Savage POV

When we started our herd, we set up a couple of rules. One was that we had no other pony in our relationship. Only I, Crystal, Blueberry and Zitrus.

Second one was that we have turns. We still had two tents that, at max, fit two ponies. (Zitrus was able to trade his old tent for a bigger one, that could fit two ponies with ease.) That meant that we would switch tents depending on who we spent the night with. But of course, sex is never forced. We still wanted a healthy relationship after all. Which means we respected each others space. But if agreed, we could switch.

I saw how much Blueberry had planned to finally get her first night with Zitrus. And I had wanted her to be happy, so it had been no problem for me to give away my night with Zitrus. Besides, I still had spent my own night with Crystal.

The last rule was set by Zitrus himself. No threesomes! At least, not ones that included him. And that was the part that I myself thought was stupid.

An alicorn wing was made out of three alicorns. So, threesomes were nothing new to me. But I get Zitrus. When three in our herd would have a “eventful” night one would be left out. But why should we three sisters be allowed to have such a night without him but not a threesome with him involved?

I think what he does not get is, the same way he does not mind if we three sleep together, is the same as when one of us say we don't mind.

But that is a bit of a problem he still has. He still struggles with being in a herd. He still tries to treat each of us three equally. When he gives one of us a hug, he later has to give the others a hug as well. Which is not necessary. We know that he loves us three equally, just like we love him and each other equally. Isn’t that right?

Zitrus was unusually close to me today. And I think it was because I had given Blueberry the priority to spend the night with him.

I sighed on the inside as I felt his presence on my left side. I didn’t mind having him so close to me. It was more of the reason why he did it. He didn't mean any harm. Quite the opposite in fact. He did it because he wanted to show me love too. But I did not feel jealous or left out. Maybe I should say that to him?

“Zitrus, look-“

“Guys, look!”

Crystal, who was flying over us as our scout alicorn, landed in front of us and pointed to her right. We all turned our heads and soon spotted what she meant.

For a little while now, there had been a large hill to our left. Nothing special so we didn’t pay much attention to it. There was a hole in the cliff. And it did not look natural. Even less, it didn't even look like it was made by a wastelander. It was a perfect circle, and it looked like it had something right next to it. Something that was the same size and shape as the hole.

“That looks… extraordinary”, Zitrus said and made his way towards it. We followed.

The closer we got, the more obvious it became. This was not a cave; this was the entrance to a bunker. Or better: A stable. A stable build inside this hill. And this perfectly shaped something was the door. A big metallic door that was once used to seal the entrance. The number 24 was written on it.

“Wow…”, was all Crystal could say as we stood there.

"I don’t like this”, Blueberry said in concern.

I kind of agreed with her. There was a dark aura coming from this place.

“So close to a city, this stable most likely got looted. Also, this door was opened by force”, Zitrus said, and pointed at some large, obvious cuts made by a heavy metal saw. “So, I assume we are by far not the first ponies who found this place. Still, we should check it out. Maybe there is something left to take.”

“Are you sure this is a smart idea? The entrance alone looks rather uninviting”, I asked him.

“Indeed. Most stables don't have a very... happy story. And I assume this one is no different. But besides some long dead skeletons, there is nothing left to fear”, Zitrus explained.

“That is a very naive thought”, I gave as statement.

“Maybe. But what risks can you expect from an old stable?”, Zitrus answered.

“Oh, I don’t know… maybe the thing can cave in?”, I said ironically.

“She has a good point”, Crystal inserted.

“Alright how about this, only I and Savage go in. And if we don't come back before sunset, Blueberry and Crystal can come and look for us?”

“Why you and Savage?”, Blueberry asked, who looked like she disliked the idea of waiting outside while we went into danger.

“Me, because it was my idea to go in, and I know what the best loot is. And Savage because she can teleport and get us to safety if something goes wrong. Also, Crystal can read minds and would be able to find us if we need help”, Zitrus answered.

“Sounds like a plan”, Crystal agreed. “But be careful you two. Depending how deep it goes inside, I might not be able to track you from outside.”

Yes, Zitrus had made a good point, but I could see that there was more behind it. This was not only because it had the best chance of success. This was also, again, because he wanted to spend time with me. I really had to talk with him about this. But this could wait for after the stable.

“So, you have been in a stable before?”

It was not a real question since I already could guess the answer. This was more to start a conversation.

Zitrus and I were walking through a long dark hallway with only the glow of my horn guiding. There were lamps installed in the ceiling, but they were broken or were not turned on. Behind us, the light from the stable entrance slowly faded into the distance.

