Climbing out of the hole was quite the numbing experience. At first, I could do little else but slowly sit down as the world went into a form of silence I didn't quite understand. Here, there were no sounds of machinery, or air vents, the swishing of automatic doors opening and closing, or the near-constant chatter of ponies that I had grown accustom to over the years. After having lived in a larger community for so long, the silence outside the door was almost frightening as much as it was soothing.

The air here was stale, and the thought crossed my mind that maybe I was the only pony in the last two or three hundred years to breathe in this air. Was that a privilege or a curse?

I remember eventually shifting my bag on my back, and letting the glow of my pipbuck guide me upwards through the tunnel. The green glow casting shadows over the rough dirt and stone walls as the tunnel made a slow incline up. I was expecting a door at the end, but instead I was greeted with overhanging trap door in the ceiling, just as dark as anything else in that hole.

I was worried maybe I wasn't getting out, for all I knew I would open up that wooden escape hatch only to find I was blocked by a cave in. Thankfully though, when I reared up and pushed at the half-rotted wood, it stayed intact and lifted along with the rustling sound of thick dusty fabric being pulled along with it.

A small jump and clasp of my front legs over the edge, scuffled curse while I lifted my body out of the hole with more back-leg kicking than I would like to admit, I found that I luckily was not caved in, and I was in a still intact building.

Oh...now this was rich.

The building even in its century old rotted state was unmistakable, even though all the information I had been told was subject to textbooks. Pews lined the side-walls, open windows were long gone letting in rays of frail light, and here I was standing in the middle aisle among shards of faded rainbow glass.

The broken stone statue of an Alicorn had lost part of its horn, and one of the unfolded wings had been ripped clean off.

All I could do was laugh. Those faithless ponies below me had no idea what we lived under.

"KARMA!" I screamed, my friend...she was, she was...

I wanted to close my eyes, I didn't want to see her body enveloped by the green magical energy to be reduced to a pile of glowing soot and sludge. The beams had been at near point-blank range, she was too tired to move, too worn out to escape her fate.

The flash of green suddenly took on a brighter gold hue in a retaliation of shimmering light, and next thing I knew those death rays were smacked out of their original flight path to leave two smoldering holes in the metal coating that made up the far wall. They had landed no where near Karma, and I found myself shocked into starring at the two glittering holes where the outside light drew straight lined patterns in the dust-filled air.

I think my muzzle had dropped open at one point, and I'd completely forgotten about my half-victory over the straps holding my body down. Blinking away the flash that had momentarily blurred my vision I slowly brought my head around to try to figure out what had happened, was she still alive?

What I was left with, confused me that much more and my brain had trouble catching up. I didn't understand it at the time, so there is little I can do other than explain what I was left looking at, dumbfound.

Around the beige and brown mare glimmered gold, tendrils of light criss-crossing to shield her body where she had partially fallen onto her right front knee, head bowed and eyes closed.

Unicorn magic, where there was no unicorn.

Just then, her eyes slowly opened to look up at the still-hovering Rocket through the strands of her mane that had fallen forwards. Where there should have been pupils and iris, instead was that same gold glow that took up the entirety of both of her eyes, it was a wonder she could even still see. It was obvious though, all of her attention was brought back to her attacker.

Rocket stayed in the air, wings softly keeping him aloft as he looked down to her, with ears backed and eyes narrowed.

"Treat ponies as if they were what they ought to be, and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming." Karma suddenly proclaimed, as if she were reciting something she had read at some point. Raising to stand fully once more before the armored pegasus, those orbs of light narrowed at him.

"What gives you the right." Was clearly stated at him. It wasn't a question. It was an accusation.

Rocket stayed silent, but as I glanced up at him and just barely noticed his ears twitch. Doubt.

And then, of course, a new sort of hell broke loose.

The side door to the main building banged open as a armored body was thrown though it, the black armor coating the pony body screeched across the floor as the metal screamed in pain at the skid, though the body stayed still.

"Yeah, take that you metal bastard!" Came the sound of a known loud-mouthed pony through the door.

My full attention was brought back to the door where it banged open, and a suddenly very large, very obviously annoyed brown stallion huffed after having thrown the enclave soldier through. His hat was slightly askew, and Stan did not look very happy at all.

Peeking over the larger stallion's shoulder, the goggle-wearing Psych was pushing back his mane with a hoof and trying to look inside the warehouse with a squint under the scratched glass.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Karma stutter on her hooves, holding her right hoof to her ear and wincing as the light from before was blinking out in a very static-y way before it blinked out entirely and she fell onto her side.

