“Brownie! No!” I cried as I slid next to his body. I didn’t even check to see if I was in the line of fire or not. “No, no, no… not again…” After checking for breathing and a pulse, I discovered he was still alive, just unconscious.

Frantically, I reached into my saddlebags, groping for a healing potion. Luckily, it was the first object that I grabbed from the top of the bag. Nearly removing the glass neck of the bottle along with it, I bit off the cork and spit it out. Hastily, I forced the contents down his throat to the best of my ability. The purple liquid splashed in and around his mouth. I noticed that most of it was splashing out and dropping to the ground below.

"Shit, this isn’t going to work. C’mon Dust… first aid… think, think!” I thumped the side of my head with my hoof. Instinct starting to kick in, I reached into my saddlebags and reached for another healing potion, but came up empty.

“Damn it! Flower, Silver, One! Anypony! I need a healing potion, NOW!” I screamed out.

Flower galloped out of cover and crossed the small courtyard quickly. She was momentarily shocked when she saw the extent of Brownie’s injury. “Get outta my damn way, Dust. I got this.” She hurled her sniper rifle at me, “Cover us!”

Finding a small pile of rubble from one of the nearby collapsed buildings, I took a prone position behind it and rested the rifle’s stock on the top. Peering through the scope, I scanned all the buildings that the shots could have possibly come from. Behind me, I heard an empty healing potion bottle drop to the floor. “C’mon Brownie, I ain’t losin’ you now,” Flower cried out.

After an initial scan of the rooftops, I stopped looking through the scope to give a more general survey of the area. Right when I was about to give up, I saw something flash from the corner of my vision. Quickly, I looked right where the flash emanated from. At the top of a low lying commercial building at the fringe of the developed part of the city, I saw another flash.

Looking back through the scope, I tried to focus on where the flash of light came from. At the corner of the low-lying building, I saw a small lump of green and yellow. I reached up with my hoof and adjusted the magnification level. Now I could clearly see a pony with a yellow body and a green mane peering at me from behind the scope of another sniper rifle. Muddy! He pulled away from his scope and looked right at me and smiled. Then he gave a small wave and disappeared from view.

“It’s Muddy! I found him!” I yelled. Leaving the rifle clattering on the ground, I started to gallop as fast as I could towards Muddy.

Flower looked up from her ministrations. “Where the fuck do ya think yer goin’ Dust?”

“It’s Muddy! I have to go get him! He’s right over there!” I exclaimed.

Flower didn’t even skip a beat or stop her work on Brownie. “Dust! You aren’t goin’ anywhere. I need ya ta cover me in case this brouhaha attracted some of the ghouls that are still millin’ around!”

“But, he’s getting away!” I pleaded.

“And who’s gonna protect me and Brownie? One? Silver?” she said between opening bandages.

“No… but… ugh!” She was right of course. I couldn’t leave her behind. No one else in our little group was combat trained. I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Muddy! I’m coming for you, and I will get you!”

“Now that ya got that outta yer system, help me get him inside where it’s safer! We don’t need to be out in the open in case the ghouls come or Muddy feels like target practice again!” she ordered.

Flower and I started to drag Brownie back to the Stable-Tec building. One saw us struggling and used his magic to do all the work. Once we got him back inside, we locked the door and hid behind the reception desk. I stayed on the lookout for ghouls, while Flower kept working on Brownie.

After a tense half an hour or so, Flower collapsed against the wall and sighed. “Ah’ve done everything I could. He seems stable, but it may take some time. Ah’m gonna go hunt down some first aid supplies. This building had to have a nurse’s station, or at least a lot of first aid kits lying around.” Silver and One went with her. We hadn’t encountered any hostiles before, and my EFS was clear, so I figured it was safer to send everyone else while I watched the lobby.

I slumped down next to Brownie and looked him over. Flower’s patch up job was very impressive, given the basic supplies we had on hoof. Next to Brownie was a bloody .308 caliber round. Thank Celestia that Muddy wasn’t using .50 cal ammo or else we’d be planning a funeral instead of watching him recuperate.

“Brownie, I’m sorry.” I said to his motionless body. “I never intended for you, or anypony, to get hurt. If I could take it all back, I would. Maybe Silver has been right this whole time. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken off after Muddy.”

Brownie coughed lightly. “Don’t be stupid, Dust. If it weren’t us, it woulda been some other ponies.”

“Brownie! You’re alright!” I cried out in joy.

“Ah’ve felt better, but yup, ah am alright considering ah had a hole shot through my flank.” He looked over at his newly healing flank. “Thanks for patching me up, Dust.”

“It wasn’t me, Brownie, it was Flower. She should be back any moment now. She’s foraging for first aid supplies.” I grimaced. “Brownie, I really am sorry for getting you into this. If I hadn’t…”

Brownie grunted as he shifted position to get closer to me. “Dust, ah mean it. Don’t go killin’ yerself over this. Ah’ve been hurt before, and ah’ll be hurt again. Heck, I know that someday ah’ll probably die out here. Ah came with you knowin’ injury and death were not just possible, but likely.”

“Thanks, Brownie. I appreciate it. I still feel bad though.” I said and nervously giggled. Brownie simply gave me a pained grin.

