The two files Shadow sent to Byte ended up being the same, which made me feel a little better about trying this so-called cure for killing joke. Who would’ve thought a simple bath with a few herbs mixed in just right could cure something as deadly and honestly annoying as killing joke? Now all I had to do was get into the bath and if it worked, I’d have my old body back. Therein lied the problem…I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to get my old body back. I looked over at the mirror in my room that sat in one corner and again reached up with my hoof and ran it over my red mane down over my soft face and was again amazed at the magic that had turned me into this beautiful Pegasus. I’d always loved ponies. I’d been fascinated with them since I was a chick. To a young griffon who was raised in a family who lived off fighting, ponies always seemed like they had such easy lives. They could grow up to be a trader, a shop owner, a guard, or just a lazy bum on the streets of New Pegasus.

When I grew older, I started realizing that I liked them more than I’d thought. It was when I was around twelve that I knew I was different than the rest of my kind. It was then that I started wishing I could be one of them, because if I was, I wouldn’t have to live the life that most griffons did. I could be free to make my own decisions and be with a pony, no more contracts, no more rules, just pure freedom. I’d lived twenty-one years as a griffon and only a few weeks now as a pony. I’d gotten the one thing that I wanted, and now I had to go back to my old body, the one I loved and hated at the same time. The one thing I could say that I learned in the past few weeks about being a pony though, was that their lives weren’t as easy or free as I had thought. Deep down I knew what I was and that if I didn’t do this, I’d die because of this form. I’d been training with Solstice and Stardust to learn how to fight better as a pony and I knew I was getting better, but I’d never be as strong or as good as I was when I was a griffon.

Luckily for me, things have changed since I was a little kid. The Red Talons were gone, the rules of my old talon group were gone. I was now the leader of my own group and with my own rules. To top it off, I’d found my soul mate, she didn’t care that I was a griffon and her a pony, she loved me for me, she saw past my bullshit and found the real me and loved every part of who I was. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t see being a griffon as a curse but as a blessing. Before I decided to step into the bath and change back into what I truly was, I walked over to the nightstand next to my new bed and picked up a small band with one of my black feathers on it. I’d made it a while ago, all griffons did when they came of age. It was meant to be given to the griffon who we decided to make a life bond with. For weeks I’d been thinking more and more about Shadow and I, the life I knew I wanted to have with her and how I knew deep in my soul that she was mine. When this battle with The Steel Rangers was over and I finally told her the truth about what happened with Trip Wire, I was going to ask her to perform the Life Bond with me. I’d told her before that normally it took years for griffons to make such a big decision like this, but nothing about our relationship was normal.

“I was wondering when you were going to finally pull that out,” I heard Fletch say from the door.

Turning, I saw my sister smiling at the black feather. “I think it’s time I finally give this to her.”

Fletch walked in, she was taller than me, which was still strange since I was normally the same hight as her, but hopefully soon that would change. She put a talon on my head and said softly, “As long as your sure she is your true soul mate, then I agree with you.” As she spoke, she ran a talon over the brown feather she had on her left upper foreleg. The one she’d gotten from Gouger before they made their life bond just a couple of weeks ago.

“She’s the one, and I know I may be rushing it, but I feel that it’s time for me to do this,” I said, looking up at Fletch.

“Thank’s, but I’m guessing you didn’t come here to talk to me about Shadow. What’s up? Are the Steel Rangers or the Unchained Talon’s attacking?” I asked.

“No, not yet at least. I came to ask you something before the battle starts, if there is one that is,” she said, looking a little scared.

“Get into the tub first, from what the directions said about that cure, it will take a little bit to take effect and we can’t waste more time waiting for you to go back to your real body,” Fletch said with a smirk.

Rolling my eyes, I turned and only hesitated for a moment before I stepped into the tub that was on the other side of my room. Almost right away I started feeling small tingles running up my body, I dunked my head under the water for a moment then let myself float on the surface looking over at Fletch, “Okay, I’m in the tub, the cure is starting, at least I think it is, now what’s wrong?”

Fletch was normally a lot like me, when she was around others, she put on a bitchy attitude and acted like nothing bothered her, but when she was alone with me or one of our sisters she was more on the shy side. It took her a moment to look me in the eyes and say quietly, “I’m going to lay my first egg soon, and I want you to be my chick’s Godmother.”

I almost jumped out of the tub as I said, “You’re going to have a CHICK!? I’m so happy to hear that sis, how long have you known?”

She shrugged. “Syn just finished the tests and told me I’ll most likely lay it with in the next two weeks.”

“When Gouger gets back, he’ll be so excited, I think it’s time we pulled him from his spy mission anyway,” I said as I floated in the tingly water.

She blushed a little and smiled. “I can’t wait to tell him. He’s always wanted to be a father, but what I wanted to know is if you’ll take on the responsibility of raising my child if something ever happens to Gouger or me.”

This wasn’t abnormal for Griffons, we lived dangerous lives, but I wasn’t sure why she was asking me. Out of all my sisters I was most likely to die in a fight than any of them. With Shadow’s lifestyle, it would take a lot of luck for me to make it to my thirties, let alone old enough to fully raise a chick. So, I looked at her again and asked, “Are you sure you want me to take on the role? You know the kind of life I live.”

“I trust you more than almost anyone else Aura. I’m going to ask Vi and Syn to be in place in case something happens to you too, but you’re my first choice,” she said.

“Are you going to feel the same once I make my life bond with a pony?” I asked.

She nodded, “I’ve gotten to know Shadow a little over the past months and if you feel that she is your soul mate and you two form the life bond, then to me she’s just another griffon. I know the two of you will raise my child to be strong and good. So will you do it?”

“Good, now let’s get you fixed and back to leading The Shadow Talons as a proper griffon,” she said before I nodded and dunked my head back into the water, feeling something inside me starting to warm up. Deep down, I could tell that the cure was working, killing joke could be beat…

Violet and I appeared next to the gate that led into Freedom from The Strip but before we went through, I decided to check my ammo for Dream Walker and the plasma rifle. I’d been fighting a lot and honestly, I hadn’t restocked on ammo in a long time. Normally Stardust or Aura bought the ammo we needed, but at the moment I didn’t have them with me, and well, I hadn’t spent my own caps in a while. I saw that I was very low on all my ammo and going into a fight like this wasn’t going to be a good thing.

Looking over at Violet I asked, “Where…can I get more ammo for my weapons? I honestly haven’t done any trading since I’ve come to The Strip.”

“I’m not quite sure, things have changed since my time and well…before I got my memories back, I’d never come to The Strip before. Alicorns as you know aren’t trusted in most places. Not to mention the restrictions on anything mutated on The Strip.”

As she said this, I looked around and noticed that most of the ponies who were out on the streets were staying as far away from Violet as they could get, “I see what you mean,” so I walked toward an NLR buck who was chatting with a couple of mares next to one of the casinos. “Pardon me, do you know where I can get some energy weapon ammo and larger caliber ammo?”

The Buck looked over at me with a look of annoyance on his face until he saw my duster. “Holy shit, you’re The Courier!”

“That’s me, and I don’t have a lot of time. I’m not sure if you’ve realized this or not, but Freedom and the Strip are about to fall under attack and I’m running low on .50 caliber ammo and magical energy cells,” I said.

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, she’s the leader of Frosty Summit, now stop staring like an idiot and buck up solider! I need ammo!”

He stood up straighter and said, “Sorry ma’am! There are a few places in The Strip you can get what you need, but if I were you I’d head to our embassy deeper in The Strip and buy them from our stock. I’m sure The NLR would be happy to sell you what you need for a discount.”

“Sorry,” he said, “Shadow, you’ve done more for us than you know, because of you the Queens and the NLR have been on better terms. You put a stop to The Bramble which was becoming a problem for us. You got a bit of revenge for us against The Steel Rangers after they took out one of our camps a couple weeks ago. You’ve also brought back hope to this area, making our jobs a lot easier. Morale has increased everywhere in the NLR, we actually feel like we can hope for a better future again.”

I really wanted to tell him how wrong he was and how much I really didn’t care about the NLR, but…he did say discount, and even if I did have more caps than I’d realized, ammo for my guns wasn’t cheap. I’d found by looking at my Pip-Buck that I had about 5000 caps, but that could go away fast. So, I just nodded and said, “Thank you, I’ll run to the base quick before I head to Freedom. Also, if I were you, I’d get as many of your friends as you can and head there too. The more help we can get to stop The Steel Rangers and The Unchained Talons, the better.”

