• Published 15th Dec 2019
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Fallout Equestria: Old Souls - Pillbug

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Fallout Equestria: Old Souls - Chapter 1: Thaw

Chapter 1: Thaw

[Wake up, little sleepyheads, hope you had some wonderful dreams and restful hibernation.]

I stared at a world of white. Corner to corner, end to end, white dominated.

External Monitor Duty…….External Monitor Duty never changes.

From the first day over 200 years ago, when the door to Stable 61 slammed shut, to this present moment, External Monitor Duty never offered anything new. Each and every monitor showed a never-ending blizzard of frozen rain.

According to the historians, the blizzard hadn’t always been there, or at least not as strong as this, but with no official records to consult, that didn’t mean a whole lot. All that was apparent was that the white winds were fierce and hadn’t let up in two centuries, every hour of every day, every minute of every hour, every second….etc.

External Monitor Duty was the realm of the lazy, punished, or incompetent. The first group would happily take the assignment for the week, set the E.F.S. (Eyes-Forward-Sparkle, specialised Unicorn magic implanted into our equipment to locate anomalies), which acted as an early warning system. Following that you’d be lucky to see them on task or even awake. So long as you were seen to be in the Monitor room, then that was good enough for the supervisors. To them, the world outside the Stable wasn’t their concern.

However, that was only true of the Surveillance crews. The supervisors of other Stable departments didn’t turn such a blind eye towards negligence. Get caught slacking off and, while no immediate reprimand would materialise, the next time your week of EMD rolled around, you would suddenly find your week being 14 days long. Do it again? 21 days, then 28 and so on.

The record was 84 days. That stallion really didn’t know when to quit. That was awhile back. Apparently the guy had caused all sorts of problems around the Stable and drummed up some bad rumours. Nobody seemed to know what they were, or much at all about the story really. Even the pony’s name was lost to the ages. Every teller just called him ‘84’.

All the while I was stuck in EMD boredom some lucky mare, stallion, colt or filly would find themselves assigned elsewhere (the frequency of certain ponies being ‘lucky’ in this regard never failed to raise some eyebrows). The ponies who struggled through these long weeks would be the second group.

“I’m sure plenty of ponies here would consider me part of the third group…” I mused aloud. This startled my workmate, who nonetheless quickly went back to his nap after it became apparent that I wasn’t looking for a response. I wasn’t even sure who he was (although which group he belonged to was obvious).

The assignments came down from the top, from the Overmare and her staff, and you simply showed up, end of story. Stable 61 was too big to be guaranteed a workmate you knew on every assignment, even for folks who were always at the centre of attention like Roc, the Stable’s most popular griffon.

No matter the occasion, the always-smiling, sandy-feathered griffon never missed a chance to expand his influence. It was often said he was gunning for the Overmare’s position, though usually in jest. No one thought badly of him, charismatic as he was, but nobody took him too seriously either. I’d seen him around, from a distance, and he seemed nice enough, though I’d never worked with him.

Right, work…

My console speakers crackled.

“Status report...”, the operator drawled, followed by a muttered “…as if I didn’t already know.” Rolling my eyes, I activated the mic.

“Snowflake here. All normal. No change.” The same response I’d given every single time over the years.

“Understood. Next check-up in one hour.” The bored tone of her voice hadn’t changed in the slightest. The line clicked and went dead.

I sighed into the dead mic. It was obvious what she thought of my work. It wasn’t fair! If I’d have been in any other Stable, in other words not stuck in a damn blizzard all my life, I’d have been fine. If I were in a Stable near Dodge Junction or Appleloosa or anywhere surrounded by hot dry sand I would have had my own special place and responsibilities that could make use of my talents.

My magic, such as it was, was ice-based to go with my Snowflake Cutie Mark (I’d heard every joke a thousand times and most of them weren’t funny the first time). I wasn’t a particularly powerful unicorn. My telekinesis was almost non-existent and my ice manipulation wasn’t developed much further than a few beginner-level spells.

Not like I get any chance to practise

The eternal blizzard outside made it really hard for machinery to overheat. Even on the rare occasions that I was working on the Reactor detail I wasn’t often asked to work cooldown. I was a backup to the automatics. At most I’d be on-hoof when parts were being swapped out, but that was over in a matter of hours. Not nearly enough time to improve and especially not for a pony who was just a second-stringer to an electric fan. A snowflake surrounded by air con in the middle of a blizzard.

