Fallout Equestria - Land of the Scared I: Egress

Chapters

Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1: Autumn Melody Delight
Chapter 2: Discovery
Chapter 3: Flight

Introduction

War. War never changes.

This is a mantra that has been repeated ad infinitum since conflict among the first fleeting tribes arose. It was a strange and dark time. A time when ponies were torn apart by hatred, a time when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone. Blood was spilt in the name of everything: From religion, to justice, to simple, psychotic rage. The Fire of Friendship changed all that. Its discovery ushered in an age of harmony. Under the rule of our beloved princesses Celestia and Luna, ponies had all but forgotten war even existed. It was a thing of the past, a thing for less civilised races. Most didn’t even know the concept existed.

But war never changes.

The storm of world war had come again. In two brief hours, most of the planet was reduced to cinders, plunged into an abyss of balefire and magical radiation. Equis was nearly wiped clean of life. A great cleansing, a great magical spark struck by pony and zebra hooves, quickly raged out of control. Spears of spellfire rained from the skies. Continents were swallowed in flames and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Equinity was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation blanketing the world.

But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of pony history. For ponykind had succeeded in destroying the world - but war... War never changes.

In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as Stables. Except for Stable Epsilon. For on that fateful day, when spellfire rained from the sky and consumed the world, the giant steel door of Stable Epsilon had already been sealed for three years. Imprisoned safely behind the large Stable door, under a mountain of stone, as the world ended.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria and making this story possible.

A huge thank you to Shutter Speed who co-wrote this with me.

I would also like to thank Fuzzy Fabricator, Troposphere, Silent Whisper, ScopeEva, and GraveDigger for editing and helping me make this story readable.

I would also like to give a massive thank you to my Patreon supporters:
> Fuzzy Fabricator
> Dr_MindQuill
> Richer19
> Psy Key
> Luminescent Aurora
> Darkaito Bruns
> Shanaar
> sixkiller5

If you like what you've read here, then please consider supporting me on Patreon! The support is greatly appreciated!

I would of course also like to thank you lovely people for reading this chapter!

With that I will sign off,
Happy Hunting everypony!

Prologue

Hello!

My name is Scootaloo. You probably know me as the founder of Red Racer. Today I am talking to you as the Vice President of Stable-Tec. If you're hearing this, it means Omega-Level Threat Protocols have been enacted and you have been appointed as Chief Scientist of a Stable-Tec life-preserving Stable. You have been chosen for your sense of loyalty and duty to Equestria, to the ponies around you and to this company. While Equestria might be – possibly is – nothing but blasted and irradiated rubble now, our ideals have to live on.

Your Stable has been selected to participate in a vital project. The first goal of your Stable, like all others, is to save the lives of the ponies inside. But you also serve a higher purpose beyond saving the lives of individual ponies.

I know you must be confused by the fact that you are getting a second of these messages. Honestly, I would have preferred that you never had to hear this second message, that I could give the all clear, that Equestria wasn’t... gone.

You’re receiving a second message because—well there is no easy way to say this. Your Stable was initially sealed under false pretences. There were no bombs – at least, not when the Stable was sealed. I hope you can someday forgive us – forgive me – for this deception. But the research being conducted in your Stable is of the highest importance.

They really did it. Everypony is dead, including me. You are the only hope for Equestria now. You must understand that it doesn't do ponykind any good to save ourselves now only to annihilate each other later. We must figure out where we went wrong. We must do better!

Inside the safe in your office, you have already found a set of special instructions and objectives, as well as details on how your specific Stable has been fitted to carry out your part.

Please, I implore you to not stop the research. When the Stable doors open, there will be nothing left. We will need to repopulate the world. We could only save so many. We are counting on you to find a way to repopulate Equestria, and to do better. We need better ponies. Ponies that are better than the ones that destroyed the world. By any means necessary. Without that, all of this will have been for nothing. With a starting population of two hundred and fifty ponies, we've calculated that you can avoid inbreeding for... well let's say you have a chance. I am so very sorry, but the door won’t open until your research is finished.

It is imperative that you broadcast the signal as per your instructions the moment you find a solution. If anyone is left alive out here—if there is anything left of Stable-Tec, we need to know. If not, the mainframe will provide you with all the locations of other Stables. If that is the case, it is up to you to get the solution to them.

The fate of our entire race rests in your hooves. Thank you from all of Equestria, and may the goddesses up there have mercy on us all.

******

Amber Delight closed her eyes and sighed softly. The message was clear, and even though it was old, she knew that her predecessor was right. ‘We need better ponies. Ponies that are better than the ones that destroyed the world. By any means necessary.’ The words rang in her head. The same words she had been told when she was younger.

“Do the ends… actually justify the means?” she asked, her eyes wandering to the elderly mare that sat besides her. “Mother… this is... not right.”

“It’s not a question of right or wrong, it is a question of survival,” the elderly mare said, her voice soft and tired. “My dear filly, you need to continue our work, you need to. As your daughter will need to, and her daughter after that.”

Nodding slowly, the young mare sighed. “Yes, Mother,” she whispered, though in her mind she vowed never to let her daughter inherit this legacy of… horror.

“Good. I’m too old, too tired to continue. It is all yours now,” the elderly mare whispered ever so softly. “You start tomorrow morning, alongside me.”

Amber nodded slowly. “Of course, Mother,” she said, her tone neutral, her eyes glued to the screen, sickly green text scrolling by with horrifying accounts of the first experiments. She hated it. But it was her burden to bear now.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria and making this story possible.

A huge thank you to Shutter Speed who co-wrote this with me.

I would also like to thank Fuzzy Fabricator, Troposphere, Silent Whisper, ScopeEva, and GraveDigger for editing and helping me make this story readable.

I would also like to give a massive thank you to my Patreon supporters:
> Fuzzy Fabricator
> Dr_MindQuill
> Richer19
> Psy Key
> Luminescent Aurora
> Darkaito Bruns
> Shanaar
> sixkiller5

If you like what you've read here, then please consider supporting me on Patreon! The support is greatly appreciated!

I would of course also like to thank you lovely people for reading this chapter!

With that I will sign off,
Happy Hunting everypony!

Chapter 1: Autumn Melody Delight

Chapter One

Autumn Melody Delight

“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of ponykind.”
– Bertrand Russell

Boredom.

Overwhelming, mind-numbing boredom. That was what I felt staring at the black terminal screen, watching row upon row of sickly green data scroll past; each segment revealing the results of the day’s medical check-ups. I knew it was important that I paid attention to this, or at least I was told that it was important by my mother. Which meant that it was, by proxy, supposed to be important to me. I was somewhat sceptical about that though, considering it was essentially the same data that passed by every other day in the past with only minor fluctuations in the test results. All of those fluctuations well within the one percent error margin set by Stable-Tec.

Sweet Celestia and Luna, this is boring; why can't I just be in the atrium playing my guitar? I thought to myself. I sighed deeply, imagining a life that I knew would never be – a life where I wasn't forced to follow in my mother's hoofsteps. Where I could pick my own lot in life.

Groaning lightly, I let my thoughts wander for a moment, thinking of my deceased father. He had been one of the lucky ponies that were allowed to pursue their passions outside of their obligations. How lucky they had to be, to become a designated creative instead of a designated intellectual like myself. Creatives could do whatever they wanted so long as it followed simple three rules: raised morale within the Stable, did not endanger the Stable in any way, and did not place an unnecessary drain on Stable resources. Yet even with those rules in place the creatives often pushed the boundaries of endangerment, especially when the first so-called ‘prank war’ started. I had previously imagined the boundary being something along the lines of ‘so long as no pony got hurt’. To the Overmare when I first saw her exercise her power, the line was made clear to be damage to the Stable interior—and she had more than once sent an artisan to isolation for it since. Minor injuries only ever carried a warning

Glancing at the terminal, I noticed it had cycled through the day's medical results for the maintenance crew and was now cycling through that of the security ponies. Suddenly, I perked up at something anomalous that appeared on the monitor. For a moment, I was over the moon at something interesting finally popping up, but on closer inspection it was quite normal – at least for the pony in question. Even though I was admittedly more than a little disappointed at this, I smiled a little seeing the test results that I knew could fit only one mare in the whole Stable. It never ceased to impress me whenever I read the data of our Security Captain and gentle giant of the Stable, Scarlet Radiance. Considering she’s at least two-and-a-half times the size of the average pony, it was argued that if records were to be believed she would have rivalled our fair Princess in height. As such, she is quite the sight to behold. The lights of the Stable cast a shadow that seemed to radiated authority to all as she walked through the halls during her patrols, or any other moment in time really. This was especially noticeable when standing beside her partner and second in command, Cherry Stellar, who was so far on the opposite end of the spectrum it was almost comical. It had become something of a running joke among Security that the height restriction attached to their positions had been lowered since she joined the force. Still, it worked to make Scarlet look all the larger and more intimidating when necessary - or when somepony was caught cracking jokes about their respective heights.

I smirked just a bit while thinking of the lilac pegasus. Her foal-like size and appearance was, unfortunately, a topic that many a pony would tease her about. Of course, that was before she qualified for the Valkyries – the most elite and well-respected section of Security in the entire Stable. I had been there to watch the qualifications with my dad four years before. Ponies had openly laughed at her when she turned in her application for the team. But then – to everypony’s surprise – she not only met the standards for the cut but surpassed them beyond belief, even being cleared for riot control duty. While not the fastest pony in the Stable given her size and her noticeable lack of flight – not that flight is particularly useful in a Stable, still I do feel sorry for the mare’s disability – she more than made up for it with incredible endurance that defied the expectations of her size. By the time it was over, she was only breathing hard while everypony else who participated couldn’t even lift themselves off the floor. She even scored high enough on the written exam to place top of her class in that, too.

If she wasn’t such a hard-ass when it came to her job, one could say it was adorable how she was often found riding on Scarlet’s back when they did their rounds together. Her smaller frame and short legs made it hard to keep up with the Capitan’s long stride without having to break into a trot, so about a week after she began her duties Scarlet had suggested she simply carry the smaller mare on her back. At first, Cherry had been reluctant but it wasn’t long until Scarlet pulled rank and had the rookie watching her back – while on her back. I had been lucky enough to catch that conversation on my way to work that day. I may have been late and gotten my ear chewed off by Mom reading me the riot act, but seeing the small yet proud pegasus struggle to climb up the enormous mare’s side before remembering she had wings and could flutter up was totally worth it. Of course, this happened under protest that she by no means enjoyed it. Personally though, I kind of doubted she didn’t learn to like it.

I pulled myself away from my train of thought with a drawn-out groan. Remembering the rant my mother had gone into about the seriousness of our work had only served to pull me back to reality. Cold, soul-crushingly boring reality rendered in hundreds of thin green lines of data. The return impact was so strong I had to rub my temples to fight off the sudden, throbbing of an oncoming headache. I was also unable to focus my eyes as I pulled them away from the screen. Blinking rapidly as I adjusted to the sudden onslaught of stark, sterile white on my poor pupils and I pushed up my glasses to rub my strained eyes. This was more than I could handle and soon felt my eyes watering. I couldn't take it anymore. Closing my eyes for a few moments to let them rest, I knew I needed a break.

"Sweet Drops! Could you please take my place for a little?" I asked in mild but clear annoyance. I was a scientist for Celestia's sake! I should be in the lab with the others, not performing the mind-numbing duties of a lab assistant.

From behind me I heard a soft voice. "Melody?" the small charcoal-coated mare asked, her head tilted in brief confusion before she frowned disapprovingly. She didn’t complain but did let out a soft little sigh. She quickly took my seat behind the terminal after I hopped out of it. "Fine, fine. But I'm not bailing you out when your mother finds out you left your station... again." The pause before the last word drove in her point, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, yes, I won't be long. This time I just need to stretch my hooves a little, my rump is getting sore from sitting there for so long," I explained away her worries, passing on my patented small pleading smile that was proven to wither away her will to say no. Watching her sigh again I frowned a little, fearing she might have finally developed a resistance to the expression.

“I mean it, half an hour at most?" I insisted, sitting down on my haunches and pressing my forehooves together in a more desperate manner. I didn’t like begging, but it was effective. She nodded, wordlessly motioning her hoof at the door dismissively. I grinned and mentally pumped my hooves in the air before turning to trot out from the genetics laboratory before bringing to life the mental hoof-pump.

Unable to help myself, I continued to smile mirthfully, thankful to be out of that blindingly-bright white room, my eyes welcoming the much darker gunmetal-grey of the Stable walls. I quickly started down the stairs thinking about the charcoal-coated mare for a moment – like her name sake she was too sweet. However Sweet Drops was also my only real friend in the Stable. We did everything together – especially when it came to our pet project. If I had been on shift with anypony else they would have forced me to sit in that damned chair for hours, without even being allowed to rest my eyes. All while barring me from touching even the most basic of lab equipment despite my years of sort-of-formal training at the hands of my oppressive, if capable, mother. I could practically perform a gram stain blindfolded, yet everypony was adamant that at my age I belonged in data entry. So, I was sixteen years old. What did that have to do with my knowledge or even the ability do my job?

Trotting down the small set of three whole steps that were just outside the tech room door – and which I found utterly pointless each time I saw them crammed into the meagre space – I began letting my mind wander as muscle memory took over as I walked to my room.

“I mean seriously, why those three steps? Why not a ramp? It would take less metal and fewer ponies would trip over it or chip their hooves. Not to mention hauling a cart of equipment would be much easier for non-unicorns.” I stopped as I caught myself on that thought. “Alright, because that statement wasn’t a tad racist,” I mumbled sarcastically to myself as I shook my head and continued walking.

Reaching the door to my quarters, I raised my hoof to give the secret knock like I always did. Like always, however, I had to stop myself as I remembered my father would no longer be on the other side of the door. And like always, I quickly stuffed down the budding feelings of sadness and memories of my father as I took a few deep breaths.

“No need for that, Melody, it only hurts you and you’ll get nothing done if you dwell on it.” I recited the mantra repeatedly until I felt the negative emotion fade.

Throughout life the foals of the Stable had been taught that any personal issues that did not concern either the Stable or the Stable’s prime objective, should be sorted out by oneself. Only problem is, they never taught us how to do that, so I figured the best thing to do was stuff it down and let it simmer away over time. Before stepping through the heavy door as it hissed open, I regained my composure and quickly walked through the living room into my personal quarters. Smiling as I stepped into my private sanctuary and let my eyes wander before focusing on the object of my journey. Walking over to my bed, I ran a hoof over the worn wood of my guitar.

Yes, this is what I need. This is something that I can stand doing for hours on end despite any rump’s discomfort, I thought to myself with a rare sort of smile. Not the forced smile I held to placate my mother and the others in that oppressive lab, but a genuine, warm and happy smile. Stroking the instrument with a hoof, I could hear the words my father spoke near-religiously when I was a filly: 'Music is the purest form of expression, one no pony sane doesn't understand’. My grin widened remembering that day well. I spent hours practising and ignoring my homework. My mother had been furious when she found out to the point she threatened to destroy the guitar – she didn't agree with any of it. It was a frivolous pursuit in her eyes, a waste of time. Music became a taboo with her after father passed away, even the mention of the topic made her cross.

