The previous night had been intense, it was truly magical to see the satisfaction upon Cherry's face as she slumbered through the morning. Her smile remained around even as she slept through dreams, a beautiful warmth of kindness radiating from the curves around her face.
I loved this mare, she held my heart in her hooves and she had given me hers to hold in mine.

I began to stroke her mane softly, admiring how silky and alluring it had always been despite all the harsh environment it had gone through.
No matter what, Cherry was beautiful. To me, that would never change.
Gradually I moved from stroking her mane to planting a soft kiss on her lips, still managing to taste and feel simply tantalising in her own special way.

A light flutter of her eyelids told me she had awoken and I pressed my lips against hers once more as I brought my wing to softly brush against her cheek. She began to blush as she smiled, returning my affection by leaning in with another kiss as I broke away slowly.
We spent more then a passionate moment locked in one another's lips, our tongues grazing as they exchanged minute amounts of flavour and fluids.
Looking at the mare laid beside me, I understood now why I had never felt the need to commit to anypony before in the way I was willing to give myself to her.

It was because nopony would ever be as special as her, as perfect for me as her.
The chemistry we shared went beyond simple lust, it felt like I could be truly comfortable around her while also pushing me to want to be better for her.
She made me happy without trying, even as she smiled at me now as we lay together, she hadn't need done a thing to make me happy.

After around twenty minutes of pulling ourselves closer against the others body, Prince Snugglebums began to stir.
His little squeaks as he rose up from his own rest were simply adorable, but also meant that we would have to part from our embrace and move on with the day ahead.
Cherry pulled herself off the bed and levitated Prince Snugglebums up to her face before giving a compassionate kiss to his forehead and a nuzzle to his cheek, resting him back down to the floor afterwards.

I too raised up and stroked him from head to tail a few times with my wing, doing my best to show him that I was friendly despite being the cause of his life changing drastically.
He looked up to me and squeaked, initially pulling back but cautiously snuffing at my wing after a moments hesitation.
Just a few seconds later, I was able to hold him in my wings and get a small hug before placing him back down myself.

I watched the baby radbit snuggle back around the warmth of the windowsill where what light broke through was magnified by the surprisingly clean glass.
If there was one thing that was for certain, Gertrude was a pony who took a lot of pride in her inn, and I couldn't blame her.
In the distance we'd seen the decaying ruins of Coltchester city and behind us was the husk of Old Coltchester. Between the two laid this beautiful slice of peace and tranquillity, providing the ideal rest stop for travellers like ourselves.

In her subtle, happy tone, Cherry beckoned me. "Crimson?"
"Yes, m'lady?" I turned my head to her to see what it was she wanted.
With that she put her hooves around my neck and gave me another kiss that lasted a very long moment.
"Thank you, Crimson. For everything."
She smiled at me and I smiled back, I was a truly lucky buck to have her.

Gertrude knocked on the door not too much later and we all prepared ourselves for breakfast, myself and Cherry gathering up our gear and making sure Snugglebums and Maisy were fed before taking care of ourselves.

"So, what are your plans after this, may I ask?"
"Well, we're in need of a water talisman. Our current goal is to get one, hoof it back to home and get it installed. After that? Life goes back to the way it was... well, mostly."
Gertrude looked confused upon my answer. "Oh? Just mostly?"
Even Cherry looked at me unsure as to what I'd meant.

I smiled as I spoke, nodding to Cherry.
"We have Cherished Chance to look after, and on top of that, Cherry, I want you with me."
"Who in the hoof is Cherished Chance, Crimson?" Cherry asked, before it quickly came obvious that it clicked in her mind.
"Wait... wait wait wait." The excitement in Cherry's eyes erupted. "Cherished Chance? Male or female! Are they cute!?!"
Laughing away, I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, she's absolutely adorable. She seems happy and behaving herself for nanny Graceful, thus far. She absolutely loved the touch of my feathers."
"I can't wait to meet her. I really can't!" Cherry squeezed herself around me in delight and I couldn't help but grin. She was going to be an amazing mother for Cherished, I just knew it.

"Excuse me... I don't mean to intrude on your excitement here, but this whole scene seems a little weird. Are you two not together?"
"That we are." Cherry happily bounced back, her head resting on my shoulder still.
"Yet you haven't seen this child? I take it that it's not your own by birth?"
"No, it isn't." I replied. "Cherished Chance is a baby we found when traversing Old Coltchester. Awful things happened and a mare... and her children..."

I couldn't, I just couldn't tell her. I didn't have the strength in me to say it.

"Crimson found a mare running for her life, with a group of children. He in particular tried everything he could to save them while myself and Titan still made our way as fast as we could, but obviously Crimson is a lot faster then us. Anyway, things quickly went bad and there was only one survivor, which happened to be the baby."
Even Cherry took a moment to pause at this point, though if it was for herself or Gertrude I couldn't tell.

"Crimson ordered Maisy off back home with the baby to get her somewhere safe. No matter what, she's safer where we come from then out in the wastes. Even Tenpony Tower isn't as secure as the Ridges. Perhaps the only place better would be Fillydelphia,.. or the core of Hoofington, if that even belonged to anypony."

"I see. Titan did warn me that you two had been through quite some extremity, though he did say Crimson was worse for wear from it all."
I nickered softly to remind her that I was still in the room and that while I appreciated the thought, it was preferable to speak to me rather then about me.
"Anyway, you both seem the decent sort. Your caps were quick to be paid and you've caused no trouble. If you're certain that the baby would be safest and in the best care where you come from, well, I have nothing I could do about it anyway. Though I'll put my faith in you as Titan had, so thank you for giving a life a chance for something better."
Now I smiled and we all continued to eat the last of our sandwiches.

"Thank you for everything you've given us, Miss Greenhoves!"
"Oh shush, young miss. My name is Gertrude and I'd still prefer you both call me by that."
I nodded. "Of course. Thank you Gertrude, for everything."
"Is there anything else I can offer you before you two go? I see you have ample protection, but what about knowledge? Wisdom can be just as strong as any blade, if used properly in conjunction with foresight."

Thinking it over for a moment, she was right. For as many guns we had on us, and Maisy, Cherry only had very limited exposure to Coltchester and I had none myself. Knowing any customs or important information could be vital enough to save our lives.

"Sure. First of all, when we walk in from this direction, what's the first thing we'll come across and how should we react?"
"Don't give out any caps, what so ever. Keep an eye on your saddlebags. Try not to get distracted by the mares, not for reasons to do with Cherry. Lastly? Try not to get into any fights around or with anypony, zebra, or donkey, wearing red and brown suits of armour."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll make sure he keeps away from the other mares." Cherry happily added.
"Don't say I didn't try to warn you."

I was confused now, if I was supposed to be a good pony... "What's with the no caps thing?"
"You hand out any amount of caps, they'll come back for more. If you refuse to give them more? Some will leave you alone, accept that they've been given some help. Others? They'll attack you knowing that you have the caps on you to take."
"Ah, okay. So we've got to avoid being generous?"
"Unfortunately so, though usually it's better to tackle the cause then it is to try and lessen the effect."
"Cause and effect... of course. How could I forget such simple leadership training? Got it. See if there's anything we can do beyond simply dragging out the otherwise inevitable."
The elderly green mare nodded sorrowfully.

