Sunny was caught in state of deep shock, standing completely still as her eyes scanned over the remains of an entire park. Every tree, every bush, every animal, and every pony in that park had been burnt down to nothing in a single instant. Graphite shared the same amount of amazement, looking over the dark skeleton of old Hide Park. There was nothing left of the park besides one large crater that laid right in the middle of what used to be the park.

“There’s no way were going through that, Sunny,” Graphite demanded as he turned to her.

“Agreed, let’s go around,” Sunny pointed her hoof towards the row of buildings that lined along the border of the park.

Graphite followed Sunny as she made her way down the last leg of street and entered the first leg of hell. They stepped into a sea of ash, a whole cloud pluming up with their steps. Sunny and Graphite both reached for their snouts, covering them with their sleeves before the small particles of ash could float into their bodies. They crossed over the dusty section of street, making their ways as quick as they could to the sidewalks across the intersection. The buildings across the way were all blown inward in a perfect line from the shock-wave. It was enough to tear open the stores and cut down the skyscrapers.

They caught up to the sidewalk, stepping over the curb as more and more ash flew about the air when they moved. Graphite kept his mouth covered, nodding his head down in the direction of the way through. Sunny nodded her head, following right behind him as he lead the way. He trotted down along the edge of the sidewalk, almost hugging the building. He passed over an odd figure, something oblong and crisp on the side of the building. He turned his head, looking on the at an image of a pony. He thought it was Sunny’s shadow, but it was too dark for a shadow to appear. Sunny noticed Graphite staring at something behind her, so she turned her head to - jumping forward when the still image came for her from nowhere. She barked a bit before bumping into Graphite, blowing a sigh to herself when it turned out to be nothing. Graphite looked towards the crater in the park, then at the figure on the building, the blast had burnt a clean and clear image of the pony’s last moment before he had his shadow cast forever into the side of this broken building.

When looking forward as the dust clouds allowed him, Graphite could see that this pony wasn’t the only one - many more ponies lives had been burnt into the buildings.

Sunny turned her head from the ghastly shadow, following after Graphite - not wanting to lose him in the heavy dust storm. Her thoughts were fighting with each other to keep the imaginings of the dead ponies out and the focus of leaving this crater in.

They both slowly made their way through the clouds of dust, until they noticed a shadowy figure in front of them on the sidewalk. The shade was sitting on the sidewalk and, with every step, looked more and more like a pony. It sat with one hoof extended in front of it. This figure wasn’t burnt into the sidewalk, it was just a dark model of a pony sitting idly on the sidewalk.

Graphite stopped Sunny and with a motion of a hoof - he ordered her to stay put. Sunny just nodded, standing back at the clouds of ash.

Graphite slowly approached the strange pony. One question was on his mind - what a pony could be doing in a place like this?

“Excuse me,” Graphite murmured with his sleeve still in front of his snout, “W-what are you doing here? Are you okay?”

The pony turned its head in an instant towards Graphite’s direction and perked its ears high. It slowly got up and took its hoof off from the wall.

Graphite jumped back, bringing his hoof back from his chest over his mouth,“It’s okay, we’re just passing through. Do you need any help?” The pony didn’t respond, but turned tail and ran down the dirty sidewalk, it’s baggy clothes flapping in the wind as it ran away.

Graphite was caught in curiosity and worry for this being, he didn’t want to let the mysterious pony go away. He took up chase after the pony. Of course, with caved in buildings on one side, and a giant crater on the other, there wasn’t anywhere to run except forward - making the chase as easy as a walk.

Graphite’s instinct for catching a target was to tackle it to the ground. He did just that, pummeling the stranger into the ash and dust. The smoke barely had time to clear, Graphite flipped the covered pony over on his back and pulled its hood off.

Graphite shrieked, darting his head back when the face of dead pony came into view. Its fur was patchy, rough, and faded; Its skin looked burnt and torn; its eyes contracted and empty. Graphite grasped the undead pony’s collar, pulling it up then slamming it back into the dust and smoke. His magic reached for his pistol, bringing the gun over to the thing’s head. The trigger pulled - a disturbing click.

