Fallout Equestria: Falling Shadows

by Drako Moon

Chapter 36: Lost In Darkness

I’ve reached a point in my story where a single choice could send me spiraling down into a darkness so black there’s no coming back from it. Or I could turn away from the path I’ve chosen to follow and try to find my way back to the light. Both would have devastating consequences not just for me, but for the ponies I love. Darkness is the easy choice, when you sink so far into darkness you don’t care about anypony anymore, not even yourself. Therein lies the problem, going down that path would be easy for me, but my friends, my family, they’d suffer. They’d lose the pony they cared about, the one they wanted to help save from her deadly path she made for herself. They would have to watch as I became more like the ponies I hated, they’d watch as I became an animal, a beast, a monster unlike anything The Wasteland had ever seen. Light was the harder choice to make, because for a pony who has committed an unthinkable act like I did to pull herself back into the light, would take a lot of will power and forgiveness. I’d have to accept what I did, overcome the darkness eating away at my very soul, I’d have to do better, and show The Wasteland that I was not the monster, but the pony who could overcome it all. I’d have to shine brighter than anypony before ever has. To reach that point, I would have to forgive myself and forgive the ponies I saw as evil. It was the only way. A seemingly impossible task, but one I could do if only I could find the speck of light somewhere deep inside. Darkness or Light, The Star spawn or The Courier, Aquila or Shadow Star. One way or another, it was time for me to choose who I will become…

“Who am I!?”

What I hate about being a unicorn is moments like this. When a pony like The Stranger knows that all they have to do to stop us, is to jam a FUCKING memory orb to our horns and off to la-la land we go. When this memory is over I’m gonna make him pay for this. At least he was too slow to stop me from destroying Mill City Tower. There’s always a silver lining as Vervain liked to say. With some luck maybe, I was able to kill Stardust with that blast. If not then I’d still find a way, he’s the evil one here not me.

Now that I think about it, what’s taking so long for this memory orb to start? Why is everything so black? Normally when I enter a memory orb there’s a moment where the world I know melts away, then I slip into the body of whomever I’m reliving the memory of. The world melted away like it always did, but now I’m just stuck in some kind of limbo. The stranger thing is I feel like I’m still in my own body, only I knew I wasn’t still in the present.

A dark voice echoed around me, “Open your eyes Star, we don’t have much time to talk.”

Open my eyes? What the fuck is going on and my eyes are open…or are they? I’m so confused right now. I tried to open my eyes like the voice said, and what do you know, they were closed. When my eyelids parted I saw that I was standing in a room, one I’ve seen before in a memory of Pride’s, back when he was still Oricalcos. It was the place where he almost killed me with his dark magic, “I thought I was in a memory orb, if so this is the strangest memory I’ve ever seen.”

The voice spoke again, “You did enter a memory orb Star, but I’m using what little strength I have to hold it back so we can talk.”

As he spoke again I realized I knew that voice. My knees went weak and I almost fell to the ground as I said, “Is that you Pride?”

“Yes and no, the pony you knew as Pride isn’t around anymore, or should I say the pony I used to be isn’t around anymore Star. When you used that super weapon on my shadow form, it stripped me of almost all my dark power. If I hadn’t been as fast as I was, you would’ve killed me altogether.”

“Okay I know I’ve been losing it for a while, but there’s no way you survived that blast. You’re totally dead dude,” I said looking around, but there he was, the golden unicorn standing next to an open door watching me with sorrowful eyes.

“I should’ve died, but because of my ‘Gift’ I was able to keep a small part of myself alive, by attaching a piece of myself to you Star.”

“So you’re keeping yourself alive inside my head too? Great, like I didn’t have enough problems with Aquila. Now I have to deal with my immortal uncle, perfect.”

He smiled a little when I said that, “No, I’m not in your head or your mind. When you activated that weapon, I tried to break through the barrier. It was too strong for even me, but I was able to crack it just a little and slip a small piece of shadow to you. I told you Star, I have no true body I’m a living shadow nothing more. The body you saw before was a thin shell I could use to keep my power contained. All I had to do to survive was become part of your shadow. I’m a lot weaker than I was, but if I stayed like this, I could regain what I lost.”

I took a step back, “If that’s true and I’m not going crazy, then why haven’t you tried to kill me? And why do you keep calling me Star? My names Shadow Star or Shadow, I’m not Star anymore.”

The room around us shifted and once again, I found myself back on that day when I destroyed Appleton with one stupid pull of the trigger. Only now I was watching things from Pride’s point of view. He was looking down at me as I tried to find a way to stop the blast. He looked up at the sky as the clouds started to vanish and past that a speck of bright light. He looked back at me and pulling at all the power he could, slammed himself into the thin yellow barrier. A piece of himself broke off and pushed itself through a tiny crack. The point of view changed again as the small speck of darkness that was Pride fell and latched itself onto the shadow under me. I watched as the larger part of Pride smiled down at me and spoke his last words.

Before I could watch the blast destroy the town again, I was back in the room, “What the fuck was that?”

“That was the moment when I left most of my power behind so I could survive. As to why I haven’t tried to kill you, that’s easy. Do you remember that moment when our magic was connected?”

I shrugged, “Yeah, so what?”

“It took a while, but when you saw those memories of mine, I saw some of yours. Memories you’ve forgotten, but they showed me who you really are,” I watched as a single tear ran down his face, “You’re my niece, you’re Star the filly I cursed with dark magic, so many years ago.”

I looked away, “Yeah and because of you, everything in my life has been very difficult.”

“I know. I wish I would’ve known who you were from the beginning. Things would’ve been so different if only I knew.”

I rounded on him, “Oh really? You mean that if you knew who I was you wouldn’t have tried to kill me? I don’t buy that for a second PRIDE!”

“Pride…yes the name I took when I became a Sin. I was dubbed Pride because of how much I loved my power; my pride is the reason you were hurt. Do you know why I did this to myself and took on the moniker of Pride?”

“Because you feared death?”

He started to laugh, “Hahahah, no I wasn’t afraid of death. In all honesty I wanted to die after I hurt you. I almost killed myself only a few hours later before the guard came for me. Then I heard that Grim found a spell to keep you alive, it wasn’t a cure, but it was something. I swore then that I wouldn’t let anypony stop me from finding a way to fix what I did. So, I went to my notes and found the spell that even King Sombra wouldn’t use and I gave up my body to become what you know me as. I dedicated my life to helping my sister find the cure for the darkness I placed on you. When the council couldn’t kill me, I swore myself to The Enclave to serve as Pride The Arrogant. I told them I would recreate a group like The Children of the Night only more powerful and more feared.”

“So you became a killer?”

He chuckled again, “Not at first. It was all a cover so I could go out into The Wasteland and help Grim. For the first couple of years she stayed at The Crystal Empire keeping you alive and doing her own research. When she left, I followed her, keeping her safe and alive when I could. I also kept on trying to find a spell or item that could banish dark magic. I wasn’t as good at it as my sister, but I still tried. When Grim went into Stable 28, I lost all contact with her and I started to take on my role as Pride. When Grim finally came back out and she told me that you didn’t survive, I lost the only thing I cared about. I became a monster to save you. With you gone, I let the monster take over.”

“And now you magically want to be a good pony again? Bullshit!”

“I’ll never be a good pony again, but I’ve done what I can, when I can, to keep you alive. Like when you were in your stable.”

I remembered when I found those slaughtered bodies in the halls and the pony who died in the armory, “That was you?”

“The ponies you found in the hallway were mostly security ponies who found out where you were. They were about to storm the room and kill you. I was able to use the shadows in the vault and use it to kill them without you even knowing. It was the same with that stallion when you were fighting him in the armory. I also was the one who kept you alive when you fought Wrath. I was the one who guided your magic so you could cast that memory recovery spell on him too.”

I gave him a quizzical look, “Why though? Why do any of this?”

His purple eyes met mine, “Because, it’s the only way I can help you. When I figured out who you were I knew that I had to do something to make up for what I did for all those years.”

Growing angry again I yelled, “Why bother? Even if any of that’s true, why show yourself now?”

“Because I’m trying to stop you from going down the same path I did!” he retorted. The room around us shifted, everything changed and we now stood in a dark cave, “I won’t watch you make the same mistakes I did or your mother. Our entire family has always had something bad happen to us, ever since the war. You Star, are the one pony in our family that I think can break the curse on our house. I showed myself to you so I can show you what we did wrong so you won’t go down that same path of darkness.”

“Darkness is all I have LEFT!”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is! Why should I care what path I’m on right now when no matter what I do, friends of mine die, or get hurt, or are taken away and turned into monsters. Even if somehow I could avoid all that from happening, sooner or later I’ll be the new monster in The Wasteland. When Aquila breaks down the cage mom trapped her in again, I’ll be evil. Might as well skip right to it and let her take over now. At least this way, I can make sure my friends aren’t around when I do!”

He frowned and walked closer to me, then he turned and showed me his flank pointing at his Cutie Mark. At first it was the same as the mark on Stardust’s armor, a tribal lion’s head, then it changed. First two circles showed up one right inside the other, within the circles Zebra Glyphs appeared. Then a line started to form from the top of the inner circle, it zipped around making one continuous line to form a six-pointed star, the points on the top and bottom are larger triangles the four on the sides are smaller. The color was the same as his eyes, a brilliant purple.

“This is my cutie mark Star, the one I had before it was destroyed when I became Pride.”

I looked at it for another minute then turned away, “So what, you have a Six-Pointed star on your ass, big deal.”

He shook his head, “Grim really did lack in your educating if you just see this symbol as a six-pointed star. This is a unicursal hexagram, when the hexagram is formed with one single line, it forms a knot. Magic users like me or Grim, use symbols like this to enhance our magical ability. The same for some more powerful and wise zebras. There is always one pony in our family who has had some kind of star for a cutie mark. I was the first pony to possess the hexagram, it meant I would be more powerful than any of our family has ever been. When the hexagram is inside the circles like this it is called the Symbol of Oricalcos. On the day I got my cutie mark I took on that name.”

“Nice and what does any of this have to do with me or why I should stop what I’m doing?” I asked.

