Author's Note

Just a forewarning for this chapter. There is more sex in this chapter than I thought there would be. Though that tag is there for a reason, it is not the focus for this story. I also will warn that this chapter gets a bit tense, mainly towards the end. I figure that if you made it past the first chapter, then you'd be expecting it. This is the only time that I will warn about things like that happening in this story. Enjoy the chapter otherwise!

Brony on!

Chapter Four: Friends, You'll Need 'Em

Chapter Four: Friends, You'll Need 'Em

Friendship isn't always easy...

Perspective: Lucky

Reckless and I stay silent as Doc Waster stands there, staring at us. I'm not sure what's going on, but I don't want to be too brash about anything. The last stranger we met tried to turn us into slaves. He said we could go, but what's to say he wouldn't just shoot us in the back? Or what if he has friends waiting for us around the corner? I don't want to trust him so quickly after what just happened.

"Heh, I get it," he says with a smile. He slowly reaches back and pulls out his rifle. I feel my heart race a bit as he brings it forward, but that all fades when he sets it on the ground. "Go ahead, take it. I'm not going to do anything. But I'd suggest getting your clothes on, lest you want ponies to question your decency."

He turns around and holds his hands up. Reckless looks between him and the gun before rushing forward and taking it, aiming it at his back. I run to the front of the wagon/truck and try to open the door, but it's locked. I grab a rock off the ground and smash the window in, unlocking it quickly. Our bag of clothes is sitting right there, looking heavenly. I go through it and quickly put on my Stable clothes, glad to be covered again. Even better, my bat's in there too! I grab it and take a position to cover Reckless. He doesn't move right away, instead glaring at the pony before us. I have to nudge him to make him break eye contact with him. He forces out a breath before moving to get dressed, only taking his eyes off of him at the very end.

"Antsy, isn't he?" Doc asks with a dry laugh.

"Given the circumstances; understandable," I tell him, getting him to nod.

"Are you two heading towards Silo?" he asks, glancing back at me.

"... maybe, why do you ask?" He chuckles again, muttering something to himself.

"Well, if you were heading towards Silo, I'd tell you that there's another storm about to roll through here. I don't know if you've seen it yet, but the rain here can be a bit wild at times. If you were heading that way; I'd suggest finding somewhere to settle down until the rain passed over. Now, with you two being new to these parts, I would offer my residence as a place to settle for a few nights. That way I could also give you dwellers some advice on how to survive out here. But, that's only if you were willing, of course. So, what'll it be? Risk the commonwealth again, or take an old stallion up on his offer? Your choice." Having somepony give us some advice about this place would be nice, but I'm not trusting him that easily!

"How do I know you won't try any funny business like those other ponies?" I ask as Reckless steps up beside me. He seems like he was listening, so I keep my focus on Doc.

"You don't. That's the first rule of the commonwealth: Trust no one! At least not until they earn it, that is. Ponies out here, they're just trying to survive. We don't have it made like those NCR ponies. To survive, sometimes, that means taking advantage of others. It's a slippery slope though, and most lose their way." He turns around and lowers his hands slowly. I keep the bat pointed at him though, unsure of his intentions. "You can trust me though. I saved you for a reason, as proof that you can trust me. And I'll give you something else to prove it. If you don't want to come with me, then don't. Head east till you cross the riverbed then head north east. You'll find the signs for Silo along the way. Take the rifle too. You'll need it to get through the city. If you can beat the storm, the subway tunnels are faster. But they have their own dangers too. It's your choice. Come with me, or go to Silo. What'll it be?"

I think about it for a moment before I make a sudden choice. I grab Reckless by the arm and pull him aside. We're in this together, so the decision shouldn't be left to one of us. I glance back to make sure Doc isn't doing anything weird, and he's just standing there. Smiling. I guess that counts as weird?

"What do you think?" I whisper to Reckless, getting him to bobble his head.

"He seems legit. But there's really no telling. But if there's really a storm coming, I think it would best to find shelter soon. Regardless of which choice we make." I nod to him, thinking back to our trip through the rain. I don't want to go through that again. Ever.

"I want to trust him," I confess to Reckless. "He saved us when he didn't need to. And he gave us the chance to leave if we wanted to."

"He also could have said that to trick us into trusting him." Reckless points out. I nod to him, having had similar thoughts on it.

"That is true. But... call it a gut instinct I guess. He doesn't look like a bad guy. He might... be good. But it's not just my decision. What do you think about him?" Reckless looks back to him and stares for a while, thinking to himself silently. I want him to at least give him a chance. If he can teach us anything about this place, it will be invaluable to us.

"I say we go with him on the condition that I keep the rifle. If he doesn't agree with that, then we head out on our own."

"That's fair enough," I tell him with a nod. We turn back to Doc where Reckless steps up to him, flaring his wings for some reason.

"We will go with you. But I'm holding onto the rifle until I decide you aren't a threat anymore. Am I clear?" Doc chuckles in response, making me a little nervous.

"You two are smarter than you look. Fine, it's a deal. But! I have to warn you. I have a robot at my home that... well... just let me do the talking and please don't shoot him. He's been through a lot and he gets a bit... edgy, when I come home at gunpoint."

"How many times has that happened?" I blurt out in curiosity.

"Heh, often enough. Come now. We need to get moving if we're going to make it there before the rain. But first, loot." Reckless and I look to each other in confusion as he moves to the closest body. Is really telling us to loot the dead? Does he have no respect at all!?

"What are you-"

"This will take some getting used to, but if you're going to survive it's necessary," he informs us as he pats down the body. "Supplies are hard to come by, so most don't bother to look for it. It's just easier to take it off somepony else. Food, water, ammo and weapons; you'll find them all on your enemies. If you really are against it though, rationalize it like this: They were going to kill you. By taking their gear, you are that much more likely to survive yourself. As long as you use it for self-defense, you're making better use for it than they were."

"Won't others get mad?" I ask as he makes a small pile of stuff. Some bullets, a water bottle, and some melee weapons.

"Not out here. You can walk down a street and kill a pony in cold blood and no one would care. Out here everypony is out for number one, themselves. Even those in groups are self-centered, for the most part. Even those rags are worth something to somepony. They'd slit your throat if they could, and don't you test them. The minute you let you guard down... they get you." He says the last part rather solemnly. He must have firsthand experience with that then.

We go through all of the bodies and come up with a handful of weapons and ammo, and some scraps of food and water. Doc tells us that doing this will make the difference between life and death. I don't like the idea of taking possessions from the dead, but I can see why it is necessary. For now, at least.

Once we finish bagging our new items, which Doc informs us to keep, we head out towards his home. Along the way he explains the currencies out there, and I start to feel my head spin. There are apparently four sets of currency out there! There's pre-war money, NCR bills, caps, and general trade. The money from before still holds value today and is apparently easy to find. The problem is that some ponies don't consider it money and won't accept it. The NCR, or New Canterlot Republic, is the largest settlement in the area and has made its own currency system. Most ponies accept their money, but there are a select few out there that don't. Caps are... bottle caps. Somehow, the little metal caps from sodas are now money. And they are accepted everywhere. They're sort of hard to find, but Doc says most Prospectors have an easy enough time getting their hands on them.

The last one is the easiest one to come by, according to Doc. Everything is worth something to somepony. So picking up almost anything will hold value to ponies. Weapons, junk, food, clothing, it all holds a value to somepony. There is no set value for items though, so they're price is floaty and can be haggled. That's something he points out as well. Haggling happens everywhere for everything. We should never buy something at the price that pony asks for. We need to learn to negotiate prices down and how to make deals. Otherwise ponies will take advantage of us. This is also most of the trading we'll be doing also... so we might be boned on that one.

We follow the dry riverbed out of the suburbs and make our way into the what Doc calls the wastelands. When the bombs fell, one of them hit nearby here and wiped everything out completely. His home is just past this area, on the edge of something called the Gash. It's a massive canyon that formed from the bombs. Nopony travels beyond the Gash, nor within it. From the sound of it, I know I don't want to.

The walk with Doc and his dog Dogmeat XIIV is... pleasant. Doc seems to ramble on and on about the things we might encounter. And even though I am grateful that he is telling us this, I'm a little confused as to why. From everything he's told us, we shouldn't trust him. Accept for the fact that he saved us, which is the only reason we're here in the first place, he still is a stranger to us. He could literally turn around after his speech and shoot us in the stomachs, and it'd be our faults! I want to trust him, I really do! He's done so much for us and hasn't asked for a single thing in return! But, going by his advice, I shouldn't trust him until we have absolute proof that we can trust him. And I don't know how we are ever going to get that...

Aside from him saving us and giving us all of this information... And letting us stay in his home. It's all confusing really.

It takes us the day, but we finally make it to his home. Just in time too, as the rain started to fall in the last hour we were walking. His home is large and a little run down, but it's a beauty in this rain! It's two stories tall with a large patio in the front. The patio sits underneath a balcony that is supported by large white columns. Most of the wood paneling has chipped away or faded, but there are splotches for blue and white throughout the building. Behind the house is a large willow tree that's easily taller than the house. I have to stare at it for a moment as something odd strikes me about the tree. Then it hits me. It has leaves. I haven't seen a tree with leaves... ever! None of the trees out here have any, and the Stable sure as heck didn't have any. How did he get a tree to grow its leaves back?

"Now remember, my robot will be a bit on edge and will... yell somethings. Just let me do the talking and don't make any sudden movements. And, if you can, try not to stare. He hates it when ponies stare." We look to each other before nodding back to him. I'm not sure what's going to happen, so I'm just going to let it happen and deal with it as it comes. "Major? Can you come out here please, we have... guest."

We wait for the robot to come out, having no clue what to expect. Does he have one of those pony-like robots? Or what about those brain bot things? Thinking back to them is starting to make me nervous, but I try my best to look impassive. I don't think it's working though. Reckless keeps looking back to me, looking more and more concerned. Maybe he's just as scared as I am. I mean, they attacked us both. And he's admitted to being scared out here too. I could just be reading too much into those glances... I really hope I am.

The front door opens and a Mister Gutsy float out. I let myself relax when he makes his way down to us. He's just a normal robot, nothing to be too worried about.

"Where the hell have you been General!? Those blasted commie rats went through the garden again! I had to set them all on fire to teach them to mess with Equestria's grand army!" he announces loudly, ignoring us completely. Doc chuckles nervously, glancing back to Reckless.

"Major, we have some guest with us today," he tells him, getting the robot to look at us. He seems to stare at Reckless more than myself, judging him intently.

"... Is this Enclave separatist troubling you and this concubine sir?" he asks, pointing one of his weapons at Reckless.

"What!?" I yell out, scaring everypony. "Why am I the whore? Why can't he be the whore!? What about me screams whore?" Everypony avoids eye contact with me, keeping silent. The robot, Major, doesn't seem to get the hint though.

"Shall I take her to your quarters and prepare her for you sir-"

"Major! He-heh, that will not be necessary. Just go prepare the guest room for them, please." Doc cuts in, stepping between the two of us.

"Affirmative. Concubine and Enclave scum, your rooms will be waiting for you shortly. Prepare yourselves and be sure to read through the safety guidelines listed in the main room. Good day!" And with that, he floats back into the house. I don't know what he's talking about. Why am I the whore? What about me screams whore? I hate that robot!

"Sorry about that, he's... an odd one," Doc apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck coyly. "He has three personalities going through him, so he tends to... anger, a lot of ponies when they first meet him."

"Why am I the concubine?" I demand from him, getting him to back up slightly.

"Well... your attire isn't the most... modest," he tries to reason, but I'll have none of that.

"So because of that I'm a whore?" I ask, folding my arms together and glaring at him.

"Lucky, it's a robot. Don't read too much into it," Doc tells me compassionately. I just avoid his gaze, still bitter about the interaction.

"Who are the Enclave?" Reckless asks seriously, getting Doc to sigh.

"That's... that's a story and a half. Let's get out of this rain and talk about it over dinner. It's going to take some explaining." Doc doesn't wait for us to respond, heading inside with a tired groan. I look to Reckless, but he just follows him inside without looking to me. I glance to Dogmeat and stare at him for a moment before following after them.

Docs home is warm and cozy, a welcomed feeling compared to the Commonwealth. All of the old furniture is patched together from various clothes, but they are still a sight for sore eyes. I never thought I'd miss the comfort of a couch, but several days of being nude in a metal carriage has given me much to appreciate. There are also various book selves lining the walls. Many of the books on them appear to be old and partially destroyed, but there are some that look good as new. There's a definitive dusty smell over the entire home, distinctly reminiscent of the old stallion. I follow the two stallions to the dining room where we sit at a rickety wooden table.

"The Enclave," Doc starts out, waving his hand to Dogmeat. He goes to the fridge in the kitchen and pulls on a rope that has been tied to the handle, opening it. A quick search later he steps back with a beer bottle in his mouth and brings it to Doc, repeating the action for Reckless and myself. "Where do I even start?"

"From the beginning." Reckless tells him, twisting the top off of the beer and taking a long drink from it. Doc hums to him and thinks to himself as he opens his beer as well. I try to open mine, but it doesn't seem to want to.

"Well, the Enclave are a Pre-war group made up of predominately pegasi. They used to rule the cloud ceiling before harmony was restored to the Capitol Waste. Now, those that remain are bent on making sure that harmony stays at the NCR. Because of that, pegasi get a bad rap. I'm surprised those slavers didn't kill you on the spot really."

"What is the NCR? And what do you mean by 'making sure that harmony stays at the NCR'?" I ask. Doc takes my beer and slams the top against the table, popping the cap off. Why would he give me the pop cap and the others the twist tops?

"Let's see... Well, this all started about ten years ago. A Pipbuck repair pony made her way out of her Stable and into the waste, looking for a friend of hers that ran off. Along the way she made some friends, made even more enemies, and eventually came across... sorry, memory isn't what it used to be. There are these towers that have the capacity to control the weather. With them under her control, she tamed the capitol wasteland and freed a lot of ponies from its horrors."

"That's amazing," I tell him before taking a drink. I normally don't like alcohol, but this flat beer is the most amazing beverage I've ever had.

"Well... not entirely," Doc tells me, frowning to himself. "You see, that tower I told about, they all didn't come back online. There were enough to gain control of what would become the New Canterlot Republic, but... Well, when the bombs fell, the zebras had some obvious targets on their minds. Most of them were destroyed hundreds of years ago. Those that weren't completely destroyed are in desperate need of repair."

"So why don't ponies fix them?" Reckless asks.

"How would they? Nopony knows exactly how they work! That technology was lost with the war. There are ponies that could engineer the parts, but who would install them? With their newly found peace, the ponies of the NCR are a little unwilling to help those of us out here. Not to mention how dangerous it is now. When the clouds changed and ponies started to flock to the city, all of the hells of the capitol moved out. They had to go somewhere, and we were the unlucky lot to receive them. Maybe they are working on a plan to fix them all, but something like that will take years to form -let alone enact. I've seen some ponies try to leave and make a difference from that city, but they're never truly ready for what's out here... and it usually consumes them in the end."

"What about the stallion from before?" I ask, getting a confused look from Doc. "The repair pony? He fixed it before, couldn't he just lead the team and help us?" Doc stares at me for a second before setting his drink down.

"She... is a bit busy at the moment. She has to run the weather machine constantly or things will simply return to the way they were. I'm sorry, but I have to ask. What happened in your Stable?" We both flinch from that. I don't know if I want to talk about that, not in detail at least.

"There was fighting," Reckless starts, eyeing his drink as he spins it in his hands. "Some ponies... wanted to change things, I guess. I wasn't really a part of it. I was just a guard who... did his job." He takes a drink at the end of that, leaving more out than what I even know.

"There were ponies that didn't like how things were run," I continue, getting both of their attention. "You're only worth what you work. And your work is determined by whatever class you're born into. A lot of mares wanted to change that."

"Mares?" Doc asks, confused. "Weren't there any stallions who wanted to change things as well? Why only the mares?"

"It just ended up like that," Reckless tells him, taking another drink. I get a little angry from that and snap a little.

"It's because mares are being held back! If you stop working, you lose your rank! If that fails then you have to bank on your foals doing well, if you get to have foals! To have a better chance at having a successful foal, you need to breed with the upper class, who demand a certain ascetic! So because we have to work constantly on being worthy of attention, then have to bare a foal and raise it to perfection, we lose out on our capacity to change legislation! All the while stallions just work and fuck, knowing that all they had to do was the bare minimum to stay on top!" Doc and Reckless share an uneasy look with each other, taken aback from my outburst.

"I see... I'm a little confused about a few things, but that can wait. I think now would be the best time to go to out rooms and rest. It's been... a long day, for all of us." I let out a huff of annoyance as I down the rest of my beer. I let myself get riled up, which is never good. Now I'm just the emotional mare that can't handle conversation, great!

"Yeah... I think that would be best," Reckless agrees, downing his drink as well.

"Fine," I tell him setting the empty bottle down. Doc stands and escorts us upstairs where he informs us that there's only one guest room. He stares at Reckless until he takes the hint and goes back downstairs to sleep on the couch. Doc opens the door and shows me the guest room.

It's a fairly large room to be a guest room. The bed looks as if it's two Stable beds set next to each other and has layers and layers of blankets on it. There a few dressers and a desk in the room as well, with various knick-knacks on them. There are several pictures on them, but none of them seem to be of Doc. The window has bars on the outside wall and appears to be reinforced with wire in the glass, looking extremely sturdy. I turn to thank Doc for his hospitality, but stop when I see the look on his face. He's serious about something, far more serious than I've seen him yet. It scares me a little, not enough to back away from him though.

"Lucky, what I'm about to ask you is of the utmost importance. I need you to answer truthfully. Are you safe with Reckless?" His question confuses me for a moment, but I think I get where he's going with this.

"I trust him." He relaxes at that, but I continue on. "Truth be told, I don't know him at all. We didn't... we didn't choose to leave together. It... sort of just happened. But... he's different than the other stallions though, that much I know."

"Okay, good. Sorry, but I had to ask. You... he reminds me of a pony I once knew." He grows a sad look for a moment as a memory flashes over his eyes. I want to ask him about it, to offer him my condolences, but I never get the chance. "Lucky, you are very attractive."

"O-oh... thank you," I can't help but blush from his comment. Coming from him... in his home... in this room... It's just a little awkward.

"Don't worry about that. My... my plumbing hasn't worked in years," he tells me with a chuckle. I chuckle with him, more to awkwardness than anything else. "What I mean is that you will have to be extra careful out there Lucky. Ponies out in the Commonwealth aren't so candid as you might expect. And I've seen this play out time and time again. A pretty mare will have to be more careful than others. It's not fair, I know, but it's the truth."

"Trust me, I know that already. Back at the Stable... well, let's just say I've had my share of fights already." Doc frowns at that. He really seems to care for my well-being. It's a bit odd, bit in this place I'll take it. I move forward and give him a quick hug, shocking him a bit. "Thank you. And not only for opening up your home to us."

"Think nothing of it, really. It's what I do." Doc tells me with a smile, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. He bids me goodnight and leaves for the room across the hall. I go to close the door, only to have it shoves open by Major as he drags another blanket into the room.

"Aright, here's the last blanket we had in storage. Now, where would you like to proceed?"

"Pro... proceed?" I ask, confused.

"Just assume the position and relax. The feeling will return a few hours afterwards." I stare at the robot as I slowly draw upon his intentions. Why does Doc have this robot? Did he teach it to do... that?

"Um... no, no, I'm fine... Why don't you take a few of these blankets to Reckless and see if he wants to... you know?”

"Yes ma'am!" I can't help but smile as he floats into the room and grabs a few blankets and heads downstairs. This time yesterday, I was about to become a slave. Now I'm playing pranks on Reckless with a sexbot. What's wrong with me?

Sleep wasn't easy to find. The rain outside was ceaseless and the wind seemed to scream constantly as it shook the old house. A lifetime of silent nights has tailored me to have specific sleep requirements. The bed is lumpy, the blankets smell of mold, and the noise! I couldn't take it! I wanted to sleep, but there was no way that was happening, so I got up and left the room.

Walking around the house at night was disconcerting. Even though I saw everything before, seeing it all again in a new light made it all appear new. That, with the added screams of the wind, were almost enough to send me back to the room. But something caught my attention. It was faint at first, but as I slowly made my way down the stairs it became clearer and clearer. Reckless is having another nightmare. And it seems like a really bad one too.

He's nearly pushed his blankets off and is gripping his pillow tightly. His clothes stick to him as sweat builds over him. Every so often he shifts about as he kicks his legs back and forth. I can see the torment on his face clearly. He keeps muttering something under his breath too. A name? It's hard to tell. I think about leaving him for a moment and talking about it in the morning. But I can't get myself to do it. I can't even think of something that I could do that would actually help, but I have to do something!

I walk over to him and bite a finger as I watch him for a moment longer. He's still deep in his nightmare. Maybe I should wake him? Probably not the best idea. Maybe I should stoke his mane, like I did in the slaver carriage. It helped him then, but I also chance waking him. I think about it for a moment until he gives a pained moan. Either way, this will be better for him. I step closer to him and pull up on his shoulders. He lets out a gasp and sits up, looking up to me with bleary eyes.

"L-lucky? Is everything alight?" he asks groggily, giving a long yawn at the end. I don't even know if he's truly awake at this moment. I betting that he isn't, which is for the best I guess. I grab the pillow and sit where it was, getting Reckless to stare at me tiredly the entire time. I set the pillow on my lap and pull him back down onto it, getting little to no protest from him. He tries to ask me something, but I can't make sense of it. I just start to stroke his mane and wait patiently for him to go back to sleep. It doesn't come right away, but when it does it's peaceful at least.

"That's a gift, you know." I jump a little from the voice. I look over and see Doc standing in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the wall. He's in some old blue pajamas and has a bottle of water in his hands. He moves to the seat near me and motions for permission, which I give. It takes him a moment to sit, and I swear I could hear a few bones crack along the way, but eventually he gets down. "My wife had that gift too. Put the kiddies right to sleep."

"... rubbing hair?"

"Patience," he explains before taking a drink of water. "Trust me, it's something that most ponies don't have out there. Why wait for crops to grow when you can just kill the farmer and take them? Reckless here, he doesn't have the gift. I can see it. Heh, it's in his name." I offer him a small smile before looking back down to Reckless, thinking idly.

"Those slavers... they were the ones you were telling me to watch out from, weren't they?" He lets out a sigh as he thinks to himself, digging his chin into his chest for a moment.

"Sadly, no. Like I said, ponies out there aren't patient. Most just take what they want by force. Not to say that there aren't good ponies out there, and there are plenty of them out there. It's just... *sigh*, if they haven't earned your trust then expect the worse from them. You'll survive longer that way."

"Can we even survive out there?" I ask, leaning back. "We almost died walking in the rain. Then we were turned into slaves... I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along."

"Lucky then, aren't you?" I give him a deadpanned glare that makes him chuckle. He's a comedian then, great. "Truth be told, I knew they were going to be there. I was listening in on my ham radio when their leader made that call. Figured it was as good a chance as any to hit them. Though, I was a little disappointed when I only saw two ponies in there. Thought I'd save some more." He takes another drink of water, glancing out at the rain.

"Is that what you do? Save ponies?" I ask, getting him to chuckle.

"No, no, no. That was my wife's job. I was the pack mule, heh. She was the star eyed filly that saw the good in everypony. Made me believe in some too. But, that was a while ago. And I can't really go out and hunt down slavers anymore, so I stay here mostly. Farm my garden, tinker with Major, clean up after Dogmeat, the sort. If I'm lucky, I go out and hit those slavers when I can. But, lately that's been far and few. What about you two? What's the story here? Secret lovers?" I can't help but laugh at that, having to cover my mouth to keep quiet.

"No, nothing like that." I tell him, though I'm sure Reckless would love to. "There was a revolution in our Stable. The... my father felt that it would be safer for me to hide out here in the commonwealth. But, the pony that was going to escort me out here and I were caught during our escape. Reckless was arresting me when she locked the door on us. I have no clue how she got free or if she's even alive right now, but I owe her my life... At least I believe I do."

A silence falls between us, but it's not awkward. I feel as if he really understands what I've been through. And, somehow, that's comforting. Maybe it's because of how old he is. If he could make it through something like that, then I can too. It makes everything else seem... doable.

"The road ahead of you is long," Doc says as he leans his head back, closing his eyes. "You'll encounter countless horrors, do unspeakable things, and leave a mark that will echo throughout the wasteland. Ready or not, the choice is coming. What kind of mark will you leave? What kind of pony are you?"

"... I don't know. I don't think I want to make a mark. I... I want to see my father again. I want to return home in one piece... I know that nothing is going to be the same, so I guess I want to find a new normal. A normal that will let me be... me." I stay quiet for a moment before I chuckle to myself. I need to get some sleep; I can't stand the way my mind works when I'm tired.

"*snore*" I look up to Doc and smile as he slumps into himself, already deep into his slumber. I start to lean back to sleep as well, when a thought occurs. Was that him talking, or was that a memory talking?

I shift a little when I hear a sizzling sound. I take a deep breath in and smell something cooking in the air. The thought of food is enticing, but I'm a little too tired to move at the moment. Besides, whoever that is, they're still cooking. It can wait a few more moments.

"Lucky, you up yet?" Reckless asks, making me groan.

"I am now.” I force my eyes to open and take in my surroundings. It's morning, I think. It's hard to tell because it's still relatively dark. A quick glance behind myself shows that it's still raining. How does anypony get anything done in all this rain?

"Breakfast is about to be served, why don't you join us in here." I nod to him, stretching out a bit as I stand. I scratch my sides and yawn as I make my way into the kitchen, sitting at the table in a slump.

"Not a morning pony are ya?" Doc asks with a laugh as he works on something at the stove.

"Not until I have my coffee." I tell him, spotting the coffee pot to his right.

"Then you're in luck. I just made a pot. There's some milk in the fridge if that's how you like it." I jump up and make myself a cup of coffee, ignoring the pun of his. I don't know how long it's been since I've last had a cup of the liquid gold, but I need it!

"Thank you," I tell him as I sniff the drink. I can already feel it effecting me, waking me up ever so slightly. He chuckles and nods to me, flipping the omelet in the pan. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Oh, here and there. Cooking is just something you learn to do when you're out there. Not like you can go to the local diner and order something." I hum to him, taking my first sip. Any worry or doubts I was having before wash away as the rich caffeine enters my body. By the sun gods’ tits, this is good. "I take it you like your coffee."

"M-hm," I hum back to him as I take another sip. I hope this cup never runs out.

