Chapter 3: Welcome to Oakwood
“If it ain’t blue, it’s goo.”

Sister improved on the fourth day. She was awake, but groggy and slow moving. We had outlined the plan to her earlier, but she refused and said that all she needed was rest. Which was what she was doing and We were next to her with Our right wing hugging her.

Rose was off searching for the goggles and We were unsure of her motives. Ripper would want it for herself, but We also wanted it as it is a very large weapon that would have no trouble killing Steel Rangers.

Which We want to do very much so.

We flicked Sister's ear with a hoof to catch her attention as We asked. "Dost thee think We should give the saddle back to Ripper?"

Sister shrugged. "That is up to you."

We gave a nod. "We do not think it would be wise to anger her as she has a megaspell, and that wins hooves down, so We shall give it back. But We are also confused with Bucky as We woke up next to him with no memory of the night before."

"That pink stallion?" We nodded slowly in response to her question. "Hm... well I was drugged, so it stands to reason that you may have been."

"We deducted as much from your memory. But then he gave Us this Pipbuck, so We are confused. Does that mean he likes Us? He is impure and... well, pink. This causes Us great confusion."

Sister's eyes narrowed as she looked at me. "Well I didn't like him much and I don't think you should have so readily accepted such a gift. The marriage bit was a ploy by me to get back at you and Rose took it too far. I sincerely hope you two did not do anything extra that night."

‘We also hoped he did not take advantage of our situation.’

The tools were floated out and inserted like We had watched Rose do. The device beeped and the screen flashed red as it displayed an error. We tried again to the same result, except that time sharp blades drove themselves into Our leg, causing Us to cry out in shock.

We slammed the Pipbuck against the wall with a loud crash. The metal device left a dent and caused pain to shoot up Our leg. We tried a second and third time, but only succeeded in drawing blood as the blades went deeper into Our flesh. The leg trembled visibly from the pain running through it while we cradled the now injured leg.

Our eyes welled up with tears as Our whole body began to shake and Our eyes narrowed. "Why must everypony We meet trick Us? Why...? Why?! We are not stupid!"

Sister nuzzled Our cheek in an attempt to calm Us down. We glared lasers at her. "They are mean ponies, that is why."She whispered softly in Our ear. "You can't trust anypony anymore. We can't even go back to the Crescent Moon because there are bounty hunters surely waiting for us."

"That is it!” We hissed. “We will read their minds from now on and if We think they are taking advantage of Us, then We will kill them on the spot. No more missus nice mare!"

As We looked over at Sister We bumped noses. That was when We realized just how close we were, close enough that our body heat transferred between us through touch. She smiled as her blue eyes sparkled in the daylight that filtered in through the dirty window. Our gaze went to her side where Our wing was and her words in South Bay came back, 'I love you'.

She meant as a sister, right?

We decided to test Our mind reading spell on her and made sure to focus it on just her and not the whole area.

"She was so close! Should I have kissed her? Wait... is she... Shock are you reading my thoughts? Whiskey, tango, foxtrot?! I'm going to think of random things until you stop reading my thoughts. Can I has chees...."

‘We like stallions!’ We hissed in Our mind. ’This fact she must surely know as We have expressed the need to find a way to make male alicorns to her multiple times.’

We opened our mouth to speak, but closed it. Now that We looked at the gesture plus her thoughts of kissing Us, it felt awkward. We think of her as a sister, but she doesn't see Us that way. We pulled the wing against Our side as We scooted away from her.

Sister tilted her head and looked at her side in confusion then Us. We used Our mouth to tell her. "We are sorry, but We did not realize what We were doing. It is awkward now."

She smiled, used her wing to pull Our body against her, and wrapped a foreleg around Our neck in the same motion. "Shock, it is just a friendly cuddle between two mares, there is nothing wrong with it."

"We... suppose not, as it is comfy." We snuggled closer to her and Our gaze went across the room to where Helga was lying in pieces on the floor, and the Annihilator was leaned against the wall. "Sister, We wish to know your name."

We heard her hum a chuckle. "What's in a name? They are just titles given at birth."

"You’re avoiding thine question. The purple had asked Us of it, but We did not know. And this causes Us worry. As you know Ours but We do not know yours." She ruffled Our exquisite mane with a hoof and a laugh, which We immediately fixed. "Sisterrr! Thy question remains!"

"It's an embarrassing name!"

"We won't make a joke or laugh.”

"Oh alright fine." She moved her muzzle close to Our ear and whispered. "My name is Mudpie."

We giggled and she slapped Our ear with a hoof, hard, causing Our recently added earrings to make said ear flare in pain. "Mudpie, We are worried that everypony We have met is using Us."

"Shall I sing to you? I know of a song that should help ease your worries." We nodded and rested Our head against her neck to listen to her heartbeat. She cleared her throat and began to sing softly.

It didn't take long before We drifted off to sleep.

*** ***

A loud bang startled Us awake as the door was bucked open.

Our attention was drawn to it as a power armored pony ran in followed by two more. Then a teal mare in Steel Ranger robes walked in with a smug grin that We wanted to knock off her face. Four orange bars appeared on my compass after they appeared. Eclipse grinned at the two of us. "Such a lovely sight we have here. The two sole remaining proverbial thorns in my side, and with you two finally out of the way we can deal with the Enclave in this area."

We smiled at the opportunity as We brought up Our shield and hauled Sister onto Our back. Our muscles tensed as We prepared to run. Sister felt this and wrapped her forelegs around Us tightly.

Eclipse's gaze went to Helga and the Annihilator before she looked at us. "Now then, any last words before I kill you? And don't think that shield can protect you." She pulled up her robe to reveal something attached to dark non-metal armor that stirred memories, a Hellhound claw. One of the few weapons that can slice clean through Our shield like a hot knife through butter.

Without a word We bolted for the window as Eclipse laughed. We covered the distance quickly and smashed through the dirty glass. We did not care that We could not fly since We were aiming for a lower floor of the building across the street.

However, something surprised Us as we fell through the air. Blue magic wrapped itself around our bodies and in a flash We stood above the overgrown road. We fell down with a thud from Our momentum and collapsed in a heap. Sister moaned in annoyance as We looked up and saw Eclipse looking down at us. The thought of shooting her with the Brush Gun died quickly as the shield was still around Us and We were surrounded by Steel Rangers.

Everywhere I looked I saw orange bars.

A rocket landed outside the bubble and exploded in a fireball. My gaze followed the thick smoke trail back to Eclipse and I realized then that I did not even have my saddlebags! The only thing I had was my business suit, hoofgun with two slugs, two buckshot reloads in a pocket, torch, the Dash inhaler, and Pipbuck with the tools stuck in it.

