//------------------------------// // Homeland Oracle: Chapter 6 // Story: Homeland Oracle // by StoryForge //------------------------------// “Hey, there’s the mare of the hour!” exclaimed an eccentric Pounce Scratch as she fumbled into the room, gripping a ball of yarn between her teeth. “Or really, mare of the day... or no, wait...” I had awoken in a well-lit room in which the walls were an institutional white and the floor tiling was of the same description. Various cabinets held their contents from my sight lined the walls, and a few posters dealing with pony anatomy and physiology were taped to the wall. The left corner of the room contained a metal desk, covered in stacks of files and papers. On top of the desk sat a standard Stableware desktop (I worked at a computer production factory for a little while, so I had basic knowledge of computers). This must have been a medical clinic of some sort... but where was I? I heard a voice from outside the door. "Sssssh! The patient needs her rest!" "Oh, sorry nursie, but I think she's awake!" My whole body ached, and it came to my attention that my leg was, once again, broken. The single action of just moving sent small bursts of pain throughout my strained body. I was still assessing the room and gathering my thoughts when a stone-colored earth pony with a lavender mane trotted into the room, accompanying Pounce. She wore a red nurse's cap with a white medical cross displayed on the front, and a matching crimson coat. Emblazoned on the side of the coat were the two letters "RR". The Red Remnants. ---------- I still sat in the medical clinic with nopony else but Pounce, and my standard mental processes were in full force once more after several minutes of being awake. Pounce had explained to me that after leaping off the train, I didn't land on all fours and must've been knocked unconscious. Pounce and I really were lucky to be alive, especially since the train was going maybe half of the speed it normally was going. Upon jumping off the train, a lot of ponies hadn't even made it. Most had broken their limbs or were now deceased. The ponies that I couldn't rescue were definitely deceased. Oh, Celestia, what have I done...? There were approximately a hundred ponies on that train. And I could only save a couple of them... "So like, where do you come from?" Pounce was currently toying around with her ball of yarn on the floor next to the cot that I rested in. In truth, I envied her. She didn't seem to be thrown off or bothered by went on around her, while I was fretting every little thing, as well as breaking bones and injuring myself more than I really should be. "Oh, sorry," I replied, "I got lost in my thoughts. I'm from a small town called Industead." Pounce stopped fiddling with her ball of yarn to look up at me with a shocked expression. "Wow, really? So am I! What's it like there?" What? How could this mare be from Industea— I have no idea why I hadn't realized this before. This could just be a coincidence, but I highly doubt it. This had to be my best friend from Industead when I was just a little filly. Her name was Melissa, however, she preferred to be called Mel. She was the only pony that I knew that I could call a friend, because no pony else had the time of day for me. It was the same for her as well. We were partners in crime. We were totally inseparable. Until my parents informed me that their family was moving. I didn't even get to say my goodbyes. I remember asking to go over to her house for a play date, but my mother just declined and shook her head. When I asked why, she just replied 'they left'. Her father worked closely with my own. He, too, was a caravan guard. He went missing from the same caravan route that my own father was assigned to. This was partly the reason that the remainder of my family gave up in hoping for his return. I do not recall her dad's name, but he lived alone in Industead while the others in their family moved elsewhere. I turned to face her as she returned to gleefully rolling the ball around on the floor. By the way she acted, she seemed like a totally different pony. She did not possess such an unorthodox personality when we were fillies—she was more of an introvert. "Pounce," I said with a skeptical expression as she contradicted mine with a cheerful one, "What is your real name?" "What are you talking about? This is my real name..." She explained in a sorrowful tone while looking at the floor, letting the ball come to a stop once again. "Pounce, did you ever once go by the name of... Melissa?" A grim silence fell over the room. I knew I had asked the wrong question when the silence was broken by the faint sound of sniffling from the little green pony. A small bead of water ran down her cheek from beneath her mane, which now concealed her eyes. "I... I don't go... by that name anymore..." Her sniffling turned into sobbing. "How did... you know about that...?" "Mel, it's me. Rain from Industead. We knew each other when we were little." Her sobbing turned into full-blown bawling when she lifted herself up off the floor, wrapped her forelegs around me, and buried her face in my chest. She only continued to cry. What happened after she left? ---------- Canon. That's where I was, according to the nurse that checked on me regularly. Pounce had explained that she and a few others had helped pick my sorry carcass off the ground after I landed. They ran into