Chapter 1: Security breach

BeepBeepBeep.

I reached a forehoof and shut my alarm off from my pipbuck.

“Urgh” I groaned and rolled out of bed. I hit the floor the floor with bang. “Ow.” It was time to get up so I could prepare for my shift. I got up off the floor and looked around my basic, small but comfortable room on which I had all to my own. After nearly ten years of doing this since my cutie mark came through I would have thought getting up would be a lot easier than it used to, clearly it was not.

I levitated my stable maintenance uniform and a towel onto my back and proceeded into the corridor of stable eighty six. The walls were of a dull grey  and the lights made that forever humming sound that they have always done. It was still quite early.

I walked down the corridor into the mare’s wash room and levitated the towel and uniform onto the bench and stepped into the shower. I turned the hot water on and stepped into the nice hot running water and allowed myself to fall half asleep as the water ran beautifully warm over my white coat.

I stood there for a good three or four minutes before putting my head, neck and mane into the hot shower facing down at the floor watching the water flow into the drain. I finally snapped out of my tiredness and flicked my black mane out of my face and began to wash myself.

After stepping back out into the bathroom nice, clean and refreshed, I dried myself off and brushed my mane; the tips curling as they had always done. I then got dressed into my maintenance uniform.

I proceeded back out into the corridor which was now starting to fill as everypony began to awake. I walked in through to the atrium, a large area where over five hundred ponies could comfortably fit.

I went up to the long table where breakfast had been prepared which was lined up against the far wall of the atrium and gathered my food (Diced apples and Hay) and sat down at a table which was currently empty. I sat and ate my food alone as I watched everypony else begin to come through after a night’s sleep to enjoy some food before starting work.

“Hello young one” said a soft exotic voice next to me. I jumped in such surprise I banged my knees on the table top

“Oww” I panted.

“I do apologise” said the voice again. I looked to my right and a middle aged zebra mare was sitting next to me. It came as quite a shock when I was younger when I first saw a Zebra. However our stable has a very small population of Zebra and they are not seen at all often. There were plenty more in our stable over one hundred years ago, however they fought the ponies in the stable and killed a number of us in a bid to take it over. Since that incident they were not allowed to have a stable population any higher than ten percent. Most Zebra don’t mix with ponies, within our stable they tend to work in other areas that I don't normally go to. They also sleep in a different part of the stable and due to these reasons is why it is rare to see a zebra even in a stable with such a small population.

“Hello” I gasped my eyes streaming,

“Hello, I am Zenzith. I am in need on a unicorn to touch magic on a project of mine” said the Zebra. “You see I have been working on this project for a while and I have become stuck. I need the magic of a unicorn before it is complete.” Zenzith pushed a hoof forward and pushed a small black orb in front of me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“This is what I call the orb of desire. It will show you your true heart’s desire.”

“What do you need me to do?” I asked,

“Focus your magic on it” she advised.

I levitated the orb and the moment my magic sheathed around the orb it went from black to clear. I put it back in front of the zebra.

“Try it out first” she pushed the orb back to me. “Stare into the orb” she whispered into my ear.

I stared into the clear depths of the small orb. Slowly revolving inside was a three dimensional life like image inside, It swirled and became a clear image. I saw myself hoof deep in a snowing park near a lamp post. I was nuzzling a peach coloured pegasus mare with a white mane who stood next to me. I was leaning against her, I saw the two of us embrace, after a few moments they broke apart and began to walk through the snow. I pulled my eyes away, my heart aching and eyes watering.

I looked back at the zebra mare that had pulled out a second blackened orb and pushed it towards me. She pulled the clear orb away from me and whispered “you can keep this one. “She looked at her pipbuck and mumbled something about “need to get to work” and left me sitting alone at the table.

I stared after her as she disappeared through a door on the side of the atrium. I picked up the blackened orb and levitated it, it went clear just like the last one. Is this thing safe I thought to myself? Is this some kind of crazy zebra magic or something? This thing is crazy and I’m sure that it's not safe. What if I just did nothing but stare into this orb for the rest of my life?

I waved my thoughts away believing that I am just being paranoid and sat staring into the orb for a while and lost track of the time as I watched myself and the peach coloured Pegasus frolicking about the snowy park.

“Amethyst are you ok” asked a light green unicorn who sat down opposite me.

I snapped out of it and looked up at the mare that was my only friend. “Oh hi Berry, how are you?” I asked.

She smirked, “Answer a question with a question.” After a short pause she said bluntly “You’re crying” she pointed a hoof to my face.

I wiped my eyes with my forehoof, “I’m fine” I said giving her a convincing smile. I levitated the orb into my stable barding

She asked pointing a hoof at it “What is that.”

I stammered, “It’s a… umm, Memory Orb” I smiled. She looked at me suspiciously. I looked at my Pipbuck and only had ten minutes until I had to be down in the maintenance office. “I have to go down to maintenance I’m running late” I stated. I left her at the table by herself as I made my way down to work.

