Fallout Equestria: Overture

by SoundOfImpact

Rating: mature
Tags: Fallout, Narcotics, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Original Character, Octavia, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Crossover, Death
Length: 88153

The search for Octavia's cello. The clock is ticking. It's a wild wasteland out there.

"All you have to do is look into the gem, and the test will be over before you know it!”

How far would you go for the right price? And would the end justify the means?

After a botched experiment, Silver Sterling finds herself thrust into a grim new existence in the Equestrian Wastes. Simultaneously robbed of her old life and given a chance to live anew, she must learn to adapt, survive, and thrive to ever have a chance of making it out alive in this harsh new world.

Saved from certain death by a local scavenger, she becomes entangled on a quest to find a long lost musical relic for a reward most ponies would kill for. And to save her own skin. It's a wild, wild wasteland out there.

Based on the original Fallout: Equestria by Kkat. Reading the original is recommended but not required.

The prologue through to the first couple of paragraphs of Chapter Five were written in 2018. I've not written anything since, but this story has been living in my head for almost 10 years now, so it's well past time I get it out of there. Hopefully anyway. We'll see how it goes. In case you couldn't tell I tend to dip in and out. More out than in.

Published 2024-04-16 23:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-05-10 00:02:44 UTC

Chapter One: Wake Up Call

Chapter One: Wake Up Call

"The whole place is empty, the floor's all that is left."

I felt my nose tingle. I felt my ears twitch. My eyes fluttered. I could see a dim, pulsating light emitting from the gem-device and a dull blue glow around my peripheral vision. I could feel a wave of warmth making it's way down my neck, followed closely from an unpleasant tingling all over. As more feeling returned to me I noticed something else. I could breathe.

Suddenly noticing the lack of air in my lungs I breathed in deep and immediate regretted it, inhaling a huge amount of dust. I choked and spluttered, and a dust cloud left my mouth, leaving behind a horrible musty taste. My forelegs buckled, and I realised just how weak I felt. My hind legs however, remained rigid, the spell having reached them just yet. I ended up face down to the floor, in a highly embarrassing position, just about managing to avoid getting another muzzle-full of dust.

As the magic ran it's course, I slowly collapsed into a heap on the floor, heaving, whole body burning and tingling, but alive. The spell had worked, and everything just took a second to sink in. Not only had I been petrified and recovered, which was strange enough in of itself, I'd also been through a whole week in literally no time at all for me. I let out a shaky chuckle, I'd made it through okay!

SMASH

I yelped as the gem shattered in a burst of light, showering the room with tiny fragments of... whatever it was. I managed to push myself up to more of a sitting position to try and dislodge any shards. I was assuming that this wasn't a standard part of the test, probably a defect with the spell that somepony would need to fix. They should probably do something about all the dust it left behind, too, it wasn't particularly pleasant.

Come to think it, nopony had made contact me yet, either in the flesh or over the radio. I thought that was a little strange since they controlled the spell, surely they'd know I was awake?

"Hello?" I called out, my mouth dry and voice croaky. "Anypony hear me?"

Nothing, no reply.

"Hellooooooo?" I tried again. Still nothing.

I paused for a second in case there was some kind of delay, but my ear bloom remained dormant. Weird, maybe their radio was broken or something. I though that since they must've started the spell to revive me, they'd know I was in here, radio or not, and I decided to wait a minute for somepony to come and get me.

In the meantime, I tried to look myself over but it was really too dark in the booth to make anything out, so I tested my hind legs for strength, stood up and shook myself off. This, of course, kicked up a massive cloud of dust and sent me into a terrible sneezing fit. I wiped my nose on a jumpsuit sleeve (I didn't have any tissues) and paced around a little before I realised that all I was doing was kicking up more dust, so instead I just sat down on my haunches and waited.

It was chillier than I recalled, and the air was heavy, laden with an unusual, almost mildewy smell. Every now and then I could hear noises from outside the booth, sounds I couldn't recognise. I entertained the thought that maybe I had been revived at night and the place was working on a skeleton crew. I thought I could hear a very faint voice calling something out, but it never got any closer to me and I couldn't make out what was being said, and eventually it stopped. Sporadically I'd hear a clanking or creaking noise, but very little else. The whole place was eerily quiet.

Minutes passed. I started to get worried. Why was the radio dead? Why hadn't anypony come to get me? Was there a problem with the spell and maybe I wasn't meant to have been revived yet? I shuffled nervously on my hooves for a second, and decided that if no one was coming for me, then I'd have to go to them. I got up, felt around until I found the door, and pushed. The door didn't budge. I tried again, putting more force into it this time. The hinges started to squeal, and I got the door to give a little, but it still didn't open.

Something was definitely not right here. I pushed at the door with all the force I could muster, grinding the hinges, forcing the door to scrape against the frame, and it finally gave way, swinging open and slamming against the outside of the booth. I tumbled out behind it, only just managing to stay upright. Slightly dazed, I glanced around the hall.

Everything was wrong.

It was dark, the whole hall was just barely kept illuminated by a few emergency lights, gently bathing the room in a weak, sickly hue of red. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust and grime, littered with paint chips and broken ceiling tiles. The ceiling itself had bowed down by a worrying amount and was creaking ominously, and a fluid of some kind was running down the walls. The whole place reeked of stagnant water, mixed in with the very present scent of old paper.

There were pools and puddles all over the floor. Broken pipes and bundles of sparking wires dangled uselessly from the ceiling. The glass of the elevated control room from where the test was conducted was cracked and yellowed, scientific instruments within the room lie dormant. Mold and rot filled the hall, darkening any surface it touched.

I was frozen to the spot, hopelessly looking around for an explanation. This just made no sense, none at all! The hall was devoid of life, and the damage...

"How?" I mused aloud. There was nopony to answer. What in Celestia's Equestria could cause this? This wasn't just damage, this was dereliction, it looked like the room had been left unattended for years, decades even! Was this some kind of crazy side effect of the spell? Was this the result of another experiment gone awry?

There wasn't any sign of life in the room, not counting strange looking fungal things that seemed to be spawning out of a corner. I was kind of dumbfounded by what I was seeing.

I didn't really know what to do. I didn't want to just sit and wait, but at the same time I didn't really want to go poking around, it wasn't really my place to do so, even if at the moment it looked like nopony would stop me. Maybe walking around the room could be a happy medium, at the very least it'd be more likely that somepony would notice me, anyway. I stretched out a little and started slowly pacing away from the booth, taking in the state of the place, and being careful to avoid stepping in anything that looked like it might cling to my coat.

I cautiously trotted around the side of my booth, which like everything else was also looking worse for wear, at least from the outside. I couldn't help but notice that the next booth along from mine looked in far better shape, and that the door wasn't closed all the way, it was just resting in the frame.

Was I allowed to open other booth doors? The experiment was over for me, but I don't think that meant it would be for everypony. But if the door was ajar, then surely no harm could come from opening it all the way, right? I resolved to run with that, if anypony asked what I was doing, I guessed I could blame being left unattended.

I tentatively made my way to the other booth, careful to avoid stepping on anything iffy looking. I swung the door all the way open, grunting as the jammed hinges put up a fair bit of resistance. To my disappointment though, it was empty, save for a pile of dust in the middle. I sighed and turned back around. I suddenly thought to check the third booth and walked around to it, but I could see that it was already open and empty, looking like it had been that way for some time.

I didn't know what to do at that point, so I waited. Waited for somepony to come, for something to happen. I didn't have a clock to check the time with, but I was become more and more uneasy that nopony had come, and at the absolute state of the room. It certainly didn't fill me with hope.

At some point it dawned on me that nopony was coming. I was going to have to go to them.

Okay then, now I had an objective, I needed to find help. I glanced around the trashed room and grimaced, I was sure it'd be easier said than done.

I decided that since I couldn't see anypony in here, the best place to start looking would be back the way I came in before the experiment. I trotted over towards the big metal double doors, trying to avoid the worst of the dirty water and debris. They seemed to have rusted in place, one closed, the other slightly ajar. I tried to push them open, but I couldn't get them to budge. I leaned into the unlatched door, but it remained unmoved. I reflected briefly on my luck with doors so far before deciding to try a different tactic. I'd heard orchard farmers bucked trees all the time, surely with my Earth Pony strength that would have a fair bit of force to it?

I turned around, and prepared to deliver a solid buck to the door. Easy enough, right? Just a two legged kick. I got into position...

THUMP

"AAAGH!"

Terrible, terrible idea! My hooves made hard contact, the left one much more than the right. The door shuddered but didn't open, leaving my legs alone to absorb the force of the buck. I fell to the floor as a sharp pain shot up my hind legs, landing in a puddle of dirty water and messing up the side of my jumpsuit with floating detritus and grime. I was writhing, breathing through clenched teeth, eyes clamped shut. My left pastern was throbbing, I could only hope it wasn't broken. I'd never bucked anything in my life, why did I think it was a good idea to start with a solid metal door?! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!

After a couple of minutes seething, I felt okay enough to try putting some weight on my legs again. I rolled off of my side and pushed myself up into a sitting position, and it was apparent even now that my left hind leg was going to protest any attempt at standing. Regardless, I pushed myself up properly, only for a flash of pain to run through my injured ankle, and I immediately lifted it off the floor.

Okay, situation check: I'd managed to hurt myself to the point of reduced mobility, my whole left side was soaked in something both freezing cold and absolutely foul smelling (the less time spent thinking about that, the better), and I still hadn't managed to open the door.

Fantastic.

There had to be another way to open that door. The only other way out that I could see was through the control room, and if I wasn't in a position to somehow climb up there and jump through the window before, I certainly wasn't now. I groaned, there had to be something I could do. I outright refused to accept the possibility that I was trapped in this hall, no way was that happening.

I needed a new idea. The doors themselves were offering little in the way of inspiration, so I turned back to face the hall. Surely there would be something in here that could help me open the damn things? I glanced around the room in search of something that could work. I spotted a tool box sat on top of a trolley sat at the far end of the room and limped over to it. While full, the toolbox didn't contain anything useful, that is unless I planned on opening the doors by spending the next few days scraping the rust off them by hoof.

I sighed and turned back around, shuffling back towards the doors. I made it about halfway across the room when I stepped on something and tumbled over, going down into a rather large puddle with a splash.

I quickly pushed myself back up and out of the fetid water, coughing up a foul mouthful. My mane was plastered to my neck, my jumpsuit was soaked through and the fabric absolutely reeked, and I had the single most disgusting taste I'd ever known lingering in my mouth, hoping beyond hope I'd not picked up any diseases.

I grinded my teeth thinking about the absolute lack of luck I'd had since I'd woken up, and stared down at the thing that caused me to trip. It was a rather long, thick walled pipe that looked like it had fallen free of the ceiling somehow. A spark of an idea popped into my head, maybe I could use this to lever the door open? If I slide it between the gap and pull, hopefully it'll force something and I could be out of this stupid hall!

Going to pick it up, I remembered that with my bad hind hoof there would be no way I could carry it over. I briefly cursed the fact that I wasn't a unicorn, and resigned myself to the fact that yes, I was going to have to pick it up with my mouth.

I craned down, cringing a little at the idea that I'd have my tongue around a pipe that carried Celestia knows what, and that's been sat on the floor for presumably a while. I grabbed the pipe with my teeth and pulled my head back up, tilting slightly because I couldn't lift the whole thing. It was cold, heavy, and had a nasty coppery taste. I hustled as fast as I could manage back to the doors, eager to drop this thing as soon as possible. It was a pretty unpleasant walk, my newly altered gait and uneven floor caused the pipe to bob and drag strangely as I moved, knocking against my teeth and twisting my head around, not a sensation I wanted to experience again any time soon.

When I'd gotten back to the end of the room I spat the pipe out. As soon as I'd found help, the next thing I was going to do was find something to drink, the metallic zing of the pipe had mixed with the aftertaste of the puddle water, and the mixture was horrendous. I shook my head, focusing back on the task at hoof.

I sat on my haunches, picked the pipe up with my forehooves, and shoved it into the gap between the doors, about halfway. Once it was in place I pulled on it, leaning back for extra leverage. The door stayed put, so I yanked even harder, gritting my teeth as I used more and more force and causing the door to creak slightly. The pipe had actually started to bend when the door unexpectedly gave way, finally swinging free and crashing against the wall outside, while I was sent flopping back and the pipe clattered to the floor.

I righted myself and stared at the now freely moving door. It worked! Sure, the other door was still stuck in place, but I had a way out of the room now.

At least something had gone my way today.

Standing back up I sighed in silent relief and hobbled out of the door and into the hallway. What I saw worried me: the hallway was in an equal, if not worse state of disrepair than that hall was. The walls were full of cracks, paint faded and stained, and yet more water was pooled on the floor. Moss had built up and grown on everything, some of it even glowing for some inexplicable reason. There was no sign of anypony, in fact it looked like no one had stepped hoof down here in years. Any hope I'd built up of finding help on this floor had been dashed, but I couldn't give up just yet, there were many levels to this building, and I'm sure there was a reasonable explanation for all this. Probably some kind of biome spell gone AWOL or something, that would explain all the water and plants anyway. It had to be something like that, I was sure that if I just checked a few other rooms, maybe another floor, I'd find somepony who knew what was going on.

I set forward with an uneasy smile.

I'd began searching all the rooms in the hallway, but it quickly became clear that there was nopony else down here but me. Luckily though, I did manage to find a compression bandage for my bad leg in bathroom medical cabinet. There wasn't really anything of any note apart from that, the place was deathly quiet, save for the sound of running water from somewhere above, and at one point a rhythmic noise that almost sounded like hoof-falls, but far too thumpy and far apart. I chalked that up to the building settling.

I'd gotten to the end of the hallway and looked down a couple of other tunnels, thinking I might find something useful in one of the labs. I poked around a little bit, but only turned up broken lab equipment and books about subjects I couldn't even begin to comprehend. The maintenance section was even worse, just broken generators and rusted tools. I decided there probably wasn't anything worth sticking around for on this floor and that I might as well search the next floor up.

The elevator wasn't working so I had to look around for the stairs, which were in a nicer condition than the rest of the floor, strangely enough. That had to be a good sign. I climbed up to the next level, and while it seemed to actually be in better shape than the last floor, I was still concerned. While much drier and moss-free, the place looked like it hadn't seen life in years, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and apparently the humidity from downstairs had done no favours to the paint on the walls here. I'd not actually been on this floor before, so I thought the best I could do would be to just look everywhere and hope there was somepony hidden away here somewhere. I knew from the layout of the hall that the test control room was somewhere on this floor too, and if I was going to find anything relevant to the spell test, it would probably be in there.

There was a pungent smell on this floor, noticeable over the dusty background scent. It smelled of wet fur and burning. Maybe an effect of an experiment gone wrong? I didn't give it much thought, everywhere else had stunk so far, this was just a different kind.

I figured I'd just go room to room for the time being since this floor seemed a lot smaller than the one below. I opened the nearest door to the stairwell and found a large room full of terminals and big technical looking things, maybe some kind of data bank? A lot of the terminals were working, which was surprising because everything else in this place seemed to be broken. I thought I'd try and see if I could find any information hidden away on the terminals, but they were all password locked, and I by no means had any idea about how to break into a computer, not to mention what could happen on the off chance I was caught trying, so I left them, I didn't need 'being charged with spying' added to today's events. There wasn't anything else of interest on the room, so I slipped out in search of the next one.

The next door was on the other side of the corridor, and as it happened was just a janitor's closet. However, I did manage to find a working torch in there, which would help since the whole place seemed to be plunged into semi-darkness.

Closing the closet door, I trotted along to the next one, path now illuminated. I pushed the door open and it was just another toilet, but I had a look anyway since the last one had a medical cabinet. Sure enough there was another medical cabinet, this time a Ministry Of Peace tin mounted to the wall, looking kind of worn. I opened it up and found a box of bandages and a Med-X syringe. I was putting the bandages in a pocket when I caught my reflection in the mirror, messy but still intact.

I almost didn't recognise the pony looking back at me. My pale ivory coat was gone, I was a gritty, mucky greyish white. My mane too, no longer the shining platinum it always had been, in it's place was a dull, crusty dark grey streaked with faint ghosts of white. I was splattered in what I assumed was cruddy water from earlier, dark flecks covering me all over, and most of the jumpsuit had been stained by it too. I could only imagine the condition of my coat underneath! My eyes at least were the same, deep green like they'd always been. I was so caked in dust, dirt and grime that I didn't even look like myself, I could've passed for a totally different pony! I was sure I probably stunk to, almost like this place was rubbing off on me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Not now, there would be time to freak out later, after I'd found help. I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds more and moved on, ignoring the mirror this time. I had decided beyond all certainty that I hated this place (was there ever any doubt?).

I was going to be having words with these MAS scientists. Just as soon as I found them, that is. If nothing else they owed me a spa appointment.

Moving on for the time being, I'd arrived at a junction in the corridor. There were a few more rooms still up ahead, but the path split off to the right here. I was also very worried to see my torchlight fall on a large and very fresh splatter of blood, and a number of gouges on the wall of the right side hallway. There was also a big bullet casing of some kind on the floor. I gulped, feeling much less sure of myself all of a sudden. I shone my torch further down the hallway, revealing several more marks on the wall, and a couple more bloody patches.

There was somepony, or something in this building with a gun, that much was clear. It was a very scary thought, especially when you knew they'd already been shooting at another living creature. It was even worse when I realised that whatever had happened had only been very recently.

I heard a shuffling come from down the corridor, followed closely by a crash, and I thought to myself that there was really nothing of interest in the hallway anyway and I'd be much better off just going into another room and ~~hiding~~ searching in there. I backtracked into the closest room, one I hadn't actually been in yet. It seemed to be an office, but that wasn't too important to me at the moment. I very quietly closed the door behind me and too up position crouching behind the desk, the best hiding spot I could manage on short notice.

The paperwork in the office was the first I'd come across that was still legible. There was a lot of it, too, several binders were sat on the desk, I'd I was sure the filing cabinets wouldn't have been empty. If I wasn't so worried about being heard I would have been tempted to slide them in front of the door to keep whatever was out there out.

I heard a creak outside and shrunk, trying my best to be still and quiet. I didn't know what I was going to do if the shooter came in here. I had no plan beyond 'hope they don't find you', I was powerless in this situation. I didn't want to be totally at their mercy, I didn't like my chances. And on top of that, I couldn't just hide in here forever, something told me that the total lack of staff so far wouldn't be changing any time soon, I doubted that anypony was looking for me, I was very much still looking for them, and I couldn't do that if I was holed up in a room.

If I was going to make any progress, I was going to need to go back out. But I didn't want to be totally defenceless. There had to be something in this office that I could use if worst came to worst.

I decided to rifle through the drawers of the desk, it seemed as good a place as any to start with. The bottom draw was just full of pens and pencils, nothing I could really use. I closed it and opened the next one, oddly enough finding a battered but still readable copy of Meeting Ponies. Moving up to the final drawer, I was taken aback to see a gun sitting inside.

Now, I was by no means an expert on guns, but I'd like to think I'd read enough trashy action stories to have a basic grasp of what was what. It was a small revolver, and I didn't need to have a special talent in metals to tell you it was in pretty rough shape. Gingerly, I picked it up and gave it a look over. It was grubby and was showing it's age, the metal was tarnished and discoloured, and the wood on the mouthpiece was well worn. On the upside it looked like it already had bullets in it.

I groused a little at the fact that I didn't have anything to clean the mouthpiece of with, but decided to take it, it did seem oddly convenient, after all. It would certainly up my intimidation factor if I came across the shooter, and well... I sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to it, but a weapon could always be a last resort. I hooked the torch into a fabric loop on the jumpsuit, pointing it forwards as best I could, and picked up the gun.

I had a way to defend myself now, and I'd not really heard anything going on through the door, so I was hoping that the shooter, or whoever was out there had passed me by. Now would be as good a time as ever to go back out into the hall and keep searching. Just to be safe, I pressed my ear against the door, but after not hearing anything through it, I took a deep breath and cracked it open, peeping through the gap. As best as I could see, the hallway was still empty, so as discreetly as I could, I swung it open and stepped back out.

Nothing looked any different, floor still trashed, walls still stained. I felt okay enough to go further and walked down the corridor, trying not to linger around the blood. There were a couple of doors on the way down, but they were all locked. I ended up in a large room, full of cubicle offices. I could pick up overtones of old paper and ink in the air, which made for a pleasant change. Looking around, I noticed that about half of the cubicle desks had drawers and cabinets left open, papers and stationary strewn all over. Somepony had been looking through them, recently by the looks of things. I had mixed feelings about that, was it the shooter or somepony else?

Uneasy, I glanced around for any exits (just in case) when I spotted a door helpfully labeled "LAB CONTROL ROOM". There'd probably have been no better place to look for the moment. I reasoned that if the spell was controlled from here, then whoever had un-petrified me must be in there. Cautiously, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

If anything it was more of a mess in there than the offices outside were. The floor was covered with old papers, clipboards, pencils, you name it. The walls were lined with many important looking instruments and devices, corroded and clearly non-functional save for one or two that were still lit up. There were a desks on the far side of the room, and a work station was set up under a damaged window looking out to the testing hall. Apparently the station had been used not long ago judging by the clean spots where dust had been brushed off, which I supposed confirmed that somepony did in fact activate the recovery spell. It seemed this room had everything but the scientists I was looking for.

But maybe they'd left a clue? There had to be something in here that explained what was going on.

I spared a glance out of the window, looking back down into the hall where I'd started, before I started to actually search the room properly. I was really hoping that any spell procedure documentation would be grouped close together, because at this rate it'd take hours to look through everything. I trotted over to the work station under the window. The terminal screen was still lit, dim green light colouring a stack of papers sat under it.

The papers were clearly a no-go, it looked like something had been leaking on them and they were totally unreadable, not to mention totally stuck together. Luckily enough the terminal was still in working condition. Like most of the others I'd seen it was also locked, but dammit there was nopony else to help me and this was my best shot for finding out what in the world was going on right now.

I spat the gun out onto a clear space next to the keyboard and stared down at the green monitor. I was being presented with a security screen with a long list of passwords. Apparently I had four chances to get it right. I thought I might have been able to find a password written down somewhere, but a quick look at the quantity of paperwork scattered all over the floor quickly shot that idea down, I was just going to have to guess.

Humming in thought, I studied the screen. There were a lot of answers to choose from. I tried to put myself in the shoes of the pony who would've used the terminal, but it was exceedingly difficult to do so when the only thing you had to go on was they'd probably be good at magic and arcane sciences, both subjects I knew very little about. I frowned, anything I chose would be a total stab in the dark. I idly tapped a hoof on the desk and decided that 'Flaxseed' would be a good enough word to start.

It wasn't, I lost a chance, and the terminal was telling me I got zero letters in common with the actual password. I rubbed my temples, I couldn't really afford to lose this, I had no idea where to look otherwise. I looked through the list again, hoping to make an educated guess. 'Polearms' was fairly military sounding, but not very sciencey. 'Carboxyl' sounded very sciencey, and I decided to go with it. Wrong again, but I managed to get a letter right this time. That information really didn't narrow it down, since I still didn't know which letter was right. I groaned, I only had two chances left. I was now just looking for anything that had the same letters in the same places. 'Airborne' had the most similar letters that I could see, so I went with it.

Zero in common. Last chance now and I was no closer than when I started! The screen was flashing now, not letting me forget that I'd messed up all the last attempts, warning me this was my last. I growled in frustration, willing myself to get the correct password. I had literally nothing to go on, anything I picked would just come down to chance. I chewed my lip and looked over the many options I still had left, my eyes fell on 'Haybales'. I then noticed just how hungry I was, but that'd really have to wait. Seeing as how it'd be just as much of a guess as any other word here, I thought I should just go with it, and hope I got lucky.

"Dammit, still no closer!"

I almost whinnied in shock. There was another pony in the room! I recoiled as somepony's head poked up from behind a desk in the corner. A mare, unicorn. Our eyes met, hers were curiously mismatched in a way that would probably have been adorable if I hadn't just jumped out of my skin. She blinked in surprise at seeing me, though that quickly gave way to a scowl.

"Hey, who in Tartarus are you?!" She exclaimed, and much to my horror pulled up a large gun with her magic as she stood, pointed squarely at me. My blood ran cold. This had to be the shooter I'd been so wary of crossing paths with. I'd never had a lethal weapon aimed at me before. I didn't dare move. I didn't even have the courage to try and grab my own gun. I was frozen to the spot, starting right down the barrel.

"P-please don't hurt me!" I breathlessly managed to squeak out.

"What are you- oh buck!" She yelled and lowered her gun, suddenly distracted by the flashing screen. She jumped over the desk and barged past me, pushing me out of the way of the work station. I backed myself up against the wall, wishing I could somehow phase through it and run away.

"Nononono, one attempt left?!" She turned back to look at me again, now looking confused an irritated. "Did you do this?"

"I'm s-sorry-"

"Save it! That info is mine!" She said, scrutinizing the screen for a brief moment before turning back to me. "Who even are you? How did you get here? You follow me, huh?!" She drew closer with every question, gun thrusting towards me.

"I-I-I Didn't, I'm sorry! I was just looking for help!" I stammered, bordering on tears.

"Looking for help? Help for what? No one comes down here!" She replied, clearly skeptical. "I'm not buying it. Who sent you? Was it Violene? That bitch..."

"W-what? No one sent me! P-please, I just woke up, the test must've run it's course or something, I was just looking for a scientist!" I hurriedly explained, pointing out the window, tears beginning to run.

"Sure, right. If you're just looking for help, how come you were just trying to break in to this terminal? I smell a rat. I think."

"I thought I'd find something about how the spell works on it! I couldn't find anyone around and it was the best chance I had to get help! Please, I-I don't know what to do!" I cried, distraught from the combination of panic and stress.

"You're not playing around, are you?" The mare sighed, finally lowering her gun. "Look, I don't know who you are or why you're here, but any information on that terminal is mine, capise? This is my contract. I don't know what this spell you're talking about is, but once I've copied everything off the terminal, whatever you do with what's left on there is none of my business, understand?"

I quickly nodded, and she turned back to the monitor. I slumped down against the wall, breathing heavy, tension slipping away from me. I was still very uneasy, but felt a lot better for not having a gun pointed at me.

"I just gotta.... horseapples!" The mare shouted at the screen.

The list of passwords had disappeared, she'd been locked out of the terminal. She grunted with anger and slammed a hoof down in frustration, only for a burst of static to fill the air. Then an alarm started. I folded my ears back and looked around in confusion. It was very loud and horribly piercing, the state of the wiring in this place was certainly doing it no favours either. It must have been rigged to the terminal, to let everyone know somepony was trying to break into it, that was the only thing I could think of.

The mare suddenly looked very scared and started desperately hitting random keys on the terminal, and then random switches and levers on the workstation. The constant wail was unbearable, stabbing at my ears, shrill and crackly. I moved back over to the control desk, randomly pressing anything that looked important. Probably a bad idea, but I could swear the sound was getting worse. I was just pressing any switch, button, knob, anything I could find in the hope that one of them would stop the sound. The noise was beginning to get genuinely painful, even with my ears pinned pinned back.

"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF RIGHT NOW!" She screamed, levitating her gun around, which was very worrying.

"I'M TRYING!" I shouted back, really not wanting to get shot.

I really didn't have any more ideas, I'd tried everything I could short of pulling the wires out of the walls! Actually, maybe there would be something I could do to the speaker? Maybe there'd be an off switch! I willed myself closer to the awful noisemaker, feeling the stabbing pain in my ears get worse and worse the closer I got until I was right underneath it. I looked at the base, but it was for nothing, there were no controls at all on the alarm.

Just then a truly bone-chilling sound made itself known over the cacophony of the alarm. There was a deep, throaty, almost chorused howl, and it sounded like it was only down the hall. I didn't know what it was, but I really didn't want to find out. The gunmare looked at me with wide eyes and kicked the control room door closed with such force that it cracked the door frame. I was frozen in place, eyes fixed on the door.

"STOP IT NOW!" She roared, swinging her gun towards the alarm, and me! That was enough to break me out of my stupor, and I covered my head in fear. The gunmare aimed straight upwards and destroyed the speaker with a single shot, the blast echoing through the halls and debris falling all around me. My ears were ringing, everything sounded fuzzy, but the clamour of the alarm had thankfully stopped. I was scared though, what in Equestria could howl like that? The gunmare was eyeing the door warily, her own ears still folded back. She was scared too. If whatever that thing was could scare a well armed unicorn, then I really didn't want to meet it myself.

My heart sank when I felt the floor shudder. I could just barely hear a rhythmic thumping through the door, getting loud and louder, the floor shaking more and more. The gunmare widened her stance and aimed at the door, and I could hear things start to rattle.The thing was coming right at us!

Everything happened at once. The door burst open, splitting horizontally down the middle and caving the flimsy wall in, sending splinters and plaster flying. The mare fired a shot and I recoiled, shielding myself as best as I could. Something big had rammed into me when I wasn't looking, and inertia was taking me with it. I started to tumble over, only to feel an intense, sharp pain on my back and flank. I wasn't falling over, I was being lifted! Whatever this thing was, I was going with it, it had grabbed me! I heard the glass window behind me shatter and experienced a sudden weightlessness as I plunged into the hall below.

My brain managed to process the fall at normal speed, and I didn't even have time to scream before I felt the impact of the ground, rolling as I landed in another puddle. I was winded and dazed, and I think I'd landed funny on my leg again, but otherwise okay, the thing that grabbed me must've taken the brunt of the force. I wheezed and tried to stand up, wincing as pain once again shot up my left hind leg. It was only then that I saw my attacker.

A few feet away from me still laying on the floor, was a hulking great monstrosity of a creature. Patchy black fur covered it's body, numerous lumps and growths visible, and it was seemingly covered in various injuries, including a large bloody patch of shredded skin on its side. It had enormous claws, glistening with fresh blood. I looked down my back and saw a number of bleeding puncture wounds, suddenly noticing the stinging pain. I heard the thing start to stir, and a grotesque caricature of a dogs head rose up and looked right at me, snarling. I began to move back when a second head joined it, and the thing got back on it's paws.

An Orthros!

I'd read about them in books when I was a filly, but this was nothing like what I knew. It was huge, it was deformed, it looked sick. Even in as bad a shape as it was, it was much bigger than me, standing at least three head taller than me and maybe twice as broad. It may have been sick, but it still looked strong. Ferocious. It made a move forwards, both heads fixed on me and growling. I tried to run but in my current state the best I could manage was a lame limp towards cover. I tried to get back to the booth I woke up in, hiding was the only thing I could do, I didn't even have the pistol anymore! The Orthros kept prowling towards me, I wasn't exactly a challenge to follow. It was close enough behind me that I could feel it's breath on my croup as it edged ever closer, but never striking. It knew I couldn't get away.

I had never felt so scared in my entire life. I started to cry as I willed myself to make it to the booth, absolute terror filling my entire being, ignoring my body's protests. I had almost made it to the booth door when I felt a sharp tug on my tail, and my legs gave out from under me as I was dragged back. I whimpered and sobbed as I was pulled, dragging my hooves to try and break free, but the beast had me firmly in it's jaws. Tears streamed down my face, there was nothing I could do, it was too strong. I didn't want to die.

A crack filled the air, and I heard the Orthros shriek in pain, releasing me. It'd been shot! I heard a thud as the gunmare landed on the hall floor, and the creature turned to face it's attacker. I seized my chance to get away, scurrying away as fast as I could, hiding behind the closest thing to me. I ended up crouching behind the trolley and toolbox I'd looked through earlier, using it as both cover and support. I was on the brink of hyperventilating, shivering with fear and adrenaline, trying to stay out of sight and not daring to look back, knowing full well this trolley would do nothing to stop that thing if it noticed me.

The hall had become a sonic collage of gunshots, thumps, clip-clops and roars, sounds all bouncing off the walls in a seemingly endless mess of echoes. Between shots I could hear the raspy voice of the gunmare taunting the monstrosity. My initial panic had given way to a lingering anxious fear that piqued everytime the noise picked up. I knew the cover I'd taken was woefully ineffective, and I'd need to move to somewhere better, sooner rather than later. I didn't want to move, but with the Orthros distracted I might not have a better opportunity to do so. I desperately wanted to run back out the door and into the hallway, away from all this, but my ears told me that the fight was currently near the exit, and I certainly wouldn't be able to sneak out unnoticed.

I wanted to get back into a booth, covered on all sides and certainly more sturdy than a rusty toolbox. I didn't have far to go, but with the prospect of being spotted a very real threat, I was less than eager to get up. I nervously peeked over the top of my cover to see what was happening. The gunmare was keeping the Orthros occupied, running around with her gun firmly in her magical grasp, firing a shot whenever it got to close, somehow managing to dodge every swipe and lunge it made. For it's part the Orthros just seemed to have gotten angrier, but I could also see fresh injuries dotting it's body.

I ducked back down and waited a moment, but didn't hear either of them get any closer. They hadn't noticed me. I shakily exhaled and thought over my next move. The middle booth was the closest one to me at the moment. If I could get in there I'd be safe, or so I hoped. If nothing else I'd be impossible to see once I was inside. I wasn't going to let that thing get me again, I knew what I had to do.

Cautiously, I poked my head back out again. Neither the gunmare nor the Orthros were looking in my direction, so I steeled myself and went. I stood up and made a beeline for a booth, making a concerted effort not to trip over all the amassed crap on the floor. I'd almost made it to the closest booth when I heard an errant shot, and little bits of ceiling rained down above me, followed by a worrying sound of groaning metal and a stream of brown water. There was a thud, a yelp and a clatter in quick succession, and I saw the unicorn's gun glide past me, and as I turned to look I saw her laid out on the floor, a bloody mark on her forehead.

I did the one thing I didn't want to do, I'd stopped. It became very clear this was a bad move when I made eye contact with one of the Orthros' heads. It's lips curled back in a horrid growl and it bolted for me. I scrambled to make it to the door, moving as fast as my legs would carry me.

I was just about to make it inside when I ran out of time, the Orthros slammed head first into my flank and sent me flying. I collided with a small table set up against the wall and crumpled around it's base. I'd hit the table top side on, and I was feeling a sharp pain in my barrel and my lungs. I was pretty confident I'd broken a few ribs, and my whole side ached and stung. I tried to push myself back up, but after that impact I just didn't have it in me anymore. I collapsed, exhausted, scared and hurting more than I ever had in my life. My breathing was laboured and my vision was blurry with tears.

The room was quiet now, just me sniveling, the creaking ceiling and the splashing of claws in water as the great dog bore down on me once again. I couldn't even manage a shout or cry out, I was spent. I watched as it drew closer and closer, both heads low, scanning me. One if the heads started sniffing me, the other was panting, it's hot breath washing over my body, drool dripping from it's jowls.

A set of jaws clamped tightly around my neck, breaking my skin and making it impossible for air to reach my lungs. I was being dragged. This was it, this was how it ended, in a living noose. In my head I said goodbye to everypony I knew and loved, and prayed to Celestia that it would be over quickly.

"HEY UGLY!" The scratchy voice of the gunmare cut through the room, and the Orthros looked around. I heard the unmistakable shimmer of unicorn magic, followed by a sudden hollow clang, and the next thing I knew the thing had dropped me. I gasped and looked up in confusion. Another clang, this time followed by a bark. There was a section of metal piping surrounded by a magic aura whacking the creatures heads, and it didn't take a genius to realise that it was angry.

"Here boy!" The gunmare shouted. She was actually taunting it! Was she insane? Crazy or not, it was working, and the Orthros made a run across the room right at her. The pipe hit the floor with a harsh ringing sound, and I saw the mare's gun fly up in a field of magic. Just as the Orthros was about to go past the booths, she unloaded it into the ceiling.

Plaster chunks filled the air, and for just a moment the room was full of the most horrible sounds of protesting metal, breaking concrete and dripping water. The blasts pushed the already bowed and weakened ceiling past the point of no return and it gave way, a deluge of sludgy, dirty water rushed down, massive chunks of decayed building material fell freely. Without anything to hold on to anymore, a huge rusted girder had broken away and, along with a collection of desks and filing cabinets from the room upstairs and the rest of the crumbling ceiling, fell right in the middle of the room, a crushing force that flattened the Orthros under it's sheer weight.

I only just had time to close my eyes as a wave of frigid, dirty water washed over me. The cold came as a shock and I instinctively gasped, gulping in a mouthful before I could stop myself. It tasted like mud and oil, and burned when it ebbed at my wounds. The wave spread out across the room, and left me laid out in what was now essentially a shallow pond, reeling. I'd only avoided being crushed by luck alone.

For a moment I just laid there, perfectly still, not even thinking. Staring at nothing glassy eyed and vacant. I was in shock, that much was certain.

I'd had enough. Everything that had happened since I'd woken up came down on me like a sledgehammer. I threw up, stomach churning, the vomit mixing with sludge of the flooded floor. My body heat was being sapped away by the freezing water, and I was sure that the wounds on my back would be infected now. With no more energy left, my vision started to go dark as I drifted away. The last thing I saw before I passed out was the gunmare poking around the rubble. I don't think she even noticed me.

The world fell away once again.

Level up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Sleeper - Talk about a power nap! After so long under the faux-curse, you have an immunity to Cockatrice spells and regain HP quicker while incapacitated.

Chapter Two: Interloper

Chapter Two: Interloper

"Confusion colours cruel designs, unhappy girl, you're out of time."

Everything was hazy at first, my head was swimming, full of fluff. Things came slowly to me, I noticed the crackly, treble heavy melody of a song played on some device that was clearly on it's way out. The smell of oil, rust, and... cake? Something sweet, hints of strawberry. I was definitely in a bed of some kind, and I was also comfortably warm for the first time since the start of the experiment.

I clearly wasn't in the same place I'd passed out in, so where was I? I opened my eyes and immediately regretted it, slamming them shut again as sunlight played across my face, a sharp headache making itself known. Grunting, I realised that most of me was in some level of pain. My lungs were burning, barrel aching, hind leg throbbing. It was obvious I was in pretty bad shape, and the next few days were going to suck.

Groaning, I slowly forced my eyes open again, wincing as a stream of light shone right on my face. The room was dilapidated at best, haphazardly ramshackle at worst. The walls were a hodgepodge of various sheets of metal and wood planks (all of which looked old and worn) slapped together over cracked and crumbling concrete. There was a threadbare chair at the far end sat next to a well-used table, and the single grimiest looking radio I had ever seen, volume low and lights flickering but still just about working, croaking out an old pop song I was vaguely familiar with. There was a burnt looking wooden door that had been left slightly ajar, letting rays of light from the other side stream through, the only thing lighting the room. To my right there was a window, really just a hole in the wall with a yellowed sheet of plasic bolted around it. It was dark outside, but I could just about make out a dead tree or two. The blanket I was under was absolutely filthy, holey and covered in dirt, and I could only speculate on the condition of the rest of the bedding. I cringed a little, I had no idea where any of this stuff had been.

I was still waking up, but I worked out I must be in some kind of furnished shed or shack. That wasn't right, I should be in a hospital right now, not some groundskeeper's equipment hut. I started to get nervous, nothing good happened to ponies who woke up in a mysterious shack with no memory of getting there. Maybe I was overreacting a little, but I really had no idea where in the wide, wide world of Equestria I was.

Hooffalls approached from the other side of the door. I squeaked in alarm and tried to wriggle my way out of the bed. A searing pain flared up in my ribs when I tried to stretch my forelegs out. I recoiled back and tried a different tactic, trying to paw the cover off me, but I was so weak and low on energy the best I could manage was to flop the corner over.

I could hear the steps getting closer. The fluff was leaving my head now. I was vulnerable and I didn't know where I was or who was here with me. I needed to hide. With my limited mobility I thought that under the bed would be the best place to go, surely nopony would ever think to check under the bed! I pushed myself once, twice, and on the third time I managed to roll over and off the narrow single mattress. I didn't take into account my slowed reactions of the the height of the bed, and I ended up landing in a rather ungraceful heap on the floor tangled up in the bed sheet, managing to hit my temple on my way down.

Dazed, I struggled to bring a hoof to my head, a new pain joining the chorus across my body. Stars danced in my eyes and my headache went from bad to splitting. I rubbed the side of my head to try and soothe it a little, but it really didn't make any difference. It hurt like nothing else, but thankfully there was no blood.

Just then the door opened. I turned my head to look too fast and made my neck click, but I was really too scared to care. Standing in the doorway was the now familiar visage of the gun mare, looking vacantly surprised and with a full mouth, a slice of cake trailing in her magical aura. For a moment we just dumbly stared at each other, the smell of strawberry sweets filling the room. She blinked once and then must have processed what was going on and made a move towards me, and I noticed she was carrying a pistol in a leg holster. I reacted instantly, on instinct, I tried as best as I could to scramble under the bed, to get any modicum of protection I could.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She asked, tilting her head, apparently bemused. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. I hadn't managed to get anywhere anyway, not that it'd really make a difference. I cast a shaky glance at her, getting a proper look at her for really the first time, my frazzled mind trying to take in everything at once. Her coat was a pale sandy green colour, and her mane was a muted shade of sky blue, done up in a messy ponytail. I got a good look at her eyes, one a deep shade of red, the other a flat blue, strangely mismatched in a way I'd not really seen on a pony before. Her cutie mark was a magnifying glass crossed over a spanner or wrench or something. Most curiously, a PipBuck was strapped in place on her left foreleg, glowing softly with a pale green light. Was she some crazed Stable-Tec employee or something? They didn't just give those things out to anypony!

My whole body was covered in her magical aura. It was odd, tingling, but more than anything else, restrictive. I couldn't move an inch, I was entirely at her mercy. I whimpered as I felt myself leave the ground, being lifted from all directions, which was not a pleasant sensation at all. I was carried up, and to my confusion, put back onto the bed. Her magic field dissipated and I sank into the mattress, bobbing gently but muscles still seized in place, not daring to move an inch.

"It'd be pretty anticlimactic to live through a Duplet attack and then have it end by falling out of bed, don't you think? You're in rough enough shape as it is." She said casually, swallowing her mouthful of baked goods. "Now stay put."

I didn't risk taking my eyes off her, carefully scanning her every movement. I was still tensed up, coiled, ready to make a run for it at any moment. I hoped.

"We're going to have a word, you and I." Intoned the mare. "And you can relax a little. Really now, you're stiff as a board."

I glanced at her gun and back to her, she seemed to take the hint.

"Oh, right, I get it." She said. "Don't worry about that, I won't use it unless you give me a reason to. Besides, in the shape you're in it's not like I'd need it." She chuckled.

I really didn't like anything she'd implied there. Worst of all she was right, I was totally helpless right now, and she'd have every opportunity to do anything to me. I shuddered at the prospect and watched her carefully, nervously trying to gauge her intentions. Her posture was relaxed and breathing steady, calm. I, on the other hoof, could hardly stop myself from shaking, and every movement hurt. I'd have to play my cards right and pray that everything would be alright in the end, and that this mare was true to her words and didn't have anything else planned than a chat.

Apparently satisfied I wasn't going to try and escape again, she sat down in the chair at the end of the room, kicking her hind legs up and leaning on the table and tipping the chair back like a schoolfilly would.

I looked her square in the eyes, meeting her mismatched gaze, willing myself to appear confident and strong, but ultimately it's very hard to pull off that kind of vibe when you've just been lifted onto a bed because you're too weak to even pick yourself up.

"Who are you?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady despite everything. It didn't work, and I practically squeaked it out.

"Me? I'm Make Do, salvage pony and maintenance extraordinaire! Best repair mare in Horseshoe Bay, and recovery expert as well, if the price is right." She proudly declared, drawing a hoof to her chest. "But enough about me," she said, leaning over in my direction, chair swaying back and forth still, half-lidded eyes peering into my own. "Who might you be?"

I let myself relax just a little bit. This Make Do seemed more goofy than threatening, disarmingly so. However, I had to keep my guard up, still not really know anything about this mare or where I was, only that she had a gun. I hoped 'goofy' didn't also mean 'unhinged' in this case. She did still have a gun, after all.

"Silver Sterling." I replied in the most neutral tone I could manage. For a brief moment we just stared at each other, before the gentle patter of rain broke my concentration. Sparing another glance out the window, I saw drops clinging to the glass, the dark figures of leafless trees just visible outside swaying gently in the wind, silhouetted against the cloudy, starless night sky. I looked back to the mare. "Where am I?" I asked, failing to hide the concern in my voice.

"You don't remember? I carried you back to my place." She said, smiling. "You were mumbling all the way so I assumed you were awake. Anyway, this is my house. Cozy, right? I figured you could use somewhere to rest up."

I did have vague memories of something or other, dirty looking land and being jostled about, but I thought it had been some kind of dream. She brought me here? This was her house? I was getting more confused by the moment. Her demeanour so far did seem like she was actually trying to help me out, and I can't deny that she did save my flank yesterday. But then why the gun? Why bring me here, and not a hospital? And just how was this her home? It looked like a stiff breeze could knock it over, as far as I'd seen it was just as good as an abandoned squat.

"It's, uh... charming!" I said, trying to stay on her good side. "B-but if you don't mind me asking, why exactly did you bring me here?"

"You got kinda torn up going one on one with that Duplet, in case you forgot." She said, inspecting a forehoof. "Didn't look like you were handling it too well, so I couldn't just leave you there. Especially not with how mixed up you seemed yesterday, you seemed like you could use a helping hoof."

"Oh... well, thank you." I said meekly, the weight of just how crazy everything that had happened slowly dawning on me. I almost died, and I certainly felt like it. As noble as her effort was though, I don't think she was a stand in for an actual medical professional. "Um, if you don't mind me saying, shouldn't I see a doctor?"

"Well, all your parts were still attached, so I was pretty confident the basics would cover you just fine, and you seem to be alright so far." She explained, stretching her forehooves out behind her head. "Besides, it's not like either of us has the caps to see a doctor anyway."

"E-excuse me?"

"I'm broke, you're broke, and I'm pretty sure all a doctor woulda done is give you a healing potion and charge double for it." She said. I looked at her incredulous, had she ever actually visited a doctor before? She must have noticed me staring at her, because she held up a hoof and started talking again with a smile. "Don't worry, I know my stuff, I've patched myself up hundreds of times!"

That wasn't as reassuring as I think she intended it to be.

I was silent for a moment, digesting the craziness that had been going on. Everything had been so weird since yesterday, I just didn't really know what to make of anything. Conveniently, I had somepony to ask present. "Um, what exactly, well, happened yesterday?"

"You don't remember that either?" She asked, looking concerned. "Did ya hit your head on something? I hope I didn't miss anything..."

"No no, I remember what happened." All too well, honestly. "I just, I suppose, I don't understand any of it."

"What do you mean?" The unicorn intoned, now confused herself.

"Well, where were all the scientists? What happened to the building? What on earth was that thing that attacked us? What were you doing there? When am I going to get paid? It's all just totally wrong!" I rattled off the top of my head. Make Do's head was tilted at a concerning angle, and she looked pretty flummoxed.

"Uh, hold up there for one second, I have a question." She said.

"Yes?"

"None of that makes any sense." Make do stated bluntly, deadpan.

"That's not a question!" I couldn't help but point out. "And why doesn't it make sense? Everything was just fine last week!"

"That place has been a Duplet nest for decades, and I know you weren't down there last week, it'd be impossible." She said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know what you mean about scientists or anything, but I thought you were there for the same reason I was. Nopony ever goes to the hub otherwise."

I was totally lost. What was all this about a nest? And how could they have been nesting there for decades if last week everything was normal? What happened to all the scientists? What had she even been doing in the building if no one ever goes there like she'd said?

"I was there for the trial? For the experimental spell?" I tried to explain, but I was only getting a blank look back. Which raised my own question. "Well, what were you there for then?"

"'Recovery expert if the price is right', remember?" She said, pointing to herself. "Somepony wanted a load of data from the hub systems for some reason, I was retrieving it for them."

"Retrieving- You stole information from a ministry?!" I wheezed. "That's treason!"

