“War, War never changes”

Cutie Marks.

It was my tenth birthday when I got mine, which was much later than most foals my age. I suppose that was when I should have realized that I was doomed to fail at everything I did. Would you believe I got my cutie mark by fixing a malfunction in my Stables generator? I had rushed towards the problem as soon as I saw it and began connecting and disconnecting all the different malfunctioning cables. Then there was a blinding flash of light and my dumb cutie mark just popped into existence.

I can remember my father's reaction pretty well too. I had burst into his office, grinning like an idiot and waving my ass around in his face like I had just found the cure for pony pox. His face had lit up brighter than mine at first, but then his face changed. His broad grin stretched a little, and the bags under his eyes seemed to deepen just ever so slightly. There was that subtle twitch in his tail that only ever happened when he was disappointed in me.

My whole family has been direct descendant of the first Overmare of Stable 25 since ponies first moved into the Stable. Unlike any other pony I had ever met or heard of, my family had a hereditary cutie mark. Every single pony in my family had had an Overmare or Overstallion cutie mark, everyone until me that is. Somehow I decided to fix a generator and get a disgusting red screwdriver imprinted on my butt for the rest of my life.

Life in Stable 25 only got harder for me from there. Up until that point everypony had treated me with respect, knowing full well that I would one day take over my father's place. No one wanted to be on my bad side once I was running the Stable. Then they didn’t know if I would take over, then they were certain that I never would, then they decided to take out all their built up anger and disdain towards my father and I out on me. After countless beatings I began spending less and less time with the other ponies in the Stable, but rather spent every second I had maintaining our generators and A.A.S.S program. Which was fine by me, they needed to be taken care of and frankly, I enjoyed the company of machines far more than ponies.

The Atmospheric Administering Sustenance System, or A.A.S.S for short is something else I should probably mention. Back before the megaspells ravaged Equestria, Stable-Tec installed Stable 25 with a one of a kind nutrition administering device called the A.A.S.S. The purpose of the device was to ensure that a Stable would never run out of food, nor would its inhabitants ever die of starvation. Three times a day, the device emits large amounts of vapors into the venting system, filled with all the nutrients needed for a pony to survive. Water is still required for survival of course, but it effectively removed the need for any other form of digestible substance.

As head Stable maintenance pony, I was assigned to ensure that the A.A.S.S stayed completely operational at all times. That was the job I was tasked to carry out for the rest of my meaningless life, away from the rest of the ponies in Stable 25. Here I would stay, here I would work, and here I would most likely die.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The automated alarm on my pipbuck began chirping, aggressively rousing me from my sleep. Did work hours really need to be so early in the goddess damned morning? It’s not like the Stable-Tec Generator was going to be going anywhere any time soon. I’m sure no one would care if I slept a few more minutes.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Okay! Fine! I’m Getting up,” I huffed at my pipbuck, slowly pushed my slightly stained, dull grey sheets off of me. I climbed off the bed, only to find the blanket had somehow wrapped itself around my hoof, causing me to trip and land face first on the cold ground.

This morning was off to a great start, I could tell.

I walked across the cold floor of my room to where my pipbuck lay atop my desk. I hastily pushed the off button on the alarm. Peace and quiet at last. I glanced over at my bed, now an unkempt pile of grey blankets and pillows and wondered if I should just crawl back into bed and get another hour or so worth of sleep. Finally I sighed. “No, Amber. You need to get to work.”

This morning was just like every morning. Everything in Stable 25 was like everything. The slightly curved walls all had the same grey, metallic look. Everypony wore the exact same dull blue jumpsuit, and nothing ever happened that was out of the ordinary.

I lit my horn up and wrapped my Stable barding in a glowing Amber Aura. I groaned at the light being emitted from my horn as I levitated the ghastly attire over to me. Why my dad thought it was a good idea to name me after the colour of my magic was beyond me.

Quickly slipping into the Stable barding, I approached the small rectangular mirror above my mini bookshelf. Atop the shelf sat my latest read titled 'A non bias take on history' written and edited by the ministry of image. I loved books!

I squinted at my slightly wrapped reflection on the scratched and dusty surface of the mirror.

“Good morning Amber Aura,” I whispered to myself as I brushed my light pink and blue mane out of my face and did my best to look somewhat presentable. Not that anything really went well with a tight blue jumpsuit. My father always said I took after my mom, with the same pink coat and mane. My amber eyes and aura though I got from my dad, that much was certain.

I tiptoed over to the door and watched it slide open with a near silent squeak. I was greeted by the lavish hardwood walls of the Overstallions living area. The only room in the whole Stable that didn’t look like an underground bunker. The wall across from me held framed portraits of all the Overmares and Overstallions over the years. My fathers was the last on the list, depicting a younger version of him sporting his usual dark beige coat and curly red mane. His face distorted slightly by his dorky looking grin. I wished he still grinned like that. His photo had gone up long before he had become the Overstallion. I noted that my picture still didn’t hang on the wall. I suppose everyone was aware that I was doomed to forever be a maintenance pony I suppose. Probably for the best though, I don’t think I have the emotional capacity to be in charge of the safety of over seven hundred ponies.

I could hear my father snoring loudly behind the door to my left. How I ever managed to fall asleep to that noise is something I questioned every night. He usually slept into the morning far longer than the rest of the Stable. A part of me assumed he was just so tired from all his duties as Overstallion, though I knew it was just because he could. He was head of the Stable after all, who was going to put him in his place.

