Chapter 5: Stories From The Old Days
”When you get to the cliff, do you jump or look down first?”

I could not move, but I could feel something on my back. A familiar feeling of having wings, but there was nothing on my head. My brain screamed at me that the feeling was wrong. There should be both a horn and wings! But, there was another feeling I had not felt before. It was like I was disconnected from my body and placed somewhere else, somewhere dark and warm. With a new feeling between my hind legs.

Wait a minute... It's not supposed to be like that? Oh Goddess, the memory orb is from a stallion's perspective!

Before I had a chance to think further, a strange sweet smell filled my non-existent nostrils and it took a moment for me to recognize it to belong to candy. Peppermint, regular mint, toffee, chocolate, caramel, and all manner of other scents filled my nose.

"Ponies are getting nervous about all the questions you've been asking," a mare's quiet voice said from my right. I tried to look over, to see what was there, but my head would not move and my neck did not respond.

Yet, strangely, I felt my head move on its own as my eyelids decided to open up. A wall lined with candy filled vats stacked to the top with brightly colored rocks greeted my vision. My head turned to the right on its own before I could identify if the candy matched the smell.

Standing near a large storefront window was a brightly colored pony. Her gaze was looking out into the street where ponies walked by without looking in. The pony's coat shined and glinted in the bright light coming from the ceiling, marking her as a crystal pony. I wanted to see what her cutie mark was, but the memory orb's host had other ideas.

He looked out into street and frowned. "Is it wise for us to be seen together in your shop?" His voice was bassy and felt like it came from deep within a volcano. "Somepony could look in at any time. Or Celestia forbid..." He looked to his left at a cash register where a Ministry of Peace poster hung on the wall behind it. "A zebra."

"It's Sunday. My shop's closed. And besides. No pony looks into a candy shop except for foals, but if it'll make you happy..." She sighed. The light coming in from the outside was quickly blocked out. My host looked at the crystal pony again, then glanced around the room far too quickly for me to to pick any specific details out. "Satisfied?"

"Is this room secure?" my host inquired, his wing moving on its own toward the front door. I decided to kick back, stop trying to fight his control, and watch since I was stuck until the memory was over. "That door does not look soundproof."

"It's crystal. I doubt you'll find a sturdier door." The crystal mare turned away from the window and headed over to the register, passing by an apple barrel filled with crystal looking apples. "About why you're here..." She stopped behind the register and punched a button, receiving a mechanical ding from the device.

"Yes," Mr. Nameless pegasus replied with a nod. He flexed his wings in and out very slightly. Then brought up a forehoof. I only realized then that the leg was being clamped by a hoofcuff as the pressure felt so familiar to him that it went by unnoticed to me. "I talked with a few pop rocks in-"

"They have names," she growled, her eyes narrowing slightly as she pulled a booklet out from the register drawer. "They're ponies, not candy."

"I know, sorry." Nameless frowned. He sat on his haunches and entered a code into the briefcase. A simple and easy to remember string of numbers; 3436. As he opened it and pulled out some papers, he said, "I have a request form here for more aid."

She nodded. "I figured you might have come for that reason. I've heard..." Her head tilted slightly as her lips pursed together, her eyes softening slightly. "Rumours about 'shiny' ponies fighting zebras. My superiors are concerned about these rumours. The Empire has a reputation of neutrality to uphold."

Nameless frowned even more and nodded. "I have heard these rumours, too, and have forwarded the proper paperwork to the Ministry of Image, so it's out of my hooves now."

The mare closed her book and set it on the counter with a loud slam. "It needs to be fixed now!" her voice echoed throughout the room. "Do you realize what would happen should the zebras realize we're giving you aid? They'll attack us!"

Again, Nameless nodded. He closed his briefcase and hovered over to her. The paperwork was set down and Nameless hovered back. "The crystal guard was invaluable in retaking Hollow Shades. And we have not forgotten that."

My eyes would have widened if they could. I tried to look for a rewind button, something to get him to repeat his words to make sure I had not heard him wrong. Yet there was no such feature in a memory orb.

He landed on the ground and took a deep breath. "But from what I've found out in my research, those guardsmares had... 'issues', flaws if you will."

She rolled her eyes, opening her booklet again. "Which regiment was it?"

"The one attached to the ninety-ninth Anti-Armour Brigade."

"I remember them coming through here," she said quietly. "They were not as disciplined as regular military. Had a few crystal pegasi and unicorns if I recall right."

