Losing feathers: A long road.

Kira listened to Nova as she gave them the suggestion of flying off to scout the top down of the building, this was actually a sound plan pegasi and gryphons was not a common sight in the wastes so what ever was in that building would not be prepared for something to come from the top floors especially if the rest of them also moved in from below.

"Okay Nova and Rad you take a look from above and the rest of us check it out from below." If things like this would happen to be bad, and know her luck thing would be, the buildings would be home to a city of hellhounds. "Just be careful and take it easy, we will meat you half way."

Starry had spent the past hours trotting with the group. She reflected upon her previous adventures, before the incident. If she were a different mare, she would've spent the last hours hopping alongside the group, laughing and making friends. That bit of nostalgia only made her sour.

When the call to arms came, and Nova and Rad flew up to the roof, Starry snapped out of her bitter daydreaming. She withdrew the sword and the knife from her belt, and levitated them in front of her, defensively.

"I'm ready," Starry announced, as she made her cautious approach toward the building's entrance.

As Nova and Rad flew over to the building that Kira had pointed out while the rest of the group that moved on the ground started to move up to the building at a slower pace. The building was a three story tall building that have some how survived the balefire bombs of the war while the other around it had not managed to do such. The building was not that large but was till the tallest still standing building of all the ruins, it had once had a large bill board on the roof that was now all charred and rotten with most of it was broken or just gone making so that once could not see what was once on it.

When Nova and Rad reached to roof, one after the other, they saw the broken old roof but otherwise it was mostly empty except for some rubble. One large part of the roof had collapsed down to the top floor below and into a room that was hard to tell what it once had been, the only things that was in the room was a few broken file cabinets and some broken desks. Nova notice a low green glow from under some broken rubble that she could see from where she was on the roof.

Mean while Kira, Scrap and Starry moved up to the same building along a old broken road that was leading up to the building. The group saw that the building was lacking most of it windows as many of the had been boarded up making so that once could not see out but if you where inside of it you could see out though the gaps. When they finally came up to the building did they see that the main entrance was blocked but debris from from the broken roof and bill board, there was no way they could move the stuff.

Nova took time to look over the building, making sure that the floor was not likely to collapse out from under them. However, that was always a risk. Once they'd landed, Nova looked over the room, and noted it was probably some kind of office judging by the amount of desks and cabinets. However, the one thing that did catch her eye was mostly buried. Only a faint green glow emanating from it. Still, Nova knew she should be cautious, especially around things that glowed, so turned to Rad first.

"I'm going to see what that light is. Be ready for... something." Nova states, smiling slightly. "My turn to possibly gets us killed this time."

Nova then carefully flies down into the room, as close as she dare get to the glow, and tried to see what exactly it was that had managed to pique her interest.

Scrap tried to poke at the rubble that was blocking the door and their way up into the building, but it seemed like it was pretty well lodged in pretty well, and it wasn't gonna move.

Giving up on that method of approach, he went and poke one of the windows with his magic, seeing if they had any give and calling out to Starry and Kira.

"We should try the windows. The boards must be weak enough to break in one of em."

Rad landed beside Nova on the roof, evidently taking less consideration of the possibility of it collapsing than she did. He peered through the large hole in the roof, seeing the old filing cabinets, and the strange glowy thing. He chuckled lightly at what Nova said. "Tryin' to take my job eh?"

As Nova jumped down to take a look and the green glow, Rad followed inside, taking a look around before making his way over to start routing through the filing cabinets in the room. He knew they sometimes had interesting things in, and the little pegasus sure loved interesting things. A part of him that often got himself, and those around him into more trouble than they would have if he didn't have to touch everything.

[PER 6, searching around for anything interesting/shiny]

Kira sighed as she looked at the blocked entrance there was no way the would get thought it with in any from of time and to do that only for one night was just unnecessary work. And with this did she give up to get though. She looked as Scrap poked the window and thought for a second about the idea. The boards did look old so they would not been that hard to break but it might not be the most silent way to do it, but still. "Okay lets break them and get though the window, just be ready in case we surprise some thing on the other side." Kira said as she as grabbed hold on one of the boards and pulled with all her strength to break it.

As Nova approached the green glow that was hidden slightly under the debris from the roof carefully she did soon see that it was coming from an old pre-war terminal that had some how not only survived the bombs but also getting a roof fallen on top of it. With a closer look at the terminal did she see that it was left on what looked to be a menu screen with two options available. While the black pegasus looked at the now discovered terminal did Rad start to shift thought what remained of the office, acting like a true waste lander he had not taking any time to start looting for useful stuff. Sadly for him there was not that much useful thing to be found, he only found ten Caps among the cabinets and a lot of old office supplies but he also found the a door behind one of the broken desks that lead out in to a corridor that seemed to have at least two other doors.

With the sound of breaking wood did the planks around the window got removed as Kira pulled it away from the window and continued to do so until they could get though the window. Behind it there was a large room that looked to be part of a lobby, most of it looked to be intact if only a bit rotten. It was complete with a reception desk and a terminal that had it screen blow out there was two doors that lead further into the building. There was one thing that did stand out big large letters sap l co ier.

