> Missing Magic
>  by Coda Singer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: A Gift for a Friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Beep, beep, beep, beep!" Steel groaned as the alarm on his E.U.D activated. He opened his eyes and squinted as the faint glow of the sun shining through the window shutters hit his pupils, causing them to contract. He lifted his left forehoof and examined the silver device attached there. The clock application on the small, dark green screen read "7:45 AM." Steel tapped a button marked, "Alarm off" with his muzzle and the beeping stopped. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away the tiredness, before grunting and climbing off of his bed.
He stumbled for a moment as his vision went black, blood rushing to his head. He shook his head as his vision began to clear and he walked towards his closet. He looked around at the pitiful supply of dull, grey and brown clothes. He lazily threw on a grey button-up shirt and a brown trench coat over it and walked over to a tall, polished piece of metal he constructed himself to use as a mirror.
His dark brown fur and reddish brown mane and tail were untidy, strands of hair were sticking out at odd angles. Steel sighed and pressed a button on his E.U.D, causing two curved prongs to slide out of the end. He reached to a shelf next to the mirror and flexed the muscles in his hoof, the two prongs closed around a small brush which he used to straighten out his tail and try to tame his long mane. It got to a point of tamed chaos and Steel gave up. He set down the brush and pressed another button on his E.U.D, the two prongs retracted back into the device and examined himself in the mirror.
He was a stronger pony, better built due to his profession but of average height. His mane was longer than he wanted, almost reaching his shoulders. He would need to get a haircut soon. He examined the time on his E.U.D. "7:52." He examined the surface of his E.U.D. The metal was scratched in some places and the screen had smears splayed across it's surface. He would need to give it a tune up once he got back to the shop. His cutie mark was that of a metal forge hammer, striking an anvil. He worked as a mechanic in a metal working shop, it was a decent job. It payed well and there was always work to be done.
He realized he was spacing out and refocused on the task at hand. He walked away from the mirror and approached his front door. He waved his forehoof in front of it and the E.U.D beeped, a red light on the door turned green in response and the door opened. Steel walked through the doorway and pressed a button on his E.U.D.
"System Locked." Said a feminine, robotic voice, emanating from the E.U.D. The door closed and beeped as it locked, the window shutters closed and beeped in response. Steel grunted and turned away to look out at his town, Craterville. It was an average sized town for a population of average ponies. Most of the town was constructed out of metal, which meant plenty of work for Steel, houses and bridges were built inside of craters which were made during the war. The houses looked like they were hastily thrown together when really it took many months to build each one, finding, working, conditioning and welding the metal took a long time to do.
Steel jumped slightly as his E.U.D vibrated, he lifted his forehoof and examined the screen. The words "You Have 1 New Message!" Were written in green text across the screen with an animated picture of an envelope bouncing up and down beneath the text. Steel tapped the "Open" Button with his muzzle and the animated envelope unfolded, revealing a screen of green text.
"Subject: Fun
Hey Steel! I was hoping after work you could come and meet me at The Slaughtered Unicorn for a drink! Goodness knows you need it, I'll pay for everything, you don't need to spend a single sphere. Oh! And Dale has been thinking of getting an E.U.D, so you can expect him in the shop at around 9:30. Listen, I know you don't give discounts to friends but he needs all the help he can get. He means well, he just doesn't have the spheres to do what he means. Anyways I'll see you in the bar!"
-Silver

Steel smirked and pressed the reply button, the audio feature activated and Steel spoke into the small microphone hole next to the screen.
"Subject: Thanks
Hey Silver! Yeah, why not? Free drinks are hard to turn down, I think I'll invite Dale as well, and yes I'll give him a discount. Just don't tell my boss or I wont be around to give discounts in the first place. See you in The Slaughtered Unicorn at around 11:00."
-Steel
Steel stopped speaking and pressed send. An animation began, a paper was folded and placed inside of an envelope and the envelope whizzed off screen, the words "Message Sent." Appeared onscreen before disappearing when Steel pressed the Okay button. He began walking down the metal ramp, leading away from his house and leading into the main streets of Craterville. The population of Craterville wasn't that big, around 112 ponies and counting. Nearly everypony knows each other, they know which ponies are friends, and which ponies are enemies.
Steel sighed and continued to walk towards the metal worker's shop, a metallic clang rang out on every other step as his E.U.D hit the metal pathway. He walked for several minutes before finally reaching, "Hammer and Nail's Metalworking". Steel waved his E.U.D in front of the door, it beeped and a robotic, male voice said. 
"Welcome Steel, right on time." The doors opened and Steel stepped inside. The shop had a small waiting room with metal chairs and a metal desk. Nopony had arrived yet. Since Steel was always early, he had his friend Cable hack into the system and change his arrive time to be twenty minutes earlier than everypony else's. Cable was good for anything you need done on a computer, his great grandfather was one of the first developers of the original computer in the first place, back when computers were the size of buildings. Steel was very particular about most of his friends, a few were friends since filly-hood but the rest were chosen because they had useful skills.
Steel walked past the metal chairs and opened a metal door labeled "Workshop" with his hoof. Inside were the tools Steel used to work, shape, weld and polish metal, this was his life. He walked towards a metal desk with the name, "Steel" carved neatly into the side. The desks they were given when they began working, had a large interface across the desktop and a set of drawers in the base. 
Steel opened the top most drawer, inside was a small, rectangular piece of metal with the words, "To keep you safe" etched into the metal surface. Steel smiled at the sight of the metal object. He reached into the drawer and picked up the piece of metal with his E.U.D, examining it closely for scratches or uneven spots. He smiled when he didn't find any.
Steel walked over to a tool he used during metalworking called a drill-press. He clamped the piece of metal down and moved to the operator side of the drill-press. The two sides were separated by a small, glass blast shield to prevent sparks flying into your eyes. the blast shield have a perfect view of the drill head and whatever you were drilling. A small console was set into a metal base of the drill-press, Steel tapped the audio button and spoke.
"Sound doors, close." There was a whining of motors as a rounded sheet of metal slid outwards and sealed Steel inside of what was now an operator chamber. "Drill, activate." On the other side of the glass, a large drill began to spin emanating no sound since the sound doors blocked it. "Metal type, iron, hole depth..." Steel examined the small piece of metal, judging it's size. "1.5 centimeters." He concluded. The drill adjusted it's speed and began to lower. Steel watched carefully, making sure the drill wouldn't malfunction or ruin the piece of metal. The drill reached it's target and sparks flew in every direction, bouncing off of the blast shield. The drill finished it's 1.5 centimeter hole in the piece of metal and it raised itself once more before deactivating.
"Sound doors, open." The metal behind Steel opened and he walked out, he approached the small piece of metal with now had a small hole running through it horizontally. He examined it closely, checking for imperfections, once he was certain it was perfect he un-clamped it and moved it back to his desk. Smiling, Steel walked over to a bin labeled, "Scrap iron". He opened it and grabbed a few shards of broken metal. He moved to a large metal cylinder which stood on four legs, two thick metal doors were set into the front, one on top of the other and a small interface was attached as well. Steel tapped the audio button.
"Mold set, metal wire. Temperature set, 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit." The heat chamber activated and a red glow emanated through the cracks in the door. Steel hoisted himself onto his hind legs and opened the top door, placed the metal inside, and closed it. Steel jumped as the workshop door opened and another pony walked in. This pony had a deep red mane, a light pink coat of fur and beautiful violet eyes. A small image of a rose made of metal adorned her flank, Steel felt his heart skip a beat.
"Hey Steel." Said the pony with a small smile. Steel smiled back.
"Hey Iron Rose." He responded. She smiled at me! Steel thought to himself. Iron Rose seemed to notice the heat chamber was activated. She examined the interface.
"What are you making?" She asked with curiosity. Steel froze for a second. She can't know I'm making this for her! Iron Rose looked back at Steel.
"A gift for... a friend." He managed to stutter. She looked back at the interface.
"You're giving somepony a piece of iron wire?" She asked playfully. Steel chuckled.
"No, this is just a piece of the present." He explained.
"Oh." Said Iron Rose, nodding in understanding. "So where's the rest of it?" Steel blushed.
"I'll show you the whole thing when it's done." Iron Rose looked up and saw Steel blushing, she giggled.
"It must be for somepony very special." She lifted her hoof to Steel's chin and moved his head side to side, examining his blushing cheeks. Steel shivered slightly at her warm touch.
"Yes." He responded, trying his best to at least sound like he was keeping his cool. She smiled softly and patted his cheek before moving to her own desk across the workshop. Steel exhaled after what felt like an eternity, he wasn't sure if she knew he was making the present for her or not. Iron Rose had that way about her, always seeming like she knew more than she actually did. Steel walked to his own desk, opened the drawer and slipped the small piece of metal inside. There was a crackling sound as the intercoms activated, a static laced voice came through the speakers and echoed through the workshop.
"Steel, you're needed out front for an E.U.D installment." Iron Rose looked over at Steel and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm impressed." She said in a surprised voice. "You're qualified for that?" Steel nodded.
"Got my permit last week, I can now legally perform an E.U.D installment surgery." Iron Rose pursed her lips and nodded.
"Have to say, I'm a little jealous." Steel chuckled.
"Never thought I would make you jealous. You're funny, and pretty and smart and..." Steel realized he was actually talking. Iron Rose looked up with a smug smile.
"Am I now?" She questioned with sarcastic suspicion. He turned to her, blushing harder than ever.
"Uhh... yeah... I suppose." Iron Rose tilted her head slightly.
"Well in this light I suppose you look rather dashing as well." Steel blushed harder, which he didn't think was even possible. The intercom fizzed back online.
"Steel," Said the voice once more. "Immediately." Steel left his desk in a hurry and opened the door to the mane room, through the door he saw his friend Dale.
"Hey Steel!" Said Dale with a smile. Dale was a Pegasus who had a sand colored coat of fur with a light brown mane and tail, his cutie mark was an image of a sack full of miscellaneous objects. Pegasi have been rare since the war, nearly all of the Pegasi were wiped out, but the few who managed to survive have grandchildren now. Dale was wearing a light brown jacket and a pale red button-up shirt. Dale's real name was Striking Deal, he was a street merchant, and a rather unsuccessful one at that. He didn't much like his real name so he had people call him Dale instead. Dale had a sleazy, smooth voice which was pumped full of fake charm.
"Hey Dale, you getting an E.U.D finally?" Steel asked.
"Yep! One Equine Utility Device for me." Said Dale, a toothy smile on his face.
"if you two are done socializing." Said an old, wheezy voice. Steel looked to his right where his boss, Strict Hoof was giving him a criticizing look.
"I apologize sir, I'll escort him to the operating room." Steel responded, Strict Hoof nodded and turned his head back to the door as Steel lead Dale to the a door labeled, "Operation room" and they both entered. Inside was a long medical table, a smaller table with many sharp tools and needles, an interface set into the wall and a small table near the wall with information about the E.U.D installation procedure.
"Okay, a few things you should know. One, it hurts." Dale waved his hoof as he sat down on the medical table in the center of the room.
"Psssshhhh, it can't hurt that bad." Dale chuckled, Steel remained silent.
"We're cutting off your hoof, fusing metal to your skin and attaching sensors to the muscles in your forehoof." Dale stopped chuckling. "Also, it costs 150 spheres for the main procedure and fifty spheres for each additional application you order." Dale reached into his jacket pocket with his mouth and pulled out a small sack. He held it in his hooves and opened it.
"Can I see the list of applications?" Steel turned and grabbed the E.U.D installation paper off of a table, Dale watched as Steel's E.U.D grabbed the piece of paper. Steel handed the paper to Dale. He read it briefly. "I only have enough for one extra application." Steel sighed.
"Tell you what, just this once! I will pay for two applications for you." Dale looked up with a smile.
"Really? Thanks a lot! It means so much to me." Steel nodded with a smile. Dale looked up and down the sheet, anxious to pick his three applications.
"Okay, I'll take the Wireless Money Transfer, the Gun Grip and the camera." Steel nodded, Dale handed the sack he was holding. Inside were perfectly rounded, metal spheres bearing the symbol of a star with wings masterfully etched into the metal. These spheres have become the currency in the wasteland of Equestria, only the ponies in power have the equipment to make these spheres without any imperfections.
Steel counted up the spheres and nodded. He approached the interface and waved his E.U.D in front of it, a small funnel folded outwards, Steel dumped the spheres into the funnel. The spheres rolled down the funnel into machine, Steel pulled out his own sack of spheres and poured in one hundred exactly. The machine added up the spheres, the funnel closed and another opened, this one facing downwards. Steel moved the sack beneath the outwards funnel.
"Spheres given, 303.5. Change due, three spheres and one cube." Said the interface. The sack Steel was holding got slightly heavier and the outwards funnel closed. Steel handed the sack back to Dale who looked inside pitifully and put the sack back into his pocket.
"Alright, lie down." Said Steel, Dale exhaled deeply and lay down on the table. Steel waved his E.U.D in front of the table which began to move. A section of the table raised causing Dale's right hoof to raise as well, metal straps slid out of the table and held his hoof in place. Dale gave a worried look to Steel. "Don't worry, you won't feel anything until afterwards." Dale nodded. Steel reached into a drawer and pulled out a small mask with a button on the side. Steel approached Dale and held up the mask, Dale nodded, Steel placed the mask over Dale's muzzle and pressed the red button.
There was a whining sound as gas began to fill the mask, Dale's eyes began to zoom in and out of focus.
"Just breath." Said Steel. Dale nodded and breathed deeply and within seconds he was unconscious. Steel lifted the mask off and set it aside before picking up an electric saw and activating it.





"Wake up." Said Steel, Dale groaned as he began to stir. His eyes opened and adjusted to the light. "The procedure's done, you now have a legal Equine Utility Device, check it out." Dale lifted his right hoof and examined the E.U.D now in place where his pony hoof used to be.
"Cool." Said Dale, squinting as light reflected off of it's shiny metal surface. The main E.U.D menu was onscreen, several boxes to the left of the screen were labeled, "Camera, Gun Grip, Clamp, Messenger, W.M.T". Dale tapped the Camera button and a small lens appeared, the screen changed to show an image of Dale's face, groggy and dirty, a few flecks of his own blood placed here and there."Cheese." Said Dale with a lazy smile and the E.U.D snapped a picture. Dale laid his right hoof back onto the table. "It's heavy." He said in surprise.
"Yeah." Steel agreed, "But you'll get used to it." Dale swung his hooves over the edge of the table and stood up, he winced when he put pressure on his E.U.D. "You'll get used to that too." Dale limped out of the operation room, Steel followed.
"Thanks man, I can't wait to use this thing." Steel and Dale bumped E.U.Ds, causing Dale to wince.
"You should come to The Slaughtered Unicorn with me and Silver later, Silver's gonna pay for everything." Dale cheered and limped out of the shop. Steel turned around with a smile and walked back into the workshop, Iron rose was sitting at her desk, writing on her desktop with a stylus she held in her mouth. "Done with the procedure." He called to her. She looked up and smiled. Steel loved it when he made her smile. She put the final period on whatever she was writing and she set the stylus down in a drawer.
"It's almost time to clock out." Said Iron Rose with a smile, "You have any plans?" Steel paused. Is she asking me out? Or is she just curios? Why would she ask me out? Because of my impeccable charm of course! What's wrong with me? Iron Rose often caused Steel's mind to race like this. He finally came to the conclusion to tell the truth.
"Yes," Steel responded. "I'm going to The Slaughtered Unicorn with two of my friends," Steel paused and mustered all the courage he could. "Do you want to... come with me." Iron Rose paused.
"Sure!" She said with a shrug. Steel felt his heart stop, then start again at double the speed.
"Cool!" Said Steel rather loudly, "I'll see you then, oh and Silver is paying for everything."
"Sweet, I love things that are free." Iron Rose responded. Steel laughed and smiled, Iron Rose smiled back. They sat in silence for a few moments looking into each others eyes. Iron Rose's deep red eyes were beautiful. Steel realized he was staring and quickly looked away. Iron Rose looked slightly disheartened for a second before returning to her normal cheery self. After a small chat while Steel removed the iron wire from the heat chamber, the two ponies got back to their work in silence.




"I'm telling ya man, there's an entrance to the undertunnels beneath your shop!" Said Dale drunkenly. Steel and Silver laughed, while Iron Rose just looked confused
"I seriously doubt that Dale." Said Silver. Silver was a light turquoise pony with a shock white mane. He wore an expensive shirt and jacket with a blue necktie. His cutie mark was an image of a sphere, the currency of course, the star with wings glowing a light gold. Silver worked as a banker pony, he was rich, and foolish. part of the reason why Steel was friends with him.
"So you don't think the undertunnels exist!" Said Dale, sounding offended.
"No, we know they exist," Said Steel. "I just don't think there's an entrance in the metalworking shop." Iron Rose cleared her throat to get Steel's attention. Steel looked over with a smile.
"What are the undertunnels." Everypony fell silent, even Dale.
"You don't know?" Asked Silver, Steel nudged him forcefully. Iron Rose shook her head.
"Uhhh..." Steel tried to figure out how to tell the story, he had never had to explain. "The undertunnels, are basically a series of tunnels connecting every major city in the wasteland. They were built by Earth ponies while the Pegasi and Unicorns were fighting above ground. They say there's an entrance somewhere in Craterville, and Dale is convinced it's in my shop." Iron Rose paused.
"Tunnels connecting the wasteland's major cities?" She asked, Steel nodded. "That sounds awesome!" She chugged a pint of apple cider and slammed the mug onto the table. Silver, Dale, and Steel cheered and followed her lead and drank through most of the night.
> Chapter 2: Just You and Me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Steel woke to the sound of his alarm once again. He groaned louder than usual and tapped the Alarm Off button with his eyes closed. He had a massive headache, he really shouldn't have drank as much alcohol as he did the night before, the headache was overwhelming. Steel pressed a hoof to his forehead. Steel's E.U.D vibrated, he groaned in pain and opened his eyes, the light of the sun only added to the headache he already had. Steel lifted his E.U.D and saw he had a new message, with a tap the animated envelope opened and a new screen appeared, covered in green text.
"Subject: Last Night
Dude! You have to see these!
-Iron Rose"
A small icon of a paperclip was bouncing up and down in the bottom left corner of the screen, Steel tapped the paperclip with his nose. The screen of text disappeared and was replaced by a photo, Steel saw himself. He quickly covered the photo and blushed. I really hope I didn't do anything embarrassing he thought to himself. He paused, his hoof over the screen before taking a deep breath and taking a peek at the photo. He exhaled happily, good It was a picture of him, Steel, holding a mug of cider to the sky in celebration. He smirked slightly, with the way the photo was taken, he looked kind of cool. Steel looked down and saw "1 out of 5" in the corner.  He sighed and swiped the screen with his muzzle.
The next photo was of Dale, slumped over and drunk, his hoof around Silver's shoulder. Silver was in mid-nervous laugh, trying to push Dale away, a few drops of beer from Dale's mug were spilling onto Silver's fancy coat. Steel swiped the photo, Dale was unconscious on the ground, Silver and Steel were holding a bucket of ice water over Dale's head. Steel laughed and swiped the image. Dale's face was blurred but the parts Steel could see were drenched in water, Dale appeared to by trying to cover up the camera before Iron Rose could snap a picture. Steel swiped with his muzzle, and blushed. Iron Rose had her arm around Steel... And she was kissing his right cheek.
Steel felt like he might faint, he lifted his hoof and rubbed his right cheek where, apparently, Iron Rose had kissed him. His cheek felt warm. Suddenly his E.U.D beeped and vibrated, a robotic voice said
"You must leave or you will be late, you must leave or you will be late, you must leave or you will be late." Steel jumped out of bed and realized he slept in his clothing, he shrugged off the urge to change as he turned off the alarm and sprinted out the door. He gained speed from the downwards ramp leading away from his house and skidded around a corner, sprinting down a side street. With great difficulty, he managed to run on three hooves while looking at his E.U.D. Okay, it's only 7:56, I still have four minutes to get th-
"AAH!" Steel shouted as he ran straight into somepony. Steel fell to the ground, eyes shut in pain.
"Watch where you're going." Said a deep and stern voice with a strange, metallic reverberation. Steel rubbed his head and prepared in insult in return but when he opened his eyes he noticed regal, red robes. Steel, got to his hooves and bowed his head in respect.
"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention." Steel apologized.
"Quite right." Said the voice, Steel looked up to see a member of The Masked Lords of Equestria. This pony was tall, well built and almost completely unidentifiable due to the ornate armor-like mask covering his face and chest. He wore a red, fur robe covering the rest of his body. The Masked Lords were a group of warriors, most of them fought in the war that destroyed Equestria. They were elected to rule over the major cities in the wasteland, these were the ponies who manufactured spheres and cubes, and with a tap of their hoof they could have anypony executed without question.
The masked pony huffed and marched away. Steel exhaled and stood up straight, he watched the masked lord turn around a corner and disappear into a metal side street. Steel shook his head, noticed the time on his E.U.D and resumed his sprinting, now paying careful attention to where he was going. He arrived at the door to Hammer and Nail's Metalworking and furiously swung his hoof in front of the door.
"Hello Steel, right on time." Said the robotic voice. Steel froze and slapped a hoof to his forehead.I'm still 20 minutes early! He bent his head down and caught his breath. Idiot! He slapped his forehead again before walking inside and entering the workshop. Steel moved to his desk and opened a drawer containing the small tag and the thin piece of iron wire he made the day before. He smiled when he saw the two pieces. Today, he would give this to Iron Rose. He blushed at the thought. Steel shook his head and moved to an anvil, very carefully, he used his E.U.D to string the wire through the small hole in the tag he made yesterday. When the wire fit through perfectly, making Steel smile again, he placed the two unconnected ends of wire on the anvil and clamped them in place.
Steel, being a metalworker and having a license to perform an E.U.D installment, he managed to add a few extra applications for himself. After tapping a button on his E.U.D, a small pipe with a hole in the end extended with the sound of squealing gears. He would have to oil the E.U.D later. A small valve was located on the side of the pipe, Steel turned it with his mouth and the hole in the end of the pipe began to spit a focused blue flame. He leaned down and pointed the flame towards one end of the wire. After a while the wire tip began to glow red and Steel deactivated the blowtorch. Using caution, he slid the hot end of the wire towards the cold one before connecting them, making sure not to leave any gaps between them.
He tapped two buttons, the blowtorch retracted and a new, thinner pipe extended from the E.U.D. Steel grabbed a welders helmet and flipped down the tinted visor, he began welding the two ends of the wire together. After a few minutes and many sparks flying in different directions, the two ends finally joined to become one piece of wire. He removed the welders helmet, then the clamps and inspected the wire. A little rough... He retracted the welder then picked up the wire and walked towards a grinder. He tapped the interface on the grinder, tapped "Settings", and changed speed to "Thin Iron." Craterville was a lucky city. It had tonnes of technology at it's disposal, Steel had heard of towns with only three consoles in them from his father. 
Steel's dad wasn't born in Craterville like Steel was, he was born in a much smaller town called Pure Falls. A town famous for having a big water purifier at the top of a waterfall, spilling clean water to the town below. Steel's dad moved from Pure Falls to Craterville after he met Steel's mother. Steel's mom was a market pony, traveling from city to city but keeping a house in Craterville when business was bad. The two got married and had Steel, but while Steel's mother was working, her caravan was attacked by raiders and she was killed. Steel's father raised him until Steel was around six before he had a heart attack in the living room, Steel watched as his father died and medical ponies took away the body. Steel was raised in an orphanage before he got a house and was released at around sixteen.
There was a screeching noise as Steel snapped back into reality, the wire was smoking  and hot flakes of metal were flying off of the wire and landing on Steel's left hoof. He quickly pulled the wire away and deactivated the grinder.
"Damn it..." He said aloud, examining a small blackened portion of wire. He shook his head and moved to the buffer. Another tool they use to polish metal and make it look shiny and new, not too shiny of course, they didn't want to blind ponies as they passed beneath a patch of sun. In the wasteland, the sun never sets. Some of the remaining ponies just block it out with clouds, covering the city in shadow.
Steel was told by his great grandfather when he was little, that the sun and moon were controlled by two powerful Alicorns named Celestia and Luna. Before the war, Alicorns were princesses. There were four in existence before the war, The sister princesses, The Crystal Princess and The Princess of Friendship. There were many legends about The Princess of Friendship, the stories called her Twilight.
Friendship was considered one of the most powerful types of magic before the war. It was so powerful, earth ponies and Pegasi could use it. After the war however, nopony trusted each other enough for the magic to work. Steel pulled the wire away from the buffer, the black mark was gone and the metal wire was shiny and perfect, you could barely see where the wire was welded. Steel quickly slipped it around his neck for a fit test, if it fit him it would fit Iron Rose. It was a little tight which was perfect, Iron Rose's neck was smaller than his. He took it off and examined it once more.
"Hey!" The door opened and Iron Rose walked into the workshop. Steel nearly dropped the necklace, he fumbled for a moment before catching it and holding it behind his back. She didn't seem to notice.
"Hi Iron Rose," He said nervously. Iron Rose giggled.
"I swear, every time I see you, you seem to be shaking or blushing... Except for last night, you got much calmer once you had something to drink." 
"Hehe..." Steel laughed nervously and blushed, realized he was blushing, then tried his hardest to make the blood rush out of his cheeks. Iron Rose was already at her desk and was writing with a stylus on the touchscreen top of her desk. Steel moved his hoof from behind his back and looked down at the necklace. Iron Rose noticed he was holding it.
"Is that the present you were making?" Steel looked up. If there was any time to give it to her, it was now. Suddenly his stomach felt like it was doing back flips and his heart was beating in his throat.
"Yes..." He stuttered.
"Is it done?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Steel paused, he felt sweat run down the back of his neck. Why was this so hard?
"No!" He blurted before he could stop himself. He felt his heart sag back down into his chest as he quickly tucked it into his shirt pocket. She gave him a confused look before shrugging and continuing her writing. Steel hung his head and moved back to his desk.
"Do you remember anything from last night?" Asked Iron Rose. Steel looked at her, she was blushing slightly.
"Well I saw the pictures you sent me so I can put together the pieces." She paused, the blush over her nose growing larger and a deeper shade of red.
"You do realize nothing happened between us right?" It was Steel's turn to blush. I this her telling me to back off?
"Of course... It was just a kiss on the cheek." She nodded.
"What's the last thing you remember?" She asked, the blush disappearing from her nose. Steel searched his memory.
"You asked about the undertunnels." Steel Answered, Iron Rose squinted as she tried to remember.
"Oh yeah!" She chuckled.
"I still can't believe you didn't know what they were." Steel laughed. Iron Rose nodded.
"I actually don't know much about the war, I never really wanted to learn about it. But it seems like it was pretty important." Steel nodded then got an idea.
"I could tell you about it if you want." Steel offered. Iron Rose looked at him.
"I could just go read about it in the library."
"But it wouldn't be nearly as much fun though." Iron Rose laughed, Steel joined her. Iron Rose snorted before quickly covering her nose with her hooves. Steel smiled. "I didn't know you were part pig!" Iron Rose grabbed a pen and threw it at Steel.
"Shut up!" She said between snorts, Steel laughed. Suddenly the door flew open, a pony in red robes and a mask. Iron Rose and Steel stopped laughing, they stood up from their seats and bowed their heads in respect. The Masked Lord grunted as a signal of tolerance and held the door open.
"We're evacuating the building." Said the Masked Lord. Iron Rose and Steel looked at each other before walking out of the door, heads still held down in respect. They exited the front door and saw their boss Strict Hoof, with two other Masked Lords standing behind him. Strict Hoof nodded to them curtly before looking away. Iron Rose and Steel stood off to the side, heads still facing downwards. Steel leaned over to Iron Rose and began to whisper.
"What are the other two doing here? Masked Lords never leave their cities except for emergencies." Iron Rose shot the Masked Lords a glance before looking down again.
"I've never seen a masked lord in real life before," Said Iron Rose. "I've only seen them in books."
"I bumped into one of them in the street earlier today." Said Steel, remembering the accident from earlier that day.
"Which one?" Asked Iron Rose, looking up at the two who were looking straight ahead into the shop.
"I don't know, they're all wearing masks."
"Silence!" A Masked Lord shouted. Steel stopped talking immediately and bowed his head, the Masked Lord gave him a long look before slowly looking back towards the shop. The five of them waited for a few minutes before the third Lord walked out of the shop and nodded. The other two nodded in return and turned to Strict Hoof who looked one of the Lords back in the eyes.
"Strict Hoof, Hammer and Nail's Metalworking is now under the complete control of The Masked Lords. You have two hours to pack up your things and come to the Town Hall." One of the masked ponies looked to Steel. "You!" He shouted, Steel straightened and looked him in the eyes. "You have two hours as well." Steel nodded. The three Masked Lords bent their knees, wings appeared out of two holes on either side of their robes. They took to the skies and soared off to the center of town with incredible speed. Steel stared in awe for a few seconds before realizing he was shaking.
"You okay?" Asked Iron Rose, noticing him shake. Steel nodded and calmed down.
"What do they want me for?" He asked, looking back to the skies.
"Maybe they need something to do with E.U.Ds." Iron Rose shrugged. Steel headed inside and entered the workshop, Iron Rose followed. "What about me?" She asked. "Should I pack up as well?"
"They never asked you to so I assume not." Said Steel, grabbing a box and tossing in some paperwork he never finished. Iron Rose looked around feeling useless. Steel finished packing within minutes, he didn't have much to pack seeing as he didn't bring anything important to work. He paused, not knowing what to do before getting an idea. Maybe I should give it to her now... Damn it! I told her it wasn't finished! Steel tried to come up with something to do to finish the tag. He smiled and tapped the contacts button on his E.U.D, he began to scroll and stopped at "Cable." He tapped  the audio button and quickly stepped out of the workshop.
"Subject: Wing man
Hey Cable, I have a favor to ask. Could you draw a symbol or something that represents protection and send it to my E.U.D? I really need it.
-Steel" After a few minutes Steel's E.U.D vibrated causing him to smile, he tapped the envelope with his nose and read.
"Subject: Cool
Sure thing man, here ya go.
-Cable" A small paperclip was bouncing up and down in the corner of the screen. Steel tapped it and smiled at a small black and white picture of a shield with a heart in the center. Steel re-entered the workshop and walked towards a plasma cutter, one of the most technologically advanced piece of equipment Hammer and Nail's had. Steel grabbed the metal tag from his shirt pocket and clamped it to a table, once it was secure, circular, glass, blast doors began to close the metal tag in. Steel approached a console and tapped a few buttons. He opened a flap on his E.U.D with his teeth, revealing a few wires. He took the end of one wire and plugged it into the console.
The words "Image Downloaded" appeared onscreen. Steel unplugged his E.U.D and hid the wire, the plasma cutter lowered to the metal tag and began to cut. Steel walked back to his desk and sat down, Iron Rose was looking at him curiously.
"What?" Asked Steel. She tilted her head slightly, examining him.
"Who is that for?" She questioned, Steel shook his head and resisted the blush trying to reach his cheeks.
"I already told you, a friend." Iron Rose shook her head.
"You're going to tell me eventually." She said as she turned back to her desk. Steel chuckled.
"I guess I will." After half an hour, the plasma cutter deactivated. Steel approached the blast doors as they opened and he un-clamped the metal tag. He picked it up and examined it. It was perfect.
"Is it done now?" She asked with a small smile. Alright Steel, He thought to himself, no more excuses, just give it to her.
"Yeah..." He said in a shaking voiced. She got up from her chair and began to walk over to Steel. Steel felt as though time were slowing down as she began to walk, her perfect eyes reflecting the light from the ceiling. His heart began to race. Now she was right in front of him, her blood red eyes fixed on the necklace in the grip of Steel's E.U.D. She looked at it and smiled.
"Who is it for?" She asked, looking Steel in the eyes. She was very close now.
"Actually it's for uhhh... It's for you." She smiled and tilted her head.
'You didn't have to do this for me." She looked down at the necklace and smiled wider.
"I felt like I had to." Said Steel with his own smile. Every part of his brain was screaming at him, telling him to stop talking, but his heart was telling him to keep going. "You mean a lot to me." She looked back at Steel, a small tear in her eye. She noticed and quickly wiped it away. "Here." Said Steel, holding up the necklace. Iron Rose smiled and turned around, pulling the back of her mane up. Steel moved closer and slowly lowered the necklace around her head. She let down her mane and turned back around. She lifted the necklace in her hooves and examined the plasma cut symbol. She smiled and looked into Steel's eyes.
"I love it." She pulled Steel into a hug. He blushed, his hooves out to the sides. He seemed to realize what was happening and he wrapped his hooves around her. She was warm, it was a nice feeling being hugged by her. It always felt good to be hugged but this... This was ten times better. They slowly separated, as they pushed apart Iron Rose planted a kiss on Steel's cheek. He smiled at her.
"Ahem..." Steel and Iron Rose turned their heads while still in a half hug. Strict Hoof was standing in the doorway, a cardboard box on his back. Steel and Iron Rose separated. It was strange, without Iron Rose near him he felt... Cold.
"Our two hours are almost up." Said Strict Hoof with a criticizing look. "We'd better get to the town hall. Steel nodded. Strict Hoof rolled his eyes and walked out the door. Steel began to follow Strict Hoof but something kept him in the workshop. He turned his head slightly and saw Iron Rose out of the corner of his eye. She was holding the necklace against her chest, she had her eyes closed.
"Iron Rose?" She opened her eyes, realizing he was still here.
"Uh... yeah?" Steel paused and turned to look her in the eyes. Him looking into her rose eyes and her looking into his hazel eyes.
"When I get back... We should go get a drink some time... Just you and me." She smiled.
"I'd like that." They smiled at each other. Hours were crammed into seconds as they looked into each others eyes. Steel broke the stare with a wink and sprinted out the door.
> Chapter 3: Moral Principal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"What do you think they want from us?" Asked Steel as he trotted alongside Strict Hoof, both of them were heading towards the center of town. Craterville was designed to have the town hall in the center of town and many circular layers leading outwards from the center. Each layer would decrease in wealth the further away from the center you got. Silver lived three layers away from the center, Steel lived five layers away, Dale lived eight layers away. 
"I don't know." Said Strict Hoof, obviously trying to avoid as much conversation as possible. Especially since Steel was happier than usual, he had a spring in his step that he never had before. He had asked Iron Rose on a date, and she accepted! She even kissed him on the cheek! The two ponies walked in silence for several minutes before finally approaching the town hall. The town hall was a giant metal dome with ornate carvings around the rim, a massive circle of glass was set into the top as a sun roof. This was where all of the major decisions for Craterville were made. This is where the fate of the city is determined. Steel and Strict Hoof glanced at each other briefly before walking through a massive pair of metal doors, carvings of the Masked Lords set into the iron. The dome was big, inside was a courtroom. A large desk with two seats were set near the opposite side of where Steel and Strict Hoof were standing, many wooden chairs were placed in rows facing towards the desk. Two masked lords were sitting behind the desk while one was standing in front of it, looking at Steel.
"Step forwards." He called, his metallic voice echoing through the large room. Steel and Strict Hoof obeyed the Lord's orders. After a short walk they were face to mask with the masked lord. "Do you know why we called you here?" Steel shook his head.
"We have reason to believe the city of Blood Field is sending an army to attack us, they should arrive in around two hours." Said one of the Masked Lords sitting behind the desk. "And we need to be ready." Steel and Strict Hoof looked at each other, looks of worry and confusion. "The leader of Blood Field has openly stated that he is trying to kill all of the Masked Lords, he doesn't understand why we should be in power and he shouldn't." Steel sat down as the pony spoke, he could feel the blood rushing out of his head.
"Are they a threat?" Steel asked, almost subconsciously.
"Usually we could kill their raiding party with minimal casualties. But they say they have a powerful weapon on their side. We don't know if they're bluffing or not but we need to make special precautions." Steel nodded.
"What kind of precautions?" The Masked Lord hesitated and looked to the masked stallion standing beside him, he nodded.
"You are familiar with the undertunnels I assume." Steel froze, Tell me they aren't about to say what I think they're gonna say.
"Yes..." He answered hesitantly.
"We have discovered one of the entrances hidden inside of Hammer and Nail's Metalworking." Steel felt like laughing and punching Dale at the same time. "We are taking ponies of importance from this town and hiding them in the undertunnels, to keep them safe just in case Blood Field isn't lying." Steel stood up, a look of confusion and disbelief on his face.
"What about everypony else in Craterville?" The Masked Lord looked back at Steel, though he couldn't see the Masked Lords facial expressions he could see his eyes. They showed annoyance and irritation.
"Those who pay enough will be escorted to safety as well." Steel took a step backwards, confusion and anger hitting him like a brick. "Survival of the fittest." The Masked Lord finished.
"More like survival of the richest!" Steel yelled. "You're ransoming off their lives! What about the outer rim? Ponies in poverty?" The Masked Lords looked utterly shocked and angered.
"You need to learn some respect!" The Masked Lord near Steel swung his hoof at Steel's face. A reflex kicked in and Steel's left hoof was thrust upwards, blocking the Masked Lord's attack before it could reach. He was strong, but Steel was strong as well. He didn't care he might get into trouble, this was a matter of moral principal and he wouldn't stand down out of respect. He swung his right hoof forwards, E.U.D hitting the Lord's metal mask and causing him to stumble. The other two Lords jumped over the desk and landed in front of Steel, wings outstretched. He looked between the two of them, I could take one of them, but not two at the same time! Steel paused, looking into the enraged eyes of the Masked Lords, before turning and running out the massive iron doors. He ran as fast as he could and quickly turned into a side street. He kept running until he reached the house he was looking for and entered the unlocked front door.
"Who... Oh hey!" Said a voice from behind Steel. Steel panted and turned around, standing there was his friend Cable. He was a deep purple pony with a pitch black mane, he wore a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes. He didn't like to take them off ofter an accident he had when he was a filly, his father was working on a project using Tesla coils and Cable got too close. An arch of plasma struck his left eye, burning it badly and blinding it completely. Cable came to Steel asking if he could replace it, that's how they met. Steel installed a bionic eye for Cable, half price. Cable was wearing a black, leather jacket and a blue undershirt.
"Cable..." Steel panted, "You have to warn the others and get everypony out of Craterville." Cable paused, looking at Steel with a half smile, he couldn't tell if Steel was kidding or just being paranoid.
"Why?" Cable decided to ask.
"We're going to be attacked in about," Steel paused to look at his E.U.D. "One hour and fifteen minutes, a rival city is coming and we need to get everypony out!"
"Okay okay, calm down." Said Cable, not knowing if he should trust Steel or not. "Why are they attacking?"
"They're after the Masked Lords and three of them are here." Cable paused.
"But they only leave their towns during emergencies." Said Cable.
"Emergencies like an ATTACK!" Steel shouted, trying to get Cable to understand. "Blood Field is sending an army, the Masked Lords were going to put important ponies in the undertunnels to protect them, everypony else would have to pay to survive. They offered me a chance to hide in the undertunnels too." Cable looked up with curiosity.
"Did you take it?" He asked.
"I think I lost my privileges when I punched one of them." Cable fell silent, jaw open in shock.
"You punched a Masked Lord!?" He exclaimed. 
"He swung first!" Said Steel defensively. Cable laughed nervously. "Blood Field claims to have a powerful weapon with them, we need to get everypony out now!" Cable nodded shakily. "I'm going to find Iron Rose, you get Silver and Dale." Cable nodded and pushed a few buttons on his E.U.D, a map of Craterville appeared on screen with two blips labeled "Silver" and "Dale". Cable noticed Steel examining it.
"I designed it." Cable explained. Steel shook his head, opened the door and ran outside at full speed. He began running as fast as he could back to the metalworking shop, What am I going to do? Is Iron Rose okay? Will Cable get everypony out? Worried thoughts flitted through Steel's mind as he dashed around a corner and found himself at Hammer and Nail's Metalworking. He ran at the door and slammed into them, causing them to thrust open, followed by the doors to the workshop where Iron Rose was working. She jumped and turned to see Steel running towards her.
"Hey Steel, how did the meeting with the ma-" Steel had grabbed Iron Rose's hoof and was trying to tug her out the door. "Whoa, slow down there. Where are you trying to take me?" Steel paused to explain before he got an idea. He stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"I'll explain in a sec, I need your help." Steel explained. "I need you to look around for a trap door or something leading underground." Steel let go of her hoof and began searching, lifting up wooden tables and pressing buttons on computers around the workshop. Iron Rose watched, a confused look on her muzzle.
"Why are we trying to get underground?" She asked, walking over to her own desk and lifting papers lazily, trying to seem like she was helping but she was too confused.
"There's an entrance to the undertunnels we need to find, I punched a masked lord, long story short we're being attacked and we need to hide." Steel Rose froze, giving the same look Cable gave when he heard this news.
"You punched a-"
"I know!" Steel interrupted, causing Iron Rose to jump and blush as he shouted, she had never heard him angry before. She looked downwards, her ears folding backwards slightly. He paused, realizing what he had done. "Rose," He stood walked over to her and sat down. "I'm trying to protect you." He lifted her chin with his hoof, she didn't look sad, just scared. "Lives are at stake and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." She blinked and nodded. Steel nodded in return and walked over to the drill press, examining the interface for any things he hadn't noticed before.
"Guess you'll have to buy me a drink later then." Iron Rose chuckled nervously. Steel returned a chuckle. Iron Rose moved to the heat chamber and pushed a few buttons, not knowing what to look for. Suddenly the ground shook as a loud boom sounded from outside, a gravelly voice echoed through the metal streets and into the workshop.
"Fillies and gentlecolts! We are Blood Field, and we're tired of Craterville casting a shadow over our city... Well to be honest I just wanted to watch you burn." The voice let out a cackle which turned into a cough. The sound of a stallion clearing his throat sounded through the workshop. "You see I have a Unicorn Bomb in my possession and I'm going to set it off, this is a suicide mission for many of my soldiers but their deaths will lead to a greater cause." Iron Rose began shaking slightly. Steel frantically tapped buttons with his nose until a screen reading, "Enter Password" appeared, with twenty blank spaces for letters. Steel paused, trying to think of what the password could be before he remembered something one of the masked lords had said. He tapped the audio button and spoke.
"Survival Of The Fittest." The drill press jerked before sliding to the side with great difficulty, revealing a large hole leading downwards into a metal tunnel. He waved to Iron Rose who galloped over, still shaking. She put a hoof onto the steps leading downwards as they heard the front door to the shop open. Steel began pushing Iron Rose into the tunnel but she looked up at him with a look of concern. He shook his head, pushed her into the tunnel and tapped a button marked, "Seal Tunnel" on the drill press. Steel watched as Iron Rose looked up from the darkness and clutched the necklace he had given her. 
The drill press shut and the door to the workshop opened. A grey pony with a black mane and a large scar over one eye entered the shop. He had a small hoof drilled into his hoof, the hook was gripping a poorly made sword. Steel ducked behind the drill press and waited, trying not to breathe too loudly. The pony limped into the room, trying not to step on the hoof with the hook screwed into it. He moved to Steel's desk and examined the few papers still lying there. Steel looked around the room, looking for possible weapons, there were bins all around the room containing scraps of metal in every shape, his gaze stopped at a thick metal pipe sticking out of a wooden box. He looked back at the grey pony who was now ducked under Steel's desk.
Steel took a deep breath and dove for the metal pole with his E.U.D. He clamped onto it and ducked behind the bin. The grey pony grunted at the sound of Steel's E.U.D hitting the pole. The grunt turned into a small shout as the grey pony whacked his head on the underside of Steel's desk. Steel peered around the bin to see they grey pony rubbing his head and looking around the shop, Steel ducked his head back behind the bin quickly. The grey pony shrugged and moved to Iron Rose's desk. Steel paused to think about what the gravelly voiced pony had said.
"I have a Unicorn Bomb in my possession." Steel had heard about Unicorn Bombs. All of a unicorn's magic poured into a glass orb, when it was set off it destroyed everything in a large radius. there were only a few ever made, two of them coming from Celestia and Luna themselves. Steel couldn't let them set it off. Steel quickly focused as he heard hoofsteps nearby, he tilted his E.U.D slightly to see the grey pony approaching the bin. Steel took a deep breath and lept around the corner, swinging the metal pipe. The grey pony quickly blocked with his sword and jumped backwards, preparing to attack. Steel jumped to the side and swung. Metal came into contact with the grey pony's skull and he collapsed.
Steel was breathing heavily. He calmed down slightly, feeling adrenaline rush through his veins. He dropped his pipe and picked up the grey pony's sword. He examined it and marked each flaw before shaking his head and turning towards the doors leading out of the workshop. Here we go. He thought to himself. The gravelly voice from outside spoke once more as Steel approached the door, the voice sounded distant and muffled.
"We demand everypony who want's to live to come out and climb aboard one of the wagons outside the gates to Craterville. You will be a slave, you could die at any moment but it's better than dying now right?" Steel opened the workshop doors slightly and looked through the crack he made. He didn't see anypony in the main hall but he did see a blue pony's flank entering the medical room. Steel took a deep breath and slipped into the main hall, making sure to stay out of sight of the doorway. He pressed his back against the wall and peered into the medical room. The blue pony had no cutie mark, this wasn't an uncommon occurrence in the wasteland, ponies are so tied up in trying to survive they don't have time to find their destinies. The blue pony also had a sword attached to a clip which was screwed into his hoof, Steel could only imagine how painful it had to have been.
Steel quickly pulled his head out of the door frame as the blue pony turned around and examined the doorway. Steel readied his sword in case the blue pony decided to leave the room but after a few seconds of silence he slowly tilted his head back into the room. The blue pony was examining the interface, noticing where the money giving slots would open. He began to tap the screen with his nose, trying to figure out how to make the slots open and spit out spheres. Steel quickly slipped into the room and raised his sword, but the blue pony spun around when he noticed Steel's reflection on the screen.
Steel's sword clashed with the blue pony's, causing the blue pony to wince as the jolt ran into his hoof. Steel smirked when he realized his advantage. Steel pressed hard against the blue pony's sword causing him to back away due to pain. Steel flicked his wrist and the blue pony's lowered his sword quickly. Acting on instinct, Steel swung his sword back up to the left and quickly realized what he'd done as blood began to pour from the large cut Steel had left in the blue pony's neck. He clutched his throat, trying to keep the blood back before he fell onto the floor. Steel stood over the blue pony in silence, gaping. He had never killed anypony before, he felt as though a piece of his soul had ripped itself away from the whole, he felt like he had lost his sanity slightly as he became less of a pony.
He snapped out of his trance and stumbled out of the medical room, knees shaking while he tried not to step in the blue pony's blood. Steel exited the medical room and leaned against the wall, he felt like he might faint. Steel's mind was racing, not being able to focus on any single thing. He eventually calmed down and slumped against the wall before he remembered why he was trying to escape. He straightened, held back vomit and approached the main doors leading outside into the metal streets. Steel opened the door slightly and peered outside. The sides of the metal buildings had spots of graffiti scattered hither and thither down the streets.
"Blood Field attacks! Slaves or Die! Bye Bye Craterville!" Were merely a few of the phrases painted onto the metal walls. Steel didn't see anypony on the streets so he slipped out of the doors and dashed into an alleyway. His eyes flicked back and forth, expecting somepony to leap out of the shadows and attack, but it was just Steel and the dark. He crept his way down the alley and peeked out onto another street where he saw a line of ponies walking down the street. They were all citizens of Craterville, marching towards the front gates. Many other ponies were standing next to the lines holding guns, very few ponies had E.U.Ds but those who did had guns held in a gun grip they had installed. Most of the ponies had blank flanks while others had cutie marks representing farming or organizing, skills that are useful in the wasteland. Suddenly the gravelly voice echoed through the street once more.
"We humbly thank you for volunteering to become our slaves, we hope you find presence very hospitable." Steel felt sick as the pony who the gravelly voice belonged to walked into view. He was a dark grey Pegasus with a black mane which hung over his eyes, he walked with a sort of slumped self confidence. He seemed to feel so powerful he didn't care if he had bad posture. He had a blank flank and his wings ended with black tipped feathers. Underneath one of his wings he had a glass orb the size of a hoofball, inside the orb was a cloud of purple and blue energy. This was the power of a unicorn turned into a weapon.
"You!" A voice shouted. Steel looked up and realized he had accidentally stepped out of the shadows, three ponies galloped towards him and tackled him to the ground, knocking the sword out of his E.U.D.
"Looks like we've got another slave!" Said the gravelly voiced pony. "Allow me to introduce myself," The three ponies tied a rope around Steel's neck and began pulling him towards the line of other ponies. Steel walked with them to avoid being choked before he found himself in front of the black maned pony. "My name is Ignatius Blackwood." Steel looked into Ignatius's deep grey eyes. "But you may address me as Sir." The three ponies dragged Steel over to the line of other ponies and shoved him. He began to walk with the others and looked down to the ground trying to process what had just happened.
All he knew, was he needed to escape and find Iron Rose. But first he needed a plan.
> Chapter 4: Nothing Left
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Steel's eyes were downwards, his long hair hanging over his eyes. He was walking in a straight line behind other captured ponies. The raiders from Blood Field had attached shackles to Steel's fore and hind hooves, he was trying his hardest to walk at the same pace as everypony else. He feared somepony might beat him if he walked too slowly.
Steel should've been thinking of an escape plan but he could only think about Iron Rose. He didn't know if the undertunnels were safe but it was all he could think to do at the time. He wondered if she was okay, if she made it outside the tunnels and back up to the surface, if she met up with Cable and the others.
"STOP!" A voice yelled. Steel looked up and saw Ignatius Blackwood Standing next to the line, looking down at a small communicator. The technology in Blood Field was pretty primitive, the most privileged ponies have simple communicators which can only send short messages, the range the communicators have are incredible however. Ignatius smiled and looked back in the direction of Crater Ville.
"What is it sir?" Asked a guard, walking over to Blackwood and looking at his amused face. Ignatius smirked.
"You're going to want to see this." Everypony in the line looked behind them, scared and curious. Steel turned around as well, trying not to be tripped by the shackles. He looked to the horizon, barely able to see the tips of Crater Ville's tallest buildings. They were many miles away, Steel's hooves were sore and he was exhausted. He heard many ponies groaning in pleasure as they finally received a break. Everypony stared for what seemed like minutes before there was a bright flash of light. the ground began to shake, a thunderous rumble sounded from far away before what sounded like a lightning strike echoes through the field.
A large, purple mushroom cloud engulfed the city. Steels jaw dropped and he stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over the shackles. He felt the remnants of a shock wave tug at his body. But it passed. Steel simply watched. Ignatius laughed.
"WOW!" He yelled. "That bomb was made by a very special Alicorn Princess, and it certainly lived up to it's expectations. I've gotta get my hooves on more of those! Alright." Blackwood wiped a tear of joy from his eye. "We should get going, but I'm going to remember this." All the ponies began walking except for Steel. He just looked back at the mushroom cloud, feeling empty.
"Get moving!" A guard yelled, he walked forward and struck Steel with the hilt of his sword. The sword hit Steel in the eye. He jumped backwards, seeing spots as the vision in his left eye went dark. He quickly turned and began walking, resuming his downward stare, but a hoof on his shoulder stopped him. The guard who had struck him turned Steel around and looked down at his hoof, noticing Steel's E.U.D. The guard reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a small, flat, metal rectangle and placed it on Steel's E.U.D. There was a sudden spark and the E.U.D screen went black rather than it's usual green. The guard removed the metal rectangle and shoved Steel, making him start walking again. He had never experience an emotion like this. For the first time he found himself unable to think. His mind was empty as he walked, tears hitting the dirt path.



