Chifundo opened the door as the echo of my screaming voice bounced off of every wall. Sparrow dropped a cup onto the ground, which shattered, while Hot Cross starred with eyes wide as saucers. Nyota even pulled away from me indignantly. Nugget, however, was the first to break the awkward silence. “Sunrise said a wordy dird! Do it again!”

Hot Cross Buns pointed a hoof at Nugget, shooting her a stern glare. I stood up and felt the boiling rage hitting me. “You and Sparrow have double talked, half-truthed, or flat out misled us on every turn!” My lungs strained from the effort of yelling, and Nyota was trying to sit me down, which just got him pushed away. I gave him a quick apologetic glance, and then turned, fully focused on Hot Cross Buns.

“Buddy is dead! Corners left us! You are gonna give me a straight, truthful answer, or I don't know what I'll do, but we'll find out!” I was panting from exertion and my head was getting light. Balance finally failed me, and all my huff went out with a puff as I slumped back into the chair. Nyota jumped up to my face as Chifundo crossed the room and I held up a hoof to signal them I was alright. “Just need to catch my breath.”

All of us turned to Hot Cross Buns and stared at him, waiting for the answer I sought. “Dammit, Sunrise, I don't—”

“Daddy, swear jar.” Nugget piped up interrupting him.

Hot Cross Buns glared at her and rolled his eyes, then shook his head, “When I finish.”

“Now, Sunrise—Celestia's golden flanks—I don't have to answer anything about any of this!” He puffed his chest out and looked proud as can be. His eyes directing at me a call for challenge him on any of it.

I got up, tore away from Nyota, Quick Stitch, and Chifundo as hard as I could. With only a my backup revolver tucked against my PipBuck, there wasn't a whole of equipment to back me up as I got right up into his face. “You listen! I risked life and limb, my friends risked it all, for your sorry ass!”

“The buck has gotten into you, Sunrise,” Quick Stitch asked, putting a hoof against my cutie mark. All that got him was a harsh kick in the leg, and I put myself nose to nose with Hot Cross Buns.

“I just had to put my friends through hell to save you, and Nyota had to wait ten hours to find out if I was gonna live or die.” I put my hoof down harshly onto his, hoping it would leave a bruise. “Answer. The. Question. Now.” My teeth didn't even separate as I spoke with a growl. Every piece of me wanted to box his ears in to find out what we had risked our lives for. My lungs burned with the stress of shouting and my heart was racing as my healing injuries protested.

Hot Cross Buns looked at me like I was a horrific monster from his nightmares. He backed away and I followed, pressing nose to nose against him. We kept up this tango of retreat and advance until he was pressed into a wall and had nowhere to go. I stared into his eyes with all my frustration and feelings of loss, tears welling up in my eyes as I shook in anger.

Nyota, Chifundo, and Quick Stitch put hooves on me and pulled me back. They were physically dragging me away from him. “This is not the anger you desire, that was fuelled by Corners' ire.” The red boiling up into my vision dissipated as Chifundo spoke, and my brain tried to process what he said. I looked at my friends, all three stallions’ appearance almost comical at the amount of effort it was taking to move the weakest earth pony in the wasteland away from Hot Cross Buns. My hooves groaned against the wooden floor boards before I finally relented and let off my resistance.

All three of my friends lost their grip and tumbled into a heap behind me. Nugget let out a filly cackle at the scene as three stallions were on the ground in a heap behind me while I turned my head to look at them. In all my rage, I felt like I’d gained strength I’d never possessed.

“Alright Sunrise, you're right.” Sparrow walked forward as she stopped laughing. “Honey, tell her. Explain it in detail, or you'll have to deal with me.” Sparrow turned to Hot Cross Buns. I shot a surprised glance at Sparrow, and she gave me an apologetic shrug, rolling her eyes in exasperation at Hot Cross Buns.

Hot Cross Buns hung his head with a guilty wince, and began to speak. “The weapon they wanted was armor piercing ammunition based upon a chemical compound made in the clouds. This stuff, in theory, should punch through power armor with a .308 or higher caliber round.” He let it all rest in one breath and kept his gaze away from any pony in the room.

I stared at him, processing this. Everypony else jumped up asking questions.

“Wait, punch through how much armor?” Quick Stitch inquired.

“What chemicals must I take for this weapon to make?” Chifundo inquired as he got up to pull me back down with Nyota.

“Come on, Sunrise, you’ve got your answer. Calm down and breath.” Nyota assured still focused upon me.

