Fallout Equestria: Sky High

If I’m dead right now, someone needs to turn off the lights in… wherever it is I deserved to go. I closed my eyes again and turned my head to the side where I heard faint voices.

“Oh, she’s awake.” one voice said. Awake? I was fairly sure I’d be tossed in a pit or something. I slowly opened my eyes again to have a brown unicorn in a white lab coat flash a torch back at me. “Well, awake enough.” he concluded.

“Where… am I… dead?” I said quietly.

“Oh Goddesses no, though we did think you were cactus. I even had a hundred caps on that you were gonna cark it. Unfortunately for me a higher power demanded to see you once you were conscious enough to take orders, so we had to save ya.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Three or four days, not much. You lose track of small details when you’re drinking with the parasprites. Really that costs even more caps, but after the first three bottles you don’t even care. Here, drink this.” He pushed something up to my lips which I obediently drank, a burn in my throat appearing after I swallowed to notify me that it was a strong alcohol I drank and not a potion. I stuck my tongue out in disgust and tried to scrape the taste off with a hoof when I learnt that they were tied down. "Not everypony has good taste, it seems. Listen, I'll untie you, but you gotta promise that you won’t get up too quick. Your ribs are still fixing no matter how the Med-X makes you feel." As soon as my hooves were free I slowly got to sitting upright and take stock of my surroundings. They seemed clean... enough.

"Why am I here again?” I asked since I was out of my post-unconscious haze.

“Because Father has a use for you.” Pyre said as he entered the room. “And you’d best be listening to him if you like your wings. How long until she’s able to be useful, Quack?”

“Normally I would say a week, but Father isn’t a patient stallion.” the doctor replied as he rummaged through a box of various needles. “So you should feel pretty tinny that I have this!” He jabbed the needle into my side and I bent back in pain as my bones felt like they were dragged through my body back into place. When the worst of it died down I touched the bandages around my ribs; tender, but solid. Quack undid the bandages around my chest and pushed me off the bed before jumping onto it himself and chugged the rest of his rum. “Now go off and injure some ponies for me to heal, I can’t do anything with corpses.”

“Get your stuff” Pyre scowled as he gestured to a corner with the wing blades I had during the fight, as well as my saddlebags (which were empty now) and Bolt. I slung my saddlebags over my body with the blades inside and set Bolt around my neck. “Alright Six, let's not keep him waiting any longer."

Six? "Six?"

"Six Hooves. It's your name now. Y'know, like 'six hooves under' sort of thing. Well, it's not your name just yet, not until Father thinks you're good enough, or at least relatively useful. You'll find that we don't just exist for entertainment. Anyway, time to meet the big man. Don't shake his hoof." Great, if only I knew that three days ago. While he spoke he lead me through some corridors before pushing me into a dark room with only one source of light in the centre and closing the door behind me.

"H-Hello? Father?" I stepped into the light just as he did, coming uncomfortably close to the old stallion.

"Ah, I see you've made a full recovery no doubt. Quacked Bones does a marvellous job when it comes to getting me what I nee when I need it, and oh look, that's exactly why I have you here. You see, I have a slight dilemma; I've run dry on hooficure supplies." Really? A trip to a market? What's the catch? "But being me, I can't have just any old supplies. I need the best of the best, which at the moment are sitting in the basement of a certain building in Ponyville."

"Ponyville? Where's that?" I interrupted, earning a death stare from him.

"About five days northeast of here. Now I'm sure you're wondering why I need you to go get them. Well you see, I'll be needing them in two days time."

"Two days!? But you said it was five days one way!" I exclaimed

"I did, and it is, by hoof. That takes into account the tunnel system that goes below the mountain range between here and there," Yeah, the range where my home is. "and all of the threats that I can't be wasting valuable fighters on. That's why I'm sending you and Pyre. Now I hear that Ponyville is filled with dangerous raiders," he said those two words with so much sarcasm I could smell it. "and I am depending on your success, so I've had Ash craft you some... combat-aid. You'll pick it up on your way out, and Pyre will direct you to the Vertibuck the Enclave so happily donated to my cause. Now be off with you, and remember; two days."

