CHAPTER 1

“Inside looking Out”

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Snow.

I suppose you all think it’s beautiful and clean, but let me tell you, when you live on the streets for as long as I have, you learn to hate that damned stuff.

I suppose I should tell you my tale.

This all happened a long time ago, back before now, when I could just barely read and write, had a pathetic education, was hungry all the time.

When I was a street rat.

We can look at where I live in two ways.

You can look at New Stalliongrad and see the tall skyline, the new buildings and the people who obey the laws and stick true to what happens with awe.

And in a sense, yes I suppose New Stalliongrad is amazing, this city nearly spans 14 kilometres of new buildings and tall skyrises built by the ingenuity of our race.

A city rebuilt far from the actual ruins of Stalliongrad, far from the madness.

Ten years ago the skies were opened up by the Light Bringer, our land was revived with the aid of the strongest magic imaginable.

With new found hope for a brighter future, ponies united and banded together to rebuild the world they had so masterfully incinerated and destroyed.

However, not in the way our saviour had hoped.

Our world was not unified, it was separated once more by the quarreling nations its citizens had created.

Ten years of intense fighting led to the creation of four nation states that controlled everything there was to be controlled in Equestria.

To the south, a nation built up of Alicorns and Unicorns called The Arcane Dominion. They scorched the very earth that their enemies stood on, and once they had acquired control over a perfect square 100 kilometres each side, they built massive walls all around the perimeter and covered their land in a huge dome of protective magic. The Dominion hasn’t moved or done anything in nearly seven years but whatever they are up to in their little safehouse.

Above them is the NCR, The New Canterlot Republic, a large democracy that controls a majority of the important cities of old Equestria including Stalliongrad, much to the annoyance of New Stalliongrad, so much so the Old Stalliongrad ruins are nothing but a war zone between the NCR and New Stalliongrad. At this current time, the frontline hasn’t moved in four years and the cannons and bullets still chatter deep into the night.

Then you have Marenburg.

Marenburg is a brutal orwellian society ran by an insane schizophrenic Earth-Pony mare named Ripchord who had been a slave under Red Eye’s Unity.

Everyone under her rule is a slave and is treated like dirt except the select few that live off the riches of the labour. Ripchord is a cruel heartless monster, the flag of her nation has ‘The Great Walls’ drawn on it to remind those who are captured of what will keep you imprisoned for the rest of your life.

And finally you have The New Stalliongrad State, the largest nation of the new world.

A huge Communist state stretching from the top coast of Equestria all the way down to pretty much the top of Old Stalliongrad.

Our world has come a long way since deserts and raiders, huh?

However New Stalliongrad isn’t all perfect.

Lately there has been a little bit of an ‘ethnic cleansing’ going on.

You see, the NSS is great if you are a pony, I however am not.

I am a Zony and so is my little sister, my mother was a Zebra and my father was a Pegasus.

I am Nimbus, I am 16, I am a Zony with wings.

I have to wear boots and socks along with a vest to hide the faded stripes on my back and hooves, in order to make sure I don’t get arrested, same with my sister.

Both my parents are dead, sent to Artechoka Prospekt, the prison camp that is never anything but a whisper and a murmur amongst those who know what happens there.

But I am alive, and so is my sister, if just barely.

We live in poverty and squalor in a wooden lean-to beneath the main bridge in the centre of town.

On a normal day, me and my younger sister Fable would tend to our mushroom farm in the dark damp area beneath our home, but this was not a normal day.

Fable was sick.

I didn’t know what it was, I think it may have been pneumonia, but it was impossible to tell without a doctor checking her, and that was something I couldn’t allow. If she got a check up they would see her stripes, and she would be sent to Artechoka.

I had been going without sleep, working as hard as I could to save up the coins and caps I had to get in order to buy a ‘MAGNIFICENTO INC CURE ALL’ potion. They cost nearly 250 bits each.

I also had to ‘wash’ frequently, sleep outside and wear a rag over my mouth and face when I helped my sister, I couldn’t risk getting sick as well.

It was another particularly cold morning, my sister coughed like a banshee in the corner, shivering like crazy, despite having every sheet in the shelter.

Fable was a slender, cream coated pegasus, she had a sleek and straight inky black mane done to be tied behind her head with a ribbon and a headband.

I was on my knees scrubbing the floor around her, she was so weak, she couldn’t even get up to use the toilet.

