Darkness. Hope. Regret. Suffering.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry, Amethyst. He’s a tough one, he’ll survive.”

“To the point where his body is just nearly filled with bullets. I don’t when was the last time he got a check-up but when I operated on him, the amount of metal I found inside him was surprising.”

Three voices...one feminine and two masculine. Amethyst, Fortis, and the doctor.

“Must have been a hell of a fight out there. We were lucky that phase 2 followed quick enough.”

“Even still, we suffered heavy casualties. Any more deaths on our side and we lose Lux.”

“What happened out there?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, Amethyst...for now, you don’t have to know…”

Memories of the battle filled my mind, nearly taking me away to the warzone once more. The guns, the blood, the screams..It all terrifies me.

“Wait, I think he’s finally waking up.”

No matter how much I refused, my eyes opened anyways. Back to the harsh reality called the wasteland. Back to the cruel wastelanders. Back to…

“Where am I?” I managed to ask. The doctor peered down at me.

“Back at the clinic here at Lux, my friend.” He replied. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible…” I muttered.

“But alive!” Amethyst happily included.

“Ugh….I guess…” I mumbled. “So...anything interesting that happened while I was out cold?”

“There’s a lot of things to explain to you, friend,” The doctor said, half-smiling. “But we’ll talk about it as soon as you fully recovered. You should really take care of yourself next time.”

I gave the doctor a questioning look, “What do you mean?”

“As I said, we’ll talk about this later,” He answered. “Now, go to sleep. You're going to need it. We’ll all see you later.”

I simply nodded and closed my eyes. I could hear them walk out the door, leaving me alone. I sighed and let my mind drift back to those dreams while I still can remember them.

“How are you feeling today?”

“I’m fine, Doctor, just fine…”

I stared at him and waited. He continued to shine his light at my eye, insisting that there was something wrong. I batted away the source of the light from his grip and crossed my forelegs.

“Look, Doc, I’m fine, ok? What are you so worried about?” I asked him.

“Well, I detected some kind of...Err,” He rubbed his chin, thinking. “Some kind of magic energy spike...or, you magic energy levels spiked while you were asleep...as impossible as it sounds…seeing that you're just an earth pony.”

“How is that something to worry about?” I questioned.

“If you were a unicorn and that happened, then your magic goes haywire,” He answered. “That’s why I’m worried about you. We both know you’re not exactly pure earth pony, you’re also somewhat unicorn and pegasus. I need to know what happened to the excess magic and where it went.”

“Uhm, I’m still fine, I think,” I insisted. “I’m really hungry, you know?”

He sighed and finally gave in. He kept his doctor stuff and lead me out of the clinic. As I walked out of the door, I was suddenly crushed by a bear hug. The sweet smell of lavender drifts up my nose.

“You’re back!” A familiar feminine voice chirped.

“Can’t...Breathe…” I said between gasps. I felt her grip loosen.

“Oops, sorry,” She apologized before finally letting go. Turning around to face my “attacker”, I was greeted by the face of the mare I know as “Amethyst”.

“For a mare...damn, you’re strong,” I remarked. She smiled and winked at me.

“Hey, amigo!” I heard another voice call out behind me. “You seem to be in great shape today, eh?”

“Larynx, it’s a pleasure to hear your voice again,” I greeted him as I turned around to face him. “What’s happening out there so far? I haven’t heard the radio for some time now.”

“Ah, there’s some unusual news out there, my friend,” He replied. “There’s a group in the Capital that’s stirring up some trouble. I’m not saying that they’re bad, it’s just that ever since that mare came to the surface, the Wasteland has been different.”

“Wait...Mare?”

“Eeyup. If you were listening to the mare in Tenpony, also know as DJ Pon-3, you’d find out that the mare made a name for herself...multiple ones in fact. She’s also the leader of the group, which makes things even more weird...Not many groups are lead by females and less are even successful…”

Could it possibly the same mare I have encountered on my first day?

“Hey, you also caused quite a ruckus here in Land 35,” he chuckled. “Maybe I should talk all about you too and see if my story can rival her’s…”

“Hey, can we stop talking and go get some food? I’m starving…”Amethyst whined. “And I bet Eclipse is too!”

“Hungry already?” Larynx smirked. “I thought you were on a diet?”

“Hmph...that’s mean of you…” She stuck out her tongue at him and looked at me expectantly. “So, shall we eat?”

I laughed and nodded my head, I am hungry after all. She smiled wide and bounced happily in a manner that seems familiar to me.

“Great! Let’s got to Velvet’s and see what we can eat!”

I bit my tongue and gulped. My smile never faded away so quickly.

Never judge a book by its cover, a lesson taught to nearly everybody at a young age. Another teaching I can recall is to make a first good impression. So, what if one were to make a bad first impression but later on, they’re actually good?

I have never been so deceived in my entire Wasteland life and I never expected it to come from food. Especially from those damn muffins.

