Fallout Equestria: Fly Away

by Freeflyingwolf

Chapter 19: Family

Fallout Equestria: Fly Away

By Freeflyingwolf

Chapter 19: Family

“The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.”--George Santayana

Once he was awake, Zen saw Sunshy had already showered and was organizing his things while wearing his boarding and doctor’s coat. The pony kept flexing his metal wing around, glancing over to it once in a while. As though he couldn’t believe it was real just yet.

Zen stretched before trotting into the bathroom. After his own shower, he came out and got dressed while Sunshy continued to mutter to himself while he sorted his things. Zen chuckled as he nipped the pony’s ear, snapping him back to reality. Sunshy swatted the zebra off his ear and went right back to organizing. So Zen did the only perceivable thing; he bit the pony’s ear again.

“Quit iiiiiiiiit.” Sunshy whined and pushed him away, keeping his eye on his stuff.

“You wanted to talk to me, though.” Zen bit the pony’s ear again.

“Yeah…Zen, when I was in my mind, I realized something I’ve been trying to fight against for a long time.”

“Oh gods…you’re not breaking up with me, are you?”

“What? No!” Sunshy appeared appalled at such an idea. Zen let out a sigh of relief.

“What then?”

“I…I don’t belong in this world. In the wasteland. I’m going home.”

“…Why do I get the feeling that ‘home’ isn’t Roaming or Nchi Kavu?”

“Because it’s not. Home is back in Equestria, with Drakon in the Everfree Forest. But…I can’t go without you.” Sunshy rubbed his muzzle against Zen’s face.

“You had to do this now. Now of all times. Why now, Sunshy, why now? Fuck it, fuck it all.” Zen moved away and continued cursing to the ground. Then, he made the hard decision. He turned to Sunshy and stated, “No.”

“N…No? You…you’re not going back with me?” Sunshy appeared taken aback and insulted.

“Sunshy, I can’t tell you why, it’ll put all my work into jeopardy. I’ve already done all I can to try and keep you out of it. You just, just…why did it have to be now? Couldn’t have been the time before we came here…Fuck it all…” Zen sat down and rubbed his eyes with his hooves.

“Zen, I don’t understand. What can possibly be so dangerous that you can’t tell me why you won’t be with me?”

“The walls have ears, Sunshy. Ever since that mare accused me of not being a supporter, I’ve seen the Legion around here more often. They’re watching me, but you’re practically Caesar’s personal slave as far as they’re concerned, so they don’t care what you do.”

Zen placed a kiss on Sunshy’s cheek. “Believe me, I’d love to tell you, but I just can’t. If they think you know, you will be in danger. Not even living with a dragon in the Everfree Forest will keep you safe if they think you’re a threat in any way.”

Although he was still sad, Sunshy nodded in understanding and nuzzled Zen. The pony felt tears streaming down as Zen returned the loving gesture.

“I wish you would go with me, Zen.” Sunshy admitted with a thick voice.

“I do too, but…” Zen sighed as he pulled away. “I agree with your decision. You need to go. The Watchers will be worse off without you, but it’s safer there. Away from this horrible place, from my…you know. Just…promise me one thing.”

“Name it.” Sunshy smiled serenely at him.

The zebra had tears forming as he memorized everything he could. He memorized that look of pure love in those blue orbs that had entranced him from the first moment, that pristinely beautiful red hair and his coat that was as bright as the sun. There was nothing that would ever come close to this perfection. If there were any gods existing, perhaps Cupid was one of them. Certainly, the Wasteland was not so kind as to have allowed such a perfect being to fall into his hooves.

“Come back to visit sometime. If you can’t do that…just…don’t forget me, okay?” Zen smiled as the tears flowed from his own brown orbs.

He chuckled a little, but the laughter transitioned into sobs. Sunshy hugged his fiancé as the zebra clutched against him. Zen pulled away and kissed his beloved, both of them crying silently over their inevitable separation. Never mind, the wasteland was a living bastard. To tease them with such a perfect love only to tear it away. Just when they were planning to be wed…What a cruel beast it was.

“ ‘Shy…” Zen whispered, getting a shiver from the pony.

A noise that could only be described as a light growl-groan-whine mix woke the two. Sunshy was the first to wake, though he didn’t want to. He wanted to put off leaving this cheesy giant heart bed forever. Celly was nosing Sunshy until he looked up at her. She blinked at him with understandingly sad brown eyes. She was not deterred by his pleading look. He had told her the plan and she would make him go. Whether he wanted to or not. For her brother’s safety, she would do anything.

Sunshy stood, the blankets slid off his body and pooled around him. The red faux-satin sheets reminded him of a pool of blood. That was a warning sign about the state of his sanity; when something that should be happy reminded him of blood…he had to go. Sunshy smiled as he watched Zen continue napping. The steady rise and fall of his chest was a comfort. The pegasus placed a kiss on Zen’s brow before walking over to his saddle boxes.

Zen’s brown eyes watched sadly as Sunshy put on his boarding. Then his doctor’s coat. And finally his saddle boxes. The second thing he had ever bought for Sunshy. Borderlands seemed to be so long ago, but it was only a few short months. Too little time. Not enough time to even have a proper adventure.

“Sunshy…” Zen sat up and looked to the pony with a sad smile.

“I’m glad we had this time together, Zen. I swear I’ll do my best to visit you. It’ll be impossible to forget you.” Sunshy nuzzled against his beloved zebra.

“I know you won’t. I love you, Sunshy.”

“I love you, too, Zen.”

Celly bit Sunshy on the mane and set him on her back. She licked Zen on the side of his face and nuzzled against him. And then, just like that, she opened the door and walked out. Sunshy managed to wave a final goodbye.

Zen waited five minutes after the pony and manticore left. Then, he stood up, put on his boarding, saddlebag, and cloak while forcing back his tears. They had said their goodbyes; now was not the time to be sad. Just to be extra sure, he put out a StelthBuck. Then the zebra put his most powerful sniper rifle in re-attachable pieces on his back.

Zen activated the StelthBuck on his PipBuck. Before he did, he saw the knowing smile of the zebra in his PipBuck. He’d have to change the name soon… Invisibly, he opened the window and jumped out to the roof of the building next to the hotel.

A few more jumps from roof to roof, and he was right where he needed to be. Zen quickly assembled the rifle in a divot on a roof, allowing none to see it. The Sniper rifle was ready. He mounted it on a post, which he placed an invisibility talisman on.

There he was, right on schedule. Lounging on his pillows, right after his orgy with those three wives, just as he did every other day. Sixteen years and not a damn change. The StelthBuck would wear off soon. Zen pulled the hood over his invisibility cloak and pushed the button. He smirked at their ignorance. Other towns had placed wards inside the walls of cities to make sure invisibility talismans would not work. Over-confidence was to be his doom.

