy decision to arrive at and I hope you will all understand. Alpha team will conduct a one day scouting mission two weeks from today after which point in time our questions as to the status of the outside world will be put to rest once and for all. There will be another broadcast everyday at 1800 hours detailing the council’s response to any appropriate questions. Simply submit a questionnaire outside of room 200 and your voice will be heard. May the Sun guide us and Moon protect us in these trying times.”

The gallop towards the barracks was filled with fright and pain. Every hoof step closer I could feel my fur crawl and my heart heave. I skid around a corner almost bumping into Mister Treehoof, the elementary school teacher and let out a guilty apology as I sped up.

This was wrong. There were times when I thought I would love to go on an adventure and trot around out in the radioactive wastes but being actually faced with the possibility… that was more terrifying than death. Ok maybe not, but hey I can’t help my imagination run wild sometimes. Something about going with an armed death squad bothered me too, though that was less… insane? than actually leaving home in the first place.

And let's get this straight, this was my home. I was born here, I worked here, I would probably retire and have foals one day (nope) before dying of old age. That's the way it was and Tartarus if I didn’t want keep it that way.

Maybe it won’t be that bad? Maybe the zebras we fought and killed for years before ruthlessly vaporizing their continent won’t hate us. Or maybe everything will have grown back and only a few small animal species will have survived the blast. Maybe we’ll be the only sentient ones left? That was… depressing. If it was true, then the exchange of megaspells from the great war was worse than we thought and nothing survived. If it was false then… well the surface would be anything other than friendly. Some people, not I, had even elected to believe that there was simply nothing out there altogether.

Eventually I worked myself out of this mood and found the door with the five other members out front of it. Brushfire stood still and maintained his attention on the far wall. Oxide wore a sparkling yellow dress and couldn’t be bothered to look up from her book as she sat on a bench. Beside her Topaz and Jaguar made snarky comments under their breath to each other. Nimbus stood alone and imposing in his armor, regardless of the lack of helmet, whilst tapping a hoof in agitation. Slowing my approach one or two looked my direction and I did my best to hide the discomfort of their gaze. Whatever conversation existed between them ceased and the group was left in an electric silence for a few minutes.

“So are you excited?” Topaz shuffled up next to Oxide who let out an uninterested grunt.

“Excited, no. Anxious, yes. It means no cleaning latrines.” She came off as intimidating and direct, I figured it was more of an act but with eyes that red, I wasn’t about to take any chances.

“And what about you Torbernite?” She smiled widely over a shoulder. Her huge fluttering eyes would have generally insinuated something but it appeared that she was always mildly flirtatious. I teetered and back peddled.

“Fuck this, I’m not going out there! I don’t care what the general says! He isn’t even a real general anyway. Why do I need to come?!?” Not my most eloquent moment.

“Because you were born and raised under the security and support of Stable Z.” The door had just barely opened and boy was Stonesaddle not looking too hot. Of course right then neither was I. There was evidence of a bit of alcohol on his breath and he had had a change of outfit since I last saw him. The simple garb with stripes and symbols was replaced by an enchanting suit of gold armor. He would have looked like proper guard if not for some extra squiggles and accessories that, honestly, were too pretentious to describe. “If you all are done chatting,” He barked the word “I suggest we get moving.”

So we did.

It was quiet again as we cut our way through the room past the over sized desk. I had never been in the general's office though the glaring sparsity came as no surprise. He had only a terminal, a stack of papers, some pens and a book, The Lunar Accent, on the stained desk. Oh and a massive bottle of prewar alcohol of some-sort. Did I mention we had a few crates of vodka locked up in storage for only the council’s use? No? Well I guess that adds to the list of things that would make me want to follow my mother’s hoofsteps. That illegal stuff made from spoiled apples just tasted like a radroach curry with a half a kilo of abraxo cleaner mixed in. We were quickly back outside into a different section of the barracks proper.

“So then. When we gather before the council, you will not speak unless spoken to and you will wear the traditional garb. Maintain some decorum for Celestia’s sake. Other than that all the important details will be discussed there.” He didn’t turn to face us as we walked. Some of the guards saluted as we walked. “Your dressing rooms are on the right of the hallway.” He pivoted less than gracefully before puffing out his shoulders and looking at nobody in particular.

“You have half an hour to report to the Council’s chamber, Dismissed.”

“So tell me again why I am coming with the trained killers? I didn’t even join the corps, remember?” I was sitting in the tiniest of rooms trying on armor with Oakshade who just loved to accessory me until I could hardly breathe.

