So, this is how it was going to end for me. In retrospect, I guess I should have seen this one coming; now my curiosity was becoming reality. It was definitely quieter than I'd imagined it to be, more like watching those videos way back when I was just a young colt - but that didn't take away from the fact. The sky was turning green with each flash, dark clouds rolling over the hills and consuming each town before they went up in a brilliant flash, the process repeating itself. The world was burning that day, gone up as the tensions could not wait any longer. Equestria as I knew it died - and I had a front-row seat. Each flash drew closer and closer, the blasts' sounds drawing together, almost making a coherent word within their collective roars, deep, growling, breathing of unavoidable death. I looked up, frozen, an evil, striped warhead screaming in at myself from above. I tried to let out a scream.

Flash. Gone. Nothing.

My eyes burst open, blinded with brightness from above, my golden coat damp. I snapped upwards, about to scream again before looking at my surroundings; the little porcelain figurine of the orange earth pony rested on the night stand, the desk littered with pages and papers of diagrams nearly overflowing into the wastebasket beside it. Cold gray walls surrounded myself, the fluorescent bulbs overhead casting their flickering light throughout the room. Wings drooped to my sides, I laid back in my damp bedding, breathing, calming myself down. "Damn... that was one hell of a dream..."

Laying there for a few minutes more, I finally found the strength to drop out of bed, shaking myself dry of the sweat and sliding into the denim jumpsuit, ready to greet another day in the hole. It was somewhat interesting, our situation - we all knew that the war was centuries over, and most of the fallout had fallen-out and decayed, yet nopony really wanted to leave and try to contact the outside. Sure, every now and again you'd hear talk of leaving the Stable to explore the wasteland above, but it's usually just some filly or colt trying to impress their friends. No, everypony enjoyed their lives just fine, hidden away behind the heavy steel-composite door of Stable 34, unbothered by what went on in the grim world above.

It was almost ideal down here - all things treated fairly, nopony was viewed in any higher regard to anypony else, not even the Overmare. Titles are just titles; as long as you were able to contribute productively to the stable, be it in maintaining it, beautifying it, or entertaining it, you were justified to be treated as a friend... no matter how loosely that term would apply. Even in the closeness of living in a Stable, introverts persisted.

You know, probably one of the better perks of not being so social, you can really focus on your task, without all of the distractions that come with 'friends'. Friendship didn't win the war... granted, nobody really -won- the great war... but still. When you've got a two-century-old nuclear reactor to tend to, friends usually become an afterthought. The way that you tend to glow for a minute or two after a long shift with the beast doesn't help much either, unless you want to attract weirdos. Yep, that's me - Stable 34's designated reactor repairpony. Really, you kinda get used to the radiation after awhile, it's low enough that you usually only need to down a Radaway or two every few weeks. Stable-Tec sure knew what they were doing when they built these things - most smaller-scale reactors I've read about from before the war had to be replaced after a few years of use, or at the very least had the main graphite mediator rods cleaned and swapped for newer ones. Our reactor's been chugging away non-stop since they fired it up, all the original bits and parts still in place... or, at least that's what Gamma Ray tells me. Part of me is convinced she's old enough to have been around to have witnessed the damn thing's christening. Anyways, all in all, it's a pretty monotonous job, more like babysitting than actually repairing.

In the offtime when Gamma takes over the reactor, nothing really compares to kicking back with a nice cola and a few old reels of megaspell and captured balefire bomb tests. Just to think that these massive, brilliant things were made over the course of only a few decades is an honest testament to how fast equestrian technology advanced - it genuinely makes you think what other creations may have come out if everything didn't go up in balefire. Robotic Augmentations? Self-propelled carriages? Heavier-than-air craft? Yes, the war was terrible, but just think of the technology that it caused to come to be! Call it morbid, but I'd give my left wing just to see even a small weaponized megaspell or balefire explosion live... outside of the danger zone, of course. I'm not THAT crazy, I know what these bombs can do - and it sure as hell would take a lot more than a Luna-damned schooldesk to save somepony's flank from one... 'Daring Do and the Kingdom of the Star Warriors' notwithstanding. Somepony could've managed to survive the bombs inside a fridge, you couldn't know for sure!

