Fallout: Equestria - Decadence

by WinterShade

Chapter One: In Our Town

„You can’t have a nightmare if you never dream”

A silent crackling echoed through narrow, dim lit hallways. It reverberated through empty staircases and silent atriums before getting lost somewhere in the depths of a never-ending metallic maze of corridors and aisles.

Suddenly, a loud and overly-enthusiastic voice boomed, amplified by the rebounds from the iron walls. Yet, despite its overstated fervency, it still somehow sounded empty and hollow.

“Good morning, Stable!” – the voice announced with a little crackle. - “It is time for yet another cheerful and productive day in our glorious Stable; a utopia where we are kept safe from the horrors brought on due to the disarray caused by the differences of those before us. ”

A few seconds passed as whoever was on the other side of the speaker let their morning wishes sink in.

“This is why in our Stable, we are all the same. We are all uniform. We are all equal. ” – the voice resumed in a more serious and formal tone, having lost its over-enthusiasm. – “And that equality is what makes you and everypony else happy and safe.”

A slightly longer pause ensued as the announcer shuffled their papers.

“And now for this morning’s news” – the voice continued having regained its eagerness. - “The daily rations of porridge have been increased by three percent thanks to the hard work of our farmers down on the agricultural level. Be sure to congratulate them if you see one, and make them feel the appreciation we all have for their hard work.”

“In other news, the Overmare would also like to invite you all to the inauguration ceremony of our young foals into the working society of our Stable. The grand ceremony will take place this afternoon in the main atrium." - the voice concluded. - "And according a credible source - there will be cake after the proceedings."

With that, the broadcast ended, replaced instead with yet another gleeful march, this one singing about equality in some small town. By the time the song was over and replaced by another, similar one, the Stable's corridors were had already been filled up with silent chatter as ponies began scrambling around to their daily duties in the previously empty hallways.

*** *** ***

Somewhere in the Stable a Pegasus stallion stuck out his light grey wings from under the bedsheet, slightly annoyed by the rude intrusion of the morning broadcast into his slumber. Well it was more of a drowse, really; however, a pony takes what he can get. He carefully raised his head from the pillow, still groggy from the lack of sleep and the sudden awakening, and slowly pulled out his stiff forelegs from under it, stretching them. He did the same with his hind legs as he waved them around in the air, waiting for his muscles to start listening to his brain.

He lay like that for a couple more seconds, looking around his small, shady room, still on the fringe between being awake and falling back to sleep. This early in the morning and lit only by the red emergency lights, the room seemed even smaller than usual and he suddenly felt very constricted and out of breath. This felling was not unusual for the Pegasi in the Stable, as their natural instincts longed for the open skies which were quite short in supply in this small and tight steel bunker.

Looking around the room, the pony saw his small metal work desk which was bolted to the floor next to his bed and a grey metallic locker that stood across from it. In it was his Stable jumpsuit along with a small number of private possessions the Pegasus manged to acquire over the years. Most of it was junk, virtually useless machine parts which he salvaged while working the generator duty, however, hidden among them were also pieces of treasure - a few otherwise forbidden books stashed beneath a double bottom, safely away from the prying eyes of the guards which conducted weekly room inspections. He never really understood exactly what made these books so “dangerous to the well-being of the Stable” that they need to be disposed of. What he understood even less was how a book can be allowed one day and forbidden the next. It’s not like somepony adds anything new to them.

“It is time for yet another cheerful and productive day in our glorious Stable.” – he mockingly repeated the phrase from the morning broadcast while getting up, careful not to be heard by any security pony that might be passing by his quarters on their morning patrol.

He knew very well how those who spoke against the Overmare would end up. They would just disappear one day and later a rumour would spread that they had died in some sort of a convenient accident. It has always been like that, but especially so after that little crisis a few years ago when a group of Pegasi tried to kill the Overmare. Ever since, the Overmare has been cracking down hard on even the slightest offences, especially if there is even a slightest opposition to her authority involved. Even for the smallest offences for which there were no formal punishments, ponies would end up getting worse jobs at the rotation or the cantina worker would mysteriously run out of food when they came to collect their rations. All this made many, especially the Pegasi, who were much less numerous compared to other two races, secretly question if this “equality for all” thing is so great after all. Obviously, nopony dared voice their concerns.

How are all ponies even equal if there are those who rule and those who obey? How can a society except to prosper if those who rule keep those whom they rule over in a state of submission and fright, not listening or accepting their criticism? Can a society improve if there is no one to introduce new beliefs and opinions? These and many other questions occupied the mind of the grey Pegasus as he slowly made his way towards the small bathroom that was adjoined to his main room.

While somehow clenching the toothbrush with one of his forehooves and awkwardly circling it on his teeth, another reason why he envied the unicorns on their magic, he looked in the mirror at the framed picture of the light-purple unicorn staring at him from across the room. It stood above the small iron desk next to his bed, as it did in everpony’s quarters, staring down on them with the eternally serious gaze. Under it was a small plaque with the name of the unicorn - “Starlight Glimmer”. The sight of her name was so omnipresent throughtout the Stable that the Pegasus has even learned to read it directly from the mirror.

The pony knew very well who she was, as her heritage and legacy was something which was taught excessively in the Stable’s school. He could remember countless long hours he spent learning about her philosophy from the manifesto she wrote, which was something akin to a holy book in the Stable. It was also re-written in several forms, each one for a different age-group of ponies. That way, her thoughts and musings followed a pony from their birth until their death, always packed in an appropriate package, ranging from "Equality for Fillies: How to be Fair on the Playground" all the way to "Philosophical and Sociological Studies on the Equality Principles.".