Sunny had pushed the pistol away at that moment, “Wait!” She urged.

Graphite pushed Sunny over, tossing his pistol aside as he grasped the pony’s collar once more, “We can wait when I finish-!”

“No don’t!” Sunny knocked Graphite off the pony’s chest, pushing him into whatever ashes were still remained after all the commotion.

Graphite coughed and Sunny hacked, Graphite swatting away the particles of dust, “What?” He intruded.

“It’s just a pony, Graphite! She’s a ghoul!” Sunny shouted back, reaching for the hoof of the distraught pony.

Sunny grabbed the apparent mare’s hoof lightly, helping ‘her’ back to her hooves, “Are you alright, ma’am-”

“Wh-what’s a ‘ghoul’?”

“A ghoul is-” Sunny grunted, pulling the pony up and setting her on all four hooves, “-a pony who’s just been caught in too much radiation and has... lost a bit of fur...” Her voice got quieter, taking note the feelings of this poor mare.

Graphite stopped, taking his moment to think while he got up from the ash covered concrete, “I’m sorry...” He added.

The ghoul hadn’t made a single noise up until this point, Graphite wondered if she was really what Sunny had described and not a ghost come to haunt lost travelers as they passed through this begotten area.

“I’m sure sh-”

“-It’s quite alright, deary,” Abruptly, the mare spoke, her voice sounding aged and fading, “I’m sure you didn’t mean to- I- I haven’t looked anything your use to in quite a few years.”

“Maybe if you warned us earlier, I wouldn’t had to-”

“No no, it’s is my fault- please, why don’t you join me for some tea,” The old mare guided, trudging along in an odd walk around the street corner.

Sunny walked up to Graphite’s side, then turned to him, “We should probably follow her - it’s only polite, after all,” Sunny suggested.

“Well,” Graphite trotted ahead, taking after the ghoul, “It’s not like she could hurt us, right?”

Sunny just nodded with a small smirk, going ahead with Graphite and following the trail of the aging ghoul. They followed her through a street corner and another line of burnt street, a crowd of ponies were lining the streets. They were motionless and empty, another sea of ponies burned deep into the city street by the blast. Small piles of wood were dotting the road one by one - the remains of wagons caught in the heat. Graphite turned over to Sunny, who was just as awestruck by the massacre as Graphite. He bent his head back to the old, wrinkled mare and asked, “What’s your name, ma’am?”

The pony turned to Graphite, slowing her pace even more, “Ligature, if I remember correctly,” She said with a generic smile.

“Well, Ligature, I’m Graphite and that’s Sunny,” Graphite introduced, pointing back to Sunny as he called her name. “I appreciate you inviting us for... tea.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Graphite. I appreciate you visiting.”

“Visitin-?”

“-Oh, right this way, Graphite and Sunny!”

She clamored into an old building with it’s whole entrance blown out, “Watch your step, dears,” Ligature spoke, stepping over a block of concrete then stepped through what had been left of the door frame. Sunny jumped over some bricks, and Graphite pushed aside some loose blocks until they both made it to the doorway and stepped through. The inside was nice and bright thanks to the improvised window that had been installed earlier. There was a row of counters along one side of the wall that was still intact, the rest of the building was emptied out then filled with ruble.

“You live in here, Liga-” She had left the scene, Graphite looked left and right through the building for her. “-Where’d she go...?”

“Over here, Graphite and Sunny!” A voice shrilled out, coming from behind the counters.

Sunny passed by Graphite, joining the old mare behind the counter; Graphite joined just after. The mare was stopped by a mat they was laying on the floor. She pushed the mat away, revealing a metal trap door hiding underneath it. There was nothing but a metal plate and a divot in the metal where a handle could be.

Ligature removed her hood. Graphite hadn’t noticed in smoke and the heat of the moment, but the mare was actually a unicorn - her horn looking chipped and cracked. She cast out a white light from her horn then pulled the trap door open, letting it slam on the ground after opening.

