Blue couldn't be sure how much time had passed since she had awoken. It must have been less than twenty minutes, she supposed—closer to ten or fifteen. But she didn't think on it for long; it was inconsequential to do so really. There were better ways to occupy her time.

Coalburst had fallen asleep a fair while ago; she now snored gently as she curled up under Blue's crimson-tipped feathers. Her deep black coat was tinted and stained with blood which gave her something of a bay effect. Still, despite the mare's own discomfort at the sight and thought, the filly was hardly bothered by it at all.

That was no surprise, really. She'd grown up in this unforgiving world, after all; blood was a daily part of life and survival.

Blue's breath quickly started to hitch at the thought of her own sticky coat. Gulping, she then fought to find some distraction as she slowly raised her wing from the filly's back. She inched it away as Coalburst squirmed very slightly and folded it to her side as she heaved herself up.

The pain was immediate, though that felt like nothing new now. Trying to distract her mind from the discomfort, her teeth ground together once more as she instead trod forwards slowly; each hoof step sent shudders up her spine. Her very soul felt like it screamed as she moved; instinct immediately kicked in and commanded her to stop.

But she was her own mare and, as of a few days ago, a pony of Plague-Equestria. There wasn't room for weakness or cowardice; for submission to desires. She had to be strong, had to be a survivor—and so that was what she did.

She ignored the sight of the already open chest for now—Coalburst had obviously gone through it quite extensively—and instead looked about herself with a frown. She squinted through the darkness and her grey eyes then widened as her gaze settled on something large nestled away in the corner. What exactly it was, she could not tell, but it had great potential; her suspicions were only confirmed as she lamely hopped closer, her eyes just able to pick up on the small details of the item.

Blue could hardly believe what she was seeing. Blinking a few times, it still being there, she then felt her heart soar; giggling a little, she leapt forwards—and promptly gave a yell of pain.

Coalburst jumped to her hooves immediately; her eyes shot open at the sound. She lit her horn without hesitation before then she relaxed, seeing nothing worth reacting to.

"Ugh. Blu-ue!" she moaned, bending her fore legs before she tucked her rear leg underneath her stomach. Then lowering her head back to the ground, she let her cheek mush against the rock. "I was sleepin'..."

Blue gave a small giggle despite her discomfort, her eyes alight as she watched the little filly's fidgeting. She was a funny thing; so serious when it was necessary, but chipper otherwise.

"Well, don't be going back to sleep," Blue said with a frown as Coalburst's magic light began to dim.  "I want to check out this... box thing."

Coalburst looked up slowly and then sighed as she hopped back up to her hooves. She limped over to the mare's side sluggishly and then leant up against her heavily; Blue gave a yelp immediately and jumped away, leaving the foal to stumble.

"Hey!" Coalburst glared a little before a small smile graced her face. "Ah, I'm sorry. Forgot you're hurt and all." The filly glanced back at Blue's flank and grinned. "But you're looking better! Not your coat, course; that's soaked. You're really gonna need a wash. But the wounds look... Well, okay-ish! And I don't think I burned too much of your actual skin!"

Blue's eyes narrowed. "You say that like it's a great thing," she hissed. "My body kills. You may as well have stuck me on a spit and roasted me! So get that horn of yours working, or I might just lose control of my hoof and whack you."

Coalburst giggled and skipped in front of Blue to nuzzle under her chin quickly. "Nah. You love me!" She snickered a little more; a small hiccup escaped her lips. A small blush crept up on her cheeks, jut visible through her bold black fur. She was quick to turn away—the blush only heightened—as she gritted her teeth and called upon a little more of her magic. The sleep had definitely helped but she was still far from up to full power.

Coalburst turned her head to the machine which stood before her and quickly rubbed her left eye with a hoof as she wobbled on only two legs. Then she steadied herself, cocked her head slightly and frowned. "So," she began, her ears flicking, "how're we gonna get into there?"

Blue's expression morphed to imitate the filly's before she grinned. She turned around and opened her wings, gritted her teeth and raised a rear leg. A moment later, she pushed up from the ground so that she rested only on her fore hooves.

Blue could feel nothing but pain as she moved; a scream tore from her mouth. She gasped and panted, her chest and flank tearing her mind to shreds. Rational thoughts were past her as she whimpered and whined. The agony only increased as her hooves struck the glass of the machine and shudders coursed up her spine.

Nothing happened.

