Fallout: Equestria - Lost Souls

“Mrs. Flower! Mrs. Flower! Hey Teacher, Heyyyyyy!” The young sand colored green eyed colt bounced restlessly in his seat with his right hoof waving in the air and his wings twitching with impatience and exaggerated urgency. All of the other colts and fillies giggled at the display of obnoxious behavior. The teacher of course, did her best to ignore his rambling, logging grades into her computer as her tail twitched in agitation. Once she was convinced he wasn't going to give up she took a deep breath and turned her computer screen off so she could better hear him.

“Yes Sane?” Her impatience was apparent in her voice, despite her best efforts to disguise it.

“Can I go to the little Colt's room?” He asked, keeping his hoof raised in the air as if she could not see him even though he sat in the second row.

Mrs Flowers sighed and began to rub her temples, attempting to fight off the oncoming migraine. “Sane dear, you know you do not have to ask to go to the bathroom.”

“I was just trying to be polite,” He replied with his best smile. “Soooo... Can I?”

“I don't know, can you?”

“Oops, I mean may I?”

“Don't take too long.”

“I won't, thank you Mrs. Flower.” With this he took his leave, making sure to avoid slamming the door of his classroom. The school was large, and the bathrooms inconveniently placed so he had to turn a few corners to get there. As soon as he finished he trotted over to wash his hooves. When he turned the water off, that's when he heard it. A horn of some kind, maybe an instrument? No, that can't be right. He was nowhere near the band room. Then the bathroom seemed to shake not a second after the first explosion.

Screaming of all the students filled the hall and added to the mix as the second explosion shook the foundation. “An earthquake?” Sane mumbled to himself, desperately trying to debunk the source of the shaking and sound. Another convinced him to trot out of the bathroom only to find chaos had filled the halls. Teachers tried desperately to calm their students in vain.

Something else caught Sane's attention further down the hall; their was no hall. If the situation were not bad enough the fire alarm went off and the sprinklers cut on, making the floor slippery and causing some ponies to trip and fall as they ran toward the exit. For a moment Sane considered making the run for himself, but the sight of a couple of fillies being trampled changed his mind. Doing the only thing he could think to do he he ran back into the bathroom and locked himself in a stall, sitting against the door and covering his ears with his hooves to block out the awful sound and pray this was all just a dream.

The next explosion proved otherwise. The wall at the opposite end of the bathroom exploded into small scraps of  shrapnel that flew into the stall door. The last thing he heard was the sound of his own screaming and one last explosion louder than the rest.

That was the last thing he remembered before waking up in a small steel room on what he assumed was a hospital bed. He was hooked to a few machines that made various whirring and beeping noises. There were no windows and only a single door. Not a minute later an orange mare he did not recognize entered the room.

“W-where am I? Am I in a hospital?” Sane inquired with a hint of anxiety.

“Welcome to Stable 42, You're very lucky. We didn't think you were going to wake up!” The mare exclaimed excitedly.

“Wake up? Why wouldn't I wake up?” Sane mumbled groggily

“Well, a year ago we found you in the rubble of a school, barely alive. Our Stable scouts set out after the first attack and they came back with you. After that first day we stayed inside the Stable to wait out the war that was to inevitably escalate to disaster.” She explained as best she could to a thirteen year old.

“War? What war?” Sane asked dumbfounded.

“Exactly, the empire had withheld the news of the war to keep ponies calm. Most of us had a good idea of what was going on. Even for the empire it is difficult to hide all those troops and weaponry. Suspecting the inevitable we decided to begin inhabiting these Stables that are scattered across Equestria.”

“What exactly is a Stable?” Sane inquired.

“Of course, I'm sorry it has been a little over a year now so I assume everypony knows what the Stables are. They are underground bunkers, built almost ten years ago in case of an emergency. There is one near every major city, a few near towns and the occasional Stable throughout the Wasteland.” She explained.

“W-w-what? A year? I've been asleep for a year? And what is the Wasteland?”

“Eh... I'd say coma is a better word. The Wasteland is the ruins of what used to be Equestria. I can't tell you much more though. I have never been outside the Stable but I have heard other ponies are raising Post Apocalyptic Towns. Better known as PATs.”

“Post?”

The mare put her face in her hooves before replying. “It means after.”

“So... if I understand this right, everything is gone?” He asked as reality hit and tears began to well up in his eyes. “Dad? Mrs. Flower? My friends? My home?”

