Getting off of the cart and walking back into the base, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t quite right about the deal Blueheart had cut with me. Sure, getting to sleep in a proper bed again would be magnificent, but it just seemed all too trusting. Looking upon the cell block that I had been staying in, we continued to trot past.

Turning my gaze over to Blueheart with uncertainty, he noticed immediately as I realised he had already been looking at me. In the moment before he spoke, I felt a cold chill up my spine and wondered if this was really the best idea. Still, there was no turning back now.

“Do remember our agreement, Cherry. You’re under the employ of the Coalition now, and any misbehaviour will quickly remove that from you. If you do act out in any way, and I mean any way, you’ll be back in those cells under the same charges you previously had and then some. This isn’t a game.”

Noticing my wincing, he then continued to speak, this time in a much softer tone than his previous harshness. “Though, that also means that you are indeed welcome to freely move amongst the personal quarters of the barracks.”
Now I smiled, appreciating that I was at least trusted enough to earn that small privilege. That was of course, quickly struck down with further comments. “You are, of course, not allowed outside of the barracks facility with the exception of the lea until lights out. You will have a container for your belongings that is yours. Theft from another’s container is never tolerated and will be met with the necessary punishment, regardless of how valuable the item in question is or isn’t.”

Not wanting to cause any trouble for myself, I merely nodded silently in acceptance. As disgusted as I was with Blueheart, he was the one stallion who held my immediate safety in his hooves; I couldn’t afford losing that lifeline. Not yet.

Entering into the complex, the atmosphere here was… different. I had expected a lot of tension and apprehensive looks after the attack on the Luxury District, but no, the mood was cheerful and energetic. Perhaps they were unaware of what had happened? No, surely they would have known. There was no way they couldn’t have known about the attack. Maybe they were cheerful that the attack ended so quickly, that the aggressors were fought off with such swiftness? Listening to the murmurs of conversation, that didn’t seem like it either. Before I could get a handle on what was being said, Blueheart had already ushered me over to a pristinely made bed.

“Cherry.” He began in his authoritative voice, beckoning my attention back to the beige stallion. “This will be your bed. Your container is of course this box at the bottom. The key is inside the container and though the locks aren’t incredibly strong, it’s just something to give you a little peace of mind. Remember, breaking into another’s container is never permissible with the sole exception being if they were to have their lifesaving medication inside. Ideally, anybody with such a need for lifesaving medication would keep it on them at all times. So far, this has only ever happened once and we hope it stays that way.”

“I understand.” I blurted promptly, not keen to spend any extra time around the stallion. “I promise I won’t give you any trouble.”

Placing my saddlebag and barding into the container, I then moved onto the bed and sat on it, uncertain of what to do with myself. The most important thing was to keep out of trouble. Just go unnoticed, keep my head down… just like my school days. Only now instead of hiding to the side of the class, I was in the open dorm. There was nowhere to hide. I just had to avoid bringing attention to myself.

Just as I had begun to lose myself in those thoughts, a harsh, deep voice hissed. “What is she doing here?”

“She’s earned a promotion.” Blueheart idly responded, not taking much thought to the zebra. “If you don’t like it-”

“You’re damn right I don’t like it!” The zebra quickly announced.

Without missing a heartbeat, Blueheart’s mood swung from stern to outright pissed off. “Xumy,”

“Xumeh.”

Now Blueheart’s hoof pressed against the zebras chest in a show of dominance. “Xumy, don’t you ever interrupt me again, and don’t make me repeat myself. You want latrine duty? You can have latrine duty. Effective immediately. I expect them clean before the show.

“B-but!” The zebra tried to exclaim, to no avail. Blueheart’s stern look stonewalled him and made any objection worthless. Giving up, he simply made his way over to where I could only assume the latrines were to begin his work.

Turning my head back to Blueheart, curiosity got the best of me. “Show? What show?”

“Soldiers appreciation show.” The stallion let out a small smile as he said those words, before turning back to another door. “It starts soon, just follow the crowd when everyone goes. We’ve got a couple of singers and musicians playing some songs for us. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other duties to attend to.”

With that, he made his way through the door and was out of sight almost immediately. A part of me wanted to follow him, find out what these duties were, but I knew that since he hadn’t invited me that it would only get me into trouble.

Changing my focus to everything else around me, there wasn’t a lot to take in. Beds lined up in neat rows, their locked containers at the bottom of each. At least here in the barracks there were plenty of windows to let in a strong amount of light, with thick looking curtains and blinds ready to completely black out any light from escaping at a moments notice.

There was a couple of mares chatting away at a table, some stallions lifting weights in an open area. I considered joining in with the mares for a moment, but at the back of my mind I knew I wouldn’t be at ease. They would probably scold me for interrupting their conversation just to introduce myself, that is after all, how cliques of mares could be. Letting out a deep sigh, I knew I would have to introduce myself to somepony… or zebra… or donkey.