He held up a hoof, “No please, the less you know the better. It isn't complete and they wanted me to finish it.” I got up and walked over to him with a nod, placing a hoof onto his shoulder. Something inside me wanted to protect him, he wasn’t trying to do better yet. He at least still felt guilty. When you could feel guilt, there was hope to be better. He wanted to take this secret to his grave and that is something I respected. Sharing secrets that could get other ponies killed was not okay in my book. I felt like he needed a break and he needed to know something that would reassure him.

“Do you think the Enclave will still hunt for you or assume you are dead?” I asked as everypony turned to the question like a ghost had emerged.

“I mean once they dig through graves and check for bodies maybe. But I think those assassins will report back that I’m not dead.” Hot Cross Buns explained, and it wasn’t him I looked at with concern. It was Nugget. She had just gotten a new daddy and she would be a pretty vulnerable target if the Enclave chose to attack.

How do I stop flying attackers like that? Does the Enclave still have the Equestrian Air Force machines? I wanted badly for them to not be vulnerable and to give Hot Cross Buns a chance to live out the rest of his life. But at the same time, I knew we couldn’t stay here and complete our own quest.

Pink rolled onto my view screen holding up a chalkboard she deployed and the world around us slowed down. I saw the bar for SATS appear across my HUD and realized what she had done. “Sunrise, lookie! This will work out really well!” Pink was pointing to a diagram on her chalkboard. It took me a second to understand but that was schematic for a balloon with a bomb in it.

Barrage Balloons? But those were only ever used against dragons. Won't that kill—

“Absolutely not! I took that into account, this includes a concussion bomb. Non-lethal, but they will crash to the ground, probably at high speed, and be severely injured.” Pink explained nervously. I gave her a questioning look and she shrugged. “I mean, it's the best we can do under the circumstances.”

I didn't sit right with creating a sky minefield but at the same time, I knew in my heart that the Enclave might glass the entire town to get at Hot Cross Buns. Alright, Pink, I'll get a prototype made and give him the schematic. Let's get everypony out of here and take inventory, finally.

SATS died and I was being stared at as I touched Hot Cross Buns. “Alright, I'm gonna get some plans together for barrage balloons and make them. This should help give you some protection from the Enclave flyers.” I looked around the room to each of my friends and smiled reassuringly. Nugget looked disappointed, and I smiled at her. “Hold on, let me talk to my friend's first and I'll be right back, Nugget.”

I stepped out with the rest of my friends and closed the door so we could talk. “For now, I think we should all take time to relax, heal, recuperate, and enjoy a bit of regular applications from my healing spells.” Quick Stitch declared and looked at me, getting close so we were eye to eye. “You need time to rest, or the healing is going to leave more than just scars on your coat.” Nyota snorted in agreement, Chifundo held up a hoof to his chin with a careful thought.

“Quick Stitch makes a fair case, welcome would be a break from our frantic pace.” He took a breath and started to walk away, “I could also use the time to work on a project of mine.” Nyota's next words though made me want to strangle one of those striped stallions.

“With the book Nugget used, I found some recipes I would like to peruse.” Nyota immediately facehoofed and shuddered, “Great, he's got me doing it.” They all burst out into laughter. I grumbled and then got a smile on my lips as well, and was soon laughing along. My ribs ached from the movement, and I had to force myself to stop laughing. I turned to Nyota, “You did that just to get me to laugh and admit I need time to heal when it hurt, didn't you?”

He shook his head and kissed my cheek, “No, though I'm glad you admit it. The nice thing is that Sparrow has a place in mind where you can rest without needing to be in the infirmary.” He took a moment to give me a gentle reassuring hug and an innocent-seeming look. I bought it, for now.

Quick Stitch pulled out a cloak and sewing kit as he started to follow Chifundo, “I'm not gonna follow you around, so long as you check in a few times a day, but we aren't leaving. Not until you are fully ready to travel.”

I hung my head and nodded, “Alright. You all should go get lodging. Nyota, come on back inside with me. We'll stay here tonight to watch over them, just in case the Enclave shows up.” Nyota nodded in agreement and helped me up to my hooves.

As soon as we got outside, Nyota nuzzled me immediately and I winced from the pain of flexing my ribs against his strength. I took a seat against the door next to him and he curled against me in return. “Please tell me that butterfly in stomach feeling will pass away, because it actually hurts while I'm healing?”

Quick Stitch raised an eyebrow and his horn glowed, as I felt something tingle inside me, my PipBuck wasn't clicking so it wasn't radiation. Chifundo snickered a bit, “Loves first true kiss, is something you will never miss.”