I turned and headed out the door to be greeted by Ash and Pyre. "Got your stuff here," Ash said, pointing at a pile of metal implements. "so get ‘em on and give me the old blades. They belong back in the arena's armoury." As Ash trotted off with the old blades I passed to her, I looked at the new gear. Two new wing blades, sharper, deadlier and most importantly shinier than the old ones, as well as four hoof claws, all made of a sturdy yet lightweight metal. She must have taken measurements while I was unconscious because the wing blades folded in a way where none of the edges touched my hide. I noticed the notches in my hooves while I was getting the claws on, which also fit with stunning accuracy.

As I was inspecting the gear in a sort of awe, Pyre smirked. "Yeah, Ash is weaponised genius. C'mon, let's just get this done." He pushed me down the opposite way we came and up a few flights of stairs until we stood on the roof where a Vertibuck was prepared with supplies for the journey. It was the first time I’d seen one up close, so I took the time to inspect it’s every detail, from the Enclave symbol on the glossy black paint to the tray added at the back where our supplies were tied down. Must be an Ausneighlian issue. Pyre sat inside as I looked it over. "Ever flown one of these things?" I shook my head. "Well get in that little glass box and fly as you would. Some freaky magic makes it easy, or something. I reckon we could be there in two days comfortably."

Two days? That's two days too long. "We kinda need to be back by two days." that earned a look of disbelief and a loud ‘What!?’. "I guess it's a challenge, or something."

"Well get the fuck in and fly as fast as you fucking can! I've got some Dash in case you get tired." Dash? I must have lived a sheltered life for the Wasteland. I got myself in the puller's compartment and, after a moment of awkward flapping, got the Vertibuck in the air and on the way to Ponyville.

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

About two hours into the flight we came across the mountain range that separated Equestria from Ausneighlia. I made a point to fly past my house just to see if my mum was alright, but I quickly pulled away once I saw four sets of Enclave power armour sitting around her through a window.

"I wonder who lives in there." Pyre said, gesturing to the wooden structure.

"I do, well, did... I don't even know at the moment."

"Of course it'd be a pegasus of all things. Power armour incoming, 5 o'clock."

Unfortunately the sight of an Enclave Vertibuck must have raised a red flag with Brick, who was outside as always. I could tell by the way he flew, slow but strong, as he pulled up beside us and started talking with Pyre.

"That Vertibuck is official Ausneighlian Enclave property. I demand that you cease flying and hand it over immediately."

"Yeah no can do, bugsy." Pyre returned with a dismissive wave. "We got a job to do and it can't wait, not even for you."

"What are the names of both your employer and your flier?"

"Well Father's not really an employer, but I suppose he fits the bill, and my flier is Six, wait, no, was it... Hawk?" I gave a large nod so he would notice. "Yeah, Hawk something! Cute little mare with a sky blue mane. Really something, you two should go out, and if you let us go I'll even go out of my way to hook you up with her." I whacked my face with a hoof, causing the Vertibuck to swerve slightly.

"Hawk..." Brick started "Your mother's worried about you. Why didn't you come back? She's had us searching the area for you, and I never would have thought you end up working under Father of all scumbags."

"She flew into a wall. Well, by wall I mean an arena with a scary huge mare. Don't remember why she was brought there, but she had to fight the mare. One hell of a show, too. You should have seen her fly across the arena after that kick. Pure entertainment gold."

"Can you let her answer, unicorn?" Brick snapped.

"I got grounded," I said before Pyre did something he'd regret. "Was lead to the arena for safety, sorta. Had a... miscommunication-"

"-She got headbutted-" Pyre interrupted.

"-Miscommunication.” I retorted. “Anyway, I got tossed in the arena to fight for, well, my life. I lost."

"Been out for three days since! Geez, you make good stories boring, Sixy. You shoulda told him about the fight. Actually, no,  I'll do it! I tell you, I ain't never seen somepony last that long after charging Dirge head on, especially not after being electrocuted and with broken ribs, but your girl here is a fighter. Adapt or die is our motto, and she did just that! Both parts! Not many ponies survive a kick from good ol’ Dirge, but after she flew into the side of the cage she landed on all four hooves like a cat, and that’s when we knew she was something special!

“She even went for seconds, spinnin’ around like you’d never believe and getting a beautifully clean slash with some dingy old wing blades. Blood was gushing everywhere, crowd roaring, a real show! It was just the two of ‘em as well, staring each other in the eyes the whole time like it was a match made in the great blue beyond!

