As I approached the desert town I noticed the watchtowers at regular intervals surrounding the town, along with a large wooden barrier, reaching almost to the tops of the watchtowers. To keep things out or to keep people in?

In the end I guess it doesn't matter, I was out of water and I wouldn't last much longer out in the desert. Get in, get water, maybe get some information on the Changelings, get out. Simple.

So, of course, that meant that something was going to go horribly wrong.

I slipped into the town as the watchmen changed, it wasn't too difficult, they were bored and distracted, that made it easier. I couldn't tell the species from my position, but seeing as they were bipedal it certainly narrowed down the list. I shook my head, it didn't really matter. I could think about it later.

As I explored the seemingly empty town I began thinking. Where is everyone? There's no way guards would be posted here if there's no one here. I was about to break into a house when I heard a distant noise. I paused and listened carefully.

It sounded like a crowd roaring. Or a brawl. Odd. I made my way further into the town, towards the noise until I was certain it was the sound of a brawl. The sound of it all was deafening, the roaring, the yells of pain, the screaming. I turned a corner and froze.

Oh. That's bad. A pile of greens, browns and a few blacks of varying shades. A Skrag Pile. A citywide brawl of a kind. The last one standing gets the prize of bragging rights for the whole year till the next Skrag Pile. Of course, only one species takes part in Skrag Piles.

Orcs.

Unfortunately, they have a tendency to drag anyone they see into the Skrag Pile. That's probably why I found myself being dived on by several Orcs.

"Oh, bollocks." I muttered before my vision went black.

"Urgh..." I groaned as I awoke. "Where...?"

"Well, well, look who's finally awake." I looked towards the source of the voice and found a heavily muscled, dark green skinned, Orc woman dressed in the same loose cloth clothing as the rest of the town sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. Hell, if I had to guess I'd say that's she's physically just older than me.

I propped myself up. "Who...?" I wheezed, my throat was parched. Damn.

"Here." The Orc, whoever she was, got up and carried a pitcher of water and a glass over and poured me a drink. "Drink it slow." She said as she passed it me.

I took a sip, feeling the cool liquid flow down my throat was revitalising. After a few more sips I turned to the Orc. "Thank you."

She shrugged, "No problem. I've got to ask though, who are you? You're not from town, and you're definitely not one of the guards."

As I considered my options I noted her voice was deeper than most women I'd met on my travels, not unusual for an Orc but still worth noting. After a minute of silence I finally spoke up. "My name is Blood. Who are you?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Blood, huh? Weird name, but whatever. My name's Skaret, I'm the town's blacksmith."

"Skaret." I repeated. "Right. Where am I?"

Her smile faded, "We're in a town in the middle of the Badlands. We call it the Endless Void Of Our Souls." I gave her a look and she smiled. "Yeah, I know. Our ancestors were kind of weird. We just call it Endless."

"Endless? Ah, what the hell, I've heard stranger names." I shrugged. "Why live out here though?"

Skaret frowned and rubbed her shoulder. "We're imprisoned here. Our ancestors apparently committed some crime and here we are, still paying for it." She shook her head with a frown. "It still pisses me off."

"Yeah, I can understand that." I finished the glass of water and placed it on a table before rubbing my head and lifting the sheets. Yep, like I thought, naked.

Skaret stood up. "Your clothes and things are over there." She pointed to a chair in the corner where, sure enough, my clothes were hanging on it, no weapons though. And no Roxy, that made me slightly twitchy. "I'll see you in a minute."

After she left the room I groaned and got out of the bed. I looked out the window and saw I was still on the ground floor and sighed, "What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?" I made my way over to my clothes. "But...trapped in a town because of your ancestors crimes? What the fuck happened here?" I got dressed and attached all my pendants and vials. I paused as I picked up a gold, circular pendant. I rubbed my finger over it before flipping it open on a whim.

I stared at the picture of my family and a younger me. I just looked at them, at Mum, at Dad, at Suzie. "I miss you." I muttered. "I miss you so much." I wiped away a single tear that fell from my eye. After another moment I sighed and closed the pendent and placed it over my head.

I shook my head, I didn't need to have my head in the past. I pushed the door open and stepped into the next room. Huh. Quaint. The building seemed to simple wooden cabin. I eyed the stairs. Huh, most don't have stairs, nice.

I spotted Skaret by some homemade chairs. "So, you made it out alive, I see." She gave a good-hearted laugh. "Seriously though, nice stuff, not seen anything like it before."

I chuckled, "That's...heh, that's not surprising. I'm not from anywhere you'd find."

She raised an eyebrow, "You're a nomad?"

