I still didn’t feel perfect. My leg ached when I walked, my ribs burned as I breathed, my vision wasn’t always square, but I wasn’t going to let any of that stop me. Too long had I been stuck in that bed thinking, planning and scheming about what I was going to do when I found Madame and Storm. Now that I had a point of origin for that signal I was going to make sure that we found them and...

Except I didn’t have a point of origin.

Well, sort of didn’t.

“I have the coordinates of where the message was sent from, but that isn’t the same as its origin, if that makes any sense.” I shuffled on the bed to get more comfortable. “The message was sent from a point here.” I indicated a point up on the old CRT screen that I’d fixed up and linked to my PipBuck. “Thanks to B, who let me scan some of the old region maps into my PipBuck, that signal seems to be coming from...“ I brought up the map over the PipBucks tracking map, “This building here.”

“What is that label next to it?” Smoking moved in and peered intently at the pixelated image.

“Stable Twenty Five.” There was a collective intake of breath. “Yeah, I thought that would be your reaction. And that’s not all.” I panned across to Viewpoint. “When I hacked into the mine terminal after the Stone Throwers’ attack, I found requisition orders for various stable parts, but had no confirmation if there was actually a stable there.” I zoomed in on the marker. “But, according to these maps, that is the site of Stable Twenty Seven.”

“There are two more stables in this region?” Helix asked, perplexed. “Why so many in one area?”

“That’s another thing. The warehouse at the exit of Stable Seventeen is marked here as a Water Analysis Station. The logs from the door terminal suggested as much but here is proof that the real use of the building was being kept secret.”

“So ponies would believe that there were only two stables?” Smoking asked.

“It seems that way.” I zoomed out and used my Pipbuck to highlight the marked roads and paths. “Now, it seems the easiest option open to us to get up to Stable Twenty Five is this road here, the E617B, which snakes its way up the mountain side. These maps are pre-war so I have no idea what state it might be in, but being a B class…”

“Fran, sorry to butt in but I’m afraid large portions of that road have collapsed from the cliff edge.” Mantis shook his head. “The only direct route up that I know of is Thunderhead Pass: a hoofpath. Either that or you would have to go to the view point in Viewpoint, cross the Crescent Viaduct then traverse the top of the ridge around.”

“Hmmm. I thought something like that was going to crop up. Typical.” I scratched my muzzle thinking. “Which paths marked on here do you know of?”

“I know most of them but, so far as I know, Thunderhead Pass and the Platinum Traverse are the only two what are useable.”

“What is this dotted path round on the right of Viewpoint?” Foxglove pointed. “That runs all the way up and joins to the ridge.”

“That is the railway that was built to ferry the gems up to the top of the ridge. There is a big landing pad up at the top.” Mantis replied swiftly.

“Could we use that to get to the top of the ridge then traverse round?” I asked.

“You could. The Viewpoint path is shorter but steeper. It would be up to you.”

“Wait wait.” Tungsten cut in. “I remember one of you saying that the slavers operate out of Apploosa. Why aren't we heading there?”

“You are heading there. With the B road out the hoofpaths are the only way of getting in and out of this valley. To get to Apploosa you have to go through the Platinum tunnel and then go all they way across the planes. Its a good five days to the mouth of the tunnel if you go straight there. Going off the path to Stable Twenty Five will make that eight days.”

“You mean it will take over a week?” Tungsten gawped. “What on earth are slavers going to do with our Stable in a week!”

“Its the ascent. you have to rise five thousand feet to go over the pass, five thousand back down to the Stable and then its a shallow one thousand into the bottom of the valley and the entrance to the PLatinum Tunnel.” Mantis Sighed. “Its a shame that we don’t have a local pegasus.”

I turned to him in confusion. “What about Typhoon?”

“She can’t fly.” Helix said sadly. “She got shot, by her own squad apparently.”

“Oh…” I shuffled, embarrassed. “I didn’t know.”

“Its fine, Fran, don’t worry,” Mantis said calmly. “My fault for bringing it up. Anyway, if it was me, I would go Viewpoint, stock up, Platinum hoofpath, follow the rest of the E617B between the peaks and then take that track off to the stable.”

Helix raised her hoof. “Wait, Stitches said it took three weeks to go to Apploosa?”

“That was before the Platinum tunnel, turned two weeks of hiking over the mountains into two days going underneath them.”

“Why can’t we cut straight off the road and down to the stable.” Seafire pointed out a path with her magic.

“That’s a sheer drop of about five thousand feet.” Mother of Celestia thats was a long drop. “The road takes the natural line down the mountainside across the top of the cliff. I know for a fact that bit is still there, so once you make the pass it will be an easy walk down.”

“Does anyone have any other thoughts?” I scanned round the room. “Ripsaw, you haven’t said anything yet.”

“Yeah…” Her ears dropped. “The thing is that, I don’t think I’ll be following you.”

“What?” we all asked in unison.

“Why?” Helix rested a hoof on her.

She shrugged “I’m just not ready for this.”

“Not ready for this how?” Tungsten gave her a ‘what’ look.

“I… I know its nowhere near as bad as what happened to Francium, but I almost got blown up.” Her eyes widened. “I… I fix things. Mend. Repair. I don’t have the mentality for fighting.

“But what I can do is help High-Voltage. There are so many systems that don’t work that could seriously benefit the ponies living here. Even the water filtering plant needs constant repair. I believe my time would be better spent making their lives better. What good is it if we save them all only for them to die. I have a far better knowledge than anyone else here. Do you understand what I am saying?”

We all nodded slowly.

“Foxglove is coming with us,” Tungsten cut in. “She’s getting on for half your age.”

“No. I am not playing that game with you,” Ripsaw replied bluntly. “I have my reasons. She has hers.”

Tungsten grunted. “Fine.”

I felt like kicking him. “No one will make anyone come if they don’t want to.” I eyed Tungsten. “Got that?” He just shrugged.

“Well, does anypony else want to stay?” We all looked between each other but no one raised a hoof. “Good. Mantis, are you going to come with us?”

“I certainly am.” He grinned.

“Good. That makes seven of us.” I beamed round.

Smoking got to his hooves. “Now that is out the way we need to take stock of what we have. That’s Food, supplies, weapons and ammunition. I would also like to assign tasks to each of you and positions for combat.”

“Combat positions?” Foxglove stammered.

“Yes. I will go into more detail when I know what we have but I won’t put you in a position I don’t think you can handle.” He pondered for a moment. “We should also have a formation that we stick to when we walk. Tungsten and Seafire will understand the advantages of this more than the rest of you but organisation is key.”

Seafire stood determinedly. “Then lets get on it.”

The others had gone off to discuss more military matters leaving Foxglove, Helix and I to sort through our stuff. I emptied my saddle bags onto the bed. Next to me Helix was doing the same. Foxglove was sorting through her stuff on the table.

“How are you feeling Fran?” my love asked softly. “No more pains?”

“I get the occasional twinge but that’s all,” I replied, shaking my bag to get everything out. “It’s mainly my leg, but a few more days with the pills Typhoon gave me should…” I stopped at a heavy clanking sound.

Helix slid up to me and ran a hoof along my back. “Oh Fran. I didn’t know you’d brought those.” I gulped as I looked down at the two pairs of hoofcuffs that lay before me on top of all my other belongings.

