The mare moaned as she felt herself begin to stir. Her body ached as she slowly floated back into the world of reality. Everything felt wrong; it was too quiet, too cold and—a fact which she became aware of once her eyes began to adjust to the impenetrable blackness—much too dark. The smells, too, were all foreign and unknown, with no comfort to be found in them whatsoever. It wasn't at all like the unnatural but otherwise homely cleanliness of the facility halls.

As she scrunched up her nose, Blue raised her head slowly and winced; her shoulder grumbled in discomfort at the movement. She did her best to ignore the pain, instead looking around herself with a stiff neck and hazy eyes. She tried to take in as much of her surroundings as was possible.

She had no recollection of how she had ended up there, but Blue could note with clarity that she now lay at the back of a frankly claustrophobic cave. So small, in fact, that if she were to rear up, her ears would have easily brushed the damp, dripping ceiling. To be more specific, she lay on a bed of moss, of which there was no shortage at all—the stuff seemed to thrive in this place! On that note, though, to say that the peculiar, writhing blue plant on the left wall was moss seemed like a bit of a far cry.

Though far from being cosy, Blue couldn't help but be grateful for the shelter from the wind which hurled somewhere outside. The coldness, too, wasn't such an issue at first; stationed at the mouth barely fifteen metres away a small, slowly dying fire crackled feebly, fighting to live despite the chill. It gave off hardly enough light to illuminate the entire cave, let alone to warm the place as well, but the promise of relief closer by was incredible.

Wincing as another, somewhat stronger bout of pain wracked her body, Blue shifted about a little and tried to keep herself focused and alert. She placed her hooves down on the bitingly cold rock and then took a deep breath in. As she flattened her ears against her neck further, she pushed upwards, applying all of the force she could muster on her forelegs to get herself up into a sitting position—and then a scream tore from her mouth as her shoulder roared at the startling pain which manifested.

With a gasp, Blue collapsed to the floor as she panted and trembled. Every breath seemed to only feed the pain; the fire blazed fiercer under her skin than the flames which flitted by the cave's mouth. Momentarily incapacitated by it, Blue could do nothing but quiver and whimper as she lay curled on the floor, her mind incapable of any thoughts other than those of pain.

The flames under the mare's skin settled slowly—torturously so—as her moans calmed and her rapid, fluttering breathing slackened. With newfound determination, she then took the opportunity for warmth before the fire died out. Still, as she raised her head slowly and glanced down at her shoulder, she couldn't help but wince at the sight of the wounds.

Her left shoulder, once the palest of greys, was now stained a sickly pink, fresh blood caked and dried on her fur all the way down to her hooves. The skin was ripped jaggedly; a cringe-inducing laceration stretched across the entirety of the muscle—though not deep enough to see bone, which was surely a good point. Her flank, too, was equally bloodied, looking more befitting of a war-veteran than a simple facility—no, ex-facility— mare; the gash there was shorter but much more severe, still not revealing white but, if she had any on hoof, would have easily been deep enough to fit an apple slice inside.

Blue gasped at the sight of herself and snapped her head around to face the cave's mouth; her vision blurred momentarily and her world spun. But no matter how hard she tried, she could do nothing to shift the crimson-stained image of herself from her mind.

Feeling bile rise in her throat, Blue moaned as she rocked very slightly. Even that little action sent fiery sparks up her spine in a momentary cascade of pain and she gasped, shocked out of her confusion into reality once again. And, as she finally brushed off the tiredness and the mind-numbing pain, she could suddenly feel her other achings, too. As if on cue her stomach growled, its fussing echoing all around the small cave, and she shivered as the cold air around her wrapped ever tighter, chilling her to the bone.

By now, the fire was beginning to look more and more appealing with each passing second, though it ebbed rapidly. It called out to the mare, barely louder than a whisper but audibly enough to be distinguished; shivering ever more prominently, she could do little to resist the temptation.

She wasn't even sure if the air in the cave was that cold, to be quite honest, a fact which she considered as she slowly began to move her shoulder, tentative. It was quite possible that she simply hadn't acclimatised yet—but, at any rate, she still felt as if she'd been dunked in a tub full of icy cold water, a discomfort which urged her to fight the pain.

As she placed her forehooves down firmly, Blue squeaked as sparks shot up her spine again; tears flooded her eyes as she squeezed them shut. Taking a few deep breaths, she then shook her head a little and tried to throw off the pain—an action which only served to leave her dizzy and even more distressed than she had been prior.

