"War... War never changes."

"Come on, Vanilla Cream. Just think. Think!" I said to myself.

I grunted in frustration and slammed my hooves into the worktable in front of me. Things were definitely not going my way today. First, one of the generators broke down, so I had to take apart one of the Stable jukeboxes in order to get enough materials to fix it. Now our water purification machine has broke down. We would have enough water to last us two weeks, but the water left behind will mix with the new intake, and soon enough, we'll be drinking irradiated water.

"Fuck it!" I shouted out loud. That smoky gray cloud created by my unicorn magic surrounded one of the sheets of metal in front of me, and I chucked it across the room. It let out a violently loud clang as it hit the lead wall of Stable 81.

"Just calm down, Vanilla Cream. You can think of a way to get through this. Come on. It's not that bad. There's a number of ways you can find a solution to this. You just need to find a strong, durable metal that can take a lot of stress, and use it to fix the water purifier."

I looked towards the wall I just threw the sheet of metal against. I then smiled as it came to me. "Lead. Perfect." Then I frowned, and banged my head against the table.

"Nope. Can't use Stable walls, Vanil. They're important to the foundation. And if I take those walls apart, I'll be exposing the Stable to some unneeded dirt." And based off of off how the upper residents react to dirt; they won't be needing any of that. No need to cause undue alarm.

My Pip-buck suddenly lit up, and a message sent by my little sister appeared on the screen. I smiled, and warmth spread through my body as I read her message.

Hey, Vanil. Maintenance from the third floor is sending some spare metal up your way. They hope it can help a little bit with repairing the purifier. And guess who gets to take the shipment to you. That's right; Me! I may be spending a little time up there with you, just to visit. See you soon.

~Butterscotch Candy

I turned my Pip-buck off, and stared at my face in the tiny reflective screen. Goddesses, Butterscotch got lucky in ways of looks. She had beautiful golden hair that stayed neat even when she didn't brush it, and her coat was a beautiful crystal white. Not to mention her eyes were the same blue-green as the Stable pool. Meanwhile, I had a coat the color of melted butter, and my long white mane was straight, until you got to the bottom, where it ended in knots and split ends. The only thing I had going for me were my smoky gray eyes.

Oh, and then there was my back.

When I was younger, before I even had my cutie mark, I used to help my dad with his work. He had the same job as me, first floor maintenance, programming, and repair. One day he built a very special machine, one I helped him with personally. A double Pylon machine that generates its own electricity using the electrical energy in the air.

We made the mistake of not containing it.

I suppose it was both of our faults really. One day, when we turned it on to test it, it exploded. And the explosion killed my dad instantly. And it took part of my spine with him.

To be perfectly honest, I believe I should have died that day. Even the docs said so. They agreed that I was "One lucky mare." After the explosion I was in a coma in the med bay for a month, or so they say. While I was in the coma one of my dad's friends, Fix Ser, built me a mechanical spine, as well as metal plate covering for the flesh missing on my back. And when I came to I was completely paralyzed. I was barely able to speak even. Then Fix Ser put the spine in... or if you want to get technical, installed it into me. Within a month after that, function fully returned to my body. I could walk again. Talk again.

Instead of absolutely trashing the pylon, like the Overmare wanted, I worked on it. And made it better, and safer. One year’s time passed, and I finished it. And found a cutie mark with a microchip on my rump. Since then, I've done a lot of things for both the Stable and myself. I even upgraded my back to where I could add attachments. Those took a while to make. But, what is probably my biggest project ever, is what is currently attached to my back right now. A pair of metallic Pegasus wings, made of carbon. And they work too.

And the only reason they work, is because of the goal of Stable 81. We combined earth pony engineering with unicorn magic, to create machines that shouldn't theoretically be possible.

Problem is, that I don't think Stable tech planned ahead. They didn't give us enough spare metal to last 200 years. In fact, from what I've heard, they didn't even give us enough to last 20 years.

