“The doctor said we could only wait and see what happens.” I sat down on the grubby mattress, taking care not to let my purple tail rub against it. I curled it in, clutching it in my forehooves. “For three days they threw everything they had at her. How can she still be under?”

“They’re nowhere near as well equipt as the stable was but what can you expect out here.” Smoking began to work his way through the cupboards and containers in the small room we had graciously been given by the mayor.

“What about Ripsaw?” Foxglove stood timidly by the window, glancing down through the grimy panes at the town below.

“The doctor says she will be fine in a few days.” I carefully leant back and lay down on the double bed. It was strange to have so much space to lie on. I rolled onto my side with a deep breath, filling my nose with a heavy must from the bedding and a hint of herbs from a bowl on the bed side table.

There was a knock at the door and Seafire popped her head in. “Tungsten has found the guys room, its round the other side of the tower. It’s quite a bit smaller but it seems to be cleaner than this one.”

“I will leave you ladies too it.” Smoking placed his finds on the end table; mainly bottles of alcohol with a few pre-war snacks, and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

I couldn’t contain it any longer. It came slowly at first, just a hint of desperation with long rasping breaths, but it wasn’t long before I was weeping uncontrollably into the pillow, held tight in my hooves.

Seafire knelt down next to me on the floor and cradled my head in her hooves. “It’s ok Helix. Let it out.” She whispered in her soft voice. So I did.

It was so nice to be back in a warm bed. A smile spread over my face as I stretched and sighed contently. I rolled over and wrapped my hooved around the other warm body in my bed. Francium stirred gently.

“Morning beautiful.” I whispered in her ear. I blew gently and she squirmed slightly in my grasp.

“What are you doing?” She replied, sounding confused.

I slipped a hoof round her middle and began sliding it down. “What does it feel like I am doing.”

“Helix stop it.”

“Aww but why? We haven’t been able to relax like this in weeks.”

“Helix. Stop!”

My eyes opened to a shock of orange mane. I squealed in shock, scrambling back until I fell out of the bed to land hard in a tangle of sheets.

Seafire peered down at me in shock from where I had been groping her only moments before. Foxglove was curled up on the sofa looking at me, eyes wide in confusion. I pulled myself to my hooves as fast as I could. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say.

“What... what were you doing?” Seafire asked.

“I... I... Well. You know full well what I was doing.” I spluttered. “I just... Um.”

“Thought I was Fran?” Seafire raised an eyebrow.

I gulped air for a moment. “Well... Yes. I did.”

“And you didn’t think to check first?”

“Well...” I stammered. “I’ve never been in a bed with anyone else before. I just did what I normally do.”

“What you normally do?” To my surprise Seafire actually grinned slightly. “Well, I think it’s fortunate that you didn’t do something abnormal. But saying that... Don’t do that again.”

“Okay.” I squeaked, my voice barely audible.

After a rather nervous pause we all relaxed. “So. What time is it?” Seafire said pulling the covers back onto the bed before slipping into the bathroom.

“Just gone 8am.” I said checking my PipBuck. “Bee said their would be food waiting for us in the mess hall.”

“It feels wrong just accepting their food.” Foxglove mumbled as she reset the cushions on the sofa.

“I wouldn’t complain.” I replied dryly. “I am not a fan either but it would be more trouble than its worth to say no.”

“Its not just the food, its the rooms and water too. All because we just happened to be with Fran.”

“The clean water isn’t a big deal like it was at Viewpoint. The station had a filter to clean the water going into the coolant tanks.” Seafire called, accompanied by the gentle splashing of water.. “They just re-routed it to the water supply rather than the reactor.”

“But still...” Foxglove muttered.

“Its okay Foxglove. We’ll work something out.” I reassured her.

I stood up to browse a shelf of books on the wall while I waited for Seafire to finish prettifying herself. It was a odd mix of Fiction, non-fiction, tome like volumes and colour rinsed childs books. I pulled out one out at random: Boutique Best of the Best: The Royal Collection

“The best dresses, gowns, evening attire and nightwear from all over Equestria, fit for the Princesses themselves.” I read aloud. I opened the book intrigued but was immediately disappointed to find most of the pages to be faded beyond recognition. The few I could make out did thrill me slightly, even from the little I could see. I could see myself standing atop a gleaming flight of white marble stairs and descending with Fran at my side to the awe of the assembled crowd. Tight fitting White dress with cobalt blue diamonds and lined with ultramarine silk or a flowing green ensemble, with real flowers, petals adorning...

“Done.” Seafire opened the door looking her usual gleaming self. “All yours.”

I grabbed at my fantasy but to no avail. I slipped inside and closed the door with a sigh, making sure Seafire didn’t see the disgruntled look I gave her.

The bathroom was like the rest of the room; battered with ingrained dirt, but all the major surfaces had been well cleaned. The mirror had a hairline crack running diagonally across it but that was all. There were traces of a carpet but that had been ripped up to expose the wooden underfloor which had been stained in an attempt to make it look less worn and thin.

I turned on the taps with my magic, letting the water run until it was warm before putting in the plug. When the basin was full I plunged a threadbare flannel into the water and rubbed it over my face. The warm water felt so refreshing on my dry skin. I looked up through my wet fringe and into the mirror. A worn out mare looked back, her muzzle drawn and her eyes drooping.

“Why do I even try.” I muttered to myself, wiping my face down again. “I had to wash my mane and tail twice, scrub my coat until it actually hurt, have weekly clay masks and spend forever cleaning my face and muzzle and I still never looked as good as Seafire did.”

I threw the flannel back in the basin with a splash, slopping water onto the floor. “She spends five minutes in here,” I looked around angrily at the battered room, “And she comes out looking prettier than the royal sisters backsides!”

I stopped and sighed. “No, I take that back. You were the best of us,” I looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t take your name, or your image, in vain.” I raised a hoof above my head silently, passing my words up to the princesses.

“And its not like she is doing it deliberately.” I said to myself firmly. “Its just how we were born... or made, that machine made a mistake with my genes.” I sighed again then giggled as I realised where I was and what I was doing. I rolled my eyes with a slight smile; I had bigger things to worry about. “I’m still me I guess, and that is why Fran still loves me.”

My stomach suddenly filled with dread. “If she survives.”

“Helix? You ok?” Seafire’s voice called me back to the present.

“Yeah.” I quickly patted my muzzle dry. “Out in a moment.”

I took one final look in the mirror with a sigh, before gripping the door handle with my magic. “Just another day.” I said to myself before swinging the door open.

“What took you so long?” Seafire was waiting on the bed.

“Some of us have to work harder to look presentable.” I smiled back. “Though, do I look presentable?”

“You look like you do everytime I see you with Francium.” Seafire replied. “If she loves you like that, then its good enough for everyone else too.” Well, that was an odd answer.

I just smiled back. “Are you ready Foxglove?” I looked at the young mare with concern.

“Yeah.” She muttered. “I’m hungry.”

“Good cos breakfast is served.”

This was something I wasn’t going to get used to. I lined up with Foxglove and Seafire in the que leading up to the serving counter in the mess hall, and all I could smell was meat. Radigator, different types of fish, Terrorhawk, some odd looking miniature crustaceans. There were almost no vegetables or fruit in sight. There was some rather sickly looking fried hay and some dandelion salad but that was about it.

“Looks like they have swapped quality for quantity.” Some massive buck was complaining in front of me to his companions. “Gets worse every time.”

“Oh what I’d give for real cactus stew.” Another seemed to drool at the thought.

“Well you can forget that. Appleloosa is going to the fucking dogs, literally.” The other replied. “I heard some diamond dog is trying to muscle his way into the top spot. Thinks he can buy his way in with slave’s and weapons.”

