Chapter 4 - Sins of Our Mothers

I came to a bit later. Beer Can was looking at me from above. I felt the weight of what had had me so agitated still there. Full House’s former leg was bolted into me! I wiggled my hips in an attempt to right myself, but the room was still unstable. All this managed to accomplish was to pull the tender skin of my stump taut against the steel of the implants. The alien sensation reminded me of how it looked before, pathetically mangled and beyond any use. I felt the frothy cola try to back its way out from my gizzard as I heaved somewhat.

"What did you do to my leg?!" I snarled. I think I might have done Sergeant Faust proud with the amount of growl I managed, too.

"Oh, come now, Prancer, ya lent me a hoof outside ah 'Claw a week back. Ah'm jus' retern'n tha favor!" he jested.

"That's not funny!" If I wasn’t afraid it’d kill him, I’d have given him a good kick with this hunk of junk.

“Nao, ah promised that Lightfeathers fellah ah’d look after yah! Yah can’t be much ova Talon with three legs now!”

I wanted to shoot him for that. He was seriously lucky I didn’t have a bullet to do it with, I had still not picked up any more 10mm. Although I did have Nameless’ suppressed 9mm, right? But how would I fire it with a pony bit instead of a talon grip? Upon inspiration, I pulled my pack around, having apparently slept with it slung over my whithers. My SMG was nestled neatly within, but the pistol was not. Just as it mysteriously found its way in, it had found a way out all the same. Oh well, it’s not like I was going to really shoot him anyway. Not with my head throbbing like my beak was shoved into my skull backwards. Oh, and the nausea, can’t forget that. I’m not going to drink again… stupid corn...

Retrieving my own weapon, I pulled open the bolt sharply with a neat clack. A snarky line came to mind, filling me with glee, “I won’t be much of a Talon without ammo, either. Do you have any to spare?” I asked, proud of being able to turn his tasteless jest back on him. A start to the payback I owed him.

“Well, that ah do,” He mumbled, turning to his shelves to gather up a couple boxes and a spare magazine, “Here, no need ta pull out yer caps, ah’m sure ya will pay me back fer these in no time.”

I shrugged, gathering the ammunition and its feeding devices and began loading cartridges into the mags. I was rather dismayed that neither of the boxes were actually full, leaving enough to fill my first magazine, but less than half it seemed of the new one. Oh well, it was something, and more than I had for it before, or ever, so I supposed that I was going to be fine. Also, I had managed to not need to shoot anypony in the last couple days anyway, right? With any luck I would be able to keep that up! “And you still have my mom’s gun, right? May I have that back, please?”

“Oh, yeah, ah have tha’ too…” he mumbled, “But ya don’t really need tha’, right? It’s a might big fer ya an’ all. Ah could jus’ leave it here on one of tha store shelves a while…”

C’mon, I’m not that dumb. “You’re not going to sell my mom’s gun, give it back.” Besides, it's the closest thing to a super gun I had yet!

“Fine, ‘ere it is. I ain’t got any more thirty cal fer it, though.” he resigned, and set the gun on the counter. Unbeknownst to me, he even saved the holster before we buried my mom. This lead me to believe there were other items he was sure to have 'recovered' before she was laid to rest, but I certainly did not want to know.

I drew the pistol and looked it over closely for the first time. I imagined It had at one time in its life been a large, bolt-action hunting rifle of some sort. I could see that there was a fair bit of etched filigree along the side of it, though it was hard to make that out with how tarnished it was. The trigger guard appeared to be made of gold, since it wasn’t touched by a patina and still shiny. Inside that was a simple inscription, ‘Innuendo’.

I wasn’t too sure what that meant. I had assumed it was just the name of the cannon, like how Beer Can’s broken gun had a name. I figured I should check the action, so I opened the bolt of the shortened rifle. This happened to eject the spent cartridge of the last shot fired from the weapon, the sound of the metal bouncing off of the floor sparked something in my mind…

”I just can't do it anymore…”

Those faintly-remembered last words. The look on her face flooded back to me…

...finally happy.

I felt the ringing I had in my ears from that night come back, I was transfixed, the memory of that night... How loud the weapon was, the chill of the night air, even the feel of the dusty cave floor...

“Ya jus’ gonn’ stare at some ol’ brass all day?” Said Beer Can, snapping me back to reality

“What, no!” I said, quickly collecting the casing, “So, let’s get everypony up and get to it, right? You’ve got trading to get back to and Syzygy has her plan to help Nameless.” I stuffed the empty shell into a pocket and buckled the holster and pistol down in some handy straps of my vest

Beer Can shrugged “Well, Nameless ain’t here, but Mack aughta know where our zebra went.”

"What do you mean? I thought Syzygy was staying here." I asked, utterly confused.

"Well, she ain't been 'ere since we got back." He said

That gave me some terribly bad feelings. I didn’t waste time, I stomped through the building looking around for Macchiato's room. One false turn led be to the bathroom, but the door after that was a winner. I found the black filly sleeping heavily on a rather plush cot, her fluffy, cream mane and tail billowing out around her blankets.

I gently shook her. “Macchiato, where’s Syzygy?”

“Hnmm… Syzygy? Don’ wan’ anny moor tea… tastes funny...” was her sleepy reply.

Beer Can had sidled up beside me. “Wha’s tha’? Summin’ ‘bout tea?” he asked.

“Yucky tea, made me sleepy.” She mumbled before rolling over, “Imma make ‘sspresso in a few…” she paused to yawn loudly, “...minutes.” and she was snoring almost immediately.