Oh, buck my life. Of course I had to go and get tangled up with a criminal. Stealing from a ministry, no less! That wasn't a light charge, not by a long shot. If anypony found out what had happened, and I was implicated in all of this- well, it didn't bear thinking about, my life was as good as over. Not that Make Do seemed overly concerned, she was actually laughing!

"Good one, guess if you see enough of those posters around they get to you, huh?" She chuckled.

"T-this isn't a joke! Do you know what could happen to me if I get implicated in this?!" I was starting to panic, I needed to get away. "You shouldn't have brought me here, I need to get away!"

Oh gods, Morale had eyes and ears everywhere, they were probably already on the way! I tried to push myself up off the bed, but in my condition all I managed to do was clumsily wiggle my way off the mattress. Not that it really did anything, because Make Do caught me in her magic before I could reach the floor.

"Okay, calm down there Ms. Comedian, you've had your fun." She said, putting me back under the covers. "Honestly, things get way less funny when you try and drag them out."

"Are you insane?! Ministry ponies don't mess around!" I yelped, leaning forwards. "Do you even know what's gonna happen to you? You've stolen state information! Oh Celestia, you're a spy, aren't you? And you've taken me hostage as a way out of a fight? Oh, why me?!"

I was on the verge of hyperventilating. She was staring at me vacantly.

"Uh, are you absolutely sure you didn't hit your head on anything?"

"Yes I am absolutely sure!" I squeaked.

"Maybe I missed something when I was checking you over." She sighed. I tensed up as she swung herself off the chair and came over to the bedside, grabbing my head in her hooves, inspecting me for something or other. I held my breath, eventually she hummed and let go, apparently satisfied.

"Looks fine to me. You're a strange mare, Silver." She said, sitting back in her chair. I frowned. "Anyway, so some kinda spell sent you down to the hub basement or something?"

"I wasn't sent down there, I went there myself. The spell trail took place down there, started last week." I explained. "Wait, why am I even telling you this? I'll probably be arrested too!"

"Ugh, Silver, nopony is getting arrested, okay?" She said, rubbing her temples. "I just don't understand what all this is about, what you're telling me shouldn't be possible, none of those floors have been clear for ages, not to mention the fact you'd have to get past all those Duplets to get there."

"Look, I don't know what anything you're saying means, but I signed up to test a new spell and started the trial about a week ago. I don't know why the place was in such a state when the test finished, but everything was fine at the start!" I said. I was starting to think that this conversation was going to go nowhere fast.

"What do you mean 'fine'? I'm getting the feeling we have different versions of normality here."

"Well, y'know. 'Fine' as in 'everything didn't look like it had been destroyed in a flood' fine. Like how a lab should look." I elaborated. She can't have been living in this shack for so long that this kind of disrepair was her 'normal', surely?

"Okay wait a minute, wait a minute." She said, frowning. "So you turn up to the Hub, test some weird spell stuff for a week and then, what, 'poof', the place is trashed?"

"I mean, essentially, yeah." I nodded. "The spell itself is what took a week, but other than that, that's pretty much what happened."

"What kind of spell takes a week to perform? How do you even test a spell?! You don't have a horn!" She pointed at my forehead, presumably to illustrate my lack of any pointy bone appendage. As if I wasn't aware.

"How very astute of you." I deadpanned. "I guess it makes more sense to say that the spell was tested on me. It was some kind of crazy Cockatrice thing, and quite an unpleasant experience, I might add."

Something I said must have struck her, because all of a sudden Make Do went wide eyed and leaned too far back in the chair, falling over and hitting her head on the floor. I can't say I didn't feel a little gratified.

"'Cockatrice thing'?" She asked, grunting and rubbing the back of her head. "Like, they turned you to stone?"

"Essentially, yes. I'm sure it was more complicated than that, but it's far from my area of expertise."

"Hmm." The mare grumbled and started fiddling with the PipBuck on her leg. "That rings a bell. Do you remember the name of the pony in charge?"

"I don't know if he was in charge, but I think the pony who ran the test was Healing Touch, Dr. Healing Touch. Why, what does it matter?" I was starting to get a little concerned, I didn't know how much of this information was meant to be confidential to the Ministry, I wasn't looking to get charged with leaking national secrets. It was probably been a little late for that anyway though.

Maybe I should have paid more attention to that paperwork.

For her part, Make Do was sat on the floor fiddling around with her PipBuck, staring intently at the screen and scrolling through something or other, the buttons and controls clicking constantly. She must have settled on what she was looking for after a minute or so because all the clicking stopped. She looked down at the device on her leg, then up to me, a curious, scrutinising gaze. Then back down to the PipBuck, and back to me one more time.

"Experiment Log: Participant #6G15, Earth Pony, Female, Sterling; Silver, 26 years of age at time of application." She said, reading from the PipBuck screen.

"You stole my documents too?!"

"Hold up." She said, cutting me off with a raised hoof. I bristled slightly at being interrupted, but kept quiet. Make Do's eyes were scanning side to side, searching for more stolen state secrets to read no doubt. After a pause she cleared her throat and stared at me for a few seconds. "Excuse me for a second." She said rising to her hooves. I eyed her warily as she left, and slumped back into the sheets once she'd gone.

What the hay was I meant to do? I was stuck, injured and alone in some criminal's shack. What could I do? As it was I was entirely at her mercy, I doubted my ability to even try to run away really. The best I could probably manage was a weak limp to the door and hoping Make Do wouldn't notice me, and I didn't think the odds would be in my favour if I tried that. If I didn't know where I was, where would I even escape to?

That was a pretty scary thought, just where exactly was I? I couldn't really make anything out from the window. I couldn't have been too far from the Hub, I hoped. I didn't know how I'd gotten here, but if Make Do brought me here unassisted then we can't have gone too far.

I decided to look myself over as best I could an check my wounds. I didn't even notice until now that I wasn't wearing the jumpsuit anymore. My coat was still dirty and dusty anyway though, much to my annoyance. I could really use a shower. As best as I could see, surprisingly, my injuries seemed to have been treated, at least basically. The compression bandage was still in place on my leg, but apart from that it looked like somepony had taken the time to clean and gauze the worst of my cuts. I was bruised all over, but feeling around my neck (as much as I could manage before a sharp twinge of pain came from my shoulder) where I'd been bitten also seemed to have been treated.

It suddenly hit me just how close I'd come to dying by that thing's hand. Or mouth. My mind was solemnly quiet for a moment, replaying the event. I really was helpless against that monster. Thinking about it, I probably wouldn't even be alive had Make Do not stepped in. And it looked like she'd taken care of my wounds, too.

What was her angle?

The door opened again and Make Do stepped back into the room. Something seemed off about her, though. She looked kind of uneasy, and was wearing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Heeeey, I brought you a healing potion! Drink up, you'll feel much better in the morning!" She awkwardly blurted out through a strained smile, floating a potion vial into my hooves. "I would've tried giving it to you earlier, but you were out cold and trying to force a potion down your throat didn't sound like a great idea."

Well, at least that much we could agree on. I eyed the vial closely, not entirely sure what to think. It did look like a regular healing potion from any first aid kit, but at the same time it looked far too old, the glass was scuffed and misty, label faded and peeling. Despite it's appearance, it was still sealed, so I doubted it had been tampered with, and like Make Do had already said, if she was going to cause me any harm, she'd already had a fair amount of time to do it in. Still, I shot her a dubious look.

"C'mon, it'll make you feel better!" She encouraged.

I grimaced. I was hardly in a position to trust her. I might have known her name, but really that was all I knew about her, I still had no idea if what ever intentions she had in mind when she brought me here were good or not, though I rather hoped so.

Even so, she was staring at me intently right now as it was. It'd be in my best interest to keep the mare with the gun happy. I gave in. My ribs burned, I could still feel the sting of where I'd been bitten on my neck, not to mention the way my head felt, it was all too much. I broke the seal on the top of the vial, and gave the contents a cautious sniff. This was a particularly fruitless move, since I'd never actually used a healing potion before so had no idea what it should smell like.

"It's not gonna bite you or anything." She said very bluntly, hitting me with a flat stare.

I paused just long enough to frown at her, wearily sighing, before drinking the potion. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, not really tasting of all that much other than being vaguely medicinal, save for a hint of something floral. It was thicker than I'd expected too, almost like a syrup. The effect was near instantaneous, I could feel all my aches and pains slowly ebbing away.

"See, not so bad, right? Anyway, you should get some rest, I'll get out of your mane!" She squawked out awkwardly quickly, backing her way out of the room and closing the door behind her.

I could've sworn I heard her mutter something under her breath as she left, but Celestia knows. I heard the clip-clopping of her hooves grow quieter outside the door as she trotted away, and then it was just me and the crackle and hiss of the ancient radio again. That whole exchange was... strange. Make Do seemed so eager earlier, what changed? She was definitely hiding something, that much was clear. It had to have been something she'd seen while she was looking at her PipBuck, but what? Was my file really that bad?

I stared at the ceiling. Why did she even have my case file in the first place? What else did she know about me? That was an uneasy thought. The last thing I needed was this unicorn stealing my identity while I was cooped up in her scrap hut. I put the empty vial on the floor, managed to roll over onto my side, and thought. I needed to find out what exactly was going on here. Nothing had been making any sense since I woke up in that booth. Everything was like a bad dream, the Hub being ruined, being attacked by a monster, and kind of being foalnapped.

Uneasy, I ended up looking out the window, the dim glow of the moon behind clouds now the room's only source of light. There really was nothing to see, but it was at least something to focus on. There was too much tho think about for me to sleep, at least for the moment. It was an overcast night, clouds covering the sky completely, lit up pale grey from the moonlight above. The rain outside was getting heavier and the sound started to drown out the meek tones from the radio, so I just settled for blankly following the raindrops down the window pane, trying not to think about all the ways things could potentially get worse.

Eventually the drone of the rain and hum of the radio blurred into one hazy wave of white noise, and I felt my eyelids getting heavier. I rolled over and tried to get as comfortable as I could, relieved that the shooting pain in my ribs had all but disappeared. The bed was lumpy and worn, but it was probably better than the floor. It didn't smell as bad as I would have expected from the look of it.

I closed my eyes, only now realising how exhausted I still felt, even though I'd really only just woken up. Despite everything, I felt myself drifting off after not too long.

Maybe tomorrow something would go my way.

I wasn't feeling particularly refreshed by the morning. It'd been a restless sleep, and I'd woken up a couple of times during the night, forgetting where I was on both occasions. I sat on the edge of the bed, fatigued and groggy, forcing myself to stay awake. I didn't know what time it was, but it must've been early judging from the light outside. The rain had stopped, but the clouds remained.

I was still full of aches and pains, but I felt well enough to give standing up a try. I stumbled off the bed and onto my hooves in an attempt to keep awake, giving my legs an experimental stretch and pacing around, keeping an ear trained on the door for any signs of activity outside. It may still have been early, but it was light enough outside that I could see around the room. It was, as I deduced last night, filthy. I didn't know if the fact that none of the dirt appeared to be fresh made it better or worse. I don't know why I let myself fall asleep here, in the grubbiest bedroom I'd ever seen, under the roof of a shack belonging to a well armed stranger. I scrunched my muzzle at that thought. I was assuming it was hers. I was assuming she was by herself. I didn't know if the potential for there to be more ponies here was a good thing or a bad thing.

The radio had sprung to life again at some point, which was what woke me up in the first place, apparently it was time enough for the first broadcast of the day. Nothing much to talk about, just a news update, although it was odd that even though it seemed to be a local broadcast, it was full of places I'd never heard of as well as ones I knew. I didn't recognise the DJ's voice either. After that it had gone into some kind of strange audio play, a bizarre story about a mutant 'Fantigua fish' on a rampage of some sort.

I didn't pay much attention to it, I was still working out what exactly I was going to do. To tell the truth, as much thinking as I had been doing, I still hadn't really come up with much of anything, other than to find out why I was here and how I could get out.

After milling around for a couple of minutes and not hearing anything from the other side of the door, I figured I might as well try and see if it was open. I slowly twisted the knob and nudged the door open, finding it swung freely outwards, hitting the wall with a thud. There wasn't actually anything stopping me from leaving the room the whole time.

Internally sighing, I peered outside. The door opened into a small hallway of the same construction as the bedroom, old concrete and plaster supplemented with seemingly random pieces of scrap metal and planks. One of the hallway lights was flickering, and there was a hum coming from somewhere I couldn't quite place. The smell of oil and rust was pretty much everywhere now, with a hint of something less metallic coming from the space up ahead. There was a leak in the corner of the ceiling, and rain water poured down the wall leaving a darkened trail, and I could hear more drips from all throughout the place. This whole building was an absolute mess.

Frowning, I glanced around, trying to work out my next move. I was at the end of the hallway, two doors were on the opposite wall before it opened out into a larger area. My best guess was that I was in some kind of horribly dilapidated bungalow or squat, and that these doors led to bedrooms and further along was maybe a living area. I stepped forwards and immediately stood in a bucket half full of rainwater, shattering the morning quiet with a combination splash-clang that echoed down the hall, and a shrill (not at all filly-ish) shriek from me.

The water was really cold, okay?

I recoiled and managed to knock the bucket over, spilling still rainwater all over the floor, not that it made to much of difference considering the state of the building. At least the sudden chill was enough to wake me up a little more.

Moving forward, I thought it'd be better to find out what the open space was rather than trying any more doors. As quietly as I could I trotted down the hallway, careful to avoid stepping on anything else. I paused at the end and peeked around the corner. It looked like a crudely throw together living room, there was a table in the middle surrounded with chairs, a counter of some kind on the back wall, and a long, long dead potted plant in a corner. As I expected by now, everything was in various states of decay and disrepair. There was a door on the wall opposite me, and another further along to my right.

A single light hung over the middle of the room above the table, where Make Do was sat, slumped over and head down. I was pretty sure she was asleep from the steady rise and fall of her chest. I didn't really want her to know I was poking around, so I thought I'd try and be sneaky and not wake her up.

I'm not even sure what I was looking for. Like there was going to to be this one object that explained everything. I suppose more than anything I thought knowing my immediate location a little better would settle my anxiety a little. Any information was better than none.

I made a move, trying to be as stealthly as I could. Passing the table, I was able to get a good look at this mysterious Make Do mare, my confidence bolstered by the fact that there wasn't a lot she could do to me while she was asleep. She was smaller than I was, and very thin. Up close I could see freckles dotted her face, and there was a chunk missing from her right ear. It looked like an old wound, already healed. Her coat was speckled with dirt, looking like she needed a wash almost as badly as I did.

Backing up, I cautiously trotted around the table, deciding to check out if there was anything interesting around the counter. The area looked like it had been converted into a makeshift kitchen of sorts, complete with an entire oven being shoved into a partially deconstructed section of wall. There were a few utensil strewn around, and a small, sad looking fridge tucked away under the counter top.

Most unexpectedly, however, was the perfectly pristine, freshly prepared strawberry cake on the counter top in a glass dome. It looked totally out of place, and also delicious. There was already a slice taken out of it, which must've been what Make Do was eating last night.

I stared at it. I licked my lips. I realised that I was very, very hungry. I flicked my eyes over to Make Do, she hadn't moved from her spot collapsed on the table. I looked back at the cake. Surely I could help myself before she woke up?

Sitting down on my haunches, I tentatively lifted the dome with both hooves, freeing the dessert from it's containment. It smelled incredible, fresh and sweet, and oh so invitingly delicious. I was so wrapped up with the heavenly smell that for a moment I forgot I was trying to be quiet and put the dome down hard on the counter with a ringing glassy clank.

"Don't touch my stuff!" Make Do wailed, springing from her position and wielding her pistol in her magic field, before blearily blinking a few times and seemingly registering what was happening. "Oh, Silver, it's you."

I was wide eyed, my hooves in the air and holding my breath. I'd never had a weapon aimed at me before, and now this was the second time in two days I'd been at gunpoint.

"Oh! Uh, sorry, I thought junkies had broken in again." She said, holstering the gun. She stretched out like a cat, joints popping and clicking as she did. I slowly lowered my hooves and sighed in relief, tension slowly leaving my body. "Hey, were you trying to steal my cake?" She asked, looking at me quizzically. My stomach growled in response.

It looked like she thought about it for a few moments. "Hmm, well, I guess you probably haven't eaten in a while." She said, picking up a knife from the counter top with her magic and cutting two slices of the cake, sitting back down at the table and floating the slices over. "As good a way as any to start the day, right?"

I got back on all fours and hesitantly made my way back to the table. I didn't like how fast and loose Make Do seemed with this gun, even if I was hungry.

Make Do had already made a start on her slice as I sat down at the table. Despite everything else in the building looking like it'd been dragged straight out of a landfill, the table and plates were clean, if a little worse for wear around thr edges. I gave it another sniff, which did nothing but re-affirm that yes, I did really want to eat this cake. Nerves be damned, it smelled amazing. I picked it up in my hooves, and took a small bite.

I was expecting it to be good, but I wasn't expecting this. The strawberries were juicy and fresh, the sponge was perfectly moist and the icing was just the right amount of sweet and creamy. The flavours and textures danced around on my tongue. A second bite followed the first, and then a third. It was, to memory, one of the best deserts I'd ever tasted. My sudden enthusiasm didn't go unnoticed, either.

"Enjoying it, are we?" Make Do said with a smirk, most of her own slice already eaten. "Guess you were hungry, huh?"

I nodded in response, still chewing. It's rude to talk with your mouth full.

"Good! Hope you like it, ingredients are really hard to come by." She said, finishing off the last morsels of the slice before wiping her mouth with a fetlock.

"You made this?" I asked, quietly. Truth be told I was only trying to make polite small talk, trying to keep the situation pleasant and the mare's gun in it's holster. Although, in all honesty, I was rather impressed that something of this quality could come out of a kitchen as makeshift as this. Having said that, the fact that is was made here might not have been the greatest thing.

"Yep! My own recipe!" She answered, puffing out her chest and looking very proud.

"It's good, really good."

"Thanks!" She said, leaning back down on the table. "I started baking a few years ago, it's a lot of fun, but it can be really difficult to find base ingredients that are safe to use."

"What do you mean, how far from a store are we?" I questioned, how hard could it really be? "What do you mean 'safe'?"

"Aheheheh, that, uh, that's a talk we should probably have." She said, suddenly looking very sheepish, resting her head on her hooves.

"What, about food stores?" I asked, perplexed at the change in mood.

"Not necessarily. So, hmm, how do I put this?" She sat apparently deep in thought for a minute or so. I finished off the last of my cake.

"Okay, so, I was reading your Ministry file-"

"Why do you have my file?! That's stealing!" I interrupted, irate. "That's personal info-"

"Woah, let me finish!" She said, holding up her hooves. I shut up but I wasn't very happy about it, glaring at her. "Last night I was reading your file and all about this spell you were testing, and a load of other data and stuff that- it doesn't really matter, not important." She paused, taking a breath. "Anyway, the spell, well, you're proof that the spell worked. Well. Really really well." That weird strained smile she pulled yesterday was back. I didn't like the look of it.

"Okay, so it worked. What does that have to do with me being here? Or cake?"

"It, uh, worked too well?" She intoned, pitch rising as the sentence went on.

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"Look, what I'm trying to say is, well, you've- uh, you've been a statue for longer than you signed up for." She said, not meeting my eyes. "Much longer."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to make sense of this absolute mess of a conversation.

"Nnnnng." Make Do grunted, pulling her mane back. "Silver, it's- I think you- What I'm saying is- Aaagh!" She yelled, covering her face with her hooves. I was pretty perplexed and honestly a little worried. I really didn't need the mare with the gun to be having an episode. She sighed and after a moment sat back up straight, now looking at me intently.

"Silver. I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it." She said in a low voice, looking rather stern and serious. "You've basically been under that spell for 180 years."

A beat passed, I stared at her.

"Snnnrkt!" I held back a giggle. "Come on, do you really expect me to believe that?"

"What? No! I'm telling the truth!" Make Do replied, looking confused. I don't think she was expecting my reaction at all.

Oh how the tables had turned!

"Yeah right, I wasn't born yesterday." I said, incredulous. "And that's a lot of wool to be trying to pull over my eyes."

"I promise you, I'm not lying! This is probably as serious as I've ever been!" She retorted, hooves in the air.

"Promise all you like, I'm not buying it. 180 years? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" I said looking away, semi-mockingly aloof.

"Look I know we barely know each other, but you gotta believe me, I'm not making this up."

"Sorry if I'm skeptical, but that's a very big claim you're trying to make, and you're right, we do barely know each other." I said, head held high, eyes closed. "All I know about you is that you're more than happy to point a gun at me, and you've stolen my file from a Ministry, which I'm very sure amounts to treason in these times! So do excuse me if I don't take your words on face value!"

The conversation died for a moment after that, before the unicorn spoke again.

"Fine, if you won't listen to me, I can prove it." She spoke, eyes pointed at the ceiling. "I can prove it, but I don't think you'll like it. Not that I think there's any way that you will like."

"Of course." I said, giving her a sideways look. She looked oddly expressionless, almost like a poker face. She exhaled loudly through her nose and stood up, leaving the table and walking out of the kitchen into the hallway. I heard a door open and then not too much for a couple of minutes.

After a while she stepped back into the kitchen, now fully clad in some very tatty looking clothing. She was wearing a dirty and worn looking army jacket, that was adorned with various makeshift metal plates. An old pair of goggles were slung around her neck, and she was also carrying the big gun from... yesterday? The other day? The gun she had in the Hub. She had my jumpsuit in her magic too, and she wasn't looking very pleased at all. Well

"Put this on." She said, throwing the jumpsuit at the table. "I hope you're feeling okay enough for a walk."

"W-where are we going?" I meekly asked, holding the garment. I didn't like that she had a bigger gun, and I didn't like that look.

"Town." She said, inspecting the gun.

I fumbled with the jumpsuit, finding the zip to open it up. It was damp, but it looked cleaner than I remembered, and had a kind of earthy smell about it. I guessed that it must have been left out in the rain last night. I stuck my legs through the sleeves and zipped it up, standing up as I did.

"Ready? Follow me." She commanded, making her way over to the door on the far wall, unlatching the sizable looking deadlock, and stepping out. I stuck close behind her, going through the threshold just after. Make Do stopped to lock the door again, and then marched forward.

We were outside now. On all sides there were piles and piles of junk. Old carts, derelict machinery, scrap metal, even a broken down motor cart. It suddenly became very clear that Make Do was living in some kind of junk yard.

There was very little plant life to speak of, living or dead. We were trotting at a steady pace down a well worn dirt road, muddy fields either side giving way to distant dead looking trees. There were still puddles scattered across, the ground soggy and mushy, kind of like walking on oatmeal. Probably.

It was chilly, chillier than I was expecting. The extra layer of the jumpsuit was appreciated, but the fact that it was damp wasn't really helping. There was a strong breeze too, and the sky looked angry, threatening to open up any minute. It'd be a downpour from the looks of things. I hoped we'd be under shelter before then.

Make Do had gotten quite a pace on while I was looking around, cantering ahead and leaving me to catch up. My leg was holding up well so far, the healing potion seemed to have done it's job, and I probably didn't even need the bandages anymore. Medical magic was incredible, it really was.

At the end of the road we came to a rusty looking gate that looked to have been stuck wide open. From here it connected to a much larger paved road, although strangely enough it too seemed to be in a similar state of disrepair to everything else I'd seen so far. The surface was cracked and patchy, and sick looking weeds poked up through the gaps. An embankment on the other side prevented me from seeing much else beyond. All the land on the close side was empty plains, dotted with farm buildings in the distance every now and then.

"This way." Make Do instructed, turning right at the gate and continuing down the road. I followed close behind, still unsure as to where exactly I was.

I started wondering how easy it would be to sneak off now that we were out in the open. There was nothing really stopping me from running off. Well, except that the mare leading me with a big gun strapped around her neck would probably hear my hooves on the hard floor galloping away. That and I didn't really have any where to run to or to hide, this whole area seemed rather desolate, there weren't even any hedges I could hide myself in.

For the moment I continued to follow Make Do down the road. I started to notice things that weren't right. An abandoned cart here, a sun bleached road sign there, it all looked very ominous, much like how the Hub looked. I tried to keep calm, though. So what if this stretch of road was particularly poorly maintained? The war was eating up a lot of the civic budget in all regions, it'd make sense that the local government just couldn't afford the upkeep at the moment. Yeah, that must've been it.

The embankment crested into a full on hill, and after a few more minutes of walking we reached a bend in the road, leading us to the opening of a tunnel. Make Do paused at the entrance and pulled a small torch out of her coat pocket, pointing it into the darkness ahead and pressing forward. I walked along side her so that I could see where I was going too.

The inside of the tunnel smelled musty, and there seemed to be more debris and trash inside than there was on the open road. Not too far from the mouth was a cart tipped over onto it's side, it's contents strewn across the road. There was some kind of sandbag barricade a little past it, maybe a makeshift roadblock? There also seemed to be a weirdly high number of empty barrels all around, some of them looked like they'd been used for fires. This place had probably become a squat for homeless ponies while the road was disused. That didn't really make me feel to safe.

We continued in silence, only our hoofsteps echoing off the walls. We didn't see another pony in the tunnel, just more broken down old carts and piles of junk. As we rounded a corner the end of the tunnel came into view, lighting up the path ahead.

"I hope you're prepared for this, things are gonna look way different from what you remember." Make Do said, breaking the quiet spell as she put the torch back in her pocket. ". Don't say I didn't warn you, but sooner or later you'd have to find out."

I didn't reply. I was actually a little uneasy given the state of my surroundings. Everything just seemed like it was, for lack of a better word, old, decrepit, ruined. But being spellbound for 180 years was just preposterous, there had to be a reasonable explanation for all of this.

Right?

We stepped out into the light. Both sides of the road were densely lined with dead trees and shrubs. A single crow cawed somewhere in the distance. The road was full of debris with dozens of shopping carts strewn all over, sun bleached and deformed boxes and bottles littered the ground. The road continued on a shallow curve, and a lone, rusted Barnyard Bargains sign rose above where the treeline obscured the road.

I followed Make Do around the bend, it was a short walk even though we were trotting at a slower pace than earlier. The closer we got to the store, the more packed the road became with carts and trash, forcing us to weave through to carry on our path. As we reached the store, the road straightened out and...

Oh.

Oh no.

The trees thinned out as the road continued straight on, leaving a clear view of the city of Baltimare, outskirts about a four or five miles away down hill from us. But it wasn't the Baltimare I knew. This wasn't the clean, shining gem of a coastal city that I called home. Even from this far away, even through the distant downpour that was drowning the urban sprawl, it wasn't hard to tell that it was all wrong.

A load of the sky line was just gone. The Transequestria Tower looked to be missing a number of floors. The trade building was standing crooked, ready to fall apart at a moment's notice. A lot of downtown looked like it had been reduced to rubble, and everything was a sickly burnt grey. The shimmering glass skyscrapers and vibrant colourful streets were all gone, leaving only the sad, skeletal shell of a city behind. The outskirts and suburbs didn't look like they fared much better, with entire streets burnt and ruined.

This was beyond a disaster. The whole place looked absolutely decimated. This city, my home. Oh Celestia, my home! My neighbors, my friends! My hind legs gave way as I took in the sight before me. I turned to Make Do, trying to ask how this happened, but I couldn't even make a sound.

"Balefire bomb." She said, seemingly knowing what I was thinking. "Megaspell smuggled in on a ship at the dock, I think. Something like that. Went off just by the University, it's still too dangerous to go near there for long."

I was numb, just staring ahead.

"It was a Zebra attack." Make Do continued, sitting down next to me. "Ended the war for everyone, just like that. No more war. No more Equestria."

Rain drops started falling around us. Sparse at first but quickly getting heavier the longer I sat and stared.

"It was something like a couple of days after you started the experiment, according to your file." She continued. "That spell saved your life."

I was barely listening to her. I couldn't stop looking at the hideous scene in front of me, taking everything in. Even for seeing it I couldn't believe the Zebra Empire could've actually ended it like this. It was too much to process. I was left feeling hollow. I was left not feeling.

The rain started to patter down heavier around us, the wind picking up.

"But that was a long time ago now, before my time. Before most folk's time." She said, standing up and slowly trotting away. I didn't look back at her, my gaze fixed on the destroyed city. It was like watching a train crash, I just couldn't look away. "A long, long time ago. We should head back, the weather looks like it's going to get pretty horrible."

I was rooted to the spot, eyes forwards. I could hear Make Do walking away, but I didn't take any notice. I was transfixed, in shock.

"Silver?" She called back, probably noticing I hadn't moved. "Come on, we're gonna get soaked if we don't go now."

The wind was picking up, and lightning started to flash in the distance, beyond the city skyline but closing in quick. It cast a sick strobe over the ruins of my home. My mouth was working, but I couldn't make a sound, I couldn't reply to Make Do, I couldn't wine or cry, just breathlessly croak in disbelief.

"Lets go, it's getting bad out here." Make Do said, resting a hoof on my withers, pulling me back down the road. I put up no resistance, following her pull and standing back on all fours. I couldn't even think properly, dumbly staring at nothing in particular as I turned around, mind racing. The rain was coming down heavier, and I could hear the supermarket sign groaning as the wind hit it.

I was like a robot, dumbly following Make Do back to her home. In my state she could have been leading me anywhere and I'd have gone with her, like going through the motions.

I just couldn't believe it was all gone. I'd seen it with my own eyes, but I just couldn't come to terms with it. There had to be a trick or an illusion to it. There was no way an entire city could be destroyed like that. It had to be a lie. I needed it to be a lie. I needed it to be a lie because the alternative, if it was true-

It had to be a lie, one big stunt. That had to be it, there was no way one bomb could destroy an entire city like that. It had to be some next level projection spell or something. Baltimare wasn't really destroyed. We'd get back to the shack, and my friends would be there and it will all have been a big joke. Everything would all be normal and I'd go back to my shop, and I'd tell Mrs. Chime about it next time she came in to browse and she'd feign shock and she'd gossip to all the other shopkeepers about it. I'd write a letter to mum and dad letting them know about the spell test and my time with this strange mare and the prank everypony pulled one me. Eventide would come to visit and we'd talk about it over tea and we'd laugh about the whole thing.

It had to be an illusion. This whole thing had to be one big elaborate hoax. Any minute now everyone would jump out and reveal that it'd been a big trick, and I'd be shocked and we'll all joke about it and go home. I just had to wait for-

"SILVER!!!" Make Do roared, gun in the air and firing shots, snapping me back into reality.

A cloud of gore burst up right in front of me, covering my chest and neck in blood as the mare blasted a group of grotesque pig-looking caricatures that had drawn near, far too close for comfort. At my hooves was the bleeding corpse of one of the creatures, flesh torn from the bullets. Two more were lying close by. I suppressed the urge to vomit as best as I could. Make Do lowered her gun and came over to me, scowling.

"What are you doing?!" She shouted, now face to face with me. "I told you to stay behind me! Were you even listening? Radhogs are dangerous, they'll take your fucking leg off if you're not careful!"

I looked around, lost. These things bleeding on the floor around me, the armed unicorn, a killer, shouting at me, the abandoned carts. We'd walked all the way back through the tunnel and I hadn't even noticed. I could smell the blood on me. Scared. I was scared. Very scared.

"Y-you got me." I wheezed out. "Got me good."

"What?"

"If this is a joke, it isn't funny anymore."

"A joke?" Make Do said, anger giving way to confusion. "Silver, you just saw-"

"P-please!" I yelped, desperately looking around for something, anything that would prove none of this was real. "It has to be a joke. It has to be!"

A gnawing emptiness ate away at me from the inside. It had to be an illusion. I needed it to not be real. I needed it to not be real, because if it was real that meant no more home, no more friends, no more shop. No more Baltimare.

"It's not real." I muttered. "None of this is real. I'm on to it, you can drop the whole thing right now!" I shouted. But nothing changed. It was still raining, the road was still ruined. The thing in front of me was still dead. Make Do was still looking at me bemused, like she wasn't in on the whole thing.

No one jumped out. The scene was still the same.

"This can't be happening." I whispered. "This can't be real. It's not real, it can't be real!"

There was no big reveal. No punchline. Only the drone of the wind and rain. My legs faltered. The implications hit me like a ton of bricks. There was no illusion. There was no more Baltimore. There was no more home. No more shop. No more customers, no more friends, no more neighbours. Everything was gone.

It all came to a head. I swayed, suddenly feeling very light headed, heaved, and was sick all over my front hooves.

"Woahwoah!" Make Do exclaimed, steadying me. Everything was spinning. I looked up at her, and she looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

"It really happened? The whole city?" I choked out. She nodded. "I-is everywhere like this?"

"Pretty much." She said with a sigh.

We sat in the mouth of the tunnel for a moment. I stared ahead, vacantly, tears streaming down my face, breath shaky. I backed up, sunk down low and rolled onto my side, laying on the cold cracked tarmac. My insides were churning, I could feel a migrane coming on. Mum and Dad, Perfect, Noite, Chocomel, Skipper. Everypony. I'd never see any of them again. That stabbed at me, it tore me apart.

"Everyone I know is dead." I stated. Make Do didn't respond.

I didn't even have a home anymore, nowhere to grieve, nowhere to think. Nothing. I had nothing and no one. I was alone on a dead world, and I didn't even get to say goodbye.

"I shouldn't be here." I mumbled to myself, quietly crying, sprawled out on the ground. "I should've gone with them."

"Don't talk like that." Make Do growled, audibly defensive for some reason. "You got saved, this is like a second chance!"

"Hah, some second chance. You said it yourself, no more Equestria." I spat, voice shaky, glowering at no pony in particular as my situation replayed itself in my head. "I wasn't saved, I was forgotten."

A beat passed in silence, and I remembered another pony who was forgotten.

"I'm sorry." Make Do offered quietly.

"Why me?" I thought aloud. "Why am I here?"

I stared out of the tunnel and to the land beyond, past the corpses of these pig-things and onto the rolling hills and pastures of dead grass beyond the road, spectral farmhouses and rubble haunting the view, the angry sky fading far out into the horizon.

"I-I'd have been better of if the spell never ended." I drawled. "At least then I'd never know that things turned out like this."

"Silver, please don't talk like that." Make Do said, trotting over to my side. "I'm sorry that you got dealt a bad hoof like this, but-"

"'Dealt a bad hoof'? A bad hoof?!" I said, anger rising as I pushed myself up to look her in the face. "This is beyond bad, Make Do. This is catastrophic, this is the worst hoof imaginable! T-t-t-there's no way it could possibly be worse! I-I-I've lost everything, e-everyone!"

I was looking her square in the eyes, furious, crying. She was looking back at me expressionless.

"S-so d-don't you dare tell me it's 'b-bad'." I said, poking a hoof into her chest. "I-i-i-it's a disaster, i-it's horrifying, i-i-i-it's-"

I couldn't finish my sentence, I fully broke down. I sobbed and cried, all the sudden stress and trauma bleeding out of me. I wept, and ended up leaning on Make Do to stay upright as my energy and composure all but disappeared. My wailing echoed and bounced off the walls, eerily melting into the sound of the storm. I didn't pay much mind to it, just focusing on the severity of everything. Make Do herself was silent. It really ticked me off, insulted me even, just how much she tried to downplay my situation, but somepony to lean on was better than nopony at all.

Time passed, rain fell, nopony came.

I'm not sure how long I spent in that tunnel crying on the mare's shoulder, but after some time I'd reined myself back to just snivelling and feeling very sorry for myself, hollowness returning. I dried my eyes with the sleeve of my jumpsuit and sat quietly, looking out of the tunnel and off into the middle distance. Make Do sighed and stood up.

"We should go." She said, trotting out into the rain. I trailed her back out onto the open road as we followed the path back to her shack. By the time we did get back I was soaked to the bone, dripping wet. We both were. I was shivering when we got back inside, the rain was by no means warm. I awkwardly stood by the table of the living area as Make Do dropped all her gear off.

"I'll get these dry." The unicorn said, pulling on my jumpsuit zip with her magic, already out of her jacket. I was on autopilot, stepping out of the garb and allowing her to take it. Clothing in tow, she went through a door I'd not explored yet, and I followed her through. It led to a large workshop area, full to the brim with tooling and machinery for Celestia knows what. At the back of the room stood a rather large hearth, which Make Do was in the process of starting, clothes hung from a nearby ceiling beam.

With a click the thing came to life, interior beginning to glow, and heat already radiating from it.

"The forge should dry them up in no time." Make Do said, turning to look at me. "You too, if you're chilly. There should be enough gas to run this thing on low for a while"

I was chilly. I made my way closer to the hearth, leaving a trail of wet hoofprints behind me as I navigated between workbenches. I sat down next to Make Do in front of the furnace. It wasn't quite the same as sitting by a wood fire, but it certainly did the job. The only thing missing was the crackle and pop of burning wood, and the dance of the flames.

We stayed in a semi-awkward silence for a while. I had nothing to say anyway, much preferring to be alone with my thoughts, at least for now. Time passed quietly, it could have been a couple of minutes, it could have been 20, I didn't know, I was just wallowing in self pity. I realised that I'd started crying again, sniffling and drying my eyes with the back of my hoof.

"It never goes away." The unicorn spoke, breaking the silence. I turned to face her, she was staring straight ahead, looking into the dull red light of the furnace fire, colouring her face. "The loss, I mean."

I didn't reply.

"You deal with it over time, but it never leaves you." She reflected.

For a while she was quiet again, only the sound of the gas fire filling the air.

"It gets easier, though." She said, turning to face me at last. "I takes time, and attitude, but it gets easier."

I held my tongue. I didn't need any condescending sympathy, not least from her of all ponies. But at the same time I didn't have the energy to get angry again, and I supposed her intentions were good. I really wanted to just close off and be left alone to deal with all this by myself.

Make Do stood up and turned around, briskly leaving the room. I could hear clangs and clinks coming from the other side of the door, and Make Do re-entered after no time at all.

"I figured you could use this more than I can. For now anyway." She said, and floated a grimy looking, but still sealed bottle of Stalliongrad Vodka over to me, placing it at my hooves. I looked at it and back up to her. "Look, I know we kinda got off to a bad start, and you're dealing with a lot right now, but I've been there too. If you feel like talking, I'll be around. Uh, make yourself at home, I guess."

She turned and left again, leaving the door open behind her.

Was I being allowed to stay? Was she trying to make friends? How could she have possibly 'been there'? I didn't know. I didn't care, not right now anyway. I could think about it later. For now I was more than content to take the cap off the bottle and drown my sorrows alone.

It was strong stuff.

I curled up on the floor holding the bottle in my hooves. The liquid burned on it's way down my throat, warmth mixing with the heat from the furnace. I let out a deep breath and took another swig of the drink, eager to kill my thoughts for a while. The sight of the city was burned into my mind. Everyone was dead. I was the only one left. I'd never see anyone I knew again. I was a snivelling mess, traumatised and spent.

I didn't even know what time it was. How long had we been outside for? Was it still morning? It was probably too early to be drinking, but I had a suspicion nopony was going to judge me for it. I wanted nothing more than to just not have to think for a while. I knew I was going to regret it later, and I knew that it wasn't going to magically make everything okay again, but I'd dealt with enough for one day already.

So I sat there in the workshop, little by little getting through the bottle. Some ponies drink to forget, but I don't think there's any chance in Tartatus that anypony could forget going though something like today. I could try, though.

It worked quickly. I'd not really had anything to eat or drink, save a slice of cake, so that wasn't really much of a surprise. It was welcome though.

Things became sort of hazy from there. That was the best I could hope for.

Level up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Pleasant Company - Cheer up, you little charmer! Your charisma is increased by 1 point when accompanied by Make Do.

New Perk (Make Do): A Friend In Need - Is a friend indeed! Your perception in increased by 1 point when accompanied by Silver Sterling.

Chapter Three: Course Adjustment

Chapter Three: Course Adjustment

"And so I make a brand new life, fashioned out of brand new strife."

When I was growing up in Trottingham, my dad always tried to put me off drinking. His father had problems with alcohol and it really made an impact on my dad when he was younger. He loathed drinking, and he went ballistic the first I came home late, tipsy. He really doubled down on the anti-drink thing for a while after that, but he got more lenient seeing that it didn't stop me anyway, and that I wasn't coming home next-level plastered every night.

From then on I enjoyed a drink every now and then. Maybe more often than 'every now and then', truth be told. I liked a drink with friends, with dinner, maybe one or two after work to unwind. Maybe more than one or two. Anyway, my point being that I was more used to waking up with a throbbing headache and feeling like the room was spinning more often than I was proud to admit.

This was one of those times.

As it turned out Make Do had a pretty extensive alcohol cabinet, and for the time being she was more than happy to ply me with whatever I felt like having. The end result was that yesterday I'd then spent the rest of the day attempting to drown my sorrows. I like to think I usually handle my drink well, but this was more than I'd had in a very, very long while.

Make Do had shown me where the bathroom in this place was after I stepped into a bucket that it turned out was the oil filled Slack Tub for metal forging. That made quite a mess.

As the day went on and it got darker outside, I'd ended up back in the 'bedroom' (I use the term loosely) I'd woken up in with a bottle of rum. I don't really remember too much of the day in all honesty.

So it came as no surprise when I woke up the next day feeling like absolute death. Not only did my head feel like it was about to implode, and my stomach was ready eject it's entire contents, but I was still a little bit drunk. Maybe more than a little bit, enough for the room to feel like it was rolling around when I turned my head away from the light coming through the doorway.

I groaned and burped up a little sick, pulling the sheets over my head. I was a little confused as to when my bed got so tatty before I remembered that it wasn't my bed.

The radio was off this time. I could hear the wind rattling the plastic of the window. I could hear clanking from somewhere in the building, and Make Do's muffled voice. There was a second voice too, much deeper. There was a rhythmic dripping coming from outside the room. The whole building creaked and moaned. I wanted all of it to stop, it was all killing my head.

I held my hooves over my ears as the screeching sound of a saw through metal started up, semi-regretting my actions almost immediately as the sudden movement flared my headache up even worse.

I scrunched my else closed as tight as they could go, silently wishing away all the noise.

My mouth was dry. I don't think I'd had any water since I woke up in the Hub. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth with every movement, coarse and rough, which was a very unpleasant sensation.

I cringed as a particularly loud clang rang through the building, ears pinning back. This morning had all ready been an all out assault on my senses, and I'd only been awake for a few minutes. To make matters worse I also really needed to use the bathroom. That meant getting up, which would be absolute murder in my current state. Honestly I wasn't even sure if I could get up and walk around right now, so I elected to just hold tight until the situation became desperate.

On a very slight upside, it had quietened down. I started to relax a little bit, hoping maybe I could fall back asleep for a while.

That plan fell through the moment I heard the door swing open and somepony walk in.

"Hey Silver, you awake yet? You've moved around from earlier." Remarked Make Do, sounding far more chipper than I would deem allowable. I thought I'd just ignore her and pretend to be asleep, but the mare had the audacity to start proddin me!

"Nnf, go away." I gurgled in protest. "I feel sick."

"Yeah, I bet you do, you knocked back that whole bottle of vodka by yourself. And you kept going too!" She said, her raspy voice grating on me terribly. "Anyway, I figured you'd probably be needing some of this, I'll leave it next to the bed for you."

There was a glassy clank as something made contact with the floor. I begrudgingly rolled over to see what it was, making my vision spin as I poked my head out from under the cover. A couple of bottles of water were nestled next to bed frame. They looked old, but so did everything around here.

"Wow, you look terrible." Make Do said, practically dripping tact. I looked up at her, she was wearing a tatty pair of overalls, and was smeared with oil and metal filings.

"You're one to talk-hughhh!" I heaved, thankfully managing to keep my stomach contents down. This time.

"Well, looks like you're in for a fun day. Please try not to vomit on the floor, I don't really want to be cleaning it up." She said smugly, turning to leave the room again. "I'll be around if you need anything."

I lay back down and closed my eyes. My head was throbbing so badly it felt like some kind of worm was wriggling around in my skull. I cringed a little thinking of that. I didn't know of any creature out there that did that, but I'd already been introduced to a couple of hideous animals in this new world, so who knows.

'New World' probably wasn't the right term. It was the same world just, well, obliterated. Along with everything and everyone I ever knew. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Why was I even here? How did I come out of that spell? It didn't seem like anypony knew I was there, so how come I woke up? Who cancelled the spell? Why now? Why wake me up now of all times, and not when society has rebuilt itself? I didn't understand at all. Somehow I didn't think I'd get answers anytime soon.

I could feel myself slinking back into the depression I'd fought so hard yesterday to forget about. I needed something to take my mind off the soul crushing, devastating loss before it got it's claws back into me. I turned and reached down for a bottle of water, pain in my head once again making itself very known. That was good, it was something to think about. I took the lid off the bottle and had a long sip. Despite the appearance of the bottle it was cool and fresh, which was most welcome since I was absolutely parched.

I ended up chugging the whole bottle in one go, which may not have been good from the not-vomiting point of view, but I was just so thirsty. My mouth at least was feeling a little more normal now. I pressed the cold glass bottle to my forehead, the sensation soothing the pain. I was content to just be still for a while, to try and get my body to settle down.

That worked just fine for a short time. Up until my stomach rumbled, up until I realised that if I didn't go to the toilet now then I'd definitely wet the bed. And I did not need that on top of everything else. I groggily rolled myself upright, body protesting every movement. I was swaying a bit, still experiencing some leftover drunkenness from last night. I lowered myself off the bed and stumbled out the door, leaning on walls for support a lot of the way. Navigating a building was much harder when it felt like the place was tumbling around, especially so when you weren't very familiar with the layout.

It wasn't a long walk by any means, only down the hallway, but the state I was in meant it felt much longer. I stumbled through the door, kicking it closed behind me with a slam that was far louder than I'd anticipated. The bathroom was as grungy as the rest of the building, rust and decay built up all over. Saying that, it wasn't necessarily dirty, so much as it was worn. Everything here looked less than ideal, but at least it was a bathroom to use. I just hoped everything looked this way from age and not, ahem, usage.

I set about doing my business, and thankfully not throwing my guts up. To give the mare credit, Make Do had somehow managed to procure toilet paper from somewhere. Was it still being made? There had to be some kind of industry of some sort by now, right? I mean, according to what Make Do said it'd been almost 200 years since-

Nope! Not thinking about it. Too heavy, don't need that right now.

I finished up and went to wash my hooves in the sink. The water didn't look as clean as the bottle water from earlier. It smelled funny too, but I thought it'd be alright enough to wet my hooves, I wasn't planning on drinking it. I looked up as I turned the water off, catching my reflection in a wall mirror above the basin.

I did look terrible. My eyes were bloodshot, surrounded by dark bags. There were still flecks of blood on my face from yesterday. My mane was all messed up, sticking out in strange ways. And I was covered in dirt. I was certain I looked a few shades paler too, but that could've just been the dust on the mirror.

I quick sniff confirmed that I also stank, musty and sweaty. I needed a shower.

There was a shower in the bathroom. It looked like it'd been pieced together from scrap. Really it was little more than a nozzle over a washtub with a plastic tarp hung around it as a makeshift curtain and a hole in the bottom to drain the water. It was obviously improvised, but it was better than nothing. A good wash would probably help me feel more like a pony and less like a shambling zombie.

I clambered into the tub. I was very confused when I realised that the shower head was actually coming out of the ceiling. I looked around, but there were no obvious controls for it anywhere. I must've stood there looking around exasperated for a good few minutes. Poking around the nozzle itself did nothing. The pipe it was attached to just went straight up into the roof. I sighed and left the tub again, setting off to find Make Do.

I'd not had to ask anypony how to use a shower since I was, what, five? Not since I was a filly. It was embarrassing, it made me look like I didn't know how to take care of myself.

Make Do was in the workshop area, if the continued sounds of clanking and screeching were anything to go by. I could already tell based on the volume alone that going into the room wouldn't be a very pleasant experience in my condition. I'd already pinned my ears back before opening the door.

