"What's going on, why did the Enclave take over Manehattan?" Cherry asked as we all looked between each other, trying to figure out what's going on.

"Probably because of DJ Pon3," I said with a sigh as I brushed my mane back. "He... or, well, she has been broadcasting anti-Enclave messages since they first appeared. They're probably trying to silence and discredit the DJ."

"Which will also be a problem for you Scootaloo," Vanilla said as she looked at me. "Ever since the Enclave exposed you to Equestria she's been trying to get ponies to think about you differently."

"And not to mention tha fact that Zebras still aren't exactly welcome in most of Equestria," Apple Bloom added. "Its crazy that DJ Pon3 is a Zebra, huh?"

"Yeah, crazy..." I said quietly as I looked off to the side. "That's probably why she didn't tell anypony about it. I just wish that it didn't have to come out like this, I can only imagine what she's going through right now."

I didn't want to tell them that I actually had known the truth this whole time since I had met Xiraia back in Manehattan. I had kept her secret because I felt it was the right thing to do, but now, I wasn't sure if keeping that secret had put her in more danger than she needed to be in.

I had known some nice Zebras from during the war that had just wanted to live their lives in Equestria, its why I did things like Stable 3. They weren't bad as a species just because the Caesar had decided to go to war with Equestria for... whatever reason he decided to.

Honestly now that I thought about it, why had he done it? I mean yes there was the Massacre at Littlehorn, but that had just been the breaking point. Something about all of it was weird, even after Luna took the throne... something about all of it felt weird, but I didn't really know what it was.

"Xiraia fought in the war with the Crimson Empire, she helped save the NCR, not everypony is going to turn against her," Vanilla pointed out. "She'll be okay, we just have to figure out what the plan is."

Star returned with Jade at that point, the two had left to get word to Nomad City of what was going on. "What's the word from the council?" I asked.

"We're being called back to the city and we're going to Junction Town," Star said with a sigh. "A Vertibuck is coming to pick us up first thing in the morning. The NCR is making a decision on what to do next the day after."

"You can't stay?" Sparky asked as she looked sad.

"We don't have a choice," I said. "This changes everything, the Enclave hasn't made a move this bold since the war began."
"Right, they've mostly been limiting it to hit and run attacks," Arc said with a sigh as she drew in the dirt a little.

"I'm sorry Sparky," I said sadly as I hugged my daughter gently. "We'll be fine, the Enclave will be stopped and everything will be okay."

Sparky smiled and hugged me back before looking at Apple Bloom. "Aunt Apple Bloom, I want to go with them. I can help them take on the Enclave, please?"

"Sparky, I'm afraid this isn't the right time to do that," I said sadly with a sigh. "Sparky, we've got a dangerous mission ahead of us and we don't even know if we'll be able to do it right now."

"There is a possibility that the NCR may have to surrender to the Enclave," Star said. "Even with the allies we have, the Enclave now has access to the Celestia One Megaspell."

Oh, crap, that's not what I needed to hear at all. Celestia One was the most powerful Megaspell Equestria had during the war, and the Enclave now had access to it? I was surprised they hadn't just wiped the NCR off the map now.

"Sparky, I promise, when the time is right you can come join us," I said with a smile. "But right now you need to stay here and help your Aunt."

Apple Bloom looked like she was going to protest but I shot her a look. I really didn't want to put Sparky at risk in this conflict, especially if we were about to go to Manehattan in order to fight the Enclave.

I didn't think the NCR was really about to surrender, there had to be some sort of back-up plan in the event of something like this happening.

"Okay, I'll stay here for now," Sparky said with a nod.

That night me and Cherry were woken up to the sound of small hooves stepping on the ground outside our tent. After a moment Serenity poked her head into the tent with a worried look on her face in the glow of our PipBuck lights.

"Hey Serenity, is everything okay?" Cherry asked.

"I just, can't sleep so I asked mom if I could come to your tent," Serenity said softly. "Is that okay?"

"Of course Serenity, we'd be glad to have you," I said with a smile as we scooted apart enough to let the filly rest between the two of us.

"Thank you," Serenity said with a smile as she moved in between the two of us, she looked at us with a smirk. "I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

"Did Arc light tell you to ask that?" Cherry asked, her face turning red again, which just got a giggle out of the filly.

"Maybe."

"Oh, we have ways of making little fillies talk," I said with a smirk as I started tickling the filly, making her giggle more. "Do you still deny it?"

"Yesssss, she asked me to, stop it!" Serenity protested through the giggles, I just laughed and stopped. "That wasn't fair!"

"Oh, it was totally fair," I said with a smile as I nuzzled the filly gently. "You're still worried about the Enclave huh?"

"Yeah..." Serenity said as I draped my wing over both her and Cherry. "After what happened with the Enclave in the Crystal Empire, I'm just worried about what will happen to the ponies that live there."

