"Lucky...? Lucky? Lucky!?"

I bolt awake from the sound of my name being called. I take a quick look around and find myself in my fathers living room, laying on his couch. I throw my blanket off and examine myself. I'm in my normal suit, completely clean and unharmed. None of the dirt or grim from the wasteland is anywhere to be found. I look up to see my father staring down at me, slightly confused.

"Bad dream?" he asks cautiously.

"Um... I'm not sure," I tell him slowly, looking over the room carefully. "I had left the Stable with some random guard. It was... awful."

"Why's that?" he asks stoically.

"Everything seemed to be against us," I tell him, sitting upright and bringing my legs in to hold myself. "The weather, the wildlife, the ponies; everything wanted to kill us. I thought I could trust the guard I was with... but that was a bit naïve."

"What did he do?" I think about Reckless for a moment before shaking my head. It was just a dream, no need to worry about something that didn't happen.

"It doesn't matter. What time is it? Did I over sleep?" I ask him, flipping through my Pipbuck. I can't seem to get off the main screen for some reason. And for that matter, there seems to be something wrong with the screen. The pony on the page looks doped out of its mind! She has her tongue hanging out and her eyes are crossed.

"What did he do?" Father asks again, a bit more firmly.

"I think my Pipbuck is broken," I tell him, starting to get confused. "What time is it? Do you think the Pipbuck repair pony is awake?"

"Do you still trust him?" he presses, ignoring me.

"What? I guess so. I don't know really. Why are you asking? It was just a dream-"

"What are the chances that he'll do it again? Why should you trust him? What did Doc tell you?" I go to respond wen I realize something. I never mentioned Doc. What's going on? Where am I? "Do you still trust him?"

"Dad... I don't know..." He keeps asking me the same question over and over again. I try to talk to him but nothing seems to get through. I end up just covering my ears and closing my eyes. This isn't dad. This isn't home! What's going on?

---

I jolt awake again, but find myself somewhere completely new. Grimy walls and shabby bedding are immediately in my vision. I bring a hand up to my face and rub my tired eyes before sitting up and taking a look around. I'm in a bedroom in Heaven by myself. There's a silence in the room that's putting me on edge. What happened? Where am I? What's going on?

Okay, calm down. Just... just try to walk yourself through it.

Okay. We left the Stable, got chased by weird robots, were made into slaves, got saved by Doc, made it to Heaven, and... All of my memories come rushing in at once. Reckless ditching me, Razor threatening me, and our coup. I swallow the lump in my throat as I start to recall what Urban did to me, and what he tried to do. Even worse, I remember what I did to him.

I've never had to experience something like... that. What was that even? I killed those Raiders, but that was... easier. Why is the thought of that creep at the front of my mind? He was a jerk and deserved everything he got! I shouldn't be worrying myself with... whatever thought I'm trying to think of. Guilt? Shame? Or some combination of the two? I'll... I'll just get up and... see what's going on around here. He deserved what he got.

I go to stand up and immediately fall back as my head begins to spin. I bring a hand up to my head only to find it wrapped in a bandage. That's right, I fell five stories. I guess I should be glad that all I got was a slight tap on the head... or whatever this really is. I take a look around and find my bat leaning against my bed. I take it and use it to force myself upright. Everything starts to blur as my senses protest me, but I force myself to stay standing. I concentrate on breathing calmly and wait for everything to settle back down. It takes some time, and I nearly fell over a few times, but eventually I'm able to see well enough to walk towards the door.

I make it out to the hallway and find it empty. Everything seems fine. No bullets holes, no blood marks, nothing that would tell me that there was an intense fight here recently. I take a look around again before making my way to the stairs, using my bat as a walking stick. I don't hear anypony, which is the oddest part of all. From what Joy was telling me, shouldn't there be a party going on? I didn't think it would be this quiet after everything was said and done... That is, assuming everything is done with.

I take the stairs one step at a time. Though my head feels much better, I don't want to push myself too hard. With my luck, I'd go fuzzy halfway down and knock myself right out again. I eventually make it to the next floor and make my way into the hallway. There isn't anypony here either. Where am I? This is the second dormitory floor, so maybe everypony is elsewhere. With no better idea to go off of, I start to make my way to the first floor. Somepony has to be there.

I keep a slow pace going down the stairs. Even though I feel better, there's still a numbness in my head. Not quite a headache, but something a little less. I try to keep an ear out for anypony out there. I'm assuming we got everything worked out, but then why is it so quiet? Maybe it's been a few days? I could have been out during the party. That would suck. If I missed the party I'm taking a day to get drunk by myself. Reckless can wait, I earned that much at least.

I make it to the bottom of the stairs and stop after the door. Two mares are standing at the other end of the hallway, having a conversation. We make eye contact for a moment before the two of them quickly walk away. Okay... I guess they didn't want to talk? I take a look at the turret down the hall and wait for it to make a move. It doesn't, but I'm still keeping an eye on it.

I make my way down to the dinning hall where I find everypony. They're all eating what looks like breakfast, talking quietly among themselves. That is, until they notice me that is. It was almost like clockwork. One mare saw me, whispered something to somepony else, and the whole room slowly looked my way. The last time I had this many eyes on me was during one of the Stable meetings where Dad was too sick to speak. Needless to say, it's a bit off putting.

"Lucky!" Joy calls out from the crowd, jumping out of her seat and running over to me. The crowd goes back to their own business, though I still receive a lot of sideways glances. I notice she's wearing one of the outfits from our bag of cloths. I'm not sure how I feel about that. She runs up and gives me a massive hug, making me jolt from the pseudo tackle. "You're awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Come, let's get you something to eat!"

"Right... what's going on?" I ask as she drags me along to a table. Reckless is standing there, his head wrapped up like mine. His suit is opened slightly, showing the bandages wrapped around his chest as well. When I make it to the table we all sit together, Joy and Reckless on the other side of the table. She passes me a plate of food and my mouth starts to water. I'm not sure what it is, but it smells good. That, or I haven't actually eaten in a few days. Probably a bit of both.

"How're you feeling?" Reckless asks as I take a fork and try the food. I've never had anything like it before. It's not the best, just... new. And it's food. And I haven't eaten an actual meal in several days.

"Good, you?" I ask with a mouth full.

"Good. Good. The doctor here said I'll be fine. A few fractures, but they were fixed easily enough. They were more worried about you. You... hit your head pretty hard. You sure you're okay?" he asks, giving a nervous glance to Joy. They both seem tense about something, but I'll ask more when I'm done eating.

"Head's a bit fuzzy, but I should be fine. How long was I out?" Only water on table, too bad. I guess I'll drink later then.

"Not long." Joy tells me. "Ten, twelve hours. Um... are you sure you're feeling okay? It was a such a big fall after all! You don't need to act tough, it's okay to admit you're hurt. We just want what's best for you." I finish chewing my food and stare up at the two of them. Immediately they start to fold. I can see how nervous they are, but why? Well... at least I had breakfast.

"Alright, what's going on? Why is everypony so quiet? Why are you pressing how I feel? Tell me."

"We're being kicked out," Reckless blurts out, getting Joy to smack his arm.

"We're what?" I almost yell, forcing myself to keep calm. They both go rigid from this, Joy starting to sweat slightly. "Joy, you better explain this right now. Why are we being kicked out? What happened while I was out? Talk!"

"U-uh... well... the thing is... so, I guess not as many of the mares were as against the living conditions as I thought there would have been. Nopony is outwardly mad about what we did, but... well, they aren't happy about it either. A few even left Heaven, though nopony is going to miss Razor. Long story short, we riled up the system without their permission, so they're kicking the two of you out. Just for now though! Given time, if you want to come back you can. They... just want to get things settled without the two of you. We'll help with some supplies, but they'd like you to leave as soon as you're able to travel. Sorry."

I give the two of them a even look before setting my fork down. I go through all that crap and this is what I get!? Whatever! I was going to leave anyway, why prolong it? Ungrateful bastards!

I go to force myself up but falter when my head spins. They both move to help me, but I push them away and stand find my bearings. It takes me a minute, but I eventually get myself standing again and make my way back towards the stairs. Joy and Reckless chase after me, trying to explain the situation to me. But I ignore them. They don't want us here, even though I helped them, then I don't want to be here either!

I make it to our room and get to work packing. There isn't much to put away though. I look through all of the clothes in here and glare back at Joy for answers.

"Um... so... some mares figured that they'd trade supplies for clothes-" Joy starts.

"I thought you said that they were going to help us out with supplies!" I yell, making her jump.

"Lucky... they helped fix my wing," Reckless says, getting to pause. "I fell two stories onto my back. Fixing me up took a lot out of their supply stash. If they hadn't helped, I wouldn't be able to fly, let alone stand."

I mull over his answer for a moment before finally accepting it. His wings cushioned the fall for the both of us. I don't know the extent of the damage, but I doubt it was light. I think on it for a moment longer before I zip up the bag and pass it to Reckless. He takes it slowly, eyeing me cautiously.

"How much food and water can we take? And how far is it to Silo?" I ask in a calmer voice.

"We can give you a few days worth of food and a couple of water bottles. The trip to Silo shouldn't take longer than three days. Two if you hurry." Joy answers, getting me to nod to her.

"Before we leave I'm taking one last shower too. I've earned that at least." I tell them, getting slow nods in return. "We'll leave once I'm out."

I don't wait for a response. I need a moment to really process all of this and settle down. Not that I think I'm over reacting, that is. I have to be the bigger pony here. Otherwise I'll just look like an ass that's over reacting.

I leave the dinning hall and make my way to the showers. I check my pockets along the way and find a few of the wash tokens on me. That's good. I'd hate to have to swallow what little pride I have left and return to beg for some tokens. I think I'd just leave instead.

When I make it into the wash room I find it empty. I go to the closest stall and step inside. I take my time removing my clothes and setting them aside. I'm here to relax, so that's what I'm going to do.

I put in my first token and wait for the water to get to get to my preferred temperature. It doesn't take long, but I wait a moment longer to breath in the steam rising from beneath me. The cold room slowly warms around me and I let it take hold me. I probably wasted what little time I have with this token, but it was worth it. I take my first steps under the hot water and sigh in content. The water does wonders in washing the stress away. I already feel better.

SHING

I turn around and practically through myself against the wall when I hear the curtain open. My heart races as I prep myself to fight whoever is there. But... There's nopony there. I wait to hear if there's somepony in the room, but there doesn't seem to be. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here.

I go back to my shower, trying my best to ignore the feeling of being watched. I can tell there's nopony here, but I can't shake this feeling I have. It's as if there's somepony watching me right now. Staring right at my bare form. The more I ignore it the stronger it feels. It comes to the point where I stick my head out the curtain to see who's here. But the room is empty.

"Hello? Is anypony there?" I call out. After a moment of silence I pull myself back into the stall.

I jump when the water suddenly shuts off. I'm over thinking things, that's all. Maybe it would be best if we just left. Yeah, that's probably the best idea right now. I go to leave, when I realize my mistake. I didn't bring a towel. Of course I didn't bring one! Life wouldn't let me be smart about this one simple thing, would it!?

It's okay! I can work through this. Let's see... The wash room is down the hall, I'll just go see if there's a towel there. Yeah, easy enough.

I stick my head out and check to see if the coast is clear. It appears that way. I grab my clothes and use them to cover myself as best I can. My cheeks burn red as I rush to the end of the hall and check the dryers. I guess life doesn't completely hate me. Somepony just did a load of towels. That's probably what was throwing me off! Somepony was doing laundry! And they're still warm too!

I grab a towel and move into the closest stall. The warm, fluffy cloth relaxes me all over again and in no time I'm dried off! My clothes are a bit wet, but I can deal with that. I make sure to leave the towel in the wash before taking my leave, feeling more rejuvenated!

When I make it to the main entrance I find Joy and Reckless waiting for me. Reckless passes me all of my gear and I take a moment to put it all on.

"Again, I'm really sorry it has to be this way Lucky. You guys are welcomed to return! It's just-"

"It's fine, for the most part." I cut off Joy as I set my helmet back on. Somepony cleaned it out for me, nice. "We weren't going to stay anyway, so it's no loss really."

"And I appreciate what you two did for us! Really! If you ever need my help in the future I'll do whatever I can! Promise!" I give a quick, somewhat fake, smile before strapping a bag to my back and taking my bat. With that, I'm ready to go.

"Well... this is it, I guess." I tell her. She tries to say something to me, but instead rushes forward and hugs me. I cringe a little from the contact and pat her back a few times. It's not that I dislike her. I just don't think we're at the point where we're hugging right now.

"Okay! Remember to stick to the sides of the roads and do your best to stay out of the rain!" Joy tells us as she slowly walks us to the door.

"We will. Good luck running things on your own," Reckless tells her, giving her a quick hug before pulling the door open for me.

"We'll do our best. Oh! And remember to avoid the river bed too! Radcrags tend to prowl those areas! And make sure to keep tabs on your radiation levels! Get plenty of rest and pick your fights wisely-"

"Okay Joy, we'll do our best! Goodbye!" I tell her before pulling Reckless out the door with me. She looks at us through the door and waves fervently, though I can see the worry in her eyes. I give her the most genuine smile I can muster before nodding to her. We'll be fine. I don't have anything to base that on other than my gut, but my gut tends to be trustworthy. We can do this.

"Well... here we go," Reckless muses as he starts to walk back out into the open square. He has his assault rifle out, so I hold my bat at the ready as well. Given everything we've seen, it seems like the wise choice.

"North east, right?" I ask, getting him to nod. I check my Pipbuck and note the direction we need to head towards. The compass has the point highlighted, a feature I didn't know existed on this device. I'm sure that'll come in handy later on. Though, how does it know what Silo is?

---

Our journey starts out quiet. It seems that there's nothing here to bother us due to Heaven, so we're in the clear for now. Or, that's what I assume at least. Reckless isn't trying his best not to talk too. I can tell her wants to, but he doesn't know how to start the conversation. I don't feel like talking now either, so we walk in silence.

It doesn't take long for us to leave the main part of the city and enter a suburb. Its here where we start to run into trouble. Pockets of raiders and ghouls roam from building to building. Some we see on our Pip-bucks well before they come into visual range. Others we hear before they show up. Because of the maze of houses surrounding us, it's easy to avoid most of them. I think we silently agreed that it would be easier that way. We'll save what little ammo we have for when we need it.

We stop at a crossroad and pause at the corner we're on. The way we need to go through is full of what look like corpses around burned out vehicles, but I don't trust it. They also seem to be just out of our range for the Pip-bucks to identify them. There is a way around them, but the route is a mile longer, according to the maps on our Pip-bucks. At the rate we're traveling, we'd have to make camp by the time we'd make it to the other side of the obstacle.

"Well... it would be safer to go around," Reckless says to me. It's the first thing he's said since we left Heaven.

"Would it? The longer we're out here the more likely we're going to run into something. Why don't you just shoot at them and see what they do? We can hide in the building over there." I tell him, pointing to the house behind us. He takes aim for a moment before a thought occurs.

"I don't know... What if something else here's the shot? Is it worth it to waste the bullet over an hour detour?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. I nod to his logic. He is right to be concerned about that. But I have also heard dozens of gunshots in the few hours we've been walking. So I'm not convinced that our one shot would bring all of the Commonwealth upon us.

"Well... I guess being safer is the better choice. Okay, let's go the long way then." He nods back to me and we start to walk around towards the next bloc. I glance at Reckless just in time to make eye contact with him. But it only lasts a second, because he looks away immediately. I let out a sigh and come to a stop, getting him to nervously look back to me. "Whatever it is you need to say spit it out already. Because all of this sad little colt nonsense will not fly."

"... I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Don't play stupid. You've been quiet ever since we left Heaven. I know you want to say something, so say it!"

"... can we at least step aside? It can't be safe just standing out in the open like this." I stare at him for a second before walking off for a nearby house. The doors and windows are boarded up, but it'll do for the time being. When we make it there I lean against the wall and wait for him. He doesn't talk right away, trying to drag this out as much as possible.

