Mom always tried her best while we were growing up to prepare us for the worst of ponykind. The raiders and slavers, the bad ponies who would kill you as soon as look at you. She tried to impart her wisdom as best as she could, and we tried our best to learn.

But in reality, all the textbook knowledge in the world doesn't amount to the life experiences we share with others. Nothing in the world could have prepared me to deal with Coconut, hacking up blood and suffering painful radiation sickness. I just didn't know what to do.

I was going to have to learn the hard way.

An hour passed. Coconut's coughing had subsided, thanks to an old bottle of water we found in the power station's break room. She was laying on a makeshift bed roll, sleeping. We had removed her from her power armor and set it gently against the side wall. We were all silent as we did what little we could to care for her until Lightning returned with help.

“It's been too long,” Rocky said, breaking the silence. “He should have been back by now.”

“He'll be back,” I said softly. I fixed my eyes on the city outside. It was silent as well. Too silent. I didn't like it.

A thump from the other side of the room snapped me out of my thoughts. Since our escape from the ghouls and Lightning's departure, they had tested the door from the tunnel into the power station several times. Every few minutes, they would rattle on it before giving up again. Envy had moved a few of the station's terminals over onto the door, adding more weight to hold it closed just in case.

I tried to ignore the thumping and instead focused on Coconut. She was asleep, but feverish and sweaty. It was weird, but I found myself worrying about whether or not she'd turn into one of those crazy ghouls like the zebra she killed. I shook the thought away. Radiation took time to turn somepony into a ghoul. A lot of time. But then... why did the zebra on the audio recordings say his father had become one? How long ago did those recordings take place? How long ago did he become one himself?

I took a deep breath. It didn't matter. Coconut wasn't going to become a ghoul. She'd just sucked up a bunch of rads and needed a doctor. Rest would certainly help with that. I had to hope it was enough until Lightning got back.

I sighed and turned to my PipBuck. The automap function confirmed that we were indeed several miles away from the Hoofwich Building's marked location. The tunnel we had come through must have extended underneath part of the city. The automap had managed to snag a name for the building we were in now, the aptly named “Power Station MX-ZQ128.” Highly inventive in their building names, those prewar ponies were.

I stood. I couldn't just sit and wait for Lightning to get back. I had to explore, to find out if there was anything else around that could help Coconut, at least to help tide things over until Lightning did get back.

“I'm going to poke around some of the other rooms, see if there's anything around that might help,” I said aloud.

“Rock Thresher. Go with her,” Envy said as she looked up from her sitting position. “I will remain here and watch over young Coconut.”

Rocky nodded as he moved to join me. He left his rifle next to Envy. It wouldn't do much good in these close quarters anyways.

I grimaced. I had sort of hoped to go off by myself, but there was no point in arguing. I was also worried still that Rocky was upset with me over what I'd said earlier. I strode over to the nearest door at the far end of the room and pushed it open. It was emblazoned with an equal sign. I paid little attention as I entered the room.

It appeared to be an office of some sorts, likely for the employees of the power station. A long broken water cooler sat along the wall, two skeletons lying next to it. Poor ponies never even knew what had hit them. Above the cooler were several posts, carefully set out to appear “fun.” EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL read one of them, adorned with the image of several smiling young ponies. They looked a little too happy.

I continued on with Rocky trailing behind me, my minotaur companion staying deathly silent as I rummaged through the desks in each cubicle. I really wasn't sure what I was looking for yet, mostly just hoping that somepony had been smart enough to stash some RadAway in a drawer for a rainy day. Mostly I just wanted to let my mind rest after the events of the past couple days. My thoughts drifted back to Mom. Was she still okay? How long would it take for her heart to just give up? I didn't even want to think about that inevitability.

I closed another desk drawer and sighed loudly. Either somepony had been here already, or these ponies just hadn't stored anything in their desks. In fact, each and every desk had pretty much the same setup, the same things in their drawers, and even the same notes attached to their boards. Messages like You can't have a nightmare if you never dream and Cutie Marks = Inequality gave me the shivers. Just what kind of company was this?

“Starry?” I heard Rocky's mechanical voice echo from behind me.

“Yeah?” I asked, sighing again. Here it comes, I thought to myself. The old 'I don't like you that way but I think we should just be friends' speech. Not like there was anything there to begin with I suppose. Just me and my stupid filly crushes.

“Are you alright? You seem... troubled,” Rocky said. His voice sounded genuinely concerned.

I blinked and turned back to him “I... I just want to help Coconut, that's all,” I said with a hesitation. I hadn't expected him to say something like that. “But it looks like this place has been picked clean already.”

“That's not it,” Rocky said. “I understand how much you wish to save your friend, but that's not what you're upset about.”

Dammit! Can he like, read my mind or something! I screamed inside my head.

“I'm fine. Look, let's try the next room. Maybe there's a maintenance closet with a first aid kit or something around here,” I said shortly, turning away and heading to the door at the far end of the room. It too, had the same equal sign on the door.

Rocky fell silent and followed behind me as I pushed open the door. The next room looked very much like the first room. In fact, it was exactly the same, right down to the posters above the water cooler.