I laughed, "No." I paused. "Well, technically I am now, but no, not at first." I shook my head. "I travel to see the world...for survival, I'm sure someone that someone who's been locked in one place their entire life can understand."

"Yeah, I get it. Survival is important, but you know what's more important than just surviving?"

I held back a groan, after all she did nurse me back to health. "Don't give me that, 'You have to live not just survive' crap. I've heard it all before."

She shook her head, "Nah, that's not my style. What's more important than surviving is beating in the skulls of anyone who looks at you wrong!" She let loose a roaring laugh.

I gave a smirk, "Yeah, I think I'd drink to that."

She shrugged, "I do have some whiskey, but it's saved for special occasions." She gave a wide grin, "Like when we get out of this place."

"Good luck with that." I said sincerely.

"Oh, right." She snapped her fingers. "There's someone who wanted to see you." She turned to the stairs and yelled, "Hey! Get down here!" She sighed, shook her head and turned to me. "Brothers, who'd have them, right?" She turned back to the stairs. "GET DOWN HERE!!!"

There was a yelp before a small, scrawny, pale green skinned Orc about half a head shorter than me and dressed in simple cloth clothing with some kind of cloth sack tied to his waist tumbled down the stairs. "Okay!" He yelped, his voice kind of high pitched and scratchy. "I'm okay!" He pushed himself up, yellow eyes sparkling with energy.

"Hey, Ratbag, were you sleeping again?" Skaret asked with a smirk, shaking her head. Ratbag? Well, Orcs always did have sporadic naming habits.

"No!" Ratbag defended. "I was training my balance!" He finally noticed me. "Ah! You're awake! You're lucky Ratbag found you, the others thought you were an animal!" Yeah, Orc's weren't exactly known for thinking things through during Skrag Piles.

I nodded, "Then you have my thanks."

He grinned, his teeth yellow and pointed, a little bit more so than Skaret's or the average Orc's. "Yes, Ratbag is great, I know, I know."

I chuckled, "I wouldn't go that far, but you did good, kid."

He frowned, "Ratbag not a kid."

I shook my head with a smile, "Sure." I turned to Skaret, "So, what's keeping you guys trapped here?"

"The guards, they're stronger and have better weapons than I'm able to forge with whatever scraps I can get my hands on." Skaret told me as Ratbag began standing on one hand.

"Sounds rough, what are the guards?" I asked. "One species or several?"

"Just the one, they're Minotaurs though, so they're not exactly easy to take down." Skaret scowled. "Bunch of stagillos!" Ragbag flipped himself back onto his feet and gently squeezed her arm.

"Bad experience with them?" I asked carefully.

It was Ratbag who answered me, "They push us around, treat us little better than animals. One hurt my sis, so Ratbag slit his throat." He gave a vicious grin before it quickly faded. "They found the body and beat Ratbag. Ratbag was found by sis after a few days, Ratbag was confined to bed for seven months. Sis took it the worst."

"I'm responsible for you! You're my brother why wouldn't I be pissed?!" She snarled, glaring out the window at a nearby watchtower. "They should burn for what they did to you!"

"Yeah, got to agree with you there." I said before absentmindedly muttering, "Reminds me of some of those other prisons I've busted out of." And that one I busted into to rescue Ritual that one time.

"You've escaped prisons before?" Skaret asked. "Prisons like...this place?"

I winced. "Listen, I know what you're thinking, but I'm trying to keep a low profile." I doubt it'll work though, me and low profile get along like oil and water.

"But we're dying!" Ratbag cried. "Every day more of us die! One day it'll be Ratbag's turn. Then...then no more Orcs."

"Please, Blood. Our people need to be free!" Skaret pleaded.

I paused. Maybe... The Orcs reappearing would distract Celestia from me. But it would also bring her attention closer to my location. Definitely let her know it was me who busted them out if they talk, but could I condemn what's possibly the last of a species? Hmm... "Fix my sword up and we have a deal." Orcs were known to be some of the top blacksmiths back in the day, so it should be interesting to see if she's up to scratch with her ancestors. Plus I may need to break them out to escape this place.

She gave a bright smile, "Thank you!" Her face suddenly grew serious and her crimson eyes glinted with interest. "Now...let's see this sword."

I sighed, "I had it on me before I blacked out earlier."

Ratbag jumped a few times, "Ratbag can get your sword! Ratbag will even bring other items as well!" He scarpered back up the stairs before I could stop him.

I sighed and shook my head, "Excitable, isn't he?"

"You should see him drunk." Skaret chuckled.

I gave a lazy smile, "Sounds fun." I yawned, "Well, good luck, I'm going to call it a night."

