Fallout Equestria: Dragon Fire

“Something has to have gone wrong by now.” The Overmare of Stable-Z paced her room pausing only to look at the ticking clock and her guest. “Everyone is so busy and yet I bet they don’t need herbal soothers to sleep. Why did it have to be under my administration? Couldn’t I have retired first?” She had been pacing for the better part of an hour, leaving what was once a delicate multi layered dress too disheveled to ignore.

“Well that's not good for your health.” Oakshade wore a practiced smile and relaxed in her swivel chair- casually consuming an herb of her own. This had been her home away from home for sixteen years since the two of them were elected together. Much had changed on the account of their actions, sanitation policy, work order distribution- things mostly aimed at increasing efficiency. Most of all the military had seen a thirty three percent decrease in resource acquisition. What were previously store rooms for arms had been converted into additional living quarters at the request of the Overmare. The population was encouraged to allow an additional 30 foals thanks to her recommendations.

“Oh hush. Your daughter is out there because of you and you aren't even batting an eye, what the blazes has gotten into you?” Even for the unusually meditative zebra, this was too much.

“I think she needed to get out. Staying cramped in a place where no one likes you is never easy. She gets to be one of the first ponies to gaze upon the surface again.” The metal creaked as she leaned forward. “Imagine how well she will be received after they get back. All those days of awkwardly shuffling her into classes and trying to find her cutie mark are paying off. She used to be a rowdy one did you know that?” Oakshade huffed. “Then she hit puberty and got moody, shy and frankly a bit chubby.”

“You really are a horrid parent you know.” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice as the pacing stopped, if only for a moment. Oak took another slow waft of the burning fragrance.

“It would seem that way. I could be pessimist and worry about the post-apocalyptic environment I just sent her into, or I could trust that we did the right thing.”

The Overmare moved to sit at her desk and levitated the cold tea to her lips. “Is this about honor or pride or something? I never was really into the more… difficult sides of zebra culture.”

“I want her to have a life, a real life and make a difference, not rot underground like the rest of us.” she spoke without spite.

“Meh, underground, above ground, it doesn’t matter where you die. We are going in the dirt at some point, hopefully not anytime soon.”

“Not me, I am getting cremated.”

“Just like Justice?” She questioned almost casually.

“Yep. When Turnip turns eighteen, I think they will have to come to a decision on what to do with our ashes.”

“... You don’t find that at all morbid? I mean I know you didn’t raise your children the way you were raised but flat out telling them-”

“When we are gone it isn’t like we have a say anymore. Our children are the only parts of us that survive after we die. They are, therefore, making our decisions- the right ones- no matter what they do. Besides, we are getting it out of the way long before there will be the possibility of a disagreement.”

“Seems like backwards zebra logic to me old friend,” The Overmare gently prodded. “ however I suppose that it's not a bad idea to be prepared.”

“You are right about the pride part though. I want to be proud of her and have a legacy, but at this point, I would just be glad if she decided to have foals.”

“And if she is a fillyfooler?”

“... I’ll grin and bear it, hoping that Turnip, bless that hard head of his, is able to get a mate with different genitalia than his own.”

“Ha! Still a bit stingy are we?” The Overmare let out a chortle accompanied by an unwelcome nudge.

“Timber was a nice mare for my sister, until she decided to have a threesome in my bedroom adjacent to my children.”

“Oh dear, I never heard that part.” She recoiled and tossed her finely styled mane back into place.

“Yes, well I like to keep that sort of thing quiet regardless.” They both sighed and looked up at the clock once more as it rolled over to 0100 hours. The humming terminals seemed to consume the silence.

“Should I make another pot?”

“If you wouldn’t mine Sassafras.”

She pulled open a small drawer in the desk and revealed her grid of dried leaves and herbs before levitating out a small cluster and dropping them in a pan on the electric stove. The stove clicked to life as oak took to emptying the ashes from her burner, whistling a slow tune. After replacing her own hoof made incense stick, she took out starting powder, dabbed a minuscule amount on each of her front hooves, and then clapped them gently on the end of the rod, igniting it. Sassafras kept pacing until the unmistakable sound of the boil began. It would be another three minutes of relative silence until it was ready to pour.

In the window beyond the two of them, a pair of guards sat at an unsanctioned desk, playing cards and chatting about something the two of them could only guess, as their silhouettes quietly seemed to burst out in sisterly laughs. Without realizing it, the Overmare had already poured her a mug before returning to her seat. Oak pushed her chair a bit closer the middle of the room so they could give a proper cheers.

“To a safe trip home.”

“To a safe trip home.” The mugs, one white and long ago stained by an endless supply of assorted beverages both high and low class, the other a home made creation, tan, carved, loved and new clanked. They drank.

“I will admit though, she can grow some amazing spices.”

Oak took another sip before leaning back in her chain and looking at the clock.

“Indeed.”

We arrived at the cave with 10 minutes to spare, it was a bit close but we had to be careful to safeguard the entrance and erase any tracks we made leading to the rusted door. Upon entering the cave we were greeting once again by the not so welcomed sight of the clinging skeletons.

“Are you all sure you don’t want to… move them or something?” I asked with taut lips picking my way around and inadvertently stepping on something that crunched. Amazingly I only felt a shiver down my spine and didn’t squeak, at least not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

“Why are you asking us? You are the one with the darn magic! You don’t even have to touch the things.” Nimbus stated.