“Alright, officially creeped out by this place,” I said aloud. “Not creepier than that building full of ghouls, but still pretty creepy.”

“I must admit, I am confused by the construction of this power station as well,” Rocky said from next to me. “Were ponies from before the war always like this?”

“No... this is pretty special, even for us,” I said. A cursory glance of the room revealed that every cubicle was the same as the last room. “We might as well head back. I don't think we're going to find anything here.”

Rocky hesitated and pointed at the other side of the room. “What about that door?”

I followed where he was pointing. The door on the other end of the room was different only in that it had a sign that said OVERSEER. I blinked. What, like a Stable Overseer? Probably not the same thing. Probably just means their boss, I thought to myself. “Seems like its worth a shot. But if it's another row of exact same cubicles, I'm heading back to check on Coconut.”

“Fair enough,” Rocky replied.

I trotted over to the door and pushed it open. The office was extremely neat, with absolutely no dust or debris to speak of. A plain utilitarian desk sat in the middle, along with a terminal sitting on top of it. In the far corner a metal tube extended from the ceiling to the floor. A security robot could be seen beyond its glass window. Sitting next to the desk was a safe.

“This looks promising,” I said aloud as I made my way over to the terminal. “Keep a watch while I try to open this thing up, okay?”

Rocky nodded, closing the door behind him. He stood just close enough that I could hear his breathing through his speaker.

I shook my head and turned my attention to the terminal. It was still active. I tapped a few keys and got a login prompt on it. I grimaced, racking my brain for anything about terminal hacking. It was a skill Mom had tried to teach us before, but it wasn't something that was high on her list of 'must-haves.' Hacking was something better left to the brainy ponies Mom had always said. I considered asking Rocky for assistance, but I honestly doubted he knew anything about hacking terminals either.

I thought for a few seconds and tapped in a password. Equality, I thought. That should do it. Except it didn't. The machine blared an Access Denied warning at me and returned to the prompt. I growled under my breath and glanced over at Rocky.

“Try connecting your PipBuck to it,” the minotaur replied simply as he walked over to hover over my shoulder.

I nodded and pulled the cable out of the PipBuck's slot, attaching it to the port on the terminal. Immediately, the terminal rebooted into an environment that showed characters, both numbers and letters on the screen.

“Good. Now one of the phrases here should be the password,” Rocky said from behind me.

I scanned through the jumbling of words and numbers, until I saw a phrase that kind of made some sense. Cutie-markless, it said. I punched it in and was met with the warm glow of an Access Granted message. “Uh... thanks,” I said softly.

“You're welcome,” Rocky said. He moved back to watching the door.

I watched him for a moment before returning my attention to the terminal. I was having a heck of a time figuring him out. It really seemed like he wanted to open up and be friendly, so why did this feel so awkward to me? I sighed aloud and started fiddling with the options on the terminal. There wasn't much, just reports on power maintenance and an audio message. I downloaded it to my PipBuck and set it to play while I hunted for the option to unlock the safe. A mare's voice came over my earbloom, set atop a jaunty little marching tune.

“Today, we stand upon the precipice of a brave new world! A world where all ponies, and all zebras can live in harmony. An equal world. A world without the oppression of the Ministries or Luna's rule.

Already, Equality Incorporated has managed to secretly acquire most of the power infrastructure companies within nearly eighty percent of Equestria's major cities. Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Chicacolt. We are everywhere. We have even brokered deals with the zebra nations, offering to provide power to them in the event of… a crisis.

In short, mares and gentlecolts, we are the future. I promise to you that coming soon our new world will be a reality. We will be free of the chains that cutie marks have placed on our lives. By shedding those chains, we can live free as we were always meant to be.

The day of reckoning is coming soon. I ask all of Equality Incorporated to stand up when that day does come. Stand up, and proclaim your independence! Stand up and stand with us, equal to the core.”

I blinked for several seconds. Prewar ponies were seriously fucked in the head. Free of the chains of cutie marks? What kind of drugs was this pony on? I shrugged and kept searching the terminal menus. I finally found the option to unlock the safe, hearing a soft click coming from the container as I pressed the button.

“Got it,” I said aloud. “Let's see what this pony had to hide.” I stood and walked over to the safe. The door swung open with ease, revealing its contents.

My ears pinned back. There wasn't much of anything in the safe that would help us in the immediate future. There was a book about cutie marks, which I filed into my saddlebags. In addition, there were a few Wingboner magazines and some caps. I rooted deeper into the safe and pulled out the final item the safe had kept locked up. It was a soft velvet box. Opening it, my eyes widened. A crystal orb sat inside, glistening in the light.

“What is it?” Rocky said.

I grimaced, closing the box. “Nothing much. A memory orb, some magazines, and a book. Don't suppose you like Wingboner do you?” I lifted the magazines with my magic.

“I... You can keep those,” Rocky said hastily. I could have sworn he was blushing. “Might be worth something to someone.”

“Right. Well, if you'd like to borrow them, you know where they'll be,” I said, flashing a grin as I stowed them away into my saddlebags. “But still, nothing that's going to help Coconut.”