Seemingly ludicrous film scenes aside, it certainly fills afternoons working out how different bombs affect various areas, and learning all about what they did a few decades shy of two centuries ago. Did you know, in fact, that you had about 2-3 seconds after seeing the flash of a small balefire bomb detonated in the air about a mile away, to duck beneath a thick embankment or hardened building? Believe it or not, that part from the old message of Duck and Cover does actually work! Sure, you might come out of it with a few bones smashed from the negative blast wave smacking into you like a train, but even the smallest bit of cover will actually save you from an otherwise ugly demise due to organ-liquefying radiation. I do often wonder if anypony managed to survive the bombs and balefire without being in a Stable - they'd have to have either been miles underground and have been able to stay down there for a few months at the very least, long enough for the fallout and radiation to subside, or miles away from any significant population center. A mineshaft up north, maybe, a good few miles from Stalliongrad, or at least on the opposite side of a mountain range near it...

Ah, back inside the wonderfully pleasant blue glow from Stable 34's Reactor, affectionately named 'Bruce' by generations earlier. There's just something so curious about how the damn thing works - every few years or so, they have to take these large silvery-metal slugs and drop them into place in the fuel rods. Last time they did that, I was still a blank flank, hard to imagine... huh. Yanno, maybe that's why I've got that mark of a helium atom. All it is is just an alpha particle with two beta particles in orbit, after all... or it could've been because I may have inhaled a -bit- too much helium at Tablet's cutecienera. You can't blame me, I thought it'd make me fly better - I was just a colt at the time, for cryin' out loud! Caught sight of the fuel rods when I was down recovering in the infirmary, strange things they were back then, and they sill are now. No magic running them at all, just their unstable atoms shedding off a few pounds in the form of an alpha or beta particle. Plop them into the core, they heat up some coolant fluid, the coolant boils water, water makes steam, steam runs generators, generators power ninety percent of the Stable. Just pure science... I wonder if all Stables have the same thing? Can't take out an electrical talisman with an Anti-Magical Pulse when there aren't any talismans wired on the grid in the first place!

Being one of those deep-water reactors, Bruce is a rather reliable workhorse, so to say. Hardly ever have to fiddle with the graphite moderators, fuel runs out slower than it takes a bone to heal, very self-sufficient design. Most days I wind up doing more reading than repairing, just sitting on the lip of the reactor pool near the terminal bank and occasionally glancing up at the screens to make sure nothing starts screaming at me in RobronCo code. Worst day so far was when they found Junebug's pet rabbit Mr. Skritters' remains lodged inside a cooling vent - poor kid. Wish I could've told her that he went peacefully, but, well, nuclear heat and radiation just don't work that way. Let's just say it was a closed-box funeral. Try to not think about how many ways somepony could get hurt messing around this reactor, just have to be glad that nopony ever really comes down here. Just have to-...

Was that the bulkhead opening?

Tossing the copy of 'Daring Do and the Temple of Boom' inside the reactor manual binder aside, I scanned over the screens, trying to find any alerts, alarms, or frowny-faces - In other words, trying to look busy. The sound of hooves clacking against metal scaffold and floor drew closer as I closely examined a few lines of code that looked suspiciously like a smudge on the screen, nudging the novel further into the binder with a free hoof and sliding the whole ordeal over some extraneous papers.

"Twintails? Have a minute?" Peeling my eyeballs off of the Cathode-Ray screen, I was greeted by the sight of the aging soft-blue mare with the neon-green mane that had tutored me for the longest time. Streaks of gray cut over her coat and mane, some faint spots where her profession had it's impact showing thinning all over her body. She trotted over to a second chair, sitting herself down easily as I followed her with my gaze.

"Yeah, Gamma? What is it?" She stretched lazily as she turned to look at myself, returning a gaze of curiosity as she faintly smiled. I sat myself up, leaning forwards in the chair, wings folded.

"You know... you know how all of the little colts and fillies always say that they're going to be the first ones to step out of the Stable? Well..." She drew in a softly labored breath, letting out a sigh as she continued on. "...I think you'll might have to be the first. Remember the Skritters incident?" I blinked, in disbelief and surprise, feeling my mouth go a bit dry. Leaving the Stable? But why? I kept shut, nodding lightly as I leaned back in my chair. "Well... as it turns out, not all of him came out. A few bits of leg bone fell into a vital component of the reactor's system, and we just don't have any way to permanently fix or replace it on hand - damn thing's too advanced for a repair talisman, Celestia knows why it didn't come with one made for it in the first place. It's a special part of the vent system, called a neutron-dampening radiothermic coil - it keeps the stray particles going right up where they should be, helping vent the excess heat out. With it busted, sooner or later the reactor level's going to get hotter and more ambiently radioactive than a bomb crater."

