Immortality is a Terrible Curse.
-Simone de Beavoir

I was in a stable, not the one I went to sleep in. I was lying on a very similar bed surrounded by normal furniture. An orange wooden dresser with metal framing. A desk fan idly rotated on slow. A Jangles the Moon Monkey doll was on the floor, discarded and not paid attention to. I looked around frantically until I noticed the Stable 43 jumpsuits. I wasn’t in the stasis chamber areas. “Sunrise? Come on, Little Wanderer, it’s time to get up.” Dad? DAD! Just like every other memory, I had no control. Something was wrong. Something in my mind just did not trigger correctly. My dad felt off for some reason.

Wait, dad uses either Sunrise or Little Wanderer, not both in the same sentence. My past self sensed it too. There was something wrong. I could feel Pink’s presence, and she was screaming, but I could not hear her. Suddenly, everything I was feeling and seeing faded out and I was standing in the real Stable 43. The heavy concrete and metal walls surrounded me, with Stable-Tec logos plastered on everything.

“Why won’t you just accept the damn simulation?” Agent 9 screamed over an intercom.

“Uggghhh, finally broke through to you. Yeah, they are really trying to manipulate you. They don’t know I’m here and, well, their spirit shaman isn’t powerful enough to actually detect me if I don’t want them to.” Pink explained, but at the time in the memory, Pink was formless; still just a kind of floating, pulsing, pink gas. I felt my former self confused and strangely frightened.

I was lying on a table with a unicorn standing over me. “Perhaps there is some interference we cannot detect? We should consult Probability Control; that zony may know why better than we can. Her mind should not be this resilient.”

“She is right, but it helps that I’m helping you. They don’t realize it’s two against one! I like our odds.”

Well, at least it is reassuring to know you've always been in my corner, Pink.

“Hey! You remembering this! Yes, you.” I blinked and realized now that Pink was going to be involved and mess with several of my older memories now. “Stop scratching at the walls! Now,” she took a breath, “Wake up.”

Nyota was there, watching me sleep. He lovingly stroked my mane as I came to. “Are you okay, hun?”

I nodded slowly and solemnly, he just frowned. He knows I’m lying. “Okay, no. Bad dreams, bad memories. Pink is interfering with them. Something about not scratching at the walls.” I yawned after I finished explaining myself and started to stretch but Nyota softly gripped my legs and pulled them back down to the bed.

“We aren’t gonna get very far if you can’t sleep,” Nyota replied, stroking my mane. “You were so fitful last night that I had to hold you down at one point.” I blushed and sunk my head into the pillow. We may have been in a stable, but the beds were the most comfortable thing I’d laid on since I woke up in that pool. They were clean, they smelled nice if somewhat stale, and they were memory foam, not spring mattresses. Really expensive back before the war ended, and incredibly rare.

I laid there, feeling mostly at peace. I could block out my surroundings, I could act like the world hadn’t been destroyed. It was a nice, peaceful feeling, one I had missed for so long: safety. The butterflies in my stomach were welcome, as was the warmth that filled me from him. Not just the warmth of his touch but rather how my heart fluttered, and a warmth that came from within. Something was just reassuring in that moment, and we kissed. The morning was an incredibly noisy one.

Scopola Mina was working in the chem lab after Nyota and I finally pulled ourselves out of the bed and the shower. This stable was equipped with an automat as well; our clothes were freshly cleaned and pressed. Our armor had been dry cleaned and lacked the wasteland smell. Nyota particularly was a little off put by how clean our things were.

Scopola Mina saw me and immediately approached, “Sunrise, hun, I was curious. With all these forges, do you think you could make me four new laser rifles?” I looked at her, confused.

“Four?”

“Yes, I have an idea on how to use them, and four new rifles would give me some awesome firepower.” I nodded slowly and added it to a list of things to make with these forges.

Mountain was the next creature to approach us, “I understand that you, Nyota, are adept at close combat?”

Nyota nodded to her, “Yes, it is my speciality.”

“Would you be willing to spar with me? Perhaps we can resume our cultural exchange with techniques?” Mountain motions Nyota to follow her back upstairs.

Nyota looked at me for a bit of guidance. “Well, I am going to be here a while. Four new rifles, working on modifying everyone’s armor, and, honestly? I want to see if these forges might be able to make the parts to fix that tank we found.”

Nyota blinks repeatedly, “That would require—”

I gently placed my hoof on his mouth then held up my PipBuck with a list of parts I had made when we first evaluated the tank. Nyota blinked a few times and looked me up and down. “Sunny, you aren’t an engineer. Are you sure you can make that?”

“Dad was a mechanic, Nyota. I worked in his shop a lot. I may not be an engineer or an architect, but I think I can pull it off. Just gonna take some time.”

I set about work. I had a very long list of things to make. Armor improvements for everyone, a recollector so I could view memory orbs without assistance, Scopola Mina’s rifles, improvements to our weapons, and lastly: parts for the tank and a sled to transport them on.

First up was everyone’s armor enhancements. The pile of clothes, kevlar, plating, all of it needed to be worked on. The forges were made to work with crystals; heavily magically laced crystals. I started with my own armor, since any experimentation would need to be done on my own first. I wanted to make sure I could trust it on myself before I used it for my friends.

The crystal would prove harder than any metal, including stubbornite. The problem being it would also be inflexible, and if something managed to crack one of these plates, it would shatter. It would be the closest thing to power armor without wearing power armor; granted, crystals are always lighter than any metals as well.

I was joined by Bodda Pett, who was proving quite adept at showing me where parts were. He also turned out to almost have the same level of anticipation as PInk with tools or which machine I needed to use. Gisretha also joined me. He was mainly observing my work and occasionally chiming in with a suggestion, but not actually directly helping.

I took a break once our armors were done. It had taken me nearly six hours of work to get the modifications finished. I checked my PipBuck and found I still had three Sunset Sarsaparillas. I pulled them out and popped each one, offering the other two to Scopola Mina and Gisretha. Gisretha took it and sniffed at the bottle; looking at me with a confused expression.

