The silence didn’t last long.

“Alloy!” Grit’s voice bellowed from outside as he came bursting through the open doorway. His eyes went wide when he saw Copper’s body, still bleeding. The room stank of blood and smoke. “What happened?”

I looked from him to Copper’s body. I did the right thing, that’s what happened. I stopped somepony else from becoming a slave. There’d been no other choice. I couldn’t have just turned him over to Malice. The thought of it made my stomach churn and the room spin.

Or maybe that was the smell of the body.

“Alloy!”

I jumped at the noise. My magic cut out, and the pistol dropped to the floor with a deafening clatter. I looked to Grit, who was just staring at me from across the room. “I… I shot him.”

Silence again. He walked over to Copper’s body, then stomped at the ground, teeth grinding.

“But…” He trailed off, looking from me, to the body, nudging Copper with his hoof. “Luna-dammit we were so fuckin’ close!”

His head whipped around to look at me. “Are you okay? What happened?”

I picked up the gun again with my magic and stood up, shaking my head. My breathing was uneven, my voice hoarse. “I just… I couldn’t…”

“Did he attack or somethin’?”

All I could do was shake my head. I searched for the right words. Grit had to understand, he had to. He had to see it was the only way.

Grit leaned back over the body, nudging it with his forehoof for a moment. I could barely watch. Celestia, the smell was overpowering. There was no room for all of us, with the stench of blood and gunpowder filling the humid air. I swayed, and the room started to spin a little. Oh Goddesses, I can’t- My eyes went wide, and I bolted for the door, feeling a wave of nausea, my empty stomach heaving and clenching, trying to throw up. I thought I heard Grit call after me.

Wiping spit and bile off my muzzle, I could only stand in one place and try to stay calm. I didn’t have any other choice. If I let him go, Malice would find him. If I ran, Malice would find me. If I turned him over… I tried not to finish that thought, shaking my head furiously, but the images still came. Thoughts of Copper enslaved to Malice from my mind, the tortures she would’ve put him through.

“Alloy, y’gotta talk t’ me.”

I jumped, Grit’s voice startling me again. And then silence, again. He just stood there, in the doorway to the collapsed home, waiting. Didn’t he already know? Couldn’t he just… sense it or something? Coud he read my thoughts? Did he even need to? I looked at the ground, unable to meet his blue eyes. Did I have to say it? Finally, I answered, “I did what I had to.”

He took a few steps closer. “I get that, but c’mon. What happened in there?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to find the right words. I had to make him understand “I just…” It was the right way, wasn’t it? It was the only solution. He had to see it. I just. I had to explain it to him, somehow. “He…” I scrabbled in my mind. Grit was silent. “He woke up, and I just… shot him.”

His eyes went wide, and he took a step forward. “But why? What’d he do?”

“I couldn’t do it!” Silence again, except for my panting breaths. My throat ached from the scream, and my vision was blurring up. Why didn’t he understand?! “I just… couldn’t turn him over like that.” I turned away from Grit. He couldn’t see me like this. Celestia above, am I crying? On top of everything, why am I fucking crying? “I thought… I thought I could do anything, just to get home. The sight of him. In… In chains. And knowing I did that, it…” I took a shuddering breath, trying to steady my voice. I wasn’t sure if it worked. “It made me sick.” I dropped to my haunches, curling my tail around me as I heard Grit cautiously approach me from behind.

He stopped. Silence again. “Alloy, why th’ hell-” I flinched from his tone. “After everythin’ we went through, why didn’t you jus’... talk t’ me?”

Why didn’t I? The thought had never even occurred to me. Maybe he could have helped? I opened my mouth to answer, and closed it again. Even if I’d talked to Grit, it wouldn’t have mattered. I… I did the right thing. I had to kill him.

“So why not jus’ let ‘im go?”

“No!” I jumped up, wiping my eyes off with a fetlock. “What if Malice found him? And hell, who knows what she’d do to me if I went to her empty-hooved!”

He snorted, looking back at the house. “Well y’can’t go there now, either. Pretty sure she wanted him back.”

I felt my temper boil over, and a snarl formed on my muzzle. I spat on the ground. “Oh, I’ll do what that fucking bitch asked. Bring her Copper, with a collar around his neck. What happens after that… it’s my problem.”

