“This is insane!” Saw shouted making me wince and twitch my ears. “Killing joke, EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE!”

“Don’t worry, not all of the plants are dangerous.” Joram tried to calm the mare. “Some just look like poison joke.”

Cog carefully tiphoofed around a patch of blue flowers. “Remind me again why we couldn’t have all stayed at the village? No offense to you Mist, I’m sure your place is lovely.” He asked while giving the surrounding plants suspicious glances.

“The locals might not have minded, but it’s too big a risk for us.” IronClaw explained. “Remnant make stops at the village from time to time, right now we’ll be safest with Mist.”

Exactly, I make it a point to not be in the village when they stop by. There is always a concerned villager waiting at the very edge ready to warn me if I happen to be on my way to visit Joram.

"I wonder what Mist's home looks like?" Shrapnel asked with the accompanying sound of crunching vegetation.

“You’ll find out soon.” I teased. I think she’ll like it.

"If the killing joke doesn't kill us first you mean?" Saw grumbled.

"Not all the plants are dangerous." Joram repeated. "Some just look similar as a way to protect themselves."

I nodded and smiled encouragingly at my friends, but it didn't seem to do much good. Well Shrapnel didn't mind, of course she is fully armored. Her strength never fails to amaze me. Even with that heavy suit and while carrying Lizzie, she still effortlessly trotted behind us.

"There's something I don't get." Cog began.

"Well there's a first." Saw rolled her eyes but the green stallion ignored her comment.

"You and Joram keep calling the plants 'poison joke'." He paused and I nodded. Before he continued I realized what he was asking. "Why not killing joke? I mean are these different plants or..."

That was a good question. I did find it odd why Saw kept saying 'killing joke'. Even IronClaw looked surprised at Cog's observation.

"Well I suppose the name is fitting." Joram tapped his chin thoughtfully with a hoof. "The plants can certainly kill if you don't get a cure."

IronClaw, Saw and Cog exchanged surprised glances which bordered on shock.

"What do you mean cure?" The griffin asked asked steadily.

"You mean you know a way to cure somepony who touched it? If the poor bastard doesn't die immediately that is." Saw asked wide-eyed.

"Well there is a potion, or a bath, depending on what is affected. It can cure poison joke in the earlier stages." Joram explained.

"Then we are definitely not talking about the same plant." IronClaw stated flatly.

"Come to think of it, going by the stories, isn't killing joke supposed to move on its own? Slither and grab anypony that got close to it?" Cog asked, once again carefully looking at the various plants around him.

"Yeah, that's what I've heard too." Saw agreed. "We should be careful anyway, especially Shrapnel and Cog."

"Why me?" Cog asked.

"Shrapnel is carrying Lizzie and you’re just plain clumsy as all Hell." The mare said with a sigh.

“Here we are!” Joram called out happily while pointing with a hoof.

Clearing the last line of trees Zaeryl’s cottage came into full view and with it a feeling of calm and safety. Fond memories flooded back and some bittersweet ones too.

“Well… That’s not what I was expecting…” IronClaw said sounding taken aback.

“No kidding.” Saw nodded in agreement. “I thought it would be a shack or something like that, but this… it’s a house.”

There was no denying a growing feeling of pride at hearing their words.

“Wow! Neat!” Shrapnel chirped from inside her armor.

“Mist, is this a pre-war building?” Cog asked. “I mean it’s hard to believe that somepony-err zebra could build anything on this scale at a time like this.”

I nodded. “I think so. Zaeryl found it when she decided to stay in Navarost.”

IronClaw looked at the house appraisingly then turned to survey the clearing around it. He nodded to himself. “Not counting the plants in the forest, we should be safe here. The House looks well preserved and defensible.”

Aside from Joram I doubted anyone could even find their way here, but the griffin had a lot on his mind so I didn’t say anything. Joram and I started moving towards the house and the others followed.

“Look, a garden.” Cog pointed out as we passed the short wooden fence. “I thought I would only get to see those in pictures from old books.” He smiled slightly and seemed lost in thoughts.

“Everything you’d need to be a hermit in the woods.” Saw muttered unimpressed.

Hey! I like that garden.

With a mixture of excitement and worry I pushed open the doors of Zaeryl's home.

"Cozy." Shrapnel commented as she trotted inside following the rest.

IronClaw looked about the main room, his steady gaze not lingering for too long on anything in particular. "Mist, do you have someplace in mind where Lizura could rest comfortably?"

Yes I did in fact, my old room should do. "Yes, upstairs." I pointed with a hoof and started towards the stairwell.

"I'll see if I can find some refreshments for your friends." Joram added quickly. He was trying to be as polite and calm as he could, but I’ve known him long enough. No doubt he was nervous being around so many unfamiliar faces and not a single zebra among them.

With IronClaw’s help, Shrapnel was able to get Lizzie up the stairs and under the blankets. Celestia she looked weak. IronClaw just looked at the wounded griffin silently, the all too familiar look of pain and exhaustion clearly showing on his face.

I wished I could do more for her. "I can bring more blankets, maybe another mattress if you think-"

"No, it's alright." IronClaw sighed "You and Shrapnel go, I'll come down later."

Not wishing to disturb him further, Shrapnel and I left IronClaw alone with Lizzie. There was still that nagging thought that there was something between the two griffins. At first I might have said they were 'interested' in each other, but now I'm not so sure.

There was anger in those golden eyes when he looked at the state Lizzie was in, but there was something else too, something stronger. Guilt maybe?

Cog and Saw were talking next to one of the mask decorated walls. The sounds of pots and pans from the kitchen clued me in on where Joram was.

"Hey Mist, how's Lizzie doing?" Cog asked as soon as I cleared the stairs.

"As well as could be expected. What are you two up to?" I couldn't help noticing the somewhat unpleasant looks Saw was shooting at the masks.

"Just uh... Admiring the decor." Cog managed with an awkward grin. He could have at least tried to put more effort into it and make it look convincing.

"Seriously, these things are fucked up." Saw deadpanned while pointing over her shoulder and gesturing at one scowling, tusked mask. "I always thought that it was just made up mumbo-jumbo some idiot put in those pre-war books to make them more interesting, but zebras actually still wear these things?"

"Well actually no, they don't." They used to, but it was way back, long before the war. Now they're mostly for decoration or warding. There is no real need for it, what with talismans doing the exact same thing. "Some of the more old-fashioned shamans might use special masks to boost their rituals."

"And these, what are these for?" Saw asked while making a sweeping gesture with a hoof at the entire wall.

"Mostly greeting and to scare off any bad spirits that might be tagging along with visitors, or bestowing fortune on the ones who are visiting." Like good luck charms I suppose.

"What about this nice smiling one?" Shrapnel chimed in and pointed at one of the masks. She had finally gotten around to taking off her helmet and now I could see an almost foal-like wonder in her eyes as she looked about.

"Masks like that are used to tear out souls needed for powerful shamanistic rituals." Or so the stories say.

"Y-You're joking right?" Cog managed with a look of disbelief and fear. I did my best to keep my face neutral.

Shrapnel slowly raised her hoof and reached out to touch the mask, but Saw quickly swatted it away then started pulling the curious mare away from the smiling ‘soul tearing’ mask.

"Alright, everything is ready!" Joram called from the kitchen.

He had prepared a meal for us from what he found and gathered from the garden, which turned out to be quite a lot. I keep forgetting that he takes care of the house and tends to the garden while I'm away and I really should find a way to thank him for it.

We ate in a sort of awkward silence, tossing out the occasional word here and there... It was almost painful.

"You wouldn't happen to have something stronger than tea to drink around here, would you?" Saw asked after trying said tea and scrunching her muzzle in distaste.

"I think there's some old moonshine left." Joram offered and blushed when I looked his way.

I don't remember Zaeryl being much of a drinker. Was he bringing some of his supply here, not that I'd mind?

"Good, get me some! This tea isn't agreeing with me." The mare quickly added.

"And be sure to hide the rest while we're here that is if you plan on having some left after we leave." Cog added and moved out of the way of Saw's oncoming hoof.

"Great salad, but you know what it really needs?" Shrapnel suddenly piped up after pulling her muzzle out of her bowl. "Some sprinkles! Or syrup, or just sugar! Maybe a few Sugarbombs!"

Even IronClaw stopped his forlorn food poking to look up at the bubbly mare.

"You know I'm not at all surprised, Shrapnel. Why don't you just toss in a few Fancy Bucks snack cakes in there?" Cog asked with obvious sarcasm.

"Ooohh! Great idea!" Shrapnel squeaked clapping her hooves together, and then from somewhere she actually pulled out a box of Fancy Bucks snack cakes. I don’t know what I was expecting.

"What’s a great idea?" Joram had just returned with a bottle and gave it to Saw. The moonshine was snatched up and opened in one swift motion. Unicorns may have their magic, but earth ponies sure aren't slouches when it comes to hoof dexterity.

"Just criticizing your cooking." I smiled at the confused zebra.

"Don't worry about it." Cog reassured him and shot me a glance. "Shrapnel puts sugar into everything... Including a bowl of sugar."

*Urp!* "Ahhh, that’s the good stuff, this shit could peel paint! What doesn't make sense to me is that she never crashes." Saw wiped her mouth with a hoof then offered the bottle around to everyone. Joram and Cog accepted a glass, I passed. Knowing how strong zebra moonshine tends to get I would undoubtedly have a headache tomorrow.

"Hey Mist, you got to show us more of your house! There are so many neat things around!" With that familiar foal-like gleam in her eyes and a sudden burst of energy, Shrapnel looked around.

I knew she'd be curious, just like I expected Saw to be completely uninterested.

"Tomorrow." IronClaw cut in tiredly. "We're all tired and need rest." The griffin rubbed his eye with his good talon then immediately pulled it away as if catching himself in an unacceptable moment of weakness.

Joram and I managed to find four bedrolls and sheets for IronClaw, Saw, Cog and Shrapnel. I offer my bed to them but they refused.

"There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed, don't worry." Cog patted me on the back.

"Also with you upstairs if anything happens to Lizura, you can help her immediately." IronClaw added.

Saw looked indignant. "What about me? I'm the medic for fucks sake."

"You're also a heavy sleeper." The griffin retorted then just as she opened her mouth to speak. "Especially when you've been drinking." He added and the mare gave up with a grumble.

"I'll wake you tomorrow at breakfast. Maybe I'll fire a few rounds from my shotgun right next to your ear." Cog offered but Saw had already turned her back to him.

Once we finally settled for the night, Shrapnel couldn't find a comfortable sleeping position and after about half an hour of fidgeting and a few words from IronClaw she went to sleep. With the door open I could hear everything going on down stairs, but most importantly I could hear Lizzie's labored breathing from next door in my old room. Occasionally I swear I could almost hear her calling out or saying something, but when I concentrated on her voice only a faint whimper could be heard.

I tried to stay awake, maybe take short naps in case Lizzie needs help, but it was no use. I didn't realize how tired I was until I laid down. Keeping my eyelids open took a lot more effort than it should. Images danced before my eyes, places I've been too, ponies I've seen, eventually I gave up and went to sleep.