We picked Sister up as We turned south at the same time a second rocket struck dirt and the rest of the Steel Rangers opened fire on Our shield.

*** ***

We turned down an overgrown side street lined with rubble with three Steel Rangers on Our tail. Our gallop was slowed by Us attempting to lift Our left foreleg to click into the map function of the Pipbuck. We saw that it somehow knew where Rose was, which was somewhere to our east, so We dropped the foreleg and picked up Our pace.

As We turned right onto another side street We turned invisible, and immediately made a hard left before ducking inside a shop that had not yet crumbled. Our gallop slowed to a walk while We panted and watched the Tin Can ponies gallop past us.

"Took you long enough." Sister grumbled quietly.

We took stock of the place as We set her down. It was a convenience store at one time, but its shelves were all looted and what was left was rusting tin cans and paper littering the floor. Behind the counter lay an open safe and a smashed cash register.

An idea popped into Our head and We attempted to connect with Grumpy, but could not locate her, so We looked at Sister. "Where is Grumpy? We can not seem to locate her."

"The purple whose name is RJ?" We nodded. "Went north after something. Probably out of range by now."

Almost as if on cue, We heard a mare's laugh behind Us and looked over at three orange bars as Eclipse walked in flanked by two Steel Rangers. "Oh there's three now? All the more fun!" she grinned at the two of us.

We picked Sister as Eclipse walked forward a few steps as she took off her robe, and showed thick armor made from large dark colored bones. Each hoof had two Hellhound claws built into it that clicked on the tile as she walked. We took a step back towards the door, and then another. As We walked backwards We looked into her mind that burned with clear hate for the two of us. And We knew right there that there was no reasoning with this mare.

She saw us as beasts that needed to be put down and not allowed to live.

We turned around and bolted from the room. "That's right, run away!" Eclipse cackled.

As We looked back We saw her giving chase and wondered how long this would keep up. We turned left onto a wide main road that was choked with the debris of hundreds of wrecked vehicles. "Sister, are you okay?" We asked her with Our mind.

“I'm... feeling sick again." She groaned.

As We jumped over the debris We saw the jungle treeline a few miles away. A quick look back revealed Eclipse to have slid to a stop and was looking for a way around because she could not jump as high as Our wing assisted jump. She looked up at us and shouted, nearly screamed. "You'll never escape me, do you hear me?! Never!"

Our hooves landed on the roof of a van and it caved in, causing the remaining glass to explode like a soap bubble from our combined weight. We pressed forward, and ran along the rooftops of the vehicles that stretched for almost an eighth of a mile. A few of them were spaced far apart, but that did not concern Us since We used Our wings to assist in jumping.

A metallic thunk behind Us caused Us to look back and Our eyes widened. We quickly tossed the metal apple away with magic before it exploded in a ball of green fireball. Our eyes widened as Our hoof slipped and caught in something. Before We knew it a sharp pain filled the appendage as We tumbled forward and threw Sister off Our back.

Our muscles strained as a sick snap filled the air, followed by fire shooting through the leg from an area above the Pipbuck, as We screamed in agony. Tears streamed from Our cheeks as We attempted to look for Sister. We eventually found her sprawled out on the road and slowly moving.

She turned to look at Us and her eyes widened. "Shock... don't look at your leg."

We didn't have to look at it to know it was twisted and broken badly, because the area above the Pipbuck throbbed with each beat of Our heart and We were bawling silently. The device on Our leg redundantly displayed a crying Stable-Tech unicorn mare and the outline of an alicorn with a red leg. We painfully stared, through tears, into Sister's eyes as she got up and limped over.

There was a hollow thump in the distance followed by a sharp whistle overhead. A green banded shiny apple landed sixty feet away and quickly exploded in green plasma fire. Shortly after the first grenade exploded, a second thump signaled another being launched and Sister ducked as the grenade landed twenty feet closer.

As We looked at Our leg We saw it was twisted above the Pipbuck unnaturally. The blue screen was wedged inside the gap between the cab of this vehicle and the one next to it. With a shriek of agony from my mouth I pulled free as a third grenade landed even closer and We could feel the heat of the explosion.

A fourth thump caused me to look up, swat the grenade to the side with magic, and look away as it exploded above the ground. We shielded Our face with wing and smelled singed feathers.

I felt Sister's magic grab my collar and pull me off the vehicle onto her back as a fifth thump sounded. I tracked the grenades trajectory and swatted it away, causing it to explode mid-air. My gaze went to the five orange bars as another one was launched. This time I swatted it down and smiled as the bars scattered.

I looked forward as it exploded, but my eyes were drawn skyward at the sound of a resonating slap with a whine underneath. My gaze quickly scanned the area overhead and I saw an olive green shape of a AV-2 vertibuck. A twin rotor vehicle with rockets, guns, and troop carrying ability.

"Sister can you go invisible?" I shouted as the vertibuck turned towards our road. She did so and the air shimmered around us.

We looked down as Eclipse climbed onto the mass of twisted vehicles. Her gaze went up to the turbine powered flying machine. She stamped a hoof twice and pointed in our direction; the Vertibuck tilting left and right in response. It dropped lower to just fifty feet above the road as it flew through the urban canyon towards us.

"Turn!" I shouted as I caught a glimpse of two rocket pods underneath it. Mudpie complied as the Vertibuck began strafing the road with rockets and gunpods.

Mudpie galloped through the narrow alley as the concussion of a few rockets took my breath away. She pushed herself faster and jumped, taking to the air much to Our surprise.

We were surprised that she could maintain the invisibility spell and fly in her condition!

Her wings beat furiously as we quickly gained altitude before turning southward over the buildings as she flew higher. My gaze went down to the road as the Vertibuck pulled up from its strafing run all the while Eclipse stood and watched.

’Perhaps she can not track Us as easily as she thinks?’

*** ***

Thick jungle was coming up too fast and We recognized what was wrong immediately. Our forelegs wrapped around Sister's neck as tight as We could despite the pain, and then We gripped her with Our hind legs. We beat Our wings furiously in an attempt to fly.

Our fall was slowed somewhat, but still we fell fast as We screamed in agony. Sister's head fell forward and her body went limp just before We crashed through a tree. Not one to risk the chance to break a wing, We pulled them in tightly and prayed to the Goddess that we'd be safe. Our bodies smashed into a limb with a crack, then a second one and we kept going down.

We felt Sister's body shudder as she hit the tree limbs first, but she did not cry out in pain. My eyes shut tight, we slammed into the ground and lost hold of Mudpie. I relaxed as my body kept tumbling and the crying Stable-mare displayed more warnings about a sprained fetlock, a concussion and other problems We cared not for.

I crashed into a tree trunk with my back and cried out in pain; the display displaying the obvious. Our gaze went to a faintly breathing Mudpie. Which was good. Then We slowly looked around at our surroundings.

