Zecora allowed us to gather supplies from her home to help us search Ponyville for Twilight. She gave us a few bottles of water to stay hydrated through the scorched town's remains, a thermos of her radiation cure in case we found Twilight in a similar condition to Rainbow Dash, and a few of her home-made biscuits because, "if your travels put you on your back, it is always nice to have a snack."

Our protective clothing reminded me of the first time we left the cellar, except we weren't wearing the cobbled remains of Señor Jerky. Ditzy and I wore zebra print bandanas, mirrored sunglasses, and black hoofball caps. I wore a pair of tan, lace-up work shoes while Ditzy was strapped into a pair of black combat boots. I wore a dark blue, pilot jacket with a dark olive chiffon wrapped over my hat, around my neck, and under my bandanna. She wore one of Zecora's new jackets, a black navy-style coat, with a brown fuzzy trim on the hood which fit well over her gun harness. Zecora allowed me to wear her only pair of pants, a pair of white corduroy slacks which she said that she only wore on special occasions, and Ditzy wore the dark-wash jeans that we found in the cellar. Zecora, being such a dear, washed them thoroughly and even pressed them.

It was up to Ditzy and I to find Twilight on our own. Rainbow Dash was much too ill, despite feeling much better, to come with us, and Fluttershy was required to stay so that she could continue to coordinate her animals. It wasn't like I cared too much that it was just me and Ditzy; I knew that my friends were safe, and Ditzy was proving to be very reliable company. We said our goodbyes, received wishes of luck, and departed from Zecora's home.

The sky above the Everfree Forest was, while not completely without its blemishes, was much clearer than anywhere else that I had been. With the very real danger of attack from an equicidal monster, such as a timberwolf or cockatrice, I never thought that I would believe that the Everfree Forest was the safest place in Equestria. But alas, it was the only place that appeared untouched by the radioactive fires of war. Despite its safety, Ditzy and I were marching north where we soon saw the dilapidated structures and starving trees of Ponyville.

We came out from under the cover of the forest, and walked to the bridge over Palomino Creek which was a tributary of Saddle Lake that divided Ponyville from the Everfree Forest. About 150 meters directly north of the bridge was city hall, or rather the pile of rubble that once was, and the marketplace was further north. We stopped just in front of the collapsed city hall building and looked over the surroundings.

"Has it hit you yet?" Ditzy asked me.

"You mean the despair of leaving our old lives behind and living in a new era of fear? No, it hasn't." I said with a smile. It made Ditzy laugh which made me feel good. I patted her shoulder and said, "Okay, good. Sometimes, I can be funny too."

"You're very funny, Rarity." Ditzy chuckled while looking over the building before us. It used to stand over 20 meters and was the center for all the events in town, but I think that we were past feeling sad for the destruction. It became expected, and we were numbed to seeing yet another landmark laid to waste.

"Do you think that we should look through the market and see what we can scavenge?" Ditzy said while she checked the cuff around her left shoulder. We had taken the leather strap from the weapon vest and adapted it to be worn outside her jacket to avail her spare bullets.

"No, darling. We can come back and scavenge when we're more purpose fitted for it." I answered. We didn't have our saddle bags so I found it pointless to look for things that we wouldn't even be able to carry back with us.

"Okay, I was just hoping to find some Pegamittens." Ditzy explained.

My head cocked to one side, and I didn't think that was such a bad idea. Pegamittens, despite the name, were four-digit gloves that a pegasus could wear to protect her delicate wings in cold weather. There were ones that were made of leather for working and using tools with wings, and I've even seen some that were specially padded for preventing feather damage while playing drums. In this instance, she would be using them to free her wings from the confines of her jacket while still being protected from fallout.

"I suppose we could wander through a few of the stores." I said.

Ditzy looked at the ground for a moment, and despite being unable to see her eyes through her glasses, I knew what expression she had on her face. She looked up at me, and her head gyrated as she made a sing-songy voice, "Let's go shopping!" We shared a good laugh, and we made our way into the market.

The first store was one that I frequented for fabric that occasionally sold accessory items which overflowed from their parent store in Canterlot. Since it was an overstock, the color and style was usually out of season or simply just outdated. Needless to say, we weren't really looking for anything that would be considered "in" at the moment, but we didn't find what we were looking for either. We left no piece of rubble from the building's remains unturned before we continued north through the market and went into a discount garment shop.

I almost never went into this store when it was intact. The clothing sold there was off-brand theft and allowed ponies to buy clothes that appeared to be designer, but they were made from cheap materials and shoddy craft work. Ditzy found a single Pegamitten made from leather, but two of the digits had been sheared from the palm when the roof collapsed on the rack. It may have been when I harshly tugged it from under the concrete, but who can really say?

The next store wasn't too far from where we were, about forty meters north-east, and appeared to be nearly untouched. It was a strange sight to see all of the collapsed buildings everywhere, and then there was this lone, and fairly large, store erected in the near center of the market. Perhaps the stone exterior and terracotta tile roof that provided the additional protection, but it appeared to have been built after the bombing. Then again, the surrounding structures were made from wood covered stucco and roofed with wheaten straw reinforced with aluminum sheeting. Of course, I mean the building was nearly untouched because the name of the store, which was Hoofisters, was missing a few letters from the tiny awning above the door.

"They have to have Pegamittens." I said while we past a sculpture of Princess Celestia in the center of a fountain. She was missing most of her upper body and one of her rear legs. I had a dark thought, Let us hope that life doesn't suddenly imitate art...

"Why do you say that?" Ditzy said.

"Because this building had to have cost a fortune." I said as we approached the store.

Ditzy chuckled, "So? They could have rented it."

