Fight or flight...
My thinking took too long, I'd hesitated. Titan looked at me in wonder as if he was ready to fight, but waiting on me to confirm.
Instead, I hadn't been able to give a proper response to him, and the ponies charged at us.
...Only, they ran right past us, they weren't charging at us at all!
Looking past them, I could see who they were really charging towards now.

Another group of ponies dressed in rags and armour patched together without pattern stood with grins upon their faces, awaiting the soldiers with an awesome aura of confidence flowing from them.

"COLTCHESTER ANARCHISTS STAND STRONG IN CHAOS."

Three smoke grenades rolled out between themselves and the soldiers, filling the area with a heavy smog of green and red.
Amazingly the soldiers continued to run into the obvious trap, despite the risk to their lives.
Turning my head to Titan, I mouthed the words "shall we?"
In response, I heard the rumbling of a familiar motor.

We rushed over to the scene, any damage we could do to the DZC now would save us the risk in the long run.
Though most of all I yearned to use a show of force and awe to intimidate our enemy into laying down their weapons, for every time we could spare a life was another chance given back to the wastes to improve.

Titan seemingly was without trouble, firing small bursts into the mist ahead of us to hear a yelping of pain each and every time. I'd wondered if he'd been aiming carefully or was simply spraying the zone, hoping that it had been the former over the latter.

"How are you being so precise, you can't tell me it's pure skill. An E.F.S can't give you that much confidence in accuracy." I asked, needing to know what he was doing and how.
"My eye is cybernetic, remember? It can see in low light, normal light and also focus on thermal imaging, though that's part of an upgrade to it."
Looking at his helmet, I'd almost forgotten that he had a cybernetic eye. True, I'd seen it recently enough, but it wasn't something I tried to focus on.

Then the smoke stopped and rapidly dissipated, Titan retreating a few steps with it.
I could see now that despite the power of his gun, the short firing times had done little to the enemies numbers, though it had greatly weakened them.
Two laid across the floor, alive but bleeding, one of them trying his best to tend to the other. A dead pony lay next to them, both of his forelegs blown clean off.

Another two ran towards us while the other three continued to do their best to avoid the knives of the 'Anarchist' forces.
"You! You have shot at the troop of Sideswipe Battleborne! Prepare to die!"
Out came their weapons, one wielding an axe with his magic while the other used an underpowered pistol.
Titan growled at them, laughing almost as he did.

"Oh, you sure about that?"
Spinning as fast as he could on his hooves, he brought his rear end to bear and kicked the one wielding a pistol in his mouth as hard as he could, sending him into a nearby wall.
At the same time, his friend with the axe had made the distance on me and tried to take a swing, only for myself to roll out of the way awkwardly and place a magic field around myself.

"How are you going to hit me, when you can't even see me?" I asked.
"WHERE DID YOU GO, BITCH?"
Stepping around him, I tried to trip him over, resulting in us both falling to the ground in a spectacular mess.
"AUGH. YOU CUNT. STOP THAT."
"You really aren't a nice buck, are you?"
"No. No I'm not, and your face isn't going to be so nice once my axe meets it either."

The strain of my magic was too much right now, I couldn't hold it. Picking myself off the floor, a scream of pain and anger drew my attention and I saw Titan in hoof to hoof combat with the buck he'd previously kicked.
A mighty blow knocked me to my side with the distraction, axe buck turning back around to charge at me again with his weapon ready to swing once more.

"STAY STILL, BITCH. IT'LL HURT LESS IF I GET IT RIGHT FIRST TIME."
"That's what my ex said, and he ended up being an absolute cunt."
"Oh, mouthy. Shame it only pisses me off more!"
Another swipe came at me, inches from my face as I jumped back.
This was too close!

I cried out for help, it was the smart thing to do. "Titan! Do you mind?!"
"I'm busy!"
"Well this buck here needs you to be less busy!"
I ran around the market as he chased me in circles, knocking over stands to block his path as much as I could.
Seeing a gap in the fighting between the rest of the soldiers and the Anarchists, there was no other choice.
The risk that they'd all follow me wasn't enough to stop me, as I hurdled my way through their group knocking two over in the process as they still traded blows with the Anarchists.

"You OWE me, bucks." I cried out as I made my way through them, distracting them all.
"ANARCHISTS OWE NOPONY NOUT." One jeered back at me, they really weren't all that polite.
"BUCKS, GET HER!" Axe pony cried.
"WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?"
"WE'LL TAKE THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME!"

Oh, just my fucking luck! With that, there was now four of the bastards chasing me.

"TITAN, REALLY GOOD TIME TO NOT BE BUSY!"
"I'm on it."
A gun went off, a pony hit the floor.
My mind raced, hoping to Celestia that it wasn't Titan having just hit the floor. Oh, we were so fucked if things had just hit the pool of lava with him dying.

Thankfully, he hadn't. Instead, it was Titan who had taken the gun and shot the earth pony, his last words being inaudible as he swiftly died from the bleeding.
Behind me, the four still chased with their short swords, one barely any longer then a knife.

"Get down, Cherry!" I looked towards Titan and did as told, skidding to the floor while keeping control the best I could.
Behind me, a hail of bullets slammed into my pursuers and exploded on impact, blasting away at the rest of their armour within half a second and rendering them easy kills as I pulled out my SMG and aimed for them.

Standing firmly I looked straight into the eyes of the now floored opponents. "You've got one chance. Leave now and do not return to your masters, or die in combat to his gun. Choose."
One spat at me before saying his final words. "Surrender to filth like you? You Anarchists are scum, NEVER!"
Before Titan could even bite the trigger, another smoke grenade went off around us.
Immediately my training kicked in, and I backed away from where I previously stood.
One by one the sounds of their throats being slit sounded, their gasps for breath useless as they died within seconds of one another.

Before I could do anything, it had stopped only for hooves to run into the distance.
By the time the smoke had cleared once more, only myself and Titan stood.
The Anarchists had made their way from the scene, bloody hoofprints showing how one of them had committed the slaughter before running away.

