“I used magic so I wouldn’t use magic. I should have guessed that would backfire...”

oooOOOooo

“This kind of opportunity comes once in a lifetime, Glitter.” I said, passing by Glitter Punch for the umpteenth time while I paced around the C shift security barracks. B shift was about to end, and any minute now, Chief Sense would call us to take over holding back maintenance for the night. But... that wasn't the reason for my current anxiety. “I have to take it.”

She chuckled skeptically as she took another drag off her cigarette and sat up from her security cot. “You’ve got to survive it first, Sparks. You’ve been in maintenance before, you know what it’s like. Hell, they love to attack security ponies, just think what they’d do with a Loyalty Inspector.”

It had been a year since Maintenance had began another riot, in which the stable-ops manual gave the Overmare permission to draft everypony able enough into security. It wasn’t until a few months after paying Glitter off to ‘postpone’ my draft card, that she finally persuaded me to join. I couldn’t say I was exactly thrilled about my new security clearance, but a fish has got to eat. Besides, it wasn’t like I could say ‘no’ to a chance at preventing those good for nothing rioters from tearing the stable down. So, I had to invest my current safety for my future safety, meaning a ‘promotion’ from shady Pit Monitor Sparky to Security Officer Charger. It only took one week of training for me to realize that maybe... just maybe, this could be a blessing in disguise. After settling into my new position, I began to enjoy looking at what my life could be in the Stable. What everypony’s life could be. Security is just one step closer to Administration, after all.

I sighed as I sat across from her on my own cot. “I’m not asking for fortune and glory here, Glitter.”

She smirked after blowing her tobacco smoke at me. “Says the buck who'd bet his own grandmother to win at poker.”

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “Hey, what can I say? I’m an opportunist. But, just because I take advantage of... some things, does NOT mean I’m a goddamn sociopath. I mean, come on! I want to help as many ponies as I can, just like you. And if I were a part of this administration, I could make sure that none of this riot bullshit ever happens again. If only I could get the right amount of credits and maybe make a name for myself during this, my future-...”

“Thinking of taking on the entire Maintenance department single-hoofed Sparky?” The sound of Platinum Braid's taunting skepticism interrupted me.

I turned to see the mare herself resting on her cot behind mine, crossing her hindlegs while her forehooves rested behind her head. While I was just starting to enjoy the promotion, she had to endure through a demotion from Administration, as she was seen as ‘expendable’ in the eyes of the department. Of course, my beautiful wife got to stay in administration due to her... ‘higher abilities’. Needless to say, Platinum was just... thrilled about joining security. Well... I always figured she took it a little harder than anypony else. But, I always believed that she shared the same common goal as me: To make life better for everypony... I guess we just had some funny ways of getting to that.

She gave a half-hearted chuckle before she continued. “You don’t seem the ‘Commander Macintosh’ type to me.”

“Yeah? And what the hell is your problem?” I said, standing up with anger. “You act like you’re going around collecting for Sister Cross’ poor box.”

Damnit, just as my anxiety was starting to fade.

I began pacing the room again.

She didn’t stop. She sat up from her cot and trotted in front of me to block my next pass. “Damnit Sparky, listen to yourself! We used to hate authority bossing us around! Never let security ponies bully you, remember? Now look at us. Look at all of us!” She gestured to our black security barding over our jackets. “Khan struck it rich, which means he’ll be an executive soon, Angel’s an administrator, Diamond’s becoming a Loyalty Inspector, and we’re all stuck in security! The only one left is Aqua Wave... but how long will that last?! We should be the ones fighting the Overmare, not helping her!”

I turned on Platinum with another angry look. “Well that’s just how it fucking is Platinum! Get over it! Hell, you wanted to join Administration. Has all that changed, just because our situation is suddenly inconvenient for us? Our duty is to progress up the system as much as possible and keep the stable running.”

She rolled her eyes, groaning to herself in disappointment. “Are you telling me, that YOU of all ponies would rather stick with the system?”

“Alright, calm down you two.” Glitter said, standing up from her cot to get between us.

As if pretending Glitter wasn’t there, I glared daggers passed her into Platinum’s angry expression. “Platinum, I hate the goddamn system. But until somepony comes along with some changes that make sense, I’ll stick with it.”

Platinum did the same to ignore Glitter, trying to trot passed her to stare down my own muzzle. “Oh yeah!? Well how about that sudden spike in your credit transaction last cycle!? You never explained that, ‘Mr. Integrity’!”

My eyes widened in surprise. “What!? What the hell are you--?”

“Oh, don’t even try to act stupid!” She screamed. “I notice you and Rail Shot have been getting awfully hostile with each other. What does he have over you? You owe him credits?”

I fell silent. Now even Glitter stepped aside to look at me suspiciously, waiting for me to explain.

What? Her too? It’s not like she’s any more innocent!

Platinum’s jaw went slack for a second, her eyes widening in realization before I could come up with a good excuse. “You cheating son of a bitch! He loaned you credits, and you used them to qualify for a pit boss position. That’s a code violation! And now you have to pay the bastard back! How exactly do you plan on doing that? With the credits you earn in Security? Or how about Administration?”

She was pushing me. I had to fight off every urge to lunge my hoof at her muzzle with face breaking satisfaction. But instead, I sighed, slowly shaking my head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about...”

She ignored me, continuing her aggressive assault on my character. “’Not asking for fortune and glory’, my ass! You’re not here to help anypony. Our duty is to progress up the system and keep the stable running, while everypony else's is to die for our wonderful future...”

I planted my forehoof on her chest and pushed her a leg’s length away as aggressively as possible. It was my best attempt to transfer my rage.

“You--! Ugh!” Platinum, however, transferred her rage to her head. Her horn flickered to a green glow, charging her magic as she ground her teeth at me.

"Oh ho ho! Okay... you want to play it like that? Well, you know two can play the same!" I seethed, my blood boiling back up from her aggressive tone. I began mirroring her anger, charging my own red magic from my horn.

“SPARKY, DON’T YOU DARE!” Afraid of a magical Unicorn dual, Glitter quickly stepped between us again, this time forcing us away with her strong forelegs. "That's it you two!" She shouted, "Are we on a fucking playground here!? Huh!? Calm down, or I'll throw both of you in lock-up!" She turned towards me as Platinum, reluctantly, cut her magic. "Sparky! You know better than to charge up like that! And I swear to Celestia, if she's right about this, you're going to have a real problem." She threatened, standing side by side with Platinum.

I huffed, stomping my hoof on the floor, as I too -with greater difficulty- cut my magic off. “I'm gonna have a problem!?" I countered in shock. "Oh, so it’s just fine that the stable allowed an incompetent, treacherous unicorn, who murdered her fucking father, to qualify for security, let alone Administration... But I'M THE ONE WHO'S GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM!?"

Before I could even comprehend what I'd just said, something snapped in front of me. My muzzle suddenly stung like a bitch, blood beginning to trickle down from one of my nostrils while my mane and fur felt singed and smoky. My eyes blinked in shock, taking a step back to see Platinum’s horn, still smoldering from the burst of magical energy to my face. My eyes landed on her own, as tears drizzled down her cheeks and her lip quivered from a quiet sob.

“I-... you-...” My voice got caught in my throat as I wiped the blood away with my hoof.

What could I say? Platinum... I’d never seen her this angry before... She’d never hit me like that before.

I heard her give a whimper, wiping tears away with her forehoof. She started sobbing, before galloping out of the room, her long black mane and tail flapping in her wake.

“Wait! Platinum!” Glitter gasped, galloping halfway after her before turning back to me. “You know, you can be a real dick sometimes, Sparky! Calling her those things, you’re lucky I don’t buck you for that! You know that rumor about her dad kills her on the inside! YOU of all ponies should understand that! What the fuck is wrong with you!?” She growled, only for the voice of Chief Sense to suddenly blare from the intercom, asking us to head to the atrium for briefing. She glared at me as she grabbed her gear. “She'd never say that about you and Vapor Morning, you know? We WILL be talking about this later, when you apologize to her. Now c’mon...”

I sighed, wiping my muzzle with my hoof, avoiding eye contact with her while I grabbed my own gear and headed out.

Damnit... A cheap shot like that, and I can’t even tag her back. It’s unfair...

I grumbled to myself before sighing in defeat.

Why can’t I learn to keep my big mouth shut?

oooOOOooo

The only word that I can use to describe today, is chaos... and that’s compared to yesterday.