I leaned back, resting my head on the back of the chair and looking up at the soft blue glow reflecting off of the metal ceiling, trying to piece together it all. Swinging myself side to side in contemplation... and because swivel-chairs are fun... I finally came to a rest and looked over at Gamma Ray. "So let me get this straight... you're asking me to go out into that desolate, cold-as-the-moon wasteland to try and find one of these things? I don't even know what it looks like!" Lengthy and informative as a reactor manual is, known for pictures it isn't. Gamma chuckled lightly, levitating out a small photograph of a strange conical-shaped device, bristling with coils and a light on it's end, suspended inside the main reactor vent. I stared at it for a few moments, then looked back up at the unicorn mare sitting across from me.

"It's about the size of three terminals placed back to front, keyboards and all. Ought to only be a couple pounds, twenty-five at most is the best guess. We jury-rigged a smaller cooling system for the exhaust pipe, but there's no way we can get it to last for more than a few more months with that... it's for the best of the Stable, Twintails. Nopony else has your same mobility options, and the sooner we can get a fully-functioning one installed, the better." Gazing at myself with eyes beginning to glint with dampness, and the faintest hints of a frown trying to permeate her softhearted smile, Gamma rested a hoof upon my shoulder, drawing in a light sniffle. We sat for a few moments as I stared at the photograph, sliding it inbetween my Pip-buck and foreleg before looking into the solemn face of the elder unicorn, a light smile upon mine.

"When should I start off?"

The sending-off party wasn't especially large - Gamma Ray was sniffling, brushing her thinning mane out of her eyes every now and again as she rested herself against the railing nearby. Tablet had arrived, pulling out the design for the mural she had planned to commemorate me in Stable 34's history, a gesture I really felt quite undeserving of. I was just stepping hoof out into the wasteland, I would be back someday, eventually. She insisted, regardless... bless her heart, she'd draw the world happy if she could. Always knew just how to make anypony feel better just from her pictures, most of the time, anyways. Junebug, the Overmare's daughter, also was in attendance - I couldn't tell if she still harbored sadness about her pet's accident or not, she mostly just sat and watched the proceedings. I suppose Mayflower was just busy with the rest of the Stable, needed somepony to open up the Stable's heavy cog door with the password. It was still a bit strange, watching her just sit there while everything went forwards. Disconcerting, even.

Gamma had fished out an old but unused piece of riot armor from the Stable security's armory and helped me fit into it - I imagine they weren't expecting many pegasi to keep on the ground when the bombs started to fall. The lack of armored wings wasn't much of a concern, probably would be better I had them out in the open if fight had to become flight. There wasn't a helmet to go along with it, unfortunately, but for having sat around for about two centuries it was otherwise in almost perfect condition... hopefully it'd keep like that for a while. Gamma Ray rested a hoof upon my shoulder as I pulled the saddlebags on tightly, her expression twisted to the brink of tears as she looked over myself. Looking back to her with saddened eyes, I stepped forwards and drew her into a tight embrace, feeling her do the same as she began to quietly whimper through her lips. Her mane smelled faintly of decay and age, covered in a weak perfume of coolant fluid and oil - my own eyes began to water as I took a deep lungful of the familiar scents, hugging her tighter against myself as we stood in the long-vacant Stable entrance. Whimpering began to turn into faint crying as she worked out what she wanted to say.

"I... I wish that there was another, w-way..." The elder unicorn let out a small exclamation of tears, squeezing myself tighter against her body. "Oh, Twintails... I'm so sorry..." Nuzzling and rubbing into my mane with damp eyes, she tightened her embrace, much as a mother would when seeing their little fillies and colts growing up in the world. She didn't want to let go - and neither did I. We stood there for a few moments more, softly weeping and wetting each other's coats and manes, standing on the inside of the Stable door as Junebug hefted herself up to the control panel.

"D-don't be, it's for the good of the Stable, after all... I promise you, we'll meet each other again, some sunny day. Just like how the old song goes..." We took a step back from each other as we let go, Gamma managing out a chuckle through her tears, wiping them clean with a hoof. Her cheeks were already stained with them as she longingly looked over myself, a saddened smile worked upon her face, her magic aura alighting around her horn. From her saddlebags, she lifted out a hardwood case, emblazoned with a radioactive trefoil surrounded upon three sides by strange symbols, one of which the old mare sported upon her flank. She lowered it into my hooves, flicking the latches.

