Fallout Equestria - The Code of Honor

by FireStorm2247

Chapter 2: Cruelest of Fates

Chapter 2: Cruelest of Fates

"Steel walls and honorable intentions won’t hide us anymore. Welcome to Equestria.”

“Nova… Nova come on, honey, get up. Get up, Nova.” I heard my mother as she trotted through the open door of my room. I had been asleep for what had only seemed like a few minutes when I felt a hoof on my back, gently but urgently nudging me to alertness. Even as I let out an involuntary moan, struggling to open my eyes, I could hear somepony rummaging through the furniture in my parents’ room. It was only then that I finally heard the alarms blaring their warning outside our room.

I snapped awake then, using my wings to help me cast off my blanket before I got up to my hooves. I could see my mother as she stepped back to allow me room to jump onto the floor. She was wearing her Stable barding with a pair of saddlebags loaded with provisions. I saw food and water, mostly, but I also caught a glimpse of a magazine for some kind of weapon through the partially open flap of her right-side saddlebag. “What’s happening?” I asked, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes.

“There’s no time to explain Nova.” my mother said quickly, trotting over to my cabinet and pulling the handle with her teeth to open the door, nudging it all the way open. “You need to get your things together as fast as you can. Then we have to head to the atrium.” At my questioning look, my mother glared and snapped, “Don’t argue with me! Just do it!” I cringed, confused. What was happening? Why were the alarms going off? I did as I was told, however, and I leapt to the cabinet to pull my own Stable barding and saddlebags from their hangers. As I begun equipping them, my mother trotted up beside me and looked through the rest of my belongings. “You’ll have to leave your books behind, dear.” she said, sounding just very slightly regretful despite her anxiety. “We just don’t have time to…” she was interrupted as the Stable PA system buzzed to life, a message playing.

“Attention, this is your Overmare. At this time, all security personnel must report for security assignments immediately. All other residents must pack their essential belongings and proceed to the atrium. Be sure to equip yourselves with whatever weapons you may have in your rooms. Security personnel will escort you from there to the Stable entrance. This is not a drill.”

At the silence that followed Crystal’s message, my mother urged me to continue equipping myself. “Hurry, Nova. We have to get to the atrium. I don’t know what’s happening but your father said he heard gunshots. We need to move, now.” At that I paused again; this was a whole new level of serious. The sense of nervous tension that had been sparked from being woken from precious sleep by an anxious mother now turned into fear, fear that I never felt before. I was scared… for my safety… for the safety of my family. Something out there in those halls threatened us, and I was tense at not knowing what that threat was.

I was fully equipped in my barding now, my saddlebags in my mouth, and with a final nudge from my mother, I fanned out my wings and slung the saddlebags over the middle of my back. My mother pressed down the clamps on my barding to secure the saddlebags as I checked through my cabinet for anything I thought I should bring. But then, I had an idea and I snapped my gaze up to the wall. Despite how much I wanted to bring some of my books from previous classroom lectures and activities, I chose nothing from my cabinet. Instead, I beat my wings and hovered up to the wall to remove my two framed pictures from their places. They fit in my saddlebags just fine, and that was all I picked before landing again.

When my mother was done, and I was outfitted with my barding and saddlebags, she and I trotted out of my room and into the living room. My brother was sitting nervously on one of the chairs beside the entrance to my parents’ room and my father was fetching ammunition and small firearms from his secure cabinet in his room. He was already wearing a battle saddle, issued to him by the Stable for previous service in the Stable’s security team. The left-side weapon was what I recognized to be a carbine rifle of a lesser caliber, but still very accurate at all ranges and very effective against soft or lightly armored targets. This was at least what my father had told me when he had taught me about firearms and light battle saddles before I inherited my own pistol. The right-side weapon was a machinegun of sorts, a heavy model with larger bullets, all of them attached together in an ammo belt that was fed into the weapon from a large box magazine attached to the bottom of it. And arranged before my father were the pistols that my mother and I had inherited along with two others. My mother’s pistol was a semi-automatic pistol, a basic model with a slide action and an iron firing bit built into the pistol’s grip for shooting. My pistol was the exact same design as my mothers. It was a well built and sturdy model, or so my father had told me. (I still didn’t know too much about weapons.) The only difference between our pistols was that my mother had requested a special addition to hers. On the grip was a blue rose inside the outline of a blue flame, just like the blue flame that my father and I had as our cutie marks. She had requested it to make the family an heirloom, a family treasure, and we all loved that pistol. Aside from its sentimental value, it was quite powerful, very deadly, very efficient, and very loud. She called this weapon, Fire Rose. It wasn’t original, but it had its meaning and its impact.

Mother quickly looked over her weapon before scooping it up in her mouth and craning her head around to set it into her saddlebag. For time’s sake, I followed her example. My own pistol was already loaded and ready for action, and so I bent my head down and gently took the weapon in my mouth by the bit and stored it away in my left-side saddlebag. I was ready to fire it now, but I had hopes that I wouldn’t have to. However, I had no sooner thought this hope when the sound of gunfire coming from farther down the living quarters made me jump. It sounded to the left of our room and down that hallway, echoing loudly along the walls. “We’re out of time! Leave the other pistols, let’s go!” my dad ordered, nudging Blake down from the chair as my mother pressed the top button on our door’s control panel. The door opened, and a security pony dashed past us and disappeared around the corner, following the sound of the gunshots.

My mother checked left and right before stepping out, herding my brother and I out as my father closed and locked the door to our room. “Stay close to me you two.” mother instructed us, just before another message spread over the intercom. Crystal said,

“Attention, this is your Overmare. The Stable has been breached by unknown hostiles. One breach has originated in the living quarters. A second breach is in the reactor chamber. All residents must get to the atrium as quickly as you can. Security personnel will open the Stable door when all are accounted for. We are evacuating the Stable, I repeat, we are evacuating the…” The message was cut short, the sound of Crystal Sunset’s voice being replaced with the dying hum of the Stable’s generators as the power to the Stable was cut by whoever had breached the reactor wing.

*** *** ***

The emergency lighting, to my relief, flickered to life to replace the normal white lights of the hallway. However, the lights were now a rather ominous crimson and it left a heavy knot in my gut, bolstering my initial tension. I was nervous enough without being reminded that there was a shootout going on behind us, and mother was too. At the sound of more gunshots, she trotted down the hall, moving slowly so as to let my brother and I keep up. My father stayed back a ways, walking backwards and watching the corner of the hallway carefully as the lights flashing from the gunfight grew brighter. I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder every few seconds, worried that my dad was hanging too far back away from us, and it was just when we had reached the turn that led us to the atrium hall that I saw a rather scary-looking pony leap into the hallway; he opened fire on my father! I couldn’t see anything after my father had ducked down because my mother had pulled me back behind the wall by my tail. But I heard retaliatory fire from the carbine rifle that my dad was armed with and to my great relief, he speedily rounded the corner after us.

“Dad! Are you hurt?” I asked anxiously, before he nudged me along, ignoring my question or perhaps just wanting to stay on the move.

“Let’s go!” he ordered. “There’s more of them out there, and I don’t think the security that was stationed in the living quarters made it. Whoever these ponies are, they mean business. Go!” With help from my mother, I turned around and we raced up the stairs and down the hall towards the open entrance to the atrium. The thought of other ponies raiding the Stable was terrible to put to my mind. I didn’t want to believe it, but it had happened... I had just seen a pony shoot at my dad!

We ran into the hall and up the stairs, moving until abruptly, bright flashlights shone down on us from behind the entrance into the atrium. “Hold your fire! Hold your fire! We’re residents!” my dad shouted as we all came to a halt. The lights that were nearly blinding us disappeared, allowing me to see the two unicorn security stallions levitating their assault rifles, with flashlight attachments, by their sides.

“Sorry.” one said quickly. “We lost contact with our security team in the living quarters, and we’ve been hearing the gunfire.”

“Was there anypony else from the living quarters behind you?” the second guard inquired.

“No.” my mother answered. “But whoever is attacking us is right on our tails.”

“Alright, hurry through. I think you’re the last ones, so we need to lockdown this area until we can get power restored to the Stable’s entrance.” one of the unicorns ordered. The power failure was a critical problem for the order to evacuate, because without power from the reactor, the Stable’s entrance wouldn’t open and we would be trapped in here with whoever was invading the Stable. If the residents of the Stable were going to be evacuated, then the power would have to be turned back on quickly before… PAIN!

We had been only a few paces away from the door when I felt my right hind leg give out beneath me, a sharp blast of pain erupting through it. I collapsed, skidding past the entrance and hearing as one of the guards brought his rifle to bear and fired down the hallway. The other security guard spun and slammed his hoof against a hidden button in the wall, and an emergency door slammed down and sealed; bullets struck against the door with solid thuds, but none punched through. I lay there, dumbfounded and shaking, breathing heavily as the pain took its course. “I’m glad Shore got power back to the emergency systems.” the guard who had pressed the button said.

“This door should buy us some time.” his comrade replied, checking his ammo. “They’ll have to cut through it and I don’t see that happening. Let’s keep moving.”

