I woke up the next morning embracing Harmony. Today I was greeted by her smiling face. It was a welcome change of pace from the previous night.

A clock sat on the opposite wall. I strained my eyes reading it. All I knew for sure was that it was 6:00. I wasn’t able to tell if it was A.M or P.M. I couldn’t care less what time it was. As long as I was here with Harmony nothing could ruin my day. Harmony stirred next to me.

“Morning miss 29.” Harmony smiled and went back to sleep.

If she had been fully awake she would have been able to see I wasn’t in great shape.

I was getting use to her trying to embarrass me. I had to fight back the urge to wake her up. I shifted over to the edge of the bed and slowly set my hooves onto the ground.

The first thing I noticed was numerous bottles scattered across the ground.

From the headache I had I assumed we had gotten drunk last night. I didn’t regret it though. “Must have been one hell of a night huh. Hey Harmony. You are going to have to fill me in on what happened last night. I am a little fuzzy on the details. Far as I can tell. We both got blackout drunk. I don’t regret it though.”

“Both of us? No darling. I offered you a sip of whiskey. Let’s just say you are not going to be happy with yourself. You drank more than most of the stallions down here can manage. You are not a lightweight that is for damn sure.” Harmony had gotten to her hooves much easier than I thought possible after last night.

I stood there for a few seconds before Harmony was able to make her way over to me. I took a look at my Pipbuck. It was 6:00 pm. A note had been left on the bedside table.

“You two have overstayed your welcome. We will allow one more night here. You will be under surveillance. Any behaviour we disapprove of will have the two of you separated for the night. Go back to sleep. From the looks of it you need a good rest to get over that hangover. First thing tomorrow morning you two are being evicted from this Stable until further notice.”

I read the note a few times before I gave up and sat down on the bed again. Harmony tidied up the room a little bit before joining me. I wanted to talk to her about last night but couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth. Every moment I was awake was another moment I had to deal with this hangover.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity Harmony started to talk

“Look I know you are wondering how I could have let things get so out of hand last night. I honestly tried to stop you from drinking all of that alcohol. After you took that first sip something awoke inside of you. You opened up about your childhood and everything that had happened to you. You drank down bottle after bottle of beer, wine, and the last of my whiskey. I had to join you. I couldn’t just let you go through all that alone. It didn’t feel right. I remember more than I think you do about yourself. So yeah it was one hell of a night.”

She fell silent for a little bit before her beautiful voice rang out again. “38. The alcohol gave you some sort of boost. I don’t believe I have ever orgasmed that much in one night.”

“Well done Midnight. I hope that cheers you up. If not I don’t have much more I can do for you. Well I do but you need some rest. I know we just woke up but let’s go back to sleep. We have an early start to make tomorrow.” Harmony laid down for a few seconds before pulling me down with her.

I had mixed feelings for the day I was living through. I loved Harmony for accepting me and all of my faults. I loathed the fact that I had been allowed to drink so much alcohol. I hated myself a little bit for drinking the last of Harmony’s whiskey. I somehow remembered that it was a gift she had received before her friend had died.

I so desperately wanted to find words to say to the mare who had made me happier than I had ever been in my life. I simply could not bring myself to speak. My mind was a mess thanks to the alcohol and I wasn’t going to try anything that might hurt Harmony. In the end I laid down with her and cried. She was there with me until the sweet embrace of sleep overtook me.

I didn’t dream that night.

The next morning I woke up without Harmony holding me. I jumped out of bed and started searching desperately for her. I was afraid that I had done something last night to make her leave. Many thoughts jumped to mind of why should we want to leave me and not come back.

The stallion from the drawing came back. He started taunting me. I hit the floor hard. I curled up into a ball and sat there. I wanted to cry but no tears came.

The door to the room opened with a creak. Harmony stepped through the door and saw me on the floor. She galloped over and grabbed me. I looked into her eyes. I could see she was worried about me.

I opened my mouth to talk surprised that words actually accompanied my action. “Harmony I am so glad that you are still here. I was so afraid that you had decided to leave me. I did so many things over the past couple of days that were so out of character for me. I just. I’m just glad you are here.”