The mare suddenly took on a solemn look as she trotted over, sat next too and pulled him into a hug to comfort the colt. “I-I'm afraid so.” She didn't want to give him false hope and tell him that other ponies had survived the war. Even though it broke her heart to break this kind of news to a young colt who didn't even know where he was at, what had happened,or anything. She let him weep in her arms for what seemed like forever before he looked up at her, his green eyes filled with confusion and fright.

She was left with nothing to say besides... “I'm sorry, but you don't need to worry anymore. You're safe here.” Then her eyes lit up. “We have quite a few fillies and colts your age you can talk to here. They're sure to love you!”

Now that thought would have cheered him up if he hadn't just learned he had lost everything when it seemed like only two days ago he had everything. He was a strong colt though, he even remembered his father had disdained calling him a colt and referred to him as a young stallion. That always made him smile, even the memory of it turned the corners of his mouth up.

It hurt, hurt a lot but his father would not have wanted him to cry. He'd tell him to suck it up and act like a Stallion. So he did just that, though depression began to sink in and he always found time to cry, let out all of his emotions in the safety of his stable room.

The stable was bigger than Sane had imagined. It was the size of a small town that had classrooms, quite a few bedrooms, a cafeteria and even a room that young pegasi like himself could learn and practice flying.

After Sane was comfortable with his place in the stable he became restless, getting into all sorts of trouble within the stable. He never really clicked with any of the other foals his age. To be fair there were not to many to begin with. The orange mares definition of quite a few was narrowed down to nineteen all together. Most of them were not the nicest ever and they were not to keen on a new colt. In the year they had been contained in the Stable they had developed a close knit circle they were not prepared to break. All accept one.

A young filly unicorn named Milky Way was not included in this circle for reasons unknown. The bad timing of a public joke that never ended? A bad first impression she never recovered from? A disagreement that evolved into cruelty? Maybe a mixture of it all... She did not know why but had adapted to their taunting and games by isolating herself from them and in turn, everypony else.

One thing for sure, it had nothing to do with her looks. A beautiful young filly with a dark blue coat, multi toned unkempt blue, white, and purple mane and tail and a distinctive white tip on the end of her Blue horn. Hardly a birth deficiency, was a patch of white fur over her right eye to finish her unique appearance which had earned her the name Milky Way.

On more than one occasion Sane had caught the other fillies and colts taunting her while the adults were absent. Usually he did not concern himself with such trivial matters but he hadn't seen them put their hooves on her before either. Then one day, he saw just that.

He didn't quite see what had initiated the conflict but he saw the small crowd in a half circle around two fillies, trapping them against the wall. The aggressor was a smug looking Pegasus who seemed to be enjoying the others discomfort. The other was Milky, who was up against the wall looking quite frightened. What really set Sane off was the blood that covered the left side of her muzzle. To everypony's surprise the tan Pegasus had flown into the space between the two, he landed with his wings out-splayed, crouched low and facing the other Pegasus. Most of the others shied away, including the filly but one colt hadn't taken to kindly to his interference and quickly took her place. The colt was an earthpony, a little bigger than he was and Sane was not about to let him have the first strike.

He lunged at him and caught the colt on the side of the muzzle with his right hoof. The colt stumbled back a couple of steps and shook his head, almost in dis-belief that he had just been hit. The colt growled and threw himself at Sane who was bowled over due to his size disadvantage. The two were caught in a feral struggle, rolling again and again and striking one another until the Earthpony established a stable position on top of Sane. The advantage was short-lived as one of Sane's hooves caught him in just the right place. The colt crashed to his side, tried to stand and fell again, dazed from the blow to the head. His second attempt was successful as he staggered away with his friends surrounding him protectively, staring back at Sane with caution and anger.

Sane rolled over but did not stand. He was trying to catch his breath and unfurled his wings at his sides to help cool himself. He felt a gentle nudge to his left wing and turned to investigate. He'd almost forgotten Milky was there at all. She looked, concerned, sad really. “T-t-thank you.” She murmured.

“Your welcome.” He tried his best to manage a smile over the blood that covered his muzzle and the pain that radiated through most of his body. “Lets get out of here before any of the adults or security get here, and... find someplace to fix your muzzle.” He replied. He did not want to leave her just yet in case the others were just waiting for him to leave.

She was a little surprised he had mentioned her muzzle when his was quite worse, not to mention another cut on the side of his head and his disheveled wings. “My room is not far from here.” She told him.