The room itself had become one big all-out sensory assault. The smell of burning and chemicals was thick in the air, the light was low, dimly orange from the furnace. It was uncomfortably warm. Sparks and wails filled the air from a workbench, as a masked Make Do set about cutting up a large piece of metal with a scary looking power saw. I didn't know how long I could stand it for, I just needed to be in and out as quickly as possible.

"HEY!" I shouted from the doorway, voice croaky and strained. As expected there was no response, though to be fair my voice was by no means a fearsome roar at the moment. I was going to have to get closer to get her attention. I grimaced and entered the room, hangover really not gelling with this environment.

"HEY!" I hoarsely yelled again, closer to the mare this time. Still no response from her, she was absolutely engrossed in her work. Or still couldn't hear me over the din, more likely. The dark visor of the mask probably didn't help either, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be able to see me through the dark visor. I wasn't convinced a welding mask was strictly necessary, but I was sure she'd know better than me.

I cautiously trotted closer. I didn't want to be burned by any of the sparks or hot filings being thrown around by the saw. Those noise was like a constant drone by this point, obnoxiously loud and grating. I don't know how Make Do was managing to persist without any kind of ear protection.

"MAKE DO!" I tapped her withers with a hoof and she jumped in surprise, which given the fact she was holding a power tool, was absolutely terrifying.

"Celestia above, Silver!" The mare said, lifting her mask, saw revving down. "You almost gave me a heart attack! You trying to get me to cut your leg off or something?!"

"I was shouting but you didn't hear me." I retorted meekly, frowning and rubbing my temples. "I can't work your shower."

"The shower? Oh, yeah, I guess I didn't really think about an Earth pony using it..." She trailed off, looking into the middle distance. "I'll come start it up."

I followed her back to the bathroom. She pushed the door open and her horn lit up, turning a small valve on the pipe and allowing water to flow. "It rained a lot yesterday so there should be plenty of water. Might be chilly, though." She said idly. "Hmm, probably not convenient to need my help every time you want a shower."

She sat on her haunches, seemingly contemplating the shower. She was right in the door frame, so I was just stuck awkwardly standing around behind her.

"Ahem." I deliberately coughed.

"Huh?" The mare turned to face me, and I nodded at the shower. "Oh, right, sorry."

She turned and walked back down the hallway, muttering to herself about pipes. I walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. The room was noisy now, the sound of the constant spray of water onto the sheet metal tub creating an oddly percussive, ringing drone that drowned out the sound of my hooves and the creaks of the building. It wasn't quite loud enough to mute the industrial sounds of metalwork that had roared back into life, but it helped.

Make Do was right. It was chilly. It was practically freezing, so cold that I flinched getting in, all the air leaving my lungs. I was already shivering, but I really did need a wash. This wasn't my first cold shower and at the moment I wasn't too picky. I could see all the grime flowing off of me and down into the drain. That at least felt good.

My teeth were chattering as I let the water flow through my mane, dislodging clumps of dirt and assorted crap that I was glad to do away with. I couldn't find any soap but there was at least a fairly clean looking sponge I could use to more thoroughly scrub my coat. It was awkward to try and clean my back, but I wasn't prepared to traipse through this building again, let alone dripping wet, and ask a mare I hardly knew to wash my back. I could manage. Kinda.

Maybe a cold shower was what I needed. It had at least snapped me more awake. Cleared my head. I was content, for a moment at least, to sit in the shower and let the frigid water run over me, now that I was more acclimatised to the temperature it was soothing, even.

Minutes passed. I'm not sure how long I was sat there but after a while the water stopped flowing, slowing to a weak trickle. I was vaguely aware that I'd need to warm myself up or risk getting a cold, but I couldn't really bring myself to move. I was still, not really thinking about anything particular, just being. Existing.

That was something I shouldn't be able to do right now. Exist, live. I could pretty much guarantee that nopony else I knew had managed to live through this. If all of Equestria was like Baltimare, then there wasn't all that much hope for anypony I knew. There was no reason that I should even be here, it was all chance. I made it when countless others didn't. That was a weight to carry, a huge weight. But still, logically there must have been survivors, the fact that Make Do was alive alone was proof that some ponies must have ridden out whatever happened and carried on living. That didn't change the fact that even if any of my friends or family did manage to cling on, I'd still never see them again. 180 years is a long time.

The building was quiet again. No metal work, no creaking. Only the last drops of water falling into the tub broke the silence.

I sniffled, tears bleeding onto my already sopping wet fur. It's a hard feeling to convey, to lose everything and everyone. It was a void, it was like you'd torn your own heart out and there was nothing to replace it. A sinking feeling that didn't go away.

I didn't weep or wail, or scream my loss from the top of my lungs, I just didn't have it in me. I just sat in the damp, quietly crying, staring off into empty space. The sinking feeling only got worse. I started shivering again, from emotion or cold I don't know, probably both. I needed to dry myself off. I needed to just do something, hopefully I could take my mind off of this mess.

Shaky, I managed to rather ungracefully tumble out of the shower. Lethargically pawing around the room revealed a total lack of towels, for better or worse. I did need to dry myself, but if the towels were anything like the sheets on the bed then I'm sure I'd just be rubbing dirt back into my coat.

That would leave me dripping wet and cold for a while. I supposed I could go back and sit by the furnace again, but if Make Do was going to be working the whole day then that idea was less than appealing. I looked back in the mirror again. My coat and mane were much cleaner, free from the layer of dirt I was coated in. I was still pale though, and still very tired looking. Almost haggard. My mane being damp and plastered to my face certainly didn't help.

Once again the abrasive sound of metal work roared to life from the workshop, which ruled out drying off in there. It was more percussive than grinding this time. A hammer, maybe? Either way it would still be insufferable to listen to up close.

I wasn't going to get any warmer just standing around. I shook myself off as best as I could, leaving me damp rather than soaked, and left the bathroom to find something I could wrap myself up in. Stepping back out into the hallway, I turned to make my way back to the lobby/kitchen area, but stopped short after passing a door I realised I'd not opened yet.

Figuring it was probably worth a look, I opened the door. It was some kind of large storage cupboard, nothing particularly remarkable. There were a few shelves lined with various objects, and metal boxes. It was dimly lit, but still just light enough to be able to rummage through. On a shelf, right at the back of the room, I spied a pile of folded up fabric. It looked to be a small bed sheet, much, much cleaner than the one I'd seen on the bed.

Since it wasn't being used, and it was better than nothing, I draped it over myself, willing to bet that it was as close to a towel as I was going to get. I sneezed as it settled on my back. I was feeling much chillier than I did yesterday, and I really hoped I wasn't about to catch a cold.

I needed a way to warm myself up. A way that didn't involve horrendous noise, or any strenuous activity.

I wondered if Make Do kept any Brandy in the drinks cabinet?

Deciding to stand by my experience at university that the best cure for a hangover was more alcohol, I made my way out of the cupboard and back to the cabinet to peruse it's contents.

Another sneeze and a shiver. I needed to find something fast, I really didn't need to fall ill on top of everything else. More Stalliongrad, some off-brand Whisky, some kind of pale liquid in a rocket shaped bottle. There were a lot of dingy, label-less mystery bottles, I had no idea what they contained, but I wasn't so much feeling like finding out.

Ah! Behind a couple of bottles of Gin was a single, squat bottle of five star Brandy, still sealed, though like everything else in here, it had seen better days. I slid it out of the cabinet and carried it in my teeth back into the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

I sat on the edge of the bed and broke the seal on the cap, twisting off the lid and taking a sip. The liquid warmed my throat on the way down, which was a welcome feeling. It reminded me of my student days, waking up after a party and downing the dorm's 'patented' hangover cure, we called it a Doctor's Order. Two parts vodka, one part lemon juice, one part carrot juice, hot sauce, orange zest and one egg. Frankly it was disgusting, but it seemed to work. A couple of those in the system and you were practically good as new. Minus the aftertaste. I wonder what Perfect Prescription would think knowing his idea had lived on this long?

The fondness of that memory quickly faded as I remembered that Perfect, along with everypony else I studied with, would be long gone by now. I was probably the only pony alive who even know what the cocktail was. I sniffled and took another swig of brandy. It had started raining again outside. I pulled the sheet I was wearing up over my head, almost like a kind of cloak, idly dangling my hooves off the bed frame, sipping at the brandy and feeling it warm my core. If everyone was gone, then I was alone. And that was scary.

The radio had somehow crackled back to life at some point, quietly playing an old Sweetie Belle tune. I never did get the hype around her myself, I'd much rather listen to a nice instrumental piece, but for the time being it was the best thing I had to try and stave off the feeling of isolation and loneliness.

"Hello Baltimare! Glissando back again for your on-the-hour-every-hour news update!" Spoke the croaky voice of of the radio DJ. "Because here at Radio Bayside, we never sleep, ever!"

I took another sip and hoped that maybe the radio could be a pleasant distraction.

"I've been hearing reports that the lovely folks from Red Rein have seized control of even more of the downtown area. These aren't your everyday crazed raiders, colts and fillies, they're better equipped, better organised, and they're known to use prisoners as slaves. My advice is stay well away, and if you need to go downtown for any reason, be wary and stay safe."

It was certainly a distraction, though it was far from pleasant. It was bad enough that the world was in this state, let alone the possibility of being captured as a slave. That was enough to warrant another drink.

"And in lighter news, Merriweather Pavilion trading post have just announced the continuation of their recently re-routed caravan trade service north. If you've got anything that needs to make it to Hollow Shades, now's the time to do something about it."

Trade was a good sign of a working society, so that at least was a welcome piece of information. Really though, I would have hoped some progress had been made back to normality after so long.

Another sip.

Normality. That was the key. A sense of normality. Nothing here was normal for me, but it was normal for everypony else. In a way I suppose that I was experiencing some twisted form of culture shock. Would I get used to it? Would everything be better then?

"That's about all for this hour, folks. Forecast is rain, rain, and just for a change, more rain. Coming up next the thrilling conclusion to The Beach Fillies And The Monster! Like you've not heard it a thousand times already."

With a crackle a radio play started up. I sort of blocked it out, I had no real desire to listen to it. Instead I was sat alone, with my thoughts. Which was probably worse. It was going to take a lot for me to accept that this was the new normal. What did ponies even do now? There had to be some kind of organised community. Do I have any skills that are useful now? I could only hope that silver was still a commodity that ponies wanted. Otherwise I'm left pretty much useless.

Maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself. I needed to adjust, that would take time. I needed time to deal with the fact that, well, everything was gone. I didn't have any friends or family to turn to. That was still fresh, and still stung hard.

Another sip.

The warmth in my barrel was somewhat reassuring at least. Alcohol, it seemed, was a constant I could cling to. Some things never change. I took a big swig from the bottle, enjoying the familiarity. This at least was something I could treat as normal.

I shifted on the bed and stared out the window, deep in thought. I was lost. It was still too much to process at the moment. It was going to be a while before I felt stable again, that much was certain.

I sighed and took another drink from the bottle. I had a hunch that the next few weeks might feel like the longest of my life.

"Hey Silver, I- Oh Luna's tits!"

With great effort, I managed to lift an eyelid to see what all the commotion was about. Make Do had entered the room, and I think she looked worried. I lazily listed my head to face her, just about managing to crack open my other eye. I found it quite difficult to keep my eyes on her though, everything looked kind of wobbly.

"Are you okay? Ugh, it stinks!" She said, now very close to my face for some reason. I didn't know what the big deal was about really. I felt good. Tired, but good. And maybe a little damp? And cold again? And actually quite uncomfortable. I was sat up on the bed, leant against the wall at an angle that my back didn't agree with. I tried to shuffle around and get more comfortable, only to put a hoof down on a wet patch. Looking down to investigate, I realised that I'd thrown up all over myself and the bed.

"Ohhh no!" I said, looking back up at Make Do. I'm not sure she heard me right though, she just looked more concerned.

"Oh, it's all over the sheets!" She said, lifting me up with her magic, which now felt much more disorienting than it did before. I'm not sure why she was so concerned about the sheets, they were filthy anyway. I was stuck suspended in mid air while she fussed around with the bed, which was now starting to feel very strange, and I didn't like it one bit.

"I'm sorry." I tried to say, but it just came out as more of a groan. I think my brain started to catch on to my discomfort, and my stomach too. I heaved, but I don't think I had anything left in me to throw back up.

"No no no!" She exclaimed, quickly dashing out of the room and into the bathroom and bringing me along too, which did nothing but make the sensory disconnect worse, causing me to dry heave again.

I groaned as I was unceremoniously dumped back in the shower, which was actually a pretty nice feeling in comparison. It was cool and flat, much more comfortable than leaning by the bed or magical flying. My stomach settled down pretty immediately, which was also welcome. All in all I was back to feeling pretty good! Maybe I could try and get back to sleep.

"You're lucky it's been raining all night." Make Do said. I heard a squeak, and was suddenly assaulted by a blast of freezing cold water, causing me to gasp in shock.

I didn't need this! I just wanted to have a bit of sleep! I pushed myself up and rolled over the side of the tub, landing on the bathroom floor with a small thud.

"Ah, nope! You're staying in that shower 'til you're clean! Or at least until you don't smell." Make Do taunted, lifting me back into the tub with her magic. I looked back at her, only to find her occupied by the sheets again, which I guess she'd brought with her? I don't know. "Now what am I going to do about these?" She muttered to herself.

I tried to escape again, but the unicorn put a stop to it pretty quickly. Then she told me to stay put and that I was a hoofful when I'm drunk. I most certainly was not, and voiced my indigence to her, but she just told me to stop sulking. The nerve of the mare, I'm not a foal! But, in the interest of getting all this over with, I sat on my haunches and waited for whatever was happening to be over so I could go back to sleep.

I was actually getting sleepy again already, now that the initial shock of the cold water had worn off. Maybe I could just rest my head on the rim of the tub for a while.

I'll just rest my eyes for a few minutes.

Just a couple of minutes.

Tartarus is real and I am experiencing it.

This was a new level of pain, it brought new meaning to the word. It felt like my head was under a pile of bricks. Light stabbed at my eyes like daggers. My neck was killing me. My throat was dry enough that it felt like it was about to shatter. The taste in my mouth was disgusting, sickening. I was cold and damp again. I was in a heap in the shower tub, alone.

I've probably had worse hangovers, but I really couldn't remember when. I had vague recollections of yesterday. I woke up and had a shower, drank a bottle of brandy, finished off the rum from the day before, and I think some whisky may have become involved at some point. I don't think I ate anything, again. It all made for a bad combination, and I was paying for it now.

But why was I in the bathroom? I remember Make Do waking me up and bringing me here, and I must have fallen back asleep after that. I pushed myself up with a groan, head not appreciating the change in position, and stretched my back, popping and clicking as it did. A little better but still not right. A sharp pain when I tried to turn my head told me I'd definitely slept funny, not that I really needed any proof. The door was open, and dim light was streaming in from the hallway. Even that was enough to make me shield my eyes. I'm pretty sure I was still tipsy, and moving my anything too fast was met with great protest.

I hadn't had a morning like this since my graduation party.

First things first, as much as I didn't want to move at all, I didn't want to wet myself even more. I tentatively stood all the way up, and with a sway and my headache flaring up, shambled my way over to the toilet, being sure to close the door on the way. The total darkness was welcome, but made navigating the room more difficult than it strictly needed to be.

The second matter of business was water. It felt like I'd been chugging sandpaper all night, and it was a deeply unpleasant feeling. I still didn't much feel like drinking the water from the sink, it just didn't look right to me. Hopefully I'd be able to find more of the bottled water Make Do brought me yesterday.

Unfortunately that meant going out into the light. No amount of telling myself I needed it or I'd feel better for it afterwards made the adjustment any easier, nor did it help the pain in my head. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I'd not had a proper meal in a very long time now, another thing to deal with. I managed to stagger down the hallway with squinted eyes, and quickly ended up in the kitchen.

I may have been a mess, but I was together enough to work out the bottled water likely lived in the fridge. I pulled the door open, probably with more force than I needed to, and scanned the inside.

There were a few more bottles of water, and to my relief, there was also a small supply of ready to eat food. Nothing special, but it'd do the job. I grabbed some water, a couple of carrots, and a box of Dandy Colt Apples that really looked in rough shape, but the actual apples seemed good enough. Thank Celestia for preservatives, I guess. There were some other bits and pieces in the fridge too, but to be honest I couldn't actually tell what any of it was, so I thought it'd be best to leave it.

I managed to tripod walk to the table and dump everything I was carrying. I sat down and unscrewed the cap of the bottle, downing the whole thing in one. It felt great, being able to swallow pain-free was severely underrated. I moved on to the carrots, greedily chomping through them both, stems and all. I tore open the box of apples and took a bite of one, only to burp up more carrot than I'd like. I needed to pace my self or be sick.

My eyes widened. I remembered why Make Do dragged me into the bathroom. I was sick everywhere last night. My ears folded back, burning, and I rested my head on the table, folding my forelegs over my face.

"I can't believe I did that." I muttered to myself, red with embarrassment.

"You know, most ponies ask before raiding someone's fridge." Came a raspy, now familiar voice. Lifting a hoof, I could see Make Do out of the corner of my eye, stood in the door frame to the workshop. She didn't look impressed.

"I'm sorry." I weakly offered.

"I don't mind much, maybe just like, ask me next time, okay?" She said, trotting over to the table and taking the seat opposite me. "Food doesn't grow on trees, y'know?" She stated, without a hint of irony, only seeming to cotton on to what she'd said after a few seconds.

We sat in silence for an awkward moment, her looking at me, and me peering back through the gap between my forelegs. Make Do broke into a smug looking smile, resting her head in her hooves and staring me in the eyes.

"Feeling shy, Silver?" She asked, floating an apple out of the box and taking a bite. "Why, whatever's brought this on? Something you want to tell me?" She continued, with the smarmiest look on her face.

"Don't mock me." I growled. I probably wasn't in the best condition to sound threatening, though. A second of silence and I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry for making a mess." I mumbled.

"Atta' girl." The unicorn said, taking another bite from the apple. "Just try not to do it again. Please? You seem to throw up more than most ponies I've met, and do you know how hard it is to find soap? Cleaning stuff ain't easy."

Gee, I would never have guessed.

"Anyway," She said with a full mouth, spraying little bits of apple onto the table top. "I've got something for you."

She got up and quickly finished off the rest of the apple and threw it across the room into a small bin, which was admittedly a very impressive shot. She trotted out of sight for a moment, and reappeared carrying a pile of cloth in with her, putting it down on the table in front of me.

Interest piqued, I picked the item up. It was my jumpsuit from the hub, but it had clearly been altered. Metal plates had been attached to the shoulders and flank, and some parts looked to have been re-enforced. It was clearly done quickly by hoof, but it wasn't a messy job by any means. I looked up at Make Do, she was a better craftsmare than I had expected.

"It can get pretty hairy out there, Silver. Any protection is better than nothing. That should keep the worst off you, at least." She said, looking back at me as she turned to leave the room. "Won't do anything about the rain, though."

With that, she trotted off through a door I'd not explored yet, presumably her bedroom? The door closed behind her, and left me alone again.

What was I doing? Was I really going to be living in a world dangerous enough that I needed armour to go outside? That was just, for lack of a better word, wrong. The Equestria I grew up in was innocent and carefree. This new Equestria just seemed dead and decaying, the life had left it long ago now.

I put the armoured garment down on the table, I was in no hurry to go outside. I wasn't really in a hurry to go anywhere at the moment. I was more than happy to rest my head down on the clothing and close my eyes.

I didn't want to be part of a world so dangerous that even going outside was a risk. I guess I didn't have much choice, but that didn't mean I had to just accept it. Why was it still dangerous? Had so little changed after so long since the war? I didn't know what to make of anything, everything I found out went against something else. Those carrots were fresh, but the apples were scavenged, the radio worked fine, but the water from the sink didn't look drinkable.

It crossed my mind that the water from the shower was probably like the water from the sink. I didn't know for sure, but I'd make a mental note of it just in case.

My point was, nothing seemed to make sense anymore. I wasn't made for these times, and I really shouldn't be here to experience them. I was at a total loss, what was I meant to do in a situation like this? I needed somepony to tell me what to do, but I didn't have anyone.

I was under a lot of stress. This was probably the roughest time of my life so far. I didn't have the energy to cry, I just sat rested on the table.

I kept going around in circles. It'd only been a few days, but it felt like the same thing every time, with no solution in sight. I'd call it a rut, but it was different, I was here by circumstances, and kept in it by my own behaviour and, well, everything else. I just didn't know how to change that.

I was drawing a blank. I made no effort to think on it more, or get up and do something, because I know I'd only reach the same conclusion again and the cycle would continue anyway. I just stayed there, not moving, eyes closed and at least somewhat comfortable.

I could feel myself getting more tired, sleep growing closer. It was welcome, I didn't sleep well at all the night before, and I didn't have to worry about anything while I was asleep.

But no matter how much I wanted it to, sleep never fully came. I had bouts of sleep, only to wake up again a short time later. Rinse and repeat. It was better than nothing, but far from satisfactory, and in the end I just felt like I'd had a nap that was too long. It did help ease my hangover though, not all the way gone, but much better than it was.

I don't know how much time had passed, but after a while I heard a door open again.

"Oh, Silver! You're still here?" Said Make Do, surprised.

"Yes." I replied, not moving from the spot.

"Uh, okay then." I heard her trotting around, followed by the clicking of a stove and the sound of ignition. "Well, I was going to make some dinner, if you want any."

"Dinner? What time is it?" I asked, confused.

"About half 6, I think." She replied. I heard the fridge open and the clanking of pans. "So, do you want any food or not?"

"Um, what are you making?" I asked. It was later than I thought, and food was probably a good idea.

"Fried Lugworm." Make Do stated in a very matter-of-fact way.

"Lugworm? We're eating bugs?" I queried, hoping I'd misheard her.

"Yes, and I take it that 'we're eating' means 'yes please I would like some food, thank you very much Make Do'." She said, the sound of oil in a pan filling the room.

"I guess so." I finished.

Lugworm? Ew. Weren't they the little bugs that live in sandy beaches? Was this really the best thing going? Can an equine stomach even process bugs? I don't think I necessarily wanted to find out either way.

"On second thought, you'd wouldn't happen to have anything less, uh, alive?" I ever so subtly asked.

"Hm? Oh, no, don't worry, it's been dead for a while." She replied, not missing a beat.

"Not what I meant." I deadpanned.

"Aw, come on, it's not that bad." She said, the sound of sizzling filling the room. "Besides, fresh veggies are hard work, Lugworm is cheap."

I didn't really have a case to argue against that, I really didn't know whether it was true or not. And I was far too polite to turn down a meal that had been made for me. I could only hope that it really wasn't 'that bad'. I have to say, the smell wasn't really doing a great job of convincing me otherwise.

Make Do hummed a tune as she cooked. A familiar melody, but I couldn't quite put a name to it. Sapphire Shores maybe? It was upbeat, at least.

Maybe I was being too dour about it. It'd probably taste just fine, and it had been a long time since anypony had cooked for me. I was hardly in a position to complain, and I was still hungry, after all. I was by no means the best cook around, and at a time like this it really was nice to not have to worry about making meals.

I poked my head up and watched Make Do for a bit. She didn't seem to notice me, occupied with task of preparing the food. I think I had grown to trust this mare a bit more over the last couple of days. She was being very accommodating, and while I still found her to be a bit strange, she hadn't tried anything worrying. Also there had been a big reduction in the amount of times she'd pointed a gun at me, which was an improvement.

Was it a bad thing if I was getting used to the presence of lethal weapons?

"Aaaaand perfect!" The mare declared, switching off the stove and plating the meal up, dishes and utensils clattering. She made her way over to the table, plates floating behind her, and gently placed the meal on the table as I moved the jumpsuit out of the way.

To say it wasn't what I was expecting would be something of an understatement. I thought Lugworms were little earthworm like creatures that lived on the beach, or at least the ones in Trottingham were. This thing was different. Very different. It was big, about the size of a tin can. It was segmented like a worm, though. Was this only a section? Make Do had a very similar thing on her plate, and if I looked closely I could see where it had been cut. These Lugworms must be enormous!

It wasn't a very appetising looking, or smelling dish. Essentially looking like a ridged, beige cylinder dumped onto a chipped and discoloured plate. It smelled like sweaty clothes. Make Do was already digging in, apparently far too eager, if her attempts to fan her mouth were anything to go by.

I poked at the unfamiliar food with a fork. It jiggled a little, which put me off a little more. I wasn't sure what I was expecting it to do, but apparently it wasn't jiggle.

This was foalish, I wasn't a filly anymore, I shouldn't be putting off new foods, especially when they'd been prepared for me. I cut a piece off and jabbed it with a fork, tentatively raising it to my mouth, blowing gently to cool it down. I took a small bite and chewed.

It tasted as much like sweaty clothes as it smelled. Not that I knew what sweaty clothes tasted like of course, I'm a mare with standards- but that's besides the point. It was unpleasant. This was a problem, as it'd be unforgivably rude to turn down a freshly prepared meal, in my opinion. But also I really, really didn't want to eat the whole thing.

"So, what's your plan?" Make Do asked from across the table, thankfully interrupting the meal.

"My plan?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Yeah, y'know, like, what are you going to do? Your life." She clarified, chewing another mouthful of worm.

"I-I don't know." I answered honestly. "I don't really know what I can do, or even what's out there. I'm lost, I guess. I don't belong here."

"I'm sure there's something for you out there. There's something for everypony, you just gotta find it." She replied. "Doesn't mean you have to know it now, but it's always good to have a plan."

"I guess. I think I just need time. I just- It's-" I sighed, looking for the right words. "For me, it's like waking up and nothing is the same. It felt like less than a week ago I was where I belonged, in my shop with my friends and my life. And now, this. I thought I knew what I was doing back then, but this has kind of thrown all that out the window for good."

The conversation died for a minute, the lighthearted mood had disappeared.

"You had a shop?" The unicorn asked softly.

"A little jewelry shop on Cloven Street, just a little walk from the river." I answered glumly. "Silver Silver. I worked with silver, if it wasn't already obvious."

It wasn't just my shop, it was my home too. I missed it. Even though it had only been a few days, I missed sleeping in my own bed, I missed cooking in my own kitchen, I missed going to work. I didn't know if I'd ever get any of that back again. Quiet set in once again as I silently mourned the loss of my home.

"Sorry, I'm homesick, I guess." I offered. "Not feeling much like talking."

"I know how you feel." Make Do replied, stabbing at the final chunk of her dinner. "It gets better when you find a place to call your own again, believe me." She got up and dumped her plate presumably in the kitchen sink, before sitting back down at the table with a couple of bottles of beer, pushing one my way. "Anywhere can be home if you want it to be."

I took a sip from the bottle. It was warm and old, but I wasn't about to complain about having something to wash the taste of that worm away. There was a break in the conversation as Make Do lifted her drink to her lips too, taking a gulp.

"So tell me about yourself." The mare said, leaning back in her chair.

"What?"

"You've been here like, three days, and I still don't really know anything about you." She explained, taking another swig. "So y'know, fill me in. Who is Silver Sterling?"

"I'm, uh, I'm nopony, really. Nopony special, I'm from Trottingham and I like making jewelry." I paused, it was my turn to drink. "That's it, really."

"Trottingham huh? So that's what that accent is! A new one on me, never met anypony from there, what's it like?" Make Do said, now leaning forward in apparent enthusiasm.

"W-well, it's nice, I suppose. Quaint, a lot of open country, and you're never very far from the coast. I moved away to come to university here, I've not been back in a few years. My family all still live over there-" I hadn't gotten used to the idea that they would all be dead. Saying it out loud stung like nothing else, it was like it suddenly became real. "Lived. They all lived there."

I sighed and drank about half of the bottle down. Anything that could dull that sting was a good thing, even if it was only a little bit.

How long had it been since I'd seen any of them? I hadn't seen Mum or Dad since I visited after graduation, and that was a while ago now. Mint had come to visit me a couple of years ago, but that was only for a few days. I hadn't seen any of them in ages, and I never would again. I finished the rest of the bottle and cradled my head in my hooves.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't think I want to talk about this anymore." I meekly managed to say.

I heard the chime of magic, and looked up to find a slice of the exceedingly delicious cake placed before me, fork and all.

"You look like you could use it." Make Do said, swigging from her bottle. I stabbed myself off a little corner of cake and brought it to my mouth. It was just as good as last time.

"What about you?" I said, trying to steer the conversation away. "I don't know anything about you, Make Do."

"Little ol' me? Well, what's there to say?" She started. "First, only my dad calls me Make Do, you can call me MD, everypony else does." She paused to sip her beer. "Well, like I said before, I scavenge things, fix things, sell stuff on. I'm like a treasure hunter, but instead of gems and relics I find scrap metal and old guns. Anything as long as someone is buying."

"Is that how you got your PipBuck?" I enquired, shoving a forkful of cake into my mouth. Not before I finished speaking, though. It's rude to talk with your mouth full.

"I used to live in a Stable, everypony got a PipBuck when they were old enough. I left pretty soon after that." She explained, tapping a hoof on the table.

"A Stable? So they worked?" I asked, genuinely curious. Thinking about it I had friends who'd managed to get spots in Stables. It wouldn't make everything alright, but knowing that at lease some of the ponies I knew manage to survive might ease my heart a little bit.

"Well, I'm here, aren't I? Must have done the job well enough." The unicorn said, looking away.

"So, what was it like living in a stable?" I prodded, again, genuinely curious. I'd heard plenty about the Stables from all the ads, but I'd never actually seen one in the flesh. Or concrete.

"Safe, abundant food and water, everypony looked out for everypony else. It was an amazing place to live." She explained, taking another swig from her bottle. What she said left me a little confused though.

"Then why'd you leave?"

She didn't respond at first. It looked like she was collecting her thoughts. I kept on eating the cake though, it was too good to leave.

"One day we started getting contact from the outside. Something about trading, I don't remember really, I was only a little filly. Some folks wanted to open the door, other's didn't. In the end the Overmare decided to open the Stable up to the outside, took the contact as a sign the land was livable." The mare explained, looking dour. "Turns out the contact had been from a group of raiders. I'm not sure what they wanted, but the second the door opened, they attacked. Security couldn't hold them back."

I paused, looking at her with wide eyes.

"A lot of folks died, the raiders shot anything that moved. I somehow managed to slip past them all and escape out the door into the wastes. I don't know if anypony else made it out okay, but I'd like to think so." She finished, leaving me borderline speechless.

"That's... that's horrible! T-t-t-that's sick!" I really was shocked, ponies should not kill ponies.

"Yeah, it is, but that's how it is in this bitch of a wasteland, sometimes. It's a harsh land and ponies can be savage. I'm over it, mostly. It was years ago now, and I'd never have met my Dad otherwise." She said, rolling a hoof.

"Wait, 'met' your Dad?"

"I don't know what happened to my biological parents after I ran. I ended up wondering the wastes alone for a couple of days after I escaped. I got trapped by a couple of bandits who thought they'd try and sell me to slavers. He must have heard me crying and came to the rescue. Saved me from the creeps and took me in, taught me everything I know, and the rest kinda explains itself." She finished with a small smile.

"T-that's quite a story." I said, trying to sound neutral. This new world was sounding more and more abhorrent by the minute. Ruins, feral creatures, and now 'raiders' who are happy to slaughter anypony they see fit, and slavers!? What ever happened to law and order?

"That's life." She proclaimed, standing up. I took it. "It has it's ups and downs, but it always carries on. It might take a while for you to adjust, but you'll get used to it eventually. Trust me, it's was as much of a shock for me leaving the Stable as it is for you."

She took her leave as I polished off the last of the cake slice. Maybe we weren't as different as I first thought, this mare and I. Very different personalities yes, but it seemed that we were both victims of circumstance to some degree. Everything I was dealing with was very depressing, but her account just sounded outright horrific. At least I didn't have to see my friends and family die. Perhaps by sticking with her for the time being I could more easily adapt to this 'wasteland', as she'd so aptly called it. At the very least she would have some idea of where I was coming from.

I wonder what her dad is like?

Part of me did actually feel better for that talk, in an odd way. I almost felt like if she could do it, then so could I. I was going to need time, time to adapt, and time to get over, well, everything, but I was a big mare. I'm sure I could do it. And this was a second chance. Maybe not the most ideal second chance, but it certainly beat the alternative.

I think. I hoped so, anyway.

I meandered my way back to the bedroom, flopping down onto the bed. I wasn't looking forward to finding out what other horrors I'd be facing in this wasteland, and I'd started to get the feeling there would be a lot of them. But I also felt that Make Do had earned my trust, and if I stayed in her company for a while then she'd certainly steer me right.

You could say I was feeling cautiously optimistic about the future. Still distraught about the past, but I couldn't do anything about that, it had already happened, and I couldn't change it no matter how much I wanted to. The future was something I could bend and shape and mold. If I got off on the right hoof, I could make things much easier for myself down the line.

It wasn't going to be easy, but if I took things one day at a time, I could hopefully manage.

It was starting to seem like waking up tired was becoming a habit of mine. Probably my own fault, I suppose, but that didn't mean I had to be happy about it. Still, at least this wasn't as bad as yesterday morning, not by a long shot. Still unpleasant enough to not want to get up, but I didn't feel like I'd spent the night being stomped all over this time.

What wasn't so usual however, was the relative quiet I found myself in. The radio wasn't cracking a dusty old play, I couldn't hear any sounds of metal work from the other room, and while it was drizzly outside, it was hardly enough to fill the place with noise. It was odd, I'd only been here a few days, but more often than not it was a cacophony of sound. The break was more than welcome, but still weird.

I decided I'd try and make the most of the quiet and see if I could doze off for a little longer.

I should've expected by now that I'd have no such luck, and to even try was pushing it. No sooner had I rolled over and closed my eyes, the door creaked open.

"Mmph, please, I-" I started. Didn't finish.

Stood in the doorway was the single largest Griffon I'd ever seen. His head was a stark, snowy white, face marked with numerous scars and cuts. He had very broad shoulders and was mostly muscle, and looked to be wearing a very sturdy armoured vest, riddled with scrapes and dents from serious use. I'm pretty sure there were some bullet marks on there too. His talons looked razor sharp, as did his beak, and he was looking straight at me with cold, steely eyes.

I froze up. Quite frankly, he was terrifying. He clearly knew his way around a fight. I did not. Why was he here? Was he one of these 'raiders' Make Do had mentioned yesterday. Oh stars above, were we being attacked?

"Make Do, there's some kinda drunk vagrant in the spare room." He bellowed, turning his head out of the room-

Hang on, 'Drunk vagrant'? How very dare he?! I scoffed, flat out insulted. I am a mare of class and standards, not some filthy hobo! At least, I would have scoffed if I wasn't absolutely terrified by this hulking behemoth of a Griffon. I didn't dare make a sound right now.

"She's not a vagrant, dad, that's Silver, I told you about her, remember?" Came the voice of Make Do, poking her head around the corner. "She's had a rough few days, please try to be nice? Please?"

Dad? This was her dad? He looked like he could pull a tree out of the ground with his bare talons! I was under no illusion that if he wanted to he could throw me out the window with ease, but he didn't.

"Only for you." He muttered, rolling his eyes and dumping a heavy looking equipment bag in the room, landing with a thud and hitting the table, knocking the radio to life. After another quick glance back at me he left the room.

"Sorry about him, he's always grumpy when he gets back from work. He'll be fine later, I promise." Make Do said, coming into the room and tucking the bag away in a corner.

"T-T-T-That's your dad?!" I politely enquired.

"Well he's definitely not my mom." She replied with a flat stare.

"B-but he's huge! Gigantic!"

"Aaaaand? He's still my dad." Make Do said, perplexed. I took a breath and realised that him being the size of a bull didn't have anything to do with it at all.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect your dad to be a Griffon." I explained. This was true. I also didn't expect her dad to be so scary, but I thought it'd probably be rude to say that out loud.

"It's fine, nopony ever does. I mean, who would, right?" She giggled, heading back out the door. "Don't lie around too long now, we've got stuff to do!"

Having stuff to do was news to me. What stuff? How was I involved?

Make Do didn't shut the door behind her, so I could kind of hear vague conversation coming from the kitchen. Her raspy, high voice contrasting with the rumbling baritone of her dad. I couldn't hear well enough to make out what exactly they were talking about though. The drizzle seemed to have become full on rain now, and the radio was buzzing and popping away. So much for the quiet.

I sighed and curled myself up into a semi-comfy position, no longer feeling like I'd be able to fall back asleep. I really didn't expect Make Do's dad to be quite so intimidating. Intimidating was the right word for him, his size, features, and demeanour, though I had only seen him very briefly, were all very, very intimidating. I hoped what the unicorn had said about him being fine later was right.

I shuffled around a few times on the bed, trying to get myself into a better position. I may not have been able to go back to sleep, but that didn't mean I wanted to get up yet either.

"Just your favorite DJ savior, it's Tremolo!" Crackled the radio, a new voice this time. A young mare, by the sounds of it. "Bringing you through the morning with all the best tunes, or at least the best we could find. Baltimare, to me you're all grand, so here's a classic from The Andravidas Sisters."

An ancient sounding song started to play. It sounded like something my grandmother would listen to. Not my cup of tea, and annoyingly for me, while it wasn't loud enough to be very obtrusive, it was just too loud to ignore outright.

I tried to get comfortable for a couple of minutes, but with my plan to lie in thoroughly ruined, I decided to get up. I poked around the bag Make Do's dad dropped in, but I wasn't one to invade another's privacy, so I left it at that and made my way into the bathroom. Peering in the mirror, I couldn't deny that I did have something of a vagrant look about me, though that didn't mean I resented the comment any less. I had a severe case of bedmane and my eyes were tired and sunken.

I turned to get in the shower, but remembered that I didn't really have any means to operate it. Grumbling that today was already off to a less than stellar start, I left to go and find Make Do to operate the shower for me.

It was an oddly mundane feeling, that even in this post-war apocalypse, other ponies showers still seemed weird to operate.

Make Do and her dad were both sat at the table, talking about something or other. I quietly walked into the room, not wanting to interrupt them. She seemed to be hanging off his every word. He was talking about whatever it was he had been out doing, and she was more than happy to listen to him. Something about the look on his face said that he was genuinely happy to be here talking with her. As odd a pair as they were, I couldn't deny there was a bond between them.

"Oh, Silver, you're up!" The unicorn said, spotting me in the doorway. She beckoned me over to the table, and the griffon seemed to flip a switch, going from warm and talkative back to the cold and gruff character he'd been earlier. I took a seat between them, suddenly feeling very awkward.

I could feel his eyes on me, dissecting me. It was a very unnerving, uncomfortable experience. Make Do seemed totally unaware of this, happily munching away on the last bites of an apple.

"So!" She said, finishing her food and looking at me with a smile. "Dad's volunteered to-"

"Agreed to, not volunteered. You kept asking me." He cut in.

"Same thing. Anyway, dad's agreed to help teach you some survival basics today! I'll be around for some of it, but I've got some stuff to take care of in town, so he's gonna take over from me later." She finished.

I glanced at the hulk of a griffon and then back to the petite unicorn.

"S-survival basics?" I asked.

"Yeah, y'know, so you don't die. I don't know how much time you spent out in the wild before, but I can guarantee it's way different now than it was back then. Besides, even if you know about this kind of stuff, it can't hurt to have a reminder." She explained, leaning back in her chair. "Don't worry, it's only gonna be basic stuff, we're not gonna hurl you into badlands or anything. Just everyday stuff, fires, foraging, fighting, so on."

"F-f-fighting!?" I exclaimed. I don't think I wanted lessons in fighting from a predator an entire head taller than me. "I-I'm not planning on starting any fights!"

The griffon simply sighed and covered his face with his claws.

"Dad, please, I told you she'd be a complete newbie to all this, that's the whole reason we're doing it." Make Do piped up.

He just grumbled and motioned a claw to continue.

"Anyway, you best get ready, we're good to leave, we were only waiting for you." She said, getting up and slinging a saddlebag across her back.

"Right now?" I asked.

"Right now. I figured we'd leave before you had a chance to eat so we had an incentive to work on your foraging skills, heh." The unicorn said, trotting to the door and rifling through her bag. Her dad had gotten up and left the room. "Weather's not great so it's probably a good idea to get your jumpsuit on, it can get pretty chilly out in the rain."

I did as she said, and wandered back into the bedroom in search of the jumpsuit. The griffon was in there too, looking through his own bag. I stopped just shy of the door and saw him pulling out a very scary looking gun, counting out a few magazines before slipping them into pouches on his armour.

Nervously, I entered the room. He glanced up at me, but quickly went back to whatever he was doing. I quickly put the jumpsuit on, noting it's extra heft and stiffness from the metal plates Make Do had attached. It certainly felt sturdier, more protective, though I didn't really want to test that protectiveness out.

There was a clacking sound, and the griffon left the room with a big scary gun slung around his neck on a strap. I guessed that meant that it was time to go and followed him back out into the hallway and back to Make Do, who was now sporting a bag and jacket, and was fiddling around with some kind of plastic sheet.

"Here, you might want this." She said, floating over a patch of tarp. She had one herself and had fixed it around her head as a form of makeshift rain hood.

My own hood in place, she opened the door and we all stepped outside.

It was kind of chilly, but the rain wasn't really a downpour, it was more like a light shower. Make Do's dad set off, with the mare and me following behind him. We took a left turn out of the scrapyard, and I was now into unfamiliar territory.

"Foraging is the easy part, since a lot of the plants around here are safe to eat." Make Do said, turning back to face me as we trotted down the road. "You ever pick wild food before, Silver?"

"Um, not really. I was in the Filly Guides for a little bit when I was younger, I kinda did a little bit back then I guess." I replied, straining my memory to remember back that far.

"That's cool. Like I said, it's pretty easy, most things around here are fine to eat, just thought it'd be useful if you know what to look for in the first place!" She finished, smiling and facing forwards again.

When was the last time I ever spent any real time in the open country? Far too long, not since I'd moved to the mainland at least. Maybe this could be a nice escape from everything for a while? Nature was always relaxing.

The rolling plains and fields had begun to give way to to wooded areas, and we drew closer to a forest that looked like it had seen better days. Most of the trees were dead, but a few still clung to life. The underbrush was thick and dense, parted only by the crumbling remains of the tarmac that cut thought it.

"We should find a little bit of everything in here. Silver, I'll show you what's what." Make Do said as we reached the treeline. The griffon spread his wings, and with a powerful thrust pushed himself into the air, perching on a particularly thick branch up high and looking out back the way we'd come. Silver had wandered into the brush already leaving me to catch up. The ground was thick with long fallen leaves and soft moss, the earth itself soft and spongy from the rain.

Make Do was stood by a small, sad looking tree, with almost autumnal looking yellow leaves sprouting all over. On the ends of some of the branches were purplish looking lumpy bulbs, almost like a plum gone very, very wrong. The mare pulled one from the tree, floating it over to me before picking another one for herself.

"This is a Mutfruit. I've never seen it in any of the old recipes I've found, so I think it must be a post-megaspell kind of thing, probably new to you I guess." She explained, I nodded, I'd never seen anything like it before. "They're pretty common, the plants seem to grow all over the place. Fruit's not bad, got a kind of crunch to it, kinda like a mix of an apple and a cherry?"

I looked the thing over. It almost looked like a bunch of grapes, if all the grapes were comically overgrown and there were only a few of them.

I turned it around, inspecting it from all angles. It was very unfamiliar, that was certain. The colour seemed inconsistent, there were lighter patches all over and lumps on some bits. The thing apparently being the result of a world-ending event wasn't doing it any favours in my book either. I shot a skeptical look at Make Do. She'd already started eating.

"C'mon, it's not gonna bite you. It's a fruit." She said flatly, taking another bite.

I sighed and shook my head. She was right, I suppose, and seeing her eating one did make me more comfortable that it wasn't toxic or anything. I lifted the thing to my mouth, taking a bite out of it. It was not unpleasant, and quite juicy. Crunchy, as described, and it did indeed taste a little like the bastard offspring of an apple and a cherry. Something of a bitter aftertaste to it, though.

"Not bad, right? Better than nothing for breakfast, anyway." The mare said, throwing away the stem of her fruit. "Let's see what else we can find. Shouldn't take too long. To be honest most folks get their food from town, but it never hurts to know what to look for in a pinch."

We began to move deeper into the woods, the trees thickened even more, the undergrowth thinning out slightly. The ground was clearer, but despite looking around for what felt like at least half an hour, we found a few examples of other food, a few wild carrots (which I could identify anyway), the funkiest looking acorns I'd ever seen, some wild mushrooms, and some strange glowing fungus that I was adamant was going no where near my mouth.

"Shoot, guess somepony else must've passed through and harvested all the good stuff, sorry Silver. I'll show you around the market sometime, you'll see plenty of stuff you can forage for there." Make Do said, frustrated. We made our way back to the road, and back towards her dad.

A loud crack rang out, causing me to jump out of my skin. The griffon was still perched in the tree, but was now holding the big rifle, aiming down. We trotted over to see what was going on, on the road was a grotesque lump of a creature, spherical and covered in tumors, topped off with dirty looking gossamer wings, and pointed spines all over. The ground below it was stained with a puddle of nasty looking green blood.

"Ugh, I thought we'd cleared all these things out." Make Do said, kicking the body out of the road with a thump and wiping her hoof on her jacket.

"What is that?" I asked, covering my noise with a hoof. The thing smelled awful.

"Bloatsprite." Said the griffon, gravelly voice booming out. He glided down from the tree, the breeze he created washing over me, and landed in front of us. "They get everywhere."

"They're easy enough to take care of, but if they get the jump on you they can shoot some nasty stingers." Make Do elaborated. "Don't worry though, dad'll show you how to handle them!"

He grumbled and rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of which" The mare said, looking at her PipBuck. "I gotta go, Ms. Fowl's asked me if I could build her a new fence, keep the dogs out of the chicken coops and all!"

After everything I've seen so far, that sounded pleasantly normal.

"I'll leave you two to it, I should be back before sunset anyway. Catch you later!" She said cheerfully, turning and following the road further into the forest.

That left me alone with the imposing griffon. I looked at him and he looked at me. Neither of us spoke. It was intensely awkward. He huffed, and set started walking back out of the forest, down the road we'd come up.

"This way." He commanded. I didn't need to be told twice.

We silently ambled our way back towards the scrapyard. The ground was wet with puddles by now, the rain not getting any better or worse. I grimaced a little at the damp dirt building up around my fetlocks, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.

The quiet was unnerving. Only the breeze, the drizzle, and my own rhythmic hoofalls coupled with the odd scratching sounds of talons on asphalt. I had my ears perked up for anything, on edge after the whole 'bloatsprite' thing. I didn't like that even the bugs were dangerous around here now, as if things weren't already bad enough. Was there anything out here that wasn't going to try and kill me?

A stiff breeze caused me to shiver. My jumpsuit had pretty much soaked through by this point. Being in the dry again would be most welcome.

Fortunately we weren't too far away from the scrapyard now, having reached the junction in the road. However, to my disappointment and confusion, the griffon carried on past the dirt path and further on down the road, towards the tunnel I'd passed through with Make Do the other day.

We walked past the old carts and signs I'd seen before, and back to the mouth of the tunnel. I was surprised to see that the body of the so called 'Radhog' was gone, thought the remaining puddle of congealed semi-washed away blood was enough to make me a little queasy.

We walked through the entrance and just past the piles of sandbags when the griffon stopped and fumbled around with something or other before the whole tunnel lit up in front of us, placing a very large industrial looking torch on the ground. I had a sinking feeling, I didn't know what would go into 'fighting' training, but it sounded like I was going to get hurt.

For the first time since we'd set off he turned back to look at me, emotionless and steely. I gulped.

"Alright, I don't know you, you don't know me. My daughter has very kindly asked if I could educate you on basic combat techniques, which she said you were obviously lacking." He said.