The doors on the other side of the atrium opened up. Flower, One, and Silver came in carrying a large bag. “Dust, you’ll never guess what we…” Flower started. Her eyes opened wide when she saw Brownie and I talking. She dropped her bag and galloped across the atrium and began hugging Brownie. “Oh Brownie! You’re OK! I thought I lost you!” Then she started kissing Brownie right on the muzzle.

My jaw dropped to the ground. “Brownie? Flower? Since when… are you… whaaaaaat?”

They both turned bright red. Brownie cleared his throat and said, “It’s been a while, Dust. We’ve just kept it on the down low.”

My stomach turned. “Oh Luna. Flower, I am so sorry that Brownie got hurt. You must have been worried to death.”

“Yeah, Dust, I was. But Brownie and I both know that it probably won’t end happily. This is the Wasteland after all. We’re just happy to enjoy it while we have it.” She smiled as she nuzzled Brownie.

“Um, OK. Well, I’m gonna go check out Muddy’s sniper nest, see if he left...” I started to announce to the group.

Silver jumped up. “I’ll go with Dust!”

Surprised, I muttered, “Um, OK. See if he left anything behind. One, can you stay here and help take care of Brownie?”

“Yes sir, Mister Dust!” he beamed.

As Silver and I walked away, I took one last glance at the happy couple. I couldn’t help but smile a little.

After asking One to lock the door behind us, Silver and I walked out of Stable-Tec towards the building on which I had seen Muddy. The symphony of ghoul sounds had seemed to have died down since earlier in the day, for which I was grateful.

After we got a good distance away from Stable-Tec, Silver broke the silence. “So, Dust, that’s nice about Brownie and Flower, you agree?”

“Yeah, there’s enough misery in the Wasteland. It’s nice to see a little bit of good now and then.” I sighed. “Celestia knows I’ve seen more death and violence than anything else out here.”

“They are such a cute couple. It’s a little depressing and uplifting to see that they are trying to be happy even though they both know it will probably end poorly, you know?” she asked.

I sighed again. “Yeah, it is. I don’t know how they could do it though. To know that one day, one of them will be devastated. I don’t know if I could do that.” Not to mention the fact, that one day when my mission was done, I would probably have to leave the Wasteland, which meant leaving anypony I cared about behind.

“So, would you ever try?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I could remain as upbeat as they are. I’d be too worried about losing my special somepony.” I said, matter of factly.

“Oh,” she said with a tone of sadness in her voice.

I quickly stammered, “Not to say that I don’t think it’s possible! I just haven’t been presented with even a remote possibility of it happening,” and then, with a little hesitation, “until now…” Silver grinned at that. We got to the base of the building in question and began to look for a way in. “Alright, you go that way and I’ll go this way. We’ll meet up on the other side. Look for a way into the building.”

I walked around the building in my direction, stopping to check each door and window I passed. Every door was either locked or blocked by debris and the windows led to rooms with no way to progress further into the building. I got to the far side of the building and waited for Silver.

After several long minutes of waiting, she rounded the corner and made her way over to me. I asked, “Everything OK? That took longer than I thought it would.”

“Huh? Oh, I must have been lost inside the building longer than I thought. There was an open door, but it led to a maze of rooms that didn’t lead anywhere. I had trouble finding my way out,” she replied.

“Damn, I found nothing either,” I kicked at the building.

“Um, Dust, nopony is here to see you. Why don’t you just fly up to the roof? How long has it been since you’ve flown?” she asked.

Now that she said it, it had been almost a year, and she was right. No one was around. The rest of our group was holed up in the Stable-Tec building and wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

For the first time in almost a year, I removed my armor somewhere other than my small shack in Coltington (well, and that one time in the stable). The feeling of the breeze through my feathers was the most amazing feeling I’ve had in recent memory. The tingling feeling that ran from the tips of each feather through my bones almost brought me to my knees. I flared my wings out, fully spreading the feathers and the feeling only intensified.

I looked over to Silver and she was still wrapped up in her quilted vest. “Silver, aren’t you going to join me?”

“N...n...no… I think I’ll stay down here on the ground.” She softly replied.

“Alright, I won’t be long.” I looked up at the sky and began to flap my wings. My body slowly rose from the ground. Once my hooves cleared the ground, I felt the weightlessness that was a normal feeling before my assignment here. Now, it felt odd, but in a good way.

I rose higher and higher. I was about to land on the roof, but decided to take advantage of this while I could. I accelerated and rose well above the buildings and devastation below. Keeping below the cloud cover, since I didn’t want to attract the attention of the Border Patrol and get shot out of the sky, I began some basic maneuvers. Nothing too strenuous since I was still under the stable’s robot doctor’s orders, but enough to get my blood pumping. The wind whipping through my mane, tail, and wings was divine. The only thing that could make this better would be the sunshine, but that was not to be during this flight.

After a short flight, I headed back down towards New Flankfort and Muddy’s sniper nest. Circling the building, I made sure the coast was clear and descended to the barren rooftop. Moving to the corner where I had seen him wave at me, I searched around for anything he left behind. He was good, which was to be expected. Muddy had policed his brass and left no other evidence of his presence.

I sighed deeply. Hopefully I was right about Muddy heading towards Whinnycrest. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an energy weapon powering up behind me.

