Chapter 1: The Deaf Mare Down The Hall
Fallout Equestria: Another Heart To Break
By:
Cassiope_Tetragona
Chapter 1:
A bleak, vast stretch of land beyond what the eye can see. Dark, monotone clouds flocked in the endless sky, giving a feeling like you were going to fall upward. In the distance, a pattern of gunshots rang, a long with an almost inaudible, scream
Pip, Pip, Pip, Pip,
I sucked in a painful breath, sitting up on a hard mattress, my bed. My hooves were sweaty, I was sweaty, Another nightmare, Another surreal and frightening trick of the mind.The sheets rolled off me as I reached my hoof out to shut off the alarm.
Rubbing my eyes, I adjusted to the gruelling room around me, in my spare time, I had scavenged for posters to tape to the metallic light grey walls. But... they were gone.
"My posters? Who took.. ugh" I held my face in defeat, pale pink bangs swept aside. I never want to complain, but I also want a bit of colour in here.
Adjusting my Stable jumpsuit, I checked the time on my pipbuck before pulling on some saddlebags, marked with a special pink red cross. Before long, I was out the door and in the hall, slipping past my fellow dwellers, (I'd be lying if I said no one acted like a snob) to rush to the clinic.It was about 6:58, and my first shift today started at 7:00 am, ending at about 12:00.
I can't be late again, that's- that's the second time this week! Skidding around a hard turn, I reached the clinic entrance, stumbling over to clock in.
"I don't know what I'm going to do if the Overmare puts that on my record, sure, you can get away with filly labour and neglect, but think of taking a sick day and..." I stopped, a shudder running down my spine. I had to avoid that thought, I wouldn't allow myself to be thrown out there."I-I I know one thing though, a bit of music might help me." It wasn't me to ramble or speak to myself, it just isn't. But why does it feel like something's going to happen..?
I was interrupted as one of my colleagues, a fellow nurse pushed me aside. "Get out of the way runty, your blocking the path"
"Oh I-I'm so sorry!" I flattened my ears, scrambling off to the supply room.I reached it, and next to it was the janitorial closet, which I promptly stepped inside and locked. A moment later, I had flipped on the switch, illuminating the small room. Breathing heavily I sat down, cradling my legs.
After a few moments, I looked at my pipbuck, turning on the radio quietly. These rooms are sound proof anyway. The sound of a shaky voiced stallion flooded out of my ear piece, along with calming guitar music.
And after sunset...
.........
When that sliver of light reaches you...
I'll know not to ask... what have we done?
Spending time in the janitorial closet took a bit of time down on my shift... all the nurses walked from room to room, checking up on any of the patients, and were usually given someone to check up on by the stallion at the front desk.It was also a nice place to listen to my radio, the cheap ear-pieces we were given flooded out the sound, giving away if you were listening to something else.
A few minutes passed, and the song ended, so I stood up quietly and reached my foreleg out to open the door, when the doorknob started to jiggle. This, of course, stops me stone-still, because I wasn't exactly allowed in this here janitorial closet.
The click of the lock being turned sounds, and I step back as the door is opened and a face looks in.
The deaf mare from down the hall.She stepped back in slight surprise, eyeing me.
All I could do was puff up my cheeks, trying to form words, or actions. I knew from a few encounters that she could read lips, because there are only so many gestures possible with hooves.
Tip Tap, (Which was her name), lifted her hoof and began speaking in a bit of a stuttering tone as she gestured. "What are you doing in the janitor's closet?"
"Tip Tap! Um, uh..." Another important reason I was in the closet, was I was on the verge of loosing this job, and I couldn't take it anymore so I hid out most of my shifts. Trying to form words, I just found myself involuntarily tearing up. Horse apples...
The grey and white maned mare in front of me bit her lip, glancing behind her. And, being surprisingly understanding, stepped into the closet and reached out to hug me, which... was something I really needed at that moment.
I hugged her back, ashamed that I was already crying, for no reason, but I'm sure I knew why I was at the back of my mind. We sat there for what seemed like a few minutes, Tip Tap comforting me, without even having to ask what was wrong. My head only reached up to about her shoulders, so I had my face buried in her chest fur. It was very intimate, considering I'd never "spoken" to her much.
Finally, the dark grey mare pulled herself away from me. "You'll be okay now?" She asked with her mixture of voice and hoof motions. She... she was probably one of the most kindest ponies in this stable for doing that. I nodded in response, wiping my face in a series of (embarrassing) sniffles. She stood back up, brushing off her tail, which was a nice smokey white with dark blue streaks. Then turned to the door, glancing back at me.
"You won't tell anyone I'm in here, will you?" I asked quietly, stroking my own tail in discomfort.