"Well we retrained them." I felt a wide smirk form on Nameless's mouth. Something that should be knocked off his smug face. "And they fought well, but took very heavy losses. The whole unit was nearly wiped out."

"Then they didn't fight well enough if they took heavy losses," she replied with a huff and a shake of her head. "What were the 'issues'?"

He tilted his head some and looked up the ceiling, his mind trying to dredge up memories I wished to access. "Let's see... One of the regular Equestrian survivors' described it like, hm..." He frowned, his hoof giving his chin a few hard taps. "Like a manticore. Wild, a mixing of things. Almost too aggressive. Hungry for a fight?"

"They weren't regular guard," she deadpanned. "Reservists it says in my book. They weren’t full-time military, so I’m assuming, and don’t quote me, their training slacked."

"Do forward a request for more regular troops and not an untrained lot. We don't want a repeat of Hollow Shades."

She nodded. "It'll take a few weeks to get through my channels. Do you have their code names? We need to let their families know they died in a training accident involving a raptor and a remote mountain."

He tapped his hoof on the paperwork. “Right here.”

******

My return to reality was met only with silence, except for the quiet sound of air passing through my nostrils as I inhaled. The floor was as I remembered it, cold and unforgiving. Yet I was laying on a thin blanket. My body, soft and wingless. The feeling in my forehead was telling me that I had a horn.

The only thing I found odd was that the orb was sitting on the table and the cot was much further than I remembered. It was all the way across the room and occupied by Dead Hoof. He was curled up as small as he could get with his head tucked underneath a wing. The sight of which made me smile and whisper to myself, "Cute."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and stretched my forelegs high into the air, my eyes slowly shutting. My right forehoof snagged against something heavy, the rattle of a chain reaching my ears.

"Hm?" I blinked a couple of times and looked down, pulling my hoof to the same result. Slapped somewhere between my fetlock and hoof was a thick black metal band. Splotches of a crusty dark orange color coated part of its surface, and every single link in the chain. A small frown formed on my lips when I saw that the chain was attached to a metal loop installed in the wood floor. Sawdust surrounded the loop and the edges of the rusty bolts were shiny, indicating recent use.

"Dead Hoof?" I asked quietly, pulling on the chain until it went taut. It gave me only enough room to walk in a small three foot circle.

The only reply I received from the blue was silence.

"Well, it's not a bomb collar," I mumbled to myself and brought the cuff to my face. I tried to look inside the lock so I could use my magic, but the poor light of the room cast long shadows over the keyhole. My magic surrounded it and penetrated, flipping the tumblers around as I tried to imagine opening it, but all that did was make the lock rattle without making headway. The cuff was not all that heavy, despite it being made from what felt like cold iron.

A yawn threatened to take hold, so I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. The memory orb was... Interesting. And told me exactly why that document was talking about candy, yet I don't remember any crystal guardsmares in the Equestrian Army. Though finding out any more info would be next to impossible, unless Dead Hoof and I could track down that candy shop. But it could be anywhere! The memory orb could have taken place in another city months before he died for all I knew.

He...

I leaned forward and looked at the empty spot between my hind legs. My free hoof slowly in her forward and pressed against my coat to be sure nothing was there. The memory orb felt a little odd, being stuck in a stallion's body temporarily. If the orb was longer and about something else, I could have paid more attention to his body's feel. As it was I only got a short glimpse and it was overshadowed by the fact that the Crystal Empire was secretly fighting the zebras alongside Equestria.

But why? Why would the Empire fight in secret? What would they gain by doing that? I thought to myself as I poked my stomach a second time. Quickly sitting up straight, I looked around the room for the toy to see if it was still out, but I couldn't see it anywhere.

This fact made me frown. I sighed and facehoofed, slowly rubbing my forehead while my brained turned over. Supposedly the Crystal Empire fought for Equestria, but they did not want anyone to know, and that was important somehow.

"Doesn't matter anymore," I whispered to myself and yawned. My free hoof poked the chain again. It still did not disappear. The thought of unscrewing the bolts from the floor came to mind, even the thought of slapping Dead Hoof with the chain, but he had to have a reason for chaining me to the floor.

A hollow thump coming from behind the closed door drew my attention. I quickly looked at Dead Hoof as the blue rolled over in his sleep. An idea came to the forefront of my mind, and I quickly enacted it. I laid down on my side and shut my eyes to pretend like I was still in the orb.

