//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: My Heart 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: Fly Away 
// by Freeflyingwolf 
//------------------------------//

Fallout Equestria: Fly Away
By Freeflyingwolf
Chapter 15: My Heart
“Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.”

Once they awoke, the leader of the Roaming branch of the Watchers appeared before them. Jewels was a zebra with a spiked mane and a strange mannerism. All she wanted to know was why they were there, if they needed medical assistance, and if they planned on freeloading for another night. 
Her slight anger quelled when Sunshy donated a good chunk of his items, seeing as how they most likely needed them more than he ever would. Though she was ecstatic at the amount of donated items, she requested a favor of them. Zen’s PipBuck blipped with new side quests when she was finished explaining the actual “various” favors.
Back outside in Kutisha Mahali, it was as dirty and disgusting as it was at night. Truthfully, the light made everything seem much worse. The people were still as sullen and depressing as ever. Though their hearts went out to him, Royal Lace was forced to levitate Sunshy away from a junkie he was giving a can of corn to; it was his tenth donation. Though the pegasus argued, he saw Zen run back and gather the discarded canned food. Junkies wanted caps and drugs, not food. Even if they were starving, they refused food that wasn’t worth enough caps to buy drugs.
Getting to Bora Zaidi was simple enough. Royal Lace, having discarded her unsalvageable dress, only had to show her cutie mark to the guard into Bora Zaidi. After seeing the crown made of lace, she opened the door and wished them that Fortuna would not let them gamble away their caps.
Bora Zaidi lived up to its name, as had Kutisha Mahali and they guessed Mrahaba would as well. The area was not great, but neither was the ground infested with muck. Ordinary, if there was such a thing in the Wasteland. There were small apartments, little houses, warehouses, and people. They saw adolescent dragons, buffalo, zebras by the dozens, and even a few ponies.
Casinos lined each street, showing off their names with bright, neon letters. Directly to their right was a large casino named Neighmorra with moving neon silhouettes of mares lying on their backs, kicking up one of their hind hooves. Outside were a few mares and even a couple bucks wearing sultry straps of leather that made Sunshy blush just looking at them.
Without a word, they all decided to get through as fast as possible. The three equines sped up to a run as they passed by Neighmorra and all the whores calling out for customers. Sadly, they were forced to stop when a zebra buck wearing leather boarding stopped before them.
“Zen!! Zen! It is you! I knew I would recognize that fine ass anywhere.”
“Oh…Ujio…” Zen whispered, his face truly going pale. Royal Lace sighed and resigned herself to waiting. Sunshy stared at his buckfriend with mixed emotions.
“Ah, I knew you’d remember me. What’s it been, three years? Anyway, I’m a high roller around these parts. I’m sure I can get us some free drinks, maybe a room and some party favors. Just like old times, right?” Ujio moved closer while wagging his rump; his smile was supposed to be alluring, but he was missing a few teeth. Sunshy’s ears plastered against his head and he turned to Zen in worry.
“Ujio, this is Sunshy, my buckfriend. My only buckfriend. I don’t intend to change this anytime soon. You should know I don’t sleep around, either.” Zen moved closer to Sunshy, hooking his tail around the long red tail.
The smile on the zebra’s face fell. But then his smile grew back, a little stranger. The zebra chuckled as he looked between Zen and Sunshy; the former stared defiantly and the latter seemed scared.
“This? This is your buckfriend? Seriously? HA!” The zebra laughed his rancid breath right on Sunshy’s face. “I’ve seen more meat on a Radroach! Look at those twigs you call legs! And you’re a fucking pony! HAHA! A pony!”
“Ujio…” Zen growled as he felt Sunshy quiver beside him.
“And look at your hair! It’s so long and who the hell brushes now? You’re not a buck, no matter what your face looks like. You’re just another fucking prissy pony who thinks your better than the rest of us,” Ujio’s face darkened. Sunshy shrank back as the tears began to prick at his eyes. “You are nothing, you fucking yellow prick. You’re not worth the fucking air you dare to breathe.”
“Guards! Guards, come here this instant! Guards!!” Royal Lace shouted at the top of her lungs.
Within moments, two Children of Mars rushed over, both mares. One with bright blue eyes stood in front of Lacey. She bowed her head before the mare.
“Yes, mistress of the Lace royalty? What is it you require of the Children of Mars?” She questioned near robotically.
“This buck here is harassing me and my companions! This cretin stopped us while we were on our way to the Mrahaba section. Not only that, but he tried to solicit my zebra guard for sex even when he clearly stated that he’s taken and would not accept. And then, in a fit, he verbally assaulted my doctor, who is a fragile thing with a severe case of clinical depression. If it wasn’t for his job, my poor doctor wouldn’t even get up in the morning! His self-esteem is very fragile and the assault this, this…ruffian committed against him just shattered all the work I’ve had to do for the last few days! I demand justice, my good guard.” Royal Lace stomped her hoof down and raised her head.
