//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: On the Turning Away // Story: Fallout: Equestria: A Cut Above // by Wirepony //------------------------------// Fallout Equestria: A Cut Above Ch 8: On The Turning Away Lyrical broke down in tears, shaking as I held her. She was still wearing the Talon barding and saddlebags, still spattered in blood and bits of gore. I laid my head along her neck, ignoring the sweat-and-blood stench, and embraced her with all my strength while she cried herself out. Her tears trailed off, and I guided her gently to the sink I had used to wash. When I released her, she plopped to the ground in a sloppy sit, her front legs slowly buckling until she lay flat on the clean, worn tiles. I wet a washrag with as hot of water as I dared, and began wiping away the tears and sweat from her face. Her eyes slid closed, fresh tears pushing out to run down her delicate cheeks. I rinsed the washrag out until the water didn't run pink, and resumed scrubbing. Lyricals ears were soft and neat, undamaged and unscarred. I rinsed the rag again and dabbed at her closed eyes and nose, as gently as I could. She sighed as I reached the tip of her nose, and inhaled a droplet of water. The recoil from the sneeze pushed her back to a sitting posture, and I couldn't hide my broad grin as she wiped at her nose with a forehoof. "What?" She asked blearily. "You just looked so much like my sister, then." I replied, fighting to keep my grin under control. I turned away to rinse the washrag, leaving it draped over the edge of the sink. Lyrical was blinking at me in surprise as I tapped one of her forelegs. "Lift" She lifted that foreleg, and I undid that buckle, then repeated the manuever with the other side. Thus unclipped, I was able to wiggle the heavy plated overcoat back and off of her. I tossed the gore-spattered armor into a corner, making a mental note to return it later. Lyrical had managed to pull the stretchy undergarment forward enough to foul both her front legs and her horn, and balanced awkwardly on her hind legs. I nipped a fold of the stretchy sweater and pulled, firmly. The black sheathe released it's stretchy hold on Lyrical and sprung into my face with a thwap. Lyrical's giggles were a joyful sound as I hoofed the wadded fabric off my face to plop onto the armor in the corner. I gave a heavy sigh as I turned back to Lyrical, exaggerating the droop of my ears. "Why do all the women in my life laugh at me." I hammed, returning to the sink. This merited an actual laugh, and I couldn't restrain my smile as I turned back with the freshly wetted washrag. Lyrical knelt down, smiling now, and closed her eyes again as I continued washing her. "Tell me about your sister." Lyrical asked quietly. "Well, her name is Dawn Hope." I said, scrubbing gently. "She's not really my sister, not by blood, but we're all the family she has now, me and my father." "An orphan, then?" Lyrical asked, her eyes drifting shut under my ministrations. "Yep. We came out of the Wasteland through a mountain pass. Her mother just.. froze." "That's cold." "Well, they say not to speak ill of the dead..." "I see... " Lyrical murmured, as I switched to a hoofbrush and began working on her gore encrusted forehooves. "So what about Dawn?" "Dawn is everything her mother wasn't. She's kind, helpful, generous. The only thing she has in common with her mom is that she hogs the bacon." "That bacon thing is so weird." Lyrical said in that warm slow tone. "I've never met a pony that wasn't a raider that liked meat so much." "Well... " I said, trailing off. I couldn't think of a way to explain what we had deduced, back in Our Tacksworn. With a mental shrug, I just grabbed the bit in my teeth and barreled ahead, conversationally speaking. "Actually, in a certain sense of the term, I am a raider. Give me the other forehoof." Lyrical frowned, but complied, and I began working my way around the outside of that hoof. The hoofbrush was in good condition, and the soft colors of her hoof soon shone through as the grime and damage, the minor scratches anypony picks up bashing around the Wasteland, polished away. "That doesn't make sense, Wicked. You're kind, gentle. You speak like you're at least fairly intelligent. I've seen raiders before... they... aren't really ponies anymore." She said, her brow wrinkled in concentration. I gently tilted her forehoof up and switched to the pick on the back of the brush, working at a tiny pebble lodged in her frog. "Like I said.. certain sense of the term. What causes a raider?" I