The sound of hooves echoed through the corridors of Ponyville Hospital as Princess Twilight followed the nurse to Starlight's room. She had been waiting with the rest of her friends for hours while the doctors worked until finally Nurse Redheart had come and fetched her. Unfortunately, the nurse had refused to tell her anything other than that Starlight's wounds had been cleaned and dressed, that her life wasn't in any danger, that she was awake, and that Twilight could speak to her alone if she wished.

"Here we are." Nurse Redheart stopped outside a door and gave the Princess a serious look. "Please, don't go asking Starlight a thousand questions about what happened. I don't know exactly what she went through, but it was obviously an extremely traumatic event. It's likely going to take quite some time for her to come to terms with what's happened."

"I understand," Twilight replied solemnly.

Redheart gave a satisfied nod before gently opening the door and sliding her head in. She spoke quietly to Starlight, then pushed the door open for the Princess.

Trying to tread as quietly as possible, Twilight slowly walked over to the only bed in the room, barely registering the nurse closing the door behind her. Starlight was tucked in under the blanket with only her hair and the tip of her horn poking out from underneath.

"Hey, Starlight," Twilight said softly, "how are you feeling?" When she didn't get a response, she asked, "Do… you want me to get you anything? A drink or… or something?" The seconds ticked by slowly until Twilight started to wonder whether Starlight would reply at all, but finally her horn lit up and peeled the blanket back slightly.

Starlight looked rough. She had a clean pressure bandage over her left eye and smaller ones covering her neck, while her mane was patchy as if something had ripped chunks of it out. Twilight was careful to keep her worry from showing on her face, though, as she asked, "Hey, how are you doing?"

"I've been better," Starlight mumbled. She shifted her weight under the covers. "You should get back to CHS. You need to find the others."

"Starswirl is already working on it," Twilight replied. "Besides, I can't just run off and leave you in the hospital."

Starlight fixed her good eye on the Princess. "Twilight, you have to find them, as quickly as possible. If the world they're in is anything like…" She gulped and closed her eye, then took a deep breath before continuing, "Those girls are in trouble, more than you can imagine. Find them, before it's too late!"

Taken aback by her words, it took Twilight a moment to gather her thoughts. "Right. Don't worry, I'll bring them home safely. I promise." She turned to head back to the door, but paused on the threshold and cast a worried look over her shoulder. "Do… you want me to fetch Trixie for you before I go?"

"Please," Starlight replied quietly.

Twilight nodded and opened the door to leave. Sunset and the others needed her help, but she could at least be confident that Starlight would have a good friend by her side.

---

A loud creak filled the air as Sunset pushed a door open with her backside. Inside, Twilight was resting peacefully, propped up on an infirmary bed. She looked up curiously as Sunset entered the room.

"Um, hey." Sunset held up the tray she was carrying. "I wasn't sure if you've had breakfast or not."

Twilight grinned. "I have, but I'm not going to complain about getting seconds. I need as much protein as I can get if I want these muscles to heal."

"Great!" Sunset smiled back and sat on the edge of the bed, placing the tray carefully on the bedside table. "Today's menu consists of hard-boiled radchicken eggs, mini mirelurk cakes and freshly made iguana soup courtesy of Pinkie Pie, with some warm brahmin milk to wash it all down. Do you need a hand with eating?"

"Nah, I practiced this earlier." Twilight's forehead creased as she concentrated. After a second her Geode started to glow and a hazy purple aura surrounded one of the mugs. She beamed with pride as her magic carried the mug over so she could take a sip.

"Nice," Sunset murmured appreciatively.

Twilight shook her head and used her magic to put the mug back down. "It's nothing special. Without my arms that's about the best I can manage."

"It's still impressive," Sunset told her as she grabbed a mirelurk cake. "So, how're you doing?"

"I'm okay at the moment," Twilight replied. "The medics want me to try walking around today, so I'll be doing that later. I can just about move my fingers too!" She used her magic to fetch an egg before looking back at Sunset. "What about you? How are you holding up?"

Sunset didn't know how to answer. The truth was that acting casual and normal like this was taking just about all of her strength. She had resolved to get stronger in that room with Metzger yesterday, but when she tried to get some training in this morning that resolve had crumbled like a sandcastle before the tide. Merely hearing the crackle of gunfire from the firing range had been enough to set her shaking.

When Sunset had tried picking up a gun herself, she had almost passed out; her breath turning ragged as an icy claw gripped her chest like a vice. In the end she had practically ran from the training area and spent twenty minutes crying alone in a dark corner of the Citadel.

Realizing that Twilight was still waiting on an answer, Sunset shook her head slowly. "I've… uh… I've been better."

"I think we all have," Twilight said quietly. She averted her gaze, her eyes flicking back at Sunset as she said tentatively, "Pinkie told me about… about what happened…"

Sunset nodded slowly, feeling the shadow of that dark abyss settling inside her again. "Did she tell you about the soldier?"

"She vaguely remembers you being in a room with her, but she was kinda out of her wits at that point," Twilight replied with a wince. "Do you want to… talk about it?"

"Not really," Sunset sighed, trying to shake off the dark feelings for a moment. "Maybe I'll need to at some point, but I'm not ready yet."

