Tera seemed the most affected by the cold, her body always seeming to shivering or lagging behind us, so much so I had to pull her closer to wrap my wing around her. I cared about this mare, even if she wasn’t aware that we were going to meet my wife, and friends. She was a valuable asset to us, her knowledge in woodworking something that simply couldn’t be underestimated, especially since our local worker was lost in the sea of megaspell fire. Stone, being quiet as usual, kept tugging at the ropes that connected the sled to his makeshift rig as he brought along all of his important items.

“Stone, Tera, the walk here took me three days. There’s a couple of buildings we can take shelter in for the night, if the snow hasn’t buried them completely. I don’t know if that blizzard was just for the city, or it covered everything this side of the crater. Sweet Luna I hope that the blizzard didn’t cover everything.” Stone just gave me a nod in agreeance, Tera tucking herself closer under my wing before responding.

“Anything to get out of this cold, it’s just freezing out here.. I think my tail has frozen to my hind leg!” I couldn’t help but shake my head, holding back my chuckling as she spoke with a rather serious tone. Neither of us could blame her either, even with the insulated clothing, we could all feel the freezing cold air blow against us. I could only imagine how thick my coat was going to become from this entire ordeal, if that even mattered. There was no certainty anymore, and with these documents that proved it was those who wished to keep the peace, just until they infused science and magic. A neurotoxic megaspell, nothing like a bit of that wonderful chaos that would leave us covered in snow.

Our breath puffed out before us, leaving plumes of steam that kept ice from forming on our masks. The desolate winter wonderland was dull, lifeless, and inhospitable to any living creature, save the massive owl. Ice Owl, I think I’ll call it, as they have quite the beautiful, icy appearance.. If you can get past the fact they want to eat you up for a little snack. Honestly, I just was trying to keep my mind entertained as we stepped through the snow, watching the green shadows cover it entirely. Perhaps I should start up a journal, or maybe even record audio logs to leave wherever I please. You never know, maybe somepony would read or listen to them someday.

As the clouded sky above darkened further, we knew it was about time to find shelter for rest. Our eyes were scanning the area, leaving us without a single building, or even tree out in sight. We weren’t going to stay out in the open, and I was starting to feel my stomach bark at me for not eating since we began to walk. How hard could it possibly be to find something that wasn’t going to be completely toxic for us to breathe? Then, I felt something click beneath my hooves. Our travel halted as I started to dig into the snow, looking down at the steel roofing that stared back at me. Stone started to dig into the snow with me, leaving Tera, who did indeed try to scoop aside some snow, but felt her hooves starting to freeze as she touched it.

The rusting steel beneath us was showing its weak spots, something that I was going to exploit. We convinced Tera to make use of her horn, and pull aside a good pile of the snow to toss aside and out of the way, leaving me to break into the roofing, and down into the house below. My head spun for a moment as I hit the floor underneath, wishing that I could’ve been given the luxury of a softer lander. I looked up to the two heads that gazed down at me from the hole, only for me to wave a wing back up at them.

I started searching around, seeing the separate rooms that were closed with cracked doors. My flashlight clicked on, leaving me to search through the dark home as the snow piled up against the windows. It felt simple yet homey, the old wooden table still standing up on the hardwood planks that were covered in dust and debris from fallen ceiling material. I started to move to the doors, opening them one at a time to show a restroom, and two bedrooms. Each of the bedrooms having a neatly made bed, and nightstands with all proper furnishings around. I think my biggest complaint of this place was how filthy it was, but that was something I was just going to need to get used to. My wings held up pillows that I grabbed from the beds, and sat them down underneath the hole I fell in through. Both of my friends dropped down, Stone even holding his sled as they fell down, then looked up at the gap as well.

“Alright, Stone you get the room on the left. Tera, we’ll take the one of the right. Take the pillows, we’ll need them. Find something to block off the gap under the doors, try to seal things up. I’m not keeping this mask on all night.” Stone nodded, taking two of the pillows from the floor, and retreating to his room for the night. My wing wrapped around Tera once again, leading her to the other room before shutting the door behind us, and searching for anything that I could. Behind a breaking closet door, I came across an extra set of blue sheets. They lifted up and folded in my wings, then were cleanly jammed under the door. With a nod, I removed my mask and took a breath, nodding to Tera once I could feel the clean air filling my lungs.