I stopped at the front door and gave Ditzy a hard look, "Shut up, and let me have my optimism." I used my magic to lower my glasses, and then I gave her the look again, in case she missed it.

Her bandanna raised from her smile, "Okay, sorry."

I put the glasses back on my face properly, and opened the door with my magic. The east wall opposite to us was probably over ten meters away from the door, and the north and south walls were separated by nearly ten meters as well. About halfway down each wall were hallways that led to dressing rooms on the left and bathrooms on the right. It was much bigger than I thought it would be, and it was bigger still with a set of lacquered wood doors, in front of the two cash registers, which led to a storage room in the east wall.

The south wall was strictly swimsuits and other summer apparel types. The first three shelves in front of us, which ran through the center of the store, was hoofwear and horseshoes, and the sign above this section boasted that a farrier was on site during store hours. The last three shelves from us and nearly to the registers were hats, hoof-bags, and jewelry respectively. The north wall was formal-wear closest to us and winter gear toward the rear.

Ditzy laughed out loud while pointing to the north wall, "Look at that! They should have called this The Mullet Section because it's business in the front and party at the back." Her voice echoed inside because of the steel and concrete ceiling and ceramic tile floor.

I chuckled, "You're so silly, darling."

Suddenly a third mare's voice echoed through the room, and it shouted, "How do you like them apples?"

I glanced around the room to find where it came from, but it sounded like it could have come from either hallway. The storage room appeared to be sealed shut, but I didn't rule it out either. There was silence for a long time, so I became unsure if I'd actually heard somepony, but I looked at Ditzy, and she was scanning the room as well. She looked at me and shrugged.

The voice shouted again, more urgently this time, "How do you like them apples?!"

"Hello?" I asked the voice, but was met with more silence.

The voice came back, but was screaming nearly incoherently, "I said, how do you like them apples, mother fucker?! I swear I will shoot you! How do you like them apples?!!"

Ditzy took a step back, prepared to move into cover, and began to cock her weapon, but I stopped her. She looked puzzled at me, but remained frozen.

I answered, "I am just looking for some clothes. Please, I'm not a robber."

Whispering voices echoed through the building. There must have been more than one inside, and I hoped that they were considering letting us go through some of the stock, but I had a feeling that they might be coordinating an ambush. Ditzy grew tense as the whispering continued, as did I.

"You've got thirty seconds, and then you leave." The voice commanded. "If you're still here when I come out, I will kill you both."

I looked at Ditzy and, even through the bandanna, I saw her mouth the word, "Both?" How did they know that there was two of us? Can they see us? I ignored my internal queries and sprinted for the winter gear with Ditzy close behind. I hoofed through the clothes as fast as possible, and thought about how we didn't know if they were being truthful. Were they timing us, or were they just going to jump out from all directions and fill us with holes?

There were no Pegamittens on the rack, which was only hugely disappointing because of the threat of death, and I started out of the store. Ditzy began to follow, but stopped. She pointed to the hat section of the center shelves and then galloped to it. I watched her while I felt the seconds ticking in my head, and I silently prayed that we were still within the allotted time.

Ditzy called quietly, "The mittens! They're over here."

"Then let's go!" I called back.

She motioned toward her bandanna, "I can't get them, come on!"

I moved quickly toward her and groaned, "If we die, I hope finding these mittens was worth it."

I galloped to the aisle, picked up the Pegamittens with my magic, and we immediately sprinted for the exit. We had just crossed the threshold when I heard a door inside slam open, but we just kept running while I flung the front door closed with my magic. For a brief moment, I felt exposed, and my body was involuntarily preparing for the pain. It felt like my brain wasn't in control of my heart, but the unadulterated fear caused my blood to race around my body while my heart was lodged in my throat. I had a sudden awareness of hypersensitivity on my flank where I perceived that imminent anguish was going to strike. I ran so hard, but couldn't get a breath as we dove behind the fountain.

The exterior ring of the fountain was a meter-tall stone in the center of the market, and while I believed it would stop bullets, I still trembled so hard that I nearly couldn't remain upright. The tremors were so fierce that it threatened to take me off my hooves while we watched the store in case the inhabitants had decided to give chase. I stuffed the mittens in Ditzy's pocket with my magic without looking away from the door. My eyes burned because I couldn't bring myself to blink.

We allowed several minutes to go by, but nopony came out looking for us. Even then, we sat silently watching the door, waiting for it to fly open and release a hail of bullets. As more time went by, Ditzy and I decided to leave, but it felt unsafe to leave our cover. We did this several times before I led us into a north-bound sprint, away from the market and toward where Twilight's Castle was supposed to be.

We ran hard for several hundred meters before I was too tired to continue, and I slowed to a trot, then a saunter, and then I plopped on the ground and panted. Ditzy was breathing hard too, but she had to turn around and trot back to me. How could a pegasus be so good at running?

"I think..." I took a breath. "I think that..." I stopped again for more air.

"Drink some water." Ditzy said, somehow with her breathing returning to normal already.

My magic pulled down my bandanna and retrieved a water bottle, and I nearly drank all of it. I continued to catch my breath for several minutes while I thought about how out of shape I was. Sitting at a sewing machine for all these years was probably not the best form of exercise, but it wasn't like I never worked out to maintain my figure. No, I never went running, but I never thought I'd have to. Ugh, I was sweating so bad that I felt soaked through.

I had nearly recovered completely and got a look around, and then I suddenly realized where I was. North of the market was a park that I'd galloped through without even knowing it, but past that was a small residential area for ponies that wanted to live on the thoroughfare... such as myself. I turned around without getting up from the ground, and I saw my precious Carousel Boutique.

