Fallout:Equestria - Underdogs

Chapters

Chapter 1: Adaption
Chapter 2: Felicitation
Chapter 3: Not What It Seems

Chapter 1: Adaption

Chapter 1.

Adaptation

“Once upon a time..”

Beep! Beep! Beep!
The alarm rang through my ears as my mind was still racing to catch up. I groggily rolled out of bed, a few lavender feathers danced in the air when I lifted my blanket. I dug through my closet to find a freshly washed Stable jumpsuit, supplied to all Stable folk. Courtesy of the Overmare. The morning announcements played over the speakers, the Overmare saying her usual spiel.

“Good morning ponies of 52! Today's breakfast special is applesauce and carrot bits with a radish smoothie. Once finished, please report to your designated assignments. Have a good day!”
Her sing-song voice only made me more annoyed, I always hated having to haul my feathery ass to get ready for the day. I didn't have an official Stable job, technically I was still a teacher's apprentice.

In short, a student. Some ponies stay students even after getting an occupation, only if they got one early. Life is boring in the Stable if you don’t have an interesting occupation. You could be stuck with plumbing duty for the rest of your life or repairing PipBucks. Speaking of which, I would always etch in my initials on the metal casing with a cafeteria knife.
S. B with a crude star next to it.
Starbreaker.

That’s me! The cranky pegasus who is ‘irresponsible’ and a ‘delinquent’. The words of my predecessors. The words of my peers who just didn’t quite understand me. I carefully stepped over the mess of my room, navigating to the atrium door that led to the main hallway where all the living corridors spilled out into. I could hear hoofsteps and murmurs of the other Stable ponies. I stepped out of my room and trotted down to the community showers. We had private toilets, but not showers.
The showers were made of tile, it was impossible to not slip in there.

I turned the nozzle with my hoof as hot water spewed on my face. Something about the action of hot water drenching your hide was oddly relaxing and comfortable. The showers were filled with mares, it's always busy in the morning. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sour Note, a white unicorn with a slick black mane and red eyes. And Apricot, a peach colored earth pony with an electric blue mane trailing along. They chatted about Celestia knows what very loudly, and giggling over all the other mares around.

The thing about Sour Note is, she’s a stuck up ass who criticizes everypony who doesn’t meet her standards. Her mom was a singer and would produce the most angelic music. Too bad her daughters a priss. Apricot is just her little pet. She’s sweet sometimes.

Suddenly my shower didn’t feel so warm. I dried off with a wool towel and started to work on my mane. It's a red color that almost looks glossy. My coat is a lavender color with a lighter lavender color painting freckles on my face. I'm a shire horse, so I have a light lavender muzzle and legs that resemble socks. I blow dried my mane and wings.

“Hey, shit head! Clean up your damn feathers. The drains gonna get clogged again!” Sour Note yelled from across the showers.

Apricot along with a few others laughed. She sure was sour, anypony close enough to get a taste would be left with their muzzles scrunched. Her cutie mark was a jagged music note, it reminded me of how much she squawked. I threw on my fresh Stable jumpsuit, repping the number ‘52’, while finishing up my mane. To me, other than my silky feathers, my mane was the most important part that I actively tried to make look good. A smaller earth pony trotted next to me, Zippy Zapp. only asking if I had the notes for class, I didn't. I finished up and left quickly without much more than a grunt.

Class was going to start soon. Although I had my cutie mark, I still needed to attend class until the proper age I can officially go full time in the workforce. Which should be soon anyway. When a Stable pony gets a cutie mark, they’re assigned a job best suited to their talents. But you have to be a certain age to finish school and work full time. Unfortunately my cutie mark isn’t much of an open book. It’s a star with a lightning bolt in its trail. On fire. Pretty badass if I do say so myself.

Double unfortunately that means the Upperponies are having a more difficult time putting me into an occupation. The Upperponies are above the normal Stable ponies, they make all the schedules and assign occupations. They monitor the Stable itself to make sure everything is in check. They run over the files of all the ponies to make sure everypony contributes to the Stable. All hail Stable-Tec. Once I get my file successfully analyzed and sorted I'll finally start working.

I've always wanted to be a painter. I could do a new paint coat on cafeteria walls. It’s in dire need of a new paint job. Hopefully I’ll be able to change the bland ass color in my room too. I know that the very low amount of pegasi in the Stable typically do Artificial Weather Management for the greenhouse and farms. I don’t really care for that junk, but as a pegasus, I should. It was said that pegasi controlled the weather of pre-war Equestria, and even had weather factories up there.

Ms. Tulip taught her usual lesson on blah, blah, blah-oh look, it’s a blank spot on paper! I could hear some bucks chatting and laughing behind me, Marble and Florescences did their usual talk over the teacher-not do their work-and be disruptive, little ritual. My school papers are always covered in sketches of things I see in history class, or names in cool detail. I read a book about pre-war Equestrian wildlife. It had the most amazing things I've ever seen! I wished I had been alive during the pre-war era. I finished doodling what was called a “Cockatrice” on my paper when something hit the back of my head. Marble was giggling like an idiot and Florescences had a shit eating grin on his stupid face. I grabbed the crumpled paper and yelled to them,

“I think you dropped something.” I trotted to Florescences desk and dropped it in front of him.

“You should really be more careful next time, I know you're not all that good with your magic yet.” I whacked my tail on his hoof on my way back to my seat. Florescences looked like he wanted to grab it and turn me upside down. But he held his tongue, for once. Marble hadn't stopped giggling.

“Bitch..” I heard him say under his breath. The same mare from the showers leaned over to me, she had a baby blue coat with a wildly yellow puffy mane, and small zig zagging light blue stripes near her hooves. Zippy Zapp.
“Why do you let them get to you?

“What?” I replied confused, she looked at me worried.

“You know… they keep egging you on. And you keep responding.”

“What else am I supposed to do? Just let them throw paper at me?” she said nothing while retracting back to her seat. Her expression told me I was missing the point of something. I didn't dwell on it too much. Somepony whispered something to her, I brushed it off and tried to pay attention to the rest of the lecture. Tried.

The thing Zippy had said, it didn't completely leave my mind. What did she mean by let them get to you? They didn't get to me, at least I thought they didn't. They didn’t matter to me, but why did I still over analyze those words? Suddenly my PipBuck started flashing with an alert.

“Report to Upperpony Management.” Oh great. What did I do this time?
I dodged and weaved through the crowd of ponies going about their business, ignoring me and focusing on working to keep the Stable functioning. I made it to the head office of the Upperponies. Opening the door I was met with the smell of an apple tang that lingered in my nose.

“Ah! Star, yes, come in!” The stallion at the desk shoving his apple cider in the drawer was Iron Hooves, head of Upperpony Management. I made myself comfortable in a squeaky chair while he pulled out some papers.

“So, you’ve got your cutie mark now huh? It must be pretty exciting to get an occupation soon.” He said through glances while he shuffled through papers. I felt awkward, one because he wasn’t yelling at me for something I did. And two, he hadn’t mentioned anything about the mess I made with paint on the Sector C hallway.

“Uh yeah, it’s cool. Just finishing my studies for now…” my eyes trailed off to the walls. It was the same old Stable wall I’d seen everyone-but cleaner. A poster hung with an orange mare in a cowboy hat, smiling with the caption ‘You too can be a Steel Ranger!’. Ponies in metal armor stood behind her menacingly.

“Star, the management team has been looking over your file very closely since you got that cutie mark of yours. We know how passionate you are about certain topics and how you aren’t afraid to get your hooves dirty, so I'm happy to say that Upperpony Occupation Management has found a job for you!” My ears pricked up in excitement. “Although you'll still have to attend class for the time being, so you wont work full shifts.” It didn't matter, I'd finally get to do what everypony and my parents have been shoving down my throat! My mind trailed off to what job opportunity I would have, when Iron Hooves walked to the door.

“I’ll be escorting you to the Occupation Assignment quarters, if you don’t mind.” My mind was racing as we trotted side by side. My mom is a Stable nurse, so maybe I’ll get something science related? I hope she'll be proud of me! I took the time to look at Iron Hooves, he’s a big gray unicorn with metallic black hair and green eyes. His cutie mark was a golden trophy. Over his Stable jumpsuit he wore a brown vest with a Stable door pin on it.

Small reading glasses poked out of one of the pockets. During my time in the Stable, he was usually the one to take care of me whenever I got into trouble. That meant a lot of yelling. But at this time, he almost looked proud as he led me to the Occupation Assignment room.