What a life.

~~~~~~

I finished up my week of External Monitor Duty, eyes still aching from the white-heavy monitors, and passed the keys over to the next shift before heading to the Atrium to receive my assignment for the next week.

As I was waiting for the data transfer between my Pipbuck and the mainframe, I heard heavy, plodding steps behind me. They were very familiar, belonging to a creature (three actually) that I knew well. All that was left was finding the right brother. The hoofsteps stopped just behind me and I heard a throat being cleared.

“Hey Flake.” Buff’s calm, composed voice sounded in my ears.

Ah, so that’s who.

“Evenin’ Lo.” I cheerfully replied.

The big cienna-furred bison groaned. “Aw, how do you always know?”

I turned and smiled up at him. “If I told you that it’d ruin the game.” ‘The game’ being Lo’s attempts to pass himself off as one of his brothers. He’d been thrilled the first time a Stable resident had accidentally called him ‘Al’ and had sought to recreate the incident since, to varying levels of success.

Struggling to contain his grin, Lo affected a look of mock-disgruntlement. “Ugh. I swear I’ll get you one of these days.”

I reached up and patted him on his horn. It was half as long as my foreleg even though I’d known Lo and his two brothers from the time I could cover it with my hoof. “I hope so. When you can pull that off, the real fun starts. You can teach Al and do a double act.”

He was smiling openly now. It didn’t take much to get him in good spirits. He loved practical jokes. “Maybe we could even trick Buff!”

“Uh…no.”

His ears drooped at this and his face morphed into the pouty, child-like visage I knew so well. I ruffled his scruffy mane and he recovered. My Pipbuck pinged as the transfer completed. I stepped aside so he could get his assignment. As he was waiting, I scanned the room.

“Hey, Lo, seen your brothers around?”

“No,” he called back, “We’re workin’ separate departments this week. Different shifts too, they’re never home when I get back.”

I frowned. It wasn’t common for family to work together but I still worried about those three when they weren’t able to watch out for each other.

Buff, Al and Lo: triplet buffalo boys. Their mama, Mrs Doublehorn (Luna guide her dreams), would never have been accused of being too smart for her own good but she was the kindest, most caring, and wonderfully joyful mother you could ask for. I know the boys missed her greatly, even after all this time. I did too, having spent so much time with her and the boys as they grew up. I had a few years on them so I babysat a lot.

“Hey!” Lo came trotting back, “I’m on External Monitor Duty this week. Weren’t you just doing that, Snowflake?”

I nodded. “Uh huh, it’s as boring as ever. Still, if you have any problems then call me, alright?”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll call you if I can’t see the blizzard for the snow.”

His cheeky reply forced a grin onto my face, but I wagged a hoof at him in faux-disapproval. “Now you watch that mouth, young buffalo, or else I’ll chill something of yours that ought not be chilled.”

He knew I was kidding but still had a pretty quick scamper in his step as he left. I noticed a few of the younger buffalo girls watched him go.

He’s reaching that age, I guess.

~~~~~~

When on General Support Duty, as I was this week, I tended to gravitate towards the bar. We had a limited supply of alcohol in the Stable. A happy accident resulted in a broken down filtration system being converted into a distillery. The ‘bar’ was actually a now-disused workshop. Stable 61 was a closed community. Occasionally, due to breakdowns and/or upgrades, the layout of the Stable would have to change. All the equipment from this old workshop had been transferred into the more active sites after the pipes had been rerouted not long after I was born. What was left was a sturdy room with plenty of space, a solid workstation that now pulled duty as the bar counter, and surprisingly good acoustics.

Whiskey Sour had seen the potential and claimed the area as her establishment. She’d decorated the walls to brighten up the place and cleaned out the dust. The result was a great space to unwind after a long shift.

I didn’t much like drunks, but mixing cocktails was kinda fun and the older mare behind the bar made for a good conversationalist. Whiskey Sour’s Cutie Mark was a glass tumbler with a fruit wedge on the rim. She was sliding cheerfully into middle-age and the amber Pegasus was always ready with some quick banter.

“Back again, Icecube? You know I’m not gonna deed you the bar when I’m gone.”

