Fallout Equestria: Falling Shadows

by Drako Moon

Chapter 18: Liars And Monsters

Silver Snips laughed and looked over at my companions, “Who’re your friends? I mean I kinda met Stardust before you left Cartwheel, but who are the other two?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, the griffon is Aura Bloodtalon she…well she tried to capture me a little while back, then I saved her life. After that she owed me a life debt, then later became my bodyguard and…”

Aura stepped in front of me before I could finish, “I’m a freelancer talon, let’s just say that our meeting was complicated.”

“Oh, I’ve never really met a griffon before, your kind doesn’t come to Cartwheel very often.”

Aura just rolled her eyes as I continued, “This is Wingnut, he’s a colt we saved a few days ago from some Cazadores. He’s been traveling with us ever since.”

“Hi, you’re really pretty,” he blurted out like the foal he is. Goddesses, did he hit on every mare he met? Though I have to admit, he wasn’t wrong. Even with her short mane and the faint scars along her neck and brow from her brief imprisonment, she was still a striking mare. Her smile could still light up a room, it was nice to see she was still her happy self.

She giggled a little, “Why thank you.”

“Anyway, as I was saying before, why are you all the way out here Silver?”

She looked at me, “Well, ever since you took down The Boss and his raiders, the path to New Pegasus has been a lot safer. Back when my mother ran the shop she used to have trade agreements with a few ponies in the city and a couple towns in between. I figured that since it was safe now, I’d see if I could start setting up those agreements again and get Cartwheel back on the map as a trading outpost.”

“So, you decided to join a caravan going here to set up trade?”

“Well not at first. I first left with two ponies that were heading this way, we ran into trouble back near Appleton. A bunch of pegasi are swarming the town now, the two I was with ran off. After dealing with a couple of the guards around the city, I decided to keep heading on toward New Pegasus. I ran into the caravan back there and they decided to bring me the rest of the way, along with some of my wares,” she said still beaming, “Did you find anything else out about your mom?”

I frowned and looked at my hooves, “A little yeah, but not enough to find her, at least not yet. She left me a few clues, but after learning some things about her, I’m not really sure I want to find her now.”

“Don’t be a silly filly Shadow. No matter how much she’s changed, you still can’t just leave your quest like that. You know what Box Tape always told me, ‘never give up.’ I think you should keep looking,” she scolded, but smiled right after.

I returned a smile of my own, “You’re right, and I’m not giving up. I’m just, stuck. Right now, I need to collect my thoughts and see where her clues lead me. So, we’re heading out to help the leader of The Queens with a few things.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt Shorty, but who is this mare? We can’t just stand around here chit chatting all day. Just in case you forgot, we’ve got pissed off ponies looking for us right now,” Aura interjected, looking at Silver Snip.

“Oh, this is Silver Snip, she’s the pony who saved me when I first got into Cartwheel.”

“That’s great, but like I said, The Sins are looking for us and we’re sitting ducks right now. We should really get down to the Sewers and get out of sight. You told The Queen you’d be heading straight there.”

She had a point, but I didn’t just want to leave Silver after just running into her again. When I looked back at the other unicorn she was giving me a concerned look, “What does she mean?”

“It’s a long story, let’s just say that we’ve gotta get away from New Pegasus for a little while.”

“Why though?”

“Like I said, long story. For right now let’s just say I pissed off the wrong ponies from the Enclave and now they’re after me.”

She sighed and shook her head with a smile, “You have a knack for getting into trouble it seems. Where are you going?”

Wingnut interrupted before I could answer, “We’re heading to a town in the sewers.”

“How…charming, I don’t want to keep you. Would you mind if I tagged along?”

“What? Why would you wanna do that? I thought you said you were heading into the city to set up trade?”

“I am, but I can always get around to that another time. I haven’t seen you in a while and I’d like to catch up more. Plus, who knows, maybe I’ll be able to set something up in this town you’re heading to,” she said smiling again. Dammit, how could I say no to that face?

“Fine, I guess, but I don’t know what to expect when we get there.”

“Shadow, hon, I can take care of myself. I won’t be a bother,” she said.

“First, do you by chance have any armor I could get from you or do your friends over there?” I asked, pointing over at the caravan ponies who were still waiting for Silver.

She looked me over and gasped, “What did you do to Box Taps Duster?”

Aura sighed and said in an annoyed tone, “She got attacked and it got eaten by a monster. Damn, we don’t have time for this. Do you have anything she can use or not?”

“Oh, well yeah hold on a moment,” she said running off to the Caravaneers. She talked with them for a minute and then after shaking hooves with one, she came back over with a saddle bag, “Here you go, it should fit you.”

She gave me a new set of black combat armor, I took it and slipped it on. It fit me nicely, even if it was heavier than I was used to. I smiled, “Thanks Silver.”

“No problem at all. If you want, I have a few of my things to make more. I can make something for your friends too.”

“We’ll be fine. Can we get going?” Aura said in a huff.

“Yeah, sounds good, let’s head out.”

It didn’t take long for us to reach one of the Ponyhole covers that lead down to the Sewers that The Queen told us about. Using my magic, I lifted it and we all climbed down into the large tunnel below. I took a moment to look around the damp dark tunnel that lead farther away from New Pegasus. Already I was starting to have my doubts about this mission, I mean what kind of ponies apart from a ghoul would want to live in this literal shit hole.

In the distance I could see a flickering light, like a fire was burning, “I guess we should head toward the light, maybe somepony really DOES live down here. I just hope they’re friendly and not crazed psychopaths.”

I started to walk toward the flickering light with Aura following alongside me. The others followed behind us. Aura looked back at them and said quietly, “Shadow can we talk?”

“Sure I guess. Why are you whispering?”

“Are you sure it’s okay to just let Silver Snip follow us into what could be a dangerous situation?”

I gave her a look, “What do you mean? She may not be the type of pony who goes looking for a fight, but she does know how to take care of herself. She’s lived in The Wasteland her entire life. I don’t know why you care so much, I mean hell, we have a colt following us down here too.”

“Yeah, but Wingnut’s a tough little shit, Silver Snip looks like she isn’t ready for this kind of thing.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“I don’t trust her,” Aura said looking back at the other three following behind us.

“You don’t trust anyone Aura. How is Silver any different?”

“I just think it’s strange how a mare you know from Cartwheel just happens to run into us as we’re trying to get away from the Sins and the city.”

I stopped and looked up at my griffon companion, “I trust her. Yeah it’s a little weird that she showed up when she did and wanted to join us, but right now I don’t care. She’s a friend and a pony who helped me out when I first got out into The Wasteland, but if it makes you feel better then by all means keep an eye on her. If she does something out of the ordinary, then tell me about it okay.”

“Fine, you know I’m just doing my job.”

“I know, I just don’t like how you’re acting right now. You’re almost acting like she’s Stardust,” I walked on, not wanting to hear more about Aura’s suspicions.

We rounded a corner and ran into three dirty looking ponies sitting by a small barrel with a fire burning in it. They all looked up as we walked into the break in the pipes and into a small chamber. All three were white on my E.F.S. so I kept my newly acquired gun holstered to my new Combat armor as one of them asked me, “Can I help you folks with something?”

“We’re looking for a town we heard was down here.” I replied.

All three tensed up, the one closest to me asking, “Why are you looking for The Bramble?”

The Bramble? That’s an…interesting name for a town, “We heard something about it from some ponies just outside of Freedom. They told us it was a place we should check out.”

The one who spoke before looked at his companions, “Okay, I guess that makes sense, The Bramble’s been getting a lot of new faces lately. I’m not surprised the word’s been getting out more. Just head down the pipe behind us. It’s not much further down, just ask for Gina.”

“Thank you,” I said as I started to pass the three, Aura though didn’t move, she was looking at the three ponies with a little bit of shock on her face, “Aura, you coming?”

Stardust, Wingnut, and Silver caught up to me as Aura asked the ponies, “Did you say Gina?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Is she a griffon?”

A voice echoed down the pipe behind us before any of the other ponies could answer, “Of course I am, it’s funny running into you down here Aura.”

Aura’s face I could swear turned white, I turned and found myself face to face with another griffon. She was fire red at her head and torso that turned orange as it went back to her fur, the end of her tail was dark blue. Her beak was black, same for her talons. The feathers on her head fell down over one eye, the color was exactly like Aura’s. Unlike other griffons I’d met so far, this griffon’s voice was smooth and didn’t rasp.

Aura backed up a little, she looked like she was scared of the other griffon, when she spoke her voice shook a little, “Auntie Gina, what are you doing down here?”

This was another one of Aura’s relatives? How big is her family? I looked at both of them, I could see the resemblance. Their beaks were shaped the same and they both had the same hard look, they even had the same eyes, “Great, so let me guess, she’s another member of the Red Talons who’s hunting me. I thought I was done with that shit.”

The other griffon looked over at me, “Who the hell are you?”

I’m not sure to either be insulted or flattered by that, either way I looked back at my friend, “I guess that answers that question. So, who’s this?”

“She’s my aunt, and no she’s not a talon, not anymore.”

Gina walked over and glared at the three ponies standing around the barrel, “Don’t you all have work to do?”

The pony who spoke before nodded, “Y-yes ma’am,”

“Then I suggest you get back to it…NOW!” they all ran off. When they were gone she looked back at Aura and smiled again, “No I’m not. Why are you down here Aura? Did my sister finally decide to kill me after all this time? If so, she was stupid to send you.”

“No, I’m no longer part of the Talon’s, I was banished a few months back.” Aura said, still looking frightened.

“Gigi, kicked you out? I find that hard to believe. What could you have done to get kicked out of the talons?”

I was really confused. “Um…I’m kinda lost. What’s going on here?”

Aura seemed to snap out of whatever was wrong with her, and her normal pissy expression was back on her face, “It’s none of your business Gina, I’m not even here for you.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Talk to the unicorn, she’s my contractor. She’s the one who’s here on business.”

Gina looked at me. Her hard glare was even more impressive than Aura’s, “Is that so? Tell me Shrimp, why the hell are you here?”

“Hey, you don’t have to talk to her like that you know,” Wingnut shouted while walking right up to the griffon and glairing back up at her.

“Oh look at what we have here, the little worm is trying to play hero. Let’s see how you like this,” in a flash she grabbed Wingnut by his mane and lifted him in the air.

I had my gun out and pointed at her in seconds, “Put him down.”

She laughed, “Or what? Oh, I’m sorry, is he your buckfriend?”

He wishes, I threw that thought out of my head, “Drop him or you’ll be the one that drops. I don’t give two shits who you are or if you’re related to Aura. If you hurt him, I’ll hurt you more. A lot more.”

“Wow, this one’s got spunk,” she dropped Wingnut. He let out a howl of pain as he hit the ground, Gina ignored him then pressed her head to the barrel of my gun, “Try it shrimp, I dare you.”

Oh how I wanted to, I already hated the bitch, there was something off about her. My magic pulled back a little on the trigger, but Aura walked over and put a talon on Dream Walker and pushed it down, “Shadow don’t do it, trust me, you won’t kill her even that close, it’s a trick.”

