"Who... are you?" This was one of several questions W wanted an answer to. Examples include, not limited to - What are you doing here? How did you follow me? Where did you come from? The list goes on.
The filly didn't move, looking very lost, and her hooves were shaking, she was tired. W didn't let up until her lips moves, a soft, frail voice seeping out. "I don't know." Not the answer she was expecting nor wanted. W had met many ponies, some were immediately fearful of her, leading to her altercations with the elements. Some retaliated, albeit weakly, and a very rare few saw W as another lost soul, like Mir and Zecora. In those moments, every encounter etched like a blade sharpened by a whetstone, W had learned the tells of a liar, granted, she knew them before this world.
This child wasn't lying.
Nodding to herself, W asked again. "What do mean 'you don't know'? You have a name, right?" The filly's head shook slowly, eyes downcast.
"Name... my name... is... um..." She couldn't see it but W was pinching the bridge of her nose. The first of many ponies to come here, and she gets the harmless one that has lost her name? Lowering her hand, W glared back at the filly, seeing her flinch at the crackling ember orbs burrowing into her gentle silver.
"Close your eyes, kid," Without a word, the girl's eyes were shut. "Right, now stand perfectly still and don't move until I say so." Again, completely compliant. This weirded W out, it was too much like telling a doll how to move on strings. Shrugging, in one step she was beside the filly, peeking her head outside with a hard stare. The land was a flat grassland before reaching a large ravine, a rope-bridge left dismantled again by yours truly, that only made W question how the girl crossed the gap? "Hrm..." Nothing, no one else was here or waiting in the trees, not a glint of metal or a fizzle and pop of magic.
Once back in her original spot, W's brow furrowed, the filly still didn't make a sound, standing straight as a board. "Uh, you can look now." With that, their staredown resumed. Sighing through her nose, W felt her tail flick toward the girl, pointing with the tip. "I don't know how you got here or where you came from, but get lost, kid, go back to to-"
"The sky..." Huh? Many questions emerged in the Sarkaz woman, questioning sanity to be one of them. Cleaning the wax out she motioned for the girl to repeat herself. With a small hoof lifted to the sky, W followed. "The sky... I came from the sky..."
"...right..." Blinking up at the blue hue turned gold she deadpanned, waving a hand with her mouth in the shape of a downward 'V'. "Hey, sky people, you dropped your kid, take it back!" Nothing, no reply was sent, leaving W to slump. "Goddammit... so you have amnesia, kid." She stated matter-of-factly
"What does 'amnesia' mean?" The filly asked curiously, even W didn't miss the perked ears.
"It's a word used to described someone who has lost their memories, like you," This also meant she might not even know how to get to Ponyville. Running a hand over her face, W was far too exhausted for this. "Listen, kid, just... I can't believe this... do you know where Ponyville is?" Another shake of her head and W was left stumped, throwing her hands high. "Spectacular! I am so done with today..." She was no babysitter, that was out of the question.
"Where are you going?" The soft clop of hooves shadowing her steps made the merc freeze, looking over her shoulder.
"To vent about today, do whatever you want, kid, but I'm not taking care of you," She saw her freeze at the cold notion, looking around at all the shifty shadows and the occasional echo of an animal. "Relax, no creature's dumb enough to come here, not since I took up shop."
"'Took up shop'?" She didn't hear the silent scream from W at that.
"It means I've taken this place as my home - you're in my home as a... guest, just don't bother me and stay away from my traps." The kid managed to survive for this long in the Everfree alone, she'll be fine. W let her gaze fall to her feet, she felt so exhausted, a hand caressing her bruised side courtesy of Rainbow, she hissed, it was still tender. "I need to get out of this place..."
"Ah!" A brief but startling yelp reverberated off the ancient hall. A tail swung back from the whiplash, W sprinting out and through the archway, sliding back into the grand hall in a matter of seconds, eyes glaring between strands of hair, then they twitched in shock. The filly was on her back, trying to scramble away from several large creatures.
They were Originium Slugs, only they were grounded compared to the arachnid variants. The soft innards bright tiger-orange between cracks of basalt, jutting from several points along its shell were black spines with red-hot pokers. Beta variants. W was left speechless, how are they here too? Did they follow the filly all the way here, and from where? This line of questions docked with her previous thoughts, leaving her frustrated and unsatisfied, instead, she shoved them all aside to do what she does best. Make things go 'boom '.
"Step right up, plenty of surprises for everyone~" Cooing at the ugly creatures she pointed the launcher at an angle, seeing the grenade arc over the filly, exploding with enough firepower to scatter most of the slugs, atleast two dozen of the monsters crawling through cracks in the outer wall. Once they were pushed back W yanked the filly to her left arm, feeling her immediately cling to her scarf. "Hey, you good, kid?"