Four ponies, four ponies had died before three of them had been able to voice their choices. One did not speak for the entirety of any group, never could it.
Yet they'd all had their throats sliced open, depriving them from any chance of redemption.
Standing above the bodies, I felt sad. I felt sad that the wasteland had made us like this, had caused such horrific things to happen on a daily basis.
Though I wasn't surprised, because this was the cycle of life and death, what it had become.

Wiping my hooves clean of the blood the best I could, I made my way over to Titan as he silently stood, watching over me.

"You... saw all that, didn't you?"
Nothing, his silence told me what I'd needed to know.
"You didn't think to stop it though, you wouldn't have, would you?"
"Why?"

Why? Was that all he could say? Why?

"Why? Because three of them had not the chance to redeem themselves. Sure, the first had declared his desire for death over surrender, what of the others though?"
"For as long as they work with the coalition, they are guilty of the coalitions crimes."
"Are you guilty of the crimes by the Equestrian army two hundred years ago then?"
"By default? Yes."

I couldn't help but shake my head at Titan. True as it was that they had helped the coalition directly, they weren't all given a second chance, or even a chance to explain themselves. Instead, their last moments were robbed from them in a haze of green smoke and confusion.

Despite all that however, it had seemed that the other two soldiers were still alive, the ones who were previously wounded.
Cautiously making my way over to them with my SMG trained on them with every step, I called out for them to be friendly or face the consequence.

"Friendly? You think we're going to be anything but when my wife is dying here?!"
"Your wife?"
"YES! MY WIFE! Fuck! FUCK FUCK FUCK!"
I looked down on the buck and for the first time, took in the features of the one who laid next to him.
He wasn't lying about her being a mare, at the very least. Indeed, as I pulled her helmet off I saw her gentle blue mane brushing against her mint green coat.

"Look, I don't have much experience with medical stuff, but I have enough to apply dressings and stabilise a pony. I do this for you, you promise to let us speak, okay?"
"Yes, yes, please. Whatever. We'll speak, if you can patch her up, I can bandage myself."
I nodded. Some things in the wasteland were too precious to waste, and two ponies who loved each other was definitely one of those things.

Pulling out a bandaging I'd received from the resistance and a single health potion from my pack, I wrapped her chest tightly and allowed her to drink half of the potion, forcing the other half down the males throat before he could refuse it.
Giving either of them a whole potion could prove risky, though half a potion was enough to begin the healing process sooner.

"Now you're wrapped up and stabilised, I want to talk to you, both of you."
"Okay, Anarchist. What do you want?"
"Anarchist? We're not a part of that group."
"You aren't?"
"No."

With that, the buck looked to his wife and sighed, lowering his head when he turned back to me.
"I'm sorry, we just... we only joined the coalition because the Anarchists attack anyone they assume is working in any way with 'the zeb'. How does that make sense? Well our house was burnt down for trading wares with uniformed soldiers, as if our lives wouldn't be put at risk if we didn't."
"So you joined to spite the group?"
"Not to spite them, to protect ourselves from them. The city is run with an iron hoof, but if you go with the flow and stick with the status quo, you find yourself with a better quality of life."

Titan nodded and admitted that it's true.
"So, you don't like working for the coalition but do it for your own good?"
"Are you kidding? Of course we don't. We've been sent out on raids and collecting tributes like a lot of other ponies, donkeys and zebras. Sure, some of the others love it, but there's a few of us who only do it because we have no other choice."
"You're being given one now, the choice to redeem yourself by fighting the good fight."
"What do you mean?"

Titan stepped slowly, approaching us all but focusing on the ponies below most of all.
"We've all been fighting for a very long time, some longer then others. We've all lost loved ones, some more then others. None of us are alone in this, and some of us have decided to fight against it. We are the resistance, we will fight for a free Coltchester. If we can succeed, all of the Coltchester region may be free, but if we cannot or will not overthrow this oppressive regime, all of Equestria may eventually be lost to the ongoing brutality of the wasteland. Coltchester is our chance to change, Coltchester is our salvation."

He took a moment to pause before speaking again.
"We want you to join us. We can accommodate you if you can promise us your loyalty. We have a lot of members of the public who support our cause, but it's time we begin to neutralise the military of the coalition by whatever means. You say you only joined for the better quality of life? Join us instead, for a better quality for all."

The buck looked down at his wife one more time, not knowing what to say, when a whimper came out of her mouth.
"I.."
"Honeydew, please. Reserve your energy."
"N... no. I... accept."
"Are you sure, Honey?"
"Yes."

We helped the two to their hooves. and Titan carried the mare whom we now knew to be called Honeydew upon his back.
"Do you also agree?"
"If my wife does, I do. Whatever she wants, I would follow to the end of Equestria and back just to make it so."
The smile that came across my face at that moment was subtle, but grew as the pair reminded me of Crimson and myself.

My heart began to flutter freely as if it had his wings as I thought of him, his tender touch and loving words as they would fill my ears. My heart filled with hopes that some day, he would prove himself to be the buck for me for always and eternity.

We'd need to return to the base before we could do any more, but that was no problem for me. Instead, it gave me a chance to put Prince Snugglebums down and out of the way of harm and see Crimson while we were there.

"So Titan, are we all set to head back? Do you need to call your scouts back or do you think they're fine?"
He turned his clunky head towards me and nodded slowly. "Nah, we're fine. They're all capable of handling themselves in a fight if need be, though they're smart enough ponies to avoid fights. I trust them."
Nodding back, we set off back to the headquarters.

Walking back to the headquarters shouldn't have been an issue, but walking back with a wounded soldier upon Titan's powerful shoulders caused some minor disruptions. Some ponies rushed up to us and asked if we'd done the damage, a tone of voice betraying them and allowing us to lie about that at least, saying we were going to take them to the nearest medic. Others whom recognised Titan were worried about the soldier walking with us, but a quick discussion to each and their worries were no more.
It became exceedingly obvious to me just how torn Coltchester was, though the majority preferred to let sleeping manticores lie.

As we made it along the last stretch of the marketplace, yet another pony approached us.
This pony was different though, the clothes she wore were patched together in a strange pattern, the same style of patching as what we had seen before.
Standing in front of us now, she scuffed the ground with her hoof before looking back up at us.

