//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Awoken // Story: Fallout: Equestria - Stargazer // by MrShinyObject //------------------------------// Chapter 1 - Awoken “Can’t hear ya, I’m asleep” --- --- --- /// /// ///  |  |  |  |  |  |  \\\ \\\ \\\ --- --- --- “So, child, you wish to know of the great war that has destroyed our land?” “Yes.” “Are you sure? This may not be easy for you to accept.” “Well, I’m going to have to, aren’t I? There’s no way I can try and live somewhere so messed up if I don’t know how it got that way.” “Very well. Tell me young buck, what do you remember about the stars?” “They’re... bad. They tempt us with their power, but we can’t ever accept it, because they bring evil to everything they touch.” “Very true. Off in the distance, far from here, there are creatures that had not only accepted the evil into their hearts, but worshipped a being of the stars as a goddess. For a time we thought we could live in harmony with these creatures, but it was not long before they slaughtered our people. The demon took charge. It was here that we, as a people, as the proud Zebra Empire, decided that they could not be left to wreak destruction on us.” “That’s it? They allied with the stars and so we decided to kill them all?” “No, little one, be patient. There is much more I have yet to tell.” --- --- --- \\\ \\\ \\\  |  |  |  |  |  |  /// /// /// --- --- --- Nothing but silence. Silence for a moment. Silence for an eternity. Nothing is heard, nothing is seen, nothing is felt, nothing is thought. A living being, but just barely, is housed in a personal sanctuary of peace and ignorance. A blade is thrust into this bubble of stillness, nearly killing its occupant if not for the precision of whomever wields this blade. The blade cuts through the barrier to this sanctuary, a straight line from the top of the device to the base. Strange liquids, swirling colors of all types, flow through this incision in the dark green casing. Finally, along with the liquids flows out the device’s sole inhabitant. The young zebra begins to open his eyes. He is still physically numb, and his eyes too are having trouble adjusting to having use again. He works up the energy to blink a few times. He tries to stand, but decides instead to just get into a more comfortable sitting position. “Good,” came a feminine voice from somewhere in front of the buck, “Most try to stand up right away and end up breaking something.” The voice leaned in closer to the buck to give him a chance to look upon a face for the first time in over a hundred years. “I know I did.” The buck looked around a bit more, but couldn’t see anything more than a few feet in front of him. That was something though. Below him flowed the liquids that just a moment ago he was suspended in. They were spiraling away down a drain not too far away, changing colors with every tile they passed. To his right was the device that he had just come from, or possibly been freed from. A large green blob, emptied of its juices, sat in the middle of a large metal contraption with a glass cover lifted above it by some metal cables. The pod was adorned with an array of lights and more than a few bottles of yet more strange liquids, still half full. His gaze turned to the zebra mare in front of him. She wore a bit of light leather armor on her back, a strange golden bracelet on her left foreleg, and a long curved zebra officer's sword strapped to her right foreleg. Her eyes were a deep shade of pure blue, and stared directly at him. He thought he’d attempt speaking, “Where... where am I? And why? Why was I here and.. and why was I in that thing?” The mare responded with a smile and an answer, albeit an unclear one,  “Somewhere safe. You’re here because someone cared about you very deeply. You were in that thing because it was keeping you alive.” She let out a grin, “and more good news! You can still talk, and even remember the zebra language! That means your memory is already at level two.” The buck was bewildered. “What do you mean? What about my memory?” he asked. The mare once again answered quickly, “These stasis pods here-” she gave the pod a good smack, “-Aren’t as good as Empire Systems would have made people believe. A bit of radiation leakage and long time storage will do terrible things to a zebra’s mind. A portion of the zebras that come out of here - level 0’s - are nothing but vegetables, a few - level 5’s - come out as if a moment ago they were just going in and still remember it all, but a little under half come out with something in between. Right now we need to figure out where on the chart you are.” She held up her left hoof, showing off her bracelet. “Do you know what this is?” The buck investigated it closely. It wasn’t just a bracelet, it had a few lights on it and a small screen. What he thought were rings were actually little vials filled with who knows what. So many strange liquids in so little time. He answered bluntly, “No.” She let out a sigh, but kept her grin, for his sake, and pulled back her hoof. “No recollection of modern technology, so no level 4. That’s alright, sometimes it comes back. Lets try something a little older, and something you’ve been seeing since kindergarten.” The mare carefully presented to him the sword in her right hoof. The buck marvelled at it. It had not aged well, that was for sure, and the plunges into baths of chemicals couldn’t have been treating it kindly, but despite its few bits of rust it still glistened in front of him. The sword’s hilt was specially made so that the zebra using it could slip it onto their hoof instead of holding it with their mouth. It left officers with one less leg to stand on, but gave them incredible range and power. Just by looking at it he could tell it retained its sharpness and lethality. Three stars were etched into the side of the blade, but he couldn’t tell if they had been added or they were there since its creation. The stars looked scratched in, but they fit so well where they were it was hard to think they weren’t always there. After realizing he had been staring at it in silence for an awkwardly long time, he turned up towards the mare and replied, both excited and a bit embarrassed, “Yes. That’s a zebra officer’s sword. Used for centuries by leaders of our armies.” The mare smiled and pulled back the sword. She assured the buck, “That means you fit squarely in level 3. I just barely made it that far when I got pulled out. You’re lucky.” She pulled out her left hoof again