Zen closed one eye as he stared down the invisible scope. His hoof was on the trigger, ready to pull. Remember the breathing exercise. Breathe in and hold it. The crosshairs slowly lined up with his head. The damn buck was having a smoke on a cigar. Place was filling with stuff; the mares complained about the smell. So he walked over to the window and pushed it open. The dot in the crosshairs followed his head as he moved.

A chill ran down Zen’s spine; not the good one, either. Caesar the twelfth stared at Zen’s eyes. Startled, he let out his breath and pulled away to look down at himself. Still invisible. Zen stared back through the scope. A coincidence, nothing more. Just…well, fuck that theory sideways up a wall.

He smiled. A smile of pride.

Caesar mouthed the words, “I’m proud of you, Zuberi.”

Zen re-breathed before he pulled the trigger and let out his breath. The silencer eliminated all noise, save for a soft “pwith” of the bullet leaving the barrel. Caesar’s head exploded in a bloody pulp. Thank you, explosive rounds. As quickly as he came, Zen broke the gun down and stowed it away with the post.

No one noticed, too many were too obsessed that the wives of Caesar were screaming bloody murder. Indeed, it had been a rather bloody kill. Overdramatic and not Zen’s usual style, but it was a fitting end for a bloody mess of a stallion. Now, for the siblings…

~*~*~*~

Sunshy was deeply regretting his decision to not bring the Alicorns’ Bane with him. Though he was sure the implant had given him increased endurance, flying from Peponi to the Everfree Forest was all at once not a good idea. Celly did her best to glide on the warm air currents and keep to his side. She forced him to stop and fly down as soon as they were over Roaming. They rested in the Lace house and told the family that Royal would be back soon enough.

As the night was close to closing in, they slept in the room the Lace family gave to Sunshy and Zen. With the distances of everything in the Savannah Wasteland, they would have to stop again in Nchi Kavu tomorrow. Thinking of that, Sunshy was tempted to question Chief Fluffy Doom about his position on the killing of those who might almost break the treaty.

The next morning, after eating breakfast Sunshy had convinced himself to just leave Chief Fluffy Doom alone. He and Celly took off towards Nchi Kavu, the former still telling himself to leave the Chief alone. Then he was confronted with the buffalo, who welcomed him with a hug before he could fully land. Sunshy confronted him about the killings for the treaty. Chef Fluffy Doom was silent. He said nothing at all. Just turned and walked away.

Sunshy shopped around for anything he was sure he might need, as well as selling anything he didn’t need. He and Celly took a nap in their hut. Once refreshed, they ate their lunch and then set back out to fly. Sunshy decided he would rather fly right on through Borderlands than stop there. He was already upset enough about Chief Fluffy Doom.

With the added endurance from the new wing, Sunshy was able to fly right over Borderlands and keep going without stopping. The brown sun-baked dirt sped on by under them. Dead skeletons of trees, some rock piles, and the occasional animal were the only breaks from the monotonous yellow-brown. To stave off boredom, they tried to play I spy, but found that they were likely to pass the object before the other managed to guess correctly.

Celestia’s sun had set and Luna’s moon was glowing brightly. They had only taken one break since Nchi Kavu to make sure that they didn’t sprain their wings. During their travels, the two noticed that there were more and more clouds flowing in. So DJ Pon3 had been right.

Now, they were walking on the lush dark green grass of the Everfree Forest. The moment they walked into it, the temperature seemed to drop. There was electricity in the air. Timber wolves howled from afar. Sunshy perked his ears at the sound of their howling. The Zap Apples must be in season. So it was Autumn already…

Celly started bouncing in place, somehow creating a clanging noise. Sunshy turned to her and saw she had two pans tied on a string around her neck. The noise drove the timber wolves away, as it irritated their sensitive ears. Celly put the werefire jar around her neck as well and took the lead. Sunshy wrapped a rope around her tail and bit the end of it to make sure he wouldn’t get separated. He would be able to tell where they were going in the daylight, but for now, he had to rely on Celly’s…hold on a minute.

Sunshy scanned around and saw he was able to perceive everything as though it was daylight. An owl hooted and flew in front of him. He was able to follow it into the darkness of the trees past the point he would have lost it to the dark. Strange, it was like his eyes had built-in night vision.

The pony twisted and turned his ears, listening intently for any malicious sounds. There was, unsurprisingly to him, very many sounds coming from animals that seemed keen on having a pony snack. However, none dared to get too close. They feared that ferocious tail full of poison and the claws that could maul them.

It was the part of the night that was darkest. Yet Sunshy felt he could still see as though it was daytime to anyone else. The pony stared up at the sky as he continued to walk behind Celly. Stars twinkled down at him through the tree’s curtain of leaves. Sunshy smiled and sent a silent thank-you to Luna. The stars seemed brighter as soon as he did.

There it was! Drakon’s cave, looking the same as the day they left. Celly roared in happiness and bounded forward; the pans clanged against each other noisily. Sunshy let go of the rope, for fear she would tear his teeth out. Just as excitedly, Sunshy ran inside after her.

Something was wrong…The lights were still on, the stable door still closed. The pile of gems was still sitting there, twinkling beautifully.

So where was Drakon?

A yowling noise alerted Sunshy. The pegasus trotted over to Celly, who was standing in what seemed to be a random spot. When he was close, the manticore moved aside. There was a scrap of paper on the ground, with writing. Sunshy cleared his throat before reading,

“Dear Sunshy and Celly,

If you ever come back, I want you to know not to worry about me. I had no part in the war outside this cave, even if my cybernetic-enhanced brother and the youngling Spike did. This dragon is old and was trapped in a cave for two-hundred years. I cannot fly and my scales have grayed in the lack of sunlight.

And yet, I felt terrible. I should have been fighting beside my brethren like the warrior I was born to be. Instead, I hid away in this cave, protecting my gems and a stable with no life left inside. I hid because it is all I have done for two hundred years. What a shame I am to my race.

But you taught me something, both of you. Your willingness to help all creatures moved my heart, my children. I wanted to do some good ever since you two came into my life, just two lost children without a father. I am proud and jubilated that you thought of me as your father.

So, I made up my mind. I am going out into Equestria to help. I don’t know how and I don’t know where. All I know is that I will help. My wings will never be able to lift me, even with the endless sky above. My sight is still failing. My claws and spikes are just as sharp as ever, so they will be a great asset. I have heard Fluttershy is alive, with her old friend Ditzy Doo; I suppose she is a ghoul. If the town they live in is in need of protection, then I shall help. I’d do anything to see my old friend again.

With all the love in my heart,

Drakon Nokard III”

Celly growled in curiosity at Sunshy.

“Let’s stay here for the night. We can look for him tomorrow. My PipBuck should…” Then he remembered. It hadn’t been his PipBuck for months. “We can find New Appleoosa on our own.”