The knock came again, only this time it was louder and a pony shouted from behind the door, "Open up, Dead Hoof. This is Mistress Tail Blade."

"Alright! I'm up," he exclaimed. I slowly cracked one eye open and watched as he dropped to the floor. He stretched his wings out and leaned downward, stretching his hindquarters high in the air, then leaned forward and puffed his chest out as he stretched his hind legs.

The door rattled, it's handle turning as Mistress Tail Blade tried to open it again. Her hoof slammed against the door a few times again. "This is important damnit," she growled. "There is no time for games or dawdling."

I could see Dead Hoof roll his eyes and walk over to the door. As soon as the lock was flipped, it flung open and the green alicorn burst inside. She spun around, slamming the door shut and locking it tight. Her gaze swept around the room, slowly looking at everything on the walls, then her gaze fell upon me.

She looked at Dead Hoof and pointed at me. "Who's that? Your slave? A hooker? Who?" He opened his mouth, but her grey-green hoof shoved its way inside. "I don't care. I did not come here to talk about how you get your kicks. A storm is coming this way and I am informing you that the town is moving into the heart of the city. Should you wish to bring your stuff, slave included, you should start packing immediately."

She slowly removed her hoof from his mouth and nodded, possibly indicating he could speak. He looked at me, sighing deeply. "That's no slave. It's Shell Shock."

She quickly placed a hoof to his forehead and frowned after a moment. "Are you alright? You seem warm. Shell Shock is a green alicorn, not a tan unicorn."

"I'm fine," he replied with a grumble. "That really is Shock. She's in an orb at the moment, though."

I gasped quietly, drawing their attention as I started stretching and sitting up. "Mmmm that was a fun orb." My voice was soft and almost sensual, but not. Slowly, my eyes opened to show both alicorns looking at me, just as I had hoped. I let my eyes shut halfway and waved my free hoof. "Hello."

Mistress Tail Blade looked at Dead Hoof, then stepped toward me. "Excuse me, miss. But what are you doing here?" she asked without telepathy.

I shrugged, moving my chained hoof and making the chains rattle. "I live here with Dead hoof." I rubbed an itch my nose and felt a familiar burning sensation coming from inside me. "Can I be unchained? I need to pee," I whined.

Tail Blade rolled her eyes and looked at Dead Hoof. "Really? Don't you have a bucket for her to do that in?"

"No. She bit me." I heard him growl. "Right here." He turned his head so he could point to his ear. "And nearly pulled my ear off!"

"Well I wonder why?" she tilted her head, her voice dripping heavily with sarcasm. "Dead Hoof. If you wanted a mare to fuck while Shock is gone, you should have come to me and I would have found you one!"

"That is Shock!" he stood up and pointed a hoof at me. "Look at the cutie mark! Ask her!"

"You're delusional, but," she sighed and turned to face me. A smile forming on her face. "Miss, what's your name?"

"Lilium," I replied and nodded. Dead Hoof facehoofed with a loud groan. "Or Dog, or Shell Shock, or Shock. I don't care. Look, I want out of this." I waved my chained leg around. "I need to find a mule and a candy shop."

Tail Blade looked at the blue, then at me and stepped closer. "You really trained this one well. She even sounds like Shock. How much did you pay for her?"

Dead Hoof shook his head. "It's her, I swear to Celestia. That's Shock!"

She looked at me again and said, "Let me see your flank." I turned to the side to show her my cutie mark. Her brows knitted together in thought as her lips curled downward. Tail Blade glanced at Dead Hoof, then at me and her horn glowed brightly.

A matching glow surrounded a small pistol being held in a foreleg holster. She pulled it out, cocked the hammer back and pointed it at my head. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Tail Blade! What are you doing?!" I shouted as I took a step back. "I drank a potion! Killing Joke made me like this!"

"I know," she said quite grimly, her eyes narrowing. Movement behind her would have drawn my attention had I not been so focused on the gun barrel pointing at my face. It moved even closer as she took a step forward. "I heard from the caravan. I thought it was just a tall tale to explain your death, but now... Now..."

I bumped into the wall, cold steel pressing up against my forehead. My eyes shut involuntarily. "Goddess, this sucks," I whispered to myself.

"Mistress Tail Blade," Dead Hoof began quietly. "This is under con-"

"Shut up, Dead Hoof," she snapped loudly. "Just stand there and let me handle this. I'm going to ask her one question," she said coldly and calmly. "Where did you get the potion? If you lie your brain is exiting your skull."