asked. "That's... a very good question, actually. I had assumed it was just when a pony went bad." Lyrical offered, her eyes open now and focussed on my face. I ignored her gaze and concentrated on her hoof, smoothing a jagged nick in the hoofwall with the edge of the pick. "We think it's an illness. At least some times." I paused, scooting down Lyrical's body and tapping one of her rear hooves, which she extended backwards modestly. The smell of soap and clean pony filled my nostrils as I moved. "Most times, I see an entire group of raiders, five, six ponies.. almost always, they're not ponies, they're just pony-shaped evil." "Oh, that's an elegant phrase." "Accurate, too. That's most times. But then you get some that are just... a little crazy, or a little overwhelmed. What we do, when we can, is overwhelm them, say five or six to one. You'd have to be mad, pure crazy, to keep fighting against those odds. We demand that they lay down arms so they can survive." "What happens then?" Lyrical asked. "Most die." I replied. "but sometimes you get one that just lays down and surrenders. We're not sure, not really, but we think they aren't totally vulnerable to the sickness. Other hoof." Lyrical made a low grumbling thinky sort of sound, familiar from when she was working the log books in the shed. I kept quiet as I finished her hooves, then went to the sink to fill a bucket with hot water. A little soap in the water, and I poked her to get her attention as I brought it back. "Close your eyes." She complied, and I poured the bucket over her head, sloshing hot soapy water over her head and down her back. She blew her nose clear as I picked up the brush and started scrubbing, working thick lather through her mane. The hot water and suds did their magic, and the splatters of blood and chunks of gore washed out as a brown stain in the water. I had to go back for another bucket to get to a mostly ‘clean’ state. "It's all guesswork and thinking, though. Something we're not that good at, to be honest." I said, working the thickening lather out to the ends of Lyrical's mane. "I love my people, I love my hometown, but we're just.. Tribals." We sat in quiet for a while, Lyrical making contended noises as I massaged her scalp. I drew another bucket of hot water and rinsed her clean. I sat brushing the out her mane, gently teasing the tangles out of the restored green brightness. "I don't understand the difference. I mean, what's... well, you said that you were kicked out to 'learn to be a better pony'. What's involved with that? How do you know when you're 'a better pony'?" Lyrical asked, frustration plain in her voice. "That's part of the problem. I don't know. I think.. well, it's about survival, really. Our Tacksworn isn't survivable. We've got plenty of ponies... I know of two mares that were pregnant when I left, but who are the kids going to be?" "What do you mean who are they going to be?" Lyrical asked, subsiding as I rinsed her mane out and began brushing the tangles out. I thought hard on her question, before I answered. "Well, say a mare has a foal, a healthy young Earth Pony buck. What's that foal going to do? He can farm, he can guard, or he can… nothing. There's no opportunity in Our Tacksworn, no freedom of choice. There's so little to do in life, so little the town has to offer. That's what's going to kill us. Not Raiders, not the Wasteland… we're just going to die on the vine, like a plant with nowhere to grow." I finished talking as I finished brushing, and Lyrical pushed herself to her hooves, staring into my eyes for a long moment before turning to the mirror above the sink. "I hadn't realized how dirty I had gotten being in those ruined areas, Wicked, thank you." She said quietly. Floating a towel out of the cabinet, she blotted her coat and mane dry, silent and pensive. I busied myself putting my belongings back in order, mane brush, hoof brush, all my bathroom kit. I finished that, and cleaned up what little mess we had left, before Lyrical turned away from the mirror to face me. "For what it's worth, I think you've got the problem halfway beat. You understand what's wrong, even if you don't have a solution, yet." Lyrical said confidently. "Since… since I'm leaving the Collegiate anyway… I could go with you and help." She said, her confident stance shifting in an instant as she looked away. I tossed my saddlebags on and stepped next to her, laying my head across her neck. "I would be honored and delighted to have you with me.. let's get our armor cleaned and then go somewhere less bathroomy