"So, d'ya remember anythin'? Or... What?"

Breakneck watched Blue intently as if mesmorised, perhaps in awe that he was actually able to just sit and chat with some pony for once. He chuckled as she coughed a few times after she had swallowed—with a large, somewhat painful gulp—a whole mouthful of her fried egg unchewed and he patted her back with his hoof; she glared at him for a few moments at that, not fond of being babied—though in this new, strange world she was little better than a foal—but soon lost the frustrated demeanour when she saw the curious expression he wore.

"No, of course not." she said, taking a smaller bite this time, though still not bothering to chew and instead swallowing immediately. Time was money, after all, and money could buy more food. At least, Blue figured that was the case; she hadn't ever used any actual money, since everything at the facility had been free. "I'm an amnesiac, Breakneck, you know that. We're quite an easily recognisable bunch—I mean, really, a blank flank at my age isn't a normal thing. Besides, the grey coat and eyes are a dead giveaway as well."

"No, no, I know that." Breakneck relied, rolling his eyes slightly before realising his cheek and looking down very slightly, not wanting to offend the mare.  "But you're not a complete amnesiac, are ya?"

"What?" Blue asked, baffled and glad that she hadn't taken another mouthful else she'd really have been choking by now. "You're either an amnesiac or you're not... There's no fine line, no half-way point."

"Ah!" the stallion cried, jumping up excitedly, his shoulder not too painful though it was still bleeding slightly. Blue focused on the last morsels, the near-microscopic remnants, of her egg instead and licked the plate clean, the very sight of blood making her cringe. Maybe she'd ask him to bandage it, just so she couldn't see. "Now tha's where you're wrong, Blue! Your mane isn't grey, see? So you're only a part amnesiac!"

Blue sighed, looking down. "No, I can't remember anything from my foalhood. Not a single thing, not even my name. I'm just stuck with the rubbish one the facility gave me."

"Oh..." Breakneck replied, gently digging his hoof in the straw. "Tha's a shame. But you're still quite lucky, ya know? Part amnesiacs like ya—though ya rarely ever find 'em, I've only heard of one—can remember! So, well, who knows? Ya could still remember one day, ya just need some sorta... Thing ta jog your memory." Blue's ears pricked forwards as she jerked her head up from the plate, catching the smallest dots of red out of the corner of her eye and forcing herself to look up at the cieling just above Breakneck's head. It was strange—his ears, waving in the air as if floating on gentle waves, nearly touched the cieling once or twice. "Uh, Blue? I'm down here, ya know."

"Sorry, sorry. I can't look at your shoulder or I'll probably puke all over you." Blue admitted, blushing a little. "I'm really quite a foal, I'm... Just not used to all of this. Fighting, I mean, and getting injured. It's pretty safe in the facility—cushty, even... But, that doesn't matter, anyway; I mean, there's actually a way for me to remember? My mum, my dad... Wow, maybe I had brother or a sister! Maybe ponies actually liked me, even!"

Breakneck chuckled, nodding slowly as he fidgeted a little. Having company was still a strange feeling for him. "Yeah, ya could," he agreed, "and... Well, it could be a long shot, but I've heard of this place. It doesn't have a name, but it's quite famous with the pony-folk 'round here. There's s'posed to be a mare there who can control the plague. It's said ta be quite a way out, though, and hard ta get ta. But I've heard that tis the only place in all Equestria that's safe from the plague. 'Cept Canterlot, course."

"Canterlot? What's that?"

"It's a city. Real big. T'was the capital before the outbreak, and these days tis the biggest plague-free city." Breakneck explained,  standing and walking over to the window. Pulling the curtain open with his teeth he pointed into the distance. "See that big thing outta the edge of the mountain? Yeah, tha's it. I'd love ta go there."

Blue's brows furrowed as she focused on the beautiful castle in the distance. She could hear Breakneck moving away and start rummaging about, looking for something, but she couldn't take her eyes off the magnificent city. "Well, why don't you, then? If it's plague free, surely it'd be worth the trek?"

Breakneck didn't respond at first, instead pulling a large scroll out of a box and spreading it out on the floor. It was an old map, faded in colour but still discernible. Placing a hoof on the replicated image of the city, and another a little way away, he nodded downwards, gesturing for Blue to look. He ignored her question at first.