The both of us teleported to the other side of The Strip, finding ourselves right outside the small base at the back of The Strip. I shouldn’t say base, it’s really an embassy, but meh. I’d only been here once, but there hadn’t been many ponies inside. The NLR seemed to mostly use this location as a place for the commanders to work, some soldiers were always around the embassy on guard, but now there were loads of them moving back and further between the few buildings that were in the small compound. Others heading toward the rail system they used to connect The Jet Blue Skyport and The Strip. I walked into the front gate and was stopped by a guard almost immediately.

“Hold up ma’am, the embassy is locked down to ponies who aren’t New Lunar Republic citizens,” he looked over at Violet, “Alicorns aren’t allowed in either. I’m sure you understand why.”

“I really don’t have time for this, I’m Shadow Star The Courier. I was told I could come by and buy some ammo from you at a discount. I want to see what I can do to get The Steel Rangers to back down and in case I run into trouble I really need more ammo. Also, Violet is with me and she’s a friend. Now back down and let me in to see your Commander before I make you. I blew up a whole town once, it was all over the news,” I said glaring at the guard.

“No need for that Ms. Star. Despite the lack of motivation from some of our soldiers, we do enjoy not being vaporized.” I heard a stallion say, looking over I saw a pony I hadn’t seen in a while.

He smiled at me then looked over at the guard. “The Courier is always welcome.”

“Oh, and her guests too. Assuming they’re also not going to vaporize us,” Major Mud said.

Violet snorted out a laugh, “Of course not! I only vaporize ponies on Tuesdays. T.G.I.F. am I right?”

“Uh, very well then, I guess. Anyway, sorry about that Shadow. It’s good to see you again, I’m glad to see that the rumors about your death were exaggerated. Mr. New Pegasus just started reporting that you were alive yesterday, but we weren’t too sure if it was true or not. So, I overheard that you need ammunition? What kind are you looking for, I can see if our quartermaster has what you need in stock,” he said, then looked over at Violet, “You must be Violet, I’ve heard good things about you, please come in.”

Violet smiled and bowed her head slightly, “It’s nice to see that some ponies in the wasteland still have proper manners.”

We followed him past the gates as I said, “I need .50 caliber rounds for my Luna Edition Dessert Eagle, armor piercing would be best. I also need higher output magical energy cells for my plasma rifle. I’m running low on both.”

“I see, well the energy cells should be no problem, we have quite a stockpile of them. We don’t use those kinds of weapons often so the ammunition for them is always available, as for .50 caliber, I’m not sure how much of that we have. It’s a hard ammunition to find in the wasteland, though we don’t use those often, we also don’t find them often either. Anything else you need?” he asked as we went toward a small building that had ‘Armory’ over the door.

I looked through my Pip-Buck, I had a couple other weapons I really didn’t use much but had plenty of ammo for. Then I saw the combat shotgun I’d gotten in Hoofington. I’d forgotten about it ever since Aura found me on the Bitter Cob. It wasn’t too surprising; Dream Walker and Mom’s Plasma Rifle were powerful weapons and Misery topped them all. Though that shotgun was a powerful weapon, and it could be useful. So, I looked at him, saying, “Got any 10 Gage shells?”

He laughed. “I’m sure we have plenty of those,” he led us into the armory and over to a young buck working a small counter, “Sargent, I need to know what we have in stock for magical energy cells, high powered if possible, .50 caliber normal and armor pricing, and 10 gage shells.”

The Sargent looked over a list then said, “Major Mud, we have about 250 rounds of AP .50 caliber, 150 normal. 500 magical energy high powered cells and 800 10 gage.”

“Um…if we were to sell them to a non NLR Pony then it would run around 12,487 Caps,” he said, “But we might need them if the fighting outside the walls comes into The Strip, we can’t sell them all if any and if we did it would only be half of what I said before and they would run you 10,430 caps.”

“You have to be joking, I know the ammo I need isn’t cheap but that’s robbery!” I said.

“Now now Shadow, we can sell you all of them and at a discount,” Major Mud said, “Let’s say…20% discount. That should only be…hmmm let me think.”

“Not that much,” I grumbled, then sighed, “How much can I get for 5129 caps?”

“Shadow is The Courier, and she has helped us in the past. She’ll need it more than we do,” Major Mud said in a stern voice before looking back at me, “I wish I could lower the price more Shadow, but we do need to make a little off the ammunition if we want to be able to resupply from traders and the like.”

“It’s no problem, I will pay 7000 caps myself and shadow can cover the rest,” Violet said.

I looked back at her, “You have Caps?” Then I looked over her nude body, “Where are you keeping them? Wait I don’t don’t think I wanna know.”

She rolled her eyes and used her magic to pull a few bags of Caps out of what looked like nowhere. “I have my own ways of keeping things safe from others. Maybe one day I can teach you the spell, and of course I have caps, even us Alicorns need them sometimes, running Frosty Summit isn’t free.”

She put the caps down and I grabbed the rest putting down 2989 caps on the table, “Here, will this work?”

I looked over to the Major, asking, “Why are so many of your ponies here at the embassy and not out in Freedom helping the ponies?”

He sighed. “The Steel Rangers and NLR don’t see eye to eye and as much as it pains us to admit it, we don’t have the power to take them on. Our higher ups want us to try and make peace with them and fighting them right now won’t help with that. From what we’ve been told, Elder Sapphire is power hungry and doesn’t like The New Lunar Republic.”

“If I get my way, Sapphire won’t be in charge of The Steel Rangers from Hidden Sands for much longer. I still think you should at least help protect the ponies in Freedom though. It’s part of your job, you want ponies here to join up to become part of your Republic, but if you abandon them when they need you most, you’ll be chased out of here faster than you can blink. Your higher ups might want to stay out of this fight, but I say fuck ‘em. Stand up for something and maybe, just maybe if things work out with The Steel Rangers and me, you’ll be able to start talks with whoever takes over as the new Elder.”

He took a moment to think, then finally said, “You’re right, I’ll have a talk with the rest of Command and see if we can at least offer aid to the ponies in Freedom.”

“Thank you Major,” I said, right as the Sargent came back with loads of ammunition boxes.

I used my magic to sweep them all into my bags and nodded to him before giving one last look at The Major. Then I left the armory followed by Violet. I took-in a deep breath as the light started to fade in the cloudy skies and hoped that Byte was able to get my message to Hazel.

Cookie Byte…

I was shaking as I stood at the north entrance of Freedom looking at the twenty or so Steel Rangers and one mare in a red robe. She was the only one in the group who didn’t look ready to shoot me for my Mark II. I was starting to understand why Shadow got so worked up all the time about hers. It wasn’t fun when everypony wanted your Pip-Buck. At least I had Vi with me and six other griffons from The Shadow Talons. I like Vi, she’s tough, but kind. Honestly, I liked all of The Shadow Talons. Over the past few weeks, I’d gotten to know most of them as I helped set up their terminals and fix up some of the stuff in the old F&F Tools headquarters The Shadow Talons were now using for their base. None of them treated me bad. They all kinda looked at me like one of them, which was kinda cool.

Hazel walked closer to me, giving me a kind smile. “So, you are the filly who has had my Elder running all over the wasteland. I say it’s kind of impressive that you’ve been able to stay under her radar for so long.”

A Mr. Gutsy was floating next to her. “Ah yes Ms. Hazel, this filly must be quite a smart pony to escape the clutches of The Steel Rangers for so long now.”

“Quiet down Watts, we’re here to talk to this filly because she requested it. We will not harm her while under parlay,” she said before looking back at me, “So Cookie Byte I think I was told that’s what your name is, you said Shadow wanted you to meet with me. Why would you risk your Pip-Buck Mark II like this?”

“She said that you wouldn’t harm a filly, that it goes against your creed or something like that. She told me that you needed to hear a couple of messages she sent me regarding your Elder,” I said with a shaky voice.

“We came here to talk and that’s it, Hazel, if any of your rangers attack, we will kill all of them. Your twenty rangers can’t take on all of The Shadow Talons,” Vi said.

“Vi, you should know by now that I wouldn’t break my word,” she said, then looked back at me, “You’re right Cookie Byte, The Rangers do not hurt fillies or colts. Though we still would want to find some way of convincing you to give us that Mark II.”

