“Perhaps the biggest lie—even if accidental—was that it was supposed to stay sunny that day.”

“Look, mom, the Stable! It’s so big!”

Every word I said brimmed with excitement, the same feeling that hypnotized me as I watched the giant metal door from inside the carriage. Hypnotized. That was a big word for somepony my age, but I liked it. I felt so smart saying that word. I could feel my tail against my nose as it flicked. It tickled, and crossing my eyes to look at my muzzle I could see the hairs of my long, messy mane resting on top as well. I couldn’t help but jump up and down a little in our carriage.

“Lucky, sweetie, if you're never going to let me cut your tail then please keep it under control,” Mom told me. I sat back down, my tail hanging between my hind legs. I leaned on my mom, and she tightened her hooves around me in return. “You excited for the tour tomorrow?”

“Why can’t it be today?” I whined, upset I was going to have to wait even longer to see a Stable from the inside.

“Dad is waiting at the hotel for us; you wouldn’t want him to miss this, would you?”

Oh, Mom was right! Dad had never seen a Stable either. My mom was an employee of some ponies named Stable-Tec, so she always got to see Stables. My mom and dad had taken a vacation to do this, and it was already so worth it.

Just a cute little filly named Lucky Heart with her mom on an adventure out west. I was that cute little filly of course, because every great vacation story should start with a cute filly! I’m nine years old, and have a long purple mane and tail with funny stripes of blue going down them. Add that to my yellow coat, and you got a cute filly on a magical adventure in the Equestrian Midwest. First stop, the huge city of Trauston. It must have been as big as Manehattan, maybe even bigger!

That Stable thing, number 71, was finished just this week. I didn’t really know why they needed such huge places, but there was supposed to be a war going on. I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t even know what ‘war’ means! It sounded cool though, like some Power Ponies adventure.

Mom and dad never told me what the war was over, but it must have been a really big fight if what I’ve heard is anything to say. If this fight is anything like the fights I had with my older sister, they should say sorry and make up in a few days or weeks. Actually, more like months because it’s been going on for a really long time.

“Why did dad leave ahead of us, mom?” I asked. The question had been bothering me ever since he left. “I wanna explore the train with him.”

“Daddy had something to do. I know he is just as upset about missing out on the ride as you.” I loved mom when she said things like that. Compared to other adults, she was really cool.

She wasn’t scary like most grown-ups, who were more concerned with ‘working’ and bits than playing with fillies like me. Then again, most of them would do what all the ponies at school did to me my first year. They would tease me and push me around, or just avoid me because I was a “blank flank.” I never went to school again after that because my parents didn’t want meanies like them to hurt me. Thinking about it always made me look at my flank, which was just as yellow and blank as always. I vowed on that first and only day at school that I would never get a cutie mark and never become like those bullies. I’m sure most adults are so mean and stupid because of their cutie marks, and I won’t be like them.

I think that was the day I also stopped mom from cutting my mane and tail. I remember telling mom that if I look weird I would not become a cutie-marked bully. She still cut my mane and tail, but we worked out something she called ‘cutting a deal.’ As long as I promised to work on math and reading and all those other things with a tutor, she would only cut my mane when it was long enough to touch the ground and when my tail was long enough for me to bite. Mom once asked me if I hated all cutie marks, but I’d told her that mom and dad were exceptions. Besides, my mom working for Stable-Tec was an important thing these days and my dad was a judge who brought baddies to justice.

Other than that I was a normal unicorn… though I didn’t get out much, not that it mattered in the long run. I was happy, mom was happy, dad was happy, and after two years I’ve kept myself from getting a cutie mark. Hanging out with other fillies and colts would only be bad for me, and my idea was working. If I was going to keep doing it for the rest of life, than I would never get my cutie mark, and that would be great! I liked my tail long anyway, even if it wasn’t the best when walking in big crowded cities.

The carriage door opened, and a really old and wrinkly stallion peered inside at me. I was hoping it was dad, but after seeing this creep’s face, I shuffled back till I was nice and cozy in mom’s soft belly fur. It didn’t last long as my mom got up, causing me to fall on my back. She thanked the scary old stallion before telling me we had arrived… wherever we were, I didn’t know. I waited for the stranger to turn away and stop staring at me before finally making my way out.

