"There…" Ivy slammed the truck's door with Aegis jumping out shortly after her.

What was the point of coming up here? Well, they had actually been camping up here for a while now, their whole wild goose chase just happened to lead them to St. Louis. "Break into any museums, government buildings, or anything of the like and burn anything important." What an odd order… Ivy and Aegis didn't question it though.

"To build a new history we must trample upon the old one." Ivy said, clearly mocking Maverick.

If there's one thing Ivy hated, it was definitely being told what to do. "Can't we just burn the whole building down?" That would definitely make their job easier.

But of course, Aegis just wouldn't let Jade do that. "Yeah, if you want the entire city to burn down too."

And why couldn't they just do that? A question with an obvious answer. There might be stuff they need in there, it would be pointless to throw away all this housing. Blah, blah, blah.

On their way to the museum Ivy noticed something off… "Hey, doesn't it seem like somebody's been here before?" Stuff scattered everywhere, doors left open, someone's definitely been here before them. Another group perhaps?

Hm? Aegis noticed it too. "Oh, maybe." Why should they care though? It's not like it mattered to them.

"No, I was just saying, shouldn't we probably do something about that?" It could be something good for them. Such as more members for their group.

The cold stallion just shrugged. "I dunno, it's none of our business."

He's right. In the end, neither of them cared enough about the "Syndicate" to go out of their way to look for more survivors. Guess they would just come to them instead.

But nonsense aside… Let's see what's in here… Aegis easily bucked down the doors, and let Ivy go in before him. Ladies, first.

And what the hell was this…? This wasn't a damned museum, this was a damned playground!

Ivy's eyes lit up as she rushed in. Finally something fun! No more of that serious 24/7 hodgepodge crap. She was practically jumping up and down in joy. "Come on, Aegis!"

He rolled his eyes. They were here for a reason. They had to do their "mission" see if there was anyone here and get out. There was no time to be fooling around like this. "Ivy, get down from there." And to think he once tried calling her "lady" Ivy…

As serious as ever it seems… "See, this is why nobody likes you!" Would it kill him to be happy for once? Plus, their stupid "mission" didn't even matter anyway, what the heck could they find here? Nothing, that's what Ivy thought at least.

So why not have some fun for a change? Despite that, Ivy reluctantly listened to Aegis and got down. Boring…

The two walked deeper into the museum with Ivy happily prancing along until they both heard something. Or someone. Crying.

Aegis stopped dead in his tracks. "Do you hear that…?" A child…?

Ivy nodded with a silent "mhm." Child or not, they needed to keep their guard up. Ivy took out two pink crystals. Gem magic, or mage craft. Exactly what it sounds like, a type of magic involving any kind of jewels to strengthen one's spells, only the most proficient of unicorns could pull it off.

Not that Ivy was that but still, it was better than nothing. She wasn't gonna use that scythe of hers unless she absolutely needed it. She probably would've offered Aegis a weapon if she had anything but she knew he preferred to use his bare hooves.

Ivy nor Aegis ran off. They both kept a steady pace with each other as they delved deeper into the building. By the gods, this place was like a maze. Ivy could've easily lost Aegis if she didn't pay attention.

The crying got weaker the deeper they went in. Not that it mattered since they were most likely getting closer to its source.

They thought that the buildings outside were ruined, this was way worse. Aegis even almost hit his head. Ow…. Gotta be careful…

"Hello, is anybody there?" Ivy called.

"Y-Yes?" A voice replied with a sniffle. Feminine, young… A child.

Ivy softened her steps. She didn't want to frighten whoever, whatever it was even more than she already was.

Aegis did the same. Oh sweet lord- It smelled terrible. How could anybody or anypony live in these kind of conditions? Child or not. But still, it couldn't be far. Just a little bit more..

Can't see… Ivy took out a flashlight and shined it through the space, a little more light aside from the setting sun wouldn't hurt. Several sleeping bags piled on top of each other, a perfect fit for whoever lived here. And a couple in another part of the room, filled with food, so that's where the smell was coming from. This was horrible…

In the middle of it all was a young "filly" with strange eyes, green bug-like eyes, and a strange body filled with holes…? I found you.

Aegis flinched back at the sight of her. A monster…?

On the other hoof Ivy wasn't as scared as him. She was no monster. A changeling…? But shouldn't they all be-? And why here…?

