Sunday
2030

I headed for the locker rooms and Armory, seeing Sergeant Slate focusing intently on something. "Hey, Slate." I quickly stripped out of my armor and set my saddlebags down. "Slate." He ignored me. "Slate!"

He yelped - ha ha! - and threw... sparkly stuff... in the air. Um. "WHAT!"

I glanced down. "What were you...?" Oh, it's just metal dust.

"Repairing the rifling on this weapon." He held up an IF-18 revolver, before setting it aside and casting a spell. All of the metal filings he'd dropped pulled itself into a small ball at the tip of his horn.

"Magnetize spell?" He nodded. "Useful spell, that." A loose magazine flew over and stuck to him, floorplate flat against his cheek. "Sometimes?" I winced in sympathy.

"Sometimes." He nodded glumly. "So what did you want, Captain?" He set the nugget of metal and magazine aside, rubbing his cheek where the magazine had landed.

Dashie trotted into the Armory after me, coughing exaggeratedly. "You still haven't showered yet, boss?"

I turned a withing glare on him. "That's my next stop." He simply smirked in response.

"She doesn't smell that bad, sir..." I looked to Weld, politely sticking up for me.

Dashie looked to Weld for a moment, before shaking his head and laughing. "Oh that's rich." I glanced to Dashie, then to Weld, who was staring at Dashie with a mild look of confusion. Huh?

I bunched up and levitated the barding I'd been wearing for the past five days over to him. "Enjoy!"

He inhaled, then turned green, hurriedly stepping back and pushing my barding away. "That's... um... that's something." How diplomatic.

"By 'something', you mean, 'worthy of the incinerator'?" He shook his head at my crazed grin. "You said you wanted a pair of IF-9s, right?" Weld nodded as I turned to Dashie. "Hey, Dashie, got the IF-9s?"

"Got your scatterguns right here, boss." He tossed me the two IF-9s, and I caught them in my magic. They're. Not. Scatterguns.

I confirmed they were clear, remembering the police armory, before giving him to them. "Here ya go, Slate." He almost glowed at me - I wasn't sure if it was my use of his first name or the gift of firepower - as he pulled out a pair of 12 gauge chamber flags and slipped one of them in place, setting it aside.

He used a light spell to look through the bore. "The rifling... these look pristine. It's almost a shame to cut these up..." Huh? He inserted the second chamber flag and set the weapon aside. "Where did you even find them? I wouldn't have expected to find pristine weapons out in the wastes."

"We raided the police station."

He cocked his head. "Weren't you just going to the radio station?"

"Yes, but the Steel Rangers demanded we go to the police station for them first." I shrugged, glancing to Dashie unpacking his saddlebags. Where did he find all the space for everything in there? Earth pony magic, clearly.

"Why were the Stee..." He shook his head as he trailed off. "Never mind."

"You're going to read the operational report, it'll make more sense?"

He nodded as his horn lit up with his pink glow. "I'm going to read the after action reports, it'll make more sense."

I felt something being sprayed on my bare flank. "Wha?" I glanced over to get a face full of it and yelped. "The hell was that?"

"You, um... you've smelled better." Was he... blushing? Cute.

I caught a whiff of the smell, more intensely. "Sweet Celestia, what the fuck did you spray me with? It stinks!"

"It smells better than you did." Dashie tossed a weapon at Weld. "Heads up, Weld!"

"It was either that or pesticide spray." He caught it in his pink magic and brought it over to him to study it intently.

"Oh, ew." Wait. "Where did you even get pesticide spray?"

"It was in the workshop when I took over."

"Right then, I'm going to go shower." I suppressed another yawn. "See you folks later. Dashie, sort my saddlebags, would you?"

Dashie tossed a salute in my direction as I headed for the Pipbuck maintenance tech to get my Pipbuck fixed.

"What brings you down here, Captain..." The head tech glanced over at me. "... nude?" After a moment, she stiffened and a mild expression of disgust passed her face, quickly hidden.

"Yes, I know I smell disgusting." I held my Pipbuck out to her. "I just returned from the Outside. Something went wrong with my Pipbuck, and I need you to fix it."

"Of course, Captain... What seems to be the issue?"

"It's locked down." She gave me a confused look. "You're familiar with the Security mode, right...?"

"Oh!" She nodded. "Wait. That's only supposed to happen when you die." She looked at me closely. "You're not dead, right?"

"If I said I was, would you believe me?"

"Quit being clever and tell me what you did to your damn Pipbuck!"

"Sorry. I stepped on a mine and had my leg... removed."

"... Oh." She stepped back in surprise, looking at my legs.

I shifted my weight off of my leg and waved it at her. "I got better." I smirked at her; she looked deeply unsettled.

"Well. I.... yes. That might do it." She frowned and turned, trotting over deeper into the room. "Oh where did it go..." Huh? I trotted into the repair room and settled down on a bench with a quiet groan. Ohhh yes... Maybe I could just sleep here... I yawned and closed my eyes for just a moment...

...

!

Ow! Ow ow ow!

"Hey! No sleeping in here!" I yelped and flailed my limbs as I was shocked back to consciousness, falling off the bench and looking up to see the head Pipbuck technician glaring down at me. "Go sleep in your quarters!" Ow ow ow. "There's barely enough space for stuff that belongs here without Security ponies sleeping on duty!"

I groaned. "I just got back to the Stable, give me a break!" I yawned and rolled over as my limbs returned to my control.

"You're all done, Captain." She trotted over to her seat and settled down, watching me with an intense look of morbid fascination as I laid there, giving my limbs a moment to recover before leaving. She apparently took this as an opportunity to start a new conversation. "What's... what's it like? Out there, I mean."

I glanced over to her and rolled over onto my belly, looking back at her. "It's..." I paused, thinking. "Dangerous, but... amazing. There's soo much stuff out there, stuff you've never seen." Not my best, but it seemed to fascinate her. What did I know about her? Pipbuck technician. Seems to like computers and magitech devices. Dislikes cramped spaces. Play to that. "It's... quite open out there. Lots of space." I glanced around the dull, grey room. "Plenty of color out there, too. Greens and browns and blues..."

"Wow..." She looked impressed.

I nodded and smirked to her, rising to my hooves. "I didn't catch your name. I'm Firefly." I offered her my hoof, and she took it after a moment's hesitation. In her hooves, I probably would have done the same.

"Broken Screen. It's been a pleasure, Captain." She smiled to me. "I hope you know what I mean when I say I hope I won't be doing a lot of professional dealing with you in the future."

I grinned back to her. "Not a lot of ponies come down here to chat, I'm sure? Thank you. By the way, what was that spell you used on me? That hurt."

A pleased smile crossed her face at my question. "It's a modification of the stunning spell Security has in the SOP hoofbook. I charged it with an electrical shock so it momentarily overwhelms all the nerves in your body."

I... recognized... some of those words. "Very impressive! Perhaps you could teach me sometime?"

"We'll see, Captain. Have a good night." Having used that very same dismissal before, I nodded, bid her good night and hurried out to do other things.

I left Pipbuck Maintenance and ducked into my quarters to get some clean clothes. My mother was passed out on the couch - as always - and I hurried for the shower.

Oh, that's wonderful. While I showered, I thought back about the mission I'd just returned from. Not only did we accomplish our assigned mission - acquire intelligence and open a dialogue with the radio pony - but we did it with zero casualties! That was definitely a complete success.

Hell, I even found my father! ... Oh. Right. I bucked him, killed two of his ponies and ran off. That... could have gone better.

I groaned and curled up on the floor. Fuck me, that could have gone way better. I could have taken a dump on the floor and set his bed on fire, and that still would have gone better! Shit...

He had another daughter? What, was I not good enough for him? Oh that's right, he ran off and abandoned the Stable! And me! The bastard.

Ahhh... It feels good to be home. I spent a couple of minutes, just curled up on the floor, enjoying the luxury of clean, warm water running through my coat and mane working the tenseness from my muscles.

Finally, I decided I had things to be doing and started cleaning up, starting with washing my mane. What the hell is this stuff in my mane?

I think I whimpered as I combed whatever was stuck in my mane and tail out. Oh. Yeah. I... 'screwed' Moonstone. Wow. It's been a couple of years since I've washed cum out of my mane. When was the last time I did that? I groaned as everywhere ached dully.

Celestia, I am sore everywhere. Well, mostly between my legs. I stretched and bruises reminded me of their existence all across my body. Correction: sore everywhere.

... And now I'm horny. Crap. I have a meeting in a while, don't I...

I spent way too long in the shower, but seeing as I hadn't showered in five days, I think it was justified. Wait, there was that... swim... I took yesterday.

I never did get the chance to masturbate, but that shower was almost as good...

Range had left me a message, informing me that the meeting would be at 2100 in Conference Room Two. I entered the room at 2105. The seven ponies of the Leading Council were arrayed along one side of the table. Overmare Book Keeper sat at the head, facing the door I just had just entered through. Range was sitting midway along the table, opposite Lead Councilor Diamond Rose. Justice Amber Rhyme, my counterpart in the Judicial half of Security, was sitting on Range's left. Oh, so this is how it's going to be. "Nice of you to show up, Captain..."

I glanced to Range; she simply shrugged and gave me a sympathetically annoyed look. Zero showers, five days, shot at or attacked on four. Cum dried in my coat since this time last night. Sure. Why not. I trotted over to the seat next to Range and settled down, looking to Councilor Rose. "I was unaware the Leading Council had an interest in Security's normal day-to-day operations of defending the Stable, Councilor."

Councilor Rose snorted. "Don't play clever, Captain. Your missions Outside are anything but normal. Tell us how your mission went." She was a blue-green unicorn, with a blue-purple and pale blue striped mane she wore in a long, sleek style. Her orange eyes were currently furrowed at me, a notable difference from her usual pleasant smile.

I thought about that, levitating a glass of water over to myself. "It went excellently." I paused, sipping the water.

Oh that's wonderful.

"We completed the primary objective of opening a dialogue with the radio station. We were attacked by a couple of groups, yet we took no losses ourselves. Overall, a critical success, Councilor."

Councilor Rose frowned. "You were attacked?" The Council shared a concerned look amongst themselves.

"We encountered a group of raiders in the city. They attacked us and we defended ourselves. A group of ghouls in the sewers tried to eat us. We encountered a group of raiders harassing a town, and we..." I paused, thinking of a way to phrase it, "Put a stop to it."