Access Granted

The door to my office slid open, the mechanical systems sputtering before finally making an opening big enough for me and Cider Twist’s safe to trot through, having to duck my horn under the slow moving panel. I winced, quickening my pace to get out from under the doorway, before closing it behind me, a chill going down my spine from the thought of what happened the last time I’d gotten stuck under it... and what could happen if I got stuck under it now. I was given a full demonstration just minutes ago...

I had made my way back up to my office. It wasn’t as luxurious as the Overmare’s, which continued to taunt me with it’s escape tunnel, waiting just a trot down the next hall. No, my office was... Well...

I looked around the generous space that the title of Stable Loyalty Inspector provides. My red wood desk sat in the center of the room, holding all my work essentials, such as pens, approval and denial ink stamps, clipboards with this month’s census or financial data, a small lamp, my terminal, a telephone with a line to the intercom, an ashtray for my cigarettes -cigars if I’m feeling especially content- and I know I had a bottle of scotch underneath in one of the drawers.

Hey! Sometimes the job involves social calls. A professional keeps prepared, after all.

Along the sides of the room were more personal requests of mine once the space came under my ownership. Extra filing cabinets filled with years and years of our stable residents’ files, floor lamps, full body mirror, record player, cushiony armchair, a collection of authors I admired shelved in a bookcase, both prideful and guilty awards and medals, a ceiling fan to keep me cool while I worked, blueprints for the stable’s layout, and an armoire... an armoire I made sure to keep locked. My friends were aware of my skeletons... but even they could never imagine the amount I had stashed away in that red wood closet.

I remained silent as I trotted further inside, the safe still levitating beside me in my magic. I didn’t know what felt appropriate to do right now... even breathing felt wrong after I left Glitter to-...

Gone... Gone, gone, gone, gone, GONE!!! She’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it! She’s gone because... Because I...

I turned to look at my parents’ old mirror by my door, seeing my ungroomed disaster of a mane, my blood splattered face and coat, my red glowing horn, and my cold... emotionless stare.

Because I FUCKING left her!!!

The voice was loud... but distant. Distant enough for me to lock it away in its coffin and burry it beneath my other problems.

I had to tear my eyes away from the tired looking buck. I think if I stared at him any longer, it’d make me feel sick.

I’m not entirely sure why I even came here. Maybe it was to find another moment’s peace while I recollected my thoughts, but all I could do was stand there, the heavy safe beginning to wear my energy down. I finally couldn’t take the weight any longer, gently maneuvering it to my desk before setting it down. Still, I just stood there, staring into it at a loss. I attempted to think things over... and over, and over again. Every time, making me more and more furious with what had happened... with the promise I failed to keep...

She trusted me... Celestia only knows why she did. Hell, I don’t even trust myself...

”Trust doesn’t have to work two ways, junior... You know that.”

My ear flickered at the voice. It was a familiar, welcoming voice that I’ve known longer than any other. I sighed, hanging my head in regret while resisting the urge to look back at the pony in the mirror. “I finally got her to trust me again after all these years... and I just used her in the end...”

”That’s because you’re so good at it...”

“Never trust anypony... You taught me that. Maybe if she learned that same advice, she might still be alive.”

“Or you’d both be dead! You needed her trust... You may have gotten her killed, but you’re the pony who matters here.”

When Glitter said those words... when she said she trusted me. I felt as if a real damn heavy weight had just been lifted off of me, that... I hadn't realized had been on me. I was happy... But, was that because I potentially got my friend back? Or was it because I made her into a safety net?

No... No no no! That's not--! “NO! It's not true! It's not! I wanted her to live, damnit! I wanted to be with her! I-... It-... It wasn’t my fault!” I slammed my head next to the safe on my desk, clenching my eyes shut as I buried my ears under my forehooves. But the voice just wouldn’t leave me alone. “If she hadn’t have run off in front of the armory and gotten herself shot, we’d-..!”

“...BOTH BE DEAD!!! Don’t think for a minute that you could have survived that without her trust... You learned long ago that you have to make your own luck, and you succeeded just as you always have. Don’t forget that now, son...”

My blood began to boil, feeling it flow like magma through my temples. The cool and charismatic words from the old buck’s gruff sounding voice filled me with rage. Sometimes I despised it when he was right... I growled, snapping my eyes open, before finally pushing myself off the desk to confront him in the mirror. “She was my friend, you BASTARD!” I seethed, my horn igniting in outrage, huffing lividly through my nostrils, while glaring fiery daggers into his just as firey red eyes... only to find my own pissed off reflection scowling back at me.

My jaw clenched tight as a fuse blew inside my skull. My senses felt out of control, my eyes and ears twitching, my forehooves digging into the floor as my rearhooves instinctively prepared to launch the first thing that stood behind them into the air. My horn flared more and more intense by the second, the entire room becoming a state of my pure undisciplined temper, consumed by the hellish ambiance of Tartarus red. In that instant, I reared up and bucked the underside of my desk, my magical rage transferring to my rearlegs, flipping the desk completely on its side. The steel safe and the rest of my work loudly crashed to the floor. My chest heaved as I fell back on my haunches and slammed my head down into the frogs of my forehooves, the brass underneath my Pip-Buck glove giving my right eye a nice painful bruise. But, at least I was used to that kind of pain.

I’m a pony who has to keep his cool... I can’t lose my cool. I can’t lose my temper. I can’t lose control! All I had to do is accept and let everything go with a sigh, fix my mane and brush the wrinkles out of my stablesuit. But I couldn’t stop shuddering as deep breaths of madness huffed and puffed around my hooves... before going completely out of my skull.

I finally stood up and screamed, angrily kicking my other office furnishings, shoving my bookcase into my filing cabinets, both crashing over to let months of wasted organization spill across the room, before pulling my chair over my head only to slam it to the floor. Anything I could physically hold, magical or otherwise, was fair game, throwing any object in my path against the wall like a magical lunatic. Soon, my once clean and organized office was in shambles, the only things left standing were the mirror and my armoire after my record player had shattered to pieces against the wall. Yet... my horn was still glowing wildly.

Idiot! Fuck! I gotta get rid of this before I blow! I need a jar, fast!

I galloped to the armoire, my magic practically ripping its wooden doors off its hinges while the tumblers in its lock violently burst apart. Several shelves of glass clinked together, my aggressiveness shaking the entire container of jars, all filled with swirls of red glowing nebulas. The collective glow from the jars easily overshadowed my horn, as the room was suddenly lit up in a red light that was both somehow brighter and darker. I quickly began searching around, pushing row after row of rage, anger, hate and sorrow to the side, desperately trying to find an empty jar while being careful not to break any of the filled ones. Damnit! Where are they!? I can’t be out already! But, all of them were occupied by my previous releases. Shit! I never got the chance to request a new set from the science department! Oh Celestia, what am I going to do!?

“Hrrrg! Fuck! It hurts!” I hissed and growled like an animal as I began to panic. My hooves trotted me back and forth across the room, before finally catching my reflection in my parents’ old mirror again. No!!! I... I don’t want them to see me like this! Not when I don’t have control! I’m... I’m a Sparkhorn! A Sparkhorn for Celestia’s sake! We’re supposed to be in control!!! My heart beat like an off tempo drum, sporadic and fast. I watched in horror as my reflection’s horn glowed even brighter, just as bright as the open armoire. I began to hyperventilate, desperately searching for somewhere to release... but it was no use.

I needed a target...

With one more look at my parent’s mirror... I had no choice but to let it loose. “Hrrrg! GRRRAAAHHHH!!!” My vocal cords were violently shredded by an animalistic shriek, feeling as if they might rupture as I swung my head forward, sloppily aiming my horn at my reflection. All my enraged energy painfully flowed through my body to concentrate inside my horn. Safety was thrown out the window, as more and more magic surged through my skull, so much so that most unicorns would pass out from the unbearable migraine it would cause. But I had to... I had to burn out, fast! The mirror no longer reflected any other image, instead just crystalizing the glass into a glowing plate of red. I was blinded by my own magic, the intense red gust of raw unicorn essence blasting my vision until the world finally shattered.

*** *** ***

Reality swirled around me in a vortex of gut churning dizziness and a strong scent of ozone, before I finally woke back up. I hadn’t collapsed when I blacked out, but I at least woke up sitting on my haunches, my vision swimming until the image in front of me finally came back into view. I found myself staring at what was left of the antique mirror. The only remaining thing to remind me of my parents were the shards of shattered glass around the empty ivory frame. I groaned, trying to catch my breath, eventually standing up to limp closer to the pitiful debris.