“Alright, ma’am.” The guard mare turned to Ujio with her visors lowered. The other did the same as they stepped forward, with a port opening in her shoulder. A cuff shot out of the port and clamped around Ujio’s neck. “Let us see…stopping a member of the Lace family from reaching Mrahaba, soliciting sex from one who is not a registered prostitute, and destroying the fragile self-esteem of a doctor, possibly throwing him into further depression. That should add up to about thirty years in prison.”
“No, wait, what!! I…Lies! I did nothing like that!! Stop!”
One Child of Mars dragged away Ujio kicking and screaming. The other stood before the group.
“To ensure a member of the Lace family and her companions arrive safely to their destination, I shall take it upon myself to escort you to Mrahaba. This way, please.”
Zen nuzzled the side of Sunshy’s face to comfort him, as he was wiping away the tears. The group began walking as the Child of Mars marched forward. The pegasus forced himself not to drag his hooves as he walked.
“Did you have to say I’m clinically depressed?” Sunshy inquired.
“Made his sentence longer, didn’t it?” Lacey smirked.
“But I’m not depressed.” He argued.
“Oh hush. You wanted him gone more than I did.”
An hour passed before the group stopped before Royal Lace found she was at the end of her wits. She shoved them all inside the bathhouse and slapped a pile of caps onto the counter, startling the zebra mare standing behind it. Once over her shock, the mare took the caps and slid three towels over the counter. The unicorn mare turned to the Child of Mars and told her that she could wait outside if she wanted. The guard nodded and walked outside.
A nice hour was wasted in the public baths. Of course, the males and females were separated. From the large population inside each side, it appeared this public bath was one of the few in the city. Zen and Royal Lace fit in quite nicely, having grown up in this culture. During their bathing, those two chatted with the other bathers. Sunshy, having bathed privately his whole life, hid away in a corner made specifically for shy people like him.
Once they were all nice and squeaky clean, the three dressed and walked outside to their guard standing at attention. She nodded at them when they walked outside.
During their walking, Sunshy made up for his silence at the bathhouse by chatting with their guard. Her name was Adila, meaning Justice in Zebra. She was born, raised, and lived in Roaming. It was all she really knew. However, she was a Child of Mars and was proud of it. Her parents named her Adila because they were Children of Mars and hoped she would follow in their hoofsteps. Obviously, she did. Now she brought justice to a small place in the Wasteland.
At the doors to Mrahaba, the guard vouched for the group. They were allowed through with a small sac of caps handed over, as compensation. Compensation for what, they would not say. Zen took it before Sunshy’s good nature of generosity forced him to refuse the caps. The double doors opened wide and the guards welcomed them to Mrahaba.
It was…glorious.
Filtered water flowed through fountains that lined every street every twenty feet. Each was a statue of a different God or Goddess in various poses. The strange thing was, not all of them were zebras. Some of the statues were of the three tribes of ponies, buffalo, rhinos, elephants, dragons, phoenixes, swans, everything under Celestia’s sun. They were all carved beautifully and meticulously, the love and hard work showing through in every statue.
None of the buildings were smaller than thirty feet. Each was painted a wonderful bright white. The imperfections were covered with the white paint. Only those who looked closely could see the chunks that had been reconstructed.
And the people…
They all walked around, garbed in fancy dresses and suits. Some wore hats. Some wore shoes.
Truly, it was surreal.
All of them were so…stuck up. Half of them actually had their noses in the air. The guards were walking around normally, pushing sweeps around. Apparently, dirt was too dirty.
While they walked, a few of the residents stared at them and their informal attire, or for Royal Lace, lack of attire. Of course, when they saw her cutie mark, the people began to gossip. Royal Lace gasped in happiness before running at a dress shop at top speed. Zen rolled his eyes before walking after her. He had to walk back and pull Sunshy away from a statue of Epona by the tail.
An hour later and a loss of hundreds of caps quickly, Royal Lace was wearing a dress fashioned in the style of the beloved best dressmaker in history, Rarity. The dress was a nice soft pink and tight around her chest. The rest were flowing pink waves of cloth, just short enough to show off her cutie mark. Every bit was trimmed with lace. She was ecstatic to find it went with her necklace perfectly. And just because she could, she had her saddlebags altered to match.
And then she roped the two bucks into getting custom tailor-made suits in the next-door tailor shop. For Zen, he got a swallow-tail suit that flew all the way down to his rump, but still showed off his glyph mark. The tailors were rather unhappy to have to work with his collar, but with a thought, the spikes vanished. They were much more pleased to work with that. Underneath the suit, he got a white dress shirt and a red tie. Just because it looked like it would fit, he received a nice black fedora with a couple tiny feathers. He did not have his saddlebags altered, but the tailors insisted on fixing it up at least.
