Derecho flew through the afternoon sky in my Royal Equestria Security Forces (RESF) dreamscape. As the mare bobbed and weaved amongst the skyscrapers, power lines, and other fliers, she periodically caught glimpses of the ocean and the advancing storm system that would soon come ashore and drench Ft. Trotterdale with its routine afternoon summertime downpour. She even caught glimpses of the weather teams trying to divert the worst away from the city, but that's the best they could do. This was wild weather coming from the ocean, so it was a difficult challenge to handle.

Like her name, Derecho really didn't mind flying in rainy, breezy conditions. What she didn't like was flying when lightning was prevalent, and unfortunately summertime rain in Ft. Trotterdale always came with lightning. In fact, the area had some of the highest percentage lightning strikes in all of a Equestria; the young mare had already had some close calls over the years.

As she reached the downtown area, the pegasus started climbing; at the same time Derecho and looked down and quickly tapped a pre-set code into the flight strapped to her upper right arm. Fliers were technically required to always wear a transponder when flying in the city so the Aerial Traffic Center could technically monitor aerial traffic in the city.

This system had been under development throughout the kingdom for several years, but the recent war had accelerated its roll out and implementation. However, that roll out had been uneven, spotty and numerous defects had been discovered and still not fixed. Some ponies had even found ways to circumvent, spoof, or generate completely bogus telemetry. Derecho's roommate, friend, and casual lover Hail Storm was one of those ponies, so as the mare started climbing toward the roof of the Ft. Trotterdale Imperial Bank her transponder showed her instead continuing on to one of several pre-programmed flight paths. Then at some random point its signal would be dropped which was an all too common problem with the system.

Doing some checks around her and not seeing any fliers close by as she came over the roof the bank, Derecho quickly dove down and landed in a corner of the flat roof. Once again glancing around and happy with what she saw, the young mare made her way toward what looked almost like a large shipping container.

There was technically a security camera up on the roof of the bank, but a year ago a heavy storm had blown the camera around on its mount so it didn't view much of the roof anymore and nopony had cared to come up and fix it. This was important as the camera was not currently pointed at the structure she was heading toward. Inserting a key in the door, she unlocked it and stepped inside.

During the war the Crown had erected defensive perimeters around most major metropolitan areas, and Ft. Trotterdale was one of them. Along with prepared defensive works the Crown had installed in many cities, numerous portable structures that acted as remote backup communication relays, auxiliary sensor observation posts, and impromptu spotter stations for undetected enemy air vehicles and fliers.

The usefulness of these structures was debated even during the war, but as a general rule the subjects of the Crown were happy they had been there. However when the war ended they were mostly deactivated and removed. A few had been repurposed for other purposes as communities across the kingdom, but even those were being shut down as the reconstruction continued to pick up speed. So in most places, they now just empty shells.

Most places.

Hail Storm had noticed this structure and the almost useless rooftop security camera. The stallion had also determined that none of the other buildings in the immediate area appeared to have rooftop cameras pointed at it either. So after a week of routinely observing it, he determined that it was unoccupied and other ponies were not hanging out on it.

Hail Storm was often accused of being socially clueless and being unable to read a room, but overall he was an intelligent, curious pony with a vast collection of knowledge, hobbies, and useful skills. Skills including coding, lock picking, document forgery, and electrical systems. So, the stallion had picked the lock to the door, made himself and Derecho some keys, and made both of them a home. The mare glanced around again before slipping her key in the lock and turning the knob.

These portable structures had been set up to for around-the-clock operations. Therefore, they were equipped to house 4 to 6 ponies with living quarters along with space for their monitoring equipment. All of the monitoring equipment had been removed, but for whatever reason the rest of the deactivation was never finished. So, Derecho and Hail Storm moved in.

Derecho didn't feel they were doing anything illegal or disreputable. They were not squatting, as Hail Storm had said.

“We're utilizing an unused asset, thereby permitting others to take advantage of various housing plans offered by the Crown. By occupying and maintaining it, we're diminishing its physical deterioration. Also by living and keeping the interior more or less clean, we're preventing it from becoming a home for pests and vermin.”

Inside the structure were bunk beds for 4 ponies with built in wall lockers, a basic bathroom with a toilet, sink and a shower that were still hooked into the bank's plumbing system, and also a backup rainwater cistern on the roof along with a solar water heater. Both it and the water tank were connected to a built-in filtration system. On the roof were solar panels and storage batteries that were built into one of the walls. Like the plumbing, the place was wired into the bank's power grid.

There was a mini galley with a 2 element electric range top, a microwave and a toaster oven. A small fridge with freezer and built-in cupboards provided a place to store stuff. Beneath the cupboards was a stainless sink that was also hooked into the bank's plumbing. The module even had a basic heater, A/C and dehumidifier. It wasn't great and when it rained it sounded like somepony was dumping gravel on the roof, but it made it bearable in the summer.

Besides it was rent-free… at least until they got caught and evicted.

The only things it lacked were laundry facilities. At least there was a laundromat just a couple of blocks away; flying with a duffle bag full of dirty laundry was a pain in the ass, though. Also they had to use some friends apartment addresses for mail and tax reasons. Not that either of them got much physical mail.

Along with a bunk room, bathroom, and mini galley there was a large central room where originally desks and monitoring equipment had been located. Derecho and Hail Storm had turned it into an impromptu living room. There was a basic futon sofa and a large screen TV that Hail Storm had “found” somewhere. Then he figured out how to smuggle them into the bank building and gain access to the building's freight elevator by dressing up as a delivery pony. There was defunct radio aerials on the roof, but the stallion had figured out how to discreetly hook up a cell and wireless internet antenna up on the roof.

All things considered, she thought that her and Hail Storm had a sweet deal. Yeah, things could be better, but considering everything she and her friends had been through over the last couple of years, things could definitely be worse.

Stepping into the place she currently called home, Derecho pulled her phone from that stupid banana yellow vest and visor from her legitimate day job and tossed it on the futon.

With that accomplished she opened the company's app and punched out for the day. With that task done she wandered into the galley and snagged a soda from the fridge.

The mare found Hail Storm sitting in front of his computer doing...well doing whatever it was that he did for a living. Derecho was familiar with computers and the web, but strictly from a user standpoint.

Hail Storm on the other hand made a living doing freelance coding for other ponies. The pay usually wasn't great, but work was pretty steady, and like Derecho, he sometimes picked up some sweet under the table work. Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around his neck.She gently hugged him and looked over his shoulder at the monitor. After a moment he spoke without looking away from the monitor.

“Welcome home.”

She hugged him some more.

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