Fallout Equestria: Lightning Strikes Twice

“So, Hard Frame, how was your night shift?”

Hard Frame, an earth pony engineer and security guard, heavily lifted his head from one of the mainframe's monitor and looked back at Thundery Showers entering the security room.

Hard Frame's mane was thick on the top, medium in length and was combed to the right over his forehead. It was light brown in color and much shorter and climbing on the back of his head. His tail was rather short, straight, simple, pointy at the end, and bared the same color as his mane. He also had a Winnfield mustache. His coat was chestnut-colored and so were his hooves, but of a darker shade. His eyes were blue-gray, and he wore dark gray round glasses. He was dressed in a staff stable suit and wore a watch on his left foreleg that matched his fur and hooves.

“I've been really stressed all night watching the RAD count. It just keeps steadily going up. We're at 145 on level 2. Not as bad as the lower levels that have been highly restricted two days ago, but still. Anyway, I'm pretty sure today's gonna be the evacuation.” He let out a long jerky sigh followed by a yawn.

“Ok. Understood. Contact overseer Reverie right away so everypony has time to prepare before it gets any worse.”

Hard Frame immediately activated his intercom; directly connected to the overseer's office.

“What?! Not already?” Atlas Reverie rushed to the flashing signal of his own communicator and activated its microphone. “Hard Frame? What is it? Are we already too late?”

"We're at 145 on level 2 and holding steady at the moment. We'll need to start the evac as soon as possible; the sun will be completely out in less than an hour," Hard Frame said with a concerned undertone in his voice.

“Understood, Hard Frame. I'll sound the alarm right away. Thank you for your hard work; and you too Mr. Showers.” The Overseer turned off the mic and let out a long and nervous sigh. “This would have been so much better if it was evening or even earlier morning. Now we barely got any time before the radiation reach its maximum count.”

Back in the security room, Hard Frame and Thundery Showers quickly shut down all the monitors and computers as the alarm started; keeping only the emergency lights on.

“You better get yourself an energy drink before going out, Frame,” Thundery said.

Hard Frame let out another jerky yawn. “Definitely.”

After making one last check, they got out and securely locked the door. They then rushed to the living quarters.

“We never did find out what was the source of that leak, did we?” Hard Frame said.

“Nope. And techs have been sent pretty much everywhere it could have originated from. Thing is, it took about 6 months for it to reach this level, so it must have been a pretty small breach, I assume. Maybe that's why it wasn't found; even under careful investigation.”

“Yeah, I remember. Seriously, though. They don't even know if it was from outside or inside? I still can't believe that.”

Thundery sighed. “Not even. Like we spoke many times before, they couldn't tell if it was from a radstorm, a roach, a gecko or even one of the resident's fault. Not even the cameras' footages helped.”

Hard Frame frowned. “Really?”

Thundery nodded. “And you know we didn't want to create an uproar or some tension by accusing residents and starting rumors. 'And' we especially didn't want to only target zebras; this would have been definitely disrespectful. Besides, upon interviews when entering the stable, all the zebras here wanted nothing to do with their kin who took part in the war and regarded them with disgust.”

“But some could have lied, like we discussed before,” Hard Frame said.

“Yes. We never overlooked that possibility, but even with the new PipBuck 3000 Spark X's mind-reading technology, no suspects were found. I mean, that's the first PipBuck version to feature mind-reading, so maybe it's not optimal, but I think it could have at least help us a little.”

They walked across the meeting hall where much of the staff were doing the final preparation for the overseer's final speech.

“Anyway, upon entering—or going out of the stable—all residents must be scanned for any suspicious items or gears. Aside from a few exceptions in the past that were dealt with, no scans came out as relevant to possible sabotage equipment. We did interrogate all employees working in anything related to the security of the stable—myself included—and again; nothing. And yes, some could have lied or be clever enough to trick the 3000 Spark X's mind-reading feature; again.” Thundery growled.

Hard Frame let out a loud grunt. “Damn it! That's the shitty reality of the wastes I'm always being reminded of. There are so many factions out there that want to come in and harm us in some way that they'll possibly camouflage themselves so well that we can't tell what their real intentions are. And it's the same freaking way when we go out there. You think all species would have learned to live in peace after 200 years, but no! I still can't believe how dumb this is..."

Thundery lowered his voice as they entered the living quarters. "Frame, you already know what I think about what you just said.”

Hard Frame shook in frustration, shutting his eyes tight. “Yes... Yes, I know.” He tried letting go of his tension.

“Just focus on making sure your family is safe and ready to go. See you outside, hopefully.” Thundery gave Hard Frame a light tap on his left shoulder before turning right into the Flurry Heart wing.

Hard Frame chuckled and mumbled to himself. “That's if that breach doesn't suddenly get worse before then...”

Thundery trotted into his apartment and into Lightning's room. "Lightning, do you have your things ready? We're just about to leave the stable."

"I'm doing it as fast as I can," Lightning said, scurrying around his room.

"The radiation has steadily gone up overnight. Pack up only what's necessary; just like in the drills. And go get the RadSafes and Rad-aways we got in the bathroom and bring em' with you in your bags."

“Aight. By the way, mom is still in the bedroom; I think she's also packing.”

Thundery nodded. “I'll go check on her.”

“You don't have to, sweetie. I'm all set to go,” Golden Grain said as she stepped out of the master bedroom with her luggage.

"Hey, Goldie. You got everything ready? Cuz that rad count can possibly decide to go haywire at any time, and then we won't have the time for you to choose which of your favorite hair pins you gonna wanna bring.”

Golden Grain lightly slapped Thundery behind the head. "I've gotten our essentials ready to go, Showerhead."

Lightning jumped a bit. "Fudge. I gotta go warn Gabe and Cable and make sure that they are ready to go."

“I got a feeling they're already aware and preparing to head out as well, but we'll go with you to check. You're not going alone. Are you finished packing your stuff yet?” Thundery insisted.

“Almost done, dad! Just making sure I got everything I need!” Lightning went into the bathroom, took all he could of medicine against radiation, including some extra bandages and healing potions, and put them inside the suitcase he already had with him. “Ok. That's done. Now...” He trotted to his bedroom, then latched his PipBuck onto his right front leg and looked around the room for a final check. “Ok. That's everything I could think of. In any case, maybe I'll be able to come back with a rad suit at some point if I forgot something.” He walked back outside with all his bags. "Alright, let's go!”

Upon stepping outside of their apartment, the atmosphere was already close to chaotic.

Thundery Showers rolled his eyes a bit, seeing everybody in a state of panic. “And it's only been a few minutes... It's ok. It ain't like it could have been avoided, even after all the drills.”

Golden Grain slapped him again, giving him a mean look.

Thundery turned to her— “Sorry, Goldie,”—then back to Lightning. “Lead the way, son.”

Lightning giggled at his parents then turned forward and trotted toward their first stop, Gabe's place.

As soon as they arrived, the door opened, and Lightning was greeted by a massive bear hug from his friend.

"Yo. I been packing since mom woke me up," Gabe said.

