Stable Eighty Eight. To its denizens, it’s the last beacon of Equestrian society. When the hell fires of war scorched the life from the surface of their great nation, they found refuge within its steel walls. There, they were safe. There, Equestria lived on.

Just like many of the Stable-Tec sub-terranean living shelters, Stable Eighty Eight sought to build a better society. Their goal was to preserve the best ideals of Equestria so the once mighty nation could rise again, in the ideals they believed to be worth preserving. With so many ideals to choose from, each Stable focused on a specific lifestyle. Some sought to create the perfect pony, pushing for constant work-out regiments and constant genetic modifications. Others tested the psyche of its citizens by splitting their inhabitants between colored factions.

Stable Eighty Eight, was different.

Stable Eighty Eight focused on the ideals of changing the power structure of society.

The Equestrian nation lived in a female-centric lifestyle. It wasn’t that females had more rights than males; or that they were vastly more numerous. Females simply held more positions of power out of sheer luck. The leader of the Wonderbolts, female. The leaders of the Ministries, females. The deities of the nation, female. Stable Eighty Eight sought to change this.

Stable Eighty Eight was built to have a maximum capacity of three hundred and fifty residents, currently holding at three hundred and fourteen. Of this population, one hundred and two of them are female. The ‘Overmare’ is a stallion. The head of security is a stallion. The head of maintenance is a stallion. In order to assure that the numbers wouldn’t sway over time, residents were chosen based on family genealogy. Those that came from male prominent families were selected to reside within Stable Eighty Eight. In Stable Eighty Eight, power was put within the hands of stallions.

Originally, this was suppose to be a test to view the traditional roles being reversed. To see if a society could exist opposite of its predecessor. A male centric society, exact in thought with only a slightly difference in leadership. Could a civilization last with stallions holding the reins?

At first, things were amazing. The three hundred were divided into three classes, divided originally by the number of responsibilities one held. Public officials, interpreters of the law, and peacekeepers were considered First Class citizens. These were the people that needed to earn their roles either by years of study or by public decree.

Maintenance workers, public servants, and most law officials were considered Second Class citizens. These were the people who were tenured enough into their positions to lead, but were still relatively new. The mid level workers.

Third Class citizens were the apprentices, the lower public workers, as well as the lower public servers. These were meant to be the young and inexperienced. People who where fresh out of school or just starting their trades. And if there were ever any trouble makers, they could be sure to be demoted to third class as punishment.

Each class would have their class number embroidered onto their Stable-Tec suits, telling the others of their commitment to the Stable. Each played their part to keep the Stable running, and depending on how much work one put in, it influenced one's social standing. Higher class citizens were paid more and had access to finer Pipbucks, living quarters, as well as better rations. Lower class citizens got what remained.

This was the system the ponies of the Stable made. At first, it worked well. However, as time went on, things began to change.

With more stallions than mares, certain aspects of the traditional household began to differ. With limited breeding stock, sex before marriage became wildly acceptable socially. It was a necessity for life to continue, and thus the transition wasn’t a hard one to make. With more ponies openly engaging in sexual acts though, meant pregnancies were more common. Because of this, mares in the workplace started to become an oddity. Having to raise foal after foal while being out of work for several months meant that after a few generations, most mares lived in the lower classes.

Forty years after the Stable doors were shut, the mares of the lower class demanded equal opportunities within their social standing. They didn't want to have their responsibilities as mothers hinder them from voicing their opinions within the Stable. Sadly, their plight was met with power hungry rejection. Vastly outnumbered, a social reformation was born within the male centric upper society. Now, a mare may use the accomplishments of her offspring to further her own social standing. On paper, this system seemed fair. They could now perform their needs as mothers, keep the Stable afloat, and still achieve similar social standing. In reality, it did the exact opposite.

With this new law, mares were judged by their children. If a mare had a colt, they would be incentivized to groom them to do great works within the Stable. Inspire them to become master crafters, or important public workers. And since they didn't have to worry about them getting pregnant early on, they could mold them to focus work above all else.

But, if a mare had a filly, they were tailored to be beautiful, flawless, and desirable to the opposite gender. They wanted them to insure that their daughters would be the most desirable of their generation. That way they keep them from living less-than optimal lives. They wanted them to find a mate that would bring them a colt that would achieve similar greatness.

At first this didn’t seem to be a problem, but when the population of the Stable grew to nearly five hundred fifteen years later; with less than a fifth of them being female, something had to be done.

The problem was that the mares of this time were having as many foals as possible. This way, if one turned out Third or Second class, she could still bank on one of the others to do well enough to further herself. Stallions of the upper echelons painted this as vain attempts to grab power. But a majority of these births were committed to attempt to gain enough political clout to change the rules. In reaction to this sudden rise, a simple law was passed to help regulate births.

Now, Third Class mares weren't allowed to breed with Second or First Class stallions. Second Class mares weren't allowed to mate with First Class stallions, but could choose to with Third. Only First Class ponies could breed with First Class ponies. This deal seemed perfect at the time. By limiting the First Class, their political influence would dwindle. Meanwhile, power shifted to the Second Class, having more breeding access. Though the Third Class was also limited, it appeared to be a victory for the common pony. So, the ponies of Vault Eighty Eight settled down and implemented a harsh breeding program to get their population back under control. But when the numbers finally came through, roughly one hundred forty ponies found themselves to be Third Class. Just under a hundred found themselves Second Class while the remaining eighty two were First Class.

Today, a majority of the Second Class is made up of the Guard, who remain loyal to the Overseer and Chief of Security. Coincidentally, they are also one hundred percent male. This was the last social mandate made by the Stable in the two hundred years after the war.

The old ways of raising young were still in effect after the Final Reform though. And because of this, the classes started to become more visually different. First Class mares tended to have larger busts, thicker curves, and more appealing facial features. Likewise, First Class stallions became taller, stronger, and ‘larger’ than their counterparts. Mares still had the power to choose their mates, most of the time, so this lead to a genetically superior class of ponies.

Because of the open promiscuity and social workings of the Stable, social behavior changed as well. Rape almost became non-existent by the end of the Final Reform. Because the definitions of rape changed. A higher class pony could not commit rape against a lower class civilian of the opposite gender. Not legally. In accordance with the council, such an act would only further a mares (or stallions) standing. But if the opposite happened, then the pony would feel the full extent of the law, and any offspring would immediately be Third Class. That was the ruling on rape. Luckily enough, because of the more open mindedness, the actual statistic dropped tremendously as well.

Sex became a duty to the mares. Because of the limited rights and the way the guard formed, most mares found themselves within the second or Third class. Because of this, many stallions of the First Class took advantage of their standing to the point where it became the social norm, if only for the rare event that would lead to them bearing children. No guard would ever stop these acts. Those in higher classes rarely spoke out against higher standing officials, but there was still the glinting hope that their child would rise through the ranks.

So, it became common place for a mare to be walking down a corridor, turn the corner, and have three stallions ‘asking’ for sex. At first this was horrid for the mares. But, as the years ebbed away, it simply became normal. Now, having near daily sex is fairly common for the mares of Stable Eighty Eight. They tried to fight it, but the game was rigged against them.

This is Stable Eighty Eight. It has lasted two hundred years on its own. The ponies within its steel doors have outlived the apocalypse.

This is Stable Eighty Eight. So long as the laws of the Stable are upheld, they will continue on.

This is Stable Eighty Eight. They are safe.

I've been itching to do a Fallout Equestria/Anthro story since I've been on this site. This story will be taking place in its own universe, sort of. What I mean by that is that this does not take place within the Capital Wasteland, nor the Mojave. Location will be explained later, but just know that the events of the Capital and Mojave will have little influence in this story.

Also, I am basing many things from both 3 and New Vegas, as well as my own speculation of 4. I am also basing the main characters of the New Vegas system. I will have their attributes, skills, and perks at the end of every chapter. My hope is to have the comment sections influence their growth as well.

Chapters will not be the most frequent either. I plan on matching the chapters with their levels (I made characters in the game to chart their progress). Early chapters will probably happen more quickly than later chapters. I also plan on future chapters being around 10k a chapter, give or take. That is speculation at the moment, but I feel confident in my ability to meet it.

Brony on!

Chapter edited by: Mikoto

Pre-Read assistance by: Reckless Rush

“*Thud thud thud* AH! NNGH! HAH! *Thud thud thud* OH YEAH! AH! YEAH! YES!”

I lean back in my seat and sigh deeply as I try my best to ignore the noises coming from the other room. It’s Wednesday, and I’m supposed to get breakfast with my best friend; Cinnamon Swirl. It’s a weekly tradition that the two of us started doing early in our friendship. Sadly, most of the time…

“*Thud thud thud* KEEP GOING! OH SISTERS ABOVE! *Thud thud thud* ALMOST THERE! AL-ALMO-HHHHNNNGAAAAAAH!” She was usually busy.

Cinnamon and I are both First Class mares. Cinnamon was born into her place and earned her keep by having two high ranking sons in the guard. Even though she works as the lead assistant in the local diner, she lives a fairly comfortable life. Her room, the one I’m currently waiting in right now, is one of the larger rooms First Class citizens enjoy. It’s nicely furnished with the best Stable-Tec has to offer.

“...”

“Bout time.” I grumble as silence thankfully fills the room. I glance at the Pipbuck fastened to my right forearm and move a delicate finger over the screen. Only fifteen minutes this time.

I stand up and start walking around the room as I wait for one of them to leave. I’ve always really liked Cinnamons room, even a bit jealous at times. Like most Stable-Tec products, most of the furniture within are a nice blend of blue and yellow with metallic frames. The carpet. The chairs. Even most of the clothing are all a nice blue… and yellow. After a while this color palate became dull to me, except here. Somehow, Cinnamon made it work; and she has no clue how.

“Hm.” I pause at one of the many mirrors in the room and look myself over briefly. My shamrock green coat is neatly brushed out, running smoothly down my athletic body. I check the makeup around my magenta eyes and find it still sitting perfectly. My ivory white mane is neatly tied back with a single black stripe curving around the right side of my face. My suit fits snugly against my well toned earth pony body.

Unlike the other Stables, Eighty-eight has different types of stable suites. As an example, mine is a two piece. Tailored by the residents of Stable Eighty Eight, the top follows the curvature of my lower chest and comes up just below the valley of my bust. My pants mirror this design, sitting snugly above my flanks and curving in the front away from my belly button. All together this showcases my flat stomach and curvy waistline. Each piece was made to tease the fantasies of those who looked, bringing them close to my treasures without actually showing them.

I have often been told by Second or Third Class ponies that I was gorgeous! A sight to see! I apparently hold such a natural beauty that it practically radiated off of me. I did work hard to keep my figure well in shape, and life was nice enough to have given me a very mature body. Without even trying I was a nine out of ten, or so I’ve been told. Sadly, for those in First Class, I’m sadly a nine out of ten.

“WHOO!” I jump slightly when I hear my friend stumbling out in nothing but her creamy tan coat and disheveled dark brown mane. The first few times this happened, I would blush deeply and avoided looking at the mare when she was in the buff. Now, there was little the unicorn could do to embarrass me. “Lucky… y-you have got to ride that cock!”

Well… the little that could make me blush never failed.

“U-um, I don’t think I have the time...” I mutter as she wobbles towards me. I step back to try and avoid her, but she was somehow too quick for me and grabbed my wrist.

“You can be late for once in your life Lucky Lou! Right now, Steel Baton is waiting!” I nearly fall over when she drops that name. Heck, I probably should have!

Steel Baton is the second in command of the security force. He is one of the most sought after stallions in the Stable because of that. I have... admired him from afar and often dreamt of the stallion whisking me away to some happily ever after that I may have dreamt up when I was a little filly. In reality, I don’t think I’ve said more than ten words to the stallion. He’s never noticed me before, and I’ve always been too shy to say anything to him.

And now I have a chance to possibly say another ten words to him! My heart started trying to eject itself out of my chest as my palms began to sweat. I tried to gulp my fears away, but they just went down to my knees instead; making them shake. What should I say? Would he even consider me? What if he actually wanted to do… that? Could I do it? Would I do it? Would it be good? Would-

“Hey Steel, this that friend of mine I was talking about earlier! Lucky, this is Steel Baton. Steel, this is Lucky.” I made a small eep when Cinnamon suddenly pushed me forward into the nude stallion.

I had to tilt my head back to even look him in the eyes. He was well over a head taller than me. His steel coat was slightly slick with sweat from his previous activities, making his short black mane glisten as well. His face is rugged with strong prominent features while his body appeared to be made of nothing but muscle. His arms are nearly as big as my head and his pectorals look as if they’re going to rip right out of his coat.

Needless to say, I was immediately intimidated, taking a few steps back and folding my ears back. The few words I had ever said to him were over the intercom, so I had never actually met him before. This was the closest I had been to this stallion. And here he was, dressed in his birthday suit waiting for me to do or say something. I tried to take a glance down, but immediately brought my eyes back up when I saw the top of his grey pillar.

Of course this would be how I meet the stallion of my dreams. Just my luck helping me out again.

“So, what do ya’ think? She’s cute, huh?” Cinnamon teases, giving me another nudge forward. Steel cracked a smile and started to walk around my dazed form, eyeing me closely.

“I’ll be honest, I thought you were talking about your friend from the diner. You know… the First Class mare?” His voice is deep and came out slow and deliberate.

“I-I am First Class! S-see!” I quickly inform him, pointing to the large one embroidered in the side of my shoulder. Steel moved closer to look down at the number, but only frowned slightly in reseponse.

“Besides, Toffee is a cancerous whore from whore island! I’ve bet you’ve never been with a mare like Lucky before, have you big guy?” Cinnamon asks as she pushes him closer to me. At the word ‘big’ I chance another look down and nearly yelp at the sight of his rod swaying between his legs. The heat coming from my cheeks is boiling to the point where I’m about to start sweating!

“I dunno.” Steel mused as he reaches forward and cups one of my breast, giving it a light squeeze. At this point I’m pretty sure my entire coat was red! “She’s pretty flat.”

FLAT! I glance at my nude friend and eyeing her bust for a moment. Sorry for not having back breaking gozongas! I’ll just take my D’s and go back home then!

“And I tend to like a mare with more booty too.” I had to roll my eyes at that as well.

I guess not having any kids is a bad thing. Why do I even bother going to the fitness center four times a week? It’s starting to really seem like a waste of time now.

“Besides, I don’t think I’m getting back up anytime soon. Maybe another time. I’m going to use your shower before heading out Cin.” With that the stallion grabbed his clothes and went to the restroom, closing the door behind himself. Once he was gone I let out a frustrated sigh and flopped back onto the bed, utterly crushed by the few words the stallion had said.

“Sorry Lucky, I tried.” Cinnamon told me as she took a seat beside me, rubbing my leg comfortingly.

“Just once I’d like to meet a First Class stallion who didn’t grab my tits and just walk away! Just once!”

“What if I grabbed them? Would that be okay?” Cinnamon teases, making me glare at her for a moment. “Don’t be so moody-”

“I’m not moody-”

“Are too! And you know what?” She pauses for a moment, so I look back to her. Cinnamon simply smiles and positions herself to be sitting between my legs, making me blush again due to her nude and slightly sweaty form. “If I had a dick, I would totally grab your tits and not just walk away.”

“Thanks Cin, that means a lot.” I drone, rolling my eyes with a huff.

“I would totally grab a tit and some ass!” She gives me a slight slap on the flank and gives me a firm squeeze, making me jump and yelp.

“Cin!” I struggle to get her to stop, but quickly find myself trapped beneath the larger mare. “Let go of me!”

“I’m not letting go until you stop being so moody!” she demands as she snakes her other hand up my side to just below my rib cage.

“Cin! CIN! STOP, STOP!” I yelp as I begin to laugh hysterically. One of my fatal weaknesses is that I’m extremely ticklish, something Cinnamon found out quickly in our friendship and uses frequently against me.

“I want to see that smile! Smile dammit!” Cinnamon demands, moving to tickle me with both hands. The effect is immediate.

“Cin- CINNAMON SWIRL!” I hiss out between labored breaths as she assaults my sensitive areas, making me laugh uncontrollably. I try to escape by twisting from side to side and wiggling away from her fingers, but only managed to pull her on top of myself. With evil eyes and a large smile I lock my legs around the unicorn and roll over, putting myself on top of the mare. “GOT YA!”

“How do you always forget about this?” Cinnamon asks with a smirk of her horn lights up.

“That… is a good-EEP!” A wave of magic washes over me and forces me back onto the bed. Only this time, Cinnamon went about getting ready for the day as her magic tortured my non-magical body. Every sensitive spot is simultaneously affected, making me curl into a ball of tears and laughter. In the few minutes it took Cinnamon to take a quick shower, flirt with Steel Baton, dry off, and get dressed; I had gone nearly comatose from laughter. Apparently satisfied with the look on my face, she finally drops the spell and takes a seat beside me again.

“We still have a few minutes, coffee?” she asks me in a slightly condescending tone, getting a tired nod and several huffs from me. “Do I need to carry you?”

“No, *huff huff* no. I can… *huff* two seconds.” I was at least able to sit up while regaining my breath. But it still took me a moment to get my breath back to a manageable rhythm. Cin offers me her hands, which I take, and helps me up.

“Any chance you two could continue for just a little longer?” The both of us look over to Steel as he stands in the doorway, obviously mid enjoyment of our actions. I simply waggled a single finger at him before leaving the room, still giggling from earlier.

Walking through the steel halls of Stable Eighty Eight was always odd for me. On one part, I received many looks from the stallions around myself. Even some mares. It was a confidence builder. I know I’m attractive, but there is a problem with my attraction beyond the perverted stares. I rarely, if ever, turned the heads of any other First Class ponies. Unless I bumped into them or called them out specifically, I may as well have been a part of the walkway.

To the underclass, I’m an object to gaze at from afar. Like some kind of unattainable dream. To my peers, I may as well have been a mop bucket. Something you tried your best not to walk into. The few times I tried to explain this to the few acquaintances from the Second Class I had, they never understood.

You’re still beautiful! And even if they don’t look at you, so what? You still get all the benefits of being First Class!

Many didn’t understand the attraction part, but it was clear to me. To be a beautiful mare in First Class, you have to fulfill certain requirements. Or, more accurately, certain measurements. Cinnamon was as good as an example as any. She had a giant bust, impressive birthing hips, and a thick waist that -with the rest of her body- evened her figure out to the extreme ideals of what a mares body should be. On top of that, she wore a constant smile that couldn’t falter and had a fun, perky attitude. She was everything that the stallions of First Class wanted without even trying.

I tried my best to fulfill those ideals, even receiving help from Cinnamon. I wore clothes that helped accentuate my figure. At first I hated wearing them, but over time I grew accustomed to it. I worked out constantly to keep myself in near perfect shape. Since I wasn’t going to be the biggest, I figure I’d be the best. And since my best friend is as happy-go-lucky as one could be, I learned to be more positive.

I’m not perfect obviously. After lousy days I frequently binge on Fancy Lady Snacks and then hate myself for the poor self control. I’m constantly jealous of Cinnamon because of the simplest, and often dumbest things. And I knowingly contradict what I want far too often. One moment I want to be a strong, independent mare; the next I’m fawning over the fact that I wasn’t as ‘attractive’ as Cinnamon Swirl.

It wasn’t the attraction that bothered me though. There were those I did fancy strictly on appearance, like Steel Baton, but there’s something more I want beyond somepony finding me attractive.

I just want to be there. I’m tired of working my ass off just as much as those around me, if not more, and not getting the recognition I feel I deserve. I just want somepony who is suppose to be my peer to treat me like so. I am a First Class mare. The Third Class treats me like some kind of cross between a deity and a disease. The Second Class are usually too apprehensive around me. And the First Class barely recognize my existence! I don’t want to be put on a pedestal, but I don’t want to be ignored either.

I just want to be equal.

“*Sigh* only three hours to go.” The halls around the main gate were never exciting. The worse crime that occurs around these parts were the occasional group of teens that hide their drinking here. Nothing noteworthy really. I often scolded them for breaking the rules and send them to their rooms, after taking a beer for the road.

I’m not really all that fond of these patrol shifts. More often than not I would spend my six to eight hours walking the same route while twirling my baton around, trying to beat my previous record for number of spins (two hundred and fourteen). Most guards hate these shifts as well. They were the longest and often never had anything happen in them. I wasn’t a fan of them, but I take them as often as I can now.

It wasn’t that I necessarily wanted to work this hall, far from it. But, there was one perk that made working these long hours completely worthwhile.

“... so I told him to swing by and we’d have some fun-”

Them. Two First Class mares that often took this route on their way to… wherever they were heading. During one of the days I was actually assigned here I had accidentally bumped into the earth mare, and that was it. She was perfect in every way possible. Her laugh cured cancer, her smile melted ice, and her figure kept me up at night. The moment we locked eyes that fateful day, that was it.

I’ve never had feelings like this for a mare before. I’m by no means ugly; I often found myself in the company of the fairer sex. At first I simply blamed it on her position and physical appearance. She is a First Class mare, so obviously she was suppose to be very attractive. But, something different was happening to me.

I often find myself thinking back to the mare, wondering about various meaningless things. The first were the obvious perverted choices. But as time went on I started wondering about seemingly pointless things. What did she like to eat? Who did she like to listen to? Did she have hobbies, and if so, what were they? Did she play sports? Was she funny? Smart? Athletic? Did she even look at Second Class ponies? What was her opinion of the class system? Most mares didn’t approve of it, but she was First Class. All that I know for sure is that she worked in the Overstallions office and that her name is Lucky.

“He was pretty good though. Top five for sure.” I gulp when I round the corner and see the two of them walking towards me. I’ve never said a single word to the mare before, beyond the apology for bumping into her that one time. I came close once, but was stopped when my dick of a friend made an ass of himself by asking out her friend. Ever since then I’ve been convinced that I share a bit of the shame that came with his terrible pick up line.

“I bet he was. That thing was… scary.” They’re only a few feet away at this point and I can feel my nerve starting to waver. Even though I planned daily what to say- and how, in the moment it always escapes me. For me, she is too beautiful to approach. This was another odd sensation for me. I’m rarely nervous when speaking with mares. It didn’t make sense for her to be any different. But... she was. Oh boy, was she different.

Okay. Just play it cool. I don’t need to say anything special. Just a hi and maybe a compliment. A nice smile, stand tall, chest out, wings fluffed…

I took one last breath as I made the final steps to approach the two mares. Here we go.

“...”

What the shit! Talk you idiot! Say something! Anything!

“Er… Uh.. Baseball.” The two mares stopped and looked at me, waiting for some form of explanation.

“... baseball?” The cream-tan unicorn asks, looking for her friend for help. She merely shrugs and stares at me, waiting for more.

“S-sorry. I was… thinking to myself… about the… Eighty Eighters…”

“... Oh!” Lucky chuckles, crushing my optimism momentarily. “Sorry to say, but the Wall Whackers are gonna crush them!”

“Is that so?” I ask with a chuckle, my confidence rising slowly.

“It is so! Slugger has the best batting average in the Stable!” she tells me confidently, crossing her arms while smirking at me.

“Yeah, Slugger is good. But Left Hook is having the best pitching season of his career!” I try to match her confidence, crossing my arms like her. She laughs and shakes her head at me, making my pride soar. This is going well… should I push my luck? I’m doing pretty well so far…

“Well, as much as I’d like to prove you wrong, I have to get to work. Try not to cry when the Wall Whackers crush the Eighty Eighters.” She blows me a raspberry and winks before walking off, her friend giggling after her.

“I’ll try my best not cry from laughter when Hook strikes out your team!” I yell back to them, making Lucky laugh again. She glances back at me and I feel myself melt from that smile. I stand there in a daze as she walks away, my eyes glued to her confident, charming smile.

I did it! I said more than three words and didn’t completely screw it up! Heck, I practically had a whole conversation! That was amazing! She knows me now! …maybe not by name, but she knows of me! It’s a start. With a blissful smile I fall back against the wall, feeling a wave of relief and confidence wash over me. All of my previous feelings now seem to have grown significantly. I have a chance! Given, there’s yet to be anything to really latch onto as of yet, but it’s something! Just… something I’m a bit unsure of...

I really needs to stop thinking. My brain’s a bit of a downer.

Leaning against the wall, a faint noise catches my attention. It’s near silent at first. Had I not leaned against the wall, I wouldn’t have heard it. I move closer to the nearby door and press an ear against it, listening closely.

Is… is somepony rutting back there?

I press the switch by the door and step inside. This is the main entrance, nopony is supposed to be here except for maintenance and security, and that’s usually only for emergencies. I look around the room and spot the stallion in the technician room to the side. He’s shirtless and currently thrusting into something that’s out of sight. Sadly, I know this guy all too well.

Control Shift. A lanky white Second Class stallion with red hair that works as a computer engineer. I had the privilege of sharing a room with him during my post G.O.A.T. exams.

Once you had you Cutie Mark Party, you had to take courses and aptitude test to earn your position in the workplace. Something the egg heads that founded this place thought of. Just because you have a talent for fixing things or typing, doesn’t mean you’re the best at it. So, you have to test into your position. They vary from profession to profession. Guards have to study law as well as pass physical exams for example.

Control Shift was an apprentice for the head technician for the water talisman. Once the old geezer currently overseeing it passed on, he would move up in the maintenance track. He would still be second class, but it would put him that much closer to being First Class.

Which is why I’m confused as to why he’s here to begin with. Public sex is a serious crime and could damage his career greatly. He’s not normally somepony to break the rules either. What could have possibly posses him to do… this!?

“White wonder!” I yell out, making him yelp and fall back. I march up to the doorway and stand there, blocking them from running away. He quickly grabs some clothes to cover himself, but the mare in here continues to assume the position.

She’s a white mare as well, with short, black, cropped hair that resembles that of a boy more than a mare. She has a thin body and has a mark of a computer screen with a wrench in it. She looks… older. Early to mid forties maybe. She’s half standing there, half laying over an active computer station. Probably due to their previous actions. I look them both over for a second before I kick the clothes before me over, sighing as I see the stitched number on the overalls.

“Control, I thought you were better than that.” I mutter as I look down at him.

“This is consensual! R-right?” He asks the girl, getting her to nod quickly. “I-I can explain-”

“Please do Control, because it is not looking good right now.” He stands up awkwardly and holds the clothes against himself as he motions for me to step back. I roll my eyes and pull him out, being sure to shut the door I entered from.

“Alright, like I said, this is consensual. I want this, she wants this, nothing fishy happening here.” He tells me as he fumbles with his clothes.

“Control Shift, you couldn’t even open a jar of pickles. I highly doubt you have it in you to take advantage of a mare. Third Class or not.”

“R-right. Anyway. I was working late one night and she happened to walk in and started working on the terminal next to me. Next thing I know, we’re talking and laughing. She asks me, and I’m not lying here, she asks me if I’ve ever had a-”

“I don’t need those kind of details Control. Just get to the point.”

“But-”

“Shift!”

“But that’s really the only point there is to make! She… does things I didn’t even know you could do! Have you ever-”

“Control Shift, do I need to remind you that you are poised to become a First Class Citizen?” I cut him off sternly making him fold his ears in.

“N-no. I know that,” he says meekly.

“Then I don’t need to remind you that being First Class is more than just work. They’ll look into your social life as well!”

“I-I already took care of that! We made a copy of the camera video and loop it while we’re-”

“YOU WHAT!?” He goes silent when I explode. I double check to make sure nopony is nearby to hear the commotion. I grab him and pull him inside the maintenance room, shutting the door behind us. “Control, are you stupid or just that desperate!?”

“I-I-”

“I could arrest the two of you for tampering with Stable-Tech systems, public indecency, trespassing in a restricted area- did you even think about any of that!?” He fumbles with his words for a moment as he tries to think of what to say. I can see the devastation clearly written on his face. Normally, I would arrest the perps without a moments thought. But, he is one of my best friends. And I know we've done our fair share of stupid before. I begin to pace around as I try to think of a way out of this.

“What if you just… let us go?” I look back to Control Shift and stare at him, completely dumbfounded.

“Let you go? Just like that?” I ask for clarification. He nods and approaches me, grabbing my arm firmly as he starts to talk.

“Yeah. There isn’t any video feed of this area, won’t be for another hour. The only pony that knows that we’re in here is you! All you’d have to do is just walk away! I get my future back, I owe you the worlds biggest favor, everypony wins!”

“I think this goes past just a favor, Control.” He bites his lip and tries to think of something. I highly doubt that he’ll be able to come up with something that will cover this, but… it is his future…

“Name it. Whatever you want, it’s yours! Money? Food rations? Want to have a go at Hot Wire? I’m fairly certain she’d let you, given the circumstances-”

“No, Control Shift. Just… no.” I shake my head and rub my temples, giving my wings an uneasy flap. This goes against everything I trained for. If I’m caught, I’d lose everything. There is no coming back from something like this.

“What? Are you still fawning over that Lucky girl? The First Class mare?” I look over to him and give him a look, getting him to back off immediately.

“You know Lucky?” We both look over to the mare as she walks out of the small room, fully dressed in her work jumpsuit. “Green coat, white hair?”

“Yeah, you know her?” She folds her ears and looks away from me, thinking deeply about something. I look over to Control, but only get a shrug from him.

“If I could get you a meeting with her, would you let us go?” My eyebrow nearly break off when she offers this. This… this sounds too good to be true.

“How exactly would you do that? Do you know her?” I highly doubt she does though, she is a Third Class mare.

“I don’t know her personally, but I have connections. If you let us go, I’ll personally make sure she talks to you soon. Though, how far you get isn't really up to me.” She fidgets slightly when she says this. She’s… not lying, but there is something she’s holding out on me.

“How soon would you be able to get us together?” I ask cautiously.

“Reckless, what are you doing?” Control asks me slowly. “Think carefully about this-”

“Like how you thought carefully about this?” I ask quickly, getting him to shut up. “How are you going to do this?”

“I know… or, I can learn her schedules. Assuming she uses a computer in the Stable, I can learn anything you might want to know. From there, it’s simply being at the right place, at the right time.” I mull it over for a second, weighing my options-

“Deal.” Well that was quick. “You get me that schedule, you owe me a huge favor, and I look the other.”

“Deal.” They both say together, visibly relaxing.

“Also, you both stop doing this. If I find you two in here again-”

“It won’t happen again! I promise!” Control Shift tells me, moving to shake my hand. I stare at his hand for a second before he pulls it back. I don’t need whatever is on there on my hand. No thank you.

“Thank you so much for this! You have no idea how much this means to me.” Hot Wire tells me, smiling deeply to me. “I’ll have it on a holo-tape for you in a few days-”

“A few days!? Why is it going to take so long?” I demand.

“Because, I need to be sneaky about this. Unless you want everypony knowing you have a copy of Lucky’s schedule on your Pipbuck!” I go to argue, but nod to her logic. Definitely don’t want that happening. “Good. Then I think we’re done here. I’ll see you in a few days Reckless.”

“Right, just get out of here already.”

“Hot Wire, uhm… can we… uh… you know?” Control asks awkwardly, making me shake my head at him. Hot Wire laughs a bit at him and whispers something into his ear. I try my best not to listen, not wanting to know what they’re doing. “Hehehe, awesome. See ya Reckless-”

“Get dressed first.” I drone out.

“Oh… right. Thanks again.”

I stay at the diner for a few minutes to finish talking with Cinnamon before heading to my work area. I make my way carefully through the halls with my hands occupied by a warm beverage in each. I have my coffee; double shot of espresso with caramel and whipped cream, and then I have Dad’s; a simple black coffee. Though I do have two sugars and one cream in my pocket, just in case it’s a bad day.

My father, Swift Justice, is the Overstallion. He oversees all of the operations and is tasked with keeping both the peace and the prosperity of the Stable. It’s not an easy task to take on day after day, but he does his best. He’s the epitome of what a stallion should be in Stable Eighty Eight. He’s tall, works practically every possible moment he can, and is built like a freight train. Even in his old age he can still go toe to toe with the young bucks of the Stable. Something that I know he’s done from time to time.

From what I’ve learned he used to be a completely different stallion, according to the stories that is. He was a ruthless, cruel, evil stallion that used cut throat tactics to get into his position. Literally, depending on who you asked. If you even looked at him the wrong way he’d wallop you into the wall and demote you. Stallion or mare.

He had issues back then, for whatever reason. He would commit sexual assault on a nearly weekly basis, hit kids, and demanded total control over the everything in the Stable. He was nearly overthrown a few times by those around him. He was stabbed twice, shot three times, and even poisoned once! None of those attempts were successful though. He nearly declared martial law at one point, but then something happened. Something dramatic.

From what I’ve been able to pry from him, and learn from those around from then, I changed him. By the time my mother was pregnant with me he already had two sons, Ironclad and Bootstrap. Both of them are guards now. My mother died giving birth to me. I don’t think Dad even noticed or cared. It's hard to tell from the stories. Every time I ask about that he usually dodges the question.

Once she was declared dead, my dad was about to pass me off to somepony else. But, the doctor there had him hold me first. I guess something clicked in him in that moment. He says he saw everything he had ever done put on me. An innocent little filly being put through so much hate and neglect…

He’d never admit it, but the nurses swear he fell to the ground crying like a baby. He was devastated! He didn’t know what to do. So, he made a vow that day. He’d better himself to make the Stable a better place for his little filly. It was hard at first; old habits and all. He tells me that if a decision would come up, he’d think on how I would react to it. It’s hard to force yourself on mares when you’re thinking about your daughter.

I know he still has a way to go to make up for his past. He still has a few things to unlearn, a few things to learn, but I’m proud of him regardless. In Stable Eighty Eight, not many stallions would willingly change their ways, let alone for a filly. He gets a lot of flak for that. Plenty of stallions are still trying to pry him from power. Luckily for us, he’s still the toughest stallion in the vault.

“Please tell me you brought two sugars and a cream,” he grumbles from his desk as I walk in, running his hands though his pink mane and over his coal colored muzzle. I smile at my forethought and set his drink before him, pulling out the two additives as well.

“What happened this time?” I ask as I take a seat in front of his horse shoe desk and grab the nearby clipboard to take notes. He takes the sugars and creams and adds them to the coffee before stirring it slowly.

“The bill I was trying to get into the charter failed, again.” I frown at that as well. For the past three years he’s been trying to get a bill into the charter that would raise the age of consent from sixteen, to eighteen. He grumbles to himself as he rubs his hands over his face some more. He leans back in his seat and looks back to me evenly. “I swear every time I look at you you’re pants are lower and your top gets tighter.”

“Dad!” I gasp with a blush. “This is about your failed bill, not my attire!” I snap back at him, making him shake his head.

“Can you at least pull your pants up a bit? I’d rather not be able to… see things.” I roll my eye at that, knowing well enough that nothing is showing.

“Dad. Please. Can we focus on work?” He takes a drink from his coffee before motioning for me to continue. I take a look at the agenda and sift through it. “Right. We still need to allocate more hours for maintenance to fix the back up water talisman.”

“Is that thing still broken? Didn’t they fix that last month?” he asks bitterly, turning to look out the window to the atrium below.

“That was for the main water heating unit. This is the cleanser. They say it’s a simple fix and that we have the parts. The issue is that the part that needs fixing is near-”

“SWIFT!” I jump when somepony burst through the door suddenly. I jump up and back away as Stun Gun barges into the office with Steel Baton following close behind. He’s a burly unicorn stallion with an electric yellow coat and white hair. He stands just a few inches shorter than Dad. “What is this that I hear about you cutting hours from Security!?”

Stun Gun is the Chief of security, and my fathers main competitor. Back before I was born, the two of them were best friends. When I came along, and my father had changed his ways, he was not happy about it one bit. Though he throws a lot of that anger at him, he tends to throw it my way too. Never directly of course, but he has plenty of loyal cronies that are willing to do his dirty work for a pet on the head.

Stolen possessions, lewd comments, and plenty of rough passes are thrown my way by most of the higher ranking guards. There are a few that refuse to do it though, like Steel Baton, but they don’t stop the others either. I try to not tell my father about it too much though. I can handle them most of them time. Plus I don’t want him butting heads with Stun more than he needs to.

Dad stands up and glares at Stun Gun with the kind of death look one gets after their third shooting. He’s looking him through, over, under and all other kind of different ways. I just back up against the wall and wait for them to butt heads once again, having Steel join me. I can’t help but blush as thoughts from earlier come rushing to mind. He doesn’t seem to mind all too much though…

“Stun Gun, if you have a complaint you can submit-”

“Shove it Swift! Do you really think you can cut guard hours by a hundred and get away with it!?” He demands as he steps closer to Dad, poking his chest with a finger.

“I know I can if it means getting the water heaters and talisman fixed. And I suggest you put your finger away before you lose it.” He warns him, setting a hand on his sword. No matter what I say, he never goes anywhere without his officers sword. Dinner, work, shower; that sword will be at his side. It may as well be a part of him. Stun Gun eyes the sword for a second before backing up slightly, making Dad smirk.

“Ponies won’t stand for this-”

“Won’t stand for what? Hot showers and clean water? Do you even think before stomping around? Or is that all you’re good at these days?” Stun grits his teeth as he straightens out his posture, eyeing Dad as if he was trying to set him on fire. “Are we done?”

“...”

“Thought so. Now, get-”

“No, I’m not done.” Whoa, this is new. Normally he’d back off by this point. I glance over to Dad and watch him stare down Stun.

“Steel Baton, Lucky, step out of the room. I need to have… a word with Stun Gun.” Steel and I glance to each other before rushing out of the room, closing the door behind us. Even through the thick metal door I can still hear my father yelling at Stun.

“So…” I mutter as I step away from the door and take my seat at my desk. “You ready to be chief?”

“He won’t kill him… right?” he asks as he moves to sit on the edge of my desk. “Right?” I smile up to him before logging into my work computer.

“So, what kind of new policies would you be willing to enforce as Chief of security?” I ask jokingly, much to his bemusement. The yelling intensifies for a moment before it suddenly ends with the sound of furniture hitting the ground. A few moment go by before the door opens up and Stun Gun comes stumbling out. He’s got a nasty bruise on his right cheek as his uniform is tussled in various spots. I try to suppress a chuckle as he leans against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

“Um…”

“Go to the security office and wait for me there… NOW!” He snaps at Steel Baton, getting him to hurry out of the room. I try to focus on my computer, but find it impossible to do so with him just standing there. Something should be done… I guess.

“Would you like me to call first aid?” I ask, half serious and half joking. He glares down at me before rushing towards me. I try to get out of the way but he moved too fast for me. In one swift move he grabbed me by the neck and pinned me against the wall, choking me with his powerful hand.

“Listen here you little slut!” he hisses at me through gritted teeth as he holds me there. I try to break out of his hold, but he pins my other arm against my back. My other hand tries to find something to hit him with, but there’s nothing there to grab. “Don’t you dare ever talk down to me like that again! I am the head of security! You’re just some little tramp trying to get some cock.”

“F-fuck… you.” I rasp back at him, still searching for something to hit him with. He smiles at that, looking over my body for a moment.

“You know, the minute daddy is out of the picture, I might make you my personal fuck toy. I’m sure you’d enjoy being treated like a bitch in heat wouldn’t-”

WHACK

When my hand finally finds something I grab it and swing it across his face with all of my might. The lamp shatters and sends him reeling back, dropping me in the process. When my feet hit the ground I race over to my filing cabinet and grab the bat I keep above it. It’s signed by the famous Stable batter, Home Base. I turn around as he starts to stand as well. His nose is bleeding now and he has a few shards of glass embedded in his muzzle.

“Try that shit again and I’ll personally bash your head in with this bat, you little prick!” I warn him as I tighten my grip on the bat. He chuckles at that as he grabs his side arm, leaving it in the holster. “Go ahead, draw your pistol. Give my Dad a reason to skewer your ass.”

“Soon enough. Sleep tight, Lucky.” He removes his hand and slowly walks out of the room. When he shuts the door behind himself I drop the bat and fall back, leaning against the filing cabinet.

“How far did he get?” Dad asks as he enters the room, holding a cloth of ice against his head. I force myself up and take the bundle from him to take a look. “Lucky-”

“Just empty threats and some rough housing. Nothing he hasn’t done before.” I tell him, eyeing the bump on his head. “We should get this looked at.”

“Like hell I’m going to the doctor-”

“I bashed a lamp against his nose. Unless he wants to bleed everywhere, he’s going to the doctor as well.” I tell him, knowing full well about his pride. He smiles down at me and scruffs my mane, annoying me slightly. It took him awhile to learn how to treat a mare without being like Stun Gun, but I guess that’s why most of the other mares think of me as a tomboy then.

“That’s my girl. Gave him the one-two then huh?” He asks, mock jabbing at me. I laugh at that, letting him nudge me with each hit.

“Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?” His smile falters at that and he nods. He may be the Overstallion, but that doesn’t mean he can stop anything from happening.

“Of course.” I smile up to him as he sets his hands on my shoulders. “It’ll also give me a chance to check up on your fencing-”

“Dad-”

“Don’t sass me girly! You only busted his nose! Next time I want you to take his whole head off!”

With my shift finally over I drop my gear off and head home. On a normal day I would hang out with the guys at the diner, but tonight is different. I need to prep for my meeting with Lucky. I agreed to getting her schedule, but like always, I didn’t think it through! This is a totally new level of creepy. Before, it was simple infatuation. But now… now I don’t even know what to think!

Should I even go through with this? Should I just take the information and throw it away? Will I even get another chance like this? Even if I take every front entrance shift, what am I ever going to achieve? Will I really be content with just small talk? What if she found out? She would be creeped out beyond all belief! What if she reported me!? What if her father tied me to the ceiling and beat me with that sword of his!?

What if things go well and we fuck like it’s spring heat?

…

…

…

Okay, both are very good arguments.

So, at the very least I should get the information from that one mare. What was her name… um… white coat… small chest… um… er… shit. Well, I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. As long as she doesn’t want to get turned in that is.

Knock knock knock

I look up to my door and stare at it for a second. It’s still early in the day, nopony should be swinging by here. I go to the door and press the switch to open it, frowning when I see who’s there.

“Valve Switch, what are you doing here?” I ask as the maintenance mare stands before me. In my twenty years in this Stable, nopony has been able to get under my coat as easily as this mare right here. She’s annoying, stubborn, and stupidly hot. Her brass coat goes well with her rusty red hair and her form leaves little to be desired. She’s a Second Class citizen, like me. She pouts back to me, swaying back and forth before me.

“Well that’s a fine hello. And here I thought we’d have a nice little get together after a long day of work,” she feigns offense, stepping closer to me. I roll my eyes at that, knowing she doesn’t care.

“Look, I’m not in the mood today. What is it you want?” I ask bluntly, making her drop the act.

“Fine. A technician was supposed to help me with a repair today, but she never showed up. I want you to track her down and arrest her.” She tells me this as she forces her way into my room. I let out a sigh of annoyance and shut the door, knowing full well that she won’t leave until she gets what she wants.

“Valve-”

“This isn’t the first time this has happened either!” She tells me as she drops down onto the couch. “Once a week, for the past month she’s been disappearing on me! I want to know once and for all what she’s been up to! I’m going to get that little tramp if it’s the-”

“Valve.” I cut her off firmly, getting her attention. “Tell it to your supervisor. The pony who can actually do something about it.” She stares back at me for a second before standing up and undoing the zipper to her jumpsuit. It drops to the floor revealing her nude body.

FWOOSH

“But I can’t seduce that geezer like I can you.” I try to form a rebuttal, but my entire focus is on the two mounds slowly making their way towards me. I finally snap out of it when a cold sensation starts to form on the tips of my wings. Thank you steel ceilings.

“Valve, I’m not in the mood for that.” I tell her as I move around her, heading to the other side of the room. She chuckles as she follows after me, bringing her hands onto my shoulders.

“Recky, you know what I love about you pegasi? I know when you’re lying.” She snakes a hand around and starts fondling my member through my pants. I let out a sigh as I feel the arousal begin to build. I want to tell her off, that I don’t want this. But, there really is no reason not to. I mean, I’m not with Lucky yet. I have no commitment as of right now. She wants to do it, so why not?

“Digging up dirt on somepony will cost you.” I warn her as I turn around, sliding my hands to the curve of her back and pulling her in.

“I don’t have any plans until tomorrow,” she laughs. I begin to walk backwards towards the couch as she begins to fumble with my belt. I trip and fall back onto the couch, getting her to crawl onto my lap.

“So, who has you so worked up you’re going to spend the night with me?” I ask as I move my hands up to her chest, giving each mound a firm squeeze.

“Some Third Class bitch named Hot Wire.” I stop my movements and stare at her blankly, instantly recognizing the name. “She been ditching out on me and making me do extra work for the past three months now. It’s about time she learned her place. But enough about that, let’s focus on this.” I lose focus as she guides me into her warmth. Control Shift has been doing that for three months now? It can’t simply be chance. Something is going on between the two of them. “So, how do you want round one to go?”

Well… I guess it can wait till morning.

I make my way to the depths of the power station where I meet up with a few of the other Third Class mares. After we check to see if the coast is clear I nod to them.

“Everything is set. Tonight is the night ladies. Meet back here at midnight and we’ll get this show on the road.” They all smirk to me and rev their auto axes, making me smile. This is it. The end of oppression. Stable Eighty Eight, it’s time for a new Overmare to take charge.

I'm going to try and have every chapter end with the two of them leveling up. Though I already have their first few levels planned out, that is not to say I'm not open to suggestions. I tries to get the bottom parts to level out properly, but... I don't know. If you have a suggestion, I'm all ears.

Leave a comment, like if you liked, track if interested, and like always;

Brony on!

I pull my blankets closer to myself as a light humming sound attempts to wake me. Sleeping on Dads couch is never optimal, but I always feel bad taking his bed from him. To put it simply, he's getting old. He'd probably throw his back out if I made him sleep on this lumpy old couch. He tries to convince me otherwise, mostly as an attempt to appear younger, but I know better. One day with a stiff neck versus a month of a bad back? It's an easy choice. Though I did take the liberty to claim his best pillow and blanket.

I groan when I hear the door open, letting in the loud humming from outside momentarily. Whatever is going on outside can wait, for me at least. It's sleep time for Lucky-

"Get up!" I let out a yelp when somepony suddenly yanks my blanket off. I blink a few times as the pony before me shakes me awake. "Come on! Wake up already!" she yells over the emergency sirens as I finally register what's going on.

The mare before me is some random Third Class mare with a large construction saw hefted in one hand. She has a white coat with short, cropped black hair. Blood drips from all over her body as it oozes from the massive construction blade. I try to back away from her, but she grabs my arm and pulls my to my feet.

"C'mon! I said get up already! We have to get moving!" she yells at me again, tossing me towards the dresser.

"P-please! I don't want any trouble-"

"Then shut up and pack this bag already! We have to get moving now!" I flinch from her voice and start to toss stuff into the duffel bag she threw at me. Anything within the dresser is quickly thrown into the bag, seemingly appeasing the mare before me. I pause when hear a bit of gunfire from the door followed by the sound of a saw going off and blood curdling screaming.

I feel my hands being to shake as everything around me starts to settle in. The Third Class must have started a revolution! Is Dad safe? What about Cinnamon and her boys? Am I even safe? Why is she making me pack a bag? I grip the dresser and try to swallow my fears, feeling my legs start to give out as well. I flinch when I feel a hand on my shoulder. The mare is looking at me with compassionate eyes, something that only confuses me further.

"I'm not suppose to give this to you now, but... listen to this while I finish packing, okay?" She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a holotape. I glance between her and it before slowly taking it into my hand, eyeing her cautiously. "Everything is going to be alright, I promise." I watch her as she steps away from me and walks into the kitchen. Confused, I take the holotape and insert it into my Pip-buck, playing it immediately.

"Lucky-" that's Dad! "Look, I know this is all... sudden. The less that knew the better. Even now I have to withhold information from you, and I'm sorry for that. All that I can tell you is that the mare before you is somepony that you can trust. She's going to take you somewhere safe for now... relatively safe, that is." Relatively safe? What does he mean by that? How does he know this mare?

