“Hey girls, check out what ah just- Augh! Damnit!”

Much to my irritation, I’d walked in to our relatively small room to find Ashes and Zeed wrapped up in each other on the couch. I couldn’t help but cover my eyes with a foreleg as they clumsily disentangled themselves, their faces bright red as they smiled sheepishly.

“What have Ah told ye about doin’ it on th’ damn couch? Ye have a buckin’ bed, use it!” I shot a glare at Zeed. “And aren’t ye a little young fer that?”

The fifteen-year-old zebra’s response was to turn redder and mutter something too quietly to hear. I rolled my eyes.

I dropped the brown paper bag I’d been holding in my magic. “Anyway, Ah managed tae get th’ glue and th’ potatoes. Blister said he’d be able to get the steel plate tomorrow, but we’ll need to go out and find some tennis balls.”

“Seriously? Damn, this is going better than I expected!” Proclaimed Ashes, her blush gone within moments. “Heh, I can’t wait to see the look on Ratchet’s face when we pull this off!”

Zeed took a look at the open closet, from which junk was falling out. “I will never understand why there is so much random crap in this place.”

I shrugged. “Who cares? Just more stuff fer us tae use. ’Sides, do ye really want tae question th’ existence ay yer comic book collection?”

“Well… Yes, actually. Why the hell are there enough comic books in a prison to even constitute a collection?” She frowned. “What, did the original prisoners smuggle it in or something?”

I rolled my eyes again. “Why dae ye even care? It’s not like it makes a difference.”

“It’s irritating me.”

“Well…” Ashes started, apparently unsure on what to say. “Actually… I’ve kinda been curious too, and… I’ve been investigating…”

Zeed’s eyes lit up. “Really? I mean, really? Did you find anything? At all? Can I help?”

Ashes gave her a quick peck on the cheek and smiled. “Of course! It’s no fun without my marefriend to help me!”

Zeed smiled back and returned the kiss, though a bit more passionately it seemed. I found myself rolling my eyes again as I trotted over to our fridge. “Well, Ah won’t be helpin’ ye. Ah’ve got pranks tae set up thank ye very much.”

“Fine by me. We don’t need your help. Unless… You know, you wanna join in some of our… fun…” Ashes smiled mischievously, making Zeed once again blush furiously.

