Fallout: Equestria - Dirty Deeds

"Everything burns!"

For four months, Sandy's life was a living hell. For four months, he'd been living in the facility. For four months, he'd had no contact with any other pony besides the two mares he worked with. For four months, every single day Sandy had been hooked into various machines and subjected to various tests that lasted hours on end. He didn't have a clue what the machines did or what the tests were for specifically. He just knew they were important and that he needed to endure them. That's what he was told at least. Didn't make the tests any less unbearable.

For four months...Sandy slowly lost his mind.

The machines were bad enough, but his time in the facility was made all the worse by the ponies he worked with. Somehow he'd been stuck with the two most anti-social mares in all of Equestria. No matter how hard he had tried, he couldn't get Rock to laugh. He'd pulled out his best material, everything he could think of, he had an arsenal of hilariousity at his disposal and nothing. Absolutely nothing. He'd have had more luck getting an actual rock to laugh. Still, everyday, he kept trying. One way or another he'd get a reaction out of that mare. If it was the last thing he did.

Rise N' Shine was an entirely different story. He'd succeeded in making her laugh once. He had just told her one of his favorite jokes. She hadn't laughed right away. Only chuckled. Then slowly but surely it evolved into something resembling a cackle. She didn't close her eyes while laughing as a lot of ponies tend to do. They remained pried open. They were always open. She stared right at him with her freaky unblinking eyes the entire time. The laugh itself sounded like nothing Sandy had ever heard or would ever wish to hear again. That sound would haunt his nightmares for years to come. Then there was her smile. Her weird, twisted smile. Smiles were Sandy's favorite thing. He lived to make other ponies smile but he could live his entire life without ever having to see Rise N' Shine smile again. Sandy wasn't even sure he could pinpoint exactly what it was that made her smile so horrible. There simply wasn't a logical way to describe it. It was just weird, creepy and altogether unpleasant.

Everything about Rise N' Shine was unpleasant.

Sandy had struggled to find some sort of redeeming quality in the mare but repeatedly came up with nothing. He could write a book on her flaws though. A very long book. A novel even. The mare had nothing resembling personal hygiene whatsoever. Every day Sandy would leave his quarters, head down the hall to the laboratory and over to his station where he'd meet with Rise N' Shine. Every day he'd greet her and she'd greet him back and the moment she opened her mouth he'd be bombarded with...the smell. Like most qualities Rise N' Shine possessed, the smell was an enigma. Like her laugh, Rise N' Shine's breath was unlike anything he'd ever encountered or could possibly put into words. It simply wasn't natural. What was she even eating? She had to be eating the same food he was seeing as they lived in the same place. What possible combination of foods could produce that smell?! It had to more than simply neglecting to brush her teeth. Even that couldn't have been enough to produce such a rancid odor. It was worse than rotten eggs. So Sandy had come to the conclusion that the smell had to be some sort of natural emission produced by Rise N' Shine herself.

If her breath wasn't bad enough, she never seemed to bathe either. Or perhaps she did but just like her breath, her body produced the odor naturally. If that was the case, Sandy couldn't really fault her but considering the constant filthy state of her mane or the fact that she very clearly never washed her lab coat, he was more inclined to believe that her body odor was due to simple neglect.

If the smell wasn't bad enough, actually talking with her was possibly the most frustrating experience Sandy could imagine. Due to her stutter, it took her forever to say even the simplest sentence. It made it impossible to have a conversation with her. He knew the stutter wasn't her fault and she didn't do it on purpose but being stuck in a facility, for months on end, with a pony who couldn't hold a conversation...to put it lightly, it was driving Sandy mad.

And last but certainly not least...there were the tests. Rise N' Shine had the worst bedside manner imaginable. Whenever they began a new test she'd hook him up to some weird, random machine and begin the test without communicating any information to Sandy whatsoever. He would have no idea what a machine was for or what it was going to do to him. She'd just plug him in and go. Sometimes it hurt. Sometimes it was just plain uncomfortable. Once, she had taken his blood. She never told him she'd be taking his blood, just trotted up to him with a needle, stuck him with it and began to extract his precious fluids.

The worst had been the time she'd hooked him up to a machine that sent him into uncontrollable fits of laughter. It'd actually been somewhat nice at first. He liked laughing. Then the laughter didn't stop. Then it became difficult for him to breath. The fits of laughter grew and grew and he became alarmed. He had looked to Rise N' Shine for some sort of reassurance. For her to tell him that this was all part of the test. That he was going to be okay. She had been paying no attention to him though. Her unblinking eyes glued to a monitor. Did she know what was happening? Did she care? She wouldn't let him die...would she? Eventually the machine powered down and Sandy was saved. He had confronted Rise N' Shine about the incident but received little response and no apology. She simply told him, it was all part of the "t-t-test" and walked away. The experience had left Sandy too terrified to go back the next day. He had called in sick. He wasn't sure how much more of her he'd be able to take.

Four months passed with Sandy performing the same routine, day in and day out. He'd wake up. He'd eat breakfast. He'd go to the lab and participate in Rise N' Shine's dreadful experiments. He and Rise N' Shine would then give a report of the experiment’s findings to Rock. He'd try and make Rock laugh. He'd fail. Then he'd go back to his quarters and lay down in bed, dreading the day to come.

Sandy tried telling himself that it was worth it. That what he was doing was for the good of Equestria. Those thoughts didn't help much...and Sandy was unsure how much more he could endure before losing his mind completely…

~O.o~

Scar, Sortilege and Grass joined Sugar outside behind the shack. The filly sat on the ground, glaring at the group and tapping her hoof impatiently.

"What took you so fucking long?"

"Chill, Sugar." Grass replied. "We're here now. Let's get cracking."

Sugar jumped back to her hooves. All of her previous excitement came rushing back to her in an instant. She smiled the biggest smile she could muster. For once, she seemed to actually be behaving like a child.

Sortilege started wondering just how old Sugar actually was. She had her cutie mark but judging from her size she couldn't have had it for very long. Even though she looked very much like a child, she hardly ever behaved like one. For as young as she was Sugar came across as fairly intelligent even if she did have a foul temper. She also seemed to be extremely skilled with her telekinetic spell. Sortilege could barely use telekinesis at all when she was that young. Even now, she doubted she could wield objects as heavy as the ones Sugar lifted with such ease and skill. Like most of the ponies she had encountered on her bizarre journey, Sugar was a complete enigma.

However, with the way she was acting right now, Sortilege found herself using a term she never thought she'd use when thinking of Sugar: cute.

Sugar was hopping up and down, filled to the brim with excitement. She seemed more childlike than ever. She reminded Sortilege of all the children she interacted with back at her stable. This was how children were supposed to act.

Then Sortilege remembered the reason for Sugar's excitement was due to the fact that she was getting a chance to play with a dangerous weapon. It was slightly disturbing...but cute nonetheless.

Sugar turned to Grass. "Let's get started! Gimme some ammo!"

Grass levitated a small, green egg over to Sugar. The filly loaded the egg into the front end of the launcher then lifted it up and aimed out into the distance.

"Cover your ears, Sorts. This is gonna be loud!"

Sortilege covered her ears and felt her heart sink a little when her hoof touched the little nub that was the remainder of her left ear. Grass and Scar didn't follow suit. Rather than cover their own ears, they just stood there giggling to themselves.

Sugar paused. She wanted to savor the moment. She thought back to her early childhood. The group of raiders who raised her had once acquired a balefire egg launcher. They only had one egg to shoot but Sugar had been present when they used it. The explosion had been the most miraculous sight she'd ever laid her eyes on. The mayhem. The carnage. Ponies caught in the blast being instantly vaporized where they stood. It was beautiful. Ever since that day she'd dreamed of causing that same level of destruction that she had witnessed. Now that day was finally here. She was about to live her dream.

She levitated the barrel higher, as to make sure the egg would land as far away from them as possible. She smiled wide in anticipation...then she pulled the trigger.

The egg shot forth from the launcher and sailed over the horizon. Sugar tracked it with her eyes. Eventually the egg disappeared entirely from her vision. She waited eagerly for the detonation. She waited...and waited...and waited...

...but it never came.

"Huh?"

Off to the side, Grass and Scar began laughing hysterically and Sortilege looked on, just as confused as Sugar was.

"Why didn't it go off?" Sugar asked. "Where's the boom?"

"It was a dud!" Grass managed to get out in between fits of laughter.

"Then give me a real one!" Sugar yapped.

"I'm not giving you a real one! You're not shooting off a balefire egg in my backyard you little psycho!"

Grass and Scar fell to the ground clutching their sides. Sortilege remained confused as she failed to see the humor of the matter. She wasn't the only one.

"But...you said..." Sugar began.

Scar cut her off. "This is what you get for being such a brat all the time!"

Scar and Grass continued laughing. To Sortilege it seemed they finding much more humor in the situation than what was warranted. Probably the drugs.

Sortilege turned her attention away from the laughing duo and focused on Sugar. The little filly stood motionless. She had dropped the launcher and it was now laying on the ground next to her. Her head hung low and her mane obscured her face.

"Sugar?" Sortilege walked over to the younger unicorn. When she got close she noticed little droplets of water trickling down from behind Sugar's mane.

"Are you okay?"

Sugar didn't reply. She didn't move and her face remained hidden behind her mane.

"Umm..." Sortilege was unsure how to approach the situation. She'd dealt with crying fillies before...but never one quite like Sugar before.

"Sugar it's, okay..."

"Fuck off Sorts. Get away from me." Sugar was trying her best to maintain her composure. Sortilege looked at her in bewilderment. She wanted to help but had no idea what to do.

She turned to Grass and Scar who were still lying on the ground, tears of their own streaming from their eyes. "Guys..."

They didn't hear her.

"Guys." She repeated louder, drawing their attention this time. "You made her cry..."

Sugar finally sprang into motion. She whipped her head up to Sortilege and screamed. "Fuck you, Sorts! I'm not crying!" Sortilege finally got a clear view of the filly’s face. The puffiness and moisture surrounding her eyes betrayed her words.

Grass and Scar were finally able to regain their composure. They went from hysterical laughter to short giggles and, while their smiles didn't fade away completely, they shrunk and their eyes adopted a look of slight guilt.

"Awww Sugar, don't cry." Scar began, still giggling slightly. "It was just a joke."

Sugar closed her eyes and turned her head away from the group. "Fuck you guys." She sniffled.

Sortilege genuinely felt bad for the filly. She wanted to reach down and give her a hug, but considering the pony she happened to be dealing with she didn't consider it the wisest course of action.

"Sugar." Grass called over, finally able to fend off his giggling fits. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd take it so bad."