“It is the non-irradiated soda. They were a competitor to Sparkle-Cola and really popular where I lived before the war ended,” I explained, and took a long draught of the vanilla-laced, earthy soda.

“What is Soda?” He asked.

“Go ahead, try it.” His response to my reply was to take a tentative lick of the soda. He convulsed once from hoof—can I call them hooves or is there another name for hooves with short claws?—to his head.

“What is in this magical liquid?” He hissed with a churr, and started to take a long drink. He was attempting to guzzle it and I grinned, knowing what was about to happen. Right on cue he stopped drinking and coughed repeatedly from the seltzer getting to his throat.

I rotated the bottle around and pointed at the list of ingredients. His response was to let out a very loud belch, shaking his head and shuddering again. Scopola Mina took her drink and took a long sip, then poured some sarsaparilla into what she was making before resuming taking a break with us.

“Scopola, I have a question.” She looked up with her eyebrows raised. “Have you just been flirting with every stallion we came across?”

Scopola Mina went from yellow to pink within a second. “I mean, I suppose they are cute. I mean, I have friends, I have the scouts, I have y’all, but, umm…” It hit me, then and there, while I had been experiencing what I remembered as my first time with someone, Scopola Mina had never been on a date.

“You mean you have never been on a date? I mean, I did not remember dating anyone till Nyota. Have you not let anyone be close to you?” I inquired, and Scopola Mina looked away, scratching the back of her head.

“I’ve had relationships.” She was avoiding the question. Gisretha leaned in, as if studying us.

“No, you can have relationships without letting someone in close.”

“Well, I mean every ‘ime I want to have something deeper, they always seem to be with somepony else,” Scopola Mina said with a long sigh as she took a drink of sarsaparilla.

“If Nyota’s confession has taught me anything, the sure fire way to never have a relationship is to never ask or bring it up. So, what do you have to lose by asking?” I pressed against her and gave her a hug to reassure her.

“I don’t wanna lose my friends.” Scopola Mina pulled away from the hug and looked away from me. “I really don’t wanna hurt feelings either.”

“You can ask and not lose friends.” I patted her chest with my hoof. “I am sure anypony you would ask would be so flattered they would faint.”

“I tend to doubt that, not till I get these glasses replaced with something less nerdy.”

I looked over at the crystal forge and then at Scopola, “Maybe I’ll get Quick Stitch down here and we make you something proper and custom? Two hours in the forges?”

“Yeah, but Quick Stitch already has him a passel of fillies, and Chifundo is still recovering from a bad end. I thought I was getting things across; I just don’t wanna hurt no one’s feelings.”

“If you are not honest with ponies about your feelings, you are only hurting yourself. I was honest with Sparrow the moment she walked out of the gate and pointed a gun at us. I was honest with Nyota the moment he called me cute. There is no need to lie or cover up, Scopola. Let them in; you will be happier that way.” I smiled at her and finished my drink, tossing the bottle into a recycle bin nearby.

“Yeah but Sparrow stared down Alguacil and Nyota well, I ain’t ever seen him scared of anything.” I sighed at her reply.

“You should express your feelings, you do not have to always roll with the punches. Your feelings are just as important.”

“But, I mean, what if I hurt somepony’s feelings, or ya know my opinion doesn’t matter that much. I want to say how I find Chifundo cute, but it don’t seem appropriate. When y’all make a decision where we go, I feel like the new pony who is along for the ride and shouldn’t be the one to pipe up and say a different opinion.”

I shook my head swiftly at that and stopped her from talking the same way Nyota stopped me. “No, your opinion matters. I constantly look to the group for their opinions, including Alguacil’s thoughts, even though I rarely agree with them.” I took a breath and removed my hoof. “You have been through a siege with us, you have fought and risked your life alongside us for ponies who, in some cases, you barely knew. You have more than earned the right to express your emotions, thoughts, and opinions on things.”

I turned away from her and hung my head, “I guess what I am really trying to say is, I do not believe you are here to spy on us from Coffee Stain. Not like I originally did. You have been there, silently in a lot of cases, doing what needed to be done. You have made us laugh and, honestly, you even disagreed with Coffee Stain to her face. You are our friend, and have earned the right to say when something bothers you or when you have a better idea.”

Scopola Mina smirked, “Well, I’ll weigh in when I think the time is right and ask somepony out on a date when the opportunity is good. Right now, though, I don’t really matter or make that much of a difference. I am sure that any other pony could replace me and it’ll still work out for all of you.”

“After all we’ve been through in the last month, you can still say that?” I scoffed and had to restrain myself from slapping her. “You are terrifying in combat, able to smash shields outright where even Alguacil could only punch tiny holes.” I took a step back towards her and stamped my hoof hard enough to make the metal echo. “You saved my life when I had to reach for my grenades in the middle of combat. You have proven you can take a hit that many ponies would have rolled over and died from.” Every statement got another step until we were chest to chest, then I was standing up on my tippy end of my hooves.

“You have earned your place here and the right to have a say.” I lowered myself to the ground and waited.

“I have had a say here and there, but on the big decisions…”

“I am saying you have earned your place here. You are my friend.” I jumped up and gave Scopola a tight hug, smiling.

When we broke the hug, Scopola looked at Gisretha. “I mean, now you’ve made the star creature feel out of place, you didn’t hug him at the same time. She. Them?”

We both turned to Gisretha, “Are you a male or female?”

Gisretha shook its head, “Are you asking my pronoun or my place in the reproductive cycle?”

I scratched the back of my head nervously and unsure where to go with this explanation. “I… Scopola, a little help?” Going to take advantage of what I just said and defer to you!

“Ya know, the birds and bees? Like where do you serve for reproductive purposes so I know which pronoun to use for ya?” Scopola smiled as she finished her own drink after that statement and tossed it into the recycle bin with a glass on glass twang.

“Oh, you mean, means of propagation? I think that is your word.”