“Now look what you’ve done...” I groaned, head hung low to catch my face back in my forehooves. “That was your own goddamn heirloom, you maniac!”

I sighed in defeat, taking a moment to work up the courage and peek back through my hooves at the remaining jagged pieces of glass attached to the ivory. They splintered the same tired looking stallion into several different reflections, each of their horns still smoldering like torches... only now, their entire reality was filtered by a foggy screen of red. I tried to blow the magical smoke away through my mane, only to follow it up with a click from my tongue to help me think. I watched the splintered glass mimic my every move with at least five other Spark Chargers, trapped in their own broken triangular prisons of red mist.

The painkiller was finally beginning to wear off again, a pain that was gradually becoming an all too routine feeling had once again returned to my crippled foreleg. It’s times like these where I realize some first-aid spells might have come in handy. I never would have had to risk the suspicious trips to the medbay if I could have just licked my wounds with a mending spell, or something like that. No more nauseous pain relievers or healing potions... Just me, my magic... and my uncontrollable nervous tic...

Damnit! Alright, that’s it! Pull yourself together, Spark. You’re... you’re fallin’ apart... I took a deep breath and stood back on my hooves, noticing my sweat and panic had made my bangs fall over my face in an undesirable manner. My lungs exhaled a good amount of my anxiety, doing my best to recollect what dignity I had left. I brushed my mane back to an acceptable style and parted it to the side with my forehooves. “Alright...” I hissed, “I’m fine. I’m cool... everything is... just fine...”

That’s it... just keep on lying to yourself... I'm sure there's a puppy at the end of this too!

With a dreadful grown, I limped back over to my priceless turned over desk. After a moment of regretting the damage I’d caused to it, I engulfed it in my aura and rocked it right side up again with my newly stabilized, yet sputtering, magic. It may have cost me a valuable heirloom from my parents, but the purified feeling in my aura was worth just about anything, even with the throbbing migraine that accompanied a burn out. I almost sighed in relief... if I wasn't already grunting from the occasional flicker threatening to make my telekinetic grasp slip.

Right... gonna have to lay off the magic for a while...

Switching to my hooves, I opened one of the drawers and looked inside to see the last couple of weeks worth of confiscated items. Contraband that I’d find while searching ponies’ quarters or picking their pockets. You know, tactics that the stable-ops manual authorizes me to use, when-... Ah, shit! The stable-ops manual! I winced, frantically shifting priorities as I scanned the room.

Of course! Why didn’t I think of that earlier!? A book with all the answers for us to follow in case of... well, let’s say a simultaneous uprising and zebra attack, -probably under the emergency tab in the index- would be pretty valuable right now.

I tried to pick out the little blue booklet, with the yellow stable-tec logo on its cover, from the ruble of my belongings, now littering my office floor. It only took a minute for me to halt my search with a disappointed eye roll and a facehoof. Typical that I’d forget not to bother with it. I had lost mine a few months back while patrolling the storage area. I’m sure some maintenance idiot picked it up and... well, as they say, ‘finders keepers’. Probably ended up on a shelf somewhere in brown level, collecting dust. As if those punks know how to read anyway. Although, I was always a bit concerned where those cyanide pills ended up...

I shook myself back into focus before returning to my contraband drawer. It didn’t take much longer for my search to end, easily finding the key to my success... or possible failure. A pack of bobby-pins. I didn’t bother counting how many were in the small cardboard box. Whatever was in there had to be enough or this whole idea of surviving was toast.

I guess it’s time I tried my hoof at picking locks again. My face fell into a cynical grimace as I turned towards the safe, the steel box still laying where it landed on the floor. Bobby-pins by themselves wouldn’t get me anywhere. I’m gonna need something to turn it with. My eyes suddenly widened, realizing something I still might have. I dropped my assault rifle to the floor and wiggled out under my saddlebag, quickly opening the flap. There, resting on top of all the ammo and supplies that Glitter and I had collected, was a screwdriver with a ruby red handle. It was the one Glitter had used to open up the armory door’s circuit board. Picking it up in my hoof, I observed the tiny bite marks from the way Glitter would hold it in her mouth.

She always did bite down too hard on things...

Aaaaaaannnd I pushed THAT particular thought as far away as I could. In fact, I gave it a coffin, wrapped it in chains, and buried it alive beneath a lake where hopefully no pony would dare to find it. After what had happened, that’s the last thing I’d want to remember Glitter by. She deserves better...

I clenched my eyes shut, doing my best to shake both thoughts out of my head. No time for mourning. I’ve wasted enough time as it is.

The sound of gunfire on the floor above me began to ring out through the stable halls as I went to work on Cider’s safe. Another zebra unit must have broken through... well, at least it will help distract the mainte-- er... the cultist ponies from noticing me. I cursed under my breath when my first bobby-pin snapped, not five seconds after fitting it through the keyhole. I shook a few more out of the box, and tried again. Usually, on easier locks, all it would take is sliding a pin in for the tumblers to fall into place, and then it simply unlocked after turning it once. Maybe twice. But this was no liquor cabinet or lingerie drawer. This was a tightly locked safe, which means I’m gonna have to find the right sweet spot to maneuver the pin in.

I had some time to think as I desperately tried to keep the pins from snapping under the force of turning the lock. I went over each step of the plan again. Unfortunately, I discovered one fatal flaw in what Glitter and I had cooked up. The low power supply. If I had to guess, the Overmare’s exit tunnel is going to need more than just fuming emergency power to open, which means I’m going to need to get to the power generator room... which meant going through more maintenance ponies with a craving for hoof on a stick... Fan-freakin’-tastic.

“Add it to the list, Sparks...”

I growled through my teeth, the startling voice of Platinum Braid making my mouth slip just enough to break the bobby-pin inside the lock. I closed my eyes and sighed, spitting the broken bobby-pin to the floor. Damnit! I swear I almost had it that time! I deadpanned, finally looking back at the smug steel colored mare. “Yeah, well you’re not exactly helping, Platinum...” I hissed, still trying to find the right angle that will allow the lock to twist 90-degrees. “Just... Just leave me alone!”

Oh, great... and now, I’m talking to her as if she’s really here.

She chuckled, leaning against my desk and crossing her hind hooves behind her. “Hmmf, if you think that I’m in your mind, then technically I am really here... but you don’t know if I’m really here or not, do you?”

Okay, I guess she’s got me there... more out of turning her explanation into a riddle, but I’m void of responses nonetheless...

I paused with a puzzled blink. Wait... did she just read my mind? Or... does she even have to do that if she’s already in my mind? Agh! This is bullshit!

“Oh, and some friendly advice...” She continued, her voice as condescending as it was affectionate. “The more you put pressure on those bobby-pins, the quicker they’ll break.”

Ah geez, has she always sounded this friendly when she’s sober? It’s almost scary to listen to...

She gave me a soft smile I found both annoying and nostalgic. “You know, Khan taught me that when I was a foal.” Her tone of voice suddenly shifted to a mockery of the grey stallion’s. “Try easing the lock with the screwdriver instead of forcing it in every position.” She even tried to scrunch her muzzle to mimic a coltish version of Khan’s aggressive expression.

I laughed back at her, rolling my eyes at the mind fuck that was unironically coming from my own mind. “Trust me,” I said, "I’ve got a pretty good idea what a dead low-life like yourself should look like." I started back on my next bobby-pin, hesitantly trusting her advice, this time being more gentle with the screwdriver. Oh forget this! I need magic if I'm gonna do this right. I was still exhausted from the burn out, but I figured these pins were light enough to keep my tolerance for it out of the negative. I hissed, levitating yet another pin to the lock, this time in a weak field of flickering magic. Oh, come on! This is almost worse than using my teeth! Still, I hated resorting to earth pony tactics when it came to something as simple as levitation. My face twisted in concentration, trying to speak through my tired grunts. “Glitter is fucking dead because of you... so shut the hell u-- actually, better yet... -hrrg!- I’m going to shut the hell up, and open this... -hrrg!- stupid lock! …Because you’re not really here!”

CLICK

I felt the positioned bobby-pin suddenly turn the lock 90-degrees, the square steel door creaking open shortly after. I blinked, completely stunned. I... I did it! I opened it! Spark: one, Lock: zip! I grinned widely and chuckled, surprising even myself as I spotted my Badge ID Card sitting alone in the center. I never thought I’d be so happy to see that depressing Stallion’s face from the mirror again, but there he was staring back at me from the card. “Ha! Holy shit, it worked! You see that, Platinum!?” I turned, only to see that I was talking to an empty desk chair.