My items fell beside the bed, leaving me to fall onto the white blankets that lined the bed, Tera jumping up beside me after her items fell to the floor as well, her small body crawling under the blankets to keep herself warm. I was just ready to be home now. This journey had taken so much out of me, and there was still more to keep me waiting just to see Rose. Her golden mane, and her pure white coat. So close, yet so far. Especially considering I have been dreaming more and more.

The air felt cool in my lungs as my eye opened, lacking any real smell which was both a good, and a bad thing. I thought this home would at least smell like dirt, but there was lack of toxins.. I think. Tera was still fast asleep, and there was no sound coming from the room over. I had no clue what time it was, as everything was still dark and silent, leaving me to search for a timepiece in my bags. “Three in the morning.. Great. Well, I may as well get something done.” My voice was hushed as I took a small light from my things, and clicked it on. I moved closer to the door to keep the light away from Tera, and right into the door as I took off my heavy vest, and started to pull out the chunks of wood that pierced into it, then began to stitch up the gap. I wasn’t the most steady with a needle, especially as the cold air blew against me.

It wasn’t the most attractive stitching, but it did the job that I needed it to. Back on my vest went, feeling at home with it wrapped around my body. Next, I checked for any damage or tearing in my bags and belts, only finding a few points in which the fabric was wearing in from the continuous use. I took some spare cloth I had sitting around and stitched it from the inside, reinforcing the worn areas that would fall apart and release the contents from any more wear. It felt strange to be doing something similar that I had just weeks ago, but back then I was in a personal tent, and didn’t need to worry about toxins floating around in the air. Thanks, ‘Peaceful’ ones.

I could feel a set of hooves pressing up against my shoulder as I lay on the floor, leaving me to jump for a moment before looking back at Tera. She seemed surprised that I was sleeping on the floor, only I knew that I had gotten up, but must’ve fallen asleep on the floor. I just rubbed my head for a moment, sitting up before rubbing my eyes. “Morning, Tera. I got up a little early and got some work done on my gear. Hadn’t realized I fell asleep down here.”

She gave me a weak smile and helped me to my hooves, already wearing her gear. “Oh it’s fine Angel, I think I heard Stone getting up just a moment ago. You should get ready, it’s seven in the morning.” I couldn’t help but wipe my eyes again before covering myself in my gear once more, changing out the filters in my mask, then slipping it on as well. Tera followed my lead, and we opened the door to the buried house once again. Stone was already standing and waiting for us, already having a makeshift staircase built up from sturdy furniture to the opening the roof. I had to give him credit for being so far ahead of us, so much so I let him test his building first. He just rolled his head (assumably since his eyes were barely visible) and then went up the wooden structure, letting out a cheer of victory as he stood on the roof. Tera and I both followed, standing in the frozen wasteland once more.

I watched as my plumes of breath made themselves visible in front of me once more, seeing how it rose up into the freezing air around me. Not much further until I’m back home, as long as nothing went wrong. Then again, I’m not exactly lucky in any meaning of the word. We lined up for me to lead the way, Tera moving between myself and Stone to keep her safe from whatever may be lurking out here, her performance with the massive, icy owl lead me to believe she wouldn’t be the best in a real fight. Of course, I could’ve just asked Stone how the battle with the power-armored fucks went, but there was no time for that. My entire mind was focusing on keeping us moving forward, and keeping us going in the right direction. Of course, that was more difficult than I would have hoped for, as it’s hard to tell where you’re going when everything is completely white. Reminds me of the time I spent in the muddy hills out on the borders. Those trench lines were hell.

I could hear my radio squeaking at me, Shadow trying his best to contact me as I simply didn’t want to hear anything right now. I was at peace out in this mountainous environment, away from the hell hole that was the front line. Out here the flowers and grass swayed seamlessly in the wind. My loose-fitting green uniform hid me cleanly with the glass, and the hood that went over the steel helmet on my head didn’t hurt. Where others wouldn’t care, I had used loose material and string to hold my gear tightly against my body, keeping it as quiet as I could.

When I slung my rifle up on my back, I finally let my radio speak to me. “Yeah yeah, what do you want, Shadow?” I didn’t think he was very happy from making him wait.

“Took you fucking long enough. Boss wants you to take a look at the valley ahead, supposed to be a camp down there or something. I haven’t seen anything for a few hours and Candy is starting to get anxious from what I hear, and Rose misses you already. Just hurry up, okay? Especially if you want a shot or two from Vogel’s stash. Shadow out.” My radio cut out as his voice stopped, leaving me to nod for myself.