Her tiny little voice squeaked confidently, despite the volume. "You. You are the ones that helped us."
"Yes, yes we are." I replied.
"We do not know who you are, but we appreciate it. The people of Coltchester will not be oppressed any longer!"
"People?" I asked.
"You do not believe that the zebras and donkeys deserve a chance too? That there are those of other kin who seek a Coltchester free from this tyranny?"
"My apologies, it's just not something I come across much. Though I must ask, you're not from the revolution, are you?"
"We are, but not of those who organise themselves in the name of the PLAC. We are the Anarchists, we do not feel any governing body can be any better then another."

Titan huffed and stood proud for a moment, bringing his chest high to the air.
"You think so? Well I can assure you, we at the PLAC are the way forward for Coltchester, and we plan to rebuild the utopia that Celestia herself had made of Equestria."
"Plans are weak, action is strong. You speak words of plan, we strike blows of action. Nevertheless, though our means differ, our primary goals are the same. As such, the enemy of our enemy is our friend for the time that we share common interest, and we will work parallel, but not with you."

Titan lowered his head in a bow and the small mare reciprocated the gesture before moving to the side.
"Though be warned, we shall not tolerate any group that seeks to repeat the actions of those currently in charge. Should you seek power, our trust is essential for though we do not seek it ourselves, we will not abandon the reigns which we hold without certainty."

With that, she slipped into the crowd behind her and was gone from sight almost as fast as I could tell.
There was something both inspiring and creepy about the way she spoke, though if she was going to be friendly towards us for now, I could settle for that at least. It was better to be talking to other ponies rather than shooting at them, definitely so.

"So, you deal with that a lot, Titan?"
"Nope, that's the first time I've had a run in with the Anarchists. My scouts have reported sightings of them from time to time, sometimes even having a discussion here or there when trying to convert ponies. Never had an experience myself though, and we've never had hostilities."
I couldn't help but sigh in relief, much to Titan's confusion.
"Sorry, I'm just glad that's so. I believe that everyone, pony, zebra, donkey, griffon... everyone deserves a chance to do better, to heal the wasteland from the hurt it's caused itself."
"Hah, you're an idealist, kid. Perhaps if you reached my age."
"Yeah yeah, you've said. You know all and you're all bitter because you're old, but I'm not and I still believe we can do better."

For that, he gave me a playful bump with a hoof and I laughed at it, silly old ghoulie.

The large pile of rubble was completely unsuspecting, I hadn't even recognised it in the slightest when we'd reached it.
With a single hoof clashing against the pile, Titan stood against the slew of metal and concrete. Only a moment later he used his might to move the pile as if it was nothing, opening up the door and allowing me access to the bunker.
Taking a careful step, I made my way into the tunnel which I'd now recognised somewhat.

Lights suddenly beemed ahead of me, almost blindingly bright against the dark backdrop of darkness further in. "Who are you? How did you know the knock?"
"She's with me, you jumpy sack of brahmin crap."
"Boss?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, sorry boss. Wasn't expecting you back so soon."

With that, the focused light turned off and the tunnel lights turned back on.
"Ah, sorry miss, go on ahead."
I trotted up ahead as the buck followed, carefully watching Titan as he made his way down the stairs, still carrying Honeydew.
"Who're these, Titan?"
"Converts. Ain't that right, you two?"
"As long as you keep your promise for a better Coltchester, we'll fight for you, yes."
"See? Converts."

The teal pony lowered his suppressed assault rifle back down and saluted as Titan walked past. There really was a level of respect for Titan around here, it felt a lot like back home.

Now I was back here, I followed the signs I'd noticed on the way out and raced my way back to the medical rooms.
Corridor after corridor, room after room, I searched. It took me a few minutes, but I'd found him.
My angel had been sleeping upon his bed like a good little pegasus.

Pressing my lips to his forehead, I began to whisper in his ear about how wonderful he made me feel when he showed his affections to me.
There was only one buck in the world who had treated me so well, he was that one. Scratching softly behind his ear, I watched him smile as he slept and gently kissed him on the lips, trying not to wake him up sooner then he would otherwise.
Watching him sleep really was soothing to me, the way his chest pressed up and down.

I couldn't resist myself, I magically levitated another bed over and pushed it to his so I could lay by his side once more.
Even though he wasn't awake, simply being by his side and feeling his breath blowing upon my chest and neck was something truly special, something I could lose myself in, something to forget my worries to.

A raspy voice carried from the doorway, the quickly becoming familiar sound lingering in my ears. "Cherry, you're not planning to fall asleep for a good few hours are ya?"
Snorting softly, I waved a hoof dismissively at him. "Of course not, Titan. I just want to lay down with my Crimson for ten minutes, is that fine?"
"Oh, if that's the case, sure. We will be going out soon, remember. Ten or so minutes though is perfectly fine, rest yourself up and all."
A little nod and he walked off elsewhere, peace at last.

Just as I'd began to get comfy, Crimson started to stir.
"hu..."
"Shhh, It's okay Crimson."
"Che...?"
"Yes" I whispered into his ear, kissing the back of his head. "It's me. Go back to sleep, Crims."
Tenderly I wrapped my hoof around him and he placed one of his on mine, locking in a hold that felt all too wonderful.
Nuzzling into the back of his neck, this was something I'd not often gotten a chance to indulge in, and it was all the sweeter for it.

Fifteen minutes more passed before Titan had come back and prompted me to leave Crimson once more. I'd made sure to put Prince Snugglebums down this time, as I didn't want to risk him getting hurt like he almost had before. He pouted, he whined and he squeaked at me to take him with me, he really was being insistent.

"Look, mister. I can't risk you getting hurt."
He scurried around my hooves, bouncing around and hoping to climb up.
"No, sorry but no. As cute and adorable and lovely as you are, no. I don't want you to be hurt is all."
More little squeaks and a pose that made him seem confident later, my heart melted as he gave me the soppiest eyes he had.
"I understand, I really do. You'll be a lot safer with Crimson though, I promise. Please?"
A sad, quiet little squeak came from his mouth once more as he bounced around.
"Please?" Fluttering my eyelashes at him, I tried to be as sweet as I could to try convince him it was better here.
It worked, finally. He pouted once more and leaned up on his two legs, his ears flopping down to his sides.
Gracefully I lifted him with my magic and gave him a small kiss before stroking his ear and whispering. "Thank you."