Sugar didn't respond. She didn't even turn her head to look at him. She kept her back turned and her head hung low.

"C'mon. Let's all head back inside. I'll think of something to make it up to you, okay?"

Again,no response from the filly. Not verbally, at least. Eventually she nodded and began to make her way towards the door. Her head low and a glare etched into her face. Her cheeks wet from the tears that had escaped her eyes.

Grass and Scar followed after her. Scar had yet to completely stifle her giggles and Grass shot her a bemused look.

"What? I'm sorry, but I don't feel that bad for her! You know she deserved it."

"Yeah." Grass replied. "I didn't want to make her cry, though. Guess it's hard to remember sometimes Sugar's just a kid..."

Sortilege watched them go back into the house. She stood by herself for a while, mulling over Sugar's reaction. Sugar was a child...but this had been the first time Sortilege had seen her actually act like one. She thought about the children in her stable. All of them, sweet and innocent. She saw a little hint of that in Sugar just now...but the majority of the time she was nasty, foul tempered and mean. Why'd she behave that way? What turned her into such a little...bitch? Sortilege surveyed the land around her and found the answer.

The wasteland.

It did something to ponies. It changed them. It chewed up anything sweet and innocent. Nopony could survive out here for very long if they didn't toughen up.

She wondered how the wasteland would end up changing her. What would she have to become to survive in this place? If she survived in this place…

That thought left her mind as she remembered a much more pressing issue for the moment.

"The lamp!"

She darted back into the shack as quickly as her hooves would carry her.

~O.o~

At five in the morning, every morning, Sandy's alarm sounded. He hated that alarm. Not because it woke him up. Most nights he did very little sleeping. He hated that alarm because every time it went off it signaled the start of another day. Another day of getting absolutely no where with Rock. Another day with Rise N' Shine and her awful experiments.

Another day in hell.

Another day of the exact same thing. It was borderline torture. He kept reminding himself of what he was doing. He was helping Equestria. He was going to bring smiles back to everyponies faces. He told himself it'd all be worth it. He tried to convince himself it'd be okay. Still, he seemed unable to will himself out of his bed.

He was bringing smiles back to Equestria...at the cost of his own…

'Nonsense!' He told himself. 'The experiments aren't THAT bad! When this is over I'll throw the biggest gosh-darn party Equestria has ever seen! It's going to be worth it. Now quit being a ninny Sandy! You got work to do!'

With those thoughts he leaped from bed and got ready for the day. He headed down the corridor towards the laboratory, all the while telling himself that this day would be different. Something new was going to happen today! He could feel it. Sandy had a special sense about these sort of things and right now that special sense was going absolutely bonkers!

He was right...something new was about to happen that day...however, he could never in his wildest dreams have predicted what it was.

~O.o~

Sortilege was right back on the couch. The lamp was once again the focus of all her attention. She had even given it a name at this point: 'Lampy.'

Names weren't Sortilege's strong point.

Sugar sat at the foot of the couch, looking as grumpy as ever. She hadn't said a word to anyone since returning to the shack, clearly still immensely upset over the Balefire Launcher incident.

Grass and Scar lay on the ground in the middle of the room. Flirting and nuzzling each other. Whispering sweet nothings in each others ear. Skitz sat on the couch next to Sortilege still staring off into space.

Grass whispered something into Scar's ear. Her cheeks reddened further and she began giggling uncontrollably. Her giggling turned into a moan as Grass began nibbling on her ear gently. If the other two adults in the room had been in their right minds the situation might have made them uncomfortable. They didn't notice at all though. Too preoccupied with the ceiling and strange, mysterious light sources.

The filly in the room had her wits about her completely. She responded to the display of affection by turning her head away and making rude gagging noises.

Grass ceased his nibbling and turned his attention to Sugar. "You still sore over there, Sugar?"

She didn't respond. Not vocally, at least. She fixed Grass with the meanest glare she could muster. If looks could kill…

Scar turned her attention to the filly as well and smiled. "You're so cute when you're angry like that, Sugar."

"Shut the fuck up, Scar!" Sugar snapped.

"She is, though." Grass laughed. "You're adorable."

"Fuck you both!"

Skitz finally took her attention off the ceiling. She looked over at Sugar and smiled as well.

"Hey Sugar...who's a cutie?" she said in a playful, goofy tone, like one would use when addressing a foal.

Sugar didn't respond. She glared hard at the floor.

"Oh my gosh." Sortilege joined in as well now. "She IS kinda cute when she's mad." Sortilege laughed and earned herself a death glare from the filly as well.

Sugar scowled at all of them. Terrible thoughts of what she could do to them in their sleep ran through her head. She faced away from them and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"...I'm not cute..."

"Oh my gosh, THAT was adorable." Scar cried out as she erupted into a fit of laughter beside Smokin' Grass. "Sugar, you can deny it all you want but you're freakin' adorable right now!"

Grass spoke up as well. "Sugar...hey Sugar...Who's a little cutie?" he said, mimicking the tone Skitz had used earlier.

Sugar kept her head turned. No foal’s game was going to work on her. She refused!

However, Despite her best efforts to stay mad she felt certain muscles begin to twitch in her cheek.

"Who's a cutie?"

The filly fought against the smile that had begun to form on her face. She wouldn't give in. She was stronger than that.

"Come on, Who's a little cutie?"

Despite her best efforts the smile eventually forced its way onto her face and she turned her head back to face the stallion.

"Who's a cutie?!" He repeated shaking his head playfully as the words left his mouth.

Sugar looked at the floor bashfully. Then looked back to Grass and raised her hoof, pointing it at herself. "...Me?"

"Yes you are!" Grass replied, and proceeded to scoop the filly up in his magic and place her between himself and Scar. The duo began mercilessly tickling the young filly.

Sugar burst with laughter. Her sour disposition melted away entirely. Sortilege looked on the scene with a warm smile. It was odd even in her state to see Sugar giggling, or to see Scar being the reason behind her giggles. She was actually having a good time. It was nice to be able to have a little time to take her mind off of things.

Eventually the two tired out and ceased their attack. Sugar looked up at them, laughter induced tears in her eyes. She glared at them but smiled as she did so.

"You guys are still jerks."

"Yeah, but we love ya, Sugar." Grass replied. "Tell you what. I got a bunch of old targets out back that I don't really use anymore....why don't you go out and practice on 'em with your flamer?"

Sugar jumped to her hooves, every bit as excited as she'd been earlier. "Really Grass?! You mean it!?"

"Yeah, really. Go nuts." Grass smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Grass, are you crazy?" Scar protested. "That little pyromaniac is gonna burn the whole shack down!"

"We owe it to her, Scar. We were a lot meaner than we should have been and she'll be fine."

Sugar stuck her tongue out at Scar before retrieving her flamer from Skitz and heading towards the back door. The fillies maniacal laughter the last thing they heard before the door closed behind her.

So much for being cute....

The room went silent for a few minutes. Skitz stared at the ceiling. Sortilege stared at the lamp. Scar and Grass took another hit and began making out on the floor.

After several minutes of the group sitting and doing nothing, Sortilege felt a strange sensation. A sensation she'd felt countless times over her life but never this potent before. A single thought entered Sortilege's mind, a thought that completely consumed her. Nothing else was important. She had to act now. She had to do something about it.

She turned to Grass and Scar and stated calmly "Guys...if I don't get some food right now I think I'm going to die."

Grass and Scar who had previously been occupied entwining their muzzles together both pulled away and began laughing.

"You're not gonna die, Sorts." Grass said between giggles. He stood. "I'll go get us all some grub. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

After he left the room, having just lost her only source of entertainment, Scar decided to strike up a conversation.

"So Sorts, how you liking the wasteland?"

Sorts smiled. "It's not so bad, I suppose. Once you get used to it."

Scar laughed "Yeah, pretty sure that's the herb talking. Wasteland’s fucking terrible. Most days I wish I lived in a Stable.”

Stable. Upon hearing that word Sortilege's smile disappeared. She hadn't thought about her Stable since entering Grass's house. Now, even in spite of the drugs, she began to feel overcome with sadness. It had been her home. The only place she ever knew. All the events of the past few days came rushing back to her. How terrifying they had been. How she'd lost her ear. She looked at Skitz and Scar for a moment and thought.

They'd been in Smokin' Grass's shack for a few hours now. Smoking together. Laughing together. Having fun together. Acting like friends together.

They weren't her friends though. They were her kidnappers. They were going to sell her for bottlecaps. Bottlecaps! Little thin sheets of metal! She’d thrown away at least several dozen in her stable! The mares were going to leave her fate to the hooves of the pony who sought her, no matter their intention. Skitz, Sugar and Scar may not have been the ponies who wiped out her Stable...but if they had gotten to it before the others…

Sortilege thought back to her Stable again. Remembering the good times she had. The nice doctor. The kind old mare who baked her cookies. The children she taught. All gone.

Smokin' Grass entered the room again, levitating a tray of food. He noticed Sorts sudden change of disposition. "You okay Sorts?"

"Just thinking about my Stable...I miss it."

"Awww. Poor girl." Grass laid back down next to Scar and began passing around the assortment of snacks he'd brought with him.

"Yeah." Sortilege lowered her head. "There were a lot of nice ponies in my Stable. When I was a filly I used to pretend to be sick just so the doctor would give me lollipops. He knew I was faking it but he'd give them to me anyway. He kept doing it even after I grew up. He was so nice…”

"What was his name?" Grass asked.

"His name was..." Sortilege began...then froze.

What was his name? She couldn't remember his name! Sortilege began to panic. Dear goddesses above, how could she forget the name of the kindest pony she ever knew? She struggled. She strained her mind. She tried to remember his face, the color of his coat, his cutie mark, anything! It all came up blank! All she could remember were the lollipops!

Sortilege's breathing quickened. She felt ill. She was going to throw up. What kind of terrible pony was she, that she couldn't even remember his name?!

"Sorts! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Grass inquired upon seeing her newfound distress.

"I...I...can't..." she began, in between quickened breaths. "I can't..." Inhale..."Remember..." Inhale..."His name!!"

Grass rushed over to her. He embraced her and began stroking her mane, trying to calm the distraught young mare.

"Sorts...shhhhh...it's okay. Listen to me." he took her by her shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. "You're just high." He spoke calmly and slowly. "It happens, okay. You're gonna be just fine."

Sortilege struggled to regain her composure. "I..." Inhale. "Can't..." Inhale..."Breathe!"

"Do this." Grass instructed then began to slowly inhale through his nose. Sortilege followed suit, taking in a deep breath through her nostrils. When he exhaled she mimicked him again and slowly began to gain control over her breathing.

