“Y’all gonna lay there all day?” Brightshine spoke harshly as she smacked my cheek a few times.

I flinched and reflexively moved to swat a hoof at her, knocking my injured foreleg against her own and making me yelp out in pain. As I hissed and struggled to make my eyes adjust to the light of day again, all I could think was fuck my life. I regret ever thinking that waking up to Caltrop’s voice was a bad thing, Brightshine was worse. I paused before going wide eyed.

“Caltrop!” I sat up and looked around for him, finding no trace of him. Shit… I, I didn’t get him killed, did I? Look at little miss PC, finally worried about somepony other than herself. Goddess damned nagging thoughts aren’t needed right now, I just need to find him. I glared at Brightshine. “What the fuck did you do with him?”

“Yah boy toy?” She snickered and took a step back. “I sent him on ahead while I worked on yah leg. Ah’ll give him somethin though, he sure is heaps more durable than he looks. Aside from a black eye and a concussion, ya’ll don’t have ta worry about him.” She pointed to my leg, making sure to point out the hairline split that ran down whatever hard material she had used to bind my leg. “Oh, speakin’ of injuries, Ah just knew how helpful of a pony y’all could be, so I didn’t finish sealin ya splint.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to walk if it won’t stay on?” I snarled as I wiggled my forehoof, wondering if she had done any healing at all other than stop the bleeding. “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of nurse. I could have bandaged this better myself.”

“See, Ah knew y’all would say that.” The most noxious grin spread across her muzzle as she took in every ounce of joy she could squeeze from this. “So, y’all just have ta use yah magic if yah wanna go about provin me wrong. Put a lil pressure on each side and tha pain should go away, quick as a whip!”

She was smart, I’d have to at least give her that much. Forcing my magic to focus only on my leg to avoid the pain was a great tactic, but she just gave me the reigns to this whole adventure. And right now, I’ll take any amount of control I can get.

“It’s fine, I’ll just take my time. You win.” I took to looking around for anything to use against her, but just now realized that I was somewhere further up the mountainside. None of this terrain was familiar, and other than rocks that were too small to hurt or too heavy for my horn, there was nothing around. “I mean, no rush, you’ve got us already, and I can’t run like this. You know, I’m actually feeling kinda worn out already.”

“Ah get what y’all are tryin ta do.” She deadpanned at that. “Yah got yourself thinkin ‘Maybe we should stop fer a break, it’s not like yah can kill us if we don’t comply’.” She facehoofed as her horn glowed softly. She brought out a small square box I was extremely familiar with. “Ah’m tellin yah, Ah’m really not in tha mood ta be muckin about all day on tha side of this mountain.” She twirled the explosive collar detonator in her magic.

“How is that supposed to scare me?” I let out a sigh. Either she was the dumbest mare in the world, or even this bad off, I was on my A game. “You said you can’t kill us, so why try to force useless threats?”

“Ya’ll seemed ta have misundahstood me. Tha contract says ah only need you, honey. Your boy toy here on tha otherhoof? Well, let’s just say that he’s only alive as long as he’s leverage, y’all got that?”

I nodded and grit my teeth together. I fucking swear that the first chance I get, I am going to tear her throat out with my own two hooves. She smiled brightly and held her hoof out to me, only finding my glare in return.

“Ah’m feeling mighty refreshed after our little rest! Wouldn’t y’all agree?” She practically sang out, the small box in her magic floating up to the tip of my horn before stopping. The trigger sat so close that I wasn’t sure I could nudge it away without her pressing the button. “Honey, ah asked y’all a question.”

“Yes. I agree.” I grumbled out and held my hoof out to her.

She dropped hers and turned around, ignoring me like the fucking cunt she is. “Good! Cause we’re already behind schedule. Come on miss Cap, time's a wastin!”

I used my magic to hold the makeshift cast tight against my leg as I rose to my hooves. Following her was really my only option for the moment. My instincts are telling me to turn and run for it, to forget Caltrop and just trade his life for mine. But you can’t do it. That’s just it, for as annoying as he is, he… he helped me on that train. I can’t be alone right now, and if he died, then nopony else would stop the next stallion up the line from…

I shuddered and pushed the frightening thoughts from my mind. No, this is just like a job. I just need to work through it like normal. Brightshine is the target, so what do I know about her? Mare, about my age, fairly athletic build.