Next I turned to Crimson and kissed him too, to which he proved he wasn't as asleep as he made out by replying 'ewwww, radbit kisses' at me, causing me to laugh without warning. Silly buck.

Titan walked up to me, out of all his armour and wearing the robes he'd previously taken from Silk Swirls.
"Now you're set with them two, I suggest you stash your fifty and take Crimson's shotgun or something. More kick to it then your SMG in case we get into a fight."
Upon the end of his sentence, I gave him a stern look. "We're not going to get into any fights though, are we."
"I don't know, depends on if we see-"
"That wasn't a question, Titan. Not every time we go out has to have a fight. Though you are right, I will take Crimson's shotgun as a precaution."

Titan eyed me as if he was annoyed, before taking on a semi sarcastic tone of voice.
"As you insist, M'lady. Shall I drive your coach to the royal gala?"
Seeing the smile upon his face, I could tell he was having fun with humour for the first time in quite a while, so I humoured him back. "Oh yes please, chauffeur. Be sure to take the scenic route though, fashionably late and all."
He looked back at me with a grin upon his face before we both burst into laughter. Sometimes the moment was all too strange not to laugh at it all.

With that, I did as recommended and put my rifle and SMG away and took Crimson's shotgun instead, along with its ammo.
A bewildered and exhausted Crimson murmured out to me. "Hey.... hey... hey. My..."
"Your shotgun?"
"Mmmmmm, yeah. My shotgun. Mmmm. Mmmhmmmm."
"It's only for a little while, love. Sleep, you need to rest and heal your body."
Trotting off, I could hear him mumble in his delirious half asleep half awake state. He'd be fine, he just needed some rest.
As I reached the doorway, I heard one last thing from his mouth that made me laugh once again.
"I'm not Meloooonyyy."

Simply shaking my head, I made my way out. He was too adorable, sometimes.
Suddenly I remembered we'd had a letter to deliver to the local courier service and scampered back over, looking through Crimsons bags again to try find it.
Ammo for his pistol... a bit of ammo for his shotgun I'd missed... a second empty syringe of med-x? Never mind that now, I noticed the letter and took it out, sliding it into my own pack.

Looking at Crimson, another quick kiss on the cheek couldn't hurt. "Bye for now, Crimson."
He stirred and smiled towards me, lazily rolling his head. "Mmmmm, bye babe."

"So, Cherry." He began. "Can I ask about Four Ridges?"
"Sure, what do you want to know about it?"
"What is it like there?"
I looked at him in absolute puzzlement, to which he simply nodded back to me and repeated himself.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Can't I be curious? I have faint memories of rumours about it before the war, but never been there."

We turned round the corner and passed by some beggars, though we continued our conversation as they pleaded with us for caps, food and water. We both knew the danger of giving out either, never mind the fact we hadn't copious amounts ourselves.

"It's a peaceful place, mostly. Not because we can't take care of ourselves, but exactly the opposite. Each town in the region has its purpose and-"
His surprise halted him in his tracks. "Region? You mean..."
"Yes, region. Four Ridges isn't a single town, nor city."
"You're kidding me, right? There's no way they could've kept that secret."
"Who are 'they', Titan?"
"Oh... just the authorities back two hundred years ago. I'd heard of 'the project in the ridges' but... is it seriously that large?"
"Yes, yes it is."

Titan stood in wonder, thoughts obviously flickering through his mind as his one natural eye shifted back and forth with a pace that made me wonder if it was going to fall out of his sockets if he didn't slow down.
Then he spoke again as he continued to trot along.

"So it's large enough to have multiple towns... and yet Crimson is expected to lead them all under the one banner?"
"Yeah, he's seeming to do just fine in his training, from what I've seen out here. Perhaps he's a little inexperienced and young just yet, but he's got what it takes I think. I'd gladly follow his lead."
"Oh, I've heard."
Titan's eyebrows raised and a smug smile slithered across his face before I realised what he meant, my face burnt with embarrassment and I couldn't believe he just said that to me.
"I... uh..."
I just hid my face as he laughed, that was the end of that conversation.

Twenty minutes later, after having been mobbed by another ten or so beggars, I remembered the need for Titan to take me to the courier service.
"Titan, my turn to ask a question now."
"Oh, you're willing to talk to me again now, huh?"
"Yeah. We need to find the courier service. Where is it around here?"
"Oh? Why is it that you need to go there?"
"Remember when we first travelled together? We were given a letter to deliver and we've been too busy since arriving here to do that. The second we walked into Coltchester we were being attacked left right and center, now we have some time before we pick up Swirls, right?"
"Yeah, this way then."

The Coltchester Courier Service building was a mess, structurally and literally. The floor tiles were cracked with litter strewn across the entire thing and broken glass sitting by the windows, somehow it seemed even worse then the rest of the buildings around.
"Titan, is this..."
"Normal?"
"Yeah."
He sighed and looked at me before shaking his head and looking back at the carcass of the building.

"No Cherry, it's not normal. Old Pony Joe has never been known to leave his place like this, ever. The reason I've not freaked out myself is because there's no blood... I mean, if someone came in here and straight up robbed him, there'd be blood. Attacker, his own blood, either way there'd be something. No, this doesn't look right, but it doesn't look like he's been attacked either."
"Well, what do you think could have happened?"
"I'm no pinks, I never took criminology. What'dya expect me to say?"

Titan, Titan, Titan. "Look, it doesn't matter if neither of us are crime scene inspectors, we can at least look, right? Shall we?"
Making my way through the door, I noticed nothing but old pre-war books strewn across the place, shelves knocked off their supports and a junked up spritebot sitting on the counter, the disrepair on it beyond anything I could even begin to assess let alone fix.

Titan checked the counter, but even with a thorough search he didn't seem to have been able to find anything.
Smashing his hoof upon the wooden top, he began to shout.
"FUCK. FUCK FUCK FUCK."
"Calm down Titan, what's wrong?"
"His pass is still here."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that something happened to him. He never leaves this place without his multi-pass, it allows him to travel unmolested by the DZC to all but the places with the higher level security."
"Any other clues?"
"Yeah... it's been punched. Which means whoever did it doesn't want anyone getting around with his pass."
"You think they took him with them?"
"Probably."