When I stepped outside I saw what had to be the biggest building I’d ever seen. It was so different from anything in Ponyville and so… occupied by adults. Mom and Dad are the only adults I usually see and being around so many ponies was scary. I stayed right next to mom's belly, feeling safe as we trotted to a door to the inside of the giant building. I didn’t like it, having all these ponies around. I wanted to leave immediately as we came to some clear glass doors. Than I saw the stallion inside, and rushed the doors to jump and hug him.

“DADDY!” I shouted as I jumped up to hug his neck. He was here! My dad was already here! “I missed you, daddy!”

“I missed you too, Lucky,” he assured me, giggling. The stallion behind the counter next to him laughed too, but his laugh was way creepier. “I’m so happy to finally take you out on a vacation with your mom and I, and you were so brave standing around all those grown-ups on the way here.”

“The bravest filly I know,” I turned to see mom standing behind me, smiling as she rubbed the top of my mane. “And the cutest one as well.”

“Stop, mom, they’ll stare at me!” I pleaded, already receiving a funny face from the stranger behind the counter. Sadly, my plea went without answer as she continued. “Besides, you’re making my mane really messy!”

“Sorry, sweetie,” she teased as I put on my best pouty face. She smiled and leaned down to eye level. “Listen, after breakfast we will go to our room and you can relax away from all the other ponies. I’m sure you're hungry though right now, aren’t you?”

My tummy rumbled, and I giggled in response.

“I thought so. How about you go ahead of us? We need to check into the hotel and we’ll be right there.”

I nodded with courage in my eyes. This was my first true quest on my mighty adventure, or it would have been if it wasn’t right down the hallway. Ugh, why did everypony lack a sense of adventure? All adults cared about was doing boring old work, making bits, or really anything boring. I wanted to explore! I was going to be the best adventurer in Equestria! OK, maybe not as good as Daring Do, but I was still going to make great discoveries.

I looked back as I heard whispers, and saw a concerned look on my mom’s and dad’s faces. I stopped walking to the tables and started heading back in worry. I hated to see them frown, and I was going to make sure there was no frowny faces on this trip. That’s what a daughter does after all, or at least what I think they do. Any sad faces would only make this adventure worse, and it was my duty to end them. With that in mind, I quickly galloped back to my parents, ready to do anything possible to turn those frowns upside-down.

“Mom? Dad?” I asked with great concern. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, it’s fine sweetie,” Mom assured me, giving a hug in response. “I’m just worried about the Stable. If it’s not finished like they said it’s supposed to be...” Mom shook her head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be worrying about such things, especially with the letter Stable-Tec sent me. Caramel, honey, would you take care of everything at the front desk? I’m ready for some breakfast.”

“Of course,” my dad said cheerfully.

My mom smiled in response. “Come on, Lucky, let's go eat.”

All the adults looked really funny in their fancy shirts, especially with the way they looked at us. We had picked a table far away from all the other ponies in the dining room of the hotel, and I sat in the corner of the room so nopony could step on my tail. After what felt like forever, some funny-looking ponies, who reminded me of penguins in their black and white suits, asked me what I wanted, and after my mom made me answer they left. Ugh, it felt so weird talking to an adult other than my mom or dad. Both of them think it’s cute though, so maybe I should do it more. Maybe after they stop stepping on my tail.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Dad said as he joined mom and I at our table. “Things took a bit longer than expected. It’s crazy what the war is doing, with the pegasi leaving us and the report of… well, you know what's happening.”

“What do you mean, dad?” I ask, tilting my head thinking I might get a better answer that way.

He smiled at me rubbed the top of my mane. “Oh, it’s nothing to worry about, Lucky,” he told me as our water arrived at the table. “So, I assume you're excited to be out of Ponyville for once?”

“Well duh!” I replied, standing on my chair and placing my front hooves on the table. “It was so cool riding the train and watching all the trees and rivers turn into deserts and mountains. I’ve never even seen a desert before, and that makes it even cooler! I wanna see everything, from the Stable-Tec buildings to the giant radio tower and even the top of that really big mountain we saw on the way here. I want to go to the Stable-Tec place first, though; I wanna get a PipBuck.”