"No... we can speak later if you would like" She responded after processing what I had said, making again, the appropriate motions with her hooves, smiling reassuringly at me. I nodded, forcing a smile as well, as she placed the equipment on her cart, waiting outside, and closed the door leaving me alone again.
Chapter 2: Bashing Heads
Really, there's always been allot on my mind.
Like, what will my future come to if all I do is work, sure, I might get breaks, weekends... but what are we working for? I've known since I was a filly we had to earn our place in this stable, the cold hard truth of what would happen if we disobeyed, didn't work hard enough, committed an act deemed criminal by the Overmare, was apparent. I... could sometimes hear when a neighbour was being dragged out of their room, screaming, begging, struggling. I will sometimes keep my door open a crack though, no matter the traumatic sounds outside.
Every month, ponies were gathered up either by being tricked, or dragged out forcefully, like sheep to the slaughter, to the stable door.
I stared blankly at the wall, taking off my saddlebags and dropping them next to my metal bed frame. It held my dull coloured mattress, which I had pulled a greying turquoise bed sheet over. I then sat on the rim of my bed, holding my face in my hooves.
"Just... why..?" I muttered, dragging my hooves down my face in frustration. After I had skipped my first shift, I went to the Stable library, picking out a stack of books and sitting in the corner to read. I'd also checked my schedule, to find I had no more shifts today, so I read and then checked those books out, going back to my room. The cycle of life outside of work, read, checkout, sleep, read, checkout, sleep. There's nothing else to do, really, unless you want to risk public attention in the cafeteria, that's why I run in and run out of there with my food like a scared little rabbit.
My teacher used to say, "Go make some friends, you'll need them", and I did try. But even after I "grew up", I stayed alone, and maybe for the better, because I didn't fit in very well. Tip Tap, when she comforted me, it was, something I'd never had the privilege of even getting. Love. May the cruel goddesses bless her with fortune, because that's all anyone in here needs.
Blinking away some pitiful tears, (I was getting worked up again) I lay down on my bed, my head awkward on the flat, fluff-less pillow. Maybe, I'll find a reason for being in this Stable, for what life means to me, because the future doesn't seem to be holding much right now... I guess I'll just sleep, something I enjoy because... dreams, are just.. something precious.
I closed my eyes, imagining...
BANG
I shot up from the mattress, practically slapped out of sleep by an OUTRAGEOUSLY loud bang on my door, almost like someone were bashing there skull against it with all their might!
What in the sweet goddesses' name's was that anyway, I'll be damned if someone was actually bashing their head against my door in such a manner?!
BANG
I jolted slightly again, hugging my blanket. Something was telling me not to open the door, which wouldn't have mattered because a moment later it gave way and burst open, swinging and slamming into the wall as a few brute Stable security ponies rushed into my room.
"STAY DOWN!" The first one yelled, as they swatted me down and grabbed my legs, yanking me off the bed, before hoofcuffing them together as I realised what was happening and began to struggle. Damn was I in a mess.
"HEY! G-GET YOUR HOOVES OFF ME!" I flailed, shrieking, proceeding to buck the face of the mare trying to hoofcuff my hind-leg. It cracked the glass visor she had with her helmet, sending her stumbling back slightly as I tried to pull myself to my hooves, being tackled again with much more force as a stallion finished cuffing my last leg, and I found myself being dragged out of my room.
A-all those other t-times.. except now it's me, h-holy...
In a final attempt at freedom, I lurched slightly, swinging fore-leg into the wall as I slid through the door, only making a painful cracking sound. I fought the urge to cry, but I was already shouting at the security to let me go. They didn't.
The hallway's were dark, lights having been turned off to allow everyone to sleep, in case they were someone who left their doors open on most days, (like me). Dragged past the many rooms, I spotted another one which had been forcefully burst open as well, the lights on and signs of another great struggle having happened.
I should've done my job today. Mentally, I gave up, shutting my eyes as the dirty floor scraped against my side, causing an almost burning sensation as I was pulled across the floors until we arrived at an area seldom gone too.
The Stable Door
Opening my eyes, I was tossed roughly over to a gathering of other terrified ponies, a few of them hugging their friends. It also happened, that I was the only one who had been hoofcuffed on all four legs. Security of the year... I slid a bit, the skin under my coat already blistering from the long slide here, and stopped at the hooves of the ponies, who regarded me with little pity, fearing for their own lives.
Someone came over and unlocked my cuffs, physically kicking my side, striking me in a way that almost made me vomit.
"Auegh!"
"Get to your hooves!"
I didn't move.
"I said GET UP!"
Now I stood up, the side of my face burning, accompanied by the sting from crying in my eyes. Lowering my head, I avoided eye-contact with them.