"From a mule!" I replied as quickly as I could. My forehead felt like it was being crushed by her pistol as it pressed even further into my skin. I knew what she wanted; a location. "He's a travelling sales pony here in Baltimare! He drifts from town to town. I bought the drink to turn me into a stallion, but got this instead!"

"Fool!" She shouted in my ears, and mind at the same time, her presence filling my skull. My head was shoved back into the wall from the force of her pistol pressing even harder into my forehead. I opened my eyes to find her glaring down at me, eyes feeling like white hot bolts of lightning drilling through my brain. The pistol was pulled back and pointed up slightly, its vanishing pressure a welcome relief. "Tell me, Shock. Was this potion selling mule with the Followers?"

I opened my mouth, closed it and shook my head, muttering under my breath, "No. He was not."

"Of course not." She sneered. "A travelling sales pony wouldn't have a Followers potion. And if he did I would suspect something amiss."

"But, I thought..." My ears folded back. "He said he was certified by the followers!"

Her hoof came around with lightning speed. It connected with the side of my muzzle, the room filling with the sound of an audible slap as the hoof's edge nearly cut into the skin. My head turned sideways, the area quickly burning with a jolt that felt like it was stabbing deep inside me. Slowly, my hoof touched the area, yet I could not feel it beyond the tingle left behind by Tail Blade's slap.

She spat at me, the cold saliva hitting above my eye and dripping down. I merely stared down at the floor and let my ears flop to the side of my face, my hoof staying where it was. "You're a weak-minded fool. Trusting a pony's word about what a potion does? There's a reason we only buy potions from the Followers!. I wish it had killed you instead."

Glancing at Tail Blade, I opened my mouth to say something, but Dead Hoof spoke first. "Please. Don't kill her. She's... She's my-"

"Slave," Tail Blade finished for Dead Hoof. She stepped back and turned to face Dead Hoof. Her pistol went back in its holder as the green alicorn nodded. Dead Hoof's ears folded back slightly. "I want her confined to this room at all times. Keep her chained up if you have to. She's not to speak with any other alicorns, neither is she to even look at them. As far as they are concerned she is just your unicorn slave. Treat her as such if you have to. Do I make myself clear?"

He hesitated for a moment, glanced at me with his eyes, and gave a firm nod. "Yes, ma'am. We were going to leave in the morning to look for the mule. There's supposedly a cure."

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Hm..." Tail Blade headed over to the door and stopped next to the frame. Then looked at me, eyes slowly softening for the faintest of moments. "Tell you what, Shock. You bring me the mule's head on a pike, destroy his wagon and any copies of the recipe he used, and if you're cured, I will forget this 'incident'."

I shifted around where I sat and squished my hind legs as close together as I could to keep my bladder from reminding me to relieve myself, giving Tail Blade a nod. "I will bring you his head."

*** ***

Dead Hoof smiled at me, but it was not a happy smile that reached his half-lidded eyes. His ears were turned forward so they could listen to every word I had to say, every breath I took, and even the faint swishing sound made by my tail as I gave it a couple of flicks.

My bags sat light on my back. Only the essentials were taken; two boxes of food, a bottle of water, my syringes of Med-X, a RadAway, and some cloth for bandages. Hyde rested across my back inside his sheathe. Dead Hoof had not given him his power gem back, much to my annoyance.

I needed the power gem. Needed it to stab and rip a pony to shreds with. Hyde was little more than a spiky bat without it. Yet the blue would not give it up. No.

Instead, he floated the gem in front of my face. Dangling it like a worm on a hook, and I was the fish. This was what he was smiling about. Every time I reached for the gem with a hoof, he'd pull it up or back, or to the side, just slow enough that I thought I'd might grab it.

"Dead Hoof!" I snapped, stomping my hoof into the floor. My ears were turned back, listening to the door in case a pony decided to come in. The loose fabric of the oddly redecorated stable barding tickled at my sweat matted fur. I wore it for one reason, and one reason only, to hide my mundane cutie mark. There was little in the way of armor in the outfit.

"Give me my gem," I whined, stomping my hoof into floor a second time. "This isn't funny."

He looked at it, the power gem floated closer to my face. Light glinted off each and every angle, every imperfection, and reminded me of the mare in the memory orb. Her coat shined so bright, yet my current coat was dull and crap.

