My chest felt like it was going to cave in beneath me as the weight of Basalt Breaker’s grief struck me like an out of control Raptor. Our eyes met, jade to amethyst, and in that moment we both shared terrible, dread certainty. She knew, as did I, that we were about to die, and there was nothing we could do about it. Time seemed to slow down as the head guard withdrew a massive .44 magnum from his saddlebags with his grey magic. Even in what I was convinced were my final moments, a part of my brain had to admire cutie mark rendered in gems that was embedded in the grip.

A two-toned violet made out of amethyst and citrine. Odd.

The stallion looked down at me as he levelled the gun between my eyes. “Any last words, little terrorist?” He asked, the handsome revolver’s hammer seeming to cock itself as it floated, suspended in his magic.

Then the room exploded in purple light.

“Where’re my guns?!” A loud, baritone voice bellowed from a little ways down the hall. Our captors were just in the process of turning toward the new threat as I watched the gems glow on the base of the pistol, and it squirmed free of the unicorn’s magical grasp, flying into – Solidarity’s?

Glitter Bomb, Bubblegum, Blackjack, and Solidarity stood at the end of the hall, all looking varying degrees of pissed off. I honestly wasn’t sure who looked the shootiest at that moment: Blackjack or Solidarity.

The unicorn guard who’d captured us looked stunned a moment as two more magnums with glowing cutie mark gems shot out of his saddlebag and into Solidarity’s magical grasp.

“You done fucked up, boy,” The unicorn drawled, before pulling the trigger on all three pistols. My already abused hearing sunk into nothingness, replaced by an already distressingly familiar ringing as the lead stallion’s head exploded.

Blackjack’s horn flared as she teleported between me and the guard behind me. Her horn flared again as her magical blade flashed through the air. The guardmare’s body slumped, her head rolling free, carried away by a surge of blood gouting from her neck stump, spraying my friend.

I watched in mute horror as the mare’s head rolled across the floor. Confusion. Panic. Terror, such bottomless, all-consuming terror. My vision swam and I tasted copper, but as it peaked, the feedback ebbed away to nothing, leaving a horrid void where the mare’s head had come to rest.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my blood-drenched friend’s head turn. The third guard’s horn flared and I braced myself for another ordeal, but there was the telltale pop of a savvy unicorn making a mercifully sharp exit as he got the hell out of the carnage that was the hallway. Part of me wanted to join him.

I numbly wondered if there was an earthquake happening as Blackjack used a bobbypin to pick the lock on my cuffs. The ground was moving so fast, it was hard to keep stable on my three good hooves. It wasn’t until Glitter trotted over and put a wing over me that I realised that it wasn’t the ground that was shaking. It was me.

Basalt collapsed to her side as soon as Blackjack opened her hoofcuffs. Great sobs wracked the strong mare’s body, and grief once again flooded the hallway, threatening anew to drown me in her sorrow. I went to move toward Basalt, to offer her some comfort, but Blackjack stepped in between us.

“Stay.” She commanded, her voice soft and strong as silk, even through the whistling of my thankfully diminishing tinnitus; a striking contrast to the blood that had stained her white coat a bright red, dripping from her jaw and down her left side. “Give her a moment, then we move.” She whispered, pausing. “Are you okay?”

“I–” I set my left forehoof down, and winced as it reminded me that I currently had shards of mirror embedded in my frog. Blackjack just shook her head at me as I turned the hoof over.

“I’m going to put you in a permanent protective shield, I swear,” She said, using her magic to pull the broken pieces of mirror from my hoof. “I know you don’t like mirrors, Thren, but did you really have to punish one using your already injured hoof?” She teased. Though the concern beneath the surface belied the levity in her voice.

“Yeah Thren, you need to stop getting hurted,” Glitter replied, gently booping my nose with her forehoof. “Especially since you’re already kinda fragile.”

I frowned up at Glitter. “I’m not that fragile!” I tried to not wince as Blackjack finished pulling the silvered splinters of glass out of my hoof, and rebandaged it. Okay, maybe I was a little fragile. “Glitter, can you go into that room and get my gun and Basalt’s hoof chisels?” I asked. My big purple friend nodded happily and trotted off to get our weapons.

“Fish, I think we’d best be movin’ on,” Solidarity said as he and Bubblegum trotted over to Basalt’s side. The mare’s cheeks were stained black with tears, and she curled up as the two stallions approached.

“Just leave me here. I’m not gonna be any use to any of you!” She sobbed.

Solidarity grit his teeth, and looked helplessly over at us mares.

Bubblegum sighed and very gently began stroking Basalt’s mane. “Basalt, none of us here is a stranger to loss. But we need you right now. Blue Belle is counting on you being able to fight if we’re going to beat the Family. This has the potential to turn from a revolt to a massacre really fast.” He said softly.

Something in Bubblegum’s voice - the slight quaver that came when he spoke of our own losses - brought Basalt’s head up. They shared a long look, then she wiped her eyes. I felt flickers of pain and bitter sorrow radiating from Bubblegum as he helped Basalt to her hooves, and mentally logged it away as another mystery about the big periwinkle pony.

“Right. Blue Belle. Killing the bastards that did this. Killin’ ‘em all,” Basalt said, her amethyst eyes dark and hollow.

“It is so weird to think of a Blue Belle as a frail unicorn. The one I knew was an earth pony that could probably turn this place upside down with a well-timed fart,” Blackjack whispered to me, catching me off-guard and making me snort out a spray of bloody snot. Through it all, I could at least rely on Blackjack to be Blackjack. She passed me a rag. “Gross. Blood boogers,” She commented with a smirk before turning to Glitter. “Glitter?” she asked, pulling me close to her. “If you please.”

“One trip to the nice blue pony!” Glitter said, her horn flaring with purple magic. A long, inner ear bending, feeling-like-you’ve-been-pulled-through-an-eye-of-a-needle moment later, we appeared in the wood drying ovens that the Timberjacks had turned into a jail. A palomino blurr nearly knocked Solidarity off of his hooves as Hyacinth flew into him, wrapping her forelegs around the stallion in a tight hug. I spotted Puddle Splasher’s mane bouncing on the other side of Bubblegum, and assumed that she was happy to see that Solidarity was back as well.

“Oh thank Luna,” Blue Belle said breathlessly as she rushed over to Basalt’s side. “Basalt, I–”

Basalt breaker cut her off with a dagger-sharp look. “You got my hoof-chisels?” She demanded of Glitter, a growing flicker of scorching anger beginning to melt and burn the solid mass of desolate pain at her core into hate tough as steel and sharp as glass. “I have a few Family Hornheads who I need to turn into earth ponies.”

Blue Belle looked sick at Basalt’s outburst, but Blackjack merely laughed. “Good!” She said, stepping between Blue Belle and Basalt. “Keep that fire. Keep that anger. You’ll need it if we’re going to pull this off.”

Pull what off? I wondered. As far as I knew, our plans had turned to so much brahmin shit, and the only other plan was Blackjack’s plan B. I really, really wasn’t in the mood for the bone-dry cackling following that thought as it passed through my head.

“Fuck you!” I shouted, whirling around to see if I could spot the ghostly apparition, but the Dealer must have decided it would be funnier to watch me look like a crazy filly as he made me bark at literally nothing.