and talk about it." "Ok." And that was that. We finished up and left the bathroom, but we didn't make it far. Engineer was back where I had first seen him, fiddling with the terminal the front counter. He looked up when the bathroom door opened, and waved lazily. "Hey you two. All shiny clean now, eh?" He asked jovially. "Yes sir, I thought I'd take advantage of the hot water.. before I had to leave. " Lyrical replied sadly, staring at the floor and dragging a forehoof. Engineer shot me a raised eyebrow, which I responded to with a shrug. "That's as far as we got. She wanted to talk about my hometown instead." I said. "Lyrical, can you explain? Why are they kicking you out?" I asked, walking with her behind the counter. I hopped up on a seat next to Engineer, glancing at the incomprehensible gibberish on the terminal. Lyrical pulled herself into a seat next to me and pillowed her head on her forelegs, letting out a quiet groan. "The Trottingham folks are all angry about Chalice, they claim it was my fault, that I 'influenced her into unsafe behaviors'." Lyrical ground out, anger and shame warring in her voice. I gently laid my hoof across her withers, trying to support her as best I could with the simple physical contact. "That's... curious… " Engineer said hesitantly, switching his gaze from my face to Lyrical's inert form. "From what I overheard, they were blaming the Talons for her loss." "That agrees with what Brick said down below." I agreed. Lyrical snorted in disgust. "Sure, that's the tactic that coward Curled Scroll is using to try and get the blame out of the Collegiate house. But there's still enough left to get him to agree to 'send me back for retraining'." She said bitterly. I started rubbing her withers, and she let out her breath in a slow sigh. "Do.. do they expect you to go alone?" I asked hesitantly. Engineer's feathered eyebrows shot up. "They haven't said for sure, but that means yes. They can't extend or alter the Talons contract when they're trying to break that same contract. Good ‘Ol Curly is dancing like his hooves are on fire, and he's messing up everything." Lyrical ground out, tensing at the frustration evident in her voice. I traded a look with Engineer, a swift return of inquiry and assent. "Isn't the Collegiate compound past Shattered Hoof?" Engineer asked, a griffin grin splitting his beak. I blinked in puzzlement at him, and felt Lyrical grow still under my hoof. "Yesssss…?" She said. "Well, I've got to go back there in any case. I've got to drag Hellen back to the Hoof, and Squirt was going to accompany me.. you two should come with." I felt my jaw drop open. It sounded like a wonderful idea, even if it meant I'd have to be around Hellen. I was trying to verbalize a response when Lyrical jolted erect, turning to put a hoof on my shoulder. "What about Sunrise?" She asked urgently, and my face fell. How could we leave the innocent pony alone like that? She had just met other ponies, after who knew how long. "I had forgotten about her… we can't leave her all alone down there." I said. "She just met other ponies for the first time, we just can't…" I trailed off, thinking furiously. I felt pulled between two mutually exclusive desires, and I couldn't follow either without hurting the other. I stifled a yawn, which set off both Lyrical and Engineer, and we shared a small laugh. "I think we should sleep on it." The griffin offered. "After a good night's rest, all things may be possible." Engineer concluded, clambering off of his seat. "And I'm going to match deed with word. Goodnight, you two." We said our goodbyes and Engineer moseyed off towards the stairs. I went to climb off my seat as well, intending to follow, but Lyrical stopped me with a hoof on my shoulder. "Wicked… I… I don't want to go back to the student bunkrooms tonight. Can I stay with you, please?" She asked hesitantly. I felt my ears go hot as I fumbled for a reply. "Just to sleep." She added hastily, her own blush rising. "Of – of course." I managed. "But Blinky snores." My reply got a giggle out of her, and we walked up the stairs together. When I opened the door to the room I had been assigned, Todger's curtain whisked open. Seeing me and Lyrical, his eyebrows shot up, and he shook his head before motioning for silence with a hoof pressed to his lips. I nodded, and as quietly as I could, I pulled my armor and weapon off of my bunk, stacking them at the foot of the bed. Lyrical’s gear stacked with mine, and I hopped up onto the bunk where she was sleepily petting blinky. A bit of maneuvering and