It was stuff like this that frightened me, her condition worsened every day, and at the same time this was what drove me.

I had to work harder, I had roughly 220 bits after a week of hard working.

30 coins remained.

I had to make 30 coins in the shortest time I could possibly manage.

Fable’s condition was severe, I doubted she was going survive to Monday.

“Nimbus...” Fable called, her voice was so faint, so weak.

I walked to my sister's side and stroked her mane “You should not talk Fable, you are weak, I will have the medicine by tonight, so please hold on”

My sister’s eyes were barely open, she was sweating profusely “When I get better, what will happen to us?”

She brought a good point to our little hypothetical table.

The savings we used to buy our food week to week were part of the medicine money, we couldn’t possibly stay somewhere like here without money to spend, we would never make it to the next crop of mushrooms if we were broke, we would starve.

When Fable got better, we had to leave New Stalliongrad, go south to the NCR, have a better life somewhere safe.

Fable’s dream was to move to Junction R-7 and meet Fluttershy. Fable loved animals, she once had a puppy named Dreamy, the poor thing died in the middle of the night due to the cold, I couldn’t bare to tell her what happened.

So I said that Celestia had chosen Dreamy to be sent to Fluttershy so he could live a happier life, ever since then she has been determined to get to R-7, to meet Fluttershy and reunite with Dreamy. It’s cruel and unrealistic I know, but Fable has put up with so much in her life, she deserved a break from the sadness and depression.

“We will have to leave New Stalliongrad, go make a home somewhere in the NCR, or even the wilderness maybe” I replied, still stroking her mane.

The wilderness are the areas that no nation has claimed as their own, mostly all of it is on the West Coast of Equestria, out there is the lawless wasteland we all know so well.

“I have to go and work now, Fable. Remember, stay in bed, keep quiet and if something happens, my revolver is just here.”

It pained me to leave her side, but I had too, otherwise I might as well let her die.

I walked outside, threw the rag across my face in the bucket filled with clean water and then proceeded to wash myself thoroughly in the river.

I had to get those 30 bits, even if it killed me.

*

******

First stop: the docks.

This job would get me 15 bits for a mere one hour of work, only catch, it was extremely dangerous work.

The guy who owned this dry dock was an idiot, no harnesses, no tool guards and a badly ventilated workshop, working on a massive 50 metre warship. Pretty sure the downtown area of New Stalliongrad was constantly toxic, so I wore a different rag over my mouth here, as well as a set of glasses that shielded my eyes from toxins in the air.

I didn’t clock in, I signed a working hour booklet at the entrance. This place had no employment for full time, the only thing this dry dock cared about was getting the boats out as quickly as possible and as high a quality as you could get with street rats and recycled scrap metal.

The workshop, despite how much you grew to hate it, had a welcoming temperature, immediately warming my numb and cold body.

But, like I said, you grow really annoyed with it after a few minutes working in the stuffy shop.

Before me was the huge and patchy skeleton of the NSS Enchantress.

Her body, the work nowhere near completion, consisted of a metal rig with the occasional bunch of plates welded to its surface.

I was handed sunglasses and a backpack welder, I was plating this morning, thankfully not the most dangerous job on the list. At least I wasn’t scuttling like on Wednesday, I never wanted to see that much blood again, ever.

I was lucky enough to be able to tread air with my wings, but the weaker Pegasi as well as the Earth ponies and Unicorns had to be slung to rigs hanging above the ship, another danger in this room I would like to avoid. That thing had snapped, multiple times, killing many.

Hours and hours of hot sticky work welding and many oxygen refills later I had nearly expertly welded down an area ten metres long. I was proud, I was going to get my 30 coin easily.

But of course somepony had to fuck it up.

I have no idea what happened, but my theory is that somepony knocked the support stands and the result was a horrid sight.

The behemoth of a ship groaned and in a mix of ponies yelling, metal shrieking and wood splintering, the boat rocked slowly before tumbling down onto a group of workers and sending bolts and shrapnel flying.

The sound of the ponies trapped beneath, being squashed like insects would never leave me.

I just hovered, gobsmacked at the ruin before me. Several unlucky survivors escaped with limbs cut clean off, screaming frantically as they cried in agony. One particular victim had a rivet right through his eye, another two images that would never leave me.

Despite my terrified state, I was also furiously angry. This meant one thing, I wasn’t getting paid, I did nearly three hours of breakless work for nothing.

