Early on Sunday morning, Coppermane drove instantly over to Smokestack's home, given the address he had to stop at. But when he arrived, he found his home in nothing but shambles and wrecks. It was completely burned down, and there was barely anything still standing from the crash.

He salvaged what he could find in the smoldering remains of his home, and then went straight to the hospital to drop off the stuff for him and to pick him up.

“I’m here to visit a Smokestack?” Coppermane asked the person at the front desk.

“Ah yes, they told me you would be coming. Go right on up.”

Coppermane walked up to the floor Smokestack was on, and found his doctor standing outside the room.

“Hello,” Coppermane said. “I’m here to pick up Smokestack.”

“Ah good,” the doctor said. “You should be able to take him soon.”

“Perfect,” Coppermane said. “Oh, and I have some things here that he wanted me to bring. Can I give it to him?”

“Well, I suggest you do it now,” the doctor said. “He’s on his third shower.”

“Third shower?” Coppermane asked.

“We kept asking him, and he claims to smell like blood and bugs.” The doctor said. “I asked him if that was true, but all he said was that he wanted to stay clean.”

“Alright then,” Coppermane said. He entered the room, and immediately noticed the shredded up clothes on the bed. No wonder he wanted fresh clothes, these look horrible.

A door opened, and Coppermane saw Smokestack walk out in a bathrobe while drying his hair. He made eye contact with Coppermane, and froze. And even more so, Coppermane noticed a difference in Smokestack's face. He now had another eye placed in the socket that had none, but its shade of purple was a little brighter than the other.

“Um… good morning,” Smokestack blushed with a nervous smile. “Coppermane, I presume?”

“Y-Yep,” Coppermane said. “Morning.”

Smokestack blinked, and focused his vision on Coppermane.

“Huh. You look more handsome than I imagined you'd be.” Smokestack said.

Coppermane gave him a quizzical look. “Um… th-thanks?”

“Sorry for stepping out in a robe. I didn’t have anything else to wear, and those shredded up things are too... what's the word... uncomfortable? Messed up?” Smokestack said.

“Well, it's better than you walking out naked.” Coppermane chuckled. “I did manage to get some clothes for you. And I got your toothbrush and toothpaste.”

Smokestack grabbed them into his hands and grinned. “Yes! Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to suit up.” He walked into the bathroom with his clothes.

“So, I take it you’re able to see to see again?” Coppermane said through the bathroom door.

“Yep,” Smoke replied. “It pretty good to see again. Although... having one eye kind of messes up your depth perception."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I slammed my face into the door a few times just trying to get in here." Smokestack replied.

He stepped out of the bathroom in his fresh clothes that Coppermane brought and stretched his arms. He now wore track pants, with a T-shirt tucked in, and a blue vest that had patches and buttons all over.

“Ah… much better. So, where to next? I think before we do anything, we should go back to my place. I’ll probably need to throw out everything in the fridge. Actually... scratch that. Toss the fridge itself depending on how bad it is…”

“Yeah… um… about that…” Coppermane said.

“What?” Smokestack asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Um… well… I don't know how to tell you this but... there’s not much left of it,” Coppermane said. “It’s just ashes now.”

Smokestack's eyes went wide.

“We’re definitely going there first."

---

They arrived at the scene, and Smokestack was beside himself. His home was nothing but smoldering, charred ashes. It was all gone. And in the few minutes they were standing there, he said nothing. Not a word. He just stood there, appalled, shocked, taking in the reality of the situation.

He slowly walked forward looking down the rubble of mess, all the while more parts began decaying. He walked over to a pile of rubble, and felt his blood start to boil.

Coppermane could see steaming puffing out of his head.

“ARRGGHH!!!” he screamed, kicking the ashes into the air, followed by a kick of a roof plating. His fists were shaking. His entire home was gone. He was about to kick one of the smoldering wood planks to dust, until he noticed something foreign. A small, metallic star in the debris. He bent down and picked it up. “This looks like a piece of a belt buckle, but... I don’t own any belt buckle like this. But… it looks familiar…”

Coppermane walked up behind Smokestack to take a look.

“Huh… it does look familiar,” Coppermane said.

The boys were silent for a moment, before they both had an epiphany. The only person they knew who had stars on their belt.

“Neon Lights,” they said in unison.

Smokestack dropped the star onto the ground and surveyed the damage again. His fists were still trembling at the sight.

“Smokestack? You okay?” Coppermane asked.

Smokestack raised an arm up. "Can you... please give me a moment?"