"Hey!" I called over to the two of them, still on the table. The three of us caught each others gaze, and I carefully lifted my front free hoof in greeting. Which only caused Psych to roll his eyes as he lifted the goggles up and on top of his head.

"Not looking for you, winged asshole!" He'd respond before both stallions turned their attention to Karma's direction. She lay on her side with her head groggily drifting from side to side as if she was dizzy. Rocket had turned in mid-air to regard the two new ponies with another silent frown.

"Stupid mare..." Psych growled under his breath before bumping himself against Stan's side and pointing a hoof at the floating pegasus. "Pony up!"

Stan's ears twitched at that last statement as his head lowered, and I could have sworn I saw him grin slightly before he charged into the room in a single smooth movement for a pony his size. A slight twist of his head was the only warning given before that sword he carried across his back came swiveling forwards in an arch of silver and green, hilt clasped between his teeth he angled the over-sized weapon within its unfurled curve to swing back over his left shoulder and up, letting the hilt turn within his muzzle while he tried a forwards jump at Rocket.

Rocket was not about to let something as simply as a sword carrying earth pony get any chance at an actual blow, and with a gust of his wings he propelled himself backwards in mid-air and far out of Stan's range, raising an eyebrow at the other stallion's attempt of attack with the same casual air of disdain he had been keeping the entire time.

It was at this moment that my brain decided to kick in its common sense program and I realized I was still partially attached to the table. It was simple enough to use my free front hoof to unclasp its partner before reaching around me to fiddle with the larger strap that held my wings down. That particular strap warranted a bit more struggling before it finally snapped off to the side, and I slipped my back hoof out of the last one keeping me attached.

Using my wings I followed Rocket's example and allowed a firm flap to fling myself off the table and in Karma's direction. The mare was still laying on her side with only her head partially propped up as it swayed. Having no clue how to help I simply stood near her side protectively, giving her a single worried glance before I looked back to the fight at hoof.

Stan and Rocket were slowly circling one another after Stan's failed attack. Stan was keeping his front to the pegasus, while Rocket was simply observing the situation without wasting much effort on a followup attack.

"You want to play like that, fine..." I heard Psych mutter to my left, looking to the purple pony I saw him using his magic to dig through his saddle bag while grumbling. After a few seconds he ended up pulling two potion bottles out of his bag, one filled with a yellow mixture, and the other with a green, finding what he was looking for he grinned. The grin was scary enough on its own.

The green glow of his magic drew the two bottles apart in mid air and brought them around in front. Using a front hoof to dust his chest off smugly, he glanced back over to where Stan and Rocket stood their grounds.

"Lets make this more interesting." He told himself, before suddenly smashing the two bottles together within safe distance in front of him. With their common shatter, also came a woosh of heat as the two chemicals combined, and with his magic still firmly attached, the two chemicals ended up creating a glare of green fire. The insane pony had lit his own magic on fire, balefire even.

"Try and dodge this!" Psych yelled before pulling a piece of his magic apart from the sweltering ball of green death and launching it straight at Rocket.

The bright green color was hard to ignore, and Rocket let his body fall to the side as the death-magic just barely missed him. But instead of the fire simply going its normal straight course, once it had missed it did a loop and headed right back to Rocket like a homing missile.

Now that nearly caught him off guard, as he had fell to the side to avoid the first blast, Stan had taken the chance at another curved jump attack with his sword, forcing the in-flight soldier to flap backwards again and out of reach, but it left him open to Psych's fire.

He was just nearly not fast enough to avoid that second attack from the balefire as it blasted back at its intended target. With his wings already positioned to force him backwards, he only barely had enough time to react with another backwards flap that held a lot more strength than the first, a fair sign he hadn't been expecting to have to dodge it a second time.

And sure enough, the warehouse as large as it was, just wasn't big enough for this kind of aerial combat, and with avoiding the fire a second time he accidentally ended up hitting the metal wall of the warehouse in a similar manner that Karma had earlier.

The semi-solid surface startled him just barely, and he fell onto all four hooves to the floor. Giving Stan ample enough time to rush forwards while Psych was beginning to pull a second ball of flame out of his larger personal one to throw while his first hovered just behind Stan.

