Fallout Equestria: Tales of Transylvania

by MeetSouder

Chapter One: Saddest Little Pony in Stable 17

Chapter One: Saddest Little Pony in Stable 17

I ran through the checklist over a dozen times, and yet every time I looked at it I could have sworn a new item was listed somewhere on it. The lights suddenly went out and bathed me in total darkness, I sighed and let my forelegs drop off the desk and onto the steel floor. Turning to the generator, I flicked the dim light bulb hanging just over the control console with a wingtip-feather and it gently stuttered back to life. I scanned the array of buttons and switches, the entire console had a label across the top:

I.M.P Outflow Bus 1

Yeah. Whatever that meant.

It can’t be ‘that’ bad if I don’t follow the procedure right? I reasoned as I reached up and tapped a broken gauge with a hoof. The needle bounced with each tap, but returned to zero every time. I had no clue what it even measured.

This ancient technology was falling apart around our ears, yet they still expected us to keep up with what we had. ‘Doing our part as Stable Technicians for the greater good of everypony’ is what they always said.

I frowned at the thought of my boss looking down at me over her glasses. I had everything to prove, anything to show her that I was capable of more than the most basic and menial of tasks. It so happened that today she assigned me to fix this damn generator in the bottom-most sublevel of the Stable, probably ‘cause nopony else would do it. And I was the ‘disposable’ one.

Look, the thing was, I wasn’t exactly what somepony would call a ‘thestral’ or ‘bat pony’ as you Equestrian folk would insultingly say. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a thestral, but only about halfway-ish there? You see, apparently way back before the war, one of my ancestors must have had the hots for a pegasus and had a happy little family. Good for them, not so much for me.

Fast forward to today and boom suddenly two thestral ponies in an entirely thestral Stable have themselves; me. A ‘pegabat.’ Apparently my genes were a bit mixed and suddenly decided to come out generations later.

A pegabat? What would make up such a thing? Well It’s pretty simple really, I have the wings of a pegasus – fluffed up in lovely feathers mind you – but also the golden eyes, ear tufts, even fangs of a thestral. Whatʼs worse; my coat was light blue and my mane and tail were both evenly split between black and red. I looked like a freakin’ clown compared to the relatively dark-coated and plain-maned thestrals all around me.

Because of this, I was made fun of, ridiculed, or outright ignored by the majority of ponies in the stable. I condoned their behavior however, and just let the bullying give me a tougher hide. If there was anything I’ve learned about ponies, it’s that they’re no different in this Stable than the ones who fought in that damned war to begin with. At least what we know of them in the books.

My lovely little job as a Stable Technician began about a week ago. Usually when ponies graduated from the 12 years of education they gave us, we’d all apply for jobs that we learned about and reflected greatest with our talents. That’s great and all, unless you’re me, the odd one out. Then of course nopony really trusts you and brushes you aside to the Stable Technicians Corps., a.k.a the bucking janitors.

Without a name for myself and with both my parents gone – my mother from a plague that swept through the stable shortly after I was born, and my father who drank himself to death only a few years ago – I was quite literally the most frowned-upon sad little pony in this Stable. Boo-buckin’-hoo. Honestly, it all just made me mad, angry enough to try and prove myself and rise up the ranks. One day, I was gonna become the Overpony and nopony was gonna stop m-

“Mi’night!” A middle aged stallion barked behind me. I flinched, quickly scattering my dramatic monologue.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I turned and tried to peer into the dark abyss that made up the Stable’s fusion reactor floor.

A pair of slightly glowing golden eyes waded through the inky blackness and a dark gray thestral stallion, dressed in Stable Technician-blue overalls, stepped through the premise of the door.

“Yer shift’s up, ‘parently da’ top banana wants to talk t’ya,” the stallion droned, his Braytish accent bouncing around the room as he attempted to speak coherent Equestrian. Typical Stable Technician, probably failed out of school.

Braytish? Yeah, the northern ponies from Braytain. See, there’s a reason thestrals don’t look like our usual pony cousins, it’s cause we all came from a tiny island off the coast of northwest Equestria. Eventually we made it onto the mainland and inhabited it, but for the most part the accent kinda stuck. I didn’t really have one, since my father’s side of the family took after more Equestrian culture. Just another thing odd about me to single me out.