“The ladder can be slippery, so be careful,” The geriatric disclosed before climbing inside the hole and stepping into the shadows.

“More climbing for us,” Sunny chuckled then sighed, jumping into the hole and stepping down the ladder.

Graphite looked down the hole, watching as both the mare and Sunny disappeared somewhere inside. Graphite slowly made his way into the hole, grabbing the ladder tight and making his way down. The grate above closed as he went down, the white light from Ligature’s magic slowly fleeting as it shut.

Graphite reached the bottom, his hoof feeling something that appeared to be ground. It was took dark to see, Graphite was left holding unto the steps of the ladder. A bright light flashed on, the lights above whizzing and buzzing in stress. Graphite and Sunny blocked their eyes, waiting until they got used to the beading light from the ceiling. When they could see, they found themselves in a small space completely surrounded by concrete walls that had been plastered with scraps of different wallpapers and picture frames of nothing specific.

There was something that resembled a kitchen sitting in one corner of the room, there was an black oven; a small, metal sink; and some shelves where cans of food sat. There was a single table - a long one - that sat in the middle of the room. The rest of the room was empty space, with only a chair and a side-table that sat next to it, “Here’s the kitchen, dining room and living room,” Ligature told Sunny and Graphite, giving them a basic tour as they entered into the room.

There were two rooms that lay on opposite sides of this room, lead by a concrete doorway that had cotton flaps hung from the top of the doorway. The old mare lead them right, touring them into a large room with a single, double-wide bed sitting at the end. Some sheets of wallpaper were in the process of being glued to the wall, the backside of the sheets soaked in glue and hanging from the walls loosely. The ceiling lights above were going out, flickering violently, so she had placed two small lamps near the bed to light the room, “Here’s the bedroom,” Ligature noted again.

They moved back, trotting along passed the impoverished kitchen and tripping over some loose rugs before they got into the next room. A few pipes lined through the walls and over the ceiling, diverted all to a few rows of showers. There was a tiled wall between the five showers there, a space barely big enough to fit a pony, and a rusted drain sitting in the middle of the broken floors. There were toilets sitting nearby the showers, Graphite rather not see the details in them, “And here’s the bathroom,” Ligature finished the tour, bringing them back into the kitchen.

“That’s the place - I apologize for not making sure everything looked nice before you came- I wasn’t expecting, you see,” The old mare laughed, moving over to the wooden shelves and sorted through to find the tea, “I’ll start the tea going - you two make yourselves at home!”

“Sure,” Sunny responded, taking a seat at the big, cotton chair sitting in the living room section of the space.

Graphite grabbed one of the wooden chairs from dining room, bringing it near Sunny. He took his seat, trying to fit his body on the small seat. Sunny looked cozy, Graphite looked just the opposite. He turned to Ligature, who was cooking the tea - her burlap robe was set on the table. Her body was wrinkled, from both the old age and burns that patched across her skin. Her fur coat was thinning out and falling in clumps on the floor, revealing all the tough skin that was covered behind. Her coat was fading -- this was clear -- but it appeared to be some form of a mint green, what was left of her mane was yellow and going on grey. Her tail was going away too, another minute alone and the whole thing would fall off. The cutie mark was also beginning to fade away with her fur, but it looked like some kind of instrument - possibly a clarinet.

Feelings for a pony could be changed so easily. Graphite was one moment away from killing the ghoul, but now he couldn’t be feel an awful pity for her. Graphite looked for words to find, searching his curiosity for a question to ask. Finally, he thought of something simple, “So, how long have you been here?”

“Are you talking to me, Dear?” Ligature asked, turning her head from the tea pot sizzling on the oven.

Graphite turned in his chair to face the mare, “Yes, Ligature. How long have you been down here?” Graphite asked once more, projecting his voice so the old mare could hear him.