“Oh, I don’t know, when I win the Overmare’s seat in a couple o’ weeks I could just decree it.” This brought a bark of laughter from the old mare.

It was soon joined by a more restrained, cultured chuckle. I turned towards the source, Roc, who’d glided up to the bar. He faced me with a strange look.

“Did I hear you say that you were running for Overmare?”

At my shoulder, Sour had stopped laughing. She seemed to be watching the griffon closely.

“Uh, well…”

He cut me off barely after I started, a wide grin spreading across his beak. “Well that’s wonderful news!” He took my hoof in his claws, leaning in close. Celestia, he was handsome up close. “I’m honoured to be running against such a strong opponent and I wish you-“

“Uh…Roc?”

His eyes twinkled as he halted his speech, a charmingly patient expression on his face. “Yes, fair lady?”

I blushed despite myself. “I’m not really running for Overmare, it was a joke.”

Something changed instantly in his demeanour, even if he was still smiling. “A joke?”

I nodded, waving a hoof towards Whiskey Sour, who still wasn’t smiling. “Right, Sour and I were just messing around. It’ll be a sad day when Stable 61 is governed by Overmare Snowflake.”

At the mention of my name he politely, but promptly, let go of my hoof. All his warmth and good cheer had vanished. “Thank you for telling me……Snowflake. Please keep up the good work for my guests. This will be the last chance I have to win their votes before the election. Everything must go well. You can make sure of that, can’t you?”

The ghost of a sneer appeared on his lips. “After all, we all must contribute to the good of the Stable. Even if we have nothing to offer.” He spun on his rear claw and began walking back towards the mingling guests. Beside me, Whiskey Sour glared at his back.

“Makes you wonder why he even wants t’be Over…griffon, talkin’ like that.”

Roc, having overheard, stopped but didn’t face us, simply turning his head enough for his words to reach us. “It’s my contract.”

Then he was gone, back to his preparations. The rest of the party went off without a hitch. Some latecomers, evidently just off their shift, were more than glad for my ice-cold beverages. They were almost nice to me even! Still, I avoided Roc’s eyes for the rest of the gathering, concentrating on working hard, until finally the guests began to leave, each bearing a little ‘thank you’ package from Roc (who knew where he’d scrounged the supplies to pull that off?). As Sour and I were cleaning up and Roc, ever the perfect host, was seeing the last guest out, Al strolled in.

Al was the middle triplet and, while he could be as cheerful as Lo, he didn’t always share his little brother’s sunny disposition. “Snowflake! I’ve been looking for you for ages!”

I straightened up from sweeping and nodded my head towards the Pipbuck on his wrist, looking tiny compared to the giant strap and the leg it was wrapped around. “Why didn’t you just use the locator?”

He blinked and looked at his Pipbuck for a moment, his brow creasing and his cheeks reddening. Finally he shook his head. “Never mind that now, I gotta talk to you!”

“Please do keep your voice down. I am trying to maintain a calm, civilised environment here.” Roc, having returned from his hosting duties, shot me with a look that would otherwise be reserved for the radroaches. “He would be one of yours, I assume?”

I frowned and opening my mouth to retort but Al beat me to it. He got right down into the griffon’s face. “You got something to say, pretty boy?”

Roc pulled his head back, not even trying to hide his anger any more. “Watch your tone, lump, or I promise that when I enter the Over Office I will make you and this pathetic excuse for a Unicorn regret your actions here.”

Al’s pupils shrank and he bellowed, lowering his head as Roc took to the air.

I jumped in front of the bull before he could charge. “AL! THAT’S ENOUGH!”

We all remained motionless for a moment, long enough for me to wonder if Al would simply toss me aside and go for Roc. He could. Easily. I was older but still a pony mare against a nearly full-grown buffalo. It seemed an eternity before he focused on me and all his aggression drained away.

Al’s eyes started to glimmer as he realised the situation. “Snowflake, I…….I’m so sorry.”

I tried to get my heart rate under control as I reached up and, as I did with Lo, ruffled his mane. He managed a weak smile.

“How touching.” Mocked the griffon from on high. Then an amber blur cannoned into him and he dropped like a stone, hitting the ground with a thud.