My wings held my map before me as I started to trace out my path with a feather, then watching as it folded up with my agile wings, and back into my pouch it went. I let my wings stretch out, and lift my up above the ground. I stayed below the tree tops, dodging the clean, brown stalks of bark and wood above the long blades of grass. The grass parted below me as I sped through the air, navigating the rocky and tree-filled terrain, making my way towards the valley that apparently held an enemy camp. Just to his word, I could see the exotic shelters down in the rocky valley, the river flowing right through the middle of it. Needless to say, I was down in the grass with my binoculars up and scanning within a few seconds of seeing the straw and mud huts below. These weren’t just fabric tents, these were almost like homes.

“Angel? Angel, hey are you okay? Angel snap out of it!” My head shot up as Tera waved her hooves in front of me, tapping on the filter of my mask. “You spaced out there for a while, are you okay? Stone went as far as to set you on his sled and tugged you along since you just blacked out, but you kept walking.” I sat up, sliding down and off of the covered pile of items that Stone pulled on his sled. Something didn’t feel right to me, almost as though something else came over me completely. Then, I looked at the dark world around me. “Angel? Hey, I’m right here. Focus come on, I’m right here. Breathe, okay? Your mask looks okay, and your filter.. No, that’s fine too. Stone! Stone I think something is wrong with her, we need to find shelter for the night!”

I could hear what she was saying, but I couldn’t react. It felt as though there was a film, or perhaps even a grasp that held me within myself. It was almost the same way I felt in the forest, but more clear. Maybe Rose knew what was going on with me. Maybe..

Stone bucked open the door of an old service station, scanning the interior as Tera stayed close to me, trying to figure out what could be wrong with me. The stallion waved to us as he stood in the doorway, leaving Tera to cautiously step inside as he pulled me and his sled into the garage, looking for any areas in the structure that may need patching or covering. As he felt it was safe, he removed his mask and took a deep breath, then, he removed my mask while waving Tera over into the old garage with me.

“Alright Tera, she’s all yours. I think there could be som-.. Her eye. Look at her eye!” Stone stepped back and away from me, Tera taking a look for herself. There they stood, looking down at me in the dimly lit area, neglecting to notice the rusted metal panels and posters that littered the area. “It’s all.. All black. Like her other one. No, look.. Closer. It’s clearing up, get her some water.” I sat up with a gasp as I felt the film pull away from the world, leaving me in control again.

“That’s the same way I felt in the forest, right after I crawled out of that river. I wasn’t in control, and I had a memory with things. I don’t.. I’m not certain what it is. I know that I saw and did things back when I was a soldier but.. but.. “ I didn’t feel like saying anymore, feeling weak and tired as I lazily went through my things, grabbing my blanket out to wrap myself up in. There was little concern for the environment as it was safe to us, leaving us in a relaxed state for the night. Then, I saw the poster up on the wall, torn and neglected by the previous owner.

The beams of light that flowed in through the foggy glass revealed the floating dust in the air, and stains of grease and oil on the concrete flooring. My back was sore from sleeping on the concrete flooring, Tera seeming to have fallen asleep while sitting with her back against the wall as she watched me. It was both comforting and concerning, knowing that whatever had happened was like what did back in the forest, but comforting as I had an idea what was wrong with me.. But, not from the blackwater.

I slowly sat up, exhaling deeply before making my way up to my hooves, and folding up my blanket, stowing it away in my packs that laid around my makeshift bed. There was an odd feeling about today, perhaps it were somber, especially as I tried to look out at the horizon from the fogged glass. There was only white in the distance, save the occasional splinter that used to be a towering tree, or even the collapsed pile of steel that could’ve been anything for all I knew. What I would give to be dressed up in my relaxed clothing while playing some blackjack with my friends. Such a dream, one that would never be a reality.

“Angel..? Angel what are you doing up? You’ve given us both a scare, we don’t want you walking around too much..” I turned to see Tera standing herself up, making her way over to me rather quickly. She stood beside me, and insisted to be a stabilizer for me so I didn’t need to strain myself. This was one of the few times I really wish I had known what was going on, and why she was acting so strangely.