"Exactly. As for anything else, I have nothing I can tell you now. I've not been to Coltchester in many, many years. I can't bare to see the sight it's become, yet I can't bring myself to leave entirely."
"So you stay here, hope to make it at least a little nicer somewhere."
"Yes. At least somewhere near Coltchester can be nice with me around, it seems. Enough about me though, you two have a long journey ahead. Good luck in your searches."
"Thank you Gertrude, stay well."

We smiled at one another and exchanged a quick hug each, Gertrude whispering into Cherry's ear as they embraced.
"Well, let's go. Come on Maisy! Time to head off."
The patter of her paws on the smooth tarmac came closer as she approached. We were ready, ready for whatever Coltchester would hold.
Snugglebums sat happily on Cherry's shoulder, our bags were fully packed and prepared again, guns were cleaned and reloaded, we'd all used facilities required while they were available... we were ready.

[Song: Call of Juarez The Cartel - Pawl Blaszczak - This Moment Won't Last]

We walked down the road, the sight of Coltchester growing ever larger as we got closer.
I'd noticed that the city was in ruin before, but with every step I noticed it more and more.
Buildings stood upright but their walls had collapsed inside, ceilings and rooftops having smashed through the ones below and causing entire sections to lean like a decrepit old pony getting out of bed.

Moss climbed the walls, completely covering the side of some buildings and bringing some colour to the sickly city.
It was a complete shock to me to find that nature had managed to grow foliage on the buildings.
Some things were too determined to just go ahead and die, some things had purpose.

Still though, I was unsure of the safety of walking nearby them, maintaining a err of caution as we crept alongside.
My worry was exacerbated by the fact that the occasional tower had given way to the force of time and made entire sections inaccessible as we approached, making me wonder what might've been hidden inside.

I wasn't sure what to make of it, there was supposed to be a city, there was supposed to be something that ponies clung to.
Instead, the carcass of the buildings around us felt cold even before we had reached them.
There had to be something more to Coltchester, there simply had to be.
It wouldn't be long before I found out for sure, for myself.

If nothing was different, I'd have understood how Coltchester was good to scavenge and salvage from, but it still felt as if there was something missing. Even a husk of a city held something other then bones and technology... so why were the signs of life missing?
We drew ever closer and even still we could hear nothing, see nothing. There was just the wind blowing through corridors of concrete and steel, carrying nothing but dust.

"Cherry, are you absolutely certain that there's life here? It seems so empty."
"I'm sure. Patience, we'll be in Coltchester soon."
"You mean we aren't yet?"
"No."
"You know, I would ask that you take the lead if you know so much, but that would be giving you more ideas about undermining my authority."
"You what?"
"You heard me, telling me to get out of bed, telling me to stay in bed, telling me not to stop because you're close to having an or-."

I stopped there. Not because I had planned to stop, but because she put her hoof to my mouth and rolled her eyes with a cheeky smile on her face, a grin across mine.
If Coltchester was going to feel lifeless, I was going to have to bring it back with humour.

"Snugglebums doesn't need to know."
"He was there the whole time, wasn't he?"
"Well.. yeah, I suppose. Maisy doesn't need to know then."
"You've peered in on Maisy getting laid though!"
Suddenly there was an agitated sound behind us as Maisy ruffled her wings.
"Oh come on Maisy, she didn't mean to! It was when the radspiders attacked the Commons and you'd decided to find another manticore... where from, I don't know. Can't blame you though, everybody needs relief."

Instead of calming her down however, Maisy took off into the air above us. Her face was a bright shade of pink.
I tried to fly up to her and apologise, but she simply huffed and pointed me back down to the ground.
It was useless to try and make things better with her right now, but she still stuck around with us, even if it was up in the sky instead of walking alongside us.

We continued to walk through the maze of partially collapsed buildings and destroyed streets until we found what we had been looking for the whole time.
The sight had shocked me and sent my heart plunging into an abyss of sorrow.

Twenty seven mares and foals in all spanned the very beginning of the road, a ragtag chain fence with no lock provided the only barrier from the outskirts of Coltchester for these ponies.
Laying across the floor, most of their eyes hadn't even bothered to look up as we walked down the middle of the road, flanked by the filth and decay of the squatters on both sides.

One mare raised her head as we walked on by, taking in all the horror of the situation.
"Please... If nothing more, just a sip of water."
I knew that we weren't to give out caps, but water? I looked to Cherry and nodded, to which she used her magic to pull out one of the smaller bottles of water we'd managed to take along our journey.
We didn't need every single one of them, so the act of generosity was something that wouldn't hurt us too much.

"Please be kind, share what you can with this. I wish we had more to give, but we simply can't afford to do so." I plead with the mare, who then nodded and shared out what she could with the foals around her. Nopony was in any situation to take care of themselves here, but they still managed to have the decency to try help one another.

"Please sir..." Another mare began. "If you can offer her water, can you not offer us caps?"
Cherry began to shake her head. "No. I'm sorry, but we cannot afford to share what little we have. That water was all we could give."
Without a moments hesitation, the mare sprung up from her prone position and pulled a knife out of her clothing!
"IF YOU WON'T GIVE ME WHAT I'M AFTER, I'LL TAKE IT FROM YOU."
Another three jumped up after her from further on down the road and began to run at us, one with a baseball bat, the other two completely unarmed.

Cherry stepped back, uncertain how to react. My twelve gauge shotgun hadn't been uncertain at all however, and within a moment the barrel stared the mare with the knife in her mouth down from a meters distance.
The other two mares continued to charge but Cherry quickly pulled her SMG out and took aim, causing them to pause their advance.

"You've got one choice now." I began in my cold, heavy tone. "You get back on the floor, or you get back on the floor. How you go about that is up to you, if it's in a bloody mess, so be it."
The mare on the receiving end stared at me in shock and horror of how fast we'd both reacted, not knowing how to respond to it.
"Crimson?" Cherry asked. "Are you sure you're going to do this?"
"They want to become aggressive towards us first? Yes. They may be homeless with nothing but what's on their back, but I'm not going to roll over and give it to them. Treat them as a raider, that's all they are."

I looked straight into the eyes of the first mare and stared her down, she tried to stare back but found her focus broken and looked away.
"Come on girls. This one isn't worth the risk."
She clapped her hooves on the ground twice and began to walk over to the chain fence, to which the other two followed.

We holstered our weapons and began to walk away ourselves.
"Crimson, you did the right thing there. Thank you."
"The right thing? The right thing would've been to stop them once and for all, make sure their raiding ways don't continue."
"No, that only leads to further death. Crimson, in all my time out in the wastes, I've grown to hate killing when it's not needed. Each and every life I take is another life that can't do good, is another pony with hopes and dreams. Everypony deserves a chance."
"What about those who waste their chance, Cherry? What about those who use that chance for pure evil?"

