"My dear Equestria, the Enclave has returned better than ever before," the voice of the Enclave's president said over the radio. "You may have heard of our past actions, but I am here to tell all of you that things are different now. The Enclave is here to help Equestria, we offer aid to any settlement, tribe, or Stable in the Wasteland."

"At the cost of their freedom I'm sure," Vanilla muttered but she looked as surprised as the rest of us. "This is, unexpected to say the least."

I looked around and was surprised to see Serenity was actually hiding behind Vanilla. The usually brave filly was shaking like a leaf. She was terrified of the Enclave... and I didn't blame her.

"Our world has become a ruined place, while there are ponies who have been trying to rebuild, they do nothing but stave off the greater problem. Corruption, disease, starvation, the New Canterlot Republic and its allies does little to stop this inside and outside of their borders. The Enclave offers you all an alternative, food, water, and stability to all those who want it."

Was it possible the Enclave was suddenly changing their tune? Something about this whole thing felt weird, I wasn't sure if I wanted to believe what this, President Winter Breeze was saying or not.

At least, until she continued speaking.

"There is of course the matter of the traitors that call themselves Dashites. Traitors and terrorists who want to disrupt the established order of the Enclave. Just as bad are those who harbor them. The NCR harbors such individuals and allows them free reign over their territory. But that is the least of their treachery, they have given one of the worst of these traitors, a war criminal who's actions caused many deaths..."

"Uh-oh, I've got a bad feeling about this," Arc said as everypony looked over at me.

"That's not possible, we've been careful, how could the Enclave know I'm still alive?" I asked, but I was dreading the answer.

The only other pony she could mean was Fluttershy, but I had a feeling it wasn't the case... and that scared me.

"I am speaking of course about the former Vice President of Stable-Tec, and the pony behind the Stable experiments, Scootaloo. She has been living among you for the past year under the alias of the Wanderer, the NCR and DJ Pon3 have been aware of this fact since then, perpetrating the lie to the inhabitants of Equestria. The Enclave doesn't believe in such deceptions, so we are bringing the truth to you. This is President Winter Breeze, signing off."

There was a long moment of silence as we processed what we had just heard. The Enclave had just made their move.

And it scared me.

"Serenity, you can come out," I said at the door to Serenity's bedroom, it was an hour later, the train ride had been cancelled so Arc Light and Vanilla were trying to figure out what was going to happen now.

Which left me to console the terrified 10 year old filly.

"Serenity, please, I promise we're going to keep the Enclave from hurting you," I said, trying to sound reassuring.

"You don't know that..." she said from behind the door. "They're going to go after you too, you heard what she said. And if it ever got out that I'm related to you... ponies are going to hate us..."

"Serenity, it'll be okay," I said and sighed a little, she was just a filly and didn't deserve to be subjected to such things. "Me and Vanilla will do everything we can in order to make sure that you're safe. You're one of the strongest Ponies I've ever met, we're going to make it through this, together."

She doesn't say anything for a long moment, I wasn't even sure if I believed everything I was saying. Serenity was going to be in for a hard time, but I knew that she'd make it through it.

She had a lot more of me in her than just my DNA, there was a spirit to her that went beyond just that. I had worked hard to find her, and I was going to make sure she stayed safe, no matter the cost.

The door opened and I smiled a little as Serenity hugged me tightly. I smiled a little and hugged her back, wrapping my wings around her protectively. It didn't matter that we had been born centuries apart, we were family to each other, and that was all that really mattered.

"Thank you Scootaloo," Serenity said as we continued the hug, she smiled up at me a little. "Did you really mean what you said?"

"Every word," I said and ruffled the filly's mane gently. "I care about what happens to you Serenity, and you really are a strong pony. Never change that and you'll do just fine."

"Thanks," Serenity said as her smile widened. "So, what do you think we're going to do now?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," I admitted. "I'm sure your mom and Arc will have something figured out soon."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right," Serenity said with a smile and I nuzzled her gently. "I just hope the Enclave can be stopped again is all."

"Me too Serenity, me too," I said with a smile as I ruffled the filly's mane a bit before smirking a bit. "Come on, lets go race again, you still owe me a rematch."

"Okay!" Serenity said happily as we gathered up our stuff and headed outside.

