Spitfire and Old Silver

by The FraudulentBrit

The Pit

THUD. Rainbow Dash and Old Silver slammed into the ground from the trap door above. “Remind me to give that guy a buck to the head.” Rainbow Dash said to Silver as they rose from the cold metal floor. Silver, for his part, simply sighed and said, “Let me get something for me back and then we can talk about revenge.” Cutthroat’s voice then spoke up from an intercom. “Get moving kiddies. Heh heh.” Rainbow Dash angrily called out, “Why don’t you come down here and fight like a stallion?”

Cutthroat’s voice replied, “Because your little friend is just beyond the gate right in front of you.” Rainbow Dash and Silver quickly noticed that right in front of them were a massive set of doors that were now slowly opening. “Get in there you little runts.” Cutthroat ordered. Silver placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and said, “Come on. She’s not in here, that’s for certain.” Rainbow silently nodded and followed him through the gate.

Once they were past the gate, Silver and Rainbow Dash were shocked by the sight that beheld them. It seemed that whoever coined the name “the Pit” was not a very creative pony. It was, as the name implied, a large dirt pit with a few scattered tents throughout the sunken pit of despair. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most horrifying part.

That dubious honor went to the fact that the pit was overflowing with ponies. For as far as the eye could see, hundreds, if not a thousand ponies (Almost entirely stallions) had been herded in the confined space, which was clearly not big enough to comfortably house everyone.

A few ponies made their way up to Silver and Rainbow Dash. One of them, a white earth pony stallion with a blonde mane and tail and a cutie mark of a staff with wings, said, “Ah, welcome the pit mates.” He extended his hoof towards Rainbow Dash. “This place as bad as it looks?” she asked. The stallion replied, “I know this place looks pretty bad, but when you get to know it…” he paused for a moment before continuing, “It’s actually worse.” He and the other two ponies behind him couldn’t help but start laughing. Rainbow Dash gave Silver a confused look. Silver simply shrugged and said, “What can I say? Humor is a good defense mechanism.”

As the stallions finished laughing, the leader said, “Sorry about that. Name’s Gin Tonic.” He extended his hoof again, with Rainbow Dash extending hers in return. “Nice to meet you. I’m….” “Rainbow Dash?” Gin Tonic interrupted. Silver asked, “Was it the mane that gave it away?” “Pretty much.” Gin Tonic replied. “Your friend Scootaloo has been telling us all about you.” “Is she alright?” Rainbow Dash excitedly asked. “For the most part, excluding the fact she has tuberculosis.” Gin Tonic replied.

Rainbow Dash’s spirit sank as she was reminded of Scootaloo’s condition, especially now that it had been confirmed she had tuberculosis. Gin Tonic placed his hoof under her chin and lifted it up, saying, “Don’t worry kid. Follow me; I can take you to her.” Rainbow Dash simply replied, “Thank you.”

Rainbow Dash and Silver were pleasantly surprised to see that the Hospital Tent was actually well stocked with medicine and, compared to the rest of the pit, was mostly clear of dust. “How’d you get all this down here?” Silver asked Gin Tonic. He replied, “The Raiders threw me down here because I wouldn’t help them organize their stolen goods. Then about a week ago several ponies down here came down with tuberculosis. I had to give them everything I had just to get my supplies down here, and even then they forced the rest of us to pay for it.” Rainbow Dash asked, “I take it you were the doctor in town?” “Yup.” Gin Tonic replied. “It’s thanks to me that the outbreak is slowing down, though to be honest it’s still giving us trouble.”

Before any pony could continue, a familiar raspy voice asked, “Rainbow Dash?” “Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash immediately asked, her head darting all over the makeshift hospital. “Scoots, you in here?” The pitter patter of tiny hooves grew louder and louder until Scootaloo burst out of nowhere and leapt onto Rainbow Dash. “Squirt!!” Rainbow Dash cried out in joy as she grabbed Scootaloo and wrapped her in a warm embrace. She could feel the tears begin to leak from her eyes, and she could see a few were falling from Scootaloo’s eyes. She also noticed Scootaloo was now wearing a purple vest, not unlike the ones worn during winter wrap-up.