"Wait!...wait..." Karma suddenly erupted beside me as she had apparently been following the fight as best she could in her position, and she was attempting to struggle to her hooves. Stan stopped mid-inches from trying to lop the head of his opponent, and Psych was surprised enough that both smaller orbs of fire faltered and nearly fell to the floor before he re-caught them. Apparently spreading his magic about took a greater deal of concentration than I originally thought.

"Wait exactly for what?!" He snarled over to her, taking his eyes off of Rocket and onto Karma who was just barely able to get her front hooves to push herself up.

"D-don't...kill him. Don't kill him!" She struggled to reply.

"Karma, I don't think this is a good time to..." I attempted to mutter softly to the strange acting mare.

"I said do. not. kill. him." She spat out, looking first to me, then to Psych with both eyes narrowed hatefully.

"For the love of...you stupid, stupid mare!" Argued Psych before he turned back to look at Stan, pointing another hoof at Rocket, who was getting his bearings back quickly. "Finish this shit already!"

"NO!" Karma yelled as she tried scrambling forwards to stop her other stallion friend.

Stan stayed where he was, positioned with sword in muzzle to slash forwards at Rocket, but he was clearly conflicted and hadn't made a move to follow Psych's order...

Rocket took his chance, flaring his wings and forcing himself back into the air and nearer to the ceiling, glaring down at the two stallions. With a clasp of his teeth on the main firing section of his rifles, he prepared for a full-on fight.

"WHY DO I LIVE WITH IDIOTS?!" Psych bellowed before letting his anger get the better of him and drawing all three orbs of fire together with his magic, and launching the entire thing at Rocket.

"ROCKET!" Screeched Karma as she finally was able to stand and she tumbled forwards, and I threw a wing across her chest to keep her from falling, wincing at her yelling, feeling conflicted myself...

Suddenly, and without much warning, came the second shape of an armored pony that burst out from a half-broken window. What glass that had been left shattered as the blunt of the blow was forced along the armor section of its encased front hooves. With the propelled speed of its wings, and another small twist in mid-air that brought their back hooves around, Rocket suddenly found the left side of his face in full contact with the black metal.

Both pegasi tumbled from the air right as the balefire barreled past where they had been merely seconds ago, and hit across the length of the ceiling. Leaving a scorching line of black and green in a long scar till it fizzled out before reaching the far wall. Psych let forth a number of colorful curses at this point in such a speed I was in no way able to keep up with exactly what was said.

Stan sat there blinking through the entire second half of the ordeal, sword still clasped in his muzzle as he looked between Karma and I, Psych, and then finally to the two pegasi that had fallen back into that same wall from before, though it was easy to tell that Rocket was the one that hadn't fared nearly as well and was laying across the floor not moving, while the other armored one was getting to their hooves.

"You didn't take care of the other one?!" I accused Psych personally, turning to him as I felt my feathers ruffle in both irritation and further stress.

"There was only the one, no one gave us the guest list to this fucking reunion!" He yelled in a retort back to me. The fully armored pegasus had gotten to their feet and was waving around a front hoof as Stan threateningly pointed himself at them.

"Wait, wait. I'm not your enemy." Came the very female sounding voice under the helmet, afterwards she attempted to quickly undo the clasps under it, pushing her hoof against her neck.

"Oh, like that worked so well for me earlier..." I couldn't help but mutter darkly. But at least the female sounding voice had shut Psych up, and he was intently looking at the other enclave soldier with ears perked forwards. Karma had stayed silent for the time period, but I noticed she wasn't watching the new comer, but had her eyes locked onto the still form of Rocket, watching him to make sure he was still breathing.

Meanwhile, the female pegasus had finally undone the clasps to her helmet, and with a lean forward she removed the metal in casing her head. A bright flash of neon yellow shook itself from its entrapment while a ink streak of black blared out of the shocking color combination of her mane. Silvery fur made up her coat while she regarded us with a matching pair of the same vivid yellow eyes that matched her mane. After looking between the four of us, she finally turned her head and looked down at the still form of Rocket, and gave a breathy laugh.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that."

"So, exactly how are you not our enemy when you are working with our enemy?" Psych asked the new pegasus mare holding her helmet as she looked at us. His tone was quieter than before, but still held some of his normal sarcastic sting. The mare shook her head at his question, closing her eyes for a quick moment with an exasperated expression, before lifting her head up and looking to the three of us with a more stern gleam to those neon eyes. Karma on the other hoof seemed to be ignoring us entirely for the time being.