Glenda shouted from inside the apartment. “Even that deafening alarm wouldn't get him out of sleep! Ah!”

Gabe looked back toward her— “Mom!”—then back to Lightning. “Anyway... Heck yeah! Gonna get to see the surface!” He let go of Lightning for a victorious pose.

Thundery and Golden Grain rose a brow as Lightning turned to them.

“Gabe is just... pumped on pretty much a regular basis; like I told you both.” His parents slowly nodded as he switched back to Gabe. “Hey, Gabe, you got your PipBuck?”

“Duh! That's the first thing I thought of.”

“After I reminded him where it was...” Glenda stepped out to greet them.

Lightning waved to her. “Hi, Miss Gooding! Are you ready to go?”

"We are. Been up since early this morning getting everything ready. I had a feeling it was going to be today." She glanced into the apartment then looked back at Thundery. "What's the status of the evacuation?"

"We're going to start an orderly one later this morning, before the rad levels possibly get worse. This could happen really fast, however, so be ready to rush at the drop of a pin. Oh! And did you guys think about—"

“RadSafes and Rad-aways? Heck yeah!” Gabe proudly shown a translucid first aid kit inside one of his bags fully packed with medicine.

“Aight, Cable is next,” Lightning said, getting ready to go.

Gabe grabbed Lightning's left shoulder. “Yo! Just a moment. We gotta take one last check to see if we really got everything.”

Lightning nodded. "Well, make it snappy, then, Gabe. I mean... Yeah, sorry. I'm on edge."

“Yeah. I am too. No reason to freak out, though. You and Cable are even the ones who got me to understand that.” Gabe got back into the apartment and looked around one last time, along with Glenda, before stepping out again.

“Ok ok! I gotta... Ok.” Lightning took a few deep breaths while closing his eyes.

Thundery gently put his left front hoof on Lightning's head. “Sorry, son. I did say we gotta be ready in case it goes really bad, but there's a possibility it won't too. Just focus like you do when you're practicing your magic; you're getting pretty good at that.”

Lightning grunted. "I'm trying to dad. I'm just... freakin' scared about being unsure if we're gonna be safe. Both before the evac 'and' in the wasteland.”

Thundery embraced Lightning with his left front leg. "Well, yeah. We all are. Hey..." He gently brought Lightning's head toward his. “You're not alone in this, ok?”

“What? Well... yeah, I know... that?” Lightning stared at Thundery with a bit of confusion.

“Good.” Thundery let go of Lightning's head. “So... We oughta get to your other friend's place.” He looked back at the group. “The entire stable is supposed to meet at the main hall of the entrance in about 15 minutes for the overseer's final instructions, and I gotta be there with Hard Frame to back him up in case he forgets something. I know you've all received the alert, but just a reminder that we gotta make it quick.”

"Yes. Definitely." Lightning nodded.

"Ready for this, dork?" Gabe said, nudging Lightning's right shoulder.

"Heck yeah! Let's hit it!"

They took the lead; their parents right behind them.

“I'm really not sure how he's handling what's going on, right now. He's become so paranoid. He was all twitchy and stuff the last time I saw him, weeks ago. It makes me feel so bad to have seen him like this.”

Gabe sighed. “I know, bro. You keep saying it. On and on. And is there anything we haven't tried in order to cheer him up or help him out of it? Nope. We done all we could. He's my best bud too, but I've let go of it. That's just how it is. No matter how much it sucks. And I told you this over and over again before too: you should let go as well.”

Lightning growled. “Why can't it just be... over with! Fuc—"

“Yo. We're almost there already.”

“What? Oh... yeah.”

“Come on. Smile a bit for him.”

Lightning lowered his head and squinted his eyes, trying to concentrate on staying positive.

“Wanna be the one to knock?” Gabe said.

“Uh? What?” Lightning promptly lifted his head, noticing they were just a few steps away from their destination. “Oh... ah... sure, yeah.” He forced himself to smile the best he could and pressed on the apartment's doorbell.

“Aight. Happy face, right?” Lightning looked up at Gabe who nodded in response.

After a few seconds from ringing, no one had answered the door.

“Uh... Weird. Try ringing again,” Gabe said. “You did tell him to wait for us, right?”

“Well, yeah. Duh! At least... I left a message?” Lightning pressed on the bell two more times, waited again, pushing his left ear against the door; expecting some steps coming toward the door, but still nothing.

“What...? Ok, that's 'really' weird.” Lightning bashed on the door. “Cable! Yo! You there!? We gotta go! It's evac time! Hurry up!” He waited another couple seconds with the rest of his group, but in vain.

Thundery stepped forward. “That's definitely not right. They definitely 'should' have heard the alarm going off. Hard Frame's been monitoring all night, despite being tired, yes, but he always manages to at least stay awake. If they already got going, he should have seen them.” Thundery called out from the other side of the door. “Mr. Cooper! This is Thundery Showers from the security unit. Open up! We have given order to evacuate immediately!” He bashed some more on the door, then waited for a brief moment.

Lightning stepped next to his dad; panicking. “Dad! What's going on?!”

“Guys, step back a little,” Thundery said.

Lightning, along with the others, obeyed.

Thundery picked a card key out of his staff suit and slid it through the door's lock, instantly opening it. The apartment’s lights were all shut off aside from the emergency ones.

"What the hell?! What happened here?! Cable!" Lightning rushed to his friend's room. The place was a complete mess with things tossed all over. "No! No no no no no!” He ran back to the group entering the apartment as Gabe turned on the lights. “Why the heck did they leave!? What's going on?!” Lightning said looking up at Thundery in distress.

“I don't know more than you, son. I'm astonished as well. Let me contact Hard Frame on my transceiver. He's got to have seen something.”

“For Celestia's sake!” Lightning went back into Cable's room, his eyes getting blurry. Gabe followed him. "He's gotta have left something to tell is he was leaving! He has to!" Lightning searched the room very nervously, checking Cable's desk, his bed, his dresser; anywhere a note could have been left.

Gabe stood behind him; silent and holding some tears in while trying to remain calm. “I'll look in his wardrobe.”

Thundery entered the room. “Lightning. I'm absolutely sorry for your friend. I just got news from Hard Frame and, “—Lightning swiftly looked at him— “he's almost positive he didn't see Mr. Slate or his wife, and son leave the stable during the night or early morning. And I mean 'almost positive' because we can't currently review the security footage, nor do we have the time to anyway. So that's just going from what he saw during his night shift.” He slowly closed in on Lightning, looking him in the eyes. “You know we can't stay and search for what happened. I'll give you two more minutes, but then we have to leave.”

Lightning nodded and immediately continued looking for clues as Thundery left the room.

“Gabe! Did you find anything?!” Lightning said.

“Damn it! No! I didn't find any— “Gabe shouted in surprise. “The hell is that?!”

“What?! What did you find?!” Lightning rushed over to Gabe in the closet. “Holy sh—what?!”

“My claw got caught on something and by trying to get it free that thing just popped up from behind that panel! What kind of interface is that?”