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen now, Roc.” Sour flapped her wings and landed behind her bar, nonchalant. “You’re going to get off my floor, get out of my bar and never mention this instance again. Or did you forget about me being a witness to the whole show or the camera footage that only I have the access code for?”

Livid, the sand-coloured griffon picked himself up, stared daggers at the older Pegasus then stomped out.

“Thanks, Whis-“ I tried to give her a grateful smile. It was not returned.

“That goes for you two as well. This didn’t happen, got it? I don’t want trouble. Keep your mouths shut.”

We solemnly nodded and I lead Al away.

~~~~~~

The next day I had some real work to do, or close enough, so I had an excuse to avoid both Roc and Sour. Some of the geothermal units deeper in the mountain needed swapping out and I was on hoof to ensure there was no overheating while the fans were offline.

As I stated before, this was hardly necessary. In the five hours I was there, I think I used my horn for maybe 15 minutes, 5 of which were spent on chilling the drinks for the work detail, who basically ignored my presence. Same old, same old. The work was nearly done, new fittings were in place, and the crew was lifting the old fixings so they could huff them down to recycling. That was when I heard a clink. I turned to see a small sphere rolling across the floor towards the ledge.

“Hey! Stop that thing!” The worker who’d yelled had his hooves full with gear.

“Relax,” I reassured him, “I got it.” I figured I may as well get a little use out of my horn, a small thing like that should be no problem even for my foal-level telekinesis. My horn glowed glacier-blue as I snagged the shimmering ball a foot into its plunge.

I levitated it back up to me, noticing the play of colour across its surface. I thought I saw a weird light shining inside it as I held up my hooves to catch it.

And then the world disappeared.

ooooOOOOoooo

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.” A voice sounded in the darkness.

Ugh, my head. What the hay just happened? I tried to raise my hoof to rub my eyes and instantly forgot my headache.

I couldn’t feel my hoof! Or my head! Or anything!

What’s going on?! I tried to shout, but no sound emerged.

HELP! BUFF! AL!! LO!!! SOUR!!!! Hell, I’ll take Roc right now, just somebody get me outta here!

No help was forthcoming, however, so I could do nothing but watch the scene before me. I was…somewhere. I didn’t recognise the area, though from the rock walls and dripping moisture it was clear we were underground. A few drops fell on my wings so I shook them ou-wait, wings!?

I had wings! Oh sweet goddesses I had wings! What was going on here?

Wait again! Did ‘I’ have wings? As ‘I’ shook them out, I caught a glimpse of multi-shaded pink mane, a far cry from my usual colour.

This……this isn’t me. Who is this? What am I seeing?

“Oh don’t worry, my dear,” a sultry voice responded, a shrouded figure stepping into the vision of whoever this pony was who’s eyes I was sharing, “I can feel your protection spells from here, you and your husband went all out. I couldn’t touch you now if I wanted to.”

Husband? What husband? Who’s got a husband?

“Then what do you want?” Yeah, I kinda wanted to know that too. “I doubt you called me here just to catch up on old times.” From this Pegasus’ tone, it was clear that she wasn’t a fan of her companion. Said companion, still covered by heavy cloth, looked away for a few seconds before responding.

“There is something you must see. Follow.” Without even a backwards glance, the hooded mare (or failing that a very effeminate stallion) set off deeper into the tunnel. After a moment’s hesitation, my pony followed.

The two walked in silence for the longest time, only the green glow from the hooded figure’s horn lighting the way.

So she’s a unicorn. That’s something at least.

Finally the two neared a corner, a great roar drowning out whatever words that the unicorn mare was trying to say, my host opened her mouth to respond…

…and everything went white.

I screamed, again and again, as the wave hit me. Everything at once: sights, sounds, feelings, colours, emotions, every sensation of every kind slammed into me in a continuous torrent, unyielding. I couldn’t make sense of any of it, there was just too much! I could only scream, soundlessly and helplessly, hoping against hope that it would be over soon.

It wasn’t. It continued for hours, never letting up. Any resistance I could muster was momentary at best, then I would be swept away again. If I had eyes to cry I would have run out of tears. Even the voice in my head had overworked itself. I barely was able to hold onto who I was.

Then as quickly as it began, it ended. I was back in the cave, just my Pegasus carrier and the hooded unicorn. I didn’t make any attempt to understand the situation, I merely watched. I wasn’t sure that I was capable of anything else anymore.

“You understand what this will mean, for them?” My carrier’s voice had changed. Gone was the hard edge, now it was strained, conflicted. The mistrust was still there but it was battling with empathy.

“I do. That’s why I brought you here. I want your promise that you’ll do what you can for them while I handle this. Don’t let them fall.” The shrouded figure’s voice was breathy, finally it cracked. “Please?”

The Pegasus swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. “I……I won’t. You have my word.”

Satisfied, the unicorn nodded. “Then they will be in good hooves, though I’d prefer neither Celestia nor Luna hear of this. They……would not be so kind.”

“You have my word. This will be my secret, and mine alone.”

As I watched, a tiny sparkle fell from the darkness of the unicorn’s hood, then another. She was crying. “Thank you. Now, can I ask one more favour from you? It is a small one, I promise.”

The Pegasus nodded in response. “Of course, what do you need?”

“Could you teach me that song that the little filly espoused when I first met her? How did it start? ‘Sunshine, sunshine…’”

ooooOOOOoooo

When I came to, I was sore, lightheaded, dehydrated, and cold all in one go. The cherry on top was a dull ache in my horn.

I groaned and put a hoof over my eyes to block out the bright lights. “I don’t wanna do that again.”