My response was to stare at the couch, on which I would never sit again. “Pervert.”

~~~~~

I stared at Zeed in confusion as Raid and I tossed the unconscious zebra off of our backs and onto the couch in his small cubicle-like apartment. She had passed out shortly after draining her last bottle of beer, though whether it was due to the alcohol, or just Zeed’s general weirdness when it came to sleep, I couldn’t say.

I don’t want to sound insulting or anything, but Zeed was bizarrely heavy for a mare her size. I’d often wondered how she manages to look skinny as all hell yet weigh so damn much. I considered bone density once, but since she seems to get broken bones a lot, that can’t be the case. I’d asked her about it a few times, but got nowhere because all she would do was smirk and, depending on her current mood, say something like something along the lines of ‘family secret’.

Apparently Raid was experiencing a similar thought process, as his next words were; “Not to be rude or anything, but how the hell does she weigh so damn much?”

I glared at him in mock irritation. “Are ye calling mah best friend fat?”

“Fat? Are you kidding me? She looks like she doesn’t eat a damn thing!” The dark blue buck put a hoof on his back and attempted to stretch, only to grunt in pain. “Where does she put it all?”

“A question fer th’ Goddesses, Aam sure.

Zeed shifted in her sleep and let out a weak sob as she hugged herself.

Raid hrrmed, and started rifling through one of the many drawers that he had scattered around the room. “So, what are you two going to Bladesville for, anyway?”

“Apparently her father went off in that direction not tae long ago.”

“Her father? What’s his name, maybe I’ve seen him?”

“Nezan Kazdri. Zebra.”

Raid stopped rifling through the drawers to stare at the ceiling in thought. “Hmmm… Nope, never heard of him.”

He returned to his searching, and with an ‘Aha!’ started pulling things from the drawers and tossing them onto his bed.

“So, dae ye travel a lot?”

“Sort of, but not since my… eh… fuck-up with the boss.”

Zeed mumbled something. It didn’t sound like Equestrian.

“Was that Zebrikans?”

“Probably.”

“How can she speak… Never mind. I’m not going to bother asking. Anyway, why are you looking for her father?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Both our dads, and a friend of ours, really. It’s just that we have a better idea where tae find hers.”

“Hmm… I’m wondering why he’d be in Bladesville. He’s gotta be a trader. Might be dealing with tribals, considering how close we are to the territories right now.”

“Any idea how long he’d stay?”

“Haven’t the foggiest. Do me a favor and turn around for a second so I can change.”

I looked to see a set of clothes on his bed. A red, long-sleeved shirt and a black vest, along with a bandolier, and several bottles of peach-colored goo. I noticed that his pillow was covered in similarly hued splotches.

“What, afraid Ah’ll see yer cutie mark? Big stallion afraid of a filly seein’ him naked?”

“Among other things, yes. And I have a damn good reason for both, too.” He said as he deadpanned at me. Feeling ashamed of myself for some reason, I blushed and turned away.

“Uh… Ye dae know that most ponies don’t normally wear clothes, right?”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” He snarked. “I have… uh… scars… that I don’t like showing. I can give you some if you want. Clothes, that is, not scars. If nothing else, it’ll look a lot better than that orange thing.”

I looked at myself. I had forgotten that I was still wearing my Prison barding. It was scorched and full of holes, mostly from my fight with the robots in the Safehouse. My uncovered stripy legs had a few bite marks from the giant radroaches. “It’s fine. Ah don’t really have anythin’ else.”

“Orange, though? Really? Trust me. Orange is a bad luck color. Too fucking much of it around Canterbury. Gimme a minute here, let’s see if I can find it.”

“Och, ye really don’t have tae-“

“Found it!” I turned to see a white and black striped shirt and a long-sleeved black denim button-down jacket. I immediately fell in love with it and, much to my embarrassment, giggled like a schoolfilly. “Not sure where I got it, but I never saw a reason to wear it. It’ll probably look good on you, though.”

I found myself blushing at the compliment. Luckily, he seemed oblivious to it as he went back to rummaging through the drawers again. “Um… Thanks… Fer lettin’ us use yer apartment fer th’ night…”

“No problem. I won’t be using it much longer, anyway. We’ll have to keep quiet when other ponies start coming in, though. Paper thin walls.”

I replaced my Prison barding with the new outfit, which surprisingly fit like a glove. I stared at the old orange cloth for a few moments. I’d worn that thing so many times in my life that I felt it was a part of me. It was always there when I worked, any time I fixed anything. I hated it. With a flurry of magic, I tore the orange barding to shreds and tossed them out the door.

“I’m going out to get some supplies. Feel free to use the bed if you want.” He smirked at me as he walked past. “You look like you need some sleep.”

Gratefully, I accepted his offer, and within minutes of his leaving, I fell fast asleep.

Cold dark tunnel… that same endless void… the white tiles…

I’m here again. I still don’t want to be. Especially not so soon after the last time. Yet I must see her anyway. Must make sure she’s still imprisoned.

That same gem, with its brilliant sheen.

She’s asleep in her cage.

I let out a sigh of relief.

The sound awakens her, and her slitted silver eyes pop open. Her tail sparks against the gemstone cage.

She smiles at me. It’s not a friendly smile. It’s full of malice, and hate. Her chuckle chills me to the core.