Quick Stitch finished his examination while Nyota shrugged, “Honestly? The butterflies are probably gonna stick around, and I've been dealing with them since you said yes.” At least I'm not the only pony feeling this torture.

“Now I can understand how Sparrow feels about Hot Cross Buns,” Quick Stitch rubbed his hoof against the opposite while I felt a blush building up inside. “I guess I'm gonna have a Wicked Scar now?”

Nyota smirked and kept nuzzling me reassuringly as we took a breath and laid on the cold ground for a bit. It genuinely felt nice to be out of my armor and not wearing plating. That combine with Nyota's warmth, I almost forgot that I had a healing scar and the world around us had burned to the ground. “Maybe, Maybe not, but you're still cute.” Nyota said and before I could retort, he kissed me deeply and pressed my head into the back of the door. My breath was stolen away with his affection and I tried to shake him lose as I felt like I might die of embarrassment.

Chifundo and Quick Stitch both let out stifled chuckled and then looked at each other, I could detect a hint of blush between between them. We broke kiss and I felt those butterflies screaming to be let out. I laid my neck across Nyota's shoulder and made a long blowing snort, “Great, I just had to say yes to the one who likes public displays, didn't I?”

Chifundo immediately piped up, still chuckling and suppressing his own laugh, “To explore your nature is a wonderful thing, to find love can take you upon Celestia's wing.” I looked right at him; that was the mixture of emotions right now, flying on Celestia's wing while every pony could look right up my dress with telescopes.

Quick Stitch flicked his eyes over to both of us and smiled, he nudged me on the cheek, “Sunrise, I'm not stopping anyone. I had my hooves inside your chest, so I wouldn't be worried about PDAs from Nyota.” I blinked at him a few times and slowly realized that if any pony heard that out of context, they would assume I'd had sex with Quick Stitch before Nyota. I hid my head into Nyota's chest, nuzzling his own chest scar to keep myself hidden from the world.

I heard a snicker from inside the house, and was convinced that Sparrow and Hot Cross Buns had their ears pressed to the door. “A kiss and a squeeze is not taboo, so do it when comfortable to you!” Chifundo bopped me on my nose and then Nyota too as he spoke. Slowly I felt my self conscious state retreat. Chifundo and Quick Stitch were right.

Pink just snickered and pulled out her popcorn, a sign held up by her tail that said: 'Just Buck Him Already.' I wanted to fume at her, but I felt more at peace and ease. Even with her irritation I couldn't actually be mad or upset. I just nuzzled into Nyota, “I can't be upset with you. Nyota, thank you... though if Quick Stitch's checkup agrees with Doctor Hacksaw, we've got three ponies in Equestria I'm looking for.”

Nyota nodded and looked back at the door like he sensed our eavesdroppers too. “Your mom, dad, and...” He let it play out for a bit and I nodded to him. The pain of guilt slammed into me.

I'm a mother... and never even...

Pink pressed a hoof up against my cheek, “Sunrise, you should talk to Doc Horses after you inventory tonight. You will want to know all the details, but you're a lot older than you thought you were. We just need to work your memory back in slowly, one piece at a time. Like eating a really big cake!” I felt like I mentally nodded and agreed with Pink. She was right, I needed to know.

Doc Hacksaw was leaning on his cane, half asleep, when I trotted in. He grinned a bit and took out a Mint-Al, which he crunched in one bite. “Oh, you're back again. Figured you would be. What can Gregory Horse do for you?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Gregory Horse? But I thought your name was Hacksaw?” I was now incredibly confused. He pushed his chair into me and it caught me awkwardly.

“Right, new to the wasteland. Hacksaw, Bonesaw, those names are ranks. Gregory Horse is my actual name. My son's name is Herald Horses.” He took a breath and used his hoof to pet my head softly.

I got a hint of a distressed stare. “Yes? Something you need right now?”

“I want to talk to you about the medical stuff concerning my age, and other things you discovered.” I felt goosebumps creeping up on my spine as I said the words. I wanted burst into tears and felt my hoof searching for Nyota or any of my friends right now. There was no pony here, though, but I had to deal with this now or I wouldn't be able to sleep. Dread pushed at the back of my mind and I had to force it back as Horses worked out how to explain the details.

