Yawning with great tiredness before I'd even opened my eyes, I began to stretch my forelegs out stiffly as I woke up. Tiredness still overwhelmed me but opening my eyes and looking at the faces staring down at me, I knew it was time to wake up.
Pausing in a moments hesitation as my brain rushed to figure out what was happening, I looked at the smiling faces and began to recognise them as Selene, Helios, Tsunami and Shockwave. How I could remember their code names so easily I wasn't quite sure, but I was certain that was their names, anyway.

"Ooooh, aren't they so cute together?" Tsunami quietly cooed.

"Man, I know Crimson has marekiller status, but this is crazy." Shockwave said in return.

"We... did not expect this." Came from Helios' mouth as she smirked.

I just continued laying upon the sofa, my hooves now returning to the natural position of wrapping around Eos as she laid upon my chest. Looking at them in utter confusion, I let out my one and only sentiment on the matter. "What?"

"So, Crimson." Shockwave grinned more and more as he spoke now, trying to look as if he wasn't. "How was she?"

"That is our sister!" Selene pouted after her outburst at the light blue buck before turning her head back to me. "Though yes, he has a point. How was the performance?" Though now she was now snickering along with the others.

Groaning, I felt myself begin to blush. "Euuugh, what are you even on about?" I knew exactly what they were thinking had happened, but nothing did! I made sure of that.

"Oh come now Crimson. We all know that's a satisfied look she has, why would she have that look otherwise?" Tsunami blurted out with a confident smirk. "Hell, I've heard the stories about you and mares. You don't exactly leave them without having had a ride, do you? Can't say she hasn't got that look."

Looking down at the deep blue alicorn in my hooves, I noticed that her own were covering her marehood. Oh damn, now that was a hard one to explain, though I had to try. "Let me explain!" I called out instinctively. "Nothing happened, I swear it."

Tsunami chuckled. "Sure, sure. Of course nothing happened."

"I mean it! I swear! I wouldn't!" Damn it, I really needed to wake up! I couldn't find the right words while I was half asleep still. Damn it, the situation was awkward and it was looking less likely that I would be able to talk my way out of it with each passing second.

"Crimson, ain't no shame in laying an alicorn!" Shockwave retorted before giving eyes to the other two, both of whom blushed upon realising.

"No, I mean it. I'm with Cherry Sundae and I love her. Sandstorm is here! I made sure he was so Eos couldn't try it on with me."

Upon that first sentence, Tsunami's eyes went wide. "You... you're joking, right?" I shook my head in response. "So, when she told... wow, she wasn't joking? You're actually an item?"

"Yes, we are. Me and Eos? She's sweet, she's lovely, but she's not the mare I love and while I would go for it if it wasn't for Cherry, I'm taken now. I don't want to hurt Cherry, especially since she's told me what happened with her last lover and I don't want to do the same. Eos needs the emotional support, she needs the way I make her feel normal, that's all. There really isn't anything like what you think going on here."

"Well, just be sure that you keep an eye on what you're doing and watch where your hoof goes. If you mean what you say, which I don't doubt you do, you'll end up with more trouble than you'll realise."
I just nodded in response that, there was nothing to really say.

After a minute or two everypony had left and time passed with me stroking Eos' mane as I thought about it all, what did they mean by there'd be more trouble than I'd realise?
Sure, things had happened and Eos had tried to hit on me, but she was drunk and emotional. She needed somepony to be there for her, just like Sandstorm or Cherry did and all I was doing was giving her that, making her feel like she was normal.

Slowly her eyes began to flutter open, barely showing those bright blue pupils that looked back at me with such innocence and joy. Softly I spoke to her, causing her sleepy smile to grow that little bit larger.
"Hey there, Eos. Feeling better now?"

My question caused her to look at me in confusion for a moment, but slowly she nodded as she gingerly rose a hoof to press against her forehead.
"We... I... do feel somewhat better. What happened last night?"

Letting out a small chuckle that I'd tried to hold back, I informed her of the antics. "Well, we got drunk together and spent the night out here on the sofa, just staring into the darkness of this cave. Then when you woke up for the first time, you tried hitting on me."

Within an instant the blushing upon her cheeks was immense, her face quickly pulling back as she shied away into my coat. Letting out a small squeak, she spoke an apology. "I... I'm so sorry Crimson."

Shaking my head, there was nothing to be said. I just smiled down at her, continuing to brush her mane. "It's fine, really. Besides, Sandstorm appreciated being with us both, so in effect, you just ensured that he got a better nights sleep."
Pausing as I looked down at the little colt laying across Eos' chest, still sleeping. "Well, I ought to get off the sofa and over to the shower now, anyway. Be a good pony and get some more rest or something, okay?"

Eos gave me a look of shock upon my request, as if I had just given her an order and such an idea was unbelievable, though her scrunched up face didn't really mean a lot to me. To make her happy all the same though I gave her forehead a quick kiss before moving over to Sandstorm and doing the same. Hopefully the both of them would find comfort in each others hooves while I was gone.

Trotting along the hallways, I made sure to call out to my crew as I passed their designated quarters. "Alpha! Bravo! Echo! Wakey wakey time! I'm hitting up the shower, I expect all of you to be prepared and ready for mission briefing by the time I'm out!"
One buck groaned as I knocked on his door but the majority of them had already been awake and most of the way ready, much unlike myself.

"Crimson!" A rugged voice called out, that of Titan. "Crimson, wait up one second."
Turning around I gave him a small nod as he nodded back, out of his armour. Seeing his bare face still gave me a small chill down my spine, though after meeting that other ghoul whom had saved my life, I could tell I didn't feel as uneasy as I had before.
"Crimson, you're heading out already? You sure about this?"

"Yeah," I said in quick reply, looking to the side as I spoke further. "Cherry ain't going to free herself, I need to find out how the best way to do it is. Besides, I've already made the radio message for Neon, remember? The sooner I find out the information on how to get her out of captivity, the sooner I have her back in my hooves and thus I'll be able to rest happy again."

Titan let out a small nicker and scuffed the ground, looking down as he spoke. "Well, as much as I want to be able to help you Crimson, I'm still not feeling fully rested. You saw what condition I was in, how close I was to being dusted. I know I wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for you, but I don't feel fit for this one. You going to be capable of handling things by yourself out there?"

Looking at him with a small smile, I placed my hoof on his shoulder in a reassuring touch. "It's fine, really. I've got my bodyguards now, these ponies and zebra know what they're doing in a fight. Hell, they're the best of the best from Four Ridges, I have faith in them and know I'll be fine. Don't worry about it old timer, I'll be fine."

With a nod, he looked confident once more. "Yeah well, just be sure you are, okay? Dawnstar said there was some reports of some banditry going on out in Slumside. Be careful around there, okay? The market should be fine, though he said there was also more patrols since the battle. Mind you, reports have it that they're smaller in size now, just more of them. Don't get yourself in a mess with the gangs though, the last thing I need is to be sending out another rescue force so soon."

Rescue force? I laughed. "Last rescue force was to save you, not me. I can handle myself."