“Ey Boss!” Caltrop shouted and waved as we came around the corner. I looked up to him, Ignoring the fact that half of his face was black and blue from our failed hillside escape. Instead, I frowned as I focused on the metal disk that sat clamped around his neck. “I’m glad ta see ya can still walk.”

“Well enough I guess.” I shrugged and stopped as I got to him. Brightshine took a few more steps and laid herself up against a large boulder that was set in the hill. She flopped her head against it and knocked at it softly with her hoof, listening for something inside. Okay, so generic info is getting me nowhere, what about notable features? I looked her over, not really having anything unusual to note other than her mane. It was a solid blond now, completely missing the yellow stripes it held earlier.

Brightshine’s eye darted over, catching me looking at her quizzically. “So yah’ve finally noticed. Ah’d love to tell yah that ah hate how tha killin joke gave em to me, but they do add somethin special to mah mane when they're there, don’t yah think?” She continued tapping at the stone and listening. I kept my muzzle shut, and she didn’t seem to care for that much. “Yah make one little quip when ya’ll are a filly about how maybe ya’ll will be overflowin with magical power one day, and this is tha shit yah get for it.”

“Believe me, I understand. I’d hate to be cursed to have a muzzle like that.” I shot back with a smirk. Her remark was true at least, it’s something I had hoped for after my first burnout as a young filly. I grew out of that hope quickly, luckily escaping the wasteland crushing that dream for me when I got my cutie mark. I realized then that magic was nice, and it was very useful in the right scenarios, but the only thing I would need to survive out here in the real world, was a few good guns and a true aim. “Oh sorry, you mentioned it was just your mane, right. My mistake.”

Brightshine’s horn flared as she tossed a small rock at me, bouncing it off the cast and causing the ceramic like material to crack. I focused my magic on it more, pushing against each of the little pieces that tried to work their way free from the hit.

“Sorry hun. Ah don’t mean ta make walkin harder on yah, but ahm just a mite sensitive about mah looks. Ya’ll might think twice about makin smart remarks on it in the future.” She squinted and let out a final set of taps, smiling as she leaned forward and pushed her horn against the boulder flaring it another time. There was a snap that I could feel through the ground, and with a large whump, the rock jolted and started to roll forward. Behind it was a small air powered ram that whined as it’s compression died, bleeding off down the tunnel it sat inside.

“So what’s the downside?” Caltrop, with a moment of rare lucidity, had actually asked a fairly decent question. “All the normal ponies I knew who were hit with the stuff died instantly, or worse. Gettin somethin like what ya got? Seems too good ta be true.”

“Well ya see, being an arcane font ain’t all it’s cracked up ta be. Now if ah don’t let off a few spells every once in a while, Ah get anothah one a these” She put her hoof up to her mane, timing it well enough that I watched as a line of yellow streaked through it. “Ah can feel the energy building up inside me all tha time, so Ah’ve gotten good at predictin when one’ll show.”

“That really doesn’t sound bad to me.” Caltrop shrugged and looked to me.

“Only let it build up once. Got to be where ah was one, maybe two stripes from not havin any more room left before ah got a headache so bad ah was sure ah was gonna explode.” She waved for us to come to her and begrudgingly we walked forward. “Nevah let it get that far again, just ta be safe.”

“Well, what happens if ya burn out?” Caltrop spoke up as he walked by her, eyeing her horn. “Or if ya horn’s broken?”

She let out a hysterical laugh as I followed him into the entrance of what looked like an old mine shaft. “Honey, if y’all wanted ta try anything…” She lifted the detonator in front of him, and eyed it a few times. “Ah can promise yah, it ain’t gonna be easy ta scrape what’s left a ya off mah hooves. I’d rather not deal with the mess at all, so ah suggest yah start walkin. Wasted enough of mah time taday.”

There was a glow that was barely visible near the far end of the tunnel. Focusing my magic to hold the splint together, I entered the darkness. Each step in grew shorter, and each breath of mine became more panicked as more and more my mind told me that I was back in that train car. I pushed my legs to distance me from the hoofsteps right on my flank, gritting my teeth as pain shot through my bad leg with each step.

