Stables.

Long ago, there was a war that drove ponykind to the brink of extinction. Megaspells brought destruction to the ponies who created them. It was only through the use of Stables that anypony survived. The Stable was meant to be a safe haven from the irradiated balefire of the megaspells. Outside of it, nothing lived; there was only a wasteland. Our Overmare might have ruled with an iron hoof, but she provided us with order and safety. Or at least that is what she claims...

Stable 7 was a deathtrap. The Stable’s water talismans worked to provide enough clean water for the orchard and other crops, but water beyond that was rationed. The air talismans were still putting out enough oxygen to keep us all alive. However, the once vibrant generators now operated at minimal capacity. On their power alone, we would have died one hundred years ago.

About three hundred of the Stable’s residents were unicorns. Of that, over two hundred worked in maintenance. Work in maintenance rarely included maintaining equipment. Rather, we were living batteries for the Stable. An electrical spell was taught to all unicorns that were destined for maintenance work so that they could keep the generator running. The work was taxing, keeping the clinic full with unicorns ailed with magic burnouts.

Imagine my joy when I learned that I would be forever stationed at the generators. I would spend the rest of my life being drained of my strength while the Overmare sat in her office, living a life of luxury and delegating orders to her officials, rather than mingling with or helping the ‘lowly maintenance ponies’.

My name is Live Wire, and this is my story...

I was awakened from my dreamless sleep by the screeching alarm on my PipBuck. They were ingenious machines, definitely, but almost to a fault. Eyes Forward Sparkle, for example, is a spell every PipBuck comes equipped with that allows you to detect the ‘hostility’ of an individual. It leaves floating lines of color in your vision -- yellow for ‘good’ ponies, and red for ‘bad’ ponies. The only thing it is good for is giving me massive headaches. Another feature is S.A.T.S., which, according to rumor, assists in aiming things at things. Yes, both of those are so very useful for the common stable pony... That’s likely the reason we all kept the programs off. Now if only I could figure out how to turn off this alarm!

I slammed my PipBuck against the wall repeatedly, only mildly satisfied by the hearty thud of it hitting the wall. They hardly ever stopped making noise. If it wasn’t an alarm to wake me up, it was some sort of medical alert that didn’t make any sense. Maintenance couldn’t fix it, but I couldn’t break it, either. They are almost indestructible. Dented as mine may be, it has yet to stop functioning.

The PipBuck finally gave in to the punishment, and the cacophony rising from it ceased. Unfortunately, I still had to get up. I might have despised maintenance, but without my work, the Stable would be powerless. Or at least that was what the Overmare claimed. I didn’t think one pony slacking a little would cause a blackout, but you never know.

I opened my eyes to see the grey walls that decorated my room. Papers dotted the grey horizon, bits of information and history from before the war covered the walls. I was always interested in pre-war history. Knickknacks and baubles coated the shelves and the floor. Most of them weren’t even mine, but I am a collector of sorts. My collection being things that others won’t miss.

I stumbled down the halls to the generator room. The room once held powerful generators which powered the entire stable, but they have since become useless , years of activity having taken its toll. We were lucky that somepony, generations ago, figured out how to channel magical energy into a source of electrical power. This method now provided for the Stable, our home.

A large generator-like object studded, with various gems and wires, sat in the middle of the room. It somehow absorbed our electricity spells, transforming them into power.. I have no idea how it works, and it is unlikely I will ever learn. Huddled around the cylinder was a circle of about twenty unicorns, each of their horns glowing with magical sparks which leapt to the device. They were early morning shift, all of them worn out and some at the point of collapse.

Other unicorns, my co-workers, filed into the room, taking over as the weary ponies stumbled out. I replaced a dark blue filly, barely old enough to have her Cutie Mark. My horn was enveloped in the dark grey aura of my magic, then sparks began to leap from it. The sparks were then absorbed by the gems. This was what I was going to spend the rest of my life doing, sitting and being drained of my magic. I needed to escape.

The shift was boring as usual. Sitting there for a few hours, channeling magic into electricity... it was a tedious task that I hated. One of the mares, new to the day shift tried to start a conversation, but most of us just ignored her, trying to focus our magic on the machine. Mundane facts about Ivory, the new musician on the radio, or gossip about some pony in the clinic wasn’t really worth discussion anyway.