I levitated my saddlebags onto my back as I entered into the hallway of Stable 25. The hallway was dull, grey, bland, and did I mention dull.

"It’s only a few minute walk to the generator room, Amber," I reassured myself as I began trotting towards my work space. Only a few minutes, then I’ll be away from the rest of the ponies in this Stable for yet another day. A few ponies also clad in the usual Stable barding snickered as I walked past them. Though if they were snickering at me, or at something else entirely was unclear. I assumed the former.

Moments before the Stables intercom flared to life, I heard the clicking of the speakers preparing to bombard us with the usual nonsense that was Stable 25’s wake up routine and the small cough that always accompanied our current Stable announcer when he talked.

“Good morning Stable dwellers of Stable 25! I hope you are doing well this morning!” I winced as the sound pounded against my ears. I could see a few other ponies do the same as they emerged from their rooms. The speakers in Stable 25 were far louder than they should be, and it drove everypony up the wall. They had tried to fix the issue a few times, but to no avail. I had tried to fix it myself once, but I just ended up embarrassing myself and somehow amplifying the noise.

It also didn’t help that our announcers voice sounded like he had sucked on a canister of helium. “As per usual, here is your daily Stable update,” The announcer continued, clearing his throat and taking a dramatic pause. “Nothing new to be reported, all systems are running smoothly as ever,” I rolled my eyes. These announcements might as well be a recording. He always said the exact same thing, every day. Even his coughs tended to end up in the same spot. “And now for everyponies favorite part of the day! The daily Stable-Tec March!” and with a ear splitting crackle of the speakers, the sound of an upbeat jingle began to fill the halls of Stable 25.

Almost in unison, everypony in the hall groaned at the noise. The music had been nice at one point I’m sure, but when it’s literally the only song you have ever heard, it begins to get really annoying, really damn fast. How I wished we had some form of musician in our Stable, then perhaps the mornings might not be so bad.

I approached the steel door of the generator room. A large yellow signs read ‘Authorized personnel only’ in big, bold letters. I pulled out my pipbuck and activate the door with my access pass. Instantly the door swung open to the cramped, and dusty room that was my life. A flickering light bulb hung from the center of the ceiling, casting ominous shadows against the walls.

I walked into the tight space, letting the sliding door close silently behind me and checked the generator. Everything seemed to be in functioning order. As usual.

The door slid open behind me and my boss, Shade entered the room. She was a deep lavender earth pony with a fabulous white mane. Many of the dwellers joked that she looked like the old ministry mare Rarity with her mane and coat colours swapped.

“Mornin’ Amber,” Shade drawled, limping over to her chair against the far wall.

I nodded in greeting, not looking over my shoulder to see her.

“They need to get a new damn song,” Shade muttered, throwing herself down on the chair lazily. “We all hate it. It would be a goddess damned mercy if they didn’t play it for once,” she took a quick swig of the bottle of wild Pegasus she had carried in with her. She lifted the bottle to me. “You want some?”

I levitated the bottle the rest of the way and took a quick sip despite knowing full well I hated the taste. I coughed as the liquid burned it’s way down my throat.

Shade chuckled to herself as I quickly handed the bottle back. "You're adorable."

"No I'm not," I insisted, eyeing the glass bottle with disgust. "I could drink that whole thing if I really wanted to," Shade gestured for me to take the bottle again. I shook my head vigorously. "But I don't want to, so I wont."

"As I said... Adorable," I watching in awe as Shade gulped down half the bottle in one swig.

“You going to be here very long today?” I questioned, sitting down on the chair across the room from her. Shade usually didn’t stay very long. Her job was to make sure I did my job, as well as make sure every other pony on the maintenance level stayed in line. However, on the rare occasion when the Stable wasn’t as busy, she would stay by for a few extra hours in the generator room with me. I think she knew I got kinda lonely down here.

I didn’t mind her company either. I found Shade to be one of the more tolerable ponies, even if she was a bit vulgar at times.

“Nah,” She replied, whipping some of the whiskey off her lips. “Got other stuff planned. Just a quick check up on you as usual.”

I nodded casually and returned my attention to the humming piece of machinery that took up most of the small room. Shade let out a tired yawn and stretched her forelegs before hopping of the chair and strutting over to the door, which slid open for her with a clang.

“I’ll be around, call me on the intercom if you need anything,” She bluntly stated, pointing to the small white box with a steady green light next to the door as she stepped out into the hall.

I gave her a playful salute. “I know, this ain’t my first rodeo.”

She gave me an unamused stare as the door closed silently behind her, once again leaving me alone in the tiny space. I let out a low sigh and checked to make sure Shade was gone by pushing my ear up against the door. I could hear the soft patter of hoof steps slowly fade away as Shade grew further away from the room.

Once I was sure she wasn't coming back, I pulled a comic book out from under my desk where I had placed it the night before. The battered cover of the book faded, and dogeared, but still easy depicting the image of the power ponies on the front. Not my first choice in literature, but I’d take what I can get. What I'd really like is one of those Big Book of Sciences that my dad had, though the right to read that for me was revoked when I would refuse to put the book down to do my job. Did I mention I love books.

I flipped the comic open to where I had last stopped reading at and scanned the comics panels. This was practically all I did while on the job. Read, and pretend that I was working if Shade came knocked on the door to make sure everything was in order. Occasionally there would be a malfunction, sure. But those were rare and usually I could fix them in a couple of minutes. Nothing to unexpected though.

