I waited hours for Shield to return, but he never did. I started to worry more and more. Even Canterlot, the bastion of the Princesses hadn’t been safe from whatever had happened, who knew if Shield would be? To be honest, I had to admit to being scared as well. I didn’t want to spend a night alone here, I was just as vulnerable. The city had seemed safe enough. There were guards posted throughout, but even with guards in Canterlot the city had been rife with crime. Worse yet, nightfall was coming and quick. The sky had already started to darken.

Every time I was alone or even with somepony else at night something bad had happened. I had been nearly captured, actually captured and stabbed already. I didn’t want anything else to go wrong. Not a single night outside of Rust had ended well for me.

Maybe he was trapped, or the city guard’s had teamed up to take him out quietly. Maybe he found some kind of deep dark secret of the city nopony could know about and died for it. Or something. Yes, none of them were very likely, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. All of this compounded on my mind and I turned the lock on the door, put our last few belongings in my ‘pocket’ and exited our room.

I kept my head high as I entered the lobby. I looked around, but couldn’t spot Shield here. He was a pretty prominent figure in his armor, but nothing stood out. A few ponies still milled around including Orange Sherbet who promptly ignored me entirely. Ass. I got onto the street before I realize something very important. I didn’t have a damn clue where Shield would be right now. He hadn’t given me any indication on where he was planning to go or what he even wanted to do. However, there had to be at least a good place to start.

I didn’t have the first clue of where to go here, but the every direction went to the heart of the city, the marketplace. It was a hub of activity, plenty of stuff to buy and sell. It was also the best place for Shield to go to get weapons or supplies. It was the easiest place to check as well; I would be able to find it very easily. Most of the New Fillydelphia town seemed to be orientated around the mainstreet running from the entrance to the town hall. I just had to follow the road down to the marketplace. No problem.

For once, nothing went wrong on the way. Nopony tried to ambush me and no dragon appeared to try and kill me only to end up being a long lost friend. Not that that second one happened often, but still, once was enough! I acted as naturally as I could, pretending to window shop while actually looking for the crest of Shield’s armor.I started to get my first odd looks here; the citizens of Filly probably weren’t used to watching a little demon filly walking down their main street on her own.

After hours of feigning interest about everything from fine soaps to prewar bottled drinks, I finally started to ask some of the store owners directly if they’d seem a fully armored unicorn walking around. Unfortunately, that seemed to be not that of an uncommon sight in this city, and none of them acted like they had seen Shield’s impressive armor. That was even considering I could get an answer out of them in the first place. The store owners would barely talk to me if I didn’t act like I had money. I finally got desperate enough to enter the ‘slums’ of New Filly, where the caravans and stalls were hastily erected.

By this time, darkness had nearly completely fallen. Most of the light came from feeble street lights and torches on the stalls. Even with night fully arrived, ponies still hurriedly traded in the crowded marketplace. I got even more looks here. I quickly realized there wasn't anypony even close to my age. All of them were fully grown adults, with weapons not-so-subtly ferreted away on their bodies. Each of them looked ready to start shooting at a minutes notice.

I, on the other hand, was an unarmed, unarmored filly in the midst of all the bustle.

I wasn’t intimidated though. Somewhere at the back of my mind I’m sure I was terrified as hell but I couldn't let it get to me now. I had places to be and ponies to meet. At the forefront on my mind, I focused on my magical prowess. Surely I could best anypony here without a second thought and if not none of them could catch me if I was teleporting. I wasn’t safe, but I would be ok.

Still though, some of these ponies gave me the creeps. Odd, shaved ponies walking around like it was the most normal thing in the world. Ponies with tattoos covering their entire bodies until nopony could tell what was underneath. Ponies missing limbs only to be replaced with robotic attachments that whirred and squeaked at every movement.

