//------------------------------// // Runaway Part 3 (Spike) // Story: Aftermath of a Fallen Star // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// Aftermath of A Fallen Star By Rated Ponystar Formerly Edited by The Unnamed Pawn and Commander X5 Pre-Read/Edited by: Magic Man, Chaotic Note, Grand_Moff_Pony, and Darth Link 22 Runaway Part 3 (Spike’s POV) *** It didn’t take me long to find Aquilina thanks to the fact that there were many crowds around this time of day. We walked along the dock lines as I saw stores and vendors opening up while those who looked hungover were walking around complaining about how much they had to drink. I saw a few normal looking ones, some with families or friends, but what really caught my attention was the children. They had young ponies, dragons, griffins, minotaurs and such running around in rags asking for change or just playing with a smile on their face. It pained me to see them so poor and without parents, but I guess in this kind of island its normal. “Will you quit following me already?!” shouted Aquilina so loud she blew Peewee off my shoulder. “Seriously, are you some kind of stalker or something? Just because you touched my butt doesn’t mean I’m suddenly your girl!” “Nothing like that!” I shouted, blushing like crazy. “That was an accident!” Aquilina snorted and turned away. “Yeah right. All guys are perverts. I know from experience.” I rolled my eyes. “You know, you could be a little nicer?” “And you can go soak your head,” replied Aquilina. She then glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “Are you seriously thinking you can go and join the Red Lightings?” “I can try, right?” I asked. “I mean you got in.” “I’m a special case,” she whispered, but went silent after that. We continued on until we made a turn into the main street. I took this time to get a good feel about the town I was in. It reminded me a lot of Baltimare, except a little more old fashioned like from two hundred years ago. There were some buildings that looked to be ready to fall apart soon. The second tallest buildings seemed to be the churches, but I couldn’t tell for which gods. The tallest and biggest place looked to be built like a fortress. It was almost as big as Canterlot Castle, but more cold looking with black stones, chains, and spikes on the walls. “Is that one of the prison fortresses?” I asked, pointing to it at the distance. “Yeah, every major island has one,” answered Aquilina. “Each of them is owned by the most powerful rulers in the area. Although some are used for other purposes like guilds and armies and such. Most of them were cleaned out after the rebellion, but some say there still treasures hidden in them.” She then stopped and grinned at me before lowering her voice. “They also say the prisoners who were torched and killed there continue to haunt the place. Forever seeking vengeance against those who imprisoned them. Like little annoying dragons.” I stared at her for a moment before replying, “Stick to being angry. You’re scarier that way.” I got a punch in the face for that one, but I didn’t mind. It was worth it. *** “Woah,” was all I could say when I stood in front of the headquarters of the Red Lighting guild. “What a piece of junk!” I was expecting something more military like that represented the barracks or military headquarters Shining Armor took me to once. Or at least something more cooler instead of a worn down and abandoned house that was only two stories tall. I watched as a few mice scattered out of the place while a window collecting dust found itself falling out of place and scattering into pieces on the ground. Even the logo “Red Lighting” was only hanging by one nail on the board. “This... is a joke, right?” I asked, even Peewee couldn’t help but shake his head at the place. “Looks can be deceiving,” replied Aquilina as she prepared to walk in. A large minotaur with an axe that could slice me into two stood in the way. She nodded to him and passed by him without a second glance. “Later, Spike.” I blinked and tried to follow, but the minotaur just put his axe down right in front of my nose, inches away from peeling it off. I gulped and slowly looked up towards the guard who glared at me before huffing. “Um, I just want to join? You see I met Marc and... um...” I just began to back away with a nervous laugh. “I’m just going to wait here for Aquilina, ok?” He didn’t respond but when I was far enough away he put the ax behind his back and crossed his arms, his gaze turning elsewhere. I sighed in relief as I walked to the the side of the street and sat on a barrel just standing there. I turned to my phoenix friend and asked, “You wanna negotiate with him?” Peewee shook his head. “Come on! You’re the one who can regenerate if killed,” I complained, but the phoenix only gave me a