Trees and bushes greeted Our vision as far as we could see, which was only about fifty yards before it became just a blur of green. Low misty fog covered the jungle floor and the air felt much more humid than in the city.

My gaze went back down to my twisted leg and I gently felt around with magic for the break, and cringed when I found it. I attempted to take off the overcoat, but pain shot through my left leg when I moved it. So I sat on my haunches and used magic before rolling up the sleeve and biting down on it so as to not bite Our tongue.

We took a few deep breaths and braced Ourself for what pain was to come, gripped the leg with magic and quickly reset the bone. It made a sickening sound as We screamed and bit hard on the sleeve as more tears fell. The break still throbbed and We couldn't walk on it, but at least if We found a few healing potions We would not have to worry. And if We found radiation it would go away completely.

If...

My gaze went to the various trees and bushes as I looked for anything to make a splint from.

*** ***

We limped heavily along the jungle floor with an unconscious Sister on Our back. The destination was the marker for the cap collection. Even a tiny hoofstep onto Our splinted leg caused pain. Our splint was made using shaped tree limbs and part of the suits overcoat. It was stupid to think of going to collect caps from a pony in the condition We were in, but the fact that there was a pony out here must mean they have medical supplies and we need them badly.

Our gaze flickered left and right as We quickly scanned the jungle for anything, but We only saw the blue bars of animals, or We hoped they were animals. We wished the Pipbuck told you what it was!

A snap of a twig or branch drew Our attention left, but the E.F.S. showed nothing in that direction. We slowed while turning around and hobbling backwards. “Hello?” We called out with Our mind.

Whispers in zebra tongue reached Our ears as they swiveled around, but We blocked them out as We knew they could not be here. There are no zebra's on Oakwood! Our gaze went up to the trees as We looked for hidden snipers, but We saw none. So We turned around as We continued hobbling towards the marker while We checked for tripwires every so often.

This made Our progress slow, but it was better than the alternative of being blown up. As We stopped, We braced Our left foreleg with magic and lifted Our right to open the breech of the hoofgun, and winced in pain. We saw the hoofgun was loaded with slugs still and gave a nod.

“Mudpie, are ya dead?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah...” She mumbled.

I smiled at her comeback. If she were dead she could not respond, but I did not think she was feeling better. Infact I thought her condition to be worse than when I had found her in that room.

*** ***

We had eventually came to a wide muddy river that looked impossible to cross by hoof. On our bank of the river were two smashed boats lying in the sand and overgrown by the jungle. Our Pipbuck chirped and we looked down as We pulled the overcoat back to look at the screen.

New location discovered: Dropkick’s End.

‘Why give a name for two wrecked boats?’

With a shrug We limped towards them. The boats looked to have collided with each other head-on and a skeleton was slumped over the control console of one as We pulled back the vines. A dark stain on the armored sidewall showed that they had been shot in the side of the head while they were unconscious. As We looked left We saw two more overgrown skeletons with a single hole in each of their head. Their barding had long ago been reduced to shreds and the deck underneath the vines was littered with dull brass casings of varying calibers.

Next to them lay the rusted remains of a 20mm autocannon, and on the front walls of the boat were twin M-2 .50 cal machine guns likewise rusted. We hobbled towards the control console and peered over at the jumbled mess of twisted metal and fiberglass. Two sets of skeletal forelegs stuck out from where the forward turrets should have been. We looked and saw the other boat had one M-2 missing and its crew were gone, but no skeletons.

Our gaze went down to the console where dials showed the rpm of two engines and a fuel gauge that read almost empty with 'Diesel fuel only' written above.

To the right of the skeleton was a grimy scoped rifle in a holster that we pulled out. Our Pipbuck chirped, which told us it was a Zebra Assault Rifle that was in piss poor condition with twenty rounds in its magazine meant for thirty and was upgraded with a synthetic stock. How it all knew that We did not know, nor care. The weapon looked like you held it in your hooves to look down the scope despite it having a mouth trigger. Not like we would need to, as we used magic! We checked around and found an empty magazine to go with it, which Our Pipbuck told us it was an extended magazine.

To the left of the stained wall was a small cuddy cabin designed for one pony to sleep, but was much too small for Sister or I. We gently set her down and crawled in, and looked over the mattress that disintegrated to Our touch. In one corner was an orange plastic box with a white cross on it. We pulled it over and clicked the latches open. It revealed bandages, empty syringes with traces of orange liquid, and two unmarked blue-green bottles. The other supplies were missing. On the inside of the plastic lid were directions written in a dialect of Zebra.

Opening the bottle revealed the most unusual smell. Despite it looking blue-green it smelled like strawberries. We held both of them in front of Us with magic and crawled back to Mudpie.

"Found something." We told her with Our mind and held the bottles in front of her.

She cracked an eye open as she groaned. “What are... those?”

“We are unsure. The box claims healing potions, but they smell off.”

“Then.... toss them.... and let another pony try ‘em. I... won’t.”

With a nod We threw them and smiled when they landed in the river with a splash.

*** ***

We spent the night at the boat before following the river for a few hours and coming to a bridge which we crossed. A closer inspection of both boats had revealed a nearly gone map and one syringe of Med-X, which We took then as We could not stand the pain coming from Our leg any longer. This did not kill the pain entirely, but We felt muddled and the pain lowered to an aching throb.

However as We looked right We saw an orange bar slowly moving behind bushes. As We set Mudpie down We crept forward through the strange looking brush while looking around the dark jungle floor, despite it being noon. Quietly, We moved the fauna aside with the zebra assault rifle as We limped forward ready for anything. However We saw nothing but fog and bushes as the orange bar completely vanished. Then Our ears swiveled to the sound of a pony stepping on leaves. Which caused Our head to turn in that direction and the rifle dropped from Our magic’s grip out of shock.

“Sis... Sister?” I blinked in shock at seeing a blue alicorn glaring at me. However I quickly realized that this pony wasn’t Mudpie, because she was wearing clothes and held a shotgun with magic. And her bar was blue... She must have been the orange bar and it turned blue when she saw Us.

“Where the hell am I?!” She shouted.

“The island of Oakwood,” We projected into her head. “Far off the coast of Equestria. How do you not know?”

“I awoke washed up on a beach; fog and ocean behind me with jungle in front.” She replied as she lowered her weapon. We did not suspect malice, so We picked Our weapon up and put it away as she eyed Us strangely. “How long have you been here? You’re in pretty bad shape.”

“A purple named RJ told us twenty years. We fear for her safety as she is a newbie to the area and ponies here resent us.”

She trotted closer and put a hoof on Our shoulder with a smile. “Then worry no longer. There is a place for our kind on the mainland led by a unicorn named Velvet Remedy.”