“You are one hard son of a bitch to kill, you know that?” It was Muddy’s voice. I slowly reached for my pistol, realizing too late that it was still holstered on my armor on the ground.

Cautiously, I turned around to face Muddy. He had an energy rifle mounted on a battle saddle aimed right at me. His armor had been modified so his wings were no longer hidden. He had a mean sneer on his face.

“Muddy,” I said laced with contempt.

“Hello Dust, or should I call you Updraft?” He laughed. “Still keeping up the facade? Do your little friends know your secret yet?”

“What does it matter to you? What do you want?” I spat out.

“What I want? From you?” He laughed again. “There is nothing you can give me that I want. I never really had a problem with you, Updraft. It was never personal.”

“Yeah, pushing me off a ledge and then trying to blow me up isn’t personal?” I snapped back.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Updraft. I am truly sorry for trying to kill you in the stable. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t plan it that way. I just couldn’t have you telling everyone about my behavior. How is the mare by the way?” he asked with mock concern.

“As far as you’re concerned, she is fine. So if you didn’t mean to kill me in the stable, then why try to blow me up at our house?” I needed to get some answers finally.

“The grenade trap? That wasn’t meant for you.” he said mockingly. “I thought you were dead. That was for Midnight. I figured he would come looking for me at some point. I had to take care of him too.” His eyes twitched at that last statement. “But I guess you set it off and not him. Unfortunate.”

“Why Clear Skies? Why? What happened to you? What changed?” I asked.

“What changed? Just everything, my dear friend.” He began to pace around a little, always keeping an eye on me. “When your life basically comes to an end, I think it’s normal to snap a little.” He must have seen the confused look on my face. “Oh, you still don’t know, do you? You poor little bastard. We’ve been lied to, Updraft. There is no going home. There is nothing waiting for us. I won’t be getting command of my own flight wing. We will be here until the day we die.”

My world began to spin. “No, you can’t be right. That’s not possible. I was told we’d be down here for two years and then we’d get recalled and given support jobs.”

Muddy laughed maniacally. “You poor, gullible bastard. Next time you see him, ask Midnight how long he has been down here. But I have other plans. I will get what I was promised.”

“How, Muddy?” I asked, incredulous. “You can’t go back up, you’ll get shot on sight by the border patrols. You know that. So what’s your big plan?”

Muddy smirked. “Oh, I won’t be telling you that. I know better. Suffice it to say, I will leave them no choice but to give me what I want.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between us. Our manes were blowing in the slight breeze as we just stared each other down.

“Now, Dust, I don’t want to kill you. I really don’t. I only shoved you off the ledge in the stable since I was still surrounded by those dirtponies and needed to appear normal. You would have gotten in the way of that. But now that I am away from there, I have no reason to kill you. Not to mention the fact that you have more important things to take care of; a friend who needs medical help, and your little ragtag group. So here’s my offer. Let me leave. Go settle down somewhere with the pink bitch and your friends. You will never hear from me again. I will never bother you again.” Muddy took a deep breath. “But, if you come for me, I will kill you and your friends, slowly and painfully. Starting with the big one, then that little firebrand. It’s a shame I never got to know her better.” I didn’t like the tone when he talked about getting to know her better. “Next will be the one that follows you like a lost puppy. Then the pink bitch. Then, and only then, will I give you the death you will be begging for at that point.”

I growled at him, “Muddy, I will find you, this isn’t the end of this.”

Surprisingly, with a little regret in his voice, he said “I was afraid you’d say that.”

As I saw his mouth head towards the firing bit, I activated the SATS on the Pip-Buck. Not surprisingly, all parts of Muddy’s body were marked at 0% chance to hit, but I wasn’t looking to go on the offensive. Using the slowed time effect, I began to dodge the laser blasts that were about to be heading my way. I saw the red beam erupt from the tip of the weapon and head right towards me.

Even in the dilated time effect, the laser beam moved awfully fast. It was still faster than I was, but my goal was simply to avoid a direct hit. The beam hit my right shoulder. Celestia be damned it still hurt! I didn’t have time to think about it. Now I shifted my weight towards the ledge that was right behind me. Knowing what I was about to try, the movement was agonizingly slow.

As my body weight fell backwards over the ledge, I felt gravity begin to exert itself over my body. This was a sickeningly familiar feeling. It was made even worse since I could see everything happening in excruciating detail. Shifting my body weight, I, albeit slowly, turned my body around. Spreading my wings, I was hoping to catch enough lift to slow my descent enough to avoid injury.

Painstakingly making my way down, I felt my body begin to rise a little. When I got to within a few feet of the ground, I tucked my wings and allowed my body to fall to the ground.

Still feeling the shock work its way up my legs, I tucked and rolled to my good side and deactivated SATS at the same time. I allowed my body to slide to a stop and I lay there motionless. I could smell the sickening mixture of burning hair and skin. Oddly enough, it reminded me of a building we had cleared that cannibalistic raiders had taken over. The smell was very similar to the interior of that building. Feeling what little food I’ve had recently start to fight its way back up my throat, I did my best to keep myself from vomiting.

Hearing hoofsteps rush towards me, I opened the eye closer to the dirt to see what I could. Surprisingly, I saw pink hooves. Holding a breath, I waited. I began to hear some soft sobbing.