For Sunshy, he received a nice cobalt blue suit. Under that was a light blue mock-turtleneck. The tailors busted out the paint to color his saddleboxes in a nice periwinkle blue. The pony admired himself in the three mirrors before him and smiled. To make his suit, they had to bind up his mane in a sort of bun. Seeing himself in a mirror, freshly washed, in a new suit, and with his mane up…it was very nice. Even Royal Lace had to admit that he looked rather spiffy. Zen was less than happy, as it made him look more like a mare.
They paid the tailors, who haggled their way into giving them all a discount. For the Lace family, they were more than happy to give a small discount. For such pleasant company, they had to give them another discount. All in all, they paid for what was only half of a suit for two, altering/painting, and a hat. Though Royal Lace hid the fact, she was almost broke and truly appreciated the discounts.
Back outside, the people stopped staring with distain at the three. Instead, they merely passed by with smiles, a nod of the head, or a polite greeting. Making a sound that can only be called a “squee,” Royal Lace ran away to a salon. The two bucks wandered in a different direction, but their tails were caught in a glow of pink and they were forcibly dragged into the salon.
The mares inside nearly fell over each other as soon as they saw Sunshy’s long locks. The pony was quickly pulled inside and made into their doll. The one thing he managed to shout was that no one was to cut his hair. They didn’t need to cut his hair to play with it in all sorts of fashions for a good hour. 
Of course, some of the mares had to work on the other two, but the majority fussed on Sunshy’s long locks. The three equines left with clean, shiny, silky hair. Only Royal Lace had her mane and tail changed into the height of fashion; curls and waves.
“Okay, so I know we’re conserving on food, but my stomach is trying to eat itself. Can we please stop to eat?” Zen complained to Lacey, who was admiring her reflection in a pool from a fountain of Venus.
“That’s physically impossible, as your stomach has a lining of mucus to prevent the stomach acid from dissolving the wall. Simply put, without mucus, your stomach would digest itself.” Sunshy stated in a robotic tone, “Unless, of course, you’re so stressed that you gain ulcers.”
“So it’s a good thing when I do this?” Zen then snorted inwardly, making a loud noise and causing all the snooty residents around them to glare at him in disgust. Sunshy was the only one who laughed, despite cringing a little.
“Ugh, I think I just lost my appetite. But if you really want to eat, there’s a restaurant this way. Unless you want to save some caps and go back to Kutisha Mahali for a bite to eat. Although I’m not sure whatever they’re selling will ever count as food.” Royal Lace began walking off towards a skyscraper indistinguishable from the rest, other than a sign above the door proclaiming, “Franny’s Fine Cuisine”
“I guess I’m fine with spending a little extra here for what’s the same old crap just re-done in a fancy way.” Zen grumbled.
“What do you mean?” Sunshy questioned.
“The people here don’t have the mettle to go delving into dangerous places, so they pay a lot to have caravans deliver them their food supplies. So they have to jack up prices even further to make any sort of profit.” Zen explained as the group closed in on Franny’s Fine Cuisine.
A pair of pure white ponies with their white manes combed down bowed to the group before pushing the doors open. Sunshy made to thank them when he realized their body structure wasn’t quite right for a pony. The doctor stared for a moment before turning and walking into the restaurant, the answer clear. Those weren’t ponies, they were zebras with their coats, manes, and tails dyed pure white.
The oddness of such a fashion statement was blown away by his first glance inside Franny’s Fancy Cuisine. The whole restaurant was massively large. It appeared as though they had knocked down a few floors above to make their ceiling impressively far up. An adult dragon could stand comfortably inside. Oh, there was one! A large blue dragon was sitting at a table made just for dragons with a couple children and a whole roasted rhino on the table.
From the opening, they could see dozens upon dozens of tables, where smatterings of Mrahaba residents dined. The lunch rush seemed to have died down. A completely black pony—no, a zebra with dyed coat, mane, and tail—walked over to the three. This mare wore a pleasant smile and purple saddlebags with menus in each bag.
“I’m terribly sorry for coming in without a reservation.” Royal Lace apologized.
“It’s no problem, sweetie, we have plenty of seats open. Here at my place, I make sure everyone gets in, unlike those other hoity-toity stuck-ups who say they’re full when not even half the place has people in it. Oh listen to this old girl ramble, I’m so sorry. Come, I’ll lead you to your table.” The mare turned and began walking into the heart of the restaurant.
“So you’re Franny?” Sunshy asked.
“Yes I am, good dear. I am the owner, manager, and head chef of my own restaurant. It’s my pride and joy.” Franny stopped at a table seated for four and pulled out chairs for the three of them. Once they were all seated, she set out three menus for them. “Your waiter should be with you shortly. I hope you enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you, miss.” Zen said before propping the menu open.
The two ponies opened their own menus as their hostess walked away. Most everything indeed consisted of canned pre-war food cooked in different ways. Some things involved the flora of the savannah region, such as the barrel cacti. When the pure-white zebra waiter arrived, Sunshy ordered the cacti steak with garnishing just to learn what cacti were; of course, he ordered a glass of water instead of wine, as the other two did. Royal Lace only ordered a light salad with her wine.
