I began to wake up. The first thing I noticed as I began to regain consciousness, was that of a clock. The steady "Tick. Tick. Tick." punctuated the second thing I noticed, the steady hum of a working generator. The mare's generator could be heard from the Stallions' Stable, but it was much more quiet, much more distant. This one was closer. The stallions had gotten the generator running.
I rolled over in my bed to get ready to stand up, when... wait, a bed? Sure enough, I opened my eyes, and I was laying on a large queen-sized sheet on a particularly comfortable mattress. The blue comforter with a yellow trim were Stable-Tech standard issue, but this spread was the type that the Overmare had. No other ponies had a bed this large.
It was dark, so I couldn't see much. What I could make out however proved that this was not the Overmare's private quarters. There was a desk that looked like an antique with a built-in terminal and a bookshelf crammed with books. I couldn't make out any titles, but there were more than I could read in a year.
The clock, an old grandfather replica, sat in a corner. The Stable-Tech logo was engraved in the center of the face, and was glow-in-the-dark, as were the two hands. There were pictures on the walls of ships, war machines, and portraits of ponies long gone. Various other knick-knacks and artifacts were scattered throughout the room.
I turned on the light on my pip-buck. The sudden illumination sent a blade through my temples. Okay, not literally, but I had a killer headache. I got up and trotted over to a wall, where I pushed the button to turn on the actual lights. As if on queue, the door to the room hissed open. Officer Cinder, the mare who saluted me in medical, stood there with Green, another stallion, and Sniper, who was wearing a new pair of aviators.
"Oh good, you're up. Feeling alright?" she asked.
"My head feels like I've OD'd on something," I told her.
"Well... you need to do a better job of taking care of yourself. Syringe said that you were sleep deprived, and deficient in many necessary vitamins and minerals. I don't know the specifics, but she put you on a bunch of drugs and you should be taking some tablets after you've had a good meal," she instructed.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Your body shut down because you need to eat, sleep, and drink, just like everypony else. I was talking to some of the stallions, and they said that you've only eaten one meal since all of this started and that you haven't slept."
"Yeah, so? I was busy," I argued.
Cinder rolled her eyes. "Whatever, just do as the doctor orders. Anyway, that's not why I'm here."
"Did something happen? How long was I out?" I suddenly panicked as I checked my pip-buck.
"About twelve hours. Syringe kept a minor sedative in your system to make sure you got a good night's sleep," she informed me.
"Okaaayyy," I said. "I can tell you've got the generators working. I assume most major systems are up?"
"Ha, we wish. Power is on, and we've been able to get the air filters online, but not much else. It took us eight hours just to get the lights on," she continued.
"Right, how did you even manage that?" I asked.
"Mostly manuals and a few tech-savvy hooves from your ranks. Turns out just about everything the Overmare taught us in school about you guys was wrong. Now, if we could take this into your office, there are some things we need to discuss," Cinder suggested.
I nodded. We exited out into the hall and proceeded down some corridors that were unfamiliar. It was strange, but I began to get my bearings the longer I was awake. My vision was spinning from the headache, and my head was a swirl of thoughts.
Soon, we entered Harvest's office, the sign outside glowing with the word "OVERSTALLION" written across it. We entered, and I found myself trotting over to the semi-circular desk. I took a moment to look at the room in the light.
It was dusty. Everything had a white layer on it, like something had painted an even white finish atop every surface. To my left, on top of a small table, was the empty glass case where Harvest Time once sat. Its outline could still be seen.
I ran my hoof over the surface of the desk. It was a thick layer. Specs danced through the air as the lights buzzed above my head. I took a seat behind the semicircle, the huge six-screened management terminal behind me, the four ponies in front of me.
Green grinned, "Overstallion looks good on you."
I set my hooves on the table and gave a mock evil grin. "All mares are to be taken to security and detained until proper living conditions can be created."
All four ponies took a step back and bore horrified expressions. They all thought I was serious? I immediately knew that I had made a mistake.
"Nonono! I'm kidding!" I said. "Jeez, just because I'm leading a revolution, doesn't mean I can't make a joke."
Sniper looked to Cinder. "He passes out from exhaustion, then he wakes up with a sense of humor?"
Cinder rolled her eyes again, "Stallions..."
An awkward moment gripped the room.
"Oookay, then. What was so important that we needed to be in here?" I asked.
"First off, you want to be Overstallion, right? I don't know how you found an entire other stable, but you did. Now, you need to get comfortable in your chair. Are you?"
"Come to think of it, its a little high," I replied, getting a grin from the two stallions.
"Well get used to it, because you're going to be there a lot," Cinder told me.
"Not necessarily. The Overmare is in her office a lot. I don't have to be," I argued.
"Fine, we'll see. The first pressing matter is that of an escapee. Shortly after we got the power on, somepony bolted for the exit back into the Mares' Stable. I don't know who she was, but she's gone," Cinder told me.
"Can I see footage? You said powers back online. We have cameras, right?" I asked.