She sighed and opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it once more and nodded in admission.
Some ponies just didn't want to do good, and when that was the case, it was up to us to end that.

We made it to the end of the road before the sound of sprinting came up behind us.
Turning my head to see what the commotion was all about, I felt a knife tear into my leg and rip upwards for a few inches before becoming stuck against a part of my armour underneath.
I screamed in pain, my duster quickly becoming coated in blood already.
Before Cherry could react, two mares began to assault her as well, the one with the baseball bat smashing her around the back of the head and knocking her off balance as the other jumped on top straight after and began to pound her spine.

That was it, I had just been pushed over the line.
I hit into S.A.T.S and plotted out my shots, one straight to the back of the head of the mare atop of Cherry as she was easiest to aim for, two shots into the side of the mare with the baseball bat and one shot to the chest of the unicorn with the knife.
I closed S.A.T.S and began to fire, the first mares head exploded into a bloody mess, splattering all over the wall nearby.

"NOPONY FUCKS WITH ME LIKE THIS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT."

Two shots into the mare with the bat, one slamming into her side and the other her front as she fell down to the floor, her throat torn out with the sheer force of the blast. She wasn't dead yet but there was nothing more she could do.
Unfortunately in my rush, the second shot also managed to hit Cherry and she fell down to her side from the shock of being hit.
I tried to turn to the unicorn behind me but as I did she lodged the knife in further and I fell to the floor, screaming in agony.
My eyes shot wide and the fear and pain rushed through me like a raging brahmin, throwing me down to the floor under the pressure of supporting myself.

A sickening sensation filled my stomach and I fought to hold down my breakfast as I felt the blood rushing down my side.
Now because of the torture I felt I wasn't able to get an aim on her, my focus taken away from me completely.
I was truly fucked as Cherry wouldn't be able to respond in time, I was helpless.
Fuck the ghouls, this was going to be the way I die, I was certain now.

To much luck however, Maisy came storming down from the sky and grabbed the unicorn with both paws around her neck. The pink mare tried to scream in horror but Maisy gave her no chance, her grip too tight to allow any air travel through her neck.
Before I could even take note of what was really happening, the mares head was missing, blood all around Maisy's jaw as she crushed the bone between her teeth.
The body of the now lifeless pony dropped like a rock, blood flooding the road as if a fire hydrant had just been broken.

Before I could say a thing, Maisy was already back in the air however, leaving me laying in the pool of blood combined from two different ponies.
I tried to move my leg but felt an immediate burning pain overwhelm me again and stayed put, initially yelping in pain before sobbing in agony as it continued to carve into my thigh.
Cherry having pulled herself off the floor, trotted over to me painfully before pulling the knife out of my side, causing me to scream in pain once more.

"Oh get over it you big baby. Being stabbed isn't the worst of all pains possible and anyway, I just took some of the spread from your shot without crying. Speaking of which, be a little more careful next time huh?"
I tried to speak, but found myself unable to. Instead, I breathed in and out deeply for a minute as I tried to handle the pain the best I could.

"Some of..." I fought for my breath, finding it hard to speak still. "The spread, yeah..." I took another moment to breathe deep and try control myself before continuing. "Straight to the barding, may I add."
"So? A knife, a bullet, it's all the same, pain is pain."
"Not this knife. Feels worse."
She helped me off the floor and back onto my hooves, before I fell back down to the floor once more.

"I'm going to have to use a healing potion on you like that then, here, drink this."
With that, she grabbed one of her potions and levitated it to my mouth, I swallowed the whole lot in one go and was glad to feel the warm, calming sensation begin to ease the pain.
My leg began to heal up somewhat, but it was obvious that it was going to take more then a single healing potion.

"Just be glad it didn't do more damage, this damn thing has a serrated edge. Looks like it's an officers issue Equestrian Army combat knife."
I groaned in response. "What?"
"An officers knife. We've seen a few of these, not too many of course. They're sharper then standard issue and have this notch on the hilt, see? They're nastier then standard issue ones, I'll hand you that."
She levitated it over to me and the ferocity of the knife was obvious now. Indeed, it was quite the impressive piece but I still couldn't appreciate it to its fullest while it was covered in my blood and while I still burnt in my left hindleg.

"Cherry, keep that. I want you to hold onto that knife and remember... justice. Justice is what these ponies have just received - not murder. I know you don't like the idea, I know you like to think that everypony deserves a chance and you're brilliant for that. However, justice will always be something that's required, just as with mercy."
With that, I pulled my own knife out of my saddlebag and showed her.

"Wh...where did you get this, Crimson?"
"Platinum. It was her gift to me, her gift of mercy from myself and forgiveness from her soul. I hadn't noticed it the first time but when I went to her corpse, as I went to ask her forgiveness, I found it when I needed it most."
She studied the blade herself, obviously intrigued by the ornate design, before passing it back.
As the second blade slipped into her saddlebag, she turned to me with wide eyes.

"Crimson... this blade... it's called Justice?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"It wasn't before. How... how did that happen? I've never had this happen!?"
"What's in a name, but of what it means to us? There could be another knife the exact same, but the fact that this one is special to you makes it different. Just like how you went from being any other mare... to the mare I love. The meaning we hold in it makes it different."
"Oh, okay. I've just never come across that before."
"Part of my duty as heir to role as Overstallion is understanding things like this,"
"Really?"
"Nah, Melony Love taught me about that. Just something she loves to do, spend time teaching me stuff when she can. Now, do you mind helping me back up now the healing seems to have done what it can? Even if I have to hover, I'd rather not be laying down for too long when the floor is absolutely covered in blood."
"Oh right, sorry."

With her help, I was back up off my side and standing up.
"AUGH. AUGH. AUGH FUCK."
"Walking too painful for you?"
I stared at her for a split second before letting out a breath and nodding. Seemed I'd have to hover in mid air to get around for now.
I was all too thankful for my wings now, their gentle beating keeping me from having to let my hooves down onto the ground.

We went off further into Coltchester, the city quickly changing from the former sight of nothingness to a new sense of nothingness, the streets filled with ponies too poor to own even a blanket to keep themselves warm under the cold wind and rain that pounded the wasteland on a regular basis.

"P...Plea-"
"You gonna try and stab me if I don't give you what you want?"
"N... no. I..."
I sighed, looking down at the mare below, her lime green coat covered in dirt to the point it was almost brown, her mane too damaged to notice what colour it may have been.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be like this. I just got my thigh ripped into and accidentally shot my marefriend. What can I do?"
"Remember us."

I blinked in shock at the mare... has she really just asked me to remember them?
"E- excuse me? Remember you? What does that mean?"
Instead of replying however, the mare closed her eyes and slumped out further across the road. letting go of her breath.
I looked at the mare completely stunned before slowly lowering myself to my knees, avoiding movement in my back left leg the best I could.
I pressed my muzzle against her neck... there was no pulse, no breath from her lungs. She'd died, her last words were to remember 'us'.
Cherry looked to me in desperation as she saw my head left sorrowfully, tears began to fill her eyes.