*                                        **                        **                      **                                                *

Today I was tasked with swapping out all the spent light bulbs in the orchard where we grew our apples, hay, and other verities of food. I dimmed the lights so I could see what I was doing and went about my work. One by one I unscrewed a blown bulb and placed a fresh one in replacement using levitation. There were only fifteen blown bulbs and after refreshing all bulbs I turned the lights back on to full power to continue growing our food. I began to walk back to maintenance with the Orb of Desire on my mind.

I knew what the orb showed. I’m very lonely, I wished for companionship and love. My interest in mares was a setback. I’ve never wanted to be with a stallion and the thought of it made me shudder. I sighed as memories of being laughed at not but a few years ago when I was caught checking out a mare in the atrium by none other than Glenda, that stupid bitch who picked on me through my childhood and adolescence. Oh the shame. I remembered it clear as day.

She jumped on the table and screeched “Everypony, Amethyst is checking out Lily, Looks like we got ourselves a FILLYFOOLER” this followed by a look of disgust from the mare I was looking at and being laughed at in the entire atrium. I cried myself to sleep that night. I sighed once again and my heart ached as I carried myself back to the maintenance wing thinking about the orb once again.

*                                        **                        **                      **                                                *

I awoke the following day in a surprisingly good mood and much more graceful than the day before.

After showering, I went to get some food before starting shift once again thinking of my day ahead. I left the orb in my room after watching it last night. I sat down opposite Berry with my food at the same bench I do every day. She seemed to have awoken early. She was staring at the table near us at a blue unicorn stallion who was talking to his five other friends.

She did not notice me.

“Hi Berry” I said enthusiastically.

She snapped her head to me so fast I thought I heard her neck crack. “Oh hi” She said looking a little embarrassed.

“Who’s the stallion?” I asked.

“Oh that’s Jack” she informed, “he’s simply the most stunning buck in the stable don’t you think?”

“Uhh if you say so” I mumbled looking at her in an odd kind of way. “Why don’t you go talk to him then?” I asked.

Her eyes widened, “Oh I can’t do that, he has half the mares in the stable hanging off him. What on Equestria makes you think he would like a mare like me?”

“Well” I began.

“Talking about boys are we girls” came an all too familiar voice from behind me.  I turned to see a white unicorn mare with a pink mane streaked with grey.

Oh goddesses why?

“Hello mother” I said in a falsely bright voice,

She looked at me clearly addressing me “The overmare has requested that the Talisman’s need to be looked at today. Head of Maintenance is in the clinic today recovering after he had a big night and he drank just a bit too much. So I am conveying the message to you.”

I fought to not roll my eyes. Of course, maintenance has the monthly party in the chambers below where everypony gets drunk. “Ok I’ll do it” I said scowling. My mother trotted away. I looked at Berry and sighed, “Want to swap mothers?”

She gave a little giggle “Not in a million years.”

I looked down at my Pipbuck and lump formed in my throat “sorry, but if I don’t start this early I might not be able to do the terminals today.” She nodded; I then left her alone at the table.

On my way out I met none other than Glenda herself, a much taller unicorn with a sky blue coat and a baby blue mane heavily laden in makeup.

I side stepped her as she smirked at me before putting a hoof out to try to trip me as I walked out the atrium. Too familiar with this trick and not stupid enough to fall for it again I avoided it and trotted away as if nothing happened.

*                                        **                        **                      **                                                *

Great... A long boring task which involves doing tests on the talismans that keeps the stable running.

Running through each talisman took about thirty minutes which was done from a control room in the belly of the stable. I was the only pony in here. We do these sorts of tests once a year to ensure our talismans are working okay and to carry out any repairs if they are not running at the right capacity. I’ve only done this once before a few years back, but I knew the gist of it.

I tested the air talisman and it was running at one hundred percent, I tested the healing talisman and it was still at fifty percent. I made a note to have it re-enchanted by the medical ponies. After testing five other talismans all at one hundred percent I ran the test on the water talisman and waited for the test to complete.

When the test was complete I looked up at the terminal flashing all kinds of errors at me. ‘Water talisman damaged, water talisman running at ninety two percent. This time last year running at ninety six percent, replacement of water talisman required. Estimated time before water talisman depleted: five years.’

I pulled open the cabinet to the water talisman, I heard the rumble of flowing water from the pipes as everypony was using water above and visually inspected the talisman bound to the largest pipe. I glanced at it and saw a jagged crack across the surface of the water talisman.

I stared at it with slight panic starting to creep inside of me. The water talisman is dying. It is physically damaged. If we don’t replace it everypony and zebra is going to die. If we cannot keep the stable watered the orchard will die. We’ll run out of water.

I closed the cabinet and plugged my pipbuck into the terminal. My Pipbuck screen is now pink changed from green as a personalised choice.

I downloaded the data from the terminal to my pipbuck and went straight to the overmare’s office. I hesitated outside the door. The Overmare is not very nice and she is such a control freak. I held my breath and pushed the button on the side of the door.

The door swung open to reveal a pink earth pony mare with a black mane. She looked unimpressed.

She glared at me and said impatiently “This better be important. Have you finished with the tests to the talismans?”

“Y-Yes” I stammered, my heart beating hard against my breast, “I discovered quite a problem. M-may I come in and show you?”

She considered me for a moment then let me pass over the threshold. She closed the door.