"The longer you take the more likely we are to run into something. Start talking." He groans in defeat and has to pace around a bit before facing me.

"I know you said it would take time, but I'm not a waiter! I'm sorry, but there has to be something I can do to at least make things somewhat better between us! And it's not that I'm trying to speed through this! I want to earn your trust, I do! But... look at where we are! How much longer do you think we're going to last out here if we can't even trust one another! I don't want to force you to trust me, because that isn't right. But... I said I would get you to Silo, and I don't intend to break that promise. But that means I'm going to need you to trust me, if only for right now at least. Once we're there you can go back to hating my guts, no problem! But... not while we're out here. We won't make it if we don't... please?"

I have to think about what he said carefully. Because I know he's right. If we don't trust one another, then this is doomed to fail. And at least he acknowledges his faults, even if he's still an idiot for making them. But... he brings up something I haven't really thought of yet. What happens when we get to Silo? What do we do once we're there? And what happens to us?

I don't want him to go his own way and leave me. Despite everything, he's the only normal person I know. He's the only one that makes sense to me, which scares me because he's so different anyway! No other stallion would care about this as much as he does! But he acted out as any other stallion would in Heaven. He's different, but not by much. Can I really look over that in a place like this? And do I really have a choice?

"Reckless... when we're out here, you can trust me. I'll protect you just as you protect me. Because you're right. We won't make it otherwise. When we make it to Silo we... we can talk some more. But, for now, we need to work together. And that means trusting each other. So don't worry, okay? I've got your back." I can see the stress leave his body. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Thanks Lucky... and I've got your back too! Obviously... not that I mean that... Uh... what I meant was-"

"Stop while you're ahead." I tell him, getting him to stop. I almost let out a chuckle at his flustered face. He's cute, in a dorky kind of way. Too bad he's an idiot though. "Let's get going."

"Got it."

Even though we don't say anything, the mood has been lifted tremendously. Maybe I was being too harsh with him. It's hard to tell. I don't feel that I was unjustified in being so, but things definitely feel better now. When we make it to the other side of the small neighborhood we see a wooden sign posted on the side of the road.

"One day? That's not very far. At this rate we should be there in no time!" Reckless remarks.

"That can't be right though. Joy told us it would take us a few days to get there. Maybe there's something we don't know." I tell him. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there has to be a catch. I doubt they would tell us misinformation.

"Only one way to find out," Reckless tells me as he starts to walk off, a renewed vigor in each step. I look over the sign one more time before following after him.

Moments later I get a notification from my Pip-Buck. I check it real quick to see it has updated a location on the map and has set coordinates to it. Apparently, we need to go to a place called Uppercrust before getting to Silo. I call Reckless over and show him what I've found. It's disheartening to see, but at least we have a destination in mind. And it's really close!

The rest of the day goes by rather quickly. I'm guessing that, because we're so close to a settlement, there's probably not a lot of wild and crazy things out over here. Or maybe there are, but they don't like to come out in the middle of the day. Either way, we make it to Uppercrust.

The edge of Uppercrust is a bit intimidating. What looks like an old transportation depot has been turned into a fortified settlement. The edges of the encampment are walled off with old buses and stacks of burned out cars. A few guards patrol the makeshift wall, occasionally passing rickety auto turrets. The main entrance has a few guard posts with heavily armored ponies watching over the road. A walkway above has a large wooden sign proclaiming the name of the town.

Through the main entrance I can see the settlement proper. It's mostly shacks that have been thrown together. A few more sturdy buildings line the main road, but there are only a few of them. In the back of the town a single building stands out. The old transportation hub. It's a long building with a mostly intact half dome of glass making the front. The roof looks almost like an airfield, probably being for pegasi. The building looks run down and has makings of graffiti all over it. The residents here have taken the minimal amount of care for it.

The road leading in is alive with ponies walking in and out of Uppercrust. Some appear to be residents of the town while others are clearly traders. If the massive packs piled onto the Brahmin are any indicators at least. A few of them have taken notice of us, but most seem to be going about their day. I'm amazed to see so many ponies in one place! Not because of the numbers, but rather the conditions! Everything seems so... fragile. How could all of this stand against the storms that occur here? There must be something I can't see happening here. There has to be!

We hurry along and join the few ponies entering the town. They take one look at Reckless and start to murmur to one another. Something about him makes them uneasy. They start to put some distance between us until we make it to the main gate. The guards there immediately surround us and hold us at gun point.

"Whoa!? What's the problem?" Reckless asks, looking from gun to gun. I do the same, keeping my bat raised in case the worse happens. Though, now that I'm looking, they aren't really aiming their weapons at me.

"You are my problem, amigo," a mare says as she walks towards us, revolver in hand. She's dressed in leather armor and has her bright yellow hair up in a bun. Her red coat is darkened with layers of dirt and grim, making her appear perpetually filthy. "Where'd you come from?"

"We came from Heaven!" I tell her quickly, gaining her attention. "We left earlier today. We're on our way to Silo." She chuckles at that as she walks over to speak directly to me.

"Well, you do look like one of Urban's escapees. And your feathered friend here? What's his story?" I don't like the way she uses her revolver to point while talking.

"We're not from Heaven." Reckless tells her quickly. "We're from Stable eighty-eight." This catches her attention.

"We... had to leave. We were told to go to Silo, so that's where we're heading now. Our Pip-Bucks told us to come here." She looks back to me and starts to look me over. Not in a sexual way. More of a new impression sort of way. It's clear that us being from a Stable is something valuable to her. Or, at the very least, it's interesting.

"I'm not Enclave," Reckless adds, bringing her back to him. "Heaven asked the same thing. I don't know who they are, but I'm not one of them."

She stares at the two of us for a moment longer, gauging us for some secret agenda. The entire time I hold my breath as I wait to see what happens. Oddly enough, practically nopony in town is watching what's happening. They don't seem to care. Those that do look only do so because we somehow inconvenienced them. Several long, agonizing seconds later and she waves a hand, getting the guards to lower their weapons. I do the same and let out a breath of relief . That was a little too intense for my taste.

"Well, you can come in. But do me a favor will you? Don't hit the Stretch just yet. I may need to talk to ya'll a bit later." She waves to her guards and they go back to their previous business, clearing a path for us. She watches us walk through, giving us an odd look the entire time.

"That was close, " I whisper to Reckless.

"No it wasn't," he remarks, confusing me. "She was eyeing our Pip-Bucks, even before you mentioned them. There must be something she needs them for." [Perception 6]

"Hm... should we talk to her now then? Why beat around the bush?" I ask, glancing back to her.

"Well... I don't see why not. Maybe she can tell us more about Silo and Uppercrust." I nod to him and we turn back together, barely making it into the town. The mare eyes the two of us as we approach her. I'm guessing she wasn't expecting us to go right to her.

"You two don't waste time, I like that," she remarks as she steps to the side of the entrance, waving us along. We follow her, but I try and keep my distance from her. I don't fully trust her yet. "The names Quick Draw, Sheriff Quick Draw. Sometimes Judge Quick Draw too, when the need arises."

"Reckless."

"Lucky. What was it you wanted to ask us about?" She motions to my wrist with a nod, getting me to raise my arm.

"I'm gonna offer you a deal. I need your help with something. Do it, and I'll have two of my guards guide you to Silo. But, if you don't want to do it yourself, that's fine by me. Interested?" I look to Reckless for confirmation, but only get a confused look in return.

"Maybe. But why would we need an escort to Silo? And what exactly do you want us to do?" She gives me a smirk before reaching into her pocket and pulls out a pamphlet of some sort. She offers it to me and I take a look over it. It's advertising some sale at a store called Sam Lowes Depot. It's a pre-war tool store, by the looks of it. I pass the note to Reckless as a map update appears in the corner of my vision.

"That store usually turns up some good loot. But there's a shipment that was being made to Stable-Tech that never left their docks. It needs a Pip-buck to open it sadly, so nopony has ever tried to loot it yet. You don't need to take anything, but if you two can unlock the semi, we'll give you an escort to Silo. I'll even throw in a few caps your way if you can find its registry. There are several of these trucks throughout the Commonwealth."

"Nopony with a Pip-Buck has ever tried to open this before? Why?" Reckless asks, passing the paper back to Quick Draw.

"Beats me. But, their loss is my fortune. I can toss you twenty caps for the registry." I think about it for a moment before I shake my head.

"This registry is worth more than twenty caps. I know this, you know this, we all know this. Let's call it... fifty for the registry." [Speech 40/30]

"Well... alright. Is that a deal then?" she asks, sticking her hand out to shake. Reckless goes to accept, but I grab his arm and stop him.

"What should we expect when we get there?" I ask, getting her to frown.

"Well... some robots of some sort I imagine. Maybe some feral ghouls... possibly raiders." I can tell she didn't want to tell us this. It's clear as day on her face. But she did, without me needing to coerce her. It could be that she is the sheriff. Maybe she doesn't want to send ponies to their doom. Maybe she knew we'd find out eventually and didn't want to waster her own time. It's hard to tell. But, that's a lot to take on... hmm...

"We can help, but we'll need some assistance. Any spare ammo or supplies you can throw our way will come in handy. I doubt we could do this with what little we have right now." [Barter 20/20]

"You are a little devil, ain't you?" she asks with a smirk. "There's an ammo box and medical box by the gate here, take what you need. But that's all I can spare. I need the rest to maintain the walls here. Are we in agreement?" I think about it for a moment before shaking her hand. I don't want to deplete this town of all of its resources for myself. This is still more than I was expecting though.

"It's a deal. So why do we need an escort? And why can't these guards come with us to Sam Lowes Depot?" I ask as Reckless goes to the boxes and starts to rummage through them.

"I'm sending a shipment to town anyway. Figured I could use it to my advantage. I can't spare the guards for anything further than what we have right now. Not enough well trained ponies to go around, if you catch my drift." She motions to the guards nearby, but I don't see anything wrong with them. They're doing their jobs... I think? I honestly wouldn't know what makes a good guard.

"And the Stretch?" I ask, looking back to her. She walks over to a shack and points out a sign on it. I join her and look it over, having a hard time reading the faded words on the thin piece of metal.

It takes a bit, but I eventually realize what the Stretch is. It's a subway system. A web of railways line the map, showing dotted stops along their routes. A specific route has been painted over, leading to a star between two stops.

"Back before the war, Silo was a military site. It was hidden to the public despite being right in the middle of town. The Stretch was a railway that lead to one of the emergency exits. I guess when the bombs started to fall the ponies inside made a run for it, for whatever reason. With no other entrances to the large facility, it was only natural that we'd make it into a settlement."

"But, the railways were filled with ponies when the bombs fell. And not all of them made it out. From time to time feral ghouls will be found roaming the tunnels. We try to cull them, but there always seems to be more. That's why it's only safe to travel through the Stretch with a caravan. Go by yourself, you'll probably get eaten. Groups have a better chance to make it though."

Reckless returns to my side, stuffing some supplies into my bag. I look to him and get a nod in return. I can feel the weight of the supplies on my shoulder. Did he take everything they had? Why would he do that? Even though I don't agree with it, I don't say anything. I don't want to get him in trouble.

"Why don't you just collapse the tunnels? Secure a single entrance?" Reckless asks, but Quick Draw shakes her head.

"We're not the only settlement that uses the tunnels to travel to Silo. Plus, we don't really have the explosives to do something like that. Those tunnels survived the bombs after all. I think they'll survive some grenades and sledgehammers. Trust me, we've thought of everything there is to think about. There just isn't a way to secure the tunnel completely. Now, not that I don't mind the breaks, but I need to get back to my rounds. Take care now, and try not to get killed out there."

She leaves us at that, the conversation having ended in her eyes. I had other questions, but I guess they'll have to wait. Reckless goes to leave the town, but I grab his arm and pull him into a nearby alley.

"How much of their supplies did you take!?" I ask as quietly as I can yell. I pull my bag off and take a look for myself. "Are... are those drugs!?"

"My Pip-Buck said they had some value to them. I figured we could trade them for ammo or whatever else we need."

"We don't even have guns for all this ammo!" Even though it doesn't really seem like much, it still drives me crazy that he would just take all of this!

"If they weren't willing to lose all of that, they shouldn't have offered it. Also, we need the caps. Unless you think you can go through this without some form of armor." I try to argue with him, but I can't think of anything else to say.

"It's still immoral." I tell him, tying up my pack. He just shrugs, unfazed by everything. "Well... how much is all of this worth anyway?" I ask as I start to look through my inventory.

"Mmm... maybe fifty caps?" Reckless guesses.

"My Pip-Buck says it's more like seventy five." I tell him, getting a confused look from him. I let out a sigh and take a look around the corner. Quick Draw hasn't looked at the ammo cans yet. If we can finish this job quickly, it shouldn't be a problem... probably. "Fine, let's go look at some shops and see what's out there."

"Lead the way," he tells me, smirking. I sour my face at him and walk out onto the street, making him chuckle.

Most of the town seems to be shakes for squatters to live in. A few alleys looked less than inviting, but once you make it to the more secured buildings you can find the stores. They're split between whatever trade they offer. Armorers, gunsmiths, food and drink, medical, and junk were the few that stood out the most. There was also a hotel here, but it looked like some sort of old business that somepony filled with mattresses.

We make it to the armorer and look over their goods. Most of their products seem to be leather add-on's. Though the idea of buying pieces to cover my entire body would be nice, we can't really afford that right now. With what we have in trade goods, we buy a chest piece. We even got three caps back!

It's a bit of a tight fit, and the leather smells a bit, but it's thick and makes me feel a slightly more secured. A few pats on my stomach prove to me that it'll at least cushion most blows. With our purchase secured, we start to make our way towards the exit, when it hits me.

"Should we really be doing this at night?" I ask as we step in front of the hotel. Reckless thinks about this for a second before looking to the hotel.

"Probably not. Want to take a look here?" he asks. I can tell he doesn't want to, but there doesn't seem to much other choice.

"Let's just hope it's not too expensive." I muse as we walk to the door.

The hotel... is exactly what I saw of it. The floor is filled with mattresses from wall to wall, with little walking space between them. The only other piece of furniture in the room is a desk by the front door. Behind the desk sits a grayed elderly unicorn. She's flipping through an old magazine with reading glasses that are missing one of the lens's.

We walk up to her and wait for her to notice us. It takes me coughing slightly to get her to look at us. She gives us one glance before shaking her head.

"Couple rooms have been filled. Try again tomorrow." We take one look at one another before stepping away from each other.

"Um, no. Do you have any single beds left?" I ask. She gives us another look before setting down her magazine. It looks newly printed. It's something called, 'Wasteland Survival Guide.'

"Five caps a bed," she tells us as she pulls up a large jar of bottle caps. Reckless pulls out ten caps and drops them in. "There should be room upstairs. Don't cause a mess. No refunds. We are not responsible for any stolen, damaged, or misplaced merchandise or persons. Have a nice stay." Her monotone voice goes through her rehearsed lines with a slight croak in her voice. We give each other a look before heading upstairs. I had questions, but I have a feeling that they wouldn't get answered.

We gingerly step through the crowded room to get to the stairs. The stairs are completely free from sleeping bodies, but look as if they'll break from the slightest weight put on them. The second floor seems to have less ponies sleeping here, but there is still little room to move. But fortune smiles on us for a moment as the last two beds up here are in the back corner.

We slide the beds so one is closer to the corner. I take the inner bed while Reckless takes the outer one and we place our bags behind me. We figure this way it will be harder for ponies to take our stuff while we're sleeping. The mattresses are old and fairly stiff with a smell that I know will stick with us for awhile. There are no blankets. No sheets. It's just us and the bed on the floor. That's what five caps gets you. We say goodnight to each other and try our best to fall asleep.