“Well, all right, I'll just say it all at once. You're probably closer to thirty or forty years old, and with all the testing we did I'd estimate you’re around closer to thirty. Physically. Which explains the mental maturity. While you can't remember the experiences detail for detail, you certainly have all hallmarks of a grown adult in terms beyond the physical.” He took a breath and shrugged. “Based upon repairs we did, and examination, you've had at least one foal. As far as I can tell, no more yet. Where that foal is, I don't know, but you certainly gave birth with the help of a c-section. Once that rib is healed, well, you and... Nyota, was it?”

He started holding up a hoof to his lip. I nodded to him, trying to take all this in. It was just the two of us in here, thankfully. “Yeah, he and you are good to go. Your body seems in a state of homeostasis. The blood samples we took show no signs of aging, but your coat does.” He shrugged and I remained quiet, trying to take it in and not freak out. “We have a computer running your DNA but from what I can tell, you stopped aging a very long time ago.”

My heart was starting to race and becoming hard to suppress. I wanted to scream that everything was just wrong. Part of me prayed for Celestia to just let me wake up. Pink, on the other hoof, found my cheek and rubbed it softly. I looked up at her, and she was wearing a weary smile. "I was really worried about you finding out all of this, but I guess it's better if you know. I'll do my best to tell you what I know!"

Pink, answer one question. Are they alive? It was the first real question that came to mind. Pink gave me a perplexed look and shrugged. Pink, are my parents and my foal alive?

“Well, the foal was alive when last you saw, but I have absolutely no real way of knowing! Look, let’s take one little hoofstep at a time, okay?” She was trying to comfort me again, and to be honest, I was very glad to have her there. I had to resist unconsciously nuzzling into the hoof as it stroked my mane.

“Anyway, if I had more answers, I'd give them to you. maybe The Brains in Megalopolis or the Doctor's Collegiate in Manehattan can give you more accurate answers. You should go by there sometime.” He finished and took out a cigarette, lighting it up and taking in a long puff.

“One more thing; Nyota said you were from Stable 43. Where is that, exactly?” He was holding a clipboard and asking things like nothing had just been discussed or transpired. His non-nonchalant attitude was so unnerving.

“It's near Stalliongrad, up in the mountains north of the river Stallion. What happened to it?” I was talking but my emotions felt so dead after everything I’d been through. It was taking everything in my power to keep my emotions suppressed.

“Oh, you should know then; Stalliongrad was reduced to ashes.” He checked his clipboard and made a note. “Yeah, the Equestrian military reduced it to utter ruins, and then the zebra bombs hit. Somepony in the Equestrian military miscommunicated that they had betrayed Equestria at the end.” He took a breath and shook his head.

“They say the military at Stalliongrad just refused to take the order to activate their megaspells. So, the orders from on high were to make sure no other cities took their route. Once the shield failed, balefire bombs did the rest. Nowadays, travelers say there is almost nothing left except Stable 42.” He took in a breath. “ Besides a few shops, the whole place is still heavily irradiated, and may not ever heal. No pony has mentioned finding a Stable 43 either.” Horses tossed some Party Time Mint-Als back and shook his head. “Such a waste.”

I wanted to say something. I wanted to scream, but I held it all inside. I needed out of here. I got up and hung my head. “Thank you for everything. You said I should go by the Doctor’s Collegiate in Manehattan?”

“Yeah that would be a good place to stop if you can make it there. You gonna be alright? I know some patients that would, not be around, after this kind of news.” He muttered in a way that ground my nerves.

“I’ll be fine, thank you again.” I walked from the doctor’s office and Nyota was outside waiting for me. I dash to him, in spite of my injuries right up to Nyota. My hooves moved on their own, wrapping tightly to his neck.

I clung to him and cried. The knowledge of the city I was born in, we likely wouldn't find anything left. I cried for my lost neighbors, for the mechanics at my dad's shop, for every pony I knew blown to atoms. The feeling that no pony but me even mourned for them anymore. That I was all that was left to remember them by. I cried for my lost memories and most of all, the biggest weight upon my chest. The denial of my right to be a mother by this cursed place.

Pink and Nyota just kept stroking my mane and head, trying to provide comfort. His chest fur was damp with my tears. I wasn't sure how much he'd heard outside the doctor's office, I just knew I needed to let it all out. I don't even remember falling asleep from the emotional exhaustion, just that at some point his hooves were carrying me to a bed. I felt him cuddling me tight, with no explanation for my tears yet.

I was with mom while I saw Silver Zoom overhead, shadowing us. Anytime we'd enter a building, we'd wait for him to land, then go in just ahead of him. I remembered today; it was nothing terribly special, just myself and mom running errands.