and pressed a few buttons on her bracelet. She then held it up to the buck’s right foreleg. It started making noises, and he could feel things moving about on his skin. Before he could ask what it was doing, the mare butted in with one more question, “Here’s the tough one: do you remember your name?” The buck forgot all about the thing on his leg. Every brain cell he had was trying to think back to what his name was. He could remember a few things from his nation’s lore, some stuff about proper etiquette, but nothing about himself. His face expressed this clearly, and the mare didn’t wait for an answer. She comforted him, “It’ll be fine, level 5’s are usually the only ones who remember anything about their personal lives, it’s just that names are usually stored a bit deeper in the subconscious.” The bracelet let out two beeps, and without looking at it the mare moved it from his leg to his shoulder and gave him a reassuring pat. She continued, “Coming up with names is easy though, just think of something you like and that’ll work. I basically got mine just from looking at my glyph mark.” The buck’s eyes widened. He turned back to look at his own flank, only to see it bare of anything but stripes. The mare had looked too. As much as the buck was disappointed, she was excited. She told the boy, “A young buck! That’s always good, we could use more children. I wouldn’t have guessed by your age, but some zebras just take longer than others.” The buck caught something she said, and asked her another question, “Wait, how do you know how old I am?” The buck got a hunch. “It’s that bracelet, isn’t it? What is it? What does it do?” The mare smiled again, and replied, “You’ve got that right. You’re a smart one aren’t you?” She patted him on the head, his mane still wet from the pod’s juices, then broke eye contact with the colt for the first time since he’s seen her. She admired the device on her wrist, and informed him, “This here is called a Elixir Mixer. Cheesy name, I know, but apparently rhyming became real popular a few years before you got put in that pod. It’s meant to help witch doctors, providing basic medical information and storing recipes for over 500 potions. The ones we find with the pods usually only have about 50 in there, but this one’s our doctor’s personal model and is a bit more than half full. She lends it to whoever’s opening up the stasis pods.” The mare turned back towards the buck and grinned yet again. “And today, that was me, and it was your pod.” A twinkle came to the mare’s eye as she remembered something. “That reminds me, let’s see if there’s anything in your locker,” she said. The mare trotted over to the stasis pod and pressed a few buttons at the base of the device. Some buttons turned from red to green, and a handle unfolded from the bottom of the pod. The mare turned back to the buck and waved a hoof at it. “I’ll let you slide it open. Wouldn’t dream of touching your stuff before you,” she said. The buck walked up to it cautiously, put his hoof on the handle, and pulled it. The locker, which seemed to him to work more like a drawer, screeched as the rusty metal rollers slid the container out. Inside were three things: an elixir mixer, a lunchbox, and a cloak. The elixir mixer was in much worse a state than the one the mare had, its vials empty and bronze tubes tarnished. The lunchbox had just a few slices of long spoiled bread, and featured on the front an image of the emperor looking out contemplatively over an army of troops. The cloak was expertly crafted, but just a simple black hooded cloak. The mare looked over his shoulder at the contents. “Well, that’s not that bad,” she said, “I’m sure we can get a handful of recipes out of that Elixir Mixer, but I wouldn’t suggest strapping it on until we make sure it’s not going to make your feel worse rather than better. Same goes for the bread. Feel free to throw on the cloak though.” The mare let out a chuckle, but soon adopted a more somber tone. She could tell from the despondent look on his face that he was expecting more. She informed the buck, “Some level 5’s have told us that there wasn’t a lot of time to get zebras in these, and they didn’t know for how long. They just kind of grabbed what they had on them and ran. More than a few of these have been empty, most just have the Elixir Mixer. And sometimes it’s better that there’s nothing personal in there. It’s better just to forget what life was like and just go on living.” The buck stared at the locker and thought. She was right. Whatever he was going to do in this new world, it would have nothing to do with what he was before. This is a new world, after all. The buck thought about this new technology, both the Elixir Mixer and the stasis pod he had been in. Things were different, but he didn’t know how different, and he wasn’t sure he would ever know for sure. He was fine not knowing what exactly got him into that pod, and trusted the mare when she said it was because someone loved him. They were even kind enough to leave him a snack and a change of clothes. He threw on the cloak and put the Elixir Mixer and lunchbox in the hood as in impromptu bag. His vision felt like it had improved, so he decided to take another look at his surroundings. The lack of windows and the stone walls told him that he was in a cave of some sort, retrofitted for holding the pods. The cave walls were flattened stone, but the majority of the floor and ceiling were metal, except for the occasional patch. He turned back towards his stasis pod. It was not alone, but in fact an entire line of them repeated as far down the cave as he could see before things got blurry, dozens or maybe hundreds. They were spaced about three body’s length apart, and pretty much back up against the wall. The pod to the left of his own had its glass cover broken open, and the green bubble inside it had dried up into a wrinkled ball. The two to the left of that one were like his, only the green casing had shriveled up there as well. To the right of his pod, there was another that was still sealed, tanks full, but with the lights darkened. He could assume that it lost power some time ago, and the occupant is most likely long dead. The nearest one that looked like it was still running was four pods to his right. Its lights were still flashing, the glass cover was unharmed, and it was emitting a very soft glow. But that was not the only clue that it was still functional. Two Zebras huddled around it, one looking closely at the lights, apparently some sort of systems monitor, while the other had removed a panel to examine the wires behind it. The buck couldn't make out the specific features of the Zebras, but their size told him they were probably stallions. The only thing differentiating the two besides what they were doing was that the second had a saddlebag full of tools. The mare followed his gaze. She told him, “You are not the first, and you will hopefully not be the last. We’ve been cracking these things open since the tribe first discovered this place a few years ago. Those two working over there are Umene and Ziren. Umene’s the one digging through the wires. He was part of the original tribe and was smart enough to figure out how to hack into the pods without killing the user.”  