The world spun once more; Blue moaned and gritted her teeth as she placed even more weight upon her forelegs, feeling the sparks in her spine morph into powerful, unforgiving jolts. Once again tears sprung forth immediately and blurred her world as her eyes were flooded with liquid. Using a feather to brush them away, though doing so only heightened her distress—her feathers were, quite literally, shredded!—she then began to shift her hindquarters about. She had to bite back a scream as she placed them down on the floor and began to push up.

With a moan as she trembled, her body surely made from shattered glass, the mare began to inch forwards; every step exerted even more pressure on her already tortured legs. She could hear every thud of her heart as it rung loud in her ears, the great veil of pain which cloaked her senses allowing nothing from the outside world in. And, as she struggled further at a sluggish pace, the excruciating torment only grew more violent and intense.

It felt like years, the pain stretching each second out into months as Blue dragged herself forwards. Each step annihilated every one of her senses. Small squeaks tore from her mouth with each breath as her teeth began to chatter, the world hunting her down like some tiny, defenceless mouse.

As she squinted her eyes open, even that tiny movement inexplicably unbearable, Blue could just make out the blurred orange light of flames a short way off. But those last few trudges were easily the hardest of them all; as she placed her fore hoof down slowly, a shrill scream tore once more from her throat and reverberated around the entire cave as a sudden surge of pain rushed through her body. Panting, she then scrunched up her face and screamed once more as she took one final step, her shuddering body unable to support her any longer.

Blue collapsed down to the floor below and yelped as she landed on her underbelly rather heavily. She let her head smash to the ground and then heaved, desperate for air as she trembled on the freezing rocky floor.

The flames, by now, were barely larger than a flicker, not even strong enough to illuminate the entire space. After all of her turmoil, however, even their pathetic warmth was well appreciated. Unable to move any closer, it was all she could do to reach her neck forwards desperately in search of any heat the tiny flames might donate. But they were not so generous; with a shudder they reached out to her muzzle and scorcched the fur there. The mare gave a yelp before the flames then finally gave in and receded to leave only faintly glowing embers.

Now that the faint crackle of the fire no longer entertained her mind, the cries of the outside world could suddenly be heard much more clearly. Somewhere fairly near—or so Blue assumed, a realisation which sent a shudder down her spine—the echoing moans of a wolf's howl rang out along with the wind's own roars. A terrified scream blared even closer by soon after, getting louder with each passing second. By the time the wolf's drawn-out howl finally ceased, the mare huddled up inside the cave could almost feel the vibrations of the terror-induced noise.

But if it was just her imagination, why could she still feel tiny tremors beneath her stomach?

Blue whimpered as her ears flicked about rapidly. As she gritted her teeth she flared out her tattered wings and let her head shoot up as she looked about wildly. Her unfocused eyes could see little more than blurry outlines and shadows, however, in the feeble light from a sneaky hole beside the boulder; her ears were not so hindered and could pick up on the sound of frantic galloping easily and, later on, the heavy breathing which accompanied it.

Blue knew there was no time for her to get properly away as the hoofsteps drew closer. Instead, she merely scrunched her eyes shut and grabbed a warm stick from the died out campfire. She clamped her jaw shut around it and moved quickly. She forced herself up onto her hooves with one smooth movement. The action drew an involuntarily gasp at the rush of pain which, though anticipated, was even worse than she could have imagined. Immediately she bit down on the branch and then stumbled backwards blindly, her hooves landing anywhere flat; her mind was much too pained to allow her any control.

Falling up against the wall of the cave, Blue trembled and panted as she collapsed back down onto the floor; her sides seared as she released the shattered fragments of wood from her mouth. She then pressed herself up against the wall as close as she dared and tried her best to hold her racing breaths and keep quiet.

The newcomer, however, was far from cautious. Small enough in stature to fit through the slim gap at the base of the boulder, they galloped in at full speed with barely a moment's hesitation, seemingly unbothered by the insanely sharp rock. Blue couldn't even tell if they'd been caught in their haste; if they had escaped the entrance unscathed, they were either incredibly talented or just damn lucky.

Pressing herself up against the wall more firmly, Blue clenched her jaw tighter as her wing began to fuss a little. At present, the shadows just managed to conceal her light coloured fur and pastel blue mane. She kept her eyes squinted as she studied the newcomer, assessing their strengths as opposed to their weaknesses, sussing out what kind of pony they could be.

She knew very little about the outside world, it being completely irrelevant to her life inside the facility. There was, however, one thing that she knew for certain; the world of Plague Equestria was, in short, an unforgiving place, overrun by mad and even mutated beasts. And to underestimate any creature, from the smallest insect to the fire-breathing dragons, could be potentially suicidal.