"Like all the other times, right?" He remarked back with a grin.

"No, now things are different. And if you don't mind me, I'm hitting up the showers."

As I began trotting off towards the bathroom, Titan called out to me one last time. "Crimson ...Good luck out there."
I smiled and nodded, appreciating the gesture. Heading up the metal lined hallways reminded me of home in an odd way. It shouldn't have been odd, really. The architecture between Stables and underground military bases seemed to be of the same basic origin and methods used and that would have made sense, though there was still something weird about it.
The doors were the biggest difference between back home and here.
Back home the doors were all pressure based systems that slid up and down. Here they swung open and closed, which I guessed to be to decrease resource use.

Still, the sound of my hooves clipping along the floor made me long just to be with Cherry, my mother and Cherished Chance. It made my desire to go back to the easy, if mundane, life I had before.
Losing myself in a world of thought reminiscing about life back home as I entered the shower, the warm water reminded me of exactly why I was here in the first place.
The water talisman.

Steam slowly began to fill the air as hot water poured down onto me and I began to worry about what was happening back home. The water talisman was still under threat back there and yet here I was, fighting for a cause I had barely taken any time to learn about before joining because of the promise of knowledge of where to find another talisman if I did. It was a strange feeling indeed, knowing that the lives of thousands of ponies at home relied on me and even more here relied partially on me and my ability to help them just enough to get what I needed.

I hadn't even heard the door open or the pony walk in when my thought was suddenly broken by a large blue mare standing next to me as I showered, causing me quite the disturbance.

"Eos! What in the name of Celestia are you doing here? I'm trying to shower."

She shrugged before rolling her eyes and turned on the shower next to me, reminding me that this was a communal shower after all. Damn I had been far too used to the privacy I had received back home and fuck my thoughts wouldn't let up about back home.
Before I could lose myself in thought once again, she began to gently scrub at my coat with some of her own bodywash, causing me to look at her in confusion and notice quite the happy smile spread from cheek to cheek.

I didn't know what to do as the alicorn smoothly coated me in her blueberry scented bodywash, though I suspected she got quite the motherly thrill out of it as she focused on getting me clean. I couldn't complain though, all I was doing was ending up losing myself in thought constantly and hardly getting any cleaner anyway.

Sighing in content, I went with the flow and let her do as she had wanted.

"Wings, mister."

Looking at Eos in confusion, I smiled. "Uh, usually I'm called mister Wings."

"No," She said with a grin in a happy tone. "your wings, present them."

Wait, what the hell did she want with my wings? Before I could question her on the topic though, her muzzle was already pulling at the tip of the wing closest to her, bringing it out into extension before carefully preening it for me.

Slowly my eyes rolled up to the back of my skull as I felt the pleasure of having a proper grooming by somepony else. I hadn't had such an experienced groom since the times of having my dad around, it felt simply amazing.
Bit by bit her mouth passed through my feathers, gently tugging at them to find the loose ones and remove them as her hooves gently massaged the bones of my appendage, causing me to lightly moan from how relaxing it was.

Time passed with me simply allowing the graceful alicorn to tend to my needs, her lips slowly making their way across the first wing before the tingling sensation of magic lifted me from where I stood and rotating me on the spot, allowing her access to the other wing.
Looking at her with a grin, I finally spoke again. "You could've asked me to simply turn around, ya know?"

With a mouthful of my wing her eyes looked up to me and she let out of a muffled giggle before pulling back. "Oh, I know. I'd just like to take care of you and leave you with no effort required."

Well, that wasn't something I could really argue against, if that was what she wanted.
Swiftly she lowered her head and went back to preening me, making quick work of the small knots in my muscles and clumps of feathers as she did.
There was something simply amazing about the way she worked my wings, flexing them in her hooves as she massaged through down to the bone and even between the pair, causing me even more pleasure.
As she continued all my worried thoughts washed away down the drain along with the last of the body wash, making me feel much better than I had done in the last few days for sure.

Grinning as I turned my head to the graceful pony, I took a moment to admire her. A part of me really wished I could just take her back home once I was done, keeping somepony like her around would make things just that little bit nicer.
Letting out a content sigh, I washed the last of my coat clean and began to walk out from the shower spot, a much happier pony indeed.

"Where do you think you're going, mister?" Her voice called out to me, a tone almost like my mothers when I'd forgotten something.

"Oh, sorry. I'm not used to preening anyone else." I blushed and lowered my head slightly in embarrassment of being so rude. I wasn't accustomed to this!

She raised an eyebrow at me and placed a hoof under my chin to gently pull my eyes up to hers. For a moment all that filled my mind was how beautiful she looked with her wet mane hanging over her eye like that. "Oh, I don't need preening. My sisters do that for me and I do it for them. No, you've forgotten something else."

"What's that?" I asked in confusion, I had just washed my coat and such, right?

Without a word she levitated another bottle over to me and began squirting it into my mane. Immediately my face dropped upon realising what she was doing.
Falling down onto my haunches I sat there as she tenderly massaged the centuries old shampoo into my mane, a wicked smile upon her face as she got it right down the roots. By the end of it, it would definitely take rolling in the dirt to get my mane to be as slick as it had been before. Alas, with having just received such a generous gesture I couldn't really do that and would have to put up with how puffy it would no doubt be at the end.

With a chuckle and gleaming joy in her voice, Eos spoke to me. "What's that scrunched up pout for, Crimson?"

"My mane goes poofy if not done just right after being washed. Seriously, only my mother seems to be capable of getting it done. It's why I avoid doing it too often."

With another giggle, she agreed. "I can tell, it's why I wouldn't let you leave. Your mane has been getting dirtier and dirtier and you've not washed it once since I first came across you. Don't worry, you'll be even more handsome than ever in a minute."

"Even more so? What you trying to do to me, Eos? I'm already as good as it gets." I retorted, a large grin across my lips. "Besides, like I say, my mane goes weird when I wash it so that's why I hadn't. Brushing it does the job plenty. Then there's the-"
Water began to stream down my face before I was able to finish the sentence, instantly causing me to close my eyes and mouth lest I want to get the suds into my either. The way Eos' hooves gently worked their way through my mane was so tender and almost motherly, her happy humming only furthering the fact she was enjoying every second of this as she cleaned me thoroughly.

With a small note of sudden curiosity, Eos playfully began to speak as she worked away. "Crimson, I have to ask. How does a pegasus such as yourself manage to get different coloured wings to their coat? I've never seen nor heard of it happening before but looking at you so closely, it isn't dyed at all, that's obvious. Actually played a part of what made me take notice of you."

I let out a small chuckle at that. My wings always got me attention, always. "To be honest with you, I really don't know. Stable doctors always said it was some weird mutation of my DNA, though that it's not the first time something like that had ever happened. We had pictures of one naval admiral with a spot over one of his eyes and on his back, so we assume it was whatever caused it in him too."

Eos let out a small content 'ahh' before getting back to her new pass-time of washing my mane. It was damned relaxing, that was for sure.