“Why Knives, what a pleasant surprise! You’re visiting me twice in almost as many days! I’m flattered. Are you actually starting to warm up to me?”

I glare at her. I say nothing.

She spits on the wall of her cage. Watches the acid evaporate with a violent hiss. That same arrogant smile on her face.

The silence is unbearable.

“Why have ye been whisperin’ in mah ears?”

“Why are you using that stupid accent again?”

“Answer th’ damn question.”

“Quid pro quo, Diamond. I’ll answer yours if you answer mine.” She said, deepening her voice. She laughs.

“Don’t joke.”

“Why so serious?” She says with a psychotic smile.

“STOP LAUGHING!”

A roll of her eyes. “I haven’t been saying a damn thing to you. I’m stuck, remember?”

“Yer lyin’ tae me. Ah’ve been hearin’ ye.”

“Pshaw. That’s you being paranoid and crazy. I have nothing to do with it.” She smirks. I can tell she’s lying through her vampyric teeth. I choose to let it go, I’d never get her to admit it anyway.

“So, why do you talk in the stupid accent?” She’s still smirking. I wish I could just punch her.

“Respect fer dad.”

She bursts out laughing. My eyes narrow at her.

“Well…” she says when she catches her breath. “I guess you get to lie too, then.”

“Aam not lyin’.” I growl.

“Of course you are. I know the real reason, and I think it’s a stupid one. Funny isn’t it? I lie to you, you lie to me, we’re both lying to ourselves.“

“YOU ARE NOT ME!” I scream furiously. “YOU ARE NOT ME AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!”

She laughs again. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I know why you do it. You can’t lie to me Knives. Why do you even try? You can’t lie to me, you can’t hurt me. Obviously you can’t even trap me very well if you keep hearing my voice. Just tell the truth.”

I bare my teeth at her and say nothing. I’m shaking with rage.

She makes a sad puppy-dog face. “Can you at least give me a name?”

I turn and walk away, with her laughing all the while.

I woke up with a yawn, and immediately slipped out of the sheets and started cracking my joints. Looking around the room, Raid was lying on the floor, while Zeed was on the couch, a pained expression on her face, covering her ears with her hooves.

“Zeed? You awake?” I whispered.

She groaned in response.

“Ye look terrible. What’s wrong?”

“Woke up. Couldn’t sleep. Too much noise. Head hurts. Tried sleep potion, just threw it up.” She sobbed gently, and hugged herself. “Don’t wanna move. Leave me alone.”

I smirked, knowing that she did not usually react well to hangovers. “Ye know, we’re goin’ tae Bladesville today. Yer gonna have tae move.”

She moaned again.

“C’mon Zeed. Don’t make me get some ice water.” I joked.

To my surprise, she shot up and glared at me. “Fuck you.”

“What?”

“Don’t fucking do that. Do you know what that’s like? It’s embarrassing. I hate that. I. Fucking. Hate. It.” She stood unsteadily, and despite being much shorter, somehow managed to stare me down. “Do you think I like having something wrong with me like that? DO YOU?”

I was genuinely surprised by her outburst. It was not something she usually did while in this state. “Zeed, what are ye talkin’ about?”

She huffed, a light blush appearing on her face. “Never mind. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“What’s wrong? Ye know ye can tell me,” I was concerned now. I could tell that something was bothering her, but it wasn’t anything I was aware of.

“No. I can’t. I won’t. You’ll just laugh. Not even in the funny way.” She put a hoof to her temple and groaned. “Fuck… My head’s killing me…”

“Ah swear Ah won’t laugh. I just want tae help-“

“I don’t want you to help me! I want you to leave me alone!” She shouted, tears flowing down her face. She sat on her haunches and began sobbing. I tried to put a hoof on her shoulder, tried to comfort her, but she swatted it away. “Go away.”

“Zeed, please just tell me what’s wrong. Aam yer friend. Ah can’t stand seein’ ye like this.”

“Everything’s wrong. I hate it.” She said with a tone of finality as she trudged back to the couch and curled up on it. “I feel sick.”

“Dae… Dae ye want anything?” I asked, biting my lip.

She sniffled loudly and pointed. “Water. In the saddlebag… please...”

I followed her outstretched hoof to a set of saddlebags by the door. I searched through until I found a clear bottle of water and floated it over to her. She drank it greedily.

“Feel better?”

Zeed nodded.

We sat there in awkward silence for what felt like hours.

“So… Where’s Raid?” I inquired, if only to break the silence.

“Something about a map. Said his pipbuck wouldn’t help much with directions.” She yawned. “Should be back soon.”

Zeed sighed and looked at me with a remorseful expression. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Yer stressed. Ah can’t really blame ye. Yer just hung over is all.”

“It’s not just that… I think I’m in another mood right now. I can’t tell…” She groaned again, wincing. “Ow…”

She fished a box of cigarettes out of her pocket. “Are ye sure ye should be smokin’ right now?”

“No.” She lit one with a blast from her laser pistol, and stuck it in her mouth. She visibly relaxed as she took a deep breath.

The door opened, and a grinning Raid stepped through with a fedora perched on his head, and wearing his leather jacket over his clothes. There was actually something that creeped me out about it.

“Directions have been acquired!” He proudly proclaimed. “We can get going any- Hey, what happened?”

Zeed interrupted me before I could speak. Her tone was solemn. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

He looked to me, I shrugged hopelessly. “Alright, if you say so. Anyway, we can get going whenever you’re ready.”