Beer Can was growling. “Tha’ damned stripe drugged mah employee… erm… mah daughter?!”

Sad as it was to say, this wasn’t getting me anywhere. “Where’s Nameless? He’ll probably know something, he always sees what’s going on!” I asked.

Beer Can hung his head, “Prolly not, Prancer. Not this time. Ah dropped 'im off at tha bordello down tha street ta rest up ‘fore ah, umm… brought ‘cha home.”

He was really pushing it. “I don’t care! Where?!” I yelled. Mack didn’t seem fazed in the least. Maybe Syzygy used the same anesthesia potion like she sold to Dr. Clipwing. Having known how easily that stuff knocks you out, I felt free to vent. “Our friend is missing, you cut up my leg and bolted a brick to it, and all you’re worried about is your daughter getting the best sleep she’s had in months?!” I paused to breathe.

“Ah…” he started.

“Where. Is. Nameless?!” I cut him off.

“Five doors down ta tha right.” he explained. His face drained of most its usual yellow color.

I had turned to leave, but I had another thing in mind. I addressed Beer Can in the calmest voice I could manage with my heart pounding in my chest at the moment. “Oh, one last thing about the leg…” The extra ammo wasn't quite payment enough for making me less of a griffon than I already was.

“Yeah?” He asked.

I quickly spun round and spelled out my point very thoroughly, a swift right hook that left nothing to be confused about my position on the matter. The thump of my talon across his muzzle was, in my opinion, an elegant punctuation. “Don’t you ever touch me again!”

It would have been perfect had I floored him, he only staggered back, but it would do. Finally satisfied, I proceeded outside to look for Nameless. Even if he didn’t see what happened last night, he might have some clues I didn’t, and would probably be able to figure it out faster than me anyway.

Walking on the new leg was weird. It felt like my leg was asleep, but as long as I didn’t try to think about it, it did its job. However, ignoring it was the hard part. Every step I took with it was a heavy clop preceded by a whirr. This meant that every few steps I took threatened to throw me face first into the street.

My headache wasn’t helped by the leg at all, either. My lumbering gait was jarring, making my skull throb painfully for every measurement of progress. Nothing felt in focus, but that at least was a blessing, I didn’t want to watch any of the ponies in town muck about anyway.

I finally reached the bordello and, no thanks to Full House’s leg, barely managed to keep from punching my beak through the door as I made it up the steps. I shoved my way inside, hearing a set of bells on the door heralding a new sensation of agony to my morning. Standing behind the front desk was a dressed up mare, a look of shock on her face.

“I’m looking for a small unicorn. Brown.” I blurted out sharply.

“Oh, ah… we don’t have any girls here like that.” she stammered.

“No, a friend of mine. Was here last night.” I didn’t have time for pleasant chat.

“Wh-what is the name?” she asked, quickly fumbling at her registry book.

“He doesn’t have one. He's quiet, kinda blends in. Where is he?” I explained

“Up stairs... up… Ah! Second on the left… I think? Don’t hurt me!” She squealed out and took cover behind her desk.

I gave up on talking to her. I was certain that it wouldn’t take much looking around, even if she was wrong. Nameless had a habit of just finding me instead anyway. The gentle whirr of the cyber-hoof changed to a whine as I climbed each step of the stairs. The noise served to aggravate again the effects of my drinking the night before.

I finally managed to reach the proscribed door. I took a deep breath, steeling myself and running the line I was going to tell him over in my head. I opened the door.

“Nameless, we need to get go… ing…” I began, the line I was going to say gone forever. To my dismay, what I saw made me pray to the goddesses that they would mercifully bleach my eyeballs!

Nameless was indeed there. Asleep, cuddled tightly between two other ponies, a mare and a stallion. The three of them flopped together in lewd positions.

I shook the surprise from my mind and trotted up to the bed, finally getting some semblance of control over my new leg. I plucked my friend from the pile by his horn and pulled him from the scattered sheets. Much to the discomfort of his sleeping partners.

“Ow, no more spankings…” the other stallion begged drowsily.

“Shut up!” I snapped at him. My head hurt too much to even think of what the three of them were doing last night.

Nameless blinked a few times and looked at me. He was about to say something I thought. I cut him off. “Syzygy is missing, it’s time to go.”

He immediately resumed his hard expression and nodded. His horn glowed briefly and his harness wrapped itself around him, buckling together under his magic. I figured he knew the gravity of the situation, or maybe it was just that he was always so serious. Either way, I didn’t care, my head was killing me and our friend was gone. I left the room and made my way down the stairs, sure that he would be right behind me.

“Wait… please!” The hostess called from the desk, “He… he hasn’t paid for the night…”

I rolled my eyes, but I waited for Nameless to slip past me and even up his debt. Fair is fair, anyway. For whatever he was doing last night… Nameless didn’t say anything, but he did pour out an exorbitant amount of caps to the young mare. What in Tartarus’s name was he into?! Never mind, I didn’t want to know.

I just shook my head and slowly made my way out the door to the street. As soon as I stepped outside, Nameless was there beside me.

“Nameless, did you see Syzygy doing anything weird last night?” I asked him. He shook his head. I sighed and began to walk back to ‘Honest Trades’. I took a roundabout path through the market, thinking out loud along the way. “She was acting strange last night.”

“Certainly, I will be perfectly fine staying… right here. Right here with Macchiato.”