Grit shook his head fervently. “Nah, we gotta think o’ somethin’ else. If we go t’ her with a fuckin’ corpse, she’ll kill us!” Goddesses-dammit, why was he so stubborn?

“Well then, I’ll just tell her he’s dead, and tell her where the body is.”

“But then we’re back t’ the same problem of going t’ her empty-hooved. You’re trustin’ that she’ll believe you long ‘nough t’ check. An’ by th’ time we get to th’ harbor and Malice sends somepony back, odds are somethin’ll have eaten him.”

“Then we’re back to dragging the body to her.”

Silence again. “What if I turn into him, an’ you hand me over? Then I’ll escape at night, fly away an’ everything’ll be fine.”

I stared at him wide-eyed. “That’s insane! You have no idea what she’ll do to you, and you have no idea how she’ll lock you up.”

He stomped a hoof in the ground, snarling. “Well if you hadn’ta shot him…!”

I winced, tried to change the subject. “Grit, we should-”

“Nah, just-” His tail snapped at the air. “I mean, after everything we went through t’ get ‘im! Th’ prison, th’ fisher, th’ gators-”

“Grit, I just-”

“Oh, an’ don’t even get me started on th’ fuckin’ Stable or how I had t’ transform! Jus’ a lil communication woulda been nice!”

I was silent. He was right. Of course he was right. I should have talked to him. Why hadn’t that occurred to me? But this had been the only choice. It’d been the only choice.

Grit shouldn’t have to answer for this.

“Grit,” I began again, my voice still a cracked husk. “You should,” I swallowed. “You should go home.”

I glanced up at him, catching a glimpse of his wide-eyed expression before looking away. I imagined that was how I looked when he suggested transforming into Copper. “Why th’ hell would I do that? I can’t let you face Malice alone.”

“Yes you can,” I said, finally meeting his eyes. “I… I can talk to her, convince her somepony else shot Copper. Help me take the body to the meeting point, and I’ll go it alone from there.”

He stomped a hoof in the mud. “She’s a crazy raider, how th’ fuck’re you gonna ‘talk’ t’ her?”

“She’s sane enough to walk into Four Shoes and make the deal with me to capture Copper in the first place. She had to know there was a chance he’d be dead. Besides,” I tried to offer a smile to Grit, but his frown stayed in place. “I sold broken spritebots to Pillar and Studio. This’ll be easy.”

“That ain’t th’ same and you know it. An’ why do it alone? If you’re jus’ gonna talk t’ her, no reason I can’t go, too.”

“What if she gets some crazy idea to take you instead? Or tries to kill you?” You never had to be here. “I…” I looked away from him, past the trees. “It’ll be easier for me to negotiate with her without somepony there she can just take as a replacement. And I bet that’s just what she’d do, isn’t it? She’d have me chain you up and hand you over.” I shook my head vigorously, trying to get rid of the mental images. And of the idea that Malice might enslave me instead. “No. No, no, no, no!”

“But what if she takes you instead?”

I’d rather she kill me. The thought surged to the front of my thoughts and made me drop back to my haunches, feeling my blood run cold. “I’d,” I swallowed, trying to find an answer. “I’d just find a way to escape.”

“An’ then what? Y’saw how escapin’ worked out for him!” Grit waved a hoof back at the house, where Copper’s body lay.

“I don’t know, alright?!” There was no good answer here. Malice would decide my fate. “There’s nothing else I can do!”

Grit took a step forward. “Yea, ‘cause you jus’ went ahead and killed Copper at th’ last minute, without even stoppin’ t’ talk t’ me!”

“It’s better than turning him over!” My throat was raw again. Why were we doing this again?! “I couldn’t hand him over, even if Malice…” I didn’t dare let myself finish that thought. “It’s done. I shot him,” I stared into Grit’s eyes, trying to stop myself from shouting. I don’t even know if I did. “Just go home, and let me deal with what comes next. It’s my problem, not yours.”

Silence.

“So that’s it, huh? After everythin’, after draggin’ your ass through th’ Bayou all this time, you’re jus’ gonna send me back?”

