Fallout Equestria - The Code of Honor

by FireStorm2247

Chapter 1: Stable 181

Chapter 1: Stable 181

“When the family said they were going to help somepony, they did it, with no strings attached and with no secrets.”

Hidden. That was what the history of my birthplace was to the outside world. My home was built for secrecy, shaped by honest hearts, and then concealed from the rest of the world to grow on its own.

Being born and raised within its walls, I knew the history of this Stable like the back of my hoof. One hundred and seventy-five years of reinforcing the meaning of the Elements of Harmony, even after the end times, was one of the Stable’s most important goals. It acted as a branch of the Stable’s mission, which was to allow its residents a chance to learn from old world histories. The Stable wanted us to learn from the past and take our knowledge with us so that if the time ever came for us to move topside, to the Equestrian Wasteland, we would be as prepared as we could be. The family of Overmares and Overstallions was planning ahead, and they made a finer goal than most other Stables did, or so we were taught in our classroom. Those who ran Stable 181, the family line of Overmares and Overstallions, were a proud family with a rich history. Their family tree extended back all the way to the Great War and before. In the days of peace, their family had served as train pullers and prosperous shop owners, setting a firm hoof into the Equestrian trade. According to what the current Overmare let us know, some of her family moved on to become royal guards of Princess Celestia herself, serving besides dozens of other ponies as palace guards and eventually becoming frontline soldiers when the Great War began. A combination of even-handed dealings in the civilian life and military servitude won the family name high standing amongst pony society.

When I first heard the name Golden Fire, I had automatically assumed it something to do with wealth and power, mashed together into one kind of entity. And what pony wouldn’t think that? A title like that sounded too high class for a family of working ponies and soldiers. But I learned through the various lessons in the classroom encompassing the bond of the Elements of Harmony that Golden Fire was a family-picked title, chosen to represent what they thought were their greatest family virtues. It was recorded in the family biography, often shared in the classroom to read rather meaningful family quotes, that Golden Fire was chosen to represent both the proverbial “heart of gold” that the family often tried to follow as well as the strength that this pursuit gave to them. It was this pursuit that ultimately led to the creation of Stable 181. Now when I say creation, I don’t mean the physical construction of the pre-war sanctuary. Things can be built by the hooves of some pony, but then they can be changed by the hooves of another and therefore become the property of the pony or ponies who made those changes. This is exactly what happened.

The story goes something along the lines of breaking the chain of command, rebelling against it to make something that was better. Towards the end of the war, and the end of the world, the Golden-Fire family was getting involved in some shady affairs with big name companies, eventually leading to criminal acts. These acts were not recorded to have harmed anypony, but they were written to have been involving breaking into company and ministry headquarters to retrieve reports, computer records, and any information regarding the construction of the Stables across Equestria. It was these break-ins for information retrieval that lead to Stable 181 falling under Golden-Fire control. The Golden-Fire family took over the Stable after its completion just one week before the Last Day. It severed the Stable’s ties with Stable-Tec, and then the family begun taking in ponies who didn’t have approval to get into any of the other Stables. They didn’t pick favorites either. They just announced the opening of the Stable to any place they found within a few hours and led those who weren’t allowed access to other Stable-Tec Stables to Stable 181. Some of the Golden-Fire family members even stayed behind to die with their people on the day that Equestria fell into fire. So while the Stable technically belongs to the Golden-Fire family, they didn’t take it over for their own pursuits.

“Nova, dear.”

The Golden-Fire family took over the Stable purely to save as many ponies as they could save before the end. They saw this Stable as an opportunity to help like they always did. It was a bold move, especially against a corporation like Stable-Tec, and it lead to some fighting outside of the war. The Golden-Fire family had power and had its own operations at times. They were limited and very secret, well hidden, but they were still there. And these operations were all devoted to finding a way to accomplish what they did: Take a Stable and get as many ponies in as they could. They saved a lot of lives that day and they continued to do so even after the megaspells fell. They took down the Stable’s project, the science wing being sealed off as Golden-Fire family members worked to take it apart and restructure it. It took days of work, weeks even, but they replaced the science wing in its entirety and rebuilt it to house several iconic rooms in the Stable.

“Nova…”

Since then, the Golden-Fire family has led the Stable with its intentions clear. The family had saved just over four hundred ponies that day, and that’s roughly how many ponies live in the Stable now. Even without the leadership of Stable-Tec, the Stable has prospered for one hundred and seventy-five years. I always find myself amazed at just how long that frame of time is. All of that time, and the Stable has done very well in preserving itself. Our apple orchard always has food ready, and our water talisman still works perfectly. To be honest, I couldn’t have asked for anything else and I was grateful for how fortunate I was to be here and not outside. Stable 181 always remained closed except for on one condition. If there were ponies who had somehow found their way to the great door of the Stable, then we would open the door and let them inside after being thoroughly searched and interrogated. This was very rare however, because according to our Overmare, the Stable was built in Equestria’s southern region. During the pre-war era, the south had been mostly fields, forests, and mountains, with only a couple populated areas. Now, since the megaspells fell, it was assumed that there was nothing out there at all besides dirt and dust. So it was no surprise that we didn’t receive a lot of visitors. Yet nopony could really answer why Stable-Tec had built a Stable out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to take in the first place. It was isolated from the major cities of Equestria, far away from the bulk of pre-war civilization. I had heard the names of those cities in the classroom. There was Manehattan, a metropolis that was built southwest of the Equestrian heartland. There was also Fillydelphia, southeast. And then there was Canterlot, the fabled home of the Goddesses, the pre-war capitol of pony-kind built far to the northeast. These were old world relics that surrounded the Equestrian heartland, making a sort of border.