I continued on rambling my thoughts aloud. “I think she left on her own, she didn’t seem like she was wanting to stay in town. Damn it, Nameless, we should have just stayed there with her!” It would have been better anyway. No hangover, no Cyber-hoof. I wandered over to a stand selling grilled meats on a stick. I tossed the proprietor a few caps for something to munch on absently. The greasy food was heavenly to the taste, though. Taste?! I remembered something about that…

“Hnmm… Don’ wan’ anny moor tea… tastes funny...”

“That’s what Macchiato was complaining about… tea…” I mumbled. nibbling on my snack a little more, trying to recall. My already tortured head felt like it was in a vice.

“Or possibly some tea?”

“Oh, double damn it, Syzygy! But why would she poison a little girl?!” I asked Nameless. I ignored his confused look. “She was getting along with her so well!”

”...she really does like kids or sumthin’.”

“like those little raiders we saw earlier?”

I stopped dead in my tracks. I had figured it out. Spitting out the now bare, half chewed stick left from my quick meal, I grabbed Nameless and practically shouted at him. “Syzygy is going after the raider kids! We have to find her!”. I couldn’t tell if it was was the shocking revelation or the volume, but his eyes suddenly turned wild. He almost seemed scared.

I took off running, skipping the trip back to ‘Honest Trades’. There was no time and I didn’t want to talk to Beer Can anyway. The pounding in my head was terrible, and the impact of my new hoof was a jabbing pain with each stride, but I couldn’t worry about that yet. Syzygy was hours ahead of me and I had to catch up as best I could, I wasn’t losing another friend. Never again!

I made my way to the gate of the town, ponies dodging out of the way at my approach. Well, mostly. Some were a little slower, but I bowled my way through whomever was left in my path. A guardspony stepped in my way, attempting to halt me from leaving town. I had no intention of doing so. I gave my wings as hard of a flap as I could and threw my weight into him. No pony was going to stop me! I hit him squarely with my shoulder and he folded under me faster than a bad dealing of cards. Pushing off of his chest, I got back to all fours and continued galloping off to where we saw the little raiders.

Running again held its own new angles. The new leg held me up well despite it all, though its motors were screaming at me with how much work they were doing, and my thigh had gone numb. All the same I covered the distance to where we saw the raider foals very quickly.

I stopped and began to search for any sign of them. I couldn’t find much trace of where they might have gone, a few hoofprints here, a rock or two pushed over there…

And then Nameless scared me half to death, jumping out from behind me. “Look, blood.” he said, nodding towards a decently sized boulder. I had no idea he had been keeping pace with me. I tried to fly up to it, but the weight of the new leg was pulling me down, I couldn’t truly get airborne. I ended up dragging the tip of my hoof along in my haste to see what Nameless found.

There certainly was blood, a lot of it, and it belonged to the foals I was looking for. They were all laying in the dust, puddles of red under each of them. I had almost given up hope when I heard the red filly, Cutthroat, cough weakly. She was slumped over Syzygy’s bag. She had to know where she went!

“You! You’re alive! Where’s the zebra I was with yesterday?” I demanded.

“Gone. Some slavers got her.” She mumbled. Gore dripping from her lips.

“How could that have happened?" I asked with more than a little desperation in my voice.

“Heh… s-stupid… bird. W-we were gonna sell ‘er for a heap of caps. Some stinky, green pony wanted ta take her… seemed good, sh-she didn’t have that much m-money on her, an’ just some dead p-plants in her bag…” She stopped to let loose a terribly wet sounding cough, “Th-that’s when he shot the three of us and took her…”

“You were selling her?!” I felt a twitch or two in my face. I grabbed her by the throat. My talons digging cruelly into her neck. I didn’t care. “Where is he taking her? WHERE?!” I yelled.

She could only manage a gurgle, her eyes having gone wide.

I felt my other talon move almost on its own, delivering a punch across her muzzle. “WHERE?!” I repeated.

She regained what composure she could, “Ssslave camp, stupid.” she wheezed, a smile forming on her lips. “They’re raping her by now. I bet… s-she has a nice fuck hole...” She managed to croak while she tried to pull her knife from its sheath with a hoof.

I snatched the vicious blade from her, even though I was sure she couldn’t have had the dexterity to grab it with her hooves anyway. I didn’t want to let her even think that I might allow her to get away with saying that! The frustrations of the worst week of my life burbled to the surface. I suddenly just stopped… feeling…

“YOU DAMNED, FUCKING, FETID, CUNT NUGGET! I’LL END YOU!” I screamed, and the familiar hollow sensation of my gut returned, this time all but filling me. I felt a rush of heat flood my face, my vision blurring into a red haze. Then I heard the sound of thick tendons popping, some forced gurgles, and a meaty thud…

Once my vision cleared, I found my self staring into the dull, lifeless eyes of the filly. Her head was cracked open upon the boulder, faint bruises had only begun to form around her neck, matching the grasp of where my left talon had been. I wished I could throw up, I felt myself retching, but there wasn’t enough in my crop to expel. I had thrown a child head-first into a rock… right after I had stabbed her with her own knife.

“Hmm... You warned her.” Nameless offered while picking up Syzygy's bag.

It was little comfort. Right as he was, I had made good on a threat I never wanted to issue. “Let’s just go. We can probably find out where the slavers are from ‘Claw HQ. I still need to head back anyway.”

I turned back North without a second glance to either Nameless or the kids. I didn’t want to hurt anypony, even if it was my job to, as was apparently the case here. The children had said that themselves, that it was supposed to be part of my job as a Talon to shoot raiders on sight. A policy of the whole company, it seemed.