"Raiders?" Councilor Rose's frown deepened. "Cannibal ghouls?" I nodded tiredly. Why yes, Councilor, that's what I said. "Do you remember what happened last time the Stable was attacked, Captain?"

Not vividly, no. "I am aware of the events that happened two decades ago, Councilor..."

"Many Security ponies perished in that attack." Councilor Rose sighed sadly. "Captain Crimson was a fine leader." Mock-sadly. You bitch.

"I'm afraid I must report that Captain Crimson did not perish in the attack, Councilor." I shook my head. "He is doing well."

The Council looked confused at that, and shared a glance. Councilor Emerald Hex looked up from her M2500. She was an older earth pony, mint green with a long green and turquoise striped mane, kind of like a candy cane. "The traitor lives?" Traitor? Hey! ... actually, that's what I told him myself.

Councilor Rose pursed her lips. "Your father did always have a strange affinity for leaving the Stable."

The door opened, and the Arcane Sciences mares - Chief Researcher Astral Vision and her superior, Head of Arcane Knowledge Uchawi - entered. "Apologies, Overmare." They trotted in, taking positions one seat down from us. Overmare Keeper waved to them.

I sipped my water as I thought about meeting Crimson. "That's correct, Councilor. Captain Crimson is alive and doing well. The Crimson Raiders have a couple of hundred experienced wasteland fighters, at a low estimate."

"At least a couple of hundred experienced fighters?" Councilor Rose's frown deepened. Tell me, Captain. How many ponies does Security have?" That's a stupid question, you know the answer. Ah, it's not the answer that matters.

Time to play her game. "Approximately fifty, Councilor."

Councilor Rose nodded. "Can your ponies defend the Stable against a force that large?" She looked around to the rest of the ponies in the room, before looking back to me. "Would you trade our husbands and children for the Wasteland?"

I spent a moment thinking about that. "Yes and no, in that order, Councilor." She frowned. "Attacking any well fortified position is always a costly venture. A self-sufficient underground position built to be easily defended, like a Stable, is even more-so." I paused and glanced to Councilor Rose. "Have you ever wondered about the angled ceiling in the hallways?" Confusion momentarily clouded her features. "That's called a choke point, and every hallway can be turned into a kill zone. Three ponies and a machine gun could effortlessly hold a hallway against a much larger force." Confusion was quickly replaced with disgust.

I paused and sipped my water. "We are a very closed society, and our numbers have been limited to what we could sustain. The Outside is not limited as we are." I paused as I refilled my drink. "The Outside has numbers. We have technology and knowledge." I turned to Overmare Keeper. "Overmare, what was Stable 30's purpose, as given by Stable-tec?"

Overmare Keeper looked to me, sipped her water and looked through her Pipbuck, before reading out a file. "Cataloging and preservation of Arcane Knowledge, for the purpose of helping to restore civilization."

I nodded. "Thank you, Overmare." I turned back to the Council. "Other Stables are opening their Doors - the Security Mare is busy to the south, and the Stable Dweller... she's everywhere."

I paused to give the Council a moment to think on my arguments, before finishing. "I believe now is the time for us to move out, Councilor."

"Clearly, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Councilor Hex spoke contemptuously. "Your obsession with helping the Outside will be the death of us all, Captain."

I suppressed a smirk as Overmare Keeper quietly addressed Councilor Hex. "Personal attacks are unnecessary and unproductive, Councilor."

"My apologies, Overmare." Councilor Hex bowed her head 'sincerely'. Uh huh.

I continued, answering Councilor Hex's comment. "That's unlikely, Councilor." I glanced to my Pipbuck, pulling up the current Armory contents. "With our current armory, right now, today, if we can hold the Atrium, we could hold the entire Stable against any group in the area. This goes up to and includes the Steel Rangers. With better weapons, we could retake the Stable from any area."

"Now that we've decided that..." Range glanced around to everyone present. "What shall we do now?" Her gaze shifted to me.

I cleared my throat, and everyone looked to me. "The pony at the radio station requested a favor in return for the intelligence she provided us with."

"A 'favor'." Councilor Hex spoke, her voice full of contempt. "Did she specify what kind of favor?"

"She did, Councilor." I rose and turned, using my magic to display a map of the Baltimare area on the wall behind me. "She provided me with the location of three Ministry of Arcane Science Emergency Broadcast System towers here, here and here." Three six-pointed stars inside of a box appeared on the map surrounding the city, along with the nine-cogged gear indicating Stable 30, to the southeast of the city proper. "She requested that we clear them so that one of her assistants could grant her access to their broadcast networks." I paused, ignoring the sore ache that twinged between my hind legs at the mention of 'assistant', shifting slightly. "I believe that accessing the MASEBS network would be good for Stable 30, as well."

"Explain."

"If we accessed all three towers, we could observe much of the wasteland from the safety of the Stable. Even if we were to seal the Door," I left that one alone, "we could continue to observe what went on Outside without having anypony physically occupying the towers."

A couple of the other Councilors start to nod. Success. Councilor Rose was among them. "Very well, Captain." I returned to my seat, letting the map spell expire.

Overmare Keeper turned to the Arcane Sciences ponies. "Is her idea feasible?"

Uchawi looked to Researcher Vision, who looked to her M3000, spending a moment looking through files. "Yes, I think her plan could work, Overmare." She looked to Overmare Keeper, shifting nervously. "I could do some looking into the specifics...?"

Overmare Keeper nodded. "Make it happen."

"If we seal ourselves off from the Outside, what would it matter that we know what's going on outside the Stable?" Back to this again?

"Put yourself in my shoes, Councilor." Damn civilians. "It's your job to keep the Stable safe. If, for example, the Steel Rangers were rallying outside the Door to attack us, wouldn't you like to know that, so you can prepare for them?"

"The Door is immense." Councilor Hex's brows furrowed in confusion. "How could they do that?" Use your imagination, mare. Big door can be blown up by bigger guns. Hacking the control system would be a better route, though.

Range spoke up so I didn't have to answer that. "The Door is big, Councilor, but it's just steel."

Councilor Sparking Sheets spoke up, adjusting her glasses. "If they could... 'breach' the Door, then why haven't they done so?" Civilians attempting to use military terms they barely understand. How cute. Councilor Sheets was a blue/green earth pony around my age. She kept her dark blue and red-pink mane short and practically cut. Out of the Council, she was the youngest and a bit of an unknown. If nothing else, she was definitely not as biased against Security as the rest of the Council, which is a huge plus-one in my book.

"The Steel Rangers tried to annex the Stable before, and we routed them. Even if they could successfully take the Stable - again, a very big if - they'd have to deal with the losses we inflict upon them defending the Stable and our resistance when we retreat to the lower levels. Beyond that, they would have to continue to maintain their visible strength to the rest of the area." I paused, refilling my water as I considered where to go next, changing tracks. "The balance of power is a delicate line, Councilor, and one mistake could lead to the destruction of the Baltimare Steel Rangers. I find it unlikely they have any plans in taking the Stable, especially after having met their leader myself."

Councilor Rose glanced over to me curiously. "What were you doing at the Steel Rangers base?" None of her usual contempt, just sheer curiosity. Interesting.

"During the expedition, we learned that the Steel Rangers base is the radio station."

Councilor Hex snorted. "Military intelligence, indeed." How clever.

I pointedly ignored Councilor Hex as I turned to Councilor Rose. "The primary objective of these missions beyond the wire is to gather intelligence, Councilor, and they have gone better than I expected." I glanced to my Pipbuck. "We have acquired an immense amount of intelligence over the past week, and for now, we need time to analyze it."

Councilor Rose fell silent for a moment. "I still think that Captain Crimson is a threat." I am too tired for this shit. "Captain Crimson surely is... intimately familiar with our defenses. He could use that against us."

Range spoke up delicately. "Knowing Crimson, I find that to be very unlikely, Councilor..."

"I'm still concerned about it." She narrowed her eyes at at me severely. "Do something about it, Captain."

"Of course, Councilor." I covered the urge to roll my eyes at her with a pleasant and bland smile. Yeah, I'll get right on stripping the information about the Stable's defenses from his brain. You obnoxious dolt.

The Council fell silent, looking to their Pipbucks, sharing looks and typing as they debated in silence. After a couple of minutes, Councilor Rose spoke again. "We have heard enough for now, Captain. You may go." Oh, I may go, huh? What's that, civilian for 'dismissed'? Yeah, sure thing, mare.

"Thank you for your time, Councilors..." I leaned back, refilling my water again. No, you may go. Researcher Vision smiled to me - I waved back - and rose to her hooves to made a swift exit, Uchawi two steps behind her. Overmare Keeper was a few paces behind her.

I glanced to Range, and she made a face. "The Crimson Raiders?" I shrugged. "How very... Crimson of him."

"I'd make a witty quip about Crimson being red, but right now, I just want to pass out in my bed for at least three days." I groaned and laid my head down on the table as the Council rose and left. Ha ha! Victory.

Amber smiled to me. "How did your excursion go?"

I waited until the door had closed after the Council before answering. "Honestly, I can't say it went that badly. Cannibal ghouls. Steel Rangers, normal ghouls. The Crimson Raiders. Acquired plenty of intel. Made friends with the radiopony. Helped a couple of towns." I gestured off into the Stable. "Cyclone knew my prewar ancestor. Cool, huh?" Hrm. What else? "Oh!" I grinned to Range and Amber. "I got laid!"

Amber raised an eyebrow. "You? ... Seriously?" He glanced to Range. "So, you win, then?"

"About damn time." Range snickered. "What's it up to? Two hundred bits now?" Amber nodded idly, looking through his Pipbuck.

Wait, what? "Let's pretend I don't know what you're talking about."

"We've had a betting pool on your love life for, what... two, three years now?" Amber glanced up from his Pipbuck over to Range.

Range nodded with a pleased grin. "I was pretty sure I'd have won six months ago, but apparently you two didn't fuck. At least, not that he'd admit to, anyways." Hey! "Shame, he was kind of cute, for a stallion." I tossed Range an annoyed glare.

"That sounds an awful lot like gambling, which is a violation of security policy 34B." I yawned.