The tattooed were the worst. The ponies had fully shaved themselves and painted intricate designs covering their entire bodies in tattoos. They set in a circle in the middle of a caravan just chanting and muttering to themselves. Occasionally one would look up and stare off into space. Unerringly, their eyes were either bleached white or red and irritated. A fire burned in the center, a deep green instead of the normal red. The smoke that wafted off made my head feel light and my knees grow weak whenever I caught the scent.

It almost made me forget why I was here in the first place. As I subconsciously drifted away from the smoke though, my thought’s clarity came back. I was here to find Shield, no more milling around like a foal!

I set out to the closest open stall, a vendor of the few remaining spices in Equestria. Most of them had been wiped out by the war and those that remained, while hard to grow and with terrible taste compared to the old world counterparts, were luxury items that costed nearly a hundred bits for an ounce. The stall owner perked up as I approached, probably thinking that I had ample amounts of bits for a sale. Sorry to disappoint.

“Excuse me sir,” I started, trying to keep the anxiety from my voice. My nervousness made me much more polite than I normally would have. I kept my magic ready for instant action, ready to be turned on at a moment’s notice.

The stallion working the stall turned his gaze to me almost lazily. When he finally had the whole me in his vision, he grinned a sickly-sweet smile. “And what would your question be, sweetheart?” He asked, propping his head on his hoof and looking down at me.

I met his gaze unabashed. “I’m looking for a pony named Shield. You’d probably know him if you saw him. He’s pretty tall, tends to walk around in a full suit of armor that looks like a dragon. Did he perhaps walk through here and talk to anypony?” I asked.

The stallion leaned back and considered for a second. “I might have seen this pony. Awful lot of ponies go through here you know.” The stallion said, dragging his words out. “My memory ain’t what it used to be, maybe some bits might help it?”

“How would bits help your memory?” I demanded. At his bored look my naive mind finally caught on. He was talking about a damn bribe! He wanted a damn bribe just to tell me if he had even seen Shield walk through here. I didn’t bother to hold back my rage. “You want money to do me a basic kindness?” I asked with a sneer.

“You think I’d give it away for free? You must be younger than you look. Then again, maybe you’d like to pay in a different way?” The stallion finished, giving me a distinctly lecherous look. My mouth fell open, appalled.

“How about this? You tell me or I burn your stall down?” I snapped, slamming my hooves onto the table. My horn sparked to life with pent up energy, ready to burst. Almost subconsciously, I could feel the crowd around starting to stare. I didn’t even turn though; I was long used to it. I wasn’t used to trying to issue a threat though. The stallion actually had the audacity to laugh in my face.

“You ain’t going to get anything with that kind of attitude. Now, why don’t you bother somepony less important than me?” The stallion asked, with a chuckle. His horn glowed a bright orange and he attempted to push me gently away from the stall. I was not going to have any of that.

I stopped his telekinesis with a burst of magic from my own horn and stopped the flow of his magic as best I could. It literally came down to a battle of wills and patience. A sizeable crowd had grown around us by this point.

With a rough surge of magic, I made his stall completely collapse and fall to the ground, just bits and pieces of what it had been before. His face lit up in surprise before he grit his teeth and his horn sparked to life once again. This time, he lifted up a large piece of debris from the stall and bring it down on my head. I stopped it with my own magic, mine slowly forcing his away.

We both stood like this for several minutes eyes locked until our concentration was broken by several ponies roughly breaking through the circle. A loud boom echoed right in my ears and apparently in the stallion’s as well both our magic dropped simultaneously. I fell to the ground, hooves pressed against my ears, trying to keep the sound out.

“Break it up! Nothing to see hear!” I could barely hear. My mind still rang with the boom. My eyes had started to water and my head was beginning to ache like hell. I struggled to my hooves finally to come face to face with a squad of guard ponies. These were much more intimidating than those we had interrupted earlier. Each of them wore full brown barding, stamped with the insignia of Fillydelphia. The lead pony wore an old combat helmet, probably from the war.