Right... Bullshit...

I picked all my gear back up, my access card now dangling around my neck along side Glitter's and Khan’s. I trotted back out of my office and into the hallway, checking to see that the way was clear, before continuing towards the stairwell.

I’ve had just about enough of this concussion crap... I needed to find out what was wrong with me, and then, by some miracle of Celestia, I needed to find a way to fix it. And there’s only one place down here that could have the answers...

*** *** ***

Access Granted

The door to Stem Root’s office slid open as I retracted Khan’s Executive Badge ID from the card reader.

“And that’s three...” I mumbled with as much enthusiasm as I could fake for myself, before trotting inside. The medbay was once again quiet, aside from my hoof beats on the echoing floor. It was no surprise to me to trot passed a well since deceased Glossy Spring at the top of the stairwell when I made my way back.

My initial reaction to shooting her leg off felt like a faded memory. I couldn’t help but wonder if other ponies would have looked down at her rotting severed foreleg the same way I did now, and shrug it off as if it happened every day, maybe covering their nose as they trotted by... It’s actually come to that, hasn’t it? Unnatural death everywhere... Boy, was I in for a rude awakening soon after...

Glossy Spring... a hard working maintenance mare, divorced, single mother of a fairly eccentric filly... And I killed her. Did the painkillers make it peaceful? Maybe... but some ponies don’t deserve peace when it comes their way. Sometimes peace needs to run through them like a blade and split them open. But a deal was a deal. The painkillers, I assumed, made her death just that much quicker. If there was one thing she and every other mutineer deserved though, after everything I've seen them do these last several hours, it was death. Quick or slow, it didn’t matter in the end, just as long as it came.

A thought flashed through my mind, stopping just a few hoofsteps through the door.

Is that what’s happening to me right now? A slow death? My mind being tortured by the ghost of a former friend turned insurrectionist, hunted by ponies who she trained, watching one of my oldest friends break down before getting her legs blown away by the nightmarish image of zebra stormtroopers invading our stable, only to be eaten alive! Everypony else either dead, missing, or trying to kill me. What if I’m still just lying on the floor in the storage level, and my mind is just letting out one last line of offensive thought before I pass on into whatever afterlife awaits me?

Damnit, Spark! That’s it! No more Heart Pound L.C. books before bed! I shook my head and sighed. The room ahead of me was dark and murky. I could hardly see my own forehooves, doing my best to peer through the near pitch black room. The only source of light was the dull green glow of Stem’s desk terminal, sill powered and silently buzzing on the other end of his office. It barely illuminated half his desk, and maybe a small portion of the bookshelf directly behind it. I took another skeptical step toward the green light, only to hesitate and stop again.

Something besides the lights felt... off.

It took me a while to recognize a strange background stench about the room, like two foul odors wafting up my nose with every breath. One reminded me of the reason I stay away from the Orange level ‘processing’ facility. It wasn’t like my clearance was high enough at the time to dine on artificial meat, but I was sick for a week nonetheless. While the second smell I easily identified as dried up urine.

Stem was an odd stallion, I’ll admit, but I don’t think he’d be one to enjoy a scented candle that reeked of piss and rot.

My ears perked, the smell not the only thing off-putting about the place, but the noise... At first, I might have mistaken it for the buzzing sound of the terminal, but this was no buzzing electronic. This was... creaking. The stable is made of concrete and steel... it doesn’t creak... not like this anyway. This was an eerie screech that rocked back and forth from above me, in a similar pattern to the way one might hear the ballroom’s chandeliers squeak when nopony was around.

It wasn’t like I was afraid or worried. Why should I be? The room had been locked ever since I woke up, and without the right badge ID, no pony could have gotten in here. That’s what I thought anyway, before I saw something move in front of me. I wasn’t alone here... A dark shadowy foreleg drifted between myself and the light, casting a silhouette that loomed over me like a tall specter of a pony, rearing up on her titanic, princess-sized hind legs as if to charge straight through me.

“O-oh, woah!” I gasped, my hooves blindly slapping the edge of the room in search of a light switch as I stumbled backwards against the wall. I wouldn’t so much as dare to peel my eyes away from the grim reaping figure in front of me. Luna! What the fuck is that!? My magic flickered, still exhausted from the burn out, but I was too terrified to care about the intense stab of the migraine. I tore off my assault rifle in a panic, loading and raising it as swift as my sputtering magic could, ready to squeeze the trigger the instant I could actually see what was there. One of my forehooves finally came in contact with the panel’s dial, twisting it, before the lights came on in a snap.

I hollered in defense, the sudden illumination of the terrifying silhouette startled me so much that my magic flinched against the trigger, sending a burst of fire in its direction. I watched as its sliver coat was peppered by the few precious bullets I'd managed to swipe on my way up, nudging it back with every tiny hit, before making it slightly swing back in my direction. I still stood there out of breath, my body braced against the wall, just watching it swing back and forth. “Oh, shit...” I sighed, finally realizing what I’d just shot at. “Doctor Silver Lining, I presume?”

The earth pony mare simply stared down at me, silent and stiff. Her head was rolled at an excruciating angle, hanging by her neck from a noose, the rope tied to one of the light hooks on the ceiling. Her magenta eyes were half covered by her calm and peaceful expression, but enough for me to see her dilated pupils glaring down at me. Her ice blue mane was still in its signature bun, but much more unkempt and scraggly than what she’d dare show to her staff or patients. Her forelegs dangled by her sides, the bullet holes fresh in her chest, but never bled an ounce of blood through the torn fabric in her white stable lab coat, no doubt hiding the decaying flesh and fur beneath it. Finally, her tinted yellow, piss-stained hindlegs hung a good foot off a puddle of the same tint on the floor, while Stem Root’s office chair laid not too far away, physically kicked over on its side.

“Celestia...” I croaked, ignoring the smell as I made my way closer to her. She was a good mare, maybe not exactly the happiest of ponies, but that came with the job of being the second highest ranking doctor in the Medbay. I always figured her to be a bit jealous of being passed up for the second time to be Executive Physician, especially after somepony as young as Stem Root surpassed her. We weren’t necessarily friends, but we went to school and shared a few drinks together... It’s too bad... But, nonetheless, my Loyalty Inspector instincts kicked in. I reached out, still straining my magic to pull her lifeless foreleg out in front of me. High ranking medical official, meant Pip-Buck files that might need redacting...

Hey, just because the stable is pretty much a goner, doesn’t mean the system is null and we can just buck it. So, as much as I’d like to spend the small amount of time I have on getting the hell out of here, I’ve still got a-... *Static*“Reminder number [REDACTED]: Remember Little Ponies, Stable Tec is here for you. Forever and ever and ev-”*Static* ...duty to... execute. Zounds! My headache is back... Feels like I just got bashed in the head with a wrench...

My magic had barely grazed Silver’s Pip-Buck casing, when the tape deck behind its screen suddenly popped open with a loud clack, revealing a holotape still inside. RECORDING COMPLETE, appeared in bold lettering across its dull green screen.

I shook my head in confusion. Strange... our devices usually aren't that sensitive... Eh, maybe static electricity. Yeah... that makes sense. I gave the mare a quick glance, dislodging the holotape from her Pip-Buck and placing it inside my own. My Pip-Buck curiously named the recording, 'Night Three' under my Notes tab. As soon as it was ready, I hit play. Well Silver... let’s see what you’ve got for me....

“Oh Celestia, this is hopeless...” Her voice came through the speakers, full of dread and exhaustion. “Night three... The Overmare has been nothing but quiet for the passed 16 hours... The last we heard from her, she gave us the order to lock down our departments... barricade all entrances, and wait for ‘official’ instructions while avoiding all contact with anypony wearing maintenance coveralls...”

She gave a shuddering sigh before continuing, “...well, apparently that poor security buck in the waiting room didn’t get the memo! Fuck! O-oh FUCK! They fucking killed him! And then they-... What the fuck has gotten into them!?” She began to sob. I know I couldn’t see her, but I could almost picture the mare curled up under Stem’s desk as she shuddered her entry into her Pip-Buck. “We can still fucking hear them! We can hear all of them! Above us, below us, all around us... They’re all being slaughtered and we can’t do a FUCKING thing to get to them! We sent what little security officers we had to recover any wounded yesterday... none of them have come back... We had to stop and keep the rest to protect us...”