“Yea and you are in a giant tin suit from head to hoof.”

“Oh bite me.” Oxide walked past the both of us bickering and carefully shoved a pile of bones away from the door putting us to shame.

“Are you two finished?” She said snarkily.

“Yea yea… To be honest, it is a bit of shame that we have to leave.”

“Hey you want to starve out there in that wasteland go right ahead.” Brushfire barked. He had been oddly quiet since we took those pictures on the ridge.

“Oh look who isn’t mopey anymore!” Jaguar laughed with Topaz.

“Bin it. I am still in charge of this mission and I could report you.”

“Well when you put it like that, sorry sir. I was joking.” She scoffed. “We should be excited though. I mean this went better than we could have expected, other than the whole megaspell thing.”

“Just- leave the talking to me.”

“Do you think we will return to our security posts or do you think we will be put on day shift?” Topaz asked to no one in particular.

“Hopefully we’ll get a promotion, it's only fitting for heroes such as ourselves.” Brushfire sat down for a moment to facehoof at the two of them.

“If it’s any consolation I think we did just fine considering the challenges we faced.” Oxide remarked beside him.

“I actually agree… on most accounts anyhow.” Yep, that was about me. At least I didn’t mess things up with the camera right?

Right on time a muffled mechanism could be heard before the door pulled inside and rolled away with a loud grinding noise. I bolted upright and gazed inside with excitement. Thank goodness this was over I thought as I looked inside the brightly lit entry way and saw some sighs of relief on the faces of a pair of guards who wore environmental protection suits and carried a hefty amount of weaponry.

“Great to see you all made it!” The Overmare was behind glass speaking from the PA system. “I trust a quick decontamination won’t hurt our briefing schedule? We don’t really have the facilities obviously but if you would please follow the guards to the clinic unless there is anything of pressing interest.”

That was a bit odd. I hadn’t heard anything about a decontamination but I wasn’t about to complain.

“No Overmare.” Brushfire said simply.

“... good…” She looked off to her left and said a few things with a frown before returning. “See you all soon then, and could hand over the camera if you will?” I fished it out and floated it to one of the guards before the six of us were ushered away under the pale white lights above.

Maybe decontamination was a bit of a fancy name for a soapy shower and some temporary isolation while a few tests were done on our blood individually. We waited and talked in our cramped room for at least half an hour before they took off their suits, a sure indication that we were clear.

Marching the halls this time felt like a dream. Ponies split before us and wouldn’t stop giggling and gossiping until we came close. By the time we made it to council chamber we had an unsettling mob behind us. The stable itself, though exactly the same as I remember it felt, claustrophobic and cold in comparison to the outside. That didn't bode well considering I was going back to work in a few days and I couldn’t afford be all jittery then.

We met up with a considerably larger force of guards at the entrance. Before stepping outside I took another glance at the crowd and nearly died of shock as they all looked directly back at me.

The same as last time four people sat in their collective chairs. The room was hot and someone was tapping a hoof impatiently. Brushfire stepped in front of us and saluted the equestrian flag.

“Alpha team commander Brushfire reporting sir!”

“At ease.” Granite said quickly gesturing with one hoof to the chairs. “What is the status of the wasteland?” He asked as we took our seats.

“The surface seems to be habitable- very, actually- with conclusive proof of indigenous zebra populations engaging in trade.” A guard rushed in through a back door, quickly saluted, and walked up to Stonesaddle. There were a few slight indications of confusion spread across the council, a flinching brow or shift in posture- that sort of thing.

“I trust the locals are of no danger to the stable?” Mother spoke with bags under her eyes.

“They had rusted arms and wore them freely, If you would bring up the first few images you will see they were of little threat.” The guard shuffled to the far end of the table and popped the cartridge into the projector. It made a rather satisfying click as the first image we took of the caravan popped up. “All small arms, the leader seen here wore strange clothing that we were unable to deduce the origins of.”

“Yes, it looks very…. punk I would say.” The Overmare spoke softly. Really, of all the words you could have chosen?

“Indeed, this may be the indication of civilization we have been hoping for. I am intrigued though by the conditions we are seeing- this grass was alive?” Stonesaddle asked.

“Yes Sir, the radiation levels were well into the safe range. We did encounter some hostile wildlife but soon learned how to deal with them.”

“Is that why you all have half of your bullets missing? All but Torbernite, that is.” Granite looked flatly towards Nimbus who was out of his suit and in a bulky uniform.

“Yes, Sir. We open fired as the night went down and… we were saved by a single passing Zebra-”

“Luna I swear!” Granite hammered the table jolting everyone present. “I thought we had an upstanding team! It was explicitly stated to not make contact! Now we have at least one hostile aware of our presence.” Galeria didn’t deserve to be treated like this.

“Um sir, if I may-”

“Talk out of line again and I’ll see you thrown serving slop for the next year.” Granite let off an outburst of intimidation.

This was going to go sour...

“The reason why I didn’t shoot was because I went to get her help.” The both of us paled and he looked at me with an irate scowl.

“... You ran away, to give up our position to a local that may or maynot have been able to help you?” I froze and glanced towards Brushfire who looked at me then away knowing the shit I was in.