“You’re kidding me. I just got down here!” I moaned. Honestly I was glad to cut my shift early, it’s not like we got paid in any meaningful way for doing our jobs. But something bothered me about being called to talk to my boss, that was nothing but trouble.

“Yah,” he deadpanned and trotted over to the desk, looking over the checklist.

Figuring that’s about all he had to say, I gave him a curt nod and trotted out the door. Immediately upon entering the darkness, I felt my eyes tingle as the passive thestral magic in my blood took action.

Normally, thestrals can see in total darkness about as well as anypony could see on a moonlit night, but being a mixed blood, I didn’t really get the total benefit. My night-vision, hearing and sense of smell was ‘above average’ to an Equestrian pony, but not as good as a purebred thestral. Suits them, I had my feathered wings, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I slowly increased my pace and spread my wings, feeling the cool damp air fill my feathers. When I felt I had adequate support, I flapped powerfully and took off in a gentle glide. The good thing about pegasus wings was their speed and maneuverability. Sure it was harder for me to hover in one place than for a thestral, but my wings were nearly silent compared to theirs, not to mention I could turn on a dime.

The sublevel where I was working was basically the bottom of a ten story pit. Normally ponies took the elevators, but I embraced any opportunity to spread my wings. It was much better than having to trot everywhere in the confined hallways of the stable anyway.

As I flapped in a lazy ascending circle, the walls around me began to appear in the growing light, soon I could make out the cracks and rust spots in the ancient concrete while conduits and pipes passed me.

When I came upon the threshold of the pit, I grumply tucked in my wings and alighted upon the edge in a soft landing. That was unfortunately all I had for spreading my wings that day.

I squinted in the bright fluorescent light and began trotting out of the reactor room, making my way past the heavy steel doors that would seal the room in the event of a magical accident – don’t worry, it only happened six times so far. As I climbed the stairs two by two, I made my way into the atrium, a large three story room that acted as a ‘courtyard’ to various doors leading to sections of the Stable.

Stable 17 was lucky enough to have access to high-quality agricultural technology when it was built. It allowed us to keep growing plants like trees and bushes from the inside, which wonderfully adorned the atrium along the center or in the corners. The best part, however, was the massive apple orchard that was situated in the middle of the stable. Apples and anything apple related became a staple of our cuisine, which kinda sucked the more you think about it.

As I trotted across the atrium, making my way towards the executive offices, ponies all around me went along their merry way, fulfilling whatever job they were assigned to do to keep this place barely alive. As usual, they gave me a wide berth and turned their attention to other things when they spotted me. It was almost worse than being ignored.

“Outa’ my way ya’ bloody freak. You’ll be seeing me soon enough.” A huge stallion butted past me and pushed me off to the side. He was dressed in the telltale barding of the Security unit. Not far behind him, a convoy of five more security ponies pushed passed, all armed with batons and shotguns.

What’s with all the security today? Wait, ‘Iʼll what?’ I furrowed my brow and slowly made my way to the offices.

“Hey, is Turkish Delight still in?” I asked, walking into the office labeled ‘STC’ for the Stable Technicians Corps. I was on the evening shift, I doubted any big-wig boss pony was interested in staying late, especially just to see me.

The young mare sitting at the secretary terminal quickly looked up and pointed her wing at the door on the far corner of the office, not uttering a word. Her bat wing quivered as she quickly avoided eye contact.

“Right… thanks,” I muttered, giving her a cross look and trotting over to my boss’s room.

Upon reaching the door, I saw Mrs. Delight taking a call using the speakers of her PipBuck, hastily flipping through a huge binder atop her desk. She nervously tucked her violet mane back as she tried to read lines quickly before her.

Now a ‘PipBuck’ was a hoofheld computer that every Stable inhabitant received when they graduated from their primary school. It was a nifty device that sat holstered to your left foreleg, it sorted everything you carried in an electronic inventory, and even read out your vital signs. I hardly ever used mine though. In reality, there was little use besides an alarm clock or paperweight.