But I didn’t get up. I couldn’t, and I tried to once, only to be met with another bolt of pain. I gasped at the burn, finally getting the strength to look back at my leg. And then I saw it… my blood… streaking the floor and trailing up to my right hind leg where a hole was bleeding from the gunshot wound I had sustained there. I couldn't speak. All I could do was stare, wide-eyed. I had never seen a wound like this before, let alone on myself; it was scary, and I felt ill. “M-m-mom…” I managed to stagger.

I hadn’t been looking for her when I had instinctively called for her, but the next instant, she was right at my side, looking with horror down on my wound. “Damien!” she cried. “Nova’s been shot!”

Right away, my father leapt to my side, my brother following him, and looked me over with wide eyes until he saw the bleeding hole. “Oh Goddesses…” he whispered. “Nova.” he said, looking at me. “Are you okay? Does it hurt too bad?”

I mustered up my energy, swallowing before I nodded. “It h-hurts…” I said.

“Rosemary Grace is in the entrance chamber already.” one of the security unicorns informed us. “Take Nova there, and she’ll fix up that wound. Fortunately, Grace doesn’t have a lot of other patients in there. Only what’s left of the security team that responded to the breach in the reactor level.”

Without waiting for a second invitation, my father lowered his head and nudged under my side, pushing and wiggling under me until I was up on his back, my forearms over his neck. To my right, I saw my mother do the same for Blake, and when he was on her back, she and my father trotted after the security ponies across the large atrium. As my father carried me, I tried to ignore the pain in my leg by looking up at the Overmare’s observation window towards the back of the atrium. There was an emergency light shining crimson up in Crystal’s office and I saw her up there, talking into a communications device clasped around her right foreleg. I recognized the machine as a Pipbuck. Pipbucks were only issued to the authorities of the Stable, and so it was not very common to see them. I had read about them, so I at least knew their names and their primary functions. I heard that they could do a lot of things from maintaining a medical analysis of the wearer, to providing information of the wearer’s inventory, and even giving the wearer a map of an area and distinguishing enemies from friends; it sounded like a very useful tool. As for the Overmare herself, she must’ve been directing the Stable’s security with it and perhaps the effort of restoring power to the entrance of the Stable. Why she wasn’t at the entrance, or at least in the atrium, I didn’t know.

When I turned back around, I found myself looking into the entrance, the great gear-shaped steel door of the Stable before my eyes. Security ponies were setting up barricades in an arch, facing the sealed entrance to the reactor chamber and curving around to face the entrance to the atrium as well. One automated turret, with a power source separate from that of the Stable’s, was set up in front of the Stable entrance’s door control console. The turret was a rather sinister looking machine, with a six-barreled weapon mounted on an iron foundation with a large ammo box where the ammo belt was fed into the body of the weapon. All of this was built upon a platform that could rotate to allow the weapon a wide area to track targets. It was understandable that security would do this, because if that console was destroyed, the great steel door of Stable 181 would only open from the outside and there was no way that anypony could get back out of the Stable and around to open it again.

Two security earth-ponies moved aside one of the iron barricades to allow my parents through, and my father asked, “Where’s Rosemary Grace? I have a wounded pony with me.” I could feel the anger in his voice, and I could feel it in his own muscles as he stopped briefly to hear an answer.

“She’s downstairs. We’ve moved everypony who can’t fight down to the main maintenance chamber. She’s tending to wounded security down there, so get your wounded there, and she’ll take care of you.”

Without another word, my father left the security to their work and proceeded into the maintenance hall. The hallway was a straight walk to the main maintenance chamber without any side rooms to interrupt the flow of grey. Inside were all those who had evacuated in time before the living quarters were sealed off. It appeared that a good portion of the Stable’s residents had made it out and they were now huddled in groups. Families and friends were laying down together, chatting quietly amongst themselves, and blending with the hushed voices were the sounds of crying and an occasional moan of pain. The maintenance sector was composed of only one large main chamber and a second room beyond that, this secondary chamber housing even more of the evacuees. One corner of the larger primary chamber was currently serving as the clinic. Rosemary Grace was there, looking over one of the security ponies she was tending to. She had just finished helping the pony drink a healing potion before she used her magic to seal a wound. The pony she was tending to looked to have been shot several times and cut up with a sharp weapon as well, and there were others around him who were in even worse condition. Some of them looked to have be torn up by bullets while others looked to have been slashed multiple times from sharp weapons. Others still looked to have been struck repeatedly by blunt weapons. There was blood all over their mattresses, darkened by the emergency lighting, and out of the fourteen security ponies being tended to, only half of them looked like they should've still been alive. The rest were so severely injured that they should’ve been dead, but somehow survived. Some ponies were gathered around the mattresses at a respectable distance to allow Grace to do her job. Those ponies were family members of those security stallions and mares that had been severely wounded. The rest of the survivors were scattered around the maintenance room, resting together and waiting for the word to move. I had to turn from the sight of the makeshift clinic as I felt my stomach begin to turn and I prayed that I wouldn’t get sick, especially around all of these ponies. It would make things even more unpleasant than they already were.

“Grace!“ my father called as we stopped before the clinic. “I have a wounded pony here. Could you give her a hoof when you get a second?”

I looked to see Rosemary Grace as she stepped back from her patient and looked him over again before quickly proceeding to the patient next to him, suffering from several gunshot wounds. “Yes, when I get a moment.” she called back without looking at us. “Just find an open mattress.”

My father obliged without question, understanding how busy Gracie was. He searched for a moment before finding one of the two open mattresses and lowered himself down. Wanting to free my dad of the burden, I slid off of his back and landed with a plop onto the mattress, fortunately landing off of my wounded hind leg. As I situated myself, I noticed that my father was looking at my wound again as I stretched out my bad leg to keep it away from the rest of me. I had already gotten some blood on the mattress and I noticed, with distress, that I had bled on my father’s coat, my blood having streaked down his right flank. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked me, lowering his head down to look me in the eyes. Apparently my bleeding on his coat was the last thing on his mind.

I nodded, trying to smile. I was still a bit shaken from the injury; this was the first time I had ever been shot after all. “I’ll be fine, dad. Gracie will patch me up real quick.”

My dad gave a sad smile at me. He looked wretched. “I just hate seeing you like this.” he said.

I had never thought that he would’ve been like this toward a wounded leg, but I could understand that it pained him regardless. I reached up and nuzzled him, trying to put him at ease, and he returned the gesture before Grace stepped up to us. “Excuse me sir, I’m going to need you to step back so I can… oh my… Damien!… NOVA! What happened?!” she exclaimed, looking over me instantly. “Were you shot? Where are you hurt?”

“It’s just my leg.” I said, trying to sound reassuring.

But Grace didn’t buy it. She saw the wound on my leg and she immediately turned to her medical cache, using her horn to levitate out a bottle of liquid, a small collection of bandaging, and some clean wet rags. Pulling them to her, she set them down by my mattress as my father took a few steps back to allow her room to work. “I’m so sorry Damien.” Grace said as she levitated one of the wet rags up and applied it to the wound, gently cleaning off the blood around it. It wasn’t bleeding as much as it had been, but I still flinched at the touch of the cloth. “If I knew who I was talking to I would’ve shown up sooner to treat her.”

“It’s alright Gracie.” my father replied, sounding entirely understanding. “You’re doing your job and that’s what matters here.”

“Besides, these security ponies took it a lot worse than me.” I pointed out. “You should be tending to them instead of me anyways.”

“Oh hush.” Grace chided me. “I’m at least going to clean and dress this. Then I’ll leave you with a healing potion. Hopefully that will be enough to get you walking again.”

“Thank you so much Gracie.” my father said, dipping his head to her before turning back to me. “I’m going to leave you here for a bit and see if I can be of any help to the security team upstairs. Your mother and brother will be down here too so just holler if you need something okay?”

“I understand dad… be careful up there.” I said with some concern. He had already been shot at once, and going back to the Stable entrance would put him back at risk.

He smiled at me again, reassuring, before he replied, “I will. And no, I wasn’t shot back in the living quarters… to answer your question.” And with that, he said another thank you to Gracie before leaving, returning to my mother who was waiting anxiously with Blake tucked against her side. She looked worried at first, scared even, until my dad said something I could not hear, and my mother eased and looked back at me. I smiled, and she smiled back before turning to my dad. After a brief pause, she reached up and kissed him, holding the embrace for a moment before father lowered his head down and nuzzled my brother, saying something to him before finally leaving back down the hall to see what aid he could provide to the security team. The entrance and the maintenance wing were secured for now.

“Well Nova,” I heard Gracie say, and I turned to listen. “the good news is that the bullet went clean through and it didn’t strike through bone. So far as I can see, there’s no bits of metal in your leg either. So I’ll bandage this wound up with these healing bandages and then give you this potion so I can tend to the others.”

“Is there any bad news?” I asked sarcastically.