“Well uh, considering well we had guns and were shooting them I-I assumed she already… knew?”

“You damned coward!” He stood up fuming. I fell back out of my chair as the entire room erupted in noise.

“Woah calm down-”

“Granite let her finish-”

“Sir I would like to clear up-”

Oakshade’s chair ground against the floor as she stood up. A hush fell over the ruckus the moment she looked him on with dead certainty.

“I trust we can maintain this as a civil discussion.”

“... We will see.” I was still petrified and laying on the ground before Nimbus and Oxide helped me up silently. I nodded in respect before clearing my throat and sitting back down.

“What was the outcome of your interaction?” Stonesaddle asked in my direction.

“... Galeria- the um name of the Zebra that pacified the bugs and kept us safe for the night- she told a story and gave us a map without any trouble. She didn’t know who we were or where we came from.” I felt it would be best if I left out the fact that we traded oxides rifle to a ‘hostile’.

“And what did this story entail?”

I hadn’t know it at the time but Brushfire was actually smart enough to record the whole thing which he promptly played for the council. Those precious few minutes of diverted attention worked wonders on my psyche but the nasty bits of the story only served to bring back the tense atmosphere. Some other tidbits of conversation occurred between them, I couldn’t recall what, it wasn’t important to me at the time.

“We found her to be quite genuine and were given this map as a parting gift.” Brushfire had already had it unfurled and on the table as I looked up from whatever my hooves were playing with. “We were also given advice to seek out Florence in the future for trade and information.”

“Allies on the surface are a good start- though I am personally more interested in the state of the old Roaman military hardware.” Stonesaddle responded before turning to myself. I felt in an instant a wave of both trust and fear from his eyes. It only lasted a moment, but it was there and nearly petrifying. “If the damage is as significant as it seems however, I doubt scavenging will be of much use. How far do you think we could go into the port area before we met with complications?”

“Well, in the pictures we can see some plant life and plenty of rubble which seems unavoidable. I don’t think we could reach many of the further structures without some serious, I don’t know, dynamite?” There was little confidence in my response. “It was hot, nearly too hot for power armor. It is bound to get hotter as time goes by what with the seasons changing and all. Who knows if we could even leave the stable when summer arrives.”

“Sounds good. Alrighty then,” Granite nodded along as Stonesaddle spoke. “I suppose it is time to continue with your mission."

...Come again?

"If you would excuse us.” The remaining guards left the room without question leaving us in a silence which lasted until Granite spoke again slowly.

“This mission has been an experiment in a number of ways. We needed to judge the effectiveness of the team and the conditions above. Now that we have favorable conditions it is time to ensure the safety of the stable. You see, we have a number of items which should still remain untarnished and untouched within the Zebra’s military compound. You don’t need to know what they do, you simply need to go there, retrieve them and come back- no questions asked.”

Was there something wrong with the stables systems? If it were the power as I thought it was then why wouldn’t they just tell us outright? Did this tie in with the plans mentioned in those emails?

“Two days from now you will headed back out at dusk around 1800 hours and return, hopefully, before dawn. This will be taken under the guise that Torbernite will be collecting samples from outside. You could come back with a lump of grass for all I care just tell no one.”

“I know this is sudden and suspicious, but you must trust that we have the safety of the stable as our primary concern.” The Overmare entered full oration mode. “There will be no need for further briefing on this subject and it will never be mentioned again after the objects of interest are gathered. As our acting commander has suggested however, he will be taking the lead in this mission.

Time is less critical than before though if what you have said about the intensity of the heat is correct, I would not wait until morning. We will make sure to open the doors at exactly 0800 hours keep them open until you return within the hour. If you do not return however… well I suppose there is no need to go into that.”

“Do try not to be late.” Mother put bluntly.

“The council will review the information gathered and if need be inform you of any change of plans. You will find that your pipbucks have been updated with the most probable locations of the 5 objects. With that you all are dismissed.” Granite exhaled defeated.

“Sir yes sir!” Everyone said before pushing out their chairs with a metallic groan.

The door closed behind us and I couldn’t help but grasp for an explanation.

“Why? We just got back.” I stomped.

“Torbernite, for once would you just keep your damn mouth closed and do what you are told?” Nimbus said as he moved off further into the bunker with everyone else.

“The council can’t honestly expect us to just-” how could I make this work… “Get their shit!” Oxide and Brushfire drifted down one hallway, no doubt eager to get out of earshot.

“Tough. This is the military you know. We aren't here to question, we are here to be obedient. When the Overmare says we need to fetch some plants then we need to fetch some plants. This is not up for debate.” Topaz and Jaguar took that as their cue to leave as well.

“Look just come on, talk some sense into Granite to convince him that we should leave, like any other day.”

“Why?” He finally spun around to address me directly. “You haven’t said you want to be off the team so why do you want to wait and fowl up plans that have already been laid?”

“Pft it isn’t like they can’t just change the plans in an instant. Nothing is ever going on down here anyway.” I took a step back. “And if you would like to know, it’s because I have plans-”

“You have plans?”