The room was mostly Upperponies on terminals working on… whatever Upperponies worked on. A dark green stallion with a lab coat greeted Iron Hooves, they both towered over me. I was shorter than the average grown mare, but I wasn’t fully grown yet. My mom told me I’ll probably stay this tall sadly. A few Security ponies stood around the room. I can see why, these terminals hold a full Stable of information. Only the eggheads and management use these. If you wanted to find anything on anypony, these terminals were your go-to.

The ultimate shovel for dirt. The dark green stallion had a name tag “Trailblazer”. Heading to a more private room one on one, he gestured for me to sit in front of a camera facing a wall. Anytime a pony gets an occupation, they have to take a new ID photo. I smiled awkwardly as the flash burned my eyes. Trailblazer praised me as he looked through a folder with my name on it.

“Congratulations Starbreaker, your assigned occupation will be…” scientist? Artist? Weather management? The anticipation was crawling from hoof to ear, until he blurted out:
“Technician! Welcome aboard the Stable workforce!” He shook my hoof while I blankly stared at him, still processing what he said.

“You’ll be under the apprenticeship of Pipedream. They already know of your appointment and will be waiting for you in the Technician HQ tomorrow to start your shift.” It felt like drool was running from my mouth as I sat there stiffly and stared, dumbfounded. Technician?! I couldn’t believe it, I wasn’t going to do anything associated with what I’m actually passionate about?!

Trailblazer shooed me out of his office and told me to get a good night's rest. I sauntered through the halls aimlessly, it felt like my mind was still trying to crank the gears and churn out a thought. I found myself wandering near the clinic where my mom, Dawnheart, would be on shift. I walked towards her attending to a patient, she saw me and spun around. She's a dark purple unicorn with a soft white creamy mane.

“Star! I’m so glad to see you! I heard about your assignment, I’m so glad. How do you feel?” she nuzzled my cheek softly.

“Uh yeah, just processing it all.”

“Being a technician takes a lot of skill, you'll finally put your creative efforts to something useful in the Stable.” She turned around to check an IV drip. I noticed how tired she looked to be working, apparently Buttercup busted his wing again trying to haul around farming supplies. He whispered his thanks under his breath, looking all guilty.

“I just never thought… that I would have this kind of job.”

“Your father was a part of the Artificial Weather Management team as a technician. He always had that tinkering bone in his body.” she snapped at me. “And looks like it passed down to you, obviously the Upperponies see something in you.” At that point I wished I was part of AWM. Maybe I could have proved to everypony that I wasn't just a nuisance and a disappointment to my fathers status. Although he didn't actually put in weather commands and code the exact right water PH for the sprinklers, he did the heavy lifting. He would fix the water purifier talisman when it broke and was the pony to install most of the systems.

Sometimes I never thought I could live up to the amount of help my father gave to this Stable. I was always living in his shadow, his contributions. The AMW controls crop growth, we make the crops into food. Without his help, the Stable would starve. The other Stable ponies had high hopes for his offspring, too bad I won't be working in the flashy AWM control panel above the gardens. Flaunting my wings and doing flashy tricks to woo the other workers. To get my mind off things I headed to the gym where countless ponies were getting in their routines to stay fit. Being a technician takes a lot of strength, as I've learned from my all great and admirable dad.

I saw ponies practicing telekinesis in another room with a big glass window, they seemed to be able to only carry light objects like boxes and books. My usual routine was a wing workout. If you don’t routinely exercise your wings, they could become weak and you won’t be able to fly properly. Or your feathers will get weaker.

I added a few pounds to my weights when benching, and did a few more push ups than before. My wings were sore afterwards but I felt good, I felt more empowered than ever. I don’t know if it’s new found confidence from the assignment, or just some inner epiphany. The Overmare had said the dinner menu over the speakers but I tuned it out, maybe being a technician wouldn't be so bad.

It was curfew for the Stable, everyone shuffled to their living corridors for the night. I sat in my bed thinking about my day. From the way I was positioned I could see out of the little window on the corridor door. The lights were dimming as a warning of when the night cycle would start. The voices of ponies died down as one by one the soft thud of closing doors echoed. Outside, the lights don't turn completely off.

Instead the hallway is painted in a dark blue hue so we can still see. I'm told it mimics the night on the surface, and that tiny dots called stars litter the sky, making it glow. I wondered what the surface looked like at night, was it encased by a ceiling, and did it smell like cleaning supplies too?

The Stable was never truly quiet. You could still hear the soft murmur of the ventilation system and humming of the hallway lights. Always a hoofstomp here and there, the metal walls adjusting with a grind. I took the time to study my room. Clothes scattered around on the floor, small light bulbs line where the ceiling and wall touch, they blinked in and out creating a twinkling effect. My terminal sat on my small desk, the bathroom door closed with a poster hanging on it, Victory, Just a Wings Beat Away! It had pegasi with cool purple jumpsuits and goggles.

They stared out into the sky, determined to conquer anything. A small shelf on the same wall as my bed, holding books and art supplies. A nightstand right next to where my head lay, a small lamp and an alarm clock sit on top. The walls were a dull white normally, but with the main light off they looked a soft creamy color. Something about the atmosphere always lulled me to sleep. I started to drift off before I knew it.

Author's Note

I'll be publishing the chapters one at a time, feedback is appreciated to better my writing!

Chapter 2: Felicitation

Chapter 2.

Felicitation

“Good foals bring home the big bits!”

Morning was strict as usual, except I now had to report to my new mentor. First training would begin in the Technician HQ on floor C. There are 5 floors inside the Stable, floor A-D with various infrastructure connecting to new tunnels and rooms. Floor A the Overmare and Upperponies offices, along with living corridors. Floor B has Security brig, Infirmary, Occupation Assignment quarters, Cafeteria, the gym, more corridors, and the school. Floor C holds farms and the AWM, Technician HQ, Stable Laboratories, Radio Control Center, Gun Range, and Hydroponics Bay. Floor 0 is above floor A, it's a long tunnel leading to the 52 Stable door to the outside.

No pony except the Overmare and Upperponies have been up there, maybe a technician pony or two. I had to take the giant stairway down to floor C, as my living corridors on floor B, which gets crowded during the morning since it's connected to the Cafeteria. Flying and magic use isn't allowed in large spaces due to safety regulations or whatever, you're only permitted to use skills in the workforce or exercise. So no shooting lightning bolts out of your horn or slamming into hallways with uneasy flying. Bummer.

Pipedream was already waiting for me, she waved her pale sandy hoof at my arrival. I'd seen her around before, she often fixed broken vents or lights on my floor. Her jumpsuit was covered in stains and dirtier than mine, she wore a special Technician jumpsuit with a tool saddle with all the appliances you can imagine.

“Rise n’ shine Star! We got busy day today. Now move your hooves.” I sluggishly trotted after her into the Technician HQ. It was dirtier down here than any other floor, stains on the walls and floor and ponies who laid back drinking hard apple cider or playing cards. Nothing too interesting happened down here, I scrunched my nose in disgust. Can't believe I would actually be working down here.

“Alright kid, get your equipment and I'll teach ya the basics.” a nicely laid out pile of what contained a chestplate, tool saddle, and a hat put on top called my name.

“They're personalized so uh, don't break it. Or it comes out of your credit.” she mentioned 2sourly. Securing my tool saddle I noticed how sticky the floors were. Eyuck.

“So, are all Technician ponies this dirty?” I jabbed at her, she chuckled and said to get used to it.

“We're heading down to floor D, there's a leak in the recycle system. There, I'll teach you how to use a wrench!” She said that like I was a foal, but I was nervous. I had never been below floor C, floor D is for authorized personnel. Guess I just hit the criteria. The door for floor D required a keycard that Pipedream had.

“Once you complete your training, you'll get one of these.” she waved it around like it was a pass into the brewery. Which I had also never been into. The stairway was a lot less polished and had exposed pipes running down the walls. A bright red mare walked by and tilted her hat in greeting, and I returned with an awkward smile. I wasn't that good at socializing, a lot of the times I just couldn't really find the words to communicate. It's not like I was nervous, it's just my brain wouldn't crank out a response in time. Making it awkward in any situation. Small puddles resided in the corners of most of the stairwell, the Stable around us creaked and moaned, as we approached floor D I could hear machinery. The floor transitioned from white tile into concrete when we reached the bottom.

“This place is the basement and backbone of the Stable, it's where everything you use day to day gets produced and reused.” Pipedream glorified this dank wet underbelly of the Stable, I eyed around the structure in unfamiliarity. I was so used to the shiny white tile and walls the eyesore of the upper floors had, this place seemed unfinished and foreign. And oddly humid.