“Tera, I’m just fine. I can walk on my own.. Why are you trying to be so close like this? I feel just fine, and yes I did hear about my eye last night, but there’s nothing that wrong with me, darling.” I don’t think Tera was very pleased with that answer, especially when she had me secured down to Stone’s sled by my hind hooves, and even helped him pull it along. Reminds me of when I tried absinthe for the first time.

I felt helpless, but also relaxed as I didn’t need to worry about walking on my own, which meant less breathing, and less erosion in the filter I had screwed in. There was something odd about it all, just being drug along behind when just a day ago I was leading them. At least, I thought it was just a day ago. I didn’t bother to ask them, or to even say anything. This was my time to get some more much needed rest, and I was going to take advantage of it.

“Angel, hey. Annnggeeeel..” Tera stood above me, tapping on the lense of my mask. I didn’t want to open my eyes, or even start to move for that matter. Of course, when she started to tell me that there were signs of crumbling homes just in the distance, I knew I was almost home. They kept me affixed to the sled as they pulled me through the final stretches of the frozen highway, not letting me even get up to walk my way back into the city. Just more time to rest, I guess.

I never expected to see the crumbling houses or frozen hills again, but here I was. To the dismay of the others, I let me wings carefully cut the rope enough to let me slide out, without letting the gear break free. Into the snow I went, trotting along without any thought, feeling the stone roads under my boots as the soles of my boots hit against the parting snow. Only a few more steps up the incline, and I would be walking level with the city once more.. Save the flowing river that bled its taint that rolled down the hillside. “Don’t mind me guys, just making my way home. Don’t bother stopping me, I’m not letting you just pull me along anymore.” Damn is it difficult to convey sarcasm when your voice is so muffled out.

My friends followed behind my lead now as my eyes scanned the area, seeing the tree in the center of our city as it stood tall and proud, but looking as dead as ever. Only a few more minutes and I would be home, if a certain griffin didn’t dive in from the sky and block our way. It didn’t take Vogel a second to see my wings, and stand casually in our way.

“Didn’t expect you come back, Angel. We thought something had happened to you, but coming back with two other survivors that clearly aren’t insane and a sled full of supplies? Gotta give it to you, I’d offer you a shot but you know, the air and all.” Damnit Vogel, if I didn’t think so highly of you I’d give you a swift kick in your feathery balls!

“I’ll certainly take that offer up when we get back home. This is Tera, and Stone. Tera is a very talented woodworker, but is a little shy, Stone though, he used to be a soldier like us. He’ll make a great team member when we go out to scavenge for more supplies. How’s everypony doing? I hope Rose is okay..” If only I could see his expression through his mask, especially when he had given me the quick run-down on the way home.

“Well Angel, things aren’t great. Rose is okay, she recovered just fine and has been working on something for you. I personally have been doing most of the scavenging, finding everything from food and water to things that we can use to renew our filters. It’s a bit of a process, but you’d be surprised how handy reading through some terminals can be for things like that. I just wish they weren’t all green, kinda hurts my eyes, you know?”

Stone spoke up before I had, catching himself up more to Vogel’s position as we stepped through the streets. “That’s a fine shotgun you have there. One of the older clearing models, isn’t it? Please tell me that you modified the internals.” I could just hear the griffin let out a puff, almost as a sarcastic gesture before giving his response. “That’s right, I’ve greased it up while shaving down a few components to make everything run smoother. I did go and modify the barrel for quick changing between rifled and smooth bore, even went as far to make my own lengthened magazine tube.” Their muffled banter went on, only to be occasionally stopped as the sled hit a particularly large stone in the road.

I didn’t bother interrupting them, or even trying to get their attention. Vogel generally wasn’t too overly social with new ponies, but he certainly knew his weaponry. Tera didn’t seem to take to the rougher-looking griffin, especially with his full gear on. Vogel held his close to his chest, turning back to make sure we were keeping up. He gave me a nod, and kept walking ahead with Stone through the snow covered streets. Nothing had seemed to change here, showing the lack of a blizzard up here on this side of Stadt. When we reached the walkway up to my front door, I felt far better than I had for the past weeks, especially when I saw a set of green eyes gazing at me through one of the few windows that remained intact.

I couldn’t help but run ahead of the others, pushing open the door rather forcefully until I threw myself onto Rose, pulling her as closely into me as I possibly could. “Rose! Oh Luna I’m so sorry I ran off like that, I won’t do it again I promise! Oh please forgive me please please.. Rosie I love you!” Rose squirmed under me while trying to get a grip of me as I almost rolled around on her, leading her to take my mask off, and softly smile at me until seeing my covered eye.