“Her only downfall was that she slightly miscalculated how fast that lump of meat we call a mare can travel, and got slammed down onto the dirt. But she didn’t give up there, oh no, but you see, back injuries aren’t like ribs, they throw you off something awful. She was easy pickings from there, flailing her wings and cuttin’ Dirge all over before she finally keeled ove-”

"Enough!" Brick shouted. "I've heard enough! I'll let you go, but I'll be reporting this to my higher ups so don't expect a smooth ride from here on out." He paused a moment before his voice softened. "We'll take care of her, just don't die and come back soon." And with that he flew off.

"I didn't know you were Enclave, Six. It'd explain how you lost in the arena." Pyre said once Brick was out of sight.

"I'm not Enclave, my grandma was a Dashite. Enclave-abandoning sort of thing."

"Then why don't they just burn down your house?"

"'cause my mum and I aren't Dashite, we're just not Enclave. They got my grandma years back."

"You pegasi are strange with your laws..." He muttered under his breath.

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

Much later on, probably about early afternoon, I was slowly munching on some mystery meat that Pyre had so generously cooked for me (After half an hour of whining about it taking more energy to chew raw than I would gain from it) and he was reclining in the comfort of the Vertibuck, smoking it out with three cigarettes. Why he needed three at once I'll never know. Must be a unicorn thing. The eeriest thing, though, was that we hadn't come across any troubles yet.

But of course I spoke too soon.

A green flash of light whizzed past the front of my eyes, followed by some red ones. I swerved the Vertibuck to the left, tossing Pyre to the side and snapping him out of his leisurely bubble.

"They found us, Pyre! Quit being a bludger and do something!"

"On it, Six!" he shouted back as he popped open a barrel of some liquid. He poured it out the side of the Vertibuck and caught it in his magic, creating a bubble of it around us. "When this catches, fly down as if you're crashing!" When it catches? What does he me- Woah!

The bubble burst into flames as a red laser shot through it, preventing me from seeing anything ahead of me. I did what he asked, lowering my altitude and hoping I didn't hit anything on the way until finally we landed with massive force. I might have forgotten to slow down though, as we slid for a good distance, the fire around us burning out. Pyre dragged me out of the flying capsule and slapped me a few times to get my focus.

"Listen. I want you to run away." I looked at him in confusion. "Run away! Fuck, is it so hard? They'll leave me alone, they don’t want me, and it’ll beat getting tortured by far, so just get the hell away from here already!"

"Sorry Pyre, I can't do that." I looked to the sky and noticed the black clad figures drawing closer. "I can’t let you fight them alone. You won’t win. There’s more of them and they’re better armoured.”

"Yeah yeah, alright, I getcha. If it makes you feel better, I’ll distract them enough so you can get a head start then I’ll run meself." He said with half a smile "Just take your bags and get the fuck away from here. You pissed off the wrong ponies and now you got Father and the Enclave hunting you now, so make like an earth pony and run!"

I nodded, picked up my bags and ran away from the crash site. As I ran, I looked back to see Pyre setting fire to another glob of fuel before setting it out in what I assumed were to be individual projectiles. The way he manipulated the fires was so mesmerising that I'd even stopped running to watch in awe. Using the smoke to his advantage, he dashed from cover to cover, avoiding the blindly fired energy beams. Well, almost blindly, because I did know that the Enclave armour had some kind of targeting system, but I had no idea how it worked.

One of the pegasi swooped down around the fire for a clear shot at Pyre, but before they realised it a ball of fire surrounded them, forcing them to let out an almost inequine scream. I couldn't help but stare at the black figure writhing in pain, almost able to feel the burning sensation under my own skin. I tore my eyes away from the sight, the mental pain still dancing over my rump as I reached out to rub it. When I felt it on my hoof as well I opened my eyes to see a small spark singing my coat. Right! Running! Fuck you Pyre! My ass hurts! I ran off in the direction I was flying earlier and the roar of flames slowly quietened down to nothingness.

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

Nothingness.

That just about sums up how I feel right now. A great big keg full of nothing. I've never really had to survive like this, sure I've gone for a walkabout a few times, but at least I always had a place to go at the end of all that. Right now I'm just walking for the sake of getting away from any place I could have called home.

Looking around at the scenery I'd realised that I was definitely deep in Equestria's borders. It wasn't because I could see a whole bunch of towers in the distance, scattered across the horizon, nor was the stupid crazy amount of irradiated critters. It was the clouds, shrouding the land and keeping it in an almost perpetual nighttime. I wondered if anypony here had even seen the sky, let alone sunlight.