Was I really that bad? I hadn't had much time to prove myself one way or the other. I thought so, anyway.

"I'm going to assume that we're starting from scratch here, unless you prove otherwise." He continued, setting his gun down against the wall. "We've got a lot to cover, and my patience will only go so far. So unless you've got anything to say, I'd prefer to get started sooner rather than later."

"Um..." I said, wracking my mind to try and think of a way to delay the training. "W-what do I call you? I-I mean, it'd be kinda awkward to just call you 'Make Do's Dad', right?"

He smirked at that, the first real emotion I'd seen from him, even if it was only slight.

"Most ponies call me Sir, but seeing as I'm not on duty right now, and you're a friend of my daughter's, my name is Gabek Goldwing. Mr. Goldwing to you."

That was an odd name, didn't sound like any name I'd ever heard. But then again I hadn't really met any griffons before. And what did 'not on duty' mean anyway?

"If that's all then let's get started, I'd like to get back to enjoying my time off." He finished.

Crap, now I was out of time and my mind was blank of any possible distractions I could throw in. It looked like I was about to learn combat techniques from a big scary griffon. Maybe I could just say I didn't want to do this and that'd be that, but something told me that Make Do would find a way to make sure I had this lesson one way or another. I resigned, I was going to have to do this. And to be fair, Make Do was probably right, if the world was as dangerous as it seemed.

Celestia, that was a depressing thought.

"Usually I'd start with strength training and unarmed combat, but since I'm condensing everything down, and Make Do seems to think you've never used a gun before, firearms are probably a better place to start. It's preferable to take care of a threat before it has a chance to get close." He said, pulling a pistol from one of the pouches attached to his armour. "We'll start with this. It's pretty basic, but ammo is pretty easy to find, and it's a breeze to maintain. You'd do well to get used to it."

He passed the weapon to me and I looked it over. It was very similar to the revolver I'd found in the hub, though it seemed a lot cleaner and better maintained. I still wasn't all that excited about it being in my mouth though, I didn't know where it had been!

"It's better than nothing, but I'd suggest finding a battle saddle or a holster if you want to talk and not be utterly defenceless. A lot of folk prefer to settle things without words, though. Take from that what you will." He gestured to the gun and then to me, I took the hint and grabbed the handle with my mouth.

"It's not loaded at the moment, just in case, but honestly it's pretty hard for a pony to hold one of those things wrong." He said, inspecting my hold and getting awkwardly close to my face in the process. "It's pretty simple, point where you want to shoot and pull the trigger with your tongue. Line the sights up on the top at what you're trying to hit, the one on the end of the barrel should be in the middle of the two closer to you. The recoil from firing is going to mess up your aim for the next shot, it's going to want to pull your head back and sideways, so try to counter it. You've got six chances to hit something before you need to reload. And on that subject-"

He pulled a damp and worn looking cardboard box from one of his pouches, opening the top and revealing that it was full of loose bullets. He pulled six out and grabbed the barrel of the pistol, I let go of it and he took it, flipping the spinny bit out.

I'm sure it probably has a technical name.

"Let's see what you can do."

He put six bullets into the gun and pointed at a barrel further down the tunnel, just about illuminated from the torchlight.

"Don't point at anything you don't want to shoot. Try and hit that barrel over there, you've got six tries. And remember what I said about recoil." He gave the gun back to me, I got it sitting comfortably in my mouth and looked down the sights, squinting to line everything up.

I was pretty confident I had the thing aimed pretty well at the barrel. I put my tongue to the trigger and-

BLAM!

Shitting crikey that was loud! My ears pinned back, but they were already ringing. The sound reverberated off the tunnel walls, and I was glad we were stood right by the mouth or I'd imagine it'd be much worse. The recoil wasn't actually as bad as I was expecting, but still came as something of a surprise.

"Not bad, but you only grazed it. Try again."

I missed? I was really sure I had everything lined up. I got myself ready to fire again, this time keeping my ears folded preemptively. This time I was definitely sure it'd be a direct hit.

BLAM!

"You got it that time. Carry on." The griffon spoke. I was feeling a bit more confident now, it wasn't actually as bad as I had been expecting. I could even see the bullet hole I'd made on the surface of the target barrel.

I repeated my motions, firing off each shot quicker than the last as I adjusted and got used to the weapon. The whole thing ended with a click, I'd used up all my bullets. I took the gun out of my mouth and turned to Mr. Goldwing, who was inspecting the barrel.

"Well, color me impressed, you managed to get your shots closer together than most rookies. You've got a good eye, Silver, you might be a natural." He said, again with hints of a grin creeping in. I took the praise, but I still wasn't really sure if this was something I should be proud of being good at.

"That said, a barrel is a barrel, hitting something coming at you is a whole different can of worms. That, and being a crack shot means nothing if you're out of ammo." He passed me the box of bullets. "It can be tricky to reload with hooves. Pull back the little release tab there, the cylinder will open up."

I took the gun in my hooves and did as he said, and the spinny- cylinder, I guess, fell open.

"Now tip it back and tap the rod sticking out, that'll dislodge the old casings."

I pushed down on the rod, and the empty bullet casings fell to the ground with a clatter. I went to pick them up again, but was met with a quizzical look from Mr. Goldwing, so I stopped. It felt weird to just leave them though. Was it littering? I guess no one out here would really care, everything was in a pretty bad state anyway, I doubt these loose casings would be anyponies biggest concern.

"Now you just replace the bullets. Revolvers aren't the quickest thing to reload without a speed loader, if you manage to find one out there, but they're sturdy and reliable." He explained as I fumbled around with the bullets, trying to slot them in to the cylinder. He was right, it was tricky. I did manage to get them all in, but it was a pretty clumsy experience. Bullets are very hard to grasp with hooves! I bet unicorns have a much easier time of this, and griffons. Mr. Goldwing made it look effortless with his talons.

Stupid catbirds and their weird claw-digit-things.

"Close the cylinder again and you're good to go." He finished.

It closed with a satisfying click. I have to say it felt good to give it a spin, like in those old detective films. Mr. Goldwing didn't really see the humour in it though.

"Well, that's pretty much the basics for a gun like this. I'm not much of a teacher, but hopefully you won't be totally defenceless now. I'll set up some other targets for you. Spend some time getting used to the gun, you'll probably end up using more than you think." He said, skulking of further into the tunnel to arrange some other things to shoot at.

I just hoped he was wrong about how often I'd have to use this thing.

It was starting to get dark by the time we called it quits. We'd spent a couple of hours in the tunnel, shooting. I have to admit, it was actually kind of fun, even with the very scary griffon correcting me all the time. My ears certainly appreciated the quiet, though, they'd be ringing for a while after that.

I'd gone to give Mr. Goldwing the gun back, but to my surprise he told me to keep it, saying I'd need it much more than he would. It was in my front pocket, as I didn't have a holster, nor did I feel like carrying it around in my mouth all day.

Much to my joy, we didn't go in to any up close, unarmed fighting, though Mr. Goldwing did say that that'd come later. Much later, if my luck held on, I wasn't really looking forward to fighting with this absolute unit of a griffon.

We walked back to the scrapyard in silence, again. Still awkward, but it felt a little less hostile, which was progress I suppose. We'd managed to make it back before Make Do did. I didn't really know what to do with myself, whereas Mr. Goldwing went straight for the storage room. A curious peep inside revealed that he'd set himself up in a makeshift hammock between two shelves and was reading something or other, gently swaying from side to side. The most Dad-ly thing I'd seen him do so far.

I didn't have anything to read, or really anything to do at all for that matter. I tried to find something to do, finding a stack of old and kinda moldy old magazines on a shelf by the kitchen. I flipped through them, it made me feel like a I was in the waiting room for the dentist.

It suddenly crossed my mind that I'd not brushed my teeth since this whole mess began. That must have been five or six days now? I cautiously checked my breath. It was not good.

Making a mental note to find a toothbrush somewhere, I picked up the cleanest looking magazine in the pile. It was an old issue of Gemfinder's Monthly, and it had certainly seen better days. But, it was at least legible, and I could probably kill an hour or so flicking through it, as dry as it might be. No idea what made Make Do want to keep these cruddy old magazines anyway.

I made my way back to the bedroom and sat down, literature in hoof. I'd never been one for hunting gems really, my talent lies with precious metals, but it was at least relevant to jewelry and the like. I imagine I'd have found 'Terminal Topical' a lot less engaging.

This thing must have been left out in the sun for ages. Everything was faded, colours were totally gone, and even dark tones had turned to light greys. It was a struggle to make out a lot of the cover, but luckily inside had fared a little better.

It was, as expected, very dry. Most of it was focused more on the magic side of gem usage, which for obvious reasons left me pretty uninterested. The paper had gotten pretty brittle over time, and little bits of it crumbled away every time I turned the page.

The one thing I wasn't really counting on was me getting upset over adverts. I'd seen them all the time when I lived in town, in other magazines, billboards, all over. It was kind of a tangible thing. There was a full page spread for a new restaurant, La Scale, some kind of dragon-centric cuisine based around edible gems. I was vaguely familiar with it, I think I walked past it once or twice when the building was under construction. Very nicely presented and looking very fancy, and due to open next month. Er- was due to open the month after I became a statue. Years and years ago now, the place probably never even made it to it's opening day.

What month was it, anyway?

It was very odd to be nostalgic for a place I'd never even been to, a place that never even saw the light of day. I supposed it was probably odd to be nostalgic at all, everything I knew was still only a few days ago in my memory. But still, it was all gone, and by the nature of the total annihilation that had ravaged the country, I was no doubt going be constantly presented with relics from my own time, constant reminders of when things were good. Or at least much better than they are right now.

I scanned the advert taking everything in. It was all beautifully painted, the image of a resplendent looking stone building, a smiling family in the front, a team of dragons working in the kitchen. All worn with time, the paper damaged by years of neglect, everything left to rot. Much like the entire country, I supposed.

My mood was thoroughly ruined, and the worst part is that I knew that this would happen time and time again, any time I saw something I recognised.

Sighing, I flipped the page over and stared. I didn't really have it in me to read any of it anymore. It just sat on the floor, sadly looking up at me. I was probably the first pony to open it in a long, long time.

I got stuck in that strop for a few minutes, until the sound of the front door slamming open shook me out of it.

"'Mmm backh!" Came Make Do's muffled voice. I got up and trotted out of the room to meet her. She was in the doorway, closing a battered looking umbrella (that I'm very sure she didn't have when we left) with her magic, and carrying a basket in her mouth. She was also now sporting a rather large bandage on her right hind leg, and it was clear that she was limping a bit as she walked to the table.

"What happened?" I asked. She dumped the basket on the table before speaking.

"Those dogs we were trying to keep out turned up before I finished the fence, lots of them. They didn't go down without a fight, but we managed to keep them away from the chickens!" She explained, smiling.

"Are you okay? That's a big bandage." I pointed out.

"I'll be fine, only one of them got me, and it wasn't that bad. Ms. Fowl patched me up, even gave me that umbrella for the trouble, she's so sweet." She replied, waving off my concern and flicking on the stove. "I hope you like eggs, because I got a lot of them."

I poked at the lid of the basket, lifting it up slightly. She did have a lot of eggs. A lot of eggs.

"That, um, that is a lot of eggs."

"Yeah, we didn't know how to work out payment so we agreed on a gross. Did you know that's 144 eggs? I had no idea!" She replied, beaming and floating a few of the eggs over to the kitchen.

I was at a loss as to how she was going to keep this many eggs unless we were literally going to have eggs for every meal, which in all fairness wasn't beyond the realm of possibilities. Still, it was actually kind of nice to know that there were still ponies out there farming, there was still food to be produced, and trade to be had for it. That was a good sign for society getting back on it's hooves, I hoped.

I sat at the table, content to just watch her cook for a while. I'd have offered to help out, but my cooking skills were sub-par to say the least, and she seemed to have a handle on things anyway, injured or not. The sound of frying filled the room as egg after egg flew into the pan, leaving me with the distinct impression that dinner tonight was going to be a bit samey.

The sizzling eventually stopped and was replaced with the clattering of age old plates, the scraping of utensils, and the shimmer of magic. Make Do brought over three totally laden dishes, full to the point of spilling over with just fried eggs. A lot more than I'm sure most ponies could eat in one sitting. I internally sighed, I might as well get used to it because from the look of things, this was going to be all our meals for quite a while now. Still, I couldn't be too upset about free food, it was certainly a lot better than no food.

"Dad, dinner!" Shouted Make Do as she sat down at the table, already tearing into the meal.

The griffon sauntered into the room, taking his own place at the table, and with enthusiasm the likes of which I'd never seen before, practically demolished his meal. I was sat wide eyed, shocked at the voraciousness of this leviathan of a griffon. He looked back at me and smirked, the most expressive I'd seen him today.

"C'mon Silver, it's gonna get cold." Make Do prompted. I broke my gaze away and picked up a fork, eating at a steady pace, still unsure as to how that much food made it into that griffon that quickly. He was now reclined back in his chair, inspecting his talons.

I looked at Make Do, and while not as fast as her dad, she was certainly no slouch either, having already gotten through most of her dinner. Did either of them even taste any of it? I'd not seen Make Do eat like this before. She must just really like eggs, I guess.

While she wasn't as fast as her dad she was certainly a lot more messy, managing to get yolk all over her muzzle, and some of it even ending up in her forelock. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, she was eating like a foal.

"What's funny?" She asked.

"You, um-snnnrk- you got some on..." I gestured to her face, trying to hold back a full blown laugh. She wiped her face with a hoof, only managing to smear food all over her face.

"Did I get it?"

I couldn't hold it in any more, it was such a feeble attempt, and she just looked ridiculous. I burst out laughing, cackling at the sight in front of me, struggling for breath and snorting. It was just too good, and Make Do still looked clueless. All those nights alone after work, and the time I'd spent here, it had been a while since I'd laughed this much.

It felt good to laugh.

Level up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Steady Aim - Stay on target! You accuracy is improved when using small guns.

New Perk (Make Do): Toughness - When you are tough, you take less damage. Each level of this Perk will add +10% to your general damage resistance.

Chapter Four: Baltimare According To MD

Chapter Four: Baltimare According To MD

"Once upon an apocalypse, so better make the most of it."

The day started earlier than normal, and I had the pleasant sensation of well rested to boot. I guess not getting plastered, a proper meal and exercise will do that to a pony.

I'd been sleeping better the last couple of days. It probably helped that I was actually out of the house and doing things. After the first foraging/training session, Make Do had been sure to get me outside for further lessons. We'd been going further afield with the foraging, enough that I'd kind of gotten used to seeing the city ruins in the distance. Still very unpleasant, but bearable.

I was kind of beginning to grasp what I needed to look for food wise. And at one point Mr. Goldwing's lesson did come in handy, traipsing through the woods by the old Barnyard Bargains we ran into five or six disgustingly enormous cockroaches, which came at us. I managed to take some of them down myself with the pistol, though I was a little queasy when Make Do started harvesting the bodies for bug meat. I could do without that, no matter how useful she said it was.

Things had slowly started to make some sense, I suppose. A basic grasp of the world around me was better than none at all. Still though, I had essentially spent the last couple of days alternating between self-pity and ignoring the problem.

I sighed and looked out the window. It wasn't too early, it wasn't dark outside or anything, but I think it was still earlier than I was used to waking up over the last few mornings. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and sat up with a yawn. I'd become so used to waking up late with a headache and a horrible racket that a quiet morning was a little odd.

The sky outside was grey, as it had been every day I'd spent here so far. Was this a part of the whole 'end of the world' thing? Because it definitely used to be a lot sunnier before. One of my favourite things to do was to visit the park on a sunny day, any season, they all looked beautiful in their own way. That was another thing I'd probably not get to do again.

Fantastic, not even 5 minutes into the day and I'd already managed to depress myself.

I kicked the sheets off and sat on the edge of the bed, yawning again. I wished there was a working clock somewhere in this shack, but if there was I was yet to find it. My mouth was dry, but after yesterday I wasn't really in a hurry to find anything to eat, because I knew full well that it would just be more eggs.

Rather than sit in silence any longer I decided to turn the radio on, for background noise if nothing else. Make Do had explained to me that it was very temperamental and seemed to switch itself on and off as it pleased, but on the occasion that it was dormant, a swift smack to the top while playing with the volume knob was enough to jolt it to life. One knock later and the thing was happily chirping away. Or really more like lethargically crackling, but it was producing sound nonetheless.

"-reported exodus of zombies out of the Z Quarter and into surrounding areas, so be wary out there, we wouldn't want any of you dear listeners getting hurt! And finally, the Super Seal infestation around the old Merriweather dock has been taken care of by the fine folks from Eclipse, with creative use of nets and flamethrowers. The results have been described as 'delicious'."

Ew.

"That's everything for this hour, this is Tremolo for Radio Bayside, and coming up we have the twangy sounds of Jet Shadow with the slickly titled 'The Mare With The Golden Hoof'. The sleeve says this was a movie theme, anypony ever seen a movie before?"

The mare finished her chirping and the song began to play, it was twangy as promised. I wasn't really paying much attention to it, I was bemused by the whole thing about zombies? On top of everything we had zombies now? As in the dead walking amongst the living? What in Luna's name was all that about? That couldn't be real. And I didn't even know where to start with these 'Super Seals'.

Point proven: even if I was getting used to it, I still didn't have a proper understanding of what was going on. I was still a relative stranger to this Equestria, I didn't know all that much about anything yet. All I had to go on so far was what I'd seen and heard myself, and the few things Make Do had explained to me. If I was really going to be stuck here now, it would be more than worth putting the work in and finding out for myself, rather than roaming around blind. I reasoned that if Make Do wanted to acclimatise me to living in this wasteland, she'd probably be the one to ask about, well, everything. That was at least something to do, so I shifted off the bed and out the door, looking for the unicorn in question.

There was no sign of her in the living area, and the table and kitchen looked as they had at the end of dinner last night. There was no sound coming from the workshop either, and a quick look inside revealed that it too was empty. Unless she was in the storage room, which I doubted, that only left the one door on the right, the only one I'd not opened yet.

I didn't know what it was, but I deducted that it was probably the mare's room, unless she was sleeping outside with the scrap metal every night. I raised my hoof to knock only to be caught off guard by a renegade drop of water falling from the ceiling, ice cold and following down the nape of my neck, startling me and causing me to yelp in surprise. I angrily looked up to find the source of the leak, only to be hit square in the eye by another drip. I don't know what it had mixed with, but it stung, and again caused me to yelp, leaving me sat on the floor trying to blink any trace of the offending drip away.

My ears snapped forwards as the door opposite me creaked opened. From the darkness of the room stepped forward a tired, dishevelled looking Make Do, unsteady on her hooves, trying and failing to suppress a yawn.

"Silver? What's going on? I heard yelling." She asked blearily, blinking a couple of times as her eyes adjusted, looking at me in confusion. "Uh, you okay there?"

"Fine! I'm fine!" I said, still trying to clear my eye, and rubbing my neck to try and get rid of the trail from the first drop. I'm sure it wasn't a very strong look. Likewise, it was evidently clear that Make Do had just woken up, and that was probably my fault. "Sorry to wake you, I wanted to talk about some things, but it can wait."

"Well, I'm up now, no point in going back to bed." She said, running a hoof through her mane, causing it to stick up at odd angles in odd places. She trotted to the kitchen and lit the stove, putting what looked like a crudely fashioned kettle over it. I noticed she still wasn't walking right, limping, not putting as much weight on her injured leg.

"Leg still bad?" I asked, not so subtly looking at her bandages.

"It'll take more than a few mangy dogs to keep me down." She said with a smirk before grabbing two old and chipped mugs, putting them on the counter. "And I'm sure you didn't wake me up to ask about my leg, so, what did you want to talk about?"

I watched as she pulled out a battered looking tin from under the counter and scooped some brown powder into both cups. I could tell by the smell already that it was coffee. Instant coffee, but coffee nonetheless.

That was most welcome indeed.

"Well, um..." I started, keeping an eye on the mugs as the kettle started to whistle. "I've been here for a few days now, and I've been listening to the news on the radio, and, well, I guess it's just- I don't really understand anything, nothing they're talking about sounds familiar, nothing outside looks like how I remember it. I'm still confused about everything."

Make Do filled both mugs with boiling water, stirring with a small spoon. The smell was getting to me already, I was very, very ready for some coffee.

"Hmm, that does sound confusing."

She floated the cups over to the table, setting each down at a chair. I followed her over and took a seat, lifting the mug to my lips and taking a sip. It was very hot, and definitely the cheaper kind, but I'd not had coffee in days and the warmth was a nice sensation. I needed something to wake me up some more anyway.

Just how long did this stuff keep for?

Make Do was contemplating, looking into her drink. I took another sip of my own. Even after all these decades, it still didn't taste any different from the quick and easy, cheap instant granules that I was very well acquainted with from college.

Seriously, how long did this stuff last? It wasn't just coffee either, a load of the food I'd seen was stuff I'd see in stores. Just how many preservatives did they manage to cram in to everything for it all to still be consumable? That thought kind of put me off my drink a little. Not enough to stop me from still drinking it, but now I was drinking it with reservations. It's different that way.

"Okay, uh, I guess I should start from the beginning?" She said, sounding unsure. "I'll do my best, but I wasn't there, so take everything with a grain of salt."

She took a long sip from her mug, I watched her expectantly.

"So day one. Day zero? The day everything happened. Basically a load of Zebra Megaspells went off all over Equestria. Mostly Balefire bombs, but there were some different ones in some places, not really sure why. But the point is that pretty much anywhere that was important got blown up, and the radiation from those bombs is the reason a lot of places are still dangerous now. It also helped to mess up a lot of natural life, but we'll get to that later."

She paused to take another drink. It was weird to hear anypony talk about such massive devastation so casually.

"But basically, that was it." She continued. "The war ended, because there wasn't anypony to fight it anymore, really. Obviously though not everypony died. Some smaller towns and villages managed to escape being wiped off the map, and a lot of ponies made it to Stables too, so after a while communities started to form and new places were built."

I sipped my coffee again. This was interesting to hear, but none of the information was really new, I could have figured most of what she'd out by my self.

"After that, though, I'm not really sure what you want me to explain?" She asked, looking my way.

"Well, I guess I'd just like to know what all these things I'm heard but not seen are. Like, what's up with all these weird creatures? What's Red Rein? Where is Merriweather Pavilion?" I elaborated. "Stuff like that."

"Okay then, let's start with nature. The Balefire bombs weren't just big explosions, there was more to them than that. They left behind ridiculously high amounts of radiation too, and over time that changed animals, plants, ponies, pretty much anything alive, if they stuck around too long. Most things just died, but some changed. Take the Radhogs, at some point long ago, used to be regular pigs, but radiation changed that, and I'm sure Taint didn't help either."

"Taint?" I inquired.

"More nasty stuff. Don't really know what it is, but if you see any barrels leaking rainbows then stay as far away as possible." She elaborated. "Anyway, what I'm getting at is that most of the animals and plants you'll see out there are just the messed up descendants of ones that have always been around."

That was not reassuring at all, although the phrase 'nothing new under the sun' seemed quite apt. Maybe. She did say 'most of' and not 'all'.

"Moving on, Red Rein are awful awful ponies and with luck we'll never have to cross paths with them." She hurriedly stated, not really explaining anything.

"Merriweather Pavilion is trading post on the coast, I think it used to be some kind of promenade or something before the war, but now it's basically the hub of Baltimare trade." She paused, contemplating something or other. "Hey, I know! The quickest way to answer your questions would be to show you, right? We'll go to the Pavilion today! There'll be tons of stuff on the way that'll explain!"

This isn't what I signed up for. I tried to tell her this, but I was too slow, she'd already gotten up and had trotted back into her room.

"Maybe we'll find a way to earn you some caps, too." She called.

To be fair I guess I kind of dug myself into a hole with this one. I sighed and finished off my coffee. There was going to be a lot of walking today.

What's a cap?

"Your dad's not coming?" I asked, waiting outside the front door. I'd gotten back into my jumpsuit, and with Make Do's help now had a makeshift holster to carry the pistol around with. It wasn't much more than a glorified rag holding the weapon to my chest, but it did the job.

"Nah, he's going out later anyway, and he said there wasn't anything he needed in town." The mare replied, filling a saddlebag up with assorted junk and slinging it over her back, gun hung around her neck. "Good to go?"

"Yeah, lead on."

Make Do called out a goodbye before stepping out the door. The ground was damp, but it wasn't raining so that was a bonus I guess. We walked in companionable silence down the path, onto the road, and into the tunnel that was by now starting to get rather familiar. It was uneventful up to there, but internally I was preparing myself for a good look at the city up close. I didn't think we'd actually be heading into Baltimare proper, but we'd be getting much closer than I'd been so far. It would be an experience, shall we say, and I was already pre-compartmentalising my feelings about the matter.

I had kind of been onto the path of accepting ruined Baltimare's place on the horizon, but I wasn't really sure I was ready for all the gritty details.

"H-hey, Make Do?" I called out, voice reverberating off the tunnel walls.

"MD, remember. Only my dad calls me Make Do, it's weird to hear it from anyone but him."

"Right, MD." I corrected. "We're not actually going into Baltimare, are we?"

"Nah, that'd be like a baptism by fire for you, closest we'll get is coasting through the outskirts." She said, looking back at me. "City centre's full of all kinds of nasties, both ponykind and others. It's quicker to cut through the outside anyway."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Well, it depends." She continued. "Most of the settlements around here, good and bad, are in or near the city. It can be a dangerous place if you don't know where you're going, so until we can get you a map you're going to want to stick with me. Some areas are fine, but there are places even the ballsiest mercs wouldn't go, the place is a deathtrap if you don't know your way around. We don't have to go through today, but sooner or later you'll end up in the city. For the time being, just remember to stay close, I know what I'm doing." She finished, winking at me and carrying on forward. I just rolled my eyes at her.

Internally though, I was digesting what she'd just said. That all sounded pretty heavy, but it felt odd because what she said wasn't entirely unexpected. This place was beginning to rub off on me, for better or for worse.

At least I still knew my way around the city streets. Well, probably. If the skyline was anything to go by then there was some serious damage done, I wouldn't be surprised if many roads had been blocked by debris, or even just flat out buried. A melancholy thought.

We exited the tunnel and rounded the corner to the shopping cart strewn entry road to the old Barnyard Bargains. The view of the city from the decrepit store was one I'd seen a few times since that first day, Make Do had insisted the shop would make a perfect introduction to scavenging 'pre-war items', though only once we'd arrived did she remember that there wasn't really anything left to scavenge.

Unlike the other times I'd been there though, we kept moving past, heading downhill and towards the city. The trees thinned out and I got more of a look of the open countryside, but it wasn't really all that different from the land around Make Do's house. Off to the right I could start to see the coast in the distance, though the sea looked a rather unpleasant shade of greyish-green. Still, it made for a change from the scorched grassland that seemed to be everywhere else.

Was 'scorched grassland' just a big thing here, or was this how most of Equestria looked now? I couldn't believe that a few crafty Earth ponies wouldn't have gotten to work getting the land living again. Even I could feel how sorry it was, and I didn't even work with plants! I get that living in a place like this gives a pony different priorities, but the earth was calling our for some serious TLC, and I couldn't be the only one to feel it.

Maybe if I knew what I was doing then I could have done something, but as much as knowing the land was in my Earth pony nature, my talents lie elsewhere. I was pretty sure I'd be useless.

We marched onwards, closing the distance to the city. The number of wrecks on the road had started to increase, burnt out carts, trashed carriages, even one caravan which rather gruesomely still had a charred skeleton inside. I tried to hurry past that one as quickly as I could.

I had come face to face with a skeleton inside a storage room at Barnyard Bargains. Scared me half to death, Make Do found the whole thing hilarious. She said after seeing so many skeletons around, they just become part of the scenery. I thought that was absolutely dreadful, everypony deserves a proper burial. I suppose to be fair, everypony who would care would be dead and gone by now, and anypony around now, again, probably had more important things to worry about.

It still didn't make it right, though. Not that there was much I could do about it, I was only one mare and as horrible as it might be, there were a lot of bodies scattered around.

On that chipper note, we turned off the road and onto a junction that joined the main road into Baltimare. It was really the same state of affairs, but wider. Make Do said we'd be on this road for the next few miles, since it was the most direct route to the outskirts.

I could see things getting closer. We were drawing into a little roadside rest stop that appeared to be boarded up and crumbling. Make Do said we'd be stopping by and started veering towards it, with me in tow behind her. There was a steady stream of grey smoke billowing out from a small campfire, and behind a little makeshift table, was sat a short-ish, plump looking bat pony mare with a muddy brown coat and slate grey mane. I'd never seen a bat pony before, so this was a surprise for me.

"Heya, Ms. Fowl!" Make Do called out. The mare glanced over and waved happily.

"Good morning, MD, thought I heard you coming! How's the leg? All okay, I hope." She said, large tufted ears folding flat. This must be the Ms. Fowl whose fence Make Do had fixed.

"Don't worry about it, it'll be right as rain soon enough." Make Do answered, giving said leg an experimental flex.

"If you say so, dearie, just don't push yourself." Ms. Fowl replied, giving Make Do a warm look before glancing to me. "And who's your friend here?"

"Ah, Ms. Fowl, this is Silver Sterling!" The unicorn said, gesturing to me. "She's, uh, she's new here."

"Hello." I said, nodding to the new mare. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, so polite! The pleasure's all mine!" She replied with a smile which showed off two little fangs, and a pair of very vibrant golden eyes. "My name's Tawny Fowl, but most folks around here just call me Ms. Fowl. My family run a little chicken farm a mile or so east of Make Do's house, but I spend most of my time here selling my produce, you're welcome to stop by any time!"

"I'm showing Silver around town, tryna keep her from getting lost." Make Do explained, before turning to face me. "This is the Coastal Junction Rest Stop, a lot of ponies heading Baltimare way stop here for food and supplies and stuff."

I nodded, that made sense, I supposed. It wasn't the prettiest place, but Ms. Fowl seemed pleasant enough, and I already knew all about her produce. Honestly I didn't think I could take much more of it, several days worth of fried and scrambled eggs will do that to a pony.

"Well, since you're new in town, how about an omelette for the road? My treat!" The bat pony mare asked, looking at me with the sweetest, most genuine smile I'd seen in a very long time. My reason faltered, I was sucked into her gaze. I couldn't say no to this mare.

"Th-that sounds lovely." I croaked through a forced smile. Even thought I'd just met her, I had a feeling I'd feel like a terrible pony if I let Ms. Fowl down in any way, she was just too nice.

"No pony can ever say no to a Tawny Fowl omelette!" She beamed, walking over to the fire and setting up a pan. "I'll fix you one right up, it'll be ready in a jiffy!"

I grimaced as she cracked an egg on the rim of the pan. I'm not sure I ever even want to see an egg ever again after this.

It was light, it was fluffy, it was made from eggs. Have you ever had eggs? They're bucking incredible.

It shouldn't really be possible for somepony to make something so delicious with such rudimentary equipment and ingredients in a place so run down, and yet Ms. Fowl had done it. I think Make Do was a little bit jealous, Ms. Fowl insisted that my 'first one's on the house', and I think she wanted a free omelette too.

If the ponies around here are anything like Ms. Fowl, maybe things wouldn't be as bad as I was expecting them to be. Granted the scenery wasn't holding much promise, but the ponies here so far had all been fine. Make Do was... odd, but seemed to be dependable, Mr. Goldwing was fine, I suppose, and I've already spoken a fair amount of Ms. Fowl. There had been a couple of other ponies I didn't catch the names of at the rest stop too, selling water and odds and ends. All amiable enough really.

We'd left the rest stop and had carried on down the highway. The journey had continued to be pretty uneventful, other than a brief altercation with a very large, dark, sickly looking bird that Make Do had called a 'Knifebeak'. Upon passing the carcass, I decided that it was pretty aptly named, I certainly wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of an attack from one of these things. Make Do had said that on their own they were easy to take care off, but got dangerous in flocks. I had no reason to doubt. I made sure I stayed ready to go for my gun after that.

We'd left the highway as it transitioned into a bypass, following another road into the very southernmost outskirts. We'd be cutting through the streets and heading east to Horseshoe Bay, which Merriweather Pavillion overlooked, so I had been told. After that it didn't take me long to work out that we were actually talking about Sea Spray Promenade. No idea why it'd been renamed, but at least I had some kind of mental map as to where we were heading now.

Speaking of a mental map, I was starting to get my bearings back a little. I'd never really spent much time in the south of the city before, but even in the state Baltimare was in, I could follow the roads (street signs permitting), and there were still a few landmarks I could recognise. The Bronco Seltzer Clock tower still stood proudly to the north of us, even if it was looking a little worse for wear. I wonder if any of the clock faces still worked? I doubt it, but things like that were built to last. Paying more attention to it, there was something on the roof of the tower too, some kind of shack or tent. Guess somepony had decided to call it home, for whatever reason.

Most of the buildings were what I was expecting. Row after row of ruined shops and business, torn up roads, piles of rubble. At least the streets were clear enough to walk along without much issue, but it was very eerie to walk through a place I knew should be bustling yet was so cold and empty.

We were approaching a place Make Do had told me was called Fortune, it was a little community built up in what was the Saint Augernon neighbourhood. I assumed we were coming up to it anyway, because all I could see in front of me was what I could best describe as a junk wall cutting through the road. It was about four times as tall as I was, and was made nearly entirely out of old billboards, road signs, girders, beams and rubble. There was even some razorwire spread out along the top to stop anypony trying to climb over. Not that it'd do anything to deter pegasi, though.

"Okay, stick with me through the gate, they know me here so you should get in with me no problem." Make Do said as we drew closer. "Try not to wander too far, this place is busy and not everypony is all that friendly."

It wasn't long before we came up on the entrance. It was basically just a big wooden gate with a couple of guards on the outside, an Earth pony and a Unicorn, both stallions. They were wearing crudely made armour that looked to be mostly scrap metal and some kind of thick bluish fabric.

Also for some reason they were both wearing old, worn out police caps. I couldn't make head nor tail out of that.

As we approached the guard on the left pointed us out to the guard on the right. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but after a moment they both started smoothing out their uniforms and adjusting their hats. The one on the left leaned on the wall nonchalantly, the one on the right began inspecting his gun. I looked at Make Do. She shrugged and carried on walking up to the gate.

"Oh, hey there MD, didn't see you coming." The guard on the left said. He was an earth pony, soft lavender with a blonde mane, and his eyes were half liddled. "What can I do you for? Come all this way to see little ol' me?"

"Pfft, in your dreams, why would she waste her time on you when she could have a real stallion?" The unicorn guard retorted, flexing a foreleg and waggling his eyebrows. He had a creamy white coat and a two tone green mane. "Like what you see?"

Where they for real?

"Shove off, Twinkle." Make Do said, causing the unicorn to frown.

"Hey, that's Officer Star to you." He said. The other guard snickered.

"Oh, so cold now?" Make Do feigned hurt for a second, before turning to the earth pony. "And you can quit giggling, we're just passing through, but I've got a little business to take care of while I'm here."

"You're way less fun when you're sober." The earth pony complained, standing back upright. "Maybe your pretty filly friend there is more fun?"

Oh Celestia no.

"Hey there, beautiful." Officer Star said, attention now solely on me. "Not seen you around here before, what's your name?"

"Do you guys ever get laid?" Make Do said with a flat look. "Just open the damn gate."

"Spoilsport." The earth pony replied. Regardless, they did as she asked and opened the gate with us. "Just be sure to spend some more caps while you're here. If the 'business' you're taking care of is anything like the last time, the mayor'll be thrilled."

"Can we not talk about that?" Make Do asked, ears flat. Odd.

"Whatever."

"Have a great day, cutie." Officer Star said to me as we walked by, giving me a wink. "I'll see you around."

Well, that was an uncomfortable exchange. The less of that the better.

"Asses." Make Do mumbled to herself. The gate closed behind us, and I took a good look around.

This place was strange. It looked like it was essentially just a few city blocks that had had some of the streets walled off. However, it seemed to be thriving. It was packed with ponies, there were vendor stalls all over, and even the buildings looked in a better state than any of the others I'd seen so far. This was a place where ponies where living, not just surviving.

That was good. Fortune was the first settlement I'd visited outside of Make Do's house, and it was promising. I was glad to see that, contrary to how the city looked, ponies had actually taken the time and care to found real communities. It made me think that maybe things weren't quite as bad as I had painted them out to be. I hoped so, anyway. Progress was good.

"Okay, I've got a little work to do, shouldn't be too long, and we can leave out the other gate, saves us backtracking." Make Do spoke. "Just keep up and stay alert, not everypony here is friendly, there are muggers and pickpockets around."

Well, that was sounding less promising. I stepped in closer to the mare, for my own security. Safety in numbers and all that.

"I've not got anything to steal, Make Do." I intoned.

"That won't stop them trying." She replied. "And I said call me MD."

This part of Fortune was bustling, we seemed to have walked right into some kind of open market area. We were weaving between ponies and around stalls. There were small crowds gathered around a couple of the stands, but I couldn't see what they were selling. There were yells and shouts and jeers, it was nice to have some actual city noise for a change, it certainly made for a better mood than the incredible silence I'd been hearing everywhere else so far. It was like an echo of what Baltimare was like before all of this, to an extent. I wasn't so hot on the sounds of broken glass and swearing, but no town is perfect, right?

We pressed on further, past the initial market area and into the open street. The crowd thinned out here, and it seemed more like ponies were just going about their business. Most of them, anyway, I couldn't help but notice a few just loitering or hanging around a fire pit, but I wasn't one to judge, I didn't have a job either, anymore.

Just what did ponies do for money now, anyway? I know Make Do- MD said she was a scavenger, and there are evidently ponies still running shops and trading, but something told me that there weren't exactly a lot of 9-5 office types around anymore.

Now that we were past the initial clamour of the market the tone of the town seemed to change a little. Yes the buildings were cleaned up, but a lot of windows and doors were still boarded over. I could hear hushed conversations from the alleys between buildings. It felt like every pony we passed was watching us or it might have been more accurate to say watching me, since I was the new comer here. That's assuming everypony here already knows MD. The gate guards seemed to know her, anyway.

Most of the buildings were in a liveable state, and if the signs on the outsides were anything to go by, a lot had been re-purposed as businesses. We passed a couple of bars, a weapons shop, a place labelled only as 'chems', and apparently several casinos. On both sides of the streets. A lot more casinos that a place this size really needs.

Actually, now that I was paying more attention, there was something off about this place. Glancing down an alley as we passed, I could spy a group of ponies all sat around a barrel fire, playing some kind of card game. Further along the street there was another group throwing dice on the pavement, one of them eyeing us warily as we approached.

"Hey MD, what's the deal with all the gambling here?" I asked, frowning. "Isn't five casinos on one street a little excessive?"

"Vice economy." She answered simply, turning to face me with a smile. "Fortune's built off of gambling, as the name implies. It's a fun place to be after dark."

"That's... interesting." I knew Las Pegasus was built off the same idea, but that was a whole city. To try and execute the same idea in a place so small was just ridiculous. "Does it work?"

"Well enough to keep them going I guess, town's been around since before I was, so it can't be all bad." She replied. "Why, you wanna play? 'Cause it'd probably cost you less to just let me kick your ass at poker."

"Um, no thank you." I said, shaking my head.

There were a lot of ponies milling around outside the buildings. The ones that weren't engaged in games were slumped against walls, I could hear the sounds of a fight echoing off the walls of a nearby alley.

"Hey, spare a cap?" Came a ragged voice from behind, we both turned our heads. There was a scraggly looking old unicorn stallion behind us, grey coat with a salt and pepper mane, sporting a rather large beard. He looked malnourished, and was caked with dirt.

"Sorry pal, can't help ya." MD said, moving swiftly on.

"Bullshit, moneybags! We all heard what happened, so fork 'em over!" He shouted, horn lighting up and pulling out a large looking metal pipe from somewhere behind him. My eyes went wide, but MD just grumbled.

"You really wanna try this, old man?" She asked, aiming her rifle at the old unicorn. He held his ground, scowling at her for a few seconds. She raised and eyebrow, and he let the pipe clatter to the floor, not once breaking his gaze.

"That's what I thought." She said, lowering the gun.

He stayed still for another moment, before muttering something under his breath. Raising his head, he spat at us and walked away.

"Yeah, fuck you too!" MD shouted after him. He didn't turn back around.

I was a little shaken at that. Was that an attempted mugging? Was MD really prepared to shoot a pony? She'd pointed a gun at me a few times, but never actually fired. I had a hope in the back of my mind that it was only a deterrent, I don't think I could handle seeing anypony getting shot. I had paused in thought, but she had carried on walking. I trotted to keep up with her, noticing the stares we were getting from the locals.

"What was all that about?" I pressed, keeping a lookout for anypony else who might try and approach us.

"Desperates." She answered. "What I was talking about when I said to stay close."

"Wasn't that a little public for a mugging?"

"Eh, some of them aren't classy enough to wait for you to wonder down a dark alley." She shrugged. I double checked that I still had my gun.

I really didn't like the looks we were getting, I was hoping that we could get whatever it was MD needed to do out of the way so we could get out of here. Luckily for me she diverted course towards a shabby looking, nondescript, squat concrete building. I was happy to be getting off the street, at least.

MD nosed the door open and I followed in after her. The interior was messy, not quite as 'thrown together' looking as MD's place, but it had definitely seen better days. The wooden floor was very well worn and covered in stains, pits and splits. The walls were dirty and the ceiling was flaky, but at least it looked like somebody had tried to keep the place clean. There was a large wooden counter in the middle of the room, and a couple of old looking chairs under the storefront windows, which were miraculously intact, if well past due for a cleaning. Behind the counter was a very large noticeboard covered in scraps of paper, but I couldn't make out anything written on any of them.

"Hellooooo?" MD yelled, tapping a hoof on the counter top, which I thought was exceptionally rude. It seemed to have done the job though, as I could hear something stirring from the room behind the counter. The side door swung open, and a small, very vibrantly purple unicorn mare stepped out, looking very unimpressed.

"Oh. It's you." She said, kicking the door closed and trotting to the counter, leaning on the surface and resting her head on her hooves. "What do you want?"

"Uh, to finish the job? I got all the things requested in here." MD said, gesturing to her saddlebag.

"Oh, goody, hopefully you'll be out of my mane quickly then." The mare said flippantly, bringing out a worn looking binder from under the counter and flipping it to a marked page. "Vacuum tubes?"

"Yep." MD nodded and pulled the flap of her saddlebags open, levitating out a load of pretty shiny and fresh looking glass things. "Two 12AT7s, four 12AX7s, and four 6L6GCs, all tested and working. What are these even going into, anyway?"

"Don't know, don't care. Just give them to me, then you can get paid and go away." The mare said, tapping a hoof impatiently.

"Fine, whatever." MD rolled her eyes and placed the tubes down on the counter, the mare picked them up and put them below, along with the binder.

"And the other contract you have open? Ministry data retrieval?" She asked, looking over her snout.

"That uh, partial on that one. Wasn't able to get all the data requested." MD replied, giving me a very sly sideways look. I smiled a sheepish smile in apology.

"Fucked it, alright then." Violene sighed, crossing out an entry in the binder. MD stared flatly at the ceiling.

"Okay, the vacuum tube job is all paid out, 200 caps total, your share is 125." She said, fishing out a small paper bag labelled '100', and open a small tin with her magic. She floated out a load of bottle caps? They looked like bottle caps to me. "And there's the 25."

I tilted my head in confusion. This had to be some of the wackiest bartering I'd ever seen. What good were bottle caps? I could only assume that MD had a use for them because she seemed more than happy to take them.

"Got any more jobs for me before I go?" MD asked, packing the paper bag into her saddlebags. The mare sighed and pulled a piece of paper off of the noticeboard.

"Had this one come in earlier, asked for you specifically, don't ask me why." She floated the sheet to MD for her to inspect. "Are we done now? Don't you have money to burn? Or are the casinos no open yet, high roller?"

"Hey, screw you!" MD growled angrily.

"I'd rather not." The mare said, trotting back to the door and disappearing behind it, kicking it closed as she went.

"That bitch." MD grumbled under her breath. She scowled at the piece of paper, scanning it over before crumpling it up and shoving it in her saddlebags too.

"She seemed... catty." I meekly pointed out.

"Me and Violene do not get on. Like, at all." MD explained, rubbing the back of her head. "But this is the only place that dishes out all the going jobs. Can't be helped if the pony who runs it is an insufferable ass."

There was a very muffled 'Bite me' from behind the wall. MD smirked.

"Anyway, that new job seems easy enough, it'd probably be a pretty good introduction to junk scavving, actually. They want some computer bits out of an old factory just north of Merriweather, we can swing by there afterwards." She explained. "I can show you what to look for and stuff, you'll be earning caps in no time, no sweat!"

"Caps?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh right, uh, we don't use bits anymore. Most ponies tend to trade in bottle caps now." She shrugged as we headed back out to the street. Truth be told that sounded really dumb, but I really didn't think an explanation would clear things up any more, so I let it be. More so, I had something else I wanted to ask about.

"High roller?" I continued. MD groaned.

"Look, a few weeks ago I came into a load of caps and went on a bit of a bender." She explained, ears again splayed flat. "I kinda, sorta gambled all of it away here and now everypony in Fortune thinks I'm loaded."

"That must've been a lot of money." I pondered aloud. If the whole town knew then it'd must've been pretty hefty. Nopony wants to hear gossip on pocket change.

"Yes. It was. Thank you." She replied, getting snippy. Definitely a sore subject.

We had carried on down the street, presumably in the direction of the other gate that MD had mentioned earlier. The ponies seemed to have dispersed a bit more, the streets looking rather less crowded, which was nice as I now wasn't constantly scanning for the next potential attacker. I didn't like that I felt like I had to do that, no pony should be on edge from just walking down the street.

We were coming up to the perimeter wall again, and I could already see the gate. Not as big as the one we came in through, but still hard to miss. There was a rather bored looking guard sat in the crumbling ruins of an old store with some kind of wooden scaffolding on the roof, and across the street there was an old stallion sat next to a table, he must have been selling something or other. The guard's ears perked up as we approached, she stood up and trotted out to meet us.

"Well well, if it isn't MD, how ya doin'?" She asked with a thick, southern drawl.

"Tacit." MD nodded.

"Ah ah ah, I'm on duty, it's Officer Blue, even to friends." She replied with a smile. She was a large and well built earth pony, and had a pale sandy coat and a grey mane with a muted green streak running through it. Her eyes fell on me as she finished talking. "And speaking of friends, who's this?"

"Silver, Tacit. Tacit, Silver." MD said, gesturing between both of us.

"Howdy, I'm Officer Blue, can't say I've seen you 'round these parts before." She said, adjusting her cap.

"Yes, well, I suppose I'm new to the area." I smiled. It wasn't technically a lie.

"Well, it's nice ta' meetcha." She grinned. "I'm usually posted on this here gate, so you'll probably see me around."

"And on that subject." MD butted in. "Mind opening the gate up? We got places to be."

"Sure, sure, you just make sure to come back and splash some caps around again!"

MD groaned. Officer Blue tilted her head in confusion, but didn't press any further. Instead she walked back over to the gate and swung it open for us, waving as we passed. Now back outside the walls of Fortune, I didn't know if I felt any safer or not. Yes, we were technically back out in the open, but so far the only actual encounter we'd had had been inside.

The gate closed behind us with a clunk. There were no exterior guards on this entrance, for whatever reason. I could see Officer Blue's head peak over the top of the wall, apparently for one last wave from the wooden frame. Makes sense that they'd have some kind of viewing platform if they weren't going to have anypony outside.

We set off again down the street, turning off at a crossroads and making our way southwards. It was in noticeably worse shape than inside of Fortune, but that was to be expected, really. Just ahead of us was a group of ponies coming the other way, presumably heading into Fortune. There were four of them, two out in front with weapons, one behind them, and another pulling a cart. The cart was stacked with something or other, a tarp over the top didn't let me see what they were carrying. MD nodded to them as we passed. The side of the cart had a rather crudely painted logo scrawled on it: Amber Caravan Trading Co.