“So, Eclipse, how’s the muffins?” Red asked me with that mischievous smile.

“I’d rather not tell…” I grumbled and continued munching. “After what you gave me on my first day here.”

“Ooh, she gave you the bad ones too?” Amethyst asked me. “Hey, I must tell you, that batch gave me a stomach ache for days.”

“Hehehe...Seems I’m not the only one then that munched their way through the stomach ache,” Larynx smirked.

After hearing what the two said, I could not contain my anger anymore.

“What in bloody hell were you thinking in giving me those burnt muffins?!” I yelled at her. “And on purpose too? You are crazy, lady!”

Red gave a squeak and jumped away from me. Fortis immediately placed himself between me and her.

“W-Whoa, calm down, friend. No need to be too aggressive,” he stuttered. “It was just a...t-test. Y-Yeah! A test me and Red made!”

Amethyst and Larynx gave worried looks at Fortis and shook their heads in disapproval.

“For what?” I growled, already contemplating on knocking him out.

“We just want to see how...strong your stomach is. If you can eat those muffins, then you can eat anything in the Wasteland,” came his pathetic answer. I snorted and dropped the topic. I was in no mood to continue the conversation.

In the Wasteland, food is not to be made fun of.

I continued to eat in silence, ignoring the worried looks everyone was giving me. Soon, the rest also continued to finish their food, though once or twice, they’ll look at me and wait for me to speak again. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity courses through my body, causing me to fall down from my chair, gasping for air. They immediately formed a circle around me with worried expressions.

“Are you alright?”

“Is he al-? Of course he’s not alright!”

“Everyone, give him some space to breathe!”

“For the love of-”

“I’m fine!” I quickly interrupted them, weakly standing up. They, and maybe I, were amazed by my fast recovery. “I-I’m fine.Whoo, I feel alive already, hehe…”

“Geez, what happened to you? We, or I, thought you were dying for a moment there,” Larynx told me, slightly amused. “And what’s with that beeping sound? It’s making a hell lot of noise.”

Of course, I recognized the familiar beeps and clicks that continue to disturb everyone in Red’s bakery. With an annoyed grunt, I decided to check what was setting my PipBuck off. On the screen was a message that I haven’t expected to see.

Primary Objective: Find Family.

My eyes widened as I continued to stare at the screen. The screen flickered,the words changed. Only one word stays in my mind: How?

Primary Objective [Updated]: Find Friends.

“I...I've stayed here too long,” I mumbled, quickly finishing the last of my muffins. “As much as I like to stay here, I need to get going.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Red asked me. “You should really start explaining things to us, we’re kinda getting worried about you.”

“You’re getting worried about me? I’ve been here only for at least two days,” I shook my head, “I’m also a stranger. I never really got to know most of you.” I looked at Fortis and he understood what I needed him to say for me.

Fortis started explaining, “He’s going to look for a couple of friends of his. He told me about it when he first found me.”

I nodded and sighed, “Sorry that I didn’t tell you all about this problem of mine earlier but I just had so much things in my mind...Anyways, I better get going.”

I walked towards the exit, thinking of the things I needed to bring. It would be a long journey, that’s for sure.

“Do you know where they could be?” I stopped walking and looked at Larynx, the one who asked the question.

“Do you know...where they could be?” He repeated.

“I’m not sure…” I told him, suddenly realizing my chances of finding my original group in the vast wasteland is pretty low. “But I will find them...I know I can find them.”

“I know you will,” Someone spoke out. We turned to where the the source of the voice came from and saw the doctor.

“Doctor, what are you doing here?” Fortis asked him, confused at his presence. “I thought you were helping my sister in her research?”

“I have my reasons and she seemed fine with it,” he quickly replied then he turned to me once more. “Now, I believe you’re done eating and ready to go, yes? Anyways, come with me while we still have time.”

“W-What?” It took some time to process the doctor’s words but even then, I was still bemused.

“Just follow me, chap,” he then eyed the group and stopped at a certain mare. “You too Amethyst, we’re going to need you.”

Larynx suddenly walked up to the doctor,looking at him with suspicion “What do you want from her, Doc?”

“I appreciate your concern over your...ahem, sister but, I can assure you no harm will befall her,” the doctor replied, now standing a bit taller than Larynx. “And also, you and me know what she actually is. That’s why she needs to come with us.”

Larynx narrowed his eyes, “She’s not yet ready to see what’s outside this walls, Doc, and why now?”

The doctor brought out something from his saddlebag, “Only she can access this. Eclipse has his own and he can’t just remove his for another, that can lead to disastrous consequences.”

I looked at the others while the two were arguing. They were as confused as I was and Amethyst seems to be the most affected of them all, giving me worried glances now and then. As soon as it started, the two finally stopped their argument. One stayed in place while watching the other went to speak to his sister. The doctor has won.

“Come on now, both of you,” The doctor ordered me and Amethyst. “We have a job to do...while we still have time.”