"All of you, now get into an orderly single-file line! And wait.. here! As we open the door, then we'll tell you when to go!"
All of us jumbled into a lineup, me, feeling the most beaten as I staggered into the row. One of the security ponies then went to where you'd type in the Stable door override code, setting off a loud siren type noise as lights on the ceiling flashed green. The mechanisms of the door began to work, many things moving and turning before the large vault door with a painted 103 in yellow on it opened slowly, to the dark.
"Say goodbye all of you, because out there, I've heard, THEY SWALLOWED THE SUN"
"Wait- that's a-" I raised my head, looking back, but was cut off as all of us were pushed through the circular doorway, and already, a few of us ran forward in terror as the door closed with a loud, compressing noise. We were abandoned, thrown out into a world we knew nothing about, and I started hyperventilating. O-okay, stay calm, stay calm! I know, someone here must be a unicorn!
"H-hey! If someone here is a unicorn, use y-your horn to light up this place!" I called, rubbing my foreleg in self-comfort, finding my own voice surprisingly hoarse from screaming in refusal earlier. The chaos settled for a moment, as one unicorn's horn sparked yellow,
"I've got it!" Shouted a very Swedish accent, most likely someone who had a bloodline from an area of Equestria that spoke the language.
Slowly, the stallion managed to light up a ring of space around us. Good... all of us can see slightly now. Then, two dark grey hooves grabbed my shoulders, and I almost let out a scream, whipping around to look up to the face of a, very, tussled Tip Tap. I couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't something else, but then I drew in a sharp breath again.
"Tip Tap!? What are you doing here!?" Thanks to the unicorn's horn glow, she could just see my mouth's movement. Despite the sweat on her face, the messy mane, and dirty fur, she looked pretty held together. She flattened her ears, her hazel eyes finally giving off a look of defeat.
"...Must be the same reason we're all here..." She replied, hoping I could see her movements. The goddesses truly are cruel aren't they, messing up our lives in the worst possible way, hadn't they had their fun? I felt the stir of movement, and realised that the gathering of other ponies were making their way forward. The light bounced off the walls, which were rough and lifted the suffocating feeling cast upon me inside the stable. I heard the tip tap of water dripping from around us into puddles, a noise similar of the janitorial mare's name. Because a few others had helped in with the light, (for their own use), and were looking around, I walked over to one of the puddles.
Pip pip, Pip pip, Pip pip
There was a quiet beeping from my pip-buck, and I looked at my fore-hoof, that mechanical little boxes green screen showing raised levels of radiation in the air, making me scurry back to Tip Tap. Grabbing her hoof and pulling her along with me. She didn't do anything, and followed me as we made our way after the others through what I presumed was a cave. I even pressed up against her when I saw a few crushed bones laying around, pulverised by many years of ponies walking over them, and against the wall, curled up, was a filly's skeleton. I had that same "about to vomit feeling", not just me, the dark grey earth pony mare beside me clearly was disturbed by that skeleton as well, and we trotted toward a light, the exit to this cave.
We gradually drew closer, and I made out shapes, this was when, I caught my first glimpse of the outside world...
By now, everyone else had stepped out, and were staring in complete silence at the land. I on the other hoof, felt like screaming my head off, the feel of wind on me alien, the vast stretch of land below me nauseating, and I wobbled on my hooves about to fall over.
"Is this the Great Outside...?"
No one answered. We had indeed stepped out of a cave, located in a very hilly area, and we currently stood on the crest of a hill. The "sky" was a bottomless pit turned upside down, swathed with dark clouds. The ground was a mixture of shades of brown, and not too far away was a city, or the ruins of one. A filly began to run down the slope, and her mother followed her. This caused the others to break off alone or in pairs.
"Wait, everyone, shouldn't we stay together?! Survival alone is never easy, and we could help each other in a group, can you hear me!? HEY!?" I yelled after them, my hoarse little voice cracking while doing so, but they didn't care.
"Anyone..?"
Once again, a hoof tapped me, this time touching my ear. I looked around, making eye contact with hazel eyes. Tip Tap. The only one who hadn't made their way down the slope into the wasteland, the only other pony who didn't leave me to be probably the loneliest pony in The Outside. She brushed her blue striped mane out of her face, gripping my shoulders.
"We can do this together."
Thank you.
"Thanks... Tip" My voice is as hoarse as nail scraping rust, but... who cares anymore, she couldn't hear it, and didn't mind either. We hugged and, after a moment broke apart, looking back down the slope. The runt and the deaf are supposed to survive in the wasteland... miracles happened allot in old Equestria, so why can't we try?
I skipped a step, beginning to walk down the hill. Here's a try at my future And the little beeps warning us of the radiation levels as we were to near the city would be the chorus to this song.
End of Chapter 2.