“I knew you’d come!” Scootaloo said to her surrogate older sister. Rainbow Dash replied, “Thanks, though I’m sorry about the certain circumstances.” Scootaloo let out a sigh and said, “I know. This place kind of sucks.” Rainbow Dash was about to scold her for such questionable language, but Scootaloo was suddenly overcome with a massive coughing fit. “Bloody heck. Get her back to her bed now!” Gin Tonic barked as he made his way over to the pair. “Come on kid, can’t have you running about in your condition.”

Rainbow Dash and Gin Tonic were able to take Scootaloo back to the small makeshift bed that she had been assigned to. “Kid, you might be making progress but you’re still not well enough to move about like that.” Gin Tonic sternly scolded the young filly. “I know. I just heard Rainbow Dash and wanted to make sure it was her.” As Rainbow Dash placed Scootaloo back into the bed, her hooves gently rubbed against her rib cage, and it was clear that Scootaloo had a little lost weight. “Everything alright?” Scootaloo asked. “Apart from you having tuberculosis, us being stuck in this mud pit, and you looking and feeling like you’ve lost weight, pretty much.” Rainbow Dash dejectedly replied.

Gin Tonic replied, “For what it’s worth, we were able to act very quickly with your friend here, which means if we get her out of here she should make a full recovery.” “If.” Rainbow Dash replied, doing little to hide her anger and fear. “From what I heard, only one pony has ever gotten out of here, and we can’t get out the same way.” Neither Gin Tonic nor Silver had a response to her.

Silver turned to Gin Tonic and asked, “How did it start?” Gin Tonic answered, “Simple, the Raiders dumped someone with it in here, and though this place is warm and dry, it’s not exactly sterile, so it spread rather quickly. Poor Scootaloo here was actually one of the first cases, but, as I said, we’ve been able to keep her stable.” He then turned to a table next to her bed and pulled out a bottle medicine, a spoon and a glass. He then ordered to Scootaloo, “Alright kid, take this.” He then signaled to an orderly, who came over with a pitcher of water.

Rainbow Dash then asked Scootaloo, “So, other than being sick, how are you?” Scootaloo replied, “Not too bad. I’m tough, like you.” “I know.” Rainbow Dash replied as she gently caressed her hoof through her mane. “I’m so proud of you.” Scootaloo couldn’t help but let out a few tears and begin squeaking. She got up and wrapped her hooves around her surrogate sister, which was quickly returned. Gin Tonic interrupted, “As much as I think that this is really sweet, she needs to take medicine.” Rainbow Dash backed away as Gin Tonic took the bottle and began to pour some of the medicine into the spoon. Once enough was in it, Scootaloo took the spoon and quickly consumed it, followed immediately by the glass of water.

“Blegh.” Scootaloo said as she struggled to ignore the medicine’s terrible taste. “Sorry kid. I’ll let you know if I ever find something that doesn’t taste that bad.” Gin Tonic playfully replied. Rainbow Dash then complimented, “That’s a nice vest.” “Thanks.” Scootaloo said. “Flint made if for me.”

“Where is he?” Old Silver suddenly asked. Scootaloo turned to him and asked, “Wait, where are your wings?” Silver replied, “Spitfire mucked everything up. But where is Flint?” Scootaloo sighed and said, “He’s in a blue tent right next door.” Silver immediately turned and made is way out of the Hospital Tent. “What happened?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash. She answered, “She went behind our backs to save you herself, and got herself captured. Silver and I tried to follow but….” Rainbow found herself unable to continue as she remembered how severe the situation she was now in. Scootaloo tried to reassure her by saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll find away.”

