There were two ways to the east side of the city. Twisted had to go back to Gun Grey the next day to ask. The highway, all the way, or, the highway until it went east, and then follow two main roads. Each one had its issues. Bandits and thugs were all over the city, and likely watched those routes closely. The highway, however, led past the airport, which was said to be a total no-go zone. Decisions, decisions. Twisted, opted for the highway. Maybe foolishness on her part, but no matter what they were in danger. She preferred knowing where the danger would likely come from rather than being paranoid the entire walk.

And so here they were, walking along the highway. It was empty, aside from the occasional car, many of which had been scavenged long ago. The silence of the highway was pervasive. The spark batteries in their radio had died an hour ago, and given the open nature of the highway, Twisted was far more preoccupied with focusing on their surroundings than she could be on teaching or otherwise occupying the little filly that trot along next to her.

She had decided to follow the highway past the airport. So long as they didn’t go inside, she was told they would be relatively safe. It just took much longer to get to where they were going and there was a small chance they could run into a problem. She didn’t want to run into a problem. But she didn’t want to have to deal with all of the bandits in Prince John’s either.

“How much longer do we have to walk?” Lilly Grove asked Twisted for the 37th time since the radio died. Are we there yet was 42, and Lilly had needed to stop to pee at least 4 times. Twisted had written the mental note to never run out of batteries so many times, she felt it was burned into her skull at this point. She was starting to understand why the caregivers of the children of the sanctuary were so… strange when not dealing with their charges.

“No Lilly,” Twisted sighed, feeling her patience wearing thin, but this was a moment she could teach! Every moment could be a learning moment! “Though, my dear little one,” The mare said, honeying her words as much as she can. “There will be times in your life where you will make walks like these and have nothing but your thoughts and the wasteland to occupy you,” She said, enjoying the genius of her plan. “So, why don’t we practice occupying ourselves for the remainder of the walk?” She asked, going back to scanning the horizon.

Lilly was silent for a moment, then looked back up at Twisted. “If I’m practicing for when you’re not here… Could I sing a song?” She asked.

Twisted thought about the request. She could deal with a filly singing, certainly. Sure, it would likely be childish nursery rhymes, but those were at least manageable. "I don't see anything wrong with it. Feel free to sing Lilly,” Twisted said, sighing with relief. Moderate peace.

“... This is the song that never ends…”

An hour had past, and Twisted Visions could feel her eye starting to twitch. This had been the billionth time Lilly had sung the song that never ends, and she had begun to regret this far more than she felt natural. This was a tortuous experience. Not in the agonizing pain sort of way, no. That never bothered her much, because she could at least take enjoyment out of the idea that if her torturer didn’t kill her, she would kill them.

No. She was not so lucky. She did not want to kill her tormentor. She rather liked Lilly, but she was also acutely aware why new parents very often looked dead. Because their brains were constantly being boiled in frustration they could do nothing about. Twisted also realized, very quickly after this waking, child induced nightmare began, that she couldn’t right well tell her to stop, because she was practicing for the inevitability she would be walking without Twisted there. The poius pony had cursed herself this time.

No matter, she could at least ask for a different song, right? Just to give her bare frayed nerves a modicum of a break. with a defeated sigh, Twisted looked down at Lilly. “My dear. Your singing is wonderful, but could you sing another song?” She asked, giving a weak smile to the filly.

Lilly blinked, then frowned. “I don’t know many songs mom… Sorry…” She said.

Twisted fought back a whine. “You don’t know any other song?” She asked, worried about the answer.

“Well,” Lilly said, perking up a little. “I I know a song that gets on everyones nerves!” She smiled.

“Everybodies nerves?” Twisted asked, a glimmer of hope appearing. She would accept anything at this point.

“Yep!” Lilly nodded. “Everyones nerves!”

“So you know a song that gets one everyone’s nerves, hmm?” Twisted asked, looking back out at the horizon.

“Yeah!” Lilly said. “And this is how it goes, bum bum bum,” She said musically, before repeating their conversation as a song. Twisted felt what was left of her last nerve get severed as if with a jagged dull knife when she realized what she had just walked into, and rage built up inside her.

“Would you, STOP!” Twisted snapped, her head lowering quickly as she barked at the filly. Just as she did, the concrete median they were walking next too exploded violently, jerking Twisted out of her fury, a loud but distant “boom” echoing across the highway. Whatever just shot the median would have taken Twisted’s head off if she had not in that moment snapped at Lilly. The wake had a bittersweet way of working at times.