“He’s got no chance. Madame will fry his ass.”

I turned my head, I couldn’t be dealing with this sort of rubbish at the moment.

“What you going to try?” Seafire asked. “I might have a go at stomaching the crustaceans. At least they look like something that we might have had in Seventeen.”

I peered round the buck again. “I think I will try to stomach the fish. Its the only thing that looks like we should be eating it.”

“I’m just going to stick with the hay.” Foxglove muttered.

“Don’t worry. We’ll go shopping. Find some stuff that’s closer to home.” I smiled at her. “Cheer up. It could be worse.”

“Next.” I moved up as the mare finished serving the two massive bucks. “Choose 2 items, no more. Twelves caps.” She eyed me though her wall of jet black mane. “Well, come on.”

“Ummm, I’ll have some of that white fish, and some of those crab things.” I paused, thinking how to phrase the next bit. “But B told us we wouldn’t have to pay.”

The mare stopped mid-slop. A few crabs dropped onto my plate, splashing the sauce on my coat. “Did he now? And what would earn you that treatment.”

“No, its fine. Forget it…” I started to turn away until I felt a firm hoof on my shoulder.

“Because you wouldn’t be here without her. Nor would most of the ponies in this room.” Seafire scowled. She steered me gently back round to face the mare. “She assisted Stitches in creating the cure for the Pony Pox. If that doesn’t get you gratitude then I don’t know what would.’

The mare suddenly looked upset. “Sorry. I didn’t realise. Ummm, what are your names?”

“I’m Helix. That’s Seafire and she is Foxglove.” I gestured.

The mare flicked through a notepad she pulled from the front of her apron. “You’re on the list. Three Items, no charge.” She looked up expectantly. “Well?”

“Same but with hay please.” I kicked myself for taking more of their food but it would be more effort than it was worth to argue.

“There you go.” She passed me the plate with a smile. “And, thank you for what you did.”

I just smiled back as best I could, nodding slowly.

As Foxglove and Seafire took their plates I looked round for a place to sit. The hall was beginning to fill up rapidly as ponies came down after a nights sleep and ended the various night shifts there seemed to be round the city. I didn’t want to be in anypony’s way so I headed off towards a table at the back of the hall.

The white fish turned out to be rather pleasant with a smooth buttery taste; well what passed for butter back in Stable Seventeen. The crustaceans were overcooked making them rubbery, but still palatable. The hay on the other hoof was very bland. I almost wished I had ordered more fish but I couldn’t complain about free food.

“That was far better than I was expecting.” Seafire stretched out happily, a content smile on her face. “That was good.”

Foxglove made an agreeable sound. “Shame about the hay though. Really bland.”

“Excuse me?” I looked up from poking my remaining hay and stopped.

A middle age unicorn mare was waiting patiently at the foot of our table. In her magical grasp was a bowl of what looked like rice topped with a collection of small deep blue berry’s. But I was entirely focused on her bright pink hair. It was so vibrant and rich that only magic could have made it look like that.

Seafire regained her composure first. “Yes?”

“Are you the group from the stable?” she asked cautiously.

“I guess so. I don’t know of anyone else it could be,” Seafire responded.

“Oh good.” The mare seemed to relax and smiled widely at us. It was an odd look when coupled with the hair. “This is for you.” She placed the bowl on the table before us. “To say thank you.” And without another word she was off.

“What is it with ponies.” I stared dejectedly at the desert.

“We did save most of the ponies in this room.” Seafire signed as she watched her go. “Well best not let it go to waste.”

Seafire grabbed her spoon and delicately lifted a portion up to her mouth. She paused looking at me as if to ask ‘Should I?’. I just shrugged. I had no idea what to make of my life as it currently stood.

Seafire put it in her mouth and started to chew.

“Stop! Don’t bite down!” Foxglove shrieked. Seafire stopped dead.

Foxglove was breathing fast. “Spit it out! Carefully. Right now!” She looked terrified.

Seafire did as she was told and dropped the food onto her plate.

“Wash your mouth out.” Foxglove shoved a glass of water over.

“Foxglove what is it?” I asked nervously as seafire spat the water back into the cup.

“I don’t think those are berries...” She said slowly. “Helix, can you use your magic to open one up. Slowly.”

I cautiously picked a berry up in my magic and with a pinch popped the deep blue case. We all leaned in slowly as I peeled back the thin layer of skin.

“That is definitely not a berry.” Seafire whispered in a worried tone.

“It’s Cazadorum.” Foxglove muttered. “I can’t believe it... its Celestia damned Cazador.” I twinged involuntarily.

“What’s a Cazadorum?” I whispered back.

“Not a, just Cazadorum.” Foxglove corrected. “It’s the eggs of the Cazador insect.”

“They look like those Bloatsprite things they were serving at Tabitha’s. Just much smaller?”

“Yes. Well they are a related species, Bloatsprite and Cazador. But this looks like it has mutated in the same way Parasprites became Bloatsprites .” Foxglove finished peeling back the skin on the egg with her hooves.

“Why was she feeding us Cazador eggs?” Seafire asked darkly.

Foxglove faltered “I don’t think I want to know. I could just be an honest mistake or...”

“Or?” I prompted.

“Or she could have been trying to kill us.” We all looked at each other.

“How?” I asked.

“Its something my mother drummed into all of us from a young age, incase it happened in the stable. Lots of insects like to settle in liquid. It doesn’t matter what it is. It can be a river, the sea, wine, anything that carries nutrients. There were even reports of some insects settling and growing in the stomachs of cattle and other animals.”

“What happens when they hatch?” I asked, but I knew where this was going.

“Well, quite a lot just fly out. Its unpleasant but it won’t do you much harm. Cazador are different though. They move off and begin to eat the nearest source of food. In the case of it growing inside something, they just eat their way out.”

I gulped.

“But it gets worse,” Foxglove pressed on. “With so much food and nutrients inside an animal, the newly born Cazador would undergo rapid multiplication meaning its numbers would grow exponentially. Within thirty minutes of the first one hatching you could easily have over one hundred insects inside you.”

Seafire looked horrified. “And then you would be eaten alive from the inside out...” Foxglove just nodded.

We sat in stunned silence for quite a long time. We only moved when somepony whisked away our plates and we were ushered out of the hall. We clustered in a small alcove as what seemed like the whole of High-voltage set off to do whatever it was they did.

“What should we do?” I asked quietly. “What if she was trying to kill us?”

“We need to tell the others at the very least.” Seafire thought for a moment. “And if we can, try to eat as much of our own food as possible.”

“What about Ripsaw and Francium.” Foxglove looked at me with her wide eyes. It seemed that was her default state of being these days. “What if someone goes after them?”

“Then one of us needs to sit with them at all times. Twenty four hour watch. Between the five of us it shouldn’t be too hard. There is also that doctor, what’s her name...’

“Typhoon.” I answered for her. “But who is to say we can trust her?”

Seafire bit her lip. “I know its far from foalproof but she did just spend three days and a huge amount of High-Voltage’s medical resources to save both of them. If she wanted to kill them she could have done it and we would never have known.”

I just nodded in acceptance. “What should we do now? Go find Tun and Smoking?”

“Yeah. I am sure they beat us down for breakfast so they may be back in their room or in the hall.”

“I want to check on Fran.” I muttered, more to myself than the others. “Yeah, lets go check on them.”