"Now listen to me." Grass took his hooves again. "You're gonna be fine. You just need some sleep. Eat those snacks...then fall asleep on the couch. This kind of thing happens when you smoke. You just need to sleep it off. Ya hear me?"

Sortilege nodded. Upon hearing Grass's words she began to feel better. It had just been the drugs. She would remember in the morning. She just needed sleep. At that moment Sortilege decided it'd be a good idea to never touch the miracle herb ever again.

"Okay then." Grass grabbed one of the snacks he'd brought out and shoved it into Sortilege's mouth. "Eat this. Get some rest. You'll be fine. Just relax."

Sortilege, mouth full of food, nodded at the stallion. As she began to eat she turned her attention back to the lamp, in a desperate attempt to distract herself from thinking about her Stable.

A bubbling noise came from the middle of the room. Scar was in the process of taking yet another hit. She exhaled with a smile. Then she turned her attention to Smokin' Grass as he made his way back over to his spot next to her.

Before he could sit down, the crimson Pegasus looked up to him with her best pouty expression

"Grass, you still haven't given me my present!"

Grass looked down to her with half lidded eyes and a devious grin. "Well...I guess now's a good a time as any."

He grabbed the end of Scar's tail in his magic and began to drag her towards the bedroom. The crimson mare giggling with delight the entire way, wings extended to their full length. Right before they reached the door Scarlet stopped him.

"Wait." Her delightful demeanor changed instantly, and a look of disappointment made itself at home on her face. "We probably shouldn't leave Sortilege alone with Skitz..."

"Oh, she'll be fine." Grass blew her off entirely.

"I don't know..." Scar began.

Grass interrupted her by leaning over the still prone mare and gently nibbling on the tip of her ear.

Scar shuddered. She let in a quick gasp, followed by a long exhale. "Ubbbbuwahahaha..." was all she managed to get out, having lost the ability to think coherently, her rationale overridden with excitement and lust.

With that, Grass pulled her the rest of the way into his bedroom, all protests on the mare's side absent. Her disappointed expression replaced once again with one of utter anticipation. When they were inside, Grass levitated the dazed Pegasus onto his bed and closed the door.

Sortilege now sat in the living room. Skitz sat on the couch next to her, staring at the ceiling, through half lidded eyes and oblivious smile glued to her face.

Sortilege nibbled on her snack. The ravenous hunger from before had seemingly vanished. She dropped the remains on the floor and focused all her eyes on the lamp, trying to remember what she had found so captivating about it in the first place. It was just a lamp. Just a stupid lamp.

After giving up on her attempts to discover the secrets of the mysterious lamp, her thoughts instantly wandered back to her Stable.

The doctor. The kind old mare. Her students. All dead. Now she couldn't even remember their names or faces. Was it really the drugs? Or was a few days all it took for her to forget somepony entirely?

The question festered in her mind. Harassed her every thought. She tried to remember them...but no matter how hard she tried she simply couldn't.

This was a new kind of torture entirely. She could never fall asleep like this. Her brain wouldn't let her escape . So she laid on the couch and watched the lamp. Watched the green droplets of fluid slowly float up to the surface and disappear. Just like her memories…

Where did they go?

For what felt like an eternity she watched the lamp, praying it would somehow magically answer her question and put her mind at ease.

But it never did…

~O.o~

Sandy made his way down the corridor towards the lab. As usual, the long hallway gave him the creeps. As he traversed further down, the hallway became increasingly large and the lights fewer and farther in between. Strange little maintenance robots scurried along the floor doing Celestia knows what. Sandy had never really discovered the true purpose behind Rise N' Shine's virtual army of tiny robots but theorized they may have been created for the sole purpose of creeping him out.

They were everywhere! Sandy couldn't take two steps with out almost stepping on some kind of freaky machine. Worse yet, they were the freakiest looking robots he'd ever laid eyes on. Most of them looked more like insects than actual robots. Each one moved around on an assortment of mechanical tentacles. Most of them had just one cybernetic eye that would move around on the end of one arm. As Sandy walked down the corridor, he felt as if they were watching him - observing him for some unknown reason. The moment he turned to look they would all scurry away as fast as they could.

Most of the robots looked almost identical but upon closer inspection one would be able to tell that each one was just slightly different. As if each one had been specially made. For some reason Sandy found that made them all the more unsettling and hurried as fast as he could down the corridor. He hated those robots and the sooner he could get away from them the better.

He wasn't going to let creepy robots put him in a bad mood today. No - he was determined to have a good day today! Nothing was going to bring him down. Not robots. Not Rise N' Shine. Not even grumpy minotaurs…

Sandy finally reached the end of the hall and to the large doorway that led into the lab. In front of the door stood it's ever present guardian: Max the minotaur. The facility's head of security. The only security it had, as a matter of fact. Why the facility needed security at all, Sandy didn't know. The mountain was secluded and he couldn't imagine anyone being able to find it, let alone want to attack it.

Even still, they had Max. He stood in front of the door to the lab, completely stationary. He towered over Sandy. Sandy had never seen a minotaur before but he was pretty sure they weren't supposed to get THAT big.

The minotaur stood ever vigilant in front of the doorway. His dark green coat barely illuminated by the dim lights. His face was stone - never blinking, never showing a single emotion. Massive arms crossed over his chest. His job was to prevent anypony without proper identification from passing through the door. His job. His mission. His life.

Sandy approached Max and spoke, putting on his best attempt to be cheerful. "Hiya Max! How are you doing today?"

The minotaur didn't look down, didn't blink. Didn't show any expression other than his stone cold stare. He spoke, in the lowest voice that had ever met Sandy's ears, the only word Sandy ever heard him speak. "Identification."

"Okie doki loki!" Sandy smiled as he whipped out his ID card. He'd got the exact response he'd expected but it didn't hurt to try. He was determined to be in a good mood today!

After Max scanned the card the door began to slide open. Sandy was determined to make the best of this day. He'd planned everything out. He'd walk into the lab and tell Rise N' Shine he wasn't going to put up with her anymore and that she'd start keeping him informed on what was going on with the experiments or he'd be forced to report her to Pinkie Pie for misconduct. Today was the day he'd finally get a smile out of Rock. If everything went as planned, today would be a great day.

After the door finished opening all the way it became clear things weren't going to go as planned.

For there in the doorway stood an entirely new factor in Sandy's plan. One he couldn't have possibly predicted. Not in a million years.

A new pony stood before Sandy. A little yellow unicorn filly with a neatly styled blue mane. Her coat and mane almost made it seem as if Sandy were staring at a miniature version of Rise N' Shine. If Rise N' Shine didn't wear glasses. Or if she combed her hair. Or bathed.

Sandy stared at the filly, completely dumbfounded. It'd been months since he'd seen another pony aside from Rock or Rise N' Shine. Where had this filly come from? How'd she get in here? What was she doing here? Why was she smiling at him like that?

The filly stared up at Sandy with the biggest smile she could muster. Sandy awkwardly smiled back. As he did, Sandy realized that he was looking at the first genuine smile he'd seen in ages. The best kind of smile in the world too.

The smile of a child.

The awkwardness in Sandy' face died away and was replaced with a genuine, heartfelt, appreciative smile. Sandy knew today was going to be good…

"Well hi there little filly!" Sandy finally spoke. "Where did you come from?"

In a feat that defied logic the fillies smile somehow became even wider. Her face stretched to impossible, Pinkie Pie style lengths. She started to shake. Then all at once she darted forward and grabbed Sandy's leg in an intense embrace that threatened to crush Sandy's leg.

And all the awkwardness of the moment came rushing back.

"Oh. My. Gosh!!" The filly was practically shouting at the top of her lungs. "You're him! You're really really him! I can't believe it!!"

Sandy stood there, completely lost as to what his next course of action should be. She was holding his leg tight enough he felt there'd be nothing left of his leg but dust by the time she let go.

"I can't believe you're really here! I'm Sunshine! I'm like your biggest fan!!" The filly continued to shout, increasing the strength on her hold with each sentence. She was awfully strong for a filly.

"Well it's nice to meet you Sunshine." Sandy managed to get out. "Would you mind letting go of my leg please?"

"Ohmygoshimsosorry!!" The words escaped the fillies mouth like lighting as she pried herself from the stallion’s leg.

Sandy rubbed the spot she had previously occupied. That was gonna be sore for a while…

"It's okay." Sandy put his smile back on. "How'd you get in here, Sunshine?"

The energetic little filly opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the approach of another, less enthused mare.

"G-g-good m-morning Sandy." Rise N' Shine asked in her low, nasally, shaky voice.

Sandy smiled back at Rise N' Shine."Morning Rise N' Shine! How are you this morning."

"I'm g-good. Th-thanks f-for a-a-a-asking."

At that moment the little filly, Sunshine, zipped over to the older mare and began bouncing around her excitedly.

"It's him! It's him! It's him! It's really really him!" She called out in between each bounce. The filly was bursting with energy and considering the company Sandy had been stuck with for the past four months, it was a very welcome change.

"C-c-calm d-down Sunshine. B-behave y-y-y-yourself."

"I'm just so excited!" Sunshine practically screamed back at Rise N' Shine. The older mare didn't even flinch. She looked down at the filly with the same unblinking shaky expression she gave everyone else.

"I know y-y-y-you're e-e-excited sw-sweetie but you n-n-n-need to calm d-down a b-bit." Rise N' Shine turned her attention to Sandy. "M-m-m-mister Sandy h-have you m-met Sunshine?"

"It's just Sandy, Rise N' Shine," the stallion corrected her. "and yeah I met her but...where the hay did she come from?"

Sunshine bolted over to Sandy in a flash. He'd never seen a pony move like that. It had to have been some kind of record.

Staring up at him with that big silly grin of hers, Sunshine spoke. "I can answer that Mister Sandy!"

"You can just call me Sandy." Sandy replied gently.

As soon those words left his mouth the little fillies grin widened further. Sandy looked on in horror. How much more could that cute little face take!? There was smiling and then there was whatever this was! He couldn't decide if he was impressed or frightened!

The little filly began zipping around the area at blinding speeds yelling as she went "Sandy! Sandy! He says I can call him Sandy!"

This little girl could give Pinkie Pie a good run for her money!

"S-s-Sunshine s-slow down! You'll m-mess up your m-m-m-mane!"

As the filly whipped past Rise N' Shine the older unicorn caught the ecstatic filly in her magic aura and brought her close to her face. "S-Sunshine you n-n-need to behave y-y-yourself w-when y-y-your in my l-l-l-l-lab or I'm n-n-not g-going to let y-y-you c-come here ag-again"

Sunshine's expression changed. Her smile died away and her head and ears drooped. "I'm sorry. I'll be good."