My start in the business of fashion, put under new management just before the disaster, and my first home in which I lived for so many profound years, was flattened. The extensive exterior decorations were spread all over the ground, even as far as where I was sitting, and the cupola stood in the center of the burned remains. A quiet gasp struck me, and I shook. I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and then thought about how Ditzy would handle this kind of thing. She would probably make a joke, but how was I to try to make this funny?

I blew air and nodded, "Wow."

"Gosh, I'm sorry, Rarity." Ditzy said somberly.

I nodded again and chuckled, "Do you have any insurance claim forms on you?"

Ditzy snickered, "Are you sure this is covered?"

"I doubt it." I giggled while I stood up. There was a sense of ease that settled into my nerves, and I thought about how joking really, actually helped, even if it was my property, something that I'd put many years of heart and soul into, that was utterly gone from existence. Was this progress, though? I wasn't so convinced, but it certainly felt good right then.

I shook my head at myself and looked at Ditzy, "How was that? Did I do good?"

She cocked her head, "What? The joke?"

I flung a hoof toward the wreckage, "My beloved Boutique. It's ruined, and I joked about it. Isn't that how I'm supposed to handle this?"

Ditzy smiled and nodded slowly. She gave a tiny shrug and said, "Look around us, Rarity. The world sucks. We're going to see some painful things that make us want to cry, but we might as well laugh through our tears, right?" She laughed, but it trailed off as she looked at the ground and continued, "Because if you don't, then you're just crying, and that's no fun."

I pressed my mouth into a thin line and thought about it. The world did suck right now, and it wasn't going to get any better from crying about it, but I wasn't sure if laughing my way through it was the best approach. But it did make sense that, if it was all a joke, I wouldn't take it seriously. Because if I took it seriously, than it would matter. And if it mattered, it would hurt. An inadvertant product of Ditzy being bullied in her youth was the development of her coping mechanism; poking fun at her own plight.

I nodded to her and gave her a smile, "Well, let's go see if we can find something to laugh about."

She smiled back, "That's the spirit."

"You know, if we can find my tools, we can alter your jacket to accommodate your wings with the mittens." I said while walking slowly to the remains of the building.

Ditzy followed me, "You think we can find your tools in this mess?"

"Well, they were all kept in a single box, and the new manager of this store didn't do alterations, so I'm fairly certain that she left them alone. It's a really pretty case with lavender paint and a 10 karat white gold trim. I would like it back." I explained with a grin while I kicked the front door, which was laying a few meters from the foundation.

"Purple box with a silver trim, got it." Ditzy said while she started to go through the rubble, being careful not to knock over anything that would cause the unstable pile to collapse further. Ditzy would kick a piece to see if it made anything else move, and then I would remove it with my magic if it was safe.

Heavy lifting with magic was not common for me, and it was severely tiring. Every time I would pick up a stucco coated piece of concrete, it was as if I could feel it's full weight on my brain. Fortunately, if I was to drop it, it would not crush me into oblivion, and I didn't risk injury from over exertion like ponies that worked with their hooves.

"Hey, wait a minute." Ditzy called while she moved in closer. She leaped onto a folded wall and craned to see over the crest of the wreckage. She turned and jumped back to the ground. She crawled in front of the wall she was just on and pointed through the remains of a window frame.

"Is that it? I think I see it." She said.

I trotted to her side, put my head right next to hers, and squinted through the window. She was right! I could see it despite the window being reduced to a slit of broken brick and wood paneling. It was a tiny space, though, and all I could see was the top of the lid and the carrying handle. It was so deep inside that I was surprised we could see it.

"It will take all day to unbury it." I said while standing up straight.

"No, I was looking at it from up there, and I think there's just that gazebo-roof-thing on top of it, but that should only take a second." She explained while pointing to her previous vantage point.

"It's a cupola, darling." I chuckled while leaning to see around the wall.

"Whatever. I'll get up there again, and I can guide you out." She said.

I sucked my teeth and then said, "I don't know. It seems too dangerous."

"It'll be easy." Ditzy said, and then she got into position.

"Alright." I said in a breathy voice. I trotted so that she was looking at the cupola from a perpendicular angle to me, and my horn lit up. It was much heavier than I thought, but I needed to keep an eye on it so I didn't accidentally run it into Ditzy. Even still, just to get it off the ground, my teeth and eyes clenched shut with the effort.

"Good, good!" Ditzy shouted, "Bring it up a few more centimeters, and then bring it straight to yourself."

I opened one eye to see it, but I felt all of the muscles in my neck trying to clamor their way into my head. I was running out of air, but I was scared to take a breath. I let out a loud gasp as I dropped it and cursed loudly. It slammed into the rubble, the clapboard paneling on it buckled, and it began to roll back toward Ditzy.

She cursed loudly as well while she did a tiny hop on the piece of wall she was standing on, and I saw her wings push out on the inside of her jacket. Reminded that she couldn't fly away, Ditzy turned quickly and leaped off the wall. It was an ugly dismount, and she landed her full weight on her left foreleg. She fell onto her chin and rolled on the gravel. It looked bad, and I thought she had broken her leg, but she sprang back to her hooves and limped away from the danger.

"Are you okay?" I shouted while making my way to her. The cupola took out her vantage point, and it folded under its own weight, burying the box deeper.

Ditzy was bouncing on her three other legs, "I'm fine, but I think I'm gonna have a bruise."

I used my magic to pull back her sleeve and unfasten her boot. Her leg trembled, and her knee already looked as if it was swelling. "We've got to go back to Zecora's."

"No, no." Ditzy said, and she used her right hoof to refasten her boot and pull down her sleeve, "We're going to get that box. This wouldn't have happened if I had my wings."

My first thought was that it wouldn't have happened had I not dropped the cupola, but she was quick to blame the restraint of her wings. I didn't want her to be upset with me, but I felt like I was rightfully to blame. I tried my best to let it go, but I simply felt so guilty that I got her hurt.