"Where you're going... just listen to Hot Wire. She knows what she's talking about, she'll keep you safe. I never wanted it to come to this, but I have no choice now. Just remember that... you were the star of my eye, Lucky. Don't you ever forget that." Dad...

"We have to get going Swift!" Somepony in the background yells.

"Alright! Lucky, go with Hot Wire, do as she says, and... and... and you come back here when everything settles down, ya hear me? And I mean that! You come back here! Don't let them change you, no matter what!" Let who change me?

"We have to go Swift! C'mon!" The background pony yells again, ending the message. I stand there in a daze as I try to process all of this. What could have happened in the past few hours that would force Dad to come to this? And where in the Stable could we possibly go that would escape this? I look over to see the mare from before -Hot Wire presumably- standing with a small bag of food in one hand.

"I'm sorry... for this. If things were different... maybe... I..." She looks away from me, fidgeting with the objects in her hands. I look back down to the message file before shaking my head. Dad says it isn't safe here, so I have to get going. I look around for a moment before looking back up to the Hot Wire.

"Where are we going?" I ask quietly, yet she still seems to hear me over the sirens.

"Dress heavily. We're going to Silo."

The night was... fun. I guess. There wasn't really much to it, to be honest. She rode my lap, we both came, showered, and went to bed. I didn't really want her sleeping over, but she insisted. Even with the sub par encounter with Valve Switch my mind is still abuzz with the events of earlier. She spoke with me! We had a full conversation that ended with playful banter! Now that it's a bit later, I don't feel as... ecstatic about it. But I'm still feeling that high. It's like there's a fire burning in me! That's probably why I didn't sleep all that much too. I had too much energy!

I look to the clock on my night stand and let out a sigh. It's still fairly early, but I may as well get up now. It's not like I'm going to sleep all that much anyway. Val mumbles a bit as I crawl over her to get up, rolling over to get away from me.

"What time is it?" she asks groggily.

"A little past six, go back to sleep." I tell her quietly as I go to my kitchen, getting some coffee ready.

"Why are you up so early?" she asks, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. I stare at her bare chest for a moment before shaking my head returning to my remedial task.

"Couldn't sleep." I leave it at that, knowing the truth would only hurt her. I hear her get out of bed and start getting dressed. "Val?"

"Can you make me a cup to go? I want to-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

We both jump slightly when somepony suddenly pounds on my door. We look to each other, confused, before Valve goes to answer it. I step out just in time to see her press the button to open the door.

VRRRRRRRR-SPLECH

A massive construction axe swings in and pierces Valve right in the center of the chest. Blood and gore fly everywhere as the automated tool rips her to shreds in seconds. She didn't even have time to scream...

"Dammit Polish! That wasn't him! Get in there and get that guard asshole already!" Some mare yells from the doorway. I run into the kitchen and start to go through all of my drawers in search of some kind of weapon. Just as I find a cleaver I hear them start to rush into the front room. In a panic I rush out while screaming my head off... hopefully metaphorically.

Two mares with large automated axes stand in my living room. The closest one jumps slightly from my sudden appearance while to the other one charges right at me, revving her axe as she brings it over head. I see a part of the body that holds the blade in place and swing for that point. I feel the blade in my hand nearly force its way out as the weight of the machine comes down on me, the spinning blade mere inches away from my shoulder. I grab the end of the cleaver and start to push it away from myself, fighting with all my strength to keep some form of distance.

VRRRRRRRR

The other mare revs her weapon and begins to swing it at my exposed side. I shut my eyes and wait for my impending death. I should have thought this through a bit more. Given, I should have answered the door as well. Here's to forethought...

PAT PAT PAT PAT

I open my eyes and look to the doorway. A fellow guard has fired a few rounds into the other mare, killing her before she could finish me off. I give another yell as I shove the heavy blade aside and bring the back of the cleaver against the first mare. It smacks against her unprotected head and sends her falling back. I spin the blade back around and go to finish her off when the pony in the doorway grabs my arm.

"Save it Reck. She'll pay for it later," he tells me. With his face guard on, I don't really recognize him, but nod along regardless. He reaches behind himself and pulls out a pair of hand cuffs. She's in a daze, not entirely unconscious, but does't fight him cuffing her.

"What the shit." I mutter as I look back to Valve Switches mutilated body. Sprays of blood and innards lay all over my living room floor. With so much of it out, it starts to pool around her and creep towards me, making me back away slowly. "What the SHIT!" I yell right before tripping over the dead attacker, falling onto my backside. I bring my hand up and stare at the thick, red substance slowly running down my arm, staining my grey coat along the way. "WHAT THE SHIT!"

"Reckless!"

"What the shit!"

"Reck-"

"Wha... wha... WHAT THE-"

SMACK

I blink a few times as the stinging in my cheek brings me slowly to reality. I look up to the guard before me and stare at him, unsure of what to do. I've never had to deal with... this! There are two dead mares in my living room! I was nearly splattered all over the walls! He shot one of them! Four times!

"W-what's going on?" I ask meekly. He sighs and offers me a hand, helping me to my feet.

"I'm not entirely sure. All that I know is that a bunch of mares decided to take some axes and cleave a bunch of guards up. The Captain sent me to check up on you. We need to head to the armory and meet up with the others. You think you can manage that... while carrying our friend over there?" I look over to the mare and size her up. She's not the biggest thing ever, shouldn't be too much of a problem really.

"Y-yeah. I think I can manage that. Sure..." He grabs my shoulder and gives me a quick shake. I blink a few times before looking back to him. "I can do it. Let's go." I shake myself from his grasp and go to the cuffed mare. She's not that heavy, so throwing her on my shoulders isn't that much trouble.

"Alright, follow me and stay close. I don't want any other mares getting the jump on us." He tells me as he goes to the door, peering out cautiously. He gives me a nod and runs out, so I chase after him, giving one last glance to the two mares in my room.

The halls of the Stable are bathed in yellow caution lights as the emergency sirens sound off. I can see several of the other living quarters are opened as well. Those two mares must have killed a few other guards before getting to me, if the blood stains are anything to go by. My neighbor was a guard, Bronze Star I think was his name. I can't seem to recall perfectly right now. There's blood in his doorway. I don't look inside though. I have a feeling I already know what happened.

When we reach the stairs to the Atrium we come to a stop. There's another guard in front of us fighting off two more mares with auto axes. These two seem to be wearing modified jumpsuits, having slates of metal on their clothing. The guard next to me surveys them for a second before grabbing me and pulling me aside.

"He won't make it on his own. I'm going to rush in and grab their attention. You need to rush to the Armory and get you gear, got it?" I nod to him, getting ready to make a dash for it. "Alright. One, two, three!"

I rush out into the hall way and make a mad dash for the stairwell. One of the mares notices me and moves to engage me, but staggers back when the other guard shoots her in the shoulder. I run past her and start to force myself up the stairs. I hear the axes roar again and one of the stallions scream in agony, followed by even more gunfire. I try to force it out of my head and focus on the stairs before me, using the physical strain to distract myself as best as possible.

When I make it to the top of the stairs, calves burning from the added weight, I continue on my way to the armory. It should be just beyond maintenance. Two flights of stairs, five of six doors, shouldn't be too far now. I'm just glad this mare is as light as she is. I can hear more gunfire all around. Screams echo all over as well. It's hard to tell what's exactly going on here. Less than ten minutes ago I was in bed with a mare, getting ready to pursue the beauty of my dreams. Now that mare is dead. All I did was stand there and watch as her innards were spayed on my living room walls. I know there wasn't really anything I could have done, but that doesn't help much. I'm a guard. I keep others safe from lunatics like that. And I've failed.

I really need to stop thinking. My brain's a real downer. At least I'm half way there.

Once we get my bag properly filled, I grip my Ponyville Slugger and follow Hot Wire out of my fathers room. She told me to grab anything that could be a weapon, and the bat was the best option I could think of. It's actually my fathers, but I don't think he'll mind me taking it.

The emergency lights are filling the room in bright yellow lights as the sirens force my ears down. Hot Wire doesn't seem to mind all too much. She takes lead and starts to charge her way through the hallway. I run after her, eyeing everything cautiously. With the exception of the emergency alarms, everything seems normal enough. A few neighbors are looking around, trying to understand what's going on. Most run when they see Hot Wire running down the hall, I don't blame them. She looks as if she'll rip the head off of anypony who gets in her way. I'm just glad I'm behind her. We make a few turns before taking the stairs out of the Living Quarters.

"Where are we going?" I finally gain the courage to ask her.

"I already told you, Silo," she tells me as we come to a stop at the top of the stairs. She peers around the corner before running out, so I follow after her.

"And where's that?" She reaches back and grabs my top, forcing me to a stop. She looks around for a second before she starts to drag me to the side. "What-"

"Get down!" she yells as she tosses me aside. I fall to the ground and scurry to the wall as she revs her axe, taking a fighting stance. From behind two post a pair of guards come out and start to shoot at Hot Wire. She lets out a scream as she charges at them. Bullets ping off the metal plating on her suit as she brings the massive industrial blade overhead. The guard before her tries to duck away, but the heavy weapon gains purchase on his thigh and starts to cut it off. He screams in terror as the blade digs deeper and deeper into his thigh. "YEAH! YEAH! WHAT'S THE MATTER!? DON'T LIKE THE SIGHT OF YOUR OWN BLOOD!?"

"FUCK!" The other guard yells as he starts to reload. Hot Wire looks at him and lets go of her axe to draw out a piece of metal that's sharpened to a point. She lets out another scream as she rushes him, just as he begins to shoot at her. Hot Wire thrust forward and shoves the metal into his stomach, getting him to scream in pain. She draws it back and rams it back in over and over again. Blood gushes from his gullet as he grabs her, trying to choke the life from her. She smacks one of his hands away and drives the metal into his throat, finally getting him to fall to the ground.

She stares down at him for a moment, huffing to gain back her breath. Her ear twitches and she looks back to me. I watch the blood wash down her as she stands there, looking down at me with those wild eyes. She looks down for a moment before going back to the first guard to retrieve her weapon. He's dead now, or so I assume. Bled out most likely. She walks back to me and stares down at me again, ears folded back as she bites her lip in thought. I just stare up at her, unsure of what to think.

That was barbaric. She killed the two of them, in the most gruesome way I could have ever imagined. The logical part of my mind is telling me to run. To get as far away from this mare as possible. But... Dad said I could trust her. He said she would keep me safe, and she has technically. He also said that I would be going somewhere that isn't safe too. Maybe... maybe her being so... brutal, isn't a bad thing. I know I'm not going to get used to it any time soon, but... Dad said to trust her. I gulp down my fears and stand up, refusing her assistance. I need to be strong for this, stronger than I had previously thought.

"C'mon. We need to keep moving." I nod to her, still shaking from the scene that played out before me. She gives me a sad look before forcing herself to continue on.

"I hope you know what you're doing Dad... for the both of us." I mutter before I follow after her.

I made it to the armory fairly easily. Thanks to the high amount of guards here, I didn't run into any more trouble. I dropped the mare off at the jail cells and made my way into the armory to get suited up. Along the way I met up with my superior and he gave the gist of what's going on. Apparently a bunch of maintenance mares got it into their head to turn construction equipment into weapons and are trying to form a coup. The Overstallion has ordered us to shoot on sight unless they surrender. A lock down is in order as well, meaning nopony should be out of their living quarters except security officials. That makes it a bit easier for me, I guess. Now I know not to trust anypony walking around.

My security armor fits well, but my riot helmet makes it a bit odd to look around. I've got my baton, my weathered 10mm pistol, a few rounds of ammo, and a set of hand cuffs. I don't know how this will all hold up against an automated buzz saw, but it does make me feel a bit safer. I finish strapping my armor on at take a look at myself in the mirror I have in my locker. I look... scared. I know I shouldn't be, I mean, I do have a gun on my hip. But... I've never really used it on somepony before. In the moment though, if one of those crazy bitches is coming at me with one of those saws... I don't think I'll hesitate... it's hard to say really.

"Reck." I look over to see another guard approach me. With all of the heavy armor on, it's hard to tell who he is. Sadly, my wings won't allow me to wear the heavy armor. Hopefully the standard issue armor will suffice. "C'mon. We've lucked out."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We've been assigned door duty. Since it's not likely that they'll attack there, it'll only be me and you there. Let's go already, getting there is going to be the hard part." I nod to him and follow him back out of the armory. Along the way I get another view of the guards as they scramble about the small room. A few are on the ground, missing a limb or two. There are a few that have blankets drawn over them as well. Groups hurry from one place to another as ponies yell orders and responses all over. A few bump into me as well, but I pay them no mind. I just want to get to my station and focus at the task at hand.

We step back out into the atrium and start to jog out towards the main bulkhead. It doesn't take long for us to lose the roar and commotion of the main floor for the relative silence of the hallway. I keep fidgeting with my gun, waiting for some mare with an axe to spring up and try to hack off my head.

"Man, I tell you one thing; if I get my hands on one of those crazy bitches, ooo! I'm going to teach her a lesson she won't forget." The other guard tells me. I nod to him, trying to keep my focus on the area around us. "You alright Reck?"

"Y-yeah. I'm... I'm good." I tell him, getting him to come to a stop and stare at me.

"Stallion up man. They're just a bunch of mares with power tools. I'm sure if we see any, which we probably won't, they'll give up the minute we flash a gun at them." He jabs my shoulder, making me nod to him.

"I hope you're right." He chuckles at me as we continue on, walking at a much slower rate.

"Hey," he says with an excited whisper. "If one does surrender, you know what we should really do?" I give him a look, making him laugh at me. "Ah, c'mon! Don't tell me you wouldn't take a whack at some free action! After this, that's all they'll be good for!"

"Right..."

"Pfft, please. I bet you won't be so modest if it was some First Class mare." I pause at that thought. No... no, why would she be a part of this? She has no reason to be... right? "Hold up, you hear that?" I stop and listen carefully, hearing some voices up ahead. He motions for me to get down, so I squat down and follow after him to the main door. We find it open, so we peer in and take a look inside.

I don't believe it. It's her... and her! What's Lucky doing here! And with Hot Wire for that matter! They're both inside the control station, Hot Wire typing away while Lucky is keeping watch. She hasn't seen us yet though, so we back off a bit to discuss what we just saw.

"I don't believe it." I mutter as I take a knee.

"I know, did you see that one mare! She's a First Class bitch! Score! What did I tell you? Let's get in there, kill the skinny one, and take a whack at the other one before we arrest her. You in?" I rub my face for a moment as I try to think clearly about this. First off, there is no way I'm letting this asshole touch her. But... short of arresting him and breaking rank, I have no clue how I'm going to convince him otherwise. Maybe he'll listen to reason?

"Look... I-I just... don't know how I feel about killing a mare. Let's just arrest the both of them, yeah?" I ask him, getting him to scoff.

"Did you see the rack on that green bitch? There is no way I'm passing up an opportunity like that. You want to sit here and jerk yourself, fine. Me, I'm going in there and having a good time. Later!" Before I could say anything else, he gets up and runs inside. Dammit... I was never really that good with words-

BANG

I jump when a small explosion erupts from inside, followed by a thud. I stare at the bottom of the doorway until I see a small pool of blood start to flow out into the hallway. I feel my heart race as I back away from the door, only stopping when I hear the two inside start to talk.

"That was loud." Lucky grumbles.

"Yeah, well, that's what he gets for trying to get the drop on us. Now get ready, the program is set, so the door should open in a few minutes. Are you ready?"

"..."

"... we'll get through this... we have to..." I back away from the door some more before I pull out my radio and contact the others.

"This is Officer Reckless, reporting one Officer down and two fugitives attempting to leave the Stable. I repeat, this is Officer Reckless, reporting one Officer down and two fugitives attempting to leave the Stable, over."

"Roger that, assistance is on the way, ETA two minutes. Buy them some time Reckless." Fuck, I was afraid they were going to say something like that. Well... Hot Wire said that it would be a few minutes for the door to open, and the others are going to get here soon as well... I'll wait for a moment or two. For... strategic purposes of course.

I try my best to not look at the mangled corpse of the guard, but I keep taking glances at it. I guess he really wouldn't expect a lunch box to explode. Where did Hot Wire even learn to do that? Even worse, now she's digging through the corpse to scavenge stuff from him!

"I know it seems gross, but this is essential for survival. You'll learn to bear with it soon enough... we all do eventually," she tells me. I glance back to tell her something, but nearly lose it when I see the mangled remains strewn about the floor. "It's not even that bad! He's just missing a leg."

"Just missing a leg!" I snap, turning back to face her. "He was still a living being! Not some... some... some piece of decor you shrug at!"

"Who's shrugging?" she asks nonchalantly, standing up casually. I huff at her and turn back around, trying to forget the image of his bloody stump... GAH! "Look, where we're going, this is normal. And trust me, it will get worse than this."

"How exactly do you know that?" She smirks at that, looking back to the door. I was about to press on when a new siren caught my attention. This one is accompanied with bright yellow lights spinning around as the sound of old metal grinding against even older metal fills the room for a moment. I turn around and watch as the Stable door slowly rolls to the side, opening up to the world beyond.

"Let's do this." Hot Wire says as she starts to walk towards the entrance.

"HALT!" I jump from the new voice and spin around to see a few security guards running into the building. I back up nervously as they rush Hot Wire, who tries to fight them off by swinging her weapon wildly.

"RUN LUCKY!" She yells as she catches one of the guards in his leg, sending blood spiraling around the room. I go to make a run for it when somepony grabs my wrist and yanks me towards them. I look up to Steel Baton and gulp as he leers down at me.

"Well... isn't it my lucky day?" UHG... I hate that pun... so much! I grit my teeth and remember back to all of the lessons my father had given me to protect myself. A particular technique comes to mind that's perfect for this moment.

"Just because you're lucky, doesn't mean you're fortunate." I tell him before I bring my leg back and-

THUNK

I bring my leg right up between his legs, putting as much strength into it as possible. He lets out a slightly higher pitched yelp as he lets go of me and drops to the ground.

Don't be afraid to hit a stallion in the junk. Protect yourself first, worry about ethics later.

Good advice Dad. I look back to Hot Wire and watch her struggle to fend off the other two guards. They each try to shoot her down as she charges at them, but the rounds just ping off her metal armor. She brings up the heavy blade and digs it right into the center of the left most guard. An instant later he explodes into a gory mess all over the room, sending bits and chunks of flesh and bone flying everywhere. I jump back from the spray, getting a good amount on myself.

"RUN DAMMIT! I'll handle these idiots!" she yells as me as she squares off with the remaining guard. He looks as if he's about to puke, I'm not that far off either.

"O-okay!" I turn and make a run for the Stable door, losing my footing slightly due to all of the gore on the ground.

THUD

Just as I was about to cross the threshold, somepony tackled me from behind and knocked me straight to the ground. I try to struggle free, but when he presses a gun to the back of my head I freeze up. We both stay still for a tense moment as we both wait for the other person to act. I can feel the gun start to shake, as well as the guy behind me. I look over my shoulder and stare up at him... he seems... familiar...

I sat most of the fight out. I... I didn't know what to do. If I run in there, and Lucky fights back... I don't want to hurt her. And that other mare, Hot Wire, she looks crazy! She keeps chopping people up! I sit back against the wall and try to collect myself. I try to think back to my training, thinking back on what to do when facing an armed suspect. Given, the suspect they were talking about didn't have a fucking giant ass saw that tears ponies apart!

"GAH!" I jump slightly when Steel Baton crawls through the doorway and sits at the other end. He's rubbing his groin... ow. He glances over to me and shakes his head. "What are you doing, get in there!"

"B-but-"

"GO!" I jump again from his shout and get to my feet. I turn the corner and take a quick look around. Lucky is making a run for it while Hot Wire is facing off with Ironclad. He's put a round in her leg, getting her to drop, if only momentarily. Well... he has her, so that leaves... Lucky. I raise my gun and point it at her. I really don't want to do this. She doesn't even have one of those weapons! All she has is a baseball bat for Celestia sake! "What are you waiting for? Shoot the bitch!"

"... fuck!" With a powerful flap of my wings I propel myself forward and tackle Lucky, making us both fall just outside the Stable door. She starts to struggle against me, trying to free up her arms to hit me. I bring my pistol up and press it against her head, getting her to freeze up. I swallow the lump in my throat as I hold the gun there. I can feel my heart racing a mile a minute as sweat starts to build up on my brow. This... pretty much ruins everything. She slowly glances up to me and makes eye contact. I have to swallow another lump as we simply stare at each other, waiting for... something to happen.

"Arrest her already!" I look back to see Steel Baton arresting Hot Wire. I can't see the other guard, but something tells me that it's better that way. Hot Wire has a few rounds in her guts and limbs, but is holding it together... mostly. I nod to him and pull out my cuffs, applying them to Lucky slowly.

"I... I'm sorry." I whisper to her as I tighten the last band around her wrist. She glances to Steel before looking back up to me, pleading with her eyes.

"Please... help me," she whispers back. I have to look away from her. I... I can't do this while looking at her, I can't. "If you bring me back there... Steel... he'll... please."

"I... I'm sorry." I push myself up and start to bring her up with me when I hear a light thud from behind. I spin around just in time to see Hot Wire bite onto the lever and begin to shut the door to the Stable. Steel Baton is back on the ground, nurturing his groin once again. Hot Wire and I make eye contact for a second before she smiles to me, slowly standing up.

"I told you I'd help... do me a favor, keep her safe for me." I try to run through the door before it shuts, but don't make it in time. The massive metal cog rolls over the dusty track and seals the Stable shut. I stare at the massive Eighty Eight before the panic starts to set in.

"No... no, nononono no!" I pound my fist against the door, as if that'll do anything. I look around in a fever and see the out control panel sitting right next to me. I rush over to it and push the lever up... then pull it down... In a new wave of panic I slide the lever back and forth before I try to figure out what's wrong with it. It looks like the one inside, why isn't it working? I follow the wires coming from the back until I find where they would normally meet up with Stable, only they don't. A large section has been cut clean off, leaving a hole in the Stable wall. I crouch down and try to force the remaining amount of wire into the wall, but it simply won't reach.

"..." It's too quiet. I turn around to see that I'm alone in this dark hallway. I can see a small sliver of light at the end before it's cut off by the sound of a door shutting.

"Where are you going!?" I yell as I fly off down the hall. I make it to the door and throw it open, nearly crashing into Lucky. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm... I'm going to Silo! That's where my father wanted me to go, so... back off!" She pushes past me, giving me a view of the world behind her. I take a few steps out before I come to the edge of what was a stairwell. The stairs down here have been blown to smithereens, leaving a pile of metal in the dark cave. "Take these off me already!"

"Do you even know where... wherever that place is?" I ask I turn back to her, turning on my Pipbuck for some light. She glances around for a second before marching back to the broken stairwell. "What are you doing?" She starts to attempt to climb up the rubble, but having her hands cuffed behind her makes it nearly impossible for her. "Lucky-"

"I'm going to Silo, and that's the last-"

"LUCKY!" I yell as I grab her by the shoulders and pull her back to look at me. "What's out there is nothing but a wasteland of radiation and whatever living hell makes that toxic dump its home! For all we know, we'll die the second we breath that filth. Not to mention that there are probably terrifying monsters! We should work on getting back into the Stable, where it's safe-"

"Safe?" she asks with a scoff, shaking her head at me. "I don't know if you noticed, but the Stable isn't safe right now. My father, the leader of the Stable, told me to leave. How safe could it be in there for me? Then again, what would you know about keeping mares safe?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, backing off slightly. She shakes her head again and looks back to the stairwell.

"Look, even if we were to go back, we can't. Hot Wire told me so. It's a one way trip until my father tells me how to get back inside. So, the way I see it, we have two options. Option one; we stay here and wait for them to open the doors. Option two; you un-cuff me and we brave whatever's out there. Now, are you going to sit here and cry like a little colt, or are you going to stallion up and take a chance up there?"

"... are you insane? Why the flying fuck would I go up there!? You mean to tell me that all of the technicians in the Stable won't be able to figure out whatever pass code you dad put on the computer!" She deflates from this, so I press on. "If we wait here, then at least we won't contract some terrible disease that... that... I don't know, turn us into giant yellow freaks!"

"That's just stupid-"

"I agree! Waiting here is the best option, so that's what we're doing!" I yell as I cross my arms.

"No, that's what you're doing. I'm getting the hell out of here!" she yells back at me, stomping a foot down.

"You can't climb that wall without your hands, and I'm not going up there. End of story." I fold my arms and stare her down. She bites her lip and tries to think of an answer. She looks back and gives a final huff before she marches over to the rubble. "What are you doing?"

"Getting out of here," she tells me before she starts to climb up on the rubble. I throw my hands up and walk back to the Stable door. I take a seat against it and watch her try to climb up.

"Fine, do what you want to. You'll see, they'll open the door soon enough... you'll see."

THUD

"Ooo, that one looked like it hurt." I comment from the side. Lucky grumble her response into the ground before she sits up. She blows her bangs out of her face and glares back at me. I chuckle at her, getting up and stretching a bit.

"I've made it closer to my goal then you have," she grumbles.

"My goal will take time, yours is the distance one." I tell her as I turn back to the Stable door. Why haven't they opened it yet?

"You do realize that almost all of the maintenance ponies were fighting the guard just now, right? They aren't opening the doors anytime soon." I try to ignore her as I run my hand down the front. "Look... it's been a long day. Can you at least un-cuff me so I can rest my arms?"

"And risk you running away? No dice. Look, this is for your safety Lucky. We don't know what's out there. We don't even know if we'll be able to survive there! All that we know is in the Stable. So... just... wait it out a bit longer, will ya?" She pouts a bit as she looks down, thinking to her self. I groan and walk around the small cave entrance, trying to think of what to do to pass the time.

"How about this," Lucky tries, making me roll my eyes. "We wait a few more hours. If nothing happens by then, then we take a look around up top. just a few minutes! Then we can at least know what's going on out here. How's that sound?"

"... how do I know you won't just knock me out with that bat the minute I let you go?"

"I... I'll give you the bat then. Please, my father sent me out here. Do you really think he would endanger me?" I look back to the Stable door and think about what she said. If they don't open the door soon, we'll have to leave anyway. Or else we'll starve to death. And if I take her bat from her, she can't really harm me too easily.

"Hmm... we'll wait four more hours before we take a look up there-"

"Two-"

"It's either four or none, your call." She grumbles to herself before nodding to me. I nod back and walk up to her, helping her to her feet. I'm not going to take them off until we're sure we're going to leave. But I can at least let her walk around. I stand there awkwardly, unsure of the plan altogether.

"So... what's your name?" she asks me, turning back to look at me. I feel a lump grow in my throat as I look into her eyes. It's amazing how beautiful they are when they aren't glaring at you.

"Re... my name is Reckless... but, my friends call me Reck." I tell her, getting her to smile.

"Well, Reckless, we have four hours until we make that trip. So rest up!" I swallow the lump in my throat from that. I guess I deserved that, even if it was a bit harsh.

Sorry for the slow updates, life be crazy right now.

Brony on!

Waiting for the clock to run out was gruesome. Sitting with my wrists cuffed with a complete stranger meant I couldn't really get comfortable. I spent most of the time pacing around while trying to think of a way out without Reckless. He's just been sitting there fiddling with his Pipbuck. By the sounds of it, he's getting close to beating the Striped Menace. I guess he gave up on sending a message to the others. That, or he's made contact with them and is waiting for them to do something. I'll go with the latter of the two.

On occasion he would glance up to me and try to say something, but he'd lose it immediately. If I had to guess, he's probably trying to think of a good pick up line. I do my best to ignore him though. After an hour or two of this he finally gave up, apparently due to him losing at his little game.

"Is it time yet?" I ask shortly, stomping a hoof down.

"It's only been two hours," he replies, not even looking up from his Pipbuck. I huff in return, irked at the stallion.

"Can you at least remove these?" I ask while showing him my hands. "They're really starting to chaff." I add a little pouty face to my complaint, hoping it'll sway his mind.

"No." Well that didn't work.

"Why not?" I ask, trying my best to sound as reasonable as possible.

"Because I don't want you climbing your way out of here. That's why." Well... He's not wrong. I would have tried that. After kicking him in the nuts of course.

"I'm not going to make a run for it. I just want to relax my arms a bit." He gives me a deadpan look before going back to his Pipbuck. Well... I guess there's always... the look. I hate doing this, but it's the best way to get a stallions attention. The problem is that it's going to take some finagling to get set up. It's worth a shot, I guess.

I walk away silently and head back down the hall towards the destroyed staircase. Along the way I stop when I see a broken light fixture. The top screws have broken off, getting the actual fixture to hang down. It's set at the perfect height for this, so I step up to it and get to work trying to lower the zipper on my top. This is too demeaning, but it works a majority of the time. I just need to get it down a tad and I'll be set.

My first few tries don't catch on. I squat down a bit more and try again, almost getting it to latch. I bite my lip and try again, leaning forward to get a better angle. I struggle for a awhile until I feel the cold metal rub against my coat-

"What are you doing?" I let out a small yelp and try to straighten myself out, only to snag onto the broken light. I frantically try to free myself, but only manage to bring my zipper down further. Of course now it would do that! Why wouldn't it? I only put myself in the most awkward position possible! It had to end like this!

"W-well... You see... The thing is, uh..." I try to think of something to say to him while also trying to free myself, but neither seem to be getting me anywhere. I see him glance at my slightly exposed chest and begin to blush. Great, let's add that to this mess too! I'm stuck with a perv in probably the worst possible position! Why me?

"L-look. I'm going to un-cuff you so you can... fix yourself. Just... promise me you won't run off. Okay?" I stop fidgeting around and stare at him, unsure how to react. Most stallions would take this opportunity for a free grab. Or worse. Why not him? Am I not attractive to him? That's impossible! I'm a first class mare! He's only a second class stallion. Why isn't he taking this chance?

Why am I questioning it?

I nod to him and stand still, waiting to see what he does. He walk behind me and begins to fumble with his keys. I try to keep an eye on him, still expecting him to do something stupid. I wouldn't put it past one of Stun Gun's cronies to take advantage of a mare. Though, to be fair, I was about to use my looks to take advantage of him. They're not on the same level, but I guess the idea is close enough. Still, it's not like I had a choice to be like that. They choose to do that, that's where the line is.

Click

I break away from my chain of thoughts when I hear the cuffs click open. A moment later I feel them leave my wrist, freeing my arms. I watch in slight astonishment as Reckless turns and steps away from me. Giving me a moment of privacy. I... don't get it. He didn't do anything. There has never been a guard that hasn't passed on an opportunity like this. What is his deal?

Why am I questioning it, again?

I bring my arms forward and unhook myself, zipping my top up quickly afterwards. Once done I turn to Reckless and approach him. He has his back to me, waiting for... something. I don't know what to say to him either. Do I thank him? I don't think I should, seeing as it's his fault I was in that position... mostly. I guess it's fifty-fifty.

"So... what happens now?" I ask, getting him to turn back to me.

"We still have a few hours left," he responds slowly, turning to face me. I nod to that, thinking to myself for a moment.

"We could sit here for a few more hours and wait to see if anything happens. Or..." I give him a hopeful look, making him shift his stance as he thinks about it. "We don't have to go far! Just up those stairs, poke around a bit, see what's up there, and be back within the hour. Aren't you the least bit curious to see what's up there?"

"Well-"

"Forty five minutes!"

"I don't like this-"

"Thirty minutes!"

"Mmm..." I hold my hands before myself and do my best to beg with my eyes. He tries to avoid my gaze, but glances over one too many times. "Alright. We'll go up and take a look around. But no longer than thirty minutes! After that we head straight back here, got it?"

"Yes sir! Thirty minutes and then right back here!" I tell him excitedly, giving him a quick salute. He lets out a groan before walking towards the stairs. I give an excited little dance before chasing after him. Originally I was scared to go out there. But after two hours of waiting around, I'm ready for anything.

We both come to a stop before the broken stairwell and gaze up at it. All of my previous excitement has left me as the weight of what we're about to do settles on me. Who knows what's out there? For all we know the Equestria we read about is alive and thriving. It could equally be a death pit full of monsters and radiation. We're leaving everything we know all on the words of what my father and some psycho mare said.

"Do you need me to lift you up?" Reckless asks.

"I can get up there myself." I answer quickly. He nods to me and steps forward, opening his wings completely. I've never seen a pegasus up close before. I didn't even know there were any in the Stable. If he wasn't such a jerk, I would say his silvery grey wings were beautiful. Sadly, he's still a jerk. He gives a few flaps before jumping into the air, making it to the top of the stairs quickly.

Show off.

I take a look at the rocks before me and try to find a path to the top. Let's see... If I jump from that rock... To that rock... To that rock, I might be able to make it to the side of the stairwell. From there I can climb up its metal frame. Easy enough.

I go to the first bolder and hop onto it. Simple enough. The next one I have to pull myself up, but I climb it quickly. Now, onto the last one. It's a bit higher than the others, but there are a few spots where I can insert my hoof to climb up. It shouldn't be a problem. They look sturdy enough to support me. I bring myself up to that point and test my weight there, deeming it suitable to continue. I reach above my head and grab the next point, digging my fingers into the ground a bit. I let out a huff as I bring my hoof to the next point and test my weight there. It's a bit of a stretch, but shouldn't be too much for me to handle.

I take a look around before I reach out and grab the stairwell. It's not the most sturdy thing ever, but it'll do. I move one limb at a time before I'm completely on the metal frame. It sways a bit from the new weight, but stays standing. I start to climb up it, making it sway even more. I slow myself down in an attempt to keep it from moving too much, but I make it to the top soon enough. Once there, I throw my legs over the railing and finally stand.

Crack

I feel my heart stop when the stairwell cracks beneath my weight. I tighten my grip on the railing and wait for something to happen. Any second now this entire thing could come crashing down beneath me. I hear some silt slide out, but other than that, nothing is happening. I open an eye and take a quick look around, noticing that the stairwell tilted slightly to the left. But somehow it's holding. I step back and let out a relieved breath-

CRACK

I look up and make eye contact with Reckless before the ground beneath me crumbles away. I let out a small yell as I try to make a run for the cliffs edge, but I drop too fast to make it. In a last ditch effort to make it to safety, I leap forward, trying to catch myself on the side of the cliff.

THUD

I smash against the wall and start to slide down. I try to grab onto anything I can get my hands onto, but instead I slide halfway down before I finally get my hooves onto something solid. In a panic I grab onto the wall and hold onto it for dear life. I hear all of the metal framework crumble beneath me, but luckily for me it stops there.

"Are you okay?" Reckless yells down to me.

"I'm fine. A bit dusty, but fine." I tell him, glancing over myself momentarily.

"Hang on. I'll come down there and-"

"No! I'll be fine." I yell back stubbornly.

"Are you crazy?! This wall could come crashing down on you!" he yells back at me. I ignore him as I try to find a way up top... it isn't looking good right now. I try to move an arm to reach up higher, but the spots holding me up nearly give out. After a few more tries I hear a few flaps before all of the dust around me is thrown up. I have to shut my eyes tightly to prevent myself from being blinded. At the same time I feel Reckless wrap his arms around my waist and lift me up. A moment of degradation later and he sets me on solid ground.

"I could have done that!" I complain as I step away from him and rub the dirt from my face.

"Of course. Look, that was clearly a sign to not head on. We should go back before anything worse happens." I roll my eyes at that, looking at the rest of the tunnel.

"You promised me thirty minutes," I tell him.

"I didn't promise you anything!"

"It was an assumed promise!" I yell back, making him throw his hands up in anger. "Look, that was obviously unsafe. We'll be more careful in the future. We're already here, why not go further?"

"Because I'd rather you stay alive then end up at the bottom of a pile of scrap, that's why," he tells me flatly. I shake my head at that and start to walk down the tunnel, getting him to chase after me. "Do you have a death wish?"

"No! I have a 'don't get raped' wish!" I yell back at him, making him take a few steps back. "There isn't anything for me back at the Stable, not now at least. I was seen by the guards with those mares. If I go back... nothing good will happen there. I'm just as safe out here as I am down there. And, you know what? I might be a little safer if you'd stop complaining and help me!" He takes another step back, folding his ears along the way.

"I-I... Uh... you... Er..."

"If you want to wait, then wait. I'm not sticking around for that kind of future." I turn away from him and march down the tunnel. Now that I've walked away, I feel slightly guilty for yelling at him like that. But I meant every word. I know what's back there for me. Dad knew that too, that's why he sent me out here I guess.

"Lucky?" I stop and turn back to him, crossing my arms tightly. He walks up to me and bites his lip for a second before passing me my bat. "I'll take lead. Follow after me and keep close, okay?" I look down to the bat for a moment before taking it from him, nodding slowly. "Also, take my helmet. It's not much, but it'll provide some protection at least."

"Thanks." I mutter to him as he hands me the riot helmet. I stare at it for a second before taking it and looking it over. It seems as if he's sweated in it for awhile, but I won't complain about it. It beats nothing.

"And... please don't bash my head in." I chuckle at that. I can't say the thought didn't pass my mind.

"I'll try, you ready?" I ask teasingly. He shoots me a small smile before stepping in front of me. I smile as well, tussling the helmet in my hands before sliding it over my head... yup. He's pretty much sweated into the core of this thing... Not that I'm complaining.

I grip my bat in my hands and walk after Reckless. He's crouched down and is fiddling with the door at the end of the hall. I wait behind him and slide the face guard down. It's a bit more difficult to see through this thing, but I definitely want any form of protection I can get.

Click

I feel my heart skip a beat when Reckless gently opens the door. He doesn't open it all of the way though. Just enough to have a sliver to see out of. I swallow the lump in my throat as he peers around the corner. This is it. No backing out now.

"Alright, here's the plan." He tells me as he closes the door quietly. "The coast appears to be clear. I take the lead out there and you'll follow close behind me-"

"And why can't I lead?"

"Because you don't have any armor on." That's a good point. "Just keep low, keep quiet, and stay close. It looks as if we're in some sort of office building. So we'll take a look around to make sure the coast is clear before moving forward, got it?" I nod to him, holding my bat a bit higher. He nods back to me before crouching back down. I mimic his movement, though I have a bit of difficulty maintaining it.

I follow after him and get my first look of the outside world. It's bleak. As he said, it looks as if it was an office, but it's clearly been destroyed now. The ceiling above has mostly collapsed, leaving the area before us a cluttered mess. There are still a few cubicles here are there, though they too are destroyed mostly. A dim light comes through the cracked walls up above, though the walls around us are dark. They also seem to lack windows, telling me that we're probably still underground. With only the dim light to guide us I switch my Pipbuck light on, only to shriek when I see the skeleton before me. I jump back and trip over something, making a rattling noise. I look down to see that I fell into another skeleton, making me shriek again and jump to my hooves.

"WILL YOU QUIET DOWN!" Reckless yells at me in a hush tone.

"Why didn't you tell me there were skeletons right at the door!" I yell back, trying to step over the bones to get away from them. But with my light on I can see that there are dozens here.

"I didn't notice it. Will you please be quiet now? And turn off your Pipbuck!" I take a few more squeamish steps over the bones before making it to the other side of Reckless. I turn my light off and take a moment to compose myself. Why were there so many bones there to begin with? Were they trying to get in the Stable as well? Do we just leave them there? "We should head back-"

"What? No! We only just started!" I complain, making him stare at me. I blush a bit as I nod to him, knowing I may have thrown a bit a of fit there. To be fair! He should have warned me. "I-I wasn't ready for that."

"We aren't ready for any of this! Look, let's head back and I'll watch over you. I won't let them do... that, okay?" I scoff at that.

"And why would you do that? The longer we're here, the longer we're on equal grounds. You promised me at least an hour. And I intend to stay up here for an hour. So either get out of the way, or start leading." He groans from that, standing back up as he rubs his face.

"Fine! But one hour!" he tells me as he walks off. "... And it was thirty minutes!" Dammit, I thought he wouldn't notice.

"Aren't we sneaking?" I ask as I stand up.

"Not any more. After what you pulled, if something was in here, it would have found us already." I blush a bit more from that. I was just caught off guard! It's not like I was planning on falling into a pile of bones. And he doesn't have to be a jerk about it either!

Reckless moves towards the closest door with his pistol out, aiming at whatever might come out. I glance from poster to poster as I follow behind him. Most of them are still hanging on the walls, astounding me. I can't even keep the files to stand back home, how did they get them to stay up after who knows how long? A lot of them are basically the same. Pinkie Pie is watching you; fight the Zebras, do your work; Use less, Feed troops; a bunch of propaganda stuff. I remember when I was little I found a storage closet with a bunch of this stuff back at the Stable. Dad told me that it was mainly useless now that the world blew up.

We make it to the end of the hall where we find another locked door. Instead of opening it though, Reckless just stares at it.

"Something wrong?" I ask him quietly.

"Two locked doors in an office building. It... just seems weird to me," he replies. I shrug his worries off though.

"We don't know what they were an office for. They could have been for one of the Ministries for all we know. If we can find a working computer, I might be able to pull up a file that could tell us more about what happened here." He nods to that, kneeling to start picking the door. "Where did you learn to do that? I doubt they teach you that in guard school."

"They don't. But... let's just say I had to be skilled growing up." I roll my eyes at that. He can stroke his own ego. I hear something snap and Reckless curses under his breath as he stands back up. "Do you have any bobby pins with you?" I pat myself down until I pull the one from my bangs out. I normally need two to hold them in place, so I pocket the other one.

"Well... let's just hope there aren't anymore locks," I tell him. He bites his lip for a second before taking it and getting back to work on the door. "Wanna place a bet?" I ask eagerly, finding the dull, deteriorating office boring.

"On what?" he ask absentmindedly.

"On what this building was before! My guess is that it was a branch of the Ministries. What about you? And... try to keep it PG." The door clicks open as Reckless stands up and thinks about it for a moment. A small smirk grows on his face as he thinks about it. He better not get perverted about this.

"Before I make my bet, you'll have to narrow your guess. There were a lot of Ministries from before, saying any of them is pretty broad." I nod to that, glad that he's playing along. I imagine a defense building would have better enforcement's, so that's not it. There's a lack of tech, so that rules out magic... hmm...

"I'm going to go with Morale." I tell him confidently. [Luck 7] "And if I win, I get your handcuffs!"

"Morale eh... I can see that, what with all the posters and stuff. Okay, so if it's a branch of the Ministry of Morale then you get my handcuffs. I bet that it's a technology office building, possibly Stable-tech."

"Why do you say that?" I ask curiously, making him smirk.

"Because there's a Stable underneath it." [Intelligence 1]

"I... didn't think about that... huh. Well, anyway, if you're right?"

"If I'm right, you have to call me Reck. Deal?" He holds his hand out to shake, eyeing my seriously. That catches me a bit off guard. I was expecting for him to try something remotely perverted at first. This... makes me feel like a jerk for not calling him that to begin with. But, I stand by my decision not to. I reach out and grab his hand, giving it a firm shake.

"Deal. Now, let's see what's on the other side of that door already." He nods to me and motions for me to back up a bit. I roll my eyes and step back. I doubt there's anything in here, but I'll let him play the role of protector. He brings his pistol forward and slowly opens the door, only bringing it forward enough to peer through.

"Clear." Called it. We step into a more intact office that's much darker then the room prior. There's an emergency light in the back, lighting another doorway, but everything else seems to be shut off. "By the way, why are you making bets all of the sudden? A few moments ago you were screaming bloody murder because of some bones."

"Well... why are you so casual with bones?" I ask defensively as we make our way through the dark office.

"They're just bones. Plus I didn't know them, so I really don't have any connection." I silently nod to that. That's a good way to look at it, though I'll never tell him that.

"They were ponies once." I tell him quietly. "Plus... stuff like that creeps me out. They're bones, they belong inside ponies. That's just... uhg!" He merely shrugs in response.

We make it to the lit door and go through the same procedure, finding another dark room. Like before, there are some emergency lights dotting the sides, giving us a vague idea of where we are. It looks like some kind of power station, but it's set up a bit differently. The center of the room is filled with large machines that have thick antennas standing on top of them. A large, strange object stands in the exact center of all of this machinery. It looks like some kind of tower with a glass tube going around it near the top. I've never seen anything like it before. And don't have a single clue as to what it does.

There are two doors nearby, one on the left side of the room and one the right. We both pause and stare at the two doors, trying to make a guess.

"Left or right?" Reckless asks.

"Mmm... I don't know. You pick." He lets out a grumble before heading towards the left one, probably because he was standing closer to it. We go to the door and find it locked mechanically. No tumbler to pick. "There has to be a switch or computer to activate this. One that would be connected to the emergency grid. Lets take a look around."

"Alright, stay close." I nod to him as I turn on my Pipbuck, lighting the area around us. There isn't much here at fist glance. Some old documents, some dusty terminals, and a trash can filled to the brim with bottle caps. Nothing worth taking really. When we make it to the back of the room we find an old terminal. I move ahead of Reckless and press it on, getting the screen to come to life. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"I've worked on computers all my life. My dad never really did like the computer technicians, thought they were too nerdy for their own good. I might not be the best, but I definitely know what I'm doing." I tell him as I wait for the command screen to come up. Once it does, I try to access the main page, only to get hit with the firewall. Not a problem. The good thing about these computers is that they were all made with the same idea for security measures. I just have to guess which word is the right one and we're in.

"Right... well, I'll just keep watch then, I guess."

"You could go check out that other door. I'm going to be a minute here." He doesn't respond. He just walks to the back. I ignore him as I take a seat and try out a few phrases.

Seeking... no. Four out of seven though, and it probably has the ING in it.

Dud...

Dud...

Slating... no, but four out of seven.

Dud...

Allowance replenished! Whoo!

Dud...

Only a few left, Leaking... Yes! [Science 25]

After I punch in the password I open up the main menu. There are three options; Work Memo, Personal Messages, and Power Grid Options. Well, we're trying to figure out what's going on here, Work Memo First.

Syn-Tech would like to remind its employees that, even though we happily endorse inter-workplace relationships, we will not tolerate workplace fraternization. This is in regards to the now infamous copier incident. As such, the following rules will be implemented:

Mares will no longer be allowed to wear low cut or revealing attire.

Stallions will no longer be allowed to wear cologne.

Everybody will be required to punch in for their breaks and lunches. This includes all smoke breaks, bathroom breaks, and any other time you must leave your cubicle.

Cameras will be installed in all copier, closet, and non-visible public places.

We want to thank you for your cooperation and hope you enjoy the rest of your freedom loving day.

Signed, Miss Seed.

Huh... I can only imagine what happened... Do I really need to read the personal messages... dammit. Curiosity wins again.

Dammit D.J. I told you to stop grabbing my ass every time we pass! We may have gotten away with the whole copier thing, but they won't let us keep our jobs if you keep doing that shit! (I'm not mad, I'm just on edge. As much as I may or may not like it, I like paying my bills more :P) It's bad enough that I can't walk down the hall without five cameras following after me. I don't need them breathing down my neck every time we make googly eyes. And lay off the cologne, I can smell it from my desk up front. (Dumbest rule ever >.<)

Anyway, I got your text and yes, I would like to go out next Friday. And if you're a good colt, I'll wear that special little thing I got just for you. ;D

See ya then, P.

P.S. Thanks for wearing that low cut/revealing shirt to work. Too funny! XD

Well... that was a little cute. It's also a weird glance into life back then. I didn't really imagine mares and stallions being flirty back then. With all of the pictures and the way the Stable was, ponies back then seemed more stiff. As if those kind of things were for only the bedroom. I guess we just remember things differently.

Also, this place was called Syn-Tech. So, it most likely wasn't a part of Stable-Tech. But I doubt that the Ministry of Morale was a part of any technical aspects of life, so I don't think I won either. We'll have to check a few more terminals before we declare a winner. Onto the last option; Power Grid.

At first I get a few readings about the amount of energy being produced, and it's a bit... odd. It has two sources; a grid of panels on the top of the building, and some generators from beneath. But, that can't be. The Stable is beneath this building. Our generators couldn't supply this building with the energy it needs... unless it had that second source. But, why would they do that? The stable wasn't built until the climax of the Great War. I doubt they would build an administrative building during that time. It doesn't make any sense.