There was an unexpected shout from outside my room. I leaped to my hooves, expecting someone to come in and make sure I was working, but nothing happened. I waited a few minutes, then returned to reading my comic, only to be startled again as the sliding door slid open and a bright green unicorn with a windswept looking dark green mane shot into the room.

“Hey you! You gotta hid me!” The intruder demanded between heavy breaths. I nodded slowly in response, not quite sure what to make of the event. I was about to ask what was happening when he started scampering up the side of the generator and curling up inside of a small nook in the back of the room.

“Uh, you aren’t supposed to climb that,” I scolded dumbly, doing nothing to stop him as he quickly climbed up a little higher. The Stallion simply waved me off. I watched him climb, noting his cutie mark was some kind of multi coloured cone.

I heard more shouting from outside as what I assumed were a handful of Security ponies started checking through all the different rooms. “He has got to be in one of these!” I heard a gruff voice shout.

I turned towards the green unicorn. “Security is after you? What did you do?” I demanded, pointing my hoof at him lamely. “And how did you even get in here? You shouldn't have clearance for this room?”

The green unicorn just waved my questions aside with his hoof like he had before. “That doesn’t matter, what matters is that you make sure they don’t find me.”

I gave him a skeptical stare. “It matters to me if you get me in trouble for whatever you’ve gotten yourself into.”

The stallion looked me over for a few seconds before finally giving a sigh of defeat. “Alright, fine. I suppose if you are going to help you might as well know,” He paused and took another deep breath. “I stole the door override pass codes from the security section.”

My jaw dropped. “You did what!”

The Unicorn put a hoof to his lips. “Shhhhh, they’ll hear you,” I just continued to stare at him in bafflement, trying to process what he had just told me.

I shook my head in confusion. “What do you want with the security door override codes?” I questioned, lowering my tone a little. “And why-”

The rest of my question was cut off as four Security ponies burst into the room, each welding a shock baton and dressed in the usual security armour over top of their Stable barding. The lead Security mare, a purple unicorn with a small scar on the clip of her left eye stepped forward. “We are looking for a green unicorn named Brisk Spark. We believe he came this way. Have you seen him?” His voice was steady and monotone.

Without even thinking, I pointed up to where Brisk clung to the top of the generator. He glared down at me with an amused look. “Wow, thanks for your cooperation,” he deadpanned, trying to pull himself higher up on the machine.

The five of us just stared up at him. The Security ponies looked almost bored. Was this a regular occurrence with this guy? The lead Security ponie gave a low sigh. “Brisk, please come down from there before you hurt yourself,” Brisk stuck his tongue out in response. The Security ponies were starting to get very clearly impatient. “I’ll ask you one more time to get down Brisk.”

“I’ll get down once you let me out of this Stable,” Brisk retorted, swinging his front hooves around wildly. My jaw dropped for a second time. Leave the Stable? Was this guy insane? Who was I kidding, of course he was.

The lead Security mare gave a disappointed shake of her head and magically levitate her baton up to Brisk. I could see the sudden fear flicker across his face as he realized she was still fully capable of reaching him from down below. How he had forgotten she could use magic was any ponies guess.

“Damn it Brisk,” I knew that voice all to well. I turned my head to see my father standing in the doorway flanked by two more Security ponies. “What am I supposed to do with you?”

“Give me what I want would be a good place to start,” Brisk grinned back at him, lifting the floating baton away from his face with a hoof. “Also, it would be nice if you told the lovely Security ponies here to back off.”

No pony backed off. Brisk gave a low groan.

My father turned to the lead Security mare. “What did he do this time?”

“He downloaded all of the door override pass codes from the security section,” She explained, jabbing her baton at Brisk menacingly. Brisk tried to swat the baton aside again, but the Security mare had already pulled it out of his reach by the time his hoof came close.

My Father gave Brisk a flat stare. “Would you please come down? I don’t want this to be difficult.”

“Fuck you,” Brisk grinned down at him. “I’m not doing anything.”

My father gave a long, tedious sigh. He turned to the Security ponies. “Alright, get him down from there.”

All six Security ponies gave a wicked grin and raised their batons. Brisk gave a nervous chuckle as he was confronted by the six blunt, sparking clubs. Then he was being knocked to the floor and pummeled into the ground.

I averted my gaze as the six ponies circled him and continued to bash him against the ground, a sickening zap filling the air with every beating he received. The batons came down over and over again until he finally stopped moving entirely, save for the occasional twitch of his hind leg as an electrical charge pulsed through him.

I glanced over at my father, observing the scene stoically. The bags under his eyes just as prominent as ever. He cleared his throat, causing the six Security ponies to back off a bit. “Revoke his pipbuck, and get those files off,” he demanded sternly, turning away from the scene and exiting through the door. Before the door closed behind him he turned back to me. “And Amber,” I puffed out my chest and gave him a forced smile.

Look at me! I can be responsible!

My Father just shook his head. “Just get back to work.”

My ears drooped. I watched as the Security ponies detached Brisk’s pipbuck and hauled him off, out of the room and down the hall. I gave my head a good shake as the door closed behind them. That might have straight up been the oddest thing to ever happen to me.

I was about to go back to reading when I saw the red light on the intercom by the door flashing on and off. Someone was trying to contact me? I must not have noticed the light turn on during the chaos of Brisk’s interruption.