There was a rustling beside me as a looming silhouette appeared. “You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Ah, Buff, I could not be happier to hear your voice.

The calm, reliable eldest of the Doublehorn boys was a welcome presence after what I’d just been through.

“Like I got caught in the middle of you three rough-housing. What happened?”

Buff was only slowly coming into focus but I could still see that the question upset him.
“We…were hoping you could tell us. The maintenance crew dragged you up here. They said something about a shiny ball. Apparently they couldn’t get it away from you, your magic wouldn’t let it go, and you wouldn’t respond to anything they did. Finally they carted you up here.”

“Where’s here?”

“The medical ward. You were out cold when they brought you in but you still wouldn’t be parted from the bauble. They decided to let you keep it while they ran some tests, except…” He was looking very uncomfortable now.

“Except what, Buff? Tell me.” Buff was never uncomfortable. He’d been that way for years, playing the big brother to Al and Lo. This couldn’t be good.

“…except you started screaming. You wouldn’t stop either, it went on for hours and all the while your magic was going crazy.” He nodded his head towards the rest of the room.
“This was the result.”

Very worried now, I rubbed the last of the drowsiness from my eyes and looked around.

The entire ward was covered in ice. The walls, floor, ceiling, and every surface had 6-inch long icicles hanging from them. I looked back at Buff, noticing the ice crystals built up in his heavy fur. His breath was cloudy.

“I did this? But….I don’t have the power for something like this!”

He just shrugged. “Could have been you, could have been the sphere. Either way, something set you off and you were blasting out cold non-stop. We barely got everybody evacuated in time. Al and Lo are holding the others outside the door, even the Overmare, who’s been shouting and demanding to see you the moment you woke up.”

“She wants to see me? Oh, hell.”

Buff leaned down and nuzzled against me, I was glad for the gesture. “Do you want me to send her away?”

I smiled at him in thanks but shook my head and ruffled his mane. “No, it’s okay. You just go let Al and Lo know everything’s gonna be okay, alright?”

He didn’t seem convinced. “If you’re sure?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Let her in.”

Still looking concerned, the burly buffalo stomped over to the door and pulled it closed. There was an exchange outside the door, the words too muffled to hear, though somebody did raise their voice once, then finally the door hissed open again and the Overmare strolled in, the door clicking shut behind her.

The Overmare, though getting on in years, was still a striking pony. A Pegasus, she could send a smile your way that’d get you on her side fast. You’d call it a ‘winning smile’ rather than a beautiful one, though going by the banter of the older workers she wouldn’t hurt for casual playmates should she ask. As far as anyone knew, she never had. She put her all into her role to keep Stable 61 running smoothly.

She certainly wasn’t smiling now, her expression unreadable, though nor was she stern. “Snowflake, what have you done?”

Okay, maybe a little stern.

“I’m…not really sure myself, Overmare.” It was both the truth and the only answer I could give.

She said nothing for a little while, merely looking around the room. “Your experience with the sphere seems to have been a powerful one.”

I realised at this point I didn’t know where the sphere was. I looked around frantically. Gleaning my intention, the Overmare approached the doctor’s desk and, using a pair of tongs, picked up the sphere from where it had sat. It seemed none-the-worse for having been through my self-created cold snap.

“Be careful, Overmare, don’t let it suck you in.”

She regarded me, casually. “Oh I don’t intend to make contact with it in any way. Nor should you have, Snowflake.” She set the orb down and her brow creased in a frown. “Snowflake, what rules do we in Stable 61 live by?”

Usually this would have been a silly question. Every child, be they pony, griffon, zebra, buffalo or anything else had the rules drilled into them from the time they could understand words. I sensed this wasn’t the time for flippancy though, so I made sure to keep my attention focused on her as I recited the Stable motto.

“Old Equestria’s war is not our war. We await the day New Equestria is born.”

The Overmare nodded, her face tight. “Precisely. Stable 61 was one of the first Stables to be completed. The moment it was fully functional, its doors were opened to any and all creatures who wished to escape the war. Nobody cared if they were a pony, zebra or otherwise, they were welcome here so long as they left the conflict behind when they entered these halls.”

She began pacing at this point, periodically shooting glances at me. “From all accounts we were very lucky as, one month after the door to Stable 61 closed behind our last founder, all communications ceased. We do not know why, or how, but the war had obviously escalated. As we still have not found any evidence to convince us that the war is over, we continue to wait here, safe and sound, until New Equestria surfaces from the ruins of the old princessdom.”

She shook her head regretfully. “StableTec’s naïve notion of using the Stables to rebuild Equestria the same as before was wisely abandoned by our predecessors. Such an approach would only lead to the conflict repeating at a later date. Equestria must forge a new path, only then will we open the door to walk it.”

Upon noticing my confused expression, her long speech relented. She held up the tongs, still holding the orb, between us. “This is of Old Equestria. There will be much discussion on how we are to handle this situation. Until then, you are to remain here in the medical ward, under constant surveillance, while we make a decision. You are forbidden from using magic or touching this sphere, it will be locked away in the medical storage.”

“Overmare! I…” I began, aghast.

She waved me into silence with her wing. “I know you did not mean for any of this to happen, however it has and we all must face the consequences.” She gave me one final, strange, look before calling in the doctor to lock the sphere away, leaving without another word.