That evening, we had our answer, and I admit that it wasn't one I expected. A shadow fell over the city, when I looked up into the sky, I was surprised at what I saw.

It was a massive metal ship like I had never seen before in all my years. It was as big as a city and housed on its back was a transparent dome, with clearly visible buildings inside. It was a flying city, not entirely like Cloudsdale or Coltlumbia, more like a massive airship with a city built into it.

This was certainly not what I had expected to see in the Wasteland, I mean I had heard rumors of such a ship being built as a mobile military base, but it hadn't ever been put into service.

So then how was it here?

We went to a cleared out area that had been designated for a landing zone as an aircraft came in for a landing. Several ponies dressed in armor came out lead by a green Unicorn mare with a darker green mane and tail that was dressed in formal wear.

"Mayor Vanilla Cream?" The green mare asked as she approached us, looking between us.

"That's me," Vanilla said as she offered a hoof to the green mare. "Welcome to Crystal City."

"Thanks, I'm Councilmare Jade from Nomad City's Ruling Council," Jade said with a smile as she shook Vanilla's hoof. "We were asked by the NCR to pick up ponies who can help with the current crisis as well as any Dashites to keep them safe from the Enclave."

She looked at me and I cringed a little. "Especially in the case of Scootaloo, you're to be taken back to Junction Town with the mayor here."

"What about me?" Serenity asked as she looked up at Jade. "I want to help as best I can."

"She's with us," Vanilla said speaking up in Serenity's defense. "She's my adopted daughter, and the Enclave won't like me anymore than anypony else. I want to make sure she's safe."

"She can be a great help, we'll make sure she doesn't get into trouble," I added and Jade nodded.

"Alright, just be careful, we don't need you getting lost in the city," Jade said with a sigh as we all climbed aboard the craft as it flew off towards the massive airship.

"Hey out there in Nomad City, this is DJ Journeyer coming at you with the news," a stallion's voice came over the radio as we approached the city. "With Equestria still reeling from the Enclave President's speech, it seems that Ambassador Brass from the NCR has relayed a message to the council asking for our assistance. We've picked up some new arrivals in the city, so lets try and give them the proper courtesy. It seems that even the Wanderer who DJ Pon3 has been talking about is among them, nice to have you aboard Wanderer."

"How does he know these things?" I asked, looking at Jade.

"Who knows really, he seems to know how to learn anything whenever he needs to learn it," Jade said with a shrug. "We'll have to get you three some quarters in the temporary housing district, while that's being set up you can come to my place."

"What is Nomad City?" Serenity asked curiously, I admit I was curious too, I was vaguely aware of it, but I didn't know how it got here.

"Its the Ministry of Awesome's last great project other than the SPP Towers," Jade said. "It was never finished before the Megaspells went off and remained hidden for 200 years. After the Enclave Civil War, the rebels stumbled across it and working together with ponies from the surface finished construction on the city, its been flying around Equestria ever since and we help wherever we can."

"Cool," Serenity said with a smile as the craft came in for a landing, we all climbed out and into the hangar, after a quick check over we walked out of the hangar and out into the city itself.

It was amazing, Nomad City wasn't like any other city I had seen in the Wasteland it was like a piece of Equestria had been preserved under the city's dome. The buildings were intact (though some looked like they were undergoing renovation), and it genuinely felt like I had stepped back into the old world in a weird way.

Of course we were sitting on top of a massive airship so it wasn't quite the same thing, but hey, it was something. They lived in comfort, but unlike the Enclave, they saw that it was their duty to help Equestria.

I was a bit surprised to see more than just ponies, there were Zebras, Griffons, and I don't know how many other species making their home in the city.

In a way, it felt like I was home again.

"Welcome to Nomad City," Jade said with a smile as we started walking down the street.

As we walked down a street in what Jade called the housing district, it was a pretty ordinary looking neighborhood like something from before the war, it was really nice. We finally stopped in front of a rather ordinary looking two story house in the district.

"While we get everything set up for you in the Temporary Housing District you can stay at my house with my family," Jade said as she started to unlock the door. "It shouldn't take long, but it at least gives you a place to stay."

"That would be nice," I said, Vanilla and Serenity nodded in agreement. "As long as we aren't imposing or anything."