Rocky placed his claw on my shoulder. “Your brother will return with help. He is impetuous, but I know that she means a lot to him. I could see it in his eyes.”

I nodded. “Lightning has always had a little bit of a thing for Coconut. I can never tell if she's just messing with him or if she really likes him back, though. I'm... not really good at that sort of thing, to be honest.”

“We should probably get back. Maybe he's back by now,” Rocky said. His change of the subject was clear as mud to me.

“Right,” I said. I stood and lifted the box containing the memory orb. I placed it inside my bags as well and nodded. “I'm ready to go.”

I took one step and froze. The metal tube in the far corner started to lift up, revealing the security robot inside. It was pony-shaped, unicorn to be precise. Its eyes were a deep red and at the end of each hoof was a wheel that it could move around on.

“Intruder. Intruder. Please identify yourself and prepare to be destroyed,” it said as it rolled out of the tube. It's front chest panel opened to reveal several energy weapons.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. I knew that it had been too good to be true. I lifted my new knife in the air with my magic. The only thing that Mom had ever taught me about robots was that they sucked.

Rocky roared in reply, leaping forward to slash at the security bot. He struck it square in the face, sending it rocking backwards into the wall. The robot retaliated, firing a bolt of pure red energy that just barely grazed the minotaur. Rocky clutched his side in pain.

I released the knife, sending it flying through the air where it found purchase in the robot's right eye. Sparks flew as the robot turned to try and fire at me next. I yelped and jumped behind the desk. The robot's blast hit and turned the desk and the terminal sitting on it into a pile of steaming slag.

Rocky took advantage of the opportunity and slashed into the robot's chest, tearing its laser weapons into tiny pieces. The robot, looking like it couldn't decide which of us was the greater threat, finally turned back to the raging minotaur. Rocky struck, using its hesitation against it as his claw went through the robot's neck. Rocky pulled hard, ripping servos and cabling free. The robot stumbled and went down, sputtering as it died.

I stood from behind the desk and grimaced. I reached out and pulled the knife from its eye using my magic and placed it back in my pocket. “Thanks. Are you alright?”

“I was barely hit,” Rocky said, lifting his hand from where the robot had blasted him.

My eyes widened. Rocky's wound wasn't bad, but the robot's blast had certainly burnt his coat away. Underneath melted skin I could see sparking electronics. What looked like blood marred the electrical components, but it didn't look like the wound was bleeding at all. I rummaged around in my saddlebags for a bandage.

“Yeah, well you're just lucky it didn't hit you full on. Look at the damage even a minor blast from that thing did. Let's get you bandaged up and get back to camp,” I said, lifting the bandage in my magic.

“I am fine,” Rocky protested. He started to turn away.

I reached out with my magic and caught him with it. “Oh no you don't, Mister. At least let me put a bandage on it. It'll help it heal and it won't snag on anything.” I lowered the bandage onto the wound and placed a layer of adhesive on it to hold it into place. Mom had at least taught me basic field medicine, even if it didn't include patching up cybernetic minotaurs. Unfortunately, that was the extent of our medical training. I didn't know how to do much more than that.

“I... I never wished for this, you know,” Rocky said softly as I finished applying the adhesive.

My eyes met his. “Wished for what?”

“This body. The things inside me. I... I did not wish to be this way,” he said.

“What happened?” I asked, chancing that he would give me an answer.

“The Cult of Iron Will is not gracious to its gladiators. They treat the losers and the winners both, replacing parts of their bodies with cybernetics so that the games can continue,” Rocky replied.

“Is that what happened to you? You were a gladiator?” I said.

He nodded. “I was the loser. I sometimes wonder if there's any piece left of me that's real.”

“I... I thought you didn't like talking about this,” I said.

“I don't know why... but I feel like I can trust you, Starry,” Rocky said. “You are... a friend. Mistress is always telling me that I should make more of them.”

I chuckled softly. “Yeah... Mom always told me the same thing actually.”

“You are quite close to your mother,” Rocky stated.

“Mom... she tried her best to train us, to make us ready for whatever we would have to face out here,” I said. I grimaced. “I don't know that it did much to prepare me for what's happening to Coconut. That ghoul down there in those caves, it was the same zebra that was on the tapes I found. That place made him into a ghoul. What if... what if the same thing happens to Coconut?”

“Then we'll figure it out,” Rocky said. “That is what friends are supposed to do for each other, right?”

I sighed and nodded. “I guess you're right. We'd better get back to Envy and the camp. Maybe there's some sign of Lightning.” At least, I'd hoped there was a sign of him. I didn't feel right in the first place leaving Envy alone with Coconut. Something kept nagging at me that she wasn't on the up and up, ever since being down in those caverns.

Rocky followed as we headed back through the eerily similar offices. I pushed open the door leading back into the power station and narrowed my gaze at Envy. She was standing over Coconut, grimacing. I followed her gaze. Coconut was still asleep it seemed, but there was more blood on the floor. She appeared to be breathing better. I grimaced and pulled out the knife I'd pulled from the zebra ghoul with my magic. It felt... comforting somehow to hold it.