That was easier said than done. High-Voltage was just one big maze of identical looking corridors. Most of the cities work was done in the low level, sprawling structure that would originally have been the facilities control rooms and numerous monitoring stations. These had all been converted into a range of shops, cafe’s, few hotel type places and various other small businesses. The larger areas like the facilities sports hall had been converted into a hospital of sorts and the tennis courts outside were now shooting ranges and what looked like a runway.

“Why are there so many ponies.” Foxglove asked as we pushed through the throng towards the sports hall. “There have to be more than four thousand.”

“I am still surprised at how effective my cure has been.” I felt myself smile slightly.

Seafire patted me on the back. “You did good Helix. Your mum would be proud of you.” My stomach curdled but I kept my face straight and nodded back.

“Thanks.” I replied, my mouth suddenly dry.

Just set it aside. Don’t think about it. Don’t think.

I stumbled sideways as somepony bumped into my flank. Before I knew it I was sprawled on the ground. Ok, think a little bit.

“Hey, you ok down there?”

I looked up and got a shock. “Mantis.” He held out a hoof and pulled me up. “What are you doing here?” I asked, perplexed.

He just grinned back. “Looking for you lot. Didn’t think I would find you like that though.”

“Nor did I.” I brushed myself down as best I could. Oh great, now I looked even worse next to Seafire.

“So where is the lovely Miss Francium? I thought you two were impossible to separate.”

“She’s… she’s in the hospital.” It was difficult to say. “ We’re going to check that she is getting better.”

Mantis suddenly focused. “Then lets get you there.” He turned and began carving a path through the throng towards the Hospital and my beautiful, injured Francium.

It pained me so much to see her on that stretcher. I dropped to my haunches at Fran’s side as she lay unconscious in the bed. With the help of Typhoon we checked over her various wounds and bandages. Rewrapping those that needed changing and repositioning her in the bed to help relieve pressure on her battered body.

Ripsaw lay in the next bed, with heavy bandages around her torso and right hind leg. Typhoon had put her to sleep to let the bandages and magic work her to full recovery. She snored gently as she lay under the worn white sheet.

I knew they could all see my wet eyes and the stray tears on my cheeks as I worked, but no pony said anything. I knew it was best to let it out, empty myself and confess all my fears and doubts that I would never speak to my love again, but I couldn’t. It just didn’t seem right.

“Has she made any improvements?” I asked as we, Typhoon and I, finished rebinding her shattered leg.

“Her ribs are almost healed but they are not going to be where they should be.” Typhoon held the end of the bandage in place with her wing tip before deftly removing a safety pin from her white coat and pinning it in place. “We’ve managed to completely flush the Sabrefish poison from her system. It’s her leg I’m still worried about.”

“Can you still not give her any more med’s?” I asked quietly.

“I am very surprised she and your other friend survived the quantity we had to use to stabilise them. I don’t want to push our luck.”

I just nodded. Hold it in, you can let it out when you know one way or the other.

I turned back to Mantis, Seafire and Foxglove who had been quietly observing us both. “I’ll take the first watch. You should go find Tun and Smoking. Tell them what happened.” All three just nodded.

“I’ll see what I can find out. The description doesn’t match anyone I’ve ever heard of, but it’s certainly distinctive.”

“What’s up now?” Typhoon looked between our worried faces.

“I’ll explain in a moment if you’d care to stay.” The pegasus just nodded slowly.

“I’ll get you some food from one of the shops,” Seafire called as she left. “Do you have any preferences?”

“Something I will recognise,” I called back with a half smile.

With a sigh I pulled up a seat and a couple pillows, making myself comfortable at my love’s side. Typhoon sat down on the other side between Fran and Ripsaw and looked at me expectantly.

“So what’s this all about?”

Where to begin...

“Before I say anything more, can I ask you a few questions?” I asked tentatively, stroking Frans limp hoof.

Typhoon just nodded.

“Well, why are you the only pegasus I ‘ve seen down here?”

Typhoon shrugged, “That’s simple enough. I was left for dead by the Enclave when I was shot during a scouting mission below the clouds. There are other pegasi, but we are few and far between down here.”

“The Enclave?”

“You haven’t heard of the Enclave?” Typhoon looked at me in surprise.

“No. I haven’t,” I replied simply.

Understanding dawned on Typhoons face. “Oh, you’re from a Stable aren't you. Well, you must be, I can’t see any other way you wouldn’t know. And the PipBuck is a damned give away now that I think about it.”

I paused for a second but there seemed little point in lying when she had worked it out for herself. “Yes. I am.”

“And the rest of you?”

“Yes, except the green one with that massive hat.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. He’s pretty distinctive.”

“So what is the Enclave?” I asked.

“Well, I guess the simplest way to think of it is martial law. You see as far as most of the pegasi are concerned the wastelands are a blasted hell hole that is completely uninhabitable. The civilian population is continually told that we are all that survive and that the Enclave are there to protect them from the horrors of the wasteland.”

That sounded unpleasant. “Why? Why do they lie?”

“Cos its easier to control them like that. You are not allowed below the cloud layer. Any pony who ventures down is shot by the enclave and then declared dead as a result of radiation poisoning or some animal attack.”

Hang on a moment. “Then what were you doing, going below the cloud layer?” I asked.

“The higher levels of the enclave know all about the cover up. If you don't go along with it you are charged with treason on the spot and then branded, quite literally, a traitor. I was part of a scout group. The Enclave makes regular expeditions below the cloud layer to scavenge for things that they need or can´t produce. They then reprint a load of fake data from the expedition to reinforce the story that it still isn’t safe to go down.”

“And it was on one of these missions you got shot?”

“Yes. A group of raiders attacked us on our return journey. I was laden down with two saddles worth of magical bullets which made evasive maneuvers almost impossible. I actually think I was shot by one of my own party as he pulled out of a strafing run. Took a round right under my left wing.”

“They shot you and your group didn’t help you?” I said in disbelief.

“Our commander ordered the rest of the group to take all my equipment and flee back to base.”

“They just abandoned you.”

“The bullets were worth more than I was. Simple as that. And with me gone it gave them another piece of evidence to say that the world below is still far too dangerous,” Typhoon said it all so matter-of-factly. “Don’t fret. This is all common knowledge as far as High-Voltage goes. All of that is in the past. Now I have a new life, a better life. I help ponies, rather than being forced to ignore the suffering of others.”

“Why did you decide not to return to start with? Surely you had a family?”

“I do have a family,” Typhoon replied sadly, shuffling in her seat. “I think...”

I just looked at her encouragingly. She gave a long sigh as preparing herself.

“I’d just gotten off maternity leave when I was shot down. Harrier was only four months old at the time. I had no idea how I got pregnant. I did sleep around, but I was always careful and took more than one precaution but... it happened.”

I felt my eyes begin to water slightly at the thought. “What would have happened to her? Would she have been adopted?”

“It is surprisingly rare to have an orphaned child above the clouds. I expect one of the higher level families, probably military, will have taken her in. They could just ignore the limits on family size. I could have had her transferred but it didn’t feel right.” She sighed again. “But lets get back to what you wanted to say. I have no wish to relive all of those thoughts again.”

I just nodded understandingly. Well here goes nothing. “This morning we think somepony tried to kill us. It could have been an honest mistake, but we can’t take that chance.”

“Sadly, you are not the first.” Typhoon gave a little nod of understanding, not at all what I was expecting. “ But what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Between the five of us we are going to sit here and watch Francium and Ripsaw twentyfour-seven. But I feel that Foxglove is too young. If someone were to try something I doubt there is much she could do to stop them.”

“Really? You want me to take her place? I have things I have to do. I am the doctor for a whole city. No offence but two lives here against the four thousand or so of High-Voltage just doesn’t add up.” Typhoon stood up and turned to look at me. “I like you lot. I really do. You are a rare breed. You fight for something that goes beyond your own interests but not all of us can think like that.”

