Chapter Four: A Risky Venture

Heading back to my room, my mind was still reeling a bit from earlier. Aside from the unexpected encounter with Ruby, tonight was incredible. I could still remember the wind beneath my wings, the endless horizons, the sounds of the girls laughing and singing with me. This night couldn’t have been better. As I walked into my room, there was a light. The skies had parted just enough for a moonbeam to poke through and provide a gentle light across the room. Not wanting to miss the moment, I hopped on the couch and was soon asleep.

The morning greeted me with a dark, cloudy sky outside my window. A storm was on its way, and it looked massive. Welp, I’m glad it wasn’t there yesterday. While freshening up, I listened to the radio to hear PON3 giving the morning news.

“Good morning everypony, this is PON3 coming at you with a special announcement today. It’s officially been 100 years since the first ponies settled into Tenpony Tower. So, in just a couple of hours, I will be sharing some exciting news that is sure to commemorate this anniversary like never before! So, stay tuned all my special little ponies, cause what I’m about to do will change everything…”

Has it really been a hundred years since the world ended? I wonder what the exciting news will be. Shaking my head, I recalled the girls mentioning meeting up for breakfast at Sinbad’s Diner. The thought of some delicious, fresh, hot oatcakes soon cleared my mind, and I left my room in a better mood.

Upon arriving at the diner, I stopped outside for a moment to take in the welcoming air of the place. This diner was special, as it had two floors to it. One for the Uppities and one for the lower-level dwellers. It was a very casual setup with the lower floor having a diner counter fitting up to eight ponies and a row of cozy benches lined up on the other side. Wasn’t sure what was on the upper floor as we weren't really allowed up there unless we lived on the upper floors or were invited to eat up there, which only happens once in a blue moon. From the outside, you could smell all the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen.

Walking in, I looked around until I found my friends all settled in at a bench halfway into the diner, and could see them talking to Sinbad. He was a very handsome earth pony with a pure white coat, his mane and tail a mixture of yellow and orange. He always wore an orange bandana over his head and had a couple pieces of metal bands around each of his legs. He was also the owner of the diner and the best chef you’ll ever find in the tower. While usually also the busiest pony in the diner, he could always magically spare time for our group. As I got closer, I could hear Mint Mint attempting to woo him once again.

“Oh Sinbad, you know just how to treat a girl. I swear, it’s like you always know just what I need.”

“Why, of course! I can’t very run this place and not know what my customers need.”

“Mmm, true, but surely, I’m more than just a customer to you, right?” She winked at him, while also inching a little closer.

He didn’t seem to catch the hint whatsoever and gave an innocent smile. “Hmmm, yeah your right! Were more like friends now, aren’t we?”

But she wasn’t about to give up so easily “Maybe we could be friends…with benefits?” She was now right next to his face and before anything else could happen, a loud timer from the kitchen interrupted them, causing Sinbad to blink and turn towards the kitchen.

“Woops, that’s my call to head on back in.” As he began to trot off towards the kitchen, he turned to Mint, “I’ll give you a discount from now on.”

As he was heading back to the kitchen, Mint stretched out her hoof in frustration. “Dammit Sinbad, that’s not what I meant by benefits!” Alas, it was too late as he was already out of hearing range, and she just slumped onto the table. “Uughhh, why is he so damn dense?”

Amy and Kiwi just sat there smiling and trying not to laugh, until I walked up to join them. “Another failed attempt to seduce your little, delicious honey-pony, Minty?” Now the other two were just snorting and chuckling. Mint just looked up to me with annoyance.

“Oh, shut up Sony, it’s not my fault. I’m trying my best here to get his attention.” Sitting down next to her, I started to feel a little bad for her. I liked teasing her, but I also knew she has been trying for almost a year to get Sinbad to see her as more than just a friend and has been very patient in the process. I gave her a little nudge and tried to lift her spirits.

“One day Minty, one day. You are an incredibly beautiful, caring pony. He will see that. Tell you what, we will help you out once we come up with a good plan. What do you say?”

That seemed to cheer her up a little bit. “You mean it? You’ll all help me?”

Amy was the first to respond, “Of course! I don’t know much about getting anypony’s attention, but I will gladly help out one of my best friends.”

Kiwi gave her a gentle smile. “As amusing as it is to watch, I also agree, he needs to know how you really feel about him and give you an answer. It’s been long enough. You can count on me.”

Mint looked up at all of us, really happy. “Awww, thanks girls. No pony could have better friends than you.” We started to go over ideas and plans for how to make his work, occasionally coming up with a hare-brained scheme that got us all laughing.

While we were enjoying the moment, I noticed a lot of ponies were quieting down, most walking closer to the radio. Now curious, we also quieted down and start to listen in…

“…That’s right, all my special little ponies out there, I am not just sending this message to only the residents of Tenpony Tower, but to all the corners of Equestria. From the highest reaches of the Grand Pegasus Enclave, to the valiant knights of the Steel Rangers across the Wasteland, to the Stable Dwellers holed up underground, as well as anypony else out there trying to survive, PON3 is here, with a message about something that will blow you away. But first, let me introduce a very lovely and special guest onto the air.”