She stared at me a loving look in her eye. “Midnight. I love you. I am not going to leave you over a little awkwardness. There is nothing in this world that is going to tear me away from you. I was getting some supplies gathered up before we headed out. Now I need you to go back to bed. It is around 3:00 in the morning. You need to be well rested for this journey we are about to embark on. I have a place we can go. A place we can call home. Please go back to bed for a little while. I will reveal the plan after we leave this Luna forsaken place.”

She pulled me to my hooves and hugged me. We walked over to the bed. I climbed back up and laid down. Harmony gave me a kiss before she walked out the door. I forced myself to calm down and go back to sleep.

I dreamt I was walking in a field of chaos and death. Harmony stood next to me. The graffiti pony returned to my sight.

Harmony moved slightly into a battle stance. Her horn started glowing brightly.

Before the graffiti pony could even speak Harmony destroyed it. He had stood tall over me but in one shot Harmony had destroyed him.

I was free of him. I felt a burst of magic surge through my body.

Together Harmony and I were able to repel the darkness of the world. We were only able to do it for a short while. We would need help to completely purge the world from evil.

I felt a charm around my neck. I could not see it when I looked for it but I knew it was there. The ground started shaking gently.

I woke up from my sleep. I wanted to tell Harmony about my dream but felt that I shouldn’t say anything about what I had seen. She knew I wasn’t feeling great so she simply gave me a hug before donning her armor. I followed her after putting on my own suit of armor.

She was showing me all the gear she had managed to get. I wondered how she had managed to acquire so much with so little to trade. I dared not inquire in fear of the answer.

The armor had an advanced knowledge of the wastelands. It updated my Pipbuck with locations all across Equestria. Harmony had marked one in particular. Tenpony Tower.

“I own a room at Tenpony. I also inherited a business from my parents. They ran a Winery inside of the tower. They made the equivalent of about 10,000 caps every four months. They never had a shortage of wine. Now they have a shortage of wine. All the ponies crave it. They are addicted to it. The doctors would cure them but they refuse treatment. I don’t want to take advantage of them but we need the caps if we want to settle down one day. I traded one of those old dresses you found to a mare who is a nurse for 5 bottles of wine. It isn’t much but it will get us started. Don’t worry I saved the dress you gave me and the one you kept for yourself. They are beautiful by the way. You must look divine in yours. Promise me one day I will get to see you in it.” Harmony opened the stable door.

“I promise.” I laughed a little bit as we exited the Stable.

I spent three hours looking over some of the new gear we had acquired. One of my favorite new weapons was a Gauss rifle. Aurora had managed to ‘sweet talk’ the pony in charge of weaponry into giving her the most powerful weapon he had.

I realized how awesome the Gauss rifle was after firing it at a bloat sprite and watching the sprite explode into a million pieces. The ammo for it was rare and we would be incredibly lucky to find any. I had to not use it unless absolutely necessary.

A few of the weapons we acquired would be impossible to shoot without support. No amount of magic could hold a minigun firing at top speed for any longer than a second.

Aurora and Harmony had informed me my armor had a built in battle saddle. The saddle is used to fire weapons that would normally be too big for anypony to fire. I was not able to figure out the saddle on my own. Harmony promised me she would teach me how to use it.

Thanks to our early start we were able to cover most of the distance between us and Tenpony before the sun was low in the sky. We stopped to watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful thing I had seen since I had left the Stable.

We had just reached Appleloosa when the sun had set. A few ponies were out wandering the streets. I was confused as to why anypony would just wander out in the wasteland without armor or a weapon.

“They live in a town close by. Well... half of the town has been transformed into a sanctuary for lost ponies. I am not welcome there. I tried to trade with one of their trader caravans. The leader of said caravan ended up with a bullet hole in his head the size of my hoof. They thought I did it. A pegasus pony shot at me while flying but missed me just barely and killed the trader. He flew away. They don’t trust me. I will never be allowed to set one hoof inside that city. I hope you believe me when I say that I did not shoot him. I had a hard time accepting this armor. It reminded me that I could still kill ponies. I don’t want to kill anypony if I don’t have to. Now let’s seek shelter for the night I am tired. Tenpony tower is still about a half days trot from here.” Harmony started to drag me towards an abandoned building.

“Do you have to drag me everywhere? I am perfectly capable of walking to the house. Any reason you don’t want to be out after dark?” I stared curiously at Harmony.

We both stopped.

