"Hey everypony out there, its DJ Pon3 coming at you with the latest news. The Enclave has been reported around Equestria with their promises of helping the Wasteland. But don't be fooled my little ponies, the Enclave has no interest in the greater good other than their own. I've got assurances from the New Canterlot Republic that they will be doing their best to help Equestria. The Enclave doesn't change ponies, they'll kill you or enslave you. Its your choice."

"We're coming up on the Mohoofe," one of the mares we were traveling with said, I lowered my earbuds and looked down at the desert that stretched out for miles. "We're going to do a fly-over of Stable 48 before we head for Reino. Keep an eye out, we don't want to get ambushed."

"Okay," I said and Arc nodded.

Looking out again I could see the bright lights of New Pegasus still in the distance. How long had it been since we were there to stop the Enclave? It felt like a lifetime ago but it couldn't be more than a few months.

Now here we were again, heading towards another potential battle with one of the most dangerous enemies Equestria had ever faced.

We flew on for awhile longer before the landscape below changed to a mountainous area. Just below us was an old road that snaked through the area leading up to a group of old buildings.

"Mount Lilly Ski Resort," I said out loud. "Stable 48 is under the main building down there."

"You built it under a Ski Resort?" One of the Rangers asked.

"Hey we had to..." I started to say before there was a glint and a shadow flying above us. "Did anypony else see that?"

We were all on edge all of a sudden, we had no idea what it was if it even was anything. We drew our weapons and one of the Rangers took the minigun and started scanning the skies and ground.

For a moment we thought it had been our imaginations before there was a crackle of energy as a massive bolt hit the Vertibuck's wing sending it spiraling towards the ground. I cursed my non-working wings as we grabbed hold of whatever we could, hoping to survive the crash.

I shut my eyes tight but was surprised to feel the Vertibuck starting to stabilize a little bit. I opened them again to see Arc Light's horn glowing orange as she struggled to stabilize the falling craft.

She managed to hold it for a few minutes, but eventually she couldn't hold it anymore and the glow faded. There was a sickening crunch as the Vertibuck hit the mountainside and the world went black.

"Ugh, my head... how much did I have to drink last night?" I said with a groan as the world slowly came into focus.

"She's awake!" A mare's voice said as Schooner jumped up and licked my face. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got kicked in the head by Big Mac, what happened?"

"We were shot down by the Enclave," the medic who had been accompanying us said as she bandaged up a broken leg on another Ranger. "We're lucky we managed to make it out of that alive thanks to your friend here, but we're in bad shape."

"How far to Reino?" I asked as I struggled to get to my hooves.

"About, six hours if we don't run into any trouble," the medic said with a sigh. "Arc Light went to scout the area ahead of us, are you able to walk?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," I said getting to my hooves. "Are we going to be able to move them?"

"We don't have much of a choice," the medic said as she outfitted a stretcher to carry the Ranger with. "The Enclave is only half the problem in these mountains, the local wildlife is just as dangerous."

Oh great, something else wanted to kill us out here, this just wasn't our day.

"The way ahead looks clear," Arc said as she came back to the clearing where we were getting ready. "We better move fast, I have no idea how long it'll be clear."

"Understood," the medic said as she finished securing the wounded Ranger. "Lets get going, you two keep an eye on your EFS."

We nodded and started walking together into the forest towards the town in the distance. It was quiet in the forest as we kept walking, I felt more on edge than ever as I kept an eye on my EFS.

A few hours passed, we crossed the road to Reino after awhile and started walking in the trees along it. Just as things seemed to be going okay though, a red bar appeared on my EFS' compass.

We stopped and eased our way forward slowly, I gulped when I saw what it was. It looked like a bear, but it was much larger and it let out a roar.

"Yao Guai!" One of the Rangers said, that was enough for me as I lined up my shots at the monstrous bear's head, we shot at it but the shots just seemed to make it angrier, that figures really.

The Yao Guai lumbered forward, knocking me out of the way with a swipe of its massive paw as it went for the wounded Ranger. As we tried to regroup and the bear started to bear down on the wounded pony, two shots rang out, hitting the creature in the back of the head, sending blood and brains splattering.

"Ponies, can't handle one oversized bear without someone coming to save your flank can you?" A gruff female voice said from above, I looked up to see a Griffon looking down at us, she was dressed like an NCR Ranger with a tan body and a white head with the feathers around her eyes and the top of her head dyed blue.

"Captain Firebright, I didn't expect to see you here," the medic said, clearly recognizing the Griffon.