This education was then furthered in schools, of course, in a special subject simply named - “Equality” - which, curiously, accounted for around fifty percent of the entire curriculum. The rest of the time fell off to general studies which a pony needed to perform work around the Stable. Because, as foals are thaught from the youngest age, the pony’s greatest purpose in life is to make their life better through work and sacrifice for the greater good. And to further enhance the sense of equality, nopony specialised in a specific occupation, but rather everyone was trained to do everything. The flaws of this system were obvious on every step from the rusty power generator to the quality of grown crops, however, nopony dared to question the Overmare or worse yet, Starlight's philosophy.

It should also go without saying that no studies of or attempts at art were encouraged. There were no musicians, painters or writers, as individuals with such talents would be just that – individuals, lone entities isolated from the collective.

The schooling system would often go to extreme lengths to make sure nopony got a Cutie Marks as they were viewed as something that broke the sense of equality in the Stable, disallowing the ponies to truly be happy as they would have to pursue their talent for the rest of their life. If a pony were to begin to show signs of proficiency at something, they would immediately be reassigned to another set of studies. Those few who still somehow managed to get their Cutie Marks would be forced to undergo a very physically and psychologically painful process of removal, and even after their mark of difference would be removed, they would always be on the fringe of society.

However, work still had to be done around the Stable so a rather curious system was implemented where a pony's job would be randomly selected every few months. This cycle meant nopony would have the chance to neither do something for longer periods of time nor specialise in a specific job which further reinforced the idea that Cutie Marks were nothing more than a hindrance.

Furthermore the ponies weren’t differentiated even by name as everypony was given a two part number to represent them in the collective. The first number indicated which race the pony was - 1 for the Earth Ponies, 2 for the Unicorns and 3 for the Pegasi, the last and the least favoured of all races in the Stable. The second number was being assigned on birth order via some system that only the Overmare understood.

"3-14." - the Pegasus mockingly recited his "name" between toothbrush strokes. - "Whatever genius came up with that one?"

Finally done with his morning routine, the Pegasus placed the towel back on its handle next to the small metallic sink and took a moment to admire his work in the mirror.

Looking at his face he saw that the lack of the sunlight left its imprint as his pale grey coat looked almost white in the cold light emanating from the diode light above his mirror. Similarly to most other ponies in the Stable who weren’t born with dark coat colours, the lack of natural light depleted his skin from any darker pigments, leaving it looking pale and faded. He tried many times to darken his skin, as darker skin was something of a status symbol in the Stable and automatically made a stallion more attractive due to its rarity, but this attempts were to little avail.

Not to fool somepony, he was far from ugly, but he didn't posses most of the handsome face features those war stallions in the history books had. However, what he lacked the most, in his eyes, was a nice muscular figure. Despite his natural Pegasus agility and the scarce rations, he still somehow managed to put on a few pounds from the lack of physical activity. The access to the Stable’s gym was only reserved for the members of the Security forces and all the jobs he has gotten on the rotation so far have been mostly sedentary: toaster repair, clinic duty, PipBuck maintenance and his latest job – food dispenser in the cantina. It was as fun as watching paint dry on a wall; however it did provide him with some extra food from the leftovers.

Well, at least there a saving grace in that his pale coat did contrast nicely with his black and grey mane, which despite his best attempts to make something out of, was still messy and disorderly from the sleep, looking like a burnt mop. A few runaway hairs poked him in the eyes as he did his best to comb them back in line with the rest. After several unsuccessful tries, he finally gave up, leaving the hairs scattered all around, from his forehead all the way to the base of his neck. Although long mane, especially so on the stallions, was something which was also generally frowned upon in the Stable, he didn’t really much care for it as he had no aspiration to become one of those model citizens which proudly paraded around with their medals. It was not that he didn’t have it in him to become one, on the contrary, he was a very bright and able pony, it was just that he had too much pride in him to suck up to the Overmare and her goons.

His look then fell upon his dark green eyes and the black bags underneath them, which he could swear added at least five extra years to his face. In spite of his best efforts to catch some sleep whenever he can, he still got very little of it. For this though, he knew he could not blame the Overmare, as he did for so much. It was his own fault that he often stayed up late, reading books he borrowed from the library. The books were mostly technical in nature, but he didn’t complain as they were one of the few sources of entertainment for him, especially when compared to the books which were sanctioned by the Overmare. He would take a book on the inner workings of a power generator over the “285 Rules of Equality” any day. Not to deceive anypony, he wasn’t one of those bookworm ponies, he in fact enjoyed hanging out with others whenever he had a chance, but his choice of friends was severely hindered by the fact that Pegasi in generally weren’t very popular. This was mostly thanks due to their low population and prejudices towards them going all the way to when the Stable closed. The origin of this tense relationship between the Pegasi and other ponies was that originally the Stable was supposed to be filled with equal number of Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi, 333 of each to be exact, however on the day of its closing, for reasons not known, only a hoof-full of Pegasi showed up at the Stable door. This mysterious disappearance made the Stable short-staffed, forcing the finely-tuned system to hastily adapt and operate at a lower efficiency. In turn, this also left the Pegasi as a minority, leaving them vulnerable to harassment of other ponies, as many believed that Pegasi had abandoned Equestria in the time of the greatest of disasters. Even though after hundred years the population ratio mostly returned to normal via some unpopular reproduction laws, the prejudices still remained, causing a deep conflict which split the Stable. There were only a few among Earth Ponies and the Unicorns who had no trouble with the Pegasi, and these were mostly the younger colts and fillies, who made friends with Pegasi during their earliest years.

Looking away from the mirror, the pony saw a truly alarming sight - his clock showed he was only five minutes away from the start of his shift. He quickly finished with drying up, jumped into his blue and yellow Stable jumpsuit with a big equality sign etched on the flanks and rushed out of the door and into the corridor. The metal hydraulic door leading to his room hadn’t even fully closed and he was already jumping on the first stairs to the level below, his hooves creating loud thuds as they made contact with the metal plates. The pony galloped down the stairs and though the narrow corridors, navigating the sharp turns and having more than one close encounter with the heads and bodies of other ponies.

