Fallout Equestria: Silverside

Chapter one: All Cooped Up

Stable-tec had a sick sense of humour.

Sterling had always thought of the company this way. From the first time in her youth that she had been mistreated for having wings to now, locked in the stable’s brig, the mare had always figured that the pre-war higher-ups at Stable-tec must have thought putting a breed of pony thats primary feature was its ability to fly in an underground box for several generations was nothing short of the peak of old Equestrian comedy.

She massaged her bruised wing, still sore from the previous day’s brawl with an Earth Pony Stallion and his two Unicorn friends. He’d hit her first, not that the Overmare cared much. Her Father and Brother hadn’t been very bothered by the sight of her when she’d returned to their stable-home, battered and bleeding, nor had they put up a fuss when a pair of stable-guards came to take her away to the brig for the night. Feeling the familiar groove she’d worn in the cell’s table from her previous incarcerations brought a slim smile to her face. This wasn’t the first time this had happened.

“You know your kind ain’t allowed to eat in here”
She’d heard the phrase before. She wasn’t allowed to eat, to relax, or even speak longer than a sentence without the express permission of a pony that wasn’t a pegasus. From a young age, Sterling and all other pegasi were taught that the pegasus breed of pony was not equal to the Unicorn or Earth Pony breeds. Unicorns were smarter and able to use their magical abilities to help the stable, and Earth Ponies were strong, and could do all the heavy lifting required to keep their society going. Pegasi, on the other hand, were essentially second-class citizens. Forced into an existence of servitude and used as a bartering item. In fact, some ponies would even try to have a pegasus foal for the sole purpose of having somepony who would cook and clean for their family without pay-that was why she had been born, after all.

The locking mechanism chunked as it turned, Sterling blinked herself out of her thoughts. Time to pretend she’d learned her lesson.
“You, out here, now.” Came the gruff voice of one of the stable guards, he was older than her, and she didn’t know his name.
Slowly, but not reluctantly, she trotted out of the cramped holding room, and followed the guard.
She knew where he would be taking her.
“You made quite a mess in the cafeteria yesterday. Since you left Stormy Seas in the medical wing, he’s not here to help you clean up, so, the Overmare has decided that’ll be your first job for today.”
Sterling practically had to bite her tongue to stop herself from telling him that Stormy Seas hadn’t cleaned a single mess in his life and would likely not have been made to hold a mop even if he was capable, but she suddenly decided that she’d had enough time in the brig for one day.
As the guard trotted away, Sterling sank down to floor level amongst the bloodstains and the mashed-up food. With a sigh, she grabbed the soaked towel she’d been thrown, and got to work.

Earth Ponies and Unicorns in stables made sense. The Earth Ponies were used to being grounded, and had a long and hard history of working in the deep, claustrophobic Equestrian mines. The Unicorns had an affinity for technology, able to use their magic to fiddle with advanced and intricate circuitry, having the mental faculties and dexterity to adequately control all the machines required to keep the stable up and running. Pegasi, on the other hoof, were not suited to stable life at all. Sterling had always figured that the higher-ups at Stable-tec must have thought stuffing a bunch of pegasi into an underground stable would make for a good joke. She could see the reasoning in that, and at times she had to admit that she did see the lighter side of things, but the simple fact that pegasi were not generally as physically strong as an Earth Pony, nor anywhere near as magically capable as a Unicorn meant that they did not have much of a place in stable life given the fact that the stable did not have the room for a pegasus to spread their wings.

Stable-126 contained Unicorns, pegasi and Earth Ponies, the residents of this stable were taught from a young age that a stable containing all three pony races was a very rare thing indeed-a point of pride for all those that lived in 126.
For most of its life, the stable had been a place of harmony, every mare and stallion knew their place and for the most part, they had been content. That was until the Schism.
Three generations ago, an ex-security pegasus named Blackberry Punch had been put in charge of the stable as overmare in a rigged vote, something that had never occurred in all the stable’s life. Blackberry Punch’s reign was harsh, ending with an uprising that caused her two closest confidants (one Unicorn mare and an Earth Pony stallion) to rise up against her. Once the overmare had been overthrown, the two could not decide who would be placed in charge of the vault, and more fighting had ensued. It was not until the first peace trade was conducted that the two sides had eventually decided to split the stable in two and live separately, but in peace with each other.