The pods have some sort of fail-safe built in. If you so much as chip the glass, it’d turn the outside layer of that squishy bubble hard as rock and too thick to cut through. Then the whole thing would get like that, and the zebra inside just ends up encased in a crystallized potion.” The mare shuddered at the thought. Umene thumped the pod with his hoof. The other zebra then violently yanked his head out of the cavity in the pod and spat some loose wires onto the ground. He pulled a measuring instrument out of his saddlebag and stuck his head back in behind the pod’s access panel. The mare continued, “Ziren there is just a level 4 who’s been helping out since he got out last year. Always knows just what to cut, we’re thinking he was an electrician before he got put in. It used to take months to hack into just one of these things, now the two of them working together can get the lid off in just a few weeks.” The buck had another question, but he wasn’t sure he would like the answer, or even that the mare would give it. Still, he asked, “Why? Didn’t you say these keep zebras alive?” The mare sighed, then let her grin fade away for once. She gave him the honest truth, “Because no one should have to be in one of those things forever. Umene has given me his word that they aren’t set to ever let anyone out, and you can see that these don’t stay working for long. If we don’t get them out of there, we can’t be sure they ever will get out.” The mare’s expression hardened into a somber frown. “Though it’s not much of a world we’re bringing them into.” He remained quiet, and the two of them observed the laboring Zebras as they went about their business. His curiosity was burning at him to ask what she meant about this world not being one a zebra would want to live in, but he was too afraid of the answer. Obviously he missed out on a lot, and from the looks of things this was going to be rough. Then again, she was like him once, and she seemed to be adjusting fairly well. She was even freeing zebras herself now. Whatever this new world was, he was sure he could figure it out. One of the zebras caught the stares being thrown their way. Umene called out, “Hey! Who’s the new guy?” The mare shook herself to get her head straight, then shouted back to the zebra mechanic, “Level 3. Healthy young buck, no glyph mark and no name.” She turned back to the buck and assured him, “Yet.” Umene yelled back to her, “Well, come up with something and get him to the rest of the little ones. And get that BrewBuck back to the Madame.” “Yeah, yeah,” the mare muttered as she slipped off the Elixir Mixer. She slid her officer’s sword into a sheath on her back. She turned back to the buck and told him, “C’mon, follow me. You got some people to meet and some places to see.” “BrewBuck?” the buck inquired. “Nickname for the Elixir Mixer,” the mare explained, “Turns out ponies had something similar to these in Equestria called ‘Popbucks’ or something. Some people just really hate calling them Elixir Mixers, and ‘BrewBuck’ just sounds so much nicer. Can’t help but agree with them, I think. Now let’s get out of here.” He followed the mare as she trotted down the tunnel, passing pods that were all either broken or unsealed. As they walked, the buck finally thought to see the mare’s glyph mark. It was a large, five pointed star with lines running from each of the points and connecting in the center. This reminded him of the stars he had seen on her sword, and he was now certain that they were scratched in. This reminded the buck of something she mentioned earlier about her glyph mark, and so he asked her one last question before they left the cave, “What is your name?” The mare didn’t even turn around, just replied, “Oh, I never said, did I? It’s Nyota.” As she said it, they passed an open pod with a familiar star etched into it with the tip of a sword, only a few steps away from the entrance to the cave. All this was making the buck a little uneasy. He didn’t consider himself superstitious, but this was starting to worry him. “You sure do love stars,” the buck said, finally managing to say something that wasn't a question. As Nyota opened the door, she turned to face him and said, “You have no idea.” * * *                        * * *                        * * * The buck was surprised to learn that the door did not exit the cave, but simply lead to another. However, unlike the previous one, this chamber was bare and mostly unchanged from the natural state, with the only metal in the room being the door they had just entered through. The walls were mostly unfinished, and the natural stalagmites and stalactites were still present. It was just as huge as the last chamber, so much so that even with his fully recovered eyes the buck could not see the end of it. It was also much wider than the last room, and could probably comfortably fit an entire battalion of zebras. But this was not a battalion in front of him. It was a town. The cave was full of buildings, each one of them teeming with Zebras. Torches lined the sides of the cave, keeping the outer edges well lit, but the center was nearly dark. Although the buildings were hastily constructed, they seemed to be holding up quite well. To his left was what looked like basic housing, mostly a few huts, but some blankets and mattresses sat outside as well. A few Zebras were sleeping, but the majority were going about their business in the town itself. To his right, there was a traditional shaman's hut, and nearby was a fenced-in area filled with foals. They were all younger than him, and he worried for a brief moment that, being glyphless, he'd be corralled in with them. He didn't mind being fenced in (after all, he’d been in a much, much smaller pen