glare. “Fine. I guess we just wait for Marc or Aquilina to show up.” *** I waited for hours. Looking at the sun, I could tell it had just past the noon hour. Peewee was sleeping on a lamp post nearby as I kept glancing at the entrance to the Red Lighting HQ. The minotaur hadn’t once moved from his spot or even flinched at all. A few other individuals, all armed and tough looking, walked past him without being stopped. I tried to think of how these guys could be one of the so called “Big Four” of Erebus and yet have such a rundown of a place to hang out. Despite a roaring hunger in my stomach, and feeling insanely bored, I didn’t give up. I stayed there until at last I saw Aquilina come out, holding a flyer in one of her claws as she used her wings to float above the ground. When she spotted me, her eyes widened in surprise. “You’re still here? I’ve been inside for hours!” “I told you,” I said, getting up and marching up to her with determination in my eyes. “I want to join the guild.” Slapping her claw to her forehead, Aquilina shouted, “You are the most stubborn dragon I have ever met! Do you even know the meaning of the word ‘no’?” She narrowed her eyes and flew past my height so that she was looking down at me. “Look I have no more time to waste with you. I have a job to get some shipment from a ship called Siren’s Chains and deliver it to a client.” “Let me prove myself! Let me go with you!” I shouted. “This isn’t some adventure tale where the good guys always win. These missions are dangerous, even the little ones I take can result in my death. Why are you so obsessed with throwing your life away like this like an idiot? What reason could you have to being so determined to be stronger?” “Because I have nothing else left!” I shouted, finally tired of her mouth. I had tried to be nice, but she had done nothing but put me down since the start. “You have no idea what I’ve been through! I’ve lost my mom, left my friends, my home, everything just so I can-” “Run away from your problems?” she interjected which made me freeze up. “‘Cause that sounds like all you’re doing. So your mom is dead? Guess what, mine is too!” She landed in front of me and showed me that strange tattoo I saw on her the first time I woke up with her in bed. “See this? This is the symbol of a slave. I was born a slave. My mom was a slave. And when she died I had to run halfway across Erebus just to find my uncle to take me in. I’ve literally seen my old master ruck my mother with his cock nearly twenty-four seven since I was rucking three!” “You...” I whispered as I felt my heart sink. “And when she didn’t perform well enough for him one night, guess what my master did,” she demanded, her mouth twisting into such hate that I felt my feet move back before I could realize it. “He forced her to have sex with all his soldiers, his other slaves, and even his own sister.” “W-why didn’t she fight back?!” I shouted, horrified that such a thing could be done. Death seemed to be an even better fate. “Remember when I told you about Ars Arcanum?” Aquilina asked. “They have spells that they put on their slaves to force them to obey their master’s command. Without any resistance. My mother could have begged a million times in her head, but the spells forced her body to do it.” A tear then dripped from her head. “When my mother was finally done the first thing she did was throw herself out a window and fall to her death. Didn’t even bother flying. She didn’t even say goodbye to me.” I just stood there in horror. I had never thought I would meet someone whose life was worse than mine. A part of me wanted to deny this, that she was just lying to mess with me, but one look into those dark cold eyes told me the truth. Aquilina had lost her mom, but in an even worse way than I lost mine. “And you know what the sickest thing is...” Aquilina spat on the ground. “That bastard that forced my mother to do all those things? Was my dear old dad.” My jaw dropped. “Oh yeah. My master was my father but he didn’t care. All he saw in me was just another slave to feed grapes into his mouth, wash his paws and tail, and groom me into pleasing him when I hit my teen years.” “... how could the gods allow such a person to live?” I asked in disbelief. “Beats me, but that’s why I say ruck the gods and take power into your own paws.” She drew one of her knives and grinned. “I took a knife and cut my fat ruck of a father’s throat when he wasn’t looking. Ran away until I reached here and meet Uncle Rupert who I knew thanks to my mom telling me about him.” She put her knife away. “I fight so I won’t ever end up like my mother and I live so that I can kill any slaver or master that has the displeasure of meeting me. Same for rucking Ars Arcanum.” I tried to say something, but for a long time I couldn’t. Was this really what Erebus was? Was this really such a hellhole to live in? I kept thinking this as doubt began to creep into my heart and I began to wonder if this was such a good idea. Did I want to get stronger, yes. But looking at Aquilina and hearing her story, I wondered just how broken she and everyone on this island was. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked. Aquilina snorted and turned away from me. “Because you’re not the only rucking sad story on this island. Everyone has lost someone, been through hell, or has had their entire lives ruined. My story? Not even the saddest one out there so I don’t even mind telling you it. The truth is we’re all messed up here in Erebus and unless you want to end up that way too, I suggest you head home. Because there is nothing for you here.” And with that said she walked away. Leaving me alone to my thoughts in silence. I felt Peewee land on my shoulder and start to sing to make me feel better, but it didn’t work. I just stared at a retreating Aquilina and felt sorrow not just for her, but for some reason every island inhabitant in Erebus. *** I stared at the fire that was roaring at the fireplace in Rupert’s bar. There weren’t too many customers around so I was left on my own with a mug of soda. Peewee kept cooing as I stroked him with my claw, deep in my thoughts. I kept thinking of what Aquilina said and I started to feel that maybe she was right. Was I really over my head? Was I just fooling myself into thinking I could run away from everything? Was I better off just going home? “You look loss, kid,” said Rupert as he sat down next to me and sighed. “Aquilina’s got a runt of a mouth, but it must have been really bad if she’s got you like this.” “... she told me about your sister,” I whispered which made Rupert freeze up a bit as his eyes hardened, but he sighed. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be...” he whispered, shaking his head. “I thought for years she was dead until Aquilina came and told me what happened. Kinda wish she was instead of being a sex slave.” He shrugged. “But that’s Erebus for you.” “Why?!” I shouted, slamming my mug on the table. “Why does it have to be this way?! Why doesn’t anyone change anything?! Are all of you really so content to live in such a way that life is cheap?!” Rupert stared at me and shook his head. “Kid, can you honestly tell me that life itself isn’t hard? It sucks. Plain and simple. Doesn’t matter if it’s here or Equestria or wherever. Life is hard on everyone in various ways. Besides, some of us make a living. Some of us are happy. It’s just we accept the outcome of when things go wrong.” “Things shouldn’t go this wrong... my mother wouldn’t have let things go wrong like this,” I whispered, thinking of how Twilight would handle this. She wouldn’t have stopped until everyone was learning about friendship and working together. She would have dropped everything to save them with her friends by her side. “Well, unless your mother is a goddess I seriously doubt that,” replied Rupert, who patted my back. For some reason I suddenly asked, “Rupert. Do you believe one single soul can change anything?” “Change anything? No,” he answered before looking at me with a smile. “Change doesn’t happen from one person. However, that one person can start the change by changing others. When they change with him, and he gets more like him, then together they can change the world.” I thought about that and thought more about Twilight. Twilight had tried to change Equestria on her own. Her friends and family wanted to help, but she burdened herself with almost everything. Even when others did help, she forced them to take the minimum so she can do the most. I saw what that had done to her. How hurt she was and how broken she was in her last days. She smiled and tried to hide it from me, but I saw how going at it alone had been so painful. If she had given all of us an equal share of the work... if she started small... could things have been different? Now Equestria was divided. My home was divided. Everything Twilight tried to do was falling. Could I really, as her son, let that happen? Yet what could I have done? I was weak. I was nobody. I hadn’t changed myself or anything. So deep in my thoughts that I almost missed what the group next to me was whispering. “So, you managed to give those fliers to the guilds?” asked a pony with an eye-patch. “Yeah, didn’t suspect a thing. Gotta say, this is one brilliant racket,” whispered a griffin flicking a dagger back and forth. “Little do those suckers know that instead of a delivery, they’re going to Slaver’s Island in chains.” I froze as did Peewee who perked up upon hearing that. I slowly inched closer. “What was the ship we have to go on again to get our pay?” “Siren’s Chains, and it will be the easiest pay yet.” *** Looking