Pegasi had been in charge of controlling the weather around Equestria, something Sterling had been taught by her dad when she was just a filly. Since there was no real weather inside a stable, the pegasi had been repurposed to different roles. Some were given trivial positions in stable security, but after the Schism three generations ago, the pegasi had instead been given as offerings, as trade items between the two stable groups. This was, of course, why Sterling was being married to a Unicorn stallion she had only ever seen twice in her life.

The first peace trade was made by both sides. Each side would send a pony to the other to live and learn their ways as a mark of solidarity between the two factions. Earth ponies were strong, able to do the heavy lifting around the stable. Unicorns were, of course, valuable in their magical ways. So when the time came to perform the trade, the logical pony to give up would of course, be the least useful to the stable. The ponies traded were pegasi.
As soon as this realisation had been made, the three pony breeds were no longer equal. A pegasus mare’s job was to create foals for future stable life, and a stallion’s job was to cook, clean, look after the stable’s foals, and perform any tasks the other ponies didn’t want to do.

Sterling was a brown-coated pegasus, with an even darker-brown mane and tail which she almost always wore in a ponytail. Her eyes were a bright green, and she prided herself on being able to use small devices more deftly than most Unicorns on their side of the stable. A pride that she rarely let be known in case she received even more time in the brig for being better than anypony who wasn’t a pegasus.

She had not been allowed to throw a Cute-ceañera when she had received her cutie-mark, nor had she ever been invited to one. During music and arts class in her primary school, she had excelled at playing the piano as well as reading and understanding music. She had received her cutie-mark during one of these music classes. Lucky for her-most pegasi that lived in the vault never received their cutie marks. Unfortunately, she was never allowed to play music outside of these classes.
She had been given a pip-buck when she became an adult pony, even though she was just a pegasus, everypony had to have one. It definitely made things easier when she was asked to fix something technological, but she knew that it was mainly given to her so that the Overmare would always know where she was in the Stable, at all times.

She heard the cafeteria doors grind open. “Hey, featherbrain, nice to see you where you belong!”
Sterling began to rise, only to feel a hoof punch down on the back of her head, pushing it hard into the floor and the puddle of puke one of the Unicorns had left behind when she’d bucked him hard in the gut. Her eyes swam as she scrambled on the floor for a second. Some of the vomit had found its way into her nose. Get used to smelling that for a while.
“Don’t try getting up Sterling, we all know you’re better suited to being below everypony else, or did you forget that today’s supposed to be the day you get sent to the other side?” The hoof finally came off the back of her head, and this time, she didn’t attempt to rise.
Blinking one stinging eye, she looked around the room. It was at this moment that she realised there was more than one other pony in the room. The first was her assailant-one of the Unicorns she’d fought with yesterday, and the other was another security guard, standing next to the door.
If she fought back, she’d be prodded with a shock-baton this time, she wasn’t fond of those.

He was right, of course. She’d be sent to the other side of the stable today. She would be married to a Unicorn who’s name she did not know-probably one of many of his pegasus-wives, and would be forced to bear offspring for him. If they were born a Unicorn, they would have a future for themselves. If they were a pegasus, they’d live a life of servitude. All of this was normal, this was a common practice, after all. She didn’t know who her mother had been, nopony did, not even her father. He’d had too many wives in his hay-day.
Female Unicorns and Earth Ponies were no better. She knew many of the classmates she’d had growing up now had their own group of pegasus stallion husbands that followed their every beck and call. It must be nice not being the servant.
Kicking over the bucket of slop she’d just cleaned up, the Unicorn snorted, and trotted out of the Cafeteria. The guard approached her. “Finish cleaning up this mess and take a shower, the other side isn’t gonna want a filthy pegasus as a gift.”

Sterling hated showers.
She had to have them of course, she’d get in trouble otherwise. Being hosed down in the brig whilst a crowd of stallions jeered at you was something you only let happen once.
Every housing unit the stable had to offer featured a bathroom with a shower. Unfortunately, these showers were not meant for pegasi. The pegasus population of the stable were only allowed to shower in the old ‘public’ showers. Here, there was little privacy, and you could never tell when the Overmare’s cameras were watching. As the shower head began its freezing downpour upon Sterling’s back, she looked around, making sure she was the only one in the shower block. Satisfied she was alone, Sterling sat down and began to silently cry.

Her life had been a series of upsets. Since she’d been born, Sterling had always been looked down upon by the ‘better’ breeds. She’d never known her mother. Her father didn’t care about her. Sterling’s brother Brighthoof used her as a scapegoat whenever he got in trouble. She really was life’s punching bag. But she tried not to let it get to her. Sterling had always stood up for herself, no matter how much trouble she got in. Other pegasi were just like her, why should she be treated any differently?

