“Ash? Ash, can I come in!” I shouted as I frantically knocked on the door, looking over my shoulder, hoping to not see her trotting down the hallway. “Ash!”

“Come on in Zeed, door’s open!” She called out.

I opened the door and shot in, slamming it shut behind me and locking it. I slumped to the floor against it, panting heavily.

Ashes was running on a treadmill, giving me a ‘what the hell is the matter with you’ look. I saw Diam- I mean Knives sitting on Ashes’ couch, reading a book poorly concealed with black cloth, giving me a similar, though more bemused, look.

“Hey, Zeed. What’s wrong?” Asked the grey earth pony on the treadmill. I was surprised that she wasn’t even winded. “You look spooked.”

Trying to catch my breath, I managed an answer. “Trying… to escape... from mom… wants me to get... a piercing… no way in hell…”

Ashes blinked and wrinkled her nose in thought. “So… You’re running away from your mother because she’s trying to give you a piercing? What’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t want my damn lip pierced!”

“Why not? I’ve got a tongue piercing.” She said simply.

“Firstly, ew. Secondly, I don’t want a piercing. Apparently she’s been trying to find the equipment since I got my glyphmark.” I replied, pointing to the vaguely syringe-shaped mark on my flank. I then pointed to Ashes and the treadmill she was running on. “Why are you on that thing anyway?”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked forward, giving the wall in front of her a death glare.

“I had to see the doc today.” She growled. “Guess what I found out.”

My eyes widened. “Oh Luna… are you okay?

Knives snickered, causing Ashes to shoot her an angry look.

“Oh, I’m fine.” She smiled sarcastically. “I just found out that I’m about fifty pounds underweight.”

As I gaped at her, Knives snickered again. Ashes gave her another look. “Shut up, Knives. It isn’t funny.”

“How the hell did that happen?” I asked, taking a quick glance at her flank… and her cutie mark, an electric guitar. “You look fine to me.”

I could have sworn that I saw the mare blush. “Uh… Zeed? You can count my ribs. That’s why I went to see the doc in the first place.”

She sighed, and hopped off the treadmill. “Now I have to gain fifty freaking pounds or the higher-ups are going to stick me in the barracks. Blech.”

She threw her head back and shouted in a dramatic manner. “Damn you parents, for this ridiculously fast metabolism! Damn you!”

“Where did ye even get a treadmill, anyway?” Knives chortled.

“I stole it from the gym.” The earth pony said simply.

I blinked at her. “We have a gym?”

She frowned at me. “Of course we have a gym. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Okay then...” A silent awkwardness permeated the room, I looked around the messy room, and my eyes fell on Knives. She was still intently reading her book.

“Knives!” I shouted, making the striped unicorn jump as she quickly closed her novel. “How are you doing? Feeling better?”

The mare deadpanned at me. “Dammit, Zeed. Ah finally managed tae get… that off mah mind, and ye had tae go and remind me of it. Thanks.”

I winced. “Sorry…”

Knives sighed and returned to her reading. “Whatever th’ case, Aam fine. Had ah nightmare last night, but it wasnae that bad. Mom’s been helpin’ me through it, so…”

“Oh…” I bit my lip nervously. “That’s… good… well… We’re here for you… if you need anything.”