“That's right I have plans. Turnip’s birthday is the day we are suppose to be leaving, yea I guess we could have the ceremony in the morning but he has school a-and I was supposed to be back at the reactor-”

“Bull. You are just scared and don’t want to admit it!” He shouted with a look of anger on his face. I shrunk back. He was taller than I and though I had never been intimidated by him before, it was certainly the case now. Soon his expression softened to one of regret after seeing the shaking I tried to hide. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

I stumbled away from the hall and away from the gaze of the bystanders, there were always bystanders. A tear dripped down but I wrinkled my face and wiped it off before anyone could see. It didn’t matter that he was right. It didn’t matter that the outside was beautiful and terrible at the same time. All that mattered was this sinking feeling that I was alone with no one to turn to and that this mission would not be the last or the worst.

We were going into places we didn’t know about to retrieve some foul objects for an idiotic council that couldn’t even rely on us. Couldn’t rely on me.

Crap this wasn’t helping matters.

I spent awhile in my room staring at the ceiling and combing my mane.

Had I been conscripted? Was this going to be the death of me? Why didn’t I have anyone to turn to? All the pondering had hurt my head, perhaps it was the result of laying down for too long after eating too much though. There were 5 components all on the same level of a facility far into “the dead zone” Apparently my pictures showed that the place was still standing well enough to deem exploration after all.

It seemed that there was an old road that led almost straight to the compound ‘RRLC-77 alpha.’ I only figured that out because I spent the past hour scrolling around in a daze and found that it had updated somehow which didn’t make sense as the only map we had before was the one of Stable Z. It was as if the pipbuck itself drew up details based on its surroundings! These things were weird.

So maybe I was a bit of a coward when it came to this fighting and stuff but I guess if things ever got too bad I could always just hang back and let them do the dangerous stuff. In fact, why was I coming along?

Probably to be a glorified servant again.

I let out a sigh and rolled over pushing off the blankets and looking into my bathroom. It was too darn cold in here.

I splashed some nice warm water on my face slapped both cheeks lightly and then started making faces. I wasn’t, like incredibly ugly or something was I? Could that have been why no one like me?

“Just another vote of confidence from yourself I see.”

So I wasn’t the most attractive pony, who cared! Not I! Certainly not I! After all, I never had time to fancy up what with all the incessant quirks of that stupid reactor and the stupid ponies that worked on it. Sure I got a fancier room and some fancy books and what not but why couldn’t they just hire more ponies to do the job?

Actually now that I thought about it, I didn’t really do much other than read, play cards and work did I? Goddesses was my life that boring? Already I felt as though I spent a lifetime outside in one bloody day. A single day shook the preconceived notions that I actually had a life and interests and… a future.

Great now I actually wanted to go outside. What a wonderful (and short) life that would be. It also didn’t help matters that Stonesaddle himself was coming because apparently we were that shit.

When it came down to it I could always just say no, but some- urging, I suppose, held me back. It was just so… interesting, so invigorating to see the depth of the landscapes for once when I had carved paths through the entirety of this stable several times over already. Curiosity, that’s the word I would use.

That reminded me, I had taken a picture for Turnip. Would they even let me take it or him see it?

“Well only one way to find out.” I got dressed and worked up the courage to go see mother.

“Oakshade? You have a visitor.” The guard called before I enter my mothers office.

“J-June! Well I had been hoping to see you again! Why do you disappear like this at times?”

“Yea… sorry, we never really talked face to face since I got back. I had a question though, about the pictures.”

“Oh, go on.” She sat intently leaning on one hoof in her swivel chair.

“Well I took one, the one of just the mountains and sky and what not for Turnip and I was wondering if he could see it it.”

“Yes well, we were hoping to do a sort of stable wide reveal of the outside in a few days… But I don’t see why we couldn’t make a copy early for him. Hold on actually.” She twisted back around and started hammering out a message.

The clock ticked and the Overmare was grumbling about, apples was it?

“I am actually quite surprised to hear in Turnips interest in the outside. You would figure he would tell me these things after all.”

“We talk a lot you know. He has always hated the Stable.”

“Everyone hates the Stable.” Well that was blunt.

“Uh, ok.”

“I had dozens of others begging for your place to go outside.” Oh that's why. It's going to be another lecture. “Some quicker, some stronger, all more qualified and yet I managed to sneak you on that team do you know why?” I didn’t respond, couldn’t really. “Because you are different than those military brats. You have more cunning than you know what to do with.”

“Thanks?” she wheeled around and took my forehoof in her own.

“Maybe you don’t understand, when I heard that you hadn’t fired a shot and had chosen to do the smart thing and get help I was overwhelmed with happiness. “ She had a beautiful smile adorning her face that was framed by the large golden hoops she had on either ears. “You disobeyed orders, and for that I am so very proud.”

Welp. Good thing she doesn’t think I am a coward since that never happened.

“Thanks, mom. It… it does mean a lot to me to hear that.” Oh goddesses I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Wait what did the goddesses have to do with this? I shook my head a bit.

“Is something wrong dear?”

“Oh no, it's just, ya know all this emotional stuff isn’t really, easy to deal with I guess?”

“Ahhhh… Well I could let you go if you wished. A picture should be delivered to your room in about an hour, if that is alright with you.”

“Yea that sounds great actually.” I swooped in for an embrace which caught her off guard but nevertheless, she returned it. We broke after hearing some obscenities from the Overmare.

“So um…. Could we have a big old family dinner like we used to?”

“Five pm, I will ask for the special leek stew from my sister.”

“Back on speaking terms?”

“For now anyway.”

