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!