“Thank you for what you did. No one ever took care of me like that before.”

My world was a very dark place for some amount of time that I couldn't determine. Though, in hindsight, I suppose I hadn't exactly been living the brightest of lives up until this point. Probably coming to the end though, wasn't I? I might be alive for the moment, but there was no way that I'd be able to remain this way for long. The Seaddle guards or that mob of ponies had me for sure; and there was no way that they'd let a pony like me live for very long. The only reason I was probably even still breathing at all right now was because they hadn't settled on whether they wanted me to die fast or slow.

If there was a silver lining in all that happened, it was that Windfall hopefully wouldn't be implicated along with me. She'd do well to leave the city though, before word got around that she'd been traveling with me for years before today.

I mentally chuckled at the absurdity of the pegasus living while I died as being a 'silver lining'. Jackboot, you sorry sack of shit. You just put yourself through a whole load of crap in order to make sure you stopped giving a shit about that filly, and here you were, at the end, grateful that she wouldn't be dying on your count. What the fuck happened to you?

Probably just growing soft and senile in my old age.

Be Honest.

Oh, for fuck's sake! You guys are still here? Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm about to die, let me have a little peace at the end. I've earned that much, haven't I?

Be Honest.

The fuck I haven't! Yeah, I was a real fucking bastard in my earlier days, but that wasn't my fucking fault, was it?! I was just a fucking colt! I didn't know any better. My father told me to kill, and so I did; because what foal doesn't do what their parents tell them to at that age? Besides, killing was what everypony did in the Wasteland. Merchants killed bandits, bandits killed merchants, gangers killed whoever looked at them funny, Hoofington raiders killed anypony, and I killed who I needed to to get what I wanted.

That's how life was, and so that's what I did. I didn't regret any of it.

My mind flashed with the image of a little white colt laying dead in the dark corridors of a Seaddle mansion.

...Fine. Yeah, I regretted that one thing. But that was the only-

An image of Golden Vision crying in her little dark closet of an apartment as a stallion that looked a lot like me climbed on top of her.

Hey, I wasn't the one that ki-

Now I saw myself running down a hallway while the desperate cries of a young pegasus filly echoed after me.

I went back for her!

...You made your point. So I had a few regrets. Who didn't?

Then I was back in a place I didn't expect to be: the very first bed that I ever remembered sleeping in. It was made from thistle brush wrapped in thick brahmin hide. Not as soft as a bed from a Stable, I would later discover, but a lot more comfortable that the hard scrabble that was the ground itself. I was young. Not yet nearly a stallion. It was pitch black outside, the middle of the night. I wasn't asleep though. I couldn't sleep. She was calling for me.

Perhaps she wasn't using my name. She knew better than that, but the two of us knew that I was the one that she was begging to save her between the deeper, older, grunts of our father.

I just lay there, staring straight up with my eyes wide open as I listened to her pleas.

You never came, not even once.

No...no I didn't.

I was suddenly my older self, standing in the doorway of my old sleeping tent, looking at a small colt version of me laying awake in bed. Standing beside me was Whiplash, looking the way I had last seen her the night I'd fled. She'd be a lot older now, not the adolescent piss-yellow earth pony mare with a dark gray mane and tail that I saw at this moment. From a nearby tent, I could still hear her filly self crying and my father grunting.

Why?

I was scared.

There was no sarcasm or malicious chiding in Whiplash's words as she spoke to me now, and so I was honest with her. This was a side of her that my subconscious rarely saw fit to express, and I didn't want that to change. Not right at this moment anyway. What was happening to her right now, what had happened back then, it wasn't something to really joke about at a time like this.

Too scared to face Steel Bit?

Yeah, that was part of it.

And the other part?

I didn't want to see it.

Why not?

Because that would make it real. Lying in my bed like that, just listening, I could at least try and pretend that everything that was going on was happening to somepony else. It wasn't you that Father was raping. It wasn't me that you were crying for. All of those sounds mattered to somepony else, not me. That was what I kept telling myself at least. If I'd actually gone out and seen it...I wouldn't be able to pretend anymore.

What about now?

I looked over and I saw Whiplash walking towards the tent where she'd slept as a filly. She stood at the door looking in. Her expression was...sad. She was watching her own suffering, unable to do anything about it except remember. Assuming a hallucination of my own mind could possibly remember something that I'd never actually seen with my own eyes.

What would I see if I looked in there, I wondered? I know what I'd imagined it looking like. That was probably what it would be. I guess, in that regard, it wouldn't be so bad if I walked over. So I did. I strode up next to Whiplash and peaked into the tent.

Only it wasn't Steel Bit I saw rutting my little half-sister. It was me...rutting Windfall, as she had looked when I first discovered her in that old barn. I withdrew as quickly as I could and looked away with a gasp.

What the fuck?! Why would I have seen that?

The cries were different too, I noticed. It was no longer Whiplash's voice that I heard making general pleas into the night for help. It was Windfall, begging me to stop. I ducked my head and covered my ears with my hooves, but it was a useless gesture. This was all happening in my own head, after all. Somehow the crying and begging got even louder.

Make it stop!

It got even louder.

Please!

Why should your pleas get answered when mine didn't?

There was no mirth in her voice. It was posed as a genuine question seeking an honest answer. I just didn't have a response to give. There wasn't one. I didn't really deserve for any of this stop. I'd earned this. Maybe there wasn't anything that I could have realistically done to make Steel Bit stop back then. But that wasn't the point was it? What I'd done had been even worse, in some ways.

I had always pretended that it never happened. The morning after a particularly bad night, I would just act like I'd heard nothing when I saw her the next morning.

Windfall's crying grew in volume once again. I futilely buried my head deeper under my arms, cringing.

What do you want from me, Whiplash?! You want an apology? What the fuck would an apology matter? It wouldn't change a damned thing that happened, and you aren't even the real Whiplash anyway!

You want me to suffer? You're in my head. You damn well know that I've fucking suffered! I've lost everything I ever had in this life that made living bearable. I'm about to fucking die, for Celestia's sake. How much more could I realistically suffer at this point? And don't for a minute think that I don't know all of this is my own damned fault!

What the fuck do you want?!

There was silence.

The crying had stopped. I peaked out from under my hooves. The White Hoof camp was gone. I was sitting out in the middle of the Wasteland now, and I wasn't alone. There were other ponies around me as well. Ponies that I recognized. A blue unicorn mare with golden eyes. A small unicorn foal. A dark gray unicorn mare with a blue earth pony stallion sitting next to her. There were others as well. Dozens of others.

Whiplash was still standing next to me.

I see. It's not just my sister. All of you guys want an apology too, is that it? Fine. I'm sorry.

What good does an apology do any of them? Whiplash posed with an amused note in her voice, they're all dead. Dead ponies don't need apologies.

Then what do they need?

Nothing.

So then why are they here?

Whiplash chuckled, they're always here, Jackboot.

I supposed they were. This was my head, after all. I knew who I'd killed, and why I'd done it. Well, on the bright side, they wouldn't be here for much longer. Once the ponies of Seaddle executed me, this would all finally end.

Taking the easy way out. I'm not surprised.

It wasn't Whiplash who'd spoken that time, but I had instantly recognized it. I whipped around and saw a white pegasus with blue eyes and a teal-streaked mane walking towards me through the group of ponies I'd killed. What was she doing mixed in with that lot?

I didn't kill you...

Really? How long do you think I'll last on my own?

Foxglove is with you. She's a smart pony. She'll help you.

Did you see Foxglove anywhere nearby when I left?

I didn't kill you, I repeated stubbornly.

No. You just taught me how to kill, and then left me on my own. Just like Steel Bit did for you.

Why wouldn't I end up the same way?

I didn't...you're a good pony. You'll do better than I did.

Are you so sure you set that good of an example?

Does it matter? I can't do anything about it. This isn't even you. I'm just arguing with myself.

You're lying to yourself is what you're doing.

I've lied to everypony else in my life. Why leave myself out of it?

Do you enjoy it?

I'm used to it.

That wasn't what I asked.

I know.

If I asked you a question, would you give an honest answer?

Probably not.

Windfall cracked a wan smile. At least my subconscious had a sense of humor, If you had a second chance, would you change?

Change is a hard thing to ask of a pony.

Would you try?

Only now did I realize that it was just me and Windfall standing in the Wasteland around us. None of the other ponies from my past were there. It wasn't really Windfall of course. Just my mind projecting. The question was a real one though; and lying would just be an attempt to deceive myself at the end of it all, and what was the point of that? It was just hypothetical anyway. Ponies like me didn't deserve second chances.

Would I have tried to change if I had it all to do over again?

Maybe.

I've got questions for you.

A frown creased my features.

I just gave you my answer.

Can you hear me?

Of course I can fucking hear you, you idiot. You're in my head.

Wake up!

During that last final command, it was Windfall's lips that were moving, but that had most certainly not been her voice that came out. It was the voice of a rather annoyed stallion. What the fuck was going on?

“I said, wake up!”