"That door is not opening." Reckless tells me as he walks up. "Anything good? Was I right?"

"This building is partially powered by the Stable." I tell him, turning around in my stool to look at him. He's just as shocked as I am. "And no, this place was a part of something called Syn-Tech. So you're not right, but there's still a chance that I am. But, I don't think you're grasping the situation completely. This building is partly powered by the Stable, our Stable! You don't find it odd that an administrative building is powered by a Stable?"

"Well... no. Not really." I stare at him for a second as my ear twitches. He can't be that dumb. "Don't give me that look without hearing me out!"

"Then spit it out already! Because this is freaking me out!"

"Well... This building was probably built before the war. They probably put the generators in before they put the Stable. And... well, when they started building the Stables, they probably saw the perfect start to build here. It was partially dug out, had the power it needed, and was probably cheaper than making an entirely new Stable. So... yeah."

"But why wouldn't we know about it? How could we have gone for so long without knowing part of our power was leaving the Stable? There's something else to this, I just know there is." I spin back and start to read the rest of the options. I know there is more to this than just simple planning and logistics. There has to be.

"Well... are you able to turn the rest of the power back on? Or are we stuck here?" I read all of the options once more before turning back to Reckless.

"It looks like we have some options. The connection to the Stable has been turned off. If we want to open the doors we'll have to divert some of their power to us. There is an option to have it spread evenly or take all of it."

"But that would doom the Stable."

"I know. I only mention it to make a point. There is more to this building than just an office. Why would they have the power to do that if there wasn't something else going on?" He shrugs and scratches his head, trying to form a rebuttal. "There is one more option, but I don't know what it would do. Something called the... S.A.S.S.?"

"You have to be making that up."

"I wish I was, but no. There is an option to power something called S.A.S.S." I stare at it for a moment before chuckling a bit. Reckless laughs a bit too, making me laugh a bit more. "At least they had a sense of humor back then."

"I'm feeling a bit sassy, can you click it to find out what it does?" He asks as he leans down to look at the screen. I chuckle a bit more before clicking it. The link brings me to the confirmation page to activate it, but doesn't elaborate on what it does. "I guess that answers that. Alright, spread the power and let's head out."

"Alright, spreading the power... done!" With a final click the screen locks me out as it begins to transfer the power.

The sounds of machines whirring back to online fills the air around us. Old lights flicker back to life with a few exploding loudly. In the distance a siren begins to drone as rusted gears begin to turn once more. The large structures in the center of the room begin to hum as the center object slowly beings to fill the room with a blue glimmer.

I stand in awe of the light glowing brighter and brighter until it begins to be too much to look at. I shield my eyes from it just as thunderous arcs or electricity start to jump from the center object to the outer machines. I duck instinctively from the sounds as more and more arcs jump around. Reckless grabs me and rushes me towards the side as the lights in the room begin to blow out. The metal door grinds open and we rush through it, pressing the switch to close it immediately.

We both lean against the wall and catch our breaths, obviously caught off guard by what happened. Most of the lights in this hallway have blown out as well, but the few that are intact are shinning brightly. The hall itself seems just as bland as the rest of the building, being in the same state of disrepair as well. There are a few bulletin boards with sparse papers, but nothing else.

"What was with that thing?" Reckless asks as he stands upright.

"I don't know, but at lease we made it past the door." I offer him a smile, but he only shakes his head. "Well, anyway, we're here now. Let's take a look around."

"Okay... follow me," he tells me as he crouches down and steps towards the closest door. I shake my head and walk after him. If there wasn't anything before, I doubt there's going to be anything now. But I'll let him think he's leading. If only to save me from the headache.

He takes a look through the door and peers around. He takes a few steps inside before looking back to me and motioning me inside. I smile back and curtsy before pushing the door open and walking in. I hear him mumble under his breath and holster him pistol, following after me. It's another office, but this one is filled with cubicles that mostly look intact. I walk through the spaces and look through them quickly. All of the computers don't seem to be working, mostly due to blowouts. Most of the desks are filled with old knick-knacks and photos of long dead families. Couples, friends, and foals all smiling back at me, covered in a thick layer of dust.

I stop at a cubicle that has a glowing computer at it. Interested, I step inside and flick it on. I search through the files on it, but can only find old memos from management. Nothing worth looking into, since none of them really seem to give me the information I want. I go to leave, but stop when I see a photo sitting next to the screen. It's some rose colored mare with her little pink filly. They're smiling back at me while hugging one another, without a care in the world. I wonder if they ever made it to a Stable. Maybe the mega-spell attacks never made it here. I mean, this building is still standing. Maybe this area wasn't hit as hard by the war.

"Hey." I look back to Reckless and see the worry on his face. "Let's keep moving." I nod to him and stand up, wiping my watery eyes dry.

We continue down the rows of cubicles in a similar fashion. We check each working computer for any details about the facility and come up short handed. It doesn't seem as if there is anything to learn about this building, which is confusing. How could an office run without records of its accounts? Did they transfer them to a central terminal? Or were they deleted after a period of time to keep them secret? I hope it's not the latter.

I tried my best to ignore all of the mementos and photos left behind. Though there was one very nice looking pen I was interested in. I didn't take it though. It didn't feel right to take something that didn't belong to me, even if the owner is now long deceased. Reckless didn't have that trouble though. He found a pocket watch and slipped it into his strap case. I tried to get him to put it back, but he didn't understand why. He doesn't get that taking those items from here is disrespecting the dead. He doesn't care about the legacy these ponies had, he just wants the watch. Maybe I'm just too sentimental for a place like this, but I still feel it should matter.

"We're almost finished with our half hour here." Reckless tells me as I take a seat at another computer desk. Like the others before, I quickly turn any photos down.

"Did your pocket watch tell you that?" I ask dejectedly. I turn on the screen and immediately go to the firewall screen. Odd, none of the other ones did this.

"It did actually. And it also said that I kept my end of the deal, so you should too." I try to ignore him as I try a few keys. It gets to the point where I have to back out and start over again. "Are you listening to me?"

"No. But I do hear you, and it's breaking my concentration. So SH!" He mumbles something before stepping aside, leaning against a filing cabinet casually. "And stop mumbling. I swear that has to be the least attractive thing I've ever heard a stallion do." He starts to mumble something, but goes quiet halfway through.

After a few more failed attempts to open the computer, I finally find the password: Apple. With that I find a personal correspondence from somepony named Miss Seed to a Mr. Desk Jockey.

Dear Mr. Desk Jockey,

I am going to be frank with you, D.J. The file you found can very much be the end of my career here at Syn-Tech. The Synth Warrior Prototype, mark 1, was a failure on my part. I know now that I should not have gone ahead without proper clearance. I have already talked with my cousin in Canterlot about this, but it has to remain under wraps.

We need you, plain and simple. You write the best lines of code in the entire office. If I go, this branch will be dismantled and everypony will be shipped out all over Equestria. That is something I will guarantee will happen should I go down. So here's my little deal for you:

1: I will erase all of your previous misdemeanors with the company.

2: A ten percent raise in salary.

3: The corner office on the northeast side.

Please respond quickly to my offer, thank you.

Miss Seed.

RE:

Dear Miss Seed,

I will take you up on your offer, with two more exceptions.

I don't want the corner office. I want cubicle B2 - 413. I'd also want you to remove the cameras in the janitors closet on the west side of this office floor. And I also want you to clear Primrose's record too.

Just so you know, the guys over at the Enclave are interested in my abilities too. Best wishes,

D.J.

RE:RE:

Dammit D.J., don't be a dick about this! Do you really think I'm going to let you keep fucking around? I can do everything except the closet cameras, don't push your luck!

Seed.

RE:

Seed, it's D.J. We gotta talk.

I found another little file of yours. How in the hell did you pull something like that off? Stable-Tech, Ministry of Morale, you and your little cousin, I know it all. All I want is in. For me and Primrose. Don't keep me waiting.

RE:

You little stripped bastard! Stop hacking my computers! I can't get you in there, the list is already full! I can at best try to get you and your little floozy in somewhere else, but it might already be too late! Don't do anything stupid, let me see what I can pull.

Seed.

Huh, this last one is just a note, interesting.

P.,

It was fun while it lasted, but all good things come to an end, I guess. I saw the clouds. They were awesome and beautiful. Sorta reminded me of you a bit, but they hurt less.

Look at me. Sitting here bleeding and I'm still trying to make you laugh. You always had the best smile. I can hear the ponies outside. It's a full scale war out there, and I thought the fronts were hellish. I locked down the building, wasn't hard. I wrote most the script. I left this computer to be easily hacked so you could get these few files. I couldn't put them all here, but there's enough for you to follow the trail. They were hiding something, and you're going to have to make them pay for it.

I'm just glad I got you down there. You'll be safe there. You won't have to see the hell that's bee unleashed here.

Remember where this all started? I left you a little gift there. It'll help you get what you need to figure out this game Syn-Tech made. Your own little cheat code.

Do me a favor, will ya? When you meet the Overmare for eighty eight, slap her for me, will ya? That bitch needs to be put in her place.

Oh, and I know I'm being a douche, but if it's a filly, give her your family name. A colt, mine. I know you wanted it to be half and half, but a flower computer nerd doesn't really bode well.

It's getting hard to type now. Think I'll head up top and watch the world burn for a bit. I always hated being outside.

D.J.

There's a response dated nearly ten years after the first one.

D.J.,

You didn't have to ask, I got her pretty damn good. Nearly broke my hand in the process. I got the files, and the cheat code. I'm going to right this wrong, for you. I promise. And don't worry, Hard Drive is safe down below. But I have to do this. I can always come back, but I can't always right wrongs. I'll see this through. Hopefully Syn-Tech North is still there...

Love, Primrose.

"So... who wins the bet?" Reckless asks from behind. I take a moment to think to myself before I bring up my Pipbuck and connect to the computer, copying the files over. "What are you doing?"

"I'm copying the files over so I can use them later. They might come in handy." I tell him as I wait for the data to transfer over.

"How would they come in handy? If there were any files in the Stable we would have found that by now." I stay quiet, seeing if he'll figure it out. "Right?"

"... look, Reckless-"

"We had a deal!" he snaps, making me jump slightly. "You said, half an hour up here and we'd go back! That's what you said!"

"I'm not going back there Reckless! You know why I can't-"

"They're not... it's... you don't know that will happen!" I laugh at that, unhooking my Pipbuck from the computer. "We had a-"

BZZT

A loud blast fills the air as something smacks right into Reckless, knocking him onto the ground. I throw myself down as well as more shots fill the room. Several of the shots explode behind me while some hit the cubicles around us. Papers are thrown into the air as monitors and other office supplies explode as large red bolts fly all over the room.

"Reckless!" I yell out as I crawl under a desk. I look over and see him grabbing his pistol as he tries to squirm over to the opposite desk. More shots sound out all around us, destroying the cubicles and work stations. I pull out my bat and grip it tightly. What's shooting us? Where did they come from? WHY are they shooting us!?

Reckless jumps up quickly and starts to shoot back. I hear several pings of metal before he ducks down, quickly followed by a torrent of red bolts of energy. He moves down the line of cubicles as he reloads before popping back up to fire again. I close my eyes and try to calm myself down. I need to join this fight if I'm going to convince Reckless that we can make it up here. I need to join this fight if I'm going to make it up here. I don't need to be protected. I can take care of myself. I can do this!

I jump to my hooves and pause when I see what's attacking us. I want to say it's a robot, but the brain in the glass dome makes me doubt that. It's long, tubular arms have open metal claws that are shooting bolts of energy. It has a round metal body that sits on a pair of treads that have become incredibly rusted.

"Please don't run, that's less efficient." Oh sisters above... it's speaking to us! It almost sounds like a pony! But... it's not. A pony wouldn't just start shooting at somepony! Ponies don't attack one another without a reason!

With a primal scream I run forward and swing my bat over head. The wooden club smashes into the glass dome and sends webs of cracks all around. I pull my bat back and strike again, sending more cracks over the glass and making the liquid inside begin to gush out. One of the tubular arms tries to grab me, but I smack it away with my bat before it could. A few pangs of gunfire sound off from my side and the dome explodes in a shower of questionable liquid, glass, and brain matter. As luck would have it, I happen to have my mouth open as a slather of the liquid finds its way around the face guard and into my mouth.

"Gah! Pwah! SICK! Guh!" I scream as I toss my helmet off to spit out the bile substance. Of course I got some in my mouth, where else would it go!? I start to check myself over, finding myself relatively clean and injury free.

"Are you okay?" Reckless asks as he rushes over to my side.

"I might puke, but other than that, yeah." I tell him as I slowly get control of myself. "What was that thing?" I ask as I take a new look at the robot before us.

"Must be some kind of pre-war robot. Nothing like the Mr. Handy's from the Stable though." He tells me as he walks over to the door. "Shit. I can see a few more down the hall. Go check if the other door is clear." I nod and run to the other side of the room. I slide the door open and poke my head out. Right sides clear-

BZZT

I let out a yelp when a bolt of energy nearly takes my head off.

"They're surrounding us! Where can we go?" I ask as I run around the office space, looking for another way out. Those were the only exits! We're trapped! Maybe we can fight our way through them! Or we can hide in here? There has to be a way out of this!

"Over here!" Reckless yells from the back of the office. I run over and take a look around, not seeing a way out. Before I could question him, he pulls me in close and gives his wings a powerful flap. I scream again when I lose the feeling of being on the ground as air rushes through my hair. Everything goes slightly blurry before we come to a rough stop.

I come to a quick landing on the floor above us with Lucky grabbing me tightly. It's another destroyed office, but it's stable enough to stand on.

"Enemies detected. Please don't run-"

"Shit!" I yell before flapping my wings again. Lucky lets out another scream as we begin to race through the massive holes above us. There has to be an end to this somewhere. An empty room, a broom closet, anything!

I come to a stop another two stories up and take in my surroundings. This seems like an office similar to that of the Overstallion. There's a desk in the center of the room and a few filing cabinets in the back. Everything is just as dusty as before, but there is a sense of order within the room. Nothing here has been touched in a long time. I set Lucky down and step towards the desk slowly. Lucky wavers for a moment as she tries to keep herself from vomiting.

The computer here is glowing with the screen showing a blur of words and numbers. I stare at it for a moment but can't make heads or tails of it. It's working on something, that much is clear. I try out a few keys, but nothing seems to affect it. I open the drawers on the desk, but there isn't anything in them. There's nothing I can do here.

"Lucky!" I call out as she finally settles down. "Come here and check this out."

"Yeah... next time warn me before you do that. I'd rather not puke my brains out," she tells me as she stumbles her way over. "Whoa. What did you do?"

"Nothing," I tell her as I move aside, letting her get a better look. "It was like that when we got in here. Do you know what it's doing?"

"Not a clue. Some sort of... command, probably. This is way out of my league though." Well, that sucks. "There isn't a power button on this computer either. Whoever this was for, they really wanted to make sure that this code made it through."

"So... whatever it's doing, it's not stopping. And we turned it on." She looks up to me and shrugs. Hopefully it doesn't do anything bad.

"It might just be running all of the robots downstairs," Lucky suggests.

"Yeah... yeah, that sounds most logical. Well... now what? I don't really feel like going back down there with all of those weird robots-"

"Then that means we're leaving the building," Lucky tells me confidently. I swallow the lump in my throat as I nod to her. If only for the time being, we have to leave. Maybe it won't be so bad. Who knows, we might even find some help. Or even another way in! But, there is no way we can go back down there and face all of those robots. I only have a few magazines for my pistol left. And Lucky only has a bat with her...

"Did you really leave my helmet down there?" She think about it for a second before smiling up to me, ears falling down. "Uhg, stay here. I'm going to race down there and get it. If we're really going to leave this place, you'll need it."

"Right... thank you. I'll be here, so... hurry back." I nod to her and hop down the hole in the front of the room.

When I land I am immediately fired upon. I try to run for the hole in the ground, but take a hit on my lower back in the process. My guard armor takes the brunt of it, but it's still enough to send me toppling over into the next opening. I grit my teeth and push myself forward with my wings, racing forward with great speed. In the Stable, I never really had this much room to use my wings before. I trained them, practiced my maneuvers, and used every opportunity I could to fly. But being in an underground bunker, my chances were far and few.

Here though, racing through this tall building, I can really start to push myself. More than back then at least. Even with the slight pain in my back, I can weave and glide my way through the lasers and debris with so much speed! I make it to the bottom faster than I had thought possible. But I only get a second to think about it before the room lights up with energy again. I duck down at look for the helmet. It should be by the destroyed robot... there it is! I rush over to it and grab it, ducking from all of the over head fire. I take a look around as several robots start to move in on me, their aim getting closer and closer. I need to think fast right now.

I turn on my heels and whip out my pistol, taking aim at the closest robot before me. I start to rush it as I unload on it, my rounds pinging off of its metal body. It fires back at me, piercing my shoulder with a red bolt of energy. I grunt the pain out through gritted teeth as I continue rushing forward, colliding into it a moment later. I throw all of my weight into my shoulder and force it back a few steps before nearly being thrown off. The robot goes to grab me, but my wings get me out of the room before it could. I race my way to the top and practically fling myself into the top office, a torrent of red bolts chasing after me. It was close, but I made it.

I drop onto the floor and let the adrenaline run its course. That was... a little crazy. I made it, but I don't think I'll be going down that way anytime soon. I look around and notice that I'm alone in the room, with the front door being slightly open. She didn't... did she? I really don't think she'd run away from me right now. But...

I force myself up and walk towards the door, being mindful of any potential threats. When I come to the door, I lean forward and bring my ear towards the crack, listening for anything. It seems silent. I catch my breath at first, but hold it as I start to push the door forward. The hallway is empty, save for the random picture frames clinging to the walls. I look both ways before stepping out completely, gripping my pistol a bit more tightly due to the silence.

She wouldn't just up and leave me like this, would she? Given, we seem to have different goals when it comes to priorities right now. But I'm the only pony she can trust out here. Why would she just leave like this? Something must have scared her off. Maybe another one of those robots? No, I would hear its rusted treads. Maybe there's a Mr. Handy here that's on the fritz... maybe?

I jump slightly when I hear heavy hoof steps coming down the hall. I jump out, thinking it's Lucky, but freeze when I see the thing before me. It's shaped like a female pony, but very clearly isn't. Patches of its... skin, are missing and reveal the mechanical parts underneath. The top of its head looks like a glass dome with most of a brain inside. It's face is missing most of its skin as well, showing the mechanical nightmare gritting its teeth at me. I stare into its piercing yellow eyes for a moment before it blinks and looks me over.

"Who are you?" Its voice is that of a pony's. If I wasn't looking at it right now, I would have said it was a pony.

"I-I'm... uh..." What is this thing? Why would it need to look like a pony? Where is Lucky?

"No matter. Down the trash you go."

"What!?" It lunges forward with amazing speed and grapples me in its arms. I try to break free, but it's simply too strong to break out. I start to flap my wings as a last ditch effort, but only one of them is free. It's still enough to rock us back and forth, so I put as much effort into that as I continue to struggle.

"Stop fighting me! Hngh! Calm down already!" It yells at me as we wobble down the hall.

"Fuck you! Let me go!" I yell back.

"It'll... be... quick! Just... down the... shoot... and-"

"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" I look back and see we've stopped before a panel on the wall marked 'Waste'. What can I do!? Where's Lucky? Did this thing get her too? We fumble around a bit more before the machine gets the panel open. It's a little trash shoot that doesn't look as if I'd fit inside. It's goes straight down into darkness, sending a cold shiver down my back.

I intensify my efforts to break free as it starts to try to force me into the small opening. It tries to get my legs first, but I simply keep my hooves planted on the walls around it. It spins around and starts to force me down head first, but I push my wing forward to stop it. My head still goes in, but my wings painfully catches on the wall and stops me from falling down the metal tube.

"Why are you making things so difficult! Just! Go! DOWN!" It yells as it starts to force me into the hole. I scream out in pain as I feel my wing scrap against the wall, tearing feathers out along the way. I start to kick at it and force my arms out, trying anything to break free. With how tight this hole is, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from falling to my death with my wings. I might be able to slow myself with my arms and legs, but going upside down will be problematic.

BZZT

Everything turns white when a sudden burst of energy rattles my entire body. My vision goes fuzzy as I feel myself become numb, falling into the darkness. My body bounces violently back and forth as I fall, head first, into nothingness. I try to blink my way back into consciousness, but my eyes are getting heavier and heavier that faster I drop.

THUD

Everything comes back to me in a blur. First I hear a light rumbling in the distance. Then I feel the throbbing pain in my wing, back, shoulder, and head. And lastly, the smell. Something far more foul and disgusting than I could ever imagined. With that alone, I force myself awake and take in my surroundings. I'm in some kind of large metal bin filled with black trash bags. I'm slightly buried, but I should be able to get up-

SHLUNK

My hoof slips on something just as I was about to stand, forcing me to fall face first into something. Whatever it is, it's equal parts soft and firm. I push myself up and notice that I fell right onto Lucky's unconscious form...

"SHIT!" I yells as I start to pry her out of the wet garbage. I slip over the wet refuse as I try to pick her up. I groan out loud as the pain all over my body fights me the entire way. I fall back with her on my lap, panting from the exertion. I've never been in this much pain before in my entire life. I need a Stim-pak, maybe some Med-X. I fumble with the pouches on my belt as I hold onto Lucky until I find my medical supplies. Reaching in, I can only feel that I have two Stim-paks. Not good. I need one now, meaning Lucky probably needs one too.

No. I can tough it out! For now at least. And I don't even know what condition she's in. First things first, check on her. Then do the medical thing. I wrap my arms around her midsection and begin to pull again. I start to yell as the pain grows and grows within me. My back is tightening up, my wing is stinging, and the numbness in my head is making everything blur together, but I keep pulling. We have to get moving. We're in the middle of nowhere; with no food, no water, injured; we need to get moving.

"GAAAAAAH!" I let out one final scream as I finally pull Lucky out from the trash. I pull her all the way up until I'm standing with her in my arms, heaving. A low rumbling sounds over head as I begin to feel dizzy again. I may have pushed myself a bit too much...

THUD

I let out a slow groan as I stare up at the grey sky, watching the water droplets fall all around me. I really should get out of this, who knows what we'll catch. I try to move, but my body simply refuses to respond. At least I broke the fall for Lucky, I guess.

"Reckless... Reckless!"

Not now Ma, I'm tired.

"Wake up... please wake up..."

Later, I want to sleep.

"Please work... you have to work..."

That's all you ever talk about...

"GAH!" I give a violent jolt as something pierces my chest. I try to move, but something is weighing me down on my abdomen. I blink away the fuzziness as the figure on top of me continues to hold something against my chest. On reflex, I bring my knee up and force it against its side, knocking it over. I roll with the figure and pin its arms down, slowly getting my vision back. "Lucky?"

"Calm down," she says quietly from beneath me. I look around and realize that we're still by the trash bins. I take a look at my chest to see that my shirt and armor has been moved so a Stim-pak could be injected into me. I then look down and realize the compromising position I'm in with Lucky and quickly back away from her.

"Sorry! I was... uh... sorry." I tell her as we back away from each other. I feel my cheeks burning slightly, so I look away from her. That was stupid.

"I-it's okay. You were really injured, so I had to use a Stim-pak. I used it broadly, so try and take it easy." I nod, slowly looking back to her. She's completely soaked, with her hair clinging to her as rain washes down from above. I thought her clothes before were risque, but now seeing them on her and completely drenched... I avert my eyes again.

"T-thanks. Um... what about you? Were you hurt?" I ask, trying to normalize the situation, as impossible as that might be.

"I hit my head... really bad. I had to use the other Stim-pak for it." We both go quiet after that. We can't go back up there. Not with all of those robots still lurking around. We don't have any medical supplies. And, to top it all off, we barely have any ammo or weapons! We're stuck out here in possibly the worst condition imaginable! "Look at that."

I look over to her and then up at the sky she's staring at. Up in the sky there's a large mass moving behind the clouds. It's a bit difficult to see at first, but whatever this thing is, it's leaving a trail of thunder and lightning. It's not moving too fast, by our perspective. It takes about a minute or two for it to move to the point where I get a glimpse of the world I'm now stuck in.

The barren landscape before me looks to be a desert of some sorts. There just isn't much out here. Muddied grounds, tall sticks that were once trees, nothingness. All of the rain water is flowing down the center and away from us, telling me we're at least on the high ground. I look behind us and see the large building we just left for the first time. It's a box. Five stories tall, ten windows wide, grey stone, all of this blandness sitting on top of a lone hill. It's literally the most boring thing in these parts, and there's nothing out here.

THUM

"We should get going," Lucky tells me after a loud crack of thunder. "Any ideas?"

"Um..." I mumble to myself as I stand up. "Not that way. The waters look like hell."

"Right," she says as she stands with me. "And I think we should really put some distance between ourselves and this place as quickly as possible."

"Yeah. So left of right?" We both look in each direction and try to decide where to go... but it's literally going to be a guessing game. Both ways look to be about the same. Muddied nothingness. I glance over to Lucky and realize that she doesn't have the helmet with her. I did not go through all of that just to leave it behind. "You pick, I'm going to check the trash to see if your helmet is in there."

"Right," she tells me as she goes to her Pipbuck. I don't know what that's going to do, but whatever.

I give my wings a test flap before judging them fit for flight. Maybe not extended flight, but enough to be a bit lazy. I jump into the air and hover above the garbage bin. The black bags are starting to float as the bin fills with water, but I can still see where we were clearly. With that I find where Lucky was and poke around there. I get a glimpse of something at the bottom of the crevice she was in and land to take a closer look.

It's down there, all I have to do is stick my hand in and grab it. So, I do.

SHLICK

And immediately regret it. This bin is filled with some kind of gross, greasy substance that smells awful. I have to fight to not yank my arm out, and push myself to grab the helmet. I use my wings to pull myself out and claim my prize, turning it over so all of that gunk pours out. While I pout it out though, I notice something down beneath. Floating in the sewage is... a skull. Well, most of a skull. How in the world did a skull get in there? What am I thinking? Look at this place! Some poor sop probably found his way here and tried to hide in the bin, then died of exposure!

I land beside Lucky and go to offer her the helmet, but stop when I realize how disgusting this thing is. I take a look around, but there isn't anywhere to really wash it out that well. Unless I went to the water over there-

"Don't fly off," Lucky warns me as she flips through her Pipbuck.

"Do you really just want to wear this after it's been in trash soup?" I ask her sarcastically, getting a quick glare from her.

"Do you really want to be electrocuted and then drown?" I go to respond, but mumble awkwardly to silence. She has a point, and I would like to not die right now, so I guess we'll have to find another way then. "Here, I'll wash it off as we head out using the rain."

"Where we going?" I ask as I pass it to her.

"This way is north. For some reason my Pipbuck is telling me to go that way. So, it's better than staying here. Now let's go already! I'm starting to freeze my tail off!" I nod to her and together we start to walk north.

"Why is your Pipbuck telling you to go north?" I ask her.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's just has a marker up there. It's also is showing me a map of the area." I pull up my Pipbuck and take a look at the map. Sure enough, there it is. A map, with a marker pointing up.

"How does it know where that is? Or, even better, how it would know we would want to go there?" I ask in astonishment, putting my Pipbuck away. Lucky merely shrugs, focusing on her helmet as she tries to use the rain to wash it. I try to think of a possible answer, but give up quickly. I'm not a Pipbuck repair pony, I'll leave it to the experts.

Walking in the rain is terrible. The mud is heavy on my boots, the water is cold, I can barely see twenty feet in front of myself, every beat of water stings, and it's freaking cold. I've taken showers with no hot water that were warmer than this! And Lucky has it even worse than me! At least my midriff is covered. She put the helmet on, so her head is relatively fine, but her Stable clothing is not helping at all. After about thirty minutes of walking, we didn't even have to ask each other for shelter. But, out here in this wasteland, there isn't anything left! No buildings, no infrastructure, nothing! I'm starting to fear that we passed something and didn't see it due to the rain! I can see how that pony died in the trash bin now. I'd kill for that thing if it meant getting out of this rain for a few minutes!

Lucky comes to a stop and starts to look through her Pipbuck suddenly. I don't ask her anything though. I just watch her as I try to keep myself warm by holding myself. It's not working.

"There's a building to the west, just a few minutes away!" she yells over the rain.

"Let's go then!" I yell back, getting a weak nod from her. I use my Pipbuck to find west and trudge my way there. I never thought rain could be so deadly, but now I know. It slows you down, makes you cold, not to mention I'll probably get sick because all this! What would I do if I got sick out here? Are there doctors out here? Would they have cold medicine? Would they even help me? We should have stayed by the door. At least there we wouldn't have had to deal with all of this bullshit.

Even though it only took a few minutes, they felt like hours. Maybe because I knew there was finally something out there, I don't know. A building came into view through the rain, and I nearly cheered for it. It looks as if it was some kind of garage from before nestled at the base of a hill. Most of the building has been destroyed, leaving half of the garage portion standing. A few large mechanical pieces are wasting away in the rain, but we pay them no mind as we rush to the portion that's dry.

When we get around the still standing wall, our hearts sink. The roof has fallen in, leaving the inside completely exposed to the weather. We both stood there in disbelief. There's just no escaping this, is there! Lucky leans against the wall and starts breathing heavily. In anger, I kick some of the rubble and take a look around. There has to be something useful here, there has to be! Empty drawers, piles of rubble, anything that could have been of use was probably taken a long time ago. I pace around a bit more before I give up. This place is useless!

I was about to walk away, when some shifting rubble caught my attention. I move over to it and take a better look. Underneath where I kicked the floor has a black and yellow design. Curious, I use my foot to clear some of it away. 'Caution' is written beneath the fallen roof. Going off on a limb, I clear a bit more of the rubble. Underneath all of this debris, is some sort of metal door. Why is there a metal door leading underground? Unless...

"Lucky!" I yell back to her, still staring at the ground. "Lucky, come help me clear this door!"

I start to move around in a panic. I throw rocks, kick debris, anything that might clear this door faster. I start out with the side, making my way around the box. Then I take the heavy stuff off. Support beams, large sections of bricks and concrete, all of the stuff that takes all of my effort. The old stones cut at my pruny hands, but I ignore the pain and push myself. Lucky is still holding herself at the wall, heaving. I paused for a second to say something to her, but went right back to work. The faster we get out of this rain, the better. We can talk when the hypothermia kicks in.

While moving a particularly heavy piece of wall, my foot trips over something on the ground. I was fortunate enough to have been bent over, so the chunk of rock couldn't fall on me. With a tired groan, I sit up at look at the green button protruding from the floor. I stare at it for a second before I realize what it is, and quickly kick it. Rusted gears and whining metal fill the air as the metal doors start to lift up. They make it about half way before they come to a loud stop. They vibrate for a bit before a yellow light on the still standing wall starts to flash. I stand up and walk over to the edge, peering inside. There's a car down there, mostly intact! It's not much, but it'll get us out of this rain!

"Lucky!" I yell as I run over to her. She's still leaning against the wall and holding herself, staring down at the floor. "I've found shelter, let's go!"

"..."

"Did you hear me? I said-"

"I'm sorry." I pause at that, unsure of how to respond.

"Uh... that's... t-that's okay. But let's get down there-"

"No, it's not okay!" she yells, silencing me. She removes her helmet and looks up at me, showing me her bloodshot eyes. "I thought I could handle this, I really did! But we almost died to rain! When I saw the collapsed roof... I gave up! I though we were dead! And you... and you..."

"Lucky-"

"You just... kept going! Not even an hour out here, and I gave up! I actually thought that we would die in the mud. I thought that I failed the both of us because... I don't even know! How are we going to make it out her if I can't even go thirty minutes in the rain?" She breaks down again, crying deeply. I... just stare at her for awhile. I don't know what to say. I am mad that she forced me out here, but... She already feels bad for that, there's no point in throwing it in her face now.

I bit my lip as I try to think of what to do here. I've never consoled somepony before. It's even worse when you have feelings for that pony. I want to tell her everything will be alright, but I don't even believe that. Is this the time to tell her I'll be there for her? Or would that be inappropriate? Is that even an option out here? And every time I think of that, my mind tells me not to. That she's the entire reason I'm stuck out here, she deserves this. But, then I look down at her, crying...

"Lucky," I say quietly as I bring a hand to her shoulder. She looks up to me with those tear filled eyes and I pause. I want to be mad, and I want to forgive her. What should I do? "Look... this isn't going to be easy. I'm not going to lie, I'd rather be home right now. But, we can't change that. Not now at least. So, how about this. I'll forgive you, for everything, but you have to make me a promise, okay?"

"What?" she asks as she wipes her eyes, still sniffling.

"Don't ever give up." I give her shoulder a firm squeeze when I say that, trying to add to my statement. "You were a secretary, I was a guard. When I saw the roof was gone, I was just as sad as you were. But I had training to keep me going. You were never supposed to go through shit like this. I don't expect you to deal with this kind of shit by yourself, because I can't even do it myself. I need somepony to help me through this, and that's going to be you Lucky. If we're going to make it out here, we are going to need to work together. So I need you to promise to me, right now, that you'll never give up on me again. Because if you won't, I won't. Promise?"

She stares up at me for a moment before smiling to me. I swear, with that alone, I warmed up enough to forget about the rain. She nods to me and brings her hand up to shake. I smile at that, shaking her hand firmly. It may not have been the dreamy make-out session I may have thought of, but it's still a step in the right direction.

After that we rush over to the opening and slide inside. Even just being out of the rain is a blessing! The door to the car is locked, but I get it open rather quickly. Didn't even have to move the bobby pin, oddly enough. The door screeches open and we rush inside, taking the front seats. It takes a bit of effort, but I close the door and lock it.

"Aaaahh, I never though I would be so glad to be sitting." I tell Lucky as we start to get comfortable. We share a small laugh together before falling silent. As comfortable as I am, I need to get out of these clothes or I will get sick. I lean forward and start to undo my riot armor, getting a confused look from Lucky.

"Um... Reckless?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we had that... little moment, but..." She pauses when I pull my shirt off and toss it behind myself. We stare at each other before I realize the awkwardness of the moment.

"Oh! No, no, no, no! I'm not trying... this is only because of the water! Keeping wet clothes on will get you sick!" I almost yell in defense, making her relax.

"Right, right! Of course! Sorry," she tells me, half laughing. She suddenly goes wide eyed as she thinks about something to herself. Shit! I just told her that we have to take our clothes off! What was I thinking!?

"You don't have to!" I suddenly yell, scaring her slightly. "I-I mean you should, but... uh... I can, no wait... we should-"

"What did you throw your shirt onto?" she asks as she reaches to the back seats. I turn around and see the large dufflebag sitting beneath my soaking wet shirt. She pulls it closer and pulls the zipper down, revealing tons of clothing.

"Huh. That was luc-"

"Do not finish that sentence." Lucky warns me, pointing a finger at my face. "I can't stand those jokes."

"I wasn't joking-"

"Regardless. Do me a favor, and never make those type of comments again." I was going to make a joke, but stop when I see the stern look on her face. "Thanks... um... can you cover your eyes. Please."

"Of course." I bring my hands up and cover my eyes, locking my fingers over them. The car shifts around as she climbs in the back seat and starts to change. Even without looking back there, I can feel my cheeks stats to burn. I don't understand why though. I've been around plenty of nude mares before, this shouldn't be any different. These emotions are driving me crazy! I can't look at her without my stomach feeling as if it's going to rip itself out, I can't be in the same room with her changing without getting flustered, what the shit is wrong with me!?

"Why do your wings keep doing that?" Lucky asks suddenly. I shift my shoulders around and feel my wings trying to stand up. Of course this would happen too.

"Um... they, uh... it's better if you don't ask." It goes silent. She moves back to the front seat, but doesn't say anything. Here it comes, bit my head off. Any second now... start yelling... dooo it.

"So... are you going to change?" I uncover my eyes to look over at her. She's wearing a long red and black plaid shirt that's several sizes too big with baggy jeans. She has her hair down and pushed behind her shoulders. We stare at one another for a moment before I notice her blushing lightly. Shit, I made it weird. Uh....guess I'll just change then!

I climb over to the back seat and start to go through the bag, trying my best to ignore the awkward moment I just made. There are a lot of clothes in here. They're all old and worn, but they're all dry. I find a white shirt and jeans and start to switch into them. I go to take my pants off, but stop to glance back at Lucky. She's looking forward, paying me no mind at all. There is a ping of disappointment, but I let it go quickly. It would be a little presumptuous to think she'd be interested in me like that. Slow and easy...

"There isn't any in there," Lucky tells me from the front seat.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"I already looked. There isn't any underwear in there. You'll have to go commando for the night." I look down at the bag and think about what she said. How could somepony put a bag of clothes together and not include underwear? That would have been the first thing I put in there! Well, I guess I can go one night while these dry out... wait. Shit! That means these will be the only pair I have until we find more! That's... that's... that's disgusting!

"What do you think the chances are of finding a clothing store out here?" I ask as I slip out of my clothes and quickly throw on what I picked out. It feels a bit weird, but I'll make do. Not like I have a choice.

"Not likely. If there was anything out here, it probably washed away with the rain." Lucky tells me as I climb back to the front seat. I scoff at that, feeling a chill wash over me at the thought of being in the rain. "But... if we find one-"

"If we find one, we're breaking down the doors and taking everything that isn't nailed down." She laughs at that, making me perk up a bit.

We both lay back in our seats and starts to relax. It's a bit cold in here, but it's manageable. The windows are starting to fog up as our slow warm breaths fill the air, slowly sealing us away from the world around us. I still can't believe that a few hours ago I was asleep in my bed. Warm, carefree, safe. Now I'm out in this wasteland, cold, no food or medical supplies, and wearing some dead ponies shirt. Part of me wants me to go to sleep and wake up back in bed. That Valve will still be alive. That this was all some kind of terrible dream that I'll laugh about over breakfast. I know better though. You can't fake pain, and you definitely can't fake the cold. I'm stuck out here.

"What do you think Silo will be like?" Lucky asks me quietly. She curls into a ball and moves to look over at me, hugging her legs to her chest. I think about it for a second before shrugging to her.

"I don't know. Most likely a settlement, but I'm not sure. You?" She shrugs back to me, curling deeper into a ball. "So... I bet you... that it's a settlement with nothing but... nuclear powered robots."

"... pft, what?" she asks with a slight chuckle.

"You heard me. Nuclear powered robots! If I win, you have to wear your clothes backwards for a day." She laughs again, loosening up a bit more.

"Alright, nuclear powered robots. I bet you... it's a settlement of... old war ponies." I laugh at that.

"Explain that. Old war ponies? Like, they were born before the war and run the place?" I ask, shifting onto my side to talk to her. She nods to me eagerly, scooting closer.

"Yup! Ponies that somehow time traveled to the future and made a new town! And if I'm right... you have to wear the mares shirts inside that bag!"

"What? If there's mares clothing in there, why aren't you wearing them?"

"I am! It's freezing out here! I have two pairs of pants on and three shits!" I laugh at that as she shows me the multiple layers of clothing. At least I'm not the only one who's could... Why didn't I put multiple layers on?

"It's a bet then." I tell her as I bring my hand up to her. She stares at my hand for a moment before shaking it firmly. I guess being out here isn't too bad, all things considered.

...Reckless, move!

...it's time to get up honey...

...it's so cold out there...

BZZT

"AH!" I jolt forward and throw my arms up to stop the blade from slicing me in half. Lucky lets out a yell as she jolts up as well. In a panic I start to check my surroundings, looking for the mare with the buzz saw. Slowly, I start to remember where I am. I fall back in my seat and continue to pant, feeling the light layer of sweat over myself.

What was that?

A nightmare obviously.

I've never had a nightmare like that before.

You've never been in a situation like this before. Get over it, you're freaking Lucky out.

How is she not freaking out?

Get a hold of yourself! Pull yourself together already!

I can't do this! I won't do this!

Don't be a little bitch and do it already!

I'm not going to be like you Dad!

"Reckless?"

"WHAT!?" I yell, turning to Lucky quickly. She cowers away from me, gripping her bat closely. I look at my reflection in the window and see what I'm doing. I sit back down and rub my eyes, tired beyond belief. "I'm... I'm sorry. It was... just a bad dream. I didn't mean to yell, sorry."

"It's... it's alright. Do you want to talk about it?" I shake my head immediately, not wanting to recount what just happened.

"No, no, it's just all the stress coming to a point. I'll be fine. Sorry. Do you want to go back to sleep ? She glances around before shaking her head no. I nod to her, reaching in the back to feel my clothes. They're dry enough to keep going. I crawl back there and start to put my suit on, putting it on over my current clothes for added warmth.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? You look terrified." I finish putting on the suit and start on the riot gear.

"No... no, I'll be fine, really. Sorry, to worry you that is. It was just a bad dream, that's all."

"Okay," she says slowly, letting it be what it is. I don't think I'm ready to talk about those thoughts yet. Let alone with Lucky. I move to the front seat and force the door open.

"I'll step out to let you get ready. Be sure to bring that bag of clothes up with you." She nods to me, still looking scared. I step out and submerge my hoof into some ice cold water. It looks as if the rain has flooded this compartment at least six inches, give or take. I step completely out and climb out of the opening above. I have to shield my eyes when I make it out. The sun is high in the sky and shining brightly over everything. Shouldn't it be late in the afternoon? Why is the sun so high?

With the sun positioned high, I can see the surrounding area. To the south is a large wasteland, devoid of anything other than mud and running water. Far to the east is the silhouette of a city. Tall buildings poke at the horizon with smaller houses dotting the area before it. To the north is an expanse of hills and some smaller buildings. Maybe a suburb? It's hard to tell from out here. After a few more moments of staring out there Lucky joins me at my side. We both stand there silently. Even though she's staring out at the horizon, I can still see the concern on her face.

"Sorry... about earlier-"

"You don't have to keep apologizing about it. I understand," she tells me, giving me a compassionate look.

"I know. I just... don't want you having to worry about me. I can handle it." I leave it at the, walking off to the north. I can feel her eyes on me, but I don't wait for her to way anything. I can handle this, just like before. She follows after me, muttering something to herself quietly. I ignore it, focusing at the task at hand.

As we walk I keep my pistol out and my head on a swivel. Something has to be out here, I know it. I don't want anything to surprise us. Lucky has her bat out with her helmet on. But she doesn't seem to be looking for threats. Her mind is elsewhere. Looking at the clouds, eyeing puddles, staring at the horizon. She's paying attention to everything except the possible threats. I guess that leaves them to me then.

I am a little surprised at how quickly the ground dried out. Maybe the ground here wasn't rained on as harshly. Without pegasi to control the clouds, the rain literally could have been just over us. But... does that mean that there aren't any other pegasi out here? Am I still the last one of my kind? I guess that doesn't really change anything then. I guess, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was hoping to meet at least one other pegasi. Would have been nice.

After an hour of marching through this wasteland my eyes start to get tired of staring at the same thing over and over again. There's literally nothing here besides sand and rocks! In the distance there's a bent over tree, but there's even less to say about that! Lucky isn't talking either. I guess I scared her too much for that. Great. There has to be something here! Any-

THUD

I let out a slow groan as I let the feeling ebb it's way back into my face.

"How did you not see that?" Lucky asks. I push myself up and look back to her, only to realize that I fell down into a small canyon of sorts. I look around and note that it goes for miles in east and west.

"What the hell is thing?" I ask as I stand up.

"The Westfield River, according to my Pipbuck." Lucky informs me. "Actually, we can follow this to another river, the Conneticolt River, and take that north to Silo. It adds to our journey, but that way we won't get lost."

"Well, it's a plan at least. Let's-"

"Help!" I look down the dry river bed and see some guy running towards us. He's appears to be an earth stallion in rags running from... nothing. "Do you have a gun? Help me! They've been chasing me for miles, HELP!"

"Am I missing something?" I ask aloud as I draw my pistol.

"Um... WHAT ARE YOU RUNNING FROM?" Lucky yells back to the guy.

"HEEEEEEE-HE-HE-HELP!" he yells in desperation as the ground behind him explodes into a ball of dust. A massive four-legged creature comes running out of the dust cloud and thunders towards the stallion. It looks like a glowing green crocodile made of stone. It's mouth opens four ways as it let out a massive roar, taking a bite at the guy. Just before it connects though, another explosion of dust erupts up as another creature appears. It crashes into the first creature, sending it reeling to the side as it takes over chasing this poor stallion.

"Reckless!" I shake myself and look back to Lucky, who's gawking at me. "Don't just stand there! Help!"

I nod to her and lunge into the air, heading straight to the fleeing stallion. His widen even more as I grab his wrist and begin to gain altitude. Those things are land locked and heavy, we'll be safe up here-

GLOMP

"WHOA! What the shit!?" I yell as the stallion starts to grab me as tightly as possible. I try to push him back to stay air born, but he refuses to let up!

"What's going on!? How did we get up here? Why are we up here!? GET ME DO-OW-OW-OWN!" We lose about ten feet when yells directly into my ear, making him scream even more. I take a look down and notice that the two monsters are busy fighting each other and that Lucky has ran past them.

"Stop- OW! Stop fidgeting while I -stop kicking! I'm bringing us do-down!" I yell at him as he continues to fight. He just keeps screaming for help, so I just ignore him as I make my way down. First contact and he's nearly kicked me in the nuts, great. I try my best to maneuver our way down towards Lucky, but with this guy fighting me the entire way we crash a bit early.

Lucky for me, the stranger broke my fall, so it didn't really hurt that much. I get up and dust myself off as he groans on the ground, holding his sides. I'm sure he's fine... probably. When Lucky runs up to us I hold up a hand to her, getting her to stop a few feet away. We may have saved this guys life, but we still don't know him. He could be dangerous. I wait for him to get his bearings before I offer him a hand up. He grabs it and uses me to stand.

"Thanks for that, I thought I was a goner!" he pants out.

"Don't mention it," I reply, eyeing him closely. He doesn't really have much to him. Thin arms, shabby brown hair, yellow coat with dirt smeared all over; he's extraordinarily plain. He looks between Lucky and myself as he starts to back away, giving me the stink eye.

"So... how does this work?" he asks cautiously.

"How does... what work?" Lucky asks, equally confused.

"You're Enclave, right? I've heard about you fly boys. Got your flanks kicked back at the Capitol so now you're looking for somewhere new to settle, is that it?" Lucky and I look to each other as we think about what he said. Whatever this Enclave thing is, it has him pretty scared. I could probably get him to guide us to Silo in exchange for saving him. He doesn't look as if he has any weapons, so I doubt he'll be a threat. It'd be a pretty dick thing to do, but we're desperate.

"We're not Enclave," Lucky tells him. Whelp, there goes my plan! "We just came out of a Stable, Stable Eighty Eight. We stumbled into the river and... well, right time, right place I guess." The stranger looks between the two of us in confusion, so I pull the extra shirt off to show him my stable suit.

"That's Stable wear alright. I didn't know there were any Pegasi in the Stables. Figured being underground was against their nature." I stay silent at that. I really don't know how to answer that. I was the last Pegasi in the Stable, so obviously not many of my kind went down there. And I've lived there my entire life, so I don't know if I prefer it down there or out here... besides stating the obvious. "The names Tweak."

"Reckless," I tell him, shaking those thoughts from my mind.

"And I'm Lucky." He laughs at that, still backing away slightly.

"I guess they would be, huh? Well, look, here's the thing. I appreciate your helping me, but as you can see I don't have anything with me. That Radcrag ate everything I had. But my camp is just up past the riverbed, just north of here. If ya'll come up with me, I can give you a little something for rescuing me. I don't have much, but I still want to give you something. Back at my camp, that is. Sound good?"

He keeps looking behind himself for some reason. I want to pass it off for almost being eaten... but something about him is making me uneasy. Lucky and I look to each other, trying to see what each other thinks. She doesn't seem too thrown off about this. I don't really have much to go off of other than my instincts. But I don't know if those are valid up here though. I could be a trap, he could genuinely be trying to help us. There's really not much else to go off of.