“Fuck that! I’m not gonna just let her hurt my friends like that.”

“Shadow I’m fine,” Wingnut said rubbing his mane a little.

Growling a little I holstered my gun, when I did, Gina just shook her head, “Like I was saying, why are you here?”

Swallowing my pride, I responded, “I’m here to find a town that has some kind of fighting arena. I’ve been hearing things about it and thought it sounded interesting.”

“Oh is that all? You should’ve said so earlier,” just like that, her demeanor changed, “Aura it’s been ages, you should come talk with me so we can catch up. I don’t think I’ve seen you in…oh what…two years.”

Aura just shook her head and sighed, “Three years Auntie Gina, and we don’t have time for that kind of thing, like I said before I didn’t come here looking for you. I didn’t even know you were still alive, let alone care.”

Silver walked over next to me and whispered in my ear, “I’m lost, are we in trouble or what?”

“I have no idea, I don’t even know what’s going on,” I replied watching the two griffons, then I looked over at Stardust, he looked pissed, “You okay Stardust?”

He looked over at me his eyes full of rage, “No, I’m not.”

Gina looked over at my friend, “What’s your problem freak? You got a problem with Griffon’s or am I just too fucking beautiful for your eyes to handle?”

Before I could do anything, Stardust had his rifle out and fired. The sound of his .308 echoed loudly in the tunnel, making my ears ring. Gina dodged to one side, jumped into the air flipped around and landed next to him. He moved to hit her, but she brought her talon up and grabbed him by the throat lifting him in the air then slammed him down hard. His rifle went sliding across the floor.

Her talons were pressed tight to his neck, she brought her face close to his, “Try that again and I’ll rip your throat out and feed it to your little friend there. You got me?”

He glared up at her, I moved slowly toward them, “Stardust calm down please.”

He gave me the same glare and mouthed, “Fuck you.”

“Dammit Stardust stand down!” I said glaring right back at him.

He closed his eyes and spat at the floor before he nodded. Gina let him go and picked up his rifle, “I’ll keep this for now, at least until you can learn to control yourself.”

“Fuck you griffon.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” she looked back at us, “So you came down here to find The Bramble. Fine with me, it’s just up ahead. I’ll warn you though, keep that pegasus friend of yours under control. If he tries anything like that again, he’ll be too dead to try a third time.”

She turned and started walking down the tunnel, Stardust’s rifle slung over her shoulder. Not sure what else we could do, we started to follow. As we walked on I looked over at Stardust and asked him, “What was that all about, I’ve never seen you lose control like that, even with Aura.”

“I told you before Shadow, I hate griffons, and watching her try and hurt Wingnut just threw my self-control over the edge,” He replied walking past me, following the older griffon.

I wanted to ask him more, but Aura caught up with Silver and Wingnut not far behind, “I don’t blame him, Gina has a way of getting under your skin.”

Wingnut looked up at Aura, “I didn’t know you had an Aunt around here.”

“Neither did I, she left the Talons a few years ago. I figured she died since I hadn’t heard anything about her freelancing since she was banished.”

“So, your aunt was banished too, how’d that happen? Did she do the same thing as you?” I asked, hoping to learn more about my friend.

“Shadow, you really shouldn’t pry into other’s affairs,” Silver Snip said walking up on the other side of me as we rounded another bend in the pipes.

“I’m not prying, I’m just curious.”

“It’s the same thing Shadow,” Silver said bumping my flanks with her own, getting a blush out of me, “Besides, don’t you have a mission to take care of down here?”

“It’s fine,” Aura said looking over at Silver, then back at me, “No, she didn’t do the same thing I did. She killed her younger sister and tried to take control of the Red Talons. She almost succeeded too. She had a few griffons on her side, but when it came down to fighting the top fighters in the talons, everyone except her backed down.”

“And she only got banished for that?”

Aura sighed deeply, “Yes, she should have been executed for her crimes, but they went easy on her and sent her away. I never heard the full details on what happened, but I do know that she vanished not long after her exile. I never expected to find her down in a dump like this.”

“You looked like you were scared of her,” Wingnut said putting words to what I was thinking.

“I am, she was the best fighter in the talons back when I was young. Like I said, she killed my other aunt because she was jealous of her. Gina always had a short fuse, I won’t pretend that I could take her on. She taught me everything I know and wasn’t finished teaching me when she was banished,” Aura said looking toward her aunt.

Before anything else could be said, Gina looked back over her shoulder, “Aura, your contractor should also come with you to visit with me a little later.”

“I have nothing to say to you Gina. I’m on a job, I don’t have time to visit with disgraced family.”

“That’s too bad, I wanted to find out what you could’ve done wrong to be disgraced like me.”

“I’m not like you. I have a way to get back in. All I have to do is prove myself, you couldn’t become a Red Talon again no matter what you did.”

“Ah I see, Gigi left you a way to get back in. Isn’t that sweet? Well I wouldn’t rejoin even if I could, I have a good thing going down here,” Gina said rounding a corner into a much larger sub chamber.

We walked out onto the top level looking down at platforms built out around a large cage that rested at the bottom of the chamber. All around were ponies that seemed to come from all over. There were unicorns that looked like they just came from The Strip, a few dirty farm ponies, even a couple N.L.R. troopers. All around the top level were nicer looking shanties. A few more were on the lower levels too, but they looked a lot more run-down, even by Wasteland standards.

Standing next to a railing looking down at the rest of the ponies surrounding the chamber was a mare, with a sickly yellow coat and an orange mane, she turned as we all walked in and smiled at Gina.

“Gina, what did you drag in here this time?” she said in a smooth voice.

“Found them wandering around down the way, the short mare heard about The Bramble and wanted to come check it out,” Gina said.

The mare walked toward me and my friends and smiled, “Well, looks like you found it. I’m Poison Oak and I run The Bramble. What brought a young mare like yourself and your friends to a place like this?”

“I…thought it sounded interesting, that’s if the rumors are true,” I said doing my best to sound as calm as I could.

She looked over my black combat armor then at my companions, “Odd looking group to come down here looking for entertainment in a fighting pit. As for those so-called rumors, some are true, depending on what ones you’re referring to. If you mean the ones that we let ponies fight to the death against some of the monsters in The Wasteland, then yes, but they’re all volunteers. If you mean some of the nastier ones about us using slaves to fight in the arena, then no. We don’t believe in slavery, but we’ve sent criminals to fight, and most die.”

So as far as I could tell, part of what the queen told me was true, but I’d have to see more of this place and learn the truth for myself. To try and see what else I could learn I asked, “I heard both rumors, but I didn’t think the one about slaves was real, though I have to say it seems kinda crazy to have dangerous monsters around here so close to New Pegasus.”

She gave me a disapproving look, “Why should I care? None of Mr. Topps’ robots can get down here, and the gangs up in Freedom don’t have the time to be worrying about us. We’ve been keeping things low key and always make sure that everything is set up right to keep everypony safe.”

“I wasn’t disagreeing with you, I just thought it was a little unsafe and crazy was all. I haven’t even seen what you do down here to really judge,” I replied quickly.

“Well then, how about you stay for a while, we have another match in a couple hours.”

I looked around at the shacks and shanties built up out of old scrap metal and wood, “I’m not sure where I’d stay.”

“Gina has a couple extra rooms, you can stay with her while you wait, you can also check out a couple shops we have around the Bramble, your friends look like they’re in need of gear,” Poison Oak said nodding at my friends.

Silver moved past me and asked, “You don’t by chance have anypony I could talk to around here about setting up trade, do you?”

“Depends on what you’re looking to trade.”

“I make Armor and Cloths back in Cartwheel,” Silver said, perking up a little.

“I know Canny is looking for a new pony to get armor from, you could try talking to him. His booth is set up on the second level just under us,” she said as she walked away.

“So what do we do now?” I asked looking at my friends.

“I’m not staying with her,” Aura said nodding toward Gina who was just leaning back against the wall watching us.

“We don’t have much of a choice.”

“She’s got a point Aura, we could use a rest anyway after what we just went through,” Wingnut said.

Gina stretched her wings then walked over, “Listen Aura, I know you don’t like me, but I’m not here to make trouble for you or your friends. Just use my place to crash for a few hours while you wait for the match to start, I have work to do anyway.”

“Fine, but can you at least give Jackass his rifle back,” Aura said, surprising Stardust and myself.

“Fine, but like I said before, if he tries anything like he did before he’s a goner,” Gina said, giving Aura Stardust’s rifle, “My place is the third shack on your right, can’t miss it, just let yourself in.”

When she was gone, Aura seemed to relax a bit as she gave Stardust back his rifle. He took it and said slowly, “Um…thanks. Why did you do that for me, you hate me, a lot.”

“I don’t hate you, I just don’t particularly like you. There’s a difference. I haven’t done anything to you, but you treat me like shit. I got your rifle back because I don’t like the idea of her walking around with such a nice gun like that. Also I wouldn’t want anyone taking my spear away from me.”

“That was, really nice of you, thanks again Aura,” He said still sounding a little shocked.

“Just don’t go around pointing it at anyone unless they’re trying to kill one of us.”

“I’ll do my best to keep my cool,” He said, and he actually smiled at her. Did hell freeze over or something?

“Are you feeling okay Stardust?” I asked walking over and feeling his forehead.

He pulled away slapping my hoof, but he still smiled, “I’m fine, don’t think about it too much. How about we all go check out the market and see what they have, I could use a re-stock on ammo. I hate to admit it, but Gina was right, we should get some barding.”

“And I’d like to talk to that Canny pony and see about setting up something with him,” Silver added.

“I’d like to just relax for once,” Aura said, “I think I’ll just head to Gina’s place and try to catch a nap.”

“I want to see if they have anything for Ol’ Festus. Stardust and I couldn’t find anything at Match and Tariffs,” Wingnut said, pulling the broken rifle out from his saddle bags.

“Why don’t we go to the market then? Let’s see what we can find, we can all meet up here in a couple hours,” I said.

“What are you gonna do Shadow?” Silver asked as Stardust and Wingnut walked away.

“I’m not sure really, mom left me some memory orbs, maybe I’ll dive into one and see what they’re about.”

“Are you sure? I’d like it if you came with me while I talked with Canny, it’d be nice to catch up more,” she said with a pleasant smile.

“Oh fine, I can always watch them later,” I said following the Red mare as she trotted away, her hips swaying a little.

It didn’t take long for Silver to find the old buck who ran the small shop on the second level, they both talked for a little bit about trade, wares, and caps. I didn’t understand most of it, business isn’t my thing, so I looked through his inventory. When she finished, Silver Snip wanted to walk around The Bramble and see what it was all about.

We tried that for a little while, but most of the ponies didn’t seem up to talking to outsiders. When we made our way into a tunnel that lead down to the lowest levels of the underground town, Silver Stopped me, “Can I have a word with you Shadow?”

“Sure I guess, what’s on your mind?”

“You know back when you were in Cartwheel and I was in the clinic.”

“Yeah, what about it.”

“Back then I wanted to ask you something, but I couldn’t work up the nerve. Why did you risk your life to save me from the Raiders?”