“One time, yes. It was also abandoned, and the most valuable stuff had already been looted. But I was still able to get some good stuff out of it. Still, what I also found was not so pleasant. Many skeletons from the inhabitants of the stable. I managed to get my hooves on the plan for how the stable was to be built and run. I don't want to go in to the disturbing details. And I'll just say that the idea was not too bad, but it all went south after an accident. Kkilling every stable dweller in a cruel way.”

I saw a shiver go down zitrus' spine and I stepped closer to him for emotional support.

“What do you know about the stables in general?”, I asked him.

“Not much. I know there are multiple stables, all around Equestria”, Zitrus said after a bit of thought. “They all were built before the great war over 200 years ago to protect the civilian population. They are big, able to hold many creatures and were built to survive for hundreds of years.

But each stable was also some kind of experiment. They all were built different. The goal was to find out, what was the reason that the big war started and what should have been done different. So, that Equestria never has to face such war again.”

I gave a nod of understanding.

We walked for a short moment in silence though this hallway. Then, we reached a staircase leading upwards.

“Huh? Why does it go up? Shouldn’t it go downwards?”, Zitrus questioned.

“I mean, it IS built in a big hill”, I remembered.

“Yes, but still. Doesn’t it provide more protection if you build deeper underground?”

“I don’t know. Maybe there was a layer of hard rock, forcing them to dig deeper?", I suggested.

We put this riddle behind us for the moment, and started to head upstairs. And it was a long stairwell. And the higher we went, the more noticable a sweet smell became.

“Do you smell that?”, I asked Zitrus.

“Indeed. It smells like… vanilla?”

We reached the end of the staircase. Again, a big metallic door with the number 24 greeted us. But it too was broken open. Leading into the true stable. I and Zitrus stepped inside.

Inside there was light shining from roof lamps but beside of that, it could not look less lifeless. Pure silence and the strange vanilla smell. The stable itself had floor titles and painted concrete walls. There was some furniture, made out of metal or plastic and some with pots filled with dirt. Most likely for what had once been potted plants.

“I don’t think I ever would have been able to live in a stable. For such my love of traveling is just too strong”, Zitrus said as we walked through the stable searching for loot.

And just like Zitrus had guessed, we soon found a skeleton. It was a small unicorn in dusty stable barding. Most likely a school age filly or colt. It was not a pleasant sight. Zitrus and I did our best to ignore it.

But this was just the beginning of it. More and more remains of dead ponies were found. And the most noticable thing was that most of them were foals. In fact, I would guess that ninety percent of the inhabitants were foals. Only some rare skeletons from grown-ups were to be found.

We entered the cafeteria, med bay and some sleeping quarters. Zitrus went through everything, looking for anything of value. He found a lot, but it still was overshadowed by this nonstop feeling that something horrible happened here.

“Run!”

“Huh? Did you hear that?”, I asked Zitrus. There was a voice… familiar…

“Hm? No, I heard nothing”, Zitrus said.

I shook my head. This place was getting in my head.

“Can we please hurry? I don’t like this place and we should get out before Crystal and Blueberry come to search for us”, I recommended as Zitrus opened the door to another room.

“You are right. I don’t like it here either. Let us check this room and then we go. I think we found the overmare's office”, Zitrus said and entered the room.

The room really looked like it was something important. It was an office filled with all kinds of controls. Most likely for the systems of this…

Wait, where the hay am I? I thought.

…

For a moment I forgot that I was in this stable. Again, I shook my head.

Zitrus was already busy opening all the drawers and lockers he could find. Instead of standing around uselessly, I decided to help a bit. I sat down in the big chair behind the office desk and clicked around on the monitor until I found the log book.

I opened it, only to find it was rather disappointing. There was a daily update starting with day one. But after thirty days, there was nothing more written. I opened the first entry.

It told how every pony entered the stable and the doors got sealed. The interesting part was that there actually were a lot of fillies and colts selected. One adult had to take care of 9 foals. All of them were orphans.

I raised my eyebrow scepticly, and started reading the next few entries. But they were mostly the same. Telling how every pony tried to adapt to life in the stable. The foals had to help too with work like cooking, cleaning, harvesting on the stable farm and even in the med bay. The headmare often added that this was all part of the preparation…

In general I noticed that the headmare was hiding something. Something she didn’t want to share with the other stable dwellers.

I only skimmed over some days, which sounded exactly like the previous ones, and went strange to the last entry. This one was written differently. While the previous ones were written in a more neutral style and just gave a situation update, this one left no doubts as to what the overmare was thinking.