Twilight accepted that with a nod and two fell quiet, finishing their breakfast in companionable silence. Just as they were polishing off the last of the mirelurk cakes someone knocked on the door.

"Come in?" Twilight called.

The door opened and Applejack poked her head in. "Hey, how’re you doing, Twi?"

"I'm good thanks," Twilight replied. "What about you?"

"Good as can be expected," Applejack huffed. "Sorry, but this ain't a social call. Elder Lyons wants to speak to us, Sunset."

"What about?" Sunset asked.

Applejack shook her head. "Ah'm not sure. Something about getting help from Rivet City."

---

Fluttershy sat quietly next to Adam's bed, keeping watch over him and Sarah Lyons. Under normal circumstances the Brotherhood would have one of their own medics keeping an eye on them, but most of them were busy dealing with the casualties from the assault on Project Purity and Fluttershy was at least a partially trained nurse. Besides, it wasn't the first time she had looked after a coma patient.

Reminding herself about Sunset's time in a similar situation did nothing to improve Fluttershy's already black mood. The others had tried cheering her up, but they were fighting a losing battle. The fact that they themselves were struggling with their own demons just made it worse.

At the moment, Fluttershy was finding it hard enough just thinking straight, and the few coherent thoughts she managed were dark and depressing at best. Her mind was largely fixated on Adam. She desperately wished that there was something she could do for him, but once again, Fluttershy found herself powerless in the face of reality. All she could do was wait for him to wake up. If he woke up.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and tried to shake off such dark thoughts. He was going to wake up, and she'd be right there beside him when he did. He was going to wake up, he was going to get out of the infirmary and then…

And then his suffering will start all over again.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked at him as a terrible idea crossed her mind. Adam had suffered right from the start; first with losing his mother, then losing his friend Jonas and being forced to leave the Vault, and losing his father after that. Even just getting the purifier back had nearly killed him. Forcing him to wake up and face the darkness of the wastes once again wouldn't be a good thing, it would be a cruelty beyond measure. The best thing anyone could do, the kindest thing, would be to allow him to slip away peacefully in his sleep.

Slowly, barely even thinking about what she was doing, Fluttershy stood up and reached out to wrap her hands around Adam's neck. Just as she started to squeeze the sound of approaching footsteps snapped her back to her senses.

Fluttershy snatched her hands back as if they'd been burned, horror and nausea rising up within her as she realized what she had been about to do. She was so lost in shock she didn't notice the door open or the medic talking to her until he finally touched her shoulder, making her flinch and whip around to stare at him in wide-eyed fear.

"Uh, sorry, Miss Fluttershy. I didn't mean to startle you." The medic frowned at her in concern. "Are you okay? You were sort of out of it there."

"I-I… um… I have to go." Ignoring the medic's response, Fluttershy pushed past him and hurried out of the room, walking through the corridors as fast as she could go. Her mind was racing. People tried to speak to her as she passed, but Fluttershy didn't hear a word of it. A darkness had entered her heart somehow, a malignant shadow that was warping her feelings and clouding her thoughts.

Oblivious to her surroundings, it wasn't until she felt the damp chill of a thick mist on her face that Fluttershy realized that she was in the Citadel's courtyard. Even so, she didn't stop. The main gate was open to allow easy access for teams moving between the Citadel and Project Purity, and Fluttershy took the opportunity to get outside and away from people, at least for a little while. It wasn't until she had walked away from the entrance and right down to the edge of the river that she finally stopped, collapsed onto a boulder, and buried her face in her hands.

Time lost all meaning for Fluttershy as she sat there wrestling with her own mind, trying to get her thoughts in order or at least figure out what was going wrong with her. She tried to detach herself and be analytical, as James had taught her, but she couldn't focus enough to manage it. The psychological trauma of the last few days could certainly explain her freaking out, but something about that just didn't seem right.

Shifting slightly on the boulder, Fluttershy suddenly realized that her joints were aching terribly, and she was also completely and utterly soaked, far more than she should be from just a bit of fog. "What the… sweat?" Pressing a palm to her forehead, Fluttershy's eyes widened as she felt a searing heat beneath her skin. "A… a fever? But ho-" She gasped as she remembered the strange substance she had been sprayed with back in Vault 87.

"I… I'm ill. Some sort of bacteria or… or a virus, maybe?" Fluttershy frowned as she struggled to organise her thoughts. "Rapid onset symptoms… very rapid. Surely it shouldn't have affected me so fast unless… unless it's feeding on my magic." A cold shiver that had nothing to do with the mist or the sweat ran down her spine. "Oh… oh no… I… I need a doctor."

Fluttershy jumped to her feet, swaying slightly as the sudden movement made her light-headed. As she turned to head back to the Citadel she heard the crunch of footsteps on stone behind her, followed by a man hissing, "Mezz her, quick!" Before Fluttershy could respond there was a flash and a strange zapping sound, then her whole body was rocked by an electric jolt and she fell to the floor. The last thing she heard before she slipped unconscious was a distorted voice calling out, "Nice shot, Crawler! Come on, grab her and let's get the fuck out of…"

Next Chapter: Chapter 67 - Broke The Wrong Cutie Estimated time remaining: 30 Hours, 54 Minutes