Dull throbbing pain was all my body could settle upon as the world came back to me slowly. Opening up my eyes made me nauseous to see the bright light starting down onto my face, an uncomfortable sensation fighting its way through me originating from my stomach. Turning my head off to the side I let out a small groan before a vile, burning sensation worked its way up my throat and slid out of my mouth.

Almost immediately a frigid, croaking voice of a mare called out. "He's hurled again. You best come over and clean him up, I've got the others to deal with."

"Oh, Crimson, my love." A sad voice uttered. "When will this end? I would have thought the digestion problems would have stopped by now." The sentence ended with a sigh, though a gasp suddenly slipped from the mares mouth as her tone turned to shock. "Crimson! You- you're awake?!"

Coughing away before giving a gentle nod as my eyes closed, I continued to groan from the uncomfortable sensations that controlled my body. I felt like my stomach couldn't handle being in me, it was practically screaming to be released from the torment.

"Oh thank the Goddess, you're awake! I've been so worried about you, I..."

Opening my eyes once more, I saw her. Eos. Eos looked down at me with an expression of pained worry in her eyes despite the flicker of a smile on her lips as I began to recognise my surroundings, if only slowly.
Mustering what energy I had in me, I tried my best to talk. "You... shouldn't-"

Before I could even go to finish my sentence, Eos threw herself around me and held me close. My lips curled up into a small smile despite the agony I continued to feel. I was safe when Eos was holding me, she wouldn't let me come to more harm. "No. You shouldn't be talking and using all your strength. I don't know what you were about to say but-"

"You shouldn't worry about him, he says." The voice of another called out, though I was too tired to think properly of who it could have been. "He also feels safe in your hooves. Cute." With that, she let out a giggle.

"I- wai- you..." Eos quickly blurted before pausing to catch herself. "Thank you, Helios."

"You're welcome." Helios replied in turn. "His mind is just too unguarded to not hear the thoughts at the moment. Plus I like seeing you blush like you are right now, heehee!"

Yet again Eos audibly stuttered as Helios quickly pranced out of the room, or I supposed out of the room. I couldn't tell for sure, but the deeply calming effect of Eos' hooves tenderly brushing my hair meant I didn't care too much about trying to look to see if she had or not. Instead I continued to focus on the blue mare, that beautiful blue mare whose cheeks now flushed red. Helios was definitely onto something with seeing her blush.
Slowly she caught her composure and looked down at me, the worry in her eyes returning. "You, mister, really do need to rethink your plans. Of course I'm going to worry about you, Crimson. Do you even know what happened? Do you remember?"

Mumbling something that even I couldn't quite understand myself, Eos gave me a disapproving look and I let out a pained sigh. "I lost... another fight... Tsuna-"

"That's right," Eos quickly interrupted me. "you lost another fight and Tsunami had to pick you up. I'm not just talking pick you up when you've been hit, your wounds were extremely severe and it's surprising that you didn't need any hydra to repair the damage." For a moment Eos paused before grimly continuing her statement. "Crimson, from what I'm told you were on the brink of death. You definitely seemed it when you came in."

With the sound of trotting coming towards us, Eos paused. Closing my eyes and falling in the lull of the embrace, I didn't even care who it was now. I was so sleepy and the pain was tiring me out even further.
"She's right, you know. The damage done was hardly anything superficial and definitely not minor. Crimson, we've had to run you through the auto-doc's full body scan each day now."

Turning my head to the voice I opened my eyes to see Tsunami looking down at me with an unhappy look in her eyes. "...Days?" I asked.

"Crimson," Eos cooed. "you've been out for three days. You were in a shock induced coma. You came within a breath of death and if it wasn't for Tsunami being a fully trained medic with proper experience you wouldn't have survived." For a moment the room went silent as that statement began to set in, then she spoke again. "We were worried that you wouldn't even still." Eos mentioned with great sadness in her voice.

"Yeah," Tsunami continued in her own pained tone. "We were really, really worried about you Crimson. Buck Up isn't a combat drug, even if buck is. Buck Up is a cocktail designed by our own field medics, like myself, to get somepony onto their own hooves and hopefully into a position where they can receive proper medical care. Instead of falling back, you charged forward. It kept your heart going for long enough to help us, and we're damn thankful for that help, but the cocktail wasn't meant to keep you fighting. It was so you wouldn't die on us while we were pinned down, like you almost did."

Opening my mouth to speak, I couldn't find the strength to say anything more. Even the sigh that passed my lips was soft, unintentional. Eos simply looked down at me and pressed her lips to my forehead, kissing me sweetly before speaking softly. "You need more sleep, Crimson. I know you've only just woken up, but the healing process is a demanding one. Go to sleep, darling."

"I..." I muttered. "Y-y-y"

"Shhhh" Eos cooed. "It's okay, it's okay."

But it wasn't okay, not for me. With what little energy I had left I frowned as I looked at her. I didn't want to leave her side, I wanted to feel her hooves around me and for her to make me feel comfortable. More so, I wanted her to make me feel safe. I knew I was safe, but it wasn't the same without somepony to hold you tight.
I didn't want her to leave my side, and I definitely didn't want to be sleeping in the medical bay.

Just as I began to give up hope with my inability to muster the strength to speak, I noticed Eos blushing furiously as she looked down at me. For a moment I thought I could see tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, though my vision was too blurry to be sure.
"I... I..." She muttered momentarily before nodding her head. "Yeah, you know what, you're coming with me." Turning her head away, she rubbed her cheeks swiftly before calling out for somepony else. "Tsunami? Tsunami. Think it's okay if I take Crimson out of here? I'm pretty sure he'd appreciate sleeping in a more comfortable bed."

