> Fallout Equestria: Lightning Strikes Twice
>  by Penguinbrony24
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun rose on a rather cool day in Canterlot; on October 23rd, 1478 AC.

Pat Thundersnow and his wife Pinkie Pie were just about to begin their morning routine.

Pat was a rather fit steel blue pegasus with black hooves. He wore a bright blue scarf around his neck that complimented his saddle brown medium-length fringe mane and rather short dynamic tail. His forest green eyes made a noticeable contrast with his fur. His cutie mark shown an icy colored lightning bolt coming down a dark grey cloud that shed three distinct snowflakes.

The smell of frying eggs and pancakes permeated their apartment, overlooking the waterfall just southwest of the capital city of Equestria.

Pinkie, still strung out from her last binge of Party Time Mint-als, stumbled into the kitchen.

“Morning, my sweet pegasus. Heard anything from Cotton?” Pinkie said, giving her blue pegasus husband a kiss. She was referring to their daughter—Cotton Candy Cirrus—who had recently enlisted in the equestrian resistance against the zebra nation.

“She did send a note saying that she’s in Ponyville on a security team. She said that she’ll be home in a week or two,” Pat replied, handing Pinkie a glass of fresh orange juice. “Drink something. We need to get you in peak thinking condition.”

“Oh, crap… I forgot we had to meet with Twilight and the others today, on the rumors of the Zebras surrendering,” Pinkie said, chugging her orange juice. “Definitely not gonna let them down. All the ministries gotta do their part. Just a little bit more and maybe peace could come back...”

Pat gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Go get dressed for the assembly; breakfast will be ready when you're done,” he said, as he flipped pancakes.

“Just a sec. Gonna see if anything new has been published.” Pinkie stepped outside, grabbing the newspaper on their porch. “So much tension and fighting for so long...”—she sighed— “I really hope it can come to an end...”

She was about to close the door behind her when loud booming sounds suddenly burst from outside.

“What the hell?!” Pat said, dropping the frying pan to the floor; as the booms and crashes got closer.

Unbeknownst to the two lovers, the two warring clans had begun bombarding each other with megaspells; what amounted to the be all, ending the war.

“What?! Are you serious?!” Pinkie hurried into the kitchen and followed Pat into their bedroom.

They quickly grabbed the bags that they had packed in advance in the possibility of megaspells being used. Those contained their stable suits and all they would need for their lives underground. 

“Pinkie! We need to get to our stable, now!”

They latched on their PipBucks and snatched their belongings.

As they stepped outside, they could witness the megaspells falling all over the city of Canterlot; the radiations from them beginning to pollute the air with their poisonous gasses.

Pat's eyes widened. “We’ve got to hurry!”

He and Pinkie struggled to run as fast as they could toward their destination—Stable 124—that was three miles away from their apartment, in Canterlot's park. There, they would be sheltered from the bombardments of radiations until it would subside.

As they were already on their way, Pat glanced at his PipBuck and noticed his radiation counts quickly reaching illness levels as they approached the castle's plaza. “Dang it! We've got to hurry and get to the other side!” He coughed heavily from the fumes as he tried to get Pinkie to run faster.

Meanwhile, pink clouds were being released into the Canterlot castle and into other prominent buildings. 

About two miles still separated Pat and Pinkie from reaching their radiation-free haven, but their energy was already fading beyond their will.

“No... We... got to...” Pat weakly said, looking at his radiation count as it blinked 750.

He collapsed to his knees and noticed Pinkie crawling behind him.

With his barely remaining strength and blurring eyes, he dragged himself closer and hold her as tight as he could.

Bombs continued to fall throughout Canterlot, Cloudsdale and Ponyville for a few remaining moments, before slowing to a cease. The air of the radiated Capital city was painted in sickly green and pink fumes.

From the now immobile bodies of Pat and Pinkie, a steady alarm could be heard with a flashing red light coming from their Pipbucks. Their radiation counts had reached 1,000.
> Chapter 1 - Lapse Rate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1 – Lapse Rate


202 years later, in stable 124—located in the northern part of Canterlot's park—a pegasus colt named Lightning Cloud had just been born. The great great great grandchild of Pinkie Pie and Pat Thundersnow.

Lightning was a bright silver pegasus with a few crimson red patches spread over his fur. His long, unkempt mane was a bright red, streaked with silver. His eyes were azure, and his cheeks detailed with sparse freckles.

“Oh, Thundery, he… he’s so beautiful…” his exhausted mother, Golden Grain, said to her husband; a few minutes following the birth. She worked as a chef and helped to grow various crops for the stable.

Her pegasus coat was bright yellow. Her pixie cut mane—horned with a pink daisy—and fluffy mid-length tail shared the same color, but with broad plum streaks in addition. Her hooves stood out with their deep purple and her eyes shone like her newborn son's. Around her neck rested a gold heart-shaped pendant.

“Got a good feeling he’s going to be a great stallion when he’s older,” Thundery Showers, his father, chuckled; just as one of the nurse ponies delicately handed Lightning to him.

Thundery worked as a maintenance pegasus in stable 124. His tasks consisted of keeping the stable safe from the Balefire radiations that were still present on the surface and could leach their way into the underground habitat.

His admiral blue fur and lemon yellow hooves matched well with his metallic blue stable suit, that all dwellers above the age of 5 had to wear. His regular cut mane and semi-long wavy tail matched his wife's bright yellow, but with light magenta streaks instead of plums. His eyes were a light blue.

Thundery admired his newborn child. “Pretty sure your great great great granddad would have loved you… little guy. He loved to try and make ponies smile the best he could; just like his wife.”

Lightning Cloud came into the world in the middle of fall; if they were out in the Equestrian wasteland.

“Here you go, dear.” Thundery handed Lightning to his wife, allowing her to hold her colt for the first time.

“You can be whatever you want to be, sweetie,”—Golden Grain whispered to Lightning— “With there being so many things you could do in here, I got a feeling you’ll be able to figure out what you can and will do with your life. Don't you worry.”

She gave her boy a kiss to which he replied to with a coo.

Within a few days, all of the Vitalia wing knew of Mr. Showers and Mrs. Grain's newborn son, and so did the Luna wing, because it was on the very same day as Lightning that Mrs. Hugger, with her husband Mr. Cooper by her side, gave birth to her son; an unicorn.

Cable Cooper was his name. He had saddle brown colored fur with dark brown hooves and cyan blue eyes. His mane and tail popped of thick ruby red and dark blue streaks and would become very flowing and longer as he would grow older.

Such an event had rarely ever happened within the stable's history, and the two family became a popular subject of discussions for a while.

They had encountered eachother here and there through their daily lives, but this surprising turn of events brought them closer together and represented a great opportunity for their new child to meet and maybe become friends.

To their delight, it didn't take long for Cable Cooper and Lightning Cloud to get very much along; making the two of them best friends in no time. 

Throughout their baby and toddler years, the two of them became virtually inseparable.

Upon entering school, both constantly insisted on working together for projects and works. They would sometimes be refrained from doing so, because they would rather have fun than concentrate—most of the times—but that allowed them to meet with the other students from the stable.

Not only ponies resided in the underground shelter. Gryphons, hippogriffs, yaks, and even zebras took part in Stable 124's community.

Of course, it was no surprise that perfect harmony didn't exactly reside in it as well; especially in school years. 

One example included a young gryphon student named Gabe.

Gabe was a rather bulky young gryphon with a light grey coated head—and a spiky fringe on top—defined with a few thin darker gray streaks. His eyes were jade colored and semi-narrow with his thick beak and claws being yellow. His body, large wings and thin tail were golden brown, but the bottom of his front and back legs—as well as his lower back, bushy tail end and the tip of his wings—were a much darker shade of the same color. To compliment his appearance to his liking, he wore a bright red tissue scarf and bandana.

He was a rather well-known bully for the second graders. This meant Lightning and Cable counted amongst his prey; both being in second grade as well.