“I can’t do that, Shadow said it’s important for stopping something bigger than The Steel Rangers, honestly, we need the Mark II you have more than your Elder needs it, but we aren’t here to talk about the Mark II’s. You need to know the truth about Sapphire,” I said, my voice still shaky, but getting steadier.

“Well let’s hear this message then maybe we can put an end to these rumors,” she said, “Shall we go to a private spot?”

“No,” I said, starting to activate the two transmissions I’d gotten from Shadow, “All of your rangers need to hear this.”

I started to play the first message; it was a conversation Shadow had with Elder Sapphire earlier. As it went on, I could see a shocked look coming over Hazel’s face followed by anger as she heard her Elder threaten to kill me just for my Pip-Buck. When it ended, I started the next one. This one was different, it was a message for Hazel from Shadow, something she must’ve recorded when she was up in Stratus.

“Hazel,” Shadow’s voice came out of my Pip-Buck, “I know lately The Steel Rangers and I have had our differences, I’m sorry that things came down to this. As you know, from when we last spoke, I’m the same filly who you used to watch over when my mom was on missions for The Steel Rangers. I remember you always having a kind heart, just like Elder Apple Jam did. From what I can tell you haven’t changed much over the years, you’re still a gifted unicorn and kind. I know that The Steel Rangers aren’t all bad, but they aren’t all good either. The same goes for me, I’ve done bad things in the past and probably will again in the future, it comes with what I do.” She paused for a moment, taking-in a deep breath. “Hazel, Sapphire has no idea what those Mark II’s can do, they locked down a program a long time ago that powerful ponies will do anything to get their hooves on. If The Steel Rangers keep doing what they’re doing and do get their hooves on all three Mark II’s, I can guarantee that your entire branch will be wiped out either by Elder Wolfsbane, or a creature called Aquila. I know The Steel Rangers are powerful, but your branch hasn’t had time to build up your strength again after so long hiding away from the world. You can’t stand up to Wolfsbane, The Enclave, or Aquila and one, if not all of them will come after the Mark II’s. I’ve wanted to explain this to Sapphire, but she has some kind of vendetta against me. I can understand a bit of it, I did do a lot of things that I’m sure most of The Steel Rangers see as evil. I made bad mistakes in The Twin Cities and more, but I’m trying to make up for those mistakes. I can stop the project that those Pip-Buck’s locked down and probably even keep them away from the ponies who want them.” She paused again letting her next words come out slowly, “The Steel Rangers used to protect Equestria, I know this because Elder Apple Jam used to tell me stories about them from before the war. I also learned the creed you all live by. I’ve told you before that Sapphire killed Apple Slice who I thought was a good mare. I’ve learned that she was really working with Wolfsbane and had a hoof in killing her own father. So, I don’t blame Sapphire or Noodle Cup, whoever killed Apple Slice, for doing what they thought was right. What I can’t stand for though is the way The Steel Rangers have acted since Sapphire took over. I used to respect her until I heard she was hunting down a filly to get her Pip-Buck, something I know the Steel Ranges don’t stand up for. Something’s wrong with Sapphire, I don’t know what it is, but she isn’t fit to be Elder. I’m asking that you all take her actions into account and realize that what you are all doing goes against what The Rangers are supposed to be. I hope you will replace Sapphire and get her help. She can hate me all she wants for the rest of her life, but she used to be a friend and I’d like to see her go back to the mare who took a risk to save a young mare’s life like she did with me back in Cartwheel. If what I have to say isn’t enough or if you all agree with what Sapphire is doing then fine, but I warn you Hazel and the rest, if you hurt my family, I’ll use Solar Flare on all of you and your base. I don’t want to hurt any of The Steel Rangers if I don’t have to, but I will do anything to protect my friends, my allies, and my family. Before you start saying I’m using a threat to get you to listen to me, I’m not, it’s just a promise of what will happen if you hurt one of mine.”

With that the recording ended and I looked back up into Hazel’s face. She looked pale as she said slowly, “She…she really means it doesn’t she?”

Vi was the one who answered, I was too shocked by the message to say anything. “I know Shadow quite well, if she says that Sapphire is losing her mind, then I believe the same goes for the weapons. Shadow isn’t one to try and kill so many ponies, but as we all know, when the ones she loves are hurt, she will go all out.”

“She used to be such a sweet foal, it’s hard to believe she’s gotten so hard over the years,” Hazel said.

Turning, I saw Milkshake walking out with her husband Balefire. The Stable 28 ponies had started staying with The Shadow Talons after the stable was destroyed, same for the rest of Cartwheel. Hazel looked over at Milkshake asking, “Who are you?”

“Former Overmare of Stable 28, I’m Milkshake,” she said, standing tall and proud, “From what I heard, I can tell you that at least part of what Shadow said was true. Aquila was the one who attacked and destroyed our home, she was the one who killed most of my stable all by herself. I’ve also known Shadow for ten years and I think you should listen to her. She may not always be an honest pony, but I can tell when she’s lying, and she wasn’t lying in that massage.”

One of the taller Steel Rangers came over to Hazel, saying quietly, “Ma’am, I think they’re right, we all know that Sapphire hasn’t been herself since Apple Slice died. She’s been even worse since Noodle Cup died.”

Hazel sighed, then said, “I agree, but the problem is we don’t have any more Star Paladins to take over as Elder. Also, I’m not sure how many Hidden Sands Steel Rangers would back another Elder.”

To my surprise, every single one of the rangers stomped their steel covered hooves and one said, “We will stand with you Hazel.”

Watts answered, “Ms. Hazel, a Star Paladin isn’t the only one who can take over as Elder!”

“The Robot is right,” Yet another mare’s voice said from the gate, this time I knew it right away, it was Vervain.

Ever single Ranger went dead quiet as Vervain stepped out of the gate in her set of Steel Ranger armor, minus the helmet. I heard the ranger next to Hazel whisper, “Sentinel Box Tape’s Daughter.”

Hazel said, “Vervain, you don’t have a place in this conversation, you’re no longer a Steel Ranger.”

Vervain smiled. “Technically I am still a Paladin. I never left the Hidden Sands Rangers. I was just thought to be dead as you know, but I will say that even if I could come back I wouldn’t. I’m not here as a Steel Ranger but as a pony who knows the rules of The Steel Rangers better than most. A Senior Scribe or a Star Paladin can take over as Elder. If none are in the ranks anymore, then a vote can be held to replace an Elder by the rest. Hazel, you are the only Senior Scribe in Hidden Sands if I remember right. You can take over as Elder, especially if you have the backing of most of the Steel Rangers of your branch, or you can reinstate Sandstrom who is here with The Shadow Talons, and he can also become an Elder. Either way, I think it’s time that Sapphire was removed as the current Elder of The Steel Rangers.

Hazel looked around, looking a little scared as she saw her rangers starting to stomp their hooves in approval. After a moment she sighed and said, “I think I agree,” then she turned toward the southeast, “Elder Sapphire will be here soon, I think it’s time we tell her that she is no longer fit to be Elder.”

The griffon smiled down at me. “Great Idea, now we just need to take care of The Unchained and maybe, just maybe, we can keep Freedom safe.”

I was just trotting into Freedom when I saw Vi, Byte, Milkshake, and Balefire coming down the road followed by a few griffons and Vervain and Hazel. I was a little shocked to see them all together like that. I trotted toward them right as Vi was saying to her griffons, “Get back to patrol, make sure the Unchained don’t set a talon into Freedom. If we’re lucky, they’ll leave if their contract with The Steel Rangers is canceled.”

The rest of the griffons flew away, so I walked over to the odd group. “Well, I didn’t think I’d see all of you in one place like this,” then I looked over to Milkshake and Balefire and hugged them tight, “I’m so glad you’re alive and I’m sorry about what happened to Stable 28.”

They both hugged me back as Balefire said, “It was terrible, but the ones who survived are doing well for the most part.”

Milkshake didn’t let me go for a moment as she said quietly, “I’m just happy that you’re back to your old self. Bale and I are the only ones who know that Aquila was in your body.”

She pulled away, then and I sighed, saying, “I sorry that happened while she was using my body.”

“Hey, we understand that it wasn’t you Shadow,” Balefire said, giving me a smile.

They then looked over at Violet looking curiously at her. I smiled, “This is Violet, she’s an Alicorn. She runs Frosty Summit and is a friend of mine.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said before looking at Hazel, “I take it that The Steel Rangers are going to back down?”