I come from a long line of science ponies. From the day, the Stable was sealed to the day I was born that is all my family has been and will ever be, or so it has been said. Knowledge is passed down from parent to child and from the moment we can read we commit ourselves to the pursuit of biology and genetic research. My generation had been lucky enough to be required to absorb two hundred years of family research along with the basics of arcane technology, spell matrices, terminal maintenance, and – as we grew older – repairing the actual equipment when it inevitably broke down. Honestly? I hated every minute of it. I had no interest in learning the low-tier skills of a maintenance pony and found it needlessly tedious. There were only two reasons I stuck with it however. The first was because most of it came so naturally to me – which, to my classmates, was apparently amazing (I really didn’t see the big deal in being able to understand what somepony else wrote in a book). The second reason was my mother refusing to let me pursue anything else, even as a hobby in what precious free time I had.

“If it can’t help Equestria, it has no place in this stable,” was her creed that she’d use to justify her oppression of me throughout my life. It made me wonder, who was she to decide that music and art didn’t help Equestria? We weren’t machines after all.

It was because of her iron hoof that my only happy memories of home were of my father teaching me to play guitar while she was off at work. Looking back, I still giggle at how silly I must’ve looked when I examined sheet music as some sort of alien language and asked dad what it said. He would just smile and answer every question I asked - no judging, no right or wrong questions. From that day on, I was fascinated with learning to play, and dad was more than happy to teach me.

He’d help me with my school work as best he could so I finished it all early, and every day I sat in his lap between him and the guitar and watched as his hoof plucked away at the strings. Watching the strings vibrate as the sound echoed in my ears was the most awe-inspiring thing I had witnessed as a foal. The funniest thing was when my mother caught us mid-practice, and before she could yell at my father he began rattling off each assignment I’d had to do, telling her everything was finished and even informing her that all my chores had been completed – thus giving her no ammunition to justify her screaming. Oh, the look on her face was priceless before she huffed off into her room, and I made sure to sneak dad an extra dessert onto the end table as he slept on the couch that night.

I slung the instrument over my back with a small grin. The delicate headstock was carved to resemble a griffon's head for a reason no pony seemed to know. Delicately plucking at the strings with my magic, I walked towards the door, filling the cramped stairway with the sweet, melodic tune of the instrument. The headache slowly ebbing away to a distant dull throb as I vanished back into my own world of rhythm and wave. Although that didn’t last long as I came to a sudden halt when my head bumped against the atrium door.

I cursed under my breath, holding back the urge to kick at the broken door. Sweet Luna... why hasn’t maintenance fixed the fucking thing yet? I bemoaned mentally, sighing and flaring up my horn to push the manual release.

Taking a deep breath, and checking to make sure my chocolate mane and light-brown coat looked presentable once more, I entered the Atrium with a smile returning to my muzzle. Leaping onto one of the table ends, I sat down on the edge, cradling my instrument in my lap more like my earth pony father rather than holding it completely in my magic like a unicorn. Closing my eyes, I started playing. Strumming the strings with a light caress, I brought the traditional playing of the instrument together with the fine manipulation of telekinesis, picking the strings with my hoof while my magic worked the frets to make the instrument sing a little life back into everypony in the Atrium. I had developed the method about six years ago, when I found that playing with just my hooves felt too limiting. It had been quite the challenge, learning to separate my focus between picking the strings and applying enough force to properly use the frets. For a long while I would simply end up with nothing more than a cold sweat and a throbbing headache, but I knew I was getting better with each attempt. Dad had been so proud of me when I had been able to play through an entire song with the new technique that I had almost blacked out from one of his infamous hugs of tight, fuzzy doom.

What I played wasn't a song, per se. At least, not one that anypony knew. It was more a release for my emotions. I guess you could call it a song, but it wasn't anything you’d find on any sheet music – played it from the heart. It didn't matter to my fellow Stable dwellers, though. We didn't have any actual musicians in our midst after my father's passing, for some reason no one had been assigned to it yet. I guess it was just nice being able to listen to something new, something other than the same two-hundred-year-old music that was played in the atrium day in and day out.

Slowly opening my eyes, I smiled watching everypony gather to listen, faces noticeably brightening, if only a little. The music wasn’t anything innovative or ground-breaking, but beggars can't be choosers is how the saying goes. It still felt nice watching them enjoy the way I made the instrument sing. Seeing them made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile, something that had a visible impact on the others. Something that made other ponies happy. Slowly I let the song wind down, bowing my head a little to everypony as they stomped their hooves and cheered. I didn't keep them waiting and slipped into a more upbeat song.

I couldn't help myself. Seeing them smiling and some even tapping their hooves or swaying along... I let myself get lost in the music. I revelled in their enjoyment and began picturing myself on a grand stage performing for all the Stables. I imagined being in a recording studio assembled around me that was broadcasting to all of Equestria and beyond, my singing letting Stable-Tec know we were ready to be released.

I was about halfway through the song when I began to notice the hushed whispers of the ponies around me growing more and more nervous. Probably just something they saw in passing. Maybe criticism of my music? I thought, trying to convince myself that their change in tone was something benign.

"Autumn. Melody. Delight!"

Or it could be the one thing worse than the apocalypse. It was an unspoken rule that a pony’s full name was never spoken unless they were in significant trouble. It was one of those stupid things that began when we were foals and just stuck. And by the tone of that mare’s voice, I was in for a Tartarus grade lecture at the least. With a sigh, my shoulders slumped and I opened my eyes, greeted by the mare whom I was, unfortunately, very familiar with. All the happiness that had been gathering in me seemed to shatter, be ground into dust, and blow away through the ventilation shafts in an instant as I met the ice-blue eyes of the head researcher, Professor Delight. Or, as I had to call her, “H-hey mom”.

Before I could say a word, her horn lit up and there was a flash at my hooves. Suddenly, my forehooves fell into my lap, the precious object they had been resting upon gone. She had sent my instrument somewhere, and I knew I wouldn’t be seeing it again for quite some time to come. My headache returned in full force and I groaned out in pain and frustration as I rubbed around the base of my horn while sliding off the table.

Daring to meet her eyes and instantly regretting doing so, I flinched, stepping back until my rump bumped into the table I had been sitting on. Even though I was almost a head taller than her, that cold glare bore into me as she walked closer, making me feel transfixed, like a moth to a light bulb. Not bound by anything but unable to look away.

My mother was a smaller mare, a good foot and a bit below average, but somehow, she always seemed to look so intimidating. Whether it was directing the staff in the lab or shouting at a maintenance pony for impeding the growth of the new Equestria with his blatant incompetence, she always carried a clinically icy atmosphere wherever she went.

Now, I can’t say I’m not biased having lived with her all my life, but that glare was likely the single scariest thing I have ever seen. It managed to silence any excuses before I could even formulate them in my mind. Something happened to me at this very moment as I opened and closed my mouth several times trying to formulate a response, other than staring at her sheepishly. I was on the verge of a good one and started to take a breath when… did her glare just intensify?! I heard my jaw clamp shut before I felt it. At times, I swear she can look straight into a pony's soul with those eyes – that is, of course, if souls existed. I thanked the goddesses looks couldn’t actually kill.

"Upstairs. Now," was all she really said to me, pointing to the door she had probably just come in from with a hoof. Folding my ears back I obeyed without hesitation, quickly making my way up the stairway and into the corridor. Waiting for her to catch up, I followed behind with my head hung low. Not a word was spoken between us as we walked and everypony moved to give us room when they saw us together. It had become something of a sick Stable cliché over the years.

“Oh, Melody’s with her mother – what’d she do this time? Oh look, there they go. How much you want to bet she gets cleaning duty again?”

Blowing a stray hair of my mane out of my face, I braced myself as the door to her living quarters came into view and I started mentally counting down from three.

Three.

The door opened and we stepped inside.

Two.

I made my way to my usual spot on the couch and got as comfortable as I could.

And one.

She was upon me, still with that angry death glare. "You are such a disappointment. I swear you are a deliberate disgrace to the family! Did you think we got where we are by being lazy!?"

I felt my ears flatten tighter against my skull as I stared at the floor. No matter how much I’d gotten used to these arguments, it still hurt having my own mother constantly berate me like this. I hated it, and because of it, I hated her, and because of the bitterness she stirred in me I hated myself, and because of myself I hated—no stop it. Stop thinking like that. Stop thinking like that and shove it aside. Just don’t think about it and it’ll go away. I internally persisted, and did my best to stow the emotions away like always but her constant insults made it impossible. Gritting my teeth under the building pressure and I looked up at her feeling what surely couldn’t have been tears forming in my eyes.

“No, I thought we got where we are because of the fucking zebras who destroyed our country. But then again, what would I know, I’m just your stupid worthless daughter right?” I finally bit back at her, crossing my hooves and quickly returning my gaze to the floor.

Her scowl deepened and she stomped closer. "The only reason you’re worthless to the Stable, to me, is that you never put so much as a shred of effort into anything. You have one job Melody! ONE! Why do you insist on ignoring it?" she shouted in a storm of angry frustration with a touch of disappointed despair.

"Well maybe I wouldn’t ignore it if it was actually worth my attention. I have studied genetics my whole life. I got straight A’s in every class, mastered everything you could teach me in record time and what happens the first day I go to job placement? I get stuck behind a fucking terminal like a common maintenance worker. Do you have any idea what that’s like? To spend your entire life preparing to follow in your hateful mother’s hoofsteps only to be shoved aside like you don’t matter? The humiliation of being relegated to something so menial after forcing so much effort into learning to do so much more!?

“Staring at a terminal isn't a job… It's a task delegated to an unskilled lab assistant, and I am not going to be your lab assistant for the rest of my life. I am fully capable of working the lab and I deserve it!" I slammed my hoof on the coffee table with a huff, and then quickly pulled away from her, seeing that dangerous glare turn to one of unrelenting fury.

She shoved me back into the couch with her magic, knocking it over and pushing me to the ground. If she wasn't angry before, she most definitely was now. Her disproportional daunting shadow loomed over me as I pulled against her magical grip and she spoke in a low, unsteady voice. “You ungrateful brat. You have no idea what you are talking about. Now you will do as you’re told or so help me that damn relic of your father’s will be turned to ash.”

My eyes widened as I stared at her in fear, desperately looking for any clue this was some vicious bluff. Three seconds later I felt my body go limp as I stopped struggling and nodded my head. She had me. As much as I wanted to shout my frustrations at her, I just couldn’t risk her destroying his guitar. Even if it also destroyed the one really thing she had left to control me with, it just wasn’t worth losing it. Lowering my head to the ground and feeling the cool metal press against my cheek, I fought to contain myself. “Y-yeah sure.”

My mother let out another huff. Slowly, she released her magical hold on me and she levitated the couch back into its original position. I just lay on the floor, too angry to cry and too afraid to keep arguing. Eventually I brushed myself off and stood up. “Good, get out of my sight and back to work now,” my mother instructed firmly as I walked past her towards the door, without responding to her.

Suddenly there was a tug on my tail and I turned, seeing her standing on it as she looked at me with a calmer expression. “You're just too young and too inexperienced for the things we do. You are sixteen for Celestia's sake, I don't care that you passed your exams or that you’re probably the smartest filly your age. Maybe I would let you in the lab if I could trust you with keeping an eye on the data that is being recorded. Sweet Drops is barely educated enough to understand it, but at least she does her job! That’s more than I can say about you."

"Yes, Mother," I droned in response, no emotion permitted to leak through my voice. In all fairness, I could have mouthed off to her, but I had learned long ago that she wasn’t afraid to knock some so-called sense into me – literally.

My reply seemed to placate her enough to at least stop her scolding. She didn’t slam me into the wall this time so you could say it was an improvement from our last argument. Turning around and knowing from extensive experience that the argument was over, we trotted back out through the door and up the single flight of stairs that led to the laboratories. I still very much envied my mother for having quarters so close to the lab, while I was living three levels down with the rest of the Stable personnel. Though my envy is rather ironic considering I chose to move out. I… I just couldn’t be there anymore, not after—Nope. No, no, stop it just… deep breath in… and out.

“Maybe I need another check-up, no way feeling this pessimistic is normal.”

Giving my head a good shake – then adjusting my glasses as embarrassingly I had dislodged them from their place on my muzzle – I continued through the hall. The rhythmic clip-clop of my hooves on the metal floor made a soft echo as I rounded corner after corner. I chose the long route around the atrium to avoid any questions from ponies trying to find out just how bad things went between me and my mother. They always tried to be polite of course, but it always came across as thinly veiled attempts to get the latest scoop of Stable gossip. Anything was entertainment in the cramped assembly of halls, labs, utilities and apartments that was home.

Rounding yet another corner, I came towards the most over-engineered door in the Stable – save for the main entrance. The entrance to the Stable’s laboratory. Much like the main door, it was in the shape of a giant gear with the symbol for “Epsilon” painted in its center. Unlike the main door however, two security guards stood watch on either side of the laboratory entrance in what I can assume is both the easiest and the most mind-numbing job ever. I mean, who would want to simply stand around staring at the opposite wall for eight hours each day? Not me, that’s for sure. If I had the choice I would stick to my screen, as much as I hated it.

As I stepped closer to the door, I eventually recognized the mare standing off to its right side. The cream-coloured mare with her flaming-red mane was a family friend, and despite my mother’s order to return to my station, I felt that simple conversation couldn’t hurt.

Putting on my best smile to avoid prying questions, I approached. "Good morning, Tia. How's Scarlet been doing?" I asked tentatively, praying she was in a talkative mood, which thankfully was almost always unless she was in a bad mood – and that mostly seemed to happen when she was in heat.

I mentally hoof-pumped as her face lit up before turning to look my way. "Good as always Me-...” She stopped mid-sentence and simply stared at me. No, not at me. Behind me. Turning around, I came muzzle-to-muzzle with my mother glaring me dead in the eyes, again! With a start, I stumbled away from her until my rump bumped into Tia. The guard mare was not even trying to hold back her amused giggles made at my expense as my mother continued to glare. With a light groan, I rolled my eyes and took a step forward so I was no longer pressing against the thick outer layer of Tia’s armoured security barding.

‘How does she do that!?‘

I had always suspected it was some kind of magic that let mom so easily shadow me from time to time. Not even an inch away, yet I’d never notice her until another pony noticed for me. Tia, still with her trademark smirk, spoke. “And you seem just as zoned out as always dear. Leeeet me guess… either you were slacking off again, or you were trying to access private lab information above your clearance level. Again,” she proposed mirthfully, shaking her head slightly

“Ding, ding. At least with the first half. Thankfully she was just feeling lazy today instead of curious,” my mother cut in sardonically.

“If you would like, doctor, I can hoofcuff her to the chair again," Tia offered with that awful mischievous smirk only seeming to grow. The sexual implications were not lost on me, there had always been rumours about her and Scarlet’s nightly activities and certain inventory anomalies regarding security restraining equipment. My previous desire for conversation having now vanished as soon as my blush had grown, I hastily stepped aside and quickly made my way through the large door as it opened with a loud hiss of hydraulics. To my regret, I dared to look back at Tia, catching her sticking her tongue out at me from the corner of my eye.