"No, no, of course not, we take in surface ponies all the time," Jade said with a smile as she got the door open. "In fact my..."

"Mommy!"

A small white Unicorn filly with a green mane that was slightly curled ran up to us, hugging Jade tightly. The older Unicorn smiled and hugged the filly gently before she turned and looked at us.

"Pure Heart, meet Vanilla Cream, Serenity, Arc Light, and Scootaloo, they'll be staying with us for a little bit," Jade said with a smile. "This is my daughter Pure Heart."

"Its nice to meet you Pure Heart," Vanilla said with a smile as Serenity looked at the other filly curiously.

"Come on inside," Jade said as Pure Heart released the hug and we started through the front door. "Is Star home from work yet?"

"No, she's still at Security HQ helping get things organized," Pure Heart said as we entered the foyer as the door shut behind us. "She should be here once everything calms down."

Geez, how many mares in the Wasteland were into mares?

"She'll be really looking forward to meeting you Scootaloo," Jade commented, which made me look at her strangely. "You'll see."

"Well, I look forward to meeting her then," I said. "She works for Security then?"

"Oh yeah, she's a pretty high ranking member of Security, Mommy Star is really cool!" Pure Heart said with a smile.

There was a hum as Nomad City started to move forward slowly, after a moment it seemed almost like we were on normal ground. We were on our way back to central Equestria.

"I have to admit I wasn't imagining anything like this existing in Equestria," Arc commented as we sat in the living room, I smiled a little as Serenity and Pure Heart talked with each other.

"Yeah, we live in comfort, but we make sure that we do our best to help Equestria," Jade said with a nod.

I smiled a little, they almost felt like the anti-Enclave, they lived in the sky in comfort but they did what they could to help. It really was like a little piece of pre-war Equestria in the Wasteland.

Maybe this kind of thing was better than Stables.

"We've mostly been working out of Hoofington recently," Jade continued. "Its been recovering slower than the rest of Equestria so we're helping the factions out there as best we can."

"What's been..." I started to say when we heard the door open.

"I'm home," a mare's voice said as a purple Pegasus pony with a navy blue mane trotted into the living room, she was pretty ordinary looking dressed in Security barding, what surprised me though was that one of her wings was cybernetic but I wasn't going to question that.

"Mommy Star!" Pure Heart sand and galloped over to the Pegasus and hugged her tightly. "How was work today?"

"Exhausting, the Enclave really threw us for a loop," Star commented before she looked over at us and her eyes went wide. "Uh, Jade honey, why is Scootaloo sitting in our living room?"

"I was in Crystal City so I came up here with Vanilla," I said as I got up and walked over, offering a hoof to the mare. "Its nice to meet you."

"I'm Shooting Star, its an honor to meet you," Star said with a smile as she shook hooves with me. "Sorry, I heard about what Winter Breeze said, but I didn't expect you to be in my house."

"Don't worry about it, I'm still..." I started to say before my eyes fell on Star's flanks where the Dashite brand was. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Its okay, its better than being in the Enclave," Star said with a sad smile. "I served under General Cloud Chaser in Whinneyapolis, but I couldn't take it anymore so I went Dashite. Its how I wound up in Nomad City, and how I found an amazing family."

I smiled a little as Jade and Pure Heart joined the Pegasus and hugged her. It was a nice family moment, though it made me wish I was back home in Coltlumbia with my own family, or in Ponyville with Sweetie Belle.

As we returned to our seats, a question occurred to me.

"Star, do you know anything about Winter Breeze?"

Star paused for a long moment as if she was thinking about what to say. "Not a whole lot honestly," she finally said. "Nopony in the Enclave does really, she started out as a low level government official, the Secretary of Education I believe. When the Civil War started, she was the last one in the line of succession that wasn't killed or joined the rebels, her history is a bit of a mystery to anypony outside the Generals and her Inner Circle."

"So, we've got a President who keeps to herself, interesting," Arc Light said thoughtfully. "What is she, a supercomputer or something?"

"Who knows really, I don't even know where she's based out of," Star said with a shrug. "She's a bit paranoid, but she keeps the Generals in check."

"So much for honesty, she won't even be honest to her own citizens," Vanilla said with a shake of her head. "So what's the plan?"