“A-Angel what happened to your eye? Why is it patched? Darling?” Her face and voice were filled with concern, I could just see her emotions in her eyes. Instead of speaking to respond, I lifted the patch to show her the dark space that was once my eye. Rose took a gasp, and started to examine it just like a wound.

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to fix that, honey. The city had a black river, just like the one here. A couple of Steel Rangers started to use their laser weaponry on the snow around us. These other two made it with a couple of wounds, and I fell into the mess. I woke up in one of the forests nearby and just.. We’ll need to have a formal conversation about it, Rose. Oh fuck I hope the documents didn’t get wet!” Rose cocked her head at me, both sorrowful and curious now, watching as my wings dug through all of my bags, until pulling out the folder, and slowly giving it to her. “Just.. don’t faint.” Of course she would.

Rose sat on the sofa, her head staying low, eyes locked on the floor. Vogel stayed silent, even when Stone took apart his rifle once again. I didn’t dare say a word as my friends kept quiet, leaving Tera to groan at the inefficiencies of our window boarding job, giving her more reason to get to work on her own accord. It was comforting to know that she was indeed ready to work on everything we needed her to, but even the sounds of a hammer hitting nails and a saw cutting through wood wouldn’t bring any distraction to my squadmates. All of the time, blood, and sacrifice we put into fighting against our enemy, just to be struck down by our real enemy.

My hoof wrapped around Rose, keeping her close against me, trying to give her that shred of hope she so desperately needed. I couldn’t help but be the one to ask where Star had gone. “Where is Star right now, Vogel? You didn’t even as much mention him when we were back here. Did something happen, or is he just out right now? And.. yes, I know it’s not the best time, but Vogel said you had something for me, Rose.” There was silence once again, until Rose started to softly speak to me.

“He went out two days ago, we’re not certain what was going on with him. Homesickness or something, Vogel scouted the city from above, but.. Well, he was fired at. For your item, my love, it’s well.. It’s resting on our bed. I’ll need to make a modification for it now, but my painting abilities hopefully show through.” Rose smiled at me, leaving me to hold her even closer. Frozen world, frozen heart, frozen hope. Welcome to hell, Angel, it’s The Great War: Part Two.

I stood to my hooves, helping Rose up with me as I slowly guided her to our room, leaning into her before shutting the door behind us. The others shuffled around, taking over the sofa as we left it open for whomever to take. On our red bedspread laid a new gas mask, clean and without damage as it appeared to be straight from the factory packaging. It was beautifully sinister, being one of the standard issue masks back when we had serious conflicts with surrounding nations. My steps sped up as I moved closer to the mask, lifting it with my wings to examine it closer, gazing upon the white paint that drew out a skull on the mask, leaving Rose to take a knife to the left lense, cutting an X shape into it.

“I have to give it to you Rose, not only finding a mask like this but painting it like that? I’m really impressed.” My lips pressed to her own for a few moments, only for her to give me a laugh and a caress across my cheek. “Anything for my lovely wife, the ultimate edge-mare.” I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t about to go and start putting spikes on everything I owned. When my eyes were finished scanning the mask, I could just feel something pulling at the back of my head, creeping into the edges of my vision with black, murky vines swirled over the sight of my beautiful wife before me. Her voice just filled my ears without a single sight but the darkness before silence reverberated through my entire being.

“Angel? Angel your eye! Sweetheart say something! Angel! Vogel get in here, there’s something wrong with Angel! Her eye - see? -- I can’t!”

“Well what do you fucking mean there’s an entire village set up in the valley?” Jacks was clearly pissed off, for lack of a better term. “Okay, so there’s just the full set of huts down there? Do you understand what this could mean for friendly operations in this area? Each and every one of our soldiers could end up dead, especially considering they’ve started using those.. The what again? Yeah, that’s right, Bypass Spells.”

The sight of stripes walking around in the valley below was sickening, just the very thought of their presence even this close to the border was enough to boil my blood from the inside out. Silence was the only thing my radio spit out for me, just until I put my own voice into it. “I have spotting flares. You’ll need to get the artillery crews ready to go immediately, but I can give you my approximate location. Have them zero in for my location, and then when they see the red smoke.. Blast them all.”