"What... No... no no no!" She began, the tears falling down.
"This mare doesn't deserve to die, Crimson! This can't be the way she goes, can it? It's not right!"
I frowned and shook my head, there was nothing I could do.
"Y... Celestia damn it! Why?! I've had enough of this death!"
I couldn't understand.

"Cherry, you're special forces. I know you hate death, but why are you taking this so hard? You seemed a lot more composed at the death of Kingcakes and Pocket Change."
"They knew the risks Crimson! They died with a cause... they died doing the best they could, trying to help. This mare was just trying to live, she had no greater cause. It's not justice to take her away, it's just another life meaninglessly lost!"
"Is this anything to do with your snipers remorse?"

Cherry was taken back by my comment, an unbelieving look in her eyes.
"How... how do you know? How do you always seem to know every problem and what it's about?"
"Quite simply? My training. It's a part of my job as future leader of Four Ridges to know these sorts of things so I can be there for the ponies under me, so I can lead in a much more confident and compassionate way. I've been taught that snipers often feel remorse due to the more personal nature of their killing, Cherry. I understand, but we need to move on. Ponies die every day and we need to stop that, yes. Crying isn't going to help though, if we want to help then we'll have to do something about it."

I wiped her tears away with my forehoof and looked at her. There was no self assured smile on my face this time, no grin to make everything seem like it was going to be okay and that it was going to be fine.
This time, the sadness and pain was etched through the lines around my eyes and mouth, a strain on my emotion obvious.
Having a pony die near you was never easy, but having a pony die so peacefully was worse then killing a raider, a million times worse.

The city had changed from the initial broken stone buildings to ones of steel and concrete as we made our way further in, the less affluent becoming less prominent with each and every moment.
The homeless had seemingly preferred the outskirts of the city, but something told me it was more to do with exterior forces then it had been their own choices.

As we went along, we heard a mare shouting away.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE SAFE HUH? WE'LL SEE! COME BACK HERE AND SETTLE THE SCORE WHY DON'T YA. WIMP."
I looked at Cherry in confusion and laughed at how absurd that all sounded, she just sniffled and gave me a little smile.
I wrapped my hooves around her tight and stroked her mane as I did, my poor little Cherryberry.

"Well well well, what do we have here, a flier huh? You with the wings! Over here!"
I broke from the embrace and looked towards the grey mare who stood before us.
"Me?"
"Yeah you, you thick or something? I don't see any other fancy smancy pegasus ponies here."
I looked at her with an unsure glare. "No, No and no you don't, What do you want?"
"You see that purple mare up there, running off? Go catch her."
"What's in it for me and what's she done?"
"Fifty caps for the leg work."
"What's she done?"
"Taken something of mine. Just go fetch her."

I looked at Cherry and nodded. "I'll be right back."

I darted around the corners as the purple mare with the white mane ran as if her life had depended on it.
"STOP, PLEASE. I JUST WANT TO TALK."
"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY."
"I REALLY MEAN IT."
She didn't listen, damn she was annoying.

I was faster then the mare, that was for sure, but even with all my agility she'd managed to out-manoeuvre me time and time again rushing around and making tight corners between buildings and obstacles alike.
I really didn't want to keep chasing her and end up getting lost in here, but I supposed the worst I'd need to do is fly straight up and find where I'd come in.

Just as I thought I had the perfect chance to corner her, she managed to jump into the air, throw her legs against the wall and force herself in the opposite direction, completely putting me in awe with her nimble ways as she moved like a radbit being chased by a predator.
Trying to talk to the mare had been useless and chasing her proves just as difficult, so instead I decided a new tactic was required.
I pulled my helmet off from its latch on my armour and slipped it on.

"STOP ALREADY. FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE I JUST WANT TO TALK."

That had caught her attention, stopping her in her tracks and making her look up at me as if I was some kind of monster about to rip her in two.
I took the helmet off and dived down next to her, smashing my bad leg on the floor as I landed and crying out in agony, dropping my helmet at the same time.
The pain tore through my spine and reminded me to be more careful about how I land next time.

Taking a moment to catch my breath back once more, the mare had give up running upon my show of 'persuasion' and looked at me in a stare that seemed halfway between confused and motherly, upon seeing my pain.
I picked up my helmet and reattached it to its latch, looking back up to find she was no longer staring at me from the front, but instead had moved round to my side and was assessing the wound.

"You're going to need a bandage for that. You've obviously used a healing potion as the wound has closed up while the blood on your coat still looks fresh. Twenty caps and your promise that you'll not hand me in to her and I'll patch it right now."
I stared in utter shock but nodded, taking twenty five caps out and handing them to her.
I could've got another shot of med-x for that many caps, my mind told me, but at the same time this mare seemed like she'd need it.

"Sorry, I don't usually charge for this, but right now my supplies are extremely limited. On top of that, this is Coltchester, medical supplies don't last long."
"Why not?"
She looked at me flatly as she pulled the bandage out of her saddlebags with her mouth and began to wrap it around my leg, already the soothing feeling began to kick in.
Once she was done, she looked back up to me and gently smoothed down the end of the bandage with her hoof.

"That's because the D-Z-C take what they like, when they like. When a 'scouting' party comes back heavily wounded, everyone has any medical supplies they may have stripped from them unless they're in charge of looking after their foals, like I d-... did."
"You looked after foals?"
"Yeah, I'm one of the foal sitters in Coltchester. I'm D-Z coalition owned, as in, I'm as good as a slave in all but title."
"So that's why you ran away? Why that other mare wanted me to find you?"
"No but yes but no. No she didn't want you to find me purely based on the fact she 'owns' me, yes she did ask because she does but her reason is something else. She asked you because eight fillies and colts went missing - one of them was only a little foal, four months old."

Suddenly the seriousness of the whole situation loomed upon me. This mare was being accused of taking them, and I was to turn her in for caps so she could most likely be put through horrendous punishment or worse.
"What happened to them?"

"I'm not entirely sure. There was two of us, foal sitters I mean, that looked after this particular group. She'd been speaking about breaking out of Coltchester for quite some time and taking what she could with her, wanting me to join her and try find a better life elsewhere. We've heard stories about how a place called Hoofington is supposed to be rich with prospects for ponies like us, perhaps we could've made a better life for ourselves and the foals over there? Even then, failing that there's Fillydelphia, at least they'd have schooling if we took them there."
"You didn't consider Coltshire proper? The Commons even?"
"Too unsafe. Heck, latest few raids have been on those two places."
"What about Four Ridges? Did you even consider them?"
"Four Ridges? You're kidding me right? They wouldn't let us in, we don't have the caps, even if it doesn't need anything like Tenpony Tower does!"

I looked down to the ground and scuffed my hooves on the cold, hard floor.
"Huh, is that how ponies view us? Cap hungry and unwilling to help?" I let out a sigh. "I promise you, if you ever do make it there, you'll be let in."
"You... you're from Four Ridges?"
"I practically own it."
"You what?"
"I'm the heir to leadership there, nevermind all that though. The foals, when did they go missing?"
"Just.... two days ago, maybe three. We're not sure exactly when."
"What were their names, oldest to youngest."