"My name is Storm Cloud. I would not be working with the Enclave if I actually had another choice in the manner. I would love to be able to leave with my husband but...things are not entirely that simple."

"I can understand not leaving, with the risk of being caught and branded..." I quietly responded, giving the mare a sympathetic ear while the other two stallions in my company didn't seem quite as convinced.

"It isn't just that," She quickly stated while turning her head to look at me directly. "I would take the chance of getting caught if we even could actually take that chance. What the Enclave has been doing is...its just wrong. No pony should be more special because of their faults or their strengths." That last sentence of hers held far more passion that I think she wanted to imply.

"What is it your avoiding saying?" Psych asked in an even lower tone, slightly more dangerous. Stan remained silent, per the usual.

"Its just that..." Her sentence fell off, while she scuffed a front hoof against the floor, studying the motion so she could avoid our questioning gazes. "...I can't leave. Because he can't either."

"If you didn't notice the two feather-stuffed appendages on your backs, might be a good time to put them to use." Psych rolled his eyes, disbelieving.

"Fine, fine." She sighed, before suddenly looking back up at look at me. "My husband, Heat Sink, is Flightless."

I tried to hold back the startled cough that crawled up my throat. But the pained expression on Storm's face was clear.

"Explain." Psych demanded, turning to look at me, and with all of their attention minus the still silent and brooding Karma, I was reminded of the similar attention of all those new ponies from the day before, and I instantly became uncomfortable.

"Flightless...are pegasi that can not fly. They are perfectly intact, they even still retain their ability to manipulate clouds and walk on them but, for some genetic flaw, they are unable to fly, period. Its a rare condition, only one we have seen every few generations."

"So, that is why you can not leave." Stan stated, causing us to look at the normally quiet pony.

"Correct. But we want to, we desperately want to. Flightless pegasi are normally treated none too kindly," She stated with a soft sigh. "If it wasn't for his unusual talent with electronics, mostly old world computers, I'm sure he would have had some sort of accident by now." That last part was spitted out, with contempt.

"The Enclave would have him killed because he can not fly?" Psych piped up again, looking to the mare.

"Of course they would," The quiet tone had all of us turning to look at Karma who was now simply sitting by the unconscious Rocket's side, looking down at him. "The Enclave already has to do its best to keep their population in check. Why would they want a member that is severely handicapped? It isn't a fragile society by any means, but weakness isn't supported."

"That's uh...that's, correct." Storm stuttered slightly as she looked at the earth pony mare in a inquisitive manner.

"There are also strict laws when it comes to the Flightless," I brought up to them. "Flightless, are not allowed to reproduce."

And here, was when the storm colored enclave member lowered her ears against her head with a forlorn look.

"It isn't fair, he is the smartest and most caring stallion I've ever met...and all we want to do is have a family. But they won't let us, and so...we fight back however we can. With Spitfire's Schematics eradicated by that...that..." And the forlorn look was replaced with resentment when she looked behind her at Rocket. "We just do what we can to get by...and try and fix things when we can."

"The Schematics are still alive?" Karma suddenly asked, looking to Storm, and having finally brought her full attention away from Rocket, looking mildly surprised.

"Some of us minor followers...but the main members, were clipped, because of him." She pointed a hoof at Rocket's prone body.

"I am so very sorry," Karma quietly responded. "But why did you save him?"

"Because I heard how you yelled out his name. Anypony who would understand exactly how you yelled it, would have done the same," A slight toss of that yellow mane forced it back over her shoulder, before giving the beige mare a hard look. "I certainly know how you felt hearing it, I wouldn't wish that outcome on anypony, regardless how worthless he is."

Karma didn't reply to that, looking to the mare a few seconds longer before she returned her attention to Rocket.

"Anyways, I can give you a chance to get out of here. I'll take the chance that Rocket wont realize it was me who knocked him out, and you already knocked out my other team member. Just knock me out as well, and when the Enclave does finally bring somepony down here to figure out what happened, we can say we were taken by surprise and you got away." Storm looked back to our three stallion group.

"You mean I get to knock up a mare and not end up with a screaming brat in a few months? Well I am totally in." Psych smirked while sitting back on his back legs so he could rub his front hooves together.

Both Stan and I rolled our eyes in a single collective movement.

"Uh...I t-think you might have the wrong idea there. Married, like I sai-ARGH!" Storm stuttered again at first before she suddenly finding herself with a muzzle full of purple hoof as Psych had leaned towards her while throwing his weight behind a right-hoof punch. Storm fell in a metal clanking clump and was instantly dead to the world, out cold.

