Here’s a question, what in Tartarus just happened?!

I’ve been asking myself that question over and over again for a while now. I’m sitting on top of an apartment building on the other side of the city, opposite from the daycare. This spot here has a perfect view of the smoke cloud marking where the daycare is, or was. The place is now a distant black pillar rising against the yellowing sky.

There’s also a giant monster wading through the Manehattan skyline towards the south. I think that’s the Scone Quarry Gang. They’re still rampaging through the slums. Airships are flying above it, and I can see sparks and explosions going off all around, but they don’t seem to be doing anything to stop the thing.

The gang monster isn’t important. I’m just able to see it from here. I’m too focused on the smoke cloud that was once the daycare to give a crap about the gang problem.

So yeah, what just happened?!

What am I thinking about? Everything. Absolutely everything. To be more specific, everything that’s happened in the last two days. To be even more specific, I’m thinking about Tanya.

Tanya, oh Tanya, that great, big owl-lion. Her death was sudden and violent, a death by my claws, no less. Well, it was more like a big rock fist than a claw, but the point still stands.

Me killing her, on accident, came out of nowhere. The scene keeps replaying in my head over and over again. The owl-lion comes out of the dust, drunk on a curse. She raises the sword, charges me, and I try to knock her out, but I knock her head off instead. It all happened in less than a couple seconds, but each time it replays, and it’s been replaying a lot, the whole event seems to go on for longer. I’ve been sitting up here for a while, so now the whole thing seems like an eternity.

And with each never ending replay, I remember more and more details about the whole thing. The dust falling in my eyes, the scratches in Orion’s armor, the glint of the blade as it swung for my neck, it’s all clear.

There’s one detail that’s gnawing at me, Tanya’s eyes. She was screaming her lungs out, but her eyes didn’t match the rage. They just seemed… scared. Something about them made Tanya look terrified.

Every time that scene replays in my head, I see those terrified eyes. Yes, including the green fire one. With how she lost control, it’s no wonder she was terrified. Tanya is, was, a big girl. She was probably doing her damn hardest to fight that curse. Trapped in her own mind, then struck down by her own friend. That is not a pleasant way to go. I’m just glad my tentacles didn’t shoot out to eat her.

That’s the rundown of things that happened, but it doesn’t exactly answer my question. What happened?

I glance over to where I dropped that blue suitcase of Tanya’s, the one she pulled the sword out of. I’m still curious on how that big chunk of metal fits in this tiny thing. Does the curse shrink the blade down? Or is the suitcase a magic suitcase that’s bigger in the inside?

Tanya did freak out when she thought the suitcase was lost. She even asked me to go back and fight the gang monster to get it back. No consideration of my well being, mind you. I wonder what’s worth more on the black market, a cursed greatsword or a suitcase of holding?

My curiosity is growing inside me. What the heck is this damn thing? I grab the thing by the handle and click the latch on the side. The suitcase opens. I expect the sword to be in there. The blade disappeared into thin air, so where else would it be?

No, there is no sword. When I look inside, there is an object that looks nothing like a sword.

It’s a roundish square of leather with sides that are curving up. Straps hang off the edges, and they look like they hook up together. I think this is supposed to wrap around something, like a leg or a neck.

I pick up the leather thing, and just as I do I remember the curse the last item from this suitcase had. Crap, Tanya went crazy when she picked up the sword. Am I going to go on a murderous rampage by touching a piece of leather? Welp, I’m already touching it, no turning back.

I turn the thing over to look at the other side. The leather has a complicated pattern carved into the surface. By the looks of it, it must have taken the leathersmith a while to make it. My compliments to that guy.

Also on the other side is a long strip of metal. It’s silver, with intricate designs molded into it. There’s an insignia I don’t recognize stamped into it. It’s cool looking, but I have no clue what it means.

Was Tanya part of a secret society? This looks like something you’d get from a secret society. It could be part of a welcome package, sort of like a gift basket with wine and snacks, except with cursed items instead. If so, I bet there’s a cloak somewhere in that suitcase.

