Nightclaw flicked the switch on the back of the monitor and stood back and evaluated his work. The screen displayed some images of the settlement, with a three sixty degree view of the settlement from above. It had taken a little while, but Nightclaw was able to create a tower in the centre of the settlement that he then strapped a camera onto. It wasn't any normal camera, it was one that had a full spin rotation, giving the viewer a view of the entire settlement. Blitz observed the screen with Nightclaw, holding the connector and pins in his magic again.

There had been multiple cameras in the settlement, placed mainly in the corners and the centre, which provided a good few angles over the settlement. Blitz looked through a couple of camera perspectives, before finally stopping. He looked around the room and saw that there was another camera that was looking at them both, one that was there to catch anypony that thought it would be a good idea to mess around with the camera setup.

Blitz used his magic to connect the connector onto a loose wire, before slowly inserting the pins. As soon as he did, a screen appeared on the monitor, with a bunch of code. The placement of the entire thing was inside one of the unused houses in the centre of the settlement, which would have given both Lumia and Delta a fair bit of room to chat and catch up.

A couple of codes were being written on the screen in front of them, followed by a faint crackle of static. Blitz watched as the monitor flickered and then faded to static, before Delta's face was displayed on the monitor.

"Please tell me that it has worked. Can you both hear me?" Delta asked, getting a smile from Blitz and a very confused smile from Nightclaw.

"Yes, we can hear you Professor Delta, and yeah, it has worked. Has it worked for you though? Can you see around?" Blitz asked, letting Delta know that he had control over the cameras. The camera behind Blitz's head began to move, making Blitz aware that Delta did indeed have control of the cameras, but hoped that he had the ability to see through them.

"Yes, I can indeed see you and… your friend." Delta explained, calming down Blitz's nerves, but making Nightclaw's nerves rise as a result of it all. Nightclaw coughed a tiny bit, clearing his throat in the process.

"Nice to meet you Professor. My name is Nightclaw and I'm here if you need any assistance with the system." Nightclaw hesitantly stated, making Delta chuckle a little.

"Ease down on the nerves big fella! It's all good, Nightclaw. I'm not here to judge you or anything, so there is no need to get nervous. Also, yeah, I'll let you know if I need assistance with anything. It might take me a tiny amount of work to get used to it all, but that is because it is a new experience here." Delta carefully explained to them both, looking at both of them through the camera.

Blitz turned around and saw that Azure was waiting by the door, having it open a little bit in the process. Blitz smiled at his presence, but didn’t run off with him on the first chance that he got. Instead, he turned back to Delta and Nightclaw and smiled back at both of them. He waited for them to finish their conversation and then attempted to move into the conversation.

“I’m going to head out with Alchem. Just call out my name if you need me at all you two.” Blitz explained to them both, getting a firm nod in response from Nightclaw and a smile from Delta. Blitz was sure that those two would have a lot to talk about, which gave Blitz a reminder to talk to Delta. “Delta, might i borrow you for a quick second before i go?” Blitz asked politely, getting a firm nod from the computer.

“Of course Eater. What is it?” Professor Delta asked him, being quite curious to find out what Blitz wanted to talk to him about. Blitz slowly went into his saddlebag and found a lot of scraps of paper and notes, before showing them to the camera behind Nightclaw. Delta instantly noticed that it was his notes, which made him smile a tiny bit. Blitz was confused on why the professor was smiling, but he placed the notes into Nightclaw’s claws, allowing him to hold the information filled folders and pieces of paper.

“Is it okay that i took these notes, just so that some random ponies couldn't have come out and took some of the notes? I know that you have just met Nightclaw, but he is a Blacksmith. While reading through, i noticed that some of the notes were about energy weapons, which Nightclaw could hopefully create.” Blitz explained, allowing both Nightclaw and Delta to keep up.

“Of course it is! Didn't I tell you to take the notes anyway?” Delta asked, getting a quick shake of Blitz’s head in response to the question. Nightclaw took the notes and allowed himself to store them within his saddlebag, putting a smile on not just his face, but an even bigger smile on Delta’s face. “I just want my resources to aid ponies and creatures, since i can’t use them right now. Maybe hook me up to an automated guncreating machine and set me going.” Delta suggested, making Blitz chuckle lightly. Nightclaw started to talk to Delta, making Blitz think that it was as best of a time as ever, to leave the area and allow them both to continue with their conversation. Blitz turned around and looked at Azure again and smiled, making a little warmness grow within his heart, if he still had one.

They both walked out of the building and closed the door behind them, allowing both Nightclaw and Delta to have their conversation with nopony around to interfere with it. As soon as Blitz closed the door, he looked to Azure and smiled, knowing full well that Delta was going to fit in perfectly with the rest of the settlement and would be hugely helpful. They both started to walk back to their home, before Gretzky cut them both off. They both looked at each other and smiled.

"I have met with Lumia and she is pretty awesome for a cyborg pony. I'm pretty sure that she'd make a good protector for this place." Gretzky told them, making them both look at each other and chuckle, making Gretzky a little confused.