They walked for miles, never taking a break. Many ponies fell and when they couldn't get up they were killed. Steel didn't watch, he just kept looking at the dirt and grass. after many hours of walking a guard yelled for the now shorter line of captured ponies to stop. Steel looked up from his downward gaze causing his neck to pop. 
The line of ponies were standing in front of a crude metal fence with a wooden plank of wood hanging from it. The words "Blood Field" Were painted in red on the wood with the symbol of a red tree above the title. Below the sign was a gate which was being opened by two ponies. Everypony began walking into Blood Field. The town was small, compact, lots of ponies were walking in crowds. Angry shouts sounded from the town as ponies bumped into each other, there were vendors stands selling stale bread and bruised fruit, ponies traded weapons for other goods and nopony looked happy.
A few guards were clearing the cloud giving way to the line of ponies. Steel tried his hardest not to bump into anypony. Ponies glared out of the corners of their eyes as Steel and the other captured ponies passed. Steel looked straight ahead, avoiding the crowds gaze. Steel spaced out for a moment, he was trying his best not to think about Crater Ville so he thought about his friends instead. He wondered if Iron Rose made it to Cable and the others and if the others even made it out in time. If they did, where were they? Steel just hoped they were alive.
Steel grunted and jumped as he bumped into the pony in front of him. He quickly stepped back and looked up. They were standing in front of the only metal building in the city. One metal gate was set into the wall in front of them. The word "Containment" was painted in red above the gate. Ignatius turned around and began speaking to the crowd.
"This is where you're going to stay until you die... Not gonna sugar coat it. You will live here, you will sleep here, you will eat here, you might even die here. So you might as well get comfortable." Two ponies opened the gates and the line of ponies began walking into the metal box. When Steel entered he saw just under a hundred mattresses on the ground, it seems either Ignatius knew ponies would die on the way to Blood Field. The building looked like it was a little to small to hold all of the captured ponies, when Steel looked around 86 ponies left, including himself. In the corner of the room there was a hole in the floor. Upon closer inspection Steel found it was a waste pit.
"Welcome home!" Ignatius said in an almost cheery tone. "Pick a bed, make some friends... Don't get too attached they might die in the morning." The guard ponies began leaving but something caught Ignatius's eye and he stopped them. "You there!" He shouted, holding a hoof outwards. Steel noticed his hoof didn't have a hook in it.
"Me?" Asked a mint green Pegasus. Ignatius nodded.
"Come with me." The Pegasus looked at the pony next to him, presumably his friend, before following Ignatius and the other guards out of the Containment room.
Steel looked away from the gate and gazed around the room at the other ponies. The mint green Pegasus was apparently the only other Pegasi in Crater Ville besides Dale. Everypony had the same expression of mixed feelings. Fear, anger, sadness, hopelessness, confusion. Steel realized he had that expression as well. A few ponies were walking towards different mattresses and sitting down, now that Steel got a better look at the ponies he realized there were at least twelve fillies and foals, all of them terrified. Everypony else were around thirteen to twenty two, however there was one elderly pony with dark grey fur and a white mane, he looked to be around 48. At his age he must've lived through the war and watched the eleven cities be built. Steel walked to the nearest mattress without a stain, laid down and closed his eyes. Two ponies began talking to each other while Steel rested.
"I... I can't believe Crater Ville is gone." Said the first pony
"I know. I was born and raised there, it's where I spent my whole life. What about you?" Asked the second pony.
"I moved there from Pit." The first pony responded.
"You were born in Pit?" Said the second pony incredulously.
"Yeah."
"I've heard Pit is a beautiful place." Said the second pony in a distant voice.
"Not really, all you see are stone walls, I lived about half way down the pit itself but my house had a window leading into it." The first pony explained.
"Is it true it's bottomless?"
"Can't be..." The two ponies voices muffled as Steel slowly drifted to sleep.
He dreamt he was in a restaurant, he was well dressed with a tuxedo. He examined his newly cut hair in the reflection of his E.U.D. He had spiked his mane up and he had surprisingly done a good job. A waiter walked over and handed him two menus and a bottle of Old World champagne, he didn't know how he could have possibly been able to afford something from before the war, let alone a bottle of champagne. He examined the bottle, "délicieuse boisson cul". He had now idea what it said but he pretended to be impressed as not to seem out of place.
"Hey." Said a lovely voice. Steel set the champagne down and looked up to see Iron Rose in a beautiful red dress. She had done something with her mane, it seemed curly and straight at the same time, light reflected off of each wave of her mane. She had a hoof-crafted, metal rose pinned to the shoulder of her dress. Steel smiled before realizing he must look like an idiot. He stood up, moved to her chair and pulled it out for her.
"You look beautiful." He said as he watched her sit down. She smiled and blushed. Steel moved back around the table and sat down, he slid her a menu, opened the champagne, poured two glasses and handed one to her. She picked up a straw off of the table with her mouth, due to her lack of an E.U.D, placed it in her drink and sipped it. Judging by her smile Steel had chosen the correct bottle. They paused and stared at each other for a few seconds before quickly looking down and opening their menus. There were a bunch of foods listed in different languages that Steel didn't understand. He looked up nervously, Iron Rose seemed to know exactly what she was doing.
"Excuse me?" He asked a white coated waiter as he passed. The waiter stopped and turned to Steel. "Are there any specials?"
"Well we have the repas gastronomique." Steel paused.
"I'll take that." The waiter nodded and walked away. Iron Rose giggled and Steel blushed. Iron Rose's giggles slowly became muffled and they didn't sound like giggles anymore. Slowly the sound got louder and Steel realized they were screams. The ground began to shake, slowly getting more and more violent. Suddenly the roof was ripped off of the restaurant, causing Steel and Iron Rose to fall out of their chairs. Steel got to his hooves, helped Iron Rose off of the floor and looked up. Through the hole in the roof Steel saw a massive purple mushroom cloud merely a few blocks away. Steel looked to Iron Rose.
"Steel." She said to him. "Wake up." Steel watched as a wave of energy reduced Iron Rose and all the other ponies to a pile of ash and bones. Steel screamed and woke up. He was sweating profusely. Luckily it seemed he hadn't actually screamed in his sleep seeing as nopony else was awake. 
"You alright kid??" Asked a higher pitched, gravelly voice. Steel turned around to see the older pony he had noticed earlier, he apparently didn't fall asleep. The old pony had eyes the color of steel, which twinkled in the dark.
"No." Said Steel, rubbing his head with his hoof. "But I doubt anypony is these days." The old pony let out a short laugh.
"How right you are young stallion. You'd better get used to those nightmares, I bet you'll have plenty more." Steel nodded. "I'm Gear by the way." The old pony added.
"I'm Steel." Gear nodded.
"Tell me young Steel. What did you do before you were captured?" Steel paused, not knowing if he should answer. "If you'd pardon my forwardness." Gear added, seeming to notice Steel's uncertainty. Steel shrugged and decided to speak.
"I was a metalworker." He responded.
"Aaahhh." Sounded Gear. "What did you specialize in?"
"I had just gotten my permit to install E.U.Ds. But other than that I crafted weapons." Steel found that talking about Crater Ville, rather than make him sad, calmed him down.
"Did you have any partners?" Gear asked. Steel's calmness turned back to sadness in response. Gear seemed to notice. "I'm sorry, A dear friend I presume?"
"Something like that." Responded Steel. Gear nodded.
"I lost my wife and grandson." Gear spoke. Steel turned to look at Gear, he was looking downwards, staring at a stain in his mattress. "I took him to my shop, I was a watchmaker. I made him a watch before Blood Field attacked, it was his birthday." Steel stood up and walked over to Gear, trying not to step on other sleeping ponies. He sat down next to the sad old stallion and looked at his face, Gear kept his gaze downwards. "My wife was killed when Blood Field first arrived, my grandson was a few ponies behind me when we walked here from Crater Ville. He tripped and couldn't get up, so a guard shot him in the head." Steel noticed Gear's eyes weren't sad, they seemed detached. He patted Gear on the back.
"I'm sorry." He spoke.
"Not your fault." Said Gear, looking up from the stain and looking into Steel's eyes. He made immediate eye contact, Steel respected that in a stallion. "When you've lived as long as I have, you learn to separate yourself from such emotions." Steel nodded, that skill was useful in the apocalypse. Steel decided to tell his story, it was only fair.
"I worked with a mere. She was my partner." Gear's eyes contracted in curiosity.
"What was her name?"
"Iron Rose." Steel almost struggled to say. Gear nodded. "I sent her into the undertunnels before the bomb detonated." Gear straightened instantly. Steel heard several pops of the old pony's spine.
"The what?" He asked quietly.
"The undertunnels." Steel repeated. Gear chuckled softly.
"I helped build the entrances to the undertunnels. You worked at Hammer and Nail's didn't you?" Steel nodded. "Glad to see the undertunnels are still useful." Gear's smile slowly turned into a face of seriousness. "But... I'm afraid her chances of survival are slim." Steel looked up at Gear who looked back almost apologetically. "My dear boy, in the apocalypse you must accept the worst. Hoping for the best leads to disappointment." Steel knew Gear had a point but he felt like with the lack of disappointment came some other form evil. However the sadness Steel still felt inside was eating away at him.
"Can you teach me?" Gear looked at Steel confusion. "Everything you know. I'm sure you have plenty knowledge on fighting, seeing as you lived through the war."
"Lived through it... I FOUGHT in it!" Steel was surprised.
"But... You're a watchmaker." Gear chuckled.
"Just because I make watches doesn't mean I can't fight. I was trained by the Masked Lord of Fallen Sky and became a commander." Now Steel was shocked. "I retired after the war of course. seventeen years of fighting doesn't really give you an emotional attachment to a job." Steel laughed quietly.
"So can you?" Steel asked suddenly. Gear tilted his head in thought.
"I can." Gear responded in a stern voice. "Can you swear to me?" Now Steel tilted his head in confusion.
"Swear what?"
"Swear that you can and will learn to detach yourself from emotion, you can and will learn to rely on speed rather than strength, you can and will learn to rely on your wit rather than your weapons. And when the time comes, you can do what's right." Steel paused for a moment, Gear seemed to see Steel's pause as a sign of weakness. Steel noticed and responded,
"Yes... I swear." Gear looked Steel in the eye, then nodded.
"We'll begin tomorrow. For now you should get some sleep, we have a long day of work tomorrow." Steel moved as Gear laid down. "And you have much to learn." Steel moved to his own bed and laid down, thinking about Iron Rose and his friends. He smiled softly and drifted back to sleep, to dream of better times back home, and the terrible times to come.
> Capter 5: The Jist
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Steel awoke to a light red stallion kicking him in the stomach.
"Wake up!" He shouted in an impatient voice. Steel shouted in pain as the stallion kicked him once more and slowly got to his hooves. Most of the other prisoners were already awake, including Gear. There were five guard ponies walking around the containment room, most hitting the sleeping prisoners awake, some softly shaking them. Steel took a mental note of the kinder guards and looked around. By the gate was a pale yellow mere wearing an old, battered helmet. He noticed Steel who quickly looked away. Once everypony was awake the pale yellow mere began to speak.
"Welcome to Blood Field." She said with no intention of politeness. Her voice was surprisingly soft but still got across the point that she wouldn't tolerate any misbehavior. "Today you will begin working. You will work hard, you will be fed very little, you will be hit and you won't complain." Everypony nodded. "I need everypony to get in a line." Within seconds a line had formed, everypony trying to complete the mere's orders as quickly as possible. The pale yellow pony began to walk back and forth in front of the gate. "You will each be assigned two jobs, one to do in the morning and one to do in the afternoon. You will have a three minute break between jobs. If you have any questions, keep them to yourself." The pale yellow pony left the containment room, a different light blue stallion taking her place.
"Follow me." Said the stallion in a slightly higher pitched voice. The line of ponies followed. Outside the containment room was the bright sun, shining over the mostly empty town. A few ponies were awake and walking about the town, though the ponies who weren't asleep did have bags under their eyes. This place isn't really as bad as I thought it would be. Steel thought, but he thought too soon. A guard whacked him over the back of the head, making him jump as his vision went black briefly, as though he had gotten light headed from standing up too quickly.
"Pay attention!" Yelled the guard. Steel snapped to attention and looked towards the mere in the helmet. She pointed to the first pony in line.
"Starting with you, every other pony step forward." Alternating ponies stepped forwards, leaving Steel and the other half of the line behind, Gear had stepped forwards, looking stern and proud. "You are going to tend the gardens. Everypony else is going to clean up the litter on the streets." The mere paused as two guards walked over to the line of ponies, with a blanketed pony between them, the blanket covering the ponies face. The yellow mere smirked. "Right now our town seems rather nice. But if you struggle, complain, try to escape or cause any sort of trouble." She tapped her hoof on the ground and one of the guards lifted the blanket off of the pony. 
It was the mint green Pegasus, large blue welts above the Pegasus's eyes had forced them shut, the Pegasus had begun trying to speak but all he could produce were slurs and slobber. When her mouth opened, Steel saw the pink of her gums which lacked teeth and the bloody stump of a tongue. She bent down slightly as she tried to speak, revealing the roughly bandaged stumps where her wings used to be. Steel tried his hardest not to vomit. 
"Any questions?" Asked the yellow mare. Nopony answered. "Good, gardeners will follow Clash and the others will follow Shield." The yellow mere gestured to two guards and the two groups went on their way.


Steel cleaned for hours, wiping up filth and picking up trash, putting the litter in the bag he was given. The few ponies wandering around the streets didn't hesitate to heckle, kick and spit on Steel and the other workers. Steel ignored them, as hard as that was. He didn't bother with pride much, in the wasteland you're going to have to do some bad things, no sense in thinking you're better than doing worse. His father had spoken these words and Steel took them to heart. He was a wise old stallion, and he knew what he was talking about.
After the cleaning shift he was given a cup of dirty water and a small chunk of bread, it was stale and a few spots were molded. After his break he went to the gardens where he plowed the fields, planted seeds and watered the soil. If you could even call it soil, it was dry, cracked dirt. But good soil was rare these days, Steel had seen maps of the Old World, there had once been a forest where Blood Field now stood. Which meant the soil was capable of sustaining plant life and wildlife alike, he heard legends of horrible creatures creeping from the forest and attacking the nearby town. Of course all of those monsters were dead now, ponies were the real monsters.
He finished his shifts and was brought back to the containment room with everypony else. It was nearly dark. Gear was waiting for Steel on his mattress, he was looking at the ground, a bruise on his forehead. Steel moved to him as groaning ponies laid down, resting their aching hooves, knees, backs, and other various body parts.
"What happened?" Asked Steel, gesturing to the bruise. Gear gave Steel a curious look, as though he didn't expect kindness.
"I was doing my work twice as well as anypony else and a guard hit me and told me to go faster." Gear shook his head, "But it's not important." Steel snapped to attention, he wanted to prove to Gear that he could do what he promised. Gear noticed and Steel saw a strange emotion in his eyes. But he couldn't tell if he had appreciated his willingness to learn or was just resisting the urge to make a sarcastic comment. 
"So where do we start?" Said Steel with confidence.
"Well," Gear began to walk to a corner of the containment room, where the ponies were scarce, as to not be overheard. "First, I want you to tell me the few basic rules you have about the wasteland." Steel looked a little surprised. "Almost every pony has a set of basic principals they follow, I want to know yours." Steel paused before nodding and trying to remember what his father had told him.
"Well I have three." Gear stood up and began pacing. "One, don't accept favors unless it's a dire emergency but don't hesitate t do some." Gear nodded curtly.
"Simple but a good idea." Steel nodded, not knowing how to feel about that comment.
"Two, find something you're good at. Depending on how good you are, ponies will pay you for services."
"Mmmm... Okay." Gear hummed. Steel shook his head lightly and continued.
"And three, in the wasteland, there's nopony you can trust, you'll be taking a big risk whenever you join forces with somepony." Gear stopped at this.
"Incorrect." He said shortly. Steel looked up, confused and a little hurt.
"What?"
"Incorrect. Negative, wrong." He listed. "There are lots of ponies you can trust in the apocalypse... That's why we keep killing each other. We all have the same morals but then we have a small argument or ponies in our past have fought so we start killing each other. We all want to survive, sure some of us are willing to do more to stay alive, but either way, we all want to survive. Group leaders are strange here. We have ponies on our side; the more good things we do, the more loyal ponies we get. But then some other guy comes along, he's acting all charming and he's doing good things to get loyal ponies as well. On the outside we say they're monsters, murderers, but on a subconscious level we know they have good morals as well, but they need to be killed. In the wasteland, ponies are power. And you can't risk having some random pony steal your power. We all say we're good and everypony else is bad, but that's nowhere near true. So there's no point in trying to pretend you're the only angels in this Hell." Gear sat back down, a satisfied look on his face.
"So what about you?" Steel asked, uncertain he wanted to know the answer to his question.
"What?"
"What are your morals, what are you willing to do?" Gear stopped and thought.
"I'm just trying to survive." They sat in silence for a few moments before Steel remembered something.
"You lived through the war." He stated.
"Yes," Gear nodded, "And?"
"Tell me about it." Gear tilted his head slightly. "Knowledge about the war might help out there."
"I suppose you're right." He stood up and began pacing once more. "Let's begin." 


"Celestia had begun favoring Unicorns highly above Earth Ponies and Pegasi. She saw the magic and potential in Unicorns but was blind to the power the other two races had. Slowly, Equestria began to change. Unicorns were given special privileges, Pegasi were treated as commoners, Earth Ponies were mere slaves. A new government was formed, Celestia barely did any work. Instead a new group of all Unicorns called The Unicorn Council took care of all requests the other two races had. They were racist and spoiled, so over time the Pegasi became fed up with the Unicorns ruling everything. 
Leaders rose and protests started. The Pegasi asked for the rights they once had and the Unicorns refused, they said things are the way they should be and they're going to stay that way. The protests turned into a heated political argument, Pegasi began working with some Earth Ponies who were on their side. The Earth Ponies provided new technology and weapons, slowly a rebellion formed. Everypony knew a war would come, now it was merely a matter of what side the Earth Ponies were on. The Unicorns offered funding for new technology and a decrease on taxes. The Pegasi offered full rights, to be treated equally as they once were.
Naturally the Earth Ponies chose the Pegasi and a war began. The Earth Ponies gave the Pegasi new weapons, though Unicorns had magic, they couldn't keep up with the sudden outburst of technology the Pegasi had been given, so they referred to different kinds of magic. Three alicorn princesses poured their magic into orbs, creating the first Unicorn Bombs. Without their magic the three Alicorns were powerless, frail, weak. They died easily but one princess stood resolute. Princess Cadence continued to fight until she died in battle.
Once she was gone, Equestria fell into the hooves of the Pegasi. There were still thousands of Unicorns alive, hidden away underground. Over the years, powerful unicorns made more unicorn bombs and used them but they were no where near as powerful as the first three. The war lasted seventeen years. It was a holocaust, complete genocide. After the war, eleven major cities were built and placed under the control of a Pegasus who had fought in the war. They were given masks, some say it's to hide the scars, others say it's a symbol of shame.
During the war, Canterlot, Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Manehattan, Baltimere, Fillydelphia and Los Pegasus were lost. But the Pegasi and Earth Ponies started again, eleven major cities were built and placed under the control of a Pegasus who had fought in the war. Cities like Pit, Icemore, Steam City, Pure Falls, Craterville and others. The land between the cities are baron. Or at least I think they are, I haven't seen outside of Craterville since the war, but all that I've seen on the way here shows that ponies could be out there. Even for an old pony like me, there's still a lot to learn." Gear finished. Steel lowered his head, taking in all of this new information and attempting to commit it to memory.
"I think I got it." He spoke, uncertainly. Gear chuckled softly.
"You'll get it eventually."
"So these unicorn bombs." Steel brought up, "Did you see them get set off?" Gear began to stare at the floor again.
"Only one." He said, deep in pools of memory. "That was the last time I saw the moon and the stars." Steel looked at him, confused. He had heard of the moon and was told the sun was a star. His father told him stories, the sky went black and a thousand tiny suns dotted the sky, a large white orb hung in the sky. Back when Steel was afraid of the dark, he was scared of the night, so his father told him about how you could see the galaxy if you were lucky. A beautiful mix of blue and purple lights was splashed across the night sky like food coloring.
Gear noticed Steel's look of confusion and stood.
"As you know, here the sun never sets." He explained.
"Yes."
"Do you know why it ever sets?" Steel recalled the story of the sister princesses.
"There were two sisters, one dark and one light, but both good. " Steel paused, he had just realized he didn't know much else about the two princesses. He had imagined them as a fairy tale until now. He always knew they were real, but he seemed to forget they had personalities and feelings. "They were given the job to raise and lower the sun and the moon." He continued.
"Their names were Celestia and Luna." Gear had begun walking back to his mattress. "The bomb I saw detonate was made by Princess Luna herself. When it exploded, a large shockwave engulfed he land and the sky went dark. Shortly after the detonation, Princess Luna was killed. Princess Celestia kept the moon raised for six days, as a memory of what used to be." Steel sat down on his mattress, almost in shock. They did have feelings. They laughed and cried and fought. They were sisters. And then the war. Gear groaned and placed a hoof on his throat.
"My voice is sore kid." He laid down, making sure to avoid the large stain. "We should get some sleep." Steel followed Gear's orders and laid down as well.
"And then the war." Steel murmured. They sat in silence as ponies around them began to fall asleep. "Hey Gear?" Steel whispered.
"Yeah kid?"
"Do you think I'll be able to do this?" Gear paused before sitting up slightly and looking at Steel.
"I think you've got a lot to learn and I think you've got a lot of beliefs you need to drop." Steel looked disheartened, Gear sighed. "But I think you've got heart. Wisdom is born from a foolish mind that is willing to learn. My goal is to teach you how to make the right choices no matter the situation. The question is, are you willing to learn?" They sat in silence once more before Gear turned back over and feel asleep.
"Am I?" Steel whispered, before drifting into uncertain sleep.