His luck ran out, though, as he saw two ponies in Stable riot armour emerging from a side-corridor right in front of him. He only had a split of a second to admire their posture and outfit as he suddenly heard a loud crashing sound and felt a sharp pain spread through his head as he fell to the steel floor with a loud thud, spread all four of his legs around him. It looked like a scene from one of those pre-war foals’ comics; however the guard ponies found it much less entertaining as they both rose from the floor where they were thrown as a result of the sudden impact.

“Watch out …” – the brawny Earth Pony guard began with a deep and rusty voice, but then stopped for a moment as he recognized the pony underneath him and started chuckling. – “Why I am not surprised?”

“Just move on.” – the pony splayed on the floor replied pleadingly, trying to pull his legs under himself and get up.

“Who are *you* to tell *us* that?” – the other guard, a psychotic looking unicorn, joined in, shouting in the Pegasus’s face.

“You are late to work, 3-14. Again.” – the Earth Pony scoffed. – “And assaulting a member of the Security force, nonetheless.”

“Leave me alone.” – the Pegasus retorted with defiance, looking the duo directly in the eyes and trying to appear as self-confident as possible, hoping it would make the guards leave him in peace.

“Oh, ho, we got a belligerent one.” – the mare cackled as she pressed the Pegasus down to the floor and pulled on one of his wings. – “Perhaps we should clip off these pretty little wings and see if you will still be so rude. Besides, it’s not like they are useful to you for anything.”

The Pegasus winced in agony as sharp pain started bolting through his body, but did his best to keep up the defiant and stern expression which adorned his face. He attempted to wiggle out of the mare’s grasp but she managed to hold onto his wing and started pulling harder. The Pegasus could feel the pressure and sharp pain building up in his wing joint. A hint of panic rushed through his mind - he felt that there was a danger of the guard pulling his wing off.

However, he clenched his teeth, not wanting to give the mare the satisfaction of hearing him cry, and pleadingly looked into the Earth Pony standing next to the mare. His gaze was, however, met only with contempt and utter indifference coming from the brawly guard as he just looked away, seemingly uninterested.

With pain in his joint spreading all over his body and nopony coming to save him, the Pegasus decided he would have to get out of this one all alone. With his mind hazy from the torment inflicted unto him, he did only thing which he could think of and carefully reached with one of his forelegs towards the knife which was sheathed on the foreleg of the unicorn mare, above her PipBuck. He didn’t really know what he would do with it, as he was never trained to use any kind of weapon, but he hoped that a threat of stabbing might ease the mare’s grasp on him. Sadly, he never got a chance to test this theory as the Earth Pony which stood next to the mare took notice of his attempt and quickly caught his leg, twisting it and causing the Pegasus to wince in pain once again, his leg falling limp against the floor. As the mare realised what had just happened she started cackling, clearly amused by the Pegasus pitiful attempt at escaping.

“What were you going to do with it?” – she asked through her laughter. – “Stab me?”

The Pegasus didn’t answer as he was too busy fighting the pain he was currently in.

“You don’t even know how to hold it, let alone hurt somepony with it.”– the mare continued, levitating the small combat knife out of its sheath. – “But I can show you.”

She teased around the Pegasus’s wings with it, the cold metal sending shivers down the pony’s spine. The Pegasus wanted to say something back, but the sudden increase in pain caught him off-guard and he cried out in agony and desperation, causing the unicorn mare to cackle even louder.

"I think this is enough, you made your..." - the Earth pony guard began to speak in a attempt to calm the situation before a foreign voice reached the trio from the end of the corridor.

“What is going on here?” – the stallion asked the obvious, poking his head from the side corridor.

The sudden intrusion startled the guards and 3-14 felt a sense of great relief spread through his body as the mare’s grip on his wing loosed. The second relief for him came as he recognized the owner of the voice as one of the Pegasi with whom he worked in the maintenance some time ago, a pony by the name of 3-7. He was a brash and hardy young Pegasus who never turned down a fight and used any chance to give Stable’s officials what went their way. This often got him into trouble with the security due to public arguments and speaking against the Overmare and although he was never formally punished for these acts of defiance and bravado, he was somehow always assigned to the most hazardous positions such as an elevator repairpony or a part of the reactor maintenance crew. But this did little to break his spirit, contrary to what the Overmare had expected. Instead it only reinforced his rebellious nature and his opinion on her and her equality. However, probably the most importan of all right now, he was one of the few ponies 3-14 considered a proper friend.

“Move on.” – the Earth Pony broke the silence first. – “Nothing for you to see here.”

“Picking on helpless ponies again, eh mates?” – the newcomer shouted over the corridor as he slowly approached the trio, motioning to the guards with his foreleg. – “Well, why don’t yous mongrels come pick on someone yer own calibre?”

“Hey, I’m not helpless.” – the pinned Pegasus protested weakly, but was quickly silenced by a smack over his mouth from the mare which stood atop him.

“Buzz off, ‘7.” – the Earth Pony continued, now more aggressively, standing his ground in the face of the advancing Pegasus. - “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Ya are bullying one of me own, so I think it deadset right does concern me.” – the Pegasus retorted brashly and fixed his jumpsuit’s sleeves, getting ready to charge the Earth Pony.

In this situation, it is worth noting that, despite their behaviour, the Security ponies weren’t stupid, and so, not wanting to provoke yet another open conflict in the already turbulent relationship with the Pegasi, the Earth Pony decided to stand down, motioning the mare to do the same. Picking on defenceless Pegasi was one thing, but an open conflict with one could mean yet more trouble for the entire Stable. The mare neighed in protest at Earth Pony’s order, not wanting to give up her plaything, but finally gave in and stepped down in frustration after a deadpan look from her patrol partner.

