• Published 27th May 2012
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Fallout Equestria : New Roam - Delvius



The city of Roam is tortured by ambient and open hostility. Finally, a Praetorian arises to protect the city like the Legionnaires of old, and nothing will stop him. Nothing but himself, that is.

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Chapter 18 - Sadism and Adaption

Chapter 18
Sadism and Adaption
"Change is coming to the world. Many fear change and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes change is what sets them free."





My eyes opened, and was at once blinded by golden rays of light flowing like a curtain down onto my face from one of the arched windows of the library. I scrambled away, an image of the rising ball of the sun singed into my eyeballs, bright and radiant. Through the blur of temporary blindness I managed to glance around, and saw sleeping forms on the ground next to me: a gray one, a yellow one, and another yellow one, though smaller. A few blinks later and my sight became clear, and confirmed to me that those forms were my friends, who seemed to have used a pile of books as pillows -- the discomfort of that, I only imagined.


I groaned and rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment, and my senses soon registered the soreness of my face from the previous night. Predator had, at least, not broken my nose. And speaking of him, where was he? He seemed, as always, to be off somewhere. Honestly, I wouldn't have been bothered if he appeared from right behind me out of a flash of blue and asked how I slept. Well... actually, the 'asking me how I slept' part might have, but that's not my point.


A few moments later I lifted up a hoof to check the time. It was six AM. I wasn't surprised, as I tended to wake up at that time often. A thought occurred to me, and I checked the radio stations. The DJ's signal was gone, much to my disappointment. So much for getting some news on Equestria.


I laid my hoof back on the ground and sighed. It was pretty early, and my friends were still asleep. Predator was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Zaita nor Doomtune. All that meant that I could read without being disturbed for at least another hour, and I wanted to make use of the time to educate myself before we had to leave this place.


My back crackled a bit as I got up, and afterwards my spine felt less sore. I stretched my limbs a bit and started trotting out of the little circular formation we had all been sleeping in. The fire had thankfully not burned anything, which was a relief. The ash had been spread a bit by some air currents, though.


Before I left I took a look at my friends, all sleeping with some degree of smile on their face. Doodle's was the largest, of course. She held in her hooves a draft sketch of Skyfire in flight, performing an aerial backflip above the city with the sun shining underneath the arch formed by her graceful posture. Next I took a look at Skyfire; she too held something in her hooves: a book, the same Equestrian-Zebra tank comparison book I had seen the night before. She was smiling as well, as though she were having a good dream. There were tears snaking down her cheek, though; perhaps her dream was eliciting tears of joy?


And then there was Myst, curled up in a little field of books, one of which was held in her hooves. I took a look at it, and found it to be of similar topic to the one she had shown me the day before. The difference was that this one was a foal's book: 'Hugs Show Love!' it said. She too was smiling, but it was covered underneath some of her mane. I brushed it aside and saw a blissful and carefree expression, and it warmed my heart.


I looked at her like that for a moment, before Doomtune called out, "Well, this is interesting."


My eyes glanced upwards, and I saw the operative had established a network of wooden plank bridges connecting the tops of different bookshelves. He had apparently devoted such time to building the network that the bridges spanned even across the different sections, and that he had even stacked some books up to create the foundation for ramps which lead to the upper floor. He himself sat on the edge of one of the bookshelves, and looked down at me, an expression suggesting he was grinning beneath his helmet on his face.


"What is?" I asked.


He pointed at her, then at me. "You two... are...?" He asked, sounding genuinely intrigued. Why he would have been intrigued was beyond me.


Well, it's not like it was shameful to admit we were. "Yeah, we are. It's just the second day, though, and honestly I don't know how to act at all. I've... never been in a relationship." Okay, there WAS a bit of shame for that last part.


He shrugged, and pushed himself off of the edge. He landed with a roll, and stood up right in front of me. He said casually, "Neither has she, or so her mumblings tell me. You're lucky, though. Last night while you were out, she was reading these books, these... romance novels and whatnot." He patted me on the shoulder and said softly, encouragingly, "You my friend have got a mare who's too unknowledgeable and innocent about this kind of stuff that she'd do everything she could to make sure she acts appropriate. Not a lot of mares like that; most would just bang you and leave you to rot. My advice? You do the same. Make it a real relationship."


Well... awkward topic of discussion aside, that DID sound like good advice. "Thanks," I replied, and patted him good-naturedly. We exchanged friendly smiles (though I couldn't see his under his helmet), and he trotted past me.


I too was about to trot off, when a memory from the night before slipped into my mind. "Doomtune," I called. I turned, and found him already looking at me questioningly. "Sorry about last night. I... I was just pissed off. I just thought that I had finally gotten some GOOD news, you know? I mean, the fucking Colosseum was there! Yesterday kinda sucked, so I just thought I could sleep with my last thought being good, but then you said it was occupied..." I sighed, and shook my head.


He looked away for a moment, nodding in understanding. Then he clicked his tongue, "Whelp, can't say my story's different. I wanted to have something good to think on too. One of the reasons I went exploring. Saw the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus, and found both to be occupied and turned into a graveyard, respectively." He approached and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "So I guess we both just wanted something to dream of, huh? Can't say I blame you. Roam... it's beautiful, dude. The arches, the roads, the domes... all of it made by the people. So I hope you'll understand that little outburst last night."


I nodded. "Yeah. We're both just stressed out." He nodded as well, and looked down on the ground, pain in his eyes. He hiccuped, and turned around covering his visor with a hoof. "Something wrong?" I asked, concerned. Perhaps he had remembered something painful?


He croaked out, "Just... stressed out." Then he shivered, and said immediately afterwards, "S-so much death."


I took a slow, tentative step towards him, a part of me already aware of what he was talking of. It was kind of hard to miss; I had, after all, failed to help out in it. "What are you talking about?"


He turned, and I saw the anger and hate in his eyes. He let out in one slow, monotone speech, "There was so much of it at the battle, dude. Operatives slaughtered by the dozens, torn to shreds and trampled by tanks. Legionnaires... burned to a crisp, immolated by our napalm. Roamans for miles around were drawn into the fighting, their desperation for-forcing them to side with the group they believed would pull them out of the pit of their lives. Slaughter, so much slaughter... and then the fucking artillery from the mountains crap finally came in after days of fighting, and... and bits flew everywhere..." He shuddered, his shaking reaching his limbs.


"Doomtune..." I said, and took cautious steps forward, reaching out a forehoof to try to calm him down. "I know it's gonna be hard to do, but you need to relax. You need to put this behind you, and move on before you-..."


He grabbed me and drew me close, and stared at me with puffy and fierce eyes. "Don't you tell me to calm down!" He shook his head, all the while staring at me with those wide, crazed eyes of his. "The people, man! The-they fought us! They attacked, day and night, artillery or no, whether we were prepared or not. Gunfire cracked in the air... artillery shrieked in the night... sleep was a dream. War was the reality. We just kept fighting and fighting and... and..." Then he laughed, mad tears streaking out of his glossy eyes.


He pulled me closer, and I dared not attempt to break free. "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" He asked quietly. I shook my head, though I did indeed know its definition. "Insanity is... is doing the same thing, over and over and over again, and... and expecting things to turn out differently. A-and that's what we fucking did! We killed again and again, with the tips of our shovels and the knives on our belts and the guns on our backs, we killed. And each time we did we expected things to change. We expected the battle to end sooner. But no. More troops came in, and we killed again." He laughed again, "And it was insane! All the killing was insane! We were insane, the Legion was insane, I was insane!"


I tried to take a step back, but he gripped me more firmly, and his attention turned to me. "Y-you..." He said, wagging a hoof at me. "You and your friends, you keep fighting to help, right? It'll all be for nothing! You'll just keep fighting and nothing will change! You're all insane, HAHAHAHA!" He laughed in my face hysterically, and I found myself too petrified to do anything. I could only listen and let his laughter echo in my head.


Then two black-clad hooves gripped his neck from behind and pulled him away from me. A foreleg went around his neck and pulled tighter and tighter. Doomtune's eyes bulged in their sockets as he struggled and kicked, reaching out his own forelegs to grapple his assailant. Then his eyeballs rolled into his skull, and he stopped.


Predator released him and laid him gently onto the ground, and the operative's breath left his body. For just a moment, I thought he was dead. Then his chest rose, and I relaxed; he was still alive. My eyes shifted and looked instead to the other operative before me, who was oh so casually dusting his hooves off.


"What a queer occurrence," Predator said flatly, and reached down to his fellow's helmet. He turned the knob on his fellow's headset while simultaneously using the other hoof to select a track from Doomtune's playlist. After a moment, a slow, deep-throated male choir started playing, accompanied by a more subtle female choir.


I found myself at a loss for words, and so said nothing as Predator dragged Doomtune away and laid him against one of the shelves, making him look as though he were asleep. All I could do was blink, unable to think clearly about anything after what just happened.


Predator approached me again, and tapped me on the shoulder, saying as if nothing had happened, "Dwell not on it. That was, after all, what you were trying to tell him, yes? Be a monument to your own words and forget it." He started trotting off, when a voice stopped him cold.


"Mister Predator?" Doodle asked sleepily. We both turned and found her leaning against a bookshelf, a brown, water-stained, torn and dirty teddy bear in her hooves. Where she found that, I didn't know, though I did find it a little surprising and even a little... well, cute. She yawned, "What's with all the noise? Are... are all the poachers here for mister Bear?" She yawned again, and wobbled a little. "Please don't let them get to him..."


I only stared, my mind still slow in adapting to the situation. First last night -- hell, yesterday in general -- then this morning, with Doomtune's little outburst... it was all enough to make me very, very confused. I questioned myself. I played his mad rant on my head again, and I just had to wonder... was I really ready for this life outside? I had trained my whole life; read books on philosophy, art, war, and seen films depicting every genre of media -- I had developed myself to the best of my abilities. But was I ready?


Hm... no. No I wasn't. If I couldn't adapt quickly, I was dead. And I wasn't adapting quickly. For all my preparation, the raiders were more suited to the world than I. Ironic, really, but that was the truth.


Doubt trickled into my veins like poison and I stared blankly at the ground. I gulped and breathed deep, doing my best to try sort through it all. I wasn't even paying attention to when Predator had apparently assured Doodle everything was alright.


"... okay," Doodle said, and it was the only thing I heard from their conversation. Predator watched her trot off and curl back up before he turned and approached me. There was this aura about him, though... something foreboding, I could feel it... it grew with each step. He... he seemed like he was going to...


Like he was going to charge me. I already saw him stomping closer, but then he broke into a full gallop, much to my shock. My eyes widened and I took some steps back, worry mounting in my head. "Predator, what the hell are you doi-..."


His impact against me was quick, painful, made little noise, and punched the breath out of me better than a sledgehammer would have. We flew through the air, and the sudden change of events left me too shocked to attempt to break free. Our landing was noisy, but the fact that we landed all the way in the opposite half of the library would render even screams hard to hear. We rolled to a stop, with him on top. My heart thundered as I fought for breath, and I struggled to think through the wall of sluggishness keeping me in check. I could feel the pain pulsating through my limbs, the adrenaline waking me up. Suddenly, my mind fully awakened, and the thought occurred to me: he was actually attacking me!


The gears of my head started turning. My eyes followed his hooves as he raised them up to strike me, analyzing the situation. Then with speed like lightning, he punched downwards.


My training-developed and combat-tested reflexes took over, and with one quick motion I swiped his limb away and jabbed the guy in the neck before he smashed my face in. The punch did nothing more than get me a little slack as he wobbled to the side, but that enabled me to land two solid uppercuts, forcing him off me. I rolled to the side as he cracked the ground where I had been laying with a powerful stomp, and got up to draw my gladius.


The metal rang in the air as I drew it. "Predator, what the fuck are you doing?!" I asked in a rush, bewildered.


"Teaching you a lesson!" He barked in reply, and lunged forward to tackle me again. This time I jumped to the side, and he landed with a roll as I turned around to face him. He charged me and flew into the air, and I only managed to jump away before his stomp turned me to paste. The force from the impact was so strong, though, that the marble beneath my legs ruptured and a big slab of it shot upwards, with me along with it.


My wings extended as I forced myself to a hover, and I turned around and saw him already sailing through the air towards me. With little thought, I stabbed my blade into his chest as he reached me. The sword skidded across his flesh as though it had struck stone, and ended up piercing only through the side of his vest. The impact once more blew the breath out of me and prevented me from pulling the blade back out. We started hurtling towards the ground, kicking and struggling against each other. He grappled my neck and forced my face to gaze upon the ground, and I knew that if I landed head-first against the floor I would be dead.


My body once more took over, and without any thought, I forced my wings to extend once more. The air slammed into my appendages, the sudden extension forcing my wings to catch the full force of the air resistance. But the pain was worth it because I had altered our fall enough such that he was the one to crash into the ground.


Even if he did smash into the floor first, the impact sent a shock both painful and stunning through my nerves, and a memory of what happened back underneath the bridge flashed in my mind. The landing sent me rolling several feet away, with just enough time to get up before he reached me. By the time I was up, I only had a split second for my body's reflexes to take over and pull my head back before Predator's punch broke my jaw. I staggered back, giving him the opportunity to throw another blow. I parried the strike at my bone's own expense and delivered a swift counterattack to the side of his neck. The punch did nothing, and he threw another blow at me with his other hoof, smacking me in the chest and sending me flying against the wall.


I got up again, fury and an instinct of survival controlling me. It was the fury that drove me to charge and throw savage yet carefully aimed blows at him, most of which he blocked, and it was the instinct for survival that heightened my senses such that I was even able to block his blows despite his beastly and unnatural strength. We were a blur of blocking and punching, so mercilessly fast-paced that the slightest mistake now could mean death. Our blows sailed through the air as we both gave ground to each other, and we found ourselves slowly taking our fight back to the central walkway.


He dove below and blocked a jab, and with a kick tripped me from underneath. I landed flat on my back, but involuntarily rolled away as his rain of quick but hard blows cracked the marble. I returned the movement as he approached me, and sent him tumbling down right next to me and landing on his side. That gave me the opportunity to yank my blade out and try to chop his head off. The sword sparked off the marble as he moved, and before I knew it he was already up. My gladius shot through the air as I aimed a stab at his neck, but he parred the strike with a hoof and with the other jabbed my face, bloodying my muzzle. I staggered back, and he yanked the blade from my loosened grip before rearing and bucking me in the chest, sending me flying and slamming me against a column. I growled furiously as I fought to get back up.


I turned and stepped forward, but immediately recoiled before I accidentally impaled my neck on my own sword. I growled angrily at Predator, who was so calmly pointing my own blade at me. He didn't seem to care at all. How dare he hold that blade, not meant for his hooves! It was meant for me, not him!


After a moment I threatened, "Give. My blade. Back. Give it back, or I swear to every fucking deity that exists I will tear your leg off and cram that sword up ass." And by everything good, I meant what I said.


He stared back at me for a second, not saying anything. Through his opaque visor, he seemed to be scrutinizing me, as though he was gathering information from what had just happened. His silence only intensified my already seething anger, but at last he casually flipped the sword over and tossed it over to me. "There you go," He said as though nothing had happened, and trotted over near a pillar and sat down like no one's business.


I snarled, one part of me screaming for his death at how severely pissed off he made me and another part warning me against trying it. He had after all just tried to kill me, or so it seemed. Despite all my emotional urges to skin the fucker alive, however, I calmed down and approached him. Predator was Predator, after all; he did things for the most bizarre and strange reasons.


I reached him and sat down, and with the remaining anger within me hissed, "Okay, now tell me what the hell all that was about!"


He breathed deep and sighed, "That, Goldwreath, was a test."


"A test?!" I hissed, furious. I said through grit teeth, "I don't know about you, but I like getting some warning before my tests so I can prepare. Surprise quizzes weren't exactly allowed in my Stable."


"Then they should have been," He deadpanned. "Those of you who could survive the tests even without warning -- those of you who were not lulled into false safety, and were not deceived into order -- are the ones best suited for surviving."


I shook my head, annoyed. "And you couldn't have tested me in another manner?"


"No," He replied calmly. "Only tests of reaction tell me how you fare. Besides, had you known you would have altered your behavior. I needed to see just how you acted and how well you performed after being confused and disturbed by various occurrences. Only results under those circumstances can tell me what kind of meat you're made of. I'm actually rather glad Doomtune's stress finally got to him just because the occurrence disturbed you."


"You fucking sadist..." I murmured, and said threateningly, "So you WANTED to be unpredictable? You wanted all this to happen -- and you wanted to attack me -- just t-to see how I would react under all the stress and confusion?" At the time I really wanted to attack the guy even if I knew he'd beat me. What else should I have done? He had purposely taken advantage of my confusion and stress to test me, which honestly was leading to MORE confusion and stress. Somehow I managed to hold my rage back, even if I did pace back and for a moment just to stomp in frustration and disbelief. Yeah, this was what almost every major interaction with Predator was like.


He got up and patted me on the back, laughing as he did. A deep chill shot trough my veins, and for just a second my vision turned so blurry and my limbs so weak I thought I would pass out. It felt like my mind was falling asleep, and I wobbled from the intensity of the sensation. Then after a while I felt good again, and everything seemed fine.


I didn't know why, but it almost felt like I had entered a different world.


"Of course!" He replied eagerly, his voice sounding distant. There was something on his voice, though. Something I couldn't quite fathom, but it sounded... more... mental? His tone turned deadly serious and his voice no longer distant as he said, "After all, the wasteland isn't predictable." He trotted a little way off.


I gathered up some breath to wash away the sensation from earlier. "What do you mean?"


He turned and with startling speed and pressed a hoof to my chest. Again I was confused, this time by how determined he seemed to kill me, then how relaxed he seemed, then how ready for action he was again. "The wasteland is not predictable, Goldwreath!" He repeated. "It is neither merciful nor orderly, and it never will be. It is chaotic and it is random. It can let you wake up to a morning filled with peaceful shopping just to lull you into relaxation, then it will fill your afternoon with the sight of everyone around you erupting from the inside out due to Black Cloud!"