This morning, between two classes, Cable was minding his own business; reading on the floor, against the wall, when Gabe approached him.

“Hey freak, why’d your parents name you Cable? Is that all you’re good at; cabling?”

Cable remained silent; completely ignoring Gabe. 

Gabe bellowed in response. “Give me your comic,” he said, pointing at the Power Ponies comic that Cable was reading.

“Heck no,” Cable said, putting his face back into the comic, after barely glancing at Gabe.

Gabe knocked him to the ground and kicked him in the ribs; resulting in loud wheezes from Cable.

“That’s what you get for not giving me what I want, freak!” Gabe took the comic that had dropped to the ground, then turned around and noticed Lightning Cloud hovering in front of him. “Oh look, it’s the freak's only friend.”

“Give him back his comic, Gabe,” Lightning ordered.

Gabe chuckled. “Yeah, right. Get lost, dweeb.” He easily pushed Lightning to the ground.

“You jerk!” Lightning promptly bounced back from the floor and spin kicked him in the face—hurting his eyes—before punching him on the beak; causing instant bleeding.  

“Listen good, bird brain! You bully my friend again and that beak of yours is gonna be coming out the back of your head, next time. Ok?!” Lightning said, his eyes flaming with rage.

Gabe covered his face with his claws and staggered away from Lightning. “Freaking hell, dude!”

“Give my friend his comic back and apologize for attacking him!” Lightning bellowed.

“Okay, jeez!” Gabe tossed the comic back to Cable. “Sorry for stealing your shitty comic, Cable guy...” He began walking away; blood dripping from between his claws still holding his beak. “Damn, freaking hell!”

Cable rolled his eyes while catching his breath back. “Oh... really? Such...  such a shitty comic that you... that you asked for it... at the Power Gems shop... last week... Gabe?”

Gabe stopped. “... Heck are you talking about... I ain't got any interest in that piece of crap.” He twitched from the pain. “Ow!”

Cable smirked, still panting. “I saw you over there... last week. You didn’t have... have the caps for this new Power Ponies comic that I got.” He stood up, staring at Gabe. “You're so poor that you... you result to harassment to get what you want, Gabe? And... and you can't even fight back? That's pathetic for a bully, Gabe. A radroach... has got more guts than you.”

“Okay, fine! Jeez! You got your payback! How about you shut it?!” Gabe said, before turning to Cable. “Yah! Ain't got no caps to buy no crap since I got kicked from my gang! So, I decided to give robbery a shot. What's it to you?! Ow!” He twitched; now covering his left eye. “Turned out to be a pretty shitty idea for the first shot... I can at least realize that much!” He grunted.

Lightning chuckled. “So, you got kicked out, eh? Didn't have it in you to be a mean brutal jackass like you thought you could?”

“And you got to see that first-hoofed, spark head... Freakin' sh—” Gabe heavily sighed. “Anyway, I'm off, dweebs.” He walked away again.

Lightning stepped toward him. “Man, Gabe, you look like nothing without your gryphon gang. You're like a worm. There's no way you going to survive the wasteland if you ain't got any back bone. Look how easily I handed you your ass!”

“I said 'I'm off'! That means I'm done! How much do you want to rub it in, hot fuzz?” Gabe said, more than annoyed at this point.

“Maybe enough to take pity into you, after knowing you're basically no threat at all by yourself,” Lightning called out, “I hate bullies' guts, but you ain't got any, so might as well at least try and build some that you could put to beneficial uses instead of failing at being a jerk.”

Gabe stood silent for a few seconds. “... Are you serious? When are you gonna be done shoving it in my face, still? Dude, I just got owned by you, now I feel like crap, and that was already enough to seriously make me reconsider...”—He let out a very long sigh—“...what I just tried, for how freakin' stupid that was...”

Lightning smirked. “You interested?”

Gabe again kept quiet for a brief moment. “I dunno. Starting to maybe consider it... And it's a big 'maybe'... A bit too pissed off to think straight, right now,” he said; the blood from his nostrils now falling to the ground.

“Tell you what... You let me try and give you some basics and in return... me and Cable will get you that comic.” Lightning looked over to Cable.

“Huh...” Cable hesitated, carefully looking at Lightning and then at Gabe, still virtually in pain. “Yeah... Not exactly sure about this, Lightning, but... given the fresh new circumstances... I... guess it could be worth a try. I ain't exactly seeing Gabe as much of a threat anymore myself either... Much less intimidating now that I know you can beat him like nothing. I still felt that kick, though. Fudge...” He covered his ribs with his left hoof.

“I don't think that's going to happen again, Cable.” Lightning looked back at Gabe. “Offer is still pending. Your choice.”

After a few seconds of hesitation, Gabe gently removed his left claws covering his injured eye, clenched them, and put them toward Lightning. “Yeah, sure... Whatevs...”

Lightning approached him and responded by raising his right hoof and bumping them into Gabe's fisted claws. “How about I come to your place tomorrow afternoon and we start then?”

Gabe looked away saying nothing.

“Come on, Gabe. What else you got to lose? You already lost your pride as a bully; there ain't much left.” Lightning smirked.

Gabe grumbled, putting his left claw to the ground. “Ain't a reason for you to start acting like one, idiot. If I agree, will you cut it and at least let me deal with my own screw ups before we start anything? How about Sunday, instead? Give me a day to cool off or something... I ain't cool with you or Cable guy... definitely not yet, at least...”

“Ok, yes. Sorry. Was pretty tempting to tease you,” Lightning chuckled.

“Okay... yeah... I guess...” Gabe mumbled, before turning around and walking away; dropping blood following his steps.

“I didn't know I would be able to feel bad for that guy,” Cable whispered, walking next to Lightning. “I mean, other times we encoutered him was with his gang, and he was a real jerk, but on his own... I thought he was actually sent by them to mess with us.” 

“That's kinda what I thought as well, but... yeah... didn't really think I could feel bad for him either,” Lightning said. “Kinda glad it turned out like it did, though. Dealing with the numbskulls in here is so discouraging and tedious...” He paused looking at Cable then back to Gabe having turned a corner. “Think he could make a decent pal for us?”

Cable jumped a little. “What?”

“I'm serious, man” Lightning faced Cable.

“Ah... I dunno. Not yet, anyway. 'Definitely' not yet... But... seems like he could be tamed without too much trouble; I think.”

“Yah... might be,” Lightning nodded. “Break's almost over. Let's get back in class.”


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Later, at night time, a dim light shone from Lightning's room and the sound of scribbling quietly reverberated on the walls.



Diary Entry 1 - September 22nd, 1689 AC

“My parents told me about my ancestors, today. They were apparently high-ranking officials in Equestria. Pinkie Pie even being the director of the Ministry of Morale, of all things! That's so cool... but... from the way mom and dad talked, they didn’t make it into the Stable before the bombs fell... Luckily, their daughter got in here later on, after the chaos, and continued their noble bloodline. Here’s to hoping that they were not killed directly in the blasts that occurred that day.

Oh, also, got to beat Gabe's face today; that bully who had been an ass, with his gryphon gang, to Cable, I, and some other students. Felt rather good, but I got to learn that he got ditched from his gang and was pretty much a loner, now; a weak one at that. Kinda felt bad for the dude, so I decided to try and see if I can make him into a good guy that could help people instead of wrecking them... not that he was being good at that anyway. Sure, he's got buff, but I think he's holding back. So maybe he ain't all that bad?

So, on Sunday, I'm going to go see him with Cable and we're going to try to do the best we can to turn him from a jerk to a... ah... clerk...? Eh... show him his good perks? … Into someone who doesn't hurt... others?

… Diary... that was a bad attempt at trying to make a rhyme...

Anyway, I'm pumped. If I can at least turn one bad dude into a helpful one, I'd be heck-a happy.”


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Sunday morning arrived. 