I winced, my voice softer. “It’s not like that, Grit. I just,” I looked away from him. “Like you said, I shot him. Without talking to you about it. You shouldn’t have to deal with whatever Malice would do to me after. Plus, I’ll need your help after I’m done at the harbor.”

He opened his mouth with a snarl, and then closed it again, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”

“Look, I’m not gonna go to Malice loaded down with all my caps and valuables. I’ll need you to take most of it home for me. In a day or two, come back for me. Fly back south, and I’ll find a safe place to signal you, somewhere on top of a roof.”

He sat down, burying his muzzle in his fetlock for a moment, shutting his eyes, and for what felt like eternity, he didn’t answer.

“Fine.” He stood up and looked at me again. “But I don’t like it, y’hear?”

“I know.” I stood up, rummaging in my packs to start digging out my caps and the more valuable pieces of my store inventory, handing off everything but my sword, 200 caps, and some scrap metal that Grit couldn’t carry. I kept the pistol holster and ammo for the pistol, as well, and tried searching for it in my bags before remembering that I’d dropped it on the floor. Next to Copper.

We both walked back inside to get the body.

In silence.

* * * * * * *

“Looks like that’s the th’ place.”

Grit and I finally arrived at the west end of the bridge that once spanned the Bridle River. Once we had gotten close, our path had swerved towards a half-collapsed house that had a skywagon lodged in the roof. Enough of it still stood, though, that we could approach the bridge without being seen. On the shore, in the crook of where the bridge touched land again, a small boathouse and dock stood quietly, defiantly against the ages. Or maybe Malice’s gang had built it, given the shoddy state of the house. In either case, a large airboat sat in the water, tied to the dock and guarded by a pair of ponies in makeshift armor.

“Okay, give me the reins,” I said in a hushed tone. We had taken turns dragging Cop- the body for the past few hours, putting it on a sheet of corrugated metal roof and pulling it like a sled. Grit was able to pull it for longer. Each step I took while pulling sent knives of pain through the bite wound in my hind leg, and each time we switched I checked the bandages for signs of fresh blood. What I’d pay for a healing potion… Looking back at my hind legs, I caught sight of the patch of uneven hair covering the magical energy burn I’d taken weeks ago, back when all this started. Almost there. Just… just a bit more and I can go home.

All I had to do was take this body to the bridge, deliver it to Malice, and then I could go home.

I forced myself not to dwell on the alternative.

“Y’sure about this?” Grit asked.

I couldn’t look at him as I answered. “I’m fine. We can’t do this again. They’ll hear.”

Behind me, I heard him growl and stomp a hoof in the dirt. “Still don’t sit right with me.” He floated the tattered rope over to me, and I bit down on it, tasting mildew. Craning my head to look back, I saw his bags swelled to bursting, while I still had my supply of scrap, some of the armor, my sword, and the revolver. “I’ll look for ya t’morrow an’ th’ day after.” I nodded, looking at him to see him boring straight into my eyes. “An’ I better see you there, ‘cause I got more words for you ‘bout talkin’ before doin’.”

After a moment, I slowly nodded again.

“Good.”

We stood, staring at each other in awkward silence for almost a full minute before I turned around and started walking, pulling the sled around the corner and out into the open. It was easier to pull on the broken road than it’d been over rough terrain, but the weight still pulled at me. Dragged me down, wanting me to turn around and run. I didn’t dare turn around to look at the body.

After a minute or two, the raiders noticed me, but they didn’t move or say anything until I’d pulled the body all the way to the stairs leading to the dock. One of them was a grey-coated unicorn buck with a messy green mane, and the other was a scrawny earth pony with a white coat, though it was splotched with so much mud I mistook it for brown at first. The unicorn took a step forward and pulled out a shotgun, holding it near but not pointing it at me. “Stop right there. You the one Malice sent after Copper?” I nodded. “Well, where’s the fuckin’ bastard?” I winced, but nodded my head back towards the sled.

The earth pony spoke next, trotting up the stairs to look behind me. He grinned wide, snickering. “She’s got ‘im alright. Fucker’s dead. But she put chains on ‘im anyway.”

