It had been one hundred and fifty years since the sealing. Stable twenty-four had barely managed to be sealed before the smoke and radiation of the Manehatten balefire bomb was set off. In the mayhem of those ponies that would become ancestors of the new ponies of the Equestria Wasteland was one red unicorn stallion with strange eyes. Even Heart had somehow earned access to the Stable program even with his history of being the son of serial killers. From this one crazed stallion among many other fearful ponies, The Order of Belldam was born.

Scythe wandered the halls of Stable 24 with his usual morose expression. Scythe was blessed with the red hide and fringe brown mane of his family’s most beloved ancestor. Scythe looked from room to room as he made his rounds. He was tasked with being one of the Stable’s guards. A job he only did just for the access to areas it granted him. The atrium was in full swing with another cutie mark celebration. Tiny colts and fillies frolicked around their friend who had just come of age by stable law. Scythe stopped a moment to take in the event. This was one of the few things that eased his mind, many among the adult and foal ponies where some form of relation of his. Being in isolation for a century and a half and really began to saturate the gene pool. Two ponies stuck out to him though. The first was a young earth pony colt with medium buckskin hide and orangey red hair. This was Scythe’s orphaned cousin. He hadn’t received his cutie mark yet, and frolicked without worry like any other foal. The other was a mint green unicorn mare with pink and white short hair. She was serving confections to everyone, her lollipop cutie mark apparent as she passed ponies with a levitating plate of treats.

Scythe could feel warmth growing within his own horn. It was no question to those within Scythe’s inner circle that he had a fondness for the mare. Lollimint was a pretty and ever optimistic mare. She was a gem among Stable 24’s herd. She was pursued by many stallions, but she always found more interest in her confections than their affection. Scythe had tried his hand at catching her attention many times over the years. They had become good friends, but nothing more. He wished she would accept his affection, or at least join his family’s cause. But, the cause was strictly a family secret never to be shared with the common pony. His family had even taken strict records of their genealogy over the years to keep track who was family and who wasn't. At least half the stable was in some way part of the family line.

Scythe moved on from the party without a word to any pony there. He had worked to do. Tonight would be the end of Stable 24, and he had to make sure everything was in order for the event. The time had finally come to finish what Even Heart started soon after he entered the stable over a century ago. Scythe placed the ear piece in his ear and switched to a data file downloaded into his pipbuck when he came of age.

A familiar stallion’s voice began his soothing lecture that had been passed down for generations. It was Even Heart’s voice that said, “My mother was an amazing mare. She had once spread happiness throughout Equestria with her flights of fantasy. At least…this is what many ponies had said she was like. The mare I knew was quiet and cunning. She kept me close and whispered dark fantasies in my ears since I was a foal. My mother was a killer. She would take ponies that had wronged her or those around her off the streets. Deep in her secret workshop she slowly destroyed them and remade them as living dolls, ponies that could not scream or tell their horrible tale. They could only wait in the shell she trapped their souls in. This eventually caught up with her. In my fifteenth year of life, she was finally found out by the royal guard. My mother, father, and her friend were all executed publicly as a cautionary tale of sadistic ponies. I was forced to eke out a living with every pony seeing me as the son of an insane mare. Her insanity was beautiful. Luckily, I was not alone. Her friend that had been executed had a daughter. Wild and headstrong, we combined our efforts to live among the prejudice.”

Scythe felt his coat bristle as the tale soaked in. He had heard it countless times over. This was part of the motivation of his family still today. He relaxed as the pause in the recording began the second half of the tale. Even Heart’s voice spoke again to continue with, “It was a miracle Sick Moves and I gained access in to the stable program. When the time came for us to retreat with the other ponies of Paintburg, we found ourselves sealed for our entire lives among many of the ponies that hated us. It was then Sick Moves and I began to rally our few friends left and began this order. We made a pact to stick together as a family and one day make all those ponies that couldn’t understand the chaotic justice of my mad mother’s art pay. That was the founding of The Order of Belldam. One day our numbers will surpass that of the common ponies in this stable. When the conditions are right to break free of the stable, and our numbers are at its strongest, we will destroy all that are not of our order. The foals of our Order’s all-mother, Belldam, will inherit all the stable has to offer and the ruined Equestria beyond. We will sing her praises higher than the princesses. May those that serve her be blessed with her insightful madness, and powers no earth mare should ever have had!”

As the recording ended, Scythe was smiling as he made his rounds. The time had come to make Father Even Heart’s dream a reality. Scythe took pride in being born as the direct descendant of this stallion and to wear the likeness of Belldam as his natural looks. He was born with the madness, and the destiny to lead the order. The overmare had called a meeting merely nights ago that the outside was deemed as good as it was gonna get for life outside the stable. The time had come to strike. The Order of Belldam would wipe out ponies who wear the ideals of their ancestors with pride, ancestors that had celebrated the death of the all mother. Well, tonight the foals of the all mother will celebrate their deaths! This managed to keep the back laying thought from creeping back into Scythe’s mind. Lollimint was one of the ponies that would die in the assault. He knew time had run out to have her join the order. She was too pure for it anyways. She would reject their purpose and just ruin carefully laden plans. Maybe even blow the lid off of how many ponies over the generations had died mysteriously had all been murders of the order. Just a month ago Scythe and two of the other stallions of the order had deftly silenced a fellow guard that had stumbled over the meeting of the order.