Harmony looked into my eyes as best as I could tell she was looking into my eyes. “Dangerous creatures stalk in the night. Every heard of a changeling or a vampire fruit bat? Thanks to radiation they have become much more dangerous. The bats are easily the size of a full grown stallion and have a desire to eat flesh. The changelings are masters of taking the form of ponies you love. They look identical but act differently. It is usually pretty easy to tell when one is trying to fool you. Be careful though. Some of them are much more intelligent. They become the pony they are copying. Everything is the same. Nopony has figured out how to beat them. So please just get inside the house.”

“Ok” it was the simplest answer I could give but was filled with fear.

We entered the house just as the sun went below the horizon. Harmony turned on a light that had been built into her suit of armor.

We made quick work of barricading the doors and windows. I was amazed that anypony could survive wearing this armor for more than a few hours. It chafed all over my body.

“Aurora. Is this how this armor is supposed to fit? I don’t see how anypony could survive prolonged combat in such a suit. I mean they are great for protection.” I tapped on my helmet a few times. “But they are not great for much else.”

Aurora was quick to reply. “That armor is Mark 4. The lower the Mark of armor the less well off you are going to be. That suit of armor doesn’t have the function built in to resize it at will. It was meant for my daughter in case of emergency. I wanted her to be protected. This was the only suit of armor I could afford. For protection it will suffice. It might be able to stop a few high caliber bullets but a well placed shot will kill you. Now if you had Mark 12 armor you would be pretty much invincible. Unfortunately Mark 12 is rare. If a suit still remained it would have been split into pieces to prevent the boars from making similar suits. We needed armor but didn’t want it to fall into their hooves. All suits were decommissioned by being sent into the center of a megaspell. All traces of a suit were disintegrated. You would be more likely to find a set of Mark 8 armor. If you do manage to locate armor that is not in use I would suggest disassembling it and stockpiling it somewhere. Those suits are protective but not indestructible. Once it needs maintenance it is pretty much a pile of scrap until it is repaired. You might as well paint a sign on your”

“Now you need to rest. Also maybe eat something. After the past couple of days you had. I’m surprised you haven’t eaten a radigator whole.” Aurora was right about a lot of things.

Harmony had heard everything and hoofed me an apple.

I tried unsuccessfully to eat the apple nine times before I realized a suit of armor was between me and my apple. Harmony laughed a little bit before helping me out of my armor. Aurora took control of the armor after we had exited and turned on the radio.

“Do A.I. like listening to the radio or something?” I bit into my apple.

“No we don’t but I think there is something you should hear.” Aurora had a seriousness in her voice that I had never heard before. It was a slight bit terrifying.

“This message goes out to Midnight. The pony who left Stable 24 to come looking for me. Listen I know you are loyal to your friends. I know you want to see me alive and well again but I need you to return to the Stable at once. Your mother has descended into alcoholism in you absence. The entire Stable needs you. I have eyes on the inside so I know everything that has happened since you left. It has been one week and the entire Stable has fallen into chaos. None of the essential systems are running. Everyone has started to go insane. Actually on second thought do not I repeat do not return home. You will be killed. A bandit by the name of Tri-Tear has been seen camping outside of the Stable. No doubt within a few days he will have full control over the Stable and all it’s residence. I am doing fine out here on my own. So don’t come looking for me because even if you do I have wings so I can outrun you any time. I need to work a few things out by myself before I see you again. I hope you have made yourself some new friends. Celestia knows you need them out here.”

“Onyx we need to get out of here. There is a horde of them they won’t take long to get in here. We need to leave right now. Finish up your recording and let’s get the buck out of here.”

“Goodbye Midnight. I hope to see you again one day.”

I was happy my friend had survived to see another day. By the sounds of it he was in trouble and really needed my help.

I knew I couldn’t find him with so little to go on but I had to have hope that one day I would see him again. “Thank you Aurora. I have to ask. How did you find this?”

“I searched through all radio transmission frequencies. Your friend has gotten his hooves on some powerful equipment. He has hijacked multiple radio stations and used them to broadcast messages to you on an infinite loop. I downloaded his message to take the guesswork out of when to start playing the recording. I hope this helps you to find a purpose in life. Continue on this path and one day you will find him again.”

“Thank you again Aurora. Watch over the house with the armor while we sleep.” I tossed away my apple core.