"You'll have to show us how you made that again. For future references," Reckless says. Is that why this is so good? Did he make this himself? That's so sweet of him! He didn't have to go through all of that effort for us, not that I'm complaining though. Heck, if he wants to make more I'd appreciate it.

"Of course. Speaking of which, there are a few more things we should discuss before you two head out," Doc tells us as he plates the omelets and turns off the stove. We move to the table and take our seats, Doc passing each of us a plate. "I can give you some provisions and a list of things that can keep you going out there, but that's about it. I'd suggest going straight to Silo as soon as possible. The path directly there takes you through the city, which makes it much more dangerous. You could go around the city and approach from the rear, but that will take you at least two extra days. And it will have its own dangers as well."

"What kind of dangers are there? For each choice?" I ask before trying the omelet. I normally don't like eggs, but I haven't had a proper meal in days, so I take what I can get.

"Well... the city is full of raiders, slavers, scavengers, beasts, and feral ghouls. To name a few of the commoners. Feral ghouls are... were ponies that were exposed to too much radiation. It rotted their brains to the point where they attack anything on sight. Avoid them if you can."

I stop mid chew when a new flavor appears. There's something in this omelet that I've never had before. It's... salty, and crunchy. But, a chewy crunchy. What is this?

"While that's terrifying, the wastes are no better. Mutated creatures roam the wastes and will kill you just as easily. Not to mention you'll be more exposed to the elements."

"I think it would be better to go through the city," Reckless tells him. I reach a finger into my mouth and pull out the piece of food that's confusing me. It's... something red? A burnt red it seems. What is this? "I can get us into better hiding spots and it'll take less time to travel. The sooner we get there, the better."

"Hmm... if that's what you believe. Honestly, there isn't really a wrong choice here. What do you think Lucky?"

"... Doc, what's in this?" I ask as I stare at the chunk of food. Doc sighs and sets his fork down.

"Right, forgot to explain that. Listen up, cause these are just somethings that will get you through the Commonwealth..."

He spends the next hour explaining what we will have to go through to survive out in the Commonwealth, and it isn't pretty. Aside from all of the ponies that want to kill us, apparently everything wants to kill us! Food is scarce. Whatever food we do find will probably get us sick. Also, ponies now eat meat. I ate meat. He fed me meat...

There's radiation everywhere, even in the weather! Ponies have left traps all over the city, so we have to watch our steps everywhere! And there are some diseases that have no cures out there! All of the buildings are hanging by a thread, so we'll have to be careful of that too! Is there anything out there that won't kill us?

He then starts to explain ways we can survive. Plants to look out for, where to look for gear and salvage, and general maintenance for some of our gear. He put quite an emphasis of the importance of duct tape, so we'll have to keep plenty of that. He also mentioned that we can modify a lot of our weapons and armor too, depending on what resources we have available. We'll have to learn more advanced modifications out there, but he gave us a few ideas. Like nails in my bat or how to extend the magazine of Reckless's pistol.

The last thing he touches upon are factions. There aren't a lot of large group out there, but there are three that we should be mindful of. The first are the dwellers from Stable Sixty-Five. They don't like outsiders all that much, but they do trust other dwellers. There's a group called the Outcasts here as well. They were a part of the Brotherhood of Steel, but when the NCR was founded, there was a split between them. Silo, Green Ranch, and a place called Tempest Towers are all part of the Minutemares. They're just a collective of farms and relatively good ponies, so they shouldn't be a problem really. There are smaller factions out there, but those are the big ones that we should be aware of.

"And that pretty much sums it up. Obviously me telling you all this isn't as informative as experiencing it all first hand, but every little bit of knowledge helps," he tells us as we finish our meals. It's a lot to take in, but hopefully Reckless got all of the things I missed.

"Is there anything else you can do to help us make it to Silo? Anything at all?" Reckless asks. Doc seems to consider this intently. There is something he could give us, but I don't know if he will.

"Maybe, but not now. You have everything you'll need to make it to Silo, and it ain't bullets or guns. Whether or not you two will make it rests entirely on your own character. You have to want it enough to defy the Commonwealth, and that goes for any and everything out here. If you're not invested one hundred percent in everything you do, you won't last out there. I've seen it far too many times before. Good ponies march right out that door, declaring that they'll fix the world. Some do good, others much worse, but it all ends the same. They all stop believing eventually, and that's when you're at your weakest." He looks down and starts to toy with his plate. I look over to Reckless, but he only shrugs.

"Well... I think we have an unfair advantage compared to them," I tell him, getting a confused look from the both of them. "How many of those ponies had somepony to rely on?"

"... none, that I recall at least."

"Well, we've got each other to keep pushing ourselves forward. We're at twice the advantage then! We may not change the world or... what have you, but I think we can at least make it to Silo." I look to Reckless and give him a smile. He smiles back to me and nudges my side with his arm, so I nudge him back.

"Heh, I guess you're right. Well, now will be the best time for you to go then. The rain's about to taper off so you'll want to leave before it comes back." We nod to him and stand to gather our gear, leaving him to clean the dishes.

"Do you mean that?" Reckless asks as he starts to put on his guard gear.

"Mean what?" I ask, strapping the duffle bag to my back.

"Do you really trust me enough to... I don't know, get us through this? I mean, I know we already said we would work together to get there, but I mean... uh..." I laugh a little as he starts to fumble over his words.

"I made a promise, didn't I?" I ask, smirking at him. "I don't give up; you don't give up. Right?" He smiles back to me, nodding in agreement. We finish getting ready in silence, but I don't think anything else really needed to be said. We know what needs to be done, and we're going to give it our all. I know we'll make it, we have too.

Perspective: Doc Waster

I smile from my porch as I watch the two of them leave my home. I can tell they were scared out of their mind, but they knew they had to leave. I hope they find whatever it is they're looking for in Silo. They need a little hope right now. Something to guide them in the right direction. When Lucky hugged me to thank me one last time, I could tell she was shaking a little. If they're going to make it out there, they'll need all the little victories they can get. Cause the Commonwealth sure as heck ain't going to give it to them.

Dogmeat nudges my hand and groans a little, waking me from my thoughts. I look down and stare into his grey eyes before smiling and rubbing the top of his head. I can worry about them later, there's work to be done.

"Major, I'll be in the basement," I tell him as I head inside. "Keep an eye on the perimeter."

"Sir yes sir!"

I go to the living room where I lift up the rug and open the latch in the floor. Inside is a small dugout that houses a single computer. Climbing the latter down first, I take a seat at it and start to type away. Passwords and firewalls blink away as I type at the keyboard. Eventually I make it to my desired location and wait. It's been awhile since I've last been here, I hope they still check.

C: It's been a while. Do you have good news?

D: It's been quiet lately. I've got two with potential. Sent them to Silo. Waiting to see what happens next. Orders?

C: Same as always. Keep in touch D. We may need you. Something big is coming.

D: Big? S. big or... what?

C: You'll hear about it soon enough. S. sent a courier, but that was weeks ago. We'll try again. Hang in there D.

D: Will do. I'll speak to you when I have more info. D. out.

Perspective: Lucky

All of my previous confidence leaves me when we start walking away from Doc's house. I do my best to hide it though. After everything I told Reckless, I need to appear capable. Even if I'm not. There's a light drizzle coming down from the clouds above, but there are some spots where we can see sunlight breaking through. There's one specific ray ahead of us that seems to be leading the way for us. I've never seen something so beautiful before. I go to ask Reckless about them, but notice how alert he is about our surroundings. I don't think somepony is nearby, but his level of alertness is a bit concerning. I guess I'll talk about the lights when we make it somewhere safe.

It doesn't take us long to make it to the edge of the ruins. Without the heavy rain slowing us down, we made great time. But now comes the hard part. We run to the closest house and take cover at its side to discuss our plan of travel.

"Doc said we should follow this road down a few miles and make a right," Reckless tells me as he peers around the corner. "Looks clear enough."

"Let's check the backyards first though. It may look clear because somepony wants it to appear that way." Reckless nods and takes off into the air. I cough a bit from the smoke, but do my best to keep quiet. I don't want to alert anypony to our presence. It doesn't take him long to return, so I make sure to have the face guard down when he lands. "Is it clear?"

"For a few blocks it is. But there's some sort of structure in the distance I think we should avoid. Nothings there, it's just glowing." I nod to him in agreement. From what Doc told us about radiation, I want to keep as far away as possible.

"Lead the way." He nods to me and starts to walk towards the back.

I wish I could have seen this neighborhood before the bombs fell. They must have been beautiful with their white picket fences, colorful gardens, and various amenities like pools or lounge chairs. Now, there's nothing but dried dirt, broken down fences, and empty pits. The occasional weed adds a bit of color here and there, but there isn't much left to this wasteland.

We creep our way along the backs of the houses, being sure to check the insides of the houses as we move along. Some of the homes are boarded up, but there are a few that are open to the world. Glimpses into the old world rust away before us, having been left long ago. Most homes look as if they've been rummaged through, but there's plenty left behind to paint a picture. Old televisions sets, molded furniture, picture frames that appear empty due to all of the dust are all abundant. Curiosity is biting at me, trying to push me to take a look inside. But, Doc told us better. We can go looking once we have better equipment. Not to mention a better understanding of the Commonwealth. I'm sure we'll come looking back soon enough, but not today.

A clicking sound starts to come from our Pipbucks, telling us there's radiation in the air. I take a look ahead and see the pool Reckless was talking about. I don't know how, but the pool is full of green glowing water. We're a full backyard away from it, but judging from our Geiger counter, we're close enough as it is.

"Hang tight. I'll take a look around and find our next path." I nod to Reckless and press my back to the wall. I don't want anything sneaking up on me. Reckless takes to the air again, blowing dust into the air as usual.

I adjust my helmet as I look from the three directions before me, a tactic Doc told us about. Left, forward, right, repeat. It's good to set a pattern, it helps keep you occupied. When I look back to my left for the third time, I hear something from my right. A gurgle of bubbles catches my attention, seemingly coming from the pool. I stand up and raise my bat as I stare down the glowing liquid, waiting for something to happen.

BLURP

My heart skips a beat when another bubble makes its way up. I was hoping that it was just my imagination! Is something actually in there!? I take in my surroundings again as I start to back away from the pool. I do not want to mess with whatever's in there! Like Doc said, 'If it has anything to do with radiation, you'd best steer clear.'

I start to back away from the pool when the bubble starts to come up more violently. I try to call Reckless, but my fear starts to get the better of me. A glowing green hand shoots out from the water and slams onto the cement. From the sludge a figure starts to emerge. Its entire body is a sickly green and its veins seem to pulsate radiation throughout its limbs. Clumps cling to its face and body as it starts to emerge, it's face looking directly at me. It resembles a pony, but is clearly something far worse.

"Re... Reckless..." I mumble as the thing pulls itself out of the pool. Immediately a ticking sound rings off in my ear as my Geiger counter starts to warn me of the invisible dangers before me. As the being rolls out of the pool and onto the cement, a blip of energy washes over my face. A bar appears in the bottom right corner of my vision and a bar appears over the green thing before me. 'Legendary Bloated Glowing One' appears over the bar, along with a skull next to the name. I gulp when the thing clumsily stands up and stare back at me, twitching with anticipation.

"RECKLESS!" I yell as the thing lunges forward. I swing my bat and smack it across the face, staggering it back long enough to run away. I don't have anywhere to go, so I end up just going around the corner of the house. I glance back and see it chasing after me, keeping pace despite it's fat, bloated stomach. I make it to the middle of the street before something grips my midsection and pulls me up. I look back and sigh as Reckless flies us to the nearest roof and lands.

"You know you're heavier than you look, right?" Reckless asks as he looks back to the Glowing One.

"Maybe you're just not strong enough!" I snap back, slightly offended. "Did you see that thing though!? What is it?"

"A... Legendary Bloated Glowing One apparently," Reckless says, slightly distracted. "Did you notice the... changes? The bar and all the other things in your view?"

"Yeah, what was with that?" I ask. I pull up my Pipbuck and start to look through it. Everything seems the same, but now there's a note in my files.

Lucky,

I had Major update your Pipbucks while you were asleep. Hope you like the changes, they should give you an edge out there. The bar on the bottom are your vitals and the vitals should appear on any enemy you are in contact with. It's not perfect, and there are ways around it, but it should help none the less.

Doc.

I smile from the note. Though I'd hate to say it, we were extraordinarily lucky to have met Doc. With this new knowledge in mind I take a look back down at the Glowing One...

"Well damn," I mutter as I step towards the edge of the roof. A mod of feral ghouls, according to my Pipbuck, have surrounded the house we're on and are trying to knock down the door. I stare down at the feral ghouls and feel my stomach twist at the sight of them. They look too similar to ponies. If it weren't for the charred skin, black eyes, and shriveled limbs; I would say they were ponies.

"What the shit," Reckless says as he notices the mob beneath us. "Do you think they can climb?"

"If they could, they would be here already." He hums in response, taking in our surrounding carefully. I can't really see a way out of this. Our only hope is to wait it out and hope they lose interest. Reckless could just fly us to the nearest house, but they'd just follow after us. How long could we go before we'd run out of roofs to land on?

"I have an idea," Reckless announces, stepping forward. "I'll fly off and have them chase after me."

"What? No! Remember what Doc said!? If you go too high somepony might just shoot you! There has to be another way." I take another look around, but there doesn't seem to be a way out of this.

"Look, I'll stay low. I'll just take them down the street and ditch them in the other neighborhood. It shouldn't take longer than five minutes, tops." He looks back to me and waits for my answer. I avoid his gaze as I try to think of a solution, but I can't think of any new ones.

"What if we tried to just wait them out? If we there doesn't seem to be a way up here, so we're safe for the time being. If we stay quiet for long enough, maybe they'll lose interest." I look back to see him standing on the edge of the building looking down. His wings are twitching a bit as he clenches his fists a couple of times. "Reckless?"

"Five minutes, tops," he tells me before jumping into the air.

"RECKLESS!" I yell, rushing to the edge. He hovers over them and starts to yell at them, getting a large chunk of them to follow. Annoyed by that, he pulls out his pistol and shoots at the ones that aren't looking. It doesn't take long for the mob to take notice of him and start to chase. He keeps himself just out of reach and flies backwards down the street, yelling all the way. What does he think he's doing!? He's going to get himself shot like this! Or worse! I run around the edge of the building again in an attempt to find a way down, but there isn't one. I could try to jump down, but that doesn't seem too safe. With nothing else to do, I move back to the front of the building and wait.

I take a seat and dangle my legs off of the edge. I listen to the sounds of Reckless yelling at them and their shambling, but that ends soon enough. An eerie silence falls over the neighborhood. I try to keep my mind preoccupied by looking at each of the homes here, but that proves to be even more tiresome! They all look the same! Minus one or two minor details, all of the homes look as if they were copies of each other! I start to flick through my Pipbuck to try and entertain myself when I find several radio stations. NCR Today, Radio Wasteland, and Classical. Curious, I decide to listen in on them, starting with NCR Today.

"-is safe. We know the journey is long, and the dangers are numerous. But you owe it to yourself and your family to make the pilgrimage here." A mare is talking. Her voice is sweet and makes the back of my neck tingle a bit. Maybe if she spoke louder that wouldn't happen. "In other news, NCR officials are reporting an increase in Rad Storms coming from the north, with another one approaching in a few minutes. If you find yourself in the Commonwealth area, please take shelter and take plenty of Rad-X if you have it. Expecting mothers should be cautious in their dosage, as should all foals..."

She continues on about Rad-X safety and other medical mumbo-jumbo. Not that I'm opposed to learning something every now and again, it's just that I'm bored. And learning isn't high on my list right now. I flip the switch over to Radio Wasteland.

"GOO-OOD MO-ORNING WASTELANDERS!" The speaker nearly burst out of my Pipbuck from this mares screaming. I almost fall off the roof myself. "How ya'll doing today? Starving? Decrepit? On the brink of losing all sense of morality? Me too! Let's check in and see what the little birdies have to say today.

Tempest Towers officials announced that they've finally clear the top floors of our little visitors, so the hostel is back and runnin'! The Minutemares won a skirmish with some Raiders out on the interstate, securing our trade route with Green Ranch. Efforts are being made to reconnect with Silo, so hang on! The cavalry is on its way! Slaver attacks are on the rise again. With the death of their previous leader confirmed -still hangin from my window by the way- it is unclear how they've become so coordinated. For all you farmin folk out there, remember: There's no shame in hiding or fleeing. They'll call you names, trash your house, even burn your crops. But it'll be worth it to be free.

That's all the new for now kiddies! This is the only straight DJ north of Canterlot, and I'll catch you all next time! And now, some music!"

I laugh a little from that. I don't know who that was, but her enthusiasm was intoxicating. Even more so, she kept me interested in the news. I wonder what's keeping them from meeting up with the Ponies at Silo? I hope it isn't anything we'll run into anytime soon. I take a look around and confirm that Reckless isn't back yet. It's been almost five minutes, but I try not to worry... by distracting myself with the last radio station.

I switch to the Classical station and listen in on the music. There's a slow cello strumming by itself, playing a somber melody. I start to listen in when I quickly turn it off. It was... nice. But I thought I heard something. I take a look around and find nothing out there. Curious, I stand up and check the backyard. There isn't anything there either. I could have sworn there was something out there-

"Boo."

"AH!" I yell, throwing my fist back.

THWUMP

Reckless falls flat on his back and groans in pain. I jump a little in place and shake my hand as I try to ease the pain.

"Why did you sneak up on me like that!?" I yell at him, gripping my hand.

"Why did you punch me!?" Reckless asks, sitting up and rubbing his cheek sorely.

"I don't know! Maybe because we're out in the middle of nowhere and you snuck up on me!" I yell at him, letting my sarcasm punctuate the statement. He groans in response and start to stand up, still rubbing his cheek.

"Well... at least if somepony does try to sneak up on you, you'll have a nasty surprise for them." He tries to laugh it off, but winces from the pain instead. "Well, I ditched the ghouls some ways back. We should hurry before they realize what's going on."

"Good. I was listening to the radio while you were gone and learned somethings," I tell him as he picks me up and flies me to the ground. We take off down the road, doubling our pace. "A storms going to come through soon. We need to find shelter and wait it out."

"Do you really think we need to? We've barely made any progress," Reckless complains, checking his Pipbuck.

"I really think we should. She said it was a Rad Storm. Since we only have a few medical supplies, I think it would be best to play it safe."

"Yeah, you're right," he tells me, looking over to me. "Well, should we chance one of these houses or head down the road a bit and see what's around the area?"

We take a look at the houses around here and decide that none of them are decent enough. Most have massive holes in them, defeating the point of hiding in them. We continue down the road and go from house to house, trying to find a suitable one. When the clouds over head start to darken we start to become a little less picky. We decide on a two story house that has a massive hole on the right side of the roof. Compared to the other houses, this one isn't that bad. We find the door sealed shut with a wooden plank, but it comes down after some persuasion.

The inside is dark and dusty. From the little light we have we can see the remnants of the living room. I guess for being over two hundred years old they're in pretty good condition. There are a few items thrown about, showing signs that the family here left in a hurry, but there isn't much to look at really. I guess they didn't have a lot of money, or maybe all of their things were stolen. We'll never really know.

With my bat at the ready, I walk towards the kitchen and peek around the corner. There doesn't seem to be anypony there, so I turn on the light on my Pipbuck and continue in. There's a foul stench in here, but it's somehow familiar. I take a closer look around and find piles of mold in what was the dining room table. It's been destroyed for a long time now, and whatever food was left there has turned into a mountain of molds and mushrooms. I don't feel safe breathing in this room, so I rush back to the living room where I find Reckless moving the couch.

"Help me with this," he tells me. I rush over and lift the other end, helping him bring it over to the fireplace. "I saw something under the couch, let’s check it out."

We find a latch built into the floor. Reckless and I share one look before nodding and taking our positions. With our weapons ready, we open the latch and take a look inside. There doesn't seem to be anything down there. Just a hole in the ground with a ladder. Without saying a word, Reckless starts to climb down, so I follow after him. It doesn't take us long to make it to the bottom. The room beneath the house is simply a hole in the ground with a bed on one end and a metal cabinet on the other. Some attempts were made for lights and a ceiling fan, but they don't seem to be working.

"Looks as good as any spot to settle for the day. Or at least until the storm blows over," Reckless comments, walking around the small space.

"I'd say," I comment as I take a seat on the bed. It's not the best, but I won't openly complain about it. It's just something I'll have to get used to out here. "We should also get the plank on the door fixed and cover up opening up again. Just as extra precautions."

"Yeah. While I do that why don't you take a look around the rest of the house. I didn't see anything when I looked, and I think they would have heard us by now, but be careful. Weapons, food, ammo, anything that might help." I nod to him, heading back up the ladder. Since I already looked in the kitchen, I'll take a look upstairs.

Each of the steps creek as I make my way up. When I make it up there I find three rooms to search; the master bedroom, a bathroom, and a smaller bedroom. The master bedroom is the room with the gaping hole in the roof, so there isn't really anything of note in there other than the piles of destroyed furniture. The smaller bedroom looks as if it was for a filly. Dolls and play things litter the floor, most of which are broken. I check through the two dressers in the room and manage to find five bottle caps. I feel a little silly pocketing them, but I know I have to. The final room I check in is the bathroom. It's here that I find the jackpot, according to Doc that is.

Soap. A single bar of soap. Hygiene is something that goes past most ponies up here. When you spend most of your day looking for a meal, smelling nice isn't high on the list of priorities. This is something that I personally will appreciate. With that in my bag, I check the mirror and also find a Stim-pak. A bar of soap and a Stim-pak. It's better than nothing.

When I make it back downstairs Reckless is finishing blockading the door. And just in time too. A large crack sounds over head as a torrent of rain starts to come down. I help him set the couch against the door and the two of us rush back down the hole, closing the lid after us.

"I call the bed!" I announce before dropping to sit on it. Reckless chuckles lightly before kicking our bag of cloths to the side and laying against it. "So... what now?"

"I have Stripped Menace in this thing if you want to try," Reckless offers. I think about it for a moment before shaking my head. I was never really that good at video games. They could never really hold my attention for some reason. "Well, other than that... we can talk."

"... alright. Let's talk." Reckless bites his lip as I bounce my heels. It would appear that neither of us want to start a conversation. Great! Just great! We go for a few minutes in silence. Each time one of us goes to say something, the other would coincidentally do something to silence the other. I would couch or he would stretch out, making the other think they were going to say something. It takes a bit of nerve, but eventually I think of something to say.

"I found a bar of soap," I tell him, getting his attention. "IT looks half dried out and doesn't seem to have a scent, but it's soap."

"Hm. Great. I don't know when we'll get a chance to use it, but that's... good."

"Yeah..." Dammit! We're both quiet again! This is awkward! Maybe I could just lay back and- WAIT A MINUTE! We have radios on our wrists! I go to the function and quickly flick it on, getting a loud fuzzy static sound.

"I guess we can't get a signal under this house." I turn it off in a huff, annoyed at life. Of course it didn't work. Life wants us to talk to each other! Great! "So... Did Major try to... do anything... weird while we were at Docs?"

"... no, why do you ask?" I lie, knowing completely what he's talking about. It takes every fiber of my being not to smile from all of my giddiness. What did the two of them do? What did Major offer? I have to know.

"Oh, really? Me neither." He's lying! He's totally lying! He's a terrible liar at that! His blush is giving it away. Intrigued, I lean forward and stare him down, making him shift around in discomfort. His facade crumbles quickly and he starts to talk. "Okay! Maybe he offered to... do things. But I didn't do them!"

"What things? What was he offering to do?" I ask innocently, tilting my head in fake confusion.

"Well... you know... things," he tells me, trying to hide his blush. But I won't let him off the hook that easily.

"Like... fluff you pillow? Did he offer to help keep your bed warm? What sort of things did he offer to do?" I may have laid it on a little too think, because now he's just groaning and rubbing his face. I laugh at his discomfort, laying back on the bed. I guess I've tortured him enough, for now.

"But seriously, did he?" I chuckle at that, glancing down at him. I guess I'll share.

"Yeah, but I turned him down and sent him your way-"

"Thanks! Real nice Lucky!" I laugh at him again, getting him to huff in annoyance. He cracks a smile in the end though. "Why would he even need that."

"Maybe it was something he and his wife did, for whatever reason." I couldn't imagine having a three way with a robot. What would they even do? "He talked about his wife, but I never got her name."

"Me neither. I thought about asking, but it seemed rude. It's probably not something he wants to talk about with strangers," Reckless offers, but I shake my head.

"After everything he did for us, I don't think we constitute as strangers." Reckless agrees with me and we both go silent in thought. I didn't see any pictures of her, a name plate, nothing. It really seems as if he has nothing to remember her by. I hope nothing terrible happened to her. Doc is too sweet for something like that.

"How are we?" Reckless asks, catching me slightly off guard. "I mean... I know we had that talk at Docs place, but... I don't know. Are we good? Are we only good until we make it to Silo? What happens after that? Sorry for all this, but... it's been on my mind a lot."

"No, it's alright," I tell him, shifting on the bed to look at him as I lay here. "I would say we're good. We really still don't know each other all that much, but... you're the only pony I can truly trust right now. And... when we make it to Silo, I won't forget all of this." He hums to me, smiling lightly. I smile back to him, glad that I put his mind at ease.

"Blue," he says, catching me off guard again. "It's my favorite color. But not Stable-Tech blue, I've seen enough of that already. I like a light blue or a really dark blue." It takes me a moment to realize what he's doing, and it make me smile more.

"I like blue too, but I'd have to say my favorite -and you better not laugh at me! My favorite color is... green."

"Green!" he says with a laugh. I roll my eyes at him, embarrassed by my choice. "How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"It's not from my coat, if that's what you're thinking!" I tell him as he moves to face me better. "When I was little my father got me these books about parks before the war. I remember looking at the pictures and seeing all the plants and ponies. I told him I wanted to climb a tree, because of a picture of a pony climbing one that was apparently one hundred feet tall. He just laughed at me, scrunching up my mane..."

"I'm sure he's fine," he reassures me. "The Overstallion was the toughest stallion in the Stable, he made sure of it. I bet he's got everything figured out by now. Probably cracked a few head along the way too."

"Yeah..." I go quiet as I think about my father. I really do hope he's okay. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him.

"Did you ever get the chance to read the Daring Do books?" he asks quickly.

"Only every single one of them multiple times over!" I tell him, bringing my enthusiasm back up. "I loved those books as a filly!"

"Heh, I only read half of the first one-"

"*Gasp* Blasphemy! How could you have not read them? They were so good!" he shrugs and rubs the back of his neck, laughing slightly. "Well... if you want, I could recount them to you. We have the time, and I don't mind talking about them."