"Yeah well, when you didn't check in they sent us out to look for the lot of yah," the Griffon Captain said as she looked us over as her eyes fell on me and Arc. "And you two must be the VIP's, Captain Henrietta Firebright, call me Henry. Now come on, lets get going before that monster's big brother decides to take a shot at us."

We nodded and started walking again.

The Enclave seemed to have lost interest in tracking us so we took the road the rest of the way to Reino. I looked at our new Griffon escort curiously, I had met a few Rangers since I had woken up but most of them had been ponies.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Henry said when she caught me looking at her.

"Sorry, I just was curious is all," I said. "You're not exactly what I expected out of a Ranger."

"We come in all shapes and sizes Scootaloo," Henry said with a shake of her head. "I can't say I was expecting to run into you though."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"So let me guess, you went on a journey to look for your family or something didn't you?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I asked, blinking a little, that was a strangely specific guess.

"About 10 years back I traveled with another survivor, a filly who was looking for her mother," Henry said with a sigh. "It, didn't end well for her, she was a good kid... usually."

"I'm sorry, what was her name?" I asked curiously.

"Puppysmiles Days, I know, strange name even for you ponies," Henry said with a shrug which made my eyes go wide. "What, did you know her?"

"Yeah, I met her while her mom was working for Stable-Tec," I said, I was amazed that the hyperactive little filly I had known had survived the apocalypse and clearly left an impression on Henry. "Cute kid but she never could get my name right, kept calling me Scootie or something like that."

"Yeah, that sounds like Puppysmiles alright, she kept calling me a chicken," Henry said and we shared a laugh.

It felt good to be able to laugh about something, it did both of us a world of good. I just hoped that wherever Puppysmiles was now, she was at peace.

We finally reached Reino two hours later and were directed to the local inn to check in and re-group. After we settled in, I went down to the hotel's bar and glanced at the Zebra behind the bar as I took a seat.

"What can I get you?" He asked.

"Opal Cherry if you have it, and some information," I said as he set the drink down. "I'm looking for any information on Stable 48, I've heard they sent some teams out over the years."

"Sure, I've met a few ponies from the Stable," the Zebra said. "But I can't give you much information on them, but I can point you in the right direction, for a fee."

"How much?" I asked with a groan.

"50 caps."

I groaned and sighed, there wasn't much I could do about it really, something told me that I wasn't about to talk this Zebra down. I looked through my pockets and saddlebags, thankfully I had quite a few caps on me and laid them out plus enough for the soda.

"You're looking for one of Timber's mares," he said and I looked at him strangely for a moment. "He runs the local brothel, the way I hear it a mare from Stable 48 wound up in town three months ago and wound up working for him... don't ask me how."

"I'm looking for a, prostitute?" I asked, blinking a little.

"Yeah, look you wanted info, that's the best I've got," the Zebra said with a shake of his head. "I can't remember her name but she's very pink, you can't miss her."

"Yeah, well, thanks..." I said with a groan as I finished my soda, this was going to be a weird trip.

I headed back to where I was supposed to meet up with Arc Light and Schooner who had gotten everything settled in.

"So, any luck?" Arc asked.

"Maybe, but you're not going to like it," I said with a groan before telling her what I had found out.

"Scootaloo, you always seem to take me to the weirdest places..." Arc said with a groan as we started out of the inn.

Upon arrival at the building, after paying the caps, I was directed to one of the rooms where we were told that the mare we were looking for was. Arc said she felt weird going into there and I didn't blame her, so here I was, all alone, in a brothel.
Sweetie Belle wouldn't be happy with me.

When I opened the door an Earth Pony mare looked up at me from the bed, she was a shade of deep pink with a short darker pink mane and a short tail that barely covered her, parts. She was wearing a piece of lingerie that showed off her cutie mark, a pink flower blossom.

"So, you're my next client then?" She asked with a sultry smile as she laid back on the bed. "So, what's your..."

"Uh, I'm not here for that," I said with a deep blush that I tried to hide with my fedora. "I'm here because the bartender at the Blazing Sands said you're from Stable 48."

"Ah yes, Xavin, his sister's a regular," the mare said with a light chuckle. "So, what do you want to know?"

"The, son of a close friend of mine made it into Stable 48, I was asked to see if he had any surviving family in the Stable," I said. "There's, a concern that the Enclave may be using his bloodline."

"What was his name?"