The manticore nodded and picked up the note. She placed it in her saddlebag before flying over the pile of treasure. Sunshy followed suit. The two flew over the gems and came upon their bedroom. It was just a section of the cave carved out by the dragon long ago. It was smaller, oval in shape, and held two beds and a whole library’s worth of books around the curved walls.

A wave of nostalgia washed over the two as they settled down in their beds. It felt cold and empty inside the cave without the giant dragon sleeping in the middle, taking up virtually the entire room. Celly quickly left her bed and joined Sunshy on his bed. She curled up next to him and purred him to sleep.

The manticore’s ears twitched as she heard sounds outside. There were voices, muffled and muttering. Soundlessly, she slinked out of the bed, making sure her brother was still asleep as she went. Only then did she crouch low to the ground and stalk to the pile of treasure that separated their room from the rest of the cave.

Outside the mouth of the cave were three scavengers: two mares and one buck. The mares were egging the buck to get closer to the treasure and take some. He was less than happy to have such a task.

Even if he abandoned it, this treasure belonged to Drakon! No scavengers looking for free cash were going to take it!

With a mighty roar, Celly launched into the air and kept her wings wide open. The three screamed and ran away as fast as their legs could take them. Celly landed and snorted at the fleeing ponies. ‘Good riddance’ she seemed to say.

“Celly? What was that noise?” Sunshy questioned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The manticore turned and nuzzled his face, telling him not to worry about it. “If you say so.”

The pony trotted outside and, after relieving himself, he went over to a stream and splashed the water in his face. Celly opted to slide right down into the water. The stream was all but stagnant, so she had no fear of being swept away. She got out soon after and shook off, thoroughly dousing Sunshy in a second-hand shower.

Using his knowledge of the Everfree Forest that had been built up over twenty years, Sunshy was able to easily navigate to the end of the forest. He used the same path that he had for two decades; it was easy to find, as he had worn a trail over that time. Even still, he pulled out his rifle and held it in his mouth. As he walked, the pony thought.

How would Equestria look now? He’d never seen it before without the cloud cover. Actually, he’d never seen any of it other than his brief glimpse when he was a colt. After that sight, he never wanted to see the world outside of the forest again. Would the ponies be alright? How would they react to a pegasus? It sounded like the ground ponies might have some bad blood with the pegasi.

The end of the forest approached faster than he had expected. The pony froze at the end of the trail. He was still technically inside the forest, and there was a few feet left before he would technically touch ground not of the forest.

Sunshy was scared.

He was scared of Equestria. Of the unknown.

The pony took a deep breath and stepped forward. Only to take three steps back.

Celly lowered her head and pushed the pony forward by his rear. He dug his hooves in just enough so he wouldn’t fall right onto his face. It wasn’t at all because he was still scared.

The pony was pushed over the borderline between Equestria and the Everfree Forest. Sunshy had his eyes closed and waited when Celly stopped pushing. After a few tense minutes, he cracked open one eye. Seeing no immediate danger, the pony swallowed his fear and stood up on his own shaking limbs.

Confidence slowly building, the pegasus walked forward. Head down, eyes forward, ears against his head. Appear as unintimidating as possible, and maybe nopony would care about him. Celly rolled her golden eyes and took off into the air. She went up high to get an aerial view of the landscape.

While she did this, Sunshy stared at the point between his hooves, and then at his engagement band. Should he keep it on? If he did, then he would have to face embarrassing questions about his fiancé. Those could be explained away about he was dead, but then he’d get undeserved sympathy. But if he took it off, somepony might think he was available. Thousands of miles away or not, Zen still was his only love.

A few minutes later, Celly landed behind him. Sunshy still had his eyes deeply focused on his band wrapped around his hoof. He appeared to be gnawing on the mouth grip of his rifle. She rolled her eyes and nudged the pony forward. He got the message and began trotting forward. Even though he was now watching where he was going, the pony let his mind wander.

Then something caught his eye. With his blue orbs widening, the pegasus turned hard and flew as fast as his wings could take him. Surprised at this action, it took Celly a few moments to recover before she flew after him. A few minutes of what she thought was a pointless spaz-out led her to an odd sight.

There was a hut that seemed to be made of a stout tree. The tree was long since dead, but that wasn’t the immediate point. There were old birdhouses hanging from the branches of that tree and the skeletons of nearby trees. Out back, there was a henhouse that had its roof caved in long ago. A lot of tree skeletons on every side of this tree-house. The way the decaying birdhouses moved in the light wind gave the manticore the creeps. Somehow, Sunshy was enthralled to the point of slinging his rifle on his back.

“Celly…I’ve seen this in the books. This is Fluttershy’s house!” Sunshy exclaimed enthusiastically. “Let’s go inside!”

Celly let out a yowl of a warning and held out a paw to stop him, but he had already pushed the door open. Not a moment passed before he was puking in what was once a bush. The manticore could smell the dried blood and gore from outside. Some of it seemed fresher than the rest.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it had never bothered a manticore. Celly poked her head inside the hut while Sunshy let out the rest of his food his stomach held. The inside was decorated in the same fashion Raiders loved. Gore and profane graffiti was everywhere, as well as some drawings of what a balefire bomb explosion must have looked like. There were no corpses, but quite a lot of blood.

“Celly…” The manticore pulled her head out and faced her brother. He still appeared ill. “We should…clean it up.”

The manticore shook her head and closed the door. Sunshy tried to protest, but she simply nipped at the air in front of him until he began moving away. Then she picked him up in her paws and flew off away from Fluttershy’s hut. Sunshy didn’t bother to feel sorry that he couldn’t do anything about it. He certainly didn’t have the stomach to clean up such a mess. How in the world would Celly be able to do anything except lick away the blood? No one would waste water on such a task.

The pony stared down at the ground as he was carried in Celly’s paws. The landscape was different from Savannah. Even with the sun back, everything still appeared gray. There was some grass, but it appeared tough and unappealing. At least in the Everfree Forest, the flora had a mix of rain and sun, not only rain. Glancing up, he saw that there was still quite a lot of cloud left. However, it was slowly receding if he watched long enough.

A town with a wall made of stacked-up boxcars appeared to be getting closer and closer. From the aerial view, Sunshy could see the cobbled-together houses inside the walls. One place appeared to be an overturned part from a train with a large sign proclaiming “Absolutely Everything”. There were colorful ponies walking around. About a mile away from the town was a giant hole going down at an angle, not straight down. It was as though a giant worm had burrowed out. Train tracks ran around the town and off to the north and east. An actual train was sitting stationary, though there were a bunch of buff stallions that appeared ready to pull it at any moment.

Celly landed a few meters away from the town, so as not to alert the townspeople. A tamed manticore was certainly not something that would receive a warm welcome from the air. According to the news, these ponies had just finished up a war against Pegasi. They might still be wary of anything with wings and especially wary of something with a lioness body and scorpion tail with those wings.