"Nope, I understood." Psych stated matter-of-factually while using his left hoof to rub his right after.

All three of us, Karma, Stan, and I instantly glared daggers in his direction.

"...What? Her idea, not mine." He gave us his best innocent look.

Stan continued to glare even as he stepped around both him and I and made his way to Karma's side, lifting a hoof and putting it to her shoulder softly with a nudge.

"We need to leave, your hurt."

"I-I...know. Just give me a minute. You guys head outside, I'm right behind you." Karma shook a hoof in our direction, pulling her face away from her friend as he tried to comfort her even in his quiet way.

Psych didn't need to be told twice, as he lifted to his hooves and goggles back to his eyes he made for the door. Stan stood quietly next to his friend before slightly shaking his head and simply moving to follow Psych out of the door we had come through originally, leaving behind Karma and I, along with the three other unconscious Enclave.

I stood, having turned my attention to Karma who quietly sat by Rocket's side. The stallion was still slowly breathing even in his inanimate state, and she seemed fully concentrated on that sole fact. Taking advice from the day before to thought, I slowly stepped up to the door and pushed it back open to follow the others outside.

As I was turning to head back down the hallway from before, the door swishing open and close behind me I did catch a last glimpse of Karma just barely.

The door swung back open as it attempted to go back to its normally closed state, I caught the picture of the beige toned mare having lowered her head, muzzle pushed into the side of Rocket's neck, eyes closed and nuzzling softly with a heart-piercingly pained expression.

I nearly tripped over my own hooves, and found myself attempting to quicken my pace to get outside. Only to go cantering back into the main computer room to grab up my saddle bags I had conveniently forgotten about. Such was the way of things.

I had been standing outside with the other males for a few minutes. Stan stood watching the horizon of the direction we would be heading back to town, Psych sitting on his back hooves and muttering miniscule curses about not wanting to travel at night and how it was all a certain mare's fault and why does he continue to do idiot things for obviously idiot ponies and....I sort of lost track.

The sound of hooves behind us brought out attention to the broken sliding door from where I had originally entered the building, and Karma was opening the hallway door to step through it and make her way outside. As she was about to step around the center desk she gave a slight shake of her head as if to rid herself of some pest, but ended up putting herself off balance and collided her right shoulder into the wooden frame. The old wood let out a groan of protest followed with a few cracks as she fell against it, and Stan was instantly cantering back into the building to stand next to her, lifting a hoof and sliding it under her chest to help pull her back into a standing position.

Karma hadn't even let out a curse or two at falling, though she did narrow her eyes at the desk itself as if it had been all its fault after she got done wincing. When Stan used his hoof to help haul her up, she also remained silent, though gave the larger stallion a nod of thanks before leaning her side against his so the two of them could step in time out the door.

Psych had stopped his grumbling and was looking at the pair of them with an eyebrow raised over one goggle. As they paused right outside the door Stan threw him a heated glance under his hat, causing Psych to lean back slightly as if the other stallion was intending on hitting him for some reason. Stan stomped a hoof, and Psych let out an exasperated sigh.

I stood by and watched the silent conversation, while Psych positioned his own single saddle bag over the opposite shoulder so he could take up position to Karma's right side in a similar manner to Stan. Karma would have jumped in shock when the purple pony pressed his side against hers in the silent help to keep her balance, and the stern straightforward expression he gave off was more than enough to keep Karma from questioning.

The three of them didn't even take another glance at me before they started walking off in the direction of the town. I found myself still stupidly standing there with my two bags and watching them before I took a last glance at the tower behind and above me. It was gloomier than when I had first went in, and I expected the sun was getting ready to set.

But, I was far more concerned with the thought that I wasn't going to be going home any time soon. Or ever, if I stopped fooling myself with the hopeful thoughts. What exactly was I going to do now?

A scuffle of dirt over the concrete under my hooves caused me to look back to the three other ponies. Karma had apparently stopped, and was looking over her shoulder at me. The two stallions had first looked to her for the pause, but then pulled their gazes also in my direction, and the three quietly waited. If it wasn't for his goggles I am sure Psych would be glaring, but it was Karma who tossed her head forwards and looked back at me again to see if I understood the hint.

I felt my feathers lift in slight surprise, even after today's experience, that mare and her companions were waiting for me to go with them. I suddenly realized, this entire time I had thought about going home, to where I obviously was no longer apart of. And yet, these surface dwellers still were going to share their company with me. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go, right?