for much, much longer), but he was not a fan of children. Nyota gave him a nudge to remind him she was there. She clued him in a bit about the town, “We’ve got the sleeping quarters over there, the kids we let play around in that area over there, and Madame’s hut is the fancy place with all the welcome masks by it. The entrance to the cave is around a little bend at the end back there, but we try not to let anyone go wandering too close to it. Nothing personal, just that we’re trying to keep this place our little secret until the pods are all emptied. “Now, I need to go get the Elixir Mixer back to the Madame. I’d be fine leaving you, if you wanted to get a feel for the town on your own, or you can come with me and meet the Madame. She likes to meet all the new releases, and it’d be nice if you’d let her check out your Elixir Mixer for anything new, but we’d understand if you’d like to keep it to yourself.” “No, that’s fine, I’d love to meet her,” he replied, pulling the Elixir Mixer out of his hood and stuffing it in her saddlebag. “And I think I like calling them BrewBucks.” Nyota smirked. “Well, that makes two of us. Glad I can drop the act now.” She poked at the BrewBuck with her muzzle to make sure it was snug in her saddlebag, then started a slow trot to the hut as the colt followed. “One thing you might want to know before you see the Madame, though,” she warned, “You’re about to meet your first ghoul.” * * *                        * * *                        * * * Nyota knocked on the hunk of bark that made the door to the Madame’s hut. He was more than a little worried about learning what a ghoul was, but the well-crafted traditional welcoming masks around the hut put him mostly at ease. A raspy, weary voice came from inside. The buck wasn’t even entirely confident it was a mare’s. “Who is it out there? Did you need something?” Nyota answered back casually, “No, it’s just Nyota. I’m returning the BrewBuck. I’ve also got the tribe’s newest member out here, with another BrewBuck for you to check out.” Slow footsteps could be heard coming closer to the door. The buck tensed as the door swung open, not knowing what to expect. The buck kept his composure as the creature came into view, never showing a hint of terror or pity, but sadly could not retain his shock, and his eyes widened to take up half his face. The buck was disgusted, but relieved at what he saw. The zebra was certainly missing some things, like hair, lips, some skin, and half her tail, but he was glad that there was nothing extra, like fangs or horns. There may have been more to it, though, since he couldn’t see what was under the gold rings on her neck and both forelegs. He thought ghoul was a poor name for such a creature, since the ghouls of legend really didn’t really resemble zebras at all. The shaman was either oblivious or used to his reaction. First, she addressed the mare, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Nyota, nice to see you again. I see they let you rip open another life chamber. I’m guessing you didn’t save any of the potion?” Nyota slapped her forehead with her hoof. "Madame, we've already figured out that those juices are useless for anything we could use out here. And if I'm right, you've still got those bottles from the last one on your cupboard, still unused after a month." She pulled the BrewBucks out of her saddlebag and set them in front of the ghoul. The ghoul snatched them up from the ground and set them on a table near the door. She turned back to the mare and snidely told her, “I’ve been busy. And they’re called ‘Elixir Mixers’ not... ’BrewBucks.’” She groaned at the name. “Have some patriotism. BrewBuck is something a pony would call it,” she remarked. “The Great War’s been over for almost 200 years, Madame,” Nyota commented. “Bah!” she exclaimed, “You didn’t have to live through it!” The mare couldn’t help but correct her, “Well, actually, I did. So did he. You’re just the only one to still remember it.” That finally made her cynicism go away, but it was replaced by gloom. “Yes, I am the one who must be burdened with upholding the past, for I took the slower path.” The old witch doctor let out a deep and remorseful sigh. Her momentary depression vanished as she turned to the buck, who's surprised expression returned as he was now the subject of her attention. However, though she looked at him, she continued to address his temporary companion, "Now, if you'll excuse us Nyota, I'd like to get to know this young colt. Nyota sat down outside the door and told the old ghoul, “I’ll be waiting for him right here once you’re done with him.” The Madame shot her a glare, but turned back to the buck and smiled. “Come on in sonny,” she said, motioning him to enter the hut. “You tell me all you know about yourself - and let me take a look at that Elixir Mixer - and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” The buck thought about it, and decided to ask about what seemed to be the biggest thing so far. "What was the Great War?", and something a bit more personal, "And what is a ghoul, exactly?" Her smile weakened, but remained endearing. “This may take a while...” * * *                        * * *                        * * * An hour and a half later the buck came out of the hut, his head filled with new information, and new definitions of pain and suffering. He could not imagine what it was like for others in that time. A time when zebras were filled with so much hate. But they had their reasons, and he understood them. It wasn’t something he liked, but it was something he could wrap his head around. He would have to if he were to continue living in this world that the Great War had left him and everyone else with. He didn’t know what he would do if he ever met a pony, but for their sake he hoped he wouldn’t. He didn't want to become a monster, but he wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t up to him. Especially considering it wasn’t up to the Madame and zebras who had the same happen to them. Radiation wasn’t only thing that could turn people into horrible beasts. True to her word, Nyota was outside waiting for him. She stuffed her copy of Zebra Army: Special Ops Training Manual back into her saddlebag and walked up to the the colt. “So did she tell you everything you wanted to know?” the mare inquired. “That and then some,” he answered back. “I can’t believe she was really there.” “There’s a reason she’s our tribe’s Elder,” she added with a smirk. “Still, for her it seems