"Alright, we'll follow you back to your camp," I tell him, getting him to smile. His teeth are a disgusting shade of yellow, with pockets of black and orange-ish red.

"Good, good! Follow me, and let's hurry! We don't want those things chasing after us." We nod to him and follow after him, letting him walk ahead of us.

"Keep your eyes on him," I warn Lucky quietly. "I don't trust this guy entirely."

"We just saved his life. Why would he turn on us?" Lucky whispers back to me.

"I don't know, that's why I said we'd go to his camp. But there's something about him that I can't quite put my finger on. Don't get too close to him." She shrugs to me and walks on. I reach down and un-clip the strap on my pistol, leaving it at the ready.

Much of the wasteland here is different than the area we first appeared in. Not too far on the other side of the riverbed are more dead trees and crumbling buildings. None of them look inhabitable, but it's obvious to tell that most of them were houses. Looking back, you can't even tell that there was a hill back there. Must be some sort of mirage or something. The road we're walking on is cracked and split apart, but still acts well enough for a road. I wonder why it's so much worse on the other side of the riverbed. Maybe it was closer to where the bombs fell? I doubt we'll ever really find out.

Walking between the buildings is nerve racking. Every few feet some ruble settles or a rusty piece of metal creaks. My mind tries to tell me that it's just the wind making noises, that there's nothing out there watching me. But I know better than that. We found Tweak, so we know there are other ponies out there. We saw those Radcrags, so we know there are monsters out there. We're not alone out here, and the fact that we appear alone right now is driving me crazy. Something is out there, it's only a matter of time before it pops out.

But, there has to be good things out there too, right? I mean, Tweak might be good. He's bringing us to his camp for some sort of reward, that counts for something. Maybe there are even ponies out here with a fully functioning town and everything! Ponies with laws and structure living completely civil lives. It's just as possible as the alternative.

Then again, it's more plausible that both exist.

"So, what happened to your Stable?" Tweak asks, a little too loudly for my taste. I really think we should keep a low profile out here.

"There... were some riots. I'm not sure why, but ponies started fighting. I tried to leave, and Reckless... well, the important part is that we got away." I glance to Lucky for a moment from that. I don't really know how I should feel about that. Guess I'll have to think on it some more... I hate thinking on things.

"Hm, that's pretty tame. Compared to some of the other stories I've heard at least."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask.

"Some of the other Stables have been opened up now. There aren't that many Stable dwellers out here though. Some are filled with terrible creatures. Others were just empty, unless you count all of the bodies that is. Most of them end up that why, now that I think about it. The only two Stables that I know of where the ponies made it through are yours and sixty five."

"Stable sixty five?" Lucky asks curiously.

"Yup. Northeast of Silo there's an old airport where the residents now reside. Seems like they're mostly normal, but they don't really like socializing with others. Unless you've got Stable wear, that is. Might as well be family to them then." My Pipbuck blinks after he says that. Apparently it found the place he's talking about and marked it on my map.

"You know where Silo is?" Lucky asks, somewhat desperately.

"Everypony knows where Silo is... unless you were underground that is," he laughs awkwardly at that. I guess it's funny to have lived underground... I don't get it. "You two heading there?"

"That's the plan." I tell him quickly. He doesn't need to know anymore than that.

"Should'a figured. That's where most ponies try to go. Safest place to settle down, for the most part." I was about to question him about that when he stops suddenly. "I just remembered something. Would you two mind... shedding your clothes down to just your Stable wear?"

"What, why?" I ask, caught off guard by his request.

"There are a few others at my camp up ahead, but they don't trust outsiders all that much. But if you show up in your Stable wear they'll understand the situation a little bit more. I know it's a bit awkward, but trust me on this one. You can't be too careful with the strangers you bring in." Lucky and I look to each other before shrugging. It makes sense, sort of.

I take the extra shirt and pants off easily enough. When Lucky does it though, I notice Tweak gawking at her. I guess he wasn't expecting... her. I bit my lip to stop myself from saying anything though. I don't want to make it awkward for Lucky, especially with how trusting she seems to be with this guy. When she starts to remove her extra pants Tweak looks over to me and mouths: are you serious? I just shake my head and stuff my clothes away. As long as he keeps it to himself, we won't have any problems.

"How's this?" Lucky asks, unaware of his previous perversion.

"G-great... uh... anyway, let's keep going. And when we get there, let me do the talking. They may point some guns at you, but pay that no mind. Like I said, you can't be too careful out here."

As we continue to walk after on, Tweak keeps sneaking glances at Lucky. I keep my mouth shut, but it's bugging me to no end. We could be in danger at any moment, and he can't go thirty seconds without taking a glance at Lucky. I want to say something, but I don't want to freak Lucky out. And, he's only looking, which is safe enough. I guess. If he tries to do anything, I'll put him in his place for sure. Plus, he looks pretty weak. I'm sure even Lucky could take him. So if he does try something, I don't think he's getting very far.

The longer we walk, the more intact the buildings become. Some at this point look as if you could even reside inside them. I don't think I'd want to, but the fact still remains. There's even some living plants here! Some of the fences have been taken over by some sort of bramble, making it impossible to climb over. I don't know how those plants have made it through a nuclear apocalypse, but they did it. If those plants made it, then there are probably plants out there that you can eat too. Maybe there are ponies out there farming like in old times. That's just another indicator that there might be some sort of society out there. That it's not just a dog eat dog world. That thought alone puts me a bit at ease.

"Alright, they should be just down this block and around the corner." Tweak tells us excitedly. I nudge Lucky as I rest my hand on my pistol. She frowns at that, but pulls her baseball bat out anyway. Like he said, you can't be too careful.

When we round the corner I stop in my tracks. Ahead of us on a large road is a massive metal structure that looks like it used to be part of a truck. The cargo portion of it has been stripped in certain parts to look more like a cage, while the rest of it looks like it's been fortified. The wheels on it look like they're made of solid chunks of rubber that have been taped together. A long line of two headed cows have been tied to the front of it, at lease twelve all together. The top of the carriage has been built to have a small room towards the front with waist high fencing going around the rest of it. There are a few lights on the corners as well, but they're off right now. The entire rusted structure looks fairly imposing by itself, but the few armed guards add to its overall intimidation.

There's six of them that I can see. Three of them on top of the structure, two by the rotting cow things, and one on the floor at the end of the contraption. They're all wearing patchwork armors that look as if they're made of scraps of metal glued onto leather. The guns they're wielding looks just as thrown together as well. Some of them don't even have guns! Instead having metal pipes or bats with nails going through them. Overall these ponies look as dirty and dangerous as the rest of the world out here. When one of the ponies on top spots us, he immediately starts yelling to the others.

"Tweaks back! And it looks like he has some fresh meat!" he yells. The others look down at us and raise their weapons. I swallow the lump in my throat as I watch the closely, keeping my hand on my pistol. I don't like this, but everything's happening the way he said it would. The few on the ground quickly rush towards us, Tweak moving to meet them just as quickly. Lucky and I hang back, not trusting the situation.

"Tweak! Ah man, I thought you were a gonner!" One of the stallions from the two headed cows tells him, grasping his hand for a quick shake. "How'd you shake that Radcrag?"

"Those two back there saved my ass," he tells them, motioning back to us. "Is Jack here?"

"Boss is up top," he tells him before looking back to the others. "Get Jack out here! We've got a score!"

"What does that mean?" I whisper to Lucky, getting her to shrug. She looks nervous, turning her knuckles pale as she grips her bat. I don't care what the reward is anymore, I want out of here too. "Hey Tweak, now that you're back-"

"Right! Your reward. The boss will give that to you, just come on over!" Tweak cuts me off, getting the others to grin with him.

"We don't need a reward. We're just going to head out now, bye." I tell him bluntly. Lucky and I start to head out when a mare runs in front of me, blocking my way.

"You can't just leave now! That'd be rude to Jack! Do you really want to disrespect him like this?" she says cutely, stepping closer to me.

"We don't want any trouble." Lucky tells her, her voice betraying her confidence. By now the others who were on the floor have walked behind us and have surrounded us. It doesn't look like we'll being going anywhere without starting something. I'd prefer to just make a run for it, as we don't have the ammo to fight all of these ponies.

"What's going on here?" A new voice asks. We look over as a new pony approaches us.

He's a decently tall stallion, maybe a few inches shorter me though. Light caramel color coat and long brown hair that's tied back into a ponytail. He's wearing a long black duster over a red button up shirt and black dress pants. He's wearing a stetson hat that has the left side folded up as well. Overall, seeing him with all of these ponies is a bit odd. He's clean cut, pressed shirt, white teeth, and doesn't have a spot of dirt on him. I look him over some more when I notice the massive revolver on his hip. It's a forty five for sure, but something seems off about it. I can't put my finger on it though.

"My, my, my. Look what we have here," he says as he walks around Lucky. She flinches up under his gaze, keeping her eyes on him. "And who are you, my delicate little hubflower?"

"Lucky... Tweak said there was a reward for rescuing him from some Radcrags," Lucky tells him, getting quieter as he stops in front of her.

"But we don't need it," I say out loud, getting his attention for the first time. "We'd like to get going now-"

"Stable eighty eight huh? Where is that? I'm not familiar with it," he tells me, turning to look at me. "Or are you Enclave, bird boy?"

"I already asked boss!" Tweak tells him excitedly, stepping up to his side. "They don't even know who the Enclave are! They're genuine Stable Dwellers out from the Everglow."

"Is that so?" he asks smugly, shooting me a toothy grin. I wrap my fingers around the handle of my pistol as I glance around. They have us surrounded and out gunned. I could try to fly straight up, but I couldn't make it with Lucky. Not to mention they'd just shoot me. I could try to take Jack prisoner. Just pull him in and point a gun at his head. But then they'd just do the same with Lucky. Maybe we could just make a run for it, break through and head for the closest building. With the way most of the stallions are looking at Lucky, I doubt they want to shoot her, and I can dodge fairly well with my wings. It's our only bet.

"Well... what's this reward Tweak was talking about?" Lucky cuts in, moving to my side. "If you're so adamant about giving this to us, what is it?" Is she CRAZY!? Why is she asking this now!? We need to get moving! We should just start running, not talking about stupid ass deals!

"Whelp," Jack starts out, holding his hands behind himself as he walks around us. "Normally we'd take ponies like you, rough 'em up, take their belongings, and take them down to the Commerce Center. There you'll both be sold as slaves where you'll live the rest of your lives doing whatever your masters want of you... I can think of a few things for the likes of you two." We share a look when he says that. It was directed at the both of us. How are they going to do that to me... better not to think about it.

"But because we helped one of your guys you're not going to to that?" Lucky asks. [Speech 34/50]

"No, no, no, no," he says with a smile as he stops before both of us. "With you two, we're going to offer to skip the part where we rough you two up." I pull out my pistol when he says that. I knew we shouldn't have come this way! I knew it! But I had to listen to reason, didn't I!? I should just follow my gut more often, then I won't be sold as a slave! ONLY NOW I WILL! All of his crew members start to holler and laugh at us, especially Tweak. There are two mares here as well, making lewd gestures at me. I look to Lucky again and try to think of a way out of this, but there doesn't seem to be one. Not without immediately getting shot at least.

"So... we surrender peacefully, we won't get roughed up? Can I add one more thing?" Lucky asks, almost sounding as if we weren't about to be sold into slavery.

"Lucky, maybe now isn't the right time for this?" I mention to her quietly, but she ignores me.

"Depends on what it is, my little hubflower." Jack tells her.

"Can we each get a free punch on Tweak?"

"WHAT!?" Tweak and I both yell. Of all of the things she could ask for, that's what she decides on! Jack laughs as well, gripping Tweak on the shoulder and giving him a firm shake.

"Tell you what. If you convince birdboy here to hand over his pistol and surrender, I'll allow one of you to punch him. Deal?"

"Uh... boss?" Tweak asks quietly, but stops when he gives him a firm shake.

"Punch first, then surrender. Deal?" Lucky asks, sounding too confident. I don't even know what to say at this point. She's practically giving us away. Where's all that fight she had earlier? Why is she giving in so easily? I don't understand her at all right now.

"Deal," Jack tells her, getting the others to laugh. Tweak goes a little pale, but manages to chuckle slightly. Lucky grabs my arm and pulls me closer, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Are you insane? Why are you making this deal?" I ask, ignoring the others around us.

"First, never call me crazy. Second, take a look around. We're surrounded, out gunned, and wouldn't know where to run even if we could escape this situation. Right now our best bet for survival is to play the status quo until it works into our favor. Right now survival is better than freedom, understand?" When she asks that she reaches up and grabs the back of my neck, forcing me to look her in the eyes. She tries to sell her conviction with her eyes, but I'm still hesitant. There's too much risk with this to not be worried. They've obviously done this before, what makes us special? "Just trust me."

"... alright." Damn gut, telling me to do stupid shit for pretty mares. "But then I get to punch Tweak."

"Like hell you do. He ogled me the entire time we walked here! I get to knock his puny ass out." Lucky tells me confidently, playfully pushing me back. I smile at that, despite the situation. The others around us cheer at this, pushing Tweak before us. He tries to argue back, but Jack just smiles and watches. I really hate that guy right now.

"Alright, alright... I-I'll let the little filly get one in. Just to s-settle her little fit!" Tweak tells the others as he submits to his fate. He scrunches up and waits for Lucky to deliver. She looks him over for a second before taking her stance. She positions herself as any professional would, telling me she's had at least some training in this. She brings her fists up for a second as she takes aim, spits on her knuckles, and-

WHAM

THUD

In one solid punch to the eye, she sends him flat straight to his back. Everypony cheers and laughs at Tweaks as he lays there in the dirt, moaning. I blink a few times myself. I didn't know she had that in her.

"I've held up my part of the deal," Jack laughs over the crowd, stepping towards me. "Now it's your turn. Your pistol, if you'd be so kind," he asks as he raises a hand to me.

This is the last chance where I could take him prisoner and make a run for it. Just grab his wrist, twist him in, and put the gun to his head. If any of them try to shoot, then I'd have a meat shield at least. They'd take Lucky though. There isn't anything I could do to stop that. Not to mention they could just put a blade in my back, or shoot me when I make the wrong move. Turn it in, or make a run for it. This is it.

When I pull my gun up everypony around us fidgets slightly. Some point their weapons at me, while others simply ready them. I pause to look over the pistol. It's just a weathered ten millimeter, nothing too special about it. It's been the same pistol I've always had ever since I joined the Stable Guard. I glance up at Jack and notice that he has his left hand at his side, palming something. I guess he's ready for anything, leaving me no choice. I press the side action to drop the magazine, pocketing it as I hand him the pistol. Here's hoping Lucky knows what she's talking about.

"That's a good boy," Jack says condescendingly as he pockets my pistol. "Now, the bat?" Lucky hands over her bat to the nearest crony. "Excellent. Now, if you two will join us at the caravan, we have some business to finish."

The others cheer as they start to push us towards the metal crate. I rush over to Luckys side in an attempt to give her some form of protection. I don't know how well I can do that, I try my best at keeping their hands at bay. The entire way over they yell various lewd comments at us. I'm going to fuck your titties! Your ass is mine bitch! I'm going to squirt on your face! I know several of them are directed at me, but I'm a little unsure which ones are.

When we get to the back door they swing it open to reveal a bland interior. In the back are a few dog bowls, but other than that there's nothing in there. I go to walk in, but one of the mares stops me.

"Alright birdboy, drop 'em!" she commands me.

"Excuse me?" I ask, not entirely sure what she means.

"What? Do you really think we're just going to let you in there with all of your stuff? Drop everything on you, even your clothes." I look around to see if they're serious, only to get Jack to chuckle at me.

"Don't be shy birdboy, we've all seen 'em," he tells me comfortingly. I glance to Lucky to see her blushing as well.

"Um... all of my clothes?" I ask as I start to unzip my jumpsuit. If I can keep my underwear, this won't be as bad.

"Down to your skivvies." By Celestia's tits, thank you! With that in mind I undo my suit and drop it to the ground, stepping out of them. I immediately feel the cold wind on my coat as the air thickens from all of the attention. A few of them laugh at me while others make jokes or whistle. The few mares in their group are the loudest of them all. I rub my arm from all of this, not enjoying all of their stares. "Your Pipbuck too."

"What? Why?" I ask as I grab it. What am I going to do with this thing? Hit somepony over the head? Actually...

"Rules are rules. Take it off and set it on your clothes." I think it over for a second before sighing in defeat. There isn't anything I can do with it anyway, may as well. I unhook it and set it on my clothes. I can practically feel the mares ogling me as I squat down, but I do my best to ignore it.

"What the hell kind of mark is that!?" One guys laughs. I glance down at my cutie mark and sigh. It's an outline of a bull with the inside being a fine tea set. Like the old saying, a bull in a tea shop. It's suppose to represent my bullheadedness, but mostly it gets ponies to laugh at me. Like now, for instance. "Alrighty girly girl, your turn."

Everypony turns to Lucky in excitement. Her blush grows a bit more as she motions to Jack to come closer. He obliges and leans in, where Lucky whispers something to him. He lets out a massive laugh as he stands back up, making Luckys ears drop.

"I guess we're in for a treat then! Underwear or no underwear, you have to drop 'em!" The crowd goes wild. Cheering, jumping, shaking, laughing, everypony is beyond livid at this point. How could she not have underwear on! How! Didn't she know she was coming out here! Did she really think this was the best time for that sort of fashion choice! What the serious shit!

In either a moment of genius or utter stupidity I do the one thing I can think of to save her. I take my underwear off and offer them to her. The move catches everypony off guard, myself included. I can feel all of the staring from before return, only now it's much more heated. Many of the stallions look... mad? They aren't happy with my move, that's for sure. The mares seem to be stuck in some sort of star eyed state, making me even more uncomfortable than before. When Lucky doesn't take my underwear right away, I start to think that this was a bad idea. Would these even fit her? I would look at her to see what she's thinking, but I can't force myself to do it. I might have jumped off a cliff this time-

"YEE-OW!" I let out a scream when she suddenly grabs my wing and pulls it out. I try to pull it back it, but she refuses to let go.

"Stay still dammit!" she commands me as she positions my wing. I go to look back, but I see her glare and quickly avert my eyes. She pulls me back to the point where I feel the tips of my feathers brush against the carriage thing, blocking everyponys view. They groan and try to steal a glance, but Lucky is keeping my wing fairly close. My arm is still hanging out there, but I leave it. I'm a little to scared to move at the moment. The thought of covering myself suddenly comes up... but it's pointless now.

Luckys top comes flying into view, falling before me. Shortly after comes her Pipbuck. Now that she's topless everypony tries to get a better look. Why they don't just force me to move my wing is beyond me, but I keep my mouth shut. Either it's a rule of theirs or they're just that stupid. I'm sure it's the latter.

Everything suddenly stopped when she grabs my wing with her arm and pulls it into her chest. I don't know why she does this, but she did. Now my wing is squished between her arm and her chest... and it's awesome. I've always heard that you're either an ass guy, or a tits guy. Me? I never really understood why I had to choose. But, if I had to, I'd be a tits guy. I don't think she really knows what she's doing to me, but I don't question it. I'm too afraid that if I try to say something she'll hurt me one way or another.

"Happy?" Lucky asks shortly as her pants come flying into view. Jack chuckles as he motions to the door. I let out another scream as Lucky yanks my wing with her, dragging me with her. With the way she pulls me over I get a look at her. She has has one arm covering her chest while the other works the door. She has my underwear tied at her hip, barely keeping them on.

The inside of this thing is completely bare. Just metal flooring with metal walls and bars. We go to the closest metal wall and take a seat against it, having nothing better to do. They slide the door behind us and lock it shut. We can hear the few on top running back and forth as the others press up against the door. They're still yelling obscurities at us, but this time they're all directed at Lucky. I guess for denying them a show, they're going to get their revenge. One way or another. Most seem to think that whoever buys her will let them pay to rough her up. Lucky just buries herself under my wing, trying to hide from them. I glare at them, hating every single one of them. When we get out of here, I'm going to gut every one of them.

"Alright you two. Just hang tight and we'll get you to your new homes," Jack tells us as he starts to walk towards the front. He stops at one of the side bar panels and makes eye contact with me. His eyes are... amused. He doesn't feel threatened by me, not even slightly. If anything, he finds this amusing! "Do you hate me?"

"Hate you?" I ask, bewildered. "What kind of stupid ass question is that? Of course I hate you, you sick piece of shit!" He laughs at that, turning to face me properly.

"Good, that's good. Trust me, hang onto that for as long as you can. Wanna know why?" I choose to stay silent, but he continues anyway. "Because the day you stop hating me, is the day we break you. And trust me, we are going to break you."

I spit at him, getting a mist to hit him in the face. He just chuckles and wipes it off with a scarlet neckerchief.

"I love you fighters. You think that you'll get through this, somehow. You rationalize it in your head. But it's a slippery slope my friend, and I'm going to watch you fall down it. Trust me on this, I've seen it before. You wait for an opening, but there isn't ever one. You start to think about just running for it, but you never do. Something new always holds you back. Fear of death, beatings, a pretty girl, something always keeps you in your place." He stuffs his neckerchief away and pulls out a pocket watch, taking a moment to think to himself.

"You should have flew away when you had the chance, Birdboy. You probably would have gotten away. We're heading to CC!" Everypony cheers when he announce that. Some whips snap overhead as the best in front of the carriage start to pull us forward. The rusty wheels fight, but eventually start to squeak at a steady pace. I swallow the lump in my throat as I bring my knees up to my chest and hold them. I don't intend to go to wherever they want me, but I have to play it safe. For both Lucky and mines sake.

"I'm sorry," Lucky whispers to me, breaking my chain of thoughts.

"Don't be. How could you have know?" I ask, getting her to shake her head.

"He was right, you know. You could have gotten away without me-"

"And be alone out there? I don't really think that would be much better than being here." She tries to offer me a smile, but somepony behind us smacks the wall.

"Shut it in there! I don't want to hear any of that crap!" I share a frown with Lucky before looking away. We'll get through this, somehow. We have too.

"We're in this together, remember?" I whisper to her. She nods in return, but looks distant. She tightens her grip on my wing, pressing it closer to her. "Um.... Lucky?"

"Hm?"

"So... don't get mad but..."

"What?" she asks flatly. I bite my lip for a moment before deciding to just blurt it out.

"Pegasi wings can be as sensitive as fingers... so... maybe arms first?" She stares up at me for a moment before turning red and quickly readjusting herself. I blush as well, but mainly from the peek I got. I'm glad it's cold out here, I don't know if I could control myself otherwise.

I don't know when I went to sleep, sometime after the sky turned dark I think. I'm just glad that I was asleep under Reckless's pervy wing. It tried to curl back up, but I was in the way. He's been... good to me. Some of the things he does are strange, but I think I can trust him. I don't know if he slept though. His eyes are tired, but he's up. I take a look outside and note that we're moving through some town. All of the guards are silent, keeping their eyes on the buildings around us. I keep silent too, not knowing what else to do.

"Don't scream," Reckless whispers to me as silently as possible. "Something called raiders live nearby. Apparently they don't take prisoners. According to Pike that is."

"Pike?" He nods to the guard at the back. He's one of the slavers with a melee weapon, a ripper. "And you trust him?"

"They put three of them down already. I'm a little surprised you slept through it. They didn't look friendly at all." I nod to that, going silent. With the way he looks, I should listen to what he's saying.

"You should sleep-"

"I'm fine." I glance up to him before sighing in defeat. He's not going to listen, not now at least.

Another day went by. This thing moves super slow, but I guess that's the point. Those brahmin don't look like they're made for speed. Plus they stop at night to rest. It's hard to tell how far we've gone, but I think it's been at least ten miles. They get moving early in the morning too, so I slept through the beginning part. Reckless slept last night too, but not well. He had another nightmare. One of the guards was talking about putting a bullet in him if he got too loud. I tried to help him sleep, but the best I could offer was to stroke his mane and hold him. It helped, but it didn't end his nightmare.

Both of our stomachs are growling at us. It's been two days since I last ate. I feel as if I could down a fridge full of Dandy Apples and still be hungry! To make matter worse, the guards around us eat as they walk. Though the food they're eating looks questionable, the fact that they're eating it is getting to me.

"Hey, girly girl," the guard at the back, Slick I believe, calls. "Give me a show and I'll give you a carrot." His friend, Duster, laughs with him. Reckless growls a little at that, but I get an idea.

"How about you give me a carrot, and I'll give you a show?" [Speech 34/15] I lean forward and push Reckless's wing down a bit to show some cleavage. Not a lot, but enough to get them thinking... which isn't a lot, really. The two of them stop in their tracks as they stare at me, lost in their perversion. Duster starts to tear through his bag as he looks for a carrot, making Slick join him. They both come up with one and rush to toss them to me. I let a low chuckle escape me as I take them and sit back, eating one normally.

"... son of a bitch," Slick mumbles as he realizes his mistake. I just laugh and offer the other carrot to Reckless. He takes it, but seems a little upset by that. Whatever, he can complain about it later. We have food now, that's all that matters.

The day dragged on, just like the last two. I almost didn't realize it until the sun went down. It was a beautiful sight to see, even if it was from behind bars. Every other day there were too many clouds in the sky to see it properly. I didn't think there would be so many colors or that there would be rays of light reaching over us. It was inspiring to see. No matter what, there's always tomorrow. And even in this hellscape, there is still beauty to be found.

"Listen up!" Jack yells from above. That's weird, he's been silent this entire trip. Something big must have happened.

"What's up boss?" Pike asks, looking up to Jack.

"I just got word from the brass. Ends up there's a settlement west of here that's been putting up a fight. Raven Claw's asking for assistance on this one, and we're the closest to his position."

"Damn, if Raven Claw is asking for help, you know it's bad." Pike mentions. Reckless and I look to one another for a moment. This seems too good to be true.

"Alright, Pike and Slick, you're both going to stay here and keep watch on these two. Everypony else is going to gear up and head out. Got it?"

"How big is the score there? Shouldn't we be more worried about these two?" Tweak asks from the side as everypony else starts to run around, gathering their supplies.

"Apparently the score they found is worth ten of these fuckers, so we'll be compensated for this easily. Now pack up! We're leaving in five minutes. Bring food, water, plenty of ammo, and whatever else you need for a fight. Travel light, because we're coming back heavy!"

Everypony moves quickly to gather their gear and meet up at the back of the truck. A few minutes later they head out together, leaving the four of us behind. I can't believe it. If there was ever a chance to escape, now is the time. Pike and Slick talk to each other for a moment before climbing up top, giving us the best chance to discuss this.

"Alright, are you ready to escape?" I asks Reckless in a whisper. He nods to me, sitting up right. I reach up to the back of his head and grab the bobby pin I placed there, making him go wide eyed.

"How did you manage to do that without them noticing?" he asks in astonishment as he takes it in his hands.

"I blame them being idiots." He chuckles at that, moving to pick the lock. I grab his arm and stop him, getting a confused look in response.

"Not yet. Give it around an hour. That way the others don't hear anything that might happen." He nods to me, sitting back down. I take the time to stretch out properly. Sitting for this long has taken its toll on my back. Reckless averts his eyes, but does the same. We're under fed, weaponless, and nude. The odds are against us, but we have to prevail. This is our one and only chance.

I try to time it off the sunset, but I don't know if that's a good indicator to go off of. It certainly felt like an hour. I give Reckless a nudge and we move over to the lock. As he starts to work on the lock listen in on the others. One of them is sleeping, but I'm don't think they both are. I can't tell where the other one is though, making me nervous. I never saw or heard him climb down, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have. If he finds us-

Click

My heart skips a beat when I hear the door click open. Just like that? We're free?

"What was that?" I hear Pike on the side mention, along with hoof steps. Reckless pushes the door open slightly and crawls out, pushing it closed partially before sneaking to the right. I was about to question him when Pike walks in front of the door. "Hey! Where'd the-"

Before he could finish Reckless sprung up from the side and punched him across the face, sending the both of them toppling over. I rush out to help him, finding them wrestling on the floor. Pike is trying to grab his ripper, while Reckless has him in a sleeper hold with his arms and is trying to pin Pikes arms by wrapping his legs around his waist. It doesn't seem like he'll be able to do both, so I rush forward and take the Ripper away from him, revving it on.

"What the hell is that!" Slick yells from up top. Reckless looks up for a second before pushing Pike away and launching up at the roof.

BANG

A gunshot rings through the air as Reckless disappears up top. I watch Pike stand up slowly as I try to prepare myself for this. As long as he doesn't try anything, I have no reason to harm him.

"Just go into the truck and I won't hurt you." I tell him nervously. He chuckles at that as he whips out a switchblade. I don't like where this is going.

"Nice try girly girl. Now give that to me before I rip out your ovaries." I gulp at that, believing he would. But I shake my head, making him smile. "I'm going to have some fun with you-"

BANG

SPLAT

A piece of light races from my right and straight through his head, making it explode. I let out a small scream as I move behind the truck. Somepony just shot his head off! I hear Reckless and Slick struggling with each other for a moment before another gunshot rings out. Slick falls off the top and hits the ground, bleeding from a large hole in his chest. Reckless jumps down after him, moving beside me for cover.

"Please tell me that was you," he asks desperately.

"No... no that wasn't me," I tell him, making him groan. He has a few bruises on his sides, but they don't look too bad. "Well, let's make a run for those buildings over there and hope..." He stops mid sentence and stares at something behind me. I look over there to see a dog standing there. It looks like a pretty old dog, with its grey eyes and chin. The old Shepard dog stares back up at us as we just stand there, unsure of what to do.

"Um... shoo dog?" Reckless says. The dog gives a quick woof before running to the right, where the gunfire came from.

"I'm not questioning it," I tell Reckless as I walk around him.

"But-"

"But nothing! Let's get our clothes back on and get the hell out of here while we still can!" He tries to argue with me, but ends up mumbling to himself instead. The only place that could have had our clothes is the small room up top, which is a problem. I'm not sticking my head up there while that sniper is out there. "How are we going to get up there without that sniper shooting at is?"

"Why don't you just climb?" an old voice asks. I feel my stomach drop as I step back beside Reckless as a pony walks around the back. He's easily the oldest looking stallion I've ever seen before. His face is wrinkled, his mane and tail are grey, and his eyes are as grey as his dogs. He's wearing an old faded leather jacket and a red scarf. His dark plaid button up shirt and slacks are much cleaner than everything else out here, and... he's smiling. I swallow a lump in my throat as my eyes make it to the repeating rifle in his hands. Is that what he used to shoot those two?

"Looks like I got here in the nick of time. Now, why don't we get you two your cloths and head out. I'm sure the others would have heard that," he tells us as he holsters his rifle. Reckless and I look to each other before looking back to the stranger.

"Who are you and why should we trust you?" Reckless asks bluntly, making the stranger chuckle.

"That's right, introductions. Sorry, it's just been awhile since the last time I was out here. The name's Doc Waster, welcome to the Commonwealth." [Wild Wasteland]

Lucky

S 7
P 3
E 4
C 6
I 7
A 4
L 9

Perks

Wild Wasteland
Black Widow

Skills

Barter 20

Energy Weapons 13

Explosives 13

Guns 18

Lockpick 13

Medicine 21

Melee Weapons 36

Repair 25

Science 36

Sneak 15

Speech 35

Survival 20

Unarmed 15

Reckless

S 8
P 7
E 7
C 2
I 5
A 9
L 2

Perks

Heavy Handed
Skilled
Rapid Reload

Skills

Barter 14

Energy Weapons 22

Explosives 40

Guns 41

Lockpick 40

Medicine 18

Melee Weapons 24

Repair 20

Science 18

Sneak 28

Speech 12

Survival 22

Unarmed 22

Reckless and I stay silent as Doc Waster stands there, staring at us. I'm not sure what's going on, but I don't want to be too brash about anything. The last stranger we met tried to turn us into slaves. He said we could go, but what's to say he wouldn't just shoot us in the back? Or what if he has friends waiting for us around the corner? I don't want to trust him so quickly after what just happened.

"Heh, I get it," he says with a smile. He slowly reaches back and pulls out his rifle. I feel my heart race a bit as he brings it forward, but that all fades when he sets it on the ground. "Go ahead, take it. I'm not going to do anything. But I'd suggest getting your clothes on, lest you want ponies to question your decency."

He turns around and holds his hands up. Reckless looks between him and the gun before rushing forward and taking it, aiming it at his back. I run to the front of the wagon/truck and try to open the door, but it's locked. I grab a rock off the ground and smash the window in, unlocking it quickly. Our bag of clothes is sitting right there, looking heavenly. I go through it and quickly put on my Stable clothes, glad to be covered again. Even better, my bat's in there too! I grab it and take a position to cover Reckless. He doesn't move right away, instead glaring at the pony before us. I have to nudge him to make him break eye contact with him. He forces out a breath before moving to get dressed, only taking his eyes off of him at the very end.

"Antsy, isn't he?" Doc asks with a dry laugh.

"Given the circumstances; understandable," I tell him, getting him to nod.

"Are you two heading towards Silo?" he asks, glancing back at me.

"... maybe, why do you ask?" He chuckles again, muttering something to himself.

"Well, if you were heading towards Silo, I'd tell you that there's another storm about to roll through here. I don't know if you've seen it yet, but the rain here can be a bit wild at times. If you were heading that way; I'd suggest finding somewhere to settle down until the rain passed over. Now, with you two being new to these parts, I would offer my residence as a place to settle for a few nights. That way I could also give you dwellers some advice on how to survive out here. But, that's only if you were willing, of course. So, what'll it be? Risk the commonwealth again, or take an old stallion up on his offer? Your choice." Having somepony give us some advice about this place would be nice, but I'm not trusting him that easily!

"How do I know you won't try any funny business like those other ponies?" I ask as Reckless steps up beside me. He seems like he was listening, so I keep my focus on Doc.

"You don't. That's the first rule of the commonwealth: Trust no one! At least not until they earn it, that is. Ponies out here, they're just trying to survive. We don't have it made like those NCR ponies. To survive, sometimes, that means taking advantage of others. It's a slippery slope though, and most lose their way." He turns around and lowers his hands slowly. I keep the bat pointed at him though, unsure of his intentions. "You can trust me though. I saved you for a reason, as proof that you can trust me. And I'll give you something else to prove it. If you don't want to come with me, then don't. Head east till you cross the riverbed then head north east. You'll find the signs for Silo along the way. Take the rifle too. You'll need it to get through the city. If you can beat the storm, the subway tunnels are faster. But they have their own dangers too. It's your choice. Come with me, or go to Silo. What'll it be?"

I think about it for a moment before I make a sudden choice. I grab Reckless by the arm and pull him aside. We're in this together, so the decision shouldn't be left to one of us. I glance back to make sure Doc isn't doing anything weird, and he's just standing there. Smiling. I guess that counts as weird?

"What do you think?" I whisper to Reckless, getting him to bobble his head.

"He seems legit. But there's really no telling. But if there's really a storm coming, I think it would best to find shelter soon. Regardless of which choice we make." I nod to him, thinking back to our trip through the rain. I don't want to go through that again. Ever.

"I want to trust him," I confess to Reckless. "He saved us when he didn't need to. And he gave us the chance to leave if we wanted to."

"He also could have said that to trick us into trusting him." Reckless points out. I nod to him, having had similar thoughts on it.

"That is true. But... call it a gut instinct I guess. He doesn't look like a bad guy. He might... be good. But it's not just my decision. What do you think about him?" Reckless looks back to him and stares for a while, thinking to himself silently. I want him to at least give him a chance. If he can teach us anything about this place, it will be invaluable to us.

"I say we go with him on the condition that I keep the rifle. If he doesn't agree with that, then we head out on our own."

"That's fair enough," I tell him with a nod. We turn back to Doc where Reckless steps up to him, flaring his wings for some reason.

"We will go with you. But I'm holding onto the rifle until I decide you aren't a threat anymore. Am I clear?" Doc chuckles in response, making me a little nervous.

"You two are smarter than you look. Fine, it's a deal. But! I have to warn you. I have a robot at my home that... well... just let me do the talking and please don't shoot him. He's been through a lot and he gets a bit... edgy, when I come home at gunpoint."

"How many times has that happened?" I blurt out in curiosity.

"Heh, often enough. Come now. We need to get moving if we're going to make it there before the rain. But first, loot." Reckless and I look to each other in confusion as he moves to the closest body. Is really telling us to loot the dead? Does he have no respect at all!?

"What are you-"

"This will take some getting used to, but if you're going to survive it's necessary," he informs us as he pats down the body. "Supplies are hard to come by, so most don't bother to look for it. It's just easier to take it off somepony else. Food, water, ammo and weapons; you'll find them all on your enemies. If you really are against it though, rationalize it like this: They were going to kill you. By taking their gear, you are that much more likely to survive yourself. As long as you use it for self-defense, you're making better use for it than they were."

"Won't others get mad?" I ask as he makes a small pile of stuff. Some bullets, a water bottle, and some melee weapons.

"Not out here. You can walk down a street and kill a pony in cold blood and no one would care. Out here everypony is out for number one, themselves. Even those in groups are self-centered, for the most part. Even those rags are worth something to somepony. They'd slit your throat if they could, and don't you test them. The minute you let you guard down... they get you." He says the last part rather solemnly. He must have firsthand experience with that then.

We go through all of the bodies and come up with a handful of weapons and ammo, and some scraps of food and water. Doc tells us that doing this will make the difference between life and death. I don't like the idea of taking possessions from the dead, but I can see why it is necessary. For now, at least.

Once we finish bagging our new items, which Doc informs us to keep, we head out towards his home. Along the way he explains the currencies out there, and I start to feel my head spin. There are apparently four sets of currency out there! There's pre-war money, NCR bills, caps, and general trade. The money from before still holds value today and is apparently easy to find. The problem is that some ponies don't consider it money and won't accept it. The NCR, or New Canterlot Republic, is the largest settlement in the area and has made its own currency system. Most ponies accept their money, but there are a select few out there that don't. Caps are... bottle caps. Somehow, the little metal caps from sodas are now money. And they are accepted everywhere. They're sort of hard to find, but Doc says most Prospectors have an easy enough time getting their hands on them.

The last one is the easiest one to come by, according to Doc. Everything is worth something to somepony. So picking up almost anything will hold value to ponies. Weapons, junk, food, clothing, it all holds a value to somepony. There is no set value for items though, so they're price is floaty and can be haggled. That's something he points out as well. Haggling happens everywhere for everything. We should never buy something at the price that pony asks for. We need to learn to negotiate prices down and how to make deals. Otherwise ponies will take advantage of us. This is also most of the trading we'll be doing also... so we might be boned on that one.

We follow the dry riverbed out of the suburbs and make our way into the what Doc calls the wastelands. When the bombs fell, one of them hit nearby here and wiped everything out completely. His home is just past this area, on the edge of something called the Gash. It's a massive canyon that formed from the bombs. Nopony travels beyond the Gash, nor within it. From the sound of it, I know I don't want to.

The walk with Doc and his dog Dogmeat XIIV is... pleasant. Doc seems to ramble on and on about the things we might encounter. And even though I am grateful that he is telling us this, I'm a little confused as to why. From everything he's told us, we shouldn't trust him. Accept for the fact that he saved us, which is the only reason we're here in the first place, he still is a stranger to us. He could literally turn around after his speech and shoot us in the stomachs, and it'd be our faults! I want to trust him, I really do! He's done so much for us and hasn't asked for a single thing in return! But, going by his advice, I shouldn't trust him until we have absolute proof that we can trust him. And I don't know how we are ever going to get that...

Aside from him saving us and giving us all of this information... And letting us stay in his home. It's all confusing really.

It takes us the day, but we finally make it to his home. Just in time too, as the rain started to fall in the last hour we were walking. His home is large and a little run down, but it's a beauty in this rain! It's two stories tall with a large patio in the front. The patio sits underneath a balcony that is supported by large white columns. Most of the wood paneling has chipped away or faded, but there are splotches for blue and white throughout the building. Behind the house is a large willow tree that's easily taller than the house. I have to stare at it for a moment as something odd strikes me about the tree. Then it hits me. It has leaves. I haven't seen a tree with leaves... ever! None of the trees out here have any, and the Stable sure as heck didn't have any. How did he get a tree to grow its leaves back?

"Now remember, my robot will be a bit on edge and will... yell somethings. Just let me do the talking and don't make any sudden movements. And, if you can, try not to stare. He hates it when ponies stare." We look to each other before nodding back to him. I'm not sure what's going to happen, so I'm just going to let it happen and deal with it as it comes. "Major? Can you come out here please, we have... guest."

We wait for the robot to come out, having no clue what to expect. Does he have one of those pony-like robots? Or what about those brain bot things? Thinking back to them is starting to make me nervous, but I try my best to look impassive. I don't think it's working though. Reckless keeps looking back to me, looking more and more concerned. Maybe he's just as scared as I am. I mean, they attacked us both. And he's admitted to being scared out here too. I could just be reading too much into those glances... I really hope I am.

The front door opens and a Mister Gutsy float out. I let myself relax when he makes his way down to us. He's just a normal robot, nothing to be too worried about.

"Where the hell have you been General!? Those blasted commie rats went through the garden again! I had to set them all on fire to teach them to mess with Equestria's grand army!" he announces loudly, ignoring us completely. Doc chuckles nervously, glancing back to Reckless.

"Major, we have some guest with us today," he tells him, getting the robot to look at us. He seems to stare at Reckless more than myself, judging him intently.

"... Is this Enclave separatist troubling you and this concubine sir?" he asks, pointing one of his weapons at Reckless.

"What!?" I yell out, scaring everypony. "Why am I the whore? Why can't he be the whore!? What about me screams whore?" Everypony avoids eye contact with me, keeping silent. The robot, Major, doesn't seem to get the hint though.

"Shall I take her to your quarters and prepare her for you sir-"

"Major! He-heh, that will not be necessary. Just go prepare the guest room for them, please." Doc cuts in, stepping between the two of us.

"Affirmative. Concubine and Enclave scum, your rooms will be waiting for you shortly. Prepare yourselves and be sure to read through the safety guidelines listed in the main room. Good day!" And with that, he floats back into the house. I don't know what he's talking about. Why am I the whore? What about me screams whore? I hate that robot!

"Sorry about that, he's... an odd one," Doc apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck coyly. "He has three personalities going through him, so he tends to... anger, a lot of ponies when they first meet him."

"Why am I the concubine?" I demand from him, getting him to back up slightly.

"Well... your attire isn't the most... modest," he tries to reason, but I'll have none of that.

"So because of that I'm a whore?" I ask, folding my arms together and glaring at him.

"Lucky, it's a robot. Don't read too much into it," Doc tells me compassionately. I just avoid his gaze, still bitter about the interaction.

"Who are the Enclave?" Reckless asks seriously, getting Doc to sigh.

"That's... that's a story and a half. Let's get out of this rain and talk about it over dinner. It's going to take some explaining." Doc doesn't wait for us to respond, heading inside with a tired groan. I look to Reckless, but he just follows him inside without looking to me. I glance to Dogmeat and stare at him for a moment before following after them.

Docs home is warm and cozy, a welcomed feeling compared to the Commonwealth. All of the old furniture is patched together from various clothes, but they are still a sight for sore eyes. I never thought I'd miss the comfort of a couch, but several days of being nude in a metal carriage has given me much to appreciate. There are also various book selves lining the walls. Many of the books on them appear to be old and partially destroyed, but there are some that look good as new. There's a definitive dusty smell over the entire home, distinctly reminiscent of the old stallion. I follow the two stallions to the dining room where we sit at a rickety wooden table.

"The Enclave," Doc starts out, waving his hand to Dogmeat. He goes to the fridge in the kitchen and pulls on a rope that has been tied to the handle, opening it. A quick search later he steps back with a beer bottle in his mouth and brings it to Doc, repeating the action for Reckless and myself. "Where do I even start?"

"From the beginning." Reckless tells him, twisting the top off of the beer and taking a long drink from it. Doc hums to him and thinks to himself as he opens his beer as well. I try to open mine, but it doesn't seem to want to.

"Well, the Enclave are a Pre-war group made up of predominately pegasi. They used to rule the cloud ceiling before harmony was restored to the Capitol Waste. Now, those that remain are bent on making sure that harmony stays at the NCR. Because of that, pegasi get a bad rap. I'm surprised those slavers didn't kill you on the spot really."

"What is the NCR? And what do you mean by 'making sure that harmony stays at the NCR'?" I ask. Doc takes my beer and slams the top against the table, popping the cap off. Why would he give me the pop cap and the others the twist tops?

"Let's see... Well, this all started about ten years ago. A Pipbuck repair pony made her way out of her Stable and into the waste, looking for a friend of hers that ran off. Along the way she made some friends, made even more enemies, and eventually came across... sorry, memory isn't what it used to be. There are these towers that have the capacity to control the weather. With them under her control, she tamed the capitol wasteland and freed a lot of ponies from its horrors."

"That's amazing," I tell him before taking a drink. I normally don't like alcohol, but this flat beer is the most amazing beverage I've ever had.

"Well... not entirely," Doc tells me, frowning to himself. "You see, that tower I told about, they all didn't come back online. There were enough to gain control of what would become the New Canterlot Republic, but... Well, when the bombs fell, the zebras had some obvious targets on their minds. Most of them were destroyed hundreds of years ago. Those that weren't completely destroyed are in desperate need of repair."

"So why don't ponies fix them?" Reckless asks.

"How would they? Nopony knows exactly how they work! That technology was lost with the war. There are ponies that could engineer the parts, but who would install them? With their newly found peace, the ponies of the NCR are a little unwilling to help those of us out here. Not to mention how dangerous it is now. When the clouds changed and ponies started to flock to the city, all of the hells of the capitol moved out. They had to go somewhere, and we were the unlucky lot to receive them. Maybe they are working on a plan to fix them all, but something like that will take years to form -let alone enact. I've seen some ponies try to leave and make a difference from that city, but they're never truly ready for what's out here... and it usually consumes them in the end."

"What about the stallion from before?" I ask, getting a confused look from Doc. "The repair pony? He fixed it before, couldn't he just lead the team and help us?" Doc stares at me for a second before setting his drink down.

"She... is a bit busy at the moment. She has to run the weather machine constantly or things will simply return to the way they were. I'm sorry, but I have to ask. What happened in your Stable?" We both flinch from that. I don't know if I want to talk about that, not in detail at least.

"There was fighting," Reckless starts, eyeing his drink as he spins it in his hands. "Some ponies... wanted to change things, I guess. I wasn't really a part of it. I was just a guard who... did his job." He takes a drink at the end of that, leaving more out than what I even know.

"There were ponies that didn't like how things were run," I continue, getting both of their attention. "You're only worth what you work. And your work is determined by whatever class you're born into. A lot of mares wanted to change that."

"Mares?" Doc asks, confused. "Weren't there any stallions who wanted to change things as well? Why only the mares?"

"It just ended up like that," Reckless tells him, taking another drink. I get a little angry from that and snap a little.

"It's because mares are being held back! If you stop working, you lose your rank! If that fails then you have to bank on your foals doing well, if you get to have foals! To have a better chance at having a successful foal, you need to breed with the upper class, who demand a certain ascetic! So because we have to work constantly on being worthy of attention, then have to bare a foal and raise it to perfection, we lose out on our capacity to change legislation! All the while stallions just work and fuck, knowing that all they had to do was the bare minimum to stay on top!" Doc and Reckless share an uneasy look with each other, taken aback from my outburst.

"I see... I'm a little confused about a few things, but that can wait. I think now would be the best time to go to out rooms and rest. It's been... a long day, for all of us." I let out a huff of annoyance as I down the rest of my beer. I let myself get riled up, which is never good. Now I'm just the emotional mare that can't handle conversation, great!

"Yeah... I think that would be best," Reckless agrees, downing his drink as well.

