Lainey Park sniffed at her dinner, taking in all the grassy smells. There wasn’t much of a smell, not compared to the fresh fruit and vegetables Olive had often prepared for them. As she walked, she was conscious of the canine form of Huan beside her, close enough to reach but never actually close enough to touch.

There were now two full tables instead of just one, though theirs was largely empty. As she usually did, Lainey sat down beside Wanderlust. There was no Lonely Day today, no Whiplash and no Mystic Rune. Not even the disgusting insect. Just her, and Wanderlust.

Rather than keep to their old cliques, several of the newcomers had joined them at their usual table, with plates of their own. Lainey didn’t mind that, since the pair that had taken seats closest to her and Wanderlust were easily her favorites out of all the newcomers.

“How was the reading today?”

“Books,” Kirk said, as though he considered it a perfect answer. The pegasus was several years older than his brother, with dark feathers and a tight bundle of sticks for a cutie mark, the head of an axe or something emerging from the side.

His brother Dean had similar coloration, though it was brown and green instead of brown and blue, though he was a unicorn and too young for a cutie mark of his own. “You’re just mad you can’t learn flying from books as easy as I learn magic.”

“Yep.” He reached over, mussing his brother’s unruly mane with one hoof.

“Yuck, Kirk! You got hay in my hair!”

“I know!” He beamed, though he didn’t meet Lainey’s eyes for very long. “Sorry. Was that what you wanted to know?”

“Yeah.” She nudged Wanderlust with one shoulder. “A few more weeks, and we can all learn to fly together. Isn’t it great you let Olive treat that wing?”

Wanderlust grumbled in response, though he didn’t actually say no. He couldn’t, not without being dishonest, and they both knew it. Even if he showed clear discomfort whenever he was forced to be around Olive for extended periods… he was healthier than ever.

“It’s amazing you figured out how to fly on your own, Sky!” Kirk gestured with one of his wings. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she wasn’t sure he knew either. “I tried a few times too, and I never got off the ground. The book said we could expect to take weeks building the strength to actually do it. What kept you going that long? Did you ever think that maybe you just couldn’t fly?”

She shook her head. “Not for a second.” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she wanted them back.

Predictably, the pegasus raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”

She could try to lie, but there really wasn’t any reason. Sky wouldn’t hesitate to lie if she thought it would get her out of something uncomfortable. It wasn’t as though it mattered if she kept Sunset’s secret, did it? The unicorn was gone now, her search completed in Lonely Day. “Because I met one of the Equestrians. Before… Before I met anyone else.”

Maybe it was bad timing. Maybe it was that she had never said anything about it to the newcomers before. Regardless, it felt like the entire meal suddenly fell silent, and every eye fell on her. Even at the other table, where the gigantic Abrams had been talking animatedly with his gryphon second-in-command. All stared.

Well, except for her friends. Wanderlust looked confused, watching the others more than he saw her. Maybe, like her, he was trying to tell what was such a big deal to all these ponies.

“You… actually met a pony from Equestria?” There was an almost reverent tone to his voice, more than she expected. He had only had a few days to read their books!

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed to talk about it before. She said there were bad ponies who might want to stop her. But since she’s already gone… She found me on the street, failing to be a pony. Told me how it was supposed to be like. Said that with wings like mine, I’d make a great flier one day.” Lainey sniffed, fighting back tears. It had been the first kind thing anyone had said to her in her entire life.

Kindness had been the trend with Sunset Shimmer. Even though she had her own mission, she had taken the time for friendship. Lainey had known in that moment that was exactly what she wanted to be. If that meant sacrificing some of what she had been before, that was no terrible loss.

Humans had never shown Lainey kindness. Ponies had. “She’s the one who gave me my name. ‘Cloudy Skies.’” In that moment, Lainey Park had died. But she didn’t tell them that. Some dead were best unmourned. There were a dozen eyes on her. Her voice quavered, but she managed to keep from whimpering this time. She wasn’t sure if they would judge her, and she didn’t want to give them anything to judge with if she could avoid it. “Showed me what magic was like, too. So I always knew we could fly. She never would’ve lied to me. That’s not what friends do.”

Silence. This was more than she had told to anypony, even to her friends. It seemed as good a time to speak as any. “Her name was Sunset Shimmer.” Somewhere, from within the crowd, something made of glass hit the ground and shattered. Sky didn’t see where it was, so she didn’t stop or offer to clean it up. “She was a pretty important pony, I guess. She only stayed with me for a night-” but it had been the best night of Sky’s life. Kindness was wonderful.

When she had left, Sky had despaired of ever finding someone who would treat her like an equal again. Yet after less than a week, she had met Day; who was strong and kind. She had been a pony too.

“Did she say what she was doing?” Another voice spoke from behind her, one she hadn’t noticed until that moment. It was Carol, the pegasus with bat-wings instead of the birdlike ones they normally had. Thestral, batpony, something like that? Sky didn’t remember.

Again, she wasn’t sure if she should answer. Yet she had never seen an expression so curious, so desperate for information. She just had to say something! “Looking for a pony. A leader. I wasn’t one though, so she left. Went north to Oregon. I never saw her again after that.”

The silence ended then, for which she was grateful. There were other questions, and she answered. She ate the rest of her bland dinner, pretending to enjoy it with all her might. She almost did, too.