I reached out with my hoof to take the gem, expecting it to pull away from me at any moment. My head turned to the side slightly, both eyes on his face to see how he was reacting.

The gem stayed put.

His eyes met mine for a moment. Then they went back to the gem. "Shock," he said, his voice was quiet and his magic still surrounded the gem. My leg wrapped around it, cradling the shiny item in the crook of my fetlock. It was oddly cold for a power gem and felt as hard as any other gem I'd encountered before. I knew not what made a power gem special; only that they made things work.

As I pulled the gem toward me, he let go of it. "Yes?" I asked, cradling the gem close to my chest like a foal and drawing Hyde with my magic. "What is it?"

"I want you to be safe." His blue hoof slowly reached its way into my view. I kept my eyes on Hyde, making sure I opened the right panel and inserted the gem the correct way. It shut with a click, then a high pitched whine emanated from within for a moment. Dead Hoof's hoof gently touched the spot Tail Blade had slapped. There was a slight pressure and the hoof stayed.

Slowly, I lifted my head and looked into his eyes as I touched his hoof with mine. "I'm just going to kill a mule. How bad could it get?"

He tried to smile even more, but he frowned, his eyes blinking back what looked like tears. Though I had no idea why he would cry. "Shock, I... I..." His other hoof slowly came up and was placed on my other cheek. "I almost lost you earlier. And I thought it might be a repeat of that pegasus. I don't want that. I want you, alive. Do you hear me?" I nodded. "Say it. Say that you will come back to me."

My eyes widened slightly, my ears tilting back as my cheeks grew clammy and cold. The beating heart in my chest, that organ every pony has to constantly give them life, it skipped a beat when he said those words. They mirrored a pony's words so very long ago.

The howling of an icy breeze blowing past a boarded up window began to float into my ears as Dead Hoof's face and hooves began changing to something else. Something old, something familiar, something black and orange. My mind dredged up a memory, pulling it from the deepest, darkest, recesses. I blinked a few times, then shut my eyes and willed it back down, pushing it aside with thoughts about that stupid mule and his wagon. He had to die, I had to get cured, and I had to come back. If not for me, but for Dead Hoof.

I gave Dead Hoof a firm nod. "Dead Hoof, I promise I will come back to you."

"Thank you." He smiled a genuine smile that reached his eyes. "Now go. I will make sure our stuff is secure."

"Are you sure?" I tilted my head. "I could use some help and you won't have to worry about me."

He glanced back in the room. So light on furniture he could carry it with him should he chose to. It'd be nice, to have a portable bed, but alas.The blue sighed quietly and nodded. "I'm sure. Mistress Tail Blade explicitly said for just you to go."

*** ***

The road stretched out before me, seemingly until it reached infinity. The buildings lining it reached skyward like skeletal gryphon talons. There were floors falling apart on some, some collapsing on others, while most had shattered windows. Where one particular building used to be, a large pile of rubble took its place. The building next to it had fallen over the road, it's roof resting on one strained looking building. It appeared to me like a tunnel of death waiting for somepony to walk under it so they could be crushed.

My gaze was on that roof section, ears turned forward to listen to it groan and creak on the wind. I ignored the fact that the sky was a pure deep blue far above. I even ignored my mane being blown backward like I was staring at a fan. So great was the speed of the wind it made my loose barding press and slap against my hide.

"Looks like a boxcar," I said quietly to myself, remembering that first alicorn crushed by the Destroyer. The building groaned again. This time a loud metallic bang echoed out from somewhere inside it, forcing me to take a few steps back in case it decided to come down.

"Afraid?" asked a voice from my left, barely audible over the wind. Slowly, I looked over, horn alight incase they were hostile. My gaze swept over the ruins quickly, yet I saw nothing.

"Show yourself," I ordered loudly at the same time Hyde was drawn out of his sheathe.

"Only if you promise to not stab me," it replied. I tilted my head some, my lips turning down slightly in a small frown. The voice felt familiar, like Tail Blade's or Dead Hoof's perhaps. Certainly not one of my crazy visions. Those had never asked to not be stabbed.

I looked down at Hyde for a second. He was slightly dirty from lack of use, yet the battery port held a bright glow from the gem. It needed to be used on something soon, or cleaned at the very least. Though he would not get put down without a reason.

I looked toward the voice again and squinted my eyes. Sitting in shadow was a highly reflective eye looking back at me. It belonged to a grey-green face, which had a long slender horn attached to it. My frown only grew more. Hyde was gently set down, but my magical hold on the handle stayed firm. "What do you want?" I loudly asked her. "Come to slap me again?"