That was something I just wasn’t accustomed to. Mixed gender dorms were something of a luxury even within the T.M.G, but the amount of zebras here was amazing. Everyone getting along so freely without any prejudice over old rivalries brought a smile to my face. Of course we had Shockwave back at home, but he was just one.

Looking at the stallions lifting their weights, I figured that it would at least be a little easier to introduce myself whilst joining in. Making my way over and picking up a pair of dumbbells with my magic, I then proceeded to sit down on a bench and begin the exercises.

For the first minute or so, nobody uttered a word to my intrusion. Instead, they carried on as they were. That was until one donkey froze mid lift, looked at me, and shook his head. “You’re going to want a lower weight than those. You’ll hurt yourself if you try too much to begin with.”

Shooting a look of confusion and annoyance at the mule, I began putting the dumbbells down which caused him to smile and chuckle to himself. Taking the barbell from next to me and using my magic to slide some weights on it. With a grunt, I began the exercises. Despite the weight and finding it tough, it was still manageable, and the mule seemed to smile just a little.

“Well, that’s not something you see from a unicorn every day. Especially not a unicorn mare. I thought you lot were meant to be too prissy about your magic to use your muscles.”

Pushing another repetition before responding, I used my magic to help stow the bar before taking a breather and leaning up to look at the donkey. “That’s an attitude only the weak willed, safe, or victims-to-be have the liberty of taking. I’m none of those.”

The tone of the donkey’s voice now grew softer as he spoke, the atmosphere feeling much more welcoming in turn. “So it seems. My name’s Honker. You?”

“Cherry Sundae, though feel free to just call me Cherry.” I responded, with a pip in my voice and smile on my face. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Wanting to turn the flow of the conversation away from myself, I then asked a question of my own. “So, Honker, how much can you lift then?”

Honker’s face grimaced as I asked, the small whisper of a smile fading away. “Well, that depends. Normally? Double what you’re lifting right now.” For a moment he paused, though let out a sigh as he saw my reaction and cut me off before I could ask. “See, I say normally because right now I’m injured, and that really bothers me. I was involved in that recent ‘battle of Industrial’. Or, was almost involved. Just as I making my way across the bridge that linked us to the industrial quarter, pulling along a cart of armaments and supplies. Out of curiosity, did you hear what happened?”

My mind filled with the memories and suddenly I felt the colour of my face drain. Knowing I wouldn’t manage to get away with an outright lie, I scrambled to find anything I could cover myself with. “W-wait… do… didn’t the bridge come down or something?”

“Yeah.” The donkey grumbled. “That’s right. Someone planted explosives at the base, took out one of the key supports.”

“And you were on it when it came down?” I quickly blurted out, trying to sound as compassionate as possible rather than guilty. After all, it was me who was responsible.

With another nod of his head, Honker carried on in a pained tone. “Yep. I wasn’t far behind the artillery wagon, being that I was carrying supplies for that as much as I was other munitions. The missile launcher fired as the bridge came down, and between all of the shaking, he went straight over the edge and to his death.”

Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel a supreme sense of guilt gut punch me. With my new understanding of what falling to ones death would be like, I couldn’t help but picture in my head what it must have been like, letting out a scared eek.

Immediately Honker stopped in his retelling, looking at me in a confused way. “Are… you okay?”

Looking back up at him from down on the floor, I hadn’t even realised that I had dropped down and covered my eyes until he said that. Embarrassed, I picked myself back up and dusted my hooves off shyly before letting out a small whimper of an explanation. “I… I’m scared of heights after a really, really bad fall myself. I didn’t even realise it until just now, with you saying that...” I paused and let out a sigh.

“I can appreciate that. I was lucky that when the bridge shook and tried to throw me off too, I managed to grab onto a railing. Even with my armour and cart weighing me down, I was capable of detaching the cart I had been pulling and my strength alone was what saved me, but it also heavily injured my forelegs to hold myself in that position until a team of three helped me back to safety.”

“Heeeey there beautiful.” Another voice interrupted in a deep rumbling tone, throwing both of us off track. “Why would you be speaking to this old-”

“Not interested.” I blurted out, stopping the zebra in his tracks.

“Fuck off Xamik. We’re speaking.” Honker stated without care.

“What? Not interested? You haven’t even looked at me yet. Besides-”

Turning my face to look at him, I cocked an eyebrow. Before me stood the zebra on his hind hooves wearing only tight workout clothes. Interrupting him again, I repeated myself. “Not. Interested. We’re trying to have a conversation here.”

‘Xamik’ stared at me for a moment with an intense look in his eyes before getting back down to all fours, still looking impressive in his build despite anything else. “You’re just against zebras, aren’t you? I bet you’ve never even had one.”