And that's how I'm in the situation I'm in now with the purifier. Not enough spare metal in the Stable to go around.

I, once again, grunted in frustration. Negativity was the last thing I needed right now. And my dear sister was about to visit me. I couldn't afford to be so disgruntled. Then there was a knock at the door.

Ah, speak of Luna, and she shall appear.

"Who is it?"

"We have a package for a Ms. Cream. Two hundred fifty pounds of spare metal, assorted varieties." answered the sweet, soft, and lyrical voice of my sister.

"You know the door code. Come on in."

There was a moment's pause, before the door was pushed open, and Butterscotch walked in, with a rope in her mouth, dragging quite a large box in behind her.

Sometimes, I found it strange that my little sister was as strong as she is. She's too small to be holding all that strength. I had at least eight inches on her, and yet, I'm sure she would be strong enough to use her bare hooves to lift me up and throw me across the room. She could probably throw me farther than that, honestly.

Butterscotch was on the moving crew, which is a section of the Delivery department. And she is one of their best. Her cutie mark, in fact, was one of the very moving boxes we used here in the Stable.

"I swear, Butterscotch, for a unicorn you’re a pretty buff mare. Where do you get all that strength from?"

Butterscotch pulled the box into the room, before dropping the rope with a huff. She turned to me and said. "You know why. I can't quite get the hang of magic, so I'll do it the hard way instead."

"You should start a fight club. You'd probably be the best one there." I said as she gave a slight chuckle.

"Okay, Vanil. Let's not get crazy. You know I would never hurt anyone if I was given a choice.

I swear, sometimes my sister was too innocent for this world. She should have been born in a better, more peaceful, time.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true."

"Hey, Vanil. I haven't used my break yet. You want to hang out for a little bit?"

She had to ask that. She knew work was rough down here, and could tell I was close to ripping my hair out over this water chip. I looked down at the sheets of metal in front of me as frustration once again began bubbling to the surface. "Yeah. I think I could use a little break."

Butterscotch squealed in delight, and began jumping up and down in place.

"Okay, let me send a message to the Delivery Department to let them know I'm going on break. Then, I know where we can go."

"Really? Where is it?" I asked as Butterscotch powered up her Pip-buck and began to type in a message.

"It's this new food shop down on the third floor. They're really good at preparing their dishes. I delivered for them once, and they gave me some free samples."

Butterscotch's job may have been lower than mine, according to Stable standards, but boy, did she get a lot of leniency. But at least I was my own boss, considering I was the only pony on first floor maintenance.

"Let me guess; You ate it on the clock?"

"You know me too well, Vanil. So, you ready now? My boss said I'm good to go."

I gave one last huff. Geez, this purifier situation really left me frustrated.

"Yeah. I can find a solution to this later."

"Yippee! Alright, let's get to it."

And with that, Butterscotch grabbed my tail with her teeth, and dragged me out of the room.

I practically spit out my water when I heard the news. "You're kidding? Fresh Gardens has a crush on you? Who'd you figure this out from?"

"Fresh Gardens." Butterscotch answered nonchalantly.

I paused for a moment. Man, I really needed to pay more attention to my sister's personal life. "Isn't Gardens a girl?"

"Yep. Which is why I'm going to have to say no. I want to find myself a strong man who can protect me. Preferably, someone who can beat me in a hoof wrestle."

Butterscotch and I both let out a chuckle at that. It's true, Butterscotch probably was the strongest pony among the top floors.

"Yeah, Gardens is out of the question. But..." Butterscotch leaned her head into her hooves, and started looking dreamily at the ceiling. "There is this one pony."

I couldn't help but smile. If she was happy, I was happy. "Looks like somepony's head over hooves about somepony else. Like, really bad"

"Yeah... his name is Copper Magnet."

Everyone knew Copper Magnet. He was, after all, the absolute hunkiest stallion in the Stable. And I'm sure that Butterscotch had never even met him before. Especially considering he lived down on the eighth floor.