I could hear the quiet page through the radio, until it started to give me orders and express frustration once more. “Alright, Angel. Give me your location, and then I’ll let you know when we’re ready for the flare. I tell you what, get this done and I’ll be certain that adopted mother of yours knows you saved many good ponies today.” My heart sang at his last remark, giving me the enthusiasm to quickly pull my map out, and give exact coordinates. When I got confirmation from Jacks, the stick that spit out flames and red smoke fell into the valley, and right into the middle of the settlement below. It wasn’t a second afterward until I could hear the loud roaring of our cannons echoing through the peaceful forest.

My wings carried me away from the edge as the heavy shells fell into the crack in the mountain, spitting up debris of dirt and straw into the air. The barrage shook the ground around me, disturbing the peaceful forest with sounds and shock from battle, even if this was a product of total war. When the echoing of explosions had come to a stop, my curiosity got the better of me. I floated over the valley, and looked down into the craters below. No more huts, no more lived in structures. Instead, the once green grass and clean water was now stained crimson and black. No amount of peace would ever wash away the blood.

“Angel? Sweetheart?” Rose stood above me, rubbing a damp cloth across my head as I laid on our bed, restrained down with thick rope. So many questions rushed through my head, what happened, why am I tied down, and is this all just some kind of erotic game? No, not that last one. Vogel stood near me as well, his stoic beak had a glint of concern engraved into it, not to mention how low and sunken in Rose looked. Stone and Tera stood in the doorway, Star soon stepping in behind them and commenting on the situation. “Finally awake, good to see you’re not the same vegetable you were just an hour ago.” If only you weren’t a mare today, I’d kick your ass for that one.

“Vegetable? What do you mean by vegetable? Like, did I turn into a giant fucking apple or something?” Rose rolled her eyes and kept pressing the damp cloth across my head. “No, Love. When your eye turned like your other one, you.. You kinda went blank. There was nothing at all for a few minutes, then you actually bit Star. Drew blood and.. Well. Drank it.” I could just hear the laughter in the back of my head. There it is, the.. The dark one, for a title.

My eye shut before I wiggled around, pulling on the ropes. “Will you let me go? I’m coherent, I’m not insane, see? I just want to hold you, Rose. Please.” I could hear them step away for a moment, speaking together in hushed voices. There wasn’t as much as a peep from me anymore, just waiting for their verdict. Rose was the first to step closer again, returning to running the rag across my head while giving my cheek a gentle stroke. “I can’t. I would, but.. You know. I’m sorry Angel, but I have to watch out for them as well. Besides, we can just lay here for a couple of days until this all blows over.”

“Rose, you know how much I hate being tied up unless you’re wearing that.. What was it called again? Corset? I don’t remember. This just.. It takes me back to my father. How things went there. Why I was ‘adopted’ up.” Rose put her hoof over my mouth, closing her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts before removing her hoof. “Angel, I don’t think you’ve ever really told me what happened. You’ve always avoided it, or just told me that Luna was kind enough to take you into her home and teach you the proper way to treat others. Are you finally ready to share that kind of a thing with me?” Her emerald eyes were almost too much for me to handle (as always), leaving me to almost melt as she rested herself so close to me.

“Shut the door, Rose. I don’t want the others to hear this.” Her white horn turned green, and the wooden door slowly came to a shut.

“Get your filthy whore flank back in here! I didn’t fucking say you could leave!” His voice haunted me, even as I laid in the closet with the pillow wrapped around the back of my head. He never knew where I went to hide, and if I he found me, we would both be dead. The single candle gave me just enough light in my cut-out hole in the (closet) wall, as my mother had cut into it for me to have my own personal space for once. I just wished that this pillow she gave me was thick enough to block out her cries as he beat her.

This had been going on for weeks now, ever since she had told him that she was leaving, and she was going to take me with her. It was bad enough he forced me into the youthkorps, all in the name of.. What was his name again? Either way, I wasn’t enjoying the idea of shooting ponies I didn’t even know in the eye with the little practice rifle they made me use. I didn’t like any of it.

The pillow wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I may’ve been young, but this.. This was too much. I crawled out of the hiding place and stumbled around in the dark closet, tripping over his helmet.. And pistol. There it sat, ready to be grabbed and used by anypony that saw fit. I wandered down the stairs, feeling my body boil with rage as I saw my mother laying on the wooden floor once again, my father standing over her. “See? I fucking told you that would happen. Oh look, your daughter came downstairs for once. Hah, she even has my nice little pistol. What are you going to do with that, little girl? Shoot me? You wouldn’t even shoot one of those fucking ponies from the east with that perfectly built rifle if your leader required you to do it for your country! So go ahead do something! Do it or I’ll beat you both for making me angry!”