That was a hard question to answer. Why did I save her? Back then I wasn’t really thinking about it, I just saw her get taken alone with those foals and acted, but was that the real reason? “I’m not sure, I guess it was because it was really the only thing I could think about doing. I just wanted to see you and the others safe. I don’t know what I would’ve done if anypony got sold to slavers or killed.”

She smiled a little, “That’s an easy answer, but if that’s what you think then ask yourself this. Why didn’t you go and save the other ponies The Boss had the day before he took me, he was selling them into slavery too. But you went past the camp and into Cartwheel, ignoring the ponies who also needed your help.”

“I…I’m not sure, I didn’t think about it much when I was going through their camp. I remembered The Boss talking about Slavers and slaves, but I was too worried about myself to care,” I said, then it hit me, I passed right by the cages filled with wretched looking ponies just waiting to be sold as slaves. Had I really been that careless when I passed through?

“It sucks I know, and it was wrong to pass by them. However, you were also new to The Wasteland and didn’t know what you were doing. I can let that one slide, at least for now. So, doing the right thing wasn’t why you came to save me, it was something else.”

She had me there, it couldn’t just be because it was the right thing to do, or just because she saved me. Something started to linger at the back of my mind as a thought came to me, but it sounded stupid. I looked back at Silver and blushed, “It’s stupid, but I think it’s because I like you. Not in the sense that I like-like you but more like…I mean…it’s that…” I found myself stumble upon my words easily nervous about my answer, I sighed and took a deep breath and just said it, “I really like you okay? You were the first pony that was nice to me when I first got out of my stable. Hell, you were nicer to me than anypony else in my stable was apart from my friends or Auntie.”

I wanted to say more, but before I could Silver reached up with her hooves and pulled my face toward hers, pressing her lips to mine. My eyes went wide for a moment, then I found myself kissing her back, my forehooves wrapping around her pulling her close. It was different from when I made out with Little Buck; that was a stupid act that happened out of drunkenness (Even if it was a little fun). This was a kiss filled with passion and other feelings I didn’t even know I had for her. I mean yes, I’ve eyed her flanks once or twice…or a few dozen times.

Silver finally pulled away and looked into my eyes. She looked a little embarrassed, I know I sure did. She rubbed the back of her head and smiled a little wider, “Sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me.”

“It…was nice, and a little forward, but I didn’t know you felt like that.”

“I have since I first met you, but I didn’t want to scare you. After you saved me and we talked after you came out of that memory orb, I so badly wanted to just hold you close to me and make you feel like everything would be okay.”

I was still blushing, but I did my best to hide it, “I wouldn’t have minded it, or at least I don’t think I would’ve. I’ve never kissed a mare like that before.”

“Really? I mean not even once in your stable?”

“No way, I wouldn’t have ever tried that when I was in my stable.”

“I thought you said you had a crush on a mare in your stable.”

I forgot I told her about Milkshake when we were shopping my first day in Cartwheel, “I did, but she didn’t feel the same and even if she did we couldn’t have ever done anything about it.”

“So, does that mean I was your first mare kiss?” She asked giving me a seductive look.

Oh goddesses, did she have to do that when I was trying have a serious conversation. I started to stutter a little, “I…well yeah, I mean I’ve kissed my mom before I guess, but nothing like that. I mean if I did…gross, but with you it’s not gross, it was…kind of nice, oh fuck…”

She kissed me again succeeding in getting me to shut up. It felt like my body was melting into hers for a moment, then the moment ended as she pulled away again with a small giggle, “You make the cutest faces when you’re nervous.”

My knees were shaking a little and I felt a bit lightheaded, “I…do not.” I looked away trying to hide another blush.

“Yes you do,” she said walking around me, her tail wrapping around my neck slowly, “Now that we have all that out of the way, should we maybe head back to the room?”

Okay, I didn’t think I could blush even harder but there it was. My knees gave out and I fell flat on my face, after a moment I was able to get back up and I said, “Why?”

She kissed my nose, “It’s a surprise.”

“Um…that does sound fun and all, but I think I’m still trying to process this.”

She giggled, and turned back the way we came, “Well, I’ll be heading back up, how about you take a little time and get your head on straight. I’ll be waiting for you,” She winked and flipped her tail under my chin and walked away.

It took a moment for me to be able to think straight, when I could I started walking in the opposite direction. I wasn’t sure where I was heading, but all I knew was that I need to think this over. I’ve never really had feelings for another pony like I did for Milkshake, I mean did I have feelings for Silver? I liked her, she was very cute, and she was kind. Maybe somewhere I did have feelings for her, it made sense I guess, I’ve known for a while that I like mares, at least as much as I do stallions maybe a little more.

Maybe I didn’t really have feelings for Milkshake like I thought I did, it could’ve just been lust. I never really stopped to think about it, all I knew was that I wanted something from her more than just friendship. If she was here now would I try and tell her how I felt, or would I still be thinking this way about Silver Snip? I really had no idea. What I would do?

I hate thinking about this kind of thing, I need some Wild Pegasus. Things were just so much easier with a belly full of liquid courage. Oh, maybe I had some? I remember picking up a bottle of some kind of alcohol when I was back in Freedom. Checking my Pip-Buck’s inventory sorter I found it, pulling the bottle out of my saddle bags, I cracked it open and took a long pull.

I smiled as the warm feeling ran down my throat, then through the rest of my body. I took another swig and shivered a little. I put the bottle away, not wanting to drink it all, then started to slowly walk the rest of the way to the end of the tunnel I was in.

When I reached the end, I found a locked door, I smiled at the stupid door that thought it could block my way and proceeded to pick the lock. Foal’s play, it only took me a couple seconds before the lock clicked and the door pushed open. Well fuck, I was expecting a closet filled with goodies, nope just another hallway that lead into a dark chamber. Well shit, I’m still too scared to go see Silver, I know what I need, more Wild Pegasus. If I run out I’m sure I’ll find more later.

I pulled out the bottle and took another pull on the bottle before slowly walking down the hall. Why the fuck would anypony lock a door to a hallway? It wasn’t even a good lock, I mean if you want to keep something safe at least try and use something better than that piece of shit lock. It didn’t take long for me to reach the end of the hallway, it opened up into another room. It wasn’t much, just a room that had large windows in it overlooking another room full of cages. I wonder if this is where they keep the creatures they used for the fighting arena.

Right then two ponies walked into the lower room, well…a griffon and a pony. Gina was leading a pony who was hiding herself under a cloak and hood, she was also wearing dark barding. The pony looked around the room and asked in a whisper I could barely hear from where I was, “Are we alone?”

“No pony comes down here unless it’s the guards, and only then if we’re having problems with the Hell Hound,” Gina said pointing toward a cage just out of view.

“Hell Hounds are smarter than you think Gina, I don’t want our conversation overheard,” The mare replied, her voice was quiet, but it sounded like I’d heard it before.

“Don’t worry about Rawr, he hates everypony here. I’m the only one who’s nice to him and he knows it. Plus, he’s still knocked out from the meds, he won’t be a problem,” Gina said to the pony.

“Fine, but let’s make this quick. You know why I’m here don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know why you’re here, something about finding somepony for you. If you needed a pony found, why didn’t you go to the Red Talons instead of finding a Freelancer? They have a lot more resources than I do.” Gina said giving the mare a cocky look.

“I can’t show my face around Crimson Canyon anymore; your sister doesn’t like me very much. I was using a different talon company from back east, but they went silent a couple weeks ago. Now I’m left with finding Freelancers,” the mare said, her voice was still so familiar but something was muffling it. She must be using a voice modulator, but why?

“I see. Right now I’m under contract with Poison Oak, and I have to say, it’s an easy job. Why would I break my contract with her to work for you?”

“I’ve been authorized to pay you whatever number of caps you need to do the job.”’

“Hmmm, now that’s tempting. Let’s hear what you need before I decide to take the job.”

The hooded mare stomped a hoof on the ground, “You griffons are such a pain in my ass, fine. There’s a mare that came out of a stable recently not far from Cartwheel, she has something I need. It’s a special Pip-Buck, it’s silver with red lines on it, it’s hard to miss. I need the Pip-Buck intact.”

“And what about the pony who has it?”

“She’s nothing but a thorn, you won’t be able to get the Pip-Buck off of her easily, it’s set up with a special lock that can only be opened by a special pony, or the one wearing the Pip-Buck has to die. I know a way to remove one, but it’s a pain in the ass to do and I don’t have the time, so kill her and take it.”

Was this the pony who’s been after my Pip-Buck? Was she the one who’d been talking with the Overmare? Why did she want it anyway? Oh yeah, mom hid files on it that she said ponies would kill to get their hooves on. Maybe I could take her out here and now and it’d solve some of my problems.

I started to un-holster Dream Walker, moving closer to the glass that separated the two rooms. Then I thought about what I was about to do. I didn’t know anything about his mare or why she was after my Pip-Buck. What would I do after I shot her? I’m not a pony who decides who should live or die, and I’m sure Gina wouldn’t just let me get away after I took her out. I saw how she reacted when Stardust tried to kill her earlier. She has some scary moves, and she was the one who trained Aura.

I cursed under my breath and holstered Dream Walker. I was about to leave to go find Aura when Gina finally spoke, “Honestly It’d be an easy contract for me, and I’m not fond of working for Poison Oak, but I’m under contract. I may be a disgraced griffon, but I still hold up to our ways. Now if something were to happen to Poison Oak, then I might think about it. I’ll have to pass for now.”

“I’m disappointed to hear that, but I understand. I guess I’ll just have to figure out another way of getting ahold of that Pip-Buck.”

“Why do you want it so bad anyway? Don’t you have one of your own already?” Gina asked pointing down at the mares left foreleg.

“This one is different, I need it.”

I hadn’t noticed it before, but I could see a Pip-Buck poking out from under her cloak. Who was she? Could it be…? No, it couldn’t be her, she wouldn’t be hunting me down like this. No matter what Lonely Hearts said. Whoever she was, she wasn’t my mother.

“Whatever, not like I care. Listen if it helps at all, I’ll let you know if this mare comes into The Bramble.”

“My team lost track of her around New Pegasus, but I can’t see her or her friends coming down into this…delightful pace,” she said, her voice oozing sarcasm.

“Stick around a little longer, I’m sure the fight later will change your mind.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. As fun as you make it sound, I have work to get done. I’ll be in contact with you soon though. I’d like another chance to convince you to work for me,” then in a flash of blue light, she was gone.

“Fucking Stable Ponies and you’re mystery bullshit. Don’t know why I even bothered talking to her,” Gina said then after looking around a little, she turned and left the room.

I took a moment to breathe, then moved back closer to the window. Well since I was here, I figured I could at least look more into why the Queen wanted me to come here in the first place. I saw a door that lead down to the lower chamber. I went to it and walked down the few steps and looked around. There were cages all over the place in here, but none seemed to have creatures in them like Poison Oak said they did. For a place that bragged about putting on a show of ponies fighting monsters, they sure were short on the monster department.

“Fuck, there isn’t anything here,” I said aloud turning slowly to look at the last few cages.

