Turbocow

The door to the bathroom opens, and a stallion stands in the doorway. An earth pony, clad in Enclave standard issue tac-ops gear. Really the only details I can get of his face are his mismatched blue and green eyes, and his dandelion colored fur. The eyes are enough for me to know him. “You alright, ma’am?” His eyebrows turn upwards, and he cocks his head. “You look… pale. More than usual.” His eyes trail towards the chunks lining the porcelain bowl. A device on his left foreleg trills. An alarm. “Star…”

“I’m fine, Gel.” I close the lid, flushing what remains of my sickness away. Standing, I get to washing off my face in the mirror. Because we were occupying the Stable, I took the liberty of removing my power armor. I didn’t really need it, especially not for these rodents. I wore a skin-tight black bodysuit, holes for my wings, and framing for the Psycho-Sync planted in my back. Slicking my short mane back with some water, I shake myself out. “Any leads regarding Gamma-87?”

Gel steps in, pulling an injector from his tac belt, laying it on the off-white counter. “Nothing so far. Just what we’ve been fed time and time again over these few weeks. She was a reactor tech, disappeared months ago. Small, fat, highly intelligent and unremarkable.”

“Sure fits the profile.” I unzip my collar, uncovering my usual injection sight, right on my neck. “The baker and the artist. What about them?”

“Friends, supposedly. Analysts say the former will break too easily, the latter, not at all. Seems we can’t get our sweet spot yet.” Turning towards Gel, he gently keeps hold of my left foreleg, bringing the injector up to its normal spot. He knows I don’t handle needles well. “We’ll find something soon. I’m sure of it. If not for the Director’s sake, for yours.” Carefully pressing the tip against my skin, the needle shoots into my flesh. I feel a wave of shock and fear pulse through my body, before it slowly begins to fade. The twisting of my nerves dulls, and my mind fogs.

As he pulls the autoinjector away, I rub at the spot he hit. No blood. As per usual. “Thanks, Gel.” Zipping my collar back to its normal state, I nod slightly. “I’ll go talk to the department heads. We have them in the Simulacrum, right?”

“Yes ma’am.” Gel nods, “Want me to accompany you?”

Taking a deep breath, I shake my head, “No, but thank you. I appreciate the assistance with the suppressants. I should be operating to standard now.”

Deep in Gel’s eyes, I catch hint of something. Worry? Pity? I’m not entirely sure. Normally I’d kill anyone for looking at me that way, but he’s my brother. “Good luck, Star.”

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There was nothing in the Stable emergency guides about this sort of situation. Not in the million times I heard Cake recite them, had she ever mentioned a case like this. Was it unaccounted for? Were we all really that unlucky so as to not only lose our reactor tech, but get sieged? I didn’t know if that was the right word for it, but it felt right. No, occupied, that’s the one. I hid in my room with Cherry resting on my bed. They hadn’t killed any more of us, but they weren’t exactly treating us with any kindness. I peeked through my curtains, checking the hall. It was “lights out”. I didn’t know when the time to be active was, but I could think of no better time than now. My eyes unfocused from the hall, staring at the reflection of my violet eyes for a moment, before I moved my head away from the blinds. I glanced back at Cherry, letting the curtains go. “The hallways are clear.”

The earth pony laying across my, unfortunately messy, bed slaps her face into her hooves. “Crap! Ace, what are we gonna do?? They’re definitely here for Cake!” She whisper-yells, shaking her head. “If they’re here for her, they’re here for us!”

I sigh, fluttering my wings and gently floating over to the other side of my room. I look at my tools. My artistic implements. Brushes, piercing needles, a tattoo gun, trying to think of something. “Damnit… there has to be something we can do about this, Cherry.”

Cherry rolls onto her back, groaning frustratedly. “What can we do?? We’re so… screwed! We’re fucked!”

“Alright alright, relax!” I take a deep breath, starting to sort through my drawers. Which were unfortunately unsorted. Much to my active dismay. Stopping for a moment, I look around the counter. They didn’t take our knives. Sure, they were for chopping food, not for flaying flesh. But, it was something. “Before we do anything, I need to know what you know.” I look back at her. “Secrets aren’t gonna cut it. If we’re gonna get out of here we need to be 100% on the same page. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

Rubbing her eyes and sitting up, Cherry shakes her head. “I don’t even know where she actually is.”

“The radio station, Cherry! We have to use the radio.” I move away from my countertop, blue brows furrowed, frustratedly rubbing the backs of my lip piercings against my gums.

She hesitates, rubbing her left foreleg, above her Pip-Buck. “I went in there a few times, but… I…”

Giving her note a once-over in my head, I huff through my nostrils. “You haven’t heard anything, have you?”

