Fallout: Equestria - Winding Rivers

“What happened to you? The future must be awful.”

“Huh.”

A three foot by three foot panel had opened up in one of the maintenance halls. Inside sat what looked like a recollector combined with gold foil, connected to a pristine terminal.

“Yup,” Overmare Rand replied, “little Max found it between classes. Reported it straight to me.”

“I assume you called me since it’s a memory recollector?”

She nodded, “don’t worry, we have Anna right here to monitor your vitals, and fix you up if something breaks.”

We sat there a moment as I stared at the machine and they stared expectantly at me.

“Why are we talking so matter-of-fact about this? A strange panel opened in our Stable with a strange device and we’re just going to jump right in?”

“You are going to jump right in,” the Overmare replied.

Anna spoke up, “seriously, though. It is strange. Everything I’ve been taught tells me to wait until we have more information. We need to trace everything to find out why it’s here and what it will do to you. Yet, I want to run over and put that mesh on my head without a second thought. Like a jet addict with an inhaler.”

“You think it’s enchanted?” Rand asked after a moment.

“Want-it-need-it spell?” I replied, looking the machine over.

Anna nodded, “or a variant. A tuned down version, maybe.”

The Overmare snorted, “I can see Sparkle doing that. Doesn’t make me feel good about the situation. You still okay with this, Memory?”

I just sat on the floor and took the strange recollector into my hooves. As Anna said, it was a compulsion, “I really don’t like this,” my objections went unnoticed, even by myself, as I lowered the mesh onto my head.

oooOOOooo

Darkness was no stranger to me. Many memories began with closed eyes. This, however, was not simple darkness. This was nothingness. There were no sensations, no feelings. I had no body, no eyes, mouth, or ears. It was as if I was a disembodied soul, floating in the void of oblivion.

A few moments passed, before words appeared in my mind.

LOADING…

LOADING…

LOADING…

I would have sighed, if I could. Finally:

SUBJECT DETECTED.

CALIBRATING…

Oh, great. More waiting. Now I knew how my students felt when I passed out tests.

PIPBUCK DETECTED. LOADING DATA...

SUBJECT:

NAME: MEMORY LANE

GENDER: MALE

RACE: EARTH

S: 1

P: 5

E: 2

C: 3

I: 10

A: 2

L: 5

CALIBRATING APPEARANCE...

Then I could see. A stallion appeared before me, white as snow. His mane-style began to change, as if scrolling through options, before settling on one much like my own. It flowed through the colors, from blue up to red, before turning a burnt orange-brown.

I understood, now, as the coat became my off-white-grey one, and the physique of the body slimmed to my gaunt form. Finally, my cutiemark appeared on the flank. Most memories put the user inside the mind of another pony. This one was putting all of me in.

The brown eyes blinked a few times, then I was seeing from them. I lifted my leg, then the other. The area around me was just as empty, but here I was, in the computer.

DOWNLOADING MEMORIES...

Wait, what?

Images flooded around me, barraging me with events from my past. First day of class. Getting my cutiemark. My first kiss. Straw Bale bullying me as a kid. Us later becoming best friends. Last night’s drinking session. Sitting on the floor. Putting on a strange, gold mesh hat.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE.

The world around me faded, and I was back in the Stable. Anna and Rand stood and removed the hat from my head.

“Well?” the Overmare asked.

“I...” my head tilted to the side as I thought, “it just took a copy of me. My body. My memories. Then I came back out.”

She sighed, “well, my drive to find out is gone, so that’s good. Don’t know what Twilight thought she would accomplish with this, but I’m done wondering. I’ll get a tech down here to pack this stuff away in the archive.”

Anna looked me over as the grumpy older mare trotted away to do paperwork or whatever it was she did all day, “everything seems good,” the nurse said, “heart rate normal, blood pressure high but not more than usual for you.”

“Yeah yeah. Blame Straw and Bell. They need to cut down on the salt.”

She nickered, “you need to cut down on the late night drinking sessions.”

I grumbled and cracked my neck, “I know. You try dealing with foals all day without drinking.”

There was a slight nuzzle on my cheek, making me blush, slightly, “I do deal with foals. Of all ages.”

Without another word, she trotted away, leaving me in the hallway with the computer. Rand might be fed up and not care about the old world, anymore, but I did. What had Twilight planned, with this hidden device? Maybe we were supposed to all download our minds? No, it would have opened sooner, for my parents, and their parents.