Hazel blushed, “The ones with me are, I have Watts sending the message we got from Byte here to the rest of the Rangers who’re traveling with Sapphire right now. They’ll be here soon, I also put out word that I’m taking over if the rest of the Rangers support me.”

“Wouldn’t be my first choice for a job, but I’m the only pony who can for now. I hope this will work out though, my main goal is to get Sapphire some help and maybe try and fix things with the ponies of New Pegasus. I do agree with Sapphire that we can’t hide anymore in our bunker, but at the same time, we can’t take over the area like we once did either. I sent word to Archer that we will be breaking out of the contract with them once we get this mess with Sapphire settled,” Hazel said, looking up at the Griffons who were now starting to head toward the ground outside of freedom.

“I really wish I could kill Archer right now, but he’s not my biggest concern,” I said.

“He shouldn’t be either, The Unchained Talons are our problem to deal with Shadow. You have enough to deal with,” Vi said.

“Works for me,” I replied, giving Aura’s older sister a smile, “So, where’s Aura?”

“Oh, she’s finishing up taking the cure,” Vi said with an even bigger smile.

“I’m not sure, I haven’t visited with her since I had to help keep an eye on Byte, but you should let her be for now. Fletch is with her and she has something important to talk to Aura about,” she said.

Vi smiled again. “Fletch is going to have her first egg. She’s asking Aura to be the chick’s Godparent. It’s a tradition for griffons to have a guardian for Their young in case something happens with the parents. Out of all of us, Fletch and Gouger have the most dangerous jobs. She wants to make sure her child will grow up healthy and strong, Aura is the perfect choice for that.”

Vervain asked, “Isn’t that a big responsibility for Aura to take on? She does tend to leave the Talon company in your talons a lot because she’s normally with Shadow. Raising a child is a big responsibility and if she takes on the role as guardian, won’t she have to be around this child a lot, so it gets to know her in case something happens to your sister or her bonded? I know I gave up everything in my life to watch over Shadow when Grim left her in the stable.”

Vi looked a little sheepish as she said, “Well, Aura will need to start taking on her role as the leader of our group more now that’s she’s back. It’s her responsibility as the head of The Shadow Talons to lead us and yes to be around the youth of our company to be an example for them. Just like my mother was.”

“But…what about me? What if I need to go somewhere away from New Pegasus? Aura’s always been there with me when she can,” I asked.

Vi sighed. “Shadow, you know I like you and I have a lot of trust in you. I also know that you make my sister happy, but right now, you’re just a pony, you aren’t part of our family or The Shadow Talons. Aura has to start growing up and taking on her role. There will be times when she might be able to go out with you and help with your mission, but she has to be our leader. She also needs to be here for Fletch’s chick if something happens. It’s part of being a griffon.”

I felt anger starting to pulse inside me as I asked, “So because I’m not a griffon it doesn’t matter what I say? Aura’s a griffon and I’m just her plaything to the rest of you?”

“No that’s not what I’m saying Shadow,” she said, “I mean that until Aura asked you to make the Life Bond with her, you’re an outsider and can’t have a say in what happens with The Shadow Talons. That could take years to happen. We griffons don’t jump into a life bond quickly and truthfully Aura has only known you for few months. You need to do what’s best for her and her talons, I’m not saying you two need to break up or anything like that. I know Aura loves you and you her, but you need to let her do her job even if that means you go out on your own to complete your mission,” Vi said.

“That’s kinda dumb,” Byte said, “Is that more bullshit from your old Red Talon day’s Vi?”

She shook her head. “That’s a rule all Talon companies live by. We aren’t ponies; we have different traditions than you.”

“You know what, it’s fine,” I said “Aura and I will talk about it when I see her. Right now, I wanna make sure Freedom will be safe. Hazel, can you try and see what you can do to get Sapphire removed as Elder, then see about getting The Unchained to leave?”

She nodded. “The Rangers and I will head to both gates and head Sapphire off.”

“Thanks,” I said, then looked at Violet, “Can you go with them and make sure nopony tries to kill each other?”

“I can do that as long as Hazel doesn’t mind an Alicorn being around her,” Violet said.

“I don’t mind, but I think it would be best if you stay hidden just in case the others react bad to you,” Hazel said.

“That’s no problem,” Violet said, casting her spell that made her go invisible.

“Huh, that’s a neat trick. Okay, I’ll head off. I’ll get word to The Shadow Talons when this is over,” Hazel said, giving me a smile before walking back toward the gates.

“We plan for when shit hits the fan,” I said, turning to follow Vi back to the Shadow Talons base, the rest following me.

“Everything always does, also why are you here Auntie Vervain, I thought you were staying in The Ministry with Uncle Ori,” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, you should know by now that Oricalcos is stubborn, as soon as he could get around well enough, he demanded to leave and come back here, so Stormy and I came as well.”

“Well, she’s helping Dr. Gauze get back to the base, but she’ll be back soon I’m sure. Oricalcos on the other hoof should be napping in his room but knowing him…” Vervain started to say as we walked into the front of The Shadow Talons building, but we could see that my uncle was in fact not napping, he was trying to order The Shadow Talons around.

“We need to get more griffons into the skies, show the Unchained Talon’s whose airspace this is,” he was saying, then he looked at another young griffon who was trying to stand up straight, “You! Yes, you with the skinny beak! Hold your weapons like you’re a real griffon, not like a child with a toy! That’s better, you’re a griffon, act like one! Now who’s the sorry excuse for a griffon who’s supposed to be in charge of this unit!”

A female griffon lifted a talon, saying quietly, “Um…Captain Arys Greenhaven.”

“Where is Captain Greenhaven? You all should have been in the air ten minutes ago! The Steel Rangers and The Unchained could attack at any moment!” Oricalcos yelled.

Vi shook her head as a couple of the unit looked over at her pleading for help before she said, “Oricalcos, you can stand down. We got things figured out for now with The Steel Rangers and from the look of it The Unchained are backing off.”

My uncle looked over at her ready to argue before seeing me. Ignoring Vi completely he slowly made his way over, saying, “Star, it’s good that you’re back, I hope you’re doing okay.”

“I’m fine, but you look ready to fall over, why aren’t you resting?” I asked, watching as the young griffons took the distraction to scatter like radroaches.

Oricalcos chuckled. “Still trying to get used to real legs again but I’m fine.”

Vervain however, poked his chest with a hoof. “Oricalcos, I told you to get more rest. Yes, you’re doing better, but you still need to get your strength back. Have you eaten yet?”

“Um…I was going to, but I kind of forgot…” he started to say, but Vervain wasn’t having it.

“You…forgot!? How do you forget about food? You’re not a walking shadow anymore Oricalcos! You get back to bed and eat something then take a two-hour nap. If you don’t, you’ll regret it I swear to the Goddesses!” Vervain said, turning my skinny uncle around and pushing him toward the hall.

I guess no matter what, Vervain still has the instincts of a mother. I’m glad I never got sick in the past, it was bad enough when I got into fights. As Uncle Ori was pushed away, he chuckled then looked back at me, “I guess I’m off to rest Star, come see me in two hours!”

“Well, that was interesting…I’m going to go check on Aura,” I said to the others.

“We’ll let you know if anything happens while you’re gone,” Milkshake said.

I gave her and Bale a hug then headed down toward Aura’s room. As I walked down the hall then up the stairs to the second floor, I saw Fletch coming toward me. She paused at the top of the stairs and smiled at me. “Hey Shadow, it’s good to see you, you on your way up to see my sister?”

I nodded. “I think we need to talk before anything else happens. Is she…you know, back to normal?”

“The cure worked, she’s back to being the Aura we all love and hate,” Fletch said with a chuckle.

“I heard the good news, congratulations,” I said, doing my best to hide the pain I felt at what this might mean for my future with Aura.

“Maybe after I talk with Aura if that’s okay,” I said, then noticed something different about Fletch, she had a band around her left foreleg with a single brown feather on it, “What’s that?”

She looked at it and laughed. “Hasn’t Aura explained how our life bonds work?”

She smiled again then nodded her head to a door down the hall. “Come with me Shadow, I think I should explain how things work with us griffons.”

“She’s not going anywhere, come on, you need to understand this part of our culture, it’s very important,” she said, wrapping a wing around me and guiding me toward her room. I just sighed and followed her, she was right, I did need to understand more about how the Griffon world worked.