“That would be the right word.” Scopola assured him.

“We lay eggs. I think that is what you are asking?”

“Have you noticed the differences in shape and structure of our species that are different besides, well, our coloration?” I asked Gisretha, leaning in to try to understand how their sight worked.

“I have observed your courtship habits, but never a mating. What about the pink zebra?”

“How about we just keep it simple for now.” I replied, knowing what I had found out in Cross Stitches shop about Chifundo would be super hard to even attempt to explain. He nodded at me. “So do you have a mate when you lay eggs? Because for us, we,” I pointed at Scopola and myself to emphasize what I was talking about. “Have to mate with a male, the term we use for them is stallion while the term for us is mare.”

“We have a means of reproduction, it is called the egg clutch method. One of the royals lay a cluster of eggs into an incubator. The method of our ancestors was far more...barbaric.”

I looked over at Scopola, completely confused, and she stared at me, just as lost. “I am officially lost on this one.” Scopola turned back to Gisretha for further explanation.

“Oh, before, we would be implanted by the royals with a cluster of eggs, which we would then deposit into a local sentient. Not always willing, mind you.” He stood up and deployed a part of him that made me blush and look away. “Why do you blush, small green one?”

I stuttered and hesitated, looking at Scopola Mina for some other explanation. “I mean, in our terms, you just showed us what you’re packing.”

“Does your species still concern itself with modesty?”

“Yes! Yes we do!” Gisretha laughed at my answer almost immediately, and kept laughing heartily for nearly a minute.

“The, how do you say, sex drive, was bred out of us a long time ago. It gets in the way of scientific discovery and conquering.”

I shook my head and laughed back at Gisretha which just made it tilt its head at me. “Wow, I feel sorry for you.” Scopola Mina replied between her own laughter.

“Yes, having experienced this ‘sex drive,’ as you put, it this morning; I feel sorry for you. Science and conquering is not everything,” I added, catching my breath.

“Please, do go on?” Gisretha was actually curious.

I continued, “What is the point of soldiers, doctors, chemists, and leaders if you lack artists, poets, writers, actors, and musicians?”

“Having a warrior’s call, someone can jot down the collections for histories and knowledge, but—” Gisretha started to explain, but I held up a hoof.

“No no no, have you read our books? Our culture?” I asked him, leaning in with curiosity.

“I have read every single book in this stable, but for the T’doshins having culture aside from record keepers and history scribes; there is only war and science.” I frowned at him. I felt some deep sorrow filling me. I remembered what it was like to live in a time where war was the highest topic of discussion. It was not a happy time.

“That makes me incredibly sad.” I knew he could not read facial structure very well at this point and had to voice what I was feeling.

“Why?”

“What will you do when you have no one to make war against, or no discovery to make?” I inquired, curious where such a culture would go.

“Well, if we have done this, we have proven ourselves worthy to swim with the serpent in the great black seas! To be the greatest!”

“Yes, but what will you do? What happens when you achieve that goal and have nothing left?” I was genuinely curious now. “Do you remember the memory orb?”

“I do, yes.” Gisretha tilted his head the other way.

“Imagine that, but laid out in writing, in stageplays, or in other ways, time and again. Different every time, with tragedy and sorrow, but hope and great accomplishment, without the need for war or some scientific discovery. Rather, the discovery of some new truth, or finding a true soul mate to be with for eternity.”

“These memory orbs, how do you re-create them?” Gisretha looked at me, then my saddle bags.

“Oh, you see that forge that is currently working on a recollector? That is the primary way, that device allows us to make new ones or see ones already created. You can also use unicorn magic specialized for getting the memory copied to an orb,” I explained, and Gisretha seemed to be lost in thought for a time.

“You have given me much to consider and think about, small green one.”

“Wow! Their culture sucks! No parties! No love! And NO SEX! How do they live?”

I nodded and sighed. “Right, it is going to take a lot of explaining for you to understand our world.” I went back to work, measuring out what I learned of T’doshin culture and hoping Scopola Mina would take to heart our discussion.

I was working on explosives when Gisretha reapproached me. I was making a claymore with sprinkles out of everyday cooking items, sprinkles, and a lunchbox. He was taking the time to observe, and I turned my head to address him, “You wanna learn how to make this?”

Gisretha showed me how to take crystal pieces and turn them into gem slag that could then be used for making shrapnel for explosives. “Whooo… he’s cute and I’m gonna have to add that one to a new edition of Granny Smith’s Anarchist Cookbook! Can you take him with us?”

I glared at Pink and without thinking spoke to her out loud, “Pink, he is no one’s pet, and I doubt taking him with us would be a good idea.” For some reason my PipBuck H.U.D. flashed with, ‘Current Party Full, must drop a member to take on a new one’. This only added to the confusion.

“Yes, please tell the pink one with a voice in your ear, I am no one’s pet.” Gisretha replied to my outburst. I slowly turned to it, putting down my tools cautiously as I tilted my head.

“I, umm..” I pointed at PInk on my display. “You can see and hear her?” Gisretha nodded affirmatively. Which just added to my confusion.

“I wonder if I can make a drug to see this pink horse they keep talking about.” Scopola Mina piped up from across the room.

“You wish to see what’s there?” Gisretha offered.

“I mean, Sunrise is always talking about this pony. Sometimes Nyota and Chifundo join in, I really wish to see it if I could.” Scopola replied. Gisretha craned its head up to the ceiling and made a bassy sound out of his mouth. There was an echo that felt like a sound wave was collapsing, and my ear filled with a ringing. This passed after a minute, which made us both look at Gisretha with confusion.

“Yes, this one can show you how to see stars. It will take time.” We both just stared at him, still confused.

“Wait, are you saying you do not understand zebra shamanism because you refer to spirits as stars, when they are, in fact, the same thing?” Gisretha tilted his head and then turned back to me with a quick nod.