a few nearby Red Remnant patrols, and they, too, helped in bringing me to Canon. Canon is an old, canned goods factory that the Remnants set up a headquarters in a few years back. They were able to utilize the rooms and offices for various uses, such as this clinic. Because there were many offices, but weren't all that large, they set up individual clinics that held only one patient each. They re-engineered the factory itself to be able to produce some ammunition and weapon parts, but they're missing some machines and other resources to be able to make what they really need. I pondered why Red had left a message for me to come here, instead of just waiting for me outside so that we could brave through the waste together. It would've been wiser to have someone like him around, being a seasoned adventurer and all. He also would've known that I wasn't a strong fighter and—judging by the amount of times I ended up in a clinic recently—I couldn't take care of myself to end up all the way out here without a sheer stroke of luck and a few broken bones. Now that I have time to think about it without ponies firing at or raping me, I've come to a conclusion about Red's actions: it was all a selfish method of doing things. If that was Red—which, I am led to believe it was—who was the assailant of Gorman, then he was inches away from pulverizing my flank, possibly ending my life. Then, he proceeded to get himself captured, and left me in Industead to be chased by gore-covered guards and to trek the unknown and to search for only what I thought existed. In summary, I have a right to be pretty cross with him. Later that day, Red dropped in to check on me just as the nurse promised he would. "Rain!" He walked suavely in the clinic but seemed to lack the upbeat nature that he had when I met him. He greeted me by trotting up to me and wrapped a foreleg around me while I still lay in bed. His hug wasn't as comforting as I had anticipated it would be. When he stepped back, he looked at the floor. I simply returned his kind, yet limp greeting with a cold expression. "Took me long enough to get here." I looked back down at my leg, sorrowfully. He followed my gaze with a similar look. He hung his head for a brief moment, and spun around to face the nurse, who was working at her desk in the corner of the room. "Would you mind leaving us?" The nurse nodded and trotted gracefully out of the clinic. As soon as the door closed, he corrected his body to face me once again. "Listen, I'm sorry, bu—" I cut him off. "No. Don't be. This must all be a game in your sick, twisted world." I don't know where I was getting the courage to confront him like this. "I was beaten, brutalized, enslaved, stabbed, knocked unconscious, raped, and forced to sleep in my own blood in the past two days that I was cast off into this uncharitable hellhole we call home. If there was one thing that was right about what the demented buck whose brain you degenerated said, it was that the area really does fucking suck. And you left a teenage mare out in it to fend for herself after you took away her only home. Not to mention almost punching a hole through my ass." He returned my harshness with a trembling expression that I will never forget. It screamed both 'help me!' and 'I'm sorry' simultaneously. I watched as the battle-hardened stallion began to break down in my presence. He fell on his haunches and hung his head in a pathetic manner. Two tears fell from beneath his thick mane, which shrouded his face at this point. "I... I'm..." He couldn't get his words out. "I don't know how I'm going to forgive myself for doing that. It was wrong, and I knew it. But something inside of me told me that you could do it, and it was my foalish soldier's instinct that told me that you could... and... I have to forget that not everyone is able to do such things..." He looked up, smiling a little bit. He forced a small chuckle from beneath the blanket of sorrow that befell the room, then continued. "Listen, I'm sorry. I know my apology is not enough, judging by all the injuries and suffering you just experienced. But it's all I can give you, other than full access to Canon. I just hope that you can forgive me... for all the selfish things that I just put you through." He hung his head for a brief moment to allow more tears to roll down his face, then continued once again. "Also, I will admit it: the second shot I fired off was aimed for you. Not intentionally, of course. But it's been so long since I actually had to use the rifle, and I was shaky..." He shook his head as if he disagreed with himself. "No, no excuse. I... I screwed up. I did. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He picked himself off the floor pitifully and traveled towards the clinic doorway. "No, Red, wait..." I called out to him. I would've stuck out my hoof to reach for him, but even that caused pain. Great. I made a childhood friend cry at my hooves, and made a seasoned hitman do the same all in one day. I know I've been through through hell the past couple of days... but that doesn't mean I have to take it out on anypony. Yeah, what he did was wrong... and pretty selfish, too. Eerrgh! I need to go straighten things out with him. For now... I need to sleep some more. I don't have the energy to go anywhere, nor am I even able to transport myself out of this room. ---------- "Listen, I know why you're in here... I told you, I'm sorry. I apologize for what I had don—" I was in Red's office the next morning. I asked the nurse if she'd show me where his office was, and if she'd help me get there. I had received a crutch from her, and told me it was near the top floor. Let's just say that those stairs were a real pain in the flank to traverse. I had been seated in a run-of-the-mill aluminum chair in front of his desk, while he sat in a similar chair behind it. "Actually, I'm here to apologize to you." I told him of the thoughts and feelings that swam through my head about the way that I acted yesterday. I told him about the bandits, the post office, the slave train, Twilight's library—all of my 'fun adventures' up to this point in time. In response, he shamefully put his face in his hooves. "Ergh," he groaned. "I don't know how I'll—" I rammed his desk with my crutch in an effort to snap him out of his pity trip. I wasn't going to bring my troubles down on others again. "Please, stop. I’m not into seeing you like this." "Right." He lifted his head up in confidence, and exhaled in the form of a deep sigh. Ah, confidence. One of the only traits I knew that Red had, and I am glad to see him displaying it again. "You mentioned something about being assaulted by a mysterious stallion in the post office? "Yeah. It was really strange, as if he appeared right behind me. He used the handle of a golden pistol to incapacitate me from behind. I don't know why he didn't just kill me." "Oh, you ran into him." He made it sound like running into this stallion wasn't exactly common, but his actions to be predictable. "He's the Mayor of Ponyville." The Mayor? Like the one that Industead has—or had—as a total ruler? But why would anypony want a to rule a ghost town? I asked these questions. He sat back in his chair. "Wow, they didn't let you get out much, did they?" He maintained a dark look in his eye, even while he asked a silly question he already knew the answer to. "The Ironpony Trading Company is sadly the only form of government in Equestria nowadays. They do more conquering than trading. After taking a city, the Company places a high-ranking official that they call a Mayor in charge of the town. From there, that town is pretty much theirs to do what they want with it. Industead, from what I saw, was a town focused solely on production. Ponyville, a trading hub, is not a ghost town, people just prefer to stay indoors a majority of the time, mainly due to bandits and the Mayor that governs there. "Well, I'm just glad I can stay out of it here at Canon." "What are you talking about? Nopony rides for free. We need all the help we can get!" "What? What do I have to do?" "Either fight, or help bring in supplies. Doesn’t matter which one you pick, you’re still going to be shooting at something, since all the labor slots are full. Speaking of which, why not come with us to a bandit camp just west of here? They've been manifesting ourselves and have been a thorn in our side for far too long.  Now that we have several new members courtesy of you and Pounce..." He said that last sentence fragment with a tone that made me feel like I had done something I was not supposed to do. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I nearly killed myself to save those ponies. They're traumatized and lucky to be alive right now. Pounce and I thought it was okay that you shelter a few more souls in your re-purposed factory base." "Oh, it is," Red said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "But we're short on supplies right now, Rain, and we're going to need your help to get them." My fate was sealed. I didn't have a choice. ---------- I spent the next few days recovering and going through the supplies that Pounce and I had gathered. Thanks to the fact that Pounce is a hoarder and grabbed crates when we left the train, we had quite a few things to contribute to Canon. Pounce cleverly placed the crates in a secluded area of the factory, where no one would get to or ask about it. This was smart, also because she knew that the Remnants would probably confiscate them for supplies if they were they just laying out in the open. The stuff Pounce impossibly took amounted to quite a bit. We had a substantial amount of medical supplies, ammunition, food, and weapons. Since the Remnants couldn't spare anything except food, this is where Pounce and I got our newest gear from. Going through the crates, I found various ammunition for weapons that were foreign to me, and a few shotgun shells and pistol magazines that worked with my own weapons. I took them and stored them in a smaller pocket in my saddlebags. There were no weapons that caught my eye except for a bolt-action rifle that needed a good cleaning, which Red helped me with. This weapon was added to my small collection. Pounce Scratch, on the other hoof, didn't use or need very much at all. She took a small saddlebag with some medical supplies in it, and a brown cloak that was rather concealing for her, considering her small size. She insisted that all she needed were her own two forelegs. I wanted to argue with her, but then I remembered her deadly efficiency on the train. As for the rest of the supplies, we let Red give those to the ponies we rescued—who were now staying at Canon—and to use for the Remnants. During my stay at Canon, I did many different things to keep myself sane instead of lying in a medical cot. Even though I wasn't supposed