“Now I got a report saying we have a leak in the generator room, if we dont fix it soon it could fry our power supply.” The sound of our hooves echoed through the dimly lit halls as a few other ponies in technician gear worked on steaming pipes and flickering lights. A bigger door opened for us, a massive room with a generator hummed and cranked loudly. It made a loud thud closing behind us. An exposed pipe winding from the ceiling to the wall was leaking dark water onto the floor, the water was at a hoof's height and felt murky to walk in. Pipedream had no problem trudging through the smelly water. Her strong earth pony body looked built to withstand anything. Her cutie mark was a Stable door being pried opened with a wrench. She scratched her light brown buzzed mane with her hoof while surveying the room.

“Fetch me that ladder, will ya?” She gestured to the other side of the room, where a balcony with a railing stuck out from the top of the wall. There, a ladder hung from the railing. The water was getting higher and I had a harder time moving through the thickening water. There was no way I could reach the ladder, so propelled myself off the floor with my wings in a gust. I brought the ladder to Pipedream and she made haste getting to the broken pipe spewing even more water by the second.

Pipedream pulled a wrench from her tool saddle and put her head straight into the spewing gush of water to retighten the pipe. I flew down to the ladder where the water was getting even higher to the point it was getting unstable for her to stand. I tried to hold it in place while she cranked as hard as she could. The ladder slipped from my grasp and fell while Pipedream jumped onto the pipe and dangled there by her hooves!

“Proec ahe gehararor!” she yelled with the wrench still in her teeth and water crashing onto the high rising pool. Exposed wiring was on top of the generators, I tried to keep the water down by splashing so they wouldn't fry the wires.
The water was already halfway full, Pipedream waved me over frantically to help her. But before I could do anything, stinging water splashed into my eyes and in confusion I slammed into the pipe while flying. There was a loud reverbing thud and everything went quiet, I wiped my eyes continuously while groaning.

“Arrgg! It stings!” I opened them to see the water had stopped flowing and Pipedream had her wrench tightly secure the pipe.

“Viola! Good as new.” she said confidently while putting her wrench back, she was still on the pipe wrapped around it.

“What're we gonna do about the water??”

“Don't worry, there's drains on the floor. it'll take a second for it to go down though” she said coolly, like this was a daily occurrence. Her pink eyes told me this wasn't her first showdown on floor D, the technician ponies had their fair share of tough labor. I wouldn't underestimate that.

“Sweet Celestia, this water smells horrible! What's even in it??” I flew and sat down on the pipe but not with my full weight. Still on edge.

“Sewage.”

“Sewage?! And I got it in my eyes!”

Pipedream laughed as I frantically rubbed my eyes with my hooves. I heard a splash and saw her standing on the floor with water still at her flank. Once it had drained I jumped to the bottom as well, the floor was way stickier than before and made my nose burn from the smell, making my muzzle scrunch.

“Good work, Star!” We bumped hooves and opened the generator hallway door back up. I had never felt dirtier in my life and needed a shower right now.

“Who's gonna clean up that mess back there?” We just left it behind us without looking back

“Next shift will. Let's get a drink, I'm wiped.” she wiped her brow with her hoof and trotted on, were all technician ponies this lazy? It also made me realize how much time we spent on fixing that stupid pipe.
We went back to floor C and got a drink from the vending machine. Pipedream drank a fresh Sunrise Sarsaparilla while I had my share of Sparkle-Cola RAD. We sat at a table in the breakroom of Technician HQ. a radio played the Stable classic channel that Pipedream softly hummed to while she tinkered with a broken fuse.
“This concludes your day 1 training. Congrats.” She didn't even look up from her fuse.

“You did good today, kid.” She shot me a warm smile.

“Thanks, I did the best I could by following simple commands.” Pipedream chuckled at that one, I felt a smile sneak on my face.

“You also smell like shit.” Jabbing at me.

“You do too!” she laughed even harder as we jabbed back and forth. Pipedream reminded me of my mother, if she didn't care for the safety and well being of everything. Pipedream must be around the same age as her, maybe older. She had a scar on her left cheek, something about the way she looked and her confidence made me want to be like her when I grow up. Maybe being a technician pony wouldn't be so bad.

I had absolutely never felt better washing off grime and dirt from a long day of splashing in sewage. My shift wasn’t technically over, I work on Pipedreams schedule. But she said I was done for the day on account that she wanted to rest before something else popped up. I played a game on my terminal wondering what tomorrow's training would be. The terminal got a ping the second I thought that, a friend in the Stable sent me a message:

Wetstone - I heard abt ur first day in tech. How was it?
Starbreaker - Smelly
Wetstone - LOL
Starbreaker - it wasn't that bad really, it could have been worse
Wetstone - really? I heard the generator room flooded lol
Starbreaker - word gets around fast huh
Wetstone - oh yeah. They say u caused it
Starbreaker - what??
Starbreaker - I didn't do jack!
Wetstone - I believe u dw, its kinda funny is all
Starbreaker - how many ponies know
Wetstone - ummm a bit.. Sour Note and Haybale’s goons are riling everyone up
Starbreaker - aw man, they’re never gonna let this down!

I turned off my terminal before I could read more messages from Wetstone. I didn’t want those thoughts clouding my mind, I didn’t want to think about it altogether. Tomorrow I would have to go to school and face them, then have to go to work again. I felt a knot forming in my stomach, I didn’t want to be exhausted tomorrow. And I certainly as hell didn’t want to deal with Sour fuck and Haybitch in class. I just needed to get some rest, I couldn't think about it now or I'll never sleep. I've always hated most of the ponies in Stable 52. Except for some.

I know there are other Stables in Equestria, back when the Great War started 200 years ago. Stable-Tec developed living spaces for ponies if nuclear fallout were to occur. And where we are, stuck underground for generations. No pony knows what's on the surface, nor have they ever tried to find out. I've only ever heard stories of what could be up there, no pony dares to try and go out. Not that they are allowed to anyway. The only parts I really know of the war are the nuclear fallout and how zebras are the ‘great evil who destroyed Equestria’.

My whole life I've been surrounded by the steel white walls and marble flooring, everydays been the exact same. It's the same for everypony. Your life has already been planned, you must fall in line for the future of Equestria. I wonder if the Upperponies and the Overmare already knew what occupation i would have when I was born, if my whole life was a schedule. A block in a concrete wall, where no pony gets freedom. All for the greater good.
The lights in the hall shut off and started the night cycle. I stared out the small window on my door, the hallway was quiet and still. I've never been outside my room past curfew before.

If you're found, you're punished. Something about the sterile-ness of the Stable was always off putting, it was too organized. But it was my home. Who was I to question my safe haven, the place that protected me from radiation and the horrors of the surface. But still, something didn't sit right with me.

The morning I dragged myself yet again out of bed. I did my normal morning routine, and finally went to class. I sauntered to my desk and plopped down, the atmosphere shifted. I could feel as if everypony was miles away from me. So out of touch. I could feel glares on the back of my head, I've always felt that, but now more than ever. Nopony talked to me as I went to Technician HQ afterwards either, I dragged my hooves as I walked. Pipedream was in the break room, sipping a Sparkle-Cola. She watched as I threw on my technician gear.

“There's a busted terminal on floor A, I’ll take you to fix it.” I said nothing as I followed Pipedream all the way up to floor A. Mostly grown mares and stallions inhabit floor A, all working in a sort of rhythm. Entangled in their own occupations. We approached the Overmare’s office and I could feel the anxiety welling up in my stomach. I'd never been inside the Overmare’s office, Security was on both sides of the door and eyed us walking in. It felt strangely ominous. At the wooden desk, the Overmare sat fiddling with her terminal. She was a pink unicorn with a yellow curly mane.

“Oh thank Celestia someponies here, my terminal won’t turn on. I’ve tried everything to get it to work, but it’s stubborn.” My experiences with the Overmare have been very short. She’d always been present for Stable events, a commanding leader and a face to trust. She had limited interactions with ponies outside of the Upperponies and close friends and family. To me, she was just a symbol of authority, completely untouchable. But now, she just looked like every other pony. The office had a window on the back wall, overlooking floor B. Posters hung on the walls of leadership advice and themes of being a ‘savior’ or something like that. The Overmare’s jumpsuit had a special Stable door pin with the number ‘52’, her PipBuck was silver tinged with gold lining. There was a leather sofa in the corner of the room, the whole office looked so home-y. Pipedream went around the desk and poked at the terminal a bit.

“I assume you have this under control, I'll leave you both to it.”
She trotted out of the office with the same confident stride I had always seen from her.