The last thing I heard was both Tia and my mother chuckling, no doubt at my expense as the door closed. Sighing deeply, I shook my head a few times. “That mare has it in for me, I swear,” I quietly mumbled as I continued past the multitude of facilities used in the stable’s mission to bring about the perfect generation of ponies. Walking past each one of the impressive arrays of beakers, distilleries, centrifuges and all manner of perplexing devices, I came towards the entrance of the data entry department, or rather ‘closet’ as it was affectionately known as. However, after all that had happened I forgot the first rule of data entry – mind the step. I was reminded of this lesson with a violent jolt and an aching shin.

“GAH for the love of. Why isn’t this a ramp!”

After taking a moment to let the throbbing in my leg fade and checking to make sure I hadn’t drawn blood, I hopped over those three pointless steps and continued to my deserted station. The door opened and I walked towards my terminal. The terminal Sweet Drops was busy typing away at. I approached behind her and lifted my hoof to speak, only to be cut off.

“So… your mother came by”

“Yeah I noticed. Did she say anything?” I asked sheepishly, my ears folded back knowing mom probably laid into Sweet because of me. She spun in her chair, turning to face me, keeping the elbow of a foreleg on the desk while resting her head against the hoof of the same leg.

“Actually, this time she came in and only huffed at me before storming out. Though I think there was a slight growl in there somewhere too,” she mentioned rather casually, pursing her lips. I chuckled a bit as images of mom snarling like the animals we were taught about in primary classes came to mind. Her coat unkempt and ragged while her teeth became long and pointed with those weird slit pupils some animals apparently had. Taking it a step further, and possibly bordering on racism, I began picturing her with leathery wings like a Thestral’s and long pointed fangs as she hissed viciously. I’m not sure why, but the more I thought about it the more I continued chuckling, it just seemed fitting given her usual demeanour and near feline ability to sneak up on ponies. Sweet soon joined in with her own set of giggles which soon evolved into full blown laughter. I’m sure neither of us could really tell what made it so incredibly funny but nonetheless laughter is laughter and we rode out the wave of jubilance until we had to stop to breathe. I wiped the formed tears from my eyes as Sweet did the same. Letting out a long, happy sigh I walked over and quickly hugged the mare.

“Thanks again.”

“Oh, you can thank me after I find out how I’m getting punished,” she said sarcastically, patting my back as I pulled away and rolled my eyes.

"So, I think I owe you this time, huh?"

She made a clicking sound with her tongue, winking at me. “Oh, you know it. Totally, owe me a week worth of chocolate rations," she decided to claim, nudging my side with a hoof. I smiled at her and waved her off back to her own station across the room. As she left, I discreetly levitated my Ear Bloom to my right ear and set my PipBuck to the Stable's radio frequency. Letting out a solemn sigh long enough that one could feel the misery wafting through the air, I returned to the endless torment of the sickly green text scrolling upwards on the eye straining screen. More of the same data that I had seen all my life and thus, more boredom.

“Fuuuuuck thiiiiis jooooooooob,” I quietly moaned, wanting to vent my frustration yet not disturb Sweet Drops too much more.

I began to rhythmically tap my hooves on the desk while rocking back and forth, idly swaying side to side in the chair as line after line of data scrolled by. Despite my intention, I knew I wasn’t missing anything as nearly all test results were the same. I spent the next hour or so booping the screen with my hoof each time I saw the results for my friends. Even though their names weren't shown in the data as it all had to remain anonymous for some mysterious reason, it wasn't hard to pick them out based on the given information. Blood type, blood pressure, white blood cell count, reflexes, height & weight, eyesight, age and more. It was all mind numbingly consistent.

It was almost like a second language to me as I read through it with a lackadaisical ease. I slipped into autopilot while working, letting my mind drift to memories of the past that would involve whatever pony whose data flicked by on screen. Yet eventually I began drifting off past that when it became boring as well, too familiar from all the long days practicing it previously. To combat this epidemic of becoming bored to death, my mind began remembering the more embarrassing moments of my life. Some of which involved Cherry.

I smirked, chuckled, and brought a hoof to my face thinking of that tiny little mare who I had for so long thought was a little filly. Oh, goddesses just thinking about the day she finally told me still made me blush. Suffice to say, it wasn’t one of my more flattering moments, and she was more than happy to wait and see how far I could stick my hoof into my mouth before she began laying into me like some sadistic predator. I don’t think I’ll ever live that day down, it’s still a popular cantina dinner time story till this day.

I could hear the door open behind me, the unexpected noise snapping me back to reality by a frustrated and somewhat angry voice. The sharp din of a table being kicked reverberating through the room making me flinch and ponder whether or not I should pay attention or just ignore the ongoing commotion.

"I am done! That mare can fucking stuff it and have her way!" the stallion I knew as Caramel Crunch ranted loudly. He worked as the hardware technician for the large databanks that held literally every bit of accumulated research that had been developed within the stable, an impressive feat and a daunting task as far as maintenance went for sure. When I had first been assigned to data entry, I had been rather jealous of his job since he got to work so close to what the lab coats worked on and for a time I resented him, until I got to see his work. Turns out database technicians aren’t much different from maintenance ponies that crawl through the dust clogged air ducts on a regular basis. Heck, he never even got to look at a screen. He just made sure everything was plugged in as it should be and all lights were blinking properly. Granted they were important wires and lights, and there was a lot of them, but it was still simple drudgery work.

I honestly felt pity for him, being surrounded by such a treasure trove of knowledge without so much as a taste of it to be had. Though recently I’ve only been feeling annoyance every time he stepped into the lab section. It appears he was in an ever-worsening mood that centred around a group of his friends and his wife. Of course, until now I’d only gathered that much from the small mumbles he’d let out while he worked, it may have afforded a decent distraction from the monotony of my job without the risky lengths I typically go to for a break, but didn’t really give much to ponder other than what those mundane social issues he might have. Goddesses know I have enough of my own to worry about first.

My curiosity soon won over my boredom, as usual, and I looked over my shoulder. His head was lowered and his eyes trained directly to the ground as he sulked.

“Goddesses why? Why won’t she just listen to me? I’m her husband, that must count for something. And that’s OUR foal she’s carrying, not just hers,” he groaned as he dragged a hoof over his face before he noticed my presence and scowled. “See something amusing about a stallion with marital issues?” he spoke, a sharp edge in his voice making me flinch.

Caramel Crunch’s wife Strawberry. She had been a rather large subject of gossip throughout the stable after her continued refusal to allow medical examination upon finding out she was pregnant. Public dislike for the various medical exams was in no way uncommon with their high frequency in the stable, and as with any society, if something isn’t entirely understood it breeds paranoia and paranoia breeds rumours of conspiracies.

In Stable Epsilon, our primary objective is genetics research to be employed in creating the perfect generation of pony – both in body and mind. Yet the more ponies talked about it, the more one overriding question hung in the air – how did they conduct their research?

Of course, anypony who paid attention during their biology classes when they were foals would know that the laboratory staff do their research on a controlled level by using DNA samples obtained during the regular check-ups. Using those small samples of blood and saliva, as well as semen from the stallions and extracted eggs from the mares, they analyse the samples for defects or anything else that could cause problems, and they manipulate the protein structure of the gathered sperm and eggs to the desired healthy specifications. Then they monitor the growth of the organism until they can say for certain whether the manipulations will produce either a positive or negative result. Once the data has been recorded, the developing organism is terminated and disposed of. All very simple and very safe, or so I knew, others were more prone to gawking at such explanations followed by suspicion once they thought backs were turned.

It was natural that many ponies took some exception to the word “dispose” as some saw it as a type of murder, but many were respectful of the necessary evil, if it could even be called such, and knew that doing good doesn’t always mean feeling good. The organisms themselves can hardly be called foals anyway since they were always terminated before they fully developed and were never conceived by or desired by the two ponies whose DNA they used.

But some ponies were just plain irrational about it. It wasn’t just the medical exams she was refusing but any form of vaccination to her foal once it was born. I mean, the medical exams I can sort of understand, but endangering the life of your foal by inhibiting their immune system is ridiculous.

‘This is just not my day’ I thought to myself with a sigh as yet another concern was pushed under my muzzle. “She still won’t budge, will she?”

“That mare is as stubborn as the Stable door is sealed,” he responded, sinking back into a chair next to another stallion. “I’m at the end of my rope and I can’t even talk with her anymore before she accuses me of denying her wishes for a natural birth or some such,” he finished his sentence by dropping his head into his hooves.

As much as I craved a distraction, I really didn’t want to get pulled any further into the conversation. I wanted to go back to my quarters, take a soothing warm shower and have an early nice bedtime. However, before I could utter my best wishes and turn back to the screen of everlasting boredom I heard those dreadful, stomach sinking words,

“Why don’t we talk with her?”

Immediately my head turned so fast you could have heard each vertebra crack as I stared wide eyed at Sweet Drops. She stood there looking at Caramel with an expression that was either saying ‘I’m in over my head’ or ‘Why couldn’t I have just choked on those words?’ It was boggling how socially naive the poor mare could be at moments like this.

Caramel Crunch, being neither a clinical or rational pony, simply rolled his eyes and let loose his pent-up frustration upon the pony, “Oh and what exactly do you think you can do? The daughter of the Overmare and her best friend, both stuck in the prestigious position of data entry. Oh, yeah my naturalist wife is going to yield her position with how much trust she has in you two and your profound wisdom.”

“Well, we could at least… I-I don’t know, do, something,” Sweet stuttered out but each word seemed to become harder and harder to say coherently. I cringed for her as her ears folded back in meek defeat. Sadly, some things were better left alone, not that he should have been spouting off his personal problems in public to begin with.

For some reason the long and deep, defeated sigh Caramel let out seemed worse than him simply shouting at us. His voice took on a slightly lighter tone but lost none of the initial bite. “You know what. Fuck it, do whatever you like, I really don’t care. All I need right now is something to do that won’t fight me trying to fix it so before I snap, leave me alone.”

We gulped and did as we were told, mostly out of a desire to prevent our graves from being dug any deeper. Occasionally, I glanced over my shoulder to see Caramel busying himself with whatever he could get his hooves on. Roaming around from one piece of equipment to another, scanning every inch with his trained eyes for something that needed tinkering with, which fortunately it occasionally did, keeping him calm and occupied.

When the clock struck quitting time, I was hasty to logout of my terminal and stand to stretch my hooves. Now officially free for the rest of the day, I could think of nothing better than a hearty portion of rations and sitting in my room playing father’s guitar – well, once I got it back that was. If not, there was that little side project Sweet and I were working on. Risking another tongue lashing, I glanced over at Caramel once again. Either he hadn’t seen the time or – the more likely option – didn’t really care about that, continuing to work to absolve himself of stress.

Knowing a lost cause when I saw one, I made my way over to the door, checking to see if Sweet was ready to go. Seeing the hesitant look on her face and her left forehoof held partially aloft as if to reach out to Caramel, I gripped the neck of her barding with my magic and pulled her towards the door as it opened with the typical hiss. Releasing my grip on her barding once the door closed, I looked at her. “You’re too kind for your own good.”

“And you could stand to be a bit more altruistic,” she responded without missing a beat.

I levelled my narrowed eyes at her pointedly and asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing, Miss Acoustic Recluse,” she replied innocently, muzzle in the air feigning disinterest.

“Hey, I’m not a recluse by choice, I don’t really have any other options,” I quipped back defensively, not that her accusation really meant much. She was just a friend, pushing my buttons to make me squirm.

“Oh, so that’s what you’re using to justify it now?” she said with a cheeky sway of her head.

I let out an irritated huff and enjoyed a few more moments of silence before the inevitable. Going by Sweet’s pattern of behaviour I could already guess what she was thinking and spoke up before she could, hopefully taking charge of the situation and preventing anything too drastic on Sweet’s part.

“You really aren’t going to let this go, are you?” I groaned out.

Sweet recoiled a bit as if my words were a needle plunging into her neck before sighing and lowering her head.

“I just—we really should do something. I know you’ve noticed his mood only getting worse and worse ever since this thing with Strawberry began. Plus, I’m sure no pony wants a repeat of what happened last time a mare gave birth naturally,” she argued, bringing up the probably consequences with palpable reluctance.

This time both of us winced at the painful idea. That had been a sobering time of our lives when we’d found out how birth before the blessings of modern medicine turned out. It was essentially a gamble, and often the foals got the shaft.

‘No, no, no none of that. Just push it down and stow it away.’ I thought to myself as I felt Sweet nudge my side, trying to bring me out of it.

“Look I know you’d rather stay out of this but you’re way better at making a convincing argument than I am. Please, you won’t have to owe me for earlier,” she offered as a nervous smile spread across her face.

Rolling my eyes, I shrugged. Not losing out on the chocolate might be worth it, if only barely. “If it helps put an end to this crazy debacle and lets me keep my rations, fine. But I can’t promise anything,” I grunted as Sweet pulled me into a warm, albeit crushing, hug. The mare could be surprisingly strong for her size when motivated.

“Oh, thank you Melody! Come on let’s go,” she announced jubilantly.

Meanwhile I did a double take. “What, now?! Can’t this wait till after we eat?” Much to my favour a small fumble from my tummy punctuated my remark.

As I talked with Sweet Drops, or rather as I tried talking Sweet Drops out of this, I saw my mother looking at me and sighing deeply. Already knowing that a chewing out if we dallied or turned around bothering her for nothing was coming, I decided it best to steam ahead.

Before she could even say a word, I tapped Sweet Drops on the shoulder, offering her a small -perhaps not entirely sincere- smile. "Fine, it seems like we're up anyway if the look mom is giving me is anything to go by, get the equipment," I prompted her, trying to sound cheerful about it. The charcoal mare sighed in response, about as eager to make this house call as I was in spite of it being her idea. She took the kits, though, and followed me to the door. "Well... We're off to see Strawberry!" I announced awkwardly and hastily left the labs with Sweet in tow.

"Melody, are you sure about this? I could ask somepony else." Sweet Drops said quite suddenly, almost startling me as she spoke up.

"I don't like it, but the foal's health is more important than our comfort, isn't it?" I argued back.

“Sure, and this has nothing to do with your mother…” she commented with a roll of her eyes.

******

It wasn’t long after leaving the data analysis lab that we found ourselves in Strawberry's living room. It was a simple and sparsely decorated room, but decorated in such a way that it did feel quite cosy and comfortable as if I was in my own room, and more importantly it felt welcoming. Which balanced out the reception we got from the ponies inside. It had been one of Strawberry’s friends that had opened the door and instantly launched into a profanity-laced tirade about how they wanted nothing to do with our experiments and where exactly we could stick our needles. Then she actually looked and realised it was Sweet Drops and me, which made her pause and break into a furious cascade apologies along with a blush before ushering us inside the room far more politely. There was however still an air of cautiousness about her, even if we were friendly faces we were still from that department of that Stable they were most upset at.