"A... a small parting gift. Radiation family sidearm... I hope that you'll put it to good use. Been passed down generations, one family member to the next." She lifted open the lid of the case, revealing a very curious semi-auto pistol; it was pure black metal with a stiff plastic mouth grip, save for the receiver lever which was a deep, almost military-green color. The barrel of the weapon was almost ridiculous - it looked like it could blow somepony's hoof off with one shot! Or, at the very least, break my jaw the first time I fire it... "Old design, chambered in .45 Auto rounds. One of the few ones not made by Ironshod..." Shutting the lid, her horn lit up strongly for a few moments, a small, concentrated ball of neon-green glowing at the bottom of the trefoil burned into the lid. The ball of magic faded, and Gamma Ray slumped against the railing, panting heavily and looking up at myself as I moved to catch her. She moved a hoof out, resting it upon my shoulder for a moment before moving and turning the box upright, holding it in my view. Four symbols surrounded the fan-shaped mark upon the cover of the box now; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and the newest addition, a diagram of a helium atom, matching precisely the one upon my flank. I looked at it for a few moments in shock and surprise, as Gamma regained herself. "Welcome to the... my, family." She worked out a weakened smile as she gently rested a hoof around my neck, lifting the hefty sidearm and case and sliding them both into my saddlebags gingerly. I bit at my lower lip hard, trying to keep back the tears - I didn't want to leave now at all...

But the health of the Stable had to come first.

"Gamma, I... I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, for everything..." I pulled her into another close hug, holding it for a few moments before the sound of a little hoof tapping against metal floor broke us apart. We turned to see Junebug leaning against the console awkwardly upon her hind legs, her curled, shiny blue mane hanging over her annoyed peach-colored face.

"Come on, that radio-whatever thing isn't getting any more fixed! Go out and find a new one already, don't make me have to get mommy to kick you out." Ah, the awkward days of youth, when your voice still has to decide whether or not it's going to continue being hooves on a chalkboard or not. Junebug's seemed to be fine mimicking a chipmunk caught in a Stable air conditioning unit... yeah. That bad. I turned back to Gamma Ray, leaning forwards and nuzzling her softly for a moment, getting one last look into her eyes as the warning lights began to flash overhead near the giant cog door.

"Go get it, Twinnie... and please come back in one piece." With a soft parting kiss upon the forehead, I watched Gamma stepping back, away from the entrance to the place that we all had called home for generations. The giant steel door screeched open with the retort of aged metal upon aged metal, rolling aside and allowing the cool, musty air of the short tunnel entrance outside to come in. I took one look back at the three behind - Tablet had already started laying the groundwork for the mural. Gamma was wiping her eyes dry. And Junebug looked solemn, stepping forwards towards myself, slightly annoyed that I hadn't left yet. I took one last breath inside the Stable, taking the first few steps outside the heavy steel door of Stable 34 in nearly two centuries. The air was cool, and I was rather thankful that between the riot barding and my saddlebags it was only my face and wings that could really feel it. A warning klaxon sounded, the mechanics of the stable's door whirring and slowly fitting it back into place. I turned around to get one last look; Gamma Ray was still in tears, though the bore the widest smile I'd ever seen across her face. Tablet took time to give a parting wave of the hoof, a paintbrush held in her mouth along with two others levitated in her magic. And Junebug was smiling... but not in the 'wish i didn't have to see you go, be back soon' sense. No, this was... the really freaky 'I know something you don't and I'm getting my way' smile...

The door screeched shut a moment later. I was on the outside of the Stable, the first pony to do so in generations, facing a wide, new world that I knew I was likely to explore every inch of, intentionally or not.

And I was all alone.

A loud beeping filled my ears, my left leg vibrating violently. I grunted, rubbing my eyes as I sat up in bed. The lights blinded me for a faint moment, as I looked down at the blur that was my Pip-Buck and flicked a little switch on the side. The alarm switched off and the image of the little colt on the screen waking up flickered out to be replaced by a mess of blurry words. Looking over to my bedside table, I picked up my glasses and slid them onto my face, prompting me to blink as they magnified the lights overhead, my eyes eventually adjusting and the room coming into focus. I rubbed my temples, throwing aside the covers of my bed and making way to the dresser nearby; oh, let’s see, what should I wear today? The Stable-Tec Stable 76 Standardized Jumpsuit, the Stable-Tec Stable 76 Standardized Jumpsuit, or the Stable-Tec Stable 76 Standardized Jumpsuit?