shuffling later, and I dozed off to sleep, gently touching Lyrical's hoof where it rested on Blinky's sleeping form. Morning was chaos, refined and distilled. We were awoken by the door being bucked open again, which startled everyone on my bunk. I thought I was going to be able to stay on the bunk this time, but Blinky complicated things by digging his claws into my hide to launch himself at the door, snarling in anger. I yelped in pain and tried to roll out from under the charging molerat, to find myself in mid-air again. A magic aura surrounded me, stopping my fall. I looked up to see Four-claw in the doorway, smirking at me. Blinky spun slowly in his magic field as well, looking as sheepish as a molerat could. "Up and at 'em, it's another fine day in the Talons!" Four-claw said cheerfully, dropping me to the floor. I scrambled to my hooves just in time to catch Blinky. Lyrical's giggles made me blush to the tips of my ears, and I glared at the molerat before tossing him back up onto the bunk. I wrapped my tattered dignity about myself as best I could while trying to get my armor on. Lyrical tugged my long straps in place with her magic, and I buckled myself in. I helped Lyrical into the snug understocking of her Talon armor, and buckled the barding over it. Dressed and armored, I tossed Blinky onto my back and we trotted off to the cafeteria. The older eggheads were arguing at their table, almost growling in low hostile voices. The Talons were as far away from that table as they could be. Their lowered heads and flickering ears showed all of the Talons paying close attention to the argument at the head of the room. Lyrical drooped at the sight, and I nudged her to a table, where she collapsed onto a bench with a sigh. I paid attention as I moseyed towards the counter. The angry voices of the egghead leadership got loud enough to understand, as Arcane surged to his hooves, shoving the table and the bench apart. "I'm glad that this is just a normal day for you, 'Curly', but one of my students is dead – that is not acceptable!" The light grey unicorn shouted, storming out of the cafeteria. As he passed Lyrical, he stopped, and I tensed. Thankfully, he just glared at her, his jaw working but no words coming out. With a shake of his head, he stormed out of the cafeteria, Lyrical following his departure with a stricken look on her face. I shook myself and turned back to the order counter at the head of the cafeteria. The same plump mare was back at the counter, and I gave her a small smile as I indicated Lyrical. "I'm ordering for two, today. I'll have more hay fries and a steak bacon egg fryup, And a plate of hay fries and pancakes for Lyrical, please." The mare silently dished up my food, glancing back at the Egghead's table repeatedly. As I took the last plate and balanced it on my back, Blinky bracing it with a paw, she hesitantly drew breath to speak. I paused, giving her a questioning look. "Do you know what the Collegiates are arguing about?" She asked softly. I leaned forward and replied, just as soft. "Chalice died in the tunnels. Apparently, Arcane is more upset about it than anypony else. I think there's something else going on, but I'm not sure what." I replied. The mare's eyes went wide, and she delicately covered a gasp with a forehoof. "Arcane's been ranting about responsibility and consequences all morning, and he got here early." She whispered. "He's furious and he's gonna make someone pay for it." "Lyrical." I responded. The mare nodded, and with a grim nod I turned back to the table. I set Blinky on the table and started doling out plates. I had my steak 'n eggs, Lyrical her pancakes, and the sweet mare had included a plate of fried potatoes for Blinky, which he dove into with gusto. I followed suit, loading up on wonderful steak and delicious hay fries for the day. I had a suspicion that Lyrical was going to be leaving soon, and I was going to be going with her. I chewed on that thought, that sudden determination. Where had this come from? I finished the steak and began on the eggs, the familiar homey taste sparking fresh lines of thought. Lyrical was the only person here, aside from Engineer, that didn't treat me like a child. The Talons, a group I had considered joining, considered signing up with. They considered me less than a raw recruit, untrained and ignorant. They were right, really, but it still irritated. The Eggheads seemed to think I was a joke, a curiousity – look at the dancing raider! Lyrical hadn't thought I was a curiosity, hadn't grilled me on my hometown