As the water conceded, I felt a kiss press between my lips and the tip of my nose and opened my eyes to see the smiling mare as she gazed upon me, her lips parting only to speak. "There we are, much better. Just as I said, you look so much more handsome!" She gave a moments pause before softly cooing to herself. "Just as you should be."
Instead of having any reply this time, I just blushed.

Pulling me into an embrace she began to stroke my mane, looking down at me before releasing me again. "Okay, you can go off now, you're all set. Remember to stay safe and come back, okay? I don't want to have cleaned you up only so some brute can go and put my work to waste."

Happily I began to trot off around the corner and out of the shower room. As I pressed my hoof to open up the door I noticed a mirror to my right and began assessing the job Eos had done. Damn, she did a good job and she wasn't wrong about it making me look better.
Everything about me did indeed look nicer, my wings more slick and even my mane had somehow been done right! That surprised me most of all, I had to find out how she managed to do it with such ease.

Turning my head back around to thank her, I spotted a sight that I really hadn't thought meant for me. There Eos sat, her wings spread out with her back to the wall and one of her hooves preoccupied. A large, open mouthed smile spread across her lips as she quietly sighted to herself, her eyes closed in pleasure by the looks of things.
Well, one thing was for sure... she was a normal pony in that respect.
And speaking of respect, it was time to give her some. Quietly I made my way out of the shower area, making as little noise as I possibly could as I did so.

On my way out, I noticed a sign hanging from the door. "Occupied, do not disturb."
Staring at the sign for a moment, somepony walked over to me as I continued to stare blankly at the sign.
It wasn't until the muzzle of that pony was pressed against me that I was broken from my trance and I looked at Selene, smiling down at me. "You smell like Eos."

"Yeah, she's in there right now." I replied, trying my best to not think about it.

Her brow lowered itself upon hearing that and gave me a questioning look. "You ignored the sign?"

I shook my head, quick to defend myself. "No, no. She came in while I was showering, decided to clean me up because I was too busy lost in thought to really do it myself. She's in there still, though I wouldn't recommend disturbing her right now... she's a little busy."

Selene rolled her eyes and giggled. "We thank you for the warning, our sister has a habit for this. No matter, we shall proceed to shower later. For now, we must thank you for saving us from that situation yesterday. We are eternally grateful for your assistance," For a moment, her smiled drooped a little. "even if it did mean destruction to Coltchester infrastructure."

"Sorry about that, though you know I wouldn't have done it had it not been necessary. Besides, it's not like I got out of there without a scratch or losing Cherry Sundae to the enemy." And just like that, the thoughts of Cherry rushed to the forefront of my mind again, wondering how she was feeling. I didn't like it, I hated it. Knowing she was somewhere in their hooves and unable to rescue her just yet. Although I didn't want to consider the possibility to her getting hurt, I know it was still there and if it turned out she was... my anger would be without limit, without mercy. I would not give justice, I would give painful death to any involved.

Just as quick as the thoughts had come, they left with the sensation of Selene holding me tight in an embrace. All my worries washed away as she held me for that moment before letting go. "Now, stay safe. We would be overwhelmed by regret if you were to fail your mission to save your home. Maybe you can tell us about it when you return?"

"Sure, sounds good. Now if you don't mind me, you're right. It is time for me to leave for now and I will be back later. Stay safe, Selene."

Without a word more, Selene nodded and carried on her way down the hallway. I couldn't help but notice the way she trotted and how her purple flank made a subtle contrast against the dark hues of the walls around us, damn those alicorns had some nice flanks.
Still, I had to stop letting that distract me and get suited and booted for another day in Coltchester.

Making my way to my room I took another glance at the doorways around me, the old pre-war signs indicating the directions to the surgery ward, armoury and mess hall were fading as time took its toll along with rust and grime. If they weren't too busy trying to win over the hearts of the people and fights against the Coalition I'd have no doubt they'd never have let it get like this.
Just another fact of living in a wasteland, I supposed.

Before me sat the two beds and my gear, neatly packed up at the side. Seeing as I sure as hell hadn't done it myself I guessed that it would have been one of the alicorns, probably Eos. It was a nice gesture, no matter whom it was from.
Looking at my armour, I inspected all the nicks and dents along with the penetration holes it had received from the recent fights. Regretfully, it would definitely require somepony skilled in metal working to repair, I would have to ask Titan if he knew anyone about that.
Still, it did the job. Sliding it on I noticed how it didn't look half as nice and remembered I'd received the long lightly armoured duster jacket back in Coltshire Commons. Lifting it up with a wing, I had to admire how good it looked.

From behind me a voice spoke suddenly, not one I was completely familiar with yet. "Mmmm, that's quite the coat you have there, Crimson. Thinking of wearing it?"

Turning around I saw the plain white mane of Tsunami, her cool cyan blue coat mostly covered up now by her lightweight barding. Still, I had already noticed that it seemed a little more substantial than the barding that Cherry wore. The way she had her rifle strapped across her back reminded me so very much of Cherry, the only real difference was that Cherry's had a large scope while Tsunami only used iron-sights, seemingly.

"Yeah, figure it'll cover up the holes in my armour and give me a little more protection. I also just like the way it looks anyway. Gives me a little character, you know?"

The mare before me began chuckling as she grinned at me, a shake of her head telling me I really had amused her. "Character, huh? Oh, of course, the only pegasus in all of Four Ridges with his distinct charcoal coat and vibrant red wings really does need more character, doesn't he? Not at all like he's distinct as it is."

Looking at her with a straight face, my lips curled up as I looked plainly at her with determination. Slowly, I began to say her name, blinking as I did. "Tsunami?"

She responded with a confident smile across her face, no doubt eagerly waiting to hear my response judging from the tone of her voice. "Yeah?"

Moving my focus down to my hooves, I spread my wings before looking back up at her and straight into her eyes. An almost worried look began to etch itself across her face as the deafening silence continued. Finally I spoke, keeping the expression I held the entire time. "Be a dear and help me put this on, seeing as you're here anyway. Besides, I'll be as conspicuous as I like, fuck the Coalition. I want them to know who I am. I want them to know I'm coming for them. I want them to be scared of me. Why? Because I will bring down their entire house if so fucking need be. The ponies of Four Ridges come first, and undermining the Coalition brings me closer to getting the water talisman."

With that I let out a great big smile as she levitated the coat with her magic and allowed me to slide my hooves in, quickly followed with adjusting my wings to comfortably sit in the coats sheath. Grabbing the rest of my gear and holstering the guns, I slapped the side of my shotgun as I spoke. "Lets rock."

"Already ahead of you. Everyone else is ready, I came out to check if you were ready yet."

True to her word, as I looked out, there stood six other ponies in similar barding. Though the bigger stallions seemed to favour heavier armour, it was obvious they were all part of the same outfit. The blackened out plating with a stylised 'TSF' across the shoulder pads that I recognised for the sign of our special forces, I had to wonder why Cherry never brought hers along too. Something we'd have to discuss later tonight.
Still, that was enough for distractions, it was time to kick ass.