"Yes, but security policy 34B was designed for a locale that doesn't consist of spending your entire lives underground." Range shrugged and rose to her hooves. "Rhyme, I'll collect my winnings tomorrow morning." She turned to me. "Firefly, go write up a mission report, then go get some sleep. You've got market duty tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, today's... Shit." I glanced to my Pipbuck, confirming the time and date. "It's Sunday already. Wow."

Monday
0800

First on my list this morning was showing around some kids interested in joining Security. This ought to be fun.

The group met at the Security station. Three foals, two colts and a mare. The tallest was a unicorn mare, half zebra ancestry hinted at by the light blue highlights in her medium blue coat. Behind her was a short earth pony, just entering puberty, with cropped, straw colored hair. Obviously not with the other two, was a happy-looking unicorn colt with a orange/brown coat, his messy mane orange-yellow, the tips ending in cyan.

The last one snapped to attention and saluted as he saw me. Not perfect form, but not bad for a kid. He reminded me of myself, ten years ago. I returned the salute, then turned to begin address the three of them.

With a pop of compressed air, Security Officer Ivory Charm teleported in beside me and I tried - unsuccessfully - to suppress a yelp. "Oh, good morning, Captain!" She chirped in her annoyingly high pitched voice as she threw me a smirk that could give Dashie a run for his bits in the 'obnoxiously smug' department. Someone's awfully cheerful this morning.

I turned to the kids. "Ivory Charm has generously offered to help me showing you folks around this morning."

"I have, ma'am?" Her smug smile shifted to an expression of confusion, and she looked to her Pipbuck.

"Yes." I threw her a glare that told her 'play along or spend a month peeling apples'. "You have." She nodded.

"Oh. Yes. I remember now." She nodded again, more confidently. "... Am I late?"

"No, you're right on time." I studied her closely. She had a tan, perhaps even, ivory coat, and her mane was a dark violet, brushed and pinned up in a bun for once, parted around her horn. Hrm, nice save, Ivory. Perhaps I'll need to pay more attention to her...

"You're here early, Ivory." Amber Rhyme trotted into the Security station, looking to Ivory Charm. "Good morning, Firefly."

"Good morning, father..." I could almost hear the weariness in Ivory's voice.

"Morning, Amber." I glanced to Ivory Charm, then back over to him. "Speaking of being here early... you usually don't come in this early."

Amber smiled to me. "I wanted to get some work done early, before Market day."

"You do work?" I smirked to Amber. "This is Justice Amber Rhyme, Chief of Justice Operations. He doesn't do a lot, most of the time..." I grinned at him; he simply smiled politely to the kids. "But he's a really nice pony, even if it is his job give out punishments. Know him, make him like you. He'll make your life a lot easier if you get in trouble."

"Oh, please, Captain. I don't do that, you should know that's against the rules."

"Much like running a betting pool on fellow Security officers' love lives?" I glanced to him teasingly.

Amber simply snickered softly. "You're free to take that up with the Colonel, if you feel so strongly about it."

"Right." Tempting, if she weren't in on it, too... "Let's get you kids acquainted with the station." I turned and trotted off towards the Armory. "Fall in." The unicorn colt fell in on my right flank, the other two following in a slightly less organized fashion. We'll work on that later. Ivory and, curiously, Amber also fell in. "Weld!" I waved a hoof toward Weld. "Kids, this is Sergeant Weld, the stallion in charge of all of Security's weapons and other kit." I waved a hoof around the Armory. "All this you see? This is his domain."

"Hello, Captain." Weld leaned up to look over the counter at the kids. "Hi kids."

"Hey, when do we get to play with the guns?" The unicorn mare attempted to pick up an IF-18 revolver with her deep blue magic, and Slate let out an indistinct, whimpering sound as he pulled the weapon from her magic.

"No, no, no!" He set it back in its rack. "No guns! Not til you're in Security."

"Aww, mare..."

"Guns aren't toys, they're dangerous weapons. You'll get them when you're ready." I paused for a moment, thinking. "I'm sure you've heard that before so many times, but it is true." I waved to Weld. "Nice to see you, Weld." I turned back to the kids. "Moving on..." I lead the way out, crossing the station to Range's office. "Off to the left there is the briefing room." I banged a hoof on her door and trotted inside. "Knock knock, Colonel!"

"Sweet Celestia, Firefly! There's a door for a fucking reas-" Range hurriedly cut herself off as she noticed the kids. "... Oh." She glanced down to her M2500. "It's that time." She set it aside. "Hello kids."

"This vulgarity-spewing unicorn is Colonel Range, the Head of Security." I tossed her a smirk as she glared at me. "She's usually not this vulgar."

Range opened her mouth to say something before the earth pony colt cut her off and raised one of his hooves, looking to me. "But aren't you the Head of Security?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but the unicorn colt cut me off. "Captain Firefly is the Chief of Field Operations, Colonel Range is the Head of Security. Captain Firefly handles external issues, such as attacks and training, while Colonel Range handles internal issues such intra-department communications and liasoning with the Leading Council. Officially, Captain Firefly is subordinate to Colonel Range, but their duties are separate, distinct areas, making them equals in many ways."

Damn, kid. "Well said." I nodded, looking to the other two kids. "That's basically it. I lead the troops, Range manages everything else."

Range groaned, laying her head on the desk. "I should have just stayed in the damn Armory."

Amber poked his head inside. "Don't be ridiculous, Colonel, you've done an excellent job of managing Security. Would you have preferred Captain Armet have become Head of Security, instead?"

Range burst out laughing. "Oh my fucking goddesses, that would have been a disaster."

I frowned. Captain Armet wasn't that bad... I cleared my throat. "Right then... I think it's time we moved on. Colonel Range is a busy mare, after all." Range snickered anew at that as I hurried the kids out of her office.

"So, where to now?" The unicorn mare smirked at me, and I gave her a stern, sideways glance. "Uh, ma'am." Better.

"Patrol time!" I grinned to her. "Sounds fun, huh?"

"Uh.. no, ma'am." She frowned dejectedly.

I snickered. "Now you're getting it." I grinned to the three of them. "Security isn't all that glamorous. Lots of really boring stuff, with occasional moments of excitement." I paused, thinking back. "... Excitement is..." I trailed off, considering. "Boring is safe. Boring is good."

"Aww, that's no fun." She stuck her lower lip out at me in a pouty look. I recognized that look - it was her most dangerous weapon, and she probably didn't even realize that yet.

"Not to sound like Captain Obvious, but excitement in our line of work usually results in injuries or fatalities..."

"... oh. Yeah." She frowned.

"Don't let that discourage you, though. Security is a noble profession, even if it's not so glamorous most of the time." Actually, that's kind of an understatement - Security is dangerously dull much of the time. "It's dangerous, but somepony's gotta remind the wasteland that Stable 30 isn't a pushover, after all." I leaned in conspiratorially. "Wouldn't you like to be the ponies showing the wasteland what prewar Equestria was like?"

The unicorn mare grinned brightly, but the earth pony colt had a worried look. The unicorn colt had a thoughtful look. Bright kids.

I lead the way out of Security, Amber, Ivory and the kids following me. "So, um, ma'am? What's it like outside the Door?" The unicorn mare spoke up.

"It's... dangerous, but incredible." I paused, considering, before smirking. "It's so colorful out there. Reds and blues and greens. All sort of colors you've never seen outside of history texts."

"You mean, the walls aren't grey out there, too?" The earth pony colt spoke up in amazement.

"All sorts of colors." I grinned. "All of the books say that the Outside is brown and scorched by the bombs? Everything is green and blue. It's amazing."

"Are you sure we should be helping the wasteland, Captain?" Amber looked to me in concern. "We opened the Door, and the wasteland attacked us. That attack, I should remind you, is what cost your father his life in the Stable."

Ha, ha ha. I glanced to Amber in amusement. "I don't think Crimson feels he lost anything when he left the Stable, Amber. He has... adapted well to Wasteland life."

Amber thought about that. "Captain Nimbus always was rather... strange. It's a shame you never got to meet him." I cleared my throat to remind Amber that I had, quite recently, and he clarified. "While he lived in the Stable, I mean."

"You know, Father, I think that Captain Firefly has a point." Ivory spoke up in the silence that followed Amber's comment. "Colonel Range has mentioned that she thinks the Stable should move out into the Wasteland."

"Colonel Range is allowed her opinions, and I'm allowed to disagree with them." Amber glanced to me as he spoke.

I cleared my throat. "Didn't you have some work you said you were going to attend to, Justice?"

"So I did, Captain. If you'll excuse me..." He leaned over to hug Ivory, and she returned the hug.

I watched him trot off, then turned back to the kids. "So, kids. Pop quiz time - what do you think the purpose of patrols are?" I gestured to the unicorn colt as he opened his mouth. "I know you know what the answer is, let the other two try." He frowned, and I smirked to him as a trio of ponies trotted past us, chatting, and went around the corner.

The earth pony spoke up curiously. "Busywork?" No.

The unicorn mare thought for a moment. "Punishment?" Not usually.

"Nope." I shook my head. "Good guesses, though. They're our day-to-day interaction with the rest of the Stable, and that's where we remind them of what we do. We're there to help and protect them, and if they're going to be interacting with us, it will probably be while we're patrolling." I lead the way through the Stable. "How often do you go to the Security station?" I looked to the three of them, and they looked to each other, then the unicorn mare looked to me and shrugged. "Exactly." I glanced at the corner, then back to the kids. "Tell me, how many ponies did we just pass?"

The unicorn mare glanced back, before sharing a look with the earth pony, faces screwed up in confusion, before shrugging and glancing to the other unicorn. He had a blank expression, before a sharp look of understanding crossed his face. "I... wasn't paying attention, ma'am."

"It's important to pay attention to what's going on around you." I smiled to them as I shushed the part of me that pointed out I wouldn't have stepped on a landmine had I been paying attention. "Okay. If you're really interested in joining in Security, I have an assignment for you. Just... count things around you. You'll start to notice and remember a lot more around you."

They nodded, and we continued through the Stable. I quizzed the kids on things as we passed them. Around 0900, I hoofed the kids over to Ivory and Dashie to get some work done. Reports, reports, reports. Yay. At 0940, I called a briefing for Market patrol.

"Good morning, everypony." Several of the ponies scattered around the briefing room gave muted responses. "I said, good morning, everypony!" I stomped my forehoof loudly.

"Good morning, Captain Firefly!" rang through the room in response. Much better.