like it was so recent. You’d think after all this time she’d have gotten over it. How can someone stay so angry for so long?” “It was a different time. Everyone was made to think that the war really was all that was important to them. The Madame spent the last decade of her normal life putting everything she had into the war effort. That’s what a total war is. I’m just glad the two of us made it out without that being nailed into our subconscious. The last guy I pulled out couldn’t believe the war was over, and as soon as someone left him unattended he ran out with a pistol and a grudge.” She brought up the topic, and there was something that he had been meaning to ask her. “How many zebras have you freed from the pods?” “You’re number 6,” she answered, “Well, eighth, but they were level 0’s and there wasn’t anything we could do for them.” She tapped her chin with her hoof as she recalled her previous releases. “First one was a level 4 a year and a half back. A few level 2’s, a 5, and a little filly that couldn’t even speak.  We weren’t sure whether she was a level 1 or just that young. You’re my second level 3.” “And do you...” he looked for the appropriate word for how Nyota was treating him, but couldn’t find anything, “...Do this with all the zebras you let out?” She shrugged. “Pretty much. By the time I got to the fourth guy I had the whole procedure worked out. It’s a really tough adjustment, so I figure it’s best to have a kind face guide you through it all. It’s scary, but I try and make the best out of it.” The mare started walking, and the buck followed instinctively. “There’s an old pony expression that explains it well.” She turned and stared into his eyes. “‘All I want to do is make you smile, smile, smile.’” Despite what he had learned not a minute earlier, he let a grin come to his face for the first time this century. He felt happy here. They walked for a bit in comfortable silence. The inquisitive young buck asked where she was headed. “Going to the mouth of the cave. It’s nearly dusk and I’ve got guard duty tonight,” She told him. He paused. He had just listened to a first hand account of the Great War itself, and wasn't keen to experience whatever fighting was going on in this world. The Madame had mentioned other tribes, but usually just went back to her personal experiences." Nyota made it a few more feet before she noticed that the buck wasn't following any more. She realized what she said could have been taken poorly, and was quick to reassure him. "Don't worry, though. I've been here for three years, and we've never been attacked. Good 'ol Starcutter here hasn't ever been pulled in anger." She finished up the thought by patting it lovingly. Hearing the name of her sword piqued his curiosity once again, so he asked, "Why do you have a Zebra Officer's sword? They don't just leave those lying around, after all." Nyota chuckled. “You’re right about that. Most of the original tribe says this is the first one they’ve seen.” She unsheathed Starcutter and held it up, looking at her reflection in it. She continued, “It was in my pod’s locker, it and a hoof-full of surprisingly edible zebra cakes that I scarfed down on the spot. Those stars were already etched into it, I assume by me, and I’m pretty sure that little bit of personalization is all that’s stopped it from being stolen right out from under me.” More about stars. This was going beyond just liking them. She seemed to be nearly obsessed with them! The buck let a little annoyance into his voice as he asked, “What is it with you and all this star stuff? If I remember it right, the stars are something we should be afraid of, not love.” Not appreciating the accusatory tone, Nyota spun around to glare at him. "First of all, there is nothing that anyone 'should' be afraid of, only things that everyone else is afraid of, and right now that covers just about everything in this messed up world, so don't ever let fear factor into your beliefs. Never run away from something because you’re afraid of it, run away because it’s the best option." However, she realized that she was letting her temper get the best of her, so she made a conscious effort to simmer down. It wasn't his fault that he believed what everyone told him centuries ago, or maybe even just a few minutes ago. She calmed herself, but maintained her hard gaze. "And the reason the stars are so important to me is because it's all I know about myself. When I got out of the pod, the only thing I could remember about my life was lying in the grass and stargazing. The glyph mark and the etchings on the sword were what sealed the deal. So I embraced it, named myself after the ancient Zebra word for ‘star’ and scratched one onto my pod." She turned away from him, and continued on her way, although at a much faster pace. He wasn't stupid, he could tell it wasn't an obsession now, but the remnants of her old life. It was all she knew of herself, so it was no wonder that she pursued the idea so strongly. He hurried to match her pace, and apologized. "I'm sorry if that was something you don't like to talk about." Nyota gave him a huff and told him, “Well, you’re not the first person to bring it up. Not nearly. More than one of the zebras I pulled out of the pods started freaking out as soon as they saw my glyph mark, and you saw that the Madame really doesn’t care for me either. Luckily, most of the tribe just doesn’t care and let me do what I want, but the Madame has a lot of power here. She’s the reason it took two years before they trusted me to guard the place.” The buck thought a change of topic was in order, and leapt at the opportunity. “Do you like being a guard?” Without missing a beat, her grin came back to her face, and she answered the question as if she had already forgotten the previous conversation. “Oh, yes,” she said, “It’s great. Like I said, nothing ever happens. Maybe do some reading, fiddle around with my Elixir Mixer, get some practice with Starcutter- not that I need it.” In one swift motion she pulled out her sword, threw it in the air and balanced the tip of it on her hoof, all while walking at the same pace. “Turns out muscle memory is embedded very deep in our brains. Whatever I did before I was in that pod, I was a hell of a good sword fighter.” The sword began to tilt down, and as it fell Nyota positioned herself so it flipped around and just slid back into the sheath. The buck was mesmerized by the blade, watching it as she twirled it and left his mouth agape in