“Would one of you two please explain what the hell is going on here? Magic is strictly prohibited in the marketplace.” The lead pony inquired. The ponies behind him had slowly arrayed themselves into a semi-circle around us, both keeping the other ponies back and leveling their battle saddles directly at me and the stallion. Unfortunately, before I could begin to speak, the vendor offered his own explanation.

“This little cretin came up and demanded free spices! When I tried to say no she threatened to burn my stall down! I was only trying to protect myself I swear.” The stallion protested, suddenly trying to appear weak and helpless.

“T-that’s not true! I was just trying to ask a question and he tried to get me to sleep with him, I of course threatened him!” I retorted right back. Surely the guards would be able to tell he was lying. It was as obvious as the sun in a clear sky. The guard glanced back between us for a second but quickly made up his mind.

“Right. Take her in.” The guard ordered after his deliberation. Surprise flared through my mind. I hadn’t done anything wrong! I glanced fearfully around and saw an alleyway near the edge of the marketplace. I squeezed my eyes shut in concentration, and with a flare of red magic, teleported into the alleyway.

As soon as I landed I started sprinting further into the city, quickly reaching more and more destroyed and dilapidated buildings. I could barely hear the shouts from the marketplace but kept running until I could hear the guards no longer.

A new array of sounds replaced those of the market’s buying and selling. It was mainly silent, but occasionally I could hear a scream or a laugh. It was vaguely reminiscent of the slaver camp. The connection made me shiver, trying hard to forget that experience. Even with the quick rescue, the time there had been horrifying and a quick adjustment to the new life of the wasteland.

I shook myself out, changing my thoughts back to happy ones. But now, I had a bigger problem than just finding Shield. I had no fucking clue where I was anymore. The main street had been easy enough to navigate; it was just a straight line after all. Getting away from the guards had been a different story. I ran through a bunch of side streets and alleyways and in my blind panic I hadn’t bothered trying to remember the way out. Looking back, that was really really stupid.

Standing here wasn’t going to help though. All the roads eventually had to lead back to the main street right? That why it was called the “main” street. So, I started walking without much of a system. If a turn came up, I would take a right without question. I thought that was the way I had come, so it was my best guess.

Night had well and truly fallen now and there didn’t seem to be any street lights in this area. I resorted to lighting my horn up which really didn’t help my morale at all. These possibly abandoned and nearly collapsed buildings were creepy enough without being bathed in a dark, bloodlike glow. Yay for having creepy magic. It was the best!

I don’t really know how long I walked. It could’ve been a few minutes, or even as long as an hour. Eventually though, I started to hear a laugh. It wasn’t a normal laugh, like someone had just told a joke or someone was having a good time. This laugh chilled me to the damn bones. It would be interrupted occasionally by deep, hacking coughs and then instantly resume. I started to sprint, a cold sweat breaking out across my coat. Fuck this place, fuck this city, and fuck the wasteland.

I popped a shield into existence around me and kept running. I kept glancing over my shoulder, expecting there to be some kind of depraved and insane pony following me. I never saw anything, but I would swear that there had been somepony following me. Finally, thankfully, the laughing stopped. I was even deeper into the city now. Not even the small signs of life I had heard earlier were here. Going back meant going back to that voice. Not tonight, nope.

I sat down for a second trying to catch my breath from all the running. I brought one of the canteens out of my otherspace pocket and took a deep drink. The night air had started to cool off, making my sweat covered body even chillier. I couldn’t help but shiver. I needed to get moving. Shield was probably back at the hotel by now, wondering where I was. I was such an idiot! Shield had never broken his word before, why did I think he would now? My lack of patience had led me here and I definitely did not want to be anywhere near this place.

I started walking again, trying to head up so I could go around that laugh. I could hear sounds again! That must mean I was getting close to civilization! I focused on the sound harder, trying to find out where it was coming from.

A mounting sense of dread rose in my stomach as I actually realized what the sounds were. It was the sound of somepony begging and then shouts. It wasn’t far; maybe a street away at most. Regardless, it was other ponies. I headed towards the sounds slowly and dimmed my horn, trying to arrive unannounced.