"When we reach Junction Town we'll figure it out from there," Jade said with a sigh. "The NCR is getting as many allies as they can for this, we're looking at a full scale war with the Enclave."

I sighed, this was going to be a long trip.

"Wow, this is a nice place," Arc said as we looked around the suite that had been arranged for the five of us at the Equestria Grand Hotel.

"Yeah, this is great!" Serenity said as she jumped up on the bed with Schooner, petting the dog and giggling a little as he licked her face.

It was a really nice suite, it really was like an old fancy hotel room. I smiled a little, it was nice to see Serenity happy again, she had really connected with Pure Heart while we were chatting, the two were becoming fast friends already.

"Scootaloo, can I talk to you in the other room?" Vanilla asked.

"Sure," I said and followed the cyberpony into the other room, she shut the door and sighed a little. "Is everything okay Vanilla?"

Vanilla paused for a long moment, I got the feeling that she was trying to figure out how to put this and honestly it worried me a bit. Something felt off about this whole thing to be honest, sometimes it felt like she was actually trying to distance herself from Serenity even if she cared about her.

Why would a mother do that to a 10 year old?

"Scootaloo, this isn't easy for me to say," Vanilla said with a sigh. "I need to talk to you about something, mother to mother."

"What is it?" I asked, though I was worried about what she was going to say.

"It, hasn't been easy for me lately with everything that's going on, the truth is I've been, hiding something from Serenity," Vanilla admitted, then it clicked in my mind what she meant. "I have a tumor, and because of my cybernetics it can't be operated on. The doctors give me two years, at best."

"That's why you let her be more on her own, you want her to learn to be independent for when you're gone," I said and she nodded sadly. "Honestly Vanilla, I think you need to tell her. Its not going to be easy on either of you, but if you push her away, that's what she'll remember for the rest of her life. Be there for your daughter, if you don't it'll eat away at you as much as any disease would."

I paused for a long moment before looking down at my hooves.

"Believe me, I know."

Vanilla placed a hoof on my shoulder and gave me an understanding nod. "Its okay Scootaloo, I'll talk to her tomorrow, just promise me you'll be there with me, okay?"

"I promise," I said with a nod. "I'll be there for you whenever you need me."

"Thank you," Vanilla said before heading back to the bedroom.

I sighed and entered the adjoining bedroom where Arc Light was already asleep, but I didn't feel much like sleeping right now. I put my earbuds in and took out a holotape Rainbow Dash had left for me and put it in my PipBuck before hitting play.

"Hey Scootaloo, I've been thinking a lot about everything that happened before and during the war between us lately. I always did my best to take care of you and I have no regrets there, but sometimes... sometimes I wonder if I could've done more. Sometimes it felt like I was still just being your big sister instead of the mother you needed me to be. The war just made it worse and not to mention the Ministries and Stable-Tec. I'm truly sorry about that Scootaloo, I hope someday if you have a foal of your own you'll be a better mother than I ever was. In the meantime, stay awesome and remember that your mother will always love you, no matter what."

As it finished I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

As Vanilla talked to Serenity the next day I was only half listening as she told Serenity what was going on. I kept thinking about Cloudy and what had happened to her, the records we had recovered from the Enclave hadn't yielded much information other than that she had grown up and gotten married and died of old age.

I still hoped she didn't resent me for it.

"You... you're really going to die?" Serenity asked, snapping me out of my thoughts as the filly looked at her mother sadly.

"I'm sorry Serenity," Vanilla said as she hugged the filly gently as she cried into her. "I promise I'll be there for you as much as I can but, I know this won't be easy for either of us."

Serenity just sat there for a long moment, hugging her adopted mother as she cried. My heart went out to the filly, she had lost almost every family she had ever known, and now she was going to lose the mare who raised her in a couple of years.

"Serenity, I know things aren't going to be easy for you two," I said, finally speaking up as the filly wiped her tears away. "Treasure the time you have together if its two years or two decades, what matters is that you have each other. I know I wish that I could've had more time with my family."

"Okay, I will..." Serenity said with a weak smile. "I love you... mom."

"I love you too Serenity," Vanilla said as she hugged her gently. "Come on, lets go see your friend Pure Heart."

Serenity nodded and we headed out of the hotel room.