“Thanks again!” I smiled, feeling a bit better but with a sinking guilt in my gut and the unintended consequences of my lying. At least I had gotten what I came for after all.

I knocked twice before getting a response.

“Oh Torbernite! What a lovely surprise! I was just drawing in the studio.” My father an overly large almost pure blooded Zebra ( believe me, it showed) smirked while beckoning me inside.

“More squiggles?” I nudged him and met fierce resistance.

“Come on, you have to at least try and respect glyph painting!” Every word came out with a familiar popping tone. I hadn’t talked to him in nearly a year on account of… well hiding, I guess so things were bound to be a bit different. He was an equine of eccentric tastes, always willing to try something new or meet new people, not something you would imagine of this massive hard browed guy.

“I see you finally converted my room into a studio-”

“No no no no! Your old room is where music and other magic take place.” We didn’t always see eye to eye but my father was about as harmless as could be, unless you stole rations or pushed people around. He didn’t like that.

“So… it’s a sex dungeon.” He erupted in a deep hearty laughter for a moment.

“No, no. Alchemy!” We arrived at my old door, remnants of the duct tape I used to put up a ‘borrowed’ radiation warning sign were still there. “Let me show you, I have been working on a few new brews I think you will like.”

Inside stank, as I had expected it to. The bed had been converted into a workbench with the help of a few scraps of metal. Each wall had shelves running to the ceiling constructed in a similar fashion though neatly filled with the same kind of gourd with finely scribed labels facing outward. In one corner were three chairs with an assortment of drums piled on top.

On the workbench itself sat three bubbling glass bottles with all sorts of crazy contraptions leading to and from it.

“Well what do you think?” August threw his arms wide.

“You have… an illegal distillery.” He smirked shadily before leading me to the bench.

“You are right for one of them, which do you think it is?” Oh great an alchemy lesson, hadn’t I gotten old enough for these things to stop? Considering though that all the fluids were varying shades of grey brown and black however… maybe I didn’t know as much as I should have.

I cautiously wafted (yea I know chemical safety) the one with the most tubes and vials. It smelled like apples, everything always smelled like apples but this one had a bit of a.. vinegar taste to it?

“That would be the ink.”

“Oh.” I stepped back careful not to disrupt the clutter as we both went silent.

“... Don’t worry you will get it-”

“-I will I will…” I cut him off only lengthening the stretch of silence interrupted by the humming of the heaters and the churning of the bubbles.

“So did you come back out of the blue for any particular reason?”

“Oh yes, I wanted to show Turnip the picture I took while on the outside.” He nodded lightly.

“He should be back soon, he was out with Soundheart last I checked… It wasn’t too scary was it?” He asked genuinely. I shrugged drawing up my mouth slightly.

“Well we managed, but man night is like the emptiest thing you will ever experience.”

“Ha, I do not doubt that. Could I by chance see the picture as well?”

“Sure.” I forked it over and he immediately gasped.

“You took this?” I nodded. “It is beautiful! The framing is magnificent and the image is so balanced you would almost think my daughter knew a thing or two about art!”

“Funny huh. You, actually mean that though?”

“Oh of course I mean, it’s not perfect.” My ears drooped. “B-But it is your first photo, don’t feel pressured.” He wrapped a hoof around my shoulder.

“Not at all.” my interest in this conversation was waning.

“So, why don’t you tell me everything, you know, about the outside and the stable door? I could imagine it was quite grand!” I shrugged again.

We moved into the kitchen which had heirlooms and black on white glyph paintings positively everywhere. He sat across from me and leaned forward as I began to explain everything from the fright of being picked to the disgust at the skeletons found on our doorstep.

Several hours later I had caught up with nearly everything my father could talk about. The stable goers were apparently more excited than anxious now that the first mission was out of the way. That didn’t stop all the crazies though, someone had deliberately smashed some water pipes thinking that maybe that would be enough to encourage a mass exodus. Yea… he was sure security would find the culprits before we left. On top of that it seemed our family was no longer associating with our neighbors, the Whalers, on account of some serious (childish) disagreements about parties and etiquette. It was nice to have a one on one conversation, but he seemed lonely at times even though I knew that wasn’t the case.

Part of the way through Turnip came back and unloaded a barrage of questions. I answered everything just vaguely enough while still conveying that the outside was no laughing matter. Little Turnip could hardly contain his excitement when I pulled the photo from its envelope and began chatting like I had never seen him before. Mother even came by a bit latter than she said she would and made us dinner.

The family was never this forward or this positive. It was a great break for once from the isolation my mother enacted upon herself, the shyness of my brother and the joyful but naive shouts of my father. I guess pride really did matter, it certainly seemed to unify the family again after all.

No that wasn’t entirely true. I was the one who brought us back together even though I didn’t really do anything. It had been mom's idea so I guess she was kind of responsible even though it was my choice in the end.

Then again maybe they just missed me.

The next day I hadn’t planned out, but oh boy I wish I had. The drills had instilled an early sleep schedule and before I knew it I was up and ready. There was, however, a commotion coming from the other side of my door.

Pressing a button revealed the dim hallways being crowded by enthusiastic ponies and zebras. My reveal immediately set them into a shouting over drive, but before anything could occur a trio of guards which must have been posted overnight ordered them back.