The mare looked at me quizzically before I shot back a nod and her eyes swiftly went back and forth as she recalled the names.
"Charmer, Boulder, Sugar Heart, Platinum..."
She continued to list of names, but my ears didn't hear the rest. I looked at her with wide, terrified eyes.
I knew those ponies, I knew their ultimate fate.
My throat felt tight and I began to choke up, the tears fell from my eyes before I knew it.

"S...stop please. They're all dead."

Her faced dropped. "Dead? As in dead dead? Really dead? Oh... oh Princess. How?"
"Feral ghouls, feral ghouls chased and caught them all. I witnessed it and tried to stop it, but found myself useless in the end. The only survivor was the filly foal, who I've adopted since saving her from the monsters."
"You adopted her?"
"What was I supposed to do? A baby in the middle of the road, just seen a load of children killed and one... Platinum... go through worse then a quick death. Am I supposed to just leave her there to die? To find out who she belongs to when there's no clues? She'll grow up happy and safe in the Stable, a part of the family in charge of Four Ridges."
"You promise?"
"Of course. If you can make it to Four Ridges, tell them you've met me. Describing me and saying I said so is enough to get you in and to the Stable. Cherished Chance is being looked after well, I promise."
"Cherished Chance? Well, that's better then going four months without a name after the mother died of childbirth and the father in a raid before she was born."

I nodded.

"Anyway, you'd best be going. I'll tell the grey mare that you've gotten away, try make it out of here if you can, don't spend any longer then you need to if you can help it."
"Thank you... I... I can't show you how much this means to me. Thank you. What's your name?"
"Crimson, Crimson Wings."
"Blessed Cradle."
"Seeya Blessed, good luck."
"Thank you."

Flying up into the air, I located where I'd come from and glided back down to where Cherry was, Maisy still skulking around the tops of buildings out of the way.
I hadn't minded her being out of sight, it actually made travelling a little easier knowing that we wouldn't have to worry about explaining why a manticore was walking alongside us, or worse. Even still, she'd proven to us that she was still protecting us, it just meant a slower reaction time before she was there.

When I returned to Cherry and the grey mare, the latter staring at me with a deep grudge obvious in her expression.
"WELL, WHERE IS SHE?"
"Lost her, sorry. As quick as I am, she was just too agile. Every god damn time I almost had her she'd manage to turn tail and back up, heading the other way."
"HMPH. Well now you're not getting the fifty caps, so don't you even consider asking for them."
"Of course, payment only for jobs done properly. I understand."
"So you're not completely stupid after all huh? Well, in that case, the bounty still stands. If you find her alive and manage to catch her, fifty. If however, you find her dead, twenty caps for her head or entire corpse."
"You'd prefer her alive? Why is that? What exactly did she do?"
"What she did is none of your business. What is important however, is that the centurion, who is my husband, will be informed and the praetorians will be searching for her too, Best be quick if you want that bounty, Wings."

I looked sourly at her. "Why the hell does everypony call me 'Wings'?
"Because you have wings? Because nopony else is so schmancy fancy as you with yours? Fuck off outta my sight you little snotbag if you're gonna whine about what I call you. Just be fucking grateful that I'm not hitting you like I would any Coltcherian pony."

Turning my head to Cherry, I mouthed the words 'start running'.
She looked back at me in confusion but I just nodded and flicked my eyes over the other direction as if to guide her.
"What did you just call me, you tired old hag?"
"You best learn to watch your fucking tongue, flyboy. You're speaking to the wife of the centurion who runs this district!"
"You best learn to avoid my hoof then!"

With her moment of confusion, I smashed her round the face as hard as I could.
By no means was this the wisest decision I had ever made, but damn did it feel good when my hoof smashed into her nose and sent her back.
Behind me, Cherry had taken my advice and began running as fast as she could further into Coltchester. No doubt I'd have to answer a few questions to her once we were safe, but right now I'd felt all too good for doing that.
The grey mare fell on her back, holding her face in shock as I ran away, using my wings to catch up to Cherry.

Cherry turned to me as we ran alongside one another, but where I wore a stupid smile she was obviously displeased by my actions. "WHAT WAS THAT, CRIMSON?"
"She's the wife of the centurion around here, why not?"
"BECAUSE SHE'S THE PRINCESS DAMNED WIFE OF THE CENTURION! What in Celestia's name were you thinking!"
"With what the mare running did? What 'crime' she supposedly committed? How she doesn't mind if she comes back dead? Seemed fair."

We ran around a series of different corners and streets, ponies with beggars belief staring at us as we shot past them until we were truly and utterly lost to both her and ourselves.
There was only going to be one way back out of Coltchester now, and that was up.

Taking a moment to catch our breath, I found a nice bit of soft yet dry mud to sit on, with Cherry choosing to sit down on the pavement opposite.

"Crimson, you don't simply walk into a new city and smack the first authority figure you see around the face. Tank may respect warriors right to hoof to hoof combat as a means of sorting out personal issues, but this isn't Tank. This is the wastes and you've got to remember, you're not at home any more. You're a nopony with some armour, two guns, a mare who loves you and a mission. We're far from the fighting force of the entire Tank Mercenary Group, We have to lay low."
I smiled at her, even after my stupidity she still seemed supporting enough to stick by me, even if she didn't wholly agree with my actions.

"Now, what is it that you hit her over?"
"Well, first of all, she spoke to me with that kind've disrespect. I may not be at home any more, but damn it, I've never laid down and let someone piss all over me before. I won't start now."
"That's not a good enough reason, what other ones are there?"
"The mare who was running away? She was a caretaker. She was a slave. Her fellow slave was the mare we found in Old Coltchester.... Platinum... Cherished Chance... they were all from officers of this region. The mare was wrongly accused of taking them all away."
"So? Wouldn't you want to find anypony who took Cherished Chance away from you now? Or me, perhaps? Wouldn't you want to hunt down anyone who takes me from you?"

I looked at her sheepishly, knowing my answer was going to be exactly as she wanted it to be.
"Well of course. I'd hunt down anyone be they pony, zebra, mule or griffon. I'd do anything to bring justice to whomever responsible."
"So why shouldn't these ponies feel the same? What makes you any more right to do it then they?"
"Because I don't 'own' ponies. Four Ridges doesn't have homeless ponies, let alone ponies with absolutely nothing to their name."
I thought about that for a moment, she had a very good point. Four Ridges truly was a place of prosperity where even the poorest of ponies had somewhere to call their own and the ability for basic things like food and water, if not luxuries and entertainment.

"True, you don't own any of us excluding those who contract with the TMG, but why do ponies stick at Four Ridges under your mother?"
"Because it's a better life, a safe and secure life with no real troubles. Yes it can be hard work for some, but it's better then being out in the wastes."
"Now take that last part, and apply it to the ponies here. It may not be perfect, or even pleasant for some. However, it's somewhere to be with some level of safety. Four Ridges can't take in everypony that comes across it, Crimson, so where better have they got to go? How would they even get there?"