“Hello everypony…” I near damn spit my drink out. I knew that voice! “…I am Ruby. I’m sure many of you in Tenpony Tower have seen me around lately. For those who don’t know, I help out PON3 occasionally and today, I’ve been told we have some news to help try and bring hope back into the wasteland. Isn’t that right, PON3?”

“That’s right, Ruby! It has been a hundred years since the fateful day our beautiful land of Equestria was devastated my Megaspells, creating the world of carnage, suffering and death we know today. Yet, for a hundred years, we have persisted. We have fought to stay alive and have endured many a hardship, as well as many a loss. And to pay tribute to those hundred years we have endured and survived, I, PON3, have reached out to the Tenpony Council, The Enclave, and The Rangers to try something new, something daring…something musical.”

“Well, I'm sure it must be...wait…I’m sorry, did you just say musical?”

“Yes. For the first time ever, Tenpony Tower is hosting auditions for a chance to have your voice and songs, permanently on the air. What’s so important about this, you might ask? Look, I’m not gonna lie to you, these are hard times, and for once, I want to see ponies come together and show the Wasteland how we can do more, than just survive.”

“But…music auditions…surely there is something else you’re hiding? All ponies out there listening to this have enough to deal with as is...Is there, perhaps, anything they might get out of this?”

“Well…let me think…yes, actually! Not only will you have your songs played on the air, but there are also a few rewards one can choose from. I’m personally offering the winner ten thousand caps, or their own guaranteed room in the upper floors of Tenpony Tower! Winners’ choice!”

“Ten thou...you…have ten thousand caps? That is a lot of caps…”

At this point, every pony was gasping in surprise and looking to each other in a mixture of awe and excitement.

“Of course I have ten thousand caps, I’m PON3! Been saving this up for at least a decade now, but I want to see ponies come together through music and show every other creature out there in the Wasteland that we can be so much more!”

“Wow…that’s quite a lot to take in. By the way, when is this all going down? Surely, you don’t expect ponies to just drop everything and be here within a day or two?”

“Of course not, Ruby. That’d be asking too much. No, the auditions will be held exactly two weeks from now. There will be more news to follow then, but now to talk about the rules for when coming here…”

The rest was drowned out amongst all the commotion. Every pony was now talking about the announcement. I could just barely make out parts of different conversations going on around us.

“Did you hear that?! Ten thousand caps! That’s more than I could make in a lifetime.”

“She said that every pony across the wasteland. Including the Enclave and Rangers. Isn’t that gonna cause trouble? *gasp* What if raiders or slavers try to sneak their way in?!”

“I never thought much about singing or playing an instrument, but maybe it’s worth a shot…”

Soon the whole diner was filled with talks about the announcement. We just looked at each other, still surprised at what we just heard. Mint was the first of us to react and she was grinning from ear to ear.

“You heard that, right?! Ten thousand caps for the one who wins a music contest?! Sign me up!” She was practically beaming.

Kiwi, on the other hand was approaching this news in a more calm manner. She was smiling as well, but it was with more reservation. “It does sound…well amazing. I don’t even know where to begin with all of it.”

“Yes, that does sound interesting. Though I don’t think I could ever get in front of other ponies like that…I still find it hard talking to the ponies that come in my shop every day.” Amy wasn’t entirely excited about the news, but she was a little happy from watching Mint’s excitement.

As fast as the excitement came though, it began to settle down as Kiwi thought more about it.

“Well, it would be fun to try, but I’m not entirely sure I’d have the time to participate. All the free time I can get is spent with you girls. I’d rather spend that time with you all then on an audition. And if it’s true that ponies from around the wasteland will be coming to participate, my store will be even busier than ever.”

Even Mint started sighing a bit as the same realization dawned on her, “Your right. I would love to try, but I also can’t afford to be away from my business now. It would honestly depend on how the auditions are set up. It would be nice if they made time for all of us who own a business.” As the excitement in the air began to settle, a smile began to coyly creep upon her face as she looked up to me. “Although…there is a very talented singer amongst us with no responsibilities whatsoever.”

The oatcake that was about enter my mouth stopped midair as I slowly looked up to see all three of them turning towards me. “Oh…ah hehe, yeah…what?”

Kiwi also took the opportunity to chime in, “Your absolutely right, Mint. It would be an absolute shame if such talent stayed hidden in the shadows. Wouldn’t you agree, Amy?” I looked to Amy with a pleading look, hoping she would catch it, but alas, she misunderstood my expression and began chuckling to herself.

“Yes, I think it would be a shame. Why not give it a shot, Sony? You have such a wonderful voice.” Her expression was just too gentle that I found myself unable to respond.

Stammering, I was caught in a mixture of excitement, nervousness and…a little fear. I tried to come up with a reason, but Mint jumped back in before I could, “You’ve always been talking about one day being on the air and you’ve been making such wonderful lyrics over the past few years. This is the moment you have been dreaming about.”

At the mention of dreaming, I was reminded of something and what little excitement I had, soon disappeared as I let my oatcake fall back onto the plate. “I’m…I’m sorry, but I don’t think I should. It’s just…I’m not ready yet.”