"Fine," I tell him setting the empty bottle down. Doc stands and escorts us upstairs where he informs us that there's only one guest room. He stares at Reckless until he takes the hint and goes back downstairs to sleep on the couch. Doc opens the door and shows me the guest room.

It's a fairly large room to be a guest room. The bed looks as if it's two Stable beds set next to each other and has layers and layers of blankets on it. There a few dressers and a desk in the room as well, with various knick-knacks on them. There are several pictures on them, but none of them seem to be of Doc. The window has bars on the outside wall and appears to be reinforced with wire in the glass, looking extremely sturdy. I turn to thank Doc for his hospitality, but stop when I see the look on his face. He's serious about something, far more serious than I've seen him yet. It scares me a little, not enough to back away from him though.

"Lucky, what I'm about to ask you is of the utmost importance. I need you to answer truthfully. Are you safe with Reckless?" His question confuses me for a moment, but I think I get where he's going with this.

"I trust him." He relaxes at that, but I continue on. "Truth be told, I don't know him at all. We didn't... we didn't choose to leave together. It... sort of just happened. But... he's different than the other stallions though, that much I know."

"Okay, good. Sorry, but I had to ask. You... he reminds me of a pony I once knew." He grows a sad look for a moment as a memory flashes over his eyes. I want to ask him about it, to offer him my condolences, but I never get the chance. "Lucky, you are very attractive."

"O-oh... thank you," I can't help but blush from his comment. Coming from him... in his home... in this room... It's just a little awkward.

"Don't worry about that. My... my plumbing hasn't worked in years," he tells me with a chuckle. I chuckle with him, more to awkwardness than anything else. "What I mean is that you will have to be extra careful out there Lucky. Ponies out in the Commonwealth aren't so candid as you might expect. And I've seen this play out time and time again. A pretty mare will have to be more careful than others. It's not fair, I know, but it's the truth."

"Trust me, I know that already. Back at the Stable... well, let's just say I've had my share of fights already." Doc frowns at that. He really seems to care for my well-being. It's a bit odd, bit in this place I'll take it. I move forward and give him a quick hug, shocking him a bit. "Thank you. And not only for opening up your home to us."

"Think nothing of it, really. It's what I do." Doc tells me with a smile, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. He bids me goodnight and leaves for the room across the hall. I go to close the door, only to have it shoves open by Major as he drags another blanket into the room.

"Aright, here's the last blanket we had in storage. Now, where would you like to proceed?"

"Pro... proceed?" I ask, confused.

"Just assume the position and relax. The feeling will return a few hours afterwards." I stare at the robot as I slowly draw upon his intentions. Why does Doc have this robot? Did he teach it to do... that?

"Um... no, no, I'm fine... Why don't you take a few of these blankets to Reckless and see if he wants to... you know?”

"Yes ma'am!" I can't help but smile as he floats into the room and grabs a few blankets and heads downstairs. This time yesterday, I was about to become a slave. Now I'm playing pranks on Reckless with a sexbot. What's wrong with me?

Sleep wasn't easy to find. The rain outside was ceaseless and the wind seemed to scream constantly as it shook the old house. A lifetime of silent nights has tailored me to have specific sleep requirements. The bed is lumpy, the blankets smell of mold, and the noise! I couldn't take it! I wanted to sleep, but there was no way that was happening, so I got up and left the room.

Walking around the house at night was disconcerting. Even though I saw everything before, seeing it all again in a new light made it all appear new. That, with the added screams of the wind, were almost enough to send me back to the room. But something caught my attention. It was faint at first, but as I slowly made my way down the stairs it became clearer and clearer. Reckless is having another nightmare. And it seems like a really bad one too.

He's nearly pushed his blankets off and is gripping his pillow tightly. His clothes stick to him as sweat builds over him. Every so often he shifts about as he kicks his legs back and forth. I can see the torment on his face clearly. He keeps muttering something under his breath too. A name? It's hard to tell. I think about leaving him for a moment and talking about it in the morning. But I can't get myself to do it. I can't even think of something that I could do that would actually help, but I have to do something!

I walk over to him and bite a finger as I watch him for a moment longer. He's still deep in his nightmare. Maybe I should wake him? Probably not the best idea. Maybe I should stoke his mane, like I did in the slaver carriage. It helped him then, but I also chance waking him. I think about it for a moment until he gives a pained moan. Either way, this will be better for him. I step closer to him and pull up on his shoulders. He lets out a gasp and sits up, looking up to me with bleary eyes.

"L-lucky? Is everything alight?" he asks groggily, giving a long yawn at the end. I don't even know if he's truly awake at this moment. I betting that he isn't, which is for the best I guess. I grab the pillow and sit where it was, getting Reckless to stare at me tiredly the entire time. I set the pillow on my lap and pull him back down onto it, getting little to no protest from him. He tries to ask me something, but I can't make sense of it. I just start to stroke his mane and wait patiently for him to go back to sleep. It doesn't come right away, but when it does it's peaceful at least.

"That's a gift, you know." I jump a little from the voice. I look over and see Doc standing in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the wall. He's in some old blue pajamas and has a bottle of water in his hands. He moves to the seat near me and motions for permission, which I give. It takes him a moment to sit, and I swear I could hear a few bones crack along the way, but eventually he gets down. "My wife had that gift too. Put the kiddies right to sleep."

"... rubbing hair?"

"Patience," he explains before taking a drink of water. "Trust me, it's something that most ponies don't have out there. Why wait for crops to grow when you can just kill the farmer and take them? Reckless here, he doesn't have the gift. I can see it. Heh, it's in his name." I offer him a small smile before looking back down to Reckless, thinking idly.

"Those slavers... they were the ones you were telling me to watch out from, weren't they?" He lets out a sigh as he thinks to himself, digging his chin into his chest for a moment.

"Sadly, no. Like I said, ponies out there aren't patient. Most just take what they want by force. Not to say that there aren't good ponies out there, and there are plenty of them out there. It's just... *sigh*, if they haven't earned your trust then expect the worse from them. You'll survive longer that way."

"Can we even survive out there?" I ask, leaning back. "We almost died walking in the rain. Then we were turned into slaves... I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along."

"Lucky then, aren't you?" I give him a deadpanned glare that makes him chuckle. He's a comedian then, great. "Truth be told, I knew they were going to be there. I was listening in on my ham radio when their leader made that call. Figured it was as good a chance as any to hit them. Though, I was a little disappointed when I only saw two ponies in there. Thought I'd save some more." He takes another drink of water, glancing out at the rain.

"Is that what you do? Save ponies?" I ask, getting him to chuckle.

"No, no, no. That was my wife's job. I was the pack mule, heh. She was the star eyed filly that saw the good in everypony. Made me believe in some too. But, that was a while ago. And I can't really go out and hunt down slavers anymore, so I stay here mostly. Farm my garden, tinker with Major, clean up after Dogmeat, the sort. If I'm lucky, I go out and hit those slavers when I can. But, lately that's been far and few. What about you two? What's the story here? Secret lovers?" I can't help but laugh at that, having to cover my mouth to keep quiet.

"No, nothing like that." I tell him, though I'm sure Reckless would love to. "There was a revolution in our Stable. The... my father felt that it would be safer for me to hide out here in the commonwealth. But, the pony that was going to escort me out here and I were caught during our escape. Reckless was arresting me when she locked the door on us. I have no clue how she got free or if she's even alive right now, but I owe her my life... At least I believe I do."

A silence falls between us, but it's not awkward. I feel as if he really understands what I've been through. And, somehow, that's comforting. Maybe it's because of how old he is. If he could make it through something like that, then I can too. It makes everything else seem... doable.

"The road ahead of you is long," Doc says as he leans his head back, closing his eyes. "You'll encounter countless horrors, do unspeakable things, and leave a mark that will echo throughout the wasteland. Ready or not, the choice is coming. What kind of mark will you leave? What kind of pony are you?"

"... I don't know. I don't think I want to make a mark. I... I want to see my father again. I want to return home in one piece... I know that nothing is going to be the same, so I guess I want to find a new normal. A normal that will let me be... me." I stay quiet for a moment before I chuckle to myself. I need to get some sleep; I can't stand the way my mind works when I'm tired.

"*snore*" I look up to Doc and smile as he slumps into himself, already deep into his slumber. I start to lean back to sleep as well, when a thought occurs. Was that him talking, or was that a memory talking?

I shift a little when I hear a sizzling sound. I take a deep breath in and smell something cooking in the air. The thought of food is enticing, but I'm a little too tired to move at the moment. Besides, whoever that is, they're still cooking. It can wait a few more moments.

"Lucky, you up yet?" Reckless asks, making me groan.

"I am now.” I force my eyes to open and take in my surroundings. It's morning, I think. It's hard to tell because it's still relatively dark. A quick glance behind myself shows that it's still raining. How does anypony get anything done in all this rain?

"Breakfast is about to be served, why don't you join us in here." I nod to him, stretching out a bit as I stand. I scratch my sides and yawn as I make my way into the kitchen, sitting at the table in a slump.

"Not a morning pony are ya?" Doc asks with a laugh as he works on something at the stove.

"Not until I have my coffee." I tell him, spotting the coffee pot to his right.

"Then you're in luck. I just made a pot. There's some milk in the fridge if that's how you like it." I jump up and make myself a cup of coffee, ignoring the pun of his. I don't know how long it's been since I've last had a cup of the liquid gold, but I need it!

"Thank you," I tell him as I sniff the drink. I can already feel it effecting me, waking me up ever so slightly. He chuckles and nods to me, flipping the omelet in the pan. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Oh, here and there. Cooking is just something you learn to do when you're out there. Not like you can go to the local diner and order something." I hum to him, taking my first sip. Any worry or doubts I was having before wash away as the rich caffeine enters my body. By the sun gods’ tits, this is good. "I take it you like your coffee."

"M-hm," I hum back to him as I take another sip. I hope this cup never runs out.

"You'll have to show us how you made that again. For future references," Reckless says. Is that why this is so good? Did he make this himself? That's so sweet of him! He didn't have to go through all of that effort for us, not that I'm complaining though. Heck, if he wants to make more I'd appreciate it.

"Of course. Speaking of which, there are a few more things we should discuss before you two head out," Doc tells us as he plates the omelets and turns off the stove. We move to the table and take our seats, Doc passing each of us a plate. "I can give you some provisions and a list of things that can keep you going out there, but that's about it. I'd suggest going straight to Silo as soon as possible. The path directly there takes you through the city, which makes it much more dangerous. You could go around the city and approach from the rear, but that will take you at least two extra days. And it will have its own dangers as well."

"What kind of dangers are there? For each choice?" I ask before trying the omelet. I normally don't like eggs, but I haven't had a proper meal in days, so I take what I can get.

"Well... the city is full of raiders, slavers, scavengers, beasts, and feral ghouls. To name a few of the commoners. Feral ghouls are... were ponies that were exposed to too much radiation. It rotted their brains to the point where they attack anything on sight. Avoid them if you can."

I stop mid chew when a new flavor appears. There's something in this omelet that I've never had before. It's... salty, and crunchy. But, a chewy crunchy. What is this?

"While that's terrifying, the wastes are no better. Mutated creatures roam the wastes and will kill you just as easily. Not to mention you'll be more exposed to the elements."

"I think it would be better to go through the city," Reckless tells him. I reach a finger into my mouth and pull out the piece of food that's confusing me. It's... something red? A burnt red it seems. What is this? "I can get us into better hiding spots and it'll take less time to travel. The sooner we get there, the better."

"Hmm... if that's what you believe. Honestly, there isn't really a wrong choice here. What do you think Lucky?"

"... Doc, what's in this?" I ask as I stare at the chunk of food. Doc sighs and sets his fork down.

"Right, forgot to explain that. Listen up, cause these are just somethings that will get you through the Commonwealth..."

He spends the next hour explaining what we will have to go through to survive out in the Commonwealth, and it isn't pretty. Aside from all of the ponies that want to kill us, apparently everything wants to kill us! Food is scarce. Whatever food we do find will probably get us sick. Also, ponies now eat meat. I ate meat. He fed me meat...

There's radiation everywhere, even in the weather! Ponies have left traps all over the city, so we have to watch our steps everywhere! And there are some diseases that have no cures out there! All of the buildings are hanging by a thread, so we'll have to be careful of that too! Is there anything out there that won't kill us?

He then starts to explain ways we can survive. Plants to look out for, where to look for gear and salvage, and general maintenance for some of our gear. He put quite an emphasis of the importance of duct tape, so we'll have to keep plenty of that. He also mentioned that we can modify a lot of our weapons and armor too, depending on what resources we have available. We'll have to learn more advanced modifications out there, but he gave us a few ideas. Like nails in my bat or how to extend the magazine of Reckless's pistol.

The last thing he touches upon are factions. There aren't a lot of large group out there, but there are three that we should be mindful of. The first are the dwellers from Stable Sixty-Five. They don't like outsiders all that much, but they do trust other dwellers. There's a group called the Outcasts here as well. They were a part of the Brotherhood of Steel, but when the NCR was founded, there was a split between them. Silo, Green Ranch, and a place called Tempest Towers are all part of the Minutemares. They're just a collective of farms and relatively good ponies, so they shouldn't be a problem really. There are smaller factions out there, but those are the big ones that we should be aware of.

"And that pretty much sums it up. Obviously me telling you all this isn't as informative as experiencing it all first hand, but every little bit of knowledge helps," he tells us as we finish our meals. It's a lot to take in, but hopefully Reckless got all of the things I missed.

"Is there anything else you can do to help us make it to Silo? Anything at all?" Reckless asks. Doc seems to consider this intently. There is something he could give us, but I don't know if he will.

"Maybe, but not now. You have everything you'll need to make it to Silo, and it ain't bullets or guns. Whether or not you two will make it rests entirely on your own character. You have to want it enough to defy the Commonwealth, and that goes for any and everything out here. If you're not invested one hundred percent in everything you do, you won't last out there. I've seen it far too many times before. Good ponies march right out that door, declaring that they'll fix the world. Some do good, others much worse, but it all ends the same. They all stop believing eventually, and that's when you're at your weakest." He looks down and starts to toy with his plate. I look over to Reckless, but he only shrugs.

"Well... I think we have an unfair advantage compared to them," I tell him, getting a confused look from the both of them. "How many of those ponies had somepony to rely on?"

"... none, that I recall at least."

"Well, we've got each other to keep pushing ourselves forward. We're at twice the advantage then! We may not change the world or... what have you, but I think we can at least make it to Silo." I look to Reckless and give him a smile. He smiles back to me and nudges my side with his arm, so I nudge him back.

"Heh, I guess you're right. Well, now will be the best time for you to go then. The rain's about to taper off so you'll want to leave before it comes back." We nod to him and stand to gather our gear, leaving him to clean the dishes.

"Do you mean that?" Reckless asks as he starts to put on his guard gear.

"Mean what?" I ask, strapping the duffle bag to my back.

"Do you really trust me enough to... I don't know, get us through this? I mean, I know we already said we would work together to get there, but I mean... uh..." I laugh a little as he starts to fumble over his words.

"I made a promise, didn't I?" I ask, smirking at him. "I don't give up; you don't give up. Right?" He smiles back to me, nodding in agreement. We finish getting ready in silence, but I don't think anything else really needed to be said. We know what needs to be done, and we're going to give it our all. I know we'll make it, we have too.

I smile from my porch as I watch the two of them leave my home. I can tell they were scared out of their mind, but they knew they had to leave. I hope they find whatever it is they're looking for in Silo. They need a little hope right now. Something to guide them in the right direction. When Lucky hugged me to thank me one last time, I could tell she was shaking a little. If they're going to make it out there, they'll need all the little victories they can get. Cause the Commonwealth sure as heck ain't going to give it to them.

Dogmeat nudges my hand and groans a little, waking me from my thoughts. I look down and stare into his grey eyes before smiling and rubbing the top of his head. I can worry about them later, there's work to be done.

"Major, I'll be in the basement," I tell him as I head inside. "Keep an eye on the perimeter."

"Sir yes sir!"

I go to the living room where I lift up the rug and open the latch in the floor. Inside is a small dugout that houses a single computer. Climbing the latter down first, I take a seat at it and start to type away. Passwords and firewalls blink away as I type at the keyboard. Eventually I make it to my desired location and wait. It's been awhile since I've last been here, I hope they still check.

C: It's been a while. Do you have good news?

D: It's been quiet lately. I've got two with potential. Sent them to Silo. Waiting to see what happens next. Orders?

C: Same as always. Keep in touch D. We may need you. Something big is coming.

D: Big? S. big or... what?

C: You'll hear about it soon enough. S. sent a courier, but that was weeks ago. We'll try again. Hang in there D.

D: Will do. I'll speak to you when I have more info. D. out.

All of my previous confidence leaves me when we start walking away from Doc's house. I do my best to hide it though. After everything I told Reckless, I need to appear capable. Even if I'm not. There's a light drizzle coming down from the clouds above, but there are some spots where we can see sunlight breaking through. There's one specific ray ahead of us that seems to be leading the way for us. I've never seen something so beautiful before. I go to ask Reckless about them, but notice how alert he is about our surroundings. I don't think somepony is nearby, but his level of alertness is a bit concerning. I guess I'll talk about the lights when we make it somewhere safe.

It doesn't take us long to make it to the edge of the ruins. Without the heavy rain slowing us down, we made great time. But now comes the hard part. We run to the closest house and take cover at its side to discuss our plan of travel.

"Doc said we should follow this road down a few miles and make a right," Reckless tells me as he peers around the corner. "Looks clear enough."

"Let's check the backyards first though. It may look clear because somepony wants it to appear that way." Reckless nods and takes off into the air. I cough a bit from the smoke, but do my best to keep quiet. I don't want to alert anypony to our presence. It doesn't take him long to return, so I make sure to have the face guard down when he lands. "Is it clear?"

"For a few blocks it is. But there's some sort of structure in the distance I think we should avoid. Nothings there, it's just glowing." I nod to him in agreement. From what Doc told us about radiation, I want to keep as far away as possible.

"Lead the way." He nods to me and starts to walk towards the back.

I wish I could have seen this neighborhood before the bombs fell. They must have been beautiful with their white picket fences, colorful gardens, and various amenities like pools or lounge chairs. Now, there's nothing but dried dirt, broken down fences, and empty pits. The occasional weed adds a bit of color here and there, but there isn't much left to this wasteland.

We creep our way along the backs of the houses, being sure to check the insides of the houses as we move along. Some of the homes are boarded up, but there are a few that are open to the world. Glimpses into the old world rust away before us, having been left long ago. Most homes look as if they've been rummaged through, but there's plenty left behind to paint a picture. Old televisions sets, molded furniture, picture frames that appear empty due to all of the dust are all abundant. Curiosity is biting at me, trying to push me to take a look inside. But, Doc told us better. We can go looking once we have better equipment. Not to mention a better understanding of the Commonwealth. I'm sure we'll come looking back soon enough, but not today.

A clicking sound starts to come from our Pipbucks, telling us there's radiation in the air. I take a look ahead and see the pool Reckless was talking about. I don't know how, but the pool is full of green glowing water. We're a full backyard away from it, but judging from our Geiger counter, we're close enough as it is.

"Hang tight. I'll take a look around and find our next path." I nod to Reckless and press my back to the wall. I don't want anything sneaking up on me. Reckless takes to the air again, blowing dust into the air as usual.

I adjust my helmet as I look from the three directions before me, a tactic Doc told us about. Left, forward, right, repeat. It's good to set a pattern, it helps keep you occupied. When I look back to my left for the third time, I hear something from my right. A gurgle of bubbles catches my attention, seemingly coming from the pool. I stand up and raise my bat as I stare down the glowing liquid, waiting for something to happen.

BLURP

My heart skips a beat when another bubble makes its way up. I was hoping that it was just my imagination! Is something actually in there!? I take in my surroundings again as I start to back away from the pool. I do not want to mess with whatever's in there! Like Doc said, 'If it has anything to do with radiation, you'd best steer clear.'

I start to back away from the pool when the bubble starts to come up more violently. I try to call Reckless, but my fear starts to get the better of me. A glowing green hand shoots out from the water and slams onto the cement. From the sludge a figure starts to emerge. Its entire body is a sickly green and its veins seem to pulsate radiation throughout its limbs. Clumps cling to its face and body as it starts to emerge, it's face looking directly at me. It resembles a pony, but is clearly something far worse.

"Re... Reckless..." I mumble as the thing pulls itself out of the pool. Immediately a ticking sound rings off in my ear as my Geiger counter starts to warn me of the invisible dangers before me. As the being rolls out of the pool and onto the cement, a blip of energy washes over my face. A bar appears in the bottom right corner of my vision and a bar appears over the green thing before me. 'Legendary Bloated Glowing One' appears over the bar, along with a skull next to the name. I gulp when the thing clumsily stands up and stare back at me, twitching with anticipation.

"RECKLESS!" I yell as the thing lunges forward. I swing my bat and smack it across the face, staggering it back long enough to run away. I don't have anywhere to go, so I end up just going around the corner of the house. I glance back and see it chasing after me, keeping pace despite it's fat, bloated stomach. I make it to the middle of the street before something grips my midsection and pulls me up. I look back and sigh as Reckless flies us to the nearest roof and lands.

"You know you're heavier than you look, right?" Reckless asks as he looks back to the Glowing One.

"Maybe you're just not strong enough!" I snap back, slightly offended. "Did you see that thing though!? What is it?"

"A... Legendary Bloated Glowing One apparently," Reckless says, slightly distracted. "Did you notice the... changes? The bar and all the other things in your view?"

"Yeah, what was with that?" I ask. I pull up my Pipbuck and start to look through it. Everything seems the same, but now there's a note in my files.

Lucky,

I had Major update your Pipbucks while you were asleep. Hope you like the changes, they should give you an edge out there. The bar on the bottom are your vitals and the vitals should appear on any enemy you are in contact with. It's not perfect, and there are ways around it, but it should help none the less.

Doc.

I smile from the note. Though I'd hate to say it, we were extraordinarily lucky to have met Doc. With this new knowledge in mind I take a look back down at the Glowing One...

"Well damn," I mutter as I step towards the edge of the roof. A mod of feral ghouls, according to my Pipbuck, have surrounded the house we're on and are trying to knock down the door. I stare down at the feral ghouls and feel my stomach twist at the sight of them. They look too similar to ponies. If it weren't for the charred skin, black eyes, and shriveled limbs; I would say they were ponies.

"What the shit," Reckless says as he notices the mob beneath us. "Do you think they can climb?"

"If they could, they would be here already." He hums in response, taking in our surrounding carefully. I can't really see a way out of this. Our only hope is to wait it out and hope they lose interest. Reckless could just fly us to the nearest house, but they'd just follow after us. How long could we go before we'd run out of roofs to land on?

"I have an idea," Reckless announces, stepping forward. "I'll fly off and have them chase after me."

"What? No! Remember what Doc said!? If you go too high somepony might just shoot you! There has to be another way." I take another look around, but there doesn't seem to be a way out of this.

"Look, I'll stay low. I'll just take them down the street and ditch them in the other neighborhood. It shouldn't take longer than five minutes, tops." He looks back to me and waits for my answer. I avoid his gaze as I try to think of a solution, but I can't think of any new ones.

"What if we tried to just wait them out? If we there doesn't seem to be a way up here, so we're safe for the time being. If we stay quiet for long enough, maybe they'll lose interest." I look back to see him standing on the edge of the building looking down. His wings are twitching a bit as he clenches his fists a couple of times. "Reckless?"

"Five minutes, tops," he tells me before jumping into the air.

"RECKLESS!" I yell, rushing to the edge. He hovers over them and starts to yell at them, getting a large chunk of them to follow. Annoyed by that, he pulls out his pistol and shoots at the ones that aren't looking. It doesn't take long for the mob to take notice of him and start to chase. He keeps himself just out of reach and flies backwards down the street, yelling all the way. What does he think he's doing!? He's going to get himself shot like this! Or worse! I run around the edge of the building again in an attempt to find a way down, but there isn't one. I could try to jump down, but that doesn't seem too safe. With nothing else to do, I move back to the front of the building and wait.

I take a seat and dangle my legs off of the edge. I listen to the sounds of Reckless yelling at them and their shambling, but that ends soon enough. An eerie silence falls over the neighborhood. I try to keep my mind preoccupied by looking at each of the homes here, but that proves to be even more tiresome! They all look the same! Minus one or two minor details, all of the homes look as if they were copies of each other! I start to flick through my Pipbuck to try and entertain myself when I find several radio stations. NCR Today, Radio Wasteland, and Classical. Curious, I decide to listen in on them, starting with NCR Today.

"-is safe. We know the journey is long, and the dangers are numerous. But you owe it to yourself and your family to make the pilgrimage here." A mare is talking. Her voice is sweet and makes the back of my neck tingle a bit. Maybe if she spoke louder that wouldn't happen. "In other news, NCR officials are reporting an increase in Rad Storms coming from the north, with another one approaching in a few minutes. If you find yourself in the Commonwealth area, please take shelter and take plenty of Rad-X if you have it. Expecting mothers should be cautious in their dosage, as should all foals..."

She continues on about Rad-X safety and other medical mumbo-jumbo. Not that I'm opposed to learning something every now and again, it's just that I'm bored. And learning isn't high on my list right now. I flip the switch over to Radio Wasteland.

"GOO-OOD MO-ORNING WASTELANDERS!" The speaker nearly burst out of my Pipbuck from this mares screaming. I almost fall off the roof myself. "How ya'll doing today? Starving? Decrepit? On the brink of losing all sense of morality? Me too! Let's check in and see what the little birdies have to say today.

Tempest Towers officials announced that they've finally clear the top floors of our little visitors, so the hostel is back and runnin'! The Minutemares won a skirmish with some Raiders out on the interstate, securing our trade route with Green Ranch. Efforts are being made to reconnect with Silo, so hang on! The cavalry is on its way! Slaver attacks are on the rise again. With the death of their previous leader confirmed -still hangin from my window by the way- it is unclear how they've become so coordinated. For all you farmin folk out there, remember: There's no shame in hiding or fleeing. They'll call you names, trash your house, even burn your crops. But it'll be worth it to be free.

That's all the new for now kiddies! This is the only straight DJ north of Canterlot, and I'll catch you all next time! And now, some music!"

I laugh a little from that. I don't know who that was, but her enthusiasm was intoxicating. Even more so, she kept me interested in the news. I wonder what's keeping them from meeting up with the Ponies at Silo? I hope it isn't anything we'll run into anytime soon. I take a look around and confirm that Reckless isn't back yet. It's been almost five minutes, but I try not to worry... by distracting myself with the last radio station.

I switch to the Classical station and listen in on the music. There's a slow cello strumming by itself, playing a somber melody. I start to listen in when I quickly turn it off. It was... nice. But I thought I heard something. I take a look around and find nothing out there. Curious, I stand up and check the backyard. There isn't anything there either. I could have sworn there was something out there-

"Boo."

"AH!" I yell, throwing my fist back.

THWUMP

Reckless falls flat on his back and groans in pain. I jump a little in place and shake my hand as I try to ease the pain.

"Why did you sneak up on me like that!?" I yell at him, gripping my hand.

"Why did you punch me!?" Reckless asks, sitting up and rubbing his cheek sorely.

"I don't know! Maybe because we're out in the middle of nowhere and you snuck up on me!" I yell at him, letting my sarcasm punctuate the statement. He groans in response and start to stand up, still rubbing his cheek.

"Well... at least if somepony does try to sneak up on you, you'll have a nasty surprise for them." He tries to laugh it off, but winces from the pain instead. "Well, I ditched the ghouls some ways back. We should hurry before they realize what's going on."

"Good. I was listening to the radio while you were gone and learned somethings," I tell him as he picks me up and flies me to the ground. We take off down the road, doubling our pace. "A storms going to come through soon. We need to find shelter and wait it out."

"Do you really think we need to? We've barely made any progress," Reckless complains, checking his Pipbuck.

"I really think we should. She said it was a Rad Storm. Since we only have a few medical supplies, I think it would be best to play it safe."

"Yeah, you're right," he tells me, looking over to me. "Well, should we chance one of these houses or head down the road a bit and see what's around the area?"

We take a look at the houses around here and decide that none of them are decent enough. Most have massive holes in them, defeating the point of hiding in them. We continue down the road and go from house to house, trying to find a suitable one. When the clouds over head start to darken we start to become a little less picky. We decide on a two story house that has a massive hole on the right side of the roof. Compared to the other houses, this one isn't that bad. We find the door sealed shut with a wooden plank, but it comes down after some persuasion.

The inside is dark and dusty. From the little light we have we can see the remnants of the living room. I guess for being over two hundred years old they're in pretty good condition. There are a few items thrown about, showing signs that the family here left in a hurry, but there isn't much to look at really. I guess they didn't have a lot of money, or maybe all of their things were stolen. We'll never really know.

With my bat at the ready, I walk towards the kitchen and peek around the corner. There doesn't seem to be anypony there, so I turn on the light on my Pipbuck and continue in. There's a foul stench in here, but it's somehow familiar. I take a closer look around and find piles of mold in what was the dining room table. It's been destroyed for a long time now, and whatever food was left there has turned into a mountain of molds and mushrooms. I don't feel safe breathing in this room, so I rush back to the living room where I find Reckless moving the couch.

"Help me with this," he tells me. I rush over and lift the other end, helping him bring it over to the fireplace. "I saw something under the couch, let’s check it out."

We find a latch built into the floor. Reckless and I share one look before nodding and taking our positions. With our weapons ready, we open the latch and take a look inside. There doesn't seem to be anything down there. Just a hole in the ground with a ladder. Without saying a word, Reckless starts to climb down, so I follow after him. It doesn't take us long to make it to the bottom. The room beneath the house is simply a hole in the ground with a bed on one end and a metal cabinet on the other. Some attempts were made for lights and a ceiling fan, but they don't seem to be working.

"Looks as good as any spot to settle for the day. Or at least until the storm blows over," Reckless comments, walking around the small space.

"I'd say," I comment as I take a seat on the bed. It's not the best, but I won't openly complain about it. It's just something I'll have to get used to out here. "We should also get the plank on the door fixed and cover up opening up again. Just as extra precautions."

"Yeah. While I do that why don't you take a look around the rest of the house. I didn't see anything when I looked, and I think they would have heard us by now, but be careful. Weapons, food, ammo, anything that might help." I nod to him, heading back up the ladder. Since I already looked in the kitchen, I'll take a look upstairs.

Each of the steps creek as I make my way up. When I make it up there I find three rooms to search; the master bedroom, a bathroom, and a smaller bedroom. The master bedroom is the room with the gaping hole in the roof, so there isn't really anything of note in there other than the piles of destroyed furniture. The smaller bedroom looks as if it was for a filly. Dolls and play things litter the floor, most of which are broken. I check through the two dressers in the room and manage to find five bottle caps. I feel a little silly pocketing them, but I know I have to. The final room I check in is the bathroom. It's here that I find the jackpot, according to Doc that is.

Soap. A single bar of soap. Hygiene is something that goes past most ponies up here. When you spend most of your day looking for a meal, smelling nice isn't high on the list of priorities. This is something that I personally will appreciate. With that in my bag, I check the mirror and also find a Stim-pak. A bar of soap and a Stim-pak. It's better than nothing.

When I make it back downstairs Reckless is finishing blockading the door. And just in time too. A large crack sounds over head as a torrent of rain starts to come down. I help him set the couch against the door and the two of us rush back down the hole, closing the lid after us.

"I call the bed!" I announce before dropping to sit on it. Reckless chuckles lightly before kicking our bag of cloths to the side and laying against it. "So... what now?"

"I have Stripped Menace in this thing if you want to try," Reckless offers. I think about it for a moment before shaking my head. I was never really that good at video games. They could never really hold my attention for some reason. "Well, other than that... we can talk."

"... alright. Let's talk." Reckless bites his lip as I bounce my heels. It would appear that neither of us want to start a conversation. Great! Just great! We go for a few minutes in silence. Each time one of us goes to say something, the other would coincidentally do something to silence the other. I would couch or he would stretch out, making the other think they were going to say something. It takes a bit of nerve, but eventually I think of something to say.

"I found a bar of soap," I tell him, getting his attention. "IT looks half dried out and doesn't seem to have a scent, but it's soap."

"Hm. Great. I don't know when we'll get a chance to use it, but that's... good."

"Yeah..." Dammit! We're both quiet again! This is awkward! Maybe I could just lay back and- WAIT A MINUTE! We have radios on our wrists! I go to the function and quickly flick it on, getting a loud fuzzy static sound.

"I guess we can't get a signal under this house." I turn it off in a huff, annoyed at life. Of course it didn't work. Life wants us to talk to each other! Great! "So... Did Major try to... do anything... weird while we were at Docs?"

"... no, why do you ask?" I lie, knowing completely what he's talking about. It takes every fiber of my being not to smile from all of my giddiness. What did the two of them do? What did Major offer? I have to know.

"Oh, really? Me neither." He's lying! He's totally lying! He's a terrible liar at that! His blush is giving it away. Intrigued, I lean forward and stare him down, making him shift around in discomfort. His facade crumbles quickly and he starts to talk. "Okay! Maybe he offered to... do things. But I didn't do them!"

"What things? What was he offering to do?" I ask innocently, tilting my head in fake confusion.

"Well... you know... things," he tells me, trying to hide his blush. But I won't let him off the hook that easily.

"Like... fluff you pillow? Did he offer to help keep your bed warm? What sort of things did he offer to do?" I may have laid it on a little too think, because now he's just groaning and rubbing his face. I laugh at his discomfort, laying back on the bed. I guess I've tortured him enough, for now.

"But seriously, did he?" I chuckle at that, glancing down at him. I guess I'll share.

"Yeah, but I turned him down and sent him your way-"

"Thanks! Real nice Lucky!" I laugh at him again, getting him to huff in annoyance. He cracks a smile in the end though. "Why would he even need that."

"Maybe it was something he and his wife did, for whatever reason." I couldn't imagine having a three way with a robot. What would they even do? "He talked about his wife, but I never got her name."

"Me neither. I thought about asking, but it seemed rude. It's probably not something he wants to talk about with strangers," Reckless offers, but I shake my head.

"After everything he did for us, I don't think we constitute as strangers." Reckless agrees with me and we both go silent in thought. I didn't see any pictures of her, a name plate, nothing. It really seems as if he has nothing to remember her by. I hope nothing terrible happened to her. Doc is too sweet for something like that.

"How are we?" Reckless asks, catching me slightly off guard. "I mean... I know we had that talk at Docs place, but... I don't know. Are we good? Are we only good until we make it to Silo? What happens after that? Sorry for all this, but... it's been on my mind a lot."

"No, it's alright," I tell him, shifting on the bed to look at him as I lay here. "I would say we're good. We really still don't know each other all that much, but... you're the only pony I can truly trust right now. And... when we make it to Silo, I won't forget all of this." He hums to me, smiling lightly. I smile back to him, glad that I put his mind at ease.

"Blue," he says, catching me off guard again. "It's my favorite color. But not Stable-Tech blue, I've seen enough of that already. I like a light blue or a really dark blue." It takes me a moment to realize what he's doing, and it make me smile more.

"I like blue too, but I'd have to say my favorite -and you better not laugh at me! My favorite color is... green."

"Green!" he says with a laugh. I roll my eyes at him, embarrassed by my choice. "How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"It's not from my coat, if that's what you're thinking!" I tell him as he moves to face me better. "When I was little my father got me these books about parks before the war. I remember looking at the pictures and seeing all the plants and ponies. I told him I wanted to climb a tree, because of a picture of a pony climbing one that was apparently one hundred feet tall. He just laughed at me, scrunching up my mane..."

"I'm sure he's fine," he reassures me. "The Overstallion was the toughest stallion in the Stable, he made sure of it. I bet he's got everything figured out by now. Probably cracked a few head along the way too."

"Yeah..." I go quiet as I think about my father. I really do hope he's okay. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him.

"Did you ever get the chance to read the Daring Do books?" he asks quickly.

"Only every single one of them multiple times over!" I tell him, bringing my enthusiasm back up. "I loved those books as a filly!"

"Heh, I only read half of the first one-"

"*Gasp* Blasphemy! How could you have not read them? They were so good!" he shrugs and rubs the back of his neck, laughing slightly. "Well... if you want, I could recount them to you. We have the time, and I don't mind talking about them."

"Are you sure? Aren't there... like, eight books?"

"Nine, with three mini-series books and thirteen web issues. Do you want to hear about her or not?" He shrugs and gets comfortable, so I get into it. We spend hours talking about the books. Writing style, the story, the writer, everything about the first book. Reckless does his best to recall what he read, but most of it goes over his head. But I'm okay with that. It lets me go back to it myself. And he really seems to enjoy listening.

We ended up staying in that hole for nearly two days! The rain refused to stop the entire time. Luckily the rad storm only last the first day, but we decided to wait the rest out. It was... oddly fun. Even though we were in a hole in the ground, it was nice. We talked about almost everything. What music we liked, sports, ponies from the Stable; we spent most of our time talking. We especially talked about the mares from Eighty-eight.

He has an interesting opinion of certain mares that I know. I thought he was going to judge them on certain things, but he was more interested in their beliefs and habits. I thought he'd just judge them on their looks and how they were in the sack, and even though there were moments where he did bring those things up, they were never really the main topic. He likes the way certain mares laugh or whatever sports they follow. He hates it when mares try to talk about his wings or talk about his job too much. From the sound of it, he doesn't like being the center of attention.

There was a point last night where he left the hole randomly. Curious, I followed after him. He went to the top floor and sat on the floor, staring out at the Commonwealth. I thought about leaving him be, but a burst of lightning made me gasp and he noticed me. He didn't say anything, he just turned back to look out there. So, after some thought, I joined him. We sat there for... at least two hours, watching the rain. It was... nice. We didn't say anything, we didn't do anything, we just... watched the rain. For a moment, it was as if there wasn't a wasteland or slavers anymore. It was me, him, and the rain. And it was nice.

"Did you ever get to meet Cinnamon Swirl?" I ask as we walk down the road, having left the house a while ago. We're sticking to the sides of the road now, learning our lesson from before.

"No, but I know who she is. Bought coffee from her a few times though," Reckless tells me as he scans the buildings. I bring my bat up to my shoulders and rest my arms on it, leaning towards him to see what he thinks of her. "Well... I mean, she did her job well enough. He had a bark of a laugh though-"

"She did not!" I defend.

"Maybe around you. I remember some of the guards went to get a quick bite and she was all over Cuffs. Cuffs is not a funny stallion at all, but whenever he'd say one of his stupid pickup lines, she'd practically scream out a laugh. A laugh. I don't know, maybe she was just nervous."

"Cinnamon Swirl? Nervous? That is a word never used to describe that mare. Can you describe her? Maybe you have the wrong pony."

"Light tan fur, dark brown hair. Titties big enough to crush a stallion. She had a nice ass though." Yep, that's her. Not many mares like her in the Stable sadly. Though, I didn't need to know about her ass.

"That's funny. I always saw her as a pony with nothing but confidence... Cuffs? Is that the stallion with the extra fluffy ears?"

"No, that's Death Row. You're thinking of Flat Hoof. Why?" I laugh a little from the memory, it was pretty crazy.

"He... asked me out." Reckless almost trips when I say this, making me chuckle. He composes himself the best he can, but it's obvious that he's flustered.

"Really? Flat Hoof asked you out, huh? Last I recall, he was a second class stallion. Pretty ballsy of him... Did you go?"

"Yeah, I did."

THUD

I laugh at him and wait for him to stand back up. I had a feeling that he'd be interested in this. He takes another moment to compose himself before walking off at a high pace. I follow after him, enjoying my torment a little too much.

"So... how did it go?" he asks, trying to sound as uninterested as possible.

"Well, we got food, talked a little, and then he walked me home," I tell him, gauging his reactions. He's thinking to himself mostly, but I can tell he's on edge. I wonder how the next part will go over. "We stopped at my door and he asked to come in. I told him it was fun, but maybe next time. He... tried to persist, but I wasn't having it. Long story short, you know that scar he has on his cheek?"

"You did that?" Reckless asks, brightening up a little. And here it comes.

"No, my father did." He goes wide eyed from that. "You see, by persistent, I mean grabby. So I punched him and tried to go inside. Ends up my father war watching from down the hall though. Flat hoof learned quickly what happens when you mess with the Overstallions daughter."

"Damn," Reckless mutters, thinking to himself. I watch his face for a moment when I realize it's not going the way I thought it was going. "Did... did stuff like that happen to you often? The... 'persistence', I mean."

"Oh... well... sort of. I mean, I was first class, so there weren't that many stallions that were ballsy enough to try. But, there were a few." I didn't really think about that part of the story. To me, it was always the story of my dad nearly chopping off some creeps’ head for being rough. I never really thought about the fact that he was trying to make those kind of advances. Not that I'm unaware of those situations, Celestia knows I know, but... That story was always one I'd tell about my father. When I would share it with the other mares, that's what we talked about. It wasn't about me almost being raped. It was about my dad beating up a creep. I guess Reckless is the first stallion I've ever told though...

"Sorry." I blink from his response, lost from thought.

"For what? You didn't do anything," I tell him, but he shrugs back.

"Yeah, but... I don't know. Things worked out in the end, but... I don't know. It felt like the right thing to say. “I stare at him for a moment before looking back to the road ahead of me.

"Well, don't worry about it." We both go quiet after that. What was he supposed to say to that? I never really thought about it before, but that's not a good story to tell. Or, rather, it's a really personal story to tell. Maybe it's different with stallions and mares, I don't know. Maybe in the future I should keep things like that to myself.

Our silence is broken suddenly by gunfire. Reckless draws his pistol and guides me to a nearby building where we take cover. I pull the face cover on my helmet down as Reckless takes a look around the corner. I feel my heart start to race as the gunfire intensifies. There has to be at least four ponies shooting at one another.

Without saying a word Reckless wraps his arms around me and flies me up to the roof. Instead of setting me down though, he more lands on top of me, so we're laying down. I go to ask him what's going on, but he covers my mouth with a hand and shushes me. I gulp and nod to him, getting him to uncover my mouth. He moves aside and crawls his way to the other end of the roof to take a look. I roll over and crawl my way up and peer over the top end, seeing the fight below.

There are two groups fighting. One group are obviously Raiders, thanks to my Pipbuck telling me so, while the others look like normal ponies, being dubbed Settlers. Their clothes are mere rags and they look dirty, but they have a more civil look about them. There are a few bodies in the streets, but the Raiders have chased the Settlers into an alley. We have a perfect view on them, while the Raiders are setting up to corner them. It looks as if it's a dead end for them though.

"Okay, I have an idea," Reckless whispers to me when he crawls back. The Raiders have stopped shooting at them and are now taunting them. They call them cowards, scream about the terrible things they're going to do, and laugh. The laughing is the worse. They enjoy this. They enjoy ruining lives. "There are four Raiders beneath us. Two on the left and two on the right of the house. If we can sneak our way down there, we can take out one of the groups with little effort. If the others don't notice it, then we can do it again. If they do, we'll run out of sight and hide. Sound good?"

"No, but we're doing it." He gives me a confused look but nods anyway.

He grabs me again and flies us to the backyard. Some shooting starts up, but it's nowhere as intense as before. Reckless motions for me to follow him to the right, so I nod to him. We crouch our way to the corner and take a look. The Raiders are hiding behind the corner of the building, giddy about the fight. Reckless starts to creep forward, so I do the same. When we get close enough I grab Reckless's arm and force him to switch side with me. Only one of them has a helmet on, so that's the one he should go for. He doesn't fight it, so I guess he gets the message.

They start shooting again, so we use this time to close the distance. The mare before me notices with enough time to turn and see me bring my bat down on her temple. At the same time, Reckless puts a bullet in the back of the other mares’ neck. The mare I hit lets out a loud scream of pain as she drops to the ground. I bring my bat overhead and swing it down with all my might to silence her. A loud, wet, thwack later and she gurgles her way into silence.

We hear the others yell at us, having noticed our actions. Reckless grabs my arm and pulls me back as a torrent of bullets fly our way. I go to run the other direction when a volley of bullets sends me to the floor. I quickly crawl back to cover and check myself, only finding a dent on my helmet. I peer around the corner and see another group of Raiders hopping the fence, bringing the total to five now.

"If you come out, I promise to make it quick!" a stallion yells, making the others laugh.

"What's the plan!" I yell at Reckless as he forces me back to take a look. He reaches around the corner and fires a few rounds off. The same stallion starts to scream as he falls to the ground.

"Try that again! I dare ya!" Reckless yells at them before looking back to me. "They're going to try to cut us off."

"Right, so what do we do?" I ask, starting to panic. Reckless thinks for a moment before reaching around the corner to shoot again. It doesn't sound like it hits anything, but hopefully it keeps them back.

"Right... right... right... okay! You try to go right. If the two of them are still there then come back. Otherwise, try to get to that other group. I'll follow afterwards. Got it?"

"Sure!" I get up and rush to the corner, nearly running into one of the Raiders. He tries to hit me with a tire iron, but I swing my bat up to parry it. I try to bring it down on him, but he catches it with his iron and starts to push back on me. Gunfire erupts all over the place as we push back on one another.

"I'm gonna ripe that pretty little face of yours right off!" the stallion yells as he surges forward. I try to hold on, but somethings giving him an edge.

With nothing else to do, I break my stance and let him lurch forward. At the same time, I bring a leg up and catch him right between the legs. He howls in pain but manages to stay standing, so I do it again. He staggers back on the second hit and lowers his guard, allowing me to bring my bat right across his face. He spins over and falls to the ground, groaning in pain. I plant my foot on his back and beat the side of his head a few times, screaming with each hit. I step back and take a few deep breaths as I watch the blood seep out of the side of his head, staining the dry ground. I lumber my way to the corner and take another look.

The other Raider is too busy shooting at the settler ponies to notice me. I take a deep breath before running out to the open. My bag tosses from side to side as I push myself as fast as possible. He notices me and turns to shoot, missing by a few inches. He tries again, but the gun clicks and he starts to reload. By the time I get there he's pulls the magazine out, giving me the perfect chance to attack.

THWACK

A solid hit on his shoulder forces him over.

THWACK

A hit on his back forces him to curl backwards, grunting in pain.

THWACK

CRUNCH

A hit on his arm shatters it, forcing him to scream. I kick him onto his back and pull my bat up, looking down at the stallion before me. He doesn't look scared. There's no remorse. The only thing I can see on his face is anger. And that makes this easier.

THWACK

I stagger back a bit before I fall on my rear, panting from exertion. The stallion before me twitches a few times before finally going limp. I killed him. And those other two. They're all dead.

I barely register the pony running up beside me. She's one of those settlers with a purple coat and silver hair done in a very cute bob. She says something to me, but it sounds so distant. I tilt my head as I try to understand her. She yells something else before rushing over to the dead stallion and picking up his weapon. She reloads it and starts to fire at the other Raiders. That's right, there are more of them. We aren't done yet.

As I start to stand my hearing starts to come back to me. There's a lot of yelling and gunfire. Some ponies are screaming in pain, others in fear. Some of it even seems to be directed at me.

"Are you insane!? Get to cover!" the mare from before yells at me. I blink back to reality and rush to her side at the house. "Are you stuck on stupid or something?"

"No! Sorry... how many are left?" I ask, still trying to wrap my mind around things.

"Two, but they have automatics and lots of ammo." She leans over the corner to take a few shots before coming back to me. "Do you have a gun?"

"No, just this," I tell her as I lift up my bloody bat. She gives me a bewildered look before leaning back over to fire again. I take a look around when an idea comes to mind. "Switch spots with me!"

"What? No! You don't have a gun!" she yells back at me. I grab her arm and pull her aside, much to her disapproval.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" I yell out, much to the amazement to everypony. A few rounds go off, but they all eventually stop. "It's four to two, stop and we'll let you go!"

"... step out! If somepony shoots, we're putting you down first!" One of the Raiders yells back. [Speech 35/30]

"Lucky, what are you doing!?" Reckless yells from the other side.