There was a damning look in her eyes, though it was painfully obvious that she was right.

"Well, what about what Eos said! Titan? They've both said this place is terrible, and from what little we've seen, it has been. If there's any form of governing body, why haven't they done something to improve the conditions? If not for the ponies here, for themselves at least!"
"It's not that easy Crimson, besides, you can hardly say you know this Eos even if she did seem friendly to me. As for Titan? Neither of us have spent enough time around him either to know everything there is to know about him. We can trust his capabilities in a fight but we have no clue what kind've leadership qualities he holds. You can't go causing trouble just because you feel like it."
"But.. but..."
"No."

The pain filled my heart, Cherry scolding me was easily as painful as taking a bullet to the chest.
She hadn't meant to make things awkward, but as I trotted alongside her as we continued forwards, I found myself unable to say a word to her.
Even when I tried to apologise, I couldn't get the words out. She looked at me sympathetically and I knew she understood how I felt, but it was obvious that she had to learn this very same lesson once before with the way she acted.

You can't go around doing whatever you please, just because you're used to doing it at home. Sometimes, you have to take a step back and realise the position of power is in the other hoof and you've gone from top dog to underdog before you even realised it.

"Now, let's see your wound. You were just running without showing any pain so you've either damaged it further but not noticed it through adrenaline or you've gotten incredibly lucky."
I couldn't help but smirk as she said that. "Aren't I always lucky, seeing as I have you?"
Her blushing and smile made the moment perfect.
"Well, yes. You are right there, still. Coat off, let me see it."

I took my duster back off and showed Cherry the bandages around my leg and thigh, getting a very curious look from her.
"Your own work? We didn't have any bandages though, did we?"
"Nope, not my work. No we don't have any though. The mare who I was sent to chase did it for me, part of our agreement and discussion for me letting her go once I'd managed to catch her."
"Well, it looks a good job. I never was a good medic myself, despite my magic. Despite that though, I do know a good patch up job when I see one and that is a good job. Glad somepony managed to fix you up somewhat at least."

We trotted off further into Coltchester together, unsure if Maisy was still following us as I couldn't see her anywhere, but no doubt she'd find us if we needed her help with anything. Besides, flying into the air and making myself an obvious target to anypony that might've been trying to follow us after my little shindig with the centurions wife and that wasn't worth the risk.
Instead, we carried on at a much more calmed down pace.

"So, I know you say that we can't judge them until we've seen what their best and what their worst is like."
"No Crimson. we can't judge them. You've lived a life of luxury through randomness of birth, and even I myself have been lucky enough to at least be born into a community where safety is practically guaranteed without fail and a job that pays well enough that I could go to Tenpony if I saved up and maintains the safety of my home. These ponies might not have that luxury, so until we see something terrible happening, we have to accept worse conditions."
"Fine. You know what? You win. I was wanting to believe in what Eos and Titan had told me, but if you're adamant that this isn't the worst the wasteland has to offer, then... well, okay."
"Besides, we trade with The Society, don't we?"
"Rarely..."
"Still, we do it. Isn't that encouraging slave trade?"

Sighing, I nodded at Cherry. She'd won and put that argument into the ground for good. There was no way I was going to be able to bring it back to the table now unless something truly horrible happened.
Part of me wanted both Eos and Titan to be right about Coltchester, if only for my own pride. The other part of me took absolute disgust in this desire however, knowing that it would mean that there was ponies out here that needed our help and I would relish in the fact that they were.
What was I, some kind of monster? No, I had to be better then that. I wasn't some superhero either, I was just the son of the Overmare on a mission to find a new water talisman and return home asap so life could go back to it's safety and certainty.
Still...

"Hey there, sugarcube."
I gave a quick glance over to the unicorn mare who stood on her hindlegs as she leant against the wall of a house behind her for support, wearing clothing that obscured her nether region while revealing her flanks in a much less then graceful way. She was interesting to look at, but with Cherry right next to me, I looked away instantly anyway.
"Hey hey hey, I saw you looking. Yes, I meant you."
Stopping in my tracks as I passed her, I turned my head to her.
"What?"
"Yeah, want some fun sweetie?"

Cherry walked out from beside me and looked at her in the eyes.
"See him? He's mine. NO, he doesn't want your fun."
"Oh come now, I'm sure you could join in too?"
With that, she lifted a leg up and pulled it even higher, exposing herself to us. I had to admit, I was finding it incredibly hard not to be aroused.
In the laziest authoritative voice I could muster, I answered her flatly. "Sorry, but we haven't the time, caps to waste and nor do we have the desire."
"Oh, you sure about that?"

Before either of us could react the bright yellow mare had already began to use her magic to gently brush my testicles and coax my already tempted member out from its sheath. I pulled back in shock but found her pulling softly on my penis, encouraging it to expand with strokes of magic brushing against it.
I tried to move my hooves but before I could do anything she held them tight.
With my struggling, Cherry came to realise what was happening.

"YOU GET OFF MY STALLION NOW, OR I'LL BLOW YOUR HORN OFF!"
"Oh? How do you reckon you're going to do that, sweetie? Think you'll get close to me?"
Cherry just smiled and turned invisible.

The sound of rushing hoofsteps worried the sunshine coloured mare and she began to panic, pulling on my sexual organs hard enough to take my breath away.
Just as she had done that however, the magic stopped and the mare was sent flying down onto the floor, bleeding from a cut in her head.

"YOU WERE WARNED. DON'T MAKE ME SMASH YOUR HORN OFF."
"I... I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY OKAY!" The provocatively dressed mare yelled into nowhere in particular, covering her face with her hooves.
Cherry reappeared and stared her straight into the eyes as she brought Justice to the base of the unicorns horn.
"You apologise now, to both of us. You leave us alone whenever you see us from now on. My buckfriend is NOT interested in flankspanking you and I am NOT appreciative of you trying to arouse him by force. Be glad I'm going to let you go with nothing worse."

The terrified mare speedily shook her head without a word and laid as she was while Cherry got off, even as we continued to walk off.

The situation which had just passed was completely amazing and frightening at the same time, my body still unsure if it should be aroused or not.
I couldn't believe what had just happened, or how fast it all happened. I was just in utter awe of it all.
"Wow, Cherry. That was uh... scary?"
"What!? What do you mean that was scary?"
"I just, haven't seen you behave like that since when... the wolves perhaps?"

Cherry pouted at me. "What was I supposed to do? She was sexually assaulting you! And yes, before you say a thing, that WAS sexual assault because you didn't agree to it. She hurt you, didn't she?"
I nodded, she had indeed hurt me.
"Well then, I was in the right. If that goes back on us and causes trouble, that's fine."
"Wait, how is it fine when you do it and not when I do it?"
"Because I say so and because I say so, got it?"
She smiled at me, I could tell that it was an uneasy smile and she'd crack if I pushed her, no doubt get upset with me if I did, so I left it out.

