"Oh, come on!" RipEar hissed as he narrowed his dark eyes and turned away from the quivering mare. He re-submerged the needle in the shallow pan of boiling water which hovered just above the crackling flames. "I know you hate needles, but for buck's sake, this is just ridiculous!"

"It's not my fault!" the mare whined in response, sitting a little straighter before she winced and slouched once more. "I'm an amnesiac, you know that; I probably had some massive needle incident back when I was a filly that scarred me for life!"

"Hmm. Something tells me that probably wasn't the case," he said, though the slightest of smiles crept up onto his face. He then lit his horn ever so faintly and picked up the needle in his magic once more. He began to move it painfully slowly forwards; he dragged it along the floor so that Blue, incredibly, didn't notice the subtle movement. "You were probably perfectly normal, and who knows—maybe one day you'll remember."

Having originally perked up a little now that the needle wasn't being waved in her face, Blue's ears drooped quickly and she pouted a little. "Yeah, maybe. But what's really the chance of that?"

"Well, I'm no expert but you could always start by trying to re-earn your cutie mark," RipEar said after a moment's pause. He moved the needle even closer so that it now lay just beside the mare's forehoof. "That's not remembering so much as re-discovering, but it's a good start, don't you think? It might then lead to a memory or two." He winced very slightly as he raised the needle slowly, holding it at the nape of Blue's withers so that she wouldn't see it in her field of vision. He tried to meet her eyes unwaveringly and only let his horn glow slightly.

"RipEar, how often do you hear of a pony regaining their memories? Once in Luna's Blue Moon, I'll b—ah!" Blue's eyes widened and her mouth parted. The sharp point of the needle had pierced the soft skin of her withers unexpectedly; the moment she made a move to escape, she found herself incapable of so much as twitching, her entire lower-body immobilised as if held down by weights. And yet her mind was still very much active and a scream ripped from her mouth that filled the entire cave with echoing cries.

"Blue!" RipEar's eyes narrowed whilst he pulled the needle—it was only a small one at that—from her wither and leapt forwards. He smashed his hoof against her mouth with blazing eyes. Her screams died out instantaneously; the tiny whimpers, however, continued while the stallion glared at her. "We're not in the facility now, you foal! Didn't anyone tell you how crazy this place is?"

Trembling on the floor, Blue was incapable of making a coherent sentence; she merely shrugged but then nodded slowly, a blush rising on her cheeks. RipEar only groaned and then whisked the needle away. He placed it down in the pan before the mare could see the blood tipped end.

"Right, this is important. So quit your whining and just listen already." Once he had lifted her up into a sitting position with his magic, the unicorn kept quiet whilst he waited for the pegasus before him to donate her attention, a somewhat large request when said mare still twitched and trembled as if demented. But she kept still and mostly quiet, so, in the end, he could do little but settle at that as being a fair trade. "This is Plague Equestria, Blue. It's not the... happy-go-lucky Equestria that you read about in foals' tales. There is no safety, not anywhere; mad'uns are prowling around out there right now, and they will attack as soon as lay eyes upon you."

Having regained at least the tiniest sense of rationality, Blue looked up slowly and frowned. "I thought the whole point was that they're mad?" she said, glancing momentarily over to the crumpled filly at the back of the cave and wondering what kind of pony she was. "How can something that doesn't think be that dangerous?"

The stallion's ears flattened lower and he frowned, his back arching slightly as he snarled a little. "Don't be a foal, Blue. They're little better than animals, but that doesn't mean they can't attack—in the same way a wolf or a lion could." RipEar pulled his saddlebags closer to him and nuzzled about before pulling out a small knife in his teeth. He brandished it in the firelight slowly. "If a mad'un catches you with one of these, you'll be dead. They won't show any restraint; they will just kill." After he had placed the knife back into the saddlebags, RipEar closed the flaps with his magic and then turned his head back to the mare. His eyes glinted and his lips narrowed; his nose scrunched up slightly. "So you'd damn well not go screaming again. I risked my hide to get you out of there; don't you dare go killing us both now."

Though somewhat put-out at the stallion's snideness, Blue bit back a reply when her shoulder began to throb and instead occupied herself with lying back down. She gritted her teeth in anticipation of the pain. She was surprised to find, however, that it didn't wrack her body nearly as much as she had thought it would; on the contrary, the agony seemed much more centralised than it had before, and dulled down too.

Keeping quiet for a few moments, Blue watched silently as RipEar returned his attention to his saddlebags. He rummaged around through the sacs until he found what he had been after. Then pulling out a few small tubs with his magic, he spared a glance towards the unconscious filly before he placed them down gently. He opened each with a hoof and then looked up to the pegasus, a very slight smile on his face.

"Hungry?"

Blue didn't even need to answer as her stomach—not having complained greatly up until this point—growled like some wild beast at the sight and smell of the small meal laid out before her. It was nothing overly special; each little pot contained only crackers, peanut butter and sliced cheese,  all surely scavenged from the facility's well-protected stocks (which the stallion seemed to have had a knack at infiltrating). But, in that moment, nothing else would have done; it was the perfect comfort food right now.