"I understand," I said with a nod as I nuzzled her again. "I'm worried about them too, but we'll be able to figure this out. I promise that I'll make sure to help you as best I can."

"We both will," Cherry said with a smile.

"Are you sure you two aren't a couple?" Serenity said with a smirk, which made me facehoof, this filly was really enjoying this wasn't she?

"How about this, if we become a couple you'll be the first pony to know," I said with a chuckle as I ruffled the filly's mane.

"Okay, deal," Serenity said with a smile as she closed her eyes. "Good night Scootaloo, Cherry Blossom."

"Good night Serenity," I said and nuzzled the filly gently as she fell asleep. I turned and looked at Cherry with a nod. "Being a parent isn't an easy job, but I've found its one of the most rewarding."

"I hope so..." Cherry said with a sigh. "I mean I was always content with sticking to the status quo in Stable 48, but when it actually was my turn... I couldn't just let the foal wind up like her father."

"Like I said, it changes everything," I said with a nod and smiled down at the sleeping filly. "For good and for bad."

Cherry nodded and soon was off to sleep. I stayed up for a little longer thinking about my own daughter. I remembered her first words, her first steps, her first flight... she was the light in the darkness that had been my life after the war started.

I took out the picture I had of her and Sky Walker and just started at it in the dim glow of my PipBuck's light. I remembered the day we had it taken, it was a few weeks before I had been exiled and it was one of the few things that I had managed to take with me, I guess the Enclave wanted me to remember what I had lost by turning on them.

It had worked kind of, but at the same time it reminded me that some things were worth fighting for. Family was the most important thing in the world to me, and I wasn't going to give up on it just because the Enclave tried to take it away from me.

I put the picture carefully away and laid back down, I closed my eyes and was soon asleep as well.

The next day when the Vertibuck arrived we said our good-byes to Sparky and Apple Bloom. It wasn't easy, but I knew that this wouldn't be the last time I came to this place.

After all, we still had a town to build.

The trip to Nomad City was quiet, nopony wanted to talk about what might happen once we reached Junction Town. We had come so far in trying to stop the Enclave only to have them pull something like this.

I knew what the Enclave wanted, but this was something I hadn't expected them to do. By moving in on Manehattan they had shown their hand and at the same time they strengthened their resolve and their position in Equestria.

We were now losing the war with the Enclave, and we had to make sure we didn't let them keep Manehattan.

"Councilmare, the City Council has convened an emergency session and are waiting for you to arrive," an aide said as we got off the Vertibuck on Nomad City.

"What's the word from Junction Town?"

"They still haven't made a decision on how to proceed, but there's talk about a vote of no confidence against President Grimfeathers in the Senate. The war with the Enclave hasn't exactly been popular and a lot of ponies are unsure of her leadership at the moment, especially given the Manehattan situation."

"Just what we needed," I groaned.

"I'll catch up with you later, I need to get to the Council," Jade said and headed off with the aide towards city center.

"What are we going to do now?" Serenity asked as she looked between us. "Are we going to be able to fight the Enclave?"

"I don't know Serenity, I really don't know," I said with a sigh. "We need to do something more than just fight, we need a victory. The Enclave's move was a brilliant stroke, they knew they could demoralize the population by taking over Tenpony Tower which will make it harder for us to win."

"So if we retake the city, then we might be able to change the tide of the war," Arc said. "But that's easier said than done."

"I'm going to talk with the Chief of Security, maybe she'll be able to help, in the meantime could you watch Pure Heart?"

"Sure, no problem," I said as we split up and headed towards the housing district.

That evening Nomad City arrived over Junction Town, since I figured that we weren't going to be doing anything until tomorrow I had planned to spend the evening in the City, at least until there was a knock at the door.

When we opened it up Midnight was standing there accompanied by two ponies dressed in Ranger uniforms. She didn't look happy to be here, which worried me, had something changed?

"Uh, can I help you?"

"Scootaloo Dash, I've been ordered to escort you to Junction Town in order to meet with President Grimfeathers," Midnight said in an official tone. "After which you will be placed in protective custody with the NCR until it is determined what will be done about the current crisis."

"Wait, what?" I asked, they were arresting me? "What's the charge?"

"For now you will not be charged, this is for your protection only," Midnight said though it was obvious it pained her to do so. "Please Scootaloo, I don't like this any more than you do, but its the only way."

I frowned a little and nodded, I hugged Serenity and my friends before leaving with Midnight and the soldiers.

When we reached Junction Town there was an air of unease and tension around the NCR capital. When I went past they looked at me angrily, but nopony was ready to do anything yet.

I sighed as the door opened to Regina's office, the Griffon looked exhausted as if she hadn't slept since the crisis started, which she probably hadn't.

"Thank you General, you are dismissed," Regina said and Midnight nodded before leaving the office. Regina got out from behind her desk and looked at me for a long moment. "Scootaloo, I'm genuinely sorry this all happened, the Enclave has made everything difficult for us in the NCR because of the recent takeover."