~~~

We walked side-by side through the ruined city streets, having left the Mall hours ago. Raid and I moved on opposite sides of Zeed, who was trudging along and humming a depressing and melancholy tune. I think it was something by Effervescence. We had the supplies distributed in a mostly even manner, though Raid had opted to carry considerably more, mostly in the form of ammunition.

At the moment, Raid was explaining a few functions of his pipbuck, at my request.

“It keeps track of whatever I’m carrying around. I have absolutely no idea how, other than that it’s magic. I barely understand magic.” He frowned in thought. “Most of the other stuff actually appears right in my vision. It can get pretty annoying, especially since mine has a corrupted program or something. I get error messages every so often. Probably because I can’t find a system update for it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, this is actually the only three thousand model I’ve ever seen around Canterbury. Most of them are the older two thousand or one-point-five.” He snorted. “Either that, or the Canterbury Tech knock-off.”

“So what dae th’ older ones look like?”

“Hmm… they’re a bit harder to use. They’re set up a bit like the newer ones, but they don’t fit on your legs. Gotta stuck them in your pocket. It’s harder for non-unicorns to use them. Depending on how old they are, they might not even use the vision thingies.”

“Why dae ye know so much about them?”

“Uh… Well… A… friend of mine used to study them. He wanted to make more. Not sure why, there’s plenty to go around, if you know where to look.”

“Why doesn’t everypony have them…” Zeed asked in a monotone. I winced. It hurt to see her depressed like this.

“Most don’t really care enough to get one.” He looked back at her, then leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Is she okay? She looks pretty down.”

“Aam not sure, actually. Ah dunnae want tae push tae much, though.” I sighed. Zeed resumed humming. “Ah think the stress is gettin’ tae her.”

“Maybe we should stop for a-“ He stopped, and stared forward. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Shit… hostiles incoming. We need to hide.”

The three of us took refuge in a ruined building, barely rounding the corner in time to avoid being seen by some of the most intimidating ponies I’d ever seen. They were wearing armor that looked like it was made out of the most random junk possible. Some had auto-cart tires, some had pieces of old washing machines, one of them even had a chalkboard. They all shared the common theme of large bits of spiky metal sticking out from every available surface, and the fact that they were armed to the teeth.

Two unicorns were armed with large rifles, an earth pony had a large can on her back and a flaming hose attatched to a saddle, and another earth pony massive spikes on her hooves. Every single one of them looked incredibly pissed off as they approached the building we were hiding in.

One of the rifleponies shouted at the others, pointing at the structure across the street from us. “Hey, fuckheads! This one looks good. We’ll set up here. Spit, Shine, you two go check the area.”

The pony with hoof spikes and the other riflepony each nodded, and separated, each one entering a building and searching through it.

Raid swore under his breath as he watched them from the first-floor window. Zeed and I were both lying almost prone on opposite sides of the window.

“We have to get up higher. It looks like they’re being lazy and only checking the first couple floors of each-“

“No,” I hissed.

“What?”

“Aam not goin’ up.”

“What are you talking about? It’s the best option we got!”