She didn’t look up from the book, but she did smile. “Thanks. Still can’t believe Lockpick acshully tried tae kill me, though…”

~~~~~

“Why the hell do these buildings seem to pop up at random?” I asked.

One day into our journey, we found ourselves in yet another ruined city, separated from Bladesville by a short distance and a downward slope. This confused me somewhat, as I was under the impression that Canturbury was itself, a city. I figured that it must either be made up of smaller towns, or some sort of province or state. Unless those were the same thing. I never really understood politics and things like that. For all I knew it might not have even been part of Equestria. Although, I guess it could just be really, really big.

“Because,” Raid said. “The ponies of pre-war Canturbury had absolutely no common sense when it came to urban planning.”

“Th’ hell does that mean?” Knives scoffed.

“Let me give you an example.” The ultramarine stallion began. “There are multiple medical research facilities here, all roughly the same size. There are three of the same kind right next to each other over by the mall, about seven near Loss, and Goddesses know how many others scattered around the rest of Canturbury.”

“… Ah see yer point.”

I glanced around. Most of the buildings were damaged to the point where there would be no entering them without a decent amount of explosives, digging, or patience. Most of the doors, windows, and other assorted entryways were blocked by large piles of rubble and the occasional auto-cart that had been knocked over. Strangely, all the junk seemed to be pressed up against where the massive sidewalk ended. The curbs also seemed oddly thick.

“Luna’s moon, it’s quiet…” I murmured.

“I can turn on the radio if you want.” The blue buck shook the pipbuck on his leg.

“Meh, why not.”

He stopped walking for a moment to fiddle with the device. Within about ten seconds, I regretted saying anything at all, as the air became filled with the most horrific screeching noise I’d ever heard in my entire life.

As soon as it had started, the noise was gone, leaving everypony but Stock covering their ears and clenching their teeth.

“Ow,” said Raid. “That doesn’t normally happen.”

“Goddesses… what, did you put a Canterlot transmitter in there?” Stock snarked. “You need new speakers, Blue.”

Knives pulled her hooves away from her ears. “Th’ fuck was that?”

“Hold on. I think I got it set right this time. I’m gonna turn it on again.” Raid cautiously put his hoof on the button. This time, a voice came out of the device. The mare’s voice was a bit raspy, yet she sounded like her happiness dial had been turned to eleven.

”…the sound of gorgons mating! If you’re wondering why we have that on record, don’t worry, ‘cuz I don’t know either! If you’re wondering why I played it… Well… I actually pushed the wrong button. Gimme a break, I’m new at this.”

“I think I’d rather have not found out what that was.” Raid shuddered.

”For those of you who have just tuned in, you’re listening to Pirate Radio! Your swashbuckling DJs in the middle of Canturbury. I… am your humble hostess… Jolly Rodgeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrr! You’re stripy-flanked captain of news and music.

“Anyway, now for some news from this science-tastic hellhole! The Brain Guild is paying big caps for anyone willing to take a dungeon dive into some old laboratory ruins up near the town of Open. I dunno what’s in there, but they’re offering like… a bajillion caps, I thi- HOLY SHIT! Folks, they’re offering about twenty thousand caps for going into what amounts to an old dungeon. If I didn’t have this gig, I’d get my juicy, striped flank right out there with a snorkel and dive right in! Just keep in mind… Some of these labs are far more dangerous than any Stables you might be wandering through, so be careful.

I made a mental note of that

“In other news... It seems that one of Canturbury’s resident heroes has gone missing… again… yes, folks the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well has disappeared yet again, after returning about two years ago from a twenty-ought-year absence. She was last seen entering the Common Medical Research facility. I think that’s the one where they had a bunch of basilisks or something.

“No? Oh, right. Common is the one with all that… body preservation crap… basically, think of a morgue for living ponies. Cryogenics, I think. Whatever. The point is, if anypony cares about our caped crusader, feel free to go after her. I’ve seen her a few times, and she has a pretty hot flank, so… Nudge nudge, wink wink, nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat. Heh. Let’s see... anything else…