"Sure. You'll need to tap into surveillance using the terminal behind you." Cinder instructed.
The terminal was big and intimidating. I did not want to be messing with it. Still, I needed to know if the deserter will be a problem. I spun the chair around, yes, it was a spinney chair, and turned the terminal on. For a brief moment, all of the screens showed static, then one turned green. It read "Administrative Password Input". I did not know Harvest's terminal password, so I connected the pip-buck to the terminal. Whatever was in the pip-boy, the terminal accepted as a password and opened.
Immediately, all six screens showed files, file locations, command prompts, status changes, update checks, and much more.
"What now?" asked the stallion that was with Green. Now I remembered who he was. He was the pony who took Sniper's rifle in that first battle. Speaking of Sniper, she no longer had bandages where her leg used to be. She now had a stub that seemed to be growing into a new hoof. Medical could regrow limbs? Eew.
"I- I don't know. I've never seen a terminal do this," Cinder was now just as perplexed as everypony else.
I found a search bar at the top of the screen. Upon entering "Surveillance footage" into the search bar, a user came up on the database. I accessed it and was able to get a live feed from almost any available camera. On a different screen was the user page. I input the name of the hallway and the specified time sequence, and just like that, I caught her. The pink mare that I had shot in the stomach had healed, thanks to magic, and had run down the hall for the Mare's Stable.
"Will she be a problem?" Cinder asked.
"No, she's fine. She's just scared, liker everypony else." I replied. Surely she wouldn't go try to help the Overmare find some weakness in. She's with Gadget. She'll go back to her.
Cinder shrugged. "If you say so..."
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Yep, these two have a debate to settle. As Overstallion, its up to you to help settle this," Cinder continued.
"Why? if they have a problem, can't they work it out?" I protested.
Cinder chuckled. "They've been trying. These two can fight on and on and on. I've got to admit, I saw him throw some halfway decent hits, even he is a stallion."
"Oh dear. What's the problem?" I questioned.
"I want my gun back," Sniper stated bluntly.
"Its not yours anymore. Seductionis mine," the stallion countered.
"It's name is Howler." Sniper argued. "And it wasn't yours to begin with."
I looked at Cinder as the two began to go at it with each other. She shrugged and we both grinned. We watched for a moment, until Sniper smacked the stallion upside the head. In response, the stallion tackled Sniper to the ground.
"So are we placing bets?" I asked. Cinder grinned at that comment. Yes! I knew I could say something at least remotely funny.
"Enough!" I roared over their scrap. "Do you have the gun with you?"
The two of them stopped. The stallion was about to snap Sniper's other foreleg, and Sniper was about to bite into the stallion's rear leg.
"Yeah," said Sniper. She shoved the stallion in the shoulder, and he pulled a case out of his saddle bag. He opened the case and assembled the weapon. It was truly a beautiful piece of machinery. I ran my hoof from stock to barrel, not missing a bolt or screw. The scope was clean, the metal polished, the gun was clearly will-kept. I picked it up and sighted it into the wall beside us. Finally I set it against the desk, and broke it in two.
Both of the ponies' jaws gaped. Even Cinder seemed shocked. I handed them each a piece of the gun.
"There's a workstation two floors down, next to the armory. Go make one for each of you. I want to see them both. Or, you can fix this one and settle this by yourselves. Got it?B" They both nodded.
"Good. Problem solved," I looked to Cinder once again. "Was that all?"
"Nope, there's a couple more major issues that I wanted to address," she replied.
"Alright, what's next?" I asked.
"Names," Cinder said.
"What?" I asked.
"Names. You ponies need names. I go around... EP-this and UP-that... If you want to truly be respected in the eyes of the Overmare, you're going to need a name," Cinder explained.
"Why? I'm UP-26. Isn't that enough?" I asked.
"If I may," the stallion began. I nodded to him. "Ponies started calling me Hotshot after that first fight. If it would be alright, I'd like to keep it. I like the sound of it."
I turned to Green, who was just standing there. "I guess I need something better to call you than 'Green,' huh."
Green shrugged. "I don't care. You can call me whatever you want."
I sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. If other ponies want to go around making up names for themselves, then they can go right ahead."
"And what about you, Overstallion? Surely you don't want to be called by your title, and I'm not calling you 'Sir', because I'm not your subordinate," Cinder said.
"You know what? Call be bucker for all its worth," I said, then put my face in my hoof at how ridiculous my comment was. "Fine I'll get back to you with a name."
"Thank you. And finally, the last thing on the list of things..." Cinder was hesitant. She looked to Sniper, Hotshot, and Green, each meeting her gaze before looking me in the eye.
"What?" I asked.
"The Overmare has requested that you speak with her ASAP," Cinder said.
"That reminds me," I answered. "Where're my guns?"
Okay... Twenty-five Chapters? I never expected this to go this long. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Really, it helps keep me inspired, and I know to keep writing if you all keep supporting this, so thank you very much. I hope this is as fun to read as it is to write XD
Brohoof /)