to, I would get on my crutch and explore the building. The first thing I found interesting about how the Remnants utilized the old can factory was that one of the conveyer rooms was used as a mess hall. One of the large conveyers was shut down specifically for use as a table, where the members and I would eat together. A separate room next to the mess hall served as a kitchen. Ovens, refrigerators and other culinary utilities were installed here. Another thing that I found resourceful of them was how they used the spare rooms. The can factory was built with an array of spare rooms to use as office or storage. The Remnants, however, used these as barracks and clinics, depending on the size. Canon still had a few spare rooms left over, and Red presented me with one as my very own. I had my very own room. I had never had much of my own space. The only privacy and sense of possession I knew was the area around my cot and my footlocker in Industead. To be able to have a whole room to myself was, to say the least, odd. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. The space came with a comfortable cot, a dresser, and two lockers, but the rest of it was a void waiting to be filled. Then I thought about why I was even alive and able to come here to Canon. Pounce Scratch had saved my life. Not once, but twice. She broke me out of the cage, fought our way through each train car, and picked my sorry carcass out of the sand when things went haywire. And not only this; she also saved my life from a future of hopelessness. She was my first and only friend—however short lived our friendship was—who had given me hope and understanding that there were a few other worthwhile ponies out there. Pounce's friendship was the initial spark that kept me going throughout my days in Industead. Yet here she was, many years later, back into my life. It was official. I was going to share the room with Pounce. ---------- "It's going to be just like a slumber party!" Pounce shouted, as she bounced up and down on the newly-placed cot that resided in our room. "We're going to stay up all night, and sleep all day! We'll have a slumber party every day! Wait, if it's a slumber party and we don't sleep, then what is it? A non-sleeping party! So would that just be a normal party? Yeah! We'll party every day and all night! But we'll need to sleep at some point, so it is a slumber party after all—" "Pounce!" Part of me wanted to laugh when she rambled on about things of that nature, but we had work to do. Now that my leg was almost completely healed, we needed to gear up for the days to come. I knew I couldn't live at Canon forever, I had no place here. I also haven't been contributing to the Remnant's efforts much. Pounce and were going to help raid a bandit's hideout—that of which may still be inhabited—and we didn't have much time for relaxation or games. I had already seen and experienced what bandits do to ponies, and not all of these ponies are as fortunate as I was. We needed to train ourselves as best as possible so that we didn't become unfortunate souls. I didn't want to see another person I cared about suffer. I let out a good sigh before attempting to lighten the mood. "It's really good to see you again. I... missed you." She looked at me, and her bright expression quickly turned dark as she stared off at the floor. "I missed you too..." She admitted in a raspy, inconsistent tone. Something really traumatic must've happened when she left Industead, or sometime after. If just the sheer thought of us knowing each other back then revoked those memories, then I was sure that it wasn't in our best interest to talk about it. Instead, I unpacked my things in silence as she sat on her side of the room in silence, staring at her boots. I got my gear ready for what was to come. We weren't sure if bandits still inhabited the area, but I should be prepared in case they were. I fastened the pistol—that of which had the black thing that I recently discovered was what was called a suppressor—that Pounce had given to me in the smaller pocket in the Spitfire Vest. I secured the sawed-off shotgun in the larger holster on the vest, and prepared ammunition in multiple easy-to-reach places on the vest. I found a spot to strap in my bolt-action rifle so I could pull it out and levitate it when needed. I also ensured that my combat knife was easily accessible. I decided to leave the other weapons here at Canon on the day of our arrival, including the laser cannon. Now to focus on the room. If this was going to be my new home for the foreseeable future, then I wanted to make it more... homely. I located a stool just outside our new room, and used that as a makeshift nightstand. I placed the few bits I had on it, and rummaged around in my bags for the journal. Shit. The bastards still have my journal. With rage and fury boiling inside me, I tipped over the stool, sending the bits flying, kicked my saddlebags across the floor and smothered my face in my pillow. I tried to cry, but I just couldn't do it anymore. With everything that has happened, I could not convey any more sorrow. Part of me just wanted to weep forever, but a new part of me was beginning to swell. Determination. I don't know what those rapists would want with a book, anyways. They did, however, make some money off of me by selling me to his boss, whoever that might be. So I presumed they did the same thing with my