My talons are going all over the surface as I handle this thing, and something clicks. A blade shoots out and nearly takes out an eye. I throw the thing away in surprise. What the heck was that? Is that a murder weapon?

I check myself for any curses. I don’t have any new warts or heads. And I don’t feel like going on a rampage. I’m no expert in dark magic, but I think I’m in the clear. Even if I’m wrong, I still have my eye. That’s good. I don’t know what that thing is, but I’m leaving it alone.

Actually, I don’t need to leave it alone. The thing disappears into thin air, just like the sword. That’s weird. Maybe there’s something more to this suitcase than I thought. Let’s look in it again.

I open it up again. The sword still isn’t in there, and neither is that blade thing. Instead, there’s only a hat, a red hat.

Huh?

Odd, this isn’t a weapon. I take the hat out and look it over. It’s a stout, fat little thing, like a beret. It’s made for someone with a head larger than mine. This is a different color red from the red in my goop. This is a red more like a fire truck. It’s a very friendly shade of red.

There’s nothing weird with this hat, it’s completely normal. It’s just an ordinary hat.

The hat blinks at me. Two big eyes look up at me, and I look down at it.

I chuck the hat off the side of the building as hard as I can. It disappears over the edge. Nope, don’t need my arm bitten off by a hat. The hat has to go.

Is this suitcase full of weird objects? Tanya, where the heck did you get this thing?

“Look who set the world on fire,” a deep voice says behind me.

I jump at the sound of the voice and turn around. There’s a big, armored pony standing behind me, but he's not big enough to be Orion. The guy is standing with the sun behind him, so his front is covered in shadow. I do see he’s not wearing his helmet, and I do recognize his features to know who he is.

“Nice to see you, Budge,” I say. “How’s life?”

“Don’t pretend to be nice. Manehattan is going shit faced because of you.”

I glance at the monster to the south. I can agree with half his statement. “The monster over there? That wasn’t me. That happened on its own.”

“Don’t make excuses, Zero. Today would've be fine without your help. There’d be no giant monster, the daycare would be fine, and Pinkie would still have her job.”

I roll my eyes as my monster claws grow out. Earth ponies tend to be a prideful bunch. “Alright, let’s get this over with. If you’re going to try to kill me, just do it.”

Budge snorts. “If an army of Blackwatch’s finest can’t kill you, then what can I do? I’m not as stupid as you. The only reason I’m here is to protect Pinkie.”

“Pinkie’s here?”

Budge doesn’t reply. Instead he steps aside to reveal a smaller pony behind him. The sun might be setting behind her, and I can’t see her face well, but I can recognize the shadow of her curly mane.

There she is, time to face the music. I thought I’d have more time before we’d meet, but she found me faster than I thought she would. Must be that Pinkie sense of hers.

The pink mare is far from her cheery self. She’s frowning, and that’s about it. I don’t see any anger in her eyes, or her ears flicking back. She just has a blank expression with a frown on it.

“Who died?” she says, keeping the frown up.

And she goes right for the hard question. I gulp as I rub the back of my head. “At the daycare? Um… A giant super soldier. Blackwatch brought him out of nowhere. He whooped my ass big time. I returned the favor.”

I stop before I say anything else. Pinkie doesn’t nod or acknowledge what I say in any way. She just keeps frowning. It’s as if she knows there’s more.

“Well… Caramel bit the dust. Actually, he didn’t quite die, since I don’t think he was alive to begin with. He was bugs, like the one in your office. He swarmed the place with bugs that came from his body.”

Budge’s head perks up at this piece of news. It’s an outlandish claim that would get anyone’s attention. Pinkie Pie remains stoic, and she just keeps looking at me with that frown. Does she want more?

“Eureka, I think? He’s still sort of alive. He drank a vile of Blacklight and turned into a monster. I don’t know what happened after that.”