Sane relaxed only when they were in the safety of her room. He found like many of the other foals, she inhabited the room alone, without family which seemed to be the norm in this stable. “Do you have a first-aid kit?” He asked.

“Sit down.” She told him, her voice much more pronounced in the comfort of her own atmosphere. She pulled a small white case out from a drawer by her bed and retrieved a bottle of rubbing alcohol from another room.

“Sit?” Sane parroted.

“Yes, I'm going to fix you up.” She replied approaching him with the box and bottle levitated just beside her.

“But your muzzle.” Sane started.

“Is fine for now. Please... its the least I could do.” Her purple eyes softened with legitimate concern. He was far worse off than she and yet he was more concerned with her.

Sane complied, sitting still as Milky worked. She concentrated on her magic as it opened the box, retrieved some gauze and dampened it with the alcohol. “This might sting.” She told him as she started to dab at the cut on his head and used another dry gauze to wipe away as much of the blood as she could.

Sane did his best not to pull away but it really did hurt and eventually flinched back with a hiss that had the unwanted effect of startling Milky. “I'm sorry, it just-”

“Hurts I know.” She smiled warmly at him. “If you could hold still for just another minute I'll be done. All I really need to do now is bandage it.”

“Um... alright.” He was not so comfortable with being so close to anypony but she was helping, so that couldn't be bad... right?

As she worked she decided to make small talk. “Sane right?”

“Yeah, and your name is Milky.” He replied, happy that he had paid some kind of attention in class.

“Well that is not how introductions usually work.” She giggled. “All done.”  She sat up on her haunches and examined his muzzle and head, admiring her work.

“Your turn.” He replied, taking one of the gauze's and wetting it with the alcohol.

“Oh... okay.” She'd forgotten she was even hurt. Milky sat down and waited patiently.

Sane raises his forlegs and paused, giving Milky a questioning look who needed her head in approval enticing Sane to continue. With his left hoof he gently held her muzzle in place and used the other to clean the blood from her fur.

She was surprised at how gentle he was and was disappointed when he finished cleaning her muzzle.

“It wasn't as bad as I thought.” He stated happily. “Why are they always messing with you?” He had tried to figure it out himself but couldn't. She seemed normal to him.

“I, I honestly don't know.” Milky frowned.

“I think they are just jealous.” Sane smiled.

“Jealous? Of what?” She cocked her head to one side at the odd observation.

“Well...” He hadn't expected the follow up question. He had the answer but... He shied away and blushed. “Your so unique, in a good way of course. Your, if you don't mind me saying, quite beautiful.” He told her.

“Oh...” Milky blushed. That was the first time she had been called beautiful by anypony but her mother. “T-thank you.” She replied.

“Well... I need to get going.” Sane coughed and shook his head to clear his mind. “I really appreciate the help.” He motioned to his muzzle.

“No thank you. That wouldn't have happened if you wouldn't have saved me.” Milky replied quickly.

Sane couldn't help but feel a bit of pried in her words as he turned away. “Any time.”

“Uh, Sane.” She called to him just before he got to the door.

“Yeah?” He stopped.

“Um... if you want, maybe you could sit with me at dinner tonight?” It had been a while since one of the foals her age had been nice to her. She did not want to lose that so soon.

Sane normally sat alone at dinner. He went to the mess hall at the end of their opening time to assure there wouldn't be to many ponies around. However he never had anypony ask to eat with him either. “Sure. What time do you normally go?”

“Around six?” She perked up at his acceptance.

“Six it is. I'll come back by so we can meet up here.” He told her before leaving.

That was not the last time the two spent time together either. They became really good friends with one another but that did not stop Sane's havoc on the Stable over the years but it did minimize it.

As punishment he became one of the  Stable's maintenance ponies. After being taught the necessary skills for electrical and mechanical repair he spent a majority of his time fixing door knobs and panels as well as the occasional computer. When he wasn't fixing anything he was cleaning.

One day when he was conducting his rounds he noticed the door. The door nopony was supposed to enter and had a AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY sign to reinforce the rule. No explanation was ever given why but nopony cared either. Sane however, was overcome with mischief and curiosity He checked the door and of course it was locked. However his experience with panels, doors, and locks made it to easy for him to open the door after popping off the security panel that asked for a pass-code.