RipEar dipped a cracker in the spread and layered a single slice of cheese on top; he then gave a thin smile and held out the snack. "I'm not gonna dirty up my knife just for a bit of peanut butter, but here. It's perfectly good enough to eat," he said, his ears perking slightly forwards as the pegasus leaned in. She took the cracker in her mouth and nibbled at the edge, moaning immediately before she then gobbled it down in two great bites. She licked her lips for every last crumb and she closed her eyes and let out a breath, the taste oddly unbeatable. She then jerked her gaze back to the stallion, cocked her head very slightly and shuffled forwards, her eyes pleading.

Though initially quiet, RipEar gave a small chuckle, reached back into the pot with his magic and quickly prepared a second cracker. Then hovering it before the mare's muzzle, he narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Make it last," before he placed it down in her hooves. But, when he turned away to re-pack the little pots into his saddlebags, RipEar couldn't stifle his groan as he flipped the flaps shut; he looked back to his companion and shook his head, a scowl on his muzzle. "Seriously? You ate it already?"

Blue pouted and she licked her lips once more, her ears forwards. "It was really good, what else can I say?"

RipEar kept quiet for a second before letting out a breath. He rose up to his hooves and hovered his little knife back out from his saddlebags. He held it up near his muzzle while his eyes flickered to the filly before he then walked around to the opposite side of the crackling fire. As he perched down on the slowly warming rock, he found himself in a position where he could better monitor the little intruder.

"So," Blue began, waving her hoof in the stallion's direction when he made no immediate signs of having heard her. Once she was satisfied that she had his attention, however, she continued fairly chirpily. "Why exactly did you break me out of the facility, anyway? I mean, why did they want to... Why'd they want to kill me? I mean, I was quite happy in there, thank you very much."

RipEar frowned for a moment, his lips drawn tight. "Why'd I break you out?" he repeated, his eyes losing their slight sparkle. Upon seeing Blue's confirmation and encouraging nod, he seemed to become even less enthusiastic. "Well, if you must know, you were scheduled to be 'put down', as the facility creeps like to put it; in other words, you outlived your use." RipEar gave an uncomfortable smile; his shoulders rose and his head fell slightly. "Facilities are businesses, and you'd been there for three years now. But you hadn't shown any progress in getting over the Plague, so they didn't want to waste any more food on you."

Blue frowned and her tail clamped between her legs as she looked away from the stallion. Her nose crinkled. "You're not making any sense," she said with a scowl. "If I was that much of a waste of space, why wouldn't they just kick me out themselves? Why go to the hassle?"

"I'm not gonna answer if you won't look at me when you speak," RipEar hissed, his eyes narrowed. "You know I don't hear so well."

"You ought to listen better then!" Blue snapped, turning her gaze to the unicorn with a heated glare. "I asked why they'd bother, and not just kick me out right away."

"That's simple enough," he said, his eyes narrowed. "They're a business like I said, and they're in a competitive market at that. They don't want you getting out and blabbing to the other facilities about their research—and still don't, so we really ought to get moving. You're a liability alive, so I'd bet my good ear that they'll be searching for us—which sucks, 'cos I wasn't even on the hit list until now."

"Oh." Blue looked away once again; a slight blush coloured her cheeks and her ears flattened. "You didn't need to do that."

Shuffling about momentarily, the stallion directed his eyes towards the filly and tightened his magical hold on the knife. He then angled the blade towards her when she began to moan very faintly. She fidgeted a little more as she slowly began to regain consciousness. RipEar turned to face Blue and he spoke slowly as he asked, with not a hint of amusement or joviality in his voice, "Is this foal a danger?"

The pegasus turned to face the filly and kept quiet whilst she assessed the three-legged thing. Her grey eyes monitored each move she made. But she saw nothing more than mere fidgeting and quickly shook her head; her mane flew around her head whilst she said in as firm a voice as she could muster, "No, I don't think so." She looked back and smiled very slightly before she murmured, "She's a small thing, and she doesn't seem to have any weapons on her; the only thing you'd have to watch is her magic, but I don't think she's great at spells. And she's still out of it anyway."

RipEar's eyes narrowed as he nodded. He kept still for a moment before he then stood and stepped towards the filly. He lowered the blade so that it hovered at her side and paused as he looked to check the mare was watching before he moved it closer to the foal's neck. He pressed it up against the skin gently. He forced it to dig in harder and kept quiet whilst a few droplets of blood beaded against the blade. A second later, the filly's eyes jolted open and she scrambled backwards, terror evident on her face.

"RipEar!" Blue's shriek reverberated around the cave as she flared out her wings. "Stop it! You're petrifying her!"

The stallion turned back to face her a second after her outburst, his eyes filled with dark satisfaction, his lips curled up in a grin. He made no attempt to even acknowledge her distress; he merely stepped away from the filly slowly and then jerked his head in her direction.

"That is exactly why I had to do what I did. She was listening to us, but you'd never even have realised." He turned to the filly and snorted as he hovered the blade a little closer. His eyes flashed by way of a warning and he finished off, "You're just not perceptive enough to survive on your own."

