It had been a few days since Twisted and Lily had gone off on their scouting mission, and their return was taken with mixed feelings. Some anger, some concern, some just glad they had returned mostly unscathed. Summer Breeze went up and down the both of them about how they should be more careful, but in the end the mare was happy they had returned safely. Though, news had quickly travelled about Twisted and Lily. Band-aid and his group had split off from them the next morning, and they seemed to have no problem telling the story.

Hello hello hello, people of Prince John's! It's your DJ Talon Scratch, and I hope you are all having a glorious day in the wastelands. Today, I have one hell of a story for you, and if you would all do me the kindness of pardoning my vulgar language carrying on from here, I would be much appreciated. So, I've heard of some crazy things in this wasteland, but I don't think I have ever heard of an honest to Celestia Paladin running about! Get this shit, there is a mare, running around in old-school, straight out of a fantasy novel, but hardcore armour, killing raiders with a fucking longsword! I'm not even lying. I heard reports about this lovely lady a few days ago in the rumour mill, and just today, I got a hold of actual eyewitnesses!

They say she is a Follower of Discord, crazy right? Who would have thought anyone connected to the spirit of chaos would be out there offing raiders and saving the good ponies. Here she is though, proving us all wrong! Maybe Discord can do some good, am I right? Add a little, controlled chaos to your life. Shout out to Twisted Visions, and keep up the good fight. If you are ever in Princes John's, stop on by, but till then, I dedicate this song too you. Up next, is Hallelujah!

"Wow... Didn't think you were going to get famous for that?" Lily commented, helping Twisted dig into the garden. They were working on setting up a new irrigation system, to go in tandem with the new latrine hut they were building. growing good crops as a top priority, and Twisted had to explain, a few times, that everything could be used to make a settlement better. No matter how gross it initially seemed.

"I didn't think you would tell them so much about me," Twisted replied, smiling at the filly. She had forgone most of her armour, opting out to just wear her body suit. It made her look strange, the black, thin leather covering her body. It contrasted with her coat, making her stick out even more than her armour did.

"Well, they were curious! Don't worry, I wasn't mean about it. They got a little weird when I mentioned Discord, but once I explained it like you did, they seemed fine with it. You helped them, so they were grateful. Said you couldn't be all that bad if you were killing raiders rather than helping them," Lily said, looking at their work. "So, you said we were going to make, like, troughs to string up, right? Why are we making these trenches?"

"Because," Twisted started, sticking the shovel into the dirt, "We want all the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to get into the soil. So that way, when we empty the liquids barrel, it not only gets to the upper roots but can soak into the dirt and get into the deeper set roots. Of course, we're going to have to wait until next growing season to really get any benefit out of it, so we can really get into the dirt and mix it around," Twisted said, wiping her brow. "Also, I don't mind you telling others about me. So long as you don't go exaggerating my abilities. Last thing I need is ponies thinking I have some kind of divine power," She added, getting back to work.

"Well, if ponies do start thinking that, then you could always just go to Prince John's and talk to Talon Scratch. You are, also, pretty awesome with your sword and magic," Lily said, working away in turn. "By the way, I was meaning to ask. Why does your magic look different from everyone else's?"

"Why do you ask Lily? Do you want pretty looking magic as well?" Twisted teased, giving the filly a sly look.

"No! Well, sorta? It just seems like your magic is different, so I thought I would ask," Lily defended, scowling.

"Fair enough. My magic is different, I suppose. I use it in a different way, I don't try to control it, or tell it what to, and how to do what I want it to do. It makes my spells unstable, but, at the same time, gives me more strength, as I spend less energy controlling the magic, and more on letting it flow. It takes a very long time to learn how to do it right, and you often break a lot of stuff in the process," Twisted explained, putting the shovel down and looking at the work they had done. "It's also very hard to explain. The way I was taught, was to imagine seeing the Wake as it bleeds into this world, and draw from it, rather than yourself. Become a conduit for the energy, and give it suggestions, rather than orders. Get good at it, and you can suggest it to do things, where you usually get the outcome you want, even if it's not exactly how you wanted it done."