We thought over this pony’s name as it was familiar to Us... Velvet, Velvet Reme... Then it hit us like an anvil dropped from a sky wagon. “The Destroyer’s nice companion!”

She nodded, but her gaze looked behind Us and We saw a pony almost on top of us in the reflection of her eye. “Look out!” The blue alicorn redundantly shouted.

As We wheeled around, We brought up Our shield as the pony came running at us with a mix of a chainsaw and broadsword clenched in their teeth. However, the saw blades sliced right through Our shield as if it were not there and nearly sliced our chest as We jumped back and bumped into the blue. Seeing as the shield was useless We brought up Our right hoof while We lowered the shield, and ignored the pain to Our left.

Thinking of S.A.T.S. caused something odd to happen.

It was as if time had stopped for Us and We were able to look around. The pony’s face reminded Us of Eclipse in that he had a determined look in his eyes. Behind this pony were two others that held what looked like two sets of wing binders and hoof cuffs. We looked back down at the melee pony, who was looking up at Us, as his blade was about to swing a second strike.

There were orange boxes around his various body parts and numbers with a percent sign, so We selected his head and noticed that S.A.T.S. allowed Us to fire both shots with a 65% chance to hit, but We elected to fire none.

’We do not need some stupid spell to tell Us if We can hit a pony! He’s right there in front of Us!’

As We left S.A.T.S. We jumped farther back with a hard flap of Our wings at the same time he swung. Our hoofgun sent a 20 gauge slug right into his chest and caused the pony to fly backwards from the momentum. He slid about four feet through the brush and We drew the zebra rifle from Our back with magic.

We quickly ducked below the nearby brush and crawled right as the ponies pulled out weapons and dropped their chains. After a few seconds We popped Our head and rifle up, took quick aim down the scope at the yellow pony in mismatched armor, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle popped three times in succession for one trigger pull.

We hissed in anger as the bullets that struck the pony also ignited him!

He fell down, screaming in pain, and a second burst to his head silenced him as we dropped back down. We dropped back down and looked at the ground so that We could crawl on Our belly to avoid Our large perfect horn giving Us away as shots tore through the air above us. Most of them disintegrated the brush where We were last at but a few grazed Our back, yet We did not make any noise. For some reason this new sister did not elect to fire her shotgun at the ponies.

Instead she yelled at them and cowered behind a tree. “Stop shooting! I mean you no harm!”

A glance over at the orange bar revealed one to not have moved much and his shooting stopped as We heard the metallic click of a magazine being dropped from the rifle. We lifted Our head above the bushes and took aim at the blue stallion before We triggered a burst.

Three shots struck the pony in the head, which caused him to simply drop sideways as if he simply passed out. Our gaze went around the jungle as We attempted to slow Our breathing down. Only two blue bars appeared on Our E.F.S. and the stench of burning pony slowly mixed in with cordite and the moist air as it filled Our nostrils.

Blue sister gagged at the smell, which caused Us to look at her as she heaved up food. We did not find the smell as bad as some We have smelled before. The rifle was put away as We stood fully, the pain in Our leg reminded Us that We were still injured. The Pipbuck chirped and said Our Zebra Rifle was on the verge of breaking.

The blue looked over at Us as she coughed a little. “What is going on?! Who were those ponies and why wouldn’t they listen?"

We smiled nervously and shrugged. “Perhaps We should tell you that there is a Steel Ranger who put a large bounty on alicorns and intends to wipe out any on this island. She wears armor of the dead and has Hellhound claws for weapons.”

She wiped the spittle off her mouth and downed some water. Her gaze went to the dead ponies, then back to Us. “Why of all places in the wasteland is there an actual bounty on our kind here?”

"We had two wings that have spent many many years thwarting the Steel Ranger plans of taking technology back to the mainland, and they do not like it.” We pointed a hoof towards the remaining blue bar. “Sister is over there and in desperate need of medical aid. Our leg can wait as We took some Med-X."

"What's wrong with your leg?"

"We broke it running from that Steel Ranger with the armor of the dead." We lifted Our foreleg to show her the splint and sighed contently as the pain mostly went away. "Sister had her magic depleted, recovered some, but depleted it more. We fear she may die on Us, and would much rather not lose her. Sister means alot to Us as we are close."

Without a word the new blue disappeared into the brush. Our gaze went to the dead ponies and We began to pick through their stuff. We took one of their saddlebags and holstered the chainsword across Our back with its sheathe; Our Pipbuck called it a Ripper modified with Hellhound teeth. The contents of the bags were two bottles of water that caused Our Pipbuck to click and warn Us of radiation. So We drank the bottles and then went through the contents again.

We found fifty caps, the note about alicorn bounties, some food, a half drank healing potion, and a bag of RadAway which We kept for Rose. The second pony had an assault rifle and the third had a pump action shotgun. Two magazines worth of ammo for the assault rifle and six shotgun shells that were larger than Our hoofgun.

We put everything into Our bags and stood up as We looked over at the two blue bars behind the bush. With a heavy limp, We made our way back, and pushed the brush aside with Our magic. We frowned when We saw Mudpie whispering to the other alicorn. Regardless We went over and laid down as We removed the healing potion and put it to Sister’s lips.

Sister drank what was left, but looked at us strangely, as she set the bottle down and asked. "How come you didn't drink all of it?"

We smiled and brushed her still non-flowing mane with a hoof. "You needed it more than we do."

"But your leg was nearly snapped off!" She shouted and glared at Us while We smiled back. "You're being stupid, Shock. You should have drank all of that potion."

We sighed, closed Our eyes and thought over what she said. "This is true, however We drank irradiated water which should provide some healing. Perhaps enough to put pressure down."

We felt a hoof on Our good shoulder and We looked over at the new blue, whose gaze was soft and concerned. "Excuse me, but why do you still talk in the 'We'? Unity died with the Goddess. You're yourself again and don't have to talk like that."

Sister groaned and covered her ears. "Don’t make her explain it!”

"The Goddess is not dead," We told Blue flatly with Our mind. "She merely moved on to another plane of existence."

"How do you know?"

"Because she thinks the Goddess spoke to her about a week or so ago." Mudpie said with another groan and We gave a nod.

The other blue nodded. "Alright, let's say she isn't dead. You still don't have to refer to yourself as We anymore. Unity is gone."

Mudpie put a hoof on Blue's foreleg while she shook her head. "Shock is very fucking old and has a thick skull, trust me it won't get through. If I hadn't been here the day the Goddess died... I don't know what would have happened."

We huffed as We fluffed our feathers a bit and looked at Mudpie. "I can call myself 'I' if I want! We just have a hard time doing so."

"Well we can work on that." Blue said with a smile to Mudpie.