“Oh, I’ve been down here for as long as I can remember...” She stopped to think. The teapot started to steam, so she grabbed it hastily, bringing it over to the table and looking around for two cups to use. “This was a long time ago - before you two were born, I’m sure. I was shopping at the old shopping centre a few blocks from here. I was with a friend at the time, and I had forgotten my purse back in the store so I left him waiting in the street and went back into the store. It was around that time a very loud boom noise came from outside. There was a flash, brighter than anything you can imagine and then a blast right to my chest. I went out cold and woke up a few hours later. The building was on fire. I made it out, then ran right out to check on my friend. I ran out, and the whole city was on fire - the park was completely gone! I ran to where I thought my friend was. He... he was gone. But the strangest thing... There was his shadow, burned into the wall, so crisp and clear like he was standing next to me. The heat had burned it into the concrete...”

She came over, two cups of tea in her levitation spell as she brought it over to Graphite and Sunny. They took it with gratitude, taking small sips before realizing how hot it was. She stepped back to the kitchen and continued, “After that, I searched through the streets. Everyone was lying dead in the street or burned into the walls, every building was on fire, everything was gone. I remembered the radio talking of a few emergency bunkers in the city. There was one a nearby - this one. I came inside, and I’ve been here ever since - doing everything I could to make it feel more... home-y.”

Sunny looked down, digging through her thoughts now to find words to say, “I’m sorry for your loss... That- that must have been very traumatic,” She affirmed solemnly.

The old mare poured herself a cup of her tea, letting it cool as she moved about the small kitchen, cleaning it nicely for her guests, “Thank you, Dear, It means a lot. He was more than just a friend, he was the love of my life...”

Sunny picked up her voice, trying to sound more cheery, “I’m sure you two had a great relationship-”

“-Oh, we were never in a relationship, Sunny,” Ligature interrupted. “We were just friends, like I said, I never worked up the courage to tell him I loved him. Now... I’ll never get to tell him...”

“Why don’t you tell us more about life before the war, we’re going through what’s happened after right now - we’re not missing much,” Graphite declared, looking into his tea and taking a quick sip.

Ligature set her cup of tea near the pot, letting it sit on the table as she pulled a seat near Graphite and Sunny, “Yes, yes, you two would love to hear of the pre-war Equestria.”

“I’m familiar with it, Ligature, share your stories with Sunny,” Graphite leaned back in his chair while he said this.

“There’s not much you can learn from just reading the billboards, Graphite,” Ligature rebutted, swinging her hoof in a the direction she would expect a billboard to be.

“Actually, Ligature, Graphite’s been in the war himself -- show her Graphite,” Sunny directed to the newspaper folded in his pocket.

Graphite nodded, going into his pocket to fetch the newspaper cut out, “That’s impossible, no pony your age could have be in the war,” Ligature denoted. Graphite pulled the newspaper out and unfolded it before handing it to the old ghoul. The mare grabbed the paper in her magic, moving in close to read it. Her tired eyes scanned through the sentences and paragraphs, then to the photos pasted on the page. She lowered the page and whispered to herself ‘Oh my...’

“Do you believe me now, Ligature?” Graphite asked with a grin.

Ligature was baffled, “That is quite an amazing thing, Graphite. I didn’t think they would actually manage to do that.”

“I was just as surprised as you are, ma’am,” Sunny beamed.

“Now, tell us about your time before the war, Ligature,” Graphite pressed forward calmly.

Ligature sat down in the same seat she had brought over, smiling wide as she bent over to sit, “Of course! Of course!”

Sunny adjusted her position in the chair, getting comfier for the stories about to be told. Ligature cleared her throat, then paused to recapture her memories, “Well, back in my day, I used to be in an orchestra. It was one of Equestria’s biggest orchestras - fifty-two band members with every instrument you could imagine in pairs. I used to play the clarinet.”

“Used to? What happened?”

“Well, when the war began, every bit went to the war effort and we were unable to sustain our orchestra with the lack of money - and some of our members were drafted into war. While I was in the orchestra I met Luthier. He was playing the cello. When we had to leave the orchestra, we stuck together. We managed to pull together all the money we had and we bought a little apartment here in Buckago-”

“-That sounds nice,” Sunny interceded quietly.