I remembered back to when we had been called to the Hospital to meet the foal. It had saddened me a little that Apple Bloom was giving him up for adoption, but with the war going on even putting pressure on the Apple family, she couldn't care for him and neither could the others.

The war seemed to ruin a lot of happy families.

"Arkansas Black," I said as I adjusted my hat again. "I'm not sure if that name means anything to you but..."

"It does!" The mare interrupted, which surprised me a little. "I was a Breeder in Stable 48 so they kept meticulous records of my family tree... Arkansas Black was the name of my ancestor from 200 years ago."

"Okay, that was easier than I thought it would be..." I said with a shake of my head, but there was still more we had to do before we could leave here. "I still need to get into Stable 48 though, can you help me?"

The mare cringed a little and shook her head. "That would be, difficult, for both of us..." she said as she got to her hooves and walked towards me.

My eyes went wide when I saw what she meant, she had a bulge to her stomach that could only mean one thing. I nodded in understanding.

"How far along are you?"

"Six months, the father's the Overmare's son," she said with a sigh and shook her head. "I left the Stable so my foal wouldn't wind up like him. I could get you back in Stable 48, but I don't know if they'll ever let me leave."

Now everything made sense, I sighed and shook my head. "I'll figure something out... what's your name anyway?"

She smiled a little. "Cherry Blossom."

"So how'd it go?" Arc asked as I left the building.

"Okay I guess, I found the pony we're looking for, but we still need to get to Stable 48," I said with a sigh as I put my hat back on. "She's worried that if she returns to Stable 48 they'll never let her leave, she was one of the Breeders in there and she's pregnant, with the Overmare's grandfoal."

"Well, that's certainly a problem," Arc said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. "What do we need to do then?"

"Seems to me like we need to figure out how to get her out of this place, and then figure out how to guarantee her safety in the Stable itself," I said with a sigh, that wasn't going to be easy, maybe if we went in with some back-up we could... "Wait, what about Henry? Maybe she can help us out somehow."

"That could work, a Ranger backing us up could be useful if the Enclave has taken over the Stable," Arc said. "I just hope we can get this done with as little issue as possible."

I nodded in agreement, I didn't want to have to lie to Arc Light about the real reason we had to go to Stable 48, especially with the Enclave making it even more important. If the Enclave had accessed the key, then it would be trouble for everyone.
We headed towards the rough looking building that served as the NCR's embassy in Reino. The city itself was considered independent from what I understood, but the NCR kept a presence in several cities around the Wasteland just in case.

I was actually struck by how many different races I saw when I arrived, in addition to Ponies and Griffons I saw Zebras, a Minotaur, and something that resembled an even more unpleasant looking Diamond Dog which I think was a Hellhound.

We found Henry talking with a Zebra Ranger she waved to us when we approached. "Hey Scootaloo, Arc Light, how's Reino treating you?"

"Pretty well, listen we were wondering if you could help us with something," I said and told her what was going on.

"I see," Henry said as she looked thoughtful. "Well a few of us were supposed to accompany you to the Stable anyway according to our orders, but helping this mare might be tricky."

"She knows Stable 48 better than anypony, if we're going to do this we're going to need the information she can provide," I said with a tone of finality in my voice. "Please Henry, if there's anything you or the NCR could do, we can use the help."

Henry sighed a little as she thought about it, I just had to hope that I wasn't pushing her too hard right now.

"Okay, I'll try and talk with Timber," she finally said with a shake of her head. "I don't like having to deal with ponies in this town, we might want to consider getting some extra muscle just to be safe."

"We could try the local Bounty Hunter Guild," the Zebra suggested. "Its not exactly ideal, but they might be able to get somepony to help."

"Alright, its worth a try," Henry said with a nod. "Sira, your job is to talk with the Guild, we'll deal with Timber."

"Yes ma'am," The Zebra said and headed out of the embassy.

"This better be worth the trouble we're going through," Henry said with a sigh. "If the Enclave really is moving in on this territory, we don't have the numbers here to stop them."

"Don't worry Henry, if Scootaloo thinks she can help us, I trust her," Arc Light said.

"Alright, I trust you, but if you're wrong, its on both your heads."

That didn't fill me with confidence as we headed out of the embassy and towards the brothel again... this was going to be a long day.

Timber as it turned out was a portly looking Earth Pony stallion dressed in a pinstripe suit and smoking a cigar. He leered at me and Arc as we entered, which just made me cringe, I hated this guy from the minute I saw him.