“Seriously?! Lemme see!” The unicorn, completely forgetting me, trotted up the stairs to get a look for himself. I didn’t dare move. “Hah! Oh, Malice’s gonna love this.” He looked at me, putting away the shotgun. “Alright, get him loaded on the boat an’ we’ll get goin’. Place is fuckin’ boring anyway.”

Grabbing the rope with my magic, I pulled it aside so I could speak. “I… I can’t lift him by myself.”

“Fuckin’ goddesses, alright, alright. I’ll help carry ‘im down.”

With two unicorns lifting the body, it was much easier to carry hi- it down to the boat. With the body loaded, the unicorn untied the boat and we took off south, down the Bridle river.

To Malice.

* * * * * * *

I thanked Celestia that the two raiders spent the whole trip ignoring me. Instead, they argued about who would win some upcoming pit fight. I just tried to block out their conversation, and tried to block out my own thoughts of Malice making me fight in whatever pit they were talking about. Ahead of us, as we traveled south, the river split into four significant forks, with dozens more streams and creeks burrowing away into the Bayou. We veered down the rightmost folk, and at first there wasn’t any major change to the landscape except a smell of salt in the air that got stronger the longer we traveled.

But then we reached the mouth of the river, and the sight of nothing but sheer, open water greeted me, and left my jaw hanging wide. Water stretched as far as the eye could see, and as the boat turned right to follow the coast, I stood up just to stare at the view. Was this the ocean? I’d heard stories of an ocean, but only that it was a big lake. This left me short of breath.

The boat rocked on a wave, and I laid back down out of fear of falling out, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the view. It was unbroken, nothing but water as far as the eye could see.

Wait, no. Not unbroken. In the distance stood a structure, something definitely pony-made. Some kind of platform, standing defiantly above the waves on four pillars, with wireframe buildings atop it. I tried to pick out details, but in the hazy light, all I could grasp was the basic shape. I wondered how far away it was, how big it was. What was it even for?

Staring at the mysterious building in the sea ended up passing the time well until we started turning into the coast again. I turned my head to look at the coast for the first time since we left the Bridle river, and saw the harbor.

Concrete fingers jutted out of the coastline, some empty, some with broken ships still tied to them. We passed these by, turning towards land and slowing down as we sailed through a short, artificial canal, past a series of docks with walls to block out the water. The scaffolding structures around us had decorations of spikes and makeshift bridges leading between them, and it looked like we were headed towards a gathering of at least a dozen airboats, all stopped and tied to one dock, huddling around one ship in particular.

Finally, we slowed to a stop, and the unicorn jerked his head to get me off his boat. The dock itself was a concrete slab with stairs leading away from the airboat, but before me was a massive steel structure, with metal scaffolding wrapping over the top of it. It looked like a ship, but it was larger than any I’d ever seen before. From where I was, I could see the top of a building of some kind built onto the deck, and I could still faintly make out the engraving of its name on the side of the hull. H.M.S. Shining Armor. But none of these were what held my attention.

Instead, I was preoccupied with the crowd of leering ponies on the ship, on the scaffolding, and on the docks around us.

They whispered amongst themselves, groaned, or grinned at me, and I quickly tried to find something else to look at, anything. I was the center of attention here. I could feel their eyes boring into me, watching me, judging me. A few of them called out in mocking voices, but I didn’t hear what they said.

One voice did cut through the noise, however. A voice like poisoned candy.

“Well, well, well, well! Lookit this! Lil’ blue came back after all!”

Malice. Just the sight of her standing on the hull of the ship, looking down at me, turned my entire body to ice. Her armored tail, idly swinging in the air behind her, snapped against the deck with a sharp clang, silencing the other conversations. “An’ she’s even on time. I tell you what, Alloy, I am very glad t’ see you. You’ve jus’ put quite a few shiny caps in my pocket.”

What? Of all the reactions, all the possible ways she could greet me, the things she might say, I had never expected… whatever this was. I swallowed, trying to wet my throat and answer, but all I could manage was, “What?”

The mare beamed at me. “Well, y’see, we had ourselves a bit of a wager goin’. Whether o’ not you’d come down here on time, whether you’d have Copper with you, or if you’d jus’ try t’ cut an’ run.” She stabbed a hoof at me. “Odds were not in your favor, lil’ blue. I think it was… 70-30, if I recall.” She started walking towards a boarding ramp, mismatched armor on her hooves clanking and thunking against the deck, descending towards me as she continued. “But I said t’ myself, ‘this one seems like th’ type t’ uphold a deal.’ ” She stopped her descent, turning from the scaffolding ramp she was on to look at me again. “An’ here. You. Are.”