Sweet Drops and I soon after found ourselves sitting across from Strawberry and her four friends. The mares that surrounded her were almost like worried lionesses protecting their young. I won't lie, it was kind of unnerving how they stared at us warily, as if the wrong words would provoke them into pouncing on us with claws drawn and disposing of us. I took that thought and stuffed it into a safe in the back of my mind, then welded that safe shut.

"How are you, Strawberry?" I started with a slow breath, trying to hide my, probably, obvious discomfort. It seemed as good a place as any to start.

“Melody, please cut the bullshit. I know why you’re here,” she sneered. I ignored the venom in her voice. She was upset. More importantly, she was nearing the end of her pregnancy, so she was no doubt in a massive ball of hormones. “My husband sent you. I guess he wants foals to handle his problems now.”

I winced just a little at the icy accusation, even only half true as it was. "Strawberry, you've known me all my life, I am not going to force you into anything. Please take a moment to listen to me? I swear to Celestia, if you say no after this we will drop the entire subject. Forever.” I knew I didn’t actually have the authority to do that, but it was nice to see her calming down just a little from the promise. Not that we could do anything else after this – all bridges were essentially burned with tensions here so high. ”We just need to make a quick scan and a small blood sample to see if the foal is healthy. We’ve been living with a small gene pool for the better part of two-hundred years. We need to make sure that the little one doesn’t have any of the negative side effects that come with that, and if the foal does we can be ready to ensure they can live a normal healthy life. We're not going to do anything further, just a routine check-up like the ones you and I normally get." I put on my best reassuring tone, though I could see in her hard eyes that she wasn't having any of it.

"For the last time, Melody, I don't want anything. This is going to happen naturally. Without any of your tests," she spoke in a voice as hard and determined as steel. Her solidarity, if not backed by foolishness, was almost admirable. "I know you eggheads did something to Minty's foal. There is no other way to explain it. The little colt was born with two different eye colours! He is only a few months old and the colt already understands basic math! That isn't normal, it’s not natural! Whatever you did up there I don’t want any part of it," she reaffirmed, a look of disgust written on her face.

I couldn’t help but sigh softly in response, her stubbornness and fear mongering wearing on my nerves after an already stressful day.

“So, a potential mathematical genius is what scares you? Proof that our environment is creating smarter and healthier ponies is a bad thing now?” I asked insistently, perhaps a bit harsher than I had intended. “If you look at the data we’re healthier than the ponies before the war were! We have a life expectancy far greater than they did. But it is nothing we did! All our ancestors did was create the cure that has allowed us to retain a healthy population without the adverse effects of inbreeding, but we need to keep on top of things or it’ll all be for nothing.”

“That’s not the point, Melody, and you know it. Think about it! Minty’s foal is the only one to develop that quickly in the subject out of the 10 foals born in the last birth season, but he’s also the only one without functioning hind legs. I am not subjecting my foal to your experiments! No one’s foal is worth that kind of risk, but at least I can keep mine safe.” She was getting worked up, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the mare. She wasn’t the only mare like this. But she was one of the more paranoid ones.

‘Another mare buying into the conspiracy theories,’ I silently lamented to myself

“So that’s it then? You’re going to risk giving birth without any check-ups? Do you remember the last mare that did that and what happened? Strawberry, please.” I should have probably shut up and left then and there, but instead I opened my big mouth, letting lose a rather inflammatory and taboo topic to simply talk about in the Stable. ”There are no experiments. I admit that there are some statistical anomalies like Minty’s colt… but the entire stable is related by this point. Maybe the cure wasn’t perfect. Maybe that’s the reason.” I sighed deeply, feeling like I was grasping at straws at this point. “I don’t want to risk my nephew.”

“You say that, but how can I trust you? You are Professor Delight’s daughter.” She paused for a moment looking conflicted, but then after a moment she gave me a long, steady, withering glare having resolved whatever doubts she had. “And you. You take the cake. Your ability to learn and absorb knowledge terrified the foals around you. Whatever your mother did to make you, it was not natural, no pony ever saw her walking around pregnant either. You never wondered why you were home-schooled by your mother? You’re one of her insane pet projects!” In her passion, she had moved up and was standing with two hooves on the table glaring down at me. “And you dare tell me there is nothing going on!? While no pony even knows how you came into existence?”

I sat there stunned for a long moment. Social situations had never been my strong point but I was passable there. For this, though, I had no answer for. I just stared at the mare, shell-shocked by what she had said. Was that what ponies though of my mother? Of me? But I had a father. If I wasn’t born naturally there was a reason for it! Maybe mother was barren? Maybe another mare carried me to term? Surrogacy spells were a thing. Yes. That was probably it, if this mare wasn’t just repeating decade old rumours that was.

I was pulled up quite suddenly, Sweet Drops’ wing was around me and she smiled at me kindly as she drew me out of my sobering thoughts. I dumbly followed as she spoke once more to Strawberry, "We won't force you If you don't want to. There are no experiments going on though. I know what I say won’t make a difference and it doesn’t matter, just so long as you know what you're getting into." She gave Strawberry a little half smile as she tried to reassure the mare while we retreated, "The reason for the tests and scans is to find the reason why foals are born like Minty’s. Honestly, I think Melody’s theory about the cure not being quite perfect has validity to it, there was a war on back then after all. We don’t even know if your foal is even entirely healthy but whether it is or not isn't affecting anypony else. We just wanted to be thorough." She said quite confidently, that confidence quickly wavered upon seeing the glare from one of the mares intensify. The one probably most vocal about this entire genetic experimentation nonsense, actually she had been the one to start the entire thing alongside the maintenance chief Ground Gears if I recognised her correctly. "I'll pass on to everyone to leave you alone about it Strawberry. It's your foal and your choice."

She smiled thankfully at that. I didn’t return it. "I'll be sure to make something nice for the little one." Sweet Drops said pleasantly while I remained silent.

We then took our leave from them, the goodbyes were a little more pleasant than the greetings we had exchanged though they felt every bit as insincere. Not that I really cared. For once my mind wasn’t constantly roaring with thoughts. It was like everything had crashed to a halt, and honestly it was scary. I leaned into Sweet Drops’ side and looked at her, releasing a sigh.

"Well, this is going to be a problem." I softly whispered on the way back to the laboratory. I stuffed the thoughts into the same safe that I had the other uncomfortable ideas and memories locked away in, welding it shut once more. ‘Nope, nope, nope. Don’t think about it!’ I mentally screamed. I was not going to spiral down that road to ruin.

"Come on, let's get that chocolate for you, huh? You’ve earned it.” I said with a slightly forced grin, bumping flanks with her. She sighed in annoyance at me.

"Melody, this can wait until after we’ve handed over our duties to the C-shift, you know how annoyed they get if we don’t do it right away." She tried her best to remain serious, though the pouty look I was giving her made it hard for the mare to remain serious for long. She sighed deeply and returned the flank bump "Fine, you win," Sweet finally relented, making me grinned broadly, both at the thought of the coming chocolate and victoriously having won her over once more.

Pushing her towards the cafeteria I smirked just a little. "Say, have time to work on our little project tomorrow evening?"

"I can't, Melody. I promised Prism I would spend some time with him," she said hurriedly, a blush playing on her cheeks. “You know he can’t get off from maintenance a lot, with the accident and all. Gears is having him run double shifts, again.”

"Ah well, have fun then." I smiled at her sweetly, even though I sighed inwardly. Great, another night alone, I thought to myself, ears drooping a little as I dropped behind her a touch. I probably should be happy for her, but I couldn’t help feeling slightly envious of another getting to spend time with my one friend.

Footnote:

Autumn Melody Delight:
Strength: 2
Perception: 7
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 4
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 3
Luck: 1

Traits:

Stable Dweller: You start the game with a PipBuck. Your starting Survival score is only (Luck / 2, rounded down) and your starting Poison and Radiation Resistances are 0.
Deep Sleeper: You sleep more soundly than most. You regain an additional 5 points of Strain per hour of sleep. You regain TP while sleeping in poor environments as if you were sleeping safe in your bed. Unfortunately, you automatically fail Perception checks to wake up unless you take damage or someone spends a full turn waking you.
Four Eyes: You are practically blind without prescription glasses. Your perception is reduced to 1 when not wearing them.

Story perk:
Gifted: You, like many ponies in Stable Epsilon, were born with above average talents. This has led to you mastering a field, discipline, or craft in one third of what most ponies would spend a lifetime to achieve. This came at a great cost… the depths of which you are unsure of.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria and making this story possible.

A huge thank you to Shutter Speed who co-wrote this with me.

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With that I will sign off,
Happy Hunting everypony!

Chapter 2: Discovery

Chapter Two

Discovery

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
– Sherlock Holmes

It was a day after the talk with Strawberry when I found myself trotting out of the elevator with a deep sigh passing my lips. I was just coming off a twelve hour shift and I was exhausted as could be. Heaving another deep sigh, I thought back on the meeting Sweet Drops and I had with Strawberry the previous evening. It was unfounded paranoia, but still the fear in her eyes had unsettled me so much. Not to mention that outburst from a mare who was normally very composed. Sighing even deeper, I tried to shake off the feeling of unease that was welling up inside of me. Then I paused, suddenly becoming aware that I wasn't in the living quarters section of the Stable. Looking around at the much darker, bare gunmetal-grey walls, I fell to my haunches, realising that I was in fact somewhere in maintenance – a whole level lower than I had meant to go. I was tired and I had been more lost in thought than I usually would have been coming off a shift.

With a loud groan, I turned around to head back the way I had come when my vision was quite suddenly filled with a dark grey that hardly stood apart from the walls. Unlike the walls, though, this mass of grey had a face. Finding myself mere millimetres away from Ground Gears’ face was very worrying. The rather butch head of maintenance had somehow snuck up behind me. A mare her size had no right to be this silent. Unable to help it, I smiled sheepishly at her, remembering my first encounter with the mare where I had thought she was a stallion. She wasn’t as large as Scarlet, but she definitely had a more masculine build, lacking the soft curves that Scarlet had. I swallowed nervously seeing that suspicious – and dare I say cruel – glint in her sea-green eyes.

Taking a few steps back, I tried to gain back a semblance of personal space – something she wasn't willing to offer, it seems, as I found myself being backed up until I felt my flank press against the cold, unrelenting wall. I cocked an eyebrow, and grew increasingly worried as three more maintenance ponies appeared from around the corner. Each of them carrying rather hefty looking tools that you wouldn’t need outside of the reactor room.

I seriously didn't like the cocky, self-assured grin that she wore while literally backing me into a dead end, it was unsettling to see. It didn’t take a socially-savvy pony to guess that it was a grin with intent behind it – intent I didn’t want to ponder or even find out. "So, as long as we have you down here little Melody, how about you start telling us what really goes on up there?" She said in that rough baritone voice of hers. Groaning inwardly, I opened my mouth to reply when I saw the earth pony mare pulling a pipe-wrench from her utility barding. "And you better not give that well-rehearsed excuse that you threw at Strawberry. Or we might have to get… creative."

I winced at seeing the large tool in her grip, it gave me pause from using the usual talk that I threw at ponies who were silly enough to believe this entire conspiracy theory. It isn’t like I am allowed in the lab to see what they do! Taking a deep breath to steel myself I smiled slightly at her "I have no idea why everypony seems to think that there is something going on." I paused for a moment afraid she might hit me, though she didn't. She just looked at me expectantly. "Listen, Gear. I wish I could tell you something, but my mother has me sitting behind a terminal analysing statistics for everyone in the Stable... which is in a separate room entirely. Even I as the professor’s daughter have no clearance for entry." She rolled her eyes at me, and raised the wrench up, swiping it towards my horn.

I recoiled away against the wall, knowing it wouldn't help. Curiously, the implement never made contact. Instead, the hallways filled with the ringing echo of a high-powered rifle being shot, followed by the loud clang of the wrench hitting the floor, and a painful grunt following it. Opening my eyes, I saw the crowd had parted, and for a moment I couldn't have been happier to see the tiny lilac-coated filly in her security barding. She stood on her hind legs and, without skipping a beat, she cycled the bolt action on her rifle to reload with her wing, still cradling the rather comically large weapon with one of her hooves resting it to her shoulder, keeping her aim down the iron sights at Ground Gears. The angle she was holding it at suggested the mare was actually aiming to shoot her in the head. "Gear, this is the third time this month. You can consider yourself officially on report. Get your ass to security. The rest of you? Fuck off before you join her in isolation."

It always amazed me seeing the small filly able to command the respect – and by the looks on some of the faces, fear – of an entire crowd to get them to obey her command unquestioningly. She grinned that cocky grin of hers as they dispersed very quickly, either back to their rooms or their workplaces. Or, in Ground Gear’s case, to the solitary cells in the security wing. "Are you alright, Melody?" she asked worriedly, slinging the rifle onto her back. I nodded weakly, looking down at the filly with a small, thankful smile.

"Y-yes. I am. I can't believe she was actually going to… hit me! On the horn!" I shuddered at the thought of the mare actually taking off my horn. I didn't like thinking about what life would be like without being able to use magic ever again. Sure, earth ponies got by, but even they had ambient magic about them and used that magic in their daily lives on a more intuitive level. A unicorn without magic, though—I could feel myself tremble, fear finally rearing its ugly head as I collapsed to the ground looking at the security mare. "Thank you, Cherry—that—goddesses that was..." I trailed off, feeling her hoof tapping my muzzle to silence me.

"I know. You are safe Melody." She smiled a bit grimly at that, "It’s not just down here... some of the security ponies are buying into this nonsense now. One of them actually pulled a combat shotgun on me." She growled a little. I blinked at her, seeing the lingering fear in her eyes, it was something most unexpected for someone to pull a weapon on one of Security’s elite members.

"They... pulled a weapon out on you?" I asked, feeling a sense of dread well up inside me. This was clearly worse than I had been thinking. A few residents being paranoid was fine, but if things were getting this tense with Security then what did that mean for the rest of the Stable? Would things start to get worse? Could they even get better at this point without things going south? The questions started to pile up more and more. That is, until Cherry cut through it — her voice sharper than before carrying an edge of something I had never heard before.

She nodded slowly "Yes, it was that bastard husband of Gear’s." she said with a roll of her eyes. "He's been getting the lower-ranked security ponies riled up on this bullshit about needing to protect the foals. It's driving Scarlet up the wall. Actually, Scarlet gave him a good thrashing for pulling a weapon on me. The Overmare is washing her hooves of it like a coward." I nodded slowly at her, the thought of Scarlet thrashing anyone was terrifying in its own right – she packed one mean punch. I looked around the hallway before slowly standing up. "You should be more careful, Melody. I have a bad feeling about this." Cherry said as she looked around before closing her eyes in what I can only assume was a silent prayer or something like that.

“Look, if this just ends up blowing over and nothing happens I am so getting in trouble for this. But with how things have been going… well.” she shrugged and reached a wing to her sidearm holster and drew the weapon before offering it to me. "Just carry this with you, and get some supplies ready. Just in case. If things go south, we might have to hide out in one of the maintenance shafts until this blows over. And Melody, I mean it, be careful. You're not the first one they cornered, and you got lucky I was the one on patrol here and found you. If it was one of the lower ranked officers… well, let’s keep it at a mare I know is in medical." She said, very sourly.