Coppermane said nothing and backed away. Smokestack ran inside the remains of his house, and disappeared within. Coppermane just stayed outside and waited for him to come back. Inside, he could hear him screaming and smashing more stuff inside. Glass was breaking, pottery was smashed, and loud crashes of furniture were heard.

A few more seconds had passed and Smokestack slowly walked back out, panting and breathing heavily.

"Smokestack?" Coppermane walked towards him. "You okay buddy?"

Smokestack sighed, and collapsed onto his knees. “No…”

Coppermane got on his knees to look him in the eye.

“I’m really sorry, man,” Coppermane said.

Smoke clenched his fists. “I can understand breaking into my home... maybe stealing some things, but burning it the ground? I never thought Neon would stoop so low as to burn down my house. Now where will I go?”

Coppermane thought for a few seconds, and then like a flick of a switch, he got an idea.

“Hey, how about this,” Coppermane said. “Why don’t you come stay with me until you find somewhere else to go.”

"What? Coppermane, no, I can't. I'd be a horrible roommate, heck I've never actually been a roommate with anyone. Or even shared a house with someone."

"Smokie. Listen to me. You need a place to stay, and I'm more than willing to let you stay with me. Besides, I think there's plenty of space in my house for another person to stay in."

Smokestack wanted to argue, but he felt defeated. “I suppose so. You don’t have to, y’know.”

“It’s fine,” Coppermane said. “Only temporary, but it’ll do for now, right?”

Smokestack gave a nod, along with an appreciative smile. "Thank you. Really, thank you. I can't tell you how much this is appreciated. But, before we go to your place... do you think you could help me salvage anything that survived? There might be something useful in this mess.”

“Gladly.” Coppermane replied.

"So what are we waiting for? Lets get to work!"

---

After a few hours, Coppermane and Smokestack managed to find plenty of stuff that was salvageable and return it back to Coppermane's. Now they were standing in the living room, near a couple of cardboard boxes and big trunks.

“Okay, I still have plenty of clothes, and my laptop is still functional. I'll need to check it in case any files have been stolen.” Smokestack said. “At least not everything was burned. And apparently, none of them thought to steal any my money... thank god.”

Smokestack slapped an envelope on one of the trunks.

"Hopefully there's some stuff they..." Smokestack opened up one of the trunks and gasped. A smile grew big on his face. "Yes... yes... YES! They didn't take this! Oh this is just perfect!"

"What, what is it?" Coppermane asked.

Smokestack jumped into the box and he started tossing stuff out which flew right past him. "My retro stuff and all of my costume supplies, its all here! I think I can have some use for this stuff!"

"You're into retro?" Coppermane asked.

"Kinda!"

Smokestack dug his head from out of the box. "Thank god this stuff is still here. A lot of this stuff is prized possessions."

"How come?"

Smokestack paused for a moment, but he just looked at the box's contents. "Well, I guess it goes back to when I was a kid. My mom and dad were into oldies and they were always sharing stuff with me that they had from the old days. And so... when I came here, I started collecting old stuff because... it reminded me of home." Smokestack gestured his hands to some of the contents below, showing some old vinyl records for a record player, along with artwork that resembled the 50s.

Coppermane gave Smokestack an empathetic smile. "That's really nice."

"I guess so... but now most of it just sits in these trunks and its barely used." Smokestack closed the trunk. "Now, I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like I'm missing something..."

"What about those dangerous weapons that you made that I'm sure Neon and his friends now have?"

"That's the problem... I didn't make much, but I didn't find any traces of them in my home. Not even in the blueprints for them. Oh.... I hope Neon and his friends don't make more..." Smokestack said nervously.

"Hey, its alright. We can work around it, but I think you need to do something that's not so stressful. Maybe there's something we could do together."

"Like what? And plus, don't you have work to do?"

"Actually, I did all of it yesterday."

Smokestack paused.

"I see."

"So with that out, we can do whatever we want."

“Well, wanna just hang out?” Smokestack said. “I could use a day to just relax. And I'd like to see how much has changed since my supposed departure.”

“Sounds good to me,” Coppermane said. “Where do you want to go?”

“How about the mall?”

“Um… are you sure that’s the best idea?” Coppermane asked. “We might run into people we know there.”

“True, but I need to stock up on stuff.” Smokestack said. “Actually…”

Smokestack opened up another box and pulled out strange items and started attaching them to himself. He tied a bandanna on his head which held his hair back, red tinted glasses, along with a small bandana tied to cover his nose and mouth.

"I'm hidden underneath and no one's the wiser! What do you think?” Smokestack asked.