I pulled Bodda Pett over, petting him and offering a fresh carrot. He just nuzzled down into my mane and felt like a warm blanket on my neck. The extra reassurance was what I needed to get over the moment of realizations for the day. Great, I’m going to have all new philosophical inquiries and existential questions every second I’m here!

Gisretha looked at the creature in the way I would look at a manticore. He actually physically trembled everytime Bodda Pett was within sight or moved closer to him. I just noticed this and looked down at the rabbit colored rabbit. “I am confused, you are scared of a rabbit?”

“Normally I would want to eat it, but this one; this one terrifies me to my core.” Gisretha replied, which made me look over my shoulder at a cute rabbit face poking out of my mane, purring contently.

Before I could ask more questions, Quick Stitch called down to us, “He’s awake!” Scopola Mina and I started upstairs to investigate but she stopped and grabbed a sack full of pills.

“He’ll need these before he does something to y’all he regrets.” At which point we all dashed upstairs to find out what was going on.

The formerly dead Hollow Feather was holding his head. “Everything is fire, it hurts all over.” He said, taking a bottle of water and sucking down the entire bottle in under five seconds. He looked around, shivering a bit and looking very wide awake. “Well, howdy y’all! What is everyone staring at?”

There was pounding on the floor plates as Mountain ran down the hallway towards the med bay. Hollow saw Scopola Mina and jumped at her, making out with her without any more words. We all stared, before looking away awkwardly as he made out with her forcefully, until he pulled away with a smile and said, “Hello there, little lady! Have you seen my stash? So many ponies here to party with, awesome!”

“I, umm...Hello to y’all, too.” Scopola Mina was completely flabbergasted.

“Have you seen my weird dogs?” All three T’doshins arrived and hugged the pegasus tightly, so tight he was gasping for breath.

“Hold on! Gentle! Not too tight!” I actively tried to pull them apart for fear that they would crush him. Finally, Mountain released him and Hallow gasped for air.

“Sun and Moon! You taught ‘em to hug! I’ve been trying to teach them how to hug for 30 years!” He panted for air and hugged Mountain back as tightly as he could.

“It is good to see you are awake and to experience this hugging thing with you, my friend.” Mountain nuzzled up against Hollow as she spoke.

“You are Hallow Feather, right?” I asked curiously, and only got a tilted head.

“Hallow Feather? That is a weird name. My name is Hallow. Mountain, my name is Hallow right?” He turned up to Mountain and Mountain nodded.

“Your name is Hallow, yes.”

Nyota trotted over to a still stunned Scopola Mina, “Are you going to slap him? I think you should slap him.”

“I mean they did strip our names when we joined the program. I am not a fan of the whole,” his voice suddenly changed and was incredibly robotic, “Agent 47.” His voice shifted back to a happy-go-lucky hippie of a horse. “So I just go by Hallow.”

A trickle of fear crept up my spine as he spouted off an Agent number. I took a step back, feeling dread prick the hairs on the back of my neck. My eyes were fully open and unblinking as I tried to process the raw terror at the prospect of another Agent near me. Nyota walked back over stepped between us. “You are not a Ministry of Morale agent, are you?” I asked.

He stuck his tongue out at me, “Honey! I’m a guardian! We’re all tools of the ministry. I’m so fucking high; where is my stash? You’re new, how did you get in here? I’m so very high right now, it’s going to be a problem when I crash.”

Quick Stitch raised his hoof and we all looked at him, “Sunrise and I hacked the door. We failed the first time.”

“Oh!” Hallow turned to me, “You’re such a little bitch by the way!” I scoffed at him and felt confused and pissed all at once. “I thought I was finally gonna have a fight! I was so excited! Wait, why am I here? I should be watching cartoons.”

“I brought you up to the medical bay and determined when you would get back up. We also checked out to make sure your friends were okay.” Quick Stitch was still able to speak while the rest of us were still stunned at all of this.

“Oh.. wow, you’re umm, pretty good ponies. I can make an exception? Right? I have absolute guard authority, so yes, I can make an exception. You’re good enough to stay.” I remembered now in great detail what it looked like through my mother’s eyes at the party. I remembered how a pony looked when they were riding drugs from Brain Soup, and that face she had when she was bearing down on me, trying to pummel my face in.

Pink, how high is he?

“You know the clouds? Yeah they are like ground level compared to him. He’s so high that space rockets wish they could reach him.” That alone told me how to set the tone for the rest of this.

Scopola Mina finally snapped to and walked up to him. “Here, take these.” She passed Hallow a bag full of small pills. “Take one per day, no questions asked, okay? It should balance you out.”

Hallow looked at the bag, then at Scopola, and reached out to take it with his newly regenerated wings. “You figured out the recipe for my anti-psychs! Awesome! I don’t have to do Party Time Mint-Als anymore! Yeah! No more PTMs that make me so bouncy I could hit the ceiling and not notice!” Which, in fact, he did just that: bounced off his hooves, flapped his wings, smacked the ceiling and landed like nothing happened, all while continuing to talk and getting a slightly bloody nose from the impact. While we continued walking, Quick Stitch wordlessly lit his horn and healed it in a second.

Scopola Mina pulled up an envelope with a Stable-Tec stationary on it. “Here, inside you’ll find the recipe.” She handed Gisretha an envelope as well. “In case he loses it, you have one too. Should reduce his need to kill himself and make him a bit more stable.” She looked around the room at where we were, “Pun intended.” Which made all of us groan out and hang our heads.

We had retired to bed. After meeting Hallow, talking with the T’doshins, and nearly fourteen hours of crafting items. So far I had discovered the lengths of automation and capability of the forges to speed up everything I was doing. Where it would take an entire day to modify one creature’s armor; it had taken six hours to do my entire circle of friends. Scopola Mina’s new rifles were crafted out automatically once the initial one was made with its modifications. I had even begun printing tank treads out of the super durable crystal material.

The computers did have a standard class 2 military grade spell matrix engine already in them. I just had to tell it what the engine was for, ‘Sand Scorcher Mark II’, and it started the production process. I marvelled at how efficient and knowledgeable this place was. It was terrifying at the possibility of what all it could do!