Our gaze went around the jungle looking for orange bars, but luckily We saw none. Then We looked towards the marker and pointed a hoof. "We should go that way, as there may be medical supplies."

*** ***

We looked across the clearing at a large single story house that was slightly elevated above the surrounding area. The wood had long ago greyed and the windows were boarded up along with the doors. Extra planks made sure they could not open. Mudpie was sleeping on Our back, Blue had tried to carry her, but We insisted on doing it.

Blue stepped forward and We held out a clipped wing to stop her. "Wait."

She looked at Us as her head tilted. "It's abandoned."

"Something is off." We replied quietly with Our mouth.

"Like what?" Blue asked with a tilt of her head in the other direction.

We looked at the shack again and noticed it looked maintained and not like the boats. "It... is too clean."

"What do you mean?"

"The grass is kept low, and the boards in the windows are spaced just far enough to get the barrel of a rifle through and see over. This screams trap to Us."

"I say its fine."

Blue walked forward twenty feet and turned around. She held up a hoof and motioned for Us to come closer. We trotted forward with Sister asleep on Our back. The Med-X had worn off by now which caused Us to limp and whimper with each step on that hoof. Thy Pipbuck chirped as it told us this place was called Tank Fort.

As We took another step Our left foreleg collapsed painfully, and caused Our right hoof to fall on something thin. We looked cross-eyed at the tripwire as Our eyes widened. "Stop!" We telekinetically shouted to Blue.

Blue did so as she tilted her head. "Are you alright?"

"No." We responded while looking at her with just Our eyes. "Our hoof is on a tripwire. Can you lift Sister with magic?"

Blue nodded and We felt Sister's weight lift from Our back. We watched as she was floated over to Blue and gently placed on her back.

We quickly jumped back and cowered, but nothing happened. With a sigh of relief, We stepped over the tripwire and trotted over to Blue, and Sister. Then the door to the shack opened and a gryphon poked its head out, as it glared at us. "You three are the most unusual ponies I’ve had the pleasure of not shooting. One passed out, one heavily injured and one that looks normal."

"We mean you no harm." Blue replied. She pointed to her back then me as she said, "we have injured and request medical aid. We can pay if you wish."

*** ***

Sister slept on Tank's bed in the bedroom while Blue and I looked at the gryphon. He had given me two healing potions as soon as he saw my leg and I don't know if I'll be able to thank him enough. We could walk on it now, if a bit painfully.

The inside of this room had a couch, coffee table, wood flooring, and a desk. We assumed he made his meals on the stone fireplace in the corner that was now unlit. Tank sat across from us in the chair for the desk.

"What are three alicorns doing out this way?" He asked. "Last I heard there was only two and they stayed inside the city hell bent on annoying Steel Rangers."

We looked to Blue, unsure of what to say, then looked at Tank and said. "We... are hiding from the Steel Rangers. If you think we are ea-"

He held up a taloned hand and We went quiet. "I know about the bounty, but I also know what they did to the ones they already caught and I wouldn't wish that fate on anypony. As far as I'm concerned they can go fuck themselves."

We smiled with a nod of thanks to the gryphon. Our gaze went to his hindquarters as We wondered how exactly they were made as We knew how We were made: Dipped in a vat of I.M.P.

Where exactly do these giant eagles come from that are willing to mate with a lion? The long sharp feline claws mixing in with the powerful muscles and the flight capability makes for one deadly creature. A near perfect vision of a killing machine. We are of course perfect.

Tank waved a taloned hand before pointing at his beak. "My face is up here."

We felt our cheeks heat up slightly as we blushed because We realized that We were staring and they may have interpreted it wrong. "We are sorry, but you are fascinating despite... you not being like us."

Blue got up and gave a head bow. "I'm going to check on your friend. I'll be back in a bit." We watched her go and wondered why the hasty exit.

’Does she think what we think she thinks? We hope not as we only wondered how a gryphon was made!’

We slowly looked at Tank as We smiled nervously. He was drawing circles in the table with a razor sharp talon and We watched every movement. Tank saw Us looking and smiled, though We were unsure how a beak could smile. "Something interesting you?" he asked.

We made sure to only ask Tank with our mind. "Is there a way We could repay you for your kindness?"

"Well..." He looked back at the room with Blue and Mudpie. "Do you know how to work a gryphon crossbow? I've got a nasty bug problem that needs dealing with."

We blinked and tilted our head. "Bug problem?"

"About the size of a pony and like to eat my crops. There's some to the west of here near a field I grow food in and a few times I nearly got nabbed. You take care of the bugs and I'll call it a deal. Before you answer let me tell you. It is extremely dangerous because there are hotspots around the area and the radiation could kill you. It is best to go by air as there are... things down there in the other fields that could kill with a touch."

We smiled as We nodded. "Radiation would not be a problem. For you see, the Goddess created Us in her image and We are immune to such things."

*** ***

The crossbow was huge!

Tank had said that he had built it from scrap vehicle parts and it required a crank to pull the drawstring back. It was built out of a large rifle stock made for gryphons and had a nearly four foot wide leaf spring for the bow. According to the Pipbuck it was worth four thousand five hundred caps in the condition it was in. He had given Us twenty modified railway spikes that looked to have been sharpened and balanced with fins which extended in flight. Though We were unsure why he would deem Our hoofgun and the chainsword inadequate.

They are bugs. How hard could it be?

We limped into a radiation hotspot near his fields and stopped to let the warm glow rejuvenate Our body while the Pipbuck clicked like crazy. It told Us that We were gaining +25 rads a second. So We just stood there as We felt our leg heal and wings grow warm. The Stable pony now displayed a happy face and disappeared. Only to be replaced by one that looked like it was ready to vomit and was screaming at Us that We had critical radiation poisoning of over seven hundred rads. We spread Our wings and saw that We now had full primary flight feathers again!

Yay!

As We looked up at the clear sky We whispered. "We are thankful that Our leg and wings are healed once more, praise be the Goddess."

With a slight bounce in Our step We continued down the path. A smile was on Our face as We hummed a song We heard about a pony wanting to paint everything black. This one We like most so far and wish to one day thank DJ Snow for showing it to Us. Ahead of Us lay a single track dirt path through the jungle. In the waning daylight We saw the sky light up orange and red in a blaze of colors that made Us smile. Then We quickly focused on following Our marker as We glanced around at the trees and bushes for signs of orange hostiles.

Rose had told Us her Pipbuck displayed red for hostiles and that each Pipbuck may be different depending on various things that We just nodded Our head to. We suspect the original owner to be color blind to red.