Lightning bounced out of bed and gulped down a quick breakfast before hurrying to Cable's apartment; in the Luna wing.

Cable came out his front door; yawning. “Had enough sleep?”

“Yah, but I think 'you' didn't,” Lightning said, nudging his right hoof at Cable's left shoulder.

“I reviewed some stuff for today a good part of the night. Only got myself to blame.”

“Oh, well thanks, bud,” Lightning said, as they headed toward the Celestia wing where Gabe lived.

“It should be just passed the elevators...” Lightning pointed at the end of the hall. “Number 4, number 5... and... number 6. That's the one.” 

Lightning rang the apartment’s bell. 

After a few seconds, the door opened to a tall lady gryphon.

“Well, hi, little sirs. Nice to meet you both.”

Lightning politely smiled. “Nice to meet you as well, ah... Mrs. Gabe's... mom?”

“Gooding. Glenda Gooding is Mrs. Gabe mom's name,” Glenda said with a laugh. “Just a sec.” She turned her head to her right side—“Gabe! Your friends are here! Come on over!”—then back to Lightning and Cable. “He'll be over in a bit, boys. Would you like to come in?”

“Sure thing. Thank you.” Lightning nodded then wiped off his hooves on the door mat; Cable following.

It shown who Gabe had inherited most of his features from, because Glenda also had a few thin dark streaks around her neck and head, but her fur was bright white, fluffier, and combed hi-top with a purple bandana. Her eyes were deep blue and quite narrow. She had a more delicate beak, but the rest of her body pretty much matched her son's; the only detail being the tip of her bushy tail being a light tan.

“And what are you two Gabe's friends' names?”

Lightning playfully smirked back. “I'm Lightning Cloud and he's Cable Cooper.”

“And we're not 'friends', mom,” Gabe insisted, walking in from his room.

Glenda turned to Gabe. “Oh really, Gabe? Two little polite boys like that aren't your friends? Well, ain't that a shock.” She chuckled.

“Cut it, mom. I said we're no— but, ah...”

“But what, Gabe?”

“Ah... I don't really have anything much against them... Never really did, actually...”

“So you told me, yes. I'm glad 'that's over with... And Lightning here is the one that 'helped' you realize it, you said?”

Lightning stepped back. “W-what? You told your mom?!” 

Glenda laughed and looked at Lightning. “Don't worry, little man. I know all too well about Gabe's past experiences. This isn't the first injuries he's gotten for himself by bullying others, and he's quite tough, but I do think this fight could have avoided a bleeding beak and a black eye.” She looked back at Gabe.

Gabe remained silent for a brief moment; so did Lightning and Cable.

Glenda lightly smiled. “But anyway, you acted for what you thought was right and this taught Gabe something that made him change his mind for good, I think...”

“We ain't there, yet...”—Gabe said, looking at Lightning and Cable—“and for now it's mainly business I got with them, so they're more like associates or something; not friends.”

“Ow. That's cold, 'Guuuube'. And here I thought we were a perfect fit like Sparkle Cola and hay burger. Truly; I'm hurt,” Lightning replied, pretending having been stabbed in the chest.

Gabe gave him an annoyed stare while Glenda and Cable tried to hide their giggles.

“Yes, 'Gube'. Try and be nicer to your two 'fwwwwiends', why don't you?” Glenda played along.

Gabe stomped toward the front door.

“Well, it was nice meeting you Mrs. Gooding. We're off to our 'business' with our grumpy boss, Mr. Gube.” Lightning saluted Glenda—Cable playing along—before following Gabe outside. 

“Don't tease him too much, guys; especially not with your hooves! I'd like to have back in one piece, please!” Glenda said from the apartement's door before closing it.

“Your mom's a nice lady, Gabe. I'm glad I got to meet her,” Lightning said.

Gabe jabbed Lightning's right shoulder. “I didn't need that, asshat!”

Lightning stumbled a bit from the hit. “Ow! Damn... You still got the brute force even if you're a lousy bully and after what I did to you, dude... You didn't hold back on 'that' one.”

Gabe's eyes widened a bit, before darting away. His voice and head lowered. “I... I got that from my dad. He was pretty bulk.”

Lightning's smirk faded. “Oh... ok.”

“It's... cool. He was killed by raiders about seven years ago. I was too young to understand how heavy that was to our family anyway, so yeah...” He looked back at Lightning and Cable. “Nowadays, I'm kind of proud I got to inherit his strength. Didn't exactly get his guts, though... Could have stayed in the gang if I had.”

The three of them walked silently for a couple seconds, before Gabe spoke again.

“Anyway... What do you dweebs got planned for me?”

Lightning shook his head. “Oh! Ah... Cable. You got your things?”

Cable brought out a notebook and handed it to Lightning.

Lightning skimmed through the first page and murmured to himself. “Ok... Ok. That's for later... Ah...” —His face lit up—“Ok! Let's start with that.” He looked back at Gabe. “What do you know about 'SPECIAL', Gabe?”

“The what?”

“Your stats. What are they?”

Gabe stared at Lightning, clueless.

“Were you really 'that' bored during classes? Do you at least know what a PipBuck is?”

“Well, duh! Can't wait to have mine!” Gabe's face suddenly lightened up a bit.

“At least you know that muc—"

“I don’t know how it works, though. But I know it looks rad and that there's all kinds of cool shit you can do with it! Like, ah... hum...”

Cable pushed Lightning aside with enthusiasm. "Basically, it's a personal computer that gets installed on either of your front legs. You can keep track of your health stats, rad levels, inventory of your owned items, quests and such, maps of the areas that you've been or haven't be yet. You can also listen to holotapes, play holotape games, keep track of vats, level yourself up... Heck, even listen to music on radio stations."

Gabe stood silent, his eyes wide opened and staring at Cable.

Cable's glee faded. “I mean... among other specs that maybe you'd be more int—“

“Holotape games! Hell yeah!” Gabe roared, making a few residents' heads turn.

“Y-yeah! And you're in for a treat, cuz... the issue of Power Ponies that just came out has one bundled in with the comic!”

Gabe's mouth gaped and before Lightning and Cable could say anything else, he grabbed them tight under his front legs and claws, ready to set off. “We're going, now!”

“No no no no!” Lightning struggled to free himself from Gabe's grip. “The comic comes 'after' you learned some decency at being a useful part of the stable, Gabe! That's the deal we made! Let me go!”

“What?! No! I'm getting that comic and game, now!”

“You got any bits?” Cable shouted.

Gabe's hype vanished. “... Damn it...” He dropped Lightning and Cable.

“Alright. Cable and I already planned a spot to start your training. Not physical training, cuz that you really don't need,” Lightning chuckled.

Cable grabbed back his notebook from Lightning and stepped in front of Gabe. “We're going to train you on PipBuck essentials for a start, then stuff you can do around the stable to help out and get some experience points. And explain you 'SPECIAL', since you don't seem to remember it.”

Gabe chuckled. “What? E-X-P? Come on, Cable guy. We ain't in a game. We don't get experience points in real life. That's bull...”

“You'd be surprised, Gabe.” Cable handed Gabe a flyer. “It's the latest PipBuck model that came out. The 3000 Spark X. There's been a major lot of improvements made over the years since the first generation. Some stuff even 'I' am finding hard to believe, but... it's been done. I think some of it is kind of creepy, but it's also very convenient.”

Gabe looked through the pages. “Holy Celestia's ass! That shit is awesome!” His eyes lightened up even more. “Wait... it tracks your thoughts and feelings?! What?!”

“Yeah... that's... the creepy part. At least 'I' think it's creepy.” Cable's face twisted a bit.

“What you mean, 'creepy', dude? That's freakin’ rad! How the heck does it do that?”