“What are we fighting for?” I replied as straight as I could.

“Your stable. Or what’s left of it as far as I hear. Am I right?” How did she know? “Gossip travels. Most wont have worked out who you are as they don’t know who it was that went into the lake but it’s not hard to piece together.”

I slumped in my seat, this was going to hurt. “I am not sure we can do it.” I muttered. “Fran has this drive inside her. She feels responsible for us being out here. That is what pushes her to do stupid things. I want to follow her, I’ve done it all my life, but out here when faced with that kind of task, and carrying what I am carrying...” I just petered off and placed my head in my hooves. “Its going to get us killed.”

I felt a softness wrap around me. I pushed against it and let Typhoon wrap her wing round me. “When she wakes, talk to her, I think you will feel different afterwards.” I looked up at Typhoon with damp eyes. “You need her don’t you. I understand. You feel there is a piece of you missing. When she looks up at you I can guarantee everything will be alright.”

Typhoon had a wing on the door when I remembered. “Typhoon. You said you could have had harrier transferred. What does that mean?”

“Use two medical pods and have the fetus transferred into another mares body. One of the greatest breakthroughs since the war. It was developed solely to save the life of the Enclave leaders unborn child. Since they only had one shot the system was perfected before it was used. As a way of thanks he made it available to every pegasus. It is rarely used but its nice to know that if something goes wrong you and your child can be saved.”

I just nodded politely as she smiled and left. As I held Fran’s hoof tight in my own I knew that was something I needed to remember.

It was three days before Mantis returned. The six of us were clustered around the circular metal table in The Generator, High-Voltage’s busiest bar. Thanks to the all metal surfaces, metal bar stools and pint mugs, there was enough noise around that, unless you were within a meter, there was no way to hear what anyone was saying. Great for having private conversations.

“No one seems to know who she is but one thing is constant. The pink hair. It was something the Pink Stormers did before they went into battle, so they knew who was on their side.” I slid a pint of cider over to Mantis who downed half in one go before continuing. “It lines with up with what I have seen when I have fought and scouted them so it’s a safe bet that it was a Pink Stormer who gave you the Bloatspawn, but as for why they would target you specifically and so far away from their usual base of operations is a mystery.”

Mantis looked at us all gravely for a moment. “But that said, so far as I see, I don’t think that is what you are all thinking about. I admire your dedication and your drive to get your friends back, but you could all easily end up dead and get your friends killed in the process.

“I am not saying don’t go after them, but if you do, you best be prepared. And this will sound crazy but... there are far worse things than death and slavery in this world.”

I stared into my mug; did I want to know what could be worse?

“What kind of ponies would we be if we didn’t at least try to save them?” Seafire asked fiercely.

“You would be alive for a start.” Mantis sighed heavily taking another swig. “I know it’s tough to let go but have you even considered how much trouble you’ll stirring up by doing this? The lot of you could plunge this whole region into chaos. I’m not saying I like it, but at the moment this balance works. By stealing from Appleloosa, which I am certain is where your friends will be taken, you could bring war to both High-Voltage and Viewpoint when they come back after you.”

Smoking turned up from his own pint and looked coolly towards Mantis “I don’t mean to be blunt, but you sound like you’re trying to stop us.”

“I am not trying to stop you. I just want you to think.” Mantis struggled to find the right words. “I like you all, I really do. I don’t want you all getting killed. That said, I will support how I can, whichever you choose.”

I was surprised when I turned and saw Foxglove with her hoof up. “I want to go. I want to help them but I don’t know of how I will be any use. I’m all my brothers and sisters have left but I’m not a fighter, I’m not a medic or anything useful. I’m just worried I’ll get in the way.”

“Remember, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if it weren't for you.” I pointed out.

Foxglove shrugged. “I suppose.”

“It is true that as a group you have a strange skill set, but that is to your advantage.” Mantis said encouragingly. “You’ll be able to play far more varied tactics and strategies than most. There is little diversity in combat in the wastes, mainly because all the raiders employ the same tactics. That time when your opponent doesn’t know how to fight back is when you’ll make the most progress.”

Then I had a sickening thought. “But none of this matters. We can’t do anything until Fran wakes up. She’s the only one of us that can track down the other PipBuck and only she can hack into it to get the information we need.”

“You don’t think she will recover?” Tungsten sounded surprised.

“Of course she will!” She has too.

My brother banged his hoof down. “Then what’s the problem? We get everything ready so the moment she wakes we can get the information from the PipBuck and and head out after them.”

“I agree with Tungsten.” Smoking’s voice resonated. “We get ready. The longer we wait the harder it will be to follow them. Even if Francium doesn’t wake we still need to try. Yes it will be harder but I am not prepared to give up. Not by a long shot.”

“Neither am I.” Seafire nodded in agreement.

“Nor me.” Foxglove added.

I felt a grin slide over my face. “Then lets get to it then.”

Foxglove raised her own still full pint mug and whispered “For stable Seventeen.”

I raised my pint, feeling a lift when I saw Mantis’s green hoof join our amalgamation of shades and sizes, aloft in the centre of our group. “For stable Seventeen.” We chorused.

I drank with the others then settled back, listening to Mantis and Smoking begin to hash out a rough plan. Mantis favoured what he called a bedlam approach; between a variety of diversions, all seeming involving things blowing up or burning down, a small team would go to the cages, eliminate any remaining guards and free every slave. With every slave on the run we would escape with our stable and help as many other slaves as we could to freedom.

“The advantages of that is that if things go to plan it will look like the slaves had planned the whole thing, leaving them with no one culprit. You would be free to do what you wanted once you had escaped and not be on anyones hit list.”

Smoking scratched his muzzle. “Makes sense enough, but I can see that having a high casualty count to both sides. Not that I care much about the slavers.”

“What did you learn back in Seventeen?” Mantis, finished off his second pint and pulled a third towards him.

“To think outside the box.” Smoking pondered for a moment. “Couldn’t we go there and just buy them ourselves. We’ve got caps and lots of them.”

“Your friends will be some of the highest priced there, I can guarantee it. You may be able to buy one or two but never all of them. Also, slavers don’t take too well to new clients they have never heard of before. The would smell a rat instantly.”

Wait...

They looked at me. “Sorry, did I say that out loud?” They just nodded. “Well, what about if we were someone they knew. Or thought they knew.”

“How would you play that line?” Mantis asked, intrigued.

“With the PipBuck codes that Fran used. The pony here was at the end of a long list of slavers who knew about our stable. Surely we could pose as one of them.” I looked at them hopefully. Seafire and Tungsten stopped their own discussion to see what was going on.

“Its not a bad idea.” Mantis muttered, Smoking nodded in agreement. “If they thought you were one of their regulars turning up in person you would get free run of the town, be allowed close to the cages before the auctions and get to bid on any slave that came up.”

“But how would we convince them. We don’t know nearly enough. We would trip up on something and could be dead before we realised it.” Seafire looked around in surprise. “You’re not actually considering this are you?”

“If played right, it would give us the best chance.” Mantis stated. “But if it does go wrong then we can always use the bedlam to help us make our escape.”

“There you are. Hey. Helix.” I turned. Typhoon was pushing her way through the chairs to get to our table. “All of you, they are awake.”

I didn’t need any more than that.

In my mind it would be a glorious reunion. I would rush in and see Fran sitting up in bed, her mane all a tangle with that look of love and desire she reserved especially for me; not even Seafire got that gaze.

That wasn’t what I got. I felt myself tearing up yet again as Fran looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot, her breath shallow, and even a few strands of mane coming away as I ran my hoof over her head.