“Simple, you are the smart one, you keep the dumb ones in line.” Oh I like the sound of that. “Also you are a unicorn who can survey the grounds above and provide unique insight on any potential dangers.” She didn’t even bat an eye as she levitated bracers onto me and strapped them tight. Surprisingly this one didn’t make my leg feel like my hoof was falling off.

“Making maps and taking pictures, what fun! Especially when you could be slowly dying of radiation sickness, or swiftly dying of an acute case of bullet in the brain.” I would have liked to say that it sounded like fun but really, how interesting can a bombed out landscape be?

What will sleeping on the surface be like? What will the stars look like first hoof? What will the wildlife be like after 200 years of intense radiation exposure? Will there even be any radiation left after all this time? Surely after the rainy seasons came by most of it would be gone. But wait! The nuclear winter would have trapped much of it in the ground as the earth froze. Thank goodness we have those water purification tablets-

*Click* “huh?” I looked down and saw the last piece of armor fitted over my chest. “Well that was quick.”

“Not really, you just had one of those moods where you look off into the distance and try to think about something. I merely took the opportunity.”

“Oh bleeehhhh. Save your fancy talk mother, you’ve probably practiced field stripping a lot more than your rifle.” I gave her a sly wink to which she just rose up on her hooves and backed away.

“You shouldn’t talk about your father like that.” She was clearly hiding her blushing as she took pieces of armor laying on the ground and placed them on racks.

“Nahhh I was more commenting about Mr Tinges little journey over to your bedroom-“

“That was one time two years-“ she spun around trying to lecture me with a piece of leather.

“-last Monday” I grinned at her then eyed the strap. “And I can only guess what you two did to the poor stallon all geared and greased up, ready to go.”

“Young lady- when-“ She paused flushed and chuckling with her head low and a smile. “You win, you win… but in all seriousness you have to be presented to the Overmare and the rest of the council in about fifteen minutes.”

We finished in two before I clunkily shuffled out the door.

“And for your information the sex was great, not that you would know anything about getting laid.” Well that wasn’t very nice. She laughed and headed her own direction but not before waving a hoof.

Enter the boring meeting, but hey I lived for these apparently. After all, you can’t understand nuclear reactors by just moping around. I took my seat by Topaz, who was keenly staring her boyfriend down off the polished armor worn by Granite. Blehhhh that’s a disgusting thought, keep it moving, think of… the impending peril awaking you outside, or something, like that book about the cat with rad poisoning that grew a second tail from its neck…

This was the first time I had actually been in the famous room. In front of us across the table were the four chairs, three for the council, one for the Premier-I mean Overmare. None wore happy looks, though I think mom was doing her best not to stare in my direction. With a shuffling of chairs and exchange of greetings the Overmare began.

“Let's get straight to the point. You six will survey the immediate area outside of the Stable, you will conduct a 24 hour mission above ground and will maintain radio silence as we will be closing the door after you leave and only at that 24 hour mark will it be open again. You are to keep away from natives. firearms are to be utilized at your discretion for self defense. If a team member gets lost or is not at the door when the time elapses they are to be presumed dead and no search party will be sent out for them. In the event of total squad annihilation it is unlikely that another team will be sent out in the near future.

Only in case of emergencies will the uses of radio to communicate with Stable-Z be allowed while the door is open, in which case code name ‘fieldzone’ will be used to indicate Stable-Z and ‘hoofball 1’ etc with your team numbers will be used instead. You will not receive a response, but depending on information given, a decision will be reached as to your fate and if another team should venture to your aid. The mission begins in two weeks time, after which you will be sent out at 1200 hours and return at 1200. You will be present at the barracks at 1000 for preparation.”

“Now I know none of you want to consider the possibility, but it does exist…” The Overmare took off her glasses and leaned in closer, “that you will die. Just as likely is that you will have to kill. Weigh these two in your mind heavily in the next few days. If there are any complaints make them, if there are any suggestions, go ahead and talk with team leader Brushfire who will be in charge of each individual's gear.” Nothing.

“Then I will see you all in two weeks time. The council will fill you in on the minutia. The barracks will be open to mandatory live fire practice. Be there in twenty minutes and again at 0830 daily. Additionally, each member of the team will be given survival training. Shape up… and, good luck.” She pushed herself away from the table and wheeled away with a cough as the rest of us stood up.

And then without a moment's pause after the closing of the door- “That doesn’t fucking sound like fun! How do I opt out of this?!?” I hoofed it over to mom, she was on the bloody council for crying out loud she could get me out of this death trap.