Sunshy fished out the illusion talisman and slipped it over Celly’s neck. Her wings and scorpion tail were still perfectly visible. The gem set in the middle appeared dull; it must have been out of power. Sunshy took it off and placed it back in his saddlebox. Oh well, the people would just have to deal with her one way or another. Hopefully not with bullets. He really hoped not with bullets.

Along the way to the city, a trader’s caravan trotted along in their direction. Soon enough, they would pass each other. Celly immediately lowered her head and tail, too appear unintimidating. The caravan drew closer, and Sunshy could see a Brahmin was pulling a cart laden with things. Walking next to it was a trader in their usual boarding and trader’s hat; she was a green unicorn mare with freckles.

Oddly enough, there was a Steel Ranger walking next to her. Instead of the usual armor, this one’s was painted red and their usual insignia was covered with what could only be a cutie mark of three apples. Applejack’s cutie mark, Sunshy realized.

When the two parties drew close, the trader gasped in shock upon seeing Celly and the Ranger stepped forward. His or her battle saddle was equipped as a rocket launcher on one side and a mini gun on the other side. They were poised for battle, but were not active yet.

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask, why are you painted red? Is that the cutie mark of Applejack? I’m not from around here, so excuse my ignorance.” Sunshy spoke first, though he mentally facehoofed for not telling them that Celly was not a threat first. Priorities needed to be re-organized.

“I am one of Applejack’s Rangers, and yes, it is her cutie mark. Unlike the rest of the Steel Rangers, we help ponies instead of leaving them for dead in order to horde and steal technology. Now then, is your manticore hostile or not?” The voice wafting through the helmet was that of a mare.

“Shouldn’t your E.F.S. say so?” Sunshy pointed out.

“Of course, but I’d rather hear it from the mouth of the pony walking with it.” She replied coolly.

“No, Celly is not hostile. She’s rather friendly, so long as you’re not hostile.”

“Then we’re perfectly fine here. Would you like a look at my friend’s stock? We have quite the ammo for that zebra rifle you have.”

The Applejack’s Ranger had her weapons lower themselves and she took a step back, allowing the trader behind her to come into view. Upon hearing that Celly was not a threat, she brightened considerably. The mare quickly trotted up to Sunshy and asked if there was anything he was looking for. Sunshy was still wondering how the Ranger knew he had a rifle. Then he mentally facehoofed, it was on his back.

More out of politeness, Sunshy haggled with the trader. He did not buy any more ammo, as he still had plenty from that King’s storage place he had never used. Instead, he bought a few books, a zebra bobble head, some herbs, and empty bottles. In exchange, he traded a few of the gems from Drakon’s pile that he had taken. Thinking of him…

“Do you two know of any red, pink, and yellow dragons? Really big and old?” Sunshy questioned.

“Yeah, he lives in a hole in the ground.” The trader offered helpfully with a delighted smile.

“She means he dug out a tunnel system for himself around New Appleoosa.” The Ranger elaborated, to the frowning face of the other mare, “He only arrived a few weeks ago. Just look for a big-ass hole near the entrance of the town. He left to go make sure the way to Tenpony tower is clear, though, but he should be back in a couple days.”

“Thank you so much.”

“If you’re friends with him, then you want to find Ditzy Doo’s Absolutely Everything.” The trader told Sunshy, “The mare there is a ghoul pegasus who can’t talk. Raiders cut out her tongue, but she’s still the sweetest little dear. Anyway, she’s housing, can you believe it, Fluttershy! That old ministry mare from two hundred years ago! Oh, I just can’t believe she’s the one who made those nasty megaspells. Poor old dear is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. Anyway, apparently she knew this dragon from two-hundred years ago. So, seeing as how you have a common friend, you should go talk to them. Besides, it’d be better for you to be around fellow pegasi. This town was attacked by the Enclave not too long ago. Some might not be so keen on you around here. Thanks for the gems and good luck!”

After that helpful ramble, the mare trotted forward. The Brahmin walked after her, as did the Applejack’s Ranger. A grin grew on Sunshy’s face. Not only did Drakon live here, but so did Fluttershy!!

He had never flown so fast in his life.

Celly caught up with Sunshy at the gate; the pony was bouncing as he stood at the entrance, waiting for her. Celly shook her head and pushed Sunshy through the gates. His enthusiasm burst like a balloon. She only shook her head at his pleading eyes. His first time in a pony settlement would not be ruined by the ponies reacting badly towards her. To emphasize her point, she flew back towards the Everfree Forest.

Much more sullenly, Sunshy put away his weapon before he walked into the town. The inside was terrifically brighter than he had imagined. It appeared as though somepony had decided to draw giant murals on all the boxcar walls. Sunshy found the culprit as she was painting; it was a silver filly unicorn with the cutie mark of a silver bell. She was painting on a wall near him. Smiling, Sunshy walked over to her and was oblivious to the stares of the residents. His wings were never hidden and he wouldn’t start now.

“You paint beautifully. Are you sure your cutie mark shouldn’t be a paintbrush?” Sunshy started up a conversation with the filly as he admired her recent work. The painting was one of what looked to be a Phoenix, only it was alternating green.

“My cutie mark comes from this.” The filly lowered the paintbrush before she closed her eyes. Her horn glowed slightly and a beautiful ringing sound came from her horn. After a bit, the filly stopped and turned to Sunshy. “I’m Silver Bell, what’s your name?”

“I’m Sunshy Rays. I was told to look for a Ditzy Doo, can you lead me to her?”

“She’s my mommy; of course I can lead you to her!” Silver Bell bounced so high in place that Sunshy could imagine her with little wings buzzing happily on her sides. “Come on, mommy runs that big store over there,” Silver Bell began walking towards Absolutely Everything, floating her art tools along with her. “I watch it sometimes when she’s out making deliveries. And we have a new friend that mommy says she knew back before the big old war from forever ago! Actually,” She stopped and stared right at Sunshy quizzically, “you look a lot like her, mister.”

“I get that a lot. My name is actually a play on words as well as to honor her. Sunshy is like sunshine, but mixed with Fluttershy.” Sunshy explained with a bemused smile.

“I get it! Your mommy must have liked Fluttershy and I can see why. She’s almost as great as my mommy and daddy!” Silver Bell returned to trotting towards Absolutely Everything. “And you’re all pegasuses…pegasusi…pega…”

“Pegasi. If there is more than one pegasus, the term is pegasi.”

“Right! Thanks mister Sunshy, you’re really smart.” The light jingling bell wafted from her horn again. Whether or not it was conscious, Sunshy wasn’t sure.