“Looks like.... ah.... I dunno! I see the word PipBuck right there, and... recorded locations, but...” He turned his head away from the closet. “Dad! Come over here, we found a clue!”

The sound of running hooves came into the room. "What is it? What did you find?" Thundery said as he trotted over to where Lightning was standing. “That's... What is that? Let me in, guys.”

Lightning and Gabe stepped out of the closet as Thundery sat inside.

“I've never seen this kind of device before. That's crazy advanced in comparison to what we have in the stable.” He carefully inspected the contraption, tried pressing a few options, searching for what was the use of it until his eyes went wide open. “What?!” His shout was heard all the way from outside the apartment.

“What? What?! What is it, dad?!”

Thundery immediately removed his PipBuck from his left front leg, hurried to take a few pictures and reinstalled it on himself. “It's a teleporting device! A Celestia-damn device that allows you to fast travel from inside the stable! I've only overheard of it... once, I think, while going outside for work, but I definitely wasn't sure it actually existed. There's no possible way this could have ever been accepted in here! What's going on?!”

“Mister Showers! The evac meeting is about to start! We have to go!” Glenda said, stepping in the room.

“What is it doing in Cable's room?! Why does he have that?!” Lightning said.

“I have no idea, son. I'm very sorry. We have to go. I'm very conflicted at this discovery and would absolutely wish we had more time to decipher it! I hope we can come back in the future.” Thundery got out of the closet and gestured Lightning and Gabe to get going.

“How come we never saw this?! We played in Cable's room tons of times before!” Lightning said to Gabe, his face filled with distress and confusion.

“But never did we enter his closet before, remember? Cable's always the one who would go get a game or something from it.” Gabe sniffled, still trying to control his emotions.

Lightning instantly went silent, as him and Gabe hurried out of the room.

The others were already waiting for them outside the apartment.

“I'll shut the lights. Could you shut the door, Mr. Showers?” Gabe said. “I'm guessing nobody else should be able to see what's happened here so random rumors don't start spreading.”

Thundery nodded. “My thoughts exactly, Gabe.”

Thundery shut down the vacant stable home, while also locking the door behind him with his card key. "Remember, we need to keep this quiet for now until we can figure out what exactly is going on. I have to make you all swear on it," Thundery ordered, as he turned back to the others waiting outside.

The agitated group nodded and responded positively.

Thundery looked at them all in silent, for a few seconds.

“Hum... dad?” Lightning said, tapping Thundery on his right shoulder.

Thundery looked back at him. “Wanna race me to the main hall, son?”

“Huh... what?”

“Ready? Go!”

Before Lightning could react, Thundery had already taken off.

“What?! Dad! You cheat!” Lightning took off as well; as fast as he could.

Gabe chuckled and got going after them. “Yo, Hot Fuzz! Wait up!”

Lightning quickly glanced behind him. “Oh, hell no, Gube! You not gonna win this either! It's all mine!”

Gabe easily caught up to Lightning. “You dumbus... You forgot I'm a gryphon already or what? I'd already be at the finish line if I was truly racing against you, right now.”

“Oh... Yeah..., actually.”

“I'm just here to join you 'til the end.”

Lightning smirked back at him, then focused on trying to catch up to his dad; a grin gradually growing on his face as he soared through the Twilight wing.

“You sure ya can catch up with your pop, dingus? Looks like you might be falling behind!” Gabe said, letting out a teasing laugh.

Lightning glanced back at him, then back to his father. He squinted his eyes and focused on the moment. Within about a second, the amulet around his neck glowed and its crystal blue magic surrounded him.

Gabe screeched in surprised and moved away from Lightning. “Dude!” Then, before Gabe could say anything else, Lightning had already significantly sped up ahead of him into the Vitalia wing.

“What!? Hell no!” Gabe said, trying to catch up to Lightning. “The fudge is up with him!?”

As Lightning's smile grew, the aura around him turned from crystal blue to a bright silver with electrical sparks bursting out of it. He could see himself quickly closing in on his father who had almost reached the main hall.

“Wait... what's that buzzing sound?” Thundery glanced behind him and instantly slowed down, meters before entering the meeting point. “That's... Lightning?”

Within a single second, Lightning got pass his father and burst into the main hall with a thundering sound, where many of the other residents were getting ready for the last public announcement from the overseer.

“Ah! I beat you, dad! No way you were gonna win 'this' time!” Lightning burst out laughing in glee of having won the race; his bright silver aura still sparkling around him.

Gabe arrived a split moment later, crashing into Lightning with a hug and lifting him up in the air. “Dude! That was in-sane! You, like, went all glowy and stuff and then 'boom' you were outta there like a freakin lightning bolt! Like, freakin, 'zap'! 'Pow'! Gone!” He partook in Lightning's glee and kept tossing him up in the air, before they flew in circle together for a few seconds until they noticed all the residents glaring at them completely dumbfounded.

The boys slowed their flight and gently floated to the floor.

Upon assessing the situation, they noticed numerous scowls on several of the older resident's faces.

“Boys!”—Thundery strongly whispered— “Come with me! Now!” He caught Lightning's left front leg and pulled him out of the room; Gabe quietly following them with his head low.

Thundery closed the main hall's doors behind them.

“I'm sorry, dad! I was just, like... in the zone, or something! That was so fun! And—”

Thundery interrupted him with a very tight hug. “I'm sorry, son, but... yet, I'm so proud.”

“Ah... dad? Why you hugging me? I thought I did a bad thing by barging in like I did. And why are you sorry?”

“I'm sorry for, well, in a sense, manipulating you...”

“What?! What d'you mean?”

Lightning stepped away from his dad's embrace and looked at him with confusion.

“I'll explain to you in a bit, for now... care to look at yourself? It might give you a clue, why I'm so proud of you.”

Lightning looked down at his front legs that were glowing a brilliant silver, along with the rest of his body. "What... Is that... is that my magic?!" He hopped around excitedly. “Heck yeah! That's so awesome! I'm all fiery and stuff!”

“I know, dude! You look so freakin' rad!” Gabe commented. “Oh! Hey! Try kicking the air and stuff, like a martial artist, to see what it does.”

Lightning instantly jumped and hurled out the best kick he could. Both his legs split the air with a loud zap. The bright silver energy followed their motion before ending in a sharp impact in the form of a concentrated mass made of pure white electricity.

"Holy freaking crap! Was that a ball of lightning?!" Lightning panted a bit as his magic dissipated following the sudden burst.

“Hell yeah! Freakin' awesome! Do it again!” Gabe said, his eyes glimmering.

“Boys!” Thundery intervened and looked at Lightning. “I'm undeniably proud of you, son, yes, but keep the rest of your excitement,“—he turned to Gabe—“and that goes for you too,”—then back to Lightning—“for once we're safely out on the surface. Well, as safe as the wasteland can be.”

“Oh... I'm sorry, dad.” Lightning's hype faded.

