"I think we're going to need a bigger hotel room," I commented as me, Arc, Cherry, Vanilla, and Serenity looked around our suite at the hotel in Nomad City. "Maybe we should consider investing in an apartment."

"That might not be a bad idea," Vanilla said with a shake of her head. "Well, unless you and Cherry want to share a bed."

"Yeah, like they haven't been doing that every night anyway," Arc said with a smirk.

"Hey, it helps me sleep!" Cherry said with a blush. "Its not like we do anything you know, we just cuddle."

"Well I think its sweet," Serenity said. "Besides, the human world Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did it all the time while they were here."

"Wait, our counterparts were together in that world too?" I asked, I had to admit I was a little surprised but hey, it meant some version of me out there was happy.

"Oh yeah, well they got together during the Changeling Invasion," Serenity said. "Were, you with Sweetie Belle too?"

"Yeah, she was the first pony I ever really loved," I sighed. "She and I had always been friends since I moved to Ponyville as a filly. When we started Stable-Tec with Apple Bloom, we worked together a lot on the advertisements and things for the company. Finally one night she admitted that she had always had feelings for me and... well, one thing lead to another... things you are way too young to be thinking about young filly."

Serenity just laughed a little at that as Vanilla facehooved, smooth Scootaloo, real smooth.

"We never got married, never had a chance really because of the war and the business. We always hoped that if the worst happened we could both make it to Stable 2 and spend the rest of our lives together, but I was above the clouds when the bombs went off and I didn't get the chance."

"Oh, I'm sorry Scootaloo," Arc said, her ears folded against her head a little. "I had no idea."

"Yeah, I thought about getting into it after I was exiled, but I didn't want to risk killing everypony inside," I said with a sigh as I opened up the locket I had been wearing since Velvet gave it to me. "If I hadn't gotten injured I could have made it."

Serenity climbed up onto the couch and gave me a gentle hug and smiled. "Its okay Scootaloo, its not your fault."

I smiled and hugged the filly back. "Thank you Serenity, that means a lot to me."

Serenity nodded a moment and just stayed there on the couch with me for awhile longer.

"What about you Cherry, any ex-marefriends out there Scootaloo should know about?" Arc asked.

"No, relationships weren't really a thing in Stable 48," Cherry said with a shrug. "Oh sure sometimes couples would get together, but when the breeding cycle came around they almost never got paired up. I remember one of the other Breeders, Lilly, she was in a relationship with a stallion and they were lucky enough to get paired up for the cycle so that was something."

"And what about you?" I asked her, it almost felt like the teasing was starting to get to me because I almost wanted to pursue a relationship with Cherry at this point.

"Nopony special really, I just did my job as best I could," Cherry said. "But who knows really, maybe I'll find a special somepony out here in the Wasteland, but she'd have to be quite the special mare."

She was looking at me when she said that, should I be worried or flattered? Oh dear Celestia why did my life have to be so freakin' complicated!

A better question though was whether or not I was really ready for another relationship, that was something I was going to have to think about before I even considered pursuing one with Cherry.

The next day Star took me to Nomad City Security's HQ building alone. She said that the chief of security wanted to talk to me before we reached Stable 122, which made sense, know your enemy and all that.

"Given current events I think we should know everything we can about Stable 122," a Unicorn mare with a black coat and a red mane said as she looked at me. "You know everything about the Stables, don't you?"

"Its permanently seared into my brain ma'am," I said. "Stable 122 was the last one that was completed before the last day. Unlike most Stables however it wasn't intended to be a social experiment, instead Stable 122 was instructed to keep a constant population of 500 every year. It was intended to be an experiment in population control, keeping the population at a stable rate."

"So, the question now is why do they want us," Star said and I nodded in agreement. "We know a little about Stable 122, its been opened up to Equestria since before the war with the Crimson Empire, its now a town built out of a Stable similar to Stable City before Operation Cauterize called Whitehome."

"So you don't think they've sided with the Enclave?" The Chief asked.

"No ma'am, it doesn't sound like they have," Star said. "Honestly, its something of an unknown quantity at this point. The NCR tried to make contact with them after the war, but the Overmare didn't seem interested."

"Which makes this move even weirder, maybe they want something that the Enclave can't give them," I said. "I have no idea what that might be though, the Enclave seems more than willing to give settlements and Stables access to resources."

"Thank you for your time you two, this was very enlightening, I'll present this all to the council," the chief said. "The council has asked that you two accompany the diplomatic team down to Whitehome in order to work out the deal."

"Wait, why us?" I asked.

"You'd have to ask them, now unless there's anything else, you're dismissed," she finished and the two of us walked out of her office.

"I don't like this," I said as we moved down the hallway. "There's nothing particularly remarkable about Stable 122, but something about this feels weird."

"I know what you mean," Star said with a sigh. "I just wish we could do something to stop the Enclave, you know?"

"I know what you mean," I said with a sigh. "You don't think this is related to the Enclave General in Neigh Orleans that's been quiet for so long?"

"No, that General..." Star started to say as she paused a moment. "She's not interested in Winter Breeze's plans anymore, believe me. She has nothing to do with what's going on, I promise. That's all I can tell you right now, its a private matter."