Meanwhile, the sudden lack of pressure sent a massive relief through the body of the previously pinned Pegasus. He allowed himself to relax and spread out his body on the floor, waiting for his wing to recover from the unwanted force applied to it. As he recovered, he looked up at the situation in the hallway, anxious to see what will happen next. The guards and the newcomer stared at each other for a few tense moments. It looked as if it would surely all come to a head, but suprisingly the guard duo instead just turned around with scoffs and started marching off into the hallway across from the one they emerged out of.

Once the guards disappeared behind a corner, 3-7 finally approached the pony laying on the floor, helping him get up.

“You right mate?” – he asked extending a leg towards the Pegasus.

“Eh, I’ll be fine.” – the pony replied, trying to appear as tough as possible in front of other Pegasus, despite the fact he was clearly wincing in pain trying to stand on the leg which was previously twisted by the Earth Pony guard. – “I’ve had worse.”

“I doubt it.” – the other Pegasus replied with a chuckle, but decided to give 3-14 his moment of strength as he held his torso, helping him get on his hooves. – “But ya held out bloody well enough.”

“Thanks.” – 3-14 responded, finally managing to stumble to his hooves.

A few seconds of silence passed as 3-14 struggled to maintain balance on three healthy legs, moving around the fourth one in hopes the pain would rub off.

“Ya might want to get that leg checked out.” – 3-7 broke the silence, pointing his hoof to the leg which 3-14 was waving around in the air.

“No need.” – the Pegasus replied, still maintaining the brave face to the best of his abilities. – “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“I’ll just see what the PipBuck has to say about it.” – he continued, raising the other foreleg which held the metallic casing of the device to his face.

Not able to even raise his other leg, let alone press it against something, 3-14 spent some time pushing the buttons using his muzzle, trying to switch to the appropriate display on his PipBuck. Finally, the diagram of the pony’s body lit up on the screen, detailing the physical condition he was in. As he focused on it, he immediately noticed the medical warnings showing up next to his right foreleg and his wings. The first one told him that he had a minor dislocation in his leg, while the other showed his wing ligament was slightly sprained. Recalling what little he learned from his time spent working in the medical station; he knew this kind of injuries were not very severe ones, however seeking medical attention was advised due to possible complications, especially with the leg subluxation. Realising he was already very late to his shift by now and there was no sense in showing up as a likely disgruntled replacement was probably already called up, he decided it would be best to head towards the sick bay.

But them, as he raised his gaze from the glowing screen, a small metallic object lying on the floor and almost completely blended in with the steel plates, caught his attention. It stood around half a meter from him, near the place where the guard mare was first thrown to when she and the other guard collided with him. However it looked nothing akin to what the guardponies usually carried. It looked like two thin metal cuboids joined together at ninety degrees and from what 3-14 could see, the length of the larger cuboid measured around one fourth of his leg. At one end of this cuboid stood a hollow cylinder and the other end featured a weird looking half of disk angled at ninety degrees relative to the cuboid’s widest side. The imprint on the disk looked almost like if somepony had bit it, leaving the imprint of their jaw on the metal surface.

He motioned his head towards the mysterious object to the other Pegasus but he just returned a quizzical look at him, obviously unsure of the origin or the purpose of the object.

Curious as always, 3-14 limped towards the object, lowering his head towards it and giving it a probing sniff. It smelled of metal, same as the rest of the Stable, with a scent of oil which reminded the Pegasus of his time working in maintenance. Encouraged by the familiar smell, the pony carefully pushed the cuboid with his muzzle, causing it to shift slightly against the wall next to which it stood, revealing a small plate with an inscription “Ironshod Firearms” on the side of it. He recalled the name from one of the lesson about the downfalls of pre-war corporations, but he couldn’t clearly remember if they mentioned what the company had produced. Maybe it was some kind of fire safety equipment?

Still curious as alway, the Pegasus slowly angled his head to be parallel with the half-disk and bit on the jaw imprint, carefully raising the object in his teeth. As soon as did so, his PipBuck made a silent clicking sound, startling him and almost making him drop the whatever the thing was. Gazing over the object in his mouth, he raised the device into his field of vision and noticed it now showed the inventory section of the menu; a feature which he never really used before, as with the so few things ponies were allowed to carry, he knew exactly what he had on him at all times. However, this time he noticed that the inventory section showed an addition he never saw before, a “10 mm pistol” and next to it an accurate spatial projection of the object he was holding in his mouth. Under this picture stood some other information, like a bar informing him of the pristine condition in which the object was and how much ammunition it had.

Now it all clicked into place. He had heard of guns and their uses, however he never actually saw one as the Stable had a no-gun policy due to the fact that the “equality for all” also included the equality in distribution of power, meaning nothing that would allow somepony a power monopoly was allowed. Even the security forces were armed only with knives and batons to prevent them from thinking of themselves as superior to other ponies due to the advantage the firearms provided. Or at least that was what the Overmare said in her speech at every inauguration of the ponies into the security forces. The Pegasus always silently doubted her speeches and now there was clear evidence. There was no other way that this gun could have gotten where it had other than being dropped by one of the guards as a result of the crash. If he showed this to the other ponies, then the Overmare and the failure of her ways would finally be exposed.

“What is that?” – the Pegasus standing next to 3-14 asked, clearly anxious to reveal the secret of the mysterious object.

Before the other Pegasus could answer, a loud shouting from the side corridor reached the ears of the two Pegasi. They immediately recognized the voices as those of the two guard that have disappeared down that corridor just minutes ago. The guards seemed to be arguing among themselves, their conversation partially incomprehensible due to the rebound from the iron walls. However from what parts of it the two Pegasi could understand, they realised they were in big trouble.

“It must be somewhere here…” – the mare voice spoke first. – “… I couldn’t have dropped it far.”

“… you incompetent fool.” – the voice of the Earth Pony thundered. – “… you have any idea what would happen if they find it?”