She suddenly scoffed a hopeless chuckle that was a little too close to something an asylum patient might mutter. “Rookies... they’re all fucking rookies! The type the more hardened officers left to guard us while they tried to recover the wounded! I mean, they're all younger than I am! Barely even adults! One of them even passed out from seeing a smidge of blood yesterday! A SMIDGE! A FEW FUCKING DROPS!!! I’ve seen more blood in the sink after my husband’s done shaving! UGH!!! I know we’re all fucked... but, I can’t let the others know... the last thing we need is for everypony’s spirits to run dry.” She sighed, “Well... dryer than they already are. I don’t know how much longer Blossom expects us to wait here. We only have so much supplies left, and already, the other doctors are talking of letting the more critical patients off life support in order to preserve the rest of our food. I know it’s only been two days, but... who knows how long we’ll be stuck here until-...”

Silver was suddenly cut short by an emission of loud electronic whirs, as if the entire stable was purring in distress throughout its inner speakers. She gasped, a distant alarm and siren being heard through the recording, followed by the automated voice of a mare, whose stern and calm tone contrasted almost frighteningly with the actual panic it must have caused everypony.

”WARNING! THE CRUSADER SHIELD HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. ALL STABLE RESIDENTS ARE TO FOLLOW THEIR DESIGNIATED INSTRUCTIONS ACCORDING TO THEIR OFFICIAL SECURITY CLEARANCES, AND REPORT TO SECURITY FOR EVACUATION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WARNING! THE CRUSADER SHIELD HAS BEEN ACTIVATED...”

“She... she actually activated... THAT!?” Silver whimpered in disbelief, “Goddesses... OH, GODDESSES!!! This can't be happening! We're actually LEAVING!!? That means they must be breaking through!” A few papers ruffled below her as she frantically mumbled under her breath. “Where’s that stable-ops manual... ah ha! Here it is! Okay... okay... Operation Crusader Shield... white clearance... acting executive... designated instructions, and... oh... Oh, n-no... No no no! This... this can’t be right!” There was a long pause from the mare, with only the sound of blaring background alarms, the automated alert system, and growing panic from doctors and patients alike outside the office.

Finally, she broke the silence with a shudder. “Pills?” She sniffled, “But I... I don’t have any pills... And if they’re really breaking through, then they’re going to...” A despairing sigh came through the recording, though I suppose her voice couldn’t sound any more hopeless than it was since she started rolling. “I... I have to do what I have to do then. Doctor Root... Stem... He has a rope as a temporary fix keeping his medicine cabinet shut. Thank the goddesses for small favors... and... Oh, Celestia and Luna forgive me... fucking forgive us all...” A racket of wood scraping against the floor came next as the recording’s time was almost up. “Goodbye... I’m sorry...” The chair once again scraped against the floor, but this time much more sporadically as it fell over with a violent crash, shortly followed by the sound of Silver’s airways being cut off by the rope. Gunshots, panic and screaming suddenly erupted from the floors around them, only to abruptly end, the recording coming to a full stop.

"Operation Crusader Shield..." I muttered, ejecting the holotape. I guess nopony thought to ever mention that to me. Sure, I knew what it was. Most higher ranking officials do. It was a scenario used in case the stable ever fell into the wrong hooves... which meant anything that maintenance or... outsiders or zebras or any other possible adversary could use to benefit their cause had to be secured or destroyed, whether that be materials or... ponies designated as such. Department executives, supervisors, scientists... and loyalty inspectors were all on that list to guarantee our enemies never had the upper hoof while everypony else abandoned ship. Cyanide provided in a cut out pocket of the stable-ops manual. And, of course, if we failed to follow our designated instructions, security would shoot us on sight anyway. Only difference is we go down as cowards instead of heroes. It was the last trick we had up our sleeves... and Diamond actually executed it...

I thought about suggesting it to Glitter back when we were still struggling to think of a plan to get out of here. Though, I decided it best to leave that particular way out of here from the debate. She probably would have bucked me in the head for even mentioning it. Or worse... she'd agree to it. I may be a loyalty inspector who, despite my self intended prosperity, is as loyal to stable-tec's orders as can be... I was loyal because I knew they kept me safe, and one of my rules is to look out for number one. However, if those orders ever came to contradict that rule... Heh... I'd swipe an orange level Badge ID for my own, faster than you can say Swindlin' Sparkhorn.

Glitter must have known it'd been activated since she at least was awake when it happened.

Did... did following the orders ever cross her mind? I wonder if she even had her stable-ops manual to follow it. She may not have even known... or if she did, she never went through with it. Maybe if I hadn't had shown up when I did, she might have become so hopeless that she'd had done it.

I shook my head before examining the rest of the room around me. It was no surprise that Stem's office was in contrasting perfection from the rest of my looted stable, you know, aside from the corpse hanging from the ceiling.

I learned one thing, at least. The stable was under evacuation orders at the same time Maintenance was taking ponies out into... Celestia only knows what. That means there's potentially two groups of us out there. One taken by the nutjobs, and the other led by Diamond, so long as she wasn't taken herself... or killed. And I had the sinking feeling that Aqua, Khan and probably Stem Root were all part of the former. And then there's me... What in the name of Stable-Tec's grey walls happened to me?

I guess it's time I find out... I maneuvered my way around the hanging corpse of Silver and over to Stem’s personal terminal on his desk. The terminal flickered on as I tapped my hooves against the keys, opening the log menu. I scrolled down until I found my name in a patient file with another holotape ready to play. And, with a swift tap of the terminal's enter key, it began to play.

“We’re recording, Doctor!”

“Clear the Medbay! Patient coming through!”

The terminal’s speakers blared the familiar voices of the medbay nurses. Some of whom were a little more than just, ‘familiar’.

“We’re losing him!”

“Multiple lacerations, fractures, pupils blown, head-trauma, large puncture wound, Celestia only knows what else!”

“Sparky!? What happened!? Where did you find him!?”

That particular voice, however... I’d know that one anywhere.

“Overmare Blossom, please, we can’t have anypony in here, not even-...”

“How dare you!? I happen to be the Overmare of this Stable Doctor Silver! I demand to have access to my staff! Not to mention he’s my hus-...” She paused awkwardly. “...An old friend...”

I didn’t need to be there to see the terrifying glare on her face as she stared Silver down... Well, I guess I technically was there.

“Doctor!” The other nurse exclaimed. “He’s not going to last much longer like this, we need to help him now!”

Silver Lining sighed in defeat. “Alright! Just follow us. Damnit, we could really use Doctor Stem Root right about now. Where the hay is he?!”

“If I knew, I’d tell you! Sparky is the only one accounted for as of this very moment, so the sooner you wake him up the better!”

“You can’t rush this! Especially after whatever he’s been through. The security team you sent got a tip from old-buck Docker... currently unaccounted for. They found the Inspector barely clinging to life on the storage level, after a skirmish with at least seven of Braid’s maintenance fighters. The elevator crashed and there was no sign of Chief Punch, Executive Khan, or anypony else. Security thought best to come to me with the Inspector before reporting back to you... which was smart of them, I might add.”

I could hear Diamond scoff to herself before continuing. “They’re not rioting... no, this is something else. Alright, I’ll find that security team for report. I’ll be sending a security detail to guard the medbay entrances. In the meantime, please take care of the Inspector. Oh, zounds! Wait! There may be critical information on his Pip-Buck. Security will need to take it through processing.” I heard the sound of my Pip-Buck unlatch. "You are hereby my acting medbay executive, Silver Lining. I will contact you via intercom for further instruction..." She began to trot away, before raising her voice over the rush of crowded doctors. "And I expect a full recovery for Inspector Charger, is that clear?". Funny enough, her concern for me almost sounded genuine as she faded into the distant sounds of the riot.

“Doctor Silver, what do we do!?”

She sighed, determination once again returning to her voice. “He’s in shock. Start two large-bore IVS. Get him to ICU, stat!”

“He’s not responding! This guy is a train wreck. We’re losing him!”

“Give me that damn recorder! Get him to clinic room 10! As acting executive physician, I will be running the medbay, and have access to the head office... I will archive the case as per instructions. I want a concentrated effort on this, ponies! All updates are to be on my desk as soon as they are made.” She gave an anxious sigh. “I don’t want the Overmare’s ex-husband to die on my watch... for all of our sakes.”