"It's Market Day." Obviously. "Door opens at 1000. Show of force, blah blah blah. Convince any wastelanders looking for trouble that they don't want to give us trouble." I turned and projected a map of the Exterior Marketplace on the wall behind me, giving out patrol assignments. "Some of you may have noticed that Teams Five and Six were switched with Teams Seven and Eight. There were some issues last week, and it was decided that it would be best to keep zebras off XM patrol. Questions?" A silver wing in the back rose. "Do you like peeling apples, Silver?"

Silver rose to his hooves. "No, ma'am." I nodded for him to continue. "What a silly question that was." Uh huh. "Have you ever given thought to, perhaps, going out with Striker?" What? All eyes shifted from Silver, to me, to Striker, as Striker flicked him over the head. One. Month. Peeling. Apples.

I opened my mouth to reply, but Striker cut me off coolly. "I don't think so. I don't 'do' unicorns." Ouch. "They're drama queens." Hey! Several ponies laughed, a few looked to me nervously, and I think I successfully managed to suppress a grin.

"I believe Colonel Range would shit a brick if Captain Firefly started dating anypony in Security, anyways." Dashie smirked, and most of my ponies laughed.

After a few moments, I cleared my throat and my team quieted down. "Thanks for that mental image, Lieutenant." More laughter. "Any actual questions?" There were none. "Go get dressed. Dismissed!" My troops rose and headed for the locker room. "I'd like to see Team Five." A groan, some small chuckles came from the ponies.

"The Door will open in fifteen minutes."

Silver and Striker stopped and I let the rest of the squad filter out before speaking. "Silver, you're to spend the next two weeks helping in the kitchen when other duties don't occupy your time." He smirked. Of course he was expecting this. "Striker, you're to watch Silver, but you're not required to help at all. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Silver and Striker did their weird salute with one wing.

"Let's get dressed." A quick trot across the main Security station brought us to the locker rooms and Armory where my team was mostly dressed. "Kit check, comms check." Everyone confirmed they were ready and we headed out through Security, down through the sea of Stable suits milling about in the Atrium and to the Door room airlock.

"The Door is opening now."

This week, the Overmare declined to attend the Door opening. I raised my hoof. "Ready weapons!" As one, my team loaded their weapons. I nodded to the maintenance pony at the console, and she pressed the button.

With a screeching, room shaking rumble, the Door slid out of its niche away from us and rolled aside. Hazard lights lit up the cave outside the Stable. I waved my hoof forward. "Security, forward!" I lead the way out of the Stable, taking a deep breath of foul wasteland air. Not so foul, I suppose. Or perhaps I'm just adjusting... isn't that a scary thought. My distracted thinking had taken me to the XM. Getting sloppy, not good.

"Hello, Captain." I turned to see two ponies in Stable 30 light barding standing off to the side.

"Nimble! Plat! You're alive." I nodded to Dashie and ducked to the side to let the rest of the team do their patrol.

Platinum Starlight nodded. "Yes, ma'am." The pale earth pony added some stuff to her kit, a metal plate bent around her chest and right shoulder held in place by some belts.

"I'm surprised how fun it was." Nimble Shine's cap had taken a hit. She had a break action over-under shotgun and a belt of shells slung across her chest. An interesting optic sat on atop. She looked like she'd lost some weight.

"Fun?" I raised an eyebrow.

Nimble grinned. "Live life a little, y'know? Get drunk, have a one-night stand, get shot at." I raised an eyebrow at her, and she shrugged. "Well, maybe not all at once." Something in her cheek twitched. "You know." Sure, why not.

I grinned back at them as they trotted past me. "Hey, did you blow up any more ghouls?"

Nimble shared a look with Plat, not quite sure how to respond to that. Plat snickered. "I think blowing up ghouls is more your thing, ma'am."

"I'd rather get laid than blow up ghouls, honestly." Nimble waved a hoof. "If you'll excuse us, ma'am, we could use a shower..."

"Yes, I know that feeling. Go get showered. Don't forget your operational reports." I smirked at them. "Welcome home, ponies."

Trotting through the XM, I noticed a frantic, familiar-looking mare, followed closely by a stallion. Where had I seen her before... yellow coat, pale blue and light green striped mane. She turned and saw me, and pointed me out to her companion, and both of them turned and started coming to me. Uh.

"Firefly to Security, might have a problem in the XM. All teams go to yellow alert." I glanced around.

"Copy. All teams to yellow alert."

The mare stepped past a couple of wastelanders and approached me. "You're one of the Security ponies that helped defend Haven from the ghouls last week, right?"

"That's correct, ma'am... what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for your, um, friend?" Friend? "The earth pony with the red coat?" What could she be looking for Dashie for... "I'm pregnant." Oh. Oh!

"Ahhh. Hold please." I turned away. "Firefly to Security. Cancel the alert. I've got a wastelander looking for Lieutenant Dash." I turned back to her. "He's coming." I smiled to her, letting a hint of cheerful enthusiasm into my voice. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you!" She smiled brightly. "We've been trying to have a foal for months, but we've... not had any luck." I glanced to her companion; he looked happy.

Dashie trotted over to me, looking to the wastelanders curiously. "Sup, boss?"

I gestured to the mare. "She's pregnant."

"... Oh." Dashie blinked, looking to her and taking a step back, glancing to the stallion.

"Stable 30 has a policy of letting in families, right? Or pregnant mares?" The wastelander sounded hopeful. That was true, though I don't remember that happening any time recently.

"Ah!" Dashie nodded. "Come with me, I'll get the paperwork started."

Good, good. I watched the three of them trot off. "Cancel yellow alert." I turned and headed through the XM, spotting a pair of wasteland traders arguing. "What seems to be the problem, folks?"

One of them, a yellow earth pony mare with a severely cut pink and green mane, turned to me. "Who the fuck asked you, Stable pony?"

I glanced down to my weapons, then around the XM. "Sometimes, arguments turn violent. I think everypony would prefer if I headed off your problems, before they become my problems."

The other trader, a pale blue and dark green-striped zebracorn with a duotone red mane pulled back in a messy ponytail, nodded after a moment of studying me. Was he blue with green stripes, or green with blue stripes? Equestria may never know. "You have a valid point, Captain."

The other trader didn't seem to get it. "I don't care about that, who asked your fuckin' opinion?"

I turned to her, gripping my weapons with my magic and tilted my head so the name on my helmet was clearly visible. "The head of Stable 30 Security. That's who."

I watched her face change through several expressions rapidly, settling on uneasy not-quite-fear. And now she gets it. "... oh." Bingo. I released my weapons. "Um..." Shut up.

I glanced to the zebracorn, the reasonable one, and repeated myself. "What seems to be the problem, folks?"

He cleared his throat. "We were just disagreeing over the price of some items."

I suppressed a smirk. "I could call some Stable merchants to value the items, if you'd like?"

The zebracorn glared to the other trader, who mercifully stayed quiet. "I don't believe that will be necessary, Captain."

"Do you agree with him, ma'am?" I looked to the earth pony, who winced and nodded, glaring at her 'companion'. "Very well. I'll leave you to it, then." The Stable's presence appropriately established, I turned and trotted off, listening to the mare grumbling about Stable 30 poking their muzzle in places they have no right. Sure we do, it's our front yard.

The marketplace went smoothly for the rest of the morning. The Goddess alicorns traded for their water and left without any issues. The Steel Rangers didn't show up, and based on their previous appearances, weren't due for another month. Enamel commented that my troops had been attacked by Caramel, and they'd killed him. He didn't seem too concerned.

For a glorious half hour, I found myself free of time. My desk was clear, I had no pressing matters. What shall I do? Ahh, I wonder what Astral has found out about the alicorns... I yawned and dug out a bottle of healing potion, pouring out a shot. It hasn't been as effective recently. Perhaps I'm building up a tolerance to it? Concerning, maybe.

I rose to my hooves. "Dashie, I'll be in the Arcane Sciences wing."

"Right right, enjoy, boss." He waved a hoof in my general direction.

A short trot through the Atrium and Library brought me to the Arcane Sciences wing. "Hello, ma'am... um..." She paused, waving a hoof in my direction. "You're Sapphire Aurora's daughter, correct?"

"Name's Firefly."

"Ah, I understand that can't be enjoyable, being known as your..." She apparently picked up on my irritation and stopped talking. "Sorry, Firefly. What brings you here?"

"I'd like to talk to Chief Researcher Vision, if she's free?"

"Is she expecting you?" She glanced to M2000 on her desk.

"Not that I know of..." I smiled to her. "But then again, who knows what the Arcane Sciences ponies can do? Maybe seeing the future is something they do?"

The secretary stared at me for a long moment, before replying quietly. "I believe Researcher Vision is working on a time travel spell, actually."

I blinked. "You're kidding." She said nothing, but smiled mysteriously. "You're not kidding."

She shrugged. "I have no idea." She smiled teasingly. "Researcher Vision is very private with her research, but a time travel spell seems like something within her power. What was it you were here to see her about?"

"I asked her to do some research into the IMP project. I'd like to see what she's found out."

She nodded, then disappeared into one of the rooms, returning a minute later. "Researcher Vision will see you now, Captain Firefly."

I appreciated her use of my name and smiled as I trotted into Astral's office.

Astral Vision smiled to me. "Hello, Captain." She was a dark blue unicorn with a short, spikey mane comprised of two shades of pale blue, and was easily the most powerful unicorn in the Stable, a fact she took every possible opportunity to downplay. A tea set sat on her desk, in a space cleared of technically obsolete Pipbucks and several arcane-looking artifacts. One of them was an impossible-looking black gem.

Just looking at it made me uncomfortable. I pointed to it. "What's this?"

"I'm not entirely sure, I haven't gotten around to studying it yet. Some outsiders brought it in a couple of years ago and traded it for several items. All I've figured out is that it's infused with dark or possibly necromantic magics."

"Which is why you have it sitting on your desk, in plain view, for anypony with sticky hooves to steal." I waved a hoof towards it.

Astral blinked, looking at the gem. "... that's a good point." She carefully packed it away in a case like she was holding a bomb. "What brings you here, Captain?"

"Well duh, Astral! She's here about the alicorns." Her companion was a bright orangey yellow unicorn with a red mane in a carefully casually tied back style, two thick strands flowing down the sides of her face and the rest of it gathered in a high ponytail. "Right, Captain Firefly?" Her voice was annoyingly high pitched and she had a bit too much enthusiasm about, well, everything. Where had I seen her before...

