Fallout Equestria: Chasing Paradise

Chapters

Chapter 1: Up and At 'Em
Chapter 2: Family Reunion
Chapter 3: Rising Uncertainty
Chapter 4: Unstable Memories
Chapter 5. Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Chapter 6. Trotting in A Winter Wonderland

Chapter 1: Up and At 'Em

Chapter 1: Up and At ‘Em

How would you feel if you knew you were constantly being watched? Always under someone’s gaze, judging you, questioning if you have the willpower to wake up again today? I often ask myself these kinds of questions in the morning. Maybe it’s my conscious or maybe it’s just some terrible form of paranoia that keeps me on these topics. Despite this thought, the travel from my cot to the little bookstore just a ways off from the center plaza of the stable was not a long one. However, given that this place is so small, saying something was a short trot away applied to just about everywhere. I keep along the left wall and mind my own, other ponies passing me talking and going about their day. The buzz of others voices along with the constant hum of the generators is a sound one may find annoying at first but is something you easily become used to.

I will admit that social interaction was never my strong suit, which may be why I work in the back of a bookstore that rarely anypony visits, but the life I live is nothing to complain about. I finally reach my destination and use my magic to push the door open. “Good mornin’ Frost, how’re you this fine morning?” The stallion who put the question out was none other than Blizzard Storm, my father. His blue coat and accompanying light blue mane were very similar to mine, which lead people to say I got all of his traits rather than my mother, although nopony really knew or knows my mother.

“Good morning to you too dad. I’m hanging in there, just like I always am.” I move around him and the little counter at the back of the store and up to the door leading into the backroom. “Going to get to work bright and early as usual today.” I turn to send that message to my father before slipping into the backroom. The little room with a single light in the back of the bookstore was my abode, my oasis of knowledge and freedom, with where I could truly be myself. Lined along the walls were stacks of books, all organized and neatly put away, which I took quite the pride in. Positioned right in the center of the room was a soft bedding that I had brought in myself to sit down at when I read, which I do most of the day.

I slowly make my way around the room, following the lines of book shelves looking up and down at all of the books. Many different genres and stories lay within these little walls. Stories of dragons of old, the princesses and their plight, the technological wonders of the world we put together before our untimely demise, amongst fantasies and romances and even a few mysteries. I slip a book about unicorn magic off the shelf and take it, along with a few other books from a writer working in the stable named Copper Script. I never came to meet this mare or stallion however, and I assumed the reason was due to a ghost writing name, rather than that of their actual name. I sat myself down on my little cushion and opened to the first few pages and began to read, trying to make little sparks and other small magical effects that the books were trying to teach. Most were small party tricks and nothing particularly useful but they interested me all the same. I had nothing much for magic despite a small telekinesis and the ability to turn a small amount of water into ice, which was a skill my parents passed down to me, and their parents to them and so forth.

A few hours passed by, with nothing to be heard but the turning of pages and some small sparks of magic in various shapes and sizes. Eventually there was a bell and the sound of the front door opening. “Good Morning! Anything I could interest you in, or help you with?” My father was much better than working with people than I was, hence my position in the back in comparison to his in the front. A quieter response was heard shortly after and that was that. There was little more sound other than the pony in the front finding something he or she wanted, purchasing it, and then leaving. This monotony was commonplace and I never minded it.

Our work days were short in the stable. More often than not ponies would mull about and talk amongst themselves rather than work, and currency was rarely passed around as we had no real need for it. The books in the store were all free, ponies just want the sentiment of purchasing something it’d seem. A few ponies brought some bits along with them when they came to the stable and a small little economy has since been formed where the whole of the bits exist in this small closed loop system. Personally I saw no real use for the bits, but the little gold coins may have a worth in electronics rather than currency, but that was something I had no say in, and the world where it would have mattered is long gone.

Stories do spread about the outside. We all know what happened, although what became of the world outside is often debated and contested. Some say the world was leveled flat and nothing remained but a massive nuclear desert, some say it was all a hoax to trap us in here, others claim that there’s nothing at all, and leaving the stable would simply be falling forever into the void. Now, some of these stories have more merit than others, but the truth is still often contested regardless. We can all share one sentiment however, nopony wants to step outside these walls, and I am no different. My little hole in the wall is the only world I need and nothing will keep me from it.

After a few hours of working, if it could be considered as such, I picked up the books I was reading and placed them back where they belonged. I made my way from the little book closest to the front, where father was counting the bits in the register and tapping his hoof on the counter beside it. “I’m gonna take lunch, cya in a half hour.” I waved a hoof at him and he looked up at me and smiled, letting me know it was okay.

Trotting along to the stable cafeteria to get myself something to eat I come across a few fillies running along and cracking jokes with one another. The ponies of the stable seem lively all the time, and with nothing better to do but play games and eat, I’m not surprised. The hay chips are as bland as I remember them to be however, washed down with recycled water and the slightest taste of iron. “Engineering really needs to get those pipes cleaned.” I mutter, eating because I need it not because I want it. You get quite tired of something after you eat it for several years straight.

“I don’t think it’s fully their fault.” Another mare muttered as she sat down beside me with her own plate of chips. The smaller cream colored unicorn could come off as a filly with her height, which is often offputting when you don’t know who it is, but this mare I knew well. Her name was Vellum and she was often a customer at our little bookstore. Albeit she never had the bits to buy anything so I picked out a book for her to read and let her borrow them. Her dark copper hair rolled in front of her eye and she absentmindedly brushed it aside with her magic. I noticed the slight darkening of a spot on her face that was previously covered up that wasn’t just a brown spot that her coat had in it.

“I wouldn’t know anypony else it would be, maybe your sister would know?” I glanced down a little at the little pony roughly my age, trying not to pay much mind to the bruise and gave her a smile. I let her have half of my hay chips, I never was fond of them. I put my hoof up to her face and gently brushed the bruise, not being able to completely forget about it. She moved her face back some but didn’t try to run from me. “You should take better care of yourself.” I knew about her home life because of the little chats we had, her sister also came into the bookstore with Vellum sometimes, but I tried not to make it super obvious when I spoke to her. She didn't need her only friend talking about the things she didn’t like also.

“You know it’s not my fault.” She brushed my hoof away with hers and gave a pouty face. She turned and started eating her food, leaving my question about her sister and parents unanswered. I took her silence as her needing a moment to think so I went back to my food myself. After finishing up I got up and dropped my tray off at the little cafeteria front where the food was served and whatnot and then sat back down beside Vellum. “You should stop by later. I just got in two new books from Copper Script, I know you like her work.”

Her ears perked up at the name Copper Script and she stopped eating to ask “Did you read them? Did you like them a lot?” She spoke quickly and with interest, her eyes waiting eagerly for my response.

“Yeah, I read them. They were lovely, especially the one about the little filly who escaped from the stable and her parents and made a little paradise for herself. It kinda makes me think about a certain other pony I know, what without the crazy gunfights and loss and the crazy wasteland full of evil things and stuff.” I kept talking about the stories I had read and Vellum sat silently and listened, a smile on her face, happy to hear the stories recanted. “I should read them sometime, yeah, I’ll come over later.” She gave me a smile and I gave one back. It was almost time to get back to work so I let her know I had some things to go organize and clean up and that I would see her later. “Yeah, cya later. I’m looking forward to those books.” I gave her a wave and made my way back to work, not thinking too much on her bruise still, but happy that I made her smile for at least a little while.

A white mare with black and red hair was standing in the corner of the bookstore looking at books when I came back in. I would normally just scoot past and let whoever was in the front do their own thing but this was yet another mare I happened to know. “Good morning Kilo. Are you looking for your sister mayhaps?” I made my way up to her and she turned to look at me. She was a lot more happy go lucky than her sister and was quite the mare in engineering. “Lift anything too heavy today?” I followed up as I stopped beside her to see what she was looking at.

“Never too heavy.” She responded as she continued absentmindedly shuffling through the books. I picked up one of the books beside the one she was looking down at and noticed the author. Copper Script makes another appearance.

“Saw your sister in the cafeteria, was talking about these books actually.” I spoke into the book, brushing through the pages even though I had read them already.

“Yeah, she does seem to like them quite a lot. She always remembers all the little details when we talk about it. Almost like she watched the author write it.” She was also talking into the book, but actually reading the words.

An idea came to my head while we read. “Hey, you should take these to her. She wanted to come in but I suppose it would make it easier if you took them to her, yeah?” She looked over at me and I her.

“Yeah, that does sound like a good idea.” She closed the book in her magic and I passed her the one I was holding.

I made my way up to the counter and stood beside my father. “You can take lunch, I’ll cover the front.” He nodded and went off to lunch himself. Kilo placed the books down on the counter. “Give me a second. I have another one I want to give her.” I slipped into the back and picked up a smaller book about two sisters stopping an angry dragon from destroying their home and placed it on top of the other two books. “Don’t worry about paying for these. They’re for Vellum and she’ll love them.” I pushed the books over to Kilo.

“Thanks Frosty, I appreciate it.” She picked the books up in her magic and trotted off.

“Get those damn pipes fixed!” I yelled at her out the door. She waved her hoof in dismissal.

A few other ponies came in and wandered around, some picking up books or returning them but none of them all to social. This little library was one of the few quiet places in the stable. What with the larger plaza further towards the center of the stable and ponies always finding something to do you’d be hard pressed to find a place quieter than this. Although the apple orchard might be a close second. Sitting behind the counter and reading a few books on random odds and sods passed the time enough for father to return from his lunch break. He took my place at the front and I slipped back into the back, found a book, and sat back down. This routine was normal for me and at this point it would be weird to not do this everyday.

Work ended for myself a few hours later, although what time I get off mostly depended on when father said I should, which was usually midday. Making my way back to my room, which was on the other side of the stable, I bumped into some of the ponies working in engineering. They had coveralls on, which were stained with oil and other brown or black debris that I didn’t care to inquire about. Kilo was mixed in the crowd and I gave her a wave. There was a small group of ponies working in engineering that I was friendly with, mostly Kilo and her family, who also worked there. They had a form of game night in the engineering department on weekend nights where they would play games and gamble with what bits did get shuffled around in the stable and I often attended, as one of the few social functions I was fond of. Supposedly I was hard to read and had quite the poker face, which made me quite the gambler, although I never wanted any money, just something to do with my weekends.