Kiwi could sense I was trying to undermine myself again and tried to encourage me, “Sweetie, opportunities like this don’t come every day. You might not get a chance like this ever again. Why not just give it a try?”

Mint took this moment to press further, “She’s right Sony! This is a once in a lifetime chance! You should at least give it a shot. Who knows, you will most likely win. I bet all the ponies in Equestria have just been waiting for a voice like yours to be in their lives.”

A wave of repressed emotions began to surface. At the beginning of the conversation, I had managed to keep them under control, but now they were overflowing. As their voices were drowned out by the waves, I held myself together as best as I could, but it was too much. I slammed my hooves onto the table in frustration, my eyes starting to tear up. “You don’t understand! I just can’t, alright!” Without giving them a moment to say anything else, I got out of the booth and stormed off, almost knocking down a few ponies along the way.

…

They just sat there, dumbfounded, completely unaware of why she was so upset. Mint and Kiwi just looked at each other.

“Wait, what did I say?” I knew she was nervous about singing, but I didn’t know she would get mad over it. You know anything about this, Kiwi?”

“No I…I thought the same thing as you. What about you, Amy...Where’d she go?”

While Mint and Kiwi were still sitting there in shock, Amy had already left the booth to go after her. While she may not have known the reason for behind Midnight Sonata’s outburst, she knew her best friend always seemed to be hiding something whenever her singing was brought up… and that she needed to be there for her. She knew exactly where to go next.

…

Upon reaching my room, tears were already streaming down my face. Shutting the door hard behind me, I jumped onto the couch and curled up tight, just trying to block out the rest of the world. As I tried to calm down and process everything, I was hit by a flashback to when I was a filly back in school.

…

I was around eight years old and on my way from the orphanage for another day of school. Today, however, was a special day. Today we were instructed to give a brief, and a small demonstration, on what we wanted to do when we grew up. Back then I was a totally different pony and a lot more optimistic, with a bubbly personality. I was excited because this was the day I had worked so hard for, practicing a song of mine in the orphanage and now ready to show my classmates what I could do. My lyrics were written out and secured in my bag. I had always wanted to grow up to sing on stage for others and maybe even have my songs air on the Tenpony Tower radio. And finally, I would be able to show every pony what I was capable of.

Walking in, I noticed all the other ponies were double checking their projects and chatting amongst themselves. Shortly after seating myself, our teacher walked in and began to take roll call. Once she had finished, she then gave a quick rundown on today’s brief and demonstration.

“Okay class, today is a very special day. I hope you all have what you need to demonstrate what it is you want to do when you grow up. Now remember, no dream is too big, but make sure to keep it realistic. Wanting to grow up to end world hunger or get rid of the radiation outside is noble and all, but you need to go into more details and how you would go about doing so. Now, without further ado, I’m gonna announce the order you will go in.”

I was the fifth one on the list and was doing my best to keep my excitement in check. Listening to the first three ponies, their briefs were fairly simple. The first pony wanted to grow up and start a clothing business, the second wanted to become a nurse and help other ponies in need, while the third wanted to join the Tenpony Council. This elicited some chuckles from a group near the front. Looking to see who was making light of the third pony, I noticed it was Doppel Herz and his group of Uppities. Usually, some of the Uppities in our class were nice or non-chalant around us lower-level dwellers, but this group was the opposite. Under Doppel Herz, they loved to pick on other classmates and gloat about their superiority and better living conditions. After catching a quick stern glare from the teacher, they went silent for a moment, but shortly after, started looking to each other with mocking smiles.

Eventually it was the fourth pony’s turn, and knowing I was next, I started to grab my lyrics and prepare myself for my turn. As I glanced over my lyrics, I briefly began to daydream about singing on a stage before a live audience. The sounds reverberating across the room, the audience captivated by the melody. My daydream was broken as the teacher started calling my name.

“Midnight Sonata…. Midnight Sonata, stop daydreaming! It’s your turn.” Breaking out of my trance, I looked around to see all the students smiling or laughing at me. It was quite often I would do this and blushed in embarrassment as I grabbed my lyrics, heading up to the front of the class. I shook my head and gathered myself as I started my introduction, excitement back on my mind.

“Hello everypony! I’m Midnight Sonata and when I grow up, I want to be a singer! I want to one day perform on stage for every pony in the tower and help spread hope and cheer. And then one day, I would also like to perform my songs on the radio, so that, maybe, every pony out in the wasteland can hear my songs and help brighten their days. I even wrote a special song that I would like to share with you all!” Holding my lyrics up, I started to sing, but I was quickly interrupted.

“You?! A singer?! Hahahaha, that’s gotta be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”

Looking up, I saw Doppel Herz just laughing and pointing at me, the rest of his group laughing with him.

“Shut up, Doppel! It’s not stupid!”

The teacher was now up from her desk “Doppel Herz, be quiet! It’s Midnight Sonata’s turn and she has the floor.”

But this did not deter him. “Oh, come on now teach, I’m just letting her know how stupid her dream is. It’s not like she can do it anyway. Might as well let her know now rather than embarrass herself later.”

“That’s enough! Apologize to her this instant.”

“Apologize? To this stupid little orphan?”