“Torbernite Sir! We are to be your personal escort for today and tomorrow until your next mission to ensure your safety.” A tall handsome smooth talking gentlecolt said to me from underneath his prewar royal guard uniform, not all that unlike what I wore during the first meeting. He stood in front while his two comrades blocked the narrow paths.

“Wow, uh thanks I guess?” I shouted over the ruckus looking left and right towards the crowds held back at staffpoint. Shouts of praise, fright and abomination rang out. Had I done this?

“It may be in your best interests to keep your future whereabouts away from public eyes.” One of the guards that was significantly less suave said between grunts. “CLEAR THE AREA AT ONCE!” He shouted with a slight crack in his voice.

That seemed to evoke a response though the howling didn’t stop. Someone threw a glass bottle which shattered at my hooves, starling me. One of the guards yelled and it seemed was getting physical. The walls of ponies shifted like waves crashing against a beach reaching for me while the ceiling pushed down from above.

“Stop.” I huffed shifting toward the closest guard. “This has to stop before someone gets hurt!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” He stood still at attention. What I was supposed to decide?

Well if they wanted me I guess I was the only one that could make them go away right? I made my way towards one side of the crowd which grew scared and more quiet the closer I stepped.

“Um… Hello everyone. I take it you all want… something-”

“What was it like on the outside!” A blue mare from the front shouted much to the alarm of the guard.

“No no, it's ok.” I motioned for him to move his weapon down which he slowly did before returning to a resolute and intimidating pose.

“Are there any zebras left-”

“Do they still want to kill us?”

“You’ve doomed us all you Idiot! You should never have come back” Yowch.

“Everyone- Everyone! Just calm down, I can tell you what happened on the outside.” Murmurs echoed from the far reaches of the crowd.

“Actually, all information pertaining to the outside has been ordered to be kept classified by the council.” The guard said before turning to me. “All that can be said is that the surface is habitable, the degree of which is still up for debate.”

“Oh get of a load of this-”

“What? I was never told that!” I spoke loudly.

“That was the other reason for our mission sir.”

“... could you stop calling me sir? It just feels wrong. Torbernite will do.”

“Yes miss Torbernite. The Council made the decision last night.” Oh fuck, the family dinner!

“And what if we already said things?”

He sighed looking down . “We feared us much, in an effort to prevent panic we needed to constrict the flow of information. Who did you tell.” His gaze met mine with a furrowed brow.

“Just my Father and Brother… but I showed them a picture I took- the council approved of it I swear!”

“Regardless, you are going to come with us. MAKE WAY.” The handsome one ordered moving forward with spears once again out.

This was going to be a crappy day.

“I can’t believe you authorized this without our consent Oak!” Granite griped.

“For the last time, I didn’t need the council's input to give my daughter access to a photo of the landscape that she took. There was nothing in there that could in anyway be of tactical significance.”

“That's a bold call, even for you.” Stonesaddle said leaning over a glass filled with wine.

“Perhaps, but I felt I owed it to the stable at the very least; They needed to know-”

“When the time is right they were going to know, we already had to go back on orders to try and cover this up.”

“Um, if I could just say something for a moment?” I raised my hoof.

“Go right ahead sweetie-”

“Give me a break Oakshade! This is gross misuse of your authority.” Granite boomed.

“No, it would be however If I tried to hide the glorious outside world from the prisoners of this way of life! We have always known this day would come and ever since the accident we decided that, for the benefit of the stable, we would look into the colonization of the outside. To treat your fellow citizens as degenerates, to think little of them is the greatest injustice your could have done.”

“Perhaps you don’t see this the way we do. When I see someone break protocol they are punished-”

“Who makes these protocols, and for whose benefit do they exist? Do you honestly expect me to respect these arbitrary tenants when they are used against those they were meant to protect? Ignorance will not quell the hearts and minds of the stable goers.”

“YOU KNOW NOTHING!” Granite slammed the table leaving a hoof mark and no doubt injuring himself in the process. “If anything, uncontrolled and unedited information of the outside is only going to lead to conflict. Now that they have heard the tale of a great clean wondrous expanse they will want to leave themselves soon enough by whatever means they can muster. What happens when it is shown that the world above is not a perfect fairytale? What happens when they encounter the cold embrace of death at the hooves of the unknown and unholy, woman you've doomed us!”

“I beg to differ.” Mother spoke calmly with her hooves crossed and head level. There was a lull in conversation that grew more tense as the seconds ticked by.

“... It is already done though, why can’t you just explain that it isn’t perfect up their?”

“It would never work.” Stonesaddle leaned back in his chair. “There is no way the general populous would stand for anything other than the free opening of the vault door. It is really up to the results of this next mission to provide more information and then after that you. Tobernite, you may have inadvertently caused a revolution. It seems that we will need you to leak more information to the public about whatever you encounter and before you ask why you, it is because none of the citizens are going to trust anyone but yourself as you are unaffiliated with the military.”

“Are we not even going to discuss this? Really?” The Overmare had hardly said a word.

“I actually agree with StoneSaddle. Torbernite will need to release more information to the public upon her return.”

“If you wish us to hide in here like cowards then go ahead-”

“Hey I won’t take any of that talk from you, you… rebel.” Granite let it roll of his tongue like a lead weight.