The spell matrix would take just over two days to complete, while the treads required a lot of manual treading. The forges would also make standard replacement parts and had set produce ammunition for the various weapons on the tank, including the firing plate and pin for the 75mm gun as well as new .30 cal machine guns. While it was doing all that tomorrow, I would be manually creating a sled for us to pull it all. Soon, we’ll be traveling in style and not have to deal with much of the wastelands dangers.

Nyota was waiting for me as I entered our room we had chosen. The outside sensors were still detecting thirty three rads per second from the raging storm. Not lethal instantly, but enough to kill us in a couple of hours of exposure. Something else the tank would provide: limited radiation protection on the move. What? I’m really excited to finally drive and operate one of the vehicles dad constantly fixed at the shop!

I smelled of chemicals, machine shop, grease, crystal residue, and sweat. I looked up at him and kissed his cheek tenderly. “How was Mountain?”

He turned his head just in time to make it a kiss on the lips with a happy purr and a smile. "Solid, taught me a lot, but I get the feeling she was taking it easy on me at first..." He chuckled and winced as he applied a bit of salve to a couple bruises. He smelled just as bad, but to me it was equal parts enticing and terrible all at once. He was my lover, after all. "I think we both need a shower now."

I nodded to him in agreement and leaned up to help rub his bruises as gently as I could. Once he was set, I pulled off my Stable-Tec barding and placed Bodda Pett on a nice soft pillow, which he churred happily. I pet him, and was surprised at how soft and clean he was despite being in a machine shop with me all day. “Hot showers and secure bunkers. But the memories of my stable would eventually drive me insane. We will have to leave here soon.”

Nyota shook his head. “I wouldn’t mind staying longer, still stuff to get done.” He gently rubbed my back as he spoke. “So, while we have a moment to relax and indulge in luxury, we should.” I moved to start the shower and turned to him with a bar of soap. Motioning him to follow me, while he massaged, I started to scrub him clean. It was nice to feel that level of trust, knowing that neither of us would hurt the other. To be so close and yet need no guard between us.

"I would agree if we were not a place that reminded me of terrible things.” I said, eyeing the Stable-Tec logo that was on the bar of soap.

Nyota murred as I worked to massage and lather him up. “Then we're gonna need to figure out how to bring this heating system and more fresh water to Silver Fang Shanty, and perhaps improve the quality of mattresses?" He took a second bar of soap and began to scrub out the grime I had accumulated all day. "How was your day, up until we met Strung Out McCrazy?"

I grimaced and felt a pained twinge in my heart at the mention of Hallow. I honestly felt pity for him and wondered if it was what I might become. I pushed the thought aside and began to go over my day with Scopola and Gisretha. When I finished, I looked up and started to rinse Nyota off with the shower head.

"Well, Scopola has been a bit distant since the whole thing at the Roof." He gave me a soft smile and hugged me gently, putting more soap on him from me. "But it's good to hear that she finally has nicer looking glasses and is opening up to us. Our next goal would be to get the tank up and running, yeah?" He was being very careful to avoid the discussion of aliens and sex, despite me talking about it. He blushed as he tried to change the subject. "Wait! She wasn't hitting on them, was she?"

I scoffed at him and shook my head offendedly, "No no no, the issue came up that the alien did not understand male or female. So we talked about the birds and bees and it showed us how they reproduce, or rather, explained it and showed an...ovipositor.” I paused and fumbled my words very carefully. “It was...awkward and strange. I changed the subject to explain poetry, music, theatre, and emotions instead."

"Oh, that's... an ovipositor? So... does that make the one you talked to male or female? Cause eggs... but... it's like a penis..." Nyota spoke, having none of me changing the subject outright and finally when I had no answer he shrugged and let his brain rest as the wrinkles on his brow unfurrowed. "I'm just gonna stop thinking about that now, but I have to admit, my notions about them were wrong. I think I'm going to take some more time to spar with Mountain, perhaps she will teach me their hoof to hoof fighting style.” Nyota’s face had that expression you expect to see when a light bulb appears in a cartoon. He spun around with glee. “Wait! Ember calls the small ones he and Mountain she. I think they don't translate directly." He kissed my cheek and nipped my ear playfully "So, did you share one of our memories?"

I yelped at his nip and then let out a sigh. "Yes, one before the bombs, with my mother. It starts out rather painful and then grows into one of the most wonderful events I ever had with her." I felt more than the heat of the water but a deep blush running through me at Nyota’s attempts to get me riled up. "You wanna learn to fight like Mountain?"

"Martial arts is a passion of mine, it's one of the reasons my mark appeared.” He took the bar of soap from me and sat behind me. He pulled me tight against his chest and let me rest on him while he worked to massage my back. It felt so wonderful, every muscle in me screamed and relaxed all at once. I virtually melted into a puddle with the water in that moment. "And learning different ways to fight makes me more versatile in combat. Speaking of, you've been keeping up with your forms?"

It took a moment to find words again, then I smiled "I would have thought this morning would have told you I was keeping up with it. Even if I do feel less flexible or moody in the morning." I winced when he hit a particularly sore spot on my back.

"Well, my love, looks like we both could use a more relaxed dessert this evening." He finished the scrubbing and went into a deep tissue massage instead. "I'm definitely going to be more gentle though, no S.A.T.S. this time." I winced at just remembering this morning when I had used his S.A.T.S. during our session, to give him a slow motion experience. He had not realized it and well, sped up, when S.A.T.S. released; I’ll let you figure out the level of pain noises I’d made. "I'd ask how you got those injuries today, but we know that."

I just relaxed and smiled while he worked on spots that made me hiss from the release of pain. "I promise it wasn't you, or at least any pain you caused was welcome. Here, since you are not used to it." I reached out of the shower and pulled the archano-key from my pack to offer him. "You almost never have to work me up to it now, do you?"