“There’s seriously super-heroes running around?” Knives asked incredulously, as the apparently unorganized radio hostess loudly searched through what sounded like large stacks of papers, uttering a near-constant stream of profanities. “What kind ay nutjob does that?”

“The kind that wants to at least try and help.” Raid replied. “Considering that most of the ponies living here are the descendants of complete and total nerds… I’m not surprised that some of them took inspiration from comic books. Sometimes it’s a bit more intimidating when you have a reputation, but no name.”

Knives grunted in acknowledgement.

”Nope! That’s about it folks! This has been the news, brought to you by Canturbury’s hottest zebra pirate! Jolly Rodger!

“…yes I’m well aware that I’m the only zebra pirate around here. That just validates my point. Now let’s get it on with… Some muuuuuusiiiiiic!

“If I can find the damn bu- oh, here it is!”

Then there came the sound of a band playing a somewhat familiar song.

As soon as the lyrics started, Knives let out the most high-pitched fanfilly squeal of joy that I have ever heard come from the, normally androgynous, mare. Raid, Stock, and I all stared at her as she started singing along with the music.

You look like a princess (look like a princess)…

Walk like a princess (walk like a princess)…

Talk like a princess (talk like a princess)…

But I got wiiiiiise…

You’re a changeling in disguise! Oh yes you are,

Changeling in disguise! Oh-oh-oh-oh

Changeling in disguise!

I thought that I was in Heaven,

But it was no surprise,

Celestia help me I didn’t see,

The liar in your eyes.

Noticing that we were all gaping at her as if she’d sprouted a second horn, she blushed and grinned sheepishly. “Aheh… Ah like The Prez... So sue me…”

Stock snorted. “So do I, but ya don’t see me squealing at the top of my lungs.”

When she shot a glare at him, Stock and I snickered at her. “Hey, it’s not mah fault- Th’ hell?”

She looked up at the sky. “Where’d that come from?”

“Where did what come from?” I asked.

“Ah just got hit in th’ nose with water.” She swept a hoof around at the empty ruins. “Where in th’ hell did it come from?”

“It’s called rain, Knives. Water falling from the sky.” I rolled my eyes.

As if on cue, it began to rain heavily. I heaved a sigh. “Of course.”

“Oh, this is nice.” Said Stock as she slowly hovered along. “I haven’t seen rain this heavy in a few months.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It is pretty dry here isn’t it?”

Knives was glaring at the sky suspiciously. “This is just weirdin’ me out. It’s like th’ sky sprung a leak or somethin’.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. “Knives, how can you read all those romance novels and not know what rain is? It’s like a cliché in that kind of thing.”

She gaped at me. “How did you know about those?”

I deadpanned at her. “You didn’t exactly hide it very well.”

Stock sniggered. “Knives reads romance novels.”

The striped unicorn turned crimson. “Sh-shut up!”

“Hey, I hate to break this up but we need to find shelter, now!” Raid shouted.

Stock laughed. “I didn’t think ya would panic about rain, Blue.”

“Stock, do you remember what happens when it doesn’t rain for a long period of time?” he said slowly. “And then it starts raining heavily?”

She stared at him for a moment.

“Oh… Fuck… We gotta find cover.”

“That’s what I said, yes.” He began to look around in a frantic manner.

“Blue, what are you doing?” the ghoul shouted. “We need to get out of the city!”

“This area got flooded a lot before the war.” He replied. “The buildings are reinforced.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” I asked.

Raid pointed to the sidewalk. To my and Knives’ surprise, the massive concrete slabs were actually moving, sections slid apart to form a ten-foot wall. The glow of magic surrounded about half of them, apparently reinforcing them with what I assumed was a force field. A good number of what I thought were simply shapes etched into the curb rose up to the top edge of the slabs, creating staircases. Then, to our collective surprise the buildings themselves started to rise.

All the while, the air was filled with the sounds of a siren and a calm female voice.

“Attention: Flood imminent. All citizens please take shelter. Flood barriers will be raised in fifteen seconds. Please move in a calm and orderly fashion. Be warned, several buildings in blocks Four, Six, Seven, and Ten have failed to properly engage safety measures. All citizens in those areas, please confirm that the safety measures have engaged. Thank you.” It said.

The only thought that entered my mind was, “Cool.”

“Come on, we need to hurry!” Raid yelled.

All of us began to run to each building in a frantic manner, looking for something that seemed… safe… apparently some of the barriers had massive chunks of concrete missing, or one building failed to rise, or the staircase didn’t move, or a number of other problems had occurred. As we did, I noticed a few lazy streams of water trickling down one of the streets.