“You two go upstairs. Ah’ll find someplace else tae hide.” I started to crawl away from the window, deeper into the building, but away from the nearby stairs.

“Are you crazy? They’ll find you! Just go up!” He took another loom out the window and swore again. “We have to go now! They’re almost here!”

“Aam afraid ay heights damnit!” I growled. I didn’t want to risk being near any open holes in the floor or something like that. If it was high enough I would start to panic.

He was taken aback, his jaw working up and down as he struggled to find a response. Eventually, he nodded and whispered, “Understood, then. I’ll try and keep you in sight. Stay safe.”

Admittedly, I was somewhat surprised by, though grateful for, his near-immediate acceptance of my condition. In the Prison, most ponies I’d had to tell assumed I was just being lazy. The result was that I was often ridiculed endlessly, the news spreading quickly. That is, until I had a particularly severe panic attack when somepony forced me out onto a ledge in one of the mining shafts.

It was refreshing, really, to know that somepony actually understood my problem the first time.

I managed to find a hiding place inside what was once a janitors closet, and magically held my electric baton at the ready. I was just in time too, peeking out through a hole in the glass window, I saw the hoofspike pony happily traipsing around, going into each room and, from the sounds I was hearing, singing as she trashed each one of them.

“A bucket of blood,

Thrown over the walls,

It’s just like a kick,

To a stallion’s balls!

I’ll haul you away,

All kicking and screaming,

I’ll rip out your lungs,

Make you wish you were dreaming!

Put your heart in a sock,

And-

“SPIT! Stop singing you stupid cunt!” Shouted the one I assumed to be the leader.

“Go to hell Stake! I can fuckin’ sing if I fuckin’ want you fuckin’ useless sack of fuckin’ shit!” She shrieked back. I had never heard that word used so many times in the same sentence before. “I swear to fuckin’ Celestia, if you fuckin’ yell at me again, you will never fuckin’ touch this flank again as long as you fuckin’ live!”

When she received no response, she merrily continued her work, until she came to my closet. I hurriedly locked it from the inside. Hopefully, she would ignore it and move on.

The handle jiggled.

It jiggled again, but harder.

A third time, now accompanied by several more uses of the word ‘fuck’.

There was a quiet giggle. The sounds of the lock being picked filled my ears. I mentally slapped myself for not thinking about that. I lived in a Prison for Celestia’s sake! I should know about shit like this!

The door swung open. As the mare let out a quiet cheer, she caught sight of me, and her expression of joy soured. I grinned and said, “Uh… Hi.”

“What the fu-“ Crack-fizzle!

She didn’t get the chance to cry out as I slammed my baton upwards into her chin, knocking her teeth together. She stumbled backwards quite a bit, as the shock went through her body, her muscles twitching slightly. She responded by driving a hoof into my own jaw.

I swung the baton back across her face, successfully hitting her in the temple. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious but dazed. I counted myself lucky that she hadn’t cried out.

Ripping off the heads of several mops, I shoved a mop head into her mouth to keep her quiet, then used one to bind her muzzle shut, and another to hogtie her. I then promptly stuffed her in the closet and closed the door, feeling satisfied with my victory.

I snuck back over to the entrance. The flaming hose pony and the leader, who was apparently called Stake, were still setting up their camp, flaming hose piling up a bunch of crap with a maniacal grin on his face. Stake was tapping a hoof on the ground impatiently, his rifle bobbing up and down in a field of blue magic. “Where the fuck is she?”

I took a quick look around in an attempt to spot Raid. He was sitting on the staircase with a curious expression.

I pantomimed hitting somepony on the head, and pointed back to my old hiding place.

He blinked in surprise, then nodded with a satisfied look.

I grinned and silently clapped my hooves together in mock childish glee.

He rolled his eyes and turned back to watching the other ponies, at which point his face fell. He then raised his hooves with a nervous laugh. “Hello.”

“Get out here asshole. Don’t try anything stupid.”

I took a peek outside to see Stake pointing the gun at Raid. I gave Raid a pained expression.