“She had another coughing fit. I did what I could to help alleviate it with the water, but we are running low,” Envy said softly. “We must consider our options if your brother has been captured or worse.”

I raised an eyebrow. So here it was. I had known it was coming. “Our options are saving Coconut. That's it.”

“Starry, you have to consider what will happen if she undergoes ghoulification like the zebra below that building,” Envy said.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know about that?”

“I was able to reasonably work that out, yes. If Coconut becomes a ghoul, do you think she's going to be able to retain her sanity for long? Most ghouls had years to acclimate to what they were, she'd be turned into one in a matter of hours. Who's to say what that will do to her mind?” Envy said.

“So what, we kill her? Put her out of her misery before it gets to that point?” I said angrily.

“I...” Envy started to say.

“I know how you operate, Envy. You're all about 'acceptable measures' and sacrifices. You'd as soon as let all of us die if it meant you saved your own skin,” I said. I'd had enough of Envy. I didn't know why, but I just let the words I'd been bottling up inside myself just start coming out.

“Starry...” Rocky said.

“No, Rocky. She's been playing this game from the beginning with us,” I said. I lifted the knife into the air. “She doesn't even care about helping us. She probably doesn't even care if my Mom dies or not. Hell, it was probably her idea to send her fucking son after MY MOTHER in the first place.”

“I did no such thing,” Envy argued. “I was not responsible for what happened to your mother.”

“Starry,” Rocky said. “Put down the knife. Please.”

“No. I saw her eyes when Coconut saved me from the ghoul. She's responsible for letting Coconut soak up that much radiation in the first place,” I said, gesturing with the knife to make my point. “Now she wants me to kill my best friend without even trying to fix her!”

“No... I just want you to be ready to do what is necessary if she becomes a feral ghoul,” Envy said. “That is the reality of the situation.”

“Shut up,” I said, pointing the knife at her. “Shut up! I don't want to hear it! We're going to save Coconut, and that's it!”

“S-S-Stop...” Coconut said from below Envy. She coughed loudly and her voice sounded cracked. “Please... don't fight...”

My eyes widened and I dropped the knife to the ground. Immediately I felt like some weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt... weird. “Coconut? Are you alright?” I said as I rushed to her side.

She sighed loudly and coughed again. She met my eyes and nodded. “Feels... feels like my insides are cooked up and ready to be served on a silver platter.”

“Don't worry, Lightning went to go get help,” I said. “He's going to come back and you're going to be just fine.”

Coconut coughed, a trickle of blood coming out of the side of her mouth. “Starry, you need to do me a favor... Please...”

“What is it?” I asked frantically. “What do you want me to do?”

“If it does come to that, you must do the right thing,” she said, wheezing loudly. “If I turn... turn into a raving ghoul... I want you to do it.”

I blinked. I shook my head fiercely. “No, I can't. I can't do that. I won't let it come to that.”

“And if it does?” Envy said. “What do you expect will happen then? She will try to kill us.”

“I'm not going to let that happen!” I yelled. Tears filled my eyes. “I... I can't do that to you!”

“You have to...” Coconut said, coughing again loudly. “Starry please... listen to them... you can't be fighting over me... I'm a goner anyways... I need it to be you... I want it to be you...”

“No, no you're not!” I shouted, returning my attention to her. “You're going to be alright! Just stay with us until Lightning gets back. He's coming back with medicine to fix you!”

Coconut heaved loudly. “I think it's too late... for that.” She turned to the side and her eyes closed again. She stopped moving.

“Coconut.... Coconut? Come on, Coco... don't do this to me! You're my friend! Please, stay with me!” I blubbered. Tears flowed freely from my eyes. “Lightning's coming back! Come on, don't you die on me!”

A claw placed itself on my shoulder. “Starry,” Rocky said. “She's...”

“Leave me alone! She's going to be fine! She has to be!” I yelled. I shrugged his claw away and returned my attention to Coconut. I listened carefully, hearing the barest amount of breath coming from her. “She's still breathing, she's still breathing! Just barely, but she's still there!”

I had to do something to help her, but what could I do? I was not a medical pony by any definition of the term. I couldn't perform any kind of field work even if I had any idea of what I was supposed to do. Mom had never really prepared for something like this, probably because all the radiation was gone. And now, here I was faced with it, and I couldn't do anything to help. I felt useless.

“Hey kid, listen up,” a voice said through the static of my earbloom from my PipBuck. “You wanna save your friend, you listen to me.”

My ears perked up. The voice was jarring enough to pull my attention away from Coconut. “Who... who are you?” I said aloud.

“Who are you talking to?” Rocky said, his eyes narrowing at me.

“Never mind that kid. Listen, you want to save your friend, right?” the voice said. “I can help. Just pay attention to what I'm going to tell you.”

I looked up at both Envy and Rocky. “Somepony is talking on my earbloom. Says he can help us.”

“That's right. Your brother was in luck, finding my crew. He's on his way back with some RadAway, but it will be some time before he gets there. In the meantime, I tuned into your frequency. Your friend, she's having trouble breathing, right?” the voice replied.