~~~~~~

I spent the next two days alternating between spine-tingling fear and soul-crushing boredom. I was moved under heavy escort to another room in the medical ward due to the ice rendering the previous one uninhabitable.

How the hell had I pulled that one off? I’d never even come close to that level of power before. Despite the Overmare’s orders, I’d been unable to stop myself from trying to recreate the spell on a lower scale. It turned out that her warnings had been entirely unnecessary. I found myself totally magic’d out. I couldn’t even do the few things I’d managed before the outburst, like chilling a drink or making a cooling breeze.

I briefly wallowed in despair at this, not realising how much I’d missed my little bit of power until it had gone. I was left wondering if I’d ever be able to use spells again. I couldn’t risk anything but the most basic of tests.

The Overmare hadn’t been kidding about the constant surveillance: Not only were the cameras always on, I always had a security pony in the room with me and two more outside.

I had been allowed visitors, only one at a time, which I was thankful of. Buff, Al and Lo all fretted when they came in to see me, not saying anything when I failed to maintain my composure, just being the warm, soft, loving brothers they’d always been. My other guests weren’t so pleasant.

Whiskey Sour tried hard, that much was obvious. On her first visit she’d been almost the same as she always was, cracking jokes and bringing a few recipes and ingredients so I could practise my mixing. It didn’t completely hide her unease. After what had happened to me and the incident in the bar with Roc, she saw me differently, I was sure of it.

I couldn’t exactly blame her for being nervous; she WOULD be in trouble for the bar incident, especially now that I was what I was, a meddler in the history the Stable had tried hard to deny. Her fears hadn’t been assuaged by the time she left and her paranoia had evidently grown between then and her second visit, in which she flat out demanded to know what I was going to do. When I told her that I didn’t know and that the decision might not be up to me, she’d left and I didn’t expect a third visit.