“Doppel Herz, I am warning you…”

He was already walking up to me at this point, completely ignoring the teacher. I tried to back away, but ended up tripping over myself. He was now right up in my face. “You will never be a singer. You’re just a low-down orphan, with no friends and always daydreaming about things you will never have. You haven’t even gotten your cutie mark yet, while everyone else here has theirs.” Before I could react, he grabbed my lyrics from out of my hooves. “No pony will want to listen to any song you come up with. It’s probably just garbage anyway.”

Tears were starting to form in my eyes as I tried to grab back my lyrics back from him. “That’s not true, give it back!” I was unable to grab them as he pushed me back down.

“Oh, but it is. Go ahead and look around. No pony here is gonna back you up.”

“That’s not true! Right?...” As I looked around, some of the Uppities were laughing or smiling at my misfortune, while the others and the lower-level dwellers just looked away, either too nervous or scared to speak up.

“…right?...”

Doppel Herz just smiled wickedly before grabbing my lyrics with both hooves and shredding it right before my eyes. As the pieces of paper fell in front of me, I broke. Tears were streaming down my face as I watched my dream just get torn apart, the sounds of other ponies still chuckling in the background. The lyrics I had worked so hard on were now scattered on the floor in front me, now blurry pieces of paper as my eyes hazed up with tears. Why did no pony stand up for me? Was I really so unwanted?

The teacher had now wedged herself between me and Doppel Herz, but I barely noticed. I couldn’t hear anything now. All I could do was lay there, crying. While they were arguing, I tried to grab up what I could of the pieces of paper, hoping to salvage them, but they were wet from all my tears and now unreadable, crumbling at my every attempt to pick them up. Unable to save my lyrics, I got up and ran out the door.

I could just hear the teacher calling out to me, “Sonata wait! Come back.” But it was too late. I ran as fast as I could back to the orphanage and just curled up in my bed, crying uncontrollably.

…

My flashback was abruptly interrupted by a knock at my door, followed by a soft, concerned voice.

“Sony, may I come in?” It was Amy. The memory still playing out in my mind, I didn’t want to talk to any pony. I wanted to just scream and tell her to go away. But this was Amy, the closest friend I ever had and the one who was always there for me and who never pushed or pressured me into singing. Remembering that, I slowly got up and went to open the door. She stood there and was silent for a moment as she looked at me. It dawned on me that I must look like an emotional wreck and started to instinctively close the door before it was stopped by a yellow hoof. Looking back at her face, she had a warm smile and walked up to embrace me.

“Shhhh, it’s ok Sony. I’m here for you. I got you.”

I started to break down again as she let me go, gently guiding me back to the couch. For a while, we just sat there until eventually, I ran out of tears. She patiently waited the whole time and once I was done, she asked what was wrong. Slowly looking up to her, I tried not to remember, but I couldn’t ever say no to her. Because I knew she would never judge me. As I told her about my past and why I didn’t want to sing, she sat their transfixed. She didn’t speak once, all the while nodding for me to continue, allowing me to get it all out. As I finished, she finally spoke up.

“Sony…I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have pushed you so hard to try, but we had no idea that you felt so strongly about this. What happened to you was incredibly wrong and they were wrong to do that to you. You are a light in our lives Sony, and we want you to know that. If you don’t want to go to the audition, we won’t force you.”

Sniffling just a bit, I was feeling a little relieved. “You really mean that, Amy?”

She smiled at me as she gently rested a wing over me. “Of course I do. You are the most precious friend I have in this world. I’m more than satisfied having your songs just to our little group. You don’t have to force yourself to perform.” She now spoke with concern as she asked, “Although, are you absolutely sure you want to give up on your dream like this?...It’s just that it sounds like you have been working up your courage over the years, waiting for a moment like this. I know the memories and feelings of what they did to you still haunt you, but surely there is still a part of you that wants to break free from it?”

After spending a few moments to contemplate, I looked to my hooves nervously. “It’s not that I don’t want to…it’s just that…I fear that once I go on that stage, I’ll be judged before I can even begin. That, what happened before will just repeat itself. I don’t want to build up my hopes, just for them to be destroyed again…is it really alright for me to try one more time?”

Amy pulled me close and wrapped her arms around me, placing her head over mine. As my head buried itself in her chest, her voice was soothing, “That’s for you to decide, dear. No matter what, the girls and I will be there for you. I’m not sure what would happen if you tried, but what I am sure of is that you are incredible Sony, and you have the most beautiful voice I have ever heard.” Closing my eyes, I felt grateful for Amy being there. She truly is the best friend a pony could ever hope for. As she slowly let go, I began to think that maybe it was worth trying to dream, maybe just one more time.

“Maybe…I could give it a shot…but I don’t know if I’m ready for it yet.”

“There’s still two weeks before it starts. Just...think it over in the meantime and any time you feel down, you can always come find me. You going to be alright, Sony?”

Nodding my head, I rubbed my eyes a little. “Yeah…yeah I’ll be alright. I just want to go to sleep and think about it some more.”

Amy jumped off the couch, heading towards the door. As she reached it, she slowly opened it and turned back towards me. “Take the day off tomorrow. Just get some rest and then we can work through this…together.” I ran up to give her another hug before she left. Soon it was just me and my thoughts. For once, I was happy for the exhaustion and let myself slip away into a deep slumber.