He walked around me slowly, “I’m getting to that, now shut up and listen, you might learn something for a change. Before you were born I was the most powerful unicorn to ever be born in The Enclave, before me no pony in our family had anything more than a four-pointed star. Magic for me was easy, all I had to do to learn a spell was to see it used or read about it in old spell books. I could take spells that were weak and change them to make them more powerful. I learned spells that most unicorns thought were hard or extremely advanced before I was even ten. Because of this I was put into a special school to hone my skills so I could become more powerful. My parents adored me, they doted on me, they always wanted to tell every pony they could how great I was. They always wanted to use me to get themselves a higher position in The Enclave.”

As he spoke everything around us changed again and another memory started to form. Once again I was watching the world through the eyes of Pride…no not Pride, Oricalcos. He was a little younger than Wingnut, but I could feel the power he had as he moved eight massive objects in the air while at the same time writing something down with perfect pensponyship. He was being watched by two other unicorns, one was a short light silver mare who had a dull blue mane, the other a yellow stallion with a jet black mane much like Oricalcos.

The Stallion was saying something as Oricalcos strained to hold the spells, “Oricalcos, you need to do more, we know you can do it. You have to show everypony how great our family really is.”

“That’s right Ori, if you keep this up maybe one day everypony in Equestria will know your name, and ours too.”

My host dropped the objects, “I’ve been doing this for hours dad, can I take a break please?”

“You’re almost finished son, just a little longer,” the stallion said.

“But I promised Spell that I’d help her with her magic today. If I keep this up I’ll be too tired,” my host said.

Before either of the older ponies could answer a small pale blue filly with a long silver mane walked in, “Ori? Are you finished yet? I found a new book that I want help reading…” she froze when she saw her parents glaring at her.

“Spell, you know not to disturb your brother when he’s training!” the stallion yelled.

The mare stuck her nose in the air and huffed, “Don’t bother dear, she’ll never understand how important this kind of training is for a unicorn such as Oricalcos, she can’t even lift a pencil let alone use the spells her brother can.”

“Mom, Dad, don’t be so hard on her, she’s still a foal. All your cruelty is going to do is make her hate you,” Oricalcos said walking past them and over to the small filly, “I can help you with whatever you need Spell, I’m almost finished.”

The filly was crying as she looked up into her brother’s eyes, “I…I don’t want to get in your way Ori.”

The mare pushed past my host and shoved the filly back, “That’s right, you know better Spell, now get out of here and go to your room!”

The filly ran from the room crying and dropping the small book she had been carrying. When she was gone the Stallion said, “She’s such a cry baby, she’s lucky we haven’t disowned her by now. To think that one of our children can’t even use magic, how pitiful.”

My host rounded on them, “Why can’t you two give her a break? She can use magic, I’ve seen her. If you two would just let up on her even a little she’d be able to do better. So what if she’s not as gifted as I am? She can still learn. If you spent half the time teaching her as you do treating her like garbage, she’d be just as powerful as I am, but you’re too busy polishing you favorite s…”

The mare slapped him, “Don’t talk back to us Ori, your sister is worthless to us and The Enclave if she can’t use magic. You know how low our family has fallen over the years, we can’t let a weakling like her bring us down more than we already are.”

Oricalcos was shaking with rage now, he backed away from both of his parents his horn glowing, “I’m sick of doing what you think is right just so The Enclave will see us in a better light! You will leave her alone and let me help her with her spells, if not, I’m not going to do anything to help you!”

His father laughed, “We’re your parents and you will treat us with the respect we are owed. If it wasn’t for us pushing you so much, you wouldn’t have ever become as powerful as you are now. Now get back to your training!”

Oricalcos didn’t move, but his horn glowed brighter. He cast a spell, knocking both of his parents onto their backs, then he used his telekinesis to grasp both of their throats. He tightened his hold and said slowly, “You will do as I say or I’ll show you just how powerful I am and how broad my imagination for torture has grown over the years of you treating us like tools for your own gain. After I’ve had my fun with you they’ll never find the bodies because there will be nothing left to find.”

He let up on their throats just a little so they could respond. It was his mother who did first, “You can’t do this to us Ori, why do you care so much about that weak unicorn?”

He glared at her, “Because she’s my sister! Now I’m going to her room to help her with her magic use, both of you will leave us alone for the rest of the night so she can get some peace. Starting tomorrow you will both stop calling her names, you will let her have more time with me so I can help her, and you will treat her as if she is my equal. Do you understand me!? If you want I can carve it into your legs as a reminder.”

His father responded this time, “Fine, just let us go!”

He did, “Now get out of here.”

They both got up and trotted out of the room. When they were gone Oricalcos took hold of the book his sister dropped and teleported, he reappeared in a small dark room. In one corner the filly was sitting there crying to herself and pulling pages out of a spell book, “Stupid Mom and Dad, what do they know? I can be just as great as he is if only I could figure out how to make this stupid horn work.”

My host smiled and walked closer, “Spell, you shouldn’t do that, you know how hard it is to find fully intact spell books.”

She turned to look at him, her grey eyes shining with tears, “I don’t care, I’ve read a lot of these stupid spell books and not a single one helps.”

Oricalcos pulled out the book she left behind when she ran out, “Not this one, maybe it’ll have just the thing you need,” then he looked down at the title. When he did I saw it was the same book mom gave to me when we were in the stable. She said it was the first spell book she ever read that helped her became who she was. It was the book that was written by Twilight Sparkle, “Spell where did you get this? I thought no copies of this book were left.”

She frowned, “I found it in a library, one that I don’t think anypony ever found before. What do you care? It’s not like that thing can help me either, I’m useless just like Mom said.”

He moved closer and pulled the little filly into a hug, “No you’re not, you just haven’t figured out the way your horn uses magic.”

She looked up at him again, “Are you sure Ori?”

“I am, now dry those tears and let’s read this book together, then maybe you can tell me about this library you found.”

She giggled a little drying her eyes, “Okay fine, but I want to read it to you first. Maybe if I do, I’ll understand it better.”

“Whatever you think will help Spell.”

The memory faded and again I was back in the room with Oricalcos looking down at me. I sighed and asked, “Was that my mother?”

He nodded, “Yes, as you can see our parents didn’t treat her very well. I was a prodigy, every spell I tried came to me easily. Grim struggled with everything. It still took her another six months after that memory to finally learn how to even use telekinesis. It happened when she found that Statuette of Twilight.”

“Were you two always that close?”

“Yes we were. I never liked how my parents treated her, so I took it upon myself to help her prove them wrong. Magic for me was easy, I hated it too. Seeing Grim struggle so much with her own gave me a challenge. I liked that, it was great to find something in my life that was finally a challenge,” he said with a small smile, “Still I wasn’t the one who helped her become strong, she did that on her own.”

“What does this have to do with your cutie mark?”

He sighed looking at her “Star when will you realize there’s a reason for everything, maybe you should listen instead of interrupting. The point was, my power was great at a young age and it frustrated me to no end. That’s why I challenged myself whenever I could. In the end it was that flaw in my character that lead to what happened to you. I was trying to learn to use shadow magic, something I couldn’t just learn easily, and it was forbidden. I found old journals and spell books in the library your mother found, we called it The Forgotten Library. Those spells took me years to learn and still I couldn’t control them properly. That’s why you ended up sick, I lost control of my power for just a second, and that second was all it took.”

“I saw the memory of that day, what I don’t understand is why that ball of darkness went after me. I wasn’t anywhere near it, and you didn’t try to cast the spell on me,” I said, now getting interested in the story.

“It’s because of that,” he said with a sigh pointing at my cutie mark.

I looked down at it then asked, “What does my cutie mark have to do with what happened?”

He smiled again, “Because since the day you were born Star, everypony knew that you would be more powerful than even I was. You used to cast spells when you got upset or if you were hungry, it got so bad that at times Grim had to place wards on you to stop you from casting spells that might hurt you. You were a powerful spell caster ever since you came into this world. It was that power that drew the dark energy I created toward you. Shadow magic is unlike any other kind there is, it’s drawn to light and power. It will snuff it out if it can just to stop something as powerful as you from changing the world.”

It was my turn to laugh, “Me, a powerful spell caster? That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“I’m not kidding. Think about it, how long have you been able to use teleportation?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe for five or six years now, why?”

“That spell is something that most unicorns can’t do, and even if they can, they can’t do it more than once a day maybe twice. I’ve seen you do other spells that are hard to do, you can even handle multiple things at one time with your telekinesis.”

I laughed again, “I only know three spells.”

“That’s because you haven’t had anypony to teach you more, and I’m sure there aren’t many spell books in your old stable.”

I raised an eyebrow, “And this is because of my cutie mark?”

“No, your cutie mark is a sign of your power. You have what’s known as the Octagram or the points of balance. Each point of the Star represents a quality that’s important in balance when it comes to magic,” he pointed at the top point of my star, “Beauty, Strength, Power, Compassion, Honor, Humility, Mirth, and Reverence. Each of these are what’s needed for perfect balance, in either magic, or a pony. Each one is a quality I’m sure you possess.”

I looked at him with a bored expression, “As educational as this all is, why should I care about any of this?”

He sighed again, “Because you need to understand who you are and where you come from. Only then can you understand why you need to turn away from this dark path you’re on.”

“Great, can I go now? I’m really sick of dealing with you. I don’t care about you, my mom, or our family,” I turned and tried to find a way I could get out of this…whatever I was trapped in, “Where’s the exit?”

“YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME!” he yelled. I turned back to look at him and saw his body had become that dark shadow monster I fought in Appleton, “You can’t keep this up Star! If you do you’ll end up just like Grim and Me!”

“So what?” I said quietly, “It seems like it runs in the family so why should you or I care? I’m going to make everypony in The Enclave pay for killing Aura.”

“Then what? Once you’ve killed the ponies that wronged you, what will you do then?” he asked.

“Then either I’ll let Aquila finally have what she wants, or I’ll kill myself, if I can.”

He hit me, throwing me into one of the walls. If this was real, it would’ve either killed me or at least hurt like hell. I got up and laughed, “What was that for? It’s not like you can kill me in here Oricalcos.”

“That may be, but I can still knock some sense into you.”

I just shook my head, “All you are is what’s left of an evil pony that doesn’t know how to die. Go away and let me get back to what I was doing before you decided to interrupt my life. You’ve done enough harm Oricalcos, I don’t need you or your help. You don’t care about me! You only care about yourself, that’s all!”

“I care more than you know Star.”

“STOP CALLING ME STAR! My name is Shadow, that’s all I am,” I shouted, “Maybe I am like you, I’m just a Shadow that’s only good at killing.”