or my abilities in combat. She was more closed-mouth than me, I realized, but there was still more give and take in our conversations, in our relationship, than with anyone else here. Except, I realized with a snort, Hellen. There had been plenty of give and take there! "What's up, Wicked?" Lyrical asked, pushing her half-eaten pancakes away. "I just realized. You're the only pony here who doesn't treat me like a child. Except for Hellen, and she tried to kill me." Lyrical stared at me, her eyes wide. I could almost hear the click as her brain engaged, and see the whirring as her mind caught up with her ears. "Kill you?" She said hesitantly. I nodded happily. "It worked out, in the end. But it's true – aside from you and her, everyone here thinks I'm just a... child." "But your quest?" Lyrical asked. I spread my hooves in exasperation. "I know, right? This isn't the kind of thing you send a child on. Sure, there's a lot of coming-of-age flavor, but.. agh!" I threw my hooves up, and returned to my eggs. Lyrical giggled, and pulled her pancakes back to her with fresh appetite. We finished our breakfasts in a happier silence, paying no mind to the grumblings coming from the egghead table. I returned the plates to the counter, trading smiles with the lovely mare there. On my way back, I saw Lyrical staring at the upper table, a scowl locked on her face. Blinky was sprawled on his back, fast asleep after demolishing his potatoes. I busied myself arranging the snoring lump in the hollow of my shoulders, where he would be stable and secure. When I finished, I turned to Lyrical, who was still fixated on the table Curled Scroll and the other upper class Eggheads occupied, arguing and chattering over a leisurely breakfast. With a determined snort, she thumped a hoof on the table, and pushed herself off the bench. "Wicked, last night you said that we, you and me, should go with Engineer to Shattered Hoof. Does that hold true even if it's just you and me?" She asked, her face intent on Curled Scroll. "Absolutely." I said immediately. Lyrical shot me a look of such pleased gratitude that I could only smile in response. "You're the only person here who takes me seriously. I like you, and I think I'm done here. Aside from Sunrise... I'm ready to leave." "They're going to kick me out. Arcane's going to want me out because of... Chalice. Curly's not going to fight him, he doesn't value anything except avoiding conflict. My 'peers' think I'm crazy because I want to see what's out there..." Lyrical trailed off, glaring at the upper table. "Sunrise." I said, sitting next to her. Lyrical shot a baffled look at me, horrified realization dawning on her face. I nodded grim agreement. "There's no way for her to leave. There's no way for me, at least, to stay. There is no solution to this that satisfies all needs." Lyrical said flatly, returning her gaze to Curled Scroll. "Does this change things for you?" She asked. "Not really. I want to say goodbye to her, and I'll miss her, but there's nothing to be gained from staying here. And there's a lot of reasons to leave." "OK. OK. I can... OK. " Lyrical said, pumping herself up. "Back me up." "Of course." I said, clambering back to my hooves. "Curly first, I take it?" "Yeah." Lyrical replied, biting the word off. She lurched into motion, her stiff gait taking us to the upper table. Curled Scroll interrupted his speech to turn a bland, shuttered gaze on Lyrical. "Yes, young lady?" Curled asked, staring down his nose at Lyrical. I bristled at the snooty tone, but held my peace. Lyrical snorted, taking a confident square stance, and looked the administrator directly in the face. Taking a deep breath, she drew her head high. There was a moment of silence. It held long enough for everyone in the room to take notice. Lyrical's eyes blazed with determination. Then she blinked and sighed, deflating from her confident stance. "You know, it's not even worth it. I quit. Goodbye." She said. With a flippant wave of a hoof, she turned and strode out of the cafeteria. I hastened to follow, shooting a glance at the stunned Curly over my shoulder. Lyrical led the way back to the bunk we had shared that morning, silent and subdued. She nosed the door open and walked into the room, staring silently at the floor between the bunks. I loitered by the door, unsure of what was needed, of what was going on here. Blinky rolled off my back with a thump and a grunt, and trundled his way across the floor. Stopping in front of Lyrical, he stretched up and patted her nose with one clawed paw. It