“Nova!”

I heard the voice call my name, and I snapped back to alertness. I had literally been lost in my thoughts, and I really didn’t know for how long. Sometimes I had thought that I had a rather severe case of tunnel vision, where I would tune out everything to think to myself… I really should work on that. But I was in my room, laying on my bed with the grey walls of the Stable surrounding me. While I had easily gotten used to the color of the Stable’s steel throughout my life, I still didn’t like the fact that the color of my coat nearly matched the walls. It was passed down from my father when I was born, and my brother got that same trait when he was born, so we were a generally grey family… oh no, not like that. We were a happy family in the Stable, playing, working, and learning. We all had our tasks, and we all had our dreams within these grey walls. It was just a strange coincidence that we would be tied so closely to the Stable. But we got used to it easily enough, and our lifestyle wasn’t hindered by it.

As for my room, the only decorations I had to bring some life to the solid grey color were two framed pictures. One was a family photo, a cherished possession. In front of a grey background, my baby brother and I sat down on our haunches beside one another, looking forward towards the camera with smiles on our faces while our mother and father stood proudly behind us. Mother was behind me, a foreleg on my shoulder, and my father was behind my baby brother, resting a hoof on my little brother’s neck. The second framed photo was a picture of my greatest Stable friends and I. All four of us stood side by side, all looking at the camera with proud smiles. Next to my bed was my single nightstand, a lamp placed on top of it with the bulb glowing faintly like a nightlight. On the other side of the room was a single cabinet where I kept all of my own belongings, my saddlebags, my Stable barding, and my books among the many things I kept with me.

Standing up on my bed and hopping down to the floor, I saw my mother waiting by the open door, smiling at me. Mother was the only member of our four-member family that didn’t have a grey coat. She was tall and graceful, her coat a pure white that fit beautifully with her sapphire eyes and her blue and white mane and tail. In my opinion, she was the most beautiful mare in the Stable, even if she said the same thing about me. (But moms are supposed to do that… make their children feel special… ah well I didn‘t mind.) Behind her, the living room light was off, the only light illuminating the room coming from the hallway outside. “Are you ready to go?” mother asked.

“Go where?” I asked back, blinking in confusion.

“You were off in the clouds again weren’t you? You’re almost as bad as your father.” she said, shaking her head with that same loving smile. “There’s a dinner gathering in the atrium, just a small get-together for anypony that’s interested. Your father and brother are already there as well as several others so I came to get you. There’s still several ponies who didn’t get a chance to talk to you at your cutie mark party yesterday. They’ll want to at least congratulate you on your achievement.”

“Even if it was… different…” I craned my head around to look back at my right flank. There, resting proudly against my steel grey coat, was the blue flame that was my great talent. I had been studying the pre-war days all my life. This studying paid off for everypony in the long run, because with the help of the classes that were offered to the young foals of the Stable, they could find their talents and their cutie marks would come after in due time. For me, it had been music and writing. Those were and still are my interests, all stemming from frequent visits to our Stable’s Hall of Records. The Hall of Records was built for the purpose of housing all of the pre-war relics and artifacts that the founders of our Stable had carried with them. Most of these records were contained in books and writings, but there was a collection of audio tapes, computer records, and even recordings of pre-war music. These recordings won my fascination instantly when I was a filly and out of all of them, I would have to say that hearing the famous pre-war string player, Octavia, was my greatest medicine. Her playing was beautiful, so powerful and full of emotion, and it inspired me to try my hoof at storytelling, story writing, and even music writing. Of course, it’s hard for a pony to write with the pencil in her mouth, but I still pulled it off. But just when I thought I was going to be good at those things, the cutie mark I have now popped up. According to books I had read on cutie marks, most ponies earned their cutie marks as foals. If this was true, then I had been quite late in earning my own cutie mark because I was a young mare, already past foalhood. I woke up to seeing it one morning, my books and my papers all around my bed, and while I was happy to no longer be a “blank-flank,” I was very confused. What did blue fire have to do with music or telling stories? And more importantly, why did I have the same cutie mark as my father? Though my cutie mark was celebrated within the Stable, it brought up a lot of confusion among my family and the other Stable residents. Wasn't a cutie mark supposed to be original? How could there be duplicates?

“It’s not that bad my little filly.” my mother said, trotting up to me. “Besides you seemed happy enough with it. And you never told your father or I otherwise.”

“I was happy, mother.” I replied back quickly, looking back at her again. “And I still am. It’s just… I thought a cutie mark wasn’t supposed to bring up questions. It was supposed to be a definition of myself, a way of getting answers. You know what I mean?”

Mother nodded. “I do. But I think that one day those questions you have will be answered. Sometimes you just need a little more time to make another discovery, to allow more pieces of the puzzle to click together. You are still young my little pony, and you have so much more to learn, to see, and to do. Enjoy it.” she finished with a confident smile.

