//------------------------------//
// 03: Taking What's Not Yours 
// Story: The Rejects 
// by Argonaut44 
//------------------------------//

We’re never getting out of here.
Even the fiercest flames were vulnerable to the unforgiving cold of the Frozen North. Trixie Lulamoon was chiefly among them. 
By the look in her eyes and her half-concealments, Starlight was beginning to notice her friend slipping beyond the edge. 
They were together for the moment, in Starlight’s own Cell #323 of the Hellhatch Penitentiary. 
There, Trixie faced those damning steel bars, which held no biases nor regrets, only an incorruptible conviction in their so-called justice. And justice had been dealt, Trixie knew it, and there would be no evading the stout rule of law.
And beside the bars was Starlight’s bottom bunk, where Trixie chose to sink into, pressed deeper by her physical exhaustion that clawed at her like some aching beast. 
She was weeping dry tears, facing away from the others to prevent them from reveling in the gratifying sight of her shame. The Great and Powerful Trixie, locked up like a zoo animal.
On the other side of the cell, Starlight, Sunset, and Suri were huddled together, gathered over a large scrap of parchment. Trixie could just barely hear their subdued muttering, watching from afar as they pointed at a variety of scribblings, penned in ink made in a toilet bowl that morning. 
Trixie kept her doubts to herself, not seeking to disrupt whatever momentum the others had generated. She merely hung back on the cot, keeping watch from behind the bars. 
Suri and Sunset, using their combined knowledge of the facility layout, had been able to sketch up a rudimentary map of the complex, sparing in detail but priceless nonetheless.  
They had found fortune in a brief leisure period, allowing them to roam about their quarters. A perfect time to meet, Starlight thought.
“Look, right here. This is it,” Starlight said, confidently, planting her hoof down on a marked corridor on the map, “This passage connects to the east side, it runs right to the carriage yard.”
Suri scoffed. 
“My apologies for bursting your bubble, Starlight, but that is a maintenance tunnel. It runs underground,” Suri snarled, as if Starlight should have known better, “It is quite inaccessible.”
“How? It connects to the laundry room, and I work there, so I can get us in.”
“You don’t get it, 'kay? That passage is bolted shut," Suri smugly explained, "Only ponies with the right clearance can get inside there."
“Batty tried that way a few weeks ago, she got inside there somehow. We tried to talk her out of it. You know what happened to her?” Sunset asked. 
“I heard they put her in the hole,” Suri replied, with a ghastly recoil.   
“The hole?! She wishes she only got the hole," Sunset said, "I saw what was left of her. Shredded to bits, cut up and crushed like she was stuffed in a meat grinder. There are security traps inside those maintenance tunnels, and they’re deadly,”
Suri gulped.
“Let’s not give up on it yet. There might be a way,” Starlight insisted. 
Suri sighed, still unconvinced.
“OK, say we miraculously make it through all that. What then? We would have to get above ground at some point.” 
“I’ve got a plan for that. But let’s slow things down first. If this is going to work, we’ll probably have to split up. One of us will have to find the keys to our locks, otherwise we won’t make it far if we run into trouble. Another will have to make some sort of distraction to keep everypony’s attention away from us. And the other two will have to take that passage, find where the carriage yard is, and set off something explosive to get above ground,” Starlight said, having spent all of the past few days settling on the basic plan for their great escape. 
Trixie leaned her head in from the cot, mildly alarmed.
“You want us to blow a hole in the wall?” Suri repeated, shocked. 
“Well yeah. The ice and dirt will be too thick to dig through.” Starlight said.
“I like it,” Sunset admitted, with a devious grin. 
“Hm. Well, if neither of you have noticed, nopony exactly has any grenades lying around,” Suri retorted.  
“...I could get some stuff from the factory to make one,” Trixie announced, unexpectedly joining the others in the huddle, “I'm world-renowned for my fireworks, you know.” 
Starlight and Trixie shared a smile.
“I may be able to get some chemicals from the kitchen that can help,” Suri added.
“Alright. See what you can do. I’m going to go check out that passage, find out everything I can,” Starlight said. 
“Right,” Sunset muttered, glancing off away from Starlight’s contagious eager glow. 
Sunset and Suri were seemingly content with the group's progress that day, before having to report to the kitchen and mailroom, respectively. 
Starlight, however, made an effort to block Trixie’s path before she could exit from the opened cell door. 
“Hey, are you alright?” Starlight asked. 
Trixie ignored her, and attempted to walk past her, though Starlight refused to budge. 
“Trixie.”
	"Does it look like I’m alright?” Trixie scowled. Working in the factory had certainly taken a toll on Trixie, both physically and mentally. Starlight was grateful she was only stuck in the laundromat. 
“Trixie, I promise you, we’re going to get out of here. And we’re going to make her pay,” Starlight said, venomously. 
“And what if we don’t? What if we’re stuck here?” Trixie said, “...Nopony will ever hear from me again. And I’ll have gone out as the bad guy...”
She turned away from Starlight, ashamed, rubbing her eyes before the tears could even arrive. She had long begged the world for mercy, with little success. There was a guilt inside her, for her prideful wrongdoings of years past, for how her arrogance had blinded her to the hearts and minds of those around her. And though she believed she had grown from the pony she used to be, the past seemed to still want even. To be granted peace, Trixie thought, she very well may not live to see it. 
“Don’t say that,” Starlight said, frustrated, “It’s just stress getting the better of you.” 
“No, it’s not just that, Starlight, I’m serious. Look at me!” Trixie said, swiveling around to face Starlight, “No matter how hard I’ve tried, I’m always just a joke to everypony. I’m not...I’m not a hero like you. Everypony thinks I'm bad. But I'm trying so hard to be good. And I thought I was getting things right lately, but...l end up here anyways. All I ever did was come up short,” Trixie said, sighing, “Maybe I do belong here.”
Trixie fled from the cell door, a blue wave drowning her hopes and dragging them to the depths. 
Starlight's face darkened. 
She would escape this hell, with Trixie beside her, she was sure of it. She could not rest, not for a moment.
She still had unfinished business. 





Rarity was not in the mood for company.
Moving into Canterlot was a difficult choice. But despite knowing she would be distanced from her friends, her career had to come first. The sun had set on her past compromises; now her grander aspirations could be fulfilled. 
Nevertheless, she feared she had made the wrong choice.
Her old life was left behind in the dust of Ponyville, and she had to ask herself whether she even deserved to keep her friends any longer, knowing she had abandoned them. They might hate her forever, she told herself, and even if they did not, they would not look at her the same anymore. 
Interrupting her unpacking, Rarity was begrudged to hear a familiar knocking on her new studio apartment door. 
“That better not be who I think it is,” Rarity muttered to her beloved cat, Opal, who was perched in her miniature bed near the window.
Swinging open the door, Rarity’s fears were confirmed, in the form of three smiling faces. 
“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Fluttershy, what are you doing here?” Rarity asked, sighing in despair. 
Rainbow took it upon herself to fly past Rarity into the apartment, examining each piece of furniture and decorative plant.
“Nice place,” Rainbow said, excitedly. 
“Oh, please, come inside,” Rarity scoffed at Rainbow’s rude entrance. 
“Sorry if we were interrupting something...Um, we just wanted to see you,” Fluttershy said.
Rarity’s hardened exterior softened, as she struggled to hold onto her imaginary grudge. 
“Rarity! A lot of ponies thought you were missing!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing past Fluttershy inside the apartment. She produced a clunky polaroid camera and stole a quick photo of a baffled Rarity, who had to awkwardly watch as the photo printed off from the camera slot. 
“Now we have proof that we’ve found you!” Pinkie said, smiling from ear to ear.  
“Yes, I suppose you have,” Rarity muttered, turning away from the others. 
“Alright, spill it. You’re staying here, aren’t you?” Rainbow asked, flatly. 
She landed beside Fluttershy and Pinkie, all anxiously awaiting Rarity’s answer. 
“It seems as though I am. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner...I just don’t like goodbyes, is all,” Rarity said.
The other three, expectedly, were all stunned, and Pinkie’s unbreakable smile had even fallen from her face. 
“...Look, whatever you’ve got to do, you’ve got to do. We’ll always be there for you, no matter what,” Rainbow said, firmly. 
“We can always visit you,” Fluttershy added. 
“Yeah...Yeah! We could come every weekend! Or-or I could visit you on every other day of the week, and then Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack could come every other other day, and-” Pinkie rambled. 
Rarity laughed away the beginnings of a tear, and took a deep breath, realizing that she might not have to worry about leaving her friends behind after all. Friends like these could not be lost so easily. 
“You have no idea how relieved I am, I thought you’d be rightfully cross with me,” Rarity said. 
“Is Sweetie alright with it all?” Rainbow asked. 
“...We’ve been talking about it, and if she really wants to go back to Ponyville, Applejack offered to let her stay at Apple Acres...Where is Applejack?” Rarity asked. 
“Apple emergency,” Pinkie promptly replied. 
“Hm. Understandable,” Rarity said, “I don’t want to force Sweetie to follow me wherever the wind takes me.”
“Have you talked to Twilight?” Rainbow asked. 
Rarity was confused, as if the question itself was absolutely ridiculous. 
“Certainly not. Nopony’s spoken to Twilight for days, I’m afraid. She’s quite busy lately. There’s some sort of situation going on, though it's all rather mysterious,” Rarity explained. 
“Oh, I hope things haven’t been too much for her,” Fluttershy said. 
“I wouldn’t worry,” Rarity said, confidently, “There’s nothing Twilight couldn’t handle.”