“… Oh, c’mon, those chickens couldn’t find…” – the mare replied with clear contempt in her voice. – “And it’s not like they know what it is or...”

“The situation is already tense enough.” – the Earth Pony’s continued his angry rant as the guards’ hoofsteps approached the place where the Pegasi stood. – “We do not need another…”

“Well maybe if you payed closer attention, this wouldn’t have happened.” – the mare retorted angrily, her voice now more clear to the Pegasi as the guards got closer to them.

“Oh, you are blaming me?” – the Earth Pony shouted. – “You are the one who dropped it. And you’ll be the one who will tell it to the Overmare.”

“There will be nothing to tell. We will find it and…” – the mare started to respond but then suddenly stopped in her tracks as her eyes met with those of the Pegasus holding the gun.

“Well, you better hope so, because otherwise…” – the Earth Pony also began his sentences but then stopped in his tracks next to the mare as he emerged from around the corner a moment later.

The four ponies stood still for a couple of seconds, staring at each other as tension once again started building up in the air. Nopony dared to take the first step, fearing how the other side might respond. The two Pegasi suspected that the guards might be hiding more such weapons, while the guards feared that the Pegasi might try to get back at them for earlier now that they got their hooves on a gun. They all knew very well that if this situation is not properly resolved, somepony could end up in the reprocessor, their lifeless body drained of nutrients in a never-ending cycle of life and death.

Complete silence, save for the ominous sound of ponies’ heartbeats, fell upon the corridor as this bizarre staring contest continued.

3-14 could swear he could hear the throbbing of his injured leg as pain pulsated through it. Small tingles passed under the skin of all the ponies and hairs of their fur began springing up as the tension in the air reached sky-soaring levels. The ponies’ mouth went dry and their joints became numb as nopony dared to move even a muscle. Even their breathing became shallow and irregular in the anticipation.

Wanting to lessen the strain in his jaw created by tightly holding the gun with his mouth, 3-14 carefully loosened the grip on the metal piece clenched in his teeth. However as he did so, his tongue shifted slightly and he felt it scrape against something springy. Feeling the foreign sensation in his mouth, his jaw reflexively clenched the metal piece once again, his tongue hitting against the spring and, unknowingly to him, starting a chain reaction that would forever change his life.

First, a small, imperceptible thud echoed from inside the larger cuboid of the gun as the hammer fell down, striking the firing pin and pushing it forward. The firing pin then hit against the primer, causing a small explosion and producing fire which engulfed the powder within the bullet casing. The fire rapidly grew in power as pressure started building up in the base of the barrel, causing the bullet to propel forward and the slide atop the gun to push back. The bullet then rushed through the barrel, gaining momentum, as small nicks along the barrel caused it to start rotating around itself. Finally, the bullet exited the barrel with a loud bang, surrounded by wisps of smoke and fire as it lunged through the air in the direction of the mare. On the other side of the gun, the slide violently jerked backwards, impacting against the Pegasus’s muzzle and causing him to drop it along with the ejected casing which flew out of the barrel as a new cartridge replaced it.

All these events that transpired within the gun were unknown to any of the ponies standing there in the corridor, but their consequences would very soon become visible as the three pieces of metal flew through air, each following its own trajectory. The bullet found its target first as it ripped through the leg of the unicorn mare, not even giving her time to react. It pierced through her skin, teared through her tissue and punctured a few minor blood vessels before exiting on the other side of the leg, having just narrowly missed the bone. The nerves around the hole left by the bullet immediately flared up, causing the mare to scream as blood from the wound started spurting all over the pristine metallic floor. This scream was followed by another, albeit more silent one, as the Pegasus became aware of the pain which the gun’s recoil caused him. Finally, amidst all the screams, two thuds were heard as the casing and the gun impacted against the steel floor one after another.

The Earth Pony moved first, immediately jumping to screaming mare’s side and pressing his forehooves against the wound in hopes of stopping the bleeding. Near them, the two Pegasi still stood motionlessly, their ears still ringing from the shot, and watched the situation which was unfolding in front of their eyes. Panic rushed through 3-14’s mind as he tried to comprehend what he had just done. He just shot another pony. He killed somepony! How could he live with that on his conscious? At least, he knew, he wouldn’t need to live long with it weighing down his mind as the Overmare will certainly have him executed. He will surely disappear like all those other ponies he had heard stories about. Cold sweat streamed down his face and his legs started trembling despite the fact he was barely able to feel them.

He was torn from his panicking thoughts as he heard the mare shout his name through the screams of agony. He knew the screaming would soon attract the attention of other guards who will come to investigate what is happening. His rational mind still busy with frantic panicking, he acted on his self-preservation instincts instead, kicking the gun away from himself and making off. His Pegasus friend quickly followed his example.

This attempt was noticed by the Earth Pony guard who quickly rose up from the mare, shouting for the ponies to stop. Seeing they had no intention of doing so, he ran after them, pulling out his baton with his teeth. He lunged it at the escaping duo, but before it could cause any harm, the Pegasi turned behind a corner and the metal rod harmlessly ricocheted from the solid steel walls. Intent of giving chase to the two, the Earth Pony instructed the mare to apply pressure to her wound until the other guards could come to her aid and took off after the Pegasi. He quickly turned the same corner behind which the Pegasi had disappeared just moments ago and continued to give chase, stopping only briefly to pick up his baton.

Hearing the loud thuds of the guard’s hoofsteps behind them and seeing the dead end in front of them, the two Pegasi ran into the only place they could, a side staircase leading to the main atrium. They escalated the stairs as quickly as they could and once they were atop the staircase, 3-7 hit his hoof against the door control, causing the hydraulic door to slowly start rising. With the guard hot on their trail, they had no time to wait for the door to open completely, so as soon as they could, they squeezed through the small opening and into the main atrium where preparation for that night’s inauguration ceremony were being made.