"Now that's living in a fantasy, Butterscotch. He probably has other ponies in mind."

Yep, I received a frown from her for that. I thought I would.

"Yeah, well it's better than what you've got Vanil. You're what? Twenty five? You should be married by now."

"Well, I got special permission from the Overmare to stay single for a while."

"Well, maybe I'll get special permission from the Overmare to meet Copper Magnet. And then, I'll woo him with my words." She began. "And then, he'll agree to marry me. And then we'll have sex, and then have little foals, and then... yeah, you're right. I am living in a fantasy, aren't I?"

I took a few bites from my salad, before setting it to the side, and answering her.

"What'd I tell you? Now, My break is pretty much over. I'm going to go back to work."

Butterscotch looked down sadly. Goddesses, I hated it when she did that. It made me feel bad.

"Alright. See you in a few hours. Oh, hey wait!" Butterscotch knocked her chair over as she followed me out. "If you aren't able to fix the purifier, what'll happen?"

"Well, the Overmare will probably have everyone evacuate the Stable. It'll become impossible to live here if we aren't able to fix it."

"So, we'll have to leave, huh? I've never seen the Stable door open before. I wonder what it's like."

My eyes widened in excitement and realization. "The Stable door? The Stable door! That's it Butterscotch! Oh, that's it! Oh, you're a genius, Butterscotch, you're a genius!"

Butterscotch's slightly timid side of her personality caused her to shrink away from her excited sister. I couldn't blame her. I must have looked like someone in the psychiatric ward right now. "Vanil, what are you talking about?"

"The Stable has never been breached. Which means the door is incredibly strong. And durable. We can use the door to fix the purifier. Oh, it's genius!"

"But, Vanil, what if someone tries to leave?"

"We can just post guards at the front entrance, and keep anybody from getting out. Oh, thank you Butterscotch. You really helped me. Oh, I have to go talk to the Overmare about this. She'll need to hear about this."

Then, without a second's break from the end of my last sentence, I ran out of that little restaurant, leaving my sister standing there, looking incredibly confused.

"That's all we need to do, simple as that!" I quickly spurted in excitement. I landed on the Overmare's desk, finally putting an end to my bedazzling show. My wings needed to recharge anyway.

"Very good, Vanilla Cream. Now, repeat that again. From the beginning.

"Again?" I shrank down, just a little bit. I'd already told her three times, now I had to tell her a fourth?

"Vanilla, you're talking way too fast for me to understand what you're saying. You really need to calm down a little bit."

"Right right, right." I took a deep breath, and then climbed down from her desk.

Alright, Vanil. Calm, cool, collected. You just need to say this slowly, in a way she can understand, without fudging it up.

"We can use the Stable door to repair our purifier problem. We just need to remove the door from its hinge, and take bits and pieces off of it."

She raised an eyebrow. She was definitely considering it, but she had some questions.

"And, what will we do if we are raided? Without a door, the Stable will be left horribly open."

"We can post guards at the door and, install an alarm near it in case of a breach. Plus if you really don't trust it that much, we can have ponies go out and scout the horizon for threats."

The Overmare honestly looked surprised. "Vanilla Cream, you certainly planned ahead. I see all kinds of red alerts in this plan, and yet... it's probably the only chance we have if it's all you could think of. So, it seems, we'll have to go through with it."

I jumped up into the air, and began shouting as I flew circles around the Overmare's desk. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh! I promise nothing will go wrong, and we'll all be drinking non-stagnant water soon, Ms. Overmare!"

"Okay, Vanilla. I'm very glad to hear that."

"So," I began as I landed, once again ready to act like a civilized pony. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need some pretty heavy machinery, some explosives of some kind, and pretty much the entire moving crew."

The Overmare gave a slight huff, but other than that, she seemed fine. "Very well. Give me a few hours to get all the paperwork for this signed, and then you can start the project. Oh and Vanilla Cream, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You better hope to Celestia you are right about this."