Steel was in a metal chair, his hooves were held down with thick leather straps and a metal head brace held his vision straight. He was surrounded by darkness, but the shadows seemed to move. The silence seemed loud with the anticipation of ponies he couldn't see. There was a loud Thunk and florescent lights eradicated the darkness. There was a small table in front of him, a shiny revolver lying on it's side in the center. Once his eyes adjusted, Steel looked around the table. To his left was Dale, strapped to a chair just like Steel. To his right was Cable, strapped down as well. Directly across from Steel, was Iron Rose. She was looking at Steel, terrified but also happy to see him. The voice of Ignatius Blackwood echoed through the hall, sending shivers down Steel's spine.
"Steel," He sounded as though he felt pity for Steel, but he knew it was all an act. "You're in quite the predicament. But I tell you what," Ignatius stepped forward from the shadows, a grin on his face. "I'll give you a choice." 
Steel began to struggle, trying to break free from his bonds, he just wanted to hit Ignatius, he didn't care where or how, just as long as Ignatius felt pain. The strap over Steel's right hoof came loose and he reached out for Ignatius so forcefully it caused his chair to tilt slightly, but he was too far away. Steel attempted to speak, scream, something, but his throat wouldn't produce any sound.
"I'm sure you're familiar with this game." Ignatius moved to the table in the center of Steel and his friends and touched the gun gently. "You can either leave the lives of your friends in the hands of the fates," He whacked the handle of the revolver causing it to spin rapidly. "Or," He slammed his hoof down on the gun, stopping it's rotation with the barrel pointed straight at Steel's chest. "You can choose who dies."
Steel stopped struggling, his friends all looking at him with the same expression of terror and sick curiosity.
"Your experiences will influence your decision." This time it wasn't Ignatius speaking. It was the voice of Gear who stepped out of the darkness and stood next to Ignatius who didn't seem to notice. "Make the right choice."
> Chapter 6: Old Times
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Steel woke. This time he was relieved to find nopony kicking him. Everypony else was still asleep but it wasn't long before guards burst into the room. It seems Steel had woken up early, and he was grateful he did for the the guards began to kick and shake the other ponies awake. Steel examined the guards once more, the same guards who had woken up the captives gently were repeating their actions. A pattern... Good. Steel attempted to commit their description to memory.
Red mane, white coat... Black mane, red coat... Yellow mane, blue coat... Blue mane, white coat. He repeated this message in his thoughts. The same helmeted mere marched everypony outside, put them in a line and gave them a speech.
"We will not accept anything less than your best. And even when you reach your best, we will beat you until your best gets better. Right now you might not think this place is too bad, but if you don't start working harder... It'll get a lot worse. Not just for you, but for everypony. You really don't want to punish your friends for something you did... Do you?" Steel jumped as the helmeted mere jumped in front of him and stared him down.
Is she asking me? He panicked.
"Uh... No." His voice cracked. Great... Just when he thought he was getting the hang of this, tough, analyzing, bad-ass act. He swore he could hear Gear exhale with disappointment.
"Excuse me?" The yellow mere asked, her voice grew louder and more intimidating but Steel stood resolute. She stepped forward, Steel didn't know if he should step back or stand strong. But apparently he made the wrong choice, because when he didn't move, the yellow mere shoved Steel back almost making him trip. "You will speak with strength and confidence! You're a slave and you're proud to be one!" She swung her hoof upward. The muscles in Steel's right hoof twitched, willing it to block the oncoming attack, but Steel knew better. He could still show strength without fighting. The mere's hoof swung back across her body and smacked Steel on the right side of his face. He strengthened his spine and showed no sign of pain or recoil as her hoof slid across his cheek. "And you will address me as Ma'am! Ya got it!?"
"Yes ma'am!" Steel shouted. She raised an eyebrow in response before moving on down the line. Once his adrenaline died down, the pain of the mere's attack set in. His cheek went numb before a fire was set in his nerves. His eyes began to water slightly but he showed no sign of weakness on his face. The helmeted mere finished her speech and sent the ponies off to do their work. Steel did his normal routine, clean litter, get beaten, eat moldy food, plow the fields, get beaten. But this time when he was told to return to the containment room, he was met by the yellow mere. The few spots on her helmet that weren't rusted or dirty, glinted softly in the sunlight.
"You." She began marching toward Steel who quickly snapped to attention. The yellow mere was slightly shorter than Steel but he didn't want to underestimate anypony, it was a mistake that should never be made. "Look me in the eyes!" She shouted. This surprised Steel. From what he was told of soldiers, they were told to stare at a wall... Or something... It was called, Standing at Attention. But then again, he wasn't a soldier, he was a slave. Whatever he was, he decided to lower his gaze and stared into the mere's eyes. She had golden eyes that were so beautiful Steel could swear they could sparkle in a pitch black room.
Wow... If she weren't a bitch, she'd be pretty attractive. Steel thought to himself.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She was calm, collected, not angry. Steel had just gotten used to everypony beating them, so when she even suggested at being kind it took him by surprise.
Focus Steel... What are you forgetting... Oh!
"Yes ma'am!" He shouted. She smirked.
"Good." The mere nodded to the other guard who nodded in response and walked off, presumably to another post. "You have shown... The smallest sign of strength." The yellow mere began pacing around Steel who followed her gaze restrictively. Making sure not to seem disrespectful in any way. He began to wonder if he would regret acting strong that morning.
"Yes ma'am." He responded. The helmeted mere paused and looked at him curiously, before resuming her pace.
"My name is Solar, but you will still address me as ma'am!" She added quickly. "I have been told by Ignatius that he needs some new soldiers after the unicorn bombing. If you continue to show strength then you may be considered for a job." Well... Looks like Steel would become a soldier. "However... If your loyalty should ever come into question, you will remain as a slave. You may ask questions if you wish." Steel paused, he wasn't used to being allowed to speak freely.
"What comes with the job?" He asked. Solar raised an eyebrow.
"You mean, what perks do you get if you become a soldier?" Steel nodded. "Well for one you won't be beaten, you'll get better food and you'll get a better sleeping quarters." Steel had to admit, he liked the sound of that. "But you have to stay loyal, you will be questioned, tested and you have to pass these tests or you will go back to being a slave." Steel nodded. "So are you interested?" Solar stopped pacing in front of Steel and looked him in the eyes. There was that sparkle again.
"I'll have to get back to you on that ma'am." He responded. Solar smirked.
"Very well... You may return to your containment room." She nodded and marched off. Steel watched her walk before shaking his head and walking back to the containment room where Gear was waiting for him in their usual spot.
"Ready to begin?" He asked. Steel sat down and rubbed his hooves.
"Not yet, first I have to tell you something." Gear tilted his head. "Solar... The mere in the helmet," Gear nodded, indicating he knew whom Steel was talking about. "Offered me a job as a soldier." Gear recoiled slightly.
"Really?"
"Well... She offered me the Chance at a job. She said I showed strength and Ignatius could use some of it." Gear rubbed his chin in thought.
"What did you learn?" He asked suddenly.
"What?"
"What did you learn from your conversation with her? Part of your training will be to learn how to squeeze as much information out of a short conversation as possible, deductive reasoning and all that." Steel paused, thinking.
"Well... I know that she's actually kind of attractive." Gear smacked Steel over the head. "Ow! Hey!"
"Get your mind out of the gutter kid! Focus!" Steel rubbed his head and thought harder.
"I know that she's close with Ignatius..." Gear stood and began pacing as Steel talked. "I know that they're low on soldiers... I know that they may be desperate. I know that they do have better food to offer... I think that's all." Gear sat back down.
"Ignatius and the others that work here, aren't very good at keeping secrets." Steel chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"But what should I do?" Steel asked, meeting Gear's gaze. "Should I accept the job or not?" Gear paused.
"I think you should wait until your training progresses. After that, it would be a good idea to." Gear reasoned, Steel nodded in response. "We could learn more about Blood Field's inner workings."
"I get the feeling there's not much to learn." Steel joked. Gear shook his head.
"Come with me." Gear gestured back to their usual corner. Ponies that had previously slept there seemed to understand Gear and Steel were doing something that Ignatius Blackwood would deem unruly and wanted no part of it, so they had moved their mattresses to some other cramped corner. Steel examined the other ponies, their faces were littered with bruises and cuts, black eyes and bandages. The mix of black, blue, red and white colors made a rainbow of pain.
Steel realized how lucky he was. He had barely any bruises and no cuts to show, he was the favorite of Solar and was the closer than anypony to getting out of here. He felt a mix of confidence and sorrow, why was HE so lucky? He didn't want others to suffer in his place.
Detach from emotions Steel, He thought to himself. But then something caught his eye. Upon a second sweep of the wounded, beaten ponies. There was one who was lacking in white, black, blue and red. She was an older pony, maybe around Gear's age. Perhaps older if that was possible. She had a long, yellow mane with an orange coat. She bore a cutie mark of three apples in a triangle formation. Steel didn't recognize her... He didn't see her in the line with the other slaves from Craterville. She must've been here already.
"Kid?" Steel snapped out of whatever trance he was in and saw Gear waving his hoof in front of Steel's face. "What are you looking at?" Gear attempted to follow Steel's gaze but his eyes probably weren't the best. Steel, among Gear's wisdom and knowledge of death, seemed to forget how old the weakened stallion was. Steel pointed toward the old mere with his hoof.
"Her, she didn't arrive with us." Gear seemed to focus. His eyes widened with hope.
"Well I'll be." He chuckled and stood up. "Kid, we may just be able to get out of here after all." Gear began to walk over to the mere. Steel attempted to stop him but he shrugged Steel's hooves off of his shoulders. Steel shook his head and followed Gear, tip toeing between mattresses and the limbs of resting ponies. As they got closer, Steel noticed markings on the steel walls. Symbols etched into the metal, it resembled mathematics but it was too complicated for Steel to solve. In fact more complicated than Steel had ever seen. Complex equations and symbols representing different processes that gave Steel a headache just to think about.
"Gear!" Steel whisper shouted, "Who is she?" But Gear ignored him, instead walking faster toward the mere until they were right next to her mattress. Steel was so close he could see the freckles on her cheeks. She didn't seem to notice Gear and Steel, she was staring at the floor. Not in defeat and hopelessness like other ponies, but in contemplation and calculation. Whoever she was, she was smart.
"A.J... Is that you?" The mere by the apparent name of A.J looked up suddenly. First in fear but then in delighted surprise as she saw Gear.
"Gear? It can't be!" She had an accent that Steel had never heard. A.J stood and gave Gear a hug. Gear hugged her back, both of them laughing. "You son of a bitch!" She exclaimed playfully. "You got caught? I'm a little disappointed." Gear waved a hoof.
"You're one to talk. Besides, I retired remember?" Gear sat down without paying attention, nearly sitting on a bruised stallion's head. "You however, are still a general. How did you get caught?"
She was a general? Steel thought to himself, Like in the war? This explained how Gear and A.J knew each other.
"Oh, I have a plan for this place." A.J looked to the equations on the wall with a sinister smile. Steel, feeling awkwardly like a third wheel, cleared his throat. A.J snapped around, prepared to fight some guard but was met by Steel who waved with a smile. Gear seemed to remember Steel existed and introduced him.
"A.J, this is Steel, he lived in Craterville. Steel," Gear looked to A.J, his eyes full of pride. "This is General Apple Jack. Leader of the Fifth Earth Pony Battalion. You're looking at the mere who crossed the badlands with now food or water and took down the Golden Delicious slaver empire." Gear looked like he could die happy just because he knew General Apple Jack, who waved a hoof as if to say, "It was nothing."
"So you lived in Craterville huh?" She asked, Steel nodded. "I'm sorry for yer loss." She was very polite for somepony who had fought in the war. It seems all of the murder and death didn't tarnish her manners.
"It's not your fault." I responded. I wanted to come off as friendly yet serious, after all, this was a general. I needed to seem like someone who could be molded into a soldier.
"So A.J?" Gear spoke up. "What did Ignatius do to invoke you're wrath." He spoke almost sarcastically, but Steel sensed an element of truth when he said Wrath. Apple Jack's charisma seemed to dissipate slightly. Gear noticed he had hit a nerve. "Oh, uhh... Something personal?" A.J gave weak smile.
"Something like that." Gear nodded with respect.
"Soooo..." I added, reminding them I was still there. "You two fought together?" Gear nodded.
"We almost died together several times..." Gear smirked as he remembered something. "We even dated briefly." Apple Jack snorted.
"Tshhh, you wish!" Gear winked at the old mere. "We went under cover as a couple. But that didn't stop him from flirting with me every once and a while. You still haven't lost your..." Apple Jack looked Gear up and down and spoke sarcastically as a joke. "Charm."
"You know you love it." Gear added. Steel laughed. "So how did you break in?" Gear asked, "Steel didn't see you in the line on the way here." Apple Jack looked around, most ponies were asleep. After a long day of work, they didn't have to worry about sleepless nights, nightmares however.
"Can y'all keep a secret?" She asked. Gear gave her a look that seemed to say, "Really?" Apple Jack nodded and lifted her mattress. Beneath it was a hole. Burrowed right through the metal and into the ground.
"You dug this and just... slipped in?" Steel asked, the jagged edges in the metal made his metal worker side anxious. He thought of several tools that could smooth out the edges but he shook off these thoughts.
"Yep," A.J nodded, lowering the mattress and hiding the tunnel. "This leads out of Blood Field, it opens near the train tracks." Steel's eyes widened.
"So wait... We can just leave?" He asked. Staring at the mattress, hiding the gate to freedom.
"Technically yes," A.J responded. "But we won't." Steel looked up and met A.J's emerald green eyes. She may be old, but she was still beautiful, Steel could see why Gear was interested. "We still have work to do." Gear rubbed his hooves, a mad look in his eyes.
"So what's the plan?" He asked, clearly happy to jump back into the Frey. A.J smiled.
"Runaway Wagon." Gear began to laugh. Clearly "Runaway Wagon," was a code-name for a plan of attack.
"What does that mean?" Steel asked, once again feeling left out. Gear leaned toward Steel and whispered a description.
"We find the main base of operations in Blood Field and we topple it, collapse it completely." Gear seemed ecstatic to be helping his old friend once more. "We take out the supports and use the confusion to escape."
"The operation was named after a mishap at a family reunion I had before the war." A.J chuckled. "We sang a song and everything."
"Back when singing songs at random times was relatively normal." Gear added, A.J chuckled at that. Steel tried to remember which building seemed most important in Blood Field. There was one tall building, built like a small fortress, made entirely out of wood in the center of town. There were more guards there than anywhere. He voiced these thoughts to A.J and Gear. They pondered this.
"That seems like the right one." A.J said in contemplation. "But it could be a decoy."
"I don't think they're that smart." Steel responded, A.J and Gear looked at him, confused and curious. "Well, earlier today I had Solar, the mere with the helmet, offer me a job as a soldier." He explained. "From that conversation I could figure out a lot of things. They're not very good at keeping secrets so I doubt they could make a decoy." A.J added this conversation and looked up at the equations.
"Well then that gets rid of the need for these." She turned away from the equations on the wall, apparently the new input Steel had added, rendered them completely void. Steel would've asked what they were for, but he figured he would just get confused.
"So when do we attack?" Steel asked excitedly, eager to leave this place before it got worse. Solar had told everypony this was just the tip of the iceberg and Steel didn't want to be around when they started to sink.
"Woah kid, hold your horses." Gear interrupted. "We still need to advance your training. If we do have a chance at getting out of here, we need you to be competent enough to not screw it up." Steel felt disheartened.
"Ah, So yer trainin' him?" A.J asked. Gear nodded.
"Just got started, I taught him the history of the war yesterday." Gear explained. A.J raised an eyebrow and looked Steel up and down.
"Well you should learn the geography." A.J quickly lifted the mattress and slipped into the tunnel. She was fast despite her age. After a few seconds she slipped back from beneath the mattress, a folded piece of parchment and a quill in her teeth. The parchment was old, chipped, yellowing, dirty. A.J prepared to unfold the map but Gear stopped her.
"Not here." He added. "Follow me." Gear led Steel and A.J back to their usual corner as to keep as much privacy as possible. Once they felt like nopony was listening in, A.J unfolded the map. 
In a small corner the word "Equestria," was written in black. the map showed one main land mass. It ran up the center of the map and widened near the top. One small branch spread to the left just before it reached the top with the rest of the land. To the right was a second land mass. smaller than the first. The two were separated by a body of water.
"Woah." Said Gear in awe. "This is a map of the old world." A.J nodded. "Where did you get it?"
"Been keepin' it safe fer years." Said A.J, her voice muffled by the quill in her teeth. Gear shook off his shock and began to point to different towns and cities, they all had the names they used to have before the war.
"See where it says Apple Loosa?" He asked, Steel nodded. "That's where Craterville was." A.J scribbled out the name with the quill in her mouth and wrote Craterville Crater in it's place. Steel's heart sank slightly. Gear continued to name cities and change them. "Ponyville is a ghost town, just beneath that where it says Everfree Forest? That's where we are, Blood Field. Baltimere is now called The Keep. Don't go there, it's a terrible place. Canterlot is in ruins, nopony is living there that I know of.  Replace Rock Farm with Iron City, beneath Yak Yakistan write Icemore. Replace Cloudsdale with Fallen Sky. Where it says Manehattan? Write Pit." 
Steel recalled the two ponies from his first night here, they talked about Pit. It was a hole leading straight downward, seemingly endless. 
"In the center of the Badlands write Nowhere. Write Fall where Neighagra Falls used to be." Steel paused. Fall... That can't be right.
"Isn't it supposed to be Pure Falls?" Gear and A.J looked up at Steel, confused. "You said, Fall... It's Pure Falls, right?" Gear shook his head.
"Kid, It hasn't been called that in a long time." Steel looked down at the map confused. So much has changed, couldn't things just stay the way they were supposed to? "Write Steam City over Griffinstone, and scratch out The Crystal Empire and write Danger." Now Steel was REALLY confused.
"Danger is a city?" Steel stated, confused. "Isn't Nowhere weird enough?" Gear chuckled.
"No, danger as in keep out. Nopony has ever entered the Crystal Empire and come back. No bodies, no blood, nothing." Steel tilted his head. What could be in there? "And that's it! We'll get into the details tomorrow." Gear folded up the map and gave it to Steel who took it and slipped it under his mattress. A.J and Gear hugged each other and headed back to their own mattresses. Steel laid down, not feeling tired yet somehow still exhausted. How could so much have changed. Even after the war things were still changing. Nothing was sacred anymore, nothing too important to lose.
Steel shifted on his mattress. He had hoped the outside world wasn't as bad as he thought it was, but it was worse. Steel slowly drifted to sleep, a feeling of uncertainty hung over him. He didn't know if he wanted to survive out here anymore.
No, He told himself, I have to find my friends, then I can die. He thought of Iron Rose, Dale, Cable and Silver and he fell asleep with a small smile on his muzzle.
> Chapter 7: Dust to Dust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “Hurry up splinter!” A voice called from Splinter’s right. She realized she had been staring back at Iron City. It was a beautiful sight against the horizon. The tall silhouettes of steel skyscrapers sparkled and casted shadows on the dry dirt which looked positively boring by comparison. 
‘Well…’ Splinter thought to herself, ‘It is dirt.’
“We don’t have all day!” The voice shouted. Splinter begrudgingly turned away from her home and looked to her friend.
“Coming, Bart!” Splinter spoke in return. Bart just shook his head.
“Please stop calling me that,” He spoke as he turned and began to trot along the trail, pulling a small wagon attached to a harness around his chest. “My name is Barter.”
“Yeah well that’s a dumb name.” Splinter retorted, quickening her pace slightly in order to catch up to her red and brown friend. He gave her a sarcastic look.
“Is it dumber than Bart?” He asked, sounding as though he had tasted something sour. Splinter shook her head and nudged her friend playfully.  “Well at least I’m not named after an injury.” Barter retorted causing Splinter to turn with a sour look.
“Well it’s better than Grumpy Pumpkin!” She retorted, pointing behind Barter who turned to see another pony who had been so quiet, he almost forgot he was there. The pony wore a steel helmet and chestplate with a bandana over his mouth. The helmet had a hole cut into the center of the forehead as to allow the horn to poke through. A high collared coat was worn over the chestplate and a sighted and scoped rifle was slung over his back. A heavy looking revolver was strapped to his left hind leg. The guard pony looked up lazily and rolled his eyes.
“I’ll have you know that’s not actually his name.” Barter reasoned, looking back to Splinter who was smiling at the expression on the guard ponies face.
“I know.” She replied happily. “But he acts like it, so that’s what I call him.” She turned and continued to trot up the trail. Barter turned to their guard who had turned his head back to the dirt.
“How ya holdin’ up Shield?” Barter asked, deciding arguing with Splinter was a lost cause. The armored stallion looked up and nodded curtly. “You excited for the trip?” Barter continued.
Shield shrugged sluggishly and looked back down at the dirt, signifying the end of the conversation. Barter sighed and moved back up to Splinter.
“Whaddup Bart!” She said a little too loud, her voice echoing across the flat plain. Barter immediately regretted his decision to talk to her, but stuck with it regardless.
“Shield’s a bit strange isn’t he?” Barter turned his head and watched their assigned guard kick rocks as he walked. “He doesn’t talk much.” Splinter stopped suddenly making Barter shift to the left slightly as to not run into her on accident.
“Didn’t they tell you?” She asked incredulously, turning her head to Barter and resuming her pace. Barter raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?” He questioned.
“Ya know…” Splinter nudged him, egging him on as if he was lying. “The thing with Shield.” Barter noted that she said his real name.
“If I knew what you were talking about I wouldn’t be asking about it would I?” Splinter paused for a moment, thinking. After deciding he made a good point, she began to speak in a soft voice, making sure Shield couldn’t hear.
“He’s mute.” Barter shook his head slightly in surprise before looking back at Shield. “Well,” Splinter admitted, “He didn’t used to be.” Now Barter looked to Splinter, confused. “He had his tongue cut out.” Barter felt slightly sick, he suddenly realized there might be a reason for the bandanna over their guards mouth. “I don’t know the whole story but he had a run in with some raiders who tried to attack his outpost. They held him prisoner and tortured him, beat him, tortured him, and cut out his tongue. Eventually other soldiers found him and the others. He was rescued but he was never the same.”
“Poor guy.” Barter admitted, glancing back at Shield who was still staring down at the path beneath his hooves. Barter always prided himself on his ability to read people, make sense of their emotions and personality based on their body movement and what they say. When Barter looked into Shield’s eyes he could see there was something missing. Something taken away from the whole leaving him broken. And for some reason, Barter didn’t think Shield's look of sorrow was for his tongue.
The three of them walked for several hours, they had left early in the morning in order to arrive at their destination of Craterville by nightfall. The slowly moving sun made the shadows dance across the desert, Shield, Barter and Splinter shared the water they had brought and used it sparingly. Shield stuck the straw beneath his bandanna, not eager to show his mouth any time soon. 
His high collared coat and low hanging bandanna also hid his neck so the only real details about him that Barter and Splinter could see were his flank, his fore-hooves and his eyes, which looked tired and worn out. A pale and gentle blue. The dirt and dust was slowly replaced by cracked and dry clay as they entered a dry riverbed. The river that once ran through here had vanished during the war, causing drought for a lot of ponies in need of a drink, on top of the whole apocalypse thing. 
The creeps and cracks in the clay reminded Shield of skin that hadn’t seen water in decades. It reminded Barter of dry and overbaked bread, a sight he had seen often in his attempts to make food. The tan, bland clay reminded Splinter of an empty canvas she once found while exploring what was left of a small hamlet of four or five homes, all crumbled and charred. The canvas had withered and browned over time, the artist who had lived in the home previously, unbeknownst to Splinter, was going to paint a heroic picture of many of the diplomats and generals who had fought for the Pegasi and were then trying to finish off the last of the unicorns.
The group merchants and their guard crossed the riverbed and climbed up onto the same, dusty dirt they had left behind, squinting to shield their eyes as the wind picked up, causing dust to swirl through the air like angry hornets. The three travellers followed the riverbed and eventually came across a large crevice set in the ground next to the trail, Ghostly Gorge. It’s name was one of the few things to survive the war. Barter knew this meant they were getting close to the crossroads where they would be directed to Craterville, Splinter knew she needed to be more careful around the gorge lest she fall in, and Shield knew that a mint green stallion was approaching them from down the trail. Immediately, Shield began observing his surroundings, acting like he wasn’t interested or hadn’t yet noticed the pony and was just inspecting the rocks and dust.
“Well hello!” Said the mint stallion. He had an E.U.D on his hoof and a big smile on his face. He wore a dirty, stained and ripped white and blue striped jacket and had a twinkle in his eye as he spoke. Two saddlebags were slung over his flank. “And how are you doing on this fine evening?” His voice was higher pitched and smooth, he seemed genuinely happy and jaunty but there was something about his expression that wasn’t quite right.
“Good I guess.” Splinter replied, confused and slightly concerned but certainly amused. As a filly she had seen door to door salesponies and there was always the stereotype of the large mustached, cheapskate salespony but to see someone who matched this description nearly to the letter was amusing nonetheless.
“Well that’s terrific!” The mint stallion shouted a little too loudly. “I’m doing just fine myself, not that you cared to know!” He let out a loud, chortle, a guffaw of absolute joy as if his previous statement was a joke rather than an insult to Splinter’s manners. “Where are you folks headed if I may ask?”
Shield squinted slightly in the desert sun, all he could see were a few large rocks and some dead trees, large enough to hide a pony behind them. The guard pony walked to the gorge and looked down, nopony there, just a drop into blackness. Shield looked at the salespony curiously.
“Craterville.” Barter replied, eyeing the salsepony with curiosity. “Why?”
“Well it looks like you’re carrying merchandise and I was wondering if you would be interested in trading!” His smile widened which Splinter didn’t think was possible.
“Um, we were assigned to sell to Craterville only.” Barter explained.
“Ah I see, I see. But as long as you’re getting some spheres, who cares where it came from? Right!?” There was a pause in which nothing was said. Shield began moving around, shifting his perspective by walking forward and back, then in circles until finally, he caught the glimpse of a scope by the large rocks, reflecting the sunlight. Gotcha.
Shield pushed past Barter and Splinter and stood directly in front of the salsepony who was still smiling but now his eyes showed signs of confusion and slight worry.
“Here’s the part where you tell us you have an amazing deal, right?” If Splinter had not heard the voice coming from Shield’s mouth, or saw his bandanna moving when he spoke, she would’ve refused to believe it was him talking.
“Ummm…” Said the mint stallion.
“And that’s when you would start reaching into your bag and your friend by the rocks would fire at us as you grab your gun.” His voice was strange, slightly metallic and had an off putting electric quality to it. “Well I’m not gonna fall for it. This isn’t my first rodeo and I’m certainly not gonna be tricked by an ameture like you. You didn’t even get the bloodstains off of your coat.” Shield pointed to the salespony’s sleeve which had flecks of red stained into the fabric which Splinter and Barter hadn’t noticed before and apparently neither had the mint stallion.
“Shield?” Splinter asked, not knowing what else to say, she was too surprised. The salespony opened his mouth to speak but Shield interrupted.
“Before you call in the cavalry, I’ll give you three options. One, you walk away, you never saw us or heard of us, we never existed to you. Two, you miraculously manage to graze one of us with a bullet and proceed to be killed by the other two. Or Three, I give you six seconds to pick option number one before I splatter your brains all over the trail.” The salespony stopped smiling, sweat running down his face. “One,” His face lost some of it’s blood, growing pale and anxious. “Two,” He began to look between Shield and the glint of the rifle scope. “Three… Four.” The salespony slowly began to move his hoof toward his bag and Shield noticed instantly. “Five… Six.” There was a flash as two gunshots rang in the desert. 
The salespony fell to the ground with two holes in his chest and more blood staining his jacket. Without hesitation, Shield whipped his revolver around to aim at the rocks and fired a single shot. Splinter and Barter saw a small spray of blood from by the rocks as Shield’s bullet flew through layers of glass in the scope, sending the bullet and shards of broken glass into the sniper’s skull.
There was a small pause of near silence, the gunshots echoing down the crevice. Splinter and Barter could only stare at Sheild. He stood, gun still aimed at the rocks he was absolutely still, not a twitch to be seen.
“Shield, that was-” Splinter started but their guard held up a hoof.
“There’s at least one more. Most likely in a flanking position. Don’t turn around.” Shield whispered, just as Splinter began to turn her head. “Remain still.”
What seemed like hours of silence passed, though it was only a few seconds. Shield’s ears swiveled on top of his head and faced behind him, past Splinter and Barter, like he knew somepony was there. There was a soft snap, Splinter gasped, a loud bang, Splinter shut her eyes as she felt something whizz past her, then a heavy thud. Splinter kept her eyes shut for a few moments more, breathing heavily.
“Woah.” Said Barter. There was some hoofsteps as Splinter began to open her eyes. She saw Shield standing there, gun still raised, aiming just past her head, she wouldn't've been surprised to find some missing fur on her cheek. But no, his aim was too good. The mysterious guard flipped his gun through the air and it soared into his holster, he turned quickly and began examining the corpse of the salespony; patting his jacket and looking into his saddlebag. From the saddlebag he drew a gun. It was crude, but it looked as if it could do some damage.
Shield pulled out his own gun and examined the two as Splinter watched. She didn’t know what he was doing, he couldn’t be thinking about taking the weapon, it was rusted, scratched and dirty while Shield’s pistol was shining, silver, not a spot to be seen. Shield removed the clip from both guns, slid the clip from the other pistol into his own gun, and his clip into his saddlebag.
He tossed the rusty gun to the ground and flipped his own back into his holster. He turned to Barter who was staring down at the other raider corpse who had a hole directly through his neck, and if Splinter remembered her health class correctly, the bullet flew directly through the jugular vein and then through the spinal cord for good measure.
“What does he have on him?” Shield asked, his strange sounding voice sending a chill down Splinter’s spine.
“Ummmm…” Said Barter, leaning down closer to the body. “Leather vest, sunglasses, choker necklace-”
“I’m mute, not blind, what’s in his pockets.” Shield said forcefully. Barter opened his mouth to point out that the so called ‘mute’ was speaking right now, but determined Shield would probably break all of his joints if he did. Barter began to go through the raider’s pockets.
“Couple 10mm rounds,” Barter listed. “An old revolver, what’s this?” Barter, along with the other items, drew out a folded piece of paper, which looked like it was torn out of a magazine. 
He began trying to unfold it, but it seemed to be stuck. He began to slowly peel it open, trying not to tear it in case it was a map or a hitlist or something. 
But when he finally got it open he didn’t find a map, or a hit-list, instead he found a picture of a mare. She was younger looking, Long red mane and soft pink colored coat. She sat in a rather provocative pose, soft violet eyes rolled back in pleasure, she was covered in a liquid which matched the color of the stains on the picture itself, the substance which had originally stuck this picture shut. Suddenly, something clicked in Barter’s mind and he shouted like he had just seen an irradiated scorpion.
“Can we burn this before I vomit please?” He asked, dropping the picture quickly.
“What is it?” Said Splinter, moving closer and tilting her head to get a better view.
“Splinter you don’t wanna-” But it was too late. She had picked it up and was looking at it a little too closely. Gradually, her cheeks grew redder and redder.
“What? She’s pretty hot, you don’t like mares Barter? Wow, didn’t expect that from you.”
“I like mares,” Said Barter calmly. “I just don’t like the picture itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the stains.” Splinter squinted and moved the soiled picture closer to her face. Then she sniffed and her eyes went wide.
“This isn’t…” Barter nodded.
“It was stuck together before I opened it.”
“GAAH!” Splinter shouted, trying to drop it but it stuck to her hoof. She shook it back and forth until it finally detached and fell to the ground. She shook her entire body like she was trying to remove mud from her coat, then she stuck out her tongue and shut her eyes, as if she couldn’t believe it. “I’m starting to regret this trip.” She gagged.
“What’s on the other side?” Shield asked, he had removed the clip that came from the filthy gun. The clip itself was a bit rusted as well, rust which Shield was now scrubbing off.
“I’m not touching that thing again!” Splinter yelled incredulously. “I don’t care how hot she is!” Shield slid the now clean clip back into his gun with a click.
“Just flip it over.” He said calmly, looking Splinter in the eyes. Whether or not he was trying to threaten her, she was scared. She shook her head and let out a whimper before she gently blew on the picture, leaning in far closer than she would’ve liked to. After a few seconds of whimpering and Barter laughing, the picture flipped over. There was a large, black and grey blot which seemed like an ink stain at first, but then Splinter saw the red and white.
“It’s a crow’s head.” Shield, looked up suddenly.
“What did you say?” Splinter met the guard’s gaze, confused. “Be more specific.”
“It’s the head of a crow with a pool of blood beneath it, it has white eyes and-”
“A scarred X between it’s eyes?” Shield asked. Splinter merely nodded. Shield gave her a grave look.
“Why?”
“Barter, what else does he have?” Shield continued, ignoring Splinter’s question.
“I’m a little nervous to reach back in there.” Said Barter, eyeing the man’s vest.
“Just do it!” Shield shouted. When he raised his voice, it crackled and popped like a poorly made record playing on a poorly made record player. Barter jumped at the sound and reached into the corpse’s vest. He pulled out a small notebook. Shield rushed forward and began flipping through the pages. His eyes zoomed from page to page, reading them quicker than Splinter thought was possible. He eventually stopped on a page and began to read aloud.
“We’ve just received word that a trading caravan will be leaving Iron City to head toward Craterville, apparently they haven’t received any news in the past three months. It shouldn’t be too hard to take out, there's only one guard assigned to them.” He furrowed his brown in relief and worry, two emotions which were confusing when felt at the same time.
“What is it?” Splinter asked, stepping forward. Shield didn’t lift his gaze from the notebook as he spoke.
“Well they’re not from The Black Beak which is good for us. But this does mean they have somepony on the inside.” Shield listed. Splinter tilted her head like a dog who had just heard a new sound.
“The Black Beak?” She asked. Shield shook his head, eyes still perusing the pages of the notebook.
“Let’s just say that interception would’ve been constructed much better than it was if these men were from The Black Beak.” He answered, if you would call that an answer.
“Well where are they from?” Asked Barter as he nudged the deceased raider with his hoof. Shield flipped through the notebook until he found, on the first page, the symbol of a tree, drawn in a crimson red. He rolled his eyes.
“Bloodfield.” Barter rolled his eyes as well, but Splinter tilted her head slightly more. Shield noticed and sighed. “I don’t really like the whole talking thing in the first place, it kind of hurts. Barter, explain.” Shield said in a resigned tone as he turned back to making sure his gun was spick and span, as if it weren’t clean enough already. Barter shook his head and turned to Splinter.
“Bloodfield is a raider town just a few miles out of Craterville.” He explained. “They’re not very dangerous, until now they’ve only barely managed to survive being attacked. They would be a threat if they had more power but for now, if you’re not an idiot, you shouldn’t have to worry about them.”
“You might have some trouble then.” Said Splinter before stomping her hoof on the ground and laughing like she had just called Barter out on some great secret. The merchant merely shook his head and moved closer to Shield, the only other person who seemed to take things seriously.
“I’m wondering what happened to Craterville.” He continued, while Splinter still laughed and giggled behind them, snorting and wheezing and barely managing to get a few words in.
“Cuz-cuz-cuz, you’re an idiot!” She cried.
Shield shrugged, ignoring the laughing mare behind him, and his eyes seemed to say: “I guess we’ll find out when we get there.” Shield holstered his gun one last time and stood, quickly examining the immediate surroundings and then glancing up at the bloodstain on the rocks where he had shot the sniper. Shield sighed… He really wanted that rifle. He began to trudge his way up the small hill toward the rock faces, making his way around the crevice.
“Where are you going?” Barter called after the wandering guard, who merely pointed up the hill with a hoof. Barter was not eager to let the obviously most skilled member of their trio, wander off alone, especially with the knowledge that there were raiders who had access to their trading routes. Shied found the carcass of the sniper he had shot, a gauged hole through the Pegasus’s left eye socket. A few shards of glass dotted the wound and went deep inside to the skull.
He examined the corpse with expertise.  fitted motorcycle helmet had a bullet sized hole punched through the back which caused a large crack to form, completely useless. Black cloth robes stained with blood and dirt, not armored at all, least it could do was provide camouflage in the night, useless. A few orbs which Shield pocketed, a few spare pistol rounds which Shield pocketed and a tattoo on the Pegasus’s left forehoof beneath the black robes. Shield could not pocket this, nor did he want to, but he did examined it closely. A black and twisted cross with two, dark feathery wings.
“What’s up?” Splinter asked, making Shield draw his pistol in defense. That pony was silent as the night.
“This man is a Raven.” Said Shield through the pain, gesturing to the tattoo. "Either that or he was important enough to earn their brand." Splinter slowly squinted and tilted her head, something she did often when she didn’t know what ponies were talking about apparently. Shield sighed.
“Raven,” Shield began, “Is an acronym. R.A.V.E.N; Respectable And Viable Expert of Necromancy.”
“1, that’s a stupid acronym,” Replied Splinter. “2, necromancy? And 3, wow, that’s a stupid acronym. I mean really?” Shield chuckled softly. It was a strange noise to Splinter’s ears, but it was better than him shouting or threatening someone. She smiled softly. “So necromancy eh?”
“Yeah,” Shield turned back to the corpse. “They live in Steam City though there are a few in Pit. A group, or cult if you ask me, that specialize in dark magic.”
“I lived in Pit.” Said Splinter, moving to the body and wondering if he had come from there until she remembered Shield explaining that they had come from Bloodfield.
“I don’t think he came from Bloodfield.” Said Shield, almost like he could read her thoughts. “Or Pit for that matter. I think he was hired, for support and medical help if anything were to go wrong.”
“Too bad he can’t bring himself back from the dead.” Splinter nudged the corpse with her hoof. Shield looked around for the sniper rifle, it wasn’t in the Raven’s hooves like Shield had hoped. 
Perhaps the force of his bullet made the sniper fall over and toss it aside. Shield looked for scrapes and chips in the rock and dirt, any sign of the rifle. Eventually he did find some scrapes on the rocks heading toward the crevice, a few shards of glass and a torn piece of military grade cloth which looked like it might’ve belonged to the rifle’s strap. Shield cursed to himself, he could imagine the rifle bouncing into the darkness, never to be seen again. He moved back to Splinter who was still nudging the corpse.
She looked up at him inquisitively. “Ya get it?” She asked. Shield merely waved her along as he began trotting back down the hill. “Sooooooo…” Said Splinter, preparing to touch on a most likely sensitive topic. “What’s wrong with your voice?” Shield kept trotting, no response. “Cuz i mean, I heard you lost your tongue but obviously that’s not true cuz you can do the whole… Talking… Thing.” Still no response. Splinter sighed. “Well i’m just gonna start spreading rumors about you until i find the truth so it’s your loss.”
“You start spreading rumors,” Said Shield forcefully, his voice popping and scratching like a blown out speaker. “And soon you’ll be the one without a tongue.” Splinter stared at the back of his head intensely and then decided he wouldn’t give her an answer, so she dropped it. The two made their way back down the hill where they found Barter looking nervous. He had detached his harness from the wagon of crates full of trading goods. Each of the crates were wrapped and stamped with the same symbol found on spheres and cubes; a star with wings, mid flight. The whole load of crates had a large tarp drawn over them, tied to hooks on the wagon.
“What were you to doing?” Barter asked after jumping at the sight of them, he was too focused on his surroundings, making sure no deadly assassins were creeping up on him.
“Becoming best friends!” Splinter giggled, raising her hoof to punch Shield on the shoulder, and then realized she probably wouldn’t have a hoof anymore if she did. “Right Shield?” She asked. Shield ignored her and moved to Barter’s side.
“I suggest we get moving,” He spoke, while re-attaching the harness to Barter. “They might have an outpost near here where they restocked or something. They might come looking and we can’t be here if they do. I suggest we continue down the trail for a few more hours and find some shelter to camp.” He gestured to the wagon with the lumpy, polygonal shaped tarp draped over the top. “We can’t leave this cargo out in the open.”
“So you know what it is?” Barter asked. Shield turned to him, slight confusion on his face.
“No… You don’t?”
“Nope.” Said Splinter. “They didn’t tell us a thing.” Barter reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of cardstock.
“We’re just supposed to show them this and they’ll do with the cargo what they need to. What they don’t take we take to these addresses.” Barter held the slip of cardstock to Shield, who took it, and reached to a small cavity in the side of the wagon containing a clipboard with several addresses and street names scribbled on the parchment. Shield looked at the cardstock, ignoring the clipboard. It was a subtle off-white color, with a single swirl inked into the center. He flipped the card over. Nothing.
“Yeah, weird right?” Said Barter, placing the clipboard back into its cavity. “It’s gotta be some kind of magic.”
“How?” Asked Splinter who had taken a seat on the ground and was flicking rocks with her front hoof. “All the unicorns are… Ya know… Eck!” She made a strangled noise and raised her hoof, pretending she was held at the neck by a noose. Barter shrugged.
“Yeah, but there’s still… A-Al-Alchem-ALCHEMY! Alchemy, that’s the one.” He stuttered. Splinter scratched her chin.
“How do you think it’s activated?” She asked, stepping forward to examine the card more closely.
“That’s not for us to know,” Said Barter dismissively, slipping the card back into his pocket. “It’s for us to deliver. Now let’s get moving. They pay less If you’re late.” And with that, the guard, the merchant and the apprentice began walking back along the trail to the destination which was no longer there. 
They walked and walked until they tired and Barter’s E.U.D beeped, signaling them to set up camp, camouflage the cart and sleep until another alarm would wake them in the eternal afternoon. They walked several more miles, passing the occasional destroyed neighborhood or charred and broken down carriage until they finally arrived at the crossroads. Planks of rotting, blackened wood lined the dirt making a forced trail in the dirt caused by what once were railroad tracks leading from town to town.
The dried dirt and dead plants crunched beneath their hooves as they trekked down the trail. Every Once and awhile Shield would cough, or yawn, his vocal chords would produce a fizzy, popping sound. Barter and Splinter’s ears would swivel and they would examine Shield like an open sore, prone to infection. Their stomach writhed collectively, the sound seemed utterly wrong and out of place. No matter how she approached it, Splinter simply couldn’t get Shield to tell her why his voice was the way that it was. She began attempting to piece it together by asking vague questions, which didn’t work out too well seeing as all the questions she asked were either too obvious, or so vague they were completely off topic. For the next three hours of walking after packing up the camp it was just,
“So, Shield, what’s your favorite song? Wanna sing it for us?” or “So, Shield, are you allergic to anything?” or something along the lines of, “So, Shield…. Can you PLEASE just tell me already?” To which Shield would either reply with a two letter answer, or a slightly static sounding grunt as they kicked up dust marching across the trail, hours passing as they trotted, the wagon wheels scraping and rolling over rocks and a stray bone every once and awhile. There were animals living out in the wastes, they are mostly hunted down and eaten or to have their bodies used to make tools or clothes. Many skulls and skeletons of various animals dot the waste, pale bone contrasting the bland brown and tan. Splinter always hated seeing skeletons like that. She knew they weren’t as aware as ponies are, they didn’t truly understand what they were, they couldn’t comprehend life itself but still… To imagine the pain they must’ve gone through.
It sent shivers down her spine. They walked and walked, seeing skeleton after skeleton. Cows, birds, ones that resembled cats or dogs, household pets and… Oh sweet Celestia… A half buried skeleton that looked a bit like a pony, but she didn’t dare dig it up to find out. They appeared to be passing through some sort of graveyard, more and more skeletons were scattered across the ground, mostly broken, cracked and split bones revealing the marrow. Skulls of animals missing the teeth, chunks of metal, perhaps used as headstones… Okay that is definitely a pony skeleton… and another one… And another one. Splinter gasped as the group came upon a field of chunks of metal, blackened wood and ash, the landscape transitioning to burnt dirt and charred bone.
“W… W-what happened here?” Splinter stuttered. Barter and Shield examined their surroundings. Barter’s face showed shock and unparalleled worry while Whield only showed anger.
“What is this place?” Shield growled, his voice fizzing with anger like a radio that can’t quite seem to find the correct station.
“You mean… This isn’t craterville?” Splinter asked.
“You see any craters?” He responded, his voice calm, but a rage hid behind that bandanna. “That’s still at least two miles up, this is something different.” He spoke as he leaned down and began examining the skeletons, charred black from some unknown heat which was no longer present. Cracked and fractured bone, some with chunks of metal, previously thought to be headstones, crushing limbs and spines, pinning the bones to the dirt.
“Who were these ponies?” Asked Barter, detaching from the cart and rubbing his torso, sore from hours of pulling.
“They’ve been dead for quite a while.” Shield responded, setting down a skull he had picked up to examine. “A month at least.”
“Do you think there was a battle here or something?” Barter suggested.
“Between who?” Said Splinter, trying not to look at some of the smaller, younger looking skeletons. “Gangs?”
“What gang could do something like this?” At this the group looked around, fields of chunks of metal, splinters of wood and bone, charred dirt and skulls.
“They would need a powerful weapon.” Said Barter.
“Or a LOT of flamethrowers.” Said Splinter. Barter and Shield looked to her.
“I can’t tell if you’re actually that naive or just making a joke.” Said Shield.
“I think it’s a bit of both.” Barter said, shaking his head.
“Regardless,” Shield continued, standing and stepping away from the fallen ponies. “We should continue toward Craterville, see if they’re alright. These could’ve been raiders for all we know, and Craterville might’ve done this in self defense.” Barter nodded.
“Where did Craterville get a weapon like this?” Asked Splinter.
“The Masked Lords have a lot of things they don’t tell us, a massive weapon may be one of them.”
“Umm…” Said Splinter, sounding a bit nervous. “Who… Who are the Masked Lords again?” Shield had to keep himself from removing his bandana, purely so his jaw could drop, however that would be a rather disturbing sight. Barter however let his jaw drop as far as it could.
“I’m sorry…” He apologized in disbelief. “Do you not know who the Masked Lords are?” Splinter shrugged.
“I don’t know, I don’t really pay attention to things that aren’t directly in front of me.” Shield and Barter both shook their head.
“Explain it to her.” Said Shield, as he began trotting forward toward Craterville. And Barter did so as they marched their way through the char and soot. An incline met their hooves as they walked, a lumpy hill leading upward, leading to Craterville. It was a bit steeper than they remembered.
“You go ahead, find out where you need to go,” Said Shield just a few feet before the crest of the hill, which would, on the other side, drop into the city itself. “I’ll keep watch, Just in case whoever killed all those ponies is still around.” Barter nodded.
“Am I the only one who noticed that the ground is still black?” Asked Splinter.
“No, you’re not.” Said Shield, pulling out his revolver and looking down the hill. Barter and Splinter exchanged a worried look before walking up the incline. The edge of the main crater that comprised most of Craterville was a sheer drop, but luckily there was a metal bridge leading downward into the town… Or there was a bridge… And there WAS a town.