Twisted used her magic and flung Lilly back over the median, diving behind it herself just as another round planted itself into the concrete barrier where Twisted had once occupied. Lilly was laying on the ground in confused shock at what was happening, and Twisted had to push the filly’s head down to stop her from standing up.

“We’re going to be alright Lilly,” Twisted said, looking around. They were trapped, and Twisted could feel the Wake would not act in their favor for much longer if they continued to test it by standing in sight of whoever was shooting at them, and given how much damage it did to the concrete, the mare was not of the opinion she or Lilly could survive if either of them got hit. With how open the highway had gotten, she couldn’t think of much more to do than to either go back or wait for the cover of darkness. Either way, the wait was going to be a long one.

Twisted and Lilly had laid behind the median long enough that the sun was starting to go down, but neither of them had really said much. Twisted knew Lilly was upset she was snapped at, but this wasn’t exactly the best time to deal with that whole issue. Not to mention, they really couldn’t move. They had tried crawling down the median but it ended before they were out of sight of whoever was shooting at them, and they made sure
the two ponies taking cover knew that. Twisted had tried her magic, but it was next to ineffective. Not something she would trust with her, or Lilly’s life at the very least.

So they had waited, and the bullets had stopped. Twisted knew they were being pinned down until someone could come and collect them. She knew there were more people coming. She only hoped that they would not make it here until the sun went down. She was not so lucky.

“Oh lay off Punji,” An irritated voice grumbled, Twisted Visions’ ears flicking towards the sound of two ponies walking. “Red ain’t come over the radio and told us they got away, so they should be right round this bend.”

“I’m just saying Box,” said another, who Twisted assumed was Punji. “I think Red’s losing his touch. He never misses!” Punji continued, sounding uncomfortable. “I bet you it's because of that time he spent with those crazy fuckers from the island.” This caught Twisted’s attention. They knew the ponies on the island. They really were spreading, as from what she knew, they weren’t very close to the shoreline here. They must really be moving out.

“He’s using that new .50 cal!” Box defended. “So he was a few inches off a shot where the target was moving and a kilometer away, and he said we needed to come out here and capture the tall one! Our lives have been pretty good since those island ponies started helping us out. Who cares if they’re crazy,” He muttered, the sound of equipment hitting the floor.

Twisted put that aside. She didn’t like the position she and Lilly were in, and she didn’t even realize she had put a hoof over Lilly’s mouth to stop her from making any sound. She had to think, and she had to think quickly. They wanted her alive. She got a sinking feeling in her gut.

“Lilly…” Twisted said, preparing for the worst. “You need to remain silent, and no matter what happens, do not bring attention to yourself,” She said simply, looking Lilly in the eye. “When you get back to Memorial, tell Scratch to say The wake has swept me away, Send a feather to my aid,” She said, looking Lilly in the eye. “Remember that if you want to help. That is the only way you can,” She added, drawing her sword and slowly standing up. Seeing Lilly’s wide, watering eyes staring back up at her in fear hurt her more than the prospect of what was about to happen, but one of them needed to get help, and one of them needed to be the… Distraction.

Punji and Box looked at Twisted with their weapons up, keeping them trained on her as she hopped over the median. “You want me alive?” Twisted asked, before tossing her sword to the ground. “Then you may have me…” The look of confusion as the two raiders tried to figure out what angle Twisted was playing at gave her a small measure of satisfaction.

“Where’s the filly!” Punji asked, keeping his pipe rifle trained on Twisted while Box slowly approached to subdue her. She didn’t resist.

“Gone…” Twisted said dryly, keeping her eyes on Punji as she felt the inhibitor slip over her horn, and her hooves get bound. “I went to one side of the wall, she went to the other. When your shooter shot at me, she scrambled to the other median and crawled away,” She said, looking at Box. “But really, what does it matter? You have me captured, do not waste my precious time looking for a filly your superior doesn’t care about, unless you think he likes to be left waiting,” She asked with a coy smile.

Next thing she knew she was face first in the dirt and her nose hurt a lot. She rolled onto her side and snorted out blood, coughing. “If you're leader’s who I think he is,” Twisted gasped, trying to get back onto her feet. “You’re going to want to keep my face intact,” She groaned, looking at Box, who had yanked her leg out from under her. “Cultists like faces,” She hissed. Her nose was definitely broken.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Box snapped, making Twisted stick her tongue out at the raider.