According to Our Pipbuck We had traveled for almost an hour before We came to a kind of clearing. We stopped before the edge and went invisible in the twilight. In front of Us lay a field of corn, though this corn was wild and did not grow as if a pony tended to them. On the other side of the field was a metal shack with a door that was falling apart and beyond that was more jungle. In all it was only the size of a hoofball field. We stepped forward and Our Pipbuck labeled this place Outpost X-ray.

Our eyes narrowed at this information because if it were a crop field, would it not be labeled as such?

Our E.F.S. showed nothing either, so We trudged towards the shack through the wild corn that was almost as tall as our chin. Then a We heard a growl that sounded almost like a laugh and looked to the source, but spotted nothing on the compass. However the cornstalks parted in that direction as Our whole compass began to glow orange and We slowly began to back away from whatever it was. Now everywhere We looked We were surrounded by hostiles, yet We could not physically see anything!

We looked down, up, side to side, but they were nowhere!

We turned Our head as We pulled out the Zebra Rifle and gripped it in Our teeth while backing towards the door to a shack. Our hoof stepped on something that squealed and We wheeled around to aim at it, but there was nothing there. Our gaze went over to the sound of cornstalks moving and caught the tail end of something thin as it slipped away.

More stalks around Us parted as Our ears swiveled every which way. We gulped as We were still fifty yards from the shack and if We could not see Our attackers, and they haven’t attacked then that meant they could not see us!

Instead of bothering with walking We bolted for the shack and quickly closed the distance as We practically flew over the stalks.Our magic gripped the handle and found it unlocked, but that caused Our invisibility spell to fail instantly.

We facehoofed.

As if on cue We heard a growl that was answered by others. We risked a look back and saw the entire field was moving and parting in Our direction. Our eyes widened and We ran inside, slammed the door shut and locked it by shoving a broom through the handle.

With a defeated sigh We attempted to look around the room, but recoiled from the door as whatever was out there slammed into it with a loud crash that shook the whole shack. We spun around and aimed the nearly broken Zebra Rifle with magic at the door. We were ready to fire until it breaks and then use it as a club. As We backed up Our hind hoof stepped on air.

We jumped to the side in reflex and looked at the open ponyhole cover with narrowed eyes.

With nowhere else to go We climbed down the ladder. As We got to the bottom We slid the cover shut with magic which cut off all light down there. So We clicked on the Pipbuck light and brought out the torch. Its wide beam of light revealed Us to be in a grimy reinforced tunnel that was wide enough for three of alicorns to stand side by side in with our wings out and four feet taller than Our horn. The floor was dirt strangely, but We did not care what madness made them do that.

We connected with Mudpie knowing that she would not respond. "Sister, we have found some sort of underground tunnel and are looking through it. The entrance is surrounded by unseen hostiles. Please do not come get us."

We pressed forward and wondered what was down there as according to Our Pipbuck this field was not the right one.

*** ***

The blue Pipbuck light cast eerie shadows on the wall of the tunnel. A few times We would aim at them with the crossbow only to realize that it was just a shadow. An old memory was stirred by the radiation warning, but We did not dwell on it. That is long gone and We are better now. Radiation helps Us now, not leave Us coughing up blood as Our insides rot.

The torch swept around the tunnel, but did not locate anything beyond grimy reinforced concrete walls for the last half hour. With a flap of Our wings We were hovering off the ground, a grin on Our face. We slowly moved forward while flying and was glad for it as it would allow Us to move quicker.

The tunnels soon became a blur as We pushed Ourself and tested Our new wings to the limit. As the tunnel abruptly ended in a T We cut a hard left. Another hard flap of the wings and We were back up to speed. Our pace soon had us zooming through the dark confines under the island of Oakwood.

We immediately slowed to a hover and looked around, this time much more carefully and deliberate.

If this island was just one city, then what is with all these secret underground places We had run across over the last week or so? They were made from reinforced concrete with hardened blast doors and electronic locks. Not to mention the pipes overhead carrying what looked like steam, wiring, and other things.

Perhaps there is more to Oakwood than just a large city on a very large jungle island surrounded by mist? A look down at the external map of Our Pipbuck showed that We were under a river far from Tank's shack. And yet when We looked up, the tunnel seemed to stretch into infinity.

I scratched my chin in thought. The Steel Rangers must be here for a reason otherwise Sister and I would have driven them back many years ago. Which caused Us to wonder if the Goddess lie to Us knowing that We would cause havoc for the Rangers and Enclave, thus slowing down whatever plans they had while banishing us at the same time?

I would not be surprised if she did, but why banish us? We had done nothing wrong to her! Perhaps I should find Rose and ask her what is on this island that is so important to the Steel Rangers.

We nodded with a smile at Our plan and turned back the way We had come. We laughed as We flew off the ground even though We were flying in the confines of a tunnel.

*** ***

We slowed Our flight to a hover again near a ladder and looked at thy Pipbuck as We seemed to be lost despite following the exact number of turns in the opposite direction and following the marker!

Orange flashed across Our E.F.S. We quickly dropped to the ground as We pulled out the crossbow and tracked the target. Our head turned right as something jumped at Us and time slowed to a stop in S.A.T.S.

I turned my nose up at the most hideous looking rat I have ever laid eyes on as it was lit by the Pipbuck. It was about the size of a dog with razor sharp teeth and no fur with tiny eyes. S.A.T.S. displayed an 85% chance to hit its chest. We wondered how well the spell assist works as We were worried that We might not be able to hit it with the large crossbow that close normally.

We toggled an attack by the crossbow and saw it used nearly the whole energy bar. With a nod from Us, time sped back up and We felt something take hold of Our body.

Tank's crossbow was aimed and the trigger was pulled by Our magic.

With a loud twang the railway spike was launched into the body of the giant rat, its fins spread out just before impact and sent the whole creature flying back into the wall and it stuck there.

I blinked in shock and looked down at the crossbow because it had pinned that rat to the wall!

Noise caused Our ears to swivel right towards the source of more rats. With the crossbow fired and them closing in with no time to reload, We dropped it and drew the Zebra Rifle as We tried to aim down the scope.

Five orange bars on Our vision and eleven shots. ’We can do this easy as pie.’

The first rat shrieked as it was ignited by three shots and fell over dead. The others scurried around their fallen comrade and one jumped. We aimed above it and triggered a burst before sidestepping as the flaming hairless ball of shit landed at our hooves. A third one went down as soon as it jumped, then the weapon clicked empty.

We hissed as We tossed the useless weapon away because there were still two shots!

As We jumped back We stepped right again and brought up our hoof. It recoiled slightly as it sent a 20 gauge slug into the creature and the tunnel was lit by the blast at the same time Our hearing was deafened. We covered our face with the leg as the rat exploded in a ball of red, and showered Our suit with the warm coppery tasting liquid. We quickly loaded in buckshot to the now empty weapon while We floated backwards and scanned for hostiles ahead.