“Well… Uh… The funny thing is… I can’t. The stairs… crashed, and I can’t go down… Sorry…” He said with a grin. “Please don’t shoot me?”

Stake shot at him, the bullet taking a chunk out of the window frame. Raid ducked behind the wall, and readied his scatterguns. “Zipper, come on! We got an asshole over here!”

The stomping of rushing hooves was loud in my ears as I stood up and waited by the door. An impromptu plan forming in my head.

Stake and the flaming hose pony rounded the corner, and skidded to a stop when they saw me.

“Well hello there sexy.” I said with a very much fake smile.

Stake grinned back at me, and turned to his friend. “Check out this mare, eh? What are you doin’ here sweetheart?”

“Och, Aam just enjoyin’ th’ view. It’s a nice city.” I quickly started levitating my baton towards Flaming Hose, my horn glowing a nearly-imperceptible grey.

“Yeah, it is.” He ran his eyes up and down over me. “And you got a pretty eye to do it with too.”

“Aye, thank ye kindly. Och, but look at ye with yer head full ay eyeballs. Aam kind ay jealous, really.” The baton floated just behind Flaming’s skull.

“The fuck, does that mean?”

“It means that Aam goin’ tae beat yer head in.” I pulled it back a bit, to give it enough force.

Stake’s eyes narrowed angrily. “What the- Zipper? Burn this bitch!”

Zipper did not, in fact, ‘burn this bitch’. Instead, he collapsed to the floor writhing in pain as I delivered three quick strikes to the back of his head.

Seeing this, Stake took aim and fired several rounds, one of them hitting me in the gut.

I grunted in pain and stumbled back slightly.

I heard Zeed call out my name as several beams of red light struck the ground near Stake with a zorch. The sound of Raid’s scatterguns followed not a moment after, several pellets struck Stake’s horn, causing his magic to implode and launch his rifle a good distance away as he yelped in pain. I attempted to drive my baton into his skull, but missed as he dove to the side, spun around, and bucked me in the side, knocking the wind out of me and knocking me to the ground. There was a loud pop, and I felt a pain in my chest.

Raid fired several shots.

I watched as Stake’s head exploded in a shower of gore.

There was the sound of pounding hooves fading into the distance, as the fourth pony ran.

“Ye…” I stuttered. “Ye killed him. You… He…”

“Yeah. Sorry you had to see that.” He let out a defeated sigh, and gazed at me with an expression of sympathy. “At least it’s not as bad as some of the other ones can get.”

“Ye killed him…” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Zeed was at my side, examining my wound.

“Yeah.” He looked sad.

“Raid, I need two healing potions.” Zeed called out. She was once more in her ‘doctor mode’. Raid obliged, and Zeed poured the bottles onto my bullet wound.

I looked at the body of Stakes, then back to Raid as I furrowed my eyebrows. “Ye stupid bastard. We shoulda asked him what he was doin’ here.”

Raid’s expression changed instantly from one of sorrow, to one of shock. “What?”

“Come on! They might have been workin’ with somepony else. Ah’ve been in th’ wasteland for less than a week and Ah can figure that much out. You shoulda blown his legs off or somethin’, not killed him.”

He stood there gawking at me.

“And even if he wasn’t, what if he had a stash ay equipment nearby? Ah may not know much about weapons, but Ah know they’d probably sell fer quite a bit, especially if there’s things like those ironwolves runnin’ around.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Did ye even bother tae think about that? Oh, and they might be trying tae attack th’ city.”

“She’s got a point, Raid.” Zeed chimed in. “And money’s nice.”

He looked back and forth between us. “What the fuck kind of stable did you come from?”

“We already told ye, Prison. Not a fun place tae grow up.” I sighed. “We had th’ misfortune ay not only watchin’ th’ only execution in th’ last fifty years, but also The…”

My voice cracked as I swallowed. “The Leak… That was… that wasn’t…”

“The Leak was hell.” Zeed finished for me, nonchalantly. “Most of us still have scars. Mental and physical. And even without that, I was training to be a medic... You do not want to know some of the injuries I’ve had to help deal with.”