“It’s been months, Ace. I’m terrified! We can’t send a signal out now, the radio room’s been fucking hijacked!” She shakes her forehooves in front of her chest. “We’re stranded. We’re at their mercy, and nopony else’s.”

I grind my teeth, feeling my throat tighten. “How did Cake leave through the secret door?”

“I-I dunno. She found something in there. She was a mess after she showed me the reactor. Wouldn’t tell me anything.” She thinks for a moment, then her panicked expression suddenly turns into a grim one. Her face goes pale, ears flopping back. “Oh, dear Celestia… the reactor. It hasn’t been vented since she left.”

I grab a knife from the block on my counter, slipping it into my belt. “We’re going in there and we’re fixing this. We’ll leave, we’ll find where Cake went, and we’ll figure out how to get there.”

“What are you gonna do with that, Ace?” She puts a hoof under her chin, looking worriedly at the blade in my Stable suit.

“What I have to, Cherry.” I made for my door, pressing the button on the side. She scurried to my side, keeping close as I peeked out into the pitch black hallway. I keep my hoofsteps light, and my posture lowered. All I could hear was the sound of the vents pushing air. I tried to avoid light as I crept through the corridors, keeping my eyes focused.

A corner, meeting the Simulacrum. Where the Overmare hosted the garden parties. Where we grew our crops. The place was held by two Enclave soldiers on the inside, and the captain they answered to. I was too curious. I had to know what was happening. I approached the stairwell, sticking to the railing to hide. Cherry tried to pull me away, to little avail. “Ace!”

“Shh!” I turn around, hushing her with a hoof, before I really listen in on what’s going on down below.

4 Stable ponies, one in front of three, Head of Agriculture, Head of Education, and Head of Security. The one at the very front was none other than the Overmare herself. Overmare Silver Lining. On either side of the Stable ponies were a pair of Occupants, standing guard. And pacing in front of the Stable ponies, none other than the sky blue alicorn herself, Darkstar. She didn’t wear her armor. Instead, she wore an all-black, seamless bodysuit. On top, connected to her back, was what looked like a silver spine, lit up with green lights.

The faux royalty let out a bored sigh. “Listen, Lining, I understand you think you have some sway over my authority, but you do not. You abandoned your post in favor of these… tunnel rats, and for what? Only so you could get caught with your hoof in the cookie jar? I know this Stable hosted Gamma-87, and I am not leaving until I get even the slightest trace of where she went.” She chuckles, shaking her head and leaning down. “You’re old and frail, and for a traitorous snake like yourself? That is a death sentence. So take the fall and save your supposed brothers and sisters the heartbreak of witnessing anypony else die. It’s a simple proposal.”

“I’ve told you! I don’t know! She left through a secret entrance into the Stable, and then she disappeared!” The middle-aged mare replies. “No messages, no radio, not even so much as note taped to the fucking Stable door!”

The militant alicorn huffs through flared nostrils, flapping her wings. She circles low to the ground, around the group of administrators. Her forehooves fold behind her back, hind legs dangling, tapping the air impatiently. “You’re telling me you haven’t pinged her Pip-Buck yet?? You honestly expect me to believe that, Overmare?”

Head of Security, Umber Strap, begins laughing, shaking his head. “She has a Pip-Buck 2000 Mark VI!”

Darkstar’s head snaps to him, wrinkles darkening her face. “You find this humorous?? What difference does the model make?”

He laughs harder, leaning back in his cuffed sitting position. “Everything! That function didn’t get added until the Pip-Buck 3000, you stupid bi-”

A green sliver of light gleams through the air, and suddenly Umber stops laughing. His face goes slack, eyes wide. Then, blood begins seeping from his skin, everywhere. He collapses, spilling into a pile of steaming gore cubes. Darkstar takes a deep breath, dusting herself off. “I hope you’ve all learned something from this. I will not take insults lightly. Neither will I tolerate such treatment of a dire situation as Captain Strap has expressed.” She touches the ground, no longer flying, but standing on her hind legs. She stares Silver Lining down, then her eyes slowly careen over. Head rotating. Her pure balefire eyes lock onto me, and her brows furrow.

“SHIT!” I turn to run with Cherry, but as soon as I do, she’s standing in our way. Raising her forehooves, we’re both hoisted into the air by our throats, blazing green magic tight around our necks.Clicking her teeth, Darkstar smirks, shaking her head. “Now where do you think you’re going?” She cocks her head, pupils glowing white, “I think it’s about time we get to know each other, my little ponies.”