Nodding slowly, I took the weapon in my magic, slipping it into the pocket of my lab coat. "I will try Cherry. I should go, I'll be in my room." I said with a slightly forced smile. She nodded, turning to head back and continue her rounds. I sighed deeply watching her leave. I picked up my pace heading directly to the living quarters. I couldn't stand all this tension, it was suffocating, and gave me a pretty massive headache. Security being divided between the lower ranked ponies and the elite Valkyries wasn't anything new, many of the ponies hoped to someday be part of the Stable's officer's clique as they called them, others that didn’t make the cut were resentful of them. The Valkyries aren't actually Security officers — Scarlet being the exception to that, as security Captain — they are by origin in fact the guard assigned to the research team by Stable-Tec. Scarlet always boasted that they were Ministry of Awesome descendants, although most ponies dispute that claim. Even I was quite sceptical about it.

Arriving at my room without delay I swiped my door key-card through the scanner, the door slid open with a hiss and I stepped in with a small sigh. Letting it slide closed behind me, I quickly locked it. My quarters, like all of the living accommodations are the dull gunmetal grey two room apartment style that I thankfully had all to myself. The Stable only having a small population meant that we had rooms in excess The stable could actually support double and – if need be – even triple the population. I threw my lab coat onto the table and then paused for a moment, remembering Cherry's words. I took my saddlebags into the bedroom and started looking around the room. I pulled the first aid kit from under the bed, along with the sealed emergency rations kit. One might call Stable-Tec paranoid, as every room actually had one of each, but it was quite comforting to know they were there in case of an emergency. I made a mental note to visit a few of the empty rooms to at least make sure I had enough medical supplies – just in case. I slid them both into the saddlebags and slipped the pistol under my pillow with a small sigh. "This'll have to do." I muttered to myself.

I slipped back into the living room. With a small smile, I took a seat at my desk, feeling much more safe in my room than I had outside in the hall. Taking a deep breath, I pushed Gear and what had happened aside before pulling out the borrowed PipBuck key to unlock and slip the arcanotech device off my leg. Placing it in between the spare parts. Connecting the device to a terminal, I backed up its contents to the terminal.

Looking at the key I blushed a little as I allowed it to levitate before me. It was such a simple thing, one of the master keys to unlock and crack open the hoof bound devices. How I had gotten to owning one was easy I took it while covering a shift for the head PipBuck technician. He never even noticed one of the keys was gone. Not my proudest moment but I was bored and I wanted to open one up and see how it worked.

I levitated all my tools in the golden glow of my magic. ’Now where did I leave off?’ I thought to myself, inspecting the components one by one. ’Right, replacing the memory banks.’ I smiled and set to work replacing the rather underwhelming work-memory banks that came with the base PipBuck 3000. In short order I replaced them with ones that contained double the memory. Reaching out, I attached the Personal Research Assistant module to it.

I stroked a hoof along the device, a small smile playing on my muzzle. It was my favourite pastime aside from music. Tweaking the technology to be more in line with my personal needs – even though it went well against Stable-Tec regulations. Technology was not to be altered in any way, but that wasn't going to stop me – or any of us, really, considering we already altered all the Research Assistants that were provided for the Stable's Science staff. The most notable change is the wireless connection to the Stable’s mainframe, and the interfacing with the internal messaging system.

I marvelled a little at the device, one of the more fascinating things that I have had the pleasure to work with. They are easily the most powerful spell processing matrices ever made portable. At least they had been when the Stable was sealed. Capable of performing advanced calculations like the ones we have to do, translating more than 10 different languages, and even capable of automagically engaging SATS if the built-in detection systems sense that the wearer is in a combat situation – although that last one had never been tested before – and a whole host of additional functions that are simply too numerous to list.

Opening the smaller internal case of the PipBuck, I held my breath, slowly levitating up the Spell Matrix. With a few quick movements of magic, the original copper connector pins were replaced with golden ones. I placed the Matrix back in place, replaced its casing, and rebooted my PipBuck.

Letting out a sigh of relief seeing that the device still functioned, I started up the diagnostics program, shifted my attention to the Personal Research Assistant module, and carefully opened the casing. I couldn't help but grin seeing the intricate circuitry. I levitated up the chip Sweet Drops and I had been working on and slipped it into the open slot. I quickly closed up the casing and smiled.

"Perfect, only need to have Sweet Drops run her compatibility tests for this." I mumbled, satisfied that the modifications hadn’t burned out any of the other components – or blew up my PipBuck, for that matter. I set the device to run a series of diagnostics on the stability for both devices and leaned back in my chair with a relaxed little smile playing on my muzzle. This was good, all I had to do was get it to Sweet Drops in the morning for her part. Leaning forwards on my desk I slowly let sleep take me.

******

With a groan I opened my eyes to a loud, incessant beeping coming from my terminal. Looking up, I sighed deeply, noting that it was only six in the morning. With a low groan I slapped my hoof at the terminal until the annoying, skull-splitting, headache-inducing beeping stopped. Pushing my glasses up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, noting the slight pain in my back from sleeping at a desk... again.

I quickly slipped on my PipBuck and locked it in place again. Checking over the files, I smiled noting that everything was in its place. And working correctly. "Good Morning, Caramel. What's the message?" I asked with a loud yawn, clipping my earbloom in place to listen to the sweet, melodic voice of the Personal Research Assistant's AI reading out the same standard report of the night shift.

"There is a note attached to it Melody, would you like me to open it?" She asked, I looked at my PipBuck screen seeing the cute 16bit rendition of the AI in the corner of the monochrome screen. I couldn't help but smile a little at seeing the cheerful unicorn's face, and blush a little at the name I had given her when I first activated her. I was a young filly and I didn't know the name was permanent, so I had named her 'Caramel Smooch'. Which at the time I thought sounded absolutely adorable, and if I am to be honest, it still sounds adorable.

"Yes, Caramel, please play the note."

Smiling a little, I made my way outside, levitating my bag of toiletries beside me as I listened to her recite the message in an annoyed tone. "Okay, listen here. This is Cinnamon Crunch. And this note is to the git that seems to insist on going through my desk. These are my personal effects and I swear if I get my hooves on you I am pressing charges with security!" I rolled my eyes with a little groan. ’Ponies and their possessive nature... I swear sometimes it’s like working with foals, mine, mine, mine. It is as if they forget the laboratory's things are communal.’ I mentally muttered.

’Speaking of communal, I should take a shower before I head up to the lab…’ I noted, taking a small sniff of my coat with a light shiver. ’Definitely need a shower.’ I giggled a little and trotted out of the door, starting to make my way down the hall. I couldn't help but smile as I walked. Somehow, even with all this madness going on around me, I was happy that the upgrades to my pipbuck and PRA were almost finished. And we could soon actually put the upgrades to Caramel to use.

I couldn't stop my thoughts drifting to Gears and the encounter in maintenance. Sighing, I let my ears droop a little. I know the mares that believe this weird experiment nonsense are just trying to explain why all of the foals are born with unique talents. I'm no exception to this, I know that much, although my disadvantage is a little less obvious – without my glasses, I am practically blind. They are right in a way, this isn't normal. But it can't be the results of experiments, right? Then Strawberry’s words came to the front of my mind once more and I felt myself shudder lightly. Was it true? I didn’t know. Mother didn’t have many pictures of herself so I couldn’t check. Asking her would just get her cross with Strawberry.

Then my thoughts strayed to Scarlet and Cherry, I smiled a little remembering the tiny security mare. Both of them are on opposite sides of the size scale, one being a tall muscular mare while the other is trapped in the body of a filly. I sighed and shook my head – it’s too frequent to be a coincidence. Maybe there was some truth in their claims? No, if there was I would know. I analyse the data, it would be somewhat visible if they experimented on ponies during their check-ups. Again my mind went back to Cherry and Scarlet – the former has demonstrated extraordinary agility and perception, but due to her small, underdeveloped wings she can hardly fly. And if she flies, it's only for a few feet before she has to land and walk. I guess that wouldn’t be called flight but fluttering up and gliding? Scarlet, on the other hoof, shows extraordinary endurance, but due to her size – and, I speculate, due to some internal abnormalities with the size of her lungs – gets easily winded and is a poor flier.

Groaning, I stepped into the communal showers, threw my clothing in a pile on the bench, and slipped into the nearest stall. I hardly even noticed the cold water rushing over me, not that the water was ever past lukewarm in this section. A quick soap and rinse later, I cast a quick spell on myself to dry off and slipped into the ‘armoured’ utility barding I had started wearing under my lab coat. Armoured might be the wrong term, but that was what maintenance ponies called it. It is officially meant for more dangerous maintenance work and is relatively stab-proof. Bullets? Not so much. I quickly entered back into the hallway with a brush still running through my tangled mane. It was a little hot wearing the two pieces of clothing, but the armoured barding did do wonders in making me feel just a little safer – especially after hearing Cherry’s suggestion that somepony wasn't as lucky as me after getting cornered. Then I froze, ear perked as a voice echoed through the metallic halls of the stable.

“NO DON’T!” the words were followed by a primal scream of agony. A horrifying, blood curdling scream of something that sounded wholly unequine. Echos of ripping, more screaming, horrible, haunting wails following it. Then, for the longest moment, silence. Silence, save for the ever-present hum of the overhead lights. I stood there petrified with pure terror, wondering if that had been real or if it had been a figment of my weary, paranoid mind. The events with Gear and Strawberry had never stopped plaguing me, even if I didn’t think of them. Was this my mind playing with me? Then there was the sound of a low sob and the clopping of hooves on the hard metal floor. Venturing forwards I couldn’t help but wonder if this maybe was a dream. I hoped it was one. The sounds I heard were utterly horrible.

My ears perked up hearing the low rumbling commotion of a crowd coming from the direction I had hear that utterly unequine scream coming from. It came from around the next corner, becoming louder and louder as I approached it. A cacophony of muttering and whispers. Carefully, I dared peeked around, in the back of my mind there was the hideous thought that it might be Ground Gears and her group. Instead, I could see a good twenty ponies gathered, some only half out of their living quarters staring out into the hallway. I could barely make out the words of their whispers even as they seemed like thunder to me – or maybe that was the beating of my own heart. All I could gather was the horrified tones of their words. Then it hit me. The sickening, coppery scent of blood. Not a little bit like someone had cut themselves, but a lot of it. Bucket loads of it. Over the din of the muttering I could hear the heart-wrenching wailing of a stallion.

My heart beat in my chest, as worries filled me. Had it finally happened? Had they killed somepony in their goddess-damned paranoia? As I pushed through the crowd, I started to notice the normally clean steel floor slick with running blood. Upon seeing the utterly horrifying scene that was revealed to me, I regretted ever having pushed myself to the front of the crowd. It was a scene so utterly shocking and revolting, something that would forever be burned in my mind. I dare say that the scene changed me.

In the grey hallways on the floor lay a mare that I had seen recently – Strawberry lay in the hooves of her weeping husband. The stallion was distraught, cradling his mare closer and closer, his muzzle buried in her mane. The mare that was due to give birth any day now was covered in blood while more of it was pooling out through a gashing wound at her belly. I felt so sick seeing what she cradled in her hooves. She held the unmoving form of her own foal in her hooves, frantically whispering "He's fine, a perfectly normal, normal colt" over and over again as if saying it enough would bring the dead foal back to life. Her voice slowly began to fade as I stared on in horror, watching her going limp, her bloody knife beside her telling the story more than clearly for me. My cruel mind played through what must have happened moments before I rounded the corner. The sound that had drawn me here made so much sense now. It wasn’t my mind playing tricks on me.

I could see it so vividly, Strawberry arguing with her husband, shoving him away from herself and plunging the knife into her own pregnant belly. I could only whimper at the thought of just how much that would have hurt. The knife looked sharp, but it was by no means a scalpel. Clutching my own belly, the scene unfolded before my mind's eye and I was helpless to stop the mare as she cut and cut until she had ripped herself open and blood spilt forth from the wound along with chunks of gore as she cut open her own womb. I hated my mind. I despised it for constantly needing to fill in the missing pieces as the mare maimed herself, sentenced herself to death, the already dying fetus of her foal in her arms, rocking back and forth with the almost fully-formed foal in her hooves. Sobbing hysterically. Whispering to herself.

The crowd quickly started to disperse as the world faded away around me. I could make out Scarlet with a group of her security mares pushing into the hallway, chasing away the onlookers, even smacking a few upside the head before bellowing out orders that never quite reached my ears. Cherry was suddenly at my side, supporting my weight with some difficulty. I could make out a worried look on her face from the corner of my eye, but all I could do was stare at the horrifying scene, captivated by it. Unable to look away from the macabre sight of Strawberry’s self-mutilated belly, the fetus of her unborn colt held in her arms, what the mare had done to herself, what her paranoia had driven her to.

I saw Cherry talking with Scarlet, but their words didn't register. There was no sound but the beating of my own heart and the sound of quick short breaths. I could only just stare at the blood, wishing I could throw up, wishing I could scream at the insanity of it. The wrongness of what had happened. I wanted to scream at Celestia, Luna, anypony. But instead I let myself be silently led away by the tiny mare. I could hear Strawberry's husband shouting something, shoving the blame on us, blame that should be pushed onto the one who started this insanity. When I get my hooves on that pony... goddesses forgive me for what unspeakable horrors I would do onto them.

It took me more than a few long minutes to even realise that Cherry and two other security mares had led me to the entrance of the genetics lab, not that I really cared or even focused on that. No, I couldn’t focus on anything, I could still see the blood, the wounds. I hated my mind, having an eidetic memory, I utterly despised it as the sickening scene remained there. Cherry and Mother waving their hooves in front of me. They were saying things to me I didn’t hear. All I could hear was the sharp gasps, low whimpers, and sobs as my world turned blurry.

With a start, I snapped back to reality. I looked between the two and instantly wrapped my hooves around Mother's neck. I let it all out, my face pressed into her coat. And I told her everything I had seen, I told her I couldn't handle it anymore... I started to breathe faster and faster, panic welling up inside me. Then there was a small sting to my rump. Looking up to my mother, I noticed her horn glowing, holding an empty syringe of Med-X. "Shhh... sleep, it'll be alright." She whispered as my world around me turned to black.

******

As I opened my eyes, I found myself in a bed that was not my own, in a room that was definitely not mine. It was far too big to be my own room, and had far too many beds in it. It wasn’t dark, but the lights had been dimmed a lot. I could make out the dim glow of a clock showing that it was half an hour past midnight. I was the only pony in the room. A room that, judging by the locked medicine cabinet and the various instruments, was the stable’s medical wing – or more specifically, its recovery ward. The ward was definitely not needed for the one or two accidents we occasionally had. But then the stable was built with a much larger population in mind.