“Thank you. However, I won't lie; I think I'm as excited as you are right now.” He smiled. “But we have to make your magic settle down.” He briefly examined Lightning. “It seems to already be gradually fading. How about you and Gabe wait here for a bit until the others arrive. I think I already see them over there.” He pointed across the main corridor, then looked at the watch on his left front leg. “Shoot! I gotta go help the Overseer with his final speech and the evacuation procedures. See you shortly.” He nodded to the boys, they nodded back, then he entered the hall.

Gabe turned to Lightning. "Well, do you think that everyone will be mad at us for being a bit overly joyous?"

"Probably yeah. It's a serious situation, and we're acting like a couple of colts on new comic book day," Lightning said as he looked behind them. “Oh! D'you know what my dad meant when he said he manipulated me? I didn't get that.”

“Yeah. I know. And I was surprised myself, but I wouldn't say it was manipulation. More like... he tried to keep you positive... to try and make you forget your worries and focus on something good as quick as possible.”

“Because of wha— oh... Ok... About Cable...” Lightning felt tears building up his eyes, but he instantly thought back about what just happened and they subsided. “Wow... that really worked. He got me real good!” He chuckled, then looked at the end of the hallway from where they came from.

Gabe put his right front leg around Lightning's neck. “I ain't gonna lie, I was surprised it work. He knew right where to hit you to make you feel better.”

They stood silent for a couple seconds before Gabe talked again.

“Anyway, I'm as worried as you are, bro, but I got your back to help ya go through it, nonetheless. I hope you got mine.”

“... Yeah.”

A few of the stable dwellers filtered into their area and amongst them, so were Golden Grain and Glenda; leisurely chatting together.

“Oh. There they are,” Gabe said as he glimpsed back at Lightning. “Well... that sure didn't took too long.”

Lightning waved to his mom, so she could notice them. “I know. And I thought my race with dad put a much longer distance between us and them.”

“Yo. I ain't talking about them. I'm talking about your magic. It's, like, completely gone already.”

“What?” Lightning took a look at himself. “Wow! You're right! How the heck?”

"I dunno, man. It's good, though. Now people won't freak out,” Gabe looked back at their mothers that were a few meters away.

“Nice of you to leave us hanging in your dust, boys,” Golden Grain said, teasing Lightning and Gabe.

"Well... it helped to spike my magic momentarily, actually. Although, now it's all faded, but I was all fiery with a bright silver aura and sparks! It was awesome! And, it also didn't hurt that I beat dad 'and' Gabe at the same time." Lightning gave off a proud smirk. "The reigning and undisputed speed champion of the family, now."

“What? Is that true, Gabe?” Golden Grain said, happily surprised.

“Oh! Totally, Mrs. Grain! It was so cool!”

“Congratulations, Lightning! I'm so proud of you!” Golden Grain said, hugging and kissing him. “I'm sorry I couldn't be there to witness it. I really wish I could have.”

Lightning blushed. “Thanks, mom. It's okay. Maybe I'll be able to do it again. I really wish to anyway. I felt so happy and... just... awesome! I definitely want it to happen again.”

Glenda approached Gabe, giving him a nudge with her right elbow after taking place beside him. “So... Beaten by a pegasus, eh?”

Gabe blushed a little. "Yeah, but he's my best friend. So, it's okay to lose to my little dork, right here. Plus, there's no way I could have beaten him this time; even at my best. But..." Gabe trailed off as he put Lightning in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

Lightning shouted. "Damn dude, don't mess up my mane!"

“I'm still the buffer one!” Gabe laughed.

“Oh, this I definitely do not doubt. From what I've always learned and seen, gryphons have always been known for their natural strength being twice the average pony's,” Golden Grain said, looking at Gabe and Glenda. “Only top condition stallions might rival, but even then, I've rarely seen such a sight. I feel we are ever so glad to have you as friends and allies for hard labor work. You really do a part we are truly grateful for, in our community.” She lightly bowed to both.

“That's very kind of you, Golden,” Glenda said. “I feel the same with your kin. Welcoming us and helping us in any ways you can so we can feel at home. I know it's been so for many many years, but what Goddess Twilight Sparkle accomplished in the past, with the School of Friendship; allowing all species to live together and share their culture and help... I'm definitely glad it all happened.” Glenda approached Golden, giving her a friendly hug.

Lightning and Gabe looked at them with hesitation.

“Aw, come on, boys. Come in for a group hug,” Golden Grain said.

The boys rather reluctantly joined in the hug with their respective parents; shooting looks of disgust at each other as their parents embraced and embarrassed them both.

A few residents passing through let out chuckles and giggles at their sight, before entering the main hall.

“Ok, mom. Have we hugged enough, now?” Lightning said, already sick of the awkward feeling after only about three seconds.

“Alright, sweetie. We were already kind of in a hurry for the meeting anyway. Let's get in,” Golden Grain said.

They let go of their embrace and joined the nervous crowd.

The main hall was a grand separated hexagonal room in-between the residential area, to the left, and the console and security room that lead to the wasteland, to the right. In less urgent times, it would serve as a place where concerts, festivals and the likes would be held. Big enough to comfortably fit all of the stable's 530 or so citizens, it bared a style reminiscent to the Canterlot's castle hall where the Hearth's Warming Eve plays would take place. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all iron and steel, but designed and painted to look like the old stones and woods from past Equestrian days. High marble-imitating columns stood around the six corners with an additional seventh supporting one, in the center of the room. Decorative banners and garlands were sparsely hung here and there, with many tables and other various events equipment stacked at the back. At the front, an elevated stage had been installed where the overseer, along with Thundery Showers and other members in charge of the evacuation, were steadily gathering.

Impatient muttering was already spreading across the crowd of stable dwellers; mostly directed towards the dangers of the wastes that awaited above them.

"Better get the guns ready. I bet raiders will be a problem as we head down to New Ponyville," an earth pony stallion said; standing off to the right.

"Don't forget all the land mines. Got to have a sharp eye out there," a gryphon female chirped out.

“I mean... the mines shouldn't be all that much of a trouble for the pegasus and gryphons to spot from the air,” Gabe whispered to Lightning, in response.

Glenda gently put her left claw on Gabe's shoulder. “I've got a good feeling the overseer is already aware of all of that.”

“Citizens of stable 124. Please listen closely,” the overseer said through the microphone; his voice echoing against the walls. “I'll be brief so we can all exit as soon as possible.”

The hall went completely silent.

“I want all of you to notice your fellow residents who are currently wearing power armor and defensive equipment. These will be your head guards and guides throughout the trip to New Ponyville. Pay close attention to them. They have been identified with different painted numbers on their helmet. Each of the number corresponds to a residential wing in the stable. Follow your wing's number to facilitate the travel's organization and regrouping in case of any incident where scattering might occur. The trip is estimated to take about two days if we keep a steady trotting pace, for those who can walk. Those with less mobility and strength will be riding in the stable's motorized labor carts. It is not comfortable, but it is what we only have. Pegasi and gryphons will provide scouting from above.”

Atlas Reverie, the overseer, pointed to his left where a horizontal line of designated guards stood.