> Chapter 8: New Blood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Splinter and Barter looked down into what is known now as Craterville Crater. Black soot and ash comprised the landscape. Spikes of burnt, black and melted metal pooled and jutted out of the dirt. Foundations of buildings remained but slowly turned to split stone, then to rubble, then to dust as they got closer to the center of the crater. Barter remembered a large, ornate iron dome being the center of town, now it was merely a pool of cooled melted metal. And burnt into the dirt and metal in the center of town, was a huge, strange looking star with a few other sparkles surrounding it. Splinter and Barter gasped, tasting the ash filled the air.
“Sweet Celestia.” Said Barter.
“Shield?” Splinter called out, her voice echoing down into the ruins of what was once Craterville. Dread and worry did back-flips in her stomach, she wanted to vomit it and by the look on his face, Barter felt the same.
“Yeah?” He called back, his voice popping with exertion.
“It’s… It’s a crater.” There was a pause.
“Yeah, that’s kind of the city’s whole thing.”
“No.” Said Barter. “It’s been destroyed.” His voice was oddly calm. From behind them, they heard Shield holster his pistol and gallop up the hill next to them. His bandanna shifted awkwardly as if his jaw had dropped behind the fabric. He gazed down at the ruined and melted buildings and walkways, reduced to jagged and misshapen lumps of metal.
“There was a bomb or something.” Said Splinter, holding back the bile while staring at the substantial range of charred dirt behind them. “The blast radius is huge.”
“Only one kind of bomb that can do this.” Said Shield. For the first time, Splinter and Barter heard what sounded like a quiver to his voice. Not from fear, no. From anger building in his stomach and throat. “Come on.” He added, beginning to carefully shuffle his way down into the crater.
“But,” Splinter stuttered. “What if it's radioactive?” Shield kept making his way down the crater face.
“Unicorn Bombs don’t leave radiation.” He explained.
“What Bombs?” Asked Splinter, ever more confused. Barter shook his head, detached from his harness and began following Shield down into the crater.
“Come on,” Said Barter, “I’ll explain on the way.” Splinter let out a long sigh, then a few worried looks around the black landscape, before shaking her head and beginning her trek down the steep decline into the destroyed city below.
The three shuffled slowly down the crater face, knocking loose rocks down into the base. Every once and awhile they would nearly slip of the smooth surface of melted then cooled metal in the dirt, like shadows of the houses and walkways once built onto the wall of the crater. Splinter was shaking. She had never been to Craterville before, but she had heard about it. She heard stories of a grand city, a symbol of life going on despite the war. The people there were tough, they persevered through everything…. Almost everything.
They made their way to the base of the crater and as they got closer to the center the more pools of melted metal there were. Structures slowly got more and more dispersed as more pools of melted and cooled metal. Here there were little to no skeletons to be seen. Shield had expected to see ominously pony shaped piles of ash, but none were to be found, this must’ve happened a while ago. He stopped, something clicking in his brain. “apparently they haven't received any news in the past three months.”
“Whatever happened here,” Shield began, “Happened at least three months ago.”
“How do you know?” Splinter asked, her voice still quivering like she had been mortally wounded.
“It said so in that raider’s journal.” Explained Barter, apparently he had similar thoughts to Shield. Splinter took a sweeping look at the large crater. Craterville had been a decent sized city inside of a decent sized crater, and whatever caused this had only widened the basin in which Craterville was set.
“So do you think raiders are responsible for this?”
“No,” Shield answered quickly. Splinter and Barter turned to him, he was starting at the large scorched star set into the melted metal and rock. “Raider’s like them couldn’t get their hooves on a Unicorn Bomb.” He explained. “Not this one.”
“What do you mean by that?” Asked Barter. Shield rolled his eyes.
“You see that scorch mark?” He pointed with his hoof, the T.I.C on his foreleg clicked and shifted as his muscles moved so suddenly. Barter and Splinter could only nod. “This Unicorn Bomb belonged to a very powerful, and important pony. For someone to get a hold of it would either need a LOT of money or VERY skilled thieves and fighters to steal it.” Splinter looked at the burned star in the dirt, it seemed distorted from this angle. “Raiders couldn’t get anything like that anytime soon.”
“Well then,” Barter stuttered, furrowing his brow. “who did this?” Shield thought for a moment.
“It had to have been a faction or a town or something.” He reasoned. “Somepony with enough power and lack of morality to be able to wipe out an entire city. To waste a Unicorn Bomb like this one.” He reached out to touch the burn mark.
“Hey!” A voice shouted from behind them. Shields revolver was out before Barter and Splinter could blink. The two merchants followed the barrel of the large, silver firearm. A few hundred feet away was a pony, he looked haggard, dirty, wearing scraps of leather armor and cloth. Splinter’s E.U.D hummed softly as she grabbed a hold of her pistol and slowly pulled it out of her holster. “We got some stragglers!” The voice finished. Suddenly, echoing from all around them, they heard laughter. High pitched, seeming to come from everywhere.
“Get em’ boys!” Said one of the many, cackling voices. Tens of hoofsteps echoed through the ruined and half melted buildings around them.
“Brace yourself!” Said Shield, his eyes squinting down the sights of his revolver. A dirty, scarred head of a pony peeked around the corner of a melted pile of rubble and before he could let out another laugh, a .357 caliber bullet entered the raider’s left eye socket. Blood sprayed like a geyser as he fell to the dirt with a thud. Two, three more ponies came from behind buildings and piles of rock, carrying blades or rusted pistols. Splinter cocked her pistol which was dwarfed by the sheer size of Shields firearm. She watched as the hammer of the revolver swung and a bullet was launched from the barrel. Designs were etched into the metal and handle, wherever he got this gun, he’s had it for a while.
Splinter focused once more just in time to whip her pistol in front of her and down a raider wielding a large, sharp scrap of metal who had been running at her, swinging it wildly. She gasped as blood speckled her face, the taste of iron stinging her tongue. Her stomach churned.
Barter watched as Shield downed raider after raider. One, two, three, four, five. All the way to nine before pulling the trigger produced nothing more than a click. The clamp around the enormous revolver’s handle loosened. Shield tossed it in the air and caught the rod in the trigger guard before the clamp tightened around the barrel of the gun. More raiders seemed to crawl out of the woodwork and Shield began swinging, the heavy butt of the gun knocking out teeth and cracking jaw bones.
Splinter stepped back, her hoof holding the pistol shaking. At least five raiders were approaching, two had pistols while the other three carried sharp shards of metal. They were all smiling, Sweet Celestia why were they smiling? Splinter heard the high-pitched hum of her E.U.D and involuntarily watched as her pistol fell to the dirt.
“What are you doing!” Shield shouted at her, his voice cracking  more than ever before a raider behind him raised a razor-sharp scrap of metal and swung just as Splinter was tackled to the ground. Barter watched as skin split and crimson began to pour onto the rubble and rocks below. A deep gash spread across Shield’s forehoof, his gray fur stained by blood. The blade reached muscle and his T.I.C slacked. His revolver fell to the dirt with a heavy thud.
Shield grunted loudly as raiders took him to the ground, a raider holding his head down, the pressure alone made him want to yell, a headache cracked across his mind.
Splinter and Shield’s hooves were quickly and forcefully bound in shackles two of the raiders had been carrying while Barter was being surrounded by no less than eight raiders. He began bucking and kicking with all of his might. His rear hooves collided with the faces, chests, and ribs of four or five raiders, he felt the cracks and clicks of bones against his hooves before a wicked shard of metal slashed across his flank, sending a deep cut straight through his cutie mark. He screamed as blood poured from the wound and the skin split, he could see his own muscle. His vision became dizzy, and he collapsed to the ground.
His vision lingered just long enough to see the blurs and shadowy shapes of raiders attach shackles to his hooves and begin dragging him away to an unknown destination. He felt the blood drip down his leg, and the rocks a rubble catch in his mane. He felt more tired than he had ever been before. He opened his mouth and with all the will he could muster, managed to produce merely a whisper.
“Splinter?” His vision faded black and his head held up with what little strength he had, fell to the dirt with a muffled thud.
“Barter!” Splinter yelled, snapping out of her daze. She needed to help him, she needed to make sure he was okay.
“Ya lost girly!” A raider giggled. He walked toward Shield , a plank of wood attached to a gnarly hook screwed into his hoof. The wood dragged against the dirt making a horrible scraping sound, her awaiting demise. He lifted the plank and swung viciously, a wicked smile on his face. It struck the side of Shield’s head. Splinter flinched at the sight. A bead of blood tracked from Shield’s ear down the side of his head. He let out a sound like a blown out speaker being struck by a sledgehammer. He grunted, his eyes open wide as he struggled to try to get to his hooves despite the shackles, but the blow to the head had done its job and Shield’s eyes began to droop until he fell, his eyes closed as if in a deep sleep.
The raider holding the plank of wood looked to Splinter with the same, wicked grin. Chipped and yellowing teeth glinting in the sunlight. Another raider began to tug on her shackles, dragging her through the dirt, closer to the plank wielding bandit. Soon she was surrounded by filthy, deranged raiders, all smiling down at her.
“Soon,” Said the raider holding the wooden plank, “you will wake in Bloodfield and everything will be better.” He cackled. It haunted Splinter to her very bones. The sun stained air soon filled with the hideous laughter of the rest of the raiders, joining their friend. Cheering and whooping, waiting to see Splinter in pain for the fleeting moment before she felt to unconsciousness. The first raider raised his wooden plank, the end specked with blood from Splinter’s fallen friends. She closed her eyes tight and flinched as she heard the *Whoosh!* of wood swing through the air. She was in more pain than she had ever been in, but it only lasted a few seconds. The black of the inside of her eyelids began to swirl and spin with white spots forming like the birth of stars in a night sky before she fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.


The world was chaos. Mares and stallions wailed in pain and terror. Splinter didn’t know where she was. Columns of fire rained from the sky and scorched the earth. Armies of pegasi and earth ponies charged and slaughtered each other, no clear sides were taken. Glowing orbs were launched from one side of the battlefield to the other, exploding on impact, sending corpses and body parts flying in every direction. Splinter wanted to close her eyes, to hide, to get away, but she didn’t seem to have control of her body.
Something shifted amongst the corpses, something small, something that didn’t belong there. A young filly, no older than nine, stepped forth from the destruction. She was a pale red with a brown mane. Her eyes were a soft green, drowning in tears. She looked questioningly at Splinter like she needed help. Splinter tried to move, to hug the little filly, but once again she found her muscles resisting. The filly squeezed her eyes shut and screwed up her face. A light appeared around her forehead, upon which Splinter could now see a rounded horn, glowing with magic. The filly screamed, drowning out the sounds of war, her eyes glowing with a magenta light. Then everything went silent, and all that was left was the stars.


Splinter awoke to a swift kick to her stomach and a pain in the side of her head like it was about to split in half. Her eyes flicked open in shock as the wind knocked out of her.
"Get up!" A gravelly voice shouted above her, her eyes watered with pain as she clutched her head and stomach, not knowing which to give more attention to. She didn't recognize where she was. She laid on a filthy, thin mattress. The walls and ceiling were a dull gray, skewed black and brown in a few places. Dozens of other ponies were in this room as well, most wearing rags, laying on similar mattresses to Splinter's. A few ponies were wearing crude armor and holding spears using the same hooks screwed into their hoof. Splinter shuddered as she stood, the guard who had kicked her huffed and began kicking other ponies, rudely waking them from their few hours of peace every day.
"You will get dressed and get to work!" A guard pony shouted over the crowd of groaning slaves. "And for the newbies?" The guard looked around the room, looking to several ponies, two of which she recognized. Amongst the other newcomers, Splinter saw Barter, being kicked awake by the same guard who had kicked her. "You will be assigned personally by the captain!" After surveying the crowd for a few seconds, Splinter spotted Shield, sitting atop his own mattress.
His bandanna was missing, but what seemed to be a crudely ripped piece of cloth was tied over his mouth in its stead. It resembled a shabby, dirty medical mask, and for the first time, Splinter could see the parts of Shield's body that were normally covered by his clothes. His gray coat was spotted here and there with varying scars. Bullet wounds, cuts, and burns and as Splinter's eyes moved up Shield's body to his neck, the scars got more frequent. Specifically what seemed to be burn scars, all leading up to a large patch of missing fur just beneath his chin. The skin warped and blistered, and Splinter began to get a good idea as to what was under that scrappy piece of cloth over his muzzle.
Splinter looked down and began to examine her E.U.D when she noticed it was off. She began frantically pressing buttons and flipping switches. She tried tensing her muscles, trying to activate something, but to no avail. E.U.Ds don't just turn off. It's not in their programming. Somepony must have tampered with it. Splinter found herself filling with anger and confusion as the guard ponies began to march their prisoners, single file, out of the large holding room and out a large metal door.
She watched as pony after pony stood and began to mope their way into line. Shield stood and walked into line, quickly followed by Barter, who clutched his stomach with a hoof while he walked. Splinter quickly joined them, slipping behind Shield and in front of Barter. She leaned forward and tried to whisper as quietly as she could.
"Where are we?" Shield's ears twitched, but he didn't respond. Splinter began to turn her head back to Barter but stopped herself deciding it would bring too much attention. The line of ponies moved with purpose, being poked, prodded and yelled at by guards. Eventually, Splinter, Shield, and Barter passed through the metal doorway and into the eternal sunlight. They were in a town if you could call it that. Decrepit wooden shacks and huts surrounded them, some with multiple stories though they more closely resembled multiple worn down houses lazily stacked on top of each other. The absence of buildings made a road upon which the line of ponies was now standing. The three weary and pained partners soon joined them, facing three guards and one mare in particular who had an old battered helmet placed on her head through which Splinter could see the reflection of her own pained face. She looked like she had been dragged through the dirt.
"Listen up!" Shouted the helmeted mare despite the fact the captured crowd was already silent. "You are now slaves. I will not sugar coat this for you!" She began to pace, her yellow coat collecting dust as she walked. "In fact, you can expect no 'sugar' from this place." Down the line to the right of Splinter, somepony began sobbing. Splinter watched as everypony turned their head to look. A young mare with a baby blue coat and seafoam green mane had tears streaking down her cheeks. This mare, in particular, had several bruises and cuts on her face.
"Please," She stuttered, the fur beneath her eyes beginning to soak with salty tears. "Please, let me go." The guards acted almost instinctively. Two of the three moved around the sobbing mare and knocked her to the ground with a thud, kicking up dust where she fell. The helmeted mare walked forward, almost playfully slow.
"I was speaking," She growled. "You spineless bitch." She spun on her forehooves and delivered a powerful kick to the sobbing mare's stomach who slid a few inches across the dirt. "You'd do best to remain silent." The helmeted mare finished, punctuating her sentence by spitting on the poor mare's face.
"Get up." One of the guards grunted, shoving the baby blue pony onto her knees. From there she weakly got to her hooves and tried her best to ignore her tears, holding her head high.
"Now!" The yellow mare continued. "I don't want to hear any more complaining, you are as of now, citizens of Bloodfield, and nothing you say or do is going to change that." She resumed her pacing, up and down the line she went, looking each pony in the face, passing Splinter and her friends without a second glance. "My second in command here will assign you what will be your job for the remainder of your stay here." She lifted a hoof and gestured to the third guard who had yet to move. He was taller, better built. A short reddish mane sprouted from brown fur. He gazed up and down the line with hazel eyes.
"Sergeant Steel!" The mare shouted. The brown earth pony saluted in response. "Take over from here." Steel nodded, completed his salute, and stepped forward as the yellow mare walked down the road, away from the line of captured ponies.
"Alright," The brown sergeant began. "Every other pony step foreward, let's get this done."
> Missing Magic: Better Grammar Edition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1
A Gift For a Friend

Beep Beep Beep Beep!
Steel groaned as the alarm on his E.U.D activated. He opened his eyes and squinted as the faint glow of the sun shining through the window shutters hit his pupils, causing them to contract. He lifted his left forehoof and examined the silver device attached there. The clock application on the small, dark green screen read "7:45 AM." Steel tapped a button marked, "Alarm off" with his muzzle and the beeping stopped. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away the tiredness, before grunting and climbing off of his bed. Springs creaked and the soft thud of heavy metal hitting wood pierced the silence which still rang after the shriek of his alarm.
He stumbled for a moment as his vision went black, blood rushing to his head. Steel shivered slightly as his vision began to clear, causing his hair to fall into his face.
“Stupid mane.” He muttered. Swiping with his left hoof, Steel wiped the hair out of his vision and walked towards his closet. He looked around at the pitiful supply of dull, gray and brown clothes. He sighed and lazily threw on a gray button-up shirt and a brown trench coat over it. The wood creaked as he walked over to a tall, polished piece of metal he constructed himself to use as a mirror. Every other step louder and heavier than the others.
His dark brown fur was matted in some places while his reddish brown mane and tail were untidy and frizzy due to static. Steel sighed once more and pressed a button on his E.U.D, causing two curved prongs to slide out of the end of his right hoof. He reached to a shelf next to the mirror and flexed the muscles in his hoof, the two prongs closed around a small brush which he used to straighten out his tail and try to soothe his long mane. It got to a point of tamed chaos and Steel gave up. He set down the brush and pressed another button on his E.U.D, the two prongs retracted back into the device and examined himself in the mirror.
He was a stronger pony, better built due to his profession but of average height. His mane was longer than he wanted, much longer, almost reaching his shoulders. He needed to get a haircut soon. He examined the time on his E.U.D. "7:52." The metal of his E.U.D was scratched in some places and the screen had smears splayed across its surface. He would need to give it a tune up once he got back to the shop. 
Steel’s cutie mark was that of a metal forge hammer, striking an anvil, crimson sparks sent flying from the impact. It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing cutie mark, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. He worked as a craftsman and mechanic in a metalworking shop, it was a decent job. It paid well and there was always work to be done which never left him bored. He was also allowed to build things of his own if he pleased as long as they weren’t too big or complicated and he got all his other work done as well.
Steel soon realized he was spacing out and refocused on the task at hoof. He walked away from the mirror and approached his front door. He waved his right fore hoof in front of a small sensor built into the doorframe. His E.U.D beeped, a red light on the door turned green in response and the door opened. Steel walked through the doorway and pressed a button on his E.U.D.
"System Locked." Said a feminine, robotic voice, emanating from the large lump of technology attached to his leg. The door closed and let out another beep as it locked, the window shutters closed and beeped as well. It was almost like the technology in his house had their own language of high-pitched beeps which just caused Steel a headache. He  grunted and turned away to look out at his town, Craterville. It was an average sized town for a population of average ponies. 
Most of the town was constructed out of metal, which meant plenty of work for Steel, houses and bridges were built inside of craters which were made during the war causing the silver of the city seem beautiful in contrast with the black and brown of the charred craters. Although, Craterville had just started to use the craters to farm crops of their own. They had previously relied solely on trading in bulk in order to get the food they needed but now they would be able to provide for themselves.
The houses in Steel’s neighborhood were well crafted. Some of them even had ornate carvings around the outside, adding a splash of personality and arrogance to each one. Steel looked back at his own, blank, steel building and sighed.
Bzzzzzzzzt!
Steel jumped slightly as his E.U.D vibrated, sending pulses through his bones. He lifted his forehoof and examined the screen. The words "You Have 1 New Message!" Were written in green text across the screen with an animated picture of an envelope bouncing up and down beneath the text. Steel tapped the "Open" Button with his muzzle. The animated envelope unfolded, revealing a screen of green text.
"Subject: Fun
Hey, Steel! I was hoping after work you could come and meet me at The Slaughtered Unicorn for a drink! Goodness knows you need it, I'll pay for everything, you don't need to spend a single sphere. Oh! And Dale has been thinking of getting an E.U.D, so you can expect him in the shop at around 9:30. Listen, I know you don't give discounts to friends but he needs all the help he can get. He means well, he just doesn't have the spheres to do what he means. Anyways I'll see you in the bar!"	-Silver
Steel smirked and pressed the reply button. A small, pulsing microphone symbol appeared on screen, indicating that the audio feature had activated, Steel began to speak into the small microphone hole next to the screen.
"Subject: Thanks… Hey, Silver! Yeah, why not? Free drinks are hard to turn down, I think I'll invite Dale as well, and yes I'll give him a discount. Just don't tell my boss or I won't be around to give discounts in the first place. See you in The Slaughtered Unicorn at around 11:00… Steel.”
Steel watched as the words he spoke translated into text on the screen, formatted itself, then folded up into the animated envelope and whizzed off screen. “Message Sent!” He grunted and began walking down the metal ramp, leading away from his house and leading into the main streets of Craterville. The population of Craterville was of average size, just over one thousand ponies and counting. Despite the size in population, however, most ponies know each other. 
They were friendly, social ponies and they know which ponies are friends, and which ponies are enemies.
Steel sighed and continued to walk towards the metalworker's shop, a metallic clang rang out on every other step as his E.U.D hit the metal pathway. He walked for several minutes before finally reaching, "Hammer and Nail's Metalworking". Steel waved his E.U.D in front of the door, it beeped and a robotic, male voice said.
"Welcome, Steel, right on time." The doors opened and Steel stepped inside. The shop had a small waiting room with metal chairs and a metal desk. Nopony had arrived yet. Since Steel was always early, he had his friend Cable hack into the system and change his arrive time to be twenty minutes earlier than everypony else's. Cable was good for anything you need to be done on a computer, his great-grandfather was one of the first developers of the original computer in the first place, back when computers were the size of buildings. Steel was very particular about most of his friends, a few were friends since filly-hood but the rest were chosen because they had useful skills.
Steel walked past the metal chairs and opened a metal door labeled "Workshop" with his hoof. Inside were the tools Steel used to work, shape, weld and polish metal, this was his life. He walked towards a metal desk with the name, "Steel" carved neatly into the side. The desks they were given when they began working, had a large interface across the desktop and a set of drawers in the base.
Steel opened the topmost drawer. Inside was a small, rectangular piece of metal with the words, “To keep you safe" etched into the metal surface in the fanciest, neatest writing Steel could find in the selections given to him. Steel smiled at the sight of the metal object. He reached into the drawer and picked up the piece of metal with his E.U.D, examining it closely for scratches or uneven spots. He smiled when he didn't find any.
Steel walked over to a tool he used during metalworking called a drill-press. He clamped the piece of metal down and moved to the operator side of the drill-press. 
The two sides were separated by a small, glass blast shield to prevent sparks flying into your eyes. the blast shield had a perfect view of the drill head and whatever you were drilling. A small console was set into a metal base of the drill press, Steel tapped the audio button and spoke.
"Sound doors, close." There was a whining of motors as a rounded sheet of metal slid outwards and sealed Steel inside of what was now an operator chamber. "Drill, activate." On the other side of the glass, a large drill began to spin emanating no sound since the sound doors blocked it. "Metal type, iron, hole depth..." Steel examined the small piece of metal, judging its size. "1.5 centimeters." He concluded. The drill adjusted it's speed and began to lower. Steel watched carefully, making sure the drill wouldn't malfunction or ruin the piece of metal. 
The drill reached it's target and sparks flew in every direction, bouncing off of the blast shield. The drill finished its 1.5-centimeter hole in the piece of metal and it raised itself once more before deactivating.
"Sound doors, open." The metal behind Steel opened and he walked out. He approached the small piece of metal with now had a small hole running through it horizontally. He examined it closely, checking for imperfections, once he was certain it was perfect he unclamped it and moved it back to his desk. Smiling, Steel walked over to a bin labeled, "Scrap iron". 
He opened it and grabbed a few shards of broken metal then moved to a large metal cylinder which stood on four legs. Two thick metal doors were set into the front, one on top of the other and a small interface was attached as well. Steel tapped the audio button.
"Mold set, metal wire. Temperature set, 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit." The heat chamber activated and a red glow emanated through the cracks in the door. Steel hoisted himself onto his hind legs, opened the top door, placed the metal inside and closed it. Steel jumped as the workshop door opened and another pony walked in. This pony had a deep red mane, a light pink coat of fur and beautiful violet eyes. A small image of a rose made of metal adorned her flank, Steel felt his heart skip a beat.
"Hey, Steel." Said the pony with a small smile. Steel smiled back.
"Hey, Iron Rose." He responded. She smiled at me! Steel thought to himself. Iron Rose seemed to notice the heat chamber was activated. She examined the interface.
"What are you making?" She asked with curiosity. Steel froze for a second. She can’t see this! Iron Rose looked back at Steel.
"A gift for... a friend." He managed to stutter. She looked back at the interface.
"You're giving somepony a piece of iron wire?" She asked playfully. Steel chuckled.
"No, this is just a piece of the present." He explained.
"Oh." Said Iron Rose, nodding in understanding. "So where's the rest of it?" Steel blushed.
"I'll show you the whole thing when it's done." Iron Rose looked up and saw Steel blushing, she giggled.
"Well, look who’s giving orders now Mr. Masked Lord.” She taunted. Steel tried to play it cool by rolling his eyes and turning away, as to not show her the panic on his face. “It must be for somepony very special." She spoke as she walked in front of steel, lifted her hoof to Steel's chin and moved his head side to side, examining his blushing cheeks. Steel shivered slightly at her warm touch.
"Yes." He responded, trying his best to at least sound like he was keeping his cool. She smiled softly and patted his cheek before moving to her own desk across the workshop. Steel exhaled after what felt like an eternity, he wasn't sure if she knew he was making the present for her or not. Iron Rose had that way about her, always seeming like she knew more than she actually did. Steel walked to his own desk, opened the drawer and slipped the small piece of metal inside. There was a crackling sound as the intercoms activated, a static-laced voice came through the speakers and echoed through the workshop.
"Steel, you're needed out front for an E.U.D installment." Iron Rose looked over at Steel and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm impressed." She said in a surprised voice. "You're qualified for that?" Steel nodded.
"Got my permit last week, I can now legally perform an E.U.D installment surgery." Iron Rose pursed her lips and nodded.
"Have to say, I'm a little jealous." Steel chuckled.
"Never thought I would make you jealous.” He pointed. “You're funny and pretty and smart and..." Steel realized he was actually talking. Iron Rose looked up with a smug smile.
"Am I now?" She questioned with sarcastic suspicion. He turned to her, blushing harder than ever.
"Uhh... yeah... I suppose." Steel stuttered stupidly. Iron Rose tilted her head slightly.
"Well in this light I suppose you look rather dashing as well." Steel blushed harder, which he didn't think was even possible. The intercom popped and crackled as it came back online.
"Steel," Said the voice once more. "Immediately." Steel left his desk in a hurry and opened the door to the main room, through the door, he saw his friend Dale.
"Hey, Steel!" He said with a smile. Dale was a Pegasus who had a sand colored coat of fur with a light brown mane and tail, his cutie mark was an image of a sack full of miscellaneous objects. 
Pegasi have been rare since the war, nearly all of the Pegasi were wiped out, but the few who managed to survive have grandchildren now. Dale was wearing a light brown jacket and a pale red button-up shirt. “How’s it hangin’?”
“None of your business Striking Deal.” Steel laughed, taunting Dale with his real name.
“I told you not to call me that.” He said flatly, losing his smile. Steel rolled his eyes. Striking Deal was a street merchant and a rather unsuccessful one at that. He didn't much like his real name so he had people call him Dale instead. Dale had a sleazy, smooth voice which was pumped full of fake charm.
"So Dale, you getting an E.U.D finally?" Steel asked.
"Yep!” Dale responded with a white-toothed grin. “One Equine Utility Device for me." 
"if you two are done socializing." Said an old, wheezy voice. Steel looked to his right where his boss, Strict Hoof was giving him a criticizing look.
"I apologize, sir, I'll escort him to the operating room." Steel responded. Strict Hoof nodded and turned his head back to the door as Steel lead Dale to the door labeled, "Operation room" and they both entered. Inside was a long medical table, a smaller table with many sharp tools and needles, an interface set into the wall and another small table near the wall with information about the E.U.D installation procedure.
"Okay, a few things you should know.” Steel began. “One, it hurts." Dale waved his hoof as he sat down on the medical table in the center of the room.
"Psssshhhh, it can't hurt that bad." Dale chuckled, Steel remained silent.
"We're cutting off your hoof, fusing metal to your skin and attaching sensors to the muscles in your forehoof." Dale stopped chuckling. "Also, it costs 150 spheres for the main procedure and fifty spheres for each additional application you order." Dale swallowed, losing his usual cheerful demeanor. He reached into his jacket pocket with his mouth and pulled out a small sack. He dropped it into his hooves and opened it.
"Can I see the list of applications?" He asked nervously. Steel turned and grabbed the E.U.D installation paper off of a table, Dale watched as Steel's E.U.D clamped onto the pamphlet. Steel handed the paper to Dale. He read it briefly. "I only have enough for one extra application." Steel sighed.
"Tell you what.” Steel sighed, pretending to have just made up his mind about a decision he had already made this morning. “Just this once! I will pay for two applications for you." Dale looked up with a smile.
"Really?” He asked incredulously. “Thanks a lot! It means a lot Steel." Steel nodded with a smile. Dale looked up and down the sheet, anxious to pick his three applications.
"Okay, I'll take the Wireless Money Transfer, the Gun Grip, and the camera." Steel nodded, Dale handed the sack he was holding. Inside were perfectly rounded, metal spheres bearing the symbol of a star with wings masterfully etched into the metal. 
These spheres had become the currency in the wasteland of Equestria, only the ponies in power have the equipment to make these spheres without any imperfections.
Steel counted up the spheres and nodded. He approached the interface and waved his E.U.D in front of it, a small funnel folded outwards, Steel dumped the spheres into the funnel. 
The spheres rolled down the funnel into the machine, Steel pulled out his own sack of spheres and poured in one hundred exactly. The machine added up the spheres, the funnel closed and another opened, this one facing downwards. Steel moved the sack beneath the outwards funnel.
"Spheres given, 303.5. Change due, three spheres and one cube." Said the interface. The sack Steel was holding got slightly heavier and the outwards funnel closed. Steel handed the sack back to Dale who looked inside pitifully and put the sack back into his pocket.
"Alright, lie down." Said Steel, Dale exhaled deeply and lay down on the table. Steel waved his E.U.D in front of a sensor and the table which began to move. A section of the table raised causing Dale's right hoof to raise as well, metal straps slid out of the table and held his hoof in place. Dale gave a worried look to Steel. "Don't worry, you won't feel anything until afterward." Dale nodded. Steel reached into a drawer and pulled out a small mask with a button on the side. Steel approached Dale and held up the mask. Dale nodded. Steel placed the mask over Dale's muzzle and pressed the red button.
There was a whining sound as gas began to fill the mask, Dale's eyes began to zoom in and out of focus.
"Just breathe." Said Steel. Dale nodded and breathed deeply and within seconds he was unconscious. Steel lifted the mask off and set it aside before picking up an electric saw and activating it.

.  .  .

"Wake up." Said Steel, Dale groaned as he began to stir. His eyes opened and adjusted to the light. "The procedure's done, you now have a legal Equine Utility Device, check it out." Dale lifted his right hoof and examined the E.U.D now in the place where his hoof used to be.
"Cool." Said Dale, squinting as light reflected off of its shiny metal surface. The main E.U.D menu was onscreen, several boxes to the left of the screen were labeled, "Camera, Gun Grip, Clamp, Messenger, W.M.T". Dale tapped the Camera button and a small lens appeared, the screen changed to show an image of Dale's face, groggy and dirty, a few flecks of his own blood placed here and there."Cheese." Said Dale with a lazy smile and the E.U.D snapped a picture. Dale laid his right hoof back onto the table with an audible Thump! "It's heavy." He said in surprise.
"Yeah." Steel agreed, "But you'll get used to it." Dale swung his hooves over the edge of the table and stood up, he winced when he put pressure on his E.U.D. "You'll get used to that too." Dale limped out of the operation room with Steel following behind him.
"Thanks, man, I can't wait to use this thing." The wary stallion and his friend bumped E.U.Ds, causing Dale to wince once more.
"You should come to The Slaughtered Unicorn with me and Silver later, Silver's gonna pay for everything." Dale cheered painfully and limped out of the shop. Steel turned around with a smile and walked back into the workshop, Iron rose was sitting at her desk, writing on her desktop with a stylus she held in her mouth. "Done with the procedure." He called to her. She looked up and smiled. Steel loved it when he made her smile. 
She put the final period on whatever she was writing and tapped another button before pulling a small SD card out of a slot and putting it in her pocket. She set the stylus down in a drawer and turned back to Steel.
"It's almost time to clock out." Said Iron Rose with a smile, "You have any plans?" Steel paused. Is she asking me out? Or is she just curious? Why would she ask me out? Because of my impeccable charm of course! What's wrong with me? Iron Rose often caused Steel's mind to race like this. He finally came to the conclusion, to tell the truth.
"Yes," Steel responded. "I'm going to The Slaughtered Unicorn with two of my friends," Steel paused and mustered all the courage he could. "Do you want to... come with me." Iron Rose paused.
"Sure!" She said with a shrug. Steel felt his heart stop, then start again at double the speed.
"Cool!" Said Steel rather loudly, "I'll see you then, oh and Silver is paying for everything."
"Sweet, I love things that are free." Iron Rose responded. Steel laughed and smiled, Iron Rose smiled back. They sat in silence for a few moments looking into each other’s eyes. 
Her deep red eyes were beautiful. Steel realized he was staring and quickly looked away. Iron Rose looked slightly disheartened for a second before returning to her normal cheery self. After a small chat, while Steel removed the iron wire from the heat chamber, the two ponies got back to their work in silence.

.   .   .

"I'm telling ya, man, there's an entrance under your shop!" Said Dale drunkenly. Steel and Silver laughed, while Iron Rose just looked confused
"I seriously doubt that Dale." Said Silver. Silver was a light turquoise pony with a shock white mane. He wore an expensive shirt and jacket with a blue necktie. His cutie mark was an image of a sphere, the currency, of course, the star with wings glowing a light gold. Silver worked as a banker pony, he was rich and foolish. Part of the reason why Steel was friends with him.
"So you don't think the Undertunnels exist!?" Said Dale, sounding offended. “As a pegasus, I’m offended you don’t believe in such an important part of our history.” he slurred, holding a hoof to his chest.
"No, we know they exist," Said Steel. "I just don't think there's an entrance in the metalworking shop." Iron Rose cleared her throat to get Steel's attention. Steel looked over with a smile.
"What are the undertunnels." Everypony fell silent, even Dale.
"You don't know?" Asked Silver, Steel nudged him forcefully. Iron Rose shook her head. “As an Earth Pony,” Silver mimicked, holding his hoof to his chest and slurring his voice more than it already was. “I am deeply offended you don’t believe in such an important part of our history.” Dale punched Silver playfully and took a large swig from his mug.
"Uhhh..." Steel tried to figure out how to tell the story, he had never had to explain something like this that was basically common knowledge. "The undertunnels, are basically a series of tunnels connecting every major city in the wasteland. They were built by Earth ponies to transport other Earth Ponies and Pegasi to safety while the Pegasi army and Unicorns were fighting above ground.” Rose listened intently, staring Steel in the eyes while he explained which flustered him slightly. 
“They uh… They say there's an entrance somewhere in Craterville, and Dale is convinced it's in my shop." Iron Rose nodded and paused with a completely emotionless face.
"Tunnels connecting the wasteland's major cities?" She asked Steel nodded. "That sounds awesome!" She chugged a pint of apple cider and slammed the mug onto the table. Silver, Dale, and Steel cheered and followed her lead and drank through most of the night.