We arrived in Junction Town that evening, the war meeting was scheduled for the next day so me and Arc Light were settling into our hotel room when there was a knock on the door.

"Scootaloo Dash?" The uniformed mare on the other side asked as she sized me up.

"Yes, that's me, can I help you?" I asked, I was worried all of a sudden.

"President Grimfeathers wants to have a word with you in her office," the soldier said, she looked at Arc Light as she approached. "Just Scootaloo, the President was very insistent."

"I'll be fine," I said.

"Okay, just be careful."

I nodded and followed the NCR soldier through Junction Town past a statue of a mare in a park area and into the main government building for the NCR. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as the soldier talked to somepony inside the President's office before allowing me inside after relieving me of my weapons.

President Regina Grimfeathers was a female Griffon with dark wings that looked like she had seen more than her fair share of combat. She was seated behind her desk, but what surprised me most was that she was accompanied by Midnight.

"Scootaloo, I'm glad I finally got to meet you, I'm just sorry it wasn't under better circumstances," Regina said as she offered me a claw which I shook.

"Likewise Madam President," I said with a smile. "Is everything okay?"

"We, have a concern about the recent broadcast from the Enclave," Regina said and nodded to Midnight. "This is sensitive information, but General Sparkle here felt it would be prudent to write you in on it given, the nature of it."

"The Enclave's broadcast reached everywhere in Equestria, which isn't anything unusual," Midnight said before continuing. "Except for the fact that it was also broadcast into the Stables. Not even the MASEBS system is powerful enough to do that, in fact there's only one thing in Equestria that's connected across Equestria and in the Stables."

A chill ran down my spine, I knew exactly what they meant, and I didn't like it. "You mean, the Enclave is hijacking the Stable-Tec All Clear signal? But that's impossible, you'd need the code and..."

"One of the leaders of Stable-Tec or their descendants," Regina finished, folding her claws and looking at me sadly. "I need to know everything you know about any ponies related to either yourself or Apple Bloom."

"Serenity didn't do this and she's the only still living descendant I have that I know of," I said with a sigh. "As for Apple Bloom, its... something I promised her I wouldn't tell anypony."

"Scootaloo, this is a matter of national security, we can account for the whereabouts of the descendants of the Apple Family from Stable 2 but we need to know if there's anypony else out there," Midnight said. "Apple Bloom would understand."

I paused a long moment before sighing a little. "Apple Bloom had a son, she gave him up for adoption when he was just a baby after his father died in the war. The only thing I know for sure is that he was on the list for Stable 48 out near Reino."
Regina and Midnight exchanged a long glance before Midnight spoke up again.

"Scootaloo, Stable 48 has gone quiet," she said somberly. "It occasionally sent scouts out up until a few months ago, we don't know what's happened in there."

My blood ran cold at that revelation, what had happened to Stable 48?

The next day the Typhon arrived after having traveled from the south and the west in order to pick up more ponies that could help us out. I was making my way through the town when I saw a familiar Pegasus Ghoul looking up at a statue at the center of a park.

"Hey Ditzy," I said as I came in for a stop next to her, she turned and gave me a smile before writing on her chalkboard.

"Hey Scootaloo, its good to see you again," she wrote before erasing it and writing again. "Did you have any luck?"

"Yeah, it turns out I have a descendant who lives in the Crystal Wasteland," I said. "How's it been going with you?"

She erases the chalkboard and writes on it again. "About the same, I'm glad you found what you were looking for."

"Me too," I said with a soft smile. "Even with everything that's going on its, nice to know that some things worked out. So where's Silver Bell?"

"She went to talk with the caravans that are arriving in town," Ditzy wrote then added with a shake of her head. "There have been less coming into the NCR since the speech."

I sighed a little, I hated that the NCR was in this position in part because of me. The Enclave was turning good ponies against the best chance Equestria had at recovering from the war. The Enclave seemed to be making a lot of good promises, but I had no idea if they were even being honest.

And honestly I had no idea if I really wanted to know, something about all of this felt really weird to me.

I spotted a familiar dark blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and smiled a little. I thanked Ditzy for her time before heading over to talk to Rain.

"Hey Scootaloo, its good to see you again," Rain said with a smile as she waved at me when I approached. "How was your trip up north?"