"So, the NCR wants Cherry Blossom for some sort of mission do they?" He asked as he took a drag on his cigar. "She's very popular among the mares that come to my fine establishment, what's in it for me if I let her go?"

"The NCR will be willing to compensate you of course," Henry offered. "We'll be willing to pay you any caps to make up for your lost profits."

"Lost profits are an understatement," Timber said. "That mare knows tricks my other girls couldn't dream of, its all about repeat business here and if I lose one of my best girls even for a few days, I'll lose more than just a few caps."

I really, really hated this stallion, calling him sleazy was an insult to sleazy ponies. I had no idea how Cherry Blossom came to work for him, but I was starting to get the impression that it wasn't entirely of her own free will.

When I looked at Arc Light she looked equally disgusted and Henry didn't exactly look thrilled either. This was going to be a hard sell, and I was afraid to ask what he'd want in return for us getting Cherry Blossom.

"Now of course if you were to offer me a more, physical incentive..."

Oh dear Celestia, I really didn't want to know what he meant by that. He was looking right at me too, I was suddenly very glad that I couldn't see his lower body behind his desk.

"You know, we heard Winter Breeze's broadcast here too, and I'll bet anything that you're Scootaloo. There's a lot of ponies out there who would love to have their way with the Vice President of Stable-Tec for what she did, give her to me for a few days and..."

Oh dear Celestia he went there!

"That's out of the question!" I said at the same time Henry did.

"Shame, I was so hoping we could make a deal, oh well... I guess you won't be getting Ms. Blossom then," Timber said as he leaned back in his chair.

There had to be another way to do this... wait, he was interested in profits and his bottom line right? Maybe there was another way after all.

"So you said you heard Winter Breeze's speech huh?" I asked and the stallion nodded simply. "You're probably thinking that you can make a deal with the Enclave, maybe let them have some of your girls whenever they want, they'll leave you alone and let you keep your little, uh, business right?"

"Of course, that's how this world works isn't it? I do something for them, they do something for me," Timber said as he blew a puff of smoke on me. "What's your point?"

"The Enclave despises ponies like you Timber," I said with a smirk. "You're nothing more than a two bit criminal to them, and they'd never make a deal like that with you. You're scum to them, a peddler of flesh no better than a Slaver in their eyes. If you're lucky they'll just execute you on the spot, and that's if you're lucky."

"Now the NCR on the other claw," Henry continued, she got the idea quickly enough. "We may not exactly like your practice, but a lot of our soldiers like to use places like this to blow off some steam. I'm sure a few have passed through your doors since the Embassy opened up."

"Oh you have no idea, even that ambassador of yours came here a couple of times," Timber said.

"But of course that's only because its allowed," Henry continued. "I'm the ranking military officer in Reino at the moment, which means that I can prohibit all NCR troops from visiting your establishment."

"What'll that do to your bottom line?" Arc asked with a smirk.

"And in addition I'll post two Rangers outside to discourage citizens from entering your business," Henry added. "So what do you say, give up one mare or risk going completely out of business?"

"That's blackmail," he said with a growl.

"Call it what you want, the NCR may not control Reino, but we don't have to let our citizens come here," Henry said. "So what do you say?"

"Fine... take her," he finally relented. "But if you ever set hoof in my place again, I'll make sure you regret it."

"Oh we already do," I said with a groan. "We already do."

"I really hate having to deal with ponies like him," Henry said with a groan as we headed towards the room Cherry Blossom was in.

"Are there many ponies like him in Reino?" Arc Light asked.

"Most of the town is a criminal of some sort, the place is a wretched hive of scum and villainy," Henry said. "If you believe the rumors the real power in Reino is a Griffon named Galvez, has his claws in everything."

"So, why does the NCR stay here?" I asked.

"Reino is a hub for important trade routes to the west and north, we have to keep our interests maintained here," she replied with a shrug.

"I'll see you tomorrow," a Zebra mare said with a wink as she stepped out of Cherry Blossom's room, when she saw us she blushed and galloped off.

"What was up with that?" Arc asked as we entered the room, Cherry looked up at us from the bed.

"She's Carnilia," the pink mare said as she got up. "And she's a closet lesbian, she doesn't want it to get out."

"Why not?" Arc asked curiously. "There's nothing wrong with being in love with mares, is there?"

"Of course not," Cherry said as she started gathering her things together. "At least to most ponies and Zebras, but the Carnilia they believe that life is sacred. They generally frown on any relationship that wouldn't produce viable offspring."