"Look, here we are, and there's Canterlot. T'is a fair trip. And I think that the other village is s'posed to be around here,"—Breakneck moved his hoof a little way away—"near Rainbow Falls. See?" When Blue nodded and then opened her mouth to ask him her question once more, he realised that he hadn't yet answered and packed the map away as he did so. "Oh, would they let us in? Nah. They never let any pony in, else the place'd get infected. Tha's why some folk go lookin' for the other village; they take us infected ponies. That place aint free from the plague, they jus' control it." The stallion looked wistfully out of the window before he pulled the curtains to. "They say  everypony there're friends, too. I'd love ta get the chance for ponies ta trust me again."

Blue was quiet for a seconds before she looked down, not quite able to meet Breakneck's eyes. "I... I think that I trust you." she murmured, her ears flattened back uncomfortably. "But it's hard to tell. I don't really know who to trust; I trusted the facility, and then the went and tried to kill me."

"I was wonderin' why you'd leave a facility. T'aint exactly a holiday out here."

"No kidding..."

Breakneck walked over to the chickens' box at that point, lifting the lid  and chuckling very quietly at Blue's small whimper, though his tails were hidden slightly between his legs when he realised that he could have insulted her. She was much too distracted, though, to feel offended, instead stumbling backwards and nearly tripping over her own hooves in her haste. She watched silently from the opposite end of the caravan as the stallion fiddled about in the box, her hoof hovering near to the door knob as she danced about a little, and when he stepped backwards with an old box in his mouth she felt herself calm a little. As he shut the lid once more she gave an actual sigh.

"Woah. You're a real wuss, aren't ya?" As he so commonly did he faltered, panicking. "Uh, not that tha's bad, course!"

"And you're a real worrier, aren't ya?" she replied, managing a shaky attempt at being a tease. "Seriously, though—I'm not going anyway, so you don't have to say sorry for every little thing as if it'd chase me off! Like you say, I'm probably the biggest wimp in this damned place; I nearly ended up dead within an hour of leaving the facility, so I kinda need your help just to stay alive."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just like havin' ya around, so I gotta do ma best ta keep ya here." He spoke with a hint of shame in his voice, clearly embarrassed at his situation. "But, come on now; I wanna know about ya! What's it even like in a facility?"

"Oh, it isn't—wasn't—too bad. The food was kinda plain but they fed us well. We all had our own rooms and stuff too, nothing too fancy but it was fairly nice. And there were loads of ponies around to help us, cooks and cleaners and... yeah." Blue gave a small grimace as she realised just how nice the facility had been; at the time everything had seemed mediocre at best, all that she was given being the most basic of necessities, but the harsh reality of coming outside made her understand—and appreciate—that which she had been given.

“Hold up a second,” Breakneck said as he walked over to his makeshift kitchen, placing the box down and removing six eggs, dropping them one by one into a fairly large, chipped plastic measuring jug, shell and all. With a good number remaining, he pulled down an old, starting-to-rust whisk from the pegs on the wall and then paused just before he began to mix. “What about tests? Much as I heard, facilities on’y take in new test subjects.”

“Oh, they were… Well, kind of horrid, really. But we only had to have one test a week and they always gave us better food after them. A bribe to keep us all obedient, of course." Remaining silent for a second, Blue sat down and hung her head as a tiny tear trickled down her cheek. “But they’d get fed up with us after a while, I guess. Maybe we weren’t good enough test subjects, as you say. But anyway, we were always told that when a pony disappeared, they’d simply left. Gone outside. I never did get why they would want to, but I… I just didn’t question it. Turns out that was all a lie.” A second tear rolled down the mare’s cheek and she had to grind her teeth once to try to contain her frustration and anger, her wings rustling constantly. “They were murdered, instead! And I was down to be killed too. But my friend, h-he worked in the facility and… And he knew, he w-warned me, got me out." A choked sob tore from Blue's mouth now and more tears began to fall, the odd one splashing down onto the straw. “I-I did as he said, I escaped, but he d-didn't. H-he... H-he..."