"Uh huh." Tsunami nonchalantly replied. "As long as he's getting rest and close to the medical bay I don't really see the issue. Just make sure that you or somepony else is going to keep an eye on him, okay? It'd be bad enough if he throws up and sits in his own vomit for a while, but at least that can be cleaned. What I'm really worried about is if he has any medical issues, suddenly needs urgent attention. You don't plan to leave him unsupervised, do you?"

Gasping at such an idea, Eos quickly shook her head. "Of course not! I plan to stick with him the whole time. I'm just sure he'd appreciate it if he wasn't here. I... I mean... I can't be sure but I think..."

"You think what?" Tsunami asked questioningly in a disapproving tone. "You just said you were sure."

Taking a moment to breathe as she looked down at me, Eos spoke slowly in an uncertain tone. "I mean... I think I just heard his thoughts. I... I don't know how though. Helios is the one who is supposed to have that ability, but, I could've sworn I just heard him thinking."

With a bright flash of green, Helios appeared next to us with a confused look. "Yeah, and I could've sworn that teleportation was limited to Selene and the other purples, but I just pulled that one off! Oh, and yeah, you heard rightly about his thoughts, I heard it too. Bye!" And with another bright flash, she disappeared once more, leaving us all confused as to what had just happened.
Before I could dwell on it however, Eos scooped me into her hooves and pulled me close to her chest with a gigantic smile on her face.

"Come on, lets get you somewhere more comfortable huh?" Eos whispered. I simply smiled and nuzzled into her chest happily.

Carrying me across the room and down the hallway in her hooves was definitely a disorienting experience, made worse by my condition. Before I could come to figure out quite what she was doing or where we were going however, she stopped and I began to slowly realise that we were now in the common area. Using her magic to levitate me in mid hair and using my own hooves to grant me just enough balance, Eos spread herself along one of the sofas and pulled me atop of her so I laid face to face upon her.
Letting go of what energy I had left, I limply pushed my hooves to lay next to her neck while she wrapped me in hers. Across the room the dukebox began to play one of the most soothing songs I had ever come to hear and despite the fact that the melodies didn't match, Eos began to sing in a voice like velvet.

"Hush now quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now it's time to go to bed."
"Drifting off to sleep leave the exciting day behind you, drifting off to sleep let the joy of dream land find you."

With that, I let out a tired yawn and smile as the happy, calm, wonderful thoughts of being wrapped up so lovingly overwhelmed me, the rest of Eos' song beginning to fade away.

"Hush now, quiet now. It's time to lay your head..."

Stirring from my sleep, the world slowly filled around me with the high pitched noises of somepony talking. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Keeping my eyes closed despite the noise, I needed more sleep. The world was still a tiring place and my exhaustion hadn't ended. "Let him sleep... rest is cri-... Sandstorm." Regardless of my tired state, I tried to listen but still felt myself slipping in and out too much.

Waking up from my slumber, I slowly opened my eyes as I let out a giant yawn before snuggling further into the mare that continued to hold me. Nuzzling into her neck for increased comfort, I definitely felt a lot better now. The world didn't feel quite as horrible now though I still had an uncomfortable feeling in my side as the pain remained a factor in the back of my mind. Still, wrapped in caring hooves it was a lot less noticeable than alone.

"Woken up have you, Crimson?" Eos' soft voice gently called to me. "Feeling any better?"

Nodding my head gently, I let out another yawn and rubbed my eyes. "Still feeling tired, but I feel strong enough to speak now. My side hurts though."

"He's awake!" A little voice called out before a sudden flash of purple and orange stormed into my vision and clasped onto my head tightly. "Please say you're okay! Don't leave me! Please don't leave me like mummy and daddy! I don't want to lose everypony I know, please don't go!"

Struggling to breathe, I had to push him off from my face after the sudden assault. The poor colts face suddenly frowned as tears began to fill his eyes but pulling him closer to my chest and away from my mouth, his little hiccups quickly subsided as soon as they began. "Sorry, Sandstorm. I just need some room to breathe, ya know? Also, try not to squeeze on my side, I still hurt more than I'd like there."

"Indeed, be careful not to suffocate him. That wouldn't do either of us any good, would it?" Eos added tenderly.

"I just missed you is all." Little Sandstorm mumbled into my chest as he nuzzled in. "Cherry disappeared and then you went out and got hurt and then you were knocked out for three days and then I wasn't sure if you were going to be okay and then I thought about my parents and then-"

"Shhhh," I gently cooed to the poor emotional colt. "it's okay, it's okay. I'm here for you. I'm sorry that Cherry is gone, we'll get her back though. I'll make sure of that, don't you worry. At least you've still had Eos, right?"

With a little sniffle and a nod he agreed. "Uh huh, and Maisy. Snugglebums too."

"Been playing nicely together without me have they?" I asked with genuine worry. Maisy definitely had the potential to eat Prince Snugglebums though I hoped that her recent 'feasts' were enough to appease her hunger. Not only that, but I could definitely see Cherry killing me herself if I let such a thing happen.

"Yeah, they've been playing nice. Prince Snugglebums likes playing with me and Maisy usually spends time around the purple alicorn."

Raising my eyebrow at the fact Sandstorm would simply refer to one of the alicorns by what they were rather than who they were, I wasn't quite sure what to think. Still, he was just a kid, couldn't hold it against him. "Selene, you mean?" I suggested.