"Are you sure? Aren't there... like, eight books?"

"Nine, with three mini-series books and thirteen web issues. Do you want to hear about her or not?" He shrugs and gets comfortable, so I get into it. We spend hours talking about the books. Writing style, the story, the writer, everything about the first book. Reckless does his best to recall what he read, but most of it goes over his head. But I'm okay with that. It lets me go back to it myself. And he really seems to enjoy listening.

We ended up staying in that hole for nearly two days! The rain refused to stop the entire time. Luckily the rad storm only last the first day, but we decided to wait the rest out. It was... oddly fun. Even though we were in a hole in the ground, it was nice. We talked about almost everything. What music we liked, sports, ponies from the Stable; we spent most of our time talking. We especially talked about the mares from Eighty-eight.

He has an interesting opinion of certain mares that I know. I thought he was going to judge them on certain things, but he was more interested in their beliefs and habits. I thought he'd just judge them on their looks and how they were in the sack, and even though there were moments where he did bring those things up, they were never really the main topic. He likes the way certain mares laugh or whatever sports they follow. He hates it when mares try to talk about his wings or talk about his job too much. From the sound of it, he doesn't like being the center of attention.

There was a point last night where he left the hole randomly. Curious, I followed after him. He went to the top floor and sat on the floor, staring out at the Commonwealth. I thought about leaving him be, but a burst of lightning made me gasp and he noticed me. He didn't say anything, he just turned back to look out there. So, after some thought, I joined him. We sat there for... at least two hours, watching the rain. It was... nice. We didn't say anything, we didn't do anything, we just... watched the rain. For a moment, it was as if there wasn't a wasteland or slavers anymore. It was me, him, and the rain. And it was nice.

"Did you ever get to meet Cinnamon Swirl?" I ask as we walk down the road, having left the house a while ago. We're sticking to the sides of the road now, learning our lesson from before.

"No, but I know who she is. Bought coffee from her a few times though," Reckless tells me as he scans the buildings. I bring my bat up to my shoulders and rest my arms on it, leaning towards him to see what he thinks of her. "Well... I mean, she did her job well enough. He had a bark of a laugh though-"

"She did not!" I defend.

"Maybe around you. I remember some of the guards went to get a quick bite and she was all over Cuffs. Cuffs is not a funny stallion at all, but whenever he'd say one of his stupid pickup lines, she'd practically scream out a laugh. A laugh. I don't know, maybe she was just nervous."

"Cinnamon Swirl? Nervous? That is a word never used to describe that mare. Can you describe her? Maybe you have the wrong pony."

"Light tan fur, dark brown hair. Titties big enough to crush a stallion. She had a nice ass though." Yep, that's her. Not many mares like her in the Stable sadly. Though, I didn't need to know about her ass.

"That's funny. I always saw her as a pony with nothing but confidence... Cuffs? Is that the stallion with the extra fluffy ears?"

"No, that's Death Row. You're thinking of Flat Hoof. Why?" I laugh a little from the memory, it was pretty crazy.

"He... asked me out." Reckless almost trips when I say this, making me chuckle. He composes himself the best he can, but it's obvious that he's flustered.

"Really? Flat Hoof asked you out, huh? Last I recall, he was a second class stallion. Pretty ballsy of him... Did you go?"

"Yeah, I did."

THUD

I laugh at him and wait for him to stand back up. I had a feeling that he'd be interested in this. He takes another moment to compose himself before walking off at a high pace. I follow after him, enjoying my torment a little too much.

"So... how did it go?" he asks, trying to sound as uninterested as possible.

"Well, we got food, talked a little, and then he walked me home," I tell him, gauging his reactions. He's thinking to himself mostly, but I can tell he's on edge. I wonder how the next part will go over. "We stopped at my door and he asked to come in. I told him it was fun, but maybe next time. He... tried to persist, but I wasn't having it. Long story short, you know that scar he has on his cheek?"

"You did that?" Reckless asks, brightening up a little. And here it comes.

"No, my father did." He goes wide eyed from that. "You see, by persistent, I mean grabby. So I punched him and tried to go inside. Ends up my father war watching from down the hall though. Flat hoof learned quickly what happens when you mess with the Overstallions daughter."

"Damn," Reckless mutters, thinking to himself. I watch his face for a moment when I realize it's not going the way I thought it was going. "Did... did stuff like that happen to you often? The... 'persistence', I mean."

"Oh... well... sort of. I mean, I was first class, so there weren't that many stallions that were ballsy enough to try. But, there were a few." I didn't really think about that part of the story. To me, it was always the story of my dad nearly chopping off some creeps’ head for being rough. I never really thought about the fact that he was trying to make those kind of advances. Not that I'm unaware of those situations, Celestia knows I know, but... That story was always one I'd tell about my father. When I would share it with the other mares, that's what we talked about. It wasn't about me almost being raped. It was about my dad beating up a creep. I guess Reckless is the first stallion I've ever told though...

"Sorry." I blink from his response, lost from thought.

"For what? You didn't do anything," I tell him, but he shrugs back.

"Yeah, but... I don't know. Things worked out in the end, but... I don't know. It felt like the right thing to say. “I stare at him for a moment before looking back to the road ahead of me.

"Well, don't worry about it." We both go quiet after that. What was he supposed to say to that? I never really thought about it before, but that's not a good story to tell. Or, rather, it's a really personal story to tell. Maybe it's different with stallions and mares, I don't know. Maybe in the future I should keep things like that to myself.

Our silence is broken suddenly by gunfire. Reckless draws his pistol and guides me to a nearby building where we take cover. I pull the face cover on my helmet down as Reckless takes a look around the corner. I feel my heart start to race as the gunfire intensifies. There has to be at least four ponies shooting at one another.

Without saying a word Reckless wraps his arms around me and flies me up to the roof. Instead of setting me down though, he more lands on top of me, so we're laying down. I go to ask him what's going on, but he covers my mouth with a hand and shushes me. I gulp and nod to him, getting him to uncover my mouth. He moves aside and crawls his way to the other end of the roof to take a look. I roll over and crawl my way up and peer over the top end, seeing the fight below.

There are two groups fighting. One group are obviously Raiders, thanks to my Pipbuck telling me so, while the others look like normal ponies, being dubbed Settlers. Their clothes are mere rags and they look dirty, but they have a more civil look about them. There are a few bodies in the streets, but the Raiders have chased the Settlers into an alley. We have a perfect view on them, while the Raiders are setting up to corner them. It looks as if it's a dead end for them though.

"Okay, I have an idea," Reckless whispers to me when he crawls back. The Raiders have stopped shooting at them and are now taunting them. They call them cowards, scream about the terrible things they're going to do, and laugh. The laughing is the worse. They enjoy this. They enjoy ruining lives. "There are four Raiders beneath us. Two on the left and two on the right of the house. If we can sneak our way down there, we can take out one of the groups with little effort. If the others don't notice it, then we can do it again. If they do, we'll run out of sight and hide. Sound good?"

"No, but we're doing it." He gives me a confused look but nods anyway.

He grabs me again and flies us to the backyard. Some shooting starts up, but it's nowhere as intense as before. Reckless motions for me to follow him to the right, so I nod to him. We crouch our way to the corner and take a look. The Raiders are hiding behind the corner of the building, giddy about the fight. Reckless starts to creep forward, so I do the same. When we get close enough I grab Reckless's arm and force him to switch side with me. Only one of them has a helmet on, so that's the one he should go for. He doesn't fight it, so I guess he gets the message.

They start shooting again, so we use this time to close the distance. The mare before me notices with enough time to turn and see me bring my bat down on her temple. At the same time, Reckless puts a bullet in the back of the other mares’ neck. The mare I hit lets out a loud scream of pain as she drops to the ground. I bring my bat overhead and swing it down with all my might to silence her. A loud, wet, thwack later and she gurgles her way into silence.

We hear the others yell at us, having noticed our actions. Reckless grabs my arm and pulls me back as a torrent of bullets fly our way. I go to run the other direction when a volley of bullets sends me to the floor. I quickly crawl back to cover and check myself, only finding a dent on my helmet. I peer around the corner and see another group of Raiders hopping the fence, bringing the total to five now.

"If you come out, I promise to make it quick!" a stallion yells, making the others laugh.

"What's the plan!" I yell at Reckless as he forces me back to take a look. He reaches around the corner and fires a few rounds off. The same stallion starts to scream as he falls to the ground.

"Try that again! I dare ya!" Reckless yells at them before looking back to me. "They're going to try to cut us off."

"Right, so what do we do?" I ask, starting to panic. Reckless thinks for a moment before reaching around the corner to shoot again. It doesn't sound like it hits anything, but hopefully it keeps them back.

"Right... right... right... okay! You try to go right. If the two of them are still there then come back. Otherwise, try to get to that other group. I'll follow afterwards. Got it?"

"Sure!" I get up and rush to the corner, nearly running into one of the Raiders. He tries to hit me with a tire iron, but I swing my bat up to parry it. I try to bring it down on him, but he catches it with his iron and starts to push back on me. Gunfire erupts all over the place as we push back on one another.

"I'm gonna ripe that pretty little face of yours right off!" the stallion yells as he surges forward. I try to hold on, but somethings giving him an edge.

With nothing else to do, I break my stance and let him lurch forward. At the same time, I bring a leg up and catch him right between the legs. He howls in pain but manages to stay standing, so I do it again. He staggers back on the second hit and lowers his guard, allowing me to bring my bat right across his face. He spins over and falls to the ground, groaning in pain. I plant my foot on his back and beat the side of his head a few times, screaming with each hit. I step back and take a few deep breaths as I watch the blood seep out of the side of his head, staining the dry ground. I lumber my way to the corner and take another look.

The other Raider is too busy shooting at the settler ponies to notice me. I take a deep breath before running out to the open. My bag tosses from side to side as I push myself as fast as possible. He notices me and turns to shoot, missing by a few inches. He tries again, but the gun clicks and he starts to reload. By the time I get there he's pulls the magazine out, giving me the perfect chance to attack.

THWACK

A solid hit on his shoulder forces him over.

THWACK

A hit on his back forces him to curl backwards, grunting in pain.

THWACK

CRUNCH

A hit on his arm shatters it, forcing him to scream. I kick him onto his back and pull my bat up, looking down at the stallion before me. He doesn't look scared. There's no remorse. The only thing I can see on his face is anger. And that makes this easier.

THWACK

I stagger back a bit before I fall on my rear, panting from exertion. The stallion before me twitches a few times before finally going limp. I killed him. And those other two. They're all dead.

I barely register the pony running up beside me. She's one of those settlers with a purple coat and silver hair done in a very cute bob. She says something to me, but it sounds so distant. I tilt my head as I try to understand her. She yells something else before rushing over to the dead stallion and picking up his weapon. She reloads it and starts to fire at the other Raiders. That's right, there are more of them. We aren't done yet.

As I start to stand my hearing starts to come back to me. There's a lot of yelling and gunfire. Some ponies are screaming in pain, others in fear. Some of it even seems to be directed at me.

"Are you insane!? Get to cover!" the mare from before yells at me. I blink back to reality and rush to her side at the house. "Are you stuck on stupid or something?"

"No! Sorry... how many are left?" I ask, still trying to wrap my mind around things.

"Two, but they have automatics and lots of ammo." She leans over the corner to take a few shots before coming back to me. "Do you have a gun?"

"No, just this," I tell her as I lift up my bloody bat. She gives me a bewildered look before leaning back over to fire again. I take a look around when an idea comes to mind. "Switch spots with me!"

"What? No! You don't have a gun!" she yells back at me. I grab her arm and pull her aside, much to her disapproval.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" I yell out, much to the amazement to everypony. A few rounds go off, but they all eventually stop. "It's four to two, stop and we'll let you go!"

"... step out! If somepony shoots, we're putting you down first!" One of the Raiders yells back. [Speech 35/30]

"Lucky, what are you doing!?" Reckless yells from the other side.

"Don't shoot Reckless! Alright, I'm coming out!" I start to walk out when the mare besides me grabs my arm. She shakes her head, trying to tell me not to go. I try to offer her a smile and pull my arm out of my grasp. If they aren't as stupid as I've been told they are, this might work.

I walk out into the opening and raise my hands. They step out as well and start to walk towards me, pointing their guns my way. I gulp as I wait for them to make it over to me, the air between us seemingly getting hotter and hotter. I can see Reckless move behind them as the make it to the side of the house. We give each other a look before I shake my head. He wants to shoot them right now. He wants to take me out of the danger. But I can do this. I know I can.

"You’re one crazy bitch," the first Raider says as he walks past me, eyeing my entire form quickly. I just stay still and wait for them to pass. It'll be over soon enough. Just keep waiting.

"You're lucky it was me here," the next mare says as she stops before me. She has an athletic body type with a burnt orange coat and red hair. Her armor looks to be made of leather with various pieces of metal intertwined. Her yellow eyes almost seem to glow in the shade of her head wrap. "Anypony else would have shot your ass on the spot."

"Well... I was hoping that one of you had a brain," I tell her, trying to laugh. She smirks at me before nodding her friend along. She takes a step before turning back to me.

"Names Burst Fire. This means nothing. Next time, be ready to fight." I nod to her, trying my best not to gulp in front of her. She takes a look at the dead Raider for a moment before looking back to me, a smug look on her face. "But, you ever want to be part of a group that wins though, you come find me. We could use all the crazy bitches out there."

I nod again and she takes her leave. The two of them take their time walking down the street, laughing over everything that just happened. They don't care that they just lost all these ponies. They're just happy that they're the ones getting away. When they turn the corner at the end of the street I let a long breath and collapse backwards. This was all too much. I'm going to need a minute.

"In all my years, I've never seen somepony convince a Raider to stop fighting," the mare Settler says as she and Reckless approach me. "Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it," I pant out, staring up at the sky. "The names Lucky. That there is Reckless."

"Mutt Schnapps. That there is Hardy, Chuck Wagon, and Pop." I roll my head over to see the remaining ponies come out of hiding. Another mare, a unicorn stallion, and a filly whose probably twelve.

"We should collect what we can and head out. We don't want to escape them just to get caught by somepony else," Reckless mentions. I nod to him, trying to find the strength to stand up. "Why don't you take a minute Lucky. We'll take care of things around here."

"Uhuh." I close my eyes and lay there on the ground. The others walk around me and go through the process of gathering whatever materials are left. I feel the hairs on my neck start to stand up, so I open my eyes. The filly is standing beside me, staring down at me with a blank look on her face. I smile up to her, but she doesn't really move.

"You're new out here, aren't you?" she asks blandly.

"Um... yes," I tell her, slightly put off by her demeanor.

"Is that guy your coltfriend?" I try to answer her, but I was caught too off guard by that question to be able to. "That's a no. Good."

"Okay?" She walks off, heading towards Reckless. She can't be that old, can she? I see her talk to Reckless, and judging by his reaction, she doesn't hide her intentions. Reckless says something to her and shakes his head, getting her to just stand there. He tries to ignore her, but she just stands awkwardly close to him, even when the others in her group tell her to stop.

After a few minutes everypony comes back to me. Reckless helps me up and we all start to walk off together. I guess safety in numbers is our game for the time being. I make my way over to Mutt Schnapps to ask her some questions.

"I was talking with Reckless earlier. We're heading to a small homestead a cousin of mine owns. We figured we'd travel there together since it's on the way to Silo," she tells me.

"Oh, good. Moving to be with family?" I ask, hoping it's not too intrusive.

"Sort of. Our last farm was razed by Hell Hounds. Nasty bunch, we barely made it out alive. Everything we have we found on our way here."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." I don't know what a Hell Hound is, but I don't want to find out anytime soon.

"Yeah, well, shit happens I guess. My daddy taught me plenty about plantin' crops. Sometimes they wither in certain soils, so you have ta find a new place ta plant them." I hum to that. It sounds like good advice, albeit morbid.

"Are the others your family?" I ask, getting Chuck Wagon, the unicorn, to laugh.

"Nope. Hardy was a farmhand back at my old place. Chuck Wagon ran a caravan between my place and another farm. And we found Pop wondering around. It's been tough, but we've been managing." I take another look at Pop and feel a pang of pity for the filly. I couldn't imagine wandering this place alone, especially at her age!

"It hasn't all been bad," Chuck says, alluding to something in his tone.

"Speak for yourself," Hardy says, getting the other two to laugh.

"I used to watch the brahmin mate when I was little." Everypony goes silent when Pop says that. Why would she say that? Let alone admit it! "It was majestic. Until they were eaten by Ashen Wolves."

"Oh..." I glance over to Mutt, but she only shrugs. I guess this is what happens to a kid out in the wasteland.

"How far away are we from your cousins’ place?" Reckless asks, changing the topic.

"Bout a day out, if we play it safe," Mutt tells him, taking a look around our surroundings. "And we are going to play it safe."

"No argument here," Hardy says.

"Yup," Chuck adds.

"Does he have brahmin?" And there goes the conversation. This is going to be a long day.

The walk to the farm wasn't as bad as I thought it was. There were a few times we changed paths to avoid Raiders and feral ghouls, but we managed to make it without starting another fight. Which is good, because we really didn't have the ammo for something like that. Even with all the gear we took from those previous Raiders, we barely have enough to fill our guns. Oh! And I have a pistol now! It's a nine millimeter! Reckless gave me some pointers on shooting, but I think I'll stick to my bat. It'll be nice to have if I ever need it though. Assuming I can hit the thing I'm aiming at.

The farm Mutt was talking about is nothing I was imagining. I was thinking of the farms from the books back home. Large lots of land with flowing fields of crops and a big red barn. The farm Mutt was talking about is an apartment complex in the middle of an urban complex. Apparently Urban Flow, her cousin, has hydroponics on multiple levels of this building. I don't entirely understand what's how he managed to do it, but if it works...

The front of the building is intimidating. It's five stories tall and has turret contraptions on every floor. They really look like guns mounted to small motors that swivel from side to side. But, judging by all the bullet marking on the ground out front, I'm sure they work. We are standing in an open square before the building. It looks as if there were some fixtures out here, but they've long since been removed. There are some banners flying on the apartment building as well. Each one has its own insignia one it, but I don't know what any of them represent.

A stallion bursts out from the front door and cheers at our arrival. He's an average looking stallion with a blue coat and green hair in dreads. He's wearing a nightgown that's all leopard print and has a bottle in one hand. He gives another cheer as he stumbles down the few steps of the building, taking a large swig from his drink.

"Cousin Mutt! Get that ass over here and hug me!" he screams, leaning back as he holds his arms open. Mutt walks forward and gives him a big hug, laughing when he picks her up and spins around.

"It's good to see you Flow! You're a real life saver, I mean it!" she tells him when they break away. She turns to introduce us, keeping an arm around him to help keep him standing. "This is my farmhand Hardy."

"A pleasure," he says, giving her a strange look. I want to say he was trying to flirt, but being drunk made it look more like a threat.

"This here is Pop. We found her on the way here, I hope that won't be a problem." Urban stares her down for a moment before shrugging.

"All are welcomed in Heaven! The more the merrier!" he cheers. Pop just stares at him, slowly blinking an eye.

"That there is Chuck Wagon, he ran the caravan to Sunset Lane." He lurches forward and gives him a firm handshake. With him being a little closer, I can smell the booze off of him. It's enough to make my head spin a little. "These next two saved us from some Raiders earlier. This is Reckless. No, he's not Enclave."

"You sure?" he asks loudly, leaning forward and eyeing Reckless closely. Reckless just stands there, eyeing him back.

"And lastly this is Lucky." Urban swivels to look at me and gasps suddenly. Pushing Mutt away, he makes his way to me, swaying side to side along the way. He has a look on his face that I can only describe as creepy. He's not even trying to hide what he's looking at. I glance to the side and see Reckless rest a hand on his pistol, only making matters worse.

"My, my, my, my! You are certainly not something I was expecting," he tells me. Unless you went by eye sight, because then he was saying it to my breast.

"Something?" I ask, obviously sounding offended. He looks up to me and gives a quick chuckle before turning back towards the building. He drunkenly makes his way up the steps and turns back to us, motioning closer. Reckless and I share a look before stepping towards him. Depending on what he says, we may just leave right now.

"Friends, gather! This is Urban Flows slice of paradise! We drink! We party! We fuck! I only have a few, simple rules. But if you follow them then you may stay for as long as you'd like! Rule number one! Do not touch any of my turrets! Rule number two! Do not eat any crops that are growing! I have plenty of food from traders, so there is no need really. Rule number four! Under no circumstances whatsoever are any stallions allowed to ever touch any of my mares! Break any of my rules, and you will be shot on site! Follow them, and you'll be safe, drunk, and well fed. Welcome, to Heaven!"

He leads us inside and my jaw hangs open is... awe? I'm guess before the war this building was a hotel. The room looks like it was a greeting room/lounge, but not so much anymore. In the center of the room is a massive circular bed with fluffy velvet red blankets. Hanging from the ceiling is a massive metal work chandelier that is in the shape of two ponies doing the act. There are bottles all over the floor and covering every counter top and table. The walls of the building look old and worn down. There are even some spots where you can see the wood work!

There are a few mares in here as well. Two are on the bed while three are talking at a counter in the back. Each of them are dressed in scandalous sleepwear. Silky red night gowns that don't quite cover their bottoms, lacy underwear, there's even a mare in the back who's only wearing a thong and black tape!

Urban Flow steps forward and throws his arms out, laughing to himself as we take in the room. It's at this point that I notice there are several, smaller, turrets dotted around the room. I think it's safe to say that there are going to be turrets in every room here.

"This is Heaven! Remember the rules as I give you a tour!" Urban says as he walks forward. Reckless and I share a scared look before we follow the group.

He has the building sectioned off into five sections. The first floor is the main living room, or as he calls it, the Magic Room! It has that entrance as well as a dining hall. He makes sure we all grab something to eat before moving on with the tour. It was nice of him, though I want to reserve my judgement till later. The second and third floor are the hydroponic rooms. The walls have been knocked out to make room for the massive tracks of piping, plants, and various machines. There isn't anything in here really, so there's really no reason to come here. The fourth floor is the workshop. This is where Urban tinkers with the turrets and fixes the hydroponics. The last floor are the bedrooms. This is where I get the hotel vibe the most. It's just corridors and doorways. Urban assigns each of us to a room, checking Reckless and I in last.

"Room five-twelve," he mutters as he flips through his keys. He finds the right one and opens the door, escorting us in. It's a simple room with two twin beds. There are some side tables and a dresser, but other than that there isn't really anything else to the room. There is a section of the wall that looks like it's had some work done. It's probably where the bathroom used to be. "Here is the key. If and when you leave please return it to me, making new ones is a pain in the ass."

"Thank you," Reckless says as he takes the key.

"There is a community bathroom down the hall. Here are four tokens for the showers. Each token gets you four minutes of water. If you're going to leave tomorrow, please save water and only take one shower. Do you have any questions?" Reckless and I shake our heads, getting him to sigh. "Cool... I think I'm about to crash, so just ask one of the others for help if something comes up. Later."

We watch him stumble his way down the hall until he turns the corner. With him gone, and probably out, we close the door and take in our accommodations. The beds look inviting, but I don't know if I want to be on it. The walls are dirty, though I don't know how that much dirt got in this room. There are some patches on the roof that are questionable too. Over all, with my life from the Stable still fresh in my mind, I want to leave as soon as possible.

The other part of me, the part of me that is listening to Doc, knows not to take this for granted. We have beds, protection, food, water, I don't even know how he has working showers! He may be disgusting, but with all that he provides, I can see why there are so many mares in here.

"Can you believe this place?" Reckless asks as he lays on the bed on the right. I go to stop him, but it's too late for that. He doesn't seem to notice though, so I'll keep it to myself. "What do you think of this place?"

"I... don't know," I tell him as I take a seat, aiming for the cleanest looking spot. "Everything here seems like a blessing. But then you get Urban Flow-"

"I don't like him," he adds quickly, turning to stare at a wall.

"He's a creeper, that's for sure," I add, reaching down to remove my shoes. My hooves thank me for that immediately.

"Creeper? He's a straight up freak! I almost put a bullet in him for eye fucking you!" Reckless fumes, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah... I think I'm going to go use the shower. That sounds... really nice right now." I get go through our bag and pull out a change of clothes. Reckless keeps quiet, eyeing the wall intensely. I pause to say something to him, but choose not to. I doubt there's anything I can say that will help his mood right now anyway.

The shower room is basically a long row of shower stalls taking the left wall with toilets cubicles taking the right. There's a door at the end of the hall that says Washroom, leaving me to guess that it's the laundry room. The shower stalls are made of tiled walls with curtains for doors. By the entrance there are a few sinks with mirrors above them. The lights are a little dim in here, but they are placed so there's more light in the showers. My hooves clack against the tile flooring as I make my way in, echoing ever so slightly. With the dim lights and light turquoise paint, the room has a relaxed feeling about. Something I'm put a little on edge about. With everything out there, how can a place like this exist?

I take the middle stall and start to undress. My Stable suit clings to me from all of the sweat from the past few days. Getting out of it is a relief in it of itself. I fold it up nicely and set it on the curtain rod above me, along with my other cloths. I turn to the shower and slide a token into the slot, getting the valves to turn on the other side. A moment later, warm water starts to fall from the shower head, and I almost cry. I didn't think about it, but I miss hot showers. I might go back to the room and take another token just to stay in here longer! I probably won't, because that would be rude, but it is tempting.

I take my dry bar of soap and start to wash my body. The suds cling to me for a moment before being rinsed down in the murky water. I'm a little surprised by how dirty I am, but push on with my cleaning. I only have a few minutes before the water turns off, I need to make the best of it.

Just as I finish washing my legs I hear somepony walk into the bathroom. I've never had a shower with somepony in the same room, so this is a little weird. I try to ignore it as I start to rinse out my hair, but I can't help but-

SHING

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" I yell when Urban Flow opens my curtain. I quickly grab it and use it to cover myself. "Are you insane? Get out!" He doesn't seem to take what I said seriously. He's just standing there, eyeing me unevenly with an empty wine bottle in his hands.

"I-I have to talk with you, but only you. Not that... pegasis!" His words are more slurred than normal and he keeps swaying from side to side. I move a little closer to him to get more of the curtain to cover myself with, but he doesn't seem to care. He steps in, leaning against the wall opposite of me.

"This isn't a good time to talk," I tell him sarcastically. He goes to take a drink, but finds it empty. He tosses it aside, shattering it against a toilet door.