Harsh memories resurfaced suddenly, thoughts of the poor grey stallion—a total amnesiac, not a so-called ‘part amnesiac’ like Breakneck thought she was—and Blue lay down as the world spun in agonising grief. She moaned in mourning and shook slightly, her wings stopping their shuffling and simply spreading out across the floor, limp. She couldn’t believe that she’d forgotten about RipEar and his sacrifice so easily. Even if she had had a lot to think about, that was no excuse…

A stiff hoof gently brushed Blue’s forelock and she looked up with slow, jerky movements, praying that she would see her lost friend, the only pony who’d ever liked her, with his ripped ear and all. But, of course, Rip Ear was nothing but a pile of bones and two large, grey eyes. That is, if his bones hadn’t been gnawed through by those awful dogs.

“Um, don’t worry. It’s okay.” Breakneck said, his posture rigid. “It’s… It’s really quite awful out here. He’s… Well, he’s not, ah, missing out on much.”

Blue bolted upright, suddenly glaring at the stallion. “No!” she yelled, her eyes glinting, her posture tall and her ears pinned to her neck as if literally stapled down. Her wings were fully out as well, stretched as far as they could go. “No, don’t say that! You’re alive and well, and yet you have the cheek to say it’s better off to be dead!”

Breakneck tripped backwards, burying his head between his legs and brushing the tips of his floating ears on Blue’s chin, not drawing blood luckily; if he had, she’d be throwing up now at the very least. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

“All he did was try to help me! He saved my life, he did!” Blue’s cries were agonised, her actions less and less rational as she threw herself around. “And I let him die! I let those dogs tear him apart, biting and clawing and biting and clawing and-“

Blue’s maniacal behaviour continued and she fell towards Breakneck as if tipsy, suddenly unsteady on her hooves; backing up, he caught her with his tails, wrapping them around her waist gently and hoisting her up into the air with a grunt of exertion, placing her down onto the hay bale and then draping an old blanket across her. It was tatty and frayed, potentially made before the outbreak, and it had a distinctively old smell, though it was clean and not overly unpleasant. It was the sort of thing one would perhaps find in a grandmother's house, but it made Blue feel amazingly calmer almost immediately. She still whimpered and whined, though, and Breakneck stood a little way away, stiff.

“I-I’m sorry…” Blue said once she finally regained the ability of rational speech, her body quivering. Was she descending into madness so soon after coming out? There was, perhaps, a good likelihood. “I don’t know what came over me, I… I just feel so guilty. I stood there and watched my friend die, Breakneck. I watched. And then I saw his bones, and his eyes. I saw his eyes, Breakneck, just staring up at me in pure agony. And it’s all my… I just let the dogs… I let him die!” Blue’s cheeks were nearly black by this point, darkened by her grief. Her voice cracked as she spoke once more, her words coming out in little more than a whisper. “I let him die.”

Breakneck sighed, unable to look at her. "I don' know what ta say, Blue," he said, cringing as he spoke. He didn't want to make the same mistake as before. "I'm no good at reassurin' ponies. But I can say, I won't let him die for nothin'. If you'll let me help ya."

Blue nodded quietly and then lay her head down, yawning a little, suddenly plunged into exhaustion. "I... I don't want to think about him. It makes me feel so incredibly guilty." She paused for a moment, before letting out a breath. "Tell me about y-you. I need to get my mind off of Ri—him."

Breakneck was unsure for a moment, not certain whether or not it would actually help, but he obliged a moment later anyway, seeing no harm in it. Besides, he had promised to tell her about himself anyway, though there wasn’t exactly loads to tell. “Well, I told ya a bit ‘bout ma mother, didn’t I? Turbulence, her name was, an’ it sure fit her. Ya never could know what ta expect with her—course, tha’ wasn’t her fault, ‘cause she was a mad’un and all. But… She wasn’t awfully bad, just not quite with it. Compared ta some mad’uns, she was pretty tame actually; never said anythin’ even remotely sensible, and would attack most ponies soon as look at ‘em—‘cept when she was in heat. But tha’s the case with any mad’un; they all act on instinct. But she was a good mother to me, and she fed me well. Didn’t mind ma Grandma’s company, either, which was nice.”

