“So, you saw him go towards the airlock, carrying what looked like a body, and said nothing?”

Scootaloo seemed incredulous about the pony’s logic on this. Receiving nothing but a shrug and quick note of how to get there, the two Crusaders and the two adults quickly giving in and heading towards the airlock.

Looking to the left and right, they successfully located the airlock, and saw Johan holding a gun to Frost’s face.

Frost was silent as she stared down the barrel of her own gun, a knot in her throat, unable to speak.

The ponies could only stare for a moment as Johan spoke up, his voice gravelly.

“Please, Frost, I’m giving you one more chance. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Johan’s voice wavered, but his aim did not. His focus was solely on Victoria, and he looked to be crying.

“Hey, Johan, mind telling us why you’re being executioner? You have a good reason, right?” Sketch asked, looking to Frost who was silent for once.

The human officer turned quite suddenly, having not expected to see anyone else. He looked visibly shaken, but retained his grip on Frost’s collar ring.

“I- She won’t...” He stumbled over his words for moment, but cleared his throat and continued a bit more confidently. “I need to know she’s not a danger to everyone else.”

“Short answer, I’d say she is.” CD replied. “And unfairly violent. Shall I continue?”

“She has threatened me on multiple occasions with severe harm or death.” Sketch stated.

Johan sighed and looked back at Frost, who just looked back. “Frost, just tell me what’s wrong and why. Now. I don’t want to do this, but I will if I have to.” He stared her in the eyes, his gaze flicking away towards CD as the pony spoke up.

“I can do it for you.” CD offered. “I can’t name one reason for liking her in my personal experience.”

“No, I’m the officer in charge of this, it’s my... my duty to finish this if need be. Now, I’ll ask one more time, Victoria Frost, for you to just explain, please.” His glare softened and another tear rolled down his scarred cheek. “Please?”

Frost’s eyes finally tore away from her gun, meeting the floor. “I...” tears rolled down her face, her fingers curling as voices began to whisper things.

“I can hear them...” Frost said weakly.

“What?”

”I can hear them. The monsters.”

“Ummm is she going crazy?” Sketch asked, as he took a step back.

“Nope, been there, I don’t get why it’s a reason, we hear them every time they attack us.” CD said, dismissing the idea of Frost being insane.

“Every since I saw my father like that... as one of them... Staring into his eyes...” she let out a sad sob before burping slightly, the taste of bile returning. She pressed her lips, forcing the vomit back, swallowing hard. “I could see him crying inside...he was in pain... I could see it in all of them...”

“So you mourn him by threatening others and being inappropriately violent to those who don’t deserve it?” CD look skeptically at the woman “Jeez, am I the only one who doesn’t respond with violence unless it’s the only option available?”

“All I know is, besides Vinyl, Frost has threatened me the most times for no apparent reason, and has even shot at me on occasion.” Sketch added.

Johan shrugged. “She never hit you, though, and she could have if she’d tried. I’m more worried about when she almost shot you in the head earlier. I want answers, Frost. Please, just give me the answers, alright?”

“They better be good answers, otherwise I will feel no remorse watching you float in space.” Sketch warned.

“Same here.” CD added. “How is missing on purpose mercy anyway? I could shoot Sketch now, but I won’t, so that makes a difference?”

“Am Ah the only one here who thinks it’s ah tad gruesome to be talkin’ about spacin’ folks in front of me an’ Scoots? Or, me, at least?” CD and Sketch both had to restrain themselves from jumping into the air, having completely forgotten about the fillies right behind them.

Scootaloo spoke up, deciding to take the woman’s side this time.“I dunno, she was kinda a bitch back there, but she’s got some-”

“I wasn’t gonna kill you, you stupid fuc-” Frost bit her tongue, feeling the voices tug at her again, letting their words slip out.

“Ah, so beating ponies in their sleep and putting a loaded gun to their head, still sleeping mind you, and cocking it is a normal thing for you? So Johan, it seems you shooting her won’t be so bad, maybe just a very enthusiastic hello, or in this case, good bye.”

“I’m sorry!” Frost shouted, her head lower down to the floor, weeping again. “I’m sorry...”

“Yeah, of course you are, now that saying sorry keeps a bullet from going through your head.” CD accused. “I bet you didn’t care at all while you were doing it. Or nearly shooting me.”

“Ever since I saw my father like that, ever since I heard his voice after I put a round of bullets in him... hearing his scream...”