He pushed against my chest and turned around, trotting. Then he got up onto his hindlegs and turned back around. He gestured at the library around us. "Confusion and trickery, those are its main weapons, next to desperation. If you are to survive out here, if you are to accomplish your goal -- your ambitions, whatever they may be -- you must always be prepared. Never believe in relaxation, for it is fleeting."


He chuckled out darkly and let his forelegs fall to his sides, "Instead, believe in the evil of the world. Embrace it, bask in it, love it. Take it within yourself, and grow with it. Nurture it. Learn from it. Become it..." With every word he uttered, the light in the chamber very visibly dimmed until it almost became black. In fact, by the time he was done, it was so dark that it could have been late afternoon. He took several slow steps back, and disappeared into the shadows.


I turned and turned, looking for him in the shadows; the coward! Did he not believe in his lies enough to spew them in my face? Instead he hid like rat! "No!" I yelled, "That's not true! I must fight darkness, not become it. What manner of madness are you trying to teach me?"


His response sounded like the groaning of a building about to collapse, "The truth." And with that, the light died completely and the library was shrouded in darkness.


I shook my head and activated my Pipbuck's lamp, only to see the light sinking back into the screen like a black hole consuming light. His voice came again, rasping like a blade scraping on a rock, "Ah, you think that light combats darkness? No, no, that is wrong!" He laughed, "Light, Goldwreath, throws itself upon darkness like water on a mountain. It takes away layers, slowly and tediously; its weapons are ineffective simply because they lack understanding. But luckily for us, darkness provides the means to its own destruction. We simply have to take those weapons up ourselves, and this is where most falter. They do not see that, for the greater good, they must sacrifice themselves."


"That's wrong!" I stomped in obstinate refusal. "Only an unshakable will, noble means, and a noble cause can change the world. Never has it been said that people had to become villains just to end an evil," I declared, and nodded myself in reassurance.


My mind and heart alike were aching from his words, though. My mind, for it had been brought up with knowledge of a clear line between right and wrong and was now being forced to see beyond that line; my heart, because deep down there there was a Stable pony who had hopes and dreams of living in a safe world, and those hopes were dying from the poison of all this. A traitorous part of me wanted so desperately to agree with him, and it hurt. It hurt because I could see the logic in his words; idealism, unguided and untrained, did indeed end in tragedy. But through experience... we could learn to manipulate the world. In essence, we could control it at least a degree. And was that not what I needed? Control to manipulate the circumstances leading to the creation of raiders and slavers and other scum? Was that not what I wanted?


Yes... yes it was. And Goddesses damn me, Predator was right: the only way to learn to get the control I needed for my ambition was to learn to thrive in the world, and that was only possible by adapting to it.


Was I to become a barbarian to have shot at saving civilization, or was I to remain Roam's Praetorian only to watch it crumble around me?


Predator, ever omniscient of my thoughts, cackled with sadistic glee, "Yes, now you're getting my point! To fight darkness, Goldwreath -- to save your beloved society from itself -- you must understand it. Do not oppose it, rather learn from it as I have. Become it and then undermine it; understand your enemy first, and you will learn to manipulate it. Fear, chaos, pain -- experience them, and they will numb you so you see the world with perfect clarity, unsaturated by the colors of emotion and ethics. You must let go of personal integrity to save the world, Goldwreath. Become the villain of the piece."


I forced in a sob as I fought to keep my thoughts true to myself. He was right, and yet he couldn't be right, he just couldn't be. I couldn't for my own sake take in his lies... and yet I was. My heart ached from the pain of the truth that my mind, now bent to this evil, so callously accepted. Suddenly, the path to a glorious Roam became very clear to me: my very identity had to die for her, not just my body.


"No," I coughed out, my resistance dwindling with every second. Out of desperation I flew into the air, yelling, "This is all meant to corrupt me, isn't it?! It's all meant to twist and confuse! You... you're not Predator, are you?! Predator still had some goodness in him, he would never say these things!" The tears flowing to my eyes came out freely as I no longer tried to hide my heartache.


Then an invisible force whipped at my wings, paralyzing them with pain. I fell to the ground, coughing as I felt my lungs inflate and pop. Every single breath was unbearable, and felt like acidic vapor in my body. I wailed and thrashed around, agonized. The very tears on my face seemed to boil like oil, cooking my flesh.


"Embrace the pain!" He yelled, and then my brain started stinging like alcohol had been poured all over it. I exhausted my already burning lungs with my agonized and tortured screams, and I was left panting in blissful numbness as my nerves cut off the sensations. He just laughed, and I could do nothing but cover my ears from the jeering. I crawled away, my eyes tearing up from the doubt. I just had to get out of this field, and then I could get away from this fucker and his lies. I had to... I couldn't listen to his words, so finely fashioned to sound like the only route... There had to be a better way, there just had to be... there had to be a way to drag society out of its darkness without becoming it, there just had to be...


Through all my mental and physical agony, I managed to cry out obstinately, "N-no! I'll never embrace this madness! You can't make me!" But with the terrible doubt and fear came desperation, and so I screamed with what will I could muster, "Myst, Skyfire! HELP ME!" The exhaustion from it forced me to collapse, and I instinctively curled up.


He laughed at how pathetic I was, and a great wind picked up within the library. With the wind came a noise the very sound of which felt like I was having an icepick shoved into my head: Tod's signal. The loud cracks and thumps of the columns and shelves as they were torn from their positions and crashed into each other filled the air, and they started flying like a tornado in the wide and shadow-shrouded space. The tiles beneath me became hot as fire, and that only served to intensify my languishing. Books flew in the air and slammed into me as I cringed in fright and terror.


"Embrace the CHAOS!" His voice boomed like thunder, and the very air I breathed seemed to turn into oil, slimily slipping down my raw throat and nasal cavity. My fur seemed to turn into spikes as they stood on end, seeming to come together in solid little patches that soon started resembling plates. Plates that seemed to turn darker with each second... plates that seemed to turn into something else...


"NOOOOO!" I yelled continuously as I stared with horror down at my hooves, already mutating into monstrous black and chitin-clad limbs, tipped with talons like scimitars. "MYST, SKYFIRE, DOOMTUNE! HELP ME!" I turned and started galloping even as my flesh started erupting with carapace and my wings started twisting into... into perverted excuses of wings. I dared not look at myself, that's what he wanted. He wanted me to be petrified with fear, well it wasn't going to happen!


"And where are you going?" He asked, his voice resounding through the library. "Do you not want to save your friends? Why are you running from them?"


I stopped short, even as my pain and desperation screamed for me to keep running. I couldn't help it, I turned around.


His glowing red eyes pierced through the darkness with clarity, and they steadily grew in size as he approached from the shadows. Beside him floated, encased in a scintillating field of green, two forms; my friends, frozen in place, their faces the very epitome of terror.


No. NO! Not my friends, you fucking monster! They deserved none of this, it was me you were trying to poison, leave them out of it! This... this wasn't possible, none of it. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. This was some kind of nightmare, it just had to be! There was no reason on this world for such evil phenomenon to happen to those who didn't deserve it!


Myst struggled, but her head was all that moved as she fought to move her limbs. I could only watch, the fiercest of hate building up inside of me. Then she looked at me seething at Predator, and wailed out, "Goldwreath! Please, help us! He's... he's insane!" Then she broke out into tearless sobbing as she pleaded, "Please... I'm so scared..."


Skyfire looked at her friend with concern and then gave Predator a hateful glare. "Let us go, fucker! Let us go or so help me I will bust your head open with my own hooves!" She screamed as she went into a fit of savage yanking and jerking, and all the while Myst just mumbled pleas.


"Quiet, Skyfire," He said simply, and both of their fields crackled with electricity, frying their fur and eliciting wails of pain from them both. The sight of it wiped out all doubt, and I knew what I had to do.


"Enough, enough! Damn it Predator, enough!" I shouted, taking a step forward towards the shadowy operative, concern and anger competing for dominance.


The crackling stopped, leaving them both panting and weak. I shook my head at the direness of the situation, and looked at Myst. She was so weak she couldn't even open her eyes. "Yes? You have something to say?" Predator asked, his tone dripping with amusement.


I took in a deep breath and looked him right in the eyes, trying not to cry for my friends even as they seemed to be dying right next to me. "I get it, you've made your point. I'll embrace the pain, the chaos, the fear, just let them go. It was ME you were trying to educate, not them! Leave them out of it, and I'll learn whatever your fucked up doctrine has to teach."


I didn't want to, and I couldn't, not for anything. But... what was I if I let them suffer for something that was supposed to be for me? What kind of Praetorian, no... what kind of friend would I be? I gulped and let the angered tears roll down my face. I was going to save them from is, even if I had to let him corrupt me. I could take it, come on you motherfucker.


"Good," He said, pleased. "Now, let's start over again, shall we? But let's start from fear first. What is it you fear, Goldwreath?"


I shook my head, my mind scrambling to find a way to get us out of this. To get us out of here before he killed us all in one way or another. Before something happened that nothing, not even time, could heal us for. "I-I don't know. I fear... failure?"


"Very good. And what is it you fear to fail most at the moment?" He asked, and the fields surrounding my friends seemed to tighten, squeezing the breath out of them even as they panted for breath.


"Fuck! I... I-I fear to fail in saving my friends! There, I said it!" I stammered, too fearful for my friends' welfare to give my answer definitely.


"Very good. At least you know how to identify what truly concerns you in times of crisis. So you fear to fail in saving your friends, hmm..." He cleared his throat and continued, "And what, Goldwreath, would you do if I, say... set your friends on fire and tossed them over to you?"


My breath left my body, my heart stopped for a moment, and my mind froze. When I finally managed to speak, I said very cautiously, "You wouldn't. There's more to you than that, Predator. There's more to you than the monster. You... you wouldn't just kill them! YOU WOULDN'T!"


He chuckled, "Oh, but I would."


And with that, both fields of green burst into flames, immolating my friends and and taking their wales and screams of pain to new heights as they fell to the ground, rolling and desperately trying to put the flames out. I could see them reaching out to me, begging for assistance. As with most occurrences that were simply too overwhelming for me to process, I stared, frozen in both thought and action.


There were so many things I could have done. I could have galloped and yanked them from the doors of death, and then beat Predator senseless. I could have galloped over there and put out the flames torturing them or get myself burned trying. I could even have gone to look for Doomtune, even if that wasted precious time; it was still something. At least it was better than just standing there with a heart and mind too shocked that I didn't even feel any urgency any more.


I was too slow. By the time I could act again, they were still. They were nothing but charred, burned corpses. No life, no voice, no hope... and I didn't feel a damned thing. I think that I had possibly reached the point on the emotional scale that, once passed, would render me a husk; emotionless and dead. I should have been crying, right? I should have hated myself and hated Predator with the wrath of all twenty-eight of Roam's ancient legions. I should have... gods and Goddesses, I should have joined them. At least in death, we were together in whatever blissful afterlife there was. At least in death I could be with the only ponies I knew who were noble and brave enough to accompany a mad stallion, driven by impossible ambition. At least I could be with the ponies who were kind enough to give me their friendship, even their love.


There really wasn't much to think or to say. I had quite simply failed again, and this time the victims were my friends.


Slowly, I made my way over to their corpses. They were so still, so peaceful... so untroubled by the world. I handled them with as much care and reverence as I had Lighthouse's corpse, and only now did it truly hit me: they were dead. Their hearts were still, their lungs breathless, their pulse nonexistent...


Both of them... gone.


Skyfire had so much ahead of her. If there was any hope of seeing her family again or of finding some satisfaction in her love life, it was gone. Regret, not sadness or anger, swelled up inside me. Regret at having so cruelly refused her. Now... now nothing was left. Nothing but guilt on my part and a lonely, painful death on hers. I'd miss her mad rants and rash actions, more than I would most anything else.


And Myst... the first pony who'd ever cared for me for who I was was gone. Removed from existence, burned, dead! And this, this made me angry! The wasteland was a vile place filled with unjustified hate and cruelty, but this... how cruel could the universe be to deny us that? We were all lonely souls, troubled and worn, who just wanted to have a break. Could we not be spared that? Could we not be given true respite? Could the world not be kind for once? Now I would never hear her stammers and squeaks anymore. And all of this misery... caused by the hooves of a crazed maniac formed by the wasteland. Now we would never get to know each other.


And yet for all there was to do and to hate and to say, I just held them and cried. My friends were gone, there was nothing to be done. Nothing but to weep their loss; the loss of true, good ponies, however imperfect they may have been. The world was lessened with their deaths; whatever civilization would come should I finish my mission would be different with them not there to help shape it.


Predator only stared at me silently, and I hated him for it. I hated him for doing this. For taking away what I had in the name of helping me. I didn't want his help, I wanted my friends back. I wanted a world where people lived instead of survived, where ideals such as his weren't so painfully logical.


"Such a pity," He said flatly. "Your mind and heart are traumatized, I will leave you be for awhile. Let your emotions settle, and when you are ready, come to me. With your emotions for them out of the way we can continue unhindered." And with that, the light returned. It was dim and lifeless now, though; it was a mockery and perversion of the hope that each day brought. It only served to caption the misery of the day, not to reduce it.


Anger boiled up inside of me. Pure rage and hate, pumping through my veins like magma. Revenge was the only thing that came to mind, and it rendered me so fiercely focused on vengeance. I was that: a pony-shaped manifestation of swift retribution. Nothing would stop me. No moral would hold me back. No mercy would be given.


No more second chances.


I rose, letting what had once been my friends slide to the side. I could feel the fury overflowing within, overriding all other thoughts and emotions and hijacking my body. I let it, because there was absolutely no alternative. There was no action that could be done to correct this terrible event. But at least his death would satisfy me. And so I charged, screaming at the top of my lungs. For them and for the sake of all things sane and good, this maniac had to die.


He turned and saw me charging, and readied himself in a combat stance. I didn't care; no amount of his ungodly strength or monstrous physique would save him now. He opposed me and all I stood for, and I opposed him and all he stood for. I should have known it sooner, but I did now: we were incompatible, and that could only lead to confrontation. We were both Roamans, shamelessly declaring our beliefs, however contradictory. That could only lead to fighting.


But it was natural, for we were both from Roam. And Roam was a city of war, after all.


And yet... and yet for all the rage pumping through my veins like lava, for all my hate and sorrow over the death of my friends, for all the madness I had witnessed, I couldn't help but hear something. It was distant, an echo, but was steadily growing louder... hell, even Predator seemed to notice. And so, like psychopaths with more indecision than concentration, we stopped. We stopped and listened, both of us seeming confused by the noise. What exactly was that? It was becoming clearer, though... it was...


"Mister Predator?" Doodle's voice echoed from the walls and floor of the library, similarly to Predator's voice. "Mister Predator? Mister Goldwreath? Um... miss Myst's awake, and she's wondering where mister Goldwreath is. Hellooooo?"


Predator's glowing eyes widened. "No..." He murmured, and looked to me with what appeared to be uncertainty. Then he hung his head and sighed heavily. "Lesson's over, boy," He said, and then just like that, he disappeared from sight. No trace, no flash... he just vanished.


And then that same sensation from earlier came. My vision blurred and my mind froze so severely that I thought I would pass out. Once more I wobbled, and from the intensity of the sensation closed my eyes and fell down. After a deep breath, though, everything seemed fine. I felt as though I were in a new world.


When I opened my eyes, I was indeed on the ground. Wait... no, not the ground, at least not completely. My upper half was slumped against the pillar. This wasn't where I had fallen when I wobbled just a moment ago. No, this was where I had sat when he patted me earlier.


A glance to the side let me see Predator talking to Doodle just a little way off. My eyes widened and immediately darted around. No corpses, no scattered books or toppled bookshelves... not even a single piece of chitin on my body. My mind and heart were left painfully confused by the sudden flow of relief and bafflement. Had... had all that been some kind of... dream?


"Please inform Myst that Goldwreath is right here with me," Predator said warmly as he accompanied Doodle a little way off to an aisle.


"Alrighty, mister Predator!" She giggled, and cantered down the aisle. A little later there was the sound of her voice ringing through the chamber as she called for Myst.


Predator approached me. "So," He said, "How was the simulation?" There was a little hint of pride in his voice.


"S-simulation?!" I stammered angrily. The floodgates holding in my feelings when I thought my friends had died had burst and out of it poured forth a furious deluge of raw emotion.


"Yes, the simulation. Think of it as a really convincing dream. That little trick of mine took me quite some time to develop, and you're actually one of the few people I've used it on. Good practice, I say; I may have put too much emphasis on the effects, though," He replied.


"Y-you fucked with my head!" I yelled, "You made me think my friends were dead and you did it WILLINGLY! You attacked my beliefs and my will! You tried to corrupt me, you tried to break me! And after all that you think you can just talk to me?"


"Of course! Especially considering you enlisted my aid," He replied with a dry chuckle. "Oh, and I didn't try to 'break you', I was educating you. Of course, it's in a mental landscape that I could create phenomena that would help drive my point into your absurdly thick skull."


He sighed and shook his head. "Now for my assessment. I consider my methods unorthodox and perhaps a little extreme for some of the weaker-willed individuals, but you seem to be set enough in your beliefs to overcome most obstacles. And you didn't let yourself be swayed, which is good, that is until I brought your friends into the picture." He brought a hoof up to the tip of his breathing apparatus and rubbed it. "Now, that may be a bit of a hindrance considering they're always in danger, so-..."


I landed a solid punch against his face, breaking his train of thought. I was so mad that I wanted to beat his limbs to a pulp. He'd deliberately used the fact that I asked for help from him to torture me in my own mind. I couldn't accept that; I couldn't shake the anger and betrayal. So when he fell backwards from the force of my blow, I took the opportunity to pounce on him and rain a series of blows so hard it would have broken any regular person's neck.


I didn't care. He was no person; he was an abomination, just like the chimeras. He and his fucked up manner of thinking deserved no consideration from me, and so I just kept stomping and raving, hoping that his head and helmet would flatten beneath my force. He didn't even try to fight back, and I just used that to keep knocking his head against the ground again and again. I didn't think of anything but inflicting as much pain as I could.