Everypony but Blackjack gave me confused looks. Her ruby eyes were filled with something else: sorrow. But with a force of will only I could detect, she quickly hardened them back to the colour of blood as she spoke. “Blue Belle, you’re sure that you can get everypony situated in time?” She asked, letting a rather uncharacteristic quaver of anxiety carry through on her voice. “Cause I know we’re going up against this with… well… not much.”

Basalt Breaker glared at Blackjack. “You want out, Fish? Now’s the time to leave. You and your damned alicorn can go ahead and teleport out of here now!” She snapped, stabbing a hoof in Blackjack’s direction as hate continued to crystalise and grow amid the billowing hurricane of emotions that was rapidly building within the strong mare. “Cause we can handle this ourselves!”

Blue Belle put a hoof on Basalt’s foreleg. “It’s my ponies she’s talking about, Basalt,” She said quietly. “I know that your ponies are more than ready for a fight, but axes and varmint rifles could really use a little bit of help from us,” She explained, nodding toward the pair of assault rifles loaded into her battle saddle. “I know you want to take the Family apart with nought’ but your hooves, but I’d prefer you survive so you can stick around for a spell after this whole mess gets sorted.”

Solidarity stepped forward. “Not to put too fine a point on it, Fold’ll be wantin’ leaders after the dust settles. Especially without Buzzsaw here to sweep up the pieces,” The big unicorn said. I did my best to ignore the dry laughter that floated somewhere around my right ear.

I frowned as the other ponies started talking battle plans, and limped to the corner of the room. My hoof hurt, my heart hurt, my head hurt, and I was realising more and more that I was having to rely on lip reading in order to follow some parts of the conversation. Which meant that the more ponies who were making war plans, the less detail I was able to tease from the throng of flapping lips and tongues about exactly what they were trying to plan. I closed my eyes and covered my ears with my hooves. It didn’t seem to make much difference to what I could hear. Was that just because of Solidarity’s pistols?

“You know it’s not just the pistols, right kid?” A dry, dusty voice said. “You thought you could just take all that hate and anger you’ve stored up and dump it into somepony else? Well, guess you proved you can. Only now you’re learnin’ things like that got consequences. Heartmenders oughta know better.”

All at once, the conversations of everypony else dwindled to indistinct whispers. I looked up, realising that they were still talking about… tactics? Or the coming fight? Whatever was being said was lost somewhere between their lips and my ears, leaving all background noise as a low burbling like a quiet brook. I couldn’t muster the effort to care as I stared at the bony pony floating in front of me. “What do you want?” I asked, “And why do you keep bothering me?”

The Dealer shuffled his cards in his broken hooves, then tipped back his cowpony hat. “What I want is for the wasteland to continue. To spread. Ponies keep trying to make me go away,” he let out a papery chuckle, ”Truth of the matter is, I’m part of all o’ ya. Right here,” he said, his ghostly hoof poking at my chest. “Always have been. Always will be. You heartmenders of all ponies should know that first hoof.”

I frowned at the Dealer. “Well, whether or not we know that is neither here nor there. What do you want with me?” I demanded. “Blackjack said she thought you died when Echo died, whoever the hell he was, but now you’re talking to me, and it’s the first time I’ve honestly seen Blackjack scared of anything. Save for prolonged periods of sobriety.”

The Dealer laughed, dust seeming to shake free of his rattling bones and settle around my hooves as he did. “Echo was just a handy mask to stop Blackjack gettin’ too wise too soon. That mare is a fascinating curiosity, wouldn’t you say?” He asked, pulling a card from his deck and holding up the Queen of Spades. He spun the card around, Blackjack’s appearance changing from a young unicorn, to a young unicorn with braced legs, to a cybernetically enhanced mare, to a horrifying abomination of metal and magical technology. “I never tired of playin’ with her, ‘cause no matter what she did, all she managed to do was bring more of the wasteland around. With her in my hand, I couldn’t lose.” He shook his head. “Until she stopped the Eater, that is. Talk about a bad beat.”

I watched the bony stallion as he put Blackjack back in his deck. “Now she’s with you, and fixin’ not to let me get anywhere near where she walks,” He said with a smirk. “Can’t imagine why that is.”

“Why are you bothering me, then?” I asked, pinning my ears back as the ringing grew more intense, drowning out nearly all the sound around me. “Because the way I see it, my entire purpose is to make sure that you disappear on the wind like the dust that you’re made of!”

Dealer threw back his head and laughed. “Ho! My, aren’t you an arrogant little one? You think because you’re a heartmender, that you have some magical power to keep me outta here?” he mocked, spreading his hooves wide.

“Well, I–”

He came in close, resting a cracked, dessicated hoof on my chest. He was just an illusion, but still, I felt something heavy and dead settle in my chest. “You think you can even keep me outta here?” The weight grew heavier, I could still breathe, but it was like my lungs just weren’t pulling enough oxygen from the air. “Why don’t we ask our friend Sweetness what she thinks of how the newest ‘Saviour o’ the Wasteland is shapin’ up, hmm?”

Dealer leaned in closer. Close enough that I could have sworn I could smell old death on his breath. “You. The Followers. Your heartmending friends. All o’ ya. Doomed. Doomed to fail until you can figure out what makes ponies go wrong in the first place. Till then? Well,” He eased off and went back to shuffling his cards.

An unsettling silence replaced the awful ringing in my ears. I swivelled them about, desperate to hear… anything. “You didn’t answer the question,” I said, but my words sounded like they were being said underwater.

“Yer a conundrum,” he said, pulling a card from his deck. It wasn’t a playing card, but something I’d only read about. A tarot card, labelled ‘the Tower.’ The card showed Shadowbolt Tower before its destruction by Blackjack whose small form floated near it, an abominable melding of flesh and machine. Then he drew a queen of hearts bearing my face. “You follow in the wake of the chaos she sows, the death and destruction, tryin’ all the while to heal those around you. As if following in her hoofprints will somehow give you the power to undo what she’s wrought.” He pulled another card, smirked as he flipped it over. It read ‘the Fool’, the unambiguous picture of a shrugging blonde mare with crossed eyes made didn’t seem to offer much room for interpretation.

“So leave me alone,” I said softly, barely able to hear my words. I glared at him impotently, hoping that the shade would decide to just leave.

“Ah, but I’m not through with you yet. You see–” He started, then suddenly vanished. I looked around to see where he’d gone, but only manage to catch Blackjack’s gaze. She somehow managed to look paler than normal as she trotted over to me.

“--- y-- -k?” She asked. I rubbed my ears, so she repeated herself. “I j--- -aw De--er. Are. --u. Okay?”

I nodded. “I… he…” I shrugged helplessly, unable to explain the conversation. All at once, my hearing returned, and I laid my ears back as the sudden loudness of the room rushed in on me.

Blackjack’s eyes glanced to the top of my head, then back down to me. “Say anything particularly thrilling?” She asked, a smirk on her muzzle, but her emotions told me that she was taut as a hunter’s snare.

“Oh, you know. That you were the wake of destruction that I was following, and that I am a very dumb pony for doing so,” I said, frowning down at my injured hoof. The hapless expression worn by the mare on his last card came to the fore in my mind.

“Oh, so his usual bullshit. Has he called me the Star Maiden yet?” She quipped.

“No, that didn’t come up. Though he did say I was arrogant for thinking that the Heartmenders could help heal the wasteland,” I replied wryly. Blackjack’s lack of reply brought my head up. “Oh not you too!”