"What about the ponies living in Tenpony Tower? What's the latest on Xiraia?" I asked.

"Some ponies evacuated the tower, we've been setting up refugee camps in our territory so that they have somewhere to go," Regina said with a sigh. "We're losing this war Scootaloo, we're losing ponies that have been loyal to us since my mother helped found the Republic to the Enclave. Ponies are calling for my resignation and for you to be turned over to the Enclave, and if things get any worse then I'll have to consider giving them what they want."

I frowned a little at that, the war was getting worse for us and ponies were pinning the blame on me and Regina. Neither of us were at fault, the Enclave had put us all in this position as part of their master plan, and we were playing right into their hooves.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Maybe, I've managed to convince the Senate and the Council to hold off on the vote for now but it won't last forever," Regina said with a shake of her head. "Which is why I need the help of you and your friends to carry out a dangerous mission."

"What is it?" I asked, I was worried about what she had in mind, but it was probably the only hope we had at this point.

"Winter Breeze contacted me and proposed a temporary ceasefire between our forces with a list of conditions for our surrender," Regina said as she picked up a piece of paper that had words scrawled on it. "She gave us a week to reach a decision, I'm afraid she's using that time to get Celestia One running again."

"Running again?" I asked, I was confused by that.

"It was disabled before the Enclave took over the Tower as a precaution, we don't want that power falling into the hooves of our enemies," Regina said with a nod. "I need you and your friends to travel to Manehattan and break the Enclave's control before the week is up, you are our only hope at this point."

My eyes went wide at that, the NCR was trusting me and my friends with this mission? Why us? What was going on that made us so special that the President wanted us to go instead of the Rangers?

"Why us?"

"Because none of you are officially with the NCR so you don't break the ceasefire," Regina said, oh so it was a technicality. "Applejack's Rangers and Nomad City Security will be sending aid as well, but our hooves, and claws, are tied at the moment."

"I understand," I said with a sigh. "But I'm supposed to be in custody aren't I? Exactly how are you going to keep that covered up?"

"That's where we come in," a female voice said as a Changeling Queen with a light blue carapace and mane stepped out into view.

"Queen Phase here has recently taken over the Changeling Hive in the Crystal Wasteland and has offered her assistance," Regina said as she gave the Queen a nod. "Some of her Changelings will be taking on the appearance of you and your friends in and around Junction Town in order to fool any of the Enclave's spies."

"I assure you my Changelings will be perfect in their disguises," Phase said with a nod as she walked over to me and looked at me closely. "I must say I was expecting somepony a bit..."

"Taller?"

"Younger actually, given your reputation," Phase said as she examined me closely. "But I'm sure we can work with this, you'll just have to be careful while you're in the city of course."

"Of course," I said, it was kind of creepy to be examined like this by a Changeling Queen. "So, when do we leave and how are we going to get to Manehattan?"

"You leave tomorrow before the Senate is convened which is when the week starts," Regina said and gave me a nod. "As for how, well, you'll see. In the meantime we'll have to keep you in custody."

"Understood," I said with a nod as Phase moved back into place. "Thank you Madam President, I won't let you down."

"I know you won't Scootaloo," Regina said with a nod. "Just be careful, the future of Equestria is on your withers."

"But no pressure right?" I asked with a chuckle as the soldiers came back inside, I gave Regina one more nodd before I let them lead me away.

My weapons were taken away and put in a nearby locker before I was locked up in the cell that was to be "my home" for the next week. It was't much to speak of, there was a bed and a barred window that looked out into the town beyond.

I laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, I honestly had no idea what I was going to do from here. I didn't quite like the idea of having to essentially break out of jail, but this was all part of Regina's plan.

I couldn't believe that everything had gone so wrong so fast. Winter Breeze was smart, and that made her dangerous. She must've moved in fast enough to cut off Xiraia's escape from Tenpony Tower if she wanted to keep the Zebra from broadcasting elsewhere.

I couldn't help but think about what was going on in Manehattan right now. The Enclave was likely putting the city and its Settlements under martial law in order to maintain order, but it might at least keep them safe for the time being.

There had to be a lot of ponies in the city hoping for rescue that may never come. Though one thing kept bugging me, how did the Enclave get access to Tenpony Tower so quickly? Was it possible that they really did have ponies everywhere? And if so, who could we really trust anymore?

I shook my head at that, this wasn't going to turn into the Great War all over again where we couldn't trust anypony else. The Enclave had its agents sure, but we weren't about to let them turn on each other trying to find out who they are.

I sighed and looked at the empty space in the bed next to me, this was going to be the first night I didn't get to sleep with Cherry by my side in awhile. It struck me at that moment just how much I really missed her, her laugh, her smile, the way she smelled even, she was a wonderful pony and she made me happy to be alive.

Was it possible I really did feel something more for her than just friendship?