"N-no more r-r-running?"

Sunshine shook her head.

"O-o-okay. Good g-girl." Rise N' Shine set the filly back down and smiled at her. That strange, awful smile she had. "Y-y-you d-did a g-g-good job with your m-mane this m-morning sweetie."

The enthusiasm in Sunshine's face returned and she smiled up at Rise N' Shine. "Thanks!" she said then followed it up with a statement that shook the foundations of Sandy's world.

"I knew you'd say that, mommy.”

Wait...what?

"M-m-mom...m-mom..." For a moment Sandy knew what it felt like to be Rise N' Shine. He was at a total loss for words. Rise N' Shine had a daughter!

Looking over the little Unicorn filly he could see the resemblance clearly. They had the basic coat and mane colors. Only real difference being that Rise N' Shine's coat was a much lighter shade of yellow. Other than the minor details such as size and attire, the pair were identical.

Sandy stared at the two in awe. How in the wide, wide world of Equestria was this possible? He didn't want to seem too mean but one single thought refused to leave his mind: 'Who in the hay would have a child with Rise N' Shine?'

Sandy walked over to the two, trying to shake the utter shock from his head. Sunshine looked up to him, brimming with excitement yet again.

"It's really nice to meet you Mister Sandy." The smile remained but her eyes fell to the ground and she looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about being so hyper before. I was just really excited to meet you."

"It's okay." Sandy smiled back at the filly and chuckled. "I know a thing or two about being overly hyper myself."

"I'm your biggest fan!" Sunshine's hyper activeness began to show itself once again. "I love your parties! They're the bestest things ever!"

"Well glad to hear you think so! Maybe when you get your cutie mark I'll throw your cutecenara for you."

Once again the filles smile stretched to impossible lengths. She stood in place for an entire minute. Then two. Then three. Excitement overwhelmed her and she froze with her smile etched into her face.

"Ummm Rise N' Shine? I think I broke your daughter."

Rise N' Shine, as usual, showed no expression. Only the same, unblinking, shaky stare. "Sh-she'll be f-f-fine. Just g-give her a m-m-m-minute."

The two were interrupted by the approach of the only pony Sandy knew who could match Rise N' Shine for total lack of expression.

"Who's this?" Rock asked, motioning to Sunshine.

"This is m-my d-d-d-daughter, S-sunshine." Rise N' Shine answered.

Finally, for the first time, Sandy watched Rock's expression change. She stared back at Rise N' Shine, mouth hanging open slightly in shock.

Sandy chuckled. "Yeah, that's pretty much the same reaction I had." He faced Rise N' Shine. "So, who's the father?"

Rise N' Shine shook her head. "No f-father. Artificial inse-insem-insemin-insemination."

"Ohhhhh!" Sandy and Rock looked at each other in mutual understanding. "That makes more sense."

Now it was Rise N' Shine's turn to surprise Sandy by showing expression. Her eyes narrowed (so she did have eyelids!) and she shot back at the two with an offended glare. "Wh-what's that s-s-s-supposed to m-m-mean?"

Sandy began backtracking immediately "Nothing! it's just uhhhh..." he paused, searching for the right excuse "We've never seen you with anypony and you don't seem like much of a romantic so..."

Rise N' Shine held her glare on Sandy for a while before her typical expression returned and she gave her attention to Rock. "W-we should g-g-get started."

Rock nodded, then proceeded to turn around and head over to one of the various testing machines that had been the bane of Sandy's existence for the past months.

Turning her attention back to Sandy, Rise N' Shine spoke. "She'll b-be j-joining us in th-the testing t-t-t-today."

"Really?" Sandy's heart lit up upon hearing this news. A chance to be close to Rock all day? He knew today was going to be good!

All at once, Sandy was bombarded by a spastic little filly. "I'm helping today too! I've been cooped up in my room for four months now and it's been soooo boring! Mommy said I could come watch you guys today! I'm so excited! I'm like, your biggest fan!"

Sandy took a cautious step back from the hyperactive young unicorn. "Yeah. You said that already." He replied with an awkward chuckle.

"G-go wait b-b-by the t-t-testing area s-s-sweetie." Rise N' Shine commanded her energetic young daughter.

Sunshine did as she was told and dashed over to the machine quick as lightning to join Rock.

Sandy stood alone next to Rise N' Shine. She had taken out a small notepad and was going over the procedure for the day when Sandy, consumed by his curiosity, asked her the question on both his and Rock's mind. "So...artificial insemination, huh?

Rise N' Shine didn't look up from her notepad. She simply nodded in response.

"Can I ask...why?"

She pulled her attention away from her notes and looked up to Sandy. At first glance her expression seemed the same as always. As Sandy looked into her eyes however...her wide, unblinking eyes...he saw something. A little spark of emotion. A little spark of pride.

"I w-wanted to b-bring my own s-sunshine into Equestria."

That was all the answer she gave him and the pair began to make their way over to the testing machine. As they walked, Sandy found his attention drawn to the beautiful grey mare on the other side of the room. She was listening to Sunshine blabber on about something. The entire time her face remained calm. Expressionless. As if it were made from stone. Sandy wondered if he'd ever be able to break that stone. To break her cold hard exterior and bring out the smile he knew she had. Nothing he'd ever tried had worked. His best jokes. His best compliments. All futile. Someday he'd find a way though. He'd make her smile if it was the last thing he ever did…

"Y-you like her, d-don't y-you?"

"Huh?" Sandy had been lost in thought and the sudden comment from Rise N' Shine had caught him off guard.

Rise N' Shine motioned over to where Rock stood. "You l-l-like h-her?"

Sandy thought for a second before answering. "I'm not really sure. I mean she's really cute. Beautiful, if you want my honest opinion. But..." He paused and thought over his next words carefully. "She's so...cold. I've never really had an actual conversation with her. She just...doesn't respond. It's like...it's like talking to a rock."

"I-is that why y-y-you call her th-that?"

Sandy chuckled. "No, I call her Rock because she's never actual properly introduced herself to me and when she does actually talk it's usually about rocks so I dunno...it just kind of stuck, I guess."

"M-m-makes s-sense."

"Really?"

"N-no."

"Well..." Sandy continued. "Like I was saying, it's not so much that I like her. It's more like...well..." He thought over to himself the real reason he was so fascinated by Rock. "I've never met someone like her. Somepony I couldn't make laugh. Making ponies laugh is my special talent after all and not being able to make her even crack a smile..." Sandy hung his head. "Makes me feel like I'm not living up to my destiny I suppose."

He got no response from his present company. The two were almost to their destination. Sandy lifted his head back up, and quickly finished his train of thought.

"So I guess you could say she's a challenge for me. My special talent is getting anypony to smile so I am bound and determined to make that mare smile. One way or another! I won't give up! It's good for me. Here I am with you trying to create a device to bring smiles all over Equestria and I'm working with the one mare I can't seem to get a smile out of. She's like a...a...a continuing source of motivation for me!"

Sandy and Rise N' Shine finally made their way to the testing area next to Rock.

"What were you two talking about?" She inquired, placing a little extra emphasis on her 'T's.'

Rise N' Shine, unfortunately, was the one to answer. "S-sandy says you're a cont-cont...cont..." She seemed to be having difficulty getting out the next word... "Sandy said you're a cont...a cunt-cunt...a c-c-cunt..."

For the second time that day Sandy watched Rock's expression change. Just like before her mouth opened in shock. Only this time her eyes narrowed as well and she glared back at Sandy, utterly offended.

"A c-cunt...a c-c-c-cunt..."

She cut Rise N' Shine off before she could finish her sentence. "Let's just get started on the tests." and with that she began to strap herself into the machine.

"A c-cunt...a c-cont...i-in...uing source of m-motivation for h-him..."

Sandy looked at Rise N' Shine in utter horror. "You did that on purpose!"

Rise N' Shine turned to look at Sandy, unblinking and wide eyed as always. "D-did wh-wh-wh-what?"

"Let's just get started with the test." Sandy snapped back. Then began to strap himself into the machine next to Rock.

Today’s machine consisted of two chairs with helmets suspended above each one. Multicolored lights adorned each helmet. The machine was not very dissimilar to the machine that Sandy had his terrifying laughing fit in once. That made him just a little bit nervous. The machine, coupled with Rise N' Shine's unwitting attempt at sabotage, fouled Sandy's previous cheery mood. He fought through it. Today was going to be a good day…

Rise N' Shine made her way over to the two and used her magic to strap both of them in tight. Too tight. Sandy could barely breath, it seemed. He thought he'd be used to discomfort by now but that didn't seem to be the case.

After strapping Rock and Sandy in, Rise N' Shine walked over to a terminal next to the machine. Sunshine stood next to her, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"S-settle d-down, swe-sweetie."

"Sorry, mommy."

Rise N' Shine began typing away on her terminal. As usual she made no effort to inform either Sandy or Rock what exactly the experiment would entail...or how much it'd hurt. Sandy wasn't going to stand for it this time however. Not today.

"Rise N' Shine?"

The mare looked up from her terminal and towards him.

"What exactly is this machine going to do?"

Rise N' Shine adjusted her glasses, cleared her throat and began speaking. "Th-this m-machine is for s-spell refin-refinement. I'm g-g-g-going to c-c-cast a sp-spell on the t-t-t-two of y-y-you. A m-m-mood altering sp-spell. Th-then this m-m-m-machine will re-rec-record h-h-how the sp-sp-spell affects b-b-both of y-y-you d-differently. A-a-a-afterwards, we'll u-u-u-use the d-data to re-re-refine the sp-spell and al-alter it accord-accord-accordingly so w-w-we can g-get the s-same affect each t-t-t-time."

Sandy felt he finally understood why Rise N' Shine was reluctant to go into detail about the tests now. That had been the longest string of words he'd ever come out of her mouth and with her stutter itseemed immensely difficult for her to get it out. Sandy dropped his head. He kinda felt bad for asking…

"Are y-you r-ready?"

Rock nodded and Sandy looked up.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" he kicked his optimism back into gear. Today was going to be a good day!

With that, Rise N' Shine's horn lit up. Swirls of crimson light began to form around Rock and Sandy. The light twirled and danced along around their bodies before making their way to the two immobilized ponies heads. The lights phased through their skin and into their brains before disappearing altogether.

For several moments the scene was silent. Sandy and Rock sat strapped in their chairs and Rise N' Shine typed on her terminal, waiting for the spell to kick in. Next to her, Sunshine tried to prop herself up on the terminal to see what her mother was so transfixed with.

Sandy sat for a while, mostly because he didn’t have a choice. He was completely immobilized and very uncomfortable. Unable to turn his head, he began to strain his eyes in an attempt to see how Rock was fairing, but it proved useless. So he simply just sat, waiting for the spell to kick in.