“Heya, Boss. Maybe ya should slow down.” Caltrop spoke up, but as he did, I felt a hoof touch my flank, and my mind snapped.

In an instant, I was off and running down the tunnel, trying to make it to the light of whatever lay just around the bend. Even Brightshine shouted something, but I didn’t hear it. The closer I got to the light, the more I noticed the cave open up, eventually becoming a gem studded cavern. I skid to a stop as the soft light the gems gave off snapped me from my panic. The light from emeralds, sapphire, topaz, even a few scattered diamonds shone down, and an odd feeling of warmth spread over me that felt comforting. I felt safe in here.

Then my stomach churned, and I threw up.

“Are y’all fuckin crazy!?” Brightshine galloped in as my legs felt weak and I tipped onto the floor. Her horn shown brilliantly as I felt her magic wrap around me, the room sparkling with a million motes of light as she floated me away. “DO. NOT. RUN. AHEAD.” She shouted as we exited the cavern, and went back into the cold, confining tunnel.

She muttered some other string of profanities, but it was lost on me as I doubled over and threw up again, the heavy taste of copper lingered in my muzzle as I shook on the floor.

“Boss, ya okay?” Caltrop was trying to help, but I was still trying to wrap my head around why I felt so sick.

“No, she ain’t.” Brightshine did me a favor by answering for me, her horn lifting out a small silver packet. “Give her this and pray that it’s enough ta keep her alive.” She floated the packet over to him. He quickly tore the tip off of it and lowered it to my muzzle, letting me sip at the tart, orange flavored liquid inside. The more of the horrid drink I got down, the less my stomach rebelled. I sucked at the now empty packet for a few seconds before I realized that was it, and sat up. Brightshine hit me on the horn with her hoof.

“Tha hell are y’all doing? There’s enough radiation in those gems ta kill ya in thirty seconds!” She grumbled and flared her horn, a point of light forming in front of her. “Ah swear y’all are the dumbest pair a ponies Ah’ve evah seen. It’s like y’all are tryin ta get killed.”

I groaned as I rubbed my horn. “Well, with hospitality like your’s…”

She hit me again, but this time on the cast she had made. It shattered to pieces and fell to the dirt, letting me see the bruised skin around the six or seven inch dark scar of flesh that ran up my leg. Fantastic, walking was just going to suck now.

“Shut it. Yah wander off again, ah’ll kill yah coltfriend.” Her horn dimmed, but the bright mote remained, moving with her gaze. As the light pulsed softly, I could feel my breathing start to mimic it, slowing and becoming more relaxed. “Ya’ll are to walk ahead of me, and go where ah tell ya. There’s enough traps and mean stuff in here that if yah get lost, you’ll be lucky ta make it back out.”

“Wait, what kinda mean stuff?” Caltrop took a step towards me. “There ain’t bloodwings, are there?” He helped me up, letting me put my hoof around his neck to make the walking easier. I winced as he did, but the alternative was less appealing.

“Zombies, giant rats, and worst of all, hellhounds.” She looked down another tunnel I had run past without knowing, sending the mote down it and away from us. Without her asking, I nudged Caltrop into walking after the light. The warmth he gave against my battered and bruised body helped me from panicking further, but I didn’t want to be in the dark, not if I could help it.

I needed to ignore Brightshine and clear my head. All I need to do is think my way out of this as if it were any other contract. My only option is to kill Brightshine before she can detonate Caltrop’s collar, but to do that I need two things. She needed to be sufficiently indisposed, and I needed a weapon. The first part is easy, but will suck as it involves breaking my leg again. The problem lies in a weapon. There is nothing but old rock and water around here!

I kept my head on a swivel as we followed the light, changing paths as new forks opened before us. A few times, I swore I saw something move in the shadows of the other tunnels, but I couldn’t make out anything other than our echoing hoofsteps. Well, that is until we reached the next fork, when I felt something metal depress under my hoof with a click.

“WAIT!” I screamed out and balanced on my one good foreleg as I fought my momentum. I pirouet slightly around on it, dropping back down as Brightshine stopped in her tracks. “Under my hoof. I think it’s a mine.” I fought my tensing muscles and quickening heartbeat, keeping my eyes pinned to the dirt as Brightshine’s light floated closer to me.