The only thing I noticed through rage was Myst and Doodle entering from the aisle.


"Mister Goldwreath and Mister Predator are right here, and I think that--MISTER GOLDWREATH!" She shrieked in horror as she saw me pounding the operative's head again and again. Myst came in fully from the aisle, and at the sight of what I was doing she cringed and gasped.


Doodle ran up to me and held onto one of my hooves even as I raised it up. Predator made no noise. "Mister Goldwreath! Wha-what are you doing? Don't hurt mister Predator, that's mean!" She wailed.


"You wanna know what's 'mean', Doodle?" I snapped at her, causing her to let go of me and step back, frightened. I looked her right in the eyes and said threateningly, "What's mean is trying to make someone think that the only way to help people is to become a bad person. What's mean is purposely hurting someone's feelings just to teach you a lesson that makes no sense. What's mean is making someone worried all to fucking hell that his friends were burned right in front of him!" I shouted, and rained a last series of savage stomps onto the guy's neck and chest. Doodle was just like me when I supposedly saw my friends burn: frozen in shock.


Finally I stopped, and before I got up spat on his helmet. I stomped away even as Doodle started crying, hugging the operative as he simply got up and dusted himself off. The mere sight of that made me want to attack again; I still had a lot of anger in me! But I decided against it. He wasn't worth the effort.


Myst reached out a hoof to try to touch my shoulder as I passed by. "G-goldwreath? Are you ok-..."


"No I'm not," I snapped coldly, making her yank her hoof back in fear. I gave her a good long glare, and stomped off. I heard her hiccup behind me, but I didn't care. You'd think that after seeing a mental image of her burned to death I would have hugged her and cried out tears of joy, but you'd be wrong. Anger didn't fade just like that, and only in the very depths of my consciousness did I berate myself for acting so cold towards her.


There was nothing to be done about it. Now I was given far more emotion and thoughts to sort through, and I needed to be alone. No one could help me, not even Myst. I needed to be alone, I needed to process this myself. But first I needed to vent this anger and hate.


I needed to break something with my bare hooves.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

The old wooden chair smashed against the marble column and broke into a dozen pieces, sending splinters and dust flying off in all directions like a small detonation. Next I turned and bucked the thick semi-circular wooden cashier table hard, turning it over and sending it sliding across the balcony floor before crashing into the marble railings. I kicked in the screen of the old computer I had scattered over the floor as I made my way to the table. When I reached it I set it upright again, and started mercilessly stomping it with as much fury as I could muster. If I couldn't crack Predator's bones, then at least I could split a table in half.


SMASH! There went my fury over Predator's betrayal of my trust.


SMASH! That was all the anger and worry for my friends.


SMASH! That was for my integrity, you son of a bitch.

SMASH!


With the fourth strike, the table cracked down the middle and collapsed. Next I grabbed each half and tossed them over the balcony, sending them crashing against a bookshelves. I stood there, panting out the last of my frustration and blinking the dust out of my eyes. The effort had left me physically numb and mentally blank, and honestly my hooves were quite sore from all of the stomping I did. So I just sat down and covered my face.


That was it then. Within three minutes, I had completely obliterated the upper floor's single cashier counter. If there were more I would have trashed those too, but honestly I wasn't sure if I could have. Even for all my strength, I had only managed to crack the tiles with my stomps. That wasn't enough to break more tables.


I honestly didn't know what to feel then. There was confusion, among other things, but everything else was... well, gone. The destruction had cleared my head enough to allow me to think without having my emotions bombard me with images and memories, both from recent and long-past experiences. Perhaps caution and prudence -- things I had in fair quantities but were at the moment out of my system -- would have made me take in Predator's words and attempt to... to analyze the potential; you know, I'd diagnose it. If I were to compare it to Stable terms, the wasteland was... a self-sustaining problem, and Predator's advice was an... experimental solution.


The problem was just that, though: it was experimental. Logically, opposites cancel out each other. What he was asking me to do, though -- become evil to undermine evil -- that was just... wrong. How could I maintain who I was if I even attempted that? To fix a society that bred this sort of madness, I would do anything, but... but not if I had to forsake who I was for it. I would not risk my sanity like that, it was too much to ask of anyone.


Not long did I sit there, still in body save for my heavy panting as I covered my face with a hoof, when I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Her touch was soft and kind; it almost made a wan smile cross my face. Almost.


"G-goldwreath..." She started, soft as usual. "Um... are you... okay?" There was this tone in her voice; something that seemed to indicate that she wouldn't stop wondering whether or not I was until I gave a definite answer.


"No I'm not," I replied, less coldly this time. I took away my hoof and glanced up to see her looking down at me worriedly. I couldn't blame her; I was volatile and unstable, and recent events weighed heavily on my mind.


She looked away for a moment and whined quietly, then said softly, "Skyfire's trying to get Predator to tell us what... what he did to you. Knowing him, he might actually have told us already. It would be good if he did, but... " She shook her head and looked at me right in the eyes. "... but I want to hear it from you."


I grimaced and sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea..." But, judging from how many books I had read with a theme of 'holding one's problems to oneself' and how the character went crazy from their problems, I decided to say it anyway. "... but you need to know, I guess. Not sure how you can help, though."


She gulped and nodded, preparing herself for what must have seemed like a horrifying revelation. She sat down next to me and pressed herself softly against my side.


I took a moment to think on how to start, scratching at the ground with my hoof. I myself wasn't sure how to go about the explanation; this wasn't exactly the sort of thing I had prepared myself to talk about when I left my home. Sure, I knew the wasteland was fucked up, but I always thought of it on a physical basis, not a psychological one. The truth was just that the wasteland was a far more imposing mental opponent than a physical one for the equipped wastelander. As for those not prepared for either the mental or physical stress... well it was them whom I was fighting for.


Still, I managed to get it out eventually.


"Predator... he's got these sort of... like, psychic powers, if that makes sense." I looked to her and saw an understanding though slightly quizzical look on her face. "You know, similar to... like those things in the tunnels. I'm not sure if he's the same as them or if he's different, though. And... I'm not sure if I want to know. But I know he's a monster, and in more ways than one." Her eyes widened with terror and understanding, and a hint of horrified remembrance. The look on her face suggested she knew that the talk may invoke some frightening memories from when we were in the tunnels. I didn't want to make her more uncomfortable, especially not after thinking on how volatile we all could have been under the stress.


"Listen, Myst, if you don't feel like you want to do this, then you don't have to," I offered, ears drooping. I prayed that she would stay; I needed to talk about this, I couldn't keep it in me. Not like my other problems.


She took in a shaky breath and wrapped a foreleg around me, rubbing it along my back. She was urging me to continue, and it brought a little warmth to my heart. The feeling of her next to me... alive and well... it comforted me and warded off the memory of what happened earlier enough for me to continue. I looked to her and gave her a smile, which she returned as best she could.


"Alright then," I murmured, still smiling. Then the smile disappeared, and my thoughts turned grim once more. "Now, thing is..." I started again, shaking my head in uncertainty. "He's kind of... deranged. Psychotic, depressed, crazy, angry, or just plain fucked up... I don't know which, and he could be all of it for all I know. The things he says and the things he backs them up with... he's scary, Myst. He's scary, and I don't know what to do about him. I don't know how to react to this sort of thing..." I looked away.


She turned my head around and looked me right in the eye. I gulped, ashamed of my uncertainty. "Then why don't we just get rid of him?" She asked. "He hurt all of us, in one way or another. He tried to kill you and Skyfire, he doesn't let us keep our secrets, now he's giving you bad advice, and he doesn't even seem like he wants to help us." Then she gave an assertive little stomp. "If it were up to me, he'd be gone already..." She murmured.


I thought of that for a moment, then looked away again. "Because," I said uncertainly, "He's... I don't know, he knows things. He's intelligent and he knows what to do. The things he says and the things he does seem like the right things... at least right by wasteland standards."


"You shouldn't listen to him," She said determinedly. She wrapped her other foreleg around me. "You're smart, Goldwreath. You've got a good heart, surely you don't think that he's right." She frowned. "He can't be right."


"But what if he is?" I replied. "He's fucking insane, but what if he's right? What if I do have to... to become like the world around me to fix it? What if it's the only way? What if, to keep us all alive, I need him to stay?" Then I grimaced and whispered, "What if he's the only one who can give me the only advice that's true -- true, as in the truth?"


Her eyes darted between my own, looking sad. "You don't usually think like this," She said simply. I looked away in shame; she was right, I didn't. This wasn't me. This was clearly the product of stress and the stuff I was forced to try to stomach. But what could I do? The wasteland wore everyone down; it changes them. That was what was happening to me, there was no denying it.


I tried to pull away -- she didn't need to be troubled with this -- but she held me where I was. "Tell me," She insisted. "What did he do?" I didn't want to tell her, but the pleading look in her eyes were breaking me down. This was what I wanted, right? I always wanted to be given attention, well now I was getting. Better not be a hypocrite.


I sighed and looker her right in the eye. "He made me think you were dead." I shifted uncomfortably. "He broke into my head, put me in a dream of some sort. Then he... he did things. Told me things. He nearly drove me against myself. It was insanity, all of it. None of what he told me... I don't want to believe any of it. But he made it sound so absolute, so inescapable..."


I sniffed and felt tears run to my eyes. "He killed you both right in front of me. And... and I did nothing. I was too shocked, too slow to react. Too emotionally blank to feel anything at first, and too much of a failure to do anything when you asked for help. It scared me, Myst. I don't want to fail you and Skyfire like that in reality, I don't..." I choked in a sob. "Then... then when I found out it was all a dream and that he orchestrated it all... I was so mad. I just wanted to cast him into oblivion, but I can't. I can't because I can't just blow the bastard's brains out, and because I feel so lost that only he seems like he can tell me what to do."


I sniffed again and lay my head against her. I was managing to hold in most of my sobs, at least. It wasn't just what he did that was causing all of this, though. Everything that had happened was causing this -- everything from my first kill all the way to Doomtune's little outburst of wartime stress. Everything had been so quick... and I had been so unprepared. Back in the Stable, I had thought that all I was doing -- all the books I read, all the movies I learned from, all the training I went through -- would prepare me for some greater existence beyond the tediums of Stable life, but they didn't. I wasn't prepared for any of this. I was so lost in my own thoughts and feelings it was hard to know if I was still even sane.


"So... now you know what he did," I said softly, and just let her hold me close, hoping she'd understand. I needed to just let it all go for a moment.


For a moment we just sat there, with her stroking my mane gently and holding me close. It felt so good, so relaxing. It was like I could just relax for a moment, let the world go by as it would. Like I could just not care for anything for a moment. It was a perfect moment to relax; to just let my mind... flush out everything.


But like Predator said, relaxation was fleeting.


"Guys!" Skyfire's voice echoed, jarring my mind out of its fairly relaxed state.


I opened my eyes and looked aside, and barely managed to see her orange blur as she passed in between some columns, searching for us. She flew over an aisle for a moment, and her eyes spotted us as she hovered there. Then she flew over and hovered in front of the balcony.


There was only the barest hint of discomfort in her eyes as she looked me and Myst over. "I... found out what Predator did," She said simply, and an angered frown crept into her face. Then she frowned concernedly as she saw me looking at her with a lost expression. "I... just wanted you to know that you can go to the Colosseum with Myst if you want. I won't mind."


... what?


Myst, barely keeping her own confusion from showing, asked, "Um... c-could you say that again?"


Skyfire sighed, "I think I'll just go out and say it, Myst." She took in a deep breath and landed on the balcony, right in front of us.


"Predator knows you and Goldwreath here are together. He said that Goldwreath just wanted to go to the Colosseum with you before we had to head over to the Forum; something about this maybe being his only chance." She looked at the ground sadly, but her eyes glanced at me. "He said that the reason you were so angry was because he kept insisting that if you went without me, then I would be... well, broken hearted."


I shook my head, eyes narrowed in confusion. The only part of that I got was 'broken hearted'. "Yeah... what?"


Skyfire looked me right in the eyes. "Goldwreath, I know you and Myst are together, and I know that you feel regret at leaving me..." She took in a slow, shaky breath. "... at leaving me alone."


"No shit," I murmured blankly, still confused as hell. "So, all that stuff about the Colosseum..."


She stomped assertively; she did it a lot better than Myst. "Goldwreath, don't try to hide it. I know you just wanted to have something good in the day, I know that you just wanted to see it even after what Doomtune said, and I know that you wanted to go there with Myst. You don't need to feel any guilt at going there without me. If you really want, just go. I won't mind."


My eyes widened with understanding. Predator had... had told her that the reason what happened earlier happened was because he knew that Myst and I were together, and that I wanted to go to the Colosseum with Myst, without Skyfire... and that I was angry because he kept insisting that doing that would upset her? Oh, that convoluted son of a bitch...


I looked to Myst, whose eyes were wide in realization. I gulped and nodded, hoping she understood that I wanted to play along just for the moment. It seemed like she did.


I looked back to Skyfire. "Well... that was... considerate of him."


She sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She scratched the back of her head and turned around. Then she said softly, "You should probably go while you can, you know, before more fucked up stuff happens..."


Then she started trotting down the stairs, eyes downcast. She paused just long enough to croak out, without even looking at us, "Glad for you guys, by the way." Then she reached the bottom floor and turned a corner, and disappeared from sight.


I was left frozen once more. Okay, so I woke up to a stress-invoked conversation from Doomtune (with a side dish awkward topic about Myst), then I had been attacked by Predator and put into a forced dream in my own mind just to 'teach' me some lesson about becoming like the world. After that I had broken down where I sat, and conversed with Myst about my problems. AFTER that, Skyfire came by and told me Predator's falsified little story and told me she knew Myst and I were together... oh yeah, this day was looking to really suck.


Myst shook me slightly. "What do we do?" She whimpered, "Oh, I feel so guilty. Skyfire sounded so sad..."


I thought for a moment, my thoughts caught between wondering how to deal with Skyfire and what to do next. I grimaced from the thought that came into my head amidst all the confusion. Oh this was just great...


I got up, altogether bewildered. Again, if I had known my life would have gotten this complicated this quickly I'd have shot myself from the mere madness of it all. "Come on, Myst," I said as I looked at her.


"Where are we going? What are going to do?" She asked as she got up and started following me to the stairs.


"We're going to the one person that can clear all this shit up," I grumbled. Her eyes widened with confusion. I sighed, "I wonder if Predator planned all this just to screw my day up..."

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

We reached the bit of the main walkway that we had slept in the night before. Doomtune was slumped against the bookshelf from earlier, Doodle and Skyfire were nowhere to be seen. Predator, though, sat calmly on a chair as he read a book.


I spoke softly to Myst, "Let me do most of the talking, alright? I know that... that you might be mad at him and want to give him a piece of your mind. I do too, but we're here to determine just what to do now. Knowing him and how he reacts to angry comments, we'll probably never hear the end of the conversation if we bring it up. Alright?" She screwed up her face in contemplation, but then she sighed and nodded.


"Good," I murmured. We approached him.


"Yes, how can I help you?" Predator asked simply as we neared. There was something wrong with his voice; it sounded too... mechanical, like there were a pair of speakers inside his throat. Now his voice no longer sounded like the typical rasp I had come to associate with him; rather, it was quite clear and an octave lower than normal, and in addition he sounded disturbingly charismatic with his new dual-speaking voice.


"What's wrong with your voice?" Myst asked with disgust; clearly she still hadn't come to accept his presence as much as Skyfire and I had or come to love him as Doodle had (though why Doodle cared about him so much eluded me), but was curious enough about him to ask. I cleared my throat loudly, and her ears drooped. She sighed and took a step back.


He breathed in slowly for a moment as he looked at a page on the book he was reading; his breathing sounded much louder now, almost as if they were amplified. Then he looked up at us from the chair he sat on and replied, now with far more discernible emotion in his voice, "Oh, you needn't know, Myst." He hesitated for a moment, and said with just a touch of uncertainty, "Suffice it to say that the beating your lover over here gave me damaged my vocal cords. I'll fix them later."


Myst and I blushed and looked away from each other.


Predator snickered and looked to me. "Ah, Goldwreath. Recovered from the trauma yet? Our lessons have yet to end."


I wanted to yell a reply, as the thought of more sessions like the one earlier this morning horrified me, but honestly there was no point. Plus, knowing him, he'd probably have loved to know he was still on my nerves; his recently shown overly-sadistic side was like sadistic like that. "Well, if my having no emotions on the subject means yes, then yes," I replied calmly.


"Understandable," He replied, "Your mind is shocked, to put to simply. It's subconsciously attempting to cope with all the emotional pain it has had to go through. Like the body, it goes numb when too much is inflicted upon it. The extent of how much I can do to your head before you stop feeling things is a matter of debate, of course."


"Don't press your luck," I threatened. "I don't know who or... what you are, but do that again and I will wipe your name from history. Honestly, there are people out there who at least think of trying to NOT kill someone in their plans; you, though, seem to plan things just to hurt people. The random wastelander or mercenary at least have the excuse of needing to survive, but you're just a damned sadist."


"Perhaps," He replied calmly. "But It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plans. My plan to get myself noticed by the Imperial government during the war, for example. No one cared who I was until I put on my masks, but now I am the subject of great interest for many. Now all my nothingness when I was a little colt doesn't matter; who I was doesn't matter." He looked me over. "I have a feeling your story will not be so different. In the future, people won't care who you were; they'll care about what you did." He chuckled, "You and I, we won't be so different."


I shook my head; all of this was plain madness. He was just too difficult to understand. First he was an evil abomination that I wanted to kill, then he turned out have a heart and that he in fact was trying to keep himself under control. A while back he seemed fine enough to at least talk to. Now... now he was so different. He didn't seem this sadistic, nor did he ever talk of having any ambitions, nor did he act so philosophical. Granted, his whole 'I must suffer for my sins' thing was pretty deep in thought, but he hadn't brought up so many of his fucked up beliefs until the night before. Was this just me getting to know him more or something else?