Without a word, the eight of us made our way down the hallway, towards the exit.
Maisy saw us on the way out, but I waved my hoof at the half sleeping manticore. I had enough support as it was right now, no need to make it overkill. She had looked like she needed the sleep anyway.
Stepping into the exit lobby, I saw Dawnstar guarding the base.

"Going out I see, you been warned about the gangs?"

"Yeah," I croaked, not feeling like saying much. "We'll be fine."

"Good luck, Crimson. Stay safe."

"Yeah, you too."

With nothing more to say we walked out into the light, making our way through the rubble that disguised the headquarters. There was no plan in particular, just meet Neon and get him finding out what kind of patrols and defences we'd have to work through to retrieve Cherry from the mess she was in.
Past that, I had no intention of coming back without having done something else worthwhile, whatever that would end up being.

Walking through the alleyways that guarded the route to the base from the main streets with so many ponies following behind me was strange, but not completely alien to me. After all, it was a part of the job I would one day inherit, though I hoped that day wouldn't have to be any time soon.

The walls around us looked a lot darker in the early morning light, almost making it hard to see the signs that guided us out. They were only small markings, meant to be unrecognisable if you had no clue of what they truly were. They worked wonderfully though, giving me just enough to remember the turns I'd take when with Titan.

Just as we came around the second to last corner, the usually quiet albeit deep voiced Deadlight spoke to me. "Crimson, you sure you know where you're going? Looks like you've been taking us in circles."

Slowly turning my head around to him, I let out a small smile. "Paying attention when being taken to the headquarters, were we?"
Before he could come out with another quip though I led the group around the corner and showed them the exit, still smiling from my previous comment. Deadlight let out a small nod in defeat and went back to his usual quietness.

Now we were out on the streets of Slumside. The view seemed to shock Tsunami and Shockwave, though Freight Train looked around and wore a mask that I understood perfectly. He had seen this situation all too many times, even if he hadn't been here before perhaps. Maybe I was wrong, maybe he had been here before or maybe he hadn't seen it at all, but the look in his eyes told me he understood the pain and suffering of the ponies and zebras around us.

That was the part that surprised me, both groups mixed in together without any issues as we had managed to come along at what seemed to be the perfect time to see the full colour of the city around us. The only thing that had astounded me was the fact that there had been so few donkeys in Slumside. All in all, I had only noticed three of them who weren't members of the Coalition's army thus far.

"What... what's with all these ponies and zebras, they weren't like this before. Where did they come from, what's going on Crimson?" Tsunami began to blurt out all her questions at once, an upset look on her face. "It wasn't like this when we came through last. There wasn't... this."
Looking down into the street, I realised what she meant. Bodies of the dead laid across the floor, I had merely thought they were sleeping initially.

Walking on over to a group of the corpses that sat propped against the buildings, I noticed something that all of them had in common. They all wore a small swath of green on their clothes, be it a bandanna or a simple rag hanging from their side. Running it through my head repeatedly, I tried to figure out what the importance of green could have been.
Surely the Coalition couldn't simply go around killing ponies for wearing green without some kind of reasoning behind it.

At this point, Brick came and gingerly sat down next to where I knelt, gently nudging my side with a hoof.
"What'dya think, Crimson? You able to think up some kind of reason as to what's happened here?"

I didn't bother responding for the first few seconds, I just sat there staring at the pained faces as their eyes bore into my soul. It was then that I realised what had happened here, what this was.
"Yeah," I began slowly, getting up as I spoke. "looks like they've taken the corpses from the battleground and put them here as a message. They know the headquarters is located somewhere around here, that's obvious. Most likely we'll keep on seeing these."

Without hesitation, Tsunami shook her head and spoke up. "But why?" Her breath was quickened momentarily as she let out a small sniff and then looked at me. "What is the point? All these bodies? For what?"

"A message."

Her face contorted as she looked away from the sight. What was it about mares and death that just didn't mix? "A message? Crimson, this is no message! This is bloody murder!"

Letting out a sigh I resisted the urge to spit at the ground in anger, out of respect for the dead. "It's a message to the rebels who fought and lived. A message that's supposed to tell them that they won't win, that the Coalition is strong where they are weak. It's a message to the families of the dead, that their loved ones died because they dared to question the authority of the Coalition... It's a-"

At that point I was suddenly interrupted by another voice from behind us. One of the Coalition patrols had managed to pass by us while we were distracted with the atrocity that had been placed out for everyone to see. Now one of them spoke. "It's also a message to 'The Executioner' as he goes by. To tell him that we will find him and kill him. Now get moving before I have to arrest you, orders are to keep everyone moving right now."

Hearing his voice made my stomach fill with anger, the bile rising up and burning my insides with hateful passion. Without saying a word I spun around and looked at him straight in the eyes, his light blue eyes. "So, that's your message, huh?"

The buck looked at me plainly and grunted. "Yeah, now get lost before I demand to see what you've got under that coat. Weapons are permitted plenty here in the city, but in times like this I've got orders to stop and search suspicious individuals for explosives and other dangerous items of the sorts, Now, I won't say it again, move."

Did... did he just tell me what to do, twice? Looking back at my crew, I took note of their agitated faces and gave them a small wave to say things were okay. Turning back to the now impatient soldier, I reached out a hoof and brushed his armour for him. "Oh, really now? Try not to be so rude next time, you'll get a lot further in life if you do. Now be a good buck and be on your way, mkay?"

Giving the soldier my most patronising smile possible was working, he was visibly disgruntled as I waved a hoof to shoo him away. In less than a split second, a hoof smashed into my face, making my mouth fill with the taste of blood.
Everyone around me looked shocked as the soldier moved on closer, barking his commands at me.

"You! Never touch a member of the DZ Coalition patrols again, got it? You're under arrest."

Before he could reach me however, Freight Train had already ran over and intercepted him. Standing in front of the patrolling soldier, he let out a single, barely audible threat that I almost had trouble making out. "Take one step further and I promise, you won't like it."

"You too! You're under arrest for disturbing the peace and disrupting a member of th-"

That was as far as the bastard had managed to say what he wanted before the powerful hoof of Freight came crashing down to his face, knocking him across the floor. With a little help from Iron Wall, I got up and brushed myself off, taking note to the fact I now had a split lip and nosebleed.

Watching Freight train pummel the ever loving shit out of the previously rowdy Coalition soldier was.... well, quite the sight.
For a moment I even felt sorry for the buck as he repeatedly tried to pull himself off the floor, spluttering in pain and attempting to speak his threats about things he never managed to say before the powerful hoof slam down to the back of his head, silencing him for a few more moments.
After a minute of the beating I called out to my comrade, happy with his work. "You've done a good job, Freight. Thanks. I want to speak to him now though."

I hadn't expected to have to do this so early into the day, but it seemed like the Coalition needed a message in return. If the buck played along with the rules I'd set him, he could live. If he was stupid enough, he would be an eye for an eye.
With grace I made my way over to the pony who held the back of his head tightly, writing in pain from the punishment.
Looking down at him as he lay there, he was pathetic as he clenched his eyes shut and wished it had never happened.
Nudging his head to get his attention, he began to look back at me as I stood confidently above him.

"What's your name, soldier?"