Dark. Everywhere, darkness. The air all around me feels thick and warm almost like I'm trudging through water. No sound except that of leathery wings beating somewhere far behind me. Annoyingly I knew the sound, it made my heart race, but I couldn't recall why? I quickened my pace; I was worried for some reason, but why?

"Mist..."

A voice called out to me, familiar and strong.

"Yes! Where are you?" I called out. The beating of wings grew quieter.

"Mist..." The voice called again louder, this time I recognized it.

"Shrapnel?"

"Mist, wake up. C'mon, wakie, wakie!"

Two hooves started pushing into my back, not painfully but enough to wake me. I flailed my hooves helplessly as I tried to stop myself from rolling out of bed.

"I'm up! I'm up!" A quick glance around and I noticed that it was still dark outside. "Shrapnel what time is it? Did something happen? Is Lizzie alright?" Stupid! IronClaw told you to do one thing and I couldn't even manage that.

I was already halfway out of bed when I saw Shrapnel shaking her head.

"Nope." She made a little swivel motion with her hoof. "It's going to dawn soon, so it's about four, five-ish in the morning."

I just plopped back onto my mattress. "Wha-Why did you wake me then?"

"Well Saw was snoring and it woke me up. I tried to go back to sleep again but couldn't and since the Sun will be up anyway..."

"You woke me up so you wouldn't be bored." I finished for her and she nodded happily.

"Tell me something. Why didn't you wake Saw or Cog?" I can guess that she wouldn't disturb IronClaw.

"Saw gets grumpy and Cog just kept mumbling something and turned over." She said a bit dejected and pouted.

"And Saw's snoring didn't bother Cog or IronClaw?" Then again Shrapnel is a light sleeper, which doesn't make sense since she rarely sleeps. You'd think that she'd be exhausted, then again maybe because it doesn't make sense, in Shrapnel's case that makes perfect sense? I need more sleep...

"Cog dived under his pillow and IronClaw pulled his sheets over his head." Shrapnel explained as if it was something that happened often.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Fine, what do you want do?" Trying to get her to go back to sleep might cause enough noise to wake the rest of them.

The tireless mare gazed around the room, admiring the numerous bookshelves and tomes which lay upon them. I really hope she doesn't want me to read her a story.

Without saying a word she got up and approached one of the shelves. She had to stand up on her rear hooves in order to reach whatever had caught her eye. In my head I was already picturing her pulling the whole bookshelf down on top of herself, but she carefully pulled out one book then pushed it aside.

"Ooooh, what’s this?" She cooed and I had to stand up to see what was going on. What could she have possibly found behind that book?

She dug in with both hooves and pulled out a small wooden box intricately decorated in silver. The moment it came into the light I knew exactly what was inside. It brought back a particularly scary memory.

"Careful with that." I warned and plucked the box from her hooves with my magic. Even though it was closed, through my magic I could feel the otherworldly cold seeping from it.

"What’s inside?" She asked me with eyes wide as saucers.

For a moment I considered just telling her it was a secret or making something up, but I remembered how annoying I was when I kept bothering Zaeryl about it. Slowly I opened the box and a faint green light emanated from it.

"Is that magical radiation." She asked sounding worried; no doubt it seemed that way to her.

I shook my head. "It's a tool shamans sometimes use. It's very difficult to make and very dangerous."

By now the lid was completely pulled back and she could see the milky white lump that rested inside, glowing faintly. She stared at it curiously with her mouth slightly open.

"It's invocation chalk." I said simply and prepared myself for the onslaught of a hundred questions about it, most of which I wouldn't be able to answer.

"Can I write with it?"

"..." Alright I wasn't expecting that to be her first question. "Yes, I mean no. You can use it for writing, but I can’t let you write with it. Shamans use it to write special glyphs and runes in order to perform a specific ritual."

"What kind of ritual?" She asked in a hushed voice, suddenly glancing left and right for any sign that someone might be eavesdropping. "Cog explained to me all about unicorn magic, but I've never seen zebra magic."

Considering that the only 'magic' users among zebras are shamans and they’re pretty rare, it didn't surprise me she never saw a ritual performed.

"Well..." How best to explain it? "A zebra who wishes to communicate writes a complex line of glyphs on the ground in a circle with the chalk. Sometimes incantations are needed." At her confused look I clarified. "Words. Actually using words to direct the spell. Telling it what you want."

Shrapnel turned her head to one side quizzically. "Communicate with who, like sending messages with terminals?"

"The dead. Spirits, ghosts." I explained simply and I can’t say for sure but the room we were in suddenly felt a lot colder.

Shrapnel’s ears went flat and I saw genuine fear in her eyes. "G-Ghosts?"

Honestly I expected her not to believe me. Zebras have a... Let’s call it respect for spirits of their dead and otherwise, but most of them don't really believe anymore. A slow decay of their own spirituality Zaeryl would say.

"Shrapnel, are you alright?" She looked pale and spooked far more than she should be. Somepony has probably been filling her head with nonsense and scaring the poor mare.

"Yeah..." She managed weakly. "Did you try it? Talking with them?"

"Yes." An icy chill wormed itself up my spine; the light from the slowly dawning of a new day did little to comfort me.

"Did you talk with your parents?" She asked sympathetically.

I couldn't find the words right away. How did she know? I shook my head. "No. Something answered but it wasn't them."

Shrapnel paled even more. "What was it?"

"Shrapnel it's really hard to explain. There are 'creatures' if you can call them that. They're alive but not like us." Even I don't understand it fully; I don't think the shamans do either. "Sometimes they're helpful sometimes they aren't. They can be anything, appear as anything, anyone."

The mare looked at me unblinking and seemed to absorb everything I said. Talking about ghosts and all of this made me revisit memories I'd rather forget.

"Look Shrapnel. When you hear a zebra say something like 'Thank the spirits.' he or she isn't necessarily meaning the spirits of their parents or friends who are watching over them." With one last glance at the piece of chalk, I closed the box and placed it back in the crevice behind the book. “What’s wrong?” She just idly scratched the floor with a hoof and refused to look at me. Something was clearly bothering her.

“Look you don’t have to worry about ghosts. It’s so rare for them to actually do anything or talk with anyone on their own it’s… Well it’s the reason nopony actually believes in them.” Finally she seemed to perk up; the shadow that fell over her face was gone now. “Come on, let’s go check on Lizzie and see if anyone’s awake yet.”

The moment we reached the door to where Lizzie was, we heard the ruffle of sheets and faint groaning. I trotted in and sat down next to the injured griffin, trying to calm her. That’s when her eyes opened and locked with mine. Her look was unfocused, she started thrashing and pushing me away.

“Easy! It’s me Mist. Shrapnel go get Saw and IronClaw now!” I called out and heard Shrapnel’s hoof beat on the floor.

Lizzie freed her talons and swiped at me. I barely managed to pull myself back and avoid them. She was still weak and I managed to catch her talons beneath my hooves and hold her down.

“Calm down, you’re safe! You’re safe!” I yelled and she just stared me down, eyes full of hate and fear.

She yelped in pain as she tried to rise and push me off of her. I was worried now, what could I do? If I back off she might hurt herself and me, but if I don’t let her go who knows what damage that could be causing?

As she panted for breath her eyes never strayed from my face, blinking a few times her confusion seemed to fade.

“Mist?” She gasped as if doubting her eyes.

“Mist! We’re coming!” I heard IronClaw shout followed by the sound of hooves and paws clambering up the stairs. I could finally let go that breath I was holding and ease myself off Lizzie.

“I… I thought I was back there…” Lizzie managed to croak out while looking at her new surroundings.

“Hey, we thought you’d never wake up!” Saw was suddenly sitting next to me and digging through her bags.

I looked around and noticed the room got really cramped. Cog and Shrapnel were peaking from behind IronClaw while the griffin silently observed, his eyes wider than usual.

“How is she?” IronClaw claw asked moving closer.

“I’m fine sir.” Lizzie answered and tentatively raised her talon to the bandaged part of her head. “It’s just a flesh wound.” She added weakly. I think everyone in the room winced as she did that, myself included.

“Yeah, well there actually has to be some flesh left for it to be a flesh wound.” Saw commented quietly. “At least you’ll have a badass scar.”

“Don’t worry; you’re still prettier than Saw.” Cog quickly added drawing out a chuckle from the wounded griffin and giggle from Shrapnel. Saw didn’t seem to mind this time and even IronClaw smirked. I was just glad Lizzie was alright and enjoyed the moment.

“When you’re feeling up to it, I need you to tell me what happened.” IronClaw asked after Lizzie downed a potion.

“Sure, of course.” She immediately answered.

“Boss, I think it might be too early for that-“ Saw tried to speak on behalf of the wounded griffin, but Lizzie waved her concerns away, stating that there is no need to worry, she’s up to it.

“Mist?! Hello, is anyone in here?!” Joram suddenly called out from downstairs. What? When did he…? I turned to Shrapnel.

“Was here down there the whole time?” I though he went home last night?

“Nope.” The pink mare shook her head.

“Mist, go and see what he needs. Shrapnel and Cog, you go too. There’s no need to crowd the room, you can talk to Lizzie later.” IronClaw shooed us away as he went over to sit besides Lizzie.

No doubt he had questions that were just eating at him, now he could finally get some answers and find out just what happened at the raptor before we arrived. Just as we had reached the last step, Joram trotted over to us looking both excited and worried.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Something at the village no doubt.

“Mist, several griffins and pegasi just came- uhh… landed in Navarost. They’re asking for your friend, IronClaw.” He quickly explained not pausing for breath.

“Those must be the Talons sent here to airlift Lizzie.” Cog reasoned.

I nodded and turned to Shrapnel. “Tell IronClaw, I’ll go with Joram to the village and bring them here.” That was fast. I wasn’t expecting them for at least a few days; Razorwing sure doesn’t waste any time.

“I’ll go with you.” Cog added and I nodded back to him again. He’s better known among the Talons than me and that will help remove any suspicion. Actually all this worked out better than I could have hoped. Lizzie is awake, still weak, but the sooner they get her back to Vostoris the sooner they can give her proper medical treatment.

Keeping a brisk pace we got to Navarost quickly, we only had to occasionally slow down for Cog to catch up. He wasn’t as used to the terrain like Joram and me. It wasn’t hard finding the Talons once we got there. They were crowded by the locals who were unused to seeing so many griffins and they probably never saw pegasi before.

The group consisted of four well armed griffins and three battle-saddle wearing pegasi. They all seemed on high alert, ready to act in a moment’s notice should something go wrong. I was glad that none of the pegasi were wearing those strange carapace like armors. There is such a thing as being too intimidating especially when there is no need.

A pink pegasus mare noticed our approach and she trotted immediately towards us with the other Talons following closely behind. Two griffins and a pegasus took flight to avoid having to push through the gathered crowd.

“Hello Cog and…” The mare squinted at me, trying to remember my name. I don’t remember seeing her before, so I helped her out.

“Mist, nice to meet you.” Always happy to meet new Talons.

“Yeah, Mist. You’re the new colt I’ve been hearing about. My name is Windy Fog.” She introduced herself and then started looking past us. “Where is IronClaw?”

“He’s with Lizzie at Mist’s place. Come on, we’ll take you there.” Cog motioned for them to follow him then somewhat awkwardly he stopped. “Mist, you lead the way.” He added sheepishly. “How you can find your way around that jungle is beyond me.”