“Oh no, none at all.” Grace answered, ignoring the skepticism. “Like I said, the bullet went clean through, but you’ll have to let me know if you feel any major pain when walking again. This healing potion will close the wound, so if you feel pain in your leg, then that means there’s metal in it. But I don’t think that will be the case.” With that, she levitated out the bandages and applied two larger bandages to the entrance and exit wounds that the bullet created. They held quite well and there was only a small red dot on the center of the bandage that I could see, showing that the bleeding was slowly coming to a halt. With that, Grace levitated the bottle over to me, placing it before my eyes and removing the cork. “Go ahead and drink this. And drink all of it. The more you drink out of a bottle, the more potent the effect. Healing potions also don’t taste bad if you’re worried about it. It’s that Rad-Away stuff that’s kind of bitter.” I did as she told me, and I reached out and took the open end of the bottle in my teeth and tilted my head back, closing my lips around the bottle to drink. Almost immediately after my first swallow, I felt the effects of the potion begin to work. I was already feeling better, and my leg did not pain me as much as it had before. When I downed the whole bottle, I set it down on my mattress whereupon Grace took it and levitated it back to her medical cache, setting it with the twenty or so empty bottles already sitting in their designated location. “I’m going to head off to another patient.” Gracie explained. “Please rest here for a while. If you need anything, please just call me.”

“I’ll be fine Gracie.” I replied with a smile. “I really appreciate it, and I’m already feeling better, but you’ve got patients here that have it much worse. Focus on them. They actually fought to protect the Stable… But just out of curiosity, is Shore around here?”

Grace raised a hoof and pointed to the far wall. Along that wall were two massive mainframes and on one of them, I could see the black-coated earth pony looking down at a screen before pressing a hoof against more of the large keys on the keypad; he was very focused on his work. Beside the mainframe he was working with was a battle saddle. It was his battle saddle, and I knew this because of the two weapons that were strapped to it. One was a sleek metal rifle, one of his new laser rifles, and the second was a complex plasma rifle that he had called a multiplas rifle, a rifle that fired three simultaneous plasma bolts. “He restored power to the mainframe first.” Grace explained. “It didn’t take him long because he works with the thing so much. Then he restored the power to the emergency doors. He’s progressing, slowly but surely.”

“I’m just glad he’s here and not out there.” I said.

“I agree.” With a smile, Grace trotted off to another mattress to speak to another patient, and I turned away, laying my head on the mattress. Even if I had wanted to try, there was no way I could rest or even relax. Despite how secure this wing was, there was still a great threat behind those sealed doors and I had no doubt that these unknown enemies would continue their onslaught until they completely overran the Stable. It was a terrifying prospect to know that soon, once the Stable’s power was restored, we’d be going outside into post-war Equestria. I had no idea what we would do. How would we survive out there? Where would we go and what could we call a home? I never saw the outside, and I didn’t know anything about it, so automatically my first thought was that there was no place out there as secure as this Stable. But even after one hundred and seventy-five years, surely something had to be out there… unless that great war really had destroyed everything. But no… if there was evidence of life outside, then it was here and it was trying to kill us all. That didn’t make me feel better at all. In fact, it made me feel worse. It made me think that life out there was probably very unforgiving. After all, with the war destroying everything, there would be no law out there and there would be no preservation of pre-war values. There would be so many things outside that could injure you… kill you. It just wasn’t fair. It was as if the world was forcing us, a bastion of civilization, out to the surface, to blend in to the chaos that was modern Equestria.

“You’re right… there is nothing… fair… about it…” I heard a stallion say. I was jolted out of my thoughts, realizing too late that I had actually said that last bit out loud. I looked to my right, but the mattress was vacant. But to my left, one of the injured security ponies rested, and he was looking at me with one eye open; his other eye had been bandaged, and I could see the end of a cut caused by a blade of some kind which started just above his good eye and cut across his patched eye. Aside from this injury, he had also taken two gunshot wounds to his belly and one to his chest. His right foreleg was held by a splint, showing that it had either been broken or severely crippled in some other way. And to top it all, his fatigue showed that he had suffered severe blood loss. Across his body were scars where restoration potions had healed other wounds, but still there were wounds that had not yet healed. Overall, the stallion was in terrible shape.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know that I was speaking my thoughts.” I said, slightly embarrassed.

“No…” the stallion replied, his voice weak. “That’s fine. I agree… quite wholeheartedly. Things went… very well within… the Stable.” The stallion’s breathing was labored, and he looked to be in tremendous pain because of it. “I was very proud… to have been born here… And I am very proud… also to have served… the Stable in its… darkest hour. Now… despite its cruelty… we have to accept… our fate and go outside. We have to… let the Stable go… and leave it to rest.”

“But I don’t want to leave the Stable behind.” I declared gently. “It’s all I’ve ever grown up with. How can I respect the Stable like I was taught to do if I leave it to become a carcass?”

The stallion, despite his pain, smiled. “You’re thoughts are… in the right place. But you… have to remember that… the Stable is all that… most of us… if not all of us… have grown up with. We will… all be making the… same changes to our lives. But you know… that sometimes the best way… to honor something… is to let it go. This Stable… we have to leave it behind… let it rest. The Stable… and those who lead in it… have taught us many things… and now… we have to… take what we know… and apply it to… Equestria. That is how… we can honor our home… our Stable… by letting it rest… our Stable…”

I had been so busy taking in his words, that I hadn’t noticed his fading voice until it was too late. When I made to speak against his words, I saw him facing the ceiling, his good eye closed; he wasn’t breathing. I stared for a moment, feeling tears welling up in my eyes. It was only with strong effort that I blinked them away, wiping my face against my foreleg before calling for Grace. As she had promised, she came at my call after helping another patient drink a healing potion, and upon asking what I needed, I raised a foreleg to point at the dead security stallion. Grace looked, stared, and then sighed. And solemnly, she levitated a large blanket from her medical cache and gently draped it over the earth-pony security guard, covering him entirely. “It wasn’t the bullet wounds or the lacerations that I couldn’t fix. It was the blunt force trauma that he had endured.” she explained. “He was alone on night patrol in the reactor chamber and he was right there when they breached the Stable. Whatever ponies he went up against beat him again and again to the point where it caused internal damage and bleeding. It was only by sheer luck that one of his comrades was able to get him out of there and bring him to me. These invaders though… they’re monsters… nothing but monsters disguised as ponies.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say. It must’ve been difficult for a nurse to loose a patient of any kind, and for any reason. “I’m sure you did the best you could.” I offered, trying to reassure my good friend. It was the best I could think of, but at this statement, she only nodded and returned to her work. I set my head down on the mattress again, feeling ill and very depressed... and useless. I wanted to help in some way or another, but what could I do? I wasn’t allowed to leave my mattress, and I wasn’t going to be allowed to help anypony around the Stable; my mother would see to that. But I just felt so useless.

Just then, I saw a unicorn pony trot down the hallway and enter the chamber, maneuvering through the crowd. Gunny. For a moment, all of my miseries were wiped away knowing that all three of my good friends were alive and safe. He was equipped with his own battle saddle, two assault rifles strapped to his sides. It was basic, but in corridors and small rooms, they were perfect for the defense role he had to play. I mustered up my voice to greet him, but it died on my lips when I heard Gunny’s strong voice call out over the crowds to Shore. “Shore! How much time are we looking at until you get the reactor fired up again?”

To this, Shore called back, “The reactor is a very sophisticated piece of machinery, Gunny. It’s not exactly programmed to get power from a foreign terminal’s commands. I’m afraid it’s taking me a bit more time than I had planned.”

“Well I hate to be a nudge, but you’re going to have to pick up the pace.” Gunny said, looking back to the maintenance hall. “The invaders are welding through the reactor door and they’ll be through in a few minutes.”

“Just buy me some more time.” Shore called back, not taking his eyes off of the screen. “I think I’m almost there.”

Gunny nodded, the voices of the survivors rising and becoming very nervous, and he trotted through the crowds to approach Grace. To her, I heard him say, “Grace, I think it's about time to pack up your things and get some help in moving your surviving patients. We’re going to need to assemble the survivors and get them ready to move. This is going to be close.”

“I understand.” Grace replied, and she left for her medical cache to sift through her supplies. She had been able to take most if not all of her supplies from the Stable clinic and move them here to help the wounded.

On his way out, Gunny passed me by, and he stopped at seeing my bandages. “You were shot?” he asked, a little concerned, but also curious. And at my nod, he said, “Well, I’m glad you’re alive and well. Your dad’s still out there with us and helping us fortify our defenses, so don’t worry about him. But in a bit we’re going to have to move. If Shore’s as close as he says he is, then the entrance should open up soon and we can get the hell out of here.” Then without any other words, he departed back to his duties. With the news that we would have to be moving soon, I checked my bandages. If my leg was healed up enough, then I would leave the clinic. I wasn’t interested in weighing down some stallion during the evacuation effort. The red circle on the bandages had only increased slightly in size, and that was a good sign. I was confident enough to remove them, and I beheld the miraculous effect of the healing potion I had been given. The wound was completely sealed and I had nothing there to show that it had even existed. Of course I knew where I had been hit, but it felt good to see my leg unmarred again. I used my wings to help me hover down to the floor from the mattress and when I stepped down on my once injured leg, I felt a tingle as if my leg still didn’t want to be put to use just yet. I took a few awkward steps forward, trying my best to return the feeling to my leg, and when I thought I got the hang of it, I found my mother and my brother laying together. Blake was resting under mother’s protective embrace, not asleep, but relaxing and upon seeing me, mother called my name, waking my baby brother who smiled up at me as I stepped up to them.

“Are you feeling alright dear?” mother asked as I gratefully settled down next to my brother.

“I’m feeling much better now.” I answered. “Gracie really knows her stuff.”

“Gracie’s the best medical pony.” my brother agreed enthusiastically, making me smile, and I reached down and nudged my brother affectionately. Even though i knew he hadn't been hurt, it was still good to see him safe and unharmed.