He took a step back and sighed again, “One day Shadow, you’ll see that I’m right. I can’t hold this spell any longer, so I’ll let you go. I just hope that you find your way back to the light, because I know what really lies in the darkness. It’s pain, loneliness, and hardship.”

“I never want to see your face again, do you understand me? If you really are living inside my shadow, then either stay that and never show yourself again, or find some other pony to bother, like Grim. She might need your help soon, because once I’m finished killing Nightshade and Stardust, she’s next!” I said powering up my horn.

“If that’s what you think you need to do then fine, but I warn you, she won’t be as easy to kill as you think the same goes for Nightshade. Remember, Revenge is never the answer, take it from somepony who knows.”

His body was starting to fade away along with the rest of my surroundings. I smiled with the same evil grin I’d seen Pride use before, “Vanish from the world Oricalcos, and never return!” I shot a blast of energy at him. He just smiled and the world around me shattered, my body felt as if I was falling, then everything melted away.

This time the memory started as I expected it to, though the meeting with Oricalcos was still fresh in my mind. What did he really want anyway? He had to be planning something, it didn’t matter what or who he was. He was still a Sin, one that was more dangerous than the rest of them apart from maybe Envy. Either way I was gonna have to find a way to get him out of my shadow or head or whatever. Right now, I was once again stuck in a memory orb, one The Stranger put me into. Either he just found some random orb and wanted to use it to keep me knocked out, or he wanted me to see this.

The world around my host came into focus and as soon as it did, I knew something was different from the other ponies I’ve watched memories of before. At first, I thought it was an Earth Pony, he didn’t have a horn or wings so it was a good guess. Then I noticed that my host didn’t feel like a pony, sure he had hooves like a pony and the shape felt the same, but still I just didn’t feel like this was a pony. Then my host turned his head and I saw in a small mirror that he was a zebra. Not only was he a zebra, he was the same zebra who attacked Night Stalker and his team when they went after that pegasus who betrayed Equestria. In the last memory I hadn’t gotten a good look at him apart from his short cut mane and the pattern of his stripes. His black stripes were thicker, his white thinner. His eyes I knew I didn’t see properly during the last memory orb; if I had I wouldn’t have forgotten them. They were orange toward the pupil, almost like hot iron, the color changed as it got closer to the sclera, it went from the deep orange to a redder orange then right at the edge the color became a brilliant red. With the almond shape of his eyes and the changing color, I couldn’t help admire how beautiful they looked. All in all, he was a very handsome zebra, even if his mane had gotten long and unruly since the last time I saw him.

My host started to turn around slowly looking around what had to be a cell of some kind, only instead of bars and a small cot to sleep on like the cells in Stable 28. This was a nice sized room with a large glass window looking out into a hallway. It had a thick steel door with another small window looking out into the same hall. The cell had a bed, a desk, and bookshelf with a few books on it. On one end was a private bathroom that even had a shower in it. If I was locked away in this cell, I’d be fine with it. It looked more comfortable than my own room back in the stable.

The door opened and a light brown mare with a magenta colored mane with light pink stripes running through it, her eyes were a bright peridot. She had a couple of freckles, and her cutie mark was a pair of scissors with apples for the handles. She had a tray of food in her muzzle that she set down on the desk. When she was finished she looked back toward my host, “Zaphan, what’re you doing up so damn early? I thought you’d be sleepin’ still.”

My host frowned and sighed, “I am always up at an early hour Babs, you should know that by now.”

She shrugged, “You’ve only been here for a week, I wasn’t at the last location very much.”

He laughed a little, “But you have been bringing me my breakfast every day all week.”

“Yeah, but never this early.”

“I will admit, it is strange to see you around so early, is something wrong?”

“Nah, I just couldn’t sleep last night so’s I figured I’d get your breakfast done earlier. That and because The Captain wants to have a word with ya’s soon. I figured you’d like to have somethin’ to eat before he does,” she replied.

My host frowned, “I can guess what he wants,” my host walked over to the desk and started to eat the nicely prepared salad.

“Yea, the last bit of information ya gave us didn’t pan out. He’s not in the best of moods right now.”

My host rolled his eyes, “Is Night Stalker ever in a good mood? He always seems so angry.”

“I don’t have time for that kind of shit Zaphan,” Night Stalker said from the doorway. They both turned to look at the grey pegasus, he wasn’t wearing any armor. Without it he didn’t look as menacing, apart from the stern look on his face, “I see Babs took care of your breakfast.”

My host nodded his head, “She is a kind mare.”

“I think country hospitality runs in her family, even if she’s from the city,” Night Stalker said, “We should get started if you’re ready.”

“I do not have much of a choice now do I?”

Night Stalker smiled, “We always have a choice Zaphan.”

My host chuckled, “Yes, but with you it is either do as you say, or die. To me I see no other choices available.”

“Be it bad or good, a choice is still a choice,” Night Stalker looked over his shoulder and yelled, “Amethyst Star would you come in here please!”

A pale purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with a lighter purple highlights walked in. She had three diamonds for a cutie mark, “Yes Captain?”

“Do you have the device you and Minuette designed?”

“Of course I do Sir,” she said pulling out a small black collar, “I have it right here. Min said she worked out the last of the bugs last night.”

“Good,” Night Stalker said taking the collar and holding it out to my host, “Put this on.”

My host looked at it like it was a radroach, “What is that thing?”

“Security, now put it on.”

My host took the collar and put it on. When the collar clicked shut, a small shock went through my host. He jumped, “What was that?”

Amethyst Star blushed a little then said, “It’s an electric shock, the collar does that because the spell matrix we built into it needs to connect with your nervous system. It shouldn’t do it again though.”

My host pulled on the collar a little, “I feel like a pet.”

“Prisoner, Pet, not much of a difference,” Night Stalker said with a small chuckle.

“It is bad enough that you have kept me as a prisoner for little over a year, now you have me walking around in a collar. I am the third son of the Caesar,” my host complained.

Night Stalker looked at my host with a confused expression, then he looked over at Babs, “Didn’t you tell him?”

“Tell me what?”

Babs’ eyes went wide, “I didn’t have a chance to yet Captain, I was about to then ya’s walked in and it slipped my mind.”

Night Stalker sighed, “We’ll chalk that up to bad timing then.”

“What are you talking about Night Stalker?” my host asked, his voice getting louder.

“I’ll tell you in a moment, first we should get out of this stuffy room. We have a lot to talk about.”

“NO, WE WILL TALK NOW! Tell me what you meant!” as my host started to yell, the collar around his neck let out an electric shock. My host gagged and fell to the ground, he tried to scream (I know I was) but the electric shock was so powerful it didn’t let him. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to keep the zebra down.

Night Stalker just watched as my host twitched, when the pain finally started to recede he said, “I should’ve explained what that collar does beforehoof. You see if you threaten any of The Children of the Night, yell at us, make demands, or try to leave, that collar will shock you.”

Zaphan took a deep breath before he responded, “You are a monster.”

“I’m not, trust me. You see Zaphan, even with all the information you’ve provided, I can’t trust you. Though because you’ve been so helpful I wanted to give you a little more freedom. So, this is my compromise. You will be allowed to go just about anywhere on this floor, but you’ll still be locked in this room at night. As long as you stay civil you won’t have any problems with that collar.”

My host got back to his hooves and glared at Night Stalker, “Have I not shown you by now that you can trust me?”

Night Stalker smiled again, “I don’t trust anyone Zaphan, you should know that by now. But if you do prove to be an asset then I may have the collar taken off.”

My host sighed then shrugged, “It is better than being stuck in a cell all the time. Anyway, where are we going and why?”

Night Stalker looked back at the other two of his team, “You two go check on the reports we got in from Thunder Lane.”

They both saluted, but before Amethyst Star could run off, she moved closer to Night Stalker and said quietly, “Can we talk later?”

Night Stalker nodded. When she was gone, following Babs out of the room, Night Stalker looked back at my host, “We’re going to the main room, I need to go over a few things with you.”

My host followed Night Stalker as he walked out of the room, “Is this about the zebra commander you have been looking for?” the hall past the room wasn’t very long, it only had one other room with a steel door like the one my host was staying in. It led out to a large open space that looked like it was perfect for ponies to relax in. The walls were floor to ceiling windows that overlooked…New Pegasus? No, it was still intact, as my host got closer to the windows I could see that there were many more casinos than there are now. I could also see another part of the city visible up in the clouds. Ponies of all kinds were taking balloons and elevators up to the cloud part. The sun was still coming up and it made for a beautiful view of Las Pegasus. A city in its hayday.

“Where are we? It looks like Las Pegasus, but I do not remember such a tall building in the city,” My host asked.

“This is Las Pegasus, we’re in a new casino called the Lucky Horseshoe, it just opened two weeks ago. We moved you from our old base to here once we had this section of the tower set up. This is the new base for The Children of the Night,” Night Stalker replied walking up to the window to look down at the ponies on the strip so far below.

“That is rather clever, hiding the base in a casino I mean,” my host said, “It would also provide a lot of safety for your team.”

“That it will,” Night Stalker stopped as another pony walked in. My host looked over also as Lightning Dust walked in the room, “Ah Lightning, I didn’t know you were back yet.”

I saw Night Stalker’s face light up as she came in. She smiled and trotted over and kissed him for a moment. Woah, what the hell was that? Did Night Stalker just mess around with every mare, or did something happen between the memory with him and Luna? Zaphan said he was in their custody for a year, the memory I saw of Luna wasn’t long after the fight with Zaphan. So, I’m guessing it’s the latter.

“I just got back, I heard you were going to be talking with Zaphan,” Lightning said, then she looked past Night Stalker and smiled at my host, “Hello Zaphan, it’s nice to see you out and about.”

“It is nice to be out,” my host said, “I did not know you two were together.” (Yeah same here!)

“We haven’t told anypony apart from the rest of the team,” Night Stalker said scratching the back of his head, “It’s still new.”

“You two make a good couple,” my host said with a small smile.

Lightning blushed, “Thank you Zaphan. Anyway, why is he out here and not in his cell?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” my host said.

Night Stalker sighed, “I was going to have this conversation alone, but I guess it can’t hurt if you’re here too. Zaphan first I needed to let you know that we’re still having trouble finding the zebras we were told about. We’ve checked into every location you’ve provided and each one has had signs that ponies or zebras where there not long before we got there. I have a feeling that somepony is feeding them information about my team and their movements.”