"No, now. The... the other guy... he wouldn't let you have the choice. I would give you the choice, but he wouldn't. Nah, it's your choice! YOUR choice! It's all your choice!" He yells at the room. I try to edge my way out of the stall, but freeze when he pulls a revolver out of his pajamas.

"Urban... what are you doing?" I ask carefully, eyeing the gun. He holds it in his hands and stares at it, rubbing a thumb against the barrel slowly. "Urban?"

"All of the mares here have one of these, did you know that?" he asks, suddenly sounding much sober. "I give it to them when they agree to stay. I don't force them; they have to agree." He looks up to me, looking hopeful, before laughing deeply. "They agreed! And you should too! I have food, booze; you want drugs? I can get you whatever you want! You just have to agree to stay here, with me. I'd keep you happy, so long as we're both happy. Don't you want to be happy?"

My breath picks up pace as he stares at me, waiting for me to respond. I take in my surroundings as I try to think of a way out of this. What do I tell him? He's drunk, so nothing will reason with him. He just wants to hear what he wants. But I can't bring myself to saying yes either. I saw the turrets. Who knows what else he's hiding around here. I have to be careful with what I say, or this will get ugly.

"Urban... I am not comfortable talking about this while I am naked. Can we please talk about this another time?" Just as I ask this, the water shuts off, silencing the room.

"Another time?" [Speech 35/50] "Why don't you understand! This is for you!" He rushes forward and rips the curtain from my grasp. I let out a yelp and move my arms to cover myself. He doesn't seem to like that though. He grabs my arm and tries to wrestle it away. I start to fight him, but stop the second he puts the barrel of his pistol against my neck. He lets out a small laugh as he stares at my bare chest, his pants rising slightly.

"Urban?" I mutter, fear filling my voice. He licks his lips as he moves a hand to cup me, but stops just shy of contact.

"If you were mine..." he lets go and backs out of the stall, laughing to himself. I grab the curtain and cover myself again. I want to run, but I don't want to make any sudden movements either. Not while he has a gun. "I told you, I never force them. That almost got out of hand, didn't it?" he laughs at his own joke, waving his pistol around. I just keep quiet. He'll leave soon enough. Or somepony will come in here. Something will end this soon.

He starts to walk away, but just as I let out a breath he comes right back into my stall. What is wrong with this pony!? Why can't he just leave?

"I stole your shower, and fair is fair," he says as he reaches into his pocket and puts a token into the shower. The water starts to fall and soak him immediately. With all of the stuff in his pockets and the water weighing his pants down, they fall to the ground. He laughs, turning as if to show me. I just close my eyes and look away, disgusted by him.

He walks up to me until I can feel the heat from his breath on my neck. I don't know what he's doing, but it doesn't seem as if it's ever going to end! I cling to the curtain a little tighter, hoping that it will end soon.

"You are going to leave tomorrow. I know this. You aren't the first. But, after some time out there, this will all appear better and better. You'll rationalize it to yourself. 'It won't be as bad as this.' 'At least there I had food.' 'At least there I was safe. It's happened plenty of times before. Don't worry, my doors will always be open to you. I would never let any harm come to you out here."

He reaches down and lifts the curtain to look at my cutie mark. I move a hand to cover it back up, but's he's seen what he's wanted to see. He gives a light chuckle before finally leaving the stall. He starts to hum to himself as he leaves, each step making me cringe slightly. Only when his voices fade away do I let go of the curtain and drop to ground. I wrap my arms around my knees as I sit there, crying to myself. I stay in there even after the water stops flowing. I don't want to leave. I don't want to chance walking into him again. We have to leave now!

I grab my cloths and throw them on before running out of the bathroom. I make it to our room and throw the door open, finding it empty. Why is it empty? Where's Reckless? Not knowing what else to do, I slam the door shut and lock it. I run over to our bag and grab both of my weapons before taking the far corner of the bed and sit there, eyeing the door. My bat in one hand, my pistol in the other. Reckless will get here, then we'll leave this place and never talk about it! Reckless just needs to show up. We'll leave as soon as he gets here...

Perspective: Reckless

That guy makes my blood boil! My personal feelings for Lucky aside, the way he acts is mind boggling! How could he run this place while constantly drunk? How has he not slipped up yet? I take Lucky for a thirty-minute walk and we nearly die! This asshole makes a few turrets and suddenly he's some sort of drunken messiah! How does life work out that way? It's not fair! Getting uncomfortable from all of my rage, I start to remove my armor until I'm just in my Stable suit, though I still feel hot in this.

Knock knock knock

My ears lay flat as somepony knocks at the door. I don't want to talk right now, so I try to ignore it. But of course they knock again. I cover my head with my arms, but they knock again. Just go away! I want to be alone right now!

"Excuse me? Is anypony in there?" I let out a long sigh when some mare talks through the door. There's only a few reasons why they would want to talk to us, may as well see what Urban wants.

"Come in," I call out, forcing myself to sit up. In walks one of the earth mares from the first room, the one wearing the red nightwear. She turns and shuts the door, giving me a brief moment to see her cutie mark. It looks like a pair of dolphins swimming towards each other, made more realistic due to her ocean blue coat. She turns back around and presses her back to the door, a lock of white falling over her face from her silver mane.

"Hi... I'm Joy," she greets, trying her best to avoid my gaze. It takes me a moment to speak up. Her night gown compliments her lithe body... very well. It doesn't help that I'm a sucker curves. She may not be as endowed as most mares, but she's still has that hourglass figure.

"I'm Reckless. Is there something I can help you with?" I ask, returning my gaze to her face.

"Um... yes! Sorry, it's just that... It's my turn to clean the filters this week, but I'm having trouble removing them. I don't mean to intrude, but it'll only take a second!" I bite my lip as I think about it. Urban never really said we weren't allowed down there, so I don't see why not.

"Sure. Yeah, if anything it'll be nice to get out of this room." She looks up to me with those bright blue eyes and gives me the biggest smile, overjoyed by my response.

"Great! Just follow me and I'll show you what needs to be done!" She rushes forward and grabs my hand, pulling me up. I barely have time to shut the door before we practically fly down the stairs.

"Whoa! Is this an emergency?" I ask as we round the corner of the first stairwell.

"Sorry. It's just... been a pain trying to get this done! I was afraid I'd have to tell Urban that I couldn't do it myself," she tells me, slowing down to a comfortable walking pace. She holds onto my hand though, something I feel really off put by. Her coat is smooth and she has a general warmth about her. It's... too nice. I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it.

"Why would it be bad if you told Urban you were having trouble with the filters?" I ask, genuinely curious. I knew there was something off about that guy! My gut's rarely off about that kind of thing!

"It wouldn't really be a problem. It's just... he plays favorites. And, if you're not his favorite, then... well... It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, I promise. I just want to do this without anypony finding out." I eye her a bit before shrugging. I know I've had to cut corners for work before.

She takes me to the hydroponic room on the third floor and guides me inside. All of the lights are out, but she seems to know where she's going. I manage to smack my face on a few branches along the way, getting her to giggle at me. We make it to a room in the back that houses the water purification system is, along with some other tools for storage. I take one look at the machine and conclude that I have no idea how it functions. It has some piping going out the window to what I assume houses the water.

"So... what do I do?" I ask, trying to eye the thing in the dark. She clicks something and a small desk light reveals the room to me.

"That depends on you really?" Her statement comes out in a slow, husky tone of voice. I turn around and stare back at her as she gives me her bedroom eyes, a hand lightly rubbing at the side of her leg. I gulp as she takes a step forward, all of the signals in my head going off at the same time.

RUN YOU IDIOT!

TAKE HER YOU IDIOT!

Why do both sides of my head think I'm an idiot?

DO SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!

"Uhm... Joy?" I ask with a shaky voice. She reaches forward and sets a thin finger over my lips, shushing me quietly.

"Here's the thing, Reckless. I've been here for almost a year now, and I've hated every moment of it. But I can't leave because I've become accustomed to this life style. I know there are others that agree with my sentiment, and that's where you come in. I just want to know what a real stallion feels like, just a reminder."

"But Urban-"

"He's not coming down here, trust me on that. I've learned his mannerisms by now. The minute the sun goes down he stops working. And there aren't any turrets that can see into this room either. It'll be our little secret, I promise." She grabs the bottom of her night gown with both of her hands and lifts it over her head slowly. I have to swallow hard as I watch her perky breast bounce free from the loose clothing. They aren't the best I've seen around, but their form is immaculate. Or maybe I only think that because I've been blue for the last week or so, it's hard to say right now.

I try to form words, but I can't seem to settle on any. On one hand, I want to save it for Lucky. On the other, who would know? Back on the former, I can't help but think of this as a break in our trust. But the latter tells me that it really isn't, since we aren't together anyway. All of these thoughts rage in my head as she tosses the garment aside and looks back to me, holding her hands behind herself as she sways from side to side.

"Well? What do you think?" she asks cutely, bouncing on her heels lightly. I have to swallow again as her form jiggles slightly, my wings opening up slightly.

"I... don't know. I... with Lucky... but..." My hands are starting to shake as I try to make my mind up. My body is yelling at me to take her now, but my mind knows there will be consequences if I do. If something doesn't convince me to go one way or another, I might just fall over!

"Is that mare your wife?" Her question confuses me for a moment before I shake my head. "Marefriend?"

"She's a mare who is my friend... I think," I tell her, getting her to hum in understanding.

"I see. But you want to be more friends, don't you?" I stay silent, though she assumes she's right. "Listen, I will admit that I am being selfish, but if you aren't together then there isn't anything wrong with this. You're your own stallion. And you are free to make your own decisions," she tells me, stepping closer.

"I know. But I can't help but feel... guilty?" She nods to me, making me feel a little better about the situation.

"I see. Then... how about this? Just the straight stuff. Nothing special, just two ponies letting off some steam! That way you can tell her that it was meaningless and mean it. You'd be doing me a really huge favor, and I'd gladly take all the responsibility afterwards. How's that sound?"

I think about it for a moment before looking her in the eyes. There's that familiar hint of lust in them, but there's something else there too. Is it desperation? Maybe, but I don't think it's for the reasons I'm assuming for.

She's made solid points. I am able to choose who I get to be with. We're not together, so it shouldn't be a problem. And she's willing to take the blame too! This should be easy, but it isn't.

I can't help but feel slightly off about this. As if there's something I'm not taking into account. There's also the fact that I feel as if I'm breaking Lucky's trust by doing this. But my brain keeps telling me that there's nothing to be worried about. She won't even call me Reck, this isn't going to change anything...

"I'll do it," I tell her, getting her to brighten up immediately. "But only on the condition that you call me Reck. All of my friends call me that."

"You'd consider me a friend?" she asks, caught off guard by my remark. I nod to her, stepping closer.

"I know it's not normal, but I hold all the mares I've been with in special regard. It's... just the way I am." Her shocked face fades into a warm, genuine smile. She closes the distance and pulls me in for a tight hug, wrapping her arms around my core. I gently lay my hands around her, feeling her soft coat against mine.

"I haven't had a friend in... years. Thank you, Reck."

Her calling me that helps ease a lot of the tension off. With my head a little clearer, I steel myself to do this. It'll be a one-time thing anyway.

She reaches up and starts to drag the zipper of my suit down. I just watch with curiosity as she slowly starts to undress me, idly running my hands down her smooth back. Once the zipper reaches the bottom she slips her hands inside and runs them up my chest. I let out a slow breath as I enjoy the contact of her soft hands. Being nearly a head shorter than me, she has to stand on the tips of her hooves to reach my shoulders and pull the suit down. It falls around my wings for a moment, but a simple flap and they fall behind me, leaving me half exposed. She ogles my chest and wordlessly says something, running her hands over me again. I close my eyes and take a deep, relaxing breath.

When she runs a hand over my chest again I decide to return the favor. I slide my hands down her back, lightly scratching her with my nails, before bringing a hand up her front and over one of her breasts. She gives a small gasp before moaning into me, swaying slightly. The supple flesh gives in to my fingers as her nipples harden in excitement. I grope her a few moments longer before I move to pinch at her teat. She gives a small gasp before returning the favor, making us both laugh. I bring my other hand to her flank and give it a firm squeeze, slightly picking her up in the process. She lets out a louder gasp and stumbles against me, resting her head against my chest.

I take turns between each spot with each hand. While one hand gropes her ass, the other plays with her breast. She seems to enjoy this as much as I do, choosing to lean against me and grip my sides. I start to listen in on her moans and gasps, trying to find her most sensitive spots. The more I do this, the louder she starts to get. I begin to worry that we'll get caught and take a look around. It's just as dark as it was before, putting me at ease.

I let out a grunt when she runs a hand down my pants one over my hardened member. She forces my suit down until it falls around my ankles, leaving me bare to her. She eyes me again and mouths something for the second time. I've always considered myself average, but I don't know if that's true. I've been too shy to ask and haven't asked anypony ever.

She moves her hand up and down my shaft. I let out a few moans as I lean against the machine and enjoy her soft fur against me. She chuckles at bit at me and starts to use both hands, one working the shaft while the other plays with the flare. My heart starts to race as the feelings twist at my stomach, making me grunt louder and louder. She lets go and leaves me panting, wanting more. She motions for me to follow with a finger and backs up towards the desk. As I kick off my suit she sits back on it, adjusting herself to be as comfortable as possible. Once she's set she brings her hooves up to rest on the edge and spreads her legs, giving me a perfect view of herself.

I'm sure my heart skipped a beat at that moment. It usually does. Her cunny is slick with her excitement and waiting for me to begin. I get a peek at her pink flesh when her clit gives me a wink, sending a twitch down my form. She brings a hand down there and spreads herself for me, giving me an even deeper view.

"Whenever you're ready," she coos, propping herself up with one arm as she leans back. I watch her pull at her folds for a moment longer before I kick into gear.

I step forward and grab her hips with one hand and guide myself against her entrance with the other. A shock of pleasure jolts me and I start to press forward, only to feel a hand on my chest.

"Just... take it easy at first, okay?" I nod to her, pushing forward until I slip my flare in. She lets out a satisfied groan and brings her arm back for support. I re-position myself for better access and continue filling her. I take it as slow as my body will allow me, reaching my furthest depth in an eternity. She's tight, tighter than any mare I've been with before. I can feel every muscle spasm, every shift, and every heart beat within her. And it's amazing.

"Holy fuck," I mutter, glancing down at our connection. Fluid is coating my crotch as she twitches around me. Clear signs of her enjoyment. I look up to her and smile, receiving one in return.

"Go ahead, I'm ready... Oh! I almost forgot! Sorry, but you're going to have to pull out at the end."

"Really? Why?" I rarely pull out. There's just something about filling a mare that's inherently better.

"If Urban wants to... you know, afterwards, I need to be clean down there. Sorry." She offers me a frown, but I shrug it off. I should have figured as much. It just means that I have to enjoy this part even more.

I pull back at slow pace, relishing in the feeling of her pulling back at me. I make it to my flare before pushing back in. Joy sighs in pleasure and lays herself down, her back leaning against the window of the small room. I keep at my slow motions until I feel I've got the rhythm down and start to pick up the pace. As I keep it at a slow pace, I let a hand wander over her body again. She responds by wrapping her legs around my waist and locking them up behind me. It limits my movement a bit, but I enjoy it all the same. When my hand reaches her breast she grips it and holds it there, squeezing me with her legs. I take the hint and start to pick up the pace even more.

The desk starts to groan against the floor as our hips slap against each other’s. I start to tighten my hold on her as I let myself enjoy this as much as possible. She's starting to moan in tandem with my movements, rotating her hips in a circular motion. I pick it up again, having to move both my hands to hold her hips in place. She moves an arm behind herself as she braces against the window, letting out little yelps periodically.

SLAM

We both freeze when we hear a door slam, our hips matted together. We stare at one another in fear before the lights suddenly blind us. I pull out of her quickly as we both dive behind the desk, hopefully before they saw us.

"I thought you said nopony was going to be here!" I whisper at Joy, gathering my cloths.

"Nopony was going to be here! I don't know who that is or why they are here!" she whispers back, grabbing her nighty. I take a gamble and peer over the table, much to Joys protest. I don't see anypony out there, just rows of bushes and hydroponics. "Oh no, her."

"Who?" I ask, following her gaze. There's a mare in here looking over some plants by the door. She's a white unicorn with really short black hair that's wearing the tape over her nipples and what look like leather shorts. She hasn't noticed us yet, more focused on looking over the plants instead. "Who is that?"

"Razor Edge, Urban's favorite mare. She's stupidly loyal to him. If she finds out, we were here she'd take our heads well before the turrets could do anything. We need to get out of here asap!" I take a look around before I realize there's only one way out of here that has a chance of her not seeing us.

"We have to go out that window," I tell her, pointing to it. Her ears drop as she looks up at it, gulping in fear.

"I-I... I can't," she tells me, scooting away slightly. "I'm afraid of heights." I take a look behind her and watch as Razor starts to walk towards us, almost within ear range.

"Just close your eyes and I'll take care of it, okay?" She looks between the open window and Razor a few times before nodding to me. I give her my clothes and move towards the opening, motioning for her to follow. It's going to be a tight fit, but I think I can manage.

I climb up the machinery and pull myself through the opening. There's only room for one pony to stand on these pipes, so I take to the night air. Joy climbs up to the opening and takes a look down, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks. I grab her jaw and force her to look at me, holding her face still.

"One step at a time, okay? I've got you." She tries to nod, but I can feel her shaking. This isn't going to be easy.

She goes slowly as she coaches herself step by step. She's barely halfway out the window by the time I see Razor in the background. This is going to take too long. I have to move things along if we're going to make any progress. I use one hand to cover her mouth and my other arm to wrap around her midsection. I put everything I have into flapping my wings, taking to the air quickly. Joy lets out a scream as we race up, clinging to me for dear life. I make it to the fourth floor before I start to lose my momentum. Thinking quickly, I land on the edge of a window sill and use it to take a quick breather. It's a bit awkward with my hands full, but I manage to grab a hold of the wall and stay balanced.

"I'm going to do that again," I tell her, getting her to shake her head against my chest. "You have to do everything you can to keep quiet. There might be somepony sleeping on the other side of this window."

"I... I... I... I can't!" she tells me, tightening her grip on me. I try to think of a way around this, but there's only one thing I can think of.

"Bite me."

"W-w-what?" she asks, her voice trembling.

"Bite me. It's the only way to muffle your voice. Right on my shoulder there," I shake my left shoulder. She moves her face to it and makes the mistake of opening her eyes. She sees everything behind us. With the world in her sight, she buries her face in my chest again. Her breathing is rapid and her grip is getting tighter by the second.

"Come on, you can do this! Keep your eyes closed. That's it. Now just drag your lips until you find the spot." She does as I say, albeit very slowly. When she makes it to my shoulder she quickly puts it in her mouth, ready to bite. I take a few breaths as I steel myself to fly up there and be bitten. This is not how I imagined this ending, not even close. "On three. One. Two. Three!"

I jump off the ledge and into the air. At the same time Joy lets out a muffled scream as she bites into me. It stings, but I push through it as I make it over the top of the building. I land as quickly as possible and try to pry her off. She's locked onto me in fear and is adding more and more pressure. It gets to the point where I have to pinch her side roughly to get her attention. She lets go and yelps in pain, jumping in place as she rubs her side. I let out a rough groan as I hold onto my shoulder. I don't think she broke the skin, but it still hurt like a bitch!

A moment later Joy yelps and clings to my side quickly, still shaking slightly. I take a moment to take in our surroundings, moving a wing to cover her view as best I can. There's really only three things up here: A stair well entrance, a water tower, and a shed. The shed is a rickety little thing that doesn't even have a door on it. With nowhere better to go, I rush the both of us to that room. I find a desk with a working computer on it, a computer chair, and a sleeping bag rolled out on the left. That's all there's room for in this shack, but it'll do. I pull us inside and bring Joy to the sleeping bag to calm her down.

"Joy, take a look," I tell her as I spin her around. She tries to fight me, but I'm much stronger than her. She holds her eyes shut for a moment before taking a peek, seeing a wall in front of her. She takes in the room before letting out a long sigh. She turns back to me and wraps me up in a big hug, one that I return.

"Sorry about that," she tells me, burying her nose in the tuft of hair in the center of my chest. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," I tell her as I rub her back. "Sorry I had to pinch you like that."

"It's fine. Hurt! But I'll live." I allow myself a moment to relax before I take another look around, noticing something.

"Joy? Where are our clothes?" As I ask that, a roar of thunder washes directly over us as rain begins to fall in earnest.

"I... think I dropped them on our way up. Sorry Reck," I let out another sigh and bury my face in her mane. I should have figured she would have done that. But, it's too late now. No need worrying about it until after the rain stops. "Can't you just fly down there and get them?"

"Not in the rain. It'll weigh me down too much." We stay standing here for a moment in silence, holding onto each other. In all the excitement of our escape, I've lost my edge. Standing here now, I can feel it start to come back. "Does that door open?"

"Not from the outside. And I don't think anypony comes out here. At least, I've never heard of somepony coming out here." I hum in response. Well... since we're already out here.

I reach up and start to fondle her tits again. She looks up to me and smiles, reaching down to stroke my member. It doesn't take long for me to rise back, and her eagerness returns just as easily too. I reach down and lift her up by her flanks, making her give a high pitched squeal as she wraps her legs around me. I bring her down onto my member and reinsert myself. She drapes her arms around my shoulders and grinds against me, moaning in approval. I start to thrust into her again, lifting and dropping her to maximize the action. A few thrusts in and we're ramming our hips together again, groaning and moaning together for the world to hear.

She keeps bringing her face in front of mine. Each time it seems as if she wants something to happen, but I have no clue what she wants. She seems to take the hint and moves back to enjoy the ride.

I get tired of this position and decide to change things up. I stop thrusting and pull her off, the cold world stinging against my flesh. She gives me a confused look before I spin her around and hold her up by her knees. She gives a light laugh before reaching down and helps guide me back in. Her tail swishes against my pelvis as I return to humping her, tickling me slightly. She reaches back with one hand to hold onto my neck while the other moves down to play with herself. The sight entices me to push harder, making her gasp in surprise.

I have to bury my face in her neck as I start to build up my orgasm. I want this to last longer, but it's only a matter of time at this point. Joy notices this as well and starts to rub my arm, trying to coax me along as much as possible. Only in the brief moments before I climax do I remember to pull myself out, barely making it in time.

I give a short grunt that turns into long moans as I slip from her folds and hit my climax. Joy grabs my member and points it to the left, stroking it fiercely to help maintain my orgasm. Each glob that comes out from me sends a jolt of pleasure up my body, fogging up my mind. Four pulses later and I start to come back to reality. I stay still as I try to regain my breath, my face still buried in her neck and beneath her long hair. Joy gets her breath back faster than me, though she stays still as well.

"That was great," she whispers to me, her voice a little shaky.

"Yeah?" I ask, finally removing my face from her neck. The globs of my orgasm are plastered on the floor beside the sleeping bag. Some of it almost made it out the door too. I guess I was really pent up. "Good aim."

"Thanks," she says with a giggle. "Wanna lie down and take a breather?" I hum to her and bring the both of us down, choosing to lay on my back with her spooning my side. She snuggles up against me and melts into my embrace, resting a hand on my chest. I bring an arm around her back and hold her against me, tired. I think about everything we just did and smile, glad I did it. I say that now, but we'll see how I feel later.

"Did you finish?" I ask, having not noticed. She gives a little laugh as she swirls a finger around the tuft on my chest.

"Yeah, back in the storage room downstairs." Huh, how didn't I notice it? "You almost got me a second time there though. I'm sure if you had stayed in you would have."

"Maybe next time I won't pull out then," I tell her, jostling her slightly. She reaches down and starts to fondle my sensitive member again, making me grunt in surprise.

"Maybe," she teases, giving me a playful smile. "For now let's just enjoy the rain and see where things go from there."

She rolls over to be on my right side, giving her a perfect view of the world outside the door. She gives a content sigh as she stares out at the clouds above, idly rubbing my chest. I try to watch the rain with her, but I keep getting blips from our first trek out here. The bitter cold, the fear of dying in the mud, the defeated feeling from finding that ruined building. I guess I'm not doing a good job of hiding it though, because Joy sits up and gives me a concerned look.

"Is everything alright?" she asks worriedly. I debate telling her for a moment before I sit up with her.

"I... don't really like the rain. When Lucky and I left our Stable we were caught in a nasty storm out in the wastes. It nearly killed us." Joy reaches down and holds my hand, giving me a sympathetic look. I smile back to her, glad that she understands.

"The rain is nasty to most ponies out there, but it's not to us. If it weren't for the constant rain, our style of life wouldn't exist. I know it doesn't help much, but without all that rain we'd all be dead." I shrug to her, understanding what she means. The rain is a life source for them. It's how the get their plants fed, it's how the keep clean, they wouldn't have made it without the rain. But, that doesn't change what happened. "I know what you need!"

"Oh? What's that?" I ask, genuinely curious. She stands up quickly and holds her hands out to me, offering to help me up.

"You need a new memory! If you only allow that one instance be your sole memory of rain, you'll never learn to appreciate it! Come on! We're gonna have some fun for a moment!" I take her hands and stand up with her, a little unsure about this.

"Aren't you scared to be out there?" I ask as she drags me out. I pull back just as I make it to the door, leaving her in the rain alone. Her mane instantly deflates as the water flattens it. I take a moment to appreciate her soaking wet body, almost forgetting at the rain itself.

"Yeah, but as long as we stay in the center it should be fine. Now come on! Just follow after me!"

She gives a shrill scream as she runs into the rain. She jumps around and starts to kick the water up, laughing the entire time. I take a look at all the falling water and start to stick a hand out, flinching when a cold drop lands on me. I look back to her and watch her play a moment longer before sticking my hand out, feeling the water coat me quickly. Slowly, but surely, I force myself out into the rainfall. My entire body becomes soaked in mere seconds as a chill runs down my spine. I go to turn back, but Joy stops me by grabbing my hand and pulling me out into the open.

She starts to run around me, spinning me along the way. Her laughter is infectious and I start to forget about the cold. I jump back slightly when she kicks some water up at me, giving me a challenging look. I smile back at her, accepting her challenge. I flick my wings open and snap them towards her, shaking all of the water off as well as slapping a torrent of falling rain onto her. She squeals in response, clearly unprepared for that much water coming at once.

"Cheater!" she yells before running forward and gripping me in a tight hug. "But two can play at that game!"

She starts to rub her chest against me, though I don't know to what extent. I just laugh and enjoy the feeling of our wet coats meshing together. I reach down and squeeze her flanks, picking her up and spinning her for a moment. She laughs with me, looking up to me with those bright blue eyes. I feel my heart race again as she starts to close the distance, her eyes slowly closing.