Sighing deeply, I rolled over and carefully removed the IV needle that was in my right forehoof. Slamming my head back into the pillow I let out another sigh, lighting up my horn to levitate over a band-aid. Having covered the small puncture in my skin, I went over events in my mind. Not that I had any choice. I tried skipping over Strawberry, and failed miserably. Everything became blurry and my eyes stung painfully. ’I can’t believe Mother drugged me... again. Best fucking mother, ever.’ I thought to myself. Because that was what hurt me the most. Instead of comforting me she had actually drugged me, and instead of being a mother, this time she had pawned me off on the medical staff.

Eventually my mind gravitated back to Strawberry and her foal. That was the result of the unfounded paranoia, culminating in a mare having a breakdown. Ending up killing herself and her foal in such a way. I didn’t stop myself from crying, it was the most horrible thing to see. It also filled me with the conviction to get to the bottom of this. Somepony needed to. Somepony needed to prove that there was nothing going on and all of this was completely unfounded!

Kicking off the sheets, I slipped out of the bed and gave the clock another glance – only a few minutes had passed. ‘If I hurry, I can use the changing of the watch to slip in.’ I thought to myself with a sharp nod. Leaving the recovery room was easy, it wasn’t exactly a high-security area. I was out past curfew though, so I walked softly, with only the slightest of taps of my hoof on the metal floor. I could feel my heart racing – getting caught after curfew is an offence that actually carries the punishment of a flogging (and not the kind Tia tends to joke about).

The halls weren’t dark, the overhead lights never turned off or even dimmed. It was one of the constants of a Stable. The ever-present hum of the lights. Making it to the maintenance access stairs was a relief, it meant I was about halfway to my destination. Then I froze, the louder clangs of a pony walking started to get closer. Looking around in a panic, I quickly scrambled under the bottom level stairs. I watched wide-eyed and trembling as the Security Captain Scarlet Radiance walked down the stairs with that impassive look on her face. I had to cover my muzzle to prevent from squeaking in fear. Scarlet was probably the worst security pony to find me skulking around, her reputation of being strict was infamous in the Stable.

I watched her trot away towards the atrium with a low sigh of relief. I remained there for a moment until the clunks of her large hooves on the metal had faded away entirely and until I was relatively sure that the mare was actually gone and away. Scarlet had been the one to catch me previously while sneaking around at night, although I wasn’t trying to break into the lab that time. She had punished me all the same, though. Just thinking about the public flogging (and the ensuing scolding I got from mother) made everything hurt again, physically and emotionally.

The first step was hard, the second was harder still. But slowly I started to come out of hiding, the dread of being caught by Scarlet still very much in the back of my mind. Every step was like thunder to me, with every movement I feared that I was going to get caught. To my surprise, I didn’t get caught, and I reached the top. Fear was still in the back of my mind, and I was on edge.

The hallway was much like the rest of the stable, save that one of the lights overhead still wasn’t working properly. It had given out a month ago and maintenance still hadn’t bothered to fix it, whether through laziness or being buried under more pressing issues. The former seemed more likely to me, though.

Sticking close to the wall, I peered around a corner, getting a decent look at the door that was guarded by a single mare. I knew the mare pretty well, she was named Rose Petal. A sweet unicorn mare, and very charming, or so I had been told many times by Sweet Drops. All that I knew about her was that she and Sweet had dated for about a month. Well, that, and her scores on the aptitude test for the Security team, mostly because I was the science observer for it. She was a very nimble mare, able to squeeze herself into places nopony had any right to squeeze into. The only mare who could get into tighter spaces was Cherry.

Having done this before, I roughly knew the schedule. She was going to stand there for a good few minutes and then do her rounds through the top most level, giving me just enough time to get inside. After that, well, I had to hide in my mother’s personal office and hope that I didn’t get caught by the patrolling security mare. It was a simple plan, and one I was relatively sure I could execute this time. Last time I had gotten caught because I was using the terminal and sitting behind the desk. Stupid, really. I had a much better idea now – hide under the desk and use my PipBuck instead.

As Rose Petal started to move away from her post, I grinned and watched her round the corner, using her flashlight to shine into the dark and (mostly) empty rooms that were occupied with various equipment. Most of them were examination rooms, some of them offices for senior staff. As the light of her flashlight faded, I made my move, walking on the ‘tips of my hooves’, as they say, to sneak into the lab proper and up to my mother’s personal office.

The main room of the lab was simple. The centre had a large desk that was worked into the floor. It was a large and sturdy thing with a tiled top, mostly used for working with chemicals. The top was sloped ever so slightly, leading to a drain which was connected to a magical disposal system that neutralised anything dumped into it. The top also had a few Bunsen burners which were attached to the desk, and in extent to another system which provided the gas from a talisman. Over each burner was a small ventilation hood.

To the left there were some other rooms for things I had no idea about. They were sealed and locked by a key only mother actually had. She opened them in the morning and closed them in the evening. At the end of the room to the right was her personal office. The door wasn’t locked, everything important was actually in her safe, and once more only she had the authority to open it.

Slipping into the room, I looked around for a moment. The room was cold, impersonal. She had not decorated aside from with a picture of our family that sat on her desk. Slipping under the desk, I plugged in my PipBuck and started to work on overriding her password.

Five minutes and a lot of retries later and I was in. The password had been a complex string of numbers and digits that quite honestly was overkill. But I was in, and that was what mattered. I could see all the files that were on the system. It looked much the same as my data analysis terminal, except that here I could see all the names and the entire history of the ponies. My eyes fell on the file named “Strawberry Shake”. It wasn’t the fact that Strawberry was on the list that shocked me. No, on the contrary, it was the fact that her file was appended with “Terminated”.

Without thinking, or really caring about being discovered, I slipped up into my mother’s chair and opened the file, staring at it with wide eyes as I read.

******

Subject name: Strawberry Shake
Age: 30 years
Role in stable: Food preparation
Cause of death: Self-inflicted disembowelment under paranoia-induced psychosis.

Case:
Strawberry was one of first of an ever-increasing number of mares who gave into the paranoid belief of there being experimentations on the foals and has refused to allow any sort of checks to be performed on her or the foal. Her refusal was the inspiration for multiple mares to follow suit, spurred on by Ground Gears and her husband who are the instigators behind the entire movement. For the moment ponies think it is unfounded paranoia, but more and more ponies are following Strawberry’s lead on this. The fact that Strawberry is very beloved and trusted within the community seems to be the reason for the influx of mares refusing check-ups. Recommended action?

Recommended action:
Subject is to be eliminated and made an example of to scare ponies back into line.

Action taken:
Subject was given a mixture of Med-X, Rage, Buck, and a specially modified variant of Stampede. The result was as expected, the subject went into a violent psychosis resulting in the mare disembowelling herself – which was perhaps a bit too extreme of a reaction but she was eliminated in a way that gave us plenty of propaganda material to work with.

The body was disposed by the cleanup crew immediately, the reason given was that no medical examination was needed considering the cause of death was so obvious. Her body was incinerated not an hour later by the cleanup crew. Official death report has been filed by the head of research, who was first on the scene and informed medical about the ordeal. The Chief Physician agreed with the assessment and signed off on it, with only minor complaints that the body had already been disposed of.

How to proceed:
We will be using Subject Strawberry’s perceived nervous breakdown and resulting psychosis as a way to dissuade the ponies from worrying like she and her cohorts have been. The scene that was caused in the middle of the residential hallway is a very potent one and we should not waste the opportunity to capitalise on the distressing effect it has had on the other paranoid ponies.

Head-Researcher’s comment:
Recommend lowering the dose of buck and looking into further modifying the Stampede variety. Suicide was the intent but we cannot afford to have such high-risk incidents in the future. We do NOT need to draw more attention to us than is already the case. Sure, this might work as propaganda, but it can also be used in the other direction. This happened a few days after Sweet Drops and Melody visited subject Strawberry. It can be taken as a last chance before we killed her off. Please remember that any deaths are meant to look NATURAL. You’re lucky we got there before the medical team and disposed of the body before they found all the drugs in her system.

I sat there staring for a very, very long time. Just staring at the screen. Reading it again, and again, and again. I refused to believed it even as I read it – again. My own mother had ordered the killing of another pony. It wasn’t just that, though. Looking at the other files, there was a whole lot more here than I got to see on my personal terminal. Experiment information along with their results. The goal of each experiment and what they changed about the foal. It was all utterly disgusting. It was the worst. There was a folder for every pony. From Scarlet, to Cherry, to my best friend Sweet Drops.

But there was one folder that stood out to me, one folder that I didn’t even dare look at. It was a folder with my name on it. Startlingly, it was also the biggest folder on the entire system – double the size of the others combined. I didn’t want to know what was in there. I didn’t need to know – a part of me already did. I had known ever since my talk with Strawberry. The reality of it was that I did not want to accept it. I hated reality so much. Why did it all have to be true? I sighed and pressed the key, opening the folder. I hated it, but I had to know.

What I saw was entirely different. Where most ponies had one or two files, there were ten files in my folder, along with a sub-folder marked “The Genesis Experiment” which was the reason for my folder being the biggest. Curiously, it was also older than my files – the date suggested that it had been created a hundred and fifty years ago. Each file had my name on it, though the most horrifying part of it was that five of the six files had ‘attempt’ appended to them. The following files were an observation log, notes, failures, and modifications. I dreaded even opening any of the files.

I sat there for goddesses only know how long. Staring in horror at what I had found, unable to accept the reality of it. I hadn’t even read any of the files, I just couldn’t get myself to do it. Tears ran down my cheeks as I just stared at the logs. Stared and wondered why she had never told me about this, why she had lied to me about… I slumped forwards. Had anything about my life even been true? I wondered that for what felt like an eternity.

By the time that I left the room, it was almost five in the morning. I don’t remember anything after leaving, not even getting back to my room or passing out, it was all just a blur. I was quite sure that the mare on duty by then had seen me leave, though I don’t remember her trying to stop me. Or maybe she had.

******

Footnote:

Cherry Stellar:
Strength: 2
Perception: 7
Endurance: 8
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 10
Luck: 3

Traits:

Stable Dweller: You start the game with a PipBuck. Your starting Survival score is only (Luck / 2, rounded down) and your starting Poison and Radiation Resistances are 0.
Small Frame: You gain +1 Agility, but your limbs suffer 25% more limb damage. This does not affect actual damage taken.
Grounded: You, for some reason, lack the ability of flight. You can flutter short distances and glide longer ones but you are incapable of generating lift like normal pegasi.

Story perk:
Gifted: You, like many ponies in Stable Epsilon, were born with above-average talents. This has led to you mastering a field, discipline, or craft in one third of what most ponies would spend a lifetime to achieve. This came at a great cost – the depths of which you are unsure of.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria and making this story possible.

A huge thank you to Shutter Speed who co-wrote this with me.

I would also like to thank Fuzzy Fabricator, Troposphere, Silent Whisper, ScopeEva, and GraveDigger for editing and helping me make this story readable.

I would also like to give a massive thank you to my Patreon supporters:
> Fuzzy Fabricator
> Dr_MindQuill
> Richer19
> Psy Key
> Luminescent Aurora
> Darkaito Bruns
> Shanaar
> sixkiller5

If you like what you've read here, then please consider supporting me on Patreon! The support is greatly appreciated!

I would of course also like to thank you lovely people for reading this chapter!

With that I will sign off,
Happy Hunting everypony!

Chapter 3: Flight

Chapter Three

Flight

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
– Sherlock Holmes

A few days had passed since the incident with Strawberry, and since the moment I found out what had really been going on in the Stable. Things hadn't gotten any better as my mother was so insistent on claiming. In fact, things had gotten worse. After Strawberry's psychotic episode – which I now knew was drug-induced at the command of my own mother – all the mares that were pregnant and those who were considering foals all started refusing examinations. It even went as far as three adults accompanying the young ones to their class, 'just in case'. The proposed propaganda had, as warned about by mother in her note, backfired. This paranoia was rapidly heading somewhere bad, and I prayed to Luna and Celestia that this could end without anypony else getting hurt. But that was wishful thinking – we were already past the point of no return and the only conclusion was that things were heading to a violent resolution.

In the morning I had received an encrypted message from Cherry, saying that one of the night shift scientists had been stabbed through the neck with a pencil of all fucking things. I had read the message about ten times now, and sent a message that I was ill so I didn’t have to leave and could keep myself locked up and safe in my own room all day. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I looked at the clock on my nightstand. It was almost eleven. I hadn’t seen anyone save for Sweet Drops who had brought me my food. She knew I wasn’t ill like I had told my mother, but it was nice abusing the quarantine protocol. Sick ponies were always confined to their rooms, to avoid it spreading as much as possible.

I let myself fall back onto the bed, my head hitting the pillow with an audible groan of frustration, thinking back to the state in which they had found the lab this morning. Some pony or ponies had broken in during the night and ransacked the place, and I assume stabbed the night shift pony in the neck when caught. Papers were scattered and some equipment had even been damaged, and many of the test samples had been ruined. Thank Luna they hadn't been able to touch the mainframe – even I couldn’t actually get past that security door. Mother had said she would take precautions in case somepony wanted to do that, although she didn't tell me what precautions she had actually come up with.

I magically turned off the lights. As I closed my eyes, I started running through a mental checklist of the things I needed in case things went even further south: medical supplies, food rations, pistol, armoured barding. I peeked under the blanket with a sigh. Sleeping in armoured barding wasn't the most comfortable, but I felt safer somehow. Laying my head down, I let sleep slowly take me. The last thing I did before my world turned to black was making sure my door was locked.

******

"MELODY WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Sleep didn't last long. I was roused from my dreamless sleep by a mixture of the blaring of the Stable's alarm and the loud booming voice of Scarlet, accompanied by what sounded like her bucking against my door. I blinked and listened to the grating sound for a few moments before realising just which alarm it actually was. "Fuck me... a riot!?" Were the first words from my lips. I blinked, a little shocked that the foul words actually came from my mouth – when did I pick up words like that? I was quickly pulled from my rumination by the sounds of gunfire in the hallways and another hard pounding on the door. Scarlet's voice repeated her previous shout, carrying over the din of the weapons.

In a blur of motion, I had the pistol Cherry had given me out, my lab coat on and my saddle bags on my back with a light shiver. I prayed desperately, pleading to wake up from this nightmare. ’Please Luna... please let this be a nightmare.’ I repeated in my mind over and over again. Pushing open the doors with my magic, I looked at the rather beaten up security team, I counted five mares – five out of fifteen Valkyries. "W-where's mom? You're supposed to get her first!" I scolded them, and then I saw Cherry wince. I stared at her blankly, and then looked at my pipbuck, I didn't want to look, but I did, and immediately wished I hadn’t. A large pit grew in my stomach, and any words I tried to form caught in my throat as I stared at the message on screen.

"Transfer of Authority 'Head of Research'. Accept Y/N." For a long moment I stared at the message, pondering what would happen if I selected the no option. I shook my head firmly. She was my mother. A complete and utter bitch who I hated, but she was still my mother, and I was next in line. Nopony else should bear the burden that was already destined to be bestowed upon me, no matter how horrifying the reality of that burden was. Hitting the ‘Yes’ option, a file opened and the sound from an Audio recording started playing in my earbloom.