"Great, I met my distant granddaughter Serenity, nice kid," I said with a smile. "Thanks for pointing me towards Stable 13, you really helped me out."

"Anything for family," Rain said with a smile before looking uncomfortable for a moment. "Did you, find out about, you know..."

"Rainbow Dash adopting me?" I asked and she nodded. "Yeah, I saw the memory orbs she left behind for me. Did you know?"

"Yeah, I did," Rain admitted, rubbing her foreleg. "I met Spectrum Flash while I was there, she asked me to keep it secret if I ever met you. She was worried that if you found out before you could see the Memory Orbs it wouldn't help, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the whole truth."

I paused for a long moment, Rain Runner was my sister through adoption, and I had always hoped that if I had a sister she'd be more honest with me. At the same time though I understood why Spectrum had asked her to keep it quiet.

"Its okay Rain," I said and offered her a hoof. "Family forgives each other right?"

"Right," she said with a smile as she shook my hoof. "Thank you Scootaloo, I'm glad you're my sister."

"I'm glad you're mine too Rain," I said with a smile as I hugged her gently. "So how did it go with the Project?"

"Oh it was crazy, it turns out they wanted us to access a Megaspell locked away in the mountain near New Pegasus," Rain said with a shake of her head. "If he had access to it, he could've dominated the Wasteland, thank Celestia we stopped it."

"Indeed," I said with a nod. "Did he have any other ponies he had created?"

"Err, yeah, quite a few," Rain said, shifting uncomfortably for a moment. "We're trying to get them and the ponies that they already created integrated into normal society, or well as normal as you get in New Pegasus."

"Well I'm glad, I hope you get it all worked out," I said with a nod as I checked the time on my PipBuck. "Its time for the meeting, lets go."

Rain nodded as we headed towards the main building where the meeting was to take place.

I was a bit surprised by the gathered group when I arrived and took my seat. A lot of the ponies that I had met over the course of my journey were there including Ruby, Midnight, Xiraia, Calamity, Velvet Remedy, Jade, Shooting Star, and Vanilla. But at the same time there were others I hadn't ever met including a Unicorn dressed in Applejack's Rangers Power Armor standing next to Midnight.

On the table in front of us there was a map of Equestria with Xs over the Crystal Empire, New Pegasus, Whinnyappolis, and Trotson.

"Thank you all for coming, for those who don't know me I am General Midnight Sparkle, the commander of the NCR Rangers," Midnight said. "We have a serious problem on our hooves at this point. We've encountered the Enclave four times at this point since the end of the initial conflict with them, each time under the command of one of the Seven Wonderbolt Generals, we don't know anything about the President other than what Lieutenant Star has told us."

"Which admittedly isn't much," Star said with a sigh before telling the group basically what she had told me before on Nomad City. "Winter Breeze is an enigma I'm afraid, there's some rumors she was in Seaddle during the Great Schism, but that's about it."

"Curious, she doesn't seem familiar to me," the Applejack's Rangers member said through her mechanically distorted voice. "I guess we didn't cross paths."

"So, that's what we don't know, what do we know about the Enclave's activities?" I asked as I looked the map over again.

"Yeah, three of the Generals are still under the radar," Midnight said with a sigh. "Two of them are dead and the other two that are known have vanished."

"One of them isn't even in Equestria," Star said, making everypony look at her. "General Stardust, she's been based out of the Zebra Lands for years. The other Generals aren't particularly fond of her, but she's apparently made contact with one of the tribes and convinced them to help her. I have my doubts that she'll ever be called back, but we don't know what she'll have at her disposal if she does."

Xiraia's eyes narrowed at that revelation, what followed was a series of words in a language I didn't understand.

"Xiraia, what's wrong?" Ruby asked as she looked at the Zebra DJ worriedly.

"If the Zebra Lands are being invaded, there is only one Tribe that would ally themselves with them if it benefited them," Xiraia said. "The One."

I'm admittedly not an expert on Zebra culture, and by the looks of it neither was anypony else at the table. I vaguely remembered that the Zebras had 13 Tribes, but what did she mean by the One?

I vaguely remembered a letter from Dinky mentioning a history teacher at Luna's academy that knew about this kind of thing. Where was he when I needed him?