"Don't shoot Reckless! Alright, I'm coming out!" I start to walk out when the mare besides me grabs my arm. She shakes her head, trying to tell me not to go. I try to offer her a smile and pull my arm out of my grasp. If they aren't as stupid as I've been told they are, this might work.

I walk out into the opening and raise my hands. They step out as well and start to walk towards me, pointing their guns my way. I gulp as I wait for them to make it over to me, the air between us seemingly getting hotter and hotter. I can see Reckless move behind them as the make it to the side of the house. We give each other a look before I shake my head. He wants to shoot them right now. He wants to take me out of the danger. But I can do this. I know I can.

"You’re one crazy bitch," the first Raider says as he walks past me, eyeing my entire form quickly. I just stay still and wait for them to pass. It'll be over soon enough. Just keep waiting.

"You're lucky it was me here," the next mare says as she stops before me. She has an athletic body type with a burnt orange coat and red hair. Her armor looks to be made of leather with various pieces of metal intertwined. Her yellow eyes almost seem to glow in the shade of her head wrap. "Anypony else would have shot your ass on the spot."

"Well... I was hoping that one of you had a brain," I tell her, trying to laugh. She smirks at me before nodding her friend along. She takes a step before turning back to me.

"Names Burst Fire. This means nothing. Next time, be ready to fight." I nod to her, trying my best not to gulp in front of her. She takes a look at the dead Raider for a moment before looking back to me, a smug look on her face. "But, you ever want to be part of a group that wins though, you come find me. We could use all the crazy bitches out there."

I nod again and she takes her leave. The two of them take their time walking down the street, laughing over everything that just happened. They don't care that they just lost all these ponies. They're just happy that they're the ones getting away. When they turn the corner at the end of the street I let a long breath and collapse backwards. This was all too much. I'm going to need a minute.

"In all my years, I've never seen somepony convince a Raider to stop fighting," the mare Settler says as she and Reckless approach me. "Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it," I pant out, staring up at the sky. "The names Lucky. That there is Reckless."

"Mutt Schnapps. That there is Hardy, Chuck Wagon, and Pop." I roll my head over to see the remaining ponies come out of hiding. Another mare, a unicorn stallion, and a filly whose probably twelve.

"We should collect what we can and head out. We don't want to escape them just to get caught by somepony else," Reckless mentions. I nod to him, trying to find the strength to stand up. "Why don't you take a minute Lucky. We'll take care of things around here."

"Uhuh." I close my eyes and lay there on the ground. The others walk around me and go through the process of gathering whatever materials are left. I feel the hairs on my neck start to stand up, so I open my eyes. The filly is standing beside me, staring down at me with a blank look on her face. I smile up to her, but she doesn't really move.

"You're new out here, aren't you?" she asks blandly.

"Um... yes," I tell her, slightly put off by her demeanor.

"Is that guy your coltfriend?" I try to answer her, but I was caught too off guard by that question to be able to. "That's a no. Good."

"Okay?" She walks off, heading towards Reckless. She can't be that old, can she? I see her talk to Reckless, and judging by his reaction, she doesn't hide her intentions. Reckless says something to her and shakes his head, getting her to just stand there. He tries to ignore her, but she just stands awkwardly close to him, even when the others in her group tell her to stop.

After a few minutes everypony comes back to me. Reckless helps me up and we all start to walk off together. I guess safety in numbers is our game for the time being. I make my way over to Mutt Schnapps to ask her some questions.

"I was talking with Reckless earlier. We're heading to a small homestead a cousin of mine owns. We figured we'd travel there together since it's on the way to Silo," she tells me.

"Oh, good. Moving to be with family?" I ask, hoping it's not too intrusive.

"Sort of. Our last farm was razed by Hell Hounds. Nasty bunch, we barely made it out alive. Everything we have we found on our way here."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." I don't know what a Hell Hound is, but I don't want to find out anytime soon.

"Yeah, well, shit happens I guess. My daddy taught me plenty about plantin' crops. Sometimes they wither in certain soils, so you have ta find a new place ta plant them." I hum to that. It sounds like good advice, albeit morbid.

"Are the others your family?" I ask, getting Chuck Wagon, the unicorn, to laugh.

"Nope. Hardy was a farmhand back at my old place. Chuck Wagon ran a caravan between my place and another farm. And we found Pop wondering around. It's been tough, but we've been managing." I take another look at Pop and feel a pang of pity for the filly. I couldn't imagine wandering this place alone, especially at her age!

"It hasn't all been bad," Chuck says, alluding to something in his tone.

"Speak for yourself," Hardy says, getting the other two to laugh.

"I used to watch the brahmin mate when I was little." Everypony goes silent when Pop says that. Why would she say that? Let alone admit it! "It was majestic. Until they were eaten by Ashen Wolves."

"Oh..." I glance over to Mutt, but she only shrugs. I guess this is what happens to a kid out in the wasteland.

"How far away are we from your cousins’ place?" Reckless asks, changing the topic.

"Bout a day out, if we play it safe," Mutt tells him, taking a look around our surroundings. "And we are going to play it safe."

"No argument here," Hardy says.

"Yup," Chuck adds.

"Does he have brahmin?" And there goes the conversation. This is going to be a long day.

The walk to the farm wasn't as bad as I thought it was. There were a few times we changed paths to avoid Raiders and feral ghouls, but we managed to make it without starting another fight. Which is good, because we really didn't have the ammo for something like that. Even with all the gear we took from those previous Raiders, we barely have enough to fill our guns. Oh! And I have a pistol now! It's a nine millimeter! Reckless gave me some pointers on shooting, but I think I'll stick to my bat. It'll be nice to have if I ever need it though. Assuming I can hit the thing I'm aiming at.

The farm Mutt was talking about is nothing I was imagining. I was thinking of the farms from the books back home. Large lots of land with flowing fields of crops and a big red barn. The farm Mutt was talking about is an apartment complex in the middle of an urban complex. Apparently Urban Flow, her cousin, has hydroponics on multiple levels of this building. I don't entirely understand what's how he managed to do it, but if it works...

The front of the building is intimidating. It's five stories tall and has turret contraptions on every floor. They really look like guns mounted to small motors that swivel from side to side. But, judging by all the bullet marking on the ground out front, I'm sure they work. We are standing in an open square before the building. It looks as if there were some fixtures out here, but they've long since been removed. There are some banners flying on the apartment building as well. Each one has its own insignia one it, but I don't know what any of them represent.

A stallion bursts out from the front door and cheers at our arrival. He's an average looking stallion with a blue coat and green hair in dreads. He's wearing a nightgown that's all leopard print and has a bottle in one hand. He gives another cheer as he stumbles down the few steps of the building, taking a large swig from his drink.

"Cousin Mutt! Get that ass over here and hug me!" he screams, leaning back as he holds his arms open. Mutt walks forward and gives him a big hug, laughing when he picks her up and spins around.

"It's good to see you Flow! You're a real life saver, I mean it!" she tells him when they break away. She turns to introduce us, keeping an arm around him to help keep him standing. "This is my farmhand Hardy."

"A pleasure," he says, giving her a strange look. I want to say he was trying to flirt, but being drunk made it look more like a threat.

"This here is Pop. We found her on the way here, I hope that won't be a problem." Urban stares her down for a moment before shrugging.

"All are welcomed in Heaven! The more the merrier!" he cheers. Pop just stares at him, slowly blinking an eye.

"That there is Chuck Wagon, he ran the caravan to Sunset Lane." He lurches forward and gives him a firm handshake. With him being a little closer, I can smell the booze off of him. It's enough to make my head spin a little. "These next two saved us from some Raiders earlier. This is Reckless. No, he's not Enclave."

"You sure?" he asks loudly, leaning forward and eyeing Reckless closely. Reckless just stands there, eyeing him back.

"And lastly this is Lucky." Urban swivels to look at me and gasps suddenly. Pushing Mutt away, he makes his way to me, swaying side to side along the way. He has a look on his face that I can only describe as creepy. He's not even trying to hide what he's looking at. I glance to the side and see Reckless rest a hand on his pistol, only making matters worse.

"My, my, my, my! You are certainly not something I was expecting," he tells me. Unless you went by eye sight, because then he was saying it to my breast.

"Something?" I ask, obviously sounding offended. He looks up to me and gives a quick chuckle before turning back towards the building. He drunkenly makes his way up the steps and turns back to us, motioning closer. Reckless and I share a look before stepping towards him. Depending on what he says, we may just leave right now.

"Friends, gather! This is Urban Flows slice of paradise! We drink! We party! We fuck! I only have a few, simple rules. But if you follow them then you may stay for as long as you'd like! Rule number one! Do not touch any of my turrets! Rule number two! Do not eat any crops that are growing! I have plenty of food from traders, so there is no need really. Rule number four! Under no circumstances whatsoever are any stallions allowed to ever touch any of my mares! Break any of my rules, and you will be shot on site! Follow them, and you'll be safe, drunk, and well fed. Welcome, to Heaven!"

He leads us inside and my jaw hangs open is... awe? I'm guess before the war this building was a hotel. The room looks like it was a greeting room/lounge, but not so much anymore. In the center of the room is a massive circular bed with fluffy velvet red blankets. Hanging from the ceiling is a massive metal work chandelier that is in the shape of two ponies doing the act. There are bottles all over the floor and covering every counter top and table. The walls of the building look old and worn down. There are even some spots where you can see the wood work!

There are a few mares in here as well. Two are on the bed while three are talking at a counter in the back. Each of them are dressed in scandalous sleepwear. Silky red night gowns that don't quite cover their bottoms, lacy underwear, there's even a mare in the back who's only wearing a thong and black tape!

Urban Flow steps forward and throws his arms out, laughing to himself as we take in the room. It's at this point that I notice there are several, smaller, turrets dotted around the room. I think it's safe to say that there are going to be turrets in every room here.

"This is Heaven! Remember the rules as I give you a tour!" Urban says as he walks forward. Reckless and I share a scared look before we follow the group.

He has the building sectioned off into five sections. The first floor is the main living room, or as he calls it, the Magic Room! It has that entrance as well as a dining hall. He makes sure we all grab something to eat before moving on with the tour. It was nice of him, though I want to reserve my judgement till later. The second and third floor are the hydroponic rooms. The walls have been knocked out to make room for the massive tracks of piping, plants, and various machines. There isn't anything in here really, so there's really no reason to come here. The fourth floor is the workshop. This is where Urban tinkers with the turrets and fixes the hydroponics. The last floor are the bedrooms. This is where I get the hotel vibe the most. It's just corridors and doorways. Urban assigns each of us to a room, checking Reckless and I in last.

"Room five-twelve," he mutters as he flips through his keys. He finds the right one and opens the door, escorting us in. It's a simple room with two twin beds. There are some side tables and a dresser, but other than that there isn't really anything else to the room. There is a section of the wall that looks like it's had some work done. It's probably where the bathroom used to be. "Here is the key. If and when you leave please return it to me, making new ones is a pain in the ass."

"Thank you," Reckless says as he takes the key.

"There is a community bathroom down the hall. Here are four tokens for the showers. Each token gets you four minutes of water. If you're going to leave tomorrow, please save water and only take one shower. Do you have any questions?" Reckless and I shake our heads, getting him to sigh. "Cool... I think I'm about to crash, so just ask one of the others for help if something comes up. Later."

We watch him stumble his way down the hall until he turns the corner. With him gone, and probably out, we close the door and take in our accommodations. The beds look inviting, but I don't know if I want to be on it. The walls are dirty, though I don't know how that much dirt got in this room. There are some patches on the roof that are questionable too. Over all, with my life from the Stable still fresh in my mind, I want to leave as soon as possible.

The other part of me, the part of me that is listening to Doc, knows not to take this for granted. We have beds, protection, food, water, I don't even know how he has working showers! He may be disgusting, but with all that he provides, I can see why there are so many mares in here.

"Can you believe this place?" Reckless asks as he lays on the bed on the right. I go to stop him, but it's too late for that. He doesn't seem to notice though, so I'll keep it to myself. "What do you think of this place?"

"I... don't know," I tell him as I take a seat, aiming for the cleanest looking spot. "Everything here seems like a blessing. But then you get Urban Flow-"

"I don't like him," he adds quickly, turning to stare at a wall.

"He's a creeper, that's for sure," I add, reaching down to remove my shoes. My hooves thank me for that immediately.

"Creeper? He's a straight up freak! I almost put a bullet in him for eye fucking you!" Reckless fumes, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah... I think I'm going to go use the shower. That sounds... really nice right now." I get go through our bag and pull out a change of clothes. Reckless keeps quiet, eyeing the wall intensely. I pause to say something to him, but choose not to. I doubt there's anything I can say that will help his mood right now anyway.

The shower room is basically a long row of shower stalls taking the left wall with toilets cubicles taking the right. There's a door at the end of the hall that says Washroom, leaving me to guess that it's the laundry room. The shower stalls are made of tiled walls with curtains for doors. By the entrance there are a few sinks with mirrors above them. The lights are a little dim in here, but they are placed so there's more light in the showers. My hooves clack against the tile flooring as I make my way in, echoing ever so slightly. With the dim lights and light turquoise paint, the room has a relaxed feeling about. Something I'm put a little on edge about. With everything out there, how can a place like this exist?

I take the middle stall and start to undress. My Stable suit clings to me from all of the sweat from the past few days. Getting out of it is a relief in it of itself. I fold it up nicely and set it on the curtain rod above me, along with my other cloths. I turn to the shower and slide a token into the slot, getting the valves to turn on the other side. A moment later, warm water starts to fall from the shower head, and I almost cry. I didn't think about it, but I miss hot showers. I might go back to the room and take another token just to stay in here longer! I probably won't, because that would be rude, but it is tempting.

I take my dry bar of soap and start to wash my body. The suds cling to me for a moment before being rinsed down in the murky water. I'm a little surprised by how dirty I am, but push on with my cleaning. I only have a few minutes before the water turns off, I need to make the best of it.

Just as I finish washing my legs I hear somepony walk into the bathroom. I've never had a shower with somepony in the same room, so this is a little weird. I try to ignore it as I start to rinse out my hair, but I can't help but-

SHING

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" I yell when Urban Flow opens my curtain. I quickly grab it and use it to cover myself. "Are you insane? Get out!" He doesn't seem to take what I said seriously. He's just standing there, eyeing me unevenly with an empty wine bottle in his hands.

"I-I have to talk with you, but only you. Not that... pegasis!" His words are more slurred than normal and he keeps swaying from side to side. I move a little closer to him to get more of the curtain to cover myself with, but he doesn't seem to care. He steps in, leaning against the wall opposite of me.

"This isn't a good time to talk," I tell him sarcastically. He goes to take a drink, but finds it empty. He tosses it aside, shattering it against a toilet door.

"No, now. The... the other guy... he wouldn't let you have the choice. I would give you the choice, but he wouldn't. Nah, it's your choice! YOUR choice! It's all your choice!" He yells at the room. I try to edge my way out of the stall, but freeze when he pulls a revolver out of his pajamas.

"Urban... what are you doing?" I ask carefully, eyeing the gun. He holds it in his hands and stares at it, rubbing a thumb against the barrel slowly. "Urban?"

"All of the mares here have one of these, did you know that?" he asks, suddenly sounding much sober. "I give it to them when they agree to stay. I don't force them; they have to agree." He looks up to me, looking hopeful, before laughing deeply. "They agreed! And you should too! I have food, booze; you want drugs? I can get you whatever you want! You just have to agree to stay here, with me. I'd keep you happy, so long as we're both happy. Don't you want to be happy?"

My breath picks up pace as he stares at me, waiting for me to respond. I take in my surroundings as I try to think of a way out of this. What do I tell him? He's drunk, so nothing will reason with him. He just wants to hear what he wants. But I can't bring myself to saying yes either. I saw the turrets. Who knows what else he's hiding around here. I have to be careful with what I say, or this will get ugly.

"Urban... I am not comfortable talking about this while I am naked. Can we please talk about this another time?" Just as I ask this, the water shuts off, silencing the room.

"Another time?" [Speech 35/50] "Why don't you understand! This is for you!" He rushes forward and rips the curtain from my grasp. I let out a yelp and move my arms to cover myself. He doesn't seem to like that though. He grabs my arm and tries to wrestle it away. I start to fight him, but stop the second he puts the barrel of his pistol against my neck. He lets out a small laugh as he stares at my bare chest, his pants rising slightly.

"Urban?" I mutter, fear filling my voice. He licks his lips as he moves a hand to cup me, but stops just shy of contact.

"If you were mine..." he lets go and backs out of the stall, laughing to himself. I grab the curtain and cover myself again. I want to run, but I don't want to make any sudden movements either. Not while he has a gun. "I told you, I never force them. That almost got out of hand, didn't it?" he laughs at his own joke, waving his pistol around. I just keep quiet. He'll leave soon enough. Or somepony will come in here. Something will end this soon.

He starts to walk away, but just as I let out a breath he comes right back into my stall. What is wrong with this pony!? Why can't he just leave?

"I stole your shower, and fair is fair," he says as he reaches into his pocket and puts a token into the shower. The water starts to fall and soak him immediately. With all of the stuff in his pockets and the water weighing his pants down, they fall to the ground. He laughs, turning as if to show me. I just close my eyes and look away, disgusted by him.

He walks up to me until I can feel the heat from his breath on my neck. I don't know what he's doing, but it doesn't seem as if it's ever going to end! I cling to the curtain a little tighter, hoping that it will end soon.

"You are going to leave tomorrow. I know this. You aren't the first. But, after some time out there, this will all appear better and better. You'll rationalize it to yourself. 'It won't be as bad as this.' 'At least there I had food.' 'At least there I was safe. It's happened plenty of times before. Don't worry, my doors will always be open to you. I would never let any harm come to you out here."

He reaches down and lifts the curtain to look at my cutie mark. I move a hand to cover it back up, but's he's seen what he's wanted to see. He gives a light chuckle before finally leaving the stall. He starts to hum to himself as he leaves, each step making me cringe slightly. Only when his voices fade away do I let go of the curtain and drop to ground. I wrap my arms around my knees as I sit there, crying to myself. I stay in there even after the water stops flowing. I don't want to leave. I don't want to chance walking into him again. We have to leave now!

I grab my cloths and throw them on before running out of the bathroom. I make it to our room and throw the door open, finding it empty. Why is it empty? Where's Reckless? Not knowing what else to do, I slam the door shut and lock it. I run over to our bag and grab both of my weapons before taking the far corner of the bed and sit there, eyeing the door. My bat in one hand, my pistol in the other. Reckless will get here, then we'll leave this place and never talk about it! Reckless just needs to show up. We'll leave as soon as he gets here...

"Lucky...? Lucky? Lucky!?"

I bolt awake from the sound of my name being called. I take a quick look around and find myself in my fathers living room, laying on his couch. I throw my blanket off and examine myself. I'm in my normal suit, completely clean and unharmed. None of the dirt or grim from the wasteland is anywhere to be found. I look up to see my father staring down at me, slightly confused.

"Bad dream?" he asks cautiously.

"Um... I'm not sure," I tell him slowly, looking over the room carefully. "I had left the Stable with some random guard. It was... awful."

"Why's that?" he asks stoically.

"Everything seemed to be against us," I tell him, sitting upright and bringing my legs in to hold myself. "The weather, the wildlife, the ponies; everything wanted to kill us. I thought I could trust the guard I was with... but that was a bit naïve."

"What did he do?" I think about Reckless for a moment before shaking my head. It was just a dream, no need to worry about something that didn't happen.

"It doesn't matter. What time is it? Did I over sleep?" I ask him, flipping through my Pipbuck. I can't seem to get off the main screen for some reason. And for that matter, there seems to be something wrong with the screen. The pony on the page looks doped out of its mind! She has her tongue hanging out and her eyes are crossed.

"What did he do?" Father asks again, a bit more firmly.

"I think my Pipbuck is broken," I tell him, starting to get confused. "What time is it? Do you think the Pipbuck repair pony is awake?"

"Do you still trust him?" he presses, ignoring me.

"What? I guess so. I don't know really. Why are you asking? It was just a dream-"

"What are the chances that he'll do it again? Why should you trust him? What did Doc tell you?" I go to respond wen I realize something. I never mentioned Doc. What's going on? Where am I? "Do you still trust him?"

"Dad... I don't know..." He keeps asking me the same question over and over again. I try to talk to him but nothing seems to get through. I end up just covering my ears and closing my eyes. This isn't dad. This isn't home! What's going on?

I jolt awake again, but find myself somewhere completely new. Grimy walls and shabby bedding are immediately in my vision. I bring a hand up to my face and rub my tired eyes before sitting up and taking a look around. I'm in a bedroom in Heaven by myself. There's a silence in the room that's putting me on edge. What happened? Where am I? What's going on?

Okay, calm down. Just... just try to walk yourself through it.

Okay. We left the Stable, got chased by weird robots, were made into slaves, got saved by Doc, made it to Heaven, and... All of my memories come rushing in at once. Reckless ditching me, Razor threatening me, and our coup. I swallow the lump in my throat as I start to recall what Urban did to me, and what he tried to do. Even worse, I remember what I did to him.

I've never had to experience something like... that. What was that even? I killed those Raiders, but that was... easier. Why is the thought of that creep at the front of my mind? He was a jerk and deserved everything he got! I shouldn't be worrying myself with... whatever thought I'm trying to think of. Guilt? Shame? Or some combination of the two? I'll... I'll just get up and... see what's going on around here. He deserved what he got.

I go to stand up and immediately fall back as my head begins to spin. I bring a hand up to my head only to find it wrapped in a bandage. That's right, I fell five stories. I guess I should be glad that all I got was a slight tap on the head... or whatever this really is. I take a look around and find my bat leaning against my bed. I take it and use it to force myself upright. Everything starts to blur as my senses protest me, but I force myself to stay standing. I concentrate on breathing calmly and wait for everything to settle back down. It takes some time, and I nearly fell over a few times, but eventually I'm able to see well enough to walk towards the door.

I make it out to the hallway and find it empty. Everything seems fine. No bullets holes, no blood marks, nothing that would tell me that there was an intense fight here recently. I take a look around again before making my way to the stairs, using my bat as a walking stick. I don't hear anypony, which is the oddest part of all. From what Joy was telling me, shouldn't there be a party going on? I didn't think it would be this quiet after everything was said and done... That is, assuming everything is done with.

I take the stairs one step at a time. Though my head feels much better, I don't want to push myself too hard. With my luck, I'd go fuzzy halfway down and knock myself right out again. I eventually make it to the next floor and make my way into the hallway. There isn't anypony here either. Where am I? This is the second dormitory floor, so maybe everypony is elsewhere. With no better idea to go off of, I start to make my way to the first floor. Somepony has to be there.

I keep a slow pace going down the stairs. Even though I feel better, there's still a numbness in my head. Not quite a headache, but something a little less. I try to keep an ear out for anypony out there. I'm assuming we got everything worked out, but then why is it so quiet? Maybe it's been a few days? I could have been out during the party. That would suck. If I missed the party I'm taking a day to get drunk by myself. Reckless can wait, I earned that much at least.

I make it to the bottom of the stairs and stop after the door. Two mares are standing at the other end of the hallway, having a conversation. We make eye contact for a moment before the two of them quickly walk away. Okay... I guess they didn't want to talk? I take a look at the turret down the hall and wait for it to make a move. It doesn't, but I'm still keeping an eye on it.

I make my way down to the dinning hall where I find everypony. They're all eating what looks like breakfast, talking quietly among themselves. That is, until they notice me that is. It was almost like clockwork. One mare saw me, whispered something to somepony else, and the whole room slowly looked my way. The last time I had this many eyes on me was during one of the Stable meetings where Dad was too sick to speak. Needless to say, it's a bit off putting.

"Lucky!" Joy calls out from the crowd, jumping out of her seat and running over to me. The crowd goes back to their own business, though I still receive a lot of sideways glances. I notice she's wearing one of the outfits from our bag of cloths. I'm not sure how I feel about that. She runs up and gives me a massive hug, making me jolt from the pseudo tackle. "You're awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Come, let's get you something to eat!"

"Right... what's going on?" I ask as she drags me along to a table. Reckless is standing there, his head wrapped up like mine. His suit is opened slightly, showing the bandages wrapped around his chest as well. When I make it to the table we all sit together, Joy and Reckless on the other side of the table. She passes me a plate of food and my mouth starts to water. I'm not sure what it is, but it smells good. That, or I haven't actually eaten in a few days. Probably a bit of both.

"How're you feeling?" Reckless asks as I take a fork and try the food. I've never had anything like it before. It's not the best, just... new. And it's food. And I haven't eaten an actual meal in several days.

"Good, you?" I ask with a mouth full.

"Good. Good. The doctor here said I'll be fine. A few fractures, but they were fixed easily enough. They were more worried about you. You... hit your head pretty hard. You sure you're okay?" he asks, giving a nervous glance to Joy. They both seem tense about something, but I'll ask more when I'm done eating.

"Head's a bit fuzzy, but I should be fine. How long was I out?" Only water on table, too bad. I guess I'll drink later then.

"Not long." Joy tells me. "Ten, twelve hours. Um... are you sure you're feeling okay? It was a such a big fall after all! You don't need to act tough, it's okay to admit you're hurt. We just want what's best for you." I finish chewing my food and stare up at the two of them. Immediately they start to fold. I can see how nervous they are, but why? Well... at least I had breakfast.

"Alright, what's going on? Why is everypony so quiet? Why are you pressing how I feel? Tell me."

"We're being kicked out," Reckless blurts out, getting Joy to smack his arm.

"We're what?" I almost yell, forcing myself to keep calm. They both go rigid from this, Joy starting to sweat slightly. "Joy, you better explain this right now. Why are we being kicked out? What happened while I was out? Talk!"

"U-uh... well... the thing is... so, I guess not as many of the mares were as against the living conditions as I thought there would have been. Nopony is outwardly mad about what we did, but... well, they aren't happy about it either. A few even left Heaven, though nopony is going to miss Razor. Long story short, we riled up the system without their permission, so they're kicking the two of you out. Just for now though! Given time, if you want to come back you can. They... just want to get things settled without the two of you. We'll help with some supplies, but they'd like you to leave as soon as you're able to travel. Sorry."

I give the two of them a even look before setting my fork down. I go through all that crap and this is what I get!? Whatever! I was going to leave anyway, why prolong it? Ungrateful bastards!

I go to force myself up but falter when my head spins. They both move to help me, but I push them away and stand find my bearings. It takes me a minute, but I eventually get myself standing again and make my way back towards the stairs. Joy and Reckless chase after me, trying to explain the situation to me. But I ignore them. They don't want us here, even though I helped them, then I don't want to be here either!

I make it to our room and get to work packing. There isn't much to put away though. I look through all of the clothes in here and glare back at Joy for answers.

"Um... so... some mares figured that they'd trade supplies for clothes-" Joy starts.

"I thought you said that they were going to help us out with supplies!" I yell, making her jump.

"Lucky... they helped fix my wing," Reckless says, getting to pause. "I fell two stories onto my back. Fixing me up took a lot out of their supply stash. If they hadn't helped, I wouldn't be able to fly, let alone stand."

I mull over his answer for a moment before finally accepting it. His wings cushioned the fall for the both of us. I don't know the extent of the damage, but I doubt it was light. I think on it for a moment longer before I zip up the bag and pass it to Reckless. He takes it slowly, eyeing me cautiously.

"How much food and water can we take? And how far is it to Silo?" I ask in a calmer voice.

"We can give you a few days worth of food and a couple of water bottles. The trip to Silo shouldn't take longer than three days. Two if you hurry." Joy answers, getting me to nod to her.

"Before we leave I'm taking one last shower too. I've earned that at least." I tell them, getting slow nods in return. "We'll leave once I'm out."

I don't wait for a response. I need a moment to really process all of this and settle down. Not that I think I'm over reacting, that is. I have to be the bigger pony here. Otherwise I'll just look like an ass that's over reacting.

I leave the dinning hall and make my way to the showers. I check my pockets along the way and find a few of the wash tokens on me. That's good. I'd hate to have to swallow what little pride I have left and return to beg for some tokens. I think I'd just leave instead.

When I make it into the wash room I find it empty. I go to the closest stall and step inside. I take my time removing my clothes and setting them aside. I'm here to relax, so that's what I'm going to do.

I put in my first token and wait for the water to get to get to my preferred temperature. It doesn't take long, but I wait a moment longer to breath in the steam rising from beneath me. The cold room slowly warms around me and I let it take hold me. I probably wasted what little time I have with this token, but it was worth it. I take my first steps under the hot water and sigh in content. The water does wonders in washing the stress away. I already feel better.

SHING

I turn around and practically through myself against the wall when I hear the curtain open. My heart races as I prep myself to fight whoever is there. But... There's nopony there. I wait to hear if there's somepony in the room, but there doesn't seem to be. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here.

I go back to my shower, trying my best to ignore the feeling of being watched. I can tell there's nopony here, but I can't shake this feeling I have. It's as if there's somepony watching me right now. Staring right at my bare form. The more I ignore it the stronger it feels. It comes to the point where I stick my head out the curtain to see who's here. But the room is empty.

"Hello? Is anypony there?" I call out. After a moment of silence I pull myself back into the stall.

I jump when the water suddenly shuts off. I'm over thinking things, that's all. Maybe it would be best if we just left. Yeah, that's probably the best idea right now. I go to leave, when I realize my mistake. I didn't bring a towel. Of course I didn't bring one! Life wouldn't let me be smart about this one simple thing, would it!?

It's okay! I can work through this. Let's see... The wash room is down the hall, I'll just go see if there's a towel there. Yeah, easy enough.

I stick my head out and check to see if the coast is clear. It appears that way. I grab my clothes and use them to cover myself as best I can. My cheeks burn red as I rush to the end of the hall and check the dryers. I guess life doesn't completely hate me. Somepony just did a load of towels. That's probably what was throwing me off! Somepony was doing laundry! And they're still warm too!

I grab a towel and move into the closest stall. The warm, fluffy cloth relaxes me all over again and in no time I'm dried off! My clothes are a bit wet, but I can deal with that. I make sure to leave the towel in the wash before taking my leave, feeling more rejuvenated!

When I make it to the main entrance I find Joy and Reckless waiting for me. Reckless passes me all of my gear and I take a moment to put it all on.

"Again, I'm really sorry it has to be this way Lucky. You guys are welcomed to return! It's just-"

"It's fine, for the most part." I cut off Joy as I set my helmet back on. Somepony cleaned it out for me, nice. "We weren't going to stay anyway, so it's no loss really."

"And I appreciate what you two did for us! Really! If you ever need my help in the future I'll do whatever I can! Promise!" I give a quick, somewhat fake, smile before strapping a bag to my back and taking my bat. With that, I'm ready to go.

"Well... this is it, I guess." I tell her. She tries to say something to me, but instead rushes forward and hugs me. I cringe a little from the contact and pat her back a few times. It's not that I dislike her. I just don't think we're at the point where we're hugging right now.

"Okay! Remember to stick to the sides of the roads and do your best to stay out of the rain!" Joy tells us as she slowly walks us to the door.

"We will. Good luck running things on your own," Reckless tells her, giving her a quick hug before pulling the door open for me.

"We'll do our best. Oh! And remember to avoid the river bed too! Radcrags tend to prowl those areas! And make sure to keep tabs on your radiation levels! Get plenty of rest and pick your fights wisely-"

"Okay Joy, we'll do our best! Goodbye!" I tell her before pulling Reckless out the door with me. She looks at us through the door and waves fervently, though I can see the worry in her eyes. I give her the most genuine smile I can muster before nodding to her. We'll be fine. I don't have anything to base that on other than my gut, but my gut tends to be trustworthy. We can do this.

"Well... here we go," Reckless muses as he starts to walk back out into the open square. He has his assault rifle out, so I hold my bat at the ready as well. Given everything we've seen, it seems like the wise choice.

"North east, right?" I ask, getting him to nod. I check my Pipbuck and note the direction we need to head towards. The compass has the point highlighted, a feature I didn't know existed on this device. I'm sure that'll come in handy later on. Though, how does it know what Silo is?

Our journey starts out quiet. It seems that there's nothing here to bother us due to Heaven, so we're in the clear for now. Or, that's what I assume at least. Reckless isn't trying his best not to talk too. I can tell her wants to, but he doesn't know how to start the conversation. I don't feel like talking now either, so we walk in silence.

It doesn't take long for us to leave the main part of the city and enter a suburb. Its here where we start to run into trouble. Pockets of raiders and ghouls roam from building to building. Some we see on our Pip-bucks well before they come into visual range. Others we hear before they show up. Because of the maze of houses surrounding us, it's easy to avoid most of them. I think we silently agreed that it would be easier that way. We'll save what little ammo we have for when we need it.

We stop at a crossroad and pause at the corner we're on. The way we need to go through is full of what look like corpses around burned out vehicles, but I don't trust it. They also seem to be just out of our range for the Pip-bucks to identify them. There is a way around them, but the route is a mile longer, according to the maps on our Pip-bucks. At the rate we're traveling, we'd have to make camp by the time we'd make it to the other side of the obstacle.

"Well... it would be safer to go around," Reckless says to me. It's the first thing he's said since we left Heaven.

"Would it? The longer we're out here the more likely we're going to run into something. Why don't you just shoot at them and see what they do? We can hide in the building over there." I tell him, pointing to the house behind us. He takes aim for a moment before a thought occurs.

"I don't know... What if something else here's the shot? Is it worth it to waste the bullet over an hour detour?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. I nod to his logic. He is right to be concerned about that. But I have also heard dozens of gunshots in the few hours we've been walking. So I'm not convinced that our one shot would bring all of the Commonwealth upon us.

"Well... I guess being safer is the better choice. Okay, let's go the long way then." He nods back to me and we start to walk around towards the next bloc. I glance at Reckless just in time to make eye contact with him. But it only lasts a second, because he looks away immediately. I let out a sigh and come to a stop, getting him to nervously look back to me. "Whatever it is you need to say spit it out already. Because all of this sad little colt nonsense will not fly."

"... I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Don't play stupid. You've been quiet ever since we left Heaven. I know you want to say something, so say it!"

"... can we at least step aside? It can't be safe just standing out in the open like this." I stare at him for a second before walking off for a nearby house. The doors and windows are boarded up, but it'll do for the time being. When we make it there I lean against the wall and wait for him. He doesn't talk right away, trying to drag this out as much as possible.

"The longer you take the more likely we are to run into something. Start talking." He groans in defeat and has to pace around a bit before facing me.

"I know you said it would take time, but I'm not a waiter! I'm sorry, but there has to be something I can do to at least make things somewhat better between us! And it's not that I'm trying to speed through this! I want to earn your trust, I do! But... look at where we are! How much longer do you think we're going to last out here if we can't even trust one another! I don't want to force you to trust me, because that isn't right. But... I said I would get you to Silo, and I don't intend to break that promise. But that means I'm going to need you to trust me, if only for right now at least. Once we're there you can go back to hating my guts, no problem! But... not while we're out here. We won't make it if we don't... please?"

I have to think about what he said carefully. Because I know he's right. If we don't trust one another, then this is doomed to fail. And at least he acknowledges his faults, even if he's still an idiot for making them. But... he brings up something I haven't really thought of yet. What happens when we get to Silo? What do we do once we're there? And what happens to us?

I don't want him to go his own way and leave me. Despite everything, he's the only normal person I know. He's the only one that makes sense to me, which scares me because he's so different anyway! No other stallion would care about this as much as he does! But he acted out as any other stallion would in Heaven. He's different, but not by much. Can I really look over that in a place like this? And do I really have a choice?

"Reckless... when we're out here, you can trust me. I'll protect you just as you protect me. Because you're right. We won't make it otherwise. When we make it to Silo we... we can talk some more. But, for now, we need to work together. And that means trusting each other. So don't worry, okay? I've got your back." I can see the stress leave his body. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Thanks Lucky... and I've got your back too! Obviously... not that I mean that... Uh... what I meant was-"

"Stop while you're ahead." I tell him, getting him to stop. I almost let out a chuckle at his flustered face. He's cute, in a dorky kind of way. Too bad he's an idiot though. "Let's get going."

"Got it."

Even though we don't say anything, the mood has been lifted tremendously. Maybe I was being too harsh with him. It's hard to tell. I don't feel that I was unjustified in being so, but things definitely feel better now. When we make it to the other side of the small neighborhood we see a wooden sign posted on the side of the road.

"One day? That's not very far. At this rate we should be there in no time!" Reckless remarks.

"That can't be right though. Joy told us it would take us a few days to get there. Maybe there's something we don't know." I tell him. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there has to be a catch. I doubt they would tell us misinformation.

"Only one way to find out," Reckless tells me as he starts to walk off, a renewed vigor in each step. I look over the sign one more time before following after him.

Moments later I get a notification from my Pip-Buck. I check it real quick to see it has updated a location on the map and has set coordinates to it. Apparently, we need to go to a place called Uppercrust before getting to Silo. I call Reckless over and show him what I've found. It's disheartening to see, but at least we have a destination in mind. And it's really close!

The rest of the day goes by rather quickly. I'm guessing that, because we're so close to a settlement, there's probably not a lot of wild and crazy things out over here. Or maybe there are, but they don't like to come out in the middle of the day. Either way, we make it to Uppercrust.

The edge of Uppercrust is a bit intimidating. What looks like an old transportation depot has been turned into a fortified settlement. The edges of the encampment are walled off with old buses and stacks of burned out cars. A few guards patrol the makeshift wall, occasionally passing rickety auto turrets. The main entrance has a few guard posts with heavily armored ponies watching over the road. A walkway above has a large wooden sign proclaiming the name of the town.

Through the main entrance I can see the settlement proper. It's mostly shacks that have been thrown together. A few more sturdy buildings line the main road, but there are only a few of them. In the back of the town a single building stands out. The old transportation hub. It's a long building with a mostly intact half dome of glass making the front. The roof looks almost like an airfield, probably being for pegasi. The building looks run down and has makings of graffiti all over it. The residents here have taken the minimal amount of care for it.

The road leading in is alive with ponies walking in and out of Uppercrust. Some appear to be residents of the town while others are clearly traders. If the massive packs piled onto the Brahmin are any indicators at least. A few of them have taken notice of us, but most seem to be going about their day. I'm amazed to see so many ponies in one place! Not because of the numbers, but rather the conditions! Everything seems so... fragile. How could all of this stand against the storms that occur here? There must be something I can't see happening here. There has to be!

We hurry along and join the few ponies entering the town. They take one look at Reckless and start to murmur to one another. Something about him makes them uneasy. They start to put some distance between us until we make it to the main gate. The guards there immediately surround us and hold us at gun point.

"Whoa!? What's the problem?" Reckless asks, looking from gun to gun. I do the same, keeping my bat raised in case the worse happens. Though, now that I'm looking, they aren't really aiming their weapons at me.

"You are my problem, amigo," a mare says as she walks towards us, revolver in hand. She's dressed in leather armor and has her bright yellow hair up in a bun. Her red coat is darkened with layers of dirt and grim, making her appear perpetually filthy. "Where'd you come from?"

"We came from Heaven!" I tell her quickly, gaining her attention. "We left earlier today. We're on our way to Silo." She chuckles at that as she walks over to speak directly to me.

"Well, you do look like one of Urban's escapees. And your feathered friend here? What's his story?" I don't like the way she uses her revolver to point while talking.

"We're not from Heaven." Reckless tells her quickly. "We're from Stable eighty-eight." This catches her attention.

"We... had to leave. We were told to go to Silo, so that's where we're heading now. Our Pip-Bucks told us to come here." She looks back to me and starts to look me over. Not in a sexual way. More of a new impression sort of way. It's clear that us being from a Stable is something valuable to her. Or, at the very least, it's interesting.

"I'm not Enclave," Reckless adds, bringing her back to him. "Heaven asked the same thing. I don't know who they are, but I'm not one of them."

She stares at the two of us for a moment longer, gauging us for some secret agenda. The entire time I hold my breath as I wait to see what happens. Oddly enough, practically nopony in town is watching what's happening. They don't seem to care. Those that do look only do so because we somehow inconvenienced them. Several long, agonizing seconds later and she waves a hand, getting the guards to lower their weapons. I do the same and let out a breath of relief . That was a little too intense for my taste.

"Well, you can come in. But do me a favor will you? Don't hit the Stretch just yet. I may need to talk to ya'll a bit later." She waves to her guards and they go back to their previous business, clearing a path for us. She watches us walk through, giving us an odd look the entire time.

"That was close, " I whisper to Reckless.

"No it wasn't," he remarks, confusing me. "She was eyeing our Pip-Bucks, even before you mentioned them. There must be something she needs them for." [Perception 6]

"Hm... should we talk to her now then? Why beat around the bush?" I ask, glancing back to her.

"Well... I don't see why not. Maybe she can tell us more about Silo and Uppercrust." I nod to him and we turn back together, barely making it into the town. The mare eyes the two of us as we approach her. I'm guessing she wasn't expecting us to go right to her.

"You two don't waste time, I like that," she remarks as she steps to the side of the entrance, waving us along. We follow her, but I try and keep my distance from her. I don't fully trust her yet. "The names Quick Draw, Sheriff Quick Draw. Sometimes Judge Quick Draw too, when the need arises."

"Reckless."

"Lucky. What was it you wanted to ask us about?" She motions to my wrist with a nod, getting me to raise my arm.

"I'm gonna offer you a deal. I need your help with something. Do it, and I'll have two of my guards guide you to Silo. But, if you don't want to do it yourself, that's fine by me. Interested?" I look to Reckless for confirmation, but only get a confused look in return.

"Maybe. But why would we need an escort to Silo? And what exactly do you want us to do?" She gives me a smirk before reaching into her pocket and pulls out a pamphlet of some sort. She offers it to me and I take a look over it. It's advertising some sale at a store called Sam Lowes Depot. It's a pre-war tool store, by the looks of it. I pass the note to Reckless as a map update appears in the corner of my vision.

"That store usually turns up some good loot. But there's a shipment that was being made to Stable-Tech that never left their docks. It needs a Pip-buck to open it sadly, so nopony has ever tried to loot it yet. You don't need to take anything, but if you two can unlock the semi, we'll give you an escort to Silo. I'll even throw in a few caps your way if you can find its registry. There are several of these trucks throughout the Commonwealth."

"Nopony with a Pip-Buck has ever tried to open this before? Why?" Reckless asks, passing the paper back to Quick Draw.

"Beats me. But, their loss is my fortune. I can toss you twenty caps for the registry." I think about it for a moment before I shake my head.

"This registry is worth more than twenty caps. I know this, you know this, we all know this. Let's call it... fifty for the registry." [Speech 40/30]

"Well... alright. Is that a deal then?" she asks, sticking her hand out to shake. Reckless goes to accept, but I grab his arm and stop him.

"What should we expect when we get there?" I ask, getting her to frown.

"Well... some robots of some sort I imagine. Maybe some feral ghouls... possibly raiders." I can tell she didn't want to tell us this. It's clear as day on her face. But she did, without me needing to coerce her. It could be that she is the sheriff. Maybe she doesn't want to send ponies to their doom. Maybe she knew we'd find out eventually and didn't want to waster her own time. It's hard to tell. But, that's a lot to take on... hmm...

"We can help, but we'll need some assistance. Any spare ammo or supplies you can throw our way will come in handy. I doubt we could do this with what little we have right now." [Barter 20/20]

"You are a little devil, ain't you?" she asks with a smirk. "There's an ammo box and medical box by the gate here, take what you need. But that's all I can spare. I need the rest to maintain the walls here. Are we in agreement?" I think about it for a moment before shaking her hand. I don't want to deplete this town of all of its resources for myself. This is still more than I was expecting though.

"It's a deal. So why do we need an escort? And why can't these guards come with us to Sam Lowes Depot?" I ask as Reckless goes to the boxes and starts to rummage through them.

"I'm sending a shipment to town anyway. Figured I could use it to my advantage. I can't spare the guards for anything further than what we have right now. Not enough well trained ponies to go around, if you catch my drift." She motions to the guards nearby, but I don't see anything wrong with them. They're doing their jobs... I think? I honestly wouldn't know what makes a good guard.

"And the Stretch?" I ask, looking back to her. She walks over to a shack and points out a sign on it. I join her and look it over, having a hard time reading the faded words on the thin piece of metal.

It takes a bit, but I eventually realize what the Stretch is. It's a subway system. A web of railways line the map, showing dotted stops along their routes. A specific route has been painted over, leading to a star between two stops.

"Back before the war, Silo was a military site. It was hidden to the public despite being right in the middle of town. The Stretch was a railway that lead to one of the emergency exits. I guess when the bombs started to fall the ponies inside made a run for it, for whatever reason. With no other entrances to the large facility, it was only natural that we'd make it into a settlement."

"But, the railways were filled with ponies when the bombs fell. And not all of them made it out. From time to time feral ghouls will be found roaming the tunnels. We try to cull them, but there always seems to be more. That's why it's only safe to travel through the Stretch with a caravan. Go by yourself, you'll probably get eaten. Groups have a better chance to make it though."

Reckless returns to my side, stuffing some supplies into my bag. I look to him and get a nod in return. I can feel the weight of the supplies on my shoulder. Did he take everything they had? Why would he do that? Even though I don't agree with it, I don't say anything. I don't want to get him in trouble.

"Why don't you just collapse the tunnels? Secure a single entrance?" Reckless asks, but Quick Draw shakes her head.

"We're not the only settlement that uses the tunnels to travel to Silo. Plus, we don't really have the explosives to do something like that. Those tunnels survived the bombs after all. I think they'll survive some grenades and sledgehammers. Trust me, we've thought of everything there is to think about. There just isn't a way to secure the tunnel completely. Now, not that I don't mind the breaks, but I need to get back to my rounds. Take care now, and try not to get killed out there."

She leaves us at that, the conversation having ended in her eyes. I had other questions, but I guess they'll have to wait. Reckless goes to leave the town, but I grab his arm and pull him into a nearby alley.

"How much of their supplies did you take!?" I ask as quietly as I can yell. I pull my bag off and take a look for myself. "Are... are those drugs!?"

"My Pip-Buck said they had some value to them. I figured we could trade them for ammo or whatever else we need."

"We don't even have guns for all this ammo!" Even though it doesn't really seem like much, it still drives me crazy that he would just take all of this!

"If they weren't willing to lose all of that, they shouldn't have offered it. Also, we need the caps. Unless you think you can go through this without some form of armor." I try to argue with him, but I can't think of anything else to say.

"It's still immoral." I tell him, tying up my pack. He just shrugs, unfazed by everything. "Well... how much is all of this worth anyway?" I ask as I start to look through my inventory.

"Mmm... maybe fifty caps?" Reckless guesses.

"My Pip-Buck says it's more like seventy five." I tell him, getting a confused look from him. I let out a sigh and take a look around the corner. Quick Draw hasn't looked at the ammo cans yet. If we can finish this job quickly, it shouldn't be a problem... probably. "Fine, let's go look at some shops and see what's out there."

"Lead the way," he tells me, smirking. I sour my face at him and walk out onto the street, making him chuckle.

Most of the town seems to be shakes for squatters to live in. A few alleys looked less than inviting, but once you make it to the more secured buildings you can find the stores. They're split between whatever trade they offer. Armorers, gunsmiths, food and drink, medical, and junk were the few that stood out the most. There was also a hotel here, but it looked like some sort of old business that somepony filled with mattresses.

We make it to the armorer and look over their goods. Most of their products seem to be leather add-on's. Though the idea of buying pieces to cover my entire body would be nice, we can't really afford that right now. With what we have in trade goods, we buy a chest piece. We even got three caps back!

It's a bit of a tight fit, and the leather smells a bit, but it's thick and makes me feel a slightly more secured. A few pats on my stomach prove to me that it'll at least cushion most blows. With our purchase secured, we start to make our way towards the exit, when it hits me.

"Should we really be doing this at night?" I ask as we step in front of the hotel. Reckless thinks about this for a second before looking to the hotel.

"Probably not. Want to take a look here?" he asks. I can tell he doesn't want to, but there doesn't seem to much other choice.