"I'm really sorry, darling." I said, "I would understand if you were upset with me."

"It's not your fault." Ditzy laughed while she limped to the broken cupola. "I do think it's funny that this thing survived a nuclear bomb, and then you break it in 5 minutes."

"Ditzy, dear. If our roles were reversed, I'd be mad at you." I said.

"That's fine, and I'm fine, Rarity." She pleaded, "Let's just drop it. If I was mad at you, you would know it."

"Well, I still feel like you're upset with me." I said while we started taking pieces and tossing them aside. I guess that we were just going to dig it out like we should have done in the first place.

"Don't be like that, Rarity. You know I'm not upset with you." Ditzy said.

"I just think it would be easier if you did get upset with me." I said.

Ditzy chuckled, "Why?"

"Because then I'd know for a fact that you were upset or not." I said. The ridiculousness of my own words made me smile.

She smiled as well, "Now, that is silly."

"I know." I said while she broke a piece of concrete, and I removed it with my magic. "I'm sorry." I continued

"Really, Rarity." Ditzy panted, "It wasn't your fault."

"Just let me have this." I said while I gave her a stern look and levitated the last of the cupola from the rubble below us.

"What are you talking about?" Ditzy laughed. "You want me to be mad at you?"

"Yes." I said. "Darling, please. Just tell me that you're upset, and we'll be okay."

"Darling, please." Ditzy did an imitation of me, "I'm not upset, but we will be okay."

The loose piece of stucco under my hoof shattered as I stomped on it, "Do not mock me."

She froze and just stared at me. After a long while, she pushed up her sunglasses, careful not to touch her face with her boot, and she looked at me some more. Eventually, she slowly and articulately asked, "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you!?" I shouted. "That wasn't very nice of you. I'm... I'm frankly hurt that you would do such a thing."

"I was trying to be funny. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." She said.

There wasn't anything in the inflection that led me to believe that she was being facetious, but her word choice felt like it simply mocked me further. She was making this into a joke, but I wasn't laughing. I was pissed. I just kept thinking, If it's a joke, than it's not serious. Not serious equals doesn't matter. I took a few steps off the rubble, but turned around to begin a mistake, "So, I'm a joke? Is that what I am?"

Her eyes glanced around for a moment, "What?"

"I'm not a joke, Ditzy. I want to be taken seriously. I want to matter!" I spewed. I could feel myself becoming more and more angry, but I couldn't stop it. I knew it was irrational, even while it was happening, but it was like I couldn't control myself. I just glared at her like she was evil.

"Rarity, why are you fighting me right now?" Ditzy pleaded softly.

"Because you made fun of me!" I screamed at her.

"Rarity, please calm down. I'm sorry." Her voice quivered like she could cry. It sounded painfully genuine, and it brought me to Earth. I took a deep breath and looked at the ground. Internally, I was examining my actions, my words, and my demeanor. I just felt awful, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. So, I just went back up the pile of rubble, and I removed the stucco I had broken.

She watched me work for a moment and then joined me. Between her powerful hooves that broke apart the decrepit structure, and my magic that swiftly carried away the pieces, we were making short work of the dig. It was kind of nice to work on a project together, and I was muddying the experience by trying to fight with her. I was certain that she'd noticed that I was crying, but she probably didn't want any more abuse.

Ditzy clasped her fore-hooves on a large piece of concrete, slowly dragged it from the hole we'd dug, and revealed the silver trimmed purple case. It was about a half meter wide and 20 centimeters deep. The steel was warped from the house collapsing on it, but it retained the vibrant color despite the fire and the chips in the paint. I pulled on it with my magic, but it didn't come loose until she kicked a support beam that was holding it down.

"Thanks." I whispered, and we stood on the remains of the Boutique for a long time. I finally said, "I'm sorry."

"You know it's okay." Ditzy sighed.

I let out a dark chuckle. My hoof came up to wipe my tears, but I stopped myself. My magic took off my bandanna, and I dabbed my face, "I know, darling. I just... I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"You're right. I didn't, but I also shouldn't have made fun of you." Ditzy explained.

"No, I knew that you were just being funny, and I was just being a bitch." I said.

Ditzy blew air and nodded. She looked at me and then said, "You can't do that anymore."

"Be a bitch?" I asked.

"Yes." She said. "I don't want to fight, ever. We're above that. Ponies that say, "fighting is a sign of a healthy relationship." have never been in a healthy relationship."

Her words caused me to look deep into myself. I always fought with my boyfriends, and it was no wonder that those relationships never worked out. I remembered how they all ended with some huge argument over nothing. It was the same endless cycle of fight hard and fuck hard, until one of us got tired of it. I didn't want this to end the same way. What we had was different, and I needed to treat it that way.

"It won't happen again, darling." I said, and then I smiled.

"Good to hear." Ditzy smiled, and then she nodded to the box, "Do you want to take that back to Zecora's now, or should we leave it and come back?"

I looked it over, "I don't know." It was fairly large for me to carry around in my magic while we were searching. I didn't want to weigh myself down with non-essentials and... My eye caught a small gleam beyond the case, near the front steps of the Boutique. I stood up and watched the steps again, but couldn't discern anything that would reflect light. Maybe it was just glass, but I wanted to make sure. The brevity of the flash appeared to be gold which would be very strange.

I walked to the steps, and as I got closer, I saw a cylinder of sealed parchment laying in the grass just behind the first step. It rolled slightly from the light breeze that flowed through, and the resulting flash from the gold seal confirmed that was what I saw. I picked it up with my magic and saw Twilight's insignia on the seal, and I also saw that it was a magically delivered letter addressed to me, which was very, very strange. Twilight used her dragon, Spike, to enchant letters with a spell which could send them to specific places in Equestria. Most all of them went to Princess Celestia, and the fact that this one was here made me believe that she knew about the impending doom before it happened.