My ears fell flat. Despite Malice’s “praise,” I hadn’t upheld the deal. I’d come back with Copper, even following the letter of the deal by bringing him here with a collar around his neck. I glanced back at the airboat where his body lay, then winced as I realized I was directing attention to the body. Fucking stupid! Everyone would have seen me looking. I was the center of fucking attention. Say something! I had to explain myself. Had to get ahead of this. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

“Yes, I had noticed, lil’ blue. Y’all held up your end of th’ deal, but it has not escaped me that Copper seems t’ be a bit… dead.” She got to the bottom of the last ramp, walking across the mud and broken concrete straight at me, tail waving in the air behind her as she marched closer. I slowly exhaled, trying to stay calm. “Now I understand this wa’n’t an easy job, di’n’t even have a guarantee o’ success. Much as it pains me t’ say so, I always knew there was a chance I’d never see my dear, sweet Copper again.” I heard some of the ponies around me snicker, but Malice silenced them again with a glare. “But I have t’ know, what happened out there? Killed by a radigator? Run inta trouble with a trigger-happy ghoul? Dead when you found ‘im? It would ease my weary heart t’ know how he died.” The raider leader stopped just in front of me. Her tail still swung in the air behind her idly, hungry for blood. “If you don’t know, own up to it. After all, I hate liars.” All sweetness in her voice was gone by the time she finished her last word. She met my eyes, and I couldn’t look away. She could see everything about me, I was sure of it. She could see what I was afraid of, what I was trying to hide, and what I held dear. I took a step back, but she didn’t budge. I wanted to run, to hide, maybe I could jump on the airboat and get away, but I knew that there were enough guns trained on me that I wouldn’t get three steps before being cut down, if Malice herself didn’t break into a gallop and catch me.

She was silent now. Watching me. Waiting patiently for an answer. I tried to force myself to speak, but I knew the longer I took to answer, the more damning my lie would be. I found him in a Stable. A ghoul in there shot him before I could get to him. I stared into her eyes again. I found him in a Stable! She could see. A ghoul in there shot him before I could get to him! I opened my mouth, but my throat was dry again. I couldn’t move. I found him! In a Stable!

“I found him in a Stable.” Malice’s expression was unchanged. “A ghoul…” She narrowed her eyes, and I took a step back.

She knew!

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out the truth. “I killed him after we got out.” Malice’s face was neutral, but her tail stopped swinging now. “I collared him, but then shot him after, just this morning.”

Malice just stood there for an eternity. Even her tail was still. Then she grinned, showing a row of filthy yellow teeth.

And then she just started laughing. She doubled over, snorting and giggling like a foal.

I’d never heard such a genuine laugh before.

* * * * * * *

After Malice had recovered, she’d ordered Copper’s body dragged out the boat and hung up by his collar on the scaffolding. I thanked Celestia that she invited me away so I wouldn’t have to see her order being carried out, and I numbly followed her up the ramp and back to the ship, still trying to process what had happened. She hadn’t said anything in response to my confession. Just the laughter. Was she so mad she wanted to torture me herself? Make me her new slave? The idea made my blood run cold again, and I stopped in my tracks. Malice turned to face me a few paces ahead. “What’sa matter? C’mon, keep up.” Her smile was back, and she waved a hoof. Her tail had been left to drag motionless along the ground as we walked, and I took that as good sign.