After a few hours, salvation arrived . The shift change brought an end to our suffering, transferring it to the other workers instead. Of the new shift, only one stuck out, dark grey unicorn stallion with a goofy grin. Dead Volt was his name, and he was cheerful as a pony could be without being declared insane. Whether he was...that was debatable. To me, he was just my idiot brother who I had to keep out of trouble. He grinned as he took my place.

I lay in my bed, staring at the colorless ceiling. My head throbbed from overusing my magic. I was never very good at magic. I only learned telekinesis at first, and only after weeks of extra practice, that other ponies didn’t require, was I able to learn the electrical spell.. That was the extent of my abilities, two spells that were taught to almost every unicorn in the Stable.

I was never talented at anything really. My Cutie Mark is a wrench overlaying a piece of metal. A ‘shield’ was what one of the older ponies called it. The meaning of it confused me, but the Overmare’s subordinates saw it as a clear sign I should be sent to maintenance. Of course, most unicorns went to maintenance, regardless of their mark, so the accuracy of such predictions was unclear.

The light illuminating my room flickered for a second, then resumed its humming. “I am going to have to fix that, it is just going to drive me crazy.” I thought. The light gave another flicker, this time accompanied by the lights in the hallways. The flickering became more erratic, the lights struggling to stay on. “Oh crap,”

I clambered onto my hooves and ran out the door. I almost crashed into several other unicorns, most of them maintenance. They knew the what was happening just as well as I did, and were just as terrified.

The Stable was losing power.

“Who is responsible for this?” the Overmare screeched. There have been three Overmares in my lifetime, and Golden Sceptre was the worst. She was a brat who gained her position by lineage, not by ability. Overmares before her were bossy, but they were never as controlling as Sceptre was. She didn’t do what was best for the Stable, she did whatever it was that let her exercise power over the inhabitants.

The device that provided power to the entire Stable had been destroyed. The gems that once absorbed the magic were gone, seemingly pried off, and part of the metal was bashed in as well. Scraps of the machine lay twisted around the main body. Even if somepony knew enough about the machine to repair it, fixing it would be impossible without the gems.

“Where was the maintenance team when this happened?” Sceptre yelled out again. I might have despised her, but Sceptre’s anger was completely justified now. Whoever had done this had effectively killed the whole Stable!

Maintenance level usually enjoyed a certain level of spaciousness. Large rooms and wide corridors allowed for easy movement. Now, nearly half the Stable was cramped in the hallways, each wanting to know what had happened. Never had I seen it so packed before. I managed to be one of the few in the generator room, able to survey the crime scene.

The Stable was running on reserve power by now. The usual lights had shut off, replaced by a dull reddish glow that barely provided illumination. I could see mainly because of the light spells cast by those who knew them.

“Uh, I think I know what happened to them,” said one of the security stallions, gesturing to the corner where a small group of ponies lay unconscious. Roughly half a team, but no sign of the others. This only fueled the Overmare’s rage further.

“Find out who was working the power shift last, and bring them to me!”

I lay in my room, taking in all the details of what had happened. This wasn’t an accident. Even if it had just been a fight between some of the maintenance crew, the machine would not have been so damaged. Nor did I think anypony would be stupid enough to fight near the generator. Even if they weren’t in maintenance, they knew that the generator kept us alive.

No, it wasn’t an accident. The device had been intentionally sabotaged by half of the maintenance shift. The half that refused to help were dealt with. I noted no bruises on them, so one of the culprits must have known an anesthetic spell. The list of ponies that knew that spell and were in maintenance was slim, but there was the possibility that somepony learned it and kept it secret.

“Man, I wish I had been able to be in security. Even if most of them worship the ground the Overmare walks on, I would’ve enjoyed being able to solve the Stable’s crimes,” I chuckled to myself. It was then that I remembered most of the crimes were stolen objects... I glanced over at my collection. “No, I don’t think I would have liked security very much. Still would have been better than a job as a living battery.” I had a slight tendency to talk to myself, but I didn’t think of it as strange. Never had very many friends in the Stable, and it was a way to deal with the boredom.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The doors still had power luckily. Would be a terrible thing to be trapped in your room when the power went out, unable to escape until it came back on, if it did. I hit the button and was greeted by a familiar dark grey unicorn with a jet black mane. Dead Volt, my brother.