"Uh... I..." Coppermane stuttered. “Let’s go.”

---

“So, where are we going again?” Smokestack asked.

“Well, you said you wanted to get some sunglasses to cover your eyes, right?” Coppermane asked.

“Oh yeah, right,” Smokestack said. “I have a feeling my eyes would scare people.”

“But you're wearing tinted glasses that make it hard to see your eyes anyway, right?” Coppermane said.

“I can't wear them all the time Coppermane. Besides..." Smokestack removed the glasses exposing both of his eyes. "My eyes don't exactly match. Even with the doctors finding the closest match, its not great."

Coppermane and Smoke made their way to a stand near a store and found a display holder which held many different sunglasses. Both of the boys began trying on different shades.

“Huh… These are actually pretty cool.” Coppermane said looking into a mirror.

Coppermane then looked back at Smoke judging another pair.

“Ugh, none of these are good.”

“Is there a specific one you’re looking for?”

Smokestack nodded. “Neon Lights’.”

Coppermane’s eyes widened. “Why?”

Smokestack took the pair off his head and looked Coppermane dead into his chocolate colored eyes.

“Because he’s the reason my eyes are completely screwed up now.” Smokestack said. “I'll admit, his glasses look kind of nice... and it'd be the perfect retribution for the loss of one of my own. A trophy, as you will.”

Coppermane just shrugged.

“Also... you mind if I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure."

Smokestack sighed. "If we ever run into him in this place, please try and hold me back because I’ll probably try to hurt him. Or worse, kill him. And I don't want to draw attention to myself.”

“Don’t worry,” Coppermane said. “I’ll have some things to say to him as well. So, is there any place you’d like to stop at first?” Coppermane asked.

“Actually, there is something,” Smokestack said. “I want to get something for Shimmercakes. Just to thank her for everything she’s done for me. But what?”

“Why not win her a stuffed animal from the arcade?” Coppermane suggested, gesturing to the arcade.

Smokestack thought for a moment. “Would that really work?”

“Worked for Fluttershy,” Coppermane said. “It’s not anything big, but it’s the little things that let them know you really care.”

Smokestack smiled under the mask. “That’s good enough for me. I think I know exactly what I’m going to get her.”

They entered the arcade, and Smokestack froze when he noticed a few CHS students inside.

“Crap,” he said. “What if they figure out it’s me? They’ll tell everyone, and then we’re all screwed.”

“Hey, don’t worry,” Coppermane said. “You’re in costume. It’s fine.”

“Okay, but I’ll have to be careful,” Smokestack said. “Now… um… what should I play? I’ve never played any of these before.”

Coppermane grinned. “Follow me.”

Coppermane led Smokestack to a skeeball game in the corner of the arcade.

“This looks easy. I had to play a lot of basketball back at Crystal Prep.” Smokestack replied.

"Did you ever win any of those?"

"Not even one."

Coppermane frowned, but returned a hopeful smile.

“Maybe I can win another stuffed animal for Fluttershy,” Coppermane said.

They began playing the game, but unfortunately, their voices attracted attention. Two of them in particular. One belonged to a girl with indigo hair and white skin, and the other belonged to one with rainbow hair.

“Come on!” Smoke complained. “I almost made it! I just need a few more tickets!”

Coppermane patted his friend's shoulder. “It's okay. We can try another game.”

They turned around, and were face to face with two familiar girls.

“Hey Coppermane, how are you doing?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh… crap,” Smokestack said, muffled under the mask.

“Rainbow! Rarity!” Coppermane said. “Um… h-hi… wh-what are you doing here?”

“Just killing time,” Rainbow replied. Her face turned curious. “Um… who’s he?”

Smoke's heart dropped. He just stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

“Him?” Coppermane stammered. “Oh, he’s just… a new friend. I-I met him the other day and we decided to hang out here.” He didn’t even realize he was rubbing his neck and looking away.

“Coppermane, darling, is something wrong?” Rarity asked. “You look… troubled.”

“Is your friend wearing a mask?” Rainbow asked.

Smokestack panicked and stumbled back, and Rainbow unfortunately followed him, pinning him against the wall. Smokestack tried to fight her, but Rainbow had a tighter grip. As much as he'd love to punch his way out, this was a friend, and he wasn't going to be doing any of that.

“Rainbow, what are you doing?” Coppermane said.

“Your friend just seems… sketchy,” Rainbow said.

“Rainbow… I think you’re making him uncomfortable,” Coppermane said.