“No and no. And no, I don’t want to either.” Now I was getting annoyed with the sudden, unwanted and uninvited advances. “Go play elsewhere.”

Almost beating against the zebras chest with a hoof, Honker spoke with a harshness in his voice. “You heard the mare, Xamik. Fuck off.”
Accepting his defeat, the zebra quickly muttered to himself as he turned away and got onto a different piece of equipment as we both just watched silently.

“Sorry about that, he likes to try his luck with just about any mare new to the company. Now, most of the time he’ll leave a mare alone after the first try, but it wouldn’t be the first time if he doesn’t stop trying. Just know that even if you do become tempted, he isn’t going to stick around with you regardless.”

“I’m spoken for with the stallion of my dreams, don’t worry.”

Something in that must have amused Honker as his eyes crinkled and smile returned. “Ah, young love. It’s a beautiful thing.”

“I-I’m not that young!” I exclaimed, before quickly realising what I’d just implied and blushed. “I… I mean… I’m not a filly! I’m a mare who has her youth but I’m not foolish! Besides, you don’t look old enough to make such statements.”

“Oh really? How old are you then? As for myself, us donkeys, or at least us jacks age gracefully. I’m forty-eight.”

My eyes widened in surprise as I looked at him, shocked to see such a physically fit forty-eight year old. “I turn twenty-seven soon. Very soon, actually.”

“Any foals?” That question shocked me. I don’t know why it did, it shouldn’t have. It was by all normal standards, a normal question, and yet it made me pause and think to myself. I had adopted Sandstorm, yes, and Crimson had said about finding a baby, but now my thoughts were turned to a foal of my own.
“Sorry if that’s a hurtful question, I shouldn’t have-”

Stopping him mid sentence, I finally spoke “No. No, its okay. No I don’t have any. I haven’t had any.”
A part of me now wondered if Sandstorm could ever see me as a true adoptive mother, or whether I would always just be ‘the mare who picked him up from the street’.

Sensing that I wasn’t going to get angry with him, Honker continued his line of questioning. “Any particular reason why?”

“I…” I muttered, unsure of myself. Letting out a sigh as my eyes scanned the room without any particular focus as to why, I finally turned my eyes back on Honker. “I never found the right stallion until now, and that’s because I’ve always been so busy with life and my job. In some ways I didn’t really think about it, but now you’ve said that… what I would do for one.”

In what must have been an attempt to lighten my mood, Honker gently nudged my shoulder in a friendly way as he spoke. “Well, we both know that there’s only one thing that’ll fix that, hey?” With that he gave a teasing laugh and a wink. “You just make sure on your next day off that you go spend it with that stallion of yours.”

Completely flustered, I felt my cheeks burn as I blushed, thinking of just how much I would indeed love to have my way with Crimson. Then, capitalising on the situation, the donkey teased me further. “Perhaps you can both get a very happy birthday present that way hmm?”
I could have died right then and there from just how much blood had gone to my head.

Holding his gut as he laughed, Honker was almost on the floor in hysterics and living up to his namesake. “Cherry.” He began before stopping to calm down for a sec. “I’m sorry. You’re a good mare. I haven’t had someone make me laugh like this in a long while. The look on your face was priceless. Sorry for teasing you so much, but you seemed a good sport. I’d suggest going and having a nice shower to calm down. And don’t worry, the showers are separated by walls and locks. Besides, you’ll want to be fresh for the big show later anyway. That won’t be long.”

Giving him a look of contempt, his smirk quickly had the corners of my lips sliding into a small smile despite what he had just said. Putting all of the equipment away and walking over to a door, I then heard his voice call out, trying his best to not laugh as he did. “Wrong way! To your right! Unless you want to use the toilets to wash yourself in, that is!”
Dropping my head sullenly, I made sure to quickly storm through the correct door to hide my embarrassment.

As I entered the turquoise room my eyes quickly noticed how it seemed to be even more relaxing than the foal blue dorm. Despite showing their age, the wall tiles still seemed to beckon me further into the humid environment and lull me into a sense of calm.

The rising steam from a nearby cubical made me realise that not only were these showers indeed private, unlike the ones back with the P.L.A.C, but the water was also hot here too. With that, my heart soared and a small delighted squeal rushed from my lips as I rushed to no stall in particular. Entering and closing the door behind me with my magic, I turned the shower on with a hoof and closed my eyes as the warm water began to fall on my face. Letting out a sigh of pure contentment, I could feel my shoulders loosen as the shower massaged my shoulders, taking the stress away.

Running a hoof through my mane, I quickly realised what I needed right now; my shampoo and soap. Shutting off the shower and turning around, I saw the door ajar and realised that, of course, I had forgotten to lock it behind me. Grimacing in the realisation that I was very lucky to have noticed this sooner rather than later, I marched myself out of the shower room and over to my bed, dripping wet still. Opening up the locker at my bed and rummaging through my bags for those blessed items, I soon enough hand them.