I forced myself to keep walking, following Malice into the structure that sat atop the ship. It was surprisingly intact, though covered in streaks of rust. We walked through the narrow corridors, barely wide enough for two ponies side-by-side, and anypony we came across immediately moved aside to let us pass. After ascending a few flights of stairs, we ended up in a wide room with a metal table in the middle, bolted to the floor and covered with an engraved grid. Encircling the room were places for half a dozen ponies to sit facing the walls or whatever was on the desks in front of them before Malice had moved in. Opposite the door was a makeshift throne, with a sharp, heavy sheet of metal serving as a high back, reaching almost to the ceiling. A mattress lay in the corner, and a random collection of junk lined the walls on haphazardly constructed shelves. It was almost all pre-war junk, but I picked out a few choice bits: some polished medals, a telescope, a partially-unrolled map. The anti-machine rifle she had carried into Four Shoes hung next to the throne, and behind it was a row of blown-out windows, offering an impressive view of the harbor, the Bridle River, and the ocean beyond. Once again, I saw that same structure offshore, the platform with four pillars holding it in place above the water. The way it just stood still, without rocking or swaying, made me think that it was just built tall enough to stand high above the waves, rather than floating.

“Wan’ a drink, lil’ blue?” Malice closed the heavy metal door behind us and trotted over to her throne. She plopped down on the overstuffed pink cushion that was its seat, and lit her horn, rustling around under the table before pulling out a bottle of amber liquid and two glasses. I nodded to her. Even if I had wanted to decline, the thought of upsetting her mood chilled me. But even that aside, by Luna I did want a fucking drink.

Malice poured out a little bit of the booze into each glass, sliding one across the filthy table to me. I picked it up in my magic, catching a whiff of something aged two hundred years past its prime. The other glass clinked against mine, making me jump and look up again. Malice’s purple magic was wrapped around the other glass, and she beamed at me from her throne. “Relax, Alloy! Y’all’re jumpier than ol’ Red Bean was!” Chuckling at her own joke, she tipped the glass into her lips and took a sip. I felt sick as the memory of the other slaver rushed back to me, the one Malice had made me fight in the town square of Four Shoes. The one she had killed when I beat him.

I focused on the glass, taking a sip and trying not to down the whole drink at once. My eyes went wide as I coughed and nearly gagged from the taste as it hit me like a buck to the throat, burning my nostrils and throat. I set the glass down in front of me on the table and sat down on the floor, staring at Malice. I couldn’t take all this anymore. For better or worse, I had to know what the fuck this was all about. “What,” I swallowed, taking a shaky breath and meeting the raider’s eyes. “What do you want from this? What are you going to do to me?”

Malice leaned back in her throne, cocking her head to one side and holding the drink aloft. “Why, I’m offended by that! What’s wrong with jus’ havin’ a drink with somepony?”

My eyes went wide. “N-no, that’s not what I-” I took another breath and another sip of the drink, this time relishing the punch to my throat, something to try and snap me to my senses. I needed to find my fucking nerves again! “I told you I shot Copper, and the next thing you do is give me a drink? Why? Aren’t you…” I hesitated. I wanted to ask why wasn’t she mad, why wasn’t she trying to kill me. Of all the ways I thought Malice would take this news, I never expected it would be this easy.

She beamed at me, setting her glass down on the table. “Aw, honey, I gotta come clean with y’all. I only wanted Copper back so I could kill th’ rat myself. I didn’ give a single shit ‘bout whether he came home alive or not!” She waved a hoof in the air idly. “I mean, think ‘bout it. If I’d really wanted ‘im back, I’da sent one o’ my own ponies after ‘im.”

If I hadn’t been sitting already, I was sure I’d have lost the balance in my legs. Already the room felt like it was spinning from what she’d said. Two weeks… All that work… for nothing?! I was sure my jaw was hanging open, but I didn’t care. If only somehow I’d known all she wanted was to have him dead, maybe if she had told me. Celestia above, the lies, getting forced out of Sugarland, let alone everything that happened this morning…

“Aw, don’ get all upset. I still wanted t’ be sure he was dead. S’like I told you before, Alloy, I hate liars an’ cheats. Copper tried t’ stab me in th’ back, an’ ran away when I found out.” She finished her drink and sat back in her throne, grinning at me. “But now he’s dead, an’ I wanted his body strung up t’ make sure ever’pony got th’ message.”

I finished my drink, my eyes wide. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. At some point, I must have leaned against the table for support. All of that was… she never even cared about having him home again? I winced, pain lancing up my hind leg from the bite and stab. “You just,” I swallowed, feeling lightheaded. The liquor left a lingering burn in my throat that travelled up to my head in a tingle. “All of that… for nothing?!”

