Fallout Equestria: 221 [Group Alpha]

Moon sat by herself for a few moments alone as the other two thestrals had left to do whatever it was they were doing. She looked at the apple that was being held by her wing then finished eating it. She then promptly hide a knife under her wing and dropped off her tray, munching on an apple slice as she walked out of the cafeteria. She made her way back to her room at a brisk pace, trying to look as normal as can be. Once there, she grabbed her saddle bags and put an extra jumpsuit or two in it on top of the knife she took.

She glanced around the room for a moment, looking at her room that was to be for only an hour longer. She sighed as she grabbed a piece of paper and pencil and started writing on the paper. If the stable was to shut down as Ardent had said it would, then her parents would very much come and try and find her. But they wouldn't find her in the stable for she would have left by then. So logically, the only good bye she could do without raising suspicion was writing on a paper. She sadly laid the note down on the desk and put her pencil next to it.

She then began to think what else she could bring with her for going outside. A weapon most likely. She glanced at her saddlebags and shook her head. "A knife won't cut it." She muttered quietly to herself, then she paused and facehoofed. "That wasn't even on purpose..." She groaned quietly to herself and trotted out of her room, leaving her saddlebags in her room. She made her way to the armory, pausing for a moment as she saw Ardent point guns at Sonata. Oh...So that's where she went....And where Sonata went after she packed her stuff. She quickly trotted over them and only heard half of the last word Ardent has said. She looked over Sonata's shoulder into the armory.

Then she paused for a moment and thought about the situation. Ardent went to the Armory. Sonata went to the armory then has guns pointed at her. She then talks to Sonata...probably. Most likely. Moon made a face and looked around for a moment. Where exactly was security? "Uhh....Ardent....What happened to the security?" She asked as she looked over Sonata's shoulder again.

Sonata's expression went from curious to strained panic in less than a second as four gun barrels were pointed right at her. "Uh yeah, just thought I'd grab something to put all the shooting practice to actual use," Sonata said nervously until the guns disappeared and Moon spoke up from behind her, startling the mare a little bit.

But she was quick to recover and began by flying over towards the weapons storage. "Wherever they are, it isn't here and as such, not our problem so long as we get out before being seen," Sonata went on while grabbing up a riot shotgun and loading it quickly. Grabbing up what extra shells she could before turning attention towards a pistol and grabbing one up with an extra clip of ammo. With her weapons acquired, Sonata went back into the hallway, slid into her saddlebags and slung the violin case over her back, right next to the shotgun while the pistol rested on a strap of her saddlebags. Before departing though, Sonata looked towards Vehemence and Moon, "have either of you went to the medical wing by chance?"

Purse saw the guard and quickly made a point to walk past. "Sorry mate, just cutting through here; the Overseer wants the locks on the armory upgraded." Purse explained quickly as she passed by; she was thankful she only owned the one saddlebag that she used for both work and personal use, that way it didn't look suspicious for her to have it on hand.

Purse entered just after Ardent had put the pistols down, being very careful to close the door casually so she didn't look suspicious to anyone else who happened to be watching.

"Could've warned me that security is still on the prowl on the way here." Purse Cutter hissed to Ardent as she dumped her saddle bag on the floor with a heavy thug. "Right, now, where are the grenades?" She asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

Attrition frowns as Purse Cutter walks past. She had mentioned upgrading the locks, however she almost certainly did not have authorization to do that. And Cutter being a rebellious sort, Attrition rather doubted she would have been given authorization. In addition, she had felt the need to say that aloud rather than walk by without a word, or even pretend to be doing her job. While she could possibly be wrong, it suggested to Attrition that the mare was quite nervous. In addition, it was clear form her body language that her original destination was the Stable Doors Attrition guarded, a a destination that changed as soon as the Janitor laid eyes upon the guardsmare.

