#10V3

A young filly trotted quickly through the hall, tearing into a corner and almost running over another stable dweller. They dared not make a statement about it, and instead chuckled at her. It was the daily for a filly like her- carefree, and full of energy! She made her way down the next hallway, turned to the door of her dwelling, and basically dived in. The target? An older mare with a lab coat on. Her mission? To finally catch her off guard, and take her down once and for all! Though, just like every other day, she was just not strong enough to do it. Instead, she found herself caught in two hooves that squeezed her in for a close hug. "There's my little trouble maker! You know, Lexi, what am I gonna do with you when you finally get your Pipbuck today? You'll have your EFS and may finally catch me off guard!" The filly unicorn giggled, hugging onto the mare tightly with a growing smile. "Moooom, what I say about calling me that? And you really think I'll get you once I have a Pipbuck?" She squeed at that, slipping from her mother's hooves and trotting in a circle around her. "This is going to be so freakin' cool! I can't wait! Do you think they'll paint my cutie mark on it?" Chuckling, her mother turned and looked down at the filly. "Hun, I wish they would, but they probably will leave it blank for the time being. But maybe I could put a word in for yah, huh? Get you-" A sudden rumble filled the stable, followed by a loud explosion. Heat and dust quickly filled the halls, followed by a pressure that launched both 'Lexi' and her mother against the far wall. The former falling unconscious.

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Lights and sounds came blurring by. Small visions of the stable, others running, a mare collapsing over a leg. The leg wasn't her own. A loud set of bangs. Another explosion. Panting, her mother's. An argument with the Overmare. The Overmare's head...gone.

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Lexi finally awoke, riding on her mother's back, whimpering at the pains filling her body. She looked up, finding an EFS activated, showing critical wounds in multiple locations on her body. When did she get that? But it wasn't hers, it was her mother's. Tinkering with that old device must have allowed her to expand its reach to those in contact, much like a stealthbuck. "Lexi, my dear..." her mother picked the filly off her back, gently set her in a secret panel in the wall of the maintenance room. The low hums of the nearby generators drowned out with clicking and bangs as they were quickly failing. Some voices nearby were calling out, trying to find her mother. "You must stay here. Stay quiet. I know I can't be there for you forever, and today may be the beginning of that." The filly tried to speak for her, but was met with a healing potion to the lips, which slowly began to mend her wounds, but just enough to keep her awake. "Sweetie, Electra, I need you to promise me you'll push on. You'll be okay, I know you will. You've always been a smart filly...and just so you know, you won this time. I only caught you because of the camera in the hall. "Don't give me that look, listen...I love you, my little pony, and I know you can do this. Be quiet, and...when all is empty here, get out. Get out, and run where this tells you." She reached out with her magic, pulling a pipbuck from her bag and setting it in Electra's hooves.... in hooves. I remember looking up at her. I could see she was afraid, but for me...she always stood strong." She gently placed a kiss on my head, just above my horn, and shut the compartment with a small click.

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I don't remember how long I remained in there... quietly sobbing. I had no clue what had happened, where everyone went. It was so sudden, on the spot... My mom was just gone, and the stable was so... so quiet. The Pipbuck in my hooves lit up suddenly, and two messages appeared. Message Received - Exit Vault, then open file #32C4P3 Message Received - Audio File #10V3 Y0U I opened the audio file, listening with a shiver as I heard my mom's voice.

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I bucked open the compartment, and tumbled down to the floor with a heavy thud. Whimpering at the pain returning, I climbed to my hooves and made my way down the hallways. I can barely remember seeing anything...my vision was dark around the edges, and I could barely take steps, especially towards the end. When I had finally reached the end of the stable, I found the giant cog door had been not only opened, but nearly destroyed. I didn't think it possible, unless... Approaching the exit I was blasted with a single ray of bright light. I held a hoof up to shield my eyes from it, letting out a painful cough as I did. Well, horse feathers. As I lowered my hoof, the clouds above closed tightly back up, and my true first view of the Equestrian Wasteland hit me like no other. Walking through the wasteland that was Equestria was terrifying. I knew nothing, everything was odd. I had been taught some survival, but nothing like this. I avoided everyone out here. Which, really, was only a few ponies. , mom always said, And a lot of those ponies had weapons, some cackled about like...monsters, while others simply walked on like it was just any other day. Caps, what a goofy monetary system, but as a fool I knew no better. What would you rather do, use old "bits" or just find a common item that are plentiful now? I took every single one I found. Trashcans, desks, mailboxes, fucking , and anywhere I could get them. Including off of...the dead. A gun that seemed out of this world is what I had found. It seemed...futuristic, but shot normal rounds. Had the kick of a mule. Dad called it . Yeah, good name for a gun, dad... Well, this thing never came to find me, nor had I ran into it up to this point. Strange, that. But making friends? That was a whole 'nother world. All my friends from Stable 59 were...