"Yeah, have a good night." Skaret said, distractedly. "I'll leave the rest of your stuff by the bed."

"Thanks." I yawned before making my way back to the bed.

After arriving in the Dreamscape it didn't take long for Luna to arrive, but while I was waiting I turned the environment into a grassy hill with a night sky sparkling with stars before spawning some seats and beverages for us.

I sat down on a bean bag and poured myself a whiskey. Just as I began to sip it Luna appeared in a blue flash. "Hey, Luna." I greeted.

"Blood." She grinned. "Did you do this for me?"

I shrugged, "Kinda. Also felt like a change of scenery was needed. Besides, no better place for two friends to have a drink, right?"

She chuckled and levitated a beer over to herself, "I'll drink to that." We tapped glasses and drank.

After a few minutes I spoke up again, "So how's life going on your end?"

She finished her beer and shrugged as the glass disappeared, "Sis is paranoid that you're skulking about Canterlot or Ponyville, she's not doing good, I don't think she's slept since she found out you escaped."

I sighed, "I'm not going to pretend to like her, but for the one who moves the sun to be in that condition..." I rubbed my forehead. "Just...send her to a spa or something."

She smiled, "Yeah, but other than that I've been good. How about you?"

"I'm going to free a town full of Orcs in the Badlands."

Luna gave a confused look. "Free them?"

I nodded, "Yep, they're imprisoned there for something their ancestors did, so I'm busting them out."

She groaned, "What idiot just forgot about them?!"

We exchanged a look before saying simultaneously, "Nobles."

I shrugged, "I'm fucking calling it now."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck."

I smiled, "Thanks, Luna." I paused. "Other than that, there's something that's been bothering me."

"Oh? What's that?" She cocked her head.

"Why did you listen to me? I attacked you, yet you still sided with me over your sister." I shook my head. "I don't get it. It...doesn't make sense."

Luna sighed, "Blood, you were angry and acted on impulse. I understand that. I'd be lying if I said that I've not done the same in the past." She put her hoof on my shoulder. "Besides, what my sister has done isn't right. She shouldn't have hunted you."

"I shouldn't have kick her in the face then." Not that I regretted a damn thing.

Luna snickered, "You...kicked her in the face?"

"And then promptly ran away before she burnt me alive." Hey, I may want to make Celestia hurt, but I'm not suicidal.

"Blood...I...don't truly know why I listened to you. It may have been a simple impulse, maybe not. But...what I do know is that I trust you." She smirked. "You know, despite the fact that you're an axe wielding killer."

I chuckled, "Best kind of friend to have, right? Right after ex-goddess of darkness."

We shared a laugh. "My sister told me how she caught you." Luna said with a mischievous smile. "You really just ran towards her with no weapons when she was wielding the Elements of Harmony? Not your best plan."

I snorted, "Like yours was so much better! Let me engulf the world in eternal night, there's no way this could go wro-and everyone's frozen."

Luna gave a short laugh and smirked, "I was insane at the time, you have no such excuse."

I gave a grin, "I was sacrificing myself to save a friend. And I'd do it again. I'd do it for Zecora, I'd do it for you. Hell, I'd even do it for Spike, though...my reasons for saving him are different."

Luna blinked, "Different? How?"

I smirked, "It's not your place to know. Not yet at least." I shrugged. "Not my rules. And no, you can't ask whose rules they are."

She shook her head with a small smile, "You are odd, you know that?"

I flashed her a smile, "Hey, that's just how I am." My smile faltered. "But no, seriously, why do you trust me? I need to know, Luna."

She sighed and her face grew somber. "I pride myself on being a good judge of character. I'm able to tell if someone is good or...less so." She gave me a hard look. "And you, Blood, I trust because I see myself in you. You made a decision in the past, whether it was the right decision or the wrong decision doesn't matter, but what does matter is that you let your emotions control you. I don't think badly of you for doing so, but it got you in big trouble." She looked directly into my eyes. "Just like me. You are like me so much. But I trust you because you have a heart. You have lines you won't cross. You'll protect the innocent. I trust you because my heart says I should. I trust you and I believe in you, my friend. Never doubt that."

I smiled as my doubts began to ebb away, "Thanks, Luna, I needed that."

"Worried I didn't really trust you?"

I shook my head, "Worried you'd made the wrong call. I'm not the nicest guy around, I just don't know if anyone can truly trust me, you know?"

Luna nuzzled the side of my head, "Well I do."

I made the beanbag slide back a bit, "Don't nuzzle me. Please."

She gave a smirk, "What's wrong? Getting flustered?"