…

“Good morning all my tower residents, this is PON3 coming at you with a weather warning to start the day off. It appears we have an intense storm coming in hot and it looks pretty bad out there folks. So please make sure to stay away from your windows just in case. Now, to begin the day with some nice calming jams…”

As orchestral jazz music filled the room, I slowly raised my head and looked around. It was dimly lit from the dark clouds outside and the loud patter of rain on the window made the room feel gloomy. Well, more than usual. Curious about how bad the storm would be today, I got up and walked over to look outside. Honestly, I was glad for once that I was inside. As bad as it was now, there was even heavier rain and lightning moving in from outside the city and at a fast pace. Remembering PON3’s warning, I started backing away from the window, when a huge lightning bolt struck just across the block. It was quickly followed by more lightning and soon the world outside became a world of flashing lights and hard rain. In the midst of it all, something caught my eye. In the distance, I could just make out some red lights blinking in and out between the flashes. As they got closer, I could only sit there in shock. Those red lights were energy beams and were coming from the silhouettes of a couple of pegasi. And they were all aiming at a lone pegasus. They were trying to shoot down them down!

I could only watch as the pegasus tried to escape, barely dodging the beams. As the lone pegasus descended towards the street level, dozens of bright little flashes lit up from the nearby buildings as bullets now flew towards them from below. Caught unawares, the pegasus tried to pull away, only to be clipped by the sudden barrage. Veering towards the tower, the pegasus crashed in one the alleys. Horrified, I was unable to look away as the pegasus tried to get up, only to collapse again. Whoever was shooting from the buildings was now contending with the group of pegasi in the sky as bullets and energy beams were exchanged furiously between them. As I looked back to the pegasus in the alley, I could see they were lying still next to some rubble, obscuring them from their assailants. Scared for the wounded pegasus, I bolted to my door and ran out, heading to security downstairs. Thoughts of that wounded pony filled my mind as I practically flew towards the main gate.

Arriving at the front gate, I saw Sarge talking to a council member and called out to him. He turned to see me and waved in greeting, a calm look on his face that soon turned to concern as he saw mine. Stopping just short from crashing into him, I slid to a halt immediately trying to tell him what I saw between breaths.

“Sarge! Pegasi outside…shot down...laying in alley…please help…” Sarge and the council member exchanged confused looks before the council member looked back to me.

“Calm down, resident. Take a deep breath.” After taking a few deep breaths, Sarge spoke.

“It’s alright Sony. Now, tell us what’s going on.”

Starting from the beginning, I quickly explained what I everything I saw. As my story unfolded, both Sarge and the council member had worried expressions and looked to each other as I finished.

“Please Sarge, you have to help them!”

Looking around, Sarge cursed to himself, “Shit. We don’t have enough guards to send out a patrol and its going to take awhile to get more back down here and ready. What do you think, sir?

Looking up to the council member, he replied flatly, “There is nothing we can do.”

What?! He can’t be serious. As I was about to speak up, he held out a hoof and continued.

“From what you described, it seems that the pegasi you mentioned are a group of Enclave soldiers chasing after one of their own. For all we know, they were hunting down a criminal and we have no right to interfere in the matter. Not only that, but the gang of raiders appear to be even closer now than before. We need to lockdown both entrances until the council can convene and evaluate the situation.”

I could see Sarge was not happy with that decision. “Sir, with all due respect, we don’t know if the wounded pegasus is a criminal or not. You know as well as I do about Dashites and the incredible hatred The Enclave has for them. For all we know, this could be an innocent pony who needs medical attention. And there is no way they will survive in this weather. I could assemble a small team and go get them before…”

The council member stood firm. “You will do no such thing. We cannot afford to risk the lives of any of our own based on a guess. You will call in the guards from the main entrance and lock it down. You have your orders.” Without waiting to hear anything else, the council member turned away and headed off.

Sarge and I could only sit there, shocked, as the council member disappeared up a flight of stairs. Sarge was the first to recover and shook his head in frustration. “That damned fool. If only it was Cubik here instead.” He looked to me with regret before continuing, “I’m sorry Sony, but my hooves are tied. You should head on back now.”

Shaking my head, I refused to give up. “No. No, we can’t just leave them out there to die! Please Sarge, don’t leave them out there…”

But I could see that he was also angry about the decision and just stared at his hooves before looking up to tell the guards to lock down the entrance. As the guards began closing the main doors, I decided to do the stupidest thing I could. I spread out my wings and flew right through the gap between the doors. Behind me I could just make out Sarge yelling out to me.