As he walked, Sunshy couldn’t help but notice the rest of the ponies. A lot of them were still staring at him. Most appeared unsure of what to make of him. They were conflicted. A pegasus, but the ones they knew were alright, and Silver Bell seemed to like him. It was more than possible he wasn’t bad, but they wouldn’t accept some stranger right away…

“Here we are!” Silver Bell announced when they reached the odd shop. She pushed open the door and floated her supplies behind the counter, where the strangest sight Sunshy had ever seen was standing.

This appeared to have once been a pony. A pegasus mare. But that was long, long ago. Bits of her grey body were missing chunks of flesh. Some showed down to the bone. There were barely any feathers on her wings. All that was left of a blonde mane and tail were a few meager strands of hair. Whether or not she had any fur, he couldn’t really tell.

Then he noticed her eyes. Both were yellow and full of life, even though by all medical standards she certainly shouldn’t be alive. One was pointed right at him, while the other was staring up at the ceiling.

His first pony ghoul.

Sunshy swallowed his immediate revulsion and cracked an uneasy smile. The ghoul returned one, though the effect was less than pleasant. The doctor in him was screaming and bouncing around at all the impossibilities at her life. She looked like a corpse! How in the wide world was she alive? Medical impossibility! Magic! Dark shaman work! Voodoo!

“Mommy, this is Sunshy and he said he wanted to find you so I led him here!” Silver Bell exclaimed.

The pegasus ghoul had a chalkboard on the table in front of her. For a moment, both eyes settled on it as she picked up a piece of chalk. One slid back up to stare at the ceiling as she wrote on the chalkboard. She showed it to Silver Bell; at his angle still standing at the doorway, Sunshy couldn’t see it. But it made Silver Bell happy enough to receive a hug from her mommy.

Sunshy’s face was frozen in that awkward smile. He thought to himself, “Don’t puke, don’t puke, be nice to her, you have nothing left to puke, don’t be rude!” Then she erased the message while Silver Bell went through a doorway into a back room. The ghoul showed her new message to Sunshy, holding it in her mouth.

Hello Sunshy, I’m Ditzy Doo, and this is my shop Absolutely Everything, where we have absolutely everything! If we don’t, then I’ll sure try my best to find it for you! How can I help? Next to the words, she had drawn a little picture of a smiling face, with one eye turned towards the ceiling.

Sunshy laughed at the picture, but then held a hoof over his muzzle, fearing that was rude of him. Ditzy Doo only laughed a bit as well, then erased her message and wrote a new one.

Don’t worry, I did that on purpose. Most ponies just stare at my eye, even when I wasn’t a ghoul. I find the picture to be a nice ice-breaker.

“I just didn’t want to be rude…” Sunshy rubbed his hoof against his leg as his curtain of red hair fell over his hanging face. He heard the clacking of chalk against the travel-sized blackboard. It was presented to him once again; she must have been leaning over the counter.

It wasn’t rude at all. Am I right in guessing that I’m the first ghoul you’ve seen?

“I’ve seen Yao Guai, and I thought those were kinda the same, but..yes, I’ve never really seen a ghoul pony before.”

Then you’re doing a lot better than most. It’s normal for some to scream, so I wouldn’t have taken any offense. Now then, do you need anything?

“Actually…I was hoping to see if Fluttershy was around. I’m…kind of a really big fan of hers, ever since I was a colt. And the dragon that just moved in is my adoptive father, too, but I’ve been told he’s not here.”

So you’re the pony Drakon talks about! What about the manticore, is she around?

“She went back into the forest, since she didn’t want the ponies here to hate me for her.”

Oh, I see. I’m sure when Drakon comes back that he can explain her to them. Everypony here really likes him!

Dear me, I’ve talked too much. I’ll go fetch Fluttershy for you. She’ll be happy to know she has a fan! Just to be funny, she drew a picture of an automatic fan.

Sunshy chucked as Ditzy Doo cleaned her last message. She hooked the rope around her neck and carried the chalk in her mouth. With a parting smile, she turned and walked into the door that Silver Bell had walked into. As she went away, Sunshy noticed her cutie mark was still intact. It was a bunch of bubbles. How cute.

Then Sunshy realized. This was his first conversation with a pegasus in twenty years. His first conversation with a ghoul pony ever. Ditzy Doo truly was just as sweet as the other ponies led him to believe. He’d held an entire conversation with her and didn’t stare at her eye or puke! Huzzah!

While he waited for the pegasi to return, Sunshy took a look around the room. There really was absolutely everything in here! Everything from boarding, pots and pans, food, ammo, junk, weapons, potions, brews, ponies, soda, books, jewelry, wait ponies? Sunshy turned back to find a few colts peeking their head in. Upon noticing that Sunshy was staring at them, the colts let out a squeak and then scurried away. Weird…

Ditzy Doo walked back into the room, giving Sunshy a sullen shake of her head. The pegasus buck frowned as well. Ditzy wrote on her chalkboard and showed it to him.

She’s rather mentally unstable right now. Her friends are helping as best they can, but she was a tree for two-hundred years, forced to watch her world destroyed. I’m sorry, but she doesn’t want to see anypony. I hope you understand.

Even though he was disappointed, Sunshy nodded and said he understood. What she went through certainly could not have been easy for anypony. Her sanity would probably take years to recover fully, if at all. Sunshy hoped she had some good friends with her to help. Of course, Ditzy Doo would help greatly.

“Can I see her? I just want to talk; maybe it’ll help, even just a little.” Sunshy pleaded. Ditzy seemed to think on that for a moment before nodding.

The ghoul pegasus led Sunshy through the open doors to the back room. Even more absolutely everything here. Eventually, the buck was led to a bunch of cots, which seemed to have been used for emergencies. There were three figures lying on the cots. One was little Silver Bell. Another was another pegasus ghoul, or at least Sunshy assumed he was a pegasus.

This pegasus had bat-like wings and his ears weren’t quite right for a pony. They reminded Sunshy of a bat as well. He had on armor that held the symbol of a dragon’s eye in the center of the breastplate. Fused to his leg was a PipBuck. This old ghoul turned towards him and Ditzy Doo, allowing Sunshy to see this was a buck. Just as he was wondering about this ghoul, he remembered the story about Nightmare Night. This old buck was once one of Princess Luna’s guards!

Ditzy Doo walked over to the guard and nuzzled his equally decaying face lovingly. Despite the grotesque appearance of the two ghouls, Sunshy couldn’t help but smile. No matter what was wrong with this world, it couldn’t destroy the greatness of love.

Tearing his eyes away from the adorable scene, Sunshy spotted the one and only. The yellow and pink pegasus had her back facing him. She was lying down, staring ahead. Surrounding her face were six statuettes. Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity. Behind them was a statue of a bunny, frozen in the appearance of a defiant glare. Something about it was off, as if it was just too perfect of a bunny to have been hoof made…But that wasn’t important right now.

“Flu…Fluttershy?” Sunshy timidly stated. The elder mare turned her ears towards him, the only acknowledgement that she noticed anything beyond her statues.