The worst visit came after I had spent an hour assuring some of the Zebra Stable residents that I wasn’t now a ‘Stripe-hating bigot’. Everyone in the Stable knew the history, Equestria had been at war with the Zebras, but I was still hurt. I’d lived my whole life in Stable 61. Zebras were my neighbours, workmates, sometimes friends and adolescent crushes. For them to think that I could change so much so quickly was terrifying.

The possibility that I could be so strongly altered by 200-year old magic was not pleasant either. No one here really knew what side effects might surface from my experience. This magic was from the world outside the Stable. I couldn’t lie to myself and say I wasn’t worried. I’d been completely overwhelmed by the experience.

I had also performed a feat of magic that was completely beyond my conscious scope of abilities. It begged the question of whether or not I had really been the one to cast such a spell. Perhaps it was a ghost, freed from the sphere, who had possessed me and made my horn work as a Unicorn’s horn should.

The zebra were right to be worried. Their fears stemmed from the same roots as my own.

Worse though, was the treatment I got from Roc.

After the Zebras had left, he strolled through the door with a big grin on his beak. “My dear Snowflake, I do hope this dreadful misunderstanding isn’t getting you down?”

I sighed and rolled over, facing away from him. “What do you want, Roc?”

His claws clacked on the tiles as he strolled up next to the bed. “Just to talk. It pains me to see a member of our Stable under such wrongful arrest. Why, if I were the Overse-”

“You’re not, Roc, get to the point.”

He grunted in annoyance at being cut off. “Very well, I believe we can help each other. I don’t think there is as much cohesion in the Stable about your little episode as the Overmare would like. You help me to put a positive spin on this, which helps my campaign to become Overseer, and I will reward you handsomely. You could be my Second-in-Command perhaps? All you have to do is tell me what was in that orb and help the Stable see that it was a good thing.”

“Not interested.”

“Don’t be a fool!” He snapped, “Everyone in here considers you a joke! You can’t tell me you don’t want more respect!”

“I’d rather be liked.” I replied, listlessly.

He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, face to face with his sneer. “You are your mother’s girl.” He snarled.

I pulled my head back. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

His sneer transformed into a mocking smile. “You’ll see soon enough.”

“THAT’S ENOUGH, ROC!” The Overmare’s thunderous yell derailed that line of conversation.

Roc, still gripping my shoulder, narrowed his eyes towards the Overmare and then looked back to me. “Yes, I do believe it is.” He straightened up, releasing my shoulder, and composed himself. “I shall leave you to your rest, Snowflake. Do think on my offer, won’t you?” He stalked past the Overmare without looking at her.

The pegasus watched him turn the corner at the far end of the corridor before closing the door. She came and sat in front of me, not saying anything for a moment, visibly choosing her words. Finally she held up the orb. “Snowflake……tell me what you saw in here. The whole thing.”

That was a familiar request. “Why?”

Her eyes narrowed, again an action that was very recent. “That was an order, Snowflake.”

I had just about had it by this point. It had not been a good week. “Not good enough, Overmare. Roc was just asking me the same. At least he gave me a reason.”

“It’s for the good of Stable.”

“He said that, too.”

She really wasn’t happy now. “You are trying my patience, girl.”

Unfortunately, neither was I. “What’re you gonna do about it? Make me try for 85 days?”

She couldn’t have looked more shocked if I had slapped her.

“So……you are refusing to deliver the details of this orb, even to the highest authority?” She spoke very slowly and deliberately.

“That’s right.” I replied, obstinately, I wasn’t really listening too closely to what she said.

“Good. Come.” She immediately got up and called for the guards, leaving me to blink stupidly on the gurney.

“Um, what? O-Overmare…”

“There is no time, Snowflake, suffice it to say your course of action is now set. You will leave the Stable within the hour. These guards will accompany you to the gate.”

Wait, what?!

“No! I was just kidding, I’ll tell you! Please don’t send me away!” My voice rose to a foalish whimper at the end, causing the Overmare to jerk and stumble as she walked ahead of me.

She pulled herself together and turned back to me, her eyes were not unkind. “It’s too late, Snowflake. Old Equestria will not be permitted within these walls, it will be purged, one way or another. Too many of the higher ranking residents want you gone. If you didn’t leave, you would soon suffer an ‘accident’.”