That was weird, did Star know more than she was letting on? But even if she did I didn't want to pry, though I had to wonder, was it possible that the General had gone Dashite? That would certainly keep her out of the Enclave's plans.

"Alright, I won't pry further," I said as we exited the building. "See you at dinner tonight?"

"See you then."

"Aww, why do I have to get all dressed up?" Serenity protested as Vanilla helped her into a dress, it was a few days later and we were above Stable 122 and getting ready to head down to the Stable.

"Because we're the ambassadors to a possible new ally, we should look our best," Vanilla said with a sigh as her adopted daughter squirmed a little.

I laughed a little at that, Serenity really did remind me a lot of myself when I was that age, it was kind of strange, almost like I was seeing a mirror reflection of myself when I was 10.

"Why doesn't Scootaloo have to wear a dress?" Serenity protested, indeed I was wearing my usual coat over a white undershirt, vest, and tie.

"Because they don't have that outfit in fillies your age and we don't have time to wait for one to be made," Vanilla said.

"I think you look cute," I said with a chuckle as I ruffled the filly's mane. "We just need to get a bow in your mane and you'd look..."

"No, no bows, I'd look silly with a bow!" Serenity said as Vanilla laughed.

"Okay fine, no bows," I said as I straightened my tie. "How do I look?"

"You look great, don't worry about it," Vanilla said. "I'd worry more about your companions, Arc Light didn't even want to wear a suit."

"Yeah, well, you get used to wearing these things when..." I started to say when Cherry entered the room and I lost my voice.

Cherry wore a beautifully designed red dress that hugged the curves of her body, the dress was beautifully designed to the point that it would make Rarity die of jealousy. I couldn't help but stare as she trotted over to me with a smile.

"You look... wow..."

"Like they said, we should look our best for the ponies in Whitehome," Cherry said with a smile as she offered me her hoof. "You look pretty wow yourself, did you actually brush your mane?"

I blushed a little and took her hoof. "Thanks, so, shall we?"

I nodded as we all headed out of the hotel and towards the hangar.

The Vertibuck came in for a landing outside of a small building that had a sign outside of it that said "WELCOME TO WHITEHOME." We all filed out of the Vertibuck as the door opened and several ponies filed out.

At the head was a grey Unicorn mare who looked at us apprasingly, she tried to give something resembling a welcoming smile but it didn't exactly succeed. I noticed that she had a few scars on her body, which was a little strange but I wasn't going to question it.

"Welcome to Whitehome, I'm Overmare Silver Lining from Stable 122, I run things in here," she said as she offered a hoof to Jade.

"Councilmare Jade from Nomad City," Jade said with a smile as we all introduced ourselves.

A brown Pegasus mare dressed in what looked like a torn uniform of some sort locked eyes with me, or, well eye because one of her eyes was covered with an eye patch. I gulped a little and tried not to think about what that might mean, I just looked back to Silver Lining who was starting to talk.

"We've received word of the current situation in Equestria and we wanted to lend what assistance we can," Silver Lining said and nodded to the other ponies. "Reticle and Blue here are part of a special group from here in Whitehome that have special training and enhancements that will be of use to the... allies against the Enclave."

"Despite the fact that two of you are Dashites," Reticle said as she looked between me and Star.

"General Reticle, I have to say I wasn't expecting to see you here," Star said as she trotted forward, looking the older mare in the eyes. "Did the President finally get tired of putting up with you?"

General Reticle? Oh dear Celestia, this was one of the Wonderbolt Generals, what was she doing here? My mind was racing as I tried to figure it out, this wasn't the same one from Neigh Orleans that much was certain, Star seemed to know that one and was trying to keep whoever it was secret, this General was most definitely not a secret.

"My Raptor crashed en-route to its destination," Reticle said simply. "They found me and brought me here, it turned out I was eligible for their little, science experiment here."

"Star, honey, can we please try not to cause an incident?" Jade asked as she looked at her wife worredly. "Please?"

"I'm game if she is," Star said as she continued staring down the Enclave General.

"Fine, I wouldn't want to waste a bullet on you anyway," Reticle said as she looked away and headed back underground.

"My apologies, if I had known you two had a history I'd have asked her to stay downstairs," Silver Lining said as we started into the building.

A few more things were said but my mind was still reeling, I had no idea that I'd cross paths with another General so soon, let alone in a place like this. Then there was the matter of the project they mentioned, something about this smelled fishy and I didn't like it.

I had to get answers, and there was only one place I was going to be able to get them, in Stable 122.

"Jade and myself will go to my office in order to talk about the alliance," Silver Lining said as we walked through the large gear shaped door. "Blue, do you mind showing our guests around? Perhaps show them the museum."

"Yes ma'am," the blue Unicorn said as Silver Lining and Jade walked off towards the atrium. "So, would you like to see the museum then?"

"I'd like to know what's going on in this Stable," I said with a tone of finality in my voice. "Something about this place feels weird, what exactly is this project that the Overmare mentioned?"