“Doctor... I... I’m afraid he’s going to comatose...”

I heard Silver vent audibly. “Well, keep him out of it! Get on the intercom with the science department! Tell them we need a healing potion ready and up here STAT for his head trauma, I want it on my desk as soon as-...”

BOOM

“What the fuck was that!?”

There was a sharp surge of static before the recording came to an end. I didn’t know what to think. The recording almost spawned more questions than answers. The biggest of which -the one that I currently had wished I wasn't thinking about- was how I wasn't dead. However, my apparent traumatized mind replayed the part about a certain missing healing potion. With an ambitious inhale, I pulled open one of the drawers in the desk... and finally, I was rewarded with something that could have made my eyes swell with relief. A clean and sterile white box. And if the heavy weight of the object didn’t already reveal the turn of my luck, I could only assume that the healing potion Silver Lining had ordered for me was inside. For the first time in what felt like a while, I gave a genuine hearty chuckle. Quickly opening the lid, I picked up the bottle in my mag--

Wait... this... this is one weird looking healing potion.

The thing suspended in front of me wasn't even a potion. Actually, the needle poking out the top meant that I had to inject it like I did the painkillers. Huh... some kind of new healing syringe? Must have missed a memo from the science department. It was similar in size to a healing potion I guess, but... what were all these extra tubes feeding into the point?

I mentally began checking off all the injuries I'd aquired. Let's see... one for my head. One for my abdomen. One for the gash in my leg. Eeyup! That's three tubes for three injuries. That can't just be a coincidence, can it?

An appreciative smile spread across my face. I'll have to thank the lab bucks if I ever see them again. I raised the object to Silver's lifeless expression, still looking down at me, her body twisting toward the desk.

"I always liked you Silver... best acting medbay executive from the bookshelf to the door... to the hallway for that matter!" I laughed to myself, gently lowering the syringe against my injured foreleg, the needle pointing at it. Hopefully the juice works for both legs...

Here’s to my health, wealth... and a future career in improbable day to day survival... Celestia kill me now.

My magic practically twirled the large bottle-shaped syringe in delight, before slamming the needle home. I hissed... and I think the syringe did too... I stared at the feeders, watching a strange goopy liquid drain from the tubes into my leg. Uh... is this stuff supposed to be... grey?

I probably should have known it was too late to consider that. I gagged, my magic imploding as the syringe bounced off the floor below me. Yeah... this isn't a healing syringe, is it... I lurched forward, trying to brace my hooves against the desk to keep from slamming into it... only to quickly find that I couldn't move my hooves anymore! I rolled off the side and hit the floor, clutching my head and stomach, my vision swimming.

Ooooh! What... the... FUCK... did I just take!?

Somepony was screaming... I think it might have been me. I felt something... something very wrong twisting me from the inside out. It took another moment of squirming against the floor for me to register that the feeling was not one of being ripped apart... but instead being put back together. My voice shook, crying and whimpering like a foal while bone and flesh begun to mend. My head was first, like shards of my skull were being reformed and pulled into place. Then it went down my-- Ugh! I swear, if that’s prunes I’m tasting, somepony is getting shot! I found the strength to roll over and glare back up at Silver with a nasty sneer, before the bone in my foreleg suddenly cracked and dislodged itself beneath my skin. "Gyaah! I take it back... we could do better..." I hissed, as my leg snapped back into place, the 10mm sized hole magically refilled by strong and beautiful collagen and calcium beneath my mending coat, the larger spot on my stomach taking longer, but eventually doing the same.

Then... just like that... it was over. The pain was still there, if just a fraction of what it was, and I could still vaguely feel a tingling beneath my coat, but... everything else was... well, back to normal! My brow arched as if to expect another round of bone and tissue tearing itself apart before regenerating piece by piece. But, after rising to my hooves and a quick test trot around the room... Well, I'll be damned...

That was... really fast! Faster than any healing potion I've seen regenerate. Not to mention, I wasn't really expecting my bones to heal like that... not that I'm complaining. I mean, WOW!

I couldn't help but take a couple practice swings with my forehooves.

I feel like I could take on the whole maintenance department! Hell, all of low color clearance for that matter! What the hay was in that thing?

I saw the strange syringe sitting against the desk legs. I picked it up, squinting at the label over the base of its reservoir. I was about to curse whoever thought typing warnings in small text was a good idea, before remembering that Stem Root and I shared a little something in common. Placing a pair of his reading glasses I'd found inside the desk over my eyes, I read the inscription.

Experimental Healing Syringe... Warning: Stable-Tec is not responsible for unwanted side-effects due to the possible hazardous materials collected from the [REDACTED] creature in the making of this substance. Please contact your nearest physician if you experience disfiguring growths or death.

That sent chills down my spine, gently placing the syringe back on the desk as if only recognizing now that I might have just done something that I probably shouldn't have. I slowly trotted backwards out the door, minding the hanging Silver with a nervous grin, all while keeping my eyes locked on the syringe, just in case it somehow decided to come to life and inject me with more of its goopy grey sludge. It DID hiss at me after all...

Yeah... DEFINITELY missed a memo...

*** *** ***

*ding* Level Seven: Reactor Room.

Well, the power’s back and the elevators are working. The only problem is...

“There he is! Get’em!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Goddamnit! Gimme a break! This is bullshit!” I fired my rifle behind me in my magic as I galloped towards the waiting elevator. Hey, look at that, I can gallop again!

RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT! RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT! RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT!

More maintenance ponies rounded the corners to join the two that found me. I didn’t dare look back to check if any of my bullets hit home. Sometimes the worst tactic is the best tactic. In this case, spray and pray.

Whatever, I wasn’t asking to be sniper elite here, just for enough fire to cover my ass while I ran for my life. Good thing it looked like training wasn’t included with the weapons stockpile.

I was just able to restart the main power supply before they started shooting. I guess word has spread that I’m more interested in shooting the crazies than joining them.

A few months back, Diamond wanted me to run inspections down here. Luckily, the main reactor terminal still had the same password from before: Meltdown. The lights stopped flickering, and the halls finally became illuminated by one bright light after the other, all while the sound of hot lead on metal ricocheted all around me. Here’s hoping that the new password I set will buy me enough time to use Melody's-...

I skidded to a halt as the elevator doors opened, revealing a crowd of striped equines armed to the teeth with assault rifles.

“Zounds!” I swung my rifle around to strafe the opening with the remains of my magazine before I darted down an adjacent hallway. “Stairs! I love stairs! Stairs haven't failed me yet!”

As I maneuvered my way through the machinery of the reactor levels, a sudden low frequency emitted from the speakers above, sounding almost like a record needle stuck and replaying a certain fragment of a song over and over... or like a holotape trying to restart its recording. It screeched before playing a voice that was much too fast paced and high pitched to tell whether it was a mare or a stallion... or even automated.

"W-w-w-w-war-war-war-war-war-war-war-war..." It suddenly crashed, before rewinding the tape to start again, now in a much slower and deeper pitch as it crept back up to a normal speed. Finally, it transitioned into the recognizable voice of the mare who was the base for our stable's automated systems, alarms and sirens ringing constant and loud throughout the halls. ”WAAAAAARRRRRNNNNNNNNING..! ....the crusADER SHIELD HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. ALL STABLE RESIDENTS ARE TO FOLLOW THEIR DESIGNIATED INSTRUCTIONS ACCORDING TO THEIR OFFICIAL SECURITY CLEARANCES, AND REPORT TO SECURITY FOR EVACUATION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WARNING! THE CRUSADER SHIELD HAS BEEN ACTIVATED...”

Sorry honey, but I'm declaring those orders officially null, so save me the ear ache, will ya?

“Zekes are here!” “Fuck!” “Open fire!” “For Folly!” I heard the Zebras and the maintenance crews start to go at it again, as I galloped up the stairwell.

Best I leave them to it...

*** *** ***

Access Granted

I panted heavily, the door to the Overmare’s office sliding open with ease. Quickly, I reversed on the control panel, more bullets- specified for Zebra Rifles- hitting the steel plated entrance before sealing shut behind me. I collapsed to the floor, my lungs wheezing, trying to catch a breath. The sound of more rifle fire, along with the outraged shouting of zebras continued to echo outside the room.