He shook his head, "I'd rather keep it on, love, I'll just be careful not to activate it," He started working my flanks and being a little naughty with where he was rubbing. "You never needed to work me up to it, so I guess now we're both anticipating the next chance that we can enjoy the intimacy of each other's touch.”

I was just enjoying his attention, I turned my head and removed the eye patch. There I could stare into his cosmic eye and admire the beautiful swirling stars and cosmos inside it as he worked me over. "What is it like when you look at me with your special eye?"

"I see a bright soul, covered in the scars of her past. Each a memory of pain or terror, fear or anger, but despite it all you shine through." The strangeness of his left eye caused a sudden shift in its pupil as he focused on me. I knew he was looking to my core being in that moment. "One day those scars will fade, you'll remember them all and find a way to forgive those who did this to you, either directly or posthumously." He looked away while the water cascaded over us and his massage stopped as he took a breath. "Mostly, I wore the eye patch to hide from my reflection. Blocking out the rest of the spirit realm was a bonus."

All I could do was smile broadly and I wondered if he was being flattering or truthful. I nuzzled his cheek and neck as I nestled against him. "And I see a soul that has yet to have a chance to shine properly." I stroked his mohawk and used to hoof to turn him into a kiss. This one I held onto, clinging to our embrace as an anchor in a storm while letting us stay together as long as possible. My heart fluttering and my body warming at the sweet touch of his love.

He broke the kiss and smiled at me. "The mirror once showed me, twisted and burning, the swirls of my coat shimmering like glowing embers. My hooves leave scorched earth where I tread. Now though? It's different." He stroked my wet mane and wrapped his hooves around me in a delicate cuddle. "Where once it was consuming me, I now see the truth. Fire when unchecked consumes without mercy, but when focused? Can cleanse that which chokes the land and make way for new growth. We will make this place better. One life at a time."

"Do you really think we can fix all the wasteland?" I felt all my tension finally drop from my body. For once since I woke up, I felt safe here. Surrounded by steel, water cascading over us, but still naked and held tightly. "What happens with you and Ember when we can finally settle down and are not always worried about the fight ahead?"

"By then? I don't know. Because of the box she's forever bound to me." He nuzzled my neck contently, sensing the shift in my emotions. "Something about the way we were bound to the box has changed both of us. She's becoming more like a soul, not just a spirit. Two souls inhabiting the same body either join into something more, or they fight for dominance and the stronger soul wins. With what we've dealt with, I'm inclined to believe it will be the former, she's never actively attempted to harm us." He took a deep breath and let it out. I could feel a slight chill ripple through him and stroked his neck to reassure him I was there. "She revealed the past to me. I went crazy, tried to destroy the box and end it all. She triggered the box to save herself because she couldn't escape. If the box is destroyed somehow? She will cease to exist.”

I considered his words carefully and something about it all troubled me. The implication was right there and I needed to address the pink pony in the room. "Then that means Pink and I are bound, doesn't it?" I was hesitant with my words. I never took my eyes off Pink while I spoke. I felt like Pink was a part of me, and could not bare the thought of losing her or us destroying each other. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, cold and chilling my face as the possibility loomed for what I had to say next. "I'd like to know if there is some way I can meet her. And, if we are both stuck for life, some way to make it where we can co-exist without merging."

"Well... that's the weird thing. The pink one was one of the bearers. If she wanted to, she could force you out. She's done it before." Nyota paused and thought it over. "Maybe you and she can coexist, but Ember and I? If we found a way, I’ll take it, okay, love?”

I shook my head at him, realizing what he was talking about. "Pink did not force me out, per say, she put me into the same place she normally occupies. I do not think Pink has the power to take control and stay that way, unless I am weak or disabled." I waited for Pink to contradict me, but she nodded at me. For once, she did not speak it, but rather let me express what we were both thinking. I kissed Nyota on the lips to break our train of thought.

“Yes, if you find a way for Nyota and Ember to co-exist; you can totally have both of them be saved! Like frosting with an everlasting spell on it so doesn’t go stale, EVER! That stuff is still good, and preserves the cake inside, too!” Her mouth was watering and drooling at the thought of the frosting, which made me grin.

"Thank you, Nyota. If we can find a way to make you two co-exist, Pink says your soul and Ember's will be saved."

"There may be a way, but something's been eating at me." He whispered, "Why did she offer me a second chance? Share her essence with me? Maybe we're... maybe we... no... no..."

I brushed his mane and motioned for him to keep going. "Nyota, go on, please, what are you thinking?"

"Sunny, this is going to sound kind of crazy." he says with a slight look of embarrassment, "But I think I figured something out, and you're going to think I've lost my mind.” I shook my head at him. “I think I may be related to the T'Doshians." I tilted my head and gave him a raised eyebrow, like he was speaking crazy. He held up a hoof for me to wait. "Just hear me out. Maybe not blood related, but their star spoke to me. They have stripes that change colors. There were articles about the zebra of Equestria that had their stripes changed to distinguish them from the zebra on the other side. We both speak with spirits, interact with them in the same sort of ways, and have an understanding of the power of the stars that no one else seems to understand.” He paused and waited for it to sink in before continuing. “This is just a hypothesis, I think Quick Stitch and I need to look into this; just out of curiosity. "

I took a bit to connect all the dots. What he was saying wasn’t completely insane, but it was a far stretch. “Nyota, love, that sounds a bit far fetched, but if you and Quick Stitch wanna look into it, I do not see the harm. I doubt that the two of you are related as deep as you might think, though." I tried to temper my skepticism towards him. I have to admit though, I was just as curious to see if his theory panned out.

"Definitely worth a check," He replied with a nuzzle before squeezing my rump. Which got me to moan very loudly. "But enough about that. We both want our second serving of dessert." We left the shower a while later, but our night did not stop there. That poor bed.

I was happily working away in the forge. We had been here almost two more days. The radiation storm outside was dying out, it was down to 6 rads per second. It was very likely we would have to go through some light radiation areas, but the Rad-X provided by the Stable Phi medical ward would be more than enough.