SHLINK

I give a... less than stallion worthy yelp as I suddenly fall backwards. I try to step back to catch myself, but Joy has her leg there to trip me. She holds onto my arm to slow my decent, but I still hit the ground roughly. I groan and blank my eyes a few times, reeling. Joy moves to stand over me, each hoof set beside my chest. I look up and feel that warmth in my cheeks again as I get a perfect view of her undercarriage. She smirks at me, setting her fists on her hips.

"I told you I'd get you back," she tells me with a shrug. I don't respond, too mesmerized by the sight before me. "Enjoying the view?"

I think she assumes that I can't get up quickly from this position. Which means she clearly doesn't know what my wings are capable of.
I push myself up quickly and grip her by her legs. She gives a high pitched scream as I quickly, and shakily, pick her up. She ends up straddling my face in a reverse piggy back setting. My muzzle is flush against her crotch, the smell of rain water and her excitement filling my nose. She grabs my head and yanks on my hair as she tries to stay balanced.

"You punk!" she yells as she tries to force herself down, but I won't let her. "Reckless!"

I laugh and drop her, quickly catching her halfway down. She lets out another scream, nearly ripping my mane out along the way. She slaps my chest a few times, and I start to feel bad about that. But that ends when she gives a light laugh and rests her head against mine, relaxing into my embrace. I lower her down so she can stand, keeping her in my embrace the entire way.

"I thought you were going to try something there, but you kept to the rules," she says quietly to me. I don't know what I would have done there so I keep quiet. It's starting to get a little cold now, so I start to walk backwards towards the shed again.

Each step is slow and barely makes any progress. And that's just fine for me. I'm a sucker for a mare’s embrace. The feeling of someone embracing you, trusting you, there's nothing else like it. It takes us an eternity to make it to the shed, and we don't even make it inside yet. I miss the entrance and end up pressing my back against the wall. Neither of us really care though. Joy moves her arms from around my midsection to drape around my shoulders again, our face coming even closer. From this view I can only look into her half lidded eyes, the entire world fading away.

"Can I break a rule?" she asks in almost a whisper. My heart races and I nod to her, lost entirely in the moment.

She closes the distance and presses her lips against mine. Electricity races down my spine and back up through my entire body from the foreign contact. It's too much of a new thing, and I push her back to stop my head from spinning. Joy breaks our embrace and takes a few steps back, looking a little hurt. I have to blink a few times as I try to get my bearings back. At least now I don't feel cold anymore.

"Sorry, I-I just thought... I won't kiss you again, promise!" she pleads, holding her hands before herself.

"I... that... what did you do?" I ask in a daze, bringing a hand to my head.

"I just thought we'd get a little closer, that's all. I know we said we'd keep it plain, but... It was just a spur of the moment thing! I'm sorry!" she pleads again, taking a stepping back further. I give my head a quick shake before gaining control of myself again. I look to Joy and smile, getting a confused look from her.

"Joy, I'm not mad at you for that. I just don't know what that was," I explain, getting a confused look from her.

"You've never been kissed before?" she asks, lowering her hands.

"I've never even heard of that before! Where did you learn to do that?" I ask excitedly, stepping towards her. She tries to think, but can't seem to understand what I'm talking about.

"Reckless... Kissing is just a part of everyday life. How could you not know about kissing? she asks, somewhat concerned.

"It just wasn't a thing we did in my Stable," I explain to her, closing the distance between us. I take her in my arms again, lightly pushing her against me. She doesn't mind, more distracted by my lack of knowledge. "You said we'd only do the straight stuff, but everything we've done is all I've ever done. Back in Eighty Eight, everything we've done is the extent of what everypony does down there. I might be the first stallion to kiss a mare since the door was sealed."

She stares at me in confusion. I just wait for it to settle in. As I've learned, living out here and in the Stable are as polar opposite as it gets. She thinks to herself for a moment longer before looking up to me, her bright smile back on again.

"So, I was your first kiss?" she asks. I chuckle as I nod to her, making her smile even more. "I've never been anypony's first for anything."

"Well, you're my fist kiss," I tell her, tightening my arms around her. We both chuckle some more before I move my lips closer to hers, hoping for another try. She gives me a smirk before giving into my hopes.

The feeling is the same as last time. Electric. I thought I had done it all, but now I don't think I've even breached the surface. Her arms move to my shoulders as we continue to press our lips together, making little smacking sounds over the rain. I pull up on her as I try to delve deeper into the kiss, trying to figure out what to do. I mainly follow her lead, making the O's against her lips as she does the same. I feel amateur doing this, but the feeling more than makes up for that. She breaks away from me, allowing us to take deep breaths.

"Wow... you aren't very good at that," she admits with a laugh. I feel a little embarrassed about it, but don't let it bother me. I'm new to it, who's good at something the first time? "We'll have to work on that."

"By all means," I tell her, getting her to give me a mischievous smile.

"Go inside and get in the sleeping bag." I nod to her and head inside the shack.

I unzip the bag and lay inside of it, my pride falling back onto my stomach. Joy hums at that and settles down to straddle my hips. I let out a sigh as I feel myself rub against her warm slit. She grinds against me a few times, moaning with each gentle thrust. I lay my hands on her wet thighs and grips them lightly, gently pushing against her. She stops all too soon and rises on her knees, using her hand to guide me inside. She lets out a louder moan as we connect again. She wastes no time sitting all the way back down, not that I mind.

I try to thrust up into her, but she lays a hand on my chest and shakes a finger at me. I give her a confused look, but wait. She reaches behind us and starts to zip the sleeping bag back up. With it closed up, there's barely any room for us to move. Not to mention our faces are now flushed against each other’s. Which I guess was the point. I bring my arms around her and give her a thrust, making her body slide against mine. She smiles to me and starts to work her hips, sliding me around inside her. I take that as my queue and start a rhythm with my hips. It doesn't take long for her to start moaning consistently again as we get back into the swing of things.

Everything stops when she kisses me again. It's an overload of feelings that I can't handle all at once. Joy seems to think otherwise though. She keeps moving her hips back and forth as she starts to teach me how to kiss properly. I've always learned better from by example, and Joy is an excellent teacher. Just as I would get comfortable with kissing she would pull back while sucking my bottom lip into her mouth. The felling was weird, but not unwelcomed. I tried to do it back to her, but she would just slip her tongue into my mouth and start using it to dance with mine. I liked this the most, but she never stayed with one movement.

After a rather rough time of her chewing on my lip, I work up the gall to start thrusting again. She breaks our kiss for a moment to enjoy the feeling again, looking down at me with drunken, lustful eyes. I bring up the ante and bring my hands to her flanks, gripping them tightly. I begin to push and pull her in time with my movements, making the most out of each thrust. Her moans quickly turn to small yelps as I start to give it my all. Our bodies grind against one another as a mixture of sweat and water mix our coats. I can feel my fingers dig into her supple flesh, her cutie mark right under my palms.

Joy lets out a scream as she tightened her entire body around me, gripping me with everything. A splash of fluid on my crotch and the sudden increase in tightness make me moan loudly as I edge towards my own climax. I need something to push me over, anything!

She gives me that edge by grabbing my face and giving me the most forceful kiss yet. My body spasms against her as we each share our orgasms. She gives a muffled scream as each torrent of cum fills her. Our fluids mix together and start to leak out onto me. After several more pumps into her she collapses on top of me, breaking out kiss. My neck warms up as she breaths heavily into my neck, slowly coming down from her orgasm. I bring my hands back up around her and let out a satisfied sigh.

"I hope it never stops raining," she whispers, holding me a little tighter. I take a look outside and see the dark clouds above. Me too, for today at least.

I low rumbling in the distance wakes me. I have to blink several times to refocus before I can take in my surroundings completely. Everything starts to come back to me as I slowly wake up. I look down to see Joy still asleep in my arms, a peaceful and content look about her. I lie my head down and close my eyes again.

I didn't pull out. Hopefully that won't come to bite us in the ass later. It wasn't like I had much of a choice though. This sleeping bag wasn't really made for two ponies to share, let alone one of them being a pegasi. I shift my wings around to find them asleep. Figures. Normally this doesn't happen when I sleep on my back, but with the added weight of another pony... It was still worth it. Just to learn about kissing; it was worth it.

What else is there that two ponies can do that I don't know about? I want to ask- no- I want to try all of them! Is there other kind of kissing's out there? What about sex? I'm sure I've done everything there is to sex, but how could I know? There could be a whole world of sexual activities out there that I don't know about! How is it that we didn't do any of this back in the Stable? I wonder if Lucky knew about this?

...I wonder if Lucky's good at kissing?

"Mhmm... Good morning to you too," Joy mumbles into my neck. She shifts her legs slightly, rubbing up against my semi erect cock. "How long were we out" I check my Pipbuck to make sure.

"About six hours, give or take. Time flies when you're breaking the rules," I tell her, getting a hum in response.

"Mmm, yeah it does. But it was worth it," she tells me dreamily, shifting to lay on my side. I'm not actually sure what time we left to do this. I know what time we made it here though.

"Yeah?" I ask, hoping she knows what I'm talking about.

"Yeah. We'll have to be sneaky after this. Head straight to the showers. If we're lucky there won't be anypony there. Maybe we can wash each other." I chuckle from the thought.

"I'm sure I'd like that."

We lie there a little longer, enjoying the sound of the light rain coming down. It's not as bad as I've seen it before, but it's still pretty consistent. Does it ever stop raining out here? Are we just in a bad storm or something, what gives? Eventually Joy starts to shift around a bit more and we unzip the sleeping bag. A burst of cold wind stings against my naked body, chilling me instantly. Joy grabs her arms as the wind hits her as well. We sit up and take a look outside before I pull her to sit on my lap for warmth.

"The rain should subside in a few minutes. After that we should take a look for our clothes. If we're lucky, they'll be on one of the roofs nearby. That shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

"Nope," I tell her.

"Then... then there are some options for us to get back in. We could try the window we came out of, as scary as that sounds. If that somehow doesn't work, there's always the front door. But that's a bit risky. Somepony might see us there. And if we've been gone for so long, we don't want to raise any questions. If both of those somehow aren't viable, there's the metro entrance. But we should use that as a last resort."

"Why?"

"It's dangerous down there. Feral ghouls are known to wander in there from time to time. Urban told us about it as a means of escape in case of the worse. We'd have to go down the road a bit, through the metro tunnel, and up a service elevator to get back in. Not exactly easy."

"That's not even the worse part," I tell her, getting a confused look from her. "We have to fly down regardless of any choice we make." She lets out a long, exasperated groan as she lowers her head. If I didn't have my arms around her, I'm sure she would have fell over.

"That is going to big the biggest pain in the ass! No! No! I can do it! I just have to... is there a way you could knock me out?" I laugh at her, making her blush.

"Don't worry. Going down should be the easy part. And it'll be over before you know it," I reassure her.

"I don't know if that's a reassurance or another fear factor."

We spend a few more minutes just talking. She's from a small farming town north of here. She got tired of being bogged down at such a small place and set out on her own. I laughed at that, getting a quick jab in the side. She also has two sisters and a brother. I was amazed by that, which confused her. I had to explain the birthing regulations from the Stable, which only confused her further. I couldn't imagine having that many brothers and sisters... let alone any siblings. She writes them about once a month, though she doesn't tell them where she ended up. For obvious reasons.

"I think this is light enough to let me fly," I tell her as I peer out the door. The rain has almost stopped. There's still a light haze falling, but it doesn't seem as if it'll be a nuisance.

"Good. At this point I'd take any form of clothing," Joy tells me, rubbing her sides vigorously.

"I don't know, I kind of like you more this way," I say as I slip a hand up her front to group her.

"Go get our clothes!" she chides, poking at my sides until I leave. She bundles herself back up as I step out into the open, sticking her tongue out at me. I give her a smile before walking towards the edge of the building.

I don't know how they did it, but our clothes fell together. I can see her red nightie on top of a roof caught in some antenna. My jumpsuit is hanging just below it, not even an arm’s reach away. I take a few minutes to get the feeling completely back into my wings, still feeling a bit off from sleeping on them. Once I'm confident they can carry me, I take off.

Even though the rain is less than a drizzle; at my speed I become completely soaked again. Fortunately, the water seems to slide right off my wings, so I don't slow down at all. Actually, I can go pretty fast like this. I've never had this much room to move around before. I feel as if I can make it there and back in mere seconds! As I near the lower building I get an idea. I tuck my wings in and dive straight down. The world around me becomes a blur as I race towards the floor, falling faster than the water from the sky. I twist in my stomach tells me to open my wings, so I do. It's like a brick wall decided to punt me back into the air! All of my previous momentum slings me forward as I race back up. I make it to the top of the building in ten seconds, easy!

I hear some clapping and look up to see Joy cheering for me, wrapped up in the sleeping bag. I give her a little bow before grabbing our clothes. They're soaking wet, but that was to be expected. We can let them hang for-

PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT

I jump into the air on instinct as a torrent of bullets shatter the roof beneath me. Turning around, I see one of the turrets in the building aimed at me. A few others join in and start to fire down at me, their muzzle blasts lighting the side of the building. As I start to fly off I hear them zip around me, a few striking through a few feathers. I fumble in the air before diving behind the building for cover.

Why are they shooting at me? Joy said that spot was good! What are we going to do now?

I shake all of those thoughts from my head and pick a single task. I need to get back to the roof. Joy will have a plan. So I should get back to her. Good, now I just have to get past the dozens of turrets out there.

I peek over the edge and take a better look. It seems there's a turret every three windows on each floor, staggered. With that set up, the left corner of the building has the least turrets, so that would be the best place to go. If I can get enough speed, maybe they won't be able to lock onto me. I don't t really see another way in, so that's the plan.

I drop from my cover and race down. The building was three stories high, so I can use that to my advantage. Before I make it to the top of the third floor I bank to the right and hug the corner of the building. As I level out I take a quick peek up. Most of the turrets are pointed at the top if the building, but there are a few that are starting to turn back in my direction. I kick it into high gear as start to rush towards the building, flying faster than I've ever done so before. With all of this new speed, I panic; thinking that I'll crash into the side if I don't pull up fast enough.

When I pull up I feel all of my previous momentum start to fight against me. I'm still going faster than the turrets can turn, but I have to fight to make it to the top of the building in time. Each flap of my wings gives me a slight boost forward, the edge of the roof coming closer and closer. Joy is watching from above, the fear clear in her eyes. With I push myself towards the top of the building-

FWT

I let out a scream as a sharp pain jolt my right leg. I fumble in the air as I twitch in pain on reflex. I lose all of the momentum I had before and spin out of control for a moment before gravity starts to pull me back. I only have a few seconds to react, barely enough time to correct my path to fall onto the roof instead of down below.

THUD

I lose all of the air in my lungs as I bounce on the roof. A throbbing pain rocks my entire left side, the side I landed on, as I fall onto my back. Joy comes running over and starts asking me dozens of questions. I ignore most of them as I lay there in pain. I don't think anything is broken, it just really sucked.

I hear her rip something and take a look over. She's ripped the bottom of her night gown off and is using it to wrap up my leg. The wound is bleeding pretty bad, but I think I'll live.

"Oh goddesses above, are you hit anywhere else?" Joy asks in a panic, tightening the flimsy cloth around my leg.

"I don't think so," I tell her, feeling relatively fine everywhere else. "My side hurts, but other than that I'm fine. I thought you said that one place was safe."

"It is! I don't know what's causing those turrets to attack you!" she tells me in a panic. I grunt in response, forcing myself to sit up. Joy tries to stop me by putting a hand on my shoulder, I but brush it aside and sit up. My head spins for a moment, but overall I should be fine.

"Is there a bullet in me?" I ask, looking over my wounded leg.

"It looked like the bullet just grazed you. You should lie back down! It isn't wise to move around after a nasty fall like that."

"Pegasi are made to fall, don't you know that?" I tell her, chuckling lightly from my mother’s old joke. "*Sigh* That could have gone better."

"Reckless, I'm so sorry!" she tells me, hugging me tightly. I grunt from the slight pain of it, but I bear with it. "I honestly thought there weren't any cameras there! The other mares told me it was a safe spot, I didn't know!"

"It's alright Joy, honestly," I try to console her, but she's freaking out too much to listen to me. I pull her back to look her in her teary eyes and smile to her, trying to be as relaxing as possible. "Shit happens. It could have been a plethora of things that made them target me. And I got away pretty unscathed, so it's alright. Let's just head back into the shed and let our clothes dry. We'll think of a plan in there, okay?" She nods to me, still crying slightly.

She helps me up and over to the shed. I only have a slight limp, but I appreciate the help anyway. Those turrets aren't very accurate in hindsight. I take a seat on the computer desk and sigh in relief. Joy takes the sleeping bag and wraps it around me. I try to protest, but she insists. She goes to hang our clothes up, but can't seem to find a way to do so. I'll let her figure that out on her own, I'm a little out of it at the moment.

Needing a distraction too, I take a look at the computer beside me. The screen is off, but the power light it on. I flick the switch and watch as the loading screens flash before me. From there, it asks for a password. Since I don't know what it is, I switch it to the backdoor option. The wall of text immediately intimidates me, and I turn the thing back off. Computers aren't my thing.

"So, what's the plan now?" I ask, tired of nothing happening.

"Well... I don't know. We could try to slip past the turrets and go through the window, but I don't like that option," Joy tells me, giving up on trying to hang the clothes. She just starts to wring them out in from of me, starting with her own gown first.

"Can those turrets shoot that close to the walls?" I ask, watching her slip the slightly damp gown on. With the tear, it stops just shy of the top of her tail, giving her very little decency. She doesn't seem to care though, so I don't say anything.

"Yes. Urban was worried somepony would try to climb up the walls. Short of flying down from directly above them, those turrets can shoot in pretty much anything." Well damn. That doesn't give me mush hope right now.

"Well, where do we go from here? Is there anywhere nearby that's even remotely safe?"

"We need to get back inside. Urban made the turrets there operate on a different system. The ones out here are much more aggressive than the ones inside. If we can get inside, we'll be in the clear. But, that means..."

"We have to get through the metro first," I finish for her, getting a sad nod in return. She takes a seat beside me and hands me my jumpsuit. It's still a little wet, but I can deal with it. I move the sleeping back over Joy and start to slip it back on. I struggle a bit with my leg, but I manage to get it on all the same. As fun as this all was, it's nice to be clothed again. "How do we even get down there without getting shot at is the real question."

"Well, though it pains me to say it, that's not the hard part. If you can carry the two of us behind one of the nearby buildings, we'll have plenty of cover. And with how fast we'll be falling, they won't have the time to aim at us properly. They aren't really made to hit flying targets."

I give her a look and ask, "are you going to make it through something like that?" She sighs and bobbles her head in thought.

"I don't really have a choice, now do I?" I frown at that. We don't have a choice in the matter. I just hope that I don't drop her. I offer her a hand and help her to her hooves. I give her an apologetic smile, which she shrugs at. "The hard part is going to be the metro station."

"Why's that?" I ask, trying to glean as much information as possible.

"Urban had some cameras down there, but they've been destroyed for some time now. He's been waiting for a caravan to make it back with certain supplies for almost two months now. We have to get through there as fast as possible just in case there's something down there." I nod to her, humming in thought.

"Are you any good in a fight?" I ask, getting her to scoff.

"Sorry. Even before this I wasn't a fighter. My parents were farmers, and farming doesn't really leave time for fighting. If we can get our hands on something blunt I can at least bonk something on the head... I think." That's what I was afraid of. I can hold my own well enough. But if I have to escort her as well, and without a weapon... This isn't going to be easy. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. We'll just have to be careful. Alright, here's the plan in my head. We'll try to land as close as possible to the metro entrance. From there, we'll sneak our way in and head straight back here. Then... uh..."

"Then we need to change and shower. It's pretty late, so there shouldn't be anypony awake right now. From there we go about the next day as if nothing happened." I frown from the thought of that. Even if I wasn't going to be with Joy anymore doesn't mean I want to break all contact with her. She's still my friend after all. "We can still talk Reckless. It's just... once we're there, Urban might be a little suspicious of us. I don't want to see you get hurt for something I put on you... well, not hurt any further at least."

"I know. It's just odd having to hide something so mundane. Something like this would never happen back home," I tell her, thinking back. Back home ponies would think you were crazy if you told them they could sleep with the ponies they wanted to. It almost sounds like slavery to me. "Why don't you show me where we need to go as well as the path we'll need to follow."

"Alright," she responds, giving me an odd look for a moment.

The metro station is about a block down from the front of the building, in the heart of the urban jungle. That means we can't just go directly towards it, as the open square won't give us any cover. We choose a three story building on the right as our starting point. We can climb on top of the shack for some extra height, a suggestion of mine that Joy hates to agree with. From there it'll be about two blocks forward and half a block to the right, seems straightforward enough. We have the added bonus that there usually aren't a lot of Raiders around these parts. Looks like Urbans turrets will at least be somewhat helpful.

From there we'll enter the Metro tunnels. It should be straight down, through the lobby, and into the main station. From there we head left towards Heaven where we'll find a maintenance elevator in the generator room. Ride the elevator up and we're in the clear, for the most part. I take a few minutes to study the area before me. I know I'll be making a rough landing, so I want to make sure I'll make it as pleasant for Joy as possible. Normally I'd just go for it, but for her I'll put the extra thought into it.

Once I have my plan ready, I bring Joy on top of the shack and get ready to start. She's already shaking from the view, going pale in the face as well. I just advise her to close her eyes and hold on tight. We have to do this, and there's nothing I can say to help ease her mind right now. I pick up in my arms and hold her close to my chest. She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes tightly, almost choking. It takes some coaxing to get her to re-position. Telling her that I couldn't see and we'd certainly fall because of that did just the trick.

I don't count down, I don't warn her, I just jump. The faster we get through this, the better. She lets out a high pitched scream as we immediately start to lose altitude. Joy isn't that heavy, but she's extra weight all the same. I have to strain my wings to gain control of our decent, having lost an entire floor in mere seconds. The turrets haven't shot yet, so I'm feeling good about that. I have to beat my wings against the rushing wind to level enough to pass the building. Each beat forces us flatter and flatter as we start to race towards the building. Joy is starting to dig her nails into me. My suit is taking most of the edge off, but it's still a pester.

Just as we make it over the building I start to hear the gunfire. I don't hear any of the tracers either, meaning they're trying to strafe into us. I bring my wings in and begin to descend again. We hug the building as we build speed again. We're out of the gunfire, but we still need to land. And quickly too, just in case there's somepony here who is watching us right now. I let us fall halfway down the second story before I fight to level out. Just like before it's a strain on my wings, and Joy returns to her death grip, but we need to make it as far as possible. If we can make it all the way down the block flying, that means we'll spend less time out in the Commonwealth.

I take a look around and try to find a decent spot, as well as judge where we will most likely end up. Most of these buildings look as if they were apartment complexes before the war. A majority of the windows have since been boarded up, but there's plenty of them open to the world. The apartments all have cement stairways into the buildings, giving me a perfect place to land with cover. We'll make it about halfway down the block, not the best but not the worst either. This is where the tricky part comes up. I don't care if I crash land, I just can't land on Joy. I don't think she could take something like that.

As we come closer and closer to the floor I bring my legs down to catch the floor. It doesn't take long for my hoof to skid a few times against the weak cement walkway. As I start to get more solid steps against the ground, I begin to flap my wings against the wind. The rush of air forces us to slow down dramatically, giving me the time to properly land. I don't want to get caught in the open, so I run to the nearest staircase and spin to throw my back against it. I hit it with a solid thud and slide to a sitting position, breathing heavily. I have to take a few seconds to collect myself, caught in disbelief that it went so well.

"Are you okay?" I ask Joy, looking down at her. She's rubbing her head as her face is scrunched up in pain.

"I bumped my head at the end there, but it's nothing to worry about. I think," I curse under my breath from that. It could have been worse, but I still hurt her. I'll need to work on flying with other ponies in my arms, somehow. "Did we make it?"

"Yeah," I tell her as I take a look around for any threats. There doesn't seem to be any, for now at least.

"Did you get shot at all? Does anywhere feel warm?" I take a moment to check myself over. I feel fine, other than a throbbing stinging pain from my previous injury.

"I'm fine. How's your head?" I ask, running a hand over her mane. She winces slightly but puts on a strong face.

"I've had worse. We should get going though. I don't want to get caught out here with a nightgown that doesn't cover me." I nod to her, helping her to her hooves. I stand with her and start to lead when she grabs my hand. I pause to look at her, but she just gives me a scared look. I decide that I'll ask later and start to lead again, holding her hand along the way.

I keep my head on a swivel as we hurry down the beaten path. There's an eerie silence in the air as I look from window to window. What I think might be a pony ready to shoot us turns out to be a curtain flapping in the wind. What looked like the barrel to a rifle ends up being a piece of piping poking through a wall. Everything appears threatening. I don't know if I'm just scared to be out in the unknown or if it's because I don't have a weapon on me. Probably a mix of the two.

Every step I take sends a shrill of pain throughout my body. My wound is rubbing against the cloth tied to me, reminding me to be more careful. Because of that, I'm favoring my other leg. Joy notices this but doesn't say anything. It's not like there's anything we can do about it right now anyway, so why bother?

When we make it to the end of the street I pull Joy to the corner of a building and take a moment to look around. The brick buildings around us seem mostly destroyed, but I can't entirely trust them. There could be somepony hiding behind one of the walls, or behind a pile of rubble! Even if there isn't anything there, I'm going to play it safe. I look back to Joy and motion for her to follow. She nods, still looking scared beyond all belief. She's mainly trying to keep up with me while pulling her gown down to cover her privates. I feel bad for her, but it's just another reason we need to hurry.

My flight path took us halfway down the road, and since we've now walked the other block, we need to go right. The path looks clear, but so I start to lead us in a hurried pace. I can see the sign for the Metro Station ahead. It's rusted over and ha layers of dust over it, but it's a gods send for us right now. As we near the station I start to hear something in the distance. I slow down to get a better listen until I recognize it. Voices. Somepony is coming out of there! Thinking on my hooves, I lift Joy up and use my wings to jump through a broken window. I fall back against the wall and pull Joy against myself, covering her mouth with a hand. She tries to protest, but freezes up when she hears the voices. [Perception 7]

"Goddess damn ghouls! Did you see that! Fucker nearly bite my face off!" Some mare exclaims as they come to a stop behind us. Joy starts to shake a bit, so I hold onto her a little more tightly. As long as we're quiet, they won't come for us. That's all we have to do. Just keep quiet.