Then again... maybe the blame wasn't all on him. What if he had simply been trying to keep himself under control but failed? Chances were he had been at least partially indoctrinated by Tod, and that most likely meant that Predator himself simply couldn't help but be truly evil at times. In fact, I had to question just then whether or not I was actually talking to the Predator that claimed to want repentance and was aware of his evil, or some Tod-bred split personality of Predator that was far more devious. Was it even safe to talk to him? What if Tod was secretly in control and was learning all about us with every passing moment we spoke to him?


Still, with no knowledge of which Predator persona had tortured me, I guess I just had to react regardless of who currently in control of Predator's body. "Predator," I said, "I need to know why the hell you told Skyfire a falsified story."


He closed his book shut and leaned against the chair, looking at me. "Because," He said simply, "It's more fun to watch how people react to a kind lie than to suffer a painful truth. You see, people often do find out the truth, and it is usually MORE painful then than it would be at first."


I grimaced in disgust, and Myst next to me muttered softly, "You're such an ass." She took a step forward. "You're a monster, you know that? You keep doing these... these little stunts and making these remarks just to hurt us, don't you? You hurt Goldwreath, you hurt Skyfire, you hurt me, and Doodle..." She paused and gave him a mild glare. "Don't you even dare hurt that little filly."


"Don't even touch that topic, Myst," Predator replied sharply. "You don't know enough about me to try my patience regarding this. I suggest, for your own safety, you stay away from it."


Myst opened her mouth to bark a reply, but I stopped her and gave her a stern look. Once more her ears drooped, but this time she didn't take a step back; she just glared. I could understand her urge to take shots at the guy. Predator was... a monster, but he was more than that. That much I still believed in. Myst didn't know of Predator's personal predicament, she wouldn't understand his affinity for Doodle. She wouldn't understand why he enjoyed and needed her company.


"Look," I said impatiently, "Do you even realize what we have to do now? Now it's either go to the Colosseum and make Skyfire feel alone, or it's not go and make her feel like she's keeping us from each other. Was this intended? Was this a part of some sadistic, convoluted scheme? Because if it is, then I swear..." I raised a hoof and pressed his chest with it.


A small yellow form emerged from in between two bookshelves and stood where it was. Predator and I both glanced behind him and saw Doodle, wide-eyed and nervous, approaching cautiously with her head close to the ground. Her eyes were filled with fear as they looked at me.


"M-mister Goldwreath?" She asked softly, fearfully. "Are you and mister Predator fighting again?"


I was without a response, but Predator immediately replied, "No, Doodle, that quarrel has passed. Now we're simply chatting about the trip to the Colosseum he's going on this morning." He looked at me, and I swear that, even though I couldn't see them, his eyes were giving me suggestive looks.


Doodle gulped and replied quietly, "Okay." Then she looked at me. "Mister Goldwreath... did you apologize to mister Predator yet? You hurt his throat, now he sounds weird..." She scraped a hoof on the ground nervously.


I took in a breath and looked at the roof disbelievingly. Seriously, I was supposed to apologize? What about him? If anything, he had started it AND his actions were more painful. Was I not to get an apology as well?


Still... the look Doodle had on her face was just begging me to. I looked to Myst and saw a frown on her face, and she gave a small and slow nod.


'Confound that bastard...' I thought with a grumble.


I took in frustrated breath, and said slowly, "Predator, I would like to..." I choked on my words, but got them out, "... apologize for my violent and unreasonable behavior towards you. I hope you'll... forgive me for my actions." Well, that was a lot more difficult than I had expected. I had no qualms with apologizing, but that... yeah, no.


"Apology accepted!" He said in a delighted tone, and then without another word opened his book again to read. Doodle gave me a wan smile up and approached, then gave my leg a tender but quick hug. After that she sat down next to Predator's chair, and Predator idly reached down a hoof to pat her on the head. She smiled blissfully and pressed herself up against his hoof.


I looked at him for a moment, expecting an apology as well. When none came, I drawled, "So?"


"So what?" He replied blankly.


I gave him a quizzical look. "What about you? Are you going to apologize?"


He lowered his book just enough to look me in the eye. Then he took in a breath, and after a moment's hesitation said sardonically, "I never apologize. If I did, a whole deluge of memories would come to mind and then I'd find myself trying to apologize for them all. Then we'd never hear the end of it, and I'm sure you don't want that." Then he sighed, "Still, considering all the things I've done, I really should be apologizing to you. But I won't."


After that he raised his book up again, and said as he waved me off with his hoof, "Now, I believe you should go already. Zaita must know that the other vehicle is almost done charging; she will return soon from whatever journey she has gone on. Leave me to indulge in what small joys I can, if you would be so kind."


I growled angrily, but then looked at Doodle. She looked so happy, just letting herself be patted on the head. How would she react if I started another argument with Predator? I didn't want to risk anything permanent on her, not after how shocked and scared she seemed of me after what I did earlier. If there was one thing Predator and I always agreed on, it was that Doodle's naive innocence had to be preserved. I looked at Myst, and the expression she gave me suggested she'd prefer if Doodle stayed as she was.


So, much as I found it quite unfair, I left the conversation at that and trotted off for preparations for this little trip I did not expect to have. I didn't feel good, not in the slightest. I was so sick of having all my feelings and thoughts collide to form an indiscernible blur of mashed up emotions. For just once, I wanted to be able to have myself under complete control; to be happy when I should have been, excited when it was right, sad when I needed to be, so on and so forth. Most of the time those days... I wasn't even sure if I was the same pony.


"We should prepare," I said blankly. "Redeye's slavers are there, I'll need to not appear like a pegasus lest they know who I am; Predator once said something about them wanting me for reputation. Anything that could distinguish me as the Praetorian will need to stay behind. Maybe we can do a little buying if they have some stores there; I'll bring some money. You go do what you need, just-..."


"Goldwreath," She interrupted. I stopped and looked at her, and saw her smiling at me warmly. "You should cheer up a bit, you know. This day doesn't look like it'll be all bad for you."


"And why is that?" I asked sarcastically. "Myst, in just under an hour I've been mind-hacked, beaten, guilt-tripped slightly, confronted with some harsh realities of the wasteland, had my integrity tested and questioned, and been forced to give an underserved apology. Tell me how this day could possibly improve, because I do NOT like today." Yeah... I kind of got depressed pretty easily. What can I say, I wasn't the most optimistic person; that was Doodle.


She kept up her smile and approached, then placed a hoof on my shoulder. I sighed and lowered my head, wishing I could smile like her. She lifted my head up and gave me a jubilant grin as she said, "Goldwreath... we're going to the Colosseum."


So what? Who gave a damn about going to the Colosseum? It was just an old arena, dusty and dirty, occupied by scum of all types! Why, it was nothing more than a breeding ground for filth, long bereft of glory! Why would going there cheer me up?


Well, actually... I guess it was made of magnificent arches... and it was a monument to past Roaman glory, not to mention being really big and epic... and it had more history and cultural value than anything I had ever seen... it was also Roaman, that was a big plus... great Roaman emperors had sat there before... I could sit where they sat...


Who the fuck was I kidding? Fuck you world and all your crazy bullshit, I'm going to the Colosseum!

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

"This going to be so great!" I giggled gleefully as I took off my chain shirt and placed my helmet on the ground, next to my saddlebags and my weapons. I would bring nothing but some caps and my gladius, and to hide my wings Myst had made me a little toga out of ripped and discolored banners. For my Pipbuck, I took off the casing of a rotting pillow on one of the couches. Myst herself wore her hoodie jacket, but above it she wore some cloth rags she found lining the racks of the shelves. Her rifle was slung around her neck.


I'll admit, the day really sucked. I had been emotionally exhausted by Predator's little stunt, and that exhaustion left me numb. That was until now, that is. Now I was fighting just to keep my Roaman fanboy side from making me hop around in excitement. Myst herself looked eager to go; I don't think she had ever been to the Colosseum. Well, first time for us both then! Sure, the fact that we were made to go under pain of making Skyfire feel like she was a problem didn't sit well with me, but now I was going for more than to just to not let her feel that way. Now I was going because I wanted to.


'Funny how the reasons and feelings behind our actions can change pretty quick,' I thought.


"I can't wait," She said shyly. She was making sure her sniper cartridges were tucked well enough into the slack of her clothing. Then she frowned anxiously. "Oh, I just hope that we don't stay there too long. There's so many people I never met before there. What if they try to talk to me?" She whimpered.


"Don't worry," I assured her. "We're going there to see it, just for a while. Then when I think we've had enough of the place we'll come right back. No little adventures, no getting into trouble. I promise."


She gave me a thankful little smile as I trotted past her. Next I made sure all my stuff was accounted for, whether I was bringing them or not, and trotted off into an aisle for a moment while Myst continued her own final preparations. I took in an excited breath as I looked up at one of the arched windows, letting its light flow down on me. Well, today was showing some improvement at least.


Then I saw Skyfire lying on her belly, idly tracing a hoof on the ground. She was looking on with boredom at a pile of opened books in front of her. Well... actually, it was either boredom... or depression.


I sighed and made my way over to her, feeling all of my excited anticipation turn to tension. Now that we all knew who was with who, I guess I could at least talk to her about it and try to ease her sorrow.


"Skyfire," I called as I neared, and her ears snapped up and she looked over at me. "You do know that if you want to come you can come, right? I really don't mind."


She looked at me for one second, then just lowered her head again. "Nah, s'okay. I have a feeling you're just doing this to not make me feel bad, anyway. So yeah..." She said blankly.


I shook my head. "No, it's not like that. Skyfire, you're my friend. Friends go with each other to places, and friends don't leave each other alone."


She just looked at the ground for a moment, tracing it with her hoof. "I don't feel like a friend. I feel like... a liability."


"No, you're not," I insisted. "Skyfire, I know you feel like your just a problem right now. I know that you feel like I just get mad at you all the time and that I hate you, and that you're just keeping Myst and I from, eh..." I paused and shut my mouth. Well, this wasn't a topic I expected to talk about so much. It was, after all, just yesterday since we were 'together'; it was just awkward. "... from being together."


"But I am, aren't I?" She asked sadly. She looked up at me. "You were never really into me, anyway. And let's face it, you feel like you're just hurting me by being with her. But now I know that you're with her, and I just want to tell you that it's... it's fine." She took in a shaky breath. "Sure, it would be great if... you know... but that's kind of a dream right now. A fantasy. No one loves me." She covered her face with a hoof and sniffed, "Sometimes I feel like it would have better of I just died in that crash. Then maybe I wouldn't be such a problem."


"Madness!" I stomped, causing her to jump up in surprise. She gave me one quick look, and glanced away, ears drooping. I raised her head up and smiled, shaking my head. "Skyfire, you're not just a problem. You've done your fair share of helping. You were with me when we thought Myst was dead, remember? You saved my flank during that fight! And on the bridge... why, we'd be dead if you hadn't gotten on the gun."


She shook her head uncertainly with downcast eyes as she tried pulling away, but I held her firm. She didn't meet my eyes as I continued, "You also saved us both from those guys near the bridge; no easy feat! And let's not forget your help in the tunnels; those monsters were weak against your rifles! And how could we forget you getting a pimped up Zaita over to us when we needed some transport?"


I held her head up with both forehooves as I said, "You see? You're not just a problem. You're not a liability, and you're sure as hell not unwanted. You're my friend, you're Myst's best friend, and your a member of my group. I look out for all of you."


She frowned and sniffed dryly. "Yeah... I guess," She responded uncertainly. "But... why do I feel so hollow? So... uncared for?" She hid her face with a hoof in shame as some tears rolled down her cheek.


I sighed and pulled her into an embrace, and she nudged herself up against my neck. "We all feel like that at times, Skyfire. The wasteland... it's not kind, as you've seen. There's so much wrong with it, so much... hate, pride, disrespect, irreverence for the past, selfishness... it sickens me." I stroked her mane gently, just as Myst had when I was hurting. "But that's why we have to be together, Skyfire. That's why you have to share your problems, not hold them in. We're stronger together, and without you... the world wouldn't be the same."


She sniffed as she leaned against my shoulder. "You really mean that?" She asked quietly.


I nodded as I held her close. "Of course! Besides, it's not like you're the only one who has problems that affect all of us. Why, if Myst were less shy, she could be really useful in gathering info from Imperial-speaking zebras when I'm not around. If Doodle could be more than than just an adorable filly in combat, she could at least protect herself. If Predator was..." I paused for a moment. "... well, if Predator wasn't such a headache, he'd be a marvelous companion to have around at all times. If Zaita could shoot on her own, she could fight some battles for us. And me..."


I frowned a bit, and she pulled away to look at me with concerned eyes. "Well, if I were more in control of myself and my emotions, then maybe I wouldn't have tried to kill Myst."


Skyfire's eyes widened. "You what?"


I waved my hooves dismissively. "Long story, let's not get on it! The point is, Skyfire... you're a good friend." I smiled and brushed her mane aside and looked at her eyes. "You don't deserve to suffer quietly. You deserve to be one and whole and happy, not torn in two." I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "And if it's of any hope for you, I'm sure there's someone out there who'd take you in when I couldn't. I know it."


"Really?" She asked, her tears no longer borne of sorrow and despair but rather of relief and joy. "You mean all that you're saying? You're not just... just making any of this up?"


I wiped the tears from her cheeks. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't mean it?"


She smiled up at me, and I could just see the gratitude in her eyes. "Alright then," She said, and a massive grin formed on her face as she looked up at me. Then she flew over me, and as she turned around said, "Well, let's go then! The Colosseum awaits!" Then she darted around a bookshelf and disappeared from sight.


I sat there for a moment, just smiling. I felt good again, better than I had the rest of the day. Now, I hoped, Skyfire and I could interact without a schism erupting between us, without a sad topic or an emotion of hopelessness cracking down on her. Now, at least, she knew she was cared for.


Myst was right, the day could get better.


At last I got up, but before I could trot off Doomtune groaned as he staggered close, "Ugh... what the hell did I miss?" He rubbed the back of his neck and slumped against a shelf. "All I remember is some weird dream where I went crazy or some shit, hehe can you believe that?" He chuckled, "Hell, it was like... like I actually decided to go batshit nuts about how supposedly terrifying the battle at the dam was." He saw the concern on my face and approached, saying, "Anyways, naw it wasn't that bad, really. Some people killing each other, but meh. My dream made it sound worse than it actually was."


"Uh... it wasn't a dream," I said cautiously, "You kind of did go insane earlier, and well... we had to knock you out."


For a moment he stared at me, silent. I could see the tension in his eyes, like any moment he'd spring on me and attack. I almost feared like I had made a mistake by mentioning it.


Then he turned around. "Fuck!" He yelled in frustration, and stomped the ground. "Damn it, I had so hoped that it was a dream..." He murmured, then slowly looked over at me. He sighed, "Look... what I said... don't believe what I said, I was just crazy for a while. War, you know? It gets to you. You can train for it, but you'll be prepared for it. No one's ever the same after killing. No one. I mean... the amount of killing we had to do... no one should have had to do it." He looked at me with pain and shame in his eyes, then looked away.


I patted him on the back. "You gonna be alright?" I wasn't scared of him, not even after his spontaneous little outburst earlier. We were both fighters, we had both killed; I could understand his pain and how much the guilt and horror of killing was getting to him. I could imagine how much regret he could have had at not having done enough to save people who didn't deserve to suffer. How... how inadequate he could have felt.


He was silent for a long moment, then murmured softly, "Nothing's ever gonna be alright again."


He sighed and looked me over, the pain fading from his expression to give way to curiosity. "What's with you?" He asked.


"Huh?" For just a moment, I was confused. Then I understood. "Oh, I see. Well, per Predator's suggestion, we're going to the Colosseum."


"You're what?" He asked incredulously. "Why? Did I not tell you of the people there? Think of the risks. Think of the delay on taking care of the megaspell threat!"


"It's not just that, Doomtune," I replied with a sigh. "You know Predator; he's ridiculously convoluted. His plans are fucking insane. And what can I say? I got caught up in one of them. Then one thing lead to another and... well, I'm kind of stuck in it." I paused as he turned around and looked at the ceiling, covering his face in frustration and annoyance. "I have thought of the risks, just so you know."


He grunted and shook his head. "This day is not going right," He murmured, then said, "Alright, where the hell is that guy? Where the fuck's Predator?"


I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could Predator's voice called out from right behind me, "Speak of the devil, Doomtune, and he shall appear." I gasped from surprise, but stood still as Predator trotted past me calmly and approached Doomtune, who was shaking his head disbelievingly and giving Predator glares.


"Predator, what the fuck is with you?" Doomtune hissed as he met Predator halfway. "You know the severity of a megaspell threat, yet you get the Praetorian and his friends caught up in one of your stupid plans? What the hell is your deal? Are you trying to get Roam destroyed?"


Predator looked down at his fellow operative silently for a moment, a low growl emanating from within his throat. Then he looked at me, "Leave us."


"No," Doomtune snapped as he looked at me. "You stay here, I'm gonna convince this guy that his plan or whatever the hell he calls it is stupid. For the gods' sake, the megaspell threat is more important than anything else right now! Shit, it's like I'm the only one around here who has a head that has the right priorities. Maybe I should take charge from now on, just to get things done. Why, maybe I should-..." He stopped short as Predator placed a hoof on the side of his neck.


"Do you feel in charge, Aurius?" Predator asked simply, and Doomtune very slowly turned his head away from me to look at him. "Do you feel in control of the situation? Of the actions of others? Of your own life and sanity, both of which are so horrendously threatened by the pangs of reality? Or perhaps you feel like you need to try to give yourself an image of esteem, or to make yourself feel like you're in the right?"


I gulped, not wanting to know where this was going to go. And so, like a coward, I left. I made my way around the corner, but found myself too glued to the conversation to leave it. And so I peaked from around the corner at what was happening, and hated myself for not having the constitution to stand there in the open. It was cowardly and dishonorable, so unlike the brave Praetorian persona I was to the people who looked up to me.