"Let's just hope it's not too expensive." I muse as we walk to the door.

The hotel... is exactly what I saw of it. The floor is filled with mattresses from wall to wall, with little walking space between them. The only other piece of furniture in the room is a desk by the front door. Behind the desk sits a grayed elderly unicorn. She's flipping through an old magazine with reading glasses that are missing one of the lens's.

We walk up to her and wait for her to notice us. It takes me coughing slightly to get her to look at us. She gives us one glance before shaking her head.

"Couple rooms have been filled. Try again tomorrow." We take one look at one another before stepping away from each other.

"Um, no. Do you have any single beds left?" I ask. She gives us another look before setting down her magazine. It looks newly printed. It's something called, 'Wasteland Survival Guide.'

"Five caps a bed," she tells us as she pulls up a large jar of bottle caps. Reckless pulls out ten caps and drops them in. "There should be room upstairs. Don't cause a mess. No refunds. We are not responsible for any stolen, damaged, or misplaced merchandise or persons. Have a nice stay." Her monotone voice goes through her rehearsed lines with a slight croak in her voice. We give each other a look before heading upstairs. I had questions, but I have a feeling that they wouldn't get answered.

We gingerly step through the crowded room to get to the stairs. The stairs are completely free from sleeping bodies, but look as if they'll break from the slightest weight put on them. The second floor seems to have less ponies sleeping here, but there is still little room to move. But fortune smiles on us for a moment as the last two beds up here are in the back corner.

We slide the beds so one is closer to the corner. I take the inner bed while Reckless takes the outer one and we place our bags behind me. We figure this way it will be harder for ponies to take our stuff while we're sleeping. The mattresses are old and fairly stiff with a smell that I know will stick with us for awhile. There are no blankets. No sheets. It's just us and the bed on the floor. That's what five caps gets you. We say goodnight to each other and try our best to fall asleep.

I toss and turn on the lumpy mattress as I try to find the best position. But it seems futile. There are three lumps that are just impossibly tough on my back. I sit up and check my Pip-Buck for the time. It's only been thirty minutes. I look over to Reckless and see that he's sound asleep. Next time I'll feel the beds before picking. I'm a bit restless at the moment, and I won't be able to fall asleep on this piece of crap, so I decide to take a small walk.

The night air is cold against me, making my breath puff out into the dimly lit streetlights. There are a few pockets in the clouds above where stars shine through. There are a few ponies walking about the ram-shackled town. Most seem to be guards. I grip my bat and start to walk down the road. I brought it just in case somepony tries something stupid.

As I take the road down I can see the pockets of shacks where ponies are sleeping. Most of them seem to be huddling either family or their belongings to try and keep warm. It breaks my heart to see so many just trying to fight off the cold. It reminds me of when we first stepped out into the waste. We were cold and lost and we didn't even know if we were going to make it through the day. Is that how it is for them? Just trying to make it day by day, hoping that you survive to try again? How is that any way of living?

"Everything okay miss?" I jump a little from a passing guard. I guess I was a little too caught up in my own thoughts.

"Yes, sorry. I... guess I was a little... distracted." I can't help but fold my ears in embarrassment. I guess getting introspective in the middle of the street isn't the best idea.

"You're new in town, right?" He asks, turning to walk with me.

"Yeah, we came in today. My names Lucky." I stick my hand out to shake his. He gives me a soft handshake and gives me a smirk... oh no.

"Ponies call me P.B. around these parts. I help upkeep the law. Day in, day out." He's trying his best to sound as suave as possible. I try my best to keep a civil face on, but... it's going to be a no.

"And thank you for that, your service is appreciated." I tell him as I stop and start to back away. "But it's getting late, and I should really be getting to bed now. It was nice talking to you-"

"If it was so nice then let me at least walk you back to wherever you're staying. Keep up this nice chat we're having and all." Desperation is never attractive. I glance back to see a few guards watching the road to the hotel. At the very least, if he tries something there will be witnesses. But I don't want to lead him on...

"O...kay. Walk me back then." I tell him. His face lights up and I immediately regret this.

"Okay then! Where you stayin'?" he asks as we walk side by side.

"At the hotel just down the road." I tell him. I'm trying to keep a civil distance between us, but that isn't his plan.

"The hotel? That piece of junk? You should come stay at my place! I just put in a fire place and it keeps the whole place warm! Plus, I was out scavenging a month of two back and found some warm blankets! It's way better than the stinky hotel!" Everything he described sounds amazing right now. But, I know what he wants in return. And I'm not interested.

"I already paid, and there are no refunds. Plus, my friend is asleep in there. I don't want them waking up to me missing." I tell him, offering a sincere smile. "But thank you for the offer."

"Well... why not bring her too? The more the merrier, right?" Wow, he's really trying for that! Well, he's ballsy. I'll give him that.

"He seems pretty content sleeping right now. I don't think he want to change beds right now." I really try to emphasize that Reckless is a stallion. But, P.B. here is undeterred.

"Hey, any stallion that let's a mare like you out of their sight isn't doing their job right. At least in my books."

"And what job is that?" I ask, a little offended but also intrigued. It's like asking how someone got injured. The details are probably going to make you sick, but you also just want to know.

"Call me old fashioned, but I say it's a stallions job to keep a mare safe and secured. You know, there are a lot of scary monsters out there. We have to look out for one another, for survival. Cause... you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. So, ya gotta live today... so... whatta say? Wanna come back to my place?"

We stop in front of the hotel and turn to face each other. I can see the eagerness all over him. His finger is tapping the pipe rifle in his hands and he keeps licking his lips quickly. He's not a bad guy, he's just trying to get some action. I don't see any harm in that. I don't agree with some of his view points, but that's nothing to break his spirit over.

"Well, thank you for walking me here. It was a nice talk. But I think I'll be spending the night in the hotel. Just so my friend can find me in the morning."

"Of course, I understand. And hey, I'm not going anywhere," he tells me, deflating in bravado.

"And thank you for that as well. Have a goodnight P.B." I tell him before stepping into the hotel. I hear him curse before walking off.

"You dodged a bullet." The old mare behind the counter says. "That stallion has had every disease you can think of, and he's married."

"Oh... thanks for the heads up." I tell her. I go to walk off, but pause when I see she's not reading her magazine. "Sorry, but can I borrow that for the night? I'm... having a hard time falling asleep."

"Go ahead. I've read it five times over." I thank her before taking the magazine and going back to bed. I'm able to read the entire thing before I'm too tired to stay awake. It was an interesting read, and I'll have to share it's knowledge with Reckless in the morning. But, it's finally time to fall asleep.

When morning comes around I wake to the sound of dozens of ponies waking up at the same time. I guess everypony just learned to just wake with the sun. I guess it would make sense though. Ponies need to make the most of the daylight as possible.

I have to shake Reckless awake. I'm a bit surprised at how he could sleep through all these ponies getting ready for the day, but I can't blame him either. If I could have stayed asleep longer I definitely would. I guess I'm too light of a sleeper.

"I'm going to miss sleeping in." Reckless mutters as he stands and stretches. I follow suit, stretching out as much as possible. A life time of gym routines and guidelines are kicking in. And since I know I'm probably going to be running and beating things, now seems like the best time to continue the trend.

"Me too. But, maybe things will be better in Silo."

"They won't," some older stallion grumbles as he rolls up a sleeping bag. "Trust me, you'll work here or there. Only the fat cats get to take it easy over there. And even they still have to work."

We give each other a concerned look before wrapping up all of our things. I don't know how to take his information. He could be trying to warn us not to get out hopes up, but he could just as easily be a jerk. Probably a bit of both.

We make our way out of the town and towards our destination. Several of the guards watched us curiously as we left. I'm sure half of them know where we're heading. I saw P.B. on one of the scaffolding too. How long are the shifts for these guards? I can see why Quick Draw was unwilling to send ponies with us now.

The walk there isn't too bad. It wasn't far, and nothing really happened. Once you get a small distance from Uppercrust, the world becomes a lonely place. There's nothing out here except for the long abandoned homes and the jagged old roads. Occasionally you can find the husk of an old vehicle of some sort. But that's all there is out here. Anything of value was scavenged decades ago. Even the clouds above seem to be keeping their distance from this depressing place.

When the store comes into view we take cover in an old bus stop and scope the place out, per Reckless's request. The building has seen better days, that's for sure. Parts of the walls look as if they're about to crumble away at any moment. Burn marks and bullet holes dot the entrance side, as well as a few corpses. A clear warning sign to any who might think to venture inside, they've been hung up on chains to hang over the front doors. Some seem fresher than others too.

"Maybe they're friendly?" I ask, only to get stared down. "Okay, probably not."

"Well, we can try to sneak our way through the front door or make our way around to see if there is a way in the back. What do you think?" I take another look and try to think of another way in. Either way, they probably have both of those entrances guarded. So getting in quietly doesn't really seem like an option.

"Why not fly up to the roof and check for a way in from there?" It is a two story building, there might be a way in up.

"Well... maybe. I'm pretty sure I can get you up there, probably not any higher though. But what if there isn't a way in from there? Then what?"

"Well... let's check first then make the plan from there. If they can't get up there then we'd be safe regardless." He nods to me and takes the lead, bringing his rifle forward just in case. I pull out my pistol and follow after him, trying my best to be sneaky.

We make it to the edge of the building and Reckless picks me up. I still don't like the feeling of being carried around or flying, but my gut tells me that I'm going to have to get used to it eventually. On the roof we see a single door on the other side of some solar panels. We make our way over but something catches my attention. In between the rows of solar panels is a single tool box. Without saying a word I head to it and rummage through it. A few hammers, a screw driver, some bobby pins, and a worn old key with #1A etched on it.

"Doors locked, what now?" Reckless asks as he walks up. I show him the key.

"I have a feeling this'll open it up!" I tell him excitedly. "Think we'll need any tools like these?"

"Well... I know the screwdriver and bobby pins could be. Probably best to leave the rest." I nod to him, passing the tools and pins to him. I take two of the pins and set one in my tail and the other in my hair. "Um..."

"Need I remind you that we were captured and stripped once? It'll be good to be prepared for the worse. And by splitting it between two spots we double our chances that they won't be found."

"True, but wouldn't it be better to put one in my tail instead of your hair?" I think about it for a moment before taking the pin out of my hair and passing it to Reckless. [Sneak 30/25]

"All set, let's go!"

We go to the door and try the key. It fits perfectly, opening the door with a satisfying click. Reckless crouches down and peers around the door before waving me forward. Inside we make our way down a stairway and into the building proper.

We're up in some scaffolding that's attached to the ceiling. Down below we can see a loading dock that's scattered with boxes and papers. It would seem most of their contents were looted long ago. In the far end of the dock we can see the shipping containers we're here for. It's beat up, but still intact. My Pip-Buck shows a few hostiles in the building mulling about. But it seems they haven't noticed us yet.

The scaffolding leads us to what I'm guessing is the managers building. There's only one desk in here an lots of seating with a blown out computer onto of the desk. We take a moment to loot the room, walking away with a few more caps in our pockets. With nothing else catching our eyes, we take the stairs down and to the main entrance area. The door leading us this way was barred shut from our side.

We poke our heads out of the doorway and take a look around. The warehouse extends away from us with rows of empty shelves. Piles of destroyed materials block a few of the aisles, spilling out towards the rows of cashier lanes. I can see a few empty magazine racks knocked over as well, filled with burned out papers.

"There," Reckless whispers, pointing ahead. I take a better look and see the construction protectron mulling about. He start taking aim at it when I put a hand on his rifle and lower it.

"If we don't have to fight it, then don't. If we can save the ammo, then we'll be better off for it." He nods to me. We take one look around before sneaking off towards the back.

We take our time walking towards the end of the docks. We're doing our best to keep quiet, but every step I take seems to scream in comparison to Reckless's. I'm going to have to work on being quieter. The starting few aisles were blocked off with junk, but when we came up to the first one that was open, it had a different protectron walking around. It was a standard one, but I still didn't like our chances. We wait for it to turn around before moving forward. Reckless makes it silently, but I manage to kick the only can in front of me.

"Please step into the open and identify yourself. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear." It demands as it turns and faces me.

"Umm... where can I find the hammers?" I ask with a coy smile.

"Hostile target identified." I yelp as I try to dive out of the way, but a laser blast manages to hit me square in the stomach. I cough as the wind is nocked out of me, but otherwise I seem to be fine. The leather armor seemed to have absorbed the energy really well.

Reckless quickly swings around the corner and fires a few rounds. Several loud pangs of metal later I hear the robot collapse onto the ground. I poke my head out to confirm that it's been destroyed.

"Well... That was easy." Reckless tells me with a smirk.

"The fuck was that!?"

"Did you hear something?"

"Ay! Who's out there! Show yourself!"

Multiple voices yell out from seemingly all over the building. My Pipbuck tells me there are at least six enemies looking for us. Two on the east side and three on the west as well as the protectron we avoided from before. I glare back at Reckless as he tries to shy away from me. Whether he knew it or not, that was too stupid to say aloud.

I motion for him to follow and start circling around the other robot. I figure we'll deal with that one first so it can't follow behind us. We rush through the aisle and flank the end of the shelves where it's lumbering towards us. I take a few deep breaths as I tighten my grip as I ready to swing my bat. Reckless goes to lean over and fire, but several clangs of metal on metal force him back. It appears to be shooting nails at him.

I wait and listen to the heavy metal footsteps as they slowly inch their way towards me. Reckless tries to peer out again, but can't find an opening in the hail of nails. I take one last deep breath as I judge the distance of the final step needed. I swing around the corner and bring my bat to bear in a heavy over head swing.

CLANG

I have a moment of panic as I nearly miss the head of the robot. Instead I catch its arm and force it to shoot the cement flooring. It rears its other arm back to swing at me, but I take the opening to jab my bat forward and attempt to topple the machine back. It waves it arms around wildly as it tries to keep its footing, managing to keep upright after two steps. Before it could raise its nail gun again Reckless takes several shots at the body. The holes punched into it start to smoke as it charges forward again, its claw arm opening to crush me.

When it gets too close to me Reckless has to stop shooting, giving me my opening. It tries to grab at me, but I use the side of my bat to push its attack to the side. This move puts me right in its face, but I let all my fathers training kick in and go to town on it. Lots of short, strong jabs at its chest start to break its innards apart. They also let me use the body of the bat to keep its weapons from bearing down on me. Jab! Swipe! Pound! I do everything I can to keep it from hitting or shooting me. And for a moment, I'm in total control.

Then I stepped on an empty tin can and slipped. I fall flat on my ass right as it wobbles it nail gun right at my face. I feel all color leave my face as I stare down the rusted out tool. Any second now and a rusted piece of iron will punch a hole right between my eyes.

PANG PANG PANG

With the small opening he had, Reckless puts the last few rounds needed to topple over the construction protectron. It crashes backwards with a loud boom of metal on concrete. The warning light on top of its head goes dark as black smoke ebbs out of the holes dotting its body. I start at it for a moment before Reckless's hand snaps me out of it. He helps me up and we take a moment to almost laugh at each other. That was too much work for one robot!

"PIN 'EM DOWN!" We both jump when we hear a voice yell from down the halls, followed by gunfire.

We both dive behind the shelves for cover as bullets graze all around us. One hits me right in the gut. But either the gun was broken or the bullet was... bad? It didn't pierce my armor at all. It was still enough to double me over, but I'm not bleeding out so I'll take it.

"I'm gonna move to their side, keep them distracted!" Reckless yells before dashing off to the other side of the aisles. I was going to protest, but be rounded the corner before I could say anything. I l look back to the two new enemies rushing towards my location. I can't see them yet, but my Pip-Buck tells me that they're going to come around in just a moment.

I think it over for a moment before switching to my pistol. I've never fired it before, and I can't remember the quick tutorial Reckless gave me. But it'll have to do until he does whatever it is he's thinking.

I take a deep breath and level the pistol down the aisle. The moment I see something I'm just going to shoot at it. I can manage that much. That's all there is to is, right? Just pull the trigger and don't shoot Reckless. I can do that.

I mare raider comes rushing around the corner and makes eye contact with me. We both have a moment of realization as I squeeze the trigger. The color from her face starts to drain as I block her face with the glowing sights of my weapon...

... and then I realize something is wrong. I put all my might into pulling the trigger, but for some reason it's not firing! She sees the panic on my face and begins to smirk. The roles switch as I start to slap the gun and fire again, but it wont! I can't even pull the trigger back! The raider laughs and raises her makeshift tire iron axe.

By the time she rushes down here I could maybe switch back to my bat, but I can't guarantee that. I should just run and switch, that'll give me-

SPLAT

I jump in recoil when the raiders head explodes. I look up and over to see Reckless standing on top of another aisle shooting down at the other raider.

"CHECK THE SAFETY!" He yells down at me before jump behind the aisle. The other raider fires back at him with some sort of automatic weapon while in stepping into sight of me. I look down at the pistol and try to remember where the safety is.

I remember something about red? Where is there anything red on here!? Scanning over the gun I find a small tab on the side that has some faint red paint behind it. Pushing it down reveals more the red. Without a seconds thought I raise the weapon towards the new target and pull the trigger. This time it goes down all the way and a loud bang and a spurt of red explodes out of his arm.

The recoil throws my hand back wildly but I pull the trigger again and shatter a window behind him as he start to scream in pain. I wait a moment longer as I my aim lowers back on him. He's trying to spin back to fire at me, but I pull the trigger again and send a bullet through his throat. With another massive spurt of blood he falls straight back and convulses on the ground. He tries to stop the bleeding from his neck, but it doesn't take long before he goes limp.

I pause as Reckless rushes over to their position and starts to check if there are any other raiders around. When he relaxes and starts to loot the dead I let out a long exasperated breath. It feels like I was holding my breath the entire fight! I take a few more deep breathes before looking down at my pistol.

I can't believe I forgot about the safety. Reckless told me about with such detail, but when it came down to it I completely forgot about it. Maybe I shouldn't use guns after all. I know how to use melee weapons. I can default to my training on that. I don't know the first thing about guns.

"You oaky?" I shake my head when Reckless walks up. I nod to him, trying to shake the nerves from myself. I also notice the few ricochet impacts on his body armor. I almost got him killed... "Good shooting."

"Was it!?" I retort quickly, almost laughing. "I completely forgot about the safety and-and you got shot! Are you okay!?" I can feel myself starting to get worked up, but I take another deep breath to try and stave that off. We're still not in the clear yet.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a bruise or two, I've had worse," he tells me with a coy smile. "Probably should have told you the plan ahead of time, my bad. But, hey, you stopped him in the end, and I'm still standing. That's all that matters to me really. Plus, you don't really know how to use guns, so it's to be expected that you might slip up in the heat of battle. And once you figured it out it was a really good shot. So, yeah, good shooting."

I blush internally from the praise. It's one of my pet peeves. I don't like getting complemented on things that I don't think I did well. But I also never really got praised much outside from my father, so it's nice to hear. I just nod to him and motion to move onto the next area. No sense on dwelling on it any longer. I still don't feel like I was 'good shot'. But at least he's not holding it against me.

We stay on high alert as we move throughout the rest of the hardware store. I heard a third voice earlier, but they seemed to have run off once the first two died. I'm glad they did, but we're not chancing that they're just hiding. We scour the building as we push our way towards the docks. Walking up to the shipping containers we find a terminal where we can plug in our Pip-Bucks. We each attach to one and unlock them, their doors rolling up and revealing the materials within.

We notice several boxes with power tools, building materials, non-powered tools, and various scraps. With the two containers you could probably build an entire house with all this stuff! I look to Reckless and we both share a smile. We've completed the main goal of our mission. Now we just need to find a working computer with the shipping manifest and we'll be set!

Reckless begins to rifle through some of the boxes. I was going to protest, but stopped myself. There's plenty to go around here. Plus, it's not like we won't get any use out of this stuff either. It's a win-win really. While he does that I start to poke around the main dock area.

There is much to see here really. Most of the crates here have long since been scavenged. There are a few lockers that probably belonged to the employees where I find a few caps. Nothing too impressive. Once of them had a jumpsuit in it though. It looks like it might be a tight fit over me, but it could be valuable. I do like the use of orange, red, and blue though...

Eh, I take the jumpsuit and stuff it into my bag. Clothes seem to be a bit hard to come by, so it'll be worth something. Even if I can't find a use for it myself. I continue to look around when I stumble upon a mall office in the back of the dock. Poking my head in, there isn't much in here. A single lone sofa. A few filing cabinets. And a lone computer desk with a working terminal on it. I sit at the desk and boot up the computer.

Whoever was last on this computer left it logged in, so that works out in my favor. There are a few notes about the shipments that we're looking for. Looks like Stable-Tech was shipping materials for new Stables all over the Commonwealth. There aren't any locations of these Stables or their names though. Seems like this location was just a stopping point for the container here. But I do find the locations of all the other containers. Seems Stable-Tech was worried about people grifting from them so they put tracking devices into all trucks. Works in our favor though.

After downloading the locations of all six of the trucks I shut down the computer and leave. Reckless seems to be loaded down with new tools. I give him a look and cross my arms. He seems almost too heavy for travel.

"So how much did you take?" I ask, nodding to his lumpy bag.

"Well..." he says as he tries to heft the bag more securely onto his shoulder. "Plenty! This stuff is valuable! And there's plenty left in there!" He tries to secure the bag, but the weight drags it down to the floor. I give him another look before kneeling down and looking through all the tools he's trying to take.

A lot of these are power tools that we wouldn't be able to use anyway. But those are also the only tools that seem to be worth anything. There are also some non-powered tools here too. They don't seem worth much of anything really. But I can see needing some of them if we're going to make it out here. I don't know what we're going to need a wrench for, but I'm not going to say we won't need them.

It's hard to argue that we won't need the money or the tools. But they weigh so much! If we split it between the two of us we should be able to manage, maybe? I guess it wouldn't matter in the end. We're not going anywhere aside from Uppercrust. But we'll have to unload most of this there before going to Silo. Plus, I guess it would be good to get into Silo with some extra caps.

I start to move some of the tools into my bag, though I don't have much space to spare. Reckless tries to say something, but can't seem to find the words. He's probably trying to tell me that he can manage most of the weight, but I won't have it. We need him agile. And if he can barely walk, how's he going to fly! So we're splitting this.

Once I've split it as best I could I heft the bag on. The weight tries to pull me back, but I manage to stay upright. Reckless grabs his bag and manages to throw it on much more easily.

"I could've managed," he says with a sly smirk as he starts to leave. I just blow a raspberry at him and follow. We head to the front door and step out. The sun is still out, so we should get back to town before sundown.

Leaving the hardware store, I have a moment where I suddenly remember how I almost died in there. That raider could have taken my head off. And the panic I felt after...

Obviously I'm scared of doing that again, but now I feel fine. And that's... concerning. Those ponies are dead, and I'm... fine? I'm sure there's plenty of reason for it. It was me of them. They were trying to harm me. I'm sure they've done plenty of horrible things before. So why am I( concerned about killing them?

Maybe I'm just over thinking it. Besides, once we get to Silo I don't know if we're even going to come back out here again. Though, I guess I don't really know what to look forward to in Silo. It's a settlement, so I should expect plenty of ponies there. But what am I going to do there? Am I looking for someone? There's not a lot to go off of so I guess we'll just have to find out.

Actually, that raises another question. What happens with me and Reckless? We said we'd stick together until we got to Silo, but then what. Truth be told, I'd rather keep him around for as long as possible. We're both from Eighty Eight. Nopony else is going to get me the same way he will. I guess that's not completely true though. We may be from the same Stable, but we don't know the first thing about each other. And after that little stunt of his in Heavan there's clearly room for improvement.

But... he has watched my back the entire time though. And he's not a bad guy. Just... dumb, sometimes. Am I being too harsh? Do I really have the room to complain when I'm out in this wasteland? And going alone just isn't an option. So is it even worth worrying over? I guess not, but I can't help it.

I look up and realize that I've been so engrossed in thought that I've missed the walk to Uppercrust. Whelp... I hope that wasn't too awkward for Reckless. As we walk up to the entrance to town Sherriff Quick Draw spots us and waves us over. She grows a large smile as she eyes our bags, giving a small chuckle.

"I knew I could count on you two! I knew it!" She says as we step into town. "I take it there was plenty of good loot to go around?"

"Hope you're ready to get some work done!" I tell her, getting a laugh in response. "And it gets even better!" I pull up the coordinates to the other shipping containers and show them to her. She takes me wrist and looks it over before calling one of the other guards over. It takes a moment for them to copy the information, but once they do Quick Draw slaps fifty bottlecaps into my hand.

"A deals a deal and our deal has been made! Now to keep up my end of the bargain! Tomorrow at six AM we have a caravan leaving for Silo. They'll know you're joining them but that doesn't mean they're waiting for you. If you miss it, you miss it. Good job again, but I gotta leave you two now. We've got to plan an excursion out to the hardware store." Before we could say anything else Sherriff Quick Draw runs off and starts grabbing random guards with her. We look at each other before we just shrug it off. I guess they've been waiting for this for a long time.

"Well, what should we shop for first?" Reckless asks. A massive grin spreads over my face as I think about what to get. We should probably just start with the obvious stuff. I know we'll need to be able to make the journey to Silo, so we'll need ammo for Reckless. Some more armor wouldn't be bad either. Other than that all I can think of is food and maybe some medical stuffs.

I tell Reckless my plans and he agrees with me. Heading to the market we take our time look over all the stalls. The weapon stall doesn't give much in variety. Mostly pipe weapons and a few low caliber pistols. Nothing we really need but we do get a surplus of ammo. Armor goes in a similar manner. Lots of leather armor to cover my legs but nothing else really stands out.

The shopping here was a bit of a let down. Maybe that's to be expected though. Maybe we've grown to be at a point equal to Uppercrust. That's odd to think about. The entire time we've been here I've felt like we've been struggling just to get by. But we're getting along just like everypony else. This is probably just what the Commonwealth does to ponies. No room for the weak and all.

With most of our afternoon left and nothing else to really do we decide to try some of the food vendors. There are a few options here, but they don't seem too appealing. A couple soup stalls, a meat vendor, and guy selling 200 year old preserved snacks. I'm not entirely sold on meat yet, so we get some vegetable soup. It wasn't the best, but it was hot. With how cold it's been, it's a welcome change.

We spent some time looking at some of the other stalls, but there wasn't anything that really stood out. Nothing that seemed like it was going to help us now at least, Maybe if we ever come back this way we'll take another look. But for now we agreed that it would be best to save our money for Silo.

"We got some time to kill before we turn in for the night, what should we do until then?" Reckless asks as he stirs the remains of his soup. I sit back and look around for a moment.

"I don't know. No reason to leave. Too early to turn in. Nothing to buy..." We both go quiet for a moment as the silence begins to set in.

I don't know why, but I can't look him in the eyes right now. And I'm not sure why. I've never been this nervous around another person before. I can't think of anything to distract myself with though...

"So... what did you do in Eighty-Eight?" GYAH! What was that!? I know what he did! He's in security! What in the name of Celestia was that sad attempt of small talk!?

"Heh, well, as my armor says I was Stable security. Though, if we were to get specific, I worked in Ministry of Peace, second division." That catches my attention. I knew he worked for security, but I didn't know the lower classes could work for the Ministry directly.

In Eighty-Eight every department had a system to organize their workers. At the top was the Overseer, but underneath them were their Elements. Each one being a head of a specific department. From there it would go down the line from Ministry, Local Lead, and then the simple workers. Some areas had specific work details that added to the chain of command, but for the most part that was the pecking order.

For Reckless to be working in the Ministry level would put him almost on par with my position. Depending on how high he actually got within the Ministry.

"I was in the Ministry of Order. Though I've worked in a few of the other Ministries as well."

"Really?" He asks, leaning in with what seems to be genuine interest.

"Yeah... Well, not by choice." He tilts his head to that, so I go further into it. "Well my father is the Overseer. As was his father. And so on and so on for five generations. And for me to get the job next and continue the family tradition I needed to pad my resume up."

"That must have been a lot of pressure." Reckless mentions, catching me a bit off guard.

"Eh... I mean, it wasn't easy. That's for sure." I tell him with a chuckle. "I got to work for Order, which was just a desk job for my dad. When I was in Plenty, but all I did was double check the reports from the hydroponics supervisors. My first job was in..."

"... In?" He leans in with even more curiosity. I can feel myself start to blush as I think back to my first job. At the time it seemed like any other job. It was just something that needed to be done. But when I father learned what I was doing and seeing his reaction... I guess it's why I've always had a weird relationship with the other first classer's.

"My first job was in the department of future... as a... genetics verifier." The words come out slow and I feel myself start to tense up unintentionally. Reckless stares at me for a moment before it dawns on him what I did.

"Oh." I feel myself flinch a little from that and I feel myself get defensive.

"I didn't do it for a long and I swear I never cheated any of the result!" I reflexively grab the table as I feel myself start to panic a little.

No matter what class you were in Eighty-Eight, no one was lower than the Genetic Verifiers.

Because of our system of social credit and how ponies could use their children to climb the social latter, lineage had to be verified. But of course there was little in the way of accountability. So there are those that would intentionally change results to hinder other ponies. I guess this was a secret for a long time, but someone leaked it to the public. And now everypony hates them.

"I only did it for a few months and I didn't even know I was doing it! My Goat result put me there and I wasn't even paying attention when I took the test-"

"Lucky!"

"I was sixteen at the time! I didn't know what I was doing-"

"Lucky!"

"I think I only did three or four forms-"

Before I could go on any further he reaches over the table and grabs my hands. I look up to him and feel myself get slightly dizzy. He takes a look around before getting up and dragging me after him. I take a look back and notice a small number of people who were staring.

THUD

I crash into his back when he suddenly stops. Without saying anything he lets go of my hands and rushes back to grab our bags. I scrunch my face as I feel something odd on my tongue and pull out a feather. It's slightly longer than the length of my hand and curves ever so slightly. Before I could register what was happening Reckless took me by the hand again and dragged me across Uppercrust. We pushed our way through the crowd of ponies until with made it to the side of the hotel.

He lets go of me and leans against the wall, letting out a long breath of relief. I look down at the feather for a moment before hiding it behind myself.

"Sorry about that," He tells me as he stands properly.

"No worries." I tell him in a slight daze. He thinks to himself before chuckling to himself.

"This is going to seem weird, but it was something my mother used to do." I raise an eyebrow to that.

"She used to drag you across the Stable?" I ask, slightly confused. He shakes his head as he thinks about something.

"No, well... yes, but not like that. Whenever I would get too fussy or upset about something she would take me by the hand and rush me somewhere else. When I was really small I'd literally glide after her. She rush me as far away from whatever was bothering me and set me down. She'd get eye to eye and tell me 'Don't you forget; when things get messy you can always get some distance and change your perspective. So let's figure this out, okay?.'"

I give a small laugh to his story. It's really cute. Wish I could have seen tiny Reckless helplessly being dragged across the Stable.

"She sounds like a good mother." I tell him, getting him to give me a quick glance before he looks away.

"She was... but, to her point. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Like you said, you weren't there for long. And... it's a job. You know? Somepony was going to do it. So... Plus nopony up here even knows what that means! So don't sweat it Lucky. There's nothing to apologies for."

I smile back to him and nod. He smiles back and passes me my bag. He turns to put his bag on properly and I do the same. I take a look at the feather for a moment before putting it in one of the smaller pockets. I feel a little silly doing it so mischievously. But I can't help it. It feels special for some reason.

We decide to turn in for the night. It's still a little early, but that's fine. We have to get up early anyway. Plus we'll get prime real-estate for the night. One last night and we'll be done with the Commonwealth.

Our Pip-Bucks wake us earlier than we needed. We wanted to make sure that we'd make it to the caravan before it could leave. Like kids sneaking out of their rooms, we giddily grab our things and tip-hoof our way out and down to the caravan depot. The only other ponies around that are awake are a few guards and the occasional stall worker.

It doesn't take long before we're in front of the transportation building. Even though it's long since been rundown, I can still tell what its roll was. Trains, Buses, and whatever sort of air vehicles made stops at this point. Most of the upper levels of the second and third floors are barren now. They seem like they're used as some sort of battlements now. The roof still has the lights that would have guided in aircraft. But I don't know if they work anymore. At least I've never seen them work.

There are a couple of ponies loading large boxes onto a couple brahmin by a large train entrance. A large sign sits on both sides of the tunnel opening.

Keep right, beware of rads and ghouls, two days of travel. Seems simple enough. We approach who we assume to be the leader of the caravan. She's a twig of an earth pony in soot covered rags that hide her bright yellow coat. A grey knit beanie hides the few strands of grey hair she has as well. I get the impression she's a bit twitchy by how she fusses over the various boxes being loaded by guards.

"...a-and watch out for that strap! Don't want it crushing any of my babies!" she hisses at a guard as she double checks a rope.

"Um... good morning?" I call out to her. She twitches a little before looking back at us. "Uh... we were told that were getting-"

"Ah, yes yes yes yes yes! You're the two travelers heading to Silo with us! Welcome aboard!" She tells us excitedly, rushing over to shake our hands. Getting a closer look at her the twitchiness starts to make sense. I almost certain that she's high on several substances.

"Name's Locust, welcome to my caravan! Need someone dead or something destroyed? I'm your girl! Just wait till you get your hands on one of my babies!" Reckless and I share a look before smiling back to Locust.

"You know, I think we're good for now. Maybe next time." Reckless tells her nervously.

"Well, it's better to buy them now before your enemies do! But, either way, welcome-welcome-welcome! Some quick rules before we leave!"

"No leaving the caravan for any reasons! Gotta poo? No privacy allotted. You ain't tourist, yer helping us along. There's a point where we gotta shuffle cargo over some rubble an' push ol' Hank and Bob, Milly and Moxy, and Bessy and Billy Bo Bop through. We get attacked, you're helping out. Shoot back, give a smack, don'tcare so long as you're helping defend the caravan. An that's pretty much it! Follow those rules and we'll be fine an dandy! Any questions?"

Reckless and I share another glance before looking back to her.

"Great! Rest up, we're leaving in fifteen!" I try to mutter something to her but she was gone before I could find my voice. We stare at her for a moment before our gaze is pulled up to the transportation depot. Sherriff Quick Draw is standing on the third floor staring down at us. When we make eye contact she offers a slight shrug before meandering out of view. I can't tell if we've been swindled or not.

"So... I'm gonna rush to the restroom before we leave." Reckless tells me as he starts to back away. "Just in case."

Begrudgingly, I follow suit. I guess this won't be as much of a walk in the park as I thought.

Fifteen minutes later our caravan is ready to go. In a short amount of time we've grown to have Locust, four guards, six other travelers, and the three brahmin. A pretty decent size group according to Locust. She even think half of us will make it through the stretch... which I am assuming was a joke.

Most of the travelers seem more like refugees than travelers. Several are only armed with kitchen knives or jury rigged guns. And that's nothing to say of armor. At least there aren't any children with us though. I don't know how I'd feel about that.

"Take a good look at that sky folks!" Locust tells us as we enter the tunnel. "May very well be the last time you see it!"

Her statement makes me a little nervous to enter. But Reckless puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a determined look. Right. We can do this! It's just a long walk in a dark, feral ghoul infested, partially collapsed tunnel. Couldn't ask for a better two day camping trip!

As we start our journey I take a moment to take a look ahead with my Pip-Buck. But the darn thing doesn't really work down here. It does, but it doesn't. It seems to think we're on the surface while we travel. Which tells me nothing about the tunnel. But when I switch it to a local view, it won't show me what's ahead. How can it know every nook and cranny of where I've been but it can't tell me what's ahead!? Hasn't this tunnel been here since before the war? Why do I need to travel it first to know what's there!?

With no way to know what's ahead I resign myself to patrolling the caravan with Reckless and the others. I tried to be friendly with them, but they don't seem interested in talking. Whatever little quips I can get out of them gives me nothing to really speak on. I get the impression that there are two sets of couples here, but I'm not entirely sure of that. Might explain a bit though. Mares don't want me stealing their stallions. There's a story I've heard before.

Talking with the guards didn't gain much either. Half of them just tried to hit on me while the other half told me to keep quiet and watch for any moving rubble. Reckless seemed to fit in with them though. Which also made sense, since he was a guard in Eighty-Eight. I guess some things transcend cultures.

They did give him the stink eye at first though. They must have thought he was Enclave. But after a bit of travel they seemed to relax around him. At least enough to take their eyes off of him.

And finally talking with Locust was basically useless. Unless I was buying a weapon, which I'm not. She did offer me some psycho, but I kindly refused her offer.

The first day of travel may have only taken twelve hours, but it felt like an eternity to me.

We arrive at a makeshift camp nestled in what was a maintenance office. It's a bit cramped, but they tell us it's better than sitting out in the open. I'd ask how in the open we could be underground, but I'd rather not know. Reckless and I take a corner behind a over turned desk and sit shoulder to should against the wall. There's no food provided, so we eat our own provisions.

"Thank the sisters there's only one day left," I grumble to Reckless as I eat some crisps. "Evidently I am a social butterfly! Because I am going crazy from the silence!"

"Yeah, you definitely were not built for guard duty." He chuckles at me. "But we're not out of this yet. According to the Rusty, the second half is where all the danger is."

I nod to him before something clicks in my head and I glare at Reckless. He bites halfway into his snack cake before noticing me.

"How in the hell did you get someone's name!? Nopony here is willing to give me the time of day!" I try to speak in a hushed tone, but my bewilderment betrays me. He gulps his food before checking to see if the coast is clear.

"So... if you have your weapon out you can use S.T.A.T.S. to learn some peoples names." he whispers into my ear. I give him a look and he shrugs back to me. "Don't ask me how it knows, but it does. But some people it just gives titles. Like two of the guards are just Uppercrust guards, while the two I assume are always with Locust are Rusty Nails and Pipe. Give it a try."

I give him a skeptical look before pulling out my bat and activating STATS. Sure enough everything slows down and I get a chance to cycle through all of the ponies here. Just like Reckless said, I'm able to learn their names or titles. I shut it off and huff in annoyance. I don't know how I've gone this long without learning to this. But it doesn't really help that much. Not unless I want to call strangers by name.

"Alright folks, nighty night time!" Locust announces as she moves to shut off the lantern. "By the way, if you gotta go, do it outside the office. Not unless you got a bucket or the cleaning supplies that is. And make sure ya bring a buddy! Don't want no one sneaking up on ya!"

Reckless and I share a look before the lights go out. We didn't even think of that when we got here. I guess we assumed that there would be a bathroom here for us to use. It'll be okay though... probably. We just need to hold it for a day... I can do that... right?

We try our best to go to sleep but the room in extremely uncomfortable. The is no air flow in here whatso ever, so it got hot really fast. Beyond that one of the other travelers is snoring so loudly its making my eardrums vibrate. And to top it off, the three brahmin in here breath so loudly that I can barely think straight.

I shift a little and try to push it out mentally. Even if I can't sleep I can just need to endure it for tonight. We'll make it tomorrow and we'll never have to do this again. Worse still, it's so dark in here I can't even see what's right in front of me!

I am not a caravanner apparently.

Reckless shifts a little in his sleep and leans against me more. I try to be a good sport about it, but he's really heavy. And he's really warm too. I start to feel myself get claustrophobic and start to push back on him. It takes a bit of effort, but I push him off of me and get him to lean against the wall. I feel him waiver for a moment before resting back finally.

I give a sigh of relief and try to cool off. But it's so damn hot in here! An idea comes to mind but I don't think I can do it. I want to open my top so I can cool off a bit more. The room is so dark no one can see anyway. And it's not like I'm falling asleep anytime soon either. It would be really quick though. And we're behind a desk anyway. So it's not like anyone is going to see anything...

Plus it's pitch black too.

I grab the zipper to my top and slowly bring the zipper down. I don't want to make too much noise. When I get it to the bottom I open it up and slowly flap my suit to cool myself off. The moving air feels incredible and I can't help but sigh in relief. Just a moment longer and I'll close back up. Just need to air the girls out for a bit longer.

CLICK

I feel myself freeze when Reckless turns on the light to his Pip-Buck. I look over to see him staring directly at my exposed chest. We sit there for a moment before his clicks the light back off. I feel my face warm right back up and my cheeks burn red. I quickly sip back up and scoot as far away from him as possible.

I try to justify not being embarrassed to a moment as we sit there quietly. He's seen me naked when we were captured. It's nothing new to him. Plus he's seen other mares topless before! There shouldn't be anything to be worried about! …right?

"Uhm..." he whispers to me, clearly flustered. Which makes me even more embarrassed. "I was going to step out to use the restroom... do you want to step out with me?"

"... okay." I don't need to go, but I need to get out of this room.

We sneak our way around all of the other sleeping bodies and step out the door. One of the caravan guards is leaning next to the door smoking a cigarette. He gives us a quizzical look before blowing smoke and looking the other direction. Not sure what that was supposed to be, but okay.

We walk side by side towards a large pile of rubble further down the tunnel. There are a few lights that still work in here, so we can see where we are. I can't bring myself to look at Reckless. I don't understand why this is so bothersome though! It's really not a big deal!

"Sorry about earlier..." Reckless mutters to me, rubbing the back of his neck. "If it helps, I didn't really see anything. Your hands were perfectly in the way of your... uhm... anyway, I'll give some warning next time."

"... It's fine." He finally looks at me in surprise, so I clarify. "I mean yes, give some warning next time please. But... let's be fair, you've seen them before. Nothing new."

"Well... I still think they're special... not that I think your boobs need a compliment! Clearly not! But... well, I mean, they're still a sight to see! Not that I saw! I mean, I saw cleavage, but-"

I put a hand over his mouth to stop him. I get what he's saying. And I appreciate the sentiment. I push his face to the large pile of rubble. Without saying a word he goes behind the pile and relieves himself against the wall. I take a look around the tunnel to distract myself. But I start to get self conscious again. Mostly about my chest though.

I think they look good, but according to Eighty-Eight they're... lacking. When sex appeal correlates directly to societal status, it doesn't matter what you think though. If the majority of first class said I was small, then that's what they are.

I try to fix myself to get them to perk up a bit more. It's silly, but I can't help it. Old habits I guess. I quickly stop when I hear Reckless finish up. When he walks over I feel a new wave of embarrassment wash over me. Who am I trying to impress up here to even worry about something like that?

"Do you need to go?" He asks, offering me half of a shirt. I was going to say no, but then I decided against it. I have to remind myself where we are. We won't be able to just make a stop whenever. So I have to take the opportunity.

I grab the rag and go behind the rubble. I take a moment to think over the logistics of this before I pull my stable pants down and squat against the wall. Just as I feel myself relax I hear some rock shift behind me.

Before I could react the wall crumbles behind me and I fall backwards. Reckless calls out my name as rocks start to fall all around me. A few pelt me as I scramble back, tripping over my pants as I go. I look back as see Reckless just as a massive piece of concrete catches above me. The slab would have severed me in half if a piece of rebar didn't catch of the side.

I hold my breath as if it would be enough to bring everything down around me. Reckless stands there in equal amounts of horror as we wait for something to happen.

I try to move but something tugs at my hoof. I look down and notice a piece of debris weighing down my leg. Not enough to cause pain, but enough to make me hesitate to move. I worry that if I move too quickly it'll bring everything down.

Reckless comes closer and looks over everything. I just hold still and try not to move. From my angle I can't tell what's connected to what.

"I have an idea, but I need you to trust me. bring both of your hands up." He holds holds his hands in front of me to show me where he wants my hands. I nod and bring them up immediately. He backs away and flairs his wings out, making me panic.

"No-no-no-no-wait!" I panic as he bursts forward. He puts everything into propelling himself through the small hole. As he does, he grabs both my hands and yanks me as hard he can. Together we tumble into the void behind us as the wall comes crashing down.

After rolling for a moment we come to a stop with him laying on top of me. We stare at each other before we both collapse from shock. It was a quick gamble, but it paid off...

"Reckless?" I ask meekly, still in shock.

"Yeah Lucky?" he says with a huff.

"Thank you for saving me." I tell him as I catch my breath.

"Anytime Lucky."

"... can you close your eyes so I can pull my pants up." It may be dark in here, but I can practically see his face light up from that.

He quickly jumps off of me. I stand and get myself modest again. When I'm done I turn on my light and look back to Reckless. He seems fine, but I immediately panic when I see the massive wet spot on his leg. I stare at it for a moment before going sickly when I realize what it is. He follows my eyes down and stares at it for a moment before looking back to me.

"Uhm... let's call it even."

I try to say something, but there's not words to be said. I just nod to him and start to look around the room.

We're in some kind of office it seems. There are a few desks here with blown out computers on each of them. Two doors sit opposite of each other at the end of the room. We look through the room and determine that it's safe for now.

I open the door on the left and nearly fall over in wonder. The room is a small bathroom. Completely with a toilet, a curtain-less shower, and sink all in seemingly pristine condition. Reckless walks up behind me and we stare into the room in wonder. Share a glance, we seemingly ask the same question. There's no way the pipes here work, right?

We step in together and look at the sink. We stare at it for a moment before I reach forward and turn the knob. Instantly the water starts to pour out. It looks perfectly clean too. I move my hand under it and wait to see if my Pip-Buck detects radiation.

It doesn't.

I turn it off and we turn to the shower. The sink, sure. That could make more sense than the shower... right?

Reckless walks over and turns the knob. Sure enough, the water begins to rain down. We both share a laugh before he starts to take his armor off. I go to do the same thing when I realize something.

"Reckless wait!" I tell him just he tosses off his armor vest. He stares at me for a moment before it dawns on him.

"Right! Sorry, you take the first shower... though, fair warning. I don't think there's any hot water." I think for a moment as I look around. The room is situated so that the toilet and shower are separated by a small wall. And the mirror by the sink opens.

I open the sink and leave it so nothing can be seen. Then I lock the door to the bathroom so no one can just waltz right in. It the least I can since I... speaking of which.

"If you don't mind, I can wash your suit in the sink while you shower. Since... well... you know."

"You sure about that? Cause I don't mind waiting. Plus, we don't even know how much water is in there. I'd hate for it to run out before you can get a chance to wash up."

That is a valid concern. But I'm just dusty. He's covered in urine. It's a fair trade off. I hold my hand out and wait. He takes the hint and starts to undress. I keep my eyes closed and wait for him to set the soiled suit in my care. I turn around and start to fill the sink with water, using the suit as a makeshift plug.

It takes Reckless a moment longer before he gets the shower running. I can feel droplets of water splash against my back as he washes up. I start working the clothes in the water. Without any tools or chemicals I basically go through soaking and wringing out the suit. It'll have to do for now.

"So... this is pretty crazy, right?" Reckless asks.

"You mean the working shower or the fact that we found a working shower and immediately used it?" He laughs a little at that.

"Both, I guess." I hum back to him Everything up here is crazy. Home may have had its downs... a lot of them really. But I never thought I'd be this desperate for a shower.

"The Commonwealth is a crazy place." I tell him, ringing out his clothes before dumping them back into the water. "How long were we in that small office before?"

"Three hours. Truth be told I didn't need to go that bad. I was just tired of being that hot." I chuckle at that. At least I wasn't the only one suffering in there.

"Not my proudest moment." I chuckle along, blushing slightly again. He laughs too but doesn't add anything. "Be honest, did you see anything."

"I promise you, your hands could not have been better placed. Like... I'm honestly a little upset with him well you covered yourself." I can tell that he didn't mean to be that forward. He spoke and then his mind caught up to what he was saying. And now he's mentally kicking himself for being that blunt.

I don't know how to respond to him though. I found it a bit funny. But... it feels disingenuous to me. And I can't tell why.

"Well, do you think the others heard the cave in?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Probably. At least the guard should have. The real question is if they're going to come after us or not."

"Why wouldn't they?" I ask, almost turning to look at him. I catch myself though. But not before I notice the mirror had moved slightly.

I get a look at his fully unobstructed body. He has a very nice athletic build. Lean and strong looking. Not quiet like that muscle clad stallions of first class. Where they had muscles built on muscles, Reckless has a strength that seems out of use. Not want.