"Uh huh!" The young colt quickly agreed with an eager nod before pouting. "...I forgot her name."

Letting out a playful sigh, I cuddled the young colt closer and looked up at Eos. "Well, you know the name of this beautiful blue one, don't you?" With that, Eos flushed red and hid behind her hooves only for me to break her defences by further nuzzling into her before turning my attention back to the young colt. "And Helios, right? Mind you, Helios would probably read your mind and tell you before you said something upsetting."

Almost as if on cue, the green alicorn flashed into the room with a giggle and look of absolute joy slapped across her face. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Hahaha! This is so much fun!" She exclaimed suddenly. "I really don't know why Selene doesn't do it more often!"

Breaking out into laughter at the sight, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. An alicorn having this much fun over the ability to teleport was unheard of, though a green alicorn was also unheard of from what I had been told.
Just as quickly as she came into the room, she appeared in front of us and gently poked my muzzle as I watched her in her amusement. "Boop!"
Before I could react, she was gone again.

Turning my head up and looking at Eos, she was so beautiful even when my perspective was upside down. The way she smiled down at me as she cuddled me close, her wings gently rubbing my stomach, her hooves holding me closer to her wonderful form. It was truly bliss.
Letting out another yawn as tiredness continued to strike, the warmth of her body softly cooed me to close my eyes and continue my rest regardless of how much I had already been sleeping. Then without any warning, I felt a pair of lips gently caress my own, causing me to blush and open my eyes to see the smiling alicorn looking down at me.

Whispering softly as she gazed into my eyes, Eos filled me with an overwhelming feeling of comfort that I didn't want to fight. "Sleep well, Crimson. And don't worry, I'll hold you as long as you want. I'll keep you safe and sleeping sound."
Doing as she suggested, I snuggled up closer and closed my eyes, falling asleep once more.

Waking up yet again in Eos' grip, the world felt a lot nicer now. I was still in pain, but the pain that had previously felt like being bucked to the side over and over now felt more like just the once. Still enough to be an annoyance, but nothing compared to what I had been enduring before. Opening my eyes and looking around, I could see quite a few tired ponies.
Helios and Selene sat up next to one another and chatted to one another while I could see Titan and Freight Train discussing whatever it was they were talking about while slowly drinking what looked to be whiskey.
Tsunami and the others from the special forces were all dotted around the room, out of armour and relaxed. I could see Deadlight playing around with Maisy, tickling her tummy as she let out her large giggle in response while Sandstorm chased Snugglebums around playfully.
Looking around further, I even saw Dawnstar and Umbra, both of whom were in their own corner of the room away from the others. They didn't look as if they were actively trying to avoid us, just that they weren't wanting to be in the centre of the room.

Tsunami, surprisingly, was the first to notice I had woken up. Trotting over to me before sitting down next to me with a small bag, she pressed a hoof to my forehead which in turn surprised Eos before she too realised I was now awake again.
"You're feeling hot, Crimson. Have you got any internal symptoms of illness I should be aware of? Any lurgy or tickling around the sinuses?"

Shaking my head at the white mare, she almost reminded me of Melony Love for a moment, albeit Melony was about technology and not other ponies. "Nothing that I'm aware of. Been asleep pretty much all day but I don't think I'm sick."

"Tiredness is a side effect of both the coma and your physical trauma. Your body was initially struggling just to keep the blood pumping and necessary functions going as they should while your brain went into a low energy state. If it was just coma it wouldn't have been so bad, but the physical trauma has taken its toll on your energy reserves too. Even with our medical capabilities your body still needs a fair amount of time and energy to properly recuperate. There's stories of ponies thinking that a few bandages and healing potions will keep them going no matter what. Do you know what happens in cases like that?"

Shaking my head yet again, I was now curious. "No? What happens?" I asked like a colt about to be read a bed time story.

Just as I thought that, Eos jumped and a grin overtook her face. Gently levitating me before sliding out from under me and softly placed me back on the sofa. "Sorry! Just had an idea!" She murmured before quickly trotting over to her sisters.

With a moment of pause, Tsunami watched Eos go to the others with confusion before looking back at me. "Well, as I was about to say. What happens is that those ponies grow weaker and weaker by the day if they keep it up. It's okay to do it once or twice if you absolutely need to. We can't help it if raiders are going to attack a town we're protecting and it happens, for example. However, you wouldn't want to continue doing that. The body doesn't get enough rest and grows weaker, like I say. Eventually it grows so weak that it'll either just give up and you die from exhaustion or the next time you go to heal. The body simply doesn't have the energy to regenerate from the wounds and you either die from bleeding out or succumb to infection. If you're lucky, the healing process is slower than yours is right now but you make it through if you rest. The ponies who push themselves non stop end up dead quicker than a bandit living near a large settlement."

Looking down at my hooves, she had a damn good point. Pushing myself harder and harder was making me more exhausted each and every time and now it had come to this. Sighing in defeat, I slowly looked back up at her. "You're right. I mean, of course you're right, you are the one trained in medical issues and all. I mean, you're right about how I should slow down, stop for now. Shouldn't I?"

"Yes, you should." Tsunami quickly replied, a small smile on her face. Before I could think of anything else to say, she continued. "Which I'm surprised you're admitting. You're in less pain right now than you were before yet you're not letting that big ego of yours take control, eh?"

"How can you tell?" I asked with confusion. She was right, I was feeling a lot less pain than earlier, but how could she have known?