My walk back to ‘Claw was a heavy one. I was certain that there was something wrong with me. No one went around killing children, even if they were raiders or bandits or something. “Nameless,” I began, “Is there still good and evil in the world?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” was his deadpan reply.

"Ummm, what do you mean?" I asked, I needed something to appease myself here. Hoping that there was something to hold on to.

Without a single inflection, he continued, "There's no way to stick rigidly to every particular value, everything is hazy. Though, I keep getting the feeling that morality is nothing more than a few shades of grey. It's strange."

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Is your memory coming back or something? That sounded like something you've heard before."

He shook his head. "Things are blurred, I'm not sure what I remember."

I decided to move on from that thought. "Well, we've got to get back." I said before getting into a trot, confident that Nameless would be right behind me.

Unfortunately, I was starting to get feeling back into my thigh. It burned. I struggled to ignore it, but it got more intense with each step. As soon as the cliffside was in view, I could barely keep from dragging the cyber-hoof. It hurt too much to even feel its weight pulling at my side. I had to give my legs a rest.

I looked over my shoulder and saw my friend behind me where I expected him for once. "Nameless, could you carry this thing? I have to fly a bit, it's too heavy."

He nodded, so I began removing it. With an opposable claw, it was much easier for me than it was for Full House. There was a cup or something covering where it joined the rest of me. That was a simple latch and it slid down the hydraulic struts of the cybernetic. Under that was a couple of pins held in with springs or something. I pressed those aside and it slid off under its own weight. I let out a sigh of relief. Without that thing holding me down, I felt freed. It was just so heavy! As soon as Nameless had it in his magic I took off. Oh, it felt so good to be without that anchor!

From the air, I could see the cave entrance where this mess all started. I couldn't see Mom's grave from here, but I had hoped that she was finally at peace. It was weird, even after all that happened, I still missed her. If only I could have had another chance to make her happy. Maybe it could have changed everything.

The tall signpost for the convenience store peeked around the bend ahead, just as my wings began to get tired. I looked around underneath me to find Nameless, but he was for all intents and purposes, invisible as usual. A sneaky pony like him might be easier to track down on the ground, but I didn't want to give up on the chance to get that much closer to home this easily.

I found a bit of a compromise, instead of just landing, I allowed myself to glide, eking out a little more distance. I was still holding good speed, but that would only last a short time. Wind drag will always take its toll. Still, it gave me several hundred meters worth of distance. The sign for the store was almost in throwing range when I was forced to touch down for lack of air speed.

After I was back on the ground, I hobbled my way towards the store. I figured it might be a good place to wait for Nameless. It was very quiet. A stark contrast to what happened four days ago here. I pulled my 10mm sub up and checked it, tapping the magazine home and making sure the bolt was cocked before I got too close. I had hoped that there was no need for shooting, but this last week had shown me that I couldn’t assume anything.

The door was broken and all but fallen over, the grenade that Swan threw had blown it off of one of its hinges. I scooted up to it slowly. Once I reached the door frame, I heard a shuffling from inside. My pulse raced. There was something in there!

“Nameless, is that you?” I asked, squinting into the dark.

Something jumped out at me! I quickly drew my SMG from its sling, but I lost my balance on only my two left legs and fell to my side. My assailant was on top of me in seconds. I grabbed at it, trying to get it off of me. My talons dug into it, and I punched blindly at it in my grip. It stopped moving.

I panted heavily, my claws shaking. I finally looked over at my assailant…

...it was a roach.

I had almost wet myself over a radroach. Oh, was I elated that no-one had seen my embarrassing display. I could hear more shuffling inside. More roaches. Angry at the first roach making me look so silly, I limped through the door and found a half dozen of the critters. The first two skittered up to me, waving their antennae around. I pounded them with my talons. At the sudden violence, the others rushed me. A swipe of my talon ended the third. I snatched the fourth by its head, which quickly bit me. For its effort I bludgeoned the fifth with him and threw him at the last. They writhed on the floor for a minute, taking their sweet time in dying, which I left them to do on their own.

My victory wasn't anything grand, but it sure made me feel a lot better. I played with the thought of collecting a couple of them to cook up, but ended up dismissing it. Bugs tasted like rubbery mud and I didn’t have anything to cover that up. So I looked around for anything else there might be, though whatever wasn’t looted long ago, had been blown to bits by the grenade blasts.

Discouraged, I left the store. It was no sooner that I left the building that I saw something move on my right. My nerves already frazzled from earlier, I swiped at it with a talon, only to find my claws stopped in a pale green glow.

“You have got to stop doing that to me.” I said, having figured out who’s face I’d come close to ripping.

Nameless shrugged. “Sorry,” he replied, letting my claw go from his magic, “looking for something?”

“Just looking if there was anything useful.” I said, skipping the story of my bug squishing. “Hey, I think I’m ready for my hoof back, my leg is feeling a lot better.”

Nameless nodded and lifted the cyber-hoof to me. Surprisingly, he even slipped it on for me. As soon as it snapped home, it gave me a shock all the way up my spine, making me inhale sharply.

“Hnng. Thanks, Nameless.” I grunted. “Let’s get going.”

I turned and began to walk, being wary of the fit of my hoof. It seemed to be solid, so I stepped it up to a trot. I knew I had nearly two kilometers to go before I reached home. My head was finally feeling clear enough to see straight, I’d likely be able to reach home before nigh…

“Prancer,” Nameless interrupted my thoughts, “There’s a patrol overhead. Talons.”

I stopped and glanced upwards, seeing two griffons circling around. One descended as soon as I halted. I soon recognized her, and I had wished I had kept moving.