She finally slipped into her Stable barding and hooked the PipBuck to her leg.

"So I've heard that you three got me out of my job here, thanks for that really, but I'm not sure where to go from here."

"We're getting ponies together to investigate what's going on in Stable 48," I said as Cherry finished checking her PipBuck. "If you can help us get in there, we can keep you safe and after that you can go wherever you want in Equestria."

"The NCR will help with that," Henry added. "I guarantee it."

"It sounds like you're going through a lot of trouble just for me," Cherry said and then shrugged. "Well, it beats working for Timber at least, but promise me that you'll keep me and my baby safe."

"I promise," I said. "Nothing will happen to either of you."

Cherry looked at me for a long moment before nodding. "Okay then, what's the plan?"

"We'll be staying in town tonight and strike out for Stable 48 in the morning," Henry said. "You'll be staying with these two since we don't have any more room at the embassy."

"Alright, sounds good to me," Cherry said and looked at me with a smirk and a small wink.

Oh dear Celestia, what had I gotten myself into?

I yawned as I sat on the bed, removing my coat and hat I looked at Cherry who was watching me curiously.
"Let me guess, you're wondering how I'm still alive," I said with a sigh.

"Really I'm more wondering why you got me out of that place," Cherry said. "You just met me today and you practically moved Elysium and Equestria to get me on your team."

"Like I said, your ancestor was a close friend of mine," I said as I laid back in the bed. "I lost her... I lost them all in the war, and I felt like I should help you. I was being honest, you can do whatever you want after we're done in Stable 48."

"What if I wanted to go back to Timber?"

"Do you?"

"I'm a breeder, Scootaloo, I was raised for one purpose, sex," Cherry said, which made me cringe, I was starting to really regret that part of the experiment. "If I can't go home, what place do I have in this world?"

"You've been out in the world before right?" I asked and she nodded. "That means you have scout training as well, so you know how to survive. You don't have to spend the rest of your life on your back for whatever pony wants you. Isn't that why you left Stable 48, to give you and your foal a different life?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment and laid down next to me. "I did but... I don't know, I wound up working for Timber after I paid a visit to the place, it was the only real opportunity I had in the outside world. Maybe, just maybe, you've given me another one."

With that she smiled and gave me a light kiss on the cheek which caused me to blush. Did she take some strange pleasure in teasing me or was there something more to it than that?

"Thank you Scootaloo," she said with a smile as she turned to face the wall. "I'll think about what you said, I promise."

I smiled a little and laid back on the bed. "You're welcome Cherry, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Get a room you two, some of us are trying to sleep," Arc said from the other bed with a laugh. "You can make out tomorrow!"

I groaned as the younger mare laughed, I put my earbuds in and tuned into NCR radio once more to listen to the voice of DJ Pon3.

"Well, its late night with your good friend DJ Pon3, so lets get one last bit of news in before all my little ponies out there get to bed. As you know here at NCR Radio we've got a policy of telling the truth no matter how hard it hurts, and its time that the truth fully comes to light. Last year, I became fully aware of the continued survival of one Scootaloo Dash, but I believed that this truth was better left untold until the time was right. So my little ponies, tomorrow I will be broadcasting the full interview between my assistant the lovely Xiraia and Ms. Dash, lets hope you're all listening, because she has a lot to say. Now here's some Sweetie Belle to bring you all to sleep."

I smiled softly as the sound of Sweetie Belle's voice filled my ears, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep thinking of her.

I dreamed of Ponyville again, not the ruined Ponyville but the one where the bombs had never gone off. I looked up at the blue cloud filled sky and smiled as I saw a familiar flash of blue and rainbow colors high above me.

I smiled a little when I realized I felt a warm body against me and turned my head to see the smiling face of Sweetie Belle.

"Hey there sleeping beauty, glad to see you're awake," she said and nuzzled me gently. "How'd you sleep? Did you have any more of those dreams?"

"Okay I guess," I said with a shrug. "And yeah, I think so... Sweetie, do you ever wonder why we're here?"

"Well that's one of life's great mysteries isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," I said with a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if maybe the wasteland I keep seeing is some sort of, retribution for what happened to us during the war. We all made mistakes, ponies were hurt and died... all for what? What kind of legacy are we leaving for our children?"

"I don't know," Sweetie said softly as she looked at me. "Scootaloo, we did what we had to do during the war. I'm not saying what we did was perfect, but it all turned out okay in the end. The treaty after the Caesar was deposed that Celestia helped negotiate has held for over 10 years. The Megaspells are gone, the Ministries are dismantled, and the Stables will never have to be used, I'd call that a win."