“I… I didn’t think I did.” I could feel a familiar heat rising in me.

“Well I’m glad you did. It’s been awhile hasn’t it…” I stuffed my hoof into my mouth to stifle the moan Helix was coaxing from me. “Perhaps we should have some fun?” I groaned again as my loves magic brushed across my most sensitive area.

“But Foxglove…” I gasped though my shortened breath. “She is so close.” My eyes began to roll back.

“Hmmmm, I guess it’ll have to wait.” Helix sighed. “But so you know… I brought a few things of my own.” The last words she spoke so quietly I almost missed them, yet her breath tickled my ear making my knees weaken.

All I could do in reply was nodd.

With Helix no longer teasing me I continued to sort through our stuff, though I noticed that she took the cuffs with a sensual smile. I still only had one spare energy cell for Jury. We had plenty of ammunition for the Blackhawks, about one hundred rounds each. We still had twenty bottle of Sparkle Cola each, but we were low on prewar food and medical supplies.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get many healing potions here,” Helix said absent mindedly. “They used most of their stock up on you.”

I neatly packed my sparkle cola into one end of my saddle bag. “What about the shops here?”

“Price will probably be up a bit since the are not as many around. We’ll get a better deal in Viewpoint.”

Somepony rapped on the door.

I took Jury in my magic but kept it hidden behind my bag, then nodded to Helix.

“Enter,” Helix called. “Oh, hey Typhoon.” I looked up to see my ex-doctor, I still found it strange not seeing her from below.

She gave us a polite nod, closing the door softly. “I heard from Smoking and Tungsten that you’re planning to leave soon.”

“Yes, hopefully early tomorrow.” I put Jury down and went over to her. “What brings you all the way up here?”

“I have some things for you.” Typhoon lifted the corner of her lab coat to reveal a saddle bag. “I’ve kept these ever since I was stranded down here. I was hoping to put them to good use, but I‘ve never been able to, and given what I know you’re planning to do, I think you’ll benefit from them more than I will.”

Typhoon upended a pair of paper bags onto the bed and opened a battered metal tin. Inside the bags were a hoofful of syringes, several bandages, a packet of tablets and two inhalers. The tin contained around sixty 5.56mm rounds, with a mix of tip colours, and two energy cells.

“Perfect. I need energy cells.” I picked one up and checked it against Jury. “Yep, it matches. Thank you, Typhoon”

“No problem.” She smiled; she had a beautiful smile. “There’s seven rejuvenation potion’s there, like healing potions but better. Some magical bandages, one packet of Med-X tablets and two Dash inhalers.”

“What’s Dash?” Foxglove asked, picking up the small device.

“Its is a highly addictive hallucinogenic stimulant which gives the illusion that time has slowed down.” I gawped at Typhoon. “It was used as a last resort combat drug during the war. Now though many ponies are addicted to it throughout the wasteland.”

Helix pulled the inhaler from her hooves and put it back on the bed. “What do you mean by ‘last resort’?” She asked tentatively.

“For that moment where you are surrounded by enemies and an inch from death. That kind of last resort.” Typhoon muttered darkly. “Where if you don’t take it the last thing you would do was wish you had.”

“I can’t believe somepony created something like this…” Helix shook her head. “Taking it might even kill you if you were on something else already.”

“It often did,” Typhoon added sadly. “But anyway. Take it, but only use it if you have no other choice.”

I just nodded. “What are all these bullets?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Various different 5.56mm rounds. Should fit in those big pistols you have.”

“The Blackhawks.” Helix pulled out hers and laid it on the bed.

“Yeah, that’s the ones.” Typhoon deftly picked up a round of each colour with her wing. “The red tipped ones are incendiary, purple is armour piercing, yellow are explosive and green are poisoned.”

“Poisoned?” we asked in unison.

“Yeah. For taking down large animals and anyone pumped up on drugs. Contain a vial of fast acting neurotoxin. If you shoot anything with one, it will die in minutes.” Typhoon shook her head. “I really hate guns but they were necessary at the time.”

We stood in silence, thinking.

“Well I best be off.” Typhoon looked at us sadly. “Make sure you drop in and say goodbye.”

“We will,” I assured her, opening the door for her.

“See you soon.” She gave a little wave and I shut the door.

I jumped at a ripping sound. I looked down to see part of Typhoons white coat trapped in the door frame.

“I’m sorry.” I quickly opened the door and gasped.

It was just gone. Typhoon’s eyes swelled up as I stared at the three stubs of bone sticking out of the hole where her right wing should have been. The skin was raw and puffy. A tenuous milky pink layer of tissue. The ends of the bone had been whipped to prevent them from splintering further. They twitched as I watched, tugging on the strained skin.

“Oh my...” Helix held a hoof to her mouth.

“Typhoon…” I stammered. “What happened?”

She didn’t move. The strong, intelligent mare gone replaced by a frightened filly hanging on for dear life. She moved her mouth but nothing came out.

“Quickly.” Helix pulled the torn fabric of her lab coat over the wound and steered her back into the room.

I closed the door as Helix led Typhoon back to the bed, clearing our bags and Typhoons gifts to the floor with a wave of her magic. Carefully, she encouraged Typhoon to remove her coat and saddle bag, which I noticed now was positioned as to fill in the gap, making a lump under the coat like her left wing.

Foxglove just stood there, staring in horror at the wound on the pegasus’ side. I could see it, memories returning, of all the death she had seen.

“Foxglove. Snap out of it.” She jumped at my voice. “Make some tea. Ok?” She just nodded, giving her something to do would keep the memories at bay.

“Typhoon,” Helix whispered softly, “can you tell us what happened?”

Typhoon just curled up on her side, her eyes tight shut.

“Did this happen when you crashed?” The tiniest of movements indicated yes.

“You tore your wing off when you hit the ground?” Helix asked surprised.

No.

“Did you do this to yourself?” A tearful eye cracked open, the pupil fully dilated and filled with fear.

“Yes?” I asked, my heart suddenly thumping.

Typhoon shook her head a fraction. “No, good.”

“Who did this to you Typhoon?” My love asked, caressing Typhoons mane.

“R… r… raid, raiders.” Typhoon wept.

“They cut your whole wing off?”

“No. Their doctor,” she said with as much sarcasm as equinely possible. “was told to remove the bullet.” Helix and I exchanged a fearful glance. “It was in his way.”

“So he…” I didn’t need to finish the sentence. Typhoon rolled away from us, took a pillow tightly in her forehooves and cried. All the three of us could do was stroke her and be with her while she wept.

Typhoon stayed with us until gone midday. There was little we could do for her but be with her. Eventually Helix escorted her back to her room and left me to pack our saddlebags with Foxglove.

As I finished packing my own bag I glanced over at Helix’s. I knew it was bad of me, but I really wanted to know what Helix had brought with her from the stable. I had no idea when she planned for us to use it, but I couldn’t wait until we could play.

‘Just a little peek’ my inner pony prodded. ‘It’ll be alright.’ I bit my lip. I shouldn’t. Wouldn’t it be better if was all a surprise?