“Probably just Shade trying to find out what happened,” I muttered to myself, crossing the room and pushing the answer button.

"Hiya, this is Amber Aura," I said into the speaker.

“Hello, can I talk to the pony in charge of the Stable 25 generator please?” The voice on the other side of the intercom blurted. Okay, not Shade. This was a stallions voice. It was deep and gravelly, almost as if he had a terrible cold.

“Uh… that would be me,” I responded, leaning towards the intercom a little more as we spoke. “Can, uh… can I help you with something?”

There was silence on the other side for a few seconds. “Actually yes, there is something we need,” The voice replied, coughing slightly. “We need you to turn on the generator's emergency broadcaster. It doesn’t need to be on long, just a few moments will do.”

The emergency broadcaster? I had no idea what was going on at this point. “I’m sorry, who am I talking to?” I challenged, arching an eyebrow skeptically.

Once again there was silence form the far side. “Uh, this is Stable-Tec Headquarters,” he stated through the speaker nonchalantly.

Stable-Tec? This was starting to get real weird.

“Uh, would you like me to get the Overstallion?” I asked. “I’m sure he would be more helpful to you than I am.”

“Oh no, you will do just fine!” the voice blurted. “We won’t be needing him for this,” Red flags started popping up in my brain. There was no reason I could think of that Stable-Tec would want to talk to me and not my dad. “We just need you to turn the emergency broadcaster on for a second, that is all.”

“What for?” I continued to ask. I glanced over at the generator emergency broadcast switch that lay dusty in the crevice it had been built into. It very clearly hadn’t been touched in years.

“A Stable out in Ponyville lost connection with us a few days ago,” The voice replied calmly. Turns out that their generator malfunctioned and their emergency distress broadcast had broken down years ago. They all died without being able to call for help,” I gulped slowly. That didn’t sound like a fun way to go. “We are just doing a check up on all the Stables to make sure everything is operating at Stable-Tec standards.”

I glanced back and forth between the intercom and the switch. What could it hurt to pull it? The only thing that would happen is it would send a distress signal to Stable-Tec, and that wouldn’t cause any harm. Right?

“It doesn’t need to be on long,” The voice reassured me again. “Just a few seconds is all we need to make sure everything is in working order. Are you in the generator room? It should be right beside you.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I’m in the generator room. Just give me a quick sec,” I pulled myself away from the intercom and pulled the emergency switch a few steps away from me. A bright, red flashing light whirled to life above my head and a siren began to sound. I waited a few second and them pulled the switch again, deactivating the light and siren.

I re-approached the intercom and pushed the speaker. “Did you get that?” I waited a few seconds, but there was no reply. “Hello? Did you get the signal?” again, nothing.

Then there was a heavy knock on the Stable door. That must be Shade, I thought as I activated the door and let it slid open. That was when I realized my mistake. Shade had a pass to get into the generator room, she didn’t need my assistance. Shade also didn’t stand a few feet taller than me or dress in solid metal plating.

The large Stallion that stood before me looked like something out of a nightmare. He was tall, muscular, and covered head to hoof in solid metal that seemed to be wielded to his dark orange coat. At his sides he carried a pair of robotic wings seemingly made up of blades and two large Tesla canons the size of my body. Two glowing red eyes stared down at me from a metallic head wielding a jagged metal horn.

I gave a nervous chuckle as I stared up at the cyber alicorn in the doorway. “Uh, hiya… can… can I do something for you?” I stammered, taking a slow step back.

The cyber alicorn just glared down at me for a long moment. “I need access to your A.A.S.S device,” It demanded in a low, gruff tone. His voices sounded strained and rough, like sandpaper being dragged across my face. “Lead me to it.”

“Uh, um…” I continued to stammer, taking a few more steps back. “We uh… kinda need that to live you know… so uh… I can’t really give that to you.”

The cyber alicorn began to advance on me. Oh shit this was bad. “I don’t care about your needs, Hand over the device now before I need to force you,” this wasn't forcing me?

There was a slight shimmer in the air behind him as two more cyber ponies stepped out of seemingly nothing. They looked very similar in design to the first one, however they lacked both the metal wings and horn that the cyber alicorn had.

I shrank lower to the ground as a fourth appeared. My eyes darted around the room frantically, looking for a way to get out of this situation. How had they even gotten into the Stable? They couldn’t have opened the Stable door? Could they?

“I’m going to ask you one more time,” They cyber alicorn demanded again, this time the ends of his Tesla canons began to glow and threatening electric blue. “Give me the A.A.S.S or I will find it myself.”

I gave a shy squeak and pointed towards a black metal box that clung to the side of the far wall. Multiple pipes hooked up to it and carried it’s vapors into the Stable’s ventilation system. Both above and below the box was a yellow sign reading ‘Danger, do not remove’.

The cyber alicorn grunted and flicked his guns towards it. “Go get it,” he growled, glaring into me even more than before.

It took me a second to realize he was actually talking to me and not one of the other cyber ponies. I pointed at myself innocently. “Me?”

“Yes, you bitch!” The cyber alicorn huffed, taking another step towards me and causing me to shrink back even farther. “Go grab it or I’ll blast you into fucking ash!”

I scampered backwards and hastily raised my pipbuck to the black box, activating the lock mechanism. With a hiss and the front panel of the box flipped open, revealing the black, oblong device inside. A small tinted glass panel on the front of the device showed a multitude of gears moving inside it. The whole thing was only about the size of my hoof.