With a pained voice he spoke, but only after spitting out blood and a tooth onto my hoof. Dirty fucker, obviously after mercy from the pain he felt. "Fuck. You."

With a dark grin across my face, I slowly knelt down and put my head close to his ear so I could whisper to him. It's all he deserved, after what he'd just done. "Well, private 'Fuck You', you know the lesson you had for The Executioner? He hears it loud and clear and has a message for the Coalition in return. I would say sorry, but I'm really not. Spitting your blood onto his hoof wasn't the wisest of moves, was it now?"

He continued to stay as he was, motionless as his eyes widened upon the realisation of who I was.
I pulled the knife from its holster and slashed cleanly into his throat, dragging a gasp for air from him with it as I did. In less than a few seconds the light from his eyes vanished as he passed out instantly, leaving him to bleed out before anyone could do anything about it.
Carelessly pulling the corpse out into the middle of the road, I made sure to loot the healing potion from his pockets. He no longer needed it, after all.
While it was unfortunate that he didn't have anything else of value, it was something at least. I would have much preferred to have found some med-x on him, but a healing potion was still good to find.

Tsunami looked at me in awe while the others looked at what had just happened and grinned. "Crimson?" Tsunami asked.

"A message in return. You fuck with me? You fuck with the civilians? You fuck with the dead? I'll fuck with you in return. They want to send me a message of how they're going to try and kill me, I'll send them a message to remind that I successfully kill them."

"Aren't you at all worried that they'll harm Treetop in return?"

Looking at her blankly, I tried to make sense of what she had just said to me as I idly wiped my blade on the corpse and slid it back into its sheath. "Who?"

"Treetop? Cherry Sundae?"

"Oh! Cherry! Sorry, I'm still not really accustomed to her code name, that still throws me off. Besides, they know... they know that if I find she's had even a single hoof placed on her, I will end up dropping a balefire bomb on their fucking face. Mark my words, I may not have any access to balefire bombs or anything of the sort, but I would find a way to do it."

Wincing, she stepped back a little before letting out a small smile. "You... really get protective over her, don't you?"

"I love her, that's why. Tsunami, I love Cherry, she's everything I never realised I wanted until I had her. And I'm not talking about the first time in bed, it's not even the sex. If I just wanted her back because she was great in the sack, I'd go trawling through Four Ridges for another partner equal to her. It's not even because she's the most beautiful mare I've ever laid eyes upon. No, it's more than that." I paused for a moment, thinking how to best word it.

"More, huh?" Grinder added. "In what way?"

With a smile, I continued. "She's compassionate. She cares about the world around her in such a way that's rare in the wasteland. She wants it to be better for herself, for others, for future generations. She takes it into her own hooves and rather than simply whining about it, plays a role in trying to help."

Pausing for another moment as I caught my breath, I noticed how they were all very interested in hearing it all. "Then there's that she's tender and loving. When I first came across her, I had no clue what it truly was to love somepony else other than my mother and father. Because of how he left me, I didn't ever want to feel the same pain again, so all my relationships were about getting my seven minutes in heaven and leaving it at that. Cherry changed that for me. She didn't even mean to, she is just right for me and that made me realise that I wanted something more from her. Something substantial, something that she would appreciate just as much."

"So you went from Casanova to loving partner overnight for her?" Tsunami asked with a small blush on her cheeks, no doubt enticed by the thought of it all. That or embarrassed because she wanted or had previously had me, I couldn't remember any more.

"Yeah, just like that she touched my heart. That's how I knew it was for real. I know of lust, and yes, I lust after Cherry like mad. Having her under me and being able to do all those things we do, oh yeah, that's good. That's so fucking good, it drives me fucking wild when she-" After realising I was now looking down at my hooves, I looked up to see everypony grinning like crazy. Coughing and blushing from having lost myself in the moment, I grinned in embarrassment. "Back to the point though... yes I lust after her, but that's not what drives me. The way she makes my stomach crunch and heart pound, my hooves lighter than usual and my wings flutter... she's the one for me, I would do anything for her. I would do anything to see her smile, to keep her safe, to make her happy. I would do anything to win her heart and I would give my life to keep it safe."
"She is my world, my love, my everything. She's the most beautiful mare in all Equestria and more not because her skin deep beauty, but also because of who she is and the way she makes me feel."

With a smug smile, Freight Train clapped his hooves together. "I like it. I'll have to tell Treetop about all this when we get her back. I tell ya, Crimson. I wasn't sure what to think when she first told me she had feelings for you. I told her to be careful and she agreed, but then the next thing I know she's telling me you two are together. Wasn't sure what to make of it. If you're telling the truth with all this though? Which I don't doubt, by the way.... Well, I know you sure as hell don't need it, but you have my blessing all the same. I would say I just hope you make her as happy, but I know you do from what she told me."

I... didn't know what to say to that! The smile across my face was more than I could contain. The fact she would tell anypony else that I made her feel as happy as she said to me wasn't a shock, but it was an amazing feeling.
It was simply beyond words to imagine I made her feel the same way she did me. I was in love.

Without much consideration for my bliss, Shockwave finally spoke up. "As lovely as that all is, and it really is, we ought to get moving. We don't want to be seen simply hanging around a freshly killed Coalition soldier unless we're asking for a fight, right?"

Coming back to my senses, he was right. Nodding in agreement, I quickly pointed out in the direction of the market and led the way, off to see Neon should he arrive.

Walking into the marketplace was a welcome change from the harrowing streets of Lower Slumside as I had come to realised it was called, finally noticing a sign giving directions to each different district in the area as I entered the main street. Though some ponies and zebras held a very sombre mood, many others had the look of defiance in their eyes.
The fires of hatred and scorn burnt into their faces, tensions running high after the recent atrocity.

Though the bodies were seemingly long gone from the market, it was obvious that they had at least been brought through the market area before reaching the lower side of the district, the blood trail of still fresh corpses marked their route clearly upon the cracked stone ground. Maybe the Coalition had thought they were sending a message out to those who would oppose them, but as we made our way along it was clear to me that all they had managed to do was cause further dissent and cause for uprising amongst those not loyal to either cause.

The feelings of betrayal, unjustified and unforgivable action lined the air as pony and zebra alike stared at any who passed through the area, including myself and my crew.
There was nothing I could say or do though, nothing to remove what had happened here. The DZC had gone and had their way with the dead and wounded, they left them with no respect before finishing off the insult and taking what last lives were left. I could see that clearly, I could feel it even more so.

Without warning a young zebra approached me, prodding my chest as hard as he could without actually hitting me. "You! I bet you're one of those filthy Coalition scumbags, aren't you? What rank are you, huh? Some kind of investigator to make sure we're all fucking terrified?!"

My mouth hung open, shocked by the words leaving the bucks mouth. He barely seemed older than a colt yet he spoke as if he had a lifetime behind him. I guess it shouldn't have been such a surprise to me however, given the environment he lived in and if Sandstorm was anything to go by, he could have easily had that lifetime of experience.
Brick moved to get between us, but I simply waved a hoof at him to say it was okay. There was no need to guard me too closely over something like this, after all.
"Kid, I don't know who you support, but I can tell you sure as hell I ain't any kind of supporter for the Coalition."