After we were kicked out I had only 2 more options, I had to do 4 hours of work for Whiskey Shot, our local blacksmith or do some crate hauling.

I had no problem with doing either of these, my only annoyance was the part of me that knew if the ship hadn’t tumbled I would already be back home with a vial of medicine at my side.

I walked down the streets making my way out of the industrial district and made a V line to the blacksmith.

Whiskey Shot was a dick most of the time, but he appreciates hard work, heck he knows about how Fable is sick and decided to change the usual 5 coins an hour thing for 10 so I could get the money for the medicine faster.

I navigated my way through the twisting snow covered streets dodging others and staring that the ground.

I heard a rumble and when I looked up a large battle tank was rolling down the road beside me.

I looked back down again and continued down the street back to market square, where Whiskey Shot's blacksmith was located.

I slowly trotted in and saw Whiskey Shot behind the counter casually reading the newspapers until he looked up and saw me.

"ah yes Nimbus, come in" the blacksmith dropped his paper on the counter and walked over slowly.

Whiskey Shot was a considerably old unicorn buck, he had wavy Green hair at one point but it had since greyed. He also had a sapphire blue coat and a cutiemark of a bellow.

"I heard there was an accident at the the dry dock, you get hurt?" he Inquired as he looked around the store for a job to start me with.

"No I'm fine, I was plating so I was pretty much on the roof the whole morning"

The old buck sighed as he floated me a lead apron.

"Good, okay so I'm going to start you off on the furnace, you just keep loading ingots into the furnace until it's full and keep pouring molds"

I nodded "yes sir"

The hours went by in sort of a haze, as I toiled away lifting metals and tools, hammering and shaping, moulding and pouring but soon I had done the 3 hours and I had my 30 coin as well as 10 extra, just in case.

I thanked Whiskey and galloped full speed back to the house, I had the money to buy the medicine.

Fable was going to be okay.

I rushed down the ramp and up to the entrance to our little lean to shelter.

After tying my house cloth to my face I walked in slowly.

"Fable it's Nimbus, I have the rest of the money"

I walked over to look at my sister, I thanked every goddess I could that she was still alive.

She was still shaking quietly, and as lifted the secret plank and retrieved the bag with the rest of the money in it I heard my weak sister call out to me.

"thank you...Nimbus"

That was enough.

I sprinted as hard as I could to the alchemist.

Through the streets. Past the ponies.

Finally I reached the Alchemist, I nearly broke the glass in the door as I rushed in.

"Ineedamagnificentocureallplease" I said trying to regain my breath.

"What?" the alchemist replied as he dried a flask in his magic.

"A magnificento cure all please" I said now that I could breathe

"That's better, I'll go get one" the alchemist yawned as he vanished behind his curtain.

I sat there for a little admiring the potions and spell tomes that decorated the display case.

He returned with a vile of blood red liquid in his magical grasp.

"That's 250 please" the unicorn said, plonking the vile on the counter.

I fished out the money and placed it on the counter.

After a quick flick through of the coins he smiled and pushed the vile toward me.

"Have a good day" he said as I slipped the medicine into my vest and walked out.

I jogged back, taking the longer way home as to avoid confrontation or obstacles that could stop me, making extra careful to not trip or fall over.

I once again ran down the fishing ramp and through the small moat of water around our home and into the front door, wrapping the rag around me in as I did so.

My sister was still shaking in the corner, my body relaxed, I had done it.

I had saved my sisters life.

I poured the potion into her open mouth and sighed as she swallowed it.

Fable coughed lightly, the potion was very bitter almost like drinking vinegar, I had taken one ages ago when I was her age, nearly threw it right back up.

“I know it tastes awful Fable, but you have to keep it down, it will cure you”

I think we just sat there for a few hours sort of half awake half asleep.

I awoke when I heard whispering and gravel shifting outside my door.

I growled at the door and seized the revolver in my jaws and pointed it at the door.

I had never killed anypony, but if whoever this was wasn't popping in for a friendly hello, by the goddesses, the stars and everything in between I was going to learn.

The curtain shifted, the moment It did I pulled the hammer back to a satisfying

'click!'

The shadowy figure in the doorway stood still.

I was smirking confidently, at the I intruder, obviously dead terrified after realising a loaded gun was pointed at him.

A buzz and a flick of a switch changed that very quickly.

It was A New Stalliongrad Guard patrol, the largest one shone a headlamp at my face.