“Yes, quite. We remained good friends through the years, but as time went by, I started to see Luthier differently than when I had first met him. I-I was falling in love... slowly, but it did happen. And on the day when I had decided that I would pull together my strengths and tell him how I feel-” The mare started to lose her tone of voice, along with her words. Her smile had became a frown, and her eyes were preparing to tear.

“-It’s okay. We don’t need to talk about that,” Sunny jumped in again, a calmer tone in her voice being heard.

“How about some music?” Graphite offered suddenly to brighten the mood.

“Music?” Ligature wondered.

“Yeah, my Pipbuck has a built in radio. It can pick up some loose signals.”

“Well, you can give it a try. I haven’t heard a recording in years!” Ligature sat back eagerly, watching as Graphite fiddled with the Pip-Buck.

“Give it a moment,” Graphite turned some dials and tapped the screen. A short whiz and a gurgle later, a song came up. It was a bouncy swing song from a classic orchestra; Graphite’s father enjoyed this brand of musical styling.

“Ah, I remember this song... we played it once back in the orchestra - it was a show we put on for Princess Luna, yes.”

“You’ve played for a princess?” Sunny’s eyes began to open with astonishment.

“Yes, many royals all over Equestria - we were the biggest orchestra, like I said,” Ligature gave a hardy wink that was joined by a smile.

The tea had been sifted through quickly. Sunny and Ligature had gone through a few cups, Graphite was still on his first - letting his go cold so he had an excuse to not drink it. The taste of the tea was a mixed match mixture of messed up madness -- at least in Graphite’s mind. Graphite didn’t enjoy it at all, and couldn’t see why the two mares did. Time was running short in the day, and the stories were fleeting on; Ligature had cleaned her dishes, and dumped Graphite’s tea down the drain - to his glee. She washed the final cup before joining up with Graphite and Sunny.

“It is pretty late, you two - perhaps you would like to stay the night here? You know the surface is not a safe place during the night,” Ligature proposed as she left the kitchen area.

Graphite and Sunny both thought for a short moment, realizing she was right before both agreeing, “Sure.”

“Good, great - be sure to wash up before you get to bed,” The ghoul set aside the rag she used to clean the kitchen’s counter-tops.

Sunny got up from the chair, stretching out and groaning before she moved on to the showers. Graphite stayed in his chair, letting Sunny go ahead and wash up first before he went inside. He let his eyes rest, closing them and placing his face in his hooves.

“Sunny’s a nice mare,” A shrill voice spoke.

Graphite leaned his head forward, opening his eyes to see Ligature standing there in front of him - almost close enough to feel her breath. He arched his back over sitting up stretching his arms out, “Y-yes, she is...”

Ligature stared into Graphite’s eyes with great intensity, as if she was looking for something hidden in his skull. Graphite didn’t know how to react, it was too awkward to move away in any direction. Ligature then leaned away, turning about to the old chair behind her and gradually made a seat in it. She licked her dry lips before starting again, “I can tell...” She sighed with a grin.

“Tell what, ma’am?” Graphite pondered back.

“I can see it in your eyes, you’re in love with that young mare.”

“You can tell that just by staring at my eyes, Ligature?” Graphite scoffed.

“Take it from my experience, Graphite, but I can tell.”

Graphite paused, thinking it over all the feelings he had. All he could say was, “Maybe.”

“Do not try and deny it, Graphite, I can tell. The longer you deny, the lower your chances of her loving you back are going to become. Pretty soon, you will never get that chance - even if you are ready to say it,” The old mare took another moment to remember what she was saying, then she licked her lips again and continued in a more serious tone, “Just look at what happened to me, Graphite. I never got the chance to tell pony I love. And now I have to live with the regret - and I have for the past two hundred years. I had my chance and that has all but gone long ago - you still have yours,” The ever aging ghoul got up from the chair, making her way closer to Graphite, “Would you rather end up like me? A dying old pony, filled with regret, who’s only will to keep going is the hopes I’ll pass in my sleep down here rather than being eaten alive by the things up there. Or would you rather end up with the pony of your dreams? Living happily together, growing old together...” She was losing her focus, about to succumb to her own exhaustion.