I felt myself being grabbed by Scarlet with one of her large wings and pulled along, not giving me time to grab anything but the supplies I had prepared. I hardly registered Scarlet explaining to me that half of security had taken the other side while one third remained neutral. Leaving the fifteen mares to hold against the majority of the Stable. I couldn’t have cared about that or anything else in that moment. If Scarlet hadn’t been pulling me along with her I’d likely still be standing motionless in the middle of the hall.

"My dearest Melody, if you're hearing this then I’ve passed away for one reason or another. I am proud that you did your duty and accepted your responsibility, and the weight that has been on my shoulders since my Mother passed the torch to me. I have copied an encrypted version of the research data onto the P.R.A. you had left with Sweet Drops. You're the only one that can access it. It's stored in the safe in my office. I love you, Melody, please be safe. Love, Mom."

Unable to formulate a sentence, I pulled Scarlet with my magic and started us towards the research labs. She didn't question it and the four other mares followed along, one of them stopping briefly to close the bulkheads that were actually meant in case of fire. I looked at the heavily-panting Scarlet, knowing she couldn't keep this pace up for much longer.

Getting from my room to the research lab wasn’t an easy task though, considering the shortest way was through the atrium and the longest way was swarming with ponies. It wasn’t long before we ran across a group of rogue security ponies at the main intersection between the laboratory and the Stable Door. The security ponies had shot four ponies in lab coats. One of them wasn’t even a researcher – he was the chief physician! One of the stallions was looming over Sweet Drops with a pistol pressed to her head. Sweets was bleeding from a wing, whimpering in pain and fear.

I froze, wide-eyed and shocked. From my right I heard the tell-tale thunder of Cherry’s rifle firing. I watched as the top of the stallion’s head exploded in a shower of gore, painting the wall a sickly crimson. I covered my ears with my hooves as the rest of the mares near me opened fire, each needing only a single shot to take out most of the rogue security ponies, who’d been as stunned as I was watching the lead stallion’s head explode and his lifeless body thud to the ground. The mares with me had actually shot them! Two of them had managed to jump around a corner while were were standing in the middle of a hallway, no cover to be seen.

I watched Sweet Drops scurry off towards the research labs and hoped she would find somewhere safe to hide. I lost sight of her when Scarlet shoved me roughly behind her large frame as two Valkyrie mares leapt around the corner after two escaping ponies. Two shots rang out, and the Valkyries reappeared, each thickly coated in blood. It wasn’t hard to imagine they had just shot both ponies point blank range. I shuddered, the images all etched into my mind, unable to ever forget any of it.

We crossed two more hallways without resistance and made our way to the stairs, myself at the back with Cherry while Scarlet took the front. We crossed the last intersection, and my world seemed to flip upside down. The heavy thud of a pony crashing into me knocked the wind out of me, and my head slammed harshly against the wall. There was a ringing in my ears and, for a moment, everything was black.

“The fucking bitch blew her own brains out, but at least we can still get her fucked up daughter!” A stallion’s voice announced over the sounds of battle. As my vision returned, I watched the security mares that served as my escort locked in hoof-to-hoof combat with at least double their number, each mare fighting two other ponies. Scarlet seemed to have the most difficulty, manoeuvring her large frame in the rather tight corridor. Cherry, on the other hoof, was amazing. Not only was she showing off a flawless grace while dodging, making it look as though she was dancing with her opponents, she also dispatched each of them with a combat knife. I watched the neutral expression she had crack for a moment as she flinched. As quickly as it had cracked it was back in place. She leapt onto the back of one of the ponies that was harrying Scarlet, plunged the knife in his throat, leapt off with a swing, and stabbed the stallion on Scarlet’s other side through the heart. She wasn’t strong, but she was fast.

Things quickly turned in their favour, at least until I was drawn back to my own situation by the sound of a cocking pistol followed by the cold steel pressing against the back of my head. “Alright, that’s enough. Now be good little mares and let us take care of the ponies responsible for all the problems.” The stallion said with a low chuckle. A chuckle that I distinctly disliked. The same kind that Ground Gears had when she was going to be hurting somepony.

I opened my mouth to say something to him even as the other ponies that hadn’t gotten their asses kicked aimed their weapons at Scarlet and the rest, but then there were three suppressed gunshots accompanied by the distinct sensation of something wet dripping down on me, followed by three heavy thuds of adult stallions collapsing to the floor. For the first moment confusion reigned as the security mares leapt for their weapons and aimed up the stairs as a bloodied and rather beaten-up Tia descended, her rifle smoking and the marksman’s lens still covering her right eye. “Really, Cherry? I am disappointed, you could have taken them, dear.” The mare said in her soft, calm voice. The look in her eyes though – it didn’t take a socially-savvy pony to see the pain in them, or the similar look in everypony’s eyes.

“Oh? Well sorry for saving some for you, Tia.” Cherry joked.

“Is that right? Here I thought miss specialist was slacking off and letting me clean up after her!” Tia commented with a dismissive hoof gesture. “Not to mention having to save my own wife.”

“Please, as if I would ever slack on anything. Just making sure you also pull your weight around here, Tia.” Cherry said with a wink.

How could they both be joking at a time like this!? They were killing ponies and she was joking. It made no sense to me at the time. Sure, I had read somewhere about how ponies used humour to deal with tragedy, but to actually see it… it felt wrong. The two of them looked out of place. I half expected the stallions to stand up again as if this was a drill. But the feeling of my back being coated in the blood of another pony dispelled such foalish thoughts. This wasn’t training, it wasn’t even a dream.

“We have to move.” I finally said, starting up the stairs with my legs trembling heavily under me. “Keep going. Don’t wait for them.” I said, more to myself than anyone else at that point. ‘Don’t think about it. Push it away. Survive. Thinking comes later.’ Was a mantra that didn’t stop running through my mind as I ascended the stairs upwards, focusing on the metallic clunks of my own hooves on the metal rather than the sense of impending doom that was threatening to overtake me. Especially not thinking about mother. ‘No, don’t go there. Step, step, step. Keep going.’ Not thinking was hard, I was not sure how some ponies managed to avoid thinking.

Before I realised it, I wasn’t so much walking as I was running up the stairs, a security team frantically trying to keep up with me, shouting, “Melody! Get back!” I ignored them, of course – I had to get to the labs, had to get my things, had to hide after that. We could seal the door, hide away inside. That was the thing I was focusing on, at least trying to formulate a plan and not think about the fear and sadness.

My run up the stairs saw me almost tripping over my own hooves as I came to a screeching halt seeing Sweet Drops, her back pressed to the wall and looking utterly horrified at me. It gave me pause enough to watch her motion to the door. Then I noticed her wing. Singular. The other was barely more than a bloody stump. The part of her wing still attached looked like it had been burned. She slowly slipped down the wall, tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Melody! Get back here this goddess damned instant!” came a shout, Scarlet’s voice I guessed. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything that came from behind me. I was angry, very angry, that whoever was in there had not just hurt my friend but maimed her for life! I wasn’t going to let them get away with it and before I knew what I was doing or what was even inside I, without thinking about it, rushed in.

******

Regret flashed through my mind as I rushed into the lab proper.

Standing there in the middle of the room was a very familiar looking mare. Ground Gears raised her head and smirked at me viciously. I froze as my eyes fell onto the thing she had clutched in her mouth – the mare was pointing a shotgun at me. Without thinking, I threw myself at the nearest steel desk. The loud boom of the weapon firing, a stinging in my flank, and a painful thud against the floor.

The shot had grazed me pretty badly and it hurt a lot. There was a deep gash running right over my cutie mark. My own blood was running down my hind leg. “Gear, what the buck are you doing!?” I shouted over my cover. My eyes still focused on my flank, and the impact crater on the floor where the solid slug had embedded itself, as if being shot at wasn’t scary enough, the mare was using live ammo!

She gave me a manic laugh in return. “Making sure the next generation is safe from the likes of you!” She growled, running around the desk, bringing the shotgun to bear on me once more. I knew I should have reacted, but I hesitated for a scant few seconds before rolling away to the side watching in horror as the ground where I had laid was peppered with buckshot. “Stay still, bitch!”

That was not happening. I sprinted away from the mare around the central desk. Another shot, followed by the distinct sound of an exploding terminal to my left. “Gear, stop it! You’re going to compromise the Stable!”

“No, I am going to rid it of you pests!” She shouted, and shot another round just as I ducked behind the desk, I could feel the rush of the shot flying over me. The others hadn’t caught up to me. Retrieving the pistol from my pocket, I sighed deeply. I didn’t like the thought of having to shoot the mare, but as I heard the sounds of her reloading her weapon, I popped up over the table and aimed my pistol. Reluctantly, I slipped into S.A.T.S. I had to do it, I had to survive. As my perception of time seemed to slow to a halt I took a deep breath, targeted three shots to her head and very reluctantly confirmed them, releasing the spell.

Each shot fired, the sound was like thunder to me. Even though I was out of S.A.T.S., time seemed to slow, each cartridge was ejected and the shots impacted before they hit the ground. They impacted but not with the intended target. Instead of hitting the mare they squished against something invisible in mid air. The light fluctuation of a magical forcefield revealed itself right after each impact. My ears filled with harsh laughter and I cursed whatever goddess that was watching. I had pulled the trigger and it didn’t even matter. I was going to die.

“Melody! Fuck.” Cherry’s voice rang out, followed by the sounds of a shotgun along with a high pitched scream of agony and a very heavy thud. My mind instantly went to the worst: Did she shoot Cherry!? I wanted to look, but I couldn’t bring myself to move – or make a sound.

“Oh look, it’s the stable’s little songbird. Wonderful!” Gear announced with insane glee in her voice, glee that was very suddenly interrupted by the din of automatic weapons fire.

Daring a glance over the top of the large desk I watched in amazement as Gear backed away from Cherry, the field around her rippling with the impact of hundreds of rounds from Scarlet’s dual submachine guns. It was a near-constant barrage of fire. Watching Scarlet’s calm, calculating look was strange. It was as if all her emotions where simply gone in the moment. Shooting one of her weapons at a time, swapping over when the magazine was empty to keep up her fire. Large white wings rapidly moving to reload her weapons. I noticed the look of annoyance on Ground Gear’s face. She needed to lower the field to take a shot.

From the corner of my eye I noticed Cherry – she was alive! I winced seeing the side of her barding being ripped up. She was peppered in nasty-looking cuts, bracing herself against the counter at the back of the room. She was carrying a different weapon. I dropped to my flank and slumped against the desk. I knew that rifle. It was the only one of its kind in the stable, and that because somepony before the war had snuck it in. It was Tia’s anti-materiel rifle. Watching Cherry load a single black-tipped round into the chamber, I winced. Had I been closer to her I would have probably felt the draining effect of the nullification magic.

I remember asking Tia about that specific shell when I was visiting with her and Scarlet. It was set on their mantle like a prize. She had explained its origins as being speciality ammunition to counter Zebra constructs. They also did very well against unicorns and, more importantly, they passed through magical shields. The tip is coated with crushed void crystal. I won’t pretend to know how it worked, but it was certainly unpleasant to be around. I would dare say it was repulsive to be around.

“Hey, bitch!” Cherry shouted loudly, bringing the weapon up to her shoulder, taking aim through the scope as her wing struggled to squeeze the trigger. “This one’s for Tia!” She wasn’t going to be able to pull it. I watched as her primary bent, and bent, and—Gear started rushing at her. The mare wasn’t the quickest in the stable but that didn’t matter. Being bull-rushed by a very tall and heavy mare using a personal shield like that was akin to having a security bulkhead slam down on top of you.

I didn’t think, I simply acted, enveloping the weapon with my magic. I pulled it to me, rolled from behind the counter, and slipped into S.A.T.S. I couldn’t in good conscience let Cherry do it – the resulting recoil would shatter her shoulder, hoof, and wing. I only had one shot, but it was calculated at 100% to the head as the mare was rushing at us. I watched the bar that read AP drain fully as I confirmed the single shot to Gear’s head. “I’m sorry…” I whispered.

As time resumed, I was deafened by the mighty roar of the gun going off in my magical grip, coaxing back a familiar painful sensation in my head. I was sent flying against the wall, slamming into it with enough force to knock the wind out of me. As I slipped on to the counter in the back of the room, my eyes were still glued on Gear. I watched the grotesque sight of the mare’s entire head explode outward as the bullet hit its mark.

The mare that had been the head of maintenance didn’t just drop to the floor where she had been standing. Her momentum carried her forwards a few steps more. Cherry and myself were painted with the blood and remains of her skull and brain. I dropped the gun, feeling the room starting to spin around me and my dinner making its way back up from my stomach. I lost my dinner, lunch and breakfast on the floor of the lab, retching and trying to get out even more until I felt a hoof on my shoulder snapping me back to reality. Cherry looked at me with that grim, serious face of hers. "Melody, don't think about it. Go get what you need. Move now, deal with it later." Cherry said, trying to keep her voice steady even as it was filled with incredible pain and sadness.

******

I didn’t look back as Scarlet rushed to the body of her wife, screaming. I tried not to hear it. I didn’t want to hear it. But I did hear it. Everyone in the labs heard the large mare with the heart of gold screaming in sorrow. I nodded slowly to Cherry picked up the pistol that I had dropped and made my way into my mother’s – or rather, my office.

I sighed heavily as I took my place behind the still-active terminal and logged in with the password that had been transferred to my pipbuck along with a whole list of others. It was probably the most predictable password in existence – 'Melody'. She had changed it from last time. My name. Of course it would be my name. Looking at the massive number of files that my mother had on her system, I realised that I didn't have the time to copy her files to my PipBuck. Instead of wasting my time with that, I hooked up my PipBuck to the terminal and with a little help of an encryption tool me and Sweet Drops had made, I initiated an encryption on all the files and moved them into a hidden folder. I just hoped that was was enough and that she’d had the foresight to save everything onto my P.R.A as she had said. Opening the safe from the terminal, I ran towards it – not that I had to run as it was only a few steps away on the other side of her office.

I pulled out my P.R.A and stuffed it in a saddle bag. I also took out a sack of golden bits, even though I wasn’t sure how useful they would be, and my mother's private stash of coffee. I sat at her terminal once more. I knew they had already sent the signal to Stable-Tec over a hundred years ago. I rolled my eyes a little, as there probably wasn't a Stable-Tec left out there. But protocol is still protocol, so I quickly altered the signal to include my PipBuck tag and mentioning the Stable hadn’t failed but was compromised and all the research data was on that specific PipBuck. Sighing, I glanced around the office, taking a moment to snatch a smaller picture of me, mom, and dad, stuffing it in my saddlebags with the rest of the things.

Trotting back out into the main room, I nodded to the mares that were apparently my security detail now. "I've got everything. I altered the signal sent to Stable-Tec... if they still exist. We should go. Speaking of which, where are we going?"

"Outside." Scarlet said while giving silent orders with her wing, sending two of the mares ahead down the stairs, with us quickly following them at a gallop. Scarlet herself looked pretty terrible. Not injured past a few scrapes, but the look on her face was as though she had been at it for weeks rather than a scant few hours. I looked at the body of Tia, and frowned. I didn’t know how Scarlet felt, but I felt sad, I wanted to sit there and cry. Instead, I felt a large, white wing pulling me along.