“Check the wiring under the desk.” Pipedream prodded me with her shoulder snapping me out of my analytical trance. Bending down I saw the cords were messy, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I muttered to myself before standing up, but I hit my head on the desk. Ow. Pipedream gasped softly and said the screen flashed on for a second. I rubbed the back of my head as she experimented with hitting the desk over again. It kept flashing and one final time it stayed on, the login screen asked for a password.

“Aha there we go, looks like a faulty LCD. if it bugs out again we can get it replaced." I didn't say anything in return, just nodded my head.
“You okay? You seem a little mopey.”

“Huh? Oh… yeah I'm fine. Just thinking.” Pipedream gave me a skeptical look but didn’t push it any further.

“Okay. I'm gonna get the Overmare then. Hang tight.” Her demeanor shifted a bit, like a worried parent. But didn’t pester me, I wasn't her foal. As far as I knew, she didn't have any foals. She was old enough to be my grandma, but was completely alone. The flashing terminal caught my eye as it asked for the appropriate password. One little try wouldn't hurt, right? I had my fair share of terminal experience. All you had to do was access the terminal hacking screen, and go from there. I tried a few combinations, I had a few tries left in the system. I was anxious the Overmare would return and find me on her terminal. It made me pick up the pace a bit. Finally, I got the right one. ‘Control’. The terminal mainly had files of other ponies and occupation reports. I looked through some.

Salty Sam

Status: Alive

Race: Earth

Occupation: Cafeteria Chef

Astral Spark

Status: Alive

Race: Unicorn

Occupation: Scientist

Iron Hooves

Status: Alive

Race: Unicorn

Occupation: Upperpony Management

Each file had a small description and a photo of the corresponding pony. The mouse cursor drifted to the search bar, where I began to type ‘Dawnheart’. My mother.

Dawnheart

Status: Alive

Race: Unicorn

Occupation: Nurse

Notes:

Dawnheart has been experiencing increased stress and anxiety symptoms since Briarwings death. Reported to be feeling overwhelmed, paranoia, and a sense of impending doom. More narcotic supplements needed. Since restrainment after [REDACTED], Dawnheart has displayed behavioral issues towards others. Aggressive mannerism and urgency, said to be ‘conspiring’ against the Overmare herself and Upperponies. Spotted smuggling hallucinogenic drugs from the Pharmacy. An increase in anesthesia narcotics has calmed her behavior. Reported to have her memory more hazy and forgetful. Electrotherapy treatment was successful. Any further mention of Briarwing results in punishment. It seems to be working.

What happened? I never knew my mother had such extreme issues, and I sure as hell never knew about the procedures and evaluations she was put under. What happened to my father that was so impactful? How did he die? I had never gotten the answers to these questions about my father, it seems everypony I talked to only spoke positively of him. I needed to know more, so I searched through the Overmare's desk until I found a USB cord which I hooked up to my Pipbuck and her terminal. I downloaded a majority of files but panicked when I heard hoofsteps.

I didn't have time to churn out another thought until the Overmare burst in chatting with another mare. I took that as an opportunity to excuse myself while nodding my head to them. Pipedream was idle outside of the office, watching me walk out. We stared at each other like we wanted to say something important, but didn’t know how to get it out.

“There's a broken hallway door on floor B, I just got a tip from Kernel.” She shuffled through her Pipbuck while leading me to the busted door on floor C. I sat and fiddled with my own Pipbuck, flipping through file after file. Getting lost in the personal information of Stable 52 ponies, there were so many. They would go back decades of long dead ponies, files metaphorically collecting dust and rotting away. I was so absorbed in the files I didn't even notice Pipedream asking me to pass her her toolbox.

“Star!”

“Huh? Oh, sorry… here." She gave me a short glare and continued her work in silence. I felt bad but couldn't shake the unsettling feeling of scrolling through the hundreds of old files. Pipedream called me over to teach me about internal door wiring. I followed her instructions carefully, using my teeth and hooves to move the wires and flip the breaker switches. The motion sensor on the door was broken, apparently the sensors were fried. After a long silence between us, I asked her the question.

“What… happened to my father?” I knew Pipedream had to be around the age he was, or at least my mom. Maybe older. She looked into the void for a while before saying her thoughts.

“He was… a good stallion. Hardworking, and dependable.”

“That's what everyone says.” I said disappointedly.

“Look, I knew him, we grew up together. My mom knew his. We just grew apart.” She was quiet, but looked unnerved in some way I couldn't point out. I couldn't help but think she was hiding something more.

“Nobody will tell me anything about him, other than his accomplishments.”

“I can tell you more, but… not now.” she looked almost worried, saying it almost in a whispering tone.

“Why? Why not now?”
“Because..” She looked around eyeing the halls, the hallway we were in was semi closed off due to our maintenance. So not many ponies were walking by.

“Why? Why won't anypony tell me anything! I just want to know who he was!”

“Star, calm down.”

“No! I deserve to know! Tell me Pipedream, tell me!”

“Lower your voice, breaker!”

“Why does everypony just dismiss me, he was my father!”

“Star, stop!”

“No! I-” suddenly the hallway door slammed onto my tail, I failed to realize I was backing up into it. I screeched, falling to the ground.

“That’s what I was trying to warn you about, are you alright?” She messed with the control panel on the wall beside it, the door lifted up and freed my tail. I whined as it remained sore.

“There's a trick to bypass just about any door panel in the Stable in case things like this happen.”

“I will tell you what I can… but not now.” she glared at the security cameras and guards patrolling. The whole situation made me feel uneasy, the atmosphere felt more cramped than normal. I agreed with a whisper and we dropped it.

“Well the sensors are obviously working now, just backwards.”

I had to admit, I enjoyed watching Pipedream work and showed me electrical engineering, I had always enjoyed that sorta stuff. Anything to do with sparks and flames was right up my alley, the stuff other ponies would find ‘dangerous’ and ‘hazardous’. I always felt like the other fillies and colts were wimps for being so scared of things, like the dark or being alone. Pipedream and I walked back to the break room so I could catch my breath and examine my tail. She scuffed the dirty concrete floor with her hoof anxiously.

“Listen kid, there are things about your father no pony wanted to talk about.” my curiosity couldn't be more peaked, I listened carefully to her words.

“I'll tell ya he was very ambitious, like you. But there were things he was passionate about that didn't sit well with the rest of the Stable folk.”

“What do you mean?” she shifted her shoulders and glanced around the room, which was empty, and leaned further towards me.

“He told me that the Overmare position was opening up soon. And he would be on the list for an apprenticeship. Only me and him knew that, I swore to never tell another soul.” Pipedream dipped her head, her hat covering her eyes.

“I was more anxious than he was, soon all eyes would be on him. And that meant all eyes on me too. The pressure was too much to handle for myself, but he seemed to bask in that kind of attention. A leadership position seemed almost natural to him, like it was his destiny.” My jaw was almost on the floor. He would've been an Overstallion?! The possibilities raced through my mind of what he would've been like.

“What happened after that? Did he get the position?” i needed to know more, maybe i could finally paint him as a normal pony rather than a symbol of leadership through Pipedreams stories. Pipedream rubbed the back of her head and sighed.

“It wasn't meant to be I guess.”

“Meant to be? What does that mean? Was he fired?” She stood up and walked towards the exit door and leaned against the wall.

“Let's chat another time, okay?” she clocked out and trotted off. Wow. I couldn't believe that so much about my father was hidden, I almost forgot my tail hurt so badly. I sat there and stared off into the quiet room, a slight dripping noise came from a corner where a small puddle ran to the drain in the middle of the floor. The yellow dim lighting makes the room reflect an orangish-brown tone. It reminded me of a cave, something I read in a geology history book. Something about gem mining in an underground tunnel called a cave, caves usually had a damp atmosphere with a cold wind. The room really did feel like a cave. I brought my mind back from wandering thoughts, I chugged a Sparkle-Cola before clocking out as well.

The green light from my Pipbuck was the only thing illuminating my room in the dark, the sound of switching through tabs echoed. I kept reading more about incidents in the Stable through file work. Past Overmares and stallions, retired Upperponies, the whole works. Apparently a few years before I was born a water purifier talisman broke for a few weeks, everybody had to cut back on water usage. I bet it stunk back then. Nothing caught my attention too much, until I opened a folder I downloaded from the Overmare’s terminal. A folder with files of ‘deceased’ ponies. I couldn't quell my curiosity much longer, I searched in the folder until I saw his name. Briarwing.