Slipping into one of the jumpsuits, I managed to drag myself over a short plug extending from the wall, hooves heavy on the floor. I slipped my mane aside, revealing a small jack on my temple. Right, just slip in the plug, and... oooooh, yeaah, that's the stuff. The electricity flowed through the wire and into my head, the tiny wires, talismans and coils clicking as they powered up, the very faint hum returning to my ears as my horn gave a spark, my magic returning to full strength. I unplugged the wire, a shiver running through my body - oh, electricity is -so- much better than caffeine.

The door slid upwards as I approached it, the hallways quiet, aside from the occasional echoes of the hooves of a security pony changing shifts. I trotted down the hallway, climbing the stairs to the main hall, spotting a few ponies sitting around on some of the chairs, one flipping through a magazine. Entering the cafeteria, I picked up a tray and slid it along the tray line, disinterestedly looking behind the splash guards. One of the cafeteria ponies placed a bowl of oatmeal onto the tray, as I grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter near the end of the line. Trotting myself over to one of the long tables, I idly took a bite out of the apple, taking a curious look at it. I have no clue how they grow this stuff so far underground, but eh, hey, if it works, it works.

As I ate, a royal blue unicorn trotted in; I watched his purple tail swish back and forth as he slid his own tray along the line, picking up a pack of fancy filly snack cakes and giving that soft mane of his a gentle flick. Eyes fallen out of focus on everything else for a moment, I snapped back to reality as he turned to face me, smiling and sliding in on the bench beside myself. “Hey, Minty. How’re you doing?” Cross Stitch rested his forehooves on the table, levitating and tearing open the package of cakes and taking a bite, as I swallowed my mouthful of oatmeal down.

“Alright. Same old stuff yesterday.” I ate more of the bland oatmeal as he chomped down on the other cake, giving a small muffled chuckle of acknowledgement. We ate in silence for a while, before I spoke up again. “Anything interesting happen for you, yesterday?” He shook his head in response, as he finished up with the snack cakes.

“Nah, I was just fixing up some more jumpsuits. Stir Fry’s shot up over the past weeks.” I nodded in response as I finished up my breakfast. “And what do you mean same old stuff yesterday? It wasn’t exactly a secret you broke into the armory again.” He smirked as he levitated the trays onto a pile of dirty ones.

“Can I help it if that’s where the only cool pieces of tech are being stored here?” I asked, grinning. Cross Stitch only rolled his eyes in response, trotting beside me. “Hey, you said it yourself you wanted to check it out sometime.” We walked out of the mess hall, heading to Cross Stitch’s job at the jumpsuit repair room.

“I said I wanted to check out the maintenance areas with you, not get in trouble with the Overmare.” He said as we turned a corner, a security guard walking in the opposite direction to us. “Maybe then I’d get your obsession with those giant boxes of gems.” I gave a roll of my eyes in response.

“Said the seamstress.” I chuckled, Cross Stitch sticking his tongue out at me teasingly. We reached his room, him punching the code in. “I’ll see you later.” I said, smiling, himself smiling back before turning into the room. I trotted back down the hallway, heading towards the maintenance areas, passing another security pony who I nodded to in acknowledgement. He grunted a little, but nothing else. I turned and headed down the steps, my hooves clacking against the metal softly.

I entered the small maintenance office, Squeaky Hinges pouring over some paperwork. He looked up as I walked in, spitting his pencil out of his mouth. “Hey, Minty. We’ve got some complaints about computers losing power, probably just a busted tube. Go check the mainframe.” He waved me away, and I immediately turned around, heading even deeper into the guts of the Stable. The door to the large generator slid open, the mechanical beast rumbling loudly. I snatched up a pair of headphones from the wall, slipping them over my ears with a small grumble, before trotting over to the back of the machine.

My metal horn glowed as the screws undid themselves and I lifted the panel away, revealing the mess of wires, tubes, bulbs and talismans littered throughout. Sure enough, there were a few shattered vacuum tubes near the back, still idly sparking... brilliant. These things burst more often than I can care to keep track of. I unscrewed them and slipped what I could find of the glass into a bucket, pulling out a few extra ones out of the toolbox and securing them and the wires. As I did, an arc of lighting flew from the end of one, connecting with my horn. Gah, mother of Celestia! Why is it they haven’t found a good way of insulating body parts yet? Rubbing my horn gingerly, I used my mouth to screw the panel back into place, as my magic throbbed.