Together, all of these things made Attrition deeply suspicious. Purse Cutter did go on about of stifling the Stable was, frequently even. And with the number of recent failures, such a mind as Purse's might conclude that the Stable was failing. Could Purse be planning an escape? It was quite drastic, but based on the evidence...
Attrition shook those thoughts. This was foolish. If she wasn't planning on one, then Attrition could be at ease. If she was and she had accomplices, they could be waiting 'round a corner for Attrition to foolish abandon her post to stop Purse, then sneaking past the guardsmare to access the Stable Door. This could easily be an elaborate ruse. Luckily, there was a way to prevent both with a simply call.
Attrition pulls up the private frequency used by used by Security ponies on her Pipbuck. "this is Attrition, currently at the Stable Door. Purse Cutter just walked past me muttering something about upgrading the Armory locks. As far as I know, she has no clearance to be allowed anywhere near fire arms, and besides, I doubt we should let her even if she does. The Armory is still on the opposite end of the Stable from where she currently is, so could some please cut her off and check on the Armory, over?"

Thestral Squad: Ardent responded to Purse’s complaint with her usual cold idiosyncrasy. “Why would there not have been? As far as everypony else is concerned, It’s just another boring morning in Stable 221.” She moved closer to the thestrals before continuing. “As for armory security, I managed to place a thirty minute gap in their duty roster by moving certain assets into the hooves of those willing to cooperate with me.” Ardent gestured towards the weapons lockers as she answered Purse’s question about grenades.

“Nonexistant. 221’s armory consists of small-caliber pistols, energy pistols, riot-shotguns, and, batons. Take your pick, quickly, if you will.” The mare said.  When Sonata questioned the group about the Medical, she responded by shaking her head. “I had planned on making it my next stop. We need to obtain a supply of anti-radiation medication if we hope to make it past the stable doors and live to tell the tale.”

Attrition: Attrition’s call for assistance was met with a reply from none-other than the chief of stable security, Wild Pitch. “Roger that, Attrition, return to your post, I’ll take care of this myself.” the gruff voice of Wild sounded through Attrition’s pipbuck.

More Thestral Squad: Ardent Vehemence’s pipbuck began to talk. More precisely, broadcast audio, “ Strike one.” sounded a gruff voice.  Ardent herself facehoofed at this, sighing. “Two more and we’re out…” the mare mumbled.

"Oh." Moon said as she heard what happened to the security that was suppose to be watching the armory. She trotted into the armory and grabbed a 10mm pistol, making sure the safety was on before slipping it into a slot on her tool belt that her wing so carefully hide. She then grabbed a few extra magazines for it and put it into a pouch on her belt that she had always used for nuts and bolts. She also grabbed a shotgun and slung that over her shoulder. She then grabbed extra rounds for that and put it into the pouch that usually held her screws and nails. She then looked over at Purse and Sonata to see what they would get. She raised an eyebrow at Sonata getting the shotgun but didn't say anything, and frankly didn't want to say anything.

She looked at Ardent and thought for a moment before grabbing a security outfit and shrugging it on. She fidgeted with it a bit, feeling quite odd in the armor. She was an engineer after all. She didn't have to wear armor before and she most certainly didn't have to carry a weapon before. She was silently thanking her mom for teaching her how to fire a gun properly and know how to maintain them and how to switch the safety on and off. She then paused and looked at Ardent once more when her pipbuck began to talk. "Strike one? What is this? Prewar baseball now?" She said in a joking manner as she grabbed one of the helmets and put it on her head.

Attrition sighs. Return to your post. Well, at least they had someone on the job. Although...If they were planning a break out, it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility they might've secured weapons before today's 'attempt' at the Armory. Attrition was certain her fellow guards would stop them from that, but Purse Cutter probably wasn't the only mare itching to leave the Stable, there could be others. After all, with all the recent blackouts, it didn't seem like the Stable would la-

Attrition jolts. Had she really just thought that? No, no... The Stable was built to last right? It surely wasn't about to fail, especially not anytime within her lifetime.
Despite her best efforts, doubt began to creep in. After all, what if it did fail within her lifetime? She had once taken a look at the damaged portions while keeping the foals away from the area. It was clearly on its last legs. At the time she'd been busy with foals wanting to earn their cutie marks in repairing, so she had just though it was specific to that section. But what if it wasn't? Well, if the power failed, they wouldn't be able to open the Stable doors, and they would... be... trapped. Trapped in hear forever.
Attrition looks fearfully at the massive doors, before going to check one of the maintenance panels on the wall.