Briarwing

Status: Deceased

Race: Pegasus

Occupation: Overpony apprentice

Notes:

[special authorization required to view]

Well that hit a dead end. I had no authorization key to access the notes. Why was his so hidden and not anypony else's? Except for past Overpony files and what not. Maybe that's why, since he was an apprentice the information was restricted due to being associated with the Overmare. My head spun with crazy ideas about what might have happened, and slowly I drove myself into a worryful sleep.

That morning, I visited my mother and had to ask the burning question in my mind. What happened to him?
She pulled me aside and I explained that Pipedream told me as much as I knew til now.

“Star, there are so many things I wish I could tell you…” Dawnheart trailed off and glanced around worriedly. Her face was strained with anxiety, she grabbed me with her hoof and dragged me away into a secluded storage room.

“Star, you have to promise me that you will never say a word to anypony about this.” I nodded along while keeping my eyes on her. She slowly pulled back her jumpsuit collar to reveal old gruesome electrocution scars. My jaw dropped as she revealed more along her torso and legs. She looked like she was on the verge of crying, all I could do was observe with wide eyes.

“W-what happened to you??” I could feel my heart tug with sympathy. Of course, I already knew what happened. But I needed to hear it first hand from my mother. She hugged me tightly and whispered into my ear urgently.

“You need to get out of here Star. They know what happened to your father and they are keeping it a secret from the rest of the Stable! They sent him to his death, Breaker! They killed him!” My whole world was spinning in circles. My whole life everypony told me it was an accident! His death was an accident! I felt like the idea of everything I knew was crumbling before me.

“They sent him… outside. They lied about finding his body, they lied about everything! He knew too much!” I slowly backed up as my mind raced, I felt nauseous and unstable on my hooves.

“You must leave Star! You must find the truth!” She hugged me tightly and I returned it. I needed the support from her, I needed somepony to be there consoling me. Dawnheart wiped her tears and adjusted herself before kissing me on the forehead.

“I know you can find the truth. They will kill me if I try, but you must do something!”
She left the storage room and the door closed behind her with a thud that echoed throughout the room. Why… why? What did my father know? What did he see? What are the Upperponies planning? And one question that rang in my mind, is he still alive?

Chapter 3: Not What It Seems

Chapter 3.

Not What It Seems

A flash of light went off, followed by screeching.

“H-he never told me anything! I swear! Please stop!” a purple mare huffed out frantically. Somepony in a white lab coat jotted down on a clipboard, another shock commenced. Again, followed by frantic screeching. “I won't… tell anypony.”

I told Pipedream about what had happened. I was panicking, was I really going to leave? Did she really mean that I had to leave the Stable? Pipedream understood I was under a lot of stress and pressure. She told me it was my choice to leave and find out what happened, or stay here. I locked myself in my room, pacing back and forth while my mind raced with possibilities. I rummaged through my room frantically, looking for any kind of clues through past memorabilia like pictures or things associated with him. In an old box there was a picture of him and mom embraced looking at the camera. I never knew him. But my parents both looked so much happier together, my mother didn't have the eyebags and painful glare like I had seen today.

I realized how much Briarlight had changed her, after he was presumed dead and sent outside the Stable for whatever reason. How much my mother looked different, happier, more alive. I hadn't realized until now how miserable my mother had been, she always looked the same to me. But my father, somepony who was always smiling in every photo I saw. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know who he really was. And maybe… leaving the Stable might give me the chance.

Pacing back and forth, I contemplated really leaving the Stable behind. Did I really want to follow the hoof marks of my father who may or may not be dead?! Is this really what I wanted? I thought back to my mother, who urged me to leave. Subconsciously, I blocked out all the pros and cons and began packing. I had no idea what I would find outside the Stable, or if anything was even out there. But something was calling me out there, something wanted me to go.

I told Pipedream to meet me by the Stable door that night. After taking one last trot down the white sterile halls. All I could hear was my own hoofsteps, which echoed softly. The hallways looked so odd when everypony was gone, I used my PipBuck to light the way. And after traveling up to Floor 0, Pipedream was there looking worried while fiddling with her PipBuck. She unlocked the Floor 0 door and escorted me up a winding staircase. After walking a while, the staircase walls were stripped into just metal bars. Looking out exposed a massive tunnel going straight up and down, wires and pipes ran through it and lights constantly blinked. I couldn’t help but stare as the large tunnel that echoed our hoofsteps, the whole place looked like I was swallowed by a large mechanical dragon. We reached the top floor, the Stable door was closed shut with 52 painted on.

Pipedream walked to a side panel and opened the control box. She began hooking the wires from it to her PipBuck, the sound of sparks echoed through the massive chamber. Looking over the thin platform we stood on, I could've sworn the chamber growled back at me. A gust of wind flipped up my hair and I stumbled back, shaking on my hooves. A loud beep rang out from the chamber followed by a hissing noise with large mechanical movement. Pipedream looked at me with a longing stare, her eyes filled with sorrow. She embraced me in a deep hug, I could hear her sniffling in my ear. I shuddered as the reality of my situation set in. Pipedream whispered in my ear,

“you better come back. Who knows what's out there, I just hope you find the answers you need.” She gave me my utility belt that still had the freshly used tools in them. I thanked her.

A large machine dismounted from the wall, the rusty squeaking noises echoed. The Stable door was slowly pulled back, a bright light stung my eyes and painted the large chamber. Slowly stepping out on the stairs I could feel fresh air blowing on me. The sounds of the wind whistling filled the air as I stepped on the surface. It was cold, I stepped on a soft white texture that stung my hooves. The mechanical sound of the Stable door closing behind me made my heart skip a beat. The rough texture of the ground scraped my hooves and wind brushed my mane. Suddenly while walking my PipBuck started beeping, a new entry for my inbuilt map. I was on a mountain.

The Smokey Mountains. Containing Stable 52, maybe I could follow my PipBuck map and find some kind of settlement. White pellets landed on my mane and jumpsuit, they were falling from the sky. Looking up I saw pure emptiness, just a gray void spanning all around. It made me uneasy, it filled me with almost a sense of dread. Crawling down the slippery black rocks, I was hesitant flying down, the wind seemed like it was already knocking me over. I didn't want to lose control and fall. The edge of the mountain was taunting me, I swallowed hard and closed my eyes when jumping rock to rock. My heart skipped several beats continuing to slip around.

A broken chain link fence covered a pathway along the mountain. Broken signs and warnings decorated the fence. Walking around the path I could feel crunching underneath my hooves. Scrapping back the snow, was a pony’s ribcage. The sense of dread shook me to my core and I stumbled back to catch my breath. I felt the feeling of more crunching underneath of me. Taking a closer look at the snow blanket covering the ground, more bones and skeletons caught my eye. Overwhelming me. I was in a snow graveyard. I could feel my heart racing, my throat was closing up and the feeling of panic consumed me. Instinctively I flapped my wings and raced away from the gated fence as fast as possible. I couldn't control how fast I was barreling down the mountain side, nothing in the Stable would have come close to something like this. The wind cut my cheeks and I squealed in pain. Eventually it had gotten easier to control my flight, but I was going too fast.

Smoke and dirt changed the color of the atmosphere into a pale brown. The air felt heavier to breath, and the surface came to view. Before I knew it, I came crashing to the bottom. I tumbled over jagged rocks that scraped my body, the rough dirt felt like sandpaper. I came to an abruptly painful stop, a dust cloud crashed over me as I heaved for air. Gashes and cuts littered multiple sides of my body. I shook off the remaining dirt, my legs ached to the point I was shaking. My left wing stung when I tried to stretch it. Ow ow owwww. Internally howling in pain, my PipBuck began flashing. The green screen flashed warnings that my back hoof, left wing, and ribs were severely injured. Along with minor cuts and wounds along my body.

Every breath I took in felt like sharp knives carving my chest and stomach. Heaving myself onto my hooves, I looked around just to see a hollow world. Everything was dead or dying. The sharp pang of regret and fear mixed into the pain I was already feeling. I really should’ve taken some bandages, or a medkit for Celestia's sake! Yelling at myself for being so forgetful didn't help how I was already feeling. I was practically dragging myself through the cracked dirt, when the sound of a loud bang echoed from farther west. I shuddered while keeping my head low. Thankfully what looked to be a farmhouse was not far from where I was, I could rest and try to tend to my open wounds.

Walking past the sad looking fence practically painted by dirt and rotting, gave me a lonely feeling. Broken barrels sinking into the dirt and eroding away. The old farmhouse window creaked and groaned from the wind blowing through. I cautiously pushed aside the front door, barely hanging off its hinges like it had been torn off. My hooves made the ancient floorboards squeak, the house seemed to have been gutted. No furniture or appliances in sight. Turning on my PipBucks flashlights, it seemed everything of use was already long scavenged from here. Remains of rotten food plagued the pantry, I scrunched my nose from the smell. My curiosity led me down the farm's hallway, where a broken staircase sat. The upstairs had been completely barraced, I wasn’t that curious to find out why.