back, I wonder why I didn’t just tell Rupert what I hear. Instead, being the kid that I was, I decided to rescue Aquilina on my own. Well, I had Peewee, but he wasn’t a full on grown Phoenix. Still, it was a suicide mission, but I had been through the Everfree Forest and faced other dangers along the way. That was all that kept me going in the confidence department at least. I waited until the ones I overheard left the bar and I followed them as quietly as possible. Thankfully, they were too drunk and distracted by the fact they were getting paid a big sum of silver for their job. Peewee kept to the air and I made sure to watch him as some big crowds of mercenaries got in my path. They didn’t pay too much attention to me, most likely thinking I was one of the beggar kids I saw from earlier. At last we made it to the end of the docks where I saw the ship. It didn’t stand out from your normal ship except for two things. The female minotaur carving with big... breasts (seriously, Princess Celestia’s flanks weren’t even that size) at the front of the ship, and the chains that were nailed on the sides. I later would learn that ships with chains meant they were slaver ships. I hid behind some barrels as Peewee landed next to me and I watched the group I had been following go on the ship where a large minotaur, bare chested with an eye-patch, waited for them alongside two griffins dressed in armor. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but it sounded like some kind of argument. That was later proven when the big minotaur and his goons, raised their pistols and shot all of them dead. That was the first time I heard and saw a gun, a weapon that had helped the griffins repel the Yaks a few years ago and forced them to sign a peace treaty for the first time in a thousand years. And Yaks rarely ever sign peace treaties; the only time before being with Equestria after the Chaos Era when Discord was in charge. The dead bodies were thrown overboard and the crew went back to their business. Knowing that these guys would shoot first and ask questions later, I tried to figure out a way to get in without being noticed. That was when I spotted an open window on the ship’s lower floor. Silently heading into the water, I swam to the ship and used my claws to climb my way up. I had to be quiet and dig my claws real deep in the wood to keep a grip, but I soon made it towards the window. I motioned to Peewee for a quick look to see if the coast was clear and he ducked inside. He came out a few moments later and nodded his head for the all clear. Pushing myself up, I rolled inside and looked around only to be disgusted by what I saw. Cages full of ponies, griffins, diamond dogs, and more. All of them as young as Aquilina and I or as old as a teenager. They wanted the younger and newbie guild members. Easier to overpower and more expensive to sell.  Some of them looked at me with wide eyes upon seeing me with no chains, some even muffing through the mouth guards they had on them. I looked around, trying to find Aquilina until I finally did. She was unconscious, with a lot of scratch marks on her and bleeding lip alongside a black eye. There was no key, but I didn’t need one. I blew a small flame from my mouth and melted the lock, opening the door. The sound must have woke Aquilina up as she opened her eyes in shock then fear upon feeling the holdings upon her. “Shh! Shhh!” I hissed, grabbing her by the shoulders. “It’s me! Quiet!” She soon calmed down and nodded. I quickly found the pin that kept the mouth guard in place and removed it, freeing her mouth. Naturally, the first thing she did was let out a series of curses; quietly might I add. When she was done, I raised my eyebrow. “Finished?” “No, but I’ll save it for later,” she muttered and looked at me. “What are you doing here?” “Rescuing you,” I answered as I used my flame to break off the rest of the chains and free her limbs. “Why?” she whispered. “W-why would you... after what I said...” “Because jerk or not, you don’t deserve to be a slave,” I said, glaring at her. “Nobody does.” Aquilina was silent before she lowered her head and nodded. “Thank you... Spike...” I smirked before looking at the rest of the cages, filled with those hoping I could free them as well. I winced. If would take forever to free these guys and I didn’t want to leave them. “Are there any keys in this place?” “Over there!” said Aquilina, pointing a rack I missed where, low and behold, were some keys dangling on a chain. “Grab them!” I rushed over and did so, but as soon as I did I heard the door open and I turned around to find a stunned griffin looking at me. A split second later he shouted, “Intruder!” He grabbed a pistol by his waist and pointed it at me. I saw him aiming right between my eyes. A second later he fired.