The Wasteland dissolved around me as it was gradually replaced by a concrete box. It was no longer a young alabaster pegasus that was facing me, but an irritated looking gray unicorn stallion. He wasn't the only one in the box with me either. Next to him was the familiar form of Seaddle's leading physician, Doctor Lancet. To either side of me were two earth ponies adorned in the midnight blue armor of the Lunar Republic's guards.

Nor was I sitting up. I was laying on the cold stone floor of what was very obviously a prison cell. Heavy metal manacles were clasped around my fetlocks, linked together by a thick chain that would be long enough only to allow me the barest of footsteps if I tried to walk in them. Not that I thought I'd be doing a whole lot of walking any time soon. Though, I had to admit that I wasn't hurting nearly as much as I felt that I should be, given what I remembered going through before waking up here. Doctor Lancet had probably had something to do with that if the small satchel of medical supplies slung across his side was any indication.

Upon seeing my eyes flutter open, the gray stallion smiled and gave a pleased nod, “glad you could join us,” he glanced at Lancet, “thank you, Doctor. You're dismissed,” The physician looked briefly between myself and the other unicorn and then turned around and walked away. He left through the open iron-barred door that I could now see comprised one side of the otherwise solid concrete room I was lying in. Yeah, a jail cell alright.

So, I wasn't dead yet. Great. I certainly wasn't far off from it though, by the looks of things. I shifted in an attempt to make myself a little more comfortable, and discovered that I still possessed more than a few aches and pain throughout my body. It seemed that the treatments that Lancet had provided had been rather limited in scope. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. There was no doubt in my mind where I'd be going once these ponies eventually took me out of this cell, and there was little sense in wasting a whole lot of medicine on a pony that you were going to kill in the near future anyway.

Oh, fuck, Lancet! Fear crept along the back of my neck. He knew that Windfall and I were partners. Hell, I think he might actually still believe that she was my daughter. If he knew I was a White Hoof, and he'd been in here with these ponies...had he told them about her? Was the Republic out hunting her right now?

“Now,” the remaining unicorn continued, interrupting my frantic thoughts, “the Princess has a few questions for you.”

The Princess? Did he mean Luna? She was going to be here? The Princess rarely left her palace, as far as I knew. Ponies in the Republic talked about the day she'd arrived of course, and how she'd looked when she saved the city. I think there were a couple speeches that she'd given every few years or so. But other than that, she never came out in public. She wouldn't actually be here to question me personally, would she?

“How many more of you are in this city?” the unicorn demanded simply.

I blinked, “I thought...” had I misheard?

“You thought what?” the unicorn quirked an eyebrow.

“You said the Princess had questions...”

He snickered, as did the guards with us, though in a far more guarded volume, “you thought I meant she was going to be here?” he laughed out loud at this as I grimaced, “a pony like you is hardly worth Her Majesty's time. That's what she has me for. I speak for the Princess in all things.

“You do know who I am, don't you?”

I actually did, as a matter of fact. I'd never met this pony personally, but I had seen images of him, and knew who he was from the various proclamations and decries posted in Seaddle. Every pony in the Republic would certainly recognize his voice from the regular broadcasts he made, “Ebony Song,” the Prime Minister of the New Lunar Republic, and the Princess' right-hoof pony.

“Correct,” he nodded. Then his expression became more serious, “now, I ask you again: how many other spies does Whiplash have in my city?”

“I don't know,” I could have tried explaining that I wasn't a White Hoof anymore, but I doubted very much that he would believe it. Lying wouldn't get me much either, I imagined. Not that the truth was likely to get a warm reception from these ponies anyway.

“Of course you don't,” he sighed in a bored tone. Then his horn started to glow. Before I could even hazard a guess as to what type of spell he was casting, I started to scream. I'd never been on fire before, but I couldn't help but feel as though what I was going through right now would be consistent with the pain an immolated pony would be feeling. Every single follicle of fur in my coat was it's own stabbing pain in my flesh. I writhed in agony as I tried to squirm away from the source of my agony. The only problem was that I was the source. My entire world was pain.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the pain vanished, leaving me a panting, sniveling wreck of a pony lying there on the floor.

“How many spies?” Ebony Song asked again, as though nothing had happened, “As well as identities and locations, if you could.”

I was still recovering from what I'd just been put through, my eyes wide with the knowledge that I would be going through all of that again if I couldn't devise an answer that would satisfy this pony. But what could I possibly say? If I told him the truth, he'd just think I was holding out like any good and loyal agent would. If I provided him with some false information, he probably wouldn't believe it anyway. After all, wouldn't a pony in my position say whatever it took to not have to go through that again?

Well, fuck, if I was just going to be tortured to death anyway, “two hundred and seventeen,” I managed to get out without stuttering too much.

Ebony Song rolled his eyes, and then I was consumed with torment once more. It probably lasted longer this time, I couldn't tell. From my perspective, it was just futile screaming and writhing. When it ended, my cheeks were soaked with tears and I'd managed to soil myself. I guess I wasn't going to get to die with even a shred of dignity, was I?

“Would you like to try again?”

“Just kill me...” I managed to get out through haggard breaths.

“Don't worry,” the unicorn said in what was becoming an irritatingly proper tone. It was like he was chatting with somepony about the weather, “we'll get around to that. I just want to see if I can't get a few answers out of you. You're not the first White Hoof we've caught skulking around this city, after all. I doubt you'll be the last. Which, honestly, is perfectly fine with me.”

I glanced up at him in confusion. He was happy about White Hoof spies being in his city? The unicorn flashed a rather cold grin down at me, “the citizens of the Republic feel ever so safe when they see the headsmare's axe come down on one of your lot. It reminds them that their Princess is protecting them from all the wicked ponies out there in the Wasteland.

“Ponies like you are good for morale,” he cleared his throat and the grin faded away, “but back to the question at hoof...” his horn glowed.

I was screaming again.

Please, Celestia, let me die! Let this end!

Maybe I hadn't been the greatest pony that had ever walked the Wasteland. I'm sure I deserved a lot for the things that I'd done to others. There was no denying that I'd inflicted a lot of pain of my own on ponies during my life, and I'd accepted a long time ago that I'd probably end up accounting for it all with my life some way or another. But this...

“Believe it or not,” Ebony Song said once he'd paused his spell once more, “you're being a lot more stubborn than most agents I've questioned. Your lot don't tend to be very loyal when it comes down to it. A little blinding pain and you're ready to sell out your own mothers,” he quirked an eyebrow in my direction, “whatever did Whiplash do to secure such loyalty from you?”

“Fuck Whiplash,” I sputtered, still quivering on the ground. My eyes remained shut in anticipation of another round of torture. I didn't know what I could probably do to steel myself against pain like that, but anything was worth a try.

“Indeed?” the unicorn sounded genuinely surprised by my comment, “so you're ready to talk then?”

I tensed up, ready for what I knew was going to come, “I wasn't sent by Whiplash. I don't know who her spies are.”

Just as I suspected, the pain wasn't dulled in even the slightest. It was under my flesh, inside my joints, ravaging my very mind. Every nerve in my body was screaming at my brain that I was being hacked to pieces by inches at a time, and that was truly what it felt like. Nothing was touching me, but it was agonizing all the same.

“I'm actually inclined to believe you,” was what Ebony Song had to say when my world reasserted itself once more.

I choked and coughed for several seconds on the floor while I recovered, after which I peered up at the Republic's Prime Minister. Had I just heard him correctly?

“Doctor Lancet informed me that he's known you for years,” the unicorn explained, “and that in those years, you've hardly spent much time in the actual city. Certainly not nearly enough to be gathering meaningful information.

“Of course, it was still worthwhile interrogating you to be sure,” he sighed, “more's the pity, I suppose.”

Ebony Song glanced at the two guards who had remained silent standing to either side of me and nodded at them. All three ponies left the cell, the door closing behind them. He looked at one of them, “sergeant, ensure that the preparations for tomorrow's execution are completed. I need to go and make the appropriate announcement.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard saluted.

He glanced at the other guard, “keep me updated on the investigation. Lancet mentioned that this pony sold a lot of weapons in the city. He probably used the same merchants. They might be able to offer more insight into his activities. Find out where he stayed while he was here as well.”

The other guard looked briefly in the direction of my cell and nodded his head in that direction, “we could try getting that out of him,” the guard suggested.

Ebony Song offered a slight smile, “Anything he tells us is suspect and would need to be corroborated by witnesses anyway,” then he shrugged, “however, if you or the others feel beating a little more information out of him is worthwhile...just be sure he lives long enough to die in the morning. It would be a shame to deprive Her Majesty's subjects of seeing justice done on their behalf,” he then headed for a door that probably lead him out of the building.

The look the guards gave me as the Prime Minister left put a cold knot in the pit of my stomach. I doubted very much that they were even the slightest bit concerned about getting information out of me. It's not like I'd ever taking any pains to make my presence in this city a secrete, and I'd lived here for years. There were probably close to a hundred ponies that could tell them everything they wanted to know about everything I'd ever done since coming back to Neighvada.