seemed to snap her out of whatever had held her, and she plopped onto the floor, nuzzling the molerat. I walked up next to her and sat myself, leaning into her. We sat for long minutes, Blinky being more affectionate than I had ever seen him, before Lyrical gave me a quick nuzzle and stood up. "That was easier than I thought.. the tough part comes now, I guess." "Yeah. We've got to talk to Sunrise, and we really should talk to Engineer before we go." Lyrical nodded in assent, and we collected the last of our belongings before leaving the bunkroom. Our late arrival had allowed us to keep our weaponry, and I felt a lot better with Stickbird back on my armor where it belonged. Lyrical eyed the 9mm she had been issued with a disgusted look on her face, but cleared and safed the weapon with a brisk confidence, checking the pockets in her armor for ammo. "This thing sucks." Lyrical said, holstering the weapon and snapping it into place. "We'll have to keep our eyes open for upgrades." I offered, holding the door open. Lyrical nodded, trotting into the hallway and heading towards the elevator. I followed her in, pausing to check the armory door, which was unfortunately, locked. Inside the elevator, Lyrical pressed B1, and we dropped away, stopping shortly. The doors opened with a cheery ding, and I looked into a bizarre sight. I recognized it as an office setup, we'd cleaned out more than one of those, but the surfaces were brightly colored, draped with fabrics or painted. In some cases, there were intricate and rich designs painted or stitched into the cloth. I whistled, long and low, and Lyrical stopped halfway out of the elevator, shooting me a questioning glance. I gestured silently at the room ahead of us, and she took another look at it. Her slow scan took in the whole room, lingering on one particularly intricate piece of decoration or another. She had a wistful smile on her face when she turned back to me, and I must have looked shocked. Lyrical laughed, and stepped back to nudge me with a shoulder. "We had plenty of time, and decided to dress the place up a bit." She said, almost dancing into the opulent room beyond. I followed, trying to look at everything. Closer in, the draperies and covers revealed themselves to be simple cotton cloth draped over the age-worn cubicle walls and occasional desk. Lyrical led me across the room, past rough nests and beds constructed from office fixtures. Hers was tucked in a back corner of the room, smaller and less decorated than most of the others I had seen. I tossed a glance at a shut door, and followed her into the curtained space. Lyrical headed directly to a pair of suitcases in the corner, popping both of them open with a flick of magic and dumping their contents onto the bed. "What do you think I should take, Wicked?" She asked, and I nudged up next to her to consider. The pile of stuff, which Lyrical was sorting and laying flat, was a mixed bunch. Lots of quills and paper, a couple of pre-war pens, erasers and bits and bobs. There was a bunch of candies and nuts twisted into little bundles of plastic, and several books and magazines. Lyrical was already moving things off into separate piles, starting with a worn down teddy bear. I watched as she held it in front of her in her magic, still and quiet, before putting him at the head of the bed and drawing a fold of blanket over him. I stretched my neck out and gently tugged the ragged bear out from under the blankets, handing him back to Lyrical. "He goes." I said firmly. Lyrical blushed to the base of her nose and took the bear in her magic, tucking him into a saddlebag. I nosed through the rest of her belongings, seperating out the candies and other foods. "These all go." Next was the paper and quills and pens. "As many of these as can go, too." The only thing left was a short stack of books. It wasn't a lot, as books go, but there was no way they would all fit into a saddlebag. The titles were mostly logic puzzles and philosophies, with a few blank bindings. "These I don't know, but you're going to have to trim the stack down pretty hard, to fit it in your saddlebags. I suggest basic stuff, that's gonna be more widely applicable." Lyrical nodded, and swiftly shuffled through the books, setting most of them to the head of the bed. One she hesitated over, turning it front to back as she held it in her magic. "Diary." She said flatly. I responded with a 'Hmm', and knelt down next to the bed. "Keep it. If you can get it to fit." I said finally. Lyrical shot me a grateful look, which I returned with a