“PRAAAANCYYYYYYY!!!” Gavii announced, literally screaming towards me. “I am so, so, so, so, so happy to see you on your way back home!” she exclaimed as she landed, and she bounded her way over to hug me so tightly that I expected my ribs to be ground to dust. She broke the hug only to begin dragging me along back to ‘Claw. “I missed you SOOO much! I wanna talk about your trip, and don’t spare any details, not the teeny, tiniest one.” She pulled my head against her forehead. “I want you to tell me EVERYTHING!!” she demanded, smiling brighter than she should given the nature of my trip.

“Oh, I…” I tried to tell her I was busy,

My apparent salvation came in the form of her compatriot, a lanky blue-feathered griffon bearing many scars. “Initiate Lightfeathers, it’s time to move on, we can’t be late for our patrol.” He said calmly.

My jovial friend deflated somewhat. “AWWW… But, Jayjay!”

“No. And I told you not to call me that.” Said the other griffon .

Gavii pouted. “Hmph! No fun, Corporal Jay. Prancy is just coming home from a super-duper important mission and I really really missed him!”

“And you can see him afterwards, I’m sure.” He cocked an impatient eyebrow, not even sparing a look at me.

“But…” Gavii released her grip on me slowly.

“Now, Gavii.” The corporal ordered.

“Fine.” she huffed. “I’ll see you later Prancy!” Gavii added, her smile back again already.

Once they had departed back on their patrol, I was left to continue on back home. Now it would be almost nightfall by the time I got there. I trotted to try and make up as much time as I could. The lights of ‘Claw were in sight, I was almost done with this nonsense! I took to wing in my excitement. I barely got my hoof off of the ground, the tip of it dragging occasionally and pulling me down, forcing me to gallop before getting airborne again for a few moments.

I couldn’t have taken much more than ten minutes to get home, and I couldn’t be happier! Finally done! I had already begun planning what I was going to do. I was going to cook up a huge meal with the spare caps I’d have leftover after my debts were paid, and then I’d sleep for a week! Well, that’s what I would do if Syzygy wasn’t in trouble.

Dr. Clipwing's office was the closest from this side of town, so I headed there first. The ramp up to the building was rather convenient while my wings were tired. Well, my everything was tired, actually. Inside, I saw a white griffon sweeping up the floor. Oh, it was Cora! He gave me a sour look, but I ignored it. Maybe he was still hurt about not being selected for the Talons. It wasn't my fault he didn't get picked. Though I’d just as soon let him have my position anyway. All the same, I had business to get to.

"Is the doctor in?" I asked him.

Cora pointed to one of the hospital beds. laying upon it was indeed Dr. Clipwing. I thought that to be strange, or was he hurt?

“Doctor?” I asked.

Dr. Clipwing sat up with a snort, “Wha? Sumthin’ up? Somebody needin’ a stitch? If’n yer not bleedin’ out I’ll see you in tha morning, I’m gettin’ a nap in.”

“No, I was here to pay you what I owe for the leg.” I explained.

“Well, why didn’t cha say so?” He groaned out while getting off the bed. “Cora, why don’t ya call it a night for now? I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

Cora quickly set the broom aside and left. He was certainly a lot less vocal than the last time I had seen him. I got straight to the point of my visit, pulling the pouch of caps from my bag and began counting out the 200 I owed.

"Annoying kid, that one, but he's got a mind for medicine," The doctor mused, “Anyhow, where’d ya get tha leg?” Clipwing asked, throwing off the counting of my caps.

“Huh, oh. I got it in a game of poker.” I said.

"Oh, I never really figured you for playin' cards." He mused.

"I'm not, Nameless there won most of the caps." I informed him, pointing to my friend.

“Alright, well, lemme get a look at this thing.” He said, and he started pulling at my cyber-hoof. “Hmmm, implants look good, but cha must have been runnin’ on this thing too hard. Keep that up an’ tha whole gol darn bone’ll be beat to pulp unless you let it heal.”

“How long will that take?” I asked hesitantly.

“‘Bout a week, but you Talon types aren’t much fer followin’ directions, so just drink this down an’ see me in the mornin’ now.” He said, handing me a small bottle of purple liquid.

I had seen a bottle like that once before, it was a potion like Strix was given after I pulled the seed pod out of him. I took it from him and popped the cap, drinking it down. In seconds, I felt a rush through me. Everywhere it spread, the aches disappeared. My leg lost its numbness, left with only a dull throb. It didn’t even hurt anymore, I could only just feel the swelling it had leftover pressing against the connection points attached to me.

In short, I felt refreshed. “So, how much does that bring me to now, doctor?”

The doctor smiled. “Oh, what the hay, just the 200 still!”

“Really? Thanks!” I beamed, the first good news I had heard yet today!

“Aww, it’s just that you mercs are always coming back. Don’t worry, I’ll be seeing you again soon!” He told me. That wasn’t so reassuring.

“Oh, alright…” and I was about to start counting out my caps again, but Nameless had set them up in neat stacks when I wasn't looking. I quickly counted the amount of caps in the first stack, ten, and there were twenty such stacks. “You could have told me you were going to play banker, Nameless.” I said with a smile. “I’ll see you around, Dr. Clipwing, take care!”

“Mhmm, I’ll see you around, Prancer.” he said in almost a predatory tone. It almost gave me a shiver, but I ignored it.