Aurora put the armor into sentry mode. Any hostile entity would be scanned and assessed for a threat level. If the threat was high enough we would be alerted. Harmony and I proceeded to go to bed.

I slept soundly that night. It was the first time since I had left the Stable that I actually had a good night's sleep. I again awoke not to Harmonies face but to her...

We promptly began our journey to Tenpony Tower as soon as we could. I wish I could say that the journey there was filled with excitement and danger. I wish I could say that. The journey was a boring one. Three hostiles flashed onto my hud for a brief moment halfway to Tenpony but disappeared immediately after.

By noon the tower was in sight and we stopped for lunch. The food we had procured before we left the brotherhood was mediocre at best.

Among some of the finer more aged sweets was a pack of Fancy Foal Cakes. A foal was on the side of the package happily enjoying his wonderful treat.

“I really hope that these snack cakes were as good as they advertised.” I took one small bite of the treat before deciding to not try those ever again.

The flavor was appalling and I had to force myself to keep down what little food I had in my stomach. Harmony suppressed a laugh.

“You know the food is supposed to be swallowed right? You don’t just spit it out and nearly heave up your lunch. Also I wouldn’t recommend vomiting here. Some of the creatures from the wasteland can smell really well. They would be on us within a few minutes.” Harmony put a hoof over me.

The entirety of what was taking place was almost too much for me. Thanks to and also not thanks to Harmony’s warning I refused to vomit while we were here. It took me a few minutes to get back to a state of not being sick to my stomach.

“Midnight. I have found another transmission from Onyx if you would like to hear it. The message is uncomplete.” Aurora appeared in front of me.

“Aurora you surprised me. Another transmission? Let’s hear it.” I put the fancy foal snack cake away.

“Hello Midnight. Onyx again. I am recording this message to tell you I have settled down out here in the wasteland. It’s not so bad once you get use to corpses and the fact that somepony probably wants you dead. I have made a new friend much like you have. I am in Tenpony Tower if you wish to visit. I already know you do so get your flank over here as soon as you can. Tell Harmony that I wish to meet her. I know many things Midnight. I have friends in high places. Friends who can get me information I want. I wanted to know how you were doing and I made sure I found out. Also this is aimed at Harmony. Wine prices here are beyond outrageous. One bottle might cost me 50 caps, and that is for a cheap bottle. An old Britalian wine might sell for thousands of caps. Although I doubt you have such a bottle on you. A delicacy such as that would earn you a place amongst the highest ponies in this tower. I must go……”

“The intelligible part of the message ends there. What follows is various sounds which might be a language I do not know. I would play them for you but I do not believe you need any further reason to continue to Tenpony. As soon as you two finish with lunch you should probably make your way over fast. Nopony is allowed into the tower after sunset and as Harmony said it is dangerous out here at night. Being near the tower would certainly make it safer but you wouldn’t be invulnerable.” Aurora disappeared.

With that we packed up our belongs and headed off at a full gallop towards the tower.

______________________________________________________________________________

We arrived well before the sun had set. A pony was talking over an intercom to someone inside the tower.

“We don’t allow your kind in here demon. All you ponies bring bad luck wherever you go. Nopony in here wants anything to do with you. I am going to say this one more time slowly so you can understand alright. Get the Buck outta here before we send the guards down to deal with you. Trust me you won’t like what they do to you.”

The pegasus pony trying to get in was obviously distressed.

We were approaching her at a rather fast pace. I would have slammed into her were it not for Harmony wrapping me in her magic and pulling me back towards her. “Midnight I don’t know what you have seen out here before but I need to tell you a few things. One you don’t sneak up on ponies like that. Two that there is a Ghoul pony. Have you ever heard of them? They have survived more radiation than any doctor pony you find would say survivable. She seems ok but others are beyond the point of salvation. Those are known as zombie ponies. They will attack you on sight and are unrelenting in their assaults. So be careful.”

“Well sir. I realize you don’t allow ghouls in to this establishment but I have a really important message to deliver. If I am not allowed in can I atleast send the message up with somepony?” The mare had a sweet tone to her voice even though she was annoyed

“First off we allow ghouls into the tower. We allow all manner of ponies into the tower as long as they pass our tests. You on the other hand Derpy. You bring bad luck wherever you go. I am not allowed to let you in. If you can find somepony willing to deliver your message then I will allow the message through. Until then you can sit there and consider what brought this about in the first place.” The guard on the other end was rude.