“Well, apparently some 'very' advanced telepathic magic, or so I got to learn. There isn’t a whole lot of info on exactly 'how' it's done, cuz, well, I guess it could be turned into a terrible thing if it fell in wrongs hooves... even then, I think it's already rather dangerous.” Cable flipped through several pages of his notebook. “From more I learned, the developpers say it has a filter so only thoughts and feelings related to the wearer and/or the individuals asking for missions, tasks and quests are allowed to be detected.”

“What?” Gabe said, looking a bit confused.

“Ah... ok... Going to need an example...” Cable looked away for a few seconds, trying to think of a way to simplify the explanation for Gabe to understand. ”So... Let's say you accept to take on a task to help at the Power Gems comic shop for sorting the new comics arrivals and putting them on the shelves, or something. The one who's giving you the mission or task has to vocally say so to the PipBuck for it to know the mission is valid and save it in its database. Then access your PipBuck's missions section and initiate the Mission Scan. Well, from then, the PipBuck will only allow thoughts and feelings regarding 'that' task to be registered, as long as the task isn't over, for both the wearer and the person they are helping. So... if the clerk at the store is thinking about what's he going to eat for dinner, well, the PipBuck won't save it, cuz it's irrelevant to the task. That's what the filter does. So, when your mission's over, the PipBuck can scan the clerk's thoughts or level of satisfaction, and what not, and you get some experience points in equivalence. Then, you must turn off the Mission Scan, and the data is saved in your PipBuck from having completed this task.”

“Woah...” Gabe looked back at the flyer. “That's so cool... It's like a freakin medium mind-reader device thing.”

“In part, yes.” Cable's eyes darted a bit. “Thing is... it doesn't say you 'can't activate it whenever you please. Like... the PipBuck won't make the difference between a real mission and something for fun. We could just as well make up a mission of, I dunno, me helping Lightning with his studies, and then I would get experience from helping him.” Cable sighs. “I just really think it's too much liberty, and could be more strict.” He shook his head. “Anyway, you can keep that flyer. Make sure you read it carefully. That's part of your basics about the PipBuck we wanted to teach you.”

Lightning stepped next to Cable. “There's a lot more to it than that flyer, but we'll get to it gradually; along your training.”

Gabe nodded. “Okay, okay.  So... where's that spot you planned for me?”

“Oh, you already know about it. It's that lounge that's next to the study, down in level 4. The one you used to hang out with your gang at. Or... one of the spots,” Lightning said, stepping in front.

“Oh! … Oh... ah... no.” Gabe took a step backward. “Couldn't you find something else?”

Lightning looked back at Gabe with a smirk. “Dude. It's Sunday. We know about your old gang. At least a bit. Even if that's a spot you used to hang out at, Sunday's target practice for kids; taught by their parents. We warned our parents and alsocalled your mom in advance to warn her about today, so you wouldn't go. My mom's got her number.”

Gabe smacked his forehead. “Freakin... shit... I forgot again.”

Lightning giggled a bit. “Yo, dude. It's all good. She told us you forget about the shooting practice often and that she's the one who's got to keep reminding you.”

Gabe sighed. “Ugh... She freakin does... All the time...”

Cable gestured Gabe to follow them. “Come on, we've got to go to the library first to get some books to figure out your stats.”

“For my stats? Like in a role-playing game or something?”

Cable nodded. “Essentially, yes. I also brought charts regarding how we can define them from the results of what you'll be doing. As for strength, we'll have to go to the gym. I think you'll get a fairly good score on that one.”

Gabe chuckled. “Wouldn't surprise me either.”

After a short walk they stepped into one of level 2's elevator and selected their desired level to get off to. The solid contraption, lit with a few white neon tubes on the ceiling, barely made any noise as they went down.

A brightly lit hallway welcomed them as they walked out and turned right toward the center of the level, where soft, plush benches were placed in a circular manner. More benches leaned along the hallways' walls. Vend-o-Matics occupied the other majority of level 4's corridors, being about every 20 feet, for the hungry students or dwellers that would need some snacks. A list of signs indicated the different sections, including the extensive library, covering the history of Equestria from inception to its destruction and beyond.

Lightning, leading the group, pointed at the signs. “We'll also be checking out some books on Pipbucks and how they work, along with the ones on 'SPECIAL', at the library. Cable already knows most there is on both subjects, but detailed information can't hurt."

They headed through the hallway to their left, passing by some students reading some comics on a nearby bench.

Gabe glanced around along the way. “I see a couple dudes already got hold of that new Power Ponies issue. Sure didn't take long...”

Lightning closed in next to Cable and whispered to him. “I got a good feeling about reforming Gabe. I'm sure you noticed how easily he changed his attitude when I talked about the PipBuck upstairs. That was so fast! He got super hyped for it and even more when you took over. I didn't know he was so gullible.”

“I didn't either, but ain't that kind of a bummer? I'm just guessing here, but I'm thinking he's not going to do too well on the 'I' tests of the 'SPECIAL' course we got planned for him.”

“Why are you dweebs already whispering? We ain't even at the library, yet,” Gabe said, still behind them.

Lightning jumped a bit. "We... we... we're discussing what exact books that we should get for your training, Gabe," he said, his eyes darting back and forth.

Gabe groaned. “Dude... actually, I don't do reading, it sucks. I'm already going to have enough of that flyer for the whole week. Do you have something less boring I can do to learn stuff?”

"You're going to have to learn how to use a PipBuck and stats—which are actually called 'SATS'—at some point, because I'm quite sure you're going to end up being a courier like your father," Cable pointed out, "I'm sure he would have wanted you to continue his work."

“How the heck do you know that about my dad, Cable face?” Gabe grunted.

Cable took out a newspaper piece from his saddlebag. "From the stable's newsletter that is sent out every day; it had an article about him not too long ago. Honoring his great services back in the day. I always read the newspaper, and coming across this article, I thought I'd bring it with me, but actualy, maybe you shouldn't—"

“Gimme that!” Gabe snatched the paper from Cable's hoof. He carefully read the article, standing completely silent. About halfway through the article, his eyes seemed to keep reading the same line over and over. He frowned, shut his eyes tight then crushed and shredded the article with his claws.

Lightning turned to Gabe with an empathic expression. "Guess it still hurts anyway, what happened to your dad. Don't think it's going to make it any better to you, but I want to share we all have a part of our families or friends that was killed up there. For me, it was my grandfather that was shot down by the Smoking Black gang near Old Ponyville. You know, a division of the dragon mercs?"

Cable stepped in. "My great grandmother was dismembered and shredded by a rabid bear. Was a long time ago for sure, but grandpa still remembers it all too well. He was out with her when it happened. Great granny Ruby Volt was her name. They were doing repairs on the outside of the stable when the Rabid Bear saw them. She quickly bucked grandpa away toward the entrance before the beast charged toward her, crushed her to the ground and teared her down to pieces. Grandpa had hidden behind a boulder that was few feet away from the stable's door. He witnessed all of it."

Gabe's eyes slightly opened and looked at Cable.

Lightning approached Gabe. "Maybe it doesn't hurt as much for us cuz it wasn't our actual parents, but we can picture it would pretty much destroy us. We don’t know for sure, but we believe it would.”

Gabe's sight slowly switched to Lightning. “Yeah...”

The three of them remained silent for a few seconds when they suddenly heard a sneeze coming from the library they had almost reached.

“Oh, yes. The books.” Lightning shook his head, before continuing toward their first stop.

Upon entering, the three headed to the extensive section that dealt with PipBucks; from the initial model all the way to the newest versions. 

"I honestly don't really know what books we need from that section; seeing as it covers basically every model of since the great war." Lightning thumbed through the shelf. "We should probably ask the librarian what to go with."

“Nah, I know what we need to get.” Cable nudged Lightning aside. "My dad told me what to expect when we get our Pipbucks when we turn of age to get them." He easily picked through the many books on the shelves with a levitating spell. “PipBuck Essentials', 'Know your S.A.T.S.' and 'How S.P.E.C.I.A.L. are you?' That's about all we need for now. For the basics, anyway.”