"I gave you half a shot of med-x. Don't get too attached. You were having trouble sleeping though I doubt you'd remember it. Even managed to slap Eos in your sleep at one point from your constant twisting and turning. Don't worry though, she was shocked but not hurt, I made sure to ask. So yeah, I gave you a small dose of med-x to help you sleep and not do any further damage to yourself." For a moment she paused, slowly eying me up and down like only a doctor could. "Promise me you won't go getting yourself in trouble and I'll let you keep hold of the rest of that dose, or, whomever you go out with can have it to give you if you honestly seem like you need it."

"Wait, what?" I asked, now utterly confused beyond belief. "I hadn't-"

"I know you didn't say a word," Tsunami quickly interrupted. "but you've been out for three days. You'll want to go for a walk. I know how it is. Look, here's the deal. I have no issue with you going out for a walk to get some exercise and some fresh air at some point soon. You might find you have trouble sleeping tonight because you've slept all day. Maybe not. Still, if you do feel like doing it tonight, you're not to go out alone. Nor are you allowed to take any weapons. In fact, I expressly forbid you to carry a single weapon for the next few days. Got it?"

Nodding my head, agreeing to those terms was worth the med-x alone. There was no way I was gonna go out and look for more trouble with how I was feeling and I could see the reasoning that if I had my usual gear, I would be too tempted to pull my usual antics. Now I needed to rest though, so perhaps I needed to approach things with a little more tact... for now.
Still, getting the lead on that water talisman was my number one priority and that still meant helping out the revolutionary forces to gain the support and strength they needed to make a real difference.

Looking slyly at Tsunami, I thought about my words. "I'll happily accept your deal, though I need to know specifics. I'm not allowed to carry any weapons myself, but that doesn't mean the others I travel with have to be unarmed too, does it? I mean, going out completely defenceless would be a silly mistake to make. There's always the chance of someone causing trouble without cause. If I don't get myself involved directly, is it okay then? I mean, what's the use in resting and healing up if it leads to me dying anyway because no-one could defend themselves?"

Contorting her face as she thought about it, she slowly came to nod in agreement. "I suppose you have a point. The real issue is you mustn't go out looking for trouble, but you're right, safety in the wasteland does mean having a gun on you. Okay, deal. You have to go out with somepony who has a gun or means to defend you should the need arise."

"Maisy counts, right?" I asked with glee.

Turning her head and looking at Maisy cuddling up with Deadlight, she looked back at me as if to ask if I was serious. Giving her a nod, I was completely so. "Maisy is as dangerous as any of you, easily. I've seen her handle herself against multiple armoured enemies quite easily." Catching her attention with a small whistle, Maisy looked at me. "You can handle yourself in a fight, can't ya girl? Showed that group of nasty ponies, zebras and donkeys who's boss by eating 'em, didn't you?"

Letting out a small appreciative purr and unsheathing a set of claws, Maisy made her stance on the matter clear as day. She was dangerous, very fucking dangerous. I was all too glad to have befriended her now.

"Wait... wait... eating them? As in, eating ponies?" Tsunami looked at me with worry, a grim look on her face.

"Ahhh, only the ones I tell her that she can. She didn't try to eat Deadlight, did she now? Hell, I've had her holding me down and licking my face and I didn't mind. She just wants somepony to love her like her old master did. I know she's still relatively new to my little gang, but hey, so is Cherry and look how deeply I feel for her."

Tsunami nodded slowly, a glint in her eye. "Uh huh. Totally not why you were cuddling into Eos then, hey? Oh, I know attraction when I see it."

"Yeah, but attraction ain't a crime." I quickly retorted. "Cuddles are comforting, help me sleep. Means I rest a lot easier. Come back with that accusing tone when I've actually done something I shouldn't, like cheating, and I'll hold my hooves up and admit I'm wrong and accept what the responsibility of it is."

"Better fucking not cheat on her." Tsunami blurted. "Cherry is a wonderful mare and if you dare hurt h-"

Interrupting Tsunami before she could finish her sentence, I gave her a look as cold as iron and strong as steel. "I won't. I understand where you're coming from and I appreciate you're being a good friend, but trust me, I won't. I love Cherry and being with her feels so much different to being with any other mare I've been with in the past. Before it was always about sex, now even though the sex is amazing and I do love that about it all, there's something about the way she makes me feel and the way I want to be when I'm around her that tells me this is different. I won't lie, I am attracted to Eos, but I'm not going to ruin what I've got."

For a moment there was silence, but slowly Tsunami looked at me with a growing smile and then spoke in a soft tone of voice. "You promise? She's a great friend to me and she deserves so much."

"I promise."

Just as the moment ended, I sat back and began to relax as I spread out across the sofa and began to really appreciate our surroundings. The lounge in which we sat was definitely the most comfortable place I had seen so far here in Coltchester though it still wasn't overly decorative. Posters from pre-apocalypse times hung upon the walls, some of them even dating back to before the war by the looks of things. Posters for concerts by musicians both local and big national stars. One of the Ministry Mare Fluttershy back when she was roughly my age, doing some modelling. Even a map of Equestria with dainty representations of different cities almost as if it was a child's map.
Though I had at one point doubted the cleanliness, now I saw it for what it truly was. It was lived in, not sterile nor filthy. Simply that ponies who had access to this facility also had access to the relaxation of sitting down and enjoying one another's company and the friendly albeit unrecognised faces that occasionally came through only emphasised that.