“Did he turn yet or did you just shoot him out of boredom?” Sketch snarked.

“He’s all I had left... I’d never point a gun at him unless it was necessary... and even then...”

“Like it was necessary to wake me up?” Sketch said quickly.

“Or ‘telling’ me to be quiet?” CD added, right after. He was tired of hearing bad excuses.

“Frost... I know today has been hard on you to a degree I don’t think they can understand, but you have to admit... you don’t sound very stable.” Johan looked at her plaintively.

“Johan...” her eyes met his again, viridian to emerald. “You know I’d never lift a gun to a civilian, even in that raid five months ago, I never put my hand on the trigger.”

“You did to me you bitch!” CD yelled. “What am I if not a civilian!? You nearly hit me too!”

“And to me, against my head, Scootaloo had to tackle you to save me from my morning execution.”

“ And you toppled over from me, an underweight filly catching your arm. From what I saw while you were on the barricade, you’ve got some impressive shooting skills, though.” Scootaloo said, not really changing the balance of the conversation.

“I- I... I’m.... I’m losing my mind.” she finally said in a whisper.

“Join the club.” CD replied, still waiting for a good excuse. He was considering doing it himself if one never came and Johan wimped out.

“Even now, looking up at you all, your faces are changing into those things... I can barely hold onto reality at this point. When I had my gun point at you all... you looked like one of those things and I- I had to hold back from k- killing you.” her head dropped again. “If that filly didn’t stop me... I- I don’t know.”

“And? I had to-” CD started angrily, only to be cut off by Johan.

“No. No more. We’re going to take you back to the refugee camp. I’ll talk to the doctors. I’ll set your suit to medical lockdown, so you don’t suffocate. Maybe... maybe when you’re better, we’ll talk again.” He carefully settled her down to lean against the bulkhead, sighing mournfully. “But for your safety and the safety of others, I’m stripping you of your weapons for now. I’m sorry Frost, but this is the only thing I can do other than space you at this point.”

Victoria only nodded, swallowing another knot.

“Just keep her away from the kids, even if you manage to fix her we don’t need her kicking them into the walls thinking they’re necromorphs. Let’s go Scoots.” Sketch turned away, Scootaloo following with her wing over his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t bother with the doctors, they’re inconsiderate jerks. At least they were to me and Summer, when they were given no reason for it.”

Johan looked over at CD. “Who? Oh, yeah, that the mare that you lost. Have you found her yet?” Johan asked conversationally, his expression slightly cracked as he began to collect up Frost carefully, beginning to pull her towards the camp.

“No, but I need to. I hope nothing’s happened to her. So far, she’s the only female I’ve encountered who has not given me any shit.”

“Well, good luck finding her then. You coming with me and Sketch to the military base still? We might be able to track down her RIG from there. It’s got a full database of all the RIGs on the station, and you know her first and last names, so it should be easy.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel better. Yeah, let’s go.” CD said, visibly calming down.

“You’re welcome.” He looked back at the still-sobbing Frost he now carried back towards the camp. “I- I know how hard losing touch with someone you care about is...” He trailed off and didn’t speak again the entire trip back.

“I’m sorry...”

Scootaloo and Sketch had ended up back at the bench in the corner again, waiting on the others. She laid her head against his shoulder and draped a wing across his back, and he’d leaned a little on her in response.

“Any reason you are so affectionate?”

“End of the world hormones?” She nuzzled him. “So... you’re single... I’m single... do you think we could change that?”

“Start asking around the camp?”

Scootaloo face-hoofed. Then, she smacked her head into one of the metal strips affixed to Sketch’s shoulder with a small clang of forehead-on-metal.

“Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself.”

Scoots looked up at him with an exasperated expression. “Just as a question, are you gay? I don’t have a problem if you are, but I kinda need to know.”

“No, I’m not a coltcuddler, why?”

Scootaloo just banged her head against his shoulder again and grumbled something under her breath.

“Stop hitting your head and tell me what’s wrong?”

“Are you just thick, or are you trying to tell me to go away?”

“Why would I tell you to go away? I enjoy your company.”

“AAARGH!” She screamed to the ceiling and smacked her head into her hooves, laying completely on the bench in shame. There was no way ‘Bloom would be willing to let her live it down if she tried getting with him and failed because he was too dense to notice.’’’

In response to her outburst, Sketch looked at her worried, and decided to ask again what was wrong. “Are you okay Scoots? You seem stressed. Here, hugs will help.” He reached out and wrapped her in his forelegs, pulling her into his embrace. She sniffled and cuddled close to him.