I remembered my mom going on and on and on about those funny PipBuck thingies. I didn’t know half of the words she used, most being really long and science-y, but they seemed really important to Stable-Tec. They had maps inside them and some other really cool functions. I’ve wanted one for so long, but every time I asked mom said I had to wait till I was ten. Stupid Stable-Tec officials with their stupid rules. I’m just as smart as any of them. Luckily, my birthday is tomorrow, and my mom promised to get me one as a gift! Take that, you stupid boring adults!

“She’s been talking about it all day,” I could hear mom say to dad, giggling. “I think our soon-to-be ten-year-old is a little excited.”

“Of course I’m excited!” I exclaimed, trying to make my eyes sparkle like they always loved. “I’ve been waiting since I was six to get one, and tomorrow I finally will! Of course, I’m also excited to see the Trauston Tower.”

My dad laughed at that, but I knew he was happy for me. He always laughed, which I liked about him. He almost never seemed to be in a bad mood, and when he was I, was just the thing to cheer him up. Such is the job of a filly, or at least a good filly like myself. He knew just how long I’ve been waiting for my tenth birthday, especially since I’ve been talking about it for the past week over and over again. The important thing of course is that whatever was troubling him was gone.

Oh, and the food here is incredible. I’ve never tasted food so good in my life, and considering how good cooks my mom and dad are, that’s something. I can’t even describe how it tasted, it was that good. The cooks may be adults but they're good at what they do, that's for sure. I ate every last bit, finding myself rather full at the end of it all. Dad told me what number our room was — number 314 on the third floor — and said I could go see what it looked like.

By the time I made it to the third floor, I had almost forgotten the room number. Of course my luck saved me as it was the first door on the left when I reached it. I opened the door to see what was probably the most beautiful room I had ever seen in my life. The living room was much bigger than any room at home, and it had the biggest windows I’d ever seen. They were the first thing I ran to, pushing the curtains to the side and viewing the huge city below me. It was so busy, one of the busiest cities in Equestria since the “war” started. So many adults were below me, and as I looked over the edge I felt like I was going to fall. Let me just say, that wouldn’t have been fun.

My next destination was the couch, to make sure it was comfy. Turning around to the sofa, I belly-flopped onto its cushions face-first. Yep, it was just as fluffy as I imagined it to be. I felt like I was melting into the cushions, and I think I might have fallen asleep for a few seconds. I could have spent forever just resting on the couch, but I decided to get up and look at the bedroom to make sure the bed was perfect.

I opened a door next to the couch and saw a gigantic bed on the far end of it. It was beautiful, better than the beds we had at home. Not that my bed wasn’t nice, but their bed had a large blanket with flowers printed on it, with clear blue pillows. It reminded me of all the nights I spent sleeping with mom and dad, especially the nights where I would cuddle up with mom. She always looked afraid when she first fell asleep, but calmed down when I hugged her. I wanted to spend the first night doing just that, not wanting to see another nervous face on my parents.

“Wha- what are we supposed to do?” I heard mom whisper as she entered the main room behind the door. She was scared, or at least she sounded that way. “We can’t just tell Lucky, you know how attached she is to us. What if the zebras really are about to launch a megaspell? What are we supposed to say to her?”

“Gingersnap, calm down,” My dad said to her, and peeking through a small crack in the now-closed door I could see him looking at her with worry. His front hooves were on her shoulders, and she was… crying? “Lucky means the world to you and me both and we still have plenty of time to spend together, or at least I hope we do. We both know she will be safe when everything happens.”

“B-but you know who she’ll blame,” My mom replied. My ears had fallen back at everything I was seeing. “You know how she feels about others, and how uncomfortable she is around anyone besides us. I don’t want to know what might happen to her. I don’t want to see my little filly harmed.”

“Stable-Tec would never hurt Lucky, sweetheart,” Dad replied as I opened the door just a tiny bit more. “They want to keep ponykind safe, and they would treat Lucky the same as they would you and me. Security wouldn’t hurt her just because of you.”