We bought groceries, saw the doctor for a check up, and we were on the way to the brigade. I just walked with mom and we talked. “Sunrise, you okay? You've been a whole lot different since you and your father got back from Canterlot.” I looked her up and down as we waited to cross the street.

“Mom, we literally have a pony following us to catch other ponies being bad. How are you so calm and okay with this?” I looked up at her and she pulled me into a soft hug.

“I am worried, but we were told to act as normal as possible. You need to stay calm and let that pegasus do his job. They'll catch them.” I felt this instinct to scream at her, to shout about the torture and how this made so little sense. Why not just arrest them outright? They have all the evidence they need, right? I hung my head.

“Mom, I know, but you weren't on that bed while they—” Mom put a hoof as gently as possible up to my mouth. She shook her head and the light for the carriage street changed. We crossed in silence and continued on. Every time I started to speak, mom shook her head, all the way until we got to the emergency civil medical brigade building. Dull thuds echoed off the vibrant pink city shield, puffs of smoke billowing outside them. If not for the sound, you'd never realize the city was under siege.

I remembered how surreal it really was. Even under siege by zebra assault forces, the city acted as a linchpin. The zebras couldn't break us, and the Equestrian Military constantly used that as a way to assault their lines elsewhere. The war was a distant thing, something that we didn't acknowledge was happening. The closer we got to the emergency medical building, the more intense the the thuds against the shield. This building was set up as close to the defensive lines as possible.

We could see the shield edge and the battle beyond. Rows after rows of trench lines, bunkers, and hardened defensive points all set up to defend the city. This wasn't set up before the war, I'd been told. I could barely remember the days before the shield went up. None of the defenses were built before then.

I remembered just before the military arrived in force, my parents rushing off in the morning and me being left alone. School was cancelled as every adult that could rushed to defend the city.

Now, a battle raged outside the shield. Buildings that had been bombed out were converted to military use. All the houses and businesses at the edge of the shield had been converted into ammo dumps, hospitals, command buildings, and other necessary structures. I saw a pegasus flight coming in to land. A piece of the shield opened up like a chariot garage door, separating itself from the shield and opening for them.

Then a shout, “Close the shield! Break off! INCOMING!” A unicorn dashed past us, but it was too late. A round flew in through the shield. The world moved in slow motion as I watched the round coming at us. A large black object hellbent on our destruction.The world exploded as the concrete street under us erupted in debris. There wasn't a sound, just a concussion that sent mom and I flying. I felt myself hurled into the building. All the world went cold and distant. It wasn't painful, it was just traumatizing.

I saw my mother, lying in front of me, bleeding and unconscious. Ponies were dashing towards us, and the pegasus flight altered course towards us, and then everypony stopped. I started to scream at the ponies to come help us, but I couldn’t hear my own voice at first. The pegasi turned and flew overhead and veered off. I turned my head to where we had been standing. In the ground was a warhead from an artillery shell. The round hadn't detonated.

I got to my hooves, struggling to move, and some pony shouted, “Don't move! Wait for the bomb technicians!” They were all keeping their distance and directing other ponies away. The doors to the medical brigade were closed and blast shields were lowered. Some unicorn mare looked out through the reinforced window at us, pleading with me to stop moving. I shook my head and started to walk towards the bomb.

I don't know what I was thinking or why I was moving. I reached into mom's saddlebags and took out her first aid kit. She carried it in case the brigade summoned her during an emergency. I wanted to cry, fighting back the tears. That is my mother, and she is dying. I have to do something. Some instinct drove me to do this; something deep inside burned and demanded I act.

I walked right up to the bomb. I have to disarm this, I can't risk it. No pony will help mom otherwise. How? Some unseen hoof felt like it was guiding me. I saw the panel on the back of the warhead and flipped it open with a hoof. This felt instinctively right. It felt like a calling that I had no real knowledge of, just riding that feeling. The wires inside were a confusing mess but I was reminded of a few tricks to disarm explosives from magazines at my father's mechanic shop: Grandma Pie's Patriot Cookbook.

It took stopping the explosive shell timer, working through to disconnect the detonator from the explosive package, and then finally cutting the link between the two chemicals that would result in a chain reaction. I snipped the final wire with mom's surgical knife and took a step back. Two earth ponies in full on bomb suits were charging forward as I sat on my haunches. “I think... I think I did it.”

My flank started to itch and then burst into an intense burning. I felt myself shaking and something inside trying to come out. It felt like the magic from a unicorn burning me from the inside out. My eyes went white with pain. What!? What is this? One of the earth ponies tackled me away from the shell but I didn't feel it. Everything in my body already screamed in agony. The pain was so intense, Agent 9's torture session was mild in comparison.