More likely, they simply knew somepony out in the Wasteland that had met an untimely end during an run-in with a White Hoof raiding party, and were glad of the chance at dispensing some retribution via myself.

The guard tasked with preparing my demise glanced towards his partner, “just make sure he's still conscious when I get back. My brother died fighting some White Hooves last year.”

“Sure thing!”

Great.

I watched the first guard leave to carry out the orders that he was given by Ebony Song. The second stretched out his joints and walked back towards my cell. His expression was a familiar one. Id seen it on the faces of many a White Hoof and raider alike in my life. It was the look of a pony intent on causing a lot of pain, and feeling gleeful at the prospect. It looked like the guards of Seaddle weren't so far removed from the groups of violent gangers that lived in the ruins outside the city's gates. They just had more “acceptable” targets, I guess.

The iron-barred door slid open and he stepped inside. He didn't even pretend to ask me any questions. Why bother, right? There was nopony else there to see what was going on, and their boss had already given them carte blanche to do whatever they wanted to me, so long as I was breathing up until the moment my head was removed from my body. So he just started kicking, lashing out with his forehooves, landing blows wherever he felt like. I couldn't do anything to resist. My own hooves were manacled with heavy chains, and I'd been through a lot of punishment already that day.

This torment I could at least mitigate. Tense up at the right moment. Twist as far as I could before a blow struck to control where it landed. It didn't do a lot really, but it made the difference between a painful blow and what could have been truly agonizing ones. It was still a rather vicious beating though. The guard didn't limit himself to physical abuses either. As he landed his strikes, he regaled me with tales of previous White Hooves they'd captured and executed. How they'd suffered. The humiliations they'd inflicted. What a pleasure it was to see them so cowed and defeated as they were marched to the headsmare's block.

I had little cause to doubt him. From where I was right now, I was pretty certain I would be just as resigned come morning. At this point, I was practically looking forward to it. At least then all of this would be over with.

Celestia, let morning come soon. Let me die.

Please...

I've always said you were pathetic, haven't I?

I don't care anymore, Whiplash. I really don't. You win, I lose. Happy?

I'd be happier if it was me doing the kicking right now, the piss-yellow manifestation quipped.

Life's full of little disappointments like that. However will you cope?

I mistimed a roll and screamed as I felt one of my ribs crumble beneath the guard's hoof. The outburst only served to encourage him, and it was suddenly a lot harder to counter his strikes. Each blow became more painful, and his point's of attack more brutal. A particularly savage double-buck to my gut set me into a spasm of coughs and curled me into a bawl. Then I received a hoof across my jaw that set me looking the other way at the bare concrete wall.

What was the fucking point? I couldn't stop him, and he was going to keep at it until he was satisfied. Then his friend would eventually come back and I'd just go through all of this again.

Giving up?

Why shouldn't I? I'm dead in the morning anyway. There's no way that I'm getting out of this, and there's not a damn pony in the whole Wasteland that would waste the energy it would take to even think about saving me.

You're probably right. You are a worthless little shit.

Yeah.

You sure never gave anypony you ever met a reason to care about you...

Whiplash's voice faded away, as did the rest of the world around me. A haze of gold blurred out my vision, and while I could still feel the guard beating his hooves down against me, the pain felt...distant. It was as though I had been wrapped up in a thick blanket that muffled all of my senses. Sort of the way that a hefty dose of Med-X made me feel after particularly rough outings, except...it was more than that.

I tried opening my eyes, but they refused to yield more than the merest slit of visibility. The most probable explanation was that I was passing out and, in a way, that was probably what was going on. Weird though. The last thing I saw wasn't the guard, or my cell. It was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, cradling me in her wings.

Why wasn't it ever a unicorn...?

Consciousness found me again eventually. I couldn't say when, but it had to have been a good while later. My eyes slowly opened, letting me see that I was once again alone in my cell. Through the bars, I could see a pair of ponies dressed in the midnight blue armor of the Republican guard sitting around a table. One held several cards in her hooves, then other in a shimmering glow of his orange magic. Neither were the guards that I had seen earlier with Ebony Song. They must have had their fun and left. I wondered idly if the second had been upset that I'd not been awake for the beating I was sure he'd still meted out to me.

I wondered how much longer it was going to be until morning.

Experimentally, I made an effort to right myself. I immediately regretted the movement as a half dozen fractured bones and a scores of deep bruises screamed in protest. Well, so much for that. It looked as though I was just going to lay here as I was until my time came. Fantastic.

A third guard walked into the room beyond my cell, prompting the other two to look up. I didn't recognize this one either. It was a unicorn mare, and she was floating a bottle of Wild Pegasus in front of her, wrapped in an emerald glow. Her golden eyes flashed with mischief when she saw the other two guard's exchange a look.

“Either of you fancy a swig?”

The earth pony shifted nervously, “isn't drinking on duty against regs, lieutenant?” she glanced at her unicorn companion for confirmation, but the unicorn stallion was giving the offer a little more consideration.

“Hey, who's the officer here?” the newcomer mare inquired, floating the bottle closer to the unicorn, “I'm making an exception for tonight. We caught ourselves a White Hoof fuck; we deserve to celebrate.”

Topaz magic replaced emerald as the unicorn stallion took the offered alcohol and imbibed several generous swallows before finally passing it on to his companion, “amen to that, ma'am!”

The earth pony guard held the bottle in her hooves for a few hesitant seconds, but then took in a mouthful of her own. Her expression soured at the bitter taste of the whiskey, prompting a chuckle from her partner. She was about to pass the bottle back when a veridian aura tilted the bottle towards her once more, “I said we're celebrating,” the lieutenant stressed, flashing the guard a look of mock disapproval. The guard offered up a sheepish expression and took another drink from the bottle before it went to the stallion once again.

“Enjoy the booze,” the unicorn mare grinned. Then she took a few steps in the direction of my cell, “you two mind if I go a round with the White Hoof? I feel like venting a little.”

There was an absent wave, “knock yourself out, ma'am,” the stallion said as he passed the bottle back to the mare he was playing cards with.

Just what I needed, I thought with a resigned mental sigh. I watched the guard officer walk towards me, making no effort to move or offer any outward indication of my feelings about what was coming other than resignation. She stopped right outside the door, frowning down at me with her pale golden eyes.

“You look like shit,” she stated. I had expected the guard to come up with something a little more colorful than that to describe me, given the prevailing attitude in this place. Maybe she was working her way up to it. The door's latch glowed green for a moment and then slid open. Then my manacles glowed as well. I saw the unicorn's eyes glaze over briefly as she stared at the restraints. They didn't unlock, but rather fell apart into an assortment of pieces.

...the fuck?

The two of us stood there for a moment just looking at one another. Then the mare said, “you wanna go, or...what?”

“Huh?” was I still hallucinating?

“Seriously? I have to spell this out for you?” the mare's frown deepened, “just how many times did they smack you upside the head?”

The mare brought up her hoof and tapped the middle of her armored chest plate. Her body shimmered for a brief second and then the guard lieutenant was gone. Standing in her place was a familiar looking purple unicorn mare with green eyes and a brown mane. Strapped across her chest was a odd looking metallic device with a large gem mounted in its center. My eyes must have just about fallen out of my head at the sight of her, because her frown shifted into an amused smile now.

“Foxglove?”

“Y'all were expecting Princess Luna? Seriously? It ain't like this thing fiddled with my voice. You didn't recognize it?”

“I...I wasn't expecting you to show up,” I admitted. Truthfully, I had pretty much forgotten about the unicorn mare. I hadn't seen her after I'd been outed in the market, and had simply assumed that she'd taken the chance to be free and clear of me. At most she might have gone off with Windfall to keep an eye on the pegasus like I'd asked. Did that mean that Windfall...?

The guards! We weren't alone in this room. Surely they would be...fast asleep. What.

The two guard ponies were passed out on the floor near their table. The bottle of Wild Pegasus dripping the last of its contents onto the floor between them. I glanced from the sight to Foxglove, who's smile broadened into a grin, “still had a little of what we used on Tommyknocker. So, we going or not?”

“Yeah...sure,” I tried to get up once more, but found that the pain was still the next best thing to overwhelming. I grunted and went right back down to the floor. The unicorn mare became instantly concerned and knelt by my side. A pair of healing potions floated out of her saddlebags and levitated over to my mouth. I drank them down gratefully, but I could feel there effects doing only minimal repairs. Most of what these things did were stopgap measures. The majority of my injuries consisted of broken and fractured bones. Still, I did try to get up again, but it wasn't any more fruitful than my initial effort.

I shook my head at Foxglove. I would need more than a few healing potions.

“Fuck it,” she sighed, drawing out something else from her bag. I didn't get a clear look at it, but it had a needle at one end and her magical field plunged in into my flank.

The injection prompted a wince of mild discomfort. The sensation of my insides moving around inside of me prompted a scream. My bones started to crawl around beneath my skin in a way that I'd never experience before. It wasn't as painful as what Ebony Song had put me through, but it hurt all the same. Foxglove followed it up with a dose of Med-X to take the edge off, but I still threw up a little as a result of the nausea I felt while my skeleton reconfigured itself. It lasted for several seconds, leaving me in a heaving, panting mess by the end.