"It will take her a little while to adapt to life now, because she has only been awake for a couple of hours at the most." Azure explained to him, making Gretzky nod in response. Blitz felt like it was time to ask somepony what the name of the settlement was, but a poster that was in the far distance caught his attention. It displayed the name 'Paradise Soils' on it, which made Blitz think that the settlement was named that, which he shortly found out after that it wasn't.

"The name of the settlement is based on the now disappeared area of Flankford, but the name standing right now is called Sharpened Death, due to the Radiation that came out of the nearby pond at one point, killing everypony around and leaving a single patch of fertile soil in the shape of a blade or an arrow head." Gretzky explained carefully, allowing them both to intake all of the information of the settlement.

Gretzky turned around to see that Plumjuice was calling him for something in the distance. He turned back to both Azure and Blitz and waved, before running off towards her. Blitz smiled, tasting their love in the air, but their love wasn't as sweet as last time when he could taste their love. It was slowly becoming sour. Blitz turned to look at Azure, before getting booped on the muzzle, sending his eyes into a crossed state, looking at his nose on the end of his muzzle. He rubbed his nose, before running after the pegasus that had just violated him emotionally.

As Blitz was chasing Azure, he slowed down and saw all of the ponies communicating with each other. The three bat pony mares were having a little bit of fun, which Blitz's didn't despise. They all looked at him and licked their lips, making Blitz smile and blush awkwardly. Crimson, Lavender and Sadjoy talked to each other, while staring directly into Blitz's eyes, making him feel like he was going to be in for a very creative time. Before Blitz had the chance to go over, Azure slapped Blitz in the head with his saddlebag, making him look at Azure, as he shook his tail, trying to intimidate Blitz, which worked.

Blitz chased Azure to the house and saw that Azure locked the door behind him, locking both Blitz and Azure in, as they entered the house. Azure chuckled, before wrestling with Blitz and pushing him onto the chair that was there. It was a small chair, but a comfy one nonetheless. Blitz curled up in the chair, having Azure curl up behind him, practically spooning Blitz, in the most friendly way possible. For once, Blitz felt completely satisfied. He had helped so many ponies and just wanted to relax for the day. Blitz was pretty sure that Azure felt the same way, having his hooves wrapped around Blitz's waist.

"You comfy?" Blitz asked Azure, getting a nuzzle on the cheek from Azure in response, before he pulled Blitz a little closer. Azure placed both his forehoof and hindleg over Blitz, trying to make him as comfy as possible. Blitz moved backwards and nuzzled into the little amount of fluff that Azure had grown onto his chest. It was very soft against Blitz's neck, which made him sigh inside.

Blitz was happy, there was no doubt about that, but there was definitely something that was off, something that made everything around Blitz feel uneasy. Azure noticed that Blitz had the thinking look on, before he put one of Blitz's sensitive ears into his mouth and lightly applied pressure, getting a happy chirping noise from him. He loved it, but it didn't pull him from his thinking state. Blitz was way too focused on why Death had gone silent. Although Anti had shown up, there was no sign of Death or the nightmare. His head was clear, but it didn't make him feel any more relaxed.

"Blitz? Can I tell you something?" Azure asked, getting Blitz's full attention as he looked over his shoulder to see that Azure had a blush on his face. Seeing that, made him smile and produce his own cute blue blush.

"Of course Azure. What is it?" Blitz questioned, making some pressure appear on Azure's hooves. Blitz smiled up into Azure's golden-like eyes and turned his entire body, making it so the Blitz's hooves were now on Azure's chest. Blitz rested his head on Azure's neck, while he waited for Azure to spit it out.

"Can… can I love you?" Azure asked, hesitating dramatically, but keeping stern with his questioning. Blitz didn't have to respond to the question, he just simply kissed Azure on the lips, making his answer clear. Blitz was a changeling, so that was a simple question.

"Of course! Let me feed off your love!" Blitz joked, making them both laugh and giggle. Blitz was trying to make the most of the situation that he was in, due to having no thoughts in his head, so he let his body gain control. His hooves glided over to Azure's wings, before he ran his hooves down them slowly, making Azure arch his back in response.

"I must admit that I need to thank you for all you have done. You have supported me all the way and I am truly grateful for that, Azure." Blitz admitted, making Azure blush more. He lightly chuckled, making Blitz smile in response. He didn't want to ruin the beautiful moment that they were having, so Blitz decided to lie on Azure and close his eyes, listening to Azure's breathing. It was calm and relaxing to say the least, but there was a certain warmth that emitted from Azure that brightened Blitz's mind. It could have been his love, but that was a taste, not a feeling.

Azure wrapped his wing over Blitz and nuzzled into him, making himself more comfortable within the chair. Blitz was slowly drifting off to sleep, along with Azure slowly catching up to him and entering the land of eternal slumber. Azure fell first, which gave Blitz the opportunity to nuzzle Azure more, before falling asleep too.