"Hey, maybe we could get you a job with a caravan!" MD says. "Pretty stable work, if you can stick to a route."

I wasn't so sure about that. I was still working this place out, the last think I needed right now was to start trekking across the country. Granted, it'd probably be a quicker way to learn about this wasteland, but I wasn't really all that eager to jump head first into wading through Celestia knows what.

We slipped into silence again, the clacking of out hooves reverberating off the city walls, echoing. The only things around were the birds, it seemed. The only thing of note was passing the occasional business that I recognised, a chain restaurant or post office or something. Their empty, broken facades a rather morbid reminder that everything had changed. Not that I needed to be reminded, of course.

The road started to head down hill, and we'd just crested the top. I could see the sea again now, and off in the distance I spied the old Promenade. Merriweather Pavilion, as it was now. We couldn't have been any more than a mile away. Even now, it was still hard to miss, the grand black and white marble checker floors spanning along the sea front, the Romane style architecture still looking resplendent, if a little worse for ware. Only slightly ruined by the rusting hulk of an old ship lodged on the shore, and the addition of some kind of barrier around the place, but those were really minor details.

I'd not really taken the time to visit the Promenade in ages. Well, obviously I mean before this whole 'Cockatrice spell' ordeal. It was a shame really, I always loved visiting on a hot summer day. I hoped it hadn't changed too much.

The street got decidedly more residential as we got closer to the coast, shops giving way to homes an apartments. Or what used to be homes and apartments, just crumbling shells now. After seeing Fortune, being out here felt very lonely, very empty compared to the hustle and bustle. I wonder just how many ponies weren't lucky enough to make it to a Stable, or to find shelter? It must have been a high number, as right now it didn't look like the population had recovered very much at all. It made me feel very isolated.

An echoing gunshot reminded that we weren't all that alone. I scooted in closer to MD as I heard a different gun fire back. I couldn't tell where the sounds were coming from, they were all bouncing off the walls, but I really didn't like how close it sounded. I looked at my own gun, and cast a nervous glance at MD.

"Just keep moving." She reassured, not looking one bit shaken.

After a few seconds a final shot rang out, and then silence. Either one of them had gotten away, or...

I hurried along after that, not wanting to be around just in case one of these armed ponies was roving around. I hadn't had a gun aimed at me in a few days now, I didn't plan on having that streak broken.

Luckily, if anypony was heading our way, we didn't cross paths, and we made out approach to the Pavilion without any real further incident. I could see as we drew closer that the place was packed, it was heaving with ponies of all shapes and sizes, it was like the market of Fortune amplified tenfold.

It seemed that we weren't the only ponies heading to the Pavilion, along the way the road became busier, which certainly perked me up a bit, made me feel a bit more comfortable. Safety in numbers, I suppose.

We overtook a queue of what I guessed must have been traders, judging by the amount of carts, caravans, and piles of assorted crap they were bringing with them. There was some kind of security checkpoint on the road ahead, and it looked like they were checking any incoming goods for something or other, which must've been the hold up. Thankfully, we weren't here to sell, so I hoped we'd be able to get through relativity quickly. Maybe.

The guards here looked much better equipped than in Fortune. For a start, they had actual armour, not just silly hats. Black plates of something-or-other attached over military looking overalls, with helmets to match. They had bigger, scarier looking guns too.

Sea Spray had always been a particularly ornate promenade, with a lot of decorative columns and half walls marking off the boundary of the park before the actual seafront path, and it seemed that they'd basically filled in all the gaps with sheet metal to create a wall around the place. I could see watchtowers poking over the top, too.

Reaching the entrance, we were just waved through along with everypony else not bringing goods in, which was nice, because the line for traders looked like a long wait. After being funnelled through, we came out into what was once a nice, open park, as I remember. However, now it had totally changed. It seemed that the flat, soft ground and large open space had now become a place for livestock trading. I could hear the chirps of chickens over the din of the crowd, bids being shouted to and fro. In a gap between ponies, I caught a glance of a bizarre, two headed cow looking thing.

I blinked, but it was still there. I looked back to MD, but she had stopped to chat with somepony about something or other. I cautiously moved in to get a better look at the creature. It was in a wooden pen, and seemed to be grazing on what little grass there was. Well, one of the heads was, anyway. The other was looking at me. It was rather off putting.

The thing was huge, and like most of the creatures I'd seen, was covered in strange lumps and bumps. The second head was still looking at me, we had a sort of staring contest going on. Not that the grazing head seemed to notice or care.

"What are you?" I thought out loud.

"Excuse you?!" One head yelled at me as the other stopped grazing to look up. That was very, very unexpected.

"You can talk?!" I yelped back, shocked.

"Of course I can talk, do I look like some kinda retard?" The first head asked, frowning.

"I-I um, n-no-"

"Speak up!" The first head demanded.

"What's your problem?" The second added.

"Sorry!" I yelped, backing away from the pen.

"Yeah, you better run!"

I quickly backpedalled my way to MD, eyes fixed on the cow thing until I was back next to the unicorn. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't for her to be chuckling at me. The stallion she had been talking with didn't look very impressed.

"Please don't agitate my livestock." He said flatly.

I just nodded.

"So Silver, I see you've made friends with a brahmin!" MD laughed, before turning to face the stallion. "Sorry about that, she's new here."

He didn't reply and trotted back over to the pen. I looked back at the two headed thing again, before shooting MD a questioning glance.

"Brahmin?"

"Brahmin." She repeated. "I think they're a descendent of cows?"

"It has two heads." I pointed out.

"Yes. Yes it does." She replied. "Anyway, unless you're planning on becoming a rancher, there probably isn't a whole lot in the livestock section that'll be useful to you right now. Follow me, we'll head somewhere else."

She started to trot away, and just for a moment I glanced back to the brahmin. Both of it's heads were staring me out, which was insanely creepy. I slowly started to head off, and it tracked me as I did so. I caught up to MD, the brahmin was really putting me off, so I was happy to be getting away from there.

Also, the place smelled like a farm, which was less than amazing.

I followed MD down the well trodden, muddy path. We headed away from the livestock pens and into more of a farmer's market kind of area. It all seemed to be produce for sale here, though from both plant and animal alike. I only shuddered a little.

The space was a little more open, but was just as hectic. There were vendors and stalls set up all over, small crowds gathered in front of most.

"Alright, keep your eyes peeled, 'cause there's gonna be a lot to see here!" MD harped, looking back at me with a small smile. I followed her as we entered the throng of market ponies proper.

MD wasn't exaggerating when she said there'd be a lot to see. There certainly was a lot to see, far too much in fact. It was a total information overload. Thankfully some of it was stuff I recognised, carrots and potatoes and stuff like that was easy. It was when we got into things like Rad Apples, Crab Fruit, a million different kinds of Mutfruit, things I'd never seen before, that's when it got tricky to remember what was good. And don't even get me started on things like scorpion meat, eugh.

We were still working our way through the produce. MD was still trying to familiarise me with new foods, but at this point it was just coming in one ear and out the other, I couldn't process all the information she was presenting me. We were currently stood a row or two back from a mushroom stand, peering over customer's heads to get a better view at what was for sale.

"...So if you see any fungus like that, it's fine to eat. Don't touch it if it's glowing though, unless you want radiation sickness." The unicorn prattled.

"Um, MD, I don't suppose we can take a break? Not that this isn't great, but it's quite a lot to take in all at once." I ask.

"Aw really? Fruit and veggies are easy!" MD countered.

"Maybe when you've had time to pick it all up, but trying to cram everything in at once doesn't work so well." I pointed out.

"Ah, fine." MD relented. "Whatd'ya wanna do then?"

"I... don't know." I admitted. "I only really know what used to be here. Not very useful now."

Wow, that certainly came out as much more of a mood killer than I'd intended. Still, it really was true.

"Ah, yeah. Uh... shit, I dunno." She said as we ambled aimlessly through the market. "You hungry? We can grab something to eat?"

"Not really, but I guess I could eat."

"Oh, I know!" She exclaimed. "I have that job Violene gave me. It's only in Sewer Side, should be quick, we could do that and come back after! Should give you some hooves on experience too!"

"Uh, Sewer Side?" I ask, having had to mentally double take at the name. Neither connotation was particularly pleasant.

"Yuh-huh, it's a little town a bit north from here, not far at all." MD explained. "Somepony wants some data from the old auto-farriers for some reason. The building's right next door to town, and with my Pip-Buck it'll be a cinch!"

"Sewer Side."

"It's not as bad as it sounds. C'mon, it's real close, we can just head out the north side here." MD said, trotting at a more brisk pace.

"Are you sure? Because it sounds pretty bad. It's literally called Sewer Side."

"Okay yeah, I get it, dumb name, whatever." MD said, rolling her eyes. "Now let's go, we can get something to eat for the road."

"Earth pony here, kinda hard to eat and walk at the same time."

"Oh, right." She smiled sheepishly. "Maybe we'll just grab something to eat when we come back."

"Well, it's not like I've got any better ideas."

I followed MD as we navigated our way through the market space. We were heading a different direction from before, and it wasn't too long before we were in a different section of the pavilion. Most of the vendors here seemed to be selling weapons and accessories, and as such this area seemed more heavily guarded.

I'd never seen so many guns in one place. I'm actually pretty sure I'd never seen so many guns ever. Much like the farmer's market, this armoury, for lack of a better word, stretched on for ages. Loads of stalls, throngs of ponies. That said, we were passing through much quicker than the produce area, on account of the fact that we weren't stopping to look around. The crowd had changed too, I was seeing a lot more ponies in armour, and a lot of them seemingly had a default mode of pissed. I tried not to make eye contact.

Slipping through, we ended up in another section. I guess these stalls must have been the apocalyptic equivalent of street food, if the smell was anything to go by. This area was loud, everypony was yelling about samples and orders and whatever ponies yell about.

I hadn't lied about not being too hungry, but some of the smells here were actually very tempting, even if I had no idea what they were. I'd have to make a point of making sure we did come back here once the job was done. I'm pretty sure I caught a whiff of something pizza-esque, so I already knew what I was having. Well, I knew what to look for anyway. Kind of.

I guess it goes to show that any pony with enough skill can make edible food out of questionable ingredients.

The food stands gave way to a ramshackle seating area, which was mostly just a collection of various tables and chairs rammed together. It was about half empty at the moment, and was just organised enough that we could cut through it without having to awkwardly shuffle in between chairs. We got through that part fairly quickly, and MD led us towards a gate.

This one was much smaller than the one we came in through. There wasn't a queue waiting to get in, either. This probably wasn't a trade entrance. A guard nodded as we approached the gate, letting us pass through, and just like that, we were outside again.

It was an almost night-and-day transition. All the vibrancy and liveliness of the Pavilion just stopped, and we were back into the cold (metaphorically), barren ruins. Sounds of life spilled over the tops of the Pavilion walls, but other than that all I could hear was the wind, and the sea in the distance. I already felt way more exposed and alone, even with MD here. The Pavilion was almost like being back in my own time. Yes, it was totally hodgepodge, and the wares were way different from what I knew, but the spirit was there, the mood and the atmosphere.

Plus it was easily the busiest place I'd seen so far. That's pretty much a given for emulating city streets.

For now, we pressed forward, drawing into whatever this charmingly named Sewer Side place was. It struck me that I could've just asked MD if we could explore a different section of the Pavilion, but I guess it was too late for that now.

We were walking along what was once a coastal road, but was now just a massive collection of potholes. Somewhere off to my right was the beach, but the weather had taken a turn for the murky and it was difficult to see down to the shoreline. This must have been a scenic route because there weren't nearly as many buildings lining the road. The city still loomed over us to the left, but we were just far enough away that you could really make out the skyline. I'm sure it would have been more impressive before everything was destroyed.

I assumed that this was a path less travelled, because I couldn't see anypony else on the road. Although to be fair, I hadn't seen all that many ponies outside of settlements at all.

We walked in amiable silence, and it wasn't long before we came upon a little bridge. However, rather than carrying on over it, MD veered off the side of the road, heading towards the embankment. I followed her cautiously, paying extra attention to where I was stepping, I really didn't want slip and roll down the slope.

After a little while the muddy ground gave way to old concrete. It looked like were were walking into a storm drain, for some reason. There were a few little scrappy shacks set up under the bridge. It became clear that the middle of the bridge had collapsed, explaining why we were coming down here in the first place. The shacks were set up surrounding the pile of rubble from the fallen roadway, and a little crudely painted wooden sign read 'Welcome to Sewer Side'.

"See, told you it wasn't as bad as the name sounds." MD chirped.

I spared a glance around. Make Do wasn't exaggerating when she said it was a little town. I'm not even sure you could call it a village. There wasn't really all that much here, four or five small shacks, a larger one on the far side, and a small pen full of mud. It looked like they were growing vegetables or something. There wasn't anypony around at the moment. It was a little depressing to be honest.

"I suppose it'd be hard for it to be as bad as it sounded, because there's nothing here." I comment.

"Yeah, there's not a whole lot to look at. Wicked bar though."

I wasn't convinced. Not that I'd be opposed to finding out for myself. Maybe we could stop for a drink or two on the way back?

"Anyway, building's just on the other bank there, should only take me five or ten minutes to get what we need." MD said, gesturing to a building on the other side of the storm drain. It was a bland, beige-ish building, four storeys tall. Apart from broken windows and chipped paint, it didn't seem to be in that bad a state. There was a billboard on the top, but whatever it was advertising had long since deteriorated to the point of being unreadable.

MD started scaling up the bank, I stuck close behind her. It was pretty hard to get proper purchase on the concrete, but we just about managed.

We came around the front, revealing the shopfront. 'Steady Step Auto-Farriers' the sign over the door read. There was a huge rusted horse shoe hanging from the roof, and I didn't entirely trust it not to fall off. It really didn't help that it creaked in the breeze. The sooner we were out of it's potential way the better.

Luckily for me, it didn't seem like we were going to hang around, MD had already made her way to the front door.

"This place was mostly picked clean ages ago, so there's not a lot to hunt around for. Still, might be worth having a look around while I get the data off the terminals, test your scavenging skills!" MD explained as she shouldered the front door open and trotted inside. "I'll head up to the offices, you- ACKH!"

I jumped back in shock as the butt of a floating gun made itself acquainted with MD's face. She splayed out on the floor, but she wasn't down and out just yet. She grabbed her own gun with her magic, but a large, uniformed stallion delivered a swift kick to her temple that knocked her out. At least, I hoped it'd only knocked her out.

He turned and looked at me, the gun he used to hit MD swinging around in his magical aura. I was frozen to the spot. What was I meant to do? MD said this was supposed to be an easy job!

"Hey, there's somepony else with her!" He bellowed.

"Shit, grab them too!" Another voice called back.

He took this as a cue to actually aim the gun at me, and then he started stomping towards me. Oh fuck, oh shit, what was I supposed to do?! There was a big pony coming to get me, and he really wasn't far away. This was very, very bad!

Gun! I have a gun too!

I craned my neck down and shakily grabbed the pistol out of it's holster, but by the time I looked back up, he was right in front of me. The gun he was carrying raised up over me. My eyes went wide and I shook my head 'no', but he ignored me, and the weapon came down on my head.

Everything went black.

Level up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Forager - You know your onions! You have a higher chance of finding edible food in the wild.

New Perk (Make Do): Bullhead - You've got a thick skull. Chance of a critical hit to your head is reduced.

Chapter Five: Pay It Back

Chapter Five: Pay It Back

“Daddy's girl's got some brand new cash, you're messing with reds, we're gonna kick your ass.”

Fuck. Me.

I've had killer hangovers before, I've fallen and hit my head before, but this was on another level. It felt like my skull was cracked open. Tartarus, for all I knew it was cracked open!

I forced my eyes open and tried to raise a hoof to my head to inspect the damage, but I couldn't budge an inch. I tried again, attempting to pull my forelegs forward, but it was no good. My legs had been tied. Oh Celestia, I'd been kidnapped! I'd actually been kidnapped!

Thoroughly panicked, I started looking around to see where I was. Unsurprisingly, I didn't recognise anything, not that I could see a whole lot. It looked like I was in the back of an old covered cart, and if the creaking and rocking were anything to go by, I was on the move. I tried to shout, scream, anything, but quickly found out I'd been gagged as well. Gods above I hoped whatever they'd stuck in my mouth was clean.

I struggled for a little bit, but it was no good, these guys clearly knew what they were doing. Which was terrifying. Even a half baked kidnapping attempt was scary enough, but a professional job? Who knew what else these ponies were capable of?

Why me? I'd been asking myself that a lot over the last week or so. Although this time I could genuinely question whatever motive was here. The stallion seemed surprised to see me when he knocked MD out, so they clearly weren't after me. But why did they want MD? And why did they knock me out too?

I suddenly became quite aware of the fact that something pointy was jabbing me in between my shoulders, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. I prayed that somepony wasn't pressing a gun to my back, but I just couldn't tell, nor could I manage to dislodge it.

I was scared. Very scared. I had absolutely no idea what to do. I didn't even know what was happening! As the fact sunk in that I was bound by armed ponies and being taken somewhere, I started to panic. What did they want with me? Where was I going?

I didn't even know anypony here! Would anyone know to look for me? Apparently nopony knew I had been in the hub for the last 180 years, and it's not like I'd been a social butterfly since then, the only pony I knew now was MD. Was there even a guard or police force to come looking for us? I wanted there to be, but I genuinely wasn't sure.

I sniffled. I hated this, all of it! I was alone, frightened, imprisoned, things could hardly of gotten much worse. Maybe I would have been better off if I had died in the megaspells.

It's not like I wanted to die, but it would have probably been easier. There one minute, gone the next. No matter what MD or her dad tried to show me, I wasn't cut out for any of this. I was a jeweler for Celestia's sake, not a survivalist, and certainly not a fighter!

I looked around to see what I could see from my position. I was very surprised to find out that MD was behind me, laying on the floor towards me. It must have been her horn that was poking me. She was awake too, the right side of her face was pretty swollen up, I guess getting smacked twice will do that. I had a fleeting moment of relief in realising I wasn't alone, only to be replaced with fresh panic at the fact that we were definitely both trapped. She looked at me and I looked at her. I was a little worried at the fact that she didn't seem as scared as me. Did she know what was happening? I couldn't even ask, thanks to the damn gag!

"Hey, it's Cosmos, open the gate!" A stallion shouted from outside.

"What's the password?" Another yelled back from somewhere further away.

"Buck you! Open the fucking gate or Swarfega will tan your fucking hide!" The first stallion retorted.

"Alright brown nose, keep your tail on!" Another replied, a mare this time.

"Don't make me come up there!" The first shouted again, apparently getting angrier by the moment.

"And what, make you do some actual fucking work for a change? The gate's open when it's open!" The mare scoffed. There was a big clank and an odd whirring sound, followed by the creaky sounds of protesting metal.

"Actual fucking work? That's rich coming from you, all you do is sit on your ass all day! I've been out there busting my balls to get this job done!" The first voice snarled.

"Oh wowee, big stallion managed to catch a little filly! What, like I'm meant to suck your dick about it? Fuck you, get inside before I lock you out."

"Just you wait, I'll be talking to your CO about this!" The first voice said as the whirring stopped and the cart started to move again.

"Hah, like he cares! I'm not scared of you." The mare combated.

This sounded... dysfunctional. I looked at MD, she just rolled her eyes.

The stallion grumbled and the cart started moving again. We went over a bump and I heard the whirring start up again, this time from behind the cart. I figured we were now inside wherever this was.

The cart shuddered and rattled, moving past clangs and vague conversations, shadows playing on the light shining through the aged fabric covering the bed we were in. My imagination started to run again. There's not much scarier than not knowing, and I had absolutely nothing on my side in this situation, except for a unicorn in the exact same predicament. It was nice to not be alone, I suppose.

After a few long minutes the cart stopped again. There was more yelling to somepony working another door or gate or something, and with a now decidedly slower roll, the cart passed inside, dull light giving way to darkness.

The cart stopped for the last time, and I could hear the sound of hitches, clips, clacks, and hoofsteps. Somepony was coming to the cart door, my eyes tracked the sound of their movement as they slowly made their way around.

The sickly glow of pale olive coloured magic pulled back the fabric flap from the back of the cart. A tall, grimy looking Unicorn was stood in the gap, a smaller Earth pony behind him. They were both dull shades of brown, and they were wearing matching black clothes. The Unicorn had definitely seen some shit, his face was marred and battle hardened, missing one ear and having stitches across his brow. I had no doubt he could and would end us both here if he wanted to. I couldn't do anything but stare.

"Hello, Make Do." He said, with a hideous grin. He was missing both his front teeth. His smile gave way to confusion when he saw me. "Who the fuck is this?" He asked, turning to the earth pony.

"Fuck if I know, the guys picked her up with the prisoner." She replied, sounding not so much lethargic, as so much disinterested. The unicorn's smile slowly crept back.

"Ah, you made a friend?' He sneered. "Good, you're going to need the help after we're through."

Oh fuck. Oh shit.

"Okay then, let's get moving. Swarfega's expecting you."

The Unicorn's magic aura grabbed at my throat and pulled me to the edge of the cart bed. I struggled to breathe as he dragged me off and to the floor, falling in a heap. MD tumbled out beside me, rolling onto her side and groaning. The aura danced around us, releasing the binds around our hooves. I only now noticed and inhibitor ring on MD's horn.

"Ghet hup." Said the Earth pony mare, words slurred as she jabbed a pistol into the nape of my neck. I sharply inhaled and shakily rose to my hooves.

"On your hooves, wouldn't want to keep the boss waiting now, would we?" The Unicorn said, grabbing MD's ear in his magic and drawing her forwards as she growled in protest, stumbling over herself.

"Moovf." The Earth pony said. I didn't need to be told twice.

The Unicorn led us through a grimy looking building, maybe once some kind of carriage factory in another life. It was crumbling but had clearly been somewhat maintained and repurposed, the floors free of debris and walls patched, long dormant machinery stripped for parts and removed, replaced with what seemed to be spaces for bunks, shooting ranges, piles of crates and old electronics.

There were other ponies here. Mostly Earth ponies, all wearing black jumpsuits, most with guns. A militia?

We turned a corner and the unicorn kicked open a door, leading us outside. The ground was soggy and the path we were on was well worn. Ragged canvas tents lined the way either side of us, and up ahead were what looked like bleachers built from rusted scrap. There were more ponies with guns milling around here, it looked almost like a courtyard of some kind.

Public execution sprang to mind, and my mind went blank. I was sweating profusely and jittering with adrenaline. The cool metal of the pistol was still pressed against my fur. I didn't dare make a single wrong move.

MD was trudging her way behind the Unicorn, ear still firmly in his grasp. As we got closer to the courtyard, I noticed that there was a group of ponies watching us as we made our way towards them, maybe a few less than a couple of dozen. They were talking to a bright green Unicorn wearing a peaked cap, who seemed to be watching us intently. I really didn't like the way he was looking at us. Smirking almost knowingly. He was sat on a large crate, tracking us as we closed the distance.

As we drew closer it became clear we were being led directly to him. The smirk became a Full blown shit eating grin as we were marched up to him. MD was thrown to the floor, and before I had time to react, a swift buck to the flank sent me following her, both of us ending up in a dirty puddle.

"Make Do for you, Swarfega sir." The Unicorn said, saluting before he and the Earth pony stood aside.

"Miss Do, so nice of you to finally drop by again." Swarfega said, cupping his front hooves together. "By my count it's been, what, 6 weeks? A month? You know it's been such a while, I've lost count myself."

He got up from his perch, and slowly walked over to MD, shoving her back down into the puddle.

"You know, I'm a busy stallion so sometimes I forget the small details. It's a good thing I've got this kind officer here to remind me precisely how long it's been since we saw you out."

"Six weeks and five days, Swarfega Sir." Barked a gangly, if surprisingly well groomed looking unicorn.

"Six weeks and five days." Swarfega parrotted. "Six weeks and five days, thank you officer."

He turned and paced infront of us both, slowly going back an forth in a small circle.

"Six weeks and five days, almost seven weeks. Why, that's the best part of two months, isn't it Miss Do?" He turned to face her, head low, looking her right in the eyes, snout to snout. MD could do nothing but glare back.

"Two months, and we've not seen you once, not hide nor hair. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember your contract timeframe was for two weeks, is that right Officer Bantam?"

"14 days from the date of agreement for the retrieval of goods, payment made in advance. Payment to be returned if goods undelivered, Sir."

"14 days, thank you Officer." He stood up straight, pulling MD up out of the mud with his magic, holding her in the air. "Two weeks, Make Do, and we paid you in advance! Now call it naieve if you'd like, but it seemed to me like we were doing you a favour, giving you all those caps prior, PRIOR! To completing the job. And you pay us back by what, fucking off with the money?"

He held her there for a few seconds more, before throwing her to the ground and hoofing her in the face with a horrible thud.

"That was a lot of caps, Do. For valuable goods. Now how are we supposed to rebuild order in the wastes when our contractors are undermining us?" Another smack, this time right to the temple. I physically winced watching it.

"So what, you thought you could pocket the caps and leave us high and dry? Keep the money and the goods for yourself, sell them on for a bigger payday, stick it to Red Rein, hm? Hell, maybe you were just feeling lazy and didn't want the trouble of coming all the way back to us. I don't know, but I'd be a fucking liar if I said I didn't care."

He turned around and bucked her in the ribs, MD yelped through the gag, tears streaming down her face. Uncaring, he went right back to pacing.

"Now I don't think we're being unreasonable here. We payed you good money for a service that you simply didn't provide, hardly shocking that we're a mite bit upset about it. We have a plan, Do. Ponies need structure, they need order, order that we can provide. But everyone has to do their part. Everypony here is serving the common good, and we don't have any room for ponies who aren't willing to do their part. And truth be told, Do, this is pretty fucking far from doing your part."

Swarfega pressed a forehoof to the back of MD's head, pushing her face down into the dirty puddle.

"See, to your great fortune, the merchant you sold our shit to sympathises with our cause, and she got us back the cargo that was rightfully ours, like any decent pony would. And the most interesting thing she said was that you hadn't even left town! That you were carrying on as normal, on our bit." He continued. "Stealing from ponies and not having the foresight to skip town? Not trying to slink away unnoticed? We run this fucking town, you thought we wouldnt find you? Pretty fucking stupid if you ask me. You had every opportunity, Do. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

Swarfega relented for a moment, MD rolled onto her side and took a ragged, heaving breath through her gag, face now coated in mud. I was cowering on the floor, unable to do anything but watch on, horrified, wishing I could turn myself invisible.

But I couldn't. And now I was the one being stared down.

"And who is this? I didn't know you'd be bringing company, Do. I'd have rolled out the welcome party." He cajoled, lowering his gaze to look me in the eyes.

"Now who might you be, hm? Business partner maybe? Wife? Whore? Don't believe I recognise you." He held his gaze for what felt like minutes, almost like he was inspecting me, staring right into my soul.

Seeing him up close, he would have been scary even if I hadn't just seen him violently assault MD. He had a very large scar running all the way across his face, notching his top lip. He was very large, and almost all muscle. Even his horn was very long, and very sharp. His eyes were steely and piercing, there was no light behind them. Most concerning of all, he had a rifle strapped to his back.

"Well, whoever you are, I want you to pay close attention to this. You see, your friend here fucked around, and well I'm sure you know what happens to ponys who fuck around. They find out."

Not breaking his gaze, Swarfega picked up Make Do by the throat with is magic, holding her a good few feet in the air, legs flailing, desperately trying to find footing that just wasn't there.

"You hear that, Do? Fuck around and find out, you know that one?" He finally turned away, trotting slowly over to where MD was being held. He calmly and deliberately set himself down on his haunches, reared back, and started landing blow after blow from his forehooves onto MD's body as she gasped for air.

Push after punch slammed off MD's ribs and stomach, her body twising and writhing with every impact, but unable to move herself away from the attack. I was almost hyperventilating by this point, the only thing stopping me from bolting being the gun that was still aimed squarely at me.

"Stupid games, stupid prizes!" He shouted, pulling the gun from his back and slamming her in the face with the butt and sending her back to the floor in a heap.

"You know, Miss Do, as it stands right now I'd like nothing more than to stomp your sorry skull in and string you up outside like snake that you are. Make an example of you, see, so that I don't have to waste my time dealing with shit like this again." He said camly, shaking off his hooves, using MD as a stepping stone to get over the puddle to where the other ponies were standing.

"BUT, lucky for you both, I am feeling very fucking generous today. Bantam, go and fetch a couple of those collars." He ordered, before walking back over MD to get back in front of us.

"See, I can't fuck you up too badly, not right now anyway. You still have the failure clause of your contract to complete, after all. See, not only are those goods absolutely vital to our cause, by failing to complete the job, you also now owe us a lot of caps. It'd be stupid of me to not recoup my losses, right?" He mused.

"'Course, you have proven to be less than trustworthy, so we can hardly have you running around free as the wind, can we?"

He smiled at us both, before carefully removing MD's gag.

"Now tell me Miss Do, you're a business owner so I'm sure you can see where we're coming from, I want you to tell me what you think I should do about this clusterfuck?"

"Fuck you and the cum soaked bitch you rode in on." MD replied, spitting out blood.

"Well fuck me, I'm giving you a chance to justify yourself and that's all you've got to say?"

"Justify my ass, I have nothing to say to you."

"So the bitch has a spine eh? I'd almost respect it if you weren't such a leech. It's ponies like you keeping our society stuck in the chaos of the old world, you scum." He growled.

"Keep telling yourself that, you fucking cunts, all of you!" She shouted back.

"Ooh, she's got venom but she can't see the big picture. You know when the dregs of the world like you are all gone, we'll finally be able to drag ourselves out of this Celestia forsaken shithole and- ah Bantam, much obliged."

Bantam trotted over with a couple of military looking metal boxes which appeared like they've seen better days.

"Now this, Miss Do, is our collateral. See, it's all well and good me telling you you're going back out there to get our money back, but you've already proven you have absolutely no respect for the binds of your contract. I could send one of our fine mares or stallions out to accompany you to make sure the job is done, but they've all got better things to do see, that's how come we hired you in the first place. But these, well that's a different story." Swarfega grinned. "Officer Bantam, would you kindly leave me those boxes so I can show our guests here how we keep ponies in line."

Bantam placed the boxes on the floor in front of us, and with a flick of his horn Swarfega unlatched the lids on both of them, turning his attention to me as he does.

"Now, I don't really know who you are so this is nothing personal between me and you, but Miss Do here has proven herself sometting of a scab, and you see, the friend of my enemy is my enemy. Sorry you got dragged into this, but judging by the company you keep, chances are we'd have buried you sooner or later."

I grit my teeth on the gag. I knew it sounded like he wanted MD alive, but the last sentence sounded very much like the mare behind me wad about to pull the trigger.

Swarfega's horn lit up again, and from the inside of the boxes he pulled out two boxy looking metal collars. MD's eyes went wide.

"One of our magitech whizzes made these up, all rigged to go but with a programmable timer. Didn't see much use for them at the time, but I think they'll be perfect for this job. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what they are." He groused. I had no idea what he was talking about, but MD was shaking her head.

"N-now, let's not be so hasty Swarf-"

"You shut the fuck up you bitch, we are so far beyond talking things out!" Swarfega shouted, a throaty, furious shout. "You have had so much time, Do. You chose the path you chose, and this is where it got you. Stupid games, stupid prizes. Guards, hold them please."

I was forced down onto my haunches, magic firmly planting all my hooves to the ground and keeping my head staring dead ahead.

"That was a lot of caps you took from us, Miss Do. And from what I understand, you managed to sell our cargo for quite the windfall too. So I'm sure you won't have any trouble scraping enough up to pay us back, say, oh I don't know, 500% of your initial fee?" He pondered as MD's eyes went wide. "Now, I'm not unreasonable, I'm not expecting a miracle, a week should be more than enough-"

"A WEEK?? No no, that's no way enough time-"

"You have had MORE than enough FUCKING time. You'll have a fucking week." Swarfega roared, setting the collars. "A week, 168 hours. I suggest you make note of the time and get your shit together, ladies."

Moving in his sickly glow, the collar passed under my chin. Once it sat at the base of my neck, it clamped closed uncomfortably tight and beeped twice.

"All set. They're linked to eachother by the way, so no funny business. One goes, you both go." He smirked, drawing a hoof across his neck.

"A week. Bring back our money. And just maybe we'll do something about those collars if you catch us on a good day. GO." Swarfega shouted. The magic around my body released, and I sagged down. MD stumbled, unstable on her hooves.

"M-MD, w-w-what is this?" I bleated.

"Swarfega you ass, a week is not enough, I-I can't possibly-" MD started.

"If you don't like it, you know what the other option is." He replied, once again perched on the crate. "Now, I said GO!"

"Fuck fuck fuck" MD muttered. "Silver let's go."

"MD, what's happening?"

"Let's go, now. Come on, we have to move."

"What's going on-"

"SILVER. We're leaving, NOW."

MD started galloping towards the door. I was left standing on wobbling legs, too shaken to move.

"SILVER, FUCKING MOVE!" Make Do shouted furiously. I'd not heard that tone from her before, it sort of snapped me out of my stupor. I ran over to her and she led me back through the door.

"You move when I tell you to move, understand?" She said, pointedly, as if I was a misbehaving child. "Fucking Swarfega, fucking Red Rein, FUCK."

Make Do practically dragged me back through the compound, sprinting past dozens of ponies watching us run, and out through the outer door which was already open to let more carts through. We didn't stop until we were far into the wastes, when MD collapsed.

"Ah, fuck my life, the adrenaline is wearing off." She panted. "Gods, everything hurts."

I was too out of breath to reply. I hadn't noticed it until she said it, but I had been running on pure adrenaline too. I wobbled for a moment before falling to my haunches, putting all my weight against what was left of an old telegraph pole, panting and trembling, head pounding, ears ringing.

We layed like that for a good while, I'm not too sure how long, but long enough for my lungs to stop burning.

I shakily pushed myself up into a sitting position. I thought it'd probably be a good idea to give myself a quick once over, I had no idea what might have happened to me while I was knocked out.

A few scrapes aside I didn't seem too worse for wear. My temples were throbbing, but I had no way of seeing what condition my head was in, I'd have to take a look later. It felt like everything was where it should be, at least. No missing teeth and ears still present, anyway.

For her part, MD was not looking so hot. Her bandaged leg was bleeding, presumably the unexpected sprint had reopend her wound. She was covered small cuts and bruises, and her lighter eye was stolen shut. Two small trails of blood streamed out of her nostrils and down to her chin.

"Fucking Violene." She muttered. "She set me up, that bitch!"

"MD, what in Equestria is going on? W-w-what was all of that? What is THIS?!" I ask, pulling at the terribly uncomfortable metal collar. They both beeped in response.

"SILVER, STOP!!" MD exclaimed, quickly sitting up. I pulled my hoof away and the beeping stopped. She sighed in relief. "Gods..."

She ran her hooves through her mane, breathing in deeply, eyes closed.

"Shit. Shit shit shit."

"MD please, what in Tartarus is going on?" I pleaded.

"What's going on Silver is that I've seriously fucked us both and if we don't get our shit together we're both going to wind up without a head." She said flatly, if deflated.

Wait, without a head?

"W-w-w-what do you mean 'without a head?'"

"I mean if I don't get those bastards the caps they want when they want these collars are gonna detonate and leave both absent from the neck up, Silver." MD sounded a lot more stern now. "That's what I mean. We're going to fucking die if we don't get to work right fucking now."

"WHAT?!"

"Look, I know this is a lot all at once, but we have literally no time, if we want to keep breathing come next week anyway." She said, pushing herself up onto all fours. "Okay, 500%, it was what, 50,000 caps? That's uh... oh buck."

"MD get this thing off of me, I don't want to die!"

I started desperately pulling at the collar, causing them both to start beeping angrily again.

"SILVER CALM THE FUCK DOWN YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH!" Make Do roared, grabbing my forehooves and forcing them down. The beeping again stopped. "Celestia above Silver, they're rigged to blow if you try take them off. We're linked, if you lose your head, I lose mine too."

"HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN WHEN THERE'S A BOMB AROUND MY NECK?"

"BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF IT, ALRIGHT?" She snapped. "Now calm down and let me THINK."

I tried to calm my breathing while she paced. I was literally a walking bomb, telling me to calm down wasn't going to cut it. I was seething.

"Okay, okay, we've got seven days all we need is uh... 250,000 caps. Yeah, 250,000. Shit shit shit shit."

Make Do started breathing heavier, pacing more frantically.

"FUCK!" She screamed, coming to a halt and bucking the telegraph pole, narrowly missing my head and sending splinters flying. "FUCK FUCK FUCK!"

I cowered away, falling onto my back.

"FUCK THAT'S SO MUCH MONEY!"

I may not have known her very long, but this was a side to Make Do that up until now I had not seen. Angry and desperate, the pony who so far had been directing me through this grim new world now battered and bloody, and ultimately directionless. To both our detriment. This was the first time since the first day I'd first woken up in her home that I felt afraid of her. Not just wary, but scared.

With a final buck the pole gave way, rotten wood snapping and collapsing down between the two of us. I wordlessly looked back and forth between the pole and Make Do. She was panting, head low.

"No, I am not letting those assholes win." She snorted. "Silver, we have work to do. Let's go. And hey, can you get this thing off of my horn?"

I didn't dare move. She glared at me.

"Silver, come on let's go, we don't have time, we have to lose these things in seven days, get a move on."

I studied her for a moment, a little fearfully. I had allowed myself to get close to Make Do by virtue of her being the first pony to find me. But realistically the only reason I was in this horrific mess was all because of her.

"Silver-"

"No."

"What?"

"No, whatever you're doing, I-I'm not going." I said. "I never asked for any of this, to be here, I'm only here because of you! I only have a bucking bomb around my neck because of you!"

I was angry and afraid, I could feel the starts of tears welling up in my eyes.

"I never wanted any of this! Why should I go with you after you dragged me into this? I've been kidnapped a-and assaulted! I'M WEARING A FUCKING BOMB! Oh Gods, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!"

Make Do grabbed my snout with her magic and pointed my face directly at hers.

"You listen to me Silver. You owe me, okay? I saved your life, I took you in. I helped you out. You ARE only here because of me, if I hadn't have found you, you'd still be rotting in that basement. You're GOING to help me out, or we both die, you understand? There is no other option. Now calm down!"

In the time I had spent with her, I had never heard Make Do's voice be so cold. It was a calculated, callous tone with intent behind it. She was unblinking, deadly serious, looking me dead in the eyes, not allowing me to look away.

"You're helping me, or both of us die, is that crystal fucking clear?"

She let go of my face. I stood up, not breaking eye contact. I had the same time she did. I didn't know where I was. I had lost what little equipment I had when I got knocked out. I didn't have a choice.

"Come on, we're going home. And help me get this suppresor off." Make Do said, turning and trotting off, I slowly followed behind. "Please don't tell my dad about any of this."

"Okay, so I've turned over everything, found another 5 caps in the workshop, so that brings us tooooo... 640 caps. So that's uh... 249,360 to go."

I could hear her banging around in the kitchen. We had arrived back at Make Do's house about a couple of hours ago, and she'd spent the time simultaneously turning the place upsidedown looking for money and cooking up get rich quick schemes. Mr. Goldwing was not home.

I hadn't spoken a word to Make Do since we'd set off. I was stewing over what she'd said. I hated that she was right. I had less than no chance on my own. Most of all, I hated how vindictive she was about it. I hated how I was now involved by proxy. I didn't even know what this was all about (although I had a pretty good idea given Swarfega's tirade) but I was now fatally stuck in the middle of it.

I'd not really been helping in the search for 'caps'. This house wasn't mine to look through, these things weren't mine to rifle around in. Admittedly it was probably in my best interests to be more involved, but this was Make Do's mess, literally and figuratively.

"You find anything Silver?"

I grunted in response.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

Make Do poked her head around the corner, eyeing me quizzically.

"Are you listening to me Silver? You've not even started looking!"

I threw up my hooves and started half heartedly rummaging around the bedroom. I don't know what she expected to find squirrelled away in here, but I had strong doubts I was going to find 249,000 caps under the matress.

Before Make Do left to carry on her own search, the radio spluttered to life, apparently mid news broadcast.

"-gooey areas this reporter describes as: best avoided. And finally, local hero and philanthropist Dorian Flash made a rare public appearance today from her home atop the Bronco Seltzer Tower. Ms. Flash called the gathering to announce her latest scavenger hunt, this one with the biggest reward to date. She issued this statement:"

Both mine and Make Do's ears perked up.

"Citizens of Baltimare, thank you for your time, I appreciate each and every one of you." The voice of presumably Dorian Flash played, rich and sonorous, almost intoxicating. "I once again am calling upon your aid in locating a priceless artifact from times gone by, a Strotivarius Cello owned by none other than master songstress Octavia Melody. The location of this legendary instrument has long been lost to time, but I know if anyone can find it, it'll be the talented and resourceful ponies of our fine town."

MD was transfixed.

"The scavenger hunt will see entrants searching for Octavia Melody's cello, who's music most of you dear listeners should be quite familiar with!" The DJ's voice cut back in. "Ms. Flash has announced a prize of, get ready folks, one. MILLION. Caps. You heard right, one million caps. The contest is open to all and starts today, so good luck to all those joining in. This has been Tremolo, I'm off to check the instrument cases in the studio basement."

Music followed, but I wasn't really paying much attention. Make Do stood slack jawed, I could almost see her brain working. It would've probably been funny if I wasn't so concerned about exploding.

"Silver, that was bizarrely convenient, wasn't it?" Make Do asked.

"I suppose so yes, it was."

"Silver, we have to find that cello, it's our only option."

"I don't know, it sounds too good to be true to be honest. Plus where would you even start with something like that? Who's to say it even still exists at all?"

"I can think of a few places! Besides Dorian's scavenger hunts are legendary, I've always wanted to do one!" Make Do exclaimed. "I'd finally get to meet her! And uh, also, a million caps!? I'd never need another job from Violene again, the skank!"

"I don't know Make Do-"

"MD."

"Make Do, that Cello has got to be over 200 years old, there's no guarantee it even exists anymore, let alone where it might have ended up if it does."

"Hey, all my friends call me MD."

"Oh, am I your friend, Make Do? I don't think friends would leverage them helping someone in need over them as a bargaining tool, do you?"

"What?"

"'I owe you', remember? I thought you had been helping me out of the goodness of your heart, but it's good to know you were always planning on using your actions for clout over me." I replied, crossing my forelegs.

"Silver we literally both have explosive collars strapped to our necks, sorry if I got heated but we don't have time to be petty here, I really want to get this over with sooner rather than later." She said flatly, instantly dismissing me.

"Petty? You think I'm being petty!?"

"Uh yeah, kinda. I think we both have bigger things to worry about-"

"Make Do, you are literally the only thing I have in this world. I have nothing to my name, no family, no home, not a single thing. And I don't really even have you! I need you, okay? I'm just hurt that apparently all I am to you right now is a means to an end. Not only that, but apparently the end I'm being used for is apparently going to find a cello on a lark! I thought you cared, I thought I had been getting to know you, but you're like a different pony right now. So don't tell me I'm being petty." I spat.

"Look, I'm stressed, I'm scared, okay? Clearly you are too, but the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get Red Rein their money, lose these collars, and put this all behind us, okay?" She sighed. "I don't do well with pressure. I can deal with a lot but I'm not really at my best with a bomb collar on."

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us."

I eyed her sceptically. She sounded sincere, but nothing she said was really an apology in my eyes.

"I'd like to think we're friends..." She offered.

"Whatever." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "So, what are we doing then?"

"Look, I'm telling you now there's literally no other way I'm gonna be able to magic up a quarter million caps in seven days. We have to find that Cello. Not gonna lie, Silver, this is pretty desperate, and we're not really swimming in options."

I stared at the ceiling and exhaled through my nose. I had no idea what the conversion rate for bits to caps would be, but 250,000 was a very big number. Looking for a long forgotten instrument would be like a wild goose chase to find a needle in a haystack, but Make Do was right, not knowing much of anything else at least, this did seem to be the obvious answer.

"Fuck it, okay. Let's do it."

As it would turn out, one of Make Do's regular customers was something of an Octavia buff and an archivist. I was kind of a casual fan, I'd never caught her live, but I had a few albums. This guy by comparison was almost a superfan. Make Do had brought me into her room and dug out some large boxes full of ancient posters, crumbling magazine articles, worn out albums, all kinds of sundries and esoterica she'd found for him related to the cellist of the moment. It was as good a place as any to start I suppose, there had to be some clues buried somewhere in there.

As luck would have it, she had an old tour poster in her possession, with shows dated for the same week I found myself petrified. If she was on the road when everything kicked off, it'd make sense to try those places first.

Obviously it was still a huge leap of faith, but it was better than nothing. Neither me nor Make Do were privy to the exact date that the megaspells went off, so we weren't able to say which town she would have been in at the end. But I knew it was Wednesday when I entered the Ministry building, so we were able to cross at least a few places off the list.

The closest town within the timeframe was Dodge Junction. It was an old railway terminus town, if I remember right from the news it was a big manufacturing town producing a lot kf goods for the war effort. According to the poster this show was to be the 'recently completed' Jubilee Hippodrome's debut performance. Go figure.

By Make Do's reckoning Dodge Junction was about a day and a half away on hoof. Assuming the cello was there, and everything went to plan the whole trip should take a little over three days. If not, well the next closest town was Ponyville, another day and a half. days trot from Dodge. Getting back would be cutting it very close. And if it wasn't there either...

Make Do had gone about gathering supplies. She had thrown a large saddlebag on the kitchen floor and was flitting room to room, throwing things into it. Food, ammo. She'd dug out am old replacement pistol for me, which I was in the middle of cleaning the grip of. If something was going to be in my mouth, it's going to at least be clean.

She'd also found me a new rain hood, as it was once again pissing it down outside. Make Do had set a map marker on her PipBuck so we'd at least know where we were going.

She'd gone as far to make us both very makeshift scarves to cover our collars 'so that nopony mistakes us for escaped slaves', which is a sentence I really didn't want to think about too much.

We'd taken the time to patch ourselves up of the injuries incurred by our involuntary excursion, which is something we probably should have done as soon as we'd gotten home, but better late than never.

I'd made a sort of rudimentary webbing out of a roll of old fabric, since Make Do only had the one bag. It really wasn't much, but I'd at least managed to strap a spare bedroll to my side and make a very basic holster for my right foreleg. If there'a one thing I did pick up from the Filly Guides, it was how to tie a knot. I didn't want to have to use the gun, but it was probably better to have easy access. I'd stuffed the pockets of my suit full of spare bullets, just in case.

Truth be told, I was dreading the journey. I was a city mare, I wasn't built for hikes. I knew it was something I would have to get used to, but I was less than excites for a multi-day trudge through the rain.

Make Do at least didn't seem too worried. She had been kind of talking to herself while getting ready, mostly mumbling about projected timeframes and meeting Dorian. There was no logic to how she was packing the bag, she was just tossing things in there haphazardly. I knew that time was very much of the essence, but I also couldn't help but think the time she might be saving now wouldn't be worth the ordeal of trying to look through the bag later. I didn't say anything, though.

Pushing the bag closed with her magic, Make Do put on her own rainhood and threw the bag on her back. She was carrying a shotgun, which truth be told did make me feel a little bit more comfortable about heading out into the wastes.

Gods I hoped we wouldn't need it, though.

Satisfied, she pulled down her hood.

"Hooh boy. Okay Silver, ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

"Alright alright. You head out, I just wanna do one last thing." She said, trotting to the table.

I made my way to the door and nudged it open, standing in the frame as the rain came down in sheets. Wonderful.

I looked back to see Make Do leaving a note on the table before she turned and trotted through the door.

"Let's get this show on the road!" She intoned.