"Oh yes, that," Blue said as he sighed. "Come with me to the museum and I'll explain everything."

"What kind of museum is it?" Serenity asked curiously as she and Pure Heart walked close to each other and we followed Blue.

"One with relics from before the war that Stable 122 has been meticulously preserving for the past 200 years," Blue said as we walked along the atrium towards our destination.

"Well, this could be interesting, I'm curious to see what you have," I said, though I wasn't sure what it could be, as I said before Stable 122 wasn't built for anything more than a population experiment, so this whole thing was weird.

Blue opened the door marked "museum" and we entered. "We've preserved very special relics from before the war for our Stable's special project, as dictated by Stable-Tec itself."

"Blue I don't know what you've been told about..." I started to say when I suddenly froze as I saw just what was being kept in the museum.

Curled up in a state of suspended animation was a lavender colored Alicorn mare, she had a medium length dark mane with streaks of purple in it. I looked around the rest of the room and saw 5 more ponies in a similar state, and they all looked familiar.

Stable 122 housed clones of the Ministry Mares.

"So, as you can see, the six mares are still perfectly preserved after 200 years," Blue said as he motioned towards the unconscious ponies. "As dictated by Stable-Tec, we've been using their genetic material to enhance ponies in..."

"This wasn't the purpose of Stable 122..." I said as I finally found my voice again.

"What are you talking about?" Blue said, he looked confused, I didn't blame him, I was confused too. "Stable 122 has always been like this ever since the door closed after the apocalypse, the records show that these clones were placed here, you should know given who you are."

"I don't know what you've been told, but I personally oversaw every experiment's formation, this was never one of them," I said through gritted teeth. "This, isn't right... I want them freed now, I'm exercising my right as the Vice President of Stable-Tec and shutting this down now!"

With that I turned around and stormed out of the museum, I couldn't look at that room again right now. I leaned over the railing of the atrium's top floor breathing heavily as I tried to figure out what was going on.

This wasn't right, Stable 122 hadn't been constructed with this purpose at all, what had changed? Something about this was weird, and it scared me a little, was it possible there was some rogue element in Stable-Tec that did this? Within the Ministries? Something else entirely?

Stable 122 had survived, but what had happened here... this wasn't right.

"Scootaloo, are you alright?" A soft voice asked from behind me and I turned to see Cherry and Serenity standing there.

"I don't know to be honest," I admitted. "It feels, wrong... not just because of what they did, but because of who they are in there. The Ministry Mares they were once the greatest heroes Equestria ever knew, they did things we could only dream of. And one in particular, she was special to me... and I lost her."

"Do you mean Rainbow Dash?" Serenity asked and I nodded as she took a seat next to me. "Its okay, I understand that, remember when we first met?"

"How could I forget?" I said with a sad smile as I wrapped my wing around the filly. "Are you saying this is like then?"

"Yeah Scootaloo, it really is," Serenity said. "When I saw you, I was excited because I had my big sister back, but you weren't her, that hurt more than anything else. I had hoped more than anything that you were really her."

"And now that you know me?"

"I'm glad I got to know you," Serenity said with a smile. "You remind me a lot of her, but you're different. You set out to do what was right, to help ponies that needed it and make up for your own mistakes, that makes you a hero in my book."

I blinked a little, she considered me a hero? I had never really thought about myself as one ever since I had woken up. Sure I was trying to do the right thing, but ultimately I was just doing it to make up for my own mistakes, was I really a hero?

"Thanks Serenity," I said and hugged the filly again, if she felt that way maybe she was right, I just wished more ponies agreed with her. "What do you think Cherry?"

"I think Serenity's right to be honest," Cherry said. "I saw what you did in Stable 48, you never hesitated to help where you could, I know that if you could have you would have gotten everypony in there out from under the Enclave's rule. You're a better pony than anypony I've ever met, I said I don't care what you did in the past, and I meant it."

I smiled and nodded. "Okay, now I just have to figure out what to do here. Even if they're clones, they're still living beings, they deserve a chance to live their lives instead of just being trapped in suspended animation."

"You'll have to talk to Silver Lining about that," a stallion's voice said and I looked up to see Blue coming out of the museum. "Officially, we aren't supposed to stop it until we get word from Stable-Tec."

"Yeah, kinda hard when I'm the only pony left who could order it shut..." I started to say, then mentally kicked myself. "Do you think she'd listen?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Blue admitted. "Its worth a try at least, but statistically I'd say you don't have a high chance even with your standing in Stable-Tec."

"Well, nopony ever said it would be easy," I said and released Serenity as I got to my hooves. "Alright, I'll at least try."

I paused outside the Overmare's office a few minutes later, Jade was still inside talking to her about the alliance and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. I sat down outside and waited for them to finish.

I looked out at the Stable and saw more ponies walking around of all shapes and sizes. It was weird but, Stable 122 had actually kind of worked, from what I could see it had actually been opened up to the Wasteland and ponies were welcome to come in when they wanted.

Mind you they still did genetic experiments, why did it seem like everypony thought that genetic engineering was the key to everything? And who had ordered the Stable's experiment changed? I knew that it couldn't have been any of us, and I didn't like the fact that somepony had messed with a Stable like this.