I had to swallow my heart as I stood up, And placing my gun on the floor.

It was one of the NSG's random house raids, you were taught protocol when you were in school, if not they had posters and pictures so it was fairly simple.

Stand up. Drop whatever you're doing and stand to

The left of the door as the inspection.

"I see you know procedures, unlike your kin here" the largest guard smirked

"She's frightfully sick sir, I'm afraid she can't get up" I reported to the group leader.

"Is that so? Well she can remain in bed for the search, now my lad, we will conduct our business, you must stay near the door at all costs, and by no circumstance may you leave that position" he stated

"Fish Bone, HappenStance, with me, we are inspecting the house" the leader continued

I was left alone by a hapless guard, who looked only a few years older than me, he looked bored and annoyed as he stood keeping watch over me.

I think a sick idea creeped into his head to fuck with me, because he looked at me and smirked devilishly.

"Whatt'a beautiful sister you have, such a shame she's sick" the punk smiled "You know what's wrong with her?"

" I'm afraid not, I think it's pneumonia" I replied as I half glanced at him

The guard smiled and walked to the foot of my sisters resting place.

"You know what the best solution is? Little bit of therapy"

The punk lifted up her sheets and peeked in at my sisters body.

I stomped and growled at the buck.

The buck yanked out a small shotgun "that's not wise Street Rat! If you pull something like that again you dirty shit, you're going right to Artechoka!"

I held myself back.

The guard grinned and returned to my sleeping sister, staring intently at her rump through the sheets.

I growled at him again "Touch my sister, you will die"

He dropped the blanket and stormed over to me.

He lifted me up and slammed me into a wall, keeping me suspended by holding my neck with his hoof as he pushed it hard against the wall.

"Was that a threat you stinking street rat?"

I smiled, despite my troubled breathing.

"You bet your ass it was" I replied

The guard growled and threw me across the room sending me sprawling into the rickety table.

I coughed and trembled as I rose to my hooves, whilst in the mean time realizing my leg wraps had unwound.

My stripes were clearly visible.

"Well Well Well, I hope you like the cells of Artechoka, because that's where you're going you striped scum!"

With a flash of thought I charged the guard and head-butted him as hard as I could.

His limp body tumbled back and he stared at the roof

I had dazed him he sat on his back staring at the ceiling, his vision swimming as he had to rethink.

I ran over to my sister and lifted her up and onto my back.

I had assaulted a guard, and my secret was out.

We couldn't stay in New Stalliongrad.

I rushed as hard as I could out the door of the shelter, up the ramp and out into the streets.

I had roughly 2 minutes before the guards realized what had happened.

The gate was halfway across the city, no good.

Fuck, what was I meant to do?

Where do I go?

The gate was nearly 12 minutes away, one of those guards was a unicorn, just as protocol.

The guards had a nearly flawless magical communications network, and a unicorn was almost like the radio technicians of the old pre war armies.

And that meant one thing, every guard detail had to have a unicorn for communication.

I had to get out as quickly as possible, and that meant one thing, and one pony.

Tunnel Rat.

Okay, I need to explain further here.

I am part of an underground resistance network, in a way.

It's not official, I'm not officially a resistance fighter.

I'm sort of in a 'protection' contract with them.

Well my father was.

Okay.

This group is called Freedom Stripes, they are a group dedicated to feeding and keeping Zonys and Zebras alive in these harsh unforgiving streets.

Every so often for guaranteed protection, I had give up an entire harvest of mushrooms.

It meant we went hungry from time to time, but it meant I could take advantage of something in particular.

Tunnel Rat.

I carefully walked up to him, Rat was a Cheerful and often humorous unicorn Zony.

He looked up from his barrel fire which lighted his reading.

"I was wondering when I would see you Nimbus" Tunnel Rat joked as he stood up from his fire.

My sister moaned on my back as she shifted slightly.

I shushed her lightly and whispered in her ear.

"What's wrong with your sister Nimbus?" Tunnel Rat asked as he tried to peer over my shoulder in order to see her.

"She's sick Rat, there was a routine raid on the house, they found out I was a Zony, we need to get out of New Stalliongrad" I said whilst rubbing my sister's neck.

"I don't know Nimbus, these things are expensive, the tunnels beneath New Stalliongrad aren't exactly safe" Tunnel Rat said quietly

"Please Rat, I have never once claimed anything from the stripes, no food, no shelter nothing, this is the only time I asked our group, please if you can’t do it for me do it for Fable” I pleaded

A somber tone hummed out.