“I hope you do not think it is me, I have no way of communicating with any of my father’s forces.”

“No, we don’t think it’s you or anypony on my team. Minuette and Amethyst Star have both been busy checking the memories of the team and nothing was found. The only other ponies that know about my team are a couple of ponies in the M.O.A. Do you think anypony would be giving the zebras the info, or do your kind have a way of knowing what we’re up to?”

My host took a minute to respond, “Both are possible, getting a spy into the M.O.A. is hard, but not impossible. Though for them to reach the level of clearance to find out that kind of information would be very difficult and risky to the pony we sent in. I believe it’s more likely that the zebras you are looking for have found a new way of watching for when your ponies or griffon are searching.”

Lightning spoke up, “Wouldn’t it be impossible to move a large number of zebras without anypony seeing?”

“Once again, it is difficult, but not impossible. We zebras are very good at moving stealthily with enough mist walker cloaks and a small force they could pull it off.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but I wanted to make sure,” Night Stalker said, “If you were the one leading them, where would you go next?”

“What makes you think that a new location would turn out any differently than they have before?”

“I don’t, but I didn’t ask if you knew where they would go next. I asked where you would go if you were the one we were looking for.”

“I see,” my host said sounding a bit puzzled, “Well, I would want to stay someplace close to Las Pegasus, if that was the place they wanted to strike. If I knew that your team was looking for me I would…”

My host paused and after a second Night Stalker asked, “You’d what?”

“Shit, why did I not think of this sooner,” my host said anxiously, “Think about it, you’ve been out there for the past year trying to find a moving band of zebras. They keep eluding you, but always leaving behind something that you’d find so you keep searching.”

“Yeah and?”

“Think about it Night Stalker, to attack Las Pegasus or the airbase near it, they would need a large force to take it down. It would take time to get that many zebras this far into Equestria and no matter what they did somepony would notice something like you have. So to keep your main force from being discovered, what do you do?”

Night Stalker’s eyes went wide, “You use a decoy!”

“Exactly, the smartest thing to do is have a few of your zebras go out and keep moving locations making sure to keep the ponies hunting them on their trail. If I am right, they will have a large force hiding somewhere near here that can remain unnoticed.”

“Where in Las Pegasus could that many zebras hold up?” Lightning asked.

“The only place I could think of is Crimson Canyon, it has a lot of caves and other places near it that could hold hundreds of zebras,” my host replied.

Lightning laughed, “That can’t be it, that was the first place we checked.”

Night Stalker spoke up, “It was, but that was back when we first started looking and before Zaphan started helping us. They wouldn’t have had many zebras yet, they could’ve hidden without much effort. Once we started hunting them in other area’s they knew we wouldn’t go back to the Canyon.”

“That’s right, if you send in a scout with a Stealth Buck, then you may be able to catch them.”

“Not a bad idea Zaphan thank you,” Night Stalker said, (He knows how to say thank you? Who is this pegasus!)

Zaphan looked back out the window, “I do not like the thought of your ponies going in to attack or kill my fellow zebras.”

“I don’t plan on killing them all. If any of them surrender, I’ll make sure they are given to the M.O.M.,” Night Stalker said.

“I know, it is still hard for me to betray my homeland like I have.”

“You told me yourself that you wanted to help end the war, I think you also told me that you didn’t like your father that much and you wanted to get back at him for sending you on that mission where we captured you. It’s the only reason I’ve kept you with me instead of giving you to Pinkie.”

My host sighed, “I know what I said, I was angry and I also felt bad for killing one of your ponies.”

Lightning cocked her head, “Why would you feel bad for that? Sure we weren’t happy about it, but that’s what happens in war. You lose friends and family.”

“I was angry at the time and when I attacked I did not intend to kill her, I am sorry that I did.”

“At least you feel that way, though I’d rather not have lost her. Phoenix Heart was a good soldier and a good friend,” Night Stalker said solemnly.

“I know, you have told me this before. Anyway, apart from this problem with finding the zebras, why else did you need to talk to me?”

Night Stalker sighed then turned to look at my host, “I might as well get the bad news out of the way. Since we captured you, we’ve been trying to set up another meeting with your people. We planned on using you as a bargaining chip to get your father to stand down or at least talk to us about peace again.”

“Yes, I think you told me that before. Did he refuse or make demands that you cannot meet?”

“Worse, last night we got a message from him. The Caesar said that no son of his would ever be so weak as to get captured and stay in captivity. He announced to the rest of your kind that you’re dead, at least as far as he’s concerned. As of right now, you’re just a random zebra who’s had his title stripped and your name taken away. He told us that we could throw you in a pit to rot and that Zaphan is no longer the name of the zebra we have as our prisoner.”

My host stood there shocked for a long moment looking at both Night Stalker and Lightning Dust. When he could finally speak he sounded like he was ready to kill his father, “How dare he! What does he know about fighting when all he does is sit around making his subjects fight for him. He sent me in to Equestria on what he knew would end up being a suicide mission or at least one I would get captured doing. Now he has the balls to disown me, the only son he has that is of any real use to him!”

“Zaphan calm down please,” Night Stalker said.

“No, do not call me that anymore. My name has been taken from me.”

Lightning Dust looked at Night Stalker then back at my host, “Then what should we call you?”

“I do not know Lightning Dust, but if my father…no the Caesar took away my title and name then I have no family, no name, no ties to my kind. I am a dead zebra now. I am an outcast, the nameless one.” My host said his voice shaking with rage and sadness.

Night Stalker smiled, “I know a thing or two about taking on a new name and I may have a solution. First I want to know something.”

My host glared at Night Stalker, “What is that Captain?”

“You’ve been a big help to us over the last year, even though you knew it could lead to your own death. Even though you’ve killed one of my teammates, I’ve kept you alive and you’ve shown me the respect I am due. Since you’re nameless now and without a tie to your tribe and family, will you serve me as one of my Children of the Night. Now if you say yes, you will not be a fully trusted member of my team, not until you prove yourself, but I can give you a name and a purpose.”

My host frowned, taking a moment to think, “You want me to change my loyalties, to work for you who serves Nightmare Moon?”

“No I want you to help me save my nation. With the knowledge you have as a prince…sorry former prince, you can help me in many ways. Princess Luna is not Nightmare Moon anymore, she hasn’t been for a long time. She is the Princess of the Night, and a good mare,” Night Stalker replied.

My host smiled a little, “If I do this, can you promise me that one say I will be free to do as I wish?”

He nodded, “Once we win this war or find a path that leads us to peace with Rome, then yes, I will make sure you are freed. I will even make sure you have a good life here in Equestria.”

My host chuckled to himself then walked closer to Night Stalker, “May I borrow a blade?”

Night Stalker hesitated for a moment then he looked at Lightning dust and nodded, “Just remember what that collar will do to you if you try attacking me.”

“I have not forgotten,” my host said as he took the small dagger from Lightning. My host made a small cut on his foreleg then let three drops of his blood fall to the floor. He bowed his head taking his forehoof drawing a symbol on the ground I could only imagine to be a zebra glyph. The glyph had a plus and cross overlapping each other “By my blood I swear myself to you Captain Night Stalker, leader of the Children of the Night. I will serve you and whomever succeeds you as the leader. I swear this oath and will hold it till my dying day or until I am released from my services.”

“You understand that a blood oath is a serious thing even here in Equestria, right?” Night Stalker said.

“I do and I will still make it. My father has gone too far and is blinded by his power. I cannot serve someone like him anymore, I would rather help Equestria win this war.”

“Then rise and be forever known not as Zaphan, but as Noire the newest member of The Children of the Night.”

My host rose with a smile, I could feel his body relax as if his new name freed him of the stress he was holding on to all this time, “Noire…I like it, thank you Captain, now how can I help serve you?”

Night Stalker walked over to an intercom that was in the wall and spoke into it, “Minuette, would you please bring in the new outfit you made?”

“YES SIR!” the mare said excitedly.

There was a bright blue flash of light and Minuette was standing next to them all, her smile as big as ever. Night Stalker chuckled, “Do you always have to make a flashy entrance?”

She looked at him confused, “What do you mean? I was just getting here as fast as possible.”

“Never mind, how about you show our newest member what you have,” Night Stalker said pointing a hoof at the bag she had on her back.

She pulled it off and pulled out some kind of suit. It was all black and looked thin and light, there was also a helmet with a full mask that only had the eyes open and a pair of orange goggles, “This is a modification I made on a sneaking suit we’ve found on some zebras. I’ve imbued a few gems into it, it will mask any sound that you make while it’s on, the helmet will make it so you can listen in on conversations and last it will deflect small caliber ammo and some laser weaponry too.”

My host looked at it and ran his hoof over the thin silky fabric, “It is wonderful, is it for me?”

“Yes it is Silly! The Captain wanted it ready to go just in case something like this happened,” Minuette replied.

My host looked over at Night Stalker, “You planned this?”

Night Stalker smiled a little, “Not everything, when I got the information about what your father planned on doing, I had a feeling you’d want to strike back at him. I didn’t know if you’d except my offer or not but in case you did I wanted to have everything ready.”

My host took the outfit, “That was a good plan, I do have one favor to ask of you though.”

“What’s that?”

“In the year I have been here I have watched you train a few times. You are a mighty warrior, but you are not a good hoof to hoof fighter.”

A little anger came to Night Stalkers eyes, “I’d watch what you say, I was the top in my class when it came to hoof to hoof combat.”

My host chuckled, “With a pony yes, but if you ever want to hold your own against a zebra like one of my brothers or my father’s personal guards or generals, you’ll need more training. I would like to help with that, if you’d let me that is.”

Lightning Dust giggled, “He has a point Night Stalker.”

Finally Night Stalker relented, “Fine, if you think I need more training then we will test your theory out. If you can win in a fight against me, then I will let you train me.”

My host’s smile widened, “Then what are we waiting for, let’s get started.”

“I like his enthusiasm, but I think we should let him see Babs first.” Lightning said.

Night Stalker laughed, “I think you’re right, he does need a mane cut.”

My host ran a hoof through his long mane, “I think you are right. A mane cut first, then we fight.”

I woke up with a jolt, looking around wondering where the fuck the Stranger was. I took a quick look around the place I was in, it was just a small room with a table in the middle of it, three microphones and some recording equipment next to the table. There was a terminal sitting in one corner and a door that led to another room. I tried to get up but I couldn’t, my hooves were tied up, the knots looked simple enough to undo though. I tried to use my magic to undo them then I ended up screaming as something stabbed into my horn. The pain went away as soon I stopped pulling on my magic.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the voice of The Stranger said.