"Alright, I'll talk to you again in a few hours, I want to speak with the others about this," Jade said as she walked out of the office, she gave me a quick nod.

"What did they want?"

"They offered enhancements to ponies who would be compatible with them," Jade said with a sigh. "And the assistance of the ones that are already enhanced, so that's something at least, but, I don't know."

"I know what you mean," I nodded in understanding. "I need to talk to her about that to be honest."

"Just when you think you've seen everything the Wasteland can throw at you, it throws you another curveball huh?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later," I said and entered the office, Silver Lining looked up at me and put down the papers she had been looking at.

"I must say, when I heard the Vice President of Stable-Tec was still alive, I wasn't expecting her to show up here."

"I'm full of surprises," I said as I took a seat. "I wanted to talk to you about the clones and the experiment."

"Oh yes, of course, its been working perfectly for the last 200 years," Silver Lining said with a beaming smile. "Our most recent enhanced ponies are among the first to actually get out there and help the Wasteland, as the orders from Stable-Tec dictated of course. I'm sure you will be pleased with the progress we've made, although we have had difficulty increasing agility from Rainbow Dash's DNA."

How did that even work? From what I knew this stuff wasn't genetic, but if it worked as well as she claimed it did, there wasn't much I could do about it.

"I see," I said and shook my head a little. "But the Wasteland has been surviving just fine without the enhancements. They've survived some of the worst things imaginable based on pony ingenuity and skill alone, is the experiment really necessary at this point?"

"The NCR has consistently been only interested in its own territory," Silver Lining pointed out. "During the war with the Crimson Empire they focused their attention on Neigh Orleans until the Firerain was broken and never came to the aid of ponies that needed their help near Imperial territory. My village was burned to the ground by the Empire, I barely escaped with my life."

Oh, dear Celestia now everything made a little more sense. She blamed the NCR for the loss of her village, that was going to be hard on anypony.

"I'm sorry about your village, Silver Lining," I said with a shake of my head, I thought back to what I had read about the war, the Empire had been brutal, in particular when General Black Sun had gone on a rampage. "But you can't completely blame the NCR for that, they had no way of knowing what was going on this far away because they for the most part had to fight a defensive war. There are a lot of good ponies out there that want to help Equestria."

"Then they should've been there for my home," Silver Lining said with a shake of her head. "The NCR may have the best of intentions, but they can't do enough to help Equestria, not in the way it needs to be helped. Not even Nomad City is that powerful, they can't be everywhere at once."

"Neither can your enhanced ponies," I pointed out, but I was starting to get the idea of what kind of pony Silver Lining was. "So what, you want to defend Equestria, but at what cost? I made a lot of hard choices during the war because I felt they were the right thing to do, and it cost me everything I cared about."

"The fact is that Equestria needs defenders, ponies with skills and strengths beyond the average pony. This project is the best chance to pull that off, why else would you have created it?"

I paused a long moment, this was the part I was dreading, I had to tell her the truth, it was inevitable that she would learn it anyway.

"Silver Lining... Stable 122 was never outfitted with clones or the equipment that would be required to do such a thing," I said slowly, which made the mare's eyes go wide. "Not by Stable-Tec at least, we never authorized any such experiments, this was supposed to be an experiment on sustaining population."

The Overmare and I sat in silence for a long moment, was she going to believe me? This system had been in place for over 200 years now, and I was telling them that it had all been a lie created by somepony unknown.

"Are you sure about that?" Silver Lining finally asked.

"I committed every experiment in the Stables to memory, there's no doubt about it," I answered with a shake of my head. "Somepony is using this Stable for something else, and until the truth can be revealed we need to shut the experiment down, no more enhancements, and free the clones."

"The clones? Why?"

"Because they are living beings!" I said a little more forcefully than I had intended. "They have rights like anypony and its not fair to them that they are just used for this project. The closest thing we created was Project Legacy, and that was intended to create new ponies and have them leave their home Stable to help the Wasteland."

"Don't you see the opportunity we have here?" Silver Lining said. "There are ponies out there that could be helped by these enhancements. In fact you yourself could be eligible for enhancement, imagine it, being stronger, faster, or smarter than before."

"And what would I have to do in return, take part in your little experiment here?"

"No, no, of course not," Silver Lining said. "You merely have to agree to help Equestria with your new enhancements, I'm sure that's more than fair a request for a mare such as yourself."

I paused a moment, that actually was a pretty good deal and it required very little sacrifice on my part other than getting some genetic enhancements. Maybe it was something I could do, it would at least be helpful in my goal of helping Equestria. Plus, there was something else I could get out of this, something even more important.

"Under one condition," I finally said.

"Name it."

"Let the clones out of suspended animation permanently," I said with a hard look at the Overmare. "If you agree to that, then I'll participate in your little experiment, do we have a deal?"

Silver Lining paused for a long moment after that, I could imagine that she was weighing the possibilities in her mind. This wasn't an easy decision for either of us, we were both being asked to make sacrifices, but we'd both get something we wanted out of it.