"It's a letter from Twilight." I said.

"Well, open it." Ditzy said.

I did as I was told. I pulled the ring off the paper, but I just stared at it. I couldn't help but think this was Twilight writing her own obituary. My hoof trembled as I pushed the top of the paper up in my magic, and then unrolled the bottom.

Rarity,

I'm writing to you with the hope that you've made it through this crisis.

I would have written to you directly in Vanhoover, but I didn't know where you were staying.

I want you to know that I am safe in my castle, but I need your help.

My biggest regret is that I was too busy to visit your new home in Manehattan, or I would have sent this letter there as well.

If you're out there, and this letter finds you, please come to my castle.

I love you and hope you are well,
Twilight Sparkle

Ditzy gasped, "We should definitely leave the case here."

I didn't even respond. I just dropped the letter and galloped toward Twilight's castle, of which we could see was reduced to a gigantic pile of stone and glass even from here. Given the position and condition of the letter, I knew that it was sent after the bombing. I knew that she had to be there still. She had to, for everypony's sake.

My legs burned like they were filled with acid as we approached the crest of the courtyard, but I dug my boots into the ground and skidded to a halt. Ditzy nearly ran into me, but she stopped as well as we observed that we were standing at the edge of the nuclear crater. I took a few steps away and swore that I felt the radiation soaking into my body. The yaks had nearly hit the castle directly.

I held my bandanna to my face tightly, turned around, and looked at Ditzy. "What do we do? She's in there!"

Ditzy shook her head, "We've got to go in."

I looked past the crater and saw that the entire castle had erupted in the flames. Due to it's proximity to the bomb, the shock was devastating enough to wipe the entire castle off the face of the planet, and even the foundation had been mostly uprooted. The thermal radiation had been so close that there was simply nothing left to burn, and all flammable materials were gone, everything was covered with a film of blackened ash. I stared for what seemed like forever and felt a growing anxiety that there was no way that Twilight survived.

We started, in a hurried canter, through the center of the crater and straight for the giant circular hole that used to be the castle foundation. The ground was soft, and even 9 days later, still hot to the touch. I mentally thanked Zecora for her boots because it felt hot enough to melt me down to my base materials. We arrived at the edge of the castle's remains, and I saw, deep inside the hole, was an enormous piece of the entrance gate's stone frame. It appeared to have been buried under the earth that was scooped by the bomb, but then... I felt hope. In the center of the hole was a trap door, obstructed by the stone wall, and I was sure that Twilight was in there. I could feel it.

I instructed Ditzy to stay there, in case anything bad happened, while I leaped onto the collapsed wall even though she vehemently protested. As soon as my boots connected with the stone, I felt the slick layer of ash, and I slipped. My hooves obediently went with physics despite my will for them to stay in place, and I was sent toward the corner of the exposed trap door. I reached out with a hoof to catch myself on the floor, but I was traveling too fast, and I slammed onto my side. My head connected with the steel frame of the door, and I rolled over, sat up, and grabbed my head with a hoof in one motion. I didn't know I was capable of screaming such a profane phrase.

"Screaming is good!" Ditzy called down to me. "That means you're still alive!"

"Oh, I'm fine, darling. Thanks for asking." I hollered back. I'd only fallen about 5 meters, but it really hurt.

"I tried to tell you that would happen." Ditzy said.

"So, that's how it is? "I told you so"? That's very mature." I shouted, but more from the pain than anything else.

I finally opened my eyes and took a breath. I looked down at the door without taking my hoof off of my head and saw a familiar violet glow that encapsulated the door handle. It shook violently for a moment, and then Twilight released it of her magic. I guess that was one way to let us know she was in there. I don't know why she didn't fling her entire body on it like I did.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Twilight wasn't going anywhere, but it still took Ditzy several minutes to convince me to leave. It felt like it was such an accomplishment that I'd finally found her, and I hated that she must remain in her safe room. Being a princess, she had to have been prepared enough to keep some food down there, and knowing how Twilight could be with overplanning, she could probably stay in there for quite a while and be just fine.

I thought of drinking the cure on the way back, to prevent us from getting sick from being in the crater, but Ditzy was worried we wouldn't make it back to Zecora's before the fatigue took us. I was inclined to agree. Besides, Ditzy was full of great ideas at the moment. She came up with the idea that the tractor, Zecora, and I could probably uproot the castle wall from the trap door. She also said not to jump onto said castle wall because it was slick with loose ash. For a while, at least until my head stopped pounding, I was going to trust her judgement over my own.

We carved a much different path through town on the way back lest we run into the squatters in that store again. I didn't know exactly how many there were, but if the use of a keyphrase complete with a counter-sign was necessary, it had to be a fairly large group that Ditzy and I weren't going to take on all by ourselves. Thus, we cut through the western residential areas which had many houses and a few shops that stippled the street. We were a few kilometers from the blast which was far enough that every building wasn't levelled to the ground, but everything was still covered in ash.

Most of the houses and businesses in this area were built from the surrounding oak, and the timber taken from the Everfree forest. There were a few that were made from imported redwood and maple from Canterlot, but they were usually large and expensive. Now, they were all scorched, dilapidated shells with their thatched grass roofs burned completely off. Ash to ash; dust to dust.

One building that stood out was Ponyville's cake shop and bakery, Sugar Cube Corner, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. The construction and materials was to make it look like a gingerbread house, and it retained the gumdrop roof trim, although most of the ceramic tiles that were designed to look like it was made out of graham cracker was singed and warped. Despite the charred exterior, which gave it a look like a real gingerbread house that had been left in the oven too long, it looked pretty much like it did 9 days ago. Except, the ice cream cupola was blown off, and the windows were destroyed which took much of the mullions with them.