"That sucks about Bit though, damn!" Another mare exclaims, kicking the wall. "What do we do now?"

"We head back and tell boss the way is jammed up! Fuck! This better be worth it!" The first yells as they start to walk away.

"It will be. Look, the path is clear for the most part. Thanks to the feast Bit is giving those fuckers. All we need is the right gear and we'll blow this joint wide open..." I try to listen in on the rest of their conversation, but they walked too far away by this point. I give it a few seconds before taking a peek out the window. They look like Stable guards, but with much better riot gear. There's a bit of blood on them as well, and I don't think it's theirs. It takes a while, but they eventually turn a corner and leave my view. With them gone, I release Joy and take a seat beside her to take a breath of relief.

"Well, that answers one question," I mutter. Joy keeps quiet, which seems a bit off to me. I look over to her and notice the fear in her pinprick eyes. She's holding onto herself tightly as she stares down at the floor, shaking slightly. I bring a hand onto her shoulder, making her jump. "Are you okay?"

"... no," she tells me, looking back down to the ground. "I just remembered why I decided to stay with Urban. He had made his offer... and I tried to run away with a few others. We ran into a hoard and... I only made it back because they were too busy eating my friends." I blanch from that, not know what to tell her. "Please don't make me go down there. Please... I won't make it through there... please."

I bite my lip as I try to think of my options. I can see three right now. I can take her back to the main entrance and send her in herself, heading through the Metro myself. Or I can go ahead myself and try to check to see if the coast is clear myself. Lastly, I can just force her to come with me and hope that it'll work out.

Sending her back is risky. Somepony will notice her walking through the front door, which will raise questions. Plus, with me gone and our activities... obvious, Urban will lose his shit. He might even kick her out because of it! Not to mention what he might do to Lucky!

Going in myself is a bad idea all together. I don't doubt that I'd be able to get in there, I just wouldn't know where to go. Even if Joy told me, I'd only attract more attention to myself. I really think that I'd just make matters worse for the both of us that way.

Forcing Joy to go in there won't be easy. I can see it written plainly on her face. And I don't doubt it will be difficult. But it seems like the best choice right now. If what those two from earlier said are true, the ghouls should be distracted right now. If we can make a dash for the elevator, we might be able to make it in there without being noticed. I just need to convince Joy...

"Joy," I whisper to her, moving in front of her to set my hands on her shoulders. I force her to face me, getting her to shake her head wildly. She knows what I'm going to say, she just doesn't want to hear it. "If we hurry now then we have the best chance at making it without alarming the ghouls-"

"No! You can't make me go down there! I won't! Please don't make me go!" she yells, scaring me slightly. I don't want anypony catching us right now, so I need this to end quickly.

"Joy! Look at me!" I yell at her. She shakes her head and closes her eyes, trying to scoot away from me. I keep my grip on her and hold her steady, glancing out the window to make sure we're still alone. "Joy... I promise you will be safe!"

"You can't promise that!" she yells back, some tears rolling down her cheeks. "That's what they said last time. I don't want to watch them eat you too!"

"Joy," I mutter, taken back from her comment. She wipes her tears away and starts to regain control of herself. I give her a moment, trying to think of things to say to her. What can I say that will fix... that?

"I'm sorry," she mutters, lowering her head to hide from view.

"It's alright Joy. I couldn't imagine going through something like that. But... I can't go any other way. And I need you with me to watch my back. I wish there was another way, but there isn't." I try to sound as sympathetic as possible. Though, having just said all that, I suddenly realize how selfish it really is.

"I know, I know. But I can't help it if I'm scared," she tells me, finally looking back up to me. "I-If something does happen, I don't know how much help I'll be. But you're right, I have to do this. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

I feel another ping of guilt when she says that. She's terrified to go down there, yet she's still willing to go because we're friends. I don't know a single pony from the Stable that would do the same for me. At least not out of obligation that is. I try to say something, but I can't think of anything to say. So I just end up patting her on the shoulders and helping her to her hooves. She gives me a nervous smile and takes my hand again. I hold it for a moment, lightly rubbing my thumb against her hand before moving on. We can be sentimental about it later.

After checking if the coast was clear we climb out of the building and sneak our way over to the Metro entrance. The bottom of the cement stairway is dark and Joy has to take a moment before forcing herself down the steps. We keep to the right as we go down, Joy keeping pace directly behind myself.

The main lobby to the Metro is mostly dark, but there are a few lights shining above to give us an idea of what's in here. Trash and debris are littered over the entire floor. Parts of the ceiling have fallen too, though it's still holding somehow. There are benches in the main area with a counter at the back. There are some computers there as well, but I don't think they're working. I can see two doors in the back as well, one on each end of the counter. I take a second look over the room before tugging Joy along inside. She's hesitant, but complies with little effort.

I keep us in the dark parts of the room, hoping that if there is something in here that they won't see us. I catch myself nearly bumping into a cigarette machine along the way. I thought about looting it, but we'll have to do that another time. We make it to the back of the room and look to Joy for directions. She takes a moment to think about it before pointing to the far door. As we sneak behind the counter I notice some supplies on the shelves. There's 10mm. ammo sitting there, so I take it. It's only five rounds, but it's free ammo.

We stop before the door and open it slightly. I peer inside and find a hallway that's empty. I push the door all the way open and wait to see if something happens. When nothing does, we begin to walk in. It looks like there are some offices here. Docs advice to scrounge is kicking in, so I pull the two of us into one of the cubicles.

"Do we have time for this?" Joy whispers to me as I start to check the drawers in the desk.

"It'll only take a second," I whisper back. I manage to find some caps, but nothing else. The computer is working, though it's out of my realm of knowledge to open. "Let's go." She gives me a flustered look and shakes her head. It might have been silly, but it was important. Or, Doc says it is at least.

The hallway leads to a service entrance to the railway. It's a straight shot in, but we pause at the door. It's one of those sliding doors, so we won't be able to open it without making some noise. But, if this is the way in, then that's the way we have to go. I press the button on the panel and the door swooshes up. A glimmer of energy washes over my eyes as a feral ghoul stands before us. It's a husk of the pony it used to be. Its lanky limbs twitch sporadically as it turns around, giving a confused grunt as it sets its darkened eyes on us.

I act completely on reflex as I let go of Joy and rush the ghoul. It lets out a loud hiss as I tackle it to the ground. Its jaw snaps as it tries to bite into my face, griping me with death like grip. I push it back with an arm as I rear my fist back and let out a small yell as I ram my knuckles into its face.

THWACK

I pull back and punch it again.

THWACK

I hit it again. And again. I hit it until I hear its skull caves in and the blackened blood starts to seep out.

THWACK THWACK CRUNCH

I've got a few scratches on my sides, but overall I feel fine. A bit winded too. I look back to Joy and see the horror on her face. Before I can say anything though a loud hissing sound echoes in the tunnels, followed by the sound of a stampede.

"RUN!" I yell to Joy. A torrent of ghouls come flooding out of the far train tunnel as we start to race down the train tracks. There are too many for my Pipbuck to even identify!

"IN THERE!" Joy yells as she points to a service entrance ahead. I glance back at the horde to see them gaining on us quickly. They run with blatant regard for anything other than us. Some trip and are immediately trampled by others. Some even push others out of the way to try and get to us faster. Together, it's giving us an advantage. I push myself as much as I can and run past Joy, making it through the door well before her. I slam against the wall and turn back, ready to shut the door the moment she makes it in. We make eye contact for a moment before she barrels through the doorway, tripping at the last second. I slam my fist against the button, sliding it shut. A ghoul tries to drive through, but only gets an arm though in time. The door severs it clean off.

"What the shit," I mutter as I lean back against the wall, panting. "Are you... are you okay?"

"Mhmm," she mumbles from the floor, slowly picking herself up. "I think I just lost a few years of my life though."

"Eh... who wants to live forever anyway?" I ask, lightly chuckling to myself. Joy doesn't seem to think it was that funny though. "Alright, let's get going-"

THUD

We both jump when something slams against the door. We both watch it as we hear the muffled sound of dozens of ghouls starting to beat against the metal structure.

"They can't get through that... can they?" Joy asks, stepping back slowly.

"I don't think so," I respond, stepping back with her.

THUD

Dust puffs out from the frame as a single screw pops out of the metal work. The thudding intensifies, forcing the door to wiggle back and forth in the frame.

"Let's go!" I yell to Joy. We take off down the service tunnel. I take one last look back as watch as several bony fingers work their way under the metal barrier.

I follow right after Joy as we race down the dimly lit corridor. Yellow emergency lights guide us down the twists and turns of piping and electrical lines. We pass a few doors here and there and I start to worry that Joy doesn't know where she's going. She could be acting completely on fear right now, running simply to run. When we come to a fork in the path she stops and looks between the two options in a panic. She starts to walk one direction, only to stop and look at the other.

"Which way?" I demand, getting her to shush me.

"I trying to remember!" she takes a few more looks before deciding to go left. I hope this is the correct way.

We continue to run down the tracks of wire and pips for what feels like an eternity. We pass doorways, closets, and shelving units in a blur. Part of me thinks that we're running in circles. The shelves look the same, we've made too many left turns, there's just too much of the same! Where are we!?

"Where are we going!?" I yell to Joy as we make another turn.

"We're almost there!" she yells back at me. I wipe my brow on my sleeve and trudge after her. I may be tired, but that's nothing compared to how she looks. She's practically soaked in sweat and heaving for air. We've slowed down significantly by this point, but we are stopping until we make it to that elevator.

With one final left turn we find our target. At the end of the hall are sliding doors marked 'Service Entrance.' We both stop and laugh in triumph, Joy jumping into me for a hug. We walk up to the door and press the button. The sound of metal grinding against metal echoes down the shaft as the cart begins to lower. That makes me panic. If they got in, they might have heard that. It will lead them to us!

"How far down does this need to go?" I ask Joy, looking back in fear.

"Three stories, maybe four. Why?" she asks, oblivious to our predicament. A screech echoes down the hallway as the ghouls start to find their way towards us. Joy starts to press the button repeatedly as fear sets in. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

I swear I can hear them stamping their way here right now. Any second they'll come around the corner and charge right for us. I take a look around for anything that might be useful, but there doesn't seem to be anything! There's nothing but piping and...

With that thought in mind, I grab a pipe on the wall and try to tug it off. It's doesn't budge, so I try another one. I try and try again as each pipe remains perfectly attached to the walls. In desperation, I reach up and grab pipe off the ceiling and put all of my weight into it. With a loud snap it breaks off, dropping me to the floor. It's mostly rusted, but I still have a knob at the end, so it'll do.

I run to the end of the corridor and take a look around the corner. There's single ghoul walking towards me. It's missing an arm and has deep gouges along its chest. There are some deep wounds on the side of its head as well. It must have pried its way under the door, only barely making it. I take a look back to Joy and decide to deal with this before she can see it.

I walk around the corner and start to pump myself up to take it out. It twitches to the sound of me approaching and hisses at me, staring to move at a faster rate. With a small yell I bring the pipe back and smack it on top of the head. With a sickening crunch it falls to the ground. I watch it for a moment until it starts to move again. So I beat it with the pipe. Each wet smack of the pipe sends a splash of old blood into the air, but I keep hitting it. I keep going until the top of its head is pooling around my hooves.

I drop the pipe and start to walk back. I realize my mistake as drips of blood fall off of me. If I'm lucky, there won't be anypony around to see me on my way to the showers. I have to hide this from the others or they'll know something was up.

"What was that? What happened?" Joy asks when I approach her.

"There was a feral ghoul over there. I took care of it," I tell her, dropping the pipe. She gives me a scared look before nodding to me. I can see her eyeing my clothes a bit, so I unzip it and remove the top half. "I'll have to make it to the showers as quickly as possible."

"Yeah. There shouldn't be anypony there right now anyway." I nod to her, sighing in relief. At least my coat didn't get dirty. I've never had to wash blood out of my coat before, I don't really want to start anytime soon... except I will have to for my leg. Dammit.

DING

We both jump from the loud bell. The doors to the elevator open up and the sound of soft elevator music fills the hall. We rush in and shut the door immediately, finally relaxing completely. We made it. We fucking made it! Joy pushes the button and we start to move up. She rushes over and gives me a big hug, which I return. We made it! We fucking made it!

SKREE-THUNK

The entire room shakes violently as we come to a halt. The lights go out and everything goes silent. I hear Joy start to press all of the buttons as she mumbles to herself. I flick a switch on my Pipbuck and fill the room with a green glow.

"What happened?" I ask. Joy tries every button on the panel before smacking it in anger.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure. But, since the lights are out, I'm going to assume the power went out," she tells me, folding her arms and pressing her back to the wall.

"And what does that mean?" I persist, feeling a slight panic set on.

"I remember Urban talking about this, but I don't exactly recall what he said. I think the generator in charge of the elevator will need to recharge. That, or somepony needs to recharge the generator."

"Well, which is it? Do we need to go out there again to charge them? What do we do?" I press, stepping in front of her.

"I don't know! All that I do know is that we're stuck in here! Urban sealed all of the emergency exits so ponies couldn't just climb after us. We could try pushing the doors back open, but then we're back out there with the feral ghouls! Our best bet right now is to wait for a bit and see of the generators reset on their own. If a few hours go by and nothing happens, then we can consider breaking out." I let out a groan and fall back to lean against the wall. Waiting around to see what happens is not my strong suit. But, she's the expert.

"Sorry. I just hate waiting," I tell her, calming down slightly. She offers me a small smile before sliding down to sit. I follow her example, having to shift my wings a bit first. "So..."

"So... does that thing have games or something?" I perk up at that, eager to be distracted.

"One, come here and I'll show you." She gives me a bigger smile and crawls over to sit beside me. Even though I've done the deed with her and seen her nude already, seeing her in the night gown crawling towards me still excites me. Especially with the wonderful view of her cleavage.

"Show me!" she demands excitedly, moving my arm to go around her shoulders. I cough my awkwardness away as I start up the game.

I play a round and tell her the basics of the game. It's fairly straightforward and she seems to get the grasp of it quickly. I remove my Pipbuck to give her better access and watch her start off. Immediately I'm bitter. She goes through the stages as if they were nothing! What took me countless hours of memorization she's doing with total ease! Only a few minutes later and she encounters something I didn't even know was in the game! By the time she's done, she's crushed the high score on the game, as well as my own score. Which was even lower.

"So, did I forget to mention that I played this game when I was little?" she asks smugly as she starts another round.

"You did not. But I'll remember that every time I see the high score now," I tell her, trying to hide me spite. She laughs at me, seeing though my disguise easily.

"Sorry, but I can't help it if I'm better at games then you are." I know it's just playful banter, but it's still stings. "Or are you mad that a filly is better than you?"

"What? No! I'm not mad about anything!" I defend quickly, making her laugh even more. Why fight it? It's only going to make things worse. It always does. "I'm mainly bitter that 'ASS' is going to be on wrist forever now."

"Here, I'll beat that score and put something better, will that make you happy?" she asks cutely, looking away from the screen for a moment to give blow a raspberry at me. I stick my tongue out at her and keep quiet. I'll just let her play and resent it later, simple enough.

We both keep quiet as she continues to play. I just enjoy watching her play, glad the banter is over. It's a nice distraction from our predicament, and I'm learning somethings from her as well. I start to notice somethings as we sit here though. They're minor, but with nothing else going on I start to pick up on them.

Every time I shift Joy pauses for a moment, as if waiting to see what I do. Her breath catches and she glances at me in the corner of her eye. I can't tell if she wants me to do something or is gauging my actions, but she's waiting regardless. She's also a hoof tapper. If I stay still long enough she gets so engrossed in the game her hoof starts to tap. It's not uncommon, but it's just a little something that I learned about her. I also realize that she handles the Pipbuck fairly well. Well enough that I'd say she used to use one herself.

But, with nothing else going on, I start to notice other things as well. Her nightgown is slightly wet, weighing it down just enough to show off her cleavage. I can see the dark blue outline of her nipples as well, egging me to continue to stare. Her legs would shift on occasion, dragging my eyes to wander down their entire, smooth length. With the way she's sitting and how her gown is ripped I can almost see her slit. I get a hint every time she shifts slightly, but never a full view.

It's amazing how I spent a few hours with her completely nude, yet she's tremendously sexier with this scandalous gown on.

After a rather long round and constant ogling I decide to say fuck it and make a move. Just as she starts another game I slip a hand under her gown and give her chest a firm squeeze. She lets out a quiet gasp and looks up to me. I pause as I stare back at her, waiting to see what she does. Her curious eyes stare up at me before the soften and return to the screen. She leans further into me and continues to play, shifting her back to give me better access.

"I thought you were going to do that sooner," she tells me quietly as I begin to grope her. I chuckle awkwardly, enjoying her supple flesh for a moment.

"Well... I didn't want to throw your game off," I tell her, switching sides. She hums back to me, enjoying the contact just as much as I am. "So, where'd you learn to use a Pipbuck like that?"

"Stable Tech HQ," her response catches me off guard and I stop my movements to get her to explain. "Oh, right. You don't know about the Commonwealth. There was a Stable Tech office building for this region of Equestria. A group of Ponies turned it into a... well, fort would be the best description really. I was there for a short period of time when I was little and they taught me the basics."

"Is it still there?" I ask.

"Should be. The place was really well defended. Even better than this place." I hum in thought. If it's close enough we should take a look there. We might find a way back inside Eighty Eight. "I think I've had enough of this." She tells me as she turns the game off. The room goes dark again, thought this time it's much less intimidating. Joy lets out a sigh and rests her head against my shoulder, saying, "Tell me something about yourself."

"About me?" I ask, moving my hand to her side.

"Yeah, anything. We've got time to kill. If you don't mind that is." I think about it for a moment but can't really think of what to say. I guess I'll start with the obvious, though I don't know where that will go.

"Well, I was a Second Class guard in Eighty Eight," I tell her.

"Second Class? Oh... because you're a pegasis?" I pause at her question, not understanding it completely.

"Um... sure. I never really put much thought into it. When I was young my mother was pushing me to focus in school to get high scores and whatnot. When I joined the guard... I don't know, things just got easier. Being the only pegasis, I was a bit of a target for the other kids. But nopony messes with the guards. It was my out, I guess." She gives a slight hum, thinking to herself. I don't know what else to say. Yeah, it was a little tough when I was little, but that par is over. I never really looked back on it, now that I think about it.

"I grew up in a small farming town south of the Pit. We weren't the biggest farm, but we belonged to a large co-op, so we had plenty of protection from raiders and ghouls. But, there was a lot of money there. I can vividly remember... four different groups that protected us. I got tired of it and left. My parents weren't happy about it, but they let me go. Figured I'd get scared and come running back. Made my way here and that's that. I didn't want to fight anymore, so I agreed to Urbans terms. It was... hard, to get accustomed to living here. But, with enough alcohol, you learnt to just... let it happen."

"That's terrible," I mutter, flinching when I realize that I said it out loud. Joy doesn't seem to mind though, shrugging in response.

"I'm not going to pretend that I like Urban. But I do like having a roof over my head, three meals a day, clean water, and a shit load of turrets keeping the bad ponies out. Would I be happier if Urban was gone? Tremendously. But that's not going to happen, so why dwell on it."

"... and why won't it happen?" I ask, genuinely curious. Joy looks up to me and scoffs.

"He pretty much has the place on lock down. One bad move and you're dead," she tells me.

"Isn't there a way to shut off the turrets?"

"Well... yeah. But it's near impossible to do!" She tries to leave it at that. But I jostle her and wait for her to explain. "Okay, so I may have looked into it before, but I'm telling you there is no way it will work!"

"Let's hear it," I tell her, moving to sit in front of her. She scoffs again as she thinks it over, biting her bottom lip lightly.

"First off, there is only one computer that can deactivate the turrets. But that's in his panic room. The door to that room needs a specific key to get in, which Urban keeps with him at all times. Once in there, from what I understand at least, you need to update all of the turrets at the same time. That means the building will be vulnerable for... about an hour. If you can do that, you can force him out. But it'll never work! There's no way of getting the key from Urban without alerting the turrets! And even if you do, it's not like he'll just let you get in there! It's impossible."

The idea of taking Urban Flow out is tempting, but she's right. Even if we took the key from him, he'd notice all of the turrets going offline at the same time. Unless we could get some ponies to help us that is. Even if he has some secret weapon with him, there's no way he could take on a group of us, right?

"How many mares are here already that would like to get rid of Urban?"

"Not enough to start an uprising. We all agreed to stay here to avoid the fighting, remember. Most of us don't even own weapons anymore." I frown at that. There has to be a way to do this. Joy offers me a frown of her own and pats the spot beside her. I begrudgingly slump against the wall, getting her to rub my shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sorry Reck, but he wouldn't be in the position he's in today if there was a loophole."

"Yeah, I know. But I can't help it if it ticks me off still." She rubs my shoulder a bit more before sidling up beside me and sets her head on my shoulder. She probably doesn't want to hear me groan about this right now. Who knows how long she's had to think about this while enduring that prick.

She reaches down and holds my hand again. I still find it to be an odd gesture, but I don't find it. It's just something that nopony did back home, though I don't know why. It's very reassuring while simultaneously affectionate. I let out a long breath and let my fingers intertwine with hers.

We stay like this for a time. I wanted to say something, but lost the words whenever I tried to speak. I don't think she ever tried to speak either, at least it seemed that way. We just sat there together, silently wanting things to change. That is, until a thought occurs.

"Joy, are you allowed to leave?" I ask quietly.

"Yes, why?" she asks softly.

"Why don't you just leave with Lucky and I? We can head over to Silo together. Get away from this place." She chuckles slightly, moving off of my shoulder. I watch her shake her head and rub the tiredness from her eyes.

"Reckless... I wouldn't make it out there. You saw me with those ghouls, I'm not made to be a wastelander. I'm a good screw and a farmer. Schlepping out in the ruins isn't my things. Even the short trek to Silo would be too much for me. And... if we're being completely honest, I don't think it'd work between us."

"Why's that?" I ask, feeling a little disappointed. She reaches over and brings a hand to my cheek, cupping my jaw lightly.

"I settle Reckless. And I can tell, you need to move. You aren't the type to stay in one place long. Call it a farmer’s instinct, but I can see it in you. That's probably why you wanted to be a guard too. So you wouldn't be bogged down with one task. I'm sorry, but I've made this is a choice." I give her a frown but nod in understanding. She doesn't want to face anymore danger than she needs to. I don't blame her for it.

"Well, at least you're a good screw," I tell her, jokingly. She giggles at that, moving to straddle my lap.

"Oh yeah? Rate me. Am I top ten?" she asks playfully, wrapping her arms around my neck. I laugh a little and set my hands on her hips, eyeing her form for a moment.

"I'd say you're right on top, right on top." I groan when she starts to wiggle her hips side to side. She leans down to face to face with me again, but fumbles when the entire cart shudders. The lights come on as the elevator resumes traveling up again. She rests her forehead against mine and we stare at one another as the car travels up.

"Well... that got a rise out of things," she jokes, making me shake my head.

"Farm first, comedian second," I tell her, giving her flank a playful spank. She giggles and moves forward again, pressing her lips against mine lightly.

The din of metal grinding against metal ebbs away as we press further and further into each other. My grip on her tightens slightly when I feel her try and pull away. It's a moment that I want to have last just a little longer. I don't know if we'll ever get another chance at something like this, so I let it last for as long as possible.

DING

We break away from each other as the door slides open, revealing a dark room before us. We stand up and separate from one another immediately, trying to cover ourselves as much as possible. Joy steps out and takes a looks around. She waves me along and walks off at a brisk pace. I let out one final breath before collecting my Pipbuck and following after her. Back into heaven it is then, I guess.

I'm a little hesitant when I step out. I don't know if any of these turrets are going to open fire or not, but I want to be ready in case they do. In the middle of the dark room, it's a bit intimidating. I can't see the turrets here, so I don't know if they are following me or not. I don't hear anything, so I'm assuming that they aren't. I take a few steps over to the stairwell where Joy is waiting for me and walk in after her. I pause when I see a turret mounted at the top of a flight of stairs. It doesn't seem to care that I'm here, putting me at ease slightly.

I follow after her up the stairs and into the next floor. She makes a mistake though by going straight to the shower room. Not wanting to make more noise than needed, we decide to stay. She tells me that she can just wash my suit and there are probably clothes for her in the dryer, so we're covered there. I pointed out that we didn't have any tokens, but she proved me wrong by pulling out a hidden stash in the washroom. Apparently she saves these for the dry season, something I have a hard time believing exists.

I strip down and she gives me two tokens. Apparently the wash takes a lot longer than a shower, so we end up sitting in our own shower stalls to wait it out. We talk a bit more, about nothing really though. I ask about the washers and how all this works, and she was more than willing to tell me about it all. It was a conversation for the sake of conversation, nothing more really. I guess we lucked out with the timing too. According to her, several ponies have already showered, meaning we likely missed everypony.

A loud buzzing sounds off and Joy goes to move the clothes over. I just pat my legs to a tune in my head and wait impatiently for them to finish. I jump a little when my curtain opens and Joy steps inside.

"What are you doing?" I ask in a hushed tone. She ignores me and puts a token in the machine, getting warm water to pour down onto us.

"Stand up," she orders me. I give her a confused look as I stand.

"Won't the turrets-"

"Not in the stalls. All of the mares here made sure of that," she tells me as she knells before me. I feel my heart start to race as I watch her. I don't know what she's about to do, but it's making me nervous.

I jump when she leans forward and sucks my cock into her mouth. It's almost as if a bolt of lightning races through me as I fall twenty stories. I try to say something, but all that comes out is a high pitched squeal as I convulse. She pulls her bead back as she sucks even harder and I can't help but grunt loudly as my body twitches in ecstasy. Without warning, I burst into her mouth, surprising her enough to have her pull off of my member. A spurt of semen hits her across her muzzle before the rest dribbles out; due to my still being flaccid. I fall back against the wall and slide down, panting. Joy is surprised by this, staring down at me in confusion.

"Wow... not even ten seconds," she mutters, wiping my spunk off.

"What... what the shit... was that?" I pant out, still spinning. I didn't know you could even do that while flaccid! How is that possible!?

"Don't worry Reck, it happens from time to time. You were just a little excited, that's all," she tells me comfortingly as she sits before me. I shake my head as I try to come back down.

"Joy... what was that?" I ask in disbelief. She giggles at me, giving me an odd look.

"Don't be so coy about it. You came early, and hard, by the looks of it. It happens. Just relax and take a breather-"

"No, Joy. What was that? I've never felt something like that before. What did you do?" She stares at me until it finally dawns on her that I'm telling the truth.