I didn't want to admit it to her, but maybe this was a little selfish of me, just a little. There was a Rainbow Dash clone in there, even if she wasn't the same Rainbow Dash who had been my sister, had been my mother, I felt I owed it to her to get her out of it.

I just had to hope that Silver Lining would agree.

"Alright, you have a deal," Silver Lining said and offered me a hoof which I shook. "I'll just need a piece of your fur to check for genetic compatibility."

"Okay, just give me a... oww!" I said as she yanked out a hair from my mane. "You could've been a little more gentle you know."

"I needed to make sure to get a root, you'll be fine, the results should be back in a couple of hours," she said and got to her hooves and walked out of the office with me not too far behind.

I just hoped I wasn't making a big mistake by agreeing to this.

"You're kidding, you actually agreed to this experiment?" Arc asked in shock as I met up with the others. "Are you crazy?"

"This place is wrong, what they're doing isn't ethical," I said with a shake of my head. "It was the only way to get the Overmare to agree to release the clones."

"But they're just clones, they're not the same as the original are they?" Arc pointed out. "They weren't even created the same as other ponies."

"Neither were the ones from Project Legacy," I pointed out. "They were able to save Equestria anyway. Being born through science or magic instead of the natural way doesn't make you any less of a pony."

"I agree with Scootaloo on this one," Star said. "I don't necessarily agree with how she went about doing it, but we are under a moral obligation to help all life forms, regardless of birth."

"I suppose you're right, this just feels a little weird to me," Arc commented, I was about to say something else when we heard the sound of hooves approaching our group, we turned to look at Reticle.

"Scootaloo, I need you to accompany me to my quarters," Reticle said, which surprised me a little bit.

"Why? What's going on?"

"If Scootaloo goes, we all go!" Serenity spoke up, making the Enclave General look at the Pegasus filly, her face actually softened a little bit when she saw her.

"Its for her ears only I'm afraid, little one," she said as she looked at the filly for a long moment, I swear I saw a tear in her eye. "I promise that she won't be harmed."

"I'm not going until I know what's going on," I said with a tone of finality. "Why do you want me to go with you?"

"There's somepony on the radio who wants to speak with you, and only you," Reticle said as the sternness creeped back into her voice. "Come with me, please."

I knew she couldn't force me to go, but still I had to admit I was curious.

"Alright, I'll come with you, but I want two of my friends to accompany us," I said, as Reticle started to protest I added. "They are to wait outside, and I'm not going in unarmed, is that fair?"

Reticle paused for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I can accept that."

And with that me, Reticle, Vanilla, and Arc started making our way towards Reticle's quarters. I took a deep breath as she opened the door and Vanilla and Arc took their spots next to it and I walked inside.

Seated on a table was an old radio with military markings on it. I picked up the transmitter and took a deep breath before speaking into it.

"This is Scootaloo Dash, I was told that somepony wanted to speak with me."

"Hello Scootaloo," a familiar mare's voice said on the other side of the radio. "Its a pleasure to finally speak with such a famous pony."

I was talking with President Winter Breeze herself.

I was talking with President Winter Breeze herself.

I looked behind me at Reticle who just shook her head, I turned back to the radio and started speaking into it again. "Well, I have to say this was unexpected Madam President."

"Please, call me Winter, there is no need for such formality here," Winter Breeze said. "I must say I was disappointed to hear that you escaped from Stable 48, I was so looking forward to meeting you."

"Well, I'm sorry for disappointing you," I said, I wasn't sure what to make of what she was saying, she almost sounded polite. "How'd you know I was here?"

"My dear, we may have lost our head of intelligence but I have ponies everywhere," Winter said, that sent a chill up my spine. "There is very little you can do that will surprise me."

"You have a spy then? Who is it?"

"Ah, that would be telling," the mare chuckled.

"What's your game, Winter? Why did you want to talk with me so badly?" I asked, it was time to get some answers out of her.

"I want to make you a deal," Winter Breeze said in a calm voice. "I have it in my power to pardon your crimes against the Enclave. I will do so, but in exchange you must publicly denounce the New Canterlot Republic and its allies along with the Dashites. You will be allowed to live the rest of your life in Enclave territory with no fear of retribution for your crimes from 200 years ago."

"My only crime was trying to do what was right," I spat. "You may dress up your new Enclave with fancy words and promises, but I can see right through you Winter Breeze. You want power, and you're willing to step on as many ponies as you can to get it. You're no better than the Enclave of the past, the only difference is you don't shoot ponies, you offer them a friendly smile and help, and then you take away the one thing that's most precious to them, freedom."

There was a long pause, for a moment I thought Winter Breeze had disconnected on me the moment I turned her down. I had no idea what to expect next, but I didn't think I was going to like it.

"You don't know me or the Enclave at all Scootaloo," Winter Breeze said. "Even after the actions of ponies like LittlePip, Blackjack, Ruby Starlight, and others, this is still a broken and dead world. We are the best chance Equestria has at stability, I offered you a chance to become part of that. I cannot promise the safety of yourself or your friends if you continue this path."