I toss and turn on the lumpy mattress as I try to find the best position. But it seems futile. There are three lumps that are just impossibly tough on my back. I sit up and check my Pip-Buck for the time. It's only been thirty minutes. I look over to Reckless and see that he's sound asleep. Next time I'll feel the beds before picking. I'm a bit restless at the moment, and I won't be able to fall asleep on this piece of crap, so I decide to take a small walk.

The night air is cold against me, making my breath puff out into the dimly lit streetlights. There are a few pockets in the clouds above where stars shine through. There are a few ponies walking about the ram-shackled town. Most seem to be guards. I grip my bat and start to walk down the road. I brought it just in case somepony tries something stupid.

As I take the road down I can see the pockets of shacks where ponies are sleeping. Most of them seem to be huddling either family or their belongings to try and keep warm. It breaks my heart to see so many just trying to fight off the cold. It reminds me of when we first stepped out into the waste. We were cold and lost and we didn't even know if we were going to make it through the day. Is that how it is for them? Just trying to make it day by day, hoping that you survive to try again? How is that any way of living?

"Everything okay miss?" I jump a little from a passing guard. I guess I was a little too caught up in my own thoughts.

"Yes, sorry. I... guess I was a little... distracted." I can't help but fold my ears in embarrassment. I guess getting introspective in the middle of the street isn't the best idea.

"You're new in town, right?" He asks, turning to walk with me.

"Yeah, we came in today. My names Lucky." I stick my hand out to shake his. He gives me a soft handshake and gives me a smirk... oh no.

"Ponies call me P.B. around these parts. I help upkeep the law. Day in, day out." He's trying his best to sound as suave as possible. I try my best to keep a civil face on, but... it's going to be a no.

"And thank you for that, your service is appreciated." I tell him as I stop and start to back away. "But it's getting late, and I should really be getting to bed now. It was nice talking to you-"

"If it was so nice then let me at least walk you back to wherever you're staying. Keep up this nice chat we're having and all." Desperation is never attractive. I glance back to see a few guards watching the road to the hotel. At the very least, if he tries something there will be witnesses. But I don't want to lead him on...

"O...kay. Walk me back then." I tell him. His face lights up and I immediately regret this.

"Okay then! Where you stayin'?" he asks as we walk side by side.

"At the hotel just down the road." I tell him. I'm trying to keep a civil distance between us, but that isn't his plan.

"The hotel? That piece of junk? You should come stay at my place! I just put in a fire place and it keeps the whole place warm! Plus, I was out scavenging a month of two back and found some warm blankets! It's way better than the stinky hotel!" Everything he described sounds amazing right now. But, I know what he wants in return. And I'm not interested.

"I already paid, and there are no refunds. Plus, my friend is asleep in there. I don't want them waking up to me missing." I tell him, offering a sincere smile. "But thank you for the offer."

"Well... why not bring her too? The more the merrier, right?" Wow, he's really trying for that! Well, he's ballsy. I'll give him that.

"He seems pretty content sleeping right now. I don't think he want to change beds right now." I really try to emphasize that Reckless is a stallion. But, P.B. here is undeterred.

"Hey, any stallion that let's a mare like you out of their sight isn't doing their job right. At least in my books."

"And what job is that?" I ask, a little offended but also intrigued. It's like asking how someone got injured. The details are probably going to make you sick, but you also just want to know.

"Call me old fashioned, but I say it's a stallions job to keep a mare safe and secured. You know, there are a lot of scary monsters out there. We have to look out for one another, for survival. Cause... you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. So, ya gotta live today... so... whatta say? Wanna come back to my place?"

We stop in front of the hotel and turn to face each other. I can see the eagerness all over him. His finger is tapping the pipe rifle in his hands and he keeps licking his lips quickly. He's not a bad guy, he's just trying to get some action. I don't see any harm in that. I don't agree with some of his view points, but that's nothing to break his spirit over.

"Well, thank you for walking me here. It was a nice talk. But I think I'll be spending the night in the hotel. Just so my friend can find me in the morning."

"Of course, I understand. And hey, I'm not going anywhere," he tells me, deflating in bravado.

"And thank you for that as well. Have a goodnight P.B." I tell him before stepping into the hotel. I hear him curse before walking off.

"You dodged a bullet." The old mare behind the counter says. "That stallion has had every disease you can think of, and he's married."

"Oh... thanks for the heads up." I tell her. I go to walk off, but pause when I see she's not reading her magazine. "Sorry, but can I borrow that for the night? I'm... having a hard time falling asleep."

"Go ahead. I've read it five times over." I thank her before taking the magazine and going back to bed. I'm able to read the entire thing before I'm too tired to stay awake. It was an interesting read, and I'll have to share it's knowledge with Reckless in the morning. But, it's finally time to fall asleep.

---

When morning comes around I wake to the sound of dozens of ponies waking up at the same time. I guess everypony just learned to just wake with the sun. I guess it would make sense though. Ponies need to make the most of the daylight as possible.

I have to shake Reckless awake. I'm a bit surprised at how he could sleep through all these ponies getting ready for the day, but I can't blame him either. If I could have stayed asleep longer I definitely would. I guess I'm too light of a sleeper.

"I'm going to miss sleeping in." Reckless mutters as he stands and stretches. I follow suit, stretching out as much as possible. A life time of gym routines and guidelines are kicking in. And since I know I'm probably going to be running and beating things, now seems like the best time to continue the trend.

"Me too. But, maybe things will be better in Silo."

"They won't," some older stallion grumbles as he rolls up a sleeping bag. "Trust me, you'll work here or there. Only the fat cats get to take it easy over there. And even they still have to work."

We give each other a concerned look before wrapping up all of our things. I don't know how to take his information. He could be trying to warn us not to get out hopes up, but he could just as easily be a jerk. Probably a bit of both.

We make our way out of the town and towards our destination. Several of the guards watched us curiously as we left. I'm sure half of them know where we're heading. I saw P.B. on one of the scaffolding too. How long are the shifts for these guards? I can see why Quick Draw was unwilling to send ponies with us now.

The walk there isn't too bad. It wasn't far, and nothing really happened. Once you get a small distance from Uppercrust, the world becomes a lonely place. There's nothing out here except for the long abandoned homes and the jagged old roads. Occasionally you can find the husk of an old vehicle of some sort. But that's all there is out here. Anything of value was scavenged decades ago. Even the clouds above seem to be keeping their distance from this depressing place.

When the store comes into view we take cover in an old bus stop and scope the place out, per Reckless's request. The building has seen better days, that's for sure. Parts of the walls look as if they're about to crumble away at any moment. Burn marks and bullet holes dot the entrance side, as well as a few corpses. A clear warning sign to any who might think to venture inside, they've been hung up on chains to hang over the front doors. Some seem fresher than others too.

"Maybe they're friendly?" I ask, only to get stared down. "Okay, probably not."

"Well, we can try to sneak our way through the front door or make our way around to see if there is a way in the back. What do you think?" I take another look and try to think of another way in. Either way, they probably have both of those entrances guarded. So getting in quietly doesn't really seem like an option.

"Why not fly up to the roof and check for a way in from there?" It is a two story building, there might be a way in up.

"Well... maybe. I'm pretty sure I can get you up there, probably not any higher though. But what if there isn't a way in from there? Then what?"

"Well... let's check first then make the plan from there. If they can't get up there then we'd be safe regardless." He nods to me and takes the lead, bringing his rifle forward just in case. I pull out my pistol and follow after him, trying my best to be sneaky.

We make it to the edge of the building and Reckless picks me up. I still don't like the feeling of being carried around or flying, but my gut tells me that I'm going to have to get used to it eventually. On the roof we see a single door on the other side of some solar panels. We make our way over but something catches my attention. In between the rows of solar panels is a single tool box. Without saying a word I head to it and rummage through it. A few hammers, a screw driver, some bobby pins, and a worn old key with #1A etched on it.

"Doors locked, what now?" Reckless asks as he walks up. I show him the key.

"I have a feeling this'll open it up!" I tell him excitedly. "Think we'll need any tools like these?"

"Well... I know the screwdriver and bobby pins could be. Probably best to leave the rest." I nod to him, passing the tools and pins to him. I take two of the pins and set one in my tail and the other in my hair. "Um..."

"Need I remind you that we were captured and stripped once? It'll be good to be prepared for the worse. And by splitting it between two spots we double our chances that they won't be found."

"True, but wouldn't it be better to put one in my tail instead of your hair?" I think about it for a moment before taking the pin out of my hair and passing it to Reckless. [Sneak 30/25]

"All set, let's go!"

We go to the door and try the key. It fits perfectly, opening the door with a satisfying click. Reckless crouches down and peers around the door before waving me forward. Inside we make our way down a stairway and into the building proper.

We're up in some scaffolding that's attached to the ceiling. Down below we can see a loading dock that's scattered with boxes and papers. It would seem most of their contents were looted long ago. In the far end of the dock we can see the shipping containers we're here for. It's beat up, but still intact. My Pip-Buck shows a few hostiles in the building mulling about. But it seems they haven't noticed us yet.

The scaffolding leads us to what I'm guessing is the managers building. There's only one desk in here an lots of seating with a blown out computer onto of the desk. We take a moment to loot the room, walking away with a few more caps in our pockets. With nothing else catching our eyes, we take the stairs down and to the main entrance area. The door leading us this way was barred shut from our side.

We poke our heads out of the doorway and take a look around. The warehouse extends away from us with rows of empty shelves. Piles of destroyed materials block a few of the aisles, spilling out towards the rows of cashier lanes. I can see a few empty magazine racks knocked over as well, filled with burned out papers.

"There," Reckless whispers, pointing ahead. I take a better look and see the construction protectron mulling about. He start taking aim at it when I put a hand on his rifle and lower it.

"If we don't have to fight it, then don't. If we can save the ammo, then we'll be better off for it." He nods to me. We take one look around before sneaking off towards the back.

We take our time walking towards the end of the docks. We're doing our best to keep quiet, but every step I take seems to scream in comparison to Reckless's. I'm going to have to work on being quieter. The starting few aisles were blocked off with junk, but when we came up to the first one that was open, it had a different protectron walking around. It was a standard one, but I still didn't like our chances. We wait for it to turn around before moving forward. Reckless makes it silently, but I manage to kick the only can in front of me.

"Please step into the open and identify yourself. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear." It demands as it turns and faces me.

"Umm... where can I find the hammers?" I ask with a coy smile.

"Hostile target identified." I yelp as I try to dive out of the way, but a laser blast manages to hit me square in the stomach. I cough as the wind is nocked out of me, but otherwise I seem to be fine. The leather armor seemed to have absorbed the energy really well.

Reckless quickly swings around the corner and fires a few rounds. Several loud pangs of metal later I hear the robot collapse onto the ground. I poke my head out to confirm that it's been destroyed.

"Well... That was easy." Reckless tells me with a smirk.

"The fuck was that!?"

"Did you hear something?"

"Ay! Who's out there! Show yourself!"

Multiple voices yell out from seemingly all over the building. My Pipbuck tells me there are at least six enemies looking for us. Two on the east side and three on the west as well as the protectron we avoided from before. I glare back at Reckless as he tries to shy away from me. Whether he knew it or not, that was too stupid to say aloud.

I motion for him to follow and start circling around the other robot. I figure we'll deal with that one first so it can't follow behind us. We rush through the aisle and flank the end of the shelves where it's lumbering towards us. I take a few deep breaths as I tighten my grip as I ready to swing my bat. Reckless goes to lean over and fire, but several clangs of metal on metal force him back. It appears to be shooting nails at him.

I wait and listen to the heavy metal footsteps as they slowly inch their way towards me. Reckless tries to peer out again, but can't find an opening in the hail of nails. I take one last deep breath as I judge the distance of the final step needed. I swing around the corner and bring my bat to bear in a heavy over head swing.

CLANG

I have a moment of panic as I nearly miss the head of the robot. Instead I catch its arm and force it to shoot the cement flooring. It rears its other arm back to swing at me, but I take the opening to jab my bat forward and attempt to topple the machine back. It waves it arms around wildly as it tries to keep its footing, managing to keep upright after two steps. Before it could raise its nail gun again Reckless takes several shots at the body. The holes punched into it start to smoke as it charges forward again, its claw arm opening to crush me.

When it gets too close to me Reckless has to stop shooting, giving me my opening. It tries to grab at me, but I use the side of my bat to push its attack to the side. This move puts me right in its face, but I let all my fathers training kick in and go to town on it. Lots of short, strong jabs at its chest start to break its innards apart. They also let me use the body of the bat to keep its weapons from bearing down on me. Jab! Swipe! Pound! I do everything I can to keep it from hitting or shooting me. And for a moment, I'm in total control.

Then I stepped on an empty tin can and slipped. I fall flat on my ass right as it wobbles it nail gun right at my face. I feel all color leave my face as I stare down the rusted out tool. Any second now and a rusted piece of iron will punch a hole right between my eyes.

PANG PANG PANG

With the small opening he had, Reckless puts the last few rounds needed to topple over the construction protectron. It crashes backwards with a loud boom of metal on concrete. The warning light on top of its head goes dark as black smoke ebbs out of the holes dotting its body. I start at it for a moment before Reckless's hand snaps me out of it. He helps me up and we take a moment to almost laugh at each other. That was too much work for one robot!

"PIN 'EM DOWN!" We both jump when we hear a voice yell from down the halls, followed by gunfire.

We both dive behind the shelves for cover as bullets graze all around us. One hits me right in the gut. But either the gun was broken or the bullet was... bad? It didn't pierce my armor at all. It was still enough to double me over, but I'm not bleeding out so I'll take it.

"I'm gonna move to their side, keep them distracted!" Reckless yells before dashing off to the other side of the aisles. I was going to protest, but be rounded the corner before I could say anything. I l look back to the two new enemies rushing towards my location. I can't see them yet, but my Pip-Buck tells me that they're going to come around in just a moment.

I think it over for a moment before switching to my pistol. I've never fired it before, and I can't remember the quick tutorial Reckless gave me. But it'll have to do until he does whatever it is he's thinking.

I take a deep breath and level the pistol down the aisle. The moment I see something I'm just going to shoot at it. I can manage that much. That's all there is to is, right? Just pull the trigger and don't shoot Reckless. I can do that.

I mare raider comes rushing around the corner and makes eye contact with me. We both have a moment of realization as I squeeze the trigger. The color from her face starts to drain as I block her face with the glowing sights of my weapon...

... and then I realize something is wrong. I put all my might into pulling the trigger, but for some reason it's not firing! She sees the panic on my face and begins to smirk. The roles switch as I start to slap the gun and fire again, but it wont! I can't even pull the trigger back! The raider laughs and raises her makeshift tire iron axe.

By the time she rushes down here I could maybe switch back to my bat, but I can't guarantee that. I should just run and switch, that'll give me-

SPLAT

I jump in recoil when the raiders head explodes. I look up and over to see Reckless standing on top of another aisle shooting down at the other raider.

"CHECK THE SAFETY!" He yells down at me before jump behind the aisle. The other raider fires back at him with some sort of automatic weapon while in stepping into sight of me. I look down at the pistol and try to remember where the safety is.

I remember something about red? Where is there anything red on here!? Scanning over the gun I find a small tab on the side that has some faint red paint behind it. Pushing it down reveals more the red. Without a seconds thought I raise the weapon towards the new target and pull the trigger. This time it goes down all the way and a loud bang and a spurt of red explodes out of his arm.

The recoil throws my hand back wildly but I pull the trigger again and shatter a window behind him as he start to scream in pain. I wait a moment longer as I my aim lowers back on him. He's trying to spin back to fire at me, but I pull the trigger again and send a bullet through his throat. With another massive spurt of blood he falls straight back and convulses on the ground. He tries to stop the bleeding from his neck, but it doesn't take long before he goes limp.

I pause as Reckless rushes over to their position and starts to check if there are any other raiders around. When he relaxes and starts to loot the dead I let out a long exasperated breath. It feels like I was holding my breath the entire fight! I take a few more deep breathes before looking down at my pistol.