Blitz drifted into a different type of dream, one that could scare him, if he let it. His surroundings were pitch black, save for a faint light in the distance. He didn't immediately travel towards the light, he just looked around into the darkness that enveloped him. He didn't fear, but he had his doubts about all of the negative space within his head. Blitz began to walk over to the light, taking small steps in the process and looking around to see if he could make out anything within the darkness. After a minute of looking, he did. The nightmare was present within all of the darkness that drifted around, being slightly in motion. Blitz smiled, knowing that the nightmare was definitely there and trying to scare Blitz, probably trying to make him break. He wasn't having any of it, shaking his head and trotting over to the light.

Death was playing a card game with Anti, her picking up the cards with her magic, showing how smart Blitz's K-9 companion was. Death looked at Blitz and smiled, changing the card in his magic for some completely blank ones. Blitz noticed this, before peaking over Death's shoulder. Before Blitz could react, the cards changed to three types.

The first card showed Azure, being taken away by a group of slavers, which made Blitz a little mad. The second card was Blitz's and Azure's hooves moving away from each other. This made Blitz feel a little uneasy and anxious about everything. The last card showed up and made Blitz back up. The image showed Blitz pointing a gun to Azure's head, making Blitz scream before instantly waking up.

Blitz looked around as he jerked upward, nudging Azure in the process, but gladly not waking the sleeping pegasus. Blitz sighed, knowing full well that the events that had transpired were the result of the nightmare being within his system. Blitz used his forehoof to wipe the sweat from the top of his head. He knew it was a dream, but why did it feel so real? It was almost like the cards were live events that were happening right there and then. Blitz shook his head, it was becoming a staple of his to do so, everytime something bad or weird entered his mind at the wrong time.

Blitz looked at Azure, hoping that he didn’t wake him up. Luckily, he hadn’t even come close to it, only moving him a tiny bit out of the way. Blitz was glad that he didn’t wake him, because Azure deserved his sleep. He could tell that the long walk there and back had tired Azure out completely. Blitz walked over and saw that the notes that Azure was reading were on the spare desk, along with the weapon that he had found. He walked over and just stared blankly at the notes, before looking back over to Azure and seeing that he was sleeping quietly.

Blitz used his magic to pull up a chair, before sitting down on it and making himself more comfortable. Blitz heard a noise from behind him as he sat down, making him turn to see that nopony was behind him. The made Blitz feel a little off about whether or not the house was haunted or not. Blitz did notice that the only thing moving was Azure, as he began to look like he was having a night terror or something along those lines.

Azure was indeed having a night terror. Azure was running away from a bunch of metallic machines, ranging from steel machines, to platinum mech-like creatures. He didn't seem to be getting any further away from them either, as everytime he looked back, they were a couple of paces closer. He was fearing for his life, before all of the machines vanished, being replaced with nothing. Azure was in the dark abyss, like that of what Blitz had originally been in.

Azure caught his breath before he stopped and saw Blitz walking towards him. Azure slowly approached the bug and watched as each step that Azure took, hurt Blitz in a little way, ranging from making him grunt, to ripping pieces off him. He immediately stopped when he saw part of Blitz’s face get torn off, like it was butter being cut with a sharp, heatest blade. This almost made Azure sick, but he stood his ground as Blitz got closer, everytime that he blinked, Blitz would speed up. Was this his mind telling him that he was better off staying away from Blitz? As soon as Blitz got close, he fell to the floor, almost like he was really hurt. There was a needle that Blitz had dropped, which made Azure take a step and made Blitz scream out in pain. Azure walked back to where he originally was standing, pretty much trying to take his last step back. As he looked at Blitz, he realised that it didn't work, as another piece of his body had been torn completely off. His hindleg was just a stub now, making Azure wish that he had never taken the step in the first place.

He heard a noise behind him so he turned around and saw a medical syringe gun, plastered in a little amount of blood. He walked towards the syringe gun and went to pick it up, before seeing a couple of quick flashes. He could have sworn that one of the displays was Blitz eating a dead pony, which didn't sit well with Azure. He had regained his control over himself and turned to face Blitz, only to see that Blitz had left for him, waking him up out of the night terror.

Blitz rushed over to Azure, as he saw him fall from the chair and onto the floor. Blitz could see that Azure was in distress, so he quickly hugged him, ensuring Azure that he was there for him. Azure looked around and saw that he was back in the room of their home, back to a safe place. He saw that Blitz was there to comfort him, making Azure nuzzle into his embrace, still feeling a little bit scared of what was playing out within his head.

“How was the night terror?” Blitz asked him, making Azure instantly remember the events that had taken place within his mind, swirled with darkness. Azure looked up at Blitz and tried to make light of the situation, but he was a little confused on how he could achieve such a result. Instead of him doing that, he just picked himself up and stood still, pretty much daydreaming a little.

“They were terrible! It kept telling me to stop moving and let the world work around me and tempted me very well with displaying you in front of me. As soon as i took a step towards a needle you had in your hood, it would tear chunks of your body off, which scared me a lot.” Azure admitted, hugging Blitz as much as he could. Blitz hugged him back before walking backwards.