"Yeah, me too... lets just hope we can keep from repeating the same mistakes," I said with a soft sigh as I looked at her again with a smile. "I'm lucky to have you Sweetie Belle."

"I'm lucky to have you too Scootaloo Dash," Sweetie said as she nuzzled me again. "So, I went to talk to the Doctor today..."

"Are you okay?" I asked, my ears perking up, I didn't want anything to happen to Sweetie even in this dream world.

"Scootaloo, I'm fine, better than fine in fact," she said reassuringly. "It worked, the spell worked finally... Scootaloo, I'm pregnant."

I gasped in surprise, me and Sweetie had always been talking about having a foal together (I assumed that Cloudy was probably not conceived with magic in this world), but I had no idea that it would ever work.

"Really?"

"Really."

I hugged her tight, wrapping my wings and forelegs around her as I started to cry a little. I was going to be a mom again, and I couldn't be happier.

I just wished this was more than just a dream.

"Come on, Rarity is watching Cloudy, she deserves to know the good news," Sweetie said as we released the hug and started off towards Carousel Boutique.

"Rarity, we're here!" Sweetie said as she opened the door and we entered. "How did Cloudy behave?"

"Oh she was wonderful," Rarity said as she looked up from the dress that she was working on at the moment. "She and Sapphire are just in the next room."

"Thanks for watching her," I said with a smile as we headed into the next room.

"Any time Scootaloo," Rarity said with a smile. "She's a wonderful filly and I'm always glad to watch her."

We headed into the next room where Cloudy was playing with a white filly with a long purple mane. I was a little surprised to notice that the filly didn't have only pony traits, in fact she looked more like a mix of pony and dragon.

Wait, why was she named Sapphire when she wasn't blue?

"Mommy, Mommy Sweetie!" Cloudy said as she ran over and hugged us both.

"Hey Cloudy, did you have fun with Sapphire today?" Sweetie asked as we hugged her back.

"Yep!" Cloudy said with a smile as I wrapped my wings around the two.

"That's good," I said as we looked at her for a long moment. "We have some good news we want to tell you."

"You do? What is it?"

"Your mother and I have been trying to have a foal together for awhile now," Sweetie said with a smile. "I just heard from the Doctor that it finally worked, you're going to be a big sister."

"Yay!" Cloudy said, her wings buzzing happily as she flew around us.

It was nice to have my family together even for a short time, I just wished that it was real sometimes.

"Come on, we should go tell your Aunt Rarity and Uncle Spike," Sweetie said as we started heading out of the room with Sapphire close behind.

Wait, Rarity and Spike were together in this dream world? Well that explained why Sapphire was half dragon. I just didn't think that Rarity felt that way about Spike, it was kind of strange, but hey, it was just a dream.

"And of course Grandma Rainbow," I added and Sweetie nodded in agreement. "I can't believe we're going to be parents again."

"Me neither Scootaloo, but I couldn't be happier," Sweetie said and nuzzled me. "I love you Scootaloo."

"I love you too Sweetie," I said and nuzzled her back.

The next day after breakfast we headed back to the embassy to talk with Henry and the other Rangers we were to be traveling with. Henry was waiting with Sira and another Ranger along with a grey furred mare dressed in a black outfit with a blue Pegasus filly with a white desperado hat.

"Scootaloo, Arc Light, Cherry Blossom, meet Silver and Clear Skies," Henry said with a nod to the two.

"Nice to meet you," I said as I shook hooves with Silver. "Did the Bounty Hunter Guild send you?"

"Yeah, they did," Silver said as she looked at the filly with her. "So, what do we know about Stable 48?"

We gave her a quick rundown of what we knew about Stable 48 as we started walking out of town towards Mount Lilly again. It admittedly wasn't a lot to go on because we didn't actually have any information on its current state outside of what Cherry would be able to tell us.

"Admittedly, my information is a few months out of date," Cherry said as she picked up where I had left off. "Stable 48 has pretty much kept to what Scootaloo said for the last 200 years. Because of my role in the Stable I know the general layout and most of the ponies that live there so I'll be able to help out there, we just have to make sure we're careful... I don't actually know how they'll react to you."

"Well, we'll figure it out," Arc Light said with a nod before looking at Clear Skies. "Is it going to be okay to bring a filly?"

"She'll be fine," Silver said. "She's been through worse, I'll keep her safe."