I looked behind, scanning what she'd written before pulling the door closed and setting off behind her for Dodge Junction.

Hi Dad!

I'm out running some errands, please don't worry! I'll be home in a few days!

Love you loads!
Your little Mender

Level Up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Suspicious Minds - Don't get caught in a trap! Ponies will have a harder time deceiving you in conversation.

New Perk (Make Do): Fortune Finder - With the Fortune Finder perk, you'll find considerably more caps in containers than you normally would.

Chapter Six: Playing Fetch

Chapter Six: Playing Fetch

"Beyond the threshold, change for the worse, change nonetheless."

Truth be told, the trip to Dodge City hadn't been as much of a slog as I was expecting it to be so far. Make Do had explained that the trail between the two towns was a somewhat popular trading route. There wasn't much of an actual road per se, but a well trodden path through the barren land, sometimes through the old gardens of ruined houses of the subburbs. It made for a more 'as the crow flies' journey between the towns. From what I understood the roads were in worse shape here in Baltimare than they were around Dodge City, so it made sense here at least.

I'd lived in Baltimare for a few years before all the experiment, but it was kind of strange cutting through the outskirts, even in the state they were in now. This was a part of town that I'd never usually find myself in. Rows of homes intersected by stretches of empty fields, occasional energy substations, the burned out wrecks of caravans and wagons. Most of it looked like how I guessed it did the day the megaspells first went off, give or take a couple of centuries of decay. At least parts of Baltimare, from what I'd seen anyway, had been cleaned, rebuilt, an attempt was being made at moving forward. But here? No pony lived here, just passed through. Purgatory.

Carts still sat outside homes, mailboxes stood open, garden gates swung in the breeze. Most of the buildings, though showing their age, seemed in a lot better shape than those closer to the centre of town. If it wasn't for the charring and wear to everything it'd almost be like everypony just disappeared one day. I guess they kind of did, really.

I wondered idly why this whole area was so devoid of life.

It had been raining intermittently on and off since we'd left. This was the whole sad Earth thing all over again. I knew things had changed, but I couldn't believe that not a single Pegasus was even making an attempt at taming the wild weather! Though come to the of it, I'd not actually seen a pegasus since I left the facility. Bat Pony yes, Pegasus no. Funny.

Though to be fair, the weather as it was wasn't all too dissimilar to Trottingham, even when Pegasi were taking care of things.

By this point we'd been making a steady pace for a couple of hours. We'd left behind the suburbs and were walking the grey plains, following the path as it lead us towards distant woods. We'd passed a couple of ponies heading the other way, a trader and his caravan, but apart from that it had been just us and the sound of the rain.

Well, for me at least. Make Do had her PipBuck's ear bloom in and had been listening to the radio, if the bopping of her head was anything to go by. We still hadn't really talked all that much.

Off on the horizon I could see the tree line. Black, dead, twisted monsters, dense as anything. If I squinted I could swear I could see the odd living leaf or bloom trying to poke out. The path would cut through the woods and take us to a road following the Patapscolt River until we found a bridge over. From there it should just be a case of following the old road network straight to Dodge City. Sounded simple enough.

A flock of birds sprang out of the forest canopy, heading out to Celestia knows, cutting a stark shape across the skyline.

The plan was to camp out for the night once we got far enough into the woods. Make Do reasoned it'd be easier to find dry ground and shelter from the rain, and also give us a place to hide from anything unsavory that might cross our paths. I'd never really been one for camping, not even in my Filly Scout days, but it was only for a few nights. I'd just have to make do.

Ha.

That was that for the first few hours to be honest. We wordlessly trudged along the soggy path. I was thankful for my rain hood and jumpsuit, but my legs were totally soaked and my hooves were caked with mud. I was already looking forward to settling down the the forest for the night to clean myself up if nothing else. None of this seemed to bother Make Do, but I supposed it wouldn't, this was the everyday for her. I'd just be glad to be walking on paving again. Thankfully as we drew closer to the treeline the rain did begin to let up a little, going from a downpour to more of a drizzle. Even so, the sky only grew darker as daylight began to give way to evening.

The woods were more intimidating up close. Dark and dense, scorched trees intertwined making a hideous spectre of dead limbs. Birds called out from the depths, branches creaked and swayed in the wind. It was like it was telling us to keep away, like the landscape itself was hostile. If Make Do felt the same she certainly didn't show it, she was still happily trotting, occasionally whistling a tune as we went. That was a good sign of confidence, I think. Besides she's made this trip before, she knows what we're getting into, right?

Did she say she had made this trip before?

"Hey, Make Do?"

She didn't answer with words, but threw her head backwards over her shoulder to look at me. It would have been endearing if I wasn't still upset with her.

"You've done this trip before, right?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Maybe twice? Definitely once." She answered. "To New Dodge at least. Five years ago, give or take?"

Oh, fantastic. She's been near it half a decade ago.

"Great."

"New Dodge is really close to Dodge Junction, should be like an hour or two? Once we're over the river it should be pretty smooth sailing until the outskirts, the roads are all still mostly there."

Well, if she kind of knew what she was doing that was better than nothing I suppose. And she did have a PipBuck telling us where to go.

Was I being unfair? She was doing her best given the situation after all. I couldn't really ask for much more. I'd certainly not be doing any better if the roles were reversed. But also we'd not be in this situation at all if the roles were reversed...

This train of thought was getting me nowhere. I was just still irked by what she'd said outside of the Red Rein compound.

The plains gave way to sickly looking shrubs and dead leaves before bleeding into the woods. The well trodden route we followed taking the path of least resistance through the trees. Some were clinging to life but most were dead. Having said that, it still seemed awfully dark given the lack of any real canopy.

Twigs gave way under our hooves, dead leaves danced in the breeze. The call of distant birds and buzzing insects filled the air, bouncing off the trunks surrounding us. It was like walking in the woods in the dead of winter, minus the cold.

How farming worked without a weather schedule was beyond me. Maybe that's why most of what I'd seen was such a mess, you can hardly rebuild if the sky decides to tear everything down again on a whim.

The path meandered around trees and stumps, scragly bushes and rotted trunks. A couple of bird skeletons sat sadly in a twisted mess of roots not far off the track. Cobwebs and long dead ivy dangled from the branches, slowly ebbing back and forth.

"Darn, lost the signal, trees must be fucking with it." Make Do said, pulling the bloom from her ear.

"Ah that's a shame, Celestia forbid you don't have an excuse not to interact with me."

"Hey, I wasn't using it as an excuse! I was keeping up to date with the news, that's important!" She retorted. "Besides, it doesn't really seem like you want to talk all that much right now..."

I didn't reply to that, she wasn't entirely wrong. For a moment we again carried on in silence.

"Are you mad at me?" Make Do asked in a small voice. I heaved a heavy sigh.

"Yes, Make Do. I am mad at you. I am very mad at you."

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?" She asked sheepishly. I could see her ears splay out under her hood.

"What are you sorry for, Make Do? Are you sorry for getting a bomb strapped to my neck? Are you sorry for guilt tripping me here? Are you sorry for acting like an idiot?"

"Well, I guess uh, kinda, sorta, all of those?"

"You're awful, Make Do."

"I'm sorry, okay! I'm bad at this sort of thing-"

"Clearly."

"I panicked, alright? I was scared shitless and I panicked. I was angry at myself for fucking up this badly, and I guess I have a bit of my Dad's mean streak." She explained. "I'm sorry I blew up at you, but I need your help, and you said you weren't gonna help me. If you didn't help then we'd both be as good as dead..."

She sort of trailed off for a minute.

"Were you really not going to help me?" She asked quietly.

I pondered for a moment. Was I really not going to help her? She had, up until that point, been nothing but kind to me, and we were both up against the wall. I was scared shitless too, but was I really prepared to just not help her out given everything? Did I panic just as much as she did?

Probably.

"I don't know." I answered. "I don't know what I would have done, I was scared. I am scared."

"I'm scared too." She borderline whispered. "I'm glad you're here, Silver."

We carried on in silence, albeit a slightly more comfortable one.

The deeper into the woods we got the more difficult traversing the path seemed to get. Roots stuck up out of the ground, pits and long abandoned animal burrows dotted the ground, catching me off guard once or twice. Occasionally we'd pass some graffiti carved into the bark of the trees. Names of ponies on the same journey we were on, couples initials in hearts, dates. It was a reminder that we weren't really alone, certainly not as alone as it felt. Trade still happened, ponies still travelled, this world was still clinging to life.

The longer we walked the darker it got. The sun had passed below the horizon now, and with the cloud cover natural light was getting low fast. It was already a bit tricky to navigate, but it felt like I was stumbling more and more as I could see less and less distance in front of me.

"We should probably find somewhere to camp soon." MD suggested. I had no qualms with that.

She'd lit up the torch function on her PipBuck, so at least we weren't walking totally blind. The trees played with the light in strange ways, casting long shadows that seemed to move around us. The drone of insect wings was getting louder the further in we got.

MD suddenly thrust a foreleg out infront of me, both of us coming to a complete halt. She surveyed the area ahead with a steely gaze, looking out into the middle distance. She turned to me and put a hoof up to her lips, miming a shush, before taking my pistol in her magic aura and aiming it out. I folded my ears flat to deaden the inevitable bangs.

Sure enough, two shots cracked out in quick succession, followed by the sound of something splatting and retreating buzzing.

"Bloatsprites." She said, putting my gun back in it's holster. "Nailed the biggest two, scared the rest off. For now, at least."

MD closed the distance between the dead bugs and us, I stuck close behind her. A rancid smell became more and more apparent the closer we got.

"Well, that'll be that." She said. Illuminated by the glow of her PipBuck screen was the fetid, rotten, half eaten corpse of a Radhog, the ground below it sullied with old blood and mystery fluids. "Little shits were gorging themselves."

"That's lovely." I replied, trying hard not to gag. "Can we possibly go literally anywhere else?"

"Yeah, probably a good idea. Best be wary though, I don't think the Bloatsprites killed that hog."

"There's something else here?" I hissed, now very alarmed.

"Maybe." MD snorted. "Might be a good idea to find somewhere not so out in the open to sleep tonight. Come on, let's go."

We made a sharp departure from the path into the unwalked grounds of the forest. If I thought the path was bad, walking here was positively gnarly. Nothing had been beaten into submission by the constant wear of hooves, it was ever changing and never level, an actual struggle to get across. I was following MD blindly, if I lost track of her I'd have no idea where I was, and being lost in the woods, alone in the dark, was not my idea of a good time.

"Hey, look up there!" MD pointed after a few minutes of stumbling. She was lighting up a particularly large tree ahead of us. At some point, somebody had nailed down a load of planks between branches to create a platform, and an old tarp fluttered in the breeze above it as an improvised roof.

"Up there?" I whispered. "Is it... is that safe?"

A low, distant and perfectly timed howl answered me very well.

"Beats finding out whatever that is. Come on, help me find a way up." MD said.

We circled the base of the tree looking for a rope, a ladder, some way to get up. No dice. The platform was a good 40 hands off the ground, way too high to leap up from. There weren't even any low hanging branches to climb.

"MD I think this might be no good, can we keep going?"

I was wary of staying put top long, lest something find us.

"Hang on, I have an idea!" She replied, trotting away from the tree and to the base of another.

This one had fallen at some point over the years, leaning precariously against it's still standing companions. The top had torn away from the trunk, leaving it smooth and ramp like, ending in a splintered point. MD clambered to stand on top of the toppled plant, walking deliberately to it's end, a point that stood just about level with the platform, if a not insignificant distance from it.

She was going to try to jump.

"I don't think this is a good idea!" I intoned.

"Well, we've not really got anything else to work with right now, it's gotta be worth a shot!"

She took a hooful of steps back, her hooves sliding on the damp bark. Stopping for just a moment, she tensed and began a very short gallop to the top. It wasn't the most graceful leap I'd ever seen in my life, but it worked. She landed on the platform with a loud thud, the tree groaned as the inertia and new weight exerted itself, but ultimately held steady. MD slipped a little on the landing but managed to avoid wiping out completely. Finding steady footing, she dumped the bag off her back and exhaled.

"See, no sweat!" She chimed. "Now come on up, it's actually pretty dry up here, I'll get us some food ready."

My stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten anything since that omelette this morning, and it didn't even feel like it was the same day any more.

I glanced between the fallen tree and MD up on the platform. If she could do it, I could do it. Probably.

I climbed tentatively up the trunk. It was wet, but the texture was still pretty grippy. I slinked up to the end, where I couldn't help but look down to the ground. It felt like a lot more than 40 hands from up here, the ground below seemed so dark and far away. I could really do without breaking a leg this early into our journey.

"Hey, you'll catch me, right?" I asked.

"Huh?" MD replied, looking up from the bag.

"When I jump, you'll catch me, yeah?"

"Oh, uh, sure." She said, getting up walking to the edge. "You can make it though, it's not as far as you think."

Easier for her to say.

I slowly shimmied back down towards the roots, in my head working out the flattest places for my hooves to go, coming to a stop once I felt the dead trunk flare out against my frog, there was no more space to go back.

I was not an athletic mare, but if MD did it then why shouldn't I be able to? I was sturdy, I was an Earth pony for Celestia's sake! I could do this.

I steeled myself, stared dead ahead, and galloped as fast as I could on a surface that unergonomic. The end approached much sooner than I was expecting, and I put as much force as I could into my hind legs, sending me up into the air.

I must have been airborne for only a fraction of a second before it became obvious that I wasn't going to stick the landing. I was sinking far quicker than I was closing the distance. My legs started windmilling as if it would have made a difference. The whole tree shuddered as I hit the side of the platform chest first, instantly knocking all the air out of my lungs. I scrambled for purchase with my forehooves as my hind half carried on it's momentum, swinging me under and threatening to drag me off all together.

"Help me!" I managed to breathlessly gasp, trying to claw my way up.

"I'm trying!" MD shouted, taking both my forehooves in hers and pushing by underside up in her magic aura.

After a bit more struggle I was firmly topside, scrunched up into a little ball and sucking in all the air I could, but not so much as to make my freshly impacted ribs feel like they were exploding. It was a fine art that I had not mastered in the slightest. Make Do flopped down beside me, panting lightly.

"Luna's tits you're heavy, Silver."

"Hey! I'm- an- Earth- pony. I'm not- heavy, I'm sturdy." I wheezed.

I was not that heavy. I was just built bigger than her.

Though actually now that I think about it, Make Do was small. Not tiny, but certainly compact for a unicorn. Smaller than average, anyway.

"Anything you say." She huffed. "I'm gonna grab us some food, feel free to join me once you've finished cradling your ribcage. I'm starved!"

MD carried on searching through the bag, struggling to find exactly what she was looking for, just as I'd thought. I couldn't help but feel a little vindication through the throbbing of my chest. I held my legs to my barrel, trying to soothe the pain as best I could. I would certainly be feeling it in the morning.

But right now, my stomach was rumbling. I tentatively extended my legs, slowly getting into a standing position. Where my legs met my barrel was protesting, but it was manageable.

MD was half tucked into an unfurled bed roll, poking at a can of something with a fork.

"I'd start a campfire, but probably not the best idea given we're standing up a tree." She said, mid chew. She floated the can over to me, it was a positively ancient container of steamed kelp. "Want some?"

I wasn't a big fan of kelp at the best of times, but beggars can't be choosers. I just didn't have anything to eat it with.

"Got another fork in there for me?"

"Nah, probably not, sorry. You can use mine though!"

I grimaced internally. This had been in her mouth. A gun I'd cleaned was one thing, but this had literally been in her mouth less than 30 seconds ago.

My stomach growled again. Beggars can't be choosers. I didn't really help her pack either, so I'd kind of made my own bed there. I'm sure using another pony's fork was far from the worst thing to ever happen. At least it wasn't Lugworm again. I stabbed a portion on the fork and put it in my mouth. It was cold, salty and slimy, almost tasteless but not enough to not be blandly agreeable. Still, it was edible at least, at the end of the day that was really all that should matter.

A fairly large canteen sat between us. I made sure I'd swallowed all my food before taking a swig. Nopony needs backwash.

"Maybe in the morning you can forage us some breakfast, put your skills to the test!" MD chimed. I murmured in agreement.

We passed the food and water between us for a little while until the can was empty. The sharp pain in my barrel had started to shift to an ever-present dull ache for the time being. It was quiet again, and it had only now just set in how physically exhausted I was. It was nice to have a moment to wind down.

The sky was dark now, the hazy grey light of day having given way to the blanket shadow of night. I couldn't see very far beyond our immediate surroundings.

"So, is it cool if you keep watching first?" MD asked, idly picking her teeth with a twig.

"Keep watch?"

"You know, be the lookout, while I sleep anyway. Then I'll take over." She explained. "We're still on the clock here so I wanna get back on the move ASAP. Probably be light enough a little after dawn."

"Uh, sure, okay. Given everything that's happened today I don't think I'd be able to sleep anyway." I replied. My hoof went to nervously poke at the collar before I realised that that would not be the best idea.

"You ever keep lookout before?"

"No, I've never really been camping much before, to be honest."

"It's okay, it's not so hard. You just gotta keep an eye out for any nasties, if anything gets too close just wake me up." She explained. "I'd go on shift first, but since you've got two good eyes I figure you'd see more than I can when it's this dark."

"'Two good eyes'?"

"Two's better than one." She said, pointing to her paler, milkier coloured eye. "This puppy is just for show."

I'd never really thought about it before. Her left eye was a very faint blue, a stark contrast to the vibrant red of her right one.

"Really? I just assumed you had Heterochromia!"

"Hetter-what now?"

"Nevermind." I said, shaking my head slightly. Truth be told I only knew what it was called because my friend Perfect's cat had it too. "You're really blind in one eye?"

"More like three quarters of an eye. I can tell light from dark, but anything more than that is just a kinda shapeless blob."

"Well, I never would have guessed, it doesn't seem to effect you at all!"

"Nah, when you've lived with it for this long you pick up a few tricks. Like did you notice every time we've been out together I've tried to stay on your right? 'Cause I might not be able to see anything trying to flank us from the left, but you can."

I hadn't noticed, but now that she mentioned it she did always seem to be slightly ahead of me and to the right.

"That's actually pretty smart."

"I wish I could say it was my idea, but having a tactician for a Dad really helped figuring stuff like that out." She explained. "Stuff like that, or only ever using the ear bloom in my right ear. The only thing I worked out by myself was to not rely on EFS too much, really. Dad probably would have told me that one too, except he never had one of these."

She lifted the leg her PipBuck was fitted on in demonstration, blasting me with light for a second.

"EFS?"

"It's sorta like a targeting compass I guess. Tells me the direction something living is in and whether it thinks it wants to hurt me. Actually should probably turn the light off, don't want to attract any more bugs." She elaborated, fiddling with the device until the screen went dim, plunging us into almost pitch black.

"That actually sounds like it'd be really helpful."

"Oh sure, it is when it's working right, maybe like 55% of the time." She huffed. "It's good in a pinch, but it's not something I like to rely on."

I nodded, she didn't really elaborate further than that. She used the lull in the conversation to get herself comfy in her bedroll, removing her jacket and the scarf around the collar. I hadn't noticed it before, but it had a countdown timer on the side, emailing a dull, low, orange glow.

I gulped. I could not afford to forget why we were on this journey in the first place.

She fidgeted with her PipBuck for a moment before settling herself inside the cover.

"I've set an alarm for 1am, you keep watch for me 'til then and I'll tag you out, hopefully we can both get some rest. Sunrise should be like 5, so we'll try and leave a little before then. Sound good?"

"Alright, I can do that." I confirmed.

"Awesome, I'll see you in few hours. You got this!"

She hunkered down, leaving me to survey our surroundings. Or at least what I could make out. The moonlight wasn't penetrating the cloud cover much at all, and now that MD's PipBuck light was out, this really was advanced darkness. I don't think I could see much further than a few trees distance in any direction. At least we had the high ground, though. But for the moment there wasn't much going on. The occasional fly buzzed past, the unanswered hoot of an owl sounded out. All I could do was stay alert as best as I could and hoped everything stayed uneventful.

At that point it dawned on me that I didn't have any way of keeping track of the time. I knew it was probably going to drag a bit, but I'd have no way of knowing how long I'd have left on my shift. Maybe that was for the best, it'd keep me on my hooves at least.

It also gave me plenty of time to think. I'd spent a lot of time with MD over the last few days, and to a lesser extent her Dad, but there was still a lot I didn't know about her, the conversation we'd just had proved that. How had I not noticed that she was partially blind? Was I really that self absorbed? In my defence, though, I think it's fair to say that I'd been going through a lot lately.

Her Dad, Mr. Goldwing, was a tactician. In what capacity I wasn't sure, but it tracked with what I'd seen of him. Maybe he was paramilitary or security for hire or something. That would explain the very battle worn looking armour, at least. And why she left it to him to teach me about guns.

If what she said about his mean streak was true though, I was glad I hadn't seen it. Yet. I knew he was stern, but I wasn't sure I was ready to see military level anger out if him. MD seemed pretty keen for him not to find out what was going on, but there's no telling what he'd be like if he found out his daughter was a walking bomb.

I thought about them for a moment. If he rescued her as a filly then they'd been together for a while. Before I interrupted their conversation at the kitchen table, it did seem like he had a lot of affection for her. Certainly more warmth than he had for me anyway. I could hardly fault him for that though, to him I was basically nothing more than a stranger who'd appeared at his house and was eating his food. Tartarus, he'd probably killed to earn that.

Now that was a scary thought. It hadn't really crossed my mind before that there would be people out for blood as well as mutant fauna. I'm sure Mr. Goldwing had seen and maybe even done unspeakable things. Swarfega was certainly prepared to kill us, albeit by sick proxy. The raiders who attacked MD's stable basically committed mass murder, hay, even MD herself killed something not an hour or so ago, and right in front of me no less! Not anything sentient, granted, but my point still stood. Violence seemed to thrive here.

Had MD killed anything sentient? She'd been surviving here a lot longer than me.

Would it change anything if she had?

There were really bad ponies about, dangerous ponies. Dangerous creatures. How much can I really fault somepony for coming out on top in a fight for survival?

Could I kill a pony if push came to shove?

My brain was whirring. I scanned the treeline. A distant low roar sounded out, and a breeze rattled the branches around me. I shivered a littke as it played across my shoulders. I shifted my weight and lay down on my belly to give my legs a rest, slowly and gently to not make the pain in my ribs any worse.

I carried on my watch.

"Silver."

"SILVER!"

An urgent shaking roused me. MD's face was almost pressed against mine, eyes wide. I instinctively went to yelp, but she pressed a hoof to my mouth, miming 'shhhh' with the other.

Branches cracked and rustled below and MD snapped away, gaze fixing on the source. She was holding her shotgun in her aura, magic quietly shimmering. She was looking back and forth between me and the ground.

Now very alarmed, I crept to where MD was perched on the edge of the platform, my body protesting at the movement. A tree near us creaked, lumbering steps rumbling around us. My heart rate went up. It was still too dark to make anything out in great detail, but circling around us was a very large and gnarly looking bear, mostly furless and ridden with lumps and tumors, it's exposed skin marred by scars and scabs.

I inhaled sharply, looking to MD. She met my eyes briefly before flitting back to the creature.

It had raised it's head in the air as it paced, sniffing. It smelled us, it must have, but hadn't found us yet. It grunted, mouth open, teeth bared. I reached for my pistol as quietly as I could. It swung it's head around, trying to pinpoint our location.

It was huge, easily four or five times my size, maybe six. We wouldn't stand a chance.

MD spared me a quick glance. She pointed at her eyes, then to me, then to the bear. I nodded.

She gently put her gun down and slinked over to the still open saddlebag, leaving my peripheral vision. I didn't dare look away from the bear.

It was getting much closer to our tree, I could see it much more clearly. It had enourmous claws, five long, jagged spiked sticking out of each foot, kicking up dead leaves as it walked and carving gouges into the mud underneith. It was drooling, slobber trailing underneath it. I thought I'd met it's brainless gaze for the breifest moment. It was fucking terrifying.

It snorted, mindlessly snarling as it pointed it's nose towards us. I crept back from the edge, desperately hoping it wouldn't spot me.

MD closed back towards the edge carrying a couple of cans. She tore the ring pulls away from both with her aura, leaving the lids curled open but still attached. She took one in a hoof, twisted her barrel around, and hurled it as hard as she could.

It flew into the void, darkness consuming it not long after release. It brushed by twigs and ultimately clanged to a halt some unknown distance away. The bears ears perked up and it turned to face the direction of the sound. MD launched the second can, throwing this one higher, it's arc travelling further, until it to crashed into something.

The bear grunted and sniffed the air. I silently willed it to leave, jaw clenched.

Finally, with a roar, the bear departed for the direction of the cans.

We watched it trudge off into the night, leaving only a trail of massive pawprints and a train of spittle and broken branches. My heart was pounding out of my chest, I didn't dare move until I couldn't hear it's footfall anymore.

The crunching eventually faded into the distance and out of earshot. I slowly exhaled out of my nose, folding in on myself. None of this could be good for my heart, I was going to be scared into an early death at this rate.

MD was frowning in the direction the bear went in, left ear still pointed towards it as her right ear flicked and scanned all around. I'd heard that blind ponies had better hearing to compensate for their lack of vision, I wondered if that would apply to her too, if only a little.

She was tense for a while longer, then she slouched, ears relaxing.

The slouch did not last long at all. It couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds before she shot me the dirtiest look, boring right into me, and getting right back up in my face.

"You were meant to be on watch, Silver! Why the fuck am I waking YOU up?" She hissed.

I didn't have an answer. I didn't even remember falling asleep!

"Do you know what a Fibanda that big would've done to us?" She practically seethed, jabbing a hoof into my chest. "Stars above there'd be nothing left except fucking bones!"

"I fucked up! I don't know what happened, I'm sorry!" I whispered back. I really didn't know what happened, I wasn't even that sleepy!

"Yeah you fucked up, what if I didn't wake up in time? I need you to be on point Silver, this is life or death, we're not fucking playing around here!"

I shrank away from her. I messed up, I was sorry, what was I meant to do?

"You need to buck the fuck up, because next time we might not have the height advantage and it might not be a wild animal. Understand me?"

I nodded, a little teary eyed. I felt like foal being scolded. MD deflated a little and looked back out to where the 'Fibanda' had gone.

"Well, so much for tomorrow's rations." She sighed. "Hopefully it'll just move on once it's done with them."

She gave me a pointed, steely stare.

"I'm sorry." I said. It was all I could do, really.

"Don't let it happen again, okay? Just, there's no way we can do this thing if we're not on the ball."

Sniffing, I nodded again.

It really was lucky MD did wake up. I shuddered to think how differently things might have gone otherwise. That thing was looking for us, I could see it from it's face.

MD ran a hoof through her mane, making it stick up at funny angles.

"Go back to sleep, Silver. It's almost time to swap anyway." MD suggested. Not really knowing what I could do otherwise, I climbed into my bedroll. "And you're DEFINITELY foraging breakfast tomorrow."

I couldn't argue with that.

The next morning had been tense to say the least.

The rustle of fabric and the sound of a zip had woken me up, MD had been packing up, getting ready to move on. It wasn't quite sunrise yet, but I could tell it would be soon. There were actually some breaks in the cloud cover, letting streaks of dark azure sky peek through, a few stuborn stars still dotted around. I'd packed up quickly soon after and we'd carried on our way to Dodge. Getting down from the platform had been a lot easier than getting up to it, as it turned out. We were able to just lower ourselves down from the edge, saving any more drama. Saving ME any more drama, realistically.

We'd fallen into a bit of an uncomfortable silence again as we trotted. I could tell she was in a bad mood, not that it was unjustified. We were definitely moving at a more brisk pace than yesterday. We'd picked up the trail again after a few minutes of navigating the brush. That thing's pawprints were still embossed all over. Each one was about the size of my head.

For my part, I did at least manage to scrounge up a hoofful of Mutfruits to keep us going, hopefully proving I wasn't entirely a liability. Being an Earth pony I couldn't really eat on the go, but I jammed some in my pockets for later. I'd really need to get a saddlebag at some point as my suit's storage was pretty much at capacity now. Eating on the go wasn't really an issue for MD though, being a unicorn. She was idly chewing as we walked.

The further through the woods we went the less dense it seemed to get, space between plants opening up and making for a much less claustrophobic trot. In the daylight I was able to make out signs of life, too. Flocks of small birds, slowly encroaching moss, mushrooms that may or may not have been deadly, baby plant shoots fighting their way out of the ground. Even a couple of rabbits at one point, hopping away upon spotting us. Despite everything, this place was still fighting and alive. Maybe not thriving, but certainly not down and out. That could only be a good thing.

I was behind her and to the left again. After what she'd explained yesterday I couldn't help but notice that it was the formation we'd defaulted to.

I was nice to talk normally again yesterday, I'd gotten so caught up in the situation that I'd forgotten that she was, in fact, generally pleasant. It was a long walk in silence, and it wasn't nice at all knowing somepony was upset at you. I can only imagine she'd felt the same way about how I was acting for most of yesterday. I supposed I did owe her a proper apology at least.

"Hey MD, I'm sorry about last night." I starred. She threw her head back over her shoulder at me. "I think I was just a lot more tired than I thought, and I didn't catch myself falling asleep."

"Okay, apology accepted." MD replied. "Just please don't let it happen again? The wastes are really dangerous, especially at night. Anything could creep up on us."

"I won't, I promise."

I felt a lot better for saying my bit. In retrospect, I don't think I'd been my best for the last few days. Granted, I had incredibly valid reasons for not quite being myself, waking up to literal armageddon was a lot to deal with, but none of that was Make Do's fault. She didn't have to take me in or try to guide me through any of this, but she did. She might have had her own shit to deal with too, but who among us didn't. It was just bad luck that I got tangled up in it.

I think where it counted, she was a good pony. A little immature maybe, but a kind soul trying her best. Which actually begged the question...

"MD, did you really steal from Red Rein?"

"Bit of a non-sequiter there, Silver, but yeah I did."

"Okay, why?"

"Because those assholes deserve it! All they do is roll on into towns and take power by force, spouting their 'common good' horseshit. Anypony who doesn't just roll over and take it lying down gets shot. They're animals. Worse than animals." She spat. "They've been having reeeeal trouble getting into Baltimare though. When they posted the job I thought I could make some good money and get to leave them floundering, y'know, fuck with their operation since there's no way I could actually fight back against them. I never expected them to actually come after me, though."

"You thought you could steal from an army and they'd not look for you?" I asked, skeptical.

"I heard they were spread thin, okay? I thought they wouldn't have any pony to spare to come find me! I never thought Violene would fuck me over like that." She said darkly. "I know she's a bitch, but I never expected her to stoop that low."

I was aware there was some kind of bad blood between the two of them, but it clearly must have ran deeper than MD knew.

"So what did you do with the money?"

"Don't tell my dad, but I blew it all in the casinos in Fortune the same night." She said meekly, ears flat.

"You lost 50,000 bits at a casino? Celestia MD, that's insane!"

"More than that." She interjected. "I got caps for selling the stuff on, too."

I stared at her, incredulous.

"I know, I know, it's just..." She trailed off for a moment. "I didn't expect taking caps from them to feel so dirty. Like I was spiting them sure, but I guess the fact it had anything to do with Red Rein at all didn't sit right with me. Plus Dad never let me go in the casinos, I wanted to see what it was all about! Figured I could at least have a good time ditching all the money."

"And did you?"

"Oh Gods yeah I did! It was so exciting and grown up, you know? Like how I bet high society was way back! Made me feel like a real big shot for a night. 'Course, now half the town thinks I AM a real big shot, but I guess you already saw that, ahaha..." Her nervous giggle trailed off.

I'm not sure if I was expecting a more grandiose explanation or not, but I don't think I was expecting that. I'd kind of assumed she would have had an actual reason to steal the money, a half-assed act of with rebellion with pratically no fore-thought just for the sake of it was strange. Maybe even kind of childish, like an unruly adolescent.

"MD, how old are you?"

"19, why?"

Well, there we go. She was only a kid! When I was her age I studying at college and partying every night! Hay, I wasn't worried about being attacked in my sleep or where my next meal was gonna come from. I sure as Tartarus didn't have to worry about a hostile armed force invading my town. Well, not yet, anyway. I don't know if I'd have done what she did, but who's to say really. Everypony was young and dumb once.

"Just putting things together." I said.

I think I understood her more now. She'd been through some dire things for sure, but she was only just a mare.

"Did you win anything?"

"Hah, no. I'd never been to a casino before, remember? I had no clue how any of the games worked. And I was very, very drunk." She laughed. "I had fun losing though."

I was genuinely glad to hear that. The consequences would absolutely be something she learned from, this was still a pretty monumental fuck up, after all. At least I'd hoped she'd learn from it, that's what growing up is all about. But she was just a dumb kid doing dumb kid things, nothing new under the sun I guess, even now.

I sort of felt like I should have been a bit more shocked that somepony so much younger than me was leading me through all of this shit. But she'd kept me alive this long, I knew she was capable, more so than I. Just maybe I could keep her from making any more mistakes that end up with both our lives this close to the line.

At least her age explained why she was so worried about her Dad finding out. Though to be fair, I'd hate to see him pissed off and I barely knew him.

We carried on.

The sky had been getting brighter, I could see the sun coming up through columns of trees way out on the horizon. The splash of orange in the sky was a sight for sore eyes. I felt like everything had been grey and brown up until now. It was hopeful. Through the branches I could see the blue above, still cloud splattered but more clear than I'd seen since I'd left the Hub.

It had felt like ages since I woke up in that booth in the basement of the hub, but it had only been less than a week. I think.

Was that right? It didn't feel right, but it can't have been much longer. Everything had sort of just blurred together, time had sort of lost meaning to me between the insanity that was surrounding me. And I'm sure being a statue for 180 years might have fucked with my head a bit also, I couldn't rule that out.

I wonder what the results of the test would have been? What would the scientists have written?

And actually, if all the scientists were dead then why did the spell reverse after being dormant for so long? I'd been so caught up with everything going on I'd never really thought about how I was here today.

"Hey MD, you have my files right? From the Ministry Hub, I mean?"

"I have your application and some general observations from the start of the test, but not really anything else." She said. "The more detailed stuff was probably on that terminal in the control room. Why, what's up?"

Right, of course most of it would be on the control terminal that I'd locked us out of.

"It's nothing really, I was just wondering why I was revived. Like, why now, I mean." I replied, a little deflated.

"I don't really know, to be honest. The last log on the central computer was somepony shutting everything down for good a few days after you got put under. I had to bring emergency power back up to get into the labs from the surface, maybe that tripped an automatic safeguard or something?" She pondered, frowning in thought.

I was a bit disappointed. I don't know why, it didn't really make a difference to anything, but I guess I was just expecting something more. It was scary that somepony would just shut power down to the whole building, though. They must have known that there were ponies down there petrified. Why would they leave us there? If MD hadn't shown up, would I have just sat there forever? A lonely, crumbling relic of the old world, forgotten by everyone?

That was a sombre thought.

Maybe MD was actually right yesterday, maybe I did owe her.

I guessed that we'd be hiking for a few hours when we broke out of the treeline and back to wide open ground. There was an immediate breeze blowing a chill across my withers, but it was nice to not feel so closed in.

The last few miles had been downhill, and the ground was really sloping now, making the slippy surface just a little bit precarious, enough to have to think where my hooves fell.

Thankfully though, in the distance, I could see an honest to goodness road. It even looked mostly intact from here. No slippy mud, no twisting roots, no sharp vines. It may have been a bit sad, but I was genuinely excited to be walking on it after all this traversal.

MD said that down from the road the terrain met a river we'd need to cross. The road would lead us to a bridge, and from there we'd get to Dodge. I was looking forward to getting this all over and done with and getting this collar off. Obcious danger aside, it was tight and it chafed. It was heavy too, I was really feeling the extra strain around the base of my neck. Way out over the horizon, I could see the very top of one of those MAw weather towers poking up into the clouds. Fat lot of good it seemed to be doing.

Speaking of clouds, they sky was still relatively clear here right now, but the cloud cover seemed to be more solid in the direction we were going. It didn't look like it was raining though, as far as I could tell anyway. I was enjoying the dry spell.

We cautiously trotted down the hill, both trying to avoid tipping over and tumbling. The last thing my aching body needed was a head over hooves trip to the river bank. The ground was soggy but not straight up wet. It wasn't slippery so much as damp, almost clay like. I had to slow down a little because I was sinking into it slightly, a problem MD didn't seem to be encountering as badly. Having said that, we both had very muddy fetlocks. It was messy and tiring, but we pressed onwards.

It was incredibly mundane, but after trudging down the hill, finally climbing the verge and getting onto the road felt like a major victory. Yes up close it may have been cracked and pitted, but I don't think I'd ever take flat, level ground for granted ever again. I could have kissed it, but that definitely would have been going too far.

Having said that, with the road came all the trappings of roads. Old carts, fallen billboards, pot holes. Nothing terrible in comparison to where we'd just come from, but a reminder that things are rarely as easy as the seem. A lone Sprite-bot floated listlessly down the paving ahead of us. It had been a long time since I'd seen one. Not long enough, though. I was honestly surprised that it was still kicking around after centuries outside, exposed to the elements. Some things were just built to last, I figured.

To our left, the ground continued to drop. Further down below was a raging river, rocky and rapid. It was a horrible brown looking colour, junk and debris washed up on both sides of the banks. Among the trash lurked impossibly large crabs, light blue in colour, lumpy with growths. Gross. I understood that all the bad magic used on the last day had a dire effect on any creature it touched that didn't die outright, I just didn't understand why it had to make them all so big.

The closer we got to it, the louder the Sprite-bots endless parade of ministry approved music got. Back when I had my shop, this is all I'd be able to hear outside as they floated up and down the streets of Baltimare. It was infuriating. This one showed no interest in us as we passed, carrying on on it's noisy, annoying vigil. If I heard that music again before I died, it would be too soon. Even now it seemed like the shadow of the ministry's was inescapable.

I was enjoying the relative ease of walking though, we were practically strolling really. We were able to pick up the pace again, MD was hoping we could get there for the evening.

The road curved and weaved along, dancing along the river and cutting through the landscape. I couldn't help but imagine it in better days, packed with ponies travelling to and fro. I was a fairly recent transplant to the area, I'd lived in Baltimare for only a few years, and I'd never really explored the surrounding areas like this. I'd never been to Dodge Junction, or Fillydelphia, or Hollow Shades or anything. I'd always wanted to visit Manehattan, but never quite had enough bits. I wished I had just gone now, but I left it and now it was too late. Apocalypse tourism wasn't quite as appealing to me as seeing these places fully intact.

Over the gentle rushing of the wind I could hear something chittering. I couldn't quite place it, but there was definitely something around. My ears swivelled to try and locate it. MD had her earbloom back in, she said she wanted to keep up with the news, but the signal was screwy. She'd been trying her best to walk and fiddle with her PipBuck at the same time, which was kind of funny to watch at least.

We passed a rusted out motorwagon hauler and the chittering went crazy. My ears both pointed hard left, and my head followed.

The wall of the trailer had been completely eroded away, leaving the interior wide open. Inside, tucked amongst broken crates and old empty bottles was a camping chair with the degrading remains of a unicorn sat in it. And sat on and around the corpse was about a dozen Radroaches, about half of which were now looking at me.

Apparently losing interest in their carrion, one of them jumped at me, several others following suit. They were disgusting, bastardised chitinious masses the length of my whole leg, still dripping viscera from their maws. Luckily for me though, they were not as fast as their normal sized ascendants. I had just enough time to draw my pistol before they closed the distance.

Panicked, I pulled the trigger in their direction. Mr. Goldwing was right, moving targets were hard.

Cracks filled the air as I managed to nail the nearest one in the face, it's eye exploding into gooey green gore as the bullet tore through it's head. Two more bullets hit the roach behind it in it's legs, causing it to flail wildly. The fourth bullet hit one of the bugs further back square in the carapace, causing it to fall limp.

Bullets five and six didn't come, there were just clicks. I had totally forgotten to reload after MD killed those Bloatsprites yesterday.

Running out of options, I stomped on the closest one to me with such force it practically burst, spraying my chest and legs with it's insides. I reared back to stomp again, but a single blast from MD's shotgun took out at least three more of the things before I could bring my hooves back down. She pumped it once in her hooves and fired at the rest of them, sending roach parts and gravel flying back, I think she even managed to take out some of the ones still in the trailer as collateral damage.

The bugs that weren't already attacking scuttled off, buzzing towards the river and leaving us stood in a pile of messed up exoskeleton.

"Nice one, Silv! These guys would've probably gotten the drop on me if you weren't here." She beamed, winking her bad eye at me. "The system works!"

I nodded to her before looking down at myself. I was absolutely covered in their blood. It stank. I tried to scrape some off of my chest, but it was sticky and oozy. My neck hurt a little from the recoil and my ears were ringing. I was kind of surprised that even though I'd just killed something, multiple things, I was more upset about the juices I was lathered up in. I guess they were just bugs, after all. Big bugs, but still just bugs.

MD had trotted over to the trailer, looking over the bloated body, idly floating a couple of shells into her shotgun as she inspected it.

"Poor bastard. Wasn't the bugs that killed him though."

"You can tell?" I asked, still kind of distracted by all the crap I was covered in.

"Well, I've never known a Radroach to leave a bullet in the head."

My head snapped up and I caught a full glance at the body, albeit still at a distance. I felt no need to get any closer. It was a bloody mess, his head was thrown all the way back in a silent, permanent scream. It was easy to tell where the bugs had been eating away at his flesh, he was covered in bites dripping congealing blood and there were full on chunks torn from his barrel. Behind him there was a splash of dried blood on the remaining trailer wall. Flies buzzed all around him. It dawned on me that the horrible smell probably wasn't coming from the Radroach remnants I was painted with.

I gagged. A few times, to be honest. Since waking up in MD's house I'd vomited a lot more than usual. This time I managed to hold it down. Just. I couldn't bear to look at the body anymore though, so I turned away, I had no idea how MD could stand to be so close to it.

I'd never seen a dead body before, skeletons notwithstanding. But the skeletons just sort of made me sad now, this was scary, this was a murder.

"We should take a look around, see if he's got anything useful." MD suggested.

"We're stealing from a dead body?" I asked, surprised, tutning to face her. I knew she was a scavenger, but a graverobber too?

"Well it's not like he's going to be needing anything anytime soon." She explained, clambering into the trailer, the corpse lingering in my peripheral vision.

"I'm good, actually." I replied. I was not going in there. I couldn't fault her logic but I thought digging through the unicorns things would be incredibly grim as well as totally disrespectful.

"Suit yourself, finders keepers." She said, setting her sights on the contents of the trailer. I turned back around but I could hear her clanging around in there. If the smell was bad here and I only imagine what it was like over there, I couldn't think of anything worse than voluntarily getting that close to a corpse in that state. I glanced back over quickly, catching it in my eyeline. Maggots writhed in its eyes, dried blood marring the sockets.

I swallowed some bile and turned back away.

I needed to reload anyway.

Scraping as much goo as I could off of my hoof, I pulled out my pistol. Just like Mr. Goldwing had shown me, I pulled the cylinder out and pushed the plunger, six empty casings clattering to the ground. Now for the tricky bit.

Brushing past the Mutfruit, I rummaged in one of my suit pockets for a bullet. Carefully not to drop it, I pulled it out and inserted it into the empty chamber. I did this half a dozen times until the weapon was fully loaded, then I closed everything up. Good to go. I wait just another beat, and spun the cylinder with my hoof, filling the air with a satisfying whirr. Guns may be scary, but something about that just felt cool.

I really wished I had a speed loader though.

I could hear the ancient suspension on the trailer creak as MD jumped out of it and back on to the road, her hooves tapping on the surface as I looked back at her.

"Pretty much a bust, someone else got through it before us." She sighed. "Did grab you this, though."

She floated a saddlebag over to me, clearly well worn but looking sturdy enough. Much better than stuffing everything into my pockets at least. I didn't take it immediately, I was still uneasy about taking this dead stallions things.

"It's okay, it's clean." She said, sensing my hesitation. "Honestly, he not gonna miss it, it'd be a waste to leave it when you need it."

I couldn't really argue with that. It still felt a wrong, but it would just be sitting around doing nothing if I wasn't going to take it. I grabbed it from her aura.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Managed to grab these as well, better than nothing." She said, floating a healing potion out of one of her own pockets and an old box of apples out of her bag.

I made quick work of emptying the contents of my pockets into the bag, loose bullets in the bottom and the mutfruit sitting in a segregated flap inside. I placed the bag over my back and shifted my weight, getting it in a comfy position.

"Sweet, let's roll, we're making good pace." MD said, already starting to trot off. I cast a look back at the body.

"We're just going to leave him here?" I asked.

"I mean, yeah? We're on the clock here Silver, and to tell the truth I'm pretty sure he'd turn to slop if we even tried to move him."

This didn't sit right with me. He was somepony, he lived, he probably had a family somewhere. I didn't know who he was, but somepony did. We'd taken his stuff for Celestia's sake! I glanced between MD and the body. I wanted to do something for him.

"Thank you." I said softly. "The darkness of the afterlife is all that awaits you now. May you find more peace in that world than you did in this one."

It was an old last rite that Perfect had told me about ages ago when he was studying up on bedside manner. It seemed pertinent right now.

I caught up to MD and we carried on.

"I didn't know you believed in that sort of stuff." She said.

"I don't, not really." I answered. "I just wanted to do something for him."

I hoped she understood.

"Wait wait, it gets better! By the time I got back, right, the only route to his house had collapsed, so I had to tightrope walk over to him using a lasso he'd thrown!" MD chortled.

I'd asked her about what her day to day life was usually like in Baltimare. She was regaling me with her own follies and feats of derring do.

"So I cross all the way over on this rope, get to the other side and give him his order, and he just stares at me confused. Turns out he'd ordered the wrong thing and now we were both stuck!"

I giggled.

"So we're both standing outside his place on top of this building, and I get the bright idea to parasail down to the next floor and walk back from there. 'Course I'd never done anything like that before and didn't account for the physics of the whole thing, the rope snapped and I managed to swing myself straight through a window a good 20 floors up. Luckily it held just long enough for me to get back in on the next floor, but you can bet your ass I never messed around with tall buildings again. I ran all the way home covered in glass and got my dad to bring a ladder all the way back to town so this guy could leave. My dad was NOT happy, but everything was fine in the end. Never did take another job from him though." She finished, sighing. "So that's why I don't fuck with heights, that was TOO close y'know?"

"Yeah, I bet." I wasn't scared of heights, but I can imagine something like that would put the fear in anypony.

"Anyway, what about you, Silv? What's a day like in your horseshoes?"

"Me? Like, before all this?" I answered, a little perplexed

"Mmhmm! I wanna know what Baltimare used to be like."

"You don't wanna hear that, it's boring. How am I meant to follow your story up?"

"Come on Silv, I'm a Stable Dweller, remember? I'm sure it can't be any more boring than that." She chided. "I just wanna know what it was like."

"Well, okay, I guess." I conceded..

I thought back to my shop, to the Baltimare I knew. It was only a few days ago for me, really.

"Well, I'm a silversmith. I have my little workshop on Cloven Street, I live in the loft, I make trinkets and jewelry and repair broken pieces, stuff like that. Got a little showroom out the front and all. Got my regulars who'd drop by for a chat. I see my friends some nights, we go out for drinks or dinner sometimes. I read a lot, I write to my parents. I worry about money, but who doesn't? I worry about the war. Look how that turned out." I scoffed. "It was just normal, you know. Safe. At least we all thought it was. My own dull slice of life."

I internally winced. I missed that safety. I missed all of it. Even in retrospect knowing it would only have lasted a few more days, I missed it.

"That's about it really for my day to day. It was just a 9-5 but it was one I'd built. It was mine. Sorry, it's probably silly being so attached to such a banal way of living, but it's all I have- had. I'm nopony special really, but it's my life."