I decided to head in the direction of the nearest tower hoping to find some sort of town set up at the base where I could get more supplies. Not that I really had anywhere to go after that, but it was a start at least. A short while on the way I spotted a small raider encampment thanks to the banner of pony hide they'd set up. As I trotted up to it I felt as if all eyes were on me when one approached me.

"Where the fuck do ya think you're going?" The buck said. His coat was so covered in blood and dirt and who knows what else that I couldn't even see it's original colour.

"That-a-way." I responded, gesturing to the tower. Around me I could hear laughter from everypony besides the stallion in front of me.

"That's fuckin' cute," he said "but they don't let us raiders in at Tenpony."

"I'm not a raider, I’m just a traveler."

"Oh you hear that colts? She ain't a fuckin' raider!" Even more laughter. "You're armed to the fuckin' teeth, actually, I'd be surprised if your teeth aren’t sharpened into fucking points, too. You're so fuckin' weapon....ated, that we didn't fuckin' shoot you ourselves in case ya went fuckin’ berserk and slaughtered us all, so take your fuckin’ comedy act someplace else before we change our fuckin' minds!"

So being a walking knife block was a problem. Funny, I half expected to fit in, but I suppose raiding standards here are a bit lower than Ausneighlia, judging by their choice of decoration. I thanked him for the little information he gave as I walked off again and got a pleasant "Fuck you" in return.

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

Finally the entrance to Tenpony was in my sights and I quickened my pace towards it. As I neared I realised exactly how large the armoured entrance was, and that next to it was… some kind of speaker?

"We don't let raiders in, so you'd best be going away now." A voice said through the speaker when I was close enough to hear.

"I ain't a raider, I swear." I responded as I was within poking distance of it. "Just a lost traveller."

The voice went silent for the good part of a minute. "Then explain the weapons ."

"Can't a mare have something to defend herself in this horrible place?"

Silence once more. "Surrender your ammo and… blades, then you can come in." Score! I removed the hoofclaws carefully and gave them to a guard who stepped out from behind the gate just to collect them, then removed the one round I had left in Bolt and put it next to them. Pleased, I started to wander past him before he stopped me. "And the wings. Every blade."

"They... Um... They're permanent." I lied. Truthfully I just didn't want to risk cutting myself while taking them off. "Yeah, permanent. You could take 'em off, but there'd be blood and feathers and screaming and flailing and severed hooves and... yeah...." I gave him a sheepish grin.

"Well ain't that just a problem and a half..." He said with a... Was that a smile?

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

Okay now this is embarrassing. I've been wandering around Tenpony for a while now, trying to get the lay of the tower, with my wings strapped down by bandages tied in a very large and easily noticed bow. I have to leave it on until I leave or else they'd lock me up or something. Stupid guards and their stupid no weapons.

After peeking in a couple of shops and watching some of the other ponies walking around (staring at my bow but pretending they aren’t) I noticed a very important detail; This place is stuffy! Everyone looked like they were born in a high class before the war and were preserved by time! The food prices were dangerously expensive, the clothes are all fancy and there was only one bar in a quiet part of the tower. One bar! And it was quiet! Obviously I made my business there first.

I looked around at the atmosphere of the building. They had a nice post-war theme going that matched the rest of the damned planet, and the only other two ponies in the room were staff. Well, drinking alone has some novelty I suppose.

"G'day," I said as I approached the pale yellow bartender. "Got any beer?"

"Got any what?" she responded.

"Beer."

"Pardon?"

"Beer!"

"What's 'beer'?" Oh I'm beginning to hate this place.

"It's a drink," I tried explaining "that's kinda bitter but not quite, real good for a hot day but it needs to be cold or else it tastes like shit. Kinda amber coloured."

She looked at the few bottles behind her, most of which were Wild Pegasus. "I have whiskey." She replied simply, making me smack my head on the counter with an exasperated sigh.

"How much?" I asked with a defeated tone.

"Hundred caps a bottle." A hundred caps!? I slammed my hoof on the counter before getting up and turning back towards the door. Just before I exited the stallion sweeping in the corner spoke up.

"Give her one on the house, Olive. She's the first pony to walk in here for a while... And I may have a use for her yet." Free drinks? That brought me back to the counter to pick up the bottle before heading over to one of the many empty tables. I took a quick swig from the bottle and stuck my tongue out in disgust. I need to get used to this. I was too busy looking at the bottle to notice the stallion approaching me. "And what's your name, Miss?"