“So, what do you want to do?” Blitz asked him, trying to quickly change the subject and move on with their life. It was better to look to the future, rather than trying to keep an old flame alive.

“I feel like i want to see that massive ship that me and Roselight were on about, but it wouldn't be worth it to travel that far of a distance, would it?” Azure asked, not really knowing the answer to that question himself. Blitz nodded, then raised a hoof up to his chin, pondering on an idea that was locked within his mind.

“Maybe it might be worth it, if we could catch a glimpse of what they might have been doing in that area. It might be an idea to bring a couple of ponies with us, just to hold more saddlebags and have more protection. We might get up to a lot of looting on the way there and the way back, so it might be beneficial to take one or two extra ponies or creatures.” Blitz explained to him, making sense to Azure and making him smile at that idea. Blitz smiled himself, thinking about the idea and wanting to see the SS Celestia in all of its glory.

Blitz could feel a familiar feeling within his head, indicating the presence of Death into his mind. Blitz smiled at that and saw Death displayed within his vision as a hologram. Although Azure or anypony else couldn’t see Death, it still made Blitz smile to see a grin on his face.

“My apologies for the nightmare giving you a night terror, along with Azure over there. She was given what she deserved for waking you up like that.” Death explained, bringing up another hologram, but this one was of the nightmare, not looking quite like herself. She was a little beaten, but also a little scared. Blitz felt almost a little bad for her, before Death removed the hologram from view and shook his head at Blitz. “Don't feel bad, i'm trying to reform her to be a better demon, or whatever she is.” Death added, looking to Azure like he cared, making Blitz feel a little bad about Azure’s night terror.

“Thank you, Death. It was much appreciated for you helping us like that. Why were you quiet for a little while before this?” Blitz asked him, using his mind and not his voice. Blitz looked at Azure and went over to grab the notes for the weapon on the desk, before returning to Azure with them clenched within his magic.

“I was trying to change her to be a good spirit, or demon, or whatever you want to call her! A nightmare maybe?” Death blabbered out, not understanding what she truly was either. Blitz was pretty sure that the nightmare was classed underneath the demon category, but didn't know one hundred percent. Death vanished from Blitz sight line, but he could still feel his presence within his head. Blitz shook his head,before dragging Azure back onto the chair.

On the chair, Azure was comfy and warm and reading the note that Delta or somepony had left with their weapon. Apparently, the weapon used radiation to create quite deadly beams of energy. Surprisingly, the weapon had an explosive yield, meaning that the beam of energy would blow up as soon as it touched anything. This made Blitz smile, but got him slightly confused about how laser or beam weapons worked.

They both seemed to be enticed in reading the notes together, since they didn't hear a knock on the door. The pony knocked a second time, which got their attention immediately. Lumia stood there, half of a smile displayed on her muzzle, which gave her an almost smug look. Blitz and Azure just watched her as she walked closer to them both, not saying a single word.

"Am I able to sleep here tonight?" Lumia asked, getting a confused look from not only Azure, but Blitz as well. Robots or cyborgs didn't need sleep, so why did Lumia ask that? Azure and Blitz both looked at each other and shrugged, before looking back to Lumia and nodding. Her half smile went into a full on, followed by sharply hugging them both. Her hugs were a bit tight, but Blitz could feel the appreciation in the air, so he rolled with it.

"Don't robots and cyborgs not need sleep?" Blitz asked, breaking the question wall that Azure wouldn't push on with. She nodded, but then pointed to her face.

"Yeah, I don't need sleep, but I still have a brain inside. A pony brain. So sleep just helps my brain to relax and release tension within and helps keep my mind stable and my systems active and working properly. What the professor had me in, was a medically induced coma, so coming out of that, I might need a little bit of rest every now and again, just to refresh my systems." Lumia explained to them both, making them understand quite quickly.

Blitz turned to Azure and looked for a response. He unfortunately didn't have an opinion on the matter. He looked like he was okay either way. Blitz turned back to Lumia and nodded, before asking her a simple question that was kind of ticking Blitz off a little.

"Lumia? Why not stay with the professor?" Blitz asked, making Lumia sigh sadly. She walked over and laid down beside them both, on the floor next to the chair, before resting her head on the floor.

"I have many different reasons why I can't and shouldn't. One, I would just be another machine getting in the way. Two, I wouldn't be able to get to sleep, cause my sound receptors are way too sensitive with all of that machinery going on as well as the professor constantly doing different things with the cameras and other equipment that he now has access to. Three, I would just be a distraction that would constantly ask him questions and disturb his work flow. I do love the professor, so I am giving him the benefit of not worrying about me right now. Maybe when he has some free time, I'll go and see him. Until then, I'm here I guess, if that's okay with you two." Lumia explained with detail. Blitz got off the chair and sat in front of her and smiled.

"I doubt that you would be getting in the way. You are his greatest creation and he probably cares for you as much as he did his family. Hell, he'd even probably call you family from how much I have gathered from it all. Just keep yourself relaxed and get some sleep, alright? I'm probably going to go out for an evening walk." Blitz explained, giving her a comforting smile. Lumia smiled back, noticing that they were allowing her to be comfortable in their home. She smiled at that and rested her head on the floor once again, before closing her mechanical eyes. Both Blitz and Azure watched her close her eyes, before smiling happily and looking at each other.