“I know, mom.” I replied with a light sigh. “It’s just kind of hard to put a talent to the image of fire. I mean, unless I’m supposed to take up burning food in the kitchen after unsuccessfully taking baking lessons from you and dad.” I briefly recalled a time when my parents tried teaching me how to bake homemade cupcakes only to have them explode once I opened the oven door. I think it was because I had used too much of one ingredient or another. Either way, I do remember that there was quite a mess to clean up.

My mother giggled as she recalled the memory as well. “No, dear.” she said. “I don’t think you’re supposed to become a food slayer. Perhaps your cutie mark has a different purpose. Take my own for example.” She turned to show me her cutie mark, the blue rose that had shown her where her passion rested in the world. She worked in the orchard, tending to the plant life that grew there, and not just the apple trees. There was a wide variety of flowers within, some existing even before the war, and her favorite flowers were the blue roses that rested near the center of the orchard. She had developed a special knack for keeping flowers and other plants alive underground and it became her special talent that made her who she was. “When I got my cutie mark, I didn’t understand all of it. When I was a little filly, I had always loved being in the orchard. I often found myself watching the caretakers work and I always played with my friends around the apple trees. So I did know that I wanted to care for the orchard someday. But why the rose had to be blue, I didn’t know. Why couldn’t it have been red like most every other rose I had ever seen or read about? I was full of speculation, and I didn’t find the answer for some time until I met your father. When we married, I understood why my rose was blue. It was because of him, his blue flame, and then you, my firstborn. When you got your own cutie mark, your own blue fire, the last piece of my puzzle clicked together and I fully understood my cutie mark. Your father agreed with me in part, but he also had to flatter me by relating it to my own inner and outer beauty.” She paused, smiling at a passing memory, before she continued, adding, “So what I’m trying to say, my little pony, is that maybe your cutie mark is meant to explain a part of your heart, the way you are around other ponies. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. The friends you’ve made, and even the ponies that simply know your name, appreciate you for who you are.”

I raised an eye. “The way I am. You mean like the way I act?”

“Exactly. You follow the mission of the Stable very well, and I have every bit of faith in you that you will continue to do so along your road. There’s a special kind of beauty in you my dear, and it’s right here.” my mother said, looking me in the eyes as she raised a hoof and gently placed it on my chest. I couldn’t help but smile when I looked down at her hoof, placed over my heart. Looking back up at her I realized that coming from anypony else, I would’ve dismissed those words as insanely weird. But coming from my mother, it just sounded right and I appreciated it. “Don’t ever loose it. Who knows where and when it might come in handy.”

The smile on her face brought me out of those confusing and semi-depressing thoughts, and I gratefully nuzzled her. She was just her, and I loved her so much for it. “Thanks mom.” I said.

“You’re welcome dear.” she said back before turning about to face the exit of my room. “And now, it’s time to stop stalling. Let’s get down to the atrium and get some dinner.”

Mother lead me out of the room, raising a hoof up to the control panel outside the door and pressing the lower button. The door to our room slid down from the top of the doorframe and slid closed, locking itself. All around were more grey walls now spaced with light fixtures built into the ceiling, humming as they shined brightly. On our left, the hall turned right, leading to more residents’ rooms built deeper into the Stable. To the right, the hall continued straight and eventually turned left, acting as another sector of the living quarters. Before that turn was another hallway, turning right and towards the atrium. A little green sign pointed down that opening, glowing with the word Atrium spelled out in black letters.

“How many ponies are there?” I asked as we begun to walk.

“Most everypony in the Stable.” mother explained. “It was an event that was planned by the Overmare herself, so everypony tries to make certain that they can attend.”

We usually had one such dinner gathering every week. It had become tradition in the Stable, with origins all the way back to the end of the world. This dinner gathering had started as something to keep everypony calm once the mega spells fell, acting as a way to try and preserve pre-war harmony in the underground. I couldn’t begin to imagine what that would’ve been like, cowering in tense silence for days as Equestria was plunged into an abyss of spellfire and radiation. According to old journals in our Stable’s Hall of Records, the rumbling from the megaspells could be heard even through the Stable walls, and the Stable was far away from where they struck. Since then, the weekly dinner gathering had turned into what it is now. Thankfully, it was much more a social gathering instead of an idea to hold back panic and fear.

Mother and I rounded the corner and ascended the stairs to another hallway. On either side of us were two storage rooms for general housekeeping supplies. And farther down was another doorway on the left side, the two signs above it shimmering red with the words Armory and Research Lab spelled out on them. The door to those areas was always locked, and there were always guard ponies beyond it. Nopony ever caused trouble for it, but it was standard security policy. The armory’s purpose is self-explanatory, but the lab’s function was carefully chosen so as to not somehow mistakenly reawaken Stable-Tec’s old plot. The lab was devoted to energy weapons research to add to the overall security of the Stable and the pony in charge of the research, though young, was brilliantly carrying out the task of running and maintaining the lab. Stable 181 could now brag of an energy weapons stock in the armory thanks to that earth-pony’s achievements. Even if there was hardly a time when the weapons were needed they were good to have around, or so my father said.