“No, you are the right mare for the job.” Oakshade squinted and shook her head. “I chose you.” I was taken aback and attempted to mouth off before she started again. “You didn’t notice that?”

“I-I… Of course I knew, B-but you just didn’t know that I really don’t want to go out there.”

“Then simply don’t make it about you.” Granite said still sitting in his seat, obviously resisting the urge to tell me that I was violating some protocol or something I didn’t give a shit about.

“Wait, Berry not making this whole thing about her? Not in a million years.” I had really come to hate that name. Juniper Berry Torbernite left me with plenty of options, but Berry sounded trite or just plane stupid at times.

“Bin, it, kitty.” I looked down at jaguar who looked, haha ready to pounce. Not before his marefriend though.

“You don’t have to come you know. Sure you would have to break a few bones first, but I could help with that.” She smiled at me.

That fucking bitch. I took a moment before pondering my response.

“You know what, fuck you! I’ll come along and watch, I’ll probably be twice the shot as you two deadbeats.” That was a lie, that was a terrible terrible lie and would probably be my downfall but hey, I guess I still had two weeks to decide.

“Fine, bring it on.” My mother let out some kind of muffled expletive. This whole time I was rather sure Stonesaddle and Granite were placing beds.

I would have liked to imagine that our first live fire practice would have been more momentous and miraculous, filled with bull’s-eyes and the precision of a sharpshooter. Instead the six of us managed to: break a door; nearly go deaf; ricochet and almost kill each other; take out a steam pipe boiling the target (hey it still worked, now it was clean AND dead ); and end the life of a poor poor radroach. Full auto weapons just are not meant to be fired indoors, but I guess foresight made the farmers suddenly need to tend to their orchards.

It was unclear as to a winner, mostly we just tried to shake off the embarrassment of getting bruised by our own weapons. Hell I'm a unicorn and the rifle decided to cave my nose in. How the heck was I supposed to know it kicked like that?!? I had never seen Oxide shoot before, but judging by the single hole in the paper dummy's head through which every one of her bullets flew through, I think it would be safe to say we were going to be alright. I did particularly like how skillful Brushfire was; He hit the target every time, even if it wasn't nearly as elegant as it could have been he still displayed a kind of certain alluring poise when he trotted away…

“Fuck…” I had to stop walking towards my room for a sex- I mean second.

Nimbus was a sight to behold. His father was so proud that Nimbus would be the first true steel ranger to experience combat in 200 years. Turns out mini-guns don’t really need to be accurate, but based his quivering, I think it's safe to say Granite won’t be coming down again anytime soon.

And just like that we all had our first experiences shooting walls dressed like ponies. I couldn’t wait for the grenades, though they would probably just make us throw rocks. Hey I guess those numbskulls had that advantage there; I couldn’t throw for shit.

I hadn’t realized it at the time but I trotted out of the shooting range with my armor on. We we instructed to practice and run laps with a few dozen or so kilograms because endurance training and what not. That explained the strange looks I was getting.

“And around I go…” I chucked brushing off the incident at first. “It really does fit amazingly, I must say, the engineers way back when really knew their anatomy and physiology.” Yet even as I returned, the looks became… glaring, or obvious at least. Some thought I didn’t deserve the honor of wearing the CRG (Celestial Royal Guard) armor or some other shit like that no doubt. Others simply nodded and wished me luck in a hushed tone, even granny Bri waved from her door. One thing was obvious though.

I was popular! Probably not in the best kind of way. A Stable of 1459 doesn’t give you much breathing room, but that wasn’t about to stop us from having our celebrities. We had a singer that died about 70 years ago who was barely passable especially when compared with the likes of Sweetie Bell. Nevertheless, there were a few recordings but rarely was anything new ever recorded, we just didn’t have an audio studio or half decent equipment other than what was used to, you know, kill ponies.

“So do you get to learn about E.F.S. ?”

“SHIT Turnip, you know one of these days I am just going to whip around and have to bop you on your head with something hard.” I caught my breath and continued walking.

“Eyes front sparkle. The hostility indicating magic?” He quieted down a bit and trotted closer.

“Oh yea they mentioned they would be taking the civilian restrictions off of our pipbucks. When the hell did you show up anyway like five minutes ago? Meh I don’t care.” I pulled him in for quick hug before he pushed me away.

“Eww!”

“Yea too much. So, uh I guess we won’t be playing cards tonight huh?” Before he could speak I started again. “Don’t, bet all my rations ok?”

“I haven’t finished painting that last ace, but no promises.” He grinned.

“You know you really are smarter than you look sometimes, though I guess for you that’s not too hard.”

“You used that one a week ago.”