The sound of guards shouting could be heard coming down the hallway at a quick pace. No doubt to check out what was going on with the emergency broadcast. They needed to work on their reaction time apparently.

The cyber alicorn stomped his metal hoof heavily on the ground making the floors and walls vibrate ever so slightly. He gave a loud snort, exhaust erupting from his metallic nostrils as he did. “Bring it here bitch! Now!”

I pulled the device from the wall and looked it over, trying to decide if I could stall until the Security ponies arrived. The shouting was getting really close.

“The fuck are those things!?” I heard somepony shout from outside the room. So apparently they were already here. I heard a couple of bullets whiz down the hallway and bounce harmlessly off the cyber ponies metal exoskeletons, ricocheting into the steel walls.

The cyber alicorn groaned. “Damn it,” He gestured to the cyber pony to his right. “You secure the device, I’ll deal with these fucking pests,” With that he turned to the door and advanced upon the approaching Security ponies.

There was a massive crackle of energy that caused all of my hair to stand on end, followed by a massive explosion of blue light that send me sprawling to the floor. Holy shit I was glad I didn’t get hit by a bast of those Tesla canons.

The smaller cyber pony approached me. Though only two thirds the size of the cyber alicorn, he still stood a foot or two above me.

“The device, now!” He instructed, extending his metal hoof for me to place the device in. Through the few cracks in the metal plating, I could make out glimpses of scarlet fur.

I held the A.A.S.S device closer to my chest. “I can’t let you ponies have this! We’ll all starve.”

The cyber ponies eyes narrowed in anger. He lunged forward and slammed his hoof across my head. I was sent flying back, crashing into the generator with a clang.

Another explosion rocked the Stable, this time forcing me to fall face first into the ground. I could feel blood in my mouth, which I spat out in disgust. I attempted to curl my body around the A.A.S.S device only to discover it was no longer in my hooves.

I spotted it laying on the floor, halfway between me and the cyber pony. I began crawling towards it, ignoring the aching pain in my head. The cyber pony got to it first. He picked it up in his mouth and nodded to the other two cyber ponies watching him.

“Objective is secured!” one of the cyber ponies shouted, though as to which one I couldn’t be sure. There was a final explosion of blue energy, then a blinding light, then all four cyber ponies were gone.

I slowly pulled myself to my hooves, wobbling slightly as I stood both from pain and shock. I wiped the thin trickle of blood of my face and took a few shaky steps towards the door, only to collapse on my face. Again.

The Security ponies took that moment to rush into the room. They circled around me and looked around the room in confusion. I suppose that they must have been just as baffled as I was as to what had just happened. I noticed a majority of them were bruised and bloodied. One stallion’s front foreleg seemed to be broken. Shit, that cyber alicorn did a lot of damage in a really short amount of time!

“They took the A.A.S.S,” I muttered weakly, hoping one of them would hear me. From their many worried, wide eyed expressions, I could tell that they did.

The purple Security pony I had seen earlier stepped towards me and floated a healing potion down to my lips, which I gulped down gratefully. I could feel the itching sensation of my wounds slowly beginning to pull themselves back together as I chugged the fluid. Damn I loved healing potions.

I looked up at the mare above me with a thankful look across my face. I was met with a hard, cold stare. “You are to come with me immediately,” She demanded, and them marched out of the room. I pulled myself to my hooves for a second time and began to follow her.

“So let me get this straight… You were contacted by Stable-Tec, turned on the emergency broadcaster, and then were attacked by a group of robotic ponies that stole the A.A.S.S?” My father questioned, his eyebrows tightening as he tried to put everything together. I nodded slowly.

We were in the prison section of the Stable, which looked almost identical to the rest of the Stable to my displeasure, save for a couple of large holding cells against the far wall. No doubt I was in serious trouble for something. Probably for failing to keep the A.A.S.S safe, which was my one job. Granted they probably should have had some form of security on the device. Also granted they didn’t expect anyone to ever be able to get inside the Stable.

“And you didn’t tell me that Stable-Tec contacted you before you activated the signal because?” He demanded, leaning across the cold table.

“They said I didn’t need to,” I retorted, waving my hooves in the air frantically. "I didn’t think anything bad would happen if I turned the signal on for a few seconds!” I looked at his disapproving glare. If I thought he had been disappointed about my cutie mark, he was really really really disappointed now. A sudden realization washed over me. “You don’t think I was involved in this do you?” My father sighed and rest his head on a hoof. “Holy shit! You actually think I had something to do with this, don't you!”

“I don’t know Amber!” He snapped at me, dropping his hoof to the table. “I know you to well to think you were intentionally involved in this, but I’m pretty damn sure if you had used that head of yours a little more you could have avoided it!”

Ouch… thanks dad… I shifted my gaze away from him and stared at the floor. I couldn’t call him out on that, he was completely right. “What are we going to do now?” I stuttered, looking back up at him. “Do we leave the Stable to get it back or what?”

My father dropped his head into his hooves and let out a long breath of air. “I’m not sure yet Amber. We will need a bit of time to think this all though. We aren’t leaving the Stable though. It’s to dangerous outside,” He stood up and started walking toward the door. “You are to stay here until we figure this out more.”

I gawked at him. “Stay here? Why?”

“Because we aren’t sure what we're going to do next and honestly, half of the Stable thinks you did this, so it’s probably best for both of us that you stay here where it’s safe,” then he walked out of the room without even looking back at me. I could hear the click of the mechanical lock as the sliding door locked me in.