I put down my whiskey and looked at Luna, no mirth or playfulness in my eyes. "Luna. Are you hitting on me?"

She looked at me a smile spreading slowly across her face. "Blood." She whispered, draping her front hooves over my shoulders. She leaned in slowly and whispered in my ear, "I'm messing with you."

I blinked before letting loose a laugh and pushing her onto the beanbag. "You better be!" I mock snarled, still laughing. "You got me good there."

"Would it be such a bad thing if I was though?" She asked, her eyes glinting with mischief.

I looked away and sighed, "Luna, before I was blasted with the Elements I traveled the world and I saw practically every sapient species out there." I gave a sad smile, "I saw so many innocents die, some at my own hands, I felt so many different emotions during those long years. But the one thing I never felt was attraction. I don't find your species attractive, nor any others on this planet. The only species I've ever been attracted to is my own." I shook my head. "I know I shouldn't cut off any possible relationships because of looks, but I can't help it, I just don't find anyone on this planet attractive whatsoever."

She was quiet for a minute before letting out a quiet, "Huh." She then gave me a soft punch to the shoulder. "Hey, at least that means no complications, right?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, no kidding, especially in battle, that sort of stuff is asking for trouble." Luna let out a cough and looked away. "No way. You didn't!" Luna's face went red. "You did!"

"It...it was complicated!" She spluttered. "They were cute!"

"They?" I grinned. "My, oh, my, Luna, how naughty!" She glared at me and I laughed. "Oh no! I'm not dropping this! You gave me ammo, I'm not going to abandon it!"

Luna's horn lit up and the world began to warp. "Oh, is that the time? I simply must go!" She quickly started to fade out. "You BUCKER!" I just laughed hysterically as the world around me quickly disappeared.

The next few days were mostly quiet, Ratbag spread the word that I was planning to help the Orc's escape while Skaret worked on my sword. I, on the other hand, spent the days sticking to the shadows and looking at maps of Endless and planning, it was tough and lonely work, but I enjoyed the solitude, even Luna didn't make an appearance, she was probably still embarrassed about her enemy crushes, but the more likely fact would be that she was busy with other dreams.

In fact the days following my entrance to Endless were quiet. The calm before the storm, no doubt. I've felt it before, the tension in the streets, the guards were twitchy and me, I was looking forward to gutting some of those guards.

After nearly a week the day finally arrived for me to talk to the town. It was all or nothing, if I couldn't get the town behind me then any plan we made would fail.

I made my way out, Skaret and Ratbag flanking me until we got to what I assumed was the town hall. As we entered I saw that it was nothing special. A large hall, a stage and a podium, that was it. Well, you you can't say they were tough to make things for.

As I passed through the fully occupied hall I gained some odd looks. As I stood at the podium I let out a sigh, "My name is Blood and I have destroyed the lives of the corrupt and those that abuse and destroy the innocent. I am a killer, yes, a murderer, a monster." I narrowed my eyes. "But this place, this prison, sickens me. I see this place and I feel a deep hatred for those responsible, I have heard of a few of your treatments from those filth that watch over the town and I refuse to stand by as they tear you down!" I slammed a fist down onto the podium. "The Orcs were once a proud, strong people, but now you have been oppressed! I have seen this too many times to just ignore this!" People are always looking for a hero in a leader, you just need to say the right things and they'll follow you anywhere. "Will you stand up and fight?!" I yelled. "For yourselves?! For your friends?! For your family?! To escape this wretched hellhole?!"

“Why should we?!” An Orc called out from the crowd. “We’ll be slaughtered!”

I nodded, “Maybe. Maybe. Or maybe by tomorrow you'll be free! Finally able to choose your own path! Imagine! Walking the streets of cities, towns, villages, not as a captives, but as free Orcs! Where the air is cool, the people are friendly and you have a real chance of a peaceful life! Tell me, is that not worth fighting for?!" I looked over the crowd. They were scared, hungry, oppressed. That would change today, I made a promise, I'm going to see it through. "A chance at freedom?! A chance to be truly FREE?! Stay and wallow in your own self-pity if you want, but I won't stand by and let this go on a single moment longer! Now...WHO'S WITH ME?!"

The crowd was silent for several seconds and I'd begun to think I'd failed to rally them. Then, in a single instant, the crowd let loose a deafening roar of approval.

"Wonderful." I grinned, stepping down and letting Ratbag take my place.

I left the hall and made my way back to Skaret's place, my part in the meeting was over with, there was no point in staying. As I walked the streets my mind wandered. Was this the right thing to do? Well, I'm getting water and a sword out of it, so it sure as hell benefits me.