“Please assemble in front of your residential wing's representative head guard. Form a line as decently as you can. The groups going out will be from 1 to 6. That is final! I will not tolerate any impatience or misbehavior. If you act out of line, you 'will' be dealt with by force. This is 'not', I repeat, 'this is not' a situation to be taken lightly, and you should all know that with absolute certainty.”

Lightning felt a shiver run through him.

“A small crew of technicians will be shutting down the stable after all have left and are waiting outside. We will depart afterward. That is all. Now, gather in front of your designated representative.”

Atlas stepped away from the microphone and picked up a megaphone as creatures began clumsily forming lines where they should.

“Dad's coming down,” Lighting said, waving at his father.

“Hey! Wait up!” Thundery closed in. “I'm part of the crew that's shutting down the stable after you guys are out. We'll be doing it from Level 1's indirect access to the power room, since the lower ones are hazardous, and hopefully that will work. Anyway, I'll see you all outside; aight?” he said, overlooking the small group and putting his left hoof on Lightning's shoulder.

“Ok. See you then, dad.”

Thundery kissed Golden on the cheek and hurried back to the other technicians, heading to the stable's closest power room access.

Gabe looked at the lines taking form. “We’re number 1, right, mom?”

Glenda turned to Gabe. "Yup."

“Aw, man... I won't get to get out with you, dude!” Gabe said, looking at Lightning.

Lightning grunted. “Yeah... it sucks. Your first time outside and you can't even be by my side.”

“You can't help it, boys,” Glenda said. “I guess we'll see you again when we take a break on the travel, which should be around lunch time; surely.”

Lightning and Gabe sighed.

Glenda put her left wing on Gabe's back and began walking toward the line for the Celestia Wing. “Make sure to stay close together while getting in your line! It's getting kinda chaotic with everybody moving around.”

“Ok! Thank you, Glenda!” Golden said, waving at her and Gabe.

Lightning saluted them as well. “See you later, bro!”

Gabe waved back. “You betcha'!”

“Aw...” Lightning groaned.

Golden chuckled. “Come on, sweetie. It's only until lunch time. Why don't you check how far New Ponyville is from our stable on your PipBuck?”

“Oh! Good idea!”

Lightning accessed the map menu of his personal computer and searched the nearby settlements as they headed toward the Vitalia wing's line.

The settlements that Lightning had accompanied Thundery to shown up on his map. "Woah. That's pretty dang far. All the other places me and dad went to aren't 'near' as far, but we never left Canterlot's territory, so I guess that's no surprise. I'm hoping we get to go to more. I like exploring." Lightning said, still looking down at his screen, as he bumped into someone.

“Lightning watch where you're going, silly,” Golden giggled.

“Gah!” His face had hit a soft, furry, and round surface.

He replaced his mane that had covered his face when he heard a somewhat familiar gasp.

“Sparkly Fluff!”

Lightning's eyes widened with shock. “Oh no...” He stepped back to see a chubby Yak girl, about his age, staring at him with a wide grin and sparkling eyes.

Without a warning she stood on her back hooves and embraced Lightning. Her heavy weight made his legs shake.

“Nehama...” he managed to whisper out of his compressed throat.

Nehama's thick fur was medium brown on her body and dark tan on her face with her puffy cheeks bearing a few freckles and her eyes sparkling with a bright bronze. She had a ruby-colored mane that was entirely dressed into braids that had colorful beads spread amongst them. Her tail shared the same color, but didn't bear any beads. It was instead smooth with pointy ends and had a single large braid from the root to the tip. Her sturdy thick hooves were pitch black, and so were her rather short horns.

She gasped again. “Yes! Yes, you remember me!” She tightened her hug around his neck, almost choking him.

He tapped on her side and she let go of him.

He gasped for air. "Yep... yep, I do. Very much," he said, a bit hesitantly.

Golden Grain approached them.

“Oh! Your momma is here!” Nehama said, before letting out another gasp. “That means we're in the same line!” She squeezed Lightning again, in delight. A quiet crack was heard from his back. “Let's get out together!”

“Ah... yes... of course,” Lightning wheezed.

“Oh! Hello, Nehama. Where are your father and little brother?” Golden Grain said.

“Oh! Efron had to go to little boys’ room, and so did poppa, before we go out,” she said, releasing Lightning.

“Are you going to be traveling with us? I sure would love to,” Golden Grain added.

“Yes! Yes! I would love to too! I'm sure poppa and Efron will be happy!” Nehama glanced at the hall's doors leading to the residences while bouncing. Her weight could be felt from the vibrations of the floor. “Oh! They're back! I go tell them!” She charged toward her family, almost running over Lightning.

Lightning mumbled to himself. "Yaks definitely have a lot of raw power, and you don't get to really know it until one has given you a hug... or sat on you. Dang..."

After a few second of catching his breath, he noticed Nehama coming back with her family.

“Poppa said yes! Poppa said yes, yes, yes!” Nehama said with glee, the floor vibrating again with each of her joyful bounce.

“Yes. Me, Doron, happily accept traveling with fellow neighbors. Very nice company. Me like. And ponies maybe need Yaks' strength to fend off enemies on surface. We gladly like to defend," Doron proudly declared.

“Yes! Me, Efron, also like neighbors. Neighbors nice. Nehama often tell me good things of you, but me also think nice things.”

“That's very sweet of you, Efron. Thank you.” Golden Grain said, smiling at him and Doron.

Nehama put her thick front legs around Lightning's neck, squishing him in for another hug. “This is gonna such great trip!” She giggled in glee.

They joined the nearly completed line of their wing along with their family members.

Nehama let go of Lightning and walked to his side. "So... you know how this gonna go, Sparkly?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well... how we gonna be grouped?”

“Oh, ah... my dad told me it was likely that once outside, the elders and youngest were gonna take place in the middle of each of the lines, with the 'fittest' to defend making the outer layer; for each of the wings, but we're likely gonna hear that once outside anyway.”

“Oh, ok. You nervous?”

Lightning paused. “Yeah... Yeah I am. I've been nervous for months, Nehama.”

“Me too... about everything that could be out there. Like all the meanies, and beasties, and the bad rad too. You think we can make it without too much trouble? I never got out, ever... but you did, with your dad, I think, yes?”

“Oh. That. Ah... well...”

As Lightning was considering the question, he could see many of the other stable dwellers either huddling together for comfort or getting pumped for the trip. Everybody was having a different anticipation of what they didn't know was gonna happen.

“I'm... not really sure, Nehama. The surface is... 'very' random about what it decides to throw at you. So... no matter how much you think you're prepared... you pretty much 'only' make decisions on the go if anything unexpected happens. And there's 'a lot' of unexpected that can happen, from what I experienced. Nothing like Deathclaws, luckily for me and my dad, but we did get a couple radroaches, some molerats and one time a roaming synth pony, that was just defective and kept repeating the same thing over and over without paying any attention to us.”

"Ouuuuhhh! You go to see a synthy pony?” Nehama said, having a sudden mood swing from worried to excited.