"Hey Scootaloo, I see they've got you in the VIP suite," a familiar voice said and I looked up to see Cherry coming into the holding room.

"Heh, yeah, only the best for the Enclave's number one most wanted," I said with a chuckle as I got to my hooves and walked over to the bars to talk to her. "Has the President had you all filled in on the plan?"

"Yeah, but I don't know about this... are we really about to do this?" Cherry asked. "I mean, we're only going to have so much support in the city now."

"We're the only chance there is to stop the Enclave here," I said with a sigh. "Winter Breeze is there and that makes things even more dangerous. If we don't do this, we might lose the war."

Cherry nodded in understanding as she looked at me with a sigh. "If you want to do this, then we're all behind you 100%."
I smiled a little as I placed my hoof on the bars for a moment. "That means a lot to me, I know this won't be easy, but its the best option we have."

"Midnight doesn't seem too sure about this plan either, but she's agreed to it. Officially any Rangers and NCR citizens still in Manehattan have been ordered to remain un-involved with the conflict, but they'll provide us any safe haven as long as the Enclave isn't in the area."

Well that was something at least, it meant we had some allies even if they wouldn't be able to help us fight the Enclave. It gave us access to resources that would be able to help us at least, and that would hopefully be enough.

"Tell her I said thanks," I said with a smile. "I hope it'll be enough to stop the Enclave, I'm sure we'll be able to handle this together as a team. There's always still the question of who the Enclave's spy is, and hoping they don't have access to our plans."

"Do you really think there is a spy that close? What if Winter Breeze was just trying to get under your skin."

"I don't know to be honest..." I admitted with a sigh. "I just have to hope that we'll figure out the truth before its too late."

"Don't worry, we will," Cherry said with a smile. "Don't worry about us, we'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay," I said with a nod as Cherry headed back out of the holding area.

I sighed a little and laid back on the bed, I had no idea what I was going to do at this point, but I would figure it out soon enough. Well, there wasn't much of a point in dwelling on it anymore, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up I was in a place I hadn't expected, I was outside the old schoolhouse in Ponyville. I yawned a little and stretched, I must've drifted off to sleep while waiting out front.

"Hey Scootaloo, are you okay? You look tired," the teacher said as she poked her head out to check on me. "You don't have to do this today if you don't want to."

"No, no, I'm fine," I said with a quick nod as I shook my head to try and wake myself up. "Sorry, Sparky kept waking us up last night."

"Don't worry about it, I know how that is," she said with a smile as I walked into the schoolhouse.

I looked down at myself, I was dressed in my old suit and tie from my days before the apocalypse when I ran Red Racer. I was here to give a presentation for family appreciation day to Cloudy's class like Sweetie had mentioned in my last dream.

"Alright class, settle down," the teacher said with a smile. "Today we have a special guest, one of Cloudy's moms will be talking to us about herself and her job at the Red Racer company."

A Unicorn colt raised his hoof and he was called on. "Didn't Cloudy's moms used to work for Stable-Tec?"

"Yes, but as we all know since the end of the war with the Zebras, Stable-Tec along with the other major corporations were dismantled or applied to different industries," I said as I stepped forward. "Stable-Tec was built to save ponies from a horror that never came, so there was little need for it to continue. Red Racer on the other hoof still provides services for ponies as needed."

I smiled a little as I talked about the founding of Red Racer, I had always loved riding a scooter and had seen the value of it for ponies like me that couldn't fly. The company had originally been started to help disabled ponies get around easier and even be able to live normal lives.

I told them about my own experiences as a filly and struggling with my own disability that I had learned to overcome. The fillies and colts listened curiously even Cloudy who gave me a reassuring smile from her seat in the front.

It was sad though, these ponies were so young that some of them had never been born in Equestria as it really turned out. If they were lucky they wound up in Stables, but I had no idea how many of them would've even survived that.

I finished talking and the teacher gave me a nod.

"Does anypony have any questions for Mrs. Scootaloo?" She asked and a bunch of hooves shot up in response, she pointed her hoof at a dark colored earth pony filly with a dark blue mane. "How about you first Symphonic?"

"I was wondering about your cutie mark, how did you figure out your talent?"

"Well, with Cloudy's other mom and our friend Apple Bloom mostly," I said with a chuckle. "We had been trying to figure out our cutie marks for awhile at that point until we realized what our talents are. Our talents are to help ponies to the best of our ability, either with their cutie marks or just in general, its why we did things like build the Stables, we wanted to help ponies."

The colt from before raised his hoof and was called on.

"Is it true you left instructions in the Stables for the ponies to do, umm, what's the word..."

"You mean the experiments?" I asked as I flinched a little at the question, I was afraid that might come up. "Yes, but there was a purpose to them, we wanted to give Equestria in the future a better chance to survive. Thankfully they never had to be put into place."

There were a few more questions before the bell rang ending class.

"Don't forget students, read the chapter on Discord in your history books for next week," she said as the students filed out of the room.