"Well if you're going there, would you want an extra hoof to carry things?" Sonata asked from where she hovered in the doorway. Shifting a little bit so that the shotgun wasn't looking as obvious, Sonata awaited her answer and didn't question the other bits. She just opted not to question the apparent strike against them, Purse's statements, or Moon's inquiry. Instead she just waited at the ready to follow Vehemence if she did request Sonata's assistance, or to head off in a different direction should her offer be dismissed.

"Yeah yeah yeah, just load me up with a shotgun." Purse told them, unzipping her saddle bag and leaving it open to dump weapons in, on top of the guards uniform they could see inside that she had snatched. "I ain't exactly the best shot so anything that I just need to point in something's general direction will suit me like butter suits toast." She said, clearly trying to rush through things to get out faster; the small thestral's stir craziness could not have been more apparent now that she finally had a chance to leave.

"Then we don't get anymore strikes." Purse insisted at Ardent's muttering as she grabbed a pair of riot shotguns and tried to force them into her saddle bag width ways in her hurry.

Thestral Squad:

   Ardent nodded at Sonata’s offer of assistance. “An extra hoof is not required, though, I would rather you all came with me than not” the mare said as she encompassed several shotgun rounds in her blue magic and teleported them into Purse’s open Saddlebag. When Moon asked her question in jest, the assistant rolled her eyes. “Indeed, a pre-war baseball game with tragic consequences. Try your best” she droned without a hint of sarcasm.

   With all of the thestral’s questions and concerns addressed, Ardent Vehemence opened the door to the armory with her magic and stepped through it. “Well, off we trot” she said, moving down the hallway towards the medical wing.

   “I would like to remind you, that, we are to get only what we need. Not a drop more. The residents of 221 will not be left without medical supplies because of our overindulgence. For this fact, I will be the one to distribute the various medications we are seeking amongst ourselves. With weaponry, I was lenient. With medicine, I shan’t be.”  Ardent continued droning as the group moved towards wherever the mare was leading them. “While I understand the need for redundancy, 221’s medication stores are borderline nonrenewable.”

   The group would run into various ponies on the way there, most gave them an odd glance, one pony even wished ‘officer’ Ardent a good night, mistaking her for a member of the B security force, to which the mare responded with a nod and an “And you.”


After a decent length walk, the group arrived at Ardent’s destination: A medical locker several doors deep within the medical wing.  When the mare attempted to open it, she found it predictably locked. Her horn lit up and a red keycard appeared in a flash of blue magic. She proceeded to swipe the card onto the locker’s keypad, eliciting a happy chirp from the device as the locker shunned its namesake. She then opened the cabinet, once again with her magic, as the keycard vanished in another flash of blue.

   The various medicines and medical supplies within the locker were quickly assessed by Ardent, who seemed to know exactly what to look for. In a moment, she had three white pill bottles, at least nine packets of an orange-y liquid, and six purple vials of another, all held up in her blue aura of telekinesis. Said medication vanished into various saddlebags in a flash of blue magic. If any of the group bothered to check their own, they’d find three packets, two vials, and one bottle.

   “Any last requests?” the assistant asked, locking the cabinet much the same way as she had opened it and turning towards the mares.

Attrition:

   Behind the maintenance panel Attrition would find decades old circuitry and wiring that looked surprisingly well in condition for their age. It seemed that, as far as circuits and wires were concerned, Stable-Tec built them to last. Indeed that particular section of paneling seemed to be operating just as it had on the day balefire rained down upon Equestria. Of course, this revelation brought with it a rather interesting question… If faulty wiring and degrading circuitry were not to blame for 221’s systematic failures, what was?

Attrition frowns. This area looked relatively fine, and yet.... And yet the Stable seemed on its last legs. Attrition sighs. There was only one course of action she could feel safe with. While the door was quite loud, not everyone in the Stable would hear it if it opened. And if she jammed and a barricaded the door, few would be able to get in. The important thing was to disable any alarms linked to the Stable Door's opening. With that in mind, Attrition begins to search through the mess of wires, hunting down the appropriate links with a cold detachment. True, this would expose the ponies of Stable 221 would be exposed to the outside world, but it also meant they would have a chance if- No, when the Stable failed. Once she's found which wires will need cutting, she looks around for ways to block access to the Stable Door room.