“I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash dejectedly answered. “Right now, you, me, Silver and Flint are stuck down here, Spitfire is probably stuck in the mansion out there somewhere, and the others are Celestia knows where, and probably don’t know what to next.” Scootaloo realized that, for one of the few times in her life, Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to do. Sure, there were moments where she knew the answer but didn’t want to admit them, but now, it was like trying to fish in an empty pond.

Scootaloo asked, “Who are the others?” Rainbow Dash answered, “Misty Fly, Fleet Foot, Surprise, Soarin, Nelson, Wyvern, Perry, and Angel Wings.” “Wait, isn’t Angel Wings one of the recruits?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash let out a gentle giggle and replied, “I know. I think she and Silver like each other.” “Ooh.” Scootaloo giggled as she felt her spirits lift. Rainbow Dash lesson.”

Scootaloo then excitedly said, “A few days ago a few of the Raiders came down here and started picking on some of us. I managed to give one of them a black eye.” “YOU WHAT?” Rainbow Dash found herself shouting. “Do you realize you could have gotten yourself in even more trouble?” Scootaloo found herself backing into her bed as she tried to defend herself. “Hey, they were attacking some unicorn stallion, and you said that I should only get violent if there isn’t any other choice, and I don’t think that they’d have stopped because I asked them to.” Rainbow Dash sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll allow it to slip THIS time. I just don’t want you getting into another fight.” “I won’t.” Scootaloo reassured Rainbow Dash before she began coughing again.

“I think she needs rest now.” Gin Tonic said to Rainbow Dash. She really didn’t want leave Scootaloo again, but she knew that it wasn’t wise to go against a doctor’s wishes. Rainbow simply said, “Get some sleep squirt, I’ll be right outside.” She then tucked the little filly in and left departed the Hospital Tent. Even if Scootaloo was sick, she seemed to be in pretty good, if not excellent care. She just hoped she could get her out of the pit before it got worse.

“Sir?” Silver asked out loud as he entered the blue tent. He had found one on the other side of the Hospital Tent, only to find it contained two stallions taking a nap. Now having made his way to this tent, he poked his head inside, hoping Flint was there. “Cap’n Flint?” he asked again.

Slowly, a red unicorn stallion with a now very unkempt beard rose from the single blanked lying on the ground. “Silver, is that you?” He asked as he began to turn around so he could see who it was. Sure enough, Silver stood before him, only now bruised, beaten, and missing a tooth as well as his metal wings. But as the moment of silence and recognition continued, Silver realized that something else was wrong with Flint other than his worn and tired expression and unkempt beard.

His horn was missing.

“Sir, what happened to your horn?”Silver asked, having difficulty believing the very sight before him. “Oh yeah, that.” Flint replied, trying to keep up a jovial mask. “I was helping some fellas here dig some escape tunnels, and we got caught. They thought I’d make a good example.” Flint then began to ask, “So what happened with….” Before he was immediately wrapped by Silver in a warm embrace. “I’ve been worried about you sir.” Silver said as he began to feel his body shaking and eyes water. “I know lad.” Flint answered, his voice starting to break.

Silver then began to shake with rage. “When I get my hooves on Spitfire I’ll….” He couldn’t continue for fear of losing his temper. “I know lad.” Flint said. “I’m not exactly happy with her either. I still can’t believe she hired those thugs.” “Worse sir, she tried to pay off the ransom, even after I tried to warn her it wouldn’t work. And apparently it’s cause that Wind Rider bugger has a bigger axe to grind then I do.” Flint sighed and asked, “Why am I not surprised?” Silver looked up to his mentor’s forehead and asked, “Does it hurt?” “Like Tartarus it does.” Flint replied as he began to stretch his hooves.

