//------------------------------// // Chapter 4, Family. (Bliss) // Story: Blissful Days // by AlphaDidAlotOfThings //------------------------------// "You're a terrible driver." Joseph said with a groan as he practically limped out of the truck, with the others following behind him. What?! Really? Bliss wasn't that bad of a driver, right…? "Really? I thought I was getting better…" Alex usually wouldn't say something like this but… "He's actually got a point…" Oh god, Day agreeing with Joseph??? Of all ponies??? Something must be wrong with the world! But if she was agreeing with him then he was probably right… All those illegal totally legal driving lessons mom gave her before she was of age, wasted… Maybe she shouldn't do it so recklessly next time, she just wanted to get here fast though… Welcome to Downtown Chicago! Today's goal: get solar panels! Bliss and Day were wearing not tactical vests, but plated armor with full on shoulder pads, (courtesy of John) with a cool white cloak like a hero out of a role-playing game! Now if only they had legendary weapons to complete the look… Don't ask why, it was Bliss's idea. She just thought it would make them look cool. And also wasn't plated armor stronger than just a bullet proof vest anyway? Unfortunately, it's rather expensive and takes time to make so only Bliss and Day had it, the rest just had tactical vests… At least they had the cloaks though, it made them look like a band of wayward mercenaries or something. Those would probably be pretty useful in the winter too… Along with all that they all had tactical saddlebags that were made by hoof by Bliss herself, they were mainly Day's and Sky's idea(s) though… "John, you check the radio batteries before we left, right…?" Moriah asked. John was very clearly stressed out. "Y-Yeah…" He said as he laughed nervously. As beautiful as Moriah was he was deathly terrified of her when she was angry, her and that horn of hers… And the way she was glaring at him only made things worse. The mare raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure…?" "Y-Yup…!" Please don't kill me… He DID charge them, right…? He hoped so. It's not like he could check either. Thankfully she left him off the hook. "Alright, I was just checking." Phew… That was close…. Bliss had a standard Ump-45 in her arms. Guns weren't really her "style" she'd probably be better with a sword or any kind of melee weapon, but she made do with it. While Day had the same P90 she always had, it worked well and there was no need to replace it, so she kept it. No deeper reason than that. Let's see… Day turned her attention to Joseph. "Joseph, radios?" "Check!" And Bliss turned her attention to Madeline. "May, guns?" "Loaded!" Alright, good! Now…. "It's go time team!" Bliss shouted, dramatic as ever. Day recited their objective for today, a bit boring but she just had to make sure everyone knew what they were doing. "Johnathan, Joseph, you two go get any kind of RVs and trailers you can drive or carry. John, you convert them, and Joe… Just help him out, okay?" He did know how to convert vehicles, right…? John saluted to Day like he was a soldier of some kind. "Aye, aye, captain." Joseph didn't have the same amount of energy. "Alright." Showoff. "Madeline, Moriah, you two search any buildings or stores for any kind of supplies, anything you think is important you bring it here." Moriah nodded. "You got it!" While Madeline did the same, albeit much quieter. "Roger that." And lastly, Bliss and Day themselves. "And me and Bliss will go look for solar panels, over there!" Day pointed over to the office building in existence. And just to double check, Bliss recited the same thing. Just joking, she gave everypony one last instruction. "When you're done, come back here, don't wander off too far, and if you find anypony tell us!" Before they left, Day looked towards John and Joseph one more time. "Oh and, we might need your help with the solar panels later since y'know…" She said with a nervous smile. They weren't exactly fit to carry big things, well Day wasn't. Bliss had her wings, and she wasn't as short as Day. The two very audibly groaned, even John wasn't exactly pleased with the idea of doing more physical work, but they both simply nodded with a quiet "Yeah, yeah." And without further ado, they were off. The doors locked, no problem however as they had earth pony strength on their side! Day bucked the door down with relative ease. Revealing the reception area to Bliss and Day as both entered the building. Empty, as usual. If somepony were actually here they'd probably need to schedule a meeting or something. Thank god for the apocalypse. Now… "Where would they keep solar panels?" Day wondered. Bliss thought about it for a moment. Well, this is an office building and they would probably use them to reduce costs on the company so how about… "The roof…?" The two went to the elevator and pressed the up button. Until they realized something. Elevators don't work anymore… Stairs it is then. Bliss galloped off to the stairwell with Day following behind her. There weren't a lot of stairs but seriously. "How are we supposed to do this again?" Hmm. Bliss could just walk up or straight up fly but she had a better idea. "Hey…" Oh no, Day knew that mischievous grin. Not again… I mean, it wouldn't be that bad right? It could be fun even… "Wanna…?" Bliss suggested. Day knew what she meant by that. Here we go… A little fun wouldn't hurt, right…? Bliss picked Day up against her will. And the rest is history. 1-2-3, Blast Off! The two laughed like the "fillies" they were. And reached the second floor in no time. That was worse than the car ride. Too fast… God, they both wanted to throw up. "Never again." The two agreed on it. At least, not like that. Ok, they actually needed to rest for a moment. Bliss took out two water bottles and the sandwiches Sky and Alyssa made for them and tossed it to Day. "Thank you." Her wings were sore… Note to self: don't try to fly like a jet. Definitely not something she was gonna do in a while. Usually, they would've gone to St.Louis instead of downtown but thanks to some rather "unfortunate" events they couldn't. A while ago, they spotted what looked like campfires coming from there, a sign of more ponies out there. A thing that should've been good. Bliss didn't believe it though, something "having a bad feeling" about it. Maybe it was that magical clairvoyance of hers. She didn't know how that worked, neither did Bliss herself. It just worked when it did. "So, you ready-?" Wait, she heard something. And so did Bliss. "Shh, you hear that…?" It sounded like hoofsteps. Someponys here with them. Bliss grabbed her gun and pointed to the potential source of it. Day shot her a nod and grabbed hers as well, they had to be on guard. They both moved as quietly as they could and used the office cubicles as cover to peak out. A unicorn mare they hadn't seen before. Long light purple mane and tail with black stripes, and a dark purple coat. She seemed confused. It might've been someone who recently woke up. The two came out of the cubicle and went after the mare, they kept up a steady pace with her but she was getting faster. She knew she was chased. That continued until…"Wait, come back!" Day didn't want Bliss running off like this but still she had to find out who it was, she had to! Just something about her seemed familiar… The perpetrator galloped up to the third floor and Bliss went after her. How? How the hell were they so fast? Whoever it was must've been strong and had a lot of energy. Well, two can play at that game! She might've been but she could do it. Body don't fail me now! Bliss went into a stance and opened her wings, and took off. She zoomed up the stairwell, practically tailing the perpetrator! How was she even doing this?! She didn't know. Maybe the princesses gave her and Day some kind of extra strength too, she didn't care. She just had to find out who that was, that was her one and only goal. The chase went on. Fourth, Fifth…. Until they reached the roof. A dead-end, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The perpetrator stopped dead in her track, she couldn't jump off after all. And Bliss finally reached her… Trying to catch the last of her breath in-between her gasps. The mare turned around to face her… Wait, "he" knew who that was. Just by her face alone. That's why she looked so familiar. It couldn't be, right? It just wasn't possible… "Mom…?"