"Yeah, and how many of your subjects know what you're really after?" I said and looked back at Reticle before whispering. "I know you want Protocol Zeta, I don't know why, but you're playing with something more dangerous than you understand."

"I understand quite perfectly," Winter Breeze answered. "And things won't change just because of what you tell me. Protocol Zeta is needed to create the new Equestria."

"That project is only going to create death and destruction, please listen to me," I said pleadingly. "Stop pursuing Protocol Zeta, its a matter of life and death."

"I'm Sorry Scootaloo, I simply can't do that," Winter Breeze said, there was almost a hint of regret in her voice, that was odd. "I understand your reservations, and I hope that someday you and I can work together towards a better Equestria."

With that there was a click and silence on the radio.

"Why did she call you?" I asked as I turned and looked at Reticle.

"Like I said, she wanted to talk to you," Reticle said with a shrug. "I'm the only pony in this place with access to her personal radio frequency, so she had to call me I guess."

"Are you really interested in helping Equestria, or is that a load of horseapples being spun by the Overmare?"

Reticle paused for a long moment and sighed. "Yeah, I don't agree with Winter Breeze's methods, but I can understand her ideals. I'm willing to lend a hoof to the alliance as needed."

I smiled a little and offered Reticle a hoof. "Thank you for that, it means a lot that we have you on our side."

Reticle hesitated a moment but shook my hoof with a smile. "You're welcome, I just hope we can do something to create a real change in Equestria."

"Me too Reticle, me too."

As we headed back out into the Atrium we found the rest of the group talking with a few more ponies. Blue was there obviously, but there was also a small green Earth Pony filly who was talking with Serenity and Pure Heart, and a rough looking mare covered in scars that was just kind of standing off to the side.

"Happy Smiles and Bloodheart," Reticle said as she nodded to the two other ponies. "Two more of our enhanced ponies, we have a fifth one but I'm not sure where he went off to."

"Its okay, I'm sure that's enough," I said as Serenity noticed us and waved.

"Do you know her well?" Reticle asked as she looked at the filly.

"Well enough, she's granddaughter about, seven times removed I think," I said with a light smirk, Reticle looked at me surprised. "What?"

"I knew her parents," Reticle said which surprised me. "Harmony and Highwind, we went to the war academy together. I heard about Harmony being pregnant while she was under Marigold's command, the filly she looks so much like her mother."

"What were they like?" I asked, then held up a hoof. "Hang on, you should tell Serenity, she never got to know them, I know if there was somepony who could tell me about mine I'd want to know."

"Okay," Reticle said with a nod and I waved to Serenity to come join us.

"Hey Scootaloo, hey Reticle," Serenity said with a smile as she looked at the older Pegasus. "What's going on?"

"Serenity right?" Reticle asked and Serenity nodded. "I need to tell you some things, about your birth parents."

"You, knew my birth parents?" Serenity asked, which caught Vanilla's attention as she trotted over to us. "What were they like?"

"They were brave and smart, and loyal to a fault," Reticle said with a sad smile. "But ultimately they were kind, they were good ponies who got caught up in a system that didn't help them. Really they were lucky to be able to serve together under the same General but for some reason Winter Breeze herself made sure they were given the same assignment."

Wait, Winter Breeze intervened on Serenity's parents' behalf? Okay, that was weird, why would she do that?

"They did their best to help wherever they could," Reticle continued. "Your mom didn't like to fight, she wanted to be a field medic so she could get out there and help ponies on the battlefield. The last time I saw them after your conception, they were excited at the prospect of having a filly or colt even if it was going to be hard on them. They loved you very much Serenity, even before you were born."

Serenity listened to every word she said and started to cry a little, I started to cry at the same time. They genuinely did sound like good ponies who had touched the life of this General, I just wished that I could've met them.

I looked at Vanilla and she nodded a little as we both hugged Serenity, she smiled a little as she wiped the tears with her hoof.

"Thank you Reticle, that means a lot," she said. "I just wish I could've known them."

"You're welcome kid, I'm sure they would be proud of you," Reticle said with a nod before heading off.

"Just like we are," Vanilla said as we released the filly. "Now go back to your friends, we can talk to you later."

I smiled a little as Serenity headed back to Pure Heart and Happy Smiles. I mostly spent the next little while talking with the others, I had been curious about Nomad City so I talked with Star and Jade about that mostly.

The two had been all over Equestria together and there was even talk about someday maybe taking trips into Zebrica and the Dragon Lands if they could get it worked out with the locals.

After awhile Silver Lining approached me with some papers in her telekinetic grip. "Alright, we've finished the tests."
"And?"

"Well, given you're relatively untouched by radiation, you're in good shape for a 250 year old mare by the way," she added with a light chuckle. "Anyway, you're compatible for enhancement using Rainbow Dash's DNA."

"Wait, really?" I asked and she nodded. "Okay, how do we do this?"

"Well its a little late for the procedure now since you have to not eat, just come back to Whitehome tomorrow and we'll take care of it," Silver Lining said with a reassuring smile. "And then we'll keep up our end of the deal of course."

"Of course," I said with a nod. "Thank you again."