As I opened the door to Skaret's home I felt the eyes of the guards on me, I growled and flipped them off before letting the door slam shut. I sat on a chair, closed my eyes and dozed off.

I awoke to see the front door opening. Not hesitating I dived across the room and snatched up one of Skaret's hammers, I quickly turned and found a bemused Skaret smirking. "Having fun?" She asked, chuckling.

I put the hammer back and shrugged, "Can never be too careful."

"Ratbag thinks you're just paranoid." Ratbag said as he poked his head around the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm twitchy, but can you really blame me? The entire town's on edge." I said, checking on my throwing knives. As the two of them walked in I noticed a third figure. He was more or less my size, muscular and shirtless, he was covered in bruises. "Who's this?"

"Bulda'zk." He grunted. "Winner of the Skrag Pile!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Really now? Huh. That could help get others to help for sure. If you're with us."

"I'm with you. Let us wet our fists and blades with their blood!" He gave a booming laugh. Great, a guy filled with bloodlust, that's never caused trouble. Ah, fuck it, I'll deal with it later.

"Then let us charge!" Skaret declared. Oh, not you too! That's it! I'm ending this!

"No." I said, stopping their premature celebrations.

"No?" Bulda'zk repeated, blinking. "Why not?!"

I sighed, "Think for a second. If they realise you're attacking, where are they going to go?"

Skaret's eyes lit up, "The armoury! That's your plan!"

I nodded. "We go quietly. Use the climbers, teams of two or three. Stealthily take out the eyes in the towers around the armoury. Then we just have to find a way to stop them getting in there."

Ratbag piped up, "Ratbag...may have an idea for that."

"Blood." Skaret caught my attention as me and Ratbag prepared to leave. "Here, this might be useful." She threw me something. Catching it, I turned it over in my hands.

A small, one-handed crossbow pistol. I gave a small grin, "Yeah, this'll be useful. Got some bolts for it?"

She tossed me a small sack and a simple holster. "There's only seven in there, test out my baby, will you?"

I nodded, strapping the holster to my right leg, slipping the crossbow in and placing the bag of bolts in my sack. "You got it. Hey, Ratbag! You ready to move out?!"

His head peeked down from the ceiling, "What are you talking about? Ratbag's been waiting for you!" He dropped down, doing a flip before landing on his feet. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" He dashed out of the house.

"Has he always been all...you know, speaking in third person?" I asked Skaret.

"A little, but after..." She paused. "After he was attacked it got worse. Now it's rare to hear him say 'I'." She gave a small smile. "But he's happy, he doesn't let it bother him at all."

"Lucky." I muttered. "Right, I best be off before he goes and hurts himself." As I was about to leave I paused. "Hey, Skaret, my knives are a little blunt, would you mind?"

She shook her head, "Nah, leave them."

"Thanks." I said and set my throwing knives down on a nearby table before leaving and running after Ratbag. "Hey, wait up!"

We ran for several minutes before we came across the right watchtower. "You sure this it?" Ratbag asked. "Ratbag not sure about this."

I clapped my hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, we're getting you out of here. All of you. This is the start, after this you'll be sung about in legends. You'll be remembered for years to come." I shook my head, "Ah, fuck, just listen to me, acting like I'm all wise and shit. Let's just focus on this."

He gave me an odd look but nodded and we began to climb the tower. It didn't take long for us to gain some height and we began passing windows. I wasn't really that worried as Skaret had told me that only the two watchmen at the top lived in the tower, although occasionally there would be a third as a backup, but the tower we were climbing didn't have one, so we only had to deal with the two at the top.

As we climbed I passed another window and glanced in. A Minotaur stared back. "Fuck." I swore, reaching for one of my throwing daggers before remembering that I'd left them at Skaret's place.

I quickly scrambled for the crossbow as she was still stunned. "What the-?!" That was all she got out before I shot her in the throat.

I let out a sigh of relief and reloaded. As I began to climb again I was glad that there were no other windows. As we reached the top I heard two voices. I signaled Ragbag to circle around as I reached the top.

"What are the Orcs doing?" A Minotaur grunted.

"Bah, whatever it is those filth do. Besides, it's not like they're ever getting out of this dump." A second Minotaur guard replied, chuckling to himself.

"Do they...look like they're preparing for battle to you?" The first Minotaur asked.

The second guard snorted, "You're thinking too deeply again. They wouldn't dare. Not after what happened last time they tried."

"Last time?" The voice held a confused tone.

"Oh! You're new, right? Well, why do you think there aren't many Orc children about?" No...they didn't! "They taste good." I could hear the grin in his voice. That's it! He dies slowly.