“I wish I could meet my grandparents. Or my actual parents. I’d like that.” Blue spoke longingly, her heart aching. "Or Rip's parents, to say sorry fo-"

"Anyway, ma Mum was a unicorn," Breakneck cut in, hoping to keep Blue listening rather than thinking about her own family or her friend, wherever they might be. "She was terrible at magic, though, even before she went mad—tended ta not use it 'less she really had ta. But she had a knack for tending chickens. Had a whole coop before she got infected, and ma Grandma—she was the one who told me 'bout ma Mum's foalhood—kept 'em all when she turned mad. Tha's why I keep 'em—ma Gran taught me all of ma mother's tricks, and then she gave me her old birds when she di-ah, left us." Breakneck scolded himself mentally for nearly mentioning death and rushed to carry on. "I was an older colt then, but I left when it was jus' me and ma mother; she got quite rowdy after ma Grandma was gone."

Blue stifled a yawn—though it was not one of boredom—and she tried to speak as the exhaustion weighed her eyelids down. "So... Have you—" She stopped momentarily as she yawned loudly, coughing once afterwards, the dusty hay irritating her throat. "Have you seen her since?"

Breakneck shook his head, looking barely affected. "Nope. And I never will; it's been so many years, if I did find her she'd never recognise me anyway." He gave a small shrug as if not bothered, though his gaze softened. "It'd be nice if I could, though. But tha' won't happen till they find a cure, and they've had no luck for a century. I'm not holdin' out any hope."

Blue closed her eyes, finally starting to give in to fatigue. "This place really seems gloomy. Doesn't anypony here have any hope at all?"

"Not really," Breakneck said with a sigh. "The only hope is in the legends. Like the tale of tha' village. Loads'a ponies try n' find it, but none have been seen since. Probably died makin' the journey."

"Or they found it and stayed?" Blue said, her words slurring together. Breakneck, however, didn't seem to notice this, instead looking at her in disbelief as if she were some sort of genius.

"Wow, I... I never thought of tha'. I just... I guess out here, so many ponies die and it just seems like the obvious answer ta... Well, the answer ta everythin' really. If somepony's gone, they're dead."

Blue cringed at that statement before relaxing a little. "But you've survived this long, so I'm pretty safe by your side, yeah?"

"Well, I've never had another pony ta watch for, but I'd say so," he said, not really focusing; in his turquoise blue eyes, excitement was shining wildly, and his two tails were beginning to wag (though if Blue'd had her eyes open to see, she would definitely not be reassured by that). "I... I don't suppose ya would want ta, you know, go searchin' for this village? If there's really that mare there..."

Blue jolted upright, pain racing through her body and fatigue trying to drag her down. She swayed slightly, but managed to stay upright just about. "Ye-yeah!" she cried, stammering the words out. "That sounds w-wonderful..."

Breakneck grinned as he retrieved the map which he had put away; pulling it out from the box with his teeth, he stiffened and raised his tails quickly as a loud thud reached his ears. Spinning around, he looked about fearfully until he realised what it was; laying half on the hay bale, half off of it, was Blue, her cheek squished against the floor as she snored gently.

Poor thing's exhausted, Breakneck thought with a very small chuckle as he bent down, pushing his head under her neck (careful to keep his deadly ears out of the way) and lifting her back onto her bed (of sorts). Walking away after that, he glanced up at the clock, checked the surroundings through the window for any danger, and then slipped outside with the jug of whisked egg. Placing it down, he pulled a small, fold-out fence, made of lightweight metal, down from a hook on the back of the caravan and placed it on the floor, just below a small chute which led out from the back. Pouring the lumpy, shelly contents out, he then pulled up a small wooden board which had been closing the chute and tied it up so that it remained open.

A few seconds passed and then a single chicken poked its head out cautiously. It looked about once with beady eyes and paused momentarily before it flapped down, rushing to the mixture on the floor as a second followed suit, opening its beak but not letting out any noise before it began pecking greedily. Then, a blink's time later, in a massive flurry of feathers, the remaining birds came piling out, eager to get the egg.

Taking one last look around, Breakneck closed the lid to the pen and then trotted back inside; closing the door, he let out a small breath, lay his head down on his hooves and fell into a sleep of his own. But he, unlike Blue, was experienced in living outside; his tails remained raised the entire time he dozed and his ears were ever on the move, alert, even if he was napping soundly himself. Next Chapter: Red Eyes In The Shadows Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 19 Minutes