“The fuck was that?!” I finally hissed when it felt like my body had ceased doing...whatever it was it had been doing.

“Hydra,” Foxglove told me, looking at me with a little concern. It was as though she were checking to make certain all of my parts were in the right places. After what that had just felt like, I was inclined to do the same later, “I bought some for use in an emergency, but...I didn't expect to have to use it this soon.

“Can you stand?”

I tried moving one of my legs. Except for a dull ache, there was no pain this time. Even putting wight on the limb didn't send the same shooting stabs of agony it had before, “looks like.”

“Good. They won't be out forever, and I don't know when anypony else will be by,” she walked back over towards the other two guards. Her horn started glowing and green motes of light began tugging at the straps of their armor, “go look for you weapons and pipbuck,” she flicked her head back at a cabinet, “probably in there.”

She was a smart pony all right. It wasn't five minutes before my pipbuck was back on my leg and Full Stop was snug against my side in its holster. The guard barding didn't feel nearly as comfortable as my own, but it was my best shot at getting out of the city in one piece. Foxglove was dressed in a set of real guard barding as well. She had reminded me about the experimental device's limited battery life.

“I'm lucky it lasted long enough for me to get in here,” she admitted.

I nodded. Then I paused, “thanks for this.”

The mare glanced over at me. A wan smile touched her face and she looked away, “figured I owed you a few,” I guess she had, “besides, I need you to help me find Windfall.”

I perked up, “where'd she go?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn't need your help, now would I?”

Touche.

The barding finally on, and us looking the part, we left the cell block and made our way out of the guard barracks. I hadn't been conscious during my trip in, so I followed Foxglove's lead. We only passed a couple of other ponies, neither of whom gave us a second look.

It was dark outside, the middle of the night. Once free of the barracks, and away from prying ears, I cleared my throat, “did Windfall say anything?”

The unicorn was silent for a moment before speaking, “she had a few choice things to say about you. I had to pretend I was just as surprised about it. Didn't like lying to her like that, but she'd had enough surprises for one day,” she frowned, “then she said she had to go home. I thought she meant the apartment, but it didn't look like she'd been there. I waited all day, but she never showed,” Foxglove looked at me now, “did you two have any other places you stayed?”

I shook my head, confused by Windfall's words. The apartment in Seaddle was the closest thing that the two of us had ever had to a home in Neighvada. If she hadn't gone there...I shrugged.

“I see. Well, we're going to want to leave the city as soon as we can. They'll notice you're gone any time now, and it won't take them long to figure out they're looking for a guard pony none of them recognize.”

I nodded. That sounded like a good plan to me...except for one thing, “we need to make a stop first,” and the uniforms might even come in handy there.

“I already cleared out everything from the apartment-”

“Not there,” I corrected, “the Seaddle Arms.”

“Why there?”

“I need some answers.”

“Jackboot, we really don't have time-”

“Then we'll make time!” I snapped, causing the unicorn to recoil slightly. Without waiting for her response, I turned and started in the direction of the hotel. Foxglove followed behind.

A pair of Republic guards walking the streets drew nopony's attention, as regular patrols were a feature of the city. Though the proper looking mare standing behind the receptionist desk of the Seaddle Arms let a surprised look sneak through her otherwise well-schooled demeanor.

“May I help you?”

Since this was my show, Foxglove remained completely silent and deferred to me, “we have a couple of questions for the mare in two-oh-six,” I said simply, “is she in?”

“As a matter of fact, she arrived half an hour ago,” the receptionist nodded, “would you like me to go get her?”

“That won't be necessary,” I assured the mare, “it's a delicate matter. We'll go up and talk in her room.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you for your help,” I headed up stairs. Foxglove nodded and followed me up, looking at me with a mildly quizzical expression.

“We really don't have time for goodbyes, Jackboot,” she whispered to me at the top of the stairs.

“We have time for this one,” I stated evenly. I would finally get some answers about this mare. I brought us in front of the correct room and motioned to the purple unicorn, “ask to speak with her.”

Foxglove frowned, “why don't you do it?”

“Just get her to open the door!” I hissed.

“Fine!” Foxglove hissed back and planted herself in front of the door. She rapped her hoof on the door.

There was a brief pause, and then, “yes?”

“It's the Guard, ma'am,” the unicorn stated in an official sounding tone, “may we ask you a few questions?”

“What's this about?” the voice carried back through the door. My ear twitched at the barely noticeable note of apprehension. Worried about the guard, were we?

“It's about...” she glanced at me, but I merely shrugged. It didn't matter so long as the door opened. Foxglove rolled her eyes and improvised, “...a missing foal. We're asking every pony in the area if they recognize her. Can you please look at a picture for us?”

“Oh. Alright, I'll be right there,” my ear twitched as the lock clicked. The door opened a crack, and a gray head with brown hair and blue eyes poked out, “yes-”

I shoved Foxglove to the side and shouldered my way through the door before either of the mare's knew what they were doing. The gray earth pony was caught completely off guard, reeling back in surprise. I charged her, relishing the fact that none of my joints or bones ached the way that they had been for the past several weeks. Or had it been months? Hydra, was it? I needed to seriously invest in that stuff!

The mare recovered rather quickly, but I was at the top of my game. Her attempts to deflect my strikes were sluggish in her surprise, and her style was sloppy. I was able to recognize that rather quickly, as it was a style of fighting that I was very familiar with. No wonder this mare had been wary of guards. It also explained why she was using somepony else's room.

Of course, neither of us had time to spar all night. The receptionist might hear us soon, so I moved to put the fight to an end. I targeted a jab with my right forehoof at her head. The mare predictably brought up her left to block. I let her do so, and then stepped into her, rearing up and swinging my left foreleg up and around her neck in a fluid motion that sent her flipping over my left hip. The mare hit the ground with a grunt and I followed through with three quick jabs to her head from my now freed right hoof.

With the mare stunned, I rolled her over and slipped a leg around her neck. By this time, Foxglove had managed to regain enough of her wits to close the door, “what are you doing?!” she demanded, cognizant of the fact that there might be others in the hotel. So what? They'd walk in to find two guard ponies apprehending a mare with a dead pony in the bathroom. Foxglove didn't know about the corpse, but it set my mind at ease knowing that I had a perfect alibi for why I was doing what I was if somepony wandered in.

Plus, as a bonus, “relax,” I rolled halfway off the now struggling mare. Her nightgown had torn in our tussle, and the familiar brand was plainly visible on her backside. It looked like Ebony Song really did have at least one White Hoof agent in his city after all. Foxglove's eyes widened in clear surprise, and she ceased protesting.

I reminded the mare beneath me about the arm I had pressed tightly against her throat, which set her to choking, “I just have a few questions,” the mare glared up at me out of the corner of her eye, but her struggling abated slightly, “good girl,” I said through clenched teeth.

“You've been asking about me. You knew I was a White Hoof,” there was no way her being at that market when the part of my barding responsible for keeping my secret just 'happened' to fall off was a coincidence. She'd been the cause. Probably all of those bumps. They'd been her loosening my barding, “who sent you?”

“Can't figure it out?” the mare hissed, “you're even more pathetic than she said you were...”

My ear twitched. A piss-yellow mare in the back of my mind smiled, “Whiplash?” the word surprised even me as I spoke it aloud.

“Look at the fucking genius here. What do you want, a parade?” the White Hoof agent squirming beneath me scoffed. I tightened my grip on her neck with one arm and used the other to secure her leg in a rather painful position. The mare bit back a pained cry.

“She knows I'm back?” well, obviously. I snarled at my own stupid question. Horseapples. She knew I was in Neighvada, and already making an effort to get rid of me. Fuck!

“Jackboot...”

I looked up to see Foxglove glancing nervously between me and the door. Did she hear somepony, or was she just anxious to get out of the city before my absence was noticed? Either way, I suppose there really wasn't anything more for me to learn from this mare. With a grunt, I put both forelegs around her neck gave her head a sudden and violent twist. The room echoed with a loud chorus of cracks, and the mare beneath me went instantly limp.

Once more back on my feet, I straightened my armor and stepped past a stunned Foxglove, “let's go.”

The unicorn nodded listlessly and followed me out of the room, “did you have to do that?” she asked in hushed tones as we descended the stairs and headed for the hotel's exit.

“She was one of Whiplash's agents,” I responded tersely, “she'd have reported my escape to the White Hooves,” I had no illusions that my sister wouldn't learn I'd escaped death eventually, but this would at least buy me a lot of time to drop off of her radar once again. I'd taken a lot of pains to avoid being discovered by her, but it looks like word have finally reached Whiplash that her long lost older brother was back in the area. It looked like she was also quite intent on finishing the job she'd started two decades ago.