Flint asked, “So what happened to your wings?” Silver struggled to contain his anger as he simply answered, “Somers. Thought he could carve me like woodwork.” Flint sighed and said, “I’m sorry lad.” Silver immediately countered this. “No, I’m sorry you got roped into this." Flint placed his hoof under Silver’s chin and gave him a warm smile. “Silver, you don’t work with rope without the chance of burning your hooves. This may not have been unavoidable, but there’s always the risk of something like this.” “I know…” Silver replied. “It’s just, If it weren’t for….”

Silver couldn’t hold his anger in any longer. “And I bet by now she’s just flying high and mighty out of here and summoning the cavalry so she can be the big hero.” However, he caught something in the corner of Flint’s eyes. It was the reflection of a yellow mare with an orange mane.

He didn’t need three guesses as to who it was.

Without any hesitation, Silver turned around and stormed towards the entrance of the tent. Spitfire tried to slink away, but her brother grabbed her by the neck and began to drag her into the tent. “Let go of me Stumpy!” Spitfire demanded. Instead, Silver took her head and held it so she was staring directly at Flint, specifically where his horn once was. “TAKE A GOOD LOOK YOU IDIOT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Silver angrily bellowed, barely able to contain even an ounce of control.

Spitfire angrily retorted, “Hey, I didn’t cut his horn off.” “You didn’t, because you invited the Raiders over to your little compound just to drive me away!” Silver retorted. “I don’t know what makes your thick head tick, or what you have against me, but now you’ve crossed the line!” He dragged his sister out of the tent and continued until he found a modest puddle of mud. Taking a deep breath, Silver used all of his strength and chucked her into the puddle. “Do me just one favor and get out of my sight!”

Spitfire stumbled out of the puddle and shouted, “Oh really? What will Rainbow Dash say when she sees this?” Silver simply rolled his eyes and walked away. “Hey, don’t turn your back on your sister!” Spitfire shot back. Silver stopped in his tracks and stood there for several seconds, not moving a muscle. He began to shake with rage, leaving Spitfire to wonder if she touched a dangerous nerve. Silver turned around and slowly walked back to Spitfire, his head held low with his hat covering his eyes. When he finally stopped, he lifted his head slightly, allowing Spitfire to see his eyes, which were now bloodshot and furious. In a terrifyingly calm voice, Silver said something no pony would want to hear.

“You’re not my sister.”

Spitfire swore she could hear a pin dropping somewhere in another galaxy. “What?” was all she could let out. “You heard me.” Silver defiantly replied. “You’re not my sister, and you’ve never been. You don’t care about any pony but yourself, and for the last week I’ve been deluding myself into hoping otherwise. But it’s clear now, and I don’t want to be associated with any pony like you. So do me a favor and don’t ever talk to me again.” He then turned and began to walk away.

Spitfire could barely process what she had just heard. Had her brother just disowned her? ‘of course not.’ Spitfire thought to herself. She trotted up to Silver, only to be met with him swiftly turning around and preparing to slug her. Spitfire cowered, quickly put her hooves up to protect her face. Instead, Silver just stood there for a few more seconds before coldly replying, “You’re not worth it.” He continued away before stopping and turning his head and saying, “I wonder which of us really is the coward?” with that, Silver walked away, leaving Spitfire not only confused, but also, possibly for the first time in so many years, hurt.

Silver sat with Rainbow Dash, Cap’n Flint, Scootaloo, and Gin Tonic around a small fireplace under the simulated night sky of the Pit. “Wait, where exactly are we anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.”Ya know, compared to the rest of Botany Bay?” Gin Tonic answered, “We’re under the mansion. Those clouds and stars you see are a simulation.” “Figures.” Silver sighed as he stared into the fire. Rainbow Dash knew what was bugging him. “Look Silver, I sorry about Spitfire.” “Please don’t bring her up to me, alright?” Silver politely asked, thought the look in his eyes made it clear he was still very angry.

