Blue had expected there to be a fight of sorts. She was ready to find that it it had been between Breakneck and a bunch of mad'uns, or maybe the facility ponies who had stalked the two of them earlier. She was even half prepared to see some mutated slug attacking him—in this messed up world, it was surely possible. However, she hadn't planned for the chaotic sight that she found before her eyes; a large mass of ponies, mares and stallions, colts and fillies alike, stood in a large circle around Breakneck, ears lowered, hissing. A couple were laying on the ground already, unblinking eyes wide and mouths opened in a slight 'o' shape, their chests pierced and bloodied, their fur stained. One particularly young colt—poor thing—lay just a few metres from Blue, his expression matching the others'.

Backing up to the foal slowly, keeping a close eye on the other ponies—though they were all much too focused on Breakneck to spare her a second glance—she froze as her hoof brushed against the warm skin of the boy. Spinning around with as much confidence as she could muster, she sighed when she saw that he wasn't attacing; he was, indeed, dead.

On closer inspection, however, there seemed to be something off. His body was twitching every now and then, and not a small twitch but a sudden, jerking movement, more significant than Blue could imagine would be the case for a normal dead creature. His eyes, too, seemed to move randomly at times, but he made no attempts at all to strike out. Nor did he blink or breath; his limbs simply lurched about, his actions like some broken robot's programming.

The sky above was overcast now, thick, impenetrable clouds having gathered in mere minutes. A curious thought occurred to Blue as she momentarily pondered whether or not pegasi controlled the weather—why she thought that, she wasn't sure, for she couldn't remember ever being told such a thing—but she quickly brushed the random and irrelevant thought off, focusing instead on the horror that the wind suddenly unveiled. The colt's forelock, previously draped across his forehead, had brushed aside and come to rest behind his ear, revealing a shocking sight indeed just behind his horn; a gaping hole showed bone and brain, out of which a small wire extended, coming to end in a sort of memory chip fused his partly exposed skull.

Blue stumbled back with only a tiny, cut off yelp, the sound being quiet enough to not attract any extra attention; as she watched from the corner of her eye, she saw the memory chip spark a little just as the colt's body spammed once more, and in that moment, her heart almost stopped.

Just behind the colt's front leg, somewhat hidden under his stomach, lay a small, priceless pistol.

Reaching forwards with a trembling hoof, Blue gripped the weapon tightly and drew it back, pulling it to her chest and studying it closely. It was a unicorn's weapon for certain—there was no support inbuilt for a pony incapable of using magic to hold such an object—but it seemed to be working, at the very least. A little small and rusty, perhaps, but a gun nonetheless—and a weapon of great worth and danger in Equestria. That thought alone nearly made Blue's grip on it slip; still, she fumbled to keep hold of it, taking it into her mouth as she spun back to watch the living ponies attacking her poor friend, stuck in the epicentre.

The great mob was an intimidating force; only now did Blue recognise the sheer immensity of the herd of ponies. Some were weak and frail, others strong and bulky; even so, they were more than a match for a single pegasus pony and a wingless mutant stallion.

Her legs collapsing under herself, Blue stretched out her wings and tightened her grip on the gun in her mouth, leaping up into the air and beating up into the sky with as much force as she could muster. She winced as her neck and thigh throbbed at the sudden movement, the wounds screaming and making her vision blur—she had to find some way to get over that—but she pushed on all the same, tears blurring her vision as she flew ever higher.

Coming to a stop about fifty metres above the ground, gasping for breath and shaking in pain, her old bandages having fallen off and exposing her sore wounds which were bleeding slightly as the healing skin tore again, Blue looked down and gritted her teeth, scowling. She couldn't tell for sure, but all the ponies whose forelocks exposed their heads seemed to be the same as the colt;  hooked up to a memory chip, their brains bulging inside their skulls.

It hadn't been so bad on the colt; most of his bloodied head was hidden. But the herd, with the collective mass of redness, was too much for her to handle. Crying out, she felt herself begin to lose the altitude she'd worked so hard to attain, plummeting towards the masses with sickening speed. Cursing the stars for the cruel fate that had been bestowed upon her, especially the parts which detailed her complete incapability to do anything at all useful, she beat her wings faster than before, her neck straining to reach up into the sky, however to no avail; she simply ended up hovering in place.