“Oh love, what have you done to yourself?” I leant in and kissed her forehead. Fran lifted her hoof to my muzzle and stroked it gently. I nuzzled back relishing her touch.

“I haven’t... done anything.” Fran coughed. “Didn’t... you see... those massive... fangs?” She tried to smile, but it was more a grimace as a lance of pain seemed to shoot through her.

“Shush. Just lie here and get better. It will be alright. You’ll see.”

Fran’s eyes were wide with hope. “I did it then? I cured everypony?”

I just nodded slowly. “Sleep, you have earned it.” I kissed her again as I pulled up her covers. “One of us will be here all the time. Just call if you need anything.”

Fran nodded gently. She settling back and closing her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

“She’ll be like this for a while. Don’t be surprised if she just falls asleep mid-conversation.” Typhoon looked up as she finished removing Ripsaw’s bandages. “But I can tell you she’ll pull through-- and just sit still!” She snapped at the orange mare.

I walked round to Typhoon’s side as she checked Ripsaw’s healing wound. It was barely noticeable now, the edge of her cutie mark was slightly twisted. You would never know unless you looked closely but Typhoon was not entirely satisfied.

“You’re going to stay for one more day if I have to drug you again, you got that? I need to make sure that it doesn’t swell up now I have removed the bandages.”

“But it looks fine. I’ll be alright.” Ripsaw was clearly already fed up with being stuck in a bed with nothing to do. “Just let me go, Doc.”

“No. One day more,” Typhoon said flatly. “I will send one of your friends to get a book or something, to keep you occupied.” Ripsaw seemed to finally get the message. She rolled back over and let Typhoon cover her with a blanket. “Now just rest. You’ll be up and about this time tomorrow, so you’ll need your strength. You’ll be surprised at how doing nothing can sap you of energy.”

“Can I get you anything in particular?” I offered as she shifted to get comfortable.

“A book. Something easy going. The fourth Daring Doo would be good, ‘Crusaders Of The Lost Temple.’ The one in the Stable’s archives got corrupted, so I wasn’t able to read it. Drove me nuts as filly.”

“I’ll do my best.” Sadly, I doubted that such a thing would have survived out here, but you could always hope.

“So, who wants to sit here first?’ Tungsten asked as I headed for the door.

“Well since you brought it up, you can start. I’m off to get Ripsaw some reading material.”

Tungsten rolled his eyes. “Fine. Make sure you’re back in six hours. I would try to get some sleep before then, else it’ll be a long night.”

I stepped out into the corridor and slumped against the wall, a smile beginning to climb across my face. She was going to make it. My love was going to be alright. Now she was conscious, Typhoon was convinced that she would be her usual self in a few days time. It might take days more for her to be completely back to normal, but once she was up, we could track down that PipBuck. Track down the rest of our stable, and then head off back to Viewpoint in preparation of making our way over the mountains.

“Are you alright?” I felt a soft hoof rest on my shoulder. “I know you haven’t been showing it, but you must have been so scared you were going to lose her.”

“I was. I thought I was going to lose her forever.” I turned to Seafire. “But now she’s alright. She’s going to make it.” It felt good to say it out loud. To confirm it. To hear it said. Francium was going to make it. “Now, let’s get something for Ripsaw. I don’t know her very well, but she will be climbing the walls if we don’t keep her occupied.”

“There was what looked like a book shop back near The Generator. Why don’t we start there,” Seafire suggested.

It was surprising how much more I noticed, now that my mind wasn’t constantly worrying about Fran. As strange as it was, High-Voltage was actually quite pleasant, even homely. Shops seemed to spill out of their designated rooms and into the double-width corridor, leaving a thin line down the centre of ponies to pursue what was on sale. This particular side corridor was filled with all sorts of trinkets and knick-knacks.

Admittedly, most of it looked like junk; or junk that had been cleaned and hung on a string to make a necklace or good-luck charm, but there were some incredible examples of creativity and artistic flare. An elderly earth stallion worked busily at what was to be another masterpiece. He had a lump of sandstone which he was insetting dozens of small metal shards and pieces of mechanical equipment. The result was a soft, cream cactus like object with silvery spines. He even seemed to have artificially rusted the surface of certain pieces to give an even greater depth to his creation.

“That is beautiful,” Seafire cooed. “And its all just scrap and junk. I am sure Fran would love it.”

“I agree. Shame we don’t have anywhere to put it,” I sighed.

“Yeah. Maybe you could buy a room here. It’s not a bad place and I am sure they would let you after what you did for them.”

I gave Seafire a look. “What, just for the rusty cactus?”

“Sure. Why not.” She grinned back.

All I could do was roll my eyes.

We kept walking past all the strange shops until we hit the main shopping area again. The Generator was still as busy as usual. A pair of very burly bucks in full body armour guarded the entrance to ‘Horseshoe Tower Exchange’. Fake gems on dresses in ‘Sheek & Manifique’ sparkled gently.

“Here we go.” Seafire beckoned me towards a shop further down the, well, it was probably best to call it a street. I followed as she entered the bookshop we had spotted earlier.

The bookshelves were so tall that they seemed to lean in on me as I scanned up and down the books on display. My attention was drawn to the terrible condition of the books, none having escaped unscated from where they had undoubtedly been scavenged. Most seemed water damaged though a few were singed, charred or missing their covers. One that almost made me laugh was a book that looked to be comprised of three or more versions of itself. Unable to find a complete one the owner had taken the best from several and bound them together at the spine.

Running my hooves up and down the shelves I spotted volumes and titles I recognised from stable seventeen. I felt a sadness well up inside me. We had lost more than just life in stable seventeen but knowledge, history and culture too. I picked a book up at random: Supernaturals and began to flick through it with my magic. Sadly, It turned out to be a load of natural remedies and thoughts on curses; a bunch of make believe. I tossed the book back onto the shelf feeling like I’d had my time wasted. I had better things to do.

With a book in mind, I went straight up to the back of the store where a pale brown unicorn buck was repairing a thick, hardback volume with a needle and thread; rebinding the spine to prevent the pages from spilling all over the floor. Sensibly, his Cutiemark was a trio of books.

“Be with you in a sec…” he muttered as he looked through a cracked magnifying glass on an adjustable stand. He cinched up the loop he was on before turning to me. “How can I help you.”

“Hi, I am looking for a book for my friend. Something specific.”

“What is it that you’re after?” He looked at me over his glasses, waiting patiently.

“Daring Doo, Crusaders of the Lost Temple,” I replied hopefully. “The fourth one.”

The buck just snorted. “Yes, yes. Very funny. Now, if you have quite finished, I have work to be doing.”

I looked at him confused. “No, no. I’m serious.”

That got his attention. “You are serious. A Daring Doo book?”

“Yes. My friend has read them all apart from number four, and I want to get it for her. She’s been ill and stuck in bed. It’s too make her happy and keep her occupied, you know.” He continued to look at me. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a damaged copy, so long as it’s legible,” I added hoping that’s what he was waiting for, but his expression didn’t change.

“You have them all?” He replied in disbelief. “Every. Single. One?” He looked me up and down, his eyes coming to rest on my PipBuck. “You don’t have the others now do you?” His hooves shifted excitedly.

“Ummm, no, I’m afraid not.” I shrugged sadly. “Well, not as books, I think my other friend has them stored on her PipBuck as a P-Book.”

“I see.” He just nodded standing up and beginning to pace slowly.