Blitz got up and walked over to Azure and stayed silent, for the sake of Lumia getting some much needed rest. Blitz felt a peak of potential about him, unlocking himself to others around him. He pointed at the door and then back at himself. Azure was slightly confused about what Blitz was saying about, but just felt like he should have known by that point. Blitz shook his head before getting closer to Azure’s ear.

“I am going to head out for a little walk. Do you want to stay here with Lumia, or do you want to have a little walk with me?” Blitz asked, giving the choice to Azure. Azure didn't have to sleep on that decision and instantly got up and walked to the door, before turning around for Blitz and smiling. Blitz smiled back at him and walked towards the door and took their adventure outside.

Outside was a different adventure for sure. The sky was in the state of turning to dark and light at the same time, but Blitz knew that it was slowly becoming night. The sky right then and there, was unlike Blitz had ever seen it. It was slightly confusing and baffling, but it was so beautiful. Blitz could have spent hours just sitting outside and admiring the sky and the view, but wasn’t that why they were outside in the first place?

Blitz grabbed Azure with his magic and flew them both up onto the top of their little building. Azure was not too happy with Blitz picking him up without a warning, but that was quickly forgotten as Blitz hugged him on the roof of their building. The both lied down and looked up at the clouds blocking most of the night sky. They could make out some sparkles behind the faint clouds, but the others completely blocked out the beautiful night sky. Blitz was annoyed with all of the pegusi who were selfish enough to block out the beautiful sky and all it had to offer. Azure was not one of them. He wasn’t a bad pegasus. Blitz looked over to him and noticed that he was doing some heavy thinking of his own. Bitz reached out to him with a hoof, causing Azure to snap and lash out at Blitz, pivoting Blitz’s hoof away and cursing at him in a different accent.

Blitz recoiled and stayed quiet, before Azure came back to reality and realised what he had done. Blitz knew what tongue he was speaking in, but didn't know if he was half of that race or not. It was pretty strong, but he pushed it aside as Azure began to feel sorry for what he had done. Blitz knew that Azure didn't mean it, but he had to be skeptical the next time Azure started to daydream. Azure reached out to Blitz, apologizing multiple times, before he kept quiet, getting the attention of a curious chitin wearer. Blitz wrapped his wing over Azure and nuzzled his neck, almost being tempted to nibble on his ear, but refused to do so. That was a more playful mood that Blitz could have been in. Azure accepted the nuzzle from Blitz and nuzzled him back, making sure that Blitz knew that he was sorry for what he had done.

Blitz quickly brushed off all negative emotions from Azure's end and looked back up at the sky. Blitz pointed at all of the clouds surrounding the perfect view that they could have had, if the clouds hadn't been there due to the pegusi. Blitz looked over to Azure and saw that he had an angry and a sad looking face. Did Azure feel like this was somehow his fault? Blitz locked eyes with him for a brief second, before watching as he turned away and sighed.

"It ain't even your fault, Azure. Why feel bad for it? Why feel bad for something that you are not even responsible for?" Blitz asked, which made Azure a little angrier than he already was. He took one look at Blitz and sat up, before pivoting his body towards him.

"Because both of my kinds fucked everything up. The Zebra's provoked a war and the pegusi just became idiots and blocked out the sun from the earth ponies and unicorns. So there! Are you happy now, you annoying bug…" Azure stated, before quickly covering his mouth with his hooves. Blitz raised an eyebrow and sat up and just blankly looked at him, not being too impressed with him.

"Wanna continue?" Blitz asked, challenging Azure with a fire within his eyes and Death and a nightmare within his mind. Azure backed down and laid back on his back, allowing himself to cool off after all of his anger was wasted on Blitz at that one particular moment.

"Sorry, I'm just angry with myself and my kind. You ain't annoying, you are charming actually, but I was just ticked off and I lashed out. I'm really sorry. When I get angry, I kind of… you know what? Nevermind. I'll just tone it down with all of this anger." Azure explained, admitting defeat to his anger, which made Blitz chuckle a little, before he placed his hoof on Azure's cheek. That made him smile at least.

They both just tried to relax, comforting each other with one another's embraces. The view only got better as the sky began to dim and the light faded away. Blitz loved the sky above, seeing all of the colours behind the thick grey clouds, but that didn't matter. Blitz could see so much detail beyond the greyness of what was the covered sky. He looked to Azure for a brief moment, before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Azure wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, but noticed that Blitz was already asleep, so he had a little time to just completely calm his nerves. Before he did anything, he would have to get Blitz into the house and warm.

Azure grabbed Blitz with his muzzle and flew down onto the floor. Blitz was slightly smaller than Azure and way, way lighter, which made it easier for Azure to carry him. Azure noticed that Blitz had some marks on his body, which Azure didn't really care about at first, but as he moved, he saw that the hood was covering more than he had originally thought. Azure got Blitz inside before placing Blitz on the chair, keeping him comfortable within the house, before he slowly began to remove Blitz's cloak and stared in shock at all of the marks that Blitz had on his body. Red lines enveloped Blitz's body, from head to hooves. Azure didn't know how to respond to that, but he was really, really scared at that point.