I've got to work on my flying, Blue thought to herself as she spun around, continuously beating her wings as fast as she could without breaking the fragile bones—she hardly needed any more handicaps—and gritted her teeth after spitting out the gun into her hooves. Looking at the contraption studiously,  she frowned as she held it in her hoof, sniffing it a little. There was a small trigger, though it was no where near a big enough gap to fit her hoof into to press it down.

Looking down at the herd again, she gasped as she saw the ponies advancing rapidly on Breakneck. He was strong, to be sure—with those lethal tails and ears of his, he'd been able to hit most of the ponies off of him, many laying unmoving in an increasingly large group in the circle of space around him—but even he couldn't hold that many off. It took only a few seconds before one of them managed to land on his back; within ten, a second had made a move.

Come on, Blue, come on! the mare instructed herself, tossing her head at the situation before her. It wasn't until she began to even try to work out a plan, though, that she realised how futile anything she could do would be. She couldn't take out a whole army of... Whatever these ponies were. They definitely weren't normal, to say the least—they hadn't even noticed her in all that time, and she'd hardly been quiet—but didn't quite seem as irrational as mad'uns, either. Focus, girl! Just take out the close ones, just the close ones.

Raising the gun to her mouth with a hoof, Blue made an attempt to steady herself and take aim, aligning the gun's marker with one brute of a stallion about to make a move on Breakneck. Grappling around with her tongue, she then tried to hold the pistol steady as she pulled back on the trigger awkwardl, barely  able to find the strength in it to do so; other than her wing, perhaps, it was the only muscle that she had use of that could fit through the small hole.

The rusty bullet fired eventually, but in the kerfuffle Blue's aim had shifted and it now veered towards the wrong ponies, a little further away than Breakneck than she would have liked; the close ones were the issue here. As she reloaded the gun with much difficulty and retired, sending a second projectile hurtling downwards. This one was still shamefully off course, but it's aim was truer. It smashed against the side of a filly, but the creature barely flinched as she continued to move towards her prey, despite the hole which ran through her chest. From the blood which suddenly rose to stain her coat—Blue had to focus her attention elsewhere, to say the least—she would go down soon. But for now, she was just like the rest of them. As if they were one big, completely synchronised unit. With one brain.

It was as Blue was reloading her gun for the second time that she noticed something odd down below; pausing, she angled herself back downwards and watched, looking on in horror as the two ponies she'd shot suddenly burst into flames, bellowing as they ran around, the grass beneath their feet catching light as they went, twitching and going like a robot short-circuited. The remaining ponies, however, barely flinched; a few made strange, seemingly involuntary movements now and then, but until they too caught on fire they simply continued their attack.

"Buck!" Breakneck, not immune to the knowledge that flames could kill—information his attackers seemed to miss—leaped up onto his rear hooves and wobbled on the spot, trying to avoid the flames as best he could. They licked at his feet, scorching them gently and making the metal of his horseshoes sear the skin they covered over. "Blue, help me! Please!"

Never before had Blue heard the stallion ask for help so openly, he being most often a lone wolf, taking his troubles in his stride. But now that he was calling for help, when she'd always wished to do more before, who was she to leave him there? At any rate, after seeing that strange mare's troubles too—though whether the scene had been real or simply an imagination, she knew not—she couldn't let any pony else she called a friend go through the pain and terror. She even felt bad for the mad'uns—but they were not her problem to fix. She couldn't save everypony.

Stopping her flapping as she held the gun in her mouth once more, Blue let herself dive, suddenly feeling the exhilaration which always came with doing so—perhaps she was a weak flyer, but she could pull off a decent dive.

"Breakneck!" she cried as she stretched out her hoof, preparing to reach him; flames and ponies, only now noticing her, attacked her underbelly, the scratches from the wolves which had barely healed reopening and dribbling a little blood down onto her attackers. She let out a cry as hooves, seemingly sharp and hard as a diamond sword, tore up her soft, healing skin with the help of the fires; closing her eyes slightly as she felt tears beginning to form—she had to be strong, she could not cry—she reached down for her companion and grinned as he felt his hoof meet hers. Her pained smile fell when she felt herself struggling to stay in the air.