Surely Predator would't hurt Doomtune, though... right?


Doomtune stood there, glaring up at him. "Don't even bring this up, Predator."


Predator replied sardonically, "Ah, so you do! A shame, really. Such unhealthy psychological habits hamper your ability. Lack of attention truly is a terrible thing, I know Aurius. I know how it feels to have those you look up to neglect you and all your efforts, to hate you for what you are, not caring to try to know you better personally. I know how it must've felt to have parents who saw you as nothing more than filth."


"Enough!" Doomtune barked, and then angrily swatted Predator's hoof away.


"You..." Doomtune pointed a trembling hoof at Predator. "You raised me up since I was a child -- helped make me who I am -- yet... yet you torture me? You supported me in my ambitious little endeavors and understood me when no one else would, yet you caused me pain again and again. You brought back memories, then tell me to forget them. Why?" He said in a thrumming, agonized tone.


"Because I know how it feels to want to be in control of the circumstances, and I understand that pain better than you," Predator continued, unhindered. "I know the pain of trying to feel like I'm more than what the people who hate me say I am, and the pain brought about by trying to save the world... and for reasons completely my own." He took a step forward and pressed a hoof against Doomtune's chest while the junior operative seethed at him. "I know how it feels to want nothing more than to be seen as an example of what is right -- to be looked up to instead of down upon -- and I am familiar with the pain that comes when the world doesn't react the way I want it to to my efforts."


"So why am I saying all this?" Predator asked. "The answer is simple: you are nothing but a mere buck, trying to assert himself to become a stallion. Your foalish, emotion-saturated suggestions bear nothing but unguided personal desire; the seed of tragedy for those who would listen to you. You believe yourself worthy of taking charge? Well the truth is that you would only lead those under you to disaster, and there would no one to blame but yourself. Just like I had told the Praetorian, it doesn't matter who you are; what matters is your plans. And right now your plans are as worthless as the dirt beneath my hooves."


Doomtune started letting out low, rough breaths. I could see the hatred in his eyes, the fury in the tears that rolled down his cheeks. And yet I saw something else; a pain deeper than what could come from bringing up childhood problems. It was something deeper than mere anger for one who was hurting you; it was betrayal. I knew the face, for I had engraved it in the minds of my friends whenever my own anger drove me mad. I could tell from his small, disbelieving head shakes. His wide, tearful, hurt eyes just screamed it out.


Predator's tone turned from sardonic to warm as he continued, once more placing a hoof to his subordinate's neck, "Poor Aurius, stuck groveling for esteem and confidence. Tormented by the stress of war, unable to easily cope with the pangs and hardships, and so constantly seeking to put his nothingness behind him. So weak, so unlikely to survive, so... in pain."


He rose up on his hindlegs, placed both forehooves on Doomtune's neck, and started squeezing tightly. Doomtune's eyes bulged out once more as the force of the choke forced him to bend his knees and collapse onto the ground before rolling onto his back as Predator continued throttling him. His forehooves were powerless to remove the limbs cracking his neck.


Predator leaned in close and whispered threateningly, "I could end you right now before your life becomes nothing but darkness. Before it is filled with nothing but misery, with your soul constantly shivering from remembered cries of pain and languishing. Before suicide, so bereft of justifiability, stumbles upon what sane consciousness remains in the ruined remains of your mind."


But then he pulled away, and Doomtune gasped for air. "But I shan't, for that would be both a waste of all my effort and your talents; mostly the former. When your life is consumed by sorrow and depression... then you die."


Predator stood up and lightly smacked the groaning operative on the side of the head. "Get up," He said coldly, and trotted a little way off. "Go on, Goldwreath. There'll be no argument from this one; rather, I suspect a great deal of rethinking is in store for him." Then he moved on and out of sight.


That left Doomtune weakly groaning until he managed to sit himself upright, and after that he merely sat there with a bowed head, sniffing and quietly choking his sobs in.


Enough. The day had already been horrible -- I had had my feelings played with so much it was like they were being winded up until they snapped -- and I didn't, no, couldn't take more. It was an act of blatant disregard, and I knew it, but my brain betrayed me. It went against what I would normally do and made me do the exact opposite: it made me turn around and trot away, hearing but ignoring the muffled chokes and sobs of the zebra just around the corner.


I had only gotten a few steps away when I opened my eyes and saw Myst and Skyfire right in front of me, both with deep and thoughtful frowns on their faces. Myst already had some tears streaking down her cheeks; Skyfire looked a little angry, and who could blame her? Predator was scary, and he knew how to get to people. He knew what to say to confuse, trick, and hurt, and what frightened me most was that he had no restrictions; at least, none that the ultra-sadistic Predator had shown.


Myst trotted forward and looked up at me, then at Skyfire. "You two should go to the Colosseum," She said simply. "I'll... I'll talk to Doomtune, I mean... Aurius."


"I'm not sure if I want to go any more, and even if I did, not without you," I responded.


She gave me a wan smile. "You should anyway. I'm good at talking to people one-on-one, strange as it is, and right now... he really needs some talking to. He isn't the only one with issues stemming from the past..." She fell silent for a moment and looked to the ground with a frown, but continued, "Besides, it's not like you want to stay in this place with... him, do you?"


"What about you?" I asked. "I don't trust him enough to leave you or Doodle in his company. Speaking of that, where is Doodle?"


"She's over at the foal's section on the other side, trying to learn some basic Imperial from some picture books. And don't worry about me, I can handle Predator... I hope," Myst replied uncertainly, much to my discomfort. "Anyway, this might be your only chance to go to the Colosseum, and I know you'll regret not having gone if you don't."


"But we were supposed to go together!" I replied stubbornly.


She frowned. "I know Goldwreath, and I really want to go with you, but... well, I'd hate myself for making you stay here, and I'd hate myself for not helping someone who needed help. I mean, what kind of person would I be if I didn't?" I frowned shamefully at that and closed my eyes. Yeah... what kind of person was I to abandon someone in need of assistance? What kind of heartless bastard was I becoming?


She noticed my expression and placed a hoof on my chest. "Oh no, don't feel like that. Goldwreath, if there's one thing you've done too much the last month, it's trying to help people at your own expense. It's wrong to beat yourself up, but you've taught me how to help people in need. So it's only fair that you get a little break; let some one else do a little work. After all, you're not the only one on this team of ours." I opened my eyes and smiled, thankful for the assurance and the comfort. She smiled back. "Besides, there's far more things we could do together later that could be more exciting than going to the Colosseum, right?"


Skyfire barely suppressed a bark of laughter. Myst looked to her with confusion, then back at me with the same look. Her narrowed eyes showed immense pondering, but after a moment her they opened wide and her cheeks flamed into a blush. "Anyway, so... yeah. Just be back after noon," she murmured hurriedly as she trotted past me.


Despite having accepted that she wouldn't come with me, I couldn't help but reach out a hoof longingly as she got further. For a moment she turned around and saw me, and gave a warm smile. I had a foolish hope that she'd reconsider, but then she continued trotting, and just like that my hope was shattered.


I felt Skyfire's hoof on my shoulder. "Come on," she urged, and said sternly, "She wouldn't want you to miss out on this, no matter how you may feel about it. And I don't want you to miss it, either; you do deserve a break. Myst's a good pony who wants to help you, so just suck it up and give her the privilege of getting to choose how she wants to do it." She paused for a moment, and I looked over to her with concern. Her expression was one of pain, though from what I couldn't tell. Surely her 'not getting me to like her issues' weren't coming back up again, right? "Just like what we've been letting you do the last month."


Skyfire was right; Myst had free will and a consciousness of her own, and to try to assert myself over her would be wrong. They were both right about being able to do good on their own; I wasn't the only one the group.


"You're right, Skyfire," I replied, trying to sound more confident and intact than I actually felt. "You're both right. Maybe I do need a break... the rest of the day until we reach the Forum doesn't sound too bad. I'll take what time I can, I guess." I inhaled deeply and turned around to look at the massive bronze doors on the far edge of the room. I started trotting for it, Skyfire right at my side.


"I don't know about you," Skyfire said as we trotted along, "But I'm hyped up to go over there! Sure the day's been kinda... crappier than usual, but meh. No point on dwelling on that, right?" She gave me an excited grin.


I forced a grin onto my face; I wanted to be excited and to relax so damn much, but it was just plain hard. For my own sake, I really was trying to just not let myself troubled so that I could actually enjoy the rest of the day. "Yup, absolutely. No point on dwelling on it," I replied with a nod. "You're both right, I should relax. Just a bit."


"Good," she said with a friendly smile; one that I tried to emulate as we continued down the walkway.


I really was starting to relax. Between Myst's assurances of her own safety and the trip to the Colosseum, the rest of the day really wasn't looking so bad. Sure, later on I'd need to find out just how to respond effectively to the very sadistic Predator persona I was being forced to deal with, but that was for later. It wasn't even ten in the morning yet, and already the world outside was bright and sunny. The Roaman fanboy in me squealed with excitement as we neared the doors, envisioning the great beauty and grandeur of the Colosseum and the nearby Circus Maximus, and whatever other structures we passed along the way.


It was just when we reached the doors that a thought that nearly broke the serenity of my mind entered my head: 'Never believe in relaxation, for it is fleeting.'


'Fuck, I hate you brain.'

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

After leaving the wall that surrounded the library, Skyfire and I took off for the sky. Since then we had left behind the broken circle of buildings surrounding the library's hill, and were now flying above the land beyond that -- a massive circular island, perhaps ten miles in radius, that was surrounded by a bit of the Tiber that was artificially branched off from the rest of the river. Aqueducts came to the island from the city around it, and many of them still worked.


This was the center of modern Roam, but even that had a centerpiece. Roam's heart -- the Forum and everything in a radius of two miles -- was built upon an elevated foundation of yellowish marble that extended in a circular formation with a diameter of four miles. Four roads of grey concrete ran down from the four sides of Roam's elevated heart like grey water pouring down the slopes of an artificial plateau of gold, and the roads then extended all the way to edges of the island and into the rest of the city.


The Forum itself stood at the center of the plateau, with its mountain jutting out of the marble foundation. Surrounding the Forum and occupying the rest of the circular marble surface were a great many military bases and forts -- recently made or otherwise -- all bustling with Legion activity, as well as some very tall sky scrapers, which I assumed were the most important economic centers during the war. The interior of the Forum's walls, I assumed, looked like what I had seen in the memory orbs: a garden. High walls and thick metal gates closed off the heart from the rest of the world. The river surrounding the island ran into an artificial river bank that reached the the base of the marble plateau, and what appeared to be a field of light brought the water up in a magical field and onto the elevated surface. The water then formed a moat around the forum before flowing down the other side of the plateau and racing across the circular island and joining the Tiber once more.


Surrounding the heart of Roam and built upon the artificial island was a city on its own. High-rise structures, industrial complexes, malls, and entertainment venues of the richest make made up the city. A great section of the city beneath us rose up like a hill, and it was at the foot of that hill, on opposite ends, that the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum were built. Using my knowledge of Roam's layout according to books I had read, I discerned that that hill must have been the Palatine hill: the centermost of Roam's seven hills. Whereas in ancient times it may have been a barren mound of dirt, now it had built upon it a wide and towering structure that resembled what could have been a mansion.


This circular island and the circular heart of Roam at its center was the original city -- Roam before modern technologies allowed massive expansion. Even if the island had not originally been circular, nor even existed until the Roamans created the moat, that only served to deepen my awe at their engineering skills. The mere thought of it all sparked all kinds of excited emotions, which I was more than willing to let take over my head.


"We should land soon!" I said over the roar of the wind and the flapping our wings as we flew deeper into the island.


Skyfire snickered, "Why? Getting tired already? That's so pathetic!"


"No, Skyfire; my stamina is far greater than yours and I'm quite sure my wings can take a hell of a beating!" I replied, "It's just that I don't want some random bandit or raider try to shoot us out of the sky; it happened to me and Myst once, and I do NOT want it to happen again."


"But don't you like the view?" She yelled. "City looks damned good from up here, if you ask me. Look at that super huge plateau of marble! I've never seen anything like it, and already I say it's fucking amazing. Take that from someone who's not even into this sort of stuff!" She took a moment to breathe. "Besides, I highly doubt anyone can see us up here!"


"The view's great! It feels damned good to be able to fly and to be free, not to mention how awesome it makes me feel when I'm hundreds of feet higher up than a sky scraper, and you're probably right about no one being able to see us." I also took a moment to breathe; screaming over the wind wasn't exactly something that left me with breath. "But I also happen to enjoy seeing the structures up close; see the intimate details and all that!"


"Fine!" she yelled, "Where do you want to touch down? Definitely not at the Colosseum; we'll have to walk there so no one recognizes you."


"There!" I replied, and pointed at the roof of a rectangular structure near the Circus Maximus.


She looked it over for a moment and nodded, and we started circling downwards like vultures. Our descent was fairly slow, but it allowed me a very thorough view of the city in all directions. And as we got closer, I began to notice that, while the original Roam looked quite modern, it still retained a large number of its original classical structures.


We touched down softly, at least softer than I had expected. No one seemed to notice our landing, which was very good. I didn't know what structure this was, but surely I could explore it a bit before leaving.


"Alright," I said, "What do you think about exploring the place a bit? Could have some loot, maybe some caps, secrets..." The truth was, of course, that I was immensely curious about the past and wanted to know more about it; I couldn't care less about the caps or whatever we found inside unless it was historical.


She thought of it for a moment, looking to the ground and pouting. "I don't know..." she said slowly. She gave me a quizzical look. "You sure that's a good idea?"


"Well, it isn't necessarily a bad idea," I replied.


"Yeah, but what if something goes wrong? Wastelands's fucked up -- I know, I've seen; there's some nasty shit in Equestria -- and considering what I've seen of Roam so far... I just feel like we shouldn't risk any of us getting hurt," she said cautiously, as if worried I might disapprove. Which I kind of did, but I wasn't mad or anything. I just really wanted to explore, and short of her doing something drastic to stop me, I was going to keep arguing until I got what I wanted.


"I'll make sure we won't," I said determinedly and with a cocky little smile. "We'll just look around, grab anything that could be useful, and then leave for the Colosseum. Then we'll look around the place for a but, hope we don't come across any trouble, and then leave again. Simple."


She screw up her face in contemplation, but then relaxed. She sighed and gave me a trusting smile. "Alright," she said softly, "Let's just hope things don't spiral out of control, eh?"


I nodded, "Indeed." With that said, I made my way to the roof entrance and pushed the door open.


What I saw inside quite baffled me.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

This place had clearly been a clinic of some sort. It wasn't a very large one -- in fact it may have been just for the few wealthy enough to afford it -- but it made up for that with medical equipment of the highest tier and quality and the best construction. Medical lasers and field generators lay on the ground, valuable-looking despite their age. Mark IV gravitation turrets lined the ceiling, deactivated. Massive marble arches divided the spherical interior space into four different sections, each housing several beds with diagrams of the bodies of every single sentient creature known hung along the walls. Restriction tables lay on the floor, formerly ready to immobilize any patient with a ferocious and violent attitude. Operation rooms, blocked off by flickering fields of opaque energy, lay in waste with all the equipment within strewn about.


At the very center of the single-floor structure was a wide pit opened up in the ground -- actually, not a pit. It was more like... like a small secret room, perhaps where bodies were kept. The problem was, though, that the facilities within were inadequate -- at the most, the broken cabinets within could have held confidential patient data.


Now, you're probably wondering, 'Goldwreath, so what? Isn't this the sort of thing you'd expect to see in the wasteland?' Well, yes, you're right. I really did expect to see structures in ruins. The strange thing with this one, though, was that all the destruction was fresh -- the floors were too clean for the doors to have been busted down for two-hundred years, and I'm quite certain that all the snapped cords and flickering lights weren't in such disrepair until recently. The windows, protected from the exterior by metal shields, were pristine from the interior. Hell, most of the lights were still on!


Skyfire finished climbing the ladder and joined me on the ground, and her expression immediately turned bewildered. "The hell happened to this place?"


I shook my head, "I don't know." I trotted over to one of the fallen surgical lasers. "This wreckage looks fresh. There's nothing to suggest people got in here in the past. No bodies, no cans of food, no bullet casings suggestive of past battles... nothing. It's all too clean." But there were signs of previous usage, perhaps by the Legion. Syringes lay here and there, splattered with blood. Bandages were scattered about, and some of the turned over beds were fresh with the scent of sweat and iodine. This place had to have been used until recently, I was sure of it.


'It's almost like my senses are getting stronger,' I thought as I casually sniffed a napkin. It had the scent of alcohol on it.


"I'll check if there's anything around here," Skyfire informed me, and trotted off.


After that we went off our separate ways to try and find anything useful. The fact that there was salvageable stuff further backed up my hypothesis of the place not being destroyed until recently. Our already large stockpile of medical supplies was supplemented by even MORE medical supplies, in addition to some spare parts Skyfire salvaged from some of the equipment -- mostly pieces of scrap metal that could fit in our bags, but also a few crystalline talismans and circuitry. I honestly didn't know what to do with the caps I would get from selling those (for you see, I didn't care much for spending; I cared more for selling, and honestly I had more caps then than I really needed), but it couldn't have hurt to have more of the wasteland's currency, right?


The main chamber lost my interest quickly, so I went down into the pit in the middle of the room. It was small, perhaps just large enough to hold... something of the size of Zaita. The few steps it took to reach the bottom didn't take long to climb, and soon I found myself facing a broken set of cabinets, with papers and envelopes strewn about the floor. None of it was of any interest; it was all about some patients wanting to keep their medical condition secret from the public.


Except one paper. That one paper stated something of a patient whose body was... liquefied by a plasma grenade. The damage done by what had destroyed this place rendered all other information illegible, save one small tidbit about the patient being subject to a 'cybernetic limb experiment'. That got my interest enough to actually drive me to scour everything else all over again. There was nothing, leaving me terrible vexed.