Vellum and some other ponies working in the janitorial sector were also passing by, using their hooves or magic to shuffle around brooms and mops, swabbing the floors and keeping our stable nice and pretty, or at least as nice and pretty as you could make steel walls and accompanying flooring. Upon reaching my bedroom I set my bag, which I had filled with books, down beside my desk and took off the small apron I wear for work. Laying down on my own bed was always the best part of the end of the day. You could almost consider me lethargic with how much I slept during the days and nights. I unfortunately only had a short few hours to sleep before I had to get up. Engineering was playing cards for game night tonight and I wasn’t going to miss it for the world. I was going to use the money to buy new Copper Script books for the store which would make my dad happy.

~|oooOOOooo|~

Sounds of fighting woke me from my sleep. My father was yelling something about how she wasn’t going to grow up alone and that this wasn’t what they had planned. I slipped out of my bed and pushed the door open just a crack with my magic and looked into the small room in the stable. “I have to go and you’re going to have to deal with it!” My mother yelled in my father’s face. “You should have taken better care of me and not that other mare!” My father repulsed at the statement, clearly hurt. “Yeah! You didn’t think I didn’t know!? It’s a small stable, and word gets around quick!” She kicked out and hit him in the front left leg and he dropped, sitting forward at an angle.

“What other mare! I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” He yelled back, a tear rolling down his cheek. He got up and raised his hoof trying to reach out to her but glanced over at the bedroom door and saw me standing in the doorway, tears rolling down my face.

“How could you do this to our little filly, our little Frost, she doesn’t deserve this!” He said as he dropped his hoof and walked over to me and got down to my height. “Please go to bed darling, we’ll figure this out okay. Don’t cry okay, it’s going to be okay.” He slowly closed the door and I slipped back into the dark of my room, tears still rolling down my cheeks. I slowly slipped my sheets back and layed myself back down. Crying to myself I eventually fell asleep.

~|oooOOOooo|~

My eyes opened, wet with tears. There was a spot on my pillow from where I was crying and I looked into it for some time, replaying the memory in my head over and over. “Where’d you go, Mom?” I spoke quietly into my pillow. I looked over to my side to see the clock, still an hour before I needed to be anywhere. I looked back down at the pillow, my brain telling my body not to go anywhere. I feel into and out of sleep for the next half an hour before another pony knocked on my door. I didn’t open it, or even move from my spot in bed. Magic slowly slipped open the door and an older mare came in and sat beside my bed.

I looked over to her, tears still in my eyes, to see Cali, Kilo’s mother, sitting down. “Are you alright darling? I heard you crying from the other room, is something the matter?” She paused for a moment. “That dream again?” She asked into my teary eyes. I did nothing but slightly nod my head, consequently sinking it further into the pillow. She put her hoof on my side, comforting me with a slow side to side motion. Kilo’s mom became something of a surrogate mother to me, taking care of me often times when my father couldn’t because of where our birthings were and simply because he often didn’t know how to help me, especially when it came to my mother. “It’ll be alright, it’s just a bad dream okay.” She continued that slight rub, which had always been comforting. “You should cheer up. Come on down and play some cards with us tonight, you can come a little early with me, okay?”

I looked over at her and she gave a reassuring smile. “Okay. I’ll go.” I had planned to go but my event had shifted my will some, but I couldn’t say no to her, so I got up and slowly got ready.

I slowly got back into my stable uniform, which was one of many I had in my closet. I took a long moment to look into the mirror, unsure about whether I really needed to get up and go, but I made a promise so it was only reasonable that I would. “You’ll enjoy yourself, just go.” I murmured to myself and my reflection gave a sheepish smile back at me, just as unsure as I was. I turned from the mirror before I convinced myself to give up and go back to sleep. Kilo’s mother was standing in the door, leaning against it and waiting for me to be ready. I pulled some bits out of my end table drawer and put them in a pocket, walking out the door and following behind Kilo’s mother. It didn’t take long to get to the engineering section where the game was being played. Although, given that this place is so small, saying something was a short trot away applied to just about everywhere. Some new pipes had just been laid I’d noticed, and beside some of them sat a table and some chairs where ponies were playing cards already. A mint green stallion was sitting closest to the door into the space and ushered us over. We both sat down and not much longer another stallion, this one white and also Kilo’s father, came to sit beside us. The table only had a few more open chairs and we had began dealing out hands and talking about the going ons of the stable, mostly engineering sector though.

The rounds went by as the ponies beside me finished filling in and putting in their bets. Slowly the amount of bits being passed around the table was easily enough to buy anything in the stable and the pressure was on. Nopony was particularly concerned however and everypony's faces were alight with smiles and jokes. A zebra mask was passed over to a pony in engineering and what followed was a slew of ponies laughing and teasing. "Crescent Wrench is the Zebra again!" Supposedly it was an Engineering custom for the pony to lose all their bits first to wear the mask. I hadn't been one of those ponies yet and I pondered if it was even possible for a non-engineering pony to receive the mask. After a few rounds of silence and loses on my end I began to pipe up, the bright mood and happy faces brought my mood up also.

“Did anyone hear about Copper Script’s new books? She put out a couple and we just got them in the bookstore. They’re almost sold out already.” I hadn’t much to talk about but the books so I threw it out there and hoped someone would bite.

“Yeah actually, Kilo dropped by and picked up some today right? I saw them at home on her desk today.” Hecta, Kilo’s father, noticed my statement had gone unnoticed and gave me a response.

“She certainly did.” I confirmed his suspicions. “I already read through them and they were really exciting. I was glued to every page.” I started trailing off as I began listening to the other conversations going around the table. I wondered to myself if I’d ever meet this elusive Copper Script.

“Ever get power to Room 15?” The minty stallion who ushered us in who everypony just called Pressure shot a questioning glance at Kilo, who was sitting across the way.

“I’ll get the power workin’ as soon as you get the water running to room 34.” Kilo gave an eye roll and continued to banter with Pressure over the cards. Kilo had a slight but still noticeable bout of blood coming from her snout and I giggled a little seeing it. Must've been an accident in Engineering earlier today. Cali and Hecta were also conversing about the days events amongst the chatter. Cali looked up from her cards and noticed I was looking back and she gave me a smile, having noticed I was enjoying myself. I smiled back and returned to my cards, trying to pull a couple wins for the night.

It didn’t take long for everypony to either run out of bits or have family to tend to so the night wrapped up pretty quickly with Kilo and her family taking most of the winnings which was pretty standard. “Thanks for having me again tonight. I had a lot of fun and it really helped me cheer up.” I gave my thanks to the ponies at the table.

“Don’t be afraid to come back and lose some more bits.” Pressure jested towards me with a laugh.

“I will, thanks.” Kilo and family saw me out of engineering, since I never knew how to get around, and Cali walked me to my room.

“Thanks for coming along with us, I knew it would cheer you up.” Cali took my hoof in hers. “Don’t worry about that dream, alright? It’s all in the past and you have plenty of ponies who care for you, okay?” She looked into my eyes until I gave a response.

“Yeah, thanks. I appreciate everything you do for me, even if I don’t say it all the time.” I gave a little smile and with that Cali left me to my own devices.

I slowly made my way up and out of my stable uniform, putting my things away and preparing for bed. I found myself standing in front of the mirror looking at the light blue skin and white hair I called my own. It never felt like mine but I lived in it every day and that was enough for me. I crawled into my cot and shut my eyes. The sounds of creaking and the humming of engines put me to sleep just like it did every night.

Chapter 2: Family Reunion

Clank. Clank. Clank. Screeeeeettch.Clanking followed by scratching coming from the wall beside me woke me sometime during the night. I shot up and looked over at the wall to see nothing. I was certain the sound was coming from that wall and the skittering continued. After the immediate panic died off I laid back down, content that the sound must be either my neighbor or another of the stables odd sounds. They were common and I became used to them but sometimes I’d hear something completely alien and it would shock me senseless. Sometimes the sounds felt animate, like another pony was making them, but I passed that off as my mind playing tricks on me. Eventually I found myself asleep again.

The morning went by like they normally do with the morning routine and breakfast disappearing in the blink of an eye. The events of yesterday still swirled around in my head and they kept me occupied for most of the morning. I greeted my father with the same words I usually did and before I knew it, I was back in the little room in the bookstore, organizing and reading the newest additions and those that I hadn’t read in a long time.

A particular book by Copper Script, one of their earlier works, was one I held in high regard and I kept it out of the way off the other books. This little gem was a story about a couple fillies finding a home for themselves after running away from home. It was a heartwarming tale about friendship and love and it was somewhat of a dream I had shared with the author. To just be free to do whatever I pleased, live a life of my own and explore the vast unknowns of the world, it was paradise. Unfortunately the metal walls of the Stable kept me from ever seeing that vision come true and the dream died away long ago. The book still meant a lot to me however and I would often come back to it as I did again today. Not long into the book I started to doze off and eventually fell asleep, the book resting beside me alongside the pile of other books I was reading through.

When I got up from my short nap I noticed a distinct lack of tapping coming from the counter which was my father’s favorite pastime. I decided to investigate and upon entering the front room my father was nowhere to be seen. Everything else seemed normal so I assumed he went off to lunch and manned his place at the counter, waiting for a customer to stop by. Only a few minutes had passed before Blizzard Storm came rushing back into the shop with a mixed look of confusion, horror, and excitement on his face. “Frost you won't believe it!” He shouted, still moving quickly in my direction.

“What, what?” I quickly stammered out as he took my front hooves in his.

“She’s come back. Your mother, she’s returned!” He was dragging me out of the shop as he spoke.

“What do you mean she came back!? What about the shop?” I was overwhelmed with excitement and fear at the thought of seeing my mother again.

“Don’t you worry about the shop! This is far more important!” By now we’d already cleared the front door to the little bookstore and were quickly headed towards the overseers office. “Apparently a bunch of ponies that’d gone missing turned up this morning and the overseer is seeing to their health and safety right now. My friend told me that he saw her in the crowd and I had to look for myself!” After an almost sprint to the overseers office we came face to face with a large group of ponies, almost as many as their were ponies in the Stable, that I had never seen before.

They ranged in many colors and it was obvious that they came from many different families, but their similarities to the residents of the Stable made it plain to see that they were family to most if not all of the ponies living in Stable 84. My eyes scanned the crowd, once, twice, three times. It was during my fourth scan through that I spotted her, A middling sized pony with a dark blue tone and a similar mane. I knew this woman, even if it was several years ago that I saw her last, it was my mother. It didn’t take long for the crowd to grow exponentially with all the families of the Stable reuniting and sharing sentiments. My father led me through the massive conglomerate of ponies up to where my mother was standing. As soon as she noticed me she rushed up and gave me a hug.

“It was been so long dear.” She said with a tear in her eye. “How have you been my little girl?” She looked down into my eyes and I looked up into hers, tears running down my face to mirror hers.

“Too long mom, too long.” Was all I could muster as I pressed my face into her chest.

