Fallout Equestria: Craster's Stable

"Rise and shine my little ponies," Princess Celestia's recorded voice played over the PA system. "The time is now... dawn. "

The ceiling light in Shining Armor's bedroom turned on, as it did for every other pony in Stable 143. He sat up in his bed, yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his hooves.

Stable 143 was one of many long-term shelters dotting the Equestrian landscape, hastily built and occupied when an apocalyptic war came to their land long ago. Shining wasn't born yet when the Mega-Spells transformed the idyllic land into a toxic wasteland. He was born inside the Stable. It was his home. It was all he knew.

He shuffled out into the hallway along with the other colts in his paddock. He greeted the familiar faces that he knew all his life. There was an air of excitement among them. They were getting to be that age where they would be getting their cutie marks soon. And that would mean that they were stallions and they could go on an adventure outside. He walked into the colts' bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his mane, as was his routine. As was all life in the Stable. Routine. The Stable was a place of order.

"How lucky are we?" Shining asked his friends on their way to the cafeteria for breakfast. "Pretty soon we'll be able to get away from all this lame routine, go adventuring, and be able to do whatever we want, just like Smash Fortune!" Shining struck a pose like the stallion of legend from the Stable's story books. It was every colt's dream to leave the vault and be a daring adventurer just like he did. They ate breakfast and the bell rang for the start of school.

"Alright now boys, don't dawdle in the hallway," Twilight Velvet said. The heavily pregnant mare ushered along the herd of colts to the classroom. This was the most exciting part of Shining's day, when the colts passed through the main foyer on the way to the classroom. That was when he got to see the cute filly that he liked.

The foyer was one of the central rooms of the Stable. It acted as an intersection between the hallways of the different parts of the Stable, like the sleeping quarters, the common areas, and the cafeteria. There were other mares there, milling about on their way to their jobs in the Stable. Nearly all of them were in some stage of pregnancy.

The group of fillies walked in from the hallway on the other side of the foyer and headed to the other classroom. But for a short while, they were only a dozen feet away from the colts. Shining always made sure to be on the side of his group close to them so he could see the filly he liked. Most of the fillies were preoccupied with the one of them that was sporting a new cutie mark that she had just gotten. But that wasn't the one that Shining was interested in.

The colts filed into their classroom and the fillies went to theirs. Shining sat in his usual seat next to his classmate friends, as he always did. As was routine.

"Alright class listen up," Velvet said at the front of the classroom, leaning on her desk. "Today is a special class. You're all colts that are getting to be about that age when you become a stallion."

"Woo! We're gonna get our cutie marks!" one of the colt hollered.

"Soon," Velvet assured him. "Soon you'll all get your cutie marks, and you'll be stallions ready for adventure. But cutie marks aren't the only sign that you're becoming a stallion. And that's what we're going to talk about today."

At the opposite end of the hallway, the fillies sat in their classroom getting a similar lesson from their teacher. "You're all fillies that are getting to be that age when you become an adult, ready to contribute to the Stable. But cutie marks aren't the only indication that you're becoming a mare. By show of hooves, has anypony started to feel hot and itchy in their fillybits?"

Nopony raised their hooves in response to the embarrassing question. But one pony was fidgeting quite a bit in her seat.

"Moondancer?" The teacher asked. "Are you not feeling well?" The filly blushed and eventually nodded. "It's okay," she assured her. "A little visit to the Overseer will have you feeling much better, you'll see. But now that you are an adult, the Stable needs you to do your first task. Could you head down the hallway to help Miss Velvet?"

Miss Velvet continued her lesson in the colts' classroom. "Once you get your cutie mark, your body will change. But this change can happen early for some colts. Now by show of hooves, who has had their colt bits get hard?" she asked.

The colts all looked at each other, some were blushing in embarrassment about the topic.

"Now, now, there is no reason to be shy about becoming an adult," Velvet assured the class. Another colt raised his hoof. "Spearhead? Has this happened for you?" she asked. He nodded. "Do you think you would be able to demonstrate for me now?" He shook his head nervously. "That's okay. I understand that it can be-" A notification beeped on Velvet's PipBuck.

A PipBuck was a miniature, portable, electronic device issued to every inhabitant of a Stable once they are deemed old enough to start work, typically coinciding with a pony getting their cutie mark. They are worn on a foreleg, just above the hoof, and consist of a metal cuff with a screen. A blend of late-war magic and scientific advances, a PipBuck is able to monitor the wearer's health, personal inventory, and correspondence. It also includes a lamp, radio receiver, and a short-range transponder that can be used to track its location.

Velvet read the notification. "It seems we have a special guest to help out with today's lesson."

Velvet opened the door at the front of the classroom and invited in the young mare. "Everypony, this is Moondancer," Velvet introduced. "She just became a mare recently, and right now she's in estrus. After this, she will be on her way to visit the Overseer to help the Stable have more foals!" Velvet looked at her and smiled. "Please take a walk around the classroom, Moondancer. As soon as you are done, the Overseer will see to curing that itch." Velvet ushered the young mare to walk up and down the aisles between the rows of desks. Her expression looked to be one of discomfort. Her tail flagged and swished on instinct, wafting her pheromones as she walked past the colts.