I felt numb as I watched him fall to the floor, the bleeding hollow where his ugly right eye once set. The black pistol fell to the floor, bouncing around next to the single brass case that held the killing blow. The end to the beatings, the abuse, the starvation and mental abuse. I didn’t care if they didn’t have their most prized death squad officer. I wasn’t willing to take it anymore. Here I was, just old enough to be in school, and I was watching the puddle of blood form around my hooves. My mother didn’t know what to say, or do anymore.

“I-I’m.. I’m so sorry, Angel.. I didn’t.. I didn’t realize that you.. What happened after that?” I took a breath and raised my head speaking to her in a soft, dim voice.

“Rose.. it.. Somepony called the police. They showed up and and.. They took me. My mother claimed she did it. Even with all of the physical evidence, they still.. They gave her the death penalty. My sister she.. She heard about it. Well, all of Germaney did. I didn’t do anything for years, until she finally convinced me to pick up a rifle again. We started shooting together and well.. I started to enjoy it again. That’s when I got into competition shooting. When I heard that my sister was.. She.. I-I..” I started to choke up on my tears, trying my best to keep composure. Rose’s hoof running across my cheek never felt so good.

“When they found her and.. And Jacks found me it was Luna that heard my story. She.. she took me in as her own. Then I met you.”

§§§

Rose had finally let me free, contrary to Star’s hopes on keeping me bound up forever to prevent biting, at least from the other side. Vogel grinned as I stepped out with Rose as my support, Stone and Tera both smiled, and Star gave me a rather sore frown with her arm wrapped up in cloth. “I didn’t mean to bite you, Star. That was.. That was something else that isn’t easily explained. At least I think you tasted pretty good.” Her expression became even more upset with me, only until Vogel started to laugh.

I wanted to play nice, but having so many holes in my memory didn’t do me anything. “I can hear my belly grumbling. Could be time for another ration pie..” Vogel and Rose grinned, Rose guiding me to sit on the sofa while Vogel started to go through our dwindling supplies. He grabbed the types that I needed, and sat them all before me. Time to do a little cooking, Angel style. Everypony, except for Star, sat around me as I mixed and used up the packets inside each sealed bag, portioning out the meal, and then throwing them all into the flameless heaters. We sat and smelled the unique mixture as the heaters hissed while they worked, going on for a few moments.

Vogel tossed out the cards as we ate using whatever we could lift the crackers covered in different meals all mixed together, Star sitting a little further back from things, and Tera opting out of playing cards to run around and fix up any imperfection in the wooden planks that kept the freezing and toxic air out of our home. Vogel, as usual, passed around his bottle.. Until it became exceedingly light and lacking of liquid. He held the bottle upside down when it had finally ran itself dry, only to set it back on the table and sigh before sharing his thoughts.

“Well that’s great. Now what will we do to pass the time? Guess we’d better look at the city map.” I made my way over to my pile of bags, grabbing out my map before taking my set next to Rose once again, and laying out the map. “Well, Vogel, there’s not too many places now that we can search. The market is empty, that tavern has gone dry. I think you might need to figure out how to make your own stuff. For food, however, we still have options. There is the plant that used to package up our apples, then not too far from that there’s the ration supplier. Come to think of it..” My head lowered down for a moment, then somberly rose up once more from its temporary slumber. “There is the armory. My.. my father was in charge of it. Said that they hadn’t changed the code in ages. I’ll need to uh.. I’ll need to go back to his home just to get his secondary key just in case. The police never did unlock his door. We head that way, and we can get some serious work done. Of course, I’d like to spend a coherent night with my wife..”

The others awkwardly whistled and looked away once they understood what I meant, and instead kindly made their ways to their piles of gear to put everything on. Vogel lead the others to put their gear on, somehow even Tera who seemed like she’d never step a hoof back out into the wastes started to put her things on. Rose and I both chuckled, watching as they all went out the door, and step out in the streets. It wasn’t a second later until she had me pinned.

Next Chapter: Chapter 8: The Compound Estimated time remaining: 39 Minutes