“Dammit Sony! Come back here now!” I ignored him and as I landed outside by the street, the rain was falling harder than before and for a moment, I froze. I’ve never been in a storm before, and I was frightened. Lightning flashed furiously around me, the booming sounds of thunder ringing throughout the city. I remembered the wounded pegasus, bleeding out in the alley, and gathered up what little courage I had, before dashing towards the alley. Upon reaching the corner, I could just make out a white clump next to some rubble, halfway through the alley. Moving closer, I was able to make out the pegasus and called out to them, hoping they were still alive. Through the rain, I was able to see that it was a mare, with a pure white coat, blue hair and had a number of bullet wounds around her body. She was bleeding a lot, but still breathing. Without hesitation, I worked to lift her onto my back. As I got ready to head back to the tower, lightning struck the other end of the alley, creating a couple of silhouettes. From the corner of my eye, I could make out a small group of raiders walking into the alley. They stopped after spotting us, and aimed their weapons right at us. Bullets were now flying right past my face, one tearing through the upper part of my right ear. I fell back behind the rubble, frightened. Unsure of what to do now, I could only wait as they closed in towards where we were hiding. I’ve never been in a fight before and my mind was racing, until the bullets stopped.

Looking up, standing atop the rubble was a huge raider, aiming a shotgun right at us. They were smiling, relishing the moment. I scuttled towards the wall behind me, eyes wide as I saw them slowly pull the trigger.

Bang!

The raider stood still for a moment before falling backwards over the rubble, and I turned to see Sarge and two other security guards at the end of the alley. The security guards were now laying down fire on the raiders as Sarge made his way over to me.

“Sony! Are you alright?!” Nodding my head slowly, Sarge was relieved for a moment before helping me back up. “C’mon, we need to get back inside now!”

As he pulled me away from the rubble, I remembered the other pegasus and shook his hoof off. “I’m not leaving without her!” He looked like he was about to argue with me, but stopped himself and helped me to get her on my back, before helping his security guards lay cover fire. We soon made our way back around the corner of the alley, before making a run to the main entrance. We just managed to get through the doors safely. Sarge was the last to get in and with the help of the security guards, quickly locked down the entrance. As they slumped against the door, we all just tried to catch our breath. There were nearby ponies who looked at us from afar, talking amongst themselves.

Sarge was the first to recover and walked over to us, with a worried expression. As he got over to me, I could only sit there, body shaking until he finally spoke.

“Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere else, aside from your ear?” Shaking my head slowly, his worry turned to anger. “What the hell were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how stupid that was?! You could have died, had we not gotten there in time! And we’re only so lucky that none of us were injured. If these two hadn’t come with me, there would be two dead pegasi out in the streets and I would have lost a friend! Do you realize at all what you did?”

I could only look down in shame. He was right, I didn’t think at all. I wasn’t sorry about going to rescue her, but I had no idea how close I was to being killed. As I looked back up to Sarge, he was still mad, but not as much as before. He looked from me to the pegasus and after looking her over, looked back to me.

“You will have to take responsibility for her now. I have to take care of these two here and make sure the main entrance is properly locked down. Afterwards, I don’t even know how I’m gonna explain this to council…you need to take her to the infirmary immediately. We will talk later.” As he turned and headed back to the entrance, I looked over to see that she was still bleeding out. After getting her on to my back again, it took a little bit for my legs to stop shaking as I moved as fast as I can towards the infirmary. There were more residents nearby now, but they parted to make room for us. I caught a glimpse of Amy, Mint Mint and Kiwi along the way and as they saw me, they just stood there in disbelief before pushing their way through to my side. Silently, they gathered around me and helped me take her to the infirmary.

...

We arrived to find the front desk was empty. Looking around, there didn’t seem to be any pony around and most of the hallways were dark or dimly lit. I was on the verge of panicking when a pegasus stepped out into the light from around a corner, yawning as they walked out and stopping once they saw us. From here I could see they were also a white mare, but something was way off about her. She looked normal up until the wings and legs. They both looked like somepony splashed a mixture of light blue, dark blue, purple, and pink all over and added spots along them. While slightly mesmerizing in color, it didn’t look natural at all, and we just stood there for a moment with our eyes locked. Her purple eyes were brimming with curiosity as she looked at me, soon changing to concern as she noticed the wounded pegasus on my back.

“Oh dear, she looks bad. Are…are those bullet wounds?” Shaking her head, she now was completely focused. “Come, we need to get her treated right away. Hurry now!”

As we got her into a nearby room and laid her on the table, she shooed us out, but I refused. “I’m not leaving her.” She looked as if she was about to push me out and stopped short, looking back at the patient again. Turning back to me, she nodded, pointing to Kiwi and me. “Alright, you and you can stay and help me hold her down while I remove the bullets and stitch her up. The rest of you wait outside.”

As Amy and Mint went outside, Amy stopped short before turning to me. “We will be just outside if you need us.” Smiling, I gave her a quick hug and turned to help.

“Alright, how can I help miss…?”

She looked up briefly as she washed her hoofs and readied a scalpel and tweezers. “Aurora. You can call me Aurora. And there are at least five bullet wounds, as well as multiple severe injuries to her legs and wings. This probably gonna hurt her a lot and we need to be quick to stop her from losing any more blood.” Her eyes were now gazing deep into mine. “We don’t have any time for straps or major anesthetics, so you need to hold her still in case she moves.” Switching her gaze quickly to Kiwi, she went on, “And I need you to hand me any tools, gauze, and suturing needles I’m gonna need.” Kiwi nodded and moved to the other side of the table.