“I just…I wanted to tell you that I have always admired you. Everypony says I look like you, so they teased me about those bombs a lot. But I know they were made to heal and I know…you’re too nice of a pony to have ever conceived that anyone would use them for anything other than their original purpose. When no one could die, the war would have to end.

“It doesn’t matter how that old war turned out. Nopony with any sense can truly blame you. I admire you so much that I dedicated my life to becoming a doctor like you. I don’t know if you care at all to hear this from some random pegasus, but I just want you to know. I certainly don’t blame you; I admire you for all you did. Thank you for dedicating yourself to simply ending the war.”

When he finished his little speech, Sunshy half expected something. He found he was rather disappointed. Ditzy Doo moved away from the guard ghoul and walked over to him. She had written something on her board.

If you’ll follow Silver Bell, she’ll lead you to your room for the night.

The little filly jumped off her mattress and walked over to Sunshy. She tugged on his mane and led him back out towards the door. As they neared the arch, his ears swiveled back just in time to hear the barely audible,

“Thank you.”

With a smile, the pegasus followed the gray filly up the stairs and into an unused room. Once she was gone, he took off his saddle boxes and coat, but kept on his leather boarding. He curled up on the bed under the covers.

Sunshy feared sleep, because he did not know if it would bring the nightmares or not. Somehow, Celly managed to sneak into the town and up to his room. He almost wondered, but remembered felines were noted for stealth skills. With his sister there, curled up against him, the pegasus was able to fall into sleep comfortably.

The next morning, Silver Bell woke the two with the sound of her horn jingling. She presented a breakfast of hay cakes and a Sunrise Sarsaparilla for Sunshy. Though she was a little scared of Celly at first, the manticore fixed that by licking the unicorn filly’s mane into a silly style. She giggled all the way downstairs, shouting, “Look mommy! Look at the manedo the lion-thing gave me!”

Once he finished his meal, Sunshy put on his coat and saddle boxes before he went downstairs to find Ditzy Doo waving out a customer. All Sunshy caught was a flank of black with the cutie mark of a nightingale in flight singing. Her tail was white with streaks of yellow and red. The pegasus placed about thirty caps on the table in front of Ditzy. The ghoul stared at him quizzically before writing on her chalkboard.

What is this for?

“It’s for my room and food, as I certainly can’t just freeload like that. It’d feel wrong.” Sunshy explained, earning a nod from Celly.

You don’t have to do that, I was happy to let you stay. However, if you want, I do have some work you could do. Ditzy pushed the caps back towards him.

“Sure, what can I do to help?” Sunshy brightened as he slid the caps back into his money pouch.

I have to go make a delivery out in Ponyville

“Isn’t it dangerous there?” Sunshy hadn’t finished reading the rest. Ditzy shook her head and re-wrote on her chalkboard.

It’s been cleared out of Raiders. New settlers have moved in and they need me to deliver them supplies. I also have some smaller delivery to a pegasus family that lives above old Appleoosa, which is in the opposite direction. Would you be interested in making that delivery for me? They requested it be delivered before noon, and I couldn’t make that deadline all on my own.

“I’d love to do this for you, Ditzy. Will Silver Bell be alright watching the shop for you?”

She’s a good little helper. This won’t be her first time, after all. Here’s what you’re to deliver.

Ditzy Doo ducked down for a moment before she reappeared with a satchel, a note, and a clipboard. Sunshy picked it up and slung it over himself as he had done with his assault rifle. He stored the note and clipboard in his saddleboxes. Ditzy smiled before she walked out into the back room while Sunshy and Celly went out the front. As they did, Sunshy heard the distinct noise of little hooves running into the main room.

Once outside, what had been a potential customer gave a gasp at the sight of Celly before turning tail and fleeing. Feeling guilty, Sunshy grimaced before lifting off into the air. Then he realized he didn’t know where Old Appleoosa was. Celly still flew outside of the town while Sunshy landed again. He walked over to the first pony he saw, but the mare ran away with fear in her eyes.

Ears pinned down in sadness, Sunshy turned around to find most everypony was shying away from him. However, something was tugging on his mane. Sunshy glanced down and found a green and blue unicorn colt.

“You wouldn’t happen to be related to Drakon, would ya?” The colt questioned.

“Yes, he’s my adoptive father.” Sunshy confirmed with a nod. With a gap-tooth smile, the colt ran forward and his horn glowed.

With an amplified voice, the colt’s voice boomed out, “It’s okay, everypony, he and the lion are with Drakon.”

The attitudes of the ponies changed almost instantly. They gossiped amongst one another before the majority of them decided he was alright. The residents then began smiling at him as they went along their way. The little colt ran back and smiled brightly up to Sunshy.

“Thank you, uh…”

“Wintergreen. And you’re welcome! Anyone who’s friends with Derpy is alright with me.”

“Who?”

“Oh, it’s a nickname for Ditzy Doo.”

“Does she let you use this nickname?” Sunshy questioned, finding the nickname to be rather insulting.

“Yeah, she says ponies gave her that nickname even before the war!”

“She also said that ponies stared at her eye before the war.” Sunshy pointed out. That deflated little Wintergreen’s excitement.

“Anypony who does that isn’t a nice pony.” Wintergreen turned to the playground, where a bunch of other colts were calling out for him. With a quick goodbye to Sunshy, the colt ran off.

“Pardon me, but did you ask about Appleoosa?” An older stallion questioned, walking over to Sunshy.

“Yes, I need to make a delivery for Ditzy Doo by noon.”

“It’s a few miles to the west, just follow the train tracks. Better hurry, it’s already half to noon.”

“Oh horseapples!”

Sunshy bolted into the sky and stared down towards the train tracks. He saw them go west and flew above them. Celly joined him almost instantly. With a cheeky grin, the manticore sped up. A race, huh? Sunshy smirked and pushed his wings to put on a burst of speed.

Within ten minutes, the two arrived over the old city of Appleoosa. There were very few ponies here, but they were still there. However, he didn’t take the time to notice much of the city, as he was angling upwards. Floating miles above the old town was a large cloud. Atop this cloud was a two-story house made out of more clouds.

As a pegasus, Sunshy was able to land on the cloud as though it was solid ground. Celly, however, tried to do the same. She ended up falling straight through. The manticore growled at the cloud before flying down towards a large cliff that overlooked Appleoosa. Sunshy knocked on the cloud door three times, trying to control his breathing.

Only a few moments later, a stallion opened the door. He was sky-blue with a darker blue mane and red eyes. This rather grumpy-looking stallion was growing a bit of stubble. As he wore no boarding, Sunshy could see his cutie mark of a magical energy beam gun. Sunshy took out the card and read it. This had to be the place, but he just had to make sure.

“Mister Quick Shot?” Sunshy questioned.

“That’s me. Who’re you? Workin’ for Ditzy?” Quick Shot questioned with a gruff voice.