“Neither of you little whelps scare me,” Twisted said, holding herself high again. “Take me to your commander so I may stop wasting my time,” She sighed impatiently. She could take whatever beating she got. She wanted to pull the attention away from Lilly. “Even if I may not live the night, I certainly don’t want it to consist of your childish mewling.”

“Hey,” Box shouted, pointing his pistol at her. The act lost some of its punch as he had to use his magic to lift the weapon much higher than he was tall. “What makes you fucking think I’m not the leader huh?” He asked. “I could kill you right now and nothing bad would happen, cause I call the fucking shots!”

Twisted looked wide eyed at Box, before letting out a painful, but amused snort. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I promise you, that would have been intimidating if… well, you know, you were intimidating,” Twisted laughed.

“Are you fucking mocking me!?” Box asked looking at Punji, then back at Twisted.

“Oh, no no no,” Twisted replied, lightening up her voice as if trying to soothe a bruised ego. “Well actually yes, but that’s not the po-” She was interrupted by her muzzle being filled with the barrel of a gun.

“What did I say? I could kill you withou-” The concrete median right next to Box’s head exploded making him jump and scream like a filly, dropping the gun. Twisted didn’t flinch, simply lowered her head and spat the gun out, then spitting out the blood from the front post cutting up her mouth.

“As I was saying before I was interrupted,” Twisted remarked dryly, turning to Punji. “Thank you for not being one of the horrendously obnoxious raiders like your friend here. Should we start walking before the next shot hits someone?”

Punji looked at Box with a hint of concern. “Stop toying with her, let’s go,” He said, starting to walk. Twisted let out an internal sigh of relief, but noticed Box was starting to walk over towards where Lilly was hiding.

“Box~!” Twisted called out like a mother calling her foal for dinner. “You’re not going to leave me alone with your friend here are you? Would be a shame if I somehow escaped no?”

Box stopped, and Twisted could hear him growl in frustration before starting to walk back towards the two. Good pony. Stay away from Lilly. She could only hope her message was heard by other followers.

Twisted Visions and her captors had been walking for some time. She could tell Punji was the skittish one. Likely part of the group out of necessity rather than any actual desire. An outcast. She looked at his cutie mark and could tell why. He was talented in making traps. Not exactly useful when it came to day to day life, and a gristly outcome since Punji Traps were quite horrific.

She didn’t understand Box. His cutie mark was just a box with a leather belt around it. Nothing to go off, which made her a little concerned. Box wasn’t exactly the kind of name that a raider would have, and she knew most changed their names if their original names weren’t intimidating enough.

She would have to focus on Punji, if she ever got time alone with him. Shake his resolve, appeal to his better nature. Remind him, that death and destruction were not his only options. He could have peace if he wanted it.

They came upon the airport, and suddenly Twisted felt a calming connection with Discord. She had chosen the path to take, specifically to find the rifle with the least amount of problems. While she found herself in quite the problematic situation, if she had gone the short way, she would have had to deal with far more bandits without any success, and then walk into this very situation regardless.

All things considered, she had avoided a lot of trouble. Not that she was particularly fond of the situation she was in now. On the contrary, as they got closer, she could see on a large tower, the wings of Discord painted in blood. Her heart grew cold. So the Cult of Discord did make it out here. It didn’t surprise her as much as it should have, this place was rather isolated from the Followers, it was the perfect breeding ground. If the Cult had set up a camp on the Island Talon Scratch had been speaking of on the radio, then she was all the more concerned. They likely had a large community.

She was reminded of her childhood, but forced those thoughts out of her head. She was a better mare now. She had been saved. Those memories only served to remind her why she did what she did.

“You’re going to love the boss,”” Box said with a grin, walking backwards to look at her as they stepped onto the tarmac. “He saw you and almost creamed himself, so he might not kill you right away,” He said, turning back to face where they were going. Twisted could only imagine how excited this heretic was to have captured a Follower. She mentally prepared herself for what was to come. This heretic was a convert from what she gathered. Was a regular Raider, spent some time with the Cultists, and had become one. He would likely be all the worse to deal with, to try and prove himself to the ones who had converted him.