I looked over at the guard pony looking over at the different holding cells, a small key hung around his neck. I considered trying to steal it for a second, but thought better of it. Disobeying my father and putting myself in danger would get me nowhere.

Shifting my gaze from the guard, A scanned the holding cells until a green unicorn with a black eye waving me over with his hoof caught my eye.

“Brisk?” I asked, walking up to the cell and peering inside. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think I’m doing in here idiot?” Brisk replied swiftly, gesturing to the cell around him with his hooves. “I tried to steal a bunch of super classified pass codes from Security and tried to escape the Stable… I’m on a bit of a time out at the moment.”

I huffed. “Well good, you deserve it for stealing those.”

Brisk pretended to act hurt, placing one hoof over his chest. “Please, I only wanted to get out of this damn place, it’s so boring in here.”

“It’s really not that bad,” I countered, looking back over at the guard. “I mean it’s got to be better than whatever is outside, right?”

Brisk rolled his eyes. “Please, if I were to walk outside and suddenly drop dead from radiation poisoning, I would be happier than I am caged up in here. I mean, have you heard that dumb song they play every morning? Like, get some more music guys, come on!”

I smirked at that a little. The music really did suck. “Well I guess you’re just going to have to live with it,” I mocked, grinning into the cage at him. “Because I don’t think you are going to be getting outside any time soon,” And he was grinning at me. Why was he grinning at me. He had lost a tooth at some point when the guards had beaten him, making his smile look far less flattering on him than it should have. I took a step back as a smug look began to cross his face. “What…” I deadpanned, dropping my head a little and flattening my ears against the side of my head.

“Oh I’m going to be getting out of here all right,” He grinned. “And you are going to help me do it.”

“I’m going to what!” I blurted, taking a second step back. “Why?”

Brisk reached out of the cell and placed a hoof over my lips. “Shhhh, we don’t need to draw any attention,” He sent a quick glance at the guard who still didn’t seem to be paying us any attention. He returned his gaze to me. “Look, I hate this place, and you need to get out of here to go retrieve that ass thing or whatever that you and your dad were talking about.”

“It’s A.A.S.S,” I corrected. “It stands for Atmospheric Administering Sustenance System.”

Brisk waved a hoof. “Yeah yeah whatever, I don’t care. That sound's like smarty, nerdy pony shit. The point is you need to go get it, ‘cause it didn’t sound like he had any plan on doing so and you need to prove to him that you aren’t a worthless waste of space.”

I stared at him flatly. “You really aren’t holding back any punches with those points, are you?” he shook his head. I groaned. “Besides, how did you even know tha-”

“That you feel the need to prove yourself to him? Oh come on, it’s obvious!” He chuckled.

I got flustered at that probably a lot more than I should have. “Wha- no it’s not!” I wanted to punch this guy.

“Uh, yeah… it is,” he responded factually. “The point is you need to save the Stable and prove you have potential or some shit, and I want freedom from this cesspool of a Stable. The only way either of us do that is if we work together and leave the Stable behind us.”

I rolled his words around in his head. He wasn’t wrong. Damn, I hated how he wasn’t wrong. But leaving the Stable seemed so extreme. I glanced over at the guard who was seemingly so lost in thought he still hadn’t managed to notice our conversation. That or he just didn’t care. Didn’t care just like everyone else in this place. I sighed.

“Alright, what do you need me to do?”

Brisk’s grin widened. “Well first we need to get me out of this cage,” he whispered. "I don't suppose you have any bobby pins do you? They took mine when they locked me up."

"Why would we need bobby pins?" I questioned. "And no, I don't have any."

"I was hoping we could use them to pick the lock on this cage."

I gawked at him. "I can't pick a lock, I've never even considered doing something like that."

"You haven't? What did you do all day down here?"

"Read," I stated proudly. "I like books."

Brisk slapped his hoof to his forehead. "Oh god, I'm stuck with a nerd."

"I can just leave you locked up in here."

His face showed signs of panic. "No no, I'm just joking. you're great," He stammered, giving me a forced grin. "Besides, you wouldn't need to pick the lock anyway, I would have. That said, it doesn't matter now," Brisk glancing back over at the guard across the room. “Alright, plan number two. I’ll cause a distraction while you sneak up behind the guard and whack him over the head with that shock baton over there,” He pointed to a baton lying on the table against the far wall of the room.

“What? No way! I can’t do that either!” I stammered, looking back and forth between the baton, the guard, and Brisk. “You honestly can’t expect me to atta-”

“To late, I’ve made up my mind, that’s the plan,” Brisk whispered with a chuckle. Then he fell to the floor and started screaming at the top of his little pony lungs. “Holy Shit! I can’t breath!”

I backpedaled away from him as the guard rushed towards the cell. I glanced over at the shock baton lying on the table. It was now or never I suppose.

I magically levitated the baton into the air and floated it above the guards head as he struggled to understand the issue. I shut my eyes tight and slammed the blunt club against the top of his head.

The guard shouted and stumbled, but goddess damn it! He didn’t fall! He slowly turned to me, readying himself to lunge when I slammed the baton against his head a dozen more times. At last he fell twitching to the floor, electrical pulses flowing out of him and into the ground.

I took a deep breath and pulled the key off of his neck and unlocked the cell door. Brisk stepped out looking happier than he had already been.