Chapter 2
Just You and Me

Steel woke to the sound of his alarm once again. He groaned louder than usual and tapped the Alarm Off button with his eyes closed. He had a massive headache, he really shouldn't have drank as much alcohol as he did the night before, the headache was overwhelming. Steel pressed a hoof to his forehead. Steel's E.U.D vibrated, he groaned in pain and opened his eyes, the light of the sun only added to a headache he already had. Steel lifted his E.U.D and saw he had a new message, with a tap the animated envelope opened and a new screen appeared, covered in the green text.
Subject: Last Night
“Dude! You have to see these!”  -Iron Rose
A small icon of a paperclip was bouncing up and down in the bottom left corner of the screen, Steel tapped the paperclip with his muzzle. The screen of text disappeared and was replaced by a photo, Steel saw himself. He quickly covered the photo and blushed. 
I really hope I didn't do anything embarrassing. He thought to himself. He paused. His hoof over the screen before taking a deep breath and taking a peek at the photo. He exhaled happily, good. It was a picture of him, Steel, holding a mug of cider to the sky in celebration. He smirked slightly, with the way the photo was taken, he looked kind of cool. Steel looked down and saw "1 out of 5" in the corner.  He sighed and swiped the screen with his muzzle.
The next photo was of Dale, slumped over and drunk, his hoof around Silver's shoulder. Silver was in mid-nervous laugh, trying to push Dale away, a few drops of beer from Dale's mug were spilling onto Silver's fancy coat. Steel swiped the photo, Dale was unconscious on the ground, Silver and Steel were holding a bucket of ice water over Dale's head. Steel laughed and swiped the image. Dale's face was blurred but the parts Steel could see were drenched in water, Dale appeared to by trying to cover up the camera before Iron Rose could snap a picture. Steel swiped with his muzzle and blushed. Iron Rose had her arm around Steel... And she was kissing his right cheek.
Steel felt like he might faint, he lifted his hoof and rubbed his right cheek where, apparently, Iron Rose had kissed him. His cheek felt warm. Suddenly his E.U.D beeped and vibrated, a robotic voice said;
"You must leave or you will be late, you must leave or you will be late, you must leave or you will be late." Steel jumped out of bed and realized he slept in his clothing, he shrugged off the urge to change as he turned off the alarm and sprinted out the door. He gained speed from the downwards ramp leading away from his house and skidded around a corner, sprinting down a side street. With great difficulty, he managed to run on three hooves while looking at his E.U.D. Okay, it's only 7:56, I still have four minutes to get th-
"Gaah!" Steel shouted as he ran straight into somepony. Steel fell to the ground, eyes shut in pain.
"Watch where you're going." Said a deep and stern voice with a strange, metallic reverberation. Steel rubbed his head and prepared in insult in return but when he opened his eyes he noticed regal, red robes. Steel got to his hooves and bowed his head in respect.
"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention." Steel apologized.
"Quite right." Said the voice, still disgruntled but satisfied. Steel looked up to see an iron mask. White teeth barely visible through the small slits in the front of the muzzle. A hood was pulled over the Masked Lord’s head, concealing the stallion's ears. 
This pony was tall, well built and almost completely unidentifiable due to the ornate armor-like mask covering his face and chest. He wore a red, fur robe covering the rest of his body. The Masked Lords were a group of warriors, most of them fought in the war that destroyed Equestria. They were elected to rule over the major cities in the wasteland, these were the ponies who manufactured spheres and cubes, and with a tap of their hoof, they could have anypony executed without question.
The masked pony huffed and marched away. Steel exhaled and stood up straight, he watched the masked lord turn around a corner and disappear into a metal side street. Steel shook his head, noticed the time on his E.U.D and resumed his sprinting, now paying careful attention to where he was going. He arrived at the door to Hammer and Nail's Metalworking and furiously swung his hoof in front of the door.
"Hello, Steel, right on time." Said the robotic voice. Steel froze and slapped a hoof to his forehead. I'm still 20 minutes early! He bent his head down and caught his breath. Idiot! He slapped his forehead again before walking inside and entering the workshop. Steel moved to his desk and opened a drawer containing the small tag and the thin piece of iron wire he made the day before. He smiled when he saw the two pieces. 
Today, he would give this to Iron Rose. He blushed at the thought. Steel shook his head and moved to an anvil, very carefully, he used his E.U.D to string the wire through the small hole in the tag he made yesterday. When the wire fit through perfectly, making Steel smile again, he placed the two unconnected ends of wire on the anvil and clamped them in place.
Steel, being a metalworker and having a license to perform an E.U.D installment, he managed to add a few extra applications for himself. After tapping a button on his E.U.D, a small pipe with a hole in the end extended with the sound of squealing gears. He would have to oil the E.U.D later. A small valve was located on the side of the pipe which Steel turned with his mouth. The hole in the end of the pipe began to spit a focused blue flame. 
Steel leaned down and pointed the flame towards one end of the wire. After a while the wire tip began to glow red, Steel deactivated the blowtorch. Using caution, he slid the hot end of the wire towards the cold one before connecting them, making sure not to leave any gaps between them.
He tapped two buttons, the blowtorch retracted and a new, thinner pipe extended from the E.U.D. Steel grabbed a welder's helmet from a rack and flipped down the tinted visor, he began welding the two ends of the wire together. After a few minutes and many sparks flying in different directions, the two ends finally joined to become one piece of wire. 
He removed the welder's helmet, then the clamps and inspected the wire. A little rough... He retracted the welder then picked up the wire and walked towards a grinder. He tapped the interface on the grinder, tapped "Settings", and changed speed to "Thin Iron." 
Craterville was a lucky city. It had tons of technology at its disposal, Steel had heard of towns with only three consoles in them. His father loved to tell Steel stories of the wasteland and other towns.
Unlike his son, Dusty wasn't born in Craterville, he was born in a much smaller town called Pure Falls. A town famous for having a massive water purifier at the top of a waterfall, spilling clean water to the town below where it was funneled through underground pipes to water tanks beneath houses. Steel's dad moved from Pure Falls to Craterville after he met Steel's mother, Rain. She was a market pony, traveling from city to city but keeping a house in Craterville when business was bad. 
The two got married and had Steel, but while Steel's mother was working, her caravan was attacked by raiders and she was killed. 
Steel absent-mindedly continued to grind the metal wire as he thought of his past. Pictures of familiar faces and buildings flashed behind his eyes.
Steel's father raised him until Steel was around six before he had a heart attack in the living room. Steel watched as his father died and medical ponies took away the body. Steel was raised in an orphanage before he got a house and was released at around sixteen.
There was a screeching noise as Steel snapped back into reality, the wire was smoking  and hot flakes of metal were flying off of the wire and landing on Steel's left hoof. He quickly pulled the wire away and deactivated the grinder.
"Damn it..." He said aloud, examining a small blackened portion of wire. He shook his head and moved to the buffer. Another tool they use to polish metal and make it look shiny and new, not too shiny of course, they didn't want to blind ponies as they passed beneath a patch of sun. In the wasteland, the sun never sets. Some of the few remaining Pegasi just block it out with clouds, covering the city in shadow.
Steel was told by his great grandfather when he was little, that the sun and the moon were controlled by two powerful Alicorns named Celestia and Luna. Before the war, Alicorns were princesses. There were four in existence before the war, The Sister Princesses, The Crystal Princess and The Princess of Friendship. There were many legends about The Princess of Friendship, the stories called her Twilight.
Friendship was considered one of the most powerful types of magic before the war. It was so powerful, Earth Ponies and Pegasi could use it. After the war, however, nopony trusted each other enough for the magic to work. Steel pulled the wire away from the buffer, the black mark was gone and the metal wire was shiny and perfect, you could barely see where the wire was welded. Steel quickly slipped it around his neck for a fit test, if it fit him it would fit Iron Rose. It was a little tight which was perfect, Iron Rose's neck was smaller than his. He took it off and examined it once more.
"Hey!" The door opened and Iron Rose walked into the workshop. Steel nearly dropped the necklace, he fumbled for a moment before catching it and holding it behind his back. She didn't seem to notice.
"Hi Iron Rose," He said nervously. Iron Rose giggled.
"I swear, every time I see you, you seem to be shaking or blushing... Except for last night, you got much calmer once you had something to drink."
"Hehe..." Steel laughed nervously and blushed, realized he was blushing, then tried his hardest to make the blood rush out of his cheeks. Iron Rose was already at her desk and was writing with a stylus on the touchscreen top of her desk. Steel moved his hoof from behind his back and looked down at the necklace. Iron Rose noticed he was holding it.
"Is that the present you were making?" Steel looked up. If there was any time to give it to her, it was now. Suddenly his stomach felt like it was doing backflips and his heart was beating in his throat.
"Yes..." He stuttered.
"Is it done?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Steel paused, he felt sweat run down the back of his neck. Why was this so hard?
"No!" He blurted before he could stop himself. He felt his heart sag back down past his chest and down somewhere next to his liver as he quickly tucked it into his shirt pocket. 
She gave him a confused look before shrugging and continuing her writing. Steel hung his head and moved back to his desk.
"Do you remember anything from last night?" Asked Iron Rose. Steel looked at her, she was blushing slightly.
"Well, I saw the pictures you sent me so I can put together the pieces." She paused, the blush over her nose growing larger and a deeper shade of red.
"You do realize nothing happened between us right?" It was Steel's turn to blush. I this her telling me to back off?
"Of course... It was just a kiss on the cheek." She nodded.
"What's the last thing you remember?" She asked, the blush slowly disappearing from her nose. Steel searched his memory.
"You asked about the Undertunnels." Steel Answered, Iron Rose squinted as she tried to remember.
"Oh yeah!" She chuckled.
"I still can't believe you didn't know what they were." Steel laughed. Iron Rose nodded.
"I actually don't know much about the war, I never really wanted to learn about it. But it seems like it was pretty important." Steel nodded then got an idea.
"Well, it was a War.” Steel joked. Iron Rose nodded embarrassedly. Steel paused. “I could tell you about it if you want." He offered. Rose looked at him confusion on her face.
"I could just go read about it in the library." She chuckled.
"But it wouldn't be nearly as much fun, though." Steel reasoned. Iron Rose laughed, Steel joined her. Iron Rose snorted before quickly covering her nose with her hooves, a large blush forming on her cheeks and muzzle. Steel smiled. "I didn't know you were part pig!" Iron Rose grabbed a pen and threw it at Steel.
"Shut up!" She said between snorts. The two laughed for what Steel wished had been days. As they laughed, the reason why they were laughing seemed to grow more distant. Instead of laughing because something was funny, they seemed to be laughing out of joy, the fact that they were laughing together. Suddenly the door flew open, a pony in red robes and a mask walked in. Steel swore if there were candles in the room they would extinguish just for dramatic effect. Iron Rose and Steel stopped laughing, they stood up from their seats and bowed their heads in respect. Steel missed the laughter as soon as it stopped. The Masked Lord grunted as a signal of tolerance and held the door open.
"We're evacuating the building." The masked lord spoke, his voice reverberating ominously. Iron Rose and Steel looked at each other before walking out of the door, heads still held down in respect. 
They exited the front door and saw their Strict Hoof standing on the steel sidewalk with two other Masked Lords standing behind him. He nodded to Rose and Steel curtly before looking away. Iron Rose and Steel stood off to the side, heads still facing downwards. Steel leaned over to Iron Rose and began to whisper.
"What are the other two doing here? Masked Lords never leave their cities except for emergencies." Iron Rose shot the Masked Lords a glance before looking down again.
"I've never seen a masked lord in real life before," Said Iron Rose, not answering the question. "I've only seen them in books."
"I bumped into one of them in the street earlier today." Said Steel, his shoulder throbbed as he remembered hitting it on the ground.
"Which one?" Asked Iron Rose, looking up at the two who were looking straight ahead into the shop.
"I don't know, they're all wearing masks."
"Silence!" A Masked Lord shouted. Steel stopped talking immediately and bowed his head, the Masked Lord gave him a long look before slowly looking back towards the shop. The five of them waited for a few minutes before the third Lord walked out of the shop and nodded. The other two nodded in return and turned to Strict Hoof who looked one of the Lords back in the eyes.
"Strict Hoof, Hammer and Nail's Metalworking is now under the complete control of The Masked Lords. You have two hours to pack up your things and come to the Town Hall." One of the masked ponies looked to Steel. "You!" He shouted, Steel straightened and looked him in the eyes. "You have two hours as well." Steel nodded. The three Masked Lords bent their knees, wings appeared out of two holes on either side of their robes. They took to the skies and soared off to the center of town with incredible speed. Steel stared in awe for a few seconds before realizing he was shaking.
"You okay?" Asked Iron Rose, noticing Steel’s shaking knees. Steel nodded and took deep breaths. Calming himself.
"What do they want me for?" He asked, looking back to the skies.
"Maybe they need something to do with E.U.Ds?" Iron Rose shrugged. Steel walked back inside and entered the workshop, Iron Rose followed. "What about me?" She asked. "Should I pack up as well?"
"They never asked you to so I assume not." Said Steel, grabbing a box and tossing in some paperwork he never finished. Iron Rose looked around feeling useless. Steel finished packing within minutes, he didn't have much to pack seeing as he didn't bring anything important to work. He paused, not knowing what to do before getting an idea. 
Maybe I should give it to her now... Wait… Damn it! I told her it wasn't finished! 
Steel tried to come up with something to do to finish the tag. He smiled and tapped the contacts button on his E.U.D, he began to scroll and stopped at "Cable." He tapped  the audio button and quickly stepped out of the workshop.
"Subject: Wingman… Hey Cable, I have a favor to ask. Could you draw a symbol or something that represents protection and send it to my E.U.D? I really need it… Steel." After a few minutes Steel's E.U.D vibrated causing him to smile, he tapped the envelope with his nose and read.

"Subject: Cool
Sure thing man, here ya go! Get em’ Tiger.”    -Cable
A small paperclip was bouncing up and down in the corner of the screen. Steel tapped it and smiled at a small black and white picture of a shield with a heart in the center. Steel re-entered the workshop and walked towards a plasma cutter, one of the most technologically advanced pieces of equipment Hammer and Nail's had. 
Steel grabbed the metal tag from his shirt pocket and clamped it to a table, once it was secure, circular, glass, blast doors began to close the metal tag in. Steel approached a console and tapped a few buttons. He opened a flap on his E.U.D with his teeth, revealing a few wires. He took the end of one wire and plugged it into the console.
The words "Image Downloaded" appeared onscreen. Steel unplugged his E.U.D and hid the wire, the plasma cutter lowered to the metal tag and began to cut. Steel walked back to his desk and sat down, Iron Rose was looking at him curiously.
"What?" Asked Steel. She tilted her head slightly, examining him.
"Who is that for?" She questioned, Steel shook his head and resisted the blush trying to reach his cheeks.
"I already told you, a friend." Iron Rose shook her head.
"You're going to tell me eventually." She said as she turned back to her desk. Steel chuckled.
"I guess I will." After half an hour, the plasma cutter deactivated. Steel approached the blast doors as they opened and un-clamped the metal tag. He picked it up and examined it. It was perfect.
"Is it done now?" She asked with a small smile. Alright, Steel, He thought to himself, no more excuses, just give it to her.
"Yeah..." He said in a shaking voice. She got up from her chair and began to walk over to Steel. Steel felt like time was slowing down as she walked, her perfect eyes reflecting the light from the ceiling, She brushed her perfect mane behind her perfect ear with a perfect hoof. Steel’s heart began to race. Now she was right in front of him, her blood red eyes fixed on the necklace in the grip of Steel's E.U.D. She looked at it and smiled.
"Who is it for?" She asked, looking Steel in the eyes. She was very close now.
"Actually it's for uh... It's for you." He did it. He finally told her. He thought this was the point where his heart returned to its normal pace but apparently he had never been more wrong. Iron Rose smiled and tilted her head, furrowing her brow in confusion, as if she was amazed that anyone would think to give her a gift.
“You didn't have to do this for me." She looked down at the necklace and smiled wider.
"I felt like I had to." Said Steel with his own smile. Every part of his brain was screaming at him, telling him to stop talking, but his heart was telling him to keep going. "You mean a lot to me." She looked back at Steel, a small tear in her eye, shock and confusion behind her pupils. She blinked and wiped away the tear. 
"Here." Said Steel, holding up the necklace. Iron Rose smiled and turned around, pulling the back of her mane up. Steel moved closer and slowly lowered the necklace around her head. She let down her mane and turned back around. She lifted the necklace in her hooves and examined the plasma cut symbol. A smile spread across her face. Steel had never seen her like this, grateful and modest, humbled by a simple gift. It was like she had finally gotten the gift she had always asked for. Rose looked into Steel's eyes.
"I love it." She pulled Steel into a hug. He blushed, his hooves out to the sides. He seemed to realize what was happening and wrapped his hooves around her. She was warm, it was a nice feeling being hugged by her. It always felt good to be hugged but this... This was ten times better. Steel tried to put as much meaning into the hug as possible. Pouring all of his emotion and feeling into it. He held her tighter before they slowly separated, as they pushed apart Iron Rose planted a kiss on Steel's cheek. He smiled at her.
"Ahem..." Steel and Iron Rose turned their heads while still in a half hug. Strict Hoof was standing in the doorway, a cardboard box on his back. Steel and Iron Rose separated. It was strange, without Iron Rose near him he felt... Cold.
"Our two hours are almost up." Said Strict Hoof with a criticizing look. "We'd better get to the town hall. Steel checked his E.U.D.
“We still have like half an hour.” He complained, trying to find any reason to spend some more time alone with Iron Rose. Couldn’t Strict Hoof see how important this was? 
Screw the Masked Lords, Steel had finally found someone who might care about him as much as he cared about her. But Strict Hoof tapped his E.U.D on the ground impatiently.
“Steel! You of all ponies should know, being early is much better than being late, Mr. early alarm.” He spoke in a scrutinizing voice. Strict Hoof rolled his eyes and walked out the door. Steel began to follow but something kept him in the workshop. He turned his head slightly and saw Iron Rose out of the corner of his eye. She was holding the necklace against her chest, she had her eyes closed.
"Iron Rose?" She opened her eyes, realizing he was still here.
"Uh... yeah?" She spoke as though he had caught her doing something she was trying to keep secret. Steel paused and turned to look her in the eyes. Hazel met Crimson as they looked at each other. There was nothing but the emotion in their eyes, so much so, that Steel couldn’t tell what she was feeling.
"When I get back... We should go get a drink sometime... Just you and me." She smiled.
"I'd like that." They smiled at each other. Hours were crammed into seconds as they looked into each other's eyes. Steel broke the stare with a wink and sprinted out the door.



Chapter 3
Moral Principle

"What do you think they want from us?" Asked Steel as he trotted alongside Strict Hoof with a new spring in his step. Both of them were heading towards the center of town. Craterville was designed to have the town hall in the center of town and many circular layers leading outwards from there. Each layer would decrease in wealth the further away from the center you got. Silver lived three layers away from the center, Steel lived five layers away, Dale lived an astonishing eight layers away and seeing as there were only ten layers it shows a lot about how his business as a merchant is going.
"I don't know." Said Strict Hoof, obviously trying to avoid as much conversation as possible. Especially since Steel was happier than usual, he had asked Iron Rose on a date, and she said yes! She even kissed him on the cheek! OhmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH!  The pony in his mind celebrated.	
Steel and Strict Hoof walked in silence for several minutes before finally approaching the town hall. It was massive. A giant metal dome with ornate carvings around the rim, a massive circle of glass was set into the top as a sunroof. This was where all of the major decisions for Craterville were made, where the fate of the city was determined. 
Steel and Strict Hoof glanced at each other briefly before walking through a massive pair of metal doors, carvings of the Masked Lords set into the iron. The dome was big, inside was a courtroom. A large desk with two seats was set near the opposite side of where Steel and Strict Hoof were standing, many wooden chairs were placed in rows facing towards the desk behind which two Masked Lords were sitting while one stood on the ground in front of the desk, looking at Steel.
"Step forwards." He called, his metallic voice echoing through the large room, adding another layer of reverb. Steel and Strict Hoof obeyed the Lord's orders. After a short walk, they were face to mask with the Masked Lord. "Do you know why we called you here?" He asked. Steel shook his head. He could see the Masked Lord’s eyes very clearly from this close. They were squinted in suspicion, brows furrowed and eyes unblinking.
"We have reason to believe the city of Blood Field is sending an army to attack us, they should arrive in around two hours." Said one of the Masked Lords sitting behind the desk. "And we need to be ready." Steel and Strict Hoof turned to each other, looks of worry and confusion. "The leader of Blood Field has openly stated that he is trying to kill all of the Masked Lords, he doesn't understand why we should be in power and he shouldn't." Steel sat down as the Lord spoke, he could feel the blood rushing out of his head.
"Are they a threat?" Steel asked, almost subconsciously.
"Usually we could kill their raiding party with minimal casualties. But they say they have a powerful weapon on their side. We believe they’re bluffing but we need to make special precautions." Steel nodded.
"What kind of precautions?" The Masked Lord hesitated and looked to the masked stallion standing beside him, he nodded.
"You are familiar with the undertunnels I assume." Steel froze, Tell me they aren't about to say what I think they're gonna say.
"Yes..." He answered hesitantly.
"We have discovered one of the entrances hidden inside of Hammer and Nail's Metalworking." Steel felt like laughing and punching Dale at the same time. "We are taking ponies of importance from this town and hiding them in the Undertunnels, to keep them safe just in case Blood Field isn't lying." Steel stood up, a look of confusion and disbelief on his face.
"What about everypony else in Craterville?" The Masked Lord looked back at Steel, though he couldn't see the Masked Lords facial expressions he could see his eyes. They showed annoyance and irritation.
"Those who pay enough will be escorted to safety as well." Steel took a step backward, confusion and anger hitting him like a brick. "Survival of the fittest." The Masked Lord finished.
"More like survival of the richest!" Steel shouted. "You're ransoming off their lives! What about the outer rim? Ponies in poverty?" The Masked Lords looked utterly shocked and angered.
"You need to learn some respect!" The Masked Lord near Steel swung his hoof at Steel's face. A reflex kicked in and Steel's left hoof was thrust upwards, blocking the Masked Lord's attack before it could reach. Pain rushed through his nerves, he was strong, but Steel was strong as well. He didn't care he might get into trouble, this was a matter of moral principle and he wouldn't stand down out of respect. 
He swung his right hoof forwards his E.U.D hitting the Lord's metal mask and causing him to stumble, his mask twisted over his head slightly and through the confusion, Steel caught a glimpse of a jet black mane peaking through the newly made gaps between his mask and chest plate.
The other two Lords jumped over the desk and landed in front of Steel, wings outstretched. He looked between the two of them, I could take one of them, but not two... Steel paused, looking into the enraged eyes of the Masked Lords, before turning and running out the massive iron doors. He ran as fast as he could and quickly turned into a side street. 
His E.U.D clanged loudly on the steel streets as he ran, catching the gaze of passers-by. Steel’s heart was racing, adrenaline pulsing through his veins, the words I punched a masked lord, running through his head over and over again. He kept running until he reached the house he was looking for and entered the unlocked front door.
"Who... Oh hey!" Said a voice from behind Steel. Steel panted and turned around, standing there was his friend Cable. He was a white coated pony with a pitch black mane, he wore a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes, a faint crimson glow pierced the black of the left lens. 
Steel recalled when Cable’s father brought in his son on a gurney after the hospital had stayed the bleeding. Steel remembered helping the other mechanics and doctors install the new eye, part of his brain had been damaged as well. Besides the sunglasses, Cable also wore a black, leather jacket and a blue undershirt with a few blackened singe marks from whatever it was Cable was working at this time.
"Cable..." Steel panted, "You have to warn the others and get everypony out of Craterville." Cable paused, looking at Steel with a half smile, he couldn't tell if Steel was kidding or just being paranoid.
"Why?" He decided to ask, his soft accent changing the way his words sounded, he had tried to speak without it but gave up after two weeks of slightly offensive imitation.
"We're going to be attacked in about," Steel paused to look at his E.U.D. "One hour and fifteen minutes, a rival city is coming and we need to get everypony out!"
"Okay okay, calm down." Said Cable, not knowing if he should trust Steel or not. "Why are they attacking?"
"They're after the Masked Lords and three of them are here." Cable paused.
"But they only leave their towns during emergencies." Said Cable.
"Emergencies like an ATTACK!" Steel shouted. Why couldn’t he just understand? We don’t have time for this! Steel thought angrily. "Blood Field is sending an army, the Masked Lords were going to put important ponies in the undertunnels to protect them, everypony else would have to pay to survive. They offered me a chance to hide in the undertunnels too." Cable looked up with curiosity.
"Did you take it?" He asked.
"I think I lost my privileges when I punched one of them." Cable fell silent, his jaw open in shock.
"You punched a Masked Lord!?" He exclaimed.
"He swung first!" Said Steel defensively. Cable laughed, rubbing his neck nervously. "Blood Field claims to have a powerful weapon with them, we need to get everypony out now!" Cable nodded shakily. "I'm going to find Iron Rose, you get Silver and Dale." Cable nodded and pushed a few buttons on his E.U.D, a map of Craterville appeared on screen with two blips labeled "Silver" and "Dale". Cable noticed Steel examining it.
"I designed it," Cable explained. Steel shook his head, opened the door and ran outside at full speed. He began running as fast as he could back to the metalworking shop, 
What am I going to do? Is Iron Rose okay? Will Cable get everypony out? Worried thoughts flitted through Steel's mind as he dashed around a corner and found himself at Hammer and Nail's Metalworking. He ran at the doors and slammed into them, causing them to thrust open, followed by the doors to the workshop where Iron Rose was working. She jumped and turned to see Steel running towards her.
"Hey Steel, how did the meeting with the ma-" Steel had grabbed Iron Rose's hoof and was trying to tug her out the door. "Whoa, slow down there.” She laughed, “Thought you were gonna buy me a drink first.” Steel looked back at her, not even a hint of a smile on his face. Once she saw how worried he was she seemed to understand there was something wrong. “Where are you trying to take me?" Steel paused to explain before he got an idea. He stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"I'll explain in a sec, I need your help." Steel explained. "I need you to look around for a trap door or something leading underground." Steel let go of her hoof and began searching, lifting up wooden tables and pressing buttons on computers around the workshop. Iron Rose watched with a confused look on her muzzle.
"Why are we trying to get underground?" She asked, walking over to her own desk and lifting papers lazily, trying to seem like she was helping but she was too confused.
"There's an entrance to the undertunnels we need to find, I punched a masked lord, long story short we're being attacked and we need to hide." Steel Rose froze, giving the same look Cable gave when he heard this news.
"You punched a-"
"I know!" Steel interrupted, causing Iron Rose to jump and blush as he shouted, she had never heard him angry before. She looked downwards, her ears folding backward slightly. He paused, realizing what he had done. "Rose," He stood walked over to her and sat down. "I'm trying to protect you." He lifted her chin with his hoof, she didn't look sad, just scared. "Lives are at stake and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." She blinked and nodded. Steel nodded in return and walked over to the drill press, examining the interface for any things he hadn't noticed before.
"Guess you'll have to buy me a drink later then." Iron Rose chuckled nervously.
Steel returned a small laugh. Iron Rose moved to the heat chamber and pushed a few buttons, not knowing what to look for. Suddenly the ground shook as a loud boom sounded from outside, a gravelly voice echoed through the metal streets and into the workshop.
"Fillies and gentle colts! We are Blood Field, and we're tired of Craterville casting a shadow over our city... Well, to be honest, I just wanted to watch you burn." The voice let out a cackle which turned into a cough. The sound of a stallion clearing his throat mixed with the muffled explosions. "You see I have a Unicorn Bomb in my possession and I'm going to set it off, this is a suicide mission for many of my soldiers but their deaths will lead to a greater cause." 
Iron Rose began shaking slightly. Steel frantically tapped buttons with his nose until a screen reading, "Enter Password" appeared, with twelve blank spaces for letters. Steel paused, trying to think of what the password could be before he remembered something one of the masked lords had said. He tapped the audio button and began to speak. With a loud THUD! Steel heard the doors to the waiting room open.
“Hide.” He mouthed to Rose who nodded and they both ran toward their desks and crawled into the hollow space beneath them, leaning up against a wall which would keep them hidden. The doors to the workshop opened and Steel heard the familiar, intimidating voice of one of the masked lords.
“This way! Hurry!” Steel heard many hoofsteps and whispers. Iron Rose caught Steel’s eye, leaning slightly away from her desk and giving him a terrified look. Steel shushed her silently and slowly peered around the corner. A small group of well-dressed ponies was standing in a huddle, a Masked Lord on either side of them while the last Masked Lord was examining the drill press’s interface.
“Someone tried to open the hatch before us.” The Lord spoke before looking frantically around the workshop. Steel quickly ducked his head back out of sight.
“That metalworker no doubt.” Another Lord spoke. “He might still be here.”
“We don’t have time for this!” The final Lord shouted. “Open the hatch and let’s get out of here.” There was a moment of silence followed by a series of beeps and a loud, Thunk! 
Steel, feeling it might be safe, peered around the corner again to see the Drill Press sliding aside, revealing a large hole in the ground. The group of ponies looked on in awe.
“Everypony in!” The tallest of the lords spoke. Steel noticed a soft dent in his mask where his E.U.D had hit. The crowd of fancy ponies began to walk begrudgingly into the Undertunnels. Once the last of them was in the Masked Lords looked to each other.
“What do we do about the other citizens, should one of us stay out here and collect the entry fee?”
“Screw the other citizens, there’s not enough time. I say we seal the tunnel and be done with it. We’ll take this group of survivors to the nearest city.”
“Agreed.” The Masked Lords nodded and began to climb into the tunnel. One stayed behind and examined the drill press’s interface.
“Should we change the password?” He asked down the tunnel.
“It couldn’t hurt.” The Masked Lord nodded and began to tap the interface before climbing into the tunnel. There was another noise accompanied by the squeak of old gears as the drill press slid back into place. Rose and Steel crawled out from under their desks and looked at each other.
“What now?” She asked, giving him a questioning look. Steel thought for a moment.
“I need to get you into the undertunnels.” He concluded.
“And you too right?” Iron Rose spoke as she stepped forward and looked him deep in the eyes.
“If I can.” Steel responded. Rose pulled him into a hug, she was shaking. Steel held her tight. “We’ll be okay, I promise.” She pulled away and kissed him on the cheek for the third time in two days. Steel would’ve fainted if the stakes weren’t so high. He turned and looked at the drill press’s interface. “Enter Password” were still on the screen only now there were twenty blank spaces left. Steel began to pace, thinking hard, he didn’t know what it would do if he got the password wrong. Something clicked in his mind and he ran back to the drill press.
"Survival Of The Fittest." The drill press jerked before sliding to the side with great difficulty, revealing a large hole leading downwards into a metal tunnel. He waved to Iron Rose who galloped over, still shaking. She put a hoof on the steps leading downwards as they heard the front door to the shop open. Steel began pushing Iron Rose into the tunnel but she looked up at him with a look of concern. He shook his head, pushed her into the tunnel and tapped a button marked, "Seal Tunnel" on the drill press. Steel watched as Iron Rose looked up from the darkness and clutched the necklace he had given her.
The drill press shut and the door to the workshop opened. A gray pony with a black mane and a large scar over one eye entered the shop. He had a small hook drilled into his hoof, the hook was gripping a poorly made sword. Steel couldn’t imagine how painful that must’ve been or must be. The gray pony turned his head in Steel’s general direction causing Steel to duck behind the drill press. He waited, trying not to breathe too loudly. 
The pony walked into the room, holding his sword out in front of him as he moved to Steel's desk and examined the few papers still lying there. Steel looked around the room, searching for possible weapons, there were bins all around the room containing scraps of metal in every shape, his gaze stopped at a thick metal pipe sticking out of a wooden box. He looked back at the gray pony who was now ducked under Steel's desk.
Steel took a deep breath and dove for the metal pole with his E.U.D. He clamped onto it and ducked behind the bin. The gray pony grunted at the sound of Steel's E.U.D hitting the pole. 
The grunt turned into a small shout as the gray pony whacked his head on the underside of Steel's desk. Steel peered around the bin to see they gray pony rubbing his head and looking around the shop, Steel ducked his head back behind the bin quickly. The gray pony shrugged and moved to Iron Rose's desk. Steel paused to think about what the gravelly voiced pony had said.
"I have a Unicorn Bomb in my possession." Steel had heard about Unicorn Bombs. All of a unicorn's magic poured into a glass orb. When it was set off it destroyed everything in a large radius. there were only a few ever made, two of them coming from Celestia and Luna themselves. Steel couldn't let them set it off. Steel quickly focused as he heard hoofsteps nearby, he tilted his E.U.D slightly to see the gray pony approaching the bin.
He took a deep breath and leaped around the corner, swinging the metal pipe. The gray pony quickly blocked with his sword and jumped backward, preparing to attack. Steel jumped to the side and swung. Metal came into contact with the gray pony's skull and he collapsed.
Steel was breathing heavily. He calmed down slightly, feeling the adrenaline rush through his veins. He dropped his pipe and picked up the gray pony's sword.It was flawed in many ways, chips and waves in the metal. This was just sloppy work. Steel shook his head and slowly walked toward the doors leading out of the workshop. Here we go. He thought to himself. The gravelly voice from outside spoke once more as Steel stood next to the workshop doors, it sounded distant and muffled.
"We demand everypony who want's to live to come out and climb aboard one of the wagons outside the gates to Craterville. You will be a slave, you could die at any moment but it's better than dying now right?" Steel opened the workshop doors slightly and looked through the crack he made. He didn't see anypony in the main hall but he did see a blue pony's flank entering the medical room. Steel took a deep breath and slipped into the main hall, making sure to stay out of sight of the doorway. 
He pressed his back against the wall and peered into the medical room. The blue pony had no cutie mark, this wasn't an uncommon occurrence in the wasteland, ponies are so tied up in trying to survive they don't have time to find their destinies. The blue pony also had a sword attached to a clip which was screwed into his hoof. Steel winced, imagining getting one of those installed. Sure the E.U.D was painful at first but at least it didn’t prevent you from walking properly.
He quickly pulled his head out of the door frame as the blue pony turned around. Steel readied his sword in case the blue pony decided to leave the room but after a few seconds of silence, he slowly tilted his head back into the room. The blue pony was examining the interface, noticing where the money giving slots would open. He began to tap the screen with his nose, trying to figure out how to make the slots open and spit out spheres. Steel quickly slipped into the room and raised his sword, but the blue pony spun around when he noticed Steel's reflection on the screen.
Steel's sword clashed with the blue pony's, causing him to wince as pressure was placed on the crude hook sticking out of his hoof. Steel smirked, realizing his advantage. Steel pressed hard against the blue pony's sword causing him to back away due to pain. Steel flicked his wrist and the blue pony's lowered his sword quickly. Acting on instinct, Steel swung his sword back up to the left and quickly realized what he'd done as blood began to pour from the large cut Steel had left in the blue pony's neck. He clutched his throat, trying to keep the blood back before he fell 
Steel stood over the blue pony in silence, gaping. He felt as though a piece of his soul had ripped itself away from the whole, he felt like he had lost his sanity slightly as he became less of a pony.
He snapped out of his trance and stumbled out of the medical room, knees shaking while he tried not to step in the blue pony's blood. Steel exited the medical room and leaned against the wall, he felt like he might faint. Steel's mind was racing, not being able to focus on any single thing. He eventually calmed down and slumped against the wall before he remembered why he was trying to escape. He straightened, held back vomit and approached the main doors leading outside into the metal streets. Steel opened the door slightly and peered outside. The sides of the metal buildings had spots of graffiti scattered hither and thither down the streets.
"Blood Field attacks! Slaves or Die! Bye Bye Craterville!" Were merely a few of the phrases painted onto the metal walls. Steel didn't see anypony on the streets so he slipped out of the doors and dashed into an alleyway. His eyes flicked back and forth, expecting somepony to leap out of the shadows and attack, but it was just Steel and the dark. 
He crept his way down the alley and peeked out onto another street where he saw a line of ponies walking down the street. They were all citizens of Craterville, marching towards the front gates. Many other ponies were standing next to the lines holding guns, very few ponies had E.U.Ds but those who did had guns held in a gun grip they had installed. Most of the ponies had blank flanks while others had cutie marks representing farming or organizing, skills that are useful in the wasteland.  Suddenly the gravelly voice echoed through the street once more.
"We humbly thank you for volunteering to become our slaves, we hope you find our presence very hospitable." Steel felt sick as the pony to whom the gravelly voice belonged, walked into view. 
He was a dark gray Pegasus with a  jet black mane which hung over his eyes, he walked with a sort of slumped self-confidence. He seemed to feel so powerful he didn't care if he had bad posture. He had a blank flank and his wings ended with black tipped feathers. 
Underneath one of his wings he had a glass orb the size of a baseball, inside the orb was a cloud of purple and blue energy, all emanating from a white core. The energy looked like dyed water, spewing from the center and forming clouds as they hit the walls of the glass orb. This was the power of a unicorn turned into a weapon.
"You!" A voice shouted. Steel looked up and realized he had accidentally stepped out of the shadows, three ponies galloped towards him and tackled him to the ground, knocking the sword out of his E.U.D.
"Looks like we've got another slave!" Said the gravelly voiced pony. "Allow me to introduce myself," The three ponies tied a rope around Steel's neck and began pulling him towards the line of other ponies. Steel walked with them to avoid being choked before he found himself in front of the black-maned pony. "My name is Ignatius Blackwood." Steel looked into Ignatius's deep gray eyes. "But you may address me as Sir." He let out a cackle as the three ponies dragged Steel over to the line of other ponies and shoved him onto his hooves. He began to walk with the others and looked down to the ground trying to process what had just happened. Ignatius passed the Unicorn Bomb to a green pony and nodded. The green pony ran off down an alleyway. All Steel knew, was he needed to escape and find Iron Rose. But first, he needed a plan.