Across from the armory and lab entrance was the entrance to the former science wing of the Stable. The rooms down there were remodeled and were now home to the Stable’s school, Hall of Records, Memory Room, and medical clinic. The wing was a student’s haven, all the books and the classroom lectures being centered there. For three hours a day, there would be a history class for the young foals of the Stable, and later, another more detailed history class would be held for the adults of the Stable. Beyond the classrooms was the medical clinic, placed at the end of the science wing because of the preference of the master healer that ran the place. That unicorn knew how to fix up virtually any illness and she knew how to make her own medical supplies to keep up her stock. The Memory Room next to the clinic was devoted entirely to picture taking, the room housing an old pre-war camera that still functioned as if it were only a year old. Pictures were a big deal in the Stable… hell, the Overmare’s office held several framed pictures, portraits of previous Overmares and Overstallions, even the very first one who had saved the Stable from the experiment that Stable-Tec had assigned to this installation. Ivy was the name of the first Overmare, and she was a highly revered pony, living to protect, serve, and help all those under her wing, literally since she was a Pegasus pony.

As we began traversing the rest of the hallway leading to the atrium, two ponies wearing maintenance barding appeared and were approaching from the opposite end of the hallway. They were also wearing saddlebags for their assortment of tools and accessories needed for the maintaining of the Stable. “The food was good.” one of the ponies, an earth pony stallion with an orange coat and red and orange mane and tail, said to his friend. “But now I’ve got to get back to work on the damned ventilation system down in the reactor room. The thing’s been rattling on and off for the past several hours and no matter what I do, it wont stop.”

“How often does it happen?” the other pony, a unicorn stallion with a green coat and a white mane and tail, asked.

“Only every half hour or hour.” the earth-pony answered. “And sure, it’s a small problem, but it’s something that’s just driving me nuts. I’ve got plenty of other things to keep my eyes on without the ventilation covers giving me problems… oh, pardon me.” he said, spotting us and stepping back out of our way to let us pass.

“Hello Seiyara, Nova.” the unicorn stallion said with a friendly dip of his head.

“How was the get together?” mother asked as we passed, bowing our heads to them in return.

“It’s good. The food’s good, and there’s plenty of conversation swirling around in there too.” the unicorn stallion answered before turning back to his partner as the two trotted down the stairs.

The atrium was full of activity. Amidst the many tables evenly arranged in rows across the bottom floor were a great many of the Stable’s residents, mingling with one another over a spectacular dinner. Even through the crowds of colorful ponies, I could see some of the food that had been created, from exotic salads to old-world delicacies preserved from pre-war non-perishables. Anything and everything from grass and hay salads with an assortment of fruits to flower dishes and even hay fries and assorted sandwiches. There were deserts on a separate table, ranging from a wide variety of cakes, muffins, and other pastries and sugary candies. Another table was taken entirely by apples and the assorted foods that were made with the help of their flavor, from pies, tarts, and treats, to cider and juice. As my mother and I entered the atrium, I was surprised when the very first pony that came to greet me was the Overmare. Crystal Sunset was her name, and she was a unicorn of the Golden Fire family. She had been named Overmare just before I was born, according to my mother, and though the Stable really achieved no great advancements under her rule, she was a noble leader, holding to the ideals of her family and keeping the Stable operational without incident.

“Hello Seiyara. Hello Nova. How are you, friends?” Crystal asked.

“I just finally got my daughter to come out of her cave.” my mother said, jokingly. I gave the best cheesy smile I could give.

“So I see.” Crystal said after a giggle. “And how is the young cave dweller?”

“I’m fine.” I said after my own light laugh. “This dinner looks great.”

“Please help yourself.” Crystal said, motioning over to the party before me. “There’s plenty of food still left. But first, Nova, may I walk with you for a bit? I was on my way to catch up to those maintenance ponies you passed by on the way here. They wanted me to look at the ventilation system that’s been giving them trouble, just to keep me up to speed on the condition of the Stable. But first I have some questions.”

“Go ahead Nova.” my mother suddenly said, nodding in encouragement. “I see your father on the balcony. Just meet us up there when your done.” I nodded before my mother left into the crowd, and Crystal led me deeper into the atrium.

We stopped when we reached the table with the various apple creations fresh from the orchard. Now that I was face to face with the food I first saw at a distance, my hunger caught up with me, and I reached out and delicately removed one of the red apples from the large dish with my teeth and I bit down into it; it was delicious. “Let me congratulate you again on earning your cutie mark. Did you enjoy your party yesterday?” Crystal asked me.

As I swallowed my first bite, supporting the fruit with a hoof, I replied, “It was a great party. All of my friends were there, and my parents even managed to surprise me with that old fashioned enter-a-dark-room-before-turning-on-the-lights trick. I had a good time. Thanks for helping to plan it.”

Crystal smiled, but the way her smile was different than most showed me that she knew what I was hiding. “A cutie mark is a big deal. It’s what makes you, you. But I can tell you’re still a bit confused about it.”

“I always think the same thing.” I said after taking another bite from my apple. “Blue fire doesn’t have anything to do with writing or storytelling or music. It’s strange… it’s different.”

“It’s unique.“ Crystal corrected, having poured herself a small serving of apple cider; she lifted her cup to her lips with her magic and drank a sip before continuing. “You’re not the only pony who was confused at their cutie mark. Even some ponies here had some trouble finding what their cutie marks told about them to their friends. But during my time as Overmare, I’ve come to understand that eventually, everypony comes to fully understand their cutie mark. Sometimes it just takes some thought and a couple more discoveries. But did you know, Nova, that there’s a lot of power behind blue fire? Blue flame is the brightest and hottest fire there is. Maybe that’s something you could think about as you’re discovering what your cutie mark tells the world about you.”

