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...

Next Chapter: Chapter Five: The Long Stretch Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 13 Minutes