After the reunion of families had come to a close the overseer had all of the ponies that were displaced sent to the medical ward to see to it that they were healthy mentally and physically. Not to my or anypony else's surprise most of us followed alongside our lost family members, asking question after question. I was no different and soon after the fact I had many a question of my own. “What happened to you? Why’d you leave? Where did you go?” Those were only some of the questions I asked and most of the answers were the same. She didn’t know. Last she remembered was that fight with dad and then walking out. The sentiment seemed the same amongst all of the misplaced. Nopony seemed sure what’d happened and they’d very fuzzy memories of the events transpiring between then and now if they had any at all.

The next few days I spent in a daze. Most of the Stable had returned to normal and things were finally starting to calm down however. I’d never seen the Stable so packed full of ponies before since I was a little filly and it seemed oddly as though this was the intended number. It had always seemed off to me that the apple orchard was so big and large portions of the birthings empty. I had assumed the former was for safety in case of a fire or some blight killed off some of the trees and the latter simply because many ponies would feel off replacing rooms once containing family and close friends with anypony else. Although that was just a passing thought as the return of my mother was far more important to me. Every day after work for the next couple weeks I would visit the medical ward, checking to see if she had come to remember anything and also to spend time with her. Dad wasn’t all too pleased with the frequent visiting but he hadn’t much a say in it in my mind. He was still upset about how that night transpired but he seemed to have moved on. The nightmares stopped after Frosty returned and that was a relief for me for sure.

There were many little things I began to notice about my mother that had changed since I knew her last. She seemed more docile and less energetic. After all, it had been almost four years since I last saw her. She didn’t seem any older however and that one tidbit bothered me immensely. Other ponies had noticed a similar vein of problems with the ponies they had remembered as well. I told myself I didn’t care and took the route of blissful ignorance. She was back, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Chapter 3: Rising Uncertainty

A month had passed since the displaced returned to us and things had finally returned to a semblance of normal. Ponies were mulling about proceeding with their daily lives and most that had been displaced had been discharged from the medical ward and were getting back to their jobs, if they had any. Families seemed complete and the Stable was happier than can be. My short trot to work seemed to be growing shorter and shorter by the day with many a thought of the condition of my mother, who hadn’t been let out of the hospital yet, keeping me occupied. I was still full of questions as usual and never seemed to have the right answer for myself.

After work I made my way to medical to speak with my mother. It seemed hopeless that she’d remember where she’d been all these years at random almost a month after the incident but I steeled myself to keep trying until I could find something. “Hello dear. Thank you for coming to see me again.” She always seemed happy to see me and it brought a smile to my face.

“Yea ma, I’m back again. I couldn’t leave you cooped up in here all alone, could I?” I took a seat beside her and she looked over to me and smiled back. After a seemingly never ending silence the awkward question came out. “Do you remember anything? Anything at all?” The silence found a way to get longer as she looked off into the distance, a blank expression painted on her face.

Finally she looked towards me once again and replied “I really can’t say I do. Everytime I try to think I swear I can see something but it’s never clear, like something stole my memory out from right under me.” She looked at her hooves. “It’s like I could touch it if I tried hard enough, but it’s always gone by the time I outstretch my hoof.” Her gaze returned to me, her bright eyes glazed over as they had been since we found her. “I’m so sorry dear. I don’t know.” More silence. “How is your father? Is he doing well with that other mare?” I suppose it was her turn to ask the awkward questions.

“I really haven’t a clue mom. I never knew anything about another mare and I still don’t.”

Her eyes were fighting a battle over trust and distrust as she looked right into mine, unsure if I was telling the truth or lying through my teeth. “It’s alright to tell the truth you know? He hasn’t come to visit me once this past month. Do you really think he still loves me if he can’t even say hello?” Tears began to slip from her eyes as she continued to stare me down. An open expression of despair had overtaken her beautiful blue eyes.

Unsure of how to answer her questions I simply said “I don’t know mom. He doesn’t hate you, he couldn’t. He’s probably afraid is all.” Tears began streaking down my face as well. “He loved you, I loved you. We never stopped. I don’t know what all this nonsense about another mare is and he doesn’t either!” A nurse had heard the yelling and came in to the both of us sat, crying with one another.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’m just here to deliver her food is all.” She had a tray of food sat in her magic and it was promptly placed by the bedside before she rushed out in an attempt to not seem like she was intruding. The interruption from the nurse broke our trance and we both wiped our tears from our eyes. A small laugh was shared amongst us, both of us were fed up with the stupidity of it all and it showed. Frosty took the food up in her magic and began eating. I took that as my sign to leave and promptly headed out after giving her a goodbye and a kiss.

~|oooOOOooo|~

I never felt quite right walking away from medical. The conversations we shared always felt off in a way I couldn’t put my hoof on. She rarely showed emotion like that and when she did it changed on a dime. I always tried to follow the flow of the conversation but it always turned in such an odd way. There were a lot of pieces to this puzzle I just couldn’t find. I chalked it up to poor memory but when asking my father and also myself I could never recall another mare in his life. The other ponies of the Stable had similar stories to tell. Stories of ponies disappearing in Engineering and walking off without a trace. With all of them back in their original place with vague memories of why they left it felt superficial. I never wanted to worry her so I kept these things to myself but it began to bother me more and more as time went on. There was something going on in this Stable and I was certain I had to find out what it was.

My thoughts were rudely interrupted when something pony sized bumped into my flank. The cause of the disturbance was none other than the elusive Kilo. “What’s a nice flank like yours doing standing around in the middle of the Stable?” She gave me a smile and put her tongue out at me. I stood and looked at her, not quite registering the whole ordeal before she hit my flank again.

“I hadn’t even noticed I was standing still.” I said, still in somewhat of a daze. “Did you need something?” I continued.

Her head cocked to the side in a questioning manner. “Yeah silly I did. Why were you just standing there looking cute with that dumb look on your face?” Her forthcoming nature always set me sideways but I was never fully opposed to it. A delayed blush came across my face upon realizing she had came onto me not once but twice in the few moments we were talking. I went slightly cross-legged and stammered a dumb response.

“I was just thinking about you. No something stupid.” I stuttered having said the wrong thing and dug myself deeper. “That’s not what I meant. Not you’re stupid. Like I thought of something stupid. And it wasn’t you. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about…” I was cut off as Kilo put her hoof over my lips.

She slowly removed her hoof from my face after saying “Calm down, It’s cute, but calm down.” I found some proper footing and gave the calmest response I could muster.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just been in a bit of a daze recently.”

Kilo responded in kind with “Yeah I noticed. I’ve come into the bookstore a couple times and you never even noticed me.” I tried searching my memory for any recent times I’d run into Kilo at work and couldn’t think of any.

I couldn’t give any more than an awkward laugh but luckily my inability to form a proper response was answered when Vellum and some of the other janitorial crew passed by and stopped to join the conversation. “Good day Frosty. Heya sis.” Vellum came trotting up first with a big grin on her face. “Nice to see you’re both getting along.” She gave a mischievous smile to us both and it was immediately obvious what she meant by it. My blush was renewed but Kilo however seemed unfazed.

“What’s wrong with going after some good flank? And anyway it’s not like you two aren’t always socializing.” She sent the challenge back to Vellum. “Yeah that’s right. I see you playing hoofsie in the cafeteria all the time. Can’t let you just steal her from me ya know?” Vellum just stayed quiet after the comeback from Kilo. A clear winner was determined in but a single instant.

Still unsure how to respond I stood between the two mares and interjected. “She does not. And also please don’t fight over me it's awkward and weird.” The sisters noticed my plight and decided to give me a break from the teasing. It came upon me to change the topic lest I be subject to more sibling rivalry so I spoke up. “Has anypony you know been discharged from the hospital recently? It looks like most everypony has gotten back to their lives.” Immediately after asking the question another question came to mind so I followed up with “And for that matter, how’s Engineering doing? Managing all those extra rooms and pipework can’t be easy.”

Kilo was the first sister to respond. “It’s a huge pain. We can’t really divert power from unused rooms when we’re using them all. This Stable’s falling apart by the day and it only gets harder to keep afloat.”

Vellum followed up shortly after. “Cleaning up after everypony is equally painful. I kinda wish the ponies would just clean up after themselves more. I’ve been running my flank off trying to get this place clean. It was hard enough as it was but now I have to clean up almost twice as much!”

I took a look around the immediate area and, with Vellum’s words in mind, came to notice a much larger amount of garbage and other refuse lying about. Empty cups strewn in corners and along walls, trash cans full and overflowing all sorts of plastic. It was truly tragic. “It really is dirty, isn’t it?” A look of distaste was strewn across my face. “I can’t really believe I never noticed it before.” Vellum nodded at me in agreement. “I’ll try to be more mindful myself so you don’t have to work so hard.” With that I started back off to… wherever it was I was supposed to be going. I don’t think I ever determined where I was going to try and find answers, I just had the plan rolling without any foundation.

“Have a good day.”

“Stop standing around or I’ll hit you again.”

The sisters gave their respective goodbyes as I trotted along. I racked my brain trying to think of a good place to start looking for clues and after almost stopping to stand still again I had put together a short list in my head. The first pony on that list was the overmare. She was bound to know something, right?

Chapter 4: Unstable Memories

The overmare sat alone at her desk, clacking away on her keyboard with her hooves. She looked up and noticed me but immediately went back to her work. "Uhm. Overmare? I have a few questions." I walked up to her desk and waited for her to look up and respond. Instead she continued tapping. "What do you need? I'm very busy right now. Also why aren't you wearing your Pip-Buck?"

I looked down at my blank front right leg but didn't say anything. I had more pressing matters. "I just have some questions about the ponies who returned a month ago. They'd been gone for almost four years hadn't they?" The overmare finally made the decision to look up at me. Her monitor powered off and she looked me dead in the eyes. "Yes. It's been four years. Why's that so important now?" It was clear she didn't want to be having this conversation but I needed answers. "Isn't it odd that they just disappeared and nopony seemed concerned? It's almost like everypony knew they were leaving but me." I continued layering on the questions. "Did you not search for them? Not mourn for them? Why does it seem like they haven't aged or changed and why are they amnesiacs? You have to know." I leaned further and further over the desk until the overmare pushed my face back from hers.

"Ponies disappear all the time. This is a big stable and it's bound to happen. Ponies often wander into Engineering and get lost okay? There was nothing we could do for them." She placed her hoof on her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her hoof came down as she continued. "Look. I understand you're concerned for them. But everypony else is too and anyway they're back so why are you so worried now? Go and enjoy your family." She waved her hoof in dismissal. I wasn't about to let it end with that however.