smile. The whittled down pile fit handily into Lyrical's saddlebags. Shaking herself, she turned, looking around the former cubicle. "You know, Wicked, we were here for over a month before you showed up." She said conversationally, stepping around me and back into the hallway. "We decorated, we cleaned, we learned everything we could about this place without going downstairs." Nosing by me, she continued. "The Talons sent squads down a couple times, but they couldn't get past the rubble without support, they said." We continued down the winding path back to the elevator, making our way through the nests and bed spaces. Lyrical poked the elevator open with a touch of magic, and we stepped inside. "I just wish you'd gotten here sooner." She said as the door slid shut. "What do you mean by that?" I asked as we dropped the short distance to the lowest floor. The doors slid open and I peered around the room before trotting out of the elevator. The room was still and empty, the wreckage we had piled up as defensive positions left in the open area. A mop and bucket in one corner explained the missing bloodstains. We made our way to the defensive position where I had failed, where Chalice had been killed by ghouls, senseless appetites with hooves. "Is it like that everywhere in the Wasteland?" Lyrical asked, hoofing at the dark discoloration that was the only remaining evidence. "I've never.. " She trailed off, heaving a sigh. Tears splatted against the bloody floor. "Not everywhere. Less and less as time goes by. But it's not a safe place." I said quietly, leaning against Lyrical's still form. "It's.. It's The Wasteland, but we can survive there. We can even thrive there, if we're good, and careful, and lucky." "So was Chalice bad? Or careless? Or just unlucky?" Lyrical asked, wiping her tears away, and it was my turn to sigh. "No, no, and, honestly, yes. We did our best to protect her, we did everything we could to save her life, and we failed." I replied sadly. I nudged Lyrical after a long moment, and she shook herself out of her daze and trotted off down the hallway. I hastened to follow, my eyes on her shoulders. I was starting to get worried. Since her encounter with Curled Scroll this morning, Lyrical had been bouncing between extremes of happy and sad, and was starting to not make sense. I pondered this as we made our way down the long hall towards the descending staircase. I hadn't known Lyrical long, but even on short acquaintance, I could tell this wasn't normal behavior for her. Chalice's death was hurting her at levels she didn't know how to deal with. It reminded me of nothing so much as Dawn's realization that her mother had died, and was never coming back. We had been united as a community to face that, and it had still been rough. Here, now, it was just me and her. In some ways, she was even younger than Dawn, more innocent. I gulped nervously as we passed through the empty doorway onto the metal catwalks around the turbine room. The doors leaned against the wall next to their frames, and the star shell on the ceiling glowed brightly. The room itself was empty and quiet, the same as when we'd left it. The pile of dead bats had been shoved into a far corner, but nothing else had changed. Lyrical was silent as we made our way down the metal stairs and through the door to the last long staircase down. She paused on the small landing just inside the cavern, her ears swiveling. I knelt next to her, listening closely. Faint sounds of speech and laughter reached us from the water, and barely visible in the light from the star shells were flickers of motion from the same area. I levered myself back to my hooves and nudged Lyrical. "Let's go see." I said, and she nodded. I lead as we wound a twisty course through the slumped barrels and rocky pillars. Now that I wasn't on combat alert, I saw strange beauty in the rocky spires. Some of them had rainbow stripes and strange slumped edges where they intersected with the puddles of taint. Even the normal ones had an elegance to them, different bands of subtle color glowing through the white rock coating. The sight that greeted us as we entered the small sandy area was plain weird. Keanno and Illushia were taking notes, his pen flying almost as fast as the quill she held in her magic. Before them, the bulky form of Cookies danced on his hindlegs, a cascading stream of balls arcing through the air above him. Sunrise was hauled out onto the shore, applauding merrily and laughing as Cookies juggled brightly colored balls. Turning, Cookies saw me and