“We’re going to have to get back to the village first. There’s no way we’ll be able to fly her out from here.” One pegasus mare commented as she hovered near us while looking at the thick canopies.

“Speaking of flying. How badly is Lizzie hurt?” Windy asked. She had opted to walk on the ground with us.

“Very. Saw and Mist patched her up as much as they could.” Cog explained.

“Saw had to remove a lot of rotting tissue.” A chill went down my spine as I remembered the procedure.

“Rotting?!” One of the Talons squawked.

“Well, she was trapped in that raptor for a while.” It was only thanks to Celestia that Lizzie survived.

“Raptor?” Another Talon asked, adding to the confusion.

Windy Fog motioned with her hoof, cutting off the rest of her group just as they were starting to talk amongst themselves.

“Cut the chatter.” The mare told them then turned to me. “Don’t discuss mission details with anyone, at least not until Razorwing debriefs Lizzie on what happened.” She told me rather sternly. “What can you tell me about Lizzie’s condition? Is she running a fever? What did you give her besides healing potions?”

“She’s awake actually.” As soon as I said it Windy visibly relaxed and even smiled hopefully. “We gave her healing potions and I prepared some of my potions to fight infections and bolster her constitution.” I like to believe that they helped.

Windy studied me for a moment then nodded. “I’m sure it helped her. Once we get her to Tonic she’ll be as good as new.”

We maneuvered through the patches of poison joke and reached the clearing where Zaeryl’s house was, again upon seeing the place the Talon’s marveled at it. One pegasus took flight to get a better look at the clearing.

“There’s IronClaw.” One griffin commented from behind us. What was he doing outside?

“Shit! Something must have happened!” Cog cursed and we broke into a trot but were instantly outpaced by the Talons who flew straight past us.

Come on! Why now? Couldn’t our luck have held for just a bit more? Celestia damn it all to Hell we were so close. Already my mind was buzzing with thoughts of what might have happened to Lizzie. The Talons started landing before IronClaw with Windy Fog taking the lead.

“Boss, Is everything alright!? Is Lizzie-“ Cog asked just as we were coming to a halt, but IronClaw calmly waved our concerns away.

“She’s fine. Don’t worry about her.” The griffin told us then turned back to Windy. “The lieutenant’s upstairs with Saw. Go help her get ready.”

Something was still wrong. I could see it on the griffins face. He looked worried and yet somehow determined, the same look he would get when he knew he was heading into danger. I knew it must have something to do with what Lizzie told him.

“Yes sir.” Windy Fog nodded and then she along with two griffins and a pegasus went inside, the rest waited outside with us.

“What’s the rush boss?” Cog asked looking worriedly at the griffin. He too noticed the look IronClaw had.

“Our mission. It got more complicated.” IronClaw said with a deep sigh. “Go inside; tell Saw and Shrapnel to get ready. We’re leaving with the Talons to the village and then we’re heading directly for the Remnant outpost.”

I swallowed hard and went in after Cog when a mechanical talon appeared in front of me.

“Wait. We need to talk.” IronClaw said in what was I’m sure his usual voice, but to me it sounded much more serious. He motioned to the assembled Talons and they backed away giving us some space.

“What do we need to talk about?” Okay I was worried now. What did he find out? What was there to find out, something about me?

“Zebras.” He said simply.

“Zebras?” Uhh…

“Their religion more specifically.” The griffin clarified and just as I started to speak he cut in. “Look I know you probably promised not to share any shaman secrets, but right now I need to know.”

“What is this about?” Seriously, zebra religion, shaman secrets?

“The Remnant found something, something very important to zebras.” He said gravely.

“What did Lizzie tell you?” Whatever it was, the Remnant want it and that’s trouble. But what worries me more is IronClaw. I’ve never seen him so… spooked. Not even including the time we found that balefire bomb.

“Well she doesn’t speak zebra, but from what she could figure out it’s some sort of religious artifact.” His golden eyes pierced into my own as he waited for a response.

Religious artifact? I don’t remember ever hearing or reading about anything like that. Fetishes, charms, amulets… these things were tools. Some more rare than others, maybe some items were passed down from generation to generation; those would be very valuable to the families they belonged to.

I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Something like a ceremonial mask?” Again they wouldn’t be particularly special by themselves.

“Maybe.” IronClaw paused for a moment. “But more important. I don’t know, like finding Celestias crown. I know I’ve never heard of any zebra Gods, that’s why I’m asking you.”

“No.” I shook my head vehemently. “Zebras never had anyone Like Celestia or Luna!” They believe in the spirits of their ancestors.

“Are you sure?” He asked full of suspicion.

“I’m not lying, Celestia and Luna are, were the only divinities!” Every time I mention them I can’t help but imagine a better world, a world before all this. And why is he even asking me this?

“Remember those paintings at Massif?” He asked. “They sure as Hell weren’t like anything else I ever saw before.”

The paintings? He’s right the murals on the ceilings were unlike anything else. Alicorns? A heavy sigh from the griffin pulled me back from my thoughts.

“I don’t know.” Could there have really been other alicorns. “Even if this artifact actually exists, why are you so worried about it?” And if it does exist what is it? How come Zaeryl never told me anything about this? She either didn’t know about it or she did and didn’t tell me.

“It does exist. Even if it’s not some apocalyptic magical weapon, it’s a symbol.” He said simply. “They find it and zebras will flock to them, to their cause.”

Yes I could see how they would use it to manipulate the masses, but wait… “Why did you call it a magical weapon?”

IronClaw hesitated and for the first time I saw genuine fear in his eyes. “Like I said the lieutenant doesn’t speak zebra, but one of the ponies under her command picked up a little of it over the years. The Remnant mentioned the Elements of Harmony.”

“They-What? You don’t think…” How was that even possible?

“It makes sense. The elements weren’t used during the war and despite hundreds of ponies searching for them in Equestria no trace was found. Maybe they were stolen sometime during the war.” IronClaw reasoned.

“But only the ministry mares could use them and Celestia.” Both times they were used to stop Nightmare Moon, everyone knows that.

“Stories. Maybe that was just made up so that no one would try and take them?” He offered. “Even if they believed that, still it’s better to take away an enemies weapon even if you can’t use it yourself. And now if they somehow figured out how to use them…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. What would the Remnant do with the Elements of Harmony? Completely take over Zevrass, maybe even move on to Equestria. Who would be able to stop them?

“But then why were you asking me about zebra religion?” What would it have to do with anything?

“I was hoping for an alternative.” IronClaw said exasperated and I couldn’t blame him. “Get your gear ready.”

This was bad, really bad. We have to stop them, there is no choice now. Given how the Remnant are, everyone who’s not a zebra is in danger. This will… How will all the ponies react when they find out that the Remnant have the elements? They’re as much a symbol of Equestria as Celestia and Luna. Ponies will lose what little hope they have left.

Without further words I went back inside to pack. Shrapnel was already in her armor and waiting beside Cog as he packed his saddlebags and loaded his shotgun. I’m not sure if IronClaw told them what he told me but they knew that he was worried and naturally so were they. My pistol, sniper and rifle were all ready and loaded and knowing what we’re likely to get into I emptied a chest where I kept the last few explosive jars I stole from the shaman Charon.

Once we were all ready we proceeded in silence. Cog attempted to lighten the mood a few times but it didn’t work, even Saw didn’t react when he took a jab at her. It was one of the most uncomfortable trips to Navarost I had ever made. All the while my mind churned with thoughts on what the mission we were on could mean for us and everyone else.

Since Lizze was too weak to fly and it’s uncertain if she’ll fly again given the how badly she’s injured. The Talons prepared a kind of harness for her that would allow them to carry her. It’s something they use whenever they need to quickly move wounded out of dangerous areas. Lizzie didn’t complain, but it was obvious that she didn’t enjoy being strung up and carried.

“Looks like we’ll have to catch up and share stories when you guys take care of things.” Lizzie turned to us.

“Eh we’ll be back before you know it.” Try as he might, Cog couldn’t hide the uncertainty in his voice and Lizzie heard it too.

With a final nod. “Good luck and stay safe.” Lizzie managed to say as she was lifted up and away. We stood there watching as the griffins and pegasi faded from view before we too turned around and headed into the jungle.

Whap!

Saw smacked herself with a hoof. “Damn it! The little fuckers are eating me alive!” She swore as she tried to shoo away the mosquitoes that had descended upon her.

Cog smirked. “Well Mist did offer you that lotion to keep the bugs away.”

It was a simple salve, you just rub it into your coat and it keeps all manner of bugs away from you. Ticks, mosquitoes…

“That gunk reeks like a week old dead parasprite.” Saw answered while unsuccessfully smacking another mosquito.

“Well if I had to choose between smelling nice and having some blood left, I’d choose to keep my blood.” Cog countered. Right now he and I were the only two who had used the salve. Shrapnel didn’t need to, what with her armor and IronClaw was strangely ignored by the bugs. Maybe because he’s a griffin, or maybe they were just scared of him?

We were making good time through the jungle relying on Cog’s PipBuck for the general direction and my own navigation skills when IronClaw suddenly motioned for us to stop.

“Listen up, the mission has changed.” He said simply and waited for us to respond.

No one said a word; all we did was trade confused glances. Changed how?

“This is strictly going to be a recon mission now unless the situation changes, understand?” He looked at each of us in turn to make sure we did. “That means no straight up attack, no contact whatsoever. We assess the situation and report back. We’ll return with reinforcements if need be.”

“Reinforcements, boss what’s all this about?” Cog asked almost in a whisper.

The griffin took a deep breath. “The lieutenant gave me some… troubling information about the outpost we’re about to check out.” He hadn’t told them yet! “The Remnant are looking for a powerful magical artifact and I think it might be the elements of harmony.”

We would have been sitting there in complete silence if it wasn’t for the buzzing of insects and the occasional bird that flew by. I looked at my friends only to see them struck speechless.

“Are you sure?” Saw managed to croak out.

“I’ve already talked with Mist about the possibility of it being some long lost zebra artifact.” The griffin sighed.

“No such luck.” Cog asked and IronClaw simply shook his head in response.

“Well shit.” Saw spat.

Cog shook his head; his eyes were wide with both fear and disbelief. “Boss, this is way… way more than we can take! They probably have the place protected by-“

“I know.” IronClaw cut in. “That’s why we’re only going to recon the place. We’re likely to be outnumbered and outmatched, so we scope the place out from a distance, get some idea of what we’re dealing with and report back.”

Cog relaxed a little after hearing this, Saw looked to be very interested in the ground at her hooves. I couldn’t tell how Shrapnel was feeling about all of this with her helmet on.

I can’t believe it hadn’t crossed my mind earlier. How were we supposed to fight so many Remnant? Of course the outpost would be well guarded.

“I want you all to be alert. That means no bickering from you two.” IronClaw pointed at Cog and Saw in turn. They just nodded meekly. “Also Shrapnel and Cog I want you both to keep an eye on your EFS, you two see anything you let me know.” Lastly he turned to me and I had to resist swallowing the lump in my throat. “Mist once we get there you and I will get as close as we can and scope out the place, it shouldn’t be too hard with your sniper.”