Within a minute of tinkering with it the door slid open with a hiss of decompressing air. He did not make it ten hooves in before three guards armed to the teeth turned the corner, took him down and cuffed him. Sane was scared to death by the ordeal. He'd tried to explain that he was just fooling around but the guards acted as if he wasn't even talking. He tried to see their faces but they were all shrouded by a black visor.

Within the minute he was sitting outside of the Admin's office with one of the guards accompanying him. He fiddled with his tail anxiously waiting. Where they going to give him an ass chewing? That was the norm and he was not worried about it. Detain him? This one made him nervous. Or even make him leave the Stable? The thought itself was enough to  fill his heart with dread. At this point waiting seemed like part of the punishment but after a while the door opened for the Admin herself, Mrs. Nevad and chief of stable security officer Firepinn. Mrs Nevad waived the guard away before sitting next to Sane who avoided eye contact and continued to play with his tail.

“Relax dear, your safe.” Mrs. Nevad cooed as she placed her arm around him.

Sane gave her a suspicious and nervous look for just a second before looking back at his tail.

“However what you did was unacceptable, even for you. As you can see you never know what is behind a locked door.” She sighed. “So me and Firepinn have come up with a job we think will suit you.”

“Whats that?” He asked blandly.

“Well you see Sane, Firepinn came up with a great idea. How would you like to become a Stable guard?”

“Huh? I mean... of course but... That does not sound like a punishment.” More suspicion clouded his mind.

“Its not supposed to be. Its an alternative to your continuous shenanigans, it will give you something to do.” She smiled.

So Sane ended up training with Firepinn's team for a few years in-between his regular classes. They did not think Sane would take to the roll of a guard so well and initially had no intentions of making him an official Stable guard. However his patience and eagerness to learn earned him the position, a weapon a badge and even his cutie mark which revealed itself as cross hairs Without a doubt that was the best day of his life.

The next day proved to be quite the opposite. Sane found out that Milky was going out with a team to map a new supply route. She was not nearly as excited about it as he was. “Wow Milky, That's amazing.” Sane exclaimed.

“Yeah... I guess.” She replied sadly. “Sane I-”

“Whats wrong Milk? Are you nervous? Don't worry, these guys are professionals.” Sane playfully punched her in the shoulder.

That's what I am worried about. She sighed. “Sane, whatever happens... Just keep your head up okay?” Her heart ached, she wanted desperately to tell him the truth. She stepped into him and nuzzled his neck affectionately before plating a light kiss on his cheek. She did not give him a chance to answer before trotting to the Stable door.

Sane was guided out of the room dumbfounded and blushing. Did she just? Why is she so worried? She's just nervous. He convinced himself of the fact. Nopony had ever died leaving the stable on trips like these before.  Plus he had to ask her about the kiss when she got back.

However the team came back a few hours ahead of schedule and without warning. There was a big fuss at the door when they arrived... Covered in blood. Sane was at the door in the flash when he heard. He saw everypony on the team except one... Milky Way was not with him.

The team explained that they had been ambushed by a wasteland gang in the nearby ruins of a small town, that Milky was the first to get hit and was to injured to escape with the team. Luckily nopony else was injured. They reported killing three of the gang members before escaping to safety and making they're way back to the Stable.

The news nearly traumatized Sane. Mrs. Nevad and Firepinn consoled him, telling him to take a few days for himself before starting his duties as a security Stable guard. He took them graciously. Some of the other ponies were upset by the death but they did not know Milky like Sane did. Over the years they had opened up to each other, been there for each other. None of the other fillies and colts ever messed with Milky while Sane was around and Milky gave Sane somepony to console in emotionally.

Without her he naturally reverted to his old ways of isolation. He'd lost ponies close to him before, he could deal with it again. His job as Stable security was enough to distract him though the work was tedious and boring. He spent most of his time breaking up stupid arguments and stopping fillies and colts from pulling the same stupid stunts he did a few years back... Until one day.

Sane jumped as the floor beneath him shook in sync with a loud explosion. “What the?” Another explosion shook the Stable and an alarm sounded throughout its walls. The ponies around him started to panic at the sound. A sound that they had never heard but knew all to well. The Stable's first line of defense had been breached and somepony was knocking on the Stable door.

They had had small attacks before, raiders and gangs but nothing so serious as to set off the alarm. Sane's initial thought was to run and hide until he remembered the badge on his chest and the pistol at his side.