Turning his head up at me, he shot me a questioning look. "Who I support, what makes you think I support anyone but myself? How do you think you could know that kind of stuff?"

"The look on your face says it all. You're wondering who the fuck this stallion is and why you shouldn't start a fight on him. Well, prepare to be enlightened. I am The Executioner, and I'm here to do a job."

Rolling his eyes, the zebra buck almost looked as if he wasn't paying attention to me at all. "You're not The Executioner. The Executioner was caught under the bridge and died in the blast, the Coalition bragged about it. Besides, he's was pegasus and you're a fucking dirt pony. You have no right to call yourself anything akin to him."

Amazement, utter fucking amazement. That was the only thing I could feel right there. "Those fucks have been saying The Executioner died in that blast?" I looked around at my guards slowly, a grin making its way from cheek to cheek. "Okay, well, what else about him do you know?"

"That he was brave, strong and fast. Nothing like you. Piece of shit claiming to be him. Not even dying your mane to look like him works on me, I saw him in flight and he didn't wear that coat you're wearing. Got me to join up with the Peoples Liberation Army through his actions, even if he never spoke to me. Your act is a joke, he wouldn't travel with such a large group to protect him. Go on, kill me for saying what I said. Tie me up like the others and slice me from throat to stomach, but know this; even if I die, I know it'll only feed the fire."

Raising a hoof to my chin, I began to stroke it softly. I liked this kid, he had a lot of spunk. "P.L.A.C huh? Perfer et obdura"

With those words muttered, my all of my bodyguards with the exception of Deadlight looked confused at my sudden use of Zebrican and the young zebra bucks eyes whom I had said it to widened a mile as he stuttered to respond. "Uh.. dolor hic tibi proderit olim?"

Giving him an appreciative nod, my lips curled up as he stared in awe of my wings unfurling. Gasps from onlookers taking notice of the situation were heard all around, though it didn't worry me. Right at that very moment I became both the most wanted and the most secure pony outside of the HQ. If there was any whom would have held a grudge, I had my team to protect me and from the look on the kids face, his too.

"Y-you... it really is you!" He spluttered after his gasp for air, quickly trying to regain composure after my reveal.

Playing into the moment, I gave another small nod and spoke slowly in the roughest voice I could muster without making it look like I was actually trying. "Yeah, yeah it is. Told ya, kid."

"I'm so sorry! There's been impersonators trying to root out supporters... and..." The poor mite struggled to find his words as I proudly continued to display my wings, even lifting myself off the ground and hovering with ease to prove they really were the real deal.

"Don't worry about it. Though you know, I gotta ask. Why did you decide to put your life on the line if there's been impersonators going around? Especially if the Coalition was saying I was killed in that blast I set off."

"W-wait, you set it off? You?"

"Well, sort've. I took my marefriend to set up the explosives, kept guard and made sure she had the time to set it up to blow. Only thing was as soon as she had it set up, she made like the wind and got outta there before I had a chance to follow. Next thing I knew, the bridge came down and almost got me, but wasn't enough to stop me. Especially not now."

"Why?" The young zebra asked, an honest look on his face. "What's different now?"

Before I could respond something caught my eye, a figure in the shadows. Turning my head to look at it fully, I saw the shimmer of a blade and immediately drew my pistol. Launching myself back into the air, taking a stance ready to strike with either a dive bomb or to barrel roll to avoid any charge that may come in my direction.
Precious moments passed as the rest of my crew readied their weapons instinctively, even if they hadn't known the cause.
The pregnant pause held for what seemed like minutes when in reality, it was mere seconds.

"What changed? His marefriend got captured by the Coalition. Now he'll do anything to get her back." And with that the figure walked out from the darkness, the bright green haircut immediately calming my nerves as I began to recognise the pony ahead of me and the sword he had strapped to his back.

Letting out a sigh, I lowered myself down to the ground and smiled. "Neon you sneaky bastard, don't ever try that shit again. Seriously, I know you prefer privacy, but you could've ended getting shot."

With a shrug Neon replied, a dismissive look upon his face. "I'm surprised you even saw me at all. I was sure I was concealed. Nopony in recent times has ever seemed to notice me when I'm trying to hide. How did you see me?"

I couldn't laugh, the moment of relief had passed while the adrenaline still rushed through me, preparing me for a fight. "Well when you've got to be on the look-out for anyone who might be hiding and waiting for you to reveal yourself, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike... you notice the shimmer of an unsheathed blade."

"Can't be too careful when you don't recognise the armour your followers are wearing. What does TSF even stand for?"

I looked over to Freight Train and shrugged. He stepped forward, his size intimidating Neon slightly by the looks of things. "Stands for Tank Special Forces. You don't mess with us, you don't die. Our job here is to protect Crimson at all costs, and so we shall. Now, I believe Crimson wanted to talk to you."

With that, Neon nodded. "So, Crimson. With the formalities out of the way, we'll say, what is it you're after."

"I need to know the level of defences the barracks have. You know the one, the place where they're keeping everypony including my mare."

In a sly voice, the buck spoke as if he was trying to hustle. "How much will you need to know? The more you gotta find out, the more it'll cost you."

The desire to shake my head and laugh was... beyond me. Nopony tried to barter with me and got away with it, but to actually do that would only be an insult so I did my best at holding back.
Instead, I smiled at him. "Cost, eh? Well you know, caps won't get you very far these days when bullets cost so little. Who knows, perhaps the Coalition won't even give you that when they suspect you of robbing somepony or stealing from their dead."

His face dropped, a small mumbling slithering its way from his throat. "Well.. I.. I don't mean caps actually."

|He doesn't want caps? I raised my eyebrow in curiosity and looked him dead in the eyes, evoking more stuttering from him as he spat out nothing and left me to silence him with my own words. "Go on then, tell. What is it you're after?"

"There's... well, there's something I'm after. An item. More specifically, a whole bunch of items."

With a small nod and the gesture of my hoof, I began to coax him into elaborating. "Go on."
If he didn't get to the point...

"Books. Books, magazines, newspapers. You name it, I like to read it. I enjoy reading and... yeah." At that moment, the timid buck stepped back slowly, looking away as he began to blush. "P... please don't think I'm weird. I've just had this fascination with reading since I was a colt. My mother taught me the basics of reading before she was killed, it's how I remember her. All I have left of her besides my sword."

So, I was dealing with another orphan? Coltchester really was a harsh place to grow up, it seemed. "You've got it. Anything I find, to you. That's not all though, is it? What else you after?"

The young one behind me looked at me quizzically as Neon took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, but how did you know? I hadn't said a-"

As rude as it was, I interrupted him with my explanation. "You don't simply ask for books to read for a job like this, no matter what it means to you. You're going to do a dangerous task for me, something that would probably get you killed if you were to be caught. Espionage isn't a light duty. You need something in return, something you're not capable of."