Graphite got up from his chair, grabbing her shoulders lightly as he help her back on the chair. Her shoulders felt like leather, the combination of burns and age was not good for her body -- or her skin. He let her rest for a bit, trotting to the kitchen to look over the things she had. A few cans of peas here, some soup broths there, that disgusting tea sitting in the middle of the shelf. There wasn’t much to look at here, maybe there were some interesting pictures in the frames on the wall.

He slid over to the next wall, staring at all the pictures of scenery. There was no theme - they were probably weren’t even Ligature’s - just some pictures she came across while scavenging. He panned over, until one photo caught his eye. He pulled it from the nail it was hung on, taking a closer look at the two ponies that were in the photo.

There were two smiling ponies - a young mare and stallion - standing near each other with the park in the background. The park still looked lively and fertile, even if you couldn’t see the lush colours in the black and white photo. Graphite looked at the happy mare, then over to Ligature, then back to the photo - it was obviously her. The casual looking stallion next to her must have been Luthier, his hair looking clean and cut for the picture. Graphite would’ve smiled at the pleasant picture, if he hadn’t found out about the two ponies’ outcomes in life. He simply set the photo back on it’s nail, then went back over to the wooden chair he had left for himself.

Ligature looked alive, though half asleep. Sunny stepped into the room, her damp hoofsteps clopping over to the rug in the kitchen, “The water’s a bit cold, Graphite, but at least the shower runs,” Sunny announced, wiping her wet mane down with the rag in the kitchen, “You can have the shower now - I’m done.”

“Alright,” Graphite answered and walked over to the bathroom, ducking under the flap, letting it flap back into position.

Graphite proceeded to take off his black duster and armour, slipping out each plate and wiggling out of his leggings. He didn’t have a chance to really wash himself for a long time, ever since he put on the armor - he was looking forward to taking a real shower. He pushed his armour near the doorway before stepping into the shower. He turned the knob on and the water slowly rattled it’s way from the pipes and out the shower head - Sunny was right about the water being cold.

He took his cold shower, rubbing his hooves over his body to try and clean out the dirt. There didn’t seem to be soap, maybe Ligature expected the germs to be frozen off by the cold water. He fought through the freezing stream of water, shivering as he wiped down blood stains, dirt stains, smoke stains, and any other stain that stuck to his fur. Graphite was surprised to find all this dirt on the fur that was under his armour. He tried concentrating on is face - where it was uncovered since this time.

Eventually he decided he had finished, and he stepped out of the shower. Graphite was glad to be out of the cold shower, but also a bit disappointed. He enjoyed the shower, even if it was below freezing - it felt nice to bathe after not doing so longer than he could remember. He looked around for a towel, the only one on hoof was the one Sunny had used, then left on the sinks. He wiped himself down, getting in between all the spaces and wiping down all areas. Graphite set the towel back at the sink, then turned his head and looked down at his armour. He stepped around it, leaving there since he was heading to bed soon. He trotted out of the bathroom, wiping his face on the cotton flap just before he left. Sunny was waiting in the kitchen, looking over the cans just like Graphite was earlier, “Oh, Graphite,” Sunny noticed him trotting into the room, “I was just about to head to bed now.”

A thought entered into Graphite’s mind. He turned to Ligature, who was still lying still on the chair, “Ligature,” He called out.

Ligature instantly reacted, flinching then opening her tired eyes slowly, “Huh- y-yes, yes?”

“There’s only one bed in your room.”

“Oh... oh, you two can share - it won’t hurt.”

Graphite looked back to Sunny. Sunny looked back at Graphite. They both glared at each other, before Sunny butted in, “I’m sure you would like to stay in your own bed, Ligature.”

“Oh no, I’ll be fine on this chair - I don’t think I’ll be moving from it in a while anyways,” Ligature chuckled quietly before yawning a long yawn.

