Fallout:Equestria - Underdogs

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?