I finally located the source of the sounds. Of course it had to be coming from the end of the alleyway. Because otherwise it wouldn’t be cliche enough or remind me of my own origins. Every experience here had to be traumatizing in some way.

The end of the alley was lit by dim lantern light so I let my horn fizzle out and sneakily crept up. I glanced down and caught sight of two ponies against the back wall. For once, I was thankful for my dark coat as I was able to sneak up without being seen easily.

The closest one was a yellow coated stallion magically levitating a knife and holding it against the other ponies throat. I couldn’t adequately make out his words, but the intention was damning enough. The other pony, a mare, was sobbing uncontrollably and seemed to be begging for her life. Right, well I had seen enough.

I grit my teeth and teleported forward with as loud as a bang as I could, trying to emulate the guards’ tactics from earlier. Before he could recover, I roughly shoved the stallion into the wall with my telekinesis, making him drop his knife. Finally, I erected a shield as fast as I could in between the myself and the stallion, keeping the mare on my side.

“Leave now!” I yelled in a magically amplified voice. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be able to change my appearance. I could’ve added fangs or made my mane all flowy like the princesses; much more threatening. Although I had to admit my color definitely helped with this. Loud was about the best I could do. Apparently, it was good enough though, as the stallion turned and ran, dropping his knife in his route.

I turned back to the mare, trying to give her a reassuring smile. “Hey, you alright?” I asked in nearly a whisper. “My name’s Zenith,” I added. The poor mare looked terrified and I didn’t want to upset her anymore.

The mare raised her gaze to meet mine. Funny, I would’ve sworn she was crying but I couldn’t see any tears. The mare slowly reached out a hoof and I reached out one of my own to meet her. In retrospect, I really should’ve seen this coming.

The mare’s other hoof reached out faster than I could react and struck my horn hard. Instantly, my barrier dropped the alleyway darkened to black as the mare simultaneously kicked snuffed out the lantern.

Stupid Zenith. How many times did you have to get hurn? Or captured? Or burned? How long would it take me to realize that Equestria wasn’t a nice place anymore? That the ponies I met weren’t going to be bright and cheery like Pinkie?

My head swam with nausea and dizziness from where the mare had struck my horn. The horn was such a delicate place for unicorns, even the lightest touch could make them lose control of their magic. A hard hit really messed with the head.

I staggered around, barely keeping my hooves and could hear swift movement in the darkness. Light suddenly returned in a blinding fashion. The mare had lit a flare and tossed it to the ground, blinding me in addition to my disorientation. She had recovered the knife, now held tightly in her mouth, left forgotten on the ground and was rushing at me.

I barely managed to move in time to avoid having the knife plunged into my chest. The knife still sliced into my moving leg, drawing blood and leaving my gritting my teeth and pain. I still hadn’t recovered enough to use my magic and was left to my own, pathetic physical ability.

“Come on! Stop that!” I yelped, dodging another knife thrust. I tried to get around her and run out of the alley, but she blocked my every move. I finally stumbled trying to dodge a slice and fell roughly to the alley floor, my weak leg giving out on me completely. I fell onto my back and the mare leaned down over me, ready to plunge the knife in for the final blow.

I pushed my hooves out, struggling to get the mare off me. It wasn’t any use though. The mare was much heavier and stronger than I was. I still couldn’t focus enough to use my magic either. As a last resort, I reached out to the power of my amulet. The amulet flared out with purple light and the mare flew away.

I stood up in triumph and felt my mind clearing completely. I managed to get my own red barrier up, flickering and weak, but still there.

“The sign!” The mare yelped, her voice now filled with fear. “You... You’re a reaper!” The mare exclaimed, her voice actually quivered a little.That would work.

“Of course!” I puffed my chest out to show off Spike’s amulet. “I don’t think they’d be very happy knowing you injured me either.” I finished, trying to sound dramatic. I let the spell slip back over the amulet, once again hiding it from view. My magic was finally back up to snuff, and I lit the alleyway in the same eerie red light. With the new calmness, I took the time to get a better look at the mare’s colors. Her coat was a light beige, with a light red mane and tail. I couldn’t make out her cutie mark though, not from this angle.