There were thousands of others just like me, tens of thousands. I was a needle in a needle stack. Was. But those thousands are gone now. I was still here. Probably the last pony around to have lived that life of normality, unless some other poor soul got petrified too, somewhere.

"It's not silly at all." MD replied. "Most sane ponies would kill to live like that."

"Really?"

"Silver, you had a real home, a way to make money, access to food and water, no monsters trying to kill you and nopony trying to take it from you. That's a pretty sweet deal." She explained. "Back in the Stable all I had to look forward to was repairing water filters for the rest of my life. And I'd still give anything to go back, to leave all this behind and have that security again."

She looked steely and solemn for a moment.

"I may be more used to living like this than you are, Silver, but I'm still scared. Anything can happen out here." She confided, quietly. "That's what makes ponies like us brave, we're scared but we carry on."

"I don't think I'm very brave, MD."

"Silver I'm pretty sure I can garuentee that the whole time you've known me has been the scariest of your life, right?" She asked.

I nodded.

"But you're still here. You didn't give up or run away or hide. You're out here still making a living in a world you don't know. I'd say that's pretty fucking brave."

Maybe I didn't run and hide, but maybe I wanted to. I didn't know if I was more brave or more stupid. I don't know if I'd even consider what we were doing right now 'making a living', but I didn't argue.

The road cut through some dense underbrush for a little while, and on the other side we emerged near a quite clearly still occupied building. It was an old cargo depot sat of some kind in an cut out embankment. It's aging walls had been patched with parts of old carts and roadsigns, and smoke rose from several barrel fires out the front. It's delivery door sat wide open, and it's old sign had been painted over.

Outta Dodge Rest Stop

We drew closer to it, and two ponies sat inside the delivery dock took notice of us and came out.

"Well shit, we got some honest to gods travellers here, Rusty!" One yelled excitedly.

"Sure looks like we do, been a minute!" The other replied.

Two stallions were waving us over, one a stout grey Earth pony and the other a tall, taupe coloured pegasus.

"Hey there, Outta Dodge is open for business!" The shorter one beckoned. "Come set a spell, have some coffee!"

Moon and stars, it wasn't until the word left his mouth that I realised how desperately I needed a coffee. We hadn't stopped moving since sunrise and it was past noon now. It had been a very long couple of days, and the caffeine would be beyond welcome.

"I know we're on the clock MD, but we've not stopped for a while and I could destroy a coffee, like, right now. Please?" I asked. MD halted for a moment and inspected her PipBuck.

"What the hay, why not, we're closer than I thought we'd be by now." She smiled.

I did a little internal leap for joy. We adjusted our heading and made towards the building, the two stallions outside bumping hooves.

"Don't mention the cello or the collars, okay?" She whispered in my ear. "We don't know who these guys are."

I nodded.

"Thank you both kindly, been some time since we've had guests!" The pegasus said.

"You can say that again!" The Earth pony chimed. "Come in, come in, take the weight off your hooves."

The interior of the building had been completely stripped and replaced by something like a homemade café. A few tables were dotted around with cushions for seating, and some stacked crates served as a counter, complete with a set of mismatched stools. A lone Sparkle-Cola machine sat in the corner, flickering and buzzing. It was quite quaint, and actually a little bit cute.

"Name's Rover, thanks for stopping by!" Said the Earth pony, stepping behind the counter. His voice was warm, with a hint of a drawl. He was large and weathered, wrinkles marring his face, the grey scruff of a beard sitting on his jaw. He was sporting a very worn jacket and a cap that so frayed it flopped as he moved. "What can I get for you two?"

"Silver." I replied, perching myself on one of the stalls. "A coffee, please and thank you."

"I'm Make Do, make that two coffees, please!" MD added, leaning on the counter. Rover took notice of her PipBuck immediately.

"A Stable dweller, well ain't that something!" Been a long time since we had one of you under our roof." He said, looking surprised. "Two coffees coming up, Rusty will get right on it."

The pegasus, presumably Rusty, walked behind the counter and into a back room. Rusty looked a little younger than Rover, but not by a whole lot. He was tall and gangly and was wearing mechanic's overalls and a pair of reading glasses that had seen better days. A long, messy, gray mane flopped down his face, contrasting his short cropped tail.

"So what brings you two ladies this way?" Rover asked, wiping the counter top down. "This old road's been mighty empty as of late."

The clattering of metal and ceramic bounced out of the back room. I couldn't see what was happening but eventually I heard the constant low whine of a stove and figured coffee must be on now.

"We're heading to Dodge. Old Dodge, I mean. Looking for something to bring back to Baltimare, square some things up." MD said tacitly. "How come the road's been so dead?"

"Ah, everypony has been taking the long route ever since the bandits rolled in." He sighed.

"Bandits?" I asked.

"Buncha fiends broken off from Ponyville or the gorge or somewhere." Yelled Rusty through the door. "Camped up on the bridge and started charging a 'toll', if you can't pay up they shoot. And even if you do pay, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them."

"It's totally killed our hooffall." Rover added, grumpily. "You're the first ponies we've seen in a couple of weeks now. Not even been able to restock with our regular merchants, all the traders have been taking the long road to get to the forest."

"The long road?" MD asked.

"It's a route that heads further west from New Dodge towards Ponyville then cuts back around north of here into the woods. Now it's a lot longer, but it's safer than dealing with those bridge terrors. If that's where you're headed, I'd suggest turning around and rejoining the route from there."

MD looked at her PipBuck for a moment before she grimaced.

"No can do, we're on a tight schedule, we'd lose almost a whole day going around." She said, looking at me.

"I don't know MD, this sounds really dangerous." I countered. Bugs and wild animals were one thing, but this was ponies with guns we were talking about.

"I get it Silv, but remember what we're working with here." She flicked her eyes down towards my hidden collar for a fraction of a second. "If we go the long way and get into Dodge and can't find what we're looking for then we're bucked, I don't know if it would leave us with enough time to look anywhere else. Walking back across the mud will slow us right down, too."

She lifted her PipBuck to me and showed me the map screen, lighting up my face in a sickly green glow. It was quite a hefty detour in all fairness.

"I get your point, but given the choice I think I'd really like to go the way where we don't get shot." I protested.

"Well, we could always pay the toll." MD pondered aloud, looking to Rover. "Do you know how much it is?"

"I have no idea Miss, but I'd say you're ballsier than me for even considering it." He laughed. "They're fiends, they'll take what they want from you and stab you in the back to say thanks."

"The last few ponies who did pass by weren't in a good way." Rusty piped up. "And they did pay the toll, from what I remember at least."

He emerged from the back room with his wings half splayed out, each one carrying a cup of steaming hot cup of coffee sat on a saucer. Effortlessly, he spread his wings at such an angle that the drinks slid off his plumage and smoothly onto the counter, coming to a stop in unison squarely in front of us both, not spilling a drop. It was admittedly a little impressive, graceful even, but I'd always had a bit of a soft spot for Pegasi.

"Thank you." I nodded to him, picking up the cup in both hooves. It was hot to the touch, almost too hot. I blew a breath across the surface and took a sip.

It was almost scalding, it was almost definitely instant, but it was coffee. And it was good, after everything that's happened the last couple of days. A delicious little bit of normality.

"So what, damned if we do, damned if we don't?" MD asked.

"We don't know that, we can go the long way around and once we get to Dodge we'll find-"

"But that's what I'm saying Silver, I'd love to just stroll in to town and find it first go, I really would. But suppose it's not there, okay, and we then have to look somewhere else and don't have enough time left to get home? Do we really want to risk that?" She drew a hoof across her neck for dramatic effect.

"Okay, but do we really want to risk getting ourselves shot?" I countered.

"Look, fiends we can at least fight back against, there's nothing we can do about the timer!"

"Maybe we could fight back, but there's only two of us, and we have no idea how many of them there are! Enough of them to close down a whole road for weeks!"

"Ladies, ladies, now I don't know what you have going on, but it sounds like you're getting worked up just talking yourselves 'round in circles!" Rover interrupted.

"Sorry." Me and MD both said together.

"Now it's no business of mine, but I really would suggest turning back and taking the other way, surely the extra time is worth your safety?"

"I really wish it was that simple." MD replied, hooves in her mane. She took a big swig of coffee with her magic and leaned on the counter.

"Well, how about we make it simpler?" Came Rusty's voice, slicing through the conversation.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Come now Rusty, we've talked about this." Rover said, almost pleading.

"I know, I know, but there'd be three of us, and I like those odds." Rusty rebutted, joining us at the counter and settling down on the stooll next to MD.

"You folks need to get to Dodge right quick, am I right?" He poised. "And we sure as Tartarus could do with getting traffic moving this way again. I can give you a hoof clearing those bastards of the bridge, and we both win!"

"You wanna help us?" MD asked quizzically, head tilted.

"We don't need to get involved, Rusty!" Rover interjected. "They'll move on eventually-"

"So we should just hold tight a little longer? It's been weeks, Rover! Are we supposed to just let them carry on killing our regulars? Our friends?" Rusty yelled. "I can't just sit on my ass any longer, it's high time we did something about it!"

"Rusty please, it's not safe, I can't have you getting hurt, you or these mares!"

"Then let's make it safe! Things'll never get back to normal if we just let these assholes win!" Rusty retorted. "It's me we're talking about, they won't even know what hit them."

Rover looked concerned, but didn't reply. Rusty heaved a heavy breath out before looking back at us.

"So are we on?"

"Are you sure?" MD asked. "You're kinda... old."

"Hah, I might not be as young as I used to be, but I served as a sharpshooter for years, best in my unit. I still got it where it counts, I can be a pretty shadowy pony."

"You're a sniper?"

"You can bet your tail on it. Still got my service rifle ready and waiting." He grinned. "I don't know how many of these bastards we're dealing with, but if you ladies can draw them out I can pick them off. Between me and that fancy targeting spell on your PipBuck I bet we can make quick work of it. We get our road back, you get a quick and easy way to Dodge. That's a win all round, far as I'm concerned."

I seriously had my doubts. He may have been a sniper at one point, but he did look pretty old now. That and the fact that for this plan to work we were essentially meant to be bait, we were just there for him to get a clear shot. It sounded like a lot of risk for us and not a lot for him.

"Fuck yeah, sounds perfect!" MD chimed.

"Now just hold on a minute!" Rover bellowed. "Rusty, you mean to tell me your plan is to just dump these mares at the fiends' gates and let them take all the heat? I know you're a crack shot but that just sounds downright cruel to me!"

I nodded in agreement, the stallion was speaking reason. This was a stupid plan.

"I'd really like to not be anywhere near these fiends if I can help it." I added. "I'm not trying to get myself killed."

"It's not like I was gonna let them head in there unprepared!" Rusty groused, tapping his hoof on the countertop. "We got things put aside, and I figure this is as worthy a cause as any to donate them to."

"Hey now, we agreed that was for emergencies!" Rover frowned. "Rusty, these ponies don't know us from dirt, I cannot in good conscience ask them to go and fight for us!"

"Well, you ain't. I am." Rusty clicked. "And they don't seem too broken up about it."

"Look, if it means getting to Dodge on time, then I'm all for it!" MD replied enthusiastically.

I couldn't believe I was hearing this, another decision was being made for me entirely against my best interests. I understood the bomb collars could not be reasoned with, but playing an up close and personal part in a mass shooting was absolutely not the lesser of two evils here.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I burst out. "I can't do this, any of this! If these ponies are as dangerous as you say they are, then no way am I getting up close to them, let alone fighting them! Drawing them out for someone else to kill them is a horrific idea. Trying worm through by ourselves, which I still object to by the way, is one thing, but this is just murder!"

I took a big sip of my coffee before continuing.

"I get that these bandits may be bad ponies, but even if me and MD don't get killed being bait, surely by killing them off we'd be no better than they are!"

All I got in return were three dumbfounded stares. I had at least expected Rover to agree with me, but he too was looking at me like I'd grown a second head.

"I get the sentiment Silv, but fiends and raiders can't be bargained or reasoned with. If we leave them be they'll just carry on killing."

"Ya Vault dwellin' friend's right, Miss." Rusty interjected. "All a fiend knows is killin' and rapin' and stealin'. They're barely even ponies, if you ask me. They'd shoot you and your family first chance they got just for fun."

"He's right about that." Rover agreed. "Much as I don't want any of you to go through with this, it's the danger rather than the morals. Some ponies are just born bad, I reckon."

That really didn't make me feel any better about this plan at all.

"Okay, and what, me and MD are supposed to just walk up to these 'shoot now ask later' types and hope Rusty gets them before they get us?" I asked, incredulous. "If they're as dangerous as you all say they are, then you can count me out."

"No hope about it, I'm a straight shot, I'll put 'em down clean." Rusty clarified.

"I'm sure you are, you might be the best shot in the world, but if the fiends shoot first then it's us who's on the line!" I countered.

"She's right, Rusty, it's too dangerous. We just met these folks and you're asking them to fight and maybe even die for this?" Rover shook his head.

"I know it's dangerous, that's why I'm saying we gear them up. Give them the right tools and the bastards won't be able to touch 'em." Rusty smiled, raising his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"We trade with all kinds here, got all sorts stockpiled. We can set you up with some armour, AP rounds, the works. Sure as shit be better that whatever they're working with on the bridge." Rusty explained. "You can keep whatever you take when we're done, consider it a thanks for the help."

MD looked at me pointedly.

"Come on Silver, you hear that? It's a total no brainer!" She beamed, egging me on.

"You'd be doing us a great favour. Hay, you'd be doing everyone in the area a great favour. I'm sure the folks in Dodge City will be thrilled when you tell them the bridge is clear." Rusty chimed in. "We can stop them now and nopony else has to die."

I hated this. I hated being dogpiled on. This wasn't a silly dare we were talking about, this was real life and death for everypony concerned. Truth be told, I couldn't believe how flippantly MD was treating the whole situation, she seemed more than prepared to march over and start shooting. Killing.

Is this what it took to survive in the wastelands? I know Make Do had said things could turn all 'kill or be killed', but it's one thing being told that and another being asked to voluntarily put yourself in that situation.

I knew these fiends were bad ponies. Bad was probably an understatement, I can't think of a word low enough to describe them based on what I'd heard. I didn't like it, but in the long run it sounded like we'd be saving innocent lives by removing them for good. But did I have it in me to kill one? Even if it would make the world a better place? Ends, means, justified? These three certainly thought so.

I didn't know.

I shot MD a concerned look. I think she could tell I still didn't want to go. It was lose-lose for me either way, either we run out of time or get shot. I thought about the corpse we passed on the road. I didn't want to end up like that, but I'm sure he didn't either. I'd never want to do that to anypony either, but clearly these fiends didn't have such qualms.

MD had gotten us this far, though. She'd had my back at every turn so far, there had been a lot of times where I could have died but didn't because of her. She seems to think we could do it, maybe I should trust her on this.

I closed my eyes and sighed. For the greater good, I could try. Wordlessly, I nodded at MD.

"Alright, let's do it." She announced.

"Well shit, thank you both kindly!" Rusty replied, pushing himself up from the stool. "I'll show you the stockroom, help yourself to equipment from there."

He kicked a door open and led us through. It was a small room lined with shelves piled with all sorts of clothes, boxes of bullets, potions, medicine, weapons, everything a survivalist could want.

"Y'all can take anything except the ketamine, that's mine." He winked. "I'm gonna go get ready, I'll meet you outside."

"And make sure you all come back alive!" Rover bellowed from the other room. "I'm serious."

I gulped. Easier said than done.

We were fully kitted out, I almost felt like I was in the army.

I was sporting a helmet and had traded my jumpsuit for an armoured vest that was currently strapped around my barrel. My bag was full of bandages, bullets, a few healing potions and some other assorted things MD said would be useful that I didn't recognise. We'd reloaded my revolver with Anti-Pony rounds, which sounded horrific, and filled one of my bag's pockets with a hoofful of spares. We'd also found a proper holster for me. To top it off I had a combat knife strapped to my chest, which I was really hoping I'd not have to use.

MD had found a battle saddle and mounted her shotgun to it, leaving her horn free enough that she'd also picked up a pistol as a side weapon. She was wearing an armoured vest too, but no helmet, she said she didn't like how they restricted her ears moving. She'd shovelled Celestia knows what into her saddlebag, but it almost looked full to bursting.

If I felt like I was in the army, Rusty looked like a hardcore veteran. He was dressed head to hoof in a set of matching armour, it was dark grey and had seen heavy use by the looks of it, the plates scuffed and scratched, battered. Pouches lined his barrel but left space for his wings to sit. On the chest plate it looked like he had painted the outline of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark for some reason. Weird.

The gun took centre stage, though. Strapped across his back was the longest, biggest gun I had ever seen, the barrel sticking out well past his chest and out in front of him. He had to carry it at an angle so that his neck wasn't in the way. It was huge. I'd not seen anything quite like it before. The main body of the thing was chunky and seemed to be emanating a kind of green glow. It was covered in tubes and wires. A large scope sat on top of it. It almost looked alien.

"Stars, that thing looks nasty." MD said, looking over his rifle.

"Well, it certainly ain't friendly." He chortled. "Plasma Sniper, it's an old Cloudsdayle Armoury pattern and it means business. Good thing you ain't the one it's pointed at."

"Yeah, no thanks, I've had more than my fill of plasma exposure." She replied. I didn't really know what she meant by that.

Rusty was leading us down the road to the bridge. We'd left the rest stop a little while ago, Rover seeing us off and telling us all to keep safe. He'd stayed behind to watch the place, though Rusty had told us that he really wasn't one for fighting. That made two of us...

MD's estimated from her PipBuck's map that the bridge was about a 45 minute walk away. We'd been making a brisk pace along the road for a little while now. I was silently dreading what was waiting for us.

We'd spent most of the short trip so far talking about the plan, if you could call it that. Despite their chatting, MD and Rusty hadn't really come up with anything more in depth than him splitting off to higher ground while we coax the fiends into his line of sight. I was hoping that between them, being ex-military in some capacity and the daughter of a tactician respectively, they'd have come up with something a little more thorough and thought out than that. Apparently not though. Rusty would fly ahead of us before we got to the bridge and scout it out so we'd at least know what we were dealing with. From there he would find somewhere to hunker down where he wouldn't be spotted. Then it was our job to get to the bridge and draw all the fiends out into the open so that between us we could get rid of them all. Rusty would try and take out as many as he could before we had to get our hooves bloody and finish off anypony he couldn't see. That was assuming they didn't just rush us on sight.

Gods, I never should have relented, we were going to get ourselves killed.

The road was lined with trees either side now, obscuring the river from view and meaning the fiends hopefully wouldn't see us coming too early. The further we headed the cloudier it started getting again.

"So, Dashite, huh?" MD asked.

"Yes ma'am, by default if nothing else." Rusty replied. I had no idea what they were going on about.

"Default?" MD replied, sounding a little confused as well.

"Well it was maybe 30 years or so ago." He started. "Was sent down on covert ops with my squad a ways out west from here when we got in a bad tangle with a Manticore, messed me up real nasty. 'Course, rather than help my team all ran off, saved their own hides. I was an 'acceptable loss', see. They just left me down here to die."

"Ouch." MD said.

"You can say that again. I woulda been killed for sure if Rover hadn't come along and found me, kind soul that he is. Had no reason to help me, but he did. Healed me up, took me in, been here ever since." He explained, voice low. "Now imagine that, you give everything in the line of duty just for your people to turn tail when you need them most. And then a total stranger you've been taught to hate comes along and does the right thing. Makes a pony ask certain questions, I tell you what."

Harrowing as that all sounded, I still had no idea what they were talking about.

"What about you and your friend, then? I see you're a Stable dweller but your Earth pony companion doesn't seem to be." He asked, looking between us both.

"I was a Stable dweller, not for years now. Raiders saw to that." She snorted.

"Stable 5?" Rusty inquired, head tilted.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"My condolences, heard about that when it happened. Sounded like a real horror show." He bowed his head down.

"Yeah, well, time heals all wounds and all that. At least we can write some wrongs by this." She muttered.

There was that mean streak again. Far be it from me to chastise somepony for holding a grudge, especially over something as deplorable as what MD had gone through, but it was weird to see her talk so callously. It'd never crossed my mind before that she might be out for some kind of revenge.

"And what about you, Miss?" Rusty asked, looking back at me.

"Me? I'm nopony special." I replied. "I just want this to all be over."

"I found her at a MAs hub, she'd been turned into a statue during the war." MD explained.

"No kiddin'? Shit, now that's a tall tale I'd like to hear." Rusty said before looking around. "But maybe another time, we're coming up on the turn. I'm gonna take off while we're still hidden in the trees, you two wait here and I'll see what I can see."

MD nodded at him, and he began a short gallop, his wings opening and pushing him into the air, clearing the treeline and leaving my sight. It was just me and MD again, alone with a gentle breeze and the distant sound of rushing water.

"Ready to do this thing Silv?"

"I don't know MD, we haven't got a real plan, we don't even know how many of them there are!" I hissed. She shrugged it off.

"Well that's why Rusty is scouting ahead. Silver, this isn't my first rodeo, okay? We'll make it work. I'll go up front with the shotgun, you can hang back with the pistol and pick them off from a distance. Rusty's a military sniper and I've got SATS targeting on my PipBuck. We got this, no sweat."

"I'm scared MD, I don't like this."

"That's normal, fiends and raiders are scary. But they're also dumb as rocks, just hold your ground and don't lose your nerve. We got this, okay?" She said, putting a hoof on my withers reassuringly. "And if you really need it, I've got a saddlebag full of drugs."

I nodded. If she thought we could do this then the least I could do was try my best.

I spent the next few minutes mentally preparing myself to get into lethal combat. I didn't really know how to get myself in the right mindset, I'd never been in so much as a hoof fight before so this was going to be a big jump for me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fighting back tremors.

MD checked over her guns almost nonchalantly. I guessed she was a lot more used to this than I was.

A small step for her, a big jump for me.

Rusty came back into view, an old monocular hanging around his neck. He came to a halt above us, hovering in place.

"Alright, I scoped out what I could. Looks like there's about ten of them or so, there's a couple of tents I couldn't see into though, so possibly more."

Ten?! I almost bolted on the spot.

"The weapons they have mostly look like shit, but a couple of them might have had submachine guns, so be wary of that. They've got some pretty shoddy scrap walls for cover, you'll need to flush them out for me to see 'em, but shouldn't be a big deal, they'll probably all come runnin' out at the first sign of commotion anyway." He continued. "I found a rocky outcropping up the hill a ways, I'm gonna go get set up there and we're all good to go."

"Sounds like a plan, thanks." MD nodded.

"Just one more thing, it's pretty grim down there so just... steel yourselves. It ain't pretty."

With a small wave and a heavy beat of his wings, he ascended again, shooting off into the distance.

"What does he mean by that?" I asked. MD hummed for a second.

"Well, you know the whole 'respect for the dead' thing you have going on? Most fiends are like the opposite of that. It's actually more like a contempt for the dead." She grimaced. "There's going to be bodies, and they're not all going to be, well, intact."

"That's fucking vile." I said, scrunching my snout in disgust.

Not having the time, means, or even will to take care of a corpse was one thing, but to leave multiple dead bodies around somewhere you were living sounded not only absolutely horrific in a moral sense but also alarmingly unhygienic.

"Just, be ready. There's gonna be some fucked up shit." MD added. "We should get moving."

"Great."

We slowly started trotting again, heading towards the turn in the road. The trees began to thin out along the verge, bringing the slope to the rivers edge slowly back into view. After a couple of minutes the cover gave way entirely as the road reached a junction, a sign gave us our options.

DODGE JUNCTION 10
PONYVILLE 45 >
TOLL 500 BITS!!!

It had been crudely amended with yellow spray paint. A unicorn skull had been placed on top of the signpost, still bloody, the last vestiges of festering tissue still clinging to the bone like something out of a bad horror movie. Positively grotesque.

I held my nerve for now. We carried on past the sign as the road turned perpendicular to the water. Now that I could see the river clearly it was easy to tell it was a lot wider here than it was when we first saw it, but no more calm. It frothed and sprayed and eddied, the current obviously very strong.

Further down from us was the bridge, barricaded with a messy wall of scrap metal, old vehicles and fallen trees, with nothing but a small gap for passage. Between us and it was pure carnage.

The smell hit me first before I realised what I was looking at. Rank and sickly sweet, putrid and inescapable. It practically clung to my nostrils. My stomach churned.

The path before us was lined with the dead. There might have been dozens, it was hard to tell.
I'd heard about things like this happening during the war. But to see it for yourself is something else.

Lone corpses cut down mid gallop, heaps of bodies stacked up and melting together into great piles of decay, individuals strung up and left as sick displays. Some were missing heads, some draped entrails, some still dripped fresh blood from their wounds and others were rotted to bone. Swathes of bodily fluids clogged the ground, leaving hideous browny-red pools. Bullet holes riddled the paving, empty casings rolled under hoof.

'DONT FUCK WITH US' read graffiti on a billboard. A decapitated body had been hung by it's tail over the top by a rope, drained of blood from the gaping hole.

In the middle of the road before us lay the sad, tiny remains of a foal, still in the protective clutches of it's deceased parents.

A foal.

I don't think I can properly convey the sickness I felt. Past the obvious repulsion and horror, it was something that struck me in my very soul, burned into my mind. This was far beyond evil, this was a crime against life itself. The fact that any creature was able to carry out this atrocity was fundamentaly despicable, let alone one able to think, able to tell right from wrong. This wasn't a bugbear or a manticore blindly lashing out, this was by the hooves of ponies. I knew that there would only be more of this waiting for us on the other side of the bridge, too.

Unforgivable.

I grit my teeth and carried on following MD, willing myself not to be sick. Not here.

MD looked back to make sure I was still there. Half a life in the wastelands may have hardend her, but even she was looking decidedly paler than earlier.

We weaved between pools of blood and broken corpses, around abandoned wagons and carts, drawing closer and closer to the bridge itself. The ramp up had been barricaded with overturned vehicles and scraps of metal and wood. A guard standing in front of the makeshift wall spotted us, raving and yelling behind to presumably the rest of the fiends. We were to far away to hear what was being said, the chatter drowned out by the sound of roaring water. They knew we were here now, there was no turning back. I could only hope Rusty could see us from wherever he was.

A group of bandits popped up over the barricade, all toting guns. They looked almost exactly how I'd imaginezd, ragged, mismatched a d filthy. Some of them had what I could only guess was supposed to be warpaint splattered all over their faces and bodies.

"Don't take another step or I'll blow your fucking head off!" One boomed. We stopped.

My heart rate was through the roof. We spent a tense few seconds stood there, not moving.

"Toll's a thousand. Each. You got caps?" Another shouted.

"Sign says 500." MD shouted back.

"Sign's wrong." The third replied, pushing herself up off the top of the baricade. "Now are you gonna pay up or are you tryna paint the floor?"

A moment went by with the mare staring at us down the sights of her gun. She was a dirty shade of lilac and had black paint smeared around her eyes and striped down her sides. It must only have been a couple of seconds but it felt like all the time in the world.

The electric green ball of plasma slammed into her head, instantly reducing it to a smouldering goo that bubbled down her neck. Her limp body fell from the wall with a thud, crashing backwards. Two more bolts of energy quickly followed before any of the other fiends had time to react, one vaporising the guard stood in front of us entirely and the other splashing off the neck of one of the fiends on top of the wall, not killing him immediately but leaving behind a horrific caustic burn that ate away at his flesh, causing him too to fall.

Something inside of me recognised this as a horribly gruesome thing to witness, but beyond the discomfort of seeing it I didn't actually feel bad about it at all. These ponies deserved worse than they got.

"OH SHIT, AMBUSH!" One of the remaining fiends on the wall shouted. Another one opened fire, liberally spraying bullets in the general direction of me and MD.

Now panic set in. I scrambled out the way, galloping behind a wagon and clenching my pistol in my teeth. This was real now, we were being shot at. And I'd stupidly broken off from MD. Bangs and yells sounded off all around me as the clips of galloping hooves blended into the droning roar of the river. It was incredibly overwhelming.

"IT'S AN ATTACK, KILL THE FUCKERS!" screamed somepony from the camp.

Trying my best to steady my breathing, I peeked around the edge of the wagon, gun at the ready. I was trembling, adrenaline rushing through my system.

I spotted MD, she was pressed up against the barricade facing the bottleneck, poised and ready to take out the next fiend to exit. She wasn't waiting long before one ran out on her, an Earth pony clutching a pistol. Before he'd even had time to see her, she'd clamped down on the bit of her battle saddle and blasted two shots right into him, buckshot tearing away at his shoulders and barrel, spraying the wall in fresh blood and sending the fiend skidding along the floor.

A couple more emerged over the top of the barricade to take his place, not hesitating to open fire. I ducked back behind the wagon, stray bullets splintering the wood but thankfully missing me. A couple more plasma bolts soared over my head, but I didn't see if they hit their targets.

The deafening sound of MD's shotgun filled the air again. I looked back over only to see a bloody but still very much alive unicorn swinging a golf club at MD. She was deftly dodging the blows, but the close quarters meant she couldn't line up a shot.

The fiend landed a hit across her head, the shaft of the club deforming with the force, leaving MD dazed for a moment, stumbling back. He pulled back to swing again. I pointed towards him and pulled the trigger on my pistol. I didn't really have time to aim properly, I couldn't hesitate. I squeezed off four shots, my eyes closed.

I opened one eye. I'd managed to land two hits, leaving a pair of small holes in his flank that were gushing blood. I might have grazed his back too, but it couldn't say that he wasn't already injured from fighting MD. What I could say though was that he was now very aware of me, and that the bullets didn't seem to have hurt him at all, if anything he only seemed angrier! Apparently now losing interest in MD he began galloping in my direction, covering the meager distance in no time at all. I backed up, terrified, but nowhere near as quickly as he was moving.

Club in his aura, he swung as hard as he could into my barrel. Even wearing armour I could feel my ribs crack, leaving me winded and reeling. He'd hit me so hard the club had snapped in two, bottom half tumbling to the ground not too far away from me. The pain was searing and instant, my ears rang and my vision went dark for a moment. I braced myself for another hit, but it never came, MD had run up behind him and unloaded a shell into him almost point blank, entering one side of his shoulder and exploding out the other. He fell, sending the club handle rolling.

She offered me a hoof and I grabbed it, steadying myself.

No sooner had I steadied myself on my hooves I squeezed the trigger again, a machete weilding mare was coming up behind MD's blind side. I hit her square between the eyes and she went down.

She was dead. By my own doing.

She was a dusty pink unicorn with a cropped yellow mane, face and body plastered with warpaint. Her cutie mark seemed to be two red X's. Blood ran down her face from the wound on her forehead, green eyes still wide open.

I'd done it, I'd ended a life. Killed.

I didn't have a lot of time to reflect on this, bullets were still flying overhead. A fiend with a shotgun fired at us from a distance. I closed my eyes as shrapnel flew past us, cutting at my ears and neck. It burned, but I don't think anything significant landed, I'd have to check later.

That fiend too found himself reduced to a puddle of plasma goo just seconds later.

The rattle of a machine gun sounded off and I scrambled to get behind cover, though the sudden searing pain in my left flank indicated that I'd not been quick enough. I yelped and tumbled down in the open, splaying out on the ground in front of two more fiends carrying another shotgun and machine gun between them. MD quickly pulled me behind an old motorcart just in the nick of time as bullets tore up the paving where I was laying not a second earlier.

I gasped for air, wordlessly, dropping my gun. I'd been shot. I'd been shot. I stared down at the wound, it was a long, shallow gash that ended in a red hole just below my cutie mark, throbbing and spilling blood down my leg. It was a burning pain like I'd never felt before. I trembled, almost hyperventilating. I tried to move but I couldn't put any weight on my injured leg, slumping down against the side of the wagon, grimacing. Oh Gods this was real!

My breathing was ragged, fast and shallow. MD grabbed my face and gave me a look over, she was mottled with blood and covered in dirt. Concern flashed on her face when she saw my leg. She was saying something to me, but I couldn't make any words out over the ringing in my ears and the cracks of gunshots. She reached into her bag and grabbed a small glass bottle, shaking out a little pill and looking at me. She spoke again, I still wasn't able to make out anything she said, and offered the pill to me.

I looked at it unsure for a second before a barrage of bullets tore through our cover just above our heads, dusting us with shards of rusty metal. MD ducked down to the floor and my ears folded flat. She shook her head and shoved the pill in my mouth. I swallowed it automatically, sticking to my dry throat for a second before it worked it's way down, making me wrech a little.

The bullets stopped flying just for a moment. MD took the brief respite to reload, sliding more shells into her shotgun.

As the pill dissipated in my stomach, I was feeling okay. Maybe a bit better than okay, actually. All the pain was melting away, and I was feeling more alert, more alive! I felt good. These must have been some high grade painkillers for sure, I'd never had anything work so fast! I scooped my revolver back up and pushed myself up onto my hooves, leg no longer giving me any trouble at all.

There was a flash of green and a scream, followed by the sound of sizzling. Rusty must've landed another hit.

No sooner had I stood back up, me and MD were both rocked by an explosion, the blast knocking us both over and tearing away our cover.

"Can't you shitheads do anything right?" Shouted a new voice. "Fuck it, I'll kill 'em myself!"

Scrambling back upright, I saw three fiends leaving the entryway and coming right for us.

Two mares, a Unicorn and an Earth pony trotted either side of a large Unicorn stallion. He was rough and weathered, a sickly green, wearing the cracked skull of an Earth pony on his head, cresting his horn. In his magical grasp he was holding a bunch of grenades. The leader, he must have been. The one behind all this horror, all this senseless killing. I saw red. He, more than anypony else, needed to die.

"This is how you do it!" He yelled, pulling the pin free from one of the grenades.

"Die you fuck!" I spat, squeezing off all the shots in my revolver. One. One shot. MD may have reloaded, but I hadn't. It whizzed by harmlessly, missing all three of them and embedding itself in the barricade behind them.

He laughed at me, a spiteful little giggle.

"Time to say goodbye, asshole!" He chirped, lobbing a grenade right at my hooves. I fell over myself trying to run away. Thankfully MD scooped it up with her magic and threw it back towards the fiend group. It exploded in the air before it could hurt any of us.

Simultaneously a plasma ball hit the Unicorn mare and MD fired on the leader. The former screaming and collapsing as the skin on her chest and forelegs melted away, and the latter jumping back, narrowly avoiding a cloud of buckshot. Me and the other mare locked eyes. She was a dull blue Earth pony, her mane braided, and she was carrying a knife in her mouth.

She lunged forward, galloping right at me as shotgun blasts filled the air. I didn't have time to grab my own knife before she closed the distance, but I instinctively ducked down, sending her toppling over the top of me. With her stumbing behind me, I quickly delivered the most solid buck I could, my hind legs crashing into her barrel and knocking her to the ground.

"SILVER!" MD cried. A grenade clattered to the ground next to me. I froze for a moment looking at it dumbfounded. Suddenly coming to my senses, I flailed, trying to dispatch the bomb in any direction. I kicked it behind me and started blindly running the other way. I heard the mare behind me screech for a moment before it went off.

Shrapnel flecked and tore past. I didn't think any of it got me too badly but it definitely shredded some of the armour around my back half and cut away at some of the skin around my hind legs and flanks. The blast wave crashed into me and threw me off balance, causing me to stumble and fall right at the hooves of the fiend leader.

"Hello, beautiful!" He sneered. He was wearing some kind of spiked horseshoe and had armour rising up his legs, his fur sticking out in tufts. He smirked and brought a forehoof down on my back.

The armour definitely did it's job, but it still hurt like Tartarus. My spine bent around the impact, and my already hurting ribs screamed. I groaned in pain.

Shotgun pellets flew past from MD's gun, nicking his face. He grunted and threw another grenade her way, I heard galloping and the jangle of her magic before it exploded, kicking up dust and gravel everywhere. I used this moment of distraction to pull out my knife, clutching it in my jaw.

Still tracking MD, he brought down his other hoof to stomp on me again. I twisted my head and faced the blade upwards, piercing his hoof right in the frog, going deep enough to scrape against bone. The sound was horrible, a wet scraping that I could feel against my teeth. He yowled and jumped back, the knife sliced out the side of his leg, leaving some of his skin flapping off. He dropped his remaining grenades in the process, pins still inserted, thankfully. I shakily stood back up as he inspected his injured leg, glaring at me intensity. He frowned, pulling a lead pipe off his back and trotting towards me menacingly, leaving a trail of bloody hoofprints in his wake. I slowly backed up as he did.

"You bitch, I'm gonna enjoy this." He muttered, spinning the pipe in his aura, smiling a sadistic smile. I nervously readied my knife.

I needn't have, though. At that very moment MD got a close shot on his rear, crippling his hind legs. Before he even had time to scream, a plasma bolt burned through his barrel, the searing ball of heat almost splitting him in two. His body smoked and twitched and he fell, the pipe clattering to the ground with him, his mouth open in a silent cry.

He was dead.

I deflated, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. This sadistic fuck was dead, he could never hurt anypony else ever again. We'd done it. I fell to my haunches in relief. I was sweating and hurting, everything sounded fuzzy, I was filthy. But I felt better for knowing we'd stopped this bastard for good.

"Silver, behind you!"

I whipped my head around as MD yelled. The knife wielding Earth Pony was mid jump towards me, chunks of flesh hanging from her face and neck. I didn't have any time to react, my eyes wide as she landed on top of me, grabbing my ear in her teeth and sending us both careening along the floor. She didn't let up her grip once. I pushed myself up and started bucking wildly trying to dislodge her, but her hold was firm.

"DIE DIE DIE!!!" She howled, releasing my ear and wrapping a hoof around my throat. I had no chance to recover before she plunged the knife into me, blade going straight through a weak part of my vest and between my shoulder bones. I screamed in agony as it pushed through muscle and sinew, my own blade clattering to the ground. She pulled the knife out and quickly brought it back down again into the side of my neck, slashing at jugular. She brought it down for a third time between my neck and my withers, dangerously close to my collar, pushing it down to the hilt, grinding on my bones.

I rolled over, desperately trying to push her off me, but she followed my movement, straddling me the whole way around until I was on her back and she was straddling me. She brought the knife down on me again, slicing right between my neck and my chest, cutting through the soft tissue and tearing between my throat and my ribcage.

Running on nothing but pure adrenaline, I noticed the handle of the broken golf club laying next to me, the shaft now sharp from the break. I grabbed it in a hoof and swung as hard as I could at the mare. The pointed end pierced straight through her throat and came all the way out the other side, dripping red.

She went slightly limp, gurgling, hooves reaching for her neck, chocking crimson spittle. I let go and she swayed for a second, I thought it was over until she began to weakly pound her hooves on my chest. Gods, she was still trying to fight! I writhed as she tried to grab the knife again, still not able to shake her off, even in the state she was in she stubbornly clung on. Gravely injured as she was, there was nothing but hate in her eyes, malice, contempt for my existence burning to her core. She wanted me dead, she would accept nothing less. Everything hurt, I was losing the strength to fight, I was pushing her back as much as I could, but it just wasn't enough, she was getting closer to the handle of the knife. She was going to end this.

By the grace of Celestia though, MD had other ideas. She rushed over and threw the mare off of me. Before she'd even had a chance to struggle, MD pulled the trigger and put her out of her misery, shotgun blowing her head apart like an overripe melon.

I could feel my own blood pooling underneath me, knife still wedged in my chest. I tried to get back upright, groaning with the effort, my whole body protesting. I managed a scant few steps towards MD before I fell back onto my haunches, woozy.

"Oh moon and stars Silver, you hang on, I'll get you patched right up." She said worriedly, trotting over and keeping me upright with a forehoof.

She looked in a bit of a bad way too. Her face was marked with cuts and grazes, a small fragment of shrapnel stuck out of her neck, her armour torn. We were both covered in blood, both our own and the fiends.

"Hey, we did it!" I weakly cheered.

"We did it." She smiled back. "You just hold tight, I'm gonna patch you up, okay?"

I nodded as she opened the flap on her saddlebag, rifling through it. I would be okay, MD was gonna take care of me. I just needed to lie down.

A shadow passed overhead as I slowly flopped out on the paving. Rusty touched down just by MD.

"You two okay? I circled around, I think we gottem' all!" He said, glancing to MD and then to me. "Shit, girl, you don't look so good."

"I feel it." I muttered in response.

"She's bleeding bad, help me out!" MD barked at Rusty before coming back to me. "We got you, Silv, don't you worry!"

"Hold on lil' lady, we'll get you fixed right up in no time!" Rusty agreed.

I could feel them working me over, wrapping the worst of my injuries in gauze.

"We gotta get that knife outta her." Rusty pointed out. "Can't give her a healing potion til' that's gone."

"There's bullets, too." MD added, before coming into my field of view. "Sorry, Silver, but this is gonna suck. I'm gonna give you some of this, it should help."

She levitated a needle of Med-X in front of my eyes before jabbing it into my foreleg and pushing the plunger down.

The effect was almost instantaneous, like the pill from earlier but even more potent. Pain ebbed away, leaving me feeling floaty and light headed. Exhausted, even. I'd been through a lot today, after everything that happened I think I definitely deserved a nap.

My eyes grew heavy as MD and Rusty buzzed around me, I knew I'd be taken care of. The world dropped away in a warm haze. There was too much to process right now, I just needed a minute. Just a little rest and I'd be right as rain.

Level Up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Old World Justice - If there's no justice there'll sure be no peace. You gain a buff to endurance and HP when fighting fiends, raiders and slavers.

New Perk (Make Do): Hot Potato - Send that thing back! Grenades thrown at you have a significantly longer cook-off time, so you can duck and cover or return to sender.

Chapter Seven: Drop In

Chapter Seven: Drop In

"Fix me, please, I don't wanna be dead!"

I was in my loft, splitting a bottle of wine with Noite and Perfect, just a cheap one but it was nice. It was evening outside, light low, the sky a dark hue of orange that was slowly giving way to royal purple. The room was bathed in dim yellow lamp light, cultivating a cosy mood as we chatted on the sofa. Perfect's cat had curled itself up on my bookshelf and was dozing away. A record span away quietly, some new Bossa Nova album Noite had picked up.

I picked up my glass and sipped. Noite had brought a medley of fruits and juices with her and made up a batch of Sangria, it was sweet and went down a little too easy. It was a good thing it was my day off tomorrow, I could already imagine the state I'd be in after a few of these.

Perfect was walking us through today's drama at the clinic, we were both giggling along.

"-and I swear on my life, we get the X-Ray back and there's an entire Power Ponies action figure lodged way up there!" He exclaimed, gesticulating wildly and almost spilling his drink.

"No!" I gasped, covering my smile with a hoof. Noite howled with laughter, beating down on the sofa arm.

"I know!" He giggled. "And then he starts the 'I have no idea how it got there' routine, so I said, 'well there's two ways it could've ended up there, and I'm pretty sure you didn't eat it!'"

"Gross!" I tittered. The room was filled with laughter for a minute. Perfect was always good for funny stories.

"Anyway, if you girlies will excuse me, I need a refill. Anyone else?" He pointed his empty wine glass between me and Noite. I shook my head, I still had most of my drink left.

"Sim por favor, Doutor!" Noite nodded. Perfect took her glass in his magic and trotted out into the kitchen, leaving me and Noite on the sofa. I took a sip from my drink, swirling the liquid around in the glass.

Noite was staring at me, a small, coy smile on her face, playing with a lock of her mane.

"What's that look for?" I asked, smiling back.

"Ah, querida Prata, tell me how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" I replied, looking at her quizzically.

"To be a killer!"

My mind reeled. A gun. A gun fight. A shot to the head. A dead mare. A killer. I dropped my drink, glass shattering on the wooden floor, sangria splashing up. I was a killer.

"Pretty heavy stuff." She continued, matter of factly. "Would never had thought you had it in you, our sweet Silver."

I had killed her, the fiend. But I didn't have a choice, if I didn't kill her she would have killed me! I was forced to.

"I-I did what I h-h-had to, s-she was gonna kill m-me."

"Oh sure, sure, it was life or death, you or her." She agreed. "But you wanted her dead, didn't you? She deserved to die, all of them."

Noite pushed herself up off the sofa and slowly walked over to the window. I was shaking.

"I-I didn't want to kill her, I had-"

"I never said you wanted to kill her, Prata, I said you wanted her dead." She clarified, looking back at me, smiling. "Similar, but not the same, yes? The sentiment is different. But you saw to the outcome either way. Assassina."

"T-they were evil! I had to!" I yelled. "They killed children!"

"Easy, Silver, easy. I'm not trying to upset you, just making a point. Desculpe."

She spread out her wings, long and graceful, stretching out almost the whole length of the room, navy blue plumage shimmering in the lamp light. She was wordless for a while, staring out the window into the eventide.

"As estrelas agora elas estão mortas." She uttered. "That's us, but you're still here."

I didn't understand. She was quiet a little while longer. My thoughts were racing, images of the firefight flooding my mind's eye.

"You've changed, minha querida Prata, whether you realise it or not. I've never known you to wish ill of anypony." She retracted her wings and turned around to face me. "This isn't bad, just an observation, meu amiga. Sometimes reasonable mares must do unreasonable things, no? We adapt and survive, we all change."

She closed the distance between us, until we were snout to snout. She looked into my eyes, hers a piercing yellow, caring, with a hint of mischief. I was trembling, I had no idea what was going on. She pushed me over, flat on my back. Before I had time to react, she'd jumped on top of me, straddling my barrel.

"What are you-"

"Familiar, yes? All I'm missing is a knife." She interrupted. The other mare from yesterday flashed before my eyes, bloodied and murderous. I squirmed.

"Change will keep you alive, Silver. Just maybe don't change too much, please. I would hate to see you tarnish." She winked at me, smirking slyly at her own joke. That at least was classic Noite. The room fell away, no music, no sofa, no loft. It was just me and her. She smiled a small smile, almost mournful.

"É hora de você acordar. Fique seguro, querida Prata."

"Noite?"

My eyes fluttered open. Noite was not there, none of it was, all just a strange dream. I sighed a little sigh, it all felt so real.

I was apparently making a habit of waking up hurting and not knowing where I was, which I was getting pretty sick of. My whole body was in pain, from the tips of my ears to the bottom of my hooves, though all things considered not as bad as it could've been. There was probably still painkillers in my system. Or maybe I was in shock.

I glanced around blearily, neck straining, a sudden razor sharp pain causing me to wince, inhaling sharply. I was folded up neatly in the bed of a rickety old wooden cart, leaning against the side. To my right was a big pile of stuff, mine and MD's saddlebags and armour mixed in with a load of assorted crap I didn't remember us having.

The sky was once again a solid dull grey, and it was darker than earlier. I didn't know how long I'd been out for.

MD was sat up the front of the cart, looking out away from me. Ahead of us was Rusty, hitched up and pulling us all along at a steady pace.

"Hello?" I called out, croaky. MD turned her head to face me, smiling gently. She was covered in cuts and scrapes, bandages hiding the worst of the damage. Her face was still a little swollen, but mostly back to normal now.

"Hey!" She replied. "How're ya feeling?"

"I feel like I fell off a cliff." I said flatly. I was not exaggerating. "Where are we?"

"Still on the road to Dodge, Rusty offered to help us rest of the way."

"Yessiree!" Rusty chirped in. "I could hardly just leave you two on the bridge after all that, it's the least I could do. Glad to have ya' back with us, miss!"

Well, I couldn't have been out for too long if we were still on the move, so that was something at least.

"Those fiends sure did a number on you, hope yer not hurtin' too badly." He continued. "I know they sure are though, we gottem all! Thanks to you ladies the road is back open for business!"

That did come as a bit of a relief, knowing they'd never be able to hurt anypony else. I could still see the piles of bodies and smell the death in the air. The pure evil in the knifemare's eyes. I don't think I'd ever be able to get any of that out of my mind. I shuddered.