Slipping out of the clinic, I had one more stop to make before I went off to rescue Syzygy; Talon HQ. After that potion, I felt so good, I took to wing. Even with the heavy weight of my new leg on me, I managed to stay airborne almost half the way there. I might have made it if I pushed, but I still had a long night. I still had to get my friend back, after all!

This late in the night, most griffons were either asleep or out on patrol. Thankfully, Gavii was in the latter, she’d be busy for some time. I think she was given mom’s old schedule, or maybe Ravenplume’s? Oh well, they worked closely enough that they must have been the same, I assumed. Corporal Jay held the other slot, so maybe he had taken my mom’s slot since she was the superior? I shook those thoughts aside, they didn’t matter. I stepped up my pace, HQ wasn’t too much further.

I reached the front door and stepped inside. It was surreal to walk in here again. The last forty eight hours was a whirlwind that my head was still reeling around. Noise from down the hall grabbed my attention, and upon tracking it to Lightfeather’s office, what I saw was quite out of the ordinary. Lightfeathers was nowhere to be seen, but Sergeant Faust was talking to a small finch of a griffon… No, the finch was yelling at Faust!

“You monster!” The little griff cried, “You killed my daughter!”

“What are you talking about, she was killed in action.” Faust was on the defensive, and wholly uncomfortable with being that way.

“She was in training!” The finch prodded at Faust’s chest feathers with his talon. I took a step back. I know I’m new to it, but this is one time I’m not going to get myself into a fight I can’t win.

Faust shook his head. “Yes, and the wasteland is a dangerous place, Tarsus will be remembered.”

What? That tiny thing was her father! But she was huge! I was baffled by the thought, and more so happy I didn’t jump between them.

“Remembered?!” Tarsus’s father let out a growl that put the one I made this morning to shame. “I want her back! How could you have made the call to advance?! To put her in that kind of situation was just plain stupid and irresponsible!”

“I made a judgment call.” Faust pushed back with his voice. “I weighed the chance that any of us could be hurt in an offensive move, against the chance that we all got shot in the back if we retreated. I’m sorry, but I would have made that call again if I had to.”

The teensy griffon didn’t respond to that, at least not in a normal sense, he dove into a forward flip and headbutted the sergeant, dropping him to the floor. Now I was forced to step in. I ran forward, not content to just let someone get hurt. It was a shortsighted move on my part because before I could react, the finch caught me by the throat. His grip was so tight that I coughed up a gizzard stone between gasping breaths.

“And who, by Celestia, do you think YOU are?!” He bellowed, looking over me slowly as a sense of realization came over him. “Wait, I think I know you…” His voice wavered and he let go of me.

“I...I’m P-prancer Thistledown, Initiate.” I croaked.

“Yes, you are…” He whimpered, was he about to cry? “I’m sorry, I’m told my daughter fancied you. And… I heard about you elsewhere, I…” He didn’t finish, tears formed in his eyes.

This was awkward. Even though I’ve felt as bad as he is right now hundreds of times before, I have no idea how to deal with a situation like this. I’ve been trained for combat, dealt with my own shortcomings, and been beaten by a mother who I showed nothing but love to. I didn’t know what else to do, so I hugged him. His return of the hug was nearly as strong as his talons, and it told me without a doubt where Tarsus got that trait from.

“I miss her, too.” I said, hoping I could console him a little, if I could. “You should have seen her, she was amazing. I wish I could have helped more, she…” I felt tears of my own coming.

He broke the hug and looked into my eyes, “You were there?”

I nodded, “She covered us, and she died in my claws, I couldn’t save her, I…” I wasn’t able to finish the sentence, but it didn’t matter, we both cried there in each other’s talons. I never really got the chance to know her, but I think that was only one of the many mistakes I’ve made in my life here in ‘Claw.

“Prancer, Mr. Stonepaw? What’s the matter?” Lightfeathers said as he entered his office, bringing both Tarsus’s father and myself back to our surroundings. He looked to the floor with a sigh, quickly making his way around his desk. “What the hell happened in here? I step out for five minutes…”

“I… we were talking about Tarsus, sir.” I said with a sniff, straightening myself up to be more presentable. “I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s fine,” Lightfeathers said, wearing a look of heavy regret on his face. “Just tell me what happened to the Gunnery Sergeant.”

“He was talking about her, too.” Stonepaw answered. “He didn’t take my words very well. I didn’t mean for it to get that heated, but it’s been a tough week for everyone at home.”

“No one blames you.” I offered the last bit of consolation I could as I tried to regain my composure. I wish I had more time to talk with him about Tarsus, maybe learn a bit more about her, but I had someone I could still save needing my help. “Sergeant, I need to speak with you soon. If you don’t have that time now, I can come back in a half hour or so.”

“Sure, I’ve got the time now.” He turned to Mr. Stonepaw with a pleading look. “Maybe we should pick this up tomorrow, let everyone here cool off a bit, alright?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tarsus’s father gave a small nod and quick flap of his wings, effortlessly pulling himself into the air as he turned and took off out of the office. Neither of us deserved to lose what we had, but I can’t help but be convinced that his loss was the greater one.

“Here, get under his other side.” Lightfeathers uttered with a light groan, pulling the unconscious griffon up off the floor. “Oh, and you really don’t have to ‘sir’ me, Prancer, I’m not an officer. C’mon, talk to me while we get Faust to a cot, alright?”

“OK, Sir… Sergeant…” I stammered as I did as he asked. We lifted Sergeant Faust and headed out the door, turning towards the barracks. “I turned in the contract…” I managed with a grunt, struggling to hold my half up as much as I was.