I can't believe I forgot about the safety. Reckless told me about with such detail, but when it came down to it I completely forgot about it. Maybe I shouldn't use guns after all. I know how to use melee weapons. I can default to my training on that. I don't know the first thing about guns.

"You oaky?" I shake my head when Reckless walks up. I nod to him, trying to shake the nerves from myself. I also notice the few ricochet impacts on his body armor. I almost got him killed... "Good shooting."

"Was it!?" I retort quickly, almost laughing. "I completely forgot about the safety and-and you got shot! Are you okay!?" I can feel myself starting to get worked up, but I take another deep breath to try and stave that off. We're still not in the clear yet.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a bruise or two, I've had worse," he tells me with a coy smile. "Probably should have told you the plan ahead of time, my bad. But, hey, you stopped him in the end, and I'm still standing. That's all that matters to me really. Plus, you don't really know how to use guns, so it's to be expected that you might slip up in the heat of battle. And once you figured it out it was a really good shot. So, yeah, good shooting."

I blush internally from the praise. It's one of my pet peeves. I don't like getting complemented on things that I don't think I did well. But I also never really got praised much outside from my father, so it's nice to hear. I just nod to him and motion to move onto the next area. No sense on dwelling on it any longer. I still don't feel like I was 'good shot'. But at least he's not holding it against me.

We stay on high alert as we move throughout the rest of the hardware store. I heard a third voice earlier, but they seemed to have run off once the first two died. I'm glad they did, but we're not chancing that they're just hiding. We scour the building as we push our way towards the docks. Walking up to the shipping containers we find a terminal where we can plug in our Pip-Bucks. We each attach to one and unlock them, their doors rolling up and revealing the materials within.

We notice several boxes with power tools, building materials, non-powered tools, and various scraps. With the two containers you could probably build an entire house with all this stuff! I look to Reckless and we both share a smile. We've completed the main goal of our mission. Now we just need to find a working computer with the shipping manifest and we'll be set!

Reckless begins to rifle through some of the boxes. I was going to protest, but stopped myself. There's plenty to go around here. Plus, it's not like we won't get any use out of this stuff either. It's a win-win really. While he does that I start to poke around the main dock area.

There is much to see here really. Most of the crates here have long since been scavenged. There are a few lockers that probably belonged to the employees where I find a few caps. Nothing too impressive. Once of them had a jumpsuit in it though. It looks like it might be a tight fit over me, but it could be valuable. I do like the use of orange, red, and blue though...

Eh, I take the jumpsuit and stuff it into my bag. Clothes seem to be a bit hard to come by, so it'll be worth something. Even if I can't find a use for it myself. I continue to look around when I stumble upon a mall office in the back of the dock. Poking my head in, there isn't much in here. A single lone sofa. A few filing cabinets. And a lone computer desk with a working terminal on it. I sit at the desk and boot up the computer.

Whoever was last on this computer left it logged in, so that works out in my favor. There are a few notes about the shipments that we're looking for. Looks like Stable-Tech was shipping materials for new Stables all over the Commonwealth. There aren't any locations of these Stables or their names though. Seems like this location was just a stopping point for the container here. But I do find the locations of all the other containers. Seems Stable-Tech was worried about people grifting from them so they put tracking devices into all trucks. Works in our favor though.

After downloading the locations of all six of the trucks I shut down the computer and leave. Reckless seems to be loaded down with new tools. I give him a look and cross my arms. He seems almost too heavy for travel.

"So how much did you take?" I ask, nodding to his lumpy bag.

"Well..." he says as he tries to heft the bag more securely onto his shoulder. "Plenty! This stuff is valuable! And there's plenty left in there!" He tries to secure the bag, but the weight drags it down to the floor. I give him another look before kneeling down and looking through all the tools he's trying to take.

A lot of these are power tools that we wouldn't be able to use anyway. But those are also the only tools that seem to be worth anything. There are also some non-powered tools here too. They don't seem worth much of anything really. But I can see needing some of them if we're going to make it out here. I don't know what we're going to need a wrench for, but I'm not going to say we won't need them.

It's hard to argue that we won't need the money or the tools. But they weigh so much! If we split it between the two of us we should be able to manage, maybe? I guess it wouldn't matter in the end. We're not going anywhere aside from Uppercrust. But we'll have to unload most of this there before going to Silo. Plus, I guess it would be good to get into Silo with some extra caps.

I start to move some of the tools into my bag, though I don't have much space to spare. Reckless tries to say something, but can't seem to find the words. He's probably trying to tell me that he can manage most of the weight, but I won't have it. We need him agile. And if he can barely walk, how's he going to fly! So we're splitting this.

Once I've split it as best I could I heft the bag on. The weight tries to pull me back, but I manage to stay upright. Reckless grabs his bag and manages to throw it on much more easily.

"I could've managed," he says with a sly smirk as he starts to leave. I just blow a raspberry at him and follow. We head to the front door and step out. The sun is still out, so we should get back to town before sundown.

Leaving the hardware store, I have a moment where I suddenly remember how I almost died in there. That raider could have taken my head off. And the panic I felt after...

Obviously I'm scared of doing that again, but now I feel fine. And that's... concerning. Those ponies are dead, and I'm... fine? I'm sure there's plenty of reason for it. It was me of them. They were trying to harm me. I'm sure they've done plenty of horrible things before. So why am I( concerned about killing them?

Maybe I'm just over thinking it. Besides, once we get to Silo I don't know if we're even going to come back out here again. Though, I guess I don't really know what to look forward to in Silo. It's a settlement, so I should expect plenty of ponies there. But what am I going to do there? Am I looking for someone? There's not a lot to go off of so I guess we'll just have to find out.

Actually, that raises another question. What happens with me and Reckless? We said we'd stick together until we got to Silo, but then what. Truth be told, I'd rather keep him around for as long as possible. We're both from Eighty Eight. Nopony else is going to get me the same way he will. I guess that's not completely true though. We may be from the same Stable, but we don't know the first thing about each other. And after that little stunt of his in Heavan there's clearly room for improvement.

But... he has watched my back the entire time though. And he's not a bad guy. Just... dumb, sometimes. Am I being too harsh? Do I really have the room to complain when I'm out in this wasteland? And going alone just isn't an option. So is it even worth worrying over? I guess not, but I can't help it.

I look up and realize that I've been so engrossed in thought that I've missed the walk to Uppercrust. Whelp... I hope that wasn't too awkward for Reckless. As we walk up to the entrance to town Sherriff Quick Draw spots us and waves us over. She grows a large smile as she eyes our bags, giving a small chuckle.

"I knew I could count on you two! I knew it!" She says as we step into town. "I take it there was plenty of good loot to go around?"

"Hope you're ready to get some work done!" I tell her, getting a laugh in response. "And it gets even better!" I pull up the coordinates to the other shipping containers and show them to her. She takes me wrist and looks it over before calling one of the other guards over. It takes a moment for them to copy the information, but once they do Quick Draw slaps fifty bottlecaps into my hand.

"A deals a deal and our deal has been made! Now to keep up my end of the bargain! Tomorrow at six AM we have a caravan leaving for Silo. They'll know you're joining them but that doesn't mean they're waiting for you. If you miss it, you miss it. Good job again, but I gotta leave you two now. We've got to plan an excursion out to the hardware store." Before we could say anything else Sherriff Quick Draw runs off and starts grabbing random guards with her. We look at each other before we just shrug it off. I guess they've been waiting for this for a long time.

"Well, what should we shop for first?" Reckless asks. A massive grin spreads over my face as I think about what to get. We should probably just start with the obvious stuff. I know we'll need to be able to make the journey to Silo, so we'll need ammo for Reckless. Some more armor wouldn't be bad either. Other than that all I can think of is food and maybe some medical stuffs.

I tell Reckless my plans and he agrees with me. Heading to the market we take our time look over all the stalls. The weapon stall doesn't give much in variety. Mostly pipe weapons and a few low caliber pistols. Nothing we really need but we do get a surplus of ammo. Armor goes in a similar manner. Lots of leather armor to cover my legs but nothing else really stands out.

The shopping here was a bit of a let down. Maybe that's to be expected though. Maybe we've grown to be at a point equal to Uppercrust. That's odd to think about. The entire time we've been here I've felt like we've been struggling just to get by. But we're getting along just like everypony else. This is probably just what the Commonwealth does to ponies. No room for the weak and all.

With most of our afternoon left and nothing else to really do we decide to try some of the food vendors. There are a few options here, but they don't seem too appealing. A couple soup stalls, a meat vendor, and guy selling 200 year old preserved snacks. I'm not entirely sold on meat yet, so we get some vegetable soup. It wasn't the best, but it was hot. With how cold it's been, it's a welcome change.

We spent some time looking at some of the other stalls, but there wasn't anything that really stood out. Nothing that seemed like it was going to help us now at least, Maybe if we ever come back this way we'll take another look. But for now we agreed that it would be best to save our money for Silo.

"We got some time to kill before we turn in for the night, what should we do until then?" Reckless asks as he stirs the remains of his soup. I sit back and look around for a moment.

"I don't know. No reason to leave. Too early to turn in. Nothing to buy..." We both go quiet for a moment as the silence begins to set in.

I don't know why, but I can't look him in the eyes right now. And I'm not sure why. I've never been this nervous around another person before. I can't think of anything to distract myself with though...

"So... what did you do in Eighty-Eight?" GYAH! What was that!? I know what he did! He's in security! What in the name of Celestia was that sad attempt of small talk!?

"Heh, well, as my armor says I was Stable security. Though, if we were to get specific, I worked in Ministry of Peace, second division." That catches my attention. I knew he worked for security, but I didn't know the lower classes could work for the Ministry directly.

In Eighty-Eight every department had a system to organize their workers. At the top was the Overseer, but underneath them were their Elements. Each one being a head of a specific department. From there it would go down the line from Ministry, Local Lead, and then the simple workers. Some areas had specific work details that added to the chain of command, but for the most part that was the pecking order.

For Reckless to be working in the Ministry level would put him almost on par with my position. Depending on how high he actually got within the Ministry.

"I was in the Ministry of Order. Though I've worked in a few of the other Ministries as well."

"Really?" He asks, leaning in with what seems to be genuine interest.

"Yeah... Well, not by choice." He tilts his head to that, so I go further into it. "Well my father is the Overseer. As was his father. And so on and so on for five generations. And for me to get the job next and continue the family tradition I needed to pad my resume up."

"That must have been a lot of pressure." Reckless mentions, catching me a bit off guard.

"Eh... I mean, it wasn't easy. That's for sure." I tell him with a chuckle. "I got to work for Order, which was just a desk job for my dad. When I was in Plenty, but all I did was double check the reports from the hydroponics supervisors. My first job was in..."

"... In?" He leans in with even more curiosity. I can feel myself start to blush as I think back to my first job. At the time it seemed like any other job. It was just something that needed to be done. But when I father learned what I was doing and seeing his reaction... I guess it's why I've always had a weird relationship with the other first classer's.

"My first job was in the department of future... as a... genetics verifier." The words come out slow and I feel myself start to tense up unintentionally. Reckless stares at me for a moment before it dawns on him what I did.

"Oh." I feel myself flinch a little from that and I feel myself get defensive.

"I didn't do it for a long and I swear I never cheated any of the result!" I reflexively grab the table as I feel myself start to panic a little.

No matter what class you were in Eighty-Eight, no one was lower than the Genetic Verifiers.

Because of our system of social credit and how ponies could use their children to climb the social latter, lineage had to be verified. But of course there was little in the way of accountability. So there are those that would intentionally change results to hinder other ponies. I guess this was a secret for a long time, but someone leaked it to the public. And now everypony hates them.

"I only did it for a few months and I didn't even know I was doing it! My Goat result put me there and I wasn't even paying attention when I took the test-"

"Lucky!"

"I was sixteen at the time! I didn't know what I was doing-"

"Lucky!"

"I think I only did three or four forms-"

Before I could go on any further he reaches over the table and grabs my hands. I look up to him and feel myself get slightly dizzy. He takes a look around before getting up and dragging me after him. I take a look back and notice a small number of people who were staring.

THUD

I crash into his back when he suddenly stops. Without saying anything he lets go of my hands and rushes back to grab our bags. I scrunch my face as I feel something odd on my tongue and pull out a feather. It's slightly longer than the length of my hand and curves ever so slightly. Before I could register what was happening Reckless took me by the hand again and dragged me across Uppercrust. We pushed our way through the crowd of ponies until with made it to the side of the hotel.

He lets go of me and leans against the wall, letting out a long breath of relief. I look down at the feather for a moment before hiding it behind myself.

"Sorry about that," He tells me as he stands properly.

"No worries." I tell him in a slight daze. He thinks to himself before chuckling to himself.

"This is going to seem weird, but it was something my mother used to do." I raise an eyebrow to that.

"She used to drag you across the Stable?" I ask, slightly confused. He shakes his head as he thinks about something.

"No, well... yes, but not like that. Whenever I would get too fussy or upset about something she would take me by the hand and rush me somewhere else. When I was really small I'd literally glide after her. She rush me as far away from whatever was bothering me and set me down. She'd get eye to eye and tell me 'Don't you forget; when things get messy you can always get some distance and change your perspective. So let's figure this out, okay?.'"

I give a small laugh to his story. It's really cute. Wish I could have seen tiny Reckless helplessly being dragged across the Stable.

"She sounds like a good mother." I tell him, getting him to give me a quick glance before he looks away.

"She was... but, to her point. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Like you said, you weren't there for long. And... it's a job. You know? Somepony was going to do it. So... Plus nopony up here even knows what that means! So don't sweat it Lucky. There's nothing to apologies for."

I smile back to him and nod. He smiles back and passes me my bag. He turns to put his bag on properly and I do the same. I take a look at the feather for a moment before putting it in one of the smaller pockets. I feel a little silly doing it so mischievously. But I can't help it. It feels special for some reason.

We decide to turn in for the night. It's still a little early, but that's fine. We have to get up early anyway. Plus we'll get prime real-estate for the night. One last night and we'll be done with the Commonwealth.

---

Our Pip-Bucks wake us earlier than we needed. We wanted to make sure that we'd make it to the caravan before it could leave. Like kids sneaking out of their rooms, we giddily grab our things and tip-hoof our way out and down to the caravan depot. The only other ponies around that are awake are a few guards and the occasional stall worker.

It doesn't take long before we're in front of the transportation building. Even though it's long since been rundown, I can still tell what its roll was. Trains, Buses, and whatever sort of air vehicles made stops at this point. Most of the upper levels of the second and third floors are barren now. They seem like they're used as some sort of battlements now. The roof still has the lights that would have guided in aircraft. But I don't know if they work anymore. At least I've never seen them work.

There are a couple of ponies loading large boxes onto a couple brahmin by a large train entrance. A large sign sits on both sides of the tunnel opening.

Keep right, beware of rads and ghouls, two days of travel. Seems simple enough. We approach who we assume to be the leader of the caravan. She's a twig of an earth pony in soot covered rags that hide her bright yellow coat. A grey knit beanie hides the few strands of grey hair she has as well. I get the impression she's a bit twitchy by how she fusses over the various boxes being loaded by guards.

"...a-and watch out for that strap! Don't want it crushing any of my babies!" she hisses at a guard as she double checks a rope.

"Um... good morning?" I call out to her. She twitches a little before looking back at us. "Uh... we were told that were getting-"

"Ah, yes yes yes yes yes! You're the two travelers heading to Silo with us! Welcome aboard!" She tells us excitedly, rushing over to shake our hands. Getting a closer look at her the twitchiness starts to make sense. I almost certain that she's high on several substances.

"Name's Locust, welcome to my caravan! Need someone dead or something destroyed? I'm your girl! Just wait till you get your hands on one of my babies!" Reckless and I share a look before smiling back to Locust.