My chest felt slightly lighter when I stepped forwards to join them, circling around to trot at Stan's opposite side when they continued forwards. I couldn't go home, but just maybe I could stay here. One hoof in front of the other, when I was normally used to floating on wings. I remembered complaining about this walking thing before, but strangely enough it felt more right now than it did anytime before this.

We did have to stop eventually, before reaching the town. We apparently only had a few hours of daylight left, and as twilight came on, it came on quick. I knew that above the clouds it would still be bright enough, but below through the filtered light we were forced to stop.

Karma and Psych had sat down while Stan took the incentive to help get a fire started, which was simple enough with a few drops of another odd liquid from Psych's saddle bag. A dash of whatever it was on the fire, a few clicks of two green magic held rocks later, and the flame had swept over the mostly brush pile that Stan had put together. He had been able to find a little wood, but we had to deal with mostly torn bushes and the remains of long dead plant life.

I lay down near the fire, letting my left side point towards the warmth when the other stallions of my company laid down and got ready to deal with the dark. Karma had decided to sit down a few paces away from the group, and when I gave both a troubled and questioning glance in her direction, Stan was quick to throw me a threatening and protective look of his own. Damn that stallion could be scary when he wanted to be, and he had his own ideals on letting a pony keep their silence if they so wished it. Guess I couldn't blame him.

Pulling my bags from my sides I sat them near to me before stretching out my front hooves and placing my head down on top of them. With Psych pretty much curled up and looking as if he were asleep, though I am sure he wasn't, Stan kept his head up, looking over to Karma. He had silently decided to keep watch, even if the mare wasn't going to sleep any time soon, but nor was he going to tell her that she should. A part of me knew he wanted to.

Shifting a little to try to get comfortable on the ground had me looking over to Karma's figure, just barely outlined from the glow of our fire. The streak of gold in her mane and tail were easy enough to see, but the rest of her camouflaged near perfect to what I knew was a similarly colored backdrop of wasteland in the day. The green glow of her pipbuck illuminated the ground a few inches in front of her, and she was quietly looking down at the machine attached to her right hoof.

If I was going to stay here, I found myself thinking, I would need to know more about the ponies I was going to continue to be sharing company with. But, the others were a bit less noticeable to the knowledge that I did now have of the brown mare, who had let out knowledge of pegasi lifestyle I did not figure most surface dwellers were privy to. She knew that Wonderbolt trainee, and from what I had seen it had been far more than just an acquaintance of hers. If that last scene still burned into my mind had anything to to tell from it.

I couldn't dare ask her right now though, nor any time soon I feared.

But just maybe I could find a chance tomorrow...Maybe. Hopefully.

In the deeper dark, the earth pony mare looked down at her pipbuck thoughtfully. From their experience before she was still sporting a massive headache. Magical burnout the unicorns called it. But she wasn't a unicorn. She had no horn and thus, she was just another earth pony. Nothing special, nothing worthwhile really.

Nothing worth anypony staying for.

A quick glance was given to her friends, and she could see Stan still awake and looking at the fire. Psych and Cloud were asleep, and the only pegasus of their group was fitfully fluffing his feathered wings in his sleep, dreaming. The scene was almost too much for her, they were so much alike, but so very different at the same time. Good thing for him at least.

Looking above to where she knew the cloud layer still hovered miles on top of her, she wondered what it looked like up there right now. Of course she had seen the simulations, but that wasn't exactly the same thing was it?

A final glance down at her pipbuck, and she gave another sigh. Two years, nearly. Was she ever going to be given the grace to forget? Her life was fine here, friends and ponies she saw as family. It was a lot more than what most ponies had. Rainy had told her things would get easier, but they hadn't. Not really.

Her left hoof caressed the green glow while she looked down, thinking.

And she remembered how badly she wished she could stop thinking.

Finally she lay down by herself, even when Stan would look over to her to make sure she was still there, she'd pull her head around and curl up with her back to the group.

Author's Note

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Another hard chapter out of the way, and the feels overwhelm.

Chapter 10 of this story for me was a milestone I had set for myself back when I only had two or three chapters of this story finished. I also knew it was going to be one of the hardest ones for me to write. But, I am glad I have got this far.

Thank you again for reading. <3

The title of this chapter is inspired by: Linkin Park’s “New Divide”.
A song that I believe sums up Rocket well.

Chapter 10's: Google Document Form