I blinked. “How did...?” How did he know that Coconut wasn't breathing right?

“I've been listening for a little bit,” the voice said. “Now listen. You gotta do exactly what I say, when I say it. Got it?”

“I... I got it,” I said aloud.

“Good. Now, do you have a knife on hand? Something other than the wavy looking thing laying on the ground across from you,” the voice said.

I glanced over at the knife on the ground. Could this pony see us somehow? It didn't make any sense! “Umm...”

“Look, ask the zebra for one of hers. Straight knife. See if you can rustle up a straw too. You still have bandages, right?” the voice said.

I grimaced and glanced up at Envy. “He says I need one of your straight knives, a straw, and some bandages.”

“There was some cups in the other room with some straws in them,” Rocky said, turning quickly and heading in that direction.

Envy lifted one of her knives out of her cloak and lifted it out for me to take with my magic. “This mystery pony is slightly unnerving.”

“I agree, but he says he can help us save Coconut. I'm willing to take the chance,” I said as I took the knife. I returned my attention to the voice. “Got a knife and the bandages. Waiting on the straw.”

Rocky chose that moment to pop back into the room. A couple paper straws of varying lengths and colors rested in his claws. “I didn't know how long of one you needed so I just grabbed as many of them as I could find.”

“Good, good,” the voice said in my ear. “Grab the blue straw, the one with the bend on it. Now, you're gonna need some help with this next part. Your minotaur friend is going to need to hold her down, and the zebra needs to be ready to apply pressure.”

“What? What are we going to do?” I asked aloud.

“Listen, your friend isn't breathing because there's a blockage. So we need to create a way for air to enter another way,” the voice replied. “Basically we're going to punch a hole for air to come in on.”

I blinked. “Umm... he says that Rocky needs to come help hold her down. Envy, you need to come with the bandages and be ready to apply pressure...” I didn't know if this was the right thing to do or not, but I didn't have any time to doubt or second guess. Coconut's life was in peril, and if this could give her some time until Lightning got back, I was going to try it. My mind couldn't shake the nagging feeling as to how the voice knew all these things. It didn't make any sense.

Rocky nodded and made his way over to rest his powerful claws on Coconut's body. Envy dropped to the ground next to me.

“I am not sure I trust this voice,” she muttered.

I ignored her jab, coming from the zebra that’d been all ready to kill Coconut on the mere chance that she might turn into some sort of crazed feral ghoul. Instead, I focused on Coconut.

“Alright... now you've gotta feel around her neck. You should feel something hard. Do you feel it?” the voice continued.

I did as the voice said, feeling a hard lump along Coconut's neck line, close to her throat. “Yeah. I feel it. What is that?”

“Radiation does all sorts of weird things to a pony, but one thing that's pretty common is mutations of preexisting conditions,” the voice said. “Your friend probably had some sort of issue like tonsillitis as a filly, right?”

I blinked. I did vaguely remember that Coconut had something done when she was younger. I remembered it because she had to be stuck inside Theater for at least a few weeks in bed.

“Yeah, thought so. That lump is a hard piece of flesh that's solidified in her throat. It's preventing her from getting air,” the voice said. “I want you to poke a hole below that lump and make what amounts to an air hole.”

My eyes widened. “Umm... and then what?”

“You're gonna take the straw and insert it into the hole. Use whatever you can to soak up the blood and bandage it all down. Once that's done and she's breathing we can work on excising that lump out of her throat,” the voice said.

“I... I can't do this... I'm not a medical pony!” I shouted a little too loudly.

“You have to,” the voice said. “Listen, kid. You can do this. Just do what I'm telling you. Your friend is going to be just fine. I have faith in you.”

I grimaced and nodded. I wiped the sweat from my brow. Whoever he was, he was right. I needed to be strong for Coconut. I had promised her I wasn't going to let her die, and I wasn't about to give up on that promise. I looked over at Envy. “Get ready to apply pressure. I'm making the cut now,” I said.

The zebra only nodded silently as I lifted the straight blade in my magic. I gulped loudly. Alright... here goes... one... two... three! I thought as I brought the knife down hard, punching a clean hole through Coconut's neck. Blood spurted up as I pulled the knife out. Shit... there's so much blood... where's the hole, where's the hole?! I thought with a panic. Coconut spasmed, requiring Rocky to hold her even tighter down.

“Pressure!” I shouted. “I need to find the hole!”

Envy responded by pressing down hard where I'd brought down the knife. She cleaned up quickly, revealing the clean little hole that I'd made.

I lifted the straw and inserted it as best as I could into the hole before anymore blood could seep out. “How will I know that it's working? I'm inserting the straw now.”

“Insert the straw as far as it will go. Bandage it down. Her breathing should start to self-regulate,” the voice said. “You're doing well, Starry. You just need to focus.”

I grimaced. This pony even knew my name. I considered briefly that maybe Lightning had told him, but I knew my brother. He'd have been in panic mode just asking for RadAway so his friends could use it. So then, how did this pony know who I was?