“Did you hear that we might be moving soon?” I asked mother, who nodded.

“Yes. I talked with one of the security mares on her way out. She told me that two hundred had made it out, not including the guards that were left. Unfortunately, the alarms didn’t sound until the invaders had taken a good chunk of the living quarters. Almost everypony was asleep… so in a sense its understandable.”

So out of the four hundred or so ponies that lived in the Stable, only a little more than half of them had made it out of the living quarters or had survived the initial fighting with the invaders. Whoever the invaders were, they were too organized and too well armed for the attack to be planned by petty thieves or bandits. The only logical conclusions I could process was that they breached the Stable and then found a way to open the doors to the various rooms of the living quarters and kill the residents within while they… oh Goddesses, I didn’t want to think about it.

But luckily, I didn’t have to. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Two security ponies were trotting down the hallway towards us and upon stopping in the main chamber, one of the ponies called to Shore who’s response was a little more confident. “I’m almost there. I just need a bit more time.” he called to the security mare.

“The invaders are almost there too, so hurry it up.” the mare called back.

“Alright everypony listen up!” the second security pony called, his voice sounding through the many voices within the chamber; Gunny had returned again, now wearing a full suit of Stable security armor under his battle saddle. The chamber went completely silent, allowing me to hear the voices of the security team working in the entrance chamber. “It’s time to move. We need you to follow our instructions to the letter to ensure that we get you all out of here unharmed. At the present time, security has set up defenses and barricades to make an escape route for you. Once the Stable entrance is open, we’ll be sending you out in groups of twenty. Security will escort you through the entrance and up to the surface. After that, we’ll make a camp in a secure location. All of you need to have your things packed and ready to take with you in one minute. Once you’re ready, I’ll need you to line up into two lines down this corridor and into the main chamber. So let’s go. We’re going to have to move fast.” With that, the mare left for the entrance again, Gunny staying to oversee the final preparations for the evacuation.

“Alright my little ponies.” mother said, rising to her hooves. “Come with me. I’m going to speak to Gunny for a moment.” I had never unequipped my barding or my saddlebags, so I was already set to move. Rising to my hooves, I trotted after her with my brother and we stopped before Gunny. “Gunny, I have a favor to ask.” my mother said.

The security stallion dipped his head. “Shoot.”

“I’d like to help in organizing the evacuation effort. I can round up a couple of my friends to herd the rest of us into our groups. That would allow you to return to your team.” mother explained to him. “I’m certain that every able-bodied security pony will be needed up there.”

“I’m actually assigned to escort the second group out once I’m finished here, ma’am.” Gunny explained, looking over to Gracie’s improvised clinic; she was packing up her assorted potions and other vital medical supplies in her saddlebags. As she packed, she raised a foreleg up to look at a device locked around her limb just above the hoof. It was her own Pipbuck, an understandable necessity for the pony in charge of caring for the wounded. “Rosemary Grace and her wounded are going to be the first out. After that, we’re supposed to start moving residents out.” He paused, looking back at us. He was obviously hesitant to let my mother lend a hoof, but he sighed at my mothers argument; it was perfectly valid. “If you want to help, I wont stop you. But I need to relay my orders to you so you can do this properly. Remember that the first out are supposed to be Gracie and the wounded she’s tending to. Teams are supposed to evacuate in groups of twenty and when each group moves, you need to signal the captain so that he can detach four security ponies to each group as escort. We’re forty strong in there, forty-one counting the captain, so there will be a total of ten trips. If you can remember that, then I’ll let you take my place so I can get back to my team.”

“I can remember that Gunny.” my mother confirmed.

“Alright then. I’ll go back to my team. You’ll have to be quick, because we’re almost out of time. Good luck.” Gunny dipped his head again and made his leave, trotting back down the hallway to the entrance.

While I had been listening, I wanted to protest. But then… now… I just wanted to help. That feeling of uselessness that I had felt when I was resting on that mattress was still fresh with me, but when I conveyed this to my mother, I was immediately met with strong opposition.

“No, Nova. You and your brother will be part of that second group out. I appreciate your offer dear, but I want you two out of this Stable as soon as possible.” she explained as she made her way to a crowd of ponies near the back of the chamber.

I trotted after her, my brother following, waiting for an explanation. “Mom I want to do my part to help. I can…” I began.

“This is non-negotiable Nova!” my mother snapped, turning to look at me with a glare. “You will leave this Stable with your brother as soon as you are able and that’s final!”

“I’m not a filly anymore!” I shouted back, immediately feeling a twinge of guilt for snapping at my own mother like that.

She stood there, her eyes locked with mine for a long moment before she sighed. “I don’t want to see you get hurt again just because you want to help.” she said, her ears drooping with concern.

“I know what I’m getting into, mother.” I replied. “Let me help you.”

My mother was very uneasy, and I hated to put her into this position, but I wanted to help. I loved this Stable, and I loved the ponies that I had grown up around. I wanted to help them to survive in any way I could. “Fine…” mother said, finally giving in. “Do two things for me. Help Rosemary Grace move her wounded to the front, and then make sure that Blake is placed at the next possible group. When you finish those tasks, meet me back here in the main chamber.”

With a determined nod, I dashed off to find Gracie. Blake was trotting after me after a word with mother, and I waited for him to catch up. “What are we doing?” he asked, looking up at me; he looked scared and confused.

“We’re going to open the Stable so that we can leave.” I replied with care. “I’m going to help mother in helping out the ponies in here. And you’ll be one of the first ponies out.”

“But what about you and mom and dad?” he protested.

“We’ll all be out there, I promise.” I said, lowering my head down to look him in the eyes. “It will just take some of us a little longer to leave is all.”

“What should I do?” Blake asked me then, his voice small.

“Just follow me for now, baby brother.” I replied quickly; ironically, I wasn’t going to let him help if he wanted to. “I need to go talk to Gracie and then I’ll lead you to your group.”

He did as he was told, and he followed me up to Gracie’s improvised clinic. She had finished packing her vital supplies and was now preparing her patients to travel, picking ten stallions, most likely family members of the wounded, from the survivors to help her. Because of the lack of time, the mattresses would have to be left behind and the patients would have to be bodily carried out of the Stable. It was when I stopped outside of the clinic that I noticed that three other mattresses had been covered over with blankets; three other security ponies had passed away. I diverted my eyes away from them, not wanting to stare. “Grace!” I called, catching her attention. “I’m here to help you out. Is there anything I can do?”

Quickly, she replied, “Push those mattresses out of the way. There’s no need for organization because we’re not coming back for them.”

Turning to the vacant and blood spattered mattresses, I beat my wings to get into the air. I was faster with my wings, and hovering down, I hooked my forelegs under the mattress’s frame and pushed, using my wings to give me extra force. Upon moving the first away, I winged over to the second and did the same. It took only a minute for me to clear a wide lane for the stallions carrying the wounded to move through. Grace was leading them, calling for anypony in the way to clear a path for them. With the hallway leading to the entrance being just tall enough, I flew over the first group of evacuees and landed within the entrance. The security team had built a solid wall of sandbag and iron barricades, all tall enough for a pony to stand up and fire over while still being able to use them for cover. At the far end of the entrance chamber, I could see a pair of unicorn stallions levitating several strange devices that I recognized as mines. They carried a little bit of everything from fragmentation mines, to the curious-looking green disks that were plasma mines, to bombs that looked to have been assembled from lunch boxes and alarm clocks. All of these were being carried through the atrium entrance to be used as traps. Before the end of the maintenance hall was a single barricade, taller and thicker, to protect the survivors that would be waiting for their turn to move. The automated heavy turret placed before the Stable door console was rotating on its platform, swinging from left to right as it searched for targets. This was what the security team had accomplished while waiting for the power to be restored.

I could see my father working with the captain of the security team in finishing up one of the last iron barricades, and nearby, I heard the Overmare’s voice through a radio as she spoke to one of the security ponies. The security mare said, “Crystal, I think its time that you got out of there and joined the rest of us.”

“Shore restored power to my security cameras a few minutes ago.” came Crystal’s reply. “I can see just how many invaders there are… captain?”

At the other end of the entrance, I could see an earth-pony stallion with a blue-grey coat and a brown mane and tail, the captain, turn on his radio from his own Pipbuck. “Yes Crystal, go ahead.”

“You’ve got at least one hundred invaders packed up tight in the reactor corridor. They’re using flame throwers and arc welders to melt through the door and they’re about three-fourths through the metal.” Crystal explained.

“At least they stopped using grenades.” the captain replied, bitter. “What about the atrium, ma’am?”

“Just as many, using roughly the same tactics.” Crystal answered. “That door is in better shape than the reactor door, but don’t depend on it to hold for much longer. Remember, there’s no emergency door to bring down to seal the entrance chamber from the atrium.”

“We’ve left plenty of presents for them in the atrium.” the captain said. “But ma’am, I think its time you got down here. We’re getting ready to move the survivors out of the Stable. Shore’s almost got the power fully restored.”

“I would, but I’m afraid that I can’t just yet.” came the Overmare’s low reply. “There’s been a malfunction on my office door and it wont open. And the window is made of stuff that I can’t break through with any object or magic. Once the power’s back, I’ll meet you in the entrance.”