I looked at him with a sorrow, if Titan was right, that was another pony taken away to have who knew what happen to them.
Worse, this was a pony that seemingly looked after the community, because couriers, along with traders, were what really kept the wasteland alive.
I walked over to where he was and just as I began to look through myself, a crowd erupted outside the building.

Shouting filled the air all so suddenly. "You! You're the ones whom did this!"
A zebra burst into the room with an anger in her eyes. "You coalition soldiers, sickening to the soul! Prepare to feel the wrath of the just!"
"Whoa there!" I shouted. "You too Titan, back down!"
The pair gave each other a steely look before the zebra mare charged into him, only stopped when I grabbed her tail with my magic.
"Look, we're not DZC. We came in here looking to deliver a letter, not to cause any trouble."
"Is that so?"

The zebra mare looked at us suspiciously before I pulled the letter out of my saddlebags and showed her the envelope. Though she stopped straining against my magic, the frown upon her face carried on strong.
"Now, do you know who did this and where we can find 'Old Pony Joe' or anyone who can help?"
"This I do not know, though who is it you seek? I know many people, and may know who you are after."

Looking at her cautiously, I gauged how useful she might be. For all we knew, she was the one who did this and it could've been a trap. On the other hoof, I doubted that the DZC would go after just anypony who walked into the Courier Service Centre.
Taking a gamble, I asked her name. If she was going to help us at all, a name would be lovely to know.

"My name, pony?"
"Yes, please. What is your name?"
"Zimena."
Looking down at the envelope, I found myself shocked. The name on the envelope had been her own.
"Are you expecting any deliveries, Zimena?"
"Why? Is your letter from Coltshire?"
Nodding, I handed the letter over to her. Deftly she used her hooves to hold the letter as she stood and ripped it open with her teeth.

Sighing, I didn't know what to do now. We'd delivered the letter but under the circumstances, received no payment.
Even if this place hadn't been nothing but a cluttering of scrap metal and paper, taking anything of value to compensate the charge would've felt too wrong to do without the owner to offer the option to do so.
Just as we began searching for further clues, Zimena spoke again.

"You..."
I looked back at her, a pair of firm but less cold eyes stared me down.
"You wish to know what happened here, do you not?"
"Yes, we do."
"Donkey heavy troopers came, accusing the owner of conspiring against the DZC. Not a simple courier but instead an assassin of the night. He tried to convince them otherwise, they would not listen. His head for the noose, waiting only for the executioner to make the scene complete."

My blood froze. "They're after 'The Executioner'?"
"Yes, of course. Do you not hear the whispers of he whom strike down the devils of the legion?"
Titan interrupted at this point. "Legion? We're fighting the coalition here, not the legion."
"You too fight the coalition? Never mind for now. When I speak of legion, I mean the zebras whose allegiance lies with the coalition and not the ZUC."

Now my head was beginning to feel like a bit mosh put of abbreviations, this was unfair.
"Wait, so... who is the ZUC?"
"We are the Zebras for a Unified Coltchester. Now I shall ask, who are you?"
Titan spoke before I could, taking the proverbial stage.
"We are from the PLAC, Peoples Liberation Army of Coltchester."
"I see. Another group who seeks power over the carcass of this dead city."

"No, not dead. Damaged and corrupt, but not dead. True that we seek power, but only to help the people living in the city. Stop the corruption, stop the pain. Bring back Celestia's glory."
"The very same glory that brought Equestria and Zebrica to destruction in the first place?"
"No, the glory of peace and prosperity. We will do it, given the chance."
"We do not trust any other then ourselves, walk carefully if you do not wish war."

Again I sighed. "Look, I appreciate you don't trust anyone, but does this HAVE to mean more violence? Can't we just work together?"
"Distrust of strangers is best learnt young, cloaked mare. We do not fear violence to protect ourselves from any injustice that seeks to do us harm. We do not seek further violence, but if it is what must be done, we shall continue to fight in opposition of any we do not feel worthy."
"Well the PLAC doesn't seek to do anyone harm other than the current governing body."
"So you say, but words are fleeting. Such is our meeting, for now I am leaving. Know this though, Old Pony Joe is within reach of a throw, but the exact building I do not know."

With that the elusive zebra mare turned around and skirted her way past the mess and out of the door, breaking line of sight by sneaking past market stands and ponies. If there was one thing to say, it was that zebras seemed very natural to the art of stealth.

Motioning to the door, I began to suggest to Titan that we make our move ourselves.
"So, you want to go out there and ask around about Old Pony Joe? Doesn't look like there's any other clues in here, maybe somepony around knows something more?"
With a sorrowful, slow nod, Titan agreed.
"Yeah, perhaps somepony does know something. Fuck, why is it always the good ones that get taken?"
"It's because it's the good ones that don't lay down and pretend that there's nothing wrong, the good ones stand up for what's right and that pisses off the bad ones."

Titan didn't reply, he didn't need to. Instead, he just walked out the door and we began walking around to look for ponies to ask about the incident.

A sandy coloured colt lay on the side of the road, his strikingly deep purple mane absolutely filthy and unkempt. I looked at him as he slept under his patchwork blanket, his only possession that he had on or even near him.
No ponies around him seemed to care about him, nopony looking after him or showing signs of parenthood.
At a first glance I'd wondered if he was dead or dying, but his breathing was stable and he showed no obvious signs of injury, just tiredness.
This was no life for a child, no life for anypony.

I turned to Titan, there had to be something he could do.
"Titan, please. Please tell me there's somewhere you can take him, somewhere he can go that you know of."
"I'm sorry, Cherry."
"What do you mean you're sorry?"
Titan sighed as I frowned at him and scrunched up my brow, but his body language didn't change from the pained expression it held.
"There's nowhere I know of that he can go, Coltchester doesn't exactly run any daycare centres unless you're a part of the coalition. We can't take him in as a resistance fighter because he's too young, and without being able to earn his keep he'd simply be a drain on resources. Besides that, his life would be at risk if our base were ever to be found by the DZC."
"You're telling me you can't support one child?"
"It's not him, it's all the others that would no doubt follow."