"Okay Overmare. I understand, but this all just doesn't add up. There's something odd going on here and I'm not sure how I'm going to figure it out but I will." In that time the Overmare had returned to her work. She glared up at me for a few very long seconds before finally returning to typing. I made my leave and set off to Engineering. If the disappearances happen there then it's the next place to search.

Quickly I stopped into my room and packed up my saddlebags. I didn't know how long I'd be in engineering but I took everything I thought I'd need: Water, flashlight, some books because of course I couldn't leave those, and some other odds and sods. I made it halfway out the door before stopping and turning around. I snatched up my Pip-Buck in my magic and placed it over my leg and made sure it was snug on me.

Engineering was alive with ponies running around moving pipes and welding guns and other industrial equipment. A familiar minty pony stopped me not long after I arrived. "Where are you headed Missy? This isn't a place for non-engineering ponies." He tilted his head, noticing my bags. "You sure seemed ready for a campout. What do you have planned?" I tried avoiding his questions but he wouldn't let me escape. I admitted defeat and answered. "I'm here trying to look into the disappearances of the ponies who'd gone missing four years ago." His cocked head now expressed a look of confusion. "They already came back a month ago yeah? I know I work in Engineering but you must have been living under a rock, which was under Engineering."

A sigh escaped my lips. "I know that they came back. I want to know why they left in the first place." His confused look persisted. "I don't want you running around down here by yourself. You already need other ponies to help you out when we play cards. Do you really think you can make it around in here by yourself?" Pressure had a good point but I wasn't going to let that be the end of my journey." I'll find a way. I'll ask Kilo. She should be able to help me." I was taking a gamble in the hopes that Pressure would lay off me and let me on my way.

He didn't budge. Not even an inch. This time he let a sigh escape his lips. "I'll have to find someone to help you out of here. You wait right here and I swear to Celestia and all that I hold dear if you move from this spot I'll hit you over the head with a 2x4." It was obvious he was kidding about the latter but he was dead set on not letting me leave. Pressure turned and trotted off further down the way I was facing. There were only two ways through this part of Engineering and one was towards Pressure and further in and the other towards the rest of the Stable.

There's got to be some way around him. I leaned against the wall, a pout on my face, and picked my brain for anything. Were there any ways around without Pressure finding out? I steeled myself for the only answer I could come up with, I had to go in deeper. Sure it was towards Pressure but every step towards him was a step towards my goal. With newfound confidence I set off further down the tunnels.

A couple ponies in Engineering gave me sideways glances and I made my way down the corridor. It wasn’t long before it split off into many branching pathways leading to all different parts of the Stable. It became apparent very quickly that I was already unsure where to go. The tunnels were often pitch and poorly lit when they weren’t which made navigating the space even harder.

Trotting along for what felt like hours I’d become sufficiently lost within the labyrinthian halls of Engineering. Placards led the way but to the uneducated they meant nothing and I found myself amongst those uneducated ponies as I scoured the walls searching for some semblance of direction. Placard after placard I made my way deeper or so I hoped I was with my sanity and will to continue draining with each corner I rounded. Eventually I stumbled upon a sign that looked different from the other ones lining the walls. Words were written on it but they had been long worn off. It wasn’t immediately noticeable what would cause wear and tear down here but I was more overjoyed then concerned as soon as I noticed a small arrow notched into the bottom. “Finally some direction.” I said aloud to myself and breaking the silence that had permeated thickly in the air for some time.

I wasted no time heading in the direction the arrow was pointing me in, squinting and searching for the next sign. My Pip-Buck light led the way as I held it up to each and every wall. The smaller signs were dispersed further apart than the normal identifying ones and lead me in very windy and disorienting directions as though they were ancient and unused or not meant to be followed.

Time passed oddly down here. In the Stable it was always hard to tell the time what with the lights never turning off but the rigid schedule or at least the proximity to a clock made it possible. Down here with nopony but myself I had no way of knowing if I had been walking for minutes or hours. My stomach leaned towards hours with a low grumble that made me jump in the silence. I found the next arrow and sat myself down under it, pulling some small cans of food I had brought with me and digging in. I leaned up against the wall and read a couple chapters of an old Copper Script book that I adored and passed some time. After I had let my body rest sufficiently I continued on my quest.

Pressure’s words ran through my head several times as I continued on my way. I don’t think anypony had been down these halls in a long time and I was unsure how I was going to return after I had found what I was looking for. I tried not to let the fear take over as I continued on. “You’ve more important things to be worrying about right now. Find answers now and worry about getting out later.” I slapped my cheeks with my hooves and shook my head. “You can do this.” I continued to myself.

The rumble of the stable was far less noticeable down here. The further I traveled the more disarray the pipes became. I was no Engineering pony but it was obvious with the condition of these pipes that nothing would run through them. Massive holes the size of my head were torn into parts of them with jagged metal sticking out from many places. I thanked Celestia that they were above me so I didn’t step into any of them.

A slow rumble started somewhere behind me. The sounds of the Stable were something I had become quite accustomed to but this time it was louder than I had ever heard it. It started a slow rumble but it had started to rise quickly. The sound was almost as though somepony was shuffling through a massive pool of gelatinous slime. I turned around to see what was making that sound and saw nothing. The rumble was slowly creeping closer but through the many twists and turns it was impossible to distinguish where exactly it was coming from. I was not about to become crazy pony slime food so I picked up the pace, now desperately searching for each and every arrow.

Even the arrows were becoming hard to make out but I continued onwards, more for my life than for my goal this time. The air that was once thick with silence was now permeated with pants of distress and exhaustion. That rumble that I had once been so calmed by now scared the daylight out of me. I stopped for a moment to turn around and see if I could spot what could be making that sound. What greeted my eyes was a mass of black pooling at the floor. It was dripping and gushing from different holes in the pipes in the ceiling. The sound slowly came to a stop as I stood too afraid to move. The mass of black continued to pool at the floor before stopping just inches from my hooves. It began to writhe and twist, coming up to about my height and then taller. A set of eyes somehow blacker than the mass itself formed in front my mine, the rest of the shape become one very equine. “Frost.” the creature of black spoke to me through an unperceivable mouth. “Frost” it said again as the shape began to take on color. Slowly the black tones became blue and white and red and green and then back to blue. It morphed into all of the colors I’d ever seen until settling upon an uncomfortably similar one. The light blue of my mother’s coat with her same white hair looked back at me. The only difference was the never changing pitch black eyes.

I brought myself to move. My back leg shuffled back just a few inches as if my body still refused to escape the stare of my mother. I couldn’t break my eyes away from the impersonator as it said again, “Frost.” but in my mother’s soft voice this time. My eyes looked directly into it and it’s further into me than I knew I could go. My other leg shuffled back to meet its counterpart and I slowly began to trail backwards. I was unable to move my mouth. I wanted to speak, to yell and to ask so many questions but I couldn’t. My hooves betrayed me as I stumbled backwards and landed on my flank. The creature now walked towards me, it’s gaze still firmly set upon my mine. Hooves shuffled as I tried to trail backwards away from it. It walked at a leisurely pace to match my frantic one. “Frost.” the accursed monster continued to say, its mouth never moving despite it’s words.

“What do you want with me!” I yelled back having finally captured my voice. No answer came from within the black eyes. Instead it came closer until it could reach out and touch my chest. As it did I slipped away into blackness, my eyes failing to stay open as the ever enveloping black of it’s eyes became all I could see.

~|oooOOOooo|~

“Check that valve. Are the displays correct? Come now everypony, we can’t mess this up.” I stood on a catwalk, vats of bubbling magical liquid sat below me. Ponies were scurrying about checking gauges and machines. Clipboards and white suits were carried or worn by everypony involved. A similar clipboard floated in front of my face with all sorts of numbers and diagrams on it. None of them made any sense to me.

I came to notice I was not in charge of this body. It moved and talked and did as it pleased without my permission and I was powerless to stop it. It continued to watch as ponies shuffled about below moving pipes and preparing for some sort of test. The host walked up to a group of ponies and they split apart leaving one mare stood looking right at us. “Yes ma’am?” She said. Immediately I recognized the voice. I’d heard it much of my life and I had heard it just a few hours ago. The voice coming from that mare was my mother’s. It didn’t take long for me to recognize the deep blue eyes and lighter coat poking out from the suit she wore.

“This is a very important and dangerous experiment, I hope you are ready.” The host spoke again. “Yes Ma’am. As ready as I’ll ever be.” Her expression was both joyous and concerned. She was always a go-getter. “Well then. Let’s get this over with and see our families shall we?” The host smiled and patted my mother on the shoulder. “Of course. Let’s do it.” She smiled back.

In an instant my perspective shifted to my mother’s and then to several different ponies running around moving things and preparing. It was almost impossible to comprehend who was who and what was moving. After almost a hundred ponies flashed before my eyes I was dropped into blackness again.

~|oooOOOooo|~

The only thing left in that blackness were the black eyes of the creature who sent me through the dreamscape. It had returned to it’s blackened state and turned to walk away. “What was that?” I shakily asked into the blackness as it walked away. It said nothing as it rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. My vision slowly returned and my Pip-Buck light illuminated the darkness. I stood from my spot and followed after the creature. It didn’t seem to want to hurt me and so I hoped it could answer my questions. After rounding the corner I saw it rounding another and continued after it. It rounded corner after corner as I just managed to keep up with it until it stopped at a wall. It dropped lower to the ground, returning to its liquid state before slipping under a crack in a door that had been covered by dirt and muck. I brushed it away with my magic to see that the door had a very large lock and seemed unable to be opened but upon pushing it with my magic it slid open slowly. I moved past the large door and into the chamber beyond. A small room greeted me with not much but a few computer terminals and desks. A window on the wall overlooked a large room of monitors and screens, none of them being on.

I took a step towards the computer terminals and tapped on a few to see if any would turn on to see one screen lit up. I sat my bags down beside it and sat down. The computer opened with no issues, no passwords, no locks. It seemed odd that this whole area would be so hidden but the computers not secured and the door unlocked. Only a few entries existed on the computer and what of them I could get open contained nothing or were so corrupted that it was unreadable. Only a few entries were left untouched, with one of them encrypted in a way I’d never seen before. I downloaded it to my Pip-Buck and left it at that. I did however sit and read the other messages.

Entry 107; Day 984
It’s been a struggle but I think we’ve finally achieved something here. Many ponies had been subjected to the test liquids but none had the desired outcome. Vegetation is a common occurance and the copies fair no different. But today, after 984 days of work, there’s been a breakthrough. Our test subject, Capricious Wind, has gone a whole week without any negative effects. She seems fully capable of magic and in fact is more capable than prior to the tests. We are still unsure why she’s responded well to the tests but we will have to run more tests.