“Wire, I think I have a solution!” he said eagerly.

“What do you mean, what solution?” I questioned.

“To our problem, duh,” he said. Sometimes he refused to make sense. And by sometimes, I mean most of the time.

“Wait, is this another one of your escape ideas?” As much as I wanted to leave the Stable, I knew it would be impossible. We would be shot before we even made it to the door. ‘Treason against the Overmare’ was good enough a reason for security to open fire, and treason was very loosely defined. That is saying that we could even get the Stable door to open. For all we know, it could have been permanently sealed ages ago. At the very least, you would need some sort of code in order to open it.

“Yes! And this time it will work.”

“That was what you said about your last one. And my coat just regrew since the one before that! Besides, is now really the time to be talking about your insane ideas? The Stable is in the middle of a major crisis.”

“I am sure this one will work. The plan is already in motion,” he gave me a grin that sparked a worry in my mind.

“Wait, do you mean that this,” I waved my hoof at the now dark lights and the red emergency lights, “is part of your plan?”

“Eeyup!” he seemed to cheer. Oh no. I remembered that he was working the shift when the machine was destroyed. He wasn’t among the unconscious, nor did I see him in the crowd. He had been one of the ponies who destroyed the generator.

“Volt! Do you realize what you have done!?!?!” I screamed at him. “You are going to kill the entire Stable!”

The grin on his face lowered, turning into almost a scowl, his natural cheer seemed to prevent it somehow. “I am saving the entire Stable,” he said, lacking his usual happy tone. I noticed saddlebags on his sides, they seemed to be filled with various things. He must have packed previously, as part of his plan.

“Ok, now listen to me,” I began. “You have to give me the gems. If I turn them over to the Overmare, you won’t be punished. I will say it was all me. They can repair the generator, and the Stable will be saved.”

The almost scowl on his face turned into a full one, any hint of his natural cheer was gone. “No,” he said in a tone darker than any he had used before. Something was off about him, more than usual. His horn began to glow a grey darker than mine, almost black. “And I won’t let you stop me from saving them!”

His horn flashed with the dark color and I was hit by the blast. My body lost all feeling, I dropped to the floor. I looked up at Dead Volt, my brother, his horn glowing again. “Sorry,” he muttered. I lost consciousness before he finished the spell.

My eyes opened once again to the darkness of my room. It was partially illuminated by the reddish glow of the secondary lighting. I was laying in my bed... Dead Volt must have returned me to it

“I am going to kill him.” I muttered to myself. Dead Volt had always been a little off, always spouting insane plans to escape the Stable. I usually paid little attention to these plots, until they became serious enough that I’d have to help him with the consequences. Occasionally, I was able to talk him out of stuff before it got that far. His usual plots were more of an annoyance to the rest of the Stable than they were a threat. Sometimes they backfired horribly and I was left to cover for him. But this time he had gone too far. And where did he even learn an anesthetic spell anyway?

I rose to my hooves, finding them still wobbly from the spell. No doubt he was the one who knocked out half the maintenance team. How he talked the other half of the crew into helping him, I had no idea. Maybe they were just as insane as he was, or maybe he threatened them?

I noticed a note on the wall. Unlike the dozens of other papers lining the walls of my room, this one was a hastily written note, not an entry from a book or other form of informative writing. The writing was clearly Volt’s.

Brother,

Stable Door opens when power’s gone. By time you wake I’ll be gone. Leave the Stable, not safe.

Sorry knocked you out. Sorry not let you join me. Hope to see you soon.

Dead Volt

P.S.

Overmare not happy, leave now.

Goddesses! He actually managed to find a way to escape, or at least believe he had. And had condemned the entire Stable in his attempt. The Overmare would want him dead for this, and would have me shot as well, just in-case I was a coconspirator.

I sat there stunned for a minute while the reality of the situation hit me. Whether Dead Volt was fully to blame or not, I was going to be in for it if they found me. I might not agree with what he did, but Dead Volt was right, the Overmare wasn’t happy, and I needed to leave now.