To be fair, the newcomer before her certainly appeared to pose no immediate threat. From the dim light, the vague shape of a very short pony could be assumed—a foal, most likely—and, by the way they moaned very quietly as they scampered about, they were in pain themselves. The thought alone made Blue feel somewhat horrified, but she couldn't help but feel slightly relieved at the revelation; a wounded foe was weaker, though not always any less dangerous.

Despite their evident pain, the foal continued to scamper about; their silhouette ran to and fro in the darkness as their moans and occasional cries penetrated the air. But for the most part, they kept themselves quiet; kept their complaints to themselves and did not move so fast as to make lots of noise; Blue could only assume that their injuries were not quite so severe if it was possible for them to remain so in control, for Celestia knew that she could never have done it herself. Which was all the more reason, she then concluded, not to make her presence known.

It seemed crazy, Blue realised as she watched silently, to be afraid of a mere foal. Though far from being a tall pony, she was nevertheless a mare as opposed to a filly or colt, and as such would still tower even the largest of them. Still, this was an outsider foal; that they were still alive was a testimony to their strength.

As her eyes slowly began to adjust to the feeble light of the cave, Blue could feel herself becoming more and more exposed in her hiding spot in the shadows; yet another reason, she assumed, to keep quiet and continue to assess this foal as friend or foe. She had no strength with which to stand, and even more significantly no weapons with which to fight. But then again, the foal seemed particularly under-armoured too; the only item which they could possibly have used to fight or defend themselves with was the underdeveloped horn upon their head.

As they scampered about, the foal seemed just as unseeing in the blackness as Blue had been before. They stumbled about, not really knowing where they were going. One could only assume that they were trying to find some safer part of the cave—the most secluded section, perhaps, where they could possibly rest up without being found so easily. The space was tiny, however, as Blue knew well; the inevitable second the foal's hoof came down upon the bone dry, burnt out campfire wood they gasped. They reeled backwards and smashed against the rocky wall. It took all of Blue's self-control to not run over and comfort the poor thing, but she knew equally well that she couldn't afford to be so foolish.

Her plan of hiding, however, was quickly scuppered as the little foal recovered from their shock. With baited breath, she watched as they crept forwards, more tentative this time as they felt about with their nose through the blackness. They froze as their muzzle finally connected with the twigs and they lowered their horn slowly. The foal grunted, closing their eyes and calling upon their magic. It was a slow process at first and for a few seconds, Blue couldn't help but feel hopeful that they wouldn't manage, wouldn't see her as the tiny horn merely sparked. But soon, the magic grew stronger and morphed into a fairly bold aura which encased the foal's entire horn; a breath later, the twigs burst into flame and the fire roared to life as its maker leapt backwards.

The shadows in the cave dispersed almost immediately, falling away at once to leave Blue, currently positioned behind the newcomer, feeling incredibly exposed—naked, furless. But her resolve to keep quiet soon broke as she finally laid eyes upon the filly in the light, at last able to see her—and, by extension, the extent of her injuries—properly.

A small scream tore from the mare's throat before she even had a chance to prevent it. The filly, who couldn't have been any older than thirteen, barely looked fit to still be standing. The base of her neck was wound tightly by a thick, grubby bandage, concealing a wound that was large enough to have completely soaked through the material; rather than being cream or white, as all of the medical supplies in the facility had been, this wrap was almost pure crimson. Across her back, two thick gashes also scarred her skin, these being partially healed so that the fur had grown back pale against the filly's otherwise onyx coat. But, in the grand scheme of things, those were mere scratches—at least compared to the poor thing's right hind leg, which ended in an abrupt and grisly stump half way between her thigh and the point at which her hock ought to have been, tied with a vine of sorts in some attempt at preventing any more loss of blood.

The filly yelped and spun around, her eyes narrowing as her gaze fell upon the mare who cowered behind her. She lowered her head quickly, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that she only had three legs on which to balance, and snarled as she lit up her horn. Her show of fierceness, however, did not last long; a few seconds later she squeaked loudly as a second, stronger orange aura encased her body. She was lifted her from the ground before she was sent flying across the cave. She collided with the wall with a thud, the action instantaneously knocking her unconscious so that she crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Stunned, Blue's mouth parted slightly as she looked to the filly at the back of the cave, blinking a few times slowly. She then turned her gaze to the cave's entrance. She recoiled very momentarily before she sighed, her ears flattening as she recognised the unicorn stallion stood before her, a somewhat irked scowl upon his face.

"And here I thought that I'd taken on my share of mad'uns today," he grumbled. He favoured his forehoof slightly as he stepped into the cave, pulled off his saddlebags and dumped them on the ground beside the fire. "Can't I just get a five minute break?"