Sandy didn't like not being able to move. He didn't like not being able to turn his head and he became increasingly irritated at the situation. As he sat there waiting for something to happen, he felt his optimism about the day began to leave his mind and become replaced with incredible frustration.

He thought about Rock. Mostly about out how he could never make her smile. Why couldn't he make her smile? Did she just lack the correct facial muscles or something? No, that couldn't be it. Maybe she just didn't think he was funny. That couldn't be the case, though. Everypony thought he was funny. It was his job to be funny and he was damn good at it! Did she think she was just too good for laughs? Sandy mulled it over and finally came to a definite conclusion.

Rock was a bitch.

For no good reason at all, she just plain didn't like Sandy. Why not? Sandy had never done anything for her but try and make her happy! Yet she never reacted. Not even a little. She didn't even pretend to care. Rise N' Shine was right. She was a total cunt.

Sandy's incredible frustration evolved into full blown rage as he began to think about Rise N' Shine.

Rise N' Shine.

The fat, ugly, smelly unicorn bitch who had made his life a living hell for the past four months. Of course she’d been artificially inseminated. It would be the closest thing she'd ever be able to get to a date! He hated her. With every fiber of his being, Sandy hated her. He hated her gross mane that she didn't seem to have the decency to clean every once in a while. He hated her disgusting, repulsive breath. He hated her stupid stutter that made it impossible to hold conversations with her. He hated her stupid glasses. Her stupid lab coat. Her stupid hyperactive daughter! Everything to do with her.

Most of all...he hated her smile. That sick, twisted excuse for a smile she had. It was unnatural the way she smiled! It was a crime against everything he stood for!

Sandy looked over to Rise N' Shine. All the pent up rage he felt towards her came boiling to the surface. For four months she had subjected him to torturous experiments, not caring about his comfort. Not even seemingly caring if he lived or died. Not any more. He wouldn't take it anymore! He'd kill her! He'd beat her head in until it was nothing but red mush and then he'd never have to see that sick smile ever again!

Sandy began to tug against his restraints. The rage he felt erupted out of him. It gave him strength. Nothing could stop him. He was going to kill her. Eventually the straps began to tear. Within moments, Sandy was free. He turned to the vile excuse for a unicorn.

Now completely consumed by his rage, he lunged at her, foaming at mouth. The last thing he remembered was hearing a little filly screaming as he galloped at full speed towards his target. Then, Sandy's world went black.

So much for a good day…

~O.o~

"Doctor...Scalpel? No. Doctor...Care? No. Doctor...stethoscope? No, that's not it either. Oh...bother.”

For the past hour Sortilege had laid on her spot on the couch trying her best to remember the name of her childhood doctor.

"Doctor...Doctor...Doctor Feelgood! That's it!" She perked her head up finally, reveling in her triumph. "Skitz! I did it! I finally remembered his name!"

The only other pony occupying the room with her showed little interest in Sortilege's victory. She sat in same spot on the far end of the couch, staring off at the wall with the same far away look and light smile on her face.

"That's nice." was her only response.

"Okay, so that means it was just the drugs and I'm not a terrible pony!" The depression and panic from before began to die away slightly "I mean...I'm not a terrible pony...right?" A small bit of doubt still lingered.

"It's okay to forget." Skitz answered without turning her attention from the wall. "I forget things all the time."

"Yeah, but...this isn't like just like...forgetting to brush your teeth in the morning. I can't remember the names of half the ponies in my Stable!"

"It's probably just the drugs. You'll be fine once it wears off."

"Yeah...I hope so." Sortilege laid her head down on the couch. The lamp was beginning to hurt her eyes. Even with how tired she was beginning to feel, she couldn't seem to fall asleep. Her mind kept going back to her stable and all the ponies she grew up with.

By now she was at least able to remember some of their names and faces...but not all. Or even most. Thinking back, she realized the reason. She'd never bothered to learn them. Never thought to ask. Or converse with them. Or get to know anypony at all. After the death of her parents, Sortilege hadn't really had anyone she interacted with on a day to day basis. She never had anything resembling friends or family. The stable had provided for her as a whole but no single pony had taken care of her. She'd raised herself for the most part and as a result she'd never become close to anyone in her stable. She just held up in her room, reading her books. Rarely left. Rarely interacted with others. Never even took the time to learn anyponies name…

Now they were all gone. Gone from the world and gone from her memories. If she didn't remember them who would? All the students Sortilege had taught, every bright smiling face she greeted each morning...gone. She'd tried to remember the names from the roll call. Tried to recall her favorite or even her least favorite students. It all proved futile. Her mind refused to cooperate with her. So she resorted to the one activity she'd never been fond of. The one action she'd found herself indulging in quite often in the wasteland.

Once again, Sortilege cried.

"Oh...bother." She said through her sniffles. "Skitz, this bothers me. Bothers me a lot. I hate being bothered."

"Why?" Skitz asked, once again not turning her attention away from the wall.

"Huh?" Sortilege perked her head up and shot the Earth pony a bewildered look.

"Why does it bother you?"

"B-because! Everyone I grew up with is gone and I can't even remember their names!"

Sortilege could hardly believe what she was hearing! How could it not bother her?

"Isn't it better that way?" Skitz replied. "It's gonna be a lot easier to get over it now."

Sortilege stared at the back of Skitz's head. She was completely dumbfounded. She barely knew how to respond to such a statement! After a moment of bewildered silence, the words finally came to her.

"A good pony would want to remember them."

Skitz finally broke her gaze on the wall. She turned to Sortilege and focused on her, eyes half lidded and a smirk etched into her face.

"Maybe you're not a good pony."

"I...I...I..." Sortilege couldn't speak. She couldn't find words to express her horror at the statement Skitz had just uttered. Not a good pony? Ridiculous! She was the nicest pony around! Everyone in the stable had loved her!

But had she loved them? Had she cared about them at all? She wanted to believe she had...but how could she? She couldn't even remember their names...

Skitz's smile widened. "Being a bad pony..." She turned away and once again focused her attention to the far wall. "...ain't so bad, ya know."

"But I don't...I..." Sortilege was scared, but it wasn't any kind of fear she was familiar with.

Since entering the wasteland Sortilege had experienced all kinds of new fears. The fear of death. The fear of the unknown. The fear of pain and the fear of pyromaniac fillies. This was yet another new fear and it was worse than all the others combined. The fear of oneself.

"I don't wanna be a bad pony!" She practically yelled the words out. "That's not who I am!"

Skitz didn't move her head. Her focused remained trapped in her own little world, same as always. As if she was only half listening to the conversation. When she replied however, she replied with the most chilling question Sortilege had ever been asked.

"Then who are you?"

Sortilege stared. Mouth wide open as if expecting the words to come out on their own. But they never did. Sortilege sat, mouth agape, staring at the back of the large mare's head with her mind racing and in that moment she realized she'd couldn't answer Skit's question. She didn't know the answer.

The depression came back in full force. Between the drugs and the crying and everything else going on, she wanted nothing more than to just lie down and shut her mind off for good. She couldn't though. Not after being hit with a question as powerful as that.

She laid her head on the armrest of the couch and went back to gazing at lampy. Her only true friend in the wasteland. She tried to focus on the little green droplets again. Wondering where they disappeared to. She couldn't hold her attention for long though. The question lingered in the back of her mind. Nagging her. Eating away at her.

Who was she?

"Skitz?" She began, not turning away. Watching the droplets move slowly up the lamp. "Who are you?"

Skitz didn't reply immediately. Sortilege sat in silence for several minutes, waiting for answer. She considering asking again on the off chance that she simply hadn't been heard but before she could a quiet voice, almost a whisper, answered her from the opposite end of the couch.

"A bad pony."

"And..." Sortilege thought her next question over carefully. "...are you happy with that?"

Again the room was silent for several moments. Several moments longer than before. Sortilege was certain this time she'd been heard. She waited for her answer. And waited. And waited. And waited.

It never came.

So Sortilege and Skitz laid on the couch. Separated by nothing more than a cushion. Physically at least. The real distance between the two mares seated on the couch was far greater than Sortilege could even comprehend. She knew nothing about the massive grey Earth pony seated next to her. She knew Sugar was mean. She knew Scar was friendly. Skitz remained a complete mystery though.

"Hey Skitz?" Sortilege figured she use the time they had alone together to get to know a little more about her. "Where are you from?" It'd be a great way to pass the time until she could finally fall asleep.

"I..." Skitz began. Her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't remember."

"You don't remember where you're from? Not at all?" Sorts watched a tiny green droplet float to the top of the lamp and disappear.

"I..." Skitz began and stopped mid sentence once again. "I think...I came from a stable..."

Sortilege smiled. Finally, a pony she could relate to! "Well, it's okay that you don't remember Skitz. We can remember together! What was your stable like?"

Sortilege received no response. She kept watching the lamp and waiting for Skitz to respond but was met with nothing but silence. Undeterred, she continued with her questioning. "Were the ponies there nice?"

Again, no response.

Sortilege sighed. "C'mon, Skitz. Work with me here! I finally feel like we have something to talk about! You have to remember something about your stable!" She turned from the lamp and went to face Skitz with an excited smile. "Did your stable have a..."

Sortilege completed her turn and immediately her smile disappeared. She was no longer looking at the back of Skitz’ head. No longer were the two only separated by a single cushion. Somehow, without making any noise or disrupting movements, Skitz had made her way to Sortilege's end of the couch. The large mare, almost twice the size of Sortilege, was face to face with her. Her oblivious grin had been replaced by a sneer and her eyes fixated on Sortilege with the most frighteningly hateful look she'd ever witnessed. When Skitz spoke, she did so through gritted teeth.

"What business is it of yours where I'm from?"

Hatred and anger seethed from Skitz's words. Sortilege couldn't bring herself to answer her. She couldn't will herself to move. She stared back at Skitz, paralyzed with fear. She'd seen what Skitz could do. She knew full well what she was capable of. She was looking into the eyes of the most dangerous pony she'd ever encountered...and in that ponies eyes, Sortilege only saw rage.

Sortilege knew she was about to die. In a matter of seconds she was going to die and she'd never learn what she'd done to deserve it. She was going to be dead and she was never going to know who she really was.

"What the fuck is going on in here?"

Sortilege was able to work up just enough courage to peel her eyes away from the enraged mare seated only inches from her. She brought her attention to the source of the inquiry. From the moment Sortilege had met Sugar she had loathed the filly's every word. Everytime the angry unicorn child drew a breath to speak, Sortilege cringed and several times had she found herself wishing for some divine force to take the child's voice from her forever, so she'd never have to hear such hateful speech ever again. Now the same voice that had caused Sortilege so much irritation earlier that same day was the happiest sound she'd ever heard in her life.