It was a bit of a curious description for my cutie mark, and I told the Overmare this thought aloud. To it, she replied, “Well, it’s true. Besides, when you come from a family like mine, poetics tend to flow quite freely.” Her voice had a wisp of playfulness in it, as if she was poking fun at her family and its history, and she smiled at the end of it. Then, raising an eye, she set down her cider cup and craned her head around to look over her right flank, or the article of clothing that was covering it. Crystal Sunset was wearing a black cloak, pitch black almost like a plain black blanket which fit her silver coat and white mane rather well. The cloak draped down her sides and her flanks, ending just a hoof from the floor. The cloak’s fabric narrowed the farther up her back and neck it went and the end of it was attached to two strings which were tied loosely together around Crystal’s neck to hold the cloak in its place over her body. Her horn briefly glowed with dim white light and her cloak adjusted itself, the string around her neck tightening slightly before the glow of her horn faded. “Pesky cloak doesn’t like to stay in one place for long.” she said to me.

Oh how I wanted to ask her about that cloak. She had been wearing it all of her life, ever since becoming a mare. I had never seen her without it and this was what caused me to form the questions I wanted to ask. Why? Why did she always wear it? Was it a family heirloom? Was it some kind of pre-war treasure? I had so many questions, but like every other time I thought of venturing into that territory in search of answers, I decided against it. Instead, I asked her, “So Crystal, I’ve been reading a lot lately from the Hall of Records,”

“Mm-hmm… I’m listening.” Crystal said, looking about the rest of the table, deciding what she wanted to eat.

“and I was wondering something about your family history. When I was reading a family article to try and find a certain quote, I reread the section written about how your family took the Stable from Stable-Tec. I know the biography says that your family took it to save ponies and stop a Stable-Tec experiment, but were there any other reasons behind why your family took the Stable the way they did?”

Crystal found an apple fritter on a nearby tray and removed it with her horn to set it on a plate. “They acted for the sake of any and every pony they could save.” she explained. “Unlike them however, Stable-Tec still sought out personal benefit even when the times were as chaotic as they were before the end of days. My family knew that that kind of ambition was not something that could bring safety to the Stable, so they took it away from Stable-Tec and helped it live up to its true purpose which was to save and preserve ponies. We didn’t trust them with the lives they wanted to ‘save’… plain and simple. So my family took matters into their own hooves and did the best they could. Their best effort led to them saving about four hundred ponies who weren’t able to find any other Stable to take them and their families in. The way Stable-Tec went about selecting candidates for their Stables was kind of unfair. But then again, there was no way to save every pony in Equestria. So my family took over Stable one eighty-one to create a Stable that was true to its word, and that’s what we have now. I daresay that it’s a sight better than what the Stable could’ve been under Stable-Tec’s command. Sometimes thinking about the possibilities makes me shiver. I think this Stable would hardly be a Stable today if it weren’t for what happened.” As I took in the information, I felt another question coming up in my head, but Crystal interrupted quickly, saying, “But enough about me. What about you, Nova? You have your cutie mark now and you’ve opened up a bunch of new opportunities for yourself. What are you going to do now?”

I forgot my question as soon as she asked hers, and I smiled. I was generally shy to tell other ponies about what I wanted to do with myself now that I was ‘all grown up’. I was generally very secretive about future writing projects as well as musical endeavors. But now that I was working on a set of lyrics that I hoped to put to song someday, I was becoming more and more willing to share them. “Well,” I began nervously. “I have tried taking up song and story writing. I’ve come up with one phrase of lyrics for something I hope to put to a song someday if I find the right ponies with the right instrumental talents.”

“May I hear them?” Crystal asked.

This was the question I had feared she would ask, but I had known Crystal all my life. She had treated me well and had always respected my family and the friends I made while growing up. What did I have to lose?

“Alright… this is what I’ve written down.” I said, shifting, and I began reading from my thoughts as the memories of writing down what I hoped to soon be lyrics came back to me.

“When invisible fires burn to light my way
That virtue slowly fades away into the night.
I struggle to save it, my sight locked to the past
And looking to those I love, I know what is right.”

When I was done reciting what I had written, I gave a nervous glance to Crystal. She was looking at me with a studious gaze, looking at my own expression as if it were a book in the Hall of Records. Then she smiled again and dipped her head. “That is quite poetic. It seems that you believe in discovery as much as I do, if not more so. It’s very well done. Hopefully I’ll hear it put to music someday.” she said.

“Really? I’m glad you like it.” I was nearly squeeing with delight. “I still have a lot of work to do though… you know, more phrases, and then music.”

“Of course I like it.” Crystal explained. “Don’t you see? What your writing was drawn from a piece of yourself. I know that you are intent on discovering your purpose, and I know that you cherish your family and your friends. That phrase provides a new way of showing others that that is part of who you are.”

I stared for a moment, puzzled yet again. “I never thought of it that way. Honestly the words just came out after a lot of thought and a lot of scrapped ideas. It’s kinda hard to come up with lyrics.”

“I’m sure it is my friend…” she began before briefly looking up to one of the two balconies within the atrium. “but you’re doing good so far. Now it looks like one of your friends is waiting for you upstairs. I’ll leave you be so you can go see them. We’ll speak again soon.”