I heard the impact of a punch. "You monster! You...you're disgusting!" That's...interesting.

"Ow! What's your problem, newbie?! You an Orc sympathiser?!" The apparent senior spat.

There was a snort, "No. But children?! That isn't right!"

"Not right? Why not?! It's not like they're like us! They don't have any rights, they're just beasts!"

Enough! I peeked over the edge of the platform and saw the two Minotaurs wearing simple armour with a sword at their waist. I quickly found the one who had volunteered for torture, he was the only one up there with blood running down his face.

I quietly pulled myself up and snuck behind the bastard. It wasn't possible to knock out a Minotaur with brute strength, but their necks are extremely sensitive, especially the correct pressure points. Luckily during my time with Skarlak Leopek, a Minotaur friend before I got turned to stone, he'd taught me those pressure points. I crept forward slowly until I was right behind the bastard, I jumped forwards and dug a hand into the base of his neck while the other kept sound from escaping his mouth.

After a few seconds he crashed to the floor, drawing the attention of the second guard, who whipped around. "What are you..." His eyes widened when he saw me standing above his 'buddy'. He shoddily drew his sword. "H...Hold it! I'm warning you!"

I shook my head, he was really more than a kid, no older than I was when I first arrived in this world. "You won't use that. Look at you. Your hands are shaking." I drew Roxy. "Even if you do try to attack me, you'd die. Drop the blade and I won't kill you. You have my word."

He gulped before looking between me, Roxy and his shaking sword. After a second he dropped his blade. "Y...you won't hurt me, right?" He squeaked. "You promised!"

"I keep my promises." I said. "He never promised a thing though." A dagger burst from his neck, blood exploded from the wound. He choked and grasped at his neck before falling to the floor, the life quickly fading from his eyes. I smiled and looked up as I crushed the neck of the Minotaur I'd taken down, despite the fact he needed to suffer much more time was of the essence. "Good job, Ratbag." He gave a smile before we began the climb down.

After reaching the bottom of the tower we ran over to the armoury, a two story building with a locked door. "Stand back, let Ratbag deal with this." Ratbag said as he pulled out two small, metal rods and began to pick the lock. After a minute the locks clicked and Ratbag pushed the door open.

Ratbag took a sack out of his bag and set to work while I was the lookout, but no one approached us. After what seemed like forever but in actual fact couldn't have been more than a few minutes Ratbag walked back over to me. "That's it. We best go." He said, slowly leaving the building. "Carefully! Smallest misstep, move to fast and we go up!"

I froze. It's that volatile?! And he was climbing with that stuff?! "Jesus." I muttered, slowly and carefully following Ratbag. As I got outside Ratbag closes the door and was about to run off when I cleared my throat. "Forget about something?"

He cocked his head, "Huh?"

I sighed, "Lock the door."

"Oh! Right." He chuckled sheepishly. I waited as he locked the door before we ran off and climbed the cleared tower again. When we were about halfway up I gave a group of nearby Orcs a wave before continuing up. They knew the drill, cause a ruckus and make the guards run for their weapons.

When we got to the top we looked down from the tower as a group of seven Minotaurs were heading to the armoury. "I hope your stuff works, Ratbag." I said.

He smirked. "Ratbag knows his stuff."

I looked down again as they opened the door, a split second later the entire armoury exploded in a fireball, any of the group that hadn't been caught in the blast were killed by shrapnel.

I blinked. "Okay. I stand corrected." I turned to Ratbag, grinning. "You've got to give me the recipe for that stuff."

"Maybe." He replied coyly.

"Alright, send the signal."

As the Orcs charged the Minotaurs the two of us slipped to the back of the charge and headed back to Skaret's house, with the watchmen dead, the armoury collapsed in on itself and our superior numbers, we had the clear victory. Besides the Orcs have nothing to lose, there's no one more dangerous than that. Plus, as much as I wanted to fight, any anger I had was held by the Orcs a hundredfold, it was their right more than mine.

As we approached the house the victory cry echoed around the city. We had won. I grinned as I saw the pile of Minotaur bodies surrounding Skaret and her small group. Ratbag was beaming and practically vibrating with excitement.

I saw Skaret throw away what I assumed was a hammer, all bloody and mangled, over her shoulder and wipe blood from her face before brutally kicking one of the corpses. "Skak you, you stagillos!"

"Looks like you had fun." I chuckled, getting her attention.

She grinned, "You know it! These idiots thought they could sneak around and flank us, me and these guys taught them otherwise."

"Sounds about right." I grinned.