I winced as my power armor once again injected more chem’s into my flanks and my neck, shooting a little more strength into my body. If it wasn’t for my armor, I wouldn’t be able to stand easily anymore. If the rest of my Rangers knew how sick I was, they would’ve taken my role as Elder away from me sooner. Even now deep down I knew what Hazel was doing was the right move, but logic was harder for me to find the longer this illness was part of me.

Noodle was the only pony who knew I was suffering; it was her idea for me to keep most of my power armor on so the auto injector system could keep the debilitating pain at bay. She did her best to help me bring the Rangers back to the glory they had when my grandfather was the elder. She was a good pony, the only pony I truly loved, until she sacrificed herself to keep me safe. I knew it was all because of Shadow Star, she had something to do with my illness she had to be. I was fine until a few weeks after she came into my life. Now I couldn’t even think straight, I barely ate, and I couldn’t control my anger anymore. I knew deep down that I was dying, but if I was going down, I was going to take Shadow with me. At least that was my plan, I was so close, but now Hazel had turned my Rangers against me.

“Sapphire, are you listening to me?” Hazel said, pulling me away from my inner thoughts.

Looking back at her, I said quietly, “Oh I heard you. I broke our creed, I’m not fit to be elder. Yes, I know. Let me guess, you’re taking over as the new Elder?”

She nodded. “I’m going to need you to remove your armor and remove the Mark II from your foreleg. You’re being taken off duty so we can have the scribes try and help you. I’m not doing this out of malice, I’m doing this because all of us know something is wrong with you, and we want to help you.”

I felt a bubbling laughter coming up my throat and I released it, laughing loudly as I said, “Help me!? There’s no help for me Hazel…sorry ELDER Hazel. You can have your armor back, but if you want the Mark II, you’ll have to pry it off my cold dead hoof.”

I used the armor to give myself another injection of med-x, healing potion, buck, and a bit of rage. I nearly moaned as it entered my system then I opened my armor and unsteadily stepped out of it. I took a couple of frag grenades from the side of the armor, connecting them to my jumpsuit. Then started working my way toward the gates of freedom. The Steel Rangers watched me, even Hazel didn’t try to step in my way, but she did say, “Sapphire, let us help you.”

I ignored her as I slowly walked to the gate. As I did, I noticed a unicorn that looked a lot like shadow, only with orange eyes, walking toward The Steel Rangers from the east. She looked at me then back at Hazel saying, “What’s going on, is the road into Freedom still blocked?”

Hazel looked over at her, saying, “Sorry ma’am, we are pulling back our forces and heading back to our bunker.”

The mare looked at me, then asked, “What’s wrong with her? She looks ill.”

I started to laugh hysterically. “Yes, I’m very ill. So, you better STAY AWAY…” Then as I looked at her, I growled, saying, “Shadow Star…why do you look older?” I shook my head. “No…you’re not her. Stay away from me Courier look alike.”

The mare’s eyes went a little wide as Hazel said, “That’s our former Elder, I think she’s sick. She’s not listening to us, but all we want to do is help her,” Hazel looked at one of the Rangers. “Knock her out and we’ll get her back to base.”

The mare looked at Hazel. “She’s very ill, none of you should go near her, she might be contagious. Let her go, I’ll see what I can do. If this is what I think it is, it’s deadly. I don’t even know how she’s able to walk still.”

Hearing that I turned and pushed my way through the gate. I wanted nothing to do with anypony who was a friend of The Courier. I could feel my heart racing as the drugs flew through my body, my head was pounding, my chest tight. I was dying, I knew that, soon I’d be back with Noodle, but first I was going to make sure Shadow Star saw what she’d done to me. I want to take her with me and if I couldn’t do that, I wanted her to see me die, knowing it was all her fault.

I felt amazing after the cure finally changed my body back into my former self. Now that I had my talons back, my wings were large, and my beak was back, I felt more like myself. Shadow was right, this was who I was always meant to be. I’d heard from one of my griffons that she was back in Freedom, and I was hoping she’d come see me soon, but I heard that Fletch had whisked her away to have a talk in Fetch’s room. So, while I waited, I had Arys come to my room to go over the reports from what was happening in Freedom.

“I don’t know how she did it,” Arys said, “But between Shadow, Vi and Byte, the Steel Rangers stood down and they’re leaving Freedom. The Unchained also seem to be heading back toward Crimson Canyon.”

I smiled. “That’s Shadow for you, always finding way around things. At least this time her plans kept us from having to fight. So, is our plan for Crimson Canyon still going well?”

She checked a report, then said, “From the intel we’ve gotten from Gouger and Toby, we should be able to strike in the next month or so. The Unchained have a lot of griffons, but most of them don’t have the kind of training we do. Only about fifty or so are former Red Talons and with Gina and Apollo being gone most of the time, there isn’t much discipline at the Canyon. If we take a good number of their better fighters down in one swift attack, we should be able to break the rest of them. If Gina and Apollo don’t have the support of the rest of the griffons, they won’t be able to keep us away from our home.”

“That’s good, I’m glad my sisters and you have been doing so much while I’ve been away,” I said.

She smiled and patted my talon. “Aura you’re my best friend and I understand why you’ve needed to be away. You have someone you love, and you want to be there for her to help her finish her mission and make sure she’s safe. Any griffon who finds their soul mate would do the same. So, how much longer are you going to keep that mare waiting? Even I can tell that she’s your soul mate and you should make it official.”

There was a sound near my door, I looked over to the open crack but didn’t’ see anyone, so I turned back to Arys with a sigh, “I need to tell her the truth first. I’ve been lying to her about something important and she needs to hear the truth from me first.”

“Is this about Trip Wire? You told me what happened in Hoofington, but you haven’t told Shadow?” she asked.

I felt my heart flutter as she said that. “I told you most of it, but not everything. I told Shadow when we didn’t know each other well yet that Trip Wire was raped and killed by raiders. Back then she was so new to the wasteland, and I was already starting to like her. I didn’t want her to see me in a bad light, so I lied about Trip.”

For a moment, that memory came back to me. I could see Trip Wire coming out of our tent just down the way from Mega Mart, up on that cliff. I remembered when she came at me with hunger and insanity in her eyes, one leg chewed up, blood on her muzzle. I could still remember her attacking me, trying to bite through my neck, my talons, or whatever she could reach.

I looked back at Arys trying not to let the memories of what I did show, as I said, “I killed Trip Wire, she got the same thing that the Raiders in Hoofington had and tried to kill me. To protect myself I stabbed her with the energy spear she made for me. Then I buried her and left Hoofington right after, leaving nearly everything at the camp.”

“You should’ve said something about this Aura. You had to kill your last marefriend and you’ve been keeping that inside for this long. Why didn’t you tell me everything? I could’ve helped you, even when you were banished. I can understand why you hadn’t told her yet. But she should know, she really should.” She said reaching out to pull me into a hug.

I held onto my friend for a moment before pulling away then pulling out the band that I’ve been meaning to give to Shadow and holding it in my talons. I looked at it for a long moment, then said, “I made this four years ago, and I always looked forward to the day when I could finally give this to the one who holds the other half of my soul.”

She smiled, looking at it, before saying, “I used to hope that one day you’d see me like that.”

I smiled remembering our time back when we were younger. “For a little while I thought that was going to happen, but things changed. Sometimes I still think that I’m not meant to be able to make the life bond with anyone…”I paused as I thought of Shadow, the mare who stole my heart, who meant the world to me, who I’d give my life for. I was about to look back up and finish my statement to Arys, to tell her that Shadow changed that, and she showed me how my life was meant to be hers. A smile pulled at my beak, then something flashed outside my door, and it flew open. I looked over to see a silver tail vanishing down the hallway as my door crumbled into ashes from the magic she’d just used. My eyes went wide, and I yelled, “Shadow! Wait!”

I went to run after her, then something else exploded, only this time it was right outside The Shadow Talon’s base. That was soon followed by screams from ponies outside. I felt my heart tearing apart as I saw Shadow running away, thinking the worst about what she overheard. Not knowing what I was going to say at the end, how I was about to confess my love for her. Something was happening outside, my Talons might be under attack, but I didn’t give a shit. Shadow was the only thing on my mind. I went to follow her when I felt Arys hold me back.