Nova found the terminal, letting out a slight sigh of relief that it wasn't some enraged creature out for blood. This time at least. Nova decided to take a closer look at the screen, oticing that there were two options available. Nova thought about what to do as she informed Rad of the current situation.

"Nothing dangerous. Just an old terminal." Nova said with obvious relief. "Think we've got time to look at it?"

Regardless, Nova was too interested. If this terminal had survived bombs and a collapsing roof, it most have at least something worthwhile stored on it. Nova quickly selected the first of the two options.

Nova flipped over the to the first option that was available on the terminal. The screen flickered some before the menu options changed and what looked to be a massage appeared on the screen instead of the menu.

Dear sister

It have been three weeks since I last wrote to you, it have been a busy time with this new job and I would have contacted you earlier but this damn new terminal have really hated me since I got it.

The boss have been really nice but hard which is actually quite a relief really. It feels like I am doing something important with my life for once, not to say anything bad about my old job but I am actually doing something great for equestria for once...

I think I said a bit much but I hope to hear from you soon dear sister so please write to me soon.

Nova looked through the message, gleaning what she could from it. It didn't appear to hold anything important, simply a message from one sister to another. However, the message did seem slightly out of place, what did it mean by saying too much?

It appeared that the messager had worked for the government before the war. WHo knows, it may even point to some sort of vault in this building.

There was only one way Nova could find out, and it was by checking the second message.

Scraps quickly slipped into the building through the hole in the window that Kira haf made, keeping his rifle held up high and at the ready. He couldn't see any enemies, but he wanted to make sure.

The fractured sign worried him a little, cause he couldn't quite make out what ot used to say, which when exploring ruins was never a good thing-you never knew when you may stumble across some pre-war horror in a seemingly innocuous building.

Moving over to the door that led further into the building, he called to Kira and Starry.

"This room's clear."

Rad pocketed the few caps he found, it was something at least, though when he found the door his interest was piqued. "Hey Nova, I think I found our way out!" He looked into the corridor, seeing the other two doors. "I'm gonna take a look out here Nova, catch up when you're done ok?" Rad then headed out into the corridor, and trotted up to the first of the two doors, checking to see if it would open.

Starry kept her sword close at hoof, as she carefully climbed through the window and toward the sign.'sap l co ier'; Starry didn't know what it had originally said, but she looked carefully over the sign to try and make out what the missing letters were. If the letters were hanging on the wall, she might look to the floor where they might have fallen.

Having seen what she might, Starry would trot as quietly as she could toward the double-doors leading in. Any foes would have heard them break through the barricaded window, so Starry concluded that any enemies they faced might be well prepared.

She took cover behind the wall, beside the double doors. Hinting to Scrap Parts and Kira to take cover, she would telekinetically grasp the double doors and swing them open.

Kira waited for Scrap and Starry to get in thought the window before she her self moved in as well carefully it, ruins was never good to get into but she keep her hopes up that this building was going to be empty. She looked up at the sigh made of large letter and just raised an eyebrow at it not really understanding what it said and not really caring.

Kira saw as Starry moved over to the double doors and saw her being ready to open the doors with her magic. The gryphoness moved up behind the reception and pulled out her grenade launcher being ready for anything behind it when the doors was pulled open.

As scratching noise was heard from the other side of the door, With this did Starry's magic pulled open the double doors as Rad and Kira had taken up positions ready for whatever was making the noise. It seemed that the group was not alone after all and who ever was with them in the building was listening though the doors. The doors flew open and though the door and group of three rad roaches scurried out from the room beyond.

With the threat well being nothing special could the two ponies and gryphon see what laid beyond the door. The room beyond the doors was a large area that seemed to cover most of the area of the lower floor with a single large door on the far end that looked to be a loading bay for skywagons, along the wall with the loading bay there was a lot of skeletons of ponies that all now laid together in a pile. The was a three large metal contraptions that was standing in the middle of the large room slightly apart from each other making room for ponies to work around them, if the group would look closer at the metal machines would they see that it was large machines made for printing.


As Nova flipped to the other option of the terminal she was saw another message appear across the screen. The message was pretty much the same as the first one, a message from the same long dead pony to her sister both still remaining unnamed. But there was a small part at the end of the massage that did stand out from the rest of the message.

I am not sure if I should say this but I can not keep it to my self any longer. I heard this during last nights shift just before I was about to head home. I heard that the boss actually answer to someponyelse, and you can never guess who I mean I feel really proud with working under such a pony but it still make me wonder why they keep it a secret from us employers. Anyway I guess you are dying to hear who this pony is, well will tell you it is Miss

...

[MASSAGE INTERCEPTED AND FAILED TO SENT]

...

[WARNING REAMING MASSAGE DELETED BY SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]

...