I followed, not that I had a choice, the mare was so much stronger than me. I saw Sweet Drops was held in her other wing being pulled along as well. "Right, outside where the radiation and certain death is." I quipped softly, not particularly liking the plan that she had come up with. Then again, the idea of being torn apart by a hysterical mob was even less appealing than the outside where we might stand a chance. I tried not to think about what they might do if they didn’t kill me upon capture – not very successfully, as some ideas came to me in the moment.

I firmly shook my head and focused on following the security team down the stairs, to the left and into the hallway on the primary level of the Stable. We found our way into the entrance hall and I quickly made my way to the door controls, inspecting them with a sheepish smile while the five mares took cover. "Right... Stable door..." staring at the console, I wasn’t very confident in my ability to even open the door. Going over the list of codes that had been transferred to me, the one to override the door control was not one of them. Funnily enough, I did have the code to the Overmare’s personal safe.

Letting out a deep sigh of frustration, I hooked my PipBuck into the data port and rolled my eyes a little. This was not going to be fun. "You might want to keep them busy – I need to do this the hard way." Before I had even finished speaking, Scarlet gave an audible groan and shot me a glare that couldn’t be interpreted as anything other than ‘hurry up’.

The hallway adjacent to the entrance was eerily silent as I started up the program me and Sweet Drops had developed once more – this time to decrypt the passcode to the Stable door. The program hadn’t been designed for it though, and was very much struggling to make any progress. For a moment I was unsure of what to do, but was very thankful for the fact that the security mares had closed most of the fire bulkheads.

Things were going smoothly – that is, until the loud boom of an explosion echoed through the halls and the rush of force burst into the room. The ground of the Stable literally shuddered under the force. It was followed by the groaning of twisting metal and a second, softer impact of thick metal on metal. The sound of five inches of steel hitting the floor filled my ears. It was quickly followed by the deafening din of gunfire from the security mares in my escort.

I could see ponies in security barding coming down the corridor. They were actually holding the thick riot shields out in front of them. The advance was slow but steady. The mares that were defending me aimed at the shields, nopony wanted to cause even more casualties. The ponies behind those shields did not share that sentiment though, and shot to kill, evidenced by the mare that was standing closest to me dropping dead and showering me in arterial spray.

I caught the flash of a grenade being captured in magic and thrown back into the hallway, behind the line of advancing ponies and right in the middle of some very angry looking stallions with improvised weapons. I closed my eyes, I didn’t want to see it, hearing the screams of the dead and dying was horrible enough. Sweet Drops was tucked away in a corner near the door, sobbing.

"Any moment now Melody!" Came the angry voice of Scarlet and I looked to my PipBuck with a groan – this was taking too long. I pulled the P.R.A from my bags and snapped the attachment into place knowing that it hadn’t been properly tested and likely wasn’t even ready to be used, but I had to. This was a matter of life and death quite literally. So I brought up my Eyes Forward Sparkle. I dedicated all the resources I could to doing the override. It worked, kind of, the pace seemed to pick up very quickly. I was kind of startled to see a white unicorn peeking over my shoulder, her dark purple mane falling over my shoulder. "The override code is D - 1 - S - C - 0 - 4 - D" she said in an eerily-familiar soft gentle voice that seemed to rise out above the din of gunfire.

"C-Caramel? Fuck, I can think about it later." I muttered, shocked that the AI was even active with all the resources allocated. Punching in the override code, I looked up in time to see Scarlet and Cherry leaping to the sides as a grenade exploded in the doorway taking out the other two security mares. An image that I would never forget, their bodies being ripped to pieces by the explosion, the universe seemed to hate me as I was showered in blood and even took a hoof to the forehead for the crime of being in the wrong place. My attention was quickly yanked back to reality before I could start cursing the cosmos by a siren that started to sound an alarm. An alarm that indicated that the door was in fact opening. As I looked to the door I saw the flashing orange lights and the arm that would move it lower into position. "Door's opening, time to run!" I announced watching Sweet Drops move from her corner, making a beeline to the door with the rest.

Scarlet took that as her cue to leap up and start filling the entire hallway with a spray from both her weapons, not even caring about the previous doctrine of purposefully missing every shot. She didn’t like it and winced as ricochets struck mare and stallions in both the group of shield-carrying guards and what was left of the angry mob. Turning the right half of one mare’s face into a gory mess, painting the ground with her blood and brains.

Cherry was the first one to the door. Reaching into a pack with her wing, she pulled out a cylinder-shaped object with a metal band running along one side and a pin in the top keeping the bar in place. "Scarlet, move!" she shouted, throwing the object into the coming crowd. I didn’t need to be told to not look back at the thing that I recognised as a stun grenade.

I turned and bolted for the door, the reflection of a blinding flash visible even in the dull steel of the gear-shaped door, and a loud bang deafened me, leaving me with only an annoying ringing in my ears and a painful throb in my head. I looked to Caramel, the AI of my P.R.A., and in the moment I couldn't help but smile as I admired her new, improved looks as they were projected into my E.F.S. It had actually worked, she was being properly projected onto me. Gone was the 16-bit sprite mare that she was meant to be. I didn't feel alone anymore in that moment, I had her and I would always have her.

I was out of the door last, running after the two remaining security mares, Cherry and Scarlet. We were in a cave underground and it was dark, but according to the rad counter on my PipBuck, safe! That was something that struck me as odd, considering we had always been told the opposite.

From behind me I heard a gunshot, a scream, and a heavy thud. I didn’t want to look back, but as I did, I saw her. Sweet Drops, on the ground, blood spilling from her hind leg, being dragged back into the stable, screaming and wagging her hooves at me. "Fuck, I am not going out there! Let them die from the radiation! Get that door sealed!" One of the stallions said.

I turned around and started running back for her. Even as the ponies shot at me, I kept running. Even the stinging pain in my flank, my cheek, and shoulder was not going to stop me. I wasn’t going to leave her behind! I watched as they dragged the mare back inside. It was all useless though. A scream, horribly unequine, was the last thing I heard. By the time I got back to the door it had already slammed shut. I started pounding my hooves against it uselessly.

******

I screamed at the top of my lungs. It wasn’t even words, just a primal scream of anger and anguish. There was no way to open the door from the outside, she was trapped in there with them. I sat there for goddesses know how long. It wasn’t until my throat hurt and I felt a soft, gentle wing on my back, Cherry sitting beside me, watching me hurt. “Melody. We have to go.” She said gently. She was right, of course, but I wanted to hit her all the same.

I breathed out a heavy sigh. I cursed the ponies that had taken my best friend away. As the anger faded I just felt dead inside, and I felt pain, a lot of pain. I had been shot, multiple times even. I felt a strange sense of vertigo overtake me, then I found myself quite suddenly on the ground. Feeling quite a few more wounds catching up with me, most of them had buried into the armoured plating of my utility barding. I looked up at Cherry and Scarlet as everything around me felt cold. It was as if all my feelings were just gone, and in their place was this empty void.

I stood up slowly with the help of Cherry and Scarlet, and we continued our slow trek towards the exit of the tunnel. Upon reaching what I assumed used to be a door that led out to the surface I looked at them, took a deep breath, and pushed over what remained of the door, watching it almost instantly collapse into a pile of sawdust and splinters. The other side led into what looked to be complete and utter darkness. It was like looking into the void, the void that filled the spot where my emotions had been.

I was unable to see more than three meters ahead of myself. I shivered. Even though I was wearing the insulated Stable barding, the chill bit right through the fabric of both it and my lab coat. Me and Caramel were out first, giving a glance to her for a short moment, noticing the two security mares close behind me. "Radiation levels are within acceptable background limits. Oxygen is within acceptable purity levels." Caramel announced with that small smile of hers. I had to admit that she was pretty charming to look at. Maybe that was a little bit vain of me as I was the one to decide how she looked, but she was a sprite back then and I had modelled her after one of the ministry mares. It translated very well to how she was projected onto my retinas.

"Thank you, Caramel." I muttered softly, not wanting the others to think that I was crazy and talking to myself. As I stood there surveying the area around us, my eyes slowly seemed to acclimatise to the oppressive darkness. It was weird seeing the outside. Sure I had read about it and had an idea of what it should look like, but actually looking at it? That was quite different from the books that we had been supplied with for my studies. I recognised a mountain range to the south. To the east I could see what remained of a forest, although the trees lacked the verdant green that I had seen in the pictures. Most of them were brown and seemed almost rotten or diseased, unlike the leaves that I was taught they should have had.

The most striking thing, though, was the crimson sky to the south-east. It looked as though the sky itself was on fire, as if tartarus had risen up to the surface. I vowed never to go in that direction. It struck me as a very ominous place. Other than that, there was nothing but frozen, dead ground surrounding us. "T-there... Is really nothing left..." I mumbled falling to my haunches with a low whimper. Far off to the west I could make out the remains of buildings, and looking at my PipBuck map I could make out the city there. Caramel helpfully estimated that it was a day’s walk from the stable which had been marked as ‘Stable Epsilon’ by the auto-mapping spell. Pointing towards the city, I looked at my companions. "We… we should head there. We can probably find shelter there." I said, looking around more, and glancing at my PipBuck’s map again to make sure. “There’s nothing else nearby”

“I guess that is the only option.” Scarlet said. Her voice flat and her eyes distant and unfocused as she looked ahead at the ruins. “It’s not like we have much of a choice.”

Cherry simply nodded as we all started walking towards the ruins, following what was left of a railroad. Glancing between Cherry and Scarlet I could tell from their worried expressions that they were doing about as good as I was... which meant that neither of them were doing anything remotely close to good at all if I had to be honest. I pushed my own problems to the side. Somepony had to be strong, it might as well be me after all, them being out here is my fault. "We only have to wait out this... Hysteria..." I said, although I only got two sullen nods in response. Sighing deeply, I brought up my inventory list. ”What supplies did you two bring?"

"First aid kit, emergency rations, and ammunition." Cherry replied with a forlorn sigh. "And the barding we are wearing. Melody, we... we can't go back there. Not ever." She said in a sad, resigned tone. She didn’t even dare look at me, Scarlet very much doing the same, suddenly having quite a bit more interest in the barren ground she walked on.

“What do you mean, we can never go back!?”

"It’s the Overmare's orders. This is protocol. We were always to leave the Stable in case of such an event, and we can never go back there." The small filly-like mare trotted a little closer resting her head against my shoulder as we walked. "I'm sorry, about your mother I mean. We went to her first but she was already dead. She’d taken her own life."

I nodded slightly, I let out an even deeper sigh "Thank you." I felt terrible. Horrible, even, as I walked away from the place that I had called home all my life. I was now an exile from my own Stable. A part of me could not blame the ponies for responding to the truth as they did. I looked at the files on my PipBuck, generations of work stored in the tiny device, the responsibility of its wellbeing resting on my shoulders ’I should look into the files when we find shelter.’ I thought to myself.

For some strange – and perhaps very messed up – reason I couldn't resist smiling just a little. Even with all the stuff that we had just gone through, a part of me, perhaps a very insane part or perhaps it was my subconscious trying to distract me from the horrible reality, was happy to be outside, to be able to explore the outside. To see what the world had become. To rid myself of the eternal boredom of monotony. Looking at my three companions – Cherry, Scarlet, and Caramel – I smiled once more. I wasn't alone.

’I'm keeping this data safe for for future generations, I... I promise I will keep it safe and finish the work for you, Mother.’ I swore it to myself multiple times, repeating it in my head as something to focus on, to drive away any thoughts about the pony I had killed. I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath, holding my head high I smiled at the two mares and the AI there with me. "If we can't return to the Stable then we will find a place in this world to call our own." Then I looked at Scarlet, and noticed the large mare had her ears drooped. I suddenly realised that I wasn't the only one who had lost somepony. I need to be strong for the both of them. My problems can wait, I thought, and swore to look out for the two mares who shared my exile. Their only crime being following their orders and doing their duties.

Looking at the distant ruins I nodded firmly. I wondered idly about the outside. Unlike the stories we had been told, there were no mutated monstrosities awaiting us in ambush. The radiation levels had been completely wrong. ’Or perhaps they had been fabricated,’ a part of me thought accusingly. I quickly shook my head to chase the thoughts away. I had them with me and this was going to be an adventure. I could turn my exile into something useful. The world had changed, and if civilisation was not rebuilt yet, somepony had to gather up knowledge. If they were wrong about the radiation levels…

How bad could the outside possibly be?

Footnote:

Scarlet Radiance:
Strength: 7
Perception: 5
Endurance: 9
Charisma: 1
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 6
Luck: 7

Traits:

Stable Dweller: You start the game with a PipBuck. Your starting Survival score is only (Luck / 2, rounded down) and your starting Poison and Radiation Resistances are 0.
Large Frame: You gain +50 carry weight, a +10 bonus to attacks when performing Unarmed advanced combat actions, and you take 25% less limb damage (this does not decrease the actual damage taken, but helps prevent crippling of limbs). However, you have a -1 to your initiative and enemies gain a +5% bonus to attacks.
Built to Destroy: All weapons have +3% chance to Critical Hit, but equipment condition decays faster (dropping one level after every critical failure rather than every third).

New Party Member Added: Scarlet Radiance - Stable Security Captain
New Party Member Added: Cherry Stellar - Stable Security Mare

New Companion Added: Caramel Smooch - Personal Research Assistant AI

Autumn Melody: Level Up - Level 2
- New Perk Added: Horse Sense - You're a swift learner. You gain an additional +10% whenever experience points are earned.

Scarlet Radiance: Level Up - Level 2
- New Perk Added: Intense Training (END) - Permanently raise one SPECIAL (STR, PER, END, CHA, INT, AGI, or Luck) attribute score by 1 point.

Cherry Stellar: Level Up - Level 2
- New Perk Added: Hind Leg Stance - After months of training for the coolness factor you have finally learned to balance on your hind legs long enough to accomplish tasks difficult for most quadrupeds under normal circumstances.

Caramel Smooch:
- Modification Added: Improved EFS Interfacing - Melody's tweaking allows Caramel to now show up as a full sized pony, rather than a 16 bit sprite that appears to be physically there. She can activate it at will if needed, it can be active without the normal functionalities of EFS being activated.
- Story Perk Added: Rushed Activation - Melody activated Caramel in a rush before the hardware upgrades were properly tested, certain components are missing or not properly installed. Caramel runs an incrementing risk of malfunctioning.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria and making this story possible.

A huge thank you to Shutter Speed who co-wrote this with me.

I would also like to thank Fuzzy Fabricator, Troposphere, Silent Whisper, ScopeEva, and GraveDigger for editing and helping me make this story readable.

I would also like to give a massive thank you to my Patreon supporters:
> Fuzzy Fabricator
> Dr_MindQuill
> Richer19
> Psy Key
> Luminescent Aurora
> Darkaito Bruns
> Shanaar
> sixkiller5

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I would of course also like to thank you lovely people for reading this chapter!

With that I will sign off,
Happy Hunting everypony!