“Really?” He nodded. “Huh, I guess I really do need to get out of this tomb to get some new material for insulting my favorite brother huh?” Turnip give me a sly smile.

“What if Brushfire was related to us?” Apparently I was that pathetically easy to read.

“LUNA I SWEAR YOU ARE TRYING TO RUIN A BEAUTIFUL THING!”

I’ll be honest, I didn’t sleep too well that night, or the nights after it. There was just this overwhelming sense of dread and a crazy amount of energy permeating every inch of the Stable. Everypony was hoping all kind of things and talking talking talking. Some of the other team members had parties to celebrate the occasion. It was easy to be cynical and play them off as a farewell but I had tried to stay away from that frame of mind, no matter how pestering it became.

I just sat quietly and read with a fierce determination. There had to be a way to know what was out there on the other side of that door. I didn’t want to talk to anypony just because I was suddenly a celebrity. In fact I would have enjoyed talking with some of my closer friends, but who knows where they went off to.

But yea… It would have been nice to have some real nice conversations and discussions, but the only thing people could think about was the crazy mission. As if the outside ever mattered before, now it was as if everyone suddenly became a poet, philosopher and priest. I was, perhaps for the first time in a long time… lonely. Well bored as well, but mainly lonely. And I didn’t like it.

I did notice as the days wore on and my aim got better. It had already been a week and I didn’t know how much more hiding and shooting and reading I could do. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one with their head in the clouds. Nimbus was experienced in his power armor, he had trained in the darn thing for half a decade and wore it as if it was a second skin. With each passing day however he said less and less growing more reclusive than myself. What he did say consisted of blunt responses aimed at our lack of etiquette since it seemed like we were raised in… well, a Stable.

There had been at least a few times when I had seen him walk into Granite’s office stiff as a board but then exit half an hour later with heavy hooves. No one else would acknowledge it or perhaps they didn’t see it. Not doing anything had left a lump in my throat for the last time.

“Hey talk with me.” I pulled Nimbus aside, no easy task in that bloody armor let me tell you.

“Woah uh sure. What can I do for you?” His voice was muffled.

“What is this a game? What can I do for you? Pffftttt! I wanted to say sorry your dad was giving you such a hard time and all, I know my father's been a bit overbearing but Granite I could NOT imagine him sitting on my back for 2 straight weeks.” I chuckled awkwardly and glanced a tap against his armor.

“Oh that. Yea, I don’t talk with him much so having something to say around the table is nice.” I wasn’t buying it.

“Nice? He’s been nothing but pissy towards us during the entirety of training, which I get- he’s supposed to help so we don’t like, die- But he doesn't even say anything other than a quick ‘good job’ or ‘give me another 5 laps’ towards you.” I used my best childish grungy grating impersonation I could. “You have to admit, it's a bit strange.”

“Wha-“ He stumbled verbally, “June, drop it. Maybe he just doesn’t want to call me out in public.”

“I don’t know why you don’t try lying better or something, it’s embarrassing. What I was trying to hint at is that you don’t seem all the way in the game, which won’t do, no sirry! Not in Berry’s squad!” I heard muffled laughter. “Shut it you two.” I turned back to Nimbus and held a hoof over my mouth for a second. “You are important, that's the point, and I just want to make sure everything's peachy keen.”

“Berry?” He said tapping a button on the side of his helmet to make it detach so he could remove it. “…You're smart, but you can’t just fix things by talking about them you know.” So there was something wrong then?

“Sure I can! For instance I think you are being an idiot and hiding something that might be important-“

“You are a lonely poor excuse for a mare.” I closed my lips slowly, my expression growing neutral startled by his sudden elevated outburst.

“You don’t have any real friends, so here you are trying to talk my ear off under the vice of trying to help out or some feigned interest. Really you’re just trying to get on my good side, probably so you can talk about your future husband Brushfire over there, who I am kind of sure is gay. You get so caught up in talking that you never bother to listen.” He stomped, the metal really added some of the effect he was looking for.

“… Well? Buzz off, or whatever. I don’t like you Torbernite, and nothing you do is going to change that.”

That was more hurt than I had felt in a long time. Maybe it was because I let my guard down but, damn that stung right between the ribs. But I was a big mare and big mares don’t cry let me tell you! We just kind of stifle it and let it stew before breaking and taking excessively long naps that serve no purpose.

“Be seeing you…” I said with a frown, flat eyes and while turning towards the closest changing room.

Maybe he was right about a few things. So I sucked at listening, I could work on that and it wasn’t all bad right? I was a smart pony so I probably could teach them all a thing or two just by being in the same room! Wow that’s a big ego.