“Well, shit.” She spoke up as the dull, rusted metal of a landmine shown barely though the dirt. The round indicator light on it had at some point shattered and corroded, which was the entire reason that I missed it most likely. “Ah didn’t think any of these were left, seein as we swept the tunnel twice.”

“Obviously you suck at looking.” I growled back, clenching my jaw as I evened the weight on my hooves and put pressure on my busted leg.

“Honey, yah ain’t helpin. Though, y’all might be in luck, seein as we removed the mines due to tha fact that they were simply too corroded ta work. If tha explosives got wet, it might have a smaller yeild and take an extra second ta go off.” Her uncertainty of this didn’t help my body relax, and now my right foreleg was shaking under the weight. “Ah say risk liftin ya leg and duck fer cover.”

“Caltrop, get back by her.” I didn’t want to be stuck here forever, but I also didn’t want to repeat what happened last time we encountered a mine. He’s probably thinking the same thing, so reassuring him would probably help. “Don’t worry, Caltrop, I’ll be fine.” I hate when my inner thoughts are right.

He relaxed slightly at that. “Ok, Boss. If you say so.” Trotting over to Brightshine, he took up a position behind her as she took a few long strides back.

“I’m going to try to lift my leg, so get ready.” Alright, so if all goes correctly, I’m going to throw myself forward to the right, and use the small wall of the path there to shield myself. Well, this is assuming Brightshine is right and I have that extra second to get away. If not, then even if we survive the blast, the cave might not and collapse inward on us. “I fucking hate my life!”

Pushing off with all my force, I slipped off the metallic disk and twisted myself halfway around the wall to the other path before the half second I counted on was up. My mind took over as I scrambled to press myself further down the dark corridor ahead, locking my legs up and dumping me to the wet dirt floor. The next few seconds passed unbearably slow as there was no sounds in the tunnels, and everything lay still.

“Boss? Ya alright down there?” Caltrop’s voice startled me at first, but I was glad to hear that Dolt’s voice. “Looks like it was a du…”

Foom!

The blast slammed into me with the force of the manticore tail of earlier, guaranteeing the same black and blue coloration would adorn all of my coat rather than just part. The Cave wall disintegrated as the stiff cracking noise of collapsing rock came across the ringing that was my hearing, and I got to my hooves as fast as I could. The rumbling of the tunnel picked up as part of it collapsed behind me, my hooves carrying me through the dark as I raced away from a premature burial.

I tripped on my bad leg and slammed my muzzle into the muddy dirt, skidding to a stop as the shifting rocks came to a halt some distance behind me, leaving me laying alone in the dark. Step one of my new plan, get light to calm my nerves.

“How did that light spell go again?” Every time I cast this spell, it always helped to remember that dumb light. I sat and tried to remember that one annoying light in mom’s closet. Past levitation, this was the first spell I had learned, which is surprising with how often I actually use the damned thing. I focused on the flicker that it would make when you turned it on in the evening, then the muted yellowing color the glass gave off on the walls, and finally, the loud buzzing the fucking thing made as it glowed.

A small mote of light came into being just in front of my muzzle, growing in strength as I looked at it. My spell was nowhere near as brilliant as brightshine’s, but I think she has a bit of an unfair magical advantage. For example, my spell was just a recreation of that dumb light, which was noted by the slight yellow tinge the light gave off as my magic nudged it around. As dim as it was, it did manage to keep the thoughts of the train at bay while I looked at my surroundings.

I figured the best thing to do was try to make sure the others knew I was still alive. If She killed Caltrop, I… I don’t know what I’d do. I’ve never had a friend before, and as much as I want to believe I wouldn’t care about a stallion I’ve spent so little time with, I don’t think that’s true. So I have to move my hooves and get back there, if there’s going to be any chance he can make it out with me. The sporadic rock dropping from the ceiling and rolling across the sloping, newly formed cave wall gave me little comfort, but I could hear a muffled sound coming from the other side. I couldn’t make it out, but it was definitely another pony yelling.

“I’m still alive!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, cringing as my voice echoed down behind me. I can’t afford to attract anything this way if I can help it, so I’ll have to make this quick seeing as I’ve got no chance in a fight. “I’ll find a way around!”