“I told you it would work,” He laughed, slowly pulling the Security armor off of the guard and strapping it on over his Stable barding.

“What are you doing?” I asked, watching him place the visor on the helmet over his face and strap the guards 10mm pistol to his side with his hooves.

“Protecting myself and getting a disguise,” He replied, half trotting, half dancing to the door. “Most of the Security know I’m supposed to be in holding, so I’ve gotta blend it,” Then he slammed face first into the door. He stumbled back and looked up at metal surface he had just run into. “These things are supposed to open right?”

I rolled my eyes. Great, not only was I breaking almost every rule in the Stable, but my companion was a complete idiot.

“It’s locked doofus,” I scolded, approaching the door myself. “It’s for keeping ponies in. How do you not know that?”

“Well can we unlock it?” He asked impatiently, tapping his hoof on the door. "There has got to be a manual release or something, right?”

I raised an eyebrow and levitated the guards pipbuck. The only thing Brisk hadn’t taken. Brisk gave me a shut up sort of look as I brought the pipbuck towards the door and watched in satisfaction as the door slid open as I clicked to door activation pass.

Brisk chuckled nervously. “Right… uh… after you.”

“What do we do next?” I asked, trotting past him and into the empty hallway. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but I assumed most ponies were going to bed at this point. “Do we just head to the Stable door or what?”

“We are going to need the Stable door override code, or we aren’t going to be getting anywhere,” Brisk explained, walking up beside me. “I was hoping it would be in the door override pass codes I stole from the security section, but I couldn’t find it in the file. Besides, I don’t even know where they put my pipbuck.”

“I doubt the Security section would have the override for the Stable door. The only pony that I can think of that would have it would be-” I pulled myself up short as I realized what I was saying.

Brisk groaned. “Let me guess. The only pony that would have the override to the door is the Overstallion… your father…”

I nodded glumly. “It’s probably in his terminal in his office.”

“Alright then,” Brisk said, practically bouncing down the hall. I had no idea where this pony got his energy. “Let’s go get that override,” then he froze in his tracks.

I stopped and followed his gaze to the end of the hall where the scarred purple Security mare stood staring at us in shock. I gave her a nervous wave.

“Do you think she recognizes us?” Then she began to charge us, yelling for other security to join her. I let out another sigh. “Yup, she does.”

The two of us spun around and started galloping in the other direction as fast as we possibly could. I could hear more guards chasing after us as we raced along. I ran a few steps ahead of Brisk, seeing how I knew the way to the Overstallion’s office better than anypony, it only seemed fitting that I take the lead.

We were almost to the stairs leading to my father's office when a larger Security stallion stepped out in front of us. Without wasting time I jumped into S.A.T.S. (also known as the Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell, every pipbuck has it) I never imagined I would ever need to use mine to be honest. For a few seconds, I sat in the magical stillness that came with S.A.T.S. was I really going to do this? I looked at the Security pony that had jumped into my path. He was just doing his job, did I really have it in me to hurt him?

Damn it, I was in to deep already. I targeted two shots to his legs and released the S.A.T.S Spell. Instantly my shock baton slammed into his front legs. I heard the crunch of the bones in his leg snapping under the impact as we rushed past him and up the stairs that ascended to the Overstallion’s office.

We burst into the room and locked the door behind us. Only seconds after the door had closed and locked we heard the pounding of at least a dozen ponies outside trying to get into the room. To my relief, my father wasn’t in the room. I really didn’t want to explain all of this to him. He wouldn’t understand.

“Okay, now would be a good time to get that override!” Brisk shouted, pushing a table up against the door. I didn’t bother telling him that barricading the door would do nothing to prevent a sliding door from opening.

I rushed to my father's desk and turned on his terminal. Shit, it was locked! Probably shouldn’t have been surprised. I pulled up the computers data and began typing in a bunch of letters.

“Give me a second, I’m going to need to hack the terminal,” I shouted over the thundering noise of the ponies outside.

“We don’t have a sec-” Brisk began, but I cut him off.

“I’m in,” I declared, entering the correct password and pulling up all of my fathers files. Brisk just stared at me blankly.

“Already? How?”

I blushed and gave him a little shrug. “Machines are kinda my strong suit. Besides, dad’s password isn’t very good. Your password is Amber? really dad?”

Brisk coughed. “I get it, you’re amazing. Now get that override and lets get out of here before they drag both of our asses back to that cell!”

“Right,” I muttered, pulling up the file that was labeled ‘Stable door override code. I scanned the file for a second. “I got it! The override is sabsb3cmc!” I shouted, pulling myself away from the computer. Then I spotted a second file on the computer titled ‘Stable door Overmare access. I glanced around the room and pressed on the file.

There was a sudden hiss, followed by the grinding noise of gears as the Overstallion's desk started sliding across the room to reveal a set of stairs beneath it.

“Holy shit!” Brisk exclaimed, watching as the rest of the stairwell revealed itself. “How long as that been there?”

“Forever I guess,” I replied, taking a few steps down the stairs. “Now are you coming or not?” Brisk grinned and began racing down the steps after me.

As the desk began to slid back into place above us I heard the sound of the security ponies outside charging into the office. “Shit, they are heading to the Stable door!” I heard one of them shout. “Get to the door! Now!”

Brisk quickened his pace. “We gotta get moving,” he urged, pushing the top of his head against my rump and ushering me forwards. I yipped slightly and could feel my face go a deep red as he nudged his head against my ass. I doubled my speed as well and began charging down the tunnel.