Chapter 4
Nothing Left

Steel's eyes were downwards, his long hair hanging over his eyes, casting shadows in his vision.  He walked in a straight line behind the other captured ponies. The raiders from Blood Field had attached shackles to his fore and hind hooves, he was trying his hardest to walk at the same pace as everypony else. He feared somepony might beat him if he walked too slowly.
Steel should've been thinking of an escape plan but he could only think about Iron Rose. He didn't know if the undertunnels were safe but it was all he could think to do at the time. He wondered if she was okay. If she made it outside the tunnels and back up to the surface if she met up with Cable and the others. Maybe there was a gas leak down there, maybe raiders had found a way in, maybe The Masked Lords had shoved her back out after Steel left.
"STOP!" A voice yelled. Steel looked up and saw Ignatius Blackwood Standing next to the line, looking down at a small communicator. The technology in Blood Field was pretty primitive, the most privileged ponies have simple communicators which can only send short messages, however, the range the communicators had were incredible. Ignatius smiled and looked back in the direction of Crater Ville.
"What is it, sir?" Asked a guard, walking over to Blackwood and looking at his amused face. Ignatius smirked.
"You're going to want to see this." Everypony in the line looked behind them, scared and curious. Steel turned around as well, trying not to be tripped by the shackles. He looked to the horizon, barely able to see the tips of Crater Ville's tallest buildings. They were many miles away, Steel's hooves were sore and he was exhausted. 
He heard many ponies groaning in pleasure as they finally received a break. Everypony stared for what seemed like minutes before there was a bright flash of light. The ground began to shake, a thunderous rumble sounded from far away before what sounded like a lightning strike echoed through the field.
A large, purple mushroom cloud engulfed the city. Steels jaw dropped and he stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the shackles. He felt the remnants of a shock wave tug at his body as it passed. Steel simply watched while Ignatius laughed.
"WOW!" He yelled. "That bomb was made by a very special Alicorn Princess, and it certainly lived up to its expectations. I've gotta get my hooves on more of those! Alright." Blackwood wiped a tear of joy from his eye. "We should get going, but I'm going to remember this." All the ponies began walking except for Steel. He just looked back at the mushroom cloud, feeling empty.
"Get moving!" A guard yelled, he walked forward and struck Steel with the hilt of his sword. The sword hit Steel in the eye. He jumped backward, seeing spots as the vision in his left eye went dark. He quickly turned and began walking, resuming his downward stare, but a hoof on his shoulder stopped him. 
The guard who had struck him turned Steel around and looked down at his hoof, noticing Steel's E.U.D. The guard reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a small, flat, metal rectangle and placed it on Steel's E.U.D. 
There was a sudden spark and the screen went black rather than it's usual green. The guard removed the metal rectangle and shoved Steel, making him start walking again. He had never experienced an emotion like this. For the first time, he found himself unable to think. His mind was empty as he walked, tears hitting the dirt path.
They walked for miles, never taking a break. Many ponies fell and when they couldn't get up they were killed. Steel didn't watch, he just kept looking at the dirt and grass. after many hours of walking, a guard yelled for the now shorter line of captured ponies to stop. Steel looked up from his downward gaze causing his neck to pop.
The line of ponies was standing in front of a crude metal fence with a wooden plank of wood hanging from it. The words "Blood Field" Were painted in red on the wood with the symbol of a red tree above the title. Below the sign was a gate which was being opened by two ponies. Everypony began walking into Blood Field. The town was small, compact, lots of ponies were walking in crowds. 
Angry shouts sounded from the town as ponies bumped into each other, there were vendors stands selling stale bread and bruised fruit, ponies traded weapons for other goods and nopony looked happy.
A few guards were clearing the cloud giving way to the line of ponies. Steel tried his hardest not to bump into anypony. Ponies glared out of the corners of their eyes as Steel and the other captured ponies passed. Steel looked straight ahead, avoiding the crowds gaze. Steel spaced out for a moment, he was trying his best not to think about Crater Ville so he thought about his friends instead. He wondered if Iron Rose made it to Cable and the others and if the others even made it out in time. If they did, where were they? Steel just hoped they were alive.
Steel grunted and jumped as he bumped into the pony in front of him. He quickly stepped back and looked up. They were standing in front of the only metal building in the city. One metal gate was set into the wall in front of them. The word "Containment" was painted in red above the gate. Ignatius turned around and began speaking to the crowd.
"This is where you're going to stay until you die... Not gonna sugar coat it. You will live here, you will sleep here, you will eat here, you might even die here. So you might as well get comfortable." Two ponies opened the gates and the line of ponies began walking into the metal box. When Steel entered he saw just under a hundred mattresses on the ground, it seems either Ignatius knew ponies would die on the way to Blood Field. The building looked like it was a little too small to hold all of the captured ponies, when Steel looked around 86 ponies left, including himself. In the corner of the room, there was a hole in the floor. Upon closer inspection, Steel found it was a waste pit.
"Welcome home!" Ignatius said in an almost cheery tone. "Pick a bed, make some friends... Don't get too attached they might die in the morning." The guard ponies began leaving but something caught Ignatius's eye and he stopped them. "You there!" He shouted, holding a hoof outwards. Steel noticed his hoof didn't have a hook in it.
"Me?" Asked a mint green Pegasus. Ignatius nodded.
"Come with me." The Pegasus looked at the pony next to him, presumably his friend, before following Ignatius and the other guards out of the Containment room.
Steel looked away from the gate and gazed around the room at the other ponies. The mint green Pegasus was apparently the only other Pegasi in Crater Ville besides Dale. Everypony had the same expression of mixed feelings. Fear, anger, sadness, hopelessness, confusion. Steel realized he had that expression as well. 
A few ponies were walking towards different mattresses and sitting down, now that Steel got a better look at the ponies he realized there were at least twelve fillies and foals, all of them terrified. Everypony else were around thirteen to twenty-two, however, there was one elderly pony with dark gray fur and a white mane, he looked to be around 48. At his age, he must've lived through the war and watched the eleven cities be built. Steel walked to the nearest mattress without a stain, laid down and closed his eyes. Two ponies began talking to each other while Steel rested.
"I... I can't believe Crater Ville is gone." Said the first pony
"I know. I was born and raised there, it's where I spent my whole life. What about you?" Asked the second pony.
"I moved there from Pit." The first pony responded.
"You were born in Pit?" Said the second pony incredulously.
"Yeah."
"I've heard Pit is a beautiful place." Said the second pony in a distant voice.
"Not really, all you see are stone walls, I lived about half way down the pit itself but my house had a window leading into it." The first pony explained.
"Is it true it's bottomless?"
"Can't be..." The two ponies voices muffled as Steel slowly drifted to sleep.
He dreamt he was in a restaurant, he was well dressed in a tuxedo. He examined his newly cut hair in the reflection of his E.U.D. He had spiked his mane up and he had surprisingly done a good job. A waiter walked over and handed him two menus and a bottle of Old World champagne, he didn't know how he could have possibly been able to afford something from before the war, let alone a bottle of champagne. 
He examined the bottle, "délicieuse Poisson cul". He had now idea what it said but he pretended to be impressed as not to seem out of place.
"Hey." Said a lovely voice. Steel set the champagne down and looked up to see Iron Rose in a beautiful red dress. She had done something with her mane, it seemed curly and straight at the same time, light reflected off of each lock and wave like a crimson ocean. She had a hoof-crafted, metal rose pinned to the shoulder of her dress. Steel smiled before realizing he must look like an idiot. He stood up, moved to her chair and pulled it out for her.
"You look beautiful." He said as he watched her sit down. She smiled and blushed. Steel moved back around the table and sat down, he slid her a menu, opened the champagne, poured two glasses and handed one to her. She picked up a straw off of the table with her mouth, due to her lack of an E.U.D, placed it in her drink and sipped it. Judging by her smile Steel had chosen the correct bottle. They paused and stared at each other for a few seconds before quickly looking down and opening their menus. There were a bunch of foods listed in different languages that Steel didn't understand. He looked up nervously, Iron Rose seemed to know exactly what she was doing.
"Excuse me?" He asked a white coated waiter as he passed. The waiter stopped and turned to Steel. "Are there any specials?"
"Well, we have the repas gastronomique." Steel paused.
"I'll take that." The waiter nodded and walked away. Iron Rose giggled and Steel blushed. Iron Rose's giggles slowly became muffled and they didn't sound like giggles anymore. Slowly the sound got louder and Steel realized they were screams. The ground began to shake, getting more and more violent. Suddenly the roof was ripped off of the restaurant, causing Steel and Iron Rose to fall out of their chairs. Steel got to his hooves, helped Iron Rose off of the floor and looked up. 
Through the hole in the roof Steel saw a massive purple mushroom cloud merely a few blocks away. Steel looked to Iron Rose.
"Steel." She said to him. "Wake up." Steel watched as a wave of energy reduced Iron Rose and all the other ponies to a pile of ash and bones. Steel screamed and woke up. He was sweating profusely. Luckily it seemed he hadn't actually screamed in his sleep seeing as nopony else was awake.
"You alright kid??" Asked a higher pitched, gravelly voice. Steel turned around to see the older pony he had noticed earlier, he apparently didn't fall asleep. The old pony had eyes the color of steel, which twinkled in the dark.
"No." Said Steel, rubbing his head with his hoof. "But I doubt anypony is these days." The old pony let out a short laugh.
"How right you are, young stallion. You'd better get used to those nightmares, I bet you'll have plenty more." Steel nodded. "I'm Gear by the way." The old pony added.
"I'm Steel." Gear nodded.
"Tell me young Steel. What did you do before you were captured?" Steel paused, not knowing if he should answer. "If you'd pardon my forwardness." Gear added, seeming to notice Steel's uncertainty. Steel shrugged and decided to speak.
"I was a metalworker." He responded.
"Aaahhh." Sounded Gear. "What did you specialize in?"
"I had just gotten my permit to install E.U.Ds. But other than that I crafted weapons." Steel found that talking about Crater Ville, rather than make him sad, calmed him down.
"Did you have any partners?" Gear asked. Steel's calmness turned back to sadness in response. Gear seemed to notice. "I'm sorry, A dear friend I presume?"
"Something like that." Responded Steel. Gear nodded.
"I lost my wife and grandson." Gear spoke. Steel turned to look at Gear, he was looking downwards, staring at a stain on his mattress. "I took him to my shop, I was a watchmaker. I made him a watch before Blood Field attacked, it was his birthday." Steel stood up and walked over to Gear, trying not to step on other sleeping ponies. He sat down next to the sad old stallion and looked at his face, Gear kept his gaze downwards. 
"My wife was killed when Blood Field first arrived, my grandson was a few ponies behind me when we walked here from Crater Ville. He tripped and couldn't get up, so a guard shot him in the head." Steel noticed Gear's eyes weren't sad, they seemed detached. He patted Gear on the back.
"I'm sorry." He spoke.
"Not your fault." Said Gear, looking up from the stain and looking into Steel's eyes. He made immediate eye contact, Steel respected that in a stallion. "When you've lived as long as I have, you learn to separate yourself from such emotions." Steel nodded, that skill was useful in the apocalypse. Steel decided to tell his story, it was only fair.
"I worked with a mare. She was my partner." Gear's eyes contracted in curiosity.
"What was her name?"
"Iron Rose." Steel almost struggled to say. Gear nodded. "I sent her into the undertunnels before the bomb detonated." Gear straightened instantly. Steel heard several pops of the old pony's spine.
"The what?" He asked quietly.
"The undertunnels." Steel repeated. Gear chuckled softly.
"I helped build the entrances to the undertunnels. You worked at Hammer and Nail's didn't you?" Steel nodded. "Glad to see the undertunnels are still useful." Gear's smile slowly turned into a face of seriousness. "But... I'm afraid her chances of survival are slim." Steel looked up at Gear who looked back almost apologetically. "My dear boy, in the apocalypse you must accept the worst. Hoping for the best leads to disappointment." Steel knew Gear had a point but he felt like with the lack of disappointment came some other form evil. However, the sadness Steel still felt inside was eating away at him.
"Can you teach me?" Gear looked at Steel confusion. "Everything you know. I'm sure you have plenty knowledge on fighting, seeing as you lived through the war."
"Lived through it... I FOUGHT in it!" Steel was surprised.
"But... You're a watchmaker." Gear chuckled.
"Just because I make watches doesn't mean I can't fight. I was trained by the Masked Lord of Fallen Sky and became a commander." Now Steel was shocked. "I retired after the war of course. seventeen years of fighting doesn't really give you an emotional attachment to a job." Steel laughed quietly.
"So can you?" Steel asked suddenly. Gear tilted his head in thought.
"I can." Gear responded in a stern voice. "Can you swear to me?" Now Steel tilted his head in confusion.
"Swear what?"
"Swear that you can and will learn to detach yourself from emotion, you can and will learn to rely on speed rather than strength, you can and will learn to rely on your wit rather than your weapons. And when the time comes, you can do what's right." Steel paused for a moment, Gear seemed to see Steel's pause as a sign of weakness. Steel noticed and responded,
"Yes... I swear." Gear looked Steel in the eye, then nodded.
"We'll begin tomorrow. For now, you should get some sleep, we have a long day of work tomorrow." Steel moved as Gear laid down. "And you have much to learn." Steel moved to his own bed and laid down, thinking about Iron Rose and his friends. He smiled softly and drifted back to sleep, to dream of better times back home, and the terrible times to come.



Chapter 5 
The Gist

Steel awoke to a light red stallion kicking him in the stomach.
"Wake up!" He shouted in an impatient voice. Steel shouted in pain as the stallion kicked him once more and slowly got to his hooves. Most of the other prisoners were already awake, including Gear. There were five guard ponies walking around the containment room, most hitting the sleeping prisoners awake, some softly shaking them. Steel took a mental note of the kinder guards and looked around. By the gate was a pale yellow mare wearing an old, battered helmet. He noticed Steel who quickly looked away. Once everypony was awake the pale yellow mare began to speak.
"Welcome to Blood Field." She said with no intention of politeness. Her voice was surprisingly soft but still got across the point that she wouldn't tolerate any misbehavior. "Today you will begin working. You will work hard, you will be fed very little, you will be hit and you won't complain." Everypony nodded. "I need everypony to get in a line." Within seconds a line had formed, everypony trying to complete the mare's orders as quickly as possible. The pale yellow pony began to walk back and forth in front of the gate. "You will each be assigned two jobs, one to do in the morning and one to do in the afternoon. You will have a three-minute break between jobs. If you have any questions, keep them to yourself." The pale yellow pony left the containment room, a different light blue stallion taking her place.
"Follow me." Said the stallion in a slightly higher pitched voice. The line of ponies followed. Outside the containment room was the bright sun, shining over the mostly empty town. A few ponies were awake and walking about the town, though the ponies who weren't asleep did have bags under their eyes. This place isn't really as bad as I thought it would be. Steel thought, but he thought too soon. A guard whacked him over the back of the head, making him jump as his vision went black briefly, as though he had gotten lightheaded from standing up too quickly.
"Pay attention!" Yelled the guard. Steel snapped to attention and looked towards the mare in the helmet. She pointed to the first pony in line.
"Starting with you, every other pony step forward." Alternating ponies stepped forwards, leaving Steel and the other half of the line behind, Gear had stepped forwards, looking stern and proud. "You are going to tend the gardens. Everypony else is going to clean up the litter on the streets." The mare paused as two guards walked over to the line of ponies, with a blanketed pony between them, the blanket covering the ponies face. The yellow mare smirked. 
"Right now our town seems rather nice. But if you struggle, complain, try to escape or cause any sort of trouble." She tapped her hoof on the ground and one of the guards lifted the blanket off of the pony.
It was the mint green Pegasus, large blue welts above the Pegasus's eyes had forced them shut, the Pegasus had begun trying to speak but all he could produce were slurs and slobber. When her mouth opened, Steel saw the pink of her gums which lacked teeth and the bloody stump of a tongue. She bent down slightly as she tried to speak, revealing the roughly bandaged stumps where her wings used to be. Steel tried his hardest not to vomit.
"Any questions?" Asked the yellow mare. Nopony answered. "Good, gardeners will follow Clash and the others will follow Shield." The yellow mare gestured to two guards and the two groups went on their way.
Steel cleaned for hours, wiping up filth and picking up trash, putting the litter in the bag he was given. The few ponies wandering around the streets didn't hesitate to heckle, kick and spit on Steel and the other workers. Steel ignored them, as hard as that was. He didn't bother with pride much, in the wasteland you're going to have to do some bad things, no sense in thinking you're better than doing worse. His father had spoken these words and Steel took them to heart. He was a wise old stallion, and he knew what he was talking about.
After the cleaning shift, he was given a cup of dirty water and a small chunk of bread, it was stale and a few spots were molded. After his break, he went to the gardens where he plowed the fields, planted seeds and watered the soil. If you could even call it soil, it was dry, cracked dirt. But good soil was rare these days, Steel had seen maps of the Old World, there had once been a forest where Blood Field now stood. 
Which meant the soil was capable of sustaining plant life and wildlife alike, he heard legends of horrible creatures creeping from the forest and attacking the nearby town. Of course, all of those monsters were dead now, ponies were the real monsters.
He finished his shifts and was brought back to the containment room with everypony else. It was nearly dark. Gear was waiting for Steel on his mattress, he was looking at the ground, a bruise on his forehead. Steel moved to him as groaning ponies laid down, resting their aching hooves, knees, backs, and other various body parts.
"What happened?" Asked Steel, gesturing to the bruise. Gear gave Steel a curious look, as though he didn't expect kindness.
"I was doing my work twice as well as anypony else and a guard hit me and told me to go faster." Gear shook his head, "But it's not important." Steel snapped to attention, he wanted to prove to Gear that he could do what he promised. Gear noticed and Steel saw a strange emotion in his eyes. But he couldn't tell if he had appreciated his willingness to learn or was just resisting the urge to make a sarcastic comment.
"So where do we start?" Said Steel with confidence.
"Well," Gear began to walk to a corner of the containment room, where the ponies were scarce, as to not be overheard. "First, I want you to tell me the few basic rules you have about the wasteland." Steel looked a little surprised. "Almost every pony has a set of basic principles they follow, I want to know yours." Steel paused before nodding and trying to remember what his father had told him.
"Well, I have three." Gear stood up and began pacing. "One, don't accept favors unless it's a dire emergency but don't hesitate to do some." Gear nodded curtly.
"Simple but a good idea." Steel nodded, not knowing how to feel about that comment.
"Two, find something you're good at. Depending on how good you are, ponies will pay you for services."
"Mmmm... Okay." Gear hummed. Steel shook his head lightly and continued.
"And three, in the wasteland, there's nopony you can trust, you'll be taking a big risk whenever you join forces with somepony." Gear stopped at this.
"Incorrect." He said shortly. Steel looked up, confused and a little hurt.
"What?"
"Incorrect. Negative, wrong." He listed. "There are lots of ponies you can trust in the apocalypse... That's why we keep killing each other. We all have the same morals but then we have a small argument or ponies in our past have fought so we start killing each other. We all want to survive, sure some of us are willing to do more to stay alive, but either way, we all want to survive. Group leaders are strange here. We have ponies on our side; the more good things we do, the more loyal ponies we get. But then some, other guy comes along, he's acting all charming and he's doing good things to get loyal ponies as well. On the outside, we say they're monsters, murderers, but on a subconscious level we know they have good morals as well, but they need to be killed. In the wasteland, ponies are power. And you can't risk having some random pony steal your power. We all say we're good and everypony else is bad, but that's nowhere near true. So there's no point in trying to pretend you're the only angels in this Hell." Gear sat back down, a satisfied look on his face.
"So what about you?" Steel asked, uncertain he wanted to know the answer to his question.
"What?"
"What are your morals, what are you willing to do?" Gear stopped and thought.
"I'm just trying to survive." They sat in silence for a few moments before Steel remembered something.
"You lived through the war." He stated.
"Yes," Gear nodded, "And?"
"Tell me about it." Gear tilted his head slightly. "Knowledge about the war might help out there."
"I suppose you're right." He stood up and began pacing once more. "Let's begin."


"Celestia had begun favoring Unicorns highly above Earth Ponies and Pegasi. She saw the magic and potential in Unicorns but was blind to the power the other two races had. Slowly, Equestria began to change. Unicorns were given special privileges, Pegasi were treated as commoners, Earth Ponies were mere slaves. A new government was formed, Celestia barely did any work. Instead, a new group of all Unicorns called The Unicorn Council took care of all requests the other two races had. They were racist and spoiled, so over time the Pegasi became fed up with the Unicorns ruling everything.
Leaders rose and protests started. The Pegasi asked for the rights they once had and the Unicorns refused, they said things are the way they should be and they're going to stay that way. The protests turned into a heated political argument, Pegasi began working with some Earth Ponies who were on their side. 
The Earth Ponies provided new technology and weapons, slowly a rebellion formed. Everypony knew a war would come, now it was merely a matter of what side the Earth Ponies were on. The Unicorns offered funding for new technology and a decrease in taxes. The Pegasi offered full rights and to be treated equally as they once were.
Naturally, the Earth Ponies chose the Pegasi and a war began. The Earth Ponies gave the Pegasi new weapons, though Unicorns had magic, they couldn't keep up with the sudden outburst of technology the Pegasi had been given, so they referred to different kinds of magic. Three alicorn princesses poured their magic into orbs, creating the first Unicorn Bombs. Without their magic, the three Alicorns were powerless, frail, weak. They died easily but one princess stood resolute. Princess Cadence continued to fight until she died in battle.
Once she was gone, Equestria fell into the hooves of the Pegasi. There were still thousands of Unicorns alive, hidden away underground. Over the years, powerful unicorns made more unicorn bombs and used them but they were nowhere near as powerful as the first three. The war lasted seventeen years. It was a holocaust, complete genocide. After the war, eleven major cities were built and placed under the control of a Pegasus who had fought in the war. They were given masks, some say it's to hide the scars, others say it's a symbol of shame.
During the war, Canterlot, Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Manehattan, Baltimare, Fillydelphia and Los Pegasus were lost. But the Pegasi and Earth Ponies started again, eleven major cities were built and placed under the control of a Pegasus who had fought in the war. Cities like Pit, Icemore, Steam City, Pure Falls, Craterville and others. The land between the cities is barren. Or at least I think they are, I haven't seen outside of Craterville since the war, but all that I've seen on the way here shows that ponies could be out there. Even for an old pony like me, there's still a lot to learn." Gear finished. Steel lowered his head, taking in all of this new information and attempting to commit it to memory.
"I think I got it." He spoke, uncertainly. Gear chuckled softly.
"You'll get it eventually."
"So these unicorn bombs." Steel brought up, "Did you see them get set off?" Gear began to stare at the floor again.
"Only one." He said, deep in pools of memory. "That was the last time I saw the moon and the stars." Steel looked at him, confused. He had heard of the moon and was told the sun was a star. His father told him stories, the sky went black and a thousand tiny suns dotted the sky, a large white orb hung in the sky. Back when Steel was afraid of the dark, he was scared of the night, so his father told him about how you could see the galaxy if you were lucky. A beautiful mix of blue and purple lights was splashed across the night sky like food coloring.
Gear noticed Steel's look of confusion and stood.
"As you know, here the sun never sets." He explained.
"Yes."
"Do you know why it ever sets?" Steel recalled the story of the sister princesses.
"There were two sisters, one dark and one light, but both good. " Steel paused, he had just realized he didn't know much else about the two princesses. He had imagined them as a fairy tale until now. He always knew they were real, but he seemed to forget they had personalities and feelings. "They were given the job to raise and lower the sun and the moon." He continued.
"Their names were Celestia and Luna." Gear had begun walking back to his mattress. "The bomb I saw detonate was made by Princess Luna herself.”
“When it exploded, a large shock wave engulfed the land and the sky went dark. Shortly after the detonation, Princess Luna was killed. Princess Celestia kept the moon raised for six days, as a memory of what used to be." Steel sat down on his mattress, almost in shock. They did have feelings. They laughed and cried and fought. They were sisters. And then the war. Gear groaned and placed a hoof on his throat.
"My voice is sore kid." He laid down, making sure to avoid the large stain. "We should get some sleep." Steel followed Gear's orders and laid down as well.
"And then the war." Steel murmured. They sat in silence as ponies around them began to fall asleep. "Hey, Gear?" Steel whispered.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Do you think I'll be able to do this?" Gear paused before sitting up slightly and looking at Steel.
"I think you've got a lot to learn and I think you've got a lot of beliefs you need to drop." Steel looked disheartened, Gear sighed. "But I think you've got the heart for it.  Wisdom is born from a foolish mind that is willing to learn. My goal is to teach you how to make the right choices the first time, no matter the situation. The question is, are you willing to learn?" They sat in silence once more before Gear turned back over and fell asleep.
"Am I?" Steel whispered, before drifting into uncertain sleep.
Steel was in a metal chair, his hooves were held down with thick leather straps and a metal head brace held his vision straight. He was surrounded by darkness, but the shadows seemed to move. The silence seemed loud with the anticipation of ponies he couldn't see. There was a loud Thunk and florescent lights eradicated the darkness. There was a small table in front of him, a shiny revolver lying on its side in the center. Once his eyes adjusted, Steel looked around the table. To his left was Dale, strapped to a chair just like Steel. To his right was Cable, strapped down as well. Directly across from Steel, was Iron Rose. She was looking at Steel, terrified but also happy to see him. The voice of Ignatius Blackwood echoed through the hall, sending shivers down Steel's spine.
"Steel," He sounded as though he felt pity for Steel, but he knew it was all an act. "You're in quite the predicament. But I tell you what," Ignatius stepped forward from the shadows, a grin on his face. "I'll give you a choice."
Steel began to struggle, trying to break free from his bonds, he just wanted to hit Ignatius, he didn't care where or how. Just as long as Ignatius felt pain. The strap over Steel's right hoof came loose and he reached out for Ignatius so forcefully it caused his chair to tilt slightly, but he was too far away. Steel attempted to speak, scream, something, but his throat wouldn't produce any sound.
"I'm sure you're familiar with this game." Ignatius moved to the table in the center of Steel and his friends and touched the gun gently. "You can either leave the lives of your friends in the hands of the fates," He whacked the handle of the revolver causing it to spin rapidly. "Or," He slammed his hoof down on the gun, stopping its rotation with the barrel pointed straight at Steel's chest. "You can choose who dies."
Steel stopped struggling, his friends all looking at him with the same expression of terror and sick curiosity.
"Your experiences will influence your decision." This time it wasn't Ignatius speaking. It was the voice of Gear who stepped out of the darkness and stood next to Ignatius who didn't seem to notice. "Make the right choice."





Chapter 6
Old Times

Steel woke. This time he was relieved to find nopony kicking him. Everypony else was still asleep but it wasn't long before guards burst into the room. It seems Steel had woken up early, and he was grateful he did, for the guards began to kick and shake the other ponies awake. Steel examined the guards once more, the same guards who had woken up the captives gently were repeating their actions. A pattern... Good. Steel attempted to commit their description to memory.
Red mane, white coat... Black mane, red coat... Yellow mane, blue coat... Blue mane, white coat. He repeated this message in his thoughts. The same helmeted mare marched everypony outside, put them in a line and gave them a speech.
"We will not accept anything less than your best. And even when you reach your best, we will beat you until your best gets better. Right now you might not think this place is too bad, but if you don't start working harder... It'll get a lot worse. Not just for you, but for everypony. You really don't want to punish your friends for something you did... Do you?" Steel jumped as the helmeted mare jumped in front of him and stared him down.
“Is she asking me?” He panicked.
"Uh... No." His voice cracked. Great... Just when he thought he was getting the hang of this, tough, analyzing, badass act. He swore he could hear Gear exhale with disappointment.
"Excuse me?" The yellow mare asked, her voice grew louder and more intimidating but Steel stood resolute. She stepped forward, Steel didn't know if he should step back or stand strong. But apparently, he made the wrong choice, because when he didn't move, the yellow mare shoved Steel back almost making him trip. "You will speak with strength and confidence! You're a slave and you're proud to be one!" She swung her hoof upward. The muscles in Steel's right hoof twitched, willing it to block the oncoming attack, but Steel knew better. 
He could still show strength without fighting. The mare's hoof swung back across her body and smacked Steel on the right side of his face. He strengthened his spine and showed no sign of pain or recoil as her hoof slid across his cheek. "And you will address me as Ma'am! Ya got it!?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Steel shouted. She raised an eyebrow in response before moving on down the line. Once his adrenaline died down, the pain of the mare's attack set in. His cheek went numb before a fire was set in his nerves. His eyes began to water slightly but he showed no sign of weakness on his face. 
The helmeted mare finished her speech and sent the ponies off to do their work. Steel did his normal routine, clean litter, get beaten, eat moldy food, plow the fields, get beaten. But this time when he was told to return to the containment room, he was met by the yellow mare. The few spots on her helmet that weren't rusted or dirty, glinted softly in the sunlight.
"You." She began marching toward Steel who quickly snapped to attention. The yellow mare was slightly shorter than Steel but he didn't want to underestimate anypony, it was a mistake that should never be made. "Look me in the eyes!" She shouted. This surprised Steel. From what he was told of soldiers, they were told to stare at a wall... Or something... It was called, Standing at Attention. But then again, he wasn't a soldier, he was a slave. 
Whatever he was, he decided to lower his gaze and stared into the mare's eyes. She had golden eyes that were so beautiful Steel could swear they could sparkle in a pitch black room.
“Wow... If she weren't a bitch, she'd be pretty attractive.” Steel thought to himself.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She was calm, collected, not angry. Steel had just gotten used to everypony beating them, so when she even suggested at being kind it took him by surprise.
“Focus Steel... What are you forgetting... Oh!”
"Yes, ma'am!" He shouted. She smirked.
"Good." The mare nodded to the other guard who nodded in response and walked off, presumably to another post. "You have shown... The smallest sign of strength." 
The yellow mare began pacing around Steel who followed her gaze restrictively. Making sure not to seem disrespectful in any way. He began to wonder if he would regret acting strong that morning.
"Yes, ma'am." He responded. The helmeted mare paused and looked at him curiously, before resuming her pace.
"My name is Solar, but you will still address me as ma'am!" She added quickly. "I have been told by Ignatius that he needs some new soldiers after the unicorn bombing. If you continue to show strength then you may be considered for a job." Well... Looks like Steel would become a soldier. "However... If your loyalty should ever come into question, you will remain as a slave. You may ask questions if you wish." Steel paused, he wasn't used to being allowed to speak freely.
"What comes with the job?" He asked. Solar raised an eyebrow.
"You mean, what perks do you get if you become a soldier?" Steel nodded. "Well for one, you won't be beaten, you'll get better food and you'll get a better sleeping quarters." Steel had to admit, he liked the sound of that. "But you have to stay loyal, you will be questioned, tested and you have to pass these tests or you will go back to being a slave." Steel nodded. "So are you interested?" Solar stopped pacing in front of Steel and looked him in the eyes. There was that sparkle again.
"I'll have to get back to you on that ma'am." He responded. Solar smirked.
"Very well... You may return to your containment room." She nodded and marched off. Steel watched her walk before shaking his head and walking back to the containment room where Gear was waiting for him in their usual spot.
"Ready to begin?" He asked. Steel sat down and rubbed his hooves.
"Not yet, first I have to tell you something." Gear tilted his head. "Solar... The mare in the helmet," Gear nodded, indicating he knew whom Steel was talking about. "Offered me a job as a soldier." Gear recoiled slightly.
"Really?"
"Well... She offered me the Chance at a job. She said I showed strength and Ignatius could use some of it." Gear rubbed his chin in thought.
"What did you learn?" He asked suddenly.
"What?"
"What did you learn from your conversation with her? Part of your training will be to learn how to squeeze as much information out of a short conversation as possible, deductive reasoning and all that." Steel paused, thinking.
"Well... I know that she's actually kind of attractive." Gear smacked Steel over the head. "Ow! Hey!"
"Get your mind out of the gutter kid! Focus!" Steel rubbed his head and thought harder.
"I know that she's close with Ignatius..." Gear stood and began pacing as Steel talked. "I know that they're low on soldiers... I know that they may be desperate. I know that they do have better food to offer... I think that's all." Gear sat back down.
"Ignatius and the others that work here, aren't very good at keeping secrets." Steel chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"But what should I do?" Steel asked, meeting Gear's gaze. "Should I accept the job or not?" Gear paused.
"I think you should wait until your training progresses. After that, it would be a good idea too." Gear reasoned, Steel nodded in response. "We could learn more about Blood Field's inner workings."
"I get the feeling there's not much to learn." Steel joked. Gear shook his head.
"Come with me." Gear gestured back to their usual corner. Ponies that had previously slept there seemed to understand Gear and Steel were doing something that Ignatius Blackwood would deem unruly and wanted no part of it, so they had moved their mattresses to some other cramped corner. Steel examined the other ponies, their faces were littered with bruises and cuts, black eyes and bandages. The mix of black, blue, red and white colors made a rainbow of pain.
Steel realized how lucky he was. He had barely any bruises and no cuts to show, he was the favorite of Solar and was the closer than anypony to getting out of here. He felt a mix of confidence and sorrow, why was HE so lucky? He didn't want others to suffer in his place.
Detach from emotions Steel, He thought to himself. But then something caught his eye. Upon a second sweep of the wounded, beaten ponies. There was one who was lacking in white, black, blue and red. She was an older pony, maybe around Gear's age. 
Perhaps older if that was possible. She had a long, yellow mane with an orange coat. She bore a cutie mark of three apples in a triangle formation. Steel didn't recognize her... He didn't see her in the line with the other slaves from Craterville. She must've been here already.
"Kid?" Steel snapped out of whatever trance he was in and saw Gear waving his hoof in front of Steel's face. "What are you looking at?" Gear attempted to follow Steel's gaze but his eyes probably weren't the best. Steel, among Gear's wisdom and knowledge of death, seemed to forget how old the weakened stallion was. Steel pointed toward the old mare with his hoof.
"Her, she didn't arrive with us." Gear seemed to focus. His eyes widened with hope.
"Well, I'll be." He chuckled and stood up. "Kid, we may just be able to get out of here after all." Gear began to walk over to the mare. 
Steel attempted to stop him but he shrugged Steel's hooves off of his shoulders. Steel shook his head and followed Gear, tip-toeing between mattresses and the limbs of resting ponies. As they got closer, Steel noticed markings on the steel walls. Symbols etched into the metal, it resembled mathematics but it was too complicated for Steel to solve. In fact more complicated than Steel had ever seen. Complex equations and symbols representing different processes that gave Steel a headache just to think about.
"Gear!" Steel whisper-shouted, "Who is she?" But Gear ignored him, instead of walking faster toward the mare until they were right next to her mattress. Steel was so close he could see the freckles on her cheeks. She didn't seem to notice Gear and Steel, she was staring at the floor. Not in defeat and hopelessness like other ponies, but in contemplation and calculation. Whoever she was, she was smart.
"A.J... Is that you?" The mare by the apparent name of A.J looked up suddenly. First in fear but then in a delighted surprise, as she saw Gear.
"Gear? It can't be!" She had an accent that Steel had never heard. A.J stood and gave Gear a hug. Gear hugged her back, both of them laughing. "You son of a bitch!" She exclaimed playfully. "You got caught? I'm a little disappointed." Gear waved a hoof.
"You're one to talk. Besides, I retired remember?" Gear sat down without paying attention, nearly sitting on a bruised stallion's head. "You, however, are still a general. How did you get caught?"
“She was a general?” Steel thought to himself, “Like in the war?” This explained how Gear and A.J knew each other.
"Oh, I have a plan for this place." A.J looked to the equations on the wall with a sinister smile. Steel, feeling awkwardly like a third wheel, cleared his throat. A.J snapped around, prepared to fight some guard but was met by Steel who waved with a smile. Gear seemed to remember Steel existed and introduced him.
"A.J, this is Steel, he lived in Craterville. Steel," Gear looked to A.J, his eyes full of pride. "This is General Apple Jac, leader of the Fifth Earth Pony Battalion. You're looking at the mare who crossed the badlands with no food or water and took down the Golden Delicious slaver empire." Gear looked like he could die happy just because he knew General Apple Jack, who waved a hoof as if to say, "It was nothing." Gear squinted slightly and tilted his head. “There’s something different about you A.J…” He trailed off, not quite able to put his hoof on it. A.J smiled nervously.
“Yeah I got my mane trimmed up a bit, it has been several years.” She waved a hoof as she spoke. She wasn’t a very good liar and judging by the look on Gear’s face, he didn’t believe her either.
“A.J, you’re a terrible liar.” Gear spoke Steel’s thoughts as he moved a bit closer expectantly. Apple Jack sighed and rubbed the back of her head with her hoof.
“I’ll tell ya when this is all over okay?” Gear squinted a small look of disappointment behind his eyes. “I promise I’ll tell ya, but it’s just a distraction right now.”
“Fine.” Gear spoke with resignation.
"So you lived in Craterville huh?" She asked, changing the subject quickly. Steel nodded. "I'm sorry for yer loss." She was very polite for somepony who had fought in the war. It seems all of the murder and death didn't tarnish her manners.
"It's not your fault," I responded. I wanted to come off as friendly yet serious, after all, this was a general. I needed to seem like someone who could be molded into a soldier.
"So A.J?" Gear spoke up. "What did Ignatius do to invoke your wrath." He spoke almost sarcastically, but Steel sensed an element of truth when he said Wrath. Apple Jack's charisma seemed to dissipate slightly. Gear noticed he had hit a nerve. "Oh, uhh... Something personal?" A.J gave weak smile.
"Something like that." Gear nodded with respect.
"Soooo..." I added, reminding them I was still there. "You two fought together?" Gear nodded.
"We almost died together several times..." Gear smirked as he remembered something. "We even dated briefly." Apple Jack snorted.
"Tshhh, you wish!" Gear winked at the old mare. "We went undercover as a couple. But that didn't stop him from flirting with me every once and awhile. You still haven't lost your..." Apple Jack looked Gear up and down and spoke sarcastically as a joke. "Charm."
"You know you love it." Gear added. Steel laughed. "So how did you break in?" Gear asked, "Steel didn't see you in the line on the way here." Apple Jack looked around, most ponies were asleep. After a long day of work, they didn't have to worry about sleepless nights, nightmares, however.
"Can y'all keep a secret?" She asked. Gear gave her a look that seemed to say, "Really?" Apple Jack nodded and lifted her mattress. Beneath it was a hole. Burrowed right through the metal and into the ground.
"You dug this and just... slipped in?" Steel asked, the jagged edges in the metal made his metal worker side anxious. He thought of several tools that could smooth out the edges but he shook off these thoughts.
"Yep," A.J nodded, lowering the mattress and hiding the tunnel. "This leads out of Blood Field, it opens near the train tracks." Steel's eyes widened.
"So wait... We can just leave?" He asked. Staring at the mattress, hiding the gate to freedom.
"Technically yes," A.J responded. "But we won't." Steel looked up and met A.J's emerald green eyes. She may be old, but she was still beautiful, Steel could see why Gear was interested. "We still have work to do." Gear rubbed his hooves, a mad look in his eyes.
"So what's the plan?" He asked, clearly happy to jump back into the Fray. A.J smiled.
"Runaway Wagon." Gear began to laugh. Clearly "Runaway Wagon," was a codename for a plan of attack.
"What does that mean?" Steel asked, once again feeling left out. Gear leaned toward Steel and whispered a description.
"We find the main base of operations in Blood Field and we topple it, collapse it completely." Gear seemed ecstatic to be helping his old friend once more. "We take out the supports and use the confusion to escape."
"The operation was named after a mishap at a family reunion I had before the war." A.J chuckled. "We sang a song and everything."
"Back when singing songs at random times was relatively normal." Gear added. A.J chuckled at that. Steel tried to remember which building seemed most important in Blood Field.
There was one tall building, built like a small fortress, made entirely out of wood in the center of town. There were more guards there than anywhere. He voiced these thoughts to A.J and Gear. They pondered this.
"That seems like the right one," A.J said in contemplation. "But it could be a decoy."
"I don't think they're that smart." Steel responded A.J and Gear looked at him, confused and curious. "Well, earlier today I had Solar, the mare with the helmet, offer me a job as a soldier." He explained. "From that conversation, I could figure out a lot of things. They're not very good at keeping secrets so I doubt they could make a decoy." A.J added this conversation and looked up at the equations.
"Well, then that gets rid of the need for these." She turned away from the equations on the wall, apparently, the new input Steel had added, rendered them completely void. Steel would've asked what they were for, but he figured he would just get confused.
"So when do we attack?" Steel asked excitedly, eager to leave this place before it got worse. Solar had told everypony this was just the tip of the iceberg and Steel didn't want to be around when they started to sink.
"Woah kid, hold your horses." Gear interrupted. "We still need to advance your training. If we do have a chance at getting out of here, we need you to be competent enough to not screw it up." Steel felt disheartened.
"Ah, So yer trainin' him?" A.J asked. Gear nodded.
"Just got started, I taught him the history of the war yesterday." Gear explained. A.J raised an eyebrow and looked Steel up and down.
"Well, you should learn geography." A.J quickly lifted the mattress and slipped into the tunnel. She was fast despite her age. After a few seconds, she slipped back from beneath the mattress, a folded piece of parchment and a quill in her teeth. The parchment was old, chipped, yellowing, dirty. A.J prepared to unfold the map but Gear stopped her.
"Not here." He added. "Follow me." Gear led Steel and A.J back to their usual corner as to keep as much privacy as possible. Once they felt like nopony was listening in, A.J unfolded the map.
In a small corner the word "Equestria," was written in black. the map showed one main land mass. It ran up the center of the map and widened near the top. One small branch spread to the left just before it reached the top with the rest of the land. To the right was a second land mass. smaller than the first. The two were separated by a body of water.
"Woah." Said Gear in awe. "This is a map of the old world." A.J nodded. "Where did you get it?"
"Been keepin' it safe fer years." Said A.J, her voice muffled by the quill in her teeth. Gear shook off his shock and began to point to different towns and cities, they all had the names they used to have before the war.
"See where it says Appleloosa?" He asked Steel nodded. "That's where Craterville was." A.J scribbled out the name with the quill in her mouth and wrote Craterville Crater in its place. Steel's heart sank slightly. Gear continued to name cities and change them. "Ponyville is a ghost town, just beneath that where it says Everfree Forest? That's where we are, Blood Field. Baltimare is now called The Keep. Don't go there, it's a terrible place. Canterlot is in ruins, nopony is living there that I know of.  Replace Rock Farm with Iron City, beneath Yak Yakistan, write Icemore. Replace Cloudsdale with Fallen Sky. Where it says Manehattan? Write Pit."
Steel recalled the two ponies from his first night here, they talked about Pit. It was a hole leading straight downward, seemingly endless.
"In the center of the Badlands write Nowhere. Write Fall where Neighagra Falls used to be." Steel paused. Fall... That can't be right.
"Isn't it supposed to be Pure Falls?" Gear and A.J looked up at Steel, confused. "You said, Fall... It's Pure Falls, right?" Gear shook his head.
"Kid, It hasn't been called that in a long time." Steel looked down at the map confused. So much has changed, couldn't things just stay the way they were supposed to? "Write Steam City over Griffinstone, and scratch out The Crystal Empire and write Danger." Now Steel was REALLY confused.
"Danger is a city?" Steel stated, confused. "Isn't Nowhere weird enough?" Gear chuckled.
"No, danger as in keep out. Nopony has ever entered the Crystal Empire and come back. No bodies, no blood, nothing." Steel tilted his head. What could be in there? "And that's it! We'll get into the details tomorrow." Gear folded up the map and gave it to Steel who took it and slipped it under his mattress. A.J and Gear hugged each other and headed back to their own mattresses. Steel laid down, not feeling tired yet somehow still exhausted. How could so much have changed? Even after the war things were still changing. Nothing was sacred anymore, nothing too important to lose.
Steel shifted on his mattress. He had hoped the outside world wasn't as bad as he thought it was, but it was worse. Steel slowly drifted to sleep, a feeling of uncertainty hung over him. He didn't know if he wanted to survive out here anymore.
“No,” He told himself, “I have to find my friends, then I can die.” He thought of Iron Rose, Dale, Cable and Silver and he fell asleep with a small smile on his muzzle.