The headquarters was as much a home as it was a facility for the wounded or those who were granted approval, a place to spend time for those who had gained the closer trust of the leadership of the PLAC, and the more time I spent here the more it felt real.

Dragging me out of my daze, Helios happily trotted over to me with a smile. "Crimson---?" She asked with a large smile, levitating something behind her, though I couldn't quite see what and she repeatedly moved it out of my view as I tried to look. "Will you do something for us?"

Cocking an eyebrow at her, I smiled back. "Us? Is that you talking as in the royal we or you three girls? And what is it you'd like from me?"

"Us three, and you have to answer first." She announced with a giggle.

Looking at Tsunami for her thoughts on the matter, she just shrugged. "Go for it I suppose?"

"Okay, I'll do it. What is it you want me to do then?"

Out of nowhere Eos and Selene appeared beside her, grins on their faces wider than I could reach with my hooves... almost. Immediately Eos lunged herself at me with a hug and began to squeeze my neck tight before placing me on her back and trotting off to her bedroom. As one they called out in glee. "Bed time stories!"

It was strange, seeing their bedroom for the very first time. It wasn't as though they hadn't been secretive about it before, I had simply never been around it when they were coming in or out. Part of me wondered what I was about to see as the three sisters walked on to the door, Selene opening it up and allowing me to look in first.
The walls, the floor and the furniture were all... pretty normal, actually. Inside the room there was a vanity dresser with a great big mirror and a luxuriously large bed, though considering it had to hold three alicorns, I wasn't surprised.
Realistically thinking about it, there was nothing unexpected from the room. The vanity dresser was scratched up and looked as if a cat had used it for a scratching post up the legs while the rest of it was pretty yet plain.

"What did you expect?" Helios muttered with a smile, looking at me. "The room to be filled with pink bows and a servant to fan us? A drinks bar and en-suite bathroom?"

Chuckling to myself, I gave a small nod. "Actually, not far off. I appreciate that you three will get some special treatment, though to be fair to you girls, it's all quite minimalistic as far as special treatment goes. Gotta say, even the bed seems fair between the three of you."

"We don't like to think we would sleep in absolute luxury if most of our supporters are often having trouble even staying warm at night." Selene added. "Though as you say, some comforts are things we simply cannot turn down. Everypony who stays in these facilities has a proper bed suited for their needs, and so should we, no?"

"Of course." I agreed cheerily. "It may be large, but it's still no golden trimmed four poster with silk curtains or something."

Eos grinned and shook her head before letting out a content sigh and pulled something out of a drawer. For a moment I thought she was going to pull out a book or something, but instead she took a cap and put it on her head, the fuzzy little ball at the end of her sleeping cap twiddling around merrily as she giggled while moving her head from side to side. "Sit down then!" She commanded as she climbed into the bed, quickly followed by her two sisters. "Titan is bringing in the book for us in a second!"

Before I could respond, the stool from the vanity dresser floated up towards me and gently nudged me to sit upon it through one of the sisters magic. Almost as if planned out with precision, Titan walked into the room with a rather decorative book and gave me a long look. With a croaky voice, Titan spoke in a tone that even before he had said more than a single word, I knew it meant a lot to him. "Crimson... the ladies have asked that I let you read to them from my book. Normally it's either myself or they who are trusted with it and none other, not even Dawnstar is allowed it usually. It's the only thing I have left of my parents aside from my memories, so please, please be careful with it, okay? As much as I trust you, it's my trust in Eos that made me decide to let you do this. She was the one that asked, don't let us both down."

Placing a hoof on his shoulder, his squidgy squidgy shoulder, I gave a nod of affirmation. "I promise I'll be extra careful with it and bring it back as soon as we're done. I understand the value of such things."
Instead of giving a reply, Titan simply smiled and passed the book to me. Looking down at its cover, I read the title. 'The elements of harmony and other legends of past.'

"Page sixty-two!" Helios told me excitedly. With a delightful little squeal, she continued her happy little moment. "That's where we last left off! The one about the three little ponies!"

Chuckling, I couldn't deny such a request. If they were reading these stories in a certain fashion, who was I to argue?
Though suddenly I had a brilliant thought and rested the book upon my legs as I began to play about with my PipBuck. The alicorns looked at me with curiosity though I kept what I was doing a surprise until I hit the right buttons.
"Good evening Coltchester! This is 'Wings on the radio' for you all. Tonight, to keep you all happy and to remind you that someone out there cares, I'm going to read to you... bedtime stories."

Opening up the book to page sixty-two with a smile, I began to read. Instead of focusing on my PipBuck however, my attention turned back to the mares leaning up towards me with content smiles on their faces.
"The three little ponies and the big bad wolf. Once upon a time, there was three little ponies who were all friends. Each wanted to move out and make their own way in the world, so each set off to build a home."
"The first pony to begin building a home was the pegasus. With their wings they quickly gathered up as much cloud as they needed and built their own home to live in, managing to form their home before either of the others had even found a suitable material."
"'Ha! I've made my home the quickest of all!' Said the pegasus pony, 'The other two must be feeling so jealous!'"

Selene gleamed with happiness, even letting out a small giggle at the voice I put upon the young pegasus pony. The other two smiled greatly also, letting me know my audience was captivated by my words.

"Soon enough though, the unicorn pony was finished with her home. From logs, sticks and magic she built a very fashionable, charming cabin that could hold two ponies in all. It may have not been the biggest of the two, but it was surely a beautiful home."
"'Ha!' The young unicorn laughed aloud. 'I've made the most beautiful home of all! That silly earth pony hasn't even began their home!' She announced. 'I'll be the talk of the town!'"
"Meanwhile, the third pony, the earth mare, still searched for materials to build from."