“Well I guess I’m never going to deliver this message.” The gray mare sat on the ground defeated.

“Hi. Derpy was it. I’m Midnight. I might be able to deliver that message you’ve got to whoever it needs to go to.” I approached slowly.

The mare shot upright and stared at me. “You would. That would be so much help. Nopony let’s me into important places like this tower. I have a history of not being the best at being careful.” The mare looked at the ground before smiling at us.

“We will deliver that message for you. Who does it go to?” I took a few more steps towards the door.

“It goes to a stallion named Demo. I would usually deliver to DJ-PON3 but nopony is sending mail.” Derpy smiled at us.

“Ok Derpy. We will not fail in finding this Demo guy and delivering your message. Have a wonderful day.” I took the letter and deposited it in my saddlebags.

Derpy got to her hooves and trotted off into the distance.

“She seemed nice. A little odd but nice nonetheless.” I pushed on the door.

“Well Midnight that was a very good thing you decided to do. I’ve heard tales of Derpy. She was alive before the war started. She wasn’t the best at handling delicate situations but nopony could ever make her feel bad. She owned the way she was and made sure that she would stay happy. Probably why she hasn’t gone zombie yet. Anyway let's go into the tower. I’m sure that letter needs to be delivered quick and I don’t want to keep you from your friend.” Harmony dragged me along as she walked over to the intercom.

“Go Away Derpy. We aren’t going to let you in here. Oh wait you aren’t Derpy. My apologies Miss…” The guard hesitated.

“The name is Harmony. I own a house in Tenpony. I am sure you have heard of me. My friend here is Midnight. She will be allowed in with me.” Harmony nodded towards the door.

“Oh yes ma’am. I will send down a personal escort for you.” The guard's voice was a little too happy.

“That won’t be necessary. We can manage just fine thank you.” Harmony trotted towards the door.

“Understood. Welcome to Tenpony Tower enjoy your stay Miss Harmony.” The guard pony opened the front door remotely and we entered Tenpony Tower.

I was on a mission to find my friend and also to deliver this letter to a stallion name Demo. I wasn’t going to let anything get in my way.

The inside of the tower was breathtaking. The walls had been painted to look like a sunset. This one room brought back memories of my life before the chaotic hell of the wasteland. I was so happy to be back into a place where civilization thrived.

We were stopped by a guard before we reached the elevator. “I am sorry but you two need to relinquish all of your weapons and armor before you head upstairs. We have had problems in the past with ponies going on a rampage and murdering a few of the residence.”
I looked at Harmony. She had already taken off her armor and was clearing her saddlebags of weapons.

I removed my weapons and armor reluctantly. “I will get these back before I leave right?”

“Yes ma’am you will. We just can’t have ponies running around upstairs murdering the fine ponies of this tower. That’s just bad for business. If they die I don’t get paid and if I don’t get paid how am I going to get all the mares to”

“That’s just how life works here. He who gets paid the most gets laid the most. Oh and I would watch yourselves two attractive mares like you are going to be turning lots of heads. As for me I don’t care what happens to you. Long as I get paid I don’t care.” The guard trotted back to a chair.

I hadn’t lived long enough to be able to find the words necessary to describe the way that guard made me feel. It was a mixture of disgust, hatred, and honestly homesickness. Ponies like him were few and far between in the stable. A few of the ponies who were older than me acted just like him as if that would make them look tough and cool. It was a real turn off.

The guard pointed us to an elevator. I had to force myself to not gallop at full speed over to the elevator to escape this nightmare of a stallion.

The elevator was completely empty when we stepped inside. Harmony hit the button to take us to the 15th floor.

“Our house is on the 21st floor. Floors 10-15 are the areas where you can purchase pretty much anything. 16-22 are residential. The top floor is reserved for the most important ponies meeting area. The two floors below that are a radio broadcasting hub. A pony named DJ-PON3 resides there. He plays some decent music but on an endless repeat it gets rather boring. If you want news of what is going on out in the wasteland you might want to tune in. He is pretty much always correct on whatever he is reporting on. He has eyes everywhere so watch yourself he might take a liking to you.” We arrived on 15th floor just as Harmony finished explaining how Tenpony Tower worked.