He had actually done it, Dead Volt opened the door. I had been out for what I suspected was almost an hour. Long enough for him to leave the note and escape, and long enough for security to realize what had happened. They were running through the hallways of the Stable, ordering everypony to stay in their rooms. They were likely under strict orders to shoot any that were out, something most of them seemed all too eager to follow through on. Luckily for me, my years of...acquiring possessions... had taught me how to avoid detection.

I gathered what items I could, but lamented that I wouldn’t be able to bring some of the items with me, but how would a bobblehead of a Pink Pony help me on the outside? I filled my bags with some spare potions that the clinic wouldn’t miss, a few objects that might help outside, and most importantly, a pistol. One security pony will definitely be missing this, but better in my hooves than theirs. I wasn’t keen on the idea of shooting at somepony, another reason I wouldn’t have been good in security, but I wasn’t going to let them open fire on me without being able to defend myself.

I crept through the halls silently, sticking to the shadows that the red lights provided. I made it through make my way through most of the floors undetected. Getting closer to the door, I found more guards than earlier. The Overmare obviously didn’t want anypony to join Volt.

I took a minute to duck into a supply closet, partially to surplus my supplies, but mainly to turn on E.F.S. I might have hated the little lights, but that minor complaint paled in comparison to dying because I bumped into a guard. I fiddled with the PipBuck for a while. I had a rudimentary idea as to how it functioned, but getting E.F.S. to activate was rather difficult.

Eventually the hunk of metal gave in during some of my more frantic tapping and my vision was altered. A small bar appeared, inside it several dots of red and yellow, red being far more numerous, along with a compass. I tried to recall my lessons on PipBucks functions. The dots represented living things, and the colors represented the hostility. Red you’re dead, yellow it’s mellow. Kind of a cheesy rhyme, but it did manage to be easy to remember.

S.A.T.S was activated as well, a small indicator informed me. If I needed to fight my way out, I wanted the shots to count. Now prepared, I started to open the door of the closet, only to notice two small red dots moving on my E.F.S. I pulled it back silently, listening to the two presumably security ponies patrol past the door. I waited a second and sneaked out, looking at the two brutes that walked away, one levitating a shotgun behind him. If it weren’t for E.F.S, I would have been dead.

The Overmare’s office was on the same floor as the Stable door, but it was locked tight and I could see through the window that it was devoid of any life. Paranoid as she was, the Overmare was likely still at the door, giving personal oversight with her half dozen guards. I didn’t want to have to kill anypony, but I had no choice at this point. I would rather go down trying to escape than wait in my room for the Overmare’s lethal punishment.

II turned a corner and looked on in shock. The hallway stood as the sight of a bloody battle. Corpses, both of security and other ponies, lay in the corridor. A group of ponies dumb enough to try to follow after Volt? Or perhaps Volt and his crew had not made a clean getaway. I quickly scanned the dead, not recognizing my fool’s dark grey coat. I did recognize a few ponies from maintenance. I couldn’t stop to mourn them, though; better to keep moving and keep myself from their fate. I did take a moment to scavenge the dead for a few spare clips for the pistol, then taking a second and third pistol dropped by the security ponies. Stripping them wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed, but if the Overmare was acting this aggressively I’d need any advantage I could get. Hopefully I wouldn’t need them, but better safe than dead.

The hallway wasn’t the only place that had experienced carnage. It seemed the fights continued as security was pushed back further and further. The casualties from the non-security side seemed to dwindle, the bodies of security numbering the majority here. I didn’t stop to count, at this point it didn’t matter. If Dead Volt was responsible for the escape plan, the many deaths lay on his head too.

No, it wasn’t his entirely. The Overmare had ordered security to kill them. .

Why hadn’t he told me about this plan? Normally, he always I hear about his schemes long before he tries them. Especially the violent ones. Normally these only involved methods of removing the Overmare, but this was different. Was that the reason why he acted without consulting me first?

Because he knew I would talk him out of this.

This many innocent deaths... well, I wouldn’t shoot him on sight. He deserved a chance to explain, as family. If his reason was good, maybe I’d only shoot a knee.

The Stable door loomed menacingly in front of me, open as I’d guessed. Previous to this room, most of the security had been patrolling aimlessly or dead. But here, Golden Sceptre and what remained of her lackeys were arguing in front of the door, standing en masse between me and the outside.

“Get this door closed!” Sceptre shouted. Her voice had a quality akin to that of hooves on a chalkboard.