She shuddered at this. “I…have to preserve the Stable. I can’t bend the rules for you, Snowflake. Oh how I wish I could, but I can’t. You will be provided with clothing to survive the blizzard and supplies, including weapons, to find your way.”

“But there’s nothing out there! It’s all just snow and ice!”

The Overmare shook her head. “A nation as vast as Equestria wouldn’t vanish without a trace, not even in 200 years. I don’t know where but I promise that you will find others out there.”

“You…” Her voice hitched. “You won’t be alone, Snowflake.”

“Overmare! I’m begging you, don’t do this!” I was crying now but I didn’t care. I was being forced out of the only home I’d ever known. What was 85 days compared to that?

“This is the only way you will survive. Any other resident would have faced the same choice you did. It is to your credit that you acted how you have.” She took the orb and put it in the travel pack that the guards were carrying. “This goes with you. It’s too dangerous for it to stay here. Keep it secret, keep it safe.”

I accepted the offered pack dumbly, shocked, and helpless in the face of these events. The Overmare nodded to the guards as they took up position around me and began marching me away. I turned one last pleading look at the Overmare as we turned the corner. There were tears in her eyes but she looked away.

~~~~~~

The heavy door of Stable 61 slammed shut behind me. The sound jolted me out of my stupor. I dropped my pack and scrambled back to the door, hammering my hooves against it. “PLEASE! Please let me back in! I’m begging you! Please!”

The cave walls echoed my words back to me. Those were the only sounds that came. The Stable door, vast and imposing, denied me any comfort. There was no click of griffon talons on the metal walkways, no heavy footsteps of the buffalo...

Buff...Al....Lo....please....

Help me.

The Stable door, vast and silent, cut me off from that world, MY world, forever. I looked around for cameras, silently pleading to the unseen watchers. They were as unmoving as the cold, tear-stained steel barrier.

Tears still falling down my cheeks, I turned and rested my back against the door, not willing to take even one step away yet. All I could do was look.

I was in a long tunnel, straight as an arrow, leading all the way to the outside. Even here, right at the end of the shaft, I could feel the wisps of cold air washing around me. Even with the main fury of the storm held at bay, I still couldn’t stay here forever. My back was cool against the metal of the door, the only home I’d ever known offering as little warmth and safety as the glaring white opening I could see far ahead. I could see no respite in the white, just a solid wall of snow.

When I closed my eyes I could still see the white, though now my mind’s eye conjured terrible sights within the snow; ghostly eyes, alabaster fangs, and misting breath. Unseen wraiths waiting for me to make the long, lonely walk into that oblivion.

“Please, Overmare. Please forgive me. Don’t do this. I’m scared.” I could barely raise my voice above a whisper. I couldn’t raise my head at all.

I wanted to cry and shout and all those infantile alarms designed to bring a caregiver running. That’s what I was out here, a helpless baby who couldn’t survive on her own. I no longer had the safety of the Stable walls or the constant, reliable hum of machinery to surround me. All that was left was the distant howl of the storm outside.

My Pipbuck was clicking every so often. I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t know what anything meant anymore. I was completely lost in every sense.

From iris to iris, from flat of the hoof to tip of the mane, white dominated.

I stared at a world of white.

~~~~~~

Level Up!
Perks gained: ‘Snow Problem – Years of watching the blizzard have improved the range of your E.F.S. in snowy conditions.

~~~~~~

(Author’s note: Well this is the first chapter of I-don’t-know-how-many. I’m looking for some pre-reader help if anypony’s willing. One stipulation being that you have to have actually read Fallout: Equestria, as I’m trying to keep that canon going in this sidestory, even if they won’t intersect much. If anypony wants to help I’d be very grateful, contact me at PJNewlands@gmail.com and we’ll sort out the details. I very much doubt I can do this without some decent pre-readers. Please help me to make this story good.

This will be my first feature-length story and I figured I’d go big. There are four stated aims with this story, 3 big and one small.

The big:
1) Write the story to completion.
2) Make it satisfying to read.
3) Enjoy writing it.

The small:
4) Get a ‘kkat approved’ tag. (again, this is minor, I won’t sacrifice any of the big goals for this one)

So yeah, I hope you all enjoy this story and I’ll keep writing it so long as people want to read it.

My first pre-reader is a great guy called Epidemiix, who I owe a big thank-you to, look him up as thanks for all his hard work.)

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