With this, I nodded and we said our goodbyes. When she disappeared down the stairs of the hallway, following after the maintenance ponies who had departed earlier, I looked up at the balcony and saw a unicorn stallion with a brick red coat and an ash-grey mane and tail. He was looking down at me with a raised eye, waiting expectantly for me. I smirked and fanned out my wings, giving them a flap to spring into the air and with two wing beats, I flew over the balcony railing and landed beside him. “What are you looking at me like that for?” I asked the unicorn with fake sternness.

He took a step back and smirked. “Because you’re you.” he said in a strong voice. “Nice work on those lyrics by the way. I’m no song pony, but they sound like they would fit a song quite well.”

I smiled, grateful for the compliment. “Thanks, Gunny.” Gunny was a security pony in the Stable, following in his father’s hoof prints. He had been born and raised around the Stable’s weapon caches and by the time he was a young stallion, he was using them. Before then, as a colt, he was always watching his father work as the Captain of Security in the Stable. His father served as the commanding officer of Stable 181’s security team for several years, only resigning the post for a lesser rank to raise his son as a lone parent. Gunny’s mother had died from complications during childbirth. Despite the difficulty of loosing his mother, Gunny was raised well by his determined father and he was taught about the Elements of Harmony and how to live by them. Because of this, like every pony within Stable 181, he developed a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong. Gunny easily carried what he knew with him as he grew, and he soon gained his cutie mark which was a red crosshair resembling the red dot sight of an optic scope on a rifle. This cutie mark was earned through a childhood of being around his father who continued to serve as an armory guard within the Stable. When Gunny learned enough about firearms from his father, and how to use them with his magic, he was appointed as a security pony for the Stable and he had been working as such ever since. He served as a guard with my father, so I often heard good things about him. Gunny was a good stallion, one of my best friends, and good-natured and strong-minded despite how brutish and intimidating he looked. He was a big pony, nearly as tall as my dad and obviously larger than myself; he always had a way of making me feel so short even if my eyes were up to his lower jaw.

“We’ve got a table at the other end of the balcony. Your family’s waiting and Grace is there too.” Gunny explained.

“Did Shore allow himself to depart his beloved lab for awhile to show up?” I asked with an expectant grin.

Gunny scoffed, but nodded the affirmative. “He’s at the same table. Grace and Shore actually got here earlier than we did, so they’re all caught up on the mingling. Now they’re just waiting to see you. Last time we did see you was at your cutie mark party, so we miss you already.” His voice easily revealed the sarcasm behind that comment, and I smirked, pushing his big shoulder with a hoof, which did nothing whatsoever besides make me push myself back a step. That wall of a unicorn still made me feel so short and so long as he was alive, I didn’t think that would ever change.

With a sigh at my embarrassing display of physical strength and a chuckle from Gunny, I trotted off towards the other end of the balcony, weaving between groups of conversing ponies who were chatting with friends and family about what had happened with their day in the Stable. Though Stable life could be boring at times, I knew as well as anypony else that everypony here was grateful for it. After all, the Stable hardly opened, and when it did, no one wanted to see the outside. Who could blame them?

I found our table, occupied by five ponies who were engaged in a conversation together. My mother was there, having ascended the stairway hidden behind the wall, and she was sitting between my father, the stout Pegasus pony with a dark grey coat and black mane and tail, and my baby brother, looking like a much smaller version of my father. The only contrast between them was my brother’s blue and white mane and tail, the colors passed on by mother.

My baby brother, Blake, was a runt. But he was as adventurous as could be which made him all the more adorable in my eyes. He was in the prime of his foalhood, always ready to be active during the day, and I frequently accompanied him on his adventures through the orchard; these often involved the kicking about of his favorite ball or running on the orchard's trails. He was always full of energy, even during the middle of the night, and it seemed that he would only fall asleep when he denied that he was tired. I was certain that I was never that obnoxious when I was a foal.

On my brother’s other side, an earth pony with a black coat and a white and red mane and tail was adding his voice to the conversation. I recognized him as Shore, and he was the biggest egghead I had ever known. It was inherited from his parents and no mistake, because it was his parents and a handful of other ponies that kept the Stable’s water talisman in perfect shape. Like Gunny, Shore found his passion by being exposed to it all the time. Spending hours upon hours in the maintenance and the reactor wings of the Stable with his parents was what led Shore to become the egghead I knew as a good friend. His achievements, brought about by a powerful thirst for knowledge, included the aided preservation of the Stable’s water talisman as well as the creation of a wide array of energy weapons and a stock of advanced computers for the Stable. He was always busy with something new and although he was an earth-pony, Shore has adopted the philosophy that learning and studying on its own was a type of magic. It was this that let him earn his cutie mark of a set of three connected gears, representing the process of thinking and learning. The scientific earth-pony particularly liked how the cutie mark went with his grey reading glasses.

Next to Shore, a bright red unicorn pony with a pink and white mane and tail sat on her haunches and listened in with a smile. She was Rosemary Grace, the Stable’s most accomplished medical pony. She was taught by previous medical leaders that were very well experienced in their field and upon earning her cutie mark, a radiating white star with a red heart at its center, she took over the clinic and ran it brilliantly. Her unparalleled skill in medicine had been achieved through constant study and practice. She had been studying medicine and doctoring since she was a filly and it coupled perfectly with her nurturing and helpful personality. But this personality had been ruthlessly assaulted during her foalhood when she lost both of her parents due to unforeseen medical complications. Growing up was hard for her, but even with the loss of her family weighing down on her, she still pulled through and shaped up to be the compassionate mare that I cherished as one of my three best friends. She was actually the first friend I had made in the Stable, and we had a lot of similar interests. For example, we both loved caring for the young ponies of the Stable. Having a foalsitter while parents were away and working was good for them, and we enjoyed being a part of their youth, watching the little ones play and grow. Aside from this, we both tended to be very optimistic about things and we were hardly ever in a bad mood when we were together. This was the primary reason that our friendship clicked together so well.

