Hoard was the word that came to mind, peering down at the group of feral ghouls wandering around outside the hotel from the roof. They weren’t staying still long enough for Yellowjacket to get a reliable count, but there were more than four ponies could take on without backup, or better weapons and armour.

Over the ear bloom, Yellowjacket asked, “Any plans?”

“Are there any balconies you can airlift us to?”

“You and Comet, maybe. Not Thunder.”

Ivory turned to Thunder, eyebrows furrowed contemplatively, “What about if his weight was reduced by half?”

Yellowjacket shrugged, “Probably, but how would we-oh levitation?”

“I could help carry the weight if you wouldn’t mind helping.”

Yellowjacket shrugged, “The worst that could happen is that he falls into that pile of ghouls down there.”

“Oh yeah, that’s definitely no big deal,” Thunder muttered quietly.

“Better than leaving you here or dying trying to deal with the ghouls,” Comet interjected.

Ivory nodded, “Comet, you go first. I’ll go last, so I can help Yellowjacket with Thunder here. I’m the lightest, so probably a bit of a relief.”

Yellowjacket snorted, “I’m not that old.”

Ivory made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, “Let’s go. Comet, don’t do too much scouting without us, ok? If anything happens use the ear bloom.”

“You won’t be able to hear. It’s too far.”

“Doesn’t mean Thunder and Yellowjacket will be too far away to hear.”

“Fair.”

“You ready kid? This’ll be uncomfortable for the both of us, but it’ll work,” Yellowjacket hovered over Comet, and Comet reared up to balance precariously on his hind hooves. Entwining their forelegs together, Yellowjacket slowly lifted Comet into the air, “Whatever you do, don’t look down.”

Comet nodded, squeezing his eyes shut, his face contorted with fear. Slowly, then gaining some speed, Yellowjacket flew Comet up several stories of the building and onto the nearest balcony. Yellowjacket set Comet down, then flew back to Thunder and Ivory.

“You ready for this?” Thunder asked, eyes shifting nervously between the pair.

Ivory’s horn lit with his magic, which surrounded Thunder, “Feel lighter?”

“Like I’m going to float.”

“C’mon, Yellowjacket.”

Thunder sighed, and did what Comet had. Yellowjacket grabbed him, and slowly lifted Thunder’s hind hooves from the ground. Cautiously, Yellowjacket gained altitude before leaving the relative safety of the rooftop.

“Ready?”

“Just go,” Thunder’s eyes were open, but he was determined to look straight ahead.

Ivory channeled his magic hard, feeling sweat prickling his skin. After what felt like an eternity, he watched as Thunder was set beside Comet on the balcony. Ivory let go of the spell, sighing in relief.

He had a few more spells in him, but not as many as he’d hoped. Not after bearing most of Thunder’s weight. Inhaling a dose of his medication, Ivory waited for Yellowjacket to return.

“You still good?”

Yellowjacket nodded, “Yeah, I could do this all day.”

Ivory reared up, grasping at Yellowjacket’s proffered legs, “Alright. This isn’t flimsy as hell.”

“You’ll be fine so much as you don’t move too much.”

Ivory shuddered, “Alright, alright I’ve got this.”

Yellowjacket chuckled, slowly increasing his speed, “Yes you do. You’re doing fine.”

Ivory shut his eyes before he could think about looking down. Before he knew it, his hind hooves touched solid ground. Settling back down on all four, Ivory opened his eyes, “Thank you.”

Yellowjacket shrugged, “Better this way, probably. We really don’t want to alert the ghouls down there.”

“Yeah, no kidding. We couldn’t take on that many.”

“We could, but not all at once. If we could maybe set something up so we could take them in small groups-”

“If we alert a few of them, we alert all of them. It’s suicide.”

“Well, we avoided them for now. If we get a chance, maybe we’ll take it. We’re bound to find something interesting with that many ghouls.”

“The Tower first,” Ivory interjected, “We’ll see about the ghouls if and when it’s important.”