I shrugged the thoughts away, and began wrapping the gauze and bandages around the wound, leaving the straw pointed out so that the air could get into it. My eyes dropped to Coconut's barrel. Instead of the subtle movements it had done before, it started actually moving up and down like a normal pony's would when breathing. Coconut's eyes weakly opened and they met mine. She tried to smile.

“Alright, I think her breathing is fine now. What's next?” I said to the voice.

“We need to cut that lump of flesh out of her throat,” the voice replied casually. “I warn you, this is not going to be pretty. We're gonna try and get you through this without too much damage to her wind pipe, but there's always the chance that she might not be able to talk for a while.”

“How am I supposed to do this?” I said, wiping the blood from the knife with a nearby bandage.

“You're going to make an incision along the lump of flesh and essentially carve it out. It's likely going to look like blackened char of some sort. Irradiated flesh is never good looking,” the voice said.

I gulped loudly and brought the knife down to Coconut's throat where the hard lump was. As soon as I touched the knife to her coat, I felt the lump squirm underneath. I blinked.

“Umm... it just moved,” I said aloud.

Envy's eyes narrowed as she followed where I held the knife. The lump on Coconut's throat was definitely moving. She did not look happy about that at all.

“Shit, I forgot about this part,” I heard the voice on the other end mutter under is breath. He didn't sound happy. “Just need to deal with this... Alright, stay calm. Make the incision and get ready to kill it. It's not going to be happy with you intruding on its host.”

My eyes widened. “Host? What the fuck does that mean?” I asked.

“Do you want to save your friend's life or not?” the voice replied. “Just trust me. You have to get that thing out of there, or your friend is not going to make it through this alive.”

I grimaced and brought the knife to bear again on the lump. I still wasn't sure if I really trusted this pony or not, but he had a point. Coconut's life was in danger, and I needed to do something about it. I lowered the knife into the squirming mass and made a quick decisive slice. Coconut's flesh gave way to whatever was inside.

Some thing poured out of the incision. It was bloody and covered in some sort of green slime. It looked almost exactly like one of those things that I'd seen carved into the obelisk down in those Goddess-forsaken tunnels. It had tentacles where there shouldn't be any and what looked like no eyes at all. A mouth containing a row of razor sharp teeth emerged from its mass. It howled and screeched as it detached itself from Coconut's body.

“What in the Sorrel Hells is that?” Envy said, echoing the sentiment of both myself and Rocky.

“Kill it!” I shouted, reaching out with my magic to hold Coconut's torn throat together as best as I could.

The thing lunged forward at me, its teeth glistening in the dark. I couldn't stop it, I was too busy focusing on Coconut. It landed on my shoulder and bit in. I screamed as its teeth dug in. Pain shot through my sides. I could barely keep the magic I was pouring out going.

“Starry? What's going on? Are you alright?” the voice said in my ear.

A claw shot out and grabbed a hold of the creature. Rocky roared as he tossed it across the room. It hit the wall with a resounding *SPLAT*.

“Deal with Coconut, I will take care of this,” he said, snarling.

I grimaced and returned my attention to Coconut. My shoulder still burned heavily with pain, making it hard to focus on the incision. Blood poured from it en masse. Coconut began to spasm more, adding to the difficulty of keeping her still.

“Starry! Are you alright?” the voice in my ear shouted.

“I'm fine, I'm fine. What do I do? She's bleeding everywhere!” I replied. I could hear Rocky in the background growling as whatever that thing was made its own awful sound.

“Don't panic. We just need to sew up the incision before she bleeds out. Is her throat clear, can you see?” the voice said.

I lowered my hoof and began to feel around Coconut's neck. It was slick with blood, but I could no longer feel any blockage. “Yeah... it's clear.”

“Alright. You're going to need to hold the incision together, and I want you to cauterize it with your magic,” the voice said.

“You want me to do what?!” I exclaimed. “I can't do that! I've never cast that kind of spell before!”

Rocky roared loudly. The thing that had been inside Coconut continued to make the same sound. Whatever the thing was, it was resilient. I heard the minotaur throw the creature against the wall again. It cried out horrifically.

“Trust me on this. You can do it. It's just like telekinesis. Wrap the incision in your magic, and then concentrate on speeding up the flow of magic. In your mind, envision flame,” the voice said.

I looked down at Coconut, her eyes fluttering open and close as she spasmed underneath us. I lowered my horn and directed my telekinesis to the incision on her neck. Holding the two flaps of skin together, I tried to do what the voice in my ear was telling me. Come on... speed up the flow... flame, come on flame! I thought to myself. The glow of the magic began to gradually get brighter and eventually became white hot. I... I did it! I thought, my eyes widening.

Coconut howled in pain as the fire melted her flesh together. I held the fire there for several seconds before letting the magic die out. The incision was charred, but her skin was intact. Coconut stopped spasming and simply laid there, breathing heavily. Her eyes fluttered up and met mine. A weak smile formed on her mouth. I grunted and began panting hard myself. Using that much magic was certainly going to hit me in the morning.

“You're gonna be alright,” I said softly. “Lightning should be here soon.”

“Good job kid. I knew you could do it,” the voice said in my ear. “Now, I think you should probably help your minotaur friend with your unexpected visitor.”