"Care to take a stroll through memory confectionery?" Ditzy said while pointing at Sugar Cube Corner.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." I said while we turned to go inside.

Ditzy followed me up the steps, but I stopped before entering. I knocked on the door and waited just in case there were more squatters. We heard nothing, so I slowly pushed the door. It got caught on the bent door-frame, so I forced it open which sent splintered wood flying around the room. I hadn't pushed it that hard; it was just brittle from the heat. I heard Ditzy's pistol cock, and she leveled it. I shined my horn to light up the room as we cleared the store.

The display cabinet directly across from the entrance and below the cash register had been smashed open and was empty. To the left of that was a staircase that ran against the south wall and east, up into the Cake's bedrooms. There was a small table with a melted plastic display cake on it against the east wall, and the west wall was filled with warped posters that had melted onto the floor. Ditzy took point, and we went up the stairs.

There were photographs of the Cakes with their twin children on the walls of the hallway, but I didn't think about their potential deaths while we went into the first room on the right, Pinkie Pie's bedroom. Nopony was inside, but we did find one of Twilight's sealed letters on Pinkie's bed. We went back out into the hallway, turned right, and then went into the left room at the end of the hall. It was the Cake's nursery, but there was no pony there. I let out a sigh of relief as we didn't find any foal corpses either. We went directly across the hall, and cleared the Cake's master bedroom, which was also devoid of ponies.

"I think we can chill out." Ditzy said while she pressed the Bobbitt button and lowered her weapon.

"Agreed." I said. "Let's go back down stairs and see if we can find something sweet."

"My thoughts exactly." Ditzy said while she put her sunglasses on her head. She pinned her bandanna to her chest and brought her head back to pull her face from it. I uncovered my face with my magic as we made our way back down the stairs.

We checked the miniature fridge behind the display case, the freezer under the stairs, and the cabinet by the register. Nothing there. We continued to the east wall where the melted posters were. There was two storage boxes on the north and south walls, but both were empty. Ditzy spotted a key holder that was attached to a cabinet by the front door. When she looked inside, she found a milk chocolate candy bar. She profanely celebrated its discovery and sat on the floor while I opened it with my magic.

The wrapper was stuck to the chocolate, which had melted during the blaze, but that didn't stop me from tearing the warped remains in half. She kicked off her boots and took her half between her fore-hooves. I bit into mine as she did, and we both moaned a chuckle to each other. We tried to speak our approval, but were too busy indulging ourselves to more. It wasn't long before we'd finished, but it was very worth it.

She nodded, "This is our new mission."

“What is?” I asked while still chewing the last of the chocolate.

“We need to find more sweets.” Ditzy said with a smile.

“Darling, I have you, and that’s the sweetest thing any mare needs.” I said.

Ditzy cocked her head and grinned at me. She looked like she had something to say, but instead she closed the distance and kissed me. The cut on her lip was rough, but the sweet taste of her tongue in my mouth was divine. I began to pull back, but she kept coming and followed with incessant pecks.

“Ditzy, dear, what are you doing?” I chuckled.

“I’m kissing you.” She said between loving assaults.

“We may not be safe, darling. We could be irradiated, and we really should head back.” I explained, but I couldn't stop smiling.

“But we’re alone.” Ditzy said, her bedroom eyes cut my logic to pieces.

Ditzy took a sharp breath, and then she put her fore-hooves on my chest. There was a sudden, powerful push, and I was heaved into the air. She stood, on her rear legs, with me in her hooves and my fore-legs holding myself up on her shoulders. The strength and coordination required to pick up a pony with just her hooves... I was impressed. I was turned on. I wanted it so bad. But we needed to get back to Zecora's and cleanse ourselves of radiation. This wasn't a good idea. I needed to stop it, but I just kissed her deeply from my new perch. She walked me back a little less than a meter, and she gently put me on the rail of the staircase. I felt the rail depress, and there was a quiet click that echoed through our soft gasps.

I stopped and looked at her, "What was that?" I whispered.

Ditzy started to answer, but then the floor fell open, and she fell inside which took me with her. We tumbled over one another into the hole, and then landed, with Ditzy on top and me on my back, on a carpeted floor below. There was a soft, golden light source that was just above our heads, across the room. We both looked to it at the same time and saw three ponies sitting at a low table which had a lantern in the center. All three of them were covered in blisters and sores from being soaked in radiation.

The brilliantly pink earth-pony with a familiar wild, curly mane shushed us, but I couldn't help myself, and I suddenly shouted, "Pinkie Pie?!"

"The one and only!" Pinkie said quietly.

"Oh, my gosh!" I continued loudly, "I am so glad to see you all here."

I simply looked them over while trying to retain my happiness that I'd found another one of my friends, but it was weighed down heavily with the fact that she was so sickly looking. They appeared to be eating Trot Pockets which had been heated by a small oven in the north-east corner of the basement. The east wall had a row of water bottles, of which half of them were empty, next to an arrangement of soda cans. The west wall had a large trough against it that had pillows and blankets inside. I didn't see where they did their bathroom business, but I assumed that they would just go outside.

"Rarity, be quiet. You'll wake the babies." Pinkie said and then she motioned to a large crib in the north-west corner that had two sleeping foals inside. It hurt my heart to see them. They were so small, yet adult sized blotches of radiation induced dermatitis covered their bodies. I tried not to imagine their suffering, and I focused on the fact that they were peacefully resting. It wasn't working well.