“Yeah… I also-” I began. Then Zeed jammed something into my chest. “AAGH! What th’ hell?”

“Med-x.” she shrugged. “You have a cracked rib, and I don’t have any syringes.”

Raid finally managed to stop looking at us like we’d turned into Celestia and Luna and eaten a sack of bagels, and smiled at us with a snort. “Well… At least you’re already somewhat prepared for the wasteland. Guess that might make it suck a bit less for you two.”

“Nae, it still pretty much sucks, so far.” I grinned. “Eye’ve lost mah eyeball, after all.”

Zeed punched me in the shoulder, hard enough to make me wince.

“Och, it wasn’t that bad.” I looked at the buck with the flaming hose and tank. “So, anyway, what dae we do with him? We also have a mare in th’ closet, too.”

“Hey! I came out years ago!” Zeed joked. I rolled my eyes.

“At least yer feelin’ better. Ah take it the adrenaline snapped ye out of it?”

As Zeed and I made smart-ass comment at each other, Raid retrieved Spit, the mare with hoofspikes, as well as several more mopheads with which to tie up Flaming Hose. Spit had passed out in the closet. Apparently she’d inhaled some cleaning chemicals. Flaming had started roaring and screaming at us the moment he recovered enough to speak, so we gagged him, not really wanting to hear his morbid threats.

Raid looked at me, shifting from hoof to hoof and biting his lip as if he was about to say something painful. “So… you’re afraid of heights?”

“Absolutely terrified,” I responded flatly. “I get horrible panic attacks and break down.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

I shook my head. “Ah’d rather ye didn’t. Ah dunnae like talkin’ about it.”

Raid started fiddling with his pipbuck. “Alright then. Whatever the reason we now have a problem.”

Zeed looked up from examining Spit, her eyes full of irritation. “Excuse me? Problem? What, you can’t stand it if someone has a phobia? Is it going to inconvenience you or something?”

He simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “I have a fear of mirrors, so, no. I don’t have a problem with phobias, and yes, it is going to be an inconvenience.”

He put out his hoof, showing us the pipbuck screen. He had the map displayed, with three colored lines highlighted on a not-very detailed map. “It’s inconvenient, because the fastest way to Bladesville is through the Ruins, which is basically a giant maze of broken skyscrapers. I doubt an acrophobic would enjoy that.”

I swore. Zeed’s ears and shoulders fell.

“But… There are two other ways to get there. Around or under. It’s your standard choice, really. Going around will take forever, but there’s less danger there. Going under will take us through the sewers, and they are most likely filled with an uncountable number of pre-war things and monstrosities, or infested with ghouls, or serving as a raider hole, etcetera. What do you two think?”

I thought for a moment. I figured that, while we were trying to reach our destination quickly, we wouldn’t help much if we were killed, so I made my choice. “Let’s take the long way.”

I was then met by a hoof hitting me in the back of the head. “Aagh! Zeed, why?”

“What is wrong with you? You. Never. Take. The. ‘Safe’. Way.” She struck me again with each word. I threw my hooves over my head to protect myself from the raging zebra. “The ‘long, safe way’ is never safe! Never!”

“What the hell are ye talkin’ about? What’s gotten intae ye this time?”

“I read comic books, that’s what. Trust me, it’s a bad idea. Especially with my luck. We’ll probably end up with an alien army that’s out to get us or something. We take the short route.” Having said her piece, she gave a single satisfied nod, and crossed her forelegs.

“Alright, fine. Let’s take the short way. At least we might get there- Aagh!” She hit me again. “Stop that.”

“Now you’re jinxing us! You stop it!”

“You’re both acting like foals.” Raid said with a calm demeanor as he turned to leave. “Feel free to catch up at any time.”

With a nervous and apologetic laugh, we followed after him. “What about those two idiots back there?

“Leave ‘em. Their friend’ll probably come back for them later.” He sighed. “It pains me to just leave somepony tied up in the middle of nowhere like that, but raiders don’t really deserve much sympathy.”

“Raiders?” Zeed asked with an incredulous look.