"Okay. You're right, if it comes back to causing trouble then it's okay because she wasn't exactly asking before she touched me in that way. Does this mean we can't have threesomes now though?"
"Maybe. Depends. I'm not sure. Definitely not with her though."
I laughed, thinking back to the time with Melony. Damn that was one good night, one good night indeed.
"But don't get any ideas mister! It's only going to happen if we both agree that it's for the fun and won't ruin what we have. I want you to stay mine."
"Of course."
With that we held in an embrace and I stroked her chest as I kissed her, our tails intertwining on the floor below us as we sat happily smooching in the middle of a random road in Coltchester.
What a sight we must've been!

After our moment, we'd been speaking to some of the locals. A few of them were homeless, though most weren't.
Even still, something seemed off with them. Every once in a while, one of them would greet us with some weird motto, I couldn't quite make out what it meant however.

"Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim... what the hell could that mean Cherry?"
"You mean to say that you've not been taught that in your all topic spanning leadership courses?"
She gave me a wink and a cheeky grin as I couldn't help but laugh along with her joke.
"Nope, unfortunately not. It sounds something akin to the old zebra language but I really am taking a wild guess there."
"Huh, okay. Guess we'll have to ask next time."

We walked up to the next set of ponies in sight and began to speak, but found that instead of speaking as we began to greet them, they scurried back into their houses nearby or away from the street completely, the few braver ones down the road still in sight but far enough away to only just be able to see what was going on.

"Vobis, prohibere!"

[To you, stop!]
"NO, I WILL NOT STOP!"
"VOBIS, PROHIBERE!"
"I SAID FUCK YOU, ZEBRA!"

Turning around to see the commotion, I had thought I'd recognised the voice somewhat. It was Blessed Cradle, her purple coat and white mane flying through the wind as fast as she could run.
One of the five zebras who were chasing her pulled the throwing spear off his back and threw it at her with his hooves, barely missing her as she dodged the oncoming projectile.
Anypony less agile then that mare would've been slaughtered. I had to stop this, now.

Sliding my helmet on, I stepped out into the road.

"I DON'T SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE, BUT I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN YOU SPEAK LEAD."

I watched the confusion and horror as I whipped out my shotgun and stared the oncoming zebras down, the purple mare rushing by me and turning her head as she passed, only to fall down and be caught somewhat by Cherry's magic as she had.
"Whoa, what's the trouble there miss?"
"CRIMSON?!?! CRIMSON, SAVE ME, PLEASE!"

"I'M ON IT. STICK WITH MY MARE. WE'LL KEEP YOU SAFE."

"WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME?"

"It's his helmet. Now, play it safe and stick with us for the moment, be ready to run if you need to though."
The frightened mare nodded frantically and hid behind Cherry as I prepared myself for the oncoming force of the suddenly rearing zebra, damn I should've paid more attention to the enemies ahead.

Instead of feeling the full force of the kick however, my shotgun reduced that to the full force of a falling corpse, the head blown clean off with the distance of the target being minimal.
By the sounds of things, Cherry had pulled out her SMG as rounds began to pound into the armour of one of the others running towards me.

I went into S.A.T.S and planned two shots into the nearest two enemies, both to the head.
Slipping out of S.A.T.S I went to execute them, and everything looked good until I began to fire.
The first shot pounded into the chest of the first zebra, knocking him back onto the floor but far from dead. The second shot however had been completely ineffective as instead of firing, the gun had jammed.
Jammed! At a time like this, my fucking shotgun had jammed!

Two hooves smashed into my chestplate and pushed me back onto the floor, my spine hurting from the sudden force of being knocked down.
My head smacked against the concrete road as I landed, but thankfully my helmet reduced most of the blow with its interior padding, no doubt designed for melee combat with such attackers.

I watched Cherry run up towards the zebras with deadly speed, blasting one of them in the face with a hail of 9mm rounds. His jaw was completely missing and his neck had more holes then could be counted in a glance only about three seconds later as she stood above me.

"Don't worry Crimson, nopony nor zebra fucks with you and gets away with it if I can help it."
I had wanted to thank her, but knew that this close the volume of my speech would be painful.
Instead, I nodded as she helped me back up with a hoof after having found it too painful to do by myself, my thigh beginning to ache worse under the strain of fighting again already.

One of the zebras looked around and doubled back, running off to where he had came. Only only two zebras remained now, one of them wounded though the other still completely fresh in the fight with no injuries.

"Adepto Praetorians! Adepto machina!"

[Get the Praetorians! Get the machine!]

The unharmed one had kept his distance the entire time but now he had climbed up atop of some scrap that littered the landscape and threatened to jump down atop of us.
Before he could, I pulled out my pistol and tried to aim for his head, though his movement was too erratic and instead I gave in for a shot that simply pushed him back behind cover.

The other zebra followed suit, and did his best to make it behind cover.
None of us were going to risk going into the line of fire without being sure it was worthwhile and the zebras didn't seem to want to retreat either, probably believing I'd shoot them as they ran.

"RUN AWAY NOW AND I WON'T SHOOT YOU, A STALLIONS PROMISE."

"Numquam ego regredi!"

[I will never go back!]

I couldn't tell what they were saying, but the tone of voice he was saying it in and the fact he hadn't began to run off told me he was going to stay defiant in the face of death. I had really wished this was easier right now.
Spreading my wings, I leapt into the air to try and get an aerial shot on the zebras.
As soon as I had however, the sound alerted the healthy zebra and before I could do a thing, his spear was already flying towards me.

The sensation I felt was beyond that of pain. The sensation of the spear as it pierced through the soft tissue of my wings burnt my whole left side, bringing my crashing down to the ground in a heap of metal and pony below.
My screaming multiplied by my helmet, I couldn't feel anything other then the complete and utter agony of where there was now a jagged hole in my wing.
Though it had missed any of the bone or vital pieces of my anatomy, and despite the fact that the hole looked more superficial then permanent, I couldn't help but cry as the pain overwhelmed all my sensations and the worry for my wing took control.

In the time I was doing this, Cherry had already finished the fight.
I hadn't even heard the 50.cal rifle shoot above the noise I was making myself, my whole body begging for mercy.
I'd wondered if this was how Platinum had felt as I cradled my wing in my hooves, rolling in sheer torture.
I felt violated and convulsed in pain

Cherry rushed to me and took my helmet off so she could speak to me. "Crimson! Your wing! What can I do for you?!"
"M...m...med-x! My med-x!"
Cherry looked down into my begs and handed me a syringe of med-x, immediately I jammed it into my side as close the wing as I could and pushed down on the top.
The pain slowly faded away somewhat, but not completely. I was going to need more to get back fighting fit!
"Another!"
"Are you sure?"
"Please Cherry, I'm going to need another. Please."

With reluctance, she handed me another. Again I jabbed it into the same spot and released the soothing goodness of my favourite drug.
When you needed to relax, med-x was nice in smaller quantities, but it also served damn well in its proper purpose of making pain just go away.

Suddenly a shaken voice came from behind me. "I'm going to bandage your wing, Crimson Wings. Please, please let me do this one for free, just don't fight me while I try to do it, it will likely hurt."
"Please, please do it. Thank you."
Laying down I felt a sharp pain stabbing me each and every time the bandage was wrapped around the wound, but as it got tighter the pain was lowered somewhat more.