“Over here!” Shouted Raid, waving at us from in front of a three-story building. “This one’s marked!”

I turned to see him in front of a two-story building that had been painted many times over with various kinds of graffiti. The most prominent markings were “Mare-Do-Well was here” and a large, yellow number fifteen painted over a blue splotch of color.

As I trotted over, I saw that the door to this building was also blocked. Before I could ask how we were supposed to get in, I saw it.

There was an open door on the third floor. On a building that had been raised ten feet above ground level.

Knives trotted up, breathing heavily from frantically running to every building in sight. “Sae, where is it?”

With a sigh, I pointed towards the raised structure. As she followed my hoof, her jaw dropped. Her voice was barely a squeak. “Up there?”

Raid facehooved. “Crap. I forgot about that.”

Stock floated just behind him. “About what?”

Knives shuddered, still staring at the series of, admittedly flimsy, ladders.

“What’s up with you?” Snorted the ghoul.

“It’s… really high…” My horned friend gulped.

Raid sighed and turned to me. “Alright, I guess we’ll have to find somewhere else.”

Then Knives screamed.

Whipping my head around, I saw her hanging from Stock’s forelegs, the undead pegasus slowly floating up towards the open door with a cocky smirk.

“PUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWN!” She shrieked in sheer terror.

“STOCK! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Raid roared as Stock threw Knives onto the top of the escape. The striped-legged mare immediately darted inside.

Raid and I rushed up both stairways and into the room, with him muttering about Stock being an insensitive asshole.

It was incredibly dusty, and clearly hadn’t been touched since the megaspells hit. It was almost completely empty except for a bed and several damaged mattresses. I figured it must have, at one point, been an apartment. Several gaping holes were in the middle of the floor, possibly going all the way down to ground level. Knives was sitting in the far corner of the room, pressed up against the wall and hyperventilating with her eyes clenched tight.

“Knives, are you okay?” I asked as I put a hoof on her shoulder. She was shaking violently, but she nodded slowly, her face damp with tears.

“Stock, what the hell were you thinking?” Raid sighed.

“What? What’d I do?”

“Knives is acrophobic.” I answered. “She can’t stand heights.”

. “Seriously? That’s hilarious.” The ghoul guffawed.. Then she frowned. “You gotta admit, though... it’s better than drowning, right?”

I looked at her with an expression of confusion. She pointed at the door.

Where there was once a broken street coated in orange dust, there was now a massive river flowing through the ruined town. In the seconds we weren’t watching, the water had filled the place completely, even covering the raised sections with a raging torrent of water, and was rushing through the streets with such incredible strength that it was dragging a few auto-carts along with it.

“What is it?” Asked Knives, who was still staying as far away from the door and the holes in the floor as equinly possible.

“It flooded, really quick. What the hell happened?”

“Flash flood.” Said Raid. “Happens once every two or three years. This one seems pretty mild. Should take about a day to clear up.”

“WHAT?” I yelled. “We’re getting set back again? Sweet Luna, at this rate we’re never gonna find dad.”

“Woah, calm down Stripes. We’ll find him. Just be patient.” Stock chuckled. “It’s not like he’s-“

I clamped my hooves down over her mouth. “I am NOT having you jinx anything!”

“SHUT UP!” Knives shouted.

Everypony was quiet for a moment, I could hear Knives’ nervous panting over the roar of the rain on the roof. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the water leaking into one of the rooms, and the faint roar of the flood outside.

“Maybe we should try and get some rest.” Raid said, prompting me to release the ghoul.

“Yeah…” I said, as I rubbed my face with a hoof, suddenly feeling the urge to yawn. “I think I need it especially. No sleep last night. What time is it?”

“Around noon.” He said, checking his pipbuck. “Why?”

“Oy… This is gonna be a long day.” I yawned. “I think I’m gonna browse the junk. I’m sure there’ll be something interesting.”

“I think I’ll join you.” Raid said with a bit of mock cheer. “You coming Stock?”

“Nah. Gonna keep watch.” The ghoul replied.

Raid shrugged and turned to Knives. “How about you, Knives. You wanna come? Might get your mind off of the, eh…” He motioned his head downward.

She stood, shuddering as she glanced at the hole in the floor. “Ah’ll come with ye.”