"What happens next? What happens next?" Selene asked with a giggle. This definitely seemed to be her favourite of the stories judging from the way she was so excited, though the other two were still smiling like mad mares as I read for them. Eos letting out a small shudder of excitement as I turned the page with a wingtip.

"We'll just have to read on and see, won't we?" I responded, quickly lowering my eyes back to the page.
"But as the first pony snuggled up in her home, the big bad wolf slowly crept towards the new residence. Looking through the windows, he saw a tasty looking pony as she basked in her speedy build."
"Licking his lips, the big bad wolf drew in as much air as he could into his lungs... and then he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew the house away!"

Helios let out a small gasp and a giggle as I mimicked the actions, causing me to let out my own giggle in response. Eos simply blushed and bit her lip as her cheeks turned red and the smile on her face grew.

"Realising her house had just been blown apart, the pegasus pony flew away as quickly as she could. Her new home completely destroyed by the big bad wolf. Still, she had managed to get out safely and reached the unicorns home before the wolf could catch up."
"'Let me in, let me in!' She cried. 'A big bad wolf blew my house away!'"
"With haste, the unicorn let her pegasus friend in. Though the wolf wasn't in sight, they now worried for their friend, the earth pony."
"Looking through the window, they saw she was still building her home, though now she had made quite some progress. They considered warning her of the threat, but the fear of the wolf was too great and they did not dare leave the safety of the beautiful wooden cabin."

Looking up into the anticipating eyes of the alicorns, I smiled as I turned to the next page. The drawn out pause making them lean in closer and their ears twitch toward me as I made them wait, anxious for me to read more.

"While the two ponies huddled in fear in their wooden cabin, the lone earth pony continued to strive to build her own home. Tirelessly she pulled around rocks and put them in place, locking the stones into one another with earth pony ingenuity. While it wasn't as beautiful as the log cabin across the field nor as quickly built as the cloud home of her pegasus friend, it was a home with the spirit of its builder, the lone pony told herself."
"As she continued to build, the wolf approached the log cabin. Taking in a deep breath he huffed, he puffed, but he failed to blow the house away. Looking at it, the tasty treats that cowered inside would be a harder gained reward than he had first thought."
"Still, not to be outdone, he looked at the construction and noticed it was weak. Scratching away at the walls proved to be no real good in itself, though it did reveal the weakness of the construction. Walking away, the two ponies inside let out a sigh of relief as they thought they were safe."

"But they're not, are they?" A little voice asked from below.

Looking down at the end of the bed, Sandstorms wide eyes looked up at me from under the covers with a mixture of worry and eagerness to hear more. Shaking my head at him, I agreed. "You're right. But hey, when did you sneak in here you?"

"Selene let me in earlier. I was just hiding in the bed! She said bedtime stories if I stuck around!"

Letting out a chuckle, I couldn't be mad even if I wanted to, which I didn't. Remembering that I had a possible audience outside of the room, I continued to read.

"Just as the ponies began to relax, the wolf ran at the cabin! With great force he rushed through it, breaking the magical bonds that held it all together. With a pained cry the wolf squealed, wood magically mixing into his flesh and making him into a monster even scarier than before. The magic that held the cabin together now turned him into wood, he had become a timberwolf!"
"With screams of terror, the two mares made their escape as quickly as they could while the newly formed timberwolf still cried out in agony. Seeing that their friends home was now complete, they galloped as fast as possible to safety."
"'Please, let us in! Let us in!' They begged, the pair more frightened than they had ever been before. 'The wolf! It tore our houses down! Please let us in!'"

"Without hesitation the earth mare let her friends in and hugged them both tightly. 'You're safe here, I promise' She said. 'I won't let him in here.'"
"'But he's a big, scary timberwolf now!' The pegasus exclaimed, quickly backed up by the unicorn."
"'Timberwolf smimberwolf' The earth pony declared. 'I'll show him what's for!'"
"And with that, the earth pony grabbed one of her pans and made her way outside. True to their words, the other two's houses were in pieces and the timberwolf stared her down. Before he could even growl however, the mare smashed him around the face with her crockery."

With that, all three of the alicorns began giggling their heads off. "Wait, that's not a part of this story!" Eos called out. "I don't think that's in any of them! You made that up!"

Smirking away, I couldn't help but chuckle along. "Maybe..."
Once I regained composure I got back to reading, this time with less added scenes. "Now all three of the ponies were in the home made of stone. Though it hadn't been as beautiful as the cabin nor as quickly built as the cloud home, the young earth mare was just as proud."
"Slowly the timberwolf crept up upon the house, surveying the walls. This time he knew that blowing it down wouldn't be an option, so he didn't try. Running at it as fast as he could, he jumped into the wall... only to fall apart!"
"For a moment the mares jumped for joy, though their celebration was quickly ended as he formed back together, his new magical abilities keeping him as one."

"Looking up, the wolf knew that going through was not an option either, but it seemed there was luck yet, for above was space for him to fit through if he tried hard."
"Two of the ponies inside shook in fear as they heard the wolf climb, though the third and final pony smiled in glee as a chill blew through her home. Peeling some carrots and placing potatoes into a pan of water, she began to prepare a meal for herself and her friends."
"As if she had known what was going to happen all along, the earth pony took her flint and steel and waited by the fireplace. With a crashing thud the wolf came down and began to snarl at his next victims, trapped inside of the house easy for him to get. But all was not as it seemed."
"Just as the wolf growled, the final pony struck the metal and caused a fire, lighting the timberwolf, burning him alive! As quickly as he had come down, he turned to firewood and nothing more. The ponies now had a lovely fire going and a feast to enjoy, taking in the irony of the wolfs actions as they sat down for dinner."