“So, do you have a copy?” I asked.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, but I can not sell it to you. It’s priceless. I know of very few copies that have survived. Daring Doo as a series is on the edge of extinction. But,” He snapped to face me, making me jump, “if what you say is true, that your friend possesses digital copies, then we may be able to help each other.”

“How so?” Seafire came over to join us.

“Between you and I, we have the complete set of books. If you let me have digital copies of the other books I will let you digitise the fourth thus completing both our sets.” He was almost dancing in excitement.

I couldn’t see a downside.

Now that my love was no longer on death’s doorstep, I was actually able to enjoy myself for a few days. High-Voltage was far bigger than it looked from the outside. There were so many different areas and zones to explore beyond the control centre and the cooling towers.

Ponies had taken up residence in the most unlikely places and, yet, managed to carve themselves out a little piece of home. A group had gutted the array of outgoing transformers and turned them into individual rooms before covering the top of the whole area, up to the outer ring of security fencing, in sheets of scrap metal.

My favorite was a family who had cut the end off two vast tubular water tanks. All of the furniture had been welded to the curved walls of the tanks, but even more ingeniously, the beds were mounted on two rings of metal so that they could be spun up to the roof, leaving more space free during the day.

“This is just incredible.” Seafire peered and nosed into every dwelling she could, much to the occasional chagrin of their occupants, but she seemed to be loving the backwards engineering as much as Fran would.

Foxglove stuck close to me as we walked, keeping well away from the ponies that passed us down the narrow street. “It is pretty interesting isn’t it. It’s a shame there are no flowers or plants to be seen. It would really lift the place up. Just a little greenery.”

“I doubt they could spare the water.” I sighed. “When me and Fran went up to the view point in Viewpoint there were loads of succulents but they- what’s so funny?” I turned to Seafire as she sniggered.

“Oh, just viewpoint in Viewpoint. I know it’s not clever, but something about it just tickled me.”

“Right…” I rolled my eyes. “I would have thought that would be below your level of humour.”

Seafire glanced down at me. “Does it matter?”

I just shrugged.

I looked up to see Foxglove turning in circles at the end of path, getting confusing looks from passersby. “Do you two have any idea where we are actually going?”

“We are not really going anywhere, we’re just exploring.” Seafire studied the junction, looking at the houses and buildings. “Left,” She said brightly, and set off.

“Shouldn’t we be preparing rather than admiring the local architecture?” I snapped. “If we are going to fight we are going to need armour. Tun gave me his old barding, but after seeing some of the weapons out here, I don’t think it will be good enough.”

“Armour isn’t armour, Helix.” Seafire replied knowledgeably. “Yes, there is nothing wrong with checking your armour and getting it a better fit, but I personally want to wait to see what we’re up against.”

“How do you mean?”

“My barding is designed to stop or slow solid rounds, but it would be poor against energy weapons like a plasma pistol or worse a plasma rifle. The metal plates would heat up and possibly liquify rather than being dented by a normal bullet.”

“Do you expect slavers to have advanced plasma weapons? If they did, I don’t think it would be the kind of thing they would broadcast.”

Seafire shrugged. “I suppose not. But if we are all going to upgrade then we need some for Foxglove, she doesn't have any barding.”

“No. Don’t worry about me. I am not planning on fighting.” The young mare cut in quickly.

“It’s better to have it and not need it.” Seafire sighed. “This landscape is also perfect for flanking your opponents. They will know the terrain well, so we’ll have to be careful to make sure no one attacks us from behind.”

Foxglove just gulped.

I rounded on Seafire. “Give it a rest. You’re scaring her.”

Seafire looked startled. “You asked, Helix. I am not going to lie to you or her: this will be dangerous.”

“Well, just… I don’t know… tone it down a little, ok.” My ears drooped. “I’m sorry. I shouldn't have snapped.”

To my surprise Seafire leant in and nuzzled me. “Its alright, you’ve been under a lot of stress. Racing to finish a cure while knowing your love is close to death, it couldn’t have been much worse.”

“I suppose.” I twisted my hoof nervously. “Seafire, do you mind if we go and look at armour?”

“No, I don’t.” She smiled down at me. She turned to a passing stallion. “Excuse me. Where can we find an armourer?”

The guys jaw failed to work. It was like he was groping Seafire with his eyes as he looked her up and down. “Ummm…” he began. “You after quality or just basic repairs?”

“Quality.” Seafire replied, batting her eyelashes.

“End of the street, turn left, second right, look for the ghoul working at an anvil.” He gulped, his blush clear against his tan coat.

Seafire smiled at him. “Thank you kindly.”

As we left I glanced back over my shoulder and then wished I hadn’t. The poor buck was desperately trying to conceal a full erection as he stood watching Seafire’s rump disappear round the corner.

The stallion might have had other things on his mind, but his instructions were perfect. That said we would probably have found either way, the furnace out front along with the anvil and racks of metal were quite the give away. It also seemed that the rest of the tools were set up in the houses living room. The building was made of three shipping crates, two joined together at the bottom and another perched on top with a set of outside stairs leading up. As we approached we spotted the female ghoul straightening out a bent dagger that glowed white hot under her hooves.

“How is she doing that?” Foxglove whispered. “Surely, it must be burning her.”

“No idea.” I muttered back.

“I may only have one ear, but I can still hear you,” the ghoul growled.

The ghoul carried the now orange hot dagger back over to the furnace with her mouth, and placed it at next to the opening before taking a pair of long tongs and carefully lowering it into the fiery coals.

“If you aren’t here for business, move along.” The ghoul eyed the three of us carefully through the patchy curtain of jet black mane on that covered her eyes.

“We’re business,” Seafire replied. “We’re looking for barding for the young one here and possibly some upgrades for my friend’s and my armour.”

“Step forward.” The ghoul beckoned but Foxglove didn’t move. “Come on girl, I haven’t got all day.”

Foxglove stared at me wide-eyed. “Its alright. We are here.” I smiled reassuringly.

With a nervous nod, and looking like she would rather be anywhere else, Foxglove approached and let the ghoul pace round her. She seemed to be an earth pony, one ear missing, an originally white coat giving way to the raw reds and pinks of her muscles and skin underneath. There was a lump on her head where a horn ought to have been but there was no way to tell if that was the case. Her black mane and tail were thin but full length making her look less abnormal.

“You’re a little small for any normal barding, I got some small stuff, but I will need to downsize it.”

“I’m guessing that will cost us,” Seafire noted.

“Yep. But, since she will grow, I can just fold over the fabric to make it fit so it won’t be excessive.”

“Can you give us an estimate?” I asked.

“You want top notch, or just something to do the job?”

“Might as well do it properly if we are spending the caps,” I replied.

“Good choice.” The ghould continued to circle. “Original barding will be around five hundred, modification fee is eighty. I can add a neck armour and foreleg guards if you like, they’re both one hundred each.”

Seafire nodded slowly. “What kinds of round will that stop? Will it cope with plasma weapons?”

The ghoul paused. “I just reeled off seven hundred and eighty caps worth of work and you don’t even bat an eyelid.” She turned to us looking suspicious. “How do stable dwellers like you have those kinds of caps?” She pointed at our PipBucks.

“Stable dwellers?” Seafire played it well. “PipBucks are not hard to get if you can fire a gun.”

“It’s not the hardware; it’s your tone, how you hold yourself. No injuries, almost perfect coat, perfect mane. All of you look as fresh as daisies when there isn’t a single one in the wastelands.” The ghoul watched us closely. “You’re good, I’ll give you that, but your health is a dead give away.”

Seafire held her gaze for a moment before relaxing. “We had a lot of sparkle cola.”

“Is that so.” The ghoul chose not to press the subject. “Anyway, show me these bardings you want ‘upgrading’. And no, the barding I will supply isn’t designed to stop any kind of plasma weapons.”