The plan was sound, provided we didn’t get caught. Cog and Shrapnel can warn us ahead of time if anyone approaches us. IronClaw and I are best suited for long range scouting, he with his eyes and me with my sniper.

With everyone clear on what we had to do, once again we started moving ever deeper into the jungle. I couldn’t help but think about all I went through while traveling with my friends and how it measures up against what we were doing now. From fighting monsters at the Nexus station to being in an all out assault beneath Vostoris, simply spying on the Remnant seems easy now, right? After all I did manage to sneak into their embassy, granted it didn’t end as I’d have hoped but still…

Twigs and dry leaves crunched under Shrapnel’s heavy armored hooves as she veered towards me. “Cap for your thoughts?”

“I’m just thinking about all we’ve been through.” Pretty crazy stuff the more I think about it.

“Fun, right?!” She nodded vigorously and I could almost see her beaming behind that helmet of hers.

“Yeah… fun.” Not exactly the word I’d use. ”What do you think about all of this?”

The armored mare cocked her head to one side quizzically. “About what?”

“The elements?” I said in a whisper.

“Well we’ll get them back. I mean it’s Like IronClaw said. We’ll find out if they really have them and then we’ll come back with backup and get them.” She said matter of fact. I had no idea if she was just pretending or if she was really this confident that we’d succeed. Anyway it was what I needed to hear and I was grateful for it.

“Hold on! I got something on my EFS.” Cog warned.

“Remnant?” IronClaw asked while peering into the distant foliage where Cog was pointing.

Cog shook his head. “I don’t know. Only one though, heading slowly south.”

“Could be an animal.” We are deep in the jungle now. Only hunters really go in this deep.

“Alright, Mist scout up ahead and then come back. Remember, stay out of sight and don’t shoot unless you absolutely need to.” IronClaw instructed and I immediately pulled my hood up and tapped the gem at my neck.

I moved swiftly and silently, dividing my attention between looking ahead for movement and down at my hooves to avoid stepping onto anything that could make noise. It wasn’t long until I stopped next to a tree and saw a lone ripper wandering the area. Sluggishly and carelessly the huge brute made its way, crushing everything beneath it. From the looks of it and the direction it was heading, it had no idea I was here or that my friends were nearby.

I readied my sniper just in case if it decided to turn our way. While bullets have been known to glance off of its thick skull, one well placed shot to that beady eye should take care of it.

The beast paused for a moment and sniffed the air, I tensed and raised the sniper, but then it got back to foraging and continued moving south. I followed it a bit and then waited until the ripper disappeared from sight before heading back to my friends.

So far so good, let’s hope our luck holds out.

The moment I pulled my hood back down Cog and Shrapnel turned their heads to me. I’ll be honest, it was a little unsettling. I tried to wrap my head around how that Eyes-Forward-Sparkle thing of theirs worked, but it was just beyond me.

“What was it?” IronClaw asked when he noticed that heads had turned and he visibly relaxed.

“A lone ripper just foraging, it’s gone now.” At least one of the benefits of their being five of us was that animals prefer to attack when they have the advantage of numbers. Lone predators that typically live in these deep parts of the jungle only attack groups when desperate or mad.

IronClaw nodded satisfied. "Alright, let’s keep moving."

We pressed on in silence, everyone focused and alert. Periodically the trees would thin out a little, sometimes enough to let IronClaw fly above the canopies to get a 'bird's eye view'. It didn’t' help much with the details, all he could see was a sea of green, but we were headed in the right direction. Further south-east he spotted a hill poking above the trees like an island, Cog confirmed that that’s where we needed to go.

Recalling the maps of Zevrass and looking at Cog's PipBuck I had a better sense of where we were right now and that was pretty deep into the jungle, deep but still within the known parts where hunters venture out in search of pray.

"Agh! Fuck." Saw hissed.

IronClaw immediately went over to her. "What's wrong?"

Cog and Shrapnel started looking about for signs of someone trying to sneak up on us, and I readied my rifle.

Saw shook her hoof and glared at the ground. "Nothing, banged my hoof on this damn rock."

"Hey guys look at this one!" Shrapnel called out.

"What, another rock?" Cog asked skeptically, going over to the armored mare.

"Yeah but it looks really weird." She chirped.

IronClaw rolled his eyes and sighed. "We really don't have time to start a rock collection."

"Wait boss, she's right it is kind of odd, Mist come take a look at this." Cog waved at me.

Really, it's a rock. How odd can it be?

"What do you think?" Shrapnel asked once I had a chance to look over this mystery rock.

It was about the size of my hoof and very smooth, except for the part where it looked like it had been broken off. It was also an unusual pale gray color, not like most stones here. It stuck out.

"There's more here." IronClaw said as he walked over and picked up a particularly jagged edged one. "It looks like they've been smashed."

“By who, or what?” Cog queried dramatically.

“They’re pieces broken from statues. Remnant from the looks of it.” IronClaw said while pulling branches off of a partially destroyed statue.

Cog and I exchanged glances. “How do you know?”

IronClaw tapped the stone and then pointed to me. “Same armor.”

“Statues of Remnant soldiers?” Why would they be here of all places. The statue was missing a hoof but aside from some dirt it was in perfect condition. A snarling zebra mare in a fighting stance, the details on the statue were amazing.

“Alright this is weird.” Cog voiced what was probably going through all of our heads. “Why here in the middle of the jungle? Who’s going to see them? You don’t think they were carried here.”

Dusting off his talons IronClaw rose and turned to us. “Two hundred years is more than enough time for nature to reclaim its territory. Maybe there used to be a monument here.”

“Well this one sure as hell isn’t Remnant.” Saw pointed with a hoof behind a bush.

She was right; no armor just a statue of a plain zebra that appeared to be cowering. It was hard to tell with half of its head missing as well as two hooves.

We barely made it a few more steps before we ran into even more statues strewn about in various states. Missing hooves, heads, even a completely smashed torso. Try as we might to ignore them, strangely our eyes kept getting drawn to the statues. Those that did have faces all shoved the same expressions, either fear or anger. A few more we could identify as being statues of Remnant soldiers but most of them were ordinary zebras.

"Huh. Guys have you noticed how a lot of the stones are missing?" Shrapnel asked after casually turning a small stone over.

Saw rolled her eyes. "Shrapnel this whole area is full with the damn things, what do you mean missing?"

"Well if gathered them all we wouldn't be able to put them all together." The armored mare reasoned.

"I don't think even the zebra who chiseled them could put these statues together." Cog added glancing from stone to stone.

No that’s not what she meant. "You mean pieces are missing. Pieces from individual statues?" Oh no...

"The things were probably blown to Hell, of course pieces are missing." Saw shot back.

I remembered a drawing I've seen in a book about dangerous beasts long ago, along with a description and warnings.

"Mist, what’s wrong?" IronClaws eyes bored into mine.

I met his gaze and swallowed hard. "We have to get out of here now. We're in a ‘stone garden’."

Saw blinked. "What?"

"Like a rock farm?" Shrapnel guessed.

Cog worriedly looked from one statue to another. "Don't tell me these statues are going to come to life on us when we're not looking or something?!"
Damn it, no!

I shook my head. "It's like a nest. A territory! Come on we have to get out of here." I set a pace and started moving only to have IronClaw block my path.

He opened his beak to say something but I didn't give him a chance. I just went around him and motioned for everyone to start following me. I know they'll want an explanation but we should start moving as soon as possible, luckily they started following me.

"Like I said it's a territory where a basilisk makes its home." I told them quickly, my eyes scanning for movement and ready to close shut at a moment’s notice.

My heart was beating faster, I could hear it in my ears.

The book said that the magic wasn't instantaneous even if I look it in the eyes, I just have to close mine quickly, but can I trust myself not to stare? I've never saw a basilisk, even in the book I read there was only a drawing of it.

"So a basilisk can turn living things to stone? It's like a cockatrice then?" IronClaw asked, a note of fear added to his usually calm and controlled tone.

I nodded. The cockatrice and the basilisk are closely related, but there are differences, mainly in size.

"Shit, I've heard stories... Boss did you ever face one of those things?" Saw asked looking up at IronClaw.

The griffin shook his head. "No. I've heard the stories too. Mist, what exactly are we dealing with here?"

I took a deep breath and started recalling everything I've read about basilisks. "Like the cockatrice they have a petrifying gaze. But in order for it to work their needs to be a clear line of sight and the gaze needs to be uninterrupted because the magic doesn’t take hold instantly." There is a small chance to either close your eyes or avert your gaze if you should happen to look a basilisk in the eyes, that is if you can keep a clear head at a time like that and remember what to do.

"So it's not, one glance and its over?" Cog asked.

"No, if you look awa-" I stopped and looked at Shrapnel, more precisely her helmet. It covered her eyes! "Shrapnel, I think Shrapnel might be safe."

"You sure?" IronClaw asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. The basilisk has to be able to see your eyes in order for the magic to make a connection." You can look at its reflection from a mirror too and you'd be safe. It has to be a clear and direct line of sight.

IronClaw hesitated for a moment before he turned to Shrapnel. "Alright Shrapnel you take point with me." He ordered and the two of them moved in front of me. "Anything else, weaknesses?"

"It's a lot bigger than a cockatrice." A LOT bigger.

"How big?" Saw asked.

"Bigger than a ripper beast." I knew they wouldn’t like the answer. "They have six claw tipped limbs, a powerful tail, rudimentary wings and a beak strong enough to crush stone." That’s actually the way they eat. They turn their pray to stone then bite off chunks of it. In their stomachs the spell wears off and they digest the meat. They store their petrified prey in their 'gardens' this way to keep the meat fresh.

Can the victim feel it? Are they aware when a basilisk tears pieces of them? No, don't think about it! I really hate the lines of thought my mind sometimes takes.

"Alright, are there any weak points for us to exploit?" IronClaw asked irritated.

"Their hide is as tuff as stone. So either explosives or shooting them in the eyes." Small caliber guns can barely scratch it.

"Eyes? The part we specifically have to avoid looking at, let alone aim?" IronClaw pinched the bridge of his beak between his eyes.

"Fuck... Let’s just stay out of the fucker’s way." Saw offered and this being one of those few occasions Cog agreed wholeheartedly.

"How many of them should we expect? Do they travel in... umm flocks?" The green unicorn asked, combat shotgun at the ready.

"No more than one. They're very teritor-"

"I got something on my EFS!" Shrapnel yelled.

Both Shrapnel and Cog turned in the same direction, Saw just closed her eyes and cursed while IronClaw aimed both his SMG-s but kept his head lowered. The griffin was no doubt relying on his peripheral vision to detect any movement before he opens fire. I pulled up my hood and activated the cloak. If the basilisk can’t see me it won’t be able to specifically target me, but I still have to avoid meting its gaze.

Cog cleared his throat softly then continued in a whisper. "It's moving to the right. I don't think it saw us."

"Maybe it's just another animal?" Saw asked hopefully.

It could be. Celestia let it be just another animal.

"It's coming this way!" Shrapnel shouted.

THUMP!

Her grenade launcher made itself heard and following the explosion so did the basilisk.

A terrifying roar cut through the jungle, it was unlike anything I have ever heard before. The next thing I knew I felt tremors go up my hooves and they kept getting stronger.