My lebido got the better of me. I opened the left hoof pouch and gently felt around with my magic for anything that might be non-essential. I felt the cuffs at the bottom and left them there, There was a collection of rolled up fabric at the bottom, but I didn’t want to pull it out incase she came back. Could be a dress of some kind.

I quickly closed the pouch and opened the other. Again, I felt around inside but nothing obvious. I few medical supplies it seemed, and what felt like a glow stick. There was also what felt like a muzzle mask down there, and a small hoof pump, probably for helping somepony to breath.

I closed the right side up and checked the end pockets. Ammunition, sparkle cola, bandages, half a box of sugar bombs. Then I felt a pair of thin tubes. They couldn’t be anything to play with nor were they stored with the medical supplies.

I pulled them out of the pocket and suddenly wished I hadn’t. They were pregnancy testers. Why would Helix have pregnancy testers? Unless…

There was a knock at the door. I reset everything as quickly as I could while Foxglove went to the door. Helix had returned with Seafire carrying a stack of Barding

“Ember is done with our barding.” Helix smiled. “They look fantastic!”

“They look like they could stop some serious firepower, that’s more what I’m interested in.” Seafire laid each out on the bed so we could all see. “She only messed up one of the titanium ceramic plates. Smoking has taken the replacement hardened steel plate”

“Which one is mine?” Foxglove ran a hoof over the fabric, feeling the plates beneath.

“This one.” Seafire pointed. “Apparently it’s from an old pegasi air base. You can see where its been adjusted to cover up the wing holes. Should be quite good. The only problem I see is that it’s not as heavy duty as I would like it to be since it needed to be worn in flight. It will protect you, but it’s best not to get hit. If you do you will definitely have a bruise.”

“Yes, because I am always in the line of fire.” Foxglove sighed, draping it over herself.

“Let me give you a hoof.” Seafire reached out with her magic to zip up the barding.

“No, I’ve got it.” Foxglove made sure that the barding was central, then with a thrust of her forehooves stood up on her hind legs. She lined up the zip, pinched the zipper in her hooves and slowly drew it up her body, closing it tight.

“It’s a nice fit.” She shuffed her hind quarters and stretched her legs. It doesn’t even catch on my neck.”

“How did you do that?” Seafire gaped.

“Do what?”

“That. The whole standing up… thing.” Seafire pointed, astounded.

Foxglove shrugged “I have always been able to do that. All of us could.”

“You mean that’s normal for an earth pony to dress like that?” Seafire replied.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Wow.” Thats all Seafire could manage.

“Fran.” Helix placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Not to get at you but you haven’t got any barding. What are you planning to wear?”

“I am glad you brought that up.” I grinned, pulling my EVA suit out of the draws beside me “I think I have quite the solution.”

While I was delirious on that bed I had been thinking over how I’d even gotten to the lake in the first place. A large part of me agreed; I should have died messily with a hole in my neck back in the warehouse of Stable Seventeen.

But I hadn’t.

“Honestly I am not sure what happened.” I said as I pulled out my remaining energy cell and checked it against the temporary holder I had made. “All I can guess is that the moisture in the air, combined with the rain, charged the suits capacitors which fired automatically as safety feature as it detected the increase in pressure from the bullet.”

“The suit has features like that built in?” Helix asked bemused. “Why?”

“The auto activation is for safety teams. Imagine something went wrong in the stable and it flooded. If you were wearing the suit it would protect you from the initial flood of water long enough for the talisman to kick in and take over. The capacitors are there in case the talisman were to fail, it would give you about 5 minutes of energy to keep the repulsion spell up and there would be enough air in the helmet for you to breathe.”

“So how does all that stop you from needing barding.” Seafire asked.

“Easy, modify the suit so that it no longer runs on the talisman but these instead.” I lifted up the cell as I continued to work. “The capacitors will help smooth out any fluctuations in power from the energy cell and cope with the sudden dump of energy required to stop a bullet.”

Seafire did a double take. “So you are telling me that that suit can stop bullets.”

“Yes. I don’t see why not.” I gave the cell a thump and it snapped neatly into the temporary holder above the deconstruction talisman. “But, so you don’t kill me I want to start with the rubber rounds. I am guessing we have some left?”

“Just one magazine.” Seafire pulled out her old Stable pistol and loaded the magazine. “This thing is so small in comparison to my Blackhawk.” She muttered.

“Yeah, we’ll be getting to that in a moment if this works.” I excitedly wired up the last few connections. “Ideally, I would like to do the modifications properly at Arcano Technologies if Swarf will let me, this will just be a proof of concept.”

I finished the final connection, then began to slip into the suit. I was almost done when I felt a pain as my ribs were compressed. I stifled the grunt of pain and pushed past it. Maybe Typhoon was right, I could do with another few days rest. But I didn’t want to think about that now.

The suits spine sealed with the same satisfying click. I took a personal moment to relax, It was like finding my favourite cuddly toy again in years. The familiarity and sense of home. I loved this suit.

“You ready Fran?” Seafire asked.

“Yep.” I took ten large paces back from Seafire, Foxglove and Helix so I was right up against the wall of the room. I took a deep breath as I activated the suit. There was a hum as the systems started up, everything read green, except that the suit believed the talisman was damaged and needed replacing; shame there were none left anyway. “I’m ready.”

Seafire raised the small pistol, breathed deeply and fired.

The lampshade next to my head imploded in a puff of dust and thin paper. The round had struck the repulsion spell and been deflected at a right angle from the point of impact. The suits capacitors barely fluctuated at all.

“You alright.” Helix asked cautiously.

“Yeah. Didn’t feel a thing.” I readied myself again “Fire until I say stop this time Seafire. About 1 round per second.” The white mare nodded.

“In three, two, one.” She fired. Again. And again.

The capacitive readout dropped with each shot. Rounds deflected all over the room, denting wood and whizzing back over Seafire’s head. The indicator was still green after eight shots at with half the capacity remaining. Seafire Kept firing. The readout jumped to amber on the eleventh shot, indicating current overload, I watched the remaining power drop exponentially until...

Seafire fired the fifteenth round and I took it squarely in the chest as the capacitors gave out. I dropped to the floor coughing and gasping.

“Fran!” Helix bounded over the bed to my side. “Are you alright?” She unclipped the suit and unzipped it to reveal a freshly blooming purple bruise mark. “Dam it Fran. Why didn’t you tell her to stop.”

“Got… distracted.” I wheezed getting to my feet.

My love rolled her eyes. “Distracted?”

“The capacitors can’t cope with the sudden current draws as they get lower down. It could probably stop a 5.56mm round but the strain on the capacitors would be huge.”

“Well its a good job that raider only had a .32 pistol or you would be dead right now.” Seafire ejected the spent magazine. “I hope you found out what you needed, cause the next time we do this it will have to be with live ammunition.”

“I think I did and, more importantly, I think I know how to solve it.” I pulled myself to my feet. “That will have to wait until Viewpoint. The cell has only had around a tenth of its power drained, the capacitors just couldn’t keep up.” I checked my HUD again. “Yeah the capacitors have recharged while we’ve been talking. So, in theory, one of those cells could deflect around one hundred and fifty of those rounds.”