“And you didn’t tell us that??” the captain asked, baffled. I found myself asking the same question. I hadn’t known before, but it was so obvious that I felt dumb for it. But I also felt nervous for the Overmare. She was stuck in her office, and I felt that we would need her when we got outside. She needed to be here.

“I didn’t think it important.” Crystal said calmly. “You’re doing your jobs down there and helping the survivors. That’s what’s important to me, Captain Saber. Keep working. I’ll be there when the power comes back.”

“Yes ma’am.” the captain said, returning to work.

I shook my head, suddenly remembering that I was still needed. The first group was ready and waiting by the maintenance hallway entrance, behind the iron barricade, and my mother and her chosen helpers were beginning to gather the second group to go. I winged back down the hallway, passing by my mother and her friends and landing next to Blake, who had been waiting for me to return by the mattresses. Looking back at mother, I said to Blake, “Alright baby brother. Come with me and I’ll get you into the next group.” Together, we trotted over to our mother as she ushered more ponies into the maintenance hallway.

Seeing us, she said something to one of her friends before coming to us. “Alright honey, I want you to listen to me and listen well.” she instructed Blake. “You need to go into the maintenance hall with the ponies you see down there. I’ve instructed them to make room for you, and they’ll protect you on the way out. Listen to what they say, and do as they do, and you’ll be fine. You have to be a big stallion out there for now until we meet outside. Okay?” At Blake’s hesitant nod, mother lowered her head down and kissed his forehead. “Now go on. Your father, sister, and I will see you outside.” With a final farewell, Blake trotted down the maintenance hallway, and I watched as the ponies waiting there spotted him and made room for him, nudging him along to the center of their group where he would be most protected.

“Well done Nova.” mother said to me. “Now while we wait for the power to come back on, I need your help in ensuring that the rest of the groups are made.” And with that, my mother and I took up positions on either side of the hallway and we helped the rest of the survivors find their groups. It wouldn’t be long now before we would be moving, leaving the Stable behind.

*** *** ***

It was so relieving to see the red disappear. With a loud clang, the Stable’s power returned, humming to life as white light swallowed up the ominous crimson. Mother and I had moved to the entrance once the rest of the groups were formed and waiting and we were hiding behind the heavy turret and the Stable door console. Some extra sandbags had been stacked for us to add to our overall protection, making a cozy little fortification for us. It was mother’s task now to signal to the captain when each group was ready to move. The captain himself was on the other end of the entrance, finishing one last task next to the failing reactor door. The door was nearly down, black splotches showing where the heat was melting through the last of it. Gunny was right... this was going to be close.

I heard the captain call to his guards, “Alright everypony! Take up defensive positions and hold this area! Seiyara, hit the switch!”

From my crouched position behind the sandbags that made our personal barrier, I saw as my mother hopped over the sandbags and reared up, placing her fore hooves onto the lever that operated the door, and she threw back the switch with a click. A loud buzzing alarm begun to sound, buzzing once before a brief pause and sounding again every other second, signaling that the great gear-shaped door of the Stable was opening. Shortly after, an orange caution light began circling the room and with a hiss of air, the massive hinge-arm that was used for opening the door slid forward with a creak. Sliding forward from the four arms that attached it to its frame on the ceiling, the hinge-arm attached itself to a slot in the door, fastening itself down with a scraping of steel against steel. Then, finally, with a ear-piercing screech, the arm pulled the great gear-shaped door back and away, releasing it to let it roll back behind the wall, revealing the underground tunnel that was the hidden entrance to the Stable itself. Despite the situation and despite the purpose, it was rather amazing to see that great door open. It was the first time I had actually seen it open.

“First group, you’re up!” Captain Saber ordered. “You four, go with them!” he added, motioning for four of his security ponies to leave, and I saw Rosemary Grace lead her chosen stallions, with her wounded ponies on their backs, to the exit. They passed by the great door and proceeded up through the tunnel, and following the last of them were two other security ponies who went to work setting up additional barriers within the tunnel to provide extra cover. With the first group disappearing behind the rock wall, the tunnel making a left turn, the captain ordered the second group to move. I saw Gunny as he and three others took up positions around the group. Gunny was standing beside my brother, placing himself between the nervous colt and the failing reactor door as they moved. As I watched, humbled by Gunny’s dedication to my mother’s request, my father joined my mother and I behind our barrier. He checked over his battle saddle and then placed his fore hooves on the top of our sandbag wall. He obviously was not comfortable with me being here, and I could tell even before he looked at me. But I tried to make a show of it by reaching my left fore hoof back to pull up on my saddlebag’s clamp. When I did this with the right side as well, I shrugged the saddlebags off and they fell to the floor, whereupon I found my pistol. Picking it up by the firing bit, I situated it in my mouth so that the weapon was ready to fire, and I copied my father, rearing up and placing my fore hooves on the top of our sandbag wall. My father only stared, eventually giving me a slow nod; perhaps he was nodding in approval or just accepting my role.

But there was no more time to think of it. As the second group was nearly out, there was a collective gasp that broke the silence of the entrance and I saw that one of the corners of the deteriorating emergency door had folded in on itself, unable to take the abuse any longer. Eager voices behind the door were sounding now, shouting insults, profanities, threats of a messy death, and encouragements to their allies as the door slowly came loose. “Positions!” Captain Saber ordered, and with a determined shout of confirmation from his security forces, the ponies behind the barriers aimed their weapons, waiting for the door to come down the rest of the way. My mother reared up and called to Captain Saber, who looked back and nodded; the third group was waiting for the word to go. Ahead of us, a pony came racing through the atrium entrance and leapt behind the safety of one of the barriers in front of us. I immediately recognized the unicorn as the Overmare, and I saw that she was levitating some kind of energy weapon by her side, next to her black cloak which she wore under a pair of saddlebags; the weapon was a complex model, showing that it must’ve been a plasma rifle. “Next group, move!” At the command, the next batch of twenty survivors made their way across the entrance, crouching low so as to be fully protected by the iron barriers as four of the security ponies joined their group as escort. Just as the leaders of the third group were descending the three steel stairs to the open door, the reactor door finally gave way under the pounding of the invaders and the door toppled back to reveal a whole band of ponies, shouting and grinning and eager to kill. And just as they begun to advance, the entire entrance was filled with gunfire as the security team unleashed their fury into the mass of invaders. From my left, my dad beat his wings to rise in the air, and he fired his battle saddle’s machinegun and rifle together, adding to the noise. I aimed and I pulled the firing bit with my tongue, firing a couple of shots into the cloud of smoke that was forming from the volleys of bullets being put into the hall. Even through the mess however, the invaders still pulled an attack off and aside from the few retaliatory shots that came from the smoking reactor entrance, a half dozen objects came sailing through the smoke to land around the entrance. Four of them landed in front of the barriers, but two were thrown hard enough that they sailed behind the barriers and landed amidst the security team. They looked like shiny silver apples, shaped from metal, but I didn’t know what they were. But even as I saw Crystal herself drop her rifle and use her horn to hurl one of the objects back toward the reactor entrance, I heard one guard shout out, “GRENADE!!”

Before I could act, I felt as my father threw his weight against me, bowling me to the floor as my mother dove down next to us. Then, my ears rang as explosions ripped through the entrance. I didn’t know what had happened. I was dazed, and at first I could hardly hear anything over the painful ringing in my ears. But as I felt my father step off of me, I stood back up and saw the horror of what had been left behind from the blast. Five of the six grenades had detonated in front of the barriers, causing some damage to the iron and sandbag defenses. They were still standing, one and all, but the grenades had weakened them considerably. On the floor, three security guards lie still, dead. Two had died from shrapnel and blast trauma, and another was missing a foreleg, having been caught very close to the blast. Others around them were struggling to their feet, dazed and injured. At the entrance of the Stable, I could also see that two survivors who had been part of the third group of twenty to go through had also been killed by the blast. Some of the guards still put up fire, firing on the reactor entrance, but some of the invaders had broken through because of the delay that the grenades had brought and were firing wildly on the barriers, forcing several of the guards to duck behind them for cover while they checked their ammo.

Through the chaos, as my hearing returned to me, I heard my mother shout out to the captain, who then ordered, “Fourth group through! Everypony, covering fire!!” Because we had lost three guards, the captain ordered only two ponies to depart from the force and escort the fourth group of survivors out of the Stable. Seeing this happen, I then faced the reactor entrance again, and aimed my pistol and fired. I shot until I emptied the clip, and then I crouched down again for cover. Using a hoof, I pressed a small button on the side of my pistol, and I nudged out the empty magazine. I searched for my mother, finding her next to the maintenance hallway entrance, waving to Captain Saber again. The fifth group was ready to move and the fourth group had made it out safely and without losses. “Fifth group coming through! Covering fire!” Captain Saber shouted over the noise, and those guards who had been behind cover rose up to fire their weapons again. Two more guards left their places to escort the fifth group of survivors. Some of the invaders had tried making a wall out of their own dead comrades in the free half of the entrance chamber. It had worked to an extent, but was nowhere near as effective as the iron of our defenses and it didn't hold up long against our automated heavy gun. The automated turret was roaring its thunder against the invaders, making a bloody mess as it tore through their grotesque barricades to reach its targets.