I raised a hoof and tapped on the frame of the door, causing her to flinch and look up in surprise.

“You wanted to see me?” I mouthed quietly.

“N-no! You shouldn’t be here, go to the Overmare’s office immediately!” she fervently whispered, placing a dark gray hoof over her PipBuck’s microphone.

I quickly dropped my foreleg, a feeling of worry starting to creep into my chest. “Overmare? What for?”

“Go!” she frantically shooed me away.

I nodded and hastily trotted out of the offices, making a hard right and gazing up at the ominous circular window that overlooked the atrium. Behind the pale glass was the Overmare’s office; the one pony in charge of the whole shebang. If she wanted to see me, then things were much worse than I imagined.

I cantered over to the stairwell leading to her office and practically galloped up the stairs, pivoting when I reached the top and coming face to face with two huge double wooden doors nestled on a red painted wall. The room was guarded by two Security ponies who did little to heed my existence.

I cleared my throat and was about to ask about the Overmare, when the doors suddenly opened and out sauntered the mare herself.

She was a thestral mare with a white mane and tail, a very dark gray coat, and cutiemark of gears laid atop a dark purple flower. I never stood so close to her before, only seeing her from afar during assemblies. She was pretty, but she also had that ‘pretty crazyʼ look about her too. Something didn’t feel right about how she approached me, never breaking eye contact.

“Midnight Wind,” she spoke softly.

I felt my wings shuffle nervously and took a timid step back. “Overmare, Night Shade,” I nodded. She was named after her great-great-grandmother, the original Overmare of Stable 17.

“Don’t be shy, please follow me,” she smirked and pivoted around with a flick of her tail. She seemed irritated, but was trying really hard to hide it.

I nodded again and slowly followed her into the room. Through the doors, it was obvious that being the Overpony definitely had its perks. A large wooden desk sat in a ‘U’ shape in the center of the room, soft red carpet was underhoof and beautiful wooden paneling adorned the walls.

Night Shade took a seat on a heavy wooden chair and motioned for me to sit on a fluffy cushion on the opposite side of her desk. I decided to stand, feeling way too uncomfortable sitting beneath her.

The doors closed behind me and another mare trotted up next to me, she looked outright pissed-off and didn’t spare me a glance.

Like everypony else in the Stable, she was also a thestral. She looked probably around my age, her mane and tail a startling red that contrasted to her dark-gray, almost black coat. Her cutiemark looked like a bullet sitting on a bed of rose petals. Her fangs were also small for a thestrals, barely peeking past her upper lip.

Realizing I was staring, I quickly shifted my gaze to Night Shade, “So, um, why’d you need me?” my voice cracked – damn nerves.

“Yeah, and me?” the mare to my left spat, glaring at Night Shade. She had guts to be speaking to the Overmare like that, that’s for sure.

“Now, now, both of you, no need to be riled up,” Night Shade smiled too calmly. “I’ve summoned you both here, because I have a proposition to offer.”

“You could have just asked me earlier,” the red-maned mare blurted, “what, am I some random janitor to you now?” she gestured to me.

Ouch, my pride and joy. I frowned internally.

“Perhaps, Scarlet, in the past,” Night Shade deadpanned, “but no longer… You’ve been relieved of your position.”

“My… what? I’m your sister for Luna’s sake, my ‘position’ was to sit under you and file your bloody paperwork. Now I donʼt even have a job?” Scarlet stamped a hoof, clearly hurt.

“Letʼs be honest, you hardly had a job to begin with,” Night Shade dismissed.

“Maybe because you made it that way?” her younger sister raised a brow critically.

I just stood there; watching them exchange petty comments back and forth, not really feeling the need to say anything. Turns out this chick was the Overmare’s sister and I was just invited to a formal family feud – lucky me.

The younger thestral continued, “Nopony wanted you to be Overmare to begin with. Since the plague took mum–”

“Okay that’s enough!” Night Shade snapped and slammed her hooves on her desk. Eliciting and ‘eep’ from Scarlet, and startling me. “I’ve summoned you both here because something dreadful has happened.” She took a breath, and fixed a lock of her mane that had fallen out of place. “As you two know, when you both graduated from your primary school lessons, and with the end of every graduation, new jobs were hoofed out to ponies.” She paused and looked at us.