To his disgust, Zen ordered meat. Radhog ham was the order, with some celery on the side. Zen seemed pleased with his order, until he turned and saw Sunshy staring with a disappointed scowl.
“What?”
“You ordered meat.”
“Yes, yes I did.”
“But you’re a zebra, an herbivore. As in, you don’t eat meat.”
“Pft, I’ve had to eat meat all my life and I’m fine. Hell, I’m more bulky than most from all the protein.”
“But it’s not healthy. Our bodies are made for a flora-only diet. To eat meat simply goes against nature, the natural order.”
“Yeah, but only the rich can afford staying on a vegan-only diet their whole lives. The rest of us have to get food wherever we can, even if that means eating a poor animal we had to kill.”
“You’re harming your body more than you realize every time you eat meat, high in protein or not. It’s simply not natural, and not healthy!”
Zen and Royal Lace were both too stunned by his small outburst to realize their food had arrived. Royal Lace had seen him explode before and it had cost a mare her horn. She really did not want to see that happen again. Zen had seen him get angry only once before, when they first met. At that time, he was upset about raiders. Zen decided not to tell him that raiders commonly eat meat, too.
Even after their food arrived, the pegasus made it clear that he was simmering with anger as the zebra took the first few bites of the radhog ham. Sunshy ate his rather delicious cactus with a sour taste in his mouth. Royal Lace ate her salad in silence, trying to not look at either of the boys. Three tense minutes of strained silence later, Zen gave a defeated sigh.
“Fine, you win you pouty baby. I’ll just eat the celery and save the meat for Celly. Now are you going to tell me not to drink my wine because it’ll make my liver fail?” Zen turned his plate around so the celery was facing him.
“No, having a drink here and there isn’t too unhealthy. It does have a lot of negative effects, but having a glass of wine at dinner is nothing so bad.” Sunshy stated, pointedly not looking at Zen. “Oh, and don’t think I forgot, you need surgery.”
“For what?” Zen asked in exasperation between bites of celery. 
“Those innumerable bullets that are most likely lodged in your body from having your skin simply regenerate right over them.” Sunshy bluntly answered with a strong overtone of “Damn were you stupid.”
The zebra groaned and slammed his head on the table. Sunshy cast him a glance of ‘I-am-not-amused-with-you’ before returning to finishing the last of his meal. Royal Lace decided to speak up.
“Will this take place before or after our spa session?” She asked timidly.
“You can go on ahead with that, Lacey. We’ll go back to the Watchers, get him fixed up, and then we’ll meet you back…where is your family’s home?” Sunshy questioned.
“Oh, I’ll show you. But first, we need to pay. And I think our waiter deserves a tip for bringing us a box for the steak without anyone asking.”
At that, the two bucks looked over and found the white zebra setting down a Styrofoam box with their bill on top, complete with complimentary mints. He silently nodded to them with a small smile. Zen pulled the bill down and handed out the mints while he checked the price.
“Whoa, I’ve paid more for canned food than this meal for all three of us. How the hell can this be so cheap?” Zen asked suspiciously, fearing a trick.
“Easy, the madam’s family consists of explorers. They all find the food we serve along with the food we get from caravans. She also likes to keep the food cheap for more repeat customers. Over half of the people who come here all know us by name.” The waiter explained with a smile of pride.
“Damn, that’s nice. Tell Franny that if she needs someone to help with that scavenging thing, give Zen a call.” Zen placed the steak into the box and slid it into his saddlebag.
“A call on what?”
“Hell if I know. Use a courier?”
“You are a strange buck.”
“Finally someone who doesn’t think I’m crazy.” Zen smiled as he set out the pay for the meal and a generous tip.
“I would never call a customer crazy to his face.” The waiter replied as he slid the caps into his saddlebag.
“Heh, I get it.” Zen smiled as he got down from his seat and joined the two ponies, who were walking to the entrance.
Once back outside, the puce unicorn led the two bucks around, as she had before. Only this time, Sunshy flew above them so that he didn’t have to walk beside Zen. After only a few minutes, Royal Lace stopped and turned around.
“Alright, I’m done with this tension. Just go get fixed up, and ask a guard to escort you here tomorrow. Now go.”
Royal Lace enveloped herself in magic and teleported away, leaving the rather stunned bucks. Sunshy turned and flew back south. Zen walked after sullenly.
“I’m sorry, alright? Will you quit being mad? Why are you even mad at me?” Zen inquired up to the pegasus. Sunshy landed before Zen and turned to him, positively fuming.
“Take a damn guess, you thick skulled idiot.” Sunshy snapped before returning to the air, doubling his pace. 
Zen galloped after the pegasus, his mind racing as fast as his hooves. Unlike his hooves, his mind was stumbling over questions and possible answers. There was also the fact that Sunshy just cussed again and insulted him. Damn, he was pissed.