Oh! "You're Pumpkin Blitz's partner, right?"

"Yep!" She bowed grandly. "Researcher Tawny Forge, at your service!" She sat back up, her ponytail flipping back over her head. "So, you were curious about the IMP Project, right?"

"That's correct."

"Well, the short version is..." Astral sipped from a steaming mug. "We haven't found anything, Captain. Nothing you probably don't know, that is." She paused, glancing to a M2500 with a vertical pink strip on the back. "Blessed by pegasi, unicorn and earth pony magics. The Princesses were all alicorns. Some older texts, written long before the Ministries, suggest that there were spells and rituals to turn normal ponies into alicorns, but Ministry Mare Sparkle's research had nothing to do with that, that we know of..." She glanced to Tawny. "Is there anything else, Tawny?"

Tawny shifted and began in a tone that crushed the assumptions most ponies - myself included - made about her being an obnoxious idiot and little more. "The alicorns of the Goddess's Unity, aren't natural alicorns." She sipped from her own chipped, steaming mug, levitating another M2500 over with a horizontal red strip across the back and looking through it. "From what I've pieced together, they are sterile. I don't know if that was an intentional part of the process, or simply kinks that hadn't been worked out when the bombs fell, or if it's even true." She glanced to me, tips of her mouth drooping into a frown. "Like Astral said, not a whole lot."

"So, is this just "we haven't found anything yet", or is this a case of, "we don't actually have anything"?"

The two eggheads shared a glance, and Tawny continued. "We don't know."

Astral spoke up, elaborating on Tawny's comments. "We don't know what we have. When the Stable was first supplied, they just sort of gave us... everything. So... we really don't know what we have here." She shrugged. "It could take another century to catalog everything we have here, and IMP hasn't been a very high priority up until now."

I nodded. "Understandable, understandable. No rush, but please, keep working on it?"

Tawny nodded brightly. "Of course, Captain!" She levitated out a third chipped mug and filled it with tea. "So, Firefly... come, sit with us." Her sly expression worried me as she offered me the tea, but I settled down and took the drink. "You don't happen to have any pressing matters for the next few minutes, do you?" Her intent expression made me wish I did...

"What do you want, Tawny?" I sipped the tea. Mmm, tasty. "What is this?"

"It's mint tea. Delicious, isn't it?" She immediately dropped the coy look and replaced it with a momentary pouty look as I called her out, before shifting back to a serious look. "What happened out there, Firefly?"

"Pardon?"

"Don't insult my intelligence, Captain." Huh? "Pumpkin has been upset since you came back, and she won't talk about it." She has? "What happened out there?" Crap, I haven't checked on her, have I? She paused for a moment, looking to me intensely. "And please don't tell me it's classified. My marefriend is hurt, and I'm not happy about that. Sooo... spill. Please?" She sipped her tea, giving me an intense smile look over the mug.

I glanced to Astral. She simply shrugged and refilled her tea. Okay then. "Have you ever killed anypony before?"

"Sorry, what?" Tawny fell silent and her bemused expression shifted to one of shock, blinking several times. "... Oh." Now she gets it. "... have you?"

...

"I don't know." Lying is wrong, Firefly. "I have to go." I set my tea down and left.

...

Tuesday
0820

I found myself in the briefing room, preparing a briefing for three teams that had volunteered for Exterior duty, but had limited (or no) experience outside the Door.

First up, Team One was Crescent Spark and Mineral Sands. Crescent was a few years younger than me, and had enlisted in Security when she was sixteen, just like I had. She hadn't done much to distinguish herself, but I think she'd been looking for an opportunity. She was a sharp-looking unicorn with an olive coat and a blue mane she kept in a trio of tails, a ponytail in the back and two tails along the side of her face. Mineral was officially a civilian volunteer like Cerulean, part of Stable Medical, but several ponies had vouched for her. She was a small, short brown earth pony with a green mane and tail she kept short and neat. Range had put her through basic training over the past few days, and she'd done reasonably well. Now, it's time to see if she's up for Security.

Team Two would be Ivory Charm and Cast Collage. Ivory had established herself as being lazy and not too motivated, but her name was top of the list of volunteers, so I'm not entirely sure what to think. Her partner, Cast, was ... quite honestly, I didn't trust him not to turn on me to save his own skin. His parents were part of the Morale department, and I have no clue why he's here. He's not an idiot, but it's just a... feeling. He'd signed up with Ivory, though. Hrm...

Team Three was Steady Trot and Quick Clip. They had very similar manes and coats, and it could be difficult to tell them apart at times to those unfamiliar with them. Their manes were alternating stripes of similar but different shades of blue and pink, with an olive coat. Steady's fell more into olive greenish, whereas Quick's was more of a brown. I don't know why they volunteered - they never showed any interest in leaving prior.

The six ponies filed into the briefing room around 0900, along with Dashie, Pumpkin, Nimble and Platinum, and settled down around the room.

"Thank you for volunteering for external duty. The six of you," I paused for a moment, looking to the new ponies, "are not yet ready to leave the Stable, but today's operation will give you a taste of what it's like Outside and see if you have the potential to be ready." I glanced to them as they shared a look. "You know Nimble and Platinum. They've spent the past week on caravan guard duty, so they're the Stable's Outside experts." I gestured to the two of them. "They will be the opposing force for this operation. The objective will be to take this..." I levitated the case up so they could see it. "From the opposing force."

Steady Trot raised a hoof. "Six on two, ma'am? That doesn't seem fair..."

Nimble snickered quietly as I answered. "Glad you asked that, Steady. No, combat is never fair. In fact... you want to make it as unfair for your opponents as you possibly can. You want your ponies to succeed, and the opfor to fail. That's combat." I paused, glancing to Nimble's smirk. "That said? I don't think this is going to be as easy as you think." The six of them turned to Nimble and Plat, noticed their confident looks, and shared an uneasy look.

"This operation will test your ability to plan missions on your own, work together and remain calm under pressure. We've erected an arena outside the Stable for you." I turned to the board behind me, projecting a map of the area. "This is the arena." I turned to the board, and an trophy appeared in the center. "This is where the objective will be located..." I glanced down to my Pipbuck. "You have thirty minutes to plan the operation, starting... Now." I stepped to the side, letting the six of them to the map.

Crescent and Ivory reacted first, trotting over to the map and studying it. Good, good. The rest of the team filed over, Cast and Mineral trailing behind a hoofstep. Mineral had the excuse of being a civilian, but Cast was... intentionally hesitant.

Over the next hour and a half, Pumpkin and I watched the eight ponies skirmish. Crescent and Mineral worked well together. Crescent had potential for command - she was sharp, could think on her hooves and was cool in stressful situations, even if her combat skills needed some work. Mineral lacked skill, but she could follow directions well. This team is pretty good... I need to pay attention to these two.

Ivory and Cast were a bit of a bit of a problem - Ivory was skilled, but she tended to prefer to work solo. Cast stuck with Ivory closely and refused to do anything that left him on his own. Ivory needs work, but has potential. Cast should be relegated to non-combat roles that keep him out of personal danger.

Steady Trot and Quick Clip weren't that bad, but they needed work still. They were a good pair and worked together well, but they panicked quickly when things got intense. They need a lot of work, but they might have potential.

Platinum and Nimble were excellent fighters, even in close quarters, the opposite of their specialty of designated marksponies. I wonder what went on during the caravan run...

The blufor eventually won, numbers over skill. They could have done so much faster if Cast had simply followed orders and stayed down when told to rather than throwing himself into the redfor to keep them from following Ivory. Sweet, but stupid. That's the sort of decision that would fail a mission and get everypony killed...

The redfor's mistake was that they'd moved to chase the blufor instead of defending. That had been a plan devised by Crescent, and it had worked.

"And... done! Blufor wins." I trotted over to the ledge where the objective had been. "Good job, everypony." I leaned over the railing, which creaked precariously, and I took a step back away from it. "Quick thinking there, Crescent. Well done, Ivory." I glanced to Ivory, holding up the objective with a pleased grin. "Debriefing time." I glanced down to my Pipbuck. "Ah! If you'll excuse me, something came up. Pumpkin will be leading the debriefing." I looked to Pumpkin, and she saluted.

Range had left me a message, informing me that another meeting would be at 1000. I entered Conference Room Two at 1003. The seven ponies of the Leading Council sat arrayed along one side of the table. Councilor Hex frowned and looked to her Pipbuck in disapproval. The Overmare smiled to me from the head of the table. Range gave me an uncharacteristically worried look. Oh, good. Amber glanced from his Pipbuck, to me, to Councilor Rose. Hrm... this looks familiar.

"Captain Firefly. So nice of you to join us." Range rolled her eyes while Councilor Rose was focused on me. "We are discussing the safety of the entire Stable, and you're unable to even make the effort to arrive on time?"

Lovely way to start the meeting. "Training the Stable's defenders is a little more important than arriving on time for a meeting, Councilor." I trotted over to my seat between Range and Amber.

Range cleared her throat quietly, and all eyes turned to her. "So, Councilor, could you remind us of why summoned us here?"

Councilor Rose looked to me, ignoring Range. "The Council has reviewed your operational reports, and we have a few... reservations."

Huh? "I was under the impression we had unanimously agreed that Operation Baltimare was necessary during our last meeting?"

Councilor Rose gave me a feral smile that for some reason, made me shiver. "Not the mission, Captain. The pony leading the mission."

"I'm sorry, what?" The hell?

Councilor Hex spoke up, glancing down to her Pipbuck for a merest moment. "Could you explain the series of decisions that lead to entering the sewers and encountering the, ah, 'cannibal pseudo-ferals', as Doctor Mend put it." I don't like how she said Cerulean's name....

"Trooper Blitz, the team's scout, suggested it. At that time, there was no intel to suggest that the sewers would be occupied. It seemed to be the most reasonable plan at the time." Idiot.

"Mmm." Councilor Hex narrowed her eyes at me, letting out a skeptical sound. "What about the battle at the Stadium? Can you justify hiding while sending Team Two out to kill your attackers?"

One of the few things that went as expected last week. "That's basic infantry tactics, Councilor. Team One drew their fire so that Team Two could flank and ambush the attackers, as they did successfully." Coward.