Seafire didn’t seem to be taking to the idea. “But if we are being shot at they may well be using 5.56mm round from assault rifles. They hit around five times harder so you could only survive thirty of those.”

“I am not planning on standing where they can hit me in the same way you aren't planning to,” I retorted. “I still need cover and stuff. I will just last a little longer if I am caught in the open.” Seafire just made an agreeable grunt.

There was a hard knock on the door. “Enter.” Helix called.

Tungsten and Smoking stepped in. “Are you lot ready to...” Smoking began. He spotted the dented walls and the broken light shade then looked to me in my EVA suit. “What is going on here?”

“We were just testing out my EVA suit to see if can deflect bullets,” I said happily.

Smoking and Tungsten gawped. “And can it?”

“To a point it seems,” Seafire cut in.

Smoking just glanced at the lot of us. “Well, are you ready to leave or not? If we don’t go now we won’t reach the warehouse before Nightfall.”

Foxglove took a step back. “We… we are staying there?”

“We have to. Unless you want to sleep outside,” Tungsten added.

Foxglove looked like she would very much take her chances.

With one last quick glance around I sighed. “Yes, I believe we are ready.”

Leaving High-Voltage left a strange feeling in my stomach. As I watched the towers disappear into a midday mist that was settling down around us, I wondered if anypony would actually remember what I had done. I really didn’t want to be idolised, but I didn’t want them to forget either. If anything, I wanted it to evolve into something almost mythological: the mare in black that entered the lake and saved all of High-Voltage.

That, I could deal with. No face. No name. Just the act.

“We need to press on if we are going to reach the warehouse,” Smoking called back. “Come on Fran, pick up the pace. Mantis is going to be there waiting, fire lit and food ready.”

“Are you alright, my love?” Helix nuzzled me as I turned back to the group.

“Yeah, I suppose.” I looked up at the sky. “It’s going to rain again isn’t it.”

“Probably.” She giggled.

“I am beginning to wonder if we'll ever see the sun.”

Helix, scratched the back of her neck with her magic. “Yeah, about that…”

In the next six hours Helix and the others filled me in on everything I had missed: the Enclave, the pony with the pink hair, the cazadore eggs. We also witnessed the lake get filled to bursting point as the rain came down in a torrent, which really did hammer home that I would never get to see the sun.

We arrived at the warehouse just as the last of the suns rays disappeared. Mantis was waiting for us with his scoped rifle slung over his shoulder. He looked a little grim.

“I’m afraid I need your help doing a little clearing up. A few raiders had taken up residence and didn’t want to budge.”

“More raiders?” Foxglove slowly drifted to hide behind Seafire.

“Only four. They didn’t dress like the others, so not of the same group.”

“You didn’t get hit did you?” Seafire asked.

Mantis laughed. “Nah, this lot only had clubs and knives. No match for a single grenade.”

We cautiously entered the warehouse and then I saw what Mantis meant by clearing up. All four raiders had been decimated by the grenade. The remains of their campfire had been blasted everywhere, including into one raiders eye socket along with what appeared to be stew.

“Got it to land right in their cooking pot.” Mantis said proudly. “None of them wanted to put their hoof in to pull it out.”

I winced. That sounded far from a clean death.

Smoking sighed “Let’s get them outside. I am not planning to sleep with that in the corner of the room.”

The clean up didn’t take long and before long Mantis was cooking on a campfire of our own. The seven of us sat in a circle round it, ‘much like when we’d found the sparkle cola’ my little pony mourned, slowly consuming the stew Mantis brewed. Despite what happened in the warehouse, I was strangely content, listening to the rain lash against the Warehouse roof, a belly full of warm stew, and snuggled up against my love.

“What are you smiling at Fran.” Helix looked down at my head in her lap as she stroked my mane.

I rubbed my muzzle against her tummy. “Just happy, that’s all.”

“Well, how about a little game?” Helix whispered.

Uh oh.

“Lets see how good you are at...” I strained to stifle a gasp as Helix reached inside me with her magic. “Controlling yourself. Just stay where you are and enjoy it.”

“Please don’t…” I groaned. “Please don’t…” She kept pushing at the crucial word.

“Please don’t what?” She smiled seductively down at me, but I couldn’t respond. It took all my effort to control my voice and my urges. “I am waiting my love?” Please don’t what?”

“Please don’t, “Oh to the moon with it… “Please don’t stop.”

And with that my love got to work. Stroking my body with her magic, out of sight of the others. She held aloft her bowl of stew and kept refilling it as to have an excuse to have her horn glowing. Her touch played across all my most sensitive areas and I could feel myself getting very wet. It was crazy. Here I was, mere feet from Tungsten and the others, and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. Even after what happened before, the thought of being discovered only made my heart beat faster.

Tungsten spun round. “What was that?” He whipped out his Blackhawk and stood up.

“Probably just the wind,” Helix replied, giving my nipples a really hard squeeze, almost making me lose my focus.

“No, it sounded like something crunching or scraping.” He looked at us all. “Do you want a repeat of what happened here before?” He asked in a fierce whisper.

We didn’t need any more motivation.

I was suddenly alert, I whipped out Jury and activated the new battery on the back of my EVA suit.

Tungsten and Seafire moved left to cover the door entrance, Mantis and Smoking hugged the back of the door ready to swing round and surprise anypony that stupidly ran though. I backed off into the shadows along with Helix and Foxglove, keeping my weapon trained on the gap in the huge steel door.

We waited.

And waited.

“Are you sure you heard something?” I heard Seafire whisper.

“Positive.”

Seafire looked over at Smoking for orders. Smoking responded with a series of hoof motions that I couldn’t interpret, but Seafire and Tungsten clearly did. The pair slowly advanced through the gap in the door, and disappeared from sight. We waited.

“Helix, get the medical supplies now!” Tungsten yelled.

My love darted to our saddlebags and began emptying them onto the floor. Tungsten entered first, closely followed by a glowing blue light. Seafire was carrying a pony in her magic, an earth buck by the look of it wearing…

“Great Celestia, Aramid!” Smoking galloped over to him where Helix was already cutting off his barding with a scalpel. “What happened?”

“He is unconscious,” Helix replied quickly, lifting up as to slide his ruined barding to one side. Her horn glowed bright white, enveloping Aramid’s unconscious form. “Severe internal bleeding, all of his ribs are broken, fractured skull and pelvis. All seem to be caused by extreme force from a blunt object.

“He has lost a lot of blood, too.” She looked up at us all. “Who knows what blood type they are?”

No response.

“If I don’t give him some more blood he will never wake up.” Helix said desperately. “He will lapse into a comma, and he will die. If I give him a transfusion now I may be able to prolong his life long enough to repair the damage.”

“All of you prick your leg, I need a small sample from all of you.” Helix rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a few test tubes. “A drop will do. Get it in the vial and wait.”

Helix took one for herself and then held another to a bleeding cut of Aramid’s leg. With a little pain I pricked my leg with a spare scalpel blade and let the bead of blood roll into the vial.

“Isn’t there a spell for this?” Tungsten asked, letting a drop into to his own vial.

“There is but I don’t know it,” Helxi replied quickly. “Each of you hold out your vial, I am going to drip a drop of Aramid’s blood in with yours, just shake it to mix it up and then watch it closely.”

