Nightshade sat up in her bed with a groan. She was a purple unicorn with yellow eyes whose long yellow hair was a complete mess and hung in her face. Her purple coat was also damp with sweat. She stretched her forelegs above her head before she pulled the covers off. Taking a glance at the clock on her wall, she noticed she had slept in today.
“Shit,” she muttered, getting out of bed.
After taking her morning shower and getting dressed in her blue bodysuit with get special wrist device called a PipBuck. With her hair now in place behind her head, save for a few bangs hanging over her left eye, she left her room and made her way down the hall.
With a yawn, she made her way into the cafeteria. She may have lost her entire morning, but at least it was lunch time. Lunch time meant fresh food. She grabbed a tray of salad and hay fries before she made her way over to an empty table. As she ate, she looked around at the others who were all giving her looks. With a heavy sigh, she started eating her salad.
After a couple more minutes, two other mares sat down at her table across from her. One was a red unicorn with short yellow hair named Poppy and the other was a pink unicorn with medium-length white hair named Charmy. Both were the only ponies Nightshade could call friend.
“Hey, Shade,” Poppy said with a smile. “Did you… sleep okay?”
The purple unicorn shrugged. “I guess. Just… a night like any other night.” She ate a couple fries and swallowed. “Did you help with lunch?”
Poppy shook her head. “Not today.”
“I can tell. Fries are shit.”
Poppy and Charmy eyed each other before the pink mare spoke. “Nightmares?”
Nightshade smiled glumly, eyes half-lidded. “Mmm… Of course. All I have are nightmares.”
“Well, you went through a lot. I mean, it’s been, what? Three years?”
Shade chuckled. “Three whole years and I’m still getting looks from these assholes. And I didn’t even do anything.” She chuckled softly and picked up a fry. “Guilty by association, I guess.”
“No one could have predicted what happened,” Poppy chimed in.
“I could’ve. She always talked about leaving. I just never thought she’d go that far to do it.”
“Well, you stayed, right?” Charmy asked with a smile. “And you’re still a security pony, so… I’m sure they’ll warm up to you soon enough.”
Nightshade gave a very small smile. “Thanks, but… it’s been three years. Something would’ve changed by now.”
“Eh, ponies are stubborn,” Poppy chuckled. “Especially after the bombs fell.”
“Yeah, wow, it’s been about 25 years now, hasn’t it?” Charmy asked. “I can barely remember life before all this.”
“I feel bad for the ponies being born in all this. At least I can picture a butterfly. Or trees.”
“Do you think we’ll ever get back to all that?” The pink unicorn asked.
Poppy shrugged. “Who knows? Hopefully the princesses are planning something, but… no one’s seen them since the bombs fell. I’ve heard rumors they didn’t make it.”
“Of course you did,” Nightshade sighed. “Ponies love spreading negative rumors.”
“You think they’re alive?” Poppy asked.
“Three alicorns? One may have fallen but not all three. There’s no way.”
“Think the changelings survived?”
“Without a doubt. They’re like cockroaches. At least Sombra fell. Couldn’t stand that fucker. Even as a filly.”
“I just had a thought,” Charmy said with a tilt of her head. “Changelings haven’t been seen since the war, either, right? What if they’re all disguised and hiding in bunkers?”
Nightshade shook her head. “We were brought to the Vaults during the fighting. The changelings would’ve been busy.”
Charmy shrugged. “Maybe some snuck in.”
“Well… if any snuck in here… I’ll finish ‘em off.”
Nightshade opened her locked in the security office and pulled out her holster with gun. After she strapped it on, she closed the door and left the room to begin her shift. As she patrolled the halls, she looked at the walls, floors, and ceilings for about sign of sabotage. Nothing seemed to be out of place, which made her job easy.
Vault 95 was built into a mountain near the ruins of the Crystal Empire. Once, in the past, a group of raiders had tunneled through the rock and almost made it inside. However, a group of security ponies, Nightshade included, managed to stop them before they could breach the walls. They had then filled in the tunnel with more rocks to block off the passage. During her rounds, Nightshade always checked the spot where they almost had a breach. She never saw any sign of danger since and today was no different.
After an uneventful shift, Nightshade returned to the security office to hang up her holster and gun. When she closed her locker, she heard hoofsteps behind her.
“Well, if it isn’t Nightshit,” a raspy mare chuckled.
Nightshade sighed and turned around to find a gray mate with short spiky black hair and green eyes. “Ash. Come to a bitch again?”
“I can’t believe the Overseer is still allowing you to be security. Given what happened last time.”
“I stopped them, remember?”
“Barely. It was your carelessness that allowed it to happen in the first place.”
Nightshade rolled her eyes and started to leave. “Fuck off, Ass.”
The gray mare held out a hoof to stop her. “The Overseer may trust you, but I never will.”
Nightshade narrowed her eyes and glared at the mare. “If you want a fight…”
“Hey,” Ash said as she lowered her hoof. “You know that would cost me my job. Same goes for you.”
Nightshade sighed angrily and stormed out of the room.
She dropped onto her bed with a groan, her uniform hanging up on the wall. She covered her face with her hooves and let out a muffled scream. She rolled onto her side and sniffled as she looked at a picture on her bedside table. It depicted her with a purple unicorn mare with long magenta hair whose face was mostly covered by her bangs. They were both grinning at each other playfully.
“I miss you,” Nightshade muttered. “So fucking much.” She sniffled and closed her eyes as she cried herself to sleep.