"We'll worry about that later if it becomes important," Midnight said. "In the meantime we don't have the capability to reach the Zebra Lands with enough force and fight the Enclave here, we'll have to worry about them later."

She looked at everypony around the table for a long moment as if trying to figure out what to say.

"Things aren't going to be easy for us, the Enclave isn't wrong about one thing, since the end of the war with the Crimson Empire the NCR has been mostly focused on internal matters and not on helping Equestria. We can build our defenses up, but we will have to do more than just that. Velvet, what is the status of the Followers' relief efforts?"

"Well, we've established contact with Terra Nova and Haven, so we're making progress in the south and northeast, but only to a point," Velvet said. "Even so, some of the settlements that we've made contact with have already started to ask us to leave."

"And then there's the matter of the Enclave's propaganda," Vanilla added bitterly. "We're going to have to counter that somehow."

"DJ Pon3 will be able to help," Xiraia said. "I'll get him to address many of the Enclave's points as well as announce that the NCR will be helping more. I'm sure it'll be easy to get Voice, Windtalker, and Refuge to do the same."

"What about Scootaloo?" Ruby asked as they all looked at me. "What do we do with her?"

There was a long pause as the group tried to figure out what to say. I was suddenly very nervous, what would they do to me?

"We can't turn her over to the Enclave," the Ranger said. "If we do we'll be no better than they are."

I really liked that mare.

"Then, what do we do with her?" Midnight asked

"I need to investigate Stable 48," I said with finality in my voice. "If Apple Bloom still has any descendants left in the Stable, we have to be certain about what happened there, especially if the Enclave is involved somehow."

"We'll have some Rangers from New Pegasus meet up with you in Reino," Midnight offered. "Do you have any idea why the Enclave might be interested in Stables all of a sudden?"

I paused for a long moment, it was hard to figure out just how much to tell them. 48 wasn't just an ordinary Stable, it was also a Stable connected to Protocol Zeta, and keeping that locked away took priority over anything else.

Was it possible that the Enclave knew about Zeta somehow? That would be the worst case scenario if they could figure out where the Stables were that had the locks, but even so getting into it wouldn't be an easy task.

That was one secret that deserved to stay buried.

"Alright then its settled," Midnight said after there was no further arguments, she took a deep breath. "The Enclave Remnant may be the greatest threat we've faced since the Goddess was defeated. At this point they have nothing to lose and everything to gain, we've backed the Enclave into a corner and a cornered animal is when it is the most dangerous. Prepare the troops, ready the airships, and prepare the people, united we stand, divided we fall."

We nodded as we were dismissed, I had to go find Arc Light and Schooner so we could get ready to go.

I just had to hope that we weren't too late.

00000

"So, you want to go checking out another Stable?" Arc asked as we met up near a restaurant in Junction Town. "We seem to be visiting a lot of them don't we?"

"Yeah, well 48 might be important to the war effort if we can figure out what happened with Apple Bloom's family," I said with a shrug. "Really, it might be a dead end, but its worth checking out at least."

"I see," Arc said as she shook her head a little. "Are you absolutely certain that this is where we need to go next?"

I thought for a long moment, Stable 48 was a good distance away because it was in Reino but getting there wouldn't be much of a problem. At the same time though, I had no idea how the Stable Dwellers there would react. There was ultimately only one answer I could give, and even if it wasn't the best option, it was what we would have to do.

"Yeah, it is," I said with a nod. "Stable 48 needs to be investigated either way, especially since it seems to have gone quiet. If there's nothing there, then we can just go back to Central Equestria and regroup. You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

Arc thought for a long moment before shaking her head. "I'm with you all the way Scootaloo, lets just hope we're not on a wild goose chase. So what can you tell me about Stable 48?"

"Stable 48 was intended to experiment with how society was structured," I said with a sigh. "Every pony at birth is placed within one of the divisions in the Stable: Administration, Medical, Security, Food Services, Science, and Breeding, along with the possibility of members of them being able to leave the Stable after so many years to recon the area around it."

"Wait, Breeding?" Arc asked.

"Yeah, Mares and Stallions would be picked based on their genetic profile for the purpose of, reproduction every spring," I said. "The purpose of which was to keep the population in the Stable maintained. Given that it was sending out scouting parties a few months ago, I don't know what happened there."