I soon found myself trotting out of the noisy room, emptying the bucket of broken vacuum tubes into a trashcan, setting the headphones back onto their rack. As I trotted back up to the office, a little niggling feeling poked at me, stopping me in my tracks, and making me look to my right. Down the hall was another secured door, the lights behind the sign “Armory” flickering slightly above it. I glanced back up the stairs to the office - no one should be coming down soon, right? The generator’s fixed, Hinges should see that on his computer, and he didn’t need anything else today. I looked back down the hallway to the armory, an ear twitching slightly. Slowly, I walked towards it, checking over my shoulder that no one was coming.

Trotting up to the terminal beside the door, I took to inspecting it. They probably beefed up the security system on this thing since my last break in… Even with all those misspent days of hacking into the systems, before I got my job, probably wouldn’t help much. I pulled out the screwdriver from the toolbox and a bobby pin tucked in my mane - good thing that wasn’t the only thing I misspent my days on...

I bent the bobby pin, carefully sliding it into the small keyhole in the door, using my screwdriver as leverage. I placed my ear against the door and jiggled the pin around, sliding it left and right. It didn’t sound too difficult a lock… honestly, it should have been a lot more complex for an armory door. Listening as a few tumblers clicked, I twisted the screwdriver, and the latch popped open. No blaring alarms? This is my lucky day! I slipped through the door, shutting it behind me before I looked over the Stable's positively loaded armory. I giggled a little to myself as I saw the myriad of weaponry, pistols, revolvers, a few grenades, but the cream of the crop lay on a large metal table near the center. I lifted up a small brass gun in my aura, looking over the various wires and cathodes attached to it.

The plasma pistol’s cool casing shone slightly in the light as I twisted it this way and that to look it over. Oooh, what I could do with this little thing… I glanced over my shoulder again, the door to the armory still shut tight. A smile crossed my face as I pulled out a small screwdriver, pliers, and other various tools. I began to undo the casing around the plasma emitting hull, and levitated over a nearby laser pistol, beginning to unscrew the front end. The prism was soon glittering in the Stable lights, the laser emitter distorted through it. I carefully lifted it out and laid the laser pistol case on the table, looking back its plasma counterpart.

The cool plasma warped in its glass container, various magnets and heating elements hooked up to it, keeping it live. I looked over the gun, trying to figure the best way to fit in the prism. The glass should be able to withstand the heat, those lasers weren’t too much cooler than good old plas-

I froze in place as I suddenly heard hoofsteps outside the door, sounding like they were trotting closer. They stopped outside the door, my heart stuck firm in my throat - fuck me... I could barely hear the beeping of the terminal as the door slid open. Security officer Kevlar looked in, sighing before trotting herself up to me, irritated. “Minty… how many times are we going to have to do this?” My ears lowered as I set the guns down on the table, gathering up my tools. Last time I tried to put up a fight I received a large dose of high-voltage electricity through my horn… definitely don’t need that again.

Kevlar escorted me out of the room, locking the door behind her. She lead me through the halls, and I glanced into Hinges’ office as we passed by, who didn’t seem to notice us. “You know the Overmare’s not going to be happy about this. What is it, the eighth time this month? She really needs to boost the security down there already.”

We trotted up the stairs towards the Overmare’s office, Kevlar opening the door and stepping in behind me. Bonbon looked up, only to see me and sigh, her expression immediately going sour. “Please, for once just tell me this was for vandalizing a soda machine or drawing graffiti.” Kevlar shook her head, Bonbon sighing. “Minty, you know we’re not allowed to give access to the armory to anypony but security officers. It’s bad enough knowing those that we give those roles could get a wire crossed and start killing people off without some tech obsessed colt breaking in every day too!” She was growing steadily angrier by the minute. Welp, yeah, I messed up big this time...

“Every day I keep getting reports back of failing augmentations and ponies needing to be put down and now you-” She stopped short, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks. I stepped back a bit, staring at her in disbelief. Augmentations… failing? Ponies dying? Bonbon looked over to Kevlar, who glanced nervously between her and me. Bonbon’s expression became stern again. “Take Minty back to his room. Have his room confiscated.” She turned back to me - this certainly did not seem like it was going to be a slap on the hoof this time... “You are hereby under solitary confinement for an undetermined amount of time. Your room will be guarded and your job duties revoked until further notice.” She lowered her voice, giving a firm glare that rather well hammered it in for me. “If you tell anypony about what you've just heard, I’ll see to it you won’t be heard from again.”