Looking up I saw him standing next to the door, I yanked on my bindings, “Let me out of here!”

“I can’t do that, not until you calm down,” he said.

“FUCK YOU! What the hell did you do to me anyway?”

“I tied you up and took you to a safe place in Saints Parish. We need to lie low for a while.”

“I meant with the fucking MEMORY ORB!”

He shrugged, “It made it easier to get you here. Are you going to calm down and listen to me or are you going to keep acting like an abhorrent little snot?”

“I’m not going to do anything you…wait a what?” I asked confused. Did he just call me a Snot?

“I’m not going to repeat myself. Do you know what the fuck you just did?”

I grinned a little at his question, “Yeah, took out a shit load of Enclave pricks and their giant building.”

“No, you killed at least ten Enclave soldiers, the high council, fifteen pegasi who ran the tower itself, and thirty normal citizens. Not to mention the guards who were trapped inside that thing when your weapon went off.”

“They deserved what they got!”

“Oh did they? So every pony there deserved to die? Did they have anything to do with what happened to your friend?” he asked angrily.

“They were Enclave, what does it matter?”

He walked over to me and slapped me, “They were innocent you immature fool. You killed ponies that had nothing to do with what happened to you or your friends. They had families, children that won’t ever see them again because of you!”

A female voice came from the doorway, looking up I saw a pinkish-purple griffon with dark blue along her wings and at the edge of her head feathers, “There’s no need to hit her you know.”

The Stranger looked back at her, “Stay out of this.”

She frowned, “I’m letting you hide here, the least you can do is keep yourself from abusing her.”

The stranger sighed and looked back at the griffon, “I know that Kitty, but she still needs to check that attitude.”

Kitty looked at me, “She’s the one that blew up Mill City Tower isn’t she?”

The Stranger growled a little, “Yes she did,” he lifted the Range Finder and showed it to the griffon.

“That stupid looking gun took out the tower?” Kitty asked, giving the Ranger Finder a quizzical look.

“This stupid looking gun is more powerful than you think. Did you see the tower fall?”

“Give that back to me!” I yelled.

He turned around, “You aren’t getting this back, you’ve proven to be too childish and irrational to have a weapon like this.”

“It’s mine! I gave my word to a zebra colt that I’d keep it safe!”

“I’m sure you did, but I’m sure he didn’t know what it was and even if he did, he wouldn’t want you to use it the way you have!” he shouted.

Kitty walked over to me, looking me over, “Why are you so angry?”

I glared at her, “It’s none of your business.”

“You’re in my home, in here everything is my business,” she said her face softening a little, “I can see that you’re in a lot of pain right now.”

“Of course I am, I have something on my head blocking my magic and I’m tied up!”

“Just leave her be Kitty,” The Stranger said.

The griffon ignored him, “What’s your name again?”

I didn’t feel like talking to her, but I might be able to get her to help me out of this, “Shadow.”

“Shadow when I said you’re in a lot of pain, I didn’t mean physically, I meant emotionally.”

I looked away from her, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Her smile never left her face, “Maybe not, but we won’t know unless you try explaining it to me.”

“She’s losing her mind that’s what’s wrong,” The Stranger said.

Kitty looked back at him, “You’re not helping,”

The Stranger sighed, “Fine whatever.”

I looked at the Stranger for a moment, that wasn’t the type of reaction I’d expect him to have. Kitty looked back at me, “Why did you attack the tower and what was the reason you thought destroying it was a good idea?”

I could feel tears in my eyes as I said, “I lost someone.”

“We’ve all lost someone Shadow, but you don’t see us going and killing so many ponies like that.”

“You’re all too weak or scared to go after The Enclave, I’m not. I’m going to destroy them, even if I die in the process,” I said furiously.

Kitty looked sad for a minute, then she reached out and put a talon on my shoulder, I tried to pull away but she held on tight, “If you died what good would that do for the ponies, zebra’s and griffons that look up to you?”

“I don’t care about them, I never asked to be The Courier! I just wanted to escape my stable, I just wanted to save my friends. I never wanted to be the mare others looked up to. If I die they’ll find other ponies to see as some kind of FUCKING hero.”

“Boo hoo get over yourself,” The Stranger said mockingly.

That took me by surprise, looking over at him I asked, “Who are you?”

“You know who I am dumbass,” The Stranger replied.

“No I don’t think I do, who the hell are you!?” I yelled.

Kitty looked at The Stranger then back at me, “He said he knew you, he’s the one who brought you here.”

“Really? Did he leave at any point while I was in the memory orb?”

“Yeah once to check on what the patrol was doing but he was only gone for ten minutes or so,” Kitty responded.

“What does this have to do with anything? Stop getting so agitated.” He said.

I gave him the hardest of glares, “You said you were bringing me back to The Kingdom. If so, then why am I here?”

“Because Enclave patrols were swarming the skies, I had to take you to a safe place until things died down, which they haven’t.”

I looked back at Kitty, “That’s not the pony I know, he’s an imposter!”

Kitty looked at me for a moment then said, “Are you sure?”

Moving closer to her I said, “Ask him what I call him.”

Kitty looked back at him and asked, “What does Shadow call you?”

He paused and that was all I needed, “You don’t know do you?”

He sighed, “Fine I’m sick of this game anyway, I don’t even know why I decided to do this. It’s a fuckin’ pain in my ass.”

“You need to get this magical blocking thing off my horn Kitty, he might be Envy!”

“No you don’t Kitty,” The Stranger said walking over toward us, “I’m not Envy, but I am a pony she knows.”

“I don’t know who you are, but if you’re not the masked pony then who are you? Because he’s the one we work with and if you did something to him, you’re in deep shit buddy,” Kitty said.

He sighed then pulled off his hat, his eyes changed as soon as the hat was off from green to brilliant blue. A pink mane was just visible under the bandages under the hat. He pulled down the bandages to reveal…her face? She then pulled off a voice modulator and smiled, “He was right, you did see through the disguise.”

My eyes went wide, “Solstice? Why the hell are you here!?”

The griffon looked between the two of us, “I wasn’t expecting a mare, who is she Shadow?”

“Solstice, she’s an Enclave solider err officer, I don’t know, she’s just bad!”

“Former,” Solstice said flatly.

“What do you mean and where’s The Stranger?”

She looked over at Kitty then back at me, “He’s the one who first brought you here, he’s been friends with the radio ponies for a long time. He needed to hide you here so he could head back to Nimbus to see if there was a way he could get you out of here safely. He knew that you’d wake up before he could get back so he called me in, gave me a spare outfit, and this hat that he said would make my eyes look like his. He wanted me to watch you until he got back. He wanted me to keep you as calm as I could while we waited.”

“That doesn’t answer my other question, why did you say former?”

I saw a flash of anger in her eyes then it faded and she sighed, “After I was found in Halo One, the Enclave decided I was too much of a liability and not ready for my job. I was to ‘young’ to handle my job as an officer they said. I was demoted and sent to work as a guard. I tried to beg my commanding officers to give me another chance, but they told me that if I kept it up they’d brand me. They thought I was getting soft, they said I let you escape at Halo One.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here and not back in Stratus!”

“I had to run away! Are you happy now? I refused to work as a guard just because I had a couple bad missions, they threatened my parents if I didn’t do my job along with branding me. So, I did the only thing I could, I ran.”

I may’ve been angry at the situation I was in, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Solstice right then, “What about your parents?”

She rolled her eyes, “They’ll be fine, Dad’s a former officer and retried with high honors, mom still works with our intel department. They’re both highly respected and not ponies they’d hurt or brand just because their daughter went rogue. They might’ve told me they’d do something to them if I didn’t do what I was told, but I found out that they were only bluffing. A friend of mine who’s a captain told me as much before I left.”

Kitty finally spoke up, “But if they catch you, they’ll brand you.”

Solstice huffed, “Yeah I know, actually I was trying to escape a wing of pegasi when I ran into the stallion in the hat, what did you call him, Stranger?”

I nodded, “He’s never told me his real name and he said I could call him Stranger so I do.”

Kitty chuckled, “Sounds better than what Bitmap named him, we call him The Masked Pony, it’s kind of a mouthful.”

I couldn’t help smiling as she said that, then I looked back at Solstice, “So you met the Stranger and then what?”

“After he took out the ponies that were following me he said he saw me at the fight against Frosty Summit. He asked me what I did to earn the wrath of The Enclave and I told him my story. He said he was heading to Nimbus and the Twin Cities and asked if I’d be willing to travel with him and help him with something. He said if I did, he’d help me get into The Kingdom. I heard they take in ponies like me who ran away from The Enclave.”

I sighed, “So you agreed to help him so you could get in?”

She nodded, “He told me before he left that something bad happened to you and you needed help. I wanted to use this as a way to repay you for letting me live both times we met. I was kind of a bitch to you.”

“Yeah, and I don’t see you being much nicer to me now. I’m fucking hog tied!”

Kitty looked over at me and frowned, “The Stranger is the one who tied you up, he said not to let you out of your bonds until he got back.”

“It’s not like I can do anything if I’m untied, I don’t have my stuff and my magic is useless at the moment. It’s getting really uncomfortable laying like this.”

Solstice sighed, “Sorry Shadow, but I can’t let you loose. I would if I could but I have my orders and I won’t betray the trust The Stranger put in me.”

Fuck, well it was worth a try, “Fine, do either of you know when he’ll be back?”

“No, we don’t, but I hope it’s soon. Poker Chip and Bitmap will be back soon, we have a show to record. We still haven’t reported about what happened to Mill City Tower. Ponies are freaking out right now,” Kitty answered.

“Where are they anyway?” I asked.

“Getting supplies and talking to some of the locals,” Solstice replied.

“Correction we WERE talking to locals, now we’re back,” the voice of Poker Chip said a moment before he walked into the room. He was a reddish orange unicorn with light blue and silver stripped mane. He had a poker chip that had a spade on it. Similar to the chips I saw at The Applewood.

Following behind him was a taller purple earth pony stallion with a dark red mane, his cutie mark was a terminal. He looked at us and gave me a nice kind smile, “Look at that Poker Chip, The Masked Pony is a mare and our guest is awake.”