It took all of a minute for him to reach the entrance of the Stable. Two other guards with rifles took cover behind the control panel aiming their weapons at the door. Sane could not see why considering the density of the Gate.

Another explosion sounded accompanied by muffled gunshots and screaming from the other side of the door convinced Sane to take cover, just around the corner. It had only been a minute before Sane's anxiety kicked in. His legs were stiff and his heart was racing. He fought to control his breathing and chambered a round in his pistol. He peeked around the corner just in time to see and hear the door hiss to life. “But... How did they get it open?”

That was the last thought he had before the intruders made their way through the Stable door and filled the air with bullets. He couldn't even bring himself to leave cover a fraction of a second to get a shot off and instead, found himself staring at the pair of guards shooting frantically at the oncoming assault. The intruders all wore the same power armor  and carried fully automatic weaponry as they dove for cover in various locations. During the fight one of the two guards was hit, announcing the fact  with a shout before collapsing to the floor in pain. The other pony beside him panicked and Sane heard  his voice over the radio.

“We Need Backup damnit, now! Quarantine the area, we don't have much time. Stable gate has been compromised. Code Red. I say again Stable gate has been compromised.” That's when the other guard noticed Sane just around the corner. “Cover me.” The pony did not wait for an answer before taking the hurt guard in his hooves dragging him in an  attempt to reach safety. Sane took a deep breath before leaning out of cover and began to pop shots off at the intruders while the other guard drug the casualty to safety After what seemed like an eternity they made it around the bend while Sane fired warning shots to try and detour the enemy while the guard tried desperately to stop his bleeding. At last he decided he couldn't help in any way except to end his misery. The injured pony's wails became weaker and weaker as he lost to much blood. The guard took hold of his hoof firmly, to remind him he was there, pulled his pistol and aimed it at his head. “I'm sorry.”

Sane jumped when he heard the gunshot behind him and turned to investigate. “B-but I thought, why did you-” Sane stammered.

“There is no time for that, get to the admins office now. Tell her to set the clock.” The guard replied before taking cover behind the wall in wait for the invading force to funnel through the hall.

“Set the clock?”

“Just Do It!” The guard yelled.

Sane turned tail and ran as fast as he could. A moment later he heard gunshots from the fight reengaged but dared not to look back. He passed by more of the stables guards along the way, rushing to stop the invasion of their home. A few more hallways, a bay, and a staircase later he found the Admin's office. Five of Stable 42's guards in front of the door drew their weapons on Sane before they recognized him.

Sane was about out of breath as he fell to one knee. “I-I-I have to s-speak to the Admin.”

“No one enters this room until the threat has been neutralized.” One of them replied blandly.

“Y-you don't understand, I don't understand. One of the other guards s-sent me. They told me to tell her to set the clock.” Sane was hoping they knew what it meant instead of thinking he was insane.

Four of the guards had a puzzled look across their muzzles while the last looked horrified as soon as the word's had left Sane's muzzle. “Hurry.” He told him before stepping out of Sane's way.

Sane dashed past the team of guards and through the door where Mrs. Nevad and Officer Firepinn stood staring at the cameras and giving orders over the radio.

“Mam, mam I need-” Sane started.

Both of the ponies jumped and turned round. Officer Firepinn had almost shot him.

“What are you doing here Sane?” The Admin sounded angrier than anything else.

“Set the clock.” Sane told her. “O-one of the guards... T-told me to tell you to s-set the clock.”

All at once her demeanor changed. “No... It can't be that bad.” She murmured.

FirePinn's reaction was about the same.

“Someone please... tell me the hell is going on!” Sane demanded. “Why are they here? What do they want? Those ponies are not average raiders.”

“They're Enclave, but get out of here. Its better if you don't know any more.” Firepinn replied.

Sane was about to object when he heard the sound of bullets on the steel door and the guard's on the other side of the door returning fire.

“There isn't enough time.” The Admin announced before making her way over to her computer.

“Sir what is she doing?” Sane was no longer facing the two ponies but instead was focused on the door and what lay in wait outside. Besides the distant shots of various fire fights echoing from different areas of the Stable all was quiet. He could hear the Admin's frantic typing, Firepinn charge his pistol and the sound of his own heart beat. A couple of seconds later he heard a rapid beeping. The beeping was the only warning they got as the door flew from its frame inward from an explosion. The steel door clipped Sane's head and he was knocked off his hooves unconscious.

