Fallout: Saddle Arabia Compendium, Vol. 1

Stable Alpha

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Stable-Tec produced some of Equestria’s finest pieces of wartime technology, from the Crusader Maneframe to the sturdy underground Stables that helped keep Equestria’s population safe once the bombs fell. For the most part, anyways. But what many ponies didn’t know (though it wasn’t exactly secret) was that Stable-Tec was looking to expand. Certainly not into Zebra territory, but into their neighboring countries and nations.

The most enterprising and fore-sighted ponies among Equestria and Saddle Arabia reached an agreement early on in the war, and development of the Stable-Tec Saddle Arabian Satellite Headquarters began shortly after the company’s foundation. While perhaps not as wildly designed as some of their other products, the Saddle Arabian S.T.H.Q. was indeed impressive, and boasted over one hundred floors to be sub-leased, assisting with the cost of construction and operation. What’s more, profits from these lessees helped fund one of the most ambitious productions by Stable-Tec to date.

Stable Alpha.

Where other stables were designed to protect hundreds (if not thousands) of ponies when the bombs fell, Stable Alpha was designed not only to protect them, but to help them thrive underground. This is thanks largely in part to the Damarescussian Council, a group of seventy-four ponies who saw that the companies and corporations in their fair city operated fairly and justly.

Stable Alpha’s construction began six years before the end of the war, with a labor force consisting largely of Saddle Arabian ponies, supervised and supplemented by Equestrian Unicorns and other Stable-Tec representatives. All of their plans and schematics passed under the watchful eyes of three councilponies, who ensured nothing would go amiss. As for the funding, only a small portion of it actually came from Equestria proper. Many of the projects, schematics, and designs were purchased wholesale by the Damarescussian Council to be implemented specifically in Alpha.

Thus, Project Alpha was born, with more advanced technology and design than (arguably) any other stable in Equestria, and the wishes of the burgeoning city under its wings. Founded on a fair amount of tradition and innovation, Stable Alpha existed to protect and nourish the ponies within, providing them the tools and resources to make the world a better place.

The construction is as follows:

Level 1: Atrium, Security, Administration, Medical
The first level of Stable Alpha was the focus of a lot of controversy at the beginning of Project Alpha. As it was the first level to be broken ground on, and the first to be constructed, it saw the largest amount of conflict between the Equestrian unicorns supervising the project and Saddle Arabian laborers producing what very well could have been the future home of their own kin. In the end, the Saddle Arabian workers won the bulk of the arguments, explaining that Alpha was to be constructed with a different aesthetic in mind, to mirror the fact that it wasn’t an Equestrian endeavour, but rather a future home for their own culture and ways.

The top level started with a modest outfit that houses the Security Barracks, a satellite Armory, and the entrance itself. Following a large, sloped ramp down from there, one would find themselves inside the pride and joy of Alpha: The Atrium. The communal space had been designed to feel open and welcome, a massive, vaulted dome that stretched almost fourteen hundred feet across. Between the walls and the machinery that ran throughout the whole stable, there were spell matrices embedded to simulate weather effects, up to and including rain and snow. Thus, the walls of the Atrium could be enchanted to appear however the Overmare wanted them to, displaying a bright, sunny landscape (complete with scented summer breeze) or a rainy, melancholy forest.

The Administrative Offices and Medical facility were added to this level as well, sitting opposite one another. Admin housed the Overmare’s office, as well as offices for the department heads. Medical was a miracle in and of itself, sporting healing pods, facilities to brew healing potions, and anything a modern hospital could find itself wanting.

Level 2: Education & Development
Beneath the impressive Atrium was Saddle Arabia’s heart and soul: the school facilities. Ponies in Alpha could use the myriad of resources available on this level to explore almost any subject imaginable, up to and including advanced medicine, music theory, ancient history, or theoretical physics. Terminals linked to the Stable-Tec network provided access to just about any subject imaginable, and classrooms for professors and teachers to educate their fellow ponies. Included on this level was a modest library with a healthy collection of books, both for reference and recreation.

Other features of Level 2 include training facilities for guards, outfitted with hard-light projection systems that could simulate multiple combatants without any major risks to the training ponies, or even a dancing partner should one be so inclined to program a routine into the system. (Records indicate several ponies have and continue to use this system for this very purpose.)

Level 3: Cafeteria, Food Preparation, Food Recycling
Taking a page from other stables in the neighboring Equestria, Stable Alpha boasted a recycling system that could process food waste and other materials back into edible forms, furthering the longevity and health of its ponies. Records indicate this system is seldom utilized outside of novelty, as other levels of the stable provide enough resources, to be detailed below.

Nevertheless, Stable Alpha’s cafeteria and food facilities could feed more than enough of the stable’s occupancy limits, with plenty to spare. The ponies of Alpha would be hard-pressed to go without, and barring a terrible accident that would rob them of the use of Level 4, will find themselves more than well equipped to handle the food needs of a developing stable.