Sugar glared at the two mares seated on the couch. Sortilege stared back at the clearly upset filly, as confused as she'd ever been. Skitz held her death gaze on Sortilege. Her mouth curled up in a vicious sneer.

Sugar focused her attention on the large earth pony. "Skitz." She didn't respond. She held her gaze on Sortilege.

"Skitz."

Again, no change.

"Skitz!!" Sugar yelled at her partner and the massive earth pony and finally she shifted her attention. Skitz whipped her head around and faced Sugar. The glare and the sneer remained on her face.

Sugar's own glare softened and she spoke to Skitz in a gentle voice, as if their roles were reversed, her being the adult and Skitz the child. "Are you okay?"

Skitz's expression finally changed. She shook her head and blinked rapidly. Her sneer turned into a sad frown and the vacant look returned to her eyes.

"Uhhhh...yeah...yeah..." She turned her eyes to the floor. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Sugar made her way over to Skitz and and gently placed her hoof on the older mare's foreleg.

"No one's gonna hurt you Skitz." Sugar kept the soft tone in her voice.

A small smile tugged at the side of Sortilege's lips. The scene was touching in a weird way.

"Get some rest." Sugar continued. "We're heading out in the morning."

"Okay." Skitz replied, then laid her head on the edge of the couch and closed her eyes.

All at once Sugar's soft expression changed and the familiar rage that Sortilege was so accustomed to returned. She made her way over to the end of the couch and scowled at Sortilege. All the tension from before returned. Sortilege didn't want to tell the ponies in the afterlife she'd been killed by a little girl. That would be embarrassing.

"Where the fuck are Grass and Scar?" Sugar asked. The young unicorn was livid. Perhaps the angriest Sorts had ever seen her.

Sortilege didn't respond verbally. She pointed her hoof in the direction of Grass's bedroom door.

Sugar stomped her way over to the bedroom. Using the full strength of her telekinetic spell she flung the door open and went inside. Seconds later, loud yelling could be heard coming from inside.

"Gah! Sugar! What the fuck are you...gah!" Another few seconds later, the filly returned with Scar in tow. The little unicorn dragging the larger crimson mare by her hair.

Scar 's mane was disheveled and her wings stuck out on her sides fully erect. Smokin' Grass followed behind the two, wearing a particularly annoyed expression.

"Sugar, what the fuck are you doing?" Grass continued Scar's previously interrupted statement.

Sugar ignored the stallion and fixated all of her attention on Scar. "You..." she began and with each new word she pulled the crimson mare's mane, dragging her closer to her own face with every tug. "Left..." Pull. "Our million cap bounty..." Pull. "Alone..." Pull. "With Skitz!!"

With that final outburst Sugar yanked on Scarlet's mane as hard as she could and drove the mare's face into the floor.

"Hey!" Grass exclaimed as he rushed over to Scar's side to help her back to her hooves. "What the fuck is your problem you little bitch?"

Again, Sugar ignored the stallion and continued to scold Scar. "You fucking idiot! Can you not control your libido for ten fucking seconds? You almost cost me a million caps!"

Scar got back to all four hooves. "I'm sorry, Sugar. I wasn't thinking..."

"No, you fucking weren't! I oughta..."

Grass stepped in between the two and interrupted Sugar in the process. "Sugar, calm the fuck down. Sorts is fine! Skitz is fine! Everything's fine! It's not a big deal."

Sugar finally focused on Grass and glowered up at him "This has nothing to do with you. Stay the fuck out of it!"

Grass replied with a glare of his own. The previously calm and collected stallion had at last reached his limit and his cool demeanor began to fade away. "You listen to me you little shit, you do NOT talk to me like that in my own home."

Sugar gritted her teeth. Fixed the stallion with the meanest look she could muster. If looks could kill, everypony in the room would be a corpse. She opened her mouth to speak…

Just then, a gunshot burst through the wall, whizzed over the couch, passed Sortilege and went straight into Smokin' Grass's lamp. The light shattered into pieces and the green fluid splattered out in all directions, covering Sortilege's face.

"L-lampy..." Sortilege stared at the table where the lamp once stood in shock. The green blood of her friend was dripping from the end of her muzzle, down onto her stable uniform.

"NOOOOOO!" Sortilege's forlorn cry was cut short as more gunfire tore through Smokin' Grass's wall. Sortilege was promptly enveloped in a pink aura and tossed behind the couch. Skitz immediately woke from her slumber and began to act. She dove behind the couch after Sortilege and reached into her cloak, pulling out her submachine gun and ramming a fresh clip home.

Sugar, Scar and Smokin' Grass flipped over the table in the center of the room and huddled behind it.

"What the fuck is happening right now?!" Scar yelled out over the gunfire.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?!" Sugar yelled back. "We need to get our guns and shoot back!"

The gunfire ceased. The room was quiet for a moment before a voice called out from the outside of the shack.

"We know you got that million cap bounty in thar! Y'all best bring her out a'fore we come in thar and git 'er ourselves!"

"Fuck you!" Sugar yelled in response. "You cocksuckers almost killed her! You know the bounty's only good if she's alive right?!"

"Fuck you, bitch! We're comin' in!"

"These guys are fucking stupid. Get your guns, everypony." Sugar levitated over her saddle bags and pulled out her twin pink pistols: Fuck bitches and Get money.

Scar strapped on her battle saddle and donned her combat helmet while Grass went into his room briefly, only to return carrying an assault rifle.

Sortilege huddled down behind the couch next to Skitz. The large grey mare held her submachine gun in her mouth. Her lips curled into a smile around the gun and her eyes held that same look Sortilege saw before. The same look that Sortilege had looked into and known her life was coming to an end. The look of a killer.

The group readied their weapons at the door. They heard approaching hoofsteps. The noise ceased right before they reached the door and the ponies on the other side began to turn the handle.

"Seriously?"

Sugar remarked before the group exchanged bewildered looks and then proceeded to simultaneously open fire. The front door of the shack was ripped to shreds along with the ponies standing on the other side.

Soon the survivors began to fire back and Sugar, Scar and Grass split apart, spreading themselves about the room. Sugar made her way over to the couch next to Sorts and Skitz.

"You keep your fucking head down, you got it?" Sugar said to Sorts. Sorts nodded and in doing so flung globs of green fluid all over Sugar's face.

"Thanks." The filly said sarcastically, while wiping the goo off of her muzzle.

While Grass and Scar were busy firing at the door, Skitz took the opportunity to move to the window. She opened it up and proceeded to reach into her cloak, producing a couple of hoof grenades. She pulled the pins and lobbed them out the window before making her way back to her spot behind the couch.

There were two loud thumps, followed by a couple of stallions screaming. Behind the couch Skitz smiled to Sugar who returned it with a grin of her own.

"Nice."

"These guys are stupid." Skitz remarked,

"Yeah, I think it's the Oodie brothers judging from their accents . They never were the brightest."

"They won't have to worry about that much longer."

Scar and Grass were still busy gunning down every pony who came close to the door. After a while, they're gunfire ceased.

"Shit! I'm out!" Grass yelled.

"I am too." Scar added. "Get ready girls! They're coming in!"

"Skitz..." Sugar began and looked up at the larger mare with a wicked grin. "...go knock some sense into 'em."

Skitz smiled her own devilish smirk before exchanging her submachine gun for her machete. She leaped over the couch with blinding speed and made her way to the door. She reached it at the same time as one unfortunate stallion wandered into the entrance and with one swing from the grey earth pony, the Oddie brother's head detached from his torso before he had time to blink.

Others followed behind him and Skitz cut down each and every one before they even had time to react to her presence. Sortilege watched in horror and awe. The mare was like a machine. This was her element. Judging from the smile wrapped around the handle of her machete, she was loving every second of it.

While Skitz was busy at the front door, more Oodies began to climb in through the window's. As one attempted to cram his way through the one adjacent to the couch, Sugar unloaded a ten millimeter bullet right between his eyes. The moment his body went limp, another pony began to push through. Then another. Soon there were no less than four ponies all trying to cram themselves through the small window.

Sugar rolled her eyes and began to unload on the group with her pistols. As soon as one fell, another took his place almost immediately. Soon a pile of bodies lay at the base of the window and ponies were still trying to cram themselves through.

"Oh! My! Gawd! Are you guys that fucking stupid or what?!" Sugar yelled as her pistols ran dry and she began to reload. As she did, one of the stallions finally pushed through the window and rushed towards Sugar and Sorts. He ran straight passed the filly and rammed right into Sortilege, pressing her into the wall.

"Fuck! Hold on!" Sugar yelled as she continued reloading her pistols.

Sortilege was face to face with the stallion. She looked into his eyes and saw that same craziness she saw in every pony she'd met out in the wastes.

"Gotcha now, bitch!" The stallion yelled as he pressed harder into Sortilege.

Sortilege struggled against him to no avail. He was far stronger than she was. Her mind raced. She tried to think of something, anything, she could do to free herself from the stallions grasp. He pressed his foreleg against her throat and Sortilege began to choke. She wasn't entirely sure what he hoped to accomplish. They needed her alive right? They definitely weren't the smartest bunch. Sortilege struggled for breath. She glanced over to Sugar, who was busy fending off more crazy stallions rushing in through the window. She wouldn't be able to help in time. Sortilege had to act and fast. Slowly, she began to see spots in her vision. Her world was fading away. She had to do something immediately.

As her world began to recede, Sortilege focused on her horn. She reached into her memories for a spell, any spell, that would help her out of this predicament. Without thinking she used the first spell that came to mind. The last spell she could remember using. She focused and her horn began to glow lime green and her magic aura enveloped the stallions head.

The stallion looked confused for a moment. Then his confusion turned to horror as smoke began flooding from his mouth. He released Sortilege and backed away from her, screaming and thrashing furiously as more smoke streamed from his mouth, nostrils and ears. Soon his entire body began to glow and slowly he began to disintegrate. Eventually he fell to the ground. Pieces of his body detached and crumbled into ash and all that remained was a smoldering husk with a look of horror still plastered to the remains of its face.

Sortilege face matched the stallion’s face and for several seconds she couldn't tear her eyes away from the burnt remains of the stallion.

Had she really just done that?

Sugar took another moment to reload her pistols and as she did she glanced over her shoulder to peek back at Sorts. When she saw the stallion, her jaw dropped and she looked over at Sortilege.

"I didn't mean to! I...I...I..." Sortilege tried explaining herself to the filly but was at a loss for words.

"You did that?" Sugar asked pointing at the charred remains. Her awestruck look was replaced by a smile. "Ha! Cool."