I looked back at her, going into shock as she said, “You need to wait, let me go find her, I’ll explain that she didn’t hear everything. I’m assuming that you wanted to say more, about how much you love her and want to make the bond with her. Right?”

“Go check on your griffons, I’ll get Shadow to understand,” Arys said before running down the hall after the love of my life. I took a deep breath, then reached over to where my energy spear has been sitting for weeks now. I picked it up then headed down the hallway to find out who the hell was attacking my home.

I felt rage, utter rage as I ran down the hall away from Aura’s room. I’d learned about the meaning of the bonds and how a life bond worked. I learned that for griffons the band with a feather that was made when a griffon came of age was given to the griffon who held the other half of their soul. To griffons normally the female would offer their band to a male they feel is their soulmate or in same sex relationships then it didn’t matter. Fletch and I talked for a while, then I decided to go see Aura. I was feeling better after she explained more about how the Godmother role worked and how she didn’t expect Aura to stay around all the time. She wanted Aura and I to be happy, so I went to see my loving griffon. When I got to her room, I saw it was open and she was talking with Arys. I wanted to go in, but then she started talking about Trip Wire. I could’ve just walked in, but I held back, listening in. I heard everything and it was hard to hear that she killed Trip, but I had a feeling that’s what happened after I heard the recording.

I wanted to talk to her about it and get her side about what happened. I just wanted the full story so we could work past it and move on with our lives. Then she said something that broke my heart. I’d always thought she wanted to make the life bond with me, but I was wrong. She couldn’t see herself making the life bond with anyone. I was just another distraction, another mare for her to have fun with. I shouldn’t have been surprised, I gave my heart to her, I gave my love to her. I know I’m not perfect and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I tried my best to be a better pony for her. You can’t trust in love; I should’ve known that by now.

Mom loved me, but she left me in Stable 28, never telling me the truth about who I was or what was inside me. She gave me no warning about Aquila, she didn’t make sure I was prepared for what would happen next. My father said he cared, said he loved me, but he could’ve done more to help find me. He just let mom leave with me. Silver said she loved me then she died, leaving me alone. I put my love into Aura, and she didn’t care like I thought she did. Fuck this, I’m done caring.

I heard a griffon coming after me, so I teleported to The Shadow Talons front lobby area. Right as an explosion went off just outside. It took moment for me to figure out what happened, then I saw a mare just outside the doors glaring at me. It was Sapphire and she looked like hell. I was still pissed at Aura and just fucking finished with everything. I let magic build up on my horn as I walked past the griffons and ponies in the lobby and walked toward Sapphire.

“Shadow Star…you’re going to answer for what you’ve done,” she said before hacking and nearly falling over.

“I’m not in the mood for you right now Sapphire, so go the fuck back to your Steel Rangers before I blast you into DUST!” I said, the magic over my horn glowing brighter as another aura of power overlapped the first. I let her see the rage in my eyes.

She tried to reach for another set of grenades on her side but missed and nearly fell over. Something was definitely wrong with her, but I couldn’t tell what it was. For a moment the anger faded as she slipped and started to groan as if her body was in extreme pain. She started gasping for air and I took a step back before moving forward again, “Sapphire…what’s wrong with you?”

“Y…your fault,” she said, starting to tear up, “Sick…you…got me…sick. You…killed me…you’re…evil. Should have…killed you…at…beginning. Wanted you to…die with…me, but you’ll watch…me…die…know…knowing…it’s your…fault.”

“Shadow step away from her,” I heard Stormy yell as she ran around the gasping Sapphire.

“Stormy? What do you mean? What’s wrong with her?” I asked as she came up next to me.

“I’m not perfectly sure but I think she has an infectious diseases called Kuru, it’s very rare and normally only found in the Zebra lands. It is normally transmitted via Cannibalism, transmitted by another infected pony, or sometimes having long exposure to rotting corpses with the diseases,” she said as Sapphire started to giggle then gasp.

“That would be a possibility. If she has it and has any open wounds, you could end up with it as well and it’s incurable,” she said sadly as Sapphire started to laugh louder.

“I’ll…be with…you soon…Noodle…” Sapphire said before she started gasp louder then her body started to spasms as a seizure hit her. Foam started to come out of her muzzle and gurgling nosies. After a moment she went still, and her eyes were locked on me.

I wasn’t sure what to think as I looked at the first mare who showed me kindness in the wasteland. I had mixed feelings about Sapphire, she’d been a friend, she’d saved my life, she’d helped me start my journey in finding my mom by letting me keep my first memory orb to watch. She’d helped me learn how to fight, she stood up for me when I went to the Rangers. She put her position on the line with Elder Apple Slice, but she’d also tired to kill me and my friends, she hated me in the end. She died an enemy but maybe that hadn’t been her fault, she’d died because of me. I don’t know how she’d gotten this sickness, but I had a feeling it was all my fault.

I was about to go get the Mark II I knew would be unlocked now that she was dead, but Stormy stopped me. “Don’t go near her body! I’ll get the Mark II, sanitize it, then take care of her body.”

“Just get me the Mark II, then I don’t care what you do with her body,” I said coldly.

Stormy looked over at me for a moment then without another word she used her magic to unhook the Mark II, holding it in a barrier like she’d used when we first went to the ministry. There was a flash of light then she hovered it over to me. I took the matte black Pip-Buck and put it into my saddle bags. I took one last look at Sapphire before turning away and heading toward The Strip.

I only stopped for a moment, saying, “Go away Arys, I’m not talking to you.”

“You don’t understand, you didn’t…” she started to say, but I turned on her as she landed not far from Stormy.

“Go the fuck away. If Aura wants to explain herself then she can do it, but I’m tired of her lies. I’m not going to let my heart break more. You go back to Aura and tell her to fuck off,” I yelled as I once again let my overpowering magic flow into my horn.

“She…” Arys started to say but I blasted my magic close to her talons making her jump back.

“Come any closer to me, if you even try and talk to me or explain Aura’s actions, this is what I’ll do to you,” I said coldly before I turned my magic over to Sapphire’s body and blasted it with as much power as I could. It only took a few moments before her body was nothing but ash. Both Stormy and Arys gave me wide eyed looks before I turned back toward The Strip.

‘I can’t let them close to me, I’m too angry, I don’t want to hurt them…’ I thought to myself as I started heading toward the only place I might be able to calm down. I needed to calm down before anypony came near me, I could feel my magic starting to slip my control.

As I started going toward the gate that would bring me back to The Strip, I started to see ponies from Freedom coming out of the alleys and whispers started to make their way toward my ears. “Is that the Courier?” a mare said.

A stallion next to her, saying, “She’s wearing the duster of Equestrian Express, but she’s so young.”

A filly pointed at me as she hid behind a stallion. “Daddy why does she look so scary?”

“I heard she destroyed Appleton and a building in The Twin Cities,” somepony said.

“Stay away from her sweetie, she won’t spare you even if you are a colt,” a mare said to her son.

I looked over toward the mare, my red eyes locking onto hers. “I don’t know who told you I’d hurt foals, but you’re sorely mistaken. I don’t hurt foals.”

“You’re a liar!” a stallion yelled, “My son was in Appleton when you destroyed it you monster!”

“You’re not a savior, you’re a just as bad as The Steel Rangers or the Raiders!” another pony yelled.

I looked around, noticing more and more ponies starting to come down the alleyways and the street almost blocking my way into The Strip. “Who are all you ponies?”

A middle-aged stallion came to the front of the growing mob. “We are the ponies who made it out of Appleton before you destroyed it. It’s time you answered for what you did to our town Shadow Star.”

I glared at him. “What happened to Appleton was an accident, but I’m guessing you won’t take my word for that. How did you all know I was here anyway?”

“Accident you say? How could you be carrying around a weapon like that and not know what it would do?” he asked, “As to how we knew you were here, well we have our ways. A mare who knows just about everything about you told us you’d be here.”

My heart was starting to race, not out of fear but out of pure anger. How many more ponies were going to come after me today? I felt bad for what I did to Appleton, I knew I couldn’t do anything to make up for what I took away from the ponies there, but now they wanted to come here and try and attack me for what I did out of pure desperation? Fuck them. “Fuck all of you! You know what, I don’t care what any of you think. I can’t fix the mistake I made, I can’t bring your friends and family back, but if you want to try and take me on then fine. Go right ahead and try, but I’ll say this, when I kill the rest of you at least I won’t feel guilty this time.”