~~~

The rest of the place was fairly large, and looked like somepony had, at one point, simply pulled copious amounts of junk and crap inside and then left it all there. Fortunately for Knives, there weren’t many other massive holes in the floor, and most of the windows were boarded up. Most of what we found was useless. Well… Raid and I considered it useless. Knives, on the other hoof had accumulated a sizeable pile of scrap metal and various bits of electronics.

“Knives, what are you even going to do with all this crap?” Raid asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Do you even have pockets?” I snarked from my position near this room’s closet.

“Ay course Ah have pockets.” She snorted. “And this crap can be useful. Ye never know when ye might need tae make a lockpick or somethin’.”

“I just use bobby pins.” Raid went back to the bookshelf he was searching through. “Not that I’m any good at picking locks.”

Knives frowned. “Well… Ah personally think that it’s a good idea tae keep some scrap around. Never know when ye might need it.”

I blinked at her. “Okay... I’m not even going to bother arguing with you on that, but where are you going to keep all this?”

She opened her mouth as though she was about to say something, but stopped, and put a hoof to her chin instead. “Hmm… Ah’ll have tae think ay that.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you say I’m weird. Junkaholic.”

“Th’ hell does tha’ mean?” She retorted. With a chuckle, Raid went to check the other side of the room, humming to himself.

“I happen to recall you telling me that you got your cutie mark by fixing a jukebox with little more than scrap.”

“Aye. What’s yer point?” She chucked a bundle of wires onto her junk-pile.

“Why did you have it to begin with?” I said with a smirk as I threw open a half-destroyed wardrobe.

“Oh!” I pulled out a large poster and unrolled it. “Shadowbolts!”

“Really?” Knives quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

“Hey, they were cool!” I said.

“Ah happen tae remember that ye used tae have a crush on Rainbow Dash.”

Suddenly, Raid smacked his head on a bed frame he was looking under. He pulled his head out, rubbing it and wincing. “Who said ‘Rainbow Dash’?”

“Knives did. Also, I did not have a crush on her.” I growled, giving her a light push.

“Och, yes ye did.” She smirked again. “Ye even had one ay those Rainbow wigs.”

“You guys gave that to me as a joke, and you damn well know it!” I snapped back.

“Why are you guys talking about... her?” The blue stallion cut in.

“Oh, I found this poster.” I unrolled it again and held it out. “See?”

Raid gently moved the poster away with a forehoof, a bemused expression on his face. “Oh. Shadowbolts. Yay. I just love pre-war sports crap.”

Knives quirked an eyebrow at him, a smirk on her face. “Not a fan, Aam guessin’?”

“Of a bunch of pegasi who fought in the war? Lead by an obsessive athlete who called her organization the ‘Ministry of Awesome’?” He snorted. “Yeah, so much cooler than the Steel Rangers.”

“Obsessive athlete?” I asked.

His eye twitched. “Yes. Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-maned female jock.”

“My mane!” Knives gasped as she stuck a hoof out in the air. “That’s it!”

She then proceeded to drag her pile of junk into the nearest bathroom and shut the door, leaving Raid and myself to stare on in bewilderment.

I turned to him and smirked. “Just ask her out, Raid.”

He froze for a second, stuttering as he tried to find a response. “Where the fuck did that come from?”

“I’ve been waiting for a moment to talk to you about it without her hearing.” I shrugged. “It’s odd that I don’t get that many.”

He blinked, then sighed, a slight blush on his face. “Am I really that obvious?”

“Maybe to me. Your love life belongs in a comic book, or maybe a romance novel. Knives would probably love that.” I chortled.