The moment was interrupted by a crash as the group of stallions finally made their way through the window. Sugar resumed her barrage of pistol fire, dropping her fellow bounty hunters as they rushed towards her. Her efforts were proving futile as every one she put down was quickly replaced by another. It was like trying to fight a hydra.

"How many of you fuckers are there!?" She screamed as she blasted away. Eventually her pistols ran dry once again and the moment they did a stallion rushed towards her, knife drawn and bloodthirsty look in his eyes. Right before he reached her, a crimson flash bolted across the room and rammed into the side of the stallions face. With the attacking stallion out cold, Scarlet faced the window with her sawed off shotgun. As yet another Oodie brother approached she let loose both barrels into the stallions face, turning his skull into red paste.

Over at the door, Grass joined Skitz in beating away at the attackers at close range. He smacked the closest stallion with the butt of his assault rifle. The moment the attacker fell, Skitz's rear hoof slammed down on his throat, crushing his windpipe. As she killed the downed stallion she never took her eyes from the ones rushing towards her. With every new opponent, Skitz swung her head and another pony fell. There was no getting past her. Not in one piece.

Sugar and Scar were able to fend off the stallions long enough to make their way to the window. Scar took one of Sugar's pistols in her mouth, and the pair open fired on the attacking crowd. Every gunshot meant another dead Oodie. Within minutes there were none left to shoot. The stallions finally retreated, the remaining few running back into the woods, away from the shack, screaming obscenities as they fled.

"Fuck y'all! We'll be back! You ain't seen the last of the Oodie brothers!" One stallion stopped to declare as the group made their retreat. Those were his last words, however, as Scar emptied the last bullet from her pistol into the Oodie’s throat. He fell the ground, gurgled, gasped and then died.

"Bring it on bitches! You want a fucking piece of us? Come get it! We'll tear every last one of you stupid motherfuckers apart!!" Sugar yelled as the stallions ran away.

There was a moan behind her. The stallion Scar had knocked unconscious was beginning to come to. Sugar approached him slowly. When she got near she leaned in close to the stallions face.

"Ya wanna see how I got my cutie mark?" She asked in the most bone chilling manner.

The filly’s horn began to glow and the stallions head was wrapped in her pink magic aura. The stallion tried to scream but his breathing was restricted as the young unicorn began to apply the full force of her telekinetic spell to the stallion’s head. His eyes glowed pink and light emanated from his mouth. The flesh around his skull began to peel away, and his neck began to stretch to disturbing lengths. Eventually it all gave way, and the stallions skull was torn straight out of his skin. Sugar have one last twist and snapped the skull away from the now deceased stallion’s spine, before tossing the bloody skull to the ground.

Sortilege watched the scene in absolute terror. She looked from the decapitated corpse of the stallion, to the burnt remains of the pony she'd killed, to the spot on the end table where lampy had met his end. Sortilege didn't know how to handle the sudden string of events, so she resorted to the same old thing she resorted to every time.

She cried.

"What are we gonna do now?" Scar asked as the group began to recollect itself. Skitz began looting the Oodie’s corpses for any extra ammunition while Sugar paced back and forth wearing her most irritated scowl.

"Dumb fuckers. I'm dead tired and they pull this shit now?! Couldn't have waited until morning?! Arrrrrgh!" With her final exclamation she bucked the skull of the unfortunate stallion from before. It sailed across the room and straight into the wall. The skull impacted the wall, shattering it and lodging itself deep in the wooden fixture, a disturbing addition to Smokin' Grass's various decorations.

"Calm down, Sugar." Smokin' Grass chimed in. "We need a plan. Those guys are coming back and there's no telling how soon."

"I know how soon." The group turned their attention to Skitz who had made her way over the window. She stood amongst the slaughtered remains of the Oodie's and was staring out into the distance.

"How soon, Skitz?" Scar asked.

"Now."

With that declaration, everypony in the room joined Skitz at the window. As they looked, they saw dozens upon dozens of armed ponies slowly making their way towards Smokin' Grass's shack. Their numbers were doubled at the least and now they were seeking more than just caps. Now they were out for revenge.

"Fuck! We need to go!" Sugar yelled then proceeded grab Sortilege by the back of her mane and run for the back door.

Scar darted after her. "What good's that gonna do? They're just gonna follow us!"

Before the filly had made it too far, Scar stomped her front leg down on Sortilege's tail, pinning her to the ground. Sortilege felt herself being pulled between the two in what had to have been the most uncomfortable game of tug of war ever played. Her rear end screamed in agony and her hair follicles howled in torment. Tears and green goop ran down her face.

She whimpered. Caught between two ponies and a virtual army of angry Oodies on their way, only one simple phrase came to the young mare's mind. "Oh...bother."

"We can't just run Sugar!" Scar yelled. "We can't outrun them and we don't have enough ammo left to fight 'em off!"

"You got a better idea Scarlet!?" Sugar screamed in response, still attempting to drag Sortilege out the door.

"I got one." Smokin' Grass made his way over to the two. He had retrieved a briefcase from his room and carried it in his magic beside him. "And trust me Sugar...you're gonna love it."

Sugar released her hostage. Overwhelmed with curiosity she approached Grass. The stallion set the briefcase down in front of the filly and proceeded to open it. A green glow emanated from the inside and as the filly gazed in her jaw dropped. Sugar sat down hard, then without changing her awestruck expression, shifted her focus to Grass.

"Really? You mean it this time?"

"Sure do. No fuckin' around this time. This is life or death and I'm rather fond of life."

Sugar gave the stallion her wickedest grin. Her eyes narrowed, her lips curled and she turned back to the contents of the case. "Fuckin' awesome."

"Okay! Everypony else, gather up as much supplies as you can. We're gettin' the fuck out of here!" Grass directed the rest of the group.

Skitz and Scar began gathering up as many useful items as they could carry from around the shack. Sortilege sat in the center of the room, at a complete loss. She was tired. She was dirty. She was a still a little stoned. She was a wreck. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on Smokin' Grass's comfy couch and drift away to sleep. Unable to do that and unable to come up with anything else that would be productive to the situation she elected to sit down and let her few remaining tears flow from her eye sockets. At this rate Sortilege was going to die of dehydration before they ever reached their destination.

"Scar!" Grass called out. "Go into my bedroom and look underneath the bed! That's where the real gift I got for you is. Meant to give it to you earlier. Trust me, you're gonna need it."

Scar did as she was told and when she returned she was holding a strange looking gun similar to the pair on her battle saddle, only much fancier looking , with more complicated mechanisms.

"Seriously Grass? Where the fuck did you find this!?" Scar exclaimed with a giant smile spread across her face.

"Around." The stallion replied with a sly grin of his own. "Like I said before, I like you girls and I'd do just about anything for ya."

"You're awesome, Grass." Scar replied, then proceeded to lock her lips with the stallion.

"Hey!" Sugar called out. "You two have done enough fuckin' around tonight! We need to get a move on!"

"So what's the plan anyway?" Skitz asked. She had finished gathering supplies and her cloak was beginning to look slightly crowded.

Sugar grinned up at the rest of the group. Using her telekinesis, she retrieved one of the items contained in the briefcase and levitated it up. A small, green glowing egg floated in the air for the group to see.

Scar's eyes widened. Skitz let out a low whistle. Grass smiled and Sortilege looked at it in confusion.

"What is that?" Sorts asked.

Sugar stared up at the confused older unicorn. Her wicked smile in full force and her eyes held that all too psychotic look. The little filly began to chuckle lightly. As it continued on it went from a chuckle to fits of full blown evil laughter and Sortilege's confusion turned to terror.

Nopony ever answered her question and she was more than certain she didn't want to know the answer.

She wanted this night to end...but it had only just begun.

~O.o~

The Oodie brothers were perhaps the worst bounty hunters in the wasteland. Some ponies were hesitant to even call them bounty hunters at all. Most would consider them nothing more than a large group of raiders. What the Oodie brothers lacked in skills however, they made up for in numbers. Time after time, the virtual army of chem addicted, inbred stallions would use overwhelming force to collect a single target. More often than not, that target would be killed in the ensuing chaos. Their methods may have been frightening, but ultimately lacked efficiency.

For a time, the Oodies had even considered giving up the bounty hunter gig altogether and focus on becoming full fledged raiders. Until the day they received word of a certain stable mare with a one million cap bounty on her head. The Oodies couldn't count, but they knew a million was a lot.

So the massive number of brothers set forth across the wastes in search of their target. Eventually they stumbled upon a lone merchant and with a little prodding he was more than willing to point the Oodies in the direction of the three crazy mares and who currently held the million cap prize.

Sooner or later, the group stumbled upon Smokin' Grass's shack. After a staggering number of losses, the Oodies fell back and retrieved the rest of their clan. Now they made their way back to shack, with far more than the million caps on their minds. The bitches in there had killed their brothers. They had made this personal. Their deaths were gonna be slow and painful. Tonight some fillies were gonna scream.

The Oodies made their way in the shack, only to find the inside devoid of the mares subject to their scorn. One by one, Oodie after Oodie, they crammed their way into the tiny shack. They searched high. They searched low. The mares were nowhere to be found. Soon, the entire shack was packed to the brim with more angry stallions than it was ever meant to hold. Oodies stood shoulder to shoulder, crammed uncomfortably into the tiny space.

One of the brothers, perhaps one of the smartest Oodie's who'd ever lived, began to indulge himself in the most un-Oodie like of mannerisms. He began to ask questions.

"Where the fuck are they!?" He shouted into the crowded room.

Another Oodie, perhaps even more intelligent than the previous, answered back.

"They ain't here!" He keenly observed.

Then another Oodie, the smartest Oodie of them all, looked down upon the floor. He spotted the large bundle of glowing green eggs in the center of the room and his mind began to race.

"The fuck are these things?" He pondered.

While the Oodie brothers were busy deducing the many mysteries that plagued them, Scar, Skitz, Sugar, Sortilege and Smokin' Grass, watched the shack from a safe distance. After nearly every Oodie had crammed their way into the tiny shack, Grass looked to Sugar, smiled and nodded his head.

Sugar, sporting her most wicked grin, levitated the launcher up in her magic. She let the tension build, the anticipation increase and as she aimed, a single tear appeared in her eye and rolled down her face.

"Sugar...are you crying again?" Scarlet asked her.

Sugar sniffed and wiped her nose with her foreleg. "This is the greatest moment of my life."

She pulled the trigger. The egg sailed from the launcher and towards the shack. The group watched as the glowing green orb began to descend upon the shack with a faint whistle.

"Bye, shack. It was fun while it lasted." Grass said as he waited for the eventual destruction about to befall his home. He shook his head and let out small chuckle before saluting his home.