journal. It wasn't on the train, and I knew this as a fact because I triple-checked my scavenging. If it wasn't on the train, then it was still in Ponyville. I wasn't going to live in Canon for forever if it meant losing my most valuable and sentimental possession. Not only do I need that journal, the Red Remnants need it too. And if the Remnants need it, there is a good chance their enemy does as well: the Trade Company. Do those bandits... work for the Company? I glanced up from my solution of contemplation and rage to see Pounce approach me as I laid face-first in bed. How embarrassing, I thought. I could tell she wasn't thinking the same thing when she took off her boot and laid her naked hoof on my back, comfortingly. I haven't the slightest idea why I found this arousing, but I fought the idea out of my head. I said in a low, muffled, voice: "Thanks, Pounce." I exasperated and lifted my head a little off the pillow before continuing. "You know you've always been there for me, even when you weren't." ---------- It was the day of the attack. Our squad wasn't as large as I had hoped... or expected. Pounce and I had gotten together with Red, who rallied up about five other Remnants to take the bandit camp that existed out west. We were ready and loaded for crazy as we made our way out into the barren slate that I have come to known as Equestria. The light permeated my eyes, blinding me. I had been inside Canon for quite a few days, so many that I had lost track. While my eyes adjusted to accept the new-found light, we checked our supplies once again and headed off to take care of this camp. I was particularly fascinated about how the Remnants oriented themselves. Red, who was obviously the leader, went over hoof-based commands with his squad. The soldiers—I guess one could call them this—had amazing skill with their hind legs. As such, they were able to stand on only those to increase the weapon mastery. After all, it is hard for an earth pony to use a firearm. We trekked under the unforgiving sun. Getting there was difficult because of this, but it made things easier to have my only two friends here by my side. Pounce Scratch trotted loyally beside me, as I did the same with Red. I glanced down to look at Pounce, who was bobbing her head side to side as if she were listening to a song. She continued to possess an upbeat mood. I desperately wanted to ask about what had happened to her after she left Industead, but I didn't want to kill her mood again. Then again, her and I both knew that I needed to know what happened, eventually. I decided against my better judgment to bring up the touchy topic once more. "Pounce. I need to talk to you about something." "Oh, what is it? Ask away." I gave an exasperated sigh before continuing. "You see, it's important that I know about what happened after you moved away from our hometown. I won't let my best friend keep her most traumatizing tribulations from me." Her gleeful head-bobbing turned into a gloomy stare at the ground. Our conversation continued as we walked. Her tone became the tone of another pony. "Bandits. They took us. Well, not all of us." She paused before continuing. "We weren't too far from Industead, and we were making our way to Ponyville to find a public transport service to Manehattan, I remember. That's when we were interrupted by a bunch of thugs. I don't recall it well, but they wanted something from my parents, and they didn't seem to have it. Or they didn't give it to them, one of the two. When my parents couldn't cough whatever it was up, they kidnapped my mom and I. They tried to take my dad, but when he resisted with force, they shot him. They took my mother and I to some run-down building I believe, and they asked her lots of questions. I just had to sit there and watch as they hit her over and over when she couldn't answer the questions, and I know now that they raped her afterward. I don't know what they did to me, but it was excruciatingly painful. Afterwards, they just let me go into the desert, to fend for myself. To live with the horrors of seeing both my parents killed in different manners." I was speechless. I thought something of this caliber might have happened, but to hear it confirmed was kind of devastating. It made sense and all, but I didn't put two and two and two together. Before I could say this, a voice from ahead yelled back at us. It was one of the Remnant soldiers. Apparently we had fallen behind. "Hey, you two lovebirds need to catch up!" Pounce and I exchanged a blushed look and ran up to integrate ourselves with the group once again. We traveled onward. ---------- Bandits. They opened fire on us as we approached their hideout. They seemed to know we were coming. Pounce and I took cover behind a large pile of scrap metal and other assorted junk. They've already felled one of our Remnant soldiers. Red went the opposite direction of Pounce and I, and soldiers ducked behind other miscellaneous forms of cover. I'm starting to wish I took the laser cannon. Dammit. I told Pounce to keep an eye out while I positioned myself on the mound of scrap metal when the firing ceased a little. Instead of making myself obvious by surrounding my bolt-action rifle in my telekinetic envelope, I positioned it comfortably on the mound and used my magic to grip the trigger. I took aim at one of the bandits and analyzed the area as best as I could before taking the shot. We battled