Azure closed his eyes and sighed, before letting something run through his mind, before he went calm again, but still worrying about Blitz's form.

"Shhh, Azure! Blitz wouldn't want you to threat. He's just tired, that's it. But what if… No! Shut the front door, Azure! He's gonna be fine." Azure spoke to himself, trying not to wake anypony. He was pretty sure that his mind was slowly trying to wear him down, but he wasn't going to let it. He grabbed Blitz's cloak and placed it around him, followed by a blanket that was there as well. Azure wanted to make sure that Blitz didn't freeze to death at night, but the night was beginning and the temperature was dropping. Azure decided that he needed to go for a walk, with only the air between his feathers.

Azure was outside the settlement, after talking to Sadjoy about letting him out. Being her friend, she agreed to let him out, but he had to promise that he would stay out of trouble. He accepted the offer, not really seeing a reason to get into trouble in the first place. He was just casually walking down the path, not knowing where it would take him if he followed it to the end. He was just going to walk for a little bit.

Before he was able to get a second thought about doing something bad, he sat down and looked at himself. He lifted up his foreleg and looked under his leg. There were two or more marks on the back of his foreleg, where the leg met his body. Apart from those zebra marks, there was no other trace that Azure was half zebra, half pegasus. Although he didn't like to fight, he would if it was for the survival of anypony else.

He hated himself for snapping at Blitz, but what could he have expected? He came from two of the most hated types of ponies in the Wasteland, technically making him the most hated, yet ponies still treated him like a friend. He sat there motionless for a couple of seconds, before hearing rustling in the bushes ahead of him. He looked directly at them and stood up slowly. Without a second chance, he made sure that his weapon was loaded, which made him frown that it was loaded, courtesy of Blitz.

Dark red eyes pierced through the bushes, making Azure feel a little uneasy and unsafe. He glared back at the beast, not knowing what it was at all, before a wooden leg creeped out from the bush. It was definitely a timberwolf, but weren't they only ever found in the woods, or something along those lines? Azure didn't make any sudden movements, being sure to keep his eyes on the timberwolf as it came out of the bushes, revealing it to look like a friend. Azure didn't realise it at first, but he was looking straight into Anti's eyes.

Anti stepped out of the bushes and walked around Azure, not really knowing what to make of him, while he was in the state he was. Anti had some knowledge of ponies, but nopony knew how. She walked closer and laid down on the floor, making Azure realise that it was indeed Anti. He sighed and eased up a lot, before going down to stroke her on the head. She enjoyed the good head scratch, making sure to make Azure how much she was loving it by twitching her leg. That made Azure laugh a little, before he went quiet again. Anti noticed this and crept her way under him, making it so that if he looked down, he would have seen her. She was doing her best to keep him happy, while he was alone.

A loud bang caught both of their attention, before Anti's horn lit up from within her mouth, spitting out the exact same spell that Roselight had done for Azure, while they were exploring the sewer system beneath Sharpened Death. The more Azure thought about that name of their new home settlement, the more he began to believe that the place had a curse or something on it, due to how much death was happening near that area. Azure watched as the ball of light and energy strolled causally past a couple of trees, before lighting up a single female raider. The raider looked at the ball of magic and froze in place. It almost looked like she was terrified.

Azure and Anti both got closer, watching as the raider looked around. There was a ghoul behind them, which made Azure laugh quietly. The raider looked like she was out of ammo and had a single ghoul chasing her, which made her look like a complete sissy, as well as making her look a little dumb in the first place. She emptied her saddlebag out, before dropping to the floor to try and find something. She was a little too late, as the ghoul grabbed her, before chomping on one of her forelegs. Azure couldn't just stand there and watch her get hurt, even though she was a raider.

"All lives have meaning, regardless of who they are!" Azure stated, giving Anti the same idea. Azure and Anti both rushed over, Anti jumping into the pony ghoul and wrestling with it, and Azure going to the mare, who was screaming out in pain. Azure dragged her away from the ghoul, before tending to her wounds. She lashed out and tried to buck him off her, but it didn't work, only making her scream out in pain, due to her foreleg rapidly bleeding. She still kept struggling, making Azure get more and more ticked off with her actions.

“If you want me to help stop the bleeding, let me work without issue!” Azure explained, shouting at the crazed mare. She instantly went wide eyed and paused her resisting, allowing Azure to go to work on her, grabbing some of his supplies, before laying them all out. The raider eyed them all and freaked out a little, before Azure gave her a stone cold stare, making her not move an inch, only eyeing Doctor Alchem, or in this case, Doctor Azure.