“What did you just call me?” Oakshade pushed herself up from the table. “If you think I WANT bloodshed you are sorely mistaken. I want nothing but the freedom of the good people of this Stable.”

“Settle down already! I don’t think Torbernite is doing too well.” My face had long ago paled but it somehow grew lighter as the attention fell upon myself.

“Understand please Torbernite, that for as much as I may hold this action against your mother, I do not hold it against you as at the time you did nothing wrong.” Granite turned back to my mother. “A council member should always be trustworthy.”

“I will see to your end if you keep insinuating my madness.” Mother spat those words with bared teeth and for a second I thought I was going to see a brawl.

“Would you just shut up already!” That caught their attention. “Maybe I might have an idea?”

“Well get on with it.” StoneSaddle sighed. He could see me choke back vomit.

“... I messed up. I am sorry but this fighting isn’t leading us anywhere. Why don’t we try to establish contact with the surface factions without talking about where we are from? We already have a map, if we had a few teams or individuals scout them out, maybe we could estimate the threats we might encounter? From there, if the information is promising we could claim some land on the surface immediately outside the stable for trade or something with volunteers only. If it works it works, if not we hide some more and then… well I don’t know the rest, we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

I was met with skeptical eyes from all expect mother who I think would have been jumping for joy if she could have.

“Volunteers huh?” Granite said.

“If we announced this plan and it turned into an obvious problem then the people would have no issues with closing the door, though that would still put us at risk for attacks from the outside.” Stonesaddle ran a hoof through his sleek hair.

“So move the location of our supposed trade outpost and hide the stable entrance. Have explosives set up on the cave ceiling as a last resort to stop anyone from even reaching the doors.” Granite input.

“Wait this could work… It is not a half bad plan Torbernite.” The Overmare nodded gently as I let out a long held breath.

“So what do we do about this mission?” Oakshade asked.

“I see no reason for the objective to change. Likewise it could be cover for an attempt at contacting the natives.”

“Good, so then we can continue to discuss this… without Torbernite.” Granite's words were enough to make me stand.

“Thank you, for considering my opinion council.” I said softly.

“Ehhh don’t mention it. Also just for future reference we always fight like this.”

“Remember, not a word.”

“Yes sirs.” I politely saluted before stepping out to my guards once again.

And promptly fell to the floor.

“Torbernite sir?” The handsome one had to be the one that caught me.

“Wha? Oh um sorry, it was just a bit taxing…”

“I could imagine, being on the most important assignment the stable has ever seen must be such a burden.” Was he coming onto me?

“Sure is.” I looked down and finally picked myself off the ground in an effort to conceal my face.

“Whatever it is you need for the rest of today do not hesitate to ask in my direction.” He smiled still holding a hoof. His eyes shined and I could make out my reflection in his helmet which covered his thin blond hair. This was too much.

“Could I, go to the bathroom maybe?” He nodded. “Alone.”

“Oh I wasn’t trying to-” He let go and pushed off gently.

“No I understand, I just… REALLY have to piss.”

The door locked shut and I leaned with my eyes closed and back to the metal. Holy fuck what was that?!? Had the whole stable gone mad? I was just complaining like what, twenty minutes ago that I left quite a bit to be desired and suddenly…

“Oh.” That's right, I was famous now. Nothing could stop the smirk that bubbled on my lips.

Now the wise thing to do was to fully consider the powers that come with a celebrity status but all I could think about was the multitude of stallions that would be chasing me. Luna knows I hadn’t gotten any action in 16 months... holy crap had it been that long?

I shook my head out of my fervor. After doing my business I strutted outside and we began our walk towards the mess hall. Breakfast fixes everything after all.

The hall was about as rowdy as usually but instead of the mindless gossip that the crowds usually output there were more hushed tones and pointing in my direction. The trio of guards did well to ward off anyone that met with anything more than a hostile gaze.

The food was better than MRE’s, but not by much. Stale potatoes and harsh vegetables mixed into an ugly but filling slush. I had elected to sit near as few people as possible. Again the guards made that wish into a reality, perhaps harsher than they should have, but nevertheless I was allowed to sit down alone and across from blondie who did his best to keep his eyes from drifting to mine.

There was light chatter between the other two guards that were frankly easy to forget. Still they didn’t complain in the slightest as I gracelessly annihilated my food and slurped down my sugar water. Every thought was a pleasant one with him in front.

“So what is your name? You already know mine after all.”

“I am Private Lemoncake, and I guess it is nice to finally talk to you.” He let out a soft exhale with a smile on his lips. “You are quite pretty,” The smile was gone “though you must get compliments like that daily.”

“No… people only ever call me smart which isn’t always true. When it comes to technology sure I guess I am kind of smart, but other than that, I don’t even know a tenth of what my mother does. Pretty is not something I hear ever really.” My mouth was dry.

“I guess it is just… your mane is so manageable, I haven’t seen many Zebras with hair like yours.”

“Ah,” my brows drooped, “well my mother’s mother was a unicorn so that is probably where I get it from. What about yourself blondie?” His soft muzzle crinkled in an inquisitive way in response.

“Well my entire family is pure blooded unicorns. Not much else to say about that… My ancestors were bakers though, hence the name.”

“What? Don’t you like it?” he shook his head ever so slightly. “It is better than being named after a deadly radioactive mineral let me tell you.”