“Why is he wearing a mask?” Rarity asked.

“Girls, please,” Coppermane said. “Is it really that important?”

“Coppermane, darling, you seem nervous about something,” Rarity said.

“Like you’re hiding something,” Rainbow said. “And I think this mask might have something to do with it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Coppermane shrugged.

Rainbow inched closer to Smokestack's face, staring right into his eyes that were hidden behind the tinted glasses. “Why are you wearing a mask, huh? Tell us!”

Smokestack's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Rainbow, and a small huff escaped his mouth.

"Not going to talk?"

"Rainbow, please, just let him go, he didn't even do anything wrong!"

"Why are you even trying to hide him from us?" Rarity asked.

“Because he’s trying to protect me!”

Rarity and Rainbow went bug-eyed, their jaws dropping.

“That voice…” Rarity said. “Is it really?”

“No… it can’t be,” Rainbow said. “That’s impossible.”

“Look, I’ll show you who I am... if we can do this more private,” Smoke said. “Deal?”

“How do we know we can trust you?” Rainbow asked.

“You can,” Coppermane said. “He’s cool.”

Rainbow and Rarity looked at each other and shared quizzical looks. If Coppermane trusted him, then he must be clean.

“Alright,” Rarity said.

“Don’t try anything, though,” Rainbow said.

Rainbow let him go, and they began walking off.

---

They found a little alcove with low traffic that would be safe.

“Alright, are you ready?” Smokestack asked.

Rarity and Rainbow nodded. Once they did, Smokestack began unveiling his face. He removed the bandanna which made his hair poof up. The glasses went away, and his eyes slowly opened up, revealing the mismatching shades of purple. The mask went off as well, and it was tucked away around in his shirt.

The girls’ eyes went wide, and their jaws practically hit the floor.

“Darling….” Rarity said.

Smokestack opened his mismatched colored eyes and looked right at them.

“H-Hey, Rainbow. Rarity."

“You… you’re alive?” Rarity stammered.

Smokestack simply nodded and looked away in shame.

“This…. is…. awesome!” Rainbow shouted.

“Smokie! This is wonderful!”

The girls lunged forward and gave Smokestack a big hug. Too big of a hug.

"Darling its so good to see you again!" Rarity squeed.

“G-Girls… you’re collapsing my lungs!” He wheezed.

The girls backed off, but remained just as excited as they were before.

“How are you still alive?!” Rainbow beckoned.

“We saw the explosion!” Rarity said.

Smokestack's hand hit his face. "Great, I have to explain this story again?”

Coppermane interrupted. “Hey, Smoke, it's okay. I’ll explain everything.”

---

“And that’s basically it.” Coppermane replied.

The four of them were now at a different location, now sitting in a food court in a private area by themselves. And Smoke was finally okay to keep the mask off.

“Wow… dude, I’m so sorry.” Rainbow said.

“It’s okay Rainbow. It’s not your fault.” Smokestack replied.

Rarity suddenly gasped. “I just realized! Sunset! We have to tell her immediately!”

“NO!” Smokestack shouted, followed by silence between the group. He cleared his throat and spoke quietly again. “I mean… not yet. Can you not call her right now? Please?”

“Why shouldn’t we?” Rainbow asked. “She’s missed you so much.”

“As great as it would be to talk to her right now, I don't even know if that's a good idea. I don’t know if I’m completely okay. I just came out of a hospital, and I am only now trying to recover from being a monster that I don't even know how I became it.”

“Why wouldn’t you be okay?” Rainbow asked.

He just glared at Rainbow, clearly unamused.

“Oh… right.”

“Nothing’s happened yet,” Smokestack said. "I don’t think that’ll be the case for long, though. I don’t want to bring any new problems to the table, especially since you girls seem to have enough on your plate, what with Neon and his group striking back. But enough about me. What about you girls? Is there anything interesting or good going on your ends that I should know about?”

“Not really. Sunset’s been really down since you’ve been gone,” Rainbow said. “Those five Crystal Prep girls are Wondercolts now, and we’ve got a big Halloween party coming up in a few weeks. Other than that, not much.”

“How are the former Bolts?”

Rarity bit her lip. “It could be better. The other CHS students aren’t exactly fond of them.”

“Nobody talks to them,” Coppermane said. “They all know about what they did to you and me.”

Smokestack sighed. “I see…”

“Hey, Smokie?” Rainbow asked. “If you don’t mind us asking… are you coming back to CHS?”

Smoke nodded, making the girls smile. “Tomorrow, 8:00 AM sharp. That is, as long as we don't get shot, assaulted, or pounded by Neon and his 'henchmen'.”