The mare actually started to back up, and she dipped her head almost reverently to me and kept it low. Her legs trembled as if she was terrified I was going to vaporize her any second. I hadn’t expected this bluff to actually work out so well.

“F-forgive me, for I knew not of what I did.” The mare nearly begged. “I would follow you to my death.” She finished in an almost awe-filled whisper. The mare turned, showing her cutie mark. Or rather, where it should have been. Instead of a normal cutie mark, the mare had branded the six pointed star of Twilight’s cutie mark and her sign used for whatever plans her and Luna had concocted. I was both impressed at her dedication and horrified that a pony would mutilate themselves like that.

“I...” I started, nearly dropping my bluff. I quickly realized my mistake and pretended to clear my throat. “I mean, good. I-er, I’ll put in a good word for you. What’s your name?” I asked.

“Twilight dew.” She responded. She kept her gaze locked on my hooves, not looking me in the eyes. Of course she’d have the word ‘Twilight’ in her name. What was it with ponies in the wasteland? They either hated me mentor or seemed to take loving her to a new and creepy place I didn’t want to see.

“Well... I need to get back to Orange Hotels. Can you help me with that?” I asked her. Surely she knew her way around the city, being a full time resident. Surprisingly, Dew (it would be weird to call her Twilight) shook her head.

“It isn’t safe to travel this late. Please, come with me.” Twilight Dew raised her head again and led the way out of the alleyway. The moon was now high in the sky and had just began its descent. There was still at least several hours left in the night and so far walking hadn’t gotten me far on my own. I might as well follow this crazy mare, I didn’t have any better suggestion.

Dew led us down several streets before abruptly stopping in front of an old, seemingly abandoned house. Dew didn’t hesitate with opening the door and letting herself in. I was surprised that the entire door didn’t fall down. She shut it behind us leaving us in sheer darkness save for a small circle of red light around us. I let more power go to my horn, giving us plenty of light to see by.

The room still had all of the old furniture and effects that whatever family had lived here kept. Most of the furniture seemed to have suffered from burns, only just standing. The pictures and other small tokens had long since faded or rotted away. In one corner though, a relatively new table stood.

Atop the table, Twilight Dew had laid out a shrine to who else but Twilight? Two purple candles ringed a framed, long faded picture of Twilight. In front of the picture, Dew had placed a shockingly good sketch of Twilight’s cutie mark on recycled paper. Several amethyst jewels were also aligned into the shape.

“This is uhh... This is nice.” I said, trying to smile but only giving off a poor imitation. Dew didn’t seem to mind though, as she grinned back broadly and genuinely.

“Thank you. I-I’m sorry it isn’t nicer. T-the church only recently came here and they charged me with trying to find us a place to stay. This obviously isn’t it, I promise. The place I’m looking for is going to be much nicer than this! Only the best for the reapers!” She finished, rambling nervously.

“Of course.” I replied dryly. This was a damn obsession. It seemed to be some kind of religion to her. She talked of the church coming to Fillydelphia. What was that? “You mentioned the Church, what is that?”

She looked surprised, like I had just suggested the sky was pink, or that Princess Celestia had hated tea. “You haven’t heard of our glorious Church? I was... I thought that we were finally getting noticed. There were rumors that Twilights Circle’s little foal had been taken in... Nevertheless, now’s my time to spread the word.” She appeared to mostly be talking to herself at this point. She turned back to me quickly though, obviously not wanting to offend a powerful reaper.

“I am a member of the Glorious Church of Twilight Sparkle! We seek  to carry on her illustrious memory and spread the word throughout the wasteland. We will return the peace of this land like Twilight wanted us to.” Well that actually sounded like a pretty damn good idea. “Through any means necessary!” And there was the wasteland spin, that end little kicker that made everything else they did moot. Considering where we were now, I had to assume that ‘any means necessary’ included killing.