Azure cleaned up the wound, before dropping a couple of drops of a healing potion, before closing up the wound. Because of the healing potion, the wound healed instantly enough that it wouldn't require the whole bottle to heal the raider completely. Azure had a special medicine with him. That healing potion was brewed by a zebra and had a very slow regeneration effect, making it regenerate all of the liquid back, if there was more than twenty-five percent of the bottle left. With that in mind, if Azure used the potion properly, it would last forever, with as many uses as he could have ever wanted.

The raider felt her wounds become almost non-existent, but could still feel a numbness around the area of the wound. Azure got off her and allowed her to stand up, before turning to Anti, who had ripped off the head of the ghoul and held it by its spine. Azure was pretty sure that Blitz's timberwolf was just as lethal as he was, making Azure laugh under his breath in the process. Azure threw the head over at the body, getting a growl from Anti in response.

"Why did you help me?" The raider asked, being so confused on the situation that was at stake. Azure looked to Anti, before Anti vanished into thin air, making Azure's eyes roll. Looking back to the raider, she looked at Azure with a confused plea, making Azure sigh in the process.

"I'm a doctor, it's what I do." Azure stated with so much disbelief, that he didn't even believe it himself. Azure wanted to help, not hurt. It played tricks with his mind, which threw him off balance completely. He eased up on the ramblings and stood up, before backing up and keeping his eye on her, making sure that she didn't try to attack him. The raider didn't do anything, only looking at Azure and questioning why he decided to help her.

Azure decided that that had been enough exploring for his liking, so he decided to begin to walk back, before the raider went to attack Azure. He just looked at her, admiring her bright red eyes, which reminded him of Blitz, as opposed to the raider. Her glossy blonde mane stood out, making her look quite beautiful for a raider of her type. Azure just watched her movement, not batting an eyelid at her attempt to attack him. He was pretty bored of the entire kill or be killed aspect in the Wasteland. It was almost making him a little mad about the entire Wasteland, if he wasn't already.

Azure turned and walked away from the crazed and confusing mare, making her shout out into the abyss of the Equestrian Wasteland.

“Why did you help me? Why couldn’t you have let me die?” The crazed mare asked, her voice shifting from confusion, to anger. She brought out a knife from her pocket and walked up to Azure, with it clenched in her mouth. Before she could say or do anything, there was a sniper shot that passed Azure’s right shoulder, straight into the raiders head. Azure had his suspicions about who had shot the raider that he had just helped, thinking that it was Blitz. He turned slowly and saw Lumia with Blitz’s rifle in her magic.

Seeing Lumia wielding a weapon was a little strange, but Azure had to remember that he hadn’t seen Lumia with a weapon before, let alone fight. It really shouldn’t have been so much of a shock to him, but it was. Blitz walked out from behind Lumia, seeing that she had hit the raider square in the head. He walked over to Azure and hugged him softly, not trying to hurt him at all.

“We came to look for you. Anti found you and gave me the information to find your exact location. We are glad that the raider didn't hurt you.” Blitz admitted, letting go of Azure and looking down to the corpse of the raider.

“I healed that raider from a life threatening injury and this is the thanks I get? Them going to hurt me and then having them killed in front of me, like my work was all for nothing!” Azure stated, getting a little bit angry in the process of explaining to them both. Lumia passed Blitz back his rifle and he happily accepted it, placing it on his back again. Blitz looked at Azure flatly and nodded at him.

“I admit, it might have been wrong to kill the raider, but not only were they going to kill you, but you gave them a second chance at having their life in check and what do they do? They try to kill the very pony who gave them that second chance.”Blitz admitted, making sense to Azure. Blitz watched as Azure thought about it for a couple of minutes, Anti becoming visible and laying down on the floor. Azure nodded, but Blitz and Lumia could both see that he was in a little distress. Blitz was going to care for Azure when they got back to Sharpened Death, making sure that his mind was in the right place, rather than delving into the ditches for the past and what he believed in. Blitz admired Azure’s admissions and personal life goals, but not all ponies and creatures in the world were good. Azure just had to accept that that was the consequences of life. That and decision making, which was there to advance the world in a different way, regardless of what path was taken.

They began to walk back to the settlement, Blitz staying to loot the raider and the ghoul, making sure to take anything of value back to Gretzky. Azure began to talk with Lumia, during their walk back. They left Blitz in the paws of Anti, which made Azure know that he had left Blitz more than well protected. Lumia kept looking at Azure, most likely keeping her eye on him.

“No two ponies are the same, meaning that there will always be ponies who are bad. You gave that stupid mare a second chance and she refused to change. Because of this, she got shot. Never feel that you are in the wrong, cause you wont be.” Lumia explained carefully, making Azure smile in the process. He thought about it for a second, before going and putting that memory to the back of his mind, not allowing it to bother him anymore.

Blitz had finally caught up to them both, flying up to them and landing quickly, trying to make as little noise as possible. For Blitz, this was a little more difficult than he stated, sliding a little bit in the process. Blitz looked at Azure's wing and sighed, remembering that it was his fault for it becoming damaged. Without a second thought or glance, Blitz overtook them and walked backwards, listening in on the conversation for a little bit.