Entry 115; Day 991
Officially two weeks it’s been since the successful experiment with Capricious Wind and she seems healthy as ever. Her clones responded in kind to the experiment and seem healthy as well. There must be something in her genetic code that we don’t know about yet but we’re steadily making progress. We have however lost two other test subjects to the vats effects. We’re running out of room for all of these vegative ponies.

What entries that remained were unreadable or told of similar failed attempts. I sat in the cold room by myself absorbing all that I had read. 1000’s of days ponies had been working here testing on ponies with unknown magical liquids. Copies? They copied ponies? I didn’t understand any of what I was reading so I just sat there and read through them again and again hoping they would make sense the next time through. They never did. I shut the terminal down in frustration and stood up, turning my attention to the windowat the end of the wall. The screens sat lined against the back wall black and unmoving. Switches sat beside the window and I moved to flip them. Surprisingly the screens flickered and then glowed to life. The bright light was something my eyes were not yet used to after having walked in the darkness and after my eyes had adjusted I looked up to see yet another familiar sight today. The walls of the Stable looked back at me. Ponies mulled about their day and their work. Eating, working, lounging, the ponies of the stable continued about their lives completely unbeknownst to the eyes laid upon them.

I stood in silence and horror as I watched the Stable operate as normal. Somepony was here, watching over us all, monitoring all of our moves and actions. Cameras existed in every place of privacy: bedrooms, restrooms, every workspace and nook and cranny was seen at all times. In just the few moments I was watching I witnessed one too many things I didn’t want to and I turned to flip the switches off and with it the lights of the Stable. I leaned myself against one of the desks and lost my lunch. I had witnessed more today than a pony should ever in her life.

Orange-yellow stained some of the desk and floor after my incident and I got up to move away from it, the smell bringing me to want to lose what was left of my lunch. Another door opened up into a large room similar to the one I had seen in the dreamscape. Unlike the dream this room was nothing more than a mangled disaster. Massive vats lay toppled and spilled over all across the floor. The magical liquid pooled an unknown depth above the floor. The catwalks were torn and destroyed and not much standing room was left. The liquid from the floor bubbled up and gurgled almost pony like voices and words. It was as though the whole mass had been possessed by many angry spirits all vying for attention. Looking down into the mass of black there was a noticeable sheen to it. It was possible to see all of the colors of the rainbow in its reflection, like a rainbow through the water.

It was horrifying but I was mesmerized looking at it. It was almost speaking to me, asking me to come closer, to see what it had to offer, and I was obliged to do so. I kept moving towards what remained of the stairwells to the ground floor and down the steps. There I stood, only steps away from the writhing black magical mass. Within the mass shapes of ponies similar to the one I had followed here began to bubble up from the mirth. Some of the bodies of black twisted and warped inside of one another and when they took on full shape their colors blended in horrifying pigments of blood and fur. A chorus of voices erupted from the mass. None of their faces moved but their voices were all their own. Every pony within the mass distinct and clear, all crying out in pain and horror. I scurried up the stairs and to the door. I turned back to see the mass moving towards me. The ponies climbed up the stairs, the stairs melting beneath them. Everything they touched melded and twisted, warping into grotesque ruined versions of their previous selves. Ponies melded through and past each other, all fighting to be the first to reach me.

I slammed the door shut with my magic and ran for the other door. As I ran I passed by the desks and the alight terminals. I felt my hooves slip out from under me and I crashed to the floor. I reeled back and noticed I’d slipped in my own vomit. The mass of ponies came rolling through the door which stood no chance as it melted and melded into the surrounding wall. The mass had cut me off from the door as it neared closer. The horror passed over the switch on the wall and I could see the lights of the monitors turn on. The noise from the speakers became muffled and distorted as they melted in the mass of black moving nearer. Screams of horror continued to erupt from the monsters and combined with the distorted voices and sounds of the Stable created a deafening cacophony of noise that left me spinning. Blackness enveloped me yet again as I gave myself up to the uncontrollable wave of pitch.

~|oooOOOooo|~

“How do you feel?” A voice I had heard before rang out from my mouth. “I feel fine. In fact I feel great. Does that mean the experiment was a success?” my mother’s voice spoke back to me. “Yes dear. It does. We’ve done it. We’re free now.” my host spoke in reashered tones to the mare who now stood in a light blue medical outfit. She said nothing but beamed, absolutely pleased with the results. She moved a tray over to her side with her magic and began eating. “It all works fine.” She continued through mouthfuls of food. “I can move around like normal and I can use my magic. I feel super energetic.” She echoed her words with her actions.

“That’s wonderful to hear Capricious.” A similar tone and a smile was returned. “But what of the other ponies? Will they ever recover?” The tone shifted quickly after the question was asked. “We don’t know dear. We don’t have enough information on what it’s doing to them and we’ll just have to try what we can. But no worries because you were our first success! That means we can just redo what we did with you and we’ll be fine.” My host tried to keep the mood positive but Capricious didn’t seem to follow along. “I’m worried about them. We may have succeeded but at what cost? There are so many that didn’t make it. We don’t even know if they’ll survive for long. I want to call this a success but I don’t know if I can call it that.” A sigh escaped our lips.

“We’ll be fine. We will get them fixed and we’ll get out of this just fine. Anyway, now is not the time to worry about this, we’ve got more tests to do.”

~|oooOOOooo|~

This had not been the first time today I was enveloped in that blackness but this time I was glad. I didn’t need to witness that horror ever again. Immediately I noticed a very thick blanket covering me. It was viscous but still solid and it squirmed over my body until it no longer sat atop me. I looked up to see the familiar form of my mother. Those black eyes made it obvious which one it was however and I shuffled backwards before getting up off the floor. “You… Saved me?” I asked into its eyes. The silence was palpable as the Stable monitors had died and nothing moved beside my chest, which was beating at about one too many beats a second. It didn’t answer my question but instead just looked at me and smiled before disappearing into the pipework of the Stable above. Unsure what to do with the information my brain had just received I decided to make my way back to the Stable proper.

Chapter 5. Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Dim lighting accompanied by poorly designed passageways made my trek back slow and arduous. Thoughts of that horrible monster rolling through these halls kept my mind alert however.

"Where could it have gone?" My question rang out through the empty space. I'd gone to check the dilapidated room to find the black liquid completely removed from the floor. Absolutely nothing remained of the bottom floor but a field of bones. The vats that had still been standing had since fallen over, half melted into the floor and accompanying walls. Upon closer inspection it was clear to me that the mass of black had been at least two ponies deep. Plenty enough for me to have been swallowed hole. Stepping foot in that room again made me sick but morbid curiosity got the better of me. The bones I'd seen at the top of the stairs became more familiar as I got closer. Bones of rats and other small creatures lay among too many pony bones to count. Celestia clearly thought I hadn't seen enough today. This marks the second time I've lost my lunch today.

~|oooOOOooo|~

"I'm hungry." My stomach grumbled in agreement. My bags had been completely destroyed when the creature rolled over me and with it all of my food and other things. A single tear rolled down my eye for all of the books that I'd never be able to enjoy again. "I never got to finish that chapter." Hallowed by my experience and equally depressed about my bags I shuffled along.

Eventually I began to see real lighting. Most of it was melted and torn apart, much of the Stable halls continued that trend, but at least it seemed more alive here. I feared the creature had come this way. In the silence I called out “Hello? Is anypony…” but I cut myself short when I remembered that I was out here when I shouldn’t be.

Pressure’s words cut through me again. "I don't want you running around down here by yourself. You already need other ponies to help you out when we play cards. Do you really think you can make it around in here by yourself?" Shit. Well now I have to play it safe and hope nopony heard me.

“You seem tense.” Cali’s voice brought me crashing to the floor.

“Shit.” Was all I could mumble out again but this time out loud. “No… Not tense at all.” I got up and brushed myself off as Cali came walking around to look at me.

“You know you shouldn’t be here.” Her face was stern and serious which was something I didn’t often see from her. It was clear as Stablelight that I was screwed more royally than both Princesses combined. “Pressure sent me down here to get you.” Oh for buck’s sake.

“I swear I didn’t do anything I shouldn’t be.” I tried to pull up any excuse I could muster but I was abruptly cut off as Cali spoke again.

“I’m not going to get mad at you. We have more important things to worry about.” she pointed a hoof towards what I assumed was the rest of the Stable. “The place has gone to hell and I got out just in time to catch you. It’s not safe there.” Cali flipped from stern to joking to stern again.

My mind was filled with questions I didn’t think I’d ever have to ask or even think about. “What do you mean the Stable isn’t safe. It’s the only safe place! You don’t know what I saw back there!” I let the truth of my discoveries flow from my mouth. Cali seemed unfazed by the story, almost as though she’d known about it the whole time.

“Massive black goo monster swallowing everything in sight? Yeah that’s what’s happening to the Stable right now. It’s not good. In fact it’s horrifying.” Cali seemed surprisingly calm despite her words.

“You don’t seem to bothered by it. Why does the fact that a monster made out of magical death goo killing everypony you know and love not bother you?” I got up in Cali’s face. My eyes were wet with tears at the thought of my family and friends being swallowed whole. It didn’t take long after thinking about what would happen to them that I realized it was entirely my fault. I slumped down, practically falling to the floor, and began to sob uncontrollably. “It’s my fault. I let it out and now everything I love is gone.” The weight of my actions kept me pinned to the floor, unable to move no matter what I told myself, but I didn’t want to move. I couldn’t bear to see what had become of my home.

“It’s not your fault.” Cali placed a hoof on my shoulder. “There’s nothing you could have done.” She continued. “Come on. I think we can still help some of the Stable residents if we hurry.” Cali had nothing to see but a pony who was unsavable. A pony who had given up on her reason to live and swallowed by despair. “Okay fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” Cali grabbed me by the neck and began pulling me with her hooves and her magic. I didn’t try to resist her.

Cali dragged me along for quite a ways before dropping me, the abrupt stop plus my head hitting the floor shook me from my trance, my eyes darting up to her in the process to see what would have caused her to have done this. She stood over me with her face pressed up to mine. “Look. Ponies do stupid stuff all the time. Mistakes are natural.” Her voice rang in my ears as she spoke loud and clear directly at me. “Now, are you going to lay around and hate yourself for something you can’t fix or are you going to get off your flank and fix the shit you can fix?”

“But it’s all my fault. There’s no fixing it, I already murdered everypony." Tears threatened to well up again but Cali stopped me before I could begin to cry again.