I said while I pushed Ditzy to my left and scrambled to my hooves. "I'm sorry, dear. You're just-"

"Shhh!!!" Pinkie shushed, and she became a blur for a moment when she zipped to me. In an instant, she was directly in front of me and had her hoof on my mouth. "There are sleeping babies, Rarity."

"Mmm Hmm." I said through her hoof while giving a small nod. She was my friend, and I knew there was no danger of a contagion, but her skin was flaked and rough from the extended radiation exposure. I couldn't help but to be grossed out.

"Great!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly while backing away a few centimeters, "You hungry?"

Mrs. Cake interjected before I could answer, "Pinkie, Please."

"Sorry, Mrs. Cake, I was just glad that somepony else was being shushed instead of me." Pinkie said at the same volume.

Mr. Cake's face fell onto his hoof, "Pinkie..."

Pinkie crouched slightly and whispered, "Oh, right. Sorry!"

"Pinkie, you've been down here this whole time?" I asked in a whisper.

"Sure was, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake saved my life! I was going to go out to get some cherries for a really super-duper huge giantastic recipe for a right-side-up upside-down cherries jubilee cake parfait, but they were like, "those meanie yaks are up to no good." and said I should stay home to listen to the radio which was sooooo boring. Then there were big explosions that were all over, and the booms were so huge that we had to come down here to live through it. We've been down here ever since because Mr. Cake said that it wasn't safe to go out yet." Pinkie chattered quickly. She zoomed to Mr. Cake and continued in a sing-songy voice, "Looks like somepony was mistaken!"

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're safe, darling." I made myself smile. I knew that she was suffering despite her cheery expression; there were small, nearly imperceptible tells that she was in pain.

"So, is Pinkie right? Was I mistaken? Is it safe to go out?" Mr. Cake asked with a lot of hope in his voice.

"I'm afraid not." I said. I hated to crush him, but it was true. "We've taken refuge at Zecora's where it appears to be safe."

"In the Everfree Forest?" Mrs. Cake asked in disbelief, "If it's safer in the Everfree than it is here, I'm guessing that it's as bad as we thought."

"It may be worse than you think, too." Ditzy said. "We walked all the way from Vanhoover, so we've seen a lot of the damage."

"Oh, my." Mrs. Cake exclaimed.

"Enough turning our smiles upside down!" Pinkie shouted while she, in a mind boggling instant, slid five slices of cake onto the table, "Let's have some cake, and eat it too!"

The foals stirred and made weak moans as they began to rouse from their slumber, and Mr. Cake glared at Pinkie. Mrs. Cake quickly made her way to the crib, let out a breathy hiss with a gentle smile, and outstretched her fore-hooves toward her babies. She softly rubbed their bellies, and they snuggled in their bedding and fell back to sleep.

Mrs. Cake turned to me and spoke as if Pinkie wasn't there, "It's been like this for over a week. Please, help us."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cake." Pinkie said with a sheepish smile.

Mrs. Cake sighed hard, "It's fine Pinkie. Can you just please try to keep it down?" And then Mrs. Cake shook her head and continued to herself, "Even though I know you won't."

"Okie-dokie-lokie." Pinkie whispered.

Ditzy took a brief look over the crib, "I think Rarity and I can carry them. You gather some things, and then we'll take you to Zecora's house."

"Are you sure it will be safe for our foals there?" Mr. Cake said.

"Yes, darling." I answered. "I'm sure we can find a nice quiet place for the babies."

I was able to make a rope out of their table cloth. The crib had sturdy wood bars on either side of the mattress which I weaved the rope through. I left enough length to simply hang one end around the back of Ditzy's neck, and my end was tied around my hips. The cloth was scratchy and was going to chafe, but I felt that it was worth the effort to get the babies to safety.

The Cakes were earth ponies so they had to carry their luggage in their mouths, and Pinkie didn't bring anything with her. We departed from Sugar Cube Corner, up a yellow slide in the corner of the room, which was extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous for the babies.

We made our way to the dirt path which led to the bridge to the Everfree, and Pinkie did not stop talking the entire time. She told me about how they spent three days without eating anything, and then she went into the house and gathered all the food that she could. She included details that Mr. and Mrs. Cake cried and slept a lot the whole time. She said that everypony was very sick for "what was like infinity", and she was worried that they may be contagious.

I explained what Ditzy and I had read about radiation poisoning, and that they were not in an airtight space (the slide led straight outside to the rear of the store) which meant that they were likely exposed. Because they were consistently exposed for a long period of time, they were probably very ill, and we needn't waste time in returning to Zecora's.

As we entered Zecora's hut, Rainbow Dash cheered from the couch, "Pinkie Pie!"

"The one and only!" Pinkie called.

"While we were hoping for Twilight instead," Zecora said while stopping her work and continuing, "It is most joyous that another friend returns from the dead."

"We found Twilight." I said quietly while Ditzy and I crept toward the guest room with the babies.

Zecora had a serious look on her face, "I notice she is not with you, first. Am I to assume the worst?"

"No," Ditzy said. "She's trapped in her castle, but she's alive in there."

Zecora let out a relieved sigh, and then she saw the Cakes entering, "These are your babies, I presume. Please, settle your family in my guest room."

"Thank you, Zecora." Mr. Cake said, "We are very grateful. It's been very hard for us, and Rarity told us we've been sitting in radiation for the last week."

"Of this fact, I am sure. Get settled, then return for my cure." Zecora said.

We went to the guest room and found Fluttershy sleeping with Angel, her pet bunny. We quietly placed the babies in the far corner, in a place where we could unfold the bed concealed behind the bookcase, and the Cakes put their bags by the bed that Fluttershy was in. The foals were still asleep, I assumed that they were so badly fatigued from being irradiated. Their stillness was very creepy, as if they were dead which inspired horrifying thoughts, but I watched them closely and saw their chests rising and falling.