We all swilled out vials as Helix pricked her own hoof and copied us.

“What are we looking.” I asked my love tentatively.

“Any clumping of the blood. If it clumps it bad. Most of you will.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Foxglove asked.

“Then I will need to take some of your blood and give it to Aramid.”

“Oh…” Foxglove gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Helix checked her vial.

“Mine isn’t clumping.” She replied.

Tungsten grunted. “Mine, Smoking and Seafire’s have all clumped up.”

“Mantis?” Helix yanked the vial out of his hoofs. “Dam, clumping. And Fran?” She yanked mine from my magic. “Dam, yours has too.”

“What does this mean?” Foxglove whispered.

“I need you to lie down so I can take some of your blood.” Helix pulled off her barding and opened it out. “Lie on this, it will be more comfortable than the floor.”

Over the next hour I watched as Helix took two pints from Foxglove. She did her best to patch up Aramid’s wounds with her magic and the few healing potions we had. When Foxglove could give no more she fitted a drip to Aramid’s hoof and began to feed the blood into his system.

Helix looked more and more concerned as over half of the blood flowed into Aramid. “Wow. I knew he had probably lost a lot of blood but not this much.”

“What I want to know is what caused all those wounds.” Smoking grunted as he covered the entrance with his BlackHawk. “He looks like he was kicked to death but there are no hoofmarks.”

Aramid suddenly began to cough and twitch. With a groan he opened his eye and looked up at Helix crouched over him.

“Damn, you look pretty.” He wheezed. “I gotta ask, am I dead?”

“No. You are very much alive,” Helix replied fiercely. “And you are going to stay that way.”

Aramid gave a short bark of laughter that turned into a hacking cough. “I seriously doubt that. Besides you look like too much of an angel to be real.”

“Trust me, you're alive.” Gravely Smoking looked down at Aramid.

“Gosh darn it, how did you get into heaven.” Aramid wheezed again grinning.

“I didn’t.” Smoking added with a slight smile. He knelt down to his fellow soldier. “Aramid, you need to tell us, what happened after you left the warehouse.”

Aramid gave a long sigh. I thought he was going to die there and then, but he licked his dry lips and stared into space. “What didn’t happen. About four hours after we left we came across a lone traveller with what looked like a cow that he called a brahmin. We could barely see him through the driving rain. We asked him where we were and he jovially replied that we were inches from death, and I thought he was having a laugh.

“They opened up on us from all sides, maybe six in total from the different weapon sounds. I got a single shot off with my pistol, but I’d loaded it with those dam rubber rounds. The next thing I remember was getting a hoof in the face. This electric blue buck tried to interrogate me, what resources we had, how many of us there were, how we were defended. I told him to stick it where the sun don’t shine, though the sun doesn’t seem to shine around here anyway.

“Another hoof to the face and I blacked out. When I woke again I thought I was flying. I can’t explain it but the way the vehicle we were in lurched and dropped, like nothing I had experienced before. It was the only logical explanation. Blue Shell and Talus were with me, the civies were no where to be seen. That buck was back, big blood red lightning bolt on his flank, I thought he was going to interrogate us, but one by one he pushed us out of the rear hatch of the vehicle into the driving rain.

“I remember falling, a long way and blacking out again. When I opened my eyes I had been washed up on the edge of the lake. I could tell everything was broken, but I wasn’t dead yet. I picked a direction at random and started dragging. I passed out just in front of the warehouse and then woke up to see your ugly muzzles. Not you, though, Helix. You’re hot.”

“Aramid.” Helix soothed, ignoring his comment. “We have been away from here for two weeks. What you have just said can’t have lasted more than three days.”

“That’s what I remember.” Aramid coughed again. “Wait? Two weeks? No, that’s not possible.”

“It is solider.” Smoking shook his head. “Two weeks and a lot has happened to us. Young Francium here saved a whole town, Clef and Stave are living in a town at the other end of this lake.”

Aramid nodded approvingly. “Not bad. Maybe this place ain’t so shit after all.”

“I don’t know about that,” Foxglove muttered.

“Where is everypony else? Did you move to either of these towns?”

We all looked at each other. “Aramid, we’re all that’s left of our stable that we know of,” Helix said cautiously.

The buck just looked confused.

“The day after we left, we came back to find that our stable had been… attacked. Of the seventy or so that were here we found about fifty dead. We believe the others have been taken by slavers.”

Aramid just gulped. “They’re all gone?” All we could do was nod. “Then where are you going now?”

“To get them back,” I said simply.

Aramid just lay there like he had been paralyzed. With an usher from Helix we all left her to look after him as best she could. If I understood what he’d said, it seemed he had been pushed out of some flying vehicle over the lake. If that was the case then he was very lucky not to have drowned or been killed by hitting the water. ‘It may have killed him anyway’ my inner pony pointed out.

After a while, Helix came and joined us by the fire while Seafire went over to keep Aramid company. She looked more forlorn than I had seen for a while.

“He isn’t going to make it. I just don’t have the equipment.” She rubbed her eyes with her hooves. “Even in seventeen it would have been tricky, but out here… all I can do it make his last hours more comfortable.”

“It’s a shame he can’t remember much.” Mantis dropped another pulp brick onto the fire. “Doesn’t he remember anything about what happened in those seven days?”

“He can’t recall anything. It could be head trauma, it could be phycological. But either way, there’s nothing we can do.”

“What about the medical centre at the Mine?” I suggested.

My love threw her her hooves in the air desperately. “Without more blood, moving him would kill him. And I dare not take any more from Foxglove.”

“How long do you think he has?” Tungsten asked dryly.

“Less than a day.” Helix looked like she was going to cry again. I pulled her close to me and stroked her mane slowly and gently. She shuddered slightly in my grasp as she calmed.

“Do you need to talk,” I whispered gently. “You haven’t shaken like this in a long time.”

“I can’t keep up with it.” She hiccuped. “I don’t have time to come to terms with every death before the next is upon me. And I know that sounds really analytical, but I can’t think of any other way to put it. I just can’t keep up any more.”

“What can I do to help you.” I lifted her between my legs and leant her head against my chest so she could lie back on me. “What do you need.” I gave her a gentle kiss on her flopping ears.

“I don’t know.” She shuddered again.

“Are you cold?”

“A little.”

I gently slid us closer to the fire while pulling out the blanket from Helix’s saddlebags. I wrapped it around her, taking care to tuck in the edges so there were no drafts. I leant back against my saddle bags and rested my head on my loves shoulder.

“Comfortable?” Helix gave a content little nod. “Try and get some sleep. I’ve got you.” And with that I let my love rest in my arms and slowly I too drifted off.

It seemed none of us slept very well that night. When I groggily awoke the next morning, I found myself wrapped in the blanket with Helix stroking my mane. Stretching out in her hooves, my first thought drifted to Aramid.

“Did he make it through the night?’ I asked, but I thought I knew the answer.

“Surprisingly, he did make it.” Well, I was wrong. “But there’s no improvement.”

“Has he remembered anything else?” My love just shook her head.

“Helix!”

We both rushed over to Seafire who was pinning Aramid to the ground as best she could as the buck writhed on the ground, his eyes wide with fear.

“What happened?” Helix asked helping to pin him down.