"Ah, very well, Captain." I levitated a glass of water over. "Would you like to explain what happened at the Crimson Raiders main base?"

"Which part are you referring to, specifically?" I don't like where this is going....

"Well, Doctor Mend's report... mentioned that you, and I quote..." Councilor Hex looked to her Pipbuck. "Killed two of Crimson's guards while escaping from his presence. Is that true?"

"We were being held at gunpoint." Liar. "I felt that the use of deadly force was justified." Murderer.

"Lieutenant Dash's report states that you and Crimson were in the middle of a..." She paused momentarily as she scrolled through her Pipbuck. "'cordial, yet somewhat terse conversation, when you sucker bucked him in the face'."

As Councilor Hex droned on, I imagined drawing my IF-21, flicking the safety off and triggering SATS, firing three rounds into her pretty, manicured face, one each into her eyes, and then a third, right where her horn would meet her head, if she were a unicorn.

...

I can't do that. I glanced down momentarily. I don't have my pistol. Range wouldn't approve. Nor would Dashie. "Captain?" That would be wrong, anyways.

Ah, this is where I respond, isn't it. "Given the circumstances, I felt that our mission required us to get away from Crimson. As I mentioned earlier, they were holding us at gunpoint."

Councilor Sheets raised a hoof. "Question, Captain - you felt that abandoning half of your team to continue the mission was an acceptable solution?"

Fuck off, civie. "There are times where hard decisions must be made, Councilor."

"Mhmmm." I didn't like Councilor Rose's expression of smug satisfaction as she glanced to the rest of the Council. They nodded or otherwise agreed with her, and she continued. "The Council has some reservations about your capabilities." Yes, you said that earlier. "As such, we recommend that Captain Firefly be suspended until a psychiatric evaluation states she is fit for duty." No. Councilor Rose looked to Overmare Keeper, who had a thoughtful expression.

After a long moment of deliberation, she looked to me. "What do you have to say in your defense, Captain?"

Hrm. "Relieving me of duty does leave the Stable without a field commander."

"There is Colonel Range, of course." Councilor Hex spoke up. "I believe the Colonel has performed that job previously." She glanced to Range with a look bordering on smugness.

Range narrowed her eyes. "Forcing me to manage both positions' duties would put an undue burden on me personally and Security as a whole."

Councilor Sheets looked up from her Pipbuck. "In that case, would it be possible for Lieutenant Dash to cover for Captain Firefly?"

On one hoof, tell the Council no and suggest that Dashie is incompetent. On the other hoof, tell the Council yes and suggest that Dashie can replace me. Ugh... "I don't feel Lieutenant Dash is up for taking on the full responsibilities of the Chief of Field Operations." I sipped my water. "However, in the short term, he should be capable of performing my duties..."

The Overmare nodded slowly. "I'm afraid I must agree that the Council's argument is convincing." No... "As such, I have to second the Council's motion." No! "Meeting adjourned." The Council rose to their hooves and left, some smirking, some sympathetic. I ignored them, sipping my water.

"Firefly?" I glanced to Range as she spoke to me, concern etched across her scarred features. "You okay?"

I smiled. "I'll be fine, Range." I rose to my hooves and stretched. "If you'll excuse me..." I trotted out of the room.

I've lost it.

I've lost my job. I was halfway to Security when I started sweating. My life is over. Did it get cold in here or something? I looked at the floor. Suddenly my stomach flipped itself over. Oh crap. I think I'm gonna throw up...

I ducked into an empty room and found myself on the floor. Can't breathe... I curled up on my side. Shit. I lost my job. It's gone. I think I whimpered. I've lost my job, my life is over.

I pressed my hooves against my chest, trying to slow my heart, but... my vision turned blurry, and after a moment, I realized I was crying. I can't help the wasteland anymore.

I don't know how long I laid there. Eventually I was able to... think. Kind of, I think? I got up and started moving, just... anywhere.

I don't even know how long it was, but eventually I found myself in a toilet, staring at myself in the mirror. What just happened. I just got fired!

No! I didn't get fired. I just got suspended.

I just need to talk to the shrink and prove I'm sane. How hard could that be?

...

Fuck. Today has just been hell.

No, this morning went pretty well.

The lights flickered, and I glanced up. Wait. Did I just imagine that? They flickered again. Oh. I did not.

Huh. That's unusual... I wonder.

The lights flickered a third time, and then normalized. Well then. Somepony entered the toilets, and I nodded to her. "Excuse me, miss...." I rose to my hooves and trotted out.

A couple of questions directed me to the apple orchards, where most of the food for the Stable was grown, and I found my prey with his head bowed by the memorial of Captain Amaranth Thunder, my prewar ancestor.

"Hello, Firefly. What can I do for you?" Cyclone rose to his hooves as I trotted next to him.

I bowed to the memorial, spending a moment in silence before I looked to Cyclone. "How has your stay at Stable 30 been?"

He took a long moment to answer. "It has been... interesting. Your Medical and Arcane Sciences ponies haven't stopped poking me, trying to figure out how I'm still alive. I'd like an answer for that, too, but they're not telling me anything I don't already know. Your Security ponies have either spent their time bowing and scraping to me, or expecting me to rip their throats out. Zebras who don't shun me on sight is a pleasant twist, though." He stretched, groaning. "Like I said, it's been interesting." He turned to me.

"Tell me what he was like." I nodded to the sign marking where my ancestor was buried. "Amaranth, I mean." I groaned and laid down. Maybe this will be a good way to relax after... that.

He frowned for a moment, looking back, then grinned. "Have you ever heard of Wingboner Magazine?"

... I don't know if I like where this is going. "Yes."

"Before the war, he was a model."

"A... model? For Wingboner Magazine?"

"Yes."

"By which you mean he was a porn star, right?"

"Yeah, he did gay for pay. More of a side hobby than anything, really. Mostly he preferred clothing. He did some work with the head of the Ministry of Image, before..." He sighed, a mournful look crossing his face as he laid down. "Everything."

"So I'm the great-great granddaughter of a porn star?" I rolled over onto my back and snickered, rubbing my back against the grass. Wow.

"Don't make such a big deal of it, it was just a job for him." He rolled over onto his back, glancing to me. "You know, your Stable reminds me of what it was like back then, in some ways." I glanced over to him. "And in some cases, it's nothing like it." He gestured to the ceiling. "Children of the sky, living under steel and concrete? It's just... wrong. Blasphemous."

"That does make sense, I suppose." I yawned. "I have had one hell of a day..." I glanced to my Pipbuck. "And it's not even midday."

"You wanna talk about it?" Cyclone glanced over.

Maybe. "Thank you for the offer..." I probably should... "I'll pass, though."

"You'll probably feel better if you talk to someone about it. It's not healthy hiding those emotions, you know."

"That's probably true. Well!" I crawled to my hooves. "I should go. Got work to do, you know." I heard Cyclone sigh as I trotted off.

The next six hours consisted of work I really should have made Dashie or someone else do. Yet I needed something to keep my mind off of.. It. Eventually I realized I had nothing left to do, trotted out to the cafe and sprawled out in my corner seat. It was a couple of hours before most ponies on the day cycle ate their late meal, so the cafe was empty.

"Hiya, 'Fly." Aura Cinnamon approached my table. Aura was my ex coltfriend, a cute brown earth pony with a beige and yellow-orange striped mane. Nice colt, cute flanks. Socially awkward. Kind of counter-productive for a food server, I guess, but whatever.

"Hi, Aura." I smiled to him.

"I recognize that look." He frowned, looking to me with concern. "You don't look so good."

I glared at him. "Gee, thanks." Asshole.

"I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's you just..." He paused. "... You've looked hotter?"

I groaned. "How are you?"

He smiled nervously and settled down next to me. "I'd offer to help you with that stress, but, um..." He took on an apologetic look. "I broke up with you, so..." You didn't break up with me, we agreed it wouldn't work out!

"I thought we'd agreed to just forget that ever happened." Why did I ever date this guy, he's so fucking awkward.

He winced. "Kind of hard to forget your, um, first..." Yep, awkward in conversation, awkward in bed.

I covered my ears, resting my head on the table. "This is not a discussion I'm having right now! We dated, we fucked, we decided we weren't right for each other, please drop it." He is cute, though. That's probably why I dated him.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Simply remembering that awkward night made me aroused. "I didn't mean it like that..."

Argh! I bolted up as he hopelessly babbled on. I stuffed one hoof in his mouth, wrapped my other around his neck and leaned over to hiss in his ear. "Would you kindly, please shut the fuck up!"

He shut up - good - and stared at me in shock, mouth open. Even better! "Are, um..." He looked to me in concern. "Are you feeling okay, 'Fly?"

Am I okay?! Of cour- I stopped mid-thought. I just snapped at him and told him to shut the fuck up, and his only thought is concern about me? Celestia damn it.

He leaned over to rest a hoof against my shoulder. "One of 'those' days, huh?" Oh. This is probably why I dated him...

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "I... am sorry. I shouldn't have barked at you like that." I closed my eyes, took another deep breath, opened my eyes and gave him a friendly smile. "Let's have a drink, to being single? For old times sake?" I levitated out some bits and laid them out on the table in front of him.

"That sounds great." He grinned and trotted off with my bits, returning with a pair of Sparkle-Colas.

I smirked and used my magic to open and cool the drinks. "Enjoy." I neatly tucked both caps away.

"Hey, that's my line." He snickered as he took his. "To being single?" He held his bottle up.

I spent a moment enjoying the smell of the delicious, carroty drink before I gently clinked my bottle against his. "To being single!"

I trotted into the Security station, passing Cerulean exiting Hot Range's office. He smirked in my direction and held up a bottle of cider. I nodded to him and stepped inside.

"... Celestia damn it, Mend." Range was leaning back in her chair, a half empty Sparkle-Cola bottle held in her magic.

I smirked. "... drinking on duty, Colo-?"

"Don't even." She sat up and cut me off with a glare. "Tell me the shrink says you're cleared for duty."

Uh. "No, ma'am."

She sighed. "Please tell me the shrink has not said you're batshit crazy."

Well, she hasn't... "I... have not seen the shrink yet."

"Then what the hell are you doing here?"

"I was... wondering about my parents."