She shrugged at me. “I’m just saying, I tried to save the wasteland and died like… four times. It’s still broke,” She said sadly, hooking a foreleg over my shoulder. “Threnody,” She said, her tone and emotional state suddenly very serious. “I don’t want you out there.”

I looked up at her, alarmed. “What do you mean you don’t want me out there with you! You’ll need my help! You’ll…” I trailed off, realising that Blackjack was right. She was a fighter. Glitter hardly needed to be a fighter with the raw power she wielded. Bubblegum had been fighting to survive all his life. I…

I read books.

Blackjack just gave me a flat look. “Thren, you’ve got 3 good hooves, and you can’t fly. What are you going to do? Limp around shooting and hoping they take pity and don’t return fire?? That’s a good way to get shot. Repeatedly.” She shook her head. “No, you are staying put, and that’s final.”

I looked helplessly at Bubblegum and Glitter, but the two of them were too busy speaking in low tones to each other, their heads close together as they shared significant looks. Bubblegum’s face was a grim mask, while Glitter managed to smile despite the weight of what was to come.

“But!” Puddle Splasher shouted, drawing my attention off of the two solemn lovebirds. “I want to help!”

Solidarity knelt down to reach Puddle’s height. “Look now, darlin’. You want no part of what’s comin’, and even if you did, you weren’t given a weapon on leaving the stable for good reason. What makes you think I’m going to give you one now?” He chided gently.

“Because I can help!” Puddle insisted, before attempting to overcome the unicorn stallion with a freakishly adorable pout.

Solidarity didn’t seem impressed. “Look. You’re Rhiannon’s niece. I am not letting you get yerself shot, and having to explain to our Overmare why I gave you the gun that you done got yourself shot with,” He drawled. Then he pointed a hoof my way. “Stay here with Threnody. She ain’t going out either.”

Puddle’s mane straightened out as her ears drooped. “But… why is Cynthi going? She’s your–”

Solidarity gave Puddle a very long, very hard look. “She’s goin’ out because she knows what to do. None of us like fighting. Not a one. But if there’s killin’ needs be done, well…” He pulled out one of his magnums and looked it over. “Might as well be done by one of the few lawstallions left in these parts.”

Law stallion? Like… a sheriff? I added that to my list of things to ask Puddle about now that she was stuck with me. I gave her a reassuring smile as the seafoam green mare trudged over to my side and flopped down.

“It’s not fair! Everypony else is risking their lives! Why can’t–”

“Cause like Solidarity said, you’re not trained,” I replied quietly, causing Puddle Splasher to look my way. “I’m not saying that to be mean, Puddle. I’m saying it cause the first time I was training with firearms, I shot Fish because I wasn’t careful,” I offered what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Not saying that’d happen to you. But if you didn’t do well with just training before you left… there’s probably a reason Solidarity won’t let you have a gun.”

Puddle Splasher poked her hooves together, then sighed. “I couldn’t shoot the target,” she admitted.

“Hey, that’s not so bad!” I said, giving her a smile. “It took me most of my first magazine to even hit the bot-”

“I wasn’t shooting at a bottle,” Puddle said, looking hurt. “We… have a shooting range in Stable 9. It was part of the original plans for the security in the stable. But… our paper targets were shaped like ponies.” She looked down at her hooves. “I couldn’t shoot them.”

Ebony sorrow mixed with dark red shame at the memory pooled around the petite earth pony’s hooves. I frowned, then pulled out my plasma defender and set it down in front of Puddle. “If you want to know the truth? I’ve never shot anypony with this. Never actually shot at them, come to that. I’ve shot near ponies that were shooting at us in Three Rivers, but… I didn’t hit anypony.” I left out the part where I was shot because I couldn’t even shoot in self-defence. “What I’m trying to say, Puddle, is that not everypony can do what Fish and Solidarity do. And, even though they may do it well, that doesn’t mean that every life they take doesn’t leave some sort of scar on their heart.”

Puddle lightly nudged the gun away. “I know. Solidarity always looks sad when he talks about ponies that he had to ‘take down’,” She said, making little air quotes with her hooves. The sight was adorable enough to tug a brief smile out of me, despite the grave time and our glum surroundings. “He doesn’t even like to admit that he’s killed ponies as constable of Stable 9. It was kinda rare that he would, but…” She trailed off and shook her head. “There was a time that we were attacked by the Steel Rangers. They wanted in, and cause, well, we believe in the magic of Friendship, we wanted to make new friends!” She said with a sad smile. “But then they started shooting. Our head of security died. A lot of our friends and family died. Then Solidarity came down from his office. Only two Rangers got out.”

Given the trio of pistols-cum-light artillery pieces that Solidarity fielded, I wasn’t surprised. But it was mildly intimidating to hear that there was another pony in the wasteland that probably could put Blackjack through her paces. Yet, from the outside, he seemed so… normal.

I cocked my ear to the side. “He seems so…” I waggled my bandaged left hoof, trying to figure out how to put into words what I felt from him. Which, to be honest, was very little.

“Stoic?” Puddle giggled. “He’s… spent a lot of time with Rhiannon. She’s not only our overmare, but she’s a heartmender. She and Solidarity kinda have an understanding.” She waved a hoof in front of me. “You okay?”

I closed my open jaw. “Yeah… fine. Wait, she’s a heartmender?”

Puddle nodded. “That’s her special talent. She’s been using it since she was little. And… well, since her father was killed during the attack I just told you about, she took over. Kinda young, too. She’s only 47.”

I’d made the unfortunate choice of taking a sip of water from a bottle I’d stored in my bag when Puddle gave me Rhiannon’s age, and sputtered. “What? Forty-seven is young?” I squeaked. My mom was pushing forty-five, and I wasn’t quite sure how many years she had left in her. Mind, mom lived as a whore for most of her life, so that likely had at least something to do with her reduced life expectancy.

Puddle’s ears wilted. “Oh… sorry. I forget that when you grow up in a Stable, you live longer.”

I waved her off. “No, no, it’s fine it’s just-”

“Threnody!” Blackjack called from the massive door to the ovens. “They’re calling all the townsponies together. We’re going to make our move.” She glanced over at Basalt Breaker, who grit her teeth. “I’m leaving one of the guards to keep you two safe. But don’t come out unless one of us gets you.”

My stomach decided to hover somewhere around the back of my throat as I watched my friends leave me behind. As the great steel door to the oven shut, the empty space that the dozen or so ponies vacated was quickly filled up to the ceiling with anxiety.

Puddle Splasher grabbed my right hoof, the unicorn stallion’s presence quickly forgotten. “They’re… coming back, right?”

I nodded stiffly. “Yeah. Sure. Probably gonna be like, no more than thirty minutes. Then we’ll have freed the town, and you all can buy the lumber you wanted.” I paused a moment as stark silence settled over the room. “What does Stable 9 want with the lumber anyway?” I asked.

“Oh! We’re going to expand our stable out of Mt. Hoof! We’ve been growing so much, and made so many new friends that we’re gonna try to start rebuilding Hoof River. Or… we were, before the mean ponies here beat up Solidarity and locked us in the cages.”

Puddle and I sat in anxious silence for what felt like an eternity. Inside of the old ovens-turned-jail, we couldn’t really hear what was going on outside. I flexed my good wing as I started pacing – well, okay, more hobbling really -- about the small room. My seafoam green companion sighed, and pulled out a magazine from her saddlebags.