How did she find out though? Perhaps I'd put too much faith in the passage of time helping me to hide who I really was from everypony. I certainly hadn't been shy about using my real name while I'd been here. Maybe some agent of hers had recognized it and passed word along that I'd returned. No telling who that could have been though, or where they were. Horseapples, for all I knew it had been that interaction with that pair of White Hooves last week. Hearing about an older White Hoof earth pony with a rusty coat and black mane could have raised a few eyebrows back at the camp from among the elder crowd.

Whatever the source of her information, Whiplash knew about me, and she wouldn't be satisfied until she had a body. So, I needed to be constantly looking over my shoulder for New Lunar Republic soldiers, and White Hoof agents from now on. On top of anypony that might happen to get a look at my brand somehow. Because Celestia knew my life hadn't been difficult up until this point.

“Whiplash,” the unicorn repeated, “that's your sister, right? The pony leading the White Hooves?”

“Yep.”

We were back on the streets of Seaddle now, making our way towards the city's main gate. Once we got beyond it, I had no idea where we were going to go, but I certainly couldn't remain in the city. I'd do well to avoid any part of the Republic, frankly. Maybe head for New Reino, and hope that word hadn't reached there about me, and probably wouldn't? The leadership of New Reino weren't inclined towards White Hooves of course, but they didn't exactly pay very close attention to any wanted posters put out by the Republic. It's do for the immediate future, but I'd need to consider moving further south after that. Out of the reach of the Republic.

“You really aren't welcome among them, are you?”

I glanced at the obviously surprised unicorn, “I should probably feel insulted that you thought I was lying about that,” I muttered, not bothering to hide my annoyance, “but I'm self-aware enough to know better,” can't hide the truth from the ponies around you all the time and then expect them to take you at your word, I guess, “but yes, Whiplash really does want me dead. Like I said: I'm not a White Hoof. I can't go back to that life.”

Foxglove bumped into my backside as my steps came to an abrupt stop. The unicorn grimaced and looked at me quizzically, “what is it?”

“I know where Windfall went,” I said, a smirk touching my lips.

“You do?”

“Yeah,” I resumed walking, my pace slightly accelerated from what it had been, “she went back home.”

“Okay, see, that's what I told you she said,” the unicorn mare sounded annoyed as she trotted up to my side and matched my pace, “but she never went back to the apartment, and you said you guys didn't stay anywhere else. So where is 'home' exactly?”

“Her family's ranch,” that had to be it. There certainly wasn't anywhere else I could think of that she might be at. And in any case, her old homestead was about as far off the beaten path as I could hope to get while I thought out my next move from here.

Eight years since I was here last. The remote house and barn hadn't seemed like all that much the first time I was by here, and eight years later, it somehow looked to be even more dilapidated. This place had to have been the next best thing to two hundred years old when I'd found Windfall. Hard to believe that a paltry additional eight could show themselves so well. It had looked habitable when I'd been by the first time, save for the obvious signs of the raid that had recently taken place. But now it resembled the ruins one expected to stumble upon in the Wasteland.

I'll admit, I wasn't positive that this was where Windfall had gone. It was simply the best idea that I'd had of what she could have meant by what she told Foxglove. There was also the fact that the trip here had hardly been instantaneous. The pegasus had had nearly a day's head start, and if this was where she had gone, there was no guarantee that she would still be here. Maybe there would be a clue, maybe not. It was just the best I had to go on.

“This was where Windfall lived as a filly?” the purple unicorn beside me asked.

I nodded, “until she was about five or six,” I supplied, “then they were hit by raiders.”

“White Hooves,” Foxglove corrected, “she told me.”

“Yeah,” I agreed in a more hushed tone, “White Hooves,” the pegasus' last words to me echoed in my head. It was surprising how much hearing that had hurt. Especially given how I had been so intent or getting exactly that sort of a response from her in order to get her to leave. Mission accomplished, and yet here I was trying to find her again almost immediately.

Just long enough to get Foxglove with her. Then I'd leave them both. That was the new plan.

I love your plans, Whiplash whispered in the back of my mind, they have such a wonderful success rate.

Yeah, yeah.

I stepped into the house. Ponies had been here since, at some point or other. Mattresses had been dragged out into makeshift sleeping areas, and I saw scattered Sparkle Cola and Wild Pegasus bottles that had not been there during my first visit. No sign of any recent habitation though. It simply looked like this place had been relegated to a resting spot for travelers seeking shelter from the Wastes for a night or two.

My eyes scanned the room for any sign of Windfall. They settled on a single yellow dot. My chest tightened. It didn't occur to me that the dot could have been anypony else really. I'd brought us here specifically because I'd expected to find Windfall here.

The dot lay directly through the back of the house. I motioned for Foxglove to follow me and began making my way towards the rear of the homestead, and the barn I knew to be behind the house. It was a familiar route, though with fewer corpses in the kitchen.

I peered out the back door. Curled up in the middle of the small pasture was a ball of white fur and feathers beneath a tangled teal mane. She was here alright. Mission accomplish. All I needed to do now was turn and walk away. Foxglove was more than capable of taking things from here.

So naturally I took a step outside and started walking towards the pegasus mare. Because, you know, I was completely crazy. The voices in my head told me so; Whiplash most loudly. Nopony up there thought this was a good idea. A sentiment echoed by the unicorn behind me as she hissed for me to stop and let her smooth things over first. After all, the last time Windfall had seen me, it was just after I had put a gun to her head and she'd beaten me to within an inch of my life.

None of that mattered right now though. There were things that I needed to say to her. Apparently. Nothing smart. After all, crazy ponies were not smart.

She's so going to shoot you, Whiplash predicted.

Maybe. Her dot was yellow though.

I cleared my throat by way of making my presence known to the curled up mare. Her ear twitched, then her head rose up slightly to look behind her at the source of the noise. Her blue eyes locked on me. In a flash, their apathy was replaced by cold rage, and the little ball of fluff exploded into the air in an acrobatic twist that ended with her braced on all four hooves before me, with one of her submachine guns clutched in her mouth. The barrel was trained on my head.

The yellow dot hovering in front of my eyes went red.

Told you she was going to shoot you.

Horseapples.

“Windy!” Foxglove exclaimed, scampering ahead to interpose herself between us as a living shield. The pegasus looked right through the unicorn mare like she wasn't even there. I raised up a hoof and placed it on Foxglove's shoulder, drawing her gaze, and gently pushed her aside to leave myself fully exposed once more, “but...”

“Do you think I won't shoot you?” Windfall's words trembled with a tense mixture of grief and hatred. Her weapon remained remarkably steady in her mouth as she spoke around the grip. I idly wondered if she still tended to aim up and to the left as I subtly bowed my head to the right of her point of aim.

I didn't answer for a while, considering the next words that I was going to say. They might well prove to be my last, after all, “I think...you really do want to,” another long pause, “but I hope you'll let me say my piece before you do.”

She didn't open fire at right that moment, which I took to be a good sign. So I took a deep breath, “I'm sorry.”

The pegasus scoffed around the gun in her mouth, “sorry? That's all you've got, you lying son of a bitch?!”

I winced. It did sound rather pithy, didn't it? As deeply as I'd betrayed her, a couple of words didn't really amount to much, I guess. But, “yeah...that's it. I'm sorry,” and I was. I wasn't sorry about being caught in my grand lie to the pegasus. I was sorry that it had caused her this much pain. Odd to realize that, let me be the first to admit. It wasn't like I'd had a tendency to care about the feelings of others.

Windfall was different though. She'd been by my side for years. The most loyal pony I'd ever know. Practically family in the sense that most ponies knew it. I'd never done well by family in my life. Maybe I was just growing old and soft to let it start bothering me now.

Windfall shook her head, the submachine gun started to shake in her grip, “no,” she seethed, “you don't get to be sorry, you lying, murdering, fuck,” she was practically spitting the words at me, “you don't get to be sorry!”

“Windy...” once more Foxglove tried to insert herself into our altercation, and once more I quieted her with a hoof and a shake of my head.

My gaze returned to Windfall, “you're probably right,” I agreed, “I've killed a lot of ponies in my life. Most didn't deserve it. Stallions, mares, even foals,” I swallowed as I saw the anguish growing in the flier's expression. She looked like she might well kill me before I finished saying my piece. I'm not sure that I'd blame her for doing it either, “the stuff I've done...I deserve to die for.

“You'd be right to shoot.”

Whatever Windfall had expected to hear me say, that had not been near the top of her list. Nor Foxglove's either, judging by the shocked look on her own face. I was startling myself a little bit too. Oh, crazy, crazy, crazy pony.

“I trusted you,” the pegasus' voice quavered, “I looked up to you,” her head was shaking now, her whole body trembling, “I lov-” her words caught in her throat. She swallowed and steadied herself once more, “what was I to you?”

Be Honest.

What? No! Shut up! Whiplash protested frantically, Don't be honest! She'll kill us for sure!

I hesitated, considering the emerald eyes framed by an orange face. Was she sure that's what I had to do? Fine. Yellow Bitch had proven to know what she was talking about at times, I'd give this newcomer that same chance. It would probably be a last chance though.

“At first?”