The PA towers.

New Stalliongrad is split up into 8 district all of them has their own PA tower, that are in the exact center of the districts and are roughly 3 story high wire framed towers.

They were used for new laws, speeches, inspections and of course.

Fugitives.

“YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE, CITIZENS OF DISTRICT 7 ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, ZEBRA FUGITIVE‘S HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED WITHIN YOUR DISTRICT, GUARD DETAIL’S ROMEO 1:1 and ROMEO 1:2  ARE ON PATROL AND ARE WARRANTED TO ENTER AND SEARCH HOMES SHOULD THEY FEEL NECESSARY, THANK YOU”

Tunnel Rat was silent for a minute, deep in his own thought.

In the distance Spotlights from hovering pegasai shone down on the streets as they searched for me in the dark midnight streets.

“Rat we don’t have long please...”

“Okay Nimbus, I'll do it, but you owe me so much, you hear me?”

I sighed “Thank you so much Rat, I will never forget this” I replied

“Yeah yeah whatever”

We walked quietly around the corner to a dead end alleyway with a rusty dumpster in the corner.

“Help me with this would you Nimbus?” Tunnel Rat said as he stretched his body.

I carefully laid Fable on the ground and walked back to the dumpster.

Me and Tunnel Rat shouldered as hard as we could into the dumpster and slowly pushed it out of the way.

Beneath it was a sewer cover with the number 2 engraved on its surface.

“Okay stay here Nimbus, I need to grab you something” Tunnel Rat yawned as he headed back into his little shack

I heard stirring beside me.

My sister was awake.

I walked over to her side and helped her to stand up.

Her legs trembled but she eventually stood up like she did before her illness.

I hugged my sister for a brief moment, it was so comforting to see her alive and healthy once more, after all those weeks of unsure thoughts and sleepless nights, I needed this.

“Where are we?” Fable said, the weakness still evident in her voice.

“Tunnel Rats house, we have to get out of New Stalliongrad, he’s going to help us get out without getting caught”

Fable nodded quietly “Where will we go?” she asked

“You wouldn’t remember but we have a godfather, his name is Rhinestone. He lives very far away, in Trotsvok, he’ll know what to do”

I haven’t even heard my Godfather's name spoken in 4 years, I really had no idea what kind of pony he was or heck if he was even alive anymore.

Tunnel Rat came around the corner, a small case in his magic, he nodded and smiled at Fable before walking to me.

“Okay, In this case is several things you may need down there, there's a couple of chemlights in there, as well as a flare, on top of that there is a 9mm pistol in there, now I doubt anything will be there but thats there just in case”

He lifted his hoof for a bump, I returned it “Good luck out there Nimbus, it may seem bad in here but Equestria is still pretty fucked up outside those walls, do me a favor and don’t stick your neck out too much okay?”

“Thank you Tunnel Rat, I will never forget this”

Tunnel Rat lifted the cover up to reveal the dark labyrinth of tunnels that were buried beneath this city.

I climbed down first and helped Fable down as she followed.

Tunnel Rat peered over the open hole and looked down at me and Fable “You two know what the Freedom Stripes flag looks like right?”

I nodded.

“Good, just follow the flags and you’ll get out, goodbye Nimbus”

I heard heavy metal rubbing against concrete and watched as we were plunged into darkness as the cover was placed back on the sewer hole.

I don’t think I have ever been somewhere so dark.

I opened the case and retrieved two of the cylindrical chemlights.

I bent them both until they snapped and shook them quickly until they were soon glowing enough to illuminate both of us.

I gave one to Fable and told her to keep it on her so we wouldn’t get separated.

I looked about and on the right wall was a small and crude etching of the Freedom Stripes Flag, a small box with raised striped hoof within it.

I sighed, this was my life now, an underground fugitive running from the guards and hiding in the streets.

Alas little did I know the journey ahead of me, and as we all know every journey starts with a step into the unknown.

Never has a term been so literal to me.

LEVEL UP: WELCOME TO LEVEL 1!

PERK ADDED: Family Feud

When around a memeber of your kin, you’re 20% more accurate and get a nifty 10% endurance boost!

“ I am sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read this, thank you so much and please stay tuned for the next installment”

DARCYSUPREMEST.