Graphite sighed; he could hear Sunny let a sigh out too. Sunny stepped under the flap of the bedroom doorway, holding it up while she stood in the middle of the arch, “Well, Graphite... it’s getting late, we should get to bed...”

Graphite turned to Ligature. She had a smile on her face, shooing Graphite to the bedroom with her hoof. Graphite leaned his eyes back to Sunny, who was waiting at the doorway, “Okay.”

They both stepped through the flap, Graphite following Sunny to the bed at the end of the room. Sunny sat herself on the bed, Graphite came up to the side - taking a moment to settle into the situation. Sunny climbed under the covers, Graphite had just started to make his way unto the bed.

He shuffled under the sheets, they both rolled over on their backs, and they both nudged each other in the middle. A fake laugh was shared while the scooted a bit aways, the two turning away from each other. The bed was quiet, both ponies not moving so they won’t disturb the other. Graphite was rushing in nervousness, laying in bed with Sunny - both of them naked as the day they were born. Graphite couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t even get his eyes to shut. He didn’t want to check on, Sunny - she could be asleep and turning over would just wake her up. The bed started to shift, then the feeling of tapping came about Graphite’s shoulder, “Graphite,” A whisper called.

“Y-yes?” Graphite answered just as quiet.

“I... I can’t sleep.”

Graphite tumbled over, turning around to face Sunny. Sunny was lying there, her eyes wide and her smile small, but still there. He looked down into her eyes, searching the orange gems of her eyes for words to say, “Well, just- um, talk to me. Maybe we can chat ourselves to sleep.”

“Um, alright... uh- tell me about your cutie mark,” She eyed down, Graphite’s cutie mark was showing halfway outside the crumpled sheets. His finely cut diamond as a cutie mark was appearing now that his armour wasn’t hiding it.

“Oh- sure. Well, um- as a kid I was never able to have a real pet. When I said that I wanted a pet, my papa came home with a pet rock. Of course as a four year old foal, I accepted the thought that a rock could be your best friend. So, I looked after it; watered it, and found some comfortable dirt for it to sit on. When I was halfway through my first year at school, it turned out that my pet rock had grown a gemstone inside it. Of course, my dad sold it at the first opportunity, but from that day onward, I kept learning stuff about gemstones and I wanted to become a jeweler. In the end, it turned out that my parents didn’t have the money to send me to a proper school - but I did learn how to work with small parts and even fix things.”

Sunny moved her hooves under her head, using them as a pillow to keep her head up, “That’s cute,” She commented.

“What about yours, Sunny?”

Sunny looked down at hers and smiled; her bright triad of suns smiling back, “Ah yes, my cutie mark. I guess we could start back at the orphanage, as always. The owner knew how good at I was at making ponies smile, so every now and again, they would take me down to the nearby clinic. They’d take me to some of the injured ponies, and I would just do whatever I did to make them smile - either play with them, if they could; make up some stories; or show them things I would pick up outside. They would always smile after I visited them, so eventually I realized my talent was to brighten other pony’s days and then this appeared right on my flank.”

“And you are really good at making ponies smile,” Graphite said, emphasizing it with a grin of his own.

“I can see it works well on you,” Sunny giggled. She looked into Graphite eyes a bit, her smile keeping Graphite warm in the cold bunker. “Listen, we’ve been traveling a while together and I have been wondering - why did agree to bodyguard me for free?”

Graphite thought for a moment, clearing his throat before he whispered his answer, “Well...” He mumbled, dragging out the pause, “Um, I needed to set myself a target after reaching downtown. That was my target ever since I awoke from the long sleep,” Graphite sighed. “The life as I knew it has gone, so I just do what I did back in the war. I set up an objective - like make it to point B and a bunch of smaller objectives - like find some water, food, and medicine.”

“I see. But uh, how does it feel being out of your time, Graphite?”

“When I just awoke I was scared - I barely knew where or who I was. I found myself trapped in metal tube, banging and pounding on it before the door blew off and I fell out. I seemed to be put on display, there was a velvet rope and a few display cases with my stuff inside.”