She nodded and returned to her office, I couldn't help but be a little excited by the prospect now. It was weird in a way, I wondered what this would mean for how I was related to Rainbow Dash, this whole process raised a lot of questions.

I just shrugged and went back to talking with the others.

"Okay, so Serenity is at Star's house with Pure Heart and Happy Smiles," Vanilla said with a sigh as we finally reached our hotel room that night and she and Cherry started to slip out of their dresses. "Remind me again why I got into politics."

"I don't know either," I said as I sat down on the couch. "At least it sounds like everything is working out with Whitehome."

"Yeah," Cherry said as she took a seat next to me. "Though that filly Happy Smiles is strange, she kept trying to get me to buy her food or candy or something."

"Which probably means she has an enhanced charisma stat," I said with a shake of my head. "I don't even know why we set those stats up sometimes."

"Me neither," Arc said. "So what's the plan for where we go next?"

"I have no idea," I admitted. "There's still Stables out there that the Enclave might be going after, but we don't know for sure where they're going next. I hate it when I don't know what's going on."

"So, who was it on the radio?" Cherry asked as she nuzzled me gently. "You looked a bit shook up when you came back."

"Winter Breeze," I said, which elicited a gasp from the other ponies. "She tried to get me to give up and join the Enclave, she even offered me a pardon if I did so."

"How did she even know you were here?" Arc Light asked.

"She said she had ponies everywhere, I guess one of her agents is in this area," I said with a shake of my head. "Lets just get this surgery done tomorrow and then we can head back to Junction Town and figure out what to do next"

They nodded and sighed a little, I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I felt like it had to be done. Still, this was going to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do, I just had to hope that it was the right thing to do.

"Come on, lets get to bed," Cherry said after awhile and pulled me off towards our bedroom.

"So the procedure itself is fairly simple," the doctor said as I laid down on the table in Whitehome's medical room. "We've had a lot of success with making it work so you have nothing to worry about."

"I better not," I said with a chuckle as I folded my wings at my sides and added jokingly. "I better not wake up singing about how awesome I am or something."

"Don't worry, you shouldn't experience any major personality shifts," the doctor said and looked at the door as it opened.
Silver Lining and another pony that I supposed was in charge of the clones wheeled a gurney in with the clone of Rainbow Dash on it. She opened her magenta eyes and looked right at me, for a brief moment I almost swore there was a moment of recognition, but it was probably my imagination.

It was weird seeing her again, she wasn't the older Rainbow Dash that I remembered from the war, instead this was the Rainbow I remembered from when I was a filly. It was like I was getting a view into the past, my past, one that I would give anything to live through again.

I sighed a little and laid back on the table and stared up at the ceiling light.

"Okay Scootaloo, we're going to sedate the two of you, this shouldn't last more than a few hours, okay?" The Doctor said.

"Okay," I said as an oxygen mask was placed over my muzzle, after a moment the world around me turned hazy and then went dark.

I have no idea how long I was out, but when I woke up again I was laying in a bed with Cherry, Serenity, Vanilla, and Arc nearby.

"She's awake!" Serenity said, which got the attention of the others.

"Hey Scootaloo, how are you feeling?" Arc asked.

"A little different, I have a bit of a headache but that's about it," I said with a groan as I rubbed my forehead. "I thought I'd feel different somehow."

"Don't worry about it, Blue said that you shouldn't feel any different since your enhancement was more physical," Vanilla said. "The good news is Jade finalized the agreement while you were out, we'll be taking the other enhanced ponies with us back to Junction Town."

"That's good, is there any bad news?" I asked.

"Uh, well, a small Enclave fleet has been spotted near Horseton," Serenity said, oh great, just what I needed right now. "And its being lead by their flagship, the Nimbus."

"The Nimbus?"

"Apparently its under the command of one of the Wonderbolt Generals named Cloud Chaser," Cherry said with a shake of her head. "The NCR has been holding them off since they arrived, but they don't know why they're in the area. Do you have any ideas?"

I thought for a long moment, what was in Horseton that could be of interest to... oh no, there was something there that would be of interest to them, only one thing and I didn't like it.

"Stable 117," I said. "It was built outside of Horseton, I think the Enclave is going after it."

"Another Stable, this could be a problem," Arc said. "There was a report in that they went after Stable 14 on Mount Reinier, but its been abandoned for years so we don't know what happened in there yet."

"14... that figures," I said with a shake of my head. "Okay then, we know where we're going next... what now?"

"Now, we need to make sure it worked," Silver Lining said as she came into the room. "The clones will be freed as soon as we test your new abilities Scootaloo, are you up for it?"

"Yeah, I'm up for it," I said with a nod as I got out of bed. "Lets do this."

"Alright, the goal is to make it around the track four times in order to complete a mile," Silver Lining said, we were in the Stable's orchard which had a dirt track surrounding it. "The fastest time on hoof for a pony is 44.48 seconds, if this was successful, you should be able to beat it."

"Go Scootaloo!" Serenity cheered from the sidelines, I smiled a little and waved to her and my other friends. "You can do it, show them what you're made of!"

I nodded and crouched down, preparing to take off as soon as Silver Lining gave the signal.