"Oh...Not a time for joking...got it..." Moon said as she blinked at Ardent. When the unicorn left the armory, she quickly followed after her, fidgeting with the shotgun for a moment to get it a bit more hidden then it already was. She listened to Ardent as she told them that they were only getting a limited about of medical items. She nodded quietly, agreeing to the mare. She had almost froze stock still when members of the B security walk past, but she forced herself to keep going. When they had walked past the living quarters, Moon paused. "You guys go on. I'll meet you at the medical wing." She said as she made her way swiftly through the living quarters to her room.

Once there, Moon went inside her room and shrugged off the shotgun she had. She quickly put the shotgun into her saddlebags and then strapped it to her back. She glanced around her room once more before sighing. She made her way out of her room and back towards the medical wing, making sure to take the route where the least amount of ponies would see her. She had made it just as the group had got there and she quickly rejoined them. She looked at the medical items curiously, never having really bothered to learn much about it. Glancing inside her saddlebags, she smiled a little then shrugged at Ardent's question.

Sonata grinned and followed Ardent out as she passed her by. When they came up to the B staff members, Sonata smiled all the more, and threw out the occasional nod or wave when offered, as well as they passed by. Faking normalcy was easy enough for Sonata, and she calmly preformed this little act for the fleeting audience until they were in the B shifters wake, and safely in the medical wing.

Sonata watched with calm interest as Ardent worked, and while she started to offer to assist in picking the lock to the med lockers, but she didn't even have time to begin reaching towards the saddlebags before Ardent manifested a key card. Then in the next moment, Sonata felt her saddlebags get just that little bit heavier as extra contents were added to it's cache. When Ardent asked if there were other item's she'd desire, Sonata suppressed a curse under her breath at her blatant lack of medical knowledge.

"I can only assume you've also planned for food and water as well," Sonata stated from where she stood, already beginning to turn towards the door and proceed back to the cafeteria. "Though will the crowd of us draw some attention after being there so recently?" she asked while looking back to the group.

"A solid bottle of whiskey would be nice." Purse snarked from the back of the group, hopping from her hind hooves to her fore ones; obviously the smallest thestral was so eager to escape her metal box that she had grown up in that she was practically ready to eat her way through the walls, and such miniscule things as potentially life saving medicine were lower on her priority list than things like being able to feel unrecycled air in her lungs.

Purse did think of one thing suddenly though. "Can you get me an open channel to the Overseer on my Pipbuck?" She asked with a gleam in her odd colored eyes. "I want to give her a heartwarming farewell message when we're safely out."

A neon sign saying "I'm a liar" would've been more subtle than Purse trying to get an open line to insult the Overseer.

Thestral Squad:
“There is very little I have not planned for as far as our leaving the stable goes, Sonata.” Ardent replied simply after all of the requests and statements had been made. She began to walk down the same path she had led the thestrals down, heading in the direction of the cafeteria herself. “Drawing attention is no longer a concern. The final stretch, so to speak, is a straight shot past the cafeteria and into A-shift’s commons area. We are to stop by my living quarters, where we will find that which is to become our food supplies. I hope you enjoy the--- how did you put it? Gruel? I hope you enjoy the gruel. For it is all we have.” She droned as the group made their way. Purse’s request for a bottle of Whiskey was left unanswered. However, when she asked for a line to the overmare, the assistant replied with a nod. “If I were to be truthfully honest, I’d like to wish her farewell too.” she said, with a hint of what could almost be described as sadness.

Vehemence’s quarters were situated very nearly in the middle of A-shift’s living area. Given that the stable was reaching the end of B-shift, the mare expected very little traffic on the way there. Her expectations were very quickly realized, as the thestral squad soon found itself stopped in front of a door indistinguishable from all the others around it. Ardent opened said door with a flash of blue magic. The inside was rather… unexpected. For one, the assistant’s quarters were, unlike the standard issue living quarters, composed of two rooms. The discrepancy in standardization was not the oddest thing in the room, however. Indeed, perhaps the oddest thing was it’s colour scheme. Ardent Vehemence’s room… was pink. The walls. Her bedding. Her rug. Right down to the picture frames upon her similarly coloured nightstands, all were the same shade of pink.