Velvet kept a watchful eye on the colts, looking for any physical reactions to the presence of a mare in heat. Two of the colts got an erection by the time she completed her circuit. Spearhead was one of them. Shining Armor was not.

"Can I go now, Miss Velvet? I'm very anxious to see the Overseer." Moondancer asked, plaintively.

"Such a good girl, so eager! The Overseer will like that. Of course dear, you've earned it!" Velvet said. She opened the door again, and another pregnant mare was waiting to escort her to see the Overseer. This one wore a peytral that bore the insignia of the High Priestesses. All mares visited the Overseer about once a year. But the Priestesses were high-ranking mares that worked closely with him more regularly.

Velvet turned her attention back to the two colts sporting wood. "As for you two, who's ready for an early graduation?"

"We are!" they said. Velvet directed them to the door in the back of the classroom. The door opened and two more priestesses walked in to equip them each with a PipBuck.

"Ha! So long, suckers!" Spearhead said as he waved, showing off the badge of adulthood on his foreleg. Shining Armor was envious that his friend got to graduate early. He had hoped that they would all be leaving on their adventure together. The priestesses escorted them down the hallway to the beginning of their big adventure.

"As for the rest of you, take out your adventure's textbook," Velvet instructed, resuming the normal class curriculum.

Class broke for lunch, when the fillies and colts all went to their respective half of the dining area to eat. On the way, the two groups crossed paths in the foyer again.

"Fire!" one of the colts yelled from behind him. There was no fire to yell about. It was the signal for the colts to launch their assault. A juvenile barrage of crumpled paper balls flew across the room at the hapless fillies. The fillies playfully returned fire with paper balls of their own. It was harmless fun that happened every morning. As was the routine. As all things were in the Stable. Routine. The Stable was a place of order.

Shining Armor carefully aimed his paper ball at the filly he fancied, guiding it with his unicorn magic. She caught it with her magic, and threw one of her own back at him. He likewise caught it.

"Alright everypony! Clean up this mess!" Velvet said, too tired from being on her hooves all day and being with foal to bother trying to intervene with the foalish tradition. Everypony collected the balls of paper off the floor and put them away in their bags to reuse in the next battle. Nothing went to waste in the Stable.

Back in class, Shining Armor excused himself to used the restroom. Sitting in the stall, he took out the crumpled ball of paper from his bag and un-crumpled it. It was secretly a letter from the filly he liked. Colts weren't supposed to talk to fillies, and if he got caught, he knew he would be in big trouble. But when he got that first message from her telling him that she liked him, he felt obligated to send her one back. And they had been secret pen pals ever since.

The ball he sent her told her about what he had learned that day, about how colt-bits get hard, and he saw it happen, and that got his friend to graduate early. She told him something similar.

Dear Shining,

Today we learned about what happens when we become a mare. Our filly bits get hot and itchy. The Overseer helps make it feel better because he is a stallion and he loves us. That's how mares get pregnant and that's where baby foals come from. But I don't really know the Overseer the way I know you. I've never seen him before. I always feel like a flutter in my chest that makes me so happy when I see you. Maybe when you're a stallion and I become a mare you can help me with my estrus instead. I think I would like that more.

The thought of it excited Shining Armor. Just thinking of being with her like that, together. Maybe touching hooves and brushing her mane and-

Shining felt a specific part of him become excited. He looked down at his colt part getting hard. That meant that he was becoming a stallion. But suddenly, he wasn't so sure he wanted to tell everypony. Because that would mean he'd have to start his adventure and not see his filly friend anymore. He could at least tell her, since she wanted to know. But there was still the matter of his colthood sticking up in front of him.

If Spearhead's had gotten hard, it hadn't stayed that way until it did again in the classroom. Shining was anxious and scared now, not wanting it to be known yet that he was a stallion. That nervous feeling seemed to help make his problem go away. But there could be no knowing when it might happen again.

He quickly wrote a response in the space under the body of her text and recrumpled the paper to exchange at the end of the day when they went to have dinner.

After dinner, everypony went back to their rooms. Shining quickly un-crumpled his new letter from his filly friend.

I need you to come see me tonight after lights out! I'm in room 042.

"Oh this is a bad idea," Shining grumbled.

"Goodnight, my little ponies," Celestia's recorded voice played over the PA system. The light in his room turned off. All that was left with the dim light of his personal lamp. Shining turned off his lamp and looked at the door of his room. He got up out of bed and considered going. He reached for the door handle.

"This is a bad idea," he muttered again. He walked out into the dim light of the hallway. He hadn't done anything wrong yet. There were plenty of times when he had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. He got to the bathroom. He hadn't done anything wrong. Yet. He walked past the bathroom. Maybe they might think he just got lost. He just got lost in the same hoof full of hallways he traveled every day for his whole life. This is a bad idea, he thought silently to himself.