I nodded for her to continue, but Scarlet kept her glare in silence.

“And so,” Night Shade continued, “Apparently that opens up the position of Overpony. Even before the previous one resigns or dies. Now, I did not know of this protocol, having inherited it from mum and being the older sister. But whenever the computer system registers that a new pony is ‘more qualified,’” she waved her hooves in the air sarcastically, “then all administrative rights are handed over to him or her,” she pointed to me and Scarlet respectively.

“Wait, so you’re saying my scores led to this?” I asked, genuinely curious. Turns out my dream might actually come true.

Night Shade spoke behind clenched teeth, “It appears so. You are to be the Overstallion, effective in the next day or so,” she pointed to me. I widened my eyes in excitement and realization.

“Him?” Scarlet finally looked me over and then back to Night Shade. “Okay so what? You step down, he takes over. Why does this concern me? Not like I’d ever be selected anyway,” she huffed.

“‘Why does this concern me,’” Night Shade mocked, “It concerns you because you're also selected to be Overmare!” She hollered, causing me to flinch again.

Wait what? Both of us? Scarlet and I briefly looked at each other, baring the same confusion.

“I’ve been a patient mare, I’ve watched over these ponies for ten years now,” Night Shade took an eerie calm. “And what does this grant me? Nothing!” she suddenly shouted. “So that’s,” she took a breath and sat down, crossing her forelegs atop each other on the desk, “why I have a proposition.”

‘Kay, this lady lost her marbles, I raised an eyebrow. “So what do you have in mind?” I asked, still excited with the idea of actually becoming an Overstallion. I mean, hell I knew I did well in school but not this well! I never thought this day would come!

“Leave the stable, or die,” Night Shade hissed.

And there went my excitement.

Scarlet sputtered and visibly paled, “You would not! I’m your last bloody family!”

“Yeah, no seriously, you can keep the position!” I panicked and raised my hooves.

“Silence!” Night Shade shouted, effectively shutting us up. “It doesn’t matter. The system has sent it over and itʼs processing the new codes as we speak. If Midnight were to die, it would then go to you,” she pointed at Scarlet. “I refuse to step down! I have done too much for this Stable for so little in return!” she yelled, stomping her hoof on the desk repeatedly.

Scarlet took a step forward, bristling with anger. “You entitled twat! I knew youʼd eventually stoop this low if push came to shove. You always stepped on everypony to get your way, you two-faced, buck-sucking, limp-tailed bitc-” her stream of profanity was abruptly cut short by the sound of a pistol being chambered.

Night Shade pointed the gun at Scarlet’s head, her mouth fixed around the trigger plate; ready to fire. The room fell silent aside from the heavy breathing coming from Night Shade.

Scarlet jerked her head in a terrified nod, utterly defeated.

“Right.” Night Shade spoke around the grip of the pistol, her words muffled slightly. “You both have 12 hours, pack up your things, or face execution.”

“They’ll get you for this, the Security ponies aren’t blind, they know murder when they see it,” Scarlet muttered. I nodded, opting to take the side of the sane-pretty-one.

“I have ponies who will follow me, we’ll run a coup so be it.” Night Shade narrowed her eyes, “Leave, I’ll see you both at the Stable door tomorrow morning at nine. Be thankful Iʼm gracious enough to let you prepare for your new life in the outside world.” She beckoned us out with her pistol, taking a seat once more.

I turned around immediately, panic and confusion swimming in my head. One moment, I was just another janitor wishing for a better life, now, I’m about to be an exile. Execution certainly wasn’t what I had in mind for breakfast tomorrow morning if I suddenly got cold hooves.

Scarlet and I slowly trotted out of the Overmare’s office, the doors having been opened and closed by the two security ponies. Night Shade had us perfectly played, it wasn’t like we could run anywhere before tomorrow.

“Follow me,” Scarlet whispered the moment we entered the atrium.