The sudden bursting in of the two Pegasus startled everypony in the atrium and they all ceased their activities, laying their eyes upon the two newly arrived Pegasi.

“What is going on in here?” – one of the older unicorns asked, but his question deftly answered by the appearance of the bulky guard who burst in behind the Pegasi, causing them to continue their run.

“Seize them!” – the guard shouted behind the two Pegasi as they made their way across the atrium. – “Somepony stop them!”

In accordance to the guard’s orders, several Earth Ponies tried to jump in front of the Pegasi, while the Unicorns used their magic to hurl all kinds of junk in hopes of hitting the two runners. However, none of these things stopped the Pegasi as they made for the door at the other end of the atrium. To their advantage, a metal plate thrown by one of the unicorns already hit the door control and the door now stood wide open, waiting for them to escape through it.

As they yet entered another corridor, the duo noticed that the number of security ponies chasing them has increased as guards from the atrium had recovered from the initial shock and joined the Earth Pony in his pursuit. Running past a side corridor, the two ponies noticed a large group of their fellow Pegasi emerging from the one of the staircases leading down, clearly curious to see what all the conundrum was about. The group exchanged quick glances with the duo and upon seeing the guards after them, they quickly and without question joined the chase in the favour of their fellow Pegasi. They positioned themselves along the width of the corridor, restricting the guards’ access to the two runaways and allowing them to catch a much-needed break. The posse slammed into the wall of ponies blocking them from their target, but the Pegasi held and the hustle began. Many insults were thrown at the Pegasi in the clamour, only some comprehensible to those present.

“Move this instant!” – one security pony shouted, pulling out a baton with his teeth.

“No way!”- one of the Pegasi from the grouped shouted back in the face of the advancing guard.

“You birds are obstructing justice.” – a second guard continued, more violently this time, pushing into the wall of ponies.

“We have had enough of you bullying us!” – another Pegasi shouted, spitting in the face of the guard closest to him.

“Move, you worthless chickens.” – a third, younger guard, joined in as he levitated a baton from under his armour and aimed it towards the closest Pegasi, eager to get some personal fame by apprehending the suspects which hid behind them. Other followed his examples soon after as batons, shock prods and knives were pulled out from their respective sheaths and holsters.

For the Pegasi this was the last drop as one of them ran towards the nearest guard in an attempt to wrestle a baton out of his grasp. This attempt was quickly foiled by the guards standing next to their comrade as the group of them knocked the Pegasus to the floor and started beating him with their batons. Seeing their fellow Pegasus being beaten like this, the rest of the Pegasi quickly jumped to his aid, charging the guard line.

In the ensuing confusion, the Security ponies answered the charge, slashing and bludgeoning many of the Pegasi. Bones crackled under the metal rods and skin punctured under the edges of knives as with every passing moment more Pegasi fell down, the floor beginning to gain a red hue from the blood sprouting from the newly created wounds. More combatants on both sides joined in and the battle escalated, spreading to the side corridors. The fighting was still most ferocious in the middle where it began, as the guards were clearly in the lead, cutting down several Pegasi, but still unable to break through the wall of the bodies. Seeing how the situation was unfolding, the senior and more experienced security officers shouted for the guards to cease their attack, but it was in vain as it the situation has developed way beyond their control. The red hue tinting the floor now turned into a pool as several Pegasi lay or kneeled on it, bleeding from the cuts that the guards had inflicted. In some of them, leg bones protruded through the skin, having been broken and dislocated by the strong impacts of batons. Only mere meters from them, a few guards lay in similar state, although their numbers were much smaller than those of the wounded Pegasi.

Having regained their breath and having witnessed what was going on, the two Pegasi resumed their run and were quickly joined by several of the surviving Pegasi as they bolted away from the initial conflict that had just happened. The guards, seeing the Pegasi continuing their run, made for one final push through the weakened line and broke through, giving chase once again while leaving the wounded Pegasi bleeding on the floor. The chase continued through a few more hallways as security ponies tried to outflank the Pegasi through various side corridors, failing every time as the group changed their path. A few Pegasi fell during the chase, becoming nothing more but immobile obstacles for the security ponies to traverse. As they ran all over the Stable, they occasionally saw other ponies at the ends of corridors. Some covered in fear at the sight of armed guards, while others aided them. Only the Pegasi joined in to aid the runners as they tried to knock down the chasing guards, only to be thrown back with various degrees of injuries.

It was only after the group ran past a sign announcing the Stable entrance is nearby, that 3-14 realised what the guard were doing: they were not trying to cut them off; they were herding them into a dead end. But before he could warn anypony, the group burst into the Stable’s entrance chamber, tripping over the small stairs that led down from the platform and towards the massive Stable door.

As they recovered from the fall, the Pegasi saw the trap which they were led into. They were now standing alone with against the entire Stable security force; all of which were in their full combat readiness, clad in Stable riot armour and pointing their weapons at the runaways. Curiously, 3-14 noticed, none of them wielded their guns; am interesting observation that he would have certainly given much more thought had the situation not require otherwise. Seeing the armed guards, the Pegasi tried taking a step back, but their flanks impacted against the cold steel of the Stable door, causing some of the guards to laugh at their pitiful attempt.

“This is all my fault.” – 3-14 whispered silently, as he looked over the small Pegasus group, a tear forming in his eye. –“If I hadn’t picked up that gun…”

Almost all of them were now lying on the floor, succumbing to their wounds as small pools of blood formed around their unhealed slash wounds or places where their wing bones penetrated the skin. Even 3-14 himself was trembling as the pain from his leg, which he had ignored all this time, spread through his body. The only Pegasus who stood his ground was 3-7, pacing from one pony in the group to another and checking on them, paying little attention to his own wounds.

“Ey, don’t blame yourself mate.” – 3-7 whispered as he came to 3-14’s side, trying to comfort him. – “You couldn’t have known.”