DAY 30

TODAY IS THE DAY. TODAY IS THE DAY I HAVE TO RELEASE THE GAS. THE REASON WHY THIS STABLE IS MOSTLY FILLED WITH FOALS WITH ONLY A HOOF FULL OF ADULTS. THIS STABLE HAS NOT ONLY THE PURPOSE TO KEEP THE INHABITANTS SAFE, BUT THIS STABLE WAS ALSO BUILT TO SEE WHERE PONYKIND WENT WRONG. WHAT WAS THE REASON WHY IT CAME TO A WAR AND MAKE SURE IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO GOT THE INFORMATION. THEY, THE ONES WHO CREATED THIS STABLE, THOUGHT THAT ONE REASON MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE STALLIONS AND MARES. AND SOME LEVEL I CAN AGREE. FILLIES AND COLTS SOMETIMES FIGHT, BUT THEY WOULD NEVER START A WAR. SO, THE PLAN WAS TO FILL THIS STABLE WITH NOTHING BUT SCHOOL AGE FOALS.

BUT THAT WAS SIMPLER SAID THAN DONE, SINCE NO PARENTS WOULD JUST GIVE AWAY THEIR SON OR DAUGHTER. THIS WAS THE REASON THEY CHOSE ORPHANS. BUT EVEN THEN, THERE WAS THE FACT THAT FILLING THE STABLE WITH JUST FOALS WOULD DRAW OBJECTIONS FROM THE POPULACE. THE SOLUTION: HIRING SOME STALLIONS AND MARES TOO AND JUST FILL THE STABLE WITH A MAGICAL GAS THAT ONLY HAS EFFECT ON GROWN-UPS.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A NERVE GAS, THAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE YOUNG AGAIN. YOU LOSE YOUR MEMORIES YOU MADE IN YOUR LATER YEARS AND START TO THINK YOU ARE STILL A FOAL. THAT WAS THE WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS STABLE WAS “ONLY” FILLED WITH FILLIES AND COLTS.

I GOT ASSURED THAT THIS GAS IS NOT LETHAL. THE EFFECT ISN'T EVEN PERMANENT. AS SOON AS YOU WOULD GO INTO FRESH AIR AGAIN, IT WOULD WEAR OFF. BUT OF COURSE, THIS IS NOT THE GOAL HERE. THE GAS IS LIGHT. SO, THEY BUILT THE STABLE HIGHER THAN THE ENTRANCE. MEANING: EVEN IF THE STABLE DOOR SHOULD GET OPENED, THE GAS WOULD STAY IN THE STABLE. AND TO MAKE THIS WHOLE GAS LESS NOTICABLE, THEY ADDED IT THE SMELL OF SOMETHING NEARLY ALL FOALS AND ADULTS ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND ENJOY: VANILLA.

I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS THE THIS. I SUPPORTED THIS PLAN. I ALSO SEE THE PROBLEMS IN US, THE GROWN-UPS. IF WE COULD SEE THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF A FOAL, WE WOULD HAVE FAR FEWER PROBLEMS. THAT IS THE REASON WHY THEY MADE ME THE HEADMARE AND GAVE ME THE DUTY TO PRESS THE BUTTON TO RELEASE THE GAS AFTER 30 DAYS IN THE STABLE. BUT NOW I AM UNSURE.

THE IDEA IS GOOD, BUT CAN FOALS REALLY SURVIVE IN THE STABLE ALONE? CAN FOALS ALONE FEED EVERY PONY? OR RUN THE MED BAY WITH ALL INJURIES? WHAT IF SOMETHING IMPORTANT FROM THE STABLE NEEDS TO BE FIXED? NOT TO FORGET HARD DECISIONS THAT HAVE TO BE MADE.

WE TRIED TO PREPARE THE FOALS WITH THE DAILY TASKS, BUT IN MY EYES, THEY ARE STILL FAR FROM BEING READY. I START TO HAVE MY DOUBTS THAT WE WILL SURVIVE…

BUT WE HAVE COME TOO FAR NOW. I CANNOT TURN BACK. I CAN JUST PRESS THIS BUTTON AND HOPE. MAY CELESTIA BE WITH US, AND MAY SHE HAVE MERCY ON ME, IF I AM THE ONE WHO DOOMS US ALL NOW.

Author's Note

A bit of a darker chapter. Whoever read the original Fallout Equestria might be a bit familiar with such stable experiences. Who is not, here is a link for you if you’re interested in learning.
https://falloutequestria.fandom.com/wiki/Stable-Tec

But beside of that, thank you for reading.