I put the recollector on top of the terminal and looked around. I couldn’t just leave it alone. A foal might try it. With a sigh, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. Classes had already been canceled. I might as well take a nap.

A blaring alarm and flashing red lights woke me from a dreamless sleep. There wasn’t a drill planned, was there? I sprang to my feet, straining my ears to hear down the hall toward the better-traveled parts of the Stable. I could hear shouting and screaming.

The hall blurred past, turning into an atrium in chaos.

“What’s going on?” I shouted at nopony in particular.

My question was answered as four ponytron robots marched in from the entry room. Ministry of Morale logos emblazoned their flanks where cutie marks would be on real ponies. Without a word, they opened fire on my friends and family.

The ponies ducked and fell. They screamed and cried. I did the same, hiding behind a large support pillar. What was happening?

Was this my fault?

Maybe that computer had sent my information to the MoM. Had a memory it downloaded been incriminating to the Stable? That had to be it, the timing was too perfect. I didn’t know what, but something in my life had brought the full wrath of the government down on my home.

I stepped out from my hiding spot. If it was my fault, I would take the consequences, “it’s me you want!” The ponytrons stopped shooting and turned toward me. There was a tense moment of silence.

“Memory Lane,” one of them buzzed, “due to recently received files, you and this Stable have been deemed traitors. All seditious materials and ponies will be eliminated. How do you plea?”

Seditious? Oh, the unedited zebra texts. Right.

I sighed. They knew the truth. What could I do? I stood tall and looked them in the… face. They didn’t really have eyes. They barely had faces.

“Guilty,” I took a deep breath and a step forward. The ponies around me stared in wide-eyed horror as I stared down the mechanical abominations. None of them would do this. A century-and-a-half stuck in this place had left them disenfranchised and hopeless. Through courage or insanity, however, I still had hope, “I stand here by order of Twilight Sparkle,” my voice shook, but rose in volume, leveling out as my adrenaline overtook my fears, “we hold this Stable and all in it by order of the Ministry of Arcane Science. If you have a problem with that, you have a problem with the Ministry Mares. And I take offense to that.”

Oh Celestia, what was I doing?

Four pairs of guns leveled on me, and I closed my eyes, ready for the worst.

A hoof rested on my shoulder, and I looked back to see Anna, a grim but determined look on her face. On the my other side I noticed Straw Bale and Bell Pepper step up, as well. Soon, the whole Stable stood behind me, ready to do their duty to protect Equestria’s legacy.

“Keep our history and knowledge safe for future generations,” Twilight had said.

We intended to.

“Surrender,” the robot stated, emotionlessly, “and be destroyed.”

They opened fire, and we charged.

As my friends and family fought, I found myself face-to-face with the ponytron that had spoken. We stood as if in a stadium, the others in the room separated by an endless expanse. I knew this would be my death, but I had a duty. Most of the ponies born in Stable 42 felt they had no choice. They despised the job thrust upon them. But I knew I had a choice, now, more than ever.

I embraced it.

The Stable-Tech Arcane Targeting Spell saw little use in a Stable. It had been developed for military use, but Pipbucks were mass-produced, so they all got every feature. I knew just enough about SATS to be dangerous. Or so I hoped.

Time slowed to a crawl, not quite stopping, but giving me more than enough time to plan my attack. Ponytrons were machines. Like every machine, they could be hacked and reprogrammed. I just needed to get close enough. I grabbed a broken pipe from the floor and queued up an automatic attack. SATS took over and my muscles spasmed with small shocks from my Pipbuck, translating to a crude swing of my improvised weapon, toward the ponytron’s legs. Without the assistance, I knew I wouldn’t have hit, but Arcane Science was my friend, and the robot fell to the ground with a loud clang, giving me time to get behind it.

By the time I had a screwdriver out of my pocket and into my target’s neck, it had risen to its feet and turned toward me. I ducked the sweep of its guns and slipped back into SATS. My power bar was still less than a quarter full. Before exiting the magical time field, I took stock of my situation. Heavy metal pony inches from me. Shooting very large caliber bullets in a few seconds. I could try to sweep it again, without SATS, but I didn’t feel very confident in that. I certainly couldn’t hack it in time. Maybe disable it with a paradox? I doubted that would actually work, and would just make my last words really lame. I settled on my one option, as much as I didn’t like it.