in front of a building maybe a half to a third of the size of Canon, and definitely not as well-kept as it, either. In front of the building, as I had mentioned, were mounds of garbage and other scrap. A tower that still stood was approximately forty meters to the left from the pile of scrap that Pounce and I used as cover. That's where Red was: at the base of it along with two other Remnants. I didn't know where the others were. By the looks of it, I assumed our numbers were roughly equal to theirs. I took the shot. The bullet soared clean through the scumbag's head, ridding him of this world. The target practice I took the time to do was really worth it. The enemy took note of this, and began riddling the pile full of lead, sending small bits of debris and scrap over us. I ducked down and took a moment to look at Pounce. She sat there with an angry, determined fire in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking, and her and I both knew it was ludicrous to be ludicrous at this moment in time. Not far from now, she's going to unleash it. I had the selfish thought of using her anger to our advantage, which we very well could. But if it meant her getting hurt... I just couldn't live with myself. So for now, I just reassured her to stay calm and to focus. I repositioned myself on the other side of the refuse-composed knoll to see if I could get another clean shot. The field of vision through my iron sights was filled with the yellow coat of a bandit pony, coming up closer and faster than my brain could process. The mound of refuse exploded as the bandit pony rammed his body into it from the opposite side, throwing me back. He stepped over the large divide he created in the pile, carrying a gauntlet on his hoof I have never seen before. Pounce reacted to what happened by attempting to leap onto our heavy-set assailant to stab at his neck, but he countered her attack by shoving his gauntlet into her chest, sending her flying backward a good couple of meters. Pounce! I quickly decided to kill him in the most messy of ways as possible, but that plan ended when I attempted to pull the shotgun out of its holster with my telekinesis. With his deathly-looking gauntlet, he pounded my sawed-off shotgun into smithereens. It was history. His next blow was aimed for my face. I moved my head out of the way as his mechanical nightmare whizzed past my head, pounding into the earth with such girth my head shook. My face was showered with sand. "Aaaggh!" I was blind. I couldn't open my eyes without them burning, which was already the case. I sat there, wriggling and sprawling, futilely attempting to get away from the ferocious stallion who wanted to make my head one with the earth. He was right above me, and I waited to be pounded into oblivion. This didn't happen, however. I could faintly make out what was going on through the little I could see and from what I could hear. Pounce recovered from her blow faster than one normally should have, and was already on the back of our attacker. Hearing the sound his flesh made when impaled by a multitude of six- or seven-inch long claws made me want to throw up, but it was a better sound to hear than the sound of my own skull being crushed like a pumpkin. I sprawled up off the ground and tried to see the bloody scene from my reddened eyes. It was a horrible sight—Pounce was not content with just a clean impalement. Her hatred was unleashed on him, torn into him. Pounce didn't stop after sinking her claws into him, she brutalized him with her claws. Swipe after swipe, she tossed away skin as if she were cutting out construction paper to make a collage. When she was done with the skin... she kept going. I had to pull her off and restrain her. I did this, and her arms kept flailing, trying to deface and gut even more of the mangled carcass. She was crying. She'd been repressing sadness and anger under a thick layer of happiness. She'd been hiding the emotionally scarred self with her feline-like nature. She'd replaced Mel with Pounce. She'd replaced the truth with a lie. After a few moments that I didn't have, her body went limp and she replaced her rage with subtle sobbing. I had to put her aside and continue fighting. We had no choice. I was here to help fight with the Remnants, not to be a counselor. I positioned myself in the sizable void that the tank of a pony created in our pile of garbage and took out another bandit with my bolt-action rifle. As soon as he went down, our barrier shook violently under the suppressed fire that it absorbed. I slunk back as far to the ground as possible to avoid flying lead and debris, but their bullets stopped after a short while. The suppressed fire—however short lived—gave me some time to sum up my surroundings once again. Red stayed in the same location—being a marksman and all—while the other Remnants advanced towards the building, thus applying more pressure on the bandits on more than one side. This was good. I decided to make my way across quickly to meet up with Red, and I suggested to Pounce that she navigated around the right side and take them out while they're focused on keeping fire on our left. She did so, and made her way quickly and stealthily around the mounds of refuse while I dashed over towards Red. It was a success. They were too busy dealing with the Remnants further ahead. Dashing out of the incoming fire, I slid behind the same barrier that Red was