Natural light seeped its way into what I assumed was once a bedroom on the first floor. Nothing but an old dresser and mold decorated the room. The handles to the dresser were rusty and didn't give way immediately. The dresser had nothing but old filly clothes. Colorful patterns of dresses and shirts turned brown and wet, tainted by time. My meter of self pity and sadness had reached its peak, I retreated from the room.

In the living room, I pitifully licked my wounds to clean them. Iron and dirt was all I could taste while using what little knowledge I had of self restoration. Mom wouldn't be proud. Reminiscing on memories where my mother would treat injuries I would get all the time as a filly. I was reckless and was quick to put myself into danger or get hurt. The bleak rotting farmhouse reminded me of my situation. I was never really sure if I would find my dad, or try to help my mom. I was unsure of what I was really doing. I chased away those helpless thoughts and rested my eyes. Laying down was hard enough, let alone walking, I deserved this rest. My sides heaved in short and quick intervals to avoid causing anymore pain to my ribs. It felt hard to breathe on the surface, all the dust and smoke made me miss the recycled air of the Stable.

My rest was barely fulfilling. I could hardly relax in my new environment, everything was otherworldly compared to the harsh white tiling I was always used to. Natural grass on the surface felt dead and pitiful, dead leaves crunching under my hooves felt foreign. I followed lights in the distance as best as I could. But the pain of my broken body made it hard to walk. Flying was out of the question, anytime I tried flexing my wing I whined in pain. The ground turned to cracked pavement when I entered a small town. I followed the smell of fresh smoke into the ruins of what looked to be some kind of residential building. Barbed wire fences and barricades blocked most of the entrances. climb over several large containers to get in the perimeter. Getting closer caused my PipBuck to ping, alerting me of something nearby.

Maybe it was another pony, maybe they could help me. The heat map alerts were displayed as red bars, I turned on my light and snuck inside the caved in wall of the building. Almost every wall was covered in profanity with spray paint, some cursing Celestia while others were random obscenities I didn't know was a thing. The floor was littered with broken glass and dried blood, the smell of indescribable foulness made me flinch. Old wallpaper was decorated with numerous holes and slowly chipping away.

Sounds of talking froze me in my path. A room down the hall was the only light I could see, besides my PipBuck. Laughter and yelling gave me hope, maybe I could fix my wounds and they could help me find any kind of civilization. I slowly peeked my head around the corner.

“H-hello?” I wheezed out. The ponies in the room all stopped to stare at me, they were covered in armor and scars. Each pony looked crazier than the last, blood coating their hides along with various severed body parts as decoration. My heart dropped. The ponies sprang up, grabbing weapons littered around the room. I couldn't even get another word out before a heavily armored large stallion yelled something to the others and a scrawny mare responded.

“What the fuck?! How’d a Stable Dweller get in here?”

“Kill it! Those hoof terminals go for a shit ton!”

The room erupted into chaos as two ponies started chasing me. They shot at me while I tried my best to weave through the narrow hallways. Now I know where those holes came from! My whole body was in agony as my rapid breathing felt like I was constantly being stabbed. But thankfully I was able to climb through a broken window and half limp half run from the building. A bright light blinded my eyes as I finally figured out where the smoke was coming from. A fire, roasting a small pony. I could barely see what their original fur color was, it was all burned and skinned off.

I felt sick. I gagged while running, holding my breath trying not to breathe in any more of the horrible stench. Loud yelling herded me into the other direction, I crawled under barricades and cried for mercy. I bit my tongue and hid under some rubble, my PipBuck told me they were near.

“Where'd that little shit go…” a brown stallion whispered under his breath.

“Don't tell me you lost her?” a green mare replied. Their conversation continued as they scouted areas away from me. When they were distracted I crawled into another building, this one was in better condition. Celestia, please help me! Rummaging around the abandoned storage I was able to find a few healing bandages and unknown drugs I didn't bother checking. I threw anything that might be useful into my saddle bags and desperately tried to find a way out of this town. Wrapping the bandages around my hooves frantically while trying to keep quiet. My PipBuck said the killer ponies weren't near me, thankfully. Although I didn't feel any better, the building I was in already creeped me out. Old pictures and paintings hung on the walls of once happy ponies. Pre-war ponies.

Memorabilia was left around the almost empty rooms of the building. Stuffed animals, pictures, toys, clothes. Sitting here for the past 200 years. But what most disturbed me was the boarded windows and small skeletons huddled in corners together. Everything was once normal, I couldn't bare to look at the remains of the past. I sped up to find an exit faster.

Not long after escaping from the small town I felt tears swell in my eyes. Warm tears streamed down my cheeks. I huffed and whined, the agony of my injuries mixed with surviving what should have been my death. To the first ponies I had met once coming outside the Stable. Regret swelled my head, was this really what I should have done? While I silently grieved my life in the Stable, my PipBuck flashed an alert. A green dot coming towards me at alarming speeds. Looking up I could make out something in the sky flying overhead. Watching it get closer I was able to see whoever was flying was also carrying a wagon too. The sky betrayed my vision and kept the mysterious figure shadowed. It swooped overhead at moderate speeds, I realized it was another pegasus!

“Hey! Hey!” I frantically yelled out to the sky, I flapped my wings in a desperate attempt to catch up to the pegasus. Unfortunately I fell straight onto the ground and cried in agony, remembering my broken wing. For Luna's sake can someone just help me?! All I could do was watch the pegasus fly further into the distance. I continued walking in the direction from where the other pegasus came from. Maybe I would find ponies who could help me. I quickly stifled that thought, the last time I hoped for something like that I ended up in worse condition.

Nothing but the ruins of highways and roads was all I could follow. Wagons and passenger cars littered the road. The occasional skeleton would make me jump or hesitate a moment. Slowly the roads began to diverge off, a train track was coming into view. Just behind it I could see a small town on the horizon. My PipBuck gave me a notification, I was arriving into Concolt.

A humming tune interrupted my train of thought, I was stuck analyzing the environment with astonishment. While feeling the cracked rubble and pavement underneath my hooves and the harsh wind lashing on my coat, the surface seemed so alien to me. But the sound of a static filled radio playing a sad tune distracted me, the sounds echoed through the destroyed town. I waded through various street lamps, benches, and wagon cars carefully, keeping my head low. I checked my PipBuck worriedly, but no bars appeared on my sensor. Peeking behind an alleyway where the radio got louder, low buzzing accompanied the sad toned voice. The mare singing sounded like she was wailing in grief more than singing, her voice was amplified by the barren brick and concrete walls. I couldn't make out most of the lyrics from the quality of the radio, but I could understand how she was feeling.

Finally I was able to locate the source of the sound. A floating radio in the style of a bug, mechanical wings with long antennae. It floated aimlessly while filling the silent air. I crept up to it, carefully watching the robot bob up and down. Creepy. Just when I was distracted, a large insect crawled from underneath a car wagon. I jumped and watched the gross thing quickly dart from area to area before stopping near my hooves. My PipBuck gave a notification, ‘radroach’. The index said radroach meat could be sold or eaten. Gross! I scrunched my nose at the grotesque creature and batted it away. A large building had colorful red and white stripes slowly chipping away, with a large sign on top that said ‘GoodieBuck’. A gray stallion with a cartoony smile greeted me while holding a plate of pancakes and a coffee cup.

Most of the windows were broken and the roof looked caved in on the west side. Its walls were lined with booths with a single counter wrapping around the other wall. Old torn wool and fabric sprang from the booths, the floor was a checkered tile stained with blood. Dirty glass mugs and cups were sorted on the shelf behind the counter, the floor was sticky from multiple old drinks spilled on it. A rusty cash register made a loud ‘clunk’ sound when I pried it open. Pre-war bits glittered underneath cobwebs and dust. A dirty fridge displayed various flavors of Sparkle-Cola. I stocked my bag with a few before leaving. Hungerly sipping on one on the way out.

More gunshots caught my attention from the center of Concolt, yelling and screams filled the air. All my instincts were telling me to turn tail and run, but the screams for mercy dragged me closer and closer. Multiple red bars appeared, two ponies patrolled the entrance of a grand building. Flags and fliers were hanging around it, compared to the rest of the town this building looked built during ancient times. I snuck around a few alleyways to get closer to the grand building. The building was officially marked on my map ‘Museum of Unity’. Pressing my face up against a dirty window, I could see multiple ponies strung together in chains huddled together. Barracudas kept them in a small corner, the back entrance was left ungaurded but locked shut. Although I don’t know how to lockpick effectively, I was able to eventually break the lock. Slowly creaking the door open and trotting inside, the walls were in stark contrast to the outside of the Museum.