“It’s not security I’m worried about; it’s everypony else in the stable,” My mom told my dad, and I could now see she was crying. I opened the door fully, but couldn’t find it in me to step up and tell them I was here. “She hates older ponies, and anyone with a cutie mark. The only other pony we’ve met that she gets along with is that old griffon, and I’m doubtful there are any griffons in the stable. When she realizes what's happening she’ll… she’ll-” She looked to me, and even more fear filled her eyes. I felt embarrassed for listening without telling them, or doing something when I had first heard mom. “Sweetie, you… weren’t listening, right?”

“I… was,” I wanted to lie, but knew it was better to tell them. I had so many questions “Mom, is everything alright? Are you afraid of me hurting somepony? What… what’s going on?”

“Oh, sweetie,” She said as she rushed forward and hugging me tight, giving me just enough room to breathe. She was still crying. “Everything is going to be alright, I promise. Everything is going to be fine. You and dad and I will be perfectly fine and I will never leave your side. The sky still has the sun, and the sun will shine all day long. I would never want you to hurt anypony unless they hurt you, us, or anypony else you love. Of course you won’t, I know you won’t hurt anypony. I can assure you that we will have-”

Before she finished, a strange sound seemed to come from the window. It gradually got louder and louder before fading and repeating that cycle. Mom’s tears only got worse after that. “We will have… the best vacation. Nopony will say otherwise, and nopony can stop us from doing so. Now, would you like to go to the stable?”

Hearing this made me smile, maybe it was nothing. “Of course! I’ve been waiting ever since we left Ponyville!”

Mom stood up, wiping the tears from her face. “Hop on,” she said, smiling and pointing to her back. I did just that, jumping onto her excitedly. She nodded quickly to dad before we all rushed through the doors. “Now, I’ll tell them we’re coming sooner. You just rush past them and through the stable door, alright?”

“Anything for you mom,” I said happily as I hugged her. “I’ll do anything for you and dad.”

Everypony seemed to be running to the Stable as we made our way down the street. Seeing all those ponies, I could tell why mom wanted me to go through first. If I got through the stable doors before all of them I didn’t have to worry about the swarm outside of it. The completion of the stable must have been a much bigger deal than I thought if this was the reaction. Mom wasn’t crying anymore, and I was brushing my fur up against dad's, loving how soft it felt. The only annoying part was that loud siren noise and everypony else shouting. It was too much noise, from too many stupid adults. I gave glares to anypony that got tooo close to us, squeezing mom tighter so they didn’t take me away. They would do it, I knew they would if I didn’t scare them off.

When we got to the stable, there were dozens and dozens of ponies hitting the gates, shouting. Big metal ponies with silly looking blocks of steel attached to their backs made sure a clear path was available. It was for mom of course, considering that she had the most important job of all next to the princess's and therefore took first entrance. A pony in a funny-looking blue shirt wearing a PipBuck on his leg and an oversized helmet on his head stood in a gap in the fence. It took a lot not to laugh at how stupid and silly a lot of the ponies greeting my mom looked.

Mom let me off her back and nodded to the pony with the oversized helmet. As soon as I was off, I ran straight to the pony with the blue shirt. He told the two other metal ponies behind him to step aside. As he let me pass, I felt like the most important filly in the world. I was so excited to head through the giant rotating door, I didn’t pay any attention to anything else. It was like I was one of the princesses, having the privilege to be one of the first inside Stable 71. When I finally ran through the door, I found that two dozen or so other ponies that weren’t dressed in silly blue and yellow uniforms had also come in. As I got off the platform I joined the others in looking outside, only to notice something terrifying.

My parents were still on the other side of the gate, waving to me with smiles on their faces. I was stunned to see them surrounded by the shouting stallions and mares, half embracing each other. Why weren’t they coming through? This was supposed to be a family thing, and mom was supposed to announce Stable 71 opening to visitors! I took a slight step forward before the ground started to shake, sending me and many other ponies to the ground. Looking past mom and dad, I saw the sky was gone, replaced by a large balloon shaped cloud. The ground only rumbled more and more, and as the world outside the Stable darkened, I realized what was happening.

“Close the door!” I heard a stallion say, probably not even realizing my parents were still out there. When the door actually started closing, my heart began to pound inside my chest.