When the doors opened we were greeted by a bleak looking room. The entire floor was one big room. Shops were set up all around the floor in no particular order. We walked over to a wine store that looked like it had been out of business for years.

The boards fell away with a small bit of magic. For not having been in use for years the shop was clean. Not a single speck of dust coated anything. A few bottles of wine remained shelved.

I walked into the back room of the shop believing I would find something. A shelf of wine that looked untouched and in pristine condition was the only thing in the back room.

“That was my parents ‘secret’ stash of fine wine. They had a few bottles of Britalian wine if I remember correctly. Unfortunately for us I am not going to sell those.” Harmony levitated one of the bottles towards us.

“May I ask why we aren’t going to sell those bottles? We could be rich beyond our wildest dreams.” I looked at the bottles of wine.

Harmonies response was short. “These are the only things I have left that remind me of my past life. And besides this is some of the finest wine ever made. I’m not letting go of this when you and I could have so much more fun if we kept it.”

It took all of five seconds after her finishing that sentence for her to make the situation... For lack of a better word sexual.

I awoke with Harmony in my embrace. We were laying on the floor of her parents… Our wine shop. An empty bottle of wine had been discarded some distance to our left. Well my left her right. The little bell that hung near the door rand as somepony entered. I gave Harmony a quick nudge and we were both to our hooves.

“Hello you two… Am I interrupting something? Is now a bad time? I can come back later if you want me to.” The stallion in front of us turned an unusual shade of red.

“No… No. It’s fine. What do you need good sir.” Harmony found her words before I could find mine.

“Well my name is Demo. I was wandering the tower when I saw that this shop had been reopened. I was delighted to say the least. I was wondering if you had a bottle of wine or two that you would be willing to part with. I am throwing a party. My partners old friend has just arrived here at Tenpony. I wanted to throw them a party for surviving the wastelands. Any friend of his is a friend of mine. Wait…” The stallion looked the two of us over before shaking his head. “Well you are the pony he spoke of. You must be Midnight. The mare with eyes for mares. You need not worry. I am not looking to steal away your lover. Whose name is Harmony if I recall correctly.”

I nodded my head blushing just a little. “Yeah. That’s us. It is a pleasure to meet you Demo. Can we go see Onyx?”

“Why certainly. Follow me and I will take you to him.” Demo turned to leave before I remembered the letter that Derpy had said needed to go to Demo.

“Hold on. Derpy had a letter for you. She didn’t say what it was about but she said it was important. Here you go.” I levitated the letter over.

He grasped the letter in his hoof before tucking it underneath his wing. He nodded and continued on his path to the elevator.

The elevator ride to the 22nd floor was a ride full of anticipation and fear. I was so happy that I was about to see my lifelong friend again.

A thought nagged at my mind. What if Onyx has changed so much in the time that he has been out here that he doesn’t want to see me? What if he wants to kill me for following him out of the stable? I was barely able to stay on my own hooves.

As the door opened I collapsed down onto my forelegs and just sat there. A familiar face was there to greet me.

“Midnight. I am so happy to see you. I know it has only been a week and a half but I missed you so much. I would ask who the mare you brought with you is but I already know. It is nice to meet you face to face Harmony. I am glad to see somepony finally found a lover that suits her tastes.” Onyx offered me a hoof.

“How did you know that I liked mares? Maybe I liked stallions but nopony in the stable fit my tastes.” I extended a hoof to him.

Onyx stared at me. “Midnight you told me so. Everypony in the stable was trying to set you and I up. They wanted us to become the leaders of the stable. That’s why I announced that I liked stallions. I knew nopony would bother us. They all thought you were in love with me and that’s why you not only didn’t find a new coltfriend but that is also why you left the stable. Now let’s not discuss anything so morbid. Get on your hooves and get out of the elevator. There are better places to sit than the floor.”

I got shakily to my hooves and we headed into a hallway. The doors to rooms didn’t pass by quickly. The doors were few and far between.

“These are the presidential suites. Best rooms in all of Tenpony. Minus maybe DJ-PON3’s place. You are welcome to stay here if you’d like. I suspect that Harmony has a room of her own. A place you two could have a little more privacy than say the floor of a wine store.” The look he gave me was one that made me feel like I knew better.

One of those looks my mom would give me if I did something that was inappropriate or unbecoming of the daughter of the Overmare. I hated that look. It reminded me of the home I no longer had.