When we returned to the living room, Zecora gave the Cakes each a bowl of the Cure Stew. Pinkie had already finished hers, so she joined me in the guest room to force the foals to drink the cure from their bottles. It didn't take, and I ended up having to spoon feed the colt while Pinkie fed the filly. It took a long time, and it was quite noisy which woke Fluttershy.

"Pinkie Pie, you're alive!" Fluttershy exclaimed without getting up.

Mr. Cake entered the room, prompted by his crying foals, and said, "Yes, she was very brave. I don't think we would have made it without her."

Mrs. Cake was close behind him and said, "It wasn't the worst experience of my entire life, being locked in a tiny room with Pinkie Pie. She did fearlessly go to the surface and get us food and water."

"Pinkie, you're so great." Fluttershy said proudly while putting her head back on the pillow.

"If not loud and ignorant." Mrs. Cake muttered under her breath while, with much less resistance, she and Mr. Cake fed their babies Cure Stew.

Pinkie's head had begun to hang low in the growing side-effect of the brew, but she snapped back up, "I had to keep my friends safe, and the Cakes are my friends." Her speech was badly slurred.

"Here, Sweetie." I said while I took a few steps back, and pulled the bookshelf bed from the wall, "You should go ahead and lay down. The cure makes you very-"

"Oh, thank you, Rarity. I'm so tired." Pinkie said as she crawled onto the bed, "I'll just lay down for a little bit, and then I want to talk to everypony-" And then her head slammed into the pillow, her words replaced with a soft snore.

"Thank you, sweet Celestia. She's silent." Mrs. Cake said. "In the basement, we had to pretend to be asleep so she would stop talking."

"Honestly, honey, I think she saved our lives. I was much to afraid of the radiation to go outside." Mr. Cake said as the filly in his fore-hoof passed out into a stew-induced rest.

"That doesn't change the fact that she never stops talking." Mrs. Cake shrugged while putting the colt back in the crib. The baby continued to protest the taste forced on him, but the cure overtook him soon, and he was asleep along with his sister.

I nodded knowingly, even though I disapproved of Mrs. Cake's disdain, and said, "That filly does love to talk."

Mr. Cake smiled to me, "Rarity, I can not thank you enough. I'm not sure how much longer we would have survived in there."

"It was nothing, darling. We happened upon you by accident, truthfully." I said.

"I know, but I still think you should know that you saved our lives." He said while he patted Mrs. Cake's shoulder, "Come on, honey. Let's get some sleep in a real bed."

"Yes, dear." She agreed.

Fluttershy motioned to the bed that she was in while she got up, and she tiredly crawled into the other bed and laid next to Pinkie Pie.

"We'll leave you to it." I said while leading Ditzy out of the room. We went back to the living room where Rainbow Dash was still lounging on the couch. She was laying on her back with her fore-hooves curled on her chest and she appeared to be asleep. Zecora had placed two bowls of the Cure Stew on the end table to the right of the couch. Ditzy and I sat on our haunches next to each other and quietly choked down the brew.

"So, Zecora, we need your help." I said quietly while finishing my bowl of stew.

"I hope that I can be of use to you. Because of my task here, there isn't much I can do." Zecora said.

"I'm sure that you can take a break from cooking while we go get Twilight." Ditzy suggested, her speech was already becoming sluggish.

Zecora pressed her mouth into a thin line while she thought it over, and then she nodded, "We have more than enough for the ponies here, no doubt. I believe that I can join your mission without the danger of running out."

"So, when are we heading out?" Rainbow Dash asked without opening her eyes.

"You will have to stay here, darling. We need able-bodied ponies to get the door open." I explained.

Rainbow Dash opened one eye and picked her head up to stare me down, "That's not going to happen. If anypony is going to rescue Twilight, I'm going with you."

"You shall remain here as I advise. Leaving before you are well would be unwise." Zecora commanded.

Rainbow Dash threw a tiny fit, laid her head down on the couch, and closed her eyes again with her brow furrowed, "Fine."

Ditzy hooked a hoof in the direction of the tractor outside, "I'm going to get that hunk of junk working, and I'm pretty sure we can get..." Ditzy blinked a few times. It appeared that she had forgotten what she was talking about, and her eye lids were disobeying her will to stay awake, "...And we'll use it to move thome thtuff and then get the door open."

"Right." I said, beginning to feel the sleepiness as well, "Between the three of us, and the tractor. We have a good chance of being with Twilight tomorrow."

"With this possibility, it will be difficult to wait and rest, but it is necessary, and we must do what is best." Zecora said.

I nodded slowly and looked around the room for a corner to curl up and sleep in, and Zecora chuckled. I looked at her and finally asked, "Where can I lay down and remain out of the way, darling?"

"I will be awake making more brew, and that being said, I will not mind if you and your friend retired to my bed." Zecora offered.

"Oh, thank you, so much. I was not looking forward to the floor." I said while standing and beginning toward the master bedroom.

"Thankth, Zecora." Ditzy muttered while following me. She stopped and slurred back to Zecora, "You're best pony."

Zecora laughed, "My little pony, you're too kind. My heart is risen. Now, get to bed, and tomorrow, we get Twilight from her prison."

Author's Note

The idea behind the "How do you like them apples?" was that Rarity or Ditzy had to say, "Those are actually oranges." as the proper counter-sign in order to let the Squatters know that they were friendlies.

Just in case this isn't obvious, the Bobbitt button that de-cocks Ditzy's pistol is named after Lorena Bobbitt. Google it and be prepared to laugh.

Special thanks to Thy Art is Murder for providing the soundtrack that I wrote to.