I screamed, and held my scream for what felt like hours. “Hey hey, it's okay little mare, we got you. Nibble Nook, what do we got? What did she do?” The earth pony's eyes went wide as he started to back away from me.

“She... disarmed it. Look at her flank, it's glowing like a cutie mark.” The glowing intensified and bled through my shut eyes. I kept screaming until my lungs ran out of air, as my entire form felt like it was ablaze. The world faded into blackness as the real life called me awake.

I awoke in a cold sweat. My first time working with explosives, I'd disarmed a bomb and my cutie mark had failed to come out…or it had been stopped from coming out. The pain had been all too real, even now my insides still burned a bit. That day wasn't unremarkable; it was the day I should have gotten my mark. Instead, whatever Applebloom did to me stopped it. I started to move and open my eyes when I realized Nyota wasn't up and already moving. I also felt something else poking me in the back.

I checked under the covers and felt a blush rising up my cheeks. Nope, that is, umm… I should leave. I slowly pulled myself free of his forelegs and got out of the bed to stretch. This, of course, backfired. I am not a sneaky pony in the slightest. Nyota woke up and immediately realized what was poking me. He looked rather embarrassed. He shifted under the covers to try to hide himself. I snickered and looked up at his face. I had been starring probably for a couple of minutes at this point and could understand his embarrassment.

“You saw, didn't you?” Nyota asked sheepishly, his head hidden under the covers in embarrassment.

I nodded at him holding in a laugh, “Why are you so embarrassed, it's not like you are like that every morning, is it?” Nyota nodded more as his cheeks burned brighter. I stopped and looked at him. Something inside me was making every movement I made in front of him very very self conscious. It was like he could see part of the way through me, and him looking at me was somehow much more intimate now. My own cheeks started to burn, “Is it because of... me?” The words stumbled out of my mouth like an avalanche.

“Yes... it is, I've, umm... kinda been this way since you said yes.” Nyota stumbled over his words, trying to speak. I approached him as he started to ramble and I put a hoof up to his lips for once, stopping his embarrassing mumbling. I gave him a simple nod and smiled.

“I'll give you some privacy, and we'll talk about this later.” I made my way out to the craft center, and when I arrived there was quite the sight. Piston was holding onto a ponnequin for fitting armor, cuddling it in his sleep. There were signs of slobber and sloppy kisses on it as well. I rolled my eyes and then set to work. I didn't know a whole lot about sewing, but I did know quite a bit about explosives.I drew my blueprint for barrage balloons, then started to sew one together from pieces of cloth we scavenged. Nyota joined me after about an hour with coffee and breakfast. Nyota stayed quiet, just watching me work, and blushing every time I turned to look at him. He even hid his face if I started to speak. Great, I've turned my stallionfriend into a terrified sheep.

Piston woke up and joined us, taking our breakfast scraps and looking at Nyota and I. “So, Piston, how did that armor turn out?” I asked him, and he smiled proudly before presenting me with a most gorgeous set of new armor. My jumpsuit looked brand new, the flak jacket had been reinforced, and it had been enhanced with plating of all sorts, including an ablative plate on the outermost layer. My leather socks had been virtually re-engineered into a complex, form-fitting set of armored leggings. There was even a space for my PipBuck to poke out without interfering with the dials and buttons on it.

I stared in awe. He might not be able to fight, but, wow! That is the most impressive work I've seen in a while. I can't even see the stitching! I leaned in and sniffed the jumpsuit. The scent of my father's cologne and grease still was there. It made me remember a time before the Ministry of Morale and the end of the world. a sense of happiness filled me. This wasn't a new jumpsuit; it was mine, fixed up.

“Go on, try it on and wear it for the day. Tomorrow we can finish the refit once you know exactly where it pinches.” He said, and I looked at Piston from head to hoof, then to his flank and the Dashite brand there.

“Piston, you're a dashite? Why?” Something about him felt off. He was a talented armorsmith, he wanted to come with us, and he was a pegasus dashite dropped out of thin air, just after we had a fight with the Enclave. I needed to know more; curiosity demanded it. Despite wanting to trust everypony to get along and be friends, I felt like I couldn't do that anymore.

Piston sighed. “I wanted to leave to learn the old earth pony ways that the Enclave needed for farming.” He paused, looking away from me with a frown. I knew that expression, it was the same one Hot Cross Buns wore when he was trying to not talk about something. I pressed a hoof to his shoulder and nodded for him to go on.