“Oh! You got your stuff back!” I said as I watched her read.

Puddle nodded. “The mean ponies didn’t make it too difficult to find, and once we were free we sort of just took it back,” She explained, flipping through a well worn copy of Meeting Ponies. “But… I mean, it is nice to have something to read.” She frowned down at the magazine, and gave it a halfhearted tap with her hoof. “What am I saying. Oh yay! I have something to read while my friends are out getting ready to fight for their lives. Ooo!” She suddenly started digging through her saddlebag. “And eat! Good thing they didn’t check too closely!” Her false cheer faltered, but a small smile remained as she tossed me a cherry snack cake.

The snack cake did little to calm my nerves, but it did help smooth over the small pit of hunger that’d starting to form in my belly. A part of me chastised myself for, yet again, not taking care of myself. But then again, Blackjack hadn’t really offered me anything, and we were kind of trying to prevent a major catastrophe from happening in Fold. Besides, I looked positively fat compared to some of the earth ponies that lived in town.

The high pitched chatter of an assault carbine startled Puddle and I. Whoever was shooting fired off what felt like the longest burst in the world, which was followed by the most unsettling silence.

The guardstallion waved a brown hoof at us. “Easy girls.” He said reassuringly.

Pain, fear, anger, hate, horror. All sorts of emotions flowed down from the town and into the little space where Puddle and I were hidden. A huge part of me wished I was hidden away from everything, not just from view.

A muffled explosion quickly followed, a twinge of regret that felt distinctly pink added itself to the maelstrom of emotions going on above my head.

...Then the shooting really started.

I flinched as pain and fear threatened to overwhelm my senses. I dove beneath the cot in the makeshift jail cell, and pressed my hooves over my ears. I wasn’t scared. Not really. But the sheer churning, flowing tide of potent negative emotion was quickly overwhelming my senses. It took everything in me to put up every mental shield I could think of as gunshots, shouts, and explosions roared overhead.

It wasn’t enough.

The worst part of it was when a swirl of emotion, no matter how insignificant, suddenly stopped. In my head, even as the fighting started, I could sanitise the situation; make believe that the fighting was all minor wounds and chasing the Family out of town. That bloodless illusion was shattered anew every time I suddenly felt an emotion stop told me that somepony’s life had ended. The fantasy broke over and over again, with each new hole torn in my perception as another pony’s life was snatched away. As if to mock me for ever daring to be so naïve in the first place. Tears started pouring down my face as rage and loss and howling despair began to join the horrific torrent of emotions that unceasingly assaulted my senses.

Dammit! And there was nothing I could do about it! It struck me that this must have been how the war-era heartmenders felt. As the battle raged on overhead, it made me come to realise just why so many of them died. And why so many of those overworked heartmenders ultimately took their own lives. To be in the battle was to know fear and suffering. To be a heartmender near a battle was akin to becoming an unwilling, captive bedfellow to death itself.

I felt a hoof stroking my mane, and looked up into Puddle Splasher’s maroon eyes. “I’d ask if you were okay, but… your nose is bleeding,” She said, wiping my nose with a rag.

“Son of a whore!” I spat, causing Puddle to start and drawing an anxious chuckle out of our guard as I rubbed my nose. “S-sorry. I… argh. I hate it when that happens.”

“Empathic feedback?”

I nodded. “Yeah… feedback. From the battle outside,” Tears welled at the corners of my eyes. “Dammit, I’m not even up there! Why the hell are my… emotional shields not working?”

Puddle continued petting my mane. “Because you care. And because, well, as Rhiannon explained it, heartmenders feel too much already. You being near a big fight like this? It’s no wonder that it’s just as bad for you as the bullets flying up there are for everypony else.”

An explosion that felt a lot closer than the others made the two of us jump. Which also had the unfortunate effect of causing the both of us to simultaneously whack our heads on the underside of the cot. Rubbing the top of my head, I crawled out from the cot, swivelling my ears around to make sure that–

CRACKCRACKCRACK!

A trio of dents appeared on our side of the big steel door. I dove for my pistol, momentarily forgetting that I couldn’t fly, and ended up in a pony-shaped heap at the bottom of the far wall. But at least the plasma defender was within easy gripping distance! My tail flopped onto my face as I looked back across the room at Puddle’s terror filled eyes. Shaking myself, I got onto my three good legs and aimed the pistol toward the door.
The guard stallion waved me back as he made his way toward the latch. He put his ear to the door, and waited for several long, tense moments before relaxing.

“I’m going to check to see what that was,” he said, cool purple magic flowing around the door latch.

Puddle and I both made motions begging him not to go outside, but he ignored us as he poked his head through the crack in the door.

“No one’s out there, I just want to make sure they don’t need me,” He said slipping through the door. He turned to face me. “If they don’t, I’ll be right–”

Crack! Brratt!

The stallion’s eyes widened and shock impaled me against the metal wall. I watched his horn flare, and he let out a roar as he slammed the door shut behind him. The coat on the back of my neck stood on end as I felt something strange from him: purpose. The moment of altruism from a stallion whose name I’d never learned stunned me as several more gunshots echoed into our hiding place, and like too many others, his mote of emotions vanished.

Something warm trickled down from my left ear as I watched the latch on the door slide open. I didn’t recognize the colour of the hoof that opened the door, so I opened fire. Small green balls of disintegration magic flew into the gap, missing her, but causing the mare on the other side of the door to yelp and jump back.

Puddle Splasher slammed her small frame into the door, causing it to lock closed again. I waved her behind me with my good wing. I could feel the blood pulsing in my ears. Every nerve in my body felt like it was standing on end.

The ponies on the other side of the door opened fire once again, and more dents appeared on our side of the door, causing Puddle to squeak in terror as she tried to put as much distance between herself and the shooting. She dove under my barrel, and covered her ears with her hooves.

BOOMF!

The door exploded inward, shards of metal and fluffy pink insulation flying in all directions. I tackled Puddle to the floor, covering her with my frail form as shrapnel peppered my armour and the back of my neck. I had the briefest moment of panic when I realised that we’d ended up muzzle to muzzle, but shook myself and retrieved my gun.

Keeping Puddle covered, I fired a few rounds off through the shattered remains of the door. The little marker that told me how many rounds left ticked lower and lower with every shot. Breathing hard, I waited for somepony to fire back. At first there was nothing, then the dreadfully familiar report of an assault carbine roared, spraying the room with fire.

A sick part of my mind noted that if I were taller, that barrage could have been deadly. As it stood, all it did was ruffle the top of my mane and pockmark the walls behind me with more holes. I held my fire, waiting to see who emerged from the smoke. A moment later, a dark green unicorn mare stepped through the shattered door, her assault carbine levitated in front of her.

Now I actually had a target, I couldn’t bring myself to shoot her, so I unloaded my pistol at her carbine. Sparkling green balls of disintegration magic slammed into the metal barrel, cratering it. The mare dropped the rifle in surprise as one of the bolts melted a hole through the magwell. Molten plastic and metal ran down the magazine from the hole my shot melted, destroying the weapon’s functionality.

Which would have been great if I hadn’t heard the soft ping of my own weapon running out of ammo as the spent gem pack popped off of top of the weapon. It was really a cute ping. Too cute for what it foretold.

The unicorn mare apparently knew what it meant, as she gave me and Puddle the most wicked grin. I froze. I’d seen that expression before, on the Mayor’s face. I knew what that expression meant, and I couldn’t move.