Poker Chip laughed, “Well look at that. Good morning Courier I’m Poker Chip, this is Bitmap, and I see you’ve already met Kitty.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you. Can any pony please tell me WHY I’M REALLY HERE!?” I yelled.

Bitmap chuckled nervously, “She’s kind of an angry little mare isn’t she?”

“What do you expect from a mare with a reputation like hers!?” Poker Chip asked, “To answer your question Courier, we have no idea. The Masked Pony asked us to watch over you and he left, but it looks like he is a she since I see the outfit laying on the floor there.”

Solstice sighed “I’m not the Stranger or Masked Pony, I just work for him. I owed him a favor so I dressed up like him so when Shadow woke up she wouldn’t freak out, at least as much as she would have if it was just Kitty here.”

“A lot of good that did her too, Shadow saw through it rather quickly,” Kitty said, “What took you two so long?”

“Damn I was hoping I’d get to find out who he really was,” Poker Chip said then he looked at the griffon, “Enclave patrol is everywhere, they’re stopping everypony they see in both cities trying to find out if they know who shot down Mill City Tower. It took a lot of bribes and lies to get back here in one piece.”

“Yeah, they’re setting up checkpoints on most of the streets too. If it wasn’t for Poker Chip I wouldn’t have made it back.”

“Why?” I couldn’t help asking.

Poker Chip answered, “Since I’m sure this is your first time in Saint’s Parish, I’ll explain. The Enclave have a kind of hierarchy, Pegasi are at the top, they are the only ponies who can hold any kind of power. They are first class citizens, Unicorns like myself are more like a second class though we can get high in the Enclave ranks if we try hard enough. Earth Ponies are seen as third class or dirt to the Pegasi, they don’t like them at all. There are very few in the Enclave and most of them live around here. When something bad happens like what you did to the tower, they always blame the Earth Ponies first.”

I frowned, “That’s all kinds of fucked up, I grew up in a stable of earth ponies and apart from them treating me like shit most of the time, they were good ponies. Well most of them at least.”

Poker Chip looked over at Kitty, “Kitty, if I were you I’d stay indoors for a while at least until things outside calm down some.”

“I was planning on it anyway, I don’t feel like being thrown in jail again because some guard doesn’t like what I am.”

“Let me guess Griffons are hated more than the rest?” I asked.

Solstice was the one to answer, “The Enclave don’t hate griffons, but they don’t trust them either. Their entire culture revolves around mercenary work, it makes them unpredictable.”

Bitmap nodded, “Yeah, Kitty is the only griffon who lives in Enclave territory right now and that’s because she was orphaned here and grew up on the streets. She doesn’t live her life like most griffons.”

Kitty laughed, “That’s true, I’m more of a pony than a griffon. I don’t understand the whole contract thing nor do I care about it. That’s the only reason they let me live here. If I was to take up with a talon company though they’d change their minds about me rather quickly.”

Figuring since I couldn’t do anything to get free right now, I thought I’d at least learn more about the three, “How’d you end up here?”

Kitty shrugged, “My parents were working for an Enclave officer when I was really young, they were both freelancers back then and didn’t care who they worked for as long as they got caps. When they would go off on a job for this officer, I’d stay at his home in Nimbus. One day they went off on a job and never came back. Since I was too young to be of any use to the officer, he took me to Whinnieapolis and left me there to fend for myself.”

“That’s wrong in so many ways,” I said.

“True, but I ended up doing okay for myself. A nice stallion took me in a couple years later and raised me. It was because of him that I met Bitmap and later Poker Chip.”

“Really?”

Bitmap smiled wide, “Yeah, my older brother was the one who took her in. I’m from here originally and I would come home now and then to see how he was doing. I met Kitty when she was little.”

“Is that why you two came back here?”

Poker Chip gave me a funny look, “What do you mean?”

“I was told you two used to be the radio hosts in New Pegasus, then one day you decided to go to Saint’s Parish.”

“Oh yeah, well if you mean did we come back here because we’re from this area, no. Bitmap’s brother died about a year ago, he was running the radio program here before we were. Kitty got a message to us about his passing and asked if we’d come out here and help her start up the show again. So we decided it was a good idea to stick a thorn in the ass of The Enclave and we moved.”

“That and because we pissed off Mr. Tops. He was gonna send some of his robots after us to kill us,” Bitmap said.

Poker Chip laughed again, “That might’ve played a small part in it. That shut in needs to learn to take a joke now and then. Anyway, I set up most of the equipment you see here with Bitmap’s help and we made this show go from something a few ponies in the area listened to, to a huge hit with most ponies in The Twin Cities and The Kingdom.”

Kitty and Bitmap both sighed, Bitmap saying, “Yeah and thanks to that the Enclave would love to shut us down.”

“I’m sure they would, but they don’t know what we look like, apart from Kitty, and they can’t find our location. So right now, we’re safe enough.”

“No one is safe in this city, you three should know that by now,” The Stranger said from the doorway.

“Oh, look who decided to show up finally that’s if it’s really you this time,” I said with a glare.

He looked over at me with his piercing green eyes, “It would be in your best interest to keep quiet Shadow, you’re lucky I didn’t gag you.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck me?” he asked pushing past the others and putting his bandaged face within inches of mine, “Really? Is that the best you can come up with? You’re lucky I’m still trying to help you after the shit you pulled.”

“That’s because you swore to protect me,” I mocked

He slammed me against the wall, “I’m this close to throwing you out and letting The Enclave have you Shadow! I didn’t swear to do shit, I’m helping a friend that’s all.”

I smiled at him, “Yeah, Nightshade I know all about that.”

“Oh do you now? Then tell me, what do you know about Nightshade and me?”

“I know that Nightshade is a snake that my mother warned me about, he promised her he’d protect me or he’d have a friend do it if he couldn’t. I’m assuming that friend is you Stranger. He lied to her though, he just wants her dead and me brought back to The Enclave so I can be a good lap dog like the rest of those feather brained idiots. He’s the one controlling Stardust, he’s the reason everything’s going to shit. If he was on my side he would’ve already changed Stardust back,” I shouted.

He threw me on the ground and yelled, “Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe he’s trying to do that? If you didn’t go to Mill City Tower to try killing Stardust and Nightshade he would’ve been able to fix everything, but no, you just had to get your FUCKING REVENGE!”

“You don’t need to yell at her,” Kitty interrupted.

“Stay out of this Kitty, she needs a lesson on what it means to grow up!” he said then looked back at me, “You’re going back to The Kingdom. I will deal with Stardust, not you. Do you want to know what I’ve been doing while you were out?”

I looked away, “Yes.”

“I went back to The Kingdom and told your friends what’s been going on along with The Empress and Emperor. You will stay there until you calm down and grow the fuck up. When we fix Stardust, you will be there for him, he isn’t in his right mind just like you Shadow. Your friends have given you multiple chances for the shit you’ve pulled since you left your stable. You owe Stardust the same respect, because when he’s better he’s still going to have to live with what he did while he was Pride.”

“I can’t do that he killed…”

“You will Shadow, stop acting like a child. Yes, he may’ve shot Aura and he’ll have to deal with that for the rest of his life. Just like you’re going to have to deal with the ponies you killed in Appleton and Mill City Tower. I won’t let you act like this anymore. You’re not a foal, or a lost filly anymore, you’re the FUCKING COURIER. Now start acting like it.”

I knew he was right, but I didn’t wanna hear it. I wanted to be justified in my actions, but he was right. Compared to me Stardust hasn’t done anything that bad. He’s following orders and a program that was put in his head. I was the one who acted and let my anger overtake me. Not everypony in The Enclave was bad, some of them that seemed bad were in fact good ponies deep down. Phantom Shot became Wrath because of what happened to him thanks to my uncle, but he still died protecting me. Solstice seemed like a bitch at first, but deep down she was just a scared daughter who didn’t want something bad to happen to her parents. Mom was a good pony before she was forced to leave home so she could save me. Maybe…just maybe I was looking at this all wrong, what if I was the bad pony?

Finally I looked up at the Stranger and said, “I can’t change how angry I am, but I know you’re right. I’ll go back to The Kingdom, I don’t know what I’ll do when I see Stardust again, but I’ll try to calm down.”

“You need to start thinking like that before you act Shadow. You have a bad anger problem, with most ponies that isn’t a dangerous thing because they lack the power to do much. You’ve proven to be deadly when you lose someone close to you. That needs to change, because I promise you it will happen again, you can’t start killing everypony you think is evil when bad things happen. That doesn’t make you right, it makes you a monster. Just like the Monster you told me Aquila is, if you really want to be like her then keep going down the path you’re on, but if you want to do better, then show us you mean it,” he said before taking a step back.

Everyone was quiet for a long time, finally Solstice broke the silence, “Is everything ready to go?”

He sighed, “Yes, I only need you to bring Shadow back to The Kingdom for me, once you have then our deal will be finished.”

“I can do that.”

He turned to look at the two stallions and Kitty, “Do you three think you can leave out what you know about who took down the Tower?”

Poker Chip winked, “Well it would make a great story for the late show tonight, but I think we can leave out the details about who did it.”

“I’m sure somepony will connect the dots since everypony knows who took down Appleton with the same weapon,” Bitmap said.

“As long as we can keep it hidden away for a while that will help,” The Stranger said.

“If Solstice is taking me back then where are you going to be?” I asked The Stranger.

“I have to fix a lot of things in Nimbus. I’d bring you myself, but I’ve been away for too long as it is. I also have to do something to hide Solstice’s trail.”

“I understand, but how long are you going to leave me tied up and keep this magic ring on my head?”

“You’ll be untied when we leave, the magic canceling ring stays until one of your friends decides to take it off. You have to prove that you’re in a better state of mind.”

I was about to say something, but realized it wouldn’t do me any good, so I sighed, “Okay, I can deal with that for now. Can I ask you something though?”

“What is it?”

I did my best to hold back tears, with my anger mostly gone, the emotions of losing Aura were starting to well up again, “Did my friends bury her yet, because if they haven’t I’d like to do that when I get back. I owe her that much.”

His eyes fell for a moment, “I don’t know, but Laser Light will. She’s meeting you two half way to help get you back. She’ll explain more.”

I gave him a quizzical look, “Why is Laser meeting us half way?”

“She wants to talk to you I think, she’s also going to help Solstice guard you once I’m gone. The Enclave is after both of you and I’d like to make sure you both make it back to The Kingdom safely.”