“Right. Envy, watch over Coconut. I'm going to help Rocky,” I said shakily.

“Is that wise in your state?” Envy said.

I stood, choosing not to answer her. Rocky was still fighting that thing, whatever it was. It had managed to latch itself onto his arm, but due to his cybernetics was unable to actually hurt him. I stepped forward, reaching out with my telekinesis. My shoulder ached as I grabbed a hold of the monstrous creature with my magic and tossed it across the room. I held the beast there and began to do the same thing I'd done to Coconut's incision, speeding the magic up.

The monster began to glow brightly as the flame took hold. Its cries were the most horrific thing I'd ever heard. It crumpled on the floor, its viscous body popping and crackling under the fire's heat. Eventually it stopped moving.

“Thank you,” Rocky said. “Where did you learn that?”

“I... I don't...” I said as my eyes rolled back up into my head and I fell over, passing out from the pain and exhaustion.

I came awake to a swinging sensation and a headache that could make even a brahmintaur cry. I was moving. Or rather, I was being moved. I was on a stretcher of some sort. I craned my neck to see who was moving me. A unicorn pony I didn’t recognize wearing a delightfully familiar MMMM uniform paced along next to the stretcher, moving it along with his magic.

“Whoa, easy now there, little miss,” the unicorn said. “Don't try and move too much. You've been through quite a bit.”

“Where...?” I managed to croak out.

“You're headed on your way back home, Miss Night,” the unicorn said. “Just lay back and relax. You'll feel a lot better if you do.”

I grunted in retort, but grudgingly accepted that he was right. I'd passed out after dealing with Coconut. Coconut! I thought to myself. “My... my friends...?”

“They're alright. Miss Cream Pie is recovering right alongside you,” the unicorn said. “What you did, that was something alright.”

I rotated my head in the other direction and saw Coconut. She was on the stretcher next to me, asleep. Walking next to her was Lightning. His eyes drifted and met mine. Within seconds he had moved and was hovering over me.

“Hey,” he said. “You're awake.”

“Hi...you're... late... butthead,” I managed to say with a weak smile.

Lightning let out a small grin. “You're lucky I got back when I did. What in the fuck was that thing that you killed?”

“Don't... don't know...” I said. The more I spoke, the easier it became to produce the words. “It... it was inside her.” I motioned at Coconut.

“That's what Envy said,” my brother replied. He grimaced and glanced back at Coconut. “Initial reports are that she's going to be alright, just minor vocal cord damage. Not really sure what that means yet. She might have a stutter, or she might just talk softly. Radiation levels have come down a lot. She's been asleep and on Med-X since you fixed her up. You did a good job, Sis.”

“What... what about the pony who supplied the... the RadAway?” I asked. “The one... on the radio...”

Lightning blinked. “Pony on the radio? What do you mean?”

“He said you found his... his crew...” I said. “Said he gave you RadAway.” I craned my neck so I could see my brother's face.

The look on it said it all. “I have no idea what you're talking about. I found a MMMM detachment that brought some medics with them.”

I scowled as best as I could. If Lightning hadn't actually met the pony that had helped me, then who was he? Why did he lie? How in the hell did he know so much about us? It hurt my brain thinking about it.

“Never mind,” I said. “How... how far away are we from home?”

“Close enough,” Lightning said. “Should be there in a half hour or so. You should rest. Rocky and Envy are guarding the caravan back.”

My gaze narrowed at my brother. “Watch her. She...”

“I know,” Lightning said, nodding.

I laid my head back and I rested. The subtle bob of the stretcher lulled me peacefully back into a form of sleep that I hadn't really had in the last couple days. True to my brother's word, I opened my eyes and saw home some time later. Standing out front of the entrance to Theater were Apple Danish, one of the heads of the MMMM and Lilith. I watched as they met the caravan.

“Lilith,” Envy said simply.

“Envy,” Lilith replied. “I hear that you ran into some trouble.”

“Trouble does not begin to define what these young ones have been through,” Envy said.

Lilith grimaced and nodded. She trotted over to my brother and I. She glanced down at Coconut, who still appeared to be asleep and sighed. “You three are very lucky to be alive. If we hadn't been tracking your PipBuck tags, it may have been too late.”

“Mom...?” I asked.

“Your mother is inside, resting. She too, has been through quite a lot. Let us hope this mission was not in vain,” the pegasus answered. Her eyes turned to the medics. “Take the unicorn to her mother's room to recuperate. Miss Cream Pie will be taken across the hall and is to be watched carefully while she recovers.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” the lead medic said. “Alright everypony, let's move out!”

The stretchers began to move again, toting us back into the relative safety of our home. Ponies popped their heads out as we passed by, watching with curious intent. Lilith stayed with us, her duties as security chief requiring her to escort Rocky and Envy as well. While she walked, we told her about everything that had happened since we had left.

The infirmary came up sooner than I had thought, and even sooner I was being brought into the room where Mom was and laid upon a bed next to hers. She appeared to be sleeping soundly. I could see Coconut across the hall being moved to her own bed. The others stayed behind in our room as the medics cleared out.