Blue crumpled to the floor, her mind in turmoil. Her breaths came in ragged, stolen gasps; her eyes grew wide but she saw nothing. Her limbs ripped at her nerves, her body set to self-destruct.

But now was not the time to die.

As she let out a small breath, Coalburst stepped closer and buried her muzzle under Blue's shoulder. Giving her a nudge upwards, she then jumped back as the mare stumbled a little. Having to stand on her own, however, effectively shocked her from her panic; with gasps and shudders, she glanced at the intact vending machine and whimpered again.

Coalburst huffed and shook her head slightly. "Blue? Blue, listen to me already!" When she saw the mare's hazy, blurry eyes turning to face her, she let out another breath. "Look, I know it's painful! But you've really gotta fight it. You're not gonna survive out here if you don't!"

Blue moaned and whined, quivering. "That's easy for you to say!" she snapped and hissed again as a new wave of pain coursed through her body. "I'm almost burned alive here!"

Coalburst narrowed her eyes and her ears fell back. "I don't know? I don't know?" She spun around to let Blue see her injured leg in full view. Then wincing a little herself, she slowly unwound the thick vine which tied her stump. Even in her state, Blue could easily see how awful the wound was—so much so, in fact, that she spun away immediately and heaved.

The exposed segment of shattered bone was bigger than Blue's knife.

Coalburst hissed as the cold air hit the newly exposed nerves. Quickly she bound it with the vine again and then looked at the mare without a sound. Once Blue returned her attention to her, she then gave a feeble smile and looked away.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't nice of me. But really, I know pain."  She looked back up and then returned her attention to the vending machine. "Oh, I'm gonna shut up. We've gotta go find RipEar before we go back and there's gonna be plenty of time for more pain. So I don't wanna talk about it now."

Blue shuddered at the thought but her distress numbed slightly when she kept still. "So, now what? This is some kind of... anti-buck glass."

Coalburst grinned again and rolled her eyes. "Wow. You could be some pre-war product maker, you're so good at naming stuff!" She snickered a little though her eyes shone less than they had done before. "Lucky for us, glue's got a low melting point—well, compared to my fire. It won't take much to make a weak flame to melt the stuff holding the glass... But I can't melt the other lock on the chest yet. I'm too weak still, and that takes a lot of heat."

Blue nodded quickly as she glanced up to the machine. It was incredibly well stocked; it didn't look like it had ever been used before. "Well, sure," she said as her eyes then landed on a plastic bottle at the top. Licking her lips, she flared out her wings before yelping quietly. "Argh..."

Coalburst gave Blue a small smile and then spun around so as to nudge her away. Ignoring the mare's complaints and cries at the forced movement—she apologised over and over—the filly then closed her eyes. She let a small flame materialise in front of her and guided it carefully over to the vending machine. There, she  held it still for a second and took a deep breath; then she hopped backwards and began to let it skirt along the edges.

The stench of hot glue filled the small space immediately, powerful and strong. Blue found it rather pleasant, actually, though Coalburst's scrunched up nose suggested otherwise for her opinion. Still, there was hardly time to dwell on it.

The glass pane began to creak slightly; it stayed where it was for a fraction of a second before it plummeted from its case. It fell with a heavy crash—but even that impact only chipped fragments from the edges.

Blue's mouth fell open, her gaze glued to the unbroken frame. Coalburst only giggled and trotted forwards, stopping in front of the vending machine. She was quick to look over its contents before she then wrapped her magic around two items; the drink, and a small cylindrical tub of salted peanuts for herself.

Accepting the bottle which Coalburst levitated over to her side, Blue hurried to begin work on the cap. It was tightly screwed on, more so than any other which she had tried to open. As she finally jerked it off and pressed the rim to her lips, however, the cap fell to the floor and she stilled.

Blue frowned as she pushed the bottle away. Then she turned to the filly, placed the drink down on the rocky floor and nudged her with a wing; a wince flashed across her face. "Hey, Coal?" she asked, then noticing the foal's goofy grin as she chewed with cheeks that bulged. Blue could only recoil slightly as she scrunched up her nose. "Coal, these are pre-war things! They're a century old! Are you... Are you sure it's still good?"

Coalburst paused for only the briefest of seconds before she passionately nodded her head. "Well, yeah!" she said, a peanut falling from her mouth. She frowned at that, chewing slowly before swallowing. "It's got the uni-vac stamp, see?"

"The what?"

As Coalburst rolled her eyes, she shuffled a little closer and pointed her hoof to the mare's bottle. Blue, in turn, focused her eyes down on the yellowed, partly-peeled label. The majority of the words were small and indiscernible; only the larger ones could still be read. And, as the filly had promised, the word "uni-vac" was printed in a faded rainbow of colours.