"You know, I think we're good for now. Maybe next time." Reckless tells her nervously.

"Well, it's better to buy them now before your enemies do! But, either way, welcome-welcome-welcome! Some quick rules before we leave!"

"No leaving the caravan for any reasons! Gotta poo? No privacy allotted. You ain't tourist, yer helping us along. There's a point where we gotta shuffle cargo over some rubble an' push ol' Hank and Bob, Milly and Moxy, and Bessy and Billy Bo Bop through. We get attacked, you're helping out. Shoot back, give a smack, don'tcare so long as you're helping defend the caravan. An that's pretty much it! Follow those rules and we'll be fine an dandy! Any questions?"

Reckless and I share another glance before looking back to her.

"Great! Rest up, we're leaving in fifteen!" I try to mutter something to her but she was gone before I could find my voice. We stare at her for a moment before our gaze is pulled up to the transportation depot. Sherriff Quick Draw is standing on the third floor staring down at us. When we make eye contact she offers a slight shrug before meandering out of view. I can't tell if we've been swindled or not.

"So... I'm gonna rush to the restroom before we leave." Reckless tells me as he starts to back away. "Just in case."

Begrudgingly, I follow suit. I guess this won't be as much of a walk in the park as I thought.

Fifteen minutes later our caravan is ready to go. In a short amount of time we've grown to have Locust, four guards, six other travelers, and the three brahmin. A pretty decent size group according to Locust. She even think half of us will make it through the stretch... which I am assuming was a joke.

Most of the travelers seem more like refugees than travelers. Several are only armed with kitchen knives or jury rigged guns. And that's nothing to say of armor. At least there aren't any children with us though. I don't know how I'd feel about that.

"Take a good look at that sky folks!" Locust tells us as we enter the tunnel. "May very well be the last time you see it!"

Her statement makes me a little nervous to enter. But Reckless puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a determined look. Right. We can do this! It's just a long walk in a dark, feral ghoul infested, partially collapsed tunnel. Couldn't ask for a better two day camping trip!

As we start our journey I take a moment to take a look ahead with my Pip-Buck. But the darn thing doesn't really work down here. It does, but it doesn't. It seems to think we're on the surface while we travel. Which tells me nothing about the tunnel. But when I switch it to a local view, it won't show me what's ahead. How can it know every nook and cranny of where I've been but it can't tell me what's ahead!? Hasn't this tunnel been here since before the war? Why do I need to travel it first to know what's there!?

With no way to know what's ahead I resign myself to patrolling the caravan with Reckless and the others. I tried to be friendly with them, but they don't seem interested in talking. Whatever little quips I can get out of them gives me nothing to really speak on. I get the impression that there are two sets of couples here, but I'm not entirely sure of that. Might explain a bit though. Mares don't want me stealing their stallions. There's a story I've heard before.

Talking with the guards didn't gain much either. Half of them just tried to hit on me while the other half told me to keep quiet and watch for any moving rubble. Reckless seemed to fit in with them though. Which also made sense, since he was a guard in Eighty-Eight. I guess some things transcend cultures.

They did give him the stink eye at first though. They must have thought he was Enclave. But after a bit of travel they seemed to relax around him. At least enough to take their eyes off of him.

And finally talking with Locust was basically useless. Unless I was buying a weapon, which I'm not. She did offer me some psycho, but I kindly refused her offer.

The first day of travel may have only taken twelve hours, but it felt like an eternity to me.

We arrive at a makeshift camp nestled in what was a maintenance office. It's a bit cramped, but they tell us it's better than sitting out in the open. I'd ask how in the open we could be underground, but I'd rather not know. Reckless and I take a corner behind a over turned desk and sit shoulder to should against the wall. There's no food provided, so we eat our own provisions.

"Thank the sisters there's only one day left," I grumble to Reckless as I eat some crisps. "Evidently I am a social butterfly! Because I am going crazy from the silence!"

"Yeah, you definitely were not built for guard duty." He chuckles at me. "But we're not out of this yet. According to the Rusty, the second half is where all the danger is."

I nod to him before something clicks in my head and I glare at Reckless. He bites halfway into his snack cake before noticing me.

"How in the hell did you get someone's name!? Nopony here is willing to give me the time of day!" I try to speak in a hushed tone, but my bewilderment betrays me. He gulps his food before checking to see if the coast is clear.

"So... if you have your weapon out you can use S.T.A.T.S. to learn some peoples names." he whispers into my ear. I give him a look and he shrugs back to me. "Don't ask me how it knows, but it does. But some people it just gives titles. Like two of the guards are just Uppercrust guards, while the two I assume are always with Locust are Rusty Nails and Pipe. Give it a try."

I give him a skeptical look before pulling out my bat and activating STATS. Sure enough everything slows down and I get a chance to cycle through all of the ponies here. Just like Reckless said, I'm able to learn their names or titles. I shut it off and huff in annoyance. I don't know how I've gone this long without learning to this. But it doesn't really help that much. Not unless I want to call strangers by name.

"Alright folks, nighty night time!" Locust announces as she moves to shut off the lantern. "By the way, if you gotta go, do it outside the office. Not unless you got a bucket or the cleaning supplies that is. And make sure ya bring a buddy! Don't want no one sneaking up on ya!"

Reckless and I share a look before the lights go out. We didn't even think of that when we got here. I guess we assumed that there would be a bathroom here for us to use. It'll be okay though... probably. We just need to hold it for a day... I can do that... right?

We try our best to go to sleep but the room in extremely uncomfortable. The is no air flow in here whatso ever, so it got hot really fast. Beyond that one of the other travelers is snoring so loudly its making my eardrums vibrate. And to top it off, the three brahmin in here breath so loudly that I can barely think straight.

I shift a little and try to push it out mentally. Even if I can't sleep I can just need to endure it for tonight. We'll make it tomorrow and we'll never have to do this again. Worse still, it's so dark in here I can't even see what's right in front of me!

I am not a caravanner apparently.

Reckless shifts a little in his sleep and leans against me more. I try to be a good sport about it, but he's really heavy. And he's really warm too. I start to feel myself get claustrophobic and start to push back on him. It takes a bit of effort, but I push him off of me and get him to lean against the wall. I feel him waiver for a moment before resting back finally.

I give a sigh of relief and try to cool off. But it's so damn hot in here! An idea comes to mind but I don't think I can do it. I want to open my top so I can cool off a bit more. The room is so dark no one can see anyway. And it's not like I'm falling asleep anytime soon either. It would be really quick though. And we're behind a desk anyway. So it's not like anyone is going to see anything...

Plus it's pitch black too.

I grab the zipper to my top and slowly bring the zipper down. I don't want to make too much noise. When I get it to the bottom I open it up and slowly flap my suit to cool myself off. The moving air feels incredible and I can't help but sigh in relief. Just a moment longer and I'll close back up. Just need to air the girls out for a bit longer.

CLICK

I feel myself freeze when Reckless turns on the light to his Pip-Buck. I look over to see him staring directly at my exposed chest. We sit there for a moment before his clicks the light back off. I feel my face warm right back up and my cheeks burn red. I quickly sip back up and scoot as far away from him as possible.

I try to justify not being embarrassed to a moment as we sit there quietly. He's seen me naked when we were captured. It's nothing new to him. Plus he's seen other mares topless before! There shouldn't be anything to be worried about! …right?

"Uhm..." he whispers to me, clearly flustered. Which makes me even more embarrassed. "I was going to step out to use the restroom... do you want to step out with me?"

"... okay." I don't need to go, but I need to get out of this room.

We sneak our way around all of the other sleeping bodies and step out the door. One of the caravan guards is leaning next to the door smoking a cigarette. He gives us a quizzical look before blowing smoke and looking the other direction. Not sure what that was supposed to be, but okay.

We walk side by side towards a large pile of rubble further down the tunnel. There are a few lights that still work in here, so we can see where we are. I can't bring myself to look at Reckless. I don't understand why this is so bothersome though! It's really not a big deal!

"Sorry about earlier..." Reckless mutters to me, rubbing the back of his neck. "If it helps, I didn't really see anything. Your hands were perfectly in the way of your... uhm... anyway, I'll give some warning next time."

"... It's fine." He finally looks at me in surprise, so I clarify. "I mean yes, give some warning next time please. But... let's be fair, you've seen them before. Nothing new."

"Well... I still think they're special... not that I think your boobs need a compliment! Clearly not! But... well, I mean, they're still a sight to see! Not that I saw! I mean, I saw cleavage, but-"

I put a hand over his mouth to stop him. I get what he's saying. And I appreciate the sentiment. I push his face to the large pile of rubble. Without saying a word he goes behind the pile and relieves himself against the wall. I take a look around the tunnel to distract myself. But I start to get self conscious again. Mostly about my chest though.

I think they look good, but according to Eighty-Eight they're... lacking. When sex appeal correlates directly to societal status, it doesn't matter what you think though. If the majority of first class said I was small, then that's what they are.

I try to fix myself to get them to perk up a bit more. It's silly, but I can't help it. Old habits I guess. I quickly stop when I hear Reckless finish up. When he walks over I feel a new wave of embarrassment wash over me. Who am I trying to impress up here to even worry about something like that?

"Do you need to go?" He asks, offering me half of a shirt. I was going to say no, but then I decided against it. I have to remind myself where we are. We won't be able to just make a stop whenever. So I have to take the opportunity.

I grab the rag and go behind the rubble. I take a moment to think over the logistics of this before I pull my stable pants down and squat against the wall. Just as I feel myself relax I hear some rock shift behind me.

Before I could react the wall crumbles behind me and I fall backwards. Reckless calls out my name as rocks start to fall all around me. A few pelt me as I scramble back, tripping over my pants as I go. I look back as see Reckless just as a massive piece of concrete catches above me. The slab would have severed me in half if a piece of rebar didn't catch of the side.

I hold my breath as if it would be enough to bring everything down around me. Reckless stands there in equal amounts of horror as we wait for something to happen.

I try to move but something tugs at my hoof. I look down and notice a piece of debris weighing down my leg. Not enough to cause pain, but enough to make me hesitate to move. I worry that if I move too quickly it'll bring everything down.

Reckless comes closer and looks over everything. I just hold still and try not to move. From my angle I can't tell what's connected to what.

"I have an idea, but I need you to trust me. bring both of your hands up." He holds holds his hands in front of me to show me where he wants my hands. I nod and bring them up immediately. He backs away and flairs his wings out, making me panic.

"No-no-no-no-wait!" I panic as he bursts forward. He puts everything into propelling himself through the small hole. As he does, he grabs both my hands and yanks me as hard he can. Together we tumble into the void behind us as the wall comes crashing down.

After rolling for a moment we come to a stop with him laying on top of me. We stare at each other before we both collapse from shock. It was a quick gamble, but it paid off...

"Reckless?" I ask meekly, still in shock.

"Yeah Lucky?" he says with a huff.

"Thank you for saving me." I tell him as I catch my breath.

"Anytime Lucky."

"... can you close your eyes so I can pull my pants up." It may be dark in here, but I can practically see his face light up from that.

He quickly jumps off of me. I stand and get myself modest again. When I'm done I turn on my light and look back to Reckless. He seems fine, but I immediately panic when I see the massive wet spot on his leg. I stare at it for a moment before going sickly when I realize what it is. He follows my eyes down and stares at it for a moment before looking back to me.

"Uhm... let's call it even."

I try to say something, but there's not words to be said. I just nod to him and start to look around the room.

We're in some kind of office it seems. There are a few desks here with blown out computers on each of them. Two doors sit opposite of each other at the end of the room. We look through the room and determine that it's safe for now.

I open the door on the left and nearly fall over in wonder. The room is a small bathroom. Completely with a toilet, a curtain-less shower, and sink all in seemingly pristine condition. Reckless walks up behind me and we stare into the room in wonder. Share a glance, we seemingly ask the same question. There's no way the pipes here work, right?

We step in together and look at the sink. We stare at it for a moment before I reach forward and turn the knob. Instantly the water starts to pour out. It looks perfectly clean too. I move my hand under it and wait to see if my Pip-Buck detects radiation.

It doesn't.

I turn it off and we turn to the shower. The sink, sure. That could make more sense than the shower... right?

Reckless walks over and turns the knob. Sure enough, the water begins to rain down. We both share a laugh before he starts to take his armor off. I go to do the same thing when I realize something.

"Reckless wait!" I tell him just he tosses off his armor vest. He stares at me for a moment before it dawns on him.

"Right! Sorry, you take the first shower... though, fair warning. I don't think there's any hot water." I think for a moment as I look around. The room is situated so that the toilet and shower are separated by a small wall. And the mirror by the sink opens.

I open the sink and leave it so nothing can be seen. Then I lock the door to the bathroom so no one can just waltz right in. It the least I can since I... speaking of which.

"If you don't mind, I can wash your suit in the sink while you shower. Since... well... you know."

"You sure about that? Cause I don't mind waiting. Plus, we don't even know how much water is in there. I'd hate for it to run out before you can get a chance to wash up."

That is a valid concern. But I'm just dusty. He's covered in urine. It's a fair trade off. I hold my hand out and wait. He takes the hint and starts to undress. I keep my eyes closed and wait for him to set the soiled suit in my care. I turn around and start to fill the sink with water, using the suit as a makeshift plug.

It takes Reckless a moment longer before he gets the shower running. I can feel droplets of water splash against my back as he washes up. I start working the clothes in the water. Without any tools or chemicals I basically go through soaking and wringing out the suit. It'll have to do for now.

"So... this is pretty crazy, right?" Reckless asks.

"You mean the working shower or the fact that we found a working shower and immediately used it?" He laughs a little at that.

"Both, I guess." I hum back to him Everything up here is crazy. Home may have had its downs... a lot of them really. But I never thought I'd be this desperate for a shower.

"The Commonwealth is a crazy place." I tell him, ringing out his clothes before dumping them back into the water. "How long were we in that small office before?"

"Three hours. Truth be told I didn't need to go that bad. I was just tired of being that hot." I chuckle at that. At least I wasn't the only one suffering in there.

"Not my proudest moment." I chuckle along, blushing slightly again. He laughs too but doesn't add anything. "Be honest, did you see anything."

"I promise you, your hands could not have been better placed. Like... I'm honestly a little upset with him well you covered yourself." I can tell that he didn't mean to be that forward. He spoke and then his mind caught up to what he was saying. And now he's mentally kicking himself for being that blunt.

I don't know how to respond to him though. I found it a bit funny. But... it feels disingenuous to me. And I can't tell why.

"Well, do you think the others heard the cave in?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Probably. At least the guard should have. The real question is if they're going to come after us or not."

"Why wouldn't they?" I ask, almost turning to look at him. I catch myself though. But not before I notice the mirror had moved slightly.

I get a look at his fully unobstructed body. He has a very nice athletic build. Lean and strong looking. Not quiet like that muscle clad stallions of first class. Where they had muscles built on muscles, Reckless has a strength that seems out of use. Not want.

He doesn't have six pack. More like a lite four pack. His pecs are prominent, not oversized. I've seen some first class stallions with pecs bigger than my breast, but that's not Reckless. Reckless looks like his strength has come from what he's achieved outside the gym. Not with supplements and gene therapy.

And then, because I'm me, I looked down. I looked directly at... it. It's not like I've seen many before. But all of the ones I've seen were from first class stallions. And... well, they looked like they were made to tear a mare in half. I've always assumed that's what they're supposed to do... figuratively that it. His... his looks like it would fit in me. But... then again, it is a cold shower. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

Actually, why am I think on any of this!? I shake my head and go back to cleaning his clothes. I think the stress of the Long Stretch is getting to me. I need a good nights sleep already.

"Lucky?" Reckless calls out.

"Huh?" I must have really spaced out there.

"I said I'm done. How do you want to do this?" I think about it for a moment before I move to the far corner and close my eyes.