"Yeah, I'll be fine!" Clear Skies said with a smile. "This is nothing compared to those Marauder ponies."

"Lets hope so," I said with a shrug, I didn't like the idea of taking a filly into a place the Enclave might be, but I didn't have much of a choice.

We walked for awhile longer along the road heading along the road. I sighed a little as I looked up at the sky, if the Enclave was in this area they'd come after us sooner or later, I just had to hope that we'd be able to handle it.

I looked down at Clear Skies who trotted up next to me with a smile. "Hey there, how long have you been traveling with Silver?"

"Oh, a couple of years now, she kept me safe on the way to New Pegasus a couple of years back and I've stuck with her ever since."

I smiled a little at that, it was interesting to see the bonds that ponies formed with one another in Equestria. Clear Skies and Silver certainly seemed to have an interesting relationship and I had too admit I wondered what kind of adventures they had together.

"Well, that's great," I said with a smile. "She seems like a nice pony."

"Yeah, she is, she's a great mom," Clear Skies said with a nod as we continued on towards the ski resort.

"Halt!" A stallion's voice said as we reached the outer edge of the ski resort, they were Pegasi dressed in Enclave Power Armor, which made me nervous but at least they weren't shooting at us yet.

"Uh, hi, I'm here to return to the Stable with some traders from out East," Cherry Blossom said as the Enclave soldiers looked her over. "If you talk to Overmare Lilac, I'm sure she'll want me back in the Stable."

I hoped we didn't look nervous given that the Enclave probably had my picture posted everywhere. The officer looks us over for a long moment before talking to the others with him for a long moment.

"This was a bad idea..." Arc Light whispered to me. "They're not stupid enough to fall for this."

"She's carrying a future Overmare or Overstallion, I don't think they'll let her go," I said with a shake of my head. "We're going to have to be careful here regardless, we'll just have to see what they say."

"Yeah, lets hope that it at least works a little," Silver said with a sigh as she carefully moved Clear Skies behind her just in case.

"Stay on your guard," Henry said as we waited for the Enclave soldiers to come up with some sort of answer.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," the officer said as he headed into the building.

There was a long and tense moment as we waited for him to return. I had no idea exactly what to expect right now, it was odd that the Enclave was willing to talk instead of just shooting at us as we arrived but there wasn't much we could do really.

Why was the Enclave even here for that matter? Sure they had gone after the Pegasi Stables before I had been exiled, but ground based ones seemed kind of strange for them. This must be related to what Winter Breeze had been talking about, was it possible that she was at least in part being honest?

I took a deep breath and looked up as the doors opened again and the officer came back out accompanied by a light purple mare with a white mane with pink stripes in it stepped out and looked at Cherry Blossom.

"The Prodigal Daughter returns," she said with a frown. "So did you finally get tired of life above ground?"

"Uh, yes, I did Overmare," Cherry said. "After the last few months I realized that I shouldn't have left the Stable and my foal should be raised in the Stable. I met these traders from a settlement out East that wanted to set up a trade route with the Stable."

"Yeah, that's right," I said. "We're from the Settlement at Memoria, we're interested in making an agreement with Stable 48 and trying to establish trade."

"Well, what can you offer?" The mare asked. "We have a lot of supplies at the moment, what we really need is ponies."

Of course, there really wasn't enough genetic diversity in the Stable so they were looking for more ponies to use for reproduction. The Overmare looked at each of us in turn and I gulped a little, all of a sudden I was nervous about this.

"Please, don't leave me alone in there..." Cherry whispered to me with pleading eyes.

I looked between the group, each of them in turn gave a silent nod as they knew we didn't have much of a choice if we were going to make it into the Stable. I just had to hope that we were making the right choice by doing this.

"Alright, we'll come help you out for now at least, though some of us need to go back to Reino and Memoria," I said.

"We're just interested in the ponies anyway," Overmare Lilac said as she looked at the Griffon and Zebra. "Your guards and the dog will go back, the four of you will accompany us to Stable 48."

"Fine," Arc Light said with a groan. "Lets just go."

"We'll be okay Henry," I said with a nod to the Griffon and whispered to her. "Get word to the NCR, we might need backup just in case."

"I'll take care of it," she said with a nod before walking off with the other Rangers.

"Come on, I'll show you to your new home," Lilac said as our weapons were taken by the Enclave soldiers and we were escorted into the building.