Titan sighed and took a moment before he continued.
"The problem is that if we take him in, others will come looking to us for a handout. We do what we can for who we can, but we try to prioritise our resources to whom can make the most difference, to whom will support our cause the most."
"So you only give it out to your friends, yet you expect to run a city?"
"With the limited resources we have, we do our best. It's no benefit to us otherwise."

Stamping on the ground, I wasn't going to stand for this.
"No, Titan! You're wrong. You want to know where you'd best benefit? The youth. You give the youth a future, hope, a chance... you give them the things they need to survive, and they'll support your cause with lifelong dedication as long as you stay true. It's fine winning over the ponies of today, but what about the ones of tomorrow?"
"I... I don't know Cherry. I honestly don't-"
"Well I do. I say we wake the child up now and speak to him, see if he wants to join us. If push comes to shove, he can scavenge food from DZC marketstands and obtain information as a spy none would expect. Just leaving him here though? That's atrocious, I wont stand for it."

Titan tried to talk further, but his words just came out as babble as I walked over to the colt anyway.
Gently lowering myself down to my knees and brushing his mane, I woke him up slowly.
His eyes slowly opened up before shutting again, still in a daze. Once more they opened and this time he saw me, only to clench his beautiful green eyes shut in fear.

"Hey, hey there little buck. I'm sorry."
His little squeak came out, shaking as he lay on the cold hard floor.
"Shhh, I'm not here to hurt you. I wanted to find out what you're doing on the floor."
Again his eyes opened up, fear obviously still running high but at least he was looking at me now.
"Y... you... you mean that?"
Giving him my best caring smile, I nodded slowly.
"Of course, I saw you laying here by yourself and I couldn't bear to look at you like this. Are you okay here? Are your parents away or something?"
He began to cry.

For fifteen minutes I held him, cradled up against my chest. He sobbed hard and long, unrelenting in his wailing.
I tried to soothe him, it served no purpose.
"Shh, I'm here for you. Come on, let it all out and then let me know what's wrong, hmm?"
Titan stood over us, cautiously watching in the different directions as if he was expecting some trouble.

Again the little colt began to sputter out words in an attempt to speak. "M...m... my..."
"Shhh. It's okay, take as long as you need."
Watching the little colt cry tore at my heart, he hadn't even been old enough for his cutie mark yet he'd obviously been through some terrible experience that ripped his childhood bliss from him. Not even living in Coltchester should have left a child like this.
"My... parents..."
"Your parents? Oh..." It dawned on me that I'd just trigged this all, by coming over to him and asking about why he was sleeping alone. I'd caused this breakdown, I was responsible for resurfacing his pain. They'd probably been taken somewhere... had to leave him and never come back or...

He cried more before I tenderly wiped his tears away and he continued on.
"My parents... are dead."
Or the absolute worst possible thing for a child to have happen, had happened. It was all too much now, I couldn't hold myself together as I tried to hold back the tears as I shared his pain.

Wiping away my own tears to try regain composure, I began to speak. "Oh by Celestia, I'm so sorry. I..."
"They were.... they.... coalition... donkeys..." His whines as he gasped for air between his tears ripped into my soul and tore it apart. "Took them... not enough caps... killed them... in front of me "

Memories of my own parents flooded to the front of my mind, the moment of their deaths filled me a refreshed sense of pain and anguish, almost as if I was there all over again. Looking down at the child, I felt as if we were one in the same at this moment, I could understand the pain and fear he was going through.
Over and over I saw the memories of my parents bodies hitting the floor, their last words and their moans of agony.
We both knew all too well of that trauma.

Titan didn't manage to cry, though a throaty rasp did come from him and suddenly a large thud was heard as his hooves smashed into a chunk of concrete.
"You know, kid?" He began. "I can't let a story like that go, I can't. So I'm going to give you the choice to come with us. I'm the military leader of the revolution, the PLAC. If you want somewhere to stay, off the streets and out of the cold, you can come with us. If you want to see them donkeys pay for the crime... then I suggest you do, because we're the best chance of getting revenge."
"Titan!" I snapped at him. "Revenge is not what this should be about. The colt needs to see that though his family was taken from him, he can grow to be the stronger, better person. You hear that, you can be the big pony that others look up to when you're older, if you work for it. Though he's right in a sense... something like this..."

Instinctively I gulped, the thought made my blood chill but a part of me knew it was right. I thought back to what Crimson had told me, back to what had happened earlier in the day.
"If you want it... if you never want it to happen to anypony else from the same donkeys. We can see that they come to justice. We can make sure that they don't get away with it."

The colt looked up at me, sparkling eyes as the tears still collected and reflected the meek light as it pierced through the clouds above.
"You... you mean it? I can come... with you?"
Nodding, I looked down at him. "I promise. We'll take good care of you and look after you, make sure you have somepony to talk to about what's happened and do what we can for you."
Instead of saying anything back, he just nuzzled his little face further into my chest. Leaning down, I placed a soft kiss upon his head and continued to stroke his mane before mouthing the words 'See what I mean?' to Titan.
He just gave a solemn nod in return.

With the child laid out across my back, we decided against going out and asking the ponies and zebras around us about Pony Joe. We didn't have the emotional energy left to do it after having picked up the colt who'd still been too nervous to tell us his name, despite agreeing to come with us.

We both knew that time was of the essence for Pony Joe, but neither of us could bear to hear more bad news if it came right now. Walking around the market place, I'd began to notice a lot more zebras walking about then I had before, only previously seeing them as a small minority.
Instead of being a minority, they became in equal numbers around this part of the town.
Some approached Titan in recognition and smiled at him, speaking the special words to mark the sign of a follower, others simply ignored us as if we didn't even exist.

"Titan," I began. "how much time do we have left before we pick up Silk Swirls?"
He paused for a moment then carried on walking. "About ten minutes, why is that?"
"Just wanted to know, not long then."
"Nope."
With that, we began to make our way over to the meeting point, no doubt it'd take us those ten minutes to reach there.