Muddy’s voice echoed between the nearby buildings. “Well, is the little pain in the ass dead?”

I nearly choked when I heard Silver respond between ragged sobs, “I… I… think so. You said he wouldn’t get hurt! You promised if I stayed with him, nopony would get hurt!” Needing to breathe, I began taking shallow breaths while fighting the urge to gasp at what I just heard.

“Change of plans. He needed to be taken care of,” he spat out. “He was going to keep getting in the way. It’s better this way. Besides, you don’t have to keep lying to him anymore.”

“Fuck you, Clear Skies. You know I didn’t want to do that. If I knew you would double cross me, I wouldn’t have made that promise.” Silver was full out crying now. The burning pain in my side was beginning to become unbearable. I had to hold it together until it was safe.

“Silver, Silver, Silver, don’t you see? It’s better all around! He doesn’t have to deal with the Wasteland anymore, which he hated. You don’t have to keep lying, and everypony else will go home now.” Muddy started to laugh.

“What happens to me now?” she said between sobs.

“You? Well, now you’re worthless to me.” he scoffed. “You can go back to hide in your little stable. When I finish what I’m doing, no one will matter to me. I will be the top of the pyramid around here! So mourn your little special somepony. But remember this, if I ever see you again, I will kill you. You understand me?”

“Clear Skies, I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I will kill you. I will get vengeance for Dust.” she growled.

Muddy only laughed harder. “Hah! You don’t even know his real name!” I bit my tongue to stay quiet. “Goodbye, Silver!”

After a long pause, Silver slumped over my body. “Dust, I am so sorry. I should have warned you. I hope you can hear me. I think I was falling in love with you.” She resumed crying.

I opened my other eye and said softly, “Is he gone?”

Silver jumped and probably could have cleared the building behind her. “What? How? You’re alive?”

I didn’t move. I repeated, “Is he gone?”

“Yes, Dust, yes he is gone!” I sat up and she hugged me. “I thought I had lost you again.” She backed away and I saw her hoof swing at me too late. She smacked me hard across the face. “How could you do that to me! Make me think you were dead again!”

“I’m sorry I had to fake it. As long as I was unarmed, he would have probably killed us both had I tried anything,” I explained. “Quick, let’s hide in case he circles around again.”

We got inside the building through an open window and ducked down. We both sighed in relief. Her face suddenly changed from relief, to a look of grave concern. “Um, Dust, what did Muddy mean when he said that I didn’t know your real name?”

I grimaced. “First of all, do you have a health potion I could use? Then, how about a deal? I’ll tell you about my name if you tell me about you and Muddy?”

The blood drained from Silver’s face. “Um, OK, I guess.” She reached into her saddlebags and took out a health potion for me. I popped the cork and downed it quickly. The pain began to subside and I felt tightness and itching as the skin began to reform itself in place of the burned flesh.

After the sensation passed, I took a deep breath. “I am hiding from slavers. I escaped from some slavers who were transporting me to Fillydelphia years ago. I didn’t want to take any chances so I kinda took on this new identity. There is no way I am going into slavery. To this day, it feels as if the collar is still around my neck. My real name is Updraft.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Dust. Or should I call you Updraft now?” she asked.

Shrugging in response, I said, “I’d prefer if you call me Dust. It would be easier.”

She hesitated, before continuing, “OK, my turn I guess. Remember when you left the stable and I stayed behind?” I nodded. She took a breath and resumed, “Well, Clear Skies, um Muddy, came back to the stable. He was able to find me easily this time since I was out trying to find supplies to replace the ones I had to use to help you. He cornered me and threatened me. He wanted to make sure that no one from Coltington was following him. My,“ she grimaced at the next word, “job, was to go with any group that left to find him and dissuade them in any way I could.”

My jaw dropped. “So that’s why you’ve been trying to get me to stop chasing Muddy?”

She avoided my gaze. “Yes, I didn’t want to. He told me that anypony from Coltington that he ran across would be killed. I couldn’t live with that on my hooves. When I heard a group was leaving Coltington, and especially when you were leading the group, I had to tag along to try to protect you. I guess I failed there, huh?”

Poor pony. She was put into a lose-lose situation. I reached out to hug her and she dove right into my embrace. We sat there in each other's hooves for a while.

We waited for dusk to come, just in case Muddy was waiting. After darkness was starting to fall, we decided to fly most of the way back to the Stable-Tec building and land out of sight of the building itself. Silver did an initial scan to make sure our friends weren’t searching for us and might see me flying. When she came back with the coast clear, I picked up my armor and carried it to our landing site. It’s a shame it was so dark or I might have been able to get a better look at her injuries I saw before in the stable. That would have to wait, I guess.

Once we were back on the ground, I quickly slipped my armor back on and we walked the rest of the way. I knocked on the large glass doors and Flower emerged from the darkness within to open the door for us.

“Thanks goodness, Dust! One and I thought somethin’ happened to ya guys. I am so glad to see ya back in one piece.” She gave us both a little hug. I grimaced when she pressed against my healing burns. She backed away, “What the hell happened out there?”

“Muddy happened.” I said regretfully. I told her the short version of events on the roof, leaving out the parts regarding Muddy and my true names and other incriminating details.

“Fuckin’ asshole. I am so goin’ ta kill him when we find him,” she spat out as she stomped the floor in disgust.