"On your mark.. get set... go!"

I ran off as fast as I could, I had always been fast on my hooves, I had to be given I'd never get to fly, but this felt like nothing I had ever felt before. The feel of my hooves striking the dirt as I ran faster thrilled me, I was running faster than I had ever imagined.

That's one lap.

This had to be what it felt like to be Rainbow Dash, constantly pushing yourself forward to try and be faster and stronger. I just kept picking up speed as I ran faster and faster, the feeling of the air running through my mane as I kept running.
That's two.

The world went past me in a blur as I passed my friends, I could hear them cheering for me as I kept running, but it barely registered with me. It was as if the whole world around me didn't exist, just me and the track as I kept running.

That's three.

I barely even remember the last lap, I was going so fast at this point I must've hit whatever my top speed was. I just remember coming in for a stop finally where I had started, I swear I was sweating like crazy after that and breathing heavily, but it felt good.

"That was incredible," Vanilla said as I took a long drink of water. "What was her time?"

"Well, if there was anypony still keeping world records, we'd have a new record holder," Silver Lining said with a smirk. "40.32 seconds, congratulations, it looks like it worked."

"Yah think?" I said with a chuckle as I sat down.

I had kept my end of the bargain, now it was up to Silver Lining to do the same. After a few minutes we all headed towards the museum once more.

"Are you okay?" Cherry asked as we headed up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just still processing all of this," I said as Silver Lining opened the door to the Museum. "I've, never really thought of myself as being more than just who I am, its, weird to suddenly have this enhancement."

"It'll take some getting used to," Blue said as he came up to us. "I heard we're releasing the clones."

"Yeah, we are," Silver Lining said with a small sigh. "I'm a mare of my word after all, and we've finished what we needed to do, as long as a certain somepony keeps her word."

"I will," I said. "And I'm willing to come back here after the Enclave is dealt with to help with the clones."

"We'll manage until then," Silver Lining said with a sigh as she started releasing the clones one by one and ponies started helping them until just Rainbow Dash was left. "I don't know why these clones were created or who put them here if you didn't. I just know that they were, are our best chance of helping Equestria at this point."

"Silver, six ponies can make a difference, but they aren't the only factor," I said softly. "You did what you felt was right to help Equestria, but we can't forget what makes us ponies. All life is sacred regardless of how it was created, if we abandon that basic principle, then we've become the monsters."

Silver Lining thought on that for a long moment before sighing. "You're a wiser Pony than I am Scootaloo," she said and input the commands to release Rainbow Dash from suspended animation.

I moved forward almost on instinct and caught her, propping her up gently as the clone stirred a little, her eyes opening as she looked around. She flinched a little when she saw Silver Lining.

"Its okay Rainbow, you're free," I said softly.

"Free?" She managed to say in a hoarse whisper as if she wasn't used to speaking.

"That's right Rainbow, you won't ever have to be like that again, you're your own pony now," I said with a smile as I helped her out of the museum.

"Who... who are you?" She asked.

I paused for a long moment, there was only one answer I could give, one that made sense because of both our bond and the experiment. But still, it pained me to have to say it because of how much it meant to me.

"My name is Scootaloo, I'm your daughter."

Leaving the Rainbow Dash clone in Stable 122 was one of the hardest things I'd ever have to do.

Some ponies from Nomad City came down to the Stable to help the clones as best they could. They had a lot to learn before they could even leave the Stable, but they had been given a chance to live their lives.

I spent as much time with the Rainbow clone as I could, or Prism Light as we had taken to calling her (all six of them were to take on new names). She couldn't speak very much yet, I think the words she knew had all been picked up in her moments of consciousness when she was to be used for experimentation.

We were at the exit zone to Stable 122 and preparing to leave, most of the clones were downstairs but Prism wanted to see me off.

"I'll see you later mom, I promise I'll be back as soon as I can be," I said with a smile as I gently hugged her and she hugged me back.

"Thank you Scootaloo," Prism said, she was starting to cry a little and so was I. "For everything."

"You're welcome mom," I said, and we released the hug after a long moment. "See you later?"

She nodded and watched as we headed out of the Stable and back out into the Wasteland. There were two Vertibucks waiting for us outside, one was going to take us to Horseton and Stable 117.

"You three ready to go?" Star asked as she poked her head out of the Vertibuck we were to take.

"You're coming with us then?" I asked as I climbed into the Vertibuck with Cherry and Arc, I was a little surprised, Star seemed more like she wanted to stay in Nomad City.

"Just for Horseton and 117," she said with a shake of her head. "I, need to be there, for personal reasons."

"Well I'm glad to have you," Cherry said with a smile as we all got strapped into our seats.

"Once more into the breach," I said as the Vertibuck took off, I looked back down at the building that housed Stable 122 until it completely disappeared from view.

I would be back someday, I swore it.

LEVEL UP!
Perk Received: Fastest Mare Alive.
Details: You've been enhanced by a mysterious process using the DNA of Rainbow Dash. Your land speed is significantly increased and running uses less AP.

Author's Notes:

Stable 122 and all associated characters belong to FaultyScrewdriver.