Even after crossing into Bora Zaidi, the pegasus kept up his fast pace. Zen, however, knew he had an advantage. Sunshy was ever-so-slightly slowing down around the halfway marker to Kutisha Mahali, which meant he had a normal level of endurance. Zen wasn’t much of a sprinter, but he was good at endurance running.
The zebra pushed himself to put out a burst of speed and passed the pegasus. Seeing this, Sunshy pushed his wings to go faster, taking the lead once again. Zen smirked at the pony as he let his pace even out, while the pegasus struggled to keep ahead of him. Only a minute later and Sunshy was forced to hit the ground running.
Even with his long legs, Sunshy wasn’t much of a runner. Sure, he could close distances thanks to his body structure, but once again, his endurance was not great. Zen quickly left the pony in the dust. As they had crossed into Kutisha Mahali, Zen had left Sunshy in the filth more than dust.
A few minutes later, Sunshy walked into the Watcher’s camp with shaking legs. Arcade trotted over and told him to follow. The pegasus in hiding led Sunshy to the largest tent, where the stretchers were held for the more emergency cases and those needing surgery. Zen was having a mare carefully fold and put away his suit, undershirt, tie, and hat in his saddlebags. Upon seeing Sunshy walk in, he smiled and proclaimed, “I beat you here!”
“I see that, brick brain.” Sunshy retorted.
“Aww, you’re still mad.” Zen frowned and pouted out his lip in exaggerated sadness.
“Have you figured out why I’m mad?” Sunshy questioned, looking back to his buckfriend on thin ice.
“Because I’m not taking care of my body, so I’m more likely to die early. You’re mad because you’re worried for me. Right?” Zen flattened his ears and smiled hopefully.
Sunshy walked forward and placed a kiss on the side of Zen’s cheek. “Finally got it.”
“Whoot!” Zen cheered with a grin.
“If your public display of affection is quite through, we’re ready to perform the X-Ray, mister Zen.” A rose unicorn buck with a blue mane and tail told them as he walked over.
“Alright, let’s give me some cancer!”
“It doesn’t—“
“Cancer!”
“Is he mentally handicapped?” The doctor asked Sunshy, who could only shrug with his wings.
“No. I am merely amusing on a level that your brain cannot comprehend.”
“I think he’s just like an excitable puppy.” Arcade offered, walking forward and rubbing the top of Zen’s head. Just to play along, the zebra wagged his tail back and forth.
“Just sit up on the table and stop with your…weirdness.” The doctor floated over a large screen supported on a bunch of metal arms in a blue glow.
Zen did as ordered, jumping up on a stretcher and sitting with his hind legs dangling over the end. Sunshy had to frown with the unnatural way he was sitting. The X-Ray floated over in front of him and with a click, it began to buzz. The screen flickered to life, showing the bones of the zebra in stark light. Sunshy hissed through his teeth as the other two bucks grimaced and cringed.
“Is it that bad?” Zen questioned, peeking over the top and looking down at the rest of his body shown through the X-Ray.
“Last person I saw with this much metal inside their body was a cyborg.” Arcade offered.
Through the screen, not only was his skeletal structure lit up, but so were lots and lots of small spots scattered around his body. His gut was glowing like Hearth’s Warming Eve day with small circles all bunched together. Zen whistled at his own bullet-riddled body.
“It’s a wonder you’re still alive, mister Zen. One wrong move and those bullets would tear open your stomach…or rather all of your internal organs. Good thing for you, we have all the necessary tools here to perform the surgery.” The rose-colored buck turned off the X-Ray and moved it away. 
He used a bit of magic to tie up his mane into a bun and floated over a medical chart. “Now, we’ll have to take a blood sample to know your type so we know what sort of blood packs you’ll need.”
“I’m not so happy about this anymore.” Zen replied with a grimace.
“Jewels informed me that you’re a doctor, is that correct?” The doctor turned to Sunshy.
“Yes, I am.”
“Have you performed surgery before?”
“A few times.”
“Sunny gets to be my surgeon?” Zen asked in excitement.
“No, he can be my assistant, though. Not enough here that know how to use an IV let alone perform surgery. And with the state your body is in, I will definitely need some help.”
“And you let them walk around helping people?”
“They know enough to help with addictions, set bones, stitch people up, that sort of thing. But when faced with difficult tasks, they send the patients to me and Jewels. I’m Doctor Rose, by the way, not sure if I mentioned that. Hold out your hoof.” Doctor Rose levitated over a needle, which he pricked Zen’s hoof with to take a sample of blood. 
The little dot of red floated and evaporated in his blue magic. “Type O, very common. You’re eating too much iron in your diet; bullets aside, you’re almost magnetic. Take it easy on the meat. I’d also recommend finding more vitamin C and D. Try some broccoli, or maybe strawberries.”