For a moment he narrowed his eyes are me, "You..." With a few seconds hesitation, Neon paused before finally letting out a defeated sigh. "You're not wrong. I don't like admitting it, but I'm not a capable fighter like you are. Self defence I can handle, I have my blade for personal encounters and my agility and stealth for everything else. When it comes to fighting though? I have nothing I can do against an opponent with a gun who is intent on killing me from a range. Being attacked randomly is a different situation altogether to being capable of taking down a whole group of Coalition soldiers like you've proven capable of. I need you to do something for me with those skills."

"Name it."

"There's been a group of bandits roaming around Slumside for a long, long time now. At first they were only one or two kids trying to make their way in life, no-one got too badly hurt and nothing too serious happened. Sure somepony might be beaten, but there was never a threat to ones life so we dealt with it. In recent months they've been growing in both strength and activity as the general consensus came to be that the city needs a change in management. They saw themselves fit to take a slice, even if that slice was only a part of Slumside. It was a quiet operation at first, but the attacks got more frequent and more violent as time passed. They've been using the chaos of the dissenters as a guise for their own mayhem."

"I see," I stated flatly, taking in the history lesson the best I could. "and so you want me to put an end to it all?"

The pony before me replied very matter of factly before going back to his point. "Yes. It's gotten out of hand and ponies I've known and cared about have either been hurt so badly that they've even dared to volunteer for the mines and farms just to have some small level of safety from it all. Others haven't been so lucky. I've known three ponies and two zebras who were killed by the gang. I want you to do what you seem so prolific at."

With a dark tone of voice, I spoke one single word. "Justice."

Neon hadn't been capable of telling us exactly where this gangs hideout was, though he did make it obvious that if I strolled around while seemingly alone or with just the zebra friend I'd just made for long enough, we'd eventually be found by them.
I decided that keeping the new zebra by my side and my guards in all different directions was probably the best set up ready for their supposedly inevitable ambush.
If they were smart they wouldn't attack me, but when had muggers and gang members ever been smart?

Looking to the zebra by my side, I gave him a small nudge. "So, kid. What's your name?"

"Xander, my name's Xander." He let out with a proud smile.

"Xander hey? Wouldn't happen to be named after Xander the great, conqueror of the zebra lands, would you?"

The zebra buck looked at me in shock, though quickly a smile came to his face as he enthusiastically nodded. "Yeah! How did you know? I thought wasteland ponies didn't much care for zebras, let alone zebra history from long before the great war."

"Let's just say that I've been training for something special for most of my life, and that knowing the past is critical to preventing repeating it in the future. Besides, what makes you think I'm a wasteland pony?"

"You're a pegasus. No pegasai come down from their cloud layer. Also, look at you. You've got a coat that you obviously scavenged from around here or something, given all the military finds we get from time to time. Then there's your attitude, definitely not naive to how combat goes or how the world works out here. There's no way you came from above."

Raising an eyebrow, I nodded. "Okay, you got me, I didn't come from above. Why didn't you mention about below though?"

Xander stopped in his tracks there and then and began staring at me, confused. "Below?"

Lifting up my PipBuck leg, I showed him the piece of arcane technology that proved essential to my daily life now. "Stables? You hadn't considered the possibility of that maybe I came from a Stable?"

I just stood there as his face changed expression from confusion to utter bewilderment, then back to a small smile. He hadn't questioned the concept however, I could only guess as to why he didn't.
At that point, we continued to walk on. Occasionally I looked around for the signs of my guards, always noticing them somewhere close enough to be safe should we need then.

Starting up another conversation, I spoke to my new friend. "So, Xander. What made you trust me so easily back there?"

"I dunno," He shrugged as he walked, letting out a small chuckle. "something about the way you spoke. Perhaps it was the smile you had? I really don't know. I just felt convinced I had to say-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a plain white mare walked out in front of us with a very lightly coloured mane and a revolver in her mouth as she spoke. "Gimme yo' muny!"

Taking my focus from the zebra by my side to the pony in front of me, I gave her a very deadpan look as I began to speak. "Excuse me?"

With a hiss, she once again stated her demand. "Gimme yo' muny!"

Looking at her more closely, she only seemed to be holding a twenty two. Chances were that if I got hit to the forehead at this close a range, it would either cause brain damage or death. If it hit my chest or anywhere else along my armour however, I doubt it would be worse than getting hit by a hoof. Maybe a hard hit, but I couldn't imagine it penetrating it.

Deciding it wasn't worth just pulling out my gun, I played along. With a sigh, I began to lower my head as if going for my saddlebags. Swapping into S.A.T's, I took a moment to gauge my surroundings.
There was four red bars around me, one of them being the mare in front of me and another three somewhere behind her. I couldn't tell exactly where they were hiding, but it was enough for me. If I was going to do this, it would have to be pistol first then swapping over to the shotgun perhaps for the others.
Thinking about the movement I would have to do to pull it off swiftly and safely, I readied myself as I planned my attack.

Coming back out of S.A.T's, I continued to lower my head before pulling out my own pistol and diving straight for the mare ahead of me.
Immediately her eyes widened in shock and she fired, shooting well above my quickly approaching body as I came within less than a meter of her. Before she could properly react, my pistol was already placed under her jaw, the trigger pulled not even a second later.

Her blood squirted down onto me as her brains presumably came out of the top of her head and her body fell limp atop of me, weighing down upon me.
For a second I couldn't move, and now there was definitely going to be some kind of response from whomever else was around and hostile. Not even a moment later, somepony lifted the dead mare off of me and looked down at me with a smile.
Okay, so it hadn't been somepony but somezebra instead.

Cracking one of my trademark smiles, I thanked him. "Good job there, now move. We're about to be fired upon."

Instead of moving, Xander just looked at me with confusion as he seemed to wonder how the hell I could know such a thing. Out of instinct, I jumped into him as I got back up, pushing both of us back down to the ground behind an abandoned wagon.
A second later a loud crack was heard, dust and bits of brick pinging into the air as the bullet collided with the ground where we were previously. Xanders expression turned from anger to sudden fright, realising I hadn't been wrong.

"H...how the fuck?" He stammered, staring at the ground where the bullet hit still.

"PipBuck, perception, intelligence. Got a gun?"

"No." He murmured with a small shake of his head.

Letting out a groan, I thought about lending him my pistol for a moment before I thought about the corpse of the pony I'd just killed. A twenty two was indeed a weak pistol, as I had considered before. Still, it would have been something at least for the zebra beside me. He could have one of the others' guns at the end of it all.

Calling out to my crew, I gave the command they had been waiting on all this time. "Free game! Suppress the enemy and move from cover to cover, you are cleared for any hostile target!"

With the command, they came. From the alleyways, from the cracks around corners and Grinder from behind one big bit of cover. Freight Train let out a great bellow, the fire in his eyes clear for me to see. "Time to buck up and get the job done! You heard the boss, time to party!"

With that, everyone who had been standing anywhere near quickly ran for cover and away from the area, with the exception of the red bars in front of us. Now however, instead of four, there was what must have been over ten of them scrambling around in the direction of a run down hotel.