She certainly hoped 90 caps was worth all this trouble…

Twisted Visions was eventually left in a room. The decor of the raider outpost was quite typical for cultists, and given how incomplete it was, the design change was new. Death and destruction. Instilling fear and chaos in the most horrific ways possible, how unoriginal. She lay on the ground, trying to calm down. regain control of herself so she was better able to withstand the wake. Better able to navigate it as it tried to drown her in this moment. The bittersweet reality of the wake. It did not care for your personal comfort.

She was pulled out of her meditation by the sound of someone screaming. She could only assume it was Red, excitedly rushing to see his new prisoner. She took a deep breath, and let it out in a sigh as she stood up. She mustered up all her pride, presenting herself in nobility.

“What do you mean you didn’t take her sword with you!” She heard someone scream in rage. She couldn’t hear the response. “You cost me what would have been my prized posession you useless insect!” They sound delightful, Twisted thought to herself.

The door finally opened, and Twisted looked upon the unicorn she assumed was red. A cultists from the bottom of his hooves to the tip of his horn. He was well groomed, in a grosteque way. His robes, a patchwork of black and grey, with a broach around his neck with the sign of the Cult. The wings and skull of Discord. She wondered if they asked themselves if they were the bad guys. The bad guys always had a skull as their symbol, like chocolate and banana, only it was rotten and would turn your stomach something fierce if you ate it.

“You,” Red said, looking at Twisted with giddy awe on his face. “Are beautiful…” He said, moving to circle her, taking her in. “An honest to god Warrior of the Followers, here in this part of Equestria?” He asked, laughing darkly getting a little too close to her for comfort.

“Priestess,” Twisted said, her tone stern. “I am a priestess. Though, if you would like to see if I am a warrior, untie me and allow me to demonstrate,” She growled, looking down at Red who just laughed.

“Oh I know you would be a handful if I did that,” Red said, letting out a stuttered breath as his horn lit up. The clasps of her armour quickly came undone, and her armour was removed. Twisted didn’t flinch. Red didn’t stop however, using the knife on his side to cut away her body suit. “Quite the warrior you are,” He said, looking her scarred body over. “Or you’ve been captured before. I’ll assume the latter given how pretty your face is,” He sneered, running his muzzle up the inside of her back leg.

Twisted scowled and jumped forward slightly, lifting her legs and bucking him in the face hard, sending him sprawling to the ground. “You could at least dine me before getting frisky,” Twisted scolded, looking down at Red.

The cultist got up, holding his muzzle sternly cursing quietly. “You must be a feisty one…”

“And you must do children’s parties,” Twisted snapped back, visibly confusing Red.

“And why would you say that Priestess?” Red asked.

“Because you’re a clown,” Twisted said with a coy, mocking smile. “Obviously.”

The derranged amusement vanished from Red’s face when she said that, and he spat at her. Twisted didn’t react. “You need tobe taught some manners it seems,” He growled, walking out of the room. “Box! Teach our guest some manners,” He ordered, leaving the room.

Moments later, Box walking in, dragging a very large, oddly shaped box in behind him and closed the doors. “I get it,” He said, setting the box down. “You think you’re too good for us hmm?” He asked, opening the box and pulling out several thick leather straps and tools. “Well, maybe after some time in my invention, you’ll learn your place,” He smiled, looking at Twisted, “I call it the Syrian Box.

Twisted sighed, now understanding where “Box” got his name. She was not going to like this…

Tempo wandered around just outside of Memorial City, looking to see if he could find anything useful. He had been pretty bored the last few days since he escorted the Paladin and her squire to DJ Talon Scratch. He was hoping to see them again, only to find out they had left the morning before. He looked at the late afternoon sun. Maybe he would see them again.

He was about to head back home for the night when he heard the high pitched sound of metal being dragged on concrete. Her turned his head and could see a filly dragging something in her teeth, when he realized it was Lilly Grove. He ran over.

“Lilly!” He shouted as she got close. She looked like death warmed over, her fur and mane matted with sweat, eyes bloodshot and she dropped the sword. “What happened to y-”

“We need to help her!” Lilly screamed, panic building up her her voice. “She was taken, we need to help her, please we need to help her!” Lilly begged before breaking down into hysterics. Tempo didn’t know what to do, so he ran back to Memorial yelling for help.

Author's Note

I'm back! I'll try to finish it this time!