He doesn't have six pack. More like a lite four pack. His pecs are prominent, not oversized. I've seen some first class stallions with pecs bigger than my breast, but that's not Reckless. Reckless looks like his strength has come from what he's achieved outside the gym. Not with supplements and gene therapy.

And then, because I'm me, I looked down. I looked directly at... it. It's not like I've seen many before. But all of the ones I've seen were from first class stallions. And... well, they looked like they were made to tear a mare in half. I've always assumed that's what they're supposed to do... figuratively that it. His... his looks like it would fit in me. But... then again, it is a cold shower. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

Actually, why am I think on any of this!? I shake my head and go back to cleaning his clothes. I think the stress of the Long Stretch is getting to me. I need a good nights sleep already.

"Lucky?" Reckless calls out.

"Huh?" I must have really spaced out there.

"I said I'm done. How do you want to do this?" I think about it for a moment before I move to the far corner and close my eyes.

Reckless moves over and takes a seat on the toilet. I double check to make sure he can't see me before I undress and set my clothes by the sink. Stepping under the water, I give a small shriek when the icy water hits my coat. It's freezing cold! But, it beats being filthy.

I force myself under the water and start to rub all of the sweat and dirt off of my body. The water washes off of me in a slurry of greys and browns. Despite being so cold, this really is relaxing in a way. I didn't realize how dirty the wasteland makes you.

I feel my heart skip a beat when Reckless stands up and moves in front of the sink. I watch him grab his clothes and over them over the toilet. I guess he's trying to dry them off as best as he can. But then he comes back and starts washing my clothes.

"Um... Reckless?" I ask, trying not to stare.

"Yeah?" He asks, as if he wasn't stand nude in front of me.

"... um..." I catch myself staring at his cutie mark for a moment. It looks like a bull made of fine tea ware. I glance down at mine before turning around. "Would you mind-"

"We can't spend too much time in here Lucky. Plus... I mean... you already saw. So it's not a big deal." I bury my face in my hands as my ears burn. Of course he noticed! Just my dumb luck!

"Ah... sorry. A bit hypocritical, isn't it?" I try to think straight but.. I can't. I literally just did the one thing I hate others doing. The one thing that drove me crazy back in Eighty-Eight. I can't believe after all that chastising and moral high grounding I've done the very same thing!

No. I wont' let that slide! I'll... well, there's not really much I can do now, is there. Well... except...

"Two minutes." I tell him suddenly as I shut off the water. He goes to look at me in confusion but catches himself.

"Uh... w-what?" He asks, clearly not expecting that.

"Fair is fair. It was rude of me to look at you without your permission. So, to say sorry, and to level the field you can look back for two minutes." I tell him as turn back to face him. He chuckles a bit at me. Clearly he doesn't think I'm being serious.

"Lucky... I said it was okay-"

"Hey, they're your two minutes. Take them or leave them." [Speech 40/5] Without needing any further convincing he turns back around.

I tried to just stand there confidently. But literally the second he looked back at me I felt all of my bravado escape. I've never really been on display like this before. Being scrutinized this closely and this personally... honestly I mostly just don't know what to do with my hands at this point. I try to just set them on my hips, but then I try to fold them in front of myself. But then I felt like I was blocking too much so then I just set them to my sides. How does one stand when being... ogled.

"Wow..." he mutters suddenly. I try to smile back, but honestly I just don't know what to say.

"So..." Gods I'm seriously bad at this. "Crazy to think how desperate we were for a shower, huh?" He brings his eyes back up to me and chuckles with a goofy little grin.

"Right? We didn't even think to check the other room or look for a way out!" he laughs, setting his palms on the sink to lean back. "But it was worth it. Going days without washing is going to drive me crazy."

"And it was literally in the span of, what, forty seconds? Forty seconds after nearly getting crushed and peeing on you and... here we are!" We both share a small laugh. When he's not staring slack jawed he's actually got a nice smile.

"That was a close call. I'm just glad you weren't hurt though." He says, running a hand through his hair.

"... Thanks. You know... you're not like the other stallions of Eighty-Eight. At least, not like the first class ones that I knew. Were all the stallions of second class like you?" I ask holding my hands behind myself and resting my back against the wall. I've never met someone as considerate as him before. It's crazy to me that he was in the same Stable before all of this.

"Well... probably not." He says, looking to the ground again and smiling to himself. "If I had to guess, this probably more of my mother than anything else."

"Your mom?" I ask, a little thrown off.

"Yeah... we were... closer, than most mother-sons of Eighty-Eight." He tells me as he looks back up to me. I see a genuine look of joy on his face for the first time. "I guess being the only pegasi in the stable we only had each other. No one else could explain things to me the way she could. And because she was the only female pegasi, she didn't care about class. The way she figured it, she was never going to rise to first anyway. So may as well make the most what you had."

I wanted to ask why she couldn't better her position, but I decided against it. I figure race played a big part of that. I also never thought about it before, but it never dawned on me that there weren't any pegasi in the stable. Not to mention there were few unicorns as well. Three hundred and fifty ponies in our stable, and only one pegasi. Maybe fifty unicorns? Sixty tops. The rest were all earth ponies.

I couldn't imagine being so alone.

"What was her name?" I ask, breaking his train of thought. The question makes his demeanor drop for a moment. But he puts a smile on and speaks. Though, the smile is less genuine.

"Brash Voyage." I hum in response, thinking to my own parents.

"... I never knew my mom." I tell him. "She passed when I was born. And... well, Dad said he couldn't talk about her without hurting. So I never learned her name."

"Dear Luna... I couldn't imagine keeping something like that from your child... sorry." I shake my head to him.

"It's okay. I don't know why, but... it never really bothered me. I just remember being real small and asking my dad where mom was. And... he just... You've seen my father. He's not someone to show emotions. So seeing him cry and say that... I never wanted to hurt him like that again."

"I understand." He tells me. I smile back to him and brush the black lock of hair out of my face. "When my mother was alive I was very protective of her. Probably why she only ever had one kid."

"Cock blocking your mom?" I ask, laughing a little. He laughs too.

"Something like that, I guess. When I was small I would see... well, I get what you mean about the guards." I stop laughing when he says that. Clearly I've hit a landmine there. "But as I got older I learned how to protect her better. But... well..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Reck." I tell him. I didn't mean to bring up such a painful memory. I can only imagine the things he's been through... It really puts him in a whole new light.

"No, it's okay. I... I was just going to say that she passed when I was fifteen. Ovarian cancer. Literally took her two weeks after finding it."

"Oh my gosh... I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." He laughs a little, bringing back his genuine smile. "She wasn't. It was hard at the time. But now, looking back, it was probably her happiest two weeks ever. Because she got to spend every day with me. She had no other worries in the world. And since I knew I was losing her... well, I took everything she said to heart. So..., yeah. That's why I'm different than the other stallions."

I think to myself for a moment. I couldn't have ever imagined hearing a story like this from... anypony in Eighty-Eight! I try to think of something to tell him. Anything to help. But... I doubt there's anything I could say that could meet the moment.

"Well... She did a good job as a mother. You're a good stallion Reckless." He smiles back to me. I check my Pip-Buck and see that it's been a little longer than two minutes. But... I couldn't care at this point. This has been... good. It was a good talk. I feel like I've grown a bit closer to Reckless now. And... I hope he feels the same.

"Well, I'm still a bit damp. And I'm sure our suits are too. Anything else you'd like to talk about?" I ask as I scoot over and sit in the shower. I motion to the other end for him to sit down with me, and he eagerly joins me. Though this time I make sure to cover myself as best I can.

"So... was it just you and your dad?" I shake my head to him.

"No, I have two brothers. Ironclad and Bootstrap. Maybe you know them? They are guards too."

"Yeah, I know them, Ironclad was there when we were trapped outside the Stable." I think back to that day and try to remember. But... I honestly only remember there being nameless, faceless guards.

"Sure... So, I'm not the closest to my brothers... Actually, we're basically only relatives by blood. Not that I entirely blame them though! They're both much older than me is all!"

"What? By how much?" I think about it... but I don't actually recall with certainty.

"If I'm remembering correctly, Ironclad is sixteen years older than me. And Bootstrap is fourteen years older."

"Oh! And... you're... how old?" He lingers on the question. He's trying not to be rude. I just laugh at him.

"How old do you think I am?" I ask, teasing him. He chuckles as he stares at me, trying to think of the best way to answer.

"Well... clearly you're... old enough... to... be very beautiful!" I laugh at that.

"And how old is that?" I ask, pulling my knees in to hug my legs. I rest my chin on my knees and stare at him. He's trying so hard to be courteous. He takes a deep breath in and settles on a number.

"Twenty five!"

"Nineteen."

"What!?" I laugh at his flabbergasted expression.

"Scrappy young thang, ain't I?" He shakes his head and stares at me, mouth wide open.

"There's no way you're nineteen! That's... you're... you're too mature to be nineteen!" I laugh more at him. Clearly he doesn't want to believe me. Makes me wonder how old he actually is.

"Well, girls do mature faster than boys, Reckless." I tell him matter of factly. "Besides, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty. But... Wow. Nineteen... I didn't think we'd be so close in age." I nod my head to that. Honestly, I was a ted worried he was in his thirties.

We both go quiet for a moment before we share a look. There's a moment where we just stare at each other before breaking into laughter. We're trapped in a collapsing tunnel, supposedly filled with monsters, cut off from our supplies, and completely naked. And we're having a great time. This wasteland is really a crazy place.

We spend the next hour just talking. We talked about baseball, our friends from the Stable, anything and everything we could think of! We spent the most time talking about our hobbies. He apparently loves to cook, even though he's not the best at it. I told him about my love of dresses. It was... it was really fun. I'm really glad that Reckless and I are becoming better friends. It was a bit of a rocky start, but I feel so much closer now. I think I can say we're pretty good friends now.

With our clothes finally dry enough to wear we get can get dressed and make our way back to the others. It's still the middle of the night, so they shouldn't have left yet. Reckless and I take one last look in the small bathroom before he opens the door-

-and immediately shuts it. I couldn't see much from behind. But there was a noise of something getting surprised by the door. Reckless looks back to me and I gulp from the scared look on his face.

"What was it?" I ask in a whisper.

"Feral ghouls. About five of them." He tells me as he starts to look around the room.

"Shit." I pat myself down as I check to see what I have on me. My bat is missing. Probably dropped it in the tunnel. At least we each have armor. I check my hip where I pull out the pistol we bought at Uppercrust. I have three magazines total... which I don't know it that'll be enough. It's like... thirty-ish bullets... So that's pretty good. Right?

"So what's the plan?" I ask as I look over my gun. Reckless looks at me and snatches my gun form me. "Hey!"

"Lucky..." He says as he unloads the gun. He pulls the top back and double checks it before handing it back to me.

"What am I supposed to do with an unloaded gun?" I ask as he grabs my shoulders and guides me as far back as possible. "Reck?"

"Take aim at me." He tells me as he moves to stand in front of the door.

"You said not to aim-"

"I just unloaded it. And we don't have a lot of time to go over this. Aim. At. Me." I feel uncomfortable doing this. Especially when he made such a big deal about not aiming at people.

I raise my pistol and try to remember how I'm supposed to hold it. Reckless gives me a few pointers and I get both my hands on it. I hesitate for a moment before pointing it at him. He guides me through proper aiming again. Line up the rear brackets with the little notch at the end. The green parts should even out with each other. I aim it at his chest for a moment before aiming at his face.

He looks so determined about this. I wonder what he has planned.

"Widen your stance... little more, good. Square off now, your chest should be flat to mine. There you go. Now, don't aim for the head. Don't close your other eye. You need to be aware of everything that's happening. Aim right here, center mass of the chest. With how new you are to shooting we don't want to try anything too fancy. Now... pull the trigger."

I blink at that. I don't want to pull the trigger... but it is unloaded... it's unloaded, right? No, I watched him do it. I know he wouldn't do something that stupid... right?

I go to pull the trigger. It's a lot heavier than I remember it being. With a bit more effort I pull the trigger. The thing pops back in my hands as the top slides all the way back and locks in place. I feel myself jump a little from the sudden movement. I've completely lost track of where I was aiming too.

"Good, now here's the plan." He tells me as he walks over. He holds his hand out and I hand him the weapon. As he talks he reloads the gun. "You're going to set up in front of the door and I'm going to reach over and open it. When it does, you're going to start shooting at anything moving. When you run out of bullets you're going to move into the shower and take cover. If any of them make it beside you, beat them over the head with your pistol. Do you understand?"

"... I understand. But is this really the best plan? Maybe we should-"

"You're only weapon is a pistol. And from I've heard from the caravan guards, you don't want to get into a fist fight with these things. If we do this right, you'll take down one or two of them. I know I can probably take two or three. So at worst we'll need to beat two to death. But I think we can take them on one at a time. But as a pack, they might overwhelm us. Unless you have a better plan, I think this is what we should do."

I try to think of something to say, but nothing comes to mind. I'm not comfortable with this plan, but he's right. Without a better plan it's better to stick to what we have. I nod to him and we get ready.

I move to stand in the center of the room, but Reckless grabs both of my shoulders and positions me closer to the door. It'll be a bit awkward getting into the shower, but he needs to be able to reach the door switch. I take a deep breath and try to loosen up. Just like Dad taught me. One deep breath in is all you need. Breath in. Breath out.

I raise my pistol and get ready. Reckless goes to reach for the switch, but stops. I look to him but he moves behind me and slides his hands over my arms. The feeling throws me off a bit, but I just watch his heavy hands move down my arms and take hold of my hands. He pushes me fingers into slightly different positions before raising my aim.

"Breath slow and narrow your focus." He whispers into my ear. His warm breath sends a slight shiver down my back, but I just nod to his instruction. "You've got thirteen shots, so count them as you shoot. If they do down, don't worry if they're dead or alive. Just move onto the next target. And don't forget, you've got this."

He pulls away from me and I have to take another deep breath. Having him suddenly envelope me and hold me that closely was a bit unexpected. It's not like I haven't fired a gun before!

I ready my stance and look to him. He reaches over to the switch and looks back to me. With a simple nod he flips the switch and scurries behind me.

When the door slides open I go to line up my pistol. Right in front of the door a feral ghoul turns and hisses at me. The rotting pony standing before me scares me for a second and I accidentally close me eyes when I fire.

PAT

PAT

PAT

I open my eyes and look back in the doorway. The ghoul before me is falling back as blood splatters out from two wounds. I try to look away, but I can't help but watch the husk fall back onto a desk and roll off. Reckless yells something and I finally look back up to see several other ghouls roaring in agitation.

I move the three bright green dots to the next closest ghoul and watch as I put a bullet into their clavicle. He recoils from the shot but still stumbles towards me, barring it teeth in rage. I pull the trigger again and punch a hole into his chest. Apparently this was enough to knock him down.

I move to the next one and fire again. My first shot goes over her head. The next shot goes into her arm. The next into the neck. The wall behind. And finally one last bullet goes through their heart and drops them to the ground just before the bathroom door.

I manage to ignore her fall down and go to shoot the next one. I pull much more quickly this time. Putting two into the chest before the slide moves back and locks in place. I panic for a moment because I had lost count. I thought I had one more shot, but I was wrong.

Reckless swings his arms to my side and force me out of the way. I stumble my way onto the shower stall and ready my pistol to bash something. Reckless wastes no time firing into the office. His fire goes by much more quickly, unloading within a matter of seconds. With practiced ease he drops the magazine and puts a new one in. But then he hesitates before looking to me.

With a yelp he grabs my arm and pulls me back out. He yanks my pistol out of my hand and pushes his in. I grab it and look to him in panic. Without saying anything he reaches into my back pocket and pulls out the magazines I had back there.

"Keep shooting!" He yells as he fumbles to get my pistol working. The slide seems to be jammed back.

I look back out and see two more ghouls coming at me, with a few more yelling from a distant hall. They seem to be coming from the other door.

I take one deep breath and take aim at the closest tattered pony. The sights on this pistol are a bit different, but function the same. I pull the trigger and manage to put a hole in the ghouls head.

Encouraged by the lucky hit, I aim for the next pony and fire again. This one is a bit tougher though, taking five additional hits to put down. He finally falls into the bathroom, making me jump back from being hit.

Another ghoul comes racing around the corner and takes a swipe at me. I feel it slash into my stomach, but my leather armor keeps it from doing any serious harm. I blast away at the creature as I back away, hitting my shots only due to the close distance.

When my pistol click instead of firing Reckless throws an around around me again. He forces me behind him as he rushes the door. He runs out and turns towards the other door. I watch as he takes aim and unloads an entire magazine, reloads, and continues to fire. I watch as his aim lowers until whips the pistol to the side and knocks a ghoul into the bathroom. Completely on instinct, I give a high kick and slam my shin into the guts of the ghoul. It flings into the wall and bounces off with a loud wet thud.

Everything goes quiet as we wait for something else to happen. The only thing making a noise are the few brass casing that are still rolling around. I take stock and notice something immediately.

"I thought you said there were only five!" I tell him, counting at least nine.

"I only saw five." He says with a huff. He checks my pistol before turning it around and offering it to me. "Sorry for the improvised switch. Kinda just... happened."

"It's alright... you're pretty quick with your hands there." I tell him as we switch weapons. I notice my gun is empty. Hopefully there aren't anymore enemies in here. He laughs at my statement, holstering his weapon.

"Yeah... what can I say, I'm good with my hands." I laugh at that.

"Oh yeah? Is that why you went and grabbed my ass?" He freezes and tries to say something. But he's too flustered to say anything. "Relax, I'm only joking. I know you didn't try anything, you dork."

"Dork? I haven't been called a dork since... grade school!" I chuckle at that as I step into the office. The hall where they came from is empty, so we should be in the clear for now.

"Maybe not to your face," I tease, sticking my tongue out at him. He just laughs at me and starts rummaging through the dead ghouls. I go to protest, but when he pulls out three bullets for my pistol I keep quiet. I guess we don't have the luxury to by picky right now.

We go through and pat down each of the ghouls. We manage to scape together almost thirty caps, six rounds for my gun, and some prewar money. The last ghoul I searched was a mare with a small clutch bag. Opening it, I found several pictures of kids, friends, and family from before. They all looked so happy together. And she was gorgeous! I hesitate to look any further, but Reckless asked for the bag.

"When they're nameless... it's easier to do... this." I tell him as I look back to the corpse. She looks nothing like she did in the pictures. Sunken skin, beady dead eyes, pale patchy skin. Nothing like the vibrant living pony that used to be. Reckless looks over the belongings before taking out some cash and putting the clutch back into her hands. He leaves her in a more dignified resting pose.

"She was a donor, so don't feel too bad." He tells me as he pockets the money. "Ready to go?"

"Not yet." He tilts his head to me and I point to the sink.

After we wash our hands, at least as best we can, we leave the small office. Though I do take one last look at the small bathroom that we bonded inside of. It's a total mess now, nothing like that the magical little hideaway we found before.

We head down the hallway where the ghouls came from. Reckless takes the lead, keeping his pistol at the ready. I keep close and watch for any movement, but there isn't anywhere for something to hide. This hallway has a weird curve to it. It bends rather sharply away from the tracks. Why would they build it like this? Wouldn't it have been easier to just go in a straight line?

There are a few orange lights guiding us though. Most don't work, but enough are on to show us the path. We make it to a door that says Pod 2. The door is half open, having jammed seemingly long ago. Reckless squats down to take a look inside before tilting his head in confusion. I smile a little at that. I thought it was a one off thing, but apparently it's just something he does whenever he finds something confusing.

"Looks to be clear, but just to be safe wait for my signal." He tells me as he clamors inside.

"What's the signal?" I ask, but don't get an answer. I guess gunfire or yelling would make for a good signal.

"We're good, come on in." Great signal. Ten out of ten. I roll my eyes and climb through. What's inside... definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

The room seems to be a mix between an office and a tailor's shop. The wall to the right is covered in televisions, most of which have been blown out. There are papers and office supplies all over the ground, giving a scene of pure chaos before the ponies in here died. In the middle of the room there is a single trash can that is half melted.

We share a look before searching the room. There doesn't seem to be a way through here, but we may as well try to find anything of use. Going through some of the desk, there seems to be several goodies in here. Food, water, bobby pins, caps, even a toaster... somehow. But, that's not the weirdest thing in here.

Each drawer in here has underwear. Panties. Thongs. Briefs. Boxers. Even some types that I didn't know existed! Each drawer here has on average three pairs... of perfectly sealed... underwear...

While I'm... thrilled, to finally have a pair, this only raises more questions. Such as... WHY IS THERE SO MUCH UNDERWEAR IN HERE!?

"So... find anything... good?" Reckless asks with a slight cough.

"... do any of the computers work over there." I start trying several of the computers. One of them needs to be working. I need answers. There are twenty computers in here, and just as my luck would have it, only one of them works. But the encryption is far too difficult for me to make heads or tails on. [Science 40/50]

"Well... I guess we won't-"

"Keep searching the room!" I order as I start looking around the computer. "They might have written down the password somewhere! Or maybe there's a holo-tape hiding somewhere!"

Reckless tries to argue with me, but I just ignore him as I start to tear the desk apart. There's no way there's a room like this in the middle of a subway without some sort of reason! I have to know! When nothing comes up at the desk I start to search the nearby desk even more. But then I realize that I there's an entire other half of the room that we haven't looked at yet.

Moving to the tailors side we start to go through the various tables and sewing boxes. Most of what's over here seems useless by now. The threads have frayed away. The fabrics are cut up into unusable shapes. Though we do find some working scissors and more bobby pins. So that was a plus.

I pull over a mannequin that has a square of cloth and half a bra and find a note pinned to the front. Shame it's only half. I take it and unfold it.

I stare at the piece of paper before walking over to the computer. Slowly, I type in Password123?. I hover over the enter key for a moment before pressing down.

"You've got to be kidding me." I mutter as the screen prompts the main menu.

"Nice." Reckless mutter. "Wanna read aloud while I try to find a way out of here? I'm invested too." I nod to him and sit down. He begins to wonder around the room to investigate further as I start to read.

"Ministry of Image terminal.

All non agent readers are ordered to cease reading and report to their supervisors for reassignment by order of Princess Luna.

Messages.

Project Faux Pas.

Disengage lock."

I'm going to wait to open the lock. I don't know what it could be to, but I'd rather not be glued to a screen when we open it up. Clicking on the messages option, there's a correspondence to five other people and one mass email. Each of the individual messages only seem to have one response. While the mass seems to have several. Intrigued, I click on the first one.

"The Ministry of Image hereby invites the direct of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences to the unveiling of the new Enclave Power Armor. Please RSVP for as soon as possible!

Twilight! I have finished work on the new armor and I can't wait to show it to you! You're going to love the updated magical interface system! Also, I may have a 'data' transfer you'd be interested in. Please, please, please, PLEASE tell me you can make it! I haven't seen you girls in AGES!

With love, Rarity."

I make it to the end and lean back in my seat. This was a correspondence between the Elements of Harmony! I've read about them before and, truth be told, I don't know all that much about them. But I know how important they were before the war! I know the general gist of how their friendships saved Equestria multiple times before. I guess the war had its way of pulling them apart. I shake my head and read the response.

"To the Director of the Ministry of Image,

It is with our deepest apologies that we must decline the invitation to the Enclave Power Armor unveiling. It is regrettable that we will not share in this new marvel of technology, but the Ministry is not available in time for the ceremonies.

From the office of Twilight Sparkle."

...ow. I doubt she was actually the one to send that. At least, I hope she wasn't. I go to read the next entry, but my heart starts to sink. Each time Rarity tries to entice them to come over. Offering to let them wear the armor or research notes they might want. And each time she gets an autogenerated response. It's really disappointing to see her writing get more and more desperate for her friends, only to get practical silence.

A little disheartened, I click the mass message and begin to read.

"It is with a heavy heart that I, Rarity, Director of the Ministry of Image; and Element of Generosity, must hand in my resignation. If I cannot get the other directors of the various ministries, some of my dearest friends, to attend one meeting; then I have failed as director. And worse yet, I have failed as a friend. So I will tender my resignation at the end of this work week and return to the private sector.

If I cannot see my friends at least once more, I have failed them.

With all my soul, Rarity.

Twilight: You can't quit now! We're so close! I'll make it out there first thing in the morning!

Fluttershy: I'm sorry that we've been terrible friends. I'm buying my train ticket now!

Pinkie Pie: I can be there in five hours! I'll bring all the chocolates and teas you like! Promise!

Rainbow Dash: Just landed, heading there now! Don't do anything!

Applejack: We messed up, but we'll make it right! Jumping the train right after this!"

Wow. They almost broke apart. And Rarity put everything on the line to get them back...

It makes me think about my own friendships. I don't have many to be honest, but... are mine as real as theirs were? I look over to Reckless as he fiddles with a tv screen. As of right now, he's the only friend I can rely on. But can I put everything on the line for him like Rarity did?

Reckless did, I think. He threw himself into saving me earlier. Didn't even have to think about it. Though... that's also just a part of his personality. Even with that said, he's put in a lot of effort. And I don't know if I've met him at that level. If we're going to be the friends that I've thought we've become, I guess I need to try to... I don't know. Be there for him? But I'm not sure what that means right now. It's not like I haven't been working to get us to Silo too. But... I feel... like it's uneven somehow.

I should try to be a better friend.

I click back to the menu and move on to Project Faux Pas. Most of what's here are just notes between the other offline computers. But there's an option for a camera. Curious, I click it. After a moment of loading I get a view of some subway car.

The view is inside the train. But the camera must have fallen or something, because the view is really low. I can't tell where the car is because the camera is staring at an empty seat. Confused, I go back and start reading the notes.

They... aren't coherent. At least, the first ones aren't. It's literally just percentages and types of... underwear? I have to make it to the last few notes before everything starts to make sense.

Apparently, there was a 'stripped scare' in the middle of the war. Somewhere a rumor started that zebra sympathizers were infiltrating equine society in an attempt to sway public opinion of the war. This really caught wind during the trial of a couple named Ethanol and Julienne. After a brutal and public hearing, the two were executed for treason.

Ponies panicked. And in the panic, a really dumb rumor caught fire. The rumor basically stated that the zebras would try anything to communicate with each other while trying to avoid detection by the government. One of these methods was... by wearing specific kinds of underwear.

Apparently, becuase it was caught once after the trials, ponies wear certain brands were deemed traitors. So the Ministry of Image stepped in to see if this was a one off or an orchestrated effort. Rarity thought it was a garish waste of time... until it worked.

It seems they caught a sympathizer pretty early on. And that was enough for the ministry to get to work. The plan was fairly straight forward. Push propaganda that would convince ponies to buy specific brands of clothing. Set up monitoring stations in high traffic areas. And just wait for the outliers. The numbers I saw on the previous notes were the likelihoods of ponies being traitors.

Boxers: twelve percent.

Briefs: nineteen percent.

Linen wrappings: ninety five percent.

Knickers: two percent.

Thong: ten percent.

Loincloth: ninety seven percent.

I stare at the notes and rub my eyes for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I would say that people who didn't wear Equestrian garments... were most likely spies... They only found the two spies.

"Everything okay?" Reckless asks from one of the tailors tables. I guess I forgot to read this part aloud... but I don't think he needs to be troubled with this stupidity.

"Yeah, yeah. Find anything good?" I ask, leaning back to look at him. He hurries around and rushes over to me. He's hiding something behind himself. Something he's excited to show me. "What's that?"

"I have here, what is probably the most valuable thing in the entire commonwealth! Are you ready for this?" I laugh at his enthusiasm.

"I swear Reckless, if it's underwear or-"

"Nothing like that, promise. Hold out your hands and close your eyes." I spin to face him and comply. What in all of Equestria could this be?

He sets something on my hands and I feel it drape down onto my lap. Whatever it is, it's silky smooth. Clothing perhaps? I feel around it and try to feel the structure of it. I'm pretty sure it's clothes.

"Take a look." I open my eyes and look it over.

It's a simple silk back dress. I smile to Reckless and stand up to hold it against myself. It looks like it'll fit nearly perfectly! It has a long leg cut that seems to stop right at my hips and is strapless. It's not the most complex dress I've ever seen, but it's still beautiful! I check the tag and nearly have a heart attack.

This is a Lady Killer! A hand made dress by Rarity! I've read about these kinds of dresses since... since I could read! They're the best kinds of dresses that were ever made! I go to squeal in excitement, but I can't even manage that! Where did he even find this!?

"Reckless... Reckless!" I try to thank him, but the words escape me!

"Well, you mentioned earlier that you love dresses." He tells me as he walks over to the door and shuts it. "I saw it in the pile over there. Just sitting right on top. Do you like it?"

"Do I like it!?" I yell as I start to rip my armor off. I have to try this on! But even if it doesn't fit I HAVE A RARITY ORIGINAL! I go to unzip my top when I stop and look to Reckless. He's waiting with baited breath for me to continue. "Sorry, but can you turn around?"

"Oh... of course! Sorry!" He quickly faces away from me, clearly disappointed. I think about it for a second before I shrug. He got me one of my favorite dresses. I can do something for him.

I go over to the desk and start to go through the garments there. I find a few enticing ones before going back to Reckless and tap them against his shoulder. He looks back in confusion and I present him with the garments.

"Pick one." His eyes light up and he looks over the three pieces. He's already seen me naked, so I'll let his imagination fill in the rest. But, may as well give him something to think about.

He looks over the pieces as if they were life or death decisions. But when he decides I laugh a little. He didn't pick the one I thought he would. Not the G-string, nor the cheeky thong. No, he picks the black lace panties. I take it force him to look away. There's been enough show and tell for one day.

Putting on the dress brings me back to the days when Cinnamon Swirl and I would have our dress up days. We'd bring every piece of clothing we could get our hands on and try to make something new out of them. Neither of us had a talent for tailoring clothes though, so we ended up ruining several jumpsuits. But, that is how I got this two piece suit. So it wasn't all bad.

The dress slides one like water going over a cliff. It's cut at an angle so that the slit is revealing my entire leg and hip. It's just low enough to hide the lace underwear, but just barely. My other leg is covered with a flowing wave of black silk that shimmers and shines in the light. It's almost glinting with my shamrock color. As if my coat is somehow making it through.

It fits my waist perfectly. It fits my hips perfectly. I bring the top to my chest and pull it to sit as best I can. I can tell it'll fit me perfectly once the back zipper is up. I try to reach it myself, but it's too low for me to reach.

"Can you get the zipper?" I ask as I turn around. He does so slowly, almost scared to look.

I was a little disappointed when she wouldn't let me watch her change, but I can't really complain. I was lucky enough for the shower talk. And she did let me pick the underwear, so now I can't stop thinking about them. I should stop trying to think on it though. Otherwise my wings will get stuck in the upright position.

"Can you get the zipper?" I nearly flinch from that. I go to turn, but my mind is still caught up on stupid thoughts. Is she going to actually be dressed? Should I try and make a move? I don't think I should. As much as I'd like to, I don't know if we're there yet.

I turn around and see her standing with her back to me. She's holding her hair out of the way, revealing her back. The dress is sitting loosely on her sides, begging to either hug her body or fall to the ground. I gulp a little when I reach for the zipper. It's a small dainty little thing. Feels as if it'll break if I pull too hard. I grab it with one hand and go to yank it up, but it doesn't want to move. It just lifts her dress a little.

I get the smallest glimpse at her back side. But her tail was in the way to really see anything. I try again, but again it doesn't move. But I do see a slit where her tail is supposed to go out.

"Should... I pull your tail through?" I ask, trying to sound normal. In reality I probably sound nervous as hell.

"Oh! Could you? I completely forgot about it!"

Okay... so I'll just... reach in... and pull her tail through the... the opening. I did not think this through! But, I'm already committed, so here goes nothing.

I slip a finger through and loop it around the base of her tail. The hairs are as smooth as the dress and I can feel the warmth coming off her. In trying to avoid touching her backside, I only get half of her tail. So I have to try again...

I take a deep breath and try again. I chance a glance up at her face and freeze when we make eye contact. She staring at me curiously, waiting for me to finish. I'm taking too long to do this, and it's becoming creepy! I just need to focus and get it done. Be a pervert later when no one is staring directly at you!

I force my finger around her tail and pull it through the slit. In doing so I graze her unbelievably supple backside... but when she doesn't say anything about it I try to just ignore the feeling. I've felt butts before, what's the big deal!? Just because it's the butt of the mare of my dreams and was the nicest butt I've ever felt... NOT A BIG DEAL!

With her tail finally through I go about fighting to get the zipper up. I don't think it was made to be pulled up, despite being a zipper. After what felt like an eternity I finally get it to move and slide it all the way up. Once there I let go and back away. That was... far more enticing than it had any right to be. She fiddles with the fit for a moment before letting her hair down and faces me.

My jaw drops and my heart pounds its way out of my chest. She's always been beautiful. No doubt about that. But... now she's stunning!

The dress fits her perfectly! The way it hugs her waist and hips accents them perfectly! The contrast of her green on the shimmering black gives her a bit of a glow. She runs her hands down the front to smooth it out and looks up to me. I try to say something... but she stole my breath.

"So... how does it look?" She ask nervously. She shifts from side to side as she looks herself over. I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to speak.

"You... look... amazing!" I gush, putting a huge smile on her face. "More than amazing! Stunning! Immaculate! Beautiful! Just... wow!"

"Really?" She asks, swaying in the dress with a slight blush.

"Really!?" I'm almost offended she would even ask that. I look around before I see a half broken mirror. I take her by the hand and brag her over to show her. I square her off with the largest section of intact mirror. "This dress was made for you!"

She blushes again and looks herself over in the mirror. With her a bit distracted, I take a moment to look her over again. The dress shows just enough cleavage to really entice the view. I'm amazed it fit her chest at all to be honest. She catches me staring at her and her blush deepens. It's... pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. I know I was smitten before. But now... now I'm in heaven.

"You really do look amazing. Honest." I tell her, doing my best to be sincere.

"Thank you Reckless. And not just for the dress, or the compliments." I give her a confused look and she giggles back at me. "You're a good friend... I see that now. So... thanks."

"Oh... you're a good friend too Lucky." I give her the best smile I can muster.

I feel a little disheartened. I clearly want to be more than friends. Whatever that may be, I'm unsure. But... I'm not mad about being a good friend either. I want to be close to her. So... despite the hiccups along the way, I'm glad we're friends. I'm glad she pulled me away from the Stable door and brought me out here.

"So I'll forgive you for poking my ass." She says, blowing a raspberry at me.

"I... did not mean to." I try to defend myself, but the sudden shift in teasing tone caught me off guard. She motions with a finger for me to turn around, so I do. I really didn't mean to.

"You're fine, I'm teasing." She reassures me. "Just let me change and we'll hit that lock button."

"Should we take all these clothes?" I ask as I listen to her change. Trying to keep myself distracted.

"Definitely. But how are we going to carry it all?" I look around my half of the room and try to think of a way to carry all this stuff. There's not really any good choices...

"What about this?" I ask as I grab a trash can and turn to show her. In doing so I watch as she bends over and pulls her pants up. My brain takes a moment to recalibrate, but it does I snap back around.

"Hm? I guess that could work." She says casually. I really hope she didn't notice me seeing her.

I then realize that I couldn't get a good look at her cutie mark in the shower. But from this side, I had a perfect view of them.

"Right... I'll start collecting on this side." I say distantly as I think about the two black five leaf clovers. I guess with a name like Lucky I really shouldn't be that surprised with her cutie mark. I guess there was a part of me that though it would be something more... I don't know. More intricate? Less obvious? I don't know what I was expecting, but apparently it wasn't a black five leaf clover.

Once she's fully dressed in her Stable suit and armor we gather everything that seems valuable and stuff them into a trash bin. We decide she'll carry the bin, since I have more ammo in case of a fight breaking out. She goes back onto the computer and disengages a lock. We hear a mechanism begin to creak and grind in the walls. Following the noise we see a row of the tv's pop open. I walk over and use one hand to pull it open. My other hand has my pistol ready to fire. Just in case.

I peer outside and take a good look around. It's another access tunnel. Just like the one that lead us here. There's nothing in there. And it goes in a straight line towards the tracks. I can see the door at the end, telling me there's nothing in here.

I motion for Lucky to follow and hurry down the hall. I press the switch to the door and watch as it slides open. On the other side there's a cement wall that pulls apart in several slabs to reveal the tunnel we were originally in. If Lucky hadn't fallen through the wall we would have never found this place.

Walking out I check to see of the coast is clear before motioning for Lucky to follow. We walk by the cave in and find Lucky's bat lying on the ground. At least we know nopony came this way. Or, at least nopony who came stole her weapon. I pick it up and continue back to the caravan hideout.

It's not a long walk. And when we make it back we find the same guard still standing at the door. He gives us a smug look as he starts a new cigarette. He thinks we ran off to do that!?

... I wish.

I open the door and hold it for Lucky. She gives a coy smile to the guard before rushing inside. I go to move in but stop when he puts a hand on my chest.

"That was a dangerous little fuck trip you took there, ya know."

"We didn't do anything." I tell him, moving his hand off my chest. "Not that it's any of your business."

He just gives me a smug look at let's me in. But not before calling me a Dashite. I pause to ask what that was, but he shut the door behind me before I could. What the hell is a Dashite?

The next day couldn't have come quick enough. Even though Lucky had fallen asleep against my shoulder, the room was still unbearable. Not like I was going to get much sleep to begin with. My mind was too occupied reliving the events of the night. Seeing Lucky in that dress! Seeing her dripping wet! Talking with her for so long! How could I have slept!?

I made sure to sear each of those memories into my mind. For prosperity sake.

The caravan starts to make its way down the tunnel again. Just like the day prior it's a quiet trek. But this time I keep by Lucky's side. We keep stealing glances and I'm on cloud nine. I don't think I've ever been so flirty before. It's not really a thing you do in Eighty-Eight.

Back there, you didn't really need to. You could try to lay it on a mare of a higher class. But you were almost always wasting your time. And mares of lower class never really objected to blatantly asking. I don't really know what I'm doing, but it seems to be working. At least for the time being.

A few hours into the trek we come to a road block. It looks like there used to be a guard station here. But it was overrun a long time ago. There are no bodies, but there are blood splatters that tell us exactly what happened. There are two ramparts with a large rickety gate between them.

We slow down to open a gate and get the brahmin through. They send Lucky and I ahead to watch for any hordes coming our way. I feel more confident keeping watch with my rifle. I've had that pistol since I joined the guard. But I've always preferred something with a lot more kick.

Lucky is doing her best to keep watch. But she keeps getting distracted with what the caravan is doing. Apparently the brahmin don't like going through gates. Wonder why.

"I'm sure they'll get it." I tell her, getting her attention. "Focus on the path ahead."

"Sorry. I'm... I guess I'm just nervous. Now that I know there are hidden rooms in these tunnels it feels like they can come out at any moment." I nod to that.

"You're not wrong." I tell her, keeping my gaze on the path ahead. "But that's more reason to keep your focus off the brahmin. We need to be ready in case something happens."

"... sorry." I shake my head at that and look at her. She flinches a bit from the change of demeanor.

"You don't have to apologize Lucky."

"Sor-"

"And if you apologize for apologizing, you're giving me a fashion show with all of those goodies we found." I give her a wink and go back to patrolling the tunnel. Out of the corner of my eye I see her blush deeply before looking away.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... was that too forward?" I ask, worried that I said something too blunt.

"No. No! You're fine! Sorry, I just... I know how close we are. To Silo that is! And I want us to just get there already. You know? I just don't want anything to happen right as we round the last base." I nod in agreement. I didn't think of that. But...

"Was that an apology?" I ask, leaning in to get closer to her. Her blush spreads across her face as she shoves me aside. We share a small laugh as we go back to patrolling.

"... get us through this, sure." I nearly trip over a rail when she says that. I look at her dumbfounded but she just winks back at me.

"... you're going to be so safe!" I tell her, filled with determination.

"Oh my god, I feel so safe." She says in a teasing tone.

We share another little laugh. But it gets cut when the ponies at the gate start to scream. There's a horde coming from the other side. Lucky and I share a scared look before I run over to the ramparts. I look down the tunnel and see dozens of feral ghouls shuffling their way towards us. We've got may ten seconds for them to clear the gate before they're on us.

The middle brahmin has froze in fear and is trying to back out while the rear one is trying to push through. The guards and settlers are trying to pull it through, but it's too heavy and stubborn. The other guards take positions on the ramparts and start shooting down the tunnel. Panicked, I take aim and start shooting as well.

Each pull of the trigger sends a ghoul to the ground. But each one that trips or dies seems to be replaced with three more. Even with all of the other automatic fire from the other guards there are simply too many of them to contend with. I fire my last round and start to reload when I take stock of the situation.

Lucky has joined the others, but that brahmin isn't going anywhere. A few of the settlers are on the wrong side of the gate too. Lucky and I share a look before I get an idea. I finish putting the new magazine before I look for Locust.

"We need to cut the brahmin!" I yell at her before firing again.

"We can't leave the gear!" She yells back as she kicks the brahmin.

"It's the gear or your life!" I scream, watching the horde get closer and closer.

"Fuck my life! Save the gear!" I look at Locust in shock before yelling and hopping over the gate.

"Reckless!?" Lucky yells. But I ignore her and charge at the massive horde. Hopefully this works... whatever my plan is.

I fire a few times until I feel I have enough of their attention. With a big flair I open my wings and push myself over the horde. The tunnel is large, but not quite large enough for flight. I can get over them, but I nearly crack my head on the ceiling. I keep shooting though. Even if I'm missing at least they're looking at me.

I see a light fixture and grab onto it. It crumbles in its socket but manages to support my weight. If at least for a moment. I look back down and keep firing. Any that look too lively I try kill, but there are so many it's hard to pick my target.

FWOOSH

An explosion of energy catches my attention. I look at the back of the horde and see a glowing one with its arms raised in the air. All of the previously dead ghouls around it start to get back up. We're basically back at where we started before.

The glowing one slowly lowers its arms and looks directly at me. As if it knows what a threat I am. I try to take aim at it, but the light fixture slips out of its hole slightly. I only have a moment before I need to move again. But with that moment I activate S.T.A.T.S. And take aim at the glowing one.

Apparently it's name is Mr. Phillips. I only have a ten percent chance to hit him in the chest. And I'm going to need the energy to get out of this... But fuck him.

I take the shot. The magic in the system pulls my arm and I send a round barreling towards Mr. Phillips. I watch as the bullet flies through the air and crashes on the wall behind him. A portion of the wall crumbles, revealing an access tunnel. Just like the one from before.

Mr. Phillips looks back at his before glaring back at me. He starts to rush into the room. But not before he drags a finger over his neck.

I have to look away as the light finally drops off the ceiling. I give my wings a flap to push me forward. There's a small opening at the edge of the tunnel. If I can land there I can make a run for it. But because I was so close to the ceiling I couldn't get a strong enough push. So I'm falling short. Fuck it.

I aim my legs and land on one of the ghouls. One hoof catches them square in the chest while their head gets splattered against the railing, killing them instantly. Using the momentum I have, I reel back a slam my fist into the next ghoul as I make a run for it. It gives a spin before flat lining.

I push everything I've got into making a run for it down the tunnel and away from the gate. Most of the ghouls aren't fast enough to catch up with me. But there are a few keeping pace. I fire a few more rounds just to keep their attention. Hopefully it'll be enough for them to get through the gate.

I could go after that special glowing one. But I've already passed the door. And there's no going back now. I need to think of way to either lose the horde or to get back to the gate. I can't run like this forever.

A few explosions catch my attention. I glance back and see one of the guards tossing grenades at the back of the horde as Lucky motions for me to come back. I don't know if I have the energy to jump the entire horde, but I guess I have to try.

I jump and plant my hooves together on the ground, sliding to a stop. With as low as a squat as I can manage I springboard myself back into the air, dodging a few swipes as I go. Changing directions so suddenly throws all of my momentum out the window. I'm clearly not going to clear the mass of feral ghouls. With little other options, I try the same thing as before. I pick my target and aim my legs right for its chest.

But something reaches up and grabs the side of my hip. It forces me to twist to the side and crash my back into the ghoul instead. I roll over once and try to get up immediately, but the mass jumps on top of me and starts to pummel me. I try to ignore the hits and whip my rifle up. A blast a few of them before rushing into the opening I've made. But one of them grabs my wing and bites hard into it. I yell and drop to a knee, still trying to fire at the ghouls in front of me.

I see all of the others on the rampart either firing at the ghouls or yelling for me to keep moving. Lucky is just staring at me with horror in her eyes. And I just promised her to keep her safe. I can't go down like this. I still need to get her to Silo.

With a primal yell I twist around and bash the stock of my rifle against the ghoul biting me. I turn back to the gate and bash another ghoul standing in my way. A few rounds buzz around me as I march forward. Firing at the ghouls still rushing at me. When there's enough of an opening I give every last bit of energy I have into flapping my wings and jumping onto the ramparts.

I come crashing down beside Lucky and roll down the stairs. I groan as I flatten on the ground. That was probably the dumbest thing I've ever done-

THUNK

"SON OF A BITCH!" I yell as Lucky slams a stimpak into my chest. Immediately I feel the magical elixir work through my body and start to heal me. My bruises are the first to fade away. The wound on my wing slowly begins to seal but is still bleeding.

She grabs a rag out of her bag and starts to wrap the bite, tying it off tightly. She looks... genuinely pissed off. So I just relax on the ground and wait. I glance at the gate and sigh when I see that they got all the ponies and brahmin inside. The guards on the ramparts are dropping grenades over the wall, sending chunks of flesh flying all over.

Locust walks up to me and squats by me. She stares down at me for a moment before nodding to me and slamming a weapon onto my chest.

"Calls us even. No refunds and you still gotta buy the ammo. Good work." She pats my shoulder before heading back to the others. She yelling at them to quit wasting ammo and to get a move on. As if we didn't just almost die.

I look up to Lucky and try to get a read on her. She's mad at me, that much is obvious. But she's relieved as well, so that's good. She's gripping her lap tightly as she's tries to think of something to say, but nothing is coming to mind.

"Listen-"

SMACK

I roll my jaw from the stinging pain. I guess I deserve that. She goes to slap me again but stops. Instead she just falls on top of me and hugs me tightly.

"Don't you dare ever be that stupid again, you understand me?" She's letting her anger ebb away, but it's still there. I try to think of something to explain myself, but decide against it. I just reach up and return the embrace.

"Okay. It's a promise." I tell her quietly. She sits back up and rubs her eyes. I sit up with her, feeling a tang of pain in my wing. I give it a test open and wince from the raw joint. "Guess I won't be flying anytime soon. Good thing we're almost to Silo."

"Alright you two, let's get going! Play time is over! Let's go people!" Locust calls out to everypony. We look to each other before Lucky stands and offers me a hand. I take it and get on my hooves. I'm still a bit shaky, but I'll manage.

"Ready?" I ask Lucky. She nods and walks off, still a bit distant. I guess there's still a lot to learn out here. I give a sigh and look back to the ramparts. I can tell there are still a few enemies over there. But that's not our problem anymore. I turn back and walk after the group as Locust corrals us down the tunnel.

"We're an hour out from Silo! Should be smooth sailing from here! Probably. Let's get movin'! Silo awaits!"

Lucky

S 7
P 3
E 4
C 6
I 7
A 4
L 9

Perks

Wild Wasteland
Black Widow
Educated

Skills

Barter 25

Energy Weapons 13

Explosives 13

Guns 25

Lockpick 13

Medicine 25

Melee Weapons 40

Repair 25

Science 40

Sneak 17

Speech 45

Survival 20

Unarmed 15

Reckless

S 8
P 7
E 7
C 2
I 5
A 9
L 2

Perks

Heavy Handed
Skilled
Rapid Reload
Educated

Skills

Barter 15

Energy Weapons 22

Explosives 40

Guns 50

Lockpick 40

Medicine 19

Melee Weapons 24

Repair 22

Science 18

Sneak 30

Speech 12

Survival 30

Unarmed 24