In the moment I went to put my bag back in the locker was when somepony spoke to me from behind. “Uh, excuse me, but, uh, well, you’re… dripping.”

Letting out a snort of surprised aggravation, I turned my head at the offending voice. “Excuse me? Dripping? What on Equestria do you mean by that?”
Cocking an eyebrow at me, the young buck gestured to the floor with his hoof, bringing my attention to the now wet floor.
My jaw dropped before I raised both hooves to my face and groaned, completely having forgotten myself in the moment. “I’m so, so sorry.” I meagrely let out, hoping to patch up the situation. “I completely forgot myself and didn’t know where the towels are and-”

“Its fine.” He said in his shy voice, fighting a moment of stutter. “Clean towels are just on your left as you go in, on the rack. Dirty towels go in the big laundry bin opposite of them. I know you’re new here, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Feeling my face drop in shame, I grabbed the poor buck for but a moment as I hugged him. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be horrible, I’m just tired after a long day and forgetting my soap and shampoo and-” In that moment, I looked at the poor buck again, wet from where I’d hugged him. “Oh Celestia! I’m sorry for getting you wet too! I’m just gonna get out of here before I cause more trouble. Sorry! Sorry.”

Slinking past him, now I had yet more embarrassment to contend with. I definitely needed to just relax in the shower. Pushing the door out of my way and walking into the same cubical that I was in before, I turned the shower back on and went back to enjoying the sensation.

The last couple of days had been annoying. Trying to wash myself with a small bucket and a cloth with cold water was anything but pleasant. Of course I did so, I couldn’t stand the idea of festering in my own filth when it could be avoided or wasn’t necessary to do so, but it was unenjoyable feeling the cold water chill my bones to the core. Now? Now the warmth radiated around me, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Lathering the shampoo into my mane, I could feel all of the tangles, oil and dirt getting caught up in the mixture before washing it out. Running my hoof through the pink strands, I still didn’t feel like it was back to its natural beauty and decided that yet another helping could only do some good.
Letting out a long, slow sigh of bliss, it really was the seemingly silly things that made everything so much more tolerable.

Going from shampoo to soap, I began to scrub at my coat when my ears perked up to a sound I couldn’t quite understand properly. In what must have been the cubical next to me I heard the sound of someone talking, but their words were completely muffled by the sounds of the water splattering on the ground. Pausing for a moment and concentrating on what they were saying, I then realised that they were just muttering a small song to themselves perhaps.

That was when it hit me. If someone could manage to sing to themselves and their singing be muffled by the sound of the shower… then someone could almost certainly get away with using her PipBuck broadcaster if she was smart about it.

Pulling up my PipBuck to look at the time, it was nowhere near when Crimson might expect me to contact him. Then I paused in the moment as I realised; he hadn’t contacted me or responded to my attempts to contact him since that first time. Yes, he had put out a radio broadcast of reading bedtime stories which was wonderful to listen to, but even since then there had been complete silence.

Desperately, I swapped to the tracking module to find out where he was. My heartbeat began to race as all of my worst thoughts and fears came rushing to my mind, hitting me harder than anything else could. As the screen updated, I shuddered and welcomed back reality, reminded where I was with the water pounding on my back. He was moving around at least, if nothing else. I would make sure to give him a piece of my mind later in the evening.

Scrubbing myself clean of both the fear in my mind and dirt in my coat, I finally finished in the shower, grabbed a towel and got myself as dry as I could. My mane hadn’t yet returned to its naturally bouncy state, but I knew that once all of the moisture was fully gone it would be more beautiful than it had been in the last week. No more raggedy Cherry, I thought to myself.

Throwing the used towel into the bin and trotting on over to my bed, I put the cleaning goods away into my bag and locked everything in the container. Climbing onto the soft mattress, I couldn’t help but sigh happily as I felt the soft touch of a proper bed for what felt like the first time in months, even if it had only been a little over a week.

“’Ey ther’.” A new voice began, disturbing my peace. Lazily turning my head to look at them, I saw a chestnut coloured pony smiling back at me. Before I could respond, he flicked his pale hay coloured mane out of his eyes and continued with his weird yet charming accent. “Ya’ll’re new, uhuh?”

Climbing back off of the bed and cocking an eyebrow at him, I could hardly understand what in Equestria he was trying to say to me. Paused in my confusion, I said nothing but continued to stare at him as my mind tried to figure it out.

Tired of waiting for a response, the stallion spoke yet more. “Y'a'ms'tv'nt ever heard this accent behfor’.” Though with that, his smile faltered. The lines around his eyes were beginning to grow wider and finally, laughter ensued.

“Celestia damn it. You saw right through me, didn’t you? Nice to meet you.”