She took a menacing step forward. But I couldn’t move. She let out an ear splitting cackle that made Puddle cower and flinch under me. But I still couldn’t move.

Then the mare went flying into one of the cells, struck by something. The loud, bellowing retort of a shotgun echoed through the tattered door as a blur of pink and periwinkle slammed into the mare just as she was getting up. Bubblegum pulled his hoof back, and punched the unicorn on the right side of her jaw. The mare’s eyes rolled up as her head bounced off the wall of the cell, and she lay still. He stared down at her still form, hooves raised defensively for a few seconds, then let out a long breath, and leaned down to check the mare’s neck for a pulse. I hadn’t felt her feelings of pain stop, so much as very suddenly still, so after he found her pulse, he got up, delicately stepped out of the jail cell, and closed the door behind him.

“Are you okay?” Bubblegum asked, turning as blood dripped down his well toned form from scattered cuts along his armour. His beautiful face was thankfully unmarred, but somehow the trickle of blood that ran down his temple from his maneline stirred something in the dark, primitive recesses of my mind.

My wing reminded me that, yes, it was still hurt, and no, it did not appreciate being forced upwards with a soft pomf. “OW! Shit ass fuck dammit!” I swore, pulling my throbbing wing to my side.

“He’s more beautiful when he’s covered in blood,” Puddle whispered softly to me. Oh, I fucking knew it.

“We’re fine, Bubblegum. Are you alright?” I asked, pulling a healing potion out of my saddlebags as I limped over to his side.

He nodded, but gulped down the purple potion. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I ran out of grenades, and I didn’t want to leave Glitter, but when we saw the smoke coming from the bunker, and I was the closest to you,” Bubblegum shook himself, looking stunned. He bit down on the firing bit to his battlesaddle, and it gave a soft ‘click’, reminding him that he needed to reload the hunting shotgun that smoked on his right side. “Oh shit. I must have fired that more than I thought,” He said, staring hazily at the weapon before kicking the autoloader. “Huh…”

I flicked my ears about as I realised that the world had taken on an eerie quiet. Oh hells, not again! I looked up, and noted that both Bubblegum and Puddle were flicking their ears about, too.

“I don’t hear anything,” Puddle said apprehensively, poking her head around the edge of the entrance to the jail.

Bubblegum kicked the loader again, then frowned as it too, informed him that he was out of ammo. I skewed an ear to the side in confusion as I picked up another emotion from Bubblegum: relief. I took a moment to process that as he trotted toward the door. “Girls, stay behind me, please,” He said, lightly pushing Puddle back from the remains of the door with his massive hoof.

I used the opportunity to remember to reload my pistol, and slowly followed Bubblegum’s fantastic ass out of the jail. My ears wilted as I stepped into a slick of blood. The quiet guard that had stood watch over us was doubled over in a heap, his body mutilated by countless bullets. But I still stopped to check for a pulse, even if I was certain I wouldn’t find one. I leaned down, and pressed my lips against his forehead, just below his horn.

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling my throat threaten to clamp closed if I refused to cry. I let it tighten as I gently closed his eyes.

Puddle made a soft choking sob as she looked at our defender, but quickly covered her mouth with a hoof to stop herself from making any noise.

I hated the eerie silence that had settled over the cell. I couldn’t feel anything. No more fear. No hate. No anger. Just… nothing.

Bubblegum waved me up to the exit of the old drying ovens, and slowly pushed open the door. I immediately wished he hadn’t.

The sound that came with the opening of the door still haunts me now. It was a collective cry of agony, as the injured cried out for help. Agonized sobs echoed from those that had lost somepony. Screams of pain wailed through the still air.

All at once the smell hit me. Copper mixed with sulfur mixed with the scent of voided bowels. I’d been around the wasteland enough to know that death was not pretty, and was often even more horrifying once the body relaxed for one final time. But Fold smelled like so much death… And I threw up.

“Threnody!” Glitter Bomb called as she floated down from the top of the hill. “We need your help! Lots of ponies are hurted!”

I finished ridding myself of the cherry snack cake Puddle Splasher had kindly given me, then hobbled as quickly as I could toward the stairs. Glitter grabbed me in her magic, and set me on her back. “Sorry, need help now!” She explained, before once again I was the unwilling guest of a teleportation spell. Well, at least I didn’t have anything to throw up on the other si–

Glitter dropped us into Tartarus. The streets around the saloon ran thick with blood, and there were bodies everywhere. My heart caught in my chest as I spotted Blackjack lying on her side, breathing shallowly. I moved as quickly as I could to her side, but she waved me off.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” She pointed to her blackened horn. “Looks like I won’t be horny anytime soon,” I ignored her pun, and dug through her saddlebags, searching for a healing potion. I pulled out what felt like a potion bottle, only to be confused by the rainbow-like substance that floated within. “What is…?”

Blackjack quickly snatched the bottle away from me with a hoof. “It’s what heals me best when I’m really hurt,” She explained. I immediately regretted that she turned to look at me. The entire left side of her face hung off to one side. I could identify bones and what little muscle remained on her mandible as she spoke. My stomach dry heaved, causing me to wretch softly.

Blackjack took the cork off of the bottle and swigged it. Immediately, her face began to slowly meld itself back together, like a candle melting in reverse, ending with a little bit of fireworks as the skin finished healing on her muzzle. She stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Why does it taste like cotton candy?” Her brow furrowed, “and why do I know what that tastes like?”

“What in the name of Luna, Celestia, and Cadence was that?!” I demanded.

“Taint.”

“What?!”

She smirked at me with her healed face. “Taint. Works like hydra on me. Blank body, and all that.” I shuddered at the explanation as Basalt Breaker limped up to us. She was bleeding heavily from a hole in the right side of her withers.

“You got any medical training?” Basalt rasped, before coughing and spitting out a wad of blood.

I was on top of her in a moment. “Yes. And oh sweet Celestia what did you do?”

Basalt tried to shove me away. “I just got skewed by a hornhead. He ain’t got a horn anymore though,” She said, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth, her lips twisted into an agonised sneer. “But don’t worry about me. The town doc got killed, and we need somepony to help with the wounded.”

I had none of it. “No, we’re starting with you!” I shouted, putting my ear to her breast. Her breathing had a gurgling quality to it, confirming my fears that the horn had punctured her lung. “Chug,” I ordered, presenting another one of my precious healing potions.

“Look, I-”

“Drink it, you dumbass,” I spat, glaring up at Basalt. “That horn punctured your lung. You’re lucky in that it doesn’t sound like it’s collapsed. But you are one of the ones I’d triage first for needing immediate attention.” I shoved the bottle up at her. “Now drink.”

Basalt looked like she wanted to argue, but I silenced her with a glare. Slowly, she drank down the potion, and I watched as the hole in her shoulder closed. I put an ear to her chest again, and slowly but surely, her breathing became less laboured. “I… guess I did need a little bit of healing,” She admitted sheepishly.

I ignored her. “Glitter,” I said, turning to my purple friend. “Take me into the saloon. It’s time to be Followers. Let’s set up a triage.”

12 Hours Later

I finally collapsed into a heap of blood, vomit and shit. There may have been some feathers in there, and a bit of coat that still by some miracle managed to retain its original shade of brown. I wasn’t a doctor by any stretch of the imagination, but I did know how to triage patients. Which meant the last 12 hours had been a hell of picking those that could be saved if we did something right now, those who could wait, and those that only Med-X could help.