“Was it a museum?” She raised a brow.

“Uhh, more like an exhibition - I didn’t know it at the time, I was still trying to learn to walk again. I searched around my corner a bit, reading the plaques and looking at the pictures they had framed in my section. After looking at the picture they had framed, and a reflection I saw in the display cases - I found out who I was, more or less. I strapped on this suit, grabbed the gun in the case, then went around the building for a while. There were five more sections around mine, each with another pony inside another one of those cryopreservation chamber... thingies.”

“I’m guessing they were dead since you haven’t brought them along,” Sunny stated.

“Yep, all of them were died a long while ago. I walked a bit more, looking for an exit out of that building. I found a window on the way there, when I opened the blinds over it - I saw the city.”

Sunny moved one hoof from under her head, letting it rest on her side. She licked her lips damp, then continued on, “I’d imagine that wasn’t the best of views for you.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Graphite sighed, turning on his back and looking towards the ceiling.

“I know how you feel, Graphite. I may have lived my whole life looking at the same destroyed buildings, but it’s something about them that will always be heartbreaking,” Sunny followed Graphite, turning over on her back as she held the bed sheet close to her chest.

“You seem to be very interested in pre-war stuff, Sunny.”

“How should I explain- umm, have you ever broken a dish, Graphite?”

“Well, I have, a few times - why?”

“If you try to put it back, you can’t always find all of the pieces. Even if you would, it wouldn’t be the same as it was.”

Graphite looked at Sunny and nodded, trying to find out what she was trying to say.

“Well, most of the ponies are trying to do just that. I am looking for the best pieces of the old world and try to make a new mosaic instead of just a dish. Sure not all pieces fit together perfectly, but that’s when I make up my own to put in.”

“You’re just looking for answers.”

“I guess-”

“-Out of simple curiosity?”

“Yeah.”

“And when you can’t find the answers, you make up something through small theories or imaginations?”

“Sure...”

“You just want to... understand - understand everything.”

“Aren’t you the wise one?” Sunny smiled.

Graphite smirked, rolling back over to face Sunny, “I don’t know, maybe that’s a question you can’t answer.”

Sunny chuckled, rolling over again to see Graphite, “You can’t tell me yourself?”

“Nope, ‘cause I don’t even know myself.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not something I usually think about.”

Sunny’s whisper got a little louder, but sill maintained the wispy flow, “You don’t usually think about it? I see you walking around all the time with your head in the clouds, just back at the theatre you went out so you could ‘think’. What are you thinking about, Graphite?”

“Just...” Graphite dragged out his pause again, hoping Sunny would drop the topic if he left it alone long enough.

“...I bet you’re thinking about me, Graphite,” Sunny scoffed, looking deep into Graphite’s eyes.

“No- uh, it’s-” Graphite looked back into Sunny’s eyes, feeling lost and confused.

“-Hm?”

Graphite rolled on his back, getting away from the grasp of Sunny’s stare. He faked a yawn, before continuing, “It’s getting late, we should get to sleep now.”

“Not until you tell me what you’re thinking about,” Sunny plead.

Graphite rolled over once more, facing towards the wall - and away from Sunny completely, “Maybe in the morning...”

Sunny blew a sigh before rolling over - facing the complete opposite of Graphite, “Sure - the morning... goodnight.”

“‘Night...”

The room fell silent, the only noise made was from the gentle hum of the bunker; the silence that echoed off the cold walls again and again. Graphite was still wide awake, his thinking interrupting his concentration again. He had an empty feeling, the only thing to base his feeling on was what Ligature had told him earlier. He had missed a perfect change to tell her; it was too late now though. Sunny was probably fast asleep already, and Graphite was suppose to be. He wanted to turn around and wake her, but there was just too much nervousness keeping him down. He stared at the walls - littered in a tacky wallpaper that was half glued on to the concrete. He yawned again, a real yawn this time around. His eyelids fell over themselves, his regret going away as the darkness overshadowed his eyes. He let out a short sigh, then fell asleep.