“How’s Brownie doing?” I asked.

The expression on Flower’s face softened. “He’s doin’ fine. He was up a coupla hours ago. He was worried about ya. Fell asleep shortly after that. He’s been sleeping ever since.”

“And One?” I said while looking around the room for him.

“He got tired a while ago. The little guy hadn’t really slept well since he left home. Had ta read him a bedtime story a little while ago. He’s asleep behind the desk as well.” She smiled a little.

“Alright… well, it looks like we’re camping here for the night anyway. Hopefully Brownie’s well enough to travel in the morning. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

I agreed to take first watch tonight. With their secret out of the bag, Flower curled up with Brownie and shared a blanket with him for the night.

I couldn’t help but to watch the two of them and realize how risky what they were trying really was. I mean, either one of them could have died today, and the other would be alone again. But was the alternative any better? I’ve only done it for a year, but could I last longer without letting anyone into my life? Would it make things better if I had somepony to care about and who cared about me?

A short time after it was completely pitch black, I watched Silver make her way towards me. “Um, Dust, mind if I sleep next to you tonight?”

“Sure, Silver, I don’t mind.” I cleared a patch of floor next to me and she set up her bedroll.

After she settled in, she whispered, “So, when are you going to tell everypony else your real name?”

I whispered back, “I don’t think I will. I can’t risk them accidentally mentioning my real name in case anyone recognizes it and tries to claim the reward. Don’t forget, pegasus slaves are unusually valuable. Besides, a name is just a name. You ponies know who I am as a pony. What does it matter what the label is?”

“I don’t know Dust,” she said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. They may think you are being dishonest.”

“Silver, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I can’t risk it.” I hated lying to her, but it was necessary.

“Mind if I ask you about your cutie mark? Today was the first time I really got a good look at it.” She asked, “What is it and what does it mean?”

I sighed. “You know what, Silver. I don’t really know.” I had been dealing with this my entire adult life. Best I can make out, it looks like a shield standing up on the ground with clouds on top, fading from brown to blue. “I got it when I was younger, when I helped protect some smaller colts being picked on by larger stallions. My family thought it meant I was supposed to protect ponies.” The story was mostly true. I just didn’t tell her that I got it at Junior Speedsters Flight Camp and that it was partially what led me to continue the family tradition of military service. I really didn’t put much stock in it.

“Hmm… that’s interesting,” she stated.

“Your turn.” I said.

“What? Me?” I nodded my head. She drew in a sharp breath. “Not much to mine. It is literally a dark cloud with a silver lining. I got it when I was younger and I would always see the good in a situation. It appeared when I talked a good friend out of killing herself when she didn’t want to face the horrors of the Wasteland anymore. I always seem to be able to help ponies find the good in the bad.”

“That’s interesting. Can I see it when it gets light? I’m sure it looks amazing,” I asked.

“Um, no,” she quickly and abruptly replied.

“Okay… sorry I asked.”

There was a very deep silence for a few moments. Then Silver cleared her throat. “So, are you going to talk about the five hundred pound yak in the room?”

My mind began racing. “Huh?”

“Um, when I thought you were dead, I told you that I was falling in love with you...” she trailed off.

“Oh, that. If you want, I can forget the whole thing happened. I mean, you were speaking from a misplaced sense of grief, and may not have…” I started to say.

“No… it wasn’t misplaced.” she said while looking right up at me. “I still think I am falling in love with you. I don’t think it was simply from thinking you were dead.”

“Wow, Silver. I think you are the first pony that has ever said that to me. I don’t know what to say. Thanks.” I blurted out.

“Oh,” she said, looking dejected again.

“And I think I really like you too…” Wait, what did I just say?

“Oh.” She drew in a sharp breath. “I think I’m just gonna go to sleep.” She turned away from me and became silent. I spent the rest of my watch looking frequently at her sleeping form.

Flower relieved me and I tried to sleep. No matter, what I did, my mind was racing and I stayed awake, staring at the wall or the ceiling or anything for that matter. What the hell was I thinking when I responded to Silver’s statement? “I really like you too?”. Really, Dust?

I turned over to face Silver. Her back was still facing me and I could see the gentle rising and falling of her side. I quietly slid right next to her and whispered in her ear, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I am sorry for before. I am not that good with words. I just hope you can forgive me for being a stupid pony before. Good night, Silver.”

I rolled over and laid my head down again. Clearing my mind to the best of my ability, I started taking deep breaths and felt myself start to drift off to sleep.

“Dust! Wake up!” A hoof smacked me across the snout.

“What the f…” I looked up and saw Flower standing over me “Flower, what the hell was that for?”

“It’s Muddy! He just ran by! We can catch him if we move now!” she shouted at me while running towards the front door.

Making sure I still had my weapons on me this time, I took off with the rest of the group as we bolted out the front door. One, Silver, and Brownie were already waiting for us outside. Brownie looked amazingly good for somepony who was near death yesterday. “Mornin’, Dust. Let’s go get ‘im.”

I nodded at my friend and we all took off at a dead gallop. Muddy was barely a yellow speck, but we were still able to see him. We were all ponies on a mission, moving as fast as we could to catch up.

Slowly, painfully so, we caught up with Muddy. I could clearly see his yellow flank and green tail flicking in the wind in front of me.