Level 4: Orchard, Fields, Food Production, Food Storage
Level 4 of Stable Alpha features the underground simulated-sunlight orchards and fields used to grow the majority of their food supply. Prominent crops feature: Apples, corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes. Other fruits and vegetables are grown here, as well, but are largely to supplement the stable’s high-protein diet. Future Overmares may see fit to re-appropriate other areas of this facility to grow other crops, should the demand be sufficient enough to outweigh current supply concerns. The central area of this level features a cold storage facility, already packed with emergency rations and meals to help feed the stable in the event of some catastrophic error, robbing them of the use of their farms. Should the need arise, the entire stable can function off of the recycling system, though returning this level’s facilities to use would be a pressing concern, for safety if nothing else.

Level 5: Family Housing, Recreational Facilities, Pool/Communal Bathhouse
Ponies need to live somewhere, right? Stable-Tec spared no expense on this level and its sister, just beneath it. The larger of the two, Level five sports wide fields to be used for recreational activities such as hoofball, soccer, or other sporting events. Together with an Equestrian Games-sized pool and spa facility, there wasn’t much room left for housing, but five suites are located here, with accommodations for families up to twelve strong.

Level 6: Single Housing, Lounge, Stable Bar
Whomever could not find accommodations on the level above, found their home in the smaller suites and apartments located on this level. Families up to four and newly-married couples can find their accommodations here, alongside the stable’s budding nightlife and watering hole. This level houses some of the more ‘adult’ entertainment facilities, from a hookah lounge to a fully-stocked bar (with distillation and brewing facilities.) Together with the level above, a total of seven hundred and fifty ponies could comfortably live in these homes and apartments, though records indicate the initial number to be sheltered here falls short of that, not to mention the facility could facilitate upwards of a thousand ponies, with living quarters parceled more judiciously.

Level 7: Maintenance, Main Reactor Level
This level was arguably tied for the Atrium in terms of over-development, as Stable-Tec didn’t want to risk such a large stable running short on resources. Everything and anything that could be related to the Stable’s well-being is located here, including the main reactor. It is supplemented by a triple-redundant generator array, should the failsafes be tripped and the reactor be shut down, or risk the lives of the ponies in Alpha. Furthermore, this level is protected by soundproofing and radiation prevention, making it almost twice as far away from the residential levels as they are from one another. Stable-Tec did not want to risk any problems with the development of this level, and spared no expense in keeping the ponies of Alpha safe.

Level 8: Storage, Factory, Main Armory, REDACTED
Alpha would not prosper unless it found itself able to produce. This level was equipped with a miniature factory and enough materials that its residents could feasibly produce anything and everything that already existed within the stable. If they were hard-pressed, they could even create an additional reactor, in case the first failed for whatever reason. The storage facilities here housed enough raw materials, blueprints, and tools to ensure the continued longevity of the stable. Alongside the stable’s REDACTED and main Armory, this level is largely off-limits to anypony who doesn’t have the Overmare’s clearance.

Level 9: Additional Storage, Additional Production
Level 9 is the first of the levels that Stable Alpha made all on their own. Alpha was originally designed with only the aforementioned 8 levels, but has since been expanded thanks to the plethora of resources and labor of its residents. This level houses the stable’s excavation machinery and another, even smaller factory designed to develop their weaponry, armor, and recreational equipment (when the factory on the above level is too busy with more critical jobs.)

Level 10: Maintenance Backup, Secondary Reactor Level
Taking no risks, the Overmares of Alpha’s past decided that a backup facility to their original one was necessary. Housed down here is another reactor, another generator array, and more water and air purification facilities. The stable swaps between the two regularly, ensuring neither falls into disrepair from not being used for too long, or negligence. The fact that the schedule for switching is more-or-less randomized keeps the maintenance team on its best behavior, ensuring both facilities are kept in peak running condition. Thus far in Stable Alpha’s history, neither level has required the other by way of critical failure or damage.

Level 11: Excavation, Mining, and Refinery
Alpha would not have been able to expand this much without a suitable outlet of raw materials. Level 11 was where Alpha began to expand outwards, mining and stripping the surrounding bedrock for valuable ore, gems, and other materials such as silicon, sand, or thermal energy. Alongside a refinery for purifying geodes into high-quality gems, Level 11 is where Alpha gets most of its raw materials.

Level 12: RESTRICTED
Level 12 is absolutely restricted to anypony who doesn’t have an Overmare’s express written permission.

Other stats
Total Population (current) - 482
Total Population (peak) - 512
Percentage of Race Division - 39% Earth Pony, 34% Unicorn, 24% Pegasi
Age Groups - 0-5: 89, 5-10: 79, 10-15: 43, 15-20: 44, 20-25: 77, 25-30: 76, 30-40: 34, 40-70: 40