A gruff voice ahead of the crowd spoke in a commanding voice, the crowd shuffled forwards slightly. "You can move through now, you're clean."
Looking up ahead, I saw two donkeys whom were both wearing heavy armour with battle rifles equipped with battle saddles.
"Next! Come on, keep moving." the other shouted.
"What's all this about?" I asked the mare ahead of us.
"There's reports of PLAC and Anarchist attack on soldiers, so they're combing us all for weapons, bastards. As if we don't need our weapons for self defence from the crazies!"
"I heard they were only after certain weapon types." A buck next to her replied.
"Yeah? Well whose to say it's not what we have?"
"Nothing. Just gotta hope we're safe from their search."

Looking into the eyes of the buck ahead, I saw the fear he held.
Peeking over to Titan, I wondered what the hell to do. Right now we couldn't go get ourselves into a fight, we had the young colt to keep safe and neither of us had the energy for yet another fight so soon anyway.
I just wanted to get back to Crimson and clean the colt, Titan showed signs of weariness too.

Leaning my head over, I began to whisper into Titans ear.
"What do you think we should do? I can tell neither of us wants to get into a fight right now, got any plans?"
"When you ask me for plans on long term goals, I'd say no. Right now? Yeah, yeah I do."
"That's good, none of them involve getting into trouble do they?"
"Of course not. We just tell them we've been out in the wasteland... ain't far from the truth now, is it?"

A little smile broke on my face, though my eyes still stung from the shed tears.
At least some things were going well for us, despite the majority of things going haywire today.

"Next up! Any ponies, zebras or donkeys who refuse the search will be punished!"
The line moved forward again, the next batch of ponies were allowed through to trade freely in the market without harassment. I had to hand it to the coalition, they weren't complete assholes all of the time, though it was already showing the rough regime they held.

As the donkeys searched a mare, one of the bucks in their group pushed a donkey back with violent force as he smacked him round the face. Instead of retaliation, the donkey stood coolly as he spat blood from his mouth to the floor.
"Thunder! Zuox! Take this one to the side, I want to speak to him in private."
A heavily armoured donkey and a zebra counterpart rushed up to the buck and dragged him away into the alley while they continued to search the group.

They were allowed to go, including the mare who the buck had begun the incident over.
Despite this, she seemed to hang back for a moment at the side of the road. I wondered what she was thinking, what she was feeling. Princesses know how I'd handle that situation if it were Crimson.

It was now clear to me that the pony who had been hit was the commanding officer, his armour a slightly darker colour with what seemed to be more dents and repairs made to it then the rest.
I watched on as he walked into the alleyway where his two subordinates had taken the buck and the sounds of a beating ensued.
Kick after kick, the buck cried out in pain and groaned in absolute agony as the beating went on, a horrible sound to hear.
Titan showed absolute disgust, but there was nothing we could do.

Outnumbered, only one gun, Titan wasn't wearing his armour, I was carrying a colt upon my back... we had no choice. If I had my team here, Titan his scouts, things could've been different.
They weren't though, we did nothing to stop the beating.
Guilt consumed me even after it had stopped, the commander walking back out and the other two throwing the buck at the mare whom waited for him.

Watching as they walked off, one of the unicorns who was searching ponies as they went through the checkpoint raised their assault rifle, I heard him asking for permission to shoot, though the commander shook his head.
"Wildhooves, don't you dare. We made our point to him, no need to kill him. If you fire even a single shot, I'll have you cleaning every set of armour with your tongue for the next two weeks, got it?"
The pale unicorn nodded and backed down, lowering his weapon.

Another group went in, it looked like we'd be next.
Over the shoulders of the ponies, zebras and donkeys ahead, I saw that the buck was still around despite somehow being able to walk with a little help, the look upon his face told me he was going to do something drastic. That was the last thing we all needed right now.
Kinking my head over my shoulder, I spoke to the colt on my back.

"If something goes wrong, you slip past the guards and make it over to the market stand with the red roof, okay"
"Wh... why? What's wrong?"
"I don't like the look of what's up ahead, my gut tells me something bad is about to go down and my gut instinct doesn't normally do me wrong, Please, just trust me."
"Okay."
"As well as that, what's your name? I want to be able to find you easily."
"Sandstorm,"
"Sandstorm huh? Awesome name, Just remember, red roof, okay?"
"Got it. Please don't leave me, please don't be like everyone else"
With my magic I brushed his mane as I gently cooed him. "Of course not."

The group being checked got the all clear, and the donkey called for the next few ponies. To my bemusement, somepony pushed ahead of us meaning we had to wait even longer. This really wasn't something I was in the mood for, but getting angry about it would do no good and we'd already seen where violence led.
The buck ahead of us became even more nervous, fiddling his hooves together and constantly looking down at his saddlebags as he muttered something along the lines of 'oh princesses no'.
What the hell was his problem?

From behind the guards, three ponies came and helped the mare and her buck friend, one picking him up and carrying him along his broad shoulders. Though he wasn't quite as large as Titan, he still held a similar stature, that of a true working pony rather then a malnourished slave or simple trader.
Upon seeing the group, the buck ahead of us steeled himself and nodded, I noticed the others nodding back.
He was going to do something stupid, I could tell.

As the last pony was searched, the brown buck ahead stopped being so skittish and now held a confidence in himself as he lowered his head into his bag and pulled out a canister.
My eyes widened as he deftly caught the pull on a hook as he pulled it out and green smoke began pouring out.
At the same time, another canister came rolling from the direction of the other three from behind the guards, going straight into the middle of the group.

Instinctively I pushed Storm off my back and prodded him to run forwards, as he did so I pulled out Justice and Crimson's shotgun and levitated them in my magic.
The buck ahead of me had already made his way forwards, pushing through the soldiers knocking one down before everything became too misty to see.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" One cried out.
The commander responded in a panicked voice, betraying his previously calm look. "I HAVE NO CLUE, FUCK. GET READY TO FIRE!"
Another cried out. "THERE'S A CHILD JUST RAN PAST ME, PROBABLY THE CULPRIT!"
No! No he wasn't! They... they couldn't seriously think a child did this, could they?
"I DON'T CARE WHO DID IT, AIM AT THE CROWD."
Why did I always have to be right?