Ahh...fuck.

“You were a cover,” I saw the pain in Windfall's eyes, but I continued. I resolved to keep speaking right up until the point she finally opened fired and gunned me down. Foxglove seemed to be anticipating just such an outcome and was subtly sidling away from me, “I used you to avoid suspicion, having you pose as my daughter.

“Then I trained you to fight. You became a weapon I could use to get rich. A pretty face that would distract ponies,” every word was painful for Windfall to hear, but I went on, “you were a tool. Somepony I could use to get what I wanted.

“And then...somewhere along the line, you became...important to me,” both mares perked up at that admission, “or rather, I realized that you were important to me, and not as a tool. I liked your company. I felt...better...having you around.

“You were...” I struggled for the unfamiliar word to describe how I'd regarded the pegasus. Finally one of the voices in my head supplied it, and I smirked, “...my friend. Probably the only one I've ever had. And so I'm sorry for how I hurt you.”

Windfall was silent for a long while, “how can I believe you?”

“I don't expect you to,” I admitted, “and I don't deserve for you to. But whether you believe me or not, it was the truth.”

“And I suppose you think that makes everything all better between us?”

“Not even a little,” I shook my head with a wan smile, “I'm not asking you to forgive me, Windfall. I just wanted you to hear me out. After this, I'll go my own way, and you'll never see me again.

“Assuming you don't decide to pull that trigger.”

The three of us stood perfectly still for several seconds as Windfall weighed the options available to her. Then, to my immense relief, the pegasus lowered the weapon. Foxglove looked between us uncomfortably before clearing her own throat, “well...that was tense.”

A small smile briefly crossed my face, “bye, Windy,” I turned and headed back for the house.

“Jackboot.”

I paused, looking back towards the pegasus, my eyebrow raised expectantly.

“Are you really a White Hoof?”

“I used to be,” I nodded. The pegasus looked away, her eyes cast towards the ground.

Once more I started for the house, though not perfectly convinced of where I was going to go from here. I had a few options open to me, I suppose...

My eyes were drawn to the overlay of the pipbuck that was projected in my field of vision. I immediately tensed up. A half dozen red bars were visible. I couldn't see any sign of other ponies or critters, but the threats had to be nearby if the amount of movement that the dots were doing in response to the motion of my head was any indication.

Foxglove noticed my hesitation, “what's wrong?”

“I don't know,” I drew Full Stop, “something's nearby.”

“Took you long enough.”

The words had come from the doorway directly in front of me, but when I looked, there wasn't anything there. Though a red dot supplied by my pipbuck did suggest that something indeed was. Before my eyes, there was a shimmer, and then a brown earth pony stepped out of the very air itself. He was dressed in the royal blue of an NLR soldier, except his armor was not of any style that I recognized. Its contours were sleeker, and the trim was done up in black instead of silver. A pair of assault rifles were rigged into a battle-saddle slung across his back. His hoof moved away from a pipbuck strapped to his fetlock.

Additional flickers of movement to either side of me drew my attention as I saw five other figures similarly extract themselves from the air around us in much the same manner. All of them were armed with an assortment of weapons, but their armor was of the same style, and they each possessed a pipbuck on their leg. Though the brown stallion in front of me did possess one distinguishing attribute on his barding in the form of a silver crescent moon on his right shoulder. The emblem of a lieutenant serving in the Republic military.

I took several steps back towards Windfall and Foxglove, who were both looking around in apprehension at the soldiers that had materialized around us. Full Stop was still clutched in my mouth, but I kept the barrel pointed at the ground. If these ponies got it into their heads to open fire, there wouldn't be much that the three of us could do about it. Best not to provoke them unnecessarily until I'd come up with some way to get us out of this mess.

Not that my mind was coming up with a lot of options at the moment. Where had these ponies even come from?

“Drop your weapons,” the brown stallion stated in a firm tone, “and surrender. You are all under arrest by order of Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna.”

“What's the charge?” Foxglove demanded in a feeble attempt to promote our innocence. It was clear in her voice that she knew exactly why these ponies were here. For Celestia's sake, the two of us were still wearing the guard armor we'd 'borrowed'. These soldier's certainly weren't buying it.

The stallion frowned, and then pointed a hoof at me, “let's start with him being under arrest for murder, espionage, and escaping from custody; and then the two of you for aiding and abetting, hmm?”

They were going to arrest Windfall too? I mean, yeah, Foxglove was technically guilty of helping a murderer escape, so those charges were legit—how's that for honesty? Windfall, however, had never had anything to do with any of my crimes. But I knew if they got us back to the city and started questioning ponies, they all put her in my company. Windfall would be convicted by association, and probably face the same punishment I was sentenced to.

I couldn't let that happen.

“Now,” the stallion stressed again, “drop your weapons.”

“On one condition,” I growled. This drew an amused look from the brown earth pony, and a couple of surprised snorts from the other soldiers. It even drew a concerned glance from Foxglove.

“Oh? You think you get to set terms? You're surrounded.”

“Yeah,” I admitted, “and I've also got a pipbuck,” I idly wondered how a fight would go between like-equipped ponies. Did SATS work against itself? It was very possible that we might find out pretty soon if this didn't go the way I hoped, “you'll get me, but I bet I can take down at least two of you before you do,” I looked around at the other ponies surrounding us, “any volunteers?”

There didn't seem to be an immediate takers, “you let them go, I'll surrender.”

“And why should I believe you?” the soldier demanded, glowering at me, “what's to stop you from fighting anyway?”

“At least you'd just be fighting one pony and not three,” I pointed out, “let them go. They don't have brands, you can see that. They're not part of this.”

“Do you think we're not prepared to give our lives in the service of our Princess? I'm not about to let White Hoof collaborators escape because of a few idle threats.”

Are they idle, Big Brother? If you start shooting, they'll start shooting. Windfall and the unicorn could die right here because of you.

I'm not going to let that happen, “they're not collaborators,” I insisted, “they're good ponies. I'm the one you're after, and I'm willing to let you have me. Just let them go.”

“Their guilt will be determined by the courts,” the brown stallion insisted.

“That's bullshit,” I sneered at the earth pony, “you and I both know they'll be convicted just because you brought them in with me. You've been watching, right?” I glance between the other soldiers with him, “you saw the pegasus was about to kill me. You heard her talking about how I'd been lying to her for years?

“Let her go. She wasn't a part of what I did.”

The brown soldier snorted, but looked to actually be thinking over what I'd said. Finally, he pointed at Foxglove, “fine, but that one does come with us,” his eyes locked on the unicorn, “assaulting Luna's guards and breaking a White Hoof out of custody are no laughing matters.”

“Deal,” I nodded immediately.

“What?!” the violet unicorn exclaimed in surprise, her eyes glaring at me, “you could at least have tried to get me off the hook too, asshole!”

I shrugged, “well, you did do those things.”

“I was trying to do you a favor,” she seethed, “do something nice for somepony, and what do you get?”

“Decapitated, it looks like,” I smirked.

Her eyes flashed at me, “I will plea out to this bullshit so hard, I'll get you convicted of shit you never even did!”

“Do we really have to do this right now?” I nodded my heads towards the surrounding soldiers.

“Yeah,” the lieutenant pipped up, “do you have to do this right now?”

“Um...guys?”

Windfall's words went unacknowledged by anypony.

“Well apparently I have to do it now, because I'm going to get my head lopped off later!” Foxglove screamed in frustration, “it's fucking bullshit!” she glared at the brown earth pony, while jabbing a hoof at me, “a few nights ago this asshole had me tied up with a gun to my head! I don't even like him!”

“Wait, Jackboot tied you-?...whatever,” the pegasus tried once more, “look, I really think-”

“I notice you still came to my rescue after that,” I grinned at the mare, “you sure you didn't actually like it?”

Foxglove's expression deadpanned as she looked back at the lieutenant, “I'll plead guilty to whatever you want as long as I get to watch him die first.”

“Guys!”

My hoof went up as I looked back at the brown earth pony, “I second that. I don't want to have to listen to her whine any longer than necessary.”

“I heard you tortured him last time,” Foxglove piped up, “I'm sure he knows a lot of stuff. You should totally torture him again. I'll help.”

“Just let her stand nearby and loudly judge me,” I muttered, “Celestia knows that's been torture enough this last month.”

“You are such a colossal-”

“Incoming!”

Before the single word had a chance to be completely processed by my mind, I felt myself being tackled from behind. Even if I had been anticipating the blow, I wasn't convinced that I could have done much to stay on my hooves, due to the staggering momentum the individual grabbing me possessed. Whoever it was that had collided with me had been moving as a preposterous speed.

Nor was I the only pony taken unawares. The earth pony officer in front of me was likewise swept up as I was forced into his chest and the pair of us went rolling through the open back door of Windfall's old home. We became a twisted ball of red, white, and brown hooves as we rolled onward into the house's kitchen.

A moment later, there was a thunderous explosion and a blast of heat and sand crashed into us. Somepony screamed, but I didn't recognize the voice. There were other screams too, and a lot of yelling that I was unable to comprehend through the ringing in my ears. I disentangled myself from the other two ponies with me and found that it was Windfall that had carried us out of harms way.