“I really am going to die on this trip. After all, who the hell would even want to save me.”

It was the last night, the very last night and I couldn’t sleep. Drooped halfway off the bed I listened to the humming of the vents for hours, but to no avail. Nothing helped and I grew restless. Here under the sheets in my own little hole in the wall I could make out some of the clutter that served to identify me.

My desk lamp was on, covering the workspace filled with prewar electronics textbooks. The shelf above contained half a dozen lab manuals about the reactor and the Stable's power systems. A bowl filled with the remains of dinner lay atop one of my favorite books The Zebra Menace! An Illustrated Guide. What with its obvious inflation of the feats of zebras and their melee skills and not so exaggerated discussions about their balefire, it was no wonder the original owner brought it inside. Next were a pair of dolls flanked by a heavily used metal play house. The dolls were made by my mother back before she was on the council, one red, one blue. They were dusty torn things at this point, but they were mine.

I don’t know why I was trying to glean some sentiment from the objects in my room. Maybe it was anxiety, maybe it was an acceptance of what was to come, I don’t know. Still, thoughts kept drifting to my mother who had this room actually before marrying dad and moving to one of the ‘family suites.’

She thought I would love to spend my time following in her and her mother’s hoofsteps, that's probably why I became an engineer in the first place. I still hated that darn reactor. Sure it powered our lives providing food, water, light and plumbing, but it was difficult to keep in check. you couldn’t look away for more than 15 minutes before the pressure dropped or the transformers slipped; working on it was just delaying failure, and perhaps that's why I hadn’t simply refused to go.

In fact why hadn’t I just locked myself in and said no? It's not like they couldn’t have replaced me. It could be viewed as a privilege, seeing the outside, adventuring into the unknown. Honors, awards, loyalty, adventure, it was starting to sound like an advertisement for the military. Images of the ridiculous films we watched in primary school came to mind with a chuckle.

Rolling over I looked at the door and tossed my short hair. A quick walk would clear my head.

Not more than a few minutes along I noticed something strange, there was only one guard for the entire stairway, the rest must have been preparing for if something tried to force its way in but it seemed… negligent. I am not usually a shifty pony, the biggest infraction I ever had was stealing extra cider once during the summer sun celebration; I couldn’t help but indulge the possibility of getting away with something sneaky, not like it would matter if tomorrow was to be my last day anyhow.

She stopped for a moment to glare at me as if she was aware what I was thinking. Turning back to my domicile, I started thinking of something, anything to pass the time but really, who can blame me for being a bit curious and veering a bit off course.

Mother's office, I had been inside a hoof-ful of times, mainly to be reprimanded. Due to the fact that it was in the same room as, wait for it, the Overmare’s office, they had to keep security tight. At the far end of the hall a single guard waited lazily out front of the darkened room.

Oh this could be good. Not many ponies, or zebra, knew that this place existed during the war, and no one in this Stable, minus the Overmare, knew its purpose for it must have had a purpose. Some of our ancestors worked for Stable-Tec and what they knew about the other Stables was that they were all built a little bit different, no one really knew why, above their pay grade. This was a genuine Stable-Tec Stable, though it was located in a slightly awkward location and designed in secret- Undoubtedly this place had a purpose during the war which the Overmare and division head of the M.W.T. must have had their hooves in.

Now what that could entail made my mind spin. Secret weapons cache? Preparation for an invasion of the zebra homeland? Sabotage operations around razor bay? Maybe it involved megaspells! Perhaps that should all have been less exciting and more terrifying. Regardless, I needed to know.

So all I had to do was evade one guard and open the door without him knowing. That would be easier if he was asleep… Sleeping powder would have worked, but it's not like I could just run down to the medical bay and shove it down his throat. Being stealthy would be my only option, maybe if there was a distraction. Thankfully the lights were dimmed to simulate nighttime so he didn’t immediately freak out and tell me to go back to curfew. yea that happened since the whole announcement and panic thing. Or maybe it was after the partial melt down?

Who cares really.

I made my way all sneaky like to the closest fuse box, pulled out a bobby pin and with expert ease tripped the fuse sending the hallway into darkness.

“What in the…” I could hear him mumble as he turned on his head lamp and gazed in my direction.

Thankfully, this hallway was part of a loop and I was inside by the time he surveyed the fusebox, opened a box of spares and brought the lights back on with a buzz.