Blue glanced between the filly and the stallion, sighed and then hung her head. She winced when her stomach began to growl faintly again. "I suppose not," she whispered before she looked up cautiously and glanced sympathetically at the foal. "But she's still scared. Let her go; she's not hurting us."

"She attacked you earlier," RipEar pointed out but he withdrew the knife anyway. As he hovered it back to his side he stepped over to Blue and looked down at her with a small smile. He offered her a hoof. "But then, you always were too trusting. Now get up; the painkiller'll have kicked in by now so it won't hurt, I promise."

Blue frowned and eyed the stallion skeptically whilst she folded away her wings. She then let out a breath, began to shift her legs and pushed herself up. The second she did so, she couldn't help but gasp, very nearly letting out another small scream as pain raced up her spine—but it was, at least, less severe than it had been before. Nevertheless, she scowled at the stallion and threw her rear leg out so that it connected with his side, making him yelp.

"You lied," she hissed whilst she hopped about a little. She rested her rear left leg so that the already milder pain was slightly lessened (though her words were not quite as cutting as they could have been). RipEar only shrugged and smiled slightly.

"I just told you that you were too trusting; you should've known better," he teased, but his smile then disappeared when he looked to the filly and snarled quietly. "But I'm more interested in why you were listening in."

The little filly squeaked as she recoiled up against the wall and trembled slightly. "I'm sorry!" she whispered, hiding her head with her hooves; Blue could only be amazed that the filly, who had seemed so confident and dangerous when alone with just the mare, was now such a quiet and quivering wreck. If she hadn't raised her head again, Blue wasn't even sure that she'd have been able to hear her words."I-I'm not a spy, I promise! I was just interested... I've always wanted to go to a facility!"

"Well, now you know what it's like," RipEar bit out as he eyed her with displeasure. "So why are you still here... whatever your name is?"

The filly whimpered a little louder and tucked her tail between her legs as she stood up. She looked down at her hooves with heavy eyes. "My name's Coalburst. I'm just tired," she said, barely able to meet the stallion's eyes. "My Mum... She died a while back. I'm all on my own, and I just want a little time to take a breather. This cave's the most enclosed I've seen anywhere around here; it's the only place that I can sleep without being attacked."

RipEar scrunched up his nose and took a small step back as he glanced down at the filly in her battered state. Then sighing, he looked away and snapped, "Well, just keep out of our way."

The little filly's eyes widened and she snapped her head up; her ears pricked forwards as she beamed. "R-really? You're not going to kill me?"

"No, but we are gonna get going now." When he turned to the mare beside him, RipEar tried to grin as he said, "Right, Blue? You're good to move now?"

The mare paused and looked to the little filly with a somewhat uncertain frown. She then glanced over to the still-blazing fire and grinned as well, standing taller whilst she shuffled her feathers cheerfully. "Yeah, sure. But first—" She glanced over to the little filly, a smirk on her face as she took a slow, tentative step forwards. "—Why don't you come with us?"

The filly's eyes, almost nothing but pupil, shot up to meet Blue's at the suggestion as she squeaked, "What?" RipEar, too, looked incredibly shocked; his back arched and his eyes suddenly burned just as angrily as the crackling flames behind, his teeth bared very slightly in the foal's direction.

"What in Tartarus did you just say?" he hissed. "She can't come with us; she'll only slow us down!"

At the back of the cave, the little filly's excitement quickly dissipated at the stallion's words. Her head plummeted down so that she could tuck it between her forelegs. Seeing the reaction, Blue immediately glowered and spun to face RipEar with her tattered wings flared out. "She's got a talent for making fire," she snapped back, her eyes narrowed. "I don't know much, but that's an invaluable skill, right? Given that yours already died out."

RipEar stiffened for a minute before he looked at the small filly and sighed. He hung his head and kept his gaze away from the foal; he instead focused on the entrance to the cave, his knife close by his side once again. "Oh, fine. But we're not waiting; we're leaving now, so if you're gonna come with us you'd better forget your nap."

The little filly jumped up almost immediately; she didn't waste a second, wagging her tail as she cantered forwards. She brushed up against the mare's uninjured side, smiled and nickered quietly. Blue could only smile and rose her head a little higher as she grinned triumphantly at the stallion who, rather than making any comment, made a great show of ignoring her smirk. He instead readjusted the girth of his saddlebags. He then nodded curtly once he was satisfied and nuzzled about in the left compartment before he pulled out a deadly looking dagger. He held it in his magic and floated the smaller knife over to the pegasus.

"Now, there aren't any caves nearby for quite some way, at least not that I can see. So you'd better be ready for a fair trek."

As she accepted the small knife in her teeth, Blue nodded and she raised her fore hoof, suddenly finding herself frozen in place as she stared at the small hole. In just an instant the outside world became terrifyingly real. She had no time to fret, however, when RipEar extinguished the filly's flames, trotted to the exit and waited with a scowl. Blue swallowed audibly and forced herself to move forwards; each step sent waves of (thankfully more bearable) pain up her spine.

She was going out into the mad, ravaged and deadly world of Plague Equestria—and there was to be no turning back .