“We’re coming for you, Muddy! You’re not getting away this time!” I yelled.

It wasn’t until this moment that I saw why we were able to catch up to Muddy. He had mounted an anti-materiel rifle to his battle saddle. When the fuck did he get that? It swung towards us. “Shit… everypony scatter!”

We all spread out in order to force Muddy to at least aim to hit us instead of taking potshots at a clustered group. The rifle sounded like a cannon shot. I watched as Brownie’s head shattered into a chunky red mist. His headless body dropped to the ground and flipped over several times before coming to rest.

I was shocked, but Flower was the first to speak up. “Brownie! NO!” She stumbled a little while she tried to change directions, but then resumed our charge. “You mother fucker! When I get my hooves on you…”

The rifle’s monstrous report sounded out again. Time seemed to slow as I watched Flower’s chest open up into a bloody blossom and then the round exploded out her side. She fell to the ground too.

I drew my pistol and did my best to aim and bit down on the firing bit. My shots rang out and had no apparent effect on Muddy. My blood froze as I saw the muzzle flash and thunderous sound of the rifle again. I couldn’t look this time. I knew it wasn’t me, so it had to be either Silver or One. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pink pony keeping up with me. My heart sank over One.

Silver and I both stopped running. We looked behind us and saw the body of One. The poor stallion never even got a chance to live and died because of me. I looked back towards Muddy and he was gone from view. Silver walked over and we locked in a hug.

I jumped when I heard the rifle report again. I felt something warm splatter against my back. Silver’s body slowly slid down mine and came to rest on the floor. I couldn’t recognize her face amongst the carnage.

I fell to my knees and began crying over her still form. I had just gotten all my friends killed and for what? Why didn’t I listen to Muddy?

A gun cocked right behind my head. “Don’t move, Dust.” It was Muddy. How did he get so close so quickly? “I told you not to come after me Dust. I warned you. But nooooo… you had to be a hero. You had to dispense justice. Well, welcome to the Wasteland, these aren’t the movies we watched growing up. Sometimes, the good guys die.”

Muddy started laughing and I heard the click as Muddy bit down on the bit.

BANG!

I jumped awake with a jolt. My breathing was short and ragged and my body was covered in sweat. The room was still completely pitch black. Looking around in a panic, I realized I was still in the Stable-Tec atrium behind the reception desk.

Silver was jolted awake by my sudden movement. “Dust, are you OK? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, a bad dream is all.” I said between breaths.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“Not really, it was nothing important anyway.” I paused. “Sorry I woke you up.”

Silver sighed. “Dust, you know I’m here for you, right? If there is something I can do to help you out, I will.”

“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m just going to go back to sleep.” I laid my head back down and heard Silver do the same.

My eyes closed and I tried to clear my mind. It always came back to the part of my dream when I felt the warm splashing on my neck. She was a mare I’ve only known for several days, but when I saw her body in my dreams, it wasn’t just an acquaintance or even a friend. I don’t think I’d have the same reaction if it were Brownie or Flower. How did this happen? And with a dirtpony of all ponies?

After tossing and turning for almost an hour, I turned and watched Silver sleep. The gentle rising and falling of her sides put some of the fears in my mind at rest. But then the specter was still there: what would happen if I lost her permanently?

I got up and looked for a stairwell. Fortunately, there was one right off the atrium which was unlocked. Quietly opening and closing the door, I climbed all the way to the top floor and saw that it had roof access. The door was a little jammed, but a few shoves with my shoulder and it creaked open.

It was still the dead of night, and the world was covered with an inky darkness. I looked up to the sky and just stared. I hadn’t seen the actual sky in a long time, and I missed its pull. I couldn’t wait to see the light blue background with the warm, yellow sun. But then I felt some melancholy as well. Silver couldn’t join me… and here I was again, my thoughts going back to Silver.

Hoofsteps approached from behind me. “A cap fer your thoughts?” It was Flower. Please don’t start, Flower.

“Shouldn’t you be down there watching the others?” I tried to deflect.

“No sir. You ain’t gonna get away with that now. Brownie is awake watchin’ the lobby. He’ll get my attention if needed.” She pulled a bottle of Wild Pegasus out of her saddlebags. “Here, take a swig. Or two.”

“Flower, I don’t…” I started to say.

“Nope… yer drinkin’ it, even if I hafta force it down yer throat.” She proffered the bottle again.

I grabbed the bottle from her and brought it to my mouth. Tilting the bottle, I took a big swig. The liquid burned as it made its way down my throat. I instinctively exhaled trying to calm the burn.

“Now, I said two. Let’s go.” she said while she mimed taking a drink. Glaring at her a little, I threw my head back and took another swig. This swallow burned a little less. I nearly gasped for air after gulping it down. “Ain’t that better?” Flower grabbed the bottle from my hoof and drank about double what I did. “Why are ya such a lightweight?” She laughed.

“I’m not!”

“I’m just jokin’ with ya.” Flower interrupted, giggling. After a slight pause, her face hardened and she continued. “Now, are ya gonna tell me what’s been up your ass lately, or am I gonna have to drink it out of ya?”