Lightning's eyes widen. "Oh! Oh yes, cuz we'll do the advanced things later; when we get tapped for our first responsibilities in the Stable. Yes, that's when we get our Pipbucks.” He pointed to the unpicked books. “We'll need to get one about creating and using holotapes, when that time comes."

“Heck yeah! Holotapes!” Gabe stomped the floor, which was replied to by a loud shush coming from behind them.

Cable tapped Gabe on the chest; whispering. “Calm the fudge down, Gabe!”

"We're in the library, dorkus; you need to be quiet!" Lightning added.

Gabe let out an annoyed grunt. “Kay...”—He lowered his voice—”, but let's get going already! I want to get that training done so I can step up to holotapes training, and get that comic, and then get that game!” He bounced in excitement.

Cable sighed and rolled his eyes. "Gabe, you've got a while before we get our Pipbucks. We all will get them whenever we get our cutie marks, and when you get your gryphon wings."

“Huh... dude... They're right here, you know?” Gabe hinted toward his obviously visible wings on his back.

Cable slapped his right hoof on his forehead. “I meant that metaphorically. Like, when you get your first assignment.”

Gabe frowned in confusion.

“Okay, no. Forget what I said about the wings. Point is, we ain't getting our Pipbucks as soon as you're anticipating. We still got about a year or so, or whenever we'll get our cutie mar— Oh... yeah...”

“Dude. Not cool.” Gabe bumped Cable on the shoulder with his clenched right claw. “I at least know 'that' much about my own kind. We don't get them cutie marks. Bleh...” He let out an annoyed sigh. “Okay. Fine. Stupid 'having to wait'...”

"Hey, we pretty darn eager too.”—Lightning added— “Besides, cutie marks aren't always as good as you would think. I mean, sure, you get to know what your personal and/or special talent or whatever is and what makes you different, but ya can find that out without one too. I don’t even know why ponies get them in the first place. I mean, how the heck does the fur change into all those colors out of nowhere? And in those specific patterns? I know we got magic to kinda answer that, but I never got a genuine answer from anypony I asked. We just... sort of 'get' them and don't ask why."

Cable nodded to Lightning before looking back at Gabe. "And it also happens at the weirdest of times. It can happen for the most mundane of tasks. For something you may not even think you're supposed to be good at. So, it's a darn tricky thing and some young ponies get really freakin obsessed over it, cuz it's made out to be important. I personally don't really care. I'll just do what I like doing and will get whatever I get.” He firmly tapped Gabe's chest. “In any case, you've already got your strength and wing power over us, Gabe. That's something you're already naturally gifted with. You don't need a cutie mark to tell you that. You said it yourself that you got it from your father. That's one major trait that defines you."

Gabe slowly glanced away, thinking about what Lightning and Cable said.

“Don't sweat it, man.” Lightning lifted from the ground, looking at Gabe. “Let's check those books out and get to that lounge to start your training.”


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Diary Entry 32 - September 25th, 1689 AC

"We've been training Gabe for about a week, now, and it's been a pretty slow progression; as we were kind of expecting. He's understanding the basics well so far, but he's having a challenging time with some of the things involved in the 'SPECIAL'; mainly perception, charisma, and intelligence.

I'm taking the liberty of copying the description from one of the books we borrowed at the library, so I—myself—do not forget what 'SPECIAL' stands for:

'SPECIAL' represents the seven attributes that everyone is born with—but also tested on—upon receiving their PipBuck in coming of age; usually being around 10 years old:

· 'S' stands for strength. How much you can carry and how easily you can wield heavy weapons.

· 'P' stands for perception and affects your 'SATS' skills (see 'SATS' section), lockpicking, and pickpocketing.

· 'E' is endurance, which helps with hit points and energy when running.

· 'C' defines charisma; how you can charm and persuade others.

· 'I' stands for intelligence and helps in acquiring experience from all sources.

· 'A' is agility, which helps with sneaking and action points when fighting.

· 'L', which is luck, helps with charging your critical hits.



I might write about 'SATS' skills later in another entry.

Oh, on another subject, dad's planning my first trip into the wasteland soon, to show me a bit about how to be a courrier. 

He's doing quite a bit for the stable. Both being a part-time courrier and also a security tech.

I'm pretty pumped about going out there!"



Diary Entry 44 - October 16th, 1689 AC

"It's been about 3 weeks and Gabe continues to come along fairly well. There's still plenty of things to do with him, like test him on 'SATS' and on the things we've done with him thus far. 

I'm hoping that we can get some gun range time with my dad soon to teach Gabe how to use  more than just the 10mm pistol we are taught in school. So far I've handled combat shotguns, combat rifles with bayonets, a short scope sniper rifle, a reflex sight hunting rifle, a tactical magnum, and, my favorite, a gauss rifle. I absolutely 'love' releasing the charged energy blast from that one. I think it's super satisfying to see the targets completely disintegrate into piles of ashes.

Anyway, dad also said that I'll be going out with him on a foraging trip sometime in the spring. I'm so excited!

By the way, note to myself, here's that description of 'SATS' I took from that other book we been borrowing; just as a reminder:

'SATS' is an acronym for Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell. This spell allows the user to better target enemies in both melee and weapon-based battles. It also allows for targeting of body parts; which can help in the defeat of enemies."



Diary Entry 59 - December 25th, 1689 AC

"Taking a break from both school and from training Gabe. 

Our families are getting together later today for a big celebration for Hearths Warming Eve, and to watch the play as well.

Since the last journal entry, Gabe has turned better. He's less persnickety and jerky. He's looking a lot happier. He's also proving to becoming quite smart with this training too; so that's darn good. We didn't quite expect that. However... he needs to work on his marksmanship. So... yeah. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results so far.”



Diary Entry 80 - February 8th, 1690 AC

"We started the training again shortly after New Year’s Day.

Gabe continues to make great strides and his attitude keeps on improving. It's remarkable just how far he's come in a few short months. And now, him, Cable and I are going to get together and study for a history exam that we have later this week. Learning all this history of pre-war Equestria is demanding work."



Diary Entry 108 - April 1st, 1690 AC

"It's apparently Discord Day in Equestria; or at least that's what Gabe said after he pranked me with a joy buzzer. I ain't going to get him back, though.

He's really turned around from all we taught him. He's more polite and generous than I thought he ever could be. However, Cable seems... I don't know... a bit more distant from us.

I tried asking him what's wrong, but he won't tell me. I'm not going to go prying into his personal issues, though; that's none of my business. 

Anyway, we're rapidly coming up on the end of spring semester. I can't wait to be able to spend more time with my bros."



Diary Entry 116 - May 15th, 1690 AC

"The semester is almost over; thank Celestia! It's been a long and hard one.

Gabe's passing all his classes with flying colors, thanks to training and tutoring from us and our parents.

Also, whatever was bothering Cable seems to have ended. He's in a better mood. Maybe the fact that he's been working on his spells to help plant new apple trees in our orchard.

Speaking of, we all must help with the harvest next month. Dad says it's important that we all pitch in."



Diary Entry 144 - July 2nd, 1690 AC

"Gabe, Cable, and I have basically been inseparable since early June.

We've been taking a bit of a break from Gabe's training as of late to hang out with each other. We just had a sleepover over at Gabe's, where we were able to play some of our game disks that we were getting from our comics. Our parents let us borrow their PipBucks for us to play them.

Was neat, but I think whatever was bothering Cable has started again. He's been quiet lately... I'm going to try to ask him if anything's wrong, in the next few days.

So... yes. Aside from that, we're definitely enjoying our summer break."



Diary Entry 166 - July 29th, 1690 AC

Today, my parents told me about my great great grandmother. They said she was one of very few pegasi that were able to use magic, with the assistance of an amulet that was given to her by her father; Pat Thundersnow. 