A scream of pain escaped Our lips as one of the foul creatures clamped its maw on Our wing’s bone and caused Us to fall to the floor, because We could not flap with its weight on Us. We hissed at the creature as We spun on a hind leg and flicked Our wing forward as hard as we could.

Yet its maw stayed shut, then another one clamped onto Our other wing while we were distracted and We screamed again.

"You stupid fucking beasts!" We shouted, brought Our wings forward and aimed at one with the hoofgun.

Buckshot tore multiple holes through the creature and into Our bone as the rat fell in a lifeless heap. We cringed and aimed at the other one. It was sent to Tartarus and We damaged Our other wing. The crying Stable-tech mare returned to Our vision as it showed both wings to have damage, but not critical as of yet.

Redundant as always.

However We had no time to think about that because a rat the size of a full grown pony growled at Us. We pulled a railway spike out of Our saddlebags and looked for the crossbow, which was behind the creature. It rushed forward as We dropped the railway spike and drew the Ripper from its sheath.

As We gripped the trigger with magic the weapon roared to life.

“We hate tunnels!” We shouted as We galloped towards it and brought the blade down. Its Hellhound teeth drew blood as the blow merely grazed the creature, which slammed into me. The weight of it sent Us sprawling onto Out back as We brought up the Pipbuck to block its bite and winced from the blades already in our leg getting pushed around.

Thankfully whatever metal it was made from prevented the rat from biting into the leg. We rolled over and threw the creature against the wall before tossing the Ripper towards it. Our blow struck it in the neck.

The large rat gurgled as it tried to make noise. We crawled over and ripped the blade from it before bringing it down on its chest once, twice, thrice, and four times.

On the fifth blow We realized it was long dead and pulled the blade out then looked at it and wondered why it was still clean. However Our suit sleeves were completely covered in the creatures blood and our ears folded back.

"Aww. I liked this suit..." We mumbled as We used Our to tear the sleeves off. We frowned, but remembered that We did not pay for it.

The Ripper was floated back to the sheathe whence it came before We moved over to the Zebra Rifle. We checked its magazine and saw that there was indeed one round in it. Our frown was still there as We pulled the bolt back and a second 7.62mm round ejected. We held it up and wondered why it did not fire as thy Pipbuck did not say the weapon was broken.

We put those items into Our saddle bags, picked up the railway spike and set it in the channel on the crossbow, before drawing the wire back with magic. Our gaze fell upon the ladder and We started climbing it. As We attempted to slide the cover back We found it did not budge, so We used our hooves to no effect.

In the light provided by thy Pipbuck We saw that it had been welded shut and with a deep sigh, We dropped back down to the ground to look at thy Pipbuck map. We had figured on heading back towards Tank's shack and turned in that direction.

Our wings ached terribly and throbbed where We had been bitten. Strangely though the gunshots did not hurt as bad as the bites. We had to keep Our wings held slightly out from Our body so as to not have agonizing pain.

Our gaze went to the sick and crying Stable-Tech mare that displayed critical radiation and poison.

’How could we be poisoned?! We are the perfect image of the Goddess and we do not get poisoned!’

We smiled as the crying mare went away and the injured limb warning vanished. We spread Our wings out fully and saw the slowly drying blood where six pellets had torn through. So We sat on our haunches and decided to preen Our new feathers and clean off the blood.

*** ***

We suspected thy Pipbuck did not know what to do with Our body as it said We are still poisoned. The pain in Our wings died to an itch underneath the healed skin though, so that was good. The blood of those rats left a decidedly tangy electrical taste in Our mouth, which we could not get rid of as We had nothing to drink.

Our ears picked up smooth jazz coming from a room about eighty feet away, and so We cantered over to the open door. As We peered inside We saw what looked like a janitors closet with rolled papers, a music player, a bed, no food or water, a lantern, and a doll like Rose's.

Except this one was different.

It was of a purple unicorn that caused Our mind to flip through Our memories like a book before landing on the name of the mare: Twilight Sparkle, the head of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. We remember her as We have seen her on many posters. An inscription on the base read: Be smart!

We smiled at the doll because perhaps Rose would have wanted it to go with the one of Rainbow Dash. As We reached out to touch it a rotting hoof knocked Ours away and We recoiled in shock.

But We quickly recovered and shoved the red ghoul against a locker. "Who are you?!" We shouted in his face as We pointed a decidedly empty hoofgun at his eye.

The mustached unicorn pointed at his tattered janitor uniform and rasped. "I'm... Ra-Raul, the janitor. I thought... I thought you were trying to steal my statue." We lowered the weapon as Our gazed softened when We noticed his bar was blue. "Who are you? Ya look like one of the Princesses if they fell in a vat of green paint."

We smiled. "We are a child of the Goddess. The Princesses have been dead for two hundred years."

"I figured as much when the world went to hell and I turned into this." He pointed at his face. "But ya know what the worst part of bein' a ghoul is?"

We shook Our head.

"I can't shave my mustache! It'll never grow back if I do."

He's an undead pre-war pony and worried about his mustache?! We chuckled as it must surely be a joke! It received a smile from him. We nodded and asked. "Raul, We would like to purchase the statue off you."

"Five thousand caps." We felt Our eyes widen. "These are rare chica, I've only seen like six!"

"Is there something else you wish instead of caps? As We only have fifty."

"I've been down here for a lot of years, alone. And you have one of the nicest flanks I've seen since the Princesses."

Our eyes grew wider.

’He's a ghoul! That would be... Ewww! He's like a hideous red zombie!’

"We like mares." We said as We gave him a grin. "Infact we have a marefriend named Rose. Is there something else?"

He nodded and We let out a breath We had been holding. "There's a deadly plant out by one of the access hatches. If you take my flamethrower and clear it out I'll give you the statue as payment."

"Why can't you do it?"

"These old bones aren't made for fightin', chica. Those plants are as quick as a fox and deadly to boot. But my first offer is still on the table."

We wrinkled Our nose and took a step back. "We think We will deal with this plant."

He nodded and pulled a roll of paper off the stack as he laid it out and pointed a hoof. "We are here, and this plant is wayyyyy over here," his hoof traced a line and stopped at the other edge before he tapped it a few times. "I'll mark the location on your Pipbuck so you won't get lost."

Said device beeped. New location discovered: Raul's place. There was a marker a few miles away too.

*** ***

The flamethrower tank was heavy and slightly too snug, but nothing We could not handle. Strangely, instead of being setup to fire like a rifle saddle, it had two flexible hoses that went down to a strap like the hoofgun which ended in a nozzle that howled softly, because the igniter was lit. There was a battle saddle trigger for it of course. Raul explained that all I had to do was point my hoof and bite down.