Looking at the corpse in front, I knew simply dashing for it would likely have me shot. Instead, I had a plan.
With as much power as I could get behind my voice without my helmet around, I announced my order with a roar. "Covering fire, now!"

There was no need to wait for it to start, the second I moved out of cover to grab the essential items from the body fire from every gun besides Grinder's let loose, ripping into the windows and walls where-ever movement was seen. One voice screamed out in pain and a red bar turned to blue. One neutralised.

Quickly reaching the body I took it into my hooves and began to drag it over to where Xander crouched.
It was only a small distance but with the weight of the corpse, it felt like miles as I dragged it as fast as possible. The gang tried to take aim for me, but their shots repeatedly went wide, no doubt thanks to the suppressive effect of my allies.

As I was almost back in cover, a rifle shot smashed into my side causing me to topple over in pain. "Augh! Fuck, I'm hit and that fucking hurt!"
Xander took no time in grabbing me by the collar of my armour and quickly moving me into cover before grabbing the corpse and finishing the job I hadn't managed to as I continued to lay down on the ground, bleeding and swearing under my breath.

The pain in my side was worse than anything I could have expected, the burning feeling consuming my entire side.
I didn't know what the hell had hit me, but whatever it was seemingly punched through my armour. It had to be something big and nasty to cause that much damage.
Trying to pull myself off the floor I quickly collapsed back down, making me notice the pool of blood pouring from me. I needed medical attention, quickly.

"Medic! He needs a medic!" Xander cried out, hoping to grab the attention of my crew. I was glad he tried to shout out for them, because now it hurt too much to try. Instead, I just wanted to lay there.

The sound of Grinder's gun finally poured hell onto the enemy, filling my ears with the loud whining that drummed everything out into a strange silence, the world getting a little heavier as time went on.
It felt like hours, but I knew it couldn't be. There was no way.
Closing my eyes, I continued to swear under my breath.

Seconds later, a hoof hit me across the face, causing my eyes to shoot back open as a pony stared into them with worry.
"Don't you fucking die on me!" She screamed, though I didn't know what she was on about.

I watched as she pulled out two healing potions and shoved them both into my mouth at the same time, her magic pulling out a syringe of med-x whilst the potions made my body feel weird and a little better to be in.
Sliding the syringe into my leg, I could feel her press down on the release, flooding my veins with the sweetest nectar.
It was strange that I could recognise such a thing while like this, though I didn't mind one bit.

Looking at her as the world came back to me, as my hearing became clear, I saw her pull out another pot from her bags.
"Here, Crimson. This is Buck, it'll get you back on your feet for now until we can get you to a proper medical facility to assess the damage. We need you back in the fight."

Buck? Now it was time to make some friends.

Footnote:
Level up!
Perk unlocked! Buck Up!
It's time to Buck Up and get back in the fight, soldier! When an ally is downed and you have the required cocktail of drugs [two parts healing potion, one part med-x, one part Buck] you can now revive them! Be warned, this mixture can be highly addictive and is in no way guaranteed to work!

70 Speech attained.
75 Small guns attained.
55 Medicine attained.

Author's Notes:

HELLO THERE! I'm so, so sorry that this chapter took me fucking forever to write!
I really am sorry. I was actually originally going to make it go on from here even, leaving it at a different cliff-hanger, but given what I just wrote... well, this one works better and does two things:

1. Gives me more time to think about the fight.
2. Releases a chapter for all you lovely people to read! After what, one day short of three months?

Now, I know it's been a long time and again, I'm sorry. I've had a lot of stuff on my mind, a lot of stuff has happened in real life and I generally needed a break from writing FOE stuff, even though my mind kept thinking about it non stop.
While I was gone I've been considering a lot of different things to do with the story long term, and I've made some changes to things and yadda yadda yadda.

If you want an explanation on it all, keep reading past the thank you part. If you don't care, I don't blame you.
Anyway; yeah, thank you's!

My first and biggest thank you goes to Brisineo for the new cover picture! He did an amazing job of it and I really am proud of it!
I'd like to thank SevenSixTwo for being a great friend to me, even if he is a new one.
Then there's CamoBadger [who writes All That Remains for being an amazing friend, reader and writer. Without his support I really don't know how I would've pulled myself back together.
Thank you to VII who has done some amazing artwork for me in the past. I promised him I'd give him a shout-out and it seems I forgot to do so sooner! My bad! I've linked his work in my blogs where relevant (I'm sure) but I forgot to give him his dues here in the story too. Good guy, good artist, deserves some attention.
And of course, Katarn, Arcus, Joey and Noakwolf for always having their little comments and reminding me that I do have fans (not trying to put anyone down here. I just seem to forget all the time.

There is of course, the rest of you too! Over 8,000 views is... amazing.

Oh, and don't let me forget Eventorizon who writes the FOE fic Ouroboros. I've not given it a proper look at just yet, but it's pretty good from what I've heard. Does something different, I'm told. (and I do plan to read it, of course.)
For without him, I wouldn't have had the amazing critique that lets me know I've got to work on describing the environment a little more. I know I've not slammed too much into this chapter, but I don't want to make it all at once all so suddenly.

So yes, thank you to everyone that reads my story. It means a lot to me and keeps me going.

Lastly, thank you to Kkat for making the entire mash-up universe and to Somber for inspiring me to write.

Now, if you want to know what made me so delayed with this chapter... well, here it is.

Initially it was the "Wow! One year old!" factor, it made me want a week or two break before writing again. I felt that I deserved a small while, as I was getting a little run down by it all. No harm in that, I needed some break to recharge because I'm simply not suited for constant writing like others (example: Fuzzy of MN7) but then that went for a little longer than planned.
At the same time, my back threw out on me again, repeatedly. Sciatica. Nasty shit, though I've found a few things that make it a lot better now, so here's to hoping it can be maintained in a healthy way.

Then came browsing the 4chan FOE threads a bit more than I should have. Their constant negativity and bitching about every little thing did me no good, though I've learnt how to drown that out now.
Still, I have to thank them because even with all the bitching, they've made some good points here and there.

Then there was chapter fifty four of Project Horizons. God how I hated that chapter, so very much. It made me question what it was all for, it made me question if I even want to continue writing myself because if that's what Somber could do, who was to say I wasn't just doing the same without realising it?
That shook my faith a hell of a lot, made me not want to continue for some time.
Thankfully, chapter fifty five was a lot better and now I'm not thinking of giving up Project Horizons and FOE because of that.

Then there's the fact my store manager committed suicide.
He had his reasons. I know some of them, guess others. I might be wrong, who knows?
Anyway, he parked up on the hard shoulder and walked an hour to the rail line where he then jumped in front of a train.
I personally am not the type to burst into tears over that stuff, been there and pushed the limits of my own mortality way too many times to be upset by others'.
Still, a bit of a shock. Completely unexpected, you wouldn't have put him as the type to do it. No-one had him as the type to do it.

Lastly, there's just that I'm a crap writer and slow as fuck. So, yeah. Sorry.
Anyway, yeah, that's chapter twenty released! I'll work on the rewrite of chapter two next, then chapter twenty one.
Thanks for reading everyone! I love you all.