We emerged into a large metal chamber with a long catwalk that extended out to a gigantic gear shaped metal door. Two security ponies stood guard beside the control panel for the door playing some sort of card game. They straightened up as soon as they spotted us.

“What are you two doing here, this is a restricted area,” The guard on the left said in a tough voice. He was just a little taller than I was, which wasn't hard as I stood a few inches shorter than most other ponies. He had a jet black coat and an ivory mane that spiked upwards.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I approached them, reaching for my baton with my telekinesis.

The second guard, a short earth pony with a light red coat and mane raised his eyebrow. “What was that?”

The first guard had no time to react as I jumped into S.A.T.S. and bashed him over the head with my baton. With a zap he crumpled limp to the ground.

The second guard recovered from the shock of being attacked quicker than I would have liked and raised his pistol towards me. I shut my eyes as the barrel came level with my head.

Shit! I was going to die before I even got out of the Stable!

Then Brisk threw his gun at the guards head, knocking him to the side. The guard tired to retaliate, but by the time he had looked back up, Brisk's hoof was pummeling him to the ground. Within the minute, both guards lay in a twitching pile at our feet.

“You are scarily good with that thing,” Brisk commented, pointing to my baton as he walking over to the controls and started typing in the override. “I would not want to be on your bad side.”

I swung my baton dangerously in a loop. “What makes you think you aren’t on my bad side?” I questioned smugly. Then I dropped the baton on my hoof, sending an electric shock shooting up my body. My whole body twitched and my mane stood on end.

Nope, I still sucked at everything.

Brisk pulled a small switch on the control board. A spinning orange light sprang to life above the Stable door, casting spiraling shadows to dance across the walls. A massive bolt swung down from the roof and inserted itself into the metal gear that separated Stable 25 from the world beyond. There was a hiss of steam, and the sound of metal on metal, then the humongous door began moving away from the entrance, giving us a look at the blackness that awaited us outside.

The clattering of hooves drew our attention away from the door and to the stampede of Security ponies rushing up behind us.

Crap! That was a lot of Security ponies!

“It’s now or never!” Brisk shouted, grabbing his dropped gun from the floor and jumping over the rail next to the controls before darting out into the darkness beyond Stable 25.

Holy shit, I was actually doing this.

I took one step forwards. Then another. Then I began galloping towards the exit. I could hear the guards yelling for me to stop, but I didn't turn back. I was determined to get out now, no turning back or giving up, nothing was going to make me change my mind. But something could make me stop dead in my tracks.

“Amber stop!”

Damn it! Damn it that was my father's voice.

I slowly turned to face him and the group of Security ponies that had gathered a few feet behind me, my hoof resting on the edge of the metal door.

“Come back Amber, you don’t need to do this,” his eyes looked sad. Damn him, his eyes actually looked sad.

“Yes I do dad, I’m going to bring the A.A.S.S back,” I sounded so certain. So strong in that moment, but I certainly didn’t feel it. I felt like I could crumble into a million pieces at the slightest breeze. “I’m going to set everything right!”

My father gave me a sad smile and a small shake of his head. “No Amber. You won't. All you will do out there is die.”

I took a step towards him. “But I have to try!” I insisted. “I have to try and fix all of this!”

“Think of the Stable before yourself for once Amber,” My father soothed. “If you leave here, I won’t be able to let you back in.”

I felt my heart sink.

He wouldn’t let me back in? Why not? To prove a point? To protect the Stable? I could feel a long suppressed anger slowly pushing its way to the surface. This whole thing wasn't my fault! He needed to stop treating me like it was. “Fuck you dad!” I shouted, pointing a hoof at him accusingly. “Fuck you!”

With that, I darted out of the Stable into the darkness, the large Stable door rolling shut behind me. A loud clang rang throughout the darkness as the solid wall of metal came to a stop, resealing the Stable from the outside.

Then I was alone in the darkness with nothing but regret. What had I said? Why had I said it? Damn it! Don’t let that be the last thing I ever say to my father.

The dull green light of my pipbuck lit up the tunnel around me, reviling a long metal tunnel coated in a thick layer of rust and grime. A small pool of foul brown sludge swirled around my hooves as I walked forward. A few feet ahead of me I could make out the slim silhouette of Brisk Spark attaching the Security ponies pipbuck to his left foreleg.

Brisk turned to look at me and gave me a reassuring smile, showing off his missing tooth. “Bold move, saying that to your dad.”

“Don’t remind me,” I groaned, walking past him and towards the small steel door at the end of the tunnel. Through the cracks around the side of the door I could see slivers of silver moonlight peeking through, giving the tunnel a ghostly appearance.

I pushed the door open, and instantly gagged at the rancid stench of the air outside. I shut my eyes as I was blinded by a light I couldn't see and took my first step into the Equestrian Wasteland.

Before me stood a large rusted billboard, now marred by bullet holes and graffiti, though the large letters were still perfectly legible.

Welcome to Manehattan!

Or as the graffiti put it…

Welcome to Hell!

Footnote: level up.
New perk: Swift learner -- +10% XP whenever XP is earned

Author's Notes:

I've got a long story ahead of me to write, so get ready for a crazy wasteland adventure!
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please feel free to give your thoughts and feedback.

As usual, huge thanks to kkat for creating the wonderful world of Fallout: Equestira