Chapter 7
The Destination

“Hurry up splinter!” A voice called from Splinter’s right. She realized she had been staring back at Iron City. It was a beautiful sight against the horizon. The tall silhouettes of steel skyscrapers sparkled and cast shadows on the dry dirt which looked positively boring by comparison. 
‘Well…’ Splinter thought to herself, ‘It is dirt.’
“We don’t have all day!” The voice shouted. Splinter begrudgingly turned away from her home and looked at her friend.
“Coming, Bart!” Splinter spoke in return. Bart just shook his head.
“Please stop calling me that,” He said as he turned and began to trot along the trail, pulling a small wagon attached to a harness around his chest. “My name is Barter.”
“Yeah well that’s a dumb name.” Splinter retorted, quickening her pace slightly in order to catch up to her red and brown friend. He gave her a sarcastic look.
“Is it dumber than Bart?” He asked, sounding as though he had tasted something sour. Splinter shook her head and nudged her friend playfully. “Well, at least I’m not named after an injury.” Barter retorted causing Splinter to turn with a sour look.
“Well, it’s better than Grumpy Pumpkin.” She retorted, pointing behind Barter who turned to see another pony who had been so quiet, he almost forgot he was there. The pony wore a steel helmet and chest plate with a bandana over his mouth. A high collared coat was worn over the chest plate and a sighted and scoped rifle was slung over his back. A heavy looking revolver was strapped to his left hind leg. The guard pony looked up lazily and rolled his eyes.
“I’ll have you know that’s not actually his name.” Barter reasoned, looking back to Splinter who was smiling at the expression on the guard ponies face.
“I know.” She replied happily. “But he acts like it, so that’s what I call him.” She turned and continued to trot up the trail. Barter turned to their guard who had turned his head back to the dirt.
“How're ya holdin’ up Shield?” Barter asked, deciding to argue with Splinter was a lost cause. The armored stallion looked up and nodded curtly. “You excited for the trip?” Barter continued.
Shield shrugged sluggishly and looked back down at the dirt, signifying the end of the conversation. Barter sighed and moved back up to Splinter.
“Whaddup Bart!” She said a little too loud, her voice echoing across the flat plain. Barter immediately regretted his decision to talk to her but stuck with it regardless.
“Shield’s a bit strange isn’t he?” Barter turned his head and watched their assigned guard kick rocks as he walked. “He doesn’t talk much.” Splinter stopped suddenly making Barter shift to the left slightly as to not run into her on accident.
“Didn’t they tell you?” She asked incredulously, turning her head to Barter and resuming her pace. Barter raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?” He questioned.
“Ya know…” Splinter nudged him, egging him on as if he was lying. “The thing with Shield,” Barter noted that she said his real name.
“If I knew what you were talking about I wouldn’t be asking about it would I?” Splinter paused for a moment, thinking. After deciding he made a good point, she began to speak in a soft voice, making sure Shield couldn’t hear.
“He’s mute.” Barter shook his head slightly in surprise before looking back at Shield. “Well,” Splinter admitted, “He wasn't always.” Now Barter looked to Splinter, confused. “He had his tongue cut out.” 
Barter felt slightly sick, he suddenly realized there might be a reason for the bandana over their guard's mouth. “I don’t know the whole story but he had a run in with some raiders who tried to attack his outpost. They held him prisoner and tortured him, beat him, tortured him, and cut out his tongue. Eventually, other soldiers found him and the others. He was rescued but he was never the same.”
“Poor guy,” Barter admitted, glancing back at Shield who was still staring down at the path beneath his hooves. Barter always prided himself on his ability to read people, make sense of their emotions and personality based on their body movement and what they say. When Barter looked into Shield’s eyes he could see there was something missing. Something was taken away from the whole leaving him broken. And for some reason, Barter didn’t think Shield's look of sorrow was for his tongue.
The three of them walked for several hours, they had left early in the morning in order to arrive at their destination of Craterville by nightfall. The slowly moving sun made the shadows dance across the desert, Shield, Barter, and Splinter shared the water they had brought and used it sparingly. Shield stuck the straw beneath his bandanna, not eager to show his mouth anytime soon. 
His high-collared coat and low hanging bandanna also hid his neck so the only real details about him that Barter and Splinter could see were his flank, his forehooves, and his eyes, which looked tired and worn out. A pale and gentle blue.
The dirt and dust were slowly replaced by cracked and dry clay as they entered a dry riverbed. The river that once ran through here had vanished during the war, causing drought for a lot of ponies in need of a drink, on top of the whole apocalypse thing. The creeps and cracks in the clay reminded Shield of skin that hadn’t seen water in decades. It reminded Barter of dry and overbaked bread, a sight he had seen often in his attempts to make food. The tan, bland clay reminded Splinter of an empty canvas she once found while exploring what was left of a small hamlet of four or five homes, all crumbled and charred. The canvas had withered and browned over time, the artist who had lived in the home previously, unbeknownst to Splinter, was going to paint a heroic picture of many of the diplomats and generals who had fought for the Pegasi and were then trying to finish off the last of the unicorns.
The group merchants and their guard crossed the riverbed and climbed up onto the same, dusty dirt they had left behind, squinting to shield their eyes as the wind picked up, causing dust to swirl through the air like angry hornets. The three travelers followed the riverbed and eventually came across a large crevice set in the ground next to the trail, Ghostly Gorge. Its name was one of the few things to survive the war. Barter knew this meant they were getting close to the crossroads where they would be directed to Craterville, Splinter knew she needed to be more careful around the gorge lest she falls in, and Shield knew that a mint green stallion was approaching them from down the trail. Immediately, Shield began observing his surroundings, acting like he wasn’t interested or hadn’t yet noticed the pony and was just inspecting the rocks and dust.
“Well hello!” Said the mint stallion. He had an E.U.D on his hoof and a big smile on his face. He wore a dirty, stained and ripped white and blue striped jacket and had a twinkle in his eye as he spoke. Two saddlebags were slung over his flank. “And how are you doing on this fine evening?” His voice was higher pitched and smooth, he seemed genuinely happy and jaunty but there was something about his expression that wasn’t quite right.
“Good, I guess,” Splinter replied, confused and slightly concerned but certainly amused. As a filly, she had never seen a door to door salespony but there was always the stereotype of a large mustached, cheapskate salespony but to see someone who matched this description nearly to the letter was amusing nonetheless.
“Well, that’s terrific!” The mint stallion shouted a little too loudly. “I’m doing just fine myself, not that you cared to know!” He let out a loud, chortle, a guffaw of absolute joy as if his previous statement was a joke rather than an insult to Splinter’s manners. “Where are you folks headed if I may ask?”
Shield squinted slightly in the desert sun, all he could see were a few large rocks and some dead trees, large enough to hide a pony behind them. The guard pony walked to the gorge and looked down, nopony there, just a drop into blackness. Shield looked at the salespony curiously.
“Craterville,” Barter replied, eyeing the salsepony with curiosity. “Why?”
“Well, it looks like you’re carrying merchandise and I was wondering if you would be interested in trading!” His smile widened which Splinter didn’t think was possible.
“Um, we were assigned to sell to Craterville only,” Barter explained.
“Ah I see, I see. But as long as you’re getting some spheres, who cares where it came from? Right!?” There was a pause in which nothing was said. 
Shield began moving around, shifting his perspective by walking forward and back, then in circles until finally, he caught the glimpse of a scope by the large rocks, reflecting the sunlight. Gotcha. He pushed past Barter and Splinter and stood directly in front of the salsepony who was still smiling but now his eyes showed signs of confusion and slight worry.
“Here’s the part where you tell us you have an amazing deal, right?” If Splinter had not heard the voice coming from Shield’s mouth or saw his bandana moving when he spoke, she would’ve refused to believe it was him talking.
“Ummm…” Said the mint stallion.
“And that’s when you would start reaching into your bag and your friend by the rocks would fire at us as you grab your gun.” His voice was strange, slightly metallic and had an off-putting electric quality to it. “Well, I’m not gonna fall for it. This isn’t my first rodeo and I’m certainly not gonna be tricked by an ameture like you. You didn’t even get the bloodstains off of your coat.” Shield pointed to the salespony’s sleeve which had flecks of red stained into the fabric which Splinter and Barter hadn’t noticed before and apparently neither had the mint stallion.
“Shield?” Splinter asked, not knowing what else to say, she was too surprised. The salespony opened his mouth to speak but Shield interrupted.
“Before you call in the cavalry, I’ll give you three options. One, you walk away, you never saw us or heard of us, we never existed to you. Two, you miraculously manage to graze one of us with a bullet and proceed to be killed by the other two. Or Three, I give you six seconds to pick option number one before I splatter your brains all over the trail.” The salespony stopped smiling, sweat running down his face. “One,” His face lost some of its blood, growing pale and anxious. “Two,” He began to look between Shield and the glint of the rifle scope. “Three… Four.”
The salespony slowly began to move his hoof toward his bag and Shield noticed instantly.
“Five… Six.” There was a flash as two gunshots rang in the desert. The salespony fell to the ground with two holes in his chest and more blood staining his jacket. Without hesitation, Shield whipped his revolver around to aim at the rocks and fired a single shot. Splinter and Barter saw a small spray of blood from by the rocks as Shield’s bullet flew through layers of glass in the scope, sending the bullet and shards of broken glass into the sniper’s skull.
There was a small pause of near silence, the gunshots echoing down the crevice. Splinter and Barter could only stare at Sheild. He stood, gun still aimed at the rocks he was absolutely still, not a twitch to be seen. The revolver was attached to a device Splinter didn’t recognize, certainly not an E.U.D. A metal clip seemed to come out of his forehoof and hold the revolver in place, the trigger was pressed against a metal rod in a casing which was implanted into the guard ponies fur and skin.
“Shield, that was-” Splinter started but their guard held up a hoof.
“There’s at least one more. Most likely in a flanking position. Don’t turn around.” Shield whispered, just as Splinter began to turn her head. “Remain still.”
What seemed like hours of silence passed, though it was only a few seconds. Shield’s ears swiveled on top of his head and faced behind him, past Splinter and Barter, like he knew somepony was there.
There was a soft snap, Splinter gasped, a loud bang, Splinter shut her eyes as she felt something whizz past her, then a heavy thud. Splinter kept her eyes shut for a few moments more, breathing heavily.
“Woah.” Said Barter. There were some hoofsteps as Splinter began to open her eyes. She saw Shield standing there, gun still raised, aiming just past her head, she wouldn't've been surprised to find some missing fur on her cheek. But no, his aim was too good. The clip keeping the revolver stable on Shields' arm loosened with a faint click. He flipped the large revolver around the small rod in the trigger guard before slipping it into his holster without a trace of miscoordination or flaw. He turned quickly and began examining the corpse of the salespony; patting his jacket and looking into his saddlebag. From the saddlebag, he drew a gun. It was crude, but it looked as if it could do some damage.
Shield pulled out his own gun and examined the two as Splinter watched. She didn’t know what he was doing, he couldn’t be thinking about taking the weapon, it was rusted, scratched and dirty while Shield’s pistol was shining, silver, not a speck of dust visible on its surface. It was also the LARGEST revolver she had ever seen. Shield replaced the missing bullets in his revolver with ammo from the rusted pistol before him and placed his own bullets into his saddle bag.
He tossed the rusty gun to the ground and flipped his own back into his holster. He turned to Barter who was staring down at the other raider corpse who had a hole directly through his neck, and if Splinter remembered her health class correctly, the bullet flew directly through the jugular vein and then through the spinal cord for good measure.
“What does he have on him?” Shield asked, his strange sounding voice sending a chill down Splinter’s spine.
“Ummmm…” Said Barter, leaning down closer to the body. “Leather vest, sunglasses, choker necklace-”
“I’m mute, not blind, what’s in his pockets,” Shield said forcefully. Barter opened his mouth to point out that the so-called ‘mute’ was speaking right now, but determined Shield would probably break all of his joints if he did. Barter began to go through the raider’s pockets.
“Couple 10mm rounds,” Barter listed. “An old revolver, what’s this?” Barter, along with the other items, drew out a folded piece of paper, which looked like it was torn out of a magazine. 
He began trying to unfold it, but it seemed to be stuck. He began to slowly peel it open, trying not to tear it in case it was a map or a hit list or something. 
But when he finally got it open he didn’t find a map or a hit list. Instead, he found a picture of a mare. She was younger looking, Long red mane and soft pink colored coat. She sat in a rather provocative pose, soft violet eyes rolled back in pleasure, she was covered in a liquid which matched the color of the stains on the picture itself, the substance which had originally stuck this picture shut. Suddenly, something clicked in Barter’s mind and he shouted like he had just seen an irradiated scorpion
“Can we burn this before I vomit please?” He asked, dropping the picture quickly.
“What is it?” Said Splinter, moving closer and tilting her head to get a better view.
“Splinter you don’t wanna-” But it was too late. She had picked it up and was looking at it a little too closely. Gradually, her cheeks grew redder and redder.
“What? She’s pretty hot, you don’t like mares Barter? Wow, didn’t expect that from you.”
“I like mares,” Said Barter calmly. “I just don’t like the picture itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the stains.” Splinter squinted and moved the soiled picture closer to her face. Then she sniffed and her eyes went wide.
“This isn’t…” Barter nodded.
“It was stuck together before I opened it.”
“GAAH!” Splinter shouted, trying to drop it but it stuck to her hoof. She shook it back and forth until it finally detached and fell to the ground. She shook her entire body like she was trying to remove mud from her coat, then she stuck out her tongue and shut her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it. “I’m starting to regret this trip.” She gagged.
“What’s on the other side?” Shield asked he had removed the clip that came from the filthy gun. The clip itself was a bit rusted as well, rust which Shield was now scrubbing off.
“I’m not touching that thing again!” Splinter yelled incredulously. “I don’t care how hot she is!” Shield slid the now clean clip back into his gun with a click.
“Just flip it over.” He said calmly, looking Splinter in the eyes. Whether or not he was trying to threaten her, she was scared. She shook her head and let out a whimper before she gently blew on the picture, leaning in far closer than she would’ve liked to. After a few seconds of whimpering and Barter laughing, the picture flipped over. There was a large, black and gray blot which seemed like an ink stain at first, but then Splinter saw the red and white.
“It’s a crow’s head.” Shield, looked up suddenly.
“What did you say?” Splinter met the guard’s gaze, confused. “Be more specific.”
“It’s the head of a crow with a pool of blood beneath it, it has white eyes and-”
“A scarred X between its eyes?” Shield asked. Splinter merely nodded. Shield gave her a grave look.
“Why?”
“Barter, what else does he have?” Shield continued, ignoring Splinter’s question.
“I’m a little nervous to reach back in there.” Said Barter, eyeing the man’s vest.
“Just do it!” Shield shouted. When he raised his voice, it crackled and popped like a poorly made record playing on a poorly made record player. Barter jumped at the sound and reached into the corpse’s vest. He pulled out a small notebook. Shield rushed forward and began flipping through the pages. 
His eyes zoomed from page to page, reading them quicker than Splinter thought was possible. He eventually stopped on a page and began to read aloud.
“We’ve just received word that a trading caravan will be leaving Iron City to head toward Craterville, apparently they haven’t received any news in the past three months. It shouldn’t be too hard to take out, there's only one guard assigned to them.” He furrowed his brow in relief and worry, two emotions which were confusing when felt at the same time.
“What is it?” Splinter asked, stepping forward. Shield didn’t lift his gaze from the notebook as he spoke.
“Well, they’re not from The Black Beak which is good for us. But this does mean they have somepony on the inside.” Shield listed. Splinter tilted her head like a dog who had just heard a new sound.
“The Black Beak?” She asked. Shield shook his head, eyes still perusing the pages of the notebook.
“Let’s just say that interception would’ve been constructed much better than it was if these men were from The Black Beak.” He answered if you would call that an answer.
“Well, where are they from?” Asked Barter as he nudged the deceased raider with his hoof. Shield flipped through the notebook until he found, on the first page, the symbol of a tree, drawn in a crimson red. He rolled his eyes.
“Bloodfield.” Barter rolled his eyes as well, but Splinter tilted her head slightly more. Shield noticed and sighed. “I don’t really like the whole talking thing in the first place, it kind of hurts. Barter, explain.” Shield said in a resigned tone as he turned back to making sure his gun was spick and span as if it weren’t clean enough already. Barter shook his head and turned to Splinter.
“Bloodfield is a raider town just a few miles out of Craterville.” He explained. “They’re not very dangerous. Until now they’ve only barely managed to survive being attacked. They would be a threat if they had more power but for now, if you’re not an idiot, you shouldn’t have to worry about them.”
“You might have some trouble then.” Said Splinter before stomping her hoof on the ground and laughing like she had just called Barter out on some great secret. The merchant merely shook his head and moved closer to Shield, the only other person who seemed to take things seriously.
“I’m wondering what happened to Craterville.” He continued, while Splinter still laughed and giggled behind them, snorting and wheezing and barely managing to get a few words in.
“Cuz-cuz-cuz, you’re an idiot!” She cried.
Shield shrugged, ignoring the laughing mare behind him, and his eyes seemed to say: “I guess we’ll find out when we get there.” Shield holstered his gun one last time and stood, quickly examining the immediate surroundings and then glancing up at the bloodstain on the rocks where he had shot the sniper. Shield sighed… He really wanted that rifle. He began to trudge his way up the small hill toward the rock faces, making his way around the crevice.
“Where are you going?” Barter called after the wandering guard, who merely pointed up the hill with a hoof. Barter was not eager to let the obviously most skilled member of their trio, wander off alone, especially with the knowledge that there were raiders who had access to their trading routes. Shield found the carcass of the sniper he had shot, a gauged hole through the Pegasus’s left eye socket. A few shards of glass dotted the wound and went deep inside to the skull.
He examined the corpse with expertise.  fitted motorcycle helmet had a bullet sized hole punched through the back which caused a large crack to form, completely useless. Black cloth robes stained with blood and dirt, not armored at all, least it could do was provide camouflage in the night, useless. A few orbs which Shield pocketed, a few spare pistol rounds which Shield pocketed and a tattoo on the Pegasus’s left forehoof beneath the black robes. Shield could not pocket this, nor did he want to, but he did examine it closely. A black and twisted cross with two, dark feathery wings.
“What’s up?” Splinter asked, making Shield draw his pistol in defense. That pony was silent as the night.
“This man is a Raven.” Said Shield through the pain, gesturing to the tattoo. Splinter slowly squinted and tilted her head, something she did often when she didn’t know what ponies were talking about apparently. Shield sighed.
“Raven,” Shield began, “Is an acronym. R.A.V.E.N; Respectable And Viable Expert of Necromancy.”
“1, that’s a stupid acronym,” Replied Splinter. “2, necromancy? And 3, wow, that’s a stupid acronym. I mean really?” Shield chuckled softly. It was a strange noise to Splinter’s ears, but it was better than him shouting or threatening someone. She smiled softly. “So necromancy eh?”
“Yeah,” Shield turned back to the corpse. “They live in Steam City though there are a few in Pit. A group, or cult if you ask me, that specialize in dark magic.”
“I lived in Pit.” Said Splinter, moving to the body and wondering if he had come from there until she remembered Shield explaining that they had come from Bloodfield.
“I don’t think he came from Bloodfield.” Said Shield, almost like he could read her thoughts. “Or Pit for that matter. I think he was hired, for support and medical help if anything were to go wrong.”
“Too bad he can’t bring himself back from the dead.” Splinter nudged the corpse with her hoof. Shield looked around for the sniper rifle, it wasn’t in the Raven’s hooves like Shield had hoped. 
Perhaps the force of his bullet made the sniper fall over and toss it aside. Shield looked for scrapes and chips in the rock and dirt, any sign of the rifle. Eventually, he did find some scrapes on the rocks heading toward the crevice, a few shards of glass and a torn piece of military grade cloth which looked like it might’ve belonged to the rifle’s strap. Shield cursed to himself, he could imagine the rifle bouncing into the darkness, never to be seen again. He moved back to Splinter who was still nudging the corpse.
She looked up at him inquisitively. “Ya get it?” She asked. Shield merely waved her along as he began trotting back down the hill. “Sooooooo…” Said Splinter, preparing to touch on a most likely sensitive topic. “What’s wrong with your voice?” Shield kept trotting, no response. “Cuz I mean, I heard you lost your tongue but obviously that’s not true cuz you can do the whole… Talking… Thing.” Still no response. Splinter sighed. “Well, i’m just gonna start spreading rumors about you until I find the truth so it’s your loss.”
“You start spreading rumors,” Said Shield forcefully, his voice popping and scratching like a blown out speaker. “And soon you’ll be the one without a tongue.” Splinter stared at the back of his head intensely and then decided he wouldn’t give her an answer, so she dropped it and picked up a different subject. 
“So what’s that thing in your hoof?” Shield looked over his shoulder briefly before stopping, his brow furrowed a bit. He held up his right hoof, displaying the contraption as if to say: “You mean this?” It looked so simple, compact, the only visible parts had a purpose. It wasn’t as large or clunky as an E.U.D but it didn’t seem to have all the functions of one either. “Yeah, that.”
“It’s a T.I.C,” Shield replied simply. Before resuming their walk back to Barter and the other corpses.
“And that is?” Splinter continued, her thirst for answers never satisfied and especially craving.
“Tendon Interaction and Contraction. For those who want to hold a gun but can’t afford all the bells and whistles of an E.U.D.” He held up his hoof again but kept moving. Splinter watched as the rod which would pull the trigger of whatever gun is held, slide back and forth smoothly and the clamp which would hold the handle of the gun, tighten and loosen. She could see the muscles in his forehoof flexing as the device worked. It was intriguing, and kind of cool.
“Now please stop asking so many questions.” Said Shield. “I need some vocal rest.” And with that, the new subject was dropped as well.
The two made their way back down the hill where they found Barter looking nervous. He had detached his harness from the wagon of crates full of trading goods. Each of the crates was wrapped and stamped with the same symbol found on spheres and cubes; a star with wings, mid-flight. A whole load of crates had a large tarp drawn over them, tied to hooks on the wagon.
“What were you to doing?” Barter asked after jumping at the sight of them, he was too focused on his surroundings, making sure no deadly assassins were creeping up on him.
“Becoming best friends!” Splinter giggled, raising her hoof to punch Shield on the shoulder, and then realized she probably wouldn’t have a hoof anymore if she did. “Right Shield?” She asked. Shield ignored her and moved to Barter’s side.
“I suggest we get moving,” He spoke while re-attaching the harness to Barter. “They might have an outpost near here where they restocked or something. They might come looking and we can’t be here if they do. I suggest we continue down the trail for a few more hours and find some shelter to camp.” He gestured to the wagon with the lumpy, polygonal shaped tarp draped over the top. “We can’t leave this cargo out in the open.”
“So you know what it is?” Barter asked. Shield turned to him, slight confusion on his face.
“No… You don’t?”
“Nope.” Said Splinter. “They didn’t tell us a thing.” Barter reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of cardstock.
“We’re just supposed to show them this and they’ll do with the cargo what they need to. What they don’t take we take to these addresses.” Barter held the slip of cardstock to Shield, who took it, and reached to a small cavity in the side of the wagon containing a clipboard with several addresses and street names scribbled on the parchment. Shield looked at the cardstock, ignoring the clipboard. It was a subtle off-white color, with a single swirl inked into the center. He flipped the card over. Nothing.
“Yeah, weird right?” Said Barter, placing the clipboard back into its cavity. “It’s gotta be some kind of magic.”
“How?” Asked Splinter who had taken a seat on the ground and was flicking rocks with her front hoof. “All the unicorns are… Ya know… Eck!” She made a strangled noise and raised her hoof, pretending she was held at the neck by a noose. Barter shrugged.
“Yeah, but there’s still… A-Al-Alchem-ALCHEMY! Alchemy, that’s the one.” He stuttered. Splinter scratched her chin.
“How do you think it’s activated?” She asked, stepping forward to examine the card more closely.
“That’s not for us to know,” Said Barter dismissively, slipping the card back into his pocket. “It’s for us to deliver. Now let’s get moving. They pay less If you’re late.” And with that, the guard, the merchant, and the apprentice began walking back along the trail to the destination which was no longer there. 
They walked and walked until they tired and Barter’s E.U.D beeped, signaling them to set up camp, camouflage the cart and sleep until another alarm would wake them in the eternal afternoon. They walked several more miles, passing the occasionally destroyed neighborhood or charred and broken down carriage until they finally arrived at the crossroads. Planks of rotting, blackened wood lined the dirt making a forced trail in the dirt caused by what once were railroad tracks leading from town to town.
The dried dirt and dead plants crunched beneath their hooves as they trekked down the trail. Every Once and awhile Shield would cough, or yawn, his vocal chords would produce a fizzy, popping sound. Barter and Splinter’s ears would swivel and they would examine Shield like an open sore, prone to infection. Their stomach writhed collectively, the sound seemed utterly wrong and out of place. 
No matter how she approached it, Splinter simply couldn’t get Shield to tell her why his voice was the way that it was. She began attempting to piece it together by asking vague questions, which didn’t work out too well seeing as all the questions she asked were either too obvious or so vague they were completely off topic. For the next three hours of walking after packing up the camp, it was just,
“So, Shield, what’s your favorite song? Wanna sing it for us?” or “So, Shield, are you allergic to anything?” or something along the lines of, “So, Shield…. Can you PLEASE just tell me already?” To which Shield would either reply with a two letter answer, or a slightly static sounding grunt as they kicked up dust marching across the trail, hours passing as they trotted, the wagon wheels scraping and rolling over rocks and a stray bone every once and awhile. 
There were animals living out in the wastes, they are mostly hunted down and eaten or to have their bodies used to make tools or clothes. Many skulls and skeletons of various animals dot the waste, pale bone contrasting the bland brown and tan. Splinter always hated seeing skeletons like that. She knew they weren’t as aware as ponies are, they didn’t truly understand what they were, they couldn’t comprehend life itself but still… To imagine the pain they must’ve gone through.
It sent shivers down her spine. They walked and walked, seeing skeleton after skeleton. Cows, birds, ones that resembled cats or dogs, household pets and… Oh, sweet Celestia… A half buried skeleton that looked a bit like a pony, but she didn’t dare dig it up to find out. They appeared to be passing through some sort of graveyard, more and more skeletons were scattered across the ground, mostly broken, cracked and split bones revealing the marrow. Skulls of animals missing the teeth, chunks of metal, perhaps used as headstones… Okay, that is definitely a pony skeleton… and another one… And another one. Splinter gasped as the group came upon a field of chunks of metal, blackened wood and ash, the landscape transitioning to burnt dirt and charred bone.
“W… W-what happened here?” Splinter stuttered. Barter and Shield examined their surroundings. Barter’s face showed shock and unparalleled worry while Shield only showed anger.
“What is this place?” Shield growled, his voice fizzing with anger like a radio that can’t quite seem to find the correct station.
“You mean… This isn’t craterville?” Splinter asked.
“You see any craters?” He responded, his voice calm, but a rage hid behind that bandana. “That’s still at least two miles up, this is something different.” He spoke as he leaned down and began examining the skeletons, charred black from some unknown heat which was no longer present. Cracked and fractured bone, some with chunks of metal, previously thought to be headstones, crushing limbs and spines, pinning the bones to the dirt.
“Who were these ponies?” Asked Barter, detaching from the cart and rubbing his torso, sore from hours of pulling.
“They’ve been dead for quite a while,” Shield responded, setting down a skull he had picked up to examine. “A month at least.”
“Do you think there was a battle here or something?” Barter suggested.
“Between who?” Said Splinter, trying not to look at some of the smaller, younger looking skeletons. “Gangs?”
“What gang could do something like this?” At this the group looked around, fields of chunks of metal, splinters of wood and bone, charred dirt and skulls.
“They would need a powerful weapon.” Said Barter.
“Or a LOT of flamethrowers.” Said Splinter. Barter and Shield looked to her.
“I can’t tell if you’re actually that naive or just making a joke.” Said Shield.
“I think it’s a bit of both,” Barter said, shaking his head.
“Regardless,” Shield continued, standing and stepping away from the fallen ponies. “We should continue toward Craterville, see if they’re alright. These could’ve been raiders for all we know, and Craterville might’ve done this in self-defense.” Barter nodded.
“Where did Craterville get a weapon like this?” Asked Splinter.
“The Masked Lords have a lot of things they don’t tell us, a massive weapon may be one of them.”
“Umm…” Said Splinter, sounding a bit nervous. “Who… Who are the Masked Lords again?” Shield had to keep himself from removing his bandana, purely so his jaw could drop, however, that would be a rather disturbing sight. Barter, however, let his jaw drop as far as it could.
“I’m sorry…” He apologized in disbelief. “Do you not know who the Masked Lords are?” Splinter shrugged.
“I don’t know, I don’t really pay attention to things that aren’t directly in front of me.” Shield and Barter both shook their head.
“Explain it to her.” Said Shield, as he began trotting forward toward Craterville. And Barter did so as they marched their way through the char and soot. An incline met their hooves as they walked, a shallow hill leading upward, leading to Craterville. It was a bit steeper than they remembered.
“You go ahead, find out where you need to go,” Said Shield just a few feet before the crest of the hill, which would, on the other side, drop into the city itself. “ I’ll keep watch, Just in case whoever killed all those ponies is still around.” Barter nodded.
“Am I the only one who noticed that the ground is still black?” Asked Splinter.
“No, you’re not.” Said Shield, pulling out his revolver and looking down the hill. Barter and Splinter exchanged a worried look before walking up the incline. The edge of the main crater that comprised most of Craterville was a sheer drop, but luckily there was a metal bridge leading downward into the town… Or there was a bridge… And there WAS a town.



Chapter 8
New Blood

Splinter and Barter looked down into what is known now as Craterville Crater. Black soot and ash comprised the landscape. Spikes of burnt, black and melted metal pooled and jutted out of the dirt. Foundations of buildings remained but slowly turned to split stone, then to rubble, then to dust as they got closer to the center of the crater. Barter remembered a large, ornate iron dome being the center of town, now it was merely a pool of cooled melted metal. And burnt into the dirt and metal in the center of town, was a huge, strange looking star with a few other sparkles surrounding it. Splinter and Barter gasped, tasting the ash filled the air.
“Sweet Celestia.” Said Barter.
“Shield?” Splinter called out, her voice echoing down into the ruins of what was once Craterville. Dread and worry did back-flips in her stomach, she wanted to vomit it and by the look on his face, Barter felt the same.
“Yeah?” He called back, his voice popping with exertion.
“It’s… It’s a crater.” There was a pause.
“Yeah, that’s kind of the city’s whole thing.”
“No.” Said Barter. “It’s been destroyed.” His voice was oddly calm. From behind them, they heard Shield holster his pistol and gallop up the hill next to them. His bandanna shifted awkwardly as if his jaw had dropped behind the fabric. He gazed down at the ruined and melted buildings and walkways, reduced to jagged and misshapen lumps of metal.
“There was a bomb or something.” Said Splinter, holding back the bile while staring at the substantial range of charred dirt behind them. “The blast radius is huge.”
“Only one kind of bomb that can do this.” Said Shield. For the first time, Splinter and Barter heard what sounded like a quiver to his voice. Not from fear, no. From anger building in his stomach and throat. “Come on.” He added, beginning to carefully shuffle his way down into the crater.
“But,” Splinter stuttered. “What if it's radioactive?” Shield kept making his way down the crater face.
“Unicorn Bombs don’t leave radiation.” He explained.
“What Bombs?” Asked Splinter, ever more confused. Barter shook his head, detached from his harness and began following Shield down into the crater.
“Come on,” Said Barter, “I’ll explain on the way.” Splinter let out a long sigh, then a few worried looks around the black landscape, before shaking her head and beginning her trek down the steep decline into the destroyed city below.
The three shuffled slowly down the crater face, knocking loose rocks down into the base. Every once and awhile they would nearly slip of the smooth surface of melted then cooled metal in the dirt, like shadows of the houses and walkways once built onto the wall of the crater. Splinter was shaking. She had never been to Craterville before, but she had heard about it. She heard stories of a grand city, a symbol of life going on despite the war. The people there were tough, they persevered through everything…. Almost everything.
They made their way to the base of the crater and as they got closer to the center the more pools of melted metal there were. Structures slowly got more and more dispersed as more pools of melted and cooled metal. Here there were little to no skeletons to be seen. Shield had expected to see ominously pony shaped piles of ash, but none were to be found, this must’ve happened a while ago. He stopped, something clicking in his brain. “apparently they haven't received any news in the past three months.”
“Whatever happened here,” Shield began, “Happened at least three months ago.”
“How do you know?” Splinter asked, her voice still quivering like she had been mortally wounded.
“It said so in that raider’s journal.” Explained Barter, apparently he had similar thoughts to Shield. Splinter took a sweeping look at the large crater. Craterville had been a decent sized city inside of a decent sized crater, and whatever caused this had only widened the basin in which Craterville was set.
“So do you think raiders are responsible for this?”
“No,” Shield answered quickly. Splinter and Barter turned to him, he was starting at the large scorched star set into the melted metal and rock. “Raider’s like them couldn’t get their hooves on a Unicorn Bomb.” He explained. “Not this one.”
“What do you mean by that?” Asked Barter. Shield rolled his eyes.
“You see that scorch mark?” He pointed with his hoof, the T.I.C on his foreleg clicked and shifted as his muscles moved so suddenly. Barter and Splinter could only nod. “This Unicorn Bomb belonged to a very powerful, and important pony. For someone to get a hold of it would either need a LOT of money or VERY skilled thieves and fighters to steal it.” Splinter looked at the burned star in the dirt, it seemed distorted from this angle. “Raiders couldn’t get anything like that anytime soon.”
“Well then,” Barter stuttered, furrowing his brow. “who did this?” Shield thought for a moment.
“It had to have been a faction or a town or something.” He reasoned. “Somepony with enough power and lack of morality to be able to wipe out an entire city. To waste a Unicorn Bomb like this one.” He reached out to touch the burn mark.
“Hey!” A voice shouted from behind them. Shields revolver was out before Barter and Splinter could blink. The two merchants followed the barrel of the large, silver firearm. A few hundred feet away was a pony, he looked haggard, dirty, wearing scraps of leather armor and cloth. Splinter’s E.U.D hummed softly as she grabbed a hold of her pistol and slowly pulled it out of her holster. “We got some stragglers!” The voice finished. Suddenly, echoing from all around them, they heard laughter. High pitched, seeming to come from everywhere.
“Get em’ boys!” Said one of the many, cackling voices. Tens of hoofsteps echoed through the ruined and half melted buildings around them.
“Brace yourself!” Said Shield, his eyes squinting down the sights of his revolver. A dirty, scarred head of a pony peeked around the corner of a melted pile of rubble and before he could let out another laugh, a .357 caliber bullet entered the raider’s left eye socket. Blood sprayed like a geyser as he fell to the dirt with a thud. Two, three more ponies came from behind buildings and piles of rock, carrying blades or rusted pistols. Splinter cocked her pistol which was dwarfed by the sheer size of Shields firearm. She watched as the hammer of the revolver swung and a bullet was launched from the barrel. Designs were etched into the metal and handle, wherever he got this gun, he’s had it for a while.
Splinter focused once more just in time to whip her pistol in front of her and down a raider wielding a large, sharp scrap of metal who had been running at her, swinging it wildly. She gasped as blood speckled her face, the taste of iron stinging her tongue. Her stomach churned.
Barter watched as Shield downed raider after raider. One, two, three, four, five. All the way to nine before pulling the trigger produced nothing more than a click. The clamp around the enormous revolver’s handle loosened. Shield tossed it in the air and caught the rod in the trigger guard before the clamp tightened around the barrel of the gun. More raiders seemed to crawl out of the woodwork and Shield began swinging, the heavy butt of the gun knocking out teeth and cracking jaw bones.
Splinter stepped back, her hoof holding the pistol shaking. At least five raiders were approaching, two had pistols while the other three carried sharp shards of metal. They were all smiling, Sweet Celestia why were they smiling? Splinter heard the high-pitched hum of her E.U.D and involuntarily watched as her pistol fell to the dirt.
“What are you doing!” Shield shouted at her, his voice cracking  more than ever before a raider behind him raised a razor-sharp scrap of metal and swung just as Splinter was tackled to the ground. Barter watched as skin split and crimson began to pour onto the rubble and rocks below. A deep gash spread across Shield’s forehoof, his gray fur stained by blood. The blade reached muscle and his T.I.C slacked. His revolver fell to the dirt with a heavy thud.
Shield grunted loudly as raiders took him to the ground, a raider holding his head down, the pressure alone made him want to yell, a headache cracked across his mind.
Splinter and Shield’s hooves were quickly and forcefully bound in shackles two of the raiders had been carrying while Barter was being surrounded by no less than eight raiders. He began bucking and kicking with all of his might. His rear hooves collided with the faces, chests, and ribs of four or five raiders, he felt the cracks and clicks of bones against his hooves before a wicked shard of metal slashed across his flank, sending a deep cut straight through his cutie mark. He screamed as blood poured from the wound and the skin split, he could see his own muscle. His vision became dizzy, and he collapsed to the ground.
His vision lingered just long enough to see the blurs and shadowy shapes of raiders attach shackles to his hooves and begin dragging him away to an unknown destination. He felt the blood drip down his leg, and the rocks a rubble catch in his mane. He felt more tired than he had ever been before. He opened his mouth and with all the will he could muster, managed to produce merely a whisper.
“Splinter?” His vision faded black and his head held up with what little strength he had, fell to the dirt with a muffled thud.
“Barter!” Splinter yelled, snapping out of her daze. She needed to help him, she needed to make sure he was okay.
“Ya lost girly!” A raider giggled. He walked toward Shield , a plank of wood attached to a gnarly hook screwed into his hoof. The wood dragged against the dirt making a horrible scraping sound, her awaiting demise. He lifted the plank and swung viciously, a wicked smile on his face. It struck the side of Shield’s head. Splinter flinched at the sight. A bead of blood tracked from Shield’s ear down the side of his head. He let out a sound like a blown out speaker being struck by a sledgehammer. He grunted, his eyes open wide as he struggled to try to get to his hooves despite the shackles, but the blow to the head had done its job and Shield’s eyes began to droop until he fell, his eyes closed as if in a deep sleep.
The raider holding the plank of wood looked to Splinter with the same, wicked grin. Chipped and yellowing teeth glinting in the sunlight. Another raider began to tug on her shackles, dragging her through the dirt, closer to the plank wielding bandit. Soon she was surrounded by filthy, deranged raiders, all smiling down at her.
“Soon,” Said the raider holding the wooden plank, “you will wake in Bloodfield and everything will be better.” He cackled. It haunted Splinter to her very bones. The sun stained air soon filled with the hideous laughter of the rest of the raiders, joining their friend. Cheering and whooping, waiting to see Splinter in pain for the fleeting moment before she felt to unconsciousness. The first raider raised his wooden plank, the end specked with blood from Splinter’s fallen friends. She closed her eyes tight and flinched as she heard the *Whoosh!* of wood swing through the air. She was in more pain than she had ever been in, but it only lasted a few seconds. The black of the inside of her eyelids began to swirl and spin with white spots forming like the birth of stars in a night sky before she fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.