Flint asked Rainbow Dash, “So, what happens when one of your map missions fails?” “I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash replied. “We’ve never failed before.” Flint let out a sigh and said, “Because it seems there’s a first time for everything.” Rainbow Dash knew what he was implying. She and Scootaloo had failed. Not only had things with Silver and Spitfire not gotten better, they were now even more unpleasant with each other. On top of that, they were stuck in an open prison run by a maddened ex-Wonderbolt and a gang of ruthless thugs, and Scootaloo now had tuberculosis. If Twilight could see how things were turning, she would be disappointed.

“Don’t blame yourself.” Silver reassured Rainbow Dash. “You weren’t trying to do anything wrong. In fact, I’d say you were the closest any pony has come to gettin’ us to like each other again.” Silver said as he patted his hoof on her shoulder. “I know.” Rainbow Dash replied. “I just didn’t expect Spitfire to be that much of a…” Flint immediately interrupted, “There are a lot of words to describe her, and we don’t need to say any of them here.” He then leaned against Rainbow Dash and whispered, “Especially concerning our little friend.” He pointed to Scootaloo, who was nursing a metal mug of cocoa.

From out of sight, a vagely familiar voice called out, “Hey Flint, Gin Tonic!” from out of the nearby crowds, a dark blue Pegasus with a green mane made his way to the group. Silver blinked, wondering if it was really who he thought it was. “Skibby?” he asked the Pegasus. “Old Silver? Is that you?” Skibby replied. Both stallions stood there, entirely surprised to see the other in the exact same predicament as the other. Then, both Silver and Skibby lept forward and embraced the other. “My goodness Skibby, what are you doing here?” asked, his voice giving off a combination of relief, fear, and curiosity. Skibby replied, “Aye, after dat little social call at the Squid’s Claw, I was part of a crew bringing supplies down ‘ere, and the Raiders didn’t exactly take it well.”

Silver let out a tired laugh and said, “Well, you seem to be doin’ pretty well then.” Skibby replied, “Yeah. This place ain’t exactly Canterlot. Limited food, harsh weather, no way out, occasionally the guards come down here to vent…” “We get the idea.” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Heh heh. Sorry about that.” Skibby said. He quickly asked, “Wait, are you Rainbow Dash?” “Yeah.” Rainbow sullenly replied.

Skibby walked up to her and extended his hoof. “Name is Skibbereen, but most ponies call me Skibby.” Rainbow Dash shook his hoof. Skibby continued, “It’s an honor to meet a Wonderbolt.” “Thanks, but right now that doesn’t really count for much right now.” “I beg to differ.” Skibby responded. “Scootaloo here has been tellin’ a lot of us about you. You could say right now you and Silver are beacons of hope.” This got Silver’s attention. “What do you mean by that?” “Scootaloo and Flint here have been telling ponies all about you two. It’s pretty much what keeps us sane down ‘ere.”

That certainly surprised Silver and Rainbow Dash. “Really?” Both ponies found themselves asking in unison. “It’s true.” Scootaloo said as she joined the conversation. “I was telling these guys about how you and your friends saved Equestria from the Storm King and how you guys escaped Tartarus.” Skibby then added, “And ‘dis one time I was tellin’ Scootaloo here and some other boyos about how Silver here managed to save an entire ship from griffin marauders.” Silver was now starting to blush a bit. “Wait, you took on a whole group of marauders on your own?” Rainbow Dash asked in surprise. “Well…” Silver responded. “I mean I kinda lost me temper after they threatened Cap’n Flint so…” Flint added, “I swear, you threaten anyone he cares about and he’ll tear you to pieces.”

Gin Tonic then asked, “So, I mean, is it true? Spitfire being your…” The mood swiftly turned sour. Silver sighed and simply nodded yes. Gin Tonic shook his head. “Aye aye aye. That’s a shame.” Silver then added, “Don’t worry, she won’t be troublin’ anyone anymore.” “That’s not the issue right now.” “Huh?” Silver asked. Gin Tonic replied, “We’ve heard a fair bit from the Raiders boasting when they come down here. Needless to say, if Spitfire is down here, she’s gonna be in a world of hurt.