She sighed, and stayed there for a few moments, before muttering, “How can you be so oblivious?”

“To what?”

The filly just smacked her head against his chest in response.

“Come on, tell me, I wanna help.” Sketch reciprocated the cuddles.

“Guh... Just hold me.”

“Come on, tell me.”

“Have you ever had sex, Sketch?” Scootaloo asked, pulling head back to stare him in the eye.

“Yeah, but-”

“Good, let’s go to the back room and fuck like bunnies until Johan needs us, because I am absolutely not dying a Celestia-damned virgin!”

Sketch just deadpanned as he stared forward at some random spot on the wall, unmoving.

“Well, shit. I broke him.”

“And make sure to keep her company. If she’s awake, I don’t want her just alone in there.”

Johan finished the instructions for the doctors, who all seemed to just be humouring him, seeing as they were at least semi-trained medical professionals and already knew all this. They just nodded and shooed him and CD away so they could take care of their newest patient on their already massive workloads.

In the meantime, Johan had put Frost’s Divet onto his left hip, and slung Jackie onto his back. Though the weight was unfamiliar, he could still bear it just fine.

“So where do they have the RIG database in here?” CD asked, wanting to get an answer if Summer was okay.

“As I said before, it’s in the military base. It’ll have every RIG that’s been synced with the station systems. And in military emergencies like this, it should be common practice for everyone to sync their RIGs right away. Did she have any kind of suit, or was she just wearing a civilian RIG?”

“She had an engineering suit. Rather good state too, looked fairly new. I’m not sure if it’s in there or not, I hope so.”

“Well, if her RIG was working, it’ll have been synced. You said you were a ground-pounder, right? I’m not sure how the planetside companies do it, but RIGs are supposed to be synced at all times up here if possible, but not everyone wears them all the time.”

“I don’t know. As I said, I met up with her, I got here via kidnapping and memory erasure.” CD said. “I’m willing to bet, in an effort to keep things less suspicious, they kept me out of public access.”

Johan shrugged as they continued through the crowd, trying to find where Scootaloo and Sketch had gone, and hoping that they hadn’t started doing anything time-consuming. It was pretty obvious to everyone they were together, however little Sketch tried to show it.

“So, here’s hoping I haven’t been erased and that Summer is still alive.”

“Yeah, here’s hoping. Hey, there’s Scootaloo. I’m assuming the armored bulk next to her is- yeah, his helmet’s off, that’s Sketch. Say, does Sketch look a little weird to you right now?”

“Eh, if it’s a pressing matter, he’d ask for help, right? I can’t name many things that would paralyze him, none of them being around here.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Hey, Scoots, what’s up with Sketch?”

“I broke him.”

Johan stared for a moment. He turned to CD. He looked back at Scootaloo.

With a blink and a few false starts, he finally got around to talking to CD again. “So... does that answer your question?”

“I guess. But come on, it’s not that bad, some hot sauce up his nose and he’ll be fine... well, no longer numb anyway.”

Johan and Scootaloo just stared at him, identical horrified expressions painted across both their faces.

“What? I didn’t say it would be perfect, I said it would make him move and that it would do it quickly. Plus I never said you should do it, I said it was an option.” CD sighed, rolling his eyes. “I mean, not all options are good ones.”

“But... why would you bring up something like that?!” Scootaloo demanded, still looking baffled and disturbed. He hooves had risen, more or less of their own accord, to cover her own muzzle.

“Because it was an option. You were looking for a solution right? I’m not allowed to make a harmless joke? Jeez, no sense of humor.”

“Uhm, guys... let’s just drop it. Hot sauce is not something for noses, I can personally attest to this. What I want to know is simple; why is Sketch like that?”

“I, uh, asked him a question. Well, more like made a demand. But it was for a good cause, really!”

“Well, unless the question was ‘Do you know what it’s like being tasered’ and then you followed through, I don’t know what you could have said.” CD smirked.

“Well, no, it was more related to my attempts at getting into a relationship with him. He’s apparently, ah...”

Johan face-palmed as the realization struck him. “Thicker than my grandma's porridge? Oatmeal should not be able to be used as a building material, by the way.”

“But if it can bounce, then it’s fun.” CD added joyfully, finding the situation hilarious.

“Oh, can it, tin-foil.” Scootaloo snapped, looking embarrassed from her position still locked in Sketch’s embrace.