"Is that why when ponies shoot at you, their bullets seem to go everywhere?" Lily asked, turning to the mare.

"How very observant of you Lily. Yes, that is why bullets seem to change directions when ponies shoot at me," Twisted said with a chuckle. "I suggest to the Wake to stop bullets from hitting me, and it does exactly that. Stop bullets from hitting me. I generally try not to use it when I am surrounded by people, as I don't want them to get hit either, so in times like that, I will use more direct and typical magic." Twisted said with a shrug. "Everything depends on the situation."

"So chaos isn't always good?" Lily asked, sitting down to rest.

"Whoever said chaos was always good? Chaos is just a way of looking at the world, too much, like with the cultists, is a terrible thing. Too little makes the world boring." Twisted responded.

"So... Does that mean your religion isn't... The right one?" Lily asked, tilting her head. The filly was filled with good questions.

Twisted thought about her answer very carefully. "There is no such thing, in my eyes, as a correct religion. At least myself, and other of my order to not believe as such. We don't know what will happen when we die, or what will happen in life. That is why we call it faith, and not fact," Twisted said, grabbing a bottle of water. "Following the Wake, and believing its tenants are true, is an act of faith. Understanding things that go up, must eventually come down, is a fact. We as ponies can demonstrate this, by dropping items. They fall, we acknowledge they fall, and we carry on," Twisted continued.

"So then why does religion exist?" Another question and Lily was getting startlingly good at them. "If you don't know, then why believe it?"

This was the first time Twisted had been stumped by the filly. "I don't actually have a good answer for that. I suppose it makes people feel better. I know it makes me feel better. Sometimes things can't be explained. What is important, is understanding that your faith, can very well be wrong," Twisted tried to explain.

"Oh... So what if you're wrong? Say, you die, and you are greeting by the Princesses, instead of Discord, and when you see them, they tell you that you were wrong your entire life?" Lily asked, clearly invested in this difficult line of questioning.

"Then, I suppose I will laugh. I will apologize for underestimating how much power they have, and then question why they saw all this to be a necessary course of action. Why ponies get sick, and die. Why ponies suffer, and why, if they truly loved us, would they bring us such a terrible existence?" Twisted said in response.

Lily was quiet for a moment. Her face scrunched up, warning Twisted that yet another question was coming. One that was probably a good one. "What do you think the sisters would say? If that were true?"

It was. Once again, Twisted was set philosophically off balance and thought hard to correct herself. "What would they say? I suppose I would expect nothing less, than how can you appreciate the good in life, without the bad? Regardless of religion, regardless of belief, that is the only thing that remains consistent. Without bad things happening, you cannot appreciate the good things that come to you. We wouldn't appreciate the sun, or the moon, or the stars, if we did not have this cloud cover almost all the time. We wouldn't appreciate our friends and family if we couldn't lose them. We wouldn't appreciate small moments where we can just take a breath and relax if we didn't have anything else to concern ourselves with. I guess it would be a terrible existence." Twisted said, starting to walk out of the garden. Lily followed at her heel, as usual.

"Well, Priestess, if it means anything, I think you're right," Lily said with affirmation. The confidence surprised Twisted, getting a look from the mare of confused surprise.

"Do you? And why is that?"

Lily smiled. "Well, I think about it, and I think about what it is that everyone else believes with the Princesses, and then I think about just not believing in a religion. Thinking about it, at the very least, what you believe is more fun. I figure, if I'm going to believe in something, I may as well believe in something fun, right?" Lily asked, giving a shrug.

Twisted thought about this response, then smiled. "I suppose you are right Lily. I guess if you want to believe in something, it should be something fun."

Author's Note

Sorry for boring you all with this chapter and all the philosophy and such. I'm starting to think I wasn't quite prepared for this story, and I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants, but I do have plans! I swear I'll finish this story if it kills me!