I thought for a moment. Then another moment. "Call me Six." I finally decided.

"Alright then Miss Six, I ha-"

"Just Six." I cut him off. "I ain't fancy."

"As you wish, Six. Anyway like I was about to say, I have a business proposal for you. As you can see, my business seems a bit..."

"Dodgy, run down... shit?"

"Unwanted. You see, when most ponies arrive here at Tenpony Tower they do so for trade, yet nopony has the desire to trade away their liquor, hence my... limited stock."

"No beer" I said, taking another pull from the bottle, keeping it in my mouth a tad longer to accustom myself to it.

"Exactly... why ever that matters...." He muttered under his breath.

"So whaddya want me to do? Threaten traders?"

"Oh no no, nothing so barbaric. I simply want you to go out and collect some alcoholic samples for me. Surely somepony like you would be out adventuring all the time, so all I ask is that if you don't drink everything, I would like to... take it off your hooves.

"But of course no deal should be one-sided, no. If you decide to do this for me, I shall humbly offer to refill your glass, free of charge, whenever you're in town."

I looked at him, then at my bottle. "I dunno. I'd have to think about it for a while..." He nodded at Olive, who brought over another bottle for me. "But, on the other hoof it seems like a limited time offer. I'll do it."

"Wonderful, wonderful! I feel like we have a glorious partnership ahead of us Miss Six." I glared at him. "Sorry, habit." That earned him a smile.

"Well I'd best be off, mate, figure out where to... Adventure next." I said as I tucked the two bottles under my tied down wings. He nodded as I trotted to the door. "I'll be back some day, you can count on that."

"And I await said day with baited breath." Sure, whatever that meant. I headed back out into the main drag and begun searching for a place to rest my head.

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

"Five hundred caps!?" I yelled "For one fucking night!? Is this how you ponies get off or something? Un-fucking-believable.” I looked around; clearly I was making quite a scene, so I lowered myself down a notch. “I just don’t get it. Survival’s about workin’ together, not robbing other ponies. Look, I’m sorry for flying off the handle. I’ll see meself out.”

As I headed for the door I was blocked by a short, steel grey mare with a vibrant blue mane. “I agree.” she started, pushing me back in. “We do have to work together to do better. Come with me.” She headed off towards an elevator and I shrugged before following. On the floor we got off at, we stopped at some double doors marked M.A.S.E.B.S.

Inside the room were screens. Lots and lots and lots of screens, all showing a different part of the Wasteland, although one segment was blacked out.

"This room is where DJ Pon-3 helps the Wasteland. He watches the screens and provides valuable information about the happenings of the Wasteland through his radio channel." The mare said, gesturing to the screens.

"DJ Pon-3 huh? Sounds like a nice guy." I said absentmindedly as I tried to spot the Vertibuck I'd crashed earlier.

"You've... Never heard of him?" She was clearly surprised.

I'd spotted my Vertibuck, the flames surrounding it slowly dying down. No unicorn corpses. That's a start. "Nope, but he sounds like a top quality bloke."

"Where did you say you were from again?"

I drew my attention from the screen to face her. "I didn't." She smacked her face with a hoof. "But I'm from Ausneighlia. M'names Six." Yeah , it wasn't really, but I'm not gonna go gallivanting around a new country and spreading my actual name everywhere.

"Homage." She responded as we shook hooves. "So, what's Ausneighlia like?"

"Iunno, dusty I suppose. A couple of irradiated creatures, but nowhere near as much as here. Not that it changes much, everything down there has some way to drop you to the ground in pain and finish you off."

"Oh? And how far away is it."

"About six days travelling apparently. But that's 'cause there's a giant ffff-" I didn't want to swear in front of somepony so... Proper. "Flippin' mountain range in the way. We call it The Divider." Well, I called it that, but I'll be damned if I don't coin a name or two. Some places deserved to be named. "But I flew over, so it was really about one day ‘cause I left early. Which reminds me," I pointed at the screen with the crashed Vertibuck. "Does the DJ know what happened there?"

"Aside from the most awesome one pony stand against the Enclave he's ever seen? He told me all about it, how one unicorn who'd conjured fire was fighting off a wing of Enclave pegasi while another pegasus escaped..." She trailed off as her eyes widened slightly. "Oh my Celestia, that was you! Oh I have so many questions for you, would you mind if I interviewed you?"