Down the winding marble halls of the Canterlot palace, Princess Cadance found herself short of breath by the time she arrived at the white oak wooden doors of the royal hall.
Despite how familiar she was with the palace, Cadance struggled to keep her bearing with each successive story and sharp corridor turn. The dizzying spiral staircases and familiar blank-faced statues were all but hidden blurs as she crept through the sunlit palace. 
But before she could stroll through those doors, she found herself checking behind her shoulder, wary of the distant whispers that echoed through the old stone walls of the luxurious castle. 
Once she was certain she was alone, Cadance threw open the doors in a fist of electric blue magic. 
“Twilight?” 
Twilight had been expecting Cadance’s arrival, patiently rooted atop the lonely white marble throne at the end of the royal hall. The morning sun glanced through the outriding stained glass. Cadance passed through shades of green, yellow, red, rushing across the hall as the doors shut behind her.  
“Cadance!” Twilight exclaimed, beaming in excitement, “What are you doing here?” 
Cadance continued towards Twilight, whose whose face was soured by fatigue.
“I came as fast as I could, Twilight,” Cadance said as she approached the throne, “Yesterday, some ponies showed up at the Crystal Empire, they warned me that there was trouble going on. That my life could be in danger. I thought you might need my help.”
Cadance arrived before Twilight, who had descended down to the second-to-last step of the throne, “...Are you OK? You look exhausted,” Cadance said. 
Twilight sighed, her brief moment of joy retreating back beneath a pit of anguish. 
“Twilight, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
For once, Twilight was struggling to articulate herself. Beyond the particular requirements for her deception, explaining the situation in its entirety was a feat on its own. 
“I only found out about everything two days ago. Some ponies from the Erased showed up here, they-”
“The who?” Cadance asked, already confused. 
“The Erased. You’d know them better as the Royal Emergency Service.”
Cadance scoffed in disbelief, struggling to withhold her laughter. 
“Monster hunters?” Cadance replied, skeptically, “That agency was dissolved. Ever since that Tartarus escape fiasco.”
“I thought so too. But before I took over from Celestia, she let me in on a little secret. She believed the agency might still have some use for Equestria, so she permitted them to continue their work. Under the condition that their identities be wiped away, that every record of their existence is erased.”
“Celestia never told me that,” Cadance said. 
“They’re top secret. They’re the rats in the corners of the room, watching us, and they’ve got eyes everywhere...They were the ones who warned you,” Twilight said. 
“And what exactly was it they were warning me of?” Cadance asked. 
Twilight cleared her throat. 
“In the past three days, there have been eight murders. Thorax, Rutherford, the dragon empress, the hippogriff queen, Posh, Filibuster, and Bronze Beam. And Prince Blueblood. They’re all dead.”
“Murdered?” Cadance repeated, shocked, “Why? Who by?”
“We’re trying to figure that out...This is serious, Cadance. For all we know, the two of us could be next on the assassin's list.”
“Twilight, I have to get back to the Crystal Empire...I have to tell Shining, and Flurry, I have to be with her, I-....” Cadance stammered, beginning to panic, “Who else knows about this?” 
“Everypony will, in less than an hour. It's leaked to the press, they’ll be running it on every newspaper and radio in no time. We can’t keep it under wraps forever."
“And then what? Thorax? The dragon empress? They’ve got thousands of subjects who are going to want answers, answers they deserve, and we haven’t got any?!” Cadance demanded, "Our friendship with those kingdoms was fragile already, we needed Thorax and Ember to keep the peace. What now?"
“We’ll be doing everything we can to prevent any more of an incident. I’m sure that’s what the killer wants. We need cooler heads to prevail,” Twilight said, offering a comforting hoof to Cadance’s shoulder. 
Cadance noticed a spark in Twilight’s eyes, that for some strange reason made her uncertain for a moment. She backed away from Twilight’s gesture, as a hundred different thoughts intersected in her mind. 
“I’ve got to get back,” Cadance said, trembling.
Twilight nodded in approval, allowing Cadance to turn around and trot out towards the oaken doors.
Cadance was paranoid, and she hated the thought that any creature would suffer a terrible death, especially ones she could consider friends. She rarely even thought of death, considering her prolonged alicorn life span. It pained her to think of how her loved ones might perish before her; now those dreadful concerns were coming to life. 
Once those doors were closed, and Twilight was by her lonesome in her royal chamber, her anxious expression dissipated, replaced instead by the subtlest of smiles. 
They were all right where she wanted them, she thought, and they all still had but the slightest idea. 





For hours each day, she was folding, stacking, and cleaning clothes by hoof.
There was no joy to be had in the bleak darkness of the laundromat, only the sweat and tears of its unfortunate laborers.  
Starlight had never once spoken to any of her miserable coworkers, all of whom wanted absolutely nothing to do with each other. 
But on this particular day, Starlight was to break her silence streak. 
Her soft-blue eyes locked onto the entry point to the passage she had spotted on the map: a large dark metal vault door with a keypad beside it. The door was locked shut, and without the keypad code, any hope of escape would be futile. 
Still, Starlight persisted in seeking out a closer look. But for her reconnaissance plan to succeed without incident, she would be in need of assistance.
 She had not spoken to the earth pony with the curly green hair since her first day working, though compared to the rest of the irritable prisoners Starlight worked alongside, that earth pony was the best candidate for an unprompted accomplice. 
Starlight found the pony at Station #37, just as the laundromat began to empty around lunchtime. 
She was a short pony, unimposing and frail. Her head was hung low, and she had an admittedly pretty face hidden behind her curly locks of hair. She was pale like a ghost, and she appeared fragile like glass. In the sea of misery that was Hellhatch, she was more or less the poster child.    
“Hey,” Starlight muttered, gingerly stepping beside the pony.
The pony made little attempt to acknowledge her, save for a disinterested side-eye. 
“I’m Starlight Glimmer. And you?” Starlight asked. 
“...Uh, Wallflower Blush,” the pony muttered, suspicious of what Starlight wanted from her. She was not particularly accustomed to ponies going out of their way to speak to her. 
“Wallflower, great to meet you,” Starlight said, “Look, I’ve got to be honest with you, I need your help.”
Wallflower eyed her up and down, after finishing her last set of laundry. 
“Um...with what?” 
“I just need you to stand by that door,” Starlight said, checking to make sure the guard had already left the laundromat, “And let me know if anypony is coming. Can you do that?”
“...Uh, why?” Wallflower asked, raising an eyebrow. 
“...I just need to check something. Without any guards looking over my shoulder. If I get caught, I won’t tell them you were helping me,” Starlight said, glancing around the emptied laundromat to ensure they were alone. The guards had filed out along with the prisoners, failing to notice the two ponies lingering behind. 
Wallflower bit her lip as she pondered the risks of helping this strange pink unicorn. 
“...Ok, I’ll do it. I don’t know what you’re up to, but you better be careful,” Wallflower said. She was rarely asked for favors, and though Starlight’s instructions baffled her, she was unwilling to pass up on the invitation to join in. 
“Oh, thank you!” Starlight cried in relief.
While Wallflower awkwardly took her post by the door to make sure the coast was clear, Starlight zipped around a stopped conveyor belt to reach the passage door, examining it for any weak spots. 
There was a small window in the door, through which Starlight could see inside the dark passage beyond. 
She could make out the tips of some sharp-edged razors waiting to spring out from the walls of the corridor, some mechanical contraption made for the sole purpose of exterminating ponies as efficiently as possible.
Starlight sighed, admitting to herself that this passage may be too risky to depend on for their one-time shot at escape. 
“Hey! Somepony’s coming,” Wallflower whispered suddenly, startling Starlight.
Starlight frantically swiveled her head, not sure which way was her best bet for getting out of there. 
“Hide over there,” Wallflower said, pointing at the lockers by the corner. Starlight understood, springing towards the benches next to the locker and hiding behind them. 
Wallflower, meanwhile, was left to handle the guard, who was storming right towards her. 
“Wallflower,” the guard said, smirking, “You always manage to slip away under my nose, don’t you…”  
“I had to finish up the load the others left. You remember what the forepony did last time we left a mess,” Wallflower replied, showing no sign of fear towards the guard, who she knew as Fuchs. She would not consider him a friend, but as far as guards went, he was the closest bet. He was a cerulean earth pony with navy blue hair, and at the moment, he was amused by Wallflower’s dryly-delivered excuse.
“Oh I do…” he said, “Just keep yourself out of trouble, y'hear?” 
“I won’t be starting today,” she replied with a smile. 
Fuchs began to turn away, though a part of him remained skeptical of whether Wallflower was telling the truth. 
He was gone within a minute, allowing Wallflower to find Starlight behind the bench, and relieve her with a safety-affirming smile. 
“Thanks,” Starlight said, wiping some dust off her jumpsuit. 
“We’re lucky it was just him, and not somepony who likes to ask questions,” Wallflower said, “So...what exactly are you up to?” 
Starlight was still hesitant, though given she owed Wallflower for the help, she decided she would just have to trust her. 
“Don’t tell anypony this, but...me and a few others, we’re planning-”
“An escape? I knew it,” Wallflower said, shaking her head in disappointment, “Sorry to say, in the brief time I’ve known you, I thought you were smarter than that.”
“Yeah, well the plan’s not going to work anyway, unless we find a way through that passage,” Starlight said, pointing at the vault. 
“Oh, I know that route. Weeks ago, Batty tried to bust through, and she got-”
“Shredded to bits. I know.”
Starlight sighed, acknowledging that she had her work cut out for her. 
“Well, even if it never happens...We should be friends,” Starlight said. 
Wallflower was frozen for a moment.
“I, uh...I don't exactly do friends."
Starlight was not sure if she was serious, but regardless she maintained her welcoming smile. 
“Then allow me to be the first.” Starlight said, extending her hoof. 
Wallflower hesitated, but eventually gave in and shook Starlight’s hoof. A strange sensation shot itself through her heart, and she felt lighter than air. A smile painted itself across her face, and with hope it would last longer than it did in dreams. 