Seafire nodded, opening her saddlebags and pulling out her barding. “Well this is mine. Her’s is basically the same.”

She handed it to the ghoul who carried it carefully over to a large table just inside her workshop. We followed her in. All over the walls were pieces of barding, examples of work that she could produce it seemed. It was all incredible. Perfectly stitched, fabric laid in the correct direction in relation to movement, joints between armour panels were barely noticeable on some of the best examples.

“In near mint condition. Standard grade bullet resistant fabric. Grade five titanium triangular plates with no overlaps but minimal spacing. No neck, foreleg or stomach plates. Additional magazine pockets for unicorns.” She turned to us looking confused. “What do you think I can improve?”

Seafire shrugged. “You tell us.”

“Well, if you want an upgrade to make it at least plasma resistant its going to be expensive. I can modify the plates to a titanium based ceramic which would be your best bet, but you would be hard pressed to find replacements if they get heavily damaged.” The mare pulled section of barding off the wall and pulled out one of its protective plates and held it up. “The work would be a permanent alteration of your armour. I would take your current plates and combine them with a ceramic sheet. The titanium would keep it exceptionally tough and hard while air holes would help insulate you from the heat.”

“That’s incredible,” Seafire muttered. “You did this?”

“Yep, one of my best breakthroughs.” the ghoul replied with a hint of pride. “Moving on. The easiest upgrades are neck protection, foreleg protection and chest protection.” She looked at us all. “May I ask why it needs to be so heavy duty. Even the stallions that supply escorts don’t armour up to this level.”

“There is no point in settling for anything but the best,” Seafire replied simply.

“No argument there.” The mare when round behind her counter and pulled out a clipboard and pen. “Ok, it’s half the payment up front as deposit, the rest on delivery of goods. You wanted one new set of barding for the young one and what else?”

“Upgrades on all three pieces of barding to plasma resistant, and we may as well add chest foreleg and neck protection while we’re at it.” Seafire paused. “We may return with two more pieces for the same upgrades. Surely you can do us any kind of deal on the price for so much work.” she added hopefully.

“I’m afraid not. I get so little work that anything I do get has to make as much money as I can.” she scribbled down notes on the board.

“How come you don’t get much work?” I asked. “Why are you not set up in the shopping area?”

She glanced at me cooly. “I got forced out.”

“Why? because you’re a ghoul?”

“No. It’s just that holding white hot metal tends to freak ponies out.”

“So they chased you out to your own home?”

“It was all rumour stuff. That I was going feral and losing all feeling in my body before as I lost my mind. Stuff like that.” She continued to scrawl.

“But why? Your work is amazing.”

“I was the best and on my own I was a threat to several businesses. Horseshoe Tower Exchange, The Armoury, Krak & Frag’s. All of them wanted me gone, but B, the mayor, would have kicked them all out if they did anything direct. So they planted the seeds in the rumour mill and drove me out silently.”

I choked slightly. “But couldn’t you stop it? Tell anyone? Get…”

“NO!”

Foxglove ducked behind the nearest bench with a yelp. I jumped as the ghoul slammed the clipboard down on the table. She glared at me viciously as she seethed, her taut skin exaggerating her clenched jaw. “I have had enough of being poked and prodded like some curiosity and answering stupid questions.”

“But… we genuinely don’t know,” Foxglove whispered to herself rather than the ghoul, but she must have heard for she turned to look.

“You’re the one who could barely stand still as I sized you up,” she snapped back.

“I have only ever met one other ghoul before… I am just…”

“Scared of me?” she asked snidely.

“Not scared.” The young mare stood up and looked right into her eyes. “I’m just not used to how you look.”

“Ember? Are these ponies bothering you?” A ghoul buck appeared at the foot of the stairs, his magic gripping a pistol but didn’t pull it from its holster.

“I’m not sure father,” Ember replied.

The stallion let go of the pistol and approached cautiously. He stared right at Foxglove as he passed. To my surprise she stood her ground, even if she looked like she might bolt at any moment. He went and stood at his daughter's side before scanning down the order of our list.

“This is substantial.” He actually sounded impressed. “What made you come to Ember rather than one of the other stores in the main market?”

“We asked a random buck where to go for quality. He directed us here,” I answered quickly.

“What did he look like?”

“Ummm, about my height. Tan coat. Brown mane and tail. Young.”

Ember smiled at her father. “Sounds like Fauxt.”

“He was rather hard to forget. Seafire here had him doing more than just blushing.”

“I feel it would be impolite to say,” She replied with a nervous smile, pawing at the ground.

“I see…” the stallion looked at the three of us with curiosity. “Did they say why the needed such advanced armour?” he asked in a low tone to his daughter.

“They said they wanted the best.” He just nodded slowly in response.

“So… how much does all that come to?” I asked tentatively.

Ember scanned down the clipboard. “For the three pieces here including the new set, coverage mods, resizing and fitting, the ceramic mods where possible… two thousand eight hundred caps.”

“Sounds fine to me.” Seafire pulled open her saddlebag and began rummaging. “Half of it up front wasn’t it.”

If Ember was shocked at Seafires casual response she hid it well. Seafire pulled out several pouches filled with caps and quickly counted them with her magic. “Helix, I only have nine hundred on me. Do you have anything?”

I shook my head. “I’ll go up to Tun and get the rest. You guys stay here.”

“Can’t you use your PipBuck?” Foxglove asked. “The distance is about the same as calling from one side of Seventeen to the other.”

“I don’t know, it might work.” I pulled up Tungsten’s tag number and initiated a call. “Helix to Tungsten, over.” I gave it a moment and repeated. No response.

“Seems not.” Foxglove muttered. “That would have been…”

“Tungsten to Helix.” Tun sounded surprised. “That you sis?”

“Hey. Yeah it’s me. Are you in the room?”

“Yeah.”

“If I asked you to meet me at the exit of the tower with twenty times our monthly allowance would you understand?”

“You mean in caps?”

“Yeah.”

“I can do that. Why so much?”

“We are getting some armour upgrades.”

“Nice.” There was a scuffling in the background. “Any chance they could have a look at mine?”

“Yeah, but you will need to bring more. This will cover my armour, Seafire’s and some new barding for Foxglove.”

“Ok, I will see you down there in fifteen minutes. Oh, and Helix, Fran is up and about. I thought you would like to know. Tungsten out.”

I was out the door before he finished the sentence.

I dashed along the corridors towards the hospital. After literally running into Tun, and giving him the shortest explanation about where to find the others, I wanted nothing more that to pin Fran to the floor and kiss her until my lips went dry.

My stomach dropped when I saw her. When Tun had said she was up and about, I hadn’t thought that he meant in a wheelchair. I walked in to see Typhoon slip an I.V. drip into her foreleg before hanging the drip off the chair's back.

“Fran.” She looked at me and her expression softened into a state of calm I knew only I could put her in. “Tun said you were up. But why the wheelchair?”

“Leg still isn’t fully healed, but Tungsten told me about you guys getting your armour upgraded and beginning to gather supplies. Gave me a right shock when he called me.” She shook her PipBuck. “It never occurred to me that they would work outside the stable. The range will be much more limited without relays, but I would say that they are good for a mile or so, provided there’s nothing in the way.”

“That will be useful.” I leant over and kissed her softly. “I was hoping you would be walking, but seeing you out of that bed is good enough for now.”

“It will let me get around which is all I need.” Fran began to flick through her PipBuck’s menus so fast that I could barely keep up. “Would you care to push me? I feel its time we tracked down this buck.”