Sterling sighed again. Shifting uncomfortably in her two-sizes-too-small stable suit. She glared at her pip-buck, the device that had randomly been chosen as the one that would be sent to the other side, and was at least thankful that she had been selected when she was a full-grown mare.
Sitting on a bed across from her, growling, was her brother. The Unicorn had not been happy to hear the news of his sister being traded away, although he would not let anypony else know about this-Unicorns didn’t worry about the lives of lowly pegasi.
“It’s not fair.” he grunted, loosely stomping at the floor’s metal grating with a hoof. “They get to have you, it’s just not fair.” he shook his head, his well-trimmed black mane shimmering in the fluorescent light.

Sterling was unmoved by her brother’s show. She knew that he only wanted her around to clean up after him, as she had for most of her stable-dwelling life. “It has to happen, i’m sorry Brighthoof, I really wish I could stay and wouldn’t have to get married to a Stallion i’ve never even had a conversation with while you stay here at home.” She said, struggling to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Did this have to happen? Who said so, the Overmares? What if she didn’t want to get married? What if she took a stand and-
She stopped herself before she could put a voice to her thoughts. This was her one potential ticket away from these awful ponies and her awful life, she couldn’t risk it by being locked up in the brig again.

Deftly, she tied her damp mane into a ponytail as two guards trotted up to the door, more and more had been moving past the windows towards the door to the Other Side, but she knew why these two had stopped here now. Stretching her wings, she stood, as did her brother.
With the touch of a hoof to the button, the hydraulic door hissed open. “You” said the Stallion, pointing a hoof at Sterling. She knew his name, as he did hers, they had grown up together, played games and learned in class with each other. The only difference between them was that she had been born with wings, and Skyblue hadn’t. She moved to give her brother a somewhat heartfelt goodbye, but he growled and she stopped. How foolish of her to think he’d willingly let her show affection towards him as other ponies watched.

She would miss this place. The familiar posters on the walls drifted past her, as did the thoughts of her few friends and family. Most of these memories were not nice ones. She had always envied the other ponies who got to have birthday parties, hearthswarming gifts, real jobs and lives they chose for themselves, perhaps her new life would be more to her liking. Although she doubted it, maybe the ponies beyond those doors she’d never been past would accept her, anything had to be better than this.
Nopony came to farewell her, something she both didn’t mind, and hadn’t expected would happen anyway. A few of the colts and fillies she had been placed in charge of looking after had clustered around the windows as she trotted past before they had been dragged away by their parents. Although they never spoke of it, the Mares and Stallions who had children-especially pegasi children must have seen the Exchange as a nightmare to them. Sterling believed that deep down, the ponies of the stable did care about their foals, no matter if they had wings or horns. Some would just receive more…preferential treatment from their parents.

They stopped before the doors that divided the stable in two, the decontamination chamber. “In here.” barked the stallion. But she was already moving towards her fate. She wondered about her life, how it would be now that she would be moving to somewhere else. It couldn’t get much worse than the one she already had.
With a hiss, the doors opened again, to say that she was apprehensive was an understatement, a slap on her flank and a “move it” was enough to snap her out of it and begin trotting into the decontamination chamber.

She had never been in this room before, and the silent fear inside her was only exacerbated when the doors slid shut behind her.
“Move to the centre of the room.” said the firm voice of Skyblue over the intercom. She could see him and the other guard through the glass on one side of the room, the other side’s control room was empty, the lights off.
“Where’s the other control team?” the other guard asked, a slight edge to her voice.
“I’m sure it’s nothing, we can proceed.” Came the drawl of Skyblue’s response.
What Sterling was more worried about was the notable lack of another pegasus in the chamber, a pegasus from their side. “Uhh, Skyblue? Where’s the-”
“Quiet!” Skyblue bristled at his name coming out of her mouth. “There’s nothing to worry about, the other side must be running a bit late, that’s all, proceeding to the decontamination stage.”
“But-” The room was filled with a bitter mist that landed on Sterling’s tongue, she sneezed, her face scrunching up at the foul taste and her coat grew damp with disinfectant. The misty spray stopped, and through stinging, watery eyes she blinked rapidly. “Ugh, what’s the point of all of this, neither side is gonna be carrying any outside germs.”
“Proceed to the opposite door.”