Comet nodded in agreement peering over the balcony, looking ill.

“C’mon, kid,” Thunder beckoned, “No point dwelling on the dead.”

Comet nodded slowly, joining the others near the door. Ivory, using his magic, opened the door. It was dark inside, but large bay windows allowed some light in; even with the grime coating the glass.

“Everyone be quiet. Room to room, try to stay within sight and shouting distance if need be. If we’re separated, we’ll try to meet back here, okay?”

“Alright.”

“Keep an eye out for anything. We’ll keep the ear blooms on and talk that way if we have to.”

Yellowjacket nodded, moving close to Ivory, “Alright, Blackie. Let’s go. Anything in particular we looking for?”

Ivory eased open another door, leading into a set of rooms, “Meds, mostly. Hoping to find some medkits that are intact. We’re almost out of Radaway, amongst other things. We’ll be ok short term, but we want to go near the plant and I won’t make it if we don’t have even just a few more chems.”

Yellowjacket nodded somberly, rifling through dresser drawers. Ivory moved to the closet, looking through the rotted cloth and ruined bits and pieces. Ivory moved to look under the bed, pulling out a briefcase. Smashing the flimsy lock, Ivory opened it. Nothing, as per usual.

“We might not find much in the rooms themselves, but I’m sure we’ll find something in the hallways or the administrative rooms.”

“Better to check rooms as we go. Sometimes you find good stuff,” Ivory opened a drawer, then smiled, “See?” He lifted a holotape up to his eyes, “It’s compatible with the Pipbuck; so we can listen later.”

“Why? It’s just some stupid recording of a pony who’s been dead for over 200 years.”

Ivory shrugged, setting the holotape in his bag, “Sometimes it’s interesting. You can learn a lot from the old terminals.”

Yellowjacket made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, giving up the search, “I’ve got nothing here.”

“Seems to be it here.”

“Yeah. C’mon, let’s go.”

Moving down the hallway, seeing bits of of Thunder and Comet as they moved down the other side of the hall. Ivory found little of value, but he knew Thunder and Comet were likely to find more; whether things were of true value or not.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Ivory found a supply cupboard. The main hallway was in more disarray than the other, but that was to be expected. Unlike most ruins, there were few skeletons underhoof, which made a nice change to most large buildings Ivory had been in.

Carefully, Ivory unlocked the door, and used his horn to light up the inside of the closet. It had been untouched. Cleaning solutions, spare parts, and a stack of medical supplies were the highlights: everything else had rotted or rusted to the point of ruin.

Radaway, two healing potions, Med-X. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. If there were fully stocked medkits elsewhere, and more closets, than they could leave with more than they needed. If they were lucky; they would find valuables at the Twilight’s Believe It or Not that would make it worthwhile.

(LINE BREAK)

Ivory handed over the holotape before they continued deeper into the hotel. After a few seconds, Sweetie Belle’s voice cut out, replaced by a fuzzy voice.

“Mom got me the recorder just for my birthday, isn’t that cool!? If I want to be a DJ, or a radio host I need to get as much practise as I can! So, this is a test. Oh I can’t wait to hear what this sounds like! I’m gonna listen on mom’s Pipbuck and then I’ll make another.”

Static reigned for several seconds before the tape cut out, once more replaced by DJ Pon3 talking about the goings on of Tenpony.

After a second, Comet’s voice cut through the gloom, marred a little by static, “Maybe they got out.”

Ivory sighed, “Maybe. Who knows.”

“This is why I hate those things,” Yellowjacket muttered, “They kill the mood.”

Ivory gestured to the filthy glass that the ruins outside could just be made out, “Yeah cuz that isn’t a mood killer or anything.”

Yellowjacket snorted, moving to inspect a small safe embedded into the wall, “Hey you have better ears than I do. Can you try to get this open?”

“So long as you remember to check the bathroom. Chems, drinkable water, all that good stuff.”