My mother joined me behind cover and I shouted my request for ammo. She crawled past me and fetched a fresh magazine from her saddlebags and slid it to me before joining my father in covering the fifth batch of survivors, a powerful and distinguished shot sounding from Fire Rose. I aligned the new magazine with my pistol and held the weapon down against the floor with one hoof as I slid the magazine into its chamber. When the magazine was fully inserted into the chamber, the slide clicked closed and it was ready to fire again. As I scooped up the pistol with my teeth, aiming once again, I saw that other guards had been shot when they had emerged from cover. One had been killed by an unfortunate headshot, his brains making a mess around him, and another two security ponies were incapacitated, wounded to where they couldn’t stand back up and fight. They could only crouch behind the barriers and bleed until they were picked up and carried out. I ducked back down at the sight, my breathing quickening. Through the shouting and the gunfire… I was loosing myself. I was scared for my life. One bullet could end me just like that, and one bullet could end my parents…oh Goddesses...

“NO!!” I cried, shaking my head as I fell to the floor. I had to calm myself somehow, but my mind was racing… I couldn’t panic, not now, not when my parents and my friends needed me.

My father, having been crouched to avoid being shot by an invader who targeted him, saw me in my near-panicked state, and he crawled over to me. “Nova hang in there!” he shouted through the noise. “We’re halfway done! You’ve done great so far, just keep yourself together!”

From behind our sandbag barricade, which had absorbed dozens of bullets by now, I heard Captain Saber call to his team, “Sixth group is moving! Keep them covered!” Between that order and my father’s words, I found my battered courage again, and I rose up. Nodding to me with a proud smile, my father winged back up and opened fire with his rifle. He kept his LMG silent for now, perhaps running low on ammo for it; it was hard to reload a firearm without magic. I rose with him, seeing two security ponies picking up their two fallen comrades and joining the moving group of survivors. By now, there were at least fifty dead invader ponies cluttered around the reactor entrance and the floor where they sought to spread out and do more damage. They were having to climb over piles of their own dead and puddles of their own blood and gore but still more came, as if the very thought of spilling our blood gave fire to their attack.

As the sixth group moved out into the tunnel and departed safely, my mother flagged down the captain who gave the order to cover the next group of survivors. I had to reload my pistol again; I killed one of the invaders with that clip. I called for another clip, and my mother, who had just finished reloading her own pistol, took out another clip from her saddlebags and slid it over to me before joining my father in covering the next group. Again, I discharged the empty clip from my weapon and aligned the new clip with its chamber and slid the clip in, the slide clicking closed and the pistol ready to fire again. But as I stood over the sandbags, ready to fire again, I saw that one of the invaders who had come through the entrance was wearing some sort of heavy armor, thick with padding and reinforced materials which seemed to do well in absorbing the brunt of the attacks that were thrown at him. He also wore a metal helmet which sparked when a bullet struck and bounced off of it. But that wasn’t what was frightening. The earth pony was wearing a heavy battle saddle composed of two heavy weapons, miniguns, and the weapons’ barrels begun to rotate. Then in a hail of fury, the miniguns unleashed hell down onto the seventh group of survivors, the earth pony invader laughing all the while.

“NO! BRING HIM DOWN!!” I heard my father roar, his LMG roaring with him as he desperately tried punching through the heavily armored invader’s combat armor. I fired again and again at the raider, some of the guards who weren’t distracted with finding cover or fighting off the other invaders inside the entrance chamber doing the same. Then, finally, the heavily armed invader went down, and I realized that I had killed him, a shot from my handgun finding home in his brain. The bullet had, by some miracle, went through one of the only holes in his metal helmet which was through his right eye. With the heavy invader killed, I turned to see the damage. In a pile of ruined corpses and flowing blood, I saw what was left of that seventh group of survivors. The four guards assigned to them had made it, and only five others had escaped the fury of the miniguns, and they fled into the tunnel.

That sight… so many dead by just one pony… it made me angry, and I felt it begin to burn inside me, a spark igniting into a roaring flame of hatred towards those who wished us dead. It replaced my fear, and it only left a desire to kill those responsible for this invasion and the massacre that came with it. My pistol still had rounds left in it, and I reared back up to face the reactor entrance. More of the invaders were coming through, sticking close together as they fought. I aimed and fired, killing one with a clean headshot. I fired again, leading the next target, and killed a second invader with a shot to the chest which pierced the mare’s heart. And then I lined up my sights with another invader, taking the stallion down with another clean headshot. Now my pistol was empty, and I ducked as bullets struck the sandbags of our barrier with a round of dull thuds.

As my mother slid another magazine across the floor to me, I paused and closed my eyes to regulate my quickened breathing. I had let that rage take me over and I had killed three ponies with it. Before today, or tonight, I had never killed before. Now I had killed five ponies in this battle alone. I couldn’t let my rage get the best of me in place of my fear. But when I calmed myself, casting the image of those slaughtered Stable ponies aside, I was left only with fear again. I clenched my teeth together, closing my eyes tight as I fought to keep my mind under control; we were almost through this. “Eighth group moving up! Cover them!” I heard Captain Saber call to what was left of his security team. All things considered, I was now a part of that team, along with my parents and the Overmare. Aside from the four of us, there were only a dozen guards left, and four of them broke from cover to join the moving group of survivors. With so few guards remaining, the only thing that was keeping the invaders from winning a foothold in the entrance chamber was the automated turret which was still thundering away, firing in bursts, as it rained death into the reactor entrance.

But then, things got worse when we heard one of the remaining guards call to the captain. “Captain Saber, targets in the atrium! Nine o’clock, nine o’clock!” Now that I tried to listen, I could hear the mines going off in the atrium as the invaders that had been trying to break through the last emergency door finally succeeded. Their lack of intelligence was obvious, as their bloodlust led to their easy destruction from the assorted mines that had been planted in the atrium.

The eighth group was out safely, and now my mother signaled to the captain that the ninth group was ready to move; she had to duck down right afterwards to avoid being shot. “Ninth group coming in! Let’s go!” the captain shouted encouragement to the rest of his team. Four more guards departed the barricades and joined up with the second to last group as they moved as quickly as they could across the entrance and to the door. We were stretched thin now. It was just the captain and his four remaining guards, the Overmare, and myself and my parents. Now the fighting was narrowed down to a shootout to prevent the invaders from breaching the entrance. Two guards and the captain were facing the reactor entrance, and the other two were helping the Overmare defend the atrium entrance. For now it was a stalemate, one side shooting while the other took cover and then vice versa. But as I reloaded once again and peered over our sandbags, I saw with shock as Crystal suddenly took a hit to her left forearm. She cried in pain and lost focus, dropping her plasma rifle as her magic cut off. But before she could take cover, a second shot had struck her in the chest and as she fell backwards, another shot hit her square in the neck, and she fell, gasping and coughing as she bled out onto the floor.

The other two guards ducked as bullets struck their barricade. “Perfect time for a sniper to show up!” one growled, as the other called out to the captain, “Sir, the Overmare’s down!”

Though the captain looked back, there was nothing he could do for her, as he had to focus on keeping the invaders outside the reactor entrance pinned down. Instead, I dropped my pistol and leapt over the sandbags before my father could stop me, and I fell onto my belly next to the dying Overmare. She coughed again, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth and she fought to turn to look at me. “We’re almost done, Crystal! Almost everypony’s out!” I called through the lasting noise of the fighting, trying to reassure the wounded mare. “We can get you out of here, just hang on!”

“Last group is moving up! We are leaving!” the captain ordered, and his four remaining guards rose to their hooves and fired into the entrances.

I heard the Overmare speak, mustering as much strength as she could despite her wounds. She said, “No Nova… leave me… save the others…” It was all she could say to me before she coughed again, spitting blood specks onto the floor. I looked behind me to see the last group coming through. Shore was leading them, firing his two energy rifles toward the reactor entrance before he ducked behind cover, letting the unarmed survivors with him pass as he tried his best to keep them covered. With that last order being heard, the invaders were more bold, and begun swarming into the entrance chamber from both entrances. The turret was still roaring fiercely, and it gave us valuable time and protection as its pile of empty cartridges grew around it. To my right, I saw my mother as she scooped up her saddlebags and slung them over her middle back before joining with the moving group, firing a powerful shot from her pistol. She was looking at me and was motioning urgently for me to join the group with her. I begun to stand up, turning to speak to the Overmare again when I froze. I saw Crystal, her eyes closed and her body unmoving in a pool of her own blood… she was already dead.

A bullet striking the floor near my foreleg made me snap my attention back to the battle, and rearing around, I jumped back behind the sandbags and slung my saddlebags over my middle back. After using the uneven sandbag wall to flip the saddlebag clamps into their locked positions, I bolted out from cover to join in with the group of survivors. They were moving as quick as they could which was still rather slow because of how they had to nearly crawl along the floor, crouching low behind the iron barriers to avoid being shot. I saw the last of the security team as they backed into the group and begun moving with us, keeping up their fire; two of the four remaining guards ponies had been shot and killed before they made it to us. But just before we had reached the entrance, the tunnel walls nearly coming into my view, an explosion erupted in front of me and blasted me back against the far wall, scattering those survivors that remained. I felt as I struck the wall, hitting it hard with my side, and I fell to the floor with a grunt. My body ached with stinging pain, and I could tell that I had taken some shrapnel damage. There were holes in my barding which blood begun to seep through, and even the slightest movement allowed me to feel the bits of metal inside me.