It also reminded me that I had found a new home. A home free of judgment based on my preference of mares. I had found Harmony and now my best friend. Nothing else mattered.

“Take a seat on one of those couches. I know for a fact that they are more comfortable than the ground.” I did as I was told.

“Now I would offer you a glass of wine but seeing as you are already about halfway to drunk I think you should hold off.” Onyx picked up the bottle of wine.

Harmony nearly got the bottle of wine he was holding. “Now Onyx I don’t know what you have been told but she is nowhere near drunk. I have seen her drunk and trust me it is going to take a few more bottles before she is drunk. So let’s all just have a drink.”

Onyx was reluctant but poured me a glass anyway. “Now don’t go overboard with that. That wine is at least 30% alcohol. A few glasses usually makes an average stallion drunk. That and we have very little alcohol around here anymore. I suppose you two will probably be changing that. Nevertheless go easy on the alcohol or you might regret it in the morning.”

I nodded knowing just how bad a hangover could be. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Demo finished reading the letter.

“Well shit. This isn’t good.” The words were barely audible.

I didn’t skip a beat. “What’s wrong? What did the letter say?”

“An old friend of mine is in trouble. A group of slavers are holding him hostage. They demand that I pay 10,000 caps or else they will kill him! I can’t let this happen.” A fire somewhere in the depths of Demo’s soul had been ignited.

His every motion conveyed just how determined he was to make sure no harm befell his friend. Before I knew it he had leapt across the room. He tore a painting down off the wall to reveal a safe. He unlocked the safe.

Onyx had moved to his side. “Demo look. I know that we can’t let him be injured, but don’t you think that is going to be overkill. You know just how powerful those things can be. I still can’t believe you have one here in Tenpony. How did you even manage to sneak that in here?”

Demo turned to Onyx flaring his nostrils. “It helps when somepony owes you a favor. Also relax this is just a backup plan. Until he is freed from those ponies who don’t deserve to be alive I will not use this.”

Demo was holding what looked like an egg. I had read up on all kinds of creatures when I was in the Stable. Never once did I stumble across an egg that looked like that.

“What is that?” I took a closer look.

Demo was quick to respond to my comment. “Oh right you haven’t been out here long have you? This is a Balefire egg. It is a much smaller and much easier to control version of the bombs that destroyed all of Equestria. These create massive explosions and radiation. Anypony within a few miles will be killed within a minute of this exploding.”

It took me a few seconds to realize that we had started walking towards the elevator.

One minute later we were back at ground level..

The guard on duty smiled at us and directed us to our gear. “That’s a fancy set of armor you got there. Full body protection, auto administration of potions, and fully powered by magic. If I had to guess I would say that is a prewar Mark 4 suit of armor. Not the greatest suit ever made but it will keep you safe. Anyways keep safe out there. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

His last sentence was the one that finally made me realize he had been flirting with me. He took notice of my ignorance and shook his head before walking away.

“So what is the plan. I mean I’m all for going in shooting. Unfortunately if this slaver camp is well armed we will probably be torn to shreds before we can even get close. Also how far is it to this slaver camp? We don’t have the supplies to be making more than a day or two trip. That’s even if we don’t rescue anypony. If we rescue them we aren’t going to have enough food or water to make it back here. Or to make it anywhere for that matter. As for plan B. I don’t think we should kill all of the slavers. Even if they have lost the right to call themselves ponies they are still living breathing beings. I don’t know about you but obliterating an entire city seems to be a little bit overkill.” I slid my helmet on.

Everypony was staring at me with a funny little look.

Harmony was the first to speak. “We have transportation to and from the slaver camp. A Sky Bandit will be waiting for us outside after we free the slaves. So supplies won’t be a problem. And Midnight we aren’t going to go in and shoot the place up. We are going to infiltrate their camp.”

“How do you propose we do that?” I tilted my head to the right.

“Well it’s simple we have this armor and I managed to get these from one of the traders upstairs.” Harmony produced two little cartridges.

I took the one she was offering me. Stealthbuck. The simple word painted many pictures in my head. I slid the cartridge into the slot on my armor.

I lifted a hoof to in front of my face. I could see right through where my hoof should be. I quickly removed the Stealthbuck from my armor and deposited it into my saddlebags.

Author's Notes:

Yet another chapter for your enjoyment.