My curiosity piqued but not satisfied, I disappointedly trotted back up and was greeted by the sight of Skyfire struggling to stuff an entire case of spare laser amplifier talismans into her single saddlebag -- a saddlebag which, I must say, could hold far more than it looked like it could. After a metal clang that clearly meant something inside her bag had been flattened, the container just barely managed to fit inside. She smiled contentedly and pushed it inside.


"I see you've done quite some scavenging," I said as I smiled, looking over the tremendous amount of things overflowing within her bags.


She nodded, "Yup! Not much left to scavenge now though. Not unless you want to haul around heavy equipment." Then she looked at the overflowing bag with a skeptical look, then she looked at me. "It'd be great if you could put some of this stuff in your bags; thing's overflowing."


"You don't say..." I murmured under my breath, and moved in to take some of the stuff out.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

After our pilfering of the medical clinic we trotted outside through the broken arched doorway. The thick steel doors had been busted down from the outside by whatever had assailed the place, and now they lay in smashed and battered ruins inside the doorway. A trail of dust and rubble lead away from the clinic, signifying where whatever had done all this had gone.


Now, when Skyfire and I should have been trotting the half-a-mile distance to the Colosseum, we were instead, at my suggestion, following the trail of debris, which lead down a road going further into the island city; it wasn't technically going farther from the Colosseum, so the little side-trip was fine with me.


Not with Skyfire, though.


"Ugh, we should be at the place already," she grumbled as she trotted along with me down a street lined on both sides with marble and brick houses, both ancient-ish and modern; this had clearly been a neighborhood for the most important and wealthy zebras. Dead trees and eerie playgrounds marked the gardens and lawns, yet the signs of recent activity in the houses were abundant -- legion banners were hung here and there, and sandbags blocked off a doorway or two.


"We'll get there," I said calmly. I wasn't in any particular hurry; perhaps it was Myst's request to relax -- in which case I was following her advice well -- or my head quite simply didn't feel like I had to rush in stopping the megaspell threat. Don't think I'm lazy, I had been through a lot; surely I had warranted at least a little bit of a reward, and surely getting to actually explore the city a little wasn't so much to ask for.


She mumbled something under her breath; I don't know what it was, but it clearly signified annoyance.


"Skyfire," I said gently, and stopped trotting. She sighed and looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite fathom. "Look, I know this probably doesn't sit well with you -- wandering around when we should be doing a job -- but trust me. The world's not going to end again, not while I have something to do about it."


"How are you so sure?" she asked anxiously. "We're talking megaspells here, Goldwreath. Those are the things responsible for ending the world. I... I don't want another apocalypse. What if the Enclave gets hit this time? What if all life that didn't get wiped out gets wiped out?" Her terror racketed her voice higher and higher.


"They won't," I responded calmly.


"How can you be so calm?" she snapped, making me raise an eyebrow. "Don't you understand? We're going on this little side-trip to relax a bit, sure, but it's almost like you don't seem to care any more. It's almost like there's something wrong with your head."


She breathed angrily for a moment, but then frowned at the calm look I gave her. She lowered her head and sighed, "Sorry... I know I should trust you and all, and I do... but why do you seem so calm? I'm worried as hell over here, and you... you used to worry so much, why are you so calm now?"


I shrugged, "Don't know. I guess that, when a pony's been through a lot and thinks too much about too many things, they tend to just... stop. You know, stop being so worried. Maybe it's a coping mechanism or just me wanting to relax for a good hour or two, but that's how it is. I'm not carefree, just really relaxed." Come to think of it, that was the first time in a while that I had honestly not felt any compulsion to achieve anything. I was completely, totally relaxed, and at the time I wanted to stay that way unless I was needed.


She sighed and scratched her mane. "I guess I can understand. My dad used to get tired a lot too when he served in the military. When he get home though... he was so calm. Like he had never even fought or killed."


"He must have wanted to appear like a father to you," I said simply. "He mustn't have wanted to bring the horrors of combat home with him."


She nodded. "Yeah, I guess. He always was happy and all that when he was home with us; never did anything drastic." She smiled, as if remembering fond memories. But then her face turned stern and she smacked a hoof into my helmet. "Now you can relax and all, but I know that the all-worrying, all-planning Goldwreath's in that head of yours, and when the time comes I want him out, alright? Don't overdo the relaxing!"


I smirked and nodded. Then, just to show her I could be my battle-ready self again, I said coldly, "Those Legion bastards won't use those bombs; not while I'm still alive. You have to trust me."


For just a moment she seemed confused, but then nodded with her own smirk. "Alright, I trust you. More now that I know you can jar yourself out of being so calm." She let out a shaky breath and said softly, "It's... uh, a little bit creepy. So not... you."


"I'm not even sure what I'm even supposed to feel any more, actually," I admitted. "Whether I'm supposed to relax more now that I'm under more stress, or to meet the challenges with increased fervor, I don't know. I guess you could say I'm just... confused." Sure, the past month had confused me all to hell, and even in my relaxed mode -- at that time a recent discovery that both disturbed and relieved me -- I was not truly free of worry. Little thoughts popped in and out, urging me to think about them. Only my adamant desire to have an hour or so off kept me from doing so.


She looked me over and smiled. "Well, that's why you have us," she said. "Remember when you told us to tell you if we had problems? Well, you can do the same. Again, we're here for you. We want to help you out." There was a tone of sincerity in her voice. Sincerity and... something else. Something I had heard from Myst before but not from Skyfire. It was recent; I had actually started hearing perhaps when I first arrived at the Library. She didn't seem like her old self. Her tone and choice of words, not to mention her mannerisms and greater signs of thought, all seemed to indicate something. That something was... maturity? Growth into a pony more refined?


I took that thought in for a moment, contemplating it. Yes, she was. Significantly more refined than the Skyfire I used to know. Sure, she was still loud-mouthed and impulsive, but less so. She was giving way to more diverse emotions aside from just anger and pride.


She was becoming a better pony.


That one thought nearly put a massive grin onto my face that I managed to forcibly disguise as a warm smile. "Glad to hear it," I replied sincerely.


The trot through the rest of the neighborhood eventually brought us to a large metal wall -- recently erected, for its make and quality were far too good to have been the work of some random group of raiders. The wall had two metal doors, which had large dents in them; clearly, whatever had ruined the clinic earlier had tried to go through here. I was about to suggest we fly up and see what we could find, when I noticed the most bizarre phenomenon...


There was a memory orb, scratched and dirty, in a nearly waterless maot on the far side of the wall, moving to and fro in a small pool of water. Another thing that puzzled me was the patch of dead grass mysteriously dancing around as though it were being moved by an invisible wind near the moat. The orb itself seemed to be trying to escape from the ditch, but it was having a hard time sliding up the dirt slope. The walls near the gutter had massive scratch marks; they didn't look deliberate, but the consequence of clumsy action.


"What manner of madness is this..." I murmured as I took several steps towards it. Skyfire followed, though the expression on her face was one of a mixture of mild fear and major bewilderment. I didn't share in her fear, though; maybe she believed in ghosts or something along those lines -- supernatural stuff -- but I was a logical pony. Surely there had to be a another explanation.


At our approach both phenomena stopped, much to our further bewilderment. Skyfire flew over into the moat and carefully visually examined the orb. I stood staring at the patch of grass with a quizzical look. But no matter what we did, nothing happened. And yet I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. That feeling in my head -- that newfound ability that I had -- was just screaming it in my head.


Strange as it may seem, it was because of that warning that I stood still. And it was also because of that warning that I wasn't even surprised when the patch of air beside me lit up into a flash of blue accented with white. Skyfire was taken off guard, and she immediately ducked for cover from what must have appeared to her as an explosion of some sort. I, though, was calm and relaxed, and therefore said to the entity beside me, "Hey Zaita."


"Goldwreath, I'm so glad it was you and Skyfire who have come along to aid me in my time of need," her monotone voice replied. Skyfire popped her head up and put of the ground, looking altogether vexed and bewildered.


I looked to her with a questioning look. "Your time of need?"


"Yes, my time of need. As of now, I am faced with a terrible problem that I cannot surmount." Her metal front pointed down to the ground as if in shame. "It has kept me here for hours."


"What's the problem?" I asked, getting out of my relaxed demeanor and into one more fitting to aid my vehicle ally. Skyfire climbed out of the moat, looking annoyed but relieved.


She hovered a bit closer to me and said on a voice with minimal volume, "I cannot get the memory orb which I worked so hard to get out of a clinic out of that ditch. It's terrible. Every time I try, my thrusters push me forward and the orb slides back down." As if to show what she meant, she hovered over to the ditch and dipped her nose into the mud. Her thrusters hummed and she propelled herself forward. However, right before the orb came free, she overflew it and the orb slid back down. "See?"


"Um... yes, of course," I replied, confused. "Here, let me, uh... help you with that." I trotted into the ditch and picked up the orb, then held it in my hooves as I looked at her with confusion. "You mentioned something about a clinic? Also, what's with this orb?" From the look Skyfire gave me at my inquiry, she wanted to know as well.


"Ah yes," she replied. "Well, yesterday when I went exploring here I saw this clinic. I had been there during the war, so I decided to go to it. It was locked, and so, because I had nothing to do with my time, I forcibly busted the doors down by ramming into them. It took me a while, but I finally got inside. I knew that there may have been confidential information within the secret floor, so I broke into that too. I found the orb by breaking the cabinets, and have been trying to roll it over back to the Library ever since. Until it got stuck in that ditch, that is."


I looked at her for a moment with narrowed eyes and an agape mouth, my mind replaying her statement over and over again. "I see..." I said, and shook my head clear. "So you're the one who broke that clinic. Skyfire and I were wondering what was with that place."


"I destroyed it to retrieve information that may have existed which, if it did, could have been interesting and important," she replied defensively.


I waved a hoof dismissively, "Alright, I'm not saying that you shouldn't have, eh, broken the place to find this orb. I get it, you wanted to explore a bit and all that. I just really want to ask-..."


"Why the hell would you go through all that trouble?" Skyfire interjected. "Kinda strange that you'd do all that and use all that time to do something we could have done easier. You could have just brought us over if you thought there was something inside."


Zaita looked at her for a moment, then said simply, "I wanted to do something on my own."


I nodded idly. "Alright, let's not start anything here. Look, Zaita, here's the orb; maybe we can take a look at it later." I flew up onto her armored chassis and opened the hatch, then dropped the orb onto one of the seats inside. "Where are you headed right now, anyway?"


She turned to me and looked me right in the eye with her camera. "I was planning on returning to the Library with the orb until I got sidetracked by this delay. Now that you have eased my burden, I may accomplish that task with significantly less trouble."


"Alright then. Skyfire and I were just headed to the Colosseum for the heck of it -- and also because of Predator; don't ask -- until I decided to follow the trail of dust and debris you left behind," I said.


Her nose pointed upwards then back down as if she were nodding. "Very well. I would advise you to be cautious around here. I didn't actually go to the Colosseum, but I've heard talk of a coalition of some sort forming. Also, apparently the Legion doesn't hate you."


"Why'd you say that?" Skyfire asked with a snort. "Those guys tried to kill us on at least two occasions, and they seem to have branded Goldwreath over here here as a terrorist. And don't even make me bring up the fact that they shot me out of the sky!"


Zaita turned to her once more. "Perhaps, but I've heard talk on the Legion's comm networks, and apparently the Equestrius cohort -- the one commanded by Thanus, who is by the way now dead -- was the Legion cohort that you have been terrorizing all throughout your time on the surface. They are also the ones who were charged with keeping Roam in control, and apparently they've done a poor job by the Legion's standards. From what I've heard, all the other cohorts also seem to dislike Thanus and his troops for reasons I have not discerned, and therefore have nothing against you."


Wow. Well... that was a lot to take in. A LOT to take in. So apparently I had been hated only by the cohort of Legionnaires whose executor had been killed in a plan I more or less took part in... wow. And apparently all the other cohorts -- and perhaps even Vesperius -- were fine with me... also a lot to take in, but not bad. Very welcome, in fact that was great news!


Still, I did have, as always, some concerns. "That's wonderful," I said with a jubilant little smile as I looked to the ground in waning disbelief. "But how's that supposed to help exactly? If Equestrius controls Roam, any Legionnaire I see are gonna hate me."


"Not exactly true," Zaita said, "From what I've heard, another cohort is coming here to take over Equestrius' job, and the remnants of Thanus' troops will be transferred to a city to the north named Arx where what few things they can do right will actually be useful."


Wow, more great news! Maybe the newcomer would be more sensible than Thanus and his troops, who so foolishly tried to keep the dam and its water away from those who needed it. "So who's coming over here instead?" I asked, a great weight lifted off my head. So, the chances of being able to live without fear of the Legion's hatred could actually come true! The thought of being able to peacefully discuss with the Legate definitely seemed possible now!


"The largest, most disciplined and most well-equipped cohort lead by prime executor Flavianicus: the Roamana cohort."


"Wow, this is all a lot to take in..." Skyfire said from beside me, looking perplexed. "So the Legionnaires we've been fighting this whole time were from this 'Equestrius cohort', huh?" She sighed and shook her head, a frustrated look on her face. "I still don't like it. Someone's gotta pay for my friends' deaths. Now... crap, why can't getting revenge be easier?"


"Maybe whatever good's left in the world doesn't want you to pursue revenge," I answered calmly, getting me a strange look from her. "Come on, surely you've got to know that revenge isn't exactly a good thing. Not even satisfying when you get it. I don't like the mere concept of revenge."


She was silent for a moment, seeming to think. "Then what are you planning to do about the guy who killed your friend and forced you out here?" she asked simply.


I was speechless. With that one question, a topic I had thought I had placed completely behind me was brought to the very center of my attention. Every angry and hateful thought I had spawned in my head that I had thought I had buried came slamming back into my mind with traumatizing force. The mere memory of that failure both in saving my friend and asserting my innocence nearly floored me.


"I... I..." was all that escaped my mouth as I stood there, looking for something to say. I sucked in a breath and opened my mouth to answer, when the most unexpected sound interrupted us.


It was a horn, and the blow was long and loud -- glorious, yet at that time due to my confusion and shock its power fell on me with little impact. The sound of it resonated through the ruins about us ruffling the dead leaves of the trees around us.


Another horn responded, this one much closer to us. The force of it vibrated through the ground, and I forced my emotions and shock aside to make way for my combat-ready self. I had promised Skyfire I could react when necessary, and I wasn't going to let her down in that regard.


"What the hell was that?" Skyfire asked slowly, her face looking strangely calm. "Zaita, you wouldn't happen to-..." She turned around, as did I, but found only a bare patch of air where our APC was supposed to be. There was dust blowing across the ground below that patch of air, though.


"Legionnaires, hopefully Roamana cohort ones. I will return immediately to the Library; be careful," Zaita said simply, not giving us a chance to respond or to question, and her mark of blown dust moved quickly away over the wall and into the land beyond. We were all alone.


"Fuck fuck fuck," I said as I turned back to Skyfire and saw an expression of worry on her face. "Okay, uh, we should go. Now, fly up!" I said hurriedly.


But it was too late. From down the road that we had trotted down came two forms approaching us with great speed. Their quickness of pace rendered them nothing more than a blur of grey and purple. I had only the mind to check my E.F.S for their hostility indication. Luckily they were friendlies, but I still tucked my wings under my cloth and loosened my gladius just in case. Skyfire did the same, and I was surprised to find that she had brought her SMG with her. Well, what could go wrong? We braced ourselves, and I did my best to suppress my panic.


The two forms arrived and circled us, and the wind from their momentum swept over the street. Their waning speed allowed me to see them clearly.


Legionnaires, both of them. The cloth underneath their armor and the capes upon their backs were a rich tyrian purple rather than a typical bright red. Their dark grey helmets had on the main plate a solid arc of steel going back to forth like a blade resembling plumes, and their grayish metal shields, engraved with an insignia of two golden wreaths in the center of which were the golden letters 'IPQR', covered their backs. Two pairs of gladiuses were strapped to both hips, and guns of high quality were slung onto the front of their kevlar and metal armor. Two collapsible pilums -- the Roaman throwing spear -- were strapped across their chests, and beneath their shields there appeared to be backpacks of leather make.


But just what caught my attention were the beasts they rode upon. Grey things, born with thick and dessicated-looking hide. Muscular too, with thick legs and a wide, robust body; perhaps large enough to hold three ponies on their backs. Their tails were short and stubby, pointing upwards slightly towards the sky. Their heads, thick in width and tipped with a series of three long horns on the end of their bony noses, wore what would have appeared as a looks of anger. The creatures roared as the Legionnaires brought them to a stop with the reins in their hooves.


One of them approached and had his steed casually jog around us as he said in a refined Imperial accent, "Ah, quid habemus hic? Vagi? Raptores in magna urbe? Vel forte vobis duo sunt inquinatior faciet; barbari et populatores fortasse?" He stopped right in front of us, leaving me to stare with terrified curiosity at his steed. He noticed that and yelled imperiously, "Et ita? Loquere excitare! Aut non habetis linguam?"


I shook my head jerkily and looked up at him, so authoritatively looking down at me. I gulped and managed to get out, "No, sir, I-I do have a tongue. And no, we aren't raiders or... barbarians. We're mere wanderers. That's it."


He stared at me with wide eyes for a moment, like I had insulted him. He shut his agape mouth and got off his steed, then approached me. He got right up to me, nearly touching my muzzle with his own; he was almost as large as I was. Skyfire shifted uncomfortably, but the other Legionnaire drew a blade and pointed it at her.


The Legionnaire in front of me shook his head, as if just looking at me disgusted him. "Is that so?" he asked with a tone of disbelief. Then he smirked and put on an easy smile on his face. "Certainly no mere barbarian, for you at least know this great empire's language. And certainly no common filthy raider, lest you would be rutting with this mare right here like most savages." He took in a breath and cocked his head at me, as if analyzing my expressions. "Very well, for the sake of one who at least learned Imperial Zebrican, I will deign to speak in the language of ponies. Who are you and what are you two doing in the heart of Roam?"