We were taken down a set of stairs into the basement of the resort where we saw the gear shaped opening where the Stable door usually was. Beyond it there were more ponies dressed in either Stable jumpsuits or Enclave armor with the sign "Welcome to Stable 48" above it.

I sighed a little, I just hoped that we wouldn't have to stay here very long, and that the Enclave hadn't found what they were looking for in this place.

This was going to be a very long day.

"So, do you have any family medical conditions we should be aware of?" The Stable's Doctor asked as she examined me.

"Just a magical deficiency," I said as I looked back at my wings with a sigh. "It comes up every few generations in my family."

"I see, I see, any pre-existing conditions?"

"No, I mean I think there was something of a mutation but it hasn't really caused me any problems," I said as the doctor scanned me with her horn.

"Ah yes, there it is," she said with a nod. "It doesn't seem to be affecting your body systems, so that's a good thing at least. It seems more useful than anything else, has it caused you any problems?"

"No, not yet," I said. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no of course not," she said as she finished. "I see that you seem to have had a foal before, was there any problems with the pregnancy?"

"No, it was pretty ordinary as far as pregnancies go from what I understand," I said with a shrug. "Are there any problems?"

"No, you're a healthy mare given everything I've seen from here," she said with a nod. "Given how dangerous the surface can be, you're very lucky to be this healthy."

"Well, umm, thank you," I said as I put my coat back on. "What about the others that came in with me?"

"They should be okay, but we're concerned that the grey one is barren, the Overmare is going to have to figure out what to do with her," the Doctor said.

"Wait, Silver is barren?" I asked, which surprised me a little, that would certainly make this a challenge but I had to roll with it. "She and Clear Skies are really close to each other, it wouldn't be right to separate them."

"Like I said, its up to the Overmare, but I'll recommend that she's allowed to stay in the Breeder quarters," the Doctor said with a shrug. "Alright, I think you're all ready, just come by every few weeks until the first breeding cycle okay?"

"Alright, I will," I said with a nod, this was going to be an odd experience to say the least. "What are the chances of being picked?"

"Honestly I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Its all kind of picked based on your DNA for who would have the best chance of helping the Stable. Given that you're new to the Stable, its more than likely that you'll be chosen along with your companions, well except for Cherry for obvious reasons."

I nodded and headed out of medical and off towards the Breeder wing.

"And that was our interview with Scootaloo, I hope you all learned a little something about what's been going on around here. Remember that just because a pony made mistakes in the past doesn't mean that they can't make up for them in the present. Its not fair to judge ponies based on their mistakes in the past instead of on what they are doing in the present. We've all made mistakes my little ponies, never forget that, forgiveness is always a virtue and nopony should be hated just because of their mistakes."

"I'm sorry you wound up here..." Cherry said as I sat on the bed in the quarters we had been assigned to sleep in.

"Its okay, it had to be done in order to finish our mission here," I said with a sigh as I laid back on the bed and looked over at Cherry. "How's your baby?"

"I'm having a filly," she said with a weak smile. "She's still healthy which is good, but I'm worried about what'll happen with her father."

"Has he even come to talk to you yet?"

"Honestly, not yet, I guess he's busy with the whole Enclave thing," she said with a shrug as she laid back. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't been picked to be a Breeder... how does that even work?"

"Its supposed to be about the strongest genetics in the Stable," I said with a sigh. "The idea is for the best chance for the ponies to survive."

"I see, well I'm just glad I got to see the outside world for a little while," Cherry said as she rolled over and looked at me. "Have you ever been a mother Scootaloo?"

"I was, a long time ago," I said with a sigh. "I just wish I could see her again... but she's long dead."

She nodded and placed her hoof on her stomach sadly. "I just wanted to be a mother to my foal, that's all I really wanted to do when I left the Stable. If I stayed, she might be become like her father, a spoiled brat who thinks he's entitled to everything just because of his mother."

"I'm sorry..." I said, I meant it, it was all my fault that she was back in this Stable.

I got up off the bed and laid down next to her. I wrapped my wings gently around the pink mare and held her close.

"You would make a great mother Cherry Blossom, I know it," I said with a smile as she closed her eyes with a smile. "I promise that I'll get you out of here, both of you..."

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with the mare in my warm embrace.

LEVEL UP!
Perk Received: Stable Delver
Details: You've discovered and delved into the secrets of the pre-war Stables, letting you get a better knowledge of what's going on. You get an improved chance of hitting a target in SATS.

Author's Notes:

Sapphire belongs to my friend Desmond Asmodean