I shook my head, my ears ringing again and giving me a headache, but next to me I saw another pony. She was a young unicorn filly with a silver coat and a pink mane and tail, perhaps no larger than Blake was, and she was crying. She had been thrown back just like me, but fortunately, she remained mostly untouched by the blast or by shrapnel. Rising shakily, I called to the filly over the ringing of my aching head, saying, “Come with me! I can get you out of here!” I didn’t know if the young filly heard me or not, but when I pushed her forward with my foreleg, she moved willingly, following my guidance. I kept myself between the invaders and the little filly, using my own body as a shield for the young pony, and as I approached the entrance I saw that the captain and his two guards were firing from the entrance as those survivors that remained fled into the tunnel. Upon seeing me, they begun to retreat, slowly back-stepping while keeping me covered; they had been waiting for me. As I finally passed the entrance and joined the three guards, one of them took the little filly and escorted her away. And though the captain and his last guard sought to escort me as well, I had turned around to see if anypony else was coming. I saw no one besides the angry invaders… except for one pony… and my world froze.

My father was still in there, taking cover behind the automated turret and the Stable’s door control console. He had planted some sort of yellow pad on the control console and I saw him as he reached his forelegs up to the console and pushed the lever. The buzzing siren sounded again as air hissed from the Stable door’s hinge-arm, and I realized with shock what he was doing. He was going to seal the Stable and prevent the invaders from pursuing us! I screamed as the gear-shaped steel door begun to roll away from the wall. He was looking at me, a proud smile on his face, before he was hit in the left shoulder. I saw him go down, toppling back behind the sandbag barricade before the door blocked the entrance from my view as it rolled into place, preparing to close. “DADDY!!!” I cried again, rushing toward the door as if there was some way that I could claw through it and save him. But I was caught by the captain’s last guard, a unicorn stallion, and he used his magic to lift me off the ground and bind my wings to my sides. The strength of his magic easily overpowered my attempts to fight back and I was pulled through the air, flailing and screaming all the while. And as we rounded the tunnel corner, the big yellow 181 disappearing from my sight, I heard the screeching of metal against metal as the great door of Stable 181 slid closed.

*** *** ***

I had demanded that we turn back several times to my captors, but these demands were ignored as the unicorn guard kept his focus on me, keeping his spells from breaking and leaving me utterly trapped within the magic. I was utterly trapped within the magic. I heard a creaking sound behind me, and dim light pierced the dark tunnel. Though I was unable to move anywhere, I could still technically float around, and I had tilted in the air enough to see that an old door made of wood and screen wire had swung open, and there, waiting for us, were two other security ponies from the Stable. “We’re the last.” Captain Saber said to them as he stepped through the door. “The Stable door is sealed, so we’re safe out here for now.” There was a paused before the captain addressed my captor. “You can let her go. I think she’s done now.”

The unicorn stallion looked up at me, looking rather sympathetic despite what I had put him through in having to use magic to keep me from reopening the Stable door from the exterior console. And with a nod, the soft silver light on his horn faded away and I was set on my hooves. I stayed there, shaking, staring at the dirt beneath my hooves. I didn’t know what to do. No part of me wanted to move. My mind was frozen in place, the image of my father smiling back at me before being shot in the shoulder the only thing I could think of. Why? Why did he stay behind? Why didn’t he come with us? Why didn’t he follow me?! I felt like there was some way that I could’ve helped him. I felt that I could’ve kept him from dying, and that I had missed my chance to do it because of some weakness that I did not yet see in myself. I’m sure something was there though, a flaw, because my dad was dead and there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt myself walking forward suddenly, towards the open door and the waiting security ponies. I was being guided and nudged by the captain and I had been drowning in my own thoughts for so long that I had been completely oblivious to it. Regaining some control over my churning mind, I stepped past the door and outside. I felt dry grass under my hooves, along with rocky dirt underneath. It was such a different feeling that I stopped, and then looked up and beheld the outside world with an involuntary gasp. Before the end of the world, Stable 181 had been built far away from the Equestrian heartland, and I now knew that this was in fact the truth. All around me was nothing but a great field with rolling yellow, brown, and grey hills, the dry and dead grass swaying slightly in the gentle wind that flowed against it. The breeze felt strange to me, foreign, and it caused me to shiver as it brushed against my coat, slightly rustling my mane and my tail. Looking up and away from the hills, I beheld the vast ceiling of the outside that was the sky. In classroom books, the sky was depicted as blue with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily about. Some pictures even showed Pegasus ponies flying and playing high in the air. But this was nothing like what those pre-war books had drawn up. The sky here was one thick blanket of grey cloud-cover, spreading from horizon to horizon, preventing any light from reaching the ground. Judging by the cloud cover and the fact that I was still able to see clearly, I guessed that it must’ve been early evening.

The outside was a strange transition from the Stable. And it wasn’t the fields or the skies that made me think this. The outside… it was so open. There were no walls or ceilings here, no Stable lights and no doors, and that made me nervous. It was just endless, or so it seemed… I wondered if I would hit some kind of invisible ceiling if I tried to fly up to those grey clouds. With such an expansive area, I felt that I might wander forever and never find anything again. The stories of the wasteland were beginning to add up now, as my teacher in the Stable had always said that when the end came to Equestria, everything was there one moment and gone the next, leaving only a canvas of dirt and ash. I sighed a shaky sigh and let my head droop, my ears flattening against my head as I stared at the dead grass underneath me.

“We counted up two hundred and ten survivors captain.” I heard a pony say from behind me. Gunny had returned and was giving his report to the captain. “So in all, we still saved over half of the Stable’s population.”

“That’s good to hear… damn good.” Captain Saber replied. “That’s a far better number than I thought I’d hear. But we still lost almost two hundred ponies in there.”

“Don’t blame yourself captain.” Gunny said. “You did what Crystal ordered you to do, and you saved a lot of lives because of it. In the end, I think she would’ve been proud of your actions.” The captain smirked, giving a grim laugh, but staying silent. “Now, even though I hate to steal your line, I’m coming to the understanding that we have a duty to those we live beside, just like we always have and always will so long as we draw breath. I’m ready when you are sir.”

“Spoken like a pre-war commander.” Saber remarked with no little amusement. Gunny had been trained under Captain Saber, and he was good at his post; the captain looked like he approved of his subordinate. “Alright Gunny, what’s the situation?”

“Well we rallied everypony up as they came out.” Gunny explained, looking over to his left, past the Stable door built into a small hill so as to conceal it. “When we got about five groups with us we moved out and set up a camp to the south. Me and the others with me were thinking it best that we got as far away from the Stable as possible. But right now, we’ve just got too many wounded to be moving very far and very fast.”

“How many wounded do we have?” Captain Saber asked.

“We got a lot of groups that came out with their full twenty.” Gunny explained. “But they still came under fire. We’ve got half a dozen injured guards that Grace is tending to, aside from the ten she led out. And then we’ve got four dozen other ponies who took shots or shrapnel. Those are the ones that needed help moving around.”

“Sixty-four wounded out of two hundred and ten.” the captain thought aloud, quickly making the calculations. “Moving as a group is going to be slow-going… and I don’t think we’ve got much for food or water besides what everypony would’ve carried with them. If the circumstances had been different, we could’ve better-equipped ourselves.”

“So what do you think sir?” Gunny asked.

“Well we’re going to have to find something, and we’re going to have to find it fast.” the captain replied. “I hate to put it in grim terms, but I’d give us about four days of survival in our current state. If we don’t find something by then, ponies are going to start to starve, desert… we wouldn’t be able to keep this group together.” After a pause, letting his words ring for a moment, the captain said, “Come on. We need to get back to the camp. We can discuss the details there.”

Nodding, Gunny turned to leave, but stopped upon seeing me. Discussing the details of their new situation had drawn all his focus, but now that he had finished, his determined face changed to worry when he spotted me. I turned away, closing my eyes and shaking my head before he could speak to ask me if I was alright. Instead, he called back to the captain again. “Sir… what happened down there? You said the Stable was sealed, so what happened?”

I only listened for the captain’s response, memories of that terrible last minute in the Stable assaulting my mind again. There was a long pause, the captain either hesitant or trying to find the right words. But he eventually answered, saying, “A pony stayed behind. He activated the door when we were out and placed an explosive charge on the console. Once the door shut, I heard that explosive go off… so the door can only open from the exterior console. He was Nova’s father.”

I still didn’t open my eyes, feeling the first tears forming and sliding down my cheeks. The breeze made them chilly against my face, yet I made no attempt to clear them away; I was unable. But then I felt as I was nudged on the neck and I opened my eyes to see Gunny’s foreleg lowering to the grass before my eyes. When I looked him in the face, he looked so very downcast. “Come on Nova.” he urged gently. “Let’s get you back to the camp so you can rest.” I didn’t feel like arguing with him. Hell, I didn’t even feel like talking to him, so I followed behind the four security ponies, all silent as we walked over the dead grass.