“I’m Sunshy Rays, and yes, I’m working for Ditzy Doo because—“

“Rays? Did I hear you right? Did you just say your name was Rays?” Quick Shot’s visage turned to one of unease.

“Uhm…yes, sir, Sunshy Rays. Uhm…if you could sign for this…” Sunshy appeared uneasy. He took the satchel off and held it out for Quick Shot.

“Yeah, sure…” Quick Shot let the satchel be placed around his neck. Sunshy took out the clipboard, which had a pencil attached. The blue stallion took the pencil and signed his name.

“Thank you, sir.” The yellow pegasus turned to leave, his one good wing and his artificial wing open to fly.

“Dear, who’s at the door?” A mare’s voice wafted through. Sunshy froze mid-crouch. He knew that voice.

“No one, honey.” Quick Shot snapped quickly.

“You’re full of horseapples, Quickey. Is it my doctor with…my…”

Sunshy turned to find the one person he’d never expected to see again. From her expression, she had once held the same idea.

“Mom…”

It couldn’t be anyone else. She was older now, but that was expected. Twenty years had passed, after all. Her coat was cream colored, and her mane and tail golden. Her mane was held up in a bun with streaks of gray. She wore red reading glasses near the edge of her nose. Her cutie mark was a picture of a golden ray of sunshine breaking through a bit of clouds. Strangely, Sunshy thought that this was the first time he’d ever had to look down to see his mom…she had been so much bigger in his memories.

“Sunny? Is it really you?” Golden Rays held out a shaking hoof.

“Yeah…it’s me…” Sunshy smiled a little.

Golden smiled and embraced her long-lost son tightly, who returned with just as much enthusiasm. The hug was cut short when a blue hoof pried its way between them and forced the two apart. Sunshy teetered at the edge of the cloud from the action, but Golden Rays quickly grabbed his hoof and pulled him back. Then she turned on Quick Shot, who was fuming as much as she was.

“No one my ass! You had no right to try and keep me from my own son!” Golden Rays shouted with the ferocity only mustered by a mother.

“He’s a Dashite, woman! I shall not allow such filth into my own home!” Quick Shot yelled right back.

“That doesn’t matter anymore, you old fool! He was never branded, they gave up on him!”

“Because everyone died trying to get to him! He was labeled dead and we all left it at that!”

“I never gave up on him and here he is!”

“As a twenty year old grown adult who can take care of himself!”

“He’s missing a fucking wing, you call that taking care of himself?”

The bickering continued while Sunshy balked. He had no idea how to approach this situation. A couple times, he tried to say something, but then someone would shout loud again and he’d cower.

“Boy, they sure know how to go at it.”

Sunshy jumped at the sound of a new voice. The male turned his head and regarded this new voice as belonging to a mare around fifteen years old. She had the same cream coat as her mom, but with a short blue mane as her father. Her eyes were the same blue as his and his mother’s eyes. The mare had the cutie mark of a glorious cloud-free day with a shining sun. Even just standing there, she gave off the vibe of someone laid-back who took the world in stride.

“Like my cutie mark? I only just got it. Dad threw a fit about how I was going to be a blank-flank forever, too. But as soon as the cloud cover receded, boom! There it was. Whoahoho, not nearly as sweet as your decal. What is it, by the way?”

“Ah, a manticore and a roll of bandage.” Sunshy wasn’t sure how to handle this either, as his mom and her husband were still having a shouting match.

“Sweet, so you must be a doctor. And that manticore over on the ledge down below must be yours. Never seen one without a big-ass mane, either. I’m Headshot, by the way. Don’t get me started on all the pervert jokes, they were terrible. Just call me Shooty for short. So, you must be Sunshy, the colt from the pictures. Shit are you tall. How tall are you?” Shooty was quite the talker. Maybe that was hereditary…

Oh, question…Let’s see…the average mare is roughly four feet tall, while stallions were roughly half a foot to a foot taller. Zen had to be at least a foot taller than average. Since Sunshy was taller, that’d put him around…

“Six foot five, I’d guess.” Still not as tall as that Legate in Peponi. He had to be eight feet easy! Shooty gave a whistle.

“Damn, you must’ve had one tall father. Or maybe it’s recessive from our mom. I’m taller than most stallions my age.” At that, Sunshy noticed that she was indeed taller than even her own father. He was still shouting at Golden Rays. Both their faces were turning rather purple. “So, I guess you’re my half-brother, then, huh?”

“I…I suppose so.” Sunshy nodded to her. Shooty smiled and held out her hoof. With a light smile, he bumped his hoof against hers.

“Welcome to the family, bro. Don’t worry, dad’ll get over it. Mom always gets her way in the end.”

“SEE?! SHOOTY LIKES HIM! WHY CAN’T YOU?”

“I’M NOT HAVING A DASHITE IN MY HOUSE!”

“I’M NOT GOING THROUGH THIS AGAIN, YOU STUBBORN MULE!”

“DON’T YOU CALL ME A MULE, BITCH!”

“Ohh, crossed a line there.” Shooty whispered to Sunshy.

“Quick Shot.” Golden’s voice, while softer, was icy and more terrifying than when she was shouting. Even Quick Shot seemed to recognize that he had crossed the line. His anger deflated.

“Baby, I didn’t mean it.”

“Get out. I don’t care where you go, just get out. You can come back later, when I’m feeling nice. I want to spend some time catching up with my son. In our house.”

Quick Shot tried to argue, but he decided not to at the absolute glare of death from Golden Rays. It was the sort of stare that a dragon would back down from. Silently, Quick Shot flew off towards New Appleoosa. Golden inhaled and exhaled heavily, trying to calm herself down. Somehow she managed to smile genuinely as she looked to her two children.

“Sunshy, this is Headshot, as you probably know. Her father named her, hoping that was what her special talent would be. I warned him the sort of dirty jokes mean little fillies and colts would make, but he heard nothing of it. I still call her Cupcake, because I wanted to name her that. “Cupcake Shot”” Golden made a purposely bad imitation of Quick Shot, trying to make him sound stupid and extra-grumpy, “ “Is not a name I will curse my daughter with.” What a silly stallion.”

“Like my name is any worse. I bet there are like, dozens of other ponies out there named Headshot. All this fun banter aside, you look half-starved, bro. We got a crap-ton of cloud cakes to stuff you with.” Shooty began walking inside, but stopped. “Hey, what about your manticore? Can’t she stand on clouds?”

Sunshy shook his head as Golden appeared confused. “She tried when we first arrived, but she just fell right through. Just because she has wings doesn’t mean she can stand on clouds.”

“Are you talking about that big old manticore from twenty years ago?” Golden questioned.

“I’m talking about the baby that was with him. She’s all grown up now.” Sunshy quickly walked over to the side of the house, where he could see Celly perched below. He waved at her and motioned to the East. She got the message and took off, following the route back to New Appleoosa.