Dropping out of SATS, I immediately jumped, clumsily wrapping my hooves around its neck and swinging awkwardly around toward its back. It took a moment for it to register what had happened, giving me time to jab my screwdriver into an access panel behind the head and pry it open. As soon as it had figured out what was going on, however, I was immediately bucked off to the ground.

A quick check showed SATS was charged. I could see the spinal wiring trunk clearly, just out of reach as the ponytron began to turn back toward me. I had one shot at this. The attack was queued and my improvised weapon jabbed through the air between us. The target was small, but I was still only a few feet from it. The pipe tore through the wiring, sending sparks into my face as the discharge blasted me backward, into the ground once more.

My enemy stood stock still a moment, smoking and whirring.

Beep.

Oh…

Beep.

Buck me...

Beep.

...with the Moon and Sun.

The robot self-destructed. Shrapnel tore through me and heat lashed at my mane and fur. I lay there, motionless, the battle raging around me as my friends fought the other three mechanical invaders. Every movement I made sent pain through my whole body. My Pipbuck warned of every conceivable medical issue.

SIMULATION COMPLETE.

oooOOOooo

oooOOOooo

My host walked down the mountains toward the desert, below. In the near distance, however, a ciff stood supporting a small military compound. Behind it, I could see the faint outline of Appleloosa on the horizon.

“Are we all set up?” the unmistakable voice of Twilight Sparkle came from my lips as she turned to glance at a young orange pegasus to her right.

“The subject is in stasis,” Scootaloo replied, “would you like to see, before we lock her away?”

Twilight cringed a bit at the phrasing, but nodded, “of course. I’m not saying I don’t trust you girls, obviously, I just… want to see her, again.”

The Crusader just nodded, silently, and they continued down the path, toward the barracks.

A few ponies milled around the base in uniform, but, this far south, on the border, the compound was more ceremonial, than anything. All the action was on the western front. Only minotaurs and cyclops gave problems, here.

They entered one of the warehouses and continued to the back. Nobody disturbed them or gave second glances. Everypony knew they were here on secret Ministry business, and asking was a good way to get in trouble.

Built into a stack of crates sat a hidden door. I didn’t notice it, at first, but Twilight tapped the box’s lock with her hoof and the front panel slid downward, revealing a dimly-lit flight of stairs. Down, they went. After a minute or two, they reached a small room at the bottom. All it contained was a computer, a medical ponytron, and a pony-sized, pill-shaped container.

“Everything okay, down here?” Scootaloo asked.

“Subject stable,” the robot replied, “Vitals are normal. Estimated maximum stasis period is five hundred years.”

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, “it had better not be that long. Even if things do go wrong, it should be about a century-and-a-half. But thank you,” she walked over and I felt the cold metal as she laid a hoof on the container, “don’t worry,” she muttered, “you will be fine. I’m leaving you in Scootaloo’s care. I know I promised your mother...” she shook her head, “I’m sorry. At least I can do this.”

The Ministry Mare turned and walked away, and the memory faded.

oooOOOooo

oooOOOooo

A feeling of deja-vu overtook me as I looked through the eyes of Sweetie Belle at Twilight Sparkle sitting in the Stable 42 atrium, but this wasn’t the introductory memory.

Twilight’s face was hard and emotionless as she spoke, her voice seeming to carry across the decades, even more so than a normal recording.

“Hello, resident of Stable 42. If you are seeing this, you have completed the test. With luck, it has only been about one-hundred-fifty years after the Stable has been locked. It’s now time for you to leave.

“While, depending on the state of Equestria when you view this, your friends and family may stay behind to continue their task of protecting our history, you must leave your home, no matter how bad it is, outside.

“Project Infinity is in your hooves, now. While I cannot tell you everything, you must find the subject of the previous memory, she will guide you.

“If you believe in such, you are fated to change Equestria. Like my friends and me before, you will do great things, and save many lives.

“Unlike us, I hope it stays that way.

“Good luck.”

oooOOOooo

Okay. I was waking up for real, this time. The head-splitting hangover I had otherwise forgotten made sure I knew that.

“Well?” Overmare Rand immediately asked in her testy tone.

“Ugh.”

Anna handed me a pill and I swallowed greedily, immediately feeling a bit of relief.

“It was...” I shook my head to clear it, “a test. It analyzed me, tricked me, tested me, then...”