Later that day, Starlight was confident her second attempt at earning a job at the prison library would be more successful than the first. 
Her efforts would not be rewarded that day, however.
A series of shaking heads and a few strokes of red ink from the Prison Board of Appeals left Starlight destitute in the hallway yet again. 
Her hope was waning, impaired by complication after complication, failure after failure. She hated to sit around and mope, though at that moment there seemed to be little else to do. 
“You must be the one they’ve been talking about.”
In the central hallway of the fourth-story where Starlight was grieving her second rejection, she was startled by a guard approaching her from behind. His voice was familiar, as that of the guard who had spoken with Wallflower earlier during that close call in the laundromat.
“Sorry if I caught you at a bad time,” Fuchs said, backing up once he noticed Starlight’s miserable expression.
“No, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“Starlight Glimmer, right?” he asked. 
“Yeah,” Starlight replied, though she found it strange he had called her by anything other than “Traitor,” as all the other guards had settled on. 
“I’m Fuchs. Mind telling me what brings you up here? Usually it's ponies petitioning for an execution exemption. I sure hope that’s not the case. We wouldn’t want those looks going to waste,” he grinned.
Though Starlight was inclined to storm off in response to his gesture, she stood her ground. Unlike the unwanted advances made by her squirrely cell-block chief, Stewball, Fuchs presented her with an opportunity to take quick advantage of. 
It wouldn’t be too difficult to play along either, given he was far less gruesome on the eyes in comparison to a ghoulish pony like Stewball.
Starlight was no expert in the art of seduction, though she tried her best, with hopes of gaining an ally on the other side of the guard-inmate divide. 
“I only wanted to work a weekly shift at the library. This is the second time they’ve said no,” Starlight explained, “I used to work at a library, is all. If I got the chance here, it might feel like home a little.”
Fuchs nodded, sympathetic towards her struggle. 
“Those skeletons on the board are finicky folks. But they’re not immune to persuasion,” he said. 
“You’d really help me?” Starlight asked, batting her eyelashes and tilting her head to the side. 
“Let’s say you owe me one,” Fuchs smirked.
Starlight gifted him a sweet smile, before trotting off towards the staircase.
If her plan worked, she would owe him more than one. 
  




Blondie awoke with a gasp for breath, finding himself tightly bound in chains to an uncomfortable wooden chair. 
His nerves were getting the better of him; his head was pounding and he was unable to think straight.
His mind ran in circles, while he wrestled against the chains without success. 
Memories began to flood back into his mind: he remembered that strange girl, and the burly black-haired stallion. He remembered the carriage too, and the sudden rush of fire and dust that had thrown him ten yards across the street.
But he could remember nothing else, and for all he knew, the explosion had already killed him, and he was awaiting some halo-sporting spirit to deliver some unfortunate news regarding his post-mortem destination.
Left to face judgment in the blackness, his bewilderment ignited once more when a creaking door swung open from fifteen feet directly in front of him. 
“Rise and shine.”
Blondie squinted into the blinding light pouring out from the doorway, until his eyes finally adjusted. 
Standing beneath the doorpost was a heavy-headed stallion unicorn, blue-grey in color with navy blue hair cut short. The stallion was stuffed in a suit and tie, and reeked of sweat. 
Blondie fidgeted with the chains, growling some curses under his breath. 
The stallion ignored him, stepping out of the way to allow a second figure to waltz inside the room.
The second stallion was a unicorn the color of gold, with jet black hair and a sickly, twisted grin. He was also dressed in a well-fitting suit, with a crimson red tie. His gaze was narrow and forceful; with the slightest glance Blondie was already on alert. 
The yellow unicorn clicked his hoof against the tile floor, signaling the other pony to flip a switch by the door. 
A dim fluorescent light came on from above, illuminating what appeared to be a rundown office. The white tiles and walls were covered in dirt and scum. 
The yellow unicorn gifted Blondie with a courteous smile, before taking his seat at the wooden table that sat between them. 
Blondie watched as the unicorn reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve a box of cigarettes and a lighter, sticking one in his mouth and setting it ablaze. He huffed in the smoke a few times, before taking a long, considerate breath.
“And you?” he asked, raising the box of cigarettes. 
Blondie nodded, allowing the unicorn to stick one in his mouth and set it alight. He glanced to the blue-haired unicorn posted behind him, “Anvil, close that door, would you?”
Anvil complied with the order, while the yellow unicorn shifted his attention back to Blondie. 
"I'm Crozer," the pony introduced, with a golden grin, staring daggers into Blondie's eyes, "You took quite a fall, friend. But even if nothing's working up there no more, I'm gonna need you to speak up for me."
Blondie glanced at the burly stallion by the door, who was grinning, like a dog waiting for permission to pounce. 
"I woke up this morning, had a cup of coffee, read the Manehattan Times. Terrible flood down in New Haven, that's a tragedy. But what's worse, is when I hear the newest bit of bad news from the war front. That a very good friend of mine, a friend who did four years for my father when he could've spilled left and right, a friend who never asked twice about finishing a job, has wound up blown to pieces on North Avenue," Crozer said. 
Blondie narrowed his eyes.
"There wasn't much left of poor Charcoal. But we did find the moron's head lying on the sidewalk. Not too far from where we found you, some two-bit street-teether taking a nap in the asphalt."
Blondie remained as he was, unphased, while Crozer's eyes flashed red.
"Are you some kind of mute? I'm talking to you, asshole, so say something. Or I'll make you regret it."	
Blondie sighed, taking his time to cough up a reply.
"Your friend was a toothless meat-head. Couldn't handle one little girl." 
“A girl you say?” Crozer said, and his eyes lit up with surprise. He sat back down in his chair, pacing his hooves on the table. 
“Brandy,” Anvil muttered.
“Of course," Crozer said, "Charcoal had one job. It’s good he’s dead, I would’ve had to kill the nut-brained ogre myself if I found out he got outdone by this myopic pegasus jackass here. Good riddance." Crozer spat the ground.
“What do you want from her?” Blondie demanded.  
“What are you supposed to be? Her knight in shining armor?" Crozer said, "Until all too recently, she was one of us,” Crozer said. 
“And who might us? be?”
Crozer glanced back at Anvil, amused.
“We're the Black Hoof. And unlike you, boy, we're not quite as partial to that pig-snouted brat Brandy's tricks and seductions,” Crozer smirked, “She’s a murdering, lying, conniving bitch, and she cannot be trusted.”
“She ran away from us,” Anvil explained, “And we need her back.”
“What for?” Blondie asked. 
“Why release a parasite back into the wild? And besides, she has something we need,” Crozer said. 
“What’s that? Toothpaste?"
Crozer bore a yellow, toothy grin.
“Last week. We had an arrangement with a pair of ponies from the capital. A royal scientist, and a pegasus royal guard. Can't trust a pegasus, never could. And the scientist, he was high-strung, afraid to get dirty. Never liked him, not from the start. A real pair, they were. Two rogues running from the capital with a dastardly plan to get rich, and do it quick. The arrangement was for five-hundred grand, and in exchange, a briefcase. A very, very valuable briefcase.”
“Sounds like they were ripping you off," Blondie remarked.
“I guarantee you, it was a bargain. Or it would have been, if that scheming pegasus guard rat hadn’t sold us out. See, he made a second deal with the Underground. We met altogether, all at once. The pegasus thought we'd all kill each other, you see, and he'd be able to walk off with the five-hundred grand from us and another five-hundred grand from them. Pegasus scum. Never got the chance to bash his brains in, like I meant to. The cowardly cocksucker flew off in a hurry when I came running for him. Hawkbit, that was his name. Feathered fucker."
“...You're tied up with the Underground?” Blondie asked, familiar with Manehattan’s most infamous criminal organization. 
“You’ve heard of ‘em. That sort of defeats the meaning of the name, don’t it,” Anvil said.       
“There was chaos, when it happened. The Underground almost got their slimy hooves on the briefcase," Crozer said, "But the scientist, the only pony in the world who knew how to open it...he was shot to pieces during the scramble. And before he died, he went out of his way to leave his secret with just one other…”
“...Brandy,” Blondie guessed. 
“Without her, the case is useless. The Underground’s been trying to catch her, so have we, ever since she ran off.”
“And why did she do a thing like that?” Blondie asked, skeptically. 
“Why does it matter to you, Blondie?” Crozer said, aggressively, “We would have had her back already, if you hadn't intervened. Now the Underground's got her, and we've got ourselves a bit of a stand-off....Now as far as I can tell, your role here can only be explained by one of two possibilities. One: you’re a pinhead cop with a deathwish, sticking his nose in some foul rot he’d be better off walking past. Or two: you’re with the Underground, and you’re just a damn good actor playing the fool. What’s your thinking, Anvil?”
“The rat bastard’s a real Brando alright,” Anvil said, spitting at the filthy floor. 
Crozer flashed his toothy grin, adjusting his suit and checking the clock. 
“Either way...You’ve fallen down the rabbit hole, Blondie...And this hole, you cannot climb your way out of.”
“This isn't my business," Blondie said, "I’m not a cop. Do I look like a fucking cop?"
Anvil slammed his hoof across Blondie’s face, knocking a back tooth loose and persuading some blood to trickle out from his nose. 
“Anvil, remedy me," Crozer cooed, "Poke those pretty green eyes out. Let's see how pretty Brandy finds him then.”
Blondie thrashed in his restraints again, as Anvil repeatedly swatted him across the face with his hoof. 
“I'm not a cop, I can prove it,” Blondie said, gasping for breath. His face was pulp; red and purple.
“Prove it?! You’d have me believe you’re just a witless worm working with a bad habit of falling into unfortunate twists?” Crozer laughed, sticking himself right in Blondie’s face. 
“I don’t know nothing about you, or your Black Hoof goons, or Brandy Bow. I was only with the broad for an hour!”
Crozer narrowed his eyes, noticing Blondie’s strained expression when mentioning Brandy. 
“Ah, you care about her. The girl's got talents, I won't deny her that. Only took her an hour to make a sucker out of you. Maybe when I finally find out where the Underground's got her, I’ll let those lowlives on Jungian Way tear to her pieces, loosen her up for you,” Crozer said, cackling to himself. 
Blondie struggled to keep himself from lashing out, which he knew was all Crozer wanted out of him.
“Slow down a minute, let me set something straight...Now if I was a cop, which I'm not, but if I was, you think they’d just leave me out to dry on the street after that carriage went and crumbled down in flames? And even if this was some elaborate trick, they would have come pounding on that door by now! I’m by myself, and I’m not a cop.”
“That’s a good point, boss,” Anvil said. 
“You keep your mouth shut, Anvil,” Crozer said. “You’ll do anything to get out of this alive, won’t you Blondie. Here’s some news then. The only way you’re possibly walking those filthy streets a free stallion once more, is when I’ve rung out any ounce of decency left inside you. I don’t trust you. Who would?”
“She trusts me," Blondie said, "I could get her back from the Underground, I could help you."
“Help us? There are quicker ways to die. Anvil can think of a few," Crozer grinned.
“What's worth more to you? My life or the briefcase? I could get her back, and get her to open it for you,” Blondie said. He lied through his teeth, though Crozer gave no hint of noticing. 
Crozer scoffed, glancing at Anvil as if to validate his disbelief. 
“This kid’s got sand. That’s not something I tend to smile upon. I think you're a liar. I think you'll set her free the second you get, and kill us all to be safe....But we’re in desperate times, and perhaps I'm too suspicious. And you, Blondie...you, we may just have use for.”
Crozer nodded his head, finalizing his decision. 
“Ok, loverboy, have it your way. I don’t gotta kill you, so I won’t. I’d like to see how far your little performance works to your advantage. For the hell of it,” Crozer said, smiling as he nodded towards Anvil to cut the chains. 
“I’ve got a job for you to do, with old Salt. You do it well, I’ll be more inclined not to hang you off the Arbory Dock.”
When Blondie was free, he sprung to his hooves, but made no move to attack his captors. He still had no idea where he really was, and if Crozer was telling the truth of his criminal ties, Blondie would have to be careful not to make any more lasting enemies.     