At that, Sunshy had to give Zen an ‘I told you so’ look, to which Zen stuck out his tongue. Doctor Rose’s zebra mare assistant trotted over, pushing a cart full of medical tools, blood packs, and healing potions. Another mare brought over a couple surgeon’s coats, medical shoes, and caps. The unicorn ushered the assistants and Arcade out as Sunshy shed his saddle boxes and nice outfit for the surgeon’s outfit. Doctor Rose closed off the tent as he used his magic to put on his own outfit.
“Alright, Zen, I’m going to put you under a sleeping spell. When you wake up, you’ll be bullet free. Now, close your eyes and count backwards from ten.” Doctor Rose’s horn glowed blue and it lowered to Zen’s brow.
Sleepily, the zebra muttered ten and counted down as his eyes grew heavy. Around seven, his brown eyes vanished behind black and white and the counting ceased. The ponies set up the IV and blood pack, putting the needles into Zen’s front leg. Doctor Rose levitated over a scalpel.
“Let’s get this done.”

Zen woke up feeling lethargic and…shockingly lighter. Huh, did the bullets really weigh him down that much? The zebra opened his eyes and looked around, gathering his bearings. He was lying down on his side on a bed and in a tent with other creatures in varying states of injuries. Sunshy was working on one zebra mare, stitching up her side.
“I feel lighter.” Zen stated, his voice croaking.
“You should. We had at least five pounds of bullets removed.” Sunshy answered.
“Damn. So it was a success?”
“Perfect. You are bullet free. Also, we found a broken piece of a lance in your thigh. So you’re bullet and lance-pieces free.” Sunshy walked over to Zen and placed a kiss on his nose.
“Yay~” He croaked out, “I’m going back to sleep now.”
“Good, you need it. See you tomorrow.”
“What about you?”
“There’s a lot of work around here. Just rest.” That sounded like a great idea, so Zen decided to do just that.

The next morning, Zen got dressed and was led to Sunshy by a cyber-dog, who got a slice of radhog meat in thanks. The pegasus pony was sleeping on a table scattered with medical records. He wore his usual leather boarding and a new doctor’s coat over it. His saddle boxes were lying not too far away.
Zen slid on the saddle boxes before walking over to Sunshy. The zebra placed a kiss on his cheek before carefully sliding under the pony. Slowly and gingerly, he stood up, shouldering his buckfriend onto his back. The pegasus only muttered in his sleep as Zen stood up; Sunshy’s face didn’t even touch the ground.
Trotting happily along, the zebra walked out of the Watcher’s camp with a practically comatose pony slung across his back atop of saddlebags and saddle boxes. A Child of Mars walked over almost instantly and insisted on carrying the Watcher doctor. The buck was only moderately as tall as Zen, but it still ticked him off that he refused to leave until Zen gave Sunshy over onto the other buck’s back.
It took a couple hours to walk to Mrahaba. Once the two did reach the center of Roaming, they got directions to the Lace family household. The Child of Mars refused to leave until they made it to their destination, carrying Sunshy along the way.
The Lace family house was actually a house. A real, honest-to-the-gods mansion, at least six stories high and giving off the feeling of a castle. Sunshy woke up then, and flailed as he did not know where he was or how he got there. The Child of Mars explained the situation as he lied down and let the pegasus off his back.
After thanking him, the bucks walked inside the mansion, tentatively calling out. A pure white zebra walked out. She asked their names and purpose for being there. At the mention of Royal Lace, she giggled and danced in place. Then the zebra mare shoved the two off into another room with a label on top ”Spa Room”.
Within ten minutes, the spa mares were giggling at the rather orgasmic moans Zen made as they gave him a massage. While Zen did that, Sunshy took a mud bath while reading a book on how to massage for fun and profit for those who are novices. 
Once an hour of relaxing spa treatments was over, the two met up with Royal Lace having a nice, quaint, and posh family brunch. Her family was made up of all unicorns with varying colors. They were rather nice to Zen, as he was wearing his suit, but even nicer to the Watcher doctor. Doctors were rather sought-after and the elders were complaining of aches and pains that he could only offer natural remedies to cure.
They were forced to stay and eat the rest of brunch, which was very tiny in proportions. Sunshy wondered how their ribs were not showing. Part of being high-society involved healthy bodies, he guessed. Then the two left with a few hundred caps dumped into their saddlebags, off to do various odd jobs, starting with finding a stable source of medicine for the Watchers. Then finding some important zebras and getting them sober.
Along the way, they found the various groups around Roaming and learned a lot as they helped the different factions. The pure white zebras were the working class, and they had to dye their fur pure white to show that. Those living middle-class or higher who worked hard to earn their place dyed their fur black. No one knew who was Legion, as they made a point to blend in with the society seamlessly.
There was a group of mares dedicated to Rarity and her fabulous dressmaking skills. Most all of them painted themselves to look like her, even down to her mane and tail style. However, as some were bucks and very few were unicorns, the effect was not that great. They requested the two to find someone who was smuggling in mock dresses and selling them at highly discounted prices. How they dealt with the person was up to them, but it had to stop. When they found the perpetrator, Zen just wanted to put a bullet in the zebra mare’s brain, but Sunshy insisted that they let her live.