Blue's eyes narrowed at the stamp. "Great. I'm sure that would do wonders to reassure me—if only I knew what this... uni-vac thing was."

Coalburst looked up to the mare slowly and her eyes widened as her mouth fell open. "Seriously? Wow. I know you're an amnesiac and all, but uni-vac's a big deal!" She reached over to pick up her pot of peanuts and then placed it down next to Blue. "It's... Well, I reckon it's the best pre-war invention ever! I don't really know how it works, though, but it keeps food fresh forever! Well, pretty much forever. My mum said it uses a vacuum to stop stuff going bad..." Coalburst giggled a little before looking away. "But then, I don't really know what a vacuum is. But it works!"

Blue's ears pricked upwards and she grinned. "I read a physics book once, in the facility," she said as she raised a hoof to her chin. "It said a vacuum was empty space, no air or anything. But it's meant to be... well, impossible to make a true one."

"Oh. Well, maybe that's the 'uni' bit—unicorn magic." Coalburst kept quiet for a minute before she shrugged and reached into the tin, taking a few more nuts. She munched them with a small sigh before she then jumped to her hooves and turned away. "Well, enjoy your drink. Whatever it is," she said and bouncing over to the open chest. "I'm gonna try and get the other one open. See if there's a needle or anything I can use to pick the lock."

Blue nodded, then she glanced down at her drink. In truth, she hadn't even looked at what it was; the label was too faded to be able to tell anyway. She'd only chosen it for its rich red colour. But she raised it to her muzzle nevertheless and took a tentative sniff; her eyes widened in surprise at the pleasant smell. And then, before she had so much as a chance to hesitate and question the safety of doing so, she took a large swig of the century old beverage.

Blue was pleased to realise that the substance did, in fact, have a rather pleasant flavour. It was not so unlike lemonade, but with a subtle hint of carrot and with a somewhat thicker consistency; it was almost similar to honey or syrup, the latter of which she had only tasted once.

She sighed at the exquisite taste, so incredible compared to the few sips of water she'd had over the last few days, and then let her gaze drift. When her eyes landed upon Coalburst's near-empty tub of peanuts, she then raised a hoof sharply as her heart suddenly began to pound harder. For whatever reason, her chest burned almost immediately. Gritting her teeth, she turned to face the filly behind her and tried to smile naturally—something which did not come easily.

"Hey, Coal? There aren't any... metal tubs, are there?" Blue nodded to the chest quickly, a small blush on her cheeks. "Or glass?"

Coalburst's eyes narrowed slightly and her expression morphed into one of puzzlement. "Well, there's a bottle..." she said and levitated the item from the chest. "It's filled with pills and stuff, though."

Blue's eyes lit up and she sat up straighter, then she hunched up immediately and yelped. "That... That'd be great!" she managed to get out, pushing her hoof forwards to accept the bottle as Coalburst levitated it closer. She grinned even more sheepishly—her ears fell slightly—and she murmured, "You don't think you could make a little flame really quick as well, do you?"

"A flame? What are you doing?" Coalburst leaned forwards, her eyes brightened a little before she shrugged. She then closed her eyes and took a breath in as she lit her horn. A moment later, a tiny flame grew from thin air next to the mare's side. "There. Hurry up, though, 'cos I've gotta keep this thing going. And my head hurts."

Blue gave Coalburst a sympathetic smile before she turned back around. Quickly, she emptied the pills onto the floor—unidentified, they were of little use—she poured a dash of the drink into the bottle. Then dipping her hoof into the filly's snack tub, she held the glass over the flickering flame and dropped  a single peanut in.

Nothing much happened, although the peanut did dissolve slowly as Blue swirled the mixture above the heat. But she persisted—something in her heart urged her to do so; a few seconds later the liquid suddenly began to thin and morphed into a sickly green colour.

Blue had to fight not to drop the bottle, but something in her heart forced her to instead raise it to her lips. Taking a deep breath, she ignored Coalburst's protests as the flame died away and instead took a small sip.

It didn't taste any different.

Blue sighed and dropped the bottle to the floor. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but mixing the two had felt like such a good idea. She wasn't sure why exactly; it had just made her heart soar at the prospect of making something. A foalish desire, she supposed.