“Ponies who have given fully into the anarchy of the wasteland. They take what they want, kill who they want. They have no rules, no morals. Almost every single one is a murderous psychopath.” He sounded so sad.

“Sounds like a few ponies from th’ Prison.” I chortled.

He looked at me. “There’s hundreds of them. There’s tribes of them. They’re not fun to deal with. The only good thing about them is that they’re obvious, like our ‘friends’ over there. And you don’t want to know what they do to the ponies they capture.”

Our eyes met, his scarlet eyes and my singular silver one. We stood there for several moments. I could see what must have been years of sorrow in those eyes, most not related to raiders. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d been through.

As I realized that I was staring, I forced myself to look away, hiding a blush behind my hoof. “Well… Shouldn’t… should nae mess with them then…”

Smooth, Knives. Real smooth, there’s no way he didn’t notice that.

If he did, he made no indication of it, as he started walking once more.

“We should be at the sewers in about an hour. Come on.”

~~~~~~~

It burned
froze
shocked.
Her very thoughts shattering the inside of her skull.
She’d never experienced pain like this before.
Like her very being was torn

broken

sutured.
Why did she feel like this? She couldn’t remember.

“Hello, dear child. It is good to see that you survived. I beg your forgiveness for forcing this on you.”

The voice came from behind her. She could not place it.

in front of

inside

Another spike of pain.
S
h
e

s
c
r
e
a
m
e
d, her back arched.
Her legs were tied down to something. A gurney it was called.

“But, though you may not remember it, I did warn you of the pain. Of the suffering. Of what you must do. Of what must be done to you.”

She collapsed back on the gurney, panting, tears of pain streaming down her face. She tried to speak, but no words would come. fear

ecstasy
“I truly wish that I could have helped you. That I could have repaired you, but I’m afraid the damage was… overwhelming and irreparable. Again, I beg forgiveness.”

She wanted to... be free

escape

get away

surrender.
Her thoughts and body refused to function correctly.

“Do not worry, the pain will stop soon. But you must have patience. Your mind needed to be reconstructed. Fear not, though, for I used as many intact pieces as I could retrieve. Be thankful for this.”

She nodded, and closed her eyes.
She smiled.
The voice was right.
All would be well soon, and she could begin her task.

She would be release her kin.

-------
Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (5)
Melee: 65
Repair: 50
Speech:20
Perks:
I’m right in front of you (lvl 1/3): With your invisible telekinesis, you’ve learned to sneak your weapons behind ponies, almost guaranteeing a sneak attack! Unless they see it, in which case they may start combat immediately. You can move your weapon independently of yourself, with an effective sneak skill of 30. (+10 per level)

~~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (4)
Energy Weapons: 50
Medicine: 60
Science: 42

Perks:
Educated: +2 Skill points per level.

~~~~~

Footnote 3: New ally: Raid (???)
Lvl 5
S: 6
P: 6
E: 7
C: 8
I: 6
A: 10
L: 4

Traits:
Gifted: You have more innate abilities than most, so you have not spent time honing your skills. +1 to all SPECIAL stats, -5 to all skills, and -3 to skill points per level.

Secondary traits:
???

Skills:
Guns: 50 (tag)
Speech:44 (tag)
Barter: 44 (tag)

Perks:
Filly Killer: In combat, you get +10% damage against the opposite sex. Outside of combat, you will sometimes get unique dialogue options when dealing with the opposite sex.

Awareness: You are given detailed information on your target’s equipment and health status. Enter S.A.T.S. to use.

Quick pockets: After a lot of practice, you’ve figured out the best places to store your equipment, now you can get at what you need in seconds! No more rifling through saddlebags for you! Cut the cost of all actions regarding your inventory in half.

Rapid Reload: You can reload your weapons 25% faster.

Intense Training: +1 to Endurance

~~~~~

(author’s note)

Hooray! Another 50% quality drop!

(Wait… I already had one… so... 0% quality? I think? Remarkable…)

Other than that… I really don’t have much to say for once… Odd… World must be ending.

Yay.

Toodles!

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.