Ardent beckoned the thestrals to follow her into the other oddity of the room, the extra compartment. Turning on the room’s lights as she went, the mare opened the door in another flash of blue-tinted magic.  If anypony present was inclined on invading Ardent’s personal privacy, they would see the black-and-white pictures within her frames were those of herself and another mare. One you would recognize as Blissful Ignorance, in various stages of their lives. Always together. The assistant led the thestrals towards and into the extra room, within, there was what seemed to be a mural of sorts. Pictures, posters, and various other memorabilia of pre-war life were neatly situated around the area. The room itself was about the same size as Ardent’s, if one were to venture a guess, they’d assume she had gotten hers and the next room connected in order to host whatever this collection was.

More importantly, in the center of the room, was a stack of unlabeled cans and a rather large canteen. Said items were quickly encompassed in an aura of telekinesis, cans vanishing in yet another flash of blue. The thestrals would, once again, feel their bags get heavier---this time much more noticeably so. The canteen, however, was looped around her saddlebag for ease-of-access. Then again, with the mare’s apparently aptitude for teleportation and telekinesis, and, the pip-buck’s inventory sorting spell matrix, ease of access was abundant.

Attrition:
Attrition’s attempt at ridding the gigantic cog that was 221’s door of its alarms would be marred by the fact none of the wiring was labeled in any way. They were all the same dark-gray colour, and hardly distinguishable from one another. It seemed that, the only ponies capable of doing anything to the stable’s first line of defense against the outside world were those trained in maintaining it. Even if she were capable of doing such a thing, she would not be able to disable the radiometric alarms hard-coded into the room’s systems--- Though, one does begin to wonder what the ponies of Stable-Tec had planned in the event of a radiation leak...
As far as barricading the entrance to the room itself, its rather spartan decor would prove to make that difficult. Indeed, the only thing of note in the room Attrition was in---other than the huge hydraulics of the door itself--- was the terminal responsible for said door. However, being a member of 221’s security force, Attrition was fully capable of locking the smaller door into the room utilizing her pipbuck--- A lock which only another member of the security force, or, the leader of 221, the overmare, could override.

Moon quickly followed Ardent out of the medical wing and towards the cafeteria. She let out a bit of a groan when they were informed they'd had to continue eating that gruel they'd been served all their lives. "Is there at least some apple slices to wash down the gruel?" She asked with a hopeful smile. Her smile then slipped and she sighed. She then paused as her ears perked up at Ardent's sad tone. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything and just kept on following.

When they got to Ardent's room and she opened it, Moon couldn't help but snicker a little bit, covering her eyes with a hoof. It took all her self restraint to not burst out laughing at that moment in time. Once she calmed herself she fallowed the unicorn into the room. She couldn't help but glance at a few of the pictures, tilting her head to the side just a bit. Ardent and Blissful Ignorance seem like close friends or something...and the way Ardent had said she wanted to say farewell to the overmare... She just shook her head a little to get that thought out of her head. She followed into the next room and just looked around with somewhat widened eyes. She then looked into her saddlebags when she felt they got heavier.

Sonata felt a defeated smile creep onto her face as Ardent replied to her, "of course you do." Sonata recognized when her thoughts had been at least matched if not outdone by the highly organized mare. "Well then, lead on," Sonata commented as she fell into following along. The sight of Ardent's room however was a bit of a mild shock and yet not surprising at all at the same time. The color was more than enough to draw the eye, but the level of organization present was all too expected. The size of the room though might have been a little bit of a source of envy though.

Whatever her full range of thoughts towards Ardent would be though, they weren't voiced at this moment as Sonata resigned to mainly just follow and listen to Ardent and the others. She saw the supplies and felt her saddlebags get heavier once again as they disappeared. Something though was drawing on Sonata attention and it was a curiosity she did voice. "Ardent, just how long have you been planning this... in secret."