[WARNING SECURITY HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE BREACH OF PROTOCOL 31/C]

Meanwhile as Nova read this massage and tired to figure out what this was about Rad moved out of the door and into the dirty corridor where rubble and some two century old paper was crumbled up here and there. When the pegasus opened the first door is was a bit disappointed to find just a cleaning closet was the room that greeted him, but it was not a total waste for him as he saw a medical box hanging on the wall just by the door in the closet and on closer inspection was the box unlocked and hand two healing potions some irradiated water and a bag of radaway, not that bad for a cleaning closet. But otherwise there was not much of interest unless one would count some old cleaning supplies.

Scraps let out a almost inaudible sigh when the scratching noise they heard by the doors turned out to only be a couple radroaches. Not feeling that he'd need any of his heavier weapons for them he took out his static recycler and tried to take care of the bugs quietly.

The skeleton's all being in a pile perturbed him a little before he realized it was probably just that they'd been huddling for cover, and nor placed there by some malevolent force. The machines were rather interesting, they didn't look like any machines he'd scavenged hefore, so when they were sure the room was clear, he went to get a closer look.

Starry flinched as the radroaches rushed through the doorway. She let out a short sigh, and a brief smile as the near-harmless pests scurried about the room. It was a pleasant surprise that what danger lie beyond the doors was nothing more than giant cockroaches.

Starry approached the pile of skeletons, and grasped them one at a time in her magical aura, flinging them to the side. She was looking for something among the corpses to scavenge. Perhaps one of the ponies toward the bottom had some things that withstood the test of time; something she could use.

The machines did interest Starry, but she would save that investigation until she had scavenged whatever she could.

Kira sighed in sight relief as she saw the bug scurry way from the new light and the pony intruders of their home, this was a good sigh with these radroaches here that meant that there was no raiders in this place as even raiders did kill these damn bug. The crushed one of them with her paw as they rest scurried off to what ever place the saw as safe.

As the walked into the main room she tilted her head some as she saw the two ponies move off to investigate things around the room. She did barely register the bone as the wasteland was filled with them as she had just stopped caring about them long ago, maybe this was a bad sigh but it was not a thing she really thought about so she could not know.

She looked over the machines to see what ever they were as Scrap as well checked out one of the other machines. There was something about them she had seen before but did not really recognize, then it hit her light lighting in the head.

"PRINTERS!" She shouted as she figured it out then looked around as she noticed that she had shouted. "Sorry but this place looks clear, but I thing these are printers for magazines and such."

Nova blinks a few times as the message cuts off, barely able to keep herself from cursing. Nova stood up and went to follow Rad, continuing their sweep of the building. Nova had to reflect on what was in the message. It seemed to have at least something interesting in it, but otherwise it was useless.

"Let's keep moving shall we?" Nova smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for taking so long."

Scraps kinda giggled at Kira shouting out about the printers, he was all for getting excited about machinery, but it was still kinda funny how she yelled out.

As he started to take apart the printer he was looking at to see if he could get any useful parts from it, he had a thought. When he looked around the room, he didn't notice any doors out, beside the cargo doors, so he spoke up.

"Did you guys see any way out of this room?"

Kira looked up and around the large open room as Scrap asked about finding a way out of the room, he had been more perceptive then her and gryphon as it was ture there was no really door she could see out of the room it was just these printers.

The spotted gryphoness started to walk around the room looking around to find away to keep going but she only seemed to find the door she came in from and the large cargo doors that clearly lead outside. Then she looked up and there she saw it.

"Eh I think I found the way." She said as she pointed at a broken catwalk that was in the sealing of the room, there some broken stairs that had long since collapsed but maybe they could use something to climb up there if the move maybe some part form the machines and maybe the reception area to get up there. But still there must be a better way then that.

Rad had just finished putting the medical supplies in his saddlebags when Nova caught up to him. He turned back to her with a smile. "Eh, it's fine, found some supplies in here, nothin' much else of interest though. Maybe the other door will lead to more than a closet huh?" He headed towards the next door. "That is, unless this is just a floor full of closets... How weird would that be?" Rad chuckled as he tried the other door, hoping it wasn't locked.

Starry froze in place as Kira shouted 'printers'. She glanced over at the machines, with a look of disgust on her face. The memory of 'Sword Mares' was hard to drown out. They were of a different design than the ones she had used before, but they were no less bitter memories from a more naive time in her life.

She approached the printers, taking a long moment to stare at them and think. Part of her wanted to burn these machines, but Starry didn't want to run from her past.

"What are we going to do about these machines?" she asked, "They could serve Stableton well."

While the three non-flying member of the group tried to figure out what to do next and move on to the next floor of the building did Nova and Rad move on along the top floor of the building. It had really been a disappointment when it came to salvage but it was possible that ponies had already passed by this ruin and picked it clean already.

Rad moved on along the corridor over to the next door to find that it had been blocked with a few fallen over file cabinets, but with the help of Nova was it easily moved out of the way. When trying the door it did at first do give way but with a second try and a hard push it flew open. If it had not been for the pegasus wings would he had fallen out in to the large printing room where the rest of the group was gathered, but was it was did now Rad who was hovering over the broken catwalk and Nova see the rest of the group.