“Did you pass?” Rand asked.

I nodded. My hesitation was apparent, and they both grew a touch worried.

“But…?” Anna guessed.

With a sigh, I sat up straight and put the hat on its terminal, “in passing the test, I seem to have been chosen for a task,” I phrased, carefully, “to go outside.”

Their eyes went wide, “you can’t be serious.”

“That’s what Twilight, herself, said. No matter what, I have to go. Just me, you can stay or not, it’s up to you.”

Silence.

“Who is she to tell you,” Rand said after a moment, “after all this time, with her dead and gone,” she was starting to get worked up, but I spoke up.

“It’s fine.”

“Fine? Fine?! Even if you are okay with leaving,” she was nearly shouting now, and my headache, though better, was really not appreciating it, “who will take your place? You are the best teacher we have! I won’t allow it!”

I held my head and groaned, “I don’t think it’s an incredibly pressing matter,” I lied, “let’s sit on it for a couple days, then talk it over. That calmed her, a bit, and she stalked off toward her office, probably to throw darts at the picture of Twilight she had in there.

Anna looked me right in the eyes, tears starting to well up, “you’re not going to wait,” she murmured, “I know that look. It’s your ‘I’m going to do something stupid’ look. Like when we sneaked to the maintenance levels in ninth year.”

I hung my head a bit, unable to match her gaze, “you know Twilight as well as any of us. Rand knows too, even if she gets angry and refuses to acknowledge it,” she lifted my chin in a hoof to see the few tears in my eyes, as well, “if the Minister of Magic has a plan, it needs to be done. There’s something bigger here. Bigger than you. Bigger than me. Bigger than the whole Stable.  I truly believe she cared about protecting these memories, books, everything, but what I just saw...” I shook my head, slightly, “there’s something else. This Stable has another purpose. That purpose has been put on my shoulders.”

“Why yours?” she pleaded, quietly.

“I’m not sure. Chance? Fate? Either way, that test was meant to make sure I was able and willing to hold this weight. A large part of me wants to go back to class tomorrow like nothing ever happened. I know, though, I can’t. I can’t just sit back while something bigger flies by. I’ve seen everything there is to offer through the memories of others. Every day I live other ponies’ lives, then end the day sitting in a gray room with an empty bottle and emptier life. Now I can live it for real. The rush I felt during that test was like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. I want to feel it again and again. I want to make a difference, like the Ministry Mares, or the Marauders, or the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I want to uncover the mysteries that have bugged me my whole life.

“I can’t do any of that here, and now, I have another option.”

We sat there in silence, looking into each others eyes. A part of me wanted so desperately for her to beg me to let her go too, but I knew she wouldn’t. She was comfortable here, and felt the fulfillment I had never known. So, we just sat there, silently saying our goodbyes, neither able to say another word. Finally, she embraced me, and we both sat a long while and sobbed.

I stood there, staring at the huge steel door that sealed Stable 42 away from the world outside. It was quiet, as I stood there, alone. Nopony had seen me get up in middle of the night and slip down the halls. When they awoke, a note scrawled neatly on the chalk board of classroom 1 would tell them all where I went. Until then, I was a ghost. Neither here nor gone.

I stood at the controls, entering the passcode we all knew: Smarty Pants.

“Memory?”

Oh no. I turned slowly toward the hallway to see Overmare Rand looking sorrowfully up at me.

“Memory. You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. We both know it. I’ll be back.”

She shook her head, “I can’t promise you that, and nor can you.”

For a moment, I stood there. I knew she was right. I might die. If I came home, they might not know to open the door.

I had my choice to make, one last time. In the simulation, it was life or death. Here, it wasn’t so immediate.

“I’m sorry, Random,” I turned my head back to the controls. Without another word, I slapped the button with my hoof.

A large arm swung down as the bolts holding the door slide to the side. Slowly, the gear-shaped door rolled to the side with a loud clang and hiss. The tunnel beyond beckoned me forward, and I obliged. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Overmare step up to the controls to close the door behind me, leaving me in the dark cave, outside.

A click of a button turned my Pipbuck’s lamp on, illuminating the passage with its eerie green glow.

“42” read the door behind me as it shut. In front was a wooden door, a few hundred feet forward. I took a deep breath and trotted toward it.

Footnote:

Do you want to change anything?

Change Name/SPECIAL attributes

Change Appearance

[Finished - Exit the Stable]