"Scatter!" IronClaw shouted. "Find cover!"

I dove behind the nearest tree and told myself over and over again to forget the head and aim at the body, at the limbs.

Again Shrapnel's grenade launcher sounded but this time it was accompanied by the much faster rhythmic thrumming of her machine gun.

"It has yellow glowy eyes!" Shrapnel screamed and continued her assault.

My heart leapt into my throat when I heard the mare, but the basilisks roar of pain and frustration along with Shrapnel’s continued assault put my mind at ease.

She was alright. I was right! The basilisk couldn't petrify her!

Soon the sounds of a shotgun and the rapid fire of SMG-s accompanied the cacophony. I raised my rifle and joined in.

Carefully I peeked out from cover and worked my way up from looking at the ground to the creature. The good news was that I spotted its tail which meant its back was towards me, the bad news was that we were doing laughably little damage to it. Well Shrapnel’s grenade launcher was more successful and her machine gun chipped away at the beasts rock-like hide.

Cog's shotgun was useless and IronClaw’s SMG's little more than an annoyance. Saw was nowhere to be found which was good; she probably found a good hiding place. Along with my rifle, her pistol would be useless.

Right now my sniper had the most stopping power so I switched weapons and fired at the creatures flank. I don't think it even noticed.

The basilisk had its full attention turned on Shrapnel and the armored mare had to continuously backtrack.

I could see IronClaw trying to swoop at the basilisk from the right to get its attention, a plan made harder because of the dense trees. He couldn't get enough room to properly maneuver.

My mind was racing but I couldn't think of a single way to help. Maybe, just maybe a well placed shot to the eye was possible?

At that moment the basilisk reared back and I could see one of its enormous claws swipe in front of it. The din of the machine gun was silenced. My heart skipped a beat.

Did it get Shrapnel?

I started circling around to the front of the beast where Shrapnel was when I spotted Cog levitate something out of his saddlebags and then he hurled it at the basilisk.

BOOM!

Celestia herself must have jump started my brain at that point.

Quickly I opened my saddle bags and reached inside with my magic. Once the jar was in my magical grasp I pulled it out, only sparing it a brief glance before I continued to where Shrapnel lay. The jar had a sunburst engraved on it and I had a good idea what it did.

Galloping and jumping over roots, branches scratching at my hood, I managed to just clear the trees when I saw Shrapnel shakily try to stand up.

I dared not look up at the basilisks head but I saw its body clearly. It had moved away to the side, possibly staggered from Cog’s grenade. I really hated what I had to do next. Reaching up to my neck I tapped the gem of my cloak. Now I proved a far better target than Shrapnel. For a moment I considered just throwing the jar at the beast, but I had to make sure it was keeping its eyes on me.

Running past and very close to the beast, praying I was fast enough to avoid getting crushed, I shouted as loudly as I could. "Everyone close your eyes!" And I threw the jar right in front of the basilisk before skidding to a halt and burying my face into my hooves.

Unlike the grenade Cog threw there was no loud bang or explosion, all I heard was the sound of clay breaking and at that moment I feared that it did nothing, but a loud bone shaking shriek that echoed throughout the jungle soon followed.

I dared to look up and see what I had done. The basilisk, now standing on its hind legs fully erect and towering over me was screaming and covering its head with its front pair of claws while the middle pair clenched and grabbed at thin air.

I stood there looking at the beast petrified not by its magic, but by my own curiosity. Its gray granite like scales were cracked and completely missing in places where the grenades had struck, revealing red and pink tissue beneath as well as dark red blood that trickled out appearing as crimson cracks.

It looked exactly like the drawing. Its raggedy, undeveloped wings flapped uselessly while the tail snapped out like a whip from side to side.

With one final roar it turned away, dropping back down on all six limbs and made for the trees. I had just enough time to see its long tail whip out before the wind was knocked out of my lungs and the jungle blurred before my eyes, my hooves leaving the ground. It all came to a sudden halt and then the world went dark.

I wheezed and coughed trying to pull air into my lungs; it was so hard to breathe. Was it night? I couldn’t see any stars and all around me I could barely make out the shapes of branches. I'm in the jungle, but why am I here. It's all too hazy.

Voices echoed around me, eerily familiar. Vague equine shapes moved in the distance between the trees. Black shadows moving behind dark grey tree trunks. Who were they?

A cold shiver ran up my spine as a hint of ash reached my nose. Already struggling, my breathing became even shallower. I didn't want to be here.

Tiny embers lazily started falling from the sky and my heart started beating faster. In the back of my mind I knew what was going to happen but I couldn't form the thoughts now. I couldn't remember what it was that I knew!

I didn't want to be here.

The voices grew louder and for a moment they spoke in unison, I couldn't understand them, but then a few of them grew stronger while the rest faded.

"-over here."

"-find him."

That last one sounded like Cog?

Again I coughed and groaned as my head started to throb and my hooves began aching. The smell of ash and char was replaced by that of grass, leaves, vegetation. I realized my eyes were closed and I tried to open them.

"His cloak might be activated so be careful where you step." A gruff voice cautioned.

That was definitely IronClaw.

I opened my mouth to call out to them but all that came out was a groan.

"I think I heard him! Over here!" The familiar hyperactive yet worried voice rang from somewhere beside me.

Hard hooves pushed and prodded me to which I could only groan again as a dull ache spread through my back.

"Sorry." Shrapnel apologized and managed to figure out where my head was and pull my hood down.

I heard further the crunching of leaves and branches around me.

"Don't move him!" Saw shouted as she trotted over to us.

"Fuck! Mist, don't try to get up." Saw started prodding my back. "Alright try and wiggle your hooves."

I did as she asked and she sighed with relief. "I'm going to give you something for the pain."

I felt a small prick as the needle went into my hoof and then a warm numbness spread all over me. I felt like going back to sleep right then.

"How is he?" I heard IronClaw ask.

"Well he's back doesn’t look like its broken, so there's that. He could still have a concussion so I don't want move him too much." She explained then turned to Cog. "Help me remove his armor, carefully."

It was hard to focus; I only had the vaguest sensation of what was happening. My mind was drifting from reality and the world of dreams and back again. I felt lighter and... Was somepony giving me a massage?

"That was friggin lucky." Saw commented. "Alright Mist, you can get up now."

"I think he's fallen asleep again." I could hear Shrapnel observe.

Just resting my eyes, five more minutes.

A pair of hooves started pushing me, rocking back and forth. "Come on damn it! Stop fucking around." With a final sharp prod to my flank I yelped and started getting back on my hooves.

A healing potion was suddenly shoved in my face. "Here drink it just in case there's something I've missed." Saw ordered sternly yet not unkindly.

I took the potion gladly and sighed as the last remnants of my headache faded. It was at this time that I noticed that I wasn’t wearing my armor, all of my gear was gone.

Cog caught my confused look and explained. "We had to make sure there weren’t any internal injuries. Your stuff is right here." He said and started levitating my saddlebags to me along with my armor.

I looked around at all of my friends in turn and they seemed no one the worse for wear. Well except for Shrapnel whose armor was sporting a brand new set of dents and scratches. "So what happened? Did you manage to kill the basilisk?" This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see it really up close without any danger.

"No." IronClaw looked me over like he was making sure I hadn’t lost any limbs. "It made for the jungle after you blinded it and didn’t come back. How are you feeling, you hit that tree hard?"

"Yeah nearly scraped the bark off of it." Cog added with an easy smile.

Saw nodded. "I'm amazed you didn't have any broken bones. Celestia must have really been watching out for you."

Guess it’s a good thing I took that bone strengthening elixir.

"Is he good to go on?" IronClaw asked turning to Saw.

"As good as he can be all things considered. I'd recommend more rest..."

"I'm fine, I can keep going." I feel great, the potion and whatever Saw did really helped, also I can rest all I want when we stop the Remnant.

The possibility of what they might do with what they have was constantly in my mind making my mane itch. They have to be stopped.

Without further discussion I put my armor and gear back on and soon we continued onward with our mission, determined to see this through.

Cog paused to look at his PipBuck. "We're close now. They should be just ahead."

"Still too far for the EFS to find them." Shrapnel added.

"Alright, Cog, Shrapnel, Saw. You three wait a minute while Mist and I see what it’s like up there." IronClaw ordered.

I went on ahead with him following close behind. The trees around us started thinning out so we had to be extra careful not to get spotted. I kept my cloak off so that IronClaw could see me but I pulled my hood up.

With only a few trees and a couple of bushes left ahead of us to use as cover we stopped. Looking ahead I could make out angular shapes and the steep hill behind them.

IronClaw walked up next to me. "The outpost looks old. Maybe even pre-war, abandoned before they came to reclaim it now."

I raised my sniper and looked through the scope. IronClaw was right it looked old and weathered. The entire outpost was almost square shaped and placed next to the hill. Facing us was a low barricade of old sand bags adorned with barbed wire. The left side consisted of a wall of steel plates, complete with an abandoned machine gun? Why wasn't there anyone operating it?

The right side of the outpost and serving as a wall to close the square was a long building. Not just a hastily cobbled together hut, but a concrete two story building. All of this was covered by a tarp which gently rustled in the wind, held spread out by pipes that extended from the building’s roof and kept the center of the outpost in the shade.

"I see movement inside." IronClaw commented.

Immediately I trained my sights on one of the windows of the building.

"No, outside, behind the sandbags deeper in." IronClaw corrected.

Following his instruction it took me a moment to notice a zebra moving in the shade.

"Zebra." I said. "But not Remanant." The zebra was wearing what appeared to be old stitched together leather barding with a bit more padding added here and there.

The longer I looked at the shaded center of the outpost the more shapes I began noticing. Eight, nine zebras? Another had just walked out of the building. None of them appeared to be wearing Remnant armor, or any quality armor for that matter. Two were only wearing leather belts with holsters for their pistols and saddlebags. The best among them had metal armor that had seen major wear and tear.

IronClaw waited patiently for me to say something not wanting to disturb my concentration.

"I think they're raiders." I finally managed to say and earned a raised eyebrow from the griffin. "Do you think they took care of the Remnant?"

He shook his head. "I doubt it, but they aren’t here now. Wait here while I get the others."

IronClaw turned and went back into the forest and I raised my sniper once more to see what was going on at the outpost.

The raiders were doing what they did best, looting. Two of them seemed to be having trouble opening a metal chest. The 'guard' looked half asleep. What was going on here, where were the Remnant? Could raiders really have taken over them? Seriously, these zebras?

What if the remnant had already found the elements and left? We'll have to investigate the outpost, look for any signs where they went.

I didn't have to wait long for my friends to join me, I could hear the noise and hushed chatter they made when they approached.

Cog walked over and sat down beside me. "Anything interesting going on?"

I shook my head slightly still looking through the scope. "Just raiders, two appear to be having trouble opening a chest. Now they're trying to bash it open."

"Have you seen anyone else beside the raiders?" IronClaw asked.

"No, just them. I think there might be ten or twelve of them, hard to tell from here." Maybe more of them were inside the house?

BOOM!

"The fuck was that?" Saw asked.

An explosion from inside the outpost drew my attention. I couldn't see much through the smoke and scampering zebras, but they didn't look like they were running away. It was hard to tell if I was imagining it or not, but I could almost hear them shouting, nothing clear enough to understand though.