“So I had heard, your friend left the head in the town square for all to see.” He smiled in reaction to my confusion. “Oh, don’t look so surprised, the companies are always talking amongst each other!”

Well, that solidified Shoestring’s theory somewhat. “I have the fifteen hundred for the company…” I gasped for more air while we turned the next corner to the barracks. “But I need leave to save a friend…she was captured...” That was all I got out before panting for breath. We entered the bunk house and plopped Faust onto the cot I had used a few days before.

“Where was she taken?” Lightfeathers asked, wiping his brow while regulating his own breathes.

“A slave camp near here…” I paused to breathe. Damn, Faust was HEAVY! I’ve got a new found respect for him if anything, but also a bit disappointed that he went down so fast. Even if he was against Tarsus’s father. “That’s all I know.”

“Mhmm… Well I cannot authorize you to go there, we’re watching the slave camps North of here and we just can’t afford an incident.” He shook his head with a frown. “Sorry, but it’s too much of a risk.”

“But they have her NOW!” I exclaimed. “Please! I can’t lose another friend, not again! I have to go!”

“Initiate, I understand you’ve had an unfortunate week, but that is an order.” Lightfeathers barked. “You are NOT authorized to pursue this op!”

Swan’s suddenly harsh demeanor caught me off guard, and my fervor deflated. “She needs help, there has to be something…” I might as well have spoken at a whisper with that tone.

He sighed, “Look, Talons are looking into the matter as we speak. You are due to start as a contractor, I suggest that you go home and get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow about your future.”

“I…” I raised a talon but found it smacked down.

“That is all!” He cut me off, raising his talons to the door. “Goodnight, Initiate.”

There was no more to say that I could see. I couldn’t disobey an order, could I? I headed back through the hall to the offices, unsurprised to see Nameless in the waiting room. He was sitting on one of the benches, reading an issue of ‘Guns and Bullets’. I gave Nameless a brief nod as I headed for the exit, and he followed without a word. I walked home in silence, there wasn’t anything to talk about on the way there. Even when I reached my home, I simply flapped my hardest to get to the balcony. A week ago it might have seemed like a surprising feat, but I couldn’t find it in me to care that I managed to get up that high with the heavy load on my leg.

I opened the door. I smelled a familiar stench of rot. I grabbed my SMG, fearing that some phantom of the giant bear had followed me! My heart pounded. I carefully reached for the lightswitch. The room filled with an incandescent glow. I looked around, and I found the source.

...The dead rat I had intended to cook up a week ago.

I grabbed the foul carcass and threw it from the balcony as hard as I could. The corpse could feed the scavengers, insects, or whatever cared about that dead thing! It could rot in a hole for the rest of time and it wouldn’t matter to me!

Nameless, my now silent again companion, was just making it to the top of the struts that the building was perched on. I reached out with a talon to help him up, which he quickly took. Once he was up, I took a moment to just look out towards the mountains, unsure if Syzygy was out there somewhere alive still. With a sigh, I decided not to think about her state of health for the moment.

Stepping back inside again, the smell had mostly drifted out the door, much to my elation. I sat myself on one of the stools in the kitchen and looked around. The building in which I had spent so many days felt… wrong. I could almost feel in my gut what was out of place now. Looking over my shoulder, I could see the framed pictures, the one’s I had so dutifully cleaned thousands of evenings. The damned things a mockery of my life; of the family I thought I’d had.

From my seat at the table, I could see into the cupboards I had left open. I could see the bottles that mom had there before, bourbon... gin... vodka… The kind of things she drank after a hard day. The only thing missing was the moonshine. While I suspected that Beer Can still had that particular one, I walked over and grabbed the vodka. The bourbon caught my eye, but I had learned my lesson from the night before. Teasingly, I tried a sip straight from the bottle. It took longer to burn than the whiskey did, and it was so more soothing of a warmth than corn liquors! I took one more hearty swig before I capped the bottle and stuck it in my pack. I thought back on the day for options, plans, something! Maybe earlier?

Then I had it! Mom’s reports! “Nameless, those tools you had at the poker game, House called them lockpicks, right?” I asked.

He nodded, “Mhmm.” Pulled them from the pouch of his bandoleer, he showed them to me and waited for my confirmation.

“Perfect!” I exclaimed! leading him upstairs to where mom’s door was, I jiggled at the handle to find that it was indeed still locked as always. “Can you open this with them? I have to get to some of my mom’s things.”

He shrugged and pulled out the tools from the leather sleeve. Carefully, he studied each one as if there was writing on them in very fine print. A few moments later, he blinked like he looked at something painfully bright. With out another moment, he inserted a couple tools into the keyhole and wiggled them around in the lock. Well, I’m sure it was more than that, but that’s what it looked like to me. A few minutes went by before the silence was punctured by the odd clicking sound from the lock. He gave the smallest of smirks as he swung the door open.

There, right in front of me, was the report that I had slid under the door. I quickly grabbed it and looked it over.

Insufficient members available for short-range patrols. Yau’guai remain a major source of antagonism to local trade. Recommend additional recruits for patrols to allow longer-range hunting ops by veterans.

One extra wing of recruits deemed necessary for objective. Any skill level.

First page was garbage. It at least gave some light to the last week, but it didn’t help me at the moment. The next one must have been more recent, it didn’t have the stains of booze on it like the first one.

Initiate Prancer Lightfeathers, your son, has been found of exceptional character. Having shown a compassion for his brothers in arms beyond that of a typical Talon, let alone a neophyte. We are proud to inform you that his loyalty and honor to his comrades proves his determination to the company and his wingmates. We will hereby accept his application and induct your son into the ranks of the Talons, ‘Claw Battalion, Vanhoover Regiment.