“I don’t know. One moment he was fine and talking the next he started this.”

“Could be any number of things. Keep him pinned. There is nothing we can do. Fran, push down on his chest, but not to hard. We need to limit his movements so he doesn't harm himself.”

I leant in, but before I could do anything, he stopped moving altogether.

“What happened? Is he dead?” Seafire asked fearfully.

“No, he’s still breathing, but it’s very shallow.”

“Helix.” Aramid’s fearful eyes locked onto hers. “It’s all a lie. Don’t trust her. She gets inside your head. Makes your forget.”

“Forget what?” she asked desperately.

“Everything,” He whispered. “I remember it all now, the whole time. I wasn’t unconscious. I was locked up. In a cage. All of us where. But they couldn’t break us, so they got rid of us. To scare you. So you wouldn’t follow. They expected me to die. She wanted to make an example.”

“But who is she?” Helix never got a reply. Aramid began shaking violently again, coughing up splatters of blood.

“Helix! Help him!” Seafire yelled. But there was nothing that we could do. The convulsions began to slow until his body went limp.

Helix activated her PipBuck light and flashed it over Aramid’s eyes. “No pupil response.” She muttered closing his eyes with her magic.

A while later, Smoking and Mantis came back inside from their watch and spotted the three of us huddled round Aramid’s body.

Smoking came over. “How is he doing?” The mournful look in Helix’s eyes answered his question. Smoking seemed to take a moment to absorb that piece of information. “Did he say anything else before he died?”

“‘It’s all a lie. Don’t trust her. She gets inside your head. Makes your forget.’” Seafire recited slowly. “He also said that in the time he couldn’t remember earlier he was kept in a cage, and it seems the members of security were killed to try and set an example to us.”

None of us said anything. Yet again we were back in this damn warehouse, and another member of our Stable had passed away. And yet I could not shake the feeling that we should have bigger concerns.

“What do you think he meant though,” I muttered to Helix as we packed up our things, preparing to head out. “And who is She. Do you think that She could be Madame? And that buck he described with the blood red thunderbolt, he could easily have been Storm. If that is the case then… we I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry, I reached the same conclusion.” Helix slung her saddle bags over her back and clipped them up. “And I can’t figure out what it all means either.” Helix suddenly spun round. “Where’s Tungsten?”

I scanned round. “Don’t know. Maybe he’s outside.”

“His stuff is still here.” Helix sounded nervous.

“Look, the door to the walkway is open.” I approached it slowly and took a quick peek. A shadow stood at the far end, almost lost in the ever present mist. “He’s out here.” I called to her.

“What in Equestria is he doing.” Helix stormed past me and off into the gloom. “Here we are, in the middle of the wasteland, most of us are dead, and he thinks its a good idea to just wander off!” I raced to follow her.

“You!” Helix shouted making Tungsten jump as she approached. “What the hell do you think you are doing!” Tungsten opened his mouth. “No, I don’t care. You do not go off without telling any of us, understand!” Tungsten just nodded, looking shocked. “Good, cause I’ve lost all of my friends, I’ve almost lost Fran, and I am not planning on losing you. Got that?”

Tungsten just shook his head vigorously. Helix turned with a huff and marched back to the warehouse.

“What was that about?” Tungsten asked, surprised.

“I think you scared her for a moment.”

“Scared her?”

“She loves you, Tun. You’re the only family she has left. And simply walking off and not telling anypony where you have gone is reckless. Nothing is as it seems out here. Nothing is safe. She doesn’t want to lose you.”

We both turned round and looked down into the tower. It was exactly how we had left it. Bullet marks and all.

“Do you think anypony survived when the power went out?” Tungsten asked cautiously.

“I have no idea. I would need to know what the system status was, but you smashed the screen.”

“Couldn’t you hook up your PipBuck? Tap in with that?”

“I suppose so.”

Tungsten and I descended the steps and walked up to the control panel. A faint light still glowed within, even though the screen was totaled. With a flick of my magic I felt for the hidden catch inside the panel’s body that would let me open it. The panel popped open, and I lifted up.

“If I do this right this should bounce what was on the screen to my PipBuck.” I flicked a few of the microswitches on the main board and activated the system’s diagnostic broadcaster. My PipBuck pinged, indicating a new signal and I opened it up.

“Ok, I am inside the diagnostics of the terminal. I can’t control it from here, but I can see what is on the screen.”

“So what does it say?” Tungsten asked, peering in. I showed him the screen.

-STABLE DOOR OPENING SEQUENCE COMPLETE

-WARNING: STABLE CONTROL MANEFRAME RUNNING ON EMERGENCY POWER

-WARNING: MULTIPLE CRITICAL SYSTEMS FAILURE

-AIR FILTRATION SYSTEMS 0% POWER

-WATER PUMP SYSTEMS 0% POWER

-ORCHARD WEATHER CONTROL 1-4 0% POWER

-TURBINE 1 :AMBER

-TURBINE 2 :AMBER

-TURBINE 3 :AMBER

-GAS SYPHONING :AMBER

-SYSTEM RESETTING

-CAUTION: POWER INSUFFICIENT TO RESTORE ALL SYSTEMS

-ENTER OVERRIDE CODE TO SELECT SELECTIVE STARTUP

-PASSWORD-

-NOTE: SYSTEM SWITCHED TO INTERNAL CONTROL

-INCORRECT PASSWORD - 2 ATTEMPTS LEFT

-INCORRECT PASSWORD - 1 ATTEMPT LEFT

-INCORRECT PASSWORD - 0 ATTEMPTS LEFT

-SYSTEM LOCK OUT

-MANUAL MANEFRAME OVERRIDE ACCEPTED

-SELECTIVE STARTUP INITIATED

-AIR FILTRATION SYSTEMS 45% POWER RESTORED

-WATER PUMP SYSTEMS 10% POWER RESTORED

-ORCHARD WEATHER CONTROL 1 100% POWER

-ORCHARD WEATHER CONTROL 2-3 0% POWER

-TURBINE 1 :GREEN

-TURBINE 2 :RED - CAPACITOR FAILURE

-TURBINE 3 :RED - CAPACITOR FAILURE

-GAS SYPHONING :AMBER - SOFTWARE MALFUNCTION - SEEK TECHNICIAN ASSISTANCE

-STABLE IN REPAIRABLE EMERGENCY SITUATION

-SIGNAL DISPATCHED TO STABLE-TEC HQ

-LINE 1: UNRESPONSIVE

-LINE 2: UNRESPONSIVE

-LINE 3: RESPONSIVE - SOS DISPATCHED

-DISH 1: UNRESPONSIVE

-DISH 2: RESPONSIVE - SOS DISPATCHED

-DISH 3: RESPONSIVE - SOS DISPATCHED

-SATELLITE LINK TO STABLE-TECH ESTABLISHED

-NO RESPONSE FROM STABLE-TEC: 13D 4H 9M AND COUNTING

“So what does that all mean?” Tungsten asked, bemused.

“By the look of it, they attempted to restart the systems from the inside. It failed at first without the two keys.” I glanced down to where they stuck out of their respective slots in the panel. “They then managed a manual override and restored a few of the systems. The final part seems to be an automated distress signal to Stable-Tec, but as it says, they got no response.”