Spitfire was wondering around the Pit, trying to find somewhere where she could wash the mud off of her. By now, it had dried, which made walking or even flying much harder. It hadn’t helped that the clouds above her were fake, and above them was an impregnable steel ceiling.

However, something else was bugging, or rather, picking away at her mind. Had Silver really just said that he didn’t consider her his sister? The thought of being disowned by her brother was eating away at her. After all, what had she actually done to make him so angry? True, they rarely spoke at all, he didn’t like the nickname she gave her, she hired the…..

Then, it truly hit her. Even forgiving everything from the last week, she had been absolutely horrible to him. Thinking back, she could only remember two times she had ever seen him happy. Once was the time that she saw him after her first show, and the other was right after the bar fight. Every other time she recalled him, he was either distracted, angry, annoyed, or a combination of the three.

“Hey!” a voice called out from behind Spitfire. She turned around to see a group of stallions. “Well well well.” One of them said mockingly. Spitfire sighed and asked, “What do you want?” “If it isn’t captain Spitfire.” The first stallion continued. A second one spoke up. “Yeah, she’s the one Wind Rider broke the Raiders out of Nightmareville to get.” The first stallion then continued, “If that’s right, then you’re the reason we’re all stuck in this dump!”

Spitfire could only sigh and nod yes. The first stallion walked up to her and angrily said, “I bet my wife thinks I’m dead.” The second stallion added, “You don’t know what I’d give to see my foals again!” Now Spitfire felt a horrible ping in her gut. Had her actions actually caused all this suffering.

“Hey guys, leave her alone.” A vaguely familiar voice called out. Spitfire noticed that a small orange pegasus filly with a purple mane, tail, and vest was walking up to the group. “Seriously guys, I don’t think that’s gonna fix anything.” The first stallion waited for a moment, then, to every pony’s surprise, spit on Spitfire’s face and walked away, but not before loudly grumbling, “She’s not worth it.” He was swiftly followed by the other stallions, leaving Spitfire alone with Scootaloo.

“Thanks kid.” Spitfire thanked Scootaloo. Scootaloo replied, “You’re welcome.” She then continued, “Hey, can I ask a question?” “Of course kid.” Spitfire replied. Scootaloo continued, “First of all, can you please Scootaloo?” “Of course Scootaloo.” Spitfire answered.

Scootaloo finally asked her anticipated question. “I know that you and Silver have your issues, but why are you so, well, hostile to him?” Spitfire figured that this question would eventually be asked again. This time, however, she didn’t have the pride, anger, or stubbornness that had followed her throughout her life. This time, it wasn’t a cocky and loud mouthed pony who was asked, but instead, it was a defeated and somewhat lonely pony.

“If you really want to know, it’s because I’m…..” Spitfire paused for a moment. “I’m jealous of him.” “What?” Scootaloo replied in surprise. “It’s true.” Spitfire dejectedly replied. “You see, a few days after he ran away, Mom and I were informed he was in Vanhoover. When we arrived, I noticed that he was, well, happy.” Scootaloo was surprised by this remark. “What I mean by that was, well, he may have found his cutie mark after me, but it seemed that he was, well, he had found his place. And I guess my competitive side took over.”

Spitfire paused for a moment before continuing. “After he was gone, he slipped out of my mind for a few years. Then, after my first show as a Wonderbolt, I was delivering a letter and I saw him being celebrated by a group of ponies. I realized that no matter what I’d done, he was always the more popular. Ponies loved him, and I….” Spitfire found herself starting to crack. “Even the other Wonderbolts treated me like crap, and even after making it into the team. And Stumpy was… it was like he was the captain! And I promised myself I would become better than him.”