Pure wood predominantly made up the inside, I slowly lurked behind a hallway where my PipBuck indicated hostile ponies around the corner. Down another hallway I had a clearer view of the wide open interior, the roof was caved in revealing a natural ray of light. Decorations and displays told of pre-war pony history. I found the corner of ponies huddling together, they looked at me in confusion while exchanging worried glances. They looked malnourished and sickly, their coats covered in dirt and blood.

Before I could say or do anything to help, raspy voices came from behind another hallway. I bolted for a nearby room and hid behind the door. The room had a shabby wooden desk like everything else in here, but a terminal caught my eye. I fiddled with the password for a bit before unlocking it. The password was ‘Unity’. How clever.

Entry 6
Damages and reconstruction

I’m disappointed I even need to say this, the display models are NOT TO BE PLAYED WITH! For the past week we’ve been recording more damages to mannequins and props inside exhibits. It cost more bits than this place makes in a month to fix the damages done. This very morning I found a unicorn with a broken horn in exhibit 12. Whoever is doing this will be fined with damages and docked on pay.

Chief Plaidcuff

I scrolled through my entries of pre-war complaints and messages, recording the decline of the museum’s profits. But I refocused myself on my situation, how was I supposed to get out of here with hostile ponies right outside the door? Shuffling through drawers and anything I could find, I found a dusty gun, my Pipbuck labeled “10mm pistol” with a few rounds left inside. Shooting a gun was beyond my abilities, I had no idea how to handle one either. While I was at the residential building with my first encounter with other ponies, some of them held guns in their mouths and shot them with their tongues. My heartbeat increased as I cocked the slider to reload. Steadily adjusted the gun in my mouth. The cold metal feeling made me shiver, before I could even psych myself up a hostile pony barged into the room complaining about why it was locked.

“Huh? Who the fuck are you? Wait… are you a fuckin’ Stable dw-” I panicked and and accidently pulled the trigger with my tongue, the bullet went straight through his eye. The recoil knocked me back as I gagged on the gun shoved half way down my throat. I stared at the bleeding corpse of the orange stallion. A hole gaped clean through his eye. I couldn't stop staring at his body, I just… killed somepony! Fuck, fuck!

“What the hell was that?!” More ponies headed towards my location, red bars painting my vision. Nothing but pure panic and adrenaline made me pull the trigger at the scampering hostile ponies barreling towards me. After I shot another one through the shoulder, they scattered and retreated. One pony yelled out and threw something into the shallow room. A green shaped object rolled on the floor, I ducked behind the old desk in a panic. The object exploded and my ears rang out, bits and pieces of the wood flew everywhere. Taking this as a chance to make a run for it, accidentally charging right into a pony covered in spiked armor. I tumbled over him and ran past the others to find cover.

One teal pony caught me by surprise and bucked me back so hard it sent me flying. I coughed and squirmed, the kick knocked the wind out of me. Turning the 10mm pistol on the teal mare, I shot two bullets through her neck and face.

“Chains?! Fuck, fuck! Stupid piece of shit, you're gonna pay fucking pay!” a red pony with spikes and a helmet crashed from the corner, the mare slammed her hoof right next to me. She had knives attached to her forehooves, they scraped my coat and blood dripped on the floor.

“Stop! Stop! What the hell is wrong with everypony?” she pushed me further into the floor while her knives dug into my skin. I reared up my legs and kicked her in the stomach. One of the display cases featuring a unicorn soldier holding a spear was the only place I could retreat to. The red mare jumped after me but before she could land, I broke off the spear and stabbed her through the shoulder. She screamed in agony while rolling around on the floor.

“F-fuckin’ Stable ponies! Should’ve stayed in that hole you crawled out of!”

“It’s a better place than up here!” I shouted back at her, now was my chance to find the trapped ponies. They looked terrified and on guard, almost like any movement they made would kill them. I tried breaking the locked cage open, slamming my hooves into it.

“Wait, in that drawer. There’s a key!” Some sickly dark blue stallion pointed out to me, I ripped open the drawer on accident from the adrenaline and grabbed the key. As steadily as possible I unlocked the cage and watched the scared ponies spill out.

“There’s an exit through the backdoor, hurry!”

The place was clear and quieter than when I had entered, but I decided to still snoop around on guard. Exhibits featured diagrams and models about ancient times, before Equestria was founded. How unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi were separated and lived independently. I was more interested in the pegasi depictions, although most signs and guides were broken and TV screens smashed. “FUCK PEGASI” was spray painted on pegasi focused exhibits, along with more insults and crude messages. As I walked down a long hallway, the exhibits featured horrifying creatures that apparently plagued ancient Equestria. I was able to make out these were called “windigos”, a creature formed from disharmony and segregation. A large room had a display in the middle of three ponies hugging around a large ice heart. A unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus, their connection banishing the windigos and saving Equestria from eternal snow. All of this was mostly new to me, I had very little knowledge of Equestria’s history before the Great War. As far as I knew, ponies only knew harmony between each other. Until the war.

Thankfully I was able to scavenge some more bandages and a glass vial with purple shining liquid my PipBuck marked as a ‘healing potion’. I took my chances and swallowed the old potion. I could feel my bones and muscles moving beneath my skin, shuddering and wiping a sweat off my forehead. My legs no longer ached and it didnt hurt to breathe as much, I felt better than ever. I stuffed my new gun in my bag and scraped together all the other guns and ammo I could find. I met the ponies I saved outside, a dark blue stallion greeted me instantly with his thanks.

“Thank Celestia somepony freed us! And a pegasus too!” He scanned me up and down.

“You're one of them Stable folk? Right? It's been a long time since a Stable pony was seen up here,” he trailed off into his own thoughts while the other ponies around us expressed gratitude.

“Who were those guys? Why is everypony acting so… crazy!”

“Slavers kid. Celestia forbid you get caught by any of 'em, I'd take my chances with a raider instead. The surface ain't no ‘cupcakes and rainbows’ like Stable hiders say it was.” Slavers?! How much worse could the wasteland get?! Those ponies who attacked me before must have been raiders…I couldn't help but stare at the scars lining the blue stallions body. In fact, almost all of these ponies were injured in some way. I stared at a poor old mare who was missing her back leg and eye, she cuddled a young pink filly.

“The name's Saffron,” Saffron graciously shook my hoof.

“Oh, I'm Starbreaker” I said sheepishly, I was never good at introductions. Although I had just saved them. Saffron gathered the other ponies and spoke to them like a leader. They began traveling away from townsquare. I galloped after them to ask Saffron where they were going, and he replied that there's a town northwest of Concolt where they were originally from.

“You could travel with us, could need the extra protection! Some of us aren't doin’ too well.”

“Oh-sure! But what happened up here?”

“Same thing that happened everywhere else. Megaspells.” Saffron gazed into the sky longingly. A mint green mare trotted up to my left, “haven’t seen a pegasus in years…” her eyes were pinned onto my wings in curiosity. But her comment made me realize, so far my time on the surface I hadn’t seen any pegasi, except for that figure flying a wagon not too long ago.

“What do you mean? Surely there’s other pegasi up here, right?” I chuckled at her, the mint mare gave a disappointed look and sighed.

“They’re in the clouds doing Luna knows what, keeping resources from the ponies down below. How many more of us have to be killed before they finally help us?”

I could tell this was a touchy subject to everyone around here.

“But that doesn’t mean they’re all bad, Valor!” Saffron cheered me up, I smiled in return. A few foals were staring at me while we walked, it caught the attention of a few older ponies. A yellow mare snipped at her filly to not stare at strangers, but I could feel her eyes still on me. A small brown colt trotted up to me.

“can you reawwy fwy with those wings?” He smiled wide revealing a few teeth missing from his mouth that made him lisp some words. As if that were the floodgates opening, more foals surrounded me asking questions and gazing at my wings and pointing out things in my body. My bag, PipBuck, Stable jumpsuit. Valor and Saffron shuffled a few of the curious foals away to give me space, but I could see in their eyes they were secretly curious too.

“My wing is a bit injured, but I can still move them! see?” I flapped my purple wings, stifling my wince in pain, the foals gave a collective ‘woah’. Suddenly a white stallion appeared behind me, his scruffy yellow mane rested on top of his shattered glasses.

“May I take a look?” He asked politely before I allowed him to examine my broken wing.

“Hmmm” he poked my wing in a spot that made me recoil

“Ow!”