“They restored air filtration, water, and one of the orchards.” Tungsten suddenly lit up. “That’s air, food and water! Maybe there are survivors!”

His excitement dies at the look on my face.

“It’s been two weeks. With air filtration only restored to 45% it would have only bought them another day or so. Unless they managed something else that isn’t logged on these systems in that time then…” I decided not to say it out loud.

“What about the orchard, they got one segment up and running.”

“If there were few enough ponies in there for the trees to cope then perhaps.” I didn’t want to give up on them, but with the evidence before me their chances looked slim at best.

“What are you two doing down here?” We looked up to see Smoking and Seafire peering down at us. “We need to leave.”

“Fran hacked into the terminal. It seems that they managed to restore a few systems. They might have–” Tungsten began excitedly, but I jumped over him.

“Enough to buy them a day or two at the most. Not two weeks.” I kicked the console. “I’m sorry, but based on the information before me… they all died. Every. Single. One.”

“Is there any way to know for sure?” Smoking asked. “At all. No matter how crazy.”

“Besides going down there in my EVA suit or cutting through the door? No.”

“If you got down there in your EVA suit and there was no pony alive, could you restore the systems?”

“No. It all comes down to power. Both generation and storage. We would need a portable generator of huge proportions and then a bank of capacitors to deal with that initial current drain.”

Smoking sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I know I am not in charge of this group, none of us are, but I believe we know that there ponies from our Stable out there that need us. That must come before a hunch or guess. Save them first, then come back here and see what we can do.”

We all nodded, though Tungsten didn’t seem to like the idea at all.

“Now come on. We need to go.”

“What about Aramid?” I asked.

“We buried him as best we could next to the others and the fire. He’ll be alright.”

I nodded slowly, recovering the console and packing up my tools.

“What do you think the chances are of us ever being able to get Seventeen up and running again?” Tungsten ask me cautiously.

“If we can find the right equipment, then its possible, but I can’t see how such stuff would have survived nearly one hundred and ninety years.” I gave him a hug. “It’s not your fault Tun. We can fix this.”

“What was that for?” He asked as I let go.

“Because I care about you that’s what. If you don’t like it, deal with it.”

He grinned. “That’s not the only thing I am having to deal with. But what I can say is you are going to be in for it the next time you and Helix are alone. She should have taken more care to conceal your toys.”

It was the strangest sensation. I was dumbfounded that Tungsten had just made that comment. Embarrassed that he knew more about my kink and shocked that the first time I had seen him properly smile since we left the stable was at how I was going to ‘get it’ from his little sister. I would have given a lot to see my face as all Tun could do was smirk then burst out laughing.

We gave Aramid a quiet ceremony before we left. Nothing spectacular, but from what I could tell he wasn’t the kind of buck that would have wanted more than simple recognition. With a touch of her magic, Seafire lit the soil above his grave in her beautiful blue fire. Its myriad of hue’s disappeared into the mist as we set on our way.

Our Journey to Viewpoint was, thankfully, uneventful; we even remained totally dry. The guards let us in with a nod of appreciation, presumably for our help in the fight against the Stone Throwers. The road through the centre of the town was still a myre of mud and sludge. As we approached Tabitha’s Treats we could hear some very raucous music emanating from within its wall.

The lot of us followed Mantis inside, who promptly went to check on Tabitha at the bar. The five of us settled ourselves down to watch Clef and Stave up on the small stage once more with Offbeat playing some lovely smooth jazz. A well needed pick me up.

“Are we going to spend the night here?” Seafire asked, looking around.

Smoking nodded with a yawn. “I think it’s best. Get a good night sleep. Pick up what we need early on, and then head out. Who wants a drink?”

My love lazily lifted her hoof. “Something alcoholic.” Tungsten and I nodded in agreement.

“Seafire?”

“Same as those two.” She yawned. “Foxglove? What about you? I suggest you steer clear of alcohol though.” But the young mare seemed to tired to do anything, she leant against Seafire and hugged Seafire’s foreleg with her own.

“I’m alright, thank you,” She muttered sleepily.

“So what is it we need to buy besides food?” I asked. “I know I need some more batteries for Jury, and I want to see if Swarf has any capacitor that I can interface with my EVA suit.”

“Mantis suggested we get a tent of some description. It gets very cold up there apparently, and if we get caught in a storm it could be very bad,” Helix replied.

“How many days will it take to get over?” Seafire asked. “None of us have really experienced extreme cold outside of the SRS system in winter and that only went down to freezing point.

“Mantis reckons a single day’s ascent, since the main road is out, then only a few more hours down to the entrance. There is actually the ruins of an old hostel at the pass which should be good enough to sleep in. We would need a fire but that’s all.”

“So what is the tent for?” Tungsten asked.

“That’s is for if we have to head over the top to Apploosa. As you said, Fran, there is a tunnel under the mountain, but we have no idea what state it’s in. It could have collapsed or be infested with creatures.”

“How long will that take?”

“The tunnel is two days. The mountain is at least four if the weather is good.”

“I cant see the weather being good.” Smoking returned, deftly slipping all five pints off his back and onto the table. “After what you said about the pegasi closing up the sky when the bombs fell, it seems the weather will do what it likes, and round here that seems to be torrential rain.

“I’ve booked us all rooms, so you know. It’s split into three, Tungsten and I, Foxglove and Seafire, and then the two love birds.” Tungsten gave me a grin and a sly wink. Did he really know what Helix had? I hoped he was just kidding, but I guess it didn’t matter either way.

The evening we spent drinking, eating and chatting. The rest of the town came for the more lively music later in the evening at which point Seafire carried the sleeping form of Foxglove up to bed. I did wonder if Seafire minded how the young mare seemed to be spending more and more time with her.

“Four portions of stew?” I jumped from my stupor to see Tabitha laying a tray of bowls onto our table.

“Perfect, I am starving.” Tungsten grabbed a bowl and gave it a good sniff. “Smells pretty good.” He shoved a big spoonful into his muzzle. “Whats in it?”

“Bloatsprite, diced succulents, and mixed vegetables.” Tungsten stopped chewing. “Though admittedly there isn’t much of the last one in there. The flavour comes from how we cook the Bloatsprite meat,” Tabitha added happily. “I see you like it.”

“Until I knew what was in it,” He muttered as Tabitha turned away.

Helix and I laughed, taking our own bowls and giving the stew a taste. It was far better than what we’d eaten at High Voltage. The bloatsprite actually had texture and an interesting flavour, even if it was a little chewy. The succulents were good too, but when I hovered my PipBuck over the bowl I winced.

“We really ought to have a Rad-X each before we continue. The succulents are just full of radiation.” I pulled the packet of little orange pills out of my pocket and passed it around. “It’s a shame everything around is so saturated unless you go up high.”

As we finished our bowls, Helix posed an interesting question. “How high up were we when we got above the radiation, when we went to the view point I mean?”

“No idea. Why?”

“Well, surely if you could find somewhere up high that was flat you could build a village or town free from radiation. Ok, it may not be totally free, but low enough that you didn’t need a Rad-X or Rad-Away every meal.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Its just a thought.”