Equestria was lost to shadow. 
Across every town, from the bustling streets of Canterlot to the nameless villages in the south, not a smiling face could be found. 
The news had spread like a fire through a brittle wood. Equestria’s heroes had been slain.
In the Badlands, the dragons were, expectedly, having difficulty withholding themselves from declaring war on somebody. Anybody. A Dragon Lord had not been murdered since the wars of old, and naturally the ponies were a plausible culprit. 
Yet the ponies were grieving the same; the deaths of the Captain of the Royal Guard, Treasury Secretary, and Senate Speaker were distressing to all who had the misfortune of reading the newspaper that fateful day. 
The yaks, hippogriffs, and changelings had all sent their ambassadors to Canterlot, both to mourn at the public funeral and to investigate the mysterious circumstances of their leaders’ deaths. The dragons, naturally, stubbornly refused to attend. A summit was to be held to choose a new emperor; the dragons were too furious to waste time mourning. 
The service was held at the Canterlot palace gardens, on an overcast morning. The summer breeze whistled through empty streets and rustled the Equestrian flags hanging from the tops of glass spires. Over seven-hundred creatures were in attendance, somberly hanging their heads before the eight caskets lined up by the courtyard square. 
Twilight Sparkle, who appeared as devastated and exhausted as everypony else, was a sight for the sore eyes of a grieving nation.
Twilight gazed upon the crowd; she saw creatures of all kinds, weeping or else staring at the ground despondently. 
She saw her friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity, all weary from the strife set suddenly by the pain of grief. 
She addressed the crowd of withered hearts and crippled hope, who looked up as though to her their very lives depended. 
“I want you all to know, I feel this pain as much as you,” Twilight began, struggling to concentrate, “I have devoted my life to protecting Equestria. Fought against shapeshifting monsters, giant sharp-toothed beasts, terrors from the depths of the sea. But those acts will forever pale in comparison to the achievements our friends have made in their lifetimes. Without them, we would not have the peace we cherish today. They were the reason our world endured free of war, of  hardship. Today, we have lost some of the greatest heroes to walk among us. Ember...Thorax...Novo...Paramount...Filibuster...Bronze Beam....Rutherford...Blueblood, they were my friends,” Twilight said, wavering over her own grief, “I have faith that they were true to the very end.”
The crowd was still, and all ears were open as Twilight spoke, her calm, firmly-delivered words descending down into the whole of the city. 
“But they will not have left us in vain, I promise you that. Their memory will be kept alive, in the inspiration they have left us. And perhaps new heroes will arise, to follow their example. I know the future appears dark, and I know you are afraid. But I promise you this: I will not allow whoever is behind this to undermine the peace our friends have worked so hard to protect. There will be justice. And I ask you to trust me, to lead you all against the challenges that lay ahead of us. Equestria will survive. We will survive.”
Twilight stepped down from the podium deck, and stood idly by as the service continued into the afternoon. 
The caskets of Novo, Rutherford, and Thorax were given to the hippogriffs, yaks, and changelings, respectively, to bury according to their own traditions. The caskets were all empty, as there were no bodies to be buried. 
Ember’s casket was to be delivered to the Badlands to the dragons, alongside an emissary requesting unlikely peace negotiations. 
And the rest of the bodies, that of Paramount, Blueblood, Bronze Beam, and Filibuster, were buried in the Canterlot Royal Cemetery, concluding with a smaller service consisting only of family and close friends. 
Twilight was present to see those caskets be submerged beneath the ground. She stifled a sigh of relief, and she no longer feared their miraculous resurrection and testament against her treachery. 
“Your highness.”
Promptly after the service, Twilight was disgruntled to have her mournful silence in the dreary cemetery be broken by the gruff gravelly voice of a grizzly griffin.
“Gore,” Twilight said, recognizing the griffin detective from some past adventures. 
“Touching eulogy,” Gore said, nodding his head respectfully, though Twilight took it as facetious. 
“I’ve much else to attend to, forgive me,” Twilight said, inching to turn away. 
“I only wanted to speak briefly, forgive me,” he said. 
Twilight froze, finding herself bound to tolerate his prying, if only to reduce her attributed suspicions. 
“Are you making me a part of your investigation? Is that what this is?” Twilight asked, irritated.
“The investigation is Alias’. I’m only working with him.”
“Alias?” Twilight repeated, recognizing the name, “What a pity. I thought you were better than that.”
“So did I. But these happen to be strange times.”
“If you want information, I’m sorry to say I don’t have much.”
"You're far too humble, your highness. Two of your councillors - General Stegwig and Ms. Cat O'Nine - both of them submitted their resignations this morning. Why was that?"
Twilight eyed him. How could he have known that? 
"The past 24 hours have taken a terrible toll on all of us. They lost their colleagues, their friends. I would not be surprised if they blamed themselves somehow."
"Or perhaps they feared they would be next?" Gore supposed.
"It's certainly possible."
"You would agree the murders were politically motivated?"
"Without a doubt," Twilight agreed, "The killer meant to sow the seeds of chaos and confusion, to turn the kingdoms against each other. Who would benefit from that, I have no idea."
Gore studied her, hesitating.
"I trust you have a plan then, to keep the peace with the other kingdoms."
"I'm confident once we present a culprit, the dragons will be satiated," Twilight said, "What we need now is a common enemy."
“Alias believes the culprit has fled Equestria, that they’re already far across the Lunar Sea by now,” Gore said, to Twilight’s satisfaction.
“And what do you think?” Twilight asked. 
“I think the perpetrator is not one to run away so quickly. Why should they, when they already have everyone fooled?”
The first drops of rain fell from the sky, and meanwhile Twilight was frozen in space. 
“Let me know how your investigation goes, detective,” Twilight said, “I'm afraid I must be going.”
“As you wish, your highness,” Gore said, watching as Twilight stalked off into the mist. 
She disappeared into the mist.
Gore, however, stood where he was, permitting himself to be drenched in the rain.   





Nopony could ever quite get used to the cold. 
Steel Shackle, the rigid-jawed warden of Hellhatch, often felt inclined to provide his prisoners with the occasional outside time, though his rationale was never truly understood. 
Starlight was marched out through the gate, and passed by the warden, who was draped in a thick coat. She refused to cower down before his unflinching gaze; his eyes were like knives, and he would watch her trot all the way into the courtyard, until the front gate doors were shut and locked. 
Starlight walked around the huddled packs of prisoners standing in the snowy courtyard, and found Suri, Sunset, and Trixie standing up on one of the inner courtyard walls. They were all shivering and gasping for breath in the paper-thin air. 
They were glad to see Starlight, at least until they noticed she had brought company. 
“Guys, this is Wallflower,” Starlight said, stepping out of the way to make room for the green earth pony hiding behind her. 
It was an exceedingly difficult task locating Wallflower in the crowded cafeteria during lunch that day, though Starlight refused to leave the team’s newest addition behind. 
Not everyone would share that sentiment, however. 
“Sorry. Five’s a crowd,” Sunset said, flatly. 
“Agreed,” Suri added. 
Starlight glanced at Trixie, who only remained silent. 
“We need all the help we can get,” Starlight argued, ignoring Suri and Sunset. 
“I’ve never seen you around before,” Sunset said, retreating behind her icy glare.
Wallflower gave her a confused look.
“I’ve been with you in the delivery patrol since May,” Wallflower said, dryly. Sunset drew a blank, failing to recognize the pony.  
“Whatever. Starlight, is the laundromat door thing possible?” Trixie asked. 
“Looks like no,” Starlight replied, somberly. 
“Back to the drawing board,” Sunset muttered. 
“Perhaps now would be a good time to talk about the carriage part of this plan, OK?” Suri asked. 
“We're going to steal a carriage?” Wallflower asked. 
“Yeah. Not that you’ll be on it,” Sunset said, venomously. 
“Somepony’s going to have to pull it. We could have her do it,” Suri posited. 
“Not gonna happen. Look at her, she’s weak, out of shape. She won’t make it far,” Sunset said, gazing off from the battlement wall out at the snowy void beyond. 
Wallflower glanced down at herself and shrunk down in shame, gently rubbing her front leg as if to comfort herself. 
“Leave her be," Starlight said, "I was thinking we could put on a disguise, just blend in and drive out."
“They’ve got magical retinal scans, keypad verifications, card scanners. And the guards know all the drivers,” Sunset dismissed.
“So when we take a truck, we’ll have to be going out non-discreetly,” Trixie said.
“I thought the grenade part was already pretty non-discreet,” Suri said.
“A carriage may not even be there when you get to the yard. It’s a huge risk,” Wallflower said, hoping to contribute. 
“Hey, nopony asked you, alright?” Sunset barked. 
“Sorry,” Wallflower said, sheepishly. 
“Look. I’ve got a plan for the carriage, just let me worry about it,” Starlight said.
“What, you don’t trust us?” Sunset said.
“I don’t want you to worry, is all. I’ll handle it,” Starlight said, confidently. 
“Uh-huh. You’ll handle it, right. And who elected you leader again?” Sunset asked, "I've been here a lot longer than you, Starlight. So stop acting like you know better."
“She’s got more sense than you ever will,” Trixie said.
“She’s not the one having the mental breakdown,” Suri snarled at Trixie’s expense, “I know you've got a few screws loose, Glimmer, but this plan of yours is suicide.”
“Would you both stop?! You have no idea what Starlight is capable of! As long as I’ve known her, she never, ever gives up. I don’t know if we’ll ever get out of here. But she’s willing to risk her life for us. What are you willing to do?” Trixie said. 
“That's touching. But more importantly,” Sunset said, “We’ve still got a big problem to solve - finding a passage that leads to the carriage yard,” Sunset said. 
“We have one, but there’s no way through. We'll all be shredded as soon as we step inside,” Suri said, dismissively.
“That’s not true,” Wallflower said, again risking Sunset’s wrath. 
Starlight, along with everypony else, all glanced over at Wallflower, skeptically.  
“I noticed it when Batty tried,” Wallflower began, “I was on shift that day, in the laundry room. I saw her...well, you know. The point is that there’s about a five second delay between when the alert activates and when the traps come springing out.”
“A five-second window?” Sunset repeated, suddenly interested in what Wallflower had to say. 
“Five seconds, max. Count on less," Wallflower confirmed.
“Every other passage to the yard is locked off and covered in guards," Starlight reminded, "That passage is our only hope."
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t think any of us can run through that entire tunnel in less than five seconds. You'd have to be the fastest pony in Equestria!” Trixie exclaimed. 
There was a silence, until Sunset at last came to a sudden realization. 
“Would the second fastest do?”