Attrition sighs. The things she does for her Stable. Using her Pipbuck, she sends a command through the terminal linked to the door to security lock it. Unless they brought an Overmare or a security ponyup, that door would not be opening. And if they did, it was a good thing she's armed. Based on Purse Snatcher's semi-panicked state, Attrition guessed the break in would probably be before her shift ended. Given that she couldn't open the door, the best thing to do would be to tag along with the others. If they declined, she would have to persuade them. Likely with a laser pistol.

Purse didn't share in the sadness of leaving the Overseer behind; Purse on the contrary would've loved the opportunity to buck kick her face in before leaving but you couldn't have everything in life, freedom over revenge in this case. Still, in a show of tact that she swore cost her physical effort, she restrained herself from any further remarks since Ardent seemed far more sad about leaving the place than any of the others as far as she could tell.

"I saved my apple slices from dinner." Purse replied to Moon's request for them. "I'll make you a deal, don't be boring and I'll share them with you." She offered vaguely with a wink that promised trouble in the future from the tiny mare. She continued bringing up the rear until they reached Ardent's room, Purse checked the corridor by instinct before going inside.

"Is there a reason your room is colored to make me look like an incompetent chameleon?" Purse asked, as her mane and tail blended in almost perfectly with the room in general; she raised her eyebrow at the extra space but said nothing, her suspicions of favoritism confirmed in a second, as the packages started filling their saddlebags.

"Uggh, when I was told we were escaping I imagined something exciting." Purse moaned quietly like a filly being made to eat their vegetables.

Thestral Squad
Purse Cutter’s question had actually managed to draw both a small snicker and a reply from the normally stoic mare.  “Perhaps Blissful Ignorance has it out for you, Purse Cutter--- This colour-scheme was her idea, after all. Something about my needing to lighten up.” Ardent joked, beginning to trot towards a terminal in the first room.


“Since the first power failure. I try to plan for all contingencies… no matter how unlikely.” Ardent said in response to Sonata’s inquiry en route. Now in front of the terminal, she booted it up with assistance from her magic and proceeded to log in. The assistant selected an option to send a memo, listing the recipient as ‘Aeroponics Department’ and expertly composed a request for a change in delivered fruits in a flurry of hoof motions and magically influenced keying.  


“Request granted, Moon Tinker.” Ardent droned, trotting towards the door. When purse complained about the relative lack of excitement her escape suffered from, Ardent replied by reminding her she had yet to even leave, and, that the “real fun” began now as the group would have to get past the guard that was, according to B-shift’s duty roster, stationed at the stable door. “Unfortunately, giving the entirety of 221’s security force a day off was impossible, not enough baseball cards made it in when the bombs fell. Of course, this means you get to experience the excitement you seem so intent on feeling.”


Ardent led the group towards the stable entrance, only to stop abruptly several meters away from the door to the room containing said entrance. In another characteristic flash of blue magic, four magical energy weapons suddenly appeared around the mare, kept aloft by blue auras that encompassed them. “Let’s go break a few laws, shall we?” the mare proposed rhetorically, slowly approaching the doorway.  She hoofed at the door’s control panel in an attempt to open it, and, when nothing happened, the same red card used to open medical’s lockers materialized in front of the mare in yet another flash of blue, disappearing shortly after swiping at the panel’s sensors in much the same fashion it had appeared. She poked at the panel once more, and, this time, it did open.


“Stand down, Officer.” Ardent calmly demanded, leveling her MEWs at Attrition.



Attrition:
Attrition would soon notice four markers were registered in her EFS, one of them were a curious yellow, while the other three were the normal blue-shade all 221 ponies registered as. Rather abruptly, one of the markers turned red, and, shortly, the door would be opened {see above}

Sonata had opted to continue following silently as she tried to think back to the first power outage, but for the moment drew a blank and left the train of thought at 'a really long time'. She flew quickly, abusing the fact she could move through the air more quietly than she could on the ground, and the last thing she needed was extra eyes spotting the shotgun still slightly sticking out of her saddlebag.