The door closed behind me as I snuck to the nearest terminal. Mashing a few buttons the debug sequence popped up. Two tries and then oh boy was there a lot to look at. Mom’s correspondence seemed less than formal at times, what with calling Granite a “tasteless ball of testosterone”. Some of the others were addressed to various members of the security detail in preparation for the opening. One thing in particular that caught my eye was a strangely vague message sent to the Overmare.

Did you really sign off on this? I understand your concern toward the Stable’s well being but you can’t honestly expect the away team to find anything useful on the first mission to the surface. Bringing full military hardware was so that we could ensure the safety of the team not so they could go running through the wastes of port Augusta scavenging for parts, that comes later.

-Oak

After rummaging through a few more files it sounded like mother was less keen on the whole exploration and scavenging thing and more concerned with the establishment of a permanent foothold outside. That didn’t make much sense considering nearly everypony was expecting complete devastation and savages, but be prepared I guess.
There turned out to be quite a bit of messages so at some point I kind of just… got bored I guess and downloaded everything I could. In hindsight I might have wanted to do that in the first place and then gotten the heck out before I got caught.

A bunch of information passed by including some sort of Stable directive dated just over 200 years ago; older than anything else on this terminal by far.

Mayweather-Bunker Priority 1

You are part of a select few members of the Mayweather’s Advanced task force that is to be given an imperative role in the case Mutually Assured Destruction. Your assignment, and the assignment of those who come after is twofold. You will oversee management of all infrastructure relating to our most forward operating base until the time the surface is deemed habitable after which point in time operation Star Ascent will be set in motion.

This is not given lightly. If Star Ascent is to come to fruition both reactors must be operating at full capacity. The targets will be selected via the Overmare Protocol 20 years after any nuclear exchange.

A retaliatory strike against the zebra menace is always to be kept at the forefront of your mind. Do not forget your duty to Equestria.

M.W.T.
General Shrapnel.

Mayweather? Probably some Royal escort in charge here some 200 years back. What was all that about Star Accent though? It sounded like some plan to take back the surface with a militia formed from the Stable itself. Heck why wasn’t it called Stable-Z here? How much older was this place than the original Stables? There wasn’t really a baseline to compare it to… And that jazz about two reactors? Our single reactor puts out more than enough power to the point that we actually have to get rid of what we can’t store. What unearthly machine would need two?

So yea, some juicy stuff already. I should’ve snuck in places more often. All this was a bit disconcerting what with the mission coming up but hey, I thought I deserved to know why I was going outside to potentially die!

With a quick tap the terminal went back to idling and I snuck my way over to the grand prize… which apparently the Overmare was sleeping on. I stumbled on an empty glass bottle sending it flying across the floor clanging loudly.

Right on cue, she flinched and went back to silently huffing. The guard outside however was less than thrilled by my presence. The door opened up shedding the room in light. I swiftly hid between her desk and the wall, hoping there wasn’t anything back there that could give away my position.

“Overmare? What in blazes are you still doing here?” The guard spoken trotting up and nudging her to her senses. I heard a few grumbles before there were any intelligible words spoken out of the aging mare’s mouth.

“Now is not the time for sleep Septimus, too much is happening too fast I just… can’t keep up.”

“No one is going to blame you if the team is not fully prepared, I would love to do recon myself, but that's it. Just a day long peak outside, nothing to be afraid of-”

“Oh shut it. They will never be prepared, I get it, and I can’t postpone even a day or two because that would just lead to more bad press. You know well that what happens tomorrow is everything, for me, for the council and for the guard. Forgive me if I stay up a bit late trying to figure out how to write a speech in case something goes horribly wrong. I don’t want to even consider the possibility but the leadership has to be strong even in the most…” She yawned. “Dire, eh, times. Oh don’t give me that look. I got this job because I can orate until I wither from exhaustion.”

“I think the citizens would prefer a sane Overmare giving a good speech, rather than an inebriated one shouting poetry over the radio.”

“... point taken.” I heard a jingling as the terminal powered down. “Would you call another guard to escort me to my quarters?” The Overmare pushed closed a drawer that was ever so slightly ajar back into place before getting up.

“Of course.”

They started shuffling towards the door but I didn’t start moving for a good few minutes. That was way too close for comfort. Upon inspection the terminal wouldn’t respond to any wakeup calls. She had some sort of a key for her computer. There must have had some serious stuff on there and I fucked it up! it was so perfect, she was a heavy sleeper, the key was already in, presumably there would still be a password but that would be a cakewalk compared to stealing a key from the Overmare herself!

Now that I thought about it, the longer I stayed here the more likely it was that I was going to get caught and flogged. Maybe not flogged but I was looking at some serious jail time if I didn’t get out of there quickly. I was so dead if anyone found out Celestia why was I doing this? A peek out the window later and I was free, ready to panic for the rest of the night instead of sleep.