"Mist?" IronClaw demanded.

I just shrugged. "I don't know. Something exploded." Maybe they were fighting amongst themselves or maybe they were attacked?

"We need to get in there." The griffin murmured. "Listen up." He called and I lowered my sniper. "Saw you're with Mist. I want you two to circle right and get in a position for sniping. The rest of us will go from the left, keep them boxed in." He turned to me and motioned with his talon. "When I give you the signal, start picking them off." His eyes narrowed. "But remember we need at least one alive."

I'll just shoot the ones that run in the hooves then.

With a nod from the grim griffin, Saw and I set off keeping behind the tree line. Once in position I noticed that the house from this side, facing the outside, had only tiny slits for windows. Not enough to escape, but enough to poke a gun through. Using my cloak I got as close as I could, partially hiding behind a tree with Saw a few meters further back.

Across the gap I could just make out IronClaw and Shrapnel still clinging to the jungle. We were positioned perfectly, Saw and me at the right corner and him, Shrapnel and Cog at the left. The only way out that I could tell was over the sand bags between us which wouldn’t help them as they could be caught in the crossfire there.

Zebras were still moving about in the confusion caused by the explosion, but were starting to calm down.

IronClaw raised his talon and held it still. I waited for the sign and when it came, scanning the area swiftly with my sniper I spotted a zebra sitting at a table outside which was previously obscured.

I took aim and pulled the trigger.

The bullet went cleanly through the unarmored head which slammed down on the table from the impact leaving the zebra slide off her chair and fall to the ground unnoticed.

Not wasting a second I found my next target and fired. This time it was a buck, the bullet caught him in the eye. The zebras close to him noticed and dived for cover. They figured out from where I was shooting and so they went for the house, leaving themselves open to IronClaw’s assault.

I saw my friends dodge a few shots, well IronClaw dodged, the bullets just bounced off Shrapnel’s armor and Cog was safe trotting up behind the mare, using her as cover.

After exchanging a couple more bullets the griffin motioned for me to approach. I turned off the stealth magic in my cloak and called out to Saw.

With the shooting now over we made our way to the outpost. Once Saw and I met up with the rest of our friends IronClaw motioned towards the house. "The rest are holed up in there."

The inside of the outpost wasn't much to look at. Discarded bottles and empty packs of food littered the ground. Everything was just about what I expected to see, except for the gaping black maw on the side of the hill, a cave. They built the outpost around it! Was that where the elements were hidden?

Looking around, with the two zebras I killed there were four more that got cut down as they tried to take cover in the house. In their haste they left the door open, not that it would have done them much good had they closed it. I could hear faint sounds of hooves tapping on the floor from inside.

"I only see four of them." Shrapnel commented her gaze fixed as if looking through the wall before her.

"I still have a couple of grenades left." Cog offered.

IronClaw shook his head. "We need answers remember, we can’t just blow them all up. Shrapnel you come with me, the three of you wait out here. We won’t be long."

Shrapnel entered first with IronClaw close behind her, it didn't take long for the remaining zebras to open fire on them. I could hear Shrapnel’s machine gun retaliate in quick short bursts.

"One down." Cog counted while keeping his eyes fixed on the wall.

"This place is a freaking mess." Saw grimaced looking about.

The outpost? Yes it was, the raiders no doubt tore it up while looking for any scraps they could find.

"There goes another one." Cog continued his grim countdown.

I looked back at the house and wondered for a moment how... bored I felt? Here we were in a Remnant outpost and part of me actually felt disappointed that there were no Remnant to fight. I didn't even feel any fear for my friends who were inside chasing the last of the raiders.

"Huh, looks like the last two went upstairs." The green unicorn also sounded bored.

I knew the raiders didn't stand a chance. They were poorly armed and had no real training to speak of. This was a chore. It frightened me. The way I felt about all of this frightened me. Shouldn't I be just a little worried for my friends and maybe feel a little sorry for the raiders?

The shooting started again along with panicked shouts in zebra.

Saw shook her head looking annoyed. "Dumbasses."

Maybe I've just gotten used to it. A shadow appeared on one of the upstairs windows and I immediately grabbed the rifle at my side.

"The fuck?" Saw managed to curse just before a zebra leapt out of the window.

In my head I could already see the fluid cat-like movements the zebra would make. A single mid-air flip to steady herself for the landing followed by a quick dash to the side while spreading random fire at us in order to give herself more time to recover.

This was what I thought would happen, it didn't. The zebra flailed helplessly and hit the ground hard. A loud snapping sound of a hoof being broken was heard and I'm sure it would be followed by a scream of pain had the zebra mare not smashed her head into the ground right after her body had landed and knocked herself unconscious.

I continued to stare at the mare with my rifle ready, expecting her to jump up or something.

Bullets were still being exchanged from inside the house and I could hear a furious stream of curses in zebra.

IronClaw suddenly appeared in the window and leaned out. "Is she alive!? The one in here is chemed up!"

Saw begrudgingly approached the unconscious mare and looked her over. "Yeah she's still alive."

"Keep her that way!" The griffin ordered than pulled himself back inside. "Alright Shrapnel take him out!"

BOOM!

Dust and debris flew out the windows, pushed out by the sudden explosion. I thought about rushing in, thinking the last zebra had a grenade, but Cog was just sitting calmly and he'd be the first to know either IronClaw or Shrapnel got hurt.

Not long after the griffin walked out of the house waving the dust away with a talon. "Shrapnel what did I tell you about using grenades indoors?"

"Sorry boss." The armored mare apologized as she trotted out behind him.

"Alright, we should take care of her first." IronClaw pointed at the unconscious zebra. "Saw, see if you can wake her up. Mist, you get ready to translate."

Saw fished out a knife then headed over to the zebra. Skillfully she sliced and cut off the straps that were holding the zebra’s leather armor together. When she was finished she tossed aside everything the zebra had on her then she signaled us. Cog and Shrapnel had their weapons pointed at the zebra mare while I sat down in front of her. IronClaw paced back behind the raider and sat down.

Saw at first started pocking the prone mare for a response, when she didn't get anything she stepped on the hoof the zebra broke.

The raider yelled out in pain and continued to whine while feebly trying to push Saw's hoof off of hers. I felt sorry for her, at that moment she didn't look like a raider but a frightened wounded filly who just wanted to live and make the pain stop.

IronClaw motioned for Saw to stop and she did. The moment she lifted her hoof the zebra pulled back her own hoof and started cradling it while still crying and mumbling incoherently.

"Alright Mist, ask her what they were doing here." IronClaw told me and when the zebra heard him she quieted down somewhat and I could see her ears flick and turn backwards where the griffin was sitting.

This is why the griffin sat behind her, to drive home the point of her being surrounded and unable to escape.

I cleared my throat and asked the raider in zebra. She immediately grew quiet and I saw pure terror in her eyes as she raised her head only to be replaced by a look of confusion when she saw my face. Her face was crusted with dried blood, no doubt broke her nose too when she hit the ground.

I understood what happened, I knew why she was so afraid, she mistook me for a Remnant. What would they have done if they caught raiders stealing from them?

She stared at me still looking confused but a bit more collected so I repeated my question.

"We- We were just scavenging." She managed to say and I translated for my friends.

"Scavenging from the Remnant? I don't think so." Cog said incredulous.

"Ask if they knew that this was a Remnant outpost." IronClaw said.

I asked the zebra and she seemed thoughtful or she could just be trying not to think about how much her hoof hurt her.

The raider shook her head. "Not at first. We were just looking for whatever scraps we could find..."

"And you still decided to loot the place even after you found out it belonged to the Remnant?" I asked.

"They abandoned it!" She managed through gritted teeth fighting down a surge of pain.

Her injured hoof started turning a nasty shade of purple, the bone didn't break the skin but it was clearly broken, there was an unnatural protruding lump on one side of it. I don't think it will ever heal properly, not without proper treatment.

Her eyes narrowed and anger flashed as she looked at me, clearly unhappy that a pony who was wearing Remnant armor was lecturing her about stealing from them.

IronClaw looked concerned but I told him there was nothing to worry about. I also told the griffin what the zebra had told me.

The griffin was silent for a moment thinking what to ask next when, for the first time the zebra mare tried to look around and asked. "Are you going to let me go?"

I translated and IronClaw looked down on her, his face unreadable. "If she answers our questions."

I knew she didn't understand what he had just said, but somehow she knew what had been said. A small flicker of hope lit up in the raiders eyes.

His face grim, IronClaw turned his head and looked at the cave opening. Trying to see what was hidden in that utter darkness.

"Did they go into the cave?" He asked after a while.

I asked the raider and she shivered, shaking her head. Mixing with her pained expression was fear as she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times trying to form words.

"W-We tried. There is something... Something bad inside." The zebra managed to say.

Something bad? "What?"

She did her best to shrug. "I don't know. It's just... scary."

The cave would be a perfect place for animals. Who knows what kinds of beasts lurk in there? No that can't be right. The Remnant abandoned this place and we just found out about it recently, so maybe we just missed the Remnant as they were leaving?

"Mist?" IronClaw called. "What did she say?"

I told the griffin what the zebra had told me and once again he looked at the cave. "Ask her what they found here?"

The mare was quiet, staring at the ground before her. She had that pensive look like she was having trouble recalling something. When I asked her IronClaw's question she looked confused again before answering.

"Some food, a few potions, little ammo and caps." She answered and when I told IronClaw she quickly added. "It's all in their saddle bags." She eagerly motioned to one of her fallen friends. "There's more inside, if you know how to pick locks you can have it all! Just don't shoot at the locks if you can't open them. It could be dangerous." She said and turned to look at the place where the explosion took place.

Two zebras lay dead there, their armor and hide torn to shreds. The ground was scorched and scared by debris and at the center of it, what little remained of a chest.

I translated what I had just been told. Cog snorted and turned to Saw.

"And that’s why you never just shoot the locks off of chests and lockers, might by explosives inside or it might be trapped." Cog explained.

"Alright, guess we'll have to search the place for anything the Remnant might have left behind that the raiders haven’t found, just in case." IronClaw said and in one smooth motion the griffin unholstered his SMG, pointed it at the back of the raiders head and fired.

The bullet didn't come out the other side, something for which I was thankful. I saw her face go slack and the mare slumped to the ground and lay there unmoving.

IronClaw looked at me with his steely gaze. "You, Cog and Saw go inside and search the place. Shrapnel and I will do the same out here."

I took one more look at the dead raider before heading inside the building. I knew he'd kill her. When he promised to let her go I could tell that he was lying, but I also knew he didn't do it out of hate or malice.

Once we were inside Cog whistled while looking around. "Yeah, should be easy finding something in this mess."

The first room, the one we just entered looked like it was used for storage. Lockers lined one wall, most of them were opened and empty. Some were completely missing their doors and only hinges remained. Old pony-sized beaten up wooden crates were haphazardly placed around the room, probably used for cover.

Cog went from one locker to another. "This place was picked clean."

"They kept supplies like food and junk in these." Saw said as she pulled out one of the food packs from a crate. "All rancid now."

"Aren’t they supposed to be preserved or something?" Cog asked.

"Yeah not so much when the bags get torn open." Saw answered while giving one of the packs a sniff and shaking the contents out.