Reckless moves over and takes a seat on the toilet. I double check to make sure he can't see me before I undress and set my clothes by the sink. Stepping under the water, I give a small shriek when the icy water hits my coat. It's freezing cold! But, it beats being filthy.

I force myself under the water and start to rub all of the sweat and dirt off of my body. The water washes off of me in a slurry of greys and browns. Despite being so cold, this really is relaxing in a way. I didn't realize how dirty the wasteland makes you.

I feel my heart skip a beat when Reckless stands up and moves in front of the sink. I watch him grab his clothes and over them over the toilet. I guess he's trying to dry them off as best as he can. But then he comes back and starts washing my clothes.

"Um... Reckless?" I ask, trying not to stare.

"Yeah?" He asks, as if he wasn't stand nude in front of me.

"... um..." I catch myself staring at his cutie mark for a moment. It looks like a bull made of fine tea ware. I glance down at mine before turning around. "Would you mind-"

"We can't spend too much time in here Lucky. Plus... I mean... you already saw. So it's not a big deal." I bury my face in my hands as my ears burn. Of course he noticed! Just my dumb luck!

"Ah... sorry. A bit hypocritical, isn't it?" I try to think straight but.. I can't. I literally just did the one thing I hate others doing. The one thing that drove me crazy back in Eighty-Eight. I can't believe after all that chastising and moral high grounding I've done the very same thing!

No. I wont' let that slide! I'll... well, there's not really much I can do now, is there. Well... except...

"Two minutes." I tell him suddenly as I shut off the water. He goes to look at me in confusion but catches himself.

"Uh... w-what?" He asks, clearly not expecting that.

"Fair is fair. It was rude of me to look at you without your permission. So, to say sorry, and to level the field you can look back for two minutes." I tell him as turn back to face him. He chuckles a bit at me. Clearly he doesn't think I'm being serious.

"Lucky... I said it was okay-"

"Hey, they're your two minutes. Take them or leave them." [Speech 40/5] Without needing any further convincing he turns back around.

I tried to just stand there confidently. But literally the second he looked back at me I felt all of my bravado escape. I've never really been on display like this before. Being scrutinized this closely and this personally... honestly I mostly just don't know what to do with my hands at this point. I try to just set them on my hips, but then I try to fold them in front of myself. But then I felt like I was blocking too much so then I just set them to my sides. How does one stand when being... ogled.

"Wow..." he mutters suddenly. I try to smile back, but honestly I just don't know what to say.

"So..." Gods I'm seriously bad at this. "Crazy to think how desperate we were for a shower, huh?" He brings his eyes back up to me and chuckles with a goofy little grin.

"Right? We didn't even think to check the other room or look for a way out!" he laughs, setting his palms on the sink to lean back. "But it was worth it. Going days without washing is going to drive me crazy."

"And it was literally in the span of, what, forty seconds? Forty seconds after nearly getting crushed and peeing on you and... here we are!" We both share a small laugh. When he's not staring slack jawed he's actually got a nice smile.

"That was a close call. I'm just glad you weren't hurt though." He says, running a hand through his hair.

"... Thanks. You know... you're not like the other stallions of Eighty-Eight. At least, not like the first class ones that I knew. Were all the stallions of second class like you?" I ask holding my hands behind myself and resting my back against the wall. I've never met someone as considerate as him before. It's crazy to me that he was in the same Stable before all of this.

"Well... probably not." He says, looking to the ground again and smiling to himself. "If I had to guess, this probably more of my mother than anything else."

"Your mom?" I ask, a little thrown off.

"Yeah... we were... closer, than most mother-sons of Eighty-Eight." He tells me as he looks back up to me. I see a genuine look of joy on his face for the first time. "I guess being the only pegasi in the stable we only had each other. No one else could explain things to me the way she could. And because she was the only female pegasi, she didn't care about class. The way she figured it, she was never going to rise to first anyway. So may as well make the most what you had."

I wanted to ask why she couldn't better her position, but I decided against it. I figure race played a big part of that. I also never thought about it before, but it never dawned on me that there weren't any pegasi in the stable. Not to mention there were few unicorns as well. Three hundred and fifty ponies in our stable, and only one pegasi. Maybe fifty unicorns? Sixty tops. The rest were all earth ponies.

I couldn't imagine being so alone.

"What was her name?" I ask, breaking his train of thought. The question makes his demeanor drop for a moment. But he puts a smile on and speaks. Though, the smile is less genuine.

"Brash Voyage." I hum in response, thinking to my own parents.

"... I never knew my mom." I tell him. "She passed when I was born. And... well, Dad said he couldn't talk about her without hurting. So I never learned her name."

"Dear Luna... I couldn't imagine keeping something like that from your child... sorry." I shake my head to him.

"It's okay. I don't know why, but... it never really bothered me. I just remember being real small and asking my dad where mom was. And... he just... You've seen my father. He's not someone to show emotions. So seeing him cry and say that... I never wanted to hurt him like that again."

"I understand." He tells me. I smile back to him and brush the black lock of hair out of my face. "When my mother was alive I was very protective of her. Probably why she only ever had one kid."

"Cock blocking your mom?" I ask, laughing a little. He laughs too.

"Something like that, I guess. When I was small I would see... well, I get what you mean about the guards." I stop laughing when he says that. Clearly I've hit a landmine there. "But as I got older I learned how to protect her better. But... well..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Reck." I tell him. I didn't mean to bring up such a painful memory. I can only imagine the things he's been through... It really puts him in a whole new light.

"No, it's okay. I... I was just going to say that she passed when I was fifteen. Ovarian cancer. Literally took her two weeks after finding it."

"Oh my gosh... I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." He laughs a little, bringing back his genuine smile. "She wasn't. It was hard at the time. But now, looking back, it was probably her happiest two weeks ever. Because she got to spend every day with me. She had no other worries in the world. And since I knew I was losing her... well, I took everything she said to heart. So..., yeah. That's why I'm different than the other stallions."

I think to myself for a moment. I couldn't have ever imagined hearing a story like this from... anypony in Eighty-Eight! I try to think of something to tell him. Anything to help. But... I doubt there's anything I could say that could meet the moment.

"Well... She did a good job as a mother. You're a good stallion Reckless." He smiles back to me. I check my Pip-Buck and see that it's been a little longer than two minutes. But... I couldn't care at this point. This has been... good. It was a good talk. I feel like I've grown a bit closer to Reckless now. And... I hope he feels the same.

"Well, I'm still a bit damp. And I'm sure our suits are too. Anything else you'd like to talk about?" I ask as I scoot over and sit in the shower. I motion to the other end for him to sit down with me, and he eagerly joins me. Though this time I make sure to cover myself as best I can.

"So... was it just you and your dad?" I shake my head to him.

"No, I have two brothers. Ironclad and Bootstrap. Maybe you know them? They are guards too."

"Yeah, I know them, Ironclad was there when we were trapped outside the Stable." I think back to that day and try to remember. But... I honestly only remember there being nameless, faceless guards.

"Sure... So, I'm not the closest to my brothers... Actually, we're basically only relatives by blood. Not that I entirely blame them though! They're both much older than me is all!"

"What? By how much?" I think about it... but I don't actually recall with certainty.

"If I'm remembering correctly, Ironclad is sixteen years older than me. And Bootstrap is fourteen years older."

"Oh! And... you're... how old?" He lingers on the question. He's trying not to be rude. I just laugh at him.

"How old do you think I am?" I ask, teasing him. He chuckles as he stares at me, trying to think of the best way to answer.

"Well... clearly you're... old enough... to... be very beautiful!" I laugh at that.

"And how old is that?" I ask, pulling my knees in to hug my legs. I rest my chin on my knees and stare at him. He's trying so hard to be courteous. He takes a deep breath in and settles on a number.

"Twenty five!"

"Nineteen."

"What!?" I laugh at his flabbergasted expression.

"Scrappy young thang, ain't I?" He shakes his head and stares at me, mouth wide open.

"There's no way you're nineteen! That's... you're... you're too mature to be nineteen!" I laugh more at him. Clearly he doesn't want to believe me. Makes me wonder how old he actually is.

"Well, girls do mature faster than boys, Reckless." I tell him matter of factly. "Besides, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty. But... Wow. Nineteen... I didn't think we'd be so close in age." I nod my head to that. Honestly, I was a ted worried he was in his thirties.

We both go quiet for a moment before we share a look. There's a moment where we just stare at each other before breaking into laughter. We're trapped in a collapsing tunnel, supposedly filled with monsters, cut off from our supplies, and completely naked. And we're having a great time. This wasteland is really a crazy place.

---

We spend the next hour just talking. We talked about baseball, our friends from the Stable, anything and everything we could think of! We spent the most time talking about our hobbies. He apparently loves to cook, even though he's not the best at it. I told him about my love of dresses. It was... it was really fun. I'm really glad that Reckless and I are becoming better friends. It was a bit of a rocky start, but I feel so much closer now. I think I can say we're pretty good friends now.

With our clothes finally dry enough to wear we get can get dressed and make our way back to the others. It's still the middle of the night, so they shouldn't have left yet. Reckless and I take one last look in the small bathroom before he opens the door-

-and immediately shuts it. I couldn't see much from behind. But there was a noise of something getting surprised by the door. Reckless looks back to me and I gulp from the scared look on his face.

"What was it?" I ask in a whisper.

"Feral ghouls. About five of them." He tells me as he starts to look around the room.

"Shit." I pat myself down as I check to see what I have on me. My bat is missing. Probably dropped it in the tunnel. At least we each have armor. I check my hip where I pull out the pistol we bought at Uppercrust. I have three magazines total... which I don't know it that'll be enough. It's like... thirty-ish bullets... So that's pretty good. Right?

"So what's the plan?" I ask as I look over my gun. Reckless looks at me and snatches my gun form me. "Hey!"

"Lucky..." He says as he unloads the gun. He pulls the top back and double checks it before handing it back to me.

"What am I supposed to do with an unloaded gun?" I ask as he grabs my shoulders and guides me as far back as possible. "Reck?"

"Take aim at me." He tells me as he moves to stand in front of the door.

"You said not to aim-"

"I just unloaded it. And we don't have a lot of time to go over this. Aim. At. Me." I feel uncomfortable doing this. Especially when he made such a big deal about not aiming at people.

I raise my pistol and try to remember how I'm supposed to hold it. Reckless gives me a few pointers and I get both my hands on it. I hesitate for a moment before pointing it at him. He guides me through proper aiming again. Line up the rear brackets with the little notch at the end. The green parts should even out with each other. I aim it at his chest for a moment before aiming at his face.

He looks so determined about this. I wonder what he has planned.

"Widen your stance... little more, good. Square off now, your chest should be flat to mine. There you go. Now, don't aim for the head. Don't close your other eye. You need to be aware of everything that's happening. Aim right here, center mass of the chest. With how new you are to shooting we don't want to try anything too fancy. Now... pull the trigger."

I blink at that. I don't want to pull the trigger... but it is unloaded... it's unloaded, right? No, I watched him do it. I know he wouldn't do something that stupid... right?

I go to pull the trigger. It's a lot heavier than I remember it being. With a bit more effort I pull the trigger. The thing pops back in my hands as the top slides all the way back and locks in place. I feel myself jump a little from the sudden movement. I've completely lost track of where I was aiming too.

"Good, now here's the plan." He tells me as he walks over. He holds his hand out and I hand him the weapon. As he talks he reloads the gun. "You're going to set up in front of the door and I'm going to reach over and open it. When it does, you're going to start shooting at anything moving. When you run out of bullets you're going to move into the shower and take cover. If any of them make it beside you, beat them over the head with your pistol. Do you understand?"

"... I understand. But is this really the best plan? Maybe we should-"

"You're only weapon is a pistol. And from I've heard from the caravan guards, you don't want to get into a fist fight with these things. If we do this right, you'll take down one or two of them. I know I can probably take two or three. So at worst we'll need to beat two to death. But I think we can take them on one at a time. But as a pack, they might overwhelm us. Unless you have a better plan, I think this is what we should do."

I try to think of something to say, but nothing comes to mind. I'm not comfortable with this plan, but he's right. Without a better plan it's better to stick to what we have. I nod to him and we get ready.

I move to stand in the center of the room, but Reckless grabs both of my shoulders and positions me closer to the door. It'll be a bit awkward getting into the shower, but he needs to be able to reach the door switch. I take a deep breath and try to loosen up. Just like Dad taught me. One deep breath in is all you need. Breath in. Breath out.

I raise my pistol and get ready. Reckless goes to reach for the switch, but stops. I look to him but he moves behind me and slides his hands over my arms. The feeling throws me off a bit, but I just watch his heavy hands move down my arms and take hold of my hands. He pushes me fingers into slightly different positions before raising my aim.

"Breath slow and narrow your focus." He whispers into my ear. His warm breath sends a slight shiver down my back, but I just nod to his instruction. "You've got thirteen shots, so count them as you shoot. If they do down, don't worry if they're dead or alive. Just move onto the next target. And don't forget, you've got this."

He pulls away from me and I have to take another deep breath. Having him suddenly envelope me and hold me that closely was a bit unexpected. It's not like I haven't fired a gun before!

I ready my stance and look to him. He reaches over to the switch and looks back to me. With a simple nod he flips the switch and scurries behind me.

When the door slides open I go to line up my pistol. Right in front of the door a feral ghoul turns and hisses at me. The rotting pony standing before me scares me for a second and I accidentally close me eyes when I fire.

PAT

PAT

PAT

I open my eyes and look back in the doorway. The ghoul before me is falling back as blood splatters out from two wounds. I try to look away, but I can't help but watch the husk fall back onto a desk and roll off. Reckless yells something and I finally look back up to see several other ghouls roaring in agitation.

I move the three bright green dots to the next closest ghoul and watch as I put a bullet into their clavicle. He recoils from the shot but still stumbles towards me, barring it teeth in rage. I pull the trigger again and punch a hole into his chest. Apparently this was enough to knock him down.

I move to the next one and fire again. My first shot goes over her head. The next shot goes into her arm. The next into the neck. The wall behind. And finally one last bullet goes through their heart and drops them to the ground just before the bathroom door.

I manage to ignore her fall down and go to shoot the next one. I pull much more quickly this time. Putting two into the chest before the slide moves back and locks in place. I panic for a moment because I had lost count. I thought I had one more shot, but I was wrong.

Reckless swings his arms to my side and force me out of the way. I stumble my way onto the shower stall and ready my pistol to bash something. Reckless wastes no time firing into the office. His fire goes by much more quickly, unloading within a matter of seconds. With practiced ease he drops the magazine and puts a new one in. But then he hesitates before looking to me.

With a yelp he grabs my arm and pulls me back out. He yanks my pistol out of my hand and pushes his in. I grab it and look to him in panic. Without saying anything he reaches into my back pocket and pulls out the magazines I had back there.

"Keep shooting!" He yells as he fumbles to get my pistol working. The slide seems to be jammed back.

I look back out and see two more ghouls coming at me, with a few more yelling from a distant hall. They seem to be coming from the other door.

I take one deep breath and take aim at the closest tattered pony. The sights on this pistol are a bit different, but function the same. I pull the trigger and manage to put a hole in the ghouls head.

Encouraged by the lucky hit, I aim for the next pony and fire again. This one is a bit tougher though, taking five additional hits to put down. He finally falls into the bathroom, making me jump back from being hit.

Another ghoul comes racing around the corner and takes a swipe at me. I feel it slash into my stomach, but my leather armor keeps it from doing any serious harm. I blast away at the creature as I back away, hitting my shots only due to the close distance.

When my pistol click instead of firing Reckless throws an around around me again. He forces me behind him as he rushes the door. He runs out and turns towards the other door. I watch as he takes aim and unloads an entire magazine, reloads, and continues to fire. I watch as his aim lowers until whips the pistol to the side and knocks a ghoul into the bathroom. Completely on instinct, I give a high kick and slam my shin into the guts of the ghoul. It flings into the wall and bounces off with a loud wet thud.