"Mmm." Her head dipped against the merc's shoulder, a fanged smile splitting her lips at that assuring answer. "...sorry..." The girl whimpered, making W scoff.
"Don't bother, this is good actually," The pony looked up slightly, seeing the glow in the woman's eyes and the slick smile stretching over her cheeks. "Now I get to relieve all this pent-up stress, ahahahaha..."
Keeping her hold on the filly tight, W's tail flicked up a new M32 round, slapping it inside the receiver before the loud 'thunk' stretched, taking out several Slugs, more sliding toward her right, their spines extended outward to catch her legs. W leapt over them, using her tail to hold a grenade, pulling the pin with her teeth as the device was left to bob between the black creatures, erasing them in a powerful blast, spitting orange gunk across the hallway.
*Tink-Tink-Tink-*
"That sound - ah!" W's body froze the second she touched the floor, rolling forward, shielding the filly as a sharp blade tore across her shoulder. Sliding around onto her knees, W hissed while giving the new attacker a smug look. "Oh? This is starting to get exciting..."
Crawling from the shadow was a metallic, four-legged creature, a Metal Crab. The upper portion of its body coated in a thick, steel hide, a few chunks of ore sticking out from the shell. Without looking back, W kicked a small box backward, tapping her left breast pocket where her remote was, resulting in a hail of bright yellow flames expanding behind her, shadowing everything but her glowing eyes. "Get moving kid," She sat the filly down, pointing to the end of the hall where a fallen pillar laid. "Go." This was non-negotiable, and like a lost pup she ran without hesitation.
The Crab crawled back, letting more twisted slugs slither in its place. Whatever drew them here had to connect both to W and the filly, how or why remained clueless, but no matter what, the silverette would be damned if she finally let this lead go. Loading her launcher she grinned, pulling out another grenade from her belt, tugging off the pin. "I'll give you all to the count of three to get off my property. Three-" She tossed the grenade, the slugs far too slow to evade, their thick bodies splintered or blown to bits, those that remained sturdy sprung their spines at W, the mercenary keeping her distance, unloading another explosive payload, staining the walls orange.
To her left she evaded a metal leg as it slashed her barding, then another spinning kick of the four legs, the Crab chasing her while she fired another M32. The fires washed over its armor, denting and scuffing the sheen as it leapt through the fire, tackling W to the ground. She felt her hand lose hold of the launcher, forcing her to push back against the underside of the crab, barely escaping its sharp slashes to aimed at her heart and throat. With it constantly moving it made it difficult to worm herself out so she twisted her palm against the belly and threw it across the hallway.
Hopping to her feet, W kicked up her rucksack, throwing three knives that ricochet off the metal crab, the legs scampering to hoist its body upright, moving with the haste of a wireless machine on rampancy. Yanking out several more explosives, she threw the bag aside, tearing off her cloak to shroud herself, the Crab slicing into the rough cloak as it tangled itself in the dark cloth, the legs stabbing outward in vain to escape. W wrapped it up, keeping it far from her own torso while slapping the adhesive surface of her mines to the makeshift bag. Much as she hated to throw it away, she discarded the cloak across the hallway, running to hide behind the same pillar as the filly, pulling out her remote.
"Pop goes the weasel~" W's smile remained in its creepy, twisted form, her thumb flicking the detonation button the second she saw the Crab begin to crawl out of the stressed fabric. With three plastic explosives glued in such close proximity, that one button push brought out a massive detonation of firepower, the very ground shook from the applied force that engulfed the armored quadruple, raining little slithers of metal and remnant goo from the slugs all over the walls and floor.
When the rush of wind and dust settled itself, W slumped back on the pillar, smiling down at the awe-stricken pony, those eyes were wide with one, her left now visible to the woman. Could that have been how things might have been? If those damn elements of Loyalty and Magic hadn't called her a monster? W shook off this notion, dwelling on what might have been is no step forward, all it serves to remind her of the shit she's in and caused already, no use complaining now.
"So, kid, mind telling me why those things followed you here?" The silence was a little odd considering the onslaught no more than a few seconds ago, W was still atop that adrenaline-fueled high but lacked any energy to move at the moment. The pony shook her head.
"I don't know... I didn't know... I..." She started to feel something pull at her chest, watching the being fight off those monsters for her, battling with a smile despite how scary it all was. What made the filly's chest hurt further was how nice it felt to be in her arm... it was a strange, warm feeling. "I... I..."
*Pat*
The filly flinched, feeling those same fingers ghost through her mane, stroking her waxy locks tentatively with sharp nails massaging her scalp. Again, she felt her chest warm and squeeze, it was starting to make her throat sore. But she couldn't move, her body refused to.