“Oh give it a rest, Splinter.” Valor motioned towards. Splinter pulled out a hefty bag of stuff with his magic. He methodically searched through the bag and pulled out a small metal pole and some dirty bandages. Without asking he pulled my wing with his pink magic and wrapped the pole around it, I bit my lip holding back a squeal of pain. Splinters tugging made me stifle back tears but he successfully set my wing.

“Ta-da! Should be good as new, soon enough!” I awkwardly laughed and thanked him.

“The pleasure is all mine! I wouldn’t give up the opportunity to treat a pegasus.” It felt weird to be admired for being who I was, definitely not used to that in the Stable.

Nightfall forced the group to find some shelter for the night. An old market with various items was our choice to sleep. Snooping around, all valuable supplies had been taken or destroyed long ago. Food and water were off the table here. Mares cuddled their fillies and colts and whispered lullaby’s to them. In the meantime I fiddled with my PipBuck, reading more Stable 52 files. Switching through broadcasting stations, most of which produced static. Until I flipped a channel to a bucks voice,

“-astlelanders. If I know a thing or two about radiation fields, you should probably take your chances and run before you start growing a second horn! Or your hooves start sticking to the ground. And boy, stay far far away from taint. Always carry RadAway! It's gonna be rainy over Neighvaro tonight, make sure to keep yourself sheltered in case it's acidic. And now, a single from the Sweetie Belle Crusader collection.-”

Yet another song by that mare I heard on the spritebot, the same vocals filled with sorrow. Soft jazz played in the back.

“Who was that?” The other ponies gave me a weird look, unanimously glancing at each other with a smirk.

“You don't know DJ pon3? Have you been living in a hole your whole life?” one mare chuckled, I glanced at my stable barding. The number 52 in bright yellow stood out like a sore hoof, the memories of Stable 52 pained me to even think about. I missed my mom, I missed my friends. The small giggles fizzled out among the group, I excused myself and strolled down the other aisles in the abandoned store. Outdated snacks in cartoony packaging was a stark contrast to the grim environment. What really caught my eye was a cereal box with big letters ‘SUGAR BOMBS! New Zap Apple Flavor!’.

I peeled open the century old box and a very strong sweet smell hit my nose like a literal zap, the pellets of cereal were in rainbow coloring. The taste was unlike anything before, the sweetness made everything in Stable 52 seem like straight dirt! I strolled through the rest of the aisles munching on the sugar bombs greedily. I caught myself wishing I could share this with Wetstone or Zippy. I chased away the painful feelings by distracting myself. Making sure to grab and hoard any shiny pre-war bits I could find. I was examining a shiny gold bit with a carving of a mare. The group was talking amongst themselves looking more relaxed.

“I'm starving, fuck I cant remember the last time I didn’t eat scraps”, Valor whined.

“Yeah you said it”

Saffron and Valor chatted while I flipped through my PipBuck, fiddling with the settings and different tabs. Everypony else had fallen asleep, or had been so quiet it felt like they were asleep. Only a small lantern lit the little corner Saffron, Valor, and I were huddled in. The wind outside howled and scraped against the rickety building. Threatening to collapse and expose us to the elements. I tried closing my eyes, counting invisible fillies jumping a fence to soothe myself. But no matter how hard I tried, I could still feel the pain pulsing through my body. The feeling of my heart beating so fast I could hardly breathe. Fear shaking through my hooves and desperation gripping at my mind, images of the bloody corpse flashed over and over again. Tormenting me.

Ponies being gored and displayed as decoration, bones and limbs crunching below my hooves. The burning pony being roasted of their coat and flesh, the putrid smell lingering in my nostrils, the feeling of bullets grazing my hide and the sound as they flew by echoed over and over. My face felt warmer, I pried one of my wings to wrap around my body, curling up with my knees close to my chest. I silently weeped. My body twitched and jerked in pain, my ribs ached as I grew weary. The cold dirty floor stuck to my body leaving me shivering alone.

I trudged after the group while dragging my hooves. Thankfully we were getting closer to the settlement, Maretrudge, where Saffron and everypony else was from. Valor told me there's a shortcut to Maretrudge nearby. A pink unicorn mare shifted through her saddle bag, pulling out a rusty can of sliced carrots.

“Give it a rest, would ya, Dusty? We won't have enough to eat by sundown.” Dusty dumped the soggy carrots in her mouth and packed it back in her saddle. She caught my eye lingering on her.

“You rarely ever find unspoiled or intact cans in the wasteland, once I found a strange green glowing mushy goo from a can. It smelt of straight sulfur and death, haha!”

I guess I never really thought about the lack of food on the surface. Scraps were never really an issue in 52. The food up here was gray and soggy. “The carrots in my Stable are large and almost a glowing orange. I really like carrot stew, have you ever tried some?” she gave me an odd look while stifling a chuckle. Dusty wrapped her scrap metal prosthetic hoof around me.

“Pish posh! You haven't lived unless you wrestled a bloatsprite for a rotten box of tomatoes. Couldn’t even tell they were tomatoes, practically black sludge! Or even eating a bloatsprite..” she trailed off seemingly lost in thought of violent scavenging memories. What is a bloatsprite? A picture of a floating ball of mass leaking puss from holes scarred my mind. Gross. After what felt like an hour of walking through the dry and dead land, my PipBuck alerted me with a ping. A red bar far in front of us. Ping ping. More red dots appeared, all moving abundantly together towards us. Dusty and Splinter noticed my dismay and paused to look at me, I shouted up to Saffron and the others that something was approaching. Fast. Saffron and Valor instinctively pulled weapons from their bags.

Valor held a long barreled gun my PipBuck again labeled “pump action shotgun”, while Saffron divided knives and miscellaneous objects that were modified to smash or cut between the other group members. Kicked up dust filled the air limiting our vision, only the continuous pinging and red bars were visible.

A gray stallion sluggishly forced their body forward. He seemed to be unarmed, dragging their own body behind them. He lifted up his head followed by a low groan, liquids oozing from his mouth. Eyes rolled into the back of his head, white glazed eyes-

BANG

The buck fell to the ground, blood gushing from his head. His skull, exposed with bits of bullet shrapnel lodged into the front of his hide. Still writhing around, gurgling and spitting out blood.

“What the hell was that?!” I cried out, looking around for any explanation. Valor held her shotgun between her teeth, eyes glued to the stallion's body in anger. The only words I could choke out, make sense of;
“Why…”

Growling, slobbering teeth lunged out of the dust. Attempting to tear apart Splinter, but Splinter was faster. Using his magic to shove his overfull bag into the snarling mouth of the green aggressive pony. His pink magic enwrapped, slamming a medkit into the savage ponies head. My nerves were on edge, my heart pounding fast, pure confusion and panic made me freeze in place. Lost on what to do. More and more of these savage and glazed eyed ponies lunged out of all sides, taking everypony of guard. Startled, I stumbled back. A hissing sound came from behind me, an exposed boney rotting hoof grazed my back legs. The pony reaching out to me, lacked a bottom half, organs and rotting intestine dangling and dragging on the ground. All that escaped from my mouth was a scream of pure terror. Thankfully Dusty ran from behind me and impaled the rotting pony through the head, it seemed to be like impaling a pillow with how fragile its skull was.

“What are you doing?! Get your head out of your ass!” and just as fast as she appeared, Dusty launched to skewer another decaying pony. My PipBucks geiger counter was clicking unrestfully, getting even faster when a rotting pegasus flew right into me, careening over each other. Groaning and slobbering all over me, rolling around in desperation. My hooves held the pony up as it snapped its head at me over and over trying to get a bite, its decrepit wings flapping rapidly dragging me across the ground. Flipping over, I reared my hind legs defensively and bucked the pegasus clean in the face. I felt a crack under my hooves as the pegasus widely spazzed around, its face drooping off its broken skull. Its eye dangling out of its socket, screeching and hissing. Until a pony within our group sliced its neck open with a rusty cooking knife. Blackish red goo spewing out on the cracked dirt and over the orange unicorn who hacked them.

Valor was the one who picked me up on my hooves. While I was scuffling with the decaying flesh pegasus, the contents of my saddlebags spilled out. The 10mm pistol laid on the ground, valor picked it up and shoved it into my chest while I held it up with my wings.

“Don’t just stand there, kid! There’s more coming, make yourself useful!”
I held the pistol in my mouth, shaking, I aimed it up.
One more snarling pony lunged from the dust, its white coat stained with dirt and blood. The original color, barely even visible. I lined up the shot, my PipBuck marked the blood stained pony as; ‘Ghoul’.