At 7:30 my alarm buzzed. From there I crawled to bathroom and to the sounds of Beethoovens 7th symphony prepared for the day. I wasted no time in chowing down a red delicious, my least favorite of the last three apple trees that still remained on (or under) this world. My clothes felt tight but the music made me feel a bit less constrained. With a sigh and one final glance in the mirror it became apparent that indeed- it was time.

My front door opened to the calling swarm beyond. Pushing through, the guards led me past ever more waves of the confused and scared. Soon the clock neared 10:00 and we were at the changing rooms. The crowds had left an unpleasant buzzing in my ears that helped add to the haze enveloping me. Ponies went to and fro asking things and receiving straightforward answers. Time marched onward.

At 12:00 we were at the Stable door, simple as that. We had quite a bit in our saddle bags, really had to make sure that killing went well and all I guess. Each of us wore brown and grey camo and light vests bearing no insignia and had cloaks to match. I got in line as number four as we faced the Overmare, mother, Granite and Stonesaddle. Behind us was a hall filled with equines anxious to get a glimpse of what lay beyond.

I had vague memories of this room, it was kind of small and the vault door was… big certainly but not like train sized, more bus sized? I’d never seen either before anyway in real life anyway so I guess a comparison was kind of pointless. There was a catwalk above ground level and a pony standing at a terminal waiting for orders. Maybe there was a short and painful game of Blackjack we had here but I wasn’t sure.

“So… I guess we should get this show on the road right?” I said to break the silence. The Overmare simply glared.

“If my legs worked the way they were supposed to I would kick you upside the head. I’m just going to have to pray something out there in the wasteland does it for me.”

“Take care all of you… I expect a professional report when you all g-get back.” Woah Granite lost his cool.

“I’ll miss you my sweetie.” Mom said stepping up to me and fishing a necklace out. “I almost forgot, would you carry this for me?” It was a silver triangle with a pearl in the middle that glinted with a sparkling iridescence held by a long gold chain. “It will bring luck, as long as you don’t lose it that is.”

“Um, I don’t think that would be the best idea-” I tried to push the heirloom away as everyone looked on.

“Oh hush, it should have been yours a year ago.” She held my hoof gently. “I have nothing but faith in you Torbernite.” I could only blush as I put it on. Brushfire withheld a smile which only made it worse until she backed away.

Daw mom you’re the best. Thankfully dad already wished me well.

“Now then, yall remember your training and kick some ass for us!” Stonesaddle called out. I wasn’t technically in the whole military thing but I knew what was happening next.

“SIR YES SIR.” We all shouted in unison. And my voice didn’t even crack. Everyone else retreated minus the Overmare. A switch flip and some typing of some magic code later, probably ‘Celestia rules’ or something stupid like that just to fuck with me, the sirens came on. This great drill looking thing moved forward and slid into the door, then started turning and the damn thing pulled out and rolled open.

“What the…” Topaz said. Hey I didn’t get it either but then again I wasn’t Stable-Tec right?

Looking forward we saw into the large cavern painted an earth red and brown by our lights. A hot breeze washed out from the unnatural space and washed over all of us while the catwalk extended and made landfall into the terra pushing up dirt and strange objects.

“HOLY SHIT IT’S A SKELETON!” All of us flinched at Topaz’s words. We hadn’t even moved out of formation until just then. The bones seemed scattered and vaguely pony shaped and sat only a few meters out. Scanning the entire entrance we fell a bit out of formation to look at the graveyard. There were bones littering the entryway that had to be from at least 50 individuals or more but with next to no clothes over them or items you would generally associate with a desperate violent angry crowd besides the occasional hunk of metal which would have once passed for a gun.

“So uh Overmare, what do we do with it?” Jaguar looked towards her.

“Why the hell do you expect me to know what to do with a dusty old skeleton that has probably been there for ages? Push it aside, bury it, leave it, that’s not part of the mission. Now get your asses out there!”

“Gee OK!” Jag rolled his shoulders and took the bit in his mouth. Battle saddles really had to suck.

We all cautiously stepped outside in order, lights on and guns ready. I didn’t even realize how deep we were in when the door started closing. The catwalk was already retracted. Brushfire watched beside me while the red lights and klaxon slowly died until at last, it sealed with a mild gust of air. We were out, surrounded by chalky white dead things. I could hear quickened breaths but didn’t know from whom they came from.

“Lets go.” Brushfire said while everyone else slowly let it sink in that they were now further from home than they had ever been in their entire life, thanks to a few steps.