This makes Pinkie react. It’s a small reaction, but still a reaction. Her lips curl in and she bites them, and she takes a short breath in. She’s quick to return to her frown. “What about the kids? And Cherry?”

“Oh, they’re fine. They went through the back before the meat of the fight got cooking. I’m sure they’re safe.”

I don’t think she’s let out that breath. She kept the frown up, though. “There’s one more.”

That twists a knot in my gut. She’s tugging on this one. Pinkie won’t be satisfied until I let it all out. “Tanya.”

That breath finally comes out of her. “And that’s it.”

“That’s it.”

Pinkie walks up to me, but doesn’t look at me. She comes up to the ledge of the roof and looks out at the pillar of smoke rising from the horizon. “Well, poop.”

That’s… not what I was expecting from her. “Is that all you’re going to say, poop?”

“Do you want me to elaborate?” she says, not taking her eyes off the horizon. “The daycare is now up in smoke, but the kids are fine. Genicorn is after my head, but I’ve survived on my own before. Manehattan’s neck deep in a zombie plague, yet we’re still alive. All I can say is poop.”

We stand for what feels like an eternity. In reality it’s probably only a couple minutes. The shadows grow longer as the sun sinks deeper behind us. I can see its reflection in the windows of Manehattan’s skyscrapers. It’s a bright disk crossing a large tile mosaic. It feels a bit sickly. The day is ending, and the sky is at the right color to end the world.

Something compels me to break the silence, and I make a note to figure out what that something is so I can punch it later. “So, what are you going to do next?”

Pinkie doesn’t say anything for a full minute. When she does, it’s slow and lethargic, lacking any spirit she once had a year ago. “Keep going. Keep living. Arctic North will make it difficult for me to do anything for this city.”

“How are you going to leave?”

She shrugs. “I didn’t say anything about leaving. The option’s there. Cole Slaw said he could lend me a boat to get me out of here, but that was a month ago. I wonder if he still could.”

My eyebrow goes up. She said Cole Slaw’s name like she knows him like a friend. That doesn’t surprise me all too much, not after seeing the Captain back at the hotel. But a boat, that has me for a loop. “You had the opportunity to get off this island at any time, but you didn’t take it?”

“Anyone can get off this island if they want to. They just have to deal with the laser sharks.”

Laser sharks? I look at her face, but it hasn’t changed from that frown of hers. Was that a joke? She doesn’t seem like she’s in a joking mood.

“Cole Slaw could find a Blackwatch marked boat for me,” she continues, “and I could be in the Bahamares by now. But it just wouldn’t feel right. I feel like I could do much more here.”

“Hence the daycare.”

“Sure, but I haven’t had that place for more than a week. Cole Slaw let me use it as a staging area. No, I’ve been getting into a bit more trouble before that. I’ll probably get into more trouble again. If I can stick around to help those who can't leave, then I'm sticking around till the end. ” Pinkie turns and looks up at me. “What about you, what will you do after you find Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash, I forgot about her! The business with Tanya made me forget. Eureka said Blueblood knows where she is. Blueblood is coming to Manehattan tonight, and I have to meet him there. That’s going to be soon. I haven’t done much today to get ready. I still need to do my hair, put on my makeup, sharpen up my claws, and so much more I don’t have time for.

“When I do find her,” I say, “The plan is to head to Las Pegasus. I thought I told you this.”

“So the plan hasn’t changed?”

“Nope.” No change in plans. I was thinking about bringing Tanya along with me, but that's not going to happen now, is it? “Do you think you could lend us that boat to get out of here? That sounds like the best option.”

“Yes.” She took no time answering that. I’m starting to think she wants me out of her hair.

“Can you do it tonight?”

She gives me a weird look. “You’re going to find Rainbow Dash tonight?”