"Jump, Breakneck!" she instructed, flapping with all her might to pull him away from his attackers, of whom the majority, by now, were galloping around in a frenzy, twitching and spasming as they lashed out. Only a few remained vigilant in their quest, one of whom, Blue realised with shocking clarity, was the old professor for amnesiacs at the facility. The one who had been taken in for an "electric test" two years ago.

Blue looked away quickly, but by now her mind was incredibly active; in fact, she recognised at least a quarter of these ponies. And, incredibly, they had all been sent to 'test room X' after the electric test—supposedly to die.

Had RipEar been wrong in his claims?

Brushing off the thought of her old ally, Blue tried—at great cost, for it was no easy feat—to return her focus to her current friend. The one who would surely be torn to shreds just as the first had if she didn't act soon.

"I can't pull you up, help me out here!" she cried, straining as she tried to lift him up. He was a muscular stallion and, as such, was hardly featherweight.

Breakneck let his weight shift onto his haunches for a second as Blue felt herself being jerked downwards before he sprung, launching off of strong rear legs as hard as was possible. It was enough, at least, to help a little; the momentum allowed the mare to power upwards as best as she could, granting her the opportunity to gain at least ten metres of height. Not much, perhaps, but it was just enough to get the two away from the herd who were now all aflame. Many had surely died—though they were supposed to have already perished.

Using the fairly feeble thermals to glide, her wings now burning from the exertion, Blue tried her best to maintain a reasonable height, flapping occasionally with as much force as she could summon to raise a tiny amount of elevation. Still, it wasn't long before she began to fall, Breakneck still holding her hoof, the wind currents not strong enough to maintain the flight of one pony, let alone two. The pair crashed down to the ground about twenty five metres away from the herd, and the mare simply collapsed.

Blue sighed a little as she felt Breakneck reaching his head under her limp body, lifting her up onto his back, thankfully missing her with those poisonous ear tips of his. The scales on his neck, of course, were rough, sharp and uncomfortable; still, given how exhausted she now felt, Blue could hardly care.

"C'mon. We've gotta go; Ah'm gon' get ma caravan, then we'll be off. Yeah?"

"No, Breakneck," Blue murmured, her eyes closing. "We can't go back for it; the facility guys'll be waiting."

"Ah'm sorry, Blue, but-" Breakneck trailed off as he suddenly rose his head to the sky, a droplet of water landing on his nose. "Ugh. It's rainin' now. We'd better go quickly an'..." The stallion, ignoring the complaints of the mare now sat on his back, began to trot back in the direction of Pumpkin Surprise's house; a moment later, he found himself trapped in a powerful blue aura, unable to move but, strange, capable of strained speech. "Blue, wha's goin' on?"

"How would I know?" the mare bit back in an equally forced voice, her eyes glistening as she looked around. "Can you break it?"

"Nah, it's too strong." he replied, trying without succeed to move a foot. However, his hoof simply wouldn't move past the constraints of the magic. "Must be some powerful unicorn or somethin'."

The rain fell ever harder as a gently, feminine voice sounded somewhere nearby. Unable to turn their heads, however, neither Blue nor Breakneck could see who it came from. Even when the mare stepped forwards it was hard to see her; somehow she seemed to blend into the shadows of the night world, though the area where she stood was not particularly dark.

"Close, child." she said, bowing her head slightly to reveal a long horn, glowing blue. She stepped forwards slowly, as if afraid the sun would hurt her; faltering for a moment, she then pushed on and the shadows cloaking her fell, revealing a tall, slender mare with a coat of navy and a flowing mane of blue, with a set of wings to boot. Behind her horn a small, black crown rested. "I'm an alicorn, though you did not know who I was before. So I think I can excuse your mistaking me."

The aura fell from Breakneck and Blue and the two collapsed in a heap on top of each other, however they made no move to get off as they simply gawked at the pony before them.