“Now don’ go makin’ a scene, lil’ blue.” She stood up and put her forelegs on the table, so that she stared down at me. “Like I said, I did wanna be sure he was dead. An’ my promise if y’all had skipped town on me? I keep my promises.”

Malice stared into my eyes a moment before sitting back down on her haunches, smiling again. “But why send Chainlink, then? You,” I swallowed, trying to ease my parched throat, “You said you had given the job to him before…” I trailed off, trying to stop myself from reliving the fight at the Ministry building. Chainlink looming over me, ready to clap a collar around my neck. I shook my head firmly. Not now. Not now.

Malice giggled a little, lolling her head to one side. “Didn’ I tell y’all b’fore? Chainlink was an asshole. Hell, I gave ‘im th’ job ‘cause he was an asshole. Oh, lil’ blue, th’ look on his face when I told him what he needed t’ do!” She sat up in her throne, grinning and shaking her head. “An’ then he tried to blow it off, found himself in your neck o’ th’ Bayou, an’, well, th’ rest is history.”

She righted herself and picked up the bottle of liquor with a haze of purple magic, waving it to and fro. “But y’all took care o’ business, an’ showed me whatcha were made of! Ain’t just anypony can take care of a job like this.” She beamed, all hostility lost as she poured herself another drink with her magic. “I had eyes on you, lil’ blue. Not all th’ time, mind, but enough t’ see one tough mare out in th’ Wasteland. I commend your abilities.” Malice floated the bottle over towards me and I shook my head without thinking, preferring not to drink anymore. I had blurted out enough. She inclined her head quizzically, then set the bottle down again. “An’ this brings me right around t’ th’ reason I asked y’all up here.” With another sip, she slouched over her throne and waved a foreleg at me. “I want y’all t’ join me.”

“You… what?” I couldn’t help myself. I was stunned. Had I understood her right? She wanted me to join the harbor’s raider gang?!

“Well sure, why not? Y’all got th’ talent, resourcefulness, you’re a shrewd businessmare by all accounts, an’ I could use somepony with your metalworkin’ talent if I’m bein’ honest.” She lifted her glass again, swirling the golden liquid around the glass before taking another sip. “But none o’ those’re th’ reason y’all should join me.”

At this point, Malice had my rapt attention. Some part of me was… proud of how she had described me.

I remembered her screaming at Red Bean, then impaling him through the throat. I glanced out the window and caught a glimpse of Copper’s body dangling from the scaffolding by his collar and chain. The one I’d clasped around him. I forced myself to look away, back to Malice, trying to control my breathing.

The armored mare stood up from her throne and started walking around the table towards me, slowly and calmly. “Tell me, lil’ blue,” Her voice had dropped low, speaking softly, almost gently, “in all th’ time you spent walkin’ th’ Bayou, did you feel welcome anywhere?”

I winced, remembering Bourbon kicking me out of Sugarland. Laveau trying to capture me. Stable 15 had been nice, but I felt more like a curiosity there. Pillar seemed to want nothing to do with me. No, Four Shoes was home for me, and I knew it.

“An’ what about that town o’ yours. Th’ one I first met y’all in. I mean, my instructions didn’ say y’all had t’ leave your home. So how come I hear tell o’ y’all walkin’ through th’ Bayou yourself?”

I looked away. She was right. Four Shoes had kicked me out too when they felt threatened by Malice. It… It was Malice’s fault, but Gumbo and the other shopkeepers had caved so easily.

Malice stopped, tapping her tail against the ground. I looked up to see her standing just a few feet away. “But here, with jus’ a word from yours truly, you’d have a home right here. I could get y’all set up where y’could do your metalwork, trade with anypony here, an’ it’d be a damn sight better than that run-down tradin’ stop y’all got up north. But more’n that, you’d be part o’ th’ family.” She clicked a hoof against the ground for emphasis on the last word. Family. “Down here, we look out fer each other, an’ we help each other, an’ we do whatever we want t’ th’ shitty, fuckin’ Wasteland that thinks it can rip us t’ pieces.”

I swallowed. A single question hanging in my head like the body that swayed outside, just on the edge of sight. “What about…” I waved a hoof towards the window. “What about Copper?”