The following day, Sunset and Starlight sat together at lunch, examining the line of sultry inmates marching to receive their daily slop. 
“When did she get here?” Starlight asked. 
“Just the other day. She’s a troublemaker apparently. You two've got that in common,” Sunset said. 
“She’s fast?”
“A lot of stories floating around. Former Wonderbolt. Stunt flyer. The kid could be exactly what we need,” Sunset said. 
“I thought five was a crowd. How’s six any better?” Starlight asked. 
“I don’t like the looks of that pony you brought, that's all,” Sunset said.
“We’ll talk about this later. That’s her, right?” Starlight said, pointing at a turquoise pegasus dragging her hooves in the lunchline. 
“Yep,” Sunset said, as she and Starlight rose from their table in unison.





Lightning Dust had not spoken a word to anypony since she awoke en route to the Frozen North. She was still escaping a hangover, and truthfully could not even remember what she had done to be arrested. 
Though judging by the cruelty of the Hellhatch prison, she figured her transgressions must have been absolutely unforgivable.
She received no trial, not even an explanation of her sentence.  
She was officially two days sober, though not by choice, and she was left a sluggish wreck. She was stuck working in the mines, striking at rock all day, living off of a single measly wad of bread for days to a time. But for dinner that day, she was gifted with a cafeteria visit. And though she loathed the cafeteria food as much as anypony else, still she was hot with anticipation. 
“Hey, birdie,” grumbled a bulky stallion from behind her in line. He was an inmate also, a miner the same as her. He had only been approved to eat in the females’ dinner time due to late hours returning from the pit. Lightning had noticed he had been staring at her often throughout the day, and at the very sound of his voice she had her guard up.
“I think I want to get to know you better,” he growled, aggressively grabbing her by the shoulder. 
Lightning gave little thought to it, when she kicked her hind legs back with full force into the stallion’s chest, shattering a few ribs and sending him crashing to the ground in a heap.
He howled in agony, while Lightning continued on through the food line, without even turning back. 
“I hope that’s not how you always say hello.”
Lightning had been taken by surprise again, when a pink unicorn inmate sprang up right beside her in line. 
“You haven’t been here very long, have you kid?” asked another pony appearing on Lightning’s left, a yellow unicorn with a sinister grin. 
“...Just a few days,” Lightning replied, hesitant as to whether she would have to brawl with any more ponies that day, "What's it to you?"
“We’re not looking for a fight, relax. We think you’d make a good fit, for a little gamble we’re pulling,” Starlight said. 
Lightning glanced between them, confused.
"What are you getting at?"
“An escape. How do you like the sound of that?” Sunset asked. 
Lightning was absolutely perplexed. 
"Look, this isn't my first rodeo. I'm getting out of here soon anyway, and I fly solo. Sorry," Lightning said.
"This isn't some minimum-security tin can you're stuck in. This is Hellhatch," Sunset said.
"The only way out is with help. You're gonna need us. And we need you," Starlight said.
“...Why me?”
“We need somepony with speed. That's you, right?” Sunset asked.  
Lightning scoffed, amused by the uncertainty in Sunset's voice.
"There's only one pegasus even fast enough to get near me," Lightning grinned.
Starlight glanced at Sunset.
"Humble, too."
"You know a way out of here?" Lightning asked, eagerly.
Starlight smiled, nodded her head.
Lightning smiled back, and shook each pony's hoof, heartily. 
“Welcome to the team.”





He had little idea what he had gotten himself into.
Blondie figured he was in a former office building, transformed into a den of thieves, thugs, and crooks of all sorts, all working under the same banner. 
Black Hoof
He was unfamiliar with the name, though by the looks of their well-supplied armory of weapons, magical and non-magical alike, he figured he would need his wits about him for the time being. 
Blondie was brought by the broad-shouldered earth pony Anvil to a garage towards the front of the building, where he noticed a giant of a stallion waiting by a parked taxi carriage.
“Hey, big guy. You’re a go,” Anvil said, grinning. 
“Who’s your little friend?” asked the giant. 
“Your new partner,” Anvil said, “And listen, he’s on thin ice. If he tries to run, kill him. If he calls for help, kill him. Boss’ orders. You know the job.”
“The poor devil looks in need of a warm bed and a mare. Why not set him free?” the giant asked. 
“Because there’s a good chance he’s a cop, is why. Keep your eyes on him, and get this all over with. We’ve got bigger problems at the moment anyways,” Anvil said. 
“Brandy?”
“Yeah. Blondie here is in love with her, I bet.”
The giant nodded, turning to face a bludgeoned, disgruntled Blondie.
Anvil left the two alone in the garage, right as the front door began to creak open upwards. Light flooded the garage, though Blondie was protected behind the shadow of the giant’s immense build. He had a grey beard and an eagle’s eyes. He was called Salt Shaker. 
“Right. Walk this way with me. We’re scheduled for an appointment exactly in…” the giant said, pausing to check a watch strapped around his hoof, “Twenty minutes.”
Blondie followed the giant into the street outside the opened garage, which he recognized as 57th Avenue. He made a mental note, hoping to find some way to locate and rescue Brandy, wherever she was. 
“You must be the unluckiest pony in Equestria,” the giant said, turning to trot down the sidewalk.
Blondie caught up, too spiteful of his predicament to do much other than scowl in dismay. 
“It certainly seems that way,” Blondie muttered. 
“I once had a bad streak of luck, the same as you. I'd lost everything. Everyone. It’s true what they say, the desperate will do whatever they can to survive. Do things they never dreamed they could.”
“I didn't ask for a lecture," Blondie growled.
"Well, you've gotten one," Salt laughed. 
"Save your breath. The second I get the chance, I’m out of here,” Blondie said, "I'm only doing this to get a chance to free the girl, and then myself." 
“Don’t be so hasty. You try and run now, I would have to kill you. I don’t want to, but I’d have to. In this city, there’s no place that we won’t find you.”
Blondie sighed, hoping the giant was mistaken. 
"You talk well for a hired killer.”
The giant laughed aloud, and his eyes widened with a terrifying enthusiasm. 
“It just so happens to be my job. My trade is corpses. An employer, take for instance, the Black Hoof, places a bounty on a pony’s head. I hunt that pony, I find that pony, I kill that pony.”
“You kill ponies, and you get paid for that?” Blondie asked, feigning naivety. 
“...Certain ponies, yes.”
“Do they at least have it coming?” 
“Almost always.”
“Is that where we're going? On our way to kill somebody?”
The giant shook his head.
“No. You're joining me today only to collect a package that is owed to the good Mr. Crozer.”
“The briefcase?” Blondie wondered. 
“The briefcase? No need, it’s safe and sound with the others as we speak. This here is a lesser assignment, to recover a shipment of savory substances.”
The giant glanced down at Blondie, skeptically. 
“...I didn't know poor Brandy was entangled with a devil like yourself.”
Blondie glared at him.
"It's not like that. She's too young for me."
"And yet, you carelessly throw your life away to rescue her," Salt laughed, "Only a stallion in love does such a thing."
"They were beating her bloody in broad daylight. I couldn't have done nothing. And she's still in danger, so....What do you know? She and me, we....We've only just met, anyway."
“A shame, it may have been the last time," Salt Shaker said, “...But before you go on about your silver-tongued passions, I must interrupt,” the giant said, coming to a stop in front of an apartment on 33rd Street. 
“We're here.”