I turned around and began to walk out of the office. "Don't worry ma'am. I have full faith in this plan."

I walked into my Stable assigned living space, threw my knapsack into the corner, and threw myself onto the couch. It was a busy day today. Not as busy as I was expecting it to be. Four hours of work, and all we did was open the Stable door and knock it off of its hinge. That part took a lot of work. Not to mention the noise it made as it hit the ground. If you thought the door opening was loud, try dropping it on the ground.

Butterscotch trotted into the room. I was assigned to live with her until either she got married, or I did. The former was most likely to happen though.

"Busy day at work, Vanil?"

"Yeah. It was pretty damn hard. Lucky you got off an hour before we started, so you didn't have to lift that heavy ass metal."

"Jeez. That bad, huh?"

"That bad's an understatement."

Butterscotch took a seat next to me on the couch. I'm glad she did that, too. She's a comforting pony to be around.

I used a little bit of magic to tickle her on the neck. She let out a little squeal of laughter.

"Stop it, Vanil! Hey... I made dinner a little bit ago using a recipe I got from the restaurant. And I haven't cooked in a while, so I'd like you to try it out"

I sat up, then climbed off the couch. "Aww, did you do this for me?"

"Of course. You're the only one I have around ever since mom passed away, and I want it to stay that way for as long as possible."

That's right. I keep forgetting mom passed away. A year ago. Cancer. Sometimes, it still feels likes she's somewhere in the Stable, still working her job. And sometimes, I come home expecting to eat her cooking.

"Yeah, Butterscotch. That sounds great. So, what exactly did you make?"

"Oh it's great. You'll love it." She said as she jumped down from the couch, and began to push me toward the dining area.

The sparks constantly flew into my visor as I welded the last little bit of metal into the purifier.

Igloo, my light blue earth pony associate from the second floor, was down at the bottom, holding the ladder into place. And, he was probably staring at my flank. Again. I'd already caught him twice today, why couldn't he just give it a rest?

"How's it going up there Vanilla?"

"I'm just about done." I let the metal melt into place a little bit more, before I turned the welder off, and pulled my visor up. "Alright, go ahead and turn this baby on, and we'll see if it works.

Igloo walked toward the control panel as I started to climb down the ladder. I heard him mutter under his breath as he walked toward the panel "I wish I could turn you on"

"What was that, Igloo?"

"I said: Let's get this sucker turned on."

He cranked up the machine, and put in the power code. The purifier let out a great roar of metal screeching.

I flinched... did I do something wrong?

My question was soon answered as the purifier gently purred to life, and it began operating. No spilling, no screeching, no grinding. We. Were. Done.

"Whew. For a moment there, I was genuinely concerned that I had messed up. But, it looks like we did it, huh, Igloo?"

"We sure did, Vanilla. And it only took half the Stable door to do it." He bumped my flank with his own as he walked out. "If you want to celebrate, I'll always be down in my room on the second floor."

I simply rolled my eyes as he disappeared out of the room. "As if, perv."

I stared up at the purring machine, and smiled. Five days. It took us five days to fix this damn purifier. Four to take apart the door, and just one day of welding it together. I was practically filled to the brim with self satisfaction. Finally. The Stable wouldn't have any problems for a long time.

Quest Perk Gained:
Spine of Steel
Your torso is 50% harder to cripple. You also gain a +3 boost to endurance whenever taking damage to the torso.

S = 2
P = 4
E = 3
C = 4
I = 8
A = 3
L = 4

Author's Notes:

While it's not the first story I have ever written, I plan on it being the first story I ever finish. Please, if you like it, add it to your favorites, and keep up with it. Also, thanks to Kkat for writing the original Fallout Equestria, and thanks to many other authors with their own Fallout: Equestria fanfiction for inspiration to create my own.

Also, a huge thanks to Ernest Wood for editing my story, and making it 20% cooler.

Please, comment on it. Constructive criticism is accepted, as well as positive comments.