"Geez, sounds like a real winner," Arc said with a shake of her head. "Sounds a bit iffy to me really."

"We had precautions, ideally as many Stables as possible were given the chance to survive," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "Well, here's hoping at least, right?"

"Yeah," Arc said with a shrug. "Its worth a try at least, I hope we find some answers there."

"Me too," I said with a nod and looked up at the sky. "Me too..."

"Aww, why can't I go too?" Serenity asked as I was getting my stuff packed up in our hotel room. "I can fight, why do I have to stay?"

"Serenity, I don't doubt your ability," I said as I hugged the filly gently. "I would love nothing more than for you to come with me, but I've got a special job for you."

"You do?" Serenity asked with a cute tilt of her head as she looked up at me.

"Yeah, you're a Crusader too right?" I asked and she nodded. "Then I'm putting you in charge of Crusader operations here in Nomad City and Junction Town. Your job is to protect your friends and family in the event of an Enclave attack, do you think you can handle it?"

"Yeah, I can handle it," Serenity said with a smile as she hugged me tightly. "Just promise me you'll come back okay? I don't want to lose you again..."

"I promise I'll be back," I said ruffling the filly's mane gently. "Be brave for me, okay? Help your mom and your friends out wherever you can, they're your family too no matter what."

Serenity nodded and released the hug. "I promise I will, I'll be the best pony I can be."

"I know you will be Crusader Serenity," I said with a smile as I saluted and she saluted back. "Now go play with Pure Heart, she's been waiting for you for like 10 minutes."

"Okay!" Serenity said and ran off as Vanilla entered the room.

"Hey Scootaloo, I see you managed to talk her out of running after you," Vanilla said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," I said with a chuckle. "She's a good kid, you did a great job raising her."

"Thanks, I tried my best," Vanilla said with a sigh. "I just wish she'd listen to me more is all."

"She just wants to do what she thinks is right," I said as I put the last of my ammo and supplies away. "In my experience, nopony ever chooses to be a hero, instead they get chosen."

"Yeah, tell me about it, I just left home to find a new door," Vanilla said and shot me a look. "Not one word, I get that enough already."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything," I said with a chuckle before turning serious. "Keep her close Vanilla, I don't know how bad things are going to get, but just in case... make sure she's safe."

"I always try to," Vanilla said with a nod. "Just come back alive, okay?"

"I will," I said with a nod. "I'll see you when we get back."

With that I headed out of the hotel room to go meet up with Arc Light again.

As I walked down the street towards the transport area for Junction Town, I ran into Ruby Starlight who looked like she was looking for me.

"Hey Ruby, is everything okay?"

"Scootaloo, I need to ask you something in private before you leave," Ruby said quietly, I looked at her strangely but nodded and we went into one of the nearby alleys to talk. "Why are you so insistent about going to Stable 48, is it about what you were looking at in 26?"

I paused for a long moment as I looked the Alicorn in the eye. This wasn't going to be easy, I knew she likely suspected that there was something going on here, but I didn't know how much I should tell her.

Of all the ponies in Equestria, Ruby was one that I was sure I could trust. She was a good pony, but she understood the necessity of secrets and the risks of exposing them to the world.

"Yes, it is," I said with a sigh. "I can't tell you more I'm afraid, this is something that needs to stay buried for as long as possible. If this got out, the consequences for Equestria could be dire on all sides. I know its hard to understand, but this is something that I have to make sure that history doesn't wind up repeating itself. Please, don't tell anypony about what I did in Stable 26, okay?"

Ruby paused for a long moment, considering what I had said before nodding. "Okay Scootaloo, I trust you, if you say that it needs to be kept secret, I won't question it."

"Thank you," I said with a smile. "If it comes to it, I promise I'll tell you everything."

"Okay, I'll see you later," Ruby said before walking off, I watched her go for a minute before heading for the landing zone.

I climbed aboard the Vertibuck that was to take us west towards Reino. I put my earbuds in my ears and closed my eyes, listening to the music as the raspy voice of a Stallion was heard singing.

"What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end.

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt."

LEVEL UP!
Perk Received: Rad Filly.
Details: Because of a mutation to your body from radiation you gain more of a resistance to radiation. Regenerate 2 HP per 200 Rads.