As my gaze fell on the last couple that were under the upper room a voice echoed out of the darkness, it was deep and rough, “Why is pony down here? Pony will get into trouble if she is caught.”

I jumped and looked at the last cage, it was huge with gems surrounding it. Inside was a monster I’d never seen before, but just by looking at him, I knew what he must be. It was a Hellhound, only it was twice the size of any I read about in the Wasteland Survival guide. It had dark red fur, yellow claws that were longer than I was, and beady red eyes much like my own. It looked at me from inside its cage, its nose sniffing toward me as I backed away. From what I read about them, their claws could slice through almost anything, how the hell did they keep one locked up like this?

“Why is pony down here?” it asked sitting down just watching me.

“Um…you can talk?”

It rolled its eyes, “Do I look stupid pony?”

“I…have no idea, I’ve never met a Hellhound before,” I said as it still just watched me.

“Stupid pony, you didn’t answer dog’s question.”

I could feel my knees starting to shake, “I don’t think you look stupid, I just didn’t know that Hellhounds could speak.”

It growled at me, “Do not call dog, Hellhound. Dog is a Death Dog, name is Rawr. Now why is Pony in Dog’s cage home?”

“I kinda broke in. Why are you here? I thought that Hellhounds could slice through anything with their claws, I mean Death Dog…is there a difference?”

“Death Dog is fighter in pack, we are bigger and stronger than any other. Rawr can’t get free, leader pony used special cage to keep Rawr locked away. Leader Pony says Rawr has to fight in arena, if Rawr keeps winning, Rawr gets to sleep and eat.”

“So the Cage is enchanted?”

“How slow is pony? Yes cage is enchanted, if not Rawr would’ve killed entire town of stupid ponies and gone home by now.”

For a monster, he wasn’t really that scary. Yeah he looked scary, but he wasn’t roaring or trying to kill me. Even if he was stuck in the Enchanted Cage, “I’m Shadow Star, it’s nice to meet you Rawr.”

“Rawr not care what pony name is, Rawr only wants to eat and sleep,” he said laying down and closing his eyes.

“Don’t you want to be free?”

He opened one of his eyes and looked over at me, “Rawr can’t be free, so Rawr does what pony says and kills other ponies every night, then Rawr sleeps.”

“What ponies do you kill?”

“Anypony Rawr is told to kill, Slaves, criminals, stupid ponies, it doesn’t matter. Pony should go, before griffon comes back. If she catch you, Rawr will have to kill you too, and Rawr really not feel like it,”

An idea came to me and I walked closer to the cage, “Rawr, if I could somehow find a way to free you, what would you do?”

He opened both his eyes, “Why would pony try and free Death Dog?”

“No one should be in a cage, even a Death Dog.”

“Pony can’t free Rawr, but if pony could, Rawr would kill leader pony and the griffon, and anypony that got in Rawr’s way. Then Rawr would go home, and see if Rawr’s pack is still alive.”

“What about me? I if I let you go would you kill me too?”

He took a moment to answer, finally he shrugged, “Rawr would have no reason to kill Pony if she let Rawr go. It depend on Rawr’s mood.”

I smiled and turned back toward the stairs that lead back to the other room, “I’ll find a way to get you out Rawr. Call me crazy, but I can’t stand to see you trapped like you are. I’ll figure something out.”

He just waved a claw at me and closed his eyes again, “Whatever Pony says, even if pony lets Rawr out of cage, Rawr’s collar keeps him from leaving.”

I didn’t notice that there was thick Collar on his neck until he said something, it had a red blinking light on it, how did I miss that? “What is that?”

“Bomb Collar, now go before pony makes Rawr angry.”

I did, but not before walking back and setting the last of my Wild Pegasus down next to his cage. He ignored it, so I left and headed back out of the room, and the strange Death Dog that was trapped in it. I wasn’t sure how, but I’d figure a way to get him out of there, and hope to Celestia that he didn’t go toward Freedom.

I made my way back up to where we were staying, wondering to myself if Silver or Aura knew a way I could help the Dog out. I’m sure Aura would have something to say about me helping another monster, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t been here for long, and I already didn’t like it. I walked into the shack Gina pointed out earlier about to call out for Silver or Aura.

I didn’t get far into the room, before Silver poked her head out of a side room and smiled at me, “It’s about time you got back.”

“Oh good you’re here, is Aura here too, I need to talk to both of you about something I found…”

Before I could finish what was on my mind, Silver walked the rest of the way out of the room. She was wearing, something lacy and skimpy. Ponies didn’t normally wear cloths, but when we did it was for protection or style, and sometimes I guess it was to tease somepony who liked you. Silver Snip was already a cute mare, but what she had on was just down right sexy. She had lacy socks on that had straps leading up to thin lingerie, it didn’t hide anything, and it wasn’t meant to, it was only to give an impression that it could cover her, making it see through just added to the sensuality.

“Um…what are you doing?” I asked, as if I didn’t know. Goddesses I’m not a smart pony when it came to this kind of thing.

She walked over to me and kissed me slowly before pulling back and saying, “Nopony’s here and we have a room to ourselves, I told you I’d have a surprise for you when you came back.”

“I’m…surprised,” I replied doing my best, and failing, to look into her eyes.

“I hope you like it, I’ve been saving it for a moment like this, I made it myself,” She said and kissed me again, then using her magic she pulled on my mane and lead me into the bedroom.

I was lost for words, I’m not sure if it’s the Wild Pegasus, or just that I really liked how she looked right now. It didn’t matter, I wanted her, and I wasn’t going to say no. She pushed me onto a small bed then moved over me, she smiled then moved down and kissed me like she had down in the tunnels. Her magic flashed and the door shut, she continued to kiss me pulling away from my lips and moving down my neck.

My body shivered and I couldn’t help a soft moan as she worked her magic. Then I noticed her kissing going lower, and lower. I wanted to say something about how I wasn’t too sure I wanted this now, I felt dirty right now…then she hit the spot and stars erupted in my vision. I pressed my hooves down on her head and arched my back, my eyes closing as my mind filled with bliss.

I could hear her giggle as she pulled away, I opened my eyes and looked down at her confused. Did I do something wrong? Then she said, “I know you haven’t done this kind of thing before with another mare, so I figure we could use this time for me to teach you a few things. You can learn a lot from somepony who’s got their own set of tools if you know what I mean.”

I was about to say something again, then she turned around, laid on top of me and used a certain part of her to keep me quiet, and she did as she said she would…

An hour later I was laying my head on Silver’s chest, nuzzling into her a little, my mind in a peaceful place for once. She was slowly stroking my mane as we both breathed heavily. Silver wasn’t lying when she said she’d show me a few things, she showed me things over and over. I wasn’t even sure I could go another round even if I wanted to…oh wait, I did, if I could move. My legs felt like rubber at the moment and all I wanted to do was stay where I was and enjoy this.

“For a mare who hasn’t had sex with another mare before, I have to say you’re a quick learner,” Silver said, moving her head down to kiss the end of my horn, emitting a soft giggle from me.

“Thanks, I’ve always been a quick study,” I laughed looking up at her.

She laughed a little and pulled me into a hug, I was about to say something else, finally I remembered why I came back in the first place, then I heard a voice from the other room, “Shadow are you in here?” Damn, it was Aura, I forgot all about my friends, “What smells so weird in here?”

She walked into the room and her eyes fell on Silver and me cuddled in the bed. For a long moment, we just looked at each other, then I blushed and said “Hey Aura…”

Her eyes narrowed and I knew something was wrong, “Oh, I didn’t know you were in the middle of something. I just wanted to tell you something about this place that you should check out, but I see you’re busy,” she slammed the door.

“What’s her problem?” Silver asked looking at the door in confusion.

“I have no idea, but I should go check on her,” I said getting to my hooves.

“If you say so, I should get cleaned up anyway,” Silver said as I walked to the door to follow my friend.

When I was out the door I caught a glimpse of Aura’s tail just vanishing out into the hallway of the upper levels. I ran after her and caught up a moment later, “Aura wait.”

She rounded on me, “Why? You’re in the middle of something, it’s not my business,” she sounded really pissed, but why?

“What’s your problem Aura?”

“Oh I don’t know, I just got done telling you that something was off about Silver Snip, and that I didn’t trust her. Then you go and fuck her, ignoring my advice. Why do I even bother being your bodyguard if you’re just gonna go around ignoring me. For fuck sake Shadow, do you even know that she’s really you’re friend from Cartwheel?” she yelled, making me feel dumber than usual.

“I think you’re overreacting Aura, I know who Silver Snip is.”

“Oh really, did you know that I heard a rumor that one of the Sins has a pony who can masquerade as any pony they want. I find it strange that you just ran into your friend from Cartwheel right after we killed Gluttony.”

“She knows things that only Silver would know, I’m not stupid Aura. I know the difference between my real friend and an imposter. Why can’t you just trust me and keep your mouth shut?” I yelled back at her.

Stardust came over right then and looked at the two of us, “What’s going on? Am I gonna have to break up a girl fight? I don’t think my masculine pride can let me do that.”

Aura looked over at him, “Why don’t you ask our leader, I’m sure she’d be happy to brag. I’m gonna go cool down, don’t follow me Shadow,” she flew away in a huff.

“Aura wait!” I tried to yell after her, feeling like shit for yelling at her, even though I had no idea why she was so mad.

“What happened?” Stardust asked watching the griffon fly down and vanish.

“What are you two talking about?” Wingnut asked trotting up behind us.

I sighed, “I kinda did something with Silver, Aura walked in on us and freaked out. I don’t know what her problem is. She says she doesn’t trust Silver, but it can’t be just that.”

He looked back at me then back toward Gina’s place, “Why wouldn’t she trust Silver?”

“I don’t know, she said something about how she could be a Sin that’s just disguised themselves as Silver with magic or something.”

“I don’t know Silver that well, but she seems like the same mare I met in Cartwheel. I don’t think she’s an enemy. You might be right, there’s gotta be something else going on,” he sighed, “I’ll go talk to her and see if I can get her to calm down.”

Wingnut laughed, “Ha! YOU get her to calm down? Aura hates you.”

“I hate to admit it, but the kid has a point.” I added.

“Maybe, but I’m the only pony who can right now,” he said flapping into the air and flying after Aura.

Wingnut walked closer then wrinkled his nose, “What’s that smell?”

“Oh, shut up,” I said walking past the Colt.

He grinned and followed, “Oh, did you do something naughty Shadow? Please tell me you did. Can I get details?”

“Why do you want to know that kind of thing anyway? It’s not something I should be talking to a colt about,” I said as I walked back into the room where Silver Snip was waiting.

“I told you before, I’m only a couple years younger than you, it’s no different than you fooling around with Silver, she’s way older than you are.”

Silver looked like the Colt just slapped her, “Did you just call me Old?”

He looked over at her, his ears folding back, “Um…maybe, I mean aren’t you an older mare?”

“I’ll have you know that I am only a couple years older than Shadow, I’m just mature for my age,” she said throwing her nose into the air and looking offended that the colt would say what he did.

“So you’re old. So what? my point still stands that Shadow doesn’t have to worry about my age, I have my cutie mark, I’m a Stallion now.”