There were mixed reactions.

“Shit, we are actually outside of the Stable!” Nimbus said almost joyfully whilst avoiding the piles of ponies on the ground. It was the most emotion he had shown… ever as far as I could remember.

“Hey pipe down over there.” Oxide said blowing her rust colored mane out of her eyes. “Something’s ticking.”

“What do you- oh like, radiation? Shit how bad is it?” Topaz jumped up flailing her pipbuck around as it clicked and clacked.

I glanced down. “According to my calculations we are currently experiencing about 4 times the normal amount of radiation we received in the Stable which is amazingly low. Do you think the majority of the fallout is gone? Or maybe this area didn’t receive any direct hits during the great war? “

“Your calculations, as in looking at a dial.” Oxide bit.

“Well, yea.” I met her flat gaze with a shy smile.

“Would you two help us find an exit already?” Nimbus called pointing his headlamp in our direction.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes of scanning the warm rocks of the astonishingly large area before we found a gap which once had a door covering it. That door was now rot that laid in a puddle on the floor. None of that mattered though because past this two pony sized hole was a stairway cut into the stone.

“Well I reckon we had better move on up.” Brushfire said pushing past heading up and around a corner where it seemed like the softest light was coming from.

There wasn’t much space but we all managed to fit in this upper area which was nothing more than a crumbling concrete box and see the metal door that was punctured with what looked like tiny bullet holes. The light coming from the other side twinkled dimly. There was a sound… like air conditioning but less hollow, almost like a whistle.

“So that rusted thing doesn’t look like it’s moving anytime soon.” Topaz mentioned trotting closer to see if anything was visible on the other side. A light double tap with a hoof and she tore a hole with a loud scraping. Turns out it was paper thin at this point.

“uh… well I guess we could just knock it down.” Nimbus chimed in.

“not if we want to keep this entrance sealed.” Brushfire noted.

“Guys.” Topas said slowly a quiet hint of astonishment could be heard in her voice. “We are underneath these branching things, I think they might be roots…”

“Let me see!” I went to her side and hesitated before shining my light above towards the intruding ropes. Those were roots alright. “... Let's just get rid of this thing.” I kicked at a hinge breaking it. The weight of the door instantly snapped the other two hinges and sending the rectangle slowly falling back towards us until it landed with a soft thud. The reverse side was red with oxidation. The bottom of the door had melted bits and flakes of metal stuck to it.

“What the hell!” Jaguar said as I walked into the tiny earthy chamber making my way towards the lights obscured by strings of plant matter. I didn’t really care honestly; I just shoved aside the greenery and continued moving. Further and further we progressed while someone passed expletives in my direction. Could it be? Could it really be? I shoved aside a verdant blanket.

There was the blue gradient of the sky obscured by white and grey oils painted like clouds, but there was no way clouds could be that beautiful. The grass at our hooves was green and calf high; branches swayed high above from the movement of the atmosphere. A sweet smell of flowers drifted on the breeze while sounds from what could only be millions of tiny animals chattering filled our ears. Four twisted but spry trees were all that separated us from and immense field which met with a forest far away. A near pillar of stone covered in green reached up and into the depths of the blue above just beyond that- the mountain side was jagged and unfathomably vast with a peak of white. And the sun, how do you describe the sun for the first time? There was more, so much more than just its overwhelming brightness and warmth.

This wasn’t what we were told to expect. This was, in fact, furthest from our expectations.

I dropped to the grass and just looked at it. Everywhere the ground was covered in tiny needles flattened as if by hammers and then struck into the ground. All the different types of yellowed wild flora seemed infinitely complex and beautiful. Out here, everything moved and swayed in the wind- which itself was a symphony of change. The entire world was dynamic.

It’s funny, you never really know what beauty is until something so different, so bizarrely new and amazing meets your senses.

“June! Weapons at the ready, we are still on a mission.” Brushfire called out angrily but quietly as the rest of the crew stumbled forth in equal and unprintable awe. Oxide whipped her solid grey cloak away and grabbed her rifle and moved forward towards the furthest tree to set up a vantage point.

“W-well? What do you see?” Topaz asked trotting up slowly to the cautious prone mare. She had already found a patch of elevated earth and was gazing through the sight from it.

“We need to take up positions now. There is a convoy of Zebras headed this way.”

End Chapter 1

Footnote:
That was the tutorial.... Your stats currently hella suck, though I guess you're smart so you got that going for you.

Author's Note

First ever Chapter. Don't be afraid to point out mistakes or opinions.