Nudging my light mote ahead of my path, I turned around and ventured further into the tunnels, unsure of what I’d even find ahead.

“Let's check out the gunfight, we'll help out the ponies, end up heroes.” Muttering to myself about Caltrop was the only way to keep myself from worrying about my choice in directions so far. I’ve kept going left at every chance, hoping that one of these tunnels connects, but I have no idea anymore. With the gradient of some of these, I could be three hundred feet above them and heading for a dead end. “Damnit, PC, focus!”

I shook my head to clear it, letting out a whine as my horn stung for a moment and broke my concentration. The light spell fizzled, but it allowed me to see something interesting in the fork up ahead. Both directions were glowing, but the one on the left had a mild green tinge to it. To me, it looked like the same tinge of Grandma’s pipbuck, and decided to creep towards it as I felt the hope that somepony else had been back here recently! If they left anything behind at all, a gun, barding, a goddess damned Med-X maybe, I could make it.

But as I crept around the small bend into the cavern that opened up, I froze in place. Sitting in the center of the gem encrusted walls with it’s eyes closed, was an orange coated ghoul, glowing brightly as it soaked in the radiation. I took a step back as slowly as I could, trying my best to keep quiet when it let out a sigh.

“I won’t bite you know.” As it spoke with the gravely voice of a stallion, there was a glow from inside it’s body that brightened with each word. It opened and looked to me with glowing green eyes, glowing tears dripped slowly down it’s cheeks. “What are you doing in here? It’s very dangerous and you should leave before you get sick.”

“T...the…” Damnit PC, get a grip! “The tunnel collapsed and I’m lost. Do you know the way out?” I have no idea if this thing was friendly enough to help me, but I have little choice in matter. The long silence became uncomfortable, permeating the air as the ghoul’s tears slowly ran to the floor. “Please, I have to get back to my friend before he’s killed.”

“Pft, friendship.” He shook his head and snarled. “You know, I’ve been traveling the wastes for nearly two centuries in the hopes that I could convince ponies that friendship would help save ponykind?” Giving a laugh, he looked more sad than anything. “I was a fool to believe what she said, and a bigger fool in believing it would work.”

I didn’t have time for a literal sob story. “I get it, you want to be left alone, and I can do that for you, but I need to know how to get out.”

He glared and thrust his hoof at me, brightening immensely as the air around him waived from the heat he gave off. “Go back to the other tunnel in this fork, take the first right, then the left just past the bend. Follow that tunnel until it joins the main shaft and you can go find your precious friend.” He turned his back to me and gave out a sigh. “Go then, take what knowledge you sought and leave me in peace.”

I was close to getting out, and as long as Brightshine got the message that I was still alive, she better be sitting there waiting for me with a still headed Caltrop. I turned to leave, stopping once my ears heard the soft sobs of the ghoul. Really? You’re not even going to say thank you?

I shut my eyes and sighed. “Thanks, whoever you are.” I don’t know how one stallion could have fucked up my brain enough to think I could have a friend, but if there was one pony I could tell without feeling guilty about it, this ghoul would be it. “About my friend. If you would have asked me a week ago, I would have told you that friendship is a waste of time. But that friend I’m trying to get back to? He changed my mind.” As I talked the sobs died down, leaving my voice to resonate through the cavern he was in. “I don’t know about saving ponykind or anything, but I… I don’t think I can go back to being alone. I treated him like dirt, but I’m trying to do better now, to be better. I owe him that much.”

“You’re welcome.” The ghoul spoke softly, giving a small sniffle. “And thank you, for trying to help me. With 230 years of memories, it’s hard to have any perspective other than your own, and it’s good to hear another ponies opinion.” He let out a long sigh. “But you must go now and find your friend. Who know’s, maybe we’ll see each other again sometime and I can properly thank you. You seem like a mare who’d enjoy a good, home cooked breakfast.”

“Sure thing.” I smirked to myself and nudged my light down the tunnel again. With a broken body, but a clear conscience, I pressed myself forward. I can do this. I can get us out of Brightshine’s hooves and track down the stupid son of a bitch who thought it was a good idea to put a contract on me. Who knows, if I can take her down without killing her, maybe I can force the name from Brightshine. And if that works, just for fun I think I’ll find out what happens to all that magic when her horn breaks.