Tail Blade's head shook slightly. "No. I have come to talk about my outburst. Please, put that weapon away and follow me."

I looked toward the building one more time. The way to the mule's first stop was through there, but I would rather find a way around than risk getting crushed. Or over it.

My gaze went to the building's top. So very high and inaccessible to me. I could easily have flown over it had I been an alicorn.

Slowly, Hyde was sheathed across my back again. His weight was a welcome distraction from my lack of wings. A look to my left showed that Tail Blade still stood there in a small shadow.

She had a pistol. That much I knew. Hyde could easily make quick work of her shield should things get heated, but she had access to spells far more potent than I could currently cast. Tail Blade could give me a heart attack in the time I drew Hyde and plunged him deep in her chest. Following her to a secluded room could be a death sentence, but she was my boss... She relied on me to do her dirty work when her business contacts decided to change their mind. Sometimes just a visit with a bat was enough to get them to reconsider. Other times, well. They weren't a problem anymore.

"Shock?" She stepped out from behind the wall. I could tell her foreleg holster was empty and her black dress was slightly dirtier than usual. "Can we talk like civilized mares?"

I looked at the building, then behind me toward town. It was quiet, except for the wind howling past my ears. No pony would see us in the road, but that was a dumb idea to think.

I let out a deep breath, slowly nodding a couple times. She smiled. "Okay. Where do you want to talk?" I asked.

She motioned with her hoof for me to come closer. I took a long slow look to my left, then to my right. All that surrounded us were ruined buildings and piles of rubble. Perfect places for ponies to hide, but also perfect shelter for an alicorn to hide in. Though, like earlier, I saw no one else but Mistress Tail Blade.

With a quiet sigh, I walked over to her and looked up into her eyes. She stepped back, nodding slightly as she sat down. I quietly sat down and waited for her to speak, since she was the one that wanted to talk.

She looked away from me, down at me, then at the sky, and back at me. "Lilium, I would like to apologize to you for my outburst," she said with her mouth, causing me to blink a couple of times as I leaned back.

"Apologize?" I turned my head slightly, an ear twitching.

She nodded heavily and breathed in deeply. "Yes, I am sorry for slapping you. I let my fear get ahead of me." She slowly let her breath out and stared into my eyes. Her wings were folding and unfolding ever so slightly, and I could have sworn I saw one of her forelegs shake a little bit. "You see." she lifted that leg up and made a circling motion with it. "Long, long, ago I was in charge of a brothel."

I nodded. "You told me this already."

She nodded slightly and looked down at her hoof, and picked at it with her other one. "But I didn't tell you the whole story." Tail Blade sighed before looking at me. "It was successful, well kept, and I had many repeat customers. You would have enjoyed it there."

I shook my head. "I'm not a whore," I told her. "While I want a foal, I don't open for just anypony. I have standards."

What about Bucky the bug pony? One drink for a roll in the hay? My brain tried to mock me, but I attempted to ignore it because I was drugged during that evil thing.

She moved over to my side and wrapped a large, feathery grey-green wing around me. It was warm, soft, and very snuggly. I wanted to lean into her and pull the wing around me even farther, but I resisted the urge and stared up into her eyes. Her body felt clammy and she shook every so often like she was cold. As she opened her mouth to speak again, I noticed a very faint tremble in her lip. "Y-yes." she nodded as her hoof was placed on my cheek. A small smile tried to form on her lips, but it failed to stay. "I meant as a guard. Had you been there guarding my business. You... You..."

She looked away from me and let her hoof drop. I tilted my head some. Then leaned against her and wrapped one of my forelegs around her chest. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage despite her cold exterior. My hoof gently pat her side at the same time I felt her take a deep breath.

"You might have prevented it from failing," she said finally. My ears folded back. I should have said something to her, but what, I didn't know what to say, so I remained quiet and listened. "You see. One d-day. A group of raiders attacked us." I looked away from Tail Blade and kept my ears turned toward her. The brick alleyway was quiet, except for her voice. She pulled me into a foreleg hug and squeezed tight. "They attacked us."

I looked at her again and nodded. "And you were defenseless."

"Oh no." She shook her head. Then slowly looked up at the sky. "We had guards. They even put up a fight, however brief it was. Some of the mares fought too, but in the end. They broke through the front door. And..." She looked down at me. "The guards weren't good enough. They couldn't shoot straight. More like farmers than fighters. They just wanted the freebies."