"LOOK OUT!!!" The cry came from somewhere out of sight as Bulda'zk dived over us from the rooftops. There was the sound of a collision and I heard two bodies crash to the ground. I quickly spun around to see Bulda'zk beating a Minotaur into unconsciousness. As he slumped to the ground Bulda'zk gave me a grin, "Watch your back, you were almost slork chow!"

"Thanks, I...didn't even hear him." I guess my instincts aren't as honed as they used to be. Damn, that'll make things difficult.

"No problem!" Bulda'zk laughed. "Well, I'm off, there's going to be a few stranglers I can kill! I'll leave this one to you!" And with that he ran off. Odd guy, but I'm glad he didn't devolve into bloodlust.

"No..." Ratbag whispered.

"What's up, Ratbag?" I asked. He seemed off. Scared even.

"It...it's him..." Ratbag whimpered, hiding behind Skaret. "He's the one who hurt Ratbag real bad!"

Skaret's glare turned to something darker, "Oh, him, huh?" A grin slowly spread across her face. "I've been wanting words with you for the longest time."

"Hold on." I said. "I want some Intel on these guys, you can't kill him yet."

She grabbed me by the collar and jerked me towards her so we were face to face, "YOU THINK YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!" She roared, spittle flying in my face. "YOU EXPECT ME TO LET HIM GET AWAY WITH WHAT HE DID TO MY BROTHER?!"

I waited a few seconds for her to calm slightly before I responded, "No. He's not getting away with it, far from it. I'm sure we can reach a compromise." I gently pried her fingers off me and wiped my face. "I wouldn't do that to the two of you, especially after you've helped me so much." I lifted the Minotaur up by the head, "Where's your forge?"

Skaret gave a dark grin and began leading me away, "I like the way you think."

I followed Skaret and Ratbag, dragging the Minotaur all the way, occasionally smacking him off the ground. As we arrived in the forge

"Ratbag, do you want the honour of waking this sack of shit up?" I asked handing him a pair of tongs.

"R...Ratbag isn't..." He stammered before I shushed him.

"It'll help you. Just smack him in the gut with it. Or break his arm, he won't be needing it any more.

He hesitated a little longer before nodding to himself and lifted up to heavy pair of tongs. He then brought them crashing down on the Minotaur's groin.

He jerked awake with a pathetic squeal. I kicked him, getting his attention. "Hey there, shithead, you're going to tell me what I want to know. You got that?" I said with a smile.

"I'll tell you this, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU FREAK!!!" He screamed, as he started to get up.

I kicked him in the face, knocking him down, "Charming." I turned to Skaret, "Start it up."

She gave another grin and started up the forge, the fire beginning to roar. I pulled on some thick, heavy gloves and grabbed his head and slowly pushed his head towards the flames, "Why are you here?" I asked calmly. "Who sent you?"

"You don't scare me!" He growled.

"Wrong answer." I shoved his head into the fire for a few seconds, singeing the fur. He screamed as I pulled him out. "Who sent you?!" I snarled.

"You...you're insane!" He cried, his eyes showing fear. Good, he deserves to feel powerless, he deserves pain and suffering.

I pulled him up so we were face to face, "No, you just fucked with the wrong guy." I whispered before shoving his head back into the fire. I held him there longer this time, not pulling him out until his flesh started burning.

"I don't know, you crazy zax! I don't know!" He screamed. He was lying.

"Don't fuck with me!" I hissed shoving him into the flames once more. This time I refused to let him out until most of the fur on his body was burnt.

"CELESTIA SENT US HERE!!!" He screamed. "SHE TOLD OUR ANCESTORS TO MAKE SURE THE ORCS NEVER ESCAPED!!! SHE SAID SHE NEVER WANTED TO SEE THEM AGAIN!!!"

"The truth!" I snarled, dragging him out of the fire.

"That is the truth! I swear!" He sobbed.

"It better be." I shoved his whole body into the forge.

He let out a high, blood curdling scream as his flesh burned. As he tried to crawl out I kicked him back in. After a minute he went quiet. I grabbed a nearby hammer and threw it into the body. People I threw in fires had a nasty habit of not being dead when I thought they were.

...Yeah, he's dead.

I took off the gloves and passed them back to Skaret. "Of, fucking, course!" I growled. "The bitch strikes again! Fuck!" I kicked a nearby wooden box, sending it flying against a wall.

"I take it this Celestia's fucked you over too?" Skaret asked.

"Yeah." I muttered. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." More like she was the one who set my life as a killer in motion.

"Right, well, I've got you your reward!" She grinned, leading out of the forge. "Come on!"

I chuckled as she left the room, "Well, she's giddy, huh, Ratbag?"