She walked over, slapped the colt with a hoof then walked past him and over to me, kissed me long and hard, then walked out the door saying, “If you’re a stallion, then you can be treated like one that calls a mare old.”

“Ow, that hurt. Cougars can be hot too y’know,” he said, scowling up at me.

I sighed and shook my head, “Wingnut, if you ever want to find a mare that likes you, then you have to think before you talk. If you keep this up, you’re just gonna piss off every mare you meet.”

“Well it’s not like we learn proper ways of talking to a mare in Little Hoof.”

“Well maybe you should.”

“Maybe you could teach me then.”

“Well first of all, you shouldn’t go around staring at every mare you meet, it’s creepy and turns a mare off very fast. You also need to watch what you say, like calling a mare old, it’s rude.”

“Why? You go around staring at flanks all the time.”

My mouth dropped open, “I…I do not.”

“Yes, you do, I’ve even caught you looking at Aura’s ass. She’s a griffon, that’s just wrong.”

Was it my fault Aura had a nice ass, I couldn’t help myself if I looked now and then. I blushed a little and shook my head, “Well it’s different for me.”

“How so?”

“It…just is, can we talk about something else?”

He laughed, “No way, this is way too much fun,” his smile grew wider, “So, can I get details?”

“For Celestia’s sake, you’re impossible! How did anypony put up with you in Little Hoof?”

“I was friends with the Mayors sister, I got away with a lot of shit,” he said following me as I walked past the door back into Gina’s shack, making my way toward the stairs.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I need to find Aura and see what’s bothering her, I know Stardust wants to help, but I give them about two minutes before they get into some kind of fight.”

“Maybe you should just let her be. She’ll get over herself sooner or later. She just needs her space.”

“Maybe, but I also need to ask her something.”

“What’s that?”

“I need to know if she knows anything about Bomb collars.”

“Why do you need to ask her, you could have just asked me.” he said stopping in front of me blocking my path.

“Wait, you know things about bomb collars?” I asked a little surprised.

“Duh, I lived in a town of fillies and colts, we always had to worry about running into slavers. They use bomb collars to keep slaves in line, so we learned how they work just in case we need to get out of them. Why do you want to know things about them?”

“I…found something down in the basement that’s being kept here against his will, I wanna help him.”

He reached into his saddle bags and pulled out a book, he opened it and pointed at a page, “I guess I can help. You see this?” he pointed at a detailed diagram the same collar Rawr had, “Your standard bomb collar, has plastic explosives wrapped around a reinforced collar. It’s set up that way so that if the Collar goes off it’ll keep the explosion concentrated.”

“Okay, how do you get one off?” I asked, not understanding any of the diagram he was showing me.

“Normally you need the key to get it off, and you can’t just pick it like you would a door. The bomb will go off if you just try and pick it, what you gotta do is block the trigger somehow,” he stared to show me the best way to deactivate a collar. He had to show me a few times and explain each step in detail until I finally understood.

“I’m not sure I could do that, at least not quickly.”

“It’s best to practice on a dud a few times, it helps you learn the steps until you get it down,” he said lifting the book to give it to me, “Here, you can have it, I’ve read it a few times already, and I’m sure you could put the information in there to better use.”

I took the book and tucked it into my saddle bags, “Thanks Wingnut, I really didn’t think you knew so much about explosives.”

He shrugged, “I’m no expert, but I like reading about that kind of thing. I always figured it could come in handy one day when I’d have to leave Little Hoof. Mines, grenades, traps, and Bomb Collars are a big deal if you don’t know how to handle them.”

I laughed and rubbed his mane a little, “See if you talked like this more often, you’d have an easier time with mares.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean be yourself, you’re a smart pony and you should show that side of yourself more. It’s much more attractive than a colt that just says rude things all the time.”

“Attractive enough even for a mare like you?” he asked with hope aglow in his eyes.

My first reaction was to hit the little perv, but then again that didn’t help in the past, so I decided to try something new, “Listen Wingnut, it’s not that I don’t like you, I do, just not like that. You’re a good kid, and you have a good head on your shoulders.”

His eyes drooped, “That sucks, I guess you only like mares like Silver don’t you?”

“I told you before that I like stallions too, pay attention for Goddesses sake. Anyway, I’m not sure how I feel about Silver Snip, not yet at least. I know there’s a connection there, but I don’t know if it’s because she saved me in the past and I see her in a different light than I would other mares, or if I love her. I thought I loved my friend Milkshake back in the stable, and I do, but not how I thought I did. So I want to be careful and make sure I’m feeling what I think I am before I just go out and say something I’ll regret later.”

He smiled a little, “I used to think I felt that way about somepony, but ever since you saved Honey Suckle and me I’ve been feeling that way toward you. Maybe it’s the same way you think you feel about Silver, I’m not sure.”

“Who else did you have feelings for?”

“Honey, she’s always been my best friend, ever since I first went to Little Hoof. Then a couple months ago I started seeing her differently, I couldn’t get enough time with her, I always wanted her around me. When she came after me when I was kicked out of the town I was so happy she was there that I didn’t even want to bring her back.”

“Where were you going when we found you anyway? You told me before that the kids who leave Little Hoof normally settle around the area in the neighboring towns,” I asked leaning against a railing.

“When Honey found me, she told me she didn’t ever want to leave me again, I felt the same way, so I figured we could find the Steel Rangers and see if they would take us in. I’m sure they could’ve used a smart pony like me, and Honey Suckle is a really good shot, even if she gets scared easily. We were heading toward where I was told they had a base, somewhere near Hidden Sands.”

“That’s a smart idea to be honest. Elder Appleslice I’m sure would’ve taken you both in, or at least I think she would’ve, she’s a decent pony.”

“But after we got attacked and you saved us, I saw that my plan wasn’t as smart as I thought. I almost got Honey killed because I ignored the signs warning us about Cazadores. When we were safe I knew she had to go home.”

“I think it’s sweet that you did that, I know it must’ve been hard to leave your best friend behind like that, but you did it for the right reasons.”

“Maybe, but I still feel bad about it.”

“I feel the same way every time I think about Balefire or Milkshake, but I know they’re safe. That’s all that matters to me in the end,” I said giving him a smile.

He smiled back, “You know what? I’m happy for you Shadow.”

“Why’s that?”

“Yeah, it sucks that you don’t feel the same way about me that I do about you, but I’m glad you found somepony you care about and that cares about you too. I like Silver Snip. Sure she seems a little old, but what do I know? I’ve spent most of my life around foals,” he said winking at me.

I laughed too and pulled him into a hug, “Okay, don’t take this too far, but you are kinda cute sometimes.”

“I do my best,” he said getting to his hooves, “How about we go find the others. I’m sure the fight is gonna start soon, and you have a mission to finish for The Queen.”

“I’ll catch up, I wanna look into one more thing. I’ll meet you all back at the room.”

“Don’t be gone too long,” he said walking back toward the stairs.

I watched him go then started making my way down to the basement where Rawr was. If my hunch was right, he’d be fighting again in the arena, and something told me that I had to get him out before that happened. Hopefully he didn’t go on a rampage once he was free. As I got to the final level of The Bramble, (it was set up with seats around a caged off pit where ponies could watch the fights.) I heard two voices coming toward me, it was Aura and Stardust.

Not wanting them to think I was eavesdropping, I ducked under a bench and watched as my two friends slowly walked past me, Aura was saying something to Stardust, “I’m surprised you came looking for me.”

“Like I said when I found you, we might not get along, but you’re an important part of this group, and I could tell something was wrong. I could tell ever since we first ran into Silver and your aunt,” Stardust said as they stopped next to the bench I was hiding under.

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden, it’s weird?”

He gave her a goofy smile, “Let’s just say that after meeting Gina you don’t seem that bad to me anymore, and you were right, I never gave you a chance. I’ve been nothing but rude and insensitive toward you. This is me trying to make up for that.”

“Yeah, what’s up with your hatred for Griffons anyway? You grew up in a stable, you didn’t even know a griffon until you were out,” she said glaring at him.

“It’s not that I hate griffons, I was raised to feel this way about them. Where I’m from, griffons are hated as much as zebras, we learned to hate them ever since we could read and write. It’s just something that’s engrained in me and now I’m starting to see that it was wrong.”

“Well, yeah, it was. By the way thanks for coming to find me, I’m glad Shadow didn’t come running after me, she gets really nosey when her friends are feeling down.”

Stardust laughed, “Yeah she does, but she means well. To be honest neither of us have been that open, and she’s told us everything about herself.”

“You have a point there, maybe we should all sit down and talk about this, you know once were done here that is,” Aura said reaching a talon up to rub her head feathers.

“I agree, I don’t like it, but I agree. We’re just lucky she trusts us as much as she does even after everything that’s happened to her.”

Yeah, no shit guys, you’re lucky I’m such a nice pony. I wanted to show myself then and there, but something held me back. I wanted to hear more, and I’m sure if they knew I was listening in on their conversation they wouldn’t be too happy about it.

“I take it you were upset because of what you saw back in the room?” Stardust asked her.

“Yeah, but please don’t tell Shadow that. I don’t know what she’d do if she knew.”

“It’s your secret not mine Aura. I’ll keep my mouth shut, but you should still tell her.”

She looked down at her talons, “I don’t want to lose her, she’s been the best part of my life ever since I was banished. I think I’ll be okay now, Shadow deserves to be happy, and after what you told me about Silver, I’m sure we can trust her. I’ll do better, hopefully I won’t ever have to tell her, and things will go back to normal. Well as normal as life gets for us.”

They both laughed, then Stardust said, “C’mon, let’s go see what’s going on here so we can get a report for The Queen.”

“Good idea.”

After they both left, I wiggled out from under the bench and watched as they started up the stairway that lead back toward Gina’s Shack. I wanted to follow them so badly, but not right now. Right now, I had a job to do, and with Rawr freed I could get all the information for the Queen from him, and I’d have saved a life, maybe more.

I started back down the tunnel and to the door I used before that lead into the room that overlooked the cages. I just opened the door when there was a flash of blue light behind me. I turned around quickly and saw Poison Oak standing there with the hooded mare from before. I backed through the door as they both slowly started walking toward me.

Poison Oak grinned, “Well, look what we have here. So, you’re the pony who broke in here earlier, my friend here said she saw somepony on her E.F.S. when she was talking to Gina. I also learned something else out about you. Tell me, what does the famous Courier Mare want in The Bramble? Did The Queen send you down here, or was it Mr. Topps?

“Neither, and how did you know who I was?”

“Wasn’t hard to figure out. One of the Sins came down here a little bit ago and told us all about you, they’re offering a lot of caps to find you Dead or Alive. You see normally I don’t worry myself about bounties, it’s not my thing. But when the Sins come looking for a pony and offer twenty thousand caps to find you, I can’t pass that up,” she said still walking toward me.

I looked at the other mare who was walking behind her, still keeping her face covered by that hood, “And who’s your friend?”

The mare in the cloak said, “No pony you should be worrying about, all I want is that Pip-Buck of yours.”

“Why? What do you know about it?”