"Freebies?" I pulled my head back some. "You didn't pay them in caps?!"

"I tried to." She shrugged. "Most accepted the caps, but also wanted more." Tail Blade smiled at me and slowly pet my mane. She let her hoof stop on the back of my head. Then pulled me as close as she could get and gave me a hug.

I kept looking up at her and wondering why the hell she kept hugging me. "Mistress," I managed to squeak as I tried to pull away. "What happened next?"

She frowned. "The place was burnt down. They rounded everypony up, executed the stallions and the mares that fought back, then clapped everypony else in chains. As for me..." I felt her whole body shudder as her voice became as quiet as a whisper. Her ears drooped to the side of her face and she stared off into the distance. "The gang leader shot me five times and left me for dead when he was done."

I just stared at her. Part of me wondered if she was hiding something, my other half wanted to hug her and say she is okay now, while the rest of me wanted to know who those raiders were so they could be repaid with Hyde's blade through the throat. Slowly, I opened my mouth. "Mistress... who-"

Her grey-green hoof quickly clamped my mouth shut. She breathed in slowly, held it, and slowly let it out. I quickly glanced around to see if someone was sneaking up on us, but saw no one.

"I survived on luck," she said plainly. Tail Blade looked down at me. I could see that she wanted to cry. Her eyes were watery and puffy, but the tears would not fall. "One of my customers, a mare, happened to come by the day after. She nursed me back to health over the next few weeks. I clung to her like a blanket in my despair. She was stronger than I was, more adept at fighting, and a good teacher, but." She frowned and looked down at her hooves. "She was hit in the chest by a rifle round as she was freeing some captives."

She pulled me into a hug so tight I could almost hear my bones crack. Then the pressure was released just as quickly. I felt her warm breath brush up against my ear. As I turned to look at the alicorn, I felt her muzzle press into the space between my ear and skull. It pulled away after a second. "What does this have to do with me?" I asked. "Why is this related to you slapping me?"

"Because..." Her ears drooped again as her wings went limp. "I was injured, again, but escaped after killing the leader. I traveled for days until I collapsed. Near death, no ammo, no friends, no food. I was hopeless, powerless, and pathetic." She inhaled deeply, again and a small smile crossed her face. Tail Blade cocked her head at an angle and looked down at me. "Then you found me."

"What?" I blinked a few times as I tried to remember when and where I first saw her before, but came up blank. "You must have me confused with another green. I've been on an island for over twenty years."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "But it was an alicorn." Her face lit up like a young mare remembering her crush as she shut her eyes and smiled even more. "An alicorn... she said she had been following me, watching me, evaluating me, and had deemed me sufficient for something. Oh I was overjoyed at the thought of becoming as powerful as Princess Celestia. No more would I fear common raiders, no longer would I have to rely on others in a firefight, no more would I be helpless. I could wield the power of the sun as it were!"

Her hoof pat me on the head and stayed there for a moment. Slowly, my brain turned over as I pieced together the information she had given me. She had run an establishment, it got destroyed, she got revenge and became an alicorn. "I still fail to see how it is relevant," I told her.

The edge of her hoof slid along the side of my neck, sending a faint chill up my spine and into my head, causing the tips of my ears to turn slightly warm. Again, she slowly ran the hoof along my neck as I stared at her chest. "Lily, it's simple." her voice was quiet, almost motherly in tone. I blinked slowly and looked up at her face. "Seeing you as you are, hearing you being able to transform back into a regular pony with a simple potion, losing your alicorn spells. It frightened me, because what if a pony did that to me?" She grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth, forcing me to grab her forelegs for balance. "What if they did that to me?!" she shouted as she continued to shake me, her voice cracking into a scream. "What if they did it to me?! I'll be helpless again!"

I attempted to pull away from her. The grey-green forehooves dug deep into my skin. My old, normal, and non-radiation healing skin broke in one place with an explosion of pain. Blood pumped out of the gash and onto her hoof as I let out a scream, "There's a cure!"

She stopped shaking me and blinked a few times. Slowly, the pressure ceased as she let go of my shoulders and looked at her hoof. "Sorry. I didn't..." Her horn glowed as her bag was pulled in front of her and opened up, revealing some medical supplies. "Let me fix that. I think I have some thread and a needle in here."

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