“I…” I didn’t know how to respond. “Uh...”

“My name is Dust Buckets. I would like say Dust Buckets Senior, but that’s my dad’s title, and Dust Buckets Junior is my sons name, assuming he is still out there.” For a moment he paused again, rubbing his cheek with a hoof as he peered off into the distance, eyes glazed over in thought. With the speed of lightning, his eyes snapped back to reality and onto me. “So, what’s your name?”

“Cherry. Cherry Sundae.” I replied with a friendly smile, trying to win over a little more favour with those around me.

“Cherry huh. So, Cherry, what brings you here? You here for the same reason as me?”

I went to answer and then stopped, tilting my head as my mouth hung open. “Wait… sorry? Like you? What do you mean by that? Same reason as you?”

Slapping a hoof to his head, the stallion shook his gaze before smiling with an exaggerated tongue poke. “Of course you wouldn’t know! Sorry, I forget that not everyone around here is a conscript. A lot of us are, but there are some free members here. So yeah, I’m a conscript, or, almost. I was from Coltshire, but then the…” Dust Buckets voice faltered for a moment, his eyes darting around to see who was listening. “…tributes became necessary. Initially, I thought we would be safe, but they asked for conscripts. I volunteered to keep my family safe whilst my wife moved with our son into the nearby prospector camp. You’ve probably not heard of it. A place called-”

“Coltshire Commons.” I interrupted, smiling as I thought back to the small outpost we had helped defend and build a wall for.
In that moment, I froze. Looking at Dust Buckets, I couldn’t believe how I’d forgotten. Dust Buckets would-be-senior. Dust Buckets was the name of the colt that Crimson had inadvertently injured. Now the smile on my face was gone, causing the stallion gently touched my shoulder inquisitively.

“C-Cherry? You alright there lassie? What’s gone on? Has something happened to Coltshire Commons? Don’t tell me something happened. Come on miss.”

With a shiver that shook my whole body and brought me back to reality, I apologised. “I’m sorry, Dust Buckets. I… its not all bad. Dust Buckets Junior is alive. And we helped to build some walls for the settlement.”

The look on his face changed entirely going from worried to uncertain, uncertain to happy, then back to worried. With a nod, he now spoke slowly. “Okay, so that’s good… but you didn’t say ‘and well’, did you? What do you know? How can I be certain you aren’t just fucking with me? What happened? How comes you know my boy? Where are you from? You aren’t from Coltshire Town, I’d have seen you around.”

His presence was now almost imposing. Though he wasn’t any taller than me, or noticeably more muscular, the way the stallion stood with worried agitation. His nose lowered as his eyes focused on me with a sharpness I hadn’t expected. Now the friendly yet inquisitive tone turned to a strong willed demand, laced with the more than a hint of hostility. “Who are you?”

“Wh-whoa, calm down there buddy.” I nervously began as I backed up, only to be closed in on. “One thing at a time.”
I felt the urge to flare my horn, either hurt the stallion or go invisible and get out of the situation, but I knew now wasn’t the time to alert anyone to my capability and I definitely couldn’t afford to be getting into a fight before my first night was even over. Instead, I just froze, hoping that if anything did happen, somepony or perhaps Honker would intervene.

Watching Dust Buckets close his eyes and let out a snort was much needed relief as he also stepped back, visibly relaxing himself. “You say you helped build a wall?”

Instantly I let out my pitiful response, glad that things were calming down. “Y-yeah.”

“Okay then.” He began, his tenseness slowly melting away. “So, you can’t be all that bad. You’re not from Coltshire though, I know that for a fact. Guess it doesn’t matter where you’re from. My son, you say he’s alive? What do you know of him.”

“We met him as soon as we walked into Coltshire Commons. We also met your wife, the doctor. I don’t remember exactly what happened to Dust Buckets Junior, I was too badly injured in a raid to know what went on when he was hurt. All I know is he’s alive. I don’t remember anything else, we left not long after.”

Despite cocking an eyebrow at me, Dust Buckets seemed a lot more calm in his demeanour as he now spoke, stepping back slightly at the same time. “There was a raid? Fuck! Well, so long as they’re fine. And this is the forth time you’ve said ‘we’, yet here you are, alone.”

Much to my relief, Dust Buckets stepped back further and relented for a moment, allowing me to collect my thoughts. That relief quickly subsided as I realised I knew what the next question would be. I couldn’t name Crimson, that would be too risky, but I had to think up something and fast. Taking another moment as I gazed upon Dust Buckets, I realised what I had to do. “My sister, Limoncello.”

“Yeah? Where is she now?” His tone was much, much less aggressive and almost entirely back to the friendly and welcoming one I had heard to begin with.

Thinking quickly on my hooves, I had to come out with some excuse. “I guess you could say I’m here so she doesn’t have to be.”