Spotting us, my father waved a hoof, causing the rest of the group to look in our direction. “Hey you found her.” Grace called jokingly to Gunny.

“It took awhile, but I pulled it off, just like I said.” Gunny replied to her as he and I joined the circle.

I sat down next to my father who leaned over and nuzzled me. “Good to see you.” he said. “How was your nap?”

“I was taking a nap?” I asked, blindly, before realizing right after I had asked that I had taken a nap before I begun cycling through my thoughts again.

This caused the group to laugh politely. “That tired are you? It’s a good thing its actually time to go to bed after we’re done here.” my father explained good-humouredly.

Rolling my eyes with a smile, I changed the subject by asked my friends, “How are things on your ends of the Stable?”

“I’m doing quite well actually.” Grace volunteered her answer first. “The clinic has seen a lot of improvements in terms of look and supply both. Plus I help around the school some times. If the teacher steps away for a bit, I look after the classroom. Other than that, the clinic has been mostly quiet, which I’m grateful for. The last pony I had to care for was that maintenance pony who fell off of his ladder. It would’ve been a minor incident if he hadn’t hit the back of his head against the corner of one of the terminals in that room. The poor guy was dazed for days. When the beds in my clinic are empty, then I take that as a good sign.”

“Sounds like you’re getting some free-time.” I said.

“Oh yes, but I always find something to do. And since its all something I enjoy doing, I don’t mind making an effort to get a full daily schedule.” Grace replied with a smile.

“What about you Shore?” I asked the scientific earth-pony.

Adjusting his reading glasses with a hoof, he said, “Oh I’m doing alright I suppose. I’ve always got a lot on my plate but that’s what keeps me going. I just recently finished the calibrations on a new model of laser rifle. I have one of the rifles working perfectly and built into a battle saddle, and the rest are coming up to working condition right quick. All it takes for them to work is a single energy core. I took a sample energy core from one of the older model rifles, a tri-beam laser rifle to be precise, and I adapted it to become a sort of energy recycler. This allows for the rifle to regenerate its energy supply over time while still packing the same punch as its tri-beam predecessor. This will mean that ponies will no longer have to reload laser rifles, so I’d have to say its one of my finest projects.”

“You’ll be putting those into the armory then?” Gunny asked; he was sitting by my right side.

“Oh yes.” Shore answered proudly. “I think they are quite ready for it. Besides, as I always say, a pony can never be too well armed.”

“I like the way you think.” Gunny said, chuckling. “But you can keep your fancy lasers and lightshows. I’d prefer the conventional weaponry over those contraptions anytime, not to strike against your work of course.”

“Oh I understand.” Shore said with a smile.

“Must everything you talk about involve weapons?” Grace asked them, disgruntled. She tended to avoid firearms aside from the pistol that she was issued to follow Stable security policies. To Shore and Gunny’s collective, “Yes.” and continued discussion of firepower, she huffed and turned to my mother. “Tell me, are all stallions like that?”

When my mother (and I) turned to look at my dad, he gave a wide smile. “I suppose that answers your question?” my mother asked with a laugh, and at Grace’s sigh, she added, “No of course not dear. Your friends are just being youthful stallions like they should be.”

“Besides,” my dad spoke up. “you know you love them for it.” To this, Grace only smiled and shook her head.

We had continued our social circle for an hour more, discussing the occurrences of the Stable, future work in our respective professions, and many other things of a casual nature. By the time we had finally departed, the atrium was mostly empty and designated ponies were taking what was left of the dinner arrangement and packing it away for storage. While there, I had eaten two full bowls of the salad and had taken one slice of the apple pie that our circle had shared. Out of all of us however, Blake had eaten the most, and now with a full belly and cheerful spirits, he was bouncing around the hallway, carefree and often having to hop in place while he waited for our mother and father and I to catch up. It was another successful dinner gathering for the Stable and next week it would happen all over again. It was something everypony looked forward to, one of the treasures of the Stable.

My dad pressed a hoof to the top button on the two-button control panel of our room’s door. With a click, the door slid upward and disappeared into the top of the door frame. My brother bounced away inside, the rest of us following him and as I passed the doorframe, I couldn’t stifle the yawn that was coming and I shut my eyes and opened my mouth wide as I announced my tiredness to the world. I blinked. “Wow… I guess I am tired.”

“It’s about bedtime anyway my little pony.” father said, trotting up to me. “Thanks for coming to the dinner gathering by the way. I know how busy you are with your artistry lately.”

“I wouldn’t call it that… yet.” I insisted, feeling my face heat up slightly.

“Then that title will be here before you know it.” my father replied, nudging me with his nose. “I know I’ve said it a hundred times before, but I’ll say it again. I’m very proud of you. You and your mother and your brother make everything in life worthwhile.”

I embraced him. “You’re right, you have said that before.” I agreed with a giggle.

“Well what kind of a father would I be if I didn’t say it a few times every once and awhile?” my dad asked as I released him, looking down at me.