More explosions soon followed from outside, and the kitchen became a very crowded place as other ponies rushed in, all of them dressed in the blue armor of Republic guardponies. We were being attacked, but I couldn't imagine who it could be. My first guess would have been White Hooves or some other band of raiders, but none of the groups that I knew of dealt in ordinance like this! In fact, the only faction in the Wasteland that I knew of that might carry this sort of firepower was the-

“Rangers!” one of the soldiers screamed above the din, “three of them. Two hundred yards and closing from the east!”

The brown earth pony shook away the last of his shock and immediately started snapping out orders to his troopers, “Caltrop, Flechette, get to some windows and lay down suppressing fire!” two Republic Guard ponies dashed off into nearby rooms and I heard the rattling of automatic weapons, “Picatinny, upstairs! Sabot...where's Sabot!”

“Sabot's down,” a golden unicorn mare informed him. I glanced over and saw that this pony was already in pretty bad shape herself. Numerous cuts on her face and neck where shrapnel had struck her were starting to bleed, and the chest piece of her barding looked like somepony had hacked at it with a knife.

“Fuck,” the lieutenant cursed under his breath. His eyes briefly fell on me, but then quickly went back to the nearby trooper. Clearly, I had taken a backseat to the current crisis. Hard to blame them. Steel Rangers were a forced to be reckoned with. Their tendency to wear power armor and preference for heavy weaponry made them ruthlessly efficient on the field of battle. You pretty much needed to match them with your own arsenal of high explosives in order to hope to have a chance. A quick appraisal of the soldiers with us suggested that none of them possessed such weaponry. Assault rifles and automatic carbines would only do so much.

A series of small explosions wracked the house as a line of forty-millimeter grenades walked across one of the exterior walls ended with somepony screaming in agony from the next room, “medic!”

The bloody yellow unicorn wasted no time and sprinted out of the kitchen, her horn and saddlebag glowing, “coming!” the brown earth pony watched her leave, looking anxious.

For a second time, he looked at me. I felt somepony else nearby and saw that Foxglove and Windfall were both standing next to me. The brown earth pony opened his mouth, as though to say something, and then thought better of it. Instead, he simply snarled in frustration and ran to support his fellow soldiers.

“What are we going to do now?” the purple unicorn mare asked, her voice tinged with worry. I glanced at her and noted that she looked to have fared about as well as the yellow unicorn mare had. Her barding looked a little singed, and she was favoring her right foreleg, which was matted with blood.

“You okay?” I found myself asking. The unicorn glanced at her leg, and then nodded. Windfall was already fetching her a healing potion anyway.

Now was our chance to run, I realized. Even if Luna's soldiers won this fight, they have to return to Seaddle to take care of their wounded at the very least. By the time they or anypony else got back out on the search for us, we'd be long gone and likely far beyond the NLR's borders. We weren't likely to get a better opportunity.

Leaving somepony to die in order to save yourself, Whiplash grinned with glee as she rubbed her hooves together, now there's the Jackboot I know and love!

I'm leaving the ponies who want me dead to die. I'm pretty sure that's perfectly okay to do, right?

Another explosion and another scream, this one from above, “Ringers, check on Picatinny,” the cry came from the other room. The sound of automatic weapon fire redoubled.

We needed to get out of here before the Steel Rangers ran out of Republic soldiers to shoot at. I glanced at Windfall and saw her standing tense, her attention locked in the direction of the sound of the screams and gunfire. There was an anguished look in her eyes.

Deep down, she was a republic citizen. These soldiers were her soldiers. Good ponies who had sworn their lives to protect ponies like her. They were fighting against the enemies of Princess Luna, the ruler that she had known since she was a filly. And, right now, they were losing that fight. I knew that she wanted to help them. If I didn't speak up, she probably would. Given what was coming at us, she'd probably die in the effort. Windfall had never faced Steel Rangers before. Neither had I; but I'd seen them in action often enough to know what they were capable of.

“Jackboot!” my eyes snapped back to Foxglove, who was looking at me expectantly, “what do we do?”

Run!

I dug my hoof into my saddlebag and drew out a pair of spark grenades. The power armor employed by Steel Rangers was pretty adept at deflecting away anything less destructive than a missile, but at its core, it was a magical device. A well placed spark grenade would render them helpless for a time, “Windfall,” the mare looked up at me in surprise, then she noticed the blue-banded apples being held out to her, “wait until I have their attention, and then hit them with these grenades,” the pegasus looked between myself and the grenades for a few seconds, and then took them with an acknowledging nod of her head.

Next I took out an ampule of Dash and sucked down as a big a dose as I'd ever taken. Foxglove was clearly dubious of my plan, but she didn't say anything. I merely shrugged and drew Full Stop before sprinting out the door.

Perhaps it's my fault for not being clearer that I wanted you to run away from the Rangers!

You're just going to have to accept that Windfall is important to me.

In my head, I cracked a mental smirk as the manifestation of my younger sister sputtered fruitlessly and threw her hooves up in surrender. Was this whole endeavor stupid and reckless? Absolutely. Was it what a White Hoof would do? Not a chance. And maybe that was the point. After all, I wasn't a White Hoof anymore.

Out in the open, I finally had a good look at what we were up against. A trio of steel clad armored warriors was steadily marching towards the house. One of them had an automatic grenade launcher that was currently being used to pound the homestead into nothing more than a pile of debris. A missile launcher was visible mounted on the back of another. The third was directing a multi-barrelled chain gun that was spitting out a nearly constant stream of glowing red tracer rounds that made it look as though a true magical energy weapon was being employed. At the moment, their attention was focused on the house, and the Republic soldiers spraying back answering volleys of sporadic fire.

They were still about a hundred yards off, far too distant for any shot I took with my revolver to have much of a chance of landing a hit. But that wasn't the point though. While Full Stop probably did have the power to punch through their magically enhanced barding if I found the right spot, I'd need to be almost right on top of them. Getting that close would be asking a lot. All I wanted them to do was keep their attention horizontal so that Windfall could get into position without drawing their fire. So I fired off a couple rounds in their direction and galloped towards them.

One of them, the Ranger wielding the gatling gun, seemed to take notice of my efforts, and swung the whirling barrels in my direction. A fresh stream of crimson beads lashed out at me. I toggled SATS.

The world obligingly paused. I studied the hail of bullets suspended in midair heading towards me, tracking their path as the Steel Ranger maneuvered his weapon to try and tag me with at least a few of the torrent of slugs he was casting in my direction. Then I discontinued the magical time-stop and dove abruptly to the left, tucking into a tight roll. Dirt and rocks spat up from the ground next to me as the pony's gunfire drifted right. Had I not moved, he would almost certainly had ripped me into little pony chunks.

I was back on my hooves a moment later and continuing my forward dash. I fired another shot to alert the other two Rangers that a pony was charging them. Look at me, the crazy pony doing what you'd never thought you'd see a pony do! A second armored pony, the one with the missile launcher did indeed look in my direction.

Once more I activated my pipbuck's targeting assist. That crimson line was looping back around in another effort to cut me down. I eyed the trajectory of those tracers that were only just now leaving the barrels of his machine gun. When I disengaged SATS, I leaped up into the air as high as I could go, and winced as a stream of glowing lead swept beneath me. When my hooves touched back down I heard the telltale roar of a missile igniting and hugged the ground as low as I could get. A white tube spewing a trail of gray smoke streaked just above me, detonating a dozen yards to my rear. It had been far closer than I would have preferred.

Knowing that the gatling gun would be brought back around for a third pass in only another few seconds, I jumped back up onto my hooves and urged myself back into a full run. All three Rangers were focused on me now. Well, my plan had certainly succeeded insofar as my end of things was concerned. But at this range, even with the help of SATS, I wasn't going to be able to effectively dodge their attacks. Even hopped up on Dash, I wasn't going to have the time I'd need to react. No pony could outrun a bullet from a few dozen yards away.

The ground around the three Steel Rangers leaped up at them with a dozen puffs of dirt, startling the armored ponies. It startled me a little bit too. Then I saw the pair of metal blue apples bouncing into their midst. A moment later, they were consumed within spheres of sparkling sapphire magic that crackled with tendrils of lightning. When the light faded, the three Rangers were left standing motionless, frozen in stances of dismay and confusion. One of them had apparently not been in a proper state of balance the moment that their armor locked up, and tipped over rather comically.

I peered up into the clouded sky above and saw Windfall hovering nearby, surveying her handiwork. Our eyes met, and we shared a nod. The plan had worked. Our plans had a tendency to. I was going to miss that.

The two of us were soon joined by the others. I wondered idly if Foxglove realized how out of place she actually didn't look as she and the Republic soldiers hobbled towards us, most of them supporting somepony else. The fight had been rough on them. Each bore at least superficial wounds and their barding was soiled by debris from the building that had been nearly brought down around them even as they sought shelter in it. The brown earth pony lieutenant was still on his hooves though, and his attention was fixed on me. A couple other ponies peeled off to deal with the incapacitated Steel Rangers.