"Lumia is right!" Blitz added in, not completely hearing what Lumia had said. She appreciated it, smiling in Blitz's direction, making him smile back, despite being desperately tired. All Blitz wanted in life right there and then, was a soft bed to sleep on, maybe with a pony in it that he could cuddle up to. He was a softy for comfort, and loved it too much in his own opinion.

As they all began to walk back, Blitz strayed a little away from the group, Anti staying with Azure and Lumia, just in case anything bad happened. Blitz crept around in the woods, keeping an eye on the group from the safety of the darkness. Blitz preferred keeping himself hidden and quiet. It sent good, pleasant shivers down Blitz's spine, but filled his mind with 'what if' questions, which kind of counteracted the pleasant feelings that he would have got.

Azure was tired and a little aggravated about himself and all of the negative emotions that he had been feeling lately. He looked behind him to see that Lumia was looking directly into his eyes, making her seem like she knew that he was acting like that and was going to turn his head around. That freaked Azure out a tiny bit, before they were halted in their tracks by two raiders.

One of the raiders was badly wounded and the other was trying to help him. They both spotted Azure and Lumia and screamed, thinking that they were both going to kill them, which was not the case at all. Azure backed off a little, before seeing that one of them was hurt, like the mare that Azure had just tried to save, only to get killed by Lumia, with Blitz's rifle. It was a combined task, but they got it done at least.

"Please don't hurt us!" The raider shouted as he went back to helping his ally. Azure walked a little closer, before feeling a magical glow around the area. He looked around and saw Blitz's horn lit up, along with his red eye, due to Anti being with them both. If Death was there with him, his other eye would have gone red too. Azure knew that Blitz was keeping Azure safe from attacks, due to the faint shield around Azure's body, making him seem a little glossy. Blitz knew that it was the right call, before Azure did anything about the raiders.

"I am a doctor, so if you allow me to help you, I can." Azure stated softly, getting the other raider to step to the side, revealing the raider who was injured to not be. Instead, the raider had concealed a gun and was pointing it at Azure's head. Without a second to spare, the raider shot the pistol he had at Azure. The bullet whizzed through the air, towards Azure's eye. Azure closed his eyes and heard a metallic noise from in front of him. He opened them again to see that the bullet had hit the shield, leaving a ripple like effect.

The raider fired off a couple more bullets, each one creating new ripples in the shield. As soon as the raider with the gun ran out of ammo, he grabbed a weapon and started hacking at the shield, making Blitz's energy begin to feel a strain. Blitz shook his head before running in from the woods. He did a full one hundred and eighty degree turn, straight into a bucking position. Blitz kicked the raider into a close tree, making him crack his back on a branch. This didn't paralyze him, it only slowed him down.

Blitz looked back at the other raider, who immediately sat down, making sure not to cause trouble. Blitz turned back to the raider that he had just bucked into the woods and walked towards him, making sure to bare his fangs. The raider was scrambling to get up, repeatedly failing multiple times, due to him being in some mud. He almost looked helpless, making him easier to kill. Was that his thought, or the nightmare's, because he couldn't tell the difference.

Blitz just stood there and watched the raider, Azure and Lumia keeping an eye on the other one. Azure looked over to Blitz and sighed, hoping that he wouldn't try to do anything stupid. Blitz allowed the raider to get up, without having the fear of dying. Although he allowed the raider to get up, the raider didn't get up. Instead, he accepted defeat and placed his head in the mud. Blitz poked him with a hoof, before waiting for the raider to turn to him. The raider did indeed turn to look at Blitz, before getting a hoof offered to him. The raider was confused, knowing full well that Blitz would try to kill him the moment he got a chance to.

Azure watched on in happiness, as Blitz offered his hoof to a random raider, almost like he cared about them. Was this Blitz not wanting to kill anypony? Azure didn't know anymore, because he was stuck in the mindset that Blitz was letting him live, but what he didn't know, was that Blitz was holding a pistol with his magic, behind his back.

Azure watched as the raider accepted Blitz hoof, allowing him to get up and out of the mud. They both stayed there and looked at each other, before the raider nodded.

"I… I am sorry for that. I've been a raider for years and it's all gone to my head." The raider spoke, walking over to the speechless friend that he had.

"I will admit that I am sorry for bucking you, but you can't just go shooting ponies that I care about." Blitz explained to him, making the raider nod in response to that explanation. Azure was pretty sure that Blitz was going to let them live, but saw the gun behind his back and paused, taking in the possibility that Blitz might kill them. Blitz sensed this and made his weapon disappear from sight, making sure the Azure knew that it was only for self defense purposes.

The raiders stopped moving and looked back at Blitz and Azure. One of them smiled, while the other cried, getting the warmth from the one who was smiling. One of them was a unicorn and the other was an earth pony. They both looked into Blitz's eyes, making Blitz feel a little softer and lighter on the heart.

"We can't go back to the settlement that we had come from, so is there anywhere that we could go, to gain a new start?" One of them asked, getting Azure and Blitz to look at each other for a couple of seconds, before turning back to the two raid… ponies and nodding.

"Come with us!" Azure announced, getting them both to nod at Azure.