“I can see that being possible, but I have no idea how high up you would need to be. It might be impossibly cold, or too remote to get resources to.”

My love sighed. “Mantis is right. It’s a shame there are not many pegasi around here. But poor Typhoon. That must of been horrible.”

The lot of us nodded in agreement.

Smoking finished his pint and stood up. “I am going to call it a night. You should all do the same.” He added with a stretch.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Helix pulled on my hoof. “Come on Fran, bedtime.”

“I was going to stay and watch Clef and Stave for a while.”

Helix pulled harder. “Come on, you need your rest, trust me. I know what you get like when you are tired. The word cranky comes to mind.”

“Fine.” I let my love pull me to my hooves. “Let’s go to sleep.”

Our room was on the top floor that was unoccupied besides us. I pushed the door open to the room and got a pleasant surprise. Unlike in High-Voltage everything looked like it had been carefully tended too. The curtains looked newly sewn, apart from the slightly bedraggled bottom edge. The light blue wall paper was smooth and unmarked. The floor was just bare wood with a few neat rugs in key places. But what I was really focused on was the massive bed. It had posts rising in each corner to support an elaborate wooden top from which thin white fabric hung in drapes. The wood work did look a little battered but overall the effect was very pleasing.

“A four poster bed.” My love’s eyes were wide with glee as she dropped her bags onto the floor next to the chest of draws. “I’ve only ever heard about these.”

“It looks beautiful, I will give you that.” I smiled. “What's with all the decoration?”

“It’s just being elaborate and lavish and excessive. Four posters were popular with the rich as a way to show off their wealth. Showing that even something as simple as a bed could look stunning.” Helix moved and gently ran her hoof over the fabric and the wood. “I’ve always wanted a bed like this. The excess, the size, the height.” She turned to me and pouted her lips. “The privacy.”

Oh my…

My love reached out with her magic and removed my saddlebags for me. She walked towards me slowly, swinging her rump with every step, letting her mane sway sensually.

“You look like you’re in shock,” She whispered as she gently rested her nose against mine, her beautiful eyes looking right into mine.

All I could do was nod.

“Well, I hope this can break you out of it.”

Helix kissed me. She gently pressed her lips against mine, tilting her head. I instinctively responded, tilting, my own and slowly matching my love’s soft movements with my own. We played, each pushing and relaxing our lips as we both let our motions become automatic as to focus on the beautiful and intense sensations from our kiss.

I gasped as Helix lunged with her lips, sucking and biting down on my lower muzzle. I lifted my head letting her move in to nibble and bite along the side of my jaw and onto my neck. Her tongue and breath danced across my cheek, provoking involuntary twitches as lances of pleasure ran down my neck and across my spine.

And then my love did something that she’d never done before. She licked my horn.

My knees collapsed as my mind went empty. Pleasure beyond anything I had ever felt was all that was left as I fell to the floor.

“Fran!” I opened my eyes to see Helix’s shocked face. “I’m sorry… are you alright?”

I was more than alright. “Do that again. Please.”

My love giggled and smiled beautifully as she gazed down at me. “So you liked that, did you?” She asked playfully. I just nodded slowly.

“Ok, I’ll do it again, when you’re lying on the bed.” I jumped to my feet only to find that Helix was blocking my way. “Oh no, you have to get passed me first. And no, pouting will get you nowhere.” She added as I put on my cutest sad puppy face.

And so the game began. I lunged at my love wrapping my hooves round her neck, trying to pull her to the floor. I gave her a quick kiss as she tried to escape my grasp. I knew that if I could pin her to the floor then I could jump off her and onto the bed. But the lack of space in the room was making it trickier than in my own room.

We both tumbled over onto a fake fur rug, but somehow Helix ended up on top. I struggled to free myself as she landed kiss after kiss on my sides making giggle and jerk. She knew just where I was most ticklish. I grabbed her round her middle and pulled her down on top of me, that way she couldn’t kiss me and distract me. I got in a few cheeky ones of my own making her gasp with mock indignation. I tried my best to roll over, to get me on top, but there wasn’t enough space. Helix was struggling to get back to her hooves so I decided to help her.

As she pushed up, I did so too, putting her up on her hind legs like a bipedal. I used my magic to stop her falling over backwards and managed to get up in time before she flopped back down on the rug. I jumped on top of her, admittedly the wrong way round, and then lunged for the bed.

“Made it!” I grinned as my love pulled herself up. I couldn’t help but laugh at her mane– which was a total mess.

“Took you less time than I expected.” She smiled back playfully. “Usually you need all the space of your room to get round me. Now, “ she slowly slid up onto the bed at my side, “your reward.”

I lay down on my side and closed my eyes. I could feel Helix moving around me, her warmth, her breath. Her tongue touched against my neck and I moaned again at her gentle touch. After only a few months, she’d learned what gave me maximum pleasure and she had been using it to her advantage ever since. She nibbled her way up to just beneath my ear and blew gently making me shudder. Another quick bite of my ear sent waves running through me once more.

Then it came. Helix’s tongue touched the base of my horn and slowly run up to the tip. It was incredible. Why had she never done this before? I didn’t bother to contain yet another moan of bliss, relishing in my loves touch.

“You really do love that don’t you.” Helix kissed me again leaving me desperate for more.

I opened my eyes and looked up at my beautiful Helix. I was so happy. It filled every part of me. I could have stared at her for hours. Well, I could have if Helix hadn’t really turned me on. I jumped up to kiss her again, but she pushed me back down.

“Ah ah, you know how this works. Any more of that and I won’t be so nice.” I nodded respectfully, secretly enjoying her authority. “Now there is more than one reason I wanted a four poster, besides its beauty. Can you guess why?” I shook my head. “Because it gives me so many places to attach this.”

My insides tumbled. Helix held up several small bundles of purple rope in her magic that matched her coat perfectly.

“Do you like the colour?” she asked playfully. I nodded vigorously. “I thought you would. Even better you can have any colour you like. A special dye.” With a flash of magic the rope changed to blue, green, yellow, black and then to its natural colour before going back to that ever so beautiful shade of purple.

“Can I ask where you got it from?” I whispered.

“I had plenty of time to gather toys when we were at High-Voltage. Well, once I knew you were going to be alright, I could let my mind wander to doing more naughty things.”

“Tungsten hinted that he might know what was in store for me. He said that I would be ‘In for it’ next time you and I were alone.”

“And he is quite right.” Oh crap. “Now you know what to do, and be quick about it.”

As Helix watched I lay on my back and spread my legs so Helix could bind me to the bed. The rope was very soft, I had no idea how much it had cost her, but I hoped it would last. It was an odd feeling that this was one of the few parts of me that had remained unaltered since leaving Stable seventeen. Even if I could only experience it infrequently it was nice to know that, for the most part, I was still me.

With a final tug Helix hopped off the bed and admired my position. “Are you comfortable?” I nodded slowly. “Good cause you are going to be staying like that for a while.” I opened my mouth to protest and suddenly wished I hadn’t. There was no way I could complain now as Helix buckled it tight. “You should have learnt that trick by now,” she tutted. “Well, we might as well finish your surrender.” She added whipping a blindfold over my eyes.

“Now you stay right there. I’m going to have a bath.”

Footnote: 50% to next level