The wounded pegasus struggled in the begining, but didn't fight for long as Aurora worked quickly to remove the bullets. Her skill was unbelievable and had me mesmerized at the speed and precision she used as each bullet was removed minutes apart. Once the bullets were removed, she proceeded to suture the wounds shut and place the gauze over the wounds, before smoothly wrapping bandages around them. By the time she had finished, I looked up at the clock in shock. Only twenty minutes had passed. Looking at the pegasus, she was breathing deeply and didn’t seem to be in much pain. I felt a slight nudge and looked up to see Kiwi standing next to me. “Let’s let her rest. You’ve done all you can, hun.”

Aurora walked up to us, agreeing, “Don’t worry. She’s going to be just fine. After a good night’s rest, she should be awake, and you can come see her then. Alright?” Smiling a bit to myself, I let Kiwi lead me out. As we opened the door, we found it to be blocked by ponies I didn’t recognize. There were two ponies in front of us, surrounded by what seemed to be a small security detail. Looking back to the two in front, the one on the left was an earth pony stallion with a white coat and yellow-brown dots spread around his body, light blue eyes, as well as a brown mane and some small spectacles. On the right was an earth pony mare with a lavender coat, a mane mixed with different shades of blue, lavender eyes, and half a golden laurel on the right side of her head. The stallion was the first to speak up.

“Not so fast. I’m afraid we need to speak with miss Sonata here. Miss Kiwi, would you be so kind as to give us the room? Miss Aurora, you should probably stay as well.”

Before I could even ask who they were, I saw Kiwi gently dip her head before and walk past them. I could hear Aurora speak up behind me, “Well, if it isn’t our esteemed council members, Serene and Dapple. To what do we owe the visit? We can use my office if you need to speak privately.”

Council members! Oh no, they must be here about me and everything that happened earlier! Or what if they were here about the pegasus and was gonna have her leave?! Starting to panic, I backed up frantically to the table, putting myself between them and the pegasus. Seeing my reaction, Serene calmly stepped up and spoke to me gently.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Miss Sonata. Were not here to arrest you or do anything harmful to your new friend. We just both came by here to talk to you and hear your side of the story…and to talk to you both about a situation that involves all three of you, along with two of your friends out there.” Both Aurora and I exchanged confused glances as they gestured for us to relax and directed the security guards to lead the others away. As the girls waved goodbye and headed off, Serene made sure they were all gone before closing the door.

“So, before we begin anything, we're gonna need you to go over everything that led up the incident, during the incident and after. Do not spare any details.”

Taking a deep breath, I described how I awoke to watch the storm outside before seeing the pegasus getting attacked. As the story unfolded, Aurora was absolutely floored, while as Serene and Dapple were instead concerned. Once I had finished, there was silence. Aurora was still processing everything that she just heard, while the other two exchanged a knowing glance before Dapple spoke up.

“This…this is more than we feared. We had heard that there was a wounded pony and that you barely survived a raider attack, but we had no idea that The Enclave was also involved. This changes things. Tell me, both of you, what do you know about Dashites?”

Aurora didn’t seem to know, and I had only recently heard the term from Ethan and Sarge. Seeing our lack of forwardness, Serene decided to explain, “A Dashite is a pegasus who leaves their brethren above to live on the surface. They are branded as traitors and usually left alone, never allowed to rejoin their fellow pegasi above the clouds. There are very few who choose this life and can sometimes be recognized by a branding made in the image of the cutie mark of the most noble pegasus of all, Rainbow Dash, who did not agree to closing off the pegasi from the rest of the world. She was seen as a hero to some and those who deign to live below the clouds are called Dashites from that moment on. So, as you may guess, finding a pegasus below the clouds that isn’t wearing Enclave armor is incredibly rare. Yet here, within our tower, dwell close to a dozen pegasi, all of whom are descendants of former Dashites, and now including one that was being hunted by The Enclave. Now, while we don’t know why she was being hunted down or if she is guilty of any of their crimes, we now have to deal with a major security risk and possible issues with The Enclave.” She took a small break, gesturing for Dapple to continue.

“The problem now is what to do with this new pegasus. We're not so cold-hearted as to kick her out before she has fully healed, but if The Enclave discovers she is here, we don’t know what they will do. In two weeks, there will be ponies from below, and above, the clouds coming here for the music auditions PON3 is hosting. So, we need to ask you to do something very important, Miss Sonata.”

Aurora and I both looked at each other before being approached by Serene. “Can you keep eyes on her and take care of her until her wounds have fully healed, until we can reconvene with the other council members?”

Nervously, I spoke up, “She’s not in danger, is she?”

She shook her head, unsure. “We don’t know. Only she can tell us, and she is currently in a deep slumber. There are some members on the council who would be more than happy to see her sent right back out immediately, while others would let her stay or are still undecided. We will do our best to convince them otherwise, but we can’t make any promises. We don’t even have a place to house her, and she can’t live in the infirmary.”

Aurora just looked insulted. “Why not? I do.”

Dapple chuckled to himself. “Yes, but not everypony is special, like you.” Aurora just shrugged before he went on, “She needs a proper place to sleep and recover, and we don’t have any rooms that can do that, at the moment. All the other rooms on the upper and lower floors are taken and the rest are being prepared for our guests that will be arriving within the following weeks.”

“I can put her in my room.”