"That was great mommy," Cloudy said as she trotted over to me with a smile. "I'm glad you got to come to class."

"Yes, thank you, Sweetie Belle has been doing this since you moved to Ponyville and I'm happy to finally get to meet Cloudy's other mom," the teacher said with a smile as she offered me a hoof.

"Likewise," I said with a nod as I shook her hoof. "I'm glad to be able to talk to Cloudy's class."

She nodded and I headed out with Cloudy who was smiling. I ruffled the filly's mane and looked out at Ponyville, it was still what I remembered it had been before the war. In a way, this is what I was fighting for, not necessarily to return completely to the past, but to secure a future for Equestria.

As much as I hated to admit it Winter Breeze was right about one thing, Equestria still had problems. There were still Raiders, still chems, still ponies willing to use others for their own gain like Slavers or Pimps, that hadn't changed in the last 11 years, still corruption.

But was it necessary to use such extreme methods? I honestly had no idea, sometimes extreme methods were necessary, but at what cost? What kind of world would we be leaving for our children if we were willing to always go to the extreme?

"Is everything okay mommy?" Cloudy asked as she looked up at me.

"Yeah, everything's fine, I'm just thinking is all," I said with a smile as I ruffled the filly's mane gently.

"You're a good kid, you know that? How about you go see your friends, just make sure you're home for dinner."

Cloudy giggled at that before running off to join some other foals that were waiting for her.

I smiled and watched her go, it wasn't easy to think of her any differently that the Cloudy that existed in the real Equestria but she felt, different. She didn't have to worry about war or living under the hoof of the Enclave, she had a chance to be genuinely happy.

And I didn't want her to lose that.

I smiled a little as I reached the house and slipped in behind Sweetie Belle who was cleaning a shelf. I wrapped my forelegs around the Unicorn mare who let out a cute eep before laughing.

"Hey Scootaloo, how'd it go today?"

"It went fine," I said as I nuzzled Sweetie gently. "I told them about Red Racer and everything, they asked some questions and generally things went pretty well. How about you, how did your day go?"

"Good, got some cleaning done, got to spend time with Sparky, generally had a good day," she said and added with a chuckle. "I'm feeling a little like the odd mare out here, a Unicorn in a family of Pegasi."

I chuckled a little and gave her a kiss. "That's silly, it doesn't make you the odd mare out, it makes you unique, and that's a good thing. I love you for who you are Sweetie Dash-Belle, I always have and I always will."

Sweetie smiled and nuzzled me gently. "You're quite the charmer Scootaloo, are you trying to get under my tail again?"
"Is it working?"

"Maybe," she said with a laugh and took my hoof and we headed towards the bedroom together. "I just put Sparky down for her nap, so we should have time to do whatever you want to me..."

I smiled a little and followed her to the bedroom.

Yeah, that's all you're getting out of that dream, you darn perverts, I'm not writing this to let ponies drool over my sex life real or not.

Anyway, I woke up the next morning in the holding cell to the sound of the cell door opening. I opened my eyes to see a guard dressed in head to tail armor like that Rain Runner wore, only with a helmet instead.

"I'm guessing you're part of the plan," I said as I got to my hooves.

"Indeed," the pony said as they removed the armor and gave it to me before shifting into a perfect copy of me.

"Be careful, I don't want anything happening to you just because you look like me," I said as I slipped into the armor, it fit a little snug but it would at least keep me covered until I got out of town.

"Your friends are waiting for you outside of town on the west side down the new road," the changeling said as she laid down on the bed like I had been. "Hurry, you've only got 10 minutes before the window closes. Your marefriend is keeping an eye on your stuff."

"She's not my... never mind, I don't have time for this..." I said as I headed out of the holding area and past the ponies outside, a few of them gave me nods and I nodded back before heading out.

There's one advantage to being dressed in Ranger Armor, you don't exactly stand out in NCR territory. The armor was admittedly a little uncomfortable, but that was probably just because it wasn't my size.

I headed along the main road out of town as I went past more ponies. They were worried, I could tell that much just from their body language, and I didn't blame them. The Enclave was on the verge of victory and they had no idea that their only hope for a future outside of Enclave control was in the hooves of a pony they had every right to hate.

I just kept walking as I left town and headed for the place I was told to go. I found my friends waiting for me like the Changeling had promised, it was just the three of us again and I gave them all a nod.

"Its good to have you back Scootaloo," Arc said as I removed the armor and replaced it with my usual outfit and battle saddle.

"You know, maybe you should give that a name," Cherry commented as I fit the two energy rifles into my saddle. "Something that fits them and who you are I mean."

"Maybe," I said thoughtfully as I looked at the two weapons, they had once been used as weapons by the Enclave but now they were going to be used to stop them, I smiled a little as I patted them. "Freedom and Liberty."

"A bit on the nose but we don't have time to think about this," Arc said as she nodded to a Vertibuck that was resting on the ground. "That's our ride to Manehattan, or at least the edge of it."