“As if I would do anything else.”

Ivory shot Yellowjacket a grin, and pressed his ear against the safe. Twisting the dial experimentally, Ivory could hear the mechanism. It was faint, but so long as he could concentrate, he would be okay. Goddesses how he wanted some Mint-als. They would give his hearing the boost he needed.

Ivory, none-too-gently, slammed his head into the metal safe. Dazzled for a second, Ivory squeezed his eyes shut. Using his magic, he fished around for a cigarette and his lighter. Pulling the breathing mask down so it hung around his neck, Ivory lit his prize. He stuffed the pack, and the lighter, back into his bag. Inhaling cautiously, he had to levitate the cigarette away from him as his lungs rejected the smoke.

Another drag, and even though his lungs aching increased, they didn’t complain as much. Ivory pressed his ear against the safe once more, and got to work. Yellowjacket reappeared before Ivory had cracked the safe, but he stood near the door and waited patiently.

Finally, the door popped open, and Ivory opened it fully with a flick of his muzzle. He stared at the contents for a moment, cigarette dangling loosely from his lips. He inhaled deeply, obviously fighting another coughing fit, before stepping aside for Yellowjacket to see.

The locked safe contained a single packet of Radaway. Yellowjacket opened his mouth, took the packet, and shoved it into one of Ivory’s saddlebags, “That was anticlimactic.”

Ivory snorted, throwing the butt of his cigarette onto the floor and stamping on it with the edge of a hoof. He exhaled the last of the smoke with a wheeze, and met Yellowjacket’s questioning look with an even stare.

“They help with the cravings.”

Yellowjacket nodded, “True enough. Surprised your friends let you have them.”

“They don’t normally,” Ivory said, stepping past Yellowjacket and into the hallway.

Yellowjacket fell into step beside Ivory, “Why do you have them now?”

“As a reward for not robbing some junky sap blind and then using all the chems to kill myself in a hole somewhere,” Ivory replied flatly.

“Seriously?”

“I wouldn’t’ve put it quite like that,” Thunder said, peering into the hallway through a door ahead, “But you did good, Ivory. You didn’t even try to take anything.”

Ivory shrugged, “Found another Radaway. Not much else. You guys?”

Thunder sighed, shooting an annoyed glance at Ivory, “Med-X. Couple of healing potions.”

Ivory nodded, “Good. We’ll search this floor and see what we have.”

“We’ll regroup and see what we have after that. Remember, stay in ear bloom range.”

“Got it,” Ivory replied, moving onward down the hall. Yellowjacket followed, his bad ear twitching a little as they moved out of sight.

“Is Ivory okay?” Comet asked, dumbfounded, “That...that couldn’t be serious.”

Thunder sighed, “I don’t know, kid. There are days where he’s okay, but...well you saw the one bad day where a raider almost brained him and he didn’t even flinch. He’s not...not suicidal. Not really, but...there are days that whatever happened to him haunts him; tears the wounds open again. He’s been...not better, but more mindful with you around.”

“Shit.,” Comet’s voice was somewhat muffled, likely because he’d chosen to try to pick a lock rather than have Thunder smash it open.

Thunder nodded, “Yup. Anyway, you done with that ammunition box? Why the hell is there an ammunition box up here? Nopony’s been up here since the bombs fell, looks like. Well, except maybe some ghouls. Could find more upstairs.”

Comet held the screwdriver in place with a careful hoof and manipulating the bobby-pin with his tongue. Grimacing, the lock finally clicked. Triumphantly, Comet opened the container. Inside were some .9 millimeter rounds, some .10 millimeter rounds, and some empty boxes.

“Maybe some paranoid pony thought they’d need their ammunition. Maybe there was a shooting range or something here,” Comet supplied, “Do you know why there’s all those ghouls outside, but...maybe none up here?”

“Hard to guess why without going downstairs. Could be because they got locked outside in the earlier days. The parking lot is fenced in, after all. When ponies ghoulified, maybe survivors just locked them outside. Or, maybe they locked them in the lower floors. Or they wandered down over time, swarming together and got stuck outside when the door shut.”