“Shot?” Rarity beckoned. “Darling, surely they won’t do that.”

“Don’t be too sure,” Coppermane said. “Last night when I was about to leave, Jet was practically pointing a gun at me. Not to mention he was merciless with Smokie.”

“Oh, you poor things,” Rarity cried.

“On a plus side though... I didn't make much advancements with those light cannons.” Smokestack said. “And they're extremely fragile, so one drop and they'll be in pieces. Still, I'm sure all of the guns I made are in their possession now...”

“You still know how to make them right?” Coppermane said. "We could use some brains like that against them.”

“And now that you’re back, we might actually have a chance,” Rainbow said.

“Don’t be too sure,” Smoke sighed, revealing the small artifact he took the night before his return. "As much as I want to use this thing... which I should get back to Sunset, I can't. This thing nearly killed me that last several times I used it, and its too dangerous around here. Even if I didn't have it, I'm useless. Without magic or any weapon, I’m powerless.”

Smokestack's face fell on the table, making a soft bang. But Rainbow offered a cheerful grin.

“Bud, you’re not useless,” Rainbow said. “Rarity and I have seen how you work. You always know what to do and get us out of bad situations. You don’t need magic for that.”

“And you have us again, sweetheart,” Rarity said. “We won’t let any of those despicable boys hurt you.”

He gave the girls a smile, feeling more at ease. “Thanks, girls. I’ll do my best. But at the moment, I have something more important I need to do.”

“What’s that?” Rarity asked.

“I almost have enough tickets to win a teddy bear for Shimmercakes,” Smokestack smirked slyly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He got up and headed to the arcade, and the rest of them decided to follow him inside.

---

“C’mon… just a few more…” Smokestack whined, holding the final skeeball. “I just want to make Shimmercakes smile…”

He stood still, holding the skeeball in his hand, planning his throw with precision. This shot had to be perfect. With a deep breath, he brought his arm up behind him, and threw the ball onto the skeeball lane. With nearly flawless trajectory, it landed in the 100 cup.

Smoke cheered as the skeeball console fed out the rest of the tickets he needed for Sunset’s new teddy bear. He walked up to the counter with his tickets, and picked out the biggest one he could afford.

“Perfect! One cute teddy bear for a cute Shimmercakes.” Smokestack grinned.

“Sunset will love this!” Rarity said.

“I hope,” he said. “Hey, Rarity. Are you good with jewelry?”

“I know a thing or two,” Rarity said. “Why, sweetie?”

“I was hoping I could give Sunset a necklace too,” Smokestack said. “I was thinking an aquamarine necklace to match her eyes. Think you could help me?”

“I would love to help,” Rarity said.

“Sweet. Now I—” The one-eyed teen's heart dropped. “Crap! Don’t look!”

“What?” Rainbow asked, turning her head “What’s going—”

“Don’t look!” Smokestack grunted, making sure they were all huddled together.

“What’s going on?” Coppermane asked.

“Neon Lights… he’s here."

“Oh no…” Coppermane groaned.

“What do we do?” Rainbow asked.

“What do you think?” Smokestack said with a hint of panic. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“No arguments here,” Coppermane said.

Without wasting another second, the four attempted to sneak off away from Neon and his gang. They managed to find a way through another store to get around Neon and sneak out to the entrance. To be safe, they walked a little ways away from the entrance in case they got spotted. After a while, they turned around and saw that nobody had followed them.

“That was close,” Coppermane said.

“I suppose this place isn’t safe for us anymore,” Rarity said. “Pity. I was hoping we could find some clothes for you, Rainbow.”

“Maybe some other time,” Rainbow said. “But I guess if we have nothing else to do, we could meet up with the others and work on homework or something.”

Rarity sighed. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. Would you boys like to join us?”

“I probably shouldn’t leave Smokestack alone,” Coppermane said. “I’ll just stick with him to make sure he stays alive.”

“Let’s just go home,” Smokestack said. “We’ll be safest there.”

“You sure you can make it back?” Rainbow asked.

“As long as we don’t attract any attention, we should be fine,” Smokestack said.

“Alright. Stay safe you two.” Rarity said.

“We will,” Smokestack said. “Good luck, and I’ll see you and everyone else tomorrow.”

With that, the two groups split up, leaving Smokestack and Coppermane alone. They walked back to their car to go home, and not risk being seen by Neon or anyone else.

Next Chapter: Chapter 11: Inner Demons Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 7 Minutes