using. From this distance, it would be hard to land a clean shot on us unless they had Red's marksmanship. I spoke to Red above all the bullet impacts and the sound of firearms going off. He was prone in the sand, with his rifle set on a bipod off the ground. He was looking for a decent shot. "Red, what's next after we deal with these guys?" "We're here for retrieving supplies," he calmly stated before firing his rifle. "Besides, we need to do away with these guys in the first place." Red quickly jerked his head away from the scope in surprise, and gave off a light hearted laugh. "Damn, Rain. Are all of your friends cold-blooded killers?" he questioned jokingly, as he pointed his hoof out in front of him towards the building. Peeking around cover, I witnessed Pounce weave around piles of scrap and barrels to violently assassinate one of the opposition. She left a trail of dead ponies in her wake, chaining each and every kill to the following one. I sat there staring at the ground in a mixture of sympathy and sorrow. I had never seen her like this before, and to see her swap personalities like that is downright frightening. She possessed a soldering rage in her eyes and heart as she leapt from one pony to another, each one not satisfying her thirst for either revenge or blood. After she had finished off the last visible bandit, she raised a hoof to give the 'all-clear' signal. ---------- "Pounce, I told you to be careful." I said flatly, wrapping her shoulder with bandages. She had taken two bullets in her shoulder during her bloody rampage, and collapsed by the time we got in the building. By the time her adrenaline and pure hatred had worn off, the pain and hindrance of having lead inside of one’s body kicked in. Red and I were able to patch her up with the supplies we found around the building. It seemed to me her dual personalities had a fine line between them. She was calming down and resting now, letting her mind be at ease. She was turning from the scarred, disturbed Melissa and back into the upbeat Pounce that I am quite fond of. She was laying peacefully on a mattress we took off of one of the beds. I sat with Pounce while Red checked the rest of the building. I wasn't too keen on leaving her unattended until Red came back. When he did, he let me know that the bandits had already left the building. This allowed us to search for supplies. The soldiers brought extra saddlebags to accommodate the supplies we planned on looting. What really caught my eye was a sort of library in on of the hallways on the second floor. I told Red to go ahead while I looked in it. It became clear that it wasn't much of a library at all. It was complete with a writing desk and a few head-high bookshelves. I was rather surprised to find that the shelves actually contained books that were kept in good condition. This made my heart flutter, not having access to many new books for quite some time. Sticky notes and index cards lined the walls where the shelves did not, and did not stop there. I found a few scattered in odd spots on the floor. I trotted over to the desk. A blank stack of index cards sat next to an equally-sized blank stack of sticky notes. My eyes panned over to the center of the desk, where an average-sized laptop computer sat. Opening it up, I found it was manufactured by Stableware—a standard of computer technology. I picked it up to put it in my saddlebags (I figured nopony else was going to use it) when I noticed a piece of paper under it. It was a letter. I decided to be nosy and read it: Mayor, Yes, we know you need the money. We're trying to scrape up a couple bits as fast as we can to transfer them over to you, but we just don't have them. Please give us a little more time. Also, about your resident disappearance problem? I heard Crocodile's gang has been rousing up ponies from Ponyville and selling them off Celestia-knows-where. Damned bandits... You should “talk” to them. As for sending ponies up to Baltimare, I heavily advise against such an action. The Arisen Dusk cult have been creating these weird monsters that look like living shadows. They're pretty freaky. Our station has been calling them Ethershadows. Sincerely, Drab I came across a history book and a book published based on Twilight's scientific research, and stuck those in my saddlebags and read them later. However, my jaw hit the floor when I found a book written on magic spells! I tore it open and glued my eyes to its pages. I have been waiting to read something like this for a very long amount of time, as such things were banned from Industead. Pfft. The "earth pony way" is ridiculous. I found many spells that seemed rather useless. I did find a spell that allowed you to focus on and move air particles, but it was weak enough to the point where it would do nothing but ruffle one's clothing. I found it interesting, though, because I could never focus my telekinesis on air. A rule of hoof about telekinesis is that if you can focus on its existence, you can probably maneuver it. It's quite hard to focus on anything that is fluid, which is why a solid object is very easy to get grasp. Water is difficult to maintain, and air is near impossible to control. The particles are just too loose. After some debating, I decided to take a little while to learn it. I found that by focusing and wrapping my magic around it, I inherited magic that was infused in the page itself. It was