astonishment as she seemed to almost magically fit it back in its sheath. Even though he was staring right at it, the buck hit Nyota’s back as she came to a sudden stop. She ignored it, and informed the colt that they had reached their destination. “Here it is: the only way into the cave we’ve called home for the last 2 centuries.” The buck poked his head out from behind Nyota and looked ahead of her. They were a fair distance from the mouth of the cave, but he could vaguely see the outside world. Considering the size of the cavern, the entrance was rather small, barely the width of three or four zebras, and not even as high as two of them. It was difficult to see through the cave because a trio of trees hid most of the cave from sight. He could see just enough to determine that the cave was on the side of a hill, and that the ground outside was barren of grass. He might have seen more, but it was nighttime, and the stars only illuminated to much. However, he was curious, as always, and so took a cautious step toward the archway of rocks. Nyota very quickly put a hoof in front of him and pulled him back. “Now now, don’t get hasty,” she warned. “Remember what I said about not letting anyone too close? That still stands. The only reason you got this close is because you were tagging along with me. Hell, even I usually don’t get this close unless I’m on duty.” The buck scrunched up his face a bit. Surely she didn't mean that. "You really don't leave the cave often? None of you? I thought this was just where you guys lived." “Well...” She didn’t like what she was going to have to say. She knelt down next to the colt and explained, “It’s not that we don’t let anyone leave, it’s just that we’ve got it really good here, more than anyone who came out of a pod would know, even me. We’ve got a steady supply of healthy zebras, we’ve found some advanced tech, there’s plenty of food in the storage room past the stasis pods, and we’ve even found ways to grow food down here using just potions and some electric lights. If it were just the Madame, I’d say screw it and make a run for it, but everyone who lived on the outside agrees. They’d rather live in a cave than out there, and anyone who leaves the cave is a risk to everyone staying in it.” She stood back up again and wiped some of the dirt off her coat. And to answer your first question, no I don’t leave the cave often. In fact I’ve only been outside twice.” As she spoke she pulled out another Elixir Mixer, one in worse condition than the Madame’s, but better than the one they found in his locker. It was her own model, if the tiny star etched on the back was any sign. “Once was when I was exactly where you are right now but, with a lot less self control.” She tightened the BrewBuck and flipped a switch to turn it on. “The second time was during my first guard duty where I figured I’d just sneak off for a minute. Of course, I ended up just standing outside for the entire shift.” She gave the buck a grin and added, “I’ll give you one guess why.” He tilted his head for a moment in thought, before it hit him. "Stargazing?" He ventured. “Bingo.” The buck sighed and sat down on the ground. He kept his gaze pointing through the gap in the trees. Nyota had a point. He could see a handful of stars far, far off in the distance. They were still a little frightening to him, his mother (he assumed) had made sure of that. Still, this mare, who had plopped down next to him, changed his opinion a bit. They looked beautiful. Bits of white on a sea of black. You’d think of all the species on this planet zebras would be the ones to embrace them. “Maybe I should name myself after something star related, too,” the buck suggested. “Save yourself the trouble,” the mare scoffed. “No point in naming yourself after something no one likes.” “Isn’t that a little hypocritical?” the buck commented. “I picked my name because I believe it’s the most important thing in my life, I’m fine with the consequences of being a little less popular. You just want to call yourself that because they look pretty.” “Fair enough. Maybe the moon then?” “Don’t think that’s too good of an idea either. That was another popular rant topic for the Madame.” “How about just space in general? Or the night?” “That could work. Let’s see, the word for space...” “Nafasi, I think? Eh, sounds like a girl’s name. Night would be-” “Usiku. Not a fan, but the choice is up to you.” “I’ll pass. We got all night, don’t we?” The mare gave the buck a hearty slap on the back, then moved her hoof up a bit and ran it through his mane. “We have however much time you need.” A twig snapped outside the cave. Nyota instantly came to her feet and moved her hoof from the buck’s neck to her sheath to right in front of her, so quickly the buck didn’t even have time to react. The mare held her sword directly in front of her face, one eye on either side of its blade. The buck was taken aback at how quickly her face had turned from care and joy to focus and determination. “Whoever’s out there better grow a pair and show their ugly face,” the mare growled. Her eyes were darting around the entrance, trying to make things out in the dark and mentally separating the movements of the trees in the wind from anything else that could be lurking out there. The lines created by the tree branches would give zebra attackers a natural camouflage, but anything wanting to get in through the opening would have to block out the speckled backdrop, and if there was one thing Nyota knew it was what a star looked like. A small black ball flew in from the right side, Nyota caught sight of it after it was halfway to the ground. Her instinct was to hit it with the flat of her sword and fling it back out, but if it was an explosive it might not take too kindly to being hit hard by a piece of hard steel. Instead, she dived to catch it. She stretched her hoof out as she soared through the air, but couldn’t catch it before it hit the ground. The glass ball shattered as it hit the rocky floor, and started to fizz and smoke. Nyota realized that the ball was actually a round vial, and that whoever was out there had some potion that they thought could eliminate her as a threat. She hit the floor with a thud and hopped back up, covering her muzzle with her left foreleg as her eyes started to water. She turned her leg so that she could see the BrewBuck’s screen. It read, “Potentially lethal potion detected.” Damn. “Proper antidote unavailable.” Shit. “Administering basic toxin repellants.” Much