She didn't even get the around to question the 'real fun' line before the pistols materialized, and she found her own hoof instinctively going back to the shotgun to pull it from the bag's confines. The larger gun felt heavy in her hooves, despite the prior times she'd shot similar guns, and after making sure it was loaded with a shell in the chamber, she waited for the door to open. Sonata however wasn't going to be the first one through that doorway though and she hung near the side for the moment to watch the scene play out. If weapons were lowered, she'd lower her's as well with a sigh of relief.

Attrition pulls out her pistol and moves to the side of the door as soon as she spots the markers on her EFS. She becomes even more highly-strung when one of them turns red, and fires a shot directly in front of the door when it opens, narrowly missing Ardent. "Ah, you're here. By your presence, I can only assume my notification to security went unanswered or was otherwise nullified."

Attrition takes a careful step back, her pistol still trained of Ardent's head.

"Based on Purse's demeanor, I assumed that the break out would be today, though I was by no means sure. I am glad I did not have to whole up in here till me next shift, that would've been risky. If you are attempting to leave the Stable, then I will come with you. If you are attempting to kill us all, then I will make sure you die first. If you lie to me, I will know. State your intentions, Overmare of Shift A."

Ardent's statement to Moon's request brought a smile to the thestral's face. "Yay." She said briefly. She then turned to look at Purse and almost outright laughed but ended up shrugging. "I'm not boring. I'm as fun as a pony during cider season. Or something like that...I swear I don't know where half the things my dad says come from." She said before shrugging. She then closely followed close behind Ardent.

When the unicorn teleported the MEWs, Moon immediately grabbed the 10mm pistol that she had holstered on her tool belt. She switched the safety off and almost immediately regretted it when a shot nearly took off Ardent's head, making her almost pull the trigger to her pistol. She took a moment to calm herself down before she poked her head into the room and turned to Attrition. "Ar vou mad?!" She said around the grip of her pistol.

She let out a groan and holstered her pistol. "Care if I point out a flaw in your plan?" She asked with a smile. "Now if we refused to bring you and you shoot at us, all four of us can easily fire at you. Sure you might kill one of us but it's highly possible that you'd die too. And that would just be pointless killing." She said, then slapped herself mentally. "Errm...Not saying that we're not going to refuse your request. But I'm also not saying we're granting your request...I'll...Just shut up now." She said as she pulled back away from the door. She did, however, grab her pistol and held it in her mouth once more.

"I'm just saying there better be some good looking adventure ponies and plenty of excitement outside because otherwise I'm gonna be-" She was cut off when they came up to Attrition; instinctually Purse drew one of the riot shotguns she had taken from the armoy and aimed it at Attrition, calmly levelling it at her legs while the guard talked about Purse supposedly giving them away.

"You reading my demeanor right now? Hope so, because it's saying 'I'm about to nut you', or maybe that's just my common sense talking." Purse growled at Attrition; she would not come all this way and build her hopes up so far to be stopped by some flunky on the Overseer's team of gormless morons. "I choose Option C; we kick your head in now and leave instead of taking you with us so you can drag us back to the Overmare."

Attrition’s near-miss prompted an immediate response from Ardent Vehemence. The assistant toggled S.A.T.S, taking a moment to allow herself to calm down. After the shock of being shot at had worn off, Ardent queued four shots from her pistols, aimed at the guard’s own weapon and activated the spell. As time once again resumed itself, one of the mare’s pistols fired four shots in rapid succession. The first shot effectively disabled Attrition’s weapon, the second through fourth shots served to melt the weapon into slag in her grasp

“You wish to leave the stable? Fine. So do we.” She said, closing the distance between herself and the security guard. “You can join us. Know this, Attrition, the next time you point a weapon at any of my ponies… Your weapon will not be the only thing rendered inoperable.” Ardent calmly warned the guard. At this point, she was close enough for the guard to feel the warmth of her breath on her nose, and, when Purse spoke up, she silenced her with an order. “Purse Cutter. Restrain yourself.”

Ardent returned her weapons to their respective places within her bags with a quick spell, moving past Attrition and towards the only terminal in the room and turning it on.

Attrition:Your EFS now reads Ardent’s blip as green once more. The mares with weapons still out are listed as orange, with the exception of Purse, who is red.