probably a waste to stop and learn this particular spell, but I wasn't worried about that now. I found a second spell, one that I think would be more useful. I believe a lot of these are just harmless spells for beginners, but can be built upon and strengthened later. This one that I found was a "sleep shot" as the book described it. This blast of magic is very silent and apparently renders the target drowsy, but not enough for them to fall asleep. Sounds like it would be useful in battle, to slow or disorient my opponent. Hopefully I won't have to engage in any more fighting. The rest of the book was composed of silly pranks or magic 'tricks' that was used to entertain ponies. These consisted of fake fireworks, sparkly spells, and illusions. I was not much of an entertainer myself, so I wasn't particularly interested in these. I decided to put the book away. As I was about to delve into my science book, Red walked calmly into the room. I peeked above it to hear what Red had to say. "I see you've made yourself comfortable!" He said, with a slight smile. "We're staying here for the night. Our men are tired, we're tired, and there's too much stuff to carry. We're having a couple Remnants come here in the morning to help carry it back. We would do it now, but it's about four-thirty in the afternoon, so it will be dark in two or three hours. You can crash wherever, but there's a couple beds downstairs in case you wanted to rest closer to your friend. Speaking of which, she's a little on the crazy side, isn't she?" "She's been through a lot. She watched her parents get slaughtered by bandits when she was just a filly. She's somehow survived on her own up to this point." "Sounds rough," he said, looking down darkly for a moment. "I hope she'll be okay. Do you think she'll need counseling?" "No, I think she'll be fine as long as she has some good people to take care of her for a while." ---------- It was eight-forty. Nearly time for me to go to bed. Pounce rested in her cot, unfettered by the things that rested within her mind. She was at peace. This peace would most likely end in the morning, but I'll keep high hopes that she'll be back to her normal self by then. I am got ready for bed. I've decided to move one of the beds from one of the other rooms and place it next to where Pounce lay. I couldn't help but to stay close to her; I felt as though she needed someone she could trust. I was the closest thing that fit the bill. I wished Red good night, a drifted off to sleep. <========= o—o—o—0—0—0—O—O—O—O—0—0—0—o—o—o =========> An impenetrable darkness surrounded me in all directions. It were as if I was invisible. I tried looking down at my own hooves, but they weren't there. I had no feeling whatsoever. There was an absence of the feelings of existence and self-control. It was as if my brain awoke before the rest of my body did. I wondered if this was what it was like to be dead. A small, cloaked figure began to permeate and take form in the darkness, getting larger and less vague so that I could see it. When I realized the basic details of what I was seeing, I actually believed that I was dead. A walking skeleton of a pony cloaked in ornate, hooded navy robes began to walk towards me, leaving a small trail of indigo aura in its wake. It was rather large for a pony, but I was sure it was the skeleton of one. It spoke to me. "Greetings, young one." It spoke with a persuasive, feminine voice that reverberated, yet in a place with no barriers to reflect sound. It was odd enough seeing a skeleton speak to me in a void, but even more so to be able to force words out without having a body. "Wh- Where am I? Who are you? What is-" "Who I am is not of importance. Names are for those who wish to be identified. I do not at this immediate point in time. What matters is who you are. I've been tracking you for some time now, ever since you were a filly. I've done the same for each member of your family until death, not excluding your ancestors. As for where you are, you 're on the outside edge of reality. Where things do not exist like things do in your home of Equestria. You are currently not dead, nor are you alive. We're not near each other, it just seems that way because reality is being bent." This was all too weird. I began to realize that this had to be a dream, and I remember that one of these dreams is called a 'lucid' dream. Once one realizes it is a dream, it can toyed with however the dreamer wishes. I chose to see where this dream was going. "Why is it that we're speaking, then? And why have you been tracking my family tree?" "It's a long tale. A very long one for both of us, my little friend." The skeleton moved to face me directly. "You belong in a family tree that is special. You... have a gift. The same gift that has saved Equestria from danger numerous times. A gift that hasn't been pushed to its full potential quite yet. One that no one in your family tree but you is on the track to unlocking. Our once great nation needs someone like you, and with my guidance we can strengthen and empower Equestria, nearly to its ancestral state." I sat speechless. I couldn't processing being on the edge of reality and existence. To make matters more ridiculous, I was speaking to a skeleton that somehow managed to stand, let alone speak. "I must go now. Goodbye, Rain. We will speak again when the time is right." <========= o—o—o—0—0—0—O—O—O—O—0—0—0—o—o—o =========>