The supposed camp had moved farther away from the Stable than I had originally thought. We were moving south, passing over several hills and treading deeper into the lifeless fields. After perhaps ten to fifteen minutes of slow walking, I could hear voices, and as we climbed to the top of the next rise in the earth, I beheld the makeshift camp that our survivors had made. It looked smaller than it actually was, the ground taking a drop from the hilltop I stood upon. But despite this, I could make out some of the details of it, seeing where a clinic had been set up. Those sixty-four who were wounded were separated from the rest of the camp, and I could see Rosemary Grace as well as a couple of assistants trotting about between the wounded, treating them as best they could. Most of them had to lay on the dry ground, only a scant few, probably the worst injured, being given clean blankets to rest on. The rest of the survivors were settling across a wider area as the guards established a perimeter.

We begun to descend the hill so we could enter the camp, but shortly after we began, a pony ran from camp to approach us. I recognized the pony for his black coat and his red and white mane. Shore, no longer wearing his energy weapon battle saddle, came running up the hill to close the distance between us. “Nova!” he panted, trying to catch his breath. “You need to come to the clinic… Grace needs you… it’s urgent.”

My head was already clouded from what had happened back in the Stable, and when I heard his words, I didn’t know what Grace could possibly need me for. I was in no mood to be helping anypony right now, nor was I in any mood to be getting patched up again. All I wanted to do was find my brother and my mother… I looked towards the clinic. A sudden fear was washing over me yet again, adding even greater discomfort to my already worn away mental strength. Snapping out my wings, I launched off of the grass and made the short flight to the clinic in a few seconds, landing between two wounded security ponies. Grace was off to my right, and when she saw me, she cringed just slightly; I was scared. “You needed me?” I asked, my heart pounding even before she raised a foreleg and pointed to her left. I followed her direction, searching frantically before I found who she wanted me to see. Laying on a blanket, already matted with blood, was a mare with a white coat. Her blue and white mane and tail were spotted with blood and small black spots specked the hair where parts of her mane had tried to burn away. On her flank, sitting just next to a gash that was slowly sealing closed, was a blue rose… mother.

Oh Goddesses no… please no…

“Mom!” I cried, rushing to her side and coming around to see if she was awake. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was audibly labored. All around her side and belly were sealed wounds and dimmed scorch marks. Despite this, several shrapnel wounds remained open, the medicine she had been given trying to mend them shut. There was one large wound across her upper right foreleg which, though partly sealed, looked like it had barely kept her leg from being taken off. She was still healing, but there was no telling how many potions Grace had given her.

I collapsed on my stomach by her side, nudging her gently with a hoof to see if she would wake. Despite her wounds, she didn’t look to be in pain at all. Her face was calm as she rested, perhaps even content… and then her eyes came open, looking at me. I gasped, smiling at seeing her awake, and I nuzzled her with my nose. “Nova.” she said to me; to hear her voice again was a medicine all on its own. “I’m so glad that you made it out.” Her voice was soft, and I could tell that she had difficulty speaking. Her wounds had taken a serious toll on her, and the knowing of what was likely to come put me into a fresh state of misery and sorrow. I didn’t talk, finding no words, and only savored the reunion, taking in the touch of her breath against the side of my face as she bumped her nose against me. After a long moment of silence, she said, “I heard that you saved a filly in the Stable… is that true?”

I raised my head to look her in the eyes, remembering the scared little filly that had been thrown back against the wall with me from that explosion… that explosion… it must‘ve been what had hurt mom so badly. I nearly choked at realizing this, but I still found the strength to speak about what I did for that filly. She was around here somewhere now, safe and secure. “Yes.” I said, clearing my throat after my voice cracked. “I was the last one out with the filly… I was the last out… dad… he stayed behind.” I did well to keep myself from sobbing in between those words.

“I know dear.” mother said weakly, shedding a tear of her own. “He told me his plan, and he told me to go before I could protest it. He did the honorable thing.”

“He saved a lot of lives.” I agreed, smiling sadly. “Mine too.”

“He would be proud of you.” mother said then, smiling through her pain. “I’m so proud of you… and I love you… I know that when the time comes… you’ll do the right thing.” She coughed afterwards, twice, and let her eyes close to relax herself again.

Celestia… have mercy…

“Mom?” I asked shakily. “Mom? Is there anything else Grace can do for you?”

“No dear.” she answered after her already weak breathing leveled again. “She’s already done enough to ease my pain. I’m happy… knowing that you and your brother survived.” She had to pause between sentences to catch her breath. “Let me go, Nova… and help the ponies here. They need you…” I listened, trying my best to acknowledge her words with nods, but even as I braced myself, I wasn’t ready for when her last words died away.

“Mom?” I placed my fore hooves against her side and gently pushed against her, looking at her closed eyes and desperately hoping they would reopen. “M-mom?…” No… she wouldn’t hear me. She wasn’t breathing anymore and the effects of the potions ceased; she was gone.

The tears came freely now, flowing down my cheeks as I let my head and neck fall over my mother’s side, and I wept uncontrollably. They were both gone, my father and my mother, dieing no more than thirty minutes apart. It wasn’t fair! It just wasn’t fair!! Why did this have to happen to me?? Why did the wasteland bring this down on me?? Why couldn’t my parents have survived instead?? “WHY COULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN ME??!” I cried to the sky. It should’ve been me who died… not them… This was my only thought as I slowly brought my gaze back to my mother’s closed eyes, more tears streaming down my face. She looked at peace now, no longer in pain and no longer suffering from anxiety or trauma; she wasn’t hurt anymore… she was with dad.

As I sobbed at the sight, I felt a hoof on my back, and I looked up with teary eyes to see Rosemary Grace. She was looking down at me with sympathy, a pair of her own tears having trailed down her cheeks. Without a word, she helped me to my hooves, and I sniffed and wiped away my tears, trying to compose myself enough to take my eyes away from mother and walk to wherever she was going to take me. We left the clinic behind us and headed towards the center of the camp where the captain had rallied some of his team, now constructing a plan of action for our band of survivors to follow.

We continued past them, heading for the far end of the camp, and it was there that I saw my baby brother, laying on the ground atop a clean blanket. Gunny was with him, standing off to his right side, and when the guard pony spotted me, he moved forward, joining Rosemary Grace as the two departed without word to me or each other. My baby brother was looking at me with watery eyes of his own, and I realized that Gunny must have told him the news about our father’s passing. I was impartial to the action… I couldn’t think of anything else besides being with my little brother. I stepped up beside him and I undid the clamps of my saddlebags, finally letting them fall with a plop onto the ground. Then, I settled down beside him, facing the camp with him. We were silent for what seemed like an hour, watching as the camp continued its activities, the survivors trying to recollect themselves. Then I heard my brother speak, and he asked, “Is mommy sleeping now?”

The question put such a blast of sorrow through me that I nearly begun crying again right then and there. I sniffed, taking in a shaky breath and letting it out slowly. And then I nodded. “Yes… mommy’s sleeping.” I turned down to look at my brother as he came to understand what my words really meant, and then he buried his head against my chest. I heard him begin to cry, feeling his tears against my coat as his body hitched with sobs. And then I broke, unable to hold back a second round of weeping anymore, and I put a protective wing over his back as I embraced him. And we wept together, letting our sorrow blanket us like the Equestrian Wasteland’s grey sky.

Footnote: Level Up!

New Perk: Swift Learner -- The battle in the Stable has allowed you to become a swift learner. You gain an additional 10% experience bonus whenever experience points are earned.

Comments

[Neon]

HNNNNGGG! RIGHT IN THE OCD!!!! Please, could you put ONE more word in chapter 2 before my disorder becomes the death of me?

[MisterClacky]

Way to roar out of the gates with a significant amount of wordage. Unfortunately, I don't have time to jump in right now, but I will soon.

That said, after reading your comment, I thought I would take a moment to linky the Compilation Document and the Fallout Equestria Resource.

The compilation document is where I found a lot of support when I first started. The chat on the FoE Resource site is also full of writers and editors that like to hang out.

Welcome to the FoE Herd.

Your favorite insectoid abomination,

Mister Clacky

[Nexidava]

The numbers are so near perfect it hurts...
It's almost as though he's trolling us.

[FireStorm2247]

902144 Better sir? lol

[FireStorm2247]

902181 Ack! No trolling intended I promise!

[Nexidava]

902201

No no, good sir, I jest.

It's just with 1 and 4 words over a hundred, leading to 5 words total over a thousand, the rounding impulse in me just wants to cry.

No pressure to change it though. It was just an observation.

[FireStorm2247]

902248 If its any consolation, the next couple of chapters dont have near-perfect word counts like Chapter 2.

[Nexidava]

I'm not sure if that's better or worse... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Rainbow_Dash.png

[FireStorm2247]

902296 Well dangnabbbit now y'all got me confused.

[Nexidava]

902331

Ditto

[Deathpony]

good story and sad you made me cry

[Neon]

902187 Hold on, lemme check....Yup, I don't have the urge to blow my laptop up
Thank you.

[FireStorm2247]

907226 Well we definately can't have you blowing up expensive machinery. So you are most welcome my friend.

[FireStorm2247]

915452 I'm afraid I don't follow... "Say me please Nova FF or not?" Could you elaborate? I'm sorry, I just don't get what you're trying to say is all.

[FireStorm2247]

915602 Ohhhhhhhh gotcha. lol. No, I don't intend to make Nova a filly fooler. lol

[FireStorm2247]

916716 Thankee.

[Quiznak]

Wow, as much as it is confusing at first due to some poor grammer choices here and there, this chapter was quite heart wrenching.