"How are we going to avoid the Enclave's attention?"

"That's the beauty of this," a mare's voice said and I looked up to see the pilot, a Pegasus mare who gave us a nod. "This baby was an experimental Vertibuck being developed by Enclave R&D to adapt StealthBuck technology into it. When we get close to Manehattan we turn the stealth field on, and we can land without drawing attention."

"Well, that'll work," I said as we climbed into the Vertibuck. "We've got a long way to go before all of this is over, but we can do it."

Cherry and Arc nodded as the pilot got into the cockpit and started to take off. We looked down at Junction Town in the distance as it left our view.

I just hoped that we'd be able to save it.

00000

"My dear Equestria, victory is nigh, as we speak the NCR Senate is in the middle of deliberations to decide how to proceed," Winter Breeze's voice said over the radio, she was using DJ Pon3's broadcast technology to speak every so often. "The future of Equestria could not be in better hooves, I hope that this little squabble will end soon and we'll be able to pioneer a new path for the..."

I shut off the radio and shook my head. "So what's the plan when we land?"

"There's a settlement near where we're being dropped that we're to head to first to stock up on supplies," Arc said with a nod. "From there we're to head south through the city until we can get access to Tenpony Tower."

"We're to expect a lot of resistance along the way, it sounds like the Enclave has put the entire city under martial law," Cherry said. "The refugees we talked to said that they barely escaped before the Enclave closed off all major entrances onto Manehattan Island."

"So we'll have to go through one of the minor ones, the Enclave can't cover everything," I said with a nod.

"We'll figure it out," Arc said. "Hopefully there will be somewhere we can enter the city from."

I looked at her for a long moment, Manehattan was where Stable 66 was and I had to wonder if it was going to be easy for her to return to the city. We hadn't been there since we had left the city to head to Neigh Orleans and that was over a year ago now.

A year, I couldn't believe that I had only been out here for a year at this point. It felt like a decade with the Enclave's attacks. Now here we were, flying into another warzone so we could stop the Enclave.
I wondered how much longer I'd be able to keep this up.

"Stable 66 is in Manehattan right Arc?" Cherry asked as she looked at the Unicorn mare curiously.

"Yeah, it is," Arc said as she fidgeted with her PipBuck for a moment. "Its also not far from our route through the city, if we can make it into it at least."

We had a week to make our way to Tenpony Tower, while I didn't doubt we'd be able to pull it off, I wasn't sure if we should risk a detour to Stable 66. Then again, Arc hadn't seen her home in so long that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Do you want to go back there?" I asked Arc who looked at me for a long moment as if she was trying to figure out what to say. "Its okay if you do, we can spare the time."

"Maybe... only if it wouldn't change our plans in any major way," Arc said with a nod.

"Arc, my mom was a soldier, she once told me a little saying they have in the military," I said with a chuckle. "No plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. We don't know what's waiting for us in Manehattan and we might have to adapt as we go, so don't worry about it."

"Your mom sounds like a smart pony," Cherry said with a smile.

"She certainly had her moments, I just wish she was here to help us right now," I said with a sigh as I looked out at the ruins of Manehattan in the distance. "I spent my foalhood wanting to be like her, to be the best pony I could be and to help Equestria..."

"I'd say you succeeded," Arc said with a smile as she put a hoof on my shoulder. "You're a good pony Scootaloo, and you're going to keep doing everything you can to make Equestria safe."

"Yeah," I said with a smile as I gave them both a nod.

I just hoped that I was doing the right thing. That was always the question wasn't it, was I doing the right thing? Even when I had to do the wrong thing it was always for the greater good, that's what it meant to be a pony like me, to be the villain of the piece.

It was all worth it in the end wasn't it? Lives were saved, ponies kept on living, our species continued to exist against the odds. Surviving wasn't enough though, we'd have to do more with ourselves than just survive.

The NCR served as the best chance at being able to do that, but even it wasn't perfect. I still had a lot to learn about the politics of the nation, but I could see that things weren't easy for them.

I thought back to Apple Bloom and Sparky, they were just ponies trying to live their lives in their homes. We hadn't brought the war to them, but what if we had? What if the Enclave had attacked us then?

No, I couldn't dwell on that anymore, they hadn't attacked us at Sweet Apple Acres and hopefully the war would never come there.

"Okay back there, time to go silent while the stealth system does its job," the voice of the pilot said from the cockpit.

A light humming sound started up, I didn't see any noticeable change in the Vertibuck but I guess it worked. I was impressed, and I couldn't help but appreciate the irony, this was a piece of Enclave technology that we were using in order to sneak into their occupied territory.

I just hoped it would be enough.

The Vertibuck landed on the other side of the river from the city in the middle of a group of buildings that hid us from the city's line of sight. We climbed out of the Vertibuck and were soon joined by the pilot who went into one of the buildings and opened up the door to a basement.