Wanderlust walked her home again that night. It wasn’t as though there was much reason for it; she didn’t suspect anything would happen to her with such a low population (nor was she worried she couldn’t get away, as the only pony in her world who could fly so far as she knew). Yet the pretext of living right next to her and Day was generally enough for him, and she appreciated it.

Dating Wanderlust wasn’t like her long-distance admiration for Mystic Rune. Wanderlust made no show of ignorance; actually he seemed to understand mares a great deal. He was kind, attentive, and polite. He remembered what she liked to do (build terrariums) and her favorite color (green), and the foods she hated (daisy was disgusting no matter how many different ways Olive cooked it or prepared it raw). He wanted to spend time with her, even if all she had to do was milk the cows and make bread.

They talked about everything, and she listened. Wanderlust spoke of the news he had learned from the other settlements, of the ways other ponies had found to survive the Event. He listened to her recounting the drama in the field today when Patty had insulted Betsy’s selection of grazing spots.

He had his limits, and Sky knew them. Linger too long on one subject, and he’d begin to drift, automatically repeating acknowledgements without actually hearing her. Sometimes he would ask questions he knew she didn’t like the answers to, just to see if asking them different ways might prompt her to be a little more forthcoming. It didn’t, not when he asked about her life before. Lainey Park was dead and buried. In time, Sky would ensure she was forgotten as well as dead.

Yet he didn’t ask about anything like that today. “Did you see the message from our fearless leader?”

She slowed, shaking her head. “I wanted to, but I got distracted helping with dinner.” She suddenly moved closer, close enough to touch. She wouldn’t, though. Never that. “They’re okay, aren’t they? I had heard Whiplash was really nervous about flying.”

He nodded. “They’re fine, yeah. Alex got pretty screwed up. Banged up her head pretty good, but apparently she’s fine. Not even a crack in her skull.”

Sky shivered, fighting back the rush of fear at the mere mention of her friend in such pain and danger. “She’s not hurt? Are they flying back now? There wasn’t a storm, was there? We really have to get better about weather magic, so we’ll be able to stop those one day!”

Wanderlust stopped, resting one hoof softly on her shoulder. “No, Sky. We couldn’t have. That thing moves faster than the speed of sound. I don’t think we could’ve flown with it even if I could fly.” He lowered his voice. “Let’s talk about it when we get inside.” He glanced once around them, then quickened his step, nudging her to follow.

She did, growing increasingly confused. He put on an ordinary face for the rest of the walk, though he didn’t talk about anything meaningful until they were at the RV she shared with Day. Normally he would leave her at the door, but it was easy to see from his expression he expected to come inside this time and it had nothing to do with their painfully slow romance.

Once the door was shut, Wanderlust locked every door, drew every blind, and took Day’s P90 out from where she kept it hidden under the bed. “What… What are you doing, Wanderlust?”

“Checking, and making sure.” He checked the whole RV, top to bottom. “Wouldn’t want anyone to be here and us not realize it.”

“Why not?”

Wanderlust didn’t answer until he had finished. She sat down by the table, wrapping a blanket about herself and feeling more nervous by the second. Wanderlust was many things, but she had never known him to overreact.

“They found something terrible in Philly.” He sat down beside her, making eye contact and speaking very slowly. “Ponies died. They don’t know how many yet, but it’s at least as many as lived here before the new ones arrived.” He glared out the window.

“What happened?” She dreaded the answer, yet curiosity compelled her to ask.

“There was a fire. Big one. They don’t know if it was intentional, or some kind of accident. Alex said the route the immigrants took passed pretty close to Philly. Some or all of them might be from there. Or…” He took a deep breath. “They might’ve been the ones who caused it. Some kind of hostile invaders. They might plan on doing it again here.”

Suddenly, she understood the gun. “W-What… What are we supposed to do?” She shivered, leaning against him without realizing it. “Alex is gone, Whiplash is gone… it’s just you and me! We can’t fight that many ponies!”

“And Riley.” He steadied her, letting her finish before he answered. “We need more information. It seems like the newcomers came in different groups. Alex wants us to learn everything we can about them. I’ve got an idea…” He glanced briefly at the door. “Is it okay if I get Riley?"

Sky’s fear only grew when Wanderlust suggested bringing a changeling into the discussion. Yet what grounds did she have to argue? A little kid frightened her, so what? Day was adamant they needed to accept the insect, strange voice and weird eyes and fangs and all. “Okay. Fine. Get her.” She shivered. “I don’t like it. But if you promise she’ll behave…”

“Yeah. She’ll behave.” He rose, pushing the gun closer to her. Neither of them would’ve stood much chance of firing it, even with Lonely Day’s modifications. “Just one sec, I’ll sneak her in.” He vanished out the door in a rush. She waited by it, watching him through the peephole.

The immigrants couldn’t really have anything to do with what happened in Philadelphia, could they?

Author's Notes:

For those confused by the use of names from this narrative perspective...

Cloudy Skies = Lainey Park
Wanderlust = Adrian
Mystic Rune = Joseph
Whiplash = Moriah
Olive Garden = Oliver
Lonely Day = Alex

Obviously you probably knew some or all of those, but... in case you were confused! I know switching narrative styles can be a little jarring.