The recording had eased the dull ache of losing Lollimint tonight. He wasn't completely broken up because he was consumed by his duty to the order, and a fantasy of getting the order to take her captive during the slaughter. She would hate him for the rest of her life. But, he could delight in the fact she still lived, a slave to the leader of The Order of Belldam, but alive nonetheless. Yes, he would have to check with the rest of the adult members of the order. Maybe some preemptive pony napping was in order. Just to keep the gene pool from going stale after their take over. He couldn't be the only pony that had a fancy for a pony that would soon be a casualty.

It was evening when Scythe managed to gather many of his warriors. Many delighted in the idea of capturing some stallions and mares for later. They could even use them as hostages to get an advantage in the purge. Seven ponies were marked for abduction. Three stallions and four mares would disappear without a trace tonight, and the rest of the stable will die before they are even missed. Systematically teams of three were sent to retrieve each pony. It was easy enough. Many of the ponies marked for capture was on a good basis with the order member that had requested their capture. After administering a sedative without detection, the other two ponies in each team would help their comrade collect the unaware captive.

Ginger Snap and Steel Yoke accompanied Scythe to collect Lollimint. The two stallions hung back a few doors from Lollimint’s quarters. Scythe tapped on the door of the unicorn mare’s home. Lollimint was drowsy with a messy mane when she answered. The evening was well underway, and she had obviously been asleep until he knocked.

“Scythe? What are you doing at this hour?” She asked drowsily.

“Just thought I would check on you while on my night patrol. You doing well tonight?” he asked tenderly.
With a meek yawn she replied, “Besides a usually very brooding unicorn waking me up to ask me how I am doing, sleeping blissfully.”

Scythe laughed softly before he continued, “Well, you will be sleeping blissfully again very soon.”

With that said, Scythe slowly leaned closer to Lollimint’s muzzle. He had laced his with a sedative and taken a reversal to stop himself from falling prey to it. As he leaned in, Lollimint looked at him with drowsy confusion before leaning towards him. A jolt of ecstasy surged at the kiss, and a pang of guilt hit Scythe. She was willing to kiss him only to be betrayed. But, he would quell his guilt later. He had to focus on what mattered more than his feelings. The kiss seemed to end more quickly than he would have liked. Scythe would have preferred making this act of affection better before Lollimint’s life was turned upside down. The sedative was already showing its effect.

Lollimint swayed slightly as her eyes crossed and uncrossed several times. She wobbled trying to keep standing as she looked at Scythe questioningly. Scythe could see understanding beginning to sink in. She was beginning to understand he had drugged her. She opened her mouth to shout, but the sedative caught her cry before she could shriek. An aura of smoky grey magic surrounded her before she fell hard on the floor. Lollimint was gently levitated on Scythe’s back. He eased the aura of his magic as she was placed on his back. With Ginger Snap and Steel Yoke on either side, he began his trek to where the captives would be kept until after the assault.

Scythe placed a blanket over Lollimint as he took more time than necessary to get her sleeping form nestled into her spot in the secret lock down room. Over the years, the order had gradually broken open panels in the deeper parts of the stable to create somewhat habitual hidden safe rooms. The dark and dank room wasn’t the best they had, but it would serve well to conceal several sleeping captives. Scythe nuzzled his captive as she slept before he left to address his warriors. The room was sealed, locked down, and hidden behind a panel behind him.

Scythe looked over his fellow order members. Young and old, stallion and mare, they all stood before him with weapons raided from the meager armory of the stable. If they could walk and hold a gun, an order member was armed for battle. Scythe even saw his young cousin from the party looking upon Scythe with pride. The young colt held a beautiful steel and silver blade in his tiny muzzle. It was the only thing he could hold, and it was ceremonious with their mission. The blade had belonged to the all mother. Father Even Heart had somehow smuggled it in with him, and it was a precious heirloom for the order. The look of pure admiration on the young colt’s face as he gazed up at Scythe was the same as any young foal that looked up to another pony. It would have terrified a common pony to see this innocent feeling exchanged between a colt ready to kill for the stallion who led him into battle.

“The time has come brothers and sisters. We have trained and sang the praises of Belldam for generations to keep ourselves prepared for this moment. Our hearts, minds, and bodies have been hardened to be able to commit this act of ultimate madness. Tonight we rise to the dream of many followers before us. Fight until you die or not a soul outside the order is left. Spare no pony beyond this point. May they be stallion, mare, or foal, kill them all. It’s time to make their nightmares real. The time for madness and shadows to reign is now! Now, go forth and kill! Once we have killed them beyond a chance of winning, any leftovers are yours to delight in!” Scythe addressed his troops to be answered by hoof stomps and whoops.

Author's Note

This is a fanstory. Special thanks to Fallout Equestria for being such a great read, and being unable to get out of my head until I wrote a..parody...sidestory....work of fiction based in the world of another work of fiction.