The apartment building was in shambles, its walls riddled with bullets and caked in mold, its air hot and musky. 
The giant entered the lobby with Blondie trailing behind, and together they rounded up two flights of stairs. 
“These sorts of situations are rarely pleasant. I beg, let me do the talking. Stay calm and collected. And be ready for anything,” the giant warned, trotting down the hallway of the third floor. He glanced at his watch. 
“We’ve still got five minutes,” the giant said, nodding for them to hang back. 
Blondie and the giant retreated towards the staircase railing, listening to some muffled domestic arguments and shrieking cats from the other rooms below.  
“I never said I was in love with her," Blondie said, "I just wanted to save her from a bad death.”
“An admirable quest. I hope she lives. I don’t like to see ponies die.”
“That's rich, with your line of work”
“We're paid for what we do well, I am afraid. And, despite my due reservations, this has become my craft. Like a smith hammers steel, I draw blood."
“You’re a mercenary at heart, though?" Blondie mused.
The giant hesitated, before leaning into his amused grin. 
“If you mean to raise my stake against the good Mr. Crozer, I pity you. That is an enemy I do not wish to make, Blondie.”
Blondie turned away from the giant, frustrated. 
"You chose to be the hero, to save the damsel in distress, if one can dare call that vicious little creature Brandy Bow a damsel," Salt considered, "And you find yourself biding time in the lion's den, looking for some escape. But sometimes the only way up is down, Blondie."
Blondie glanced at him.
"I'm no hero," he muttered.
Salt laughed a hearty laugh.
"Then you ought to fit right in with us," he smiled, “...Enough of your melodrama, Blondie. Now it is time.”
Blondie and the giant approached the fourth door down from the stairs, numbered #304. 
The giant hammered a thundering knock on the door, waking up anypony that happened to be sleeping in a seven-door radius.   
The door opened almost immediately, revealing a lanky, polished pegasus stallion with shaky eyes and a resting half-smile. 
“Mr. Salt, it’s so good to see y-you, come in, please, come in,” the pegasus said, stepping out of the way to allow the giant inside. 
“I’m sorry things are a mess. I know I missed the date. I know I could have contacted you beforehoof, I just...I guess it slipped my mind! I only wanted to-”
"You might have taken the basic courtesy of making this pig sty presentable, prior to a transaction where your life and livelihood are of concern," Salt said, glaring at the untidy living room, "Or maybe they don't teach you that, over at that proud university you attend. What was it called?"
"Er, er, Coltumbia, Mr. Salt. Coltumbia."
"Precious," Salt said, "Allow me to welcome you to the real world. Presentation is everything. And what you've told me so far, before you had to say a word, is that you do not respect the trade, nor the ponies I work for, nor myself for that matter."
Blondie hung back by the door. The giant spoke strangely, both gently and with a dangerous kind of cruelty.
“No, of course we-” the polished pegasus tried to say.
“The truth is, I knew this about you already," Salt said, "As does Mr. Crozer. You’ve managed to be late not once but twice now. Mr. Crozer had some ideas for what to do with you. I talked him out of those ideas. But now I'm not so sure. So I’ll ask you once. Will you ever be late again?”
The lanky pegasus glanced back at the other two ponies in the room, a blue unicorn with long hair and a boorish pegasus with slackjaw. 
“No. We won’t be late. I swear to Celestia, this is the last time," the polished pegasus said.
The giant smiled and nodded. 
“I see. Then go on, go get what’s owed to me.”
The pegasus scrambled around towards the kitchen, where a black case was waiting. 
“Honestly I don’t know how this even happened. I mean, we really thought we had-”
While the lanky pegasus’ back was turned, his series of excuses were cut short by the blade of a steak knife tearing through the front of his neck.
Salt Shaker, the giant, was standing behind the lanky pegasus, knife in hoof, waiting for the blood to drain from his victim’s neck, before tossing the corpse to the side. 
“....You son of a bitch!” yelled the unicorn, who promptly ignited his horn. 
Salt Shaker deployed a smaller knife from his belt, and threw it at the boorish pegasus standing by the case in the kitchen. The knife planted itself squarely in his forehead, sending the pony tumbling backwards, crashing into every single pot and pan left sitting atop the kitchen counter. 
“Blondie! The package!” Salt Shaker yelled, right before the unicorn fired a deadly beam of magic in his direction.
Salt Shaker dove out of the way, missing the flaming beam of energy that set fire to the window curtains nearby. 
He retrieved a small hoof-held mechanical contraption from a holster on his waist, pulling back the device’s hammer. 
“Die you motherf-!” bellowed the unicorn, before Salt Shaker dove out from behind the overturned couch and fired four shots from his weapon in rapid succession. The device fired magical bullets with a single press of a trigger. Two of them hit their target, spinning the unicorn a full revolution, sending him collapsing to the floor in a pool of splattered blood. 
Fire was spreading fast across the hardwood of the apartment room #304. 
“Blondie! Time to go!” Salt Shaker instructed, grabbing the package from his hooves and heading towards the window with the fire escape outside. 
Blondie followed him towards the window, but stopped suddenly. 
“What are you doing?” Salt Shaker asked, as he began his frantic descent down the fire escape, package in his front legs. 
“I’ll be out in a second,” Blondie promised, before turning around to escape the carnage inside through the front door. 
Blondie began in that hallway, knocking on every door relentlessly, yelling the same word over and over again.
“Fire! Fire!”
 He continued upstairs, and then down to the remaining two levels below, until every resident was aware of the emergency. 
Blondie ran out to meet Salt Shaker, gasping for breath as parts of the building began to collapse. Most of the ponies inside had escaped, save for an unlucky few. 
“If you’re quite done, we really must be going.”
“That was calm and collected?!” Blondie stammered, relieved just to be alive. 
Salt Shaker smirked. 
Blondie shook his head in disbelief. 
“Those ponies could have died! And for what!?”
“Mr. Crozer owns that building, he wanted it burned down, for the insurance payment.”
“You may tell yourself it’s alright killing powder-sniffing lowlives, but those are innocent ponies living in there!" Blondie exclaimed. 
“I can hear sirens. Are you through?”
Blondie sighed and nodded, prompting Salt Shaker to begin escaping the scene. Ash fell from the sky like snow, and the smoke could be seen from all over the city. Blondie took one last look at the burning apartment building, trying his hardest to ignore the cries and wails of its now-displaced residents laying destitute on the sidewalk. 





Headquarters were more of a mess than usual, and that was saying something.
Far beneath the heartbroken streets of Canterlot, leaning against the wall of a dimly lit elevator, Bandolier was nervously scratching at his beard. 
The news of the attack had been broken, and the ensuing fallout had gone about as well as he had expected. 
The elevator came to a stop at Floor -25, the lowest point in the Erased’s base of operations in Canterlot. 
The doors opened to reveal a bustling commotion of ponies rushing back and forth and yelling at no one in particular. 
The subterranean control room was filled to the brim with equipment, desks covered in reports, and ponies madly milling about. A flashing red light in the otherwise poorly lit room only added to the mayhem. 
“Sir!” 
Bandolier avoided being shoved by a belligerent agent storming past, right as Amity Stiletto’s voice came crying out from below, in the sunken command area in the center of the room. 
Amity met him halfway down the short staircase leading to the sunken command area. 
“Heels! When did you get back?” Bandolier asked. 
“Just this morning...I’m sorry, sir,” Amity said, lowering her head, “ I thought everything was alright. I-I couldn't get him to listen. He-...He's-”
"I know," Bandolier said, reaching to wrap his foreleg around her. She buried her head against his shoulder and shut her eyes, "You did all you could for Rutherford, I know you did. None of this is on you. Do you hear me?"
Amity nodded her head, too ashamed for her tears to choke up a reply. 
“Lieutenant.”
Bandolier raised his head to see Alias standing by a nearby projector screen, a typical stony scowl resting on his wrinkled face. Bandolier ushered Amity to scurry off, leaving him to confront Alias alone. 
“Chief," Bandolier replied, mocking Alias' curmudgeonly tone. 
“It’s a shock you managed to show up today, nevermind that there’s an international incident. I suppose three hours late is early for you anyways," Alias said.
“Er, sorry, sir," Bandolier said, scratching at his beard. 
Alias shook his head and sighed. 
“You last told me that we haven’t got any leads. Well think again. I’ve got a task for you.”
Alias led a confused Bandolier over to a nearby table, where an opened file of a pink unicorn mare was waiting. 
“This is Lady Lavender. She’s a second-cousin of Princess Cadance. The Lady of Silkwood, up in the Highlands. Wealthy beyond belief, engaged to the late Prince Blueblood. She was also an attendee of the ceremony at Ponyville."
“I know, I was the one who submitted her file to surveillance," Bandolier said. 
Alias raised an eyebrow, suspiciously.
"Really? You? What made her stand out?" Alias asked.
“Gore and the analysts all agree the motive was political, given the choice in victims," Bandolier recalled, "Lavender here is a prime candidate for a future target of the killer. Wealthy, part-royal, influential. I thought I'd organize a private guard to keep her safe."
“No," Alias said, "I want you to go to her palace, and escort her back here to Canterlot.”
“Sir, Princess Twilight is already here in Canterlot. Why would we want all our potential targets in one place?” Bandolier asked.
“We can better protect her here than in her palace.”
Bandolier narrowed his eyes. 
"Sir. You want to interrogate her. Is that it?" Bandolier asked, "...You think because of her proximity to Blueblood, she might have knowledge of why the murders took place?"
"Your job is to follow orders. Not question them," Alias said, sternly, "Is this were the royal guard, your contempt for authority would be grounds for a court martial."
Bandolier took Alias' refusal to answer as confirmation of his suspicions. 
“Lucky me this isn't the royal guard...Sir, what about the Maretonians? The Saddle Arabians?” Bandolier asked, "Ice Mirror and Haakim were in attendance, just like Lavender. They're just as likely to be in danger."
“The Maretonians and the Saddle Arabians are beyond our borders. Lavender here has royal blood, Lieutenant. We can’t let anything happen to her,” Alias said, “I’m sending you with Flamberge, our spy in the royal guard. This is to be quick and without incident, Lieutenant. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Alias eyed him. He sighed, and his rigid brow seemed to soften.
"We don't know what we're up against," Alias confessed, "I need you to get your head out of the clouds and stick to the code, for once in your life. Ponies are dying, left and right. We must do all we can to contain the threat and find out what's going on."
"I understand, sir," Bandolier said, "I won't let you down."
Alias nodded his head, warily. 
“Chief!” Amity interjected, having been eavesdropping nearby for sometime now, “If it’s no trouble, I want to come along too.”
Alias' eyes narrowed.
“You?" he scoffed, "Haven’t you done enough?”
“Sir," Bandolier said, "She did everything she could for the yak. And I wouldn't mind the extra support, and another companion on the road, as well. For some odd reason Flamberge has never been fond of me."
"I can't imagine why," Alias sighed, and muttered a surfeit of curses. “Fine, bring her along. Get her out of here, before you really strike a nerve.”
Bandolier nodded and turned to lead a starry-eyed Amity away from the irascible chief. 