All three were looking right at me. Clearing my throat, I continued, “I may not have a bed or the best room in the tower, but the couch I use to sleep on is cozy enough for her to recover on and I can sleep on the floor for a while, until a room becomes available. And my friends and I can make sure she gets enough food and exercise while she recuperates…if that’s alright?...”

Serene was now staring curiously at me, making me nervous again. Finally, she smiled and nodded to Dapple, who was now also smiling. “I think that should be fine. But she is not sleeping on a couch while you are on the floor.”

As I started to open my mouth, she held up a hoof and went on, “No, I think what we will do is deliver a single bed to your room for her to rest on. That way she will get the proper rest she needs, and you can as well.”

I was relieved and surprised to hear that. “You mean it? So, she can stay?!”

Chuckling to themselves a little, I relaxed some more as they went on, “Yes, she can stay. We will have a bed sent to your room first thing tomorrow for her and hopefully, she will be awake by then to be moved there. Aurora, the decision will be up to you when its safe for her to leave the infirmary and we will need you to let us know how she is doing daily. Miss Sonata, once she is awake and feels safe, we want you to keep her company. Learn who she is and see if you can glean any information as to why she was being chased by The Enclave. We will come to talk to her in a week. That will give us enough time to let her rest and talk with the other members of the council. For now, take our leave. You should all do the same.” As they bowed their heads, they turned and walked out the door, leaving Aurora and I alone in the room.

Looking back to the pegasus on the table, I was able to get a better look at her. She was a delicate thing. Her mane was a dark blue, but there were now some light blue stripes mixed in as well. I could make out most of her cutie mark as well, which was a light blue violin, with flower petals appearing to fall around it. Hearing hoofsteps, I looked up to see Aurora now awkwardly close to me and staring at the top right of my head. Startled a bit, I took a step back and it took her a second to realize her awkwardness.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just now noticed the injury to your ear. It’s not too bad, but the tip of your ear is now missing. And most of the bleeding seems to have stopped. Is it alright if I cleaned it up for you?” I had completely forgotten about my ear and as soon as she mentioned it, I could now consciously feel it. Nodding for her to go ahead, she directed for me to take a seat in a nearby chair and it stung a bit as she worked to clean it up. Once she was finished, she brought up a small mirror to let me see. It wasn’t really bad, but there definitely was a noticeable chunk of my ear missing at the very tip. Afterwards, I said good night to her and headed out. The girls were waiting for me at the entrance and were now all over me, asking me questions and saying they were sorry for yesterday. We stood outside for a while, talking as Mint looked behind me to see a pony walking up. Turning around, I recognized Sarge, and he wasn’t angry anymore, which helped me relax.

“Hey girls, I know you all have a lot to talk about with Sony here, but I need to borrow her for a moment. Alone.” Glancing at me, they all hesitated a bit until Kiwi spoke up.

“C’mon, let’s give them some space. We can talk to her more tomorrow.” As they all walked past Sarge, Kiwi slowed and locked eyes with him, speaking to him in a smooth voice, “Be gentle with her alright, or you’ll have me to answer to.”

Nodding his head, I caught a quick flash of warmth in his eyes. “Yes ma’am.”

Mint must have caught it too, as she immediately started walking next to Kiwi. “No way…are you two…?” Kiwi shushed her, but I could tell she wasn’t gonna hear the end of it as they got further away. Once they were far enough out of earshot, Sarge gestured for me to sit down on a nearby bench with him. For a few moments, we were both silent and then he spoke up.

“Look…I’m glad you’re alright and that the rescue was successful. How is she by the way?”

“She’s alright. Aurora did an amazing job and said she should be awake by tomorrow hopefully.”

I could see Sarge was relieved at the news and a lot of tension left his body. “That’s good to hear. I…I don’t know what I would’ve done had I lost you. You’re a good friend, Sony and we were lucky today.” His voice was now serious as he continued. “However, I have to tell you that you are no longer allowed to go outside the entrance anymore. What you did was incredibly dangerous and a huge violation. Some on the council are currently investigating whether or not they should pursue it any further. You can still stop by the entrance once in a while, but that’s it. The rest of the guards are under strict orders to never let you go any further than the inner gate. You understand, right?”

As sad as I was to hear that, I could not be mad at the decision. He was right and what I did was very stupid and dangerous. There was no doubt in my mind that I would have done the same thing all over again, but I also knew that they risked their lives for me. They went against orders to lock it down and save me. For that I was eternally grateful and surprised Sarge with a big hug. He was quite surprised and not sure what to do. He definitely wasn’t expecting that and as I moved back, his facial expression was so weird, I couldn’t help but giggle a little. He managed to compose himself again as we said our farewells. Looking up at the main tower clock, it was now early in the evening, and I decided to head back to my room. As soon as I arrived, all the adrenaline from today was now gone and I snuggled into the corner of the couch, letting myself fall into another deep slumber…

Author's Note

This chapter took me quite a while to write and edit as there were many important parts and interactions that I wanted to make sure were done properly and respectfully. I hope you all enjoy this little chapter about Sonata.

The fifth chapter is in the works, but there may be some delay to it as I also have another project I am working on. I will try not to make you all wait too long though. Stay tuned for more!