In a more prodding tone, Dust Buckets now asked yet another question, snapping his words, searching for a weakness. “What does she look like and hold old is she?”

This time I took no time at all in answering. “She has a soft dahlia yellow coat that is complimented by a mane so sweet that it matches her blush and has frosted white tips. Teal blue eyes that pierce through the stare of any stallion. Twenty-nine. And she’s a unicorn like myself. We used to travel together, and anywhere one of us would go, so would the other.”

For a moment I thought about that, and then frowned. I knew I was telling the truth, though there was remorse in the fact. Letting out a small sigh, I continued my lamentations. “That was until she wanted a more stable life. So, I’m doing what I need to in order to keep her safe. So yeah, it sounds like we’re in the same situation.”

With a grunt and a sigh, Dust Buckets bowed his head. “Forgive me for the way I was. I can imagine you’d be worried too if I started talking about Lemon Cider like you did my colt, but-”

“Limoncello.” I promptly corrected the stallion, irritation filling my voice. How hard was it to remember a name after even one second?

“Sorry, yeah, I’m sure if I spoke about Limoncello like you did my colt, you’d be just as worried. I haven’t seen him in way too long.”

Letting out a sigh, I couldn’t hold either slight against him. “Its okay, Dust Buckets. I understand. You’re right, I would act in the same way. Maybe I wouldn’t have the exact same actions, maybe I would, but I’d feel the same worry. I can’t fault you for that.”
Giving him a small smile, Dust Buckets made his way off elsewhere.

From the direction of the door that Blueheart had walked through earlier, a female voice rang out. “Foods ready you lot. So is the show. Grab your grub and come and watch the fun. We’ve got a great one for everyone to enjoy!”

Rushing to the door to join the queue, I really didn’t want to miss out on food more than anything else. The ice cream from earlier in the day had certainly been enjoyable, but now I could begin to smell the aroma, my stomach was feeling the dull ache of hunger.

Marching along the halls in line with everyone else, others joined into our stride from another direction as we reached the back of another group. We didn’t enter the canteen like I had expected, but rather continued right out into the lea. Stepping through the doors, we were immediately met by vendor stands passing bottles of water, hayburgers, and fries freely to all that came. Some benches had been dotted around, though largely the grassy zone had been free from obstructions.

In the distance I saw a small elevated stage made out of what seemed to be compacted earth, and upon it, a range of instruments sitting upon it. As I made my way to reach as close to the very front as I could get, I could finally see figures walking around in the shadow. Looking more intensely, I realised that they were zebras, but I couldn’t make out any other details.

Setting myself down on the soft ground, I began to eat my dinner as we all waited. The hustle and bustle of others filled my ears as we all waited for what sounded like the last of everyone to arrive, and once they had, the sound of static droned everything else out. As if on cue, everyone went silent.

From there, Blueheart took to the stage, all dressed up and looking down with a sense of pride. However, instead of walking to the microphone as I had expected him to, he was then flanked by three others dressed the same. For some reason, one of them looked oddly familiar to me, though I couldn’t figure out how in any way.

Now a donkey of frail stature walked up to front of the stage, adjusted the microphone to his liking and finally spoke with a tone I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t need to be told who this was, it was obvious just by looking at them despite their very plain visage that this donkey was very, very high up in the ranking, if not the leader of the D.Z.C.

“Mares and stallions, zebras, donkeys, and ponies alike. The old, the young, the veterans, the new. All of you, all of us, and all of the citizenry, are what makes the Donkey Zebra Coalition what it is. From the humble beginnings of the old namesake to a city-wide force of order, strength and unity that encompasses all. That is what the D.Z.C stands for and believes in. Together, not apart, we have gone from those intrepid few who stepped out of the safety of Stable 78 to a city-state to rival any known opposition. Of course I could proceed to tell the tales of how wonderful our city is, of how valorous you all are, of how we will secure the future of Equestria for the betterment of all… but I know in my heart, there is not a single soul here that doesn’t know it and live that example every day.”

His voice filled to the brim with confidence and pride, every word rolling from the tongue drenched in genuine intent. The crowd cheered wildly, whoops of ecstatic joy and devotion whilst others whistled. Once the applause died down, he continued.

“These last months have been troubled, I know, I know. Unrest from ne'er-do-wells and criminals has been on the rise. We are plagued with the threat of despotic regimes wanting only to see the end of us and to carry off our valuables from all sides, and why is this? Because we have built not just a city, but truly a grand monument of what was once the norm in a time long ago – and we will continue to build it! We will expand our grandeur beyond from this single city to all of Equestria, given time, dedication, and the love in our hearts for a better world.”

For a moment the donkey paused to collect his thoughts perhaps, or to simply gaze upon the adoring crowd. A few cheers and whistles were heard, though most waited eagerly to hear his next words.