“I feel bad for leaving them like that,” Comet intoned, following Thunder out into the hallway.

“Don’t. The ferals aren’t ponies now,” Thunder eased open a closed door, and let it swing fully open as Comet shined his PipBuck through the darker corners of the room.

Comet nodded, “Okay. Still…”

“I know it’s hard for you,” Thunder entered fully, moving to the closet while Comet checked under the bed, “but you’ve gotta be practical about it. At least this time. Maybe if we find more ammo, and enough supplies up here, we can snipe some from the balcony. Make sure the stairwell is shut and this floor really is clear. Sometimes ghouls just...appear. They slid out of rubble and random hiding places. Scare the shit out of you.”

Comet shuddered, “Okay.”

Thunder pocketed a few pieces of jewelry, “I’m checking the bathroom. Don’t forget the closet.”

Comet nodded, finally succeeding in pulling a suitcase from under the bed, “I won’t.”

The ear bloom crackled to life, “When you’re done with that room, come down to the end of the hall. We have a lock that needs busting, Thunder. Another supply closet.”

From the other room, Comet could hear Thunder try to tap the button of his ear bloom, still not used to the controls. Chuckling, Comet beat him to it. “We’ve got you. We’ll be a couple minutes, just started.”

“That’s fine,” Ivory replied, “We’ve got another doorway up here we’re going to check out.”

“Let us know if you need help.”

Ivory didn’t reply, and Comet once more felt a ball of dread settle into his stomach. Comet took a breath to center himself, ignoring the peeling wallpaper and peeling carpet of the dingy room. He opened the suitcase, and smiled at the contents. Two Rad-X’s and some healing bandages. Stowing them away, Comet moved to the closet.

When he opened the door, he froze at the scene inside. A stallion, judging by the business suit, was curled into the corner of a closet, his empty eye sockets staring right at him. The suit was half-rotted and filthy, and the bones were organized in a way that made it clear this stallion had crawled into the closet in the hopes of outrunning death. Comet sighed, what the hell had killed him? The sirens would have gone off, but no bombs, except for the power plant, had gone off; and that had been months after the initial bombings elsewhere.

Turning his PipBuck light back on, Comet found an empty syringe glinting in the light. Horror dawned, and Comet shut the door. They didn’t want anything from this stallion; better to let him find what rest he could. Comet turned the light back off in time for Thunder to return.

“Found some more Radaway in the first aid kit. And some bandages. We’ve already replenished our old stock, and some. If this supply closet has another good stash, we might be set. Depending on if Ivory and Yellowjacket have been as lucky as us. Anything in the closet?”

“No. Let’s go meet up with Ivory.” Comet strode into the hallway, leaving a confused Thunder behind for a heartbeat before Thunder’s long legs caught up with the movement.

Ivory was crouched beside a door at the end of the hall, apparently trying to pick the lock while Yellowjacket watched. Yellowjacket had lit a cigarette, and was watching with amusement as Ivory cursed at the lock.

“I’ve gotcha,” Thunder said, smiling. Ivory stepped back and watched as Thunder bucked the door right off its hinges, it clattering to the ground, and sliding into the room beyond.

Comet shone his light through the door, and gaped. He could hear Thunder whistle in amazement, and even Ivory let out a breath.

It was a cornucopia of treasures to the modern wastelander. Several fully stocked first aid kits lined one shelf. Clothes, blankets, and pillows another. Two supply carts were shoved into one corner, clearly filled with cleaning supplies. Canned and boxed food made the most of the supplies.

“Shit,” Yellowjacket said quietly.

“No kidding,” Comet replied, stepping over the door and into the room, “I’ve got the chems.”

“I’ll check the food.”

“I’ve got these heavy boxes,” Ivory replied, levitating them over to him in the hallway. One box clinked when set down. Opening it revealed 6 bottles of whiskey. Yellowjacket whistled appreciatively.