"Thank you, Blessed. Celestia knows I need that."
"Don't try to fly, Crimson Wings. You'll tear your wing further. If it was up to me, I'd have your left wing bound so you couldn't even try, but we don't have the time."
"What do you mean?"

She just pointed, and I saw what she meant as I leant up with Cherry's help.
Twenty zebras marched toward us carrying a great banner of a red background and black stripes coming down from the right corner to the left.

"Audaces fortuna iuvat!"

[Fortune favours the bold!]

Again, I couldn't tell what they were saying, but it didn't sound good in the least.
Cherry slid my helmet back onto my head and raised her rifle once more, taking a shot at the advancing column of zebras.
Three of them dropped dead as they walked, her bullet going straight through each of their heads as they marched in line, one by one their brains splattering the one behind until the bullet caught inside the skull of the third.

With a cry of horror and anger mixed together, the zebras charged.
Their armour was increasingly obvious that it was heavier and tougher then the previous soldiers sets, leaving me wondering how the hell we were going to come out of this fight alive.

Without warning however, Maisy swept down from the rooftops above and landed in the middle of their ranks, roaring as loud as she could.
With little effort, almost half their entire force as on the floor with one gigantic swipe, the zebras in absolute confusion as to what was happening.

"WHY... WHY IS THERE A MANTICORE HERE?!" I heard Blessed scream at the top of her lungs.
"Because that's Crimsons pet. Yeah, my stallion has a pet manticore. Wanna fight about it?"
I looked back at Blessed and smiled as her worried eyes shot frontwards and back before she passed out.
Crap, this was the last thing we needed!

Still, Maisy was proving to be as loyal as ever and just as ferocious with her fighting as we expected from her.
Four more zebras fell to her swipes and crushing attacks, two more of them heavily wounded by her stingers poison. It looked like things were going to be okay for us as Maisy seemed to be able to ignore their hoof to hoof attacks with stunning endurance.
She showed signs of pain, but had seemed to use that pain for further rage fuelled fighting techniques.
Then the robots came.

By the sight of them alone, the robot zebras had frightened Maisy away from the fight, hiding at the top of the rooftops as she had once before, her once proud roar becoming a frightened squeak.
Eight robots rushed towards us alongside the remaining zebra force, quickly overrunning where we had once stood as we were pushed back further and further.
We'd lost Blessed in the confusion and trying to avoid the hoofbeating left right and centre.
They dragged her away before we could do a thing, my focus purely on the sound of my shotgun roaring away.
It all happened too fast.

Six shots, only two piercing the armour of one of these new soldiers. He went down on the sixth but it was too wasteful, I wasn't going to be able to take them all out with the ammo I had if I kept shooting the chestplate.
I hit into S.A.T.S and targeted the face of the closest zebra, two shots in case the first one missed.
It hadn't, the first shot went straight to the eyes, blinding but not quite killing the zebra. The second one gave it mercy, an end to her screams as her body fell limp to the floor.

"CHERRY, FALL BACK!"

"NOT WITHOUT YOU!"

"JUST DO IT! PLEASE!"

"NO!"

"CHERRY!"

I watched as one of them rushed up to her side and smashed her to the floor before one of the robots smashed me, sending me flying against the wall.
What the hell were those things!? That fucking hurt even through the high dosage of med-x running through me!
I did my best to pick myself up and galloped straight to Cherry where the zebra reared above her, about to smash down on her with his hooves.
My own hooves put a stop to that, sending the zebra fucker onto his side and I pressed my pistol to his head, as I once had done so to the raider before him.

"Who am I? I am The Executioner."

A loud bang rang through and the zebras all stared at me in shock, apparently executing your foe in the middle of a battleground was some kind of war crime.
Before I could spin my gun around on the others, a zebra robot smashed into me again.
Once more I felt myself flying through the air, too damn grateful that I had heavy armour on as I smacked against a wall.
My vision began to blur slightly as I watched them approach cautiously, I could feel my blood pouring over myself.

As they came closer however, a large explosion blew one of the buildings further down the road apart. Screaming filled the air, but not screaming of pain, horror or even panic.
The screaming sounded almost... heroic, energetic, inspiring perhaps.
I turned my head to look at the group of ponies wielding assault rifles and one with a sniper before I saw him... Titan.

"Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim."

[Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you.]

I couldn't do anything but watch as Styx began to rev its motors before rounds started pouring out into the zebra forces in front of me.

"ZEBRA SUPERHOOFS! BE CAREFUL BUT BE BRAVE! WE MUST RESCUE THEM ALL!"
A cheer from his followers lifted my spirits as I saw the alarm and shock in the zebra's faces.
Explosive rounds punched into the ground around me, sending warriors flying.
The robots stood a better chance against Titan and his minigun then the zebras had, but even they found the unrelenting force of the bullets smashing into them alongside the clatter of assault rifles and the sniper rifle to be too much.

Falling down onto the ground the robots began to spark, entire limbs being ripped off of them in the force of the shredding attack.
One by one, the robots were reduced to nothing but scrap, unable to do any further damage.
The remaining zebra force ran, screaming for their lives as their numbers dwindled from many to few.
Cherry lay unconscious on the ground and I felt myself sweeping in and out of alertness as well.

"Pick them both up! Get them back to base!"

They were the last words I heard.

Footnote:
Level up!
Perk unlocked! I am The Fucking Executioner (Executioner rank 2)!
You don't give a flying fuck where you are now, you'll execute anyone - anywhere, if you so feel like it and have the chance.
Your morality will now only be affected if you shoot innocents and you score an instakill every time you attempt it.
Though your morality won't change, group reputation will dramatically swing dependant on your actions, so be careful!
...You still don't give a fuck for reprisal though.

40 Medicine attained.
65 Small guns attained.

Footnote:
Cherry Sundae level up!
Perk unlocked! Ferocious love!
If someone is assaulting your love in any way - be it traditional or sexual, you gain +10 to all combat related skills and +5% to damage resistance! No-one hurts your Crimson!

75 Small guns attained.

Footnote:
Maisy level up!
Perk unlocked! Pain rage!
When in lots of pain, Maisy gains +15 to her unarmed skill.

85 Unarmed attained.

As promised, I'm going to keep advertising the fact that the head picture came from WavemasterRyx, who can be found:http://ask-the-waves.tumblr.com/ !

A huge thank you to my friend Joey for helping me out a lot, through a lot of things. He's been there for me more times then I can remember now and he's a fan of the story, often inspiring me to write more just like Arcus does.
So thank you Joey, much appreciated for everything you do for me.

The combat in this chapter has been highly influenced by Swicked from Cloudsville - a friend of mine and fellow member of the Project Horizons Comment Crew. Thanks for the insight on how to make it better!

Lastly:
Thank you both Kkat and Somber for both writing amazing stories that have inspired me to write. Without you two, there would be a massive hole in my world, and I don't know how I would've filled it otherwise. Thank you.