"And that's the end of the story." I announced happily, grinning at my captivated audience.

"Another! Another!" Eos begged. "Please? The next one is my favourite!"

Looking at her as she looked back at me, I simply couldn't argue with those soppy eyes that looked into my soul. Her pout so heartwarming that there wasn't any other choice I could make, I had to read one more story. "Okay." I softly said. "For you."
Turning the page, I read the title. "The coming of the prise."

Eos let out a happy giggle and cuddled up to Helios, whom happily wrapped her sister up in her loving hooves. It was a very, very sweet sight indeed to see the green alicorn happily welcoming the embrace that seemed to make Eos even happier than before. Sisterly love was definitely something these three shared.
Looking back to the page, it had been a long long time since I had this story told to me and I could hardly remember any of it myself.
Taking in a deep breath, I began to read.

"The coming of the prise. Once, a long long time ago, there was a land unlike any other. Dark skies crowded with clouds that bore thunder seemingly endlessly set the tone for a landscape of dismay and decay. Trees turned pink and purple, grass no longer green but grey. The ponies of Equestria lived in a chaotic, unhappy world."
"The ponies had all worked together for many generations come, the wendigoes had come and passed with the unification of the three races. But now none were happy, an even greater cause than had ever been encountered before ruled the land."
"Chocolate rain-clouds zoomed on by, threatening any ponies who thought they could have fun by drenching them with cotton candy so animals would trample them with extended length legs while whole hills would move around freely and make any pony foolish enough to try climbing them keep on walking forever."

"Wow!" Sandstorm called out in a mixture of excitement and confusion. "That sounds really fun yet scary and weird!"

"Indeed it must have been." I agreed. "I can't imagine what it'd be like living in that kind of world. I mean, we've got it rough here, sure, but at least we all have one another and we can fight for a better world. We can rebuild and we can do what we must to see it improve. The one these ponies lived in though, that was different to ours."

"Read more! More please!" Eos begged.

With a smile I entertained her request. "The pegasus ponies tried their best to remove the clouds, but even when they worked together, for every cloud they kicked away another two appeared! And the unicorns tried their best to use magic to change the world to the way it was before, but even as they teamed together they simply couldn't do a thing about it! The earth ponies used their might to move mountains, but as quickly as they were gone they were back without explanation! The world was bleak and hopeless, for the only being that was enjoying any of it was the draconequus that controlled it all!"
"The ponies were terribly sad. No matter how they worked together, no matter how they worked alone. Nothing they could do would change the way they lived. As slaves, as toys. Life seemed like it would never get better. But then..."

At this point I gave pause as Eos' face lit up, her legs kicking slightly in anticipation. I gave her a smirk and winked and her smile grew even larger.

"But then great beams of light broke through the clouds, the grass grew green and everyone stared. From above came two figures, two beautiful figures. Looking down on the ponies below, they were different than any other."
"With horns and wings, these two figures touched down unto the ground below. The first of the two with her white coat and radiant pink mane while the second bore a two-tone of blue for her coat and mane. Taller than any other, more beautiful than any who had been laid eyes on before. Two figures stood proud amongst the light not seen since the reign of chaos."
"Immediately the draconequss came to them, attempted to manipulate them. Instead, his powers were worthless."

"'Who are you? What are you?' Asked the deity of chaos, bringer of unhappiness. His lips curling into a smile as somepony dared to challenge his rule. Never before had somepony shown such ability, for many had tried though none had even come close... until now."
"'We are the prise.' The first mentioned confidently."
"'We come with the elements of harmony. This land shall no longer fear your terror, Discord.' Stated the second."
"Rolling his eyes, Discord laughed. 'Prise? Well I have certainly never heard such a thing,' He muttered swiftly. 'what is that, hmm?'"
"As one, the two sisters stepped forward and spoke with determination. 'The prise is what we are, guardians from above here to stop you. With our wings, we represent the pegasai. With our horns, we portray the unicorns. With our strength and determination, we honour the earth ponies. With our will, with the magic of friendship, we hold the elements of harmony and cast you to stone! We are the prise, guardians of Equestria!'"
"True to their word, their magic struck forth in unity and cleansed the world of Discords magic. Before he could act, he quickly found himself turned to stone in a triumphant act of grace for all of ponykind. Equestria was beautiful and green again, quickly accepting these new alicorns as their prise, as their princesses, as their leaders."
"And that is the story of how the Princesses Celestia and Luna came to be, for the betterment of Equestria."

Closing the book before gently putting it down on the dresser across the room, I then focused on my PipBuck, which was still broadcasting, and gave one final message. "That concludes the stories folks. Remember, there is someone who cares about all of you out there and there are those who fight for a better life for you and everypony else. Be you pony, zebra, donkey or any other race, we'll fight for a better tomorrow, for you. Sweet dreams and goodnight, Coltchester."

Looking at Eos, I raised my eyebrow. "So, prise eh? It had been way too long since I heard that story. You're my little prise are you?" With that her cheeks burned red and she gave a shy little smile to me and nodded slightly.
"Well, okay then. Well, time to tuck you three into the bed, yeah?"

Immediately Helios grinned as she spoke. "Yes please! Oh, and can we have goodnight kisses? Pretty pretty please?"