“Damn there’s enough trade goods in here to buy all the potions, Radaway, Med-X and Rad-X we would need. Much less all this,” Thunder waved to the piles of chems Comet was still sorting through.

In the hallway, Ivory had tried to smoke another cigarette, but it had ended badly. Choking and coughing, Ivory had had to give it up to Yellowjacket who was awkwardly standing beside the struggling Ivory.

“Need some Med-X?” Thunder asked.

Ivory nodded, eyes watering from the coughing fit. Thunder fumbled with a smaller pouch on his bag for a moment before finding a syringe full of Med-X.

Ivory, using his magic, pulled up his barding so Thunder could inject the medicine into his shoulder. Several moments later, the fit eased, and Ivory took another dose of his inhaler.

“You good?”

Ivory’s eyes were glazed, but he nodded, “For now. We should finish this. Are we going back to New Neighara? Or staying here overnight?”

“We’ve got more than enough things to explore the Believe it or Not. Anything that’s too heavy, we can leave on the balcony and I can get it tomorrow,” Yellowjacket offered, “We should go back to town. I don’t trust it here.”

“Me either. Our luck is going to run out eventually.”

Comet nodded, shoving the last of the chems into his bags, “Yeah. Let’s get back. We can buy and trade tomorrow, then we can check out the Believe it or Not the day after.”

Ivory slipped his breathing mask back over his face, “C’mon. Let’s go.”

The group made their way back to the balcony. Yellowjacket flexed his wings, “Who first?”

Ivory lit his horn, “Thunder first. I’m...I’m fading fast. The walk and the coughing fit took more out of me than I thought.”

Thunder nodded, wincing as the glow surrounded him and the sensation he was going to fall up into the sky began. Carefully, Yellowjacket brought Thunder back to the rooftop they’d used earlier.

When Yellowjacket was setting Thunder down, Ivory bent over with another fit of coughing, his magical aura sputtering and dying. Comet watched anxiously as Thunder fell onto the roof, pulling Yellowjacket down with him.

A moment later, Yellowjacket was back into the sky, quickly covering the distance between the two, “He’s okay,” the ear bloom crackled, “Just shocked.”

Ivory tried to reply, but his words were strangled out of him by the coughing. Comet sighed, “What do you need?”

“Med-” Ivory choked again, pulling his mask down and desperately trying to get enough medicine into his spasming lungs to get them to calm down.

Comet pulled another syringe of Med-X from his pocket, and injected it into Ivory’s other shoulder. As Yellowjacket landed, Ivory’s coughing eased.

“You next, Blackie. Before your lungs stage another revolution.”

A dry chuckle was Yellowjacket’s answer. Inhaling another dose of his medication, Ivory reared onto his hind legs and let Yellowjacket bring him to the other side. Despite Ivory letting out one cough over the hoard of ghouls, the flight was thankfully uneventful.

While they waited for Yellowjacket to return with Comet, Thunder reached over and started to undo the buckles and straps of Ivory’s saddlebags.

Exhausted, and wheezing, Ivory didn’t protest. He simply helped Thunder get both sets of saddlebags settled onto Thunder’s wide back.

“Thank you,” Ivory’s voice sounded like Ivory had put a cheese grater to his vocal cords.

Thunder offered his canteen of purified water. Ivory took a careful sip before handing it back. Thunder sighed, “It isn’t a problem, really.”

When Yellowjacket and Comet returned, Yellowjacket was pleased to note that nothing had been too heavy, well except for Thunder. That wasn’t really a surprise though. The group picked their way back down to the street, and made for New Neighara.

All the while, Comet kept a close eye on Ivory all the way back to the gate.

Author's Note

It's been a long-ass time but here we are.

I know, I know, things went too well this chapter but honestly next chapter things are going to go Wrong.

Remember how I said this was about not everypony not being a Littlepip? Next chapter.