What? Have they never seen a steel door before? "Yeah, keep trying to shoot through it you dumb striped bastards! You definitely won't run out of ammo before you hit me!" I grimaced at my own snide statement, ironically pulling my rifle's trigger, only to hear it click back at me on an empty magazine. With a heavy sigh, I tossed the weapon to the floor and pulled out my 10mm pistol, ejecting the mag.

Last one... better make it count.

I groaned, almost looking at the weapon in disgust as I reminisced in the disappointing fact that my .45 was missing from the armory. It wasn't even in the confiscations locker where it was supposed to be!

I swear if some hippie young-hooved jackass took my gun... there's pretty much nothing I can do about it at this point. They better just hope I don't find them while either of us are still breathing... They have no idea how much that piece means to me.

Holstering the 10mm back inside my stable jacket pocket, I trotted over to the Overmare’s round window, the same one I found Diamond staring through the day this all started. I paused right where she stood to oversee the Atrium. The ruins of the card tournament littered the floor below, with scattered cards, game room chips, and empty cider bottles. However, the bodies of ponies and zebras alike made the scene look less like a bar fight gone wrong, and more a snapshot of a costly battle during the Great War.

This is all going to hell...

I barely had enough time to send out a distress signal. Zebras... the damn zekes control everything from the stable entrance all the way to the storage department. It's only a matter of time before they take the reactor level, then the place might as well be painted in stripes! It's like half of the entire goddamn legion is down here! And these bastards are trained to fight. I'm talking marching through the halls in organized patrols, not like the occasional group of drunken maintenance ponies we'd get roaming the halls. It was a matter of weaving through the rooms and crossing the hallway behind them after they passed until I got to the Communications Center. That wasn't exactly empty either... And of course, it ended up being a COMPLETE waste of my time.

I sighed as I thought back to what Melody Charm was trying to explain to me a while back.

'Yeah, we never receive any signals from outside the stable. The only broadcast anypony can hear down here is mine. So... presumably, nopony out there -if there even IS anypony out there- would be able to hear anything we say. There'd be no point for any ponies bent on resistance to try and contact the outside. There's absolutely no other radio in range of our stable... either that or something's jamming our sig-- Mmf! Spark! Are you even listening? I'm trying to--! O-oh gosh~ U-um... You better lock the door...'

Huh... maybe it would have been smarter to have taken note of that logic... though my mind must have been elsewhere. It wasn't like she invited me into her studio to do much talking...

~ ~ ~

"Mayday, mayday. This is Inspector Spark Charger of Stable 17. Anypony read me? Over." I lifted my hoof from the receiver, my ears perking as I listened out for a response.

I wasn't exactly expecting a miracle here. I knew there was no instantaneous rescue standing by from the military or even Stable-Tec. Especially after nearly 200 years. Realistically, I knew what I had to do. I understood that leaving the stable... my home... well, it's my only option if I'm going to keep 'looking out for number one'. But, at the very least, whoever I'm able to contact might be able to send somepony to recover the stable from these bastards... and maybe even get a search party out for everypony who left. Maybe Aqua and Khan and Diamond... -if they're still alive and if they're able to survive long enough out there- maybe somepony can get them back. That might not be in our stable's jurisdiction, but there's gotta be somepony out there with that responsibility! Yet, after several minutes of waiting, there was only a sea of static to answer my distress.

"Okay, let's see..." Putting Stem's reading glasses to use, I flipped through the pages and read the broadcasting instructions in the Stable-ops manual. Hell, for all I knew, this could have been Melody's version when I found it sitting next to the microphone. She's nowhere to be seen though... I guess that should be considered good news for her... I sighed, my hoof pressing the button on the receiver again. "Stable HQ, do you copy? Over." I lifted my hoof... still static. "Stable HQ! I am a Loyalty Inspector of Stable 17! Over."

...*Static*...

"Zounds! Mayday, mayday! Our stable has been overrun! Crusader shield has been activated. Everypony has evacuated from an uprising, and... we're under attack from the Zebras! On Equestrian soil! -as far as I know- Whatever! Stable HQ! Do. You. Read me!? Over." Nopony there... I growled, pressing down on the button again, harder this time. "Mayday mayday! Is anypony out there!? This is an emergency! RESPOND! OVER!!!" Still nothing. "This is Inspector Spark Charger broadcasting on an open frequency! Uh... Stable 16, do YOU copy? Over."

*static*

"Stable 18!?"

*static*

"Stable 20!? Stable 31!? 49! 66!!! Uh... fuckin'... 99! 101!!! Shit! Canterlot!!! Manehatten! Fillydelphia! Las Pegasus! Anypony with a gaddamn ear!!! ....over."

Nothing but static...

I was about to let the whole world have it through that radio microphone, when my ears suddenly perked at a mechanical hiss behind me. I held my breath and reacted as quickly and as silently as I could, grabbing my assault rifle in my magic, whirling it around to aim it at the doorway. It took a while for the uniformed equine to actually notice me as she trotted in through the door, still talking natively to some other zebra colleague behind her, before finally turning towards me. She gave a startled gasp once she realized that she'd just walked into a gun pointed right at her head. I may have been bombarded by strange and otherwise impossible things today... but I knew for a fact that a rubber gas mask wasn't going to stop a bullet. I was suddenly struck by déjà vu, staring into those cold black saucers protruding from the bug-eyed mask. We both stood there, frozen. All I had to do was pull the trigger and make a gallop for it... just like last time.

Oh Celestia, I did NOT want this to be like last time...

She stayed quiet, taking another cautious step towards her, nearly pressing the gun against her temple. "Alright..." I whispered, "You're a dead mare unless you do exactly as I say..."

I wasn't even sure if she could understand a word of what I just said. She didn't respond, her legs only trembling under her as she glared at me... or more like her mask glared at me with it's big hallow eyes... but, it didn't take a psychiatrist to tell me her anxiety was through the roof with fright. Finally, after a moment of silence, she began to stutter a word... "C-c-co-co-..." At least I assumed it was stuttering. I obviously didn't speak any kind of... whatever language that was. “C-c-con..."

I furrowed my brow, trying to comprehend the striped mare's blubbering. "Con? Wait... do you mean Khan?" I asked with a look of disbelief. "You know Khan?"

"Con-... con-... con-..."

My face nearly fell limp as she continued to stumble over the same word. "C'mon, kid. Spit it out. I haven't got all-..."

"CONTACT!!!"

"Gyaaah! Luna!" I jumped back in shock as the mare screamed the word at the top of her lungs. There was a radio strapped to her chest, yet she screamed so loud, I'm sure somepony could have heard her from outside the whole goddamn stable. Seriously, are all radios just for show now!? I could already hear the other zebras rushing towards the room at sound of her cry. "You bitch!!!" I yelled, charging my way passed her as my magic pushed her to the floor. Well, so much for doing this quiet!!!

~ ~ ~

Eh... it was worth it...

I turned around to look over the Overmare’s large office space. Diamond certainly cherished her talent for home décor; however this office has always been decorated the same. Lush, fur carpets, china cabinets, expensive vases, framed paintings and photos alike, but the most unique of them all were the stuffed heads of old animals that lived above ground, all mounted on the wall.

I pondered that as I closed my eyes with a anxious sigh. Above ground...

For the first time since I adopted this plan from Glitter, I realized the gravity of what I was about to do. When I find that escape tunnel, it’s going to lead me straight outside... outside, outside.

This is... going to be filthy...

I instinctively lowered my head to my foreleg and gave it a sniff. The smell of sweat, gunpowder, grease, dry blood, and just the general lack of my hygiene at the moment, almost made me vomit right there on top of Diamond’s bear skin rug.

Ah geez... is it too late to reconsider Crusader Shield?

I heard more angry shouts of zebras outside the door, still banging on it with their hooves and guns.

Yeah, still don’t speak... that. But I presume it means that this is the only option I have. I trotted over to Diamond’s terminal and opened the interface.

Password: sparkyisaliar.
Access Granted
Welcome, Overmare Blossom

Yeah... I’m doubting she really thought that one through.

The terminal chirped and began to list off all of its options that it could provide. I noticed the indicator for Clearance Updates, however something else grabbed my attention... Two things actually. One was something called, Stable 17 Failsafe. The other....

“...Message to Platinum Braid?” I muttered in surprise.

With a tiny voice of second thought, I tapped the keys and entered her messages. I didn’t know what I was expecting. But what I found, definitely blew whatever it was into the abyss.