“Yes, but at least you own your name! Lemoncake isn’t much of a guard's name is it? Torbernite sounds about as intelligent as you do.” He tilted his head letting a few strands of hair fall in front of those magnificent blue eyes.

OHHhhhhhhh unrelenting young love, why do you do this to me?

I coughed and took another sip as my throat was suddenly dry as a desert. “You really think so?” I twirled my fork and turned away a smidge.

“I know so! Why else would you, above anyone else get the privilege of leaving the Stable?”

“It is a bit more complicated than that. I think my mother had more than a single hoof in the council’s decision to bring me with them.”

“And it was wonderful! Wasn’t it?” He leaned on one hoof in my direction.

“Yes and no…. but you probably already know everything I am allowed to say.”

“I heard that the trees and sky were the most beautiful thing. The air sung with birds and the night seemed endless in its expanse. To be honest, I have always wanted to leave hear and see what it’s like.”

“Well, maybe someone sugar coated it a little for you but yea, it was stupendous and immense. Every time the wind blew through my hair I just felt so alive and free, like I had a future up there you know?”

“Oh yea yea…” He donned a much more downtrodden look as he leaned in further and gazed off in the direction of some passersby. “Not much down here is there? I have been a guard since I was sixteen and not once have I felt any sense of purpose, any sense of belonging.”

A father and his colt walked close by. The colt was perhaps seven years of age and walked around talking to everyone and waving with a smiling brimming from ear to ear. Frequently he would find something of interest and fixate holding them up in line as they joined the back. The father’s eyes were only ever on the path before him and on anything close enough to warrant danger. His gaze met ours for a few moments before he returned to caring for his hyper son. We returned our attention to the table while I fiddled with the drink in my grasp.

“No one likes it here. Not the guards, not the farmers and not the entertainers. My grandmother took her own life at the stable door at the age of sixty-two. The funeral was quick and it has been hard to find a hopeful look in my family since then.” We met once more. “I am sorry; you don’t want to hear this.”

“I understand. Suicide is a lot more common among the elderly than anyone wants to admit, that is why we have the theater and such a huge focus on the arts. We can’t let the depression take hold- It always seems to though.”

“I don’t mean to pry, have you been doing alright since the incident?”

“Oh that.” I brushed back my mane with a hoof before leaning over the table. “I lost a lot of trust that day and now a few people hate me, but the reactor is ok and I guess so am I." It was an instinct that I knew was going to kick in the moment I thought about it, but I half reached for my left forehoof. Im sure he noticed but I guess I'll never know. "So I made a mistake, everyone does those right? Even if it is one of the only things keeping us alive…” I pouted. It really had been a long time. “But enough of that, I am finished eating so I was thinking… maybe we could head back to my room.”

“Oh of course I will escort you back to your room Torbernite.” I bit the inside of my cheeks.

“But… will you escort me inside my room?” The pair had done everything to remain out of the conversation but I think our mutual blushing was as audible as timpani at this point.

“UM… It is against regulation to…. do such things on duty ma'am.”

“So… when does the shift change?” He quickly looked at his hoof and read off the time to himself.

“An hour.”

“A-and they can be told to wait outside?”

“If that is what you want… I shouldn’t have anything immediately after t-that.”

I leaned in and tapped him on the nose with a hoof which made him recoil all while giving the best bedroom eyes I could.

“See you then.”

“How about you just ask to be relieved already Lemoncake?” The female guard said something under her breath about never getting the good ones.

“I uh… Guess I could?”

“Fine, that way you two can bone and I can finally stop listening to you saps.”

I for one didn’t care even though it was rather apparent I was going to take advantage of this poor stallion.

Welp.

I had to wait almost an hour anyway before a new trio showed up to relieve the existing pair. After that Lemoncake somehow made his way inside undetected. What ensued was an initially awkward but afterwards incredible bout of love making which lasted the better part of two hours, but you all don’t get to join in on that.

It took a while before I could walk, or think for that matter, straight. Miraculously I cleaned up while Lemondrop lay unconscious on my absolute mess of a bed. Somewhere in the shouting he told me he had been in charge of the shift since about 2 am so I couldn’t blame him for passing out in the state he was in. Seeing Lemoncake so indisposed however left a peculiar feeling in my gut so after a shower and a change of clothes I stumbled outside into the light doing my best to hide his existence in my room.

“Afternoon Sirs!” I said as a bushy uninteresting stallion nodded my way. “So I guess I am going to head on over to the library… if you all wanted to know.”

“Well, get going already.” Defiantly not dating material these ones.

I checked in at the desk and returned a book on Zebra sun worship I had intended to read, but never did. Past the short shelves that were always undefiled was my favorite spot, hidden in the furthest corner of the library.

Sitting at the desk I pulled out a different book from my saddle bags and asked the guards for some privacy.

Alchemy 101, an illustrated guide.

Hello my old friend. Time to meet your maker.

End of Chapter 3

Footnote:
Level up!

Hey!!!! Look at you climbing the social ladder like that! Probably not the most ethical way of doing it but hey it isn’t like anyone got hurt right? Luck increases by 1 to 7

Sexy times: You have the ability to temporarily… err…mitigate the effects of stress, increasing your Aim, Charisma by 2 points, endurance by 1 point and decreasing your perception by 1. This lasts either 6 hours or for 1 or 2 enemy encounters.