“Ignorance doesn’t make me any less guilty for taking somepony’s life.” – he replied, with a weight on his heart.

“Oh, c’mon mate, ya barely grazed her…” – 3-7 started, but before 3-7 could finish, a shifting among the ranks of the security ponies caught his attention, making him and the rest of the Pegasi look up towards the source of this sudden and unexpected movement. It lasted for a few moments, before the two guard closest to them moved apart, revealing a figure they all knew too well emerging from the sea of black riot armour – the Overmare. She walked to the front of the guard formation, stopping only a few meters away from the ragged band of Pegasi. She took a moment to look over them, no doubt to admire the work her posse did.

Before she could open her mouth to speak, 3-7, his blood still boiling from the recent events and seeing this as a perfect opportunity to avenge his fallen brothers, used the moment to run towards the mare, lunging at her.

“Ya monster!” – he cried out as he flew through the air towards the Overmare. – “This is all yer fault!”

However, his attempt was abruptly stopped as two of the Overmare’s guards enveloped him in their magic, stopping him mid-air. He continued shouting insults until another unicorn used his magic to clasp his mouth shut, much to the amusement of the rest of the guards who laughed at the Pegasus’s failure. However, their cackling was promptly silenced by the Overmare with a wave of her hoof and she finally used the moment to speak.

“Do you have any idea what you have done?” – she spoke in a silent, serious tone, looking over the Pegasi in front of her. – “What were you thinking going around shooting guards? And as if that was not enough for you, you went on to engage in open conflict with the guards.”

A few seconds of silence passed as nopony dared to answer to question.

“We had done what was right.” – one of the wounded Pegasi from the group said weakly, turned back to the group for support. – “We showed everyone that we had had enough of your bullying and discrimination.”

He was only supported by a few weak and silent voices, not unlike that of his own.

“You are wrong.” – she answered. – “By attacking the Stable officials, you attacked the very system which we all live by. What will other think when they hear of this?”

“And what good is a system which crumbles when those who belong to it fight for their freedom and basic pony decency?” – another Pegasi shouted. – “What good is it?”

“It is the best we have!” – the Overmare shouted back, this question obviously hitting her in the nerve.

“If there is room for improvement, then it is obviously not the best.” – yet another Pegasi threw himself in the conversation with a bit of sarcasm.

“Tell me, do you really think you were the first with who stand before me with such demands and ideas?” – the Overmare said, regaining most of her composure. – “Ponies instinctively reject that what is foreign, just like a body rejects an organ which is not its own. And the only way to make it work is to supress the immune system; and isn’t suppression that what you rebel against the most? Don’t you see? This is the way the things have been working for the last century and a half and this is the only way they can work. I will not sacrifice the majority of the Stable to accommodate the few.”

“So you decided to slaughter us all in the hallway?” – the Pegasus continued with unwavering determination. – “Is that your answer?”

“So much for all that equality crap you feed us to keep us docile.” – another one joined him.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have fed you anything at all.” – a particularly witty guard threw across the room, looking at his comrades for approval.

“Silence, all of you!” – the Overmare finally spoke again, amplifying her voice with magic.

This sentenced silenced the both groups mentioned as they started at the Overmare. Seeing this as his opportunity to perhaps make things even little better, 3-14 slowly stumbled forward to face the Overmare and deliver his speech.

“As one of the main causes of this incident, only thing I can say is that I’m very sorry.” – he began, fighting tears. – “I never intended for this to happen.”

3-7, still suspended mid-air, made an effort to stop him with a motion of his hoof, but the Pegasus just brushed it off, continuing his speech.

“I will surrender and go peacefully to whatever fate you have intended for me…” – he continued, now looking the Overmare directly into the eyes. – “…if you agree to let go of the others and give them the medical attention they need.”

“As if you could do anything else.” – one of the guards retorted at the Pegasus, but was quickly silenced by a deadly look from the Overmare.

“I am afraid that will not be possible.” – she finally said, looking over the grey Pegasus and the rest of group, trying to sound as reasonable as possible. – “You and your friends must be made an example of. What will ponies think if they see you fighting with Security one day and walking around the Stable the next day as if nothing happened?”

“So what? You will just slaughter us like them other Pegasi?” – 3-7 shouted in the Overmare’s face, finally breaking his muzzle free of the unicorn’s spell. – “And the security will go unpunished as always.”

“Despite what you think of me, I would never order a massacre.” – the Overmare replied, still maintaining the calm and serious appearance. – “I’m not a monster,some of you obviously think me to be. I only do that what is best for the Stable.”

“Then what is the point of this little rant you held just now?” – the Pegasus asked, still shouting in the mare’s face.

“Because I hoped it would provide you with at least a little explanation as to what I am going to do next.” – she said as she took a few steps back and motioned towards the guards.

The guards nodded and, suddenly, the chamber started emptying as the guards exited through the hydraulic doors, leaving only the Overmare’s personal guard standing around her. The Overmare herself climbed the platform and walked towards a small yellow control panel that stood in its centre. Before she reached it, however, she motioned for two of the guards to stop, and 3-14 immediately recognized them as the duo he had met in the hallway when all of this madness started. Now he had at least had some comfort knowing he will not have to live with a life of another pony on his conscious. He knew it was a selfish thing to think, given the situation of the other Pegasi, but it provided him comfort, nonetheless.

“You will join them.” – she said, motioning to them once again, this time towards the Pegasi which stood near the door.

“What?!” – the Earth Pony stallion responded confused, unsure of what the Overmare meant by her request. – “Why are you putting us in the basket with them? We did nothing wrong.”

“Yes.” – the Unicorn mare quickly joined in to support his comrade. – “Is this some sort of a sick joke?”

“Your actions are what caused all this to start.” – she said as she began pushing buttons on the console. – “And as such, it is only fair that you share the part of the punishment.”