Glitter and I did our best, but between her lack of practice with healing magic, and my lack of knowledge, there was only so much we could do. Solidarity had stepped in to help where he could, but he was a fighter, not a healer. And Blackjack…

… Blackjack tried to help, but with her horn burned out, all she could do was help by putting pressure on wounds and by trying to be reassuring to the ponies that lay dying on the table.

For better or worse, the Family ponies ended up teleporting away after inflicting massive casualties on the town of Fold. I went through the store’s supply of healing potions, Med-X, and whiskey before finally giving up. I’d helped those that I could, everything else was on my patient’s bodies to heal.

Well, no. I hadn’t given up. Everypony who we thought we could save, we had. Those whose injuries weren’t severe enough to warrant my attention were taken care of by Blackjack or Puddle or Hyacinth. Others were made comfortable with what supplies we had before…

… Before death finally took them.

That thought put me over the edge, and I started sobbing. After the battle, I felt so alone. Bubblegum was nowhere to be found, having disappeared at some point with Basalt as she tried to hobble along. Glitter was constantly looking to me for what to do next, forcing me to tell her where to point her horn, when to wrap somepony up, when to give a potion, and when they needed a dose of Med-X or Buck. Puddle had left me about 6 hours ago to try to help do something to raise the town’s morale. Just what that was, I didn’t know.

Even Blackjack seemed to be a bit distant. I knew that she couldn’t be handling the aftereffects of the battle very well at all, but even if she would have just come and talked to me about it, I would have felt so much better. So much more useful.

Another sob racked through my body as I realised that a lot of this was my fault. If I hadn’t gotten mad and hurt Sweetness, none of this would have happened! At least 40 ponies had died in the fighting, and a dozen more died of their injuries because I couldn’t save them.

“Threnody?” Puddle’s soft voice called from outside my shroud of feathers and misery.

I wiped my eyes as best I could, and looked up at her. “Yeah Puddle?” I rasped, my throat dry from crying.

She passed me a small bottle of water. “You need to take care of yourself, too,” She said softly, concern evident on her muzzle as she sat down on her haunches across from me. “Have you gotten anything to eat?”

“Puddle, I haven’t even been able to get a drink for the last 12 hours. And I mean a drink of water or whatever, let alone alcohol. And believe me, there were times when I lost somepony that chugging that whiskey seemed like a damned fine idea!” I snapped. Puddle flinched away from me, her the curls in her mane straightening slightly. I sighed. “I’m sorry Puddle. You’ve been helping, we’ve all been through a lot. That wasn’t–”

Puddle put her hoof to my muzzle to silence me. “It’s okay. You ignore your pain and own needs by focussing on the pain of others. I’m sorry for reminding you of that,” She said softly.

I frowned at her. “I don’t do that! We literally had–”

Her hoof was on my muzzle again. “I was there, remember? Now what can we do to take care of you?”

I stared bewildered at the cute seafoam green earth pony. Why did she want to take care of me? “I…” My voice failed me, and my throat and chest tightened. Ugh, I was not going to cry. I was not going to-

I started crying. I couldn’t stand it! I was supposed to be the strong one! I was supposed to be asking how everypony was doing! Tears rolled down my face as I stared at the floor. I knew that Puddle was just trying to make sure that everyone, including me, was okay. But… I felt like I didn’t deserve it.

Puddle leaned forward and wrapped her forelegs around me, and pulled me close to her chest. She didn’t say anything for a long moment as she gently stroked the back of my neck with her hoof. I felt so guilty as my tears stained her coat to the colour of the sea during a storm, but a part of me took comfort in her soft scent. Even though she hadn’t bathed in a few days, she didn’t smell awful. Just… comforting.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, swallowing to try to get the lump out of my throat.

Puddle shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize, Threnody. If anything, you need to slow down a little.”

I looked up into her maroon eyes. “I… but… patients…”

“No buts. You’ve been at this for over half a day. Alone. Before that you nearly died. And there was a big fight. And I doubt you’ve slowed down since you got to Fold,” Her eyes seemed to pierce right through me, and I decided I really didn’t like it when ponies gave me a taste of my own medicine. “You’re done for today. You’ve done all you can. Now how can I help take care of you?”

Tears threatened to well up in my eyes again as I looked up at her, so I said nothing. I didn’t trust myself to not start crying again.

Puddle let out a soft sigh, then got to her hooves. “Come on. Let’s start with a bath,” she said.

I gave her a confused look. “Um, I can sorta do that myself, you know,” I said, feeling a little defensive. “And I really should make sure that Go Fish is-”

“She’s with Basalt Breaker. Basalt isn’t handling Buzzsaw’s death very well. Miss Fish said she’d take care of her,” Puddle said. “And what’s wrong with a bath? You’re covered in blood, and,” she looked over my coat, her nose wrinkling at the various bodily fluids, and... solids caked into it, “you stink,” she finished diplomatically.

My cheeks burned at Puddle’s admonishment. “S-sorry,” I stammered. “I just thought you were wanting to take a bath together, and um…”

Puddle blinked at me. “Uh, that was kinda the plan. How else are you gonna get your wings cleaned? You sure aren’t gonna be able to that yourself. Besides, bubble baths are fun, right!?” She asked, her excitement bubbling over at the thought of being able to help.

Instantly I felt horribly ashamed. Here was somepony who was just trying to help, and was completely innocent, and I was… I was basically thinking that they were going to try to take advantage of me.

Puddle cocked her head to the side as she looked at me. “What’s wrong?” She asked. “Do… um…” She bit her lip.

I waved my left hoof. “It’s nothing, Puddle. Yeah. Let’s go see a pony about a bath. And then maybe a meal. After that… I really need to get some sleep.”

Puddle and I checked in with an earth pony mare named Butterscotch who was watching over the injured ponies who were still recovering in the saloon-cum-makeshift hospital. She felt that she could take care of their needs, and gently shooed us out. Puddle led me over to the small hotel that the Family had occupied until recently.

“I… are you sure I don’t need to check in on Go Fish?” I asked as we walked into the hotel’s lobby. Shards of glass littered the stairs in front of the entrance where the defenders of the hotel had shot out at the resistance fighters of Fold. I couldn’t help but wonder if the blood that was drying was from my friends, or ponies I cared about. At least somepony had taken the time to clear out the bodies…

Puddle Splasher nodded, making her seafoam green mane bounce. “Miss Fish was helping Basalt Breaker back to her home on the outskirts of town. She said she was going to stay the night to make sure Basalt was okay.”

I felt like my stomach fell out from under me. She was staying the night with Basalt? After a battle? After Basalt just lost someone? My mind decided to fill in all the licentious details and I shuddered. Blackjack wouldn’t do that, right? And… well, even if she did… why was it bothering me? That shouldn’t bother me! They were both adults!

“Threnody, are you okay?” Puddle asked, giving me a worried look.

“Yeah! Fine! Never better!” I didn’t want to go through the hassle of explaining why I was worried that Basalt Breaker was currently being watched over by a sex crazed maniac after they’d both had a hard day of fighting.

Puddle didn’t look convinced, but waved to an earth pony who was sitting behind the front counter. The stallion smiled back at her, then deftly tossed her a numbered key.

“Didn’t look like anypony had used that room yet. Shame, has a really nice tub in it, too,” He said, shaking his head. “But… it’s nice to have those bastards gone so I can run my hotel again!”