The girl stepped back as Ivy crouched down to her height. A kid, all alone in here… "What's your name?"

The girl looked at Ivy as she wiped away her tears. "Riley… You're not gonna hurt me, are you…?"

How the heck did she come to that conclusion? Did someone hurt her before? Well, Ivy would never do that, especially not to a kid even if she was a changeling… "No, I would never do that to you." Ivy smiled at Riley and extended a hoof to her.

Riley smiled back and accepted it. It mightve been the weakest smile she had ever seen, but that was enough for Ivy.

They would've all went back outside and that would've been that, but Aegis grabbed Ivy and pulled her to the side for a moment. "What are you thinking?!" They couldn't keep a kid- Creature, whatever she damn was with them! Was she crazy?!

"Aegis, please!" Ivy pleaded.

"You know very well we can't keep her, especially not around those weirdos." Aegis used that as nothing more than a "excuse" in truth, he didn't like "Riley" one bit. I mean, look at her what was she even supposed to be? What a digusting creature…

"Aegis, she'll be fine. We have a literal vampire in our group for heaven's sake!" Riley probably would've been the least weirdest person there, especially compared to Wildcard. And if they really needed to, they could just hide her.

"She's just a kid…" And what kinda person would leave a kid behind?

Aegis turned to Riley, not with a look of kindness like Ivy showed her, but one of distrust and hatred. If Ivy wanted it then… "Fine…" She could stay.

Ivy couldn't have been happier. "Thank you, Aegis."

The three of them headed out that disgusting mess of a "place" and outside. On the way out Ivy noticed something, Riley stayed oddly closer to her the whole time but wouldn't even dare to go next to Aegis. Guess she couldn't blame her, he was pretty scary…

Welp, no point in staying here. Might as well head back "home." It would take a while for them to get back though, almost half a day of a while. So they pulled over and stopped to camp for the night.

Riley explained some things to Ivy, like how some people shot at her when they saw her. It filled Ivy with an indescribable animosity she never felt before, and she thought her people were bad…. No, there were definitely worse out there.

Riley looked sad, like she was holding back tears. "I miss mom, dad, everyone…"

Ivy smiled at her. "Well, you don't have to be alone ever again, you have us." They would never leave her side, ever. Well, Ivy wouldn't. She didn't know about Aegis. "We can be your mom and your dad, would you like that?"

It wouldn't be her old parents but it was the closest "alternative." Riley smiled. "Yeah!"

Meanwhile a certain someone else wasn't as happy as her. Aegis turned to Ivy with a stern look on his face. Was she trying to imply they were some sort of couple?

Heh… "How about big sister, that works too right?"

That made Riley about as happy as Ivy's other suggestion did. Something that made her happy too. What a sweet smile… She'll treasure it for the rest of her life.

Hmm… Riley didn't seem hungry but she couldn't just not eat anything. Ivy dug through her bag for a moment. Ha, how about this! "I would make some s'mores but we don't have any marshmallows, so here. She took out what looked like a chocolate bar. They didn't have any "real" food right now, but kids liked this kinda stuff right?

Riley took it, reluctantly so.

"Is it good?" Ivy asked.

"Mh-Yeah!" Riley replied with the chocolate still in her mouth.

She was a quiet one. That would probably change with time as they got closer, but oh well. She couldn't force her to talk about things she didn't want to. She's just a kid after all. Plus, it probably didn't help that they had Aegis's looming presence over them.

They probably would've stayed up but it was getting late, and kids need their sleep so Ivy forced her to go to bed. So, soon Riley was off to sleep….

Ivy was starting to get sleepy too. Was it just her or did she feel sorta light headed…? She felt like that back at the museum too actually… Maybe she just needed rest. "I'm gonna get some shut eye, keep an eye on her for me, okay?" It was funny, they really were like one big happy family...

Aegis nodded as he watched Ivy head into the tent by herself. "Don't worry."

Leaving him and Riley alone….

Disgusting thing. He saw what she did back there… This "child" could not be trusted. If he were Ivy he would've put her down immediately. Such an abomination cannot be allowed to roam the earth.

But yet… Yet….

Ugh… He would just have to put up with it for now. Just like he did with everything else…

Author's Note

For those who wanted to know what happened to Riley, there's your answer.