“Don’t worry, I’m not aiming any mean comments at anyone. If I insulted you, I didn’t mean to. Come on, lighten up. Besides, in a time and place like this, humor is scarce and should be enjoyed, right? I use it to distract myself from all the horrible crap that’s happened.” CD said, making sure nobody thought he was being mean on purpose.

“Fine...” Scootaloo continued to blush, looking away with her ears flat back in shame. “Say, do you think tickling him would work? I’ve got a finger-shoe to try.”

“Sure, all you need to do is remove his suit.” CD commented. “I, uh, kinda want to see if my marefriend is still alive, please?”

“Okay, fine. Here, lemme try something, I think it might work...”

Scootaloo wiggled and squirmed up and out of his clutches partially, before seizing either side of his head and whispering, “Totally not sorry for this,” and kissing him full on the lips.

Sketch doesn’t move, nor does his expression change, beyond his eyes going a little wider. Scootaloo drew back slowly, a rosy glow upon her cheeks as she smiled at him. “Are you paying attention, yet?”

Her smile slowly fell as he continued to remain statue-like in his rigidity. Finally losing her temper, she smacked him across the back of the head with her metal-clad hoof. “Oh, just wake the fuck up already!”

“Guys, let the SOB BSOD, and let’s just get on with what we were doing, please? The only person who ever gave a crap about me might be dead. I wanna know for sure!”

“Hey guys, what’s goin’ on? And, uh, Scoots... what are you doing?”

Applebloom had finally found her fellow crusader, and was eyeing Scootaloo’s half-out-of-Sketch’s-arms position warily. “Ah’m not interruptin’ anything, am I?”

“Not yet, you’re not, he’s locked up like a bank vault! But there’s no passcode!” Scootaloo said, pouting slightly.

“Oh come on, bank vaults? You don’t need a passcode, just blow a hole in it... that was a joke, stop looking at me like that.” CD said. “Okay, realistically, we could try dumping a bucket of water on his head, or turn him upside-down and shake him a bit.”

“Ah don’ know how it is on the planets, but up here bank vaults have been digital for nearly a hunnerd years! Jeez, yer more old-fashioned than mah sister!”

“Yes, I am. That happens when you are kidnapped from your hometown’s psych-ward and forced out of the loop of everything else, and then have your memories messed with. Just wake the bastard up already and let’s get a move on!” CD was starting to get annoyed.

“Here, this is a trick I figured out when he’d do this kind of thing during classes he didn’t like.” Johan said, shaking his head at the antics of all the ponies he was surrounded by. He reached over with a fully gauntleted hand and flicked Sketch’s ear as hard as he could. If ears could bruise, Sketch’s would’ve gone for the emmy.

“What the fu- why is Scoots on my face, and why are we laying like this?”

“Because it’s hard to kiss you on the lips with my face in your chestplate.”

“Kinky.” CD grinned, not really caring what happened. He wanted to see if he needed to start a mental funeral for Summer.

“I said shut it, tin-can!” Scootaloo snapped again, and Sketch just pulled her down and nuzzled her.

“Just never ask me that again.”

“Wait, you mean you don’t want to end my virginity in a carnal display of wanton lust and passion?” Scootaloo asked innocently, to which Sketch face-hoofed, hard.

“Possibility of a mare being dead for unknown reasons right now. I don’t care anymore, shut up, please.” CD was now past annoyed, and was tired of the talking. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah, as entertaining as this is, you love-birds can smooch it up on the road. Let’s get Ms. Belle and go.” Johan said, already looking for the young filly.

“I’m here.”

Johan jumped a bit, noticing the filly standing literally right behind him. “Oh, well, that was convenient. You two done, or should we wait for the monsters to devour us all?”

“We go, or do I have to drag somepony?” CD asked, even knowing that the idea was almost completely absurd.

“I’m up, I’m up, let’s go.” He stood up still close to Scootaloo and whispered to her, “If this is going to work, could you not ask me to rut you in such bizarre ways?”

“Bizarre? I’m just askin’ you to have hot, passionate sex with me in a back room so we don’t disturb anyone else. What’s bizarre about that?” Scootaloo asked as they began to follow Johan, Sweetie, and CD.

“The thing about the rabbits threw me off, also I didn’t know you felt that way, is that what the wing means?”

“Uh, yeah, pegasi wings are sensitive. Putting one on someone means you’re really close, usually for hugs. Lots of wing-feeling means you’re wanting to be intimate. How the hay can you not know this?!”