"She always is after making a new weapon." Ratbag replied with a small smile. "Blood. Thank you."

I stopped, "Ratbag, you...you don't have to thank me."

"But still...thank you." He laughed. "Now go, don't keep sis waiting!"

I smirked and started walking after Skaret, "On my way, kid." I quickly spotted Skaret and ran to catch up to her.

We arrived back at Skaret's home soon enough and she practically dragged me inside before running to the cubord and pulled out a sword. "Yeah, I finally finished it while you were climbing the tower earlier."

I looked the sword over, it was no longer stupidly large, it was now the size of a normal longsword, the blade seemed to be some white metal, I wasn't exactly sure, but seeing as an Orc forged it I was sure it would hold up. When I was what she'd done to the skull I laughed, it now resembled an Orc skull set in a permanent grin.

"This..." I started. "Is metal as fuck."

"Right, well this is it." Skaret smiled as she and Ratbag pulled on a makeshift backpack.

"I'll walk with you a while, I like the quiet after a battle." I said.

As we walked I got the feeling they were being quiet because of what I'd said, but I didn't mind. "Ah, gotak." Skaret groaned as we arrived at the exit to the town.

"What's wrong?" I asked. We weren't about to be attack again were we?

"I forgot to pick up your knives." She shook her head. "Sorry."

I sighed, it was a slight annoyance, but no big deal. "Don't worry about it, I'll go grab them now. I suppose this is goodbye."

"Ratbag not too sure about that." Meat at piped up. "Ratbag believes we'll meet again. Ratbag feels it in his gut."

"Right." I muttered. "Skaret?" I called out as she began to leave.

She turned, "Yeah?"

"I don't suppose you know where the nearest Changeling Hive is, do you?"

"Changeling?" She asked, scratching her head. Ah, crap, they don't know do they. What was I thinking? They've been trapped here their whole lives. "Er...that's, uh, the bug ponies, right?"

They know...? "Yeah!" I nodded.

She shrugged . "Don't know about the Hive, to be honest." My hopes fell. Well, looks like I'm in for another scavenger hunt. "But we do occasionally see a 'ling flying to and fro from that direction." She pointed over past the town, towards some mountains in the far distance, easily three days walk. "You might find something over there."

I sighed in relief. Finally, a solid lead. "Thanks, Skaret. Maybe I'll see you around." I held out her crossbow.

"Keep it, you earned it. See you around, Blood. Who knows? Our paths might cross again one day." She sent me a smile. "Good luck out there."

After seeing them leave the town I headed back to Skaret's to grab my stuff. I occasionally passed the odd Orc who thanked me for my help but for the most part the town was empty. I quickly arrived at Skaret's old home and found my knives, finding them nice and sharp. I returned them to their rightful place before leaving the house for good.

As stood on the empty street once more I felt like something was wrong. As I looked around I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eyes.

A bipedal figured in black armour and black and red horned helmet stared at me from a nearby low rooftop. "HEY!!!" I yelled up. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

The figure merely continued looking at me silently.

With a growl I used a cart that was laying about to hoist myself to the neighbouring rooftop to the figure and made a quick leap across to join the armoured figure.

"Who the hell are you?!" I growled. Something about the figure just pissed me off! I don't know why, but it just does. But seriously, who wears a set of full armour in the desert? "Why were you staring at me?!"

A deep rumbling laughter came from the armour, confirming that it was a male inside the suit, but, once more, no words were spoken.

I raised a dagger, snarling. "Who the fuck are you, shithead?!"

After a second he simply shook his head before waving his left hand and disappearing in an instant, leaving a shimmer in the air. I replaced the dagger with a sigh and was about to leave when I spotted a piece of parchment at the spot where the armoured fucker had stood. Indulging my curiosity I grabbed it and read what was written across the page in red.

'Soon.'

Sure, can you be any more cryptic?

At first I thought that maybe the guy had gotten a hold of red ink. But then I caught the smell.

Blood. What kind of sicko writes a letter in blood?

But that wasn't the most worrying thing, not the thing that made me uneasy. The letter wasn't written in Equestrian. Nor any other written language I had come across in this world.

It was written in English.

Author's Notes:

Okay, first off, I'm so sorry this took nearly long. I'm not going to try and come up with excuses, I screwed the pooch on this. Sorry, guys. College, friends, other stories and reading took over. I messed up.

On a lighter note, I've set up a blog post where you can vote for the next flashback chapter. Next Flashback Chapter Poll

Swears:
Minotaur: Zax=fuck
Orc: Skagillo=bastard. Skak=fuck. Gotak=shit.