I had started to move the equipment we would need onto the sled we had constructed. Quick Stitch had been in the forge with me constantly after Hallow was awake, speeding up the process of forging and modifying our gears. That and also designing a new 75mm cannon shell, for the tank to use the crystal slag that Gisretha had shown me directly into a penetrator payload. It would penetrate and then explode deep inside a target with the crystal slag.

Chifundo came down and looked at Quick Stitch then me, “We should talk about this forge, the power source is something to be purged.”

I looked at him, a little confused and Quick Stitch sighed, “Yes, we should talk about it. Chifundo believes there is something inside here, corrupted utterly, to power this place.” I turned my confused look towards him. I had not looked inside the power plant. I had not even been down to where it was. It was located through the panic room, off the map the stable provided us and our PipBucks refused to auto-map that area altogether for some reason.

“What about it?” I asked, knowing that Stable-Tec had been capable of no end of experimentation without any morals. The things they had done to me, the torture, the experiments, the spirit rituals, and the box in my chest spoke to that. I thought about it as comically out of place Mountain walked by, Hallow following her with puppy dog eyes and an expression of pure lust. He was also prancing, since Scopola Mina had given him those antipsychotics he was much calmer and easier to deal with.

The horror started to fill me. There is no magical fission or fusion reactor. What is powering this place? I looked up at them and then at everyone else. Pink was suddenly absent, completely. Normally I could feel her presence, like a close friend who just entered the room with you. Now, she was just gone. It chilled me to the bone and sent goosebumps coursing over me as I realized Pink wasn’t there.

Quick Stitch pulled out a piece of jet black metal with white flakes sparkling out of it. He held it up and it caused Chifundo to retreat from him. Mountain stopped and turned to us, “Metal of T’Dosh!” He bowed to it reverently and ritualistically held his bow.

“Is that… star metal?” I asked curious and leaned up, touching it. The chill that surged through me felt like it disconnected me from Equus itself. I gasped and pulled away as my very soul shuddered and I felt a pulse of magic course through my veins. My PipBuck spiked up five rads instantly and I looked at Quick Stitch, wondering how he was holding it. Then I looked at the mutation of his hair and realized he must have been building a resistance to the radiation for a while to receive mutations like that.

“Yes, it is the essence of T’Dosh, and a powerful piece of metal that can be forged into things beyond the hardness of any known metal.” We all looked at each other, confused. “Horn Horse has discovered something we should apply with relevance to what we use it for.”

“I understand metal can have magical properties, but it is still just metal, right? Also, why does it fill me with the same terrible feelings of being in a stable?” Mountain did not react well to my words at all. She rushed me and raised her foreleg to strike.

“To say such words is blasphemy!” Alguacil’s gun clicked before Mountain could strike and I raised my forelegs up to stop both of them.

“I wouldn’t do that if’n I were you.” Alguacil’s draw was long and harsh as his gun glowed slightly with a dim light.

“Look, Mountain. Stables have been places of terrible experimentation. So many things were done to me that I cannot even recount all of them. When I touched that metal, it chilled me in a way that only the torment of Stable 43 did before.” I explained and slowly lowered my hoof. “I am sorry I offended you, perhaps we should all just calm down and chalk this up to a cultural misunderstanding?”

Mountain snorted and lowered her leg. Alguacil uncocked and holstered his gun. I turned Mountain, “I am sorry I struck a nerve.” I offered her a hug and she accepted as gently as she could. So glad for armor plating on my Stable-Suit! When she released me I decided an immediate change of subject was needed so we did not have an issue again. “Alguacil, was your gun just glowing?”

He nodded. “Chifundo put a, what did he call it? Spirit of Justice in it. Made it where I cannot misinterpret someone when aiming it.” I raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to explain, but Chifundo broke his trance on the star metal and spoke instead.

“The spirit will prevent him from firing upon one who is pure, it helps him know his judgement is secure. With this we also know he will not go on a rampage of destructive woe. I pray it will temper his sense of morals, so he never rests upon his laurels.” Chifundo finished and I slowly put together the pieces he had laid out. Then I nodded, before turning to Alguacil.

“So you agreed to have Chifundo put a spirit in your gun to limit you from making a bad judgement call? When there is hope they might be turned from whatever evil your target is doing?” I leaned up and looked at him with my big puppy dog eyes and hopeful angel smile.

Alguacil rolled his eye and nodded his head, “Yeah… you’re rubbing off on me, little green.” I frowned; I wanted to protest, but at least I had gotten him to admit he was getting better. “Listen, Sunrise, have you seen some paint?”

I nodded and went to check the forge lockers for paint. I left hearing Alguacil explain what that was to Mountain by describing it being the oil substance that “allowed Sunrise’s armor to look all bright and colorful-like.” Quick Stitch, in the meantime, locked the star metal away for safekeeping.

After this, I went to the panic room with Nyota, Quick Stitch, Chifundo, and Scopola Mina. Alguacil declined, saying he had something to paint and “All that techno stuff was fer you’all ta figure out.”

Past the panic room was a door that read: ‘Authorized Personnel Only! Trespassing is under Penalty of Death’. I looked at Nyota, who smirked, “Well, they aren’t messing around at least.” Shiratha joined us out of curiosity.

I pushed the button and the door opened. I checked my PipBuck: it was refusing to map this area at all. Beyond the door was a staircase that went straight down for a long way. The walls were covered in dioramas of fairy tales. Stuff I had heard as a child, like Little Red Riding Hood, the Fox and the Sand Dog, Princess of Dragonslaying, and others. Deeper we went and the walls seemed to shift around us. These fairy tales were not bright and cheerful but bloody and terrifying.

Little Red Riding Hood had her head ripped off by the big bad warp wolf, blood dripping as her skull was crushed in its jaws. The sand dog was tearing the fox apart and drinking its entrails. They were perversions and warping on the walls continued, like the paint was shifting out of focus or out of place. It was disorienting and horror inducing.