To Platinum Braid:
Platinum, you’ve finally crossed the line! Khan informed me today that one of your maintenance mares accessed and stole unauthorized data from one of our intel terminals. That is Stable-Tec property! I am aware of the contents that she extracted onto a holotape, no doubt as an effort to attempt another riot. And after Sparky spent so long drafting an agreement between us! Before you think of violating any of the terms, I must warn you that the consequences of activating Stable-Tec’s emergency failsafe are astronomically negative for the entirety of Stable 17. For the love of Celestia, do not, under any circumstances, play that holotape. There may not be a stable left for you to riot against.

That bitch! She really DID know what was on it! The Failsafe? I thought Crusader Shield was our failsafe... I wonder what else she's been keeping secret.

From Platinum Braid:
Re: Diamond, I swear I had nothing to do with this! That maintenance mare, Sugar Spade, she won’t listen to me. Ever since she found that fucking holotape. I told her to turn it over to security, but she won’t! She started threatening ponies she was friends with. She threatened ME! Saying I’m a coward for not tearing up that agreement that Sparky came up with. Which I honestly can't blame her for, because that agreement was COMPLETE bullshit by the way. Next thing I know, Glitter Punch is breathing down my neck thinking that I ordered her not to hand it over! I don’t want that! She's my best friend! All you guys are! I don’t want whatever is on that holotape! It... It’s changed her. Somehow, I don’t know. Just, please, don’t overreact like usual. She’s a good pony. I know she’ll come around, and then we’ll find out what’s wrong. What the fuck is on that holotape anyway?

From Platinum Braid:
Re Re: You psychotic bitch! I know you did something to Sugar Spade! Her entire fucking family has been missing for two days! Ponies just don’t disappear into thin air down here. I know what Spark does for you. All that classified shit, sneaking around, and cover-ups! Damn swindling bastard doesn't know what he’s doing working for you! I’m surprised you even let him off the leash to gamble at the tournament last night. Well, you’re probably realizing by now that he doesn’t have the holotape. That’s because I have it! Sugar gave it to me after I convinced her she’d be safer without it. She trusted me! But I think she was far from herself. Now it’s my turn. You’ve also probably noticed that the maintenance department is rioting again. Happy Hearths warming! This holotape is the answer I’ve been looking for. I was blind, but now I see what you are. I see what all of us are!

To Platinum Braid:
Surely, you cannot be serious, Platinum. Do you have any idea what you have done!? Can you hear yourself? Your mind is faltering from the holotape’s contents. It’s corrupting you, just like that Maintenance mare. You are saying things that are completely insane, and I will not stand for anymore of this! Our number one goal should be to prevent any more violence from happening. I will be sending a delegation led by Khan for negotiations. And I may remind you that I will be ordering Glitter Punch to use any force necessary if things do not go their way. If you think I'm angry... wait till you hear what Glitter is going to do to you. She wasn't very happy to hear that her best friend is leading a riot... especially after what you two have been through in the previous riots. And Sparky... I'm sure he doesn't care as usual, but you can bet your rations that he'll be having a 'word' with you in his office after this. Platinum, I know what you’re thinking about doing. You must understand that I will do whatever it takes to preserve this Stable, no matter who is threatening it. Even if it’s my friend.

From Platinum Braid:
Re: She is here. They are coming. We will live. You will die. Run.

Her mind was faltering from the holotape? So it... wasn't just another access key to the stable door then. 'It's corrupting you...' How the hell can a holotape do that!? What happened to you, Platinum?

I guess, sometimes its better to quit while you're ahead, before you find out what's really going on behind the scenes, or else you'll just find yourself appalled, offended, or just plain disappointed. I swear I've told that to countless other ponies trying to dig a little deeper than what they should into the way things are run around here. Well, I guess I never knew myself to practice everything I preach...

I looked over the Stable 17 Failsafe tab, only to disappoint myself further, reading the notice upon hitting enter.

[REDACTED]
Please contact terminal administrator

"But I AM an administrator!"

Damnit! I should have figured as much. Even with the clearance I’m going to have, I’m still not the Overmare. I’m still unauthorized. I’d have to be somepony from corporate. From a Stable-Tec headquarters. Oh well... Whatever this failsafe is, I won't be sticking around much longer to worry about it.

*** *** ***

"Identity confirmed. Hello Inspector Charger."

The stable’s automated voice spoke in its usual cheery voice, as if everything hadn’t gone to Tartarus in the last three days.

"Attention. Security breach on multiple floors. This is a Stable-Tec high alert. Maximum security measures are recommended."

"NO SHIT!"

"Unrecognized command phrase. Repeat. Security breach on multiple floors. This is a Stable-Tec high alert. Maximum security measures are recommended."

Well if I wasn’t already annoyed by her voice before... “Um... activate security measures?”

"Security systems are currently offline"

Brilliant... I couldn’t have expected any less. I looked back at the terminal screen and sighed after seeing nothing remotely close to “escape tunnel”. Please tell me that Glitter wasn’t just talking out of her ass when she told me this plan.

With a large amount of disdain towards my available options, I looked back up at the speaker above the Overmare’s desk. “Can uh... can you open the Overmare’s escape tunnel?” I winced, anxiously waiting for her response. Suddenly, a small hatch opened up on the desk, revealing a small card reader blinking a dull green.

"Please present your Stable 17 Gold level access card."

Let’s hope this works. I levitated out Glitter’s Badge ID for the panel to read. The interfaced flashed blue as it scanned her face.

“Identity Confirmed. Hello Chief Glitter Punch.”

Her card was followed by Khan’s, the reader also scanning his face before twice blinking to black.

“Identity Confirmed. Hello Mr. Khan.”

I then held my breath, ejecting my Badge ID from the terminal and pressing it against the reader. It flashed red.

"Override Accepted"
"Access Granted"

My ears twitched at the sound of a small click behind me. I turned, just in time to see the administrative portrait of one of the Stable-Tec founders rotate, and creek open to reveal a small passageway. My eyes widened as I peeked my head inside. Lights flickered on, one by one, revealing the clean hallway of concrete stretching to an unknown destination... presumably the outside. I let out my breath and smirked at the speaker above me. “Thanks sweetheart.”

"You are welcome Inspector... But... I'm afraid you mispronounced my designation. My name is not 'Sweetheart', it's Sweetie Belle."

I chuckled as I stepped through the opening. “Sorry, but I’m not going to bother learning that.” A short gust of wind flowed through the tunnel, making my mane flap against its current. I could already tell that this was not Stable filtered air. And if on cue, my Pip-Buck began to click with its mini radiation detector. I clenched my teeth, trying to ignore the thought of breathing irradiated air into my lungs, and slowly started forward. “I ain’t sticking around long to remember it...” I gave one last look over my shoulder, watching the portrait of whoever the lavender maned unicorn was swing back closed behind me and lock, sealing me inside the dark murky corridor. This was it... I'm about to leave everything behind... Everything. My room, my office, my belongings, my life...

Glitter...

I shook my head and sighed. I promised I'd find them for her... And if we ever want to live here again, I oughta make that a priority. Smacking my Pipbuck with a hoof, its lamp illuminated the way forward in a dull green glow. I shivered, clenching my eyes shut as I felt the outside winds infect me with goddess knows what. I took a deep breath, trying not to think about the 'goddess knows what' part I was breathing in exactly. "It is just another hallway. It is JUST another hallway," I reassured myself with every step. I could feel the force of the wind increase... hear it's howl bounce off the hallow stretch. The outside... came closer and closer to reality.

This... wasn't taking me to the Stable door, was it? I thought with another sigh.

"Well... I guess it's about time I greeted the neighbors."

Footnote: Quest Complete. Level Up!

New Perk: Thief - Not bad cracking that safe. The blood of a thief runs through your veins. With every rank, you get +5 to both the sneak and lockpick skills. A well rounded thief is a live thief.

Author's Note

First off, I figured that it's best to end the 1st Act with some well deserved appreciation. I'd just like to say thank you for all those who are following this story! I really enjoy writing it, and I can't wait to get started on the next chapter. And, of course, a big special thanks to Kkat for writing Fallout Equestria, and another thanks to everyone who is a fan and a part of the Fallout Equestria community! Readers and Writers all!

I am still working on trying to speed up my publishing rate, but it's a bit of a challenge to do along side work and other responsibilities. Of course, I'd place the primary blame on my own procrastination and the killer writer's block. And, unfortunately for my free time, since I'm still in college, I will have even more things to keep me occupied as that will be starting back up by the end of the month. HOPEFULLY I'll get another chapter out for you guys before then.