“Oh Shadow, Courier, they aren’t going to do anything to you. The only reason they haven’t tried going after you before is because they were scared of you, but now they have me to protect them. They have me to get vengeance for them,” I heard Aquila say as she slowly pushed her way to stand next to the stallion.

The flame of rage that has been burning through my body since I left The Shadow Talons went ice cold as I saw Aquila. In a cold anger filled voice, I said, “I don’t know what you think you can do to me Aquila, but as you know the spell between us won’t let either of us hurt each other.”

She walked closer to me and in a quieter voice Aquila said, “Shadow, the spell won’t let us kill each other. Hurting you though, making you wish you were dead, that I can do as long as it’s not fatal. Here, let me SHOW YOU!”

In a moment she blasted a spell right into my chest throwing me back and into the gate. It hurt, but it was nowhere near the power she could’ve put into it. Gasping for air I looked over at Aquila who was smiling at me. The spell didn’t hurt her at all. Slowly getting back to my hooves I pulled on my anger filled power and blasted her with my own spell. At this point, I didn’t care if we both died, as long as I could take that smug look off her face. She teleported out of the way and a moment later the stallion who used to be the mayor of Appleton was in the way of the spell, his body bubbled and burned as he screamed.

In a matter of a few seconds, I’d killed another pony from Appleton. Aquila laughed. “You see ponies of Appleton, she isn’t the savior of New Pegasus. She’s just a rotten child who has too much power.”

“Stay out of this Queen!” I yelled as I pulled Misery out of its sheath and teleported behind Aquila. I slashed down at her, but she ducked out of the way then blasted another spell at me. I used my sword to block the spell, but I was still thrown back, giving her time to pull back and fire another spell at me. This one slammed into my duster and ripped it off my body as I was thrown through the air, nearly losing my hold on Misery.

I breathed hard, feeling pain running down my body as I looked around for Aquila, only to find her just to my left. I tried to swing Misery at her, but she teleported again, then I felt a hoof kick into my other side, again knocking the wind out of me. Trying to breathe through the pain I pulled on my magic and tried to teleport again, but Aquila must’ve been preparing herself for this fight. She smiled, and her horn flashed as she said, “It’s about time everypony saw how pathetic you really are,” then a moment later I was on the other side of the gate to The Strip.

I reached into my saddle bags and drank down a healing potion and I put Misery away and pulled out Dream Walker. That was all the time I had before Aquila was on the same side of the gate as I was, her grin wider than ever. I could feel my wounds starting to heal up a little as I said, “What do you want Aquila? You can’t kill me so why fight me?”

“Oh Shadow, poor, poor Shadow, I don’t want to kill you anymore. I don’t need to. What I really want is to watch you become the most hated pony in the wasteland. You know it’s funny how many ponies really don’t like you. Over the past couple of weeks, more and more stories have been spreading around New Pegasus about how much you really don’t care about the ponies here. How you’re just a filly who just wants attention and how you’re just as crazy as how they all see most Stable Ponies. By the time the day is over, no pony will want you anywhere near New Pegasus. I don’t want to kill Shadow Star, I want to kill The Courier,” she said, laughing as she pulled on her magic.

I started to pull on my own magic at the same time, aiming Dream Walker, “I’m going to destroy you!”

I started to empty Dream Walker, but she brought up a magical barrier. I screamed then holstered Dream Walker and put more and more power into my explosion spell. As I did, I started to modify it, adding more and more destructive power to the spell as I growled out. “I’d like to see you block this…BITCH.”

More and more power came over my horn until it was glowing so bright that I saw Aquila’s smile slip as she said, “How are you this strong?”

I smiled. “Thank your other half for hiding most of my power from you. NOW DIE!” I let the spell explode out of my horn and right into Aquila’s barrier.

I poured more and more power into this one spell, hoping that it would put an end to her, put an end to the pain, the anger, the hate, the betrayals. I may not want to die, but if I died killing her, then all the better. I couldn’t see her through the brightness coming off my spell, but I could feel through my magic that I was doing damage to her barrier. First there was a small crack, then another and another. Aquila was pouring more and more power into her spell, but for once, she wasn’t able to keep up with the power my anger was giving to my magic. I started to scream as I felt the drain on my body, but finally, I felt something give and the world went white.

An instant later I was thrown back by a force of energy. I went flying and rolled a few times before finally coming to a stop. It was like everything in the wasteland had gone silent as it held its breath to watch this battle between creatures of hate and magic. It only lasted a moment as I felt a burning sensation flowing over my body as mom’s spell finally did something and damaged my body to match Aquila’s.

I wanted to scream in pain, but I clenched my teeth and slowly got to my hooves, pulling out another healing potion. I downed it quickly as I looked around for Aquila. That’s when my eyes fell on the damage my anger filled spell had done, not to Aquila, but to the wall that separated The Strip and Freedom. The gate was gone, the wall on each side for a least ten meters was bent and destroyed, but that wasn’t even the worst thing. No, it was the fifty or so mares, stallions, colts, and fillies who were all laying around in a half circle with bloody and crippled bodies. The explosion hadn’t just taken out the wall, it had killed more ponies, most of them the ponies who had come from New Appleton, but others had to be citizens of Freedom. Laying in the middle of the blast zone was Aquila who was just starting to get back to her hooves.

Weakly, she stood and said in a straining voice, but I could tell it was an act. There was no way that would’ve hurt her too bad, “This is the proof that The Courier Shadow Star is noting but a mad mare who shouldn’t be let anywhere near New Pegasus.”

I looked back and saw Major Mud and a load of NLR not far away from where I was standing. Breathing hard, I said, “I was trying to stop her, she’s evil.”

“I’m not the one who just killed more ponies from Appleton, Shadow. I was trying to protect them,” she said, still acting as if she was weak from the fight.

Major Mud looked at me again and the kindness I’d seen in those eyes before were gone. When he spoke, his voice was hard, “I didn’t want to believe the rumors that you were going down a dark path Shadow. But from what I can see, you aren’t a pony to be trusted. You’ve pulled the wool over my eyes one too many times,” he then said to his troops, “Take Shadow Star into custody and if she tries to run, kill her.”

“Major Mud, I’m not bad. Aquila is the pony who set this whole thing up!” I said as I took a step back.

“SHUT UP!” he yelled, “If you want to explain yourself, you can do that from a cell with a magic dampening ring on your horn. You’ve killed too many innocent ponies, the NLR can no longer let you walk free. It’s our job to protect this area from ponies like you.”

I glared at him. “You have no idea what she is, if you let her get away with this, she’ll destroy us all.”

I looked back at Aquila who only smiled at me before backing away, saying, “Major Mud, I’m going to check to see if any other ponies got hurt down the way. If you need my help with her later though, just let me know,”

“You can call me Stargazer or Aquila,” and before I could do anything else she teleported away.

I turned to go after her, but a bullet slammed into the ground next to my hoof. I looked back at Major Mud, who said, “That’s the last warning Shadow.”

I cast a spell, putting a barrier around myself as I said with ice in my voice, “You know what? Fine, fuck you. Fuck the NLR. Fuck The Strip and FUCK New Pegasus. I’ve put my life on the line plenty of times to protect the ponies here from creatures like her,” as I spoke, a few stallions tried to shoot me, but their weapons weren’t powerful enough to make it through my shield, “If you want to take the word of a monster like Aquila, then whatever. I’m done with all of you. I hope this whole city burns,” and with that, I turned and started to walk away, keeping the barrier up.

Major Mud and his soldiers tried to follow, but I turned and shot a blast of magic at them. Most ran from the attack, so I turned again and started heading toward the exit to Freedom. I was done, it’s time to get out of this area. Let Aquila have it for now. I’d put off my mission to stop Falling Shadows so I could protect Freedom. I should’ve just let Sapphire get her way; I really did hope it all burned.

As I made my way out of town heading toward the east entrance, ponies from Freedom who had either saw the fight, or heard about it already started yelling insults at me or throwing rocks. I just kept my barrier up and ignored them. When I made it through the gate, I took a moment to take in a deep breath before looking through my Pip-Buck, “One tower in Baltimare, one in The Badlands, one in The Crystal Empire, the last in The Lucky Horseshoe. Guess I’m going to The Badlands first. I’ll need to get a message to Byte because I’ll need her Pip-Buck to unlock the Tower in Baltimare. Maybe I’ll have her meet me someplace after things settle down here, she’ll be fine with The Shadow Talons for now.”