We trotted through the dark tunnels with the torch floating ahead. Its round beam cast a pale blue light around the grey concrete tunnel. We could plainly see it was being slowly overgrown with green and the air became even more humid than outside which made Us sweat slightly.

The E.F.S. still showed no hostiles, but We were following the map marker, so the green vines were a good sign. We pressed forward for a good five minutes and still didn't worry as We stepped around blocks of concrete with vines sprouting from the ceiling.

After all they were plants. Just how could plants be deadly?

We passed by a beautiful unbloomed purple flower that seemed to follow our movement. Our gaze went to the right as We turned in that direction and saw more flowers. The torch highlighted the end of the hallway which ended at a sealed door with a round hatch like on a ship.

The fact that the flowers had felt like they were watching Us made it unnerving. Raul had said to only clear out the plants outside the access hatch and not go inside, but We had decided to ignore him. We gripped the wheel with magic as We trotted up to it.

With a rust induced shriek the hatch's wheel gave in inch. It did not budge easily and forced Us to use magic and our strength until it gave another inch.

We strained, but it got no farther.

As We stepped back We looked at it before We pivoted on a forehoof and bucked one of the metal bars as hard as we could. The metal shrieked and moved while pain lanced up Our leg. We turned back around and spun the wheel with magic as We smiled when it spun smoothly.

We gave a quick look to the plants that seemed to be watching Us in the dark confines. A shiver ran up Our spine before We stepped inside and immediately noticed that the lights worked, which made it seem like daylight.

Inside the tunnel opened into a large two level atrium. We were on the top level across from a round shattered window. Vines and plants grew every which way and over tables. More of those purple flowers were on the bottom floor while yellow pods were on Our level. The actual floor was covered in dirt... We think or hope it to be dirt.

To Our left was a partially open blast door. A catwalk ran along the center to another hallway. As We stepped inside thy Pipbuck labeled it Research Lab 13.

We got the feeling that it was more of a Stable atrium than a research lab. Though We were unsure because We have never set a hoof inside of one. Our gaze scanned the room while We kept an eye on the compass. There was nothing, not even blue. With a nod We stepped forward onto the metal catwalk that ran above everything.

We do not see what was wrong there. These seemed harmless, if a bit overgrown. As We turned left We walked towards the half open door that held a faded light above it indicating it was the stairwell.

But it was blocked.

With a shrug We turned around and walked to the edge to look down at the purple flowers. We wondered what would happen if I attempted to pick one. They were very pretty and would look nice in Our room at the Crescent Moon. And so We jumped, landed on the decidedly dirty floor and, slid a good three feet.

On this level We could see there were four other doors leading in random directions and a large shattered square window. We took a step towards the purple flower and noticed something small next to it that the others outside did not have.

It was a scaled green foal lying curled up and sleeping, but as We looked at the foal We saw its back had spikes of some kind. Our mind picked up frightened thoughts, so We took another step towards it and used Our mouth to whisper quietly. "Hello? Do not be afraid. We are here to help."

The foal's ears swiveled towards Us as it fluttered its solid green eyes open, then glared and an orange bar popped up on Our E.F.S. We immediately pointed the hoof with the flamethrower attachment on it, but hesitated in biting the bit.

’It... It is a foal! We... can not... foal... what?!’

It groaned what sounded like 'run' as it took a few steps towards Us, We backed away unsure if We should attack. Then the green foal charged with its maw wide open and that was when We saw instead of normal pony teeth it had sharp fangs and pointy teeth.

The flamethrower sent a jet of red hot fire and engulfed the creature as it squealed in pain. Its body dropping to the ground and rolling around to futilely put out the flame. We followed it with the flame and burned plants alike until it stopped moving.

My gaze flickered to the compass and saw I was now surrounded by orange. Nothing but orange, a solid wall of danger. As if this whole place were alive. We turned Our head to look at a purple flower and saw it had bloomed, which revealed a sharp barb that dripped with juices.

Before I could react the barb shot across the gap and burrowed into my neck. Thy Pipbuck screamed that We had just been poisoned again with some kind of neurotoxin. My eyes grew heavy as I felt my body slowing down.

’This must be what they had drugged Mudpie with!’

I remembered that I had Dash in a pocket and brought out the inhaler. The whole does was huffed and We felt its effects almost immediately. The world around me seemed to slow down like S.A.T.S.

My hoof came up and pointed at the purple flower just before it was engulfed in flames and withered as it shrieked. I swept the jet of flame across the floor to another purple flower just before it sent a barb at Us. The shot missed completely as We jumped out of the way.

Our gaze went up to the second floor at the sound of a roar.

A large yellow pod slammed into the catwalk railing and opened wide. It revealed rows and rows... and rows of razor sharp teeth, and a tongue that moved as if alive. I jumped to the side as the tongue shot towards Us, barely missing, before it recoiled back.

A jet of fire streaked up at it, which caused it to squeal and retreat.

As We looked around We swung thy Pipbuck to block a green monster's attack. The metal thumped against flesh and sent it flying back. That monster was turned to toasty greens as well. Pretty soon the air inside the atrium was filled with the smell of burning plants and the jelly the flamethrower used for fuel.

It was not a good smell.

One of the dials on my foreleg read that I still had 3/4 a tank of fuel and 5/6th a tank of ignition fuel. However my ears heard the rusty shriek of the hatch as it closed and locked followed by some kind of laugh.

The dirt beneath me erupted as some kind of blue vine burst from the ground. We beat Our wings as We jumped and sent fire down. The plant immediately dropped back to the dirt. We turned around and bolted for the nearest door.

*** ***

I slowed to a stop and took stock of my surroundings. We were in living quarters of the research lab and luckily there were no killer plants here, or so we hoped.

The hallway had some dirt clumps with a kind of plant that glowed if you touched it, which we couldn't resist not doing. After a minute of walking, We staggered and fell against the wall as the effects of the Dash wore off. Which reminded Us that We had some lethargic poison in Our system that was somehow capable of incapacitating alicorns.

Our legs collapsed and We slammed into the floor nose first. We stared at the ground for what seemed like eternity. As Our eyes finally shut We heard that plant laughing in Our mind.

Something grabbed a hind leg and began to pull Us back, but all we could do was accept defeat and unconsciousness.

Shell Shock: Level up!

New perk - Tough Hide. Dafuq? How could you shoot your own wings?! +3 DT against all attacks per level of this skill.

New spell unlocked - Thought skimming, I. With effort, you can pick up the surface thoughts of ponies you are looking at.

Main quest updated - Oakwood Blues, II. You've discovered that no matter how good you do, there will always be a pony that despises everything about you. Objective updated: Kill Eclipse and get the trapped Pipbuck off your leg before continuing.