The first thing Sane's mind registered was the sound of crackling electricity in the distance. A moan of sheer misery escaped his muzzle as his eyes opened slowly. The room was dark save the blue light emitted from the emergency lighting system he was staring up at. His head was screaming in agony. He brought a hoof up to it and found it moist. Upon examining his hoof it was stained with blood, his blood. His mind had not yet caught up with the current events until he tried to stand up. He stumbled but caught himself on the wall. The scene that greeted him looked like something out of his worst nightmares. Mrs. Nevad and Firepinn lay dead, covered in blood. One of the Enclave soldiers joined them on the floor, face down in more blood.

The lite green glow of the monitor from The Admin's computer was fading in and out of static. Walking was quite the task yet he managed to hobble over to the screen. There was a screen full of letters in no particular order until the very last line that read. “Initiate Self Destruct Protocol?” Sane read to himself. “She tried to blow up the stable? But why?” Thinking hurt to much at the moment. He had to focus on the one thing that was important at the moment. Getting out of here. By this time most of his motor skills had returned as he retrieved a nearby discarded pistol and checked it for ammo. Loaded.

He could just see out of the room through the door-less doorway. More blood, bodies and bullet cartridges. He felt sick, like he was losing his sanity at this moment. This couldn't be real. He'd wake up soon in his bed. But he didn't and he stumbled over the bodies and through the blood. Tears escaped his eyes but he did his best to maintain focus, wholly aware of the fact he may not be the only one alive. However the only noises he heard were the sound of his hoof steps, heavy breathing, and the static from a live wire out of a busted light.

However as he got closer to the main entrance of the stable another noise registered in his mind... a faint tapping echoed from around the corner... like... typing. Sane crept to the end of the hall and peeked around the corner. Yes, somepony was at the control panel typing. A gray unicorn in the Enclave armor. With one last breath he stepped around the corner and trained the gun on the mare. “Don't fucking move.”

The typing stopped as the mare turned quickly with her weapon raised.

When he saw the mare's face he nearly dropped his gun. “M-m-milky? What- I thought.”

Milky was just as surprised to see Sane. “Your alive.” She whispered. Even through the blood that matted his face and muzzle she recognized him. She had thought for sure he would have died in the fighting. Everypony else in the Stable had.

A wave of emotions washed over Sane, happy to see her, betrayal, anger, sadness... He did not know which to display. “How could you?”

“S-Sane please... Just listen.”

“Listen to what? I think this speaks for itself.” Anger was winning the mental tug-o-war in his mind.

Milky dropped her weapon, she had no intentions of using it. Tears flooded her eyes in an instant. “Sane you don't understand!” She blurted.

Sane marched over just out of hooves reach and raised the pistol eye level. “I understand the Stable is destroyed, I understand Mrs. Nevad and Firepinn are dead. I understand everypony else is dead to with your help.” He fought to control the tears in his own eyes and the pistol steady.

“Sane Please!” She shouted pleadingly, trying to back up but her back was already to the control panel. “Just please hear me out.”

Sane grew quiet but his anger did not sub-side. However his other blend of emotions were keeping him from pulling the trigger.

Milky took this opportunity to continue. “Just listen, please, and after you can do whatever you want.” She wiped her eyes with one forleg and took a deep breath. “D-do you remember that door Sane? The one you broke into? The one you told me about that got you the security job?” She asked hopefully. When he didn't answer she continued. “The day before you got your job after all the training I overheard Nevad talking with FirePinn, about you and the door. How they were glad you didn't see what was inside. They said they would have had to kill you if you had and that is why they offered you the security job. So you'd be to distracted to go meddling around again.” She knew the story sounded ridiculous but she could only hope he would believe her.

“That's bullshit.” Sane replied quietly. “What could be in that room that was so secret they would kill to keep it quiet?”

Milky let out a desperate little whimper before continuing. “That's the reason we were here Sane. Why the Stable was attacked. When I was eavesdropping on their conversation I knew I should have left, but I was curious and afraid for you when they started talking about killing you over it. When they were about to leave the office I hid around the corner and slipped through the door before it could lock behind them. I used a noise cancellation spell so they wouldn't hear me running. She'd left her computer on so I went to investigate. They had files on schematics for a weapon Sane, I don't know specifics but their were plans to overtake Canterlot topside.”

“I don't even know what any of that means.” The story did nothing but confuse Sane even more. He had no idea what she was talking about and it did not help the situation. “You'd better start making since.” He growled.