“I-I can’t,” stuttered one of the maintenance mares, held at gunpoint by the head of security. “The power failure resulted in an emergency override that opened the door. There isn’t enough power in the reserves to close the door without causing a permanent black out.”

“So there is enough power left to shut the door,” Sceptre reasoned, a menacing grin on her face.

“Well, yes. But that would leave the Stable with no reserve po-” the maintenance mare, Sprocket, began.

“Then do it!” commanded the Overmare.

“But-” Sprocket attempted to say, but was interrupted by the Head of Security jamming the pistol against her head.

“I will not have anypony go against my authority!” shouted the Overmare. “I am the Overmare, daughter of Ruby Crown, the Overmare before me. Celestia has blessed my ancestors with this power, and I will not have it questioned! SO CLOSE THIS DOOR!”

My brother might have left the Stable with nothing but reserve power, but as long as the door was open the rest of us had a chance. Now, Golden Sceptre was going to use what was left to close the rest in. With this many deaths, there was no chance we could fix both fix the generator and keep it running. I needed to do something or else the entire Stable would die!

I looked at the odds. Three security ponies plus the head of security. The head of security, Nightstick, had a pistol in her telekinetic grip, pressed against the head of the maintenance mare. She and Sprocket were facing away from me, focused on a terminal, one that likely powered the door. The other three guards were focusing their attention on Sceptre. Two were armed with pistols, one had a shotgun. Sceptre had a revolver on her, still in the holster. The security ponies had barding that protected their chests, but left their heads exposed. Sceptre had nothing other than her Overmare outfit, which I doubt provided much protection.

The stallion with the shotgun in his magic was clearly the largest threat, but I couldn’t risk Sprocket being killed. Nightstick would have to be the first target, followed by the shotgun wielder. Then, if I haven’t died, I could try to take out the last two security ponies, along with Sceptre. Now seemed as good a time as any to try out S.A.T.S.

Time seemed to stop, actually it did stop. The Overmare’s mouth stopped moving mid-shout, Nightstick’s pistol raised up and stopped in midair as the barrel was about to be brought down on Sprocket’s head. My vision altered, allowing me to focus on the enemy. I noticed that percentages popped up around parts of their bodies. Four shots. That was all that S.A.T.S. would allow. I had to make them count.

Time resumed as the shots rang out, but very slowly. The first hit its target dead on, I watched as the bullet pierced the head of security’s skull, splattering part of Nightstick’s head onto the terrified Sprocket. The next shot missed the intended target as it clipped on of the pistol wielders in the shoulder, missing the shotgun wielder entirely. The security mare dropped her pistol as she was hit. Then the security ponies slowly reacted, turning and taking aim. The third shot managed to hit the shotgun wielder in the throat, causing blood to spatter out as he dropped his weapon. The security pony I had clipped with the shot had tried to pick up the pistol she had dropped. The final shot rang out as it slammed into the chest of the other security pony, stunning her momentarily. The S.A.T.S. shots ended, and now it was all left to me.

The two major threats were down, Nightstick had a hole in her skull and the shotgun stallion was on the ground, bleeding out through his neck, clearly in no shape to attempt to fight. The remaining offenders, save the Overmare, were wounded. One had an injured shoulder, the other likely had the wind knocked out of her by the bullet to the chest.

The Overmare turned, taking the revolver up in her magic. The earth pony mare that took the bullet to the chest still had her pistol in her mouth. The unicorn had reclaimed her pistol with magic. Well, I was screwed.

“Oh, would you just look who decided to show up, the Stable’s resident thief!” she sneered. Was she really going to talk at a time like this? “You know, I always knew that you and your idiot of a brother would cause me trouble. But I decided to be a kind and benevolent ruler, and allow you to live.” Celestia kill me now, please, before her voice does. “And it seems I was right, I knew I should have personally put a bullet in both of your skulls! First, your brother hacks into my personal terminal!” Actually, maybe if I just randomly fired, one of the security mares would put me out of my misery. “Then I learn that the entire Stable’s power is failing because of him. Now, I have to clean up the damage. Do you know how many of his followers had to be killed? He has managed to undermine generations of ruling my family over these ingrates, so now I have to re-establish my power. And then you come barreling in and take out my head of security?” She seemed to be talking forever. How could she stand hearing her own voice for this long?