“One way or another.” I step away from the ledge and scoop up the blue suitcase. I am going to get the heck off this island. I will find Rainbow Dash. I will do it tonight. Any more time in Manehattan might just kill me. It’s now or never. “Don’t worry about where you put it. I can find you once you have it.”

Pinkie nods, and glances over to the southern horizon, where the giant monster is still roaming about. “Do you have any idea what that monster is about?”

“That thing? That’s the Scone Quarry Gang.”

Pinkie’s head snaps around in a blur. “What?”

“The Scone Quarry Gang. Turns out they’re a bunch of infected and they’re having a hissy fit over a territory dispute or something.”

She looks at the monster, then back at me, then the monster, and me again. “But your scone shop”-

“Is called Scone Quarry, I know. Don’t act all surprised about it. You picked the name for it.”

She rubs the back of her head and looks slightly away. “Yeah, about that…”

“Don’t worry, they made it quite clear how upset they were about the blatant trademark thievery.”

“Well… Here’s the thing.” She clears her throat and taps on the ledge. “I got that name off a list.”

“And that list didn’t have Gilda’s Family Scones on it, I remember that.”

“And because of it not being on that list, you could have named your shop Gilda’s Family Scones after all.”

I was prepping to leave to go meet Blueblood, but now Miss Pie has my attention. “What?”

It takes her a moment to find her words. I think she’s stalling. “I was sorting through some paper work I haven’t touched in a month, and I came across the file for your store. The list was in the file, and I looked over it. Turns out it wasn’t a list of names you were only allowed to use. It was a list of names you’re never supposed to use, at all.”

This is... news. “It’s a ban list.”

Pinkie nods back.

“A ban... How the heck did you not know it was a ban list”

Pinkie squirms a bit. “If I'm to be completely honest, it did look like a fishy list at first. Half of the list was just a slew of racial slurs towards griffons”-

“The racial slurs didn’t tip you off?”

She’s silent for a moment. “No…”

I stood there, silent as she is. “Well that’s dumb.”

"Give me a break!" She throws her hooves up in the air. “Everything’s dumb right now!”

She can say that again. “Doesn’t really matter anymore since the store is neck deep in infected territory.” I turn around and walk pass Budge. He doesn’t me try to stop me, or move at all for that matter. Stoic much?

She doesn’t say anything. She just frowns. “Wait, Gilda!”

I stop and turn back just as I pass Budge. “What?”

“Sorry to hear about Tanya,” she says. “I know how hard that must be for you.”

I don’t say anything for a moment. The suitcase on my back feels heavier now. Wait, this thing is a pain to carry. I can’t do any rescue work with a blue suitcase strapped to me.

“Hey Pinkie.”

The setting sun shimmers in Pinkie’s eye when she looks at me. With the sun in her eyes, it makes her movement awkward when she spots the shadow of the suitcase coming for her. I gave it a light toss, so even with the sun, Pinkie catches it in the air, albeit with some fumbling.

“Keep that safe with the boat for me,” I say. “I’ll be back tonight, with Rainbow Dash by my side.”

She smiles at me as she holds the suitcase against her chest. It’s the last thing I see before I take off running over Manehattan’s rooftops. That, and Budge glaring at me.

I have to agree with Pinkie, everything I’ve gone through is dumb.

Author's Notes:

Discussion for patch can be found here. [Link]

Update 27 Patch Log
* Added Level 27
* Added new Power Armor item, obtainable by purchasing its monthly subscription from the online store
* Changed song in Level 17 to "1000 APM" due to artistic reasons and not because of the lawsuit
* Removed socks
* Increased microtransaction prices according to Russian inflation
* Fixed clipping issues in Level 8
* Fixed disappearing models when not looking at them
* Fixed crash when left mouse button is clicked, at all
* Fixed gore particles using confetti particle textures
* Fixed confetti particles using gore particle textures
* Fixed crash when writing a good review
* Fixed crash when breathing, at all
* Fixed other minor bugs
* Refactored Database so the programmers can figure out what the hell is going on
* Added Denuvo