“In the last few weeks we have seen many of our brave brothers and sisters fall victim to these misguided individuals, but we shall not sow the seed of cravenness nor shall we give in to any notion that it is hopeless. We are stronger, smarter, tougher, more unified, and most importantly of all, we have the love of a better future in our hearts.”

“Ubi concordia, ibi victoria!”
[Where there is unity, there is victory!]

The atmosphere around me turned into something I had only seen once before, the roaring sound that came from everyone was almost deafening. It was with such intensity that it felt unreal to me, but although I didn’t understand the last phrase, I knew it was meaningful. In that moment I realised; the soldiers of the coalition were in fact fighting for peace, it was only that their perspective had been warped against the poorest citizens. From their viewpoint, they were just trying to protect the splendour of Coltchester… just as I would and did my own home, Four Ridges.

Now that the donkey was gone, the zebra next to Blueheart walked up to the microphone and with a smile, began to speak.
“And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for, we present to you a range of the best talents to be found in Coltchester, here to perform for your enjoyment! Ladies and gentlecolts, this show goes all the way to lights out!”

Two more zebras approached from the back of the stage, one graciously accepting the microphone whilst the other reared onto his hind legs with a large instrument of some kind. Trying to figure it out was a fruitless endeavour, so instead I simply waited.

“Before I begin this song, I gotta say… some of the folks that hear me sing this song, they say to me, ‘what do you mean what a wonderful world? The need for walls, the hunger? Look around, its a wasteland’ but I say to them, well, I just sing the song and say to them that maybe it’d be better if we all just worked together.”

The soothing depths of his voice lulled me into a comfort I hadn’t known for a long time. The bass, the long drawn out notes, it was truly entrancing to hear him sing about how wonderful the world was. He had a point. It was our own fault that the world had been so damaged. It was because of the greed of both ponies and zebras that came before us, and all of the interests between them. The wasteland was only continued because we found it so hard to work together. If we just came to love one another, we could see another chance.

As they played their next song I continued to think about that whilst eating my food. All the fighting we’d been doing since arriving in Coltchester… I couldn’t help but wonder, was it really the right thing?

Looking down at my hooves, at the ground, I thought about the senseless killing I’d done. So many lives were gone that could have been convinced to work together. Raiders and slavers were a blight, true as it was, but the coalition soldiers I had killed… all of them having families, aspirations, a reason for joining up… perhaps their reason had indeed been to try and build a better tomorrow, just like I dreamed…

A shiver ran down my spine as I was thrown out of my thoughts and back into the world, the sensation of a caressing touch lingering on my chin, pulling my face up and my mane out of the way. My eyes shot wide as I went to bat the hoof away, only to find it wasn’t a hoof at all, but magic.
Up on the stage, he caught my eye. Dew Drop. He was looking right at me, a grin on his face as he sat at the very front of the stage, legs hanging off, guitar in his lap.

Levitating the microphone over to himself, he gave a cheeky smirk and a wink before talking.
“I want to dedicate this one to the most beautiful mare in the crowd tonight, but I’ll let you figure out who you are.”

I felt flustered. Was he talking to me? There was no way he meant me… and yet, he had used his magic to grab my attention specifically. Blushing at the thought of it, I looked away before his voice teased my focus back to himself.

[Song: James Blunt - You're beautiful]

“My life is brilliant… my love is pure… I saw an angel, of that I’m sure. She smiled at me on the wagonway, she was with another stallion – but I won’t loose no sleep on that ‘cos I’ve got a plan.
You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful its true.”

Red hot. My cheeks were utterly burning as I looked into his eyes, and they were focused on me. I wanted to look away, I wanted to not let him have this power over me, I wanted to tell myself that it wasn’t me he was singing about… but my heart beat to the strumming of his guitar and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. He wasn’t my Crimson but – Crimson…

A rush of guilt washed over me as I thought of my darling lover. Now was the time to talk to him if any time at all. Getting up, I made my way past all of the others around me and only looked back as I reached the exit into the rest of the barracks once more, just in time to see and hear Dew Drop sing his final line.

“But its time to face the truth… I will never be with you.”

Where there had previously been an optimistic joy to his song, now a lullaby of sadness lingered in his voice. I didn’t know whether that was just what the song called for or not, but a part of me deep down felt like his eyes had been fixated on me the entire time as I left. With one last glance, I was certain I’d caught the whisper of a coltish grin on his face, and then it hit me. If he had been watching me that entire time, he’d been perving on my ass for certain.

With that realisation, I rushed as quickly as I could back to my quarters, headed to the shower to escape from the embarrassment I felt.

With the show going on, there was barely even a skeletal force of guards patrolling the hallways. Going into my dorm and passing into the showers, I grabbed a towel in order to look the part in case anyone had stumbled upon me and turned on the shower. Closing the door and pulling up my PipBuck, I immediately turned on the broadcaster and tried to get ahold of Crimson.