My parents know that I'm able to use magic as well, since I once teleported a stuffed animal to myself when I was an infant; amongst other instances. And now that amulet has been handed down to me in great trust. It's pretty neat-looking, too; a slick crystal blue lightning bolt with three slightly different colored streaks. 

Mom and dad are fairly sure it will help me focus my magic, and they suspect it might amplify it as well, considering how much potential I've apparently shown over the last few years."



Diary Entry 190 - August 20th, 1690 AC

"Welp... it's the last day of summer break.

I've spent most of the last week with Gabe and Cable; going through what we're expecting to see in our class this year. We also spent some time playing Pipfall and a couple of the other games we got.

Gabe's really turned into what I can only describe as a gentle giant. He still has his 'moments', of course, but that's okay. We all have episodes like that.

Cable still seems like he's got something bothering him. I keep asking him what is going on, but he just keeps pushing me away. I might have to ask his mom about what is going on."



Diary Entry 226 - October 22nd, 1690 AC

"I got my cutie mark! Heck yeah! Well, I do say that, but I'm not quite sure what it really is. It's a storm cloud with what I'm guessing are two symmetrical lightning bolts coming out of it, but their shape is all twisty and twirly. Oh, and the bolts themselves are bright silver and ice blue. 

And best yet, tomorrow is Cable's and my birthday, and it's also the day I have my Cutie Ceanera 'and' get my PipBuck! All happening at once! That's so cool!

Oh, and Dad told me that he's got something special for me, too. Can't wait to see what that is.

I'm also looking forward to spending time with Gabe and Cable. We've been studying more than anything, lately."


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The morning following his latest diary entry, Lightning was awoken by footsteps coming into his room. It was his parents; the first to greet him on his 10th birthday.

"Good morning honey, time to get up," Golden said, bringing in a stack of pancakes drizzling with maple syrup and topped with a few pieces of fruits. The sweet aroma quickened to have Lightning step out of bed.

“Oh, heck yeah! Thanks, mom! Thanks, dad! You guys already ate?”

Thundery turned on the room's main light. “Yeah, we did. Eat up, Lightning. I'm going to go show you that surprise I 've got for you before your Cute Ceanera starts."

Lightning quickly put on his fresh new vault outfit and went out to the dining table where his mom.put down the plate of pancakes “Say, did you make them even thicker for today, mom?”

“You bet I did! And you'll see why when you take your first bite. Go on. Give it a shot.”

Lightning took a fork with his wing and carefully cut the thick pastry tower. Gushing out from inside the multiple layers was a chunky strawberry jam mixed with lemon and orange zests.

“What?! You've freakin outdone yourself, mom!”

“Why, thank you. It's my pleasure. Your father helped a bit, too.” Golden smiled, glimpsing at Thundery sipping his coffee.

“I... cut the strawberries,” he answered with hesitation; to which Lightning chuckled. “Anyway, you better hurry up, otherwise I won't have enough time to show you that thing I got for you.”

Lightning took a large bite out of his birthday breakfast. The flavors of the pancakes exploded like a party cannon in his mouth. The super fluffiness of the batter. Just the right amount of crispy on the outside with the spongy inside and that extra flavor pop from the fruity filling, all mixed in with the dribbling syrup and fresh fruits on top.

Golden joined the table. “I see you can't speak. Guess that means you like them, hm?”

Lightning frantically nodded while letting out a delighted groan from his fully packed mouth. He then quickly gulped down the rest with glee and washed it down with a glass of  orange juice before prepping himself to get out.

Thundery waited by the front door. “You coming, son?"

Lightning nodded and followed his father into the stable's level 2 corridors in direction of the closest elevator. 

Upon arriving to it, Thundery tapped the 'Down' button then tied a blindfold over Lightning's eyes. “I'll guide you through the rest. Try not to trip.” 

Thundery pushed the button to level 4.

Lightning chuckled. “Trip? Really, dad?”

“Yeah. Trip.” Thundery purposely bumped into Lightning, making him lose his balance and hit the elevator's wall.

“Oh, heck no you didn't!” Lightning bounced back toward his father.

“Too slow, son.” Thundery teased back; easily evading Lightning's move as the elevator stopped. "Here we are." He grabbed Lightning's open left wing and led him over to their destination.

Lightning took a whiff from the area. “Smells like... something burnt? What?"

Thundery let go of Lightning's wing. “What? Oh no! Your surprise! Quick, take off the blindfold and help me!"

“What?!” Lightning instantly obeyed. "Wha— The gun range?... No... you don't mean..."

“Oh. Nevermind. Your surprise's fine. Time for some special training."

Lightning's face battled between annoyance and glee. “You freakin... mean ass... awesome pops! Heck yeah!”

"Alright, let's get you on the range and trained in using that gun with your magic." 

They walked to the armory's counter.

“Good morning, Pop,” Thundery said.

“Oooohh! Thundery and little b-day Lightning! Happy birthday!”

“Yep! Thank you, miss Bubble Pop,” Lightning nodded.

Bubble Pop was the manager and senior instructor of Stable 124's gun range and armory. She was a very short—almost filly sized—hybrid zebra pegasus with a slate blue coat and darker stripes of the same color. Her mane had a sweeping pixie cut and was candy pink in color with a thick lighter streak on the back of her head. Her tail shared the same color scheme, was simple, fairly short and pointy at the end. Her eyes were brass colored and a bit narrow, but always had a tender expression. She wore a neat white collar, with a pink bowtie, and a camo green military vest. The other noticeable details on her were her hairy fetlocks, her chipped left ear and some pale freckles on her cheeks.

“Your father already set everything up. I got all your gears ready right here, sweetie.”

“Thank you, Pop,” Thundery said, nodding.

Bubble Pop smiled then looked at Lightning. “So what you got planned today, aside from some special training, Lightning?”

“Well... honestly I'm not sure what to expect. I didn't even know I was going to be here for that! I'm so excited!”

“Well, then. I won't be holding you two any longer.” She slid their equipement under the counter's window.

Thundery picked them up and lended some to Lightning.

Bubble Pop smiled and lively waved to them. “Some targets should already be up. Have fun, you two!”

“Thanks, miss Bubble Pop!” Lightning waved back at her.

“Here. This is what you'll be first practicing with.” Thundery handed Lightning a 10mm pistol, a box of bullets and some earmuffs. "Want to try without using your amulet, first?”

“I can give it a shot.” 

Thundery gave his son an unimpressed look.

“What? I said I'll give it a sh— oh...” Lightning slapped his right hoof on his forehead. “That wasn't on purpose. Really.”

Thundery chuckled. “Show me what you can do, by first trying to make it float. I've removed the cartridges so there won't be any accidents.”

“Alright” Lightning channeled all the magic he could. A faint silver aura appeared around the handgun that he had lay on the range's counter and it began to barely rise into the air. "Ugh... this is... hard."

“Come on, boy. I’ve seen you do better than that.”

Lightning let out a huff of effort and the pistol slightly lifted. “You... stupid... Just...” He grunted before the magic glowed some more and the 10mm pistol finally rasied steadily above his head. “Y-yeah! Woohoo!”

Thundery nodded. “Well done, although I don't know if you've really been practicing all that much. Have you?”

Lightning whipped his forehead with his right wing. "Not really as much as I should have. I've been helping Gabe with his issues and such—Cable as well—and I've not had much time to do much else."

“Ok. Make sure you do on a regular basis from now on, however. Your two friends could join us more often, you know; during Sunday practice.”

"They could, I guess. Cable's a unicorn, and I'm not sure if Gabe even has magic; seeing as he's a gryphon. We could try it, though. At least to strengthen me and Cable's magics."

“I didn't mean having them using magic as well. I meant getting more skilled in properly shooting targets.”

“Oh... yes, we'll have to try that, then. Might help all of us overall too." Lightning continued concentrating on the levitating pistol while getting ready to aim. "So, what now, Dad?"

“You take it apart and reassemble it while naming me the distinct parts and their functions. We still got some time left, so I'm going to test you.”