I nodded and she took off in a brisk canter toward the apple orchard, I followed close behind her, ponies passing by us in a blur. I felt absolute dread rising in my chest, we were condemned.

Once we made it downstairs and into the orchard, Scarlet took off and headed toward the middle of the massive orchard. I spread my wings and quickly followed suit, flying silently next to her. A small clearing sat among dense apple trees, their pale orange leaves indicated it was sometime in the autumn.

“Right, we’re here,” Scarlet spoke softly. Clearly this was somewhere she spent a lot of her time, it was only visible from the air and most ponies who worked in the orchard did so on hoof.

We both landed atop the soft bed of orange leaves, the air was a bit chilly, our climate control machines were working as intended. Scarlet sat down on her haunches and sighed, looking around her.

“S-so, what now?” I broke the silence, terrified.

“I don’t know, let me think,” she whispered, closing her eyes, “we need a backup plan.”

“She’s not going to let us leave is she?”

“No.”

“She’s just going to kill us.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because, that’s how she is.”

“Then what do we do?” I began to panic.

“I’m thinking, please!” Scarlet moaned and laid down, hiding her muzzle between her forelegs.

Though it was almost certain death outside, I would obviously rather chance that. Our teachers always said that Equestria was completely eradicated during the war with the Zebras. But personally, I’d rather live a few miserable months in an irradiated hellhole than just be shot and thrown away in a concrete sarcophagus.

I sighed heavily and tried to clear my mind, sitting in silence for a long moment.

“Have we met before?” I quietly broke the silence.

“What?”

“I mean, I donʼt think Iʼve ever seen you around the stable.” I tilted my head, “I didnʼt know Night Shade had any family left after the plague.”

Scarlet sat up again and slowly looked me over, this time not out of judgment but curiosity. “I’ve seen you about. You’re hard to miss, being the way you are,” she waved a hoof.

I felt my ears lower, “Oh I know, thanks.”

“N-no! I mean… I’ve just seen you,” she replied lamely.

“It’s fine, I’m used to it,” I smiled wryly. “Weʼre about the same age though, you didn’t attend class?”

“No, I was taught privately,” Scarlet sighed impatiently.

“So you were pretty much isolated your whole life, just like me, eh?” I snorted in laughter, trying to lighten the mood.

Scarlet furrowed her brow and stood up, “Look, mate, now is not the time for pleasantries. I- I should hate you!” she stamped a hoof. “None of this would have happened if you…”

“If I what?” I asked defensively. “If I didn’t exist? You and everypony else would wish the same.”

“That or if you at least didn’t do so well in bloody school or whatever!” she cried desperately.

“Look sister, I’m sorry I’m the root of your problems, but I’m no better off either!” I huffed. “We need to come up with something quick, or we’re both going to be bodies in the incinerators tomorrow.”

“And what do you propose? We waltz out of the stable on our own?” Scarlet stepped up to me angrily, looking up – nose to nose. She was a head shorter than I was. Hardly intimidating.

“That’s… a good idea actually,” I detached, an idea popping into my head.

“That’s what I bloody thought!” she approved, tossing her mane.

After a moment, she suddenly looked up at me once more, this time with wide eyes, “Wait, no, that’s not a good idea Midnight! We should try to stop Night Shade, not escape! How on Luna's moon would we even get the door open?”

I smiled and raised my left foreleg, looking at my PipBuck, the screen winked to life at the sense of movement. Using my nose, I pressed the button labeled “DATA” and scrolled to the ‘connection’ settings with the side wheel.

“If what Night Shade said was true, then I would receive administrative rights within the next few days right?” I asked rhetorically.

“Yeah, a few days we have a few hours, mate,” Scarlet retorted, but not without hope in her voice.

Ignoring her, I continued, “But there’s a thing or two that you learn about the computer system that runs through this Stable, being a ‘lowly janitor,’” I smirked. “If the data is already processed, that means something is just holding it back; be it a wait time for official paperwork to go through or whatever.” I paused, tapping another button on the PipBuck.

“So what’re you getting at?” Scarlet stood on the tips of her hooves to look at my device.