“Just like you.” Golden smiled at him with misting eyes.

“Mom, save the issues for the tissues. Come on in, Sunny, bet you can’t wait to have mom’s cooking again. Although, we gotta live off ground pony food now. I recommend staying away from meat, except for bacon. That’s some good shit.”

“Young lady, you will watch your language.”

“Fine.” She groaned.

As he walked inside after the two mares, feeling as though he was a stranger intruding on family. No matter if he reminded himself that he was part of this family, it didn’t feel like it. Apparently those feelings manifested physically. Golden Rays and Headshot both scooped him up into a great big hug. Then they set him down on a cloud chair in front of a cloud table. After a moment, the two joined him at the table with cloud cake all around, along with cloud cups of water. So many cloud things…

“Now, you’re going to fill us in on everything that happened since you went to the surface.” Golden stated as Headshot all but smashed her face against the cake in an attempt to devour it all at once.

“Where to begin…” Sunshy wondered before taking a bite of the cake.

“How about from after you ran away after mom told you to flee?” Shooty offered.

Sunshy nodded as he organized the story in his mind.

“And you’re telling us who’s the lucky whatever you’re attracted to that gave you that great hoof band.”

The pony blushed as he turned to Shooty, who appeared as innocent as a puppy. She even had some cake around her muzzle. Damn, was cute genetic in pegasi?! Alongside awesome, of course.

“In my experience, the mare is the one who gets a band like that.” Shooty raised her eyebrows as she pointed to his engagement band.

Should have kept it hidden away…

“Now, Cupcake, some traditions can be broken.”

Oh damn it.

“Or he could be a colt cuddler.”

Shut up!

“Either way. Sunshy, you are my son and I will always accept you.”

Score for awesome moms!

“Is he hot?”

No score for prying siblings.

“Cupcake, you don’t ask questions like that.”

“But I wanna know! I’m forever alone over here!”

“You will use proper grammar when in this house, young lady.”

“I’m a lonely little mare looking for love but shall never find it. That’s not nearly as fun to say as ‘forever alone’, mom.”

“I think you’d like him, Shooty. He says weird things like that, too.” Sunshy interjected with a smile.

“Sweet! And you admitted it’s a buck!”

“He’s also…a zebra.”

“Does he have a weird zebra name? Like some gobbledygook sorta thing?”

Sunshy was rather surprised that Shooty took the news of a zebra fiancé in stride. Maybe that was what her special talent was. Living under the sun, having fun with everyone, no matter what they were. Uncomplicated, like the great blue sky on a sunny day.

“It’s Zen. As in, the teachings of self-enlightenment.”

“Cooooool. So, how’s he in bed?” Shooty put her elbows on the table and head in her hooves, as though she was preparing for a nice long lecture.

“Headshot! You do not ask questions like that!” Golden reprimanded.

“He doesn’t have to answer anyway. Just look at how red you are! Your face almost matches your mane, bro! Haha, I bet that means he’s super good, right?”

Forget what he thought earlier. This was a real family experience. He’d seen it before during his time with the Lace family. Sunshy covered his face with his hooves and wished he could sink through the clouds.

“Alright, sensitive, I’ll lay off. Come on, I wanna hear how you survived in the Everfree Forest for so long.”

With that subject brought back up, Sunshy felt much more comfortable. The pegasus set his hooves back at his sides and nibbled at his cake while embarrassingly waited for his face to stop feeling so hot. As that was counter-productive, he just tried to force out the story. As he went on, it became easier, especially since he omitted the more boring parts of his life. The mares were silent as they listened with rapt attention. After a short while, Sunshy became more animated as he told his story. The mares reacted correctly to certain points in his story, like him dealing with timber wolves for the first time during zap apple season.

Night had set in before the door opened, interrupting Sunshy while he was in the middle of telling his tale of the evil plant-infested stable. Three pairs of blue eyes turned to the doorway separating the kitchen from the front room. Standing under the empty arch was Quick Shot, appearing shamefaced.

“It was completely uncalled for of me to yell and lie as I did. I was afraid your son might tear apart my family and…It’s still hard for me to accept the downfall of the Enclave. I know you’ve been having to deal with my anger issues over it for months now, and I’m very sorry.”

Sunshy was tempted to clap at his little pity-party speech. Shooty and Golden, however, exchanged glances that were sarcastic and disbelieving. Golden waved him off and stated, “You’re sleeping on the couch. Sunny, keep going, what happened with the ivy-ponies things?”

The yellow and red pegasus continued his story where he left off while Quick Shot sulked into the other room. As he talked, a little realization came to him. This was the family he could have had. Shooty, his mom, his step-dad… How different would his life have been if that drop never happened? Sunshy almost laughed at the irony. Here he was, telling a story that only happened because of that accident, and wondering what would happen if it hadn’t happened. Life was strange that way.

When he was too tired to continue after being captured by slavers, the pegasus let out a large yawn. The mares both imitated it unconsciously. Golden led her children out of the kitchen with the announcement that it was time for bed. Upstairs, there were five doors. Shooty explained that one was where they kept their towels, the one next to it was the bathroom, and the other three were bedrooms.

The two mares let Sunshy take the guest room and bid him goodnight complete with goodnight hugs. Smiling warmly, the pegasus took off his saddle boxes, only to have them start sinking through the cloud floor! Quickly, he scooped them back onto his back. Okay, so that explained why they used only clouds for everything. They must not have any enchantments to keep non-cloud material on top of the clouds.

Either way, it mattered little. Sunshy crawled onto his offered bed and lied out. Even with the saddle boxes, he was comfortable. Nothing could beat the comfort of a cloud. Sunshy smiled before his mind wandered. He hoped that Zen was alright, wherever he was. Hopefully, he hadn’t done anything drastic.

Level up! You are now level 19!

Perk Added! Familial Love: You’ve re-gained the love of a family. The happiness in your heart gives you +30 health points!

Companion Perks lost! Zebra Stealth and Don’t Fear the Bomb

Side quest! Ditzy Doo’s Deliveries: Upon asking, you may take a number of side-quests from the famous mailmare Ditzy Doo. Taking on deliveries for her earns you experience as well as caps.

Comments

“He’s a Dashite, woman!" Just a quick note, I don't think you can call female ponies "women" since "men" don't exist...

[Freeflyingwolf]

128232 Some still say 'girl' and 'boy' so women could work. Mare just wouldn't seem right.

[SteampunkBrony]

wonderful chapter as always brony, keep up the good work.

[NeverKnown]

Man that was an awsome chapter i really wasent expecting him to find his mom great work im looking forward to more also.......WOOT FOR FAMILY

ALSO MORE!!!

mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/Fluttershy_Kick.gif
...................if thats ok with you

[Freeflyingwolf]

128692 Thank you!
129284 EEP!