There was a post script, written in with a quill.

P.S. I knew your son could do it, sweetie. He has your drive. He doesn’t let anything break him.

I really didn’t understand that last part, it was strange. That seemed awfully peculiar. Regardless, it didn’t help me either. The last page was written entirely in quill, very sloppy Talon work as well. The page was also very crumpled.

To the drunk slut to whom it might possibly concern, should she still have a conscience,

The op is greenlighted. The player has been assigned in secret. Just because I DARED to love you, you've stuck me in the position to consign him to it. Like I said in the office, I never want to see you again! I pray to Celestia that you rot your damned guts out with that swill you keep on with.

I sat for a moment, trying to understand that last one… What op? What player? And more shocking than anything… They were together?! I wobbled across the room, finding purchase on her bed. I finally understood it all.

"I send you on a mission like this, using all my bribes and favors, just to get you killed, to be rid of you before you disgrace me any further, and I can't even sit back and let it happen!"

Mom did want me dead. What in Tartarus’s name was wrong with her?! She sends me off to stare at a giant fucking bear! Just to get me killed, no less! Gah, it makes me so mad to think that she didn't even believe I could do the job. She is so damn lucky she’s already dead or I’d fucking kill her all over again!

“Prancer?” Nameless interjected into my reverie.

“Yeah? what’s up?” I answered, feeling my talons tightening around the papers.

“Get what you need?” He asked, seeming to have a colder tone about his voice. He sounded like I did when mom was angry, treading lightly around a short fuse.

“No, there wasn't anything in these,” I said, highlighting my point with a shake of the papers. I folded them up and stuck them into my pack, grabbing the vodka for another drink. It started doing its wonders, the world felt a little more fuzzy, less likely to try and get me killed tomorrow. Surprisingly, it also took the edge off my anger, dulling it slightly.

“What about that footlocker?” He said, pointing at a box in the corner of the room.

“Oh, why not? Could be something useful.” I resigned. Not like anything could make it all worse, I thought. Nameless tried to open it, but it too was locked. Without a second glance to me, he produced his picks once more and got to work. The container must not have been nearly as secure as the door, as it took only a few moments to pop it open. I hopped on over, curious myself as to what laid in wait for us.

It was a suit of talon armor. Fairly worn, but it looked serviceable. I pulled it from the trunk. It was quite a bit heavier than my vest, but it had to be a lot sturdier for it.

“Well, I guess that's all the answers we’ll get here.” I muttered, drawing one last drink from the bottle before tucking it away in my pack again. I carried the armor with me downstairs with me as well. Setting the armor on the couch, I was about to sit down on the couch when I heard a knock on the door. I wandered over and answered it, not expecting what waited on the other side.

“Prancy!” An excited Gavii exclaimed once the door was open. Dang, I had forgotten that she wanted to see me. “I just got off patrol and I wanted to see you first to see how you were after your trip!” She said in voice too happy for the world we both occupied.

“Not too good, actually,” I started to explain. Gavii’s cheerful demeanor started to drop as she listened to me. “My friend has been kidnapped by slavers and your dad won’t let me rescue her.”

“Then you have to do something!” Gavii gasped, “Sitting here when you could help? That’s not the Prancy I know! He’d be going to save everypony in Equestria if he could! That’s the kind of griffon he is!”

“Look, it’s not like I don’t want to help.” I tried to say, hoping she’d understand. “Just, orders are orders. I’m not authorized to save her.”

“Sure you can! We can go right now!” She cheered, pulling me into an uncomfortable hug. “It’s shift change on patrols, and if we go now, they’ll be none the wiser!”

“What? And ignore a direct order… from your dad no less?” I asked in an exacerbated tone.

“Oh silly, he didn't say we couldn't go, he just said the Talon’s can’t pay us to go!” She let me go and hopped off the couch with a flap of her wings. “Strix told me a while back he read about some prewar volunteer police force called the neighborhood watch, and I think it’s highly overdue for a patrol, don’t you?”

This is true. Sergeant Lightfeathers couldn't reprimand me for doing this in my spare time. Nameless could probably do his freaky thing to find clues even in the dark, and every second I stayed here, Syzygy could be getting further away. I stood up, taking a long look at the armor on the table in front of me. Slowly I reached down and picked it up. This was something I had to do.

“Come on, Prancy! We've got no time to lose!” Gavii shouted jubilantly as she hopped to the door, throwing it open before zipping out into the evening air.

...wait, did she say ‘we’? ...Oh crap.

--------

Quest Completed: Innocence was Bliss

Level up!

+6 Unarmed
+2 Melee
+2 Survival

Perk gained: Trying Ten Times Harder.

Your determination to overcome limitations has paid off! Flight has improved by one rank!

Good job, Prancer, you might look like less of a wuss if you keep this up!

Trait gained: Cyber-pony.

You've gotten some metal bits to replace a loss. This adds 1d10 points of damage to unarmed attacks.

Don’t get your hopes up, Prancer, it doesn't stack with Griffon Claws!

Author's Notes:

Hey! Faster than last time, eh? It surprised me too!

As always, Many thanks go out to all the other FoE writers; Somber, Mimezenga, Stonershy, Hnetu, many others, and especially Kkat!

Special thanks go to Gamma Deekay and Requiem Mori. Not only are they great writers themselves, but this story just wouldn't be without them. Go give them a read!

And not to forget, you the reader. Thank you for sharing the journey with me!