I joined Saw in picking apart the crates; Cog had no luck finding anything useful so he moved on into the next room. So the Remnant planned to use this place long term, no sense in keeping it stocked like this, so what changed, why did the decide to pack up and leave?

"This is waste of time." Saw told me. "We're not going to find anything in here."

"Do you think that the raider’s already took everything?" How much could they fit in their saddlebags anyway?

Saw shook her head. "Nah, did you see the scrawny shits? No I bet the Remnant took what was important before they left."

"Hey guys! Come upstairs!" Cog shouted.

Saw and I quickly exchanged looks before heading to the next room and up the staircase stepping over the corpses of unfortunate raiders.

Right off the stairs we were in a room full with bunk beds and Cog was relaxing on one of them.

I smiled at the green unicorn’s antics. “Glad you made yourself comfortable.”

"You lazy shit! Get out of that bed!" Saw shouted.

Cog ignored her and waved at the room. "Whatever's left has got to be in here."

He was right; there were several chests in front of the beds, probably locked. I noticed a door lying on the floor, it was blown off its hinges and judging by the scorch marks on it this was probably where Shrapnel used her grenade launcher.

"Did you check in there?" I asked Cog and pointed at the last room.

"I peaked in there, not much left." He said lazily and failed to notice how close Saw had gotten to him. The mare reared back and pushed the unicorn off the bed.

Cog landed clumsily on the floor and was about to say something but changed his mind when he caught Saws glare.

"Go. Search. It." She hissed.

"Sheesh. Alright you don't have to bite my head off I'm going." Cog hurriedly got to his hooves. "Mist, you can handle the lock picking here right?"

"Sure, call if you find anything." It's been a while but I still remember how it’s done.

I sat down in front of one the flat metal chest and rummaged through my saddle bags looking for bobby pins. I really have to tidy up in there. With pin and screwdriver ready I set to work.

"Never could get the hang of those damn things." Saw muttered looking over my shoulder. "Stitching up wounds no problem, but I'm shit at locks." She looked over at the room where Cog was. "That idiot knows that you two are the only ones who have some knowhow and he starts screwing around."

"Really? IronClaw doesn't know how to pick locks?" What about Shrapnel? Yeah never mind.

Saw opened her mouth then closed it. "You know I've never actually seen the boss do it. Could be he just doesn’t want to."

I kept twisting the screwdriver and turning the pin until I heard a satisfying 'click'. I flipped the lid up only to find a few caps inside and some junk.

"That was disappointing." I mean I wasn't expecting the elements to be here, but this was really disappointing.

"Hey! I found some kind of book locked in a table drawer!" Cog called from the other room. "It's written in zebra, Mist get over here!"

"Wow, this place got worked over good." Saw commented as we entered the room where Cog was.

She wasn't exaggerating; the place looked… well like a bomb went off in it. Scorch marks, bits of wood and metal, all sorts of debris and I don't even want to think what those splotches were.

"Yeah try not to step in raider. There are bits there and over there." Cog pointed absently to a few particularly gory patches, his full attention was on the book he was levitating before him.

"Let me see that." Cog levitated the book over to me and again there was that weird feeling when my magic brushed up against his. I wonder if he felt it too or if it's just me.

"Did you find anything else?" I heard Saw ask.

"A pistol, some caps, spare ammo clips for the pistol and this fancy tin with leaves." Cog held out the tin and flipped open the lid.

"Tobacco, for chewing." I told them once I got a good look at the leaves and a whiff of their smell.

The metal case the leaves were in looked valuable. It looked like it was made out of copper and embroidered with intertwining wines made out of silver. There's no way someone would just leave it behind.

The book turned out to be a journal that belonged to the commander of this outpost.

"What's it say?" Cog started to ask but Saw cut in.

"Look, let’s just take it to IronClaw so you don't have to read it twice." Saw reasoned.

I put the journal into my saddle bags and looked around. "Should we try and see if there is anything else?"

Cog sighed. "Yeah, alright. Come on I'll help you get the rest of the chests open."

Cog and I got busy with picking locks while Saw just watched for the most part. We didn't find anything of any real value. Around two hundred caps in all, some spare ammo and a potion. Once we packed what we found we headed back downstairs.

IronClaw and Shrapnel were busy; they had a small pile of saddle bags beside them and were waiting for us.

"Any luck?" IronClaw asked just as we cleared the door.

"Cog found a journal that might be able to tell us what happened here." I said levitating out said book.

"Other than that, mostly crap." Saw added.

"We didn't find much either. The raiders stuffed their bags with scrap, literally." IronClaw told us. "Let’s take a closer look at that book and maybe we can get some answers."

We huddled together in the shade as I pulled the journal out and opened it. The book was old and a lot was written in it, care was taken that the specifics of missions were left out. It was more a collection of private thoughts, so we didn't have much hope of uncovering anything really important. Once he saw that reading from the very beginning was getting us nowhere, IronClaw told me to skip ahead to the last few pages.

New assignment at last, been awhile since I had to leave home so there is a change in scenery to look forward to. Personally I'm not sure how useful this place is going to be for us, but if the higher ups say so, I'm not going to argue. Though I'm old enough to know that when they say something grandiose as 'reclaiming our past', there's bound to be some bullshit.

"Reclaiming 'our' past?" Cog spoke up. "Then it couldn't be the elements of harmony, right? They are a part of Equestria’s past."

"Keep reading." IronClaw told me.

Day 1 Beginning of excursion

Everyone is packed and we're ready to get underway, but we've had an unusual last minute addition. Now I'm not saying they can't take care of themselves, I have nothing but the highest respect for them, but I just know that I'll be the one they blame if something happens to our guest.

Regardless, command says we might need an expert and I'm not going to argue. If where we're going requires 'their' expertise, well then I'd be lying if said wasn't feeling a little anxious about this whole thing.

"This commander is very careful." IronClaw commented.

I’ll say, she’s avoiding naming anyone that might give us some sort of a clue.

Day 4 Deep in the jungle

The first few days were uneventful, boring. That suited me just fine, less chance of something going wrong. I've been sending scouts ahead of us to make sure we don’t stumble into something. They ‘we reported seeing a couple of animals that might have proven problematic, but they steered clear from us. Now, animals normally avoid groups as large as ours, but they tend to stalk and follow for a while. I can't help but wonder if our 'guest' might have something to do with the beasts completely steering clear from us.

Day 5

Some of my more veteran troops are complaining at how slow we're moving. I understand how they feel. They are used to working in far smaller groups that move in, complete an objective then move on, all without being seen. So a campaign like this doesn't sit well with them. I reminded them of the importance of our mission and our guest even stood up to support me. After that I don't expect to hear another word of complaint.

Day 7 We’ve arrived

It took us a week to reach this ancient base and our guest was immediately interested in the cave, but I advised that it would be more prudent to secure the place before anything else. I was surprised she didn't argue.

This being a pre-war base, I didn't expect it to have much. Frankly I'm surprised it held up as long as it did. It didn't matter since we brought our own supplies.

I've since had a chance to talk with my guest about this 'relic' we're hunting for. I can't tell if she doesn't know herself or isn’t allowed to share details with anyone. She did tell me that what we're searching for is supposed to rival the elements of harmony!

"Well shit!" Saw cursed.

My jaw dropped. What kind of relic-thing are we talking about that could rival the elements of harmony!

"Okay, that’s something." Cog said trying to compose himself. "Still no real information, but it’s something."

"We know their guest is a mare!" Shrapnel chimed in.

"Not really helpful." IronClaw said rubbing his beak. "This explains what the lieutenant overheard. Keep going Mist."

I let the thought of some long forgotten magical zebra relic with untold powers sink in, then cleared my throat and continued reading.

Day 9

We've settled in nicely. I have guards patrolling in shifts and I'm comfortable with our current state that we can finally devote our attention to exploring the cave.

First few soldiers I've sent in have returned after half an hour. They claim that they haven't found anything yet why were they so frightened?

"Here it goes..." Cog commented and covered his eyes with a hoof.

"What?" Shrapnel asked. I knew what the green unicorn was getting at.

"This is when things go horribly wrong for the Remnant and we learn that there is some horrible curse or something..." Cog explained. Okay I was close.

Day 10

At our guests urging to accompany the next squad I had to agree and let her join them. This was her area of expertise.

It has been over two hours now with no sign of them; I'm sending another squad in to retrieve them. What is taking them so long?

Day 11

Just my luck! The second team returns MISSING three members! I sent them in to find the first group and the shaman, not get lost themselves!

"They had a shaman with them." IronClaw said surprised, everyone else was silent. Me? I was worried. I met one of the shamans working with the Remnant and I really don’t want to meet another.

Day 12

Still no sign of the missing and now only two made it back from the latest search party and both are wounded. From their wounds they looked like they were attacked by animals. I couldn't get any useful information from them. One says he didn't see, he lost his lamp when they got attacked. The other won't say a word no matter how I order or threatened. She refuses to eat or sleep, just stares wide-eyed at nothing. I never imagined one of my own could get frightened like this, not after all she's been through. Tomorrow I'm going in myself, I have to find the shaman otherwise command will have my hide!

I flipped through the next few pages but they were blank, I kept going till I reached the cover and then closed the journal.

"That’s it, that’s all there is." I told my friends.

IronClaw tapped the ground with his talon almost nervously while glancing at the cave. "They were picked off, attacked while in there." He spoke mostly to himself.

I was worried. I never seen him like this before, I was expecting IronClaw to tell us to head straight inside the cave. He was hesitating.

It's not that I want to place myself or my friends in danger; Celestia only knows what lurks in that cave, but the Remnant need to be stopped. It's just a matter of time before they regroup and try again, next time in greater numbers. And if we could get to that relic before them, then maybe we would finally have the upper hoof on them.

"We need to go in." I said at last, breaking the silence and all eyes turned to me. "If this relic is as important to them as they say then we know they won’t quit until they have it."

Cog sighed. "Mist is right. They won’t stop, and right now might be the best time. I bet the Remnant and whatever is inside bled each other dry."

"That’s some fucking wishful thinking there." Saw said shaking her head. "Whatever, if we're going then let’s go already."

IronClaw nodded, his face once again set in grim determination."I don't know if we’ll find anything but we need to try. Alright Shrapnel you're on point with me, the rest of you stay close."

We moved in tight formation and I thought it a bit silly how careful we were being, that is until we actually entered the cave. It's hard to say, but as soon as we were in its shadow a sense of 'wrongness' washed over me. It wasn’t just me, my friends felt it too. Cog and Saw both shivered, Shrapnel seemed more jumpy than usual and IronClaw kept staring intently ahead of him trying to peer into the darkness before us.

Shrapnel turned on her helmet light and we followed suit with our illuminating brooches. The light helped us see, but that was little comfort. I still had this overwhelming feeling of unease.

"Hey look!" Shrapnel called, pointing her light at the glittering ground before her.

"Is that gold?" Saw asked squinting.

"Brass." IronClaw answered as he picked something up. "Bullet casings."

"Must have been one hell of a shootout." Saw commented.

Cog shined his PipBuck light at the cave walls. "Yeah, but did they hit anything?"