"Pardon me sir, but who are you exactly?" I found myself asking, and immediately wanted to take the words back. He had just asked me a question, and here I was directly inquiring him! That could have offended him, and he honestly seemed like the type to kill when offended.


He certainly looked offended, signified by when he puckered his lips and gave me a hard glare. Still, to my relief, he answered in a far less deadly tone, "We are auxiliaries of the great Roamana cohort. Me and my friend over here hail from within the Forum, and are assigned to the fifth century of our esteemed division. I am Venaius, and my comrade here is Gravetanicus."


Gravetanicus nodded and said calmly in a disciplined and masculine voice, "Citizens."


Venaius looked to his comrade then back to me, and his expression hardened once more. "Now, stranger... your names and your purpose!" Now he really seemed like if I didn't answer him then he might actually kill us. Maybe I could take them, but I didn't want to kill. Not unless I had to.


I took in anxious breath and replied, "My name is Goldwreath, sir. And my friend over here is Skyfire. We mean no harm nor are we part of any conspiracy against the Legion; we are simply traveling to the Colosseum."


He looked at me flatly, nodding his head. "Ponies with pony parents, then. Hmph, I had hoped that perhaps you louts were raised by Roaman zebras, but alright. On another topic, you are the ones who desecrated the clinic down the road? The clinic which for so long during the war served to nurse back to health the most important of zebras, and as of our exodus onto the surface has saved dozens of Legionnaires from their wounds when we eradicated most filth from this place as we expanded?" There was no scorn in his voice; suspicion, and lots of it, but otherwise it was a simple question.


Skyfire next to me interjected, "No, we didn't do that, pal. We just found the place busted down and thought we'd loot a bit."


Venaius snapped his head towards her, causing her to look back at him with slight fear and shock. He looked back to me with a quizzical look. "I would advise you both to not speak with such spontaneousness nor with such slang. It will not serve you well should you encounter other Legionnaires who are not in as forgiving a mood as I and my friend here."


He seemed to think for a moment as he cast his eyes to the ground. "Why are you headed to the Colosseum?" he asked slowly, almost suspiciously.


I wanted to shrug as I replied, but that didn't seem wise. "We're headed there to admire its splendor and majesty, and if luck permits purchase a few things from whatever abode sells," I replied honestly, and Skyfire next to me nodded.


"And you are not going there to join with the forming coalition that maintains neutrality with us, but seems to be stockpiling for war?" Gravetanicus asked seriously, and Venaius gave me a cold, calculating look.


I didn't let it daunt me as I replied, "I would sooner die than join any filth that seek to mar such an empire."


Venaius and Gravetanicus alike looked at me and Skyfire with hard, skeptical glares. Their beasts roared and stomped with impatience as the moments went by, and a great anxiety built up inside of me. The moaning of the wind among the ruined houses carried with it the sound of distant stomps and marching, and occasionally a faint blow of a horn.


At last Venaius eased. "Very well," he said simply, "I will permit you two to continue with your plans. It is my hope, however, that should you run into any more of my fellow auxiliaries that you show a little more respect and formality that you did to me and-..." he was saying, when the sound of a beep interrupted him.


He sighed and turned around to retrieve a radio from his belt, and it was a radio similar to my own. He brought it to his forehooves and said into it, "Yes, what news do you have for me?"


The voice that came through the speaker sounded baffled. "Venaius? Why are you speaking in Equestrian? It's so not like you."


Venaius smirked and replied, "It's none of your business, Kevanus. Just tell me what news you have."


"Well, this sector's clear for Roamana's advance. Delvius and Gaius haven't reported in yet. You? How's your sector? If it's clear, orders are to move in on the Colosseum next and make sure there's no threat," Kevanus replied.


Venaius nodded. "Alright, thanks for the information. Out." He tucked his radio away and looked at us with an forced smile. "Well, it seems our destination is the same. Out of courtesy and my oath to protect and serve Roam's citizens, I must offer that you two come with us there. It would be wise if you did."


"It would indeed be a wise and time-saving endeavor," I mused. I looked to Skyfire in hopes of discerning her opinion. She looked quizzical and slightly anxious, but then she saw me and gave me a shrug. Well, it wasn't a no. "Very well, and thank you kindly. We will accompany you to our mutual destination."


Venaius nodded at me then gestured a hoof at Gravetanicus. At once the silent Legionnaire got off his steed and onto the ground, then approached Skyfire with the reins in his forehooves. He pushed his hooves forward, bidding her take them. Venaius did the same with his beast.


Skyfire looked puzzled. "You... want me to ride those things?" she asked disbelievingly.


"Is it not obvious?" Venaius replied blankly, and grabbed my forehooves and placed the reins in them. I gulped as the creature snorted and looked at me. "Why are you two so anxious? Have you not ridden a cerati before?"


"N-no," I replied shakily, which got me a sardonic smirk from them both.


Gravetanicus likewise grabbed Skyfire's forehooves and pushed the reins into them, before joining Venaius a little further off. There was nothing else to do, and so I uneasily climbed onto the creature's leathery back. It snorted and growled, but otherwise remained still. It was enough to frighten me, though.


Skyfire did the same, and soon we found ourselves holding the reins of creatures we had never seen before. We could see the anxiousness on each other' faces; the doubt and the regret. It honestly didn't seem like such a bad idea to just trot to the Colosseum on our own.


"So, uh, we'll take it slow? Like a gentle ride along the countryside or something?" Skyfire asked anxiously.


Venaius snorted, "Of course not! That would be a terrible waste of time and the speed of our mounts." He turned to us, but looked at the cerati I sat upon specifically. Gravetanicus turned around as well and looked his mount in the eye. The creatures snorted at them, but they were unnervingly still. Almost like they were concentrating.


Then, without warning of any kind, the Legionnaires turned and galloped with shocking speed down the road. Their capes flew behind them, and the purple coloration of their clothing was all that distinguished the Legionnaires from the grey road.


"What about-..." Skyfire was saying, when our mounts reared and roared, and with unbelievable speed charged down the road after their masters. It actually felt good riding on the back of such sturdy creatures. My only regret was that I had not trained my private regions to withstand the pain of it.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

The Colosseum.


The icon of the Roaman world, where countless slaves from all over the ancient empire were forced to duel and slaughter for sport. Where thousands of lives were lost over the course centuries. The monument erected to house organized bloodshed over and over again for the entertainment of the masses. Even emperors had sat by and watched as the violence energized his people; some, like Commodus, would even partake in the killing.


And yet, for all the horror and terror that had been disguised by its walls, it was glorious.


It stood almost two-hundred feet high, and its circular make wound around to encompass an area of perhaps three-hundred square meters. Small statues and banners of various coloration were mounted upon its rim. Its faintly yellow coloration bore only the faintest of dirt and decay, and the signs of obvious maintenance marked the marble surface. Its arches, magnificent and almost untouched by the terrible hunger of time, stood as a testament to the power of Roaman engineering, and the light flowing through them was the kind of sight that would spawn inspiration in the hearts and minds of all who sought it. Massive construction cranes stood at the Colosseum's side and the Forum was in the background atop its mountain, making the entire scene look as though all of it put together formed a massive throne. And while most structures within a large radius were leveled either by the bombs or recent warfare, the Colosseum itself stood as an image of invincibility worthy of all emulation.


The wasteland had no grip on this monument of Roaman greatness.


But the wasteland, of course, had a grip on the land around it. Twenty-feet high walls of conglomerate metal, concrete, and marble surrounded the Colosseum, with two watchtowers jutting out of the ground behind the single metal gate that guarded the bustling settlement of sheet metal and plywood within. On both sides of the settlement were massive mountains of garbage and debris, and its heinousness marred the glorious sight before me. A very wide, almost purely marble road ran by in front of it, heading off to a slope that would lead it closer to the Forum. I knew this road merely from its size: it was the Road of Triumphs, the path all victorious commanders would parade down for self-gratification.


It would truly have been a moment of true awe and joy if my crotch didn't feel like it had been hammered repeatedly.


I groaned in relief as the cerati I rode upon ceased its agonizing charge. Skyfire's mount arrived a moment later, and I could have sworn her eyes were crossed from the pain. Venaius and Gravetanicus were nearby and took only a moment to catch their breaths before looking over the Colosseum with an expression that seemed to say that they hadn't seen it in a long time.


We stood on the top of a small hill of debris and dirt formed by the collapse of two nearby structures. If we slid down the slope of our elevation, we would find ourselves mere meters away from the Road of Triumphs. The glee the thought of stepping onto that road nearly banished all my pain.


My attention to the Colosseum was directed elsewhere, however, when Venaius lifted a forehoof and gestured at the distance. "There's the great Roamana cohort, Goldwreath. They are approaching the western bridge, and are only six or so miles out. They'll be here in an hour or so," he said simply, and turned around to see us recovering from the pain. He smirked, "Alright, I can see you've had enough of that. Now get off my mount or I'll have Volvek stomp you into the ground."


I complied gladly -- even though I was thinking of who Volvek might be; now I assume it was Venaius' mount -- as did Skyfire. Not that it wasn't great to have finally ridden a steed; on the contrary it was actually an awesome first time, it just really hurt. I groaned as I got off while Skyfire sat down and leaned on a hoof. While Venaius and Gravetanicus got back onto their steeds, I approached the edge of the mound of rubble we stood upon and looked over to the west.


The Roamana cohort was indeed approaching; the sight of a long and thick line of glimmering steel beginning to cross the western bridge assured it. Dozens upon dozens of specks of varied sizes and shapes marked the aircraft that they came with. The unmistakable behemoths of Omni-tanks bordered the column on both sides, yet were dwarfed in stature by even more titanic shapes that rolled along with them. The clear call of a powerful horn came from their direction, and responding horns called from all around us; those were the auxiliaries.


I flinched as Gravetanicus blew his horn right behind me, causing a painful ringing in my ears to ensue. When I finally recovered from that sonic assault, I managed to hear two separate horn calls from near the Colosseum -- one in the settlement right outside of it, and one a little bit down a road beside the Colosseum itself.


"Ah!" Venaius said, "So, others have already reached the Colosseum. Good, good. I suppose that takes some of the load of the task of securing that place off our shoulders."


"Indeed," Gravetanicus replied calmly.


The two Legionnaires rode their beasts a little ahead of us. "Come you two," Venaius said, "We will escort you to the Colosseum, after which we will perform our duty of making sure the place can't possibly hinder Roamana's advance. Come." Then he yanked at his beast's reins and the creature jumped onto the slope and slid down. Gravetanicus followed. Thankfully for us it wasn't that steep, so we got down quickly with minimal trouble.


We followed them a little way onto the Via Triumphos, my heart fluttering in delight both at the thought of finally getting to the Colosseum and from the fact of stepping onto the greatest road in Roam. I had, of course, to set aside my emotions, for we were soon to enter the Colosseum's boundaries, and Doomtune had made it quite clear the place was dangerous. What I needed now was an understanding of the political situation of the place.


Yet to my surprise, before I could open my mouth to voice my questions Skyfire next to me asked, "So what's with the place anyway?"


"Could you be more specific?" Gravetanicus replied.


"A friend of mine told me the place was crawling with all kinds of nasty people. Redeye's slavers in particular. What's with that? This territory is the Legion's, right? Why don't you kick them out?" Skyfire elaborated as we neared the center of the road's width.


They were silent for a while as they looked at each other. I could see the thought in their eyes, the signs of impending explanation forming on their faces. Clearly they had something to tell us, and they definitely seemed like they had no qualms with telling it. Now they were just thinking of how to do it.


The silence went on until at last Venaius said with a tone of reminiscence, "When we first emerged from the Forum, we expanded outwards in a violent operation of eradication. Most people here were savages -- raiders and petty slave groups, the occasional insane sniper with nothing to do, some influential gang leaders even -- but some were innocent civilians. Those people we spared, but they were not qualified for Legion citizenship, and therefore could not enter the Forum's boundaries."


Gravetanicus took over, "When the cohorts were given orders and assignments, we had most of the languishing populace join the auxiliaries of the other cohorts -- to be a Roamana cohort auxiliary, you had to come from the Forum. To be a Roamana Legionnaire, you had to have taken the intensive training as well -- while the rest of the people we built makeshift settlements for, such as the one around the Colosseum here. Now, of all places to be assigned, Roamana's power and ability was squandered on icy cities to the empire's north-eastern border. The protection and political supervision of Roam itself was given over to the unworthy Equestrius troops."


Venaius nodded and added grimly, "When Redeye came to Roam seeking his slaves, we called out for the immediate destruction of his expeditionary force before he gained allies. For a while Equestrius bent to our will and turned hostile on his troops, but that moment is passed. They ceased fire on the Legate's orders when Redeye's troops managed to ally with several powerful inter-city groups that we aren't at war with. Now, to continue our hostilities with them would be an indirect provocation and possibly a war declaration for those seduced by Redeye's promises." He scowled angrily.


Gravetanicus sighed disappointedly. "Indeed. We have many enemies, Skyfire. Not all are directly hostile with us, but they loathe us for our power. Many would see us fall, and most are forming an organized coalition with the remnants of Redeye's slavers as their head. Perhaps they aren't hostile yet, but the tension is there. We gave Roam's stability and protection over to an incapable cohort, and they have allowed a dire situation to spring forth when we have far greater enemies spawning in the south. For that, they have earned the spite of all the other cohorts."


Venaius took his turn and explained with a tone of suppressed anger and disgust, "So to put it simply, were we to attack the increasingly inhospitable inhabitants of the Colosseum -- the very people we spared, who now support Redeye -- there would be a high chance we would kill an ambassador or two of some of the coalition's members; Redeye's representative has turned the Colosseum into an embassy of sorts, and he receives an emissary or two a day. What's worse is that the Legion garrison there is powerless to do anything about it. It's shameful, having such a large and organized sovereign political entity and embassy in our own borders like that."


He let out a breath, and looked on at the Colosseum angrily. "One day... one day we will take back what is ours."


I nodded solemnly, processing the new information. So, the Legion didn't want to risk open war with a plethora of other powerful factions... sounded reasonable. With those monsters they were fighting to the south, a civil war would be a nightmare. Couple that with the wildlife they had to fend off, like that big kraken thing back at the bridge, and their war -- or at least the Equestrius cohort's war -- with the Specters, and you've got the formula for a massive strain on troops and resources. That mountain artillery thing couldn't possibly have been helping.


"Wow," Skyfire muttered, "I never would have thought the political situation around here was so... complicated. Kind of like how the Enclave is with the surface back home..."


"Enclave?" Venaius asked sharply and yanked at his beast's reigns, forcing it to stop. Gravetanicus turned around and looked at her curiously. "You are with the Grand Pegasus Enclave who have taken residence upon the clouds above Equestria?" he asked seriously.


Skyfire gasped. "Eh, no! You know, I heard things and all that, eheh. News travels and whatnot, right? I just heard it from some Equestrian who wandered over here, cause that kind of stuff can happen," she said in a hurried, unconvincing tone, and then gave a broad smile while sweat dripped down the side of her head.


Venaius looked at her flatly, as did Gravetanicus. "Really?" Venaius drawled. "You... 'heard' it from someone from Equestria? Who? The slavers?"


Skyfire stomped assertively. "Look, I don't like your suspicions. Just listen to me when I say that I didn't come from there, nor am I a pegasus!" She huffed and said nervously, "Er... eh, gods, what a, uh, suspicious bunch..."


The pair looked at her with the most mocking smiles of amusement. Venaius looked to Gravetanicus, and the latter smiled knowingly and shook his head. "Alright then," Venaius said simply as he turned his beast around and had it move forward slowly. We followed him, and I was suspicious of his slow pace and worried he was onto us. "I suppose I must believe you. After all, it would be quite the slander if Roamana's auxiliaries were caught mocking Roam's citizens. I suppose I'll just have to think of doing a clitoris."


I stopped dead in my tracks. Did he just say... oh, boy. Wings, please...


Skyfire looked at him with the most wide-eyed and puzzled look I had ever seen on her. "What?" she asked dumbly.


Gravetanicus barely suppressed a bark of laughter as Venaius continued, "Oh nothing. The thought of sexual intercourse just happened to cross my mind. You know, having my body move in rhythms against the sweating form of a mare..." He gave Skyfire a sardonic smile.


Wings, please...


Skyfire gulped, very visibly discomforted by the sudden and shamefully arousing words. I could see her cheeks flaming, her wings beginning to flare out. Wait... flare out... oh, shit! That's what he was trying to do.


"You know, putting my physical prowess to the test. Putting these hindquarters to work, having all of my muscles exerting effort all at once with my nerves all excited..." he continued with a growing smile of disturbing amusement. "Hearing the sounds of pleasure resonate through a room, echoing off the walls and adding to the heat of the moment... going at it until orgasm for both of us is a mere second or two away, stuff like that..."


I wanted to do something before our cover was blown, but I was too late. Skyfire's wings flared out stiff, and her face showed both shame and anxiety as she cringed on the marble road, attempting to force her aroused appendages down with her forehooves. I shuffled uncomfortable as I felt my own appendages stick out with undeniable clarity.


The pair burst out into chuckles of sickening amusement. "I knew it!" Venaius said with a snicker. "You are from the Enclave! Ah, what a pleasant surprise. I knew you matching the description we were given of the pegasi who came here was no coincidence. I always admired pegasi, actually; so free and untroubled, capable of flying away from their troubles... 'tis a gift devoutly to be wished." Gravetanicus likewise managed to get his amusement under control.


The smile on Venaius' face disappeared and his expression turned sympathetic as he got off his steed and approached her. She tried backing away a bit, looking quite embarrassed. I wanted to step in between them, but I had the feeling he had ceased to be in the mood for such jokes. "I am sorry for your loss, Skyfire. I understand that the pegasi Thanus' auxiliaries killed were perhaps dear to you. It may not mean much nor will it bring them back, but for what it's worth, I apologize on behalf of the Legion." Then he lowered his head to almost touch the ground in a deep and reverent bow.