Meanwhile, four stories above the control center, a pony lay strapped to a slab of white, held alongside ten unfortunate others. Seven were already dead, the other three dangerously close. There was only one pony who resembled anything alive: a stallion, bearing a bright red coat and a spiky mahogany mane.
His eyes were strained by the fluorescent lighting, which had long replaced the sun. For eleven years, he had been trapped in this facility, wistfully fantasizing about what the real world looked like beyond those emotionless white walls. He remembered his name, Kickstart, though here he was only ever referred to by a series of meaningless numbers. He'd have to say it to himself in his head, hundreds of times a day, to keep from forgetting.
The experimentations forced upon him and his brothers and sisters in bondage were unquestionably cruel and unusual, and typically test subjects were not intended to survive. But he thought himself stronger than most, and at the very least, he refused to be broken down by the agents’ machinery and devices. 
Always, he yearned for freedom. 
And today just happened to be his chance.
The agents were in an utter frenzy about something today. He had no idea why. What he did know, is that they were distracted. More so than they had ever been before. 
If there would ever be a chance, it had to be now. 
He pulled his chains and locks taut, and with a simple twist of stolen scalpel he had been hiding in his mane for two years, he seized the opportunity he had been waiting for since his entrapment. 
The lock clicked open, and he threw himself from the table, taking a moment for his muscles to get used to movement once more. 
“Hey!” bellowed a portly scientist agent, right as he rounded the corner to the experimentations lab. 
Kickstart dove straight for the agent, tackling him to the ground and cupping his hoof over the pony’s mouth. During the struggle, he located a defibrillator resting on a nearby shelf, and, without thinking twice, he retrieved it. Charging it with an anticipated trigger-hold, he ruthlessly smashed both ends of the defibrillator over the scientist’s head, sending sparks and smoke searing their way up into the air. 
The scientist’s head fell flat against the floor, though his assailant did not check to see if he was alive. Instead, he quickly robbed the scientist of his lab coat and identification cards, before sneaking out of the laboratory, as subtle as possible. He disappeared into the bustling crowd of agents anxiously heading every which way, all oblivious.  
The experimentation lab was silent for a half hour more, until another agent finally entered the room. Her scream echoed out through the entire facility, but by then, Kickstart was long gone already. 
  




Lightning Dust dreaded having to return to the mines tomorrow. The scent of oil and tar ran true even then; inescapable. She tossed in her concrete bunk, her mind repeatedly slipping away into a blank suspension of thought. Occasionally a shiver would shake her alert, though in her dreary prison cell that she had all to herself, she strangely felt somewhat safe. There was no one to hurt her, or berate her, or judge her even. She had to laugh at herself, she thought, for briefly considering herself free to some extent. 
Lightning had quickly discovered that she was likely the youngest inmate in the entire facility, a reputation of which rapidly garnered her a banquet of unwanted, often predatory attention. Nobody likes the new kid.   
It could always be worse.
For most prisoners at Hellhatch, isolation was suffering. Lightning, however, felt as though she was right back at home. Her low-rate, cluttered, aging apartment in Cloudsdale was not much more spacious than her prison cell, and she had been living on her own for years now anyway. She recalled herself wrapped in a blanket in the freezing cold, endlessly mulling over whether she could bring herself to crawl back to her parents and beg them to let her stay with them. 
No. You’re better than that.
	She would always talk herself out of it. 
You’ll always be number one. No matter what they say. 
Her self-gratifying voice kept her company in her head, while she embraced the lonesomeness. 
Only, she was not completely alone. Close to an hour into her fruitless attempt at falling asleep, she was shocked to discover a small rat chewing on the leather of her boot. 
Lightning shrieked and jumped up, slamming her head into the roof of the top bunk. She groaned and fell back down on her bed, shaking off the rat from her boot. 
But the rat was persistent, and made for her shoe once again, and Lightning had to consider whether she could bring herself to do away with the problem permanently. She swatted it away once again, hoping it would wise up and leave her be.
Until, she noticed the rat approach her again from the darkness, this time carrying some chunks of food to and fro from a crack in the wall. 
She was amazed, as the rat left her a pile of scraps, presumably for her to take. 
She realized the rat was attempting to make a deal, and she promptly accepted, slipping out of one of her boots and leaving it for the rat to chew on. She greedily took the scraps, which were about as much as she got at dinner, and wolfed it all down. 
“You’re a smart little guy, aren’t you,” Lightning muttered to the rat, who squeaked something in reply. Lightning snickered, amused by how greedily it was scampering down on the boot.
“Scampers. That’s what I’ll call you,” Lightning said, grinning. 
“Making friends?” 
Lightning’s cheeks burned red with embarrassment, turning away from Scampers and her boot to face the bars of her cell. On the other side stood a mildly-amused Sunset Shimmer.
“Come on, we need you,” Sunset said, impatiently. 
Lightning glanced down at Scampers, affectionately petting the rat a few times before following Sunset out of her opened cell down the adjacent catwalk.

Lightning was brought to Cell #323, where she found four other ponies waiting around in silence. 
“Everypony, this is Lightning Dust,” Sunset said, entering the cell alongside Lightning, “Lightning, you've met Starlight, and this is Suri, Trixie, and…uh...”
“Wallflower Blush,” Wallflower said, spitefully. She waved politely to Lightning.
“Right,” Sunset muttered. 
“So you’re supposed to be fast, is that right?” Suri asked, skeptical.
“Fastest in all Equestria, thank you very much,” Lightning declared, smirking to herself. 
“She'll do,” Sunset said, leading Lightning over to where they had laid out the parchment map, where Starlight was waiting. 
“This passage here,” Starlight said, pointing at a scribble on the map, “We have to find a way to open it, but once we do, there’s only five seconds for you to fly through to the other side before the traps go off.”
“Wait, traps?” Lightning asked. “You didn’t say anything about traps.”
“I thought you did stunts, right? This is no different, and it’s the only way out of here,” Sunset said.
Lightning bit her lip, as if she had more to say but could not bring herself to speak up.
“OK…Yeah, uh, no problem,” Lightning said. 
"Everything depends on her getting this right, and by the looks of her I'm thinking that's a mistake,” Suri spat. 
“And what good are you for, huh? Whinging?” Lightning retorted. 
“Um, sorry, now may not be the time, but-,” Wallflower interrupted.
“It’s not,” Sunset dismissed. “If there’s any pony we shouldn’t be trusting, I’d put my bits on her,” Sunset said, narrowing her eyes at Wallflower, “She might as well be wearing a badge, she’s got rat written all over her.”
“She’s alright, OK? You don’t have to be such a jerk,” Trixie said, irritated.
Sunset rolled her eyes. 
“Now listen to me. This plan isn’t going to work unless we get those keys to our locks. Which you’ve been conveniently avoiding this whole time,” Sunset said, turning her attention towards Starlight. 
“Well, first things first,” Trixie said. 
“No, I’m sick of this. She keeps acting like she knows what she’s doing, but I don’t buy it,” Sunset said.
Lightning backed away slightly, removing herself from the developing hostilities. 
“She’s just trying to get us out of here in one piece, OK?” Trixie stammered, though Sunset’s wicked glare stayed locked onto Starlight. 
“Look, I know you’ve got it out for Twilight, and trust me, so do I. But you’re losing sight of the here and now. I’ve been around here a hell of a lot longer than you, so maybe listen to what I have to say.”
Starlight cut herself off before firing back, recognizing the futility of stoking Sunset’s flame. 
"OK. Go ahead," Starlight said. 
“We’ve got to get those keys, undo these locks. Then all we have to do is burn the whole place to the ground,” Sunset said. 
“Sunset, we’re not hurting anypony unless we have to,” Starlight said.
Sunset sighed.
“Here’s a wake-up call, Starlight. Being a hero isn’t going to help you get out of here. It definitely didn’t help when Twilight abandoned you, did it?”
“Just because she did horrible things doesn’t mean we have to stoop to that level! We can still do the right thing. We can still try.”
Sunset snickered, glancing at the others in amusement. 
“Newsflash. None of us are heroes. And sometimes you haven’t got a choice but to stoop to their level. What’s stopping you now?”
Starlight was speechless, though still unconvinced.  
“How about we worry about all this after we have a plan,” Trixie said. 
“A plan? It seems no plan will work. It’s hopeless,” Suri said. 
“Uh, can I say something?” Wallflower attempted. 
“No,” Sunset and Suri said at the same time. 
“Guys, we’re going to make this work,” Starlight said, “And I’m not in charge as much as any one of you are. If we do this, we have to do it as a team. That means getting along.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, unsure if Starlight was actually referring to her.
“If you’re too afraid to do what needs to be done, then I recommend taking a step back,” Sunset said, taking a single step towards Starlight.
“You may have bullied your way to the top inside these walls. But you can’t bully your way out of them,” Trixie said, sticking herself between Sunset and Starlight.
“Hey! Guys! Stop it, OK? This is getting us nowhere,” Starlight yelled. 
Sunset scowled. 
“Starlight, you’re going to get us killed. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m out of here,” Sunset said, scuffing her hoof against the ground and stomping out from the cell. 
The others waited before speaking, a bit overwhelmed by Sunset’s explosive outburst. 
“What I wanted to say,” Wallflower said, exhausted, “Is that I swiped a security card from a guard. He was sleeping at his post, and he didn’t notice me. I thought I’d take it.”
She revealed the card, to the others’ shock. 
“This can get us inside the door to the passage,” Starlight said, amazed. 
“Maybe you’re not useless after all,” Suri said, mildly impressed. 
Starlight turned to Lightning, who had been silently waiting by the cell door. 
“Are you still in?”
Lightning could not lie to herself that she feared their chances of success without Sunset’s help. But she supposed she better take the risk. 
“Yeah. I’m still in.”
Starlight nodded, as a new spark caught flame within her. 
They were going to get out of here. 