“You have no idea.” He shook his head. “I’m trying to work up the guts to say… something, but every time I try… I dunno, somewhere between my brain and my mouth it turns into a joke.”

“That’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” I deadpanned.

He groaned into his hoof. “The worst part is I start acting like I’m joking.”

“This happens a lot to you, doesn’t it.”

“…yes.”

“You’re a moron, you know that, right?”

“…yes.”

I smirked. “Just ask her out. She’ll say ‘yes’. Trust me. If you keep flirting with her, you’ll just make her nervous. She’s pretty easily embarrassed for somepony who reads romance novels all the time.”

He sighed. “Alright, you have a-“

“Sae, how dae Ah look?” Knives said from the doorway.

Her mane and tail had become significantly longer. This was because she had tied a large amount of electrical cables and wires into them, as well as a few bits of scrap metal. Her normally short tail was now about a foot longer, and her mane was even longer than that. On her fetlocks were multiple strips of metal, formed into bangles and bracelets. She actually looked pretty cool, though her shirt and jacket didn’t quite fit the ensemble.

Despite all that, however, my first reaction was, “Holy shit, you actually did something with your mane for once?”

She shrugged. “Figured Ah might as well, since Ah don’t have anywhere tae put half ay this stuff.”

“You… Uh… you…” I glanced over to see that Raid was desperately trying not to blush, but to no avail. “You look… great… Knives.”

I almost facehooved when Knives blushed as well. Am I really going to have to play matchmaker for these two? Maybe I can get Stock to help.

The awkward blush-fest was interrupted when the aforementioned ghoul burst in with a wide grin on her face.

“Guys! I just got, like… the most awesome idea ever!” The ghoul said happily. “I saw this billboard floating with the flood, and it was, like, horizontal! We could use it as a fuckin’ raft, guys!”

We stared at her for a moment. Stock looked back and forth between us, eventually settling on Knives and her junk-metal filled mane.

“Love the mane Knives.” She grinned.

“Uh… Thanks…” She said. “So, we’re going to ride... on a flood?”

The ghoul grinned so wide I thought that her jaw might fall off. “Yup. And on the biggest damn surfboard I’ve ever seen.”

Raid shuffled nervously. “Eh… is it stable? You know how I get around… well…”

“Sorry, Blue.” She shook her head. “You’re gonna be pukin’ your guts out the whole time.”

The ultramarine stallion sighed. “Of course.”

“Something wrong?” I asked with concern.

“I get… really bad motion sickness… Not much I can do.” He shrugged.

Stock snorted. “Don’t worry Blue. It happens more than you think.”

He gave her a confused look. “ Okay then… let’s get moving.”

We all followed Stock back out, and looked out the window, while Knives once more clung to the far wall.

Outside, shored on the raised concrete platform and tied to the bottom of the fire escape with a bit of rope, was a three-inch thick billboard just large enough for the four of us to stand on and still have room to move.

“’Brawnco’? Seriously?” I said.

“Hey,” Raid smiled. “That stuff is good. Personally I can’t get enough of it.”

“Addict.” Stock snorted, receiving a roll of the eyes from the blue stallion.

“So…” I glanced behind me. “How are we gonna get Knives down?”

Knives took a deep breath, and shakily trotted up to the window, clamping her eyes shut. “Stock, could ye just fly meh down there?”

Stock blinked. “Uh… are you sure?”

“Please just do it before Ah lose mah nerve.”

With a shrug, the pegasus snatched up the striped unicorn and shot out the window, while Raid and I casually climbed down the metal staircase that was the fire escape.

Stock landed, gently placing Knives on our makeshift raft, where the latter collapsed, and curled up into the fetal position.

“You alright, Knives?”

She nodded. “Just give me a minute.”

