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).

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.

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

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!