“It’s the key I need, without that Pip-Buck, I can’t finish what I started. I’ve been looking for that for a long time and you bring it here for me,” then she looked over at Poison Oak, “Do what you want with her, as long as I get the Mk. II when you’re done.”

Poison Oak smiled, “I think she should be tested in the Bramble.”

I pulled Dream Walker out of its holster and pointed it at Poison Oak, “Fuck that, I’m not gonna do anything you want.”

The mare laughed, then a light flashed from under her hood, and everything around me vanished…

Okay, so this time I wasn’t hit by a knock out spell. Last time something like this happened I blacked out. This was different, I almost felt like I was in a memory orb, only the body I could feel felt like my own. I looked around trying to figure out what was going on, and how I could get out of here.

Then I heard the voice of Morning Star, “How do you always find yourself getting into trouble with unicorns with strange magic?”

“Oh great, it’s my crazy self. I’ve been wondering where you’ve been. I thought after the last time we met, you would’ve left me alone.”

She appeared next to me with a bored expression, “That stunt you pulled almost killed you, if it wasn’t for little old me, you wouldn’t have even made it back to the bunker. It took a lot out of me to keep you from dying.”

“And here I thought I got rid of you for good.”

“Trust me, I’d rather be anywhere else than stuck in your head.”

Odd, she wasn’t as bitchy as the last time I saw her, maybe she learned her lesson. I’m sure she didn’t though, but if she wasn’t being bitchy Morning Star, I’d take it, “So where are we, are we in my head again like last time?”

“No, the spell that unicorn used is a kind of waking dream spell, it affects everypony differently. For you it seems to be trying to get you to remember something. That’s why you feel like you’re in a memory orb, it’s your own memories.

“Why would I have to relive one of my own memories?”

She gave me a ‘Really’ look, “Just shut up and pay attention, when the memory ends, hopefully the spell will break.”

“I have a question first.”

“What!?” she said growling a little.

“Why do you seem so different since the last time I saw you?”

She sighed, “I’ve had to use a lot of my power to keep you alive after your stupidity, I told you that. Now I’m using more power to talk with you and help fight this spell. I’m drained right now, and I’m in no mood to deal with you.”

“So, you’re weak now?” I taunted.

“Fuck you Shadow Star, let’s get this over with.”

She vanished and the world melted away…

I had to admit, it felt even stranger being in my own body, experiencing one of my memories like this. First of all, I was even smaller than normal, also this memory wasn’t like others I experienced in an orb. With those, everything was clear, this memory was fuzzy and confusing. There was a pony sitting next to me, his forehoof holding onto me. I looked up at him, but he was only a black outline, I couldn’t make out any details at all, only his voice. It was deep and gentle.

“Star, you feel warm again, are you feeling okay?” he asked.

I felt myself move and I nuzzled into his side, “I’m fine daddy, promise.”

Daddy? This was a memory of my dad? I didn’t know anything about him, even mom never talked about him. I tried asking her once and all she told me was that he died when I was little.

“Are you sure? You know your mother will be angry if you’re getting sick again and you didn’t tell anypony.”

“I’m fine, I don’t feel bad at all.”

“Were you practicing magic again?”

I pulled away from him and nodded slowly, “I wanted to try to be like mommy.”

He sighed and laughed, “You don’t have to be like your mother. You are your own pony Star, if you want to practice magic though, you should have mommy around to help you. You know you have to be careful when casting spells. You don’t want to overdo it.”

“I wanted to show her I could do it on my own,” I felt myself saying, but I could tell something was wrong. My heart was pounding in my chest, my head hurt, and I my hooves were tingling.

He hugged me, “One day, mommy will find a way to help you get better, then you can show us all how powerful you are Star. For now, I want you to be careful, can you do that for me?”

I jumped to my hooves, “I don’t need to be, one day I’ll be as great of a magic user as mommy, and a brave pony like you daddy.”

He laughed again, for some reason I still couldn’t make out his features, “I don’t doubt that, now come back here and sit down before you wear yourself out.”

“Awww, but I wanna go play…” I started to say, then my heart pounded harder in my chest, and I felt pain run up my body, I screamed and fell to my side as the pain grew worse.

He ran over to me and held me down as I started to thrash around, he started to yell, “Grimoire! It’s happening again!”

There was a flash of light and my mother was next to me, only she looked different from how I remembered her, she still had the same light blue coat, but her mane was striped grey and white. She knelt down, her horn glowing. A moment later the pain in my chest faded away and my body relaxed a little.

“What was she doing?” Mom asked looking up at the buck holding me.

“She just jumped up and started talking about playing with her friends, then the attack hit.”

“Was it worse than last week?” she asked looking down at me her horn still glowing.

“Worse definitely worse. Grim, I don’t know if she can take this much longer,” his voice sounded sad, like he was holding back sobs, “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Mom sighed and slowly pulled me out of the buck’s hooves and into her own, hugging my limp body to her own, “There might be a way, but you’re not going to like it.”

“If it’ll save our daughter, then I don’t care what you have to do.”

“I found something in the old files back at base, there could be a small chance of saving her, but I’ll have to leave with her.”

It took a moment for him to answer, “For how long?”

“I’m not sure, it could take years. I have the spell to keep her going, I think it can keep this at bay for long enough. If I’m right then she should get better.”

“Where do you have to go?” he asked.

“I have to go to New Pegasus, to the old base outside the city where those bomber ponies live to start.”

“You can’t do that, you of all ponies know what’s under that base.”

“I do, and it might be our only hope to save her,” Mom said as she pulled me close to her.

“Grim, our family has protected the secret of that project for two hundred years. If you go there and start everything back up, you know what’ll happen.”

“I do, and it’s worth it if I can save her. You said you’ll do anything to keep her alive remember?”

“Mommy my chest hurts,” I said, my body was finally starting to get some feeling back, and I was able to talk.

“I know sweetie, just rest and everything will be okay.”

The buck stood and started to move away, “Do what you have to. Just remember, if you go down this path, I’ll have to hunt you down. That’s the rules in our family.”

“I know, and I love you.”

The dark shape of the buck turned back, “And I love both of you, even more than my loyalty to my people.”

The memory faded away, there was a flash, and I was back in the real world. But the memory didn’t fade…

I awoke on a hard floor, at least this time I didn’t wake up without my barding, but Dream Walker wasn’t in its holster on my side (Fucking Perfect). I looked around and saw two other ponies looking down at me. One was a tall buck, the other a hard looking N.L.R. mare. The mare chuckled as I came out of the memory, “Look, she’s awake. Just in time too.”

I rubbed my head and looked around, “Where am I?” it looked like a cell of some kind, there were three concrete walls and one with bars. The bared door looked out at the arena.

“You’re in The Bramble, Poison Oak dropped you off a little bit ago. Said you were the third fighter for today’s event. You walked in fine but as soon as she left with her creepy friend, you passed out,” the mare said.

“Not surprised, Poison probably told her what she has to fight right before she got in here,” the Stallion said.

“Wait, fight? I didn’t agree to be in any fight.”

“Yeah, do you think we did either? Poison Oak goes around telling everypony that the fighters volunteer, but it’s a lie. She finds ponies to put into her fights, either by getting slaves, or using ponies that pissed her off.”

So The Queen’s suspicions were right, fuck. I looked back at them and asked, “You two seem calm for ponies who were forced to do this.”

The mare laughed, but the Stallion just looked down at his hooves as the mare spoke, “I’ve watched the fights here for a long time now, I know what to expect and I’ve seen a weakness that I’ll be able to take advantage of in this fight.”

“You DO know that the thing you’ll be fighting is a Hellhound don’t you?”

The stallion shook a little, “Yeah, and we’re all dead.”

“Not if you stick with me, all we have to do to kill that monster is get its bomb collar to explode. Lucky for you two I’m first up and I know explosives,” she said casually.

Before anything else could be said, Poison Oak’s voice boomed from outside, “Welcome Fillies and Gentlecolts to another night in The Bramble. I know you’ve all been wondering if anypony will be able to finally bring down our champion. Tonight, we have three ponies who want to try their best to take down the mighty Rawr.”

The ponies around the arena cheered for a moment, then Poison Oak continued, “As always the rules are simple, two fighters go in, only one leaves. The Bramble thirsts for blood, and tonight it’ll get its fill. So, with no further delay, our first opponent from the Red side is an N.L.R. trooper. She says she can take down any monster in The Wasteland. Let’s see if she can hold on to that title, I give you Quiver.”

“That’s my que, see you all soon when I win this,” she said as the door opened a little, letting her out into the open arena. It was then that I saw the other side had a similar set up to our side. I could see him, Rawr was waiting on the other end as the gate on his end slowly opened.

Poison Oak’s voice echoed again, “And in the Blue Side, you know him, you love him, I give you The Wasteland’s deadliest Hellhound. Let’s hear it for Rawr!”

The crowd cheered and started to stomp their hooves as the Death Dog walked out toward the mare who was starting to hop up and down readying herself for the upcoming fight.

Rawr looked down at her almost like he was bored of the whole thing, then the mare attacked the Death Dog going right for his collar. Rawr moved to the side, his claws coming up and slashing at her. She was able to twist around, avoiding most of his attack, but his claws left deep cuts along one side. Blood splattered the floor as the mare landed hard on the other side. She looked up at the Death Dog and smiled, “That all ya got?”

“If Rawr were pony, Rawr would give up. Less painful.”

As I watched the fight, (if you could call it a fight) I heard somepony tapping from somewhere behind me. I turned around and saw a pony looking down at me from the bars that formed the ceiling, a pony I knew.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked Greed. Why the fuck was that creepy pegasus down here? Did the Sins always know where to find a pony they were looking for?

Greed grinned down at me and winked, “Looks like you’re in a bit of a bind, aren’tcha?”

“Ya, think?”

He chuckled and smiled wider, “As to why I’m down here, well…I come by whenever I have a little down-time. I love the fights. How’d you end up down there?”

“Some hooded unicorn cast a spell on me, she want’s my Pip-Buck. I also think I did something to piss off Poison Oak.”

The crowd cheered louder, I turned and saw Rawr holding the mare high in the air. Her muzzle was open in a silent scream, her eyes wide, and her head looked like it was ready to pop. Then the Death Dog lived up to his name, his arm flexed and the mare exploded. The Death Dog howled and threw the destroyed body of Quiver against the far wall.

“Wow, that didn’t take long. I had caps on her lasting at least five minutes,” Greed said as he watched from above me.

The buck who was still in the room with me was shaking hard as he looked out at Rawr who was pacing the arena, “I don’t wanna die,” he said.

I looked up at Greed, “I know this sounds stupid but do you know a way that I can get out of this?”

Greed looked back down at me and laughed, “I thought we were enemies Courier Mare?”

“So what? It’s not like you were down here looking for me. Do you really want to leave killing me up to some monster?”

He beamed again, “No I don’t, honestly nopony apart from my boss knows I’m down here right now. The question is what I’ll get out of it?”

The gate to the arena opened again, the buck started to openly sob falling to the ground, “Please don’t send me out there, I’ll do anything else. Just don’t make me fight that thing.”