"Okay, this is your best bet of getting into the city from here," she said as she lead us down into the basement, I was a bit surprised to find an excavated tunnel that sloped downwards.

"Its a smuggling tunnel from during the war," I said with a chuckle. "I thought the Ministry of Morale sealed all of these up."

"They did, we came across it and un-sealed it, it leads right into the city near the settlement at Hoofson," the pilot said with a nod as we turned on our lights. "I'm afraid this is as far as I can go, but I hope you succeed, we're all counting on you."

"But hey no pressure right?" Arc said with a chuckle as we started into the tunnel, waving good-bye to the pilot as she headed back to her craft.

We walked for a little while in silence, there wasn't much to talk about at this point given what we were about to walk into. I could only imagine what was waiting for us in the city itself, the fact of the matter was that none of us were really ready for this kind of warfare on our own, but we didn't have a lot of choice.

Maybe it was true that heroes didn't really choose to be heroes, instead we were chosen. I looked up at the ceiling above us, it looked like it had been dug out centuries before, this was definitely an old tunnel.

"EEK!" Cherry said as she stumbled over something and found herself muzzle to muzzle with a skeleton, she backed away quickly and hugged me, breathing heavily.

"Its okay, you're okay," I said reassuringly as I put a wing around the mare, trying to calm her down. "Its just a skeleton."

"I know, sorry, it just surprised me," Cherry said calming down a little as we examined the skeleton, it was dressed in old tattered clothing but there was something, eerily familiar about them.

I picked up a faded piece of paper, I could just barely make out the writing on it and it took me a moment to realize it wasn't Equestrian. The writing was made up of strange runic symbols that I had only seen once before.

"Zebras..." I said quietly as if the ghosts of the dead Zebras could've heard me and bring their wrath down on us for disturbing their resting place. "The Zebras must've used this tunnel during the war to enter the city."

"Ugh, this isn't helping at all," Cherry said as she looked at the skeleton, I had to wonder if it was a Zebra or a Pony that had gotten in their way.

Not that it really mattered to be honest, they had been long dead. I put the paper in my bags, it was mostly just a curiosity, though I did recognize one thing on it, a logo for a company that I knew.

"Four Stars," I said as we walked, which got a strange look from my friends. "They were a company during the war that ran the trains here in Manehattan. According to The Book of LittlePip they were traitors who allowed the Zebras into the city."

"So, you're thinking that whoever was in here was heading to meet with Four Stars?" Arc asked.

"Just a theory at least, its hard to prove I admit," I said with a shrug. "Really I'm not an expert on Zebras, maybe Xiraia will be able to help if we can rescue her from the Enclave."

"Why Four Stars anyway?" Cherry asked. "The name I mean."

"You know I'm not sure, I seem to recall hearing something about the Zebras regarding four stars as being evil for some reason," I said with a shrug. "I guess they kind of latched onto that for the name. It might be nothing really, just a curiosity."

"You never know, maybe its the orders to evacuate the city before the bombs went off," Arc said.

"Not that it did them much good," I said with a shrug, but she had a point, I just hoped that somepony would be able to at least solve this mystery.

The rest of the trip went uneventfully, there weren't any more dead bodies found along the area and it looked mostly intact. Something about this was weird though, it felt almost like we were disturbing somepony's resting place.

We froze a little when we heard a growling sound ahead of us as Ghouls came into view. They charged at us all at once as we leveled our rifles at the undead ponies and opened fire, gunning them down as they got closer.

"Why does it always have to be Ghouls?" Arc said with a groan as we walked forward towards the other end of the tunnel when another Ghoul came into view, but this one wasn't attacking us.

"D...D... Diamond?"

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," I said with a groan as I motioned for my friends to lower their weapons as we saw who it was, it was an Earth Pony mare with rotting grey fur and a pair of glasses that looked like they were stuck to her face.

It was Silver Spoon.

We reached the other end of the tunnel and found ourselves out in the middle of the upper east side of Manehattan. I looked back at the Ghoul that used to be my classmate and sighed as I pulled my hat down a little.

"Silver Spoon, what happened to you?"

"I, don't know," she said in the raspy voice of a Ghoul. "All I remember is leaving Manehattan after the bomb went off and started towards Hoofington. I wound up like, this I guess."

"I'm sorry Silver Spoon," I said as I removed my hat and looked at her, she squinted at me as if trying to recognize who I was. "Do you remember me?"

"Scootaloo?" She managed to say as her eyes went wide. "I think at least... I can't really see right without my glasses."

"But she has her... oww!" Arc started to say before getting a hoof to the side from Cherry.

"Silver Spoon, its me Scootaloo, its a really long story," I said with a sigh as I played with my hat a little. "I survived by chance more than anything else, Rainbow Dash saved me from dying."