I was glad for the outcome, but it was hard to come to terms with the fact that I was there, I'd played a direct hoof in it. I'd helped end it. I told myself I did what I had to do, just like I told Noite.

I thought back to the dream, if only for a moment. I'd never really had particularly vivid dreams, but that one felt so real. Noitre was right there, I was sure I could still taste the ghost of Sangria sitting on my tounge. She said I'd changed, I wondered if that was true. I didn't feel much different. Sure, Silver before the apocalypse would never have hurt anypony, but that Silver never had to. I mostly just felt kind of dirty about the whole thing.

I supposed it didn't really matter either way, what happened happened and there wasn't any changing that.

I figured that I should probably give myself an actual once over, considering the state I was in earlier. It took some effort on my part, but I was able to crane my head around a little to see what I was working with.

I wasn't wearing my armour anymore. I was sticky with blood, drying out and turning an unpleasant maroon-brown shade. It ran all down my chest, back, and legs, snaking trails all over. Bits of dirt and gravel clung to my coat, soaked into the ooze. I was also covered in bandages, crossing all around, especially my neck and flank. I felt like a second rate Nightmare Night decoration. I felt disgusting.

"Gods, I need a bath." I muttered to nopony in particular.

"We did what we could, but we should probably get you to a doctor once we get to Dodge." MD started. "We stopped the worst of the bleeding and got that knife out, but there was no way I could dig that bullet out of your flank, so we couldn't give you a healing potion. I used magic bandages on your chest though, so that should help a little!"

I glanced down at my injured flank. I had bled through the bandages leaving them almost sodden. I didn't dare try to move it. I took a deep, calming breath, it would be fine, I just needed to get to a doctor. We were already on the way, panicking would get me nowhere.

"I couldn't do anything about your ear though, sorry." She added, ears flat against her head.

"My ear?" I repeated, suddenly very alarmed. "What happened to my ear? Which ear?"

Obviously I couldn't actually see either of them. I flicked them both frantically to try and work out which was the effected appendage, but they both stung.

"Your left one, when you were wrestling with that fiend she must've, uh... taken some with her..." She trailed off. "It's not as bad as you think though, honest!"

Amazing. Of course, of course I finish my first ever fight permanently disfigured, why would I expect anything less? My mind went wild with speculation, I couldn't see myself and there was hardly going to be a mirror lying around. How much had gone? The tip? Half? The whole thing???

"H-how bad is it?" I tentatively asked.

"Oh, it's not bad all, it's just like a little nibble out of it, right Rusty?"

"Oh for sure, I've seen worse!" He chipped in.

That really didn't help much. A nibble? That could be anything! I think it was pretty obvious I was still upset because it wasn't long before MD chimed in again.

"It really isn't that bad, it's kinda like mine, see?" She tilted her head towards me and I got a good look at her ears. The right one had almost an entire clean circle taken out of the edge near the top, obviously a bullet wound. "We're matching!"

I still wasn't happy, but that did actually make me feel a little better. I just hoped the doctor would have a mirror so I could actually inspect the damage. I just hoped it wasn't too bad.

Actually that goes for everything, stars I hoped none of this would scar too badly. I didn't have much else in this world but I would love to come out the other side still looking like me. Medical magic willing, I would be okay. I'm an Earth pony. We're built sturdy.

The cart rumbled on, Rusty's hooves clipping down the paving. I had to give it to him, for an older Pegasus he was handling the load of the cart well, we were rolling at a decent pace. I wondered what time it was, how far out we were. I was sure MD must have been keeping track on her map. The sooner we got the cello and got back to the junkyard the better, I was in no shape to go through anything so violent again, nor did I have the will or want to.

The land around us seemed rockier and more rugged that where we came from. Firmer and drier, scrubby and almost dusty compared to the other side of the river. It certainly looked more pleasant to walk on.

We were passing by crumbled river-view mansions that must have been quite lovely in their time. A few were bored up, I could see the dancing light of fires in a couple, the sound of chartering bouncing off the walls. Homes, still serving their purpose after all these years, albeit not as grand as they used to be. I noticed MD was holding a new gun in her perched positions, presumably one from the fiend's camp, occasionally sweeping the path in front of us with it. Keeping watch.

"Alrighty, we're coming up on Dodge inna minute, I'll wheel you two in and set off home, Rover is probably worrying like nopony's business." Rusty chuckled. "I'll park up by the clinic, should be able to fix you up good as new! General store is next door too, and the 40 has beds if ya needed a place to stay the night."

"Thank you, Rusty." I replied, eyes closed. A bed sounded absolutely astounding right now.

"Ain't nothin', thanks for the help clearin' the route, ya both did a good turn by us." He smiled. "Sure everyone in town will be happy to know it's safe now, too."

We trunded onwards for a few more minutes before turning a corner. The mansions fell away and the road opened up, rugged rocky plains stretched way out. Far away I could see the ruins of another town, easy to spot thanks to the presence of a weather control tower. Dodge Juntion proper, I guessed.

In the middle distance stood a great metal wall made up of mismatched shipping containers, chainlink fences and flatbed train cars, rusted cargo cranes and old smokestacks poking out over the top. Running accross the road was a gate that looked like it was made out of the cargo door of a boxcar. A lone pony stood vigil on top of the wall, watching us approach. New Dodge City, it must have been. It was much bigger than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a similar size to Fortune, two or three town blocks maybe. This was sprawling, wide and imposing, cutting a blocky silhouette across the landscape and contrasting heavily against the flatlands it sat on.

The gate guard tracked us as we approached, staring us down through the sights of his rifle. As we drew closer to the wall, the guard lowered the gun before disappearing entirely, slipping down behind. The gate slid open with a clank, we were being waved in by who I could only assume was the same guard.

"Come on in, wasn't expecting anypony to swing by this route!" He greeted. "Though I'm sure I don't have to explain why."

"Well, me and these fine ladies here have just cleared out the bridge, so I reckon you'll be getting more traffic this way again soon." Rusty replied, wheeling us through the entrance, cart rattling. It was a small, dark room, that I think actually was a whole boxcar at some point in it's life.

"For real? Now that's the best news I've heard all week, the mayor will be extatic!" He beamed. I was nice to think that we'd genuinely made a difference.

"We're happy to help, though my friends could do with some medical assistance, if you'd be so kind to let us through?"

"Heya!" MD chimed, waving at the guard as he looked us over.

He was a bright, cheerful shade of red and was wearing a brown vest and sunglasses, obscuring his eyes from sight.

"Oo Celestia, they sure put you two through the wringer, huh?"

Rude.

"You go right on in, clinic is on Cana Ave off West Street, right from the centre and third left." He explained, pointing the way vaguely.

"Don't worry none, I know where I'm going, thanks buddy!" Rusty replied, starting us on the move again, the gate crashing back shut.

"Welcome to New Dodge!" The guard yelled behind us. We were in.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing already, this place was an honest to the stars town! We had emerged onto a wide street lined either side with buildings, a concrete road flanked by a sidewalk made up of old railway sleepers either side, a large sign read North Street. To the right seemed to be some kind of large warehouse, bustling sound floating out of open windows, brickwork holding steady against the elements. On our left were a load of smaller building made from container crates. Not simply repurposed, not bodged together, actual well crafted intentional structures, neatly arranged and well maintained. Alleys cut off between them, leading deeper into the settlement. Wires and cables ran overhead between building, swaying gently in the breeze.

The container buildings seemed to mostly be homes from what little I could see, and as we carried on we passed the gaping open loading door of the warehouse revealing the interior to be some kind of huge open market. It was heaving, easily as busy as the Merriweather Pavillion was, possibly even more so. Shouts of bartering and the low rumble of chatter poured out into the street. A group of elderly ponies were sat around a table outside playing cards.

The actual street was quiet compared to the bustle of the warehouse, but looked like it got busier further ahead. The ponies that we did pass were watching us as we went by, I gathered we were the first group to come into town this way in a little while.

We carried on rolling down the street as the crowd got denser. Past the warehouse stood another brick building, it had some kind of courtyard out the front filled with parked and empty carts. Small shops and outdoor traders started to pop up, vendors hawking their wares and yelling for the attention of passers by, hollering echoing off the walls. There was even a paperboy. This place had it's own newspaper!

We were reaching the town centre, the road opening up and essentially becoming a big crossroads where the four main streets met. A group of guards milled around, they were all wearing old hard hats which I found kinda funny. A large covered well sat in the middle of the crossroads, several ponies stood around it chatting, one was winching up a bucket from the depths.

We swung around the right of the well, weaving past a group of foals playing in the street, laughing as they ran by. We pressed forward, now on West Street, the smell of food wafting through the air as we passed a café.

"Jeez, this place makes Baltimare kinda look like a shithole." MD observed, head swivelling around, taking in the sights and sounds. "I've never been this far into town before."

"Sure is something, ain't it." Rusty nodded. "One of the biggest towns this side of Canterlot Mountain, so I've been told. Safest too, I reckon."

From what I'd seen so far, I could believe it. Ponies were going about their business just like how it was before the bombs. They chatted in the street, they shopped. They didn't seem worried about where their next meal would come from or paranoid about being attacked. They looked happy. Thriving.

I knew that there was more to this post-annihilation Equestria than I'd seen, I just knew it. Of course there were still resourceful ponies out here keeping the world going, rebuilding. If there were more places like this around then I could hold out hope that things might be alright.

We passed a large allotment full of Earth ponies busily harvesting fresh veggies out of the ground, a full blown irrigation system keeping everything well watered. Small cinder block huts sold freshly made food around the border of the field, I would definitely have to come back for something to eat once I was done at the clinic, an actual, home made meal would do wonders.

There seemed to be a lot more cart traffic on this street, mostly heading for the end of the road, another gate by the looks of things. This must've been the way to the long route. Large, dormant cargo cranes cast long shadows over us, their bases hidden behind walls made of railway wagons.

We hooked another turn down a smaller street, much narrower than the main roads we'd just been on. Darker too, the height of the buildings blocking light from reaching all the way to ground level. Neon signs lit up the way, pawn shops, a post office, general stores, and finally the clinic. We came to a stop just outside, Rusty parking out of the way as best he could.

It was a compact structure, looking to have been built of several passenger train cars cut up and assembled onto a building, seemingly to a very good standard, looking seemless and sturdy. A red cross was emblazoned on a sign above the door.

"Alrighty, this is us." He announced, unhitching himself. "I can help Silver here if you wanted to sell all this stuff off, Make Do, figure you could kill two birds with one stone."

"Yeah, makes sense to me, thanks." MD answered, stretching out like a cat before hopping down to the floor. "We're probably gonna need the caps to cover the bill anyway."

Money hadn't even crossed my mind. Of course we'd need to pay for this all, somehow. I think MD had managed to scrounge up 600 something caps before we'd set off, but I had no idea how far that would stretch.

Did we even pay Rover for the coffee earlier?

"Okay then, Silver if you're happy with that we'll give you a hoof getting down." Rusty said trotting over, I nodded and smiled.

I shifted to get up, pain instantly shooting through my chest. I'd kept so still and been so caught up looking around that my injuries had sort of gone to the back of my mind. Even just flexing the muscles around my barrel felt like I was being pulled apart.

"Yep, gonna need some help." I groaned through gritted teeth.

"On it." MD said lighting up her horn. I could feel her magic pushing up under me, sort of like being lifted in a harness. I was only off the bed of the cart by a little bit, but even so the movement hurt. I seethed as my wounds moved, sharp and burning.

"I'm gonna put you down on Rusty's back, that okay?" MD said, clearly straining to lift me up.

She slid me slowly backwards until I had cleared the cart, my hooves falling limp below me. Rusty quickly ducked beneath my barrel so I was across him, and MD gently placed me down. My injured ribs protested, but I held against it, I knew it would only be for a little but.

"Phew, are we all good?" She asked, clearly relived to have put me down.

"Eyep." Rusty grunted, I could feel him trembling beneath me. "Let's just get her inside."

I was NOT that heavy!

Slowly but surely Rusty made his way into the clinic, MD holding the door open for us. The lobby was small and spartan, a desk against one wall and a long bench against the other. It smelled clean, though, the kind of chemical sterile smell all hospitals seemed to have.

"Goodness me, is everything a right?" Gasped the mare at the reception desk, leaping to duty. She was a mule, I'd not met a mule before. A two tone grey with a black mane and a cotton nurse's hat.

"We just... need a little... help fer this one." Rusty managed, shambling forward. "Gotta... bullet in her flank."

"Please, thanks." I meekly added.

"Okay, well follow me and we'll get that right out!" She explained, cantering down a short hallway and nudging a door at the end open. "In here, please!"

Rusty struggled forwards, slowly but surely getting us down the hall. My weight shifted with every step and pressed my ribs into the armour running down his spine. I'd be very glad to be back on a flat surface again. Not that I didn't appreciate the help, but still. MD tailed behind us, sticking close by.

The room itself was a small examination room. A basic wooden bench sat in the middle, joined by a cabinet on the wall to the left and a desk. A sink was mounted on the wall, and a cold fluorescent light hung on the ceiling. Maybe a tad depressing, but it seemed functional. Not world class by any stretch, but it actually reminded me of the practitioners back home in Trottingham a little bit.

Rusty carefully weaved through the doorway, careful to not knock my head against the frame.

"The doctor isn't available at the moment, but if we set you down on the table then I can get that bullet out for you." The mule explained, searching through the cabinet for something or other.

"A-are you sure? Isn't this something a doctor should be doing?" I asked nervously. I didn't want just anyone poking around inside of me. Preferably no one at all, but if it had to be done, I'd prefer they'd know their stuff.

"I've been the head nurse here for three years, I know what I'm doing." She groaned, glaring at me with bright green eyes. Touchy subject, apparently.

Rusty butted up against the table, and MD's magic tingled around me again, pushing me off his back and onto the open surface. I think he was as relieved as I was to be off his back.

"Well, there we go." He exhaled, working his shoulders. "How's that for service? Straight to the hospital bed, haha!"

"Thank you, Rusty." I managed. I felt bad that someone much much older than me had had to carry me around. I'd also left behind a big red stain on his armour. Hopefully he'd be able to wash it off, I'd hate to have ruined it.

"No problem, clearing the bridge was my idea, least I could do is take you to get patched up." He smiled. "I should probably get back to Rover though, he'll be worried sick by now. I'll let him know you're both okay!"

I definitely wouldn't have called my current condition 'okay' but I held my tongue.

"You're leaving?" MD pouted.

"Yes'm, with the road back open I got a business to attend to!" He replied, miming doffing a hat he wasn't wearing. "Thank you both for the help, sincerely. Stop by Outta Dodge again sometime, coffee's on the house!"

With a wink and a smile, he was gone.

"Damn, maybe I should've asked him to help us search, he woulda been good to have around." MD lamented from the door frame, watching him walk away. In the meantime, the nurse had finished assembling a tray of tools. A couple of them scary looking. I gulped as she brought them over on a tray.

"Okay, let's see what we're dealing with." She said, peeling back the blood soaked bandage covering my flank. I couldn't help but look, too.

"Is it bad?" I shakily asked.

I felt woozy looking at it. A deep gash ran under my cutie mark, flesh raised and raw, culminating in an angry looking hole that gurgled blood.

"Oh, just a little bite." She mused, putting on a pair of rubber horseshoes. "This should be easy. Have you already taken any painkillers?"

"Yeah, we gave her some Med-X maybe a couple of hours ago, we couldn't get it out by ourselves, didn't want to make it worse by poking around in there." MD chimed in, still stood in the doorway.

"Probably for the best, there's less chance of infection by doing this here." The nurse replied, picking up a pair of forceps. "And can you close the door, please? I'm trying to work."

"Oh, no sweat, I gotta swing by the store anyway, sell the rest of the stuff in the cart." MD pushed away from the frame, making to head out. "I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?"

"You're leaving me here!?" I almost screeched. I was gravely injured, somewhere I didn't know with someone I'd never met before, and the only person I did know was swanning off!

"The store's only next door! I just got to sell off all the shit we picked up and I'll be right back! You're gonna be fine, okay?"

With that she left, door swinging closed behind her. My ears fell flat against my head for a moment, before I realized how much that hurt. It was just me, the nurse, and the bullet wound now. My anxiety was going crazy.

"The Med-X will still be in your system so I shouldn't really give you any more, but it should still take the edge off the worst of the pain." She rattled off, settling down at the side of the table.

"I-I still think I'd like some more, actually." I said. I didn't think 'taking the edge off' was going to cut it, not for something like this.

"I can't, it's too dangerous. This'll hurt, but only for a minute."

I took a deep breath. The forceps plunged into my leg, forcing the wound open, pulling at the muscle. My vision went white for a moment as I held back a yelp.

The tool pushed deeper, I grit my teeth against the pain, eyes tearing up. My whole body was tense. The movements were only slight, but it felt like I was being torn up from the inside.

"Hmm, feels like it might have gotten turned around in there." The nurse mused, poking and twisting the implement around, stretching the already damaged tissue. Her hooves twitched on the handles, minutely adjusting them, trying to get a grip on the bullet.

An excruciating moment later and the nurse hummed positively. Slowly, she started pulling b the tool out, the slightly open jaws grazing along the inside of my wound. Finally, it emerged, soaked red with blood and clasping a much smaller than I expected bullet. I heaved a releived breath I wasn't aware I was holding in.

"All in one piece, that's good." She muttered, inspecting the bullet. "Means there's no surprises waiting in there. I'll just clean it out and we can get a healing potion in you, get everything closed up nicely."

She dropped it into a metal tray, clattering, rolling around, leaving a tiny trail of blood behind it. I watched as it swirled around in a circle before coming to a halt. The nurse had gotten up and walked over to the sink, coming back with a new tray holding some wet cloths and a bottle of disinfectant.

"Alrighty, let's get that cleaned up." She said, picking up a cloth before stopping. "Hmm, should probably clean the rest of this, too."

She stood up and carefully removed the bandage from my ear, before setting about the ones around my neck and chest. A tug told me that she was trying to take my scarf off, too.

"T-that can stay, thanks." I protested, raising a hoof infront of hers. She swiftly pushed it away. "Please?"

"Dont be silly, it's filthy! I'll need it out the way to-"

She pulled the sodden fabric off, revealing the bomb collar, standing starkly against my fur.

"Ah." She announced, eyebrows raised, long ears stood straight upright. "I see."

I didn't know what to do, I was frozen. I didn't know this mare! What of she thought I was a runaway slave or a prisoner or something? What would even be the perogative in that situation? 'Return' me to slavers?

I was startled and panicked, and tried to scramble away. Unfortunately for me, my body was still not quite ready to be moving like that again yet, and all I managed to do was sort of half stumble off the table and limp my way into a pile on the floor, weakly flailing like a frightened animal.

"Wait wait, it's okay!" The nurse blurted out, holding her hooves up. "I'm not going to tell anyone! I promise!"

I eyed her warily.

"Just calm down, please? You're going to hurt yourself worse than you already are. I'm here to help!"

That was valid. She was a nurse, she had a duty of care, if there was anypony I'd like to think would do the right thing here it was a medical professional. I was letting blind fear get the best of me. Again.

"Sorry." I offered, slowly pushing myself into a sitting position. "I just... don't know what to think anymore. I've had a very rough week."

"It's fine, I'm sure you have, but you can trust me, okay? I don't get involved with slavers." She said, offering me a hoof. I took it and gingerly manged to get standing again, legs aching. "My name's Mercy, you?"

"Silver."

"Okay, Silver, I'll get you patched up and we can find a new cover for your collar, but then we should probably get you out of here quick." She explained, gesturing for me to get back on the table. "Dodge is a big town that draws a lot of people from all walks, if you catch my drift. Plenty of eyes on the lookout for 'lost goods'. The ponies with you, are they...?"

"Um, MD's a friend. She's got one too." I explained, pointing to the collar. "Rusty doesn't know about them."

"I see. If only Chek was here, he'd be able to actually help you out." She sighed. "Let's get you cleaned up."

I tried to hobble back on to the table but it was too high for me to get up in my current condition, I just couldn't reach without my body protesting. I set down gently next to the table with a sheepish smile.

"I can't get back up."

"It's okay, we can do it from here. This is going to sting a bit." She warned, placing the damp cloth on my flank and pressing down. It did sting, the cool water seeping into my injury and flushing it out, loosening any remaining debris, cloth working back and forth to make sure nothing was left behind.

She did the same thing for the knife wounds around my neck, although those were significantly less bloody already thanks to the magical bandages. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes of discomfort before she threw the rag across the room and into a bin.

"Now, this is going to sting a lot." Mercy said, picking up the disinfectant. "Just bear with it, I promise it'll be over quick."

It was a small spray bottle, brown glass with a sunbleached label. She picked it up in her mouth and bit down on the trigger, sending a cloud of burning mist over my raw flesh. I jolted as it made contact, dancing on my cuts and grazes, feeling like salt or acid being poured directly into my nerves, a horrible tingling.

I bit my lip and bore it. She spritzed my chest a couple of time too, but that was nowhere near as bad. Finally she sprayed my ear, causing it to flick involuntary.

My ear. I'd gotten so caught up in all the drama I'd totally forgotten about it.

"Is there a mirror I can borrow?"

"In a moment, I need you to drink this first, make sure everything closes up alright."

Just as she finished speaking the door clattered open, swinging until it hit the wall. I was expecting to see MD standing there, but instead it was a rather irate looking black unicorn wearing a labcoat and a frown. Curiously, he also had a PipBuck attached to his leg. He looked at me for a second before shifting his eyes to Mercy and slowly trotting in.

"Mercy what is the meaning of this?" He interrogated, marching right up to her.

"Goldheart, I-"

"DOCTOR Goldheart."

"Doctor Goldheart, this mare came in while you were out, I was just-"

"I have explicitly told you that you are not to tend to any patients, have I not?" He interrupted. "So what exactly is happening here?"

"Doctor Goldheart, I am fully capable of-"

"I don't care what you are or are not capable of, Mercy, I have directly ordered you to stay in reception and not get involved in any kind of medical work! So can you kindly explain to me why you've chosen to ignore that? And why are they on the floor?!" He poked her chest, nostrils flaring.

"With all due respect, Doctor Goldheart, I am the head nurse here, I am fully capable of treating this pony, and this is not your clinic." Mercy replied icily, swatting his hoof away. "Doctor Chekwas -"

"Now you listen to me you stupid mule, it may not be my clinic but I am your superior. When I give you an order you are to follow it. Doctor Chekwas isn't here, I don't know where he is and frankly I don't really care, but that leaves me in charge as the most qualified pony in the building. I don't want an animal interacting with my patients, leave that to those of us who can actually use magic. Is that understood?"

The two of them glared at eachother, unblinking. The tension was palpable, thick and swampy.

"Hey Silv, how're you- oh!" MD chimed, suddenly appearing in the doorframe. I don't think anyone had heard her approach judging by the fact that all three of us were now staring at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She sheepishly added before squinting at the Unicorn quizzically. "Goldheart?"

"Yes? Do I know you?" He asked, critically scanning her horn to hoof until he noticed her own PipBuck. He looked her in a face again for a moment, gears turning in his head. "Oh, you were one of the brats assigned to maintenance, weren't you? Mildew? Mackrell?"

"Make Do." She corrected, bluntly.

"Yes, Make Do. You look terrible." He said, examining her. MD's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, well, we weren't all so lucky as you to run away at the first sign of danger, some of us got shot for our trouble."

"Being on the Overmare's Priority List was not 'running away', we were the most important ponies, of course there would be vested interest in our safety." He replied, pointedly.

"Sure. Whatever." MD grunted, rolling her eyes. "Tell that to everypony who died."

The room fell quiet for an awkward moment. Nopony looked like they wanted to be here.

"Well, you all finish up whatever this is and then I expect to see you in my office, Mercy. I'm serious." He huffed, turning around and pushing past MD, slamming the door closed behind him.

"Ugh, that unbearable plothole!" Mercy growled. "I hate him so much!"

"You know him?" I asked MD.

"He was the head surgeon back in the stable." She explained. "One of the Overmare's super special cool kid's club. Always was an arrogant ass."

"Arrogant is an understatement. Gods I want to tan his hide!" Mercy vented. She looked at me as if suddenly remembering where she was and took a deep breath in through her nose, exhaling out the mouth.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very becoming of me, you're still under my care after all." She said quietly, bowing. "Please accept my apologies."

"It's honestly fine, he seemed like a prick." I said.

"No, it's not fine, you're mid-treatment and here I am having an argument with a co-worker." She rebutted, fetching a healing potion.

"He called you an animal, that's way past an argument!" I countered. "I'd say you held your nerve pretty well all things considered."

"He called you an animal?" MD asked. We both nodded. "Celestia above I can't believe he's still clinging on to that shit. Why in the world are you working for a guy like him?"

'Clinging on to that shit'?

"I don't work for him, we're technically colleagues. Not that he sees it that way. Doctor Chekwas, the owner, hired him because despite everything he's a fantastic surgeon." She groused, removing the lid of the healing potion and passing it to me. "Make sure you drink the whole bottle, you should feel as good as new."

I thanked her and inspected the potion. It was a small vial of purple liquid with a Ministry Of Peace sticker slapped on the front, looking a bit newer than the one MD gave me when I first woke up at her place. I wondered if these things had a best before date. It smelled vaguely of lavender. I sipped the potion down, slightly sweet and a little viscous, not entirely unlike cough syrup, it started working pretty instantly. My body tingled as the magic ran it's course, pain slowly fading away, cuts closing up. I could actually feel the skin on my flank put itself back together, which was incredibly strange, if slightly unpleasant.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, medical magic is amazing.

I tentatively gave my hind leg a flex, flapped my ears and turned my head side to side. There was a lingering dull ache all over, but anything agonising had all but disappeared. I stood up properly for the first time in a few hours and stretched, joints popping. After so long limp and folded up, it felt really good. Looking down at my flank there was no sign of the gunshot. Fully healed.

"I'll fetch you that mirror." Mercy said, searching through the cabinet. "I'll try and find something for the collar, too."

"Collar? Oh buck, your collar!" MD exclaimed, apparently now noticing my missing scarf.

"It's okay, Silver told me about your mutual binds." Mercy said, trotting back over with a mirror and a folded gown on her back. "I won't tell a soul."

I took the mirror in my hooves, staring at my reflection.

"Who are you?"

I stared at the face looking back at me. This mare was tired and frenzied, dried blood ran down her face, staining her ivory coat. Her silvery mane was matted and ratty. Her left ear was missing the tip, about an inch and a half of it torn away, ragged edge standing stark against the smooth contour of the right ear. It twitched as I stared at it.

That was real, that was tangible. That was something no healing potion would ever be able to fix, a permanent change to my body, ugly and jagged. I was asymmetric, marred for life, a grim souvenir of my fight to the death. I won't lie and say I wasn't a little heartbroken. The only thing I had right now was myself, and I didn't even have part of that anymore.

Those eyes were still mine, though. Darker and sunken, maybe more distant, but still mine. Still alive.

"Gods I look like shit." I mused aloud, deflated.

"Yeah, well, not many ponies come out the other side of a firefight looking peachy. But you came out the other side though, so that's a win at least!" MD reassured, patting my back.

"There's a shower you can rinse off in in room 3, if you'd like. You can use this to cover the collar up, too." Mercy offered, passing me the hospital gown she'd fished out the cupboard. A pale seafoam green, she'd folded it lengthways so that it more resembled a scarf, it would be pretty easy to wrap it around my neck.

"Thank you Mercy, for all your help." I nodded, taking the gown from her. "How much do we owe you?"

"I can't in good conscience charge someone in your situation for treatment." She shook her head, idly running a hoof along the base of her neck. "I know what it's like."

"Are you sure? I don't want to get you in any more trouble." I offered. I felt bad enough in the first place.

"It's fine, Goldheart may be a nightmare, but Chek actually does have a heart of gold, I know he'd encourage this. I just wish I could do more." She lamented. "I can give you directions to a safe place, though! The whole region east of here has signal disruptors to stop the rangefinder in those things from detonating, there's good people that way."

"That's very kind of you, but these are a bit different from normal collars. We're on a timer, they're going to blow one way or another." MD explained.

"Oh gosh, really?" Mercy replied, horrified.

"Yeah, we got, uh-" MD paused to check the timer readout on my collar. "139 hours to figure something out."

"Here's hoping." I added weakly. 139 hours sounded longer that it was.

"Bless your souls, that's horrible!" Mercy gasped, covering her mouth with a hoof.

"We got a plan, we've not given up yet!" MD smirked. "We should probably get you cleaned up and get a move on though, Silv. With any luck we'll make it to Old Dodge before it gets dark."

"Wait, Old Dodge? You're going to Dodge Junction?"

"That's the plan." MD replied, a bit more on guard. "Why?"

"That's where Chek went, he said it was for research. He was only meant to be gone a few days but..." She trailed off. "I have to find him. Please, can you take me with you?"

"What?" MD bluted out.

"You want to come with us?" I asked, surprised.

"I have to find Chekwas, the only reason he wouldn't be back by now is if something went wrong. I need to at least try and help, I owe him that much!" Mercy pled, bowing her head down. "The Junction's dangerous, I'd have no chance on my own. But I have a strong back and obviously can be a first aider. Please, this town needs him here. I need him."

"Look, we really appreciate the help, but we don't have any time to spare finding this guy, we're already on the clock as it is." MD said, trying her best to sound sympathetic.

I didn't know what to think. MD was right, we were in a very dire situation, literally on a timer. But we did have five and a half days, give or take, and finding this Doctor would be the right thing to do.

"I don't know, MD, just leaving doesn't feel good."

"I know it doesn't, and if things were different I'd be glad to help, but me and you are both walking time bombs, if we get sidetracked too far we die, Silver." She said. "We have to focus. If we can't find what we're looking for and spend a load of time searching for this guy then it might as well be over for us, we won't have enough time to search anywhere else."

Her gaze was steely and serious, if a little melancholic. I didn't want to leave Mercy here under the hoof of that horrible unicorn around, but MD was probably right. In hindsight she was probably right about the long road too, it'd already been more than a whole day and we still weren't even at Dodge Junction yet, and that was going the quick way. The constant march of time was our enemy.

"Sorry, but we can't help you. We've got our own shit to deal with."

"I'm sorry, Mercy." I said, giving her the most apologetic look I could manage. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I was a slave." Mercy replied, sullenly. "I wasn't on a timer, but I know the weight those collars carry. I spent 11 years in a gem mine, digging and hauling every single day. 11 years."

She stood up and turned side on to us. I hadn't noticed until now but her back and hindquarters were crossed with scars.

"It broke me, I couldn't do it anymore. My body gave out dragging an ore caravan. We'd been pulling for hours. They unhitched me and left me for dead, I guess they figured the collar would detonate once they'd gotten far enough away. I'd exceeded my useful life. Chekwas found me on the road, as good as dead."

She pawed at the base of her neck again, hoof running along it's contours.

"The next thing I know my collar is gone. I still don't know how he did it, but that's what Chek does. He helps, no questions asked. He brought me back here and fixed me up, I've seen him help other slaves, I know he can help you too! I owe him my life. Please, I'm begging you, I have to find him."

This changed things. Mine and MD's ears were both stood to attention.

"He took your collar off?" MD asked, almost incredulous.

"I swear on the Earth. The time I've been here with him I must have seen him remove dozens more of them too." She nodded.

I can't really begin to describe the prospective relief I felt at just the idea of being rid of this bomb collar. It was a full body type of excitement.

"MD if he can get these things off us we need to find him." I said, hopeful. Maybe more desperate than hopeful, but still. Not only did I think this was the right thing to do, but if it meant losing these collars then there was no other option as far as I'm concerned.

"Please. I feel awful using your situation against you like this, but he really can help, I promise." Mercy added.

MD's ear twitched, she stared off in thought.

"You're definitely sure he's in Dodge Junction?" She asked.

"Absolutely, he went to research Ghouls, no better place for it."

Ghouls? Like little green ghouls? Ogres & Oubliettes type shit?

"Why is nothing ever easy?" MD sighed, staring at the ceiling. A beat passed.

"Okay, fine. If it means losing these collars, we'll help find your guy." She conceded. "But we have our priorities too, okay? If we start cutting too close we have to look after ourselves."

"Absolutely, I understand, thank you both so much. This means to me than you know. " Mercy said, I could see the tension leaving her body. "I'll get a bag made up as quickly as I can, we've got tons of medical supplies I can bring. What time is it?"

"About a quarter to five, why?" MD asked, checking her PipBuck.

"If we're quick we can hop the train, leaves at six everyday and passes right through the junction, that should cut the journey right down and mean it'll still be daylight when we get there. Freighty owes the clinic a favour anyway." Mercy said, hurrying out the door. "I'll be as fast as I can!"

That left the two of us alone for the first time since the rest stop. MD seemed antsy. Anxious.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." She answered. "I just hope this doesn't backfire on us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we've only been going a day and we've already gotten sidetracked twice now. We're just meant to be finding this cello but we keep getting caught up in other pony's messes. I'm just worried we're gonna end up biting off more than we can chew." She explained. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this."

"Well, if we find Chekwas then we've got nothing to worry about, right?" I countered. As far as I was concerned losing the explosives attached to me was my number one priority.

"Yeah, but that's a big 'if'. I just hope Mercy is right, or it's our backs against the wall."

I supposed I couldn't really argue with that. I was still hopeful, but maybe this was more of a longshot than I thought. We fell quiet again, waiting for Mercy to come back. I looked myself over one more time. Filthy.

"I really hope I can still use that shower before we go."

Level up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Savvy Salving - Get well soon! Healing potions supplied by medical vendors are heal 5% more HP.

New Perk (Make Do): Bulk Goods - Get more bang for your buck! You receive a more favourable rate from vendors when buying or selling in bulk.

Prologue: Silver's Situation

Prologue: Silver's Situation

"When tomorrow hits, it'll hit you hard."

I was sat alone in a very clean (if sterile) office, perched upon one of the most uncomfortable seats I’d ever had the pleasure of using. Honestly, what ever happened to a cushion on the floor? I sighed and glanced around the room, since there was little else to do. A clock ticked away on an off white wall, and the light whirr of a desk terminal filled the space. I internally groaned at having ended up in possibly the dullest room ever, it didn’t even have a window for Celestia’s sake!

There was a, I suppose, decorative poster on the far wall, really no different from any other propaganda poster: a picture of Celestia and Luna smiting hordes of Zebras with their magical might. I was sure I’d seen it before and would almost certainly see it again.

I settled on watching the little motes of dust floating by the ceiling light for a while. If I pretended that they were pegasi it was almost entertaining.

Eventually the occupant of the office, Dr. Healing Touch, returned and broke the tedium, hurrying to his seat, a ream of papers following in his magical grasp. “Apologies for the wait,” he said, setting down the sizeable stack of documents on the desk. “There was an, ah, admin issue. All sorted now, of course!” He finished with a smile, edging the papers towards me.

“Now then, Ms. Sterling, all we need is for you to fill out these forms, and we’ll proceed from there once that’s done.” He levitated a pen and the about half of the papers towards me before turning his attention to the terminal. I sighed again and picked up the pen. I hated paperwork. Who didn’t? But I suppose if you have to do it, you have to do it. I looked it over and it wasn’t really anything too mind numbing or vicious, essentially a standard medical type form, some disclaimers, yadda yadda yadda.

Name? Silver Sterling. Race? Earth Pony. Sex? Female. And so on, right on down to the ‘By signing this document you acknowledge…’ at the end. Pretty painless, as far as playing pencil pusher goes. The next page was something more of a cause for concern, consisting mostly of blocks of waivers and disclaimers for me to sign, which wasn’t foreboding in the slightest. I guess it’s supposed to be a general all-encompassing document, but the sheer number of mentions of ‘accidents’, ‘incidents’ and ‘unintended side-effects’ was not reassuring.

Once I was sure I now had no rights left whatsoever I turned the page over to a much more welcome sight: money talk, the real reason I was here.

That’s not to say I didn’t care about what this programme was about, goodness no! Anything that could help our troops finish this war quicker can only be a good thing by me, it’s just…

Let me fill you in a little. My name is Silver Sterling. I’m a jeweler specialising in, you guessed it, silver. Have been ever since I got my cutie mark, and I love it. Sadly, it wasn’t an especially lucrative market in harder times. You can’t magically charge silver like you would, say, a gemstone of some kind, it’s very a much a decorative item. Which is fine! Everypony loves a bit of sparkle and shine, it’s just that it is what it is: decoration. And as decoration goes, it was pricey, which made it a very low-demand item during more trying times, which while being very understandable was also bad news for me.

I needed money, and I needed it fast. It just so happened that the Ministry of Arcane Science hub nearby were looking for participants in a trial run of some kind of new crazy gadget they whipped up, and were paying for test subjects. And not just money, danger money. Usually I tend to shy away from taking risks, but it was a lot of bits. So that's how I ended up here signing these documents.

Finishing up, I looked over everything to make sure it was right, and once I was satisfied I cleared my throat to get Dr. Touch’s attention.

“All finished?” He asked, looking up from the terminal. I nodded and he smiled. “Excellent! Just let me give these a quick once over.” He said, grabbing the forms in his magic.

I sat in silence as he scrutinized the papers, humming quietly to himself as he looked through. He was young-ish but professional looking, certainly not hard on the eyes, if a little plain. I settled on watching the way his magic aura sparkled and danced in the air before turning back the dust motes.

The sudden sound of a stamp broke me out of my revere, and I looked at the desk to the the stack of papers now sported a big green ‘approved’ sign across the top. “Well Ms. Sterling, I’d say you’re all good to go!” Said Dr. Touch, getting up from his desk. “If you’d like to follow me, I’ll get you up to speed with the finer points of the test.”

“Now as you’re aware, this test is a trial run of a new kind of preservation spell we’ve developed, in conjunction with the Ministry Of Peace and Stable-Tec. After the test we’re hoping to roll it out for military use, and eventually civilian hospitals too.” Dr. Touch explained as we navigated the frankly enormous building. “I’m sure you know the trial is a week long, but it’s probably a little more literal than you’re thinking.” He led me into an elevator, descending to a ‘Sub Level 2’.

“Now, what do you know about Cockatrice?”

I gave him a wide-eyed stare, and for a moment the only sound was the gentle drone and clanks of the elevator. “Cockatrice, as in the incredibly dangerous magical creature Cockatrice?”

Healing Touch chuckled.

“Ms. Sterling, I can promise that whatever you’re thinking right now is far worse than what we’re actually doing here.” He paused as the elevator stopped and the door opened, leading me once more. “But since you’re familiar with Cockatrice the explanation should be easier.”

I was starting to have second thoughts about this.

We were now walking through the basement of the facility. The place was like a maze, with corridors and tunnels branching off in all directions, all with different numbers and colours. Dr. Touch broke off down a long tunnel, labelled ‘2’ and with a green stripe running down the whole left hand side. I’m sure there was probably a map I’d missed that explained what it all meant.

Everywhere I looked there was something happening, ponies running from room to room, great big sheets of data being printed and moved, chemicals being pulled along on trolleys, this place really was a proper science facility.

The path took us past several labs and data banks, until Dr. Touch directed me into a room. “Now, this is going to be something of a briefing, so if you take a seat I’ll begin explaining the process.” He said, closing the door behind him. I settled onto a chair that was much more comfortable than the one upstairs.

“So,” Dr. Touch started, trotting in a slow circle at the front of the room. “You seem to have some knowledge of Cockatrice, do you know what they’re capable of?”

I nodded sagely, to cross paths with a Cockatrice was a cruel fate.

“Did you know” He said, slowly settling down in front of me. “That the Cockatrice’s ‘curse’ can be undone?”

I blinked in surprise, this was certainly news to me. “No, I had no idea.”

Healing Touch smirked. “That’s right, the whole petrification process is totally reversible. Fluttershy actually discovered this years ago.”

“That’s amazing!” I exclaimed.

“It is,” He continued. “But it’s not that simple. The spell can only be broken by the Cockatrice that casted it, and the chances of that happening in the wild are… infinitesimal.”

Okay, maybe not so amazing. But. “If the chances of it happening are so low, how did Fluttershy find out about it?”

“Fluttershy has a way with animals,” He explained. “From what I understand a Cockatrice had actually petrified Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy essentially berated it into reversing the spell.”

Huh.

“Now this is where the whole thing comes into play. Our Ministry was tasked with finding a method to halt grievous injuries until such time that proper medical treatment became available. Let me ask you, can you imagine a more perfect method than petrification?”

“Wait, what!” This was crazy, they wanted to turn the injured to stone?

“Think about it!” He continued. “Any bleeding would be stopped instantaneously, the symptoms of diseases and infections would be paused, and it would allow medical staff more time to work, with incoming patients effectively frozen in time!”

These ponies were insane.

“There will likely be one or two issues until all the kinks are worked out, but the theory itself is sound.” He finished, turning to me again. “That’s where you come in.”

I was really starting to have second thoughts now.

“After careful experimenting, our mages have managed to replicate the Cockatrice’s petrification spell, with some modifications to make the whole experience, shall we say, more pleasant. For instance, during our research we found that the recovery phase of the spell induced a rather unpleasant bout of amnesia and dizziness, so we've worked on removing that aspect, as well as speeding the whole process up, making a more comfortable transition for the patient." He paused, taking a breath. "What we’ve managed to do is work the spell into an arcane device, one that anypony could use. What we need you for, Ms. Sterling, is to make sure everything works safely.” He said with a smile.

‘Week-long medical trial’ my plot, they were going to turn me to stone! This is nothing like how it was described, and I’d already signed away all my rights upstairs! It was entrapment pure and simple, and I felt like I should really have just walked out then and there, except… I really needed the money. My shop was about to close, and I’d have to sell my home if I didn’t get some income going. And this test offered a lot of money. I resigned myself to the fact that if I wanted a place to live, I was going to need to do this, whether I liked it or not.

“You’re going to petrify me?” I asked, very much hoping I’d somehow gotten the wrong end of the stick, so to speak.

“That’s correct.” He answered. I mentally cursed, so much for a miscommunication, this really was happening.

“So, tell me what’s going to happen.” I said with great trepidation. Dr. Touch either didn’t notice my worry, or didn’t care.

“An excellent question!” He said, setting down in front of me. “At the moment, we’re beginning to test the application of the spell, so you’ll be in a small magical isolation booth. As it stands, we have a gem based arcane structure built around a discharge vane, a ‘magic wand’ if you will.” He chuckled. I didn’t really feel like chuckling.

“Essentially, the spell stored in the gem and cast through the vane, we can control it from the outside. We’ll set you up inside the booth, and all you have to do is look into the gem, and the test will be over before you know it!”

Yeah, I thought having my brain literally turned to rock might mess with my perception of time just a little.

“We’ll be monitoring how your body reacts to the spell being cast and broken, and there will be some simple follow up tests just to establish your condition once this is over.” He finished. Nothing he’d said had particularly filled me with confidence. There was no other way of looking at it, they were going to petrify me and then make sure my brain still worked afterwards.

“So, if there are no other questions, we’ll get you set up and ready for the test.”

I had several questions, most of them regarding the sanity of the ponies in control of this program, or the almost ridiculous danger of becoming a statue, but my mind went blank. My silence was apparently satisfactory enough, and Dr. Touch led me back out of the room and prepared me for the experiment.

It was only now that I found myself alone. In a small, unlit, very insulated room, wearing a highly uncomfortable jumpsuit and starting at what looked like a very eccentric radio, I had been left to my own devices. Except, I wasn’t truly alone, still connected to the outside by said uncomfortable jumpsuit, which I’d been told had various charms and spells cast on it, as well as a myriad of other gadgets, none of which I could think to remember. The booth was deathly quiet, and I’d ended up playing with my forelock out of nervousness, something I’ve done since I was a filly.

I was in one of three booths, one for each race according to Dr. Touch. I'd been told the next booth over was currently 'occupied' by a Pegasus mare doing the same test as me. The last one was empty, apparently they were still looking for a unicorn to run through the experiment with, although there certainly wasn't a lack of unicorns in the building by any stretch.

I’d only been inside for a couple of minutes at most, but it had really given me time to think about my situation. Yes, this really was happening. I was going to get turned into garden decoration for money. No, I couldn’t turn back now. And, though I was loath to admit it, yes, I was morbidly curious about the whole process.

I jumped as a burst of static filled my left ear, breaking me from my train of thought.

“Hello Ms. Sterling, can you hear me?” The voice of the unicorn I’d been informed was the project leader, Dr. Bright Spark, came through on the jumpsuit’s built in ear bloom at a near unbearable volume.

“Loud and clear.” I replied rolling my eyes, though I doubted he could see it.

“Good good. We’re just about ready to begin the test on our end, I thought it’d be pertinent to give you a final run down of what you need to do.” He said.

‘Final run down’ sounded more ominous than I liked.

“Go ahead.” I said.

“Wonderful. Now, I’m sure you’ve been told multiple times about how the process works, so I’ll keep this brief and we’ll get going. When the casting starts, you’ll see the gem light up as the rod discharges the spell. We need you to focus on the light and stand perfectly still. The whole thing will be over in a matter of seconds as far as you’ll know.” Dr. Spark finished.

“Okay, got it.” I said exhaling. Look at the light and don’t move, and it’ll be over and done with. It sounded simple enough.

“Excellent. We’re set to commence the test now, so if you’re ready we’ll begin.”

This was it. No big deal right? Just look at a gem and wait to be woken up again, no sweat. I took a deep breath, widened my stance and looked squarely at the strange device at the end of the room.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I said.

“Acknowledged, we’ll begin the spell. I’ll count you down as it’s cast, and remember, focus on the light.”

I heard a light chiming sound from the far end of the booth, and the gem lit up in a dull shine, painting crystalline light patterns across the walls.

“Five.”

The intensity of the light picked up a little bit, shimmering in the dark, the reflections on the walls started to move in a pleasant fashion, not at all unlike water. It gave me a little more to focus on as I stared down at the crystal.

“Four.”

I noticed the tell-tale aura of magic surround the rod-antenna-thing part of the device, and muted blue that sparkled in the air.

I was starting to experience a distinct, if hard to describe feeling of oppression, almost as if all the air in the room had suddenly gotten heavier, a subtle weighing down on my body. However, I didn’t break my gaze away from the light/ If anything having something to focus on help me relax just a little.

“Three.”

Things were starting to get strange. I was very sure that the time between 4 and 3 was longer than between 5 and 4. Was the spell slowing down? Was I slowing down? I really wasn’t sure. Something else had changed too: I couldn’t feel by hind hooves anymore. It almost felt like my body just ended midway down the legs. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it felt like they had been that way all along. I didn’t look back, I couldn’t pull myself away from the light, there was just some strange beauty in the way it shone and danced that was just impossible to ignore.

An eerie cool had filled the space, and I noticed that the quiet chiming sound was back, seeming coming from every direction at once. I could feel the unsettling sensation of nothingness rolling it’s way up my legs.

“Two.”

His voice sounder wrong, like it had been stretched out. Alarm bells started to ring in my head as the feeling of wrong-ness caught up to me. I wanted to turn and run out of the room, but I couldn’t feel anything from my barrel back, let alone move. And besides from that, I couldn’t bear to look anywhere other than the gentle, calming gleam of the light, I could just keep it in sight it would all be fine, I was sure of it.

I felt my forehooves start to go cold. I felt pins and needles in my frogs as the feeling slowly left my forelegs. It was an indescribably unpleasant experience, to have a wave of emptiness slowly creep up your body, and meet up with a part your brain is telling you isn’t there. Almost nauseating.

I panicked when I realised that not only could I no longer move, I couldn’t breathe either. The horrible tide of cold started to spread up my neck, and I shuddered, at least as much as I physically could. By now I could just about see the muted blue glow out of the corners of my eyes as the spell worked it’s way up my neck and to my head.

The feeling of the empty cold at the base of my ears made me feel sick, although I was very sure that I wasn’t capable of vomiting in my condition. The chiming sound of the spell got quieter and quieter, until it faded into nothing, and my vision started to darken as the whole world fell away from me.

I never made it to ‘One’.