Rawr snorted from across the arena, “Hurry up pony, Rawr doesn’t have all day to wait for you.”

“Oh, I love when he calls his pray out like that,” Greed said watching the Death Dog, then he looked back at me, “So, if I help you what do I get?”

“I dunno, caps. I have a few I can give up, a cool gun I found, maybe a thank you and a kiss,” the last part was mostly a joke, seeing how I would be the next pony to be slaughtered after this poor buck picked himself off the floor and faced what was coming.

“A kiss from you? Now that I like. Sure, I can help you a little. Unfortunately, I can’t just break you out of that cage you’re in,” he said rubbing his chin, “I know, I could cut the power down there, the locks on the doors are magnetic. No power, no locks, best I can do. I’ll need a little time though.”

“Wait, you’re really gonna help me for a kiss?”

“Of course I am, Caps and a nice gun sound tempting, and trust me I’d take those too. They don’t call me Greed for fun, I want everything and I’ll get what I want no matter what gets in my way. But a kiss from you, that would be the best, because I want you Shadow Star, and I’ll get you one way or another,” he flew off before I could even say we had a deal.

I walked up to the buck and put a hoof on his shoulder, “Hey, stop you’re whining, I have a plan,” I kinda did, but I’d need a little help to make this work.

He looked up at me with fearful eyes, “What plan?”

“Probably a stupid one that’ll get us killed, but hell, it’s better than just jumping into this with nothing.”

“I dunno,” he said still shaking.

“Just do what I say and this can work, are you with me?”

He took a moment to answer, “Not like I have a choice.”

“Good, were both going out there. I need you to help me distract Rawr, if I can get that bomb collar off him, he might leave us alone. He really wants to take down the other ponies, and without his leash, he’ll go after Poison Oak and her bodyguard.”

“Are you sure that’ll work?” he asked?

I smiled, “Nope.”

“You’re insane. You know that right?”

I just chuckled and turned toward the open gate and walked out, the buck close behind right as Poison Oak started to speak, “Now we have a buck from back east out of Manehatten, he’s a former Steel Ranger Scribe, let’s hear it for…” she stopped as I walked toward Rawr, “What the fuck are you doing out there?”

“Putting on a show, what does it look like?” I said glancing up at the Mare, “Oh and when this is over I want my gun back.”

She smiled down at me, “Looks like we have a surprise for you all tonight. I give you the mare you’ve all been hearing about on the Radio, the mare who took down the raider camp outside Cartwheel, the one who blew up a stable, the pony who’ve I heard has also taken down a member of The Seven Sins of Equinity. Let’s hear it for the Courier Mare.”

This time the crowd didn’t make a sound, they all looked down at me shocked. Glancing around I could see a few muttering to their neighbors, four however were just watching me looking baffled. Aura, Wingnut, Stardust, and Silver all looked at me like I was fuckin’ nuts. I just smiled at them and winked, then looked back at Rawr.

“Didn’t think Rawr would be seeing small pony so soon, looks like leader pony forced you to fight,” the Death Dog said.

Keeping my voice down I replied, “Is our deal still on if I can free you?”

He looked confused for a moment and sighed, “Rawr has told small-pony that it not possible. Rawr will never be free, not till he is killed.”

“It’s not impossible, I have a way, I think. You have to give me a chance, but we also have to make this fight look good while I work on freeing you, can you do that?”

He rolled his eyes, “Pony is stupid, Rawr won’t be free. Rawr will have to kill you like others. Rawr will feel bad though, because pony at least tried. So, for kindness, Rawr will make pony’s death quick,” he said raising his paws and showing off his long and extremely sharp claws.

“I mean it Rawr, I can help.”

“If pony thinks she can help, then pony can do it while staying alive.”

Poison Oak spoke again, her voice sounding angry, “Kill her Rawr, and show The Wasteland why you don’t fuck with The Bramble.”

He shot at me with his claws at the ready. I ducked around him and teleported to the other side of the arena, yelling, “Hey you, now would be a good time to distract him.”

The buck pissed himself as he looked up at Rawr, he started to mutter something, then Rawr’s claws sliced through him. His head and two legs rolled away from his twitching body, blood painting the wall behind him in crimson. Fuck, he didn’t even try to defend himself, and Rawr killed him in seconds. The Death Dog looked back at me then put his name to good use and Roared at me as he charged.

I summoned my magic and shot a blast of energy at him, only this time I focused it instead of just letting it pulse out of me like I had back in Stable 28 or the fight with Wrath. The blast hit him and threw him back into the far wall leaving cracks in the concrete. My vison started to swim a little as the energy needed to cast the spell washed over me, but I was able to stay on my hooves.

Rawr was starting to get up, rubbing his head a little. Using my Telekinesis, I wrapped the collar he had on in my magic. Remembering what Wingnut told me I started to work with the trigger and lock. As I worked on it, Rawr got back to his feet then charged at me. I moved to one side, but his claws followed, just barely missing me. It took all my strength to keep hold on his collar so it didn’t go off.

“Dammit Rawr! If you just stood still for like thirty more seconds I can get that fucking collar off you!”

He attacked again, ignoring my outburst. This time I wasn’t fast enough, his paw grabbed me and pinned me to the wall, and he started to slowly squeeze me. His face came within inches of mine and he growled low as he spoke, “I told Pony before, there is no way out for Rawr…”

There was a click, and the red light on Rawr’s collar went out. The pressure around my body slackened some as his eyes went wide. As he looked into my eyes, I heard Stardust’s voice echoing from above, “Let her out of there, NOW! She didn’t sign up for this!”

“She did, and she’ll have to go out like every other pony who’s ever faced Rawr,” Poison Oak said, “Now Kill her Rawr, give The Bramble what it thirsts for.”

Slowly Rawr lowered me down and let me go, his face still a mask of wonder, “Did pony really just do what Rawr thinks pony did?”

I smiled and nodded, pulling the collar away from him, “Now, do you think you can keep up on your end of our deal?”

“The cage is still magically warded, like the one Rawr lives in,” as he said this, there was a boom from somewhere deeper in the town and most of the lights went out, along with the glowing gems around the upper part of the Arena.

“I had a little help,” I said, “How about we get out of here.”

He smiled and nodded, “Pony did what Rawr thought could not be done. You can live Pony, Rawr is in pony’s Debt,” then he looked up at the ponies above.

“Glad to hear it, how about we get out of here and stop this place once and for all,” I said looking up at where Poison Oak was glaring down at us.

“What do you think you’re doing Rawr!? Kill her, right now!” she yelled down at us. Right then I saw the glimmer of a dark blue handle to a pistol, one that looked a lot like mine.

“Hey Rawr, I’ll meet you up there,” I said, then teleported right up to Poison Oak, she took a step back and went to pull Dream Walker out from the side holster she was wearing. Before she could, I took hold of it with my magic and yanked it free. I jammed to barrel against her forehead, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you it’s rude to take another pony’s things?”

There was a loud wrenching sound from behind me, and the sounds of Rawr howling as he got free from the Arena. I looked back at him as he jumped and grabbed onto the railing behind me pulling himself up. The Death Dog growled as he looked down at Poison Oak, his claws twitching. I kept the gun to her head.

“Answer something for me,” I said.

“How did you get that thing to listen to you?” she asked shrinking back and looking up at Rawr.

I didn’t get a chance to answer, because a bullet bit into my flanks. I ducked down and looked toward the direction the bullet came from. Guard ponies on the level above us were firing down at us. I looked back toward where my friends were and yelled, “Take care of the guards.”

Aura flew over me with her spear out and glowing. A shot rang out from Stardust’s rifle just behind and over me, and I could hear Wingnut firing his revolver. As the guards fired at us Poison Oak ran off down one of the aisles. Rawr lived up to his name again and roared as she ran.

“She’s getting away pony,” he said ready to jump after her.

“Don’t worry, I got her. Help my friends take care of the guards,” I said starting to run after her.

“Why does pony get to have all the fun?” he complained as he turned and jumped to the upper level, his claws ripping into two ponies as soon as he landed.

I smiled and kept going. Poison Oak didn’t make it far, she tumbled and fell as her hoof caught on something sticking out from the wall. It didn’t take her long to get back to her hooves and try to get away again. I lifted Dream Walker and hit S.A.T.S. I triggered two shots at her hind legs and fired.

She fell and blood flew as she slid a few feet across the floor. I walked up to her as she cowered on the floor, her left hind leg shaking violently. I pointed my gun at her again, “Where were we?”

“You caught me, good job Courier Mare,” she laughed a little, “So now what? Are you gonna kill a mare while she’s hurt and defenseless?”

I shook my head, “No, I need to know something first. Who was that mare you were talking with before, the one who cast the spell on me?”

“I have no idea who she is. She came to me after talking with Gina, she told me what she wanted and who she was looking for. When I heard who you were I knew I didn’t want you down here. From what I’ve heard, you bring nothing but destruction where ever you go. I was right too, I should’ve just killed you before you had the chance to do anything to The Bramble,” she said angrily.

“I don’t buy that, who is she!?” I yelled pressing the gun right up to her face again.

She spat in my face, “Fuck you Courier Mare, I’m finished.”

I wiped my face clean and sighed lowering the gun a little, “You’re not worth it. I’m here as a favor to The Queen. I’ve seen enough to know you’ve been doing everything the rumors say. Rawr told me everything when I found him down in his cage before. What I don’t get is why.”

She laughed again, “The Bramble needs its sacrifices and Rawr made that possible. So what if a few worthless ponies died and a few slaves? The Bramble always gets its blood.”

“Not anymore, I’m shutting you down for good Poison, and I’ll let The Queens deal with you.”

As I spoke, more shots rang out from behind me, I saw more guards coming down the aisles firing at me. I ducked behind a chair and returned fire with Dream Walker. (Damn this thing had one hell of a kick) As my last bullet left the mag, it glowed as it sank into the shoulder of one of the guards. A second later a black light exploded out of him, incinerating most of his left side.

The last two guards looked at the body of the dismembered buck and backed away slowly, then one yelled, “Fuck this, I’m not getting paid enough for this shit,” he ran off, his partner not far behind.

They only got a few feet away when Rawr landed in front of them. His claws swiped and beheaded them both. He looked over at me, blood covering most of his arms and chest. He had a couple bullet holes in him, but they didn’t seem to bother him much as he walked over. He walked right up to Poison Oak. She started to shake in fear as she looked up into his yellow eyes.

“Call him off, please call him off,” she begged.

“Stop your whining pony,” he said picking her up in one paw and bringing her right up to his face.

“I don’t tell him what to do, I’m just the pony who freed him,” I looked up at Rawr, “You don’t have to kill her Rawr, she’s finished.”

He looked over at me, “This pony had Rawr’s family killed, all so she could use Rawr in her fighting pit.”

“Wait, you did what?” I asked looking over at Poison Oak, who was crying softly as she hung there in his grip.

“They’re just Hellhounds, The Wasteland is better with less of them around,” she said through her sobs.