“You said something before about taking care of Stardust. What did you mean? I take it he survived the blast?”

He sighed again, “I don’t know for sure, but I believe he did. Reports say they saw a pegasus matching his description getting away in the nick of time. I’m going off to find him and with Nightshade’s help, we plan on fixing his memories.”

“What about the other ponies in Stable 97?” I asked.

Solstice spoke up, “From what I know, Nightshade’s been planning on ending that program for a while.”

The Stranger nodded, “He’s going to as soon as we fix the wrongs committed there then he’s shutting down the program and sealing off the stable.”

Sealing off the Stable? I know one pony that wouldn’t be happy about that, but with it empty I’m sure Elder Wolfsbane will have an easier time getting what he wants out of there, “What about the ponies that live there? I heard they’re all around my age and don’t know anything about the outside world?”

The Stranger looked down at his hooves, “We haven’t decided what to do with them yet.”

“I think you should send them to The Kingdom, Sheena said she wanted to help them find their families again and get used to life out here.”

The Stranger chuckled, “That Sheena has always been a do gooder, it’s nice to see in this world. I’ll talk to Nightshade about it when I get back.”

“I was wondering, why do you help Nightshade? From what I’ve seen of him, he doesn’t seem like a good pony, but you talk about him like he’s a hero.”

“He’s my friend, he’s always put on a hard exterior. He figures that if ponies are scared of him they won’t see who he really is. He’s a good pony at heart and he wants to fix the wrongs The Enclave has committed over the years. When I became the new Guardian, I offered to help him in any way I could. It’s funny, because I was helping him, I found you Shadow.”

“You mean when you found me in F&F Tools?” I asked.

His eyes went wide, “No, I’ve been following you since you first arrived in Cartwheel. I flew over the cliffs when you were shot. I was heading toward Green Mist Valley at the time looking into an alarm that went off in the clouds from that area. I heard the shot and saw you go down. I was going to come help but I saw that unicorn rush over and help you, so I stayed back. When I reported what I saw to Nightshade and I told him it was a stable mare with a silver Pip-Buck, he knew it had to be you.”

I remembered that day when I started to pass out after the Cartwheel guard shot me. Right before I blacked out a pegasus flew over me, “Wait that was you? I always thought it was Stardust since I met him a couple days later.”

He laughed, “No, Stardust was still south of Cartwheel at the time. I think he was heading north on the day he saw you fighting the raiders. I saw him attacking the camp at least and watched him kill their boss.”

I thought about the other times I was attacked before F&F Tools, “Why didn’t you show yourself sooner?”

He shrugged, “You seemed to be doing okay on your own. I figured I’d only show up to help when you really needed me. When word went out that Winter Frost was gonna go find you to use you to find Stardust, I went in because I knew you couldn’t handle it. I was wrong though, you were doing a great job until they blocked the back door.”

“I was sick and scared out of my mind!” I said angrily.

“And I came in and helped, your welcome,” he said in a mocking tone.

Poker Chip came closer looked between the two of us then asked, “Before you go, is there any way we could get a quick interview with The Courier?”

“No!” was all The Stranger said.

“Come on, we let you stay here and hide, the least you can do to thank us is let us get an interview with her,” he protested.

He glared at Poker Chip, “I’ve done a lot for you three over the years, let’s call this payback. She seems calm right now, but that can change fast, trust me. She needs to get back to her friends.”

I couldn’t help chuckling at the sad look on Poker Chips face, “Tell you what Poker Chip, when I’m finished with finding my mom and the crap with the Enclave, I’ll make a trip up here and give you an exclusive.”

His face brightened, “Really?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cup cake in my eye,” I said with a small smile.

“I like her, she’s cute, like a bunny rabbit,” Poker Chip said, “It’s a deal.”

The Stranger just rolled his eyes, “If we’re all done with the talk, we should get going.”

Solstice laughed, “I agree, the sooner I’m out of Enclave territory the better.”

The Stranger walked over to me and cut the ropes that were tied around my hooves. Once I was free he said, “Remember, if you try to run, you won’t get far.”

“I know, can I at least get my barding and weapons back?”

“You can, but Solstice is going to be keeping the Range Finder for now. She’s giving it to one of your friends when you get back to The Kingdom, I think you understand why,” he said moving to one side of the room then tossing me my saddle bags and Barding, “The ring you have on your horn will let you use telekinesis at least enough to use your guns. You won’t be able to teleport or use the rest of your spells until it’s removed. I’m leaving that up to Laser or Sheena. When they feel you’re ready they will take it off.”

I frowned, “Do you really distrust me so much?”

“Yes,” he said turning back to Solstice, “Remember if she tries to run, use the dart gun I gave you.”

“Yeah I know, don’t be such a nag dude,” Solstice said moving over to a set of saddle bags and pulling out a set or leather armor, “I’m ready to go.”

It took me a little longer to get my own barding and Duster on, The Stranger was right about me being able to use my telekinesis, but I felt like I was a filly using it for the first time. My magic felt clunky and slow, but I had a feeling I’d get used to it quickly. When I finally got my forehooves through the sleeves of the Duster I said, “Ready to go too.”

“Alright, Shadow I’ll carry you out and over the wall. Once we’re out of sight of the cities then you two will walk,” he said.

Kitty came over to me and said, “I hope things go better for you Shadow, it was nice to meet you even if the circumstances were what they were.”

“Yeah me too, I’ll keep my ears open for your next broadcast,” I said to the three before following The Stranger out of the small room.

We made our way back out into the quiet streets of Saint’s Parish. The entrance to the so called secret location was literally behind a dumpster that worked like a door in an old alley. The Stranger didn’t waste any time, he took hold of me then put a hoof on Solstice. Before I could ask what he was doing, he tapped a gem on the inner lining of his coat and everything around us seemed to slow down. It was almost like entering S.A.T.S. as soon as it was done, he took to the air with Solstice following close behind. It didn’t take long for that spell he used to end, but when it did we were already beyond the wall and flying south.

“What the hell was that?” I asked.

“It’s an old spell that slows time, or it seems to at least. What it really does is change your perception of time, making it so one can move faster. It’s the original spell that was used to make the spell that went into S.A.T.S. created by Minuette herself back when she was a Stable-Tec employee. This gem was made by her and every guardian has owned it to help us with our task,” he replied as he flew faster.

“Is that how you were able to attack those ponies at F&F Tools when I was in S.A.T.S.?”

“It is, it’s also how I’m able to vanish as quick as I do, though I can only use the spell a couple times a day before it needs to recharge.”

Solstice snickered, “That’d be useful in a fight, wish I had one.”

“It is, too bad there’s only one in Equestria. Minuette didn’t like her spell craft to get out. She invented a lot of very useful spells in her day, but she only passed a few of them down to friends or family. The rest she kept in her spell book, which was lost for a long time.”

“I bet a spell book like that would be a great treasure if anypony ever found it,” I said as we started to head toward the ground.

“It would be, though as far as I know, nopony has ever found the book. I know Grim was looking for it before you were born though.”

I laughed, “I’m not surprised, mom always liked to learn new spells.”

“That’s very true,” The Stranger said, but his voice was quiet and I barely made out what he said.

Before I could ask him more, we landed in a dead looking field, “This is as far as I go, Laser should be here soon.”

I looked around, it was hard to see for how dark it was, “I didn’t realize I was out for so long.”

“Yeah, you were out of it for longer than The Stranger said you’d be,” Solstice said.

“How long was she out for?” The Stranger asked.

“She just woke up not long before you got back. She saw though my disguise like you said she would too.”

“That’s strange, that memory orb should’ve only lasted an hour or so,” The Stranger said looking at me, “Did something happen before the memory started or maybe after?”

I shrugged, “Nothing happened that I know of, the memory took a while to start up, but all I saw was blackness and that was it. Maybe somethings wrong with the memory orb,” he may want to help me, but I wasn’t going to tell him about Oricalcos. I had a feeling he’d never leave if he knew my shadowy uncle was still alive. Unless that was all a dream or something Aquila was doing to mess with my head, again. Though I don’t think it was, I couldn’t feel her still apart from the small well of power that wasn’t quite my own magic.

“Hmmm, I’ll have to view it when I have free time,” he said looking up at the sky for a long moment, “Well, I can’t do anything about it now. You two Stay safe, just keep heading south from here and you’ll see The Kingdom in a couple hours.”

Solstice gave him a funny look, “I thought you were going to wait here until her friend showed up?”

“I am,” he said pointing his hoof up at a grey and pink blotch flying toward us from the south, “She’s here. Remember Shadow, you better keep your nose clean, if not, you’ll have to deal with me.”

I was about to respond with a witty retort when the gem on his coat flashed, and he was gone, “I hate it when he does that, he’s almost as bad as Watcher.”

“Who’s Watcher?” Solstice asked.

“Long story, not as dirty as it sounds either,” I said looking toward Laser who was diving for the ground.

She landed quickly breathing a little heavily from what must’ve been a long flight. She tucked her wings back once again hiding them under her black flight jacket, “I thought I wasn’t going to make it in time.”

I looked down at the ground as she walked over toward us. Solstice chuckled, “I remember you, you were the mare who held Cloak at gunpoint at Frosty Summit. Then got knocked out.”

Laser looked at Solstice for a moment then laughed, “Yes I was, and I remember you too you’re the mare who was outwitted by a colt using a spark grenade.”

Solstice was taken aback by her remark but sighed “You know what, whatever, I don’t care.”

Laser laughed again “I’ll admit though I’m still a little peeved that I let her knock me out like she did. I’m Laser Light, you must be Solstice. Sheena told me you’d be with Shadow.”

I took this moment to pull out my goggles and mask so I could see better in the dark. When they were on I looked over at Solstice, this was the first time I’d been able to get a good look at her cutie mark. It was a snowflake, a budding flower, a green leaf, then a brown leaf, all forming a circle. It was like her cutie mark was the seasons changing. Winter at the tip, then Spring, followed by Summer, then autumn. Solstice was a fitting name for her.

Right as I figured that out, I felt Laser take hold of me and pull me into a tight hug, “Do you have any idea how worried we all were for you!?”

I let my face sink into her chest as she held me, “I’m sorry, also you’re very sweaty.”