“What makes you…” I shut my mouth and took a deep breath through my nostrils. “Why bother trying to hide it. Well, you see…”

Flower interrupted me. “It’s her, Silver, isn’t it?” I was going to deny it, but then I simply nodded. “What the hell is the problem? She’s cute… hell, I’d give her a good time.” She clapped me on my back.

“I don’t know what it is Flower.” My emotions started to flood my brain. “I just met her several days ago, and I just don’t know why I feel the way I do.”

“What do you mean, Dust? How do you feel?” she asked.

“That’s a tough question. It all started when I left the stable after Muddy attacked me. She stayed behind and she was all I could think about as I walked back to Coltington. And then when she met Big Boss for the first time, I lied to him to protect her. I lied to Big Boss, Flower. Can you believe that?” I asked, incredulous. Flower just nodded and waited. “And then I’m sure you remember the night we got attacked by the radhog.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Well, as you know, since you had to knock some sense back into me, I flipped my shit that night. I thought I lost her. Again.” I needed to take a couple of breaths to calm myself down. “Then, when we were being held by the clones, I thought it was a very real possibility that I wouldn’t make it back in time to save her. And when the doctor told me she wasn’t sure if she was able to do enough for her…” I said trailing off at the end.

After a short pause, I picked up where I left off. “And then there was tonight. I had a nightmare. It was about Muddy. He was picking us off one at a time. He got everyone. First it was Brownie and you. And I felt bad when it happened, I really did. But once he took out Brownie, One, and you, Silver and I were mourning. But then Muddy shot her while she was in my hooves. I felt bad before, but it wasn’t until that moment when I felt like my world was over.”

A very long silence passed between us. She spoke, softly and, out of character for her, kindly, “So, Dust, why do you think you feel this way about her? What is it that makes her that necessary in yer life?”

My brain started working overtime. “I don’t know, Flower. I was never good with mares. Before you met me, I had a few marefriends, but no one I think I could call my special somepony. After those mares and I had broken up, I felt bad, but nowhere near what I have felt over the last week or so when I think of losing her. At first, I thought it was simply because she saved my life in the stable. But as time passes, I’m not so sure.”

Again, a long silence enveloped the night. Flower wrapped her hoof around mine. “Dust, do you mind if I put in my two caps?”

“Sure.” How could it hurt?

“As you know, the Wasteland is cruel. We see death and destruction every day. Raiders, slavers, mutated animals, radiation… it seems like the Wasteland has only one job: ta kill us all.” She placed one of her hooves on top of mine. “It is rare to find something like love out there. I feel that if ya can find it, ya should grab on ta it and not let go. If ya choose ta let it go, the Wasteland will take it and destroy it.”

“Aren’t you afraid of losing Brownie one day?” I asked.

“Every day, Dust. Only every day. I try not ta dwell on it. I simply enjoy it while I have it and hope that I die first,” she said with a smirk. “But I can tell you this. I know that I’d rather live with that fear than not have Brownie at all.”

We sat there for a couple of hours watching the horizon brighten to a lighter gray as the sun must have been rising behind the clouds. After what would have probably been a full sunrise, Flower stood up. “Let’s go. We have to get everyone up and out.”

“Flower, one more question. What do I say to her?” I asked.

“Dust, unfortunately, I can’t help ya there. All I can say is ta speak from yer heart.”

Flower kept walking back to the stairwell. Before she forced the door open again, I called out, “Thanks, Flower.”

“No problem, Dust. Now let’s get back to it.” She said as she disappeared down the stairs.

My Pipbuck beeped. I looked down at the screen and the list of encrypted log entries had reappeared. The second encrypted entry changed to read “Hope”. Clicking on the entry, the screen was filled with text. It appeared to be another history lesson about Rainbow Dash. This time it talked about her trying to impress the Wonderbolts to be accepted. What the hell? Why would a Pipbuck be filled with stuff about that traitorous mare? I flicked off the log entries, gave the brightening horizon one last look, and then re-entered the Stable-Tec building.

The walk down the stairs felt like it took an eternity. I was running through several variations of what I wanted to say to Silver. I got to the ground floor landing and tried to collect myself before going into the atrium.

Pushing through the door, the first thing I saw was Flower nuzzling next to Brownie, who was also awake. She picked her head up and looked at me and simply nodded. I picked up my pace a little back to wear Silver was sleeping.

After hearing her light breathing, I surmised that she was still asleep. I would have felt bad waking her up, but we had to break ‘camp’ and resume our chase of Muddy anyway. As I got closer to Silver, my pace slowed and my mind began to race. My stomach was threatening to perform somersaults.

Standing next to Silver, just looking down, my resolve started to falter. If I was going to do anything, it had to be now. I dropped down and laid next to her. Gently nudging her shoulder, I whispered, “Silver, it’s time to wake up.”

After repeating a few more times, her eyes fluttered open. While still yawning, she said, “Good morning, Dust. Is it really that time already?”

“Yes it is, Silver, but before we go anywhere, we need to talk.” My mind was starting to freeze up on me.

“Sure thing, Dust,” she said with a look of anticipation on her face.

“I just wanted to tell you… um, that…” No… c’mon, I have to tell her. “Um…”

“What is it, Dust? You can tell me anything,” she said looking a little worried.

“Well, um, you see, it’s just that, uh…” My voice started to fade.

“Yes, Dust?”