“I work in Engineering, you know that. I fix broken shit all the time. Do you think I do everything perfectly huh? Do you think every time I do something it’s right the first time? No. But you know what? I fix it. Ponies have been without water or electricity for weeks on end and It’s a constant pain trying to deal with. And you know sometimes it’s my fault. But I fix the shit I can and deal with the shit I can't. Now I swear on Luna’s name I’ll have to fix your broken ass myself if I must so you better get off this floor and walk like a normal pony.”

Many things had shocked me today. I’d been almost murdered twice, learned of a crazy experiment going on my whole life, and above all else those words were the most standout part of my day. “Okay.” I squeaked out as I got off my the floor and back onto my hooves.

“Good. now let’s see if there’s anything we can do.” Cali led the way back to the Stable. With her strong knowledge of the Stable’s Engineering sectors we made good time. I was still unsure about what I was going to do but I had no choice but to follow or get lost in the halls. Along the way we passed a single skeleton, most of it missing but still easily identifiable. “I’m sorry Pressure. There wasn’t anything I could do for you.” Cali leaned down and said a prayer before continuing onwards.

Upon entering the Stable proper it was obvious something horrible had happened. Metal and concrete were warped and melded together and many rooms had been so torn apart they were inaccessible. Not many ponies were left and those that were left were either unable to move due to being trapped or from being crippled. Screams of pain and cries for help echoed through the now emptier Stable. Cali and I set to work pulling ponies out of the wreckage. I wasn’t much help but I could at least keep ponies from being crushed any further. Familiar voices calling back to me in pained tones left me shell-shocked but I kept going, trying to help them get free.

Another familiar voice, this one much less pained but more so stressed came from behind me. “Frost. I can’t believe you’re okay! I tried looking everywhere for you!” Two white hooves wrapped around my chest from behind as Kilo embraced me. “The bookstore was torn up and I couldn’t find you anywhere!” I patted her hoof with mine.

“Thank you for your concern Kilo, It means a lot. Do you know what came of the others?” Kilo moved around to continue speaking.

“We’re really trying to do a headcount but it’s so hard with everypony still stuck or trapped. Vellum is keeping track of who’s been pulled out and who we can confirm dead. With nothing left of them but their bones it’s impossible to tell much more than size.” Kilo was already on the move, helping Cali move rebar and debris away, and a team of others were following behind. Clearly her ability to move heavy pipes and equipment was coming in handy.

“I’m going to help Vellum take a headcount. Thank you Kilo and may Celestia and Luna guide us all.”

“Let’s hope.” Was kilo’s only reply.

Vellum was swimming amongst a sea of injured ponies. A makeshift hospital had been set up and some of the ponies from the medical staff were also running around administering healing potions and other meds. I’d never seen so many drugs passed around in my life. But neither had I seen so many wounded. Work accidents were one thing but this was on a different level. Ponies lay with limbs missing, either sewn shut or melted closed, and others were covered in gashes and blood.

My hooves came to rest upon Vellum’s shoulders. She was focused and trying her best to keep the tears in. A clipboard with names of Stable ponies was accompanying her. Many of the names had been hastily written with some of them being scratched out with other names replacing them. Some names had even been scratched out but rewritten again. It was clear it was chaos and nopony was really sure who was alive or dead. “Vellum. I need you to stay calm okay?” She was on the verge of hyperventilating. “Are my parents okay?” I tried to be as clear as possible but the look in her eyes brought up many emotions in mine.

“I… Frost… I really… I really don’t know anymore.” She stammered and looked down, fighting the urge to cry and break down in the middle of all the wounded. “Nopony is okay. I don’t know who’s alive or who’s dead or who’s dying and it’s all a mess.” Tears began to flow from her eyes. “Frost I’m not okay. These ponies aren’t okay. What am I supposed to do?” And like that it was my turn to get somepony back on their hooves as Cali had done for me.

“Vellum you’ll be alright. You need to be strong for them.” I gestured to the crowd of wounded left lying around bleeding or unconscious. “They need somepony strong to take care of them. They’ll continue to suffer if you’re suffering, okay?” Vellum was still crying but she looked up from her slump to look at me. “I didn’t know what to do. I was lost and thought that everything here was my fault. But a strong pony told me that there’s no point crying over the things you can’t change. She’s over there doing her best to keep these ponies going so I need you to do the same. You’re the only one who can do this.”

Vellum seemed unsure regardless of my words but she went back to her work, attending to the wounded and keeping track of those who came and went. Unfortunately I didn’t learn anything about my parents from her list as their names weren’t on it. Guess I’ll just have to find them myself. The Stable was a complete mess of debris and refuse, black magical liquid was left dotted everywhere in the wake of the beasts rampage and not much was left of those who were subject to it’s wrath. I silently ushered a prayer for each one I passed and somewhere deep down thanked those same beings I prayed to that I was still alive. I had no good place to go but to check the bookstore.

Most of the bookstore was destroyed and books lay flayed about everywhere. There was no sign of anypony having been in here. But why would the creature come into here if there wasn’t anypony to take? The question spurred me to continue through the small store to try and find something that would answer it but no answers came. The tiny back room that I’d considered my second home was roughly intact. Many of the books had fallen from the shelves but they had retained their quality.

I stood and looked over the misplaced books for many long minutes. “You don’t have time for this. You have to find them.” Despite my own words the weight of the days events brought me to sit on the little cushion in the center of the room. I took a long look around at the books and began to organize them slowly, almost entirely out of habit. My brain was racing with questions and pleas to keep going but I forced myself to think of nothing. I sorted the books for an amount of time I didn’t care to know and sometime during it I lulled off to sleep.

~|oooOOOooo|~

Shuffling of hooves woke me from my sleep. White fur covered the entirety of my vision and I tried to shuffle back to see what it was. I was still slow from having just woken up so getting up took longer than the hooves in front of me had seemed to have liked. A strong magical grip pulled me up from the floor and set me on my hooves. The jolt got me up in a heartbeat and I stood to look at Kilo, whose fiery eyes were distraught and shaking. Kilo was never a fearful mare and that look was a first that I’d seen. “Are you awake in there!? We absolutely have to go!” She put her front hooves on me and shook me violently.

I brushed her hooves off, still slightly groggy, and responded, “What, What’s the matter Kilo?” She was clearly not pleased with the pace at which I was moving at she gave me a strong hoof to the nose. I coughed and stepped back, my back to the wall of books behind me.

“Let’s go. I don’t have time to tell you. We absolutely have to go.” She took my hoof in her magic and started dragging me.

“I can go myself, please let me go.” Luckily she listened and she let off her grasp. “We’re leaving? To where? Can I at least take some of these books with me? I can’t leave them all here to rot.” Kilo turned to me, fear and anger alight in her eyes, and she stopped to look right at me.

“We’re leaving the Stable. We’re going outside.” She waved her hoof and continued “That thing that rolled through here melted a hole in the Stable door and now there’s other ponies coming in killing the wounded and everypony else.” She continued to look into my eyes. “Ponies killing other ponies! I've seen some bucked shit but this is something else!"

Kilo didn't waste any time grabbing me and pulling me along yet again. I quickly grabbed up a bag and put some of the food and books I had lying around the shop into it and got dragged out the door.

Eventually Kilo let me go, realizing I was already prepared for the journey. I was full of doubts about the outside world, but there wasn't much I could do about it. At least I could be certain that it wasn't an endless void if other ponies lived in it. Hell if they lived there it could be more hospitable than any of us thought. "I have to get Vellum and protect the others, you better get out of here." Kilo turned to look at me again, gave a reassuring smile, and then headed off to the location of the others.

Loud popping sounds rang out through the corridors and there wasn't any sign of it stopping. There wasn't a clue in my mind as to what they were but I had a gut feeling that it wasn't a good sound. I looked back to the direction Kilo had run off to. Is there anything I can do to help them? I can't leave Kilo to do everything herself. I owe too much to her and her family to just leave them when the ponies I love are in trouble. Despite my better judgment I turned around and headed towards the sounds and towards my friends.

Ponies wielding many different variants of metal contraptions either in their telekinesis or their mouths were standing over a group of wounded. Some of them were immediately recognizable as dead but it was hard to get a good look. There weren't any ponies in sight outside of them however. No sign of Kilo, Vellum, Cali, or anyone else on the search and rescue team. What have I gotten myself into? I took the chance I had to get out of dodge but as I began my turn to sneak away a loud crash startled me back into my hiding place.

A massive piece of rebar had fallen from the ceiling and pinned half of the ponies in the courtyard. Where it came from I was unsure but what I did know was that the wounded were just as pinned under it. I took another moment to assess the situation. Five ponies covered in scrap metal plate and worn fabrics holding what I assumed were weapons, at least 20 wounded. Of the five, three moved to help others out from under the rufuse, while the other two stood lookout for anypony else.

Is there any way I could distract them and pick them off? I don't intend to kill them but if I could just knock them out then I will. It was obvious the ponies trying to move the rebar were having a lot of trouble and the ponies trapped under it were yelling in pain and screaming for help. I took a can from my bag and held it in my magic. Let's see if this works, by Celestia let it work. I hurled the can across the room until it clanked across the floor to land roughly 10 feet from a small side passageway jutting off from the corridor. Immediately two of the armed ponies turned to see if they could discern the source. With their backs turned I shuffled across from the rubble I was hiding behind to another pile of scrap closer to the crowd.

As soon as I looked up to see what had happened I noticed a couple of ponies had walked over to the passageway where the can had fallen. As they walked up they looked into the dark alleyway and stood for a moment. "Ah thin' ah see somfin." A pony with a makeshift spear in his mouth muttered to the other. As soon as he spoke a strong telekinetic force grabbed him and pulled him into the alleyway. Following that was a loud crack. The other pony pulled up his weapon in his telekinesis and what followed was a couple of loud popping sounds just like the ones I'd heard before. It became clear to me what they were after seeing it fire. I'd read a bit about guns and other Ministry of Technology inventions but I'd never seen one with my own eyes.

A rock came flying from the alley and hit the pony directly between the eyes. He dropped the weapon and put his hooves up to his face. He was clearly bleeding heavily from his nose. In a flash a white mare scooped up the weapon in her magic and brought it crashing down onto the pony's head. He fell to the floor unconscious, blood coming from more than just one place this time.

The other three ponies trying to help their pinned friends jumped up at the sounds of gunfire and brought their weapons to the ready. Two of them held small shivs in their mouths and the other carried a couple longer rifles on his back, strapped to a saddle he was wearing. The white mare dropped back into the alley as a hail of bullets impacted the wall and the body of the unconscious pony. Yeah if he wasn't dead before he is most definitely now. The reinforced walls fared much better and took little damage from the gunfire. The two with shivs went back to trying to move their pinned comrades out of the wreckage while the other sprayed several volleys into the wall, not to much avail.