Everything goes quiet as we wait for something else to happen. The only thing making a noise are the few brass casing that are still rolling around. I take stock and notice something immediately.

"I thought you said there were only five!" I tell him, counting at least nine.

"I only saw five." He says with a huff. He checks my pistol before turning it around and offering it to me. "Sorry for the improvised switch. Kinda just... happened."

"It's alright... you're pretty quick with your hands there." I tell him as we switch weapons. I notice my gun is empty. Hopefully there aren't anymore enemies in here. He laughs at my statement, holstering his weapon.

"Yeah... what can I say, I'm good with my hands." I laugh at that.

"Oh yeah? Is that why you went and grabbed my ass?" He freezes and tries to say something. But he's too flustered to say anything. "Relax, I'm only joking. I know you didn't try anything, you dork."

"Dork? I haven't been called a dork since... grade school!" I chuckle at that as I step into the office. The hall where they came from is empty, so we should be in the clear for now.

"Maybe not to your face," I tease, sticking my tongue out at him. He just laughs at me and starts rummaging through the dead ghouls. I go to protest, but when he pulls out three bullets for my pistol I keep quiet. I guess we don't have the luxury to by picky right now.

We go through and pat down each of the ghouls. We manage to scape together almost thirty caps, six rounds for my gun, and some prewar money. The last ghoul I searched was a mare with a small clutch bag. Opening it, I found several pictures of kids, friends, and family from before. They all looked so happy together. And she was gorgeous! I hesitate to look any further, but Reckless asked for the bag.

"When they're nameless... it's easier to do... this." I tell him as I look back to the corpse. She looks nothing like she did in the pictures. Sunken skin, beady dead eyes, pale patchy skin. Nothing like the vibrant living pony that used to be. Reckless looks over the belongings before taking out some cash and putting the clutch back into her hands. He leaves her in a more dignified resting pose.

"She was a donor, so don't feel too bad." He tells me as he pockets the money. "Ready to go?"

"Not yet." He tilts his head to me and I point to the sink.

After we wash our hands, at least as best we can, we leave the small office. Though I do take one last look at the small bathroom that we bonded inside of. It's a total mess now, nothing like that the magical little hideaway we found before.

We head down the hallway where the ghouls came from. Reckless takes the lead, keeping his pistol at the ready. I keep close and watch for any movement, but there isn't anywhere for something to hide. This hallway has a weird curve to it. It bends rather sharply away from the tracks. Why would they build it like this? Wouldn't it have been easier to just go in a straight line?

There are a few orange lights guiding us though. Most don't work, but enough are on to show us the path. We make it to a door that says Pod 2. The door is half open, having jammed seemingly long ago. Reckless squats down to take a look inside before tilting his head in confusion. I smile a little at that. I thought it was a one off thing, but apparently it's just something he does whenever he finds something confusing.

"Looks to be clear, but just to be safe wait for my signal." He tells me as he clamors inside.

"What's the signal?" I ask, but don't get an answer. I guess gunfire or yelling would make for a good signal.

"We're good, come on in." Great signal. Ten out of ten. I roll my eyes and climb through. What's inside... definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

The room seems to be a mix between an office and a tailor's shop. The wall to the right is covered in televisions, most of which have been blown out. There are papers and office supplies all over the ground, giving a scene of pure chaos before the ponies in here died. In the middle of the room there is a single trash can that is half melted.

We share a look before searching the room. There doesn't seem to be a way through here, but we may as well try to find anything of use. Going through some of the desk, there seems to be several goodies in here. Food, water, bobby pins, caps, even a toaster... somehow. But, that's not the weirdest thing in here.

Each drawer in here has underwear. Panties. Thongs. Briefs. Boxers. Even some types that I didn't know existed! Each drawer here has on average three pairs... of perfectly sealed... underwear...

While I'm... thrilled, to finally have a pair, this only raises more questions. Such as... WHY IS THERE SO MUCH UNDERWEAR IN HERE!?

"So... find anything... good?" Reckless asks with a slight cough.

"... do any of the computers work over there." I start trying several of the computers. One of them needs to be working. I need answers. There are twenty computers in here, and just as my luck would have it, only one of them works. But the encryption is far too difficult for me to make heads or tails on. [Science 40/50]

"Well... I guess we won't-"

"Keep searching the room!" I order as I start looking around the computer. "They might have written down the password somewhere! Or maybe there's a holo-tape hiding somewhere!"

Reckless tries to argue with me, but I just ignore him as I start to tear the desk apart. There's no way there's a room like this in the middle of a subway without some sort of reason! I have to know! When nothing comes up at the desk I start to search the nearby desk even more. But then I realize that I there's an entire other half of the room that we haven't looked at yet.

Moving to the tailors side we start to go through the various tables and sewing boxes. Most of what's over here seems useless by now. The threads have frayed away. The fabrics are cut up into unusable shapes. Though we do find some working scissors and more bobby pins. So that was a plus.

I pull over a mannequin that has a square of cloth and half a bra and find a note pinned to the front. Shame it's only half. I take it and unfold it.

I stare at the piece of paper before walking over to the computer. Slowly, I type in Password123?. I hover over the enter key for a moment before pressing down.

"You've got to be kidding me." I mutter as the screen prompts the main menu.

"Nice." Reckless mutter. "Wanna read aloud while I try to find a way out of here? I'm invested too." I nod to him and sit down. He begins to wonder around the room to investigate further as I start to read.

"Ministry of Image terminal.

All non agent readers are ordered to cease reading and report to their supervisors for reassignment by order of Princess Luna.

Messages.

Project Faux Pas.

Disengage lock."

I'm going to wait to open the lock. I don't know what it could be to, but I'd rather not be glued to a screen when we open it up. Clicking on the messages option, there's a correspondence to five other people and one mass email. Each of the individual messages only seem to have one response. While the mass seems to have several. Intrigued, I click on the first one.

"The Ministry of Image hereby invites the direct of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences to the unveiling of the new Enclave Power Armor. Please RSVP for as soon as possible!

Twilight! I have finished work on the new armor and I can't wait to show it to you! You're going to love the updated magical interface system! Also, I may have a 'data' transfer you'd be interested in. Please, please, please, PLEASE tell me you can make it! I haven't seen you girls in AGES!

With love, Rarity."

I make it to the end and lean back in my seat. This was a correspondence between the Elements of Harmony! I've read about them before and, truth be told, I don't know all that much about them. But I know how important they were before the war! I know the general gist of how their friendships saved Equestria multiple times before. I guess the war had its way of pulling them apart. I shake my head and read the response.

"To the Director of the Ministry of Image,

It is with our deepest apologies that we must decline the invitation to the Enclave Power Armor unveiling. It is regrettable that we will not share in this new marvel of technology, but the Ministry is not available in time for the ceremonies.

From the office of Twilight Sparkle."

...ow. I doubt she was actually the one to send that. At least, I hope she wasn't. I go to read the next entry, but my heart starts to sink. Each time Rarity tries to entice them to come over. Offering to let them wear the armor or research notes they might want. And each time she gets an autogenerated response. It's really disappointing to see her writing get more and more desperate for her friends, only to get practical silence.

A little disheartened, I click the mass message and begin to read.

"It is with a heavy heart that I, Rarity, Director of the Ministry of Image; and Element of Generosity, must hand in my resignation. If I cannot get the other directors of the various ministries, some of my dearest friends, to attend one meeting; then I have failed as director. And worse yet, I have failed as a friend. So I will tender my resignation at the end of this work week and return to the private sector.

If I cannot see my friends at least once more, I have failed them.

With all my soul, Rarity.

Twilight: You can't quit now! We're so close! I'll make it out there first thing in the morning!

Fluttershy: I'm sorry that we've been terrible friends. I'm buying my train ticket now!

Pinkie Pie: I can be there in five hours! I'll bring all the chocolates and teas you like! Promise!

Rainbow Dash: Just landed, heading there now! Don't do anything!

Applejack: We messed up, but we'll make it right! Jumping the train right after this!"

Wow. They almost broke apart. And Rarity put everything on the line to get them back...

It makes me think about my own friendships. I don't have many to be honest, but... are mine as real as theirs were? I look over to Reckless as he fiddles with a tv screen. As of right now, he's the only friend I can rely on. But can I put everything on the line for him like Rarity did?

Reckless did, I think. He threw himself into saving me earlier. Didn't even have to think about it. Though... that's also just a part of his personality. Even with that said, he's put in a lot of effort. And I don't know if I've met him at that level. If we're going to be the friends that I've thought we've become, I guess I need to try to... I don't know. Be there for him? But I'm not sure what that means right now. It's not like I haven't been working to get us to Silo too. But... I feel... like it's uneven somehow.

I should try to be a better friend.

I click back to the menu and move on to Project Faux Pas. Most of what's here are just notes between the other offline computers. But there's an option for a camera. Curious, I click it. After a moment of loading I get a view of some subway car.

The view is inside the train. But the camera must have fallen or something, because the view is really low. I can't tell where the car is because the camera is staring at an empty seat. Confused, I go back and start reading the notes.

They... aren't coherent. At least, the first ones aren't. It's literally just percentages and types of... underwear? I have to make it to the last few notes before everything starts to make sense.

Apparently, there was a 'stripped scare' in the middle of the war. Somewhere a rumor started that zebra sympathizers were infiltrating equine society in an attempt to sway public opinion of the war. This really caught wind during the trial of a couple named Ethanol and Julienne. After a brutal and public hearing, the two were executed for treason.

Ponies panicked. And in the panic, a really dumb rumor caught fire. The rumor basically stated that the zebras would try anything to communicate with each other while trying to avoid detection by the government. One of these methods was... by wearing specific kinds of underwear.

Apparently, becuase it was caught once after the trials, ponies wear certain brands were deemed traitors. So the Ministry of Image stepped in to see if this was a one off or an orchestrated effort. Rarity thought it was a garish waste of time... until it worked.

It seems they caught a sympathizer pretty early on. And that was enough for the ministry to get to work. The plan was fairly straight forward. Push propaganda that would convince ponies to buy specific brands of clothing. Set up monitoring stations in high traffic areas. And just wait for the outliers. The numbers I saw on the previous notes were the likelihoods of ponies being traitors.

Boxers: twelve percent.

Briefs: nineteen percent.

Linen wrappings: ninety five percent.

Knickers: two percent.

Thong: ten percent.

Loincloth: ninety seven percent.

I stare at the notes and rub my eyes for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I would say that people who didn't wear Equestrian garments... were most likely spies... They only found the two spies.

"Everything okay?" Reckless asks from one of the tailors tables. I guess I forgot to read this part aloud... but I don't think he needs to be troubled with this stupidity.

"Yeah, yeah. Find anything good?" I ask, leaning back to look at him. He hurries around and rushes over to me. He's hiding something behind himself. Something he's excited to show me. "What's that?"

"I have here, what is probably the most valuable thing in the entire commonwealth! Are you ready for this?" I laugh at his enthusiasm.

"I swear Reckless, if it's underwear or-"

"Nothing like that, promise. Hold out your hands and close your eyes." I spin to face him and comply. What in all of Equestria could this be?

He sets something on my hands and I feel it drape down onto my lap. Whatever it is, it's silky smooth. Clothing perhaps? I feel around it and try to feel the structure of it. I'm pretty sure it's clothes.

"Take a look." I open my eyes and look it over.

It's a simple silk back dress. I smile to Reckless and stand up to hold it against myself. It looks like it'll fit nearly perfectly! It has a long leg cut that seems to stop right at my hips and is strapless. It's not the most complex dress I've ever seen, but it's still beautiful! I check the tag and nearly have a heart attack.

This is a Lady Killer! A hand made dress by Rarity! I've read about these kinds of dresses since... since I could read! They're the best kinds of dresses that were ever made! I go to squeal in excitement, but I can't even manage that! Where did he even find this!?

"Reckless... Reckless!" I try to thank him, but the words escape me!

"Well, you mentioned earlier that you love dresses." He tells me as he walks over to the door and shuts it. "I saw it in the pile over there. Just sitting right on top. Do you like it?"

"Do I like it!?" I yell as I start to rip my armor off. I have to try this on! But even if it doesn't fit I HAVE A RARITY ORIGINAL! I go to unzip my top when I stop and look to Reckless. He's waiting with baited breath for me to continue. "Sorry, but can you turn around?"

"Oh... of course! Sorry!" He quickly faces away from me, clearly disappointed. I think about it for a second before I shrug. He got me one of my favorite dresses. I can do something for him.

I go over to the desk and start to go through the garments there. I find a few enticing ones before going back to Reckless and tap them against his shoulder. He looks back in confusion and I present him with the garments.

"Pick one." His eyes light up and he looks over the three pieces. He's already seen me naked, so I'll let his imagination fill in the rest. But, may as well give him something to think about.

He looks over the pieces as if they were life or death decisions. But when he decides I laugh a little. He didn't pick the one I thought he would. Not the G-string, nor the cheeky thong. No, he picks the black lace panties. I take it force him to look away. There's been enough show and tell for one day.

Putting on the dress brings me back to the days when Cinnamon Swirl and I would have our dress up days. We'd bring every piece of clothing we could get our hands on and try to make something new out of them. Neither of us had a talent for tailoring clothes though, so we ended up ruining several jumpsuits. But, that is how I got this two piece suit. So it wasn't all bad.

The dress slides one like water going over a cliff. It's cut at an angle so that the slit is revealing my entire leg and hip. It's just low enough to hide the lace underwear, but just barely. My other leg is covered with a flowing wave of black silk that shimmers and shines in the light. It's almost glinting with my shamrock color. As if my coat is somehow making it through.

It fits my waist perfectly. It fits my hips perfectly. I bring the top to my chest and pull it to sit as best I can. I can tell it'll fit me perfectly once the back zipper is up. I try to reach it myself, but it's too low for me to reach.

"Can you get the zipper?" I ask as I turn around. He does so slowly, almost scared to look.

I was a little disappointed when she wouldn't let me watch her change, but I can't really complain. I was lucky enough for the shower talk. And she did let me pick the underwear, so now I can't stop thinking about them. I should stop trying to think on it though. Otherwise my wings will get stuck in the upright position.

"Can you get the zipper?" I nearly flinch from that. I go to turn, but my mind is still caught up on stupid thoughts. Is she going to actually be dressed? Should I try and make a move? I don't think I should. As much as I'd like to, I don't know if we're there yet.

I turn around and see her standing with her back to me. She's holding her hair out of the way, revealing her back. The dress is sitting loosely on her sides, begging to either hug her body or fall to the ground. I gulp a little when I reach for the zipper. It's a small dainty little thing. Feels as if it'll break if I pull too hard. I grab it with one hand and go to yank it up, but it doesn't want to move. It just lifts her dress a little.

I get the smallest glimpse at her back side. But her tail was in the way to really see anything. I try again, but again it doesn't move. But I do see a slit where her tail is supposed to go out.

"Should... I pull your tail through?" I ask, trying to sound normal. In reality I probably sound nervous as hell.

"Oh! Could you? I completely forgot about it!"

Okay... so I'll just... reach in... and pull her tail through the... the opening. I did not think this through! But, I'm already committed, so here goes nothing.

I slip a finger through and loop it around the base of her tail. The hairs are as smooth as the dress and I can feel the warmth coming off her. In trying to avoid touching her backside, I only get half of her tail. So I have to try again...

I take a deep breath and try again. I chance a glance up at her face and freeze when we make eye contact. She staring at me curiously, waiting for me to finish. I'm taking too long to do this, and it's becoming creepy! I just need to focus and get it done. Be a pervert later when no one is staring directly at you!

I force my finger around her tail and pull it through the slit. In doing so I graze her unbelievably supple backside... but when she doesn't say anything about it I try to just ignore the feeling. I've felt butts before, what's the big deal!? Just because it's the butt of the mare of my dreams and was the nicest butt I've ever felt... NOT A BIG DEAL!