I didn't know why I thought so, but something changed at that moment. Something in Skyfire's eyes were gone, or at least quickly fading. At that moment my disturbing ability came back and I sensed something move in her mind. A feeling, hot and painful, was flowing down some kind of drain. The look she gave the apologetic Legionnaire in front of her was not one of scorn nor of disbelief, but one of acceptance.


Skyfire nodded as she darted her eyes between the ground and Venaius. "Thanks," she said softly, and a wan smile crossed her face.


Venaius nodded and looked at me, and his eyes widened. He looked me over for a moment in disbelief, but finally managed to stutter out, "P-praetorian?"


Well, fuck you wings. And you too, brain, for so quickly having my biology betray me. Come to think of it, I don't think my wings were the only things erect at that moment...


I sighed. Well, there was no denying it now. I would just have to hope that Zaita's words of other cohort troops not being hostile to me were true. I nodded, "Yes, I am indeed Roam's Praetorian -- it was a title given to me by some people who lived off in a settlement named Via Oppidum, and since then my identity has spread like wildfire." I assumed a combat stance, just in case. "And I will have you know that I will broker no threat to this city from anyone as long as I can help it."


Maybe it was wrong to assume a stance of aggression, and maybe it was wrong for me to so simply acknowledge my identity. But these people were by their military oath -- The Sacramentum -- the protectors of Roam and all her holdings. For that I could give them some respect and not fool around with them. Why, compared to these troops, I didn't even have any right to do as I was -- I was an ambitious vigilante, nothing more.


The looks they gave me were blank at first, almost unnervingly so. They seemed to be having trouble thinking on just exactly how to react. It was eating away at me to know that if the rest of the Legion did have something against me, then all it would take for them to get at me was for either of these two auxiliaries to pull out their radio and call for help. I was scared I had just made a terrible mistake.


The tension built up until I would have just attacked them just to make sure they didn't do anything but then Venaius smiled broadly and spread his forehooves out wide. "Ah, Praetorian!" he said aloud, and before I knew it he had me in a brotherly embrace tighter than I could have tried to broken free from in the shock I was in. "It is good to finally meet the one citizen who decided to take up arms against Thanus' oppressive cohort and do some good!" He pulled away and looked me in the eyes, still smiling.


Oh, good! So it really was just Thanus' cohort who didn't like me. The confirmation of that thought sent a massive wave of relief spreading to every part of my body. I let my relief show on my face as I let out a relaxed breath and returned their smiles. "That is good to hear," I said with an easy grin. "I've been hounded by Equestrius Legionnaires ever since I went against them. It's good to know that you at least are friendly with me."


"No doubt it is," Gravetanicus chimed. "I understand that being in a position such as yours would merit great responsibility. Hatred, of course, would also be expected. After all, not all people know of the individualism of cohorts. Most would think that just because someone from the Ursalanix cohort killed a civilian that it means the entire Legion is at war with them. The truth is the Legion really resembles a coalition in structure and therefore each cohort is its own separate entity." He shook his head disappointedly but looked back at us. "You at least now know this, and hopefully any hatred you or your companions have of us are restricted to Equestrius."


I nodded. "It is, don't worry." I could not speak for Skyfire, of course. I looked over at my pegasus friend and saw conflict in her eyes. Perhaps some part of her still blamed the entire Legion for her loss, but I could see her trying to think otherwise. That was good, and indicated a much sought-after change in disposition towards the Legion in general.


"Very good!" Venaius said aloud as he got back onto his cerati. "Now come, we have tarried long enough. The Colosseum awaits!"

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

"Let us in, morionem!" Venaius yelled up at the gatekeeper of the town. Gravetanicus had told us the settlement was called 'Castellum Collosei' which was Imperial for 'Fort Colosseum'; the Legion's priorities had apparently not included 'thinking of good names for our makeshift settlements'. The gate keeper himself was a brown earth pony buck with a crazed look on his face. In fact, given how he looked, I seriously doubted this guy was actually the legitimate gatekeeper.


The pony leaned over the railings to look down at us with a mocking smile. "Uh... the answer's still no. Not unless you tell me the password!" he said with a dumb chuckle. "Or, you know, unless you give me all your stuff."


"Ydiota!" Venaius said with a frustrated facehoof. He dragged his hoof down over his face with a growl of anger. "Listen, degeneres, let us in or I swear by the gods I will tear open your flank and shove a boulder in your hole! You've tried our patience for ten minutes!"


The pony laughed; clearly he liked being on our nerves. Had the settlement not had -- according to the two of them -- an Equestrius garrison, I would have just flown up and forced the imbecile to open the gate for us. Suddenly, though, the pony's eyes widened and he was yanked away from the edge of the wall. Scornful shouts ensued, and a Legionnaire wearing leather Legion armor peeked over the edge. He looked behind him and yelled, and at once the gate started its gratingly slow ascent.


When the gate was at last raised, the four of us went inside. The two Roamana auxiliaries had left their steeds outside near the gate, where another three cerati were.


Castellum Collosei was not a remarkable settlement. Really, it was just a wide circular area with ramshackle houses of sheet metal and wood. Stores were nothing more than cubes of conglomerate concrete wound together tightly with wire. Homes seemed on the verge of collapsing under the mere weight of their sheet metal roofs. The narrow dirt paths were littered with used wrappers and filth of all kinds. A foul reek filled filled the air; sickening and puke-inducing. The atmosphere was tense and inhospitable, and the heat of midday only served to bring the scent of sweat to my nose. Dirty and scantily clothed zebras and ponies trotted about, giving the occasional Equestrius Legionnaire a glare behind their backs.


There were some that weren't scantily clothed or starved-looking, though. They wore clothing of bright colors and leather armor of various coloration and make, and tattoos of various designs snaked over their coats. Others still held staffs marked with a green gem atop the scepter and were clothed in clothing that looked like it was made of feathers. Others wore headdresses made of fur and and leather. Various more styles of appearance appeared; clearly all these people were not all from Roam or maybe even the remnants of the Roaman empire.


Among those people was one particular group -- all ponies -- who wore fierce and spiked metal armor atop their brown tunics, and in their hooves were weapons of great diversity. They seemed to have a particularly large building near the Colosseum's entrance all to themselves, and atop the structure was a flowing flag decorated with red and black, and within it was a stylized white eye with a crimson iris dominating the center.


That was Redeye's embassy.


An eruption of disgust and hatred exploded in my head and drive me to begin idly trotting towards the structure. At that time thoughts of eradicating his forces here flooded into my mind, and against all reason I wanted to put them into action. Slavery... the most sickening thing; there was nothing more heinous than believing one actually owned another person.


My entranced trot was broken, however, when shouts called out from behind me. I turned to see Venaius and Gravetanicus scolding a pair of Equestrius auxiliaries; apparently the former pair found it insulting to them to have been kept out for so long and disgraceful that the latter pair were so tardy at performing their jobs. The Equestrius troops glared at the ground as the Roamana auxiliaries raved at them with no restraint... good! Those louts deserved all the scorn they got for letting Roam fall into such a dire situation.


Skyfire approached. "Whelp," she said, "Hand me the money."


I blinked at her in confusion. "What?"


She stuck out a hoof. "The caps. I'm gonna buy and sell stuff so you can focus on seeing the sights."


I shook my head, "While that's nice, I don't think it's a good idea. Not only do you not know Imperial and therefore may be scammed, but I also don't think it's fair that you get stuck with the work. Will you not join me in seeing the sights? We both came here for that, after all."


She gave me a flat, narrow-eyed look. She was stubborn, and she wasn't going to stop being stubborn. She knew it and I knew it. "You really sure that's a good choice of words?" she asked with a faint smile of amusement. "The longer you stay here just arguing with me, the less time you have for the Colosseum."


Fuck it.


"I hate you and myself -- here," I said with a bemused tone and shoved the pouch of caps I had brought with me into her hooves. She smirked with satisfaction. "Sure, enjoy your little satisfactions, just don't get scammed. And for the gods' sakes, if you need some help then look for it from someone you trust. I don't want you to have been robbed at store just because-..."


"Yeah, yeah, I got it," she interrupted. "Look, I've learned some stuff from you and all that, m'kay? I'll be careful and not risk anything, don't worry. Besides, if anything goes wrong, I brought this baby." She pulled out her SMG halfway out of her clothing just long enough for me to see it. Then she rolled her eyes with amusement and trotted off. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to get stuff we'll need -- ammo, and maybe something better for me than this crappy SMG," she said as she got further off.


That left me to do whatever I wanted wanted for the next hour -- more than enough time to explore the Colosseum. Screw the town around it; I was a curious pony, sure, but the mere sight of the settlement revolted me, and I wanted to get as little of it in my sight as possible.


I smiled and was about to trot off for the Colosseum itself, when three other Roamana auxiliaries emerged from the crowd and spotted Venaius and Gravetanicus shooing away the incompetent Equestrius troops. Then they approached them and called them out with with friendly greetings. Curiosity bade me stay for a moment as they chatted for a good minute. My patience was answered when they all started looking around for a moment, and when Venaius spotted me he called all of them to join him in approaching me.


"This," Gravetanicus said as they neared, "Is the individual we have to thank for attempting to give Roam a bit of the peace it deserves." He quieted his voice down as he continued, "This person, friends, is the Praetorian."


That got me all kinds of supportive and friendly smiles from the three auxiliaries. They approached me one by one and introduced themselves as Bailan, Mavius, and Delvius. Good people the three of them, even if Mavius was a little too stoic in nature to say anything more than a polite greeting. It would have been better, as well, if Bailan hadn't headbutted me. I understood he was the kind of energetic person who loved physical contact, but it didn't really help that he wore a heavy helmet of metal while I had nothing on my head.


The four of them departed with polite bows and took their leave except for Delvius. He seemed too interested in further talking with the apparently famous Praetorian to depart from my presence. Well, it was nice to have a friendly companion with me as I neared the Colosseum.


"So I hear that you destroyed two of Equestrius' aircraft and one of their tanks in your encounter with them," he said as we moved down a stone-paved path down the center of town. "An impressive feat, if I might say so myself."


I smiled with pride and nodded. "Well, I didn't really want to have to kill them, but yes I did." I took a momentary pause and asked him, "Explain this to me: does everyone hate the Equestrius cohort? Because from the way Venaius and his friend acted, it seems like they do."


"They do," Delvius said to me. "Even prior to our exodus onto the surface, Equestrius proved to be a troublesome sect of our armed forces. Always clamoring, always debating... annoying. And then on the surface, look at what they did! They let Roam fall into such a state of calamity with their wars and their failed diplomatic operations. Now Vesperius will need to spend weeks rebuilding ties with the city's inhabitants."


I nodded with understanding. Roam was indeed in a state of war amongst all of its inhabitants. Another question came to mind. "How does everyone in Roamana know of me, anyway?" He gave me a quizzical look. "Like, how do they know the physical descriptions of my friends? That I'm a pegasus? So on and so forth; I'd like to know."


"Ah," he said in understanding. "Well, it isn't just our cohort. Ursalanix and Felinixia know of you as well, and I'm sure the others do too. As for how... well, we do have radios and access to the Databank network. We just listened in on what you were doing whenever news would come about you, basically."


"Alright," I said. "Any other reason? Because while I understand that, you guys seem to like me out of familiarity."


"That's because we are familiar with you. That, and because we respect you and what you've done, of course," he replied.


I cocked my head, "But how are you familiar with me? I don't think that that sort of familiarity can come from merely listening about me on the radio."


Delvius stopped trotting and looked at me, puckering his lips in contemplation. Clearly he wanted to tell me something but was wondering how to. Then his eyes brightened, and he procured from his backpack what appeared to be a journal notebook of a sort. "Perhaps I might be somewhat responsible for Roamana's familiarity with you," he admitted with a sheepish smile. He handed me the notebook, and I opened it. Within was pages worth of words detailing my exploits since I had first been aired on the radio by the DJ a month ago.


"Wow, this is a lot -- almost like a story. How'd you get wind of the stuff in between my major doings?" I asked with amazement as I flipped through the pages. Huh, there was the bridge encounter with that kraken thing...


He chuckled with embarrassed pride as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, I was kinda forced to join the Legion; not enough auxiliaries, so they said. Thing is, I'm really more of a writer. It's my hobby, and I got fairly known while I wrote back before our exodus. Now, I've got a lot of free time as an auxiliary, and when we were stationed at Arx barely anything happened. It was so, SO boring. We had to practice against each other just to make sure our skills didn't get rusty."


He shivered from the apparent horror of the boredom he had gone through. "We have you to thank for helping to get us through our time there, you know. We were devastated when we heard we weren't being assigned to Roam, and we were just aching for news about the city. That's when we heard of you." He took in a deep breath and looked at me. "As for the pages worth of your exploits, I actually turned writing what you did into a story. You know, I'd listen in for the latest bit of your doings that one of our bots or troops picked up, and I'd incorporate it into the third-person I'm writing. I just filled the stuff in between with what I think happened. I don't know if you actually rode the trains in the underground when you went to the Specter base in your third week, or if you helped out at the dam battle."


I was amazed at the turn of events. I had woken up this morning thinking the Legion to be my ultimate enemy, yet now I was finding out I was actually held in high regard for opposing the terribly performing Equestrius cohort. I guess I could be lucky at times. "So you're an author then? You've been spreading this around the Roamana's ranks to entertain or something?"


He smiled sheepishly but nodded. "Yeah, figured the guys without anything to do would appreciate reading my imaginary tales based off your real-life exploits. I honestly think it's one of the reasons why they love you -- and I'll put a little credit to my writing, thank you very much." He took in a deep breath and looked to the sky with pride.


I gave him a smile. "Hey, I'm not saying you shouldn't take pride in your work. Hell, it got me the respect and familiarity of the most powerful cohort," I replied. "So, what are you gonna name it? The story, I mean -- you do give your stories titles, right?"


"That I do," he replied. Then he brought up a hoof to his chin in thought. "As for the title, I don't know... you did help to spark a lot of change in Roam's political landscape... I don't know, 'New Roam'?"


It was a good title, but there was a slight problem with that. "Could work, but there's a place called New Roam. It would probably confuse. Just saying."


He nodded thankfully, "Thanks. Good thing I didn't go with that, then. I guess I'll just think on it." Heh, I liked that guy. He had an appealing hobby, and it was also one that brought enlightenment. Legionnaires really were interesting people to talk to when you got to know them. Plus they had the kind of experience that was stuff worthy of being told in tales.


After that we continued on the rest of the paved path to one of the Colosseum's many entrances. The walk there reminded me of just how much the Legion wasn't liked here, as on our way we were given quite a few glares and mocking laughs that we both didn't seem to like the feel of. What was worse was that the Equestrius troops posted here and there looked at me and the Roamana auxiliary with looks of contempt and suspicion rather than of hospitality.


And at last we reached the Colosseum. It was so close I could actually touch it. It was so tall, so epic... the arches, the cleanliness of the marble, the statues... The feeling I had at that moment sent all kinds of feelings of puniness and awe to my head, and they made me stare at it with an agape mouth and wide eyes. Delvius likewise looked amazed, even if he had clearly been here before.


I took some steps forward to enter, still looking upwards, when a hoof pressed into my chest and forced me to look back down. The pony who looked back at me did NOT look friendly. "Hold on there, pal," he said mockingly, "No one enters the Colosseum without Seashore's permission. And from the looks of you, you don't have it." He glanced aside and looked at Delvius with a bored look. "You can't enter either."


"What manner of madness is this?" Delvius said angrily and stomped forward. The pony flinched at his approach but held his ground. "How dare you seal off Roam's monument from its people!" he scolded, "What authority have you to restrict a Legionnaire's rights to enter into places he swore to protect? What manner of ignorant savage are you? Do you not know who owns this city, cur? WE the Legion own this city and all the empire of Roam's holdings, not some pompous fool in Equestria who sends slavers into OUR land to gather SLAVES from its populace! What do you think of us? That we would return back to the abominable practice of slavery?" He brought out his hoof and tapped the pony's head with each word, "You. Are. A. Worthless. Barbarian. You do not have any power to keep me out."


The pony was trembling with fear and uncertainty by the time Delvius was done raving. Still, he managed to get out shakily, "Um, well... you still can't enter, p-pal."


Delvius scowled and grabbed the pony by the collar of his vest, then raised a hoof as if to mug him. "Then find a way to let us enter or so help me I will beat you senseless until you can't possibly breathe through a nose so bloodied it would-..."


That was all he managed to get out when a great bell rang from within the Colosseum itself. For a moment the two of us were confused, and the bell rang again. A great crowd started gathering behind us and started making their way to the several entrances of the Colosseum. The looks on their faces were excited and eager, like what was about to happen would please them greatly.


Delvius yanked the nervous pony closer. "You," he threatened, "Tell me what is happening or I will break all your teeth off and shove them into your eyeballs!"


The bell rang again, and the crowd's approach sped up into a canter. The noise of their excitement was filling the air, and it was difficult to hear anything else.


"Tell me!" Delvius yelled in the pony's face.


"Alright, alright you can enter!" the pony wailed, and it was almost unheard because of the increasing noise.


Delvius smacked him across the face. "What is going on, you idiot!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.


Too late. The crowd sped past us and into the Colosseum in a hasty, frenzied gallop, rendering all auditory ability useless in the face of their clamor. Equestrius troops were swept along with them as they flooded inside, either caught in the see of equines or willingly going with the flow. Redeye's troops joined them eagerly, as did most of the non-Roaman appearing zebras. The occasional blur of purple tunics and capes signified the Roamana auxiliaries as they turned around in confusion.


But I needn't ask anymore, for I had discerned what was going to happen. It was the subject of the crowd's frantic cries of excitement, and had been the single ugliest blot on Roam's civility in ancient times.


It was the epitome of cruelty to slaves. It was gladiatorial combat.





Footnote: Level Up
New perk gained: Zebra Speech, Level Two – You're putting those lessons to use. Thanks to increased understanding of Imperial Zebrican, you have an easier time communicating with all Roaman zebra characters.