She looked outside with me and clicked her tongue. “S’Like I said, Copper tried t’ stab me in th’ back. He turned traitor, an’ tried t’ bring down mah family. His family. Turned his back on all of us. So.” She nodded her head towards the body. “There he is.” Her head turned back to me. “An’ here you are. So whaddya say?”

I said nothing. My mouth worked in silence as I tried to weigh the pros and cons. Tried to treat this like any business deal. That’s all this was, wasn’t it? I stood up and started pacing without even realizing it. Malice said nothing. I couldn’t believe I was even considering this. She was a raider! She was probably even lying. But at that very moment, I felt the my blood start to burn. Gumbo had been a wimp. Pillar was an asshole. Laveau had lied. Bourbon had been an asshole. And here I was, being offered a home. I felt a clawing sickness, but part of me wondered if-

“Tell ya what.” My train of thought derailed as Malice spoke again. “I know this inn’t an easy decision, an’ it’d be unfair o’ me t’ make y’all choose on th’ spot. Time comes y’all make up your mind, head on down t’ the bridge again. I’ll leave th’ door open for ya.” She cocked a warm smile and finished the last of her whiskey. “Well that’s quite enough talkin’ for t’day!” She reared up and stomped her armor-shod hooves on the metal deck emphatically. “I believe I’ve held y’all up long enough. Best be gettin’ on home ‘fore it gets dark. I’ll have one o’ my ponies take y’all as far north as we can so y’all can get back t’ town safe an’ sound.” She collected the two glasses, putting them away alongside the bottle of liquor, waving a hoof to shoo me out the door.

Without thinking, I walked towards the door, only turning back when Malice called out to me. “An’ Alloy? I ‘spect t’ hear from y’all soon.” She smiled again and then turned to look out the window, closing the door behind me as soon as I was out of the room.

* * * * * * *

The same unicorn and earth pony buck took me back, on the same airboat. But by the time they kicked me off and sped back to the harbor, it was already dark. I thought about finding shelter to sleep for the night when I realized where they’d dropped me.

The Ministry of Morale building. Where I’d fought and killed Chainlink and the other raiders. Where I’d passed through hundreds of times on my way back and forth to Shipper. I strained to listen, but didn’t hear anything trying to sneak up on me. With home only a few hours’ walk away, I set on the path I knew like my own cutie mark, making my way faster than usual, even as my bones ached and my wounds spiked.

I wasn’t sure how long it took me to get home. I heard things rustle in the dark, sometimes just the sound of my own heartbeat. I sped up, passing landmark after landmark for the journey. There was the toppled bell tower. There was the house with the skywagon in the roof. There was the wagon with the ‘X’ scratched into the hood.

And there, up ahead, were the torchlights of Four Shoes.

I’d finally made it home.

Nausea clawed at my stomach as my own shop came into view. I was finally home, but after everything I’d been through, I couldn’t even feel relief at being here. I was tired, hungry, and ached from a dozen different places. I couldn’t even muster the energy to find Grit and let him know I was okay. He was probably worried, but it could wait until morning.

I trotted up to my house. If anypony saw me, they didn’t say anything. Walking around the storefront, I just made a beeline for my workspace. My forge. At long last, my forge. As soon as I passed under the covered awning I’d set up in the back, I collapsed, and knew I wouldn’t be getting up for a few hours at least. That was fine.

I was finally home.

A chill ran down my spine, and I curled up for warmth, sweeping my tail close. It felt colder next to my forge than it had ever been, probably from disuse. I was finally here, this was what I’d worked so hard to get back. But I still felt sick to my stomach. I shuddered and closed my eyes, resting my muzzle on my fetlocks.

Tomorrow.

I’d feel better tomorrow.

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Footnote: Level Up!
Perk Added: Pathfinder - You’ve been all across the Bayou, and have gained a better understanding of how to move through it! Reduce travel times by 25%!

Author's Notes:

This was a hard one to write. Ordinarily I’d skip parts that were giving me trouble, come back to them later, but in this particular case, the first scene was what I agonized over. Anyway, I have a definitive goal for finishing the next chapter draft, so I hope Chapter 12 will be more timely. Thanks for reading, and thanks again to Pipistrelle, Mondo, and Promptanon for their editing skills.