“I forgot.”

“Oh… OK. Well, if you remember, I’ll be ready to hear it.” she said, trying but failing to mask the sadness in her voice. “I guess we should pack up and join the others.”

After she turned her back to me, I facehoofed myself. Hard.

It took the group almost no time at all to pack up since we never had to set up a full camp last night. Seeing as how we never set up a heat source, it made things even easier. However, we had to settle for some brahmin jerky for breakfast.

After we all gulped down the salty, chewy meat, we finished packing up our gear. At one point Flower looked over at me with a look in her eye asking how things went. I shook my head and she facehoofed herself. I couldn’t argue with her.

I checked in with Brownie, and while he was still in pain, the healing potions had worked wonders. He wouldn’t be winning any races anytime soon, but he could handle a hike.

We double-checked that we had everything and we assembled by the front door. I stopped the group. “Before we go, I think there is something Brownie and One need to know. Yesterday I ran into Muddy. He shot me and got away, but before he did, he proposed a deal. If we leave him alone, he said that we will never see or hear from him again. However, he claimed that if we continued after him, he would kill all of us, saving me for last to punish us.

“If anypony wants to head back to Coltington, I will not blame you in any way. If I have to keep going alone, I will. This has become somewhat more personal between Muddy and I, and none of you need to risk your lives over this. Go back and tell Big Boss that we lost track of him, but I am going to keep looking. Anypony that wants to leave, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

My traveling companions all glanced at each other.

Silver spoke up first. “Dust, I won’t leave your side. I want Muddy as badly as you do.”

Flower and Brownie exchanged one more glance. Brownie looked back and said, “Dust, we joined ya at the beginnin’ because of what Muddy did to you and nothin’ has really changed since then. We’re with you.” Flower nodded in agreement.

One looked uncertain. “Mister Dust, while I may not fully understand what we’re doing, I know this. Daddy told me to stick with you and that’s what I intend to to.”

My traveling companions… no, my friends, were with me to see this out. Even in the Enclave military, I had never felt this unity of motivation. My friends wanted to help me because it was the right thing to do, not because it was what we were ordered to do.

And it felt damn good.

We were able to clear the outskirts of New Flankfort while avoiding the ghouls that were milling around (the EFS was a great invention). While I wish I could fly to Whinnycrest, I couldn’t reveal my secret to my friends, and I didn’t want to arrive alone anyway.

Silver’s words began to settle on me. Would my friends hate me when they found out the truth? If they even ever found out the truth? I would be upset if I were them, but I had very good reasons to not tell them. Besides, it’s not like I changed my behavior. Dust was Updraft and Updraft was Dust, right? What did it matter that I was really an Enclave pegasus sent down to spy on them? Well, when you put it that way…

My pensiveness was interrupted by Brownie shushing us. He climbed up on top of a small rise and pulled out some binoculars out of his saddle bags. “Um, it appears to be small group of ponies. Definitely not raiders or slavers. Should be OK.”

He came back down and we kept on walking. After a short period of time, we met the group. It was a group of maybe a dozen earth ponies and unicorns dressed up in rancher gear. Each had a rifle of some sort. We nodded a silent greeting and they did the same.

The last member of their group passed by Silver and I saw his eyes light up. I whispered to my group, “I don’t like the looks of this, let’s pick up the pace a little.” and we all began to trot. I watched behind me as the pony who noticed Silver went to the leader of the group and began to have a very animated talk. The leader pulled a scroll out of his bags, looked at it and then back at Silver. I was getting a bad feeling.

“Silver Lining?” the lead pony called back.

Before I could say anything, she snapped her head back and started responding, “Yes? Who’s ask…”

I hate it when I’m right. The markers on my EFS flashed from green to red as the ponies behind us all drew their weapons. The lead pony yelled back at us, “Stop right where you are or we’ll shoot!”

We were in no position to defend ourselves. None of us had drawn our weapons and the entire group got the jump on us. We stopped and slowly spun around to face our new enemies. The group made their way back to us and circled the group. Twelve to five were not odds I wanted to try.

“Silver Lining. You thought you could hide from your master?” the lead pony asked with a sneer.

Before she could answer, I stepped in front of her. “Listen, we don’t want any trouble.”

“Neither do we. But Silver left our employer before the terms of her contract were settled. He’s been looking for her for a while now. We will be taking her with us, one way or another,” the lead pony said with a tinge of aggravation.

“She is our friend, and we will not simply turn her over to you.” I stamped my hoof for emphasis.

“Oh, I think you misunderstand me. Boys…” He nodded at his companions.

“What do…” I started to say. I felt something hard impact the back of my head and my vision was flashed with stars. The world was spinning as I fell to the ground and everything faded to black.

Level up!

Unarmed - 25

Perk Obtained: Jack Be Nimble - When unarmed and unarmored, you enjoy a +2 Agility boost when in SATS.

Author's Notes:

Thanks as always to Kkat, Mimezinga, Somber, FuzzyVeeVee, No One, Fallingsnow for inspiring me with their stories.

I would like to add a new inspiration and that is Gamma Deekay. If you haven't read Merchants of Hope yet, I highly recommend it.

Gamma also deserves a load of thanks for helping get me back on track by helping review my material!

Hope you all enjoyed chapter 9!