We all paused in unison when laughter echoed around us. My instincts told me to run or fight. Pink was completely absent from my mind. I looked at Nyota, and he was just as scared as I was. I reached out to touch him but the touch was cold, like there was no love between us or it had been sucked away. This part horrified me the most; it was as though we were all gray forms with no connection to each other. The deeper we went, the further apart we felt. Shiretha stopped and turned back, unable to continue further.

I had to focus on my breathing and make myself keep it together. Signs pointed down with the words: “Power Plant - Unauthorized Personnel Leave Immediately!” The word leave contorted in my vision and became a snake with razor sharp fangs dripping with poison, until I blinked and it became a sign and word again. Something was truly wrong here. Layers of lead and radiation shielding were surrounding us and the stairs changed from metal to some form of spongy carpet that twanged like metal when you walked on it. The mix of sound, texture, and resistance made my legs feel wrong and shaky.

Worst of all, the stairwell was getting warmer; much warmer. The temperature was making us sweat. This was beyond heated, I felt like I might be truly boiling inside. I could not feel emotions to my friends around me. It was horrifying to feel as though I did not know them at all. My mind had to block it out and continue to a landing.

There we were surrounded by hardened ceramics with a metal shutter in front of us. Another sign, “Do Not Open Under Penalty of Death” stood next to a switch that had an open and closed state. Everything was so very wrong here. The heat boiled me, and yet chilled my emotions inside me until I was stone cold. There has to be a reason, something here has to be doing this. I wanted to turn away and run, but curiosity said I had come this far. I had to know.

I approached the switch and Nyota placed a hoof on mine, “Sunrise, are you sure?” His voice was robotic and hollow. I could feel him fighting to get me to listen and to feel something in his voice. I could feel myself wanting to listen, but no. I had to know.

I flipped the switch, and the world became pain. We were bathed in a black light, as our souls quaked and my body went still. I looked, one eye on the switch, the other past the shutter as it opened. My eye that was looking in lost all vision as I screamed. Nyota slammed his eye patch over my eye and flipped the switch, scooping me up and running out of there. The rest of my friends fled in terror as well, until we were past the panic room and the door was locked behind us.

What I saw there was nothing short of beyond terror. It was the Crystal Heart, an artifact of pure love that had protected the Crystal Empire for generations. It had shielded them from evil and the elements of winter...it was there. Turned from its gleaming crystalline form to a black, soulless hunk of metal. The reason we lacked emotion was I could feel it sucking all my emotions out of me and leaving me empty inside, save for the fear driven survival instinct to run away from it. I could not believe it. Stable-Tec had taken an object powered by love and hope; twisted it into a power source, and now, it would kill you to stand in the same room as it for more than a moment.

My right eye had been blinded by it in that moment. Quick Stitch was standing over me, pouring healing magic into my eye. I felt it having to be regrown, the pain of optic nerves that had been fried suddenly coming back into existence shocked me still. I screamed and wailed in agony as Nyota held me down while Quick Stitch worked frantically to save my eye. I felt the burns on my face starting to heal; the Crystal Heart had sucked so much life from my body I was withered and Quick Stitch was pushing through it.

His horn was blindingly bright as I now felt just how much damage had been done to me in the brief instance of exposure. My body cracked, groaned, and creaked as skin was regenerated and blood began to flow again. Unfettered torment raged through my right side. I could only scream until my tear duct regenerated and allowed me to cry. Quick Stitch panted heavily and Nyota held me tightly. Our curiosity had been repaid in blood.

Quick Stitch replaced Nyota’s eyepatch with a bandage over my eye. I could faintly make out light in my right eye through the bandage, but no shapes; everything was just fuzzy. “Okay, Sunrise, how do you feel?”

“I...I can not see out of my right eye,” I whimpered as my body slowly returned to feeling. Nyota clung to me and held me tight. “They...corrupted it. We have been using the forges it powers! We have been making it worse!” I cried out, realizing just how much the gift of that factory was, in fact, corrupt and tainted.

“Alright, Sunrise, calm down and don’t think about it right now. I need you to listen; we need to keep that eye covered and treat it for several days, okay? It’s going to be blind for a while.” I whimpered and nodded. I just wanted to leave this place now and never, ever come back.

I looked at Nyota and he looked at me, each of us only having one eye exposed to the world. We looked like mirror opposites as he stroked my mane and held me close. I was in one of the medical ward beds; I whimpered and started to cry. The tears coming out of my right eye stung with the pain of a wasp bite. Nyota nuzzled my cheek and held me there. Just before I passed out, I whispered, “Love, help me.”

Nyota held me close and then whispered in my ear. “There is something else I need to show you. I found it in my PipBuck from the overmare’s office files.” He held me tight and stroked my mane. “I didn’t want to show you. But after seeing what they did downstairs, to that artifact. After feeling how it drained us of everything it did. I think you should read it, as soon as possible.” Nyota cradled my head and held up the note. It was dated two days before we woke up in that pool together:

‘C.E. 1211, 11/22

Research subjects have been confirmed successful. I had acquired six subjects. Five soldier class and Subject 043-014. I honestly don’t know who is inside these boxes, but the experiment has run into a problem.

Hallow Feather, that stupid fucking pegasus. We had the targets! We had my target! Now they are scattered somewhere in the wasteland. The Enclave will be unhappy. I will have to check the other locations, if an opportunity arises.

My research will have to wait, see where they come out, and hopefully we can acquire them before much is lost. I do know that something is wrong with subject 043-014’s recombulator. There are two souls inside, there should not be.

043-014 also has a distinctive mind fracturing, likely due to the extra soul. For now though, when we find 043-014 we will have our salvation and my research will pay off. The Enclave’s inbreeding problem will be fixed. I have issued a substantial bounty for the capture of 043-014, alive only. She is useless to us after more recombulations until we get the right personality that will prove helpful.

Shadow Window
Head Researcher, Stable-Tec, Project Dead Tree’