“What?! Really?” The aura around the handgun faded.

“Focus, Lightning. You're losing your grip.”

Lightning shook his head a bit; regaining his focus as much as he could. He kept the gun pointed squarely at the target down the range. "I'm trying here, dad."

“As long as you always do. Now, take that pistol apart and place the parts on the counter. You think you can manage that without the amulet?”

“I'd actually rather do it manually a few times, before. If that's ok. Just to get the feel back. Been a little while since I practiced that as well, with me and Cable training Gabe and stuff. Then I can try using magic.”

“That's fine with me, son. You won't have much time, though. Your party's about to start.”

Lightning nodded. He first checked the chamber for bullets. “Wh— Hey! You left a bullet in there! You told me—”

“Oh... Did I?” Thundery smirked.

“You... bastard...”

“Good thing you remembered to check the chamber even if I said it didn't have any in there. I can't stress this enough. You must always check a gun for bullets in the chamber before you use it. Many of the kids who get introduced to them at first make the mistake of not doing it and there's been a couple accidents over the years where people got hurt and even killed. You must, absolutely, never forget.”

Lightning went silent for a few seconds and he checked the pistol's chamber once again.

“Even better to double check; good. You may continue.”

Lightning pulled the slide of the gun and put it in the locked position. He then looked at the guide rod, inserted a hook-shaped tool into a visible hole beneath it and released the slide stop. Next, he pushed on the opposite side of the slide stop; popping it out of the gun. He then pulled the barrel forward and removed the chamber and guide rod from the assembly. Lastly, the barrel link was pushed to the forward position, allowing the barrel to get loose. All the pieces were now neatly laid down on the table. "How'd I do, dad?"

“1 minute and 37 seconds... Could be better.”

Lightning chuckled. "Told you it's been a while since I last done it. I want to practice some more later for sure. And now that I'm pretty much done with training Gabe, I'll have way more time to do so. Definitely want to get quicker at breaking down guns. Oh, also, shouldn’t we be getting upstairs to my cute ceanera?"

“We still got at least 15 more minutes left, but if you want to go already, that's up to you.”

"Yeah, we should probably head up. Gabe and Cable are probably wondering where I got off to," Lightning said as he trotted in front of his dad. "Also, I got a question."

“Yeah?”

“When are we going to go outside into the wastes?”

“When you'll know how to shoot properly.”

"I understand. I know it's dangerous out there. You've told me that yourself, dad."

“Dangerous is an understatement. Those who get to go outside to do repairs and whatnot are betting their lives every time they do; even if well-trained and armed. Although, it's the best target practice ground. If you can survive, training in the vault doesn't compare.”

"Oh yes. I've heard all those urban tales as well. Guess I'll find out when I'm old enough to go out there on my own."

“Urban tales? This ain't any urban tales, Lightning. That's for real. Lots of our stable's people died up there. Some make up stories, yeah sure, but the danger is no lie. And I must absolutely tell you that a lot of recruits like you, even when they came of age, also died when going out there; on their first time, too.” Thundery sighed. “It's got to be done, though, cuz otherwise the whole stable can die. I always thought that ultimatum was freakin' stupid and wish we didn't have to do it.”

"I know dad. We can only make so much food in the stable, and that's one of the reasons that you and the others go out to forage."

They both picked up their equipment and brought them back to the armory's counter.

Bubble Pop looked at them with a bit of confusion.“What? Back already, sirs? I didn't even hear a shot.”

“We could have stayed a bit longer, but I'm too eager for my Cutie Ceanera and graduation, but I'll definitely be back once I'm officially a cadet, miss Bubble Pop!”

“Good! I can see you're hyped for it!” She winked at Lightning.

Lightning rapidly nodded. “Heck yeah!”

“Alright. Have a good time, you two!” Bubble Pop saluted them as they exited the gun range into level 4's hallways and back to the nearest elevator.

Lightning looked up to Thundery. “Say, dad, did you ever ask her why she's got the name Bubble?”

“Not really. Why does this interest you?”

“Just... I dunno. Not being mean or anything, but feels a bit unusual to me, yet awesome, to see such a nice and calm and... just, very lady-like...  lady work in the armory. And her name... sounds like a—not being mean, again—name fit for... I dunno, a drink, or something. Like, cooking-related.”

Thundery burst a giggle as they called the elevator. “Actually, I think it sounds a bit like it as well. I could even see it has a brand of Sparkle Cola.” He chuckled. “Although, no, I never did ask how she got her name, but I got my idea on how it's fitting to her.”

“How?”

“Seeing her in action when she instructs people gives you a fair idea. Oh, and, it must have skipped my mind, but I never told you she was one of the elite guards of the stable.”

“Wow! Really?”

“Yeah. Definitely don't take her name too litteraly. She's extremely well-trained in weapons and combat. She's often very busy at the armory, so even with the school, I don't think you ever got to see her at work at the ranges.”

They entered the elevator and Lightning pressed the level 3 button.

Thundery stepped next to him. “So you know you got your work cut out for you, right?”

Lightning sighed. "Yeah, but... I'm definitely excited to start."

“Good. You're going to need to keep that excitement for the next 8 years and so on.”

"I know, to walk in the footsteps of you and granddad of being a courier and forager. Well, mostly grandpa, since you're doing it on the side.”

“Alright.” Thundery gave a pat on Lightning's head.

The elevator arrived at level 3 and they walked toward the cafeteria to their right.

Immediately, their nostrils were filled with a pungent, sugary smell. 

A smile grew on Lightning's face.

From the outside, everything seemed silent, but upon entering they were greeted by a loud shout. 

Lightning looked around at the group of guests.

“Hey, dude. Grats on your Cutie Ceanera,” Cable said, joining him at the entrance.

Cable and Gabe each gave Lightning a chummy hug before they walked to their designated table. 

Golden Grain, Glenda Gooding and Cable's parents—Dream Hugger and Slate Cooper—were already taking place at it. A few boxes covered in wrapping paper were placed in the middle.

The overseer of the stable, Atlas Reverie, walked over to them while holding three PipBucks.

He motioned for the three kids to make their way over to him, and they did as requested.

He lined them up, then greeted them one by one to install their PipBucks on their left foreleg.

"Good job reaching this point, boys, but you all know your 'real' work is what's coming up next, right? From now on, you'll have to help the Stable as official rookies, and with your new  devices you'll be able to learn a vast amount of knowledge to help you in the long run; but you probably already knew that, I assume.” He turned his head to Cable. “Especially you, recuit Cooper.”

“Absolutely, sir.” Cable politely nodded to him. 

Atlas smiled. “Of course, this gizmo isn't 'all' about learning; especially today. Go enjoy those PipBuck games while you can, lads." Atlas saluted them then returned to his table with some of the other stable's head staff.

Gabe jumped and squealed around like a giddy filly. "Hell yeah! Can't freakin' wait!"

Cable and Lightning chuckled at the sight.

"Gabe. Dude... Simmer down, will ya?” Lightning said. “We'll get to it after the party—or something—if you're 'that' eager."

Gabe stopped and looked at his friends with a deadpan expression. "Yo! You guys know how much I've been looking forward to getting a PipBuck! So, 'excuse me' for being freakin' ecstatic!"

"Yeah. We 'definitely' know... because you've mentioned it 'every' 'single' 'day' since we started that training several months ago," Cable said, teasing a bit. "Rest assured that we'll play with them after the party. I've been majorly looking forward to it myself."

Lightning snickered a bit as a large cake came out of the kitchen; speckled with ten candles.

The head chef of the stable rose from his seat. "Alright everyone! It's time for Lightning and Cable to blow out the candles on his cake! Go ahead, boys! Make that wish count!"

Lightning and Cable took a few seconds to think of their wish, looked at each other, then blew out the candles in a single breath.

The group erupted in applause before the chef spoke some more. "Alright, let's get the cake cut and the ice cream along with it! Pick your flavor but leave some butterscotch for me!" he shouted; laughing at his own joke.