“I believe that I will remain guard outside,” Rocky said. “It may be a little too crowded in here.” He turned without any further words and left, just leaving Lightning, Envy, and Lilith.

Movement in the bed next to me drew my attention to Mom. She had stirred and was sitting up in bed. Her one good eye found Lightning and I and she sniffed loudly. A single tear stained her cheek.

“Starry? Lightning? You're... you're alright,” she said. “I thought...”

“We're okay, Mom,” Lightning answered for me. “A little worse for wear, but we're alive.”

“When they said you'd gone missing I... I didn't know what to do,” Mom said. “That being said, I can see that you were successful in the mission you were given.”

I chuckled throatily. Same old Mom, saving the sentimentality for last. I grunted as I pushed myself to a sitting position. “Yeah... we found Envy, just like you asked us.”

“These young ones had found themselves in a veritable pickle, Miss Patch,” Envy said. “They asked me to come here to see what I could do to help for your condition. We ran into some... complications along the way.”

I glared at her. After what had happened with Coconut, I still didn't trust her. She couldn't see how important friends and family were. If she had been able to, maybe Xerves would not have turned out so bad. Still, she was a necessary evil if she could help my mother live.

“The poison used by the assailant was very similar to poison you've used in the past,” Lilith said.

“Yes... as I explained to your children, the assailant was a zebra by the name of Xerves,” Envy said. “He is my son.”

Lilith's eyes widened. “Your what?! You mean to tell me that it was your son who attempted to kill Patch?”

“Calm down, Lilith,” Mom said. She appeared unfazed by this revelation. “Let her explain herself.”

“I am sorry for what has transpired, but my son was acting of his own accord. A contract was brought to us seeking your death, from the Cult of Iron Will. I refused the contract. Xerves sought the money, and thus accepted it without my knowledge or consent,” Envy explained.

“I see,” Mom said with a pause. She narrowed her gaze at Envy before looking to me. She sighed. “Well, at least you were able to keep my children safe. I do not blame you for the actions of your son. At the very least, I hope that you can help here.”

“I will do what I can, within my capabilities,” Envy replied.

“Good. I think that Starry here could do with some company of her own age while she recovers,” Mom said, motioning to me. “She can room with Miss Cream Pie across the hall.”

“But...” I started to say.

Mom glanced at me, shutting me up instantly. “I know that these past couple days have been hard on you, but you need to rest. Coconut needs you more than I do right now. Envy has to have time to review my condition, and there would be too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.” She waved at my brother.

I nodded solemnly as Lightning came over and helped wheel my bed out of the room, passing by a confused looking Rocky. Envy stayed behind with Lilith. They closed the door behind us as we exited. Mom was right, after all. I was worried about how Coconut was going to recover and being there for her was the best thing I could do at the moment.

“Are you planning on staying?” I asked Lightning as he wheeled the bed next to Coconut's.

“Of course,” he said, glancing over at her.

“She's going to be alright,” I said confidently. “She's strong.” I glanced down at my hooves. “Stronger than I am,” I muttered under my breath.

“I... I know,” Lightning said. “I just hope she gets better soon.”

I nodded and sighed loudly. “Well, if anything, all this rest is going to be great to heal up. My shoulder still aches like hell from where that thing bit me.”

“Does it actually hurt?” Lightning said.

“No... just a dull ache. Probably the Med-X wearing off. I'm sure it's nothing,” I said. “Did you bring my saddlebags in with us, by the way?”

“What, you want to look at the Wingboners?” Lightning said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Eww. No. You can have them. Better yet, give them to Rocky. He had a huge blush on his face when I found them,” I said, grinning widely. “No... the memory orb. Gives me something to do for a little while, and it technically counts as resting.”

Lightning nodded, pulling my bags out from underneath the bed. I grabbed the velvet box from inside and pulled it open. The memory orb glittered in the light.

“Are these things safe?” Lightning asked. “I mean, didn't Auntie Star use to have a lot of problems with them or something? She used to go on about them all the time.”

“I don't think there's anything to be worried about. It's not like I'm in the middle of a war zone and trying to use one,” I said. “Besides, you're here, and you need to get some rest yourself. All that flying had to have tired you out.”

“I suppose you're right,” he said. “Alright, well. Enjoy then. I'm going to go lay down myself for a bit.”

I nodded as he made his way over to the couch in the room. I turned my attention to the memory orb. Well... might as well, I thought as I reached out with my magic and grabbed the orb. The world fell away to blackness as I drifted into the world of the past.

Author's Notes:

Another chapter down, and this one was a fun one. We had some good times with this one, and although I'm super slow in writing it, it was still a lot of fun to write.

I did say that we'd find out in this chapter about the radiation, but not yet. Holding that off for a bit. It just didn’t feel like the right time yet.

Who is this mystery pony who seems so interested in Starry and our crew? Time will tell.

Big thanks to Wirepony, Heartshine, and McMesser for helping on pre-reading, edits, and everything in between. You guys rock!

Also a super big thanks to Striker1959, a brand new patron of mine on my Patreon! You’re awesome!