I was taken aback by the sudden shift. "Uh, sure, but ain't that the DJ's job?" Homage winked at me as she wandered up to the console and hit a few buttons. She signalled for me to be quiet as her horn glowed and played a pre-recorded message. Wait... Her lips were moving too... "The fuck!?" I blurted out, then quickly covered my mouth with my hooves.

"Sorry folks, that was just my guest, a mare who was chased all the way from Ausneighlia by the worthless Enclave." The mare said. Was mare right? Stallion? Mare-colt? I was too confused. "So, what's your name?"

"I already told you." I replied.

She chuckled. "Yes, but the whole Wasteland wants to know."

"Oh, right," Yeah, interview, got it now! "M'name's Six Hooves."

"Six Hooves huh?"

"Yeah, it's prolly because I'm a pegasus or something. It was given to me, I got no choice."

"Given to you? By who?"

"Some arena group back home. Bastards killed me before I came here, too."

"Killed you?" She looked surprised. "You seem quite alive and well at the moment."

"Okay okay, they didn't technically kill me, but I was out for three days because of a fight."

"Well that makes a bit more sense. Now how did the Enclave fit in all this?"

"By me flying their Vertibuck. My mate Brick had to alert his boss or something so they could act on it."

"Your mate? As in partner?"

"Oh fuck no! Mate, friend, y'know."

"Oh, so, you were Enclave?"

"Na. Grandma was a Dashite, mum and I were born down here. Brick was just part of a patrol who checked by on us and became friendly."

"Hm." Homage paused for thought. "So why did you come to the Equestrian Wasteland?"

"Because I had to. Arena ponies, remember? Not gonna let you use up their stuff without paying for it. I was sent up to collect something for the boss."

"And the unicorn?"

"My guard-slash-tutor. He was one of the elite, came with me to make sure I didn't die or run away. Do ya know what happened to him?"

"Of course." She smiled. "Well folks, this has been DJ Pon-3 interviewing a lovely mare from Ausneighlia. Who says we can't reach abroad. And now for some soothing sounds for all you Sweetie Belle fans." Homage pressed a button and the microphone disappeared as music begun to play in the background.

"Well?" I asked almost instantly.

Homage nodded and spoke in her normal voice "Your friend headed towards Fillydelphia. Pretty much straight east of here. I'd tell you where in but..." She gestured to the black screens. "I can't see there. Some pony called Red Eye has blocked my signal."

"Sounds like a right arse."

"Oh he is." She paused for thought. "Can I trust you?"

"As far as you can throw me. Course I might help by gliding a fair distance. Add to the illusion, y'know." I smiled

"I... Was that a yes?"

"Sure, we'll go with that. You haven't tried to kill me yet, so there's no need to not trust me."

She nodded. "If you're going to Fillydelphia, I want you to check on some ponies I asked to get my tower vision back there. Look for a small grey mare called LittlePip and her friends. I don’t think they’ll be hard to spot, they kinda stand out."

Oooh, objectives.  "I'll see what I can do." I headed towards the door.

"Wait, Six, about you needing a room..."

.*.    .*.    .*.     *     .*.    .*.    .*.

Now this was a room! Double bed, hot shower, all it needed was a few mares or stallions to serve my every whim and it'd be perfect. I'd have to make do, unfortunately.

I'd spent a good amount of time in the shower, making sure every nook, cranny and hair was clean, or at least passable as such. My feathers desperately needed preening, and I was more than happy to oblige. I got out of the shower and looked in the slightly cracked mirror. Was my coat always this cream? I somehow thought that it was a lot more… dull, but apparently not. It was noticably cleaner though, as was my mane and tail. That was something at least.

I jumped onto the bed, landing right in the middle and stretching out as far as I could. Okay, it was a little lonely. Maybe Pyre... I shook my head, I barely know the buck. Though maybe after I rescue him... Was he even in danger? Did he even want to see me again? If what I'd heard about Red Eye was true, then Pyre was either a slave, which I doubt was in his vocabulary, or a guard.

Oh well, I'll find out when I get there. For now, sleep. I closed my eyes and emptied my mind, not like that second step was hard, and slowly drifted off into a regular dreamless sleep.

Footnote:

You level up, but you have no use for said level because of your lack of any pre-war technology. You should get yourself some of that one day.