The world was chaos. Mares and stallions wailed in pain and terror. Splinter didn’t know where she was. Columns of fire rained from the sky and scorched the earth. Armies of pegasi and earth ponies charged and slaughtered each other, no clear sides were taken. Glowing orbs were launched from one side of the battlefield to the other, exploding on impact, sending corpses and body parts flying in every direction. Splinter wanted to close her eyes, to hide, to get away, but she didn’t seem to have control of her body.
Something shifted amongst the corpses, something small, something that didn’t belong there. A young filly, no older than nine, stepped forth from the destruction. She was a pale red with a brown mane. Her eyes were a soft green, drowning in tears. She looked questioningly at Splinter like she needed help. Splinter tried to move, to hug the little filly, but once again she found her muscles resisting. The filly squeezed her eyes shut and screwed up her face. A light appeared around her forehead, upon which Splinter could now see a rounded horn, glowing with magic. The filly screamed, drowning out the sounds of war, her eyes glowing with a magenta light. Then everything went silent, and all that was left was the stars.


Splinter awoke to a swift kick to her stomach and a pain in the side of her head like it was about to split in half. Her eyes flicked open in shock as the wind knocked out of her.
"Get up!" A gravelly voice shouted above her, her eyes watered with pain as she clutched her head and stomach, not knowing which to give more attention to. She didn't recognize where she was. She laid on a filthy, thin mattress. The walls and ceiling were a dull gray, skewed black and brown in a few places. Dozens of other ponies were in this room as well, most wearing rags, laying on similar mattresses to Splinter's. A few ponies were wearing crude armor and holding spears using the same hooks screwed into their hoof. Splinter shuddered as she stood, the guard who had kicked her huffed and began kicking other ponies, rudely waking them from their few hours of peace every day.
"You will get dressed and get to work!" A guard pony shouted over the crowd of groaning slaves. "And for the newbies?" The guard looked around the room, looking to several ponies, two of which she recognized. Amongst the other newcomers, Splinter saw Barter, being kicked awake by the same guard who had kicked her. "You will be assigned personally by the captain!" After surveying the crowd for a few seconds, Splinter spotted Shield, sitting atop his own mattress.
His bandanna was missing, but what seemed to be a crudely ripped piece of cloth was tied over his mouth in its stead. It resembled a shabby, dirty medical mask, and for the first time, Splinter could see the parts of Shield's body that were normally covered by his clothes. His gray coat was spotted here and there with varying scars. Bullet wounds, cuts, and burns and as Splinter's eyes moved up Shield's body to his neck, the scars got more frequent. Specifically what seemed to be burn scars, all leading up to a large patch of missing fur just beneath his chin. The skin warped and blistered, and Splinter began to get a good idea as to what was under that scrappy piece of cloth over his muzzle.
Splinter looked down and began to examine her E.U.D when she noticed it was off. She began frantically pressing buttons and flipping switches. She tried tensing her muscles, trying to activate something, but to no avail. E.U.Ds don't just turn off. It's not in their programming. Somepony must have tampered with it. Splinter found herself filling with anger and confusion as the guard ponies began to march their prisoners, single file, out of the large holding room and out a large metal door.
She watched as pony after pony stood and began to mope their way into line. Shield stood and walked into line, quickly followed by Barter, who clutched his stomach with a hoof while he walked. Splinter quickly joined them, slipping behind Shield and in front of Barter. She leaned forward and tried to whisper as quietly as she could.
"Where are we?" Shield's ears twitched, but he didn't respond. Splinter began to turn her head back to Barter but stopped herself deciding it would bring too much attention. The line of ponies moved with purpose, being poked, prodded and yelled at by guards. Eventually, Splinter, Shield, and Barter passed through the metal doorway and into the eternal sunlight. They were in a town if you could call it that. Decrepit wooden shacks and huts surrounded them, some with multiple stories though they more closely resembled multiple worn down houses lazily stacked on top of each other. The absence of buildings made a road upon which the line of ponies was now standing. The three weary and pained partners soon joined them, facing three guards and one mare in particular who had an old battered helmet placed on her head through which Splinter could see the reflection of her own pained face. She looked like she had been dragged through the dirt.
"Listen up!" Shouted the helmeted mare despite the fact the captured crowd was already silent. "You are now slaves. I will not sugar coat this for you!" She began to pace, her yellow coat collecting dust as she walked. "In fact, you can expect no 'sugar' from this place." Down the line to the right of Splinter, somepony began sobbing. Splinter watched as everypony turned their head to look. A young mare with a baby blue coat and seafoam green mane had tears streaking down her cheeks. This mare, in particular, had several bruises and cuts on her face.
"Please," She stuttered, the fur beneath her eyes beginning to soak with salty tears. "Please, let me go." The guards acted almost instinctively. Two of the three moved around the sobbing mare and knocked her to the ground with a thud, kicking up dust where she fell. The helmeted mare walked forward, almost playfully slow.
"I was speaking," She growled. "You spineless bitch." She spun on her forehooves and delivered a powerful kick to the sobbing mare's stomach who slid a few inches across the dirt. "You'd do best to remain silent." The helmeted mare finished, punctuating her sentence by spitting on the poor mare's face.
"Get up." One of the guards grunted, shoving the baby blue pony onto her knees. From there she weakly got to her hooves and tried her best to ignore her tears, holding her head high.
"Now!" The yellow mare continued. "I don't want to hear any more complaining, you are as of now, citizens of Bloodfield, and nothing you say or do is going to change that." She resumed her pacing, up and down the line she went, looking each pony in the face, passing Splinter and her friends without a second glance. "My second in command here will assign you what will be your job for the remainder of your stay here." She lifted a hoof and gestured to the third guard who had yet to move. He was taller, better built. A short reddish mane sprouted from brown fur. He gazed up and down the line with hazel eyes.
"Sergeant Steel!" The mare shouted. The brown earth pony saluted in response. "Take over from here." Steel nodded, completed his salute, and stepped forward as the yellow mare walked down the road, away from the line of captured ponies.
"Alright," The brown sergeant began. "Every other pony step foreward, let's get this done."
> Chapter 9: The Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Splinter tugged at the wooden handle of a hoe with her mouth, her teeth sinking into the oak. Sweat dripped down her brow and soaked her fur, dirt clung to her hooves as she tilled the dry, nearly dead, soil, and tended to the sparse and unhealthy plants. Splinter had been assigned gardening as her first shift of the day and her molars ached in protest. She missed the use of her E.U.D. Only now had she realized how much she relied on it. If she were to ever get her hooves on a gun, she didn't have the faintest idea how she would hold it. Perhaps she would need to get one of those gnarled hooks screwed into her hoof? She didn't know what they did to her E.U.D in the first place, the raiders may have broken it, it may never turn on again...
Shield was assigned to gardening as well, although he wasn't much for conversation. It seems he had exchanged his tendencies of rarely speaking with the tendency to not speaking at all, no matter what Splinter did. She tried starting conversation, but all she would get were small jerks of his head and more often than not all she would receive was silence. But that didn't stop her from speaking to him anyway. It had been several days since they were brutally attacked, knocked out, tied up and dragged to Blood Field, and this seemed to be the hottest day yet. Not a single cloud in the sky and the containment room in which Splinter and the rest of the slaves slept became an oven, seeing as the entire building was made of metal. The only metal in all of Blood Field as it seemed.
Out of all of the ponies in the containment room, Splinter was proud to say she smelled the best. But she, in no way, smelled anywhere near good, and no matter how long she spent in the metal gas chamber which was the containment room, she couldn't get used to the stench.
"So,” Splinter slobbered past the gardening tool in her mouth. “What do we do?" Shield worked merely a few feet away, a watering can held in his T.I.C. Splinter found it unfair that they hadn't disabled Shield's device. She stared jealously as he tilted the watering can, spilling brown tinted liquid over the soil, set the can down, and spread the dirt over seeds which had been planted previously. She didn't fully understand how the T.I.C worked but she knew it was connected to Shield's muscles somehow. She supposed in order to disable it they would need to clip his tendon which wouldn't be the best for a slave you expect to work, but that didn't dampen her jealousy.
Shield, didn't respond to Splinter's query. He simply continued to water the seeds and soil in silence. Splinter sighed resignedly. 
"Listen," She continued, spitting the hoe out of her mouth and leaving it to rest on her shoulder as she pressed the cold metal of her E.U.D to her forehead. "We have to do something, we can't just stay slaves here." Shield continued his work. Splinter couldn't tell if he was listening or not. "We have to get out, get to iron City, and warn them."
"Hey!" A voice called from across the pitiful field. Splinter jumped and turned to see Sergeant Steel looking over the fence, his brow furrowed, his eyes set. “Enough talking! Get back to work!" He shouted. Splinter quickly lowered her gaze, grabbed the hoe once more, and began raking it through the dirt. She had avoided being beaten thus far and she wasn't in any hurry to be beaten now. The two worked in silence for hours more until the sound of a bell rang across the town, signaling their twenty minute break. In normal conditions this would be a generous amount of time, but when you have nearly a hundred slaves to feed, you're lucky if you get your food in time before the line disperses to begin their second shift.
Luckily, following in Shield's wake managed to assure Splinter her food. He swam expertly through the merging crowd of ponies rushing to get their food, and secured fifth in line, Splinter bringing up a close sixth, while Barter was nowhere to be seen. They were near the middle of the town where one of the many merchant stands had been re-purposed for dishing out brown water and stale bread to the slaves. Splinter got to the head of the line and held out her plate in her mouth. She winced as slop was thrown onto her plate, splashing onto her muzzle and into her eye. She quickly moved along and walked toward containment, following in Shield's wake. He had figured out exactly where to walk in order to avoid being shoved and beaten by the barbaric civilians of Blood Field. They had seen ponies attacking slaves for no reason, beating them mercilessly, and for the mares... Much worse.
Splinter shuddered at the thought and found a little more comfort in Shield's presence. They walked through the metal doorway of the containment room and moved to Shield's mattress where they sat and began to eat. Shield used his T.I.C to tear chunks off of the bread and stuff it beneath his makeshift bandanna, careful not to show what was beneath. 
Splinter sighed through the crumbling bread in her muzzle. Shield looked up at the sound, his face emotionless as always. Splinter met his eyes, swallowed her bread with effort, and spoke.
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong with your voice?" She asked, much to Shield's dismay. He shook his head, almost as if he were disappointed she hadn't asked something better. But she persisted. "No, what could possibly be so bad that you can't tell me?" Shield continued eating, ignoring her. "I know you can speak, I've heard it. So what if it sounds weird? Just tell me why it's the way that it is?" Shield paused, bread halfway to his muzzle. Then he set the bread down and sighed heavily, looking Splinter in the eyes. "Please?" She added, batting her eyelashes. Shield rolled his eyes before standing up straight and focusing. His eyes resembled a child trying to learn to draw, much to the contrast of his muscular and scarred body.
His stomach shifted as he tried to speak, his neck reached forward like a cat about to vomit. Splinter saw his bandanna shift as his mouth opened, the blistered, twisted and hairless flesh becoming more visible as his jaw lowered. Then, he let out a noise that Splinter had never heard before, and never wanted to hear again. It was like sandpaper was being scraped as forcefully as possible across Shield’s vocal chords. A horrible, retching, gagging, gravelly sound like an empty, fleshy oil drum sliding down a shale slide. Splinter closed her eyes, wincing as the sound raked her skin with goosebumps, and when the sound had stopped, and she opened her eyes once more, she saw a pale, yellow and red stain spreading across the cloth over Shield’s mouth.
Splinter, simply did not know how to react. A majority of her body wanted to vomit, right there on her plate, part of her wanted to ask what in sweet Tartarus that noise was, but all she could say… Was nothing. She sat in silence, staring at the slowly spreading stain of pus and blood. Shield covered the bandanna with his hoof and began coughing. It was awful. His stomach contracted and twisted horribly, his eyes began to water and he closed them tight, hacking and gagging.
Splinter stood, her legs shaking, and rushed to Shield, knocking over her plate as she went.
“Sweet Celestia!” She exclaimed as Shield turned away from her, waving his hoof as if to say he was fine. Splinter looked around frantically for something that could help. She jumped slightly when her eyes came across Splinter’s cup of browning water. She reached forward and cursed as her E.U.D failed to activate. She squeezed the cup between her two hooves and lifted it. “Please! Drink something!” At the mention of water, Shield whipped around, clamped onto the cup with his T.I.C, turned away, pulled his cloth down past his chin and began to drink deeply.
Splinter simply stared at the back of his head as he swallowed mouthfuls of water, gagging every once and a while, sending droplets down to the metal floor. Splinter watched, wincing as Shield painfully downed the cup of water. She regretted asking him to try to speak. She felt sick, she felt horrible, and she felt like she had forced her friend do something terrible. Shield set the empty metal cup on the ground forcefully and he panted, his breathing raspy like the growling of some wounded and sick creature. He lifted his mask over his muzzle and turned back to Splinter, his eyes half closed, his face sweating like he had just run a marathon through the Badlands. His makeshift bandanna was stained with more yellow and red, only now, water was added to the mix.
Splinter stared at Shield, wide eyed and guilty. The white fabric covering Shield’s mouth was slightly transparent, revealing spots of gray, malformed and hairless flesh pressed against the cloth. She turned away quickly, fearing she might vomit if she looked any longer. She wanted to do something, something that would help. And that’s when the sea of mattresses caught her eye. She stood, slowly, her knees shaking beneath her weight, and walked to one of the many uncomfortable sleeping pads. She moved to the least stained spot of fabric she could find, and began to tug at it with her teeth. There was a rip and a sizeable chunk of fabric was now free from the mattress and held between her jaws.
“Here.” She said in a muffled voice, trying her best not to spit on the cloth. She moved back to Shield who reached out and clamped on with his T.I.C. Splinter sat back down with a thud and sighed as Shield reached to remove his bandanna.
“Um,” Splinter said loudly, making Shield stop in his tracks and look up at her questioningly. “Could you…” She felt terrible for asking, but she couldn’t take anymore. Shield seemed to understand. He turned around once more and pulled the stained fabric off of his face and shakily tied the new, clean bandanna around his neck. It seemed to fit well, but it was a bit too long. The spare cloth draped around his neck, resting against his mane.
“I’m uuuh…” Splinter poked the ground nervously as she spoke. “I’m sorry for asking you to… Do that.” Shield turned to her, she was delighted to see the bandanna was clean. He waved his hoof as if to say,
It happens all the time, before staggering slightly and quickly placing his hoof back on the ground for support. This did not soothe Splinter’s guilt.


Splinter’s second shift was assigned to picking up the many pieces of trash littering Bloodfield’s streets, as well as avoiding the many objects often thrown or swung in her direction, which she would then have to pick up as well. The large, leather satchel they had slung across her side grew heavier and heavier as the night went on. There really was, an exorbitant amount of garbage in Bloodfield, and even more if you counted the citizens themselves, which Splinter did.
She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of  Barter since this morning, and she was a little nervous that he may be in some sort of trouble. Splinter shook off this thought, reassuring herself, that he was probably just gardening in a different section of the town. She greatly disliked the idea of seeing either of her friends beaten or killed, if you counted Shield as a friend, which Splinter did. The cleaning took hours, sweat dripped off of Splinter’s fur in the unrelenting downpour of the sun’s rays. She shielded her eyes every hour or so to look up toward the sky, get an idea of what time it was, and pray to the long dead Celestia that a cloud would happen to drift by on it’s own and give her just a few seconds of shade.
She was given a small tool to pick up trash with. They seemed like a rusty set of tongs which tasted strongly of iron and… Well, rust. The tool was rather small and needed to be held within her mouth, seeing as her E.U.D didn’t seem to be starting up any time soon. She would’ve much preferred a long hook with a wooden handle, with which to spear the trash instead. The handle didn’t even need to be clean, just a soft wood so her teeth could stop aching so much. But Splinter suspected the leaders of Bloodfield didn’t much like the idea of giving long, pointed, metal weapons to their slaves, so for now, the tongs would have to do.
After several more hours of getting her mouth uncomfortably close to rotting food, and receiving several extra bruises from a group of fillies and mares hurling stones at her, Splinter felt the cool shade of a small clump of clouds covering the sun, signifying the end of the day. Two Pegasi nudged clouds into place, one seemed significantly more bruised than the other. This was really the first sign of cooperation between slaves and Bloodfield guards. It was a strange sight, but Splinter got the feeling the poor slave Pegasus would be receiving a fresh set of bruises when this job was done.
Splinter stood for a moment, eyes closed and chin raised, letting the break from the sun’s heat wash over her body. The sweat, which had been a small comfort in the heat, was now a rush of ice in the shade which sent goosebumps up and down her back and neck. She let out a sigh of relief. At last, she could cool off. She didn’t know how long she stood there. Seconds, maybe a few minutes. Ten, perhaps twenty. Part of her mind told her that if she was late to the containment room, she would be beaten. But that voice was drowned by relief, and gratefulness for the remaining existence of Pegasi. She was in a sort of trance, she probably would’ve stayed there until somepony found her, but something caught her ear. It swiveled to face behind her, trying to locate the noises.
She heard voices. Hushed, careful voices. Voices that didn’t want to be heard, voices that didn’t think anyone was listening. They were calm, not in any sort of hurry, but wary of eavesdroppers nonetheless. And an eavesdropper, Splinter was. Albeit, an accidental eavesdropper. She couldn’t make out what they were saying. One of them was a male, she could make that out. One was female. The other was… Higher pitched. Either a female or an elderly male. Splinter was walking forward now, taking slow, silent steps toward the voices. She could understand them now.
“-need to find a better meeting place,” Said the male voice, “I swear, unless we write messages to each other, people will be able to hear us.”
“Relax,” Said a the higher pitched voice, “These walls are solid oak, as long as we stay quiet, nobody will hear anything.”
“Maybe you could just move a bit closer.” Said the female voice, “And talk a bit quieter, just to be sure.”
“Any closer and your ear will be in my mouth.” Said the male voice, “We’re fine, can you jus-”
There was a loud clinking sound. Splinter fumbled and took a few hurried steps backward. A glass bottle she had failed to pick up earlier, rolled and spun across the dirt road. The three voices shushed each other, and the street fell into silence. There was the sound of hoofsteps on wood, and the creak of a door. Splinter jumped and looked up and down the street frantically, looking for somewhere to hide. She eventually rushed toward an empty cart which laid in front of a small hut. She scrambled into the cart, making as little noise as she could, and hung the canvas across the car’s frame.
In the slight breeze, she could see only a sliver of the street as the tarp over her rippled slightly, revealing the dirt road and ramshackle huts in brief moments.
Silence, for a few moments. Splinter remained as still as possible. Every shifting sound she made seemed a hundred times louder. She held her breath, and in the silence she heard hoofsteps, the sound of gravel grinding against something metal, and the creaking of leather. Somepony stepped out into the darkened street. He was taller, well built, and had a brown coat of fur with a reddish brown mane. Steel didn’t look worried. He didn’t look anxious or rushed or nervous, he simply surveyed his surroundings with careful, calculating eyes. Splinter’s heartbeat grew steadily louder as Steel turned slowly toward the cart. How could he not hear her heartbeat? It pounded and thumped against her chest, but Steel didn’t seem to notice as his gaze slid right past the cart without a second glance. After a moment, he let out a sigh, and walked back out of Splinter’s field of view. She waited for a few minutes.
She didn’t dare move and she only dared to breath after her face had turned a sickening purple color and she could feel her heartbeat in her throat. The hushed voices resumed, too quiet and too far away for Splinter to hear, and she had no intention of attempting to move within earshot. For a moment, she was tempted to just fall asleep in the cart. It would certainly be easier than walking back to Containment, and though she lacked the comfort of a mattress, the warped wood was still warm from baking in the sun all day, and the tarp provided a sort of blanket over her. Overall, this was much more comfortable than Containment. Her eyelids grew heavy. They drifted up and down, her eyes crossing as they lowered, the warm arms of sleep beckoning her closer.
“What will happen if you get caught?” Echoed Shield’s voice from somewhere in her mind. Her sleepy mind through for a moment. She thought of the mistreatment of slaves. The undernourishment, the insults, the labor, the public beatings, the public rapings. “We can make it out of here, don’t end it like this.” His voice was back to normal in her mind, it popped and fizzed in a familiar and comfortable way. She felt safer with Shield. And just then, did Splinter realize how unsafe she was. This cart was used for something, it would be picked up and dragged around town in the morning. What if she was caught? Her eyes opened quickly and she decided then and there, she would not be caught tonight.
Splinter found the strength to poke her head out from under the tarp and look up and down the street. No guards, no citizens, no slaves, nopony whatsoever. She let out a quiet sigh, and stepped out of the cart as quietly as she could. The voices were still whispering from whichever building they were meeting in, but Splinter didn’t bother to try to overhear. She moved as silently as possible and, not knowing of the secrets and plans being exchanged by Sergeant Steel and whomever he was meeting with, Splinter snuck her way back to Containment.
> Chapter 10: Rank
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 10



Kitchen Duty was one of Splinter’s least favorite chores in Bloodfield, but at least her chances of being beaten, or worse, was minimized by the lack of space and the huge rack of dishes that would only pile higher if slaves were dragged away for a fresh set of black eyes. Splinter scrubbed the dried crust of slop off of an old, wooden plate and pondered the events of the night before. She had an easy time sleeping when she got back to Containment, but her dreams were full of the whispers of Commander Steel and whomever he was with. Splinter had to slip past only two guards to get back to her mattress, it was easy enough to do. It seemed most of the guards had been called off somewhere or were possibly all gathered around some poor slave, performing unspeakable acts. Splinter shuddered at the thought.

There was a muffled, pink, sound as she set the mostly filth-free plate down on a stack to the left of the sink before her, for the next poor soul to pick up and begin drying. The water in the sink was brown and murky with chunks of floating food, and dirt that had already been there when Splinter arrived. A guard patrolled through the kitchen, watching ponies work. His eyes moved across the lines of working slaves with a sort of smugness, as if this was how things were always supposed to be. His mane was a sandy blonde color, and a coat of fur to match. He had stubble all along his chin, the kind of stuff that could wipe away any amount of crusty, dried slop with ease. Splinter found herself looking at the guard while he was preoccupied with gazing at the flanks of a red Earth Pony who was hard at work stacking the dirty plates in their respective piles to be passed down to one of the four sinks. The Earth Pony’s hooves were covered in various colors of disgusting paste. Splinter held back a scoff at the guard, and went about her business washing dishes before the guard’s gaze inevitably fell onto her. She prayed to Long Gone Celestia that he watched her work only briefly, and didn’t let his eyes linger.

When Splinter hung her apron back on the hook where she had got it and exited the kitchen to make her way to containment, she spotted the sandy blond guard who had been in the kitchen with her. He was speaking to the red Earth Pony. The guard had a smile on his face, the kind of smile Splinter would expect to see on someone who slipped a pill into your drink at the bar. The Earth pony had her eyes fixed on the ground, a very passive expression on her face, as if she had heard whatever the guard was saying, a million times. The guard stopped speaking for a moment, expecting a response. The Earth Pony’s mouth moved as she spoke. Splinter was too far away to hear, but whatever the Earth Pony had said did not please the guard. He swung his hoof through the air and knocked the Earth pony to the ground with a slap to the face. He moved to her and delivered a kick to her stomach.

Splinter flinched, moving forward slightly, to help, to distract the guard, anything. But a pain in the back of her head as another guard struck her with the blunt end of his spear, told her it was no use.

“Try it.” The guard snarled with humid breath into Splinter’s ear. “I’m begging you.”

Splinter regained her footing and walked away as the Earth Pony was then surrounded by two other guards, and dragged behind the kitchen building to be beaten, maybe killed, possibly something worse.

Splinter, keeping as straight a face as she could, was lead to Containment where she, and the rest of the slaves who had been at work in the kitchen, were told that Kitchen duty apparently counted as an “Extracurricular” in the eyes of the guards of Bloodfield, so soon enough, Splinter found herself angrily tilling soil in the gardens, her molars biting deep into the wood of the tool in her mouth, dirt matting itself into her fur. Shield wasn’t too far away, planting seeds in the lines of soil left by Splinter. She hadn’t told him about what she had seen the night before, not yet, there were too many guards around to speak in secret. She would have to tell him when they got back.

Splinter, try as she might, could not remember a single moment in her life when she was more full of anger. The sheer anguish and rage which tore its way through her body made her shake whenever any Bloodfield guard entered her peripherie. Had it not been for the presence of Shield, very much living up to his name, Splinter would’ve fought with tooth and hoof to protect any of the slaves imported with her. It didn’t matter if she knew them, it didn’t even matter if they came from the same city. They were all in the same boat, and they needed to stick together in any way they could.

Shield would call her an idiot. Hell, maybe she was, but she hated having to stand by and watch the cruel things the Bloodfield Guard did on a regular basis. For the first time in her life, she felt hate.

Splinter jumped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see Shield’s masked face, his eyes inquisitive. Splinter sighed.

“I hate this.” She said, voicing her thoughts and hoping to feel some weight lifted from her as she spoke. She felt nothing.
Shield’s bandanna rose slightly, giving the impression of a smirk hiding beneath, and he rolled his eyes as if to say “Don’t we all.”

Splinter chuckled. It was the first time in a long while since she laughed. She had lost track of how many days it had been since she arrived. She had no doubt Shield had kept careful count.

“Loverboy!” A crude voice shouted from across the tilled soil and over the fence. A guard with a patchy brown mane and what could only be described as a ‘nest’ of teeth. a sharpened spear leaning against his side as he watched Splinter and Shield converse. “Control your urges, or I just might forget to control mine.” He smirked with raw malice in his eyes as Shield pulled his hoof off of Splinter’s shoulder, grabbed the wooden hoe with his T.I.C and got back to work.

Splinter spared a moment to stare daggers at the guard before going back to her own work as well. This was a mistake, as the guard noticed and began pacing the length of the fence until he found himself near Splinter and Shield. He began to watch them work, but it wasn’t just ‘watching’. No, he was staring. Sparing brief glances to Shield, but keeping his pale brown eyes on Splinter. On the sweat of her brow, on her stronger build, on her hind flanks. He made no attempt to hide his intentions as his gaze moved up and down her figure.

Splinter tried to hide the fact that she was shaking, her molars digging hard into the wood of the garden tool in her mouth. Why had she glared at him like that? Shield would tan her hide if he had noticed her mistake.

“Keep it together Splinter.” She thought to herself, “Just keep to yourself until your shift is over, then it’s back to containment where you’re safe.”

What was she thinking? Nowhere was safe, especially not Containment, where guards patrol day and night with the only solace being the ability to speak freely, beit at a murmur. No, surely the other victims of Bloodfield’s crimes would help her if the guard followed her back and tried anything… Right? Or would fear keep them lying on their stained mattresses? Would their own safety overrule the safety of somepony they might have grown up with, been friends with? Maybe the others didn’t share Splinter’s urges to help. Maybe she was a fool after all.



Throughout the rest of her shift, the guard persisted in his gawking. Making his stare almost obvious. Splinter had never been more uncomfortable in her life. ‘Uncomfortable’ couldn’t even describe it. She was terrified, she felt as though he would attack at any moment. It set a fire in her stomach, and when she finally reached containment, the fire only lessened slightly.

It didn’t seem like the guard had followed her, but he seemed ever present, like he was always watching from behind a building, around a corner, through the crowd. Now, more than ever, Splinter was thankful to have Shield by her side. The two sat side by side on Splinter’s mattress, and when he saw how pale Splinter had become, he tilted his head with concern.
Splinter’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. What if the guard was nearby? What if he could hear? What would he do? She began to breathe again, in short breaths, her eyes flicking around containment looking for the foul-toothed grin.

Shield, not fully understanding, moved to comfort her nonetheless. He reached out a hoof, but Splinter jumped and recoiled, clearly not wanting to be touched. Shield blinked, confused. He didn’t lower his hoof, but instead moved it aside, waiting for her to come to him.

Splinter swallowed and moved forward. Hugging Shield was a strange experience. He wasn’t the best hugger, one hoof seemed to press to hard against her shoulders, while the other was barely touching her. It was a little like being hugged by a baby, they just kind of do what they feel is right. He probably hadn’t hugged too many people. This gave Splinter a small amount of solace and she returned the awkward hug, her breath returning to normal. The time they had spent undergoing the same punishments and work had brought them closer. Though Shield was as reserved as ever, and unable to speak, he was a little more comfortable with Splinter.

“What’s going on?” Said Barter, approaching the mattress with a concerned look on his face. He walked with a slight limp, protecting his right hoof.

Splinter pulled away from the hug and shook her head, “Nothing.” Something about Shield’s silence gave Splinter a feeling of confidentiality, ike she was writing in a journal. She wasn’t quite ready to talk to Barter about something like this.
“You sure? You seem a little on edge.”

Splinter rolled her eyes and gave the most convincing smirk she could. “Forgive me, being in a slave camp can’t be a dream for all of us.”

Barter gave a weak willed smile, “Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact.” He moved to the mattress and sat down beside Shield, Splinter shifted away slightly, giving him room. “So what’s been happening with you guys?”
Shield gave a quick glance to Splinter who looked blankly downward, examining one of the many stains on the mattress. After a pause, Shield shrugged.

“Pretty much the same for me.” Barter admitted, pressing the mattress with his hoof. “Time seems to slow down when I’m not around you guys. Everypony else is either too scared to speak while they’re working or have already been taken away.”
There was a beat of silence.

“Well,” Barter continued before lowering his voice, “have either of you been thinking of how to get out of here?”
Shield looked down at the mattress in thought before nodding.

“Any ideas?” Barter said excitedly, shuffling forward slightly, making Splinter recoil.

Shield paused again, then shook his head. Barter and Splinter deflated slightly.

“Why? What’s the problem?”

Shield looked at Barter and tapped his bandana. Barter tilted his head in confusion and looked questioningly at Splinter.
“What does he mean?”

Splinter smiled weakly, “You should probably stick to yes or no questions.”

Barter thought for a moment before realizing. “Oh… Right, sorry.”

Shield simply shook his head.

“Well,” Barter leaned back again, “we need to think of something and soon, before we end up getting dragged away sooner or later.”

Splinter jumped slightly. She had completely forgotten. The meeting! She had overheard people speaking, a rebellion perhaps.

“Maybe we don’t need to think of something.” She muttered, a small smile on her face. The first sincere smile in what felt like weeks. Shield and Barter exchanged confused looks. “I need to tell you something, I-” Splinter went pale. She stared off near the entrance to the Containment Hall. He had just walked in, his jagged teeth still in a self-satisfied smirk.

“Splinter?” Barter nudged her a little bit, but his voice was distant to her. The brown eyed guard gazed around the room until he did a double take, looking to Shield and Splinter. His smile widened and he strolled confidenty over.

“Loverboy,” He said casually, nodding to Shield. “Girly.” He smirked at Splinter. Barter stepped back a little bit, his face going pale.

“So how long have you two been together?” The guard continued, pacing around the mattress. Shield followed him with his gaze, but Splinter remained still. “I asked you a question, Girly.” He stopped pacing, his face straight.

Splinter felt the fire in her stomach again. “We’re not together.” Splinter muttered. The guard raised an eyebrow, and resumed his pace with a smile.

“Forgive me,” he said apologetically, “I understand how lonely mare’s like yourself can get in places like these, I had simply assumed.” There was an off-beat tapping sound as the guard paced. A twisted, rusty hook, screwed into his hoof clinked against the hard floor.

Splinter could barely hear Shield’s breaths. Quiet, a muffled even more by his bandana. How was he so good at remaining calm? They were powerless, in danger, one wrong word and the guard could attack.

“A strapping young colt like this one,” the guard moved like a flash, swiping his hoof upward so the gnarled hook screwed deep within, twisted and yanked on Shield’s mane. Shield’s head jerked backward, but he made no sound, not a single exhale out of place. “Figured he’d be prime meat for a pretty mare like you.”

Shield did nothing, but Splinter winced whenever the guard tugged the poor colt’s mane this direction and that. Shield showed no signs of pain at first, but Splinter began to notice his eyes begin to water as the guard examined Shield’s strong face.

“Bandana’s a bit gimmicky.” He finished, thrusting his hoof and disentangling the hook from Shield’s mane. The guard turned to face Barter, who looked back into the guard’s eyes. “Don’t suppose this one takes your fancy, eh?” The guard said, stepping closer to Barter, but Splinter’s friend stood his ground.

“None of your business.” Barter murmured through gritted teeth.

With a Swoosh! The guard’s hoof swung through the air and connected hard against Barter’s chin, send him reeling off the mattress and onto the hard floor. “Let the lady speak for herself!” He shouted, standing over Barter now.

“No!” Splinter shouted, moving from her paralyzed state. The whole of Containment was watching now, either that or listening with dismay as they avoided the guard’s gaze. The guard turned to Splinter.

“No, what?”

“No, I’m not with him either.” She answered.

The guard smiled and turned back to barter, patting him on the chest. “Sorry son, you’ll find somepony else.”

Barter replied with a strong glare, his hoof cradling his chin. The guard did not like that. He didn’t want silence, he wanted compliance, he wanted weakness. He raised his hoof again, preparing to strike, the rusted and sharp hook aimed for somewhere important.

“STOP!” Splinter shouted, moving to grab the guard’s hoof, but he spun and struck Splinter in the temple. She felt skin split and she toppled back onto the mattress, blood running down the side of her face. The guard rushed in close, practically on top of her, she felt the weight of his hoof as he placed it against her chest, pinning her to the mattress.

“I suggest you be silent!” His shout echoed through the Containment Hall. Then he leaned in close, “Before I take you out back with me. It won’t take long, I promise.”

Splinter felt weight shift on the mattress and Shield and Barter prepared to move, to grab the guard, something.
“Brass!” A strong voice called through the chamber. The guard, Brass, rolled his eyes and looked upward, not moving his head or his hoof. Splinter could still smell his breath.

“Yes Commander?” He spoke casually once more only with an undertone of annoyance. Somepony dared to ruin his fun.
“Stand at attention.” The voice commanded. Splinter didn’t dare to twist to see who was speaking, but the voice sounded familiar.

Brass sighed, “Oh Commander, I was just having a bit of fu-”

“Stand at attention!” The voice shouted now, cutting Brass short. The guard went dangerously silent, like a cobra preparing to strike. Brass stepped off of the mattress from over Splinter and raised his gaze to somepony across the Containment Hall. There were hoofsteps, and a figure moved in front of Brass, his brow furrowed with frustration, but not anger. He was composed, threatening, a natural commander.

“What is happening here?” The Commander asked in a voice that was calm, but still stern.

Brass didn’t blink. “I was punishing these slaves for insubordination, Commander.”

“That’s Commander Steel, to you.” Steel snapped.

Brass winced with anger, like it pained him not to strike Steel as he had Barter.

“Do we have witnesses to this ‘insubordination’?” Steel asked, looking around Containment at the petrified ponies on their individual mattresses.

“Witnesses, sir?” Brass blinked, confused.

Steel nodded, “Yes, Brass, witnesses. As it so happens, I don’t believe your claims and would like proof.”

“But sir-”

“COMMANDER!” It was a scream this time, spit flying into Brass’ face. Everyone in Containment jumped at the sound. There was a beat of silence that could fill a stadium.

“But, Commander,” He spat the rank as if it were an insult, “you’ve never needed evidence before.”

“It wouldn’t take much to convince me of your lies, Brass.” Steel spoke calmly again. “Half of Bloodfield could hear your shouting. I dread the day you are mistakenly sent on a scouting mission.”

Brass sighed. “Everypony here saw. This one,” he pointed his hooked hoof at Barter, “spoke back to me with disrespect. And this one,” he pointed the hoof at Splinter, who had a single tear slowly soaking down the fur on the side of her face, mixing with the blood, “tried to attack me.”

Splinter could feel heat from her left, and when she spared a glance she noticed Shield was visibly shaking. Not out of fear, but anger.

“Is this true?” Steel called into the room. Everypony was silent. Nopony even blinked, some didn’t dare to breathe.
“IS IT?!” Brass shouted at the terrified ponies. They all jumped and a few gave begrudging and terrified nods. “See?” Brass exclaimed. “Just like I said.”

“Brass,” Steel shook his head, “I don’t have the resources to interview the slaves when they’re not intimidated by you.”
“What!?” Brass pulled back, “But s-,”

Steel turned and glared at Brass, who rethought his words.

“But, commander, they clearly know what happened. I suggest as punishment we beat the small one,” He pointed to Barter, “And I can take care of Girly myself.”

There was the sound of flesh against hoof, as Brass was sent reeling, stepping back onto Splinter’s mattress making all its inhabitants shuffle away.

“Self-Discipline, Brass.” He said through gritted teeth. “Lest I discipline you, myself.”

Brass looked as though he was ready to kill, but he stood, and bowed his head. “Yes, Sir.” He said forcefully.

“I don’t want to hear any more trouble out of you, or I swear you’ll find yourself in shackles and sleeping on one of these mattresses before you can call me the wrong title one more time, understood?”

Brass nodded.

“Good.” Steel turned and weaved between mattresses to the door to the Containment Room, but he stopped. “Oh, and Brass?”

The guard remained as silent as a carcass.

“We provide toothbrushes to our staff, make use of them.” Steel left Containment.

There was another silence, a silence that seemed to vibrate, one that could make even the most fearsome of beasts look over their shoulder. Brass’ breathing increased in rapidity. His head swung to glare at Barter, Shield, and Splinter, he opened his mouth to say something, anything. But after a frustrated moment he snapped his snarling maw shut, let out a guttural growl, and stormed out of containment.