“Each of our members strives to be noticed by the reapers and taken in as their own. This way, we can directly help further Twilight Sparkle’s goals for Equestria and follow our Wise and Glorious leader’s goals past her own death.” Dew finished much less ominously.

A brilliant idea struck me. This was my first good chance to make a difference. She thought I was a reaper, and seemed to be a pretty high up member of the church is she was sent to establish a new branch completely on her own. Dew would listen to me without question.

“Ah yes, that sounds fantastic!” I lied through my teeth. “But right now, the Reapers, seek to further the goals of Sunrise as the sheriff of Rust. If you are loyal to Twilight you will as well!” I tried to finish dramatically and imperiously, but there was no way I could pull it off. Still, Dew seemed like the pony to follow without question, so I hoped her absolute brainwashed admiration of the Reapers would lead her to not question me.

Dew bowed deeply before me and nodded her head. “As you wish! I will relay your message to our Monks as soon as I have ensured your arrival at Orange Hotels, or my life is forfeit.” She swore. That worked better than I possibly could have anticipated. “Please take advantage of my home as if it were your own, I must meditate on what you have told me.”

Without further ado, Twilight Dew left me alone in the room, exiting to the left. I would swear her legs were still quivering as she left. Jeez, the Reaper name seemed to carry a bigger influence than I originally thought. Having nothing left to do for now, I decided to try and find a place to lay down. The main room opened up into a staircase. I figured the best chance of a bedroom would be upstairs.

The top of the landing led to a hallway, with two doors on each side and one at the end. I took the first door on the left, hoping for some semblance of a bed. I poked my head in and let my horn light do its work. It was indeed a bedroom that had been preserved from whatever had destroyed the furniture downstairs. The bed seemed largely intact, if filthy and old. I could deal with that though. I went over to the side and pulled the sheets down.

I nearly vomited. Inside the sheets was a skeleton. The flesh and hair had long since rotted away, there wasn’t even a lingering smell. But still; it was a dead pony, killed in its own home by whatever had ended Equestria. I gingerly gripped it in telekinesis and moved it unceremoniously into the corner. I felt a pang of guilt, but I needed this bed. I moved the sheets back up though, not wanting to touch what the bones had.

I hopped onto the bed, being careful to avoid where the skeleton had been. It would’ve felt like i was defiling its grave otherwise. Obviously, Dew hadn’t gotten to the upstairs yet. I closed my eyes and let my horn flicker out. As much as I didn’t want to, I needed sleep for tomorrow. I would have to walk again and Shield would likely be pissed. I would have, if I was him.

Try as I might though, I couldn’t sleep. First and most glaringly, I was laying where a dead pony had just been. I couldn’t get over that. Sure, I had seen death already in the wasteland but I wasn’t used to it and hoped I never would be. It just felt sick. I hated the idea of any pony dieing, except maybe those slavers. I could justify that they had deserved it.

These Church ponies kept me from my sleep too. I couldn’t verify that Twilight Dew wouldn’t just kill me in my sleep. From what she described and how she acted, this Church was much more of a cult. I had read about cults back in the library with Twilight. I used to read history and the cults always had some kind of plot or scheme.They always seemed to be almost unanimously insane. Too much devotion to any idea was crippling for individuality and stifled creative thought.

They didn’t seem to be all that bright though.  At least not Dew, if she believed that I was really a Reaper. To be fair, if I was blindly devoted to getting into the Reapers, I’m sure I would probably believe anypony with even a smidgen of proof suggesting they were one. Still, she seemed almost too gullible. I figured there was some kind of hidden motive behind her near worship of me. She probably wanted to steal my bits or something. So, I stayed alert and didn’t let sleep claim me.

The morning eventually came without any interruptions. Not too long after the first light peeked through the window, somepony knocked on the bedroom’s door. That had to be Dew.

“I’m in here.” I answered the knock. As expected, Dew stepped in, wearing two saddlebags that covered the brand on her side.