better. The buck began to cough in the smoke. Nyota gave him a hard shove and he slid back farther into the cave. The smoke would either be blowing out the window or settle at the peak of the cave, either way she would likely be the only one to feel the effects. Still, she couldn’t use her sword when she had one hoof covering her mouth. She took a deep breath and held it in as she switched her footing to allow her sword more freedom. Still no zebras coming in. Fine, she’d have to take the fight to them. Keeping her sword ready, she cautiously but quickly ran up to the entrance. Looked like she was going outside for a third time. A large dark object came out of nowhere and swung at Nyota’s head right before she got to the cave’s entrance. The force of the hit combined with her forward momentum knocked her unconscious and she fell to the ground, red dripping from a fresh crack on her head. * * *                        * * *                        * * * When Nyota awoke, the first thing she saw was the Madame’s rotting face staring back at her. The first thing she heard was a crackling fire. The first thing she smelled was a freshly brewed potion bubbling behind the ghoul. The first thing she tasted was the iron of her own blood. The first thing she felt was the dampness in her coat forming a line from her head all the way down past her muzzle. The first thing she thought was, “Why the hell am I tied to this chair.” The Madame was the first to ask a question, though, and yet again sarcasm dripped from her lips. “So Nyota, how was guard duty?” She decided to play along. “Oh, you know, the usual.” She changed her mind. “Except that I got attacked in the middle of the night. Now what the hell happened while I was out?” She fidgeted in the chair, but she had been tied in such a way that her hooves were held in front of her but the knot was placed behind the chair. The ghoul spoke coldly, “We’re trying to find out. That’s why you’re here.” She walked over to the cauldron above the fireplace and gave it a stir. She pulled out a mug and poured some of the concoction into it. “You know as well as I do that I’ve had my suspicions about you for a while. A mare pulled out of a pod with a star on her flank can only mean bad news.” “You can’t really think I would have just let anything waltz in here, would you? I don’t even know anyone from outside!” the mare snapped at the elderly ghoul walking towards her with a mug of an unknown brew. “Well, you were unaccounted for during your first shift about a year back. Who knows where you were for those 6 hours. Plenty of zebras or ponies could have been met in that amount of time.” When she got to the tied down mare, instead of bringing the mug up to her mouth she instead lowered it down to her secured foreleg. “But in all honesty, this is really more of a precaution than a full out accusation.” She held the mug right up to Nyota’s BrewBuck and pressed a button that let the device examine the potion, sucking in some of the brew’s aroma. The ghoul then pressed another button that read aloud what its owner could not read from that angle. “Standard strength truth potion. Possibly healing elements added. Toxicity: negligible.” The ghoul only now raised the mug up to Nyota’s mouth. “There, your very own Elixir Mixer has verified that I am not trying to kill you, interrogate you, or in any way harm you. I am simply trying to find out whether you are an envoy of the stars, or just another one of their victims.” Nyota was still suspicious. However long she had been out could have been long enough to hack her BrewBuck, but she had a gut feeling she could trust it. After all, she had her own rule of thumb when it came to potions: the more disgusting it looks, the more likely it won’t kill you if you drink it. This certain mug was rather vile, so she thought she’d try her luck. It wasn’t like there was much else she could do anyway. She downed the mug as the Madame tilted it into her mouth. All the sudden her tongue felt very tingly, and her head felt like it was swelling. She then realized that if anything the potion may be getting rid of the swelling, and she just only now began to feel it. The ghoul wasted no time in questioning her. “Did you plan the invasion of this tribe’s cave?” “No.” The word came out of her mouth as she was preparing to say it. “Do you know anything about who attacked the members of this tribe?” “No.” “Did you put your full effort into protecting this tribe?” “Yes.” Nyota wasn’t even sure she was listening to the questions any more, the potion answered before she could. “Did you ever leave your post during last night’s shift?” “No.” “Do you know where they took our children?” “No.” She heard her answer before she really caught the question. She wanted to know what the ghoul meant, but the her questions continued. “Do you know what they plan to do with the children?” “No. What do you mean the-” “Are you aware of anything that happened last night after the initial attack?” “No- children are missing? Why would-” “Were you truly and completely unconscious for the last seven hours?” “Yes- anyone take them?” The Madame’s questions stopped. She stood up and walked around the chair and started undoing the knot. Nyota tried to put together everything she was just asked. She had been out for the last seven hours, and in that time something came into the camp and kidnapped all the foals. Her nameless friend was probably one of them. As soon as the rope got loose she scrambled to her hooves and addressed the Madame, “What exactly happened while I was knocked out?” The Madame showed a face full of despair, and one desperate to be able to shed a tear. She looked at her hooves as she answered. “The foals are gone. The only zebras left are those with glyph marks. Whoever or whatever took you out seemed to slip into the cave without anyone noticing and somehow got the foals out of the cave without gaining attention. If we hadn’t found you bleeding at the mouth of the cave we would have just assumed the foals just got out and ran off on their own.” This was a lot to take in. Not just the disappearance of the foals, not just the fact that the enemy could just sneak in and take them, not just the fact that they had taken her out so easily, but everything. And all this as her fault. The Madame had suspected that she was behind this, and for all intents and purposes she might as well have been. The elder zebra filled the silence with more information. “Thirteen foals have disappeared, eight