“But it’s all their fault.” – the mare continued in an effort to save her flank, pointing towards the Pegasi. – “Those chickens started it all.”

“But…” - the Earth Pony guard also opened his mouth to protest again, but was promptly silenced by a deadly look from the Overmare as two of her personal guard walked towards the other two guards, intending to escort them towards the Pegasi.

Seeing nothing can be done and hoping to retain at least a portion of his pride, the Earth Pony fixed his gaze on the floor and started walking towards the Pegasi, while the mare tried to struggle in hopes of galloping towards the Overmare and begging her not to punish her. However the guards firmly gripped her and carried her towards the Stable door, throwing her among the ponies that stood in front of it. She continued laying there, realising her defeat. A strange silence fell on the chamber as Overmare tinkered with the control panel, turning levers and speaking in some strange language of letters and numbers. This went on for some time before a small, yet a sad, smile appearing on her face marked that she was clearly content with her work and she raised her head from the panel to address the group of ponies in front of her.

“The only way for the Stable to have any chance to return to normal is to make the other Pegasi believe you were punished for your crimes. Otherwise your presence will only more problems. And as such, the only way to do so is to remove you from the Stable.” – the Overmare proclaimed after another moment of silence, once again amplifying her voice and making sure to catch the attention of everypony still present in the chamber. – “I hereby proclaim you guilty of treason and expel you from the society of our Stable.”

A collective gasp filled the room as the ponies in front of the Stable door realised the meaning of her sentence. Everpony, except for the Earth Pony guard, clamoured and pleaded the Overmare to reconsider but their pleas fell on deaf ears as she pulled a handle on the panel, causing the metal gears around the great Stable door to come to life. First, a huge cylinder descended from the ceiling of the room, connecting itself against the Stable door and slowly pulled them out of their frame with a loud hissing noise as the hydraulic systems struggled to keep the massive steel door from falling over. Then the cylinder retracted, letting the gears around the door roll the huge disk of steel and chrome aside. A gust of cold wind ran over the bodies of everypony in the room as the door finally opened, revealing the darkness beyond them.

“So what, instead of killing us and bloodying your hooves, you’ll let the irradiated desert do it for you?” – 3-7 bellowed as he faced the Overmare once again, having been released in the meantime. – “Ya bloody coward. You know deadset right that the wounded won’t last a day out there.”

The Pegasus continued to throw insults, but despite the shouting aimed at her, the Overmare remained silent and unmoving as she looked into the darkness behind the ponies, collecting her thoughts. After a couple seconds, she motioned to her guards once again and some of them stepped forwards, forming a half circle which slowly pushed the ponies towards the Stable door, one of them even levitating two sets of saddlebags over the ponies’ heads and into the blackness behind them. They impacted against the ground with a loud thud as their contents rumbled inside. Seeing this as a cue to leave and faced with no other choice presented to them, the ponies slowly got up. The Pegasi supported each other as much as they could while the disgraced unicorn guard kept his distance from them as much as possible, trying not to make eye contact with any of the ponies present. Slowly, heavily, under the watchful eye of the Overmare and a couple of her personal guards, the group made their way through the door, loud thuds echoing through the room as their weighty hooves impacted against the steel rim of the Stable door’s frame. The unicorn exited last, looking over the Overmare and the Stable, her face betraying a feeling of anger and resentment due to, what she though was, an unjust and undeserved punishment.

Just as she stepped on the dirt on the other side of the door, something else flew through them as well, landing near the 3-14’s hooves with a hollow metallic sound.

“There!” – one of the guards shouted from behind the door with a sadistic grin. – “I took out the magazine, but there is still one in the chamber. Should be enough to blow your skull.”

It took him a moment to recognize what it is in the darkness, but when a single ray of light shone on it, he immediately realized what it was. The shape would be something he wouldn't forget anytime soon. It was a gun. The gun. He was sure it was the Overmare’s last act of mockery. But then again, as he looked back, he caught a glimpse strange emotion which bled through her otherwise stoic façade. It looked like… lament? He couldn't be sure. He didn't get much time to wonder, though, as moments later, the Overmare pulled the lever once against, beginning the door's closing sequence. Moments later, the door indeed started closing, slowly depraving the ponies of the cold light which was coming from the Stable. The group’s attention was now devoted solely to the massive steel disk as it rolled back in it frame.

Seconds before it closed, one of the wounded Pegasus stumbled to his hooves and rushed towards the door in a desperate attempt to get in. This attempt was, however, quickly foiled by the guards who stood on the other side of the door as one of them struck him with a baton and sent him hurtling towards the ground. Other Pegasi rushed to his aid, but before they could even reach him the door closed with a loud hiss, leaving the group in complete darkness.

Author's Note:

Well, there it is. The first of hopefully many more to come.

As I am somewhat new to this, criticism and commentary are much appreciated as they give me the chance to improve in the future.

'till we meet again!

Comments

[Dashie04]

Alright, so I read this because it was just depressing seeing a story with fewer views than my recent FO:E story.

I’m glad I did. While some parts seemed like they were missing, it’s an interesting take on FO:E. Especially the bit with the ponies being named designations (though I’d prefer if they did find a name for themselves later), and the simple fact that this is actually an FO:E story from the perspective of a pegasus yet the Enclave was still weaved in anyhow.

Anyways, keep writing this, it may not get many views, but you’ll have at least one person tracking it.

[WinterShade]

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Thank you for your kind words. ^^

Btw, I'm wondering, could you maybe say which parts did you feel were missing? I am quite new at this, so I'm looking for any chance to improve.

[Dashie04]

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The first part that comes to mind for me is that I’m not entirely clear on how the pegasus revolution started and where all those ponies came from, it just seemed kind of like a time skip.

Secondly, how’d they all get guns? If this is so strictly communism, how’d they keep them?

Other than that, I can’t think of anything else. Keep it up.