“Good morning my little ponies,” the voice of the overmare spoke pleasantly over the loudspeaker, echoing throughout the Stable. “We have a very special day today. A few of our training security guards are graduating today. If interested, you can view the ceremony at Celestial Hall, 11 o’clock sharp. I hope all of you have a wonderful time.”
SwiftHaze hopped out of her bed. That meant her! Well, her and two other ponies. Haze spread her wings in excitement, which was abruptly diminished when her feathers hit the walls. Her wing had also managed to hit the open switch. The door slid open, and she was thankful for the extra space. Quickly, she put on her Stable suit and attached her PipBuck to her right foreleg.
Into the small kitchen area, SwiftHaze snagged something to eat. An apple and dried fruit bits… that were also made of apples. I can’t wait to eat more than just apples, carrots and potatoes, she mused. Once she was done, she headed for the door to the hallway.
“Going out so early?” Her mother asked as she passed by. “You’re graduation isn’t for another three hours.”
“I know that,” SwiftHaze retorted. “I still need to pick up my uniform.”
“You should wear something nice at the ceremony,” her mom suggested. “Maybe a necklace, or a broche.”
Haze groaned. She wasn’t a fan of jewelry.
“And you should brush your hair out nice-”
“I’ll do all that when I get back!” Haze blurted out without even turning her head. She flipped the switch and cantered into the hallway.
As SwiftHaze was on her way down the hall, a different pony passed in the opposite direction. The orange stallion waved a hoof.
“Haze! See you at the party?”
“You know it!” Haze replied and waved back.
Haze was excited yet nervous about her own graduation party. She was sharing it with two other ponies enlisted in security training. Being around all her friends in a celebration seemed so fun, but… her mother would be there. Her mother always nosed into her personal life.
Haze attempted to distract herself from the subject. She brought up her PipBuck and used the end of her muzzle to scroll through the tabs. She found the Stable’s local radio station. One of two. She placed an ear bud in one ear.
Currently, this one was in the middle of a song. It blared thrashing guitars and drums. Then it fell into the bridge, when a stallion sang aggressively. Haze shut it off quickly. She was growing so earsore to the songs that were constantly played over and over. The favorites, they claimed. Haze found most of them too brash; not necessarily bad, but they lacked diversity.
Instead, Haze switched her PipBuck to her music storage. She selected a different song, by the same band. Yet it played so differently. It opened with an atmospheric intro, which was followed by drawn out piano chords and then softly plucked guitar. The gentle voice of a stallion long gone began to sing. When the chorus came in, a different stallion’s voice began, higher pitched, but more powerful.
Eyes glued to her PipBuck’s screen, Haze didn’t notice the mare coming towards her, until they bumped into one another. Haze glanced up in surprise. A ruby colored Earth Pony smiled back at her.
“Whatcha listening to?” She asked.
“How did you know I was listening to something?” Haze wondered.
“You’re looking at your PipBuck and have a bud in your ear,” the mare answered.
“Huh, observant,” Haze mumbled, raising her thick brows. “Burning in the Skies,” she named the song.
“Nice!” The mare said with glee. Haze knew this mare, OrchidRays, was particularly fond of the band that wrote the song. Linkin Pony. Most ponies in the Stable adored them and their music played often. But OchidRays was a bit more obsessed with them than most of Stable 47’s residents.
For a moment, both mares stood in awkward silence.
Haze spoke again. “You coming to the party today?”
“Of course! It’s gonna be so fun. I can’t believe you're finally graduating!” OrchidRays replied.
“I know, right,” Haze said with a bit of pride in her.
“Alright, I’ll see you later, Ray,” Haze stated as she began to trot past the Earth Pony.
“See ya!” Ray waved back with a prosthetic metal hoof.
A few more turns and Haze was at the security quarters. The door slid open and she was given a friendly greeting from a few guards inside. I feel almost bad that I’m not actually joining their team, Haze reflected. Everyone was expecting her to do her guard duties, but she had other plans. Maybe just until I figure those details out.
Haze obtained her armored vest and tucked it under her wing. She passed by a grey Earth Pony. “Where’s Buffer?” She asked them.
“I think he’s setting up at Celestial Hall,” the Earth Pony told her.
“Got it.” She nodded and left the quarters.
As Haze retraced her hoofsteps through the hallway, her music changed to a new song. New Divide. She turned up the volume of her PipBuck and forced herself not to sing along. It would be kinda awkward breaking out into song passing by ponies who couldn’t hear the music themselves.
As she passed into her living quarters, she nearly missed her mother asking her something, drowned out by her music. She stopped in her tracks as the older mare spoke again.
“Did you get it?”
“Huh?” Haze whipped her head and picked the earbud out of her ear.
“Your uniform. Let me see it.”
Haze rolled her eyes and pulled the armor out from under her wing. She let it hang by her hoof and extended it forward. Her mom took it in her own hoof and examined it. Every time I get something she just has to look at it, Haze thought.