Another group that enlisted their help was a group of freelancers. It sounded like oxymoron to Sunshy, but he said nothing to them. They were very heavily armed with plenty of battle saddles and boarding ranging from cloth to power armor. One thing Sunshy noted that there were a lot of buffalo, who would sharpen their horns like others sharpen melee weapons. They all wore war paint, even the other species, of green and silver.
The freelancers had the two go out and shake down some people for money. Sunshy managed to reason with the first five, but the last one…The rhinoceros was a noted veteran of cage fights staged underground, held by the Freelancers—which was the group’s name and also sort of occupation. As soon as Sunshy got close, the collar began beeping and rang out in his head, “Element bearer found.”
“Name’s Abolish. What do you pussies want?” The rhino stomped his rather large hoof down.
“We’re here for the caps you owe the Freelancers.” Zen stated.
“Yeah? Try getting them from me.” With no other warning, Abolish lowered his head and charged with the intent to gut Sunshy.
The pegasus swiftly jumped out of the way and responded with a buck to a pressure point, sending the rhino to the ground. He shook it off quickly and growled. Abolish tried to charge at him again, only to be dodged again. At the third attempt, Sunshy just flew above his head and used his tail to swat the rhino on the face.
“Oh, I’m going to have so much fun torturing you, pussy pony.” Abolish made to jump, but an electrified lance sliced his front legs and he went down.
And then they were no longer in Roaming. Instead, the three were inside Discord’s Cave of Chaos. Said spirit was floating above them, cool as a cucumber. He smiled while pulling down the large pink sunglasses over his eyes.
“I see you found the Element of Cruelty. Good job, you two. With the pace you’re going, I’ve decided to let you have a little vacation. How does three full months in Roaming without needing to find any elements sound to you?” Discord grinned at the two as he magick’d a necklace with the icon of a butterfly with its wings torn off.
“Sweet! Can we stay in Royalty? I don’t like the other places.” Zen danced in place as Discord placed the necklace around Abolish’s neck. It melded into a spiked collar roughly a shade darker than his hide. No cutie mark meant there was no marker on the collar.
“Depends on if your Bigotry friend will let you. But that’s not my problem, so ta-ta for now.”
With that, Zen and Sunshy were teleported back to Roaming in the same spot they vanished. A few people stared in confusion, but they just ran away. They had to pay the Freelancers what they couldn’t get from Abolish out of their bags. However, for their hard work, they got half of the cut, a nice profit.
Sunshy decided to quit at that point and headed back to the Lace family home. Upon arriving, he asked where he and his buckfriend could find a nice hotel. The zebra mare told him, to his delight, that the Lace family insisted on giving them a room of their very own and then led him to it. 
The bedroom was furnished with a giant sky-blue bed in the middle, complete with a canopy and translucent blue drapes. To the right corner was a door leading to the bathroom; the left held a wardrobe, a cabinet, and a trunk. There was a bedside table with a lamp that could change from normal yellow to a mood-setting red. Studies showed that merely being in red light increased a person’s charisma; at least that was how the maid explained the lighting.
It made Sunshy wonder just what Royal Lace had told her family.
A couple hours later and Zen opened the door, utterly exhausted. Before even looking at anything or registering the gasp, he dragged his hooves over to the chest, opened it, and dumped his heavy saddlebags into it. Once it was closed, he turned around and opened his eyes fully, wondering why it was so dim.
Taking in stock of the room, he noticed lit candles around the bed and a few lit incense—they gave off a pleasant aroma that reminded him of the forest up north. The room also had an overall red lighting to it, something that was definitely not normal. There was a line of rose petals moving towards the bed, which was coated in them. To top it off, Sunshy was standing in front of the bed, red as a strawberry, and babbling that he wasn’t expecting Zen to be back for another few hours at least and he wasn’t ready yet and other nonsense.
“When you go all out, you go all out. Should I get something from all this? If I’m bad in bed, you can just tell me. I mean, I learned a few tricks from that book—“
“No! It’s not…you’re really…I felt like…well…” Sunshy sighed and rubbed his burning face with a hoof. “I felt selfish because I thought I…well, like I took more than gave?...”
“Wow, I’ve been called a lot of things, but generous lover? That one’s new.” Zen nuzzled Sunshy’s face with a smile.
“So it wasn’t like that with that other zebra?” Sunshy whispered with heavy insecurity.
“Ah, damn…I knew this would happen…You’d better sit down; this is a long story…” Zen waited until Sunshy sat down before him. Then he sighed and prepared himself. He decided he might as well sit, too. “I’ve been with only two bucks before you. The first one…I thought we would last forever, but…he grew out of it. There’s something extra heartbreaking about the one you love leaving you for a mare. So I was clinically depressed, heart shattered, and easy prey.
