The gray stallion woke up long before the mare did, and he still berated himself for falling asleep. Had she gained awareness while he was prone, she could have taken advantage of him despite her injured state. He couldn't afford to take chances like that.

It was even more disheartening that he hadn't woken up with the sun. The possibility that the events of yesterday had drained him enough to warrant a deeper sleep didn't even cross his mind.

He dragged his pack across the cabin floor, pulled out a piece of dried fruit, and made it his breakfast. This was all he did aside from stare at her closely, trying to learn all he could. Absorbing every detail. Strangely, the more he looked, the less he saw. What had at first looked like simple blunt wounds were clearly not caused by rocks or the flat edge of a weapon, and he hadn't the foggiest idea what would cause such shallow star-shaped wounds. Her blood was unusual, yes, but it didn't seem to have stained her coat anywhere except directly around the wound. And her limbs... they seemed to perfect, to smooth, making the wounds both more unbelievable and more jarring. Even her broken leg didn't look right in its makeshift splint, and once again he had no idea why.

She was a source of mystery he couldn't uncover with his observations.

He kept looking at her anyway.

Slowly, but surely, she came to. The first noise she made was a cough - nothing too serious, likely just to clear away the dustiness of the cabin. She took a few slow, patient breaths, examining herself first. Upon finding that her wounds and been tended to sufficiently, she slowly turned her head to him. "...Hi," she said with a smile. Her voice was high-pitched and joyful, but also tired, telling of a smile that was struggling to push itself to the surface. "Thanks," she added.

The stallion nodded wordlessly.

"I'm Pinkie Pie. What's your name?"

"Lone Crypt," he said with a deep, scratchy voice that had been rarely used, even when around other ponies.

"Oh! That's a unique name!"

There wasn't a hint of sarcasm or fear in her voice, which confused Crypt.

"I mean it. I've never met a pony with that name before, and I've met a looot of ponies!"

Crypt took a moment to register that she was recovering far too quickly - not physically, of course, but mentally. The weakness and tiredness in her voice was dissipating quickly, replaced with what he had no doubt was her general cheerful demeanor. He could still hear the slight waver in her tone that indicated pain, but she was able to push it away easily. Not by ignoring it, he sensed, but by accepting it.

Only ponies who had been through a lot could do that.

"A lot of ponies? Out here?" he asked, prompting the conversation to continue.

"...Well, I don't exactly know where I am..." Pinkie admitted, pursing her lips.

Crypt nodded. "I can't take you back."

"Don't expect you to."

Again, he looked for fear or sarcasm in her tone and found none. He furrowed his brow, questions rising to his lips that he pushed down - they would be too telling.

"I think I'll probably just go wherever you go, since I have no idea what's going on," Pinkie said, a giggle rising from her.

The noise baffled Crypt in a way he didn't fully understand. "You are weak and injured."

Pinkie laughed at this. She rocked back into the chair and jumped, landing solidly on her three good legs. She tossed her head back to remove her mane from her brilliant blue eyes. "Like that's going to stop me."

Crypt blinked slowly. Nopony was ever this animated right after a debilitating set of injuries.

"...Actually, I think I might need to go back in the chair for a bit..." Pinkie said, her legs wobbling. "Eh... Yeah." Her legs fell out from under her and she fell flat on her stomach, nudging her injured leg just enough to make her wince in pain. She let out a sharp hiss. "Probably shouldn't have shown off there..."

Crypt's face remained flat and inexpressive.

"Gee. Tough crowd."