Lightning, Cable and Gabe all slapped their forehead.

The sous-chef brought out some toppings for the ice cream. "There's plenty of butterscotch, chef. I just finished making a new batch, since Lightning requested a lot of it. So you can be sure you'll get your share. Come and get it!"

Lightning and Cable were—of course—first in line to get their cake piece and ice cream.

"Heck yeah, butterscotch," Lightning said as some saliva dripped from his mouth. “I absolutely love that stuff! Thanks a bunch, sous-chef!”

The sous-chef nodded as he cut some more slices of cake for the group.

After everybody got their share, the chef brought out a heavy-looking small crate. "Anyone want some icy Sparkle Cola?"

Lightning jumped off his seat. “Heck yeah! I do!”

The Cute Ceanera went on for a little bit longer, with Lightning getting his first bit of armor from his parents, a set of comics and an add-ons pack holotape from Gabe and Cable.

As for Cable, he received a used Rockhoof the Warrior comic from his mother and, from Lightning and Gabe, the same add-ons pack holotape he had just given Lightning, since they both wanted it.

Once most of the guests had gone back to their living quarters, Lightning—along with Cable and Gabe—got to fully try out their new Pipbucks. Playing games and exploring their many features until late in the evening; concluding their first day as cadets of stable 124.


○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○




PipBuck Diary Entry 1 - October 30th, 1690 AC.

“Life as cadets with these PipBucks has been pretty darn interesting.

Our parents and teachers have been putting us through our paces, preparing us for what we know is coming soon enough. However, tt's been hard learning all this stuff; especially S.A.T.S.

Anyway, dad says it's important use it when defending myself against whatever's out there. It really helps 'a lot', he told me.

Also, Nightmare Night is tomorrow! Heck yes! I'm going as Goddess Luna this year. Not sure what Gabe and Cable are going to wear as costumes yet. I'm eager to find out.

Oh, and, from now on I'm going to act like I'm doing reports when I write entries in that journal, cuz... being a cadet and all. So, I'm going to end every one of them with 'Lightning out'. So...

-Lightning out.”



PipBuck Diary Entry 26 - December 24th, 1690 AC

"Hearth's Warming Eve, yet again.

Spent most of the day with my parents and studying a bit for a standardized exam that is coming up after break is over.

The cadet time has been going well. My parents and teachers are impressed with how well  me, Cable, and Gabe are taking to the new tech that we're learning. Still working on the S.A.T.S. stuff, though.

We've been heavy in spending time together as of late, but Cable's just kind of been out of it lately; again. He told me that he's fine, but I really don’t know about that. This is getting more and more frequent.

Anyway, better wrap this up. Mom's calling me for our large stable wide feast.

-Lightning out."



PipBuck Diary Entry 38 - February 14th, 1691 AC

"Another Hearts and Hooves day has come and pretty much gone as I'm recording this at... 7:30 pm, but I didn't get anyone to be my special somepony this year; like all the previous years. So, I just decided to hang out with Cable and Gabe today.

We played our collection of PipBuck games for a bit, before our parents treated us to breakfast for dinner.

Oh, and the standardized tests are coming up as well. Not really looking forward to taking it, but the guys and I have been studying our flanks off for this thing.

Hoping we do well enough on it.

-Lightning out.”



PipBuck Diary Entry 50 - April 17th, 1691 AC

"Well... today's the day of our first ever standardized exam test thing.

I'm nervous about this, as the teachers told us that it's the first indication of what our jobs could end up being.

All I want to do for my career is to follow my dad and gramp's path into the business of being a courier and forager.

Anyway, I’m about to go meet Gabe and Cable for some breakfast and last-minute studying.

One last stretch. I'm hoping it all goes well.

-Lightning out.”



PipBuck Diary Entry 51 - April 18th, 1691 AC

"Well... it went about as good as it could have.

Luckily, the teachers and our Overseer gave us the day off for our minds to recover.

Those math problems... they made me want to slam my head on the desk, but I somehow got through it. Heck yes...  

I'm going to go relax with Cable and Gabe for sure, if they aren't totally braindead today.

-Lightning Out."



PipBuck Diary Entry 67 - May 19th, 1691 AC

"Something new's been going on around the Stable, for once.

A lot of the adults working for the security and our overseer have been getting together often for some reason.

I know it's not of my business to ask about what is going on, but the rumor going around is that there could be a breach somewhere in the stable that's causing some radiation to leak in, but nobody seems to know what the source could be or where it's coming from.

I'm really hoping that this is not the case, but if it is... we're going to be in big trouble.

At any rate, summer break is just about here, but I've not heard very much from Cable as of late.

This has me worried for sure, cuz he doesn't even want to chat anymore. He's staying secluded in his room. 

Sometimes, even his mother is telling me that he doesn't want to talk to anybody, and I can't even go see him.

It seems like something is going on in his head, making him a bit paranoid; or so his mom also told me.

She says it's just temporary and that he can get pretty stressed out when he's got tests and with all the standardized exams we've got coming up the next few years... it could be what's getting to him.

I just hope he comes out of it soon. It ain't cool seeing one of your best bud like that.

-Lightning out."



PipBuck Diary Entry 73 - June 1st, 1691 AC

"Been busy, as of late, with prep for the school year.

Rumors continue to fly about the Stable's radiation situation. Creatures are on edge.

If anything was truly going on, I think that the Overseer would get us out of here as soon as possible.

That's unnerving... but I trust the people in charge of radiation security—or whatever they're called—know their stuff and will find a way to deal with it... I hope.

Anyway, I helped dad build a custom combat rifle for his couriering and foraging job.

He said it's important to know how to mod your weapons, because it can often make them more powerful and easier to handle.

Also, I've been working some more on my shots at the gun range. Still got a lotta improvements to make, but I'm slowly getting better at it. I can even easily manage to fire without the use of my amulet now.

-Lightning out."



PipBuck Entry 78 – June 10th , 1691 AC

“Dad said some parts of the stable, in the lowest levels, have started reaching unusually high levels of radiation and that I must keep away from them. 

The message has also been broadcasted through the intercoms by the overseer and it's really starting to scare some of the species in here. 

People are getting paranoid and staying in their appartments for the most part.

I hope this won't affect our water supply and that the security team will finally find the source and contain it, but I'm thinking that this said 'hope' is getting increasingly dim as things are progressing.

Damn it...

-Lightning out."



Pipbuck Entry 81 – June 13th, 1691 AC

"Ok. No kidding. Things have honestly gotten weird, now; just in a matter of three days. I'm feeling super restless as I'm writing this.

The Overseer has been trying to keep a noble, straight face about it, but from what we got told, level 6 and 5 have become hazardous in radiation levels.

The creatures working down there now have to either take regular doses of RadSafes and Rad-Aways or wear radiation protective gear.

On top of this, I've still not heard from Cable outside of school lately.

His mom has told me that he's doing fine, but I’m not buying that.

Gabe and I have been trying to keep as focused as possible, but it's hard without Cable.

Anyway, I really hope we'll find out at some point what's going on.

-Lightning out."



Pipbuck Entry 86 – June 15th, 1691 AC

"Things continue to get worse and worse by the day around here.

Daily, I see security techs walking around, and worse, these workers are in radiation suits. That means more serious possible radiation leaks on the upper levels.

We've also been told to take daily doses of RadSafes and Rad-Aways if our counter gets too high.

Fear and worries are mostly what fill my mind these days.

Gabe continues his best to be there for me, and I'm thankful for that, but Cable... I have no idea what's going on with him. It's like... he's not even here anymore. I haven't seen or even heard him in a long time.

I'm freaking out. The heck is going on? I'm not a believer in gods, but I'm seriously considering praying to Celestia and Luna for help these days.

-Lightning out.”
> Chapter 2 - Overshooting Top
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“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!”