I looked around, nothing. My ears turned this way and that, trying to pick up any sound. All I could hear were my friends as they moved about, there were no signs of anything else and yet I still felt anxious. If we were going to be attacked then why hasn't it happened yet?

"Boss? You alright?" I heard Saw ask. IronClaw was just standing still and looking into the darkness.

It took the griffin a moment to respond, he looked like he was lost in his thoughts.

"Yes. I'm fine. Let’s keep moving." He responded angrily.

As we moved I found it harder and harder to think clearly. We were all jumping at our own shadows and almost opened fire several times. The thought of getting out of this place was at the forefront of my mind.

Cog kept checking his PipBuck worriedly, Saw was cursing under her breath every couple of steps. I couldn't really tell with Shrapnel but her walking looked more rigid and forced the more we went on. IronClaw was constantly scowling, every moment he looked ready to snap.

"Damn it! Why am I-Why am I feeling this way?" I heard the griffin half whisper as he came to a stop.

"Feeling what?" I asked now worried even more. Ever since we got in he'd been acting strange.

His face contorted with rage and I backpedaled fearing he would lash out at me. Was this what happened to the remnant? Were they somehow driven insane and attacked each other!?

The moment passed and IronClaw composed himself. He reared back on his hind paws and looked at his talons, they were shaking.

"I'm nervous, on edge... Scared." He managed and it was almost like the saying it caused him pain.

"This place is just wrong. We're all scared, right?" Cog asked looking at each of us.

IronClaw shook his head. "You don't understand. Sure this is dangerous, but we do this kind of thing regularly? Of course I'm worried that we might fail, that something might happen to..." He trailed off then sighed. "I've seen and survived horrible things, but I have never been this anxious about something that hasn't happened yet!"

Wait a minute, I have!

"It's not your fear!" I told the griffin and earned a confused look from all of my friends.

It actually made sense. "This place is warded. Someone doesn't want anyone being in here so they probably have a totem of some kind or charm that imposes fear into any living thing that wanders in."

"We're being forced to be afraid?" Cog asked in disbelief.

"I bet that whore shaman did it." Saw cut in angrily.

Cog countered. "No, the Remnant that went in before the shaman were acting strangely. Remember what the journal said?"

"So how do we get around this?" IronClaw turned to me.

"If we could find the totem or whatever the spell is bound to and destroy it that would stop the ward." I explained. "The magic spreads out in a circle around it, so its effects will get stronger the closer we are to it."

"Well it's got to be close by then." Cog started looking around.

"Any way of protecting ourselves from it?" IronClaw asked. "It's distracting."

"Well now that you know about it, you're less afraid, right?" Zaeryl taught me a kind of meditation to suppress fear, but not only is it not ideal, we don't have time for me to teach it to others.

Fear is useful, it helps us stay alive. Fear is linked with the survival instinct, ignore it and you're blinding yourself to potential danger. I can't help but think about the nature of this ward. Did someone place it here just to ward off trespassers or is there really danger here and those who manage to overcome their fear fail to notice the real threat because they thought the ward was fooling them?

We continued going further into this cave and I could feel the oppressive ward press harder. My friends were doing better, they were moving with more determination. I was constantly imagining something from the shadows reaching out and grabbing us, pulling us into its inky depths.

"How deep does this damn thing go?" Saw asked no one in particular.

I was startled for a moment when I realized that the light from my brooch wasn’t reaching the cave walls anymore. Having the place suddenly expand like this after a long stretch of tunnel was surprising. We were getting close the source of the ward. Must be close now, maybe in this 'chamber' we were entering?

"What was that?" Cog asked sounding spooked.

"I think I saw it to." Shrapnel added.

"What? What did you see?" IronClaw asked turning to the two ponies.

"I think my EFS caught something, but it’s gone now." The mare explained.

"Fucking great. Invisible crazed Remnant." Saw cursed and dug for her pistol.

We pulled together back to back and readied our weapons.

"Mist, activate your cloak and pick them out when they attack us." IronClaw ordered then he turned to Cog. "If you have any of those magic energy grenades left, get ready to use them."

I pulled my hood up, turned off the brooch on my chest and carefully moved away from my friends caching a whispered "Be careful." from Saw.

I don't know how I was supposed to spot a cloaked Remnant in this darkness? I would have to hope that the light from my friends would be enough to help see the telltale shimmers while at the same time trying to avoid the light myself.

I readied my weapon beneath my cloak and strained my eyes trying to peer into the darkness. The muscles in my hooves tensed as I spotted movement in the shadows. Carefully I walked forward, the light barely reaching where I was standing. Hearing a noise my ears immediately turned to its source. The sound was coming from my left, no right. What was going on?

BLAM!

The gunshot echoed throughout the cave, I was momentarily left in utter darkness as the light erratically moved away.

“Ghouls!” Cog shouted the edge of fear unmistakable in his voice.

I started to turn around and go back to my friends when a rasping sound made me look back. Then I saw it. A flayed muzzle with exposed broken teeth lurched from the shadows at me. I was quicker however and managed to avoid the ghoul, levitating out my rifle I fired and tore its skull open.

There was no time to get a better look at it because as soon as it hit the ground another ghoul emerged from the darkness, and another, and another…

There was no time to aim, I just let loose a random volley into their midst hoping to slow them down while I moved back to my friends who were themselves moving down waves of them.

I ran past Cog and no sooner had I brushed up beside him, did his shotgun fired and dug out hole in the ground right next to me!

Shit! I rolled to the ground and jerked off my hood quickly before he fired again. Te relief on his face when he saw it was me was palpable.

“Move! We’re going back!” IronClaw shouted. He and Shrapnel took the lead trying to push through the mass of ghouls. Saw and I kept those who tried to circle around off of us and Cog took care of any ghoul that got too close.

Almost mechanically I aimed and fired aiming at their heads, doing my best to keep panic at bay. The scene before me was horrifying; it made me regret having to turn on the light from my brooch. Ghoul after ghoul leapt at us, trampling over their fallen, sometimes braking or twisting their own hooves as they scrambled to reach us with nothing but hunger shining in their pale lifeless eyes.

One got past us and took a direct hit from Cog’s shotgun to the chest and it kept going! That blast should have torn it apart, how is it still standing?! My blood went cold when I recognized the dark kevlar armor the ghoul wore and the torn bits of blue cloak that hung by its neck.

“How?” I whispered barely even breathing at this point.

Luckily Shrapnel noticed the ghoul and bucked it with her hind legs so hard that I heard multiple bones crunching as it went crashing into a wall. Weather it got back up or not I didn’t know because other ghouls quickly stepped up to take its place.

Saw and I backpedaled at a steady pace until we bumped into IronClaw and Shrapnel who were having trouble braking through the undead tide.

Shrapnel’s grenade launcher thumped and blasted the ghouls away, but somehow even more were coming to replace them before the dust had settled.

“Shit, they’ve cornered us in!” Saw cursed.

“The other way, go!” IronClaw ordered.

If we try the other way we’ll just end up going deeper into the cave. There wasn’t any time for me to voice my concern as the undead horde came rushing at us. I did the only thing I could at that moment and followed orders, trying to push through the ghouls that were snapping at our tails.

Two blasts from Shrapnel’s grenades helped clear the way. The rest of us kept the new path from being blocked as we tore between the mass of moving and unmoving ghouls. Thankfully there were less of them in the direction we were heading now.

I kept thinking how we’ll run into a wall any minute now and get crushed when all those ghouls who were behind us catch up. Ahead of us only a small cone of cave floor was illuminated by our lights. Hungry, torn up faces lurched from the darkness at us entering the light all the way while we ran. We no longer paid any attention to the ghouls behind us, focusing only on those that jump at us from the front.

I started panting as I leapt over a dead ghoul, all the while thinking what they’ll do to us if they catch us.

The most unusual thing happened then, I felt a breeze in my mane. The wind wasn’t just from running; air was actually blowing the opposite way. It felt cool and almost refreshing, but it carried the smell of something foul with it. There were fever and fever ghouls leaping at us, not counting those behind.

Suddenly the floor ahead disappeared, like the light that was shining on it got swallowed up. I saw Shrapnel ahead of me dig in with all four hooves leaving deep furrows into the ground behind her. Saw did the same and I just barely managed to catch Cog’s tail with my teeth and stop him, it took me a moment to realize we had reached a ledge.

After my eyes had adjusted I noticed that there was a faint green light emanating from patches on the cave walls all around us.

“Celestia fuck me…” Saw whispered in awe and I turned to see what was going on.

I was… speechless. Ahead, over the chasm illuminated by more of that pale green light was a city, a town, whatever. The structures were clearly carved right from the cave stones, buildings like huge obsidian teeth hung in the center of this massive hollowed out part of the cave.

Grunting, rasping and all manner of disturbing sounds grew louder behind us. The ghouls had nearly caught up with us.

“Over there! Move it, quick!” IronClaw shouted and only then I noticed that he was flying above the chasm, as high as the cave ceiling would allow.

The griffin was pointing to our right where the ledge extended and circled around the strange city.

Not wasting any time we galloped as fast as we could following the ledge, looking back I saw the first ghouls that had made it to where we had been standing only to blindly continue forward and fall into the abyss. Unfortunately the others quickly realized where we were and dashed wildly at us, still a few got pushed over the side.

At one point Shrapnel stopped and turned around to fire her grenades again. It was almost like firing at a solid wall. It was effective, the ghouls that took the brunt of the blast were torn apart, but they shielded those behind them. There were simply too many, so we kept running while IronClaw covered us from the air, picking off any that got too close. I had no idea how we’re supposed to escape them.

“Head for the bridge!” IronClaw shouted. Ahead, said bridge was coming into sight, it seemed miles and miles away.

My heart was drumming in my chest begging for me to stop, my dry mouth burned as I gasped for air. If I stopped now I know I’d collapse and that would be the end of it, part of me just wanted to jump over the ledge; it has to be less painful than being torn apart. ‘Almost there, just have to cross the bridge.’ I repeated over and over to myself as I panted.

Cog was the first to reach it. It was an old wooden thing, thick ropes and planks. It looked sturdy, but how old was it? It could be all rotted through.

I galloped right behind Cog and our steps echoed loudly as hooves met planks. It wobbled and swayed slightly, I just prayed to Celestia and Luna for it to hold. Cog cleared it and tumbled to the ground at the other side. For a moment I was airborne when the planks dropped away under my hooves only to come back up and slam hard against them. Nearly tripping, I somehow managed to keep my balance. That was no doubt Shrapnel galloping now on the bridge.

The world swayed from left to right and the planks beneath my hooves shook dangerously. At the other side Cog was looking at us and waving for us to hurry. I jumped the last few planks and my hooves gave out when they touched dirt.

“SAW!” Cog shouted at the top of his lungs.

Turning my head around I saw Shrapnel tumble and skid a fair distance past Cog and myself, but looking directly behind I only caught a glimpse of IronClaw as he dived into the abyss as well as few ghouls which tumbled over the edge.

I lay there with Cog and Shrapnel by my side unmoving as we stared on in silence, the only sounds that could be heard were angry unnatural groans and hissing from the ghouls on the other side of the chasm.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Light Step – Your hooffals are so light that you no longer set off floor traps or mines! Those around you still do so pay attention in close quarters.