She didn’t let me go and I felt a tear all on my head, “Don’t ever run away like that again do you hear me? It was bad enough after that scare with Aura then you went and vanished on us. We wanted to go out looking for you, but we couldn’t leave. I thought Wingnut was going to destroy the mansion when we saw the blast of light in the distance. We knew right away what it was, The Radio hosts said later that Mill City Tower was destroyed, but nothing after that.”

I didn’t know what to say so I just kept my face in her chest as I repeated, “I’m sorry.”

She finally let me go and she pulled my chin up making me look her in the eye, “What made you do something like that? We all thought you ran off because of what you promised Stardust. We never thought you’d go and destroy that tower.”

I tried to look away, but Laser didn’t let me, “When Aura died, something broke inside of me and I lost myself for a little while. I’m still not sure if I’ve fixed myself yet or if I’m still in shock. I wanted so badly to kill Stardust after what he did to her. That’s why I left.”

She looked utterly confused and started to say, “What are you talking about…” then something behind me made a cheerful sounding bleeping noise.

I jumped and screamed trying to hide behind Laser as a strange looking Sprite Bot floated toward us, still making those strange sounding bleeps, “What the fuck is that!?”

She looked at the Sprite Bot and sighed, “Vin-A I told you to wait until I talked to her.”

The Robot bobbed up and down and made an assortment of bleeps and chirps. I took a moment to examine what it looked like. The sprite bot had a chrome body looking almost new but still worn so it’s seen a lot of action. It has an appendage coming out of it at the bottom of its spherical body, at the top were two antennae with two solid metal spheres at the tips. It’s grating looked like any other sprite bot I have seen watcher communicate with but it’s eyes weren’t the normal green I was used to seeing, these eyes were a bright and warm red and it’s wings were transparent green instead of transparent blue. When it finished I asked, “Is this a Sprite Bot that’s only around the Twin Cities or is Watcher making his own now?”

The Sprite Bot made an angry sounding beep and it shot a spark of electricity at me. I yipped and hid behind Laser again. She laughed, “This is Vin-A, my son made him for me a long time ago. He’s always with me, but normally I tell him to keep himself hidden when I’m around other ponies that I don’t know well. He has his own special kind of personality and doesn’t like to be compared to normal Sprite Bots. Vin-A this is Shadow, be nice.”

“Vin-A? I didn’t even know you had a Sprite-Bot. Is he broken, because he isn’t saying anything but strange bleeping noises.”

It shot a spark at me again then moved over to chirp at Laser again. She sighed, “I mean it, be nice to her. Shadow say hello and say you’re sorry for saying he’s broken.”

“No way, he’s a fucking robot, he can’t even talk. At least Watts can talk,” I said sticking my tongue out at the floating robot.

Solstice just laughed watching us, “That looks like a Sprite Bot a pegasus in Stratus always has with him.”

Laser looked over at Solstice coldly, “I’d keep that information to yourself child!”

She put up her hooves, “I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear. I was just making an observation”

Laser sighed, “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it either, I just get protective of Vin-A. It’s the last thing my son gave to me before I left.”

I sighed, “As fun as it is to sit here in the middle of nowhere, can we get going?”

“Oh yes, we should start heading back,” as she said that she scanned the sky like she was waiting for somepony to show up.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

Laser looked back at me, “Oh nothing, just making sure no Enclave patrol is around that’s all.”

“My E.F.S. isn’t showing any hostiles, I think we’re good,” I said.

We started to walk south before Laser spoke up again, the robot floating along happily next to her, “Shadow after everything that happened over the last couple of days and what you did, I was wondering if there’s anything I can do to help. I can tell by looking at you that something’s wrong.”

I sighed and looked at Solstice, “Yeah, but I don’t know if I can say it right now.”

Laser looked at Solstice too and seeming to understand what I was thinking she said, “Solstice would you mind flying a little ahead of us so Shadow and I can talk in private? You too Vin-A.”

Solstice shrugged, “I don’t care either way. Just make sure you two don’t fall behind, I’m not stopping again. I need to get to The Kingdom, the sooner the better.”

She flew off, the robot following. When they were far enough ahead of us I finally started to talk, “I feel like what happened to Aura is my fault.”

“Why do you say that Shadow? You couldn’t have known that she’d be shot by Stardust.”

“I know, but if I didn’t leave that night because I was too scared to talk to her about how I felt, she’d still be here. She only had to go off to save me because I wandered off again. If I would’ve just stayed at the mansion both her and Phantom Shot would be alive still.”

She looked at me confused again, “Who’s Phantom Shot?”

“Oh yeah, Phantom Shot was Wrath’s real name.”

“Oh. Well from what I’m gathering, even if he did die he did so protecting you. He did that because you helped him remember who he was. You also can’t blame yourself for Aura getting shot, that could’ve happened at any time. We live in a dangerous world.”

“I know, I just feel like it’s my fault because it was me who she had to go find. It was stupid on my part to leave, alone, and with no weapons.”

She chuckled, “No matter how safe you think it might be, you’re still in The Wasteland. Even if you’re in a city like The Kingdom or Frosty Summit or even New Pegasus. The only stupid thing you did was getting careless, but you’re also still a young mare. Mistakes like that are normal for a pony your age.”

“I don’t feel like a young mare anymore,” I said

She reached out and rubbed my mane much like I did with Wingnut, “Maybe not, but you still are no matter what you think. There are times when I can’t tell who’s the more immature one, you or Wingnut.”

“Hey, I’m not as bad as that little twerp.”

She smiled again, “Yes you are. You may not like to hear it because you’re a couple years older than him, but there are a lot of times when he makes better decisions that you do. He’s lived in The Wasteland his entire life whereas you grew up most of your life in a stable. He may act like a perverted letch now and then, but that’s just because he’s a colt going through that time in his life where his hormones are taking over a lot. Most of the time, he can be a charming young stallion though.”

“Maybe you’re right, I know I haven’t been acting like an adult as of late.”

“You also have a lot going on in your life, your mother is trying to kill you, you’re trying to fight The Enclave, you have to protect the Mark II, you have so much going on. On top of that, you’re also going through a change as well, that has your mind and body confused. I remember what it was like at your age when I started feeling differently toward some ponies, well in your case a griffon.”

I sighed, “You noticed it too huh?”

“That you liked Aura? Shadow I’m not blind, and I’m a mother. I saw it when I first met you back when you were with Silver. The night we did…things, to be honest that wasn’t one of my best moments.” She laughed nervously rubbing the back of her head, “I noticed that you mostly played around with her because you thought it was fun. You liked her, that was easy to tell and she made your life exciting because you were able to be yourself without having to worry about an Overmare saying you can’t do that. But even then, I saw how you looked at Aura, you two have chemistry, that’s rare now days. You tease each other like its second nature, you never shy away from her touch, you smile when she says something about you, be it an insult or a compliment. I also happened to hear you yell at the top of your lungs your true feelings when you were on that balcony with Sheena, I knew it was you by your voice, I just happened to be on the ground at that moment looking up at the sky where my home use to be. The first step is acceptance after all.”

I started to cry, I couldn’t hold it back anymore the emotions were overwhelming me, “I wish I would’ve known how I felt before Stardust killed her.”

“Oh Shadow don’t cry please. I know life can be hard and confusing, especially for someone like you. You have a lot of new feelings rolling around inside of you and mixing that with the trauma you’ve had to go through it’s understandable,” then she stopped, “That’s why you went off because you thought he killed her. Shit, no wonder, you must have left before…”

A bullet ripped into my barding slamming me to the ground. I was lucky it hit the shoulder area and didn’t go through, but it still felt like somepony just kicked me there. I cursed and twisted around looking up at the lone pegasus who was pulling back on the bolt of a sniper rifle. He took aim and fired, Laser was quicker though, she took hold of me and pulled me out of the way just in time. Once that was finished she twisted around, pulled her energy rifle off her back and fired up at him.

I took a moment to pull the flattened bullet out of my shoulder before looking up to watch as Stardust avoided the next shot Laser aimed up at him. As she did she yelled, “It’s time Solstice, protect Shadow. Vin-A, send the signal!”

“Shadow Star, I don’t care what Nightshade wants or anypony else. You’ve attacked The Enclave for the last time! It’s time to DIE!” he yelled down at me trying to get off another shot.

I tried to draw Dream Walker, but Solstice took hold of me and flew me away from Laser and Stardust. As she did what Laser said finally registered, “What did she mean ‘it’s time’”

“We knew Stardust would come after you, this was the plan from the beginning. Now keep quiet, the others should be here in a minute.”

“Wait what?” I said then Stardust slammed into Solstice knocking me out of her grip and sending me rolling across the field.

She landed not far away, Stardust slammed into me knocking the wind out of my lungs and leaving me gasping. He slammed a hoof into my face then pulled out a sidearm, “DIE BITCH!”

An ear splitting scream rolled over us both sending Stardust flying back and me screaming from the pain in my head. Then Wind Thrasher landed, standing over me and looking at Stardust who aimed his sidearm at the batpony. She growled yelling, “I won’t let you hurt any more of my friends,” then she opened her muzzle and screamed again.

Then another pony came out of nowhere and slammed into Stardust throwing him to the side. It was Cutter, flying in from behind him to deal another blow to Stardust was Doorstop yelling, “Time to teach you a lesson Cadet!”

Solstice moved in to help the old drill sergeant as Cutter came up to try and attack him from behind. Laser fired her rifle to keep him from getting off his own shot. As I watched I looked up at Wind Thrasher and asked, “What’s going on?”

She stepped aside then pulled me into a tight hug, “I’ll explain later, let’s just say that we set up a trap to finally capture Stardust.”

I kept watching for a moment then said, “What kind of Trap?”

She smiled with her toothy grin, “A good one, you feel like helping us get him back for good or are you still lost in dark thoughts?”

“I didn’t know what else to do, but I think I’m good now at least enough to help,” I said.

She laughed, “Good, now let’s get our friend back.”

Seeds of the Past: After seeing how certain past events have unfolded. You now have a different grasp on the reality of your situation and may make more positive choices in the future. (Note: This perk does not negate any Dark Perks you have attained or may attain in the future.) It is easier for you to take the civil rout rather than the violent with certain characters form your past.

Mysterious Stranger Rank 3: You have reached a new understanding of the pony you call The Stranger. You know more about his past and why he’s helping you and have a better bond with him. The Mysterious Stranger will now show up more often in S.A.T.S. to help you out when you’re in a bind. Keep it up and you may find out who he really is, that is if he doesn’t kill you first.