“What is this about” she demanded “I am very busy.”

“Well, you see I did the tests as asked” I stated, then as fast as I could I continued “The water talisman is busted and we need a new one”.

“WHAT!!?!” She shouted. She looked furious. I showed her the data on my Pipbuck and her eyes narrowed and her mouth became thinner and thinner as she read the data.

“I have done a visual check and the water talisman has a crack through it. At the rate it is degrading the stable will run out of water and we will either starve or die of thirst” I told her.

My mother walked through the door and looked rather shocked to see me with the overmare. I have not actually talked or acknowledged her since my Cute Cenera. “Amethyst? Overmare?” my mother trotted up to the two of us. “What is this about” she whispered as the overmare was looking at the data on my pipbuck.

“SHH” snapped the overmare.

After she was done, she concluded, “The water talisman is indeed dead according to the data, if we can limit water to limit degradation of the water talisman we may be able to get up to three times more life out of it.”

I stared at her. She wasn’t planning on getting a new one?

She continued “I will inform head of maintenance once he is... Better”.

“You’re not going to replace it?” I blurted out.

It was her turn to stare at me “How? We have no spare water talisman” she barked,

“Send somepony out to procure another one” I stated.

Both mother and the overmare looked shocked. The overmares shock quickly turned to anger. She looked positively livid “Nopony, NoZebra, No ONE will leave my stable EVER” she screeched.

It was my turn to shout “So you’re going to let our water talisman die and in turn kill everypony and everyzebra because you don’t want to open that door?” I hoofed over the line. I could see it in the overmares reddening face. As a last ditch effort I stated “I’ll do it then.”

The overmare inflated with rage. She turned to my mother and shouted as she pointed a hoof to me “Get that filly OUT of my sight right now”.

Mother wrapped me in a telekinetic sheath and dragged me out the door.

“What do you think you’re doing” she hissed. “You embarrassed the shit out of me in front of the overmare”.

I looked at my mother feeling disgusted that that’s all she can think about. “I’m trying to save the stable. I don’t want to see us all die. The overmare and you will just sit there and watch everyone die. If we just sit here and do nothing then frankly. We are all doomed.”

“That is not your job” mother hissed,

“Fine” I shouted at her.

I galloped back to my room and started to get things ready, my head swimming with what had just happened, I wanted to buck the overmare and I wanted to buck my mother. I had to come up with a plan, a plan to get a water talisman. We have no spares. Stable Tec supplied just one water talisman. What an oversight I thought. Well somepony has to do something about it and that somepony is me.

*                                        **                        **                      **                                                *

I had a plan all prepared. I had packed all my essentials into two saddlebags; food, healing potions and bandages that I raided from the bathrooms, my toiletries, some of my books, my orb given to me by Zenzith. I placed my two saddlebags and my canteen onto my bed next to my hacking tool and my bobby pins and screw driver. I would need them for my plan, after which I will pack them as well.

I waited in my room until it was very late. I put on my stable barding and slipped my hacking tool and lock picking tools into my barding pockets. I pushed the door open carefully, keeping an eye out for security as it was way past curfew.

The lights were dimmed and it was quite dark. I checked my flanks and the line of my cutie mark glowed softly. As long as I don’t see anypony in the corridors I should be fine. I prayed to Luna that nopony would see me.

I crept through the corridors to my mother’s and once our room. I levitated a bobby pin and the screwdriver and proceeded to pick the lock. It took me a few minutes to get the tumblers into place, unfortunately I was not very good with this specific art and have had little practise.

I levitated the screwdriver and bobby pin back into my pockets and snuck into my mother’s pitch dark room and made my way to where she keeps her keys. I knew my way around. After all I lived a vast majority of my life in here. I snuck to the counter and levitated her keys carefully so they did not jingle and wake up mum.

Once I got the keys, I snuck out into the corridor again then proceeded to the overmare’s office a floor up.

I started up the stairs as silently as possible and into the corridor above. Just as I turned a corner I saw the flanks and tail of a security pony slip around a corner. That was close.

I continued up the corridor then turned left and snuck up to the overmare’s door. I pulled out my mother’s keys and attached was a swipe card. I levitated the card and slipped it through the slot.

The door clicked followed by the powering down of the turrets in the overmares office.

I levitated the keys back into my barding and stepped through the door. The lights were off and all the light in the room came from a terminal at the end of the room. I snuck up to it and connected my hacking tool to my pipbuck then to the terminal and proceeded to hack as I have done many times before as part of my job, and a talent I picked up as a filly.

It took me a minute or so but I had managed to get in quite easily and laughed silently under my breath at the password ‘Stable86’. I downloaded the stable door password as well as some of the overmare’s notes. Why not?

I unplugged my hacking tool and pipbuck and slipped the tool into my barding. I crept out into the corridor and quickly and silently made my way back to my mother’s room to put the keys back. This did not go as smoothly. I almost got caught by security but managed to slip away, I locked my mother’s room and proceeded back to my own room to get prepared for phase two of my plan.

Footnote: Level Up

New perk: Sneaky Filly -- Your Sneak and Locking Picking skills increased by 5