“When they learned of my secret flights down, they kicked me from the clouds. Now I still want to learn, explore, and make armor for ponies, but if they won't help my research, then I shall take it on myself to go and learn. That is why I want to travel with you.” Him reminding me of that did not sit well in my stomach. He was one of three pegasi here in Silver Fang Shanty, and one of four I'd seen, period. Pink rolled into view and shook her head, waving hooves at me in a back away motion.

“Listen! If The Enclave finds out you're alive, we're gonna be in a whole mess of trouble. It's bad enough you rescued a Dashite, having one traveling with you is a very bad idea!”

Well what do you want me to do? Break his hopes and dreams? I asked Pink, and she put a hoof up to her chin, considering her options before a lightbulb appeared over her head.

“Look, you've got a day to think about it, and possibly two while you’re waiting for your ribs to heal. Let's get the armor on and go test out moving in it. Then, we can come up with a way to let him down gently.” I sighed and nodded, then gave Piston a hug.

“Piston, we'll talk about it tomorrow, okay? I need to go over everything with my friends first. So, I'll meet you back here tomorrow morning and let you know our decision while you fit me up.” Piston agreed, and helped me into the plating. It was heavy, and I was having some trouble moving. All told I think I put on over fifty pounds of armor plating.

Piston pulled out my helmet, the cherry on top of it all. It still had the designs I had put on it, but I saw places where it had been taken apart and reinforced, and it was heavier when he put it on. “There we go. I reinforced the frame of your helmet. You can take a grenade right to the chest and be fine!” I could feel what he meant. All the armor did make it awkward to move, but I felt nearly invulnerable.

Nyota and I departed and headed out to find our friends. We were stopped by two ponies outside of the market house. That smile faded when the filly scout uniformed ponies stopped us cold. There was one incredibly large earth pony blank flank—as big as Big Macintosh—wearing a filly scout uniform and a second, smaller unicorn filly. She was a brighter gold than Nugget while having very piercing violet eyes that spoke less of experience and more of hope. The smaller filly was the first creature I’d seen since I woke up that was full of hope. The bigger mare also did not have a cutie mark. The smaller filly smiled at me. “Wandering Sunrise, how are you doing?” The scout asked me, and I felt a twinge of something from our past. I remembered Waffles when we first got out of the unfinished Stable. “The Filly Scouts got really military after the war.”

I looked at Nyota, and he gave me a sheepish look. “Yeah, they showed up after your surgery yesterday, and I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want to upset you while you were recovering. They said they want to talk with you.”

Before I could reply, the smaller scout interrupted us. “Precisely! If you are who you say you are, an older scout wants to meet with you. If you are willing to head to our base and meet her, we would appreciate it,” she explained. I looked at the overly cute little filly. Something about her reminded me of the way ponies acted from my time. My time, wow, I can’t believe I’m referring to my life before the Stable as that now. I turned to her massive yellow furred and pink maned friend. The other filly scout was huge, and she made Nyota look small and made me look tiny. Wait! She's a blank flank! That means when she gets her growth spurt, she is gonna... Oh, boy.

“I, um... what are your names? And who is it that wants to meet with me?” I looked them over, trying to judge their reactions.

“This is Buttered Toast.” She said and paused as if expecting what came next.

“I like buttered toast!” The very large filly cried out enthusiastically and started to look around, her eyes wide and searching..

“No, Buttered Toast, there isn't any around. We'll get you some in a minute. I am Cutie Patootie.” I laughed out loud when she said her name. She shook her head, and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I've heard all the jokes. Now listen up! One of our oldest, Eternal Scouts would like to meet with you. Would you be so kind as to come see her? If you are who you say you are, you know her.”

My tail coiled and I paid attention to Pink's next words. “If it is who I think it is, you can't trust her. She will help you but only so long as it serves her.” Pink explained and I took it all in.

Pink, I'm trusting you. I looked at Nyota for some input and he shrugged, “It's your decision, love.” He said the word! Oh wow that feels, so...

“Focus, Sunrise!” Pink slapped me and I physically felt the pain in my cheek as the goosebumps faded with the pain.

“Right, no, I'm not willing to go to your base. No offense, but we've had quite a few close calls recently, and I'm fresh off an operating table.” I explained and pulled myself close to Nyota. I wasn't sure what the overly large filly would do, or was actually capable of, nor did I want to find out. I wasn’t sure that Nyota nor I could actually stop that filly if we had to.