“Come, it is safe to move now. I will take you back to your hotel.” Dew explained. I nodded and followed her out of her house. The street she occupied was utterly abandoned. Not a single soul moved and I couldn’t hear a single sound. Dew started to lead the way down the streets. As we walked, I realized that I never would have been able to find my way back. Fillydelphia was pretty much a labyrinth of streets. I had lived in a big city at one time, but my life was spent in the radius of like, five blocks and it was laid out much cleaner than this.

I could start to hear the noises of a small city now. It seemed like everypony was finally starting to get up and awake.

“We’re close now. I... cannot go into the main city, I am sorry. The guards are against my Church. It is dangerous for me to even come this close. The street is just through here though.” Dew explained, motioning through an alley.

“Thank you. The Reapers will remember your kindness.” I turned and headed down the alley, eager to finally end this bluff. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep the lying up. Finally, after the night’s unproductive work, the Orange Hotel was finally within my sights. I could hear shouts from within as I approached the door. I hesitantly pushed the door open.

What I saw was a sight for my sore eyes. Shield stood in Orange Sherbet’s face, shouting. Shield still wore his full armor. The saddlebag he had taken with him was filled to the brim, as well as a new one that he must’ve bought while he was out.

“DId you see her?! You just let her walk out of here on her own?” He yelled, his voice modulated once again by his armor. Orange Sherbet’s face had paled dramatically and he couldn’t even begin to stutter an answer.

“Uh... Shield?” I muttered. He instantly turned and saw me. Orange Sherbet slumped to the ground in relief, much as I would have.

“Our room. Now.” Shield snapped at me. He practically stomped his way over to the stairs. I followed more slowly. I didn’t expect he was going to be this mad. Then again, I had ignored the one thing he asked me to do and left him wondering for an entire night alone.

When I finally made it to the room, Shield has thrown his helmet on the bed and he slammed the door telekinetically behind him. Now that I could see his facial expressions, I could actually see the fire in his eyes and realized how pissed off her really was.

“What in the fucking name of Celestia were you thinking?” Shield practically roared. “I gave you one job! One fucking job! All I needed you to do was stay here and be quiet. But no, not only are you gone when I finally get back, but I hear some damn talk about some filly going crazy in the marketplace. I wonder who the hell that was? Sure it ain’t you, cause I told you to stay here!”

“That’s not what happened.” I tried to mutter in my defense. He wasn’t having any of it though.

“Why the hell didn’t you just ask that Orange bastard where I was? Do you know how damn dangerous these streets are for anypony, especially a young filly like you?! I’ve already lost one dammit, I ain’t going to lose-” Shield cut himself off and turned around. He had slowly progressed from anger to sorrow and tears flowed.

“Shield. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to stay here on my own. I-I was scared and not thinking.” I tried to make amends. It sounded weak even to my own mind though. Of course I wasn’t thinking. I had deliberately put my own life in danger and disobeyed Shield. I scooted forward and threw my arms around Shield’s neck, bringing him close in a hug.

We stood together for a few seconds without any interruptions.  After a while, Shield broke the hug and stepped back. He re-sealed his helmet and shrugged off the full saddlebags.

“Just... don’t do it again. No harm done this time I guess.” He finally said with a sigh. “Now, stay here, I’m going to run to get those papers signed by the mayor. This time, actually stay here ok?” He said, a little more forcefully than needed.

“I will... but when you get back, will you tell me where you went?” I asked. I didn’t want to poke through his saddlebags without asking and I was curious as to what had taken him so long. I sat down on the bed beside them and suddenly felt fatigue flow over me like a wave. I let loose a huge yawn.

“Yea, yea. Get some rest Zenith. Nothin’ll hurt ya here. I’ll be back quick, I promise.” He closed the door behind him. I could see a bright spark from the other side as I assumed Shield sealed the door with magic.

My last thought before drifting off was that I had to ask Shield what he meant when he said he’d already lost one. But for now, I needed sleep desperately.