"Well, yes, but there's not much else to talk about when it comes to the encounter. Can't really remember what he was saying except for 'Zee-Zeeton' and the letter 'X' over and over, along with some other gibberish that were all distorted. Not sure what the hell that is supposed to mean." Lightning paused, trying to remember more. “You ever heard of something like that?”

“Zeeton-X? This sounds like some kind of superhero name or... I dunno; a toy? You think synthy ponies work in toys factories?”

Lightning frowned; uncertain. “Ah... I dunno, at all, really.”

“Or maybe it some kind of super yummy drink! Like Sparkle Cola!”

"I highly doubt a Synth pony would be going on about a drink, unless maybe he was working at a factory that made some, yah. We could always do some research once we get to New Ponyville, just for the heck of it... oh, and I hope that Cable is there waiting for us..."

Nehama's excitement turned back into concern. “Cable? Is that your unicorn friend I often see you hang out with? Did something happen to him?”

“Yes. Something did happen.” Lightning's eyes became blurry with tears. “I went to get him right before we got here, and his whole apartment was a mess, and he was gone, and his parents too. And while searching his room we— huh... we couldn't find any trace of what happened. He was just gone. And the security cameras didn't catch anything either. It's like him and his family had disappeared like magic.”

“I'm very sorry for you, Sparkly.” Nehama gave Lightning a comforting hug, making sure not to squeeze him too hard. “Maybe he going to be waiting at New Ponyville for you. I hope for you he will.”

“I really hope so too... Thanks, Nehama,” Lightning quietly said.

Nehama finished hugging him and nodded in response as they kept waiting in line.

The overseer spoke through his megaphone. “All lines seem to be readily assembled, so we will now begin the evacuation, starting with the Celestia wing! That's line number one! I want a steady pace so we can get this over with as soon as possible for everybody’s safety! Let's get started!”

The large double doors, leading from the meeting hall to the stable's entrance room, slid open. The pony in charge of leading the Celestia wing line, dressed in Stable-Tec security armor, motioned at his designated dwellers to slowly make their way through to enter the entrance's corridor.

As they did, the main stable door, leading outside, began to roll open. The loud sounds of the wrought iron door against the sturdy iron floor roared through the corridor and flooded into the hall where all the residents of the stable were standing.

Many gasps and shouts escaped from the crowd, creating a bit of a commotion.

The overseer quickly intervened. “Remain calm, dwellers! You must remain calm! We do not have time for last minute doubts! A squadron of the stable's guards and formed guides are waiting for you outside; remember! Panic will be dealt with force! Control yourselves!”

The crowd quieted down almost immediately then the Celestia wing tried its best to steadily walk into and through the stable's entrance corridor; a much smaller and narrow room, leading from the meeting hall to the outside wasteland.

Moments later, those at the front of the line carefully stepped down from the giant entrance door frame into a small cave portion that reeked of sensations most never felt before.

After going down a small set of stairs, they felt the cold and dry sand, dirt, and rocks under their hooves and claws for the first time in their lives. They heard the haunting whistle of the wind against the rocky tunnel's walls. They smelled the stench of rot from small cadavers and bones lying around. But the one thing that affected them the most was the wide and blinding light of the opening ahead of them.

All the while, the remainder of residents waited for their turn to walk out of the safety of their home and into an uncertain and anticipated violent world, because this is what the majority had been told and learned about the world above them; violence and danger was the main thing to expect.

Nehama hugged her little brother who was covering his ears. “Everything ok, Efron. Big sis will act as a big hairy shield to protect you if there's danger coming our way!” She then circled around Efron and made electrical noises as if she was covering him with a protective barrier.

“And I, Doron, will smash enemies’ heads to ground with smashing powers of smashing hooves! No raiders or any other bad beasts will hurt Nehama, nor Efron, nor nice neighbors!” Doron stomped the ground with his strong front legs and roared.

The floor around them shook and numerous heads from the lines turned to him.

Doron gave them all a serious stare, having pumped himself up for battle.

The curious heads turned back instantly.

“Mr. Abelardo. We're glad you're showing us such promising strength, but please do try and conserve it for outside when and if any dangers do come to us,” Golden Grain politely said.

Doron abruptly stopped stomping, sat down, and nodded in approval. “Hmm... Very well. Wise advice from you, Mrs. Grain. You know smashing more important when truly needed.”

Lightning lift off the ground to look at the progress of the Celestia wing's line. "Dad said it should take an hour at most for all the wings to get outside, and even that is kinda generous. It's only been about seven minutes for the first wing. If that pace is kept up it's gonna be the best.” He came back down. “I hope it's gonna stay like that and even 'after' we're out, while on the path to New Ponyville. Overseer Reverie is probably gonna tell everybody to shut up as much as possible on our way there, cuz it 'really' doesn't take much noise to alert anything out there, and it's constantly active with not only ghouls, raiders, mole rats and whatever. We never got to see some, but dragon mercenaries are also out there. That's probably amongst the biggest threats we might come across."

Golden Grain continued. “Thundery also mentioned the possibility that some radiation might still be floating from the last storm we had a while back, as if the already present one wasn't enough. He said it 'should' have all cleared off, but it never takes the same time to dissipate from storm to storm.”

Efron looked up to Nehama with some worry. “Can your shield protect me against radiation, big sis?”

Nehama's face turned blank. “Ah... I dunno.” She turned to Lightning. “Big sis don't know about rads very much. Sparkly knows more.”

“Uh? What?” Lightning turned to Nehama.

“Sparkly. Efron wanna know if my big hairy shield will protect him against mean rads. You know about them. Can you explain to us?”

"Well, R.A.D. is an acronym for the word radiation. As we've learned in our classes, Equestria was bombarded by balefire bombs, which caused this radiation to cover significant portions of the wastes. Basically, it's the leftovers of the fighting. And it is extremely dangerous. If in too high of a concentration, you could be turned into a feral ghoul or even die from radiation poisoning. Just above is what is left of Canterlot, which is smothered in the even 'worse' pink cloud radiation. This stuff is what is left of the pink cloud talisman and pretty much melts your fur and skin until you become a ghoul; which can happen over minutes. This is why you got to have radiation protection when you're out there."

Nehama nodded in understanding. “So rads make you go bald and very bad sick. Ok. I get. But you didn't answer most important question, Sparkly.”

“W-what?”

“Will my big hairy shield protect Efron against mean rads?”

Lightning took a few seconds to think about how to respond. “Ah... unless you have lead in your fur? Then no. Not really.”

“Oh... I thought fur was thick enough to. Hmm... ok.” She turned to Efron who seemed a bit disappointed. “It's fine, Efron. If it's windy up there, I know my fur can protect you against that for sure.”

“That's why we always have doses of RadSafe and Rad-away when we are out in the field, and why our suits have lead sheathing in them."

“Oh, so that's why suit is heavy. You learn good in class, Sparkly. I have trouble remembering all... But I remember you! And that I'm happy I do.”