“I have no idea, also not so fast, I’ll have you know I’m a classy gentleman.” Sketch sticks his tongue out at Scoots.

“Alright, wine instead of beers, got it.”

“I meant no rutting for now, plus you’re underage.”

“I’m fifteen! Biologically, that’s old enough. Legality may state sixteen for ponies, but I’m a mare, damnit!”

By this point, everyone for the group had arrived at the barricade, the group now being Sweetie Belle, in her white suit with the Tesla Gun, Applebloom, with her engineering suit and the Plasma Cutter, Johan, with Jackie, both Divets, and his Pulse Rifle, Copy.Data in his Forged engineering suit and his plasma cutter in tow, Scootaloo with the mechanical hoof-cover and a plasma cutter of her own, and Sketch with his ammo-less Line gun and Divet.

“Yeah, just calm down, there’ll be a time and a place Scoots, also, why me?”

“Fine. And it’s because you aren’t a jerk, you aren’t trying to impress me, you aren’t being a bully, and you have good morals. Also, you look nice. The outline effect is pretty neat.”

“It gave me a lot of shit in school, hence why I picked up track so easily.”

“Meh.”

The two of them were hushed by the rest of the group as they settled into position, and Johan prepared to give a quick speech.

“Alright, folks, we’re heading towards the military research base about a hundred kilometers from here. I’ve checked the general path we’ll need to take, and it’ll involve two tram rides and pass through a heavily populated area. There’s only four routes into the base itself, and not everyone here has a space-worthy suit, meaning we can’t take either EVA course there. Any questions?”

“Yeah, what are options two and three? I only heard two out of four, two of them being impossible.” CD said, annoyed that he had to remind a higher ranking security officer that he had to give full information.

“Alright, here’s all four courses: Course one, which we’re taking, goes through one of the human civilian sectors, the older mining quarter, then on to the base. Route two is an exterior run, hence why we can’t do it until Scootaloo gets a suit. We’d have to also pick up a lot of spare air tanks, which are bulky to carry, as it’s a long way to the base. Route three is much like the first, but goes the long way around the entire debris ring, and would take us approximately four days at maximum speed without any rest or stops along the way to arrive. The fourth route is the external version of route three. Now, unless everyone can agree on one of the other ones, I think that route one is the better choice here.”

“I vote for the third option, the mining quarter sounds like a bad idea to me.”

“Four-plus days? Wow, am I the only one on this entire station who cares if Summer is alive or not? I thought you were at least decent Sketch!” CD growled at the pony he was slowly growing to hate. Why did he have to make things more difficult for no reason?

“I am decent, which is why I say we put this to a vote, you all know my and CD’s votes, anyone else care to say something?”

“I abstain.” Sweetie’s voice was still going through the helmet’s distortion filter.

“Ah vote the third route. I’m sorry, CD, but Ah don’ wanna die.”

Scoots looked back and forth, sighing. “I’m going to vote the first way. Copy.Data helped us get out of that school, we owe him some help finding his marefriend.”

“The one he has be hallucinating about since the outbreak began? I didn’t think she actually existed.”

“You were just humoring me? Yeah don’t give me that bullshit, the doctors gave me. If I am the only one who cares, then leave, you fucking asshole!” CD was rather angry for obvious reasons, he was not really willing to tolerate Sketch much longer, who, at this point, was just a distraction.

“Wait, what? Ah thought ya was tryin’ to find her at the school. You thought she was there? Uh, CD, there wasn’t any mares there other than Ms. Cheerilee.”

For some reason, CD felt... off.

“Wait... no, she wasn’t? But she... I could talk to her, she talked back, I could feel it when she touched me, how...” CD clutched his head as a wrenching pain ran through it. He looked up to see one of the screens on a wall displaying Summer’s face.

“Please... it hurts like this... m- make...”

He stared at the screen as it fizzled to static, then turned back off.

No-one else had noticed it.

Author's Notes:

Well, it looks like Frost dodged a metaphorical bullet, but it seems she's out of the counting... for now.

A please... vote.
One character up. One character down. Every vote counts.
Current Roster is as follows:
Johan, Sketch, CD, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle

Thanks to the following for contributing to the story so far:
Itsmyfuneral, starring as Sketch
Hunterz263, starring as Broker Wordsmith. May he Rest in Peace.
Rosethorn, starring as Victoria Frost
SomeGuy, co-starring as Johan Allegro
The Pieman, as Copy.Data