The first shot grazed her face, she looked at me in awe. She apparently thought that nopony would dare fire at her, much less interrupt her while she was talking. Arrogance incarnate. The second shot hit home, right through her eye. The last two shots were canceled, as their target was now dead.

The corpse of the wicked Overmare slumped to the ground, oozing blood. The two security mares simply looked at me. The unicorn laid down her pistol, the other dropped hers dangerously to the ground, luckily it didn’t go off.

“Thank you,” said the unicorn.

Now I was confused. “I thought you worked for the Overmare,” I said.

“We hated her, and we hated what she was trying to do, but we wouldn’t dare go against her. That would anger the Goddesses.” Wow, they really were brainwashed by her propaganda.

I looked at the body of the pony I had just killed. Wait. I had just killed her. Not just her, two others. Nightstick was just as bad as the Overmare, but the buck? I killed him just for being a threat. I hadn’t considered him being just a pawn used by the Overmare, just like these two were.

I had just killed three ponies. But they were going to kill me, and the entire Stable! It was completely justified. Right? I had saved hundreds! Hundreds that my brother had sentenced to death... But the Overmare and her minions would have killed the rest of the Stable just to maintain her image of power! So why did I still feel like a terrible pony?

“Th-thank you,” mumbled Sprocket, obviously shocked by the display of violence and by being coated in the blood and brain matter of another pony.

These ponies were thanking me for ending the lives of three other ponies. Ponies that we had known for our entire lives. Ponies that were threatening to commit genocide...

And where did that gunslinging come from? I had never even fired a pistol before! Sure, I had occasionally sto-borrowed one from a guard, but I never used it. Now the blood of three ponies, at least two of them evil, was on my hooves.

I couldn’t deal with this now. I had to find Volt before he got too far away. Maybe I could convince him to give up the gems. Then the Stable could be fixed. Now that the Overmare was dead, life in the Stable wouldn’t be as bad. I certainly couldn’t let him be the cause of the death of an entire Stable.

The Stable door remained open. I felt a blast of air hit me, as if the opening had exhaled. The opening led into a tunnel, at the end of which was a small light.

I couldn’t ask the security mares to join me, not after what I had just done to their allies. Not after opening fire on them. Sprocket seemed too paralyzed with fear to even move from her spot. I didn’t expect her to be good with a gun either. No, it looks like I was going to have to hunt down my brother myself. I did take the shotgun and the revolver. Best to be over prepared.

Sprocket did however show me a feature on the PipBuck that I didn’t know about. Some sort of locator. It could track down a specific PipBuck provided it had the tag. I searched through the PipBuck, looking for a file or a message that Volt might have sent me a long time ago, something I could trace him with.The message I found was recent, added while I was unconscious.

Live Wire,

I know you will try track me down. I leave this so you can. Stay safe. Find me, I need tell you reason face to face. I’m not crazy, I did not want anypony to die.

Your Big Brother

I had pictured him as a monster who killed the Stable on a whim. I should have known better, he was still Dead Volt. But I knew there had to be a pretty good reason from him to do this.

Volt had a few hours head start, but I needed to find him. He needed me to find him.

I took a deep breath, and set off. The tunnel felt strange, unlike the smooth floor of the Stable, it was bumpy, uneven. I knew things outside would be vastly different. I knew that Equestria was likely full of deadly radiation. I knew that this was going to be very dangerous.

Another breath from the tunnel blew past me, a light flowing in from the end. A door, unlike those in the Stable, lay open, obviously the victim of somepony’s shotgun blast. I took my first few steps out into Equestria.

And I was greeted by the wasteland.

=====================================================================

Footnote: Level Up.

New Perk: Thie-Collector - You are a collector of sorts, and you are now more skilled at obtaining items. Whether they be guarded by a lock, or contained in somepony’s bags..

(I would like to thank Kkat for writing Fallout Equestria, one of the best stories I have read, and I would like to thank No One for writing Heroes, another great tale. I would also like to thank Melon Hunter and Masquerade313, my editors, Fillyosopher, the one who made so many of the sentences sound so much better, and Tonto The Trotter, one of the people who helped convince me to rewrite these first couple chapters.)