With her tail finally through I go about fighting to get the zipper up. I don't think it was made to be pulled up, despite being a zipper. After what felt like an eternity I finally get it to move and slide it all the way up. Once there I let go and back away. That was... far more enticing than it had any right to be. She fiddles with the fit for a moment before letting her hair down and faces me.

My jaw drops and my heart pounds its way out of my chest. She's always been beautiful. No doubt about that. But... now she's stunning!

The dress fits her perfectly! The way it hugs her waist and hips accents them perfectly! The contrast of her green on the shimmering black gives her a bit of a glow. She runs her hands down the front to smooth it out and looks up to me. I try to say something... but she stole my breath.

"So... how does it look?" She ask nervously. She shifts from side to side as she looks herself over. I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to speak.

"You... look... amazing!" I gush, putting a huge smile on her face. "More than amazing! Stunning! Immaculate! Beautiful! Just... wow!"

"Really?" She asks, swaying in the dress with a slight blush.

"Really!?" I'm almost offended she would even ask that. I look around before I see a half broken mirror. I take her by the hand and brag her over to show her. I square her off with the largest section of intact mirror. "This dress was made for you!"

She blushes again and looks herself over in the mirror. With her a bit distracted, I take a moment to look her over again. The dress shows just enough cleavage to really entice the view. I'm amazed it fit her chest at all to be honest. She catches me staring at her and her blush deepens. It's... pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. I know I was smitten before. But now... now I'm in heaven.

"You really do look amazing. Honest." I tell her, doing my best to be sincere.

"Thank you Reckless. And not just for the dress, or the compliments." I give her a confused look and she giggles back at me. "You're a good friend... I see that now. So... thanks."

"Oh... you're a good friend too Lucky." I give her the best smile I can muster.

I feel a little disheartened. I clearly want to be more than friends. Whatever that may be, I'm unsure. But... I'm not mad about being a good friend either. I want to be close to her. So... despite the hiccups along the way, I'm glad we're friends. I'm glad she pulled me away from the Stable door and brought me out here.

"So I'll forgive you for poking my ass." She says, blowing a raspberry at me.

"I... did not mean to." I try to defend myself, but the sudden shift in teasing tone caught me off guard. She motions with a finger for me to turn around, so I do. I really didn't mean to.

"You're fine, I'm teasing." She reassures me. "Just let me change and we'll hit that lock button."

"Should we take all these clothes?" I ask as I listen to her change. Trying to keep myself distracted.

"Definitely. But how are we going to carry it all?" I look around my half of the room and try to think of a way to carry all this stuff. There's not really any good choices...

"What about this?" I ask as I grab a trash can and turn to show her. In doing so I watch as she bends over and pulls her pants up. My brain takes a moment to recalibrate, but it does I snap back around.

"Hm? I guess that could work." She says casually. I really hope she didn't notice me seeing her.

I then realize that I couldn't get a good look at her cutie mark in the shower. But from this side, I had a perfect view of them.

"Right... I'll start collecting on this side." I say distantly as I think about the two black five leaf clovers. I guess with a name like Lucky I really shouldn't be that surprised with her cutie mark. I guess there was a part of me that though it would be something more... I don't know. More intricate? Less obvious? I don't know what I was expecting, but apparently it wasn't a black five leaf clover.

Once she's fully dressed in her Stable suit and armor we gather everything that seems valuable and stuff them into a trash bin. We decide she'll carry the bin, since I have more ammo in case of a fight breaking out. She goes back onto the computer and disengages a lock. We hear a mechanism begin to creak and grind in the walls. Following the noise we see a row of the tv's pop open. I walk over and use one hand to pull it open. My other hand has my pistol ready to fire. Just in case.

I peer outside and take a good look around. It's another access tunnel. Just like the one that lead us here. There's nothing in there. And it goes in a straight line towards the tracks. I can see the door at the end, telling me there's nothing in here.

I motion for Lucky to follow and hurry down the hall. I press the switch to the door and watch as it slides open. On the other side there's a cement wall that pulls apart in several slabs to reveal the tunnel we were originally in. If Lucky hadn't fallen through the wall we would have never found this place.

Walking out I check to see of the coast is clear before motioning for Lucky to follow. We walk by the cave in and find Lucky's bat lying on the ground. At least we know nopony came this way. Or, at least nopony who came stole her weapon. I pick it up and continue back to the caravan hideout.

It's not a long walk. And when we make it back we find the same guard still standing at the door. He gives us a smug look as he starts a new cigarette. He thinks we ran off to do that!?

... I wish.

I open the door and hold it for Lucky. She gives a coy smile to the guard before rushing inside. I go to move in but stop when he puts a hand on my chest.

"That was a dangerous little fuck trip you took there, ya know."

"We didn't do anything." I tell him, moving his hand off my chest. "Not that it's any of your business."

He just gives me a smug look at let's me in. But not before calling me a Dashite. I pause to ask what that was, but he shut the door behind me before I could. What the hell is a Dashite?

---

The next day couldn't have come quick enough. Even though Lucky had fallen asleep against my shoulder, the room was still unbearable. Not like I was going to get much sleep to begin with. My mind was too occupied reliving the events of the night. Seeing Lucky in that dress! Seeing her dripping wet! Talking with her for so long! How could I have slept!?

I made sure to sear each of those memories into my mind. For prosperity sake.

The caravan starts to make its way down the tunnel again. Just like the day prior it's a quiet trek. But this time I keep by Lucky's side. We keep stealing glances and I'm on cloud nine. I don't think I've ever been so flirty before. It's not really a thing you do in Eighty-Eight.

Back there, you didn't really need to. You could try to lay it on a mare of a higher class. But you were almost always wasting your time. And mares of lower class never really objected to blatantly asking. I don't really know what I'm doing, but it seems to be working. At least for the time being.

A few hours into the trek we come to a road block. It looks like there used to be a guard station here. But it was overrun a long time ago. There are no bodies, but there are blood splatters that tell us exactly what happened. There are two ramparts with a large rickety gate between them.

We slow down to open a gate and get the brahmin through. They send Lucky and I ahead to watch for any hordes coming our way. I feel more confident keeping watch with my rifle. I've had that pistol since I joined the guard. But I've always preferred something with a lot more kick.

Lucky is doing her best to keep watch. But she keeps getting distracted with what the caravan is doing. Apparently the brahmin don't like going through gates. Wonder why.

"I'm sure they'll get it." I tell her, getting her attention. "Focus on the path ahead."

"Sorry. I'm... I guess I'm just nervous. Now that I know there are hidden rooms in these tunnels it feels like they can come out at any moment." I nod to that.

"You're not wrong." I tell her, keeping my gaze on the path ahead. "But that's more reason to keep your focus off the brahmin. We need to be ready in case something happens."

"... sorry." I shake my head at that and look at her. She flinches a bit from the change of demeanor.

"You don't have to apologize Lucky."

"Sor-"

"And if you apologize for apologizing, you're giving me a fashion show with all of those goodies we found." I give her a wink and go back to patrolling the tunnel. Out of the corner of my eye I see her blush deeply before looking away.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... was that too forward?" I ask, worried that I said something too blunt.

"No. No! You're fine! Sorry, I just... I know how close we are. To Silo that is! And I want us to just get there already. You know? I just don't want anything to happen right as we round the last base." I nod in agreement. I didn't think of that. But...

"Was that an apology?" I ask, leaning in to get closer to her. Her blush spreads across her face as she shoves me aside. We share a small laugh as we go back to patrolling.

"... get us through this, sure." I nearly trip over a rail when she says that. I look at her dumbfounded but she just winks back at me.

"... you're going to be so safe!" I tell her, filled with determination.

"Oh my god, I feel so safe." She says in a teasing tone.

We share another little laugh. But it gets cut when the ponies at the gate start to scream. There's a horde coming from the other side. Lucky and I share a scared look before I run over to the ramparts. I look down the tunnel and see dozens of feral ghouls shuffling their way towards us. We've got may ten seconds for them to clear the gate before they're on us.

The middle brahmin has froze in fear and is trying to back out while the rear one is trying to push through. The guards and settlers are trying to pull it through, but it's too heavy and stubborn. The other guards take positions on the ramparts and start shooting down the tunnel. Panicked, I take aim and start shooting as well.

Each pull of the trigger sends a ghoul to the ground. But each one that trips or dies seems to be replaced with three more. Even with all of the other automatic fire from the other guards there are simply too many of them to contend with. I fire my last round and start to reload when I take stock of the situation.

Lucky has joined the others, but that brahmin isn't going anywhere. A few of the settlers are on the wrong side of the gate too. Lucky and I share a look before I get an idea. I finish putting the new magazine before I look for Locust.

"We need to cut the brahmin!" I yell at her before firing again.

"We can't leave the gear!" She yells back as she kicks the brahmin.

"It's the gear or your life!" I scream, watching the horde get closer and closer.

"Fuck my life! Save the gear!" I look at Locust in shock before yelling and hopping over the gate.

"Reckless!?" Lucky yells. But I ignore her and charge at the massive horde. Hopefully this works... whatever my plan is.

I fire a few times until I feel I have enough of their attention. With a big flair I open my wings and push myself over the horde. The tunnel is large, but not quite large enough for flight. I can get over them, but I nearly crack my head on the ceiling. I keep shooting though. Even if I'm missing at least they're looking at me.

I see a light fixture and grab onto it. It crumbles in its socket but manages to support my weight. If at least for a moment. I look back down and keep firing. Any that look too lively I try kill, but there are so many it's hard to pick my target.

FWOOSH

An explosion of energy catches my attention. I look at the back of the horde and see a glowing one with its arms raised in the air. All of the previously dead ghouls around it start to get back up. We're basically back at where we started before.

The glowing one slowly lowers its arms and looks directly at me. As if it knows what a threat I am. I try to take aim at it, but the light fixture slips out of its hole slightly. I only have a moment before I need to move again. But with that moment I activate S.T.A.T.S. And take aim at the glowing one.

Apparently it's name is Mr. Phillips. I only have a ten percent chance to hit him in the chest. And I'm going to need the energy to get out of this... But fuck him.

I take the shot. The magic in the system pulls my arm and I send a round barreling towards Mr. Phillips. I watch as the bullet flies through the air and crashes on the wall behind him. A portion of the wall crumbles, revealing an access tunnel. Just like the one from before.

Mr. Phillips looks back at his before glaring back at me. He starts to rush into the room. But not before he drags a finger over his neck.

I have to look away as the light finally drops off the ceiling. I give my wings a flap to push me forward. There's a small opening at the edge of the tunnel. If I can land there I can make a run for it. But because I was so close to the ceiling I couldn't get a strong enough push. So I'm falling short. Fuck it.

I aim my legs and land on one of the ghouls. One hoof catches them square in the chest while their head gets splattered against the railing, killing them instantly. Using the momentum I have, I reel back a slam my fist into the next ghoul as I make a run for it. It gives a spin before flat lining.

I push everything I've got into making a run for it down the tunnel and away from the gate. Most of the ghouls aren't fast enough to catch up with me. But there are a few keeping pace. I fire a few more rounds just to keep their attention. Hopefully it'll be enough for them to get through the gate.

I could go after that special glowing one. But I've already passed the door. And there's no going back now. I need to think of way to either lose the horde or to get back to the gate. I can't run like this forever.

A few explosions catch my attention. I glance back and see one of the guards tossing grenades at the back of the horde as Lucky motions for me to come back. I don't know if I have the energy to jump the entire horde, but I guess I have to try.

I jump and plant my hooves together on the ground, sliding to a stop. With as low as a squat as I can manage I springboard myself back into the air, dodging a few swipes as I go. Changing directions so suddenly throws all of my momentum out the window. I'm clearly not going to clear the mass of feral ghouls. With little other options, I try the same thing as before. I pick my target and aim my legs right for its chest.

But something reaches up and grabs the side of my hip. It forces me to twist to the side and crash my back into the ghoul instead. I roll over once and try to get up immediately, but the mass jumps on top of me and starts to pummel me. I try to ignore the hits and whip my rifle up. A blast a few of them before rushing into the opening I've made. But one of them grabs my wing and bites hard into it. I yell and drop to a knee, still trying to fire at the ghouls in front of me.

I see all of the others on the rampart either firing at the ghouls or yelling for me to keep moving. Lucky is just staring at me with horror in her eyes. And I just promised her to keep her safe. I can't go down like this. I still need to get her to Silo.

With a primal yell I twist around and bash the stock of my rifle against the ghoul biting me. I turn back to the gate and bash another ghoul standing in my way. A few rounds buzz around me as I march forward. Firing at the ghouls still rushing at me. When there's enough of an opening I give every last bit of energy I have into flapping my wings and jumping onto the ramparts.

I come crashing down beside Lucky and roll down the stairs. I groan as I flatten on the ground. That was probably the dumbest thing I've ever done-

THUNK

"SON OF A BITCH!" I yell as Lucky slams a stimpak into my chest. Immediately I feel the magical elixir work through my body and start to heal me. My bruises are the first to fade away. The wound on my wing slowly begins to seal but is still bleeding.

She grabs a rag out of her bag and starts to wrap the bite, tying it off tightly. She looks... genuinely pissed off. So I just relax on the ground and wait. I glance at the gate and sigh when I see that they got all the ponies and brahmin inside. The guards on the ramparts are dropping grenades over the wall, sending chunks of flesh flying all over.

Locust walks up to me and squats by me. She stares down at me for a moment before nodding to me and slamming a weapon onto my chest.

"Calls us even. No refunds and you still gotta buy the ammo. Good work." She pats my shoulder before heading back to the others. She yelling at them to quit wasting ammo and to get a move on. As if we didn't just almost die.

I look up to Lucky and try to get a read on her. She's mad at me, that much is obvious. But she's relieved as well, so that's good. She's gripping her lap tightly as she's tries to think of something to say, but nothing is coming to mind.

"Listen-"

SMACK

I roll my jaw from the stinging pain. I guess I deserve that. She goes to slap me again but stops. Instead she just falls on top of me and hugs me tightly.

"Don't you dare ever be that stupid again, you understand me?" She's letting her anger ebb away, but it's still there. I try to think of something to explain myself, but decide against it. I just reach up and return the embrace.

"Okay. It's a promise." I tell her quietly. She sits back up and rubs her eyes. I sit up with her, feeling a tang of pain in my wing. I give it a test open and wince from the raw joint. "Guess I won't be flying anytime soon. Good thing we're almost to Silo."

"Alright you two, let's get going! Play time is over! Let's go people!" Locust calls out to everypony. We look to each other before Lucky stands and offers me a hand. I take it and get on my hooves. I'm still a bit shaky, but I'll manage.

"Ready?" I ask Lucky. She nods and walks off, still a bit distant. I guess there's still a lot to learn out here. I give a sigh and look back to the ramparts. I can tell there are still a few enemies over there. But that's not our problem anymore. I turn back and walk after the group as Locust corrals us down the tunnel.

"We're an hour out from Silo! Should be smooth sailing from here! Probably. Let's get movin'! Silo awaits!"

Lucky

S 7
P 3
E 4
C 6
I 7
A 4
L 9

Perks

Wild Wasteland
Black Widow
Educated

Skills

Barter 25

Energy Weapons 13

Explosives 13

Guns 25

Lockpick 13

Medicine 25

Melee Weapons 40

Repair 25

Science 40

Sneak 17

Speech 45

Survival 20

Unarmed 15

Reckless

S 8
P 7
E 7
C 2
I 5
A 9
L 2

Perks

Heavy Handed
Skilled
Rapid Reload
Educated

Skills

Barter 15

Energy Weapons 22

Explosives 40

Guns 50

Lockpick 40

Medicine 19

Melee Weapons 24

Repair 22

Science 18

Sneak 30

Speech 12

Survival 30

Unarmed 24

Next Chapter: Chapter Six: Welcome to Silo Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 11 Minutes