I looked back and saw him with Vervain and Solstice. I shook my head and said, “I don’t feel like talking about it right now. I’m leaving…I need to get away from here for a while.”

“The Badlands, I have a mission to complete, and if I stay here, I don’t know what I’ll do to Freedom or The Shadow Talons. I’m too angry to even think about being around Aura or her family or the ponies in that fucked up town who don’t seem to care about what I’ve done for them. So, I’m going to The Badlands,” I said getting to my hooves and slowly starting to walk down the road.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave, you should talk with Aura…” Ori started to say but Solstice cut him off.

“Oricalcos, maybe now isn’t a good time. She needs space,” Solstice said, before looking back at me, asking, “Need help?”

At first, I wanted to tell them all to go away, but I knew even through my anger that I did in fact need help. Solstice had become a close friend oddly enough. I trusted Oricalcos, even after my meltdown earlier, and Vervain had always treated me like her own foal. So, I finally let the tears I’d been holding back fall as I said, “I’d love to have you three come with me. I don’t think I should be alone right now.”

Vervain rushed over to me, holding me tight as I let my emotions go. It was at that moment, as I let myself feel like a filly for a few moments that I knew. Grim had been the mother who gave birth to me and who tried to protect me like any mother would, but Vervain was my real mom, she raised me, she loved me, and she would always be there for me. She patted my mane saying, “We’re here for you Sweetie, if you need to go to that desecrated land, we’ll come with you.”

“That’s right,” Oricalcos said, “I’ve been to The Badlands before so I could be a big help, I think. Also, when you’re up to it, I could help you get better control over your magic.”

I wanted to say something, but then Solstice said, “I can’t let my only friend go off into danger by herself.”

The emotions were getting to me, and I was starting to feel a little better when I heard griffons landing near me. Looking up from Vervain’s shoulder I saw Aura and a few of her griffons. She lifted a talon, saying, “Shadow, I need to talk to you. Please give me a moment to explain what you overheard.”

Slowly I pulled my head away from Vervain and looked back at Aura, “Explain what? Explain how you lied to me about what you did to Trip Wire? You know, I could’ve talked that out with you over time,” I pulled out the recordings I found at the camp and threw them at her, “But I heard part of it already when I found your old camp in Hoofington. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I was waiting until things settled down. The lie I could’ve gotten over, maybe even have understood, but you were clear about how you feel. You aren’t sure about us I know it.”

“That’s not true, I love you Shadow,” Aura said, I could see she was holding onto her band.

“If you try to give that to me right now Aura, I’ll destroy it,” I said as I glared at her, doing my best to ignore the pain I felt deep down, “If you really love me then you’ll give me the space I need. Right now, I’m so angry at you and feel so betrayed that I don’t know what I’ll do. So go back to your talon company, go back to doing what griffons do best. Take time to think about how you really feel and then maybe, maybe if I decide to come back to this shithole, then we can talk. For right now, we’re over. Just looking at you right now pisses me off.”

I tried to turn to leave but Aura was a stubborn griffon. “You will take a moment to listen to me, I was going to say more before you ran off like a stupid foal!”

I froze and was about to scream back at her, but Vervain put a hoof on my shoulder then said to Aura, “Give her the space she needs Aura, trust me if you two argue right now, you’ll just make things worse. Don’t worry we’ll look after her.”

Aura was speechless, so I sighed then said one last thing to the Griffon who still held my heart, even now as it’s breaking into more and more pieces, “Stardust is at Frosty Summit with Wind Thrasher, she’s fine now. You should send some griffons up there to let him know what happened. Also keep an eye on the kids. I can’t take them to where I’m going.”

“Where…” she started to say, but I cast a spell that made her voice go quiet.

I started to slowly walk away from New Pegasus, holding onto the spell that kept Aura from saying anything to me. The sky was getting darker, and I embraced the darkness leaving behind the place I had called home for a the past few months, leaving behind my duster that was probably still laying in the dirt near the now destroyed wall, leaving behind the griffon who I thought loved me. I’m Shadow Star, I’m no longer The Courier of New Pegasus. I’m just a mare from The Enclave, the distant granddaughter of monsters. More tears fell from my face as my family and friends followed me east, then southeast, heading toward The Badlands. Aquila got what she wanted in the end, she had indeed killed The Courier. She won this battle, but I’d win the war, and when I destroyed Falling Shadows, I’d find a way to kill her too, even if I went down too. I never looked back, but as my tears fell I whispered, “Goodbye…Aura.”

“Best plan I could’ve ever come up with! Shadow’s finally gone and out of my mane,” I said as I teleported down in the the hall that led to the first tower’s power supply. There were protections to keep unicorns from doing this, but they weren’t powerful enough to keep me out of this hallway, and with my body I could make it down to where I hid my gem. I was going to have to move it to a safer location. There was a small chance Shadow knew where I put it because I had been in her body when I hid it before. She might be out of my mane for now, but I wasn’t going to chance her coming back for it. Also, Minuette was back, I could tell, and I had a feeling she was that Alicorn Violet. She was my biggest problem, even if she had disappeared a few days ago, trying to help Shadow’s remaining friends find out where she’d run off to.

As I went past the barrier and made my way to the lift, I thought about what I’d been able to accomplish over the past week. New Pegasus now saw me as the new hero of this part of the wasteland. Well, all but Mr. New Pegasus, he was still trying to get other ponies to listen to him about how he knew Shadow wasn’t a bad pony, blah, blah, blah. It didn’t matter, the NLR was on my side now. They had no idea I was the mare who attacked their camp last week. The Romans were helping me too, some of them even starting to call me some kind of Goddess. The ponies around New Pegasus were all starting to see me as something more than just a powerful unicorn who showed them the truth about Shadow. I’d taken the time to take out a few raiders, helped a couple of caravans, saved a few foals near Little Hoof, even chased the rest of The Steel Rangers back into their holes in the ground. Who knew that to get ponies to follow you, all you had to do was act like you cared about them. Fools, but useful fools I was finding out. Shadows approach to ponykind was a little useful.

I sighed as I thought about how all my plans were coming together nicely. Smiling happily, I finished going down the lift then walked up to the overlook, gave the passphrase to get by the guns and went over to the broken terminal I’d hidden my gem inside. Reaching a hoof in I felt around for the box it had been inside, then I felt an icy chill run down my spine. I pulled my hoof out and used my magic to rip away the terminal and pulled it apart looking for the gem. It wasn’t here…I checked the other terminals, then around the area and I felt my heart beating harder as I whispered, “She couldn’t have come here and gotten the gem…when did she even have time?”

I screamed and blasted a few terminals before I stormed out of the overlook. “I’ll find out where the hell you put my gem Shadow, I know you didn’t have it on you, or I would’ve felt it. You still haven’t won!”

I brooded in anger as I started to leave the underground power source, and once I was past the pink barrier, I teleported away from Spitfire’s Flight Academy. I wanted to destroy something, but instead I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I’d find the gem, if I was within a couple of kilometers of it, I would feel its magic. I had time, and honestly with Shadow hiding it, it would make her think she’d won a small battle against me. I was about to teleport to meet up with Strife, when I felt a massive amount of power flow over the wasteland. I looked east toward where I’d felt the power originate. “What the hell was that?”

I tried to figure out what just happened that I would feel it all the way on this side of Equestria. At first, I thought maybe Shadow had done something to the tower in Baltimare, but no…it hadn’t come from there, but a little north of there. As I was trying to figure out what had just happened, I felt something warm fall over my back. That was followed soon by light coming down on my face. Squinting up I gasped as I watched the cloud cover slowly starting to pull back and for the first time in two hundred years, the sun started to fall on the wasteland. I started to laugh as I watched the clouds slowly fading away. Somepony had just helped destroy one of Night Stalkers plans to keep the pegasi hidden. As more and more of the sun’s light fell on me, I said, “Oh Thunderlane is going to be pissed.”

[FOOTNOTE: LEVEL UP!]

NEW PERK ADDED!

Demolition Expert: The bigger the boom, the better! Your explosives do 25% more damage and you can craft explosives at any Chemistry Station. This goes for you destructive magic as well. Go Big or Go Home!

Fallout Equestria: Falling Shadows

by Drako Moon

Chapter 72: For Whom the Bell Tolls