"Oh. Alright then." Range finished her bottle and set it aside. "Sure, why not. Have a seat." She leaned back and levitated out another bottle and a pair of tumblers. "You drink?"

Huh? "No, not usually, ma'am." I settled down on the chair opposite her.

"Oh please, Fi, drop the titles. Right now, we're friends, not colleagues." She popped the top off of the bottle and poured us drinks. "Today's not a normal day." She set one in front of me. "Have a drink, you deserve it." As she set my drink down, she pulled an IF-21 magazine towards herself protectively, glanced to her glass and set the magazine back where it had been sitting. What was that all about? "So! What do you want to know about your parents?"

"Why did my mother marry ..." I paused. What should I call him? Father? Captain Nimbus? No. "... Crimson?"

"Right to the point, huh?" Range groaned. "That is a question I have spent a long time thinking about. And you know what?" She threw her hooves in the air. "I still have no fucking clue! He told her he didn't love her, before they married."

"He, what...?" I sipped my drink. Hrm... It was sweet and burned as it went down, but not offensively sweet. Overall, acceptable. Something I might see myself perhaps even enjoying in the future. "What is this?" I looked over to the bottle.

"Yeah... My thoughts exactly." Range held the bottle up and glanced to it. "Captain Lyra's Spiced Rum." I could have read the damn label myself, Range. "Mmmm..." She sipped her drink, eyes closed, head bobbing from side to side gently to music only she could hear for a long moment. "Pretty sure it's a post-war bottle. It's rum, so it's not bad, but it's not two hundred year old rum." She groaned again as she leaned back. "One of the few good things to come out of opening the Door." Huh?

Range shrugged and set the bottle aside. "So! Back to your question." She leaned forward and glanced back to me. "I told Saph not to marry him. Mend told her not to. Fuckin' Crimson told her not to do it, in his indirect, silver tongued way. Aimpoint would have told her not to, if she'd still been around. And Saph went through with it anyways."

"But... why? Why would she marry someone who admits he doesn't love her?"

"Your mother..." She stopped mid-sentence with a frown. "Your mother is a great mare." I declined to comment, but I think my expression said everything I would have said anyways. "Look, I know you're pissed at her, but..." She stopped, a frown creasing her brows, before starting again. "She was a great mare. She's my best friend, but..." She sighed. "She's not really a... strong willed mare. She's been going through some hard times."

"Twenty five years of hard times?" I realized I was furious, and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Calm, Firefly. Calm.

"Her twin brother and husband," she paused for a merest moment at that, "left the Stable to neutralize a raider group and never returned. She... loved both of them deeply." Range paused and I opened my eyes, several expressions crossing her face before settling on tired sadness as her shoulders slumped. "And then Overmare Lily convinced her that alcohol was the solution." She sipped her drink, waving a hoof. "It can't be conclusively proven, of course. Even attempting to do so would be a waste of time. Mend, Overmare Keeper, myself, all of us have tried to help her."

"Obviously, you haven't done a very good job of it."

"Come on, Fi." She frowned at me. "You can't help somepony who doesn't want to be helped."

"I suppose that's true..." I sighed. "I'm getting the feeling that Overmare Lily... wasn't a nice pony." Captain Obvious strikes again.

"No." Range's cool blue eyes hardened and took on a distant look. "She wasn't."

"She tricked... Crimson... into killing his partner, didn't she?" I finished my first drink.

Range winced. "Celestia damn it, Mend." She refilled my drink. "Nope!"

Huh? "But Cerulean said..."

Range cut me off with a smirk. "Oh no, that twisted little bitch totally manipulated Crimson into killing Aimpoint." She leaned forward and shook her head. "But, nope, we are not discussing that tonight! Ask me some other day, maybe."

"That bad?"

"Fi, the Overmare willfully manipulated two Security ponies into killing each other, and almost succeeded in killing your father." Range sipped her drink as she leaned back. "Think about that for a minute."

"Oh. ... Yeah...."

She let out an immense belch. "Some secrets should stay secrets." She wiped her chin on her hoof.

"Classy, Range. Very classy." I smirked at her as I sipped my drink.

Rather than glaring at me or chuckling, like I expected, she leaned forward and set her drink down, staring at me with a thoughtful look, head cocked slightly.

"Sup, boss?" I looked to her curiously. Should I be worried?

"... You are Crimson's daughter." She picked her drink back up and leaned back.

Huh? "Yes?"

"Just being reminded that you are Crimson's kid, that's all. Same mannerisms, same irritatingly smug tone. Same obnoxious smirk."

"Unusually big words for you, Range." She glowered at my grin. "... I don't know if that was a compliment or not."

"Hey!" I jumped at her sudden bark. "You're a junior officer again, so I could charge you with insubordination for that."

"Aww, you wouldn't do that to your little filly..." I grinned at her, tilting my head cutely.

"Don't do that." Range frowned at me. "You know I don't like kids. Raising you was a favor for Saph, nothing more."

"Oh come on, I'm not a kid anymore! I'm twenty five. That's like, ancient!"

"No, you're not a kid anymore." She snickered and sipped her drink. "This is why I like you."

"Aw, mare, that's just cold." I grinned and sipped my drink. "Soo... tell me about Aimpoint. What was she like?" If I ask Range about her, perhaps how she died will come up again...

Range grinned fondly as she glanced to the ceiling. "Aimpoint was... you'd like her. She was the ringleader of our gang, and she was a lot like you... clever, sarcastic, forward-thinking. Your mother was the hot, classy one. I was the muscle. Azure was the invisible one. Crimson..." She sighed. "Crimson was... Shit, what was Crimson?" She glanced back down to the bottle sitting on her desk. "Crimson was the lovestruck idiot, before Aimpoint's death. Charming bastard, but not that ambitious." She grinned happily. "Together, we could take on anything and emerge unscathed." She fell silent, chewing on her lip. "I think that might have been what Aimpoint was planning... It was her idea to help the wasteland, not Crimson's. When she died, he took up her cause."

"Wow..." I sipped my drink. "So... what happened between you and Crimson?" I, too, like to live dangerously. "You get so... tense, when he comes up in conversation."

An expression of pain crossed her muzzle, replaced immediately by cold rage. Oops. Already committed. "He... tried to coerce me to have sex with him, a couple of weeks after you were born."

"Oh..."

"He... we were drunk." She paused, emotions crossing her face rapidly. "I... never talked to him again." Her quiet fury mellowed to an idle anger, and she sipped her drink again. "I was hoping he'd really died when he left the Stable. He dies a hero. I never have to see him again. Everypony wins." She ran her hoof along the rim of her not-quite empty glass.

We sat there in silence for a minute or two before Range continued. "You know, I thought about it."

"What?" Huh? "It?"

"Fucking your father." I blinked. Um... ew. "Yeah. I know."

"That would explain your strict adherence to policy 47c?" She nodded distractedly, refilling her drink. "In my defense, Range, we kind of... stumbled into Crimson's territory, instead of tracking him down."

She nodded tightly. "Mend's report said as much." She considered, sipping her drink. "Not that really mattered, you're fuckin' tenacious when you set your mind to something." She tossed the bottle's cap onto her desk. "Plus, if he's as big of a player as we think, you would have crossed paths with him anyways."

I nodded. Wait, was that a compliment or not? I decided to let it slip unacknowledged. "You didn't mention Cerulean when you talked about your old friends." I sipped my drink. "Weren't you and Cerulean friends?"

She closed her eyes again, a confused look crossing her face. "We... hung out together. Actually..." She shook her head seriously. "No. We weren't friends."

"Oh. Poor Cerulean..." I frowned sympathetically.

"Not really." I glanced to Range at her deadpan continuation. "Surely you've noticed this, but Mend is a huge asshole."

"Huh, I hadn't noticed." I rubbed my cheek where he'd bucked me as Range continued, snickering. "I dunno, he wasn't that bad..." Yes he was.

"Friendly words for the stallion who advised the Council on your 'medical leave'."

"That backstabbing motherfucker!" Arrggghhhh!

"Yes..." Range paused, a slow, evil smirk crossing her face. "Now that you mention it, I do believe Mend and Saph did fuck a couple of times."

... "Tirek with a tire iron, Range! Ew! My mother's sex life is one of those things that 'anything I know about it' is 'way too much'!" I considered that for a moment longer than I really wanted to - approximately one and a half moments - then finished my drink with a shiver.

"Honestly?" Range grinned to me. "Mend's report was a lot less damning than Dash's." Her grin faded to an amused smirk. "We hung out together, but nopony really liked him." She leaned back and sipped her drink. "He was an obnoxious know-it-all with an overblown ego and a thing for Saph. Brilliant, but fucking obnoxious." She paused, chuckling. "Heh. I'm comparing Crimson in a positive light to Mend. See what I mean?" She paused as she thought back. "Aimpoint liked him, though, and we respected Aimpoint, so we tolerated him." She leaned forward again. "Maybe I should be nicer to him. Somepony should, after all..." Range fell silent again, refilling her glass. "So, how's your uncle?"

Huh? Oh. Ohhhh. "Azure?" She nodded. I considered for a long moment, before simply shrugging. "I dunno. We didn't really get a chance to chat." I paused. "You know, before I bucked Crimson and ran off." I winced. "He's still alive, so I guess there's that."

"Heh." Range grinned. "Yeah. Your father has that effect on ponies." She sighed. "It's a shame you never got to meet him, back before... all of that." Her grin returned. "Saph and Azure were inseparable as kids, caused all kinds of chaos. Everypony paid attention to Saph, and Azure hid in the background, watching everything. Sneaky bastard liked it that way, I think."

"Wow..." I may have wobbled a little as I set my second drink down.

Range looked to me closely, before grunting and levitated out a flask. "Here, drink this."

"... What is it?" I looked into the flask skeptically, swirling it around. Yep, it's full. But of what...

"It's water, you idiot."

I took a sip. Hey, what do you know. It is water!

"You've never gone drinking before, have you?" I nodded. "Right. You're drunk. Drink that." She gestured to the flask. "Go back to your quarters and go to sleep. Do not go anywhere else. Do not talk to anypony else. Tell Saph I said hi."

I giggled. "Sure thing ma'am..." When did I start giggling?

Range groaned and went to her Pipbuck. "Colonel Range to Security, I need a team in my office to escort an intoxicated civilian back to her quarters."

"Boo, you spoilsport..." I stuck my tongue out at her.