"Oh... wow. You weren't kidding when you said you didn't know much about sex. How in all of Equestria are blow jobs not a thing in your Stable?"

"Blow jobs?" I ask, tilting my head. She laughs a little at that and scoots closer to me as she pulls her hair back.

"Alright, I'm going to educate you in this then. Luckily for you, I'm pretty good at giving blow jobs. Maybe not the best, but I'm sure you'll appreciate it all the same. Just sit back, relax, and try not to cum on my face again."

I gulp as she lowers her head between my legs. I do want to feel that again, but I can't guarantee that I won't cum that quickly again. It was too new a sensation on a sensitive area for me to handle last time. Hopefully now that I know it's going to happen I'll do better. Though... seeing her with my cum on her face was really hot. We'll see how things go.

She brings her mouth down to my semi hard member and plants a soft kiss on top, near the base. I can't help but twitch from the foreign sensation, getting a gentle coo from her. She does it again, moving down slightly. I have to press my back against the wall in an attempt to control myself. I can't help but give gentle thrusts every time she kisses me. It becomes harder to fight it as she continues down my shaft, making it to the end just as I become completely erect. We make eye contact for a moment before she smiles and kisses the very tip.

I give a loud moan as I thrust forward completely. She laughs at me as my member slides across her face, sending even more shivers down my form. She holds it with a hand and moves underneath to start kissing it again, starting back at the bottom. She does this several times. Kissing her way along my member until she makes it to the tip and then starting all over again. The entire act is driving me crazy! I can feel myself getting close, but there isn't enough stimulation to send me over. I want her to put it back in her mouth so I can cum again, but I also want this to last a little longer.

"How was that?" she asks quietly, pulling away slightly.

"The best," I tell her dreamily, getting her to chuckle at me.

"Glad to hear it. I'm going to put it in now. Do me a favor and try not to move, okay?" I nod to her, excited to finally move on.

She leans down and opens her mouth in front of the tip... and then pulls away. Instead she gently strokes me a bit and blows on me, sending shivers down my spine. As nice as that is, it's not what I was expecting. I start to get a little impatient as she moves to blow over the rest of my shaft. It feels... nice? But it's not stimulating in the slightest. All of my previous tension slowly ebbs away and eventually I can feel myself start to get soft. But, just as I was about to complain, she drags her tongue from the bottom of my shaft to the very tip. I nearly fall over from the feeling! When she makes it to the end she presses her lips against me in a rough kiss and slowly lets me enter her mouth. I start to press my hips forward, making her pull off. I look down in disappointment, but she just smirks back at me. Right, no thrusting. This might be a little difficult.

She does the same move again, dragging her tongue against me and slowly taking me into her mouth. And, again, I move up into her. She removes me from her mouth and starts over again. I clench my fists as I try my best not to move, but each time it's too much for me to handle. The warmth of her tongue, the cool feeling of her saliva on my bare flesh, the gentle vibrations her mouth makes when she hums, I can't help but twitch against every movement.

Eventually, I gain enough control of myself to allow her to take me in as deep as she'll allow. She looks up to me and hums in approval, making me double over in an attempt to not thrust into her. She starts to lap at the underside of my member with her tongue as she pulls back. I groan loudly as she does this, my wings pushing me off the wall slightly. Just as she reaches the tip she bobs all the way back down and starts over again, forcing out a loud grunt from me.

She continues to bob back and forth as she sucks on me, and I start to lose it. In this moment, I don't care who hears me. I bring a hand to the back of her head and hold onto her as she works my shaft. Just as I'm about to cum she pulls back so just the tip in left and starts to swirl her tongue around the most sensitive part. I throw my head back as I explode in her mouth, getting a deep moan from her. She holds her mouth there and strokes the rest of it out with her hand. Some of it escapes from the corners of her mouth, but she takes a majority of it in. After several powerful spasms, I start to subside from my peak, getting her to remove me from my mouth. She scoots over to the drain and spits my spunk out, eliciting another spasm from my member.

"Sorry, I just don't like to swallow," she tells me as she wipes her mouth clean.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," I pant back, leaning against the wall to catch my breath. She scoots over to my side and I put my arm around her, getting a content hum from her. "Are you sure you're not the best at that? Because I'm pretty convinced you are."

"Hm, says the pony whose never had a blow job before," she tells me with a cute smirk. "Want to return the favor?"

I give her a quizzical look before shrugging. That seems fair, though I have no idea what I have to do for that. Before she tells me what to do though, a buzzing sound rings from down the hall. Joy tells me to stay put so she can take care of that and leaves, swathing her tail over my face as she does so. I take a deep breath and relax a little, enjoying the moment of bliss as much as possible.

"... mare. I think she might be the new favorite." Some random mare says as a group walk into the shower room. I panic a little and back up in my stall, not wanting to be found just yet. Yet again Joy was wrong about ponies not being somewhere!

"You really think so?" another mare asks. "What about that stallion she's with? The sexy one with the wings."

"Pegasi, ya dunce. From what I hear, he's hiring that other stallion to kill him when they leave. That way, she has no other choice but to come back." I freeze up from that. I knew that guy was trouble!

"What a bastard. But what does that mean for him though? Urban isn't really one to share. And how did you hear about this anyway?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure Urban has a plan for him. I overheard them talking after Urban had his fun with that new mare. Poor girl, she's not taking it well either. We should check up on her afterwards, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." The others agree and start to shower. I grit my teeth as I think of what to do with this information.

If I just leave and ignore it, I'll have to watch my back constantly. And if I leave and wait for Chuck Wagon, there's no guarantee that I'll even be able to kill him. For now, I should talk to Lucky and see what she thinks. I can't make the choice myself right now. Joy opens my curtain and passes me my clothes, giving me an apologetic look. I frown back to her and take them. I'm a little disappointed that the fun had to end, but it always does. She leaves and I start to get dressed, finding my clothes wetter than before. I guess she didn't dry them, great.

I get dressed and take my leave as quietly as possible. I'm not entirely sure why, but I don't want to alert those mares that I was there. Along the way I stick my hands into my pockets and find a torn box piece with a note.

Sorry we couldn't finish our fun. Talk to you tomorrow at breakfast.

J.

I shove the note back in my wet pocket and head straight for my room, eyeing each turret along the way. Even if I didn't know about Urban's plans, I'd still have trouble leaving. Unless those turrets forget who I am, which I find highly unlikely, I'm going to have enormous trouble leaving.

When I make it to my room I find the door unlocked and step inside. Lucky is asleep on her bed scrunched up into the corner with her bat in her in her hands. I'm a little concerned as to why she's like that, but ignore it for the time being. I don't want to wake her up right now. With her asleep I get changed into some other clothes before going to her. I doubt sleeping like that is comfortable, so I try to move her as gently as-

WHACK

THUD

Perspective: Lucky
Two Hours Ago

I keep nodding out on my bed. It seems as if every time I'm about to pass out, somepony has to come running by as loudly as possible. With Urban's assault still too fresh in my mind, I keep imagining it's him about to force his way in here. Where the hell is Reckless? What could he be doing that is so important that he disappears for this long? Or did he disappear? What if something happened to him? I've been in here for a while, and there seems to be all this commotion out there... What if something did happened to him!?

Out of fear for Reckless's well-being, I stand up and leave the room. It's quiet now, and I don't know how to feel about that. I make my way down the hall and to the stairwell. Before I can do down them though a mare stops in front of me. She's an all-white unicorn mare with super short black hair. She's wearing black leather shorts and has black electrical tape crossed over her nipples. I try to walk around her, but she steps in my way.

"Excuse me," I mutter as I try to walk around her again. She steps in my way again and smiles, though it comes off more sinister than anything else.

"You're Lucky, right?" she asks, putting her thumbs in her pockets.

"Yes. Is there something you need?" I don't have time for this right now. She chuckles at my question and takes a look around before stepping closer to me. I take a step back, getting her to laugh.

"Relax, I just want to have a word with you, that's all. My name's Razor Edge. Can you spare a moment? It won't take long, promise!" I bite my lip as I think about it. I don't think I have the time to spare, but I don't want to alert anypony that Reckless is missing. It'd be best if Urban was left out of the loop. Begrudgingly, I nod to her. "Great! Follow me really quick then!"

She takes my hand and pulls me upstairs. I run after her as we make our way up and through the hallway. Panic starts to set in as we make our way straight for the master bedroom. Why is she taking me there? Did Urban put her up to this?

We stop just shy of the door and she motions for me to keep quiet. I nod to her, getting her to turn to the door. She opens it ever so slightly and pulls me in to have a look. At first I don't see anything noteworthy. Just some furniture and empty bottles. Razor pulls me over to look more directly into the room, and I find what she wants to show me.

Urban is on his knees behind Mutt Schnapps humping away at her. They're both completely nude, though Mutt has her face buried in the bed. My entire face heats up as I watch the two of them go at it. Why is she showing me this? I try to step away, but Razor wraps her arms around my waist and holds me still.

"Shhh, don't fight. Urban might hear you," she warns me, whispering directly into my ear. I tense up from that and stop fighting her. I don't want to deal with him, so I keep quiet. Though I do avert my gaze. "Does this make you uncomfortable?"

I nod to her, trying to break away. She yanks me back into position as a strange tingly sensation forces me to look back at the scene before me. I can't shut my eyes, I can't look away, and I feel as if somepony is crushing my head slightly. I stop fighting and go very still, getting the pressure to ease off slightly.

"I want you to watch this for just a little longer. I want you to remember this well, alright?" she whispers to me, rubbing her body against me. I feel a cold shiver run down my spine as I'm forced to watch them go at it. Eventually Mutt looks up and we make eye contact. I can see the embarrassment clearly on her face. All of the shame and horror fill her eyes as she watches me watch her. I try to look away, I try to avert my gaze, but there's no fixing this anymore. She knows I know, and that's all there has to be.

Just as I feel the magic leave my face, Urban finishes inside of Mutt. She doesn't seem to notice, or care. All she is fixed on is the two of us watching Urban fill her with his seed. I hope she isn't in heat. I hope this doesn't have to linger with her for the rest of her life. Just as Urban begins to pull out Razor begins to drag me away. I can't find the words to question her, nor the ability to even think of a viable question. That was disgusting! Humiliating!

Razor shoves me back into my room and shuts the door behind herself. I take a few steps away from her and hold onto my bat, unsure of what she intends to do. She takes a look at me and chuckles a bit, shaking her head slightly.

"If you want the turrets to start shooting you, go ahead and hang on to that bat. I don't care either way, so by all means." I look down to the bat and tighten my grip on it, making her smirk at me. "A fighter, that's good. I like a fighter."

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask, my voice coming out soft and shaky. She takes a few steps towards me, making me step back, and eyes me over. She has a smirk that fills me with unease. She's planning something, that much is obvious. "Why did you show me that?"

"I wanted to scare you, dummy." Her comment confuses me, so she elaborates. "I'm the top mare here. I have the most pull, I know all the ins and outs, and I'm next in line. Everything was fine until you showed up."

"What did I do?" I ask quickly. She narrows her eyes at me as she starts to circle around me, walking as closely as possible.

"Nothing, but you didn't need to now did you? The second Urban saw you that was all you needed to have him wrapped around your fingers. I showed you that to show you the kind of stallion he is. So you'll runaway the second you get a chance and never come back. And..." She stops behind me and snakes a hand to my chest, giving it a light squeeze. I elbow her away and raise by bat, only to stop when I see the turret activate. It takes aim at me and wait to see what happens. I feel my heart race as I stare at the mounted weapon, waiting to see what it does. As I wait, Razor steps forwards and continues to fondle me, getting some sick enjoyment out if it.

"I can see why he likes you so much. Don't worry, the turret won't shoot. So long as you aren't violent that is." I use my bat to push her away and step back. She just laughs at me, staring me down with that same smirk she has. "Didn't you like it?"

"Leave me alone," I tell her firmly, holding my bat steadily. She puts her hands up jokingly, stepping towards the door.

"Sadly I can't do anything now. But if you come back here... well, let's just say I know a thing or two that will keep me on top." She stops in front of me and stares me down. I try my best to look tough, but I can feel my knees starting to shake. She gives me one final look over before finally leaves, blowing me a kiss goodbye. Once she's gone I lock the door and run back to my bed, pushing myself into the corner. I can wait for Reckless to come back. He'll be back soon; I just have to wait. He'll be back soon...

After an unknown amount of time waiting I eventually went to sleep. It wasn't a peaceful sleep, and there were several times where I woke up violently from a sudden noise. After a point I started to drift into deeper sleep, but something started to wake me. I wasn't sure of what it was at first, but eventually I realized somepony was touching me! Completely on fear and instinct I swung the bat in my hands and sent whoever it was straight to the floor. I stand up and get ready to beat the pony to death when I realize it was Reckless.

"Shit! Reckless! Are you okay!?" I yell as I drop the bat and check on him. He's out cold with a massive lump on the side of his head. I start to panic and tear through our things, looking for a Stim-pak. When I find one of the few we have I waste no time applying it directly to his head. Like clockwork the wound comes down and he slowly comes back to me.

"Mmm... Lucky? What happened?" he asks groggily. I feel a wave of relief wash over me, but that ends rather quickly.

"Where the fuck have you been!" I yell at him, smacking his chest. He jolts up in pain and tries to back away from me, but I don't let him. I grab his shirt and keep smacking him, choosing to hit him until I get a response.

"Ow! Sorry! Sorry! I was -ow!- I was out with a friend! AH! We got locked out of the building -oof! We had to find a way in from outside!" I pause to stare at him before backing off. He seems to be telling the truth, and he isn't dead from my wound, so he's in the clear. "And... well... we sorta, maybe, kinda... had sex. And by that I mean we had lots of sex... and now I can't leave the building without getting shot at by all the turrets..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... Um... so... yeah. How was your day?"

"..."

"Lucky? Um... did... did you-"

KRACK

I shake the pain from my fist as he lays flat on his back. As angry and pissed off as I am, I think that will suffice, for now. He slowly pushes himself back up and rubs his cheek, his ears lying flat in shame.

"Right... I deserved that. Sorry," he mutters.

"Right. Well, while you were off getting your dick wet, I was assaulted by Urban and his crony Razor Edge. Apparently neither of them have seen a mare with tits like mine. One wants me to be his fuck toy while the other wants me to be their bitch... and I'm not sure which one wants what." Reckless stops rubbing his cheek and stares directly at me. His eyes have shrunk to pinpricks and his ears have popped back up. Without saying a word, he stands up and goes to our bag, pulling out his pistol and making for the door.

"What are you doing!?" I yell as I quickly chase after him. I stop him in the hallway and push him back, getting an angry snort from him. "Are you stupid or do you just have a death wish?"

"He can't just do whatever he wants! Somepony has to make him pay!" he yells back, shoving me out of the way. I run after him and grab his pistol, getting a wild look from him.

"Don't be an idiot! If you die, then I get stuck here anyway! You promised that if I didn't give up then you wouldn't! I'm not giving up! If you do this, then you're just quitting! Is that what this is? Are you quitting on me?" He yanks the gun from my hand and looks down the hall in thought. I just wait for him to come to his senses. He's not thinking clearly right now, I'm sure of it. I did hit him on the head a few times after all.

Eventually he lets out another huff and holsters the gun in the back of his pants. I take a breath of relief and lean back against the wall. For being a safe haven, this place is killing me! I look back to Reckless to see that he still has that wild look about him. If I'm not careful he'll do something stupid.

"It wasn't that bad," I mutter, trying to play it down. He shoots me a crazy look before storming back down the hall. I chase after him, afraid of what he's going to do. "Reckless, where are you going?"

"I don't know, somewhere! I'm pissed and I have no outlet! I need something to distract me!" he bellows and he rushes down the hall. I keep pace directly behind him, trying my best to think of what to tell him. I wasn't expecting him to react like this. Mad, maybe. But all of this pure rage... where is all of this coming from?

"Reckless, can you slow down? This isn't helping!" I tell him as we pass two random mares. They move to the side and watch in fear as we blow past them. I offer them apologetic smiles before following after Reckless. "Maybe you should pace in the room? Or somewhere there aren't ponies in the way?"

"He doesn't get to do whatever he wants! There are rules, guidelines! There's an order to these things! He doesn't get to do whatever he wants!" he yells angrily, turning a corner sharply. We pass another group of mares but one of them doesn't move like the others. She's an earth mare with an ocean blue coat and silver hair done in a ponytail that has a streak of white in it. When we pass them she starts to chase after us, looking equally concerned.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My names Joy. Why is Reck acting like this?" she asks.

"You're the one he-"

"SHH!" she shushes me before I can say anything further. She takes a look around before grabbing my wrist and pulling me into a random bedroom. I try to leave, but she slams a hand against the door. "How much do you know?"

"All I know is that you two apparently got trapped outside and had lots of sex. I don't know anything beyond that, and I don't need to," I tell her, folding my arms angrily. She lets out a small breath and backs off.

"Right... I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused. In all honesty it was my fault really."

"Don't try to save his ass on this. In the end he still chose to do it." She frowns at that, looking away for a moment. I let out a deep breath and relax a little. I hate being the bigger pony. "Look, I'm not mad that you two had sex. I really couldn't care less about it really. What I care about is that he wasn't there to watch my back. We came out here together and I have nopony else to rely on."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was being selfish, I know that. It's just... I wanted a moment... I just... wanted somepony who wasn't Urban." I let out a sigh when she says that. After everything I've seen, I can't really blame her for that. Heck, I'd do Stun Gun before I'd do Urban. I walk over to one of the beds in the room and take a seat on it, motioning for Joy to do the same.

"It's okay Joy, I understand that plenty," I tell her, getting a wide eyed look from her.

"Did he-"

"No. But he wanted. Damn did he want to." She lets out a sigh of relief and takes a seat on the bed across from me, trying her best to be most in her skimpy lingerie.

"So... what now?" she asks. I shrug and lean back on my palms. I haven't a single idea of what we should do. Doc didn't really warn us about... this kind of threat.

"Reckless can't leave because of... reasons. I can't stay because of Urban and Razor-"

"Did Razor give you her little speech about staying on top?"

"Yeah... was she bluffing?" I ask, getting Joy to blush and shake her head. Wow. Whatever it is she does, I do not want to be a part of it. "Whelp, that's just great. We can't leave one another, yet we can't stay or leave! Maybe if we left quickly enough the turrets wouldn’t-"

"That won't matter," Joy interrupts. "Urban hired Chuck Wagon to kill Reckless once he leaves. Even if you guys escape there is no guarantee that you'll be safe." I let out a loud sigh and fall back on the bed. That's it! There's no escaping this shit hole! One of us is going to get fucked over! "There is one choice though..."

I sit up and give her a quizzical look. She takes a look around before moving to sit beside me. She leans in to whisper into my ear, making me a little uncomfortable.

"Urban has a computer in his panic room that can overwrite all of the turrets. If he doesn't have control of them, then he has no power." I brighten up from this.

"How do we get it?" I ask casually, getting her to shush me. She points at the turret in the room and motions for me to whisper into her ear. "Where does he keep the key?"

"He usually keeps it with him. If you play your cards right, you can get him to show you the room. From there, we might be able to make a distraction out here that will pull him away." I nod in agreement, liking this plan. That is, until I realize something.

"What do you mean by 'play you cards right?'" She gives me a knowing look and I deflate. Of course that's what she means. That's the only thing happening here apparently. "Sorry, but it's the only way he'd open it. And if we can time things right, he might not get that far."

I mull over the idea a bit before responding to her. I really don't see us getting out of here without being in direct danger. That, and there is a part of me that would like to knock Urban down a peg. But I don't want to do this! I don't even want to be in the same room as that sicko! But there isn't anything we can do about, now is there. This frees up Reckless, which allows us to leave as soon as possible. And that's all I want to do right now, leave. But do I want to leave more than I don't want to be with Urban?

"Tell me more of this plan before I say anything else," I tell her, getting a smile in response.

After hashing out the details and working on a pseudo secondary plan, Joy and I leave the room. The first part of the plan is simple enough. She's going to find Reckless and try to calm him down before telling him the plan. I'm going to her room to get some... supplies. We figured if I'm going to try and seduce the bastard, may as well add a few extra layers to stall him. The plan is for me to trick him into letting me into his panic room. If I play my cards right, it shouldn't be hard. According to Joy, he likes to show it off to new girls. From there I'm going to stall until Reckless starts to cause a ruckus. I have to trick Urban into leaving to check what's going on. From there, I have to hurry through the computer and reset all or the turrets. After all of that, I get to micro manage the system.

There are a few obstacles in the way though. I have to get Urban in that room alone. If Razor tries to butt in, I have to find a way to kick her out. Also, the ruckus Reckless is starting is taking out a few turrets. As if that wasn't dangerous enough already, he'll have to avoid Urban afterwards. Plus, any of the mares that decide to fight as well. Joy is going to try and convince them to stay out of this, but there's probably going to be at least one that joins the fight. And the biggest kicker in all of this is that we are assuming that I will be able to hack into his computer. If I can't, we're all fucked.

I make it to her room and check to make sure nopony is around. Once the coast is clear, I step in and lock the door behind myself. Her room is similar to ours, only having several dressers in addition to it. I go to the first one and start to go through the drawers. There's mostly knick-knacks in here, but I find a few things that might work. I go through every drawer and set aside everything that might work. Sadly, it's mostly underwear and outfits. I should have guessed there wouldn't be any bras my size, but I was being hopeful.

The next part takes longer than I thought it would. I can't decide on what to wear. On one part, I want to look alluring so I can convince him to take me to the panic room. On the other hand, though, I want the clothes that will be the most constricting and cumbersome. I need what will take forever to remove, but have that edge of appeal we need. Nothing she has does any of that. She has a few things that will take time to remove; like shorts and stockings. But I think they would look a bit weird on me. It doesn't help that I'm second guessing those choices too. I'm afraid that if I wear some too obvious he'll know something is up. I don't have much time, so I make my choice and hurry back to my room. I don't want to chance somepony entering her room and finding me.

I take my choices and go through putting each piece on. It's a tight fit, but I eventually get all of the extra layers on. I also decided that I'm going in with my Stable suit. I figured if I looked as casual as possible he'd be less suspicious of my motives. I start to pace around the room as I wait for Joy to return to me. She apparently knows a place where Reckless will have the best chance at fighting the turrets, though I was a bit skeptical about that. She hasn't exactly been right before... ever. But, it's not like we have a choice right now.

Knock knock knock

"Are you in there?" Joy asks from the other side of the door. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and go to the door, letting her in quickly. "Reckless is in place. Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as anypony would be," I muse. She sets a hand on my shoulder and gives me a firm squeeze, smiling weakly at me.

"Regardless of whether this works or not, I won't forget what you are about to do. I'll make it up to you, one way or another." I nod to her and go to leave, but she holds me in place for a moment. "Not that you don't look nice, but... well, nice isn't what we were going for."

"He wanted to rut me when I was ragged and splattered in blood, I think this will do just fine," I drone, but she ignores me. She reaches down and slips her fingers under the hem of my pants, pulling the bottom most thong up and onto my hips. From there she spins me around and starts to tie my hair back in some sort of ponytail.

"He likes it when part of your hair is tied back. If you can, or need to, bite your lip lightly while giving him your bedroom eyes. He's a sucker for that too. And... if it does come to... that, pull his tail up. It'll... end it sooner." I gulp at the thought of that. Hopefully I won't have to use that, but I understand why she's telling me. She moves back in front of me and gives me a worried look before pulling me in for a hug. I awkwardly tap her back, unsure of what to do here. "Thank you for doing this."

"Yeah... well... we better get going? How do we even know he's awake right now?" Joy lets go and moves to the door. She opens it and peers outside, finding it clear.

"He's probably not. We'll use that to our advantage. He's not a morning pony, trust me on that. But he's desperate to get you to stay, so he'll make an exception."

"What makes you so sure he's desperate for me?" I ask as we step out into to the hall. We tip-hoof our way towards the master bedroom where we stop just shy of the door.

"Because Razor Edge feels threatened. Trust me when I say that's enough. Are you ready?" I shrug, getting a nod from her. She takes a look around before giving me one last quick hug. It still feels awkward, but I don't say anything about. She's trying to comfort me, but I don't think there's anything anypony could do that would comfort me about this. Once she leaves I take a moment to prepare myself for this before stepping into the master bedroom.

The master looks as if it was two room that have been turned into one. There's a line of broken drywall where the wall that separated the rooms was. There are several wine cabinets in here as well, each one filled with dark bottles. In the back of the room is a large metal door that has an elaborate lock mechanism on it. Dim lights dot the wall, barely giving enough light to see into the room. Taking up most of the center of the room is a large round bed. Long velvety red blankets are draped over it as three ponies sleep on it. Razor sleeps on the right with Urban on the left and Mutt in the middle. I'm pretty sure the two mares are completely nude, but Urban seems to still have his shirt on. The rest of him is under the blanket, but I'm guessing it's less than desirable down there.

I shut the door as quietly as possible and tip hoof my way over, being sure not to disturb any of the empty bottles on the floor. I make it to the side of the bed and kneel before it. I take a better look around the room to try and think of what to do. I could try and find the key on him, but something tells me there isn't a very good chance I'd get it without waking him. There also doesn't seem to be anything in the room that will be able to help me either. Maybe I could bring a bottle with me, just in case he tries something stupid. But I think it would be a little weird if I woke him up with a bottle in my hands. Or would it...?

I gasp quietly when he mumbles something and rolls over, facing me now. It's now or never. I reach over and hesitate for a moment before gently running my fingers along his jaw. He hums in approval, unconsciously moving his head against my hand. I give his ear a little tug, getting him to open his eyes slowly. He looks up to me in confusion and goes to say something, but I place a finger over his lips to silence him. He watches me curiously as I lean down to whisper into his ear, still dazed from sleep.

"I was in my room all by myself thinking about your offer. I thought, 'if I leave, then I won't be safe. And at least here I'm safe.' I'm safe here, right?" He nods his head vigorously as he starts to sit up, waking up quickly. Alright, this is it. Let's see if I can get him to take me into the panic room. "How safe am I here?" [SPEECH 35/25]

He looks around, almost as if in a panic, before motioning for me to follow. He jumps out of bed and runs to the large metal door. I have to take a moment to collect myself again before I follow after him. This is it. No turning back after this point.

He slips a necklace off of his neck and slips it into the large metal cog. A few heavy clicks later and the door starts to open. I look back and see that Razor has woken up. She's still in a slight daze, but I can tell she sees me clearly enough. I flip her off and step up behind Urban, being sure to press up against him to whisper into his ear.