“That asshole we met was conveniently there to pick up the pieces. Truth be told, I didn’t fall in love with him so much as all the fun we had together. With my first love, we just did things we thought couples were supposed to do. None of that ‘delving into a stable full of malignant plants’ or ‘into an abandoned warehouse with zombies and robots’ sort of stuff you and I do; it was just…watching the sun set, cuddling, going on walks, shopping…romantic, but not fun.
“With Ujio, we did all sorts of stupid fun things. The big problem was, I knew when to quit, but he was probably a few cupcakes short of a dozen or whatever that saying is; he was pretty stupid is what I’m trying to say. Like he once threw dynamite at a fucking glowing rhinoceros ghoul. That was the first and only time I ever used Dash.
“Thinking back on it…he used Dash too…and that might be how he got addicted. Yes, he got addicted to Dash and it eventually evolved into every drug under the sun and moon. Damn idiot eventually began selling himself for one Party Time Mint-al at a time. Sex with a complete stranger for one tiny little drug that gave you a couple hours of intelligence and then you’re extra dumb afterwards.” Zen scoffed as he shook his head before continuing.
“The biggest problem was that I realized he had a problem and he didn’t. When I confronted him about it, he became violent. I took all his beatings because I thought that was what it would take to keep us together like a dumb shit.” Zen paused to give a heavy sigh, “Thankfully, I got sick and tired of his crap. I confronted him once again and was met with the same violent results. That time, I refused to just lie down and take it. I punched half of his teeth out and broke probably every bone in his stupid body.
“He was high on everything and drunk to boot, so I’m not surprised he doesn’t remember that. Anyway, after that, I left whatever dingy town we were living in and hiked to Borderlands. He had a thing against the Everfree Forest, so being that close to it meant he would never come looking for me if he wanted to.
“At the time, I promised myself that I wouldn’t fall in love so damn easily. Or, failing that, fall in love with someone unlikely to make the same mistakes as the previous assholes I fell for. And…I did. Not only are you smart, but you hate alcohol, so other drugs are a complete no-go, not to mention you flat-out told a mare that you like stallions. So…I’m really glad I fell for you, Sunshy.”
While Sunshy had listened to the story with rapt attention, he suddenly stared down at the ground with his ears held down in sorrow. The pony circled his hoof on the ground while avoiding eye-contact. There was something wrong, but Zen kept the silence. Sunshy would talk when he wanted to.
“I lied.” Was all he said at first. A few moments of silence, he elaborated. “I said I loved you when…when I don’t. I just…I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking and…and I understand if you hate me…”
Zen said nothing. He stood up and began walking to the door. Halfway there, Sunshy let out a heavy sob, causing the zebra to pause.
“Please, I don’t care if you hate me, just don’t leave. I…I know it’s selfish and terrible of me, but I need you. I don’t love you now, but I want to. I want to so badly, but I just don’t yet. Please, just don’t leave me.” Sunshy begged through his thick voice as tears flowed down his face.
Despite his pleading, Zen went to the door. He opened it, even though the pegasus let out a heartbreaking sob. When he stepped through the door, Sunshy fell forward and cried. He was too distracted to hear the door open and the clopping of hooves on the hard marble floor. The pony stopped crying when there was a poke on the side of his head. He looked up, sniffing, and saw a platter with a slice of cloud cake with a side of strawberries and blueberries.
“I got you this. Apparently there’s a baker back in Borderlands who’s selling these babies like hotcakes. Unlike traditional cloud cakes, these can be eaten by anyone, and not just pegasi. I thought you’d like it.” Zen picked up a knife and sliced a piece of the cake.
“I don’t understand.” Sunshy wiped away his tears and stared in confusion.
“Now who’s the brick brain?” Zen teased as he picked up a fork, scooped up the piece of cloud cake, and offered it out to Sunshy. Hesitantly, he took the bite and sniffled as he chewed. The flavor was rich and light, soft and hard, as only clouds could be. “Just because I fell for you at first sight doesn’t mean you had to, too. I don’t want you to try and love me; I want you to take your time. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
“Thank you, Zen. You have no idea how relieved I am.” Sunshy smiled in appreciation.
“Now, I say, after this cake, we can try out what we’ve learned from that Pony Sutra. I mean, you did go to all this trouble to make a mood. The door has an automatic lock on it, so unless Royal Lace comes crashing through the window, I think we don’t have to worry.” Zen nuzzled his buckfriend again before taking a bite straight from the cake. 
His eyes widened as he chewed, nodding and smiling at the flavor of the exotic pegasi cake. Sunshy had to chuckle before he planted a kiss on Zen’s nose.
Level up! You are now level 14!
Speech at 50
Perk added! Watchers Do Better: Your acceptance into the Watchers comes with many perks. Plenty of medicine at a whim, a good reputation, and acceptance by most civilized people. You should be able to go anywhere and do anything, so long as you heal someone along the way.
Completed: Element of Cruelty found.
Update: Elements of Deceit, Treachery, and Sadness remaining.