I backed away as Rawr let out a deep throated growled, then using his other hand he lifted one of her hind legs and ripped it off. She screamed in pain as a puddle of blood started to coat the floor, “That was for Rawr’s mate,” he reached down and ripped off the one I shot, “That was for Rawr’s Pup.”

“Rawr, you don’t need to do this,” I said, horrified at what I was watching. Aura and Stardust landed next to me and they both watched in horror as the Death Dog growled louder as he brought a claw up to the mare’s neck.

“Gina, where are you? Please help me!” she cried. I wanted so badly to help her, but what could I do? From what I was hearing, she deserved no less, it was just hard to watch.

“Gina won’t be coming, there’s no point yelling for her. You’re already dead, you’re brain just hasn’t figured it out yet,” Aura said coldly.

“Griffon is right; this is for making Rawr fight for you like some kind of pony pet,” Rawr said dragging his claw along her throat. She gagged and choked as blood spilled from her neck and into her windpipe. Rawr dropped her on the floor then howled his anger and pain for all the hear. He looked back at me as she lied on the floor dying at his feet.

My two friends brought their weapons up, but I kept mine down, “What now Rawr?”

“Um…Shadow. Why isn’t he attacking us?” Stardust asked.

“Yeah, and why didn’t he kill you back in the arena?” Aura asked.

“I’ll explain later,” I said as Rawr came closer looking down at all of us.

“Dog has gotten his revenge. Thanks to small pony, Dog owes her now.”

“No you don’t Rawr. All I did was free a creature that needed my help. I’ll admit I don’t agree with what you did to her, but from what you said she deserved it,” I said looking down at the mare.

“She did. Pony should go now. Maybe one day, Rawr will be able to pay Pony back,” He said as he turned and walked away into to darkness.

When he was gone I looked back at my friends, they both looked baffled at the reaction of the Death Dog. Stardust’s jaw was open as he looked at me then the death dog as he walked away, “What in Celestia’s name happened?”

Aura seemed to snap out of it first, she just shook her head then walked over to me and thumped the back of my head, “Ow, what was that for?”

“That was for being stupid and wandering off without me.”

“Hey, you wandered off first,” I said rubbing the back of my head.

“Yeah because you pissed me off. Can we get out of here now?”

“Yeah, let’s get Wingnut and Silver. I’ll make sure to tell The Queen what happened when we get done with everything else.”

“Good idea,” Stardust said, “I hate being underground. I just wanna get back outside where I can stretch my wings.”

As we walked back toward the steps that lead back to the upper levels I looked over at Aura, “Are we okay now?”

She rolled her eyes, “Were fine Boss, I was just upset. This jackass talked to me and calmed me down.”

“Wow, never thought I’d hear that one.”

“Ah he’s still a pain in the ass, but he’s not as bad as I thought.”

Stardust chuckled a little, “I should get a recording of that.”

“Don’t push it cloud breath,” she warned.

Stardust only snickered a little and kept going, then out of nowhere Talons grabbed me from behind and threw me back into the far wall. I cried out in pain and looked up at the angry face of Gina, “You crazy bitch. Do you know what you just did?”

A pressure started to build at the back of my mind, I know this feeling now, but I fought the presence back and laughed up at Gina, “I think so. I think I just helped a Dog get out of a cage, and shut down this disgusting place.”

“I had a good thing going here. Yeah Poison Oak was a bitch who wasn’t fun to work for, but it was still an easy life. Now I have to go out and find a new Pony to work for, do you know how hard it is for Freelancers to find work out here?”

“I know more than you think,” I said looking up at her smiling.

A glowing spear rested against Gina’s neck, and Aura said, “Put her down Gina. Now.”

Gina looked over at Aura, anger etched into her features, “You think I’m scared of that toothpick Aura? Go bother someone else.”

“I’m not a kid anymore Aunt Gina. I’m not the same griffon you knew so long ago. I’ll kill you right here and now if I have to.”

Gina took a moment and let me go. She faced the other griffon, “You have guts, that’s for sure kid.”

“I always have, I just know I can take you down now.”

Gina just laughed in her face, “Who knows? Maybe you can, but honestly I don’t feel like finding out right now,” she looked back at me, “Since I no longer have a contractor, I have no reason to keep anything from you. I wasn’t far when you were asking Poison Oak about that mare, do you still want to know who she is?”

I perked up, “Yes, what can you tell me about her?”

“Honestly not much, all I know about her is that she’s a unicorn that’s been looking to hire griffons for a while. She keeps getting turned down, or the griffon she DOES hire dies trying to help her. What I can tell you is that she works for the Enclave, and she’s wants that Pip-Buck of yours, but I don’t know why. I could’ve told her you were here when she first came to me a few hours ago, but I didn’t because Aura is family and she works for you.”

“She said that she could remove the Pip-Buck before when she was talking to you, why didn’t she when she cast that spell on me?” I asked.

Gina laughed again, “I shouldn’t be surprised that you heard all that. I’m not sure. When she cast that spell on you and started leading you away with Poison, she said something about not having enough time to take it off. Poison suggested killing you in The Bramble to give the ponies around here a show. She agreed and said she’d come back later for the Pip-Buck. If you want my advice I’d stay away from her, she’s bad news.”

“I’ll do my best. Thanks for the information,” I said, surprised that she was being a lot nicer than she had before. As I finished talking I noticed Silver and Wingnut standing at the bottom of the steps watching us.

“Whatever. Don’t expect me to be so nice if we see each other again,” Then she looked over at Aura, “Aura, before I go, can you answer something for me?”

“Why should I?” she said pointing the spear right at Gina’s eye.

“Because, if you do, I’ll let you all leave alive. You think you can take me down, and maybe you can. But I don’t think you can do it before I killed a couple of your friends. So, what I want to know is, why did my dear sister kick you out of the Talons?”

Aura’s anger seemed to melt away, then she put her spear on her back and said, “You have a point, fine. I won’t give you details, but I broke Rule 7.”

The hard expression on Gina’s face vanished and grew softer, then she sighed, “Damn kid, that had to be hard. Maybe one day you can tell me the whole story. If you do, I’ll tell you what really happened to me.”

“I know enough,” Aura said angrily.

Gina just laughed again, “You think you do kid, but you’re wrong. See ya around,” then she flew off past the running ponies vanishing down one of the tunnels.

“This has been a really weird day,” Silver said walking up next to me and kissing my cheek, making me blush a little, “Does this happen a lot?”

Stardust laughed, “You have no idea.”

“Let’s get out of here,” I said and walked past my friends.

I saw the destruction Rawr wreaked on The Bramble before he came down and killed Poison. There was no way the place would be used again for a while. On my way out I didn’t see any sign of Greed, I was still surprised that one of The Sins helped me. Maybe he did want to help me out. He wasn’t like the other Sins I’d met before, that’s for sure.

“So now what?” Wingnut asked, “Are you really just gonna let that thing stay alive so close to the towns around here?”

“I don’t think he’ll be a problem for anypony Wingnut. He’s had enough of Ponies I think,” I said to the Colt. (At least I hope I was right.)

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Stardust said, “I’ve never seen a Hellhound like him before, or one that would just leave a living pony behind like that.”

I giggled a little, “He’s not a normal Hellhound, he’s not that bad, at least he doesn’t seem to be. Now let’s get going before anything else weird finds us.”

I didn’t even go three steps before Greed landed in front of me, once again my friends guns were out. He ignored them, and pressed his face close and kissed me, then he pulled away and laughed, “Payment accepted, now get out of here kid, before Pride figures out where you went.”

Before I could ask him if he knew anything about that mare from before, he was gone, “That’s what I get for saying I didn’t want to run into anything weird.”

“Should’ve knocked on wood, I thought you learned your lesson after Stable 9,” Stardust said arrogantly.

“Yeah me too,” I replied, then I looked back at Silver, “I know this day has been extremely weird, but do you want to keep traveling with us since things didn’t work out down in The Bramble?”

She just chuckled and walked close to me kissing my nose, “I haven’t had so much fun in a long time. Why would I want to just up and leave?”

“I dunno. Maybe because danger seems to follow me around. I don’t wanna put you in danger.”

“Shadow, you have a colt following you around, do you think that I’m weaker than a colt?” she asked fluttering her eyes at me.

“Well…no, I mean I don’t know. Wingnut doesn’t count, he’s a tough little shit, and I mean you make cloths and armor.”

“I do, and I also used to travel around The Wasteland when I was younger, I know what I’m doing. Now where are we heading next?” she said still smiling.

I wanted to argue, but why bother? I wasn’t in the mood anyway, so I gave in, “We’re heading to Frosty Summit Ski Lodge next to find a Dashite for the Queen.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” she said walking past me and toward my friends, “Now let’s not waste what daylight we have left.”

I couldn’t help watching her rear as she trotted away, Aura snickered then patted my shoulder, “Hey, that’s what happens when you don’t listen to me, now you’re screwed.”

“What do you mean?” I asked looking desperately at the Griffon.

“She owns you now, all she has to do is flutter her eyes, shaker her ass and you’re butter in her hooves,” Stardust replied for Aura.

I scowled, “I think I liked it better when you two didn’t like each other.”

They both laughed and we started walking northwest, following the path that should lead us up to the lodge.

We’d been walking for only an hour or so when something started to feel off. We were walking up a path that wound its way up a hill, but as we inched closer to where the ski lodge should be, we entered a clearing in the rocky slope. I stopped as my friends continued on though the clearing.

A moment later Aura looked back at me and asked, “What’s wrong Boss?”

I looked around at the quiet clearing, “Something just feels off. I’m not sure what it is, but I have this odd feeling that we shouldn’t walk through this clearing.”

“Come on, I’m a griffon. I would know if something was here that could do anything to us. Plus, you have E.F.S., you should know if there’s anything hostile around,” she said turning and walking back toward where the rest of my companions were just reaching the other side of the clearing.

“I guess you’re right,” I said following her.

It was when I was half way across when I noticed a humming from under my hooves, I looked down and saw that something was glowing just under the brush that covered the ground. Oh fuck, what now? I ran for it not wanting to find out what was about to happen. Only as I moved the glowing grew brighter and lines of arcane energy shot out from the point I was just on. The lines flew past me and around in all directions forming a circle around the entire clearing. I noticed right before I got to the other end of the clearing that it looked like some kind of magic circle. I remember mom telling me about them once before, in one of her attempts to teach me about different kinds of magic. Then I ran face first into an invisible barrier right at the end of the clearing.

“Ow, what the fuck was that?” I asked up at my friends who were just on the other side of the invisible wall.

“What’s going on?” Stardust asked.

I was about to ask the same thing, when I saw my friends tense up, then a gun was pressed to the back of my head, and a pony with a gruff voice said, “Don’t move you evil bitch!”

Wasteland Whisperer: You have learned the Art of talking to different kinds of creatures in the wasteland, be it Hell Hound, Ghoul, or Chimera, you now have a chance to Pacify these post-apocalyptic monsters and even get them to help you out in a fight. Be careful though, you never know when they might see you as their next victim.

Shadow’s Edge Rank 2: Your recent interaction with the thing calling itself Morning Star has boosted your endurance with Magic, you can now use your magic twice as much as before with less side effects.