I had to help the pinned ponies as well, but I had to find a way to get those guns to stop firing. The three left were occupied and I snuck closer, getting right up to the other side of the rubble the ponies were trying to move. The wounded looked up at me, having recognized me, and tried to shuffle and get free. I simply ushered a gesture to be quiet and hoped they'd understand. I peeked over the side of the metal and looked carefully at the twin rifles. They were both attached to a saddle and both triggers were connected to a bit that the pony had in his mouth. That must be how he's firing them, but how do I stop them?

I quietly shifted through my bag and pulled out a small bottle of water I had. My plan was the cover his face in it and then freeze it with my magic. Here goes nothing I guess. The bottle of water splashed over the pony's face and he tried wiping it off. As he did so I pointed my horn at him and fired off a blast of cold. The water covering his face immediately froze to his face, holding his mouth shut. I didn't have much time but I had to disarm him. A pipe broken off and on the ground served as my weapon of choice as I came around the corner and brought the makeshift weapon down on the bit. The ice shattered in his face which left cuts like glass and he dropped the bit. The other two ponies were shuffling to pick up their shivs but I didn't have time for them. The pipe came to bear again but this time on one of the guns. The barrel bent down and warped and the pony shuffled to the right, the weight bearing him down. He fell to his right side, still sitting up, but barely balanced.

He brought his mouth up to the bit again and bit down. One of the guns fired off and barely missed me but the other one stopped short, the bullet colliding with the bent barrel and deforming it. My ears rang as I brought the weapon down on the other gun, causing a similar effect. By this point the other two ponies had recovered and one of them came crashing into my side, both of us falling over. I was pinned under the pony with the shiv and she looked into my eyes, a look of fire in her eyes. She cackled with the shiv in her mouth and brought it down, putting a gash into my face. I screamed out in pain and started squirming, trying to break free. The other two ponies had come to circle me and they stood, cackling equally. "Looks like fresh meat. Never seen one so clean before." The other pony had dropped her shiv to commentate.

All of the offenders had crazed looks in their eyes, a madness unseen before by mine, and their bodies were rugged. Scraped and scarred, malformed and battered. Whoever these ponies were they'd gone through hell and I didn't dare think of what could have caused such pain.

Four gunshots rang out across the room. These ones were clearly not from the wounded pony with the saddle but from somewhere further away. I was unable to do much but look over to see the one who was recovering from the shattered ice fall limp with a bullet hole through the side of his head. I would've lost my lunch again by my lying position caused me to swallow it. Coughing and retching I continued to squirm. The pony who had me pinned looked up and was met with a rear hoof to the jaw, falling over beside me, she was completely unconscious. Cali replaced her, standing over me, prepared to strike the other opponent who'd picked up their shiv.

Cali expertly dodged a couple swings, gracefully avoiding the small shiv in the pony’s bit, but eventually took a couple cuts. Cali dished out a decent bit of damage herself however and currently held the upper hand. Despite being unarmed Cali was mixing a strong stance with bits of telekinetic energy dispersed amongst her swings. She was using her own telekinesis to put more weight into her kicks, dealing decisive blows to the relatively untrained shiv pony. After a minute or so of enduring several broken ribs and more than likely a punctured lung the pony submitted, left battered and bruised on the floor. I’d never seen a pony beat the hay out of somepony else like that and it honestly scared the shit out of me. The mare who had been hiding in the corridor slid out and approached us. Kilo was still holding the dented up gun in her magic and pointed it to the pony who had surrendered, keeping her firmly where she lay.

Other ponies that were hiding amongst the buildings came out to greet us. With Cali and I being the only two taking any particular damage it was easy to patch us up with the things laying around. Kilo moved the massive metal scrap up and off of the others and those with free hands started helping the wounded and tying up the invaders. “It wasn’t just a coincidence was it Kilo?” I turned to her as she moved the metal away.

“Absolutely not. You think any of us are that lucky? Na I just dropped it on them. It was a calculated risk but it had to be done. Can’t take out eight on my own now can I?” She finished moving the metal scrap, which she had done with relative ease, and looked over the pony who had taken a stray bullet. She ushered a prayer to the Princesses and closed his eyes.

“What’re we supposed to do?” I muttered, looking over the crowd of still wounded and sick. There was more carnage seen here today than all of pony history I’d wager. Unfortunately I’d read enough books to know that wasn’t the truth but books about the past meant little to me in that moment.

“We’re just going to have to go out there.” Kilo brought back up the unimaginable. “We most definitely do not have the meds to help these ponies. We aren’t equipped for handling mass casualties.” Kilo made an, unfortunately, very good point. The Stable was meant to protect us from the outside and not from not one but two invasions. Meds were low before the raiders made their way into our home and now it was hard to offer much more than bandages and painkillers to those who need serious meds.

“I really don’t want to.” I paused a moment and took in the cries of the sick and dying. “But if there’s not a choice then I suppose I’ll go through with it. We’re not going very far though, alright?” I pleaded to Kilo, hoping she would agree with me.

“Fine. But we can’t come back empty handed, now can we?” Again with the good points.

The Stable entrance had been melted right through, just as Kilo had said. What remained of the massive Stable door had been completely melted into the surrounding material. The mechanisms put in place to open or close the Stable door had also suffered from the side effects of the magical abomination and lay in ruin. Vellum, Cali, and a few of the others who weren’t helping the wounded saw us off. Vellum couldn’t separate herself from Kilo and insisted she accompanied her. Cali had refilled my bag with some bandages and other simple meds as well as some food, water, and some of the books I had left in the saddlebags prior. Kilo and Vellum both had bags of their own prepped and ready.

The view outside the Stable was one of a damp cave. Not much sunlight penetrated the small door to the grand beyond and it left the cave in almost complete darkness. Kilo, Vellum, and I turned to look at the small group of ponies who'd come to the Stable door. Amongst them were many ponies, but my parents were not among them. Not a single soul had seem them and it was safe to say they'd been whisked away to wherever that creature had taken them. I prayed to the Goddesses that they were alright and simply hadn't been found. Parting words were exchanged from both sides and quickly we were on our way.

There was a simple goal in mind, find meds and see to it that we could take care of the wounded, and find somewhere where the residents could migrate to. Of course I had my own goals. Amongst them were finding my parents, who I'd hoped escaped out into the world beyond, and perhaps learn a little about the world itself. It had become obvious soon after the attack that we were not properly prepared for the horrors the world had to offer and we couldn't stay long. A dread set over the entire crowd, everypony in attendance well aware they would be soon braving those wastes themselves. With that mix of fear and determination in our hearts we stepped out into the world.

It took many long seconds to adjust to the light and immediately after I found myself staring at the floor. The expanse in front of me left my head spinning and I'd fallen on my face. Nausea took over my body yet again today and I struggled to keep my lunch in. Slowly I brought my head up to see that the sky kept going up and up before being smothered by an overcast of gray clouds. Drops of ice were falling all over the world, blanketing the ground in a white sheen. Each drop hitting my coat sent a chill through me and soon they'd melted, leaving me damp.

In the time It'd taken me to become used to the vertigo the sky made me feel I'd been completely covered in snow. My Stable barding fortunately kept a decent bit of water off of me and provided the only protection from the elements I had. Kilo and Vellum had fared much better and neither had slipped in the snow like I did. Shakily getting up I looked out over the world in front of us.

A field of dead or dying trees were scattered out in front of us. The immediate area was devoid of any particular landmarks and further out there stood an expanse of small buildings. Even further beyond that there stood massive buildings towering into the sky. Blackened and crumbling monoliths of an Era past standing precariously in the wind, threatening to topple at any moment. The sight brought on another bout of vertigo and I closed my eyes and stood still to calm myself.

In the moments I stood with my eyes closed I became aware of the sounds around me. A brisk wind was picking up and beginning to blow the snow harder across the sky. The rushing of water was also coming from somewhere behind us. Permeating it all was a slow clicking from my Pip-Buck. It was reading trace amounts of radiation coming from the snow that was falling all around us.

"I think we should head towards the water." I spoke my first words since stepping foot outside and a white mist left my mouth as I spoke. I'd seen it happen a couple times in the Stable when it was particularly cold but it still shocked me. I took a couple big breathes in and out just to see it again before making myself light headed.

Vellum was scooping up the snow and tossing it about and Kilo was adjusting her barding to sit more firmly on her haunches. "Are you sure we're going to find any medicine in the river?" Kilo had taken a few steps up the hill behind us to see over the lip. Vellum and I both crested the hill beside her to see what she had pointed out.

A massive body of water spanned out across the horizon. It was impossible to see the end of it and it looked almost like the oceans I'd seen in pictures. A smaller island stood in the expanse and along our right side a bridge which had long since fallen apart led to another section of land, which was also littered with broken and blasted buildings. Alongside that bridge a river of water was rushing down to somewhere we couldn't see. It was clear to us that we had only one way to go, and that was towards the dilapidated city.

Slowly the three of us made our way down the hill. By the time we'd reached the bottom the city in the distance had become obscured by an ever growing mist. It was becoming clear that the wind was picking up, the snow driving further into my coat, leaving me more and more frozen through. The wind and mist continued to grow until it was whipping at our manes and blowing the snow directly into our eyes.

Slowly we came to walk together, staying as close as possible to try and cover each other. A screech rang out from somewhere across the river and the three of us looked on in horror, trying to make out the approaching noise in the distance. Our vision was horribly obscured and my Eyes Forward Sparkle wasn't bringing up anything but Kilo and Vellum. I began to back up and away from the group, trying to get away from whatever was coming closer.

My hooves slipped out from under me as a bank of snow gave way, dragging me further down the hill. I screamed out but was quickly silenced by the snow crashing down with me. I barely made out the figures of Kilo and Vellum running in the opposite direction. I tried again to call out to them but they kept moving further away before being completely lost to the whipping wind and ice.

I was completely lost and alone in the snow.

Chapter 6. Trotting in A Winter Wonderland

I’ve never been colder in my entire life.

There’d been mornings in the Stable where I felt chilled to the bone, unsure how the temperature would drop so low, but now after seeing the world immediately outside our shelter I understood why it would routinely become so frozen. A small cackling fire was my only source of warmth. I felt a pang of guilt pulling rotted bedding and pieces off of a wooden end table to fuel the fire, but I needed every bit of warmth to keep from freezing. With the blizzard still ripping the sky apart I had nothing better to do but sit and sort through my bags. The automatic sorting system on my PipBuck brought up the contents of my saddlebags. Shuffling through I noticed that a good bit of food and other things I’d taken with me had fallen out and disappeared into the blizzard. I’ll just have to wait out the storm before checking if anything is left. For now I decided to take a walk through the remnants of the house I’d picked as an impromptu home base.