"Astra." The word rolled off W's tongue, and she felt the filly lift her head so she angled her hand atop her head, continuing to pet her scruffy mane. "Can't keep callin' ya 'kid', well, not all the time anyway - so why not Astra?" It was a dumb suggestion but it was until W could take this kid back to Ponyville, maybe then they see she's not a monster, she hoped...
Taking her hand off Astra's head, W crossed her arms in a huff. "This is a temp partnership, I'll take you back to town once the heat on my back dies down, deal?" Bluntly staring down at the child, she saw the mixture of wonder and confusion rest in her silver eyes. Coughing at the awkward stare, W rubbed the back of her head. "Come on, kid, give me someth-"
"...my name... is Astra..." At the soft reply, W's brow rose slowly, not quite understanding what the kid meant by - She froze, seeing her repeat it again. "Astra... Astra... Astra..." But it wasn't the name that kept W's attention glued rather, the tears falling down her face. "I... have a name..."
Whatever was pulling at Astra's chest finally made itself known externally. Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, both turning red as she hiccuped. The second she woke up all she knew is that she came from the sky, nothing else made sense, and the world was so strange to her. Then she saw the strange, two-legged creature stomping back to the ruins, she looked scary but different than Astra. When she met the female, she was cold and distant but let her stay, then she saved her from the monsters, smiling, laughing at the danger. And then she gave her a name. Astra.
Clenching her teeth, Astra finally broke down, instantly hugging herself against W's stomach, sobbing between hiccups, trembling. The second this occurred W was going to pry the runt off, but her eyes refused to glare, looking down at this kid hugging her, terrified and confused only made W's mind rewind to that day. She was knocked down, bound, and accused of things out of her control, they stripped away her rights and labeled her a freak, a Monster of the Everfree, forcing her to steal, cheat, run, and survive in a harsh forest teeming with dangerous predators and wildlife.
Astra wept against W's stomach, and soon, she felt that gentle hand return to her head, stroking down her unruly mane while the woman's voice whispered in a very unnaturally soft voice, almost like a sing-song. "I gotcha kid, everything's alright, it'll be alright..."
Back in Ponyville...
"You know Her, don't you!?" Twilight was fuming so loudly that a few ponies were drawn in to pry into the delicate topic at a small corner stand. Inside the shrouded hut, the dull green eyes twitching at the constant interruptions to his work. Keeping to the grindstone his magic pressed deeper against the tool, mushing up the herbs. "Rainbow Dash saw Her sitting above your shop, you've been speaking with her this whole time!"
"And?" Mir snorted, turning completely to see the fury in the young unicorn's eyes. He heard what had happened, everyone did. W and Rainbow fought not far from his stall, she even bit her during the skirmish with the fool hearty pegasus, it actually made the grumpy herbalist crack a smile knowing somepony could put the stuck-up pony in her place. "Does the relevance of my clients and their privacy mean nothing to you Canterlot Ponies?"
"I - what?" Twilight was left in a stupor, providing Mir the chance to trot closer to the counter, glaring back as bitterly as ever.
"Irrelevant!" His hoof slammed the oak surface, scaring Twilight further. "What I do and how I service is not the concern of other ponies, nor is it legal for a business to disclose personal information without said client's consent," He leaned closer, his orbs slit compared to her wide purple ones. "Even if she were standing before me, I can say with a hundred percent certainty she would be less likely to agree with anything you had to say."
Finally regaining her voice, Twilight fired back, swinging her hoof at the ponies in the area. "She put Rainbow Dash in the hospital for several days! And threatened the safety and wellbeing of Ponyville itself! She's a danger and you're protecting her, a monst-"
"I'd chose your next words with some tact, Sparkle." He sneered, her own growl escaping her muzzle, which only served to bring a hearty chuff to the older pony. "Pah! If you wish to prattle on with this fruitless endeavor, you may find your prey in the mirror - do not bother me with your senseless threats, I am not shaken by such slurs of your generation."
Mir stopped, looking over his shoulder. "You say she attacks like a vicious beast and yet you fail to contemplate the reasons as to this retaliation. If you were to be stripped of your identity, what actions would you take to ensure you are given what is rightfully yours?" That was all, he had nothing more to say to the ignorant masses.
Despite this lost argument, Twilight still had a fair warning to give. "Fine, but when your 'client' hurts more than just my friends, when she finally shows her colors again, you'll be to blame too." She hated to have to push a pony to such desperate lines, a part of her hated this and wished there was a better solution, but until that thing was locked up, no pony was safe. "Sorry for bothering you today."
"Bah, do not lie to me either, Sparkle." Mir spat back, returning to his work with a great deal of stress and concern.
To Be Continued...