“I know I know, please just... please. Mrs. Nevad came back in while I was still on her computer. She was not angry but, sad really. I tried to run but two of her guards grabbed me. Long story short she gave me two choices. I could either go quietly with an execution topside or she would have to execute me and anypony I told about this. She let me see you at the gate before I left, do you remember?” She asked hopefully.

Sane thought back to that day, when she'd been so sad. It started to make since. “B-but, how did you survive?”

Milky couldn't help but smile as he remembered. “It was raining out there, hard. When he were walking out into the ruins I took my chance and ran. They shot me, but when they shot me the Enclave... They were nearby. They thought they had been shooting at them so they returned fire on the Stable team. They retreated without checking to see if they had killed me. The wound was bad, I was barely able to crawl a short distance. I tried to hide from the Enclave. I thought they were going to kill me. They didn't. They saved me, and they asked what had been going on. They seemed really interested when I had mentioned the weapon. They offered to take me in if I told them more. I told them about the plans Stable 42 had to take Canterlot out with the weapon. Well, a year later that led to this.” She stated, motioning with her hoof around the room. However her fear rose as she saw the anger on Sane's face return.

“So what about me? The other innocent ponies? Lets say I believe you, huh? What about everypony who didn't know? The ones that thought they were just defending their home?”

“C-collateral damage Sane.” She choked out. She was not happy about it either.

“Collateral damage? So That's what I would have been? Collateral damage?”

“Sane please.” She choked again. “T-this wasn't my idea, b-but they were right. The damage that would have been done if Stable 42 would have gotten away with this.” She knew he could not understand that. He had no idea what was going on in the Wasteland, he had been brainwashed like everypony else.

Sane was torn in half by this. She was right about Mrs. Nevad and Firepinn acting strange. He had wanted to know what was hiding behind that door but he had figured it better to leave it alone. Plus Milky's reaction to going out of the stable. Her being the only pony not to come back. That all added up. However that did not change the fact that she had led the Enclave, who Sane still knew little about to their door. In his eyes she was responsible for the destruction of his home. For the deaths of all these ponies... but... what would he have done himself... It was an impossible situation.

“S-sane, i-if you are going to shoot me, please just get it over with. If you don't, I am taking the gun from you.” She told him. She was in fear for her life but she would accept death then and there by his hoof. She could not blame him. She couldn't kill him either. He had saved her, she had feelings for him, and he had nothing to do with Stable 42's intentions.

Sane started to cry openly as he held the weapon steady. He couldn't do it. It wouldn't be fair. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. That's when he felt the weapon being pulled gently from his grasp. He opened his eyes for just a moment to see Milky's aura shrouding the weapon. He let it go and half expected to hear her laugh and ask how he could have been so naive He didn't care if she did kill him. It would be a relief, a merciful end to this impossible scenario Instead of a bullet... He felt Milky's For-legs wrap around him and her muzzle bury itself in his shoulder.

“S-sane, I'm so so sorry.” She sobbed. Milky had managed to bury most of her emotions deep. When she saw Sane though they burst through, like flood waters breaking through a damn.

Sane could do nothing but return the gesture. Wrapping his forlegs around her tightly and sobbing with her. “I-its okay.” He managed. “I-I'm sorry to.” He choked back.

For a while they stayed in their embrace, until a fearful thought crossed Sane's mind. He pulled away from her with urgency. “What about the Enclave? If your still here that means-”

“Sane Sane calm down. They are long gone.” Milky interrupted. “I told them after this mission was complete I would not be staying with them. They agreed. They took off a half hour ago in their Hornets, my last job was to secure the Stable door, which is what you caught me doing.”

Sane sighed in relief but was still shaken. This was all just to much at the moment. He decided to focus on Milky, she was the only thing that was real to him right now. “But where were you going to go all by yourself out there?”

“Manehatten, or they call it Newhatten now. It is one of the more protected Post Apocalyptic Cities not involved in any kind of struggle at the time. I heard they were doing quite well... So I decided to set off for it after all of this was over... I-If you can forgive me, I-I would not mind the company.” She  stuttered.

More of an explanation that did not make since to Sane. He did not know anything about top-side. However he decided not to be mad at Milky. He would not have known what to do in her hooves. What other choice did he have anyway? She was the last pony he knew alive. “I'm with you.” He replied and got another hug from Milky in response.