“You aren’t wearing this to graduation are you?” The mare asked.
“No.” Haze just shook her head.
“You really should wear something nice. Maybe I can find something for you,” her mother offered and gave the armored vest back. She walked around Haze.
“Pretty sure there’s no obligation to wear anything special,” Haze pointed out.
“Yes, but you are going to be in front of a lot of ponies. You should look nice,” her mom argued, vanishing into her own bed space. When she returned, she had a necklace rolled up in her hoof.
“Mom, I don’t-” Haze started but was cut off.
“Try this. I wore it at my wedding.”
SwiftHaze stared for a moment. She knew that her mom, despite how much she could despise her, was offering something personal, and Haze felt the need to acknowledge that. Besides, there was some memory of her father within that necklace.
“Okay,” Haze accepted.
Before SwiftHaze was the crowd of ponies waiting for the ceremony to start. At least one hundred ponies sat in the rows of seats. To Haze’s left side were two ponies, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn. They all stood on the stage, waiting patiently. Well, maybe impatiently in Haze’s case. She forced herself from bouncing on her hooves.
Buffer took his place behind a podium. As he reached the microphone, the crowd of ponies silenced, watching intently. In the front row was Haze’s mother. The young mare had hoped to see more excitement and pride in her mother’s face, but knew that was foolish to wish. The deep green mare watched, deadpan.
“I’m proud to announce this year’s security graduate students,” Buffer began, his voice echoing around the hall. “They’ve all worked diligently to gain their status. I couldn’t be happier to have been their mentor.” The brown stallion glanced to his right, and for a moment his eyes met with SwiftHaze’s.
First, Buffer announced the ponies that stood by Haze’s side. Each took their own turn to stand center stage, and take their badges from Buffer. They both moved to the other side of the stage. Now, left alone, it was Haze’s turn. She stepped towards her mentor.
“SwiftHaze,” Buffer said, “you have shown great determination, and have displayed great skill. You have earned the honor of security guard status.”
In his hoof held a bronze badge. SwiftHaze was written on it. With a beam, Haze took it in her yellow hoof. With a burst of elation, Haze reared up and hugged Buffer tight. “Thank you so much!”
After letting go, she glanced at the crowd again. She saw her mother smiling, but couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. That didn’t really matter now. Haze stepped over to the other new security guards. The crowd clopped their forehooves. Then the clapping ceased as a new figure took place on the stage.
The overmare, a light pink, almost white Unicorn, faced the crowd. “Congratulations to the new guards. I wish you well in your career.”
After the ceremony, ponies gathered in the Stable’s cafeteria for an after party. There were games, music, food, cake, and to SwiftHaze’s delight, alcohol. She gathered around with a few of her friends. They talked, laughed and drank.
SwiftHaze had become quite a popular pony, and had a good number of ponies that would refer to her as a friend. Truthfully, she didn’t feel quite connected with any of them. She enjoyed their company, and loved to socialize, but there always seemed to be a disconnect. Some of them were just impressed with her skills, how well she fired a gun, or that she was just a Pegasus. There weren’t many Pegasi in Stable 47, and any of them drew in a lot of attention just from the fact of being ‘rare’.
No, Haze found many of her friends’ interests to be shallow. They enjoyed gossiping and partying. They seemed content to live their whole lives out in the stable, and never spoke of wanting more. As far as Haze could tell, even a few of them thought of the ponies outside as savages. The ponies in the Stable were completely fine with staying in the Stable. Safe, comfortable. Careless to the outside world. While she knew it was fine to be happy with that, it just didn’t resonate with her.
The only pony Haze thought she’d miss once she left the Stable, besides Buffer, was OrchidRays. While Ray was a bit childish, and could be annoying, she was genuine. She always cared for Haze, and politely listened to her complain about her mother. Ray didn’t judge Haze, and even thought she was courageous. Not in the way that she fired off guns, dived through the air or rose through the ranks of security. But in the way she defied the standards of the Stable residences. Her beliefs stretched beyond the walls. Haze believed everyone, everywhere, should be given a chance at a better life. And she was willing to risk her own to make that happen.
A voice jolted Haze out of her thoughts. Of course, it was her mom. She glared away from her friend group to the green mare. The other ponies glanced around awkwardly.
“Should you really be drinking in the afternoon?”
“Hey, it’s my graduation party! I can drink when I want to!” Haze defended. “Goddesses, can’t I just have fun with my friends?”
“Um, miss Emerald,” one of the ponies sitting at the table said, “I think she’s right. Could you please go? We wanna hang out together.”
Haze’s mom, Emerald, didn’t seem to take that. “I’m only giving her the best advice. I am her mother after all.”
Throwing her head in the air, Haze groaned. “Please go away!”
“Don’t talk to me that way!”
Infuriated, Haze hopped off her seat and began stomping away. She was aware that both of them were causing a scene, ponies staring. She nosed her way through the tables and out of the cafeteria. Now she was cantering, making sure Emerald couldn’t catch up to her. Haze headed towards where she always went when she wanted to clear her head. The apple orchard.