fillies and five colts. All but two of them were originally from stasis pods. One of those was an orphan, the other one’s parents are being comforted as we speak.” All Nyota could think was why. Why her, but more importantly why them. Obviously the Madame didn’t know either, otherwise she wouldn’t have interrogated her. Still, she wasn’t going to leave anything to chance, so, fighting back tears, she asked, “Do you have any idea why anyone would want them, any idea at all?”" The ghoul continued to speak coldly despite her sorrowful eyes. “One of the most common side effects of radiation is sterility. It is fairly common practice for tribes to kidnap children to keep their numbers up and increase the gene pool. Part of the reason why we decided to open up the stasis pods was so that we would never have to resort to such extreme measures. It seems another tribe did not share our morals.” This seemed pretty straightforward to Nyota. She didn’t see why the ghoul asked her what they did with the children when she had a solid theory going. The ghoul answered her before she asked. “The only thing is that this didn’t seem like tribal warfare,” she said as she walked over to the cauldron and started filling bottles. “There was no gunfire, there was no bloodshed, and there was no screaming. Whatever did this was either the calmest and most quiet tribe ever seen, or it wasn’t a tribe at all, but something much more sinister. All we have to work on is a broken bottle of some potion that’s evaporated away and one of our most combat proficient mares that got knocked down a peg.” She was deep in thought, so neither the insult nor the compliment meant much to her right now. She was thinking of what the best thing was for her to do, how she could make up for her failure.The correct course of action was obvious, and she was willing to take it. “Madame,” she said, puffing up her chest and addressing her like a general. “I would like your permission to pursue our attackers and hopefully bring back our tribe’s foals.” The ghoul’s frown turned into a smirk as she replied, “You have the blessing of your elder to take whatever action to rescue those children.” She finished bottling the remaining truth potion and turned to the mare, her smirk turning to a full grin. “I was planning on banishing you to do the same thing anyway, but everyone thought that was too harsh. Glad to see you don’t agree with them.” Nyota felt a bit embarrassed, but she was in the right, so she was fine with what was meant to be her elder’s ruling. At least he two of them finally agreed on something. Apparently the Madame was right all these years: Nyota was going to have to leave the tribe. * * *                        * * *                        * * * Nearly half the tribe was gathered near the mouth of the cave. The sun’s rays were beaming through the trees, illuminating the sea of black and white. It was probably the most sunlight any of them had seen in weeks. They hadn’t gathered to see the sun rise, but to see another star set. Nyota did one last run over of her equipment. Starcutter was secure on her back, her BrewBuck was still strapped to her left foreleg, and her leather armor was nice and snug against her coat. Her saddlebags were alarmingly bare. She had some healing potions she whipped up with her BrewBuck, a large black cloak for inclement weather or as a makeshift blanket, and a familiar lunchbox she had stuffed with all the food she could get by bartering away her old bed. She had always had luck with getting goods from a trade, but there was little to spare for a banished guard responsible for the theft of children. That was all she really needed, though. This was not meant to be some daring adventure, this was a rescue mission. More than that, it was a shot at redemption and forgiveness. She owed it to the tribe to get the foals they cared for back. She owed it to the foals to get them back somewhere safe. But she supposed it wasn’t really that safe, now was it? The Madame trotted beside the zebra about to face exile. “The land is harsh and treacherous. Few of sheltered life would dare trek through it of their own volition, though I suppose you don’t really either.” “I made this choice just as much as you did,” the mare reminded her. “True, but you can hardly admit you’d be leaving if it weren’t for the children. I did not force this upon you, they did.” “The children? No,” she responded, “their captors are the ones who made me do this.” “Very well,” the ghoul remarked. Nyota felt her saddlebags being opened, and turned back to see what exactly the Madame was doing with her things. She found that the ghoul was not removing anything, but instead putting in a bottle of the truth potion. She explained, “This is to make sure you don’t start pointing hooves at the wrong zebras.” Nyota smiled knowing that the the Madame was finally on her side. The Elder said one more thing before turning back to her tribe. “Oh, and before I forget, if anyone asks, you aren’t part of any tribe, and you didn’t come from here.” She rolled her eyes. “And what am I supposed to tell them?” The ghoul shrugged. “Anything. Tell them you came up from a hole in the ground for all I care.” “But I did come from a hole in the ground.” “Couldn’t let that one go, could you Nyota?” “Nope.” “Fine, tell them the hole you crawled out of had a door.” “Sure. A giant, metal round one.” For the first time since they met, the two of them laughed with each other instead of at each other. Nyota really was going to miss all the friends she had made, and all the zebras who felt like family to her. She addressed the crowd. “I’m taking my leave,” she announced, “and if I’m lucky, when I come back I’ll have each of those fillies and colts back here with me safe and sound.” She took one last slow, deep breath before beginning her walk out of the cave. “Goodbye, safety,” she muttered to herself as she took her first steps into the outside world while the sun was still up. “Hello, Savanna.” Footnote: Level Up. New Perk: Elixir Mixer Master -- +5 to the potions and medicine skills. Nyota’s stats Strength - 7 Perception - 5 Endurance - 4 Charisma - 5 Intelligence - 6 Agility - 7 Luck - 6 Nyota’s traits Night Person -- +1 to PER and INT during the night; -1 to PER and INT during the day Race: Zebra -- +5 to sneak, unarmed, and melee; +10% damage from pony enemies Based on the fanfiction Fallout: Equestria by KKat co-written by Mr. ShinyObject and Doctor Felix Whooves edited by Twilight Sparkle