Stock untied the rope.

~~~~~

The flood carried us at a rather fast pace through the city. I wondered just how it was raining enough to make the place flood this much. It seemed a bit unreal. It wasn’t enough to keep our makeshift raft from occasionally scraping the tops of the raised platforms, or getting stuck on one, forcing Stock to push, but it was easier than walking, although the city did seem very large.

Taking a glance at Raid, I saw that he’d grown extremely pale, and was lying on his side near the edge of our raft. He’d already thrown up several times. I wished that I’d bothered to look for some antacids or something, but I hadn’t expected motion sickness to be a problem. Seeing him like this was, admittedly, sort of depressing.

“You need anything, Raid?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. I’m fine.”

“You sure? You might wanna drink something.”

He opened his mouth to say something, then clamped a hoof over his mouth. After a second, he carefully removed the hoof, and stuck out his tongue. “Nah. I got some water in my-” He made a sickening urp sound as he spun to vomit over the side of the raft.

“You sure?” I quirked an eyebrow.

He rolled back onto his side, and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket, grimacing as the bile rolled off of the enchanted leather. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

I shrugged and trotted over to Stock, passing Knives, who was sleeping in the center of the billboard, curled up into a ball.

“So,” I said. “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”

~~~~~

Green moaned again.

She had mixed feelings about her current predicament.

On one hoof, she was ecstatic that she’d actually gotten some food in her belly, and it was a far cry better than feeling that her stomach was being crushed into a tiny ball.

On the other hoof, her stomach really hurt, and she felt like she was about to throw it all back up at any moment.

The small green pegasus opted to simply lay on her back, clutching her aching stomach.

“Green? Are you well?” Asked Wretch, concerned for her friend.

Green nodded weakly.

“Are you sure? You look a bit green.” Wretch blinked then facehooved. “No pun intended.”

Green giggled slightly, which quickly turned to groans when it made her stomach hurt.

Wretch was silent for a moment. “Can you stand?”

Green didn’t respond for a moment. She considered saying ‘no’ and hoping that the pink unicorn would leave it at that, but she really didn’t want to get hit if the mare found out she was lying.

Shakily, Green rolled over, stood, and immediately regretted it. The pain in her belly made her groan again. “I… I think I ate too much. Sorry…”

Wretch blinked. “You’re sorry… that you got a decent meal?”

Green winced, but nodded. “I’m sorry. I swear I’m not trying to be useless…”

Wretch blinked again. “What are you talking about?”

The pegasus sniffled, and seemed to shrink into herself. “I know I keep screwing up, but I can do better! Please don’t be mad.”

“Why would I be…” Wretch’s eyes widened. “Goddesses, You think I’m… Green, I would never do that! That’s horrible!”

Green stared, not understanding. “Buh-but… You killed Bark. You own me.”

Wretch’s jaw dropped. “I… Own… Oh Goddesses. Green, I am not your master.”

“You’re not?”

“No!” Wretch cried. “Nopony should own another pony. You’re your own master!”

Green simply continued staring. She wasn’t quite understanding what the pink mare was saying.

Wretch sighed. “Well… you can stay with me if you want, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Okay? Just… You’re free now. Please try to remember that, alright?”

Green nodded dumbly, making Wretch sigh again.

“Well… do you feel comfortable walking?” She asked. “We should probably get moving.”

Green nodded again, but rubbed her stomach and winced.

With another sigh, Wretch left the room, followed closely by her small pegasus friend.
-----

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level Up! (10)
Repair: 90
Speech: 26

Perks:
Intense Training: Endurance +1, Endurance is now 2

~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level Up! (9)
Medicine: 99

Perks:
Swift Learner: Rank 2= +20% EXP

~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (10)
Guns: 80
Perks:
Walker of the Wastes (Rank 3/3): You and your team now move 30% faster out of combat. In combat, your own walk speed is increased by 12%.

`

Quests:
Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.
Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1)
Find information on the location of Ashes.
2)
Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3)
–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri
----

(Author’s Notes)

No comments for once.

Except for that.

And that.

And that.

And that.

POTATOES!

-Delakirus

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to Matkingos for making sure this doesn’t suck as much as usual. Thanks to whomever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.