"I see," Silver Spoon said as she looked at the three of us. "Well, you don't happen to know what happened to Diamond do you? I was talking with her before the bomb went off and I don't know where she is now"

I flinched a little, from the Book of LittlePip I knew exactly what had happened to Diamond Tiara. She had been at the Shattered Hoof correctional facility on an inspection when the bombs went off and had gotten trapped.

When the prisoners escaped she had been afraid for her life and killed herself rather than let them have their way with her. I had no idea how to tell that kind of thing to Silver Spoon though, even if she had been a pain in my flank when we were foals, I didn't think she deserved to know what happened.

I couldn't do that to her, not to one of the few ponies still alive from before the war.

"I'm sorry Silver, I don't know where she is, but I'm sure she's out there somewhere," I said with a forced smile.

"Oh well, its fine, I'll find her someday," Silver said with a nod. "I just came here from Hoofington a few months ago, I was hoping she may have come here."

"Yeah, maybe," Cherry said with a nod and Arc nodded in agreement.

"What about you Scootaloo, where are your friends?" Silver asked as she examined Arc and Cherry closely. "Unless they've undergone some sort of makeover and are these two."

I laughed a little. "No, no this is Arc Light and Cherry Blossom, we're trying to help fight the Enclave here in the city."

"Oh, the Enclave? Oh don't get me started on the Enclave, I was in Hoofington when Lighthooves did his whole thing in Thunderhead," Silver Spoon said with a shake of her head.

Lighthooves? Thunderhead? This was the first time I had even heard about this, I knew that Thunderhead was a cloud city near Hoofington and Shadowbolt Tower, but who was Lighthooves? Had he served the Enclave or was there something else about him that we didn't quite know about.

I made a mental note to learn more about Lighthooves later, something about that made me feel almost uneasy.

"I see, well that must've been quite the story," I said and Silver nodded. "What are things like in Hoofington these days?"

"Quieter than 10 years ago, but still not exactly the most fun place to stay, lots of Ghouls around Meatlocker though," Silver said. "Maybe you can visit someday, I'd be glad to show you around."

"Maybe..." I said, I looked around the area. "We're looking for a settlement called Hoofson, do you know where that is?"

"Oh sure, its not too far away from the Stable," Silver said with a nod as she started down a street. "Come on, its just this way."

"Wait, what Stable?" Arc asked the Ghoul.

"Why, Stable 66 of course, we're just a few blocks away from it," Silver said with a rotting smile as she looked back at us. "Why do you ask?"

Well that answered that, we were within striking distance of Stable 66, and it was about time we figured out just what happened to that Stable. I just hoped that Arc would be able to handle it, after all she had left her home over a year ago, and returning it wasn't going to be easy.

"Scootaloo can..."

"After Hoofson we can check it out as long as we're not delayed too much," I said with a reassuring nod to her. "Come on, lets go. It was good seeing you again Silver Spoon, try and get out of the city okay?"

"Okay," Silver Spoon said as she trotted off.

"Old friend of yours?" Cherry asked as the ghoul left.

"Would you believe she used to bully me as a filly?" I asked. "Obviously she's mellowed out a little bit."

"Huh, well here's hoping she'll be okay," Arc said as we headed towards Hoofson.

We didn't quite make it to the settlement, just as we were approaching it we heard the sound of a cloudship on approach. We looked up to see an Enclave Raptor approaching the settlement and ducked into one of the ruined buildings.

"Okay, looks like Hoofson is out for right now," Cherry said with a groan. "What's the Enclave even doing here?"

"I don't know, maybe they're doing sweeps of the settlements to be safe," I said with a sigh as I checked my PipBuck. "Figures, we can't even reach our first stop."

We started checking around the building, it looked like it had been some sort of museum before the bombs fell. We headed down into the basement area of the building and stopped in our tracks.

"Well, guess we don't have much of a choice now," I said as we saw the door to Stable 66. "Come on, lets check it out."

As I walked up to the control terminal I turned back to look at Arc, she suddenly looked very nervous as if she wasn't sure
about coming back into the Stable.

"What's wrong?"

"Its just..." Arc said, hesitating a moment. "I don't know if I want to go back in there right now."

"Its okay, we're here for you," I said with a smile as I placed a hoof on Arc's shoulder. "You'll be just fine."

Arc looked at me for a long moment and nodded. I went back to the panel and input the code, nothing happened for a long moment before the door started to open with a screech.

We walked into Stable 66 and looked around, there was no sign of anypony in the entrance area. "Hello?"

"Scootaloo..." Cherry said as she gestured at a body that was lying against the wall and we all froze.

Lying against the wall was a corpse dressed in a familiar black insect-like power armor. It looked like it had been there for a long time but was almost perfectly preserved. It looked like the pony inside had been shot, but there was only one thing it meant right now.

The Enclave had been in Stable 66.

LEVEL UP!
Perk Received: Tactical Espionage Expert.
Details: You've gained a knowledge of infiltration and sneaking, you might want to invest in a cardboard box now. You gain an extra 5 points in stealth.