"Oh, I have no doubts as to your thoughts. You are wondering why I am here, are you not?" Upon receiving no reply from the two ponies before her, Luna gave a small giggle. "Of course you are, every pony wonders the same. And I shall tell you; it is, quite simply, my day off. My night guard took over keeping up Canterlot's health bubble for today, while my sister and her mate rest, so I am free to do as I please. And I quite enjoy coming out here for a breath of... well, almost fresh air every once in a while. I've got a health bubble of my own, you see. It's just so dull living in Canterlot."

The alicorn paused before she winced a little, gently rubbing her forehead, and then she glanced towards where the herd was, every single one now frozen. The rain had extinguished the flames; it had also left everypony absolutely soaked through. "Mind you, keeping them frozen for you is rather tiring, so I may return home in a minute. But I have a matter at hoof to deal with first..."

Opening her wing, Luna smiled as she exposed a small, sleeping filly. It was unlike most fillies Blue had ever seen, though; with a horn as long as its body and folded wings of larger scale than even a griffon's, she was quite the sight.

"She's not my foal, before you ask." Luna piped up, before using her magic to hover her over to the pair. Placing the filly down on the now-swamplike floor of mud, the torrential rain still pouring unrelentingly, she sighed. "Found the poor thing abandoned by her parents. Pegacorns... They don't make great mothers or fathers." She sighed as she stepped backwards a little, closing her wings again. "I have a deal to make for you. I hate to see this poor thing alone, but she'll grow quickly with love and food, and you, young mare, remind me of a pony I once knew, so I have faith that you will do your best. Pegacorns are, I suppose, like changelings, in that the grow so fast with a little nurturing. And once she's grown, she'll be a loyal guard; a benefit to your team, I am sure."

Blue was silent for a minute before she clambered off of Breakneck, nudging the thing with her muzzle. Poor filly looked like a drowned rat by now. "You said a deal. You're landing this foal on us; you need to now give us something."

Luna's eyes widened momentarily before she smiled. "I forget how strong you can be at times, little one," she said, making Blue frown. The alicorn, however didn't see this. "Having a strong addition to your team is not good enough?"

Breakneck mumbled a little, looking away from the princess; Blue only stood taller, not even considering how improper she was being. "No."

"I see. Well, I expected as much; thus, I will help you escape this situation. You cannot return to your caravan, dear stallion. There are ponies there waiting for you; they will kill you. I will not allow another innocent die while I can stop it. So, you have two options; take the filly and go, and I will protect you from this herd of ponies. They're little better than robots now, but that's besides the point. Or you can leave the filly and go, but face the herd on your own; but I will not permit you to return to your caravan."

"But-" Breakneck began to speak in a small, quiet voice as he tucked his tails between his legs.

"No, little pony. You have your options; you must pick one."

Breakneck looked longingly in the direction he'd been headed, his vision obscured by the rain. In his place, Blue stepped forwards, picking up the filly in her mouth—careful to avoid touching the mud—and nodding.

"Ee'll 'ake 'er," she said and Luna laughed at her incapability to speak with the filly in her mouth, though she quickly stopped as she raised a hoof to her head.

"Ow," she moaned, but tried to smile. To give her her due, it was hard to smile when everything was so wet and miserable; even Luna's hair had stopped flowing, now just plastered to her neck. "Thank you, my ponies. Now, please, get going; I can keep the herd frozen long enough for you to escape, but I think I may lose control not long after, so you had better get going." She paused for a moment before closing her eyes, her horn glowing even brighter as a small, brown saddlebag materialised and floated down to Breakneck's back. "Put the filly in there, if you'd like. There are two vials of potion, too, made years ago by Canterlot's best potion pony. They'll heal you right up—or, mostly, at least."

Blue paused for a minute, frowning. "Not Mocha Remedy, surely?" she asked, and Luna raised a hoof in surprise as she began to usher her two subjects away.

"Yes, the very same. Now get going; I won't tell you again." Princess Luna fell to the floor, laying in the mud with her fur plastered to her side, her eyes steely as she nodded, levitating a rock and hurling it towards Blue and Breakneck as if to say, shoo.

And, with one final look at their princess, the two ponies ran. Next Chapter: Plans Estimated time remaining: 8 Minutes