Then we both looked over at Blake. He was with mother near the entrance to my parents room, and he had been battling against mother’s playful comments about his being ready to sleep. “I want to stay up longer… I want to back to the orchard…” he said again, still fighting the urge to sleep.

“I know you do dear.” mother said, nudging him towards the open door of their room. “That’s why you should sleep now so you can stay up longer tomorrow.”

Chuckling, father trotted over to them. “Come on, champ. Time for you to get some shuteye. You’ll be up and active again before you know it.” Finally, my baby brother gave in and disappeared behind the doorframe of my parents’ room.

“Nova, dear?” my mother asked then. “Could you tuck your brother in tonight?”

Smiling, I nodded and I followed my brother into the room to see that he was already on the bed, looking a moment at his pillow before plopping down. Blake’s bed was right beside the large bed my parents shared and in front of his bed was a night stand with a lamp on it. Blake had very few possessions besides his own colt-sized Stable barding and his favorite toy ball, red with a yellow stripe around its center. It was his only toy, but it was a cherished possession.

Blake was laying down now, sleep slowly winning over his fight to stay awake as I stepped up to his bedside. “Are you all cozy now?” I asked.

“Yes…” Blake answered, looking up at me with a tired smile. “What are we going to do tomorrow big sister? Can we go to the orchard after breakfast?”

“Of course baby brother.” I answered. “We’ll walk the trails again and we’ll bring your ball with us too. We might even find some of your friends from the classroom there and we can let them come with us.”

“That sounds great.” Blake said enthusiastically before yawning again. “Maybe… later.”

I laughed. “I agree. For now, it’s time for you to rest so you can be ready for the orchard tomorrow. How about I sing you a lullaby tonight?” I asked before reaching over and grabbing the end of his blanket in my mouth and pulling it over him, adjusting it until he was covered up to his neck. Now, only his head and his fore hooves poked out from behind the covers. At Blake’s smile and nod, I took a step back and cleared my throat.

I remembered a written record on a song that was published way back before the war. It was a lullaby, though no one knew who it was sung by. Some say that it was sung by Sweetie Bell, a famous pre-war singer who was also one of the leaders of the Stable-Tec corporation. Others say that somepony else had sung it. There was reference to the Pegasus named Fluttershy who was recorded to have been one of the famous ministry mares, her ministry being the Ministry of Peace. We didn’t know for certain who had created the piece, but either way, somepony had taken enough interest in the beautiful lullaby to see to it that it was recorded and preserved. And somehow, out of all of the records that the Golden Fire family had saved, the lullaby ended up being one of the pre-war musical gems that had been saved from spellfire among the many other pre-war artifacts that our Hall of Records contained.

It was a beautiful piece, and while I didn’t think I had much of a beautiful singing voice to match it, I liked it enough to sing it just for the sake of singing it. And as I remembered the song, I closed my eyes and sang;

“Hush now, quiet now
It’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now
It’s time to go to bed.

Drift, drift, off to sleep
The exciting day behind you.
Drift, drift, off to sleep
Let the joy of dreamland find you.”

I paused briefly before opening an eye. The lullaby had done the trick, even if I had taken the tempo down a notch, and Blake looked to already be asleep, his eyes closed and his breathing calm and even. For good measure though, I repeated the melody, taking joy in the lyrics and giving a silent mental salute to the past; the history of Equestria was full of treasures.

As I finished, I looked once again at my brother, now sound asleep, and I lowered my head down to nuzzle him. “Good night baby brother.” I whispered before turning and quietly leaving my parents’ bedroom.

My parents were by the door, locking it down for the night. “Is he asleep?” my mother asked with an expectant smile.

I nodded. “Soundly asleep. He’ll be ready for another adventure in the orchard tomorrow.” I answered before suddenly finding myself yawning again. “And now I think its my turn.”

“Alright my little pony.” my father said as he shut off the main ceiling light in the living room, leaving only two of the night stands shining. “Sleep well.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.” my mother said as she gave my forehead a goodnight kiss, my father behind her to give me a goodnight embrace of his own before we departed for our rooms. We always left the doors to our rooms open so that we were always close; it was a habit of ours since the beginning. For one reason or another, it made me feel even more secure than I already was within the Stable, and I fell asleep with this knowledge, finding peace in the close presence of my family and the security of the Stable…….. until…

Footnote: Level Up!

New Perk: Family Pride -- The teachings of your family about the word honor have stuck with you and made you who you are. You gain five points to put towards your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills and your tag skills are the speech, sneak, and small guns skills, raising them by fifteen points. You also gain a permanent +1 bonus to perception, intelligence, and agility.

Nova:

Strength: 4
Perception: 8
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 7
Luck: 6

Comments

[tuyjkyfuk]

(But mom’s are supposed to do that… make their children feel special… ah well I didn‘t mind.)

The real pluralization is moms not mom is

My family knew that that kind of ambition was not something that could bring safety to the Stable, so theyy took it away from Stable-Tec and helped it live up to its true purpose which was to save and preserve ponies.

Theyy

[FireStorm2247]

1724840 Edited. Thanks for catching those.

[Crusadier]

Wow, nice first real chapter.

Seriously, you have a gift!

[ThunderBlitz]

Very nicely written. Enjoyed it greatly. This will be a grand addition to the FOE family

[Nuclear Fallout]

I just started reading this I love the prologue and I saw how you bypassed the 40 special points.