They're pretty fucked up, Whiplash noted, you could probably take them in a fight with no problem now.

Maybe. I was coming down off the Dash now though. Foxglove wasn't much of a fighter. I wasn't going to be able to count on Windfall for help either. It'd be me against them, and even wounded there were a lot more of them. We'd have to see how this played out.

The Republic officer stopped in front of me, his gaze locked on mine. We stared at each other for a long while, and then he finally spoke in a voice that was rough from all of the yelling that he'd been doing during the fighting, “this doesn't change anything,” he informed me, coolly, “you'll still face justice when you're brought back to Seaddle.”

Foxglove inhaled sharply, even as she continued to help support one of the troopers that looked to have taken a pretty bad wound to his shoulder. She glanced between the two of us nervously. The unicorn feared another fight. I saw that even the soldier she was helping looked a little nervous at the prospect. At least he wasn't feeling very comfortable with the notion. I imagined that if it came down to it, the trooper would still follow the orders of his superior though, personal feelings aside.

You had to admire his sense of duty, I thought wryly. It took a special kind of pony to go through all that, know that his flank had been saved in part by the very pony he was here to arrest, and still be determined to-

“But I ain't going to be the one to do it,” the lieutenant finished.

“Really?” I hadn't meant to utter the surprised word out loud, but it drew a smirk from the lieutenant.

“You probably saved our lives. We weren't ready for a run-in with a Ranger patrol,” he admitted. His eyes retained a little bit of their coldness while he looked at me, “I ain't forgiving you for your crimes, and this isn't going to go in any sort of official report, you understand? I ever come across you again in the Republic, I'm taking you down,” he glanced at Foxglove, “you too.”

“What about Windfall?” I asked.

“Nothing in my orders mentioned her,” the brown pony replied, “she won't be in the report either,” he looked at the flier, “but I suggest you pick your traveling companions with more care in the future.”

One of the soldiers that had been sent to deal with the Rangers reappeared and issued a salute to her commander, “the Rangers' barding is neutralized, sir. It won't reinitialize.”

“Good,” he nodded, “I'll call in reinforcements once I'm done here,” a pause, “Caltrops, go help Ringers with Sabot,” his tone was far more subdued as he gave the order. The other pony nodded and trotted off.

“You'll want to be as far from here as possible when the others show up,” the earth pony suggested.

I nodded and looked to Foxglove. The unicorn confirmed that her charge would be fine standing on his own and then walked to my side. She glanced at the Republic officer, “thank you, mister...?

“Lieutenant Ramparts,” the pony finished for her, "and you can thank me by not ever letting anypony know we had this conversation,” another slight smirk touched his lips.

“Right,” Foxglove laughed awkwardly and then cleared her throat. Her gaze wen to me.

I nodded once more in the direction of the Republic soldiers and then glanced back at Windfall, “good luck, Windy. You and Foxglove stay safe.”

Without another word, I started walking away. Nopony followed.

None of that should have worked out for you, Whiplash grumbled in the back of my mind, you kept doing exactly the wrong thing!

Steel Bit agreed vehemently, but I felt a couple of others sitting in the corner with silent, smug expression on their faces. They hadn't doubted for a moment that it would work. I sincerely hoped that they didn't get used to this side of me, because I was still in Whiplash's court on this one. That shouldn't have worked out in my favor. I was going to provisionally chalk it up to being a fluke. For the most part, it was too. Had those Rangers not shown up, I don't think that Ramparts would have been convinced to take me up on my offer.

It was a stupid offer.

I was just looking out for Windfall.

Fuck, Windfall! Whiplash spat, oh, wait, I'm sorry, you'd never do that because you're too much of a pussy to fuck her. Sometimes I think you left your balls back in Hoofington.

A smile started to spread across my face as I listened to the little apparition’s rant. Once upon a time, it probably would have bothered me and gotten under my skin. Today though? Maybe it was the last of the Dash working its way through my veins, the fact that for the first time in months I was walking away from a fight without a limp, or maybe even the knowledge that I wasn't going to have to move on to a new city while outrunning a horde of angry armed ponies out for my blood; but whatever it was, I was feeling good. Honestly and a genuinely good.

Bitch all you wanted to, Whiplash. Because everything worked out today.

You're all alone again.

I've been alone for a long time. Sure, I'll miss Windfall. That pegasus had become a big part of my life, but I didn't feel like letting my past dictate how I felt in the present anymore.

I'm coming after you.

It took you the better part of two decades to find me once, I snickered. I'll probably be dead of old age before you catch up to me again.

...you're still pathetic.

Probably.

The sound of hoofsteps trotting up in my wake drew my attention. I glanced back to see Foxglove working to close the distance to me. Just above her was Windfall gliding along towards me as well. Curious, I slowed my pace. The purple unicorn fell into step beside me, while the younger flier hovered above.

“So,” Foxglove began, “where are we going?”

I came to a stop and blinked at the pair of mares, “what?” was it possible that I hadn't heard her correctly. My gaze went to Windfall, “I thought...”

The pegasus landed in front of me. Her blue eyes weren't looking at me with the same hatred that they'd held earlier, but they were not filled with the warmth that I remembered either, “I'm not going to pretend that things can go back to the way they were between us,” she said, sounding disappointed, “but what you did back there...you really aren't a White Hoof anymore, are you?”

I shook my head. Windfall took a deep breath, “and you've killed a lot of ponies, right?” this time, without being able to continue to meet her gaze, I nodded. Another pause from the pegasus, “innocent ponies?” another nod.

“Look at me.”

A wince creased my features, but I did raise my head back up and meet her gaze. The disappointment I saw within them hurt. In my mind, I saw that little white filly who had once regarded me as a hero. The way that her face had lit up whenever I'd praised her skill and ability during our time together. I'd probably never see her look at me that way again. Which hurt quite a bit, now that I knew how much I'd miss it.

“If I gave you a second chance,” the pegasus stated, a razor sharp edge in her voice, “would you change?”

My ears shot up. A blurry memory and an echo of a question asked that nopony could possibly have overheard played back through my head. Windfall's eyes pierced deep into me as the pegasus waited for her answer. I'd answered this very question, from this very pony, once before. I swallowed and responded, “I'd try.”

It might not have been the answer that she'd hoped for, but a pair of emerald eyes framed on an orange face agreed that it was an honest one. Hopefully Windfall thought it sounded honest as well. In any case, she nodded her acceptance of the response.

“From now on,” Windfall stressed, looking between both myself and the violet unicorn standing next to me, “we're good ponies. All of us,” she stared us down until she got an acknowledging nod. Then she looked back at me, “a long time ago, you told me I could channel my talent. If killing ponies was what I was good at, then I should make sure I just kill ponies that deserve it. Now I'm going to hold you to that same standard.

“You fuck it up,” her voice started to quaver a little bit now, but her expression remained grim, “and I'll end you myself.”

I nodded.

The pegasus exhaled and hopped up into the air with a flick of her wings. She hovered nearby for a brief moment, “we're going to New Reino,” she took off towards the west, at a pace that the two of us on the ground could easily manage to match.

Foxglove starting walking first, and I soon moved to fall into step beside her. The unicorn retained a wry smile, “you're welcome.”

My eyes flashed to her, “why? After everything I did to you...everything I said...

“None of this was for your benefit,” the unicorn quipped, “I did it for Windfall. She needs you. Or rather, she needs you to be the pony that she thought you were. I'm gambling here that you can be that pony.”

“Windfall doesn't need me,” I started shaking my head.

Foxglove snorted, “she needs you now more than ever,” the mare countered, “she's a young mare, and she just found out the pony she admired most is a monster,” I reflexively winced, which seemed to amuse the unicorn beside me, “the best way to help her is for her to see that monster change.”

“Do you really think I can? What about anything I've done makes you think it's possible?”

“I'm not saying I think you could ever run for Princess,” Foxglove rolled her eyes, “but I'm not convinced that you're as much of a monster as you think you are. I can't speak to what you did in the past; but I've seen what you're willing to put yourself through for Windfall's sake.

“If anypony can get you to do better, it's her.”

Maybe. I had my doubts though.

A little yellow pegasus was nudging me, flashing her blue eyes at Foxglove.

Ugh, “sorry,” I muttered.

“Hmm?” the unicorn's ears perked up as she glanced at me.

“I'm sorry,” I repeated with a sigh, “the whole...gun thing. And the argument with the lieutenant back there.”

“Ah, yeah. That,” she grimaced, “you're going to pay for that. Just so you know.”

“Really?” I quirked an eyebrow, “how?”

“I'll figure something out.”

Footnote: Level Up!
Perk Added: Terrifying Presence - Can intimidate ponies through dialogue.

Thank you so much for reading! As always, a thumbs up and comment are always greatly appreciated

I've set up a Cover Art Fund if you're interested and have any bits lying around! You can see what I'M capable of, heh; professional assistance is clearly needed here!