“Wait! Stop!” I shouted as I ran towards the door. One of the ponies with the oversized hats grabbed me as I tried to exit. “Let me go! My parents are still out there!”

“Nothing you can do for them, miss, I’m sorry,” he said, acting like he was smarter than me. I kicked and squirmed trying to get him off me. “They aren’t allowed in if they aren’t on the list.”

“I don’t care about whatever this list, they’re my parents!” I told, kicking him off for a couple seconds before he grabbed me again. “This is supposed to be a vacation! We’re supposed to visit the Trauston tower, my mother’s going to give me a PipBuck for my birthday tomorrow!” I gritted my teeth as I finally screamed to the stupid stallion. “GET OFF OF ME, YOU DUMB COLT!”

I could see that the door was almost closed, and in a last desperate attempt I bucked free and ran. I dashed to the door, but the gap had gotten too narrow for me to squeeze through. I looked out to see that the sky had turned a sharp red. My parents saw me, and smiled. I knew they weren’t happy smiles, seeing tears run down their faces. I followed along with the metal door as it rotated shut, watching my mom blow a kiss to me one last time. With that, the door closed, and the ground’s shaking subsided.

Turning around, I saw everypony staring at me with wide eyes. It seemed as if they were unable to believe what I had done. Not that I expected any less; they were all just dumb adults who only cared about themselves. Even the fillies and colts at my age were dumbfounded by my actions. They all had cutie marks, though, so they were probably waiting for no adults to be around to call me stupid. Idiots, they are all idiots! I was angry at all of them, for just standing there while my parents…

No, they can’t be dead. I’ll never say they’re dead, but how much did that earthquake hurt them? I didn’t want to see my mom and dad in pain. However, my mind couldn’t help but imagine how badly hurt they were. They were suffering, all because of some stupid list! I finally looked away from all the ponies behind me, resting my head and front hooves on the door.

“Come on, get up,” I heard somepony say, and looked over to see the stallion that had closed the door in the first place. “There's nothing you could do, not with the megaspell. You're safe, just remember that’s what's important.”

“Don’t tell me what’s important, you stupid stallion!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “My mom and dad are… are dead because of you! Leave me alone!”

He stepped back, looking at me as if I was crazy for saying such things. He was the crazy one, leaving my mom and dad to get hurt, or die as he probably would say. I could hear him talking to all the ponies behind me while I cried, tears falling to the floor. Nopony bothered me, and I was happy for that. I didn’t want to be around anypony, and wanted to hurt them, but I didn’t because my mom and dad wouldn’t want that. All I wanted was my parents and no one else. By the time I finally stopped crying, everypony near the Stable door was gone except for the ones in those stupid hats and the stupid stallion that had closed the door. He laid down a similar-looking blue barding with yellow sides and a big number 71, as well as a PipBuck.

I knew what he expected me to do, but I wasn’t going to do half of it. I’m not going to listen to that jerk and put on that dumb uniform, especially after what he did to my parents. I only picked up the PipBuck, putting it on as I’d been dreaming of since I was six. However, as I turned it on I wasn’t happy like I should have been. A single tear fell onto the screen as the words ‘Initializing’ came up on screen. I could hear my mom and dad in my head wishing me a happy birthday, as if they were looking from the other side of the door.

“Thanks, mom and dad,” I said with a weak smile, “I’ll make sure I put it to good use, and that they’ll pay for what they did.”

Author's Note

This is something I’ve been working on for a long time, and not something I created and plotted on a whim like Reminders before it. Fallout Equestria has very few protagonists that are elementry school age, with the only big example I can think of being that of Pink Eye’s protagonist. However, my plan for Every Lie isn’t to create what Pink Eyes was, but rather to look at a filly whose personal views are so different from that of the public that she outcasts herself. Kinda like a more socially isolated Starlight I guess you can say.

Again thanks to Kalash93 for editing this, and for all the others that looked at it as well. You all made this story what it is, even those of you who simply encouraged me to write and take my time. On an even more important, thanks to the Fallout: Equestria FiMfiction group for help with some of the stuff we’ll be seeing later in this fic.

I don’t want to go into further detail due to having the possibility to spoil things later, but nonetheless I hope you all enjoy!