“It’s far too dangerous.”
There was comfort to be had in the company of old friends. Yet to be deceiving them was a burden that exhausted Twilight, who was currently curled up in her velvet reading chair. 
“Too dangerous?” Rainbow Dash repeated, raising an eyebrow, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“She's right, Rainbow Dash. I would very much like not to meet a ghastly end the same as the dearly departed,” Rarity countered, taking Twilight’s side. 
Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity had joined Twilight in her royal bedchamber that afternoon, supposedly to rationalize their ineluctably aching grief. But Rainbow was stubborn, and she already had her sights set on one thing and one thing only. 
“We can’t let whoever did this get away with it! We’ve got to do something, we’ve got to find them!”
Twilight shook her head, though she did admire Rainbow’s efforts. 
“I would never put any of you in harm’s way like that. This killer might be more dangerous than any foe we’ve ever faced.”
Rainbow scoffed, accepting the challenge without much hesitation. 
“Add ‘em to the list. Look, Twilight, I know you have to be all protective and stuff, but this is serious. It was always up to us to save Equestria, and this time is no different!” Rainbow argued. 
Twilight sighed.
“You’re right. It was always up to us. But this time it is different. If something were to happen to you, like what happened to Thorax and the others...I don’t know what I would do. I don’t want you to try it.”
“It does seem awfully dangerous, Rainbow,” Fluttershy added. 
“I can’t believe you all! We can’t just stand by and let the perp run down their hit list! With or without you, I’m figuring this out, and putting a stop to it,” Rainbow proclaimed. 
Twilight sighed, deciding that she could not quell Rainbow’s stubbornness. 
But she could stall her. 
“Alright. If you really want to go, I can’t stop you. I don’t know everything, but...there’s been rumblings in the intelligence department. It might be a criminal organization behind this all, based in Manehattan,” Twilight said, supposing a wild goose chase would do well to distract Rainbow from the true threat speaking to her presently. Manehattan would suffice. Far enough to keep Rainbow out of her mane, and corrupt enough to give her some dirty trails to follow. 
“That’s all you had to say,” Rainbow said, smirking in anticipation. 
“We’ll come along too!” Pinkie said, to Rainbow’s immediate approval. 
“Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, turning to the pink-haired pegasus. 
“Oh...I don’t know...I guess so,” Fluttershy replied, gulping in fear. 
“I would love to take part in your valiant crusade, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, "I really would. But I have a business to run, and Sweetie is having just an awful time at her new school, and-.”
“It’s OK. I think we’ll be alright,” Rainbow said. 
“Be careful out there. I’ll be doing everything I can here to set everything right,” Twilight said. 
Rainbow nodded, before turning to leave the room with Fluttershy and Pinkie tagging along behind her. 
Rarity decided she should better leave too, but came to a halt in the doorframe, turning her head back one last time. 
“You don’t think they’ll be hurt, do you?” Rarity asked.
Twilight gently shook her head, her eyes wandering out towards the grey clouds that hung low out of her bedroom window. 
“I would never let that happen," Twilight assured.
Rarity felt relieved, and took a deep breath, before she too left Twilight alone in her bedchamber. 
Twilight rested her eyes, weary from days of little sleep and a prolonged performance. She meant what she had said, that all would be made right. 
All she required was time.  





Starlight was expecting good news, for the first time in what felt like years. 
She had received a letter that night stamped with an emblem reading Prison Board of Appeals, in it containing a summoning order, effective immediately.
Starlight had practically leaped out of her bed, startling Suri above her, who was already winding down for the night.
The catwalks and hallways of the prison were emptier than usual; lights-out was approaching fast, though Starlight expected to be given special dispensation given the suddenness of the summoning. 
A lengthy walk up several flights of stairs took her to the fourth story of the complex. There, she broke into a jog towards the Board of Appeals’ chamber door, swinging it open as politely as she was able. 
A smile climbed its way onto her face, reaching from ear to ear, when she was given the news by the persnickety Board members, that her request for a part-time shift in the library had been approved. 
“Thank you thank you thank you!”
She felt like crying almost; she was begrudged to have been doubting herself momentarily just hours prior. Her flame reignited, she trotted out of the room with her head held high, as if none of the terrors that lay in the earth below her hooves stood a chance against her. 
“There’s the smile I was waiting for.”
Starlight swiveled her head around to find Fuchs leaning against the hallway outside. She stopped in her tracks, realizing that he had followed through on his word. 
“I guess I do owe you one,” Starlight said, approaching him gracefully. He was taller than her, having to lower his head just to make proper eye contact. 
“Don’t mention it.”
Starlight glanced at the floor, arguing in her head whether to ignore that searing red desire bubbling inside her heart. 
Fuchs had not expected any dramatic acts of recompense, however, to Starlight’s relief.  
“Would you allow me to walk you back? It’s easy to get lost this late, and the guards may think you’ve tried an escape,” Fuchs offered, "They'll find any excuse to give you a hard time, really."
Starlight resisted the inclination to confide in him the truth, that he had unwittingly aided in that very ambition: escape. 
“Of course,” Starlight replied, graciously. 
Fuchs beamed, leading her down the hallway she had come from. 
They walked back down to the third level in relative silence, until they reached the catwalks extending towards her home prison cell, #23. 
“Hey, if you ever need anything from me, anything at all, I’ll be around,” Fuchs said. 
“You're something of an oddity here,” Starlight remarked. 
“Most of these guards, they love to act tough. But picking on ponies in chains doesn't make you tough. Just because you’re done wrong shouldn’t mean you deserve to get treated like an animal,” Fuchs said.
“I imagine that way of thinking doesn’t make you popular,” Starlight said. 
Fuchs snickered, and nodded his head, though he did not seem to mind. 
Starlight hesitated, her head swaying side to side right underneath his.
“It’s quite late to be having a stroll.”
Starlight reeled her head back and spun around, to find Stewball, her lanky rat-faced block chief, staring daggers down at her and a wide-eyed Fuchs. 
“You, Sergeant. Disappear before I have your neck spun backwards.”
Fuchs’ eyes darted towards Starlight, who was pale in the face, but he was helpless but to comply. 
“Sorry, sir,” Fuchs replied, regretfully turning away to storm towards a nearby exit. 
Once Stewball was sure Fuchs was gone, his scowl shifted into a grin. A devious, lustful, hideous grin. 
“Lost little sheep,” he muttered, stalking towards Starlight with a heavy step, “Alone at last.”
“I should be getting back to my cell,” Starlight said. 
“You ought to keep your lips shut. Come on...I know you’ve been wanting it. Craving it. You want out of here, don’t you? Well I can help you. I really can. All I need from you...” he said, creeping up until he was right on top of her.
Starlight jolted backwards, stumbling over her hooves in a failed attempt to turn around and sprint away. Stewball immediately took advantage of her clumsiness, grabbing her by one leg and sticking his other front hoof over her mouth, right as she began screaming.
“You like to play hard to get, don’t you? Traitor? That’s alright. I like that. We could have had an arrangement. But it doesn’t matter to me. You’re not going anywhere. And neither am I.”
Starlight screamed again, as he spun her around on her stomach, pinning her to the ground. 
“Save your tears, traitor. I won’t be long. Promise.”
Starlight’s screams were barely muffled underneath Stewball’s hoof, as she thrashed and fought as hard as she could to break free of his grip, while he moved his entire weight on top of her. 
But before she felt any coerced acts of sodomy levied against her, she was instead graced with the sound of splintering bone and a catastrophic ear-piercing screech. 
Stewball suddenly fell off of Starlight, who immediately crawled away towards the railing of the catwalk, to safety.
She gasped for breath and wiped her eyes of tears, lifting her head to catch sight of Stewball lying on the ground in a bloody heap. 
Sunset Shimmer was posted on the catwalk, a bloody mallet held taut in her hoof. Stewball’s back leg had been snapped back by the mallet, fragments of bones and bruised muscle tissue hanging free in the cold prison air. Stewball was screaming his lungs out, clawing at the catwalk railing, blinded by pain.
Sunset was not finished, however, proceeding to lift the mallet and swing it down directly into Stewball’s back, shattering two vertebrae and forcing a bloody dent into his flesh. 
Stewball’s screams tripled in decibel, all while Sunset maintained a look of disgust. 
She dropped the mallet to the ground, and lifted her front hoof to step on Stewball’s neck. He could no longer feel his legs, and was seeing stars floating back and forth under his eyelids. 
Sunset applied pressure to his neck, suffocating him.
She only lifted her hoof once Stewball had lost consciousness, having finally decided she was through.
Sunset trotted around Stewball’s bloody, twitching body to where Starlight was lying, helping the horrified unicorn up to her hooves. 
“Are you alright?” Sunset asked. 
Starlight sniffled, and again wiped her eyes, unable to look away from Stewball’s battered body. 
“Yeah…” Starlight quavered.
Sunset smiled, glad to hear it. 
“I traded for this, a friend stole it from the factory,” Sunset said, tossing the mallet over the railing of the catwalk. 
Sunset noticed the look of horror on Starlight’s face. 
“It’s like I said. Sometimes we’ve got to stoop to their level.”
Starlight’s legs were trembling, and she could not bring herself to speak.
“I heard you got the job. Forget about what I said. I’m still in.”
Sunset left Starlight with a pat on the shoulder, before making her way towards the nearest exit. 
Starlight stumbled away from the scene before any more guards came around, her entire body shaking. 
If she was to ever escape here, she had to wonder what she might have to do, whether she would have to resort to such drastic, evil means, just to have justice for herself. Just to have her revenge. If she was to descend into those depths, how could she believe herself to be any better than Twilight, her enemy, her betrayer? 
She dwelled on this dilemma as she curled into her bed that night, drifting asleep to the sound of distressed cries of alarm from the guards discovering Stewball’s tarnished body. 
If there could be peace in Equestria once more, she knew it to be true, that justice must remain unbowed, that this world of evil must be burned away at the seams, and brought into the light again.