Lyrical standing at the edge of the open area, and lost his footing. As he fell, Cookies managed to blurt out "Hi guys!" before getting a face full of the thankfully soft sand. Sunrise's giggles brought a smile to my face as she easily caught the half dozen balls, setting them in a pile next to Cookies. The earth pony sprung back to his feet with an agility surprising for his size, bowing dramatically. "Lyrical, Wicked, glad you could join us!" Cookies declaimed grandly. "Hi, Cookies, hi, Sunrise!" I replied, waving. Sunrise wiggled a tentacle at me and smiled. Lyrical trotted over to her, and the two girls immediately broke off, talking quietly. Cookies gathered up his balls and trotted over to where I stood next to Illushia and Keanno. "You two sure slept in, heh heh heh." Cookies said with a broad grin, nudging me with an elbow. I shoved him a step away with a shoulder and rolled my eyes. "That's not very couth, Cookies." Ilushia muttered, her eyes on Sunrise and Lyrical. "She's still wearing that combat armor." She noted. Next to her, Keanno looked up, snorted, then resumed writing. "Well, she's going to need the armor." I said, still taken aback at Cookies' reaction. "It's not all protected and safe like this place." Keanno spat his pen out with a thut! And levelled a narrow-eyed glare at me. "What, precisely, do you mean by that?" He asked in a surprisingly rich tenor. I met his glare with my own confused expression. "We're leaving." I said flatly. Silence greeted my words, all three Collegiate ponies shocked into stillness. I saw motion out of the corner of my eye, and turned to see Lyrical lean into a close hug with Sunrise, who was crying and smiling, stroking Lyrical's mane with a tentacle. I nodded at the Collegiate ponies and made my way across the loose sands to Lyrical and Sunrise. "Hey girls." I said as I drew near. Lyrical turned to me, tears streaming down her face. Sunrise buried her face in Lyrical's chest, hitching a sob. With a sigh, I leaned in to the embrace, hugging the soft dry hide of the tentacle pony close. "I'm so sorry, Sunrise. But we have to go." My words spurred the pink pony into actual tears, squeaky hiccups as she tried to breathe around her sobbing. I started crying myself and the three of us hung on each other, whimpering in the cold light of the star shell. A hoof on my shoulder brought me out of my fugue, and I drew away to look back, seeing Ilushia with a hoof still extended. "Arcane and Curled are on their way down. If you're going to get out of here without running into them, you're going to need to move." She said quietly. I nodded, and drew myself out of the three way hug as Ilushia returned to the two stallions, who looked uncomfortable and nervous. "Lyrical.. we've got to go." I said. Sunrise drew back from Lyrical, a pair of snaky tentacles wiping the tears away from both ponies faces. Lyrical dropped her head, unwilling to look Sunrise in the face. Sunrise gently lifted her chin, forcing the unicorn to look at her. "I'll be OK. You have to leave, but I won't be alone." Sunrise said, gesturing at the three Collegiate ponies. "These ponies are nice, too. It'll be OK. And you can come back later." Lyrical sniffled, then dropped her head to the side and sneezed. "I know, but.. I just met you, and now.. now I have to leave, I'm scared, and..." Lyrical cut herself off, throwing herself back into Sunrise's tentacally embrace. I glanced back over my shoulder to see Ilushia nervously looking over hers, and turned back to tap Lyrical. "It's time." I said. Lyrical gave Sunrise one last squeeze, then turned away and staggered towards the entrance. I grabbed Sunrise in a hug and squeezed. I drew back and kissed the pink pony on her forehead, raising a bright blush on her cheeks. "Be well. We'll be back." I said, and trotted after Lyrical. I looked back to see Sunrise waving one delicate pink tentacle, and then we rounded a spur of rock and left. Footnote: Level Up - Lyrical! Skill upgrade – Guns +10 (40), Speech +5 (30) Level Perk: Dramatic Exit - In certain speech challenges, you get special options to terminate the dialogue while causing effects. No level for Wicked, washing manes isn't a really big XP generator... Afterword: How freaking awesome are Arcane_Scroll and volrathxp? I dropped this on them less than 6 hours ago for pre-reads... Sure, it's only 6000 words or so, but that's impressively fast turnaround from my excellent pre-readers! Going to be in Valdez fishing from the 14th to the 19th, I'll try and bring home a new chapter when I get back!