"On the forehead I assume?"

"Yes, of course." She happily replied while snuggling herself into place in the middle of the bed while Eos and Selene flanked her on each side. Even Sandstorm got in on the act, happily encouraged by Helios and Selene who snuggled him between themselves.

Trotting around the bed, I made sure to make sure that the bedding was comfortable and presentable while the alicorns and colt laid down. Tucking them all in was a tricky task without enough energy in my body to simply float above the four, but reaching over and even climbing over Eos slightly did the trick and she simply giggled at it anyway.
Making my way over to Selene first, I stroked her cheek softly and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight Selene. Sleep well, sweet dreams. Is there anything you'd like before I turn the light off?"
Selene shook her head, happily closing her eyes in preparation to sleep through the night. Moving onto Sandstorm I repeated the process, though he too was happy enough as he was.

Moving to Helios, I made my way around the bed and leant over Eos, causing her muzzle to nuzzle into my chest and made me giggle slightly with the tickling sensation it brought. Giving Helios a quick kiss to the forehead, I did the same as before. "Anything you'd like me to do before lights off? Oh, and should I take the book back to Titan or will it be okay where it is?"

"It'll be fine," Helios murmured in a tired voice as she began to yawn. "he trusts us. Goodnight Crimson. And thank you."

"No, thank you." I happily responded. This experience had been lovely.
Finally, I looked at Eos whose eyes lit up when my focus came to her. Gently stroking her cheek for a smidgen longer than I had the others, I slowly moved my lips down to her forehead before she moved her face up, our lips touching as I kissed her. Pulling back in shock of not expecting it, I blushed almost as much as she had. "Cheeky." I muttered with a laugh. "That was a cheaters move, ya know."

Biting her lip before grinning wide, Eos beamed with joy. "I know."

Shaking my head, I didn't know what else to do. Now they were all tucked in, all happy, all had their goodnight kisses. Eos with a kiss that was different to the others, but still. Turning to the door and holding a hoof over the light switch, I turned back to face them. "Goodnight girls, goodnight Sandstorm."

"Goodnight!" They called out as one, all of their eyes closed as they snuggled up together. It was a truly beautiful sight and to see Sandstorm happily cuddled up with the alicorns was just something that made it even more precious than it already was. Flicking the switch, the light went off and I made my way out of the room and walked back to the lounge, leaving the four to rest.

Sitting down on the sofa, the room was a lot quieter now, though the dukebox still played music on a much lower volume. Trotting on over to it, I decided to put myself down on a nearby chair and thought about all the things that I had been through recently. Looking at the time on my PipBuck, it was well past ten now and even nearing midnight. With that, I was surprised Sandstorm had even managed to stay up so late at all. Still, coming out of a coma my body felt restless even if that's exactly what it needed more of.
Looking across the room, Dawnstar was still around and caught the look in my eye.

"Wanna go out for a while?" He asked politely. "I know of the rules put on you and I promise we won't be going anywhere too dangerous if you wanna go for a walk and talk. I'll be taking a shotgun just to be safe, keeps you out of harms way, right? Perhaps we could go shopping or something? There's as much to buy during the night as there is in the day."

Thinking about his offer for all of two seconds, I grinned. "Sure."

Author's Notes:

(Edit: Forgot to say, check out this picture here!)

Hey again guys! As always, a huge thank you and I love you goes out to every single reader. You make this worth all the effort I put into it because without all of you, I would have lost motivation to write a long time ago. I know that sounds bad, that every story should be because the author wants to write it - and I do, I absolutely adore the story I'm telling and it's as much for what I already have as well as what I'm planning in the future. But I know me, I know I have insecurities and I know that sometimes I need a push from others to feel like I'm worth something or the things I do are worth something.
You all are amazing and give me that something.

I want to apologise to anyone who is upset by the fact I used so much pre-made content in this chapter. I did try put my own twist on things though yes, I also wanted to make it feel like real children's bedtime stories and that meant using something for the basis of it all. Same goes for the whole Discord origin story thing.
The Discord origin story wasn't meant to be a SET IN STONE THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED type thing, but rather, my way of explaining something (the prise) that I included god knows how long ago and admittedly, completely forgot to explain at the time. By doing this, I feel it was the most natural way to explain what it meant.
To recap, a prise is an angel like guardian. The source material for it is The Amory Wars by Claudio Sanchez, lead singer of Coheed and Cambria which has gone to inspire me a lot for Broken Bonds. In that universe, the prise are a race of angel guardians who protect a prophet as per instructions from god. Probably not the wisest of moves for me to have referenced it so heavily when I did, but hey. Led to this, so it's not all bad, right?

My next writing move is going to be rewriting chapter three and removing some stuff, refining everything and overall, making it a lot more of an enjoyable experience. I'll also say that I intend to remove all references to Blackjack, so look out for an updated scene which will make a lot more sense. Oh, the days when I was a Project Horizons fanboy...

Massive love goes out to CamoBadger, author of All That Remains, as always. He's always always always there for me and pushing me on, being an amazing friend and a truly superb writer, my favourite one no less.
I know it may seem unfair to all the others who I deeply appreciate, but I hope they know who they are and feel the love too. I just have to give extra special credit to him because.. well, yeah.

Many thanks goes out to Kkat for creating this wonderful universe that I write and spend most of my time in! And that's about all. I love you all and thanks for giving me this chance, I promise I'll do the best I can for you all and hope you've enjoyed it! Have a goodun' folks!