"You say somethin' Grass?" Scar asked.

Then the egg struck and the house erupted into a gigantic sphere of green flame. The shock wave of the blast knocked four of the five observing ponies down.

Only Skitz remained standing. She stared, wide eyed at the the blast and made a sound, inaudible over the sound of the blast.

"Oooooooo" Skitz watched as the flames swirled and convulsed and changed from a sphere to a massive mushroom cloud, dominating the area where Grass's shack used to be.

"Ahhhhhhhhh."

The rest of the group began to make their way onto their hooves. A loud ringing made itself present in everypony’s ears (Or ear in Sortilege's case) and as they stood Sugar vocalized the single thought on everyone's mind.

"That was loud!"

Scarlet watched the filly’s lips move, but her attempts to hear her over the constant drone were in vain.

"What?!" She yelled back at the filly.

"That was loud!" Sugar repeated.

Again Scarlet watched her lips move but heard nothing. "What?!"

"THAT WAS LOUD!!" Sugar screamed with all her might.

"WHAT?!"

Sugar finally gave up. "NEVERMIND!!"

The group stood and gazed at the spot where the house once stood. After a moment of staring Scarlet spoke up.

"That was loud!" She yelled earning herself an irritated look from Sugar.

Sortilege shakily made her way up. As she struggled, a foreleg presented itself in front of her. She looked up to see Smokin' Grass offer his assistance to her. She took the outstretched hoof and smiled up at him.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Grass replied.

Using his magic and a cloth that he had managed to snatch from the house, he began to wipe the dust and goo from her face.

"Oh bother. I'm a mess."

"Still cute though, if you don't mind me saying."

Sortilege smiled and blushed. She could get used to being flattered like that.

"That was fuckin' awesome." Sugar beamed as the group began to move on.

"Yeah, but we need to move quickly." Scar replied. "There could be others after us. If the Oodies can find us, anyone can. We need to find a place where we can pick up more supplies."

As the group walked, Scar pulled out a couple cigarettes and offered one over to Sortilege.

"Here. You look like you could use one."

"Thank you." Sorts replied and took the cigarette in her magic and stuck it in her mouth. Then, without even thinking, she used her ignition spell to light it.

She froze as a thought suddenly struck her. She killed somepony using this spell. It had just been a reaction. Just like how she'd lit the cigarette. She'd done it without even thinking.

"Oh bother." Sortilege muttered to herself. Just another thing to add to her growing list of emotional struggles. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She'd think about it later. She didn't feel like thinking at all at the moment.

The group was well under way when all of the sudden Sugar stopped dead in her tracks.

"Hey Skitz!" She called out.

The rest of group turned to face her.

"Do you have my flamer?"

"Uhhhhhhhhh..." Skitz averted her eyes from Sugar.

The fillies eyes widened in horror and she turned around to face the burning remains of the shack.

"S-Smokey!"

The last standing remains of the shack gave way to the flames and crumbled to the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Sugar's cry echoed into the night.

~O.o~

Sandy woke up. Last thing he remembered, he had been starting another test with Rise N' Shine. Rise N' Shine had cast some sort of spell on him and Rock and shortly after Sandy had blacked out. As he began to regain his sense he realized his head was throbbing. A migraine thundered inside his skull. Next, he noticed he couldn't move. He was being restrained. Not by the usual straps that held him in place during tests, but by a living being. Two large, green muscular arms wrapped around Sandy from behind. He looked up and saw Max. The ever present guardian of the door to the lab, had moved from his spot and was holding him in place.

The entire lab was silent save for the hum of the machinery surrounding them and the scurrying sound that accompanied the robots inhabiting the room, going about their various tasks. Sandy glanced over to the machine he'd previously been tied to. The straps on the chair he'd occupied had been broken. They looked as if they had been ripped apart. Sandy continued to look around the room and spotted Rock. She had her head down and her eyes closed and was in the process of comforting a little yellow filly. Sunshine had buried her face into Rock's coat. The little unicorn shook and shivered. Tears streamed down the sides of her face.

Sandy continued to move his eyes around the room. He spotted Rise N' Shine standing next to her terminal, staring at a clipboard she held in her magic. The unicorn mare wore her typical wide eyed, unblinking neutral expression. Her expression was the only thing typical about her appearance at the moment however. Rise N' Shine was a mess. More so than usual. Her entire face had been bruised and bloodied. Her glasses were absent and her nose bent at an obscure angle. Her left eye was swollen and large gash sat at the base of her horn.

Sandy looked at the mare for a moment, wondering just what in Equestria had happened to her. Then, over the hum of the machines and the skitter scatter of robots, Sandy heard a noise. A faint dripping sound. He looked down the length of his own body to the source of the noise. He looked at his hooves, pinned to the sides of his torso by the large minotaur holding him back. His hooves, the ends of which were covered in fresh blood, dripping off their ends.

Horrified, he looked up at Rise N' Shine. "What happened?"

Surprised by the sudden sound, Rise N' Shine turned from her clipboard and looked over to Sandy. "Oh g-good. You're a-awake." she looked up at the massive minotaur who restrained him. "Y-you can l-let go of h-h-him M-Max. The spell sh-should have w-worn off by n-now."

Immediately and without question Max did as he was told. Sandy dropped to the ground and winced. His front hooves were incredibly sore and the sudden impact of dropping to the ground had further upset his migraine.

"What happened?" Sandy fought through the pain and repeated his earlier question.

"Y-you b-broke the r-restraints on the ch-ch-chair. Th-then tried to k-k-k-kill m-me." Rise N' Shine answered back. Unblinking. Expressionless. Not a hint of emotion in her voice at all.

"What?" Sandy looked at her in shock. "Why would I...I couldn't....I wouldn't..." He stumbled over his words, trying to wrap his head around the mares words. Trying desperately to find answers. Finally one came to him. He glared at Rise N' Shine. "What did you do to me?"

"I c-cast a sp-spell to al-alter your m-mood. Th-then compare the r-results with..."

"What kind of spell?" Sandy interrupted her, the tension in his voice increasing.

"A m-mood a-altering spell. Sp-specifically, r-r-rage."

"Why?!" Sandy yelled at her, causing Max to tense up, prepared to stop the stallion in case of another incident. "Why would you need to cast a rage spell on me?"

Rise N' Shine stared back at him. Her head shook and wobbled and blood from the gash on her forehead ran down her face her eye. Still, she didn't blink. She didn't show fear at Sandy's sudden increase in volume. She simply stared back, same face as ever and plainly and calmly answered Sandy's inquiry.

"W-we n-n-need to be able to completely un-understand h-how the equine m-m-mind f-functions if we're g-g-going to be able to p-pull off this m-m-m-megaspell. We n-n-need to understand all em-m-motions and how they effect the b-b-brain."

The anger in his voice died away and Sandy looked over to where Rock and Sunshine stood. The older mare ran her hoof through the distraught fillies mane, comforting her as she wept.

"Rise N' Shine..." Sandy whispered as he watched Rock hold the child who Sandy himself had almost made an orphan. "You could have died."

"I'm f-f-fine. M-Max was there." She went back to looking at her clipboard. "It w-was a g-good d-d-day."

"A good day?!" Sandy exclaimed.

"Y-y-yes. We c-collected some f-f-fantastic d-d-d-data." She put the clipboard away before beginning to make her way over to the lab door. "I just n-need to m-m-m-make the finishing t-touches on the r-r-rport then we c-c-can s-s-send it off t-to the m-m-m-m-ministry."

Rise N' Shine began to head to the door and Max followed behind, glaring at Sandy over his shoulder as he walked. Sandy watched as the strange unicorn walked away. She had been moments away from death yet seemed completely unphased. As if everything that had just happened was just part of a routine. Sandy didn't know what to think of her. Maybe she really was just crazy.

As he watched Rise N' Shine leave he heard hoofsteps approaching him from behind. Sandy turned to see Rock and Sunshine walking up to him. Sandy's ears drooped as he watched the pair approach.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked Rock.

"Yes." She replied. "The spell didn't affect me the same way as you."

"Yeah. Guess I got a little out of control."

"Yeah." Rock then turned her attention to the small unicorn accompanying here. The filly was cowering behind Rock's leg, doing her best to hide away from Sandy.

"Hey Sunshine." Sandy said. As he spoke, Sunshine hid dove under Rock's hindlegs, distancing herself further from the stallion.

"It's alright, Sunshine." Rock said, trying to coax the filly out best she could. "He's not gonna hurt you.

Sunshine peered out from behind Rock. Sandy smiled back at her, doing his best to reassure the filly. Seeing his smile, Sunshine finally worked up enough courage to come out from behind Rock's legs. She approached Sandy with her head held low.

"You hurt my Mommy." She said in a quiet voice, only barely above a whisper.

Sandy felt his heart drop. The fillies words hit him like a ton of bricks. Sunshine it seemed, had not inherited her mother's emotionless attitude.

"Yeah...I did..." Sandy said after a moment. "I'm so sorry, Sunshine."

"Why did it happen?" Sunshine brought her head up to face Sandy. Her tears had ceased but her eyes were still incredibly red and puffy. She'd been crying pretty hard.

"It was an accident, Sunshine. Your Mom cast a spell on me and..." Sandy stopped. He didn't want to place the blame on Rise N' Shine. Technically it had been her fault, but Sandy doubted the filly would understand.

"I know..." Sunshine stated. The look in her eyes broke Sandy's heart. She did understand. She knew full well what her mother had done.

"My Mommy's...different." She said. "I don't know why she does the things she does but...I know she doesn't mean to hurt anypony." The filly choked, tears welling up in her eyes once again. "I'm sorry, Mister Sandy." with that, Sunshine started sobbing once again.

"Sunshine." Sandy brought himself down to Sunshine's eye level. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't your fault."

"My Mommy hurt you too..."

Sandy was at a loss for words. The filly’s statement wasn't untrue. Not being able to come up with the right words, he pulled the filly into a hug and tears began to form in his own eyes as well.

The two held each other for a moment. Sunshine's sobbing accompanying the sound of the running machines in the lab.

"She's a good pony Mister Sandy. She is. She's just trying to help Equestria."

"I know Sunshine." Sandy held her tighter. "I know."

"You're a good pony too, Mister Sandy." Sunshine pulled herself away from the stallion and looked up into his eyes. "Will you forgive my Mommy?"

Sandy smiled down at the filly through his tears. "Of course I will."

Sandy's response elicited a smile from the filly. She sniffed and dried her tears with a hoof before once again embracing the stallion. With her head pressed firmly against Sandy's coat, she whispered.

"I knew you'd say that."