“Oh no no! Fran you can’t! What if he’s dangerous! Or recognises us!” I looked up at Typhoon who just shook her head.

“She was trying to get into the chair when I took over from Smoking. I would prefer that she stay in bed, but so long as she does nothing strenuous she’ll be fine.”

“I’m pretty sure that going after a potentially dangerous and armed individual counts as strenuous.” I looked at my love imploringly. “Just wait a few more days. We can wait.”

“Well, I can’t. I’m fed up of sitting in this bed knowing that the longer I am here is more chance that he could leave HighVoltage. I’ve been keeping an eye on him and he hasn’t moved far since we arrived. We need to find him before he moves on.

“If he leaves, all of this will have been for nothing.” She looked back fiercely. “I am doing this, with or without you.”

“It will have hardly been for nothing. You saved a whole city from death.” I stroked her mane calmingly.

“But we will have lost our stable as a result. This is my fault. Let me fix this Helix, like I fix everything else.”

I just nodded. “Ok… where do we go?”

“It shouldn’t be difficult to navigate there, but one thing before we go.” I heard the click of a magazine and a hum. Fran floated a loaded black hawk to me while tucking Jury under the blanket covering her legs. “Just in case.”

I placed the Blackhawk in the pouch hanging off the back of the wheelchair, making sure I left the pouch open and maneuvered Fran out the door and straight into Tungsten.

“You off already?” He was panting.

“What… why are you out of breath?”

“I worked it out. The moment she,” he pointed at Fran, “was able to get out of that bed she’d be off to track that PipBuck.”

“And you sprinted all the way back here from Embers?”

“Embers? Oh yeah, the ghoul. I sprinted half way there and then all the way back here. I just knew she would get you to help her.”

Fran smiled at him. “Does that mean you are here to help?”

Tungsten nodded his head in agreement, looking like a dog with its tongue hanging out. “When I get my breath back.”

“Left at the end of the corridor. We are less than sixty metres away.”

We’d left behind the hustle and bustle of the market area, the gentle chatter that occupied the living areas, and were now heading out toward the sparsely used engineering sector. We passed room after room of neglected equipment and machinery. Only the rusted plaques, and brief glimpses through grimey panes gave us any clue as to what each may have been used for. It was really quite creepy.

“Are you sure we should be out here alone, Fran?” I whispered

Tungsten paced behind us, covering with his BlackHawk. “Three of us, even one in a wheelchair, can subdue one buck. I could probably do it alone.”

My love looked back at me reassuringly. “No one is about. You can pull out the Blackhawk but keep the safety on.”

I did so, keeping it concealed behind the wheelchair. We turned the corner.

“Fifty metres. He’s right in front of us.”

“There isn’t fifty metres of building.” Tun pointed out.

“Take me to the window at the end. Maybe he’s hiding outside or in a container. We will be able to look down onto him.”

I slowly wheeled Fran up to the window, but I realised it a moment before she did.

“What’s out there?” Fran tried to lift herself to see out. “What can you see?”

“Oh Celestia… he couldn’t be? Could he?” I gulped. “I don’t think we are going to have to worry about fighting him Fran. But finding might be an issue.”

“Why?” Tun asked as he covered the corridor behind us.

“He has been buried in a mass grave.”

The stench was horrific. It filled the air like an invisible mist. I gagged with every breath. Fran seemed to be faring better but only as she didn’t seem to have her full sense of smell back yet. The hole was shallow, barely a metre deep, the mound of bodies rose in the centre. Tun was walking round the edge checking the easily visible bodies to no avail.

“How many do you think there are?” Fran asked sadly.

“Five hundred, maybe six.”

“B said that most of the population had survived.”

“Five in six seems to be a pretty good deal considering every single pony here could have been dead. I just can’t believe they didn’t bury them.”

Fran just shook her head. “He’s in there alright. We’re going to have to go in and find him. I don’t like the idea either,” she cut across my gasp. “But after what happened in the warehouse, I have to say this isn’t as bad. At least there won’t be gallons of blood.”

“We need help. We need permission. We can’t just start digging through them.”

Tun came back over with a grim look on his muzzle. “We can’t let anyone find out what we are looking for. We need to just start looking. Be as quick as possible.”

“Tun, these ponies may have families back in the city. How would they feel if they saw you toss their son or daughter's body aside as you looked. This is wrong.”

“Then what should we do?” He snapped back.

“I don’t know. Like I said we should ask.”

Tun turned on me angrily. “And if they say no or someone works out what we are doing or word reaches these slavers then what.”

I shrunk back under his piercing gaze. “We could just be quick.” I replied quietly.

“We will be quick, and as respectful as we can.” She smiled reassuringly. “Lift them with your magic and lay them aside carefully. I will check them for a Pipbuck. Fran can help direct us.”

“Tun…” My lip began to tremble.

“Helix.” He put his forehooves round my neck. I fell into his grasp, tears welling in my eyes. “We have to save them. All of them.”

I just nodded, sniffing into his coarse coat, letting it dig down to my skin and let me know just how tightly my brother was holding me. I could tell he didn’t like it either, as tough a face he put on, his small shivers gave it away, but he was right. It needed to be done.

After a moment he let go of me and rubbed his nose against mine. “Come little healer, help me save the stable one more time.”

I laid my hundredth body aside. I couldn’t help but count. Tungsten was almost lost in the heart of the pile now and nearing the point that Fran had calculated, with the help of some metal rods pushed into the ground, where the body would be. Darkness would soon prevent us from searching. Tun had suggested we just turn our PipBuck lights on but Fran had rightly pointed out that it would draw attention to us. At least earlier we kind of blended into the grimy, pastel shaded pile.

“Remember, he could be above or below you. This thing will only give me range.” Fran called from the edge, Jury in her magic.

“Helix, could you lift this black buck up here.” I lifted him with my magic so that Tun could check his legs. “No. The patchy mare on my right.” I obliged.

“Wait. I got a PipBuck here.” Those words made me snap to attention. “Bring her to the edge.”

I laid her body down on the edge of the pit. Fran wheeled herself over as Tun pulled himself out of the hole. He stank of death, but I ignored it.

“Is it her?” he asked, trying to scrub some of the grime off his hooves.

“Yeah… It’s her.” Fran immediately looked concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Her coat isn’t patchy naturally, or because she has been in that hole for over a week…”

“Then…”

“Its been dyed. The rain has washed a lot of it away, but look,” She pointed to the ground. The mud had turned slightly pink.

“Why would she dye her coat?” Tun muttered.

“Something is going on. I can feel it…” Fran’s brow furrowed further. “Helix, the mare who almost fed you the Cazador eggs. You said she had pink hair right?”

“Yes… unnaturally.” I gulped.

“And Mantis told us about that group, the Pink Stormers.”

“And you think what…”

“I don’t know, that’s what worries me. This may sound stupid but Pink is hardly a common colour in the wasteland it seems.”

“We can talk about his later, Fran.” Tun cut in before she could continue. “Lets get the info we need off the PipBuck and get out of here.”

Fran just nodded in response.

“Helix, while she is doing that help me put the bodies back we will leave a hole near the middle and then we can bury the body back where it was. Fran, how long will that take you?”

“Less than an hour I am sure but that’s all I can give you.” She replied as she use her own PipBuck to tap into the memory of the other. “It will be tricky to trace back the message. I may only get a partial trace too but at least it will be a start.”

“That will be more than enough time to put every pony back.” That made me wince. “And a partial trace is a start.”

“Helix, first body please.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Group Perk - The dark side of right: You can choose to push through hard decisions when the need arises if you believe what you are doing is right… but it may come back to haunt you later.