For at least a minute or two the broadcaster repeated its little encryption sounds with no joy, my heart sinking with every second that passed. Every time I tried was the same, with no response. Did he just not care any more? My mouth began to fall and my muscles went limp at even the thought of it. Just as I hit the tiles, the sound from my PipBuck changed.

From the other side came a groggy groaning sound and I almost wept with joy as I recognised his voice. “H-hello?”

“CRIMSON!” I couldn’t help myself. I knew I shouldn’t have shouted that out, but I didn’t care. There was nobody around and they wouldn’t have known him by that name. It didn’t matter. He was alive.

“Cherry? Oh Celestia, Cherry!?” The surprise and joy overwhelmed the pair of us, my whole body feeling completely recharged just knowing that he alive and cared.

Remembering where I was, I now lowered my voice but still couldn’t help but share in my excitement. “Crimson! Oh Celestia, Crimson… I’m so glad you’re alive. I was so worried about you.”

“Cherry, I-”

I interrupted him, I had to. “Shh. Keep the volume down. I can’t risk being too loud.”

“Mm, okay.” Oh by Celestia, how even such a short sound could be so sweet to my ears. “Cherry, I’m so glad to know you’re still okay. I’ve been-”

Stamping a hoof to the tiles, that sparked something inside of me. An anger at being forgotten, and he hadn’t even actually asked if I was okay or not! “Excuse me!” I interrupted yet again, cutting into him. “Not only have you not asked how I am, you haven’t even-”

Now Crimson interrupted me this time. “Agh. No, back to the way you were. That’s better.”

Completely dumbfounded by what he had just said, I couldn’t believe it. For a moment I just stayed silent, but that didn’t last long. “Excuse me? Back to the way I was? What the hell, Crimson?!”

“Not you, Cherry. Eos.”

My nose wrinkled and muscles tightened upon hearing that. My ears perked, I could now start to hear the sound of rustling in the background. “What are you doing?” I barked, demanding my answer. “What’s going on?”

“We’re on the sofa, I’m trying to sleep and Eos is with me since Sandstorm took her spot in the bed so he could cuddle with Selene.”

Jealousy erupted in me more than I had ever known before. I was trapped in here and there was her, having a choice of where to sleep and deciding that the sofa was the best place for it? And why? Was it because of her? “Why aren’t you sleeping in our bed, Crimson.”

“It smells of you and I don’t want to ruin that.”

Those words killed all of the jealousy, all of the insecurity, all of the thoughts in my head in general. Crimson was avoiding our bed because he could still smell me in it and wanted to preserve it? Tears began to fill the corner of my eyes as I realised how much he missed me too. Before I knew it, I was sobbing. “I miss you.”

With sorrow in his voice, he returned my plight. “I miss you too, babe. I hope you’re hanging in there okay. Are they treating you well? I’ll get you back, I promise.”

Taking a deep breath, I wanted to tell him everything, but the sounds of outside… the sounds of the event ending filled my ears and the alarm set in my mind. “Look, I gotta cut this short. Let me speak and don’t interrupt.” I blurted out, not giving him a chance to speak, even to confirm. “They’ve moved me from the cells to one of the dorms. I’ve been put to working as a lookout, but they’ve got my rifle. I can’t leave without it. I just can’t.”

“Why?” Crimson butted in, causing me annoyance.

“Limoncello. Now, you stay safe.”

With that, Eos now interrupted, her voice causing my coat to stand on end at the neck. “I’ll try to make sure he does.” I didn’t know why it bothered me so much since their reason was justified, but it did.

“Make sure he does. Crimson? I love you.”

“I love you-” That was all that Crimson could manage before I had to shut off the broadcaster, the sound of the shower door opening and someone else going for what they could before lights out. It wouldn't be long until the show was over, after all, and once it was, all of us would be expected to be in our beds.

Getting out of the shower and wiping down what little of my coat was damp, I made my way over to the bed. Climbing in and getting as comfortable as possible, all I could think of was Crimson, and wishing that it would be the bed we had shared. My heart ached knowing I couldn't be there with him, that he wouldn't sleep in the bed we had shared.
Closing my eyes, I just had to wait, I told myself. Wait, bide my time and find a way of escaping with the rest of my gear.

Though sleep wouldn't come easy, at least now there was a little bit of comfort in knowing Crimson was safe.

Author's Notes:

So, this took a lot longer than expected to release, and I'm sorry for that. Christmas was a nightmare. January was a nightmare. Hell, even up until now hasn't been great for me.
I'm getting better though and I'm dedicated to getting this finished before I die, so maybe we'll see the end of this before the planet blows up? Just kidding, but seriously, sorry for making everyone wait so long. Love you all and big thanks goes out to everyone who ever made all of this possible for me + Kkat for making this setting a thing.