“Ah! I... Thank you, Nehama. I remember you for sure as well. And I'm... glad you will be travelling with us... mostly.”

Nehama smiled and approached him for another Yak hug, but Lightning sprung off the ground to see how the evacuation was progressing. A light blush could be seen on his face from Golden Grain's eyes.

“O-oh! Looks like Celestia's wing is almost done. I think Gabe must be pretty ecstatic right now.”

Golden Grain float up next to him and attentively looked at him.

Lightning could feel her gaze and darted his eyes toward her and back to the evacuation in progress.

“She likes you.”

"Mom, she likes everyone. I don't know why she likes me so much," Lightning said, while her mom still stared at him with a tender smile.

Lightning's blush was still evident across his face.

Nehama tried to jump as high as she could to see what Lightning was looking at. “Aw... I wish I could fly like you, Sparkly. What's going on over there?” Her little brother copied her; giggling.

Lightning covered his right cheek and turned to Nehama on the ground. "Umm... Looks like Celestia Wing is about out. From how long it took, I say we could be next in about... 25 minutes?"

“Ok! Thank you for checking for us, Sparkly. Can you come back down? Me and Efron would like to ask you more questions about the wasteland.”

Lightning shook his head to try and make the blush disappear, before lighting down onto the floor next to Nehama and Efron. "Well, what else would you like to know?" He said, as he saw Golden Grain float down to Doron for a chat.

Nehama shown him her left foreleg. “Do you know how far New Ponyville is? I got PipButt, but I don't remember how to check.”

"Um... PipBuck, and it's not too hard." Lightning opened his PipBuck using his bracelet stylus and switched it to the map and objectives tab. "You have to switch it to the map tab. The map has measuring tools in it to help you figure out the distance. From what it's showing me, it looks like it's about... 130 miles off. Wow. It looked far when I checked earlier, but I didn't see the actual distance in miles. That's a long trip to do on hooves.”

Nehama and Efron jumped. “What?! Is so long?! How much time will it take?”

“Oh. Maybe you don't remember, but overseer Reverie said it earlier. It should take about two days at a trot's pace.” Lightning looked to Efron. “Don't worry for Efron though. He's gonna be riding in a motorized cart, and we're going to take breaks; like later, for lunch.”

Nehama let out a small sigh of relief. “Ok... Still very long trip to me though.” She got much closer to Lightning, gluing her right cheek to his left and showing him her PipBuck's screen. “Can you show me how to go to 'map tap' on my PipButt, Sparkly? I saw you do it, but you did it too fast for me.”

He could feel her puffy thick fur pressing against his much shorter one.

His face burst in red as he brought up his PipBuck next to hers to demonstrate. “Ah... ok, sure thing. First, there is this little slider right here. This is how you select the screen you want to be on. You'd push the lever down to 'Map' to access the map screen. Next, you hit the select button to activate it. From there, you could use the stylus bracelet to take a look around at the country or at the local area around you. Do you understand, now?"

“Ah... Maybe... I'm gonna try and maybe you can look to see if I do it right? Ok?”

"Y... yeah, go ahead." Lightning nodded, waiting for Nehama to get started.

“Ok... So... I take stylus and put it on lever, so it goes to 'Map' and it makes 'clicks'.” Nehama was as focused as she could be while glancing at Lightning to make sure she was doing the right thing. “Ok. So now it popped up. Then I just use the stylus to move on the screen... Oh... ok! But I can't move a lot. It's showing all Equestria. I saw you make it bigger, like, go into it to show Canterlot. Maybe if I...” She tried doing different motions with the stylus like drawing circles and tapping while she looked around the screen for anything she might have not noticed.

Lightning was paying attention to what she was doing, not saying a word, and just nodding nervously when she looked at him; for about two long minutes of awkward silence.

However, she was slowly figuring it out on her own, and Lightning felt drawn to her screen and a bit enthusiast about her progress.

“Yah. You're doing it. That's the magnifying glass icons you're tapping. And you can also tap your screen twi— yeah! Like that!”

“Ah-ha! I did it! I think I just didn't know how to get to it but tapping and moving the stylus makes it easy to understand. It's like when we write things and draw, but you don't draw on it, it shows stuff already.”

"Yeah, exactly. The stylus helps us to do our work because we really can't with our hooves. Anyway, good work, Nehama." Lightning smiled and gave her a friendly tap on her shoulder, before instantly backing away. “I mean, yes! Good work. Is there anything else you'd like to know?”

“Yeah. I have trouble remembering stuff if I don't practice, so I like if we can just go over all the... ah... tabs, and maybe I remember what I don't remember and you can explain while we wait for our turn to go out. Is that ok with you?”

His blushed subsided a bit. "Um... sure.”

Efron joined them. “I want to look too!” He bounced in place, trying to see the screen.

“We can sit down so you can see, Efron. Ok, Lightning?”

“Oh, yeah, sure thing.”

The Luna wing was about halfway done getting out as Lightning gave Nehama a brief recap of the primary functions and features included in the PipBuck.

It only took a few more minutes for him to feel more at ease with Nehama and his mind started to ramble as she closely followed his instructions.

“Ok. Sure, she's clingy and overly affectionate, but I never really thought she knew any better, so I wasn't completely against getting to know her. I was just... preferring spending time with my close friends, right? … Nah... that wasn't cool of me. Not at all. I kept avoiding her and trying to hide and escape her sight... and why was I even doing that for? I mean, she's alright. I had a bad first impression of her, most likely. I'm... Yeah... I'm actually glad she's here waiting with me and that I'm not stuck with just mom and my own thoughts about... No, I shouldn't think about Cable, right now. That's exactly what I don't think I should focus on... not until we get to New Ponyville anyway. I mean... Gabe kept telling me, and, yeah, he's right. I wish I could just convince my feelings he's right. Ugh... stupid mind...”

“Sparkly?”

“Huh? What?”

“You didn't finish explaining this one. The... Luck, of S.P.E.C.I.A.L.”

“Oh! Yeah! Sorry.”

For the next 15 minutes or so, Lightning kept on answering the many questions of Nehama and her little brother, both obviously having some issues with remembering notions; either long or short term.

“Say... Nehama. How did you manage to pass the final exams and receive your PipBuck if you have such hereditary issues with your memory?”

“Oh! I didn't succeed first try. I one year older than you. I had to do lots of reading again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and ag—"

Efron joined her sister. “Again, and again, and again, and again, and—"

Lightning looked at them with concern before breaking their play. “I see! Alright!”

Nehama and Efron burst out laughing while rolling on the ground.

Lightning rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I'm getting reminded a bit why I didn't hang out with her back then or before today... Well... yes and no. I didn't know any better myself that she just seems like a positive-minded Yak who just likes to have fun and doesn't care if she acts like a weirdo... Or... maybe she's not aware she's doing it? Wait... How do I respond to what they just did?”

Nehama and Efron stopped rolling and approached Lightning. “So, yeah, I read stuff over, and over again, until it no longer goes out of my head.”

Lightning raised his left eyebrow. “And... how much time can this take?”