Kevlar led me back to my room, a few ponies watching with small snickers as we passed, only to be scared off as she glared at them. As we made our way down the hallways, a few more security officers started to follow a short ways behind us, trying not to draw suspicion as we approached my room. The door to my room slid upwards, and Kevlar walked me over to the bed as we waited for the other guards to arrive. “What the hell’s going on? Why are these augmentations failing? I thought they’d been tested to be safe!” I said, almost shouting at Kevlar.

“Shut up.” She gave me a swift smack across the back of my head, her normally cheery nature gone completely. I took to leaning away from her as we waited. Soon, three other guards entered the room, one looking slightly confused as to what was going on. “Alright, the Overmare ordered this room to be cleared out. Search for any contraband items first, then we’ll get to work on removing the comfort items. Clothing is to be searched, but will remain, got it?” The guards nodded, and promptly began to dig through my stuff. I was about to protest when Kevlar drew a pistol, pointing it at me. “Any protests, and I am authorized to use deadly force.”

I drew back in fear, as the guards opened up drawers and rifled through the contents. One dragged out an old empty box from the closet and began to pile books into it. I almost spoke up again as Rusty’s Electronics was thrown in, it's weathered spine and faded pages almost falling apart from the guard’s lack of care. One guard was digging in the dresser, pulling out several tools and dismantled weapon parts. I glanced back to Kevlar and shrunk back further. She sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. “Well, I suppose that’s at least a month of low rations. Assuming we don’t find any more.” She regained her composure, muttering something along the lines of ‘idiot, probably’d have a whole rail gun stashed in here if he could.’

It wasn’t long before the guards had emptied the room of everything but my jackets and a hotplate, the last of the guards trotting out with a box balanced on their back. Kevlar turned to me once the guards were out of earshot. “As the Overmare said, you are to remain in your room at all times, except when going to the bathroom, where you will be accompanied by a guard. Your food will be delivered to you and you are to have no visitors while you are in confinement.” She leaned in, her eyes narrowing a bit. “Any attempts to break free or contact someone about what you heard will be taken as an offer to volunteer for experimental augmentations.” She turned and left the room, the door sliding shut and locking behind her.

I simply sat on my bed, staring at the door. I could barely gather my thoughts together - failing augmentations, the Overmare’s sudden brutality, room arrest… I looked around at my room, which now felt much colder and harsher without my collection of books and junk strewn about. I looked back to the door again, unsure of what to do, almost too scared to move. This was going to be bad…

Days began to drag by, each blurring into the other as I sat in my room all day. At noon and six the guard would open the door and bring in a few cans of beans and a fork, which I then cooked on the hotplate that was my only source of entertainment aside from my Pip-Buck. When you’re trapped in a room for weeks on end, boiling spit becomes strangely diverting. Kevlar would occasionally stop by to check I hadn’t gone mad, though that was becoming more and more questionable as time went on. A few times I thought I heard Cross passing by the door, but he was swiftly ordered to move along by the guard.

---

I rolled over in bed, staring at my Pip-Buck. A month? It had only been a month? I groaned, the dates having blurred together, convincing me it had been nearly a year. I flipped back and forth between screens, feeling my psyche cracking from boredom. Empty map, Stable 76 PA, to-do list full of unfulfilled ideas, health monitor, empty map, PA, to-do list… I whimpered quietly, my ear twitching. I had to leave. If I stayed here any longer I was sure I was going to go crazy. I looked back at the door, trying to think of a way past the guard. Ok… if I can just knock him out, I should be able to run by… I stood up and quietly trotted towards the door, my heart starting to beat faster and faster. “U-uh, guard? I need to use the restroom.” I said, turning and bending my haunches slightly. There was an annoyed grunt from outside the room, and after a moment the door slid up as the guard stepped in. Before he could say anything, I kicked backwards, my hooves landing squarely on his jaw. He immediately fell to the ground, out cold. My heart was racing in my chest as I stared down at him, before glancing towards the open door. I couldn’t help but give a little mad chuckle before rushing out the door, and down the hall towards the armory.

The door was an easy pick - thank the goddesses the Overmare never sent anypony down here to boost security. The door slid open to reveal the collection of small guns and energy pistols, a few tools laying out on the workbench in the center of the room. I rushed over to the rack of smaller sidearms, my horn flaring up as I levitated one of the plasma pistols off of the shelf. Looking it over more closely, I grimaced at it's sight, noticing the diodes were more than a little bent and the battery casing was worryingly borderline corroded.