“You used to run this place?” I asked, confused.

He nodded. “Yep, right up till the Family moved in. They got a might testy about a lowly earth pony runnin’ the joint,” He shrugged. “But they’re gone, and I guess that’s that. Anyways, have a good night girls. You two look like you could use some shut-eye.”

Puddle led me up a small flight of stairs to the second floor where her room was. As we stepped inside, it felt like stepping 200 years back through time. The room was remarkably well-preserved for being out in essentially the middle of nowhere. The bed still had clean, if age-stained sheets on it, and as I glanced into the bathroom, I noticed that it had a huge clawfoot tub that had been rigged with a water talisman. A part of me also realised that the tub would have been generously sized for a normal sized mare, but Puddle and I were likely going to be swimming in it.

“This… wow,” I said, trotting into the room, taking everything in. It even had books in it! Real, unburned, unruined, legible books!

“Ooo, the hot water talisman even works!” Puddle said, her voice echoing out from the bathroom as the sound of running water filled the small room.

I set down my saddlebags in a corner before going to see what Puddle was up to. I felt myself freeze as I hobbled into the bathroom, only to find that Puddle had already stripped out of her stable barding. I felt my face heat up as I looked her over, which only made me flush even more when she caught me staring.

Puddle smiled gently at me. “I figured, since we’re both girls, and I guessed around the same age, you’d be okay with this. Is this okay?”

“How old are you?” I squeaked, trying to find somewhere to look that wasn’t at her unclothed form. I knew that most ponies didn’t have an exact taboo per se about clothing, but seeing somepony without some sort of barding on always made me feel a little uncomfortable.

Puddle laughed brightly. “I’m 14, silly. I may not be full grown yet, but you don’t look like you’re much older than I am,” She said. She caught my eye in the mirror that I’d been looking at in an attempt to not look at her. Which, unfortunately really only gave me a new angle to look her over with, which was not doing good things to my relative level of being flustered!

I shook my head, trying to get the image of her flanks out of my head. “N-no. I’m 14, too. I’ll be 15 in a few months,” I admitted. Why were my wings choosing to ache at this time? Now was not the ideal time for this! I felt myself internally screaming as she pranced up to me.

“See! It’ll be fun! I even found a little bottle of bubble bath!” Puddle tugged on my duster’s sleeve. “Now get undressed. You need to have a little fun now and again.”

Why are you so cute? Why am I so dumb? Why am I feeling so awkward about this? We’re just two fillies taking a bath together. Nothing bad. I told myself as I very, very slowly removed my duster.

Puddle shook her head, then scrambled over the side of the tub, landing with a rather loud splash. I took advantage of the moment that she wasn’t visible to wiggle out of my filthy leather armour, and placed it in a pile. I tried to steady my breathing as I heard her splashing about in the tub, mentally cursed whoever decided that hormones were a thing that should happen to ponies, and wiggled up and over into the tub myself.

The warm water hit my hide like a wave of refreshment, and I let out a soft sigh of contentment as the water settled around my withers. Puddle smiled at me from the other side of the tub. “Better?” She asked, lightly splashing the water in front of her with her hooves.

I nodded. “Getting there,” I admitted, wiggling onto my rump so I could rest my back against the tub. The warm water soothed my injured wing, and I used it to lightly splash Puddle’s muzzle with some water as she grabbed a bar of soap that sat at the head of the tub.

“Told ya!” She said with a grin. I closed my eyes and let the hot water relax the aches and pains that I hadn’t realised I was feeling out of my body. Puddle hummed softly to herself as I rested, and I smiled softly at her pretty humming. I mentally shook my head at myself for being so flustered and worried about the bath. This was probably normal for Puddle and her friends in the Stable where she grew up, and here I was treating her like she was Blackjack.

“Puddle, do ponies in your stable normally take baths together?” I asked.

“Mmhmm! I mean, they sorta stop doing that with ponies of their own gender when they get older, but sometimes Hyacinth will still join me if she’s not grumpy!” She said excitedly. “And she’s not that much older than me anyway, really.”

“Oh? How old is Hyacinth?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“She just turned 22 a few weeks ago. She was super excited to be able to come out here,” Puddle said, then her face fell. “Well, excited until she found out that her dad was going, and not her boyfriend.”

Her dad? “Wait, Solidarity is her dad?!” I sputtered.

Puddle nodded. “Yeppers! She’s his oldest, and Quiet Violet is his youngest. She’s two years older than us, but Solidarity said he wanted to spend some time with Cynthi before she got ‘too invested in colts’,” She said, dropping the pitch of her voice to mimic a stallion’s tone.

Puddle’s use of a silly voice made me smile. “Well, I’m glad you all made it through safely,” I said, watching her as she started to soap up her mane. “I’m glad we all did,” I added soberly.

Puddle’s happy expression fell a moment as she nodded in agreement. “Me too,” she said, then bit her lip. “Um… can we not talk about what happened just yet? And just kinda enjoy relaxing?”

I smiled back at her. “Sure. I don’t mind that,” I said, spreading out my left wing. It felt good to be able to move the formerly tight and abused appendage. “Is Hyacinth’s boyfriend nice?” I asked, trying to find a safe topic.

“Oh yeah!” Puddle exclaimed before dunking her sud filled mane underwater. When she came up, she continued. “His name is Crescent Rider, and he’s a batpony! There’s a few Nocturnal ponies that live in Stable 9, actually, but he’s really nice. He’s really good at getting her to calm down a little, and she seems to make him happy. I think they’re cute and should get married.” She turned away from me in the tub, and pushed the soap my way. “Can you help me with my back?”

My skin prickled and my heart started thudding in my chest again for reasons that quite frankly annoyed me, but I took the soap and started gently rubbing it in circles over her teal back. Why was I reacting to her like I would if I was taking a bath with Bubblegum? It made no sense! I swallowed hard as she let out a soft sigh when I accidentally pressed the soap a little too hard into her back.

“How did you know that was a sore spot?” She giggled.

I wanted to die. I hadn’t known, and was honestly just following what felt right! “I… uh… um… er…” The soap slipped off my hoof, and went shooting around the tub at high speed. I must have blushed bright red, because Puddle turned and gave me a look that was mixed amusement and pity.

“Everything okay, Threnody?” She asked.

“Just fine!” I squeaked, then dunked my head underwater to avoid having to look at her for a moment. Unfortunately she was still there when I came up for air, and my stomach got this uncomfortable, butterfly like feeling when I looked at her. What the hell, body? What the fuck brain?

Puddle gently passed the soap back to me. “Your turn!” She said, lightly splashing about in a way that made her seem irrepressibly adorable.

I quickly washed myself, and used the motion of the soap over my coat to focus on something other than Puddle for a moment. I tried to not pay attention to how much dirt and grime seemed to be coming off as I rinsed myself. I definitely tried to not stare when Puddle got up and leaned over the back of the tub as she reached for a towel. I definitely didn’t notice that she had even shapelier flanks than Bubblegu–

Sploosh!

My wings flailed out behind me, sending a small wave splashing about the tub. I dove my head underwater before Puddle could turn back and look at me. I nearly ran out of air before I came up again, only to find her cute face -argh!- centimetres from mine. “Yeep!”

“Do you need help with your wings?” She asked, pointing to my wings. They were a mess, made worse by their waterlogged state. I wanted to say no, but… without her help, they were likely going to be worse once I dried off.