I pushed ahead of the ponies ahead of me as everypony began to scream in terror. The moment of confusion had passed and now instead of standing still, petrified of what had just happened, everyone ran in every direction.
One of the soldiers spoke up again. "Permission to fire this time, sir?"
I couldn't let him get that permission.
Rushing into the group, I bashed into the first pony I found. I'd seen where the commander was just a second before and hoped I'd managed to hit him down to the floor.

My knife went straight down to his throat, softly pressing against the exposed skin between his helmet and his chest piece, the sounds of his grunting confirming I'd hit my target.
He began to choke as he tried to speak through the sudden pressure of a pony atop of him. "Permission... to...f-"
"Don't you dare say another word, or I'll cut your throat open."

"Sir!" Shouted a different pony this time. "Confirm orders please!"
Growling at the commander, I made sure that the shotgun aimed at the voices that I could hear but not see the ponies who they originated from.
"Tell them to stand down now and I promise I'll let you live. This is not a time for justice, this is a time for mercy. You've proven yourself merciful enough, I'll return the favour. Retract your order."

Gasping for breath, the commander did so. "Stand... down. Stand... down!"
Releasing the pressure from his throat, I whispered a thank you into his ear before climbing off.
As I did so, I met Titan's face little more than an inch from my own,
"Lets go."

Swiftly making our way through the haze, we found the other side and I spotted Storm cowering by the red roofed market stand like I'd told him to. Handing it to the colt, he followed orders pretty well when it meant he'd carry on living.
Rushing over to him, I picked him up and put him onto my back before galloping as fast as I could without outrunning Titan.
We heard no gunshots, but didn't want to risk anything.
Looking back as the air began to clear again, I smiled as the commander picked himself back up and gently rubbed his neck before looking in my direction.
In an act of respect, I quickly showed him the knife that had pressed against him and nodded. Surprisingly, he responded in kind.
A warriors promise on such matters was the entirety of their honour, both of us understood and respected that.

"So why did you choose to spare him?"
"Titan, you know how I feel about all this."
"Well then, what about showing off the knife back there? What about that?"
"You should know as well as anyone else, Titan. I made a promise to him as a warrior, as a soldier, as a mercenary."
"Warriors and soldiers, I understand. Mercenaries though? There's no honour in that, if that's what you mean."
"There's no honour in mercenaries who have no respect, Titan. For us mercenaries who aren't just about the money or job, for those of us who do it to make something better of the world around us... we have just as much honour as any soldier."
"Hm, when you put it that way, I suppose you could. Still, why show off who you are?"
"To show him that not everyone is a complete asshole... to show him that I respect him for showing some level of mercy, restraint and discipline."

Titan just shook his head and sighed, he didn't understand. Living so long, seeing all the things he'd seen over two centuries, part of me couldn't blame him if the optimistic side of his world had dwindled out to the dying embers of nothingness, but they hadn't in mine. That was the difference between us, I still saw the potential for good even in those who acted poorly.

He hadn't said a word after that, not out of anger nor frustration, but there was simply nothing to be said.
We looked around searching for Silk Swirls, and after a little searching, we'd finally found her.
It was a lot harder to recognise her now that she was wearing a cloak like ourselves, but upon seeing her wares she ran straight to us and spluttered out code as fast as she could.

"Perfer et obdura?"
"Dolor hic tibi proderit olim. Good job on remembering it, Swirls."
She blushed and bowed to us. "I've been trying my best. I can't thank you enough for saving me, so it's the least I could do."
"Yeah, well thank you for supporting us. Every supporter we receive is another step closer to the day we can achieve our goal."
We exchanged further pleasantries and made sure she was absolutely ready before making our way back.

As we were walking along, Silk Swirls began gossip. "Have you heard about the Anarchist attack just moments ago?"
Smiling at her, I responded in a soft voice. "We were there. Wait, how did you hear of it this fast?"
"Really? Oh! Well, truth is... I'm somewhat linked to the Anarchists, it's why I was so surprised to see you reveal yourselves as the organised rebellion aka the PLAC. I thought you were there to get back at someone or something, what with how the Anarchists work so recklessly."

Titan came into the conversation now, valiantly defending his honour and the honour of his movement. "Of course we weren't, we're here to help, not hurt. We want a better Coltchester, whatever the price, bar hurting those we've set out to change things for."
"So you would lay down your life if needed?" She asked.
"Valiantly, I would hope. It's been a long time for me, and though I hope to see an end to this, I wouldn't hesitate to put myself in the line of fire to protect another should the moment ever come. I do this for the people, not for myself."
"The people? Not just the ponies then?"
"No, everyone."

Approaching the hidden doorway, Titan made haste and opened the path for Silk Swirls and myself.
Thanking him for the gesture, he smiled back at me.
"Anything to help."
I smiled back. "Yeah, I just wish we could've done more to help Old Pony Joe."
"Yeah. Hopefully one of our scouts has news."
"Are they due back already then?"
"Whenever they're ready, actually."

Making our way down the steps, the guard gestured Titan over.
"Boss, we have news."
We all trotted over to see what was going on, he just looked grim as Titan made his way over.
"News?"
"You'll want to hear it for yourself, Lightstep is in the debriefing room."
"Something bad?"
"Very bad."

Footnote:
Cherry Sundae level up!
Perk unlocked! Dual weapons handling!
Being the unicorn that you are and having gone through the rigorous training that you have, you are capable of competently handling two weapons simultaneously! You receive a 5% accuracy deduction when you do so and can only dual wield two small to medium weapons!

25 Melee weapons 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/ !

As always I really do hope you've enjoyed this chapter, please feel free to let me know of any problems!
Nothing in particular to shout out this time, though a big thank you to you all for all the support you give.
Please feel welcome to leave me feedback - be it good, bad or just a note to say hi, as it's all that sort've stuff that makes this easier to keep on going with.
The love and joy this story gives me personally is my main reason for writing, and the storyline that you have yet to see unfold is also a massive part for me.
But as I say, what makes it really great is when I get a new comment that lets me know that someone is actually reading this for real, rather then just being a statistic.

No matter what, thank you.

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 both.