Looking over the other pistols on display, it was no comfort at all to see all of them were in agonizingly worse shape. Yeesh, it’s almost like I was the only one bothering to fix things around here... I was cut short on debating whether or not to bother tinkering with them by hoofsteps running down the hall towards me. Scooping up a few energy cells and stuffing them into my jumpsuit pockets in a rush, I dove into the shadows.

The hoofsteps grew steadily louder before passing by, rushing towards the maintenance areas. I let out a soft sigh before starting to head back up the stairs, tense at every noise. Alright just need to head to the door and… I started to slow down as I passed by the living quarters. Cross Stitch… shit, I can’t leave him here… but I can’t hang around too long… I shook my head and began racing towards his room. Damn it, Minty, you’re going to get caught doing this. I pounded my forehoof loudly on his door, glancing back and forth down the hallway in case more guards were on their way.

The door slid upwards and I leapt into the room, slamming the door behind me. “Minty?! What in Equestria’s going on? Where have you been?” Cross asked, but I put a hoof over his mouth, muting him. I couldn’t hear anypony coming, but I still stayed silent for several moments before Cross stepped back. “Minty, what’re you doing? And...and why do you have a gun?!” Turning to him, his nervous and frightened expression was obvious on his face.

“Cross, they’ve… they’ve been keeping me under arrest in my room. The augmentations aren’t working right, the Overmare said it’s causing ponies to die.” Upon this revelation, his expression immediately went from confused to horrified. Before he could speak up, I continued. “I’m leaving, right now. I need to get the code for the door from the Overmare, then I’m heading out.” I stared into his eyes, stepping close and grabbing one of his forelegs with my own. “Please, Cross, come with me.” He didn’t say anything, likely too dumbfounded by what was going on. My ears twitched - I could hear guards shouting down the end of the hall. I moved towards the door, but Cross didn’t follow me. I turned back for a moment; we both stared at each other, I could see his eyes starting to well up, looking over myself. He shook his head, before looking away worriedly. I was about to move back towards him, comfort him, when I heard the guards coming closer. I bit back a small sob as I turned and rushed out the door, the guards managing to miss me as they inspected another pony’s room.

Sprinting down the hallway and up the stairs towards the Overmare’s office, I prayed that there weren’t any guards standing outside her room. I stole a look through the window as I passed, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw it was empty. Come on, just need to get there before anypony thinks to return… I slipped into the Overmare’s office, catching my breath as I came to a halt. Ok… ok, where would she keep the password… My eyes fell onto the main terminal on her desk, and I headed towards it. My horn sparked as I lowered it towards a small port near the keyboard, my vision beginning to fill with a stream of numbers, letters, and random symbols. I found a file labeled: Important Codes, DO NOT ERASE. Well, thank Celestia the Overmare has a bad memory and no sense of file protection. I opened it, scanning the long list of codes before spotting one. Main Door Code: Transistor.

I unplugged my horn from the port, feeling a little drained from the effort of hacking the terminal. Whipping out an energy cell, I plugged it into the small port at my temple before running back downstairs towards the main entrance. As I ran towards the atrium, a few guards spotted me, pulling out their batons and rushing me. I fired a few shots of plasma sporadically, managing to scorch one of their hooves, which sent the guard tumbling over and crashing into the other. I leapt over them and entered the atrium, freezing in place.

The door was massive, shaped like an enormous cog, at least twice my size and who knows how thick. The number 76 was emblazoned on the center in peeling, yellow paint on two bolted-on steel plates. I stepped up to the control panel and punched in the code. A siren began to blare as a warning light spun on the ceiling, a large mechanical arm lowering down and attaching itself to a connection area on the door, releasing a hiss of steam as it did so. There was a deafening screech as the metal door slid out of its frame before being rolled aside by the arm, revealing a dark cave tunnel as the siren died down. A bit of air rushed out of the vault and into the frigid cave as I slowly walked down the steps, trotting across the smooth metal floor before stepping onto the rough, cold, damp stone that was the outside. I could still hear a few ponies shouting behind me, struggling with the door to the atrium as I quickly punched in the code to the outside panel. The alarm began again as the door was rolled back into place.

I turned and began to walk down the tunnel, towards a dim light that filtered through at the end. A small wooden door soon came into focus as I approached the exit, nothing to be heard except the occasional drop of water from the cave ceiling and an ominous whistling from outside - wind? Taking one glance back at the dim interior, I placed a hoof on the handle of the door, and pushed it open.