For a while, SwiftHaze just flew around the orchard, making at least ten laps. She played some music, attempting to cool down her anger. Wind blew through her short maroon mane, and apple tree leaves tickled her feathers. This was the largest area in the Stable, yet it felt so minuscule to Haze.
As the Pegasus neared the entrance to the orchard, she spotted a ruby coated pony standing there, expectantly waiting. Drifting downward, Haze landed into a trot. She met up with the other mare.
“OrchidRays?”
“I saw you leave the party. Is everything okay?” Ray asked.
Haze shook her head and growled. “It’s just my mom again. I can’t even enjoy my own graduation party.”
“Oh,” was all OrchidRays said. Her deep blue eyes expressed concern.
“I need to get out of here” Haze muttered.
“Out of the orchard?” Ray cocked her head.
“No! Out… out of the Stable,” Haze corrected.
Ray’s eyes widened. “Outside? But, you know it’s dangerous. There’s a lot of ponies who’ve never come back. Your dad…”
“You think I don’t know that?” Haze snapped, then recomposed herself. “But I would be free. I can finally live on my own, without my mom! I could have infinite space to fly, not just confined to this orchard! And maybe I could actually help ponies out there.” She gazed into space, past OrchidRays, as if she could truly see the outside of Stable 47. Ray’s voice snapped her back.
“Are you sure?” Ray lowered her head. “You’d be leaving behind so much.”
“I know but-” Haze attempted not to let her voice quaver, “there’s so much out there I’m being kept from. A lot more than what I’m leaving behind.”
“Do you want to go out there for good?”
Haze pondered that for a moment. “If I could, yeah.”
“Then let me come with!” Ray blurted out.
“What? You?” Haze jolted her head back in disbelief. “I can’t see you surviving out there for a day! I went through security guard training to prepare for the outside. And I regularly go to the shooting range.”
There was a look of hurt in the younger mare’s eyes. “But you can’t go out alone. Maybe… maybe you could teach me!”
Haze sighed. “I don’t know, Ray. I don’t want anything bad happening to you. Besides, I don’t even know how I’m going to get outside. I’d have to convince the overmare to let me go on a supply mission or something. And how the hell am I going to get in contact with the overmare?” As she spoke, all of her hopes seemed to be crumbling before her. There had to be some way.
After a few moments of silence, SwiftHaze gaited towards the orchard’s exit with her head low. She heard the steps of OrchidRays behind her.
“And, Ray,” Haze said and turned her head back. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Especially not my mom, okay?”
“Okay.” Ray nodded her head, her braid swaying.
“I can trust you to keep a secret, right?”
“Of course!”
Haze gave her a meager smile. “Thanks.”
After leaving the orchard, SwiftHaze wasn’t quite sure where to go. Then she decided to go to the shooting range. Maybe she could let out some of her frustrations on inanimate targets. The range was adjacent to the orchard. While it wasn’t nearly as wide, it was very lengthy. The space was great for practicing long range shots. This is where ponies prepared for missions outside, although anyone was free to use it.
Sighing, Haze lowered her rifle. She stood up from behind the wooden cover. There was one other pony in the room. A grey Unicorn named Cast Iron. He was around Emerald’s age, and had gone outside on missions a few times in his life. He gave Haze a troubled glance as she put her rifle back.
“Such a long face for someone who just graduated,” Iron remarked.
“What’s the use if it doesn’t even matter to my mom,” Haze muttered. Why was she even concerned about her mother’s approval? Maybe she just wanted some hint that there was a reason to stay in the Stable.
“I’m sure it does matter,” the stallion said, “but your mother has a funny way of showing it.” Iron sighed. “I bet your dad would be so proud of you.”
“Yeah?” Haze wondered.
“For sure. He’d probably throw you a second party just to show it!” Iron chuckled.
“I wish I could have a second party,” Haze let out, feeling a little better. “Thanks, Cast Iron.”
“Anytime, kid.”
Trotting out into the hallway, SwiftHaze considered the older Unicorn. He had once been a partner on missions with her father. They had gone outside to retrieve supplies for the Stable. She missed when they would come back and tell of the adventures they had. If only her dad had returned from his last adventure…
It was early evening by the time Haze got back to her living quarters. She used music to drown out most of Emerald’s harping. It was the same thing, over and over. Despite not truly hearing what she said, just her voice increased Haze’s rage. She locked herself in her room.
She plopped onto her bed and raised her PipBuck to her face. She scrolled through the list of songs she had. She began to play an album by Linkin Pony. Hybrid Theory. It wasn’t one of her go-to albums to listen to, but it felt fitting now. Although she preferred the lighter, alternative sounds, she couldn’t help but admit that the lyrics of the heavier music were very relatable. It was as if the music was speaking to her anger towards her mother.
By the time the album ended, SwiftHaze was nearly asleep. Who knew heavy rock could be relaxing, she remarked to herself.