“A lot,” Nehama said with a smile.

Lightning crumbled to the floor in shock. “A lot?! Really?! You don't say, Nehama! I mean, what kind of answer was I expecting from her anyway? Another fine example making me remember why it was awkward being with her. It's like... many answers you will naturally expect from someone... she just... answers something completely unexpected and, although true, it's just... so vague and...” He internally screamed.

Nehama hurried right next him. “Sparkly! What happened?!”

Lightning got to his feet. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired and stressed out from all of this. And I might just already be exhausted by lunch if she keeps up with...” He sighed

“I know, Sparkly. We also nervous and you got even more things that get you worried right now, in your head.”

Lightning gave a light smile. “Thank you for your concern, Nehama. I'm being mean... I am. What if she's sometimes aware she's... well... special. And it's not just her, Yaks are... well... who they are, and they usually are very nice people, it's just... they can feel so... basic and primitive, sometimes... and since most of us other species are past this point, it just takes us off guard... I'm gonna have to learn to accept her for whatever she is. She seems very caring, and I appreciate that.”

“Vitalia wing! Vitalia wing! It's your turn! Get ready to start walking!” Atlas Reverie said through his megaphone.

Lightning's ears sprung up. “Oh?! Already?”

“Yay! It's our turn! It's our turn!” Nehama said, bouncing in place with Efron.

Doron walked next to them. “Make sure to stay close to me, Nehama. You too Efron.”

“Not much of an excitement for you, is it?” Golden Grain said, getting close to Lightning.

Lightning groaned a bit. "Not really. I've been out there before. I'm just more worried about Gabe, some classmates, and teachers that are already out. They've never been outside the stable. We also can't hear what's going on from the outside, here, so I dunno what's going on."

Golden hugged him tenderly. “If anything was going on at the entrance, I think we'd already know, sweetie. And yes, you know what it's like, and they'll have to get used to it like you did... Each at their own time.”

“Ok... Yeah... They will...” Lightning let out another sigh. “I hate being this worried...”

He felt a weight getting on his right shoulder and back, and another leaning against his left front leg. It was Nehama and Efron.

“We do too, so me and Efron are gonna all stay close to you and play word games and sing songs for as long as we can to have the bad worries take a break for a while.”

“Yeah... We could do that, as long as we—"

Doron stomped the ground. “Line is moving! Let's start walking!”

“Oh! Right!” Lightning said, following the pace of the Vitalia wing.

Nehama nudged Lightning's right cheek. “As long as we what, Sparkly?”

“Huh? What? Oh! As long as we keep it quiet, or, kinda quiet.”

“How much quiet?”

“Ah... I dunno.”

Nehama murmured into Lightning's right ear “Quiet like this?”

Lightning giggled and scratched his ear “That tickled! And no. Just like how we're speaking right now should be fine.”

“Oh, ok.”

Nehama said something to Efron that Lightning couldn't understand, because of the whistling wind reverberating against the walls of the entrance's corridor.

Lightning spoke a bit louder. “What's that you said, Nehama?”

“I was asking Efron what song he would like to sing.”

“I don't know many Yak songs, Nehama. I don't think I can sing along.”

“It's ok. It's song you answer lyrics! We sing a line, you sing it, and then we do again!”

“Huh... ok! But maybe we should only start it once we're outside, because I can't hear you very well right now.”

“What?”

Lightning pointed toward the exit and tried to imitate them singing.

Nehama and Efron looked confused.

Lightning stared at them for a bit then put his right hoof in front of his mouth to tell them to keep quiet for a bit.

Nehama and Efron did the same.

Lightning shook his head and raised his left eyebrow.

Nehama and Efron copied him; giggling.

Lightning rolled his eyes two times. “Here it goes again... I'm gonna have to get used to that. I won't have a choice... I mean, given some time it shouldn't be too hard... At least it's distracting.”

“You're making funny faces, Sparkly!” Efron said with a cheer.

As they turned to the right, the blinding light of the wasteland hit them, and they all covered their faces.

Lightning grunted. “Ugh... Still can't get used to that!”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! We're almost out! Woohoo!” Nehama said, dancing as they made their way down the stairs and into the rocky and dusty tunnel.

They started hearing the dull roar of the dwellers' voices from outside.

Efron was covering his ears and shaking, while glued to Nehama.

“It's ok, Efron! We almost out! Just a few more steps!” Nehama said, holding him.

Lightning let out a sigh of relief. “Phew... Finally. It's so much slower than when me and Dad— Wait... Is there another alarm going on or is it the same as the evacuation one?”

Golden Grain looked to him. “Hmm? I don't know, sweetie. Maybe it's the one for the door?”

“I don't usually hear this one when going out with Dad. What's—"

Behind them, some creatures were starting to bump into others, trying to make their way out faster. One almost made Lightning trip.

“Hey! Watch out, dude!” Lightning said, frowning, but instantly changing his expression to a confused one as he saw panic on the gryphon's face that just pass him.

Doron picked up Nehama and Efron to avoid them getting hit by more and more dwellers hurrying to get out.

Lightning lift off the ground and flew back into the corridor toward the hall, Golden Grain followed him.

They could hear the faint but distinct voice of overseer Reverie.

“Remaining wings! Evacuate at once! Hurry outside now! You! Tell the Vitalia wing to run out so nobody gets stuck! Do it now!”

Lightning's eyes widened and his body shivered. “What?!” He zipped above the panicked dwellers trying to get out and back into the hall.

As he entered it, he noticed fumes coming down from the ceiling.

“What?! Why?! How?!”

“You! Lightning! Get out immediately!” Atlas Reverie said through his megaphone.

“Where's dad?!”

“He'll get out as soon as he can with the other techs! Go, now!”

“Roach shit! I'm going for him!”

Lightning hurried to the stairs leading to Level 1 but was instantly held back.

“Get off m—" He looked behind him. “Mom!?”

Golden Grain tried dragging him back into the corridor. “You're coming with me, now! Your father knows what to do.”

Lightning struggled, trying to get away from his mom. "I don't care! I'm going!”

An electrical discharge pushed Golden Grain away from him.

Upon entering the living quarters, he clearly heard another alarm on top of the evacuation one.

“Aw, come on! Of course this would happen! I didn't have enough of Cable disappearing, and now this shit! Give me a fucking break!”

Outside of the stable, the remaining dwellers poured out from the tunnel, many trampling one another. Those who were strong enough and could fly, carried others to safety.

One of the head guards shot a few rounds in the sky to quiet people down.

“To those who keep coming out the stable! Take another dose of RadAways immediately! This is an order from overseer Reverie!”

“What?! Why?! What's going on!?” A terrified Zebra mother said.

“Due to unexpected and unknown circumstances, Stale 124's radiation has suddenly reached deadly levels on all floors! Take an extra dose of RadAways immediately! If you do not have more, ask someone who does or hurry to your wing's head guard to acquire one! Do it now! I repeat! This is an indisputable order from overseer Reverie! Do it now or you will be detained and treated against your will!”