Much of the wallpaper had been torn and ruined, paint cracked and peeling, and a plethora of debris covered the floors. The sounds of creaking wood from the poorly maintained floors blended seamlessly with the howling of the wind rocking the building on it’s poor foundations. Many of the house’s supports had cracked or toppled, leaving the building rickety and uncertain of it’s footing. The floor was covered in paper and scraps of a different time, most of it indistinguishable from the floor itself.

Hard Liquor. I had decided to check the kitchen in hopes of food, to which I had not found any, but I did find a lot of alcohol. Whoever lived here had a taste for Whiskey and Gin and the fridge sported a good five bottles of each. Most of them were half empty but a couple bottles of Whiskey were still sealed. The only other food items in the kitchen was a box of apple flakes. Sweet, 200 year old cereal. I stuffed it into my bags regardless and continued further into the house.

The living room and adjacent bedrooms were mostly empty and sported little more than rotting furniture and scrap. The second floor was a little more intact than the floor under it. Furniture hadn’t been as rotted through and the floor was mostly visible. One bedroom looked like it was last occupied by a colt. Posters covered most of the walls in the small room. Most of the posters were torn or faded but a few remained. A few had been rolled up and kept in plastic tubes, which had somehow managed to survive the ages. I unrolled one and five ponies looked back at me: A yellow-green pegasus mare, a white unicorn stallion, a blue earth pony stallion, a red-brown pegasus stallion, and another white unicorn mare. Massive buildings covered the night sky behind it, stars twinkling alongside yellow glows from many of the windows of the glass behemoths. Baltimare’s Finest was painted across the entire skyline of the poster.

Baltimare. I slipped the poster into my bag for reference and made my way into the other bedrooms. Another room, most likely for a middle aged mare, and a master bedroom. The master had a large closet with a few old outfits. I pushed them aside and walked into the walk-in closet. At the back end was a safe which was embedded into the wall. I tried it, which not to my surprise, was locked. I left the safe and continued into the attic. My PipBuck light brought the dark attic into view. Most of it was obscured by boxes which stood almost to the roof in some spots. I shuffled around the boxes and through the tiny attic. At the end was a small workshop, still adorned with many tools and machines I had no real clues about. A few tools did stand out to me however, one of which was a screwdriver, which I promptly scooped up and into my bag. At least I now had a way of digging into that safe in the master bedroom. Alongside the workshop stood a terminal which had apparently survived the apocalypse. It’s screen gave off a faint green glow as it was brought back to life. Only a few entries had been written in it. The wind whipped at the window sat above the workshop, signaling that I had plenty of time before I could brave the outside again. I pulled up the first entry and began to read.

Entry 14:

The winter has been rough on us this year. Other pony folk have been saying this “Global warmin” has been making the colds colder and the hots hotter. I don’t quite believe them folk but I definitely think that this smog is killin’ my lungs. Hopefully the kids don’t have to breathe this their whole lives. Speakin of kids, a couple fillies came to have a playdate with lil’ Cobalt today. They couldn’t be anything more than a couple years older than him but they’ve both got their Cutie Marks already. I could tell Cobalt wasn’t all too happy ‘bout that but he seemed happy to have someone to spend time with. Ruby Flower was holed up in her room again today. She’s been hiding in there for Celestia knows how long, only comin’ out for food. I tried to talk to her but she locked her door and wouldn’t open up for nopony...

I considered the one room with a little ruby on the door that I had passed downstairs and made a note to see what had become of the girl.

Entry 35:

It’s been some time since I last wrote on one of these new fancy machines. My therapist keeps tellin’ me I should be writing about my life, supposedly it helps with depression. If anything the medication should do it, but sometimes I’m not too sure. I think the Wartime Stress Disorder is getting worse. I should go into a clinic and get some help. They’ll know how to help me. Work’s been really getting to me. I don’t like all this manufacturing of weapons to kill other creatures. I don’t buy all this propaganda that the Zebras are all bad, I knew quite a few back in my hayday when things were simpler. I wonder where they’re at these days… hopefully not dead.

Entry 40:

Went to the local clinic today. They’re sayin’ I definitely have this Wartime Stress Disorder. They want me to come in again as soon as possible to start treatment. I really hope this works, ‘cause I think I’m startin’ to scare my wife.

I clicked the terminal off and got up from the cold floor, brushing my legs to get some warmth back into them. I made off to the master bedroom so I could have a crack at the wall safe. On my way there I stopped to look into the room belonging to the mare named Ruby Flower. The room was surprisingly clean. In fact it had seemed as though it had been recently lived in. I looked through the nightstand and found a leather-bound pouch with a bunch of bottlecaps in it. I don’t know why somepony would collect bottlecaps but Ruby Flower did seem like an oddball from what I’d read. I left the pouch in the end table and kept looking around. A box sat under the bed and I pulled it out to see what it contained. A bunch of photos and other nicknacks lay neatly placed inside and I picked up the photos and began to fan through them. All of the photos were of a family doing many different activities. A blue and red stallion and mare respectively, who I assumed were the parents of Cobalt and Ruby Flower were standing side by side, with Cobalt standing beside his mother, their contrasting blue and red colors matching that of Ruby and her father. Cobalt and her parents are absolutely beaming but Ruby was looking down with a look of discomfort on her face. She didn’t seem to be the most photogenic of ponies. Their family seemed to get out a lot from the looks of the first few photos. Among them were many shots in the wilderness, with one of them being familiar. It was the lake beside the hill where our Stable had been built.

The photos became more and more sparse as I went through them. The dates on the first 10 or so were very close together but the later 10 were spaced out. The ponies had also noticeably grown older. I placed the photos back into the box in the order I’d pulled them out in and turned around to get up and was greeted with a handgun pointed at my face. Behind the pistol I could make out a middling sized pony who’s red coat had become warped and discolored. It was covered in spots and patches of green radioactive ooze. My PipBuck began to click at me as the pony thing came closer.

“Give me a reason not to shoot you right now.” A warped and unusually deep female voice came from the pony zombie who had me held at gunpoint. I was stunned into silence as I looked up into her eyes. One had glazed over and I was unsure if she was blind in one eye or not.

I stammered out a poor response to the mare “I… I didn’t do anything wrong, please don’t shoot.” She hesitated, looking over my bags and outfit.

“Unarmed, out here? You’re a fool.” The mare brought the pistol back to her side, her red magic glow not quite red, most likely from whatever happened to her. She looked me over once again. “Stable dweller.” She contemplated a moment before walking around me to see the number printed on the back. “37.” She seemed stunned by the numbers written in front of her. “You’re from Stable 37?” She was dumbfounded by the look on her face and the sound of her voice.

“Ye… yes?” I responded back, equally dumbfounded by her appearance. “Some evil pony ponies with guns came and attacked us, we were forced to go looking for a new place to survive since the Stable wasn’t safe anymore.” She listened to my words with an uneasy expression on her face.

“So you’re from Stable 37? The one only a short trot from here?” I simply nodded my head in response. “I’ll be damned. Ponies really did survive in there, then?” I nodded again. Her expression became pained and then frantic. “Tell me. Did a colt named Cobalt ever live in the Stable?”

“I don’t know.” I paused a moment, feeling sad for the mare. Before I had the chance to ask another question I was hit by an epiphany. “Why do you know about Cobalt? He lived 200 years ago.” The ruby mare looked at me with a look of disbelief.

“So did I.” Was her only response. Firm and with confidence. I wasn’t quite sure if she was just insane or if the radiation had rotted her brain.

“How is that possible? Ponies don’t live that long and the bombs would have killed you anyway.”

She rolled her eyes before giving me a response. “They should have-” She put a strong emphasis on should. “But they didn’t, and now we’re here. We’re called ghouls. And not all of us are so friendly.”

“A ghoul? So you’re telling me that you’ve been alive since before the bombs?” This time she simply nodded in turn.

“So answer the question. Did Cobalt ever live in Stable 37?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t alive that long ago.” My heart went out to the reclusive mare. She was left out in the wasteland of Equestria for hundreds of years like this and her only concern was her little brother. Blood runs deep I suppose. Did ghouls even have blood? I didn't want to ask.

The mare looked down at the floor and I was reminded of the photos I’d just looked through. I got up and embraced the mare. She was uncomfortably squishy and smelled rancid, I was glad she couldn’t see my face, but I held her anyway. “I’m sorry Ruby. I’m so sorry that this happened to you. You didn’t deserve this. Nopony would ever deserve this.” She didn’t cry, but I was unsure if ghouls could even cry, so I continued to hold her. As I stepped back she looked up at me.

“This world isn’t kind to ponies. It swallows them and leaves nothing left. Not even bones. It’s not a place for the uninitiated, and most ponies run in fear of us ghouls. We don’t really have the best reputation. I just hope that Cobalt made it into the Stable. He wouldn’t survive a day out here.” She pulled open the nightstand and pulled out the pouch of bottlecaps and put them in her bag. She noticed my look of confusion and answered the question on my lips. “Wastes don’t really use currency like the old world did. We use caps now. Easier to get around than those heavy golden bits. Ponies livin’ in the prissy world do still pass them around though.” I felt the weight of the bits in my bag, considering just how much they actually weighed.

“I suppose you’re right.” Ruby trotted past me towards the door. “Where are you going?”

Ruby turned back to answer. “To the living room. Why so paranoid?” I considered her words and brought up a hoof to respond. I lowered my hoof and closed my mouth with nothing to say in response. Why am I so paranoid? Perhaps because she had me at gunpoint a few minutes ago? Yeah that’d do it. I decided to just follow along, longing for the warmth of the small fire I assumed had gone out by now.

Apparently Ruby had been tending to it while I explored. “You should get some sleep.” Ruby ushered to a rotted mattress with a somewhat clean blanket draped over it. “There’s no way you’re going back out there.” She had a very good point.

According to Ruby it was coming up on nighttime, which was not immediately obvious to me as the blizzard was still strongly blowing outside. I cozied up, to the best of my ability, on the little cot and closed my eyes. “So do you also plan on sleeping or?” I didn’t hear her stir but when I opened my eyes she was sitting right in front of me, looking directly at me. I jumped a bit as she leaned forward to look directly into my eyes. I tried not to breathe through my nose as she got close but didn’t try to repel from her. She looked into my eyes, never seeming to blink, before sitting back up.

“We don’t sleep.” I assume she meant ghouls. She remained silent for the rest of the night.