“Well, what if she comes here, and meets you in the flophouse tomorrow?” Cutie was being very insistent, and I had to admit, I was having trouble refusing her due to her charm alone. I shook my head to try to get the sheer amount of cuteness this filly projected out of my head.

“I suppose that will work. I hope you can understand my suspicions?” I asked, and she nodded.

“We saw you on that operating table. I can accept that. We'll get a message through to our fortress, and she'll see you tomorrow night, at sundown.” The two fillies turned and left us.

“You sure about this Sunrise? The Filly Scouts aren’t the nicest organization in the world.” Nyota took out a cigarette and took a drag from it. Something about the meeting had unnerved him and the smoke was helping.

“I’m never sure about anything till we try to do it.” I replied with a smirk at him as his eyes shot out wide in surprise. His lips slacked and nearly lost his smoke. “But I do know trusting a pony till they prove you shouldn’t trust them is the better way to go through life." Shortly thereafter, another filly to be replaced the scouts.

I didn't hear her running up to us but Nugget full-on tackled me into the dirt. My ribs exploded in pain as I let out a distressed whinny, while my helmet rolled off my head and bounced against a nearby building. I gasped for air as Nyota's hooves wrapped around the golden-furred filly hugging me. “Sunrise!!! Hey, wait! I wanna play with Sunrise!”

“Nugget, I will gladly play with you, but my ribs are kind of still healing, so please be less rough, okay?” I didn't taste blood, and the pain quickly faded. There wasn't even the dull throb of a bruise. At least I know the armor works.

“Sunny, you alright? That looked a bit violent.” Nyota asked while he pulled the overly enthusiastic Nugget away from me. I could hear the concern in his voice and smiled at him. Nugget looked both disappointed and worried, and she brought her hooves up to her mouth cutely and blushed deeply.

“Oh, Sunrise! I didn't mean to hurt you.” She sounded on the verge of tears. Gotta make sure she doesn't cry over this. She's had enough drama at this point. I sprang up to my hooves as fast as I could, ignoring the twinge of pain. My ribs were protesting but I wasn't about to let that deter me.

“I'm fine, Nugget! Just not fully healed. So we can play plenty, just gotta be careful about tackling, okay?” I teased her and petted her mane, my eyes looked at Nyota and I nodded to him. He released her from his protective grip, and Nugget nuzzled right up against my cheek. She was getting big; not as big as me, but in just over a week she was definitely at least an inch taller.

We played tag and drove Nyota nuts dancing around him. It felt so nice having the wind in my mane, moving and testing out the flexibility of the armor. I could feel where it pinched when I flexed hard or when I overdid it. I knew after an hour of playing with Nugget exactly where I'd tell Piston to make modifications on the armor to make it fit perfectly. Also, I have to admit, after what had happened this morning, my curiosity was piqued. As I chased Nugget underneath Nyota’s belly, I intentionally stole a look upward. I imagine he'd make it in a copy of Playfilly, if that still existed. It also sent some waves of excitement to certain parts of me, which were interrupted by Chifundo's voice across a radio.

“Nyota, are you there with Sunrise? There is information for her that must be reprized.” The radio squawked, and I looked at my Pipbuck not realizing his voice wasn't coming from there. Nyota pulled a two way radio from his saddle bags and passed it to me. My tail took it and I held it up.

“Hey Chifundo, something wrong?” I asked, pressing the button with my tail. At least Pink is cooperating and working with me, now.

"Miss Sparrow is having a very bad day, perhaps you would bring yourself this way?" Chifundo spoke and I tilted my head in confusion. I looked at Nugget, who just shook her head, and then at Nyota, who shrugged.

“Explain, please.” I hoped I wouldn't regret asking that.

“She met with someone at the gate, they called themselves Agent Eighty-Eight.” I dropped the radio and started to shake as fear gripped me from head to hoof. My body shuddered as hundreds of jumbled memories rushed forward. Pieces here and there, chunks of horrible feelings pulsed into me.

“If Eighty-Eight is alive, then Agent Nine is. If Agent Nine is alive, then... oh Celestia, no. Please, no,” I managed to say, before my mind was overwhelmed and I dove into events from the past.

Author's Notes:

Hi guys!
Remember to slap the upvote if you've made it this far and add a Favorite.
Join me on Discord (The link is literally the Word!). We can talk there.
I'll see you all at Bronycon and yes the picture below will be available at my booth (508).

We have some more pictures as well as fan art competition winners gonna be shown off soon.

Lastly, this has been an amazing ride so far.

ALSO This:
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/821067/pinkie-pie-takes-the-wheel