"Let's keep this between the two of us." He looks back to me and smiles mischievously. I give him a fake smile before looking back to Razor. I can see the rage on her clear as day, but she isn't doing anything about it. I'm sure she has something planned. But there's nothing she can do right now.

The door opens enough for us to slip inside and Urban shuts it behind us. I take a few steps inside to create some distance between us before he turns the lights on. The room is bare for the most part. There are two lockers in the back, a simple bed in between them, and a computer on the left wall. There are no turrets, no cameras, nothing else in here other than a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"So, what do you think?" he asks smugly as he steps up behind me, wrapping his arms around my midriff. I cringe from the contact but do my best to keep it to myself. Any second now the alarms are going to go off and he'll leave. I just need to buy some time.

"This is secure, but is it safe?" I ask him, looking back to him with a forced smile. He chuckles at that and goes to the left locker, throwing the doors open. I walk over and gasp at what's inside.

"I call her Miss Clap, 'cause she stings like a bitch!" he tells me proudly as he pulls out the mini gun. He sings the tri-barrels around the room and give them a spin, scaring the crap out of me. "Don't worry, I know how to handle her. Nopony is coming in here without my permission!"

"Right... but... uh... As I said, we're secured in here. But are we safe? How long can we last in here?" I ask, trying to change the subject. He chuckles at that and sets the massive gun down. He walks over to the other locker, grabbing my hand to bring me with him, and opens it up. It's filled to the brim with jugs of water, boxes of food, medical supplies, alcohol, and drugs.

"Assuming we paced ourselves, we could last a year in here. Or, if we partied, one month. Your choice." I can't help but gawk at his supplies. How in the world did he manage to store all of this here!? He has everything! Except...

"Where's the bathroom?" [Intelligence 7/5]

He goes to answer me, but stops and looks around. In all of his wisdom, and with all of the time he had to plan this out; he forgot to put a toilet in this room. If I wasn't so nervous about this place, I'd laugh my ass off! How could he possibly forget to put a toilet in here!? How wasn't that the first thing?

"How long could we last in here without a place to go?" I ask, trying my best not to chuckle at him. He steps away from me and looks around the room, lost in thought.

"Well... I'll have to install one in here then. How about I show you the main floor and the turrets there-"

"No!" I almost yell, catching him off guard. We can't leave yet. I need to buy Reckless some more time. "Why don't we... get to know one another a little more? We can look at turrets later."

He gives me a wicked smile and I vomit. I can keep it together for now, but if he gets too far I'll have to take care of things myself. Hurry up Reckless!

Perspective: Reckless

I follow Joy down the stairs towards one of the hydroponic rooms as quickly as possible, strapping my armor on as we go. Once she told me what the plan was I became completely determined to see it through. I don't know what the others are thinking, but once I have the chance, I'm going to put a bullet in Urbans head.

We take a sudden turn into one of the utility closets and squeeze inside. It's a bit of a tight fit, but we make it work. She turns so her back is against me and leans over, fiddling with something on the bottom of the wall.

"Why are we both in here?" I ask, feeling a tad awkward from the position.

"So there are less eyes watching us. I hid a gun in here that will help you. And stop blushing! There'll be time for that later!" I nod to her and do my best to ignore her. She comes back up and passes me an assault rifle. It's a little beat up and doesn't have much to it, but she makes up for that by passing me three magazines.

"Where did you get this?" I ask as I load the first magazine in, pulling the chamber back with a satisfying click.

"It was mine before I came here. He never took it, but I didn't want it just laying around. It's an automatic, so be mindful of that." I nod to her and open the door, stepping out confidently. According to her plan, if I can take out the two turrets in here I'll have the best position to defend against anypony that comes in here.

There's a turret at the end of the room and above the entrance. Both seem like good enough targets to start with, so I aim up at the entrance turret and open fire.

PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PAT

The bullets bounce off the metal hull and ricochet all over. I only stop firing with a few of the round bounce too closely to me. I pause and wait for something to happen... but nothing occurs. Joy pops her head out of the closet and give me a confused look, so I try again.

PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PAT

Nothing. Is that not a turret? Do the turrets not care if I shoot at them? Did Lucky already take care of them? Something isn't right here. I lift the gun up and try again, hoping something happens.

PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PAT-CLICK

"What the shit!?" I yell as I reload. How could I have wasted an entire magazine without activating this damn thing!? Joy walks out and steps beside me, thinking to herself silently. "Are these things even on?"

"Yes... and I think I know what's wrong... Don't freak out over this." I give her a confused look as she approaches me and gets on her knees. I let out a yelp as she starts to kiss my member through my pants.

"This isn't the best time for that!" I yell as I jump back.

PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PAT

I fall backwards as a torrent of bullets wiz by me. I scramble backwards as puffs of dust and debris follow after me. These turrets aren't very fast, but I can tell that they are larger than the ones outside. When I get my bearings I use my wings to spring up to my hooves and fire back at the turret. Bullets ricochet all around the gun emplacement as I hone in on the machine. The few bullets that do hit it jerk the machine back and forth until it explodes off the wall.

I only have a second to celebrate before the other turret hits me on the shoulder, sending me straight to the floor. I let out a loud groan as blood starts to seep out of my armor, staining it. I crawl under a table for cover and look over to Joy to see her doing the same. These things hurt like a bitch, but they go down easily enough and are slow to act. I better use that to my advantage.

I roll out from under the table and fire up at the turret, hitting it a few times. The magazine on my rifle empties before I could take it down though, forcing me to rush to cover. To keep the gun off of me, I join Joy on her side of the room.

"Are you okay?" she yells over the gun fire as she presses her back against the wall.

"I'll live!" I yell back. She gives me a look before ducking from the incoming fire. I must have done a good number on it, because it's firing erratically now. I crawl forward a bit as I reload, trying to move towards the aisle to get into a better firing position. With the magazine in and the chamber loaded I push myself out and start to fire. Sparks fly as the metal bounces off the iron hull, with the occasional electrical spark popping out. I walk forward and try to zero in on the turret, getting more and more sparks until it finally explodes off the wall. With the two turrets down, I allow myself a moment to relax. It took a little over two and a half magazines to take these things down, how am I going to take on the rest? Also...

"What the shit was that?" I ask Joy, turning back to her. She pops up from behind the hydroponic and takes a look around, finding the coast clear. For now, at least.

"Don't complain! It worked and you liked it!" she yells at me, standing completely. "How much ammo do you have left?"

"Not a lot. Maybe half a magazine in the assault rifle and a few for my pistol." She nods to me, thinking to herself for a moment.

"Then you should make a run around the corridors then. If you wait here Urban will just make you waste all of your ammo. At least you'll be able to out maneuver him out there, even with all of the turrets out there." I hum in response, thinking to myself.

"Shouldn't the alarm have gone off by now? I thought you said the entire building would wake up from this?" She shrugs, frowning slightly.

"There were a lot of things that I thought I knew and ended up being wrong about. I know there is an alarm system; maybe you just need to destroy a few more turrets before they go off." I nod to her logic. Staying still was never my style anyway. I go to the door and take a look outside. All of the turrets in the hallway are pointed towards our doorway, meaning I'll have to go out as quickly as possible. I step back and prep myself to gun it, when Joy puts a hand on my shoulder. She leans in and gives me a soft kiss on the lips, making everything seem so distant, if only for a moment.

EEEEEE-EEERRR-EEEEEE-EEERRR-EEEEEE-EEERRR

"You have to be kidding," I grumble as the alarm suddenly goes off. What sort of programming did this fucker install? I give Joy one last look before I take my stance at the door. This is it, time to get some payback.

Perspective: Lucky

I let out a gasp when Urban pushes me onto the bed. He wastes no time diving in after me and shoving his face right into my chest. He hasn't tried to remove anything yet, but that hasn't dissuaded him any. I try to ignore his hands as he gropes at me, squeezing through the layers of tied up shirts I have on. Just like before; pretend you're not here. Pretend he's someone you like. Look up at the ceiling and find something to distract yourself with. Count the holes, follow the patterns in the cement, watch the computer screen flicker on and off, do anything that takes you away from here.

He pulls back with a loud gasp and starts to try to pull down the zipper on my suit. When he can't get it to slide he starts to get a little rough with it, putting more and more strength into each pull. Joy and I intentionally jammed it with one of the shirts beneath it. It won't last, but it's giving me more time at least.

RIP

I let out a small gasp when he rips part of the zipper off. About halfway down it caught back and zipped properly, opening my first shirt.

"Why are you wearing so many layers?" he asks as he starts to pull on the knotted mess on my chest. I have three more shirts that I tied up together.

"I wanted to show you that I'm not just some mare from the Wasteland. I'm one of a kind," I tell him in my fake sultry voice. I already thought of a few answers to anything he might ask. He grunts in response, annoyed immensely.

"Trust me, I knew that from the get go. I've seen plenty of mares, from all over the Commonwealth. You are one in a million," he tells me as he gets fed up with the knot and rips it apart. The fabric tears loudly as the buttons go flying all around. He pulls the shirts apart and takes a moment to admire my bare chest. I can only stare up at him and wait for the next part. I put myself in a corner, and he's about to take what he wants. What is taking them so-

EEEEEE-EEERRR-EEEEEE-EEERRR-EEEEEE-EEERRR

A light flashes from the computer as a loud siren echoes throughout the entire building. This is it! I let all of my previous fears and anxieties wash over me as I try my best to appear scared to Urban.

"I thought you said this place was safe," I tell him as I cover up my chest. I can see the panic start to settle in his eyes.

"It is! I don't know what that is-"

"How can you say it's safe here when you don't even know what's going on!?" I yell at him, forcing him off of me as I scoot away from him. He looks around and tries to think of something to say, but has nothing.

"It's safe here! The turrets will take care of this, I promise! One of the stallions must have tried to get frisky with one of the mares! It'll be over soon enough, I promise!" he defends, trying to scoot back over me. I push him away with one and stand up, glaring down at him as he sits on the bed confused.

"How can you say this place is safe when we are under attack! Aren't you in control? Why are these other stallions walking all over your home?" I ask him, putting as much sass into it as possible. I need to call his pride into this so he'll do something stupid. He thinks for a moment before I see the idea hit him. He gets up and rushes to the door, opening it as quickly as possible.

"You want to see what I do to those that don't follow my rules, eh? 'Cause I'll show you! I'm going to tear their dicks off and hang them off the roof! Nopony touches my mares!" he screams starts to march around the room, gathering random gear and clothes. I need him to make more mistakes, I need to make him stop thinking.

As he rushes past me I grab his arm and force him to stop. He gives me a confused look as I grab his hand and bring it under my shirt and over my chest. He grips me lightly, completely caught off guard by my action.

"Take care of this... and this is all yours." He tries to respond, but there's too much blood flowing away from his brain to think straight. "Come back into the panic room when you win, and only when you win, okay?"

He tries to form a response, but can't find the words. He's too captivated by his grasp on me to think about anything else. He gives me one last squeeze before hobbling away, muttering that he'll win at any cost. I wait until he's out of the room before I shut the door and lock it up. I have to take a moment to collect myself before I can do anything further. That was too close. My heart is racing as if I just ran twenty miles straight. Additionally, my stomach feels as if it's about to heave itself out of myself, but somehow I manage to keep it all under control. I zip up my shirt and walk over the computer, my knees nearly giving out along the way.

I take a seat and start it up. This is it. Time to see if this was worth all of the effort. I go to the back door and take a look at it... It's manageable. I think I can get through this, if only barely. But I have to be quick, there's no telling how much time I actually have. Given, I got Urban to go out there without the massive gun or any pants. I'll hurry, but I'll be safe as well.

I start out by looking for any duds. Even though this ends up eating the allowance replenishment, I think it was worth it. I narrowed it down to five words, so that's pretty good. I can always restart, but the refresh rate takes forever to get through. And I don't want to waste any more time than I need to.

Running. Dealing. Venting. Landing. Meeting. These are my choices. Of course they all have to end in -ing, having one of them not end in -ing would be too simple. Well... I guess I'll pick one of them and see where that takes me.

Meeting: 4/7.

Well... that isn't very helpful. That means only one letter in there is correct, after the -ing that is. Let's see... Dealing shares some letters with it, let's try that one.

Dealing: 4/7.

That's... helpful. They both only have one letter. And they don't have many other letters that they share with the other words. Hmm... Actually, aside from the -ing, they only share an E. The only other word with an E in the same spot is Venting, so that might be it. And if it isn't, I can always back out and try again. I hope it is though, I don't want to waste any more time than I already have.

Venting: 7/7 [Science 36/35]'

I give a quick cheer when it starts to load up the next screen. That wasn't so bad! I'll have those turrets down before Urban can even make it down there!

I come to the main screen and look through the options. But none of them look as if are turret control. There's only two journal entries in here! Did she lie to us!? Or did Urban just beat us to it? No, there has to be something more to this! I couldn't have gone through all of that without getting something in return! I open the first log entry and start to read it. Maybe there's something in here that will help me.

Starting over,

Big brother and I just made it to an old hotel. Some nasty ghouls in here, but we got them out of here pretty quickly. Almost didn't make it out of that fight alive, but Big Brother had my back. This place is a pretty nice set up. One-way entrance, working water lines -relatively, and it's in the center of all the major cities! Brother really thinks we can resettle here. Says the crops would be safe if we can get the lights we brought with us to work. I'm more worried about safety though. After what happened with Mom and Dad...

We've got each other, and that's more than most ponies have. We'll work through it all and get this place up and running. Who knows, maybe we'll make a nice little homestead here.

Work underway,

Who knew working on renovating an old hotel would be so tiresome. We stopped to eat and some scavengers stopped by to trade. They were nice enough, warned us about a local raider group too. There was a cute mare in their group too, and I think I'm in love! Is love at first sight a real thing? Because I feel as if it might! They told us they were from a local settlement and would come back to trade again if we can get the crops to grow. They mostly deal in junk, so it'll be a good deal for everypony. Maybe I can convince Arc to... I don't know, stay?

I'm a little confused on what to do about this. I would ask Big Brother about this but... I don't know. I don't think he trusts them. Or, maybe, he's just a little scared about being around mares, after what happened with Mom and Dad. I get why it happened, and I'm at peace with it, but Big Brother doesn't seem to be. I'll try to talk to him about it another time. I can't just let him wallow in hate and distrust like this.

How would Mom know things would turn out like that?

Trade,

We've started trading today with the ponies from Rivet Town! Arc and I made the deals and made the trade... and then had dinner. It was nice and she's a nice mare. A bit shy, but in a cute way. I think she likes me, or I hope she does at least. She said she hopes we'll do business again real soon. I don't know if that's because she wants to see me again or because she just wants to do business again. Why is this so hard? I think I'll finally talk to Big Brother about this, see what he has to say. I just hope things go well.

Bad Pipes,

Things did not go well. He nearly exploded, he was so mad! I'm not even clear about what he's mad about. I think he liked her too, but then he brought up Mom. Though, them sharing a name probably didn't help that now that I think about it. How could she have known those traders were Raiders in disguise? They tricked all of us! In the midst of all the yelling we were having, one of the hydroponic lines blew apart. While he fixes it he kicked me out to get new parts. Said some nasty things too. I don't know what to think now. I want to be with Arc, but Big Brother is the only family I have. I have a right to pursue a relationship, but would it be worth losing my brother over?

I really don't think I'd ever be able to bring a mare in here with him around. The way he talked about Mom and Dad... Dad would never put Mom on a leash! That's not how you treat mares! Where did all of those thoughts come from? It's like I don't even know him anymore! I'm leaving for Rivet Town soon. Hopefully Arc will have something to add that will ease my mind. I hope so, cause I don't know what to do right now.

I close the journal and let out a sigh. That doesn't help me right now. It was interesting, but useless to me. With nothing better to do at the moment, I open the next one and start to read.

Steady Aim

Little Brother was an idiot! Did he really think he could just do whatever he wanted and not have to deal with the consequences!? Idiot! i tried to be reasonable! I did! I even let that little skank come live with us! That's a night of sleep I'm never getting back! She treats me like a heap of trash! As if I'm not good enough to be in the same room as her! As if I don't deserve my own brother! I've got my eyes on her though. I know what she's up to! The minute she tries to take my brother away from me, I'll put a bullet in her. Better mad than dead, that's what Dad said!

Arc Point,

That SKANK! That CUNT! I can't believe this! What does she think she's doing!? MARRIAGE? FOALS? She pulled me aside and talked to me, telling me her 'intentions.' BAH! I can see right through her. I've seen the way she acts around him. Pretending that things are too hard for her, just to get him to do it for her! I saw the look on her face! She just wants a place to stay where she doesn't have to do anything! No work and all play, that's her game! Well no deal! You work the farm or you get out, that's the deal! I don't care if she 'loves' him -which I know she doesn't- it's not going to fly here! You work, or you get out. You don't get a free ride! I'm not being unreasonable! That's how it is out here! What idiot thinks otherwise? I told her that to her face, it was priceless! She didn't even say anything back to me! She just left, crying. Good riddance! I don't have time for slackers like that. I have a farm to run.

Mistake,

Oh gods! Oh goddess above! What happened? What happened!? I didn't mean to do it! I didn't know what else to do! He came at me and... and... It was self-defense! He was crazy! Oh goddess! Why me, why him! Oh GOD!

Deals a deal,

She came back to me. Said Rivet town was overrun by Raiders, that she had nowhere else to go. She acts as if she can come here. I had a nice little surprise for her. See all those Raiders fuck her senseless was fulfilling. As if I was avenging Little Brother. Gave me an idea though. Let's see if it works.

Tits and ass,

One week in and I'm at my limit. Never thought I'd have so much pussy in my life! Fuck yeah! The distillery is perfect! And all of the turrets Steady Aim left are keeping the losers out perfectly! Brought a mare in here to fuck -'mare' in loose terms, if you know what I mean- and found remembered I was writing in this thing. I've been so drunk recently I didn't even remember I had this here. I started getting all mushy when I read Little Brothers journal, but that all ended when I came in that mares mouth. HA! What was her name? I don't care.

I've got protection, caps, bitches, what else could I need? I don't need anypony! I don't want anypony! One mare yelled at me that I was 'using' mares like objects, bah! I've seen what the mares here do! I know what they're all plotting! To hell with them all! I won't let them cross me again! I won't be made a fool!

This is depressing. I see a pussy that isn't dripping with cum yet, time to fix that. After one more drink that is.

Backdoor,

Okay, need to focus. Some mare tried to kill me the other day. She was mad about... something. Sore ass or something, XD. I've installed more turrets inside now. They aren't as good as the ones outside though. They never will be...

I had to use a newer program left over from when we first got here. I couldn't figure it out, but one of the mares helped me. And she had a good idea too! To make them extra secured, we made it so you have to go to two different computers to rework their systems! Opening this message will enable the other computer, which is on the roof. It's safer this way. Except that she knows about it now. She assures me that she'll keep it a secret, but I know better. Those Raiders were getting a bit antsy, time to give them a peace offering that isn't booze.

Side note though, the password is... Moms name. Depressing, I know. Who knows, maybe I'll find some mare with big tits and forget all my troubles. Or at least one that won't cry after each fuck. I hate it when they cry... Arc cried...

I need more booze. Or some good poon. Something. Remember to forget in the future. I also need to remember to delete Steady Aim's journal log... eventually. Dammit, where's that new mare? I need to put my dick in something!

I let out a sigh of relief as I find my answer. There's a computer on the roof that can change the turrets! And since I've read this message, I'm halfway there. All I have to do now is get up there and change the settings before Urban can hurt Reckless. I hope he's doing alright. Just a little more time before this is all over... I hope.

I get up and start to open the door. Fortunately, it can reopen from the inside, so I don't have to worry about that. A little something I didn't think about beforehand. When the door opens I step out into the room and take a look around. I can hear gunfire in the distance, in between each siren roar. Nopony is in this room anymore, so I take my leave and head right out the door. I come to an immediate stop when I nearly collide into Razors Edge, startling her just as much.

"You! What are you doing out here?" she demands as she steps towards me. I take a look around and start to panic. I don't have time to deal with her right now. But what can I do?

Without really thinking about it, I swing my leg up and catch her right between the legs. Normally this works on stallions, but I've never tried this on a mare before. The results are... rather similar. She lets out a pained cry and topples over, holding her groin tightly. I take the advantage and make a run for the stairs. I don't know if they make it to the roof, but there's nowhere else to go.

I have to cover my ears the moment I run into the stairwell. The siren bellows loudly in the hollow, cement tube; amplifying each long drone. It's almost to the point where I fall over from the increasing headache I have. I don't know how I managed it, but I force myself to the stairs and start to climb up. With each step there's another loud ring from the siren. My ears are ringing at the point where I'm about to rip them off! Why are they this loud? What good would this do anypony?

I make it to the stairs and find the door locked. I should have figured as much. There's a push handle, but it won't budge. Another ring from the siren forces me to double over. I can't stop now, not when I'm so close. What can I do though?

With nothing else to do, I start to kick at the door. It's more out of desperation than anything else. If I go back down, there's no telling what Razor will do to me. Or, worse yet, what if Urban had killed Reckless? No, I have to get through this door. I don't care what it takes, I'm getting through if it's the last thing I do!

I step back and brace myself before running at the door. I throw my shoulder forward before colliding into the metal object. It throws me back onto the floor without giving an inch. I push myself up and try again, putting even more energy into it. I slam back onto the floor and groan as a numbness starts to throb in my shoulder and back. I think it wiggled, but I'm not sure. Only one way to find out. I get up again and charge the door, screaming out as I throw myself at the solid object yet again. I go a little lower and slam into the push bar, feeling all of the previous pain focused into one point. I stagger back in pain as I try to think of a way around this. I'm not getting anywhere like this, what can I do?

I lean back on the railing and start to kick at the door. I don't even care that there's still a ringing in my ear right now, I just want to get this door opened. I give a pained yell as I put all of my energy into kicking at the door. A few dents have appeared on it, but it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere. Just as I'm about to lose the last of my energy, I hear a voice in the stairwell. I look down and see Urban running up the stairs. He has a bullet wound on his left shoulder and looks, well, pissed. He raises his gun up to shoot at me, so I give one final charge at the door. I scream as I put everything I have into my final thrust, hitting the door with the last of my energy.

CREE-THUNK

I can't help but laugh as a section of the door breaks. I've dented the portion by the locking mechanism to the point where I can see where it interlocks with the frame. I stick a few fingers in there and force the door open. I don't know how that worked out, but I'm glad it did. As I get through it and shut it I see Urban rounding the final corner. I move away from the door as I wait for him to fire through, but he never does. He never shot actually, why?

Rather than waste my time with stupid questions, I take a look around before running to the only computer up here. Thinking quickly, I input the password and start to go through the options before starting to open the correct file. All I need to do now is-

THUD

I let out another pained scream when Urban grabs me by the scalp and throws me back. He towers over me and huffs as he glares down at me. I try to crawl away from him, but that only angers him more. He kneels down and tries to hold me down, but I fight him every step of the way.

"You damn mares! Always fucking everything up!" he yells as he pulls me back to him. I yelp in pain as I drag against the wet cement, still trying to pull my arms free from his grasp. "Stop fucking fighting! STOP IT!"

"FUCK YOU!" I yell back, spitting up at him. He gets mad and smacks me across the face. I retaliation, I swing a knee up and catch him in the ribs. He fumbles on top of me, letting out a pained grunt. I take the initiative and reach up with both hands to grip at his neck. I try to choke the life out of him, but he doesn't seem to care. He grabs me around the neck and lifts me up before-

THUD

Everything goes fuzzy as my mind spins. I faintly get the feeling of being fondled before everything comes back to focus. Having been out of it for a few seconds, Urban has started to remove my top as he grabs at me. I start to fight him again, feeling the adrenaline rushing back to me.

"You're all liars! Trying to take what's mine!" he yells before pulling the zipper down and forcing my shirt open. He pulls back so that it helps pin my arms to the side, giving him perfect access. "I'll show you all not to-"

THWACK

I reel again as the front of my forehead throbs. My head-butt was just enough to get him to roll off of me. We both start to stagger to our hooves when we both look forward. I guess he didn't think he'd need his assault rifle, because it's lying right in front of us. We glance at one another before we both rush for it, grabbing it at that same time. He gives me one look before thrusting an elbow into my gut and yanking the gun from my hands. I roll onto my side from the pain as he stands up, pulling the chamber back as he readies to kill me.

BANG

I look up to see the gun violently bounce out of his hands and fall off the side of the building. See a perfect opening, I put everything I have into swinging my leg around and catching him behind the knees. He falls down and tries to scramble away, but I get on top of him and start to punch him in the face. He grabs me by the waist and tosses me aside, getting into position to start punching me. I hear some yelling from the side, but ignore it as I block the incoming fists. Each one bruises my arms and forces me from side to side. I try to work my legs to topple him over, but he's too heavy to move right now.

With nothing else in mind, I let him get a few punches on my sides and I lean up to grapple him. Each hit knocks the wind out of me, but I find the strength to bring him down with me. I feel the two of us hit a ledge before we both roll over and start to fall. I look down and realize that we were too close to the edge and are now falling five stories. After everything I've just been through, I just close my eyes and wait for it to come.

YANK

My eyes snap open when I feel somepony grab me by the waist. We jut in the air a bit before I feel something grab my hoof. I look down and see Urban grabbing on for dear life as we race towards the ground. We stare at each other before I narrow my eyes at him, and kick at his hand. I see the fear fill his eyes as he loses his grip on me and falls away from us. I never look away, and neither does he. I watch as all of his fear, all of his anger, and all of his hatred coming crashing down in a bloody mess in the plaza below. I win, you monster.

Reckless makes some sort of maneuver and we tumble in the air before crashing down. He hits the ground first, though we roll enough for the two of us to feel the punishing ground. We come to a stop some distance away and everything goes silent. I simply lay there, on top of Reckless, and let my eyes fall shut. It's over, I think now's a good time to rest.

Level Three

Lucky

S 7
P 3
E 4
C 6
I 7
A 4
L 9

Perks

Wild Wasteland
Black Widow

Skills

Barter 20

Energy Weapons 13

Explosives 13

Guns 18

Lockpick 13

Medicine 21

Melee Weapons 40

Repair 25

Science 40

Sneak 15

Speech 40

Survival 20

Unarmed 15

Reckless

S 8
P 7
E 7
C 2
I 5
A 9
L 2

Perks

Heavy Handed
Skilled
Rapid Reload

Skills

Barter 15

Energy Weapons 22

Explosives 40

Guns 45

Lockpick 40

Medicine 19

Melee Weapons 24

Repair 22

Science 18

Sneak 30

Speech 12

Survival 25

Unarmed 22