Scootaloo took everything in. “Wow, that’s really…” She began. After a brief moment, she continued, “Petty.” Spitfire didn’t take that particularly well. “Hey, don’t tell me Rainbow Dash doesn’t ever grind your gears.” Scootaloo sighed and replied, “You know, sometimes she does. Sometimes, she drives me absolutely livid. However, she’s always there for me.” Spitfire asked, “Why?” Scootaloo simply sighed and replied, “Because it’s something you do for family.” Scootaloo began to leave, only to be consumed by a coughing fit.

“Kid!” Spitfire cried out. Scootaloo continued, even coughing up a little bit of blood. Panicking, Spitfire grabbed the filly and began to fly towards the Hospital Tent.

Once she arrived, she was greeted by white earth pony stallion with a blonde mane. “Thank goodness! She alright?” he asked. “Not really.” Spitfire replied. “She coughed up blood. What’s wrong with her?” The stallion took Scootaloo from Spitfire and answered, “Tuberculosis. Poor thing got it just after she arrived.” Spitfire’s heart sank. Scootaloo was only here because the Raiders had foal-napped her, and they had only because she hired them. Scootaloo was sick because of her.

This chain of events broke Spitfire. She found her eyes watering and her breathing growing ragged. Not as much out of sadness for Scootaloo, but anger at herself. Because of her, a filly now had a very dangerous and possibly lethal disease. It was all her fault. Heck, she couldn’t even blame the other stallions who blamed her for their predicament.

“Ma’am?” the Stallion asked Spitfire. “Huh?” she asked, surprised that the Stallion was still there. “Follow me ma’am. We’ll find you some place to sleep for the night.” Spitfire was so spent that she didn’t say anything, simply getting up and following him.

The three made their way to Scootaloo’s bed. By now she was out cold and shivering. “It’s all right dear.” The stallion gently said to Scootaloo as he placed her in the bed. He then pulled out a syringe filled with medicine and gave her a shot. After tucking her in, he turned to Spitfire and said, “Thank you ma’am.” “You’re welcome Mr….” Spitfire began, realizing she didn’t know the stallion’s name. “The name’s Gin Tonic.” He replied. “Can’t exactly say it’s a pleasure to meet you Spitfire, but I’m thankful that you brought her back here nonetheless.”

Spitfire was a bit taken back, but not surprised to find out that yet another stallion knew who she was. “Now then, let’s find you somewhere to rest.” Gin Tonic said as he brought Spitfire to an empty bed. “You sure that no pony will mind?” She asked. “Don’t worry ma’am.” Gin Tonic answered. “The outbreak has mostly died down and I haven’t heard of any new cases.” New cases?” Spitfire asked. Gin Tonic replied, “Yeah we’ve had a bit of a tuberculosis outbreak. Scootaloo is probably the last serious case at the moment, and even then she’s making decent progress.”

Spitfire sighed and said, “Look, I’m sorry about that.” Gin Tonic raised his hoof and said, “I would accept that, but I don’t think I’m the one you need to apologize to. However, he’s asleep at the moment, so you’ll just have to wait until morning.” Spitfire knew who exactly he was talking about. However, she was too spent and exhausted to argue and simply climbed into the bed. Within a few minutes, she was consumed by one of the deepest sleeps of her life.

Once she was asleep, Gin Tonic heard hoof steps from behind him. Knowing that just about every pony was asleep by this point, he simply turned around and said, “You’re late.” The pony in question was familiar gray earth pony in blue. “Hi.” Thick Hide said playfully to Gin Tonic. “Knock it off. So, what do we do now?” Gin Tonic asked.

Thick Hide sighed and said, “This will be difficult, but not impossible.” “I’ve heard it before.” Gin Tonic replied. Thick Hide continued, “Hey, the Princess hired me and my team to deal with the Raiders, as well as a bonus for helping rescue Scootaloo. After all…” for a brief moment, Thick Hide seemed to flicker, revealing a red unicorn with a light blue mane. “It’s what we’re paid to do.” Gin Tonic sighed and said, “Alright, I just hope all this suffering is worth it.”