Steeling myself, I nodded. “Um, yeah, that’d… be really nice, actually. It’s kinda hard to clean them yourself when they’re wet like this.” I said, turning away from her.

The soap and Puddle’s small hooves travelled over my back and wings, and I forced myself to relax. This was fine. It was a bath between friends. Don’t overthink it. Don’t worry about how nice it felt. Don’t think too hard about how close she had to sit to you when she helped you with your wingtips. Just… remember to breathe!

Puddle chuckled, and pushed herself blessedly and cursedly away from me. “All done!” She announced. “Though if you want help preening them later, let me know. Cynthi showed me how to, and she said I’m pretty good at it!”

Cadence you cunt, this was not what I needed right now! “I-I think I got it,” I managed with only minimal squeaking.

Puddle only nodded with a smile, and then wiggled out of the tub. Her flanks tortured me for a long moment, making me wonder why earth ponies just appealed to me so before she disappeared over the side, leaving me alone in the water. I fluttered my wings under the refreshing water before reluctantly leaving the warmth and safety of the tub.

Puddle passed me a towel, and I rewarded her with a smile. At least I hoped it was a smile. And I mean a nice smile, not a creepy smile.

What the hell is wrong with you? I asked myself as I dried off. Get a grip, Threnody. This is just a new experience with a new friend and there’s nothing wrong with it. Aside from the warmth under my tail. Yes but try to not think about that!

Once dried, Puddle left me to my own devices in the bathroom. Which was helpful, as it gave me a moment to slow my heart rate, get my head back on planet Equus, and to fully work the hair ties out of my mane and tail. I’d worried that if I tried to get them out before the bath, they’d break. I let my blonde mane flow down over my shoulders, and stood on my hind hooves to look in the mirror.

I still wasn’t sure that I was pretty. I wasn’t sure I would ever be pretty. I poked at the dark circles under my eyes, and sighed. Blackjack and Puddle were right. I did need to take better care of myself. Maybe then I could upgrade my self image to this ‘cute’ that Blackjack spoke of. I looked down at my rail-thin barrel. Starting with eating better. Nopony liked a fat mare. I looked down at my blackened left hoof, and turned it over. The frog was intact, but the hoof itself was shattered and jagged, with many cracks running from the base to my fetlock. Yes, I needed to take better care of myself.

“Puddle, is there anything to eat in here?” I asked as I trotted out of the bathroom. I nearly stumbled as I rounded the corner and looked up onto the bed. Puddle lay reading her magazine on top of the covers, her tail slowly swishing as she hummed a slow song to herself. I didn’t know if she hadn’t heard me, or if I missed her reply because I was fixated on her rear. Frustration, confusion, and consternation at what I was feeling for this little mare all culminated in cute seafoam green flanks, and only her moving was going to free me.

Puddle shifted on the bed, freeing me from my torment as she curled around and pointed to a small refrigerator. “I don’t think the cold talisman works in there, but the hotel manager said that he tried to put some fresh carrots and apples in there for ponies to eat,” She explained, seemingly oblivious to my confusion at her behaviours. “Maybe there’s some other stuff in there, too?”

I limped over to the fridge, and opened it. Inside lay a brace of carrots, and a few apples, as well as a few bottles of water, a bottle of wine, and a box of Sugar Apple Bombs. Repressing a shudder at the thought of Blackjack’s mom, I pulled out the apples and the cereal, then tossed them on the bed. “Do you want some water?” I asked, pulling one out for me.

“Do they have anything else to drink?” She asked.

“Uh… wine? But I don’t think we’re allowed to drink that,” I admitted.

Puddle nodded. “Water is fine.”

I joined my earth pony friend on the bed, and quickly dug into an apple. The apple was extremely sweet, and very crunchy. It tasted nothing like what I’d ever had in the wasteland back home!

“This is really good!” I said, quickly going for another bite.

Puddle cocked her head to the side. “You don’t have apples where you are from?” She asked.

I blushed. “No no. We do. They just aren’t as sweet as this one is,” I explained between bites. “Most of ours are kinda tasteless.”

“Oh! That makes more sense!” Puddle replied, taking a sip of water. “I was gonna say, what kind of weird place did you grow up that there weren’t apples!”

“I could say I was from the moon, would you believe me?” I teased.

She giggled brightly. “Nope, not a bit,” She patted the bed next to her. “If you want, I can work on your wings!”

I wanted. I wasn’t sure I should want it as much as I did, but I was willing to give Puddle the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she’d be awful and I’d just have to fix everything after she fell asleep. That’d be fine, right?

“S-sure,” I said, laying down next to her. My heart raced, and I used some breathing techniques to stow away the worried feeling I felt when Puddle moved over top of me. Every touch from the earth pony only resonated with care and friendship.

That said, she was very, very good at rearranging and fixing my feathers. I sighed contentedly as she gently worked them back into some semblance of order. “You know, you should probably think of giving yourself time for just you on occasion,” She said softly as she switched wings on me. My reply was cut off as she worked her way down my wing, and managed to set a pinion that had been stuck out of alignment for a while. “I know Rhiannon always says that the hardest thing about being a heartmender is sometimes remembering that it’s okay for you to want something that is just for you.”

I turned and looked at her, letting my left ear skew to the side. I knew I still had my emotional shields up, because I was having a hard time getting a good read on her. I let my shields down a little. “So… like… what does she mean by that?” I asked.

Puddle blushed a little then lay down beside me. “Oh, um. I think she means that sometimes you have to remember that, in order to help others, you have to be able to help, well you first. Sometimes you have to let others carry the burden a little while,” She said, reaching over and brushing a strand of mane behind my ear.

Those butterflies in my stomach really needed to leave me alone. I lightly slipped my hoof over to hers, and suddenly the butterflies gained friends. Oh goddesses I had a swarm inside me! So I did something that I knew was probably stupid.

“Puddle?” I asked, wiggling a little closer to her. “What does it mean when you feel like you really are selfish if you want something.”

She wiggled closer to me. “Uh, I think that means that you’re a very, very selfless if silly filly,” she replied, her maroon eyes soft.

“So I, um… should maybe be a little okay with asking for something once and awhile?” I asked, moving a little closer to her. To my surprise, she mirrored my movements, causing my heart to thud in my chest. What was I doing? I barely knew her! Ahhh!

Puddle nodded. “I think heartmenders especially are allowed to,” She said. Or that’s what I think she said. I really, really focussed on her lips as she spoke.

But not because I couldn’t hear.

“Then… I… um,” I leaned my head toward hers, a feeling like magnetism drawing me closer to her. She told me I didn’t need to finish my sentence when her lips met mine halfway between us.

Author's Notes:

Hoo boy. I got this done just before my 1 month deadline that I set for myself, and I managed to write a longer chapter than I've written yet. I'm going to probably edit in a feature later, but for now I just am glad that I'm done with the battle, and can move on to dealing with the aftermath. Something Threnody is significantly better at than fighting.

I want to put out a massive thank you to Bronode for helping me with the editing, as well as Somber, Solis, and Shimmercoat (who I picked up as another editor/prereader), for helping me get this piece as polished as possible, and hopefully you all enjoy!

Edit: This chapter's featured story is Fallout Equestria: Transient. Sunny is writing a rather unique piece that takes on a trio of perspectives at once. It's kinda cool! Give a read!