With a sigh, Blue hung her head before she snapped it back around as a shrill shriek met her ears. Coalburst was now stood a few metres away from the chest, her back arched and her eyes wide. It was no trouble to find out why; the chest's lock was now burning with purple and green flames and their immense light suddenly blinded both occupants of the room. And then, a heartbeat later, a low and mechanical voice sounded. But it did not fill the room; rather, it merely echoed loud in the ponies' ears.

Unicorn magic detected, ID: #16784 ... Welcome, General Sunburst. Stand clear.

A deafening and wholly unnatural shriek sounded in the room as Coalburst shuffled up to Blue's side. Then, on the furthest wall, it became apparent what was going on; the crudely carved rock had begun to shift outwards as it opened to reveal a carved out space.

"What the-" Coalburst began, her ears flattened as she took a tentative step forwards. "Did it call me General Sunburst? Who even is that?"

Blue shrugged as she peered into the dark room. Following after Coalburst slowly, her wings flared out, her eyes darted about quickly. "No idea. Some pre-war guy, I guess. Or mare. They'll be long dead though."

Coalburst nodded stiffly and let her yellow aura surround her horn. "I... guess. Maybe. But it might be a trap." As she stepped closer, she then perked up. "But hey! If he's a dead general, and this is his place, then that means we can take all his general-y stuff, right?"

"I don't think-"

"Oh, sure it does! Finders keepers!" Coalburst giggled as she trotted forwards, filled with a new joviality. Then she paused at the edge of the room, glanced around the corner and then took a breath before she stepped inside. Gasping, she squealed and yipped at Blue to follow.

The room was dark, though Coalburst's dim light was enough to brighten it up slightly. And what a sight it was; stood before her, held up by invisible bonds, a flawless set of silver armour was levitated. On it, an old—but still easily readable—note was stuck:

My dear friend Sunburst,

I can only pray that this war will be over before you are called to battle. But, if that is not the case, then I hope that this armour will come in useful. Princess Twilight helped me to enchant it; pure silver, but it's now harder than steel and completely inert. It will also adjust itself to give a snug fit once tried on, just in case you gain some muscle during these few years.

If I do not see you again, lest either of us gets hurt—or worse—I wish you the best. And, should anything happen to me, don't fret; I joined Princess Twilight on this mission willingly, and I am more than ready for the potential consequences.

You're a great wizard. Remember that.

—Starlight

Blue frowned as she read the note aloud, but it held no significance to her. She quickly tossed it aside, her attention momentarily wavering, and she then yelped as something heavy and cold fell down upon her head. Gritting her teeth as her forelock and mane were roughly pulled through, she then gasped as plates were then lowered down onto her chest, back and flank.

"Woah, woah! What are you doing?" Blue yelled, spinning as Coalburst yanked her tail through the complementary hole. The filly froze in mid-movement, blinking a few times as her mouth dropped open.

"What? This is some great armour!" she argued. "It's magic!"

Blue threw her leg about a bit and frowned as Coalburst continued to adjust the silver plates. "It's not mine. It doesn't feel right taking it. And it feels weird, anyway. Why can't you take it?"

Coalburst shrugged, stepping backwards as her magic fell away. "I'm better at surviving than you. And it wouldn't fit me, anyway, adjustable or not. So, tough—you're keeping it." She giggled a little and looked around slowly. Trotting over lamely to a locker at the side, she then turned and bucked the small padlock once; it broke immediately. The door fell loose too, hinges crippled, and she peeked inside. A massive grin soon etched itself onto her muzzle. She needed only rummage for a second before she proceeded to levitate a deadly sharp blade out; a rapier, the hilt of which was emblazoned with some odd engraving of a sparkling circle which burst with light.

Coalburst grinned and turned to Blue with a sudden rush of confidence. Then she gripped the rapier's handle in her mouth, threw her head a little and trotted out.

"C'mon, Blue! Let's go. We've gotta go find RipEar anyway," she chirped, much too happy. Skidding to a stop, however, she then looked back cautiously. "You... You're not too hurt still, are you?"

Blue paused in mid stride as the door behind groaned shut and rose a hoof. Caught up in the excitement, she hadn't even noticed that her burning wounds had eased. Now that she thought of it, there was still something of a strong ache—but ever since she'd mixed up her "concoction", the pain had actually been milder. Tolerable.

Nodding blindly, her heart suddenly ablaze with amazement, Blue stumbled over to the vending machine again. Then she took a few more swigs of her drink, threw it aside and walked to Coalburst's shoulder, accepting the small knife which had been abandoned on the floor before.

"Let's go."