A few minutes later, two ponies entered Range's office and saluted. Oh, it was Silver and Striker. Hi ponies!

"Good, you're here." Range looked to me. "Escort her back to her quarters. Keep it low key." They nodded and turned, letting me lead. Uh huh. "Go get some sleep, Firefly."

Oh, well, if you insist... I sighed loudly and trotted out of Security, head high. Okay, so I may have staggered a little, but you know, unicorns aren't known for their agility, right?

"So... Captain?" I noted a hint of uncertain interrogative slipped into Striker's voice as he addressed me. "You're a civilian now?"

"It's only temporary!" I waved a hoof, grinning at them.

They shared a look. "Temporary?"

"Long story. Council doesn't like me so they took away my stripes." I grinned. "Like I said, temporary!" We passed a toilet and I stopped. "Hey, I gotta use the filly's room, you don't mind, right, colts?"

They stopped, turned and came back to me. "Colonel Range was very specific about taking you back to your quarters..."

"Well, I gotta pee, and I really don't want to pee in my quarters. You don't want to make Maintenance's job harder, right?" I let out a small whimper for added effect.

"Okay, okay, fine..." They shared another look.

I giggled - when did I start giggling, again? - and went into the toilet. Toilets... toilets are great. ... Wow. I'm babbling about toilets. How drunk AM I? I only had... two? two drinks. Okay, so I'm... not a heavy drinker. No more than two drinks in an hour. I'm not my mother.

...

Huh. I'm not my mother. I slumped against the sink, looking at my reflection in the mirror. "So what the hell am I?" A drunk unicorn mare, talking to herself in a toilet. Red coat. Blue mane, boring ponytail. Standard Security barding. She stared back at me, mirroring my every move. "Ugh!" I pulled the ties out of my hair and shook it out. Hey, I kind like it long and loose. I grinned, running my magic through my mane a few times. Maybe I should be a mane stylist. I could have lived a boring, safe, productive life as a mane stylist!

...

"Nah! Couldn't save the wasteland as a mane stylist!" I grinned at my reflection - she grinned back with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes - as I finished with my mane, pulling it into a loose ponytail that flowed around the sides of my face and ears. There we go.

Hrm...

I glanced down at my barding. Boring Stable Security underarmor barding. "Fuck it. Already committed!" I unzipped my barding, stepped out of it and poked my head outside of the toilets.

Silver and Striker were arguing. "Unicorns are drama queens."

"Yeah, but they're hot. Seriously, tell me you wouldn't rut Book Keeper if she wanted it."

"But they're massive drama queens." Striker paused, considering that. "Okay, okay, no strings attached? I might. She's got some nice flanks. But a relationship? No friggin' way." Classy conversation, colts.

My escorts suitably distracted, I trotted down the hall the way we'd come, taking the first corner. Ha ha, that was a lot easier than I'd expected. Concerning. I'll have to deal with that later. Now... where to. I glanced at my Pipbuck, browsing through events. Surely there had to be something going on... Hey, there's a club down in the maintenance level. Perfect!

I caught a few glances as I trotted through the Stable. I think somepony may have even recognized me! Wow, this feels great. Nudity wasn't illegal, it was just... uncommon. Not many ponies walked around outside of their Stable suits. Between my Security barding, the regular Stable suit and my birthday suit? I gotta admit I enjoyed my birthday suit more than the regular Stable suit. I should do this more often.

As I made it to the door, some part of my mind asked me if this was a good idea. Is it a good idea? Nope! I trotted through the door. Is it too late to back out? Yep!

Oh yeah, I'd been here once. Security patrol. Soo... here I am. Fun place. I stepped off to the side, by the door, watching the room. Nopony recognized me, or if they did, nopony showed it. Huh.

...

That's it. That's the secret of life. Nopony gives a fuck. "Uh, miss? Are you okay?" A colt looked to me with a concerned look. I guess I'd been staring too long. "You sure you're old enough to be here?" Huh? That's... a compliment. I think?

I flashed him a brilliant smile. "I am absolutely... fucking... wonderful! You wanna dance?" He looked to me, confused, and I grabbed his hoof, pulling him onto the dance floor. "For your information, I am twenty five!"

That's the secret to life. Nopony gives a fuck!

Tuesday
2005

Bang!

What was that? I hurried for the quarters it had come from and barged through the door. It's Firefly's quarters.

"What the HELL is going on here?" Firefly was backed against the wall, her mother advancing on her. A shelf was knocked over, an assortment of dusty bottles scattered across the floor.

"Oh, um, nothing." Firefly grinned. Her 'I'm a bad liar' grin. "Nothin' at all." I smelled alcohol, though I couldn't identify it. It didn't smell like the cider Mrs. Aurora normally drank. If anything, it reminded me of Colonel Range.

I narrowed my eyes at her, then turned to the other mare in the room. "Ma'am?" Mrs. Aurora looked to be on the verge of crying.

She suddenly burst into tears. "I'm sorry!" Huh? Oh. She's looking at Firefly, who had an... expression. I recognized that expression. She was looking for an exit. I glared at her and shook my head sternly. No. You don't get to run from this. Her mother continued apologizing before dissolving into wet sobs.

"You stay there." I glared at Firefly again. "Don't fucking move."

She winced and curled up on the floor. "Yes, sir..." When did she start calling ponies 'sir'?

I could get used to that... "Dash to Security."

"Sir?" The dispatcher responded quickly.

"I have a domestic dispute in living quarters Three Alpha, room five. Scene is safe."

"Sending you backup now, sir. ETA, three minutes."

Colonel Range broke in before I could acknowledge. "Firefly?"

"Yes ma'am. She seems to have gotten into an... altercation.. with her mother."

"I told her to go to her quarters."

"Ma'am?"

"Nothing." Colonel Range spoke curtly. "Keep her there. I'm coming down." Oh Fi, what did you do.

"Yes, ma'am." I turned my attention to Firefly. "Colonel Range is coming." She whimpered and rose to her hooves, a wince crossing her face as she looked down at her side. "You okay?" She nodded shortly and I sat down by the door, watching the two.

A few minutes later, Colonel Range stormed inside, barely through the door before she was bellowing. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU TO DO, FIREFLY." I rose to my hooves and stepped away from the door, canceling the salute I'd started into.

Firefly looked away, mumbling into the floor. "Go back to my quarters and tell my mother you said hi."

"And what did you do?" Oh, Firefly...

"I... took a... long detour back to my quarters." Nice try. She stopped speaking for a moment, before her voice spiked in pitch and volume. "AND THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING WENT WRONG! I talked to my mother, like you asked me to. And then she attacked me!" Colonel Range looked to Firefly, then to Mrs. Aurora for a long moment, curled up on the floor, still sobbing.

Colonel Range looked to Mrs. Aurora. "Why did she attack you, Firefly?" Her expression softened and she trotted over to Firefly's mother, nuzzling her gently.

"I, um..." Colonel Range frowned as Firefly spoke. "I suggested you were a better mother than she was?" Colonel Range groaned. I had to agree with her assessment... "I just had some fun, anyways. Nopony got hurt, what's wrong with that?"

"You're right..." Colonel Range trailed off. "Holy shit." What? "What happened, and when did I get old and responsible and boring?" What in...?

I just stared at the absurdity of the scene. Three mature, responsible unicorn mares, freaking out. Two of these mares, plus the Overmare, are all that's between me and being in control of the entire Stable... the things I do for love.

Silver and Striker entered her quarters and stopped in the doorway. "There was a, um, domestic dispute here, sir?"

I looked to them, smirking lightly and speaking slowly. "Let me guess - you're looking for Firefly. Right?" Striker nodded. "No, I don't know what's going on here."

Silver glanced around. "Okay, Striker, you win. Unicorns are drama queens." I simply shook my head in disgust.

Wednesday Morning

I awoke to the sound of grunting. I realized I was lying down, tied to a bed, legs spread. Huh? And then I realized I was being ... pounded from behind by someone. I'm tied to a bed, and having sex with someone.

I looked around, and saw Range. I felt my cheeks heat up. "Uh... Hi, Range?" She simply smirked at me slyly. The pony beside her drew my eye. My mother. Former Colonel Sapphire Aurora. "Um, hello, Mother..." She just smirked at me, too. One of those infuriating smirks that suggested she knew something I didn't. Pumpkin and Cerulean flanked Range, both smirking.

The pony beside my mother was an indigo unicorn, with a purple mane, with a braided blue streak. The raider from the zebra settlement. "I killed you..."

"Or did you?" She chuckled. "Apparently not." A large unicorn in a hoofball helmet stood behind her. Their companions stood behind them, all with that Celestia damned smirk.

Beside them, stood a group of ponies, a unicorn mare brandishing a damaged sniper rifle, dressed in barding that looked like it had been made of... clipboards? What? Behind her sat an earth pony with one leg. A M3000 rested on his one leg, and a Stable helmet sat on his head. He laughed, and the bandages on his midsection stained red.

Range grimaced, and a line of blood trailed its way down from under her mane between her cold blue eyes, full of rage, directed at me. This is all your fault.

Pumpkin soundlessly whimpered and disintegrated into glowing pink dust as she stared at me with her big, purple eyes. Why, Captain, why? Why would you do this?

Cerulean glared at me as he collapsed, blood oozing from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth, eyes yellowed, patches of his coat falling out. You and your Sombra-damned father...

"This is the fate these ponies will suffer if what you are trying fails."

My attention was drawn back to myself as the pony atop me bit into my mane and groaned, a long, low, pleasured sound. I think I whimpered in response. I felt him throbbing inside me, filling me with warmth, making me sick to my stomach and flooding me with pleasure everywhere else. I closed my eyes and the sound of my heartbeat drowned out everything but the feeling of sweat trailing down my flanks and between my hind legs...

"Oh, Firefly..." Dashie nuzzled his cheek against mine.

...

!!!

I screamed.

And suddenly, I was falling....

Author's Notes:

Oh... my.

So, it's been four months since anything new for StSc has been posted, and almost six since a new chapter went live.

But StSc is not dead!

Originally chapter 9 was supposed to be one big Stable chapter, but some reflection lead to me realizing, "shit, this is way too big", so I split into 9 and 10. That said, the first draft of 10 is complete. It just needs editing and it's good to go - plans are for it to be posted by Bcon 2016 Baltimore.

So. Enjoy.