“Well, being in the Stable Technicians corps, we have a LOT of paperwork. So much that we just cut corners by skipping it all and going straight for the downloadable data. We’ve figured out a way to make it load faster; just – like – this,” I replied, poking buttons respectively.

“And?”

“Wait for it.”

“It’s not doing anything,” Scarlet grumbled after a few seconds.

“It’s a slow system,” I shrugged.

With a beep, my PipBuck shut off.

“You broke it,” Scarlet deadpanned, hope disappearing from her eyes.

“I- I broke it,” I stuttered, disbelief in my voice. I had never seen a PipBuck shut off before, these things were arcane powered! Panic began to plant itself in my chest.

Just as quickly as it shut off, my PipBuck emitted another beep and re-booted. A happy cartoon Stallion danced across the screen as loading bars moved across the bottom. I breathed a sigh of relief, at least it wasn’t actually broken. Finally, when it was done booting up, a new message appeared on the screen.

Congratulations on your promotion to Overpony! Stable-Tec is excited to have a qualified individual such as yourself lead your ponies to the future! We welcome you to be a part of the team and hope that one day you and your Stable will help reclaim Equestria!

I smiled brightly and lowered the device so Scarlet could see. After a few moments the message disappeared and my PipBuck resumed normal function once again.

“Luna above it worked! You actually did it!” Scarlet exclaimed, a smile falling upon her features for the first time since I met her. It suited her well.

“I didn’t think it would actually work!” I beamed, all emotions finally replaced with hope. “Okay, now we just need to make it to the Stable doors.”

Scarlet’s excitement died down in thought, “That wonʼt be easy, Shade’s got to have the place bristling with security by now. Leaving the Stable should be ‘plan B.’ We should try and arrest her or… something.”

“Do you think we could talk some sense into security?”

“Not likely, she’s bound to have put those ponies loyal to her in charge,” she frowned.

“Damn. If only we had a way to get rid of them, or prove to them sheʼs insane,” I thought aloud, looking around us.

Scarlet’s titled her head, “We just take her down then. It’s risky, but it might work.”

“Take her down?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Well tomorrow, Shade’s probably going to want to do the deed by herself, try to get as few witnesses as possible right? It’ll be easier to convince everypony it wasn’t murder,” she explained. “She might be banking on us thinking we’re exiles, just shoot us in the back.”

I nodded along, “She won’t be expecting us to try anything, the two of us could overpower her.”

“Exactly. Then we can try to detain her.”

We both stood up, determination and hope taking over.

“Tomorrow then.” Scarlet nodded, her eyes bright with fire.

“Tomorrow.” I agreed.

Scarlet spread her wings and was about to take off, I quickly raised a hoof, “Wait, do you want to stay at my place and prepare?” I offered.

Scarlet rolled her eyes and continued to fly away “Tomorrow, Midnight, Stable door.”

I watched as she flew away. When her brilliant red tail disappeared I sighed and took off, heading the opposite way toward my living quarters.

You tried. I comforted myself as I flew to the edge of the orchard and made my way home.

When I reached my single-pony living space, I slapped the door release button and entered the room. It was simple, just a bed, kitchenette and bathroom attached. I looked at my PipBuck and saw it was almost ten at night. Figuring I would rather be well rested, and not feeling particularly hungry, I let the door close behind me and opted to sleep. I’d wake up early tomorrow and gather what few things I had before heading out.

I stripped off my greasy overalls and let it fall to the floor, climbing into bed. Laying there and letting myself think of just what exactly awaited me tomorrow.

I was scared, admittedly, but determined. If things didn't work out, I was prepared to high-tail it out the door. It was about time I left the Stable anyway, not like anypony wanted me to stick around. Besides, it’s been two-hundred years since the bombs fell, maybe there was life out there.

After a few minutes I felt myself slipping, my worry and fear disappearing as I fell into a light and uncomfortable sleep. Dreams of anxious questions and a scarlet mare soon filled my imagination.

XXX

Author's Note:

*New* chapter one! Wow.

Ayo lemme know if you see any formatting issues. I just copied and pasted it from google docs so I can't imagine that went super smoothly.