Ahead was the foyer. On the other side was filly territory. He took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. After this, there would be no turning back. He could go back to his room and everything would be fine. He would wake up tomorrow, have breakfast, and go to class. Just as he always had. As was the routine. As was all things in the Stable. Routine.

"Buck it." He looked to the left, and back to the right, making sure there was nopony else around. He moved as fast as he could manage while staying as quiet as possible. Any fear he had of getting lost was assuaged when he found that the filly paddocks were laid out as a mirror image of the colt's. He moved down the line of doors, looking at the numbers. He didn't have to go far, as the counted down from 50. Eight doors later he stood in front of 42. It wasn't too late. He could still go back.

He heard a noise coming from the foyer, cutting off his escape. Now he had no choice. He opened the door and ducked inside the room. The filly was sitting on the bed, waiting in anticipation, but still shocked that he actually arrived. She stifled her yelp.

"Sorry for not knocking," he whispered, locking the door behind him.

"I understand," she said. "It's nice to finally be able to talk to you."

"Yeah. You have a really nice voice," he said.

"You too."

"I- I'd like to hold your hoof, if that's okay," he said.

"I- I'd like that, actually."

He held her hoof in his.

"I know they say that we're only supposed to love the Overseer," she said. "But... I don't think I ever really felt it. But I think this is what love is supposed to feel like. This way I feel about you."

"Me too," he said. "I- I feel like I want to- I want for us to touch more. Can I touch your mane?" She nodded. He moved his hoof around to the back of her head and stroked her hair like he was brushing it with his hoof. She did the same to him. She looked into his eyes.

"This is so strange. I know this is the first time we've really met. But after sharing letters for so long, I feel like I've known you forever," she said. Her face moved closer. "I- I want to try something."

"Okay." She closed the distance and pressed her lips to his. "Whoa. What was that?"

"I don't know. I just felt like I wanted to do that. Is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to do it again?" she asked.

"Yeah!" They kissed again. It was even better than the first time. His heart was thundering, both in the excitement of the act and the fear of being caught. Which reminded him, "So this is nice and all, but why did you have me risk my neck to come over here tonight?" he asked.

"Well it's because-" The sound of running hoofsteps came down the hall. The door to her room jiggled.

"Hey, are you there? Can you let me in?"

She quickly used her magic to open her locker and shoved Shining inside. Through the slots of the locker door he could see her open her room door. A mare burst inside the room and closed the door behind her. Shining recognized her from earlier that day.

"Moondancer, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't want to be a mare," Moondancer cried, clearly in distress with her tail tucked between her legs. "It hurts!"

"Your estrus? But I thought the Overseer fixes that," she said.

"No, that's just it!" Moondancer said. "The Overseer he- he's a stallion- and he said that in order to fix my estrus he had to-" Moondancer's PipBuck pinged loudly.

"Moondancer?" a mare's voice called from the hallway.

"That's how they're tracking me!" she yelped, trying to wrench the PipBuck off of her wrist.

"Mooooondancer?" Her PipBuck beeped again. The door to her room glowed and unlocked. It opened and two priestesses stood outside, light glowed from their horns.

"No!" Moondancer shrieked.

"Moondancer, it's okay," one of them said, her horn pulsed softly. "Everything's going to be okay." Moondancer's eye's glazed over for a moment and she physically relaxed. Her tail relaxed and flagged as a mare in heat does, wagging it like a happy puppy. Shining could smell her even from inside the locker. He felt himself start to get hard again.

"Everything's going to be... okay..." Moondancer said calmly.

"Young mares in estrus can get a little hysterical," the priestess said to the other filly. "But don't worry, everything's going to be just fine," she repeated as her horn pulsed again.

"Everything's going to be fine," she echoed back. Shining's erection bumped into the latch inside the locker, causing the door to open for him to spill out onto the floor.

"What's this!?" the priestess shrieked.

"A rooster in the hen house!" the other said. "Is this colt who you came to see?" she asked Moondancer. Moondancer just stood there with a blank look on her face. "Ponies at your age... so foalish!"

"Leave her alone!" he yelled. His horn glowed and he surrounded himself and the other two with a shield. His thigh glowed with a flash of light. The cutie mark of a shield appeared on his flank.

"Ah, no mere colt but a stallion now? Moondancer, stop him," the priestess said. Inside the shield, Moondancer mindlessly obeyed and kicked Shining, causing him to lose his concentration and his shield failed. "Now go on back to the poor Overseer. He misses you. It's not polite to leave him with blue balls like that." Moondancer walked calmly back to the Overseer's quarters.

"Shining!"

"Don't worry my little filly. Everything is going to be just fine," she said to the pony on the bed.

"Twilight!" Shining yelled.

"Everything's going to be fine..." Twilight Sparkle said.

"Now as for you, my young stallion," she said to Shining, gripping him in her magic. "It looks like you get to graduate early!"