She was used to being ignored. “Alright, well, see you never, I guess.” The door before her began sliding smoothly, then got stuck, juddering upwards the rest of the way, she gasped, sitting down hard on her rump at what lay ahead of her.
The lights weren’t just out in the other control room, the entire side of the vault had no power. The walls, floors, and skeletons of the ponies that used to live here had been charred beyond recognition. But past it all, past the bodies, the charred remnants of living quarters and food, there was a single light source.

“What-what happened?” came the voice of the guard over the intercom, knocking Sterling from her thoughts. Skyblue seemed as nonplussed as ever. “Must have been a gas leak or something, I don’t know, ask the overmare. Come back over to the centre of the room, we’re going to seal the doors.”

A faint clicking could be heard from Sterling’s pip-buck. Radiation. That meant the outside could be seeping in, that meant…
Sterling’s entire life had been a certainty. She was born in the stable to a family that needed a servant, an item to trade. She’d been ridiculed and bullied all her life for the way she was born. When she was a filly, Sterling had tried to conceal her wings as much as possible for fear of them reminding the other children of what she really was-something that became more difficult as they grew. They had taken away the one thing she really cared about, her music. They’d locked her up Celestia knows how many times in her life for speaking out about her mistreatment, and today was the day she was set to spend the rest of her life as a servant of the Other Side. Her entire life leading up to this moment had been planned by those that wanted to keep her below them, to keep her head down, to keep her and her life under control.
But for the first time in her life, nopony had planned this for her. The choice truly was hers to make.
She took a single, tentative step forward.

“Hey, pegasus, I told you to come back into the middle of the decontamination chamber!” Skyblue’s voice had grown somewhat agitated. “Unless of course, you want to receive another night in the brig!”
Sterling did not want to spend another night in the brig, in fact, she quickly realised that she didn’t want to spend another day in the stable again. Cooped up in here, nowhere to fly, she was growing claustrophobic just thinking about it. Was the only difference between the brig and the outer Stable the fact that one of them was larger?
Risk possible and probable death at the radiation levels outside the Stable with a slim chance of escape, or return to the metal walls, the servitude, the bullying, and the brig within a larger prison.
She took another step forward, and heard the button being pressed to shut the door. It got caught halfway down again and this time, she didn’t need another moment to think about what her decision would be.
“Get back here! The radiation will kill you! Sterling!” Yelled Skyblue through the intercom as she dived under the door. It slammed shut behind her and she yelped as it sliced off a chunk of her tail hair. Then she was in the dark.
What the hell did I just do?
At that exact moment, Sterling’s whole world was nothing but the source of light ahead, the clicking from her pip-buck, and the grinding of the bones under her hooves as she rose from the charred floor she had thrown herself to. She may as well have been on another planet.
They were right, i’m an idiot. Here I am, locked outside of my only home, in a burned tomb. I should have gone back when Skyblue told me to.

And then she paused to make herself remember why she’d taken the leap. What kind of a life was even left for her in the stable? What sort of a life could she possibly lead? The same life that generations of pegasi had lived. Eat, sleep, do chores, have foals, repeat? That was the way the Overmare wanted Sterling to live, but now, Sterling could decide how she wanted to live her life.
She slowly shuffled forward. “Sorry.” she whispered to the bones of another pony she stepped in. “Sorry.”
She went on down the corridors, twisting and turning, apologising profusely the entire way, always following the light, the call of the light, and then she felt something strange. Something was pushing against her, not hard, but enough to ruffle her coat and mane, she blinked through it. Whatever it was appeared completely invisible to her, until her mind drifted back to the classes of her youth. Wind. She was feeling a breeze. It took her a moment to realise that she’d instinctively spread her wings, the faint winds ruffling the tips of her brown feathers. Her pace quickened, and she stopped apologising. She had to reach the source of the light and the wind, she needed to get out of this tomb that she’d spent her whole life in. She couldn’t breathe, but started galloping anyway, it was so stuffy and dark inside, if only she could reach-

There it was.
She was in the main entrance, standing before a rusted stable door, cracked open very slightly. Clearly it hadn’t been opened the way stable-tec had designed it to. Numbly, she stepped towards it, her hooves carrying her while her mind did a 180, telling her to run back, to beg for forgiveness through the decontamination room’s door. Her body didn’t listen, drawing her closer and closer to the crack, and its searing, blinding light. She didn’t even notice the burned leg of a technician she crushed under a hoof. Her father, her brother, the Overmare…none of them would miss her. At most, they’d be irritated that she managed to get out at all. Taking one last breath of charred stable air, she squeezed herself through the gap.

Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Wild Wasteland – The most silly and bizarre elements of the Equestrian Wasteland always seem to find their way to you, no matter if you want them to or not.