Perhaps "village" did not do Sumaj justice. It was more of a town, with homes packed close to one another, protected by a wall that was higher than most trees. Windows of flat-roofed houses could be seen above them. Some still glowed with a yellow light. Instead of expanding outside the wall, they had elected to build newer structures on top of the old. There were two entrances that I could see. One from the south and one from the north, where a road seemed to go through the village.

The south entrance, had been made out of wood, barely shorter than the walls themselves, Two guards were positioned above it on either side of the gate. One of the guards wore leather armor with steel plates protecting his vitals, and the other had plates made from chitin. The custom tailored equipment made it apparent to me that they were not Remnant, but the question still remained as to how I would get inside.

Relying on the invisibility that my cloak offered I moved closer to the gate. The walls are too smooth to climb over and-

“Halt! State your business!” The guard yelled from atop of the gate. I froze, shocked that I had been seen. Moving slowly, gripping my rifle with magic, I moved my hoof to pull the hood down. Easy, I'll just explain that I was-

“We’re tribesponies! Of the Free Tribes! We come to trade!” A pony yelled in front of the gate. Behind her was a bighorn laden with supplies. Two other ponies were standing beside it and one zebra.

“Alright. Open the gate! We’ve got traders coming in!” There was a loud groan, and a creak as the gate opened for it's new arrivals. I could see the lights, from several of the buildings, and began to sneak forward, intent on getting inside before they closed the gate.

“You there! Remnant! Stop! You may enter, but we’ll have no trouble in Sumaj!” I looked up to the guards pointing their weapons at me. They had spoken in Zebra, but how could they see me? I looked down at myself. My cloak! I must have brushed my hoof against the gem when I went to take my hood down and turned off the invisibility spell. But they think I’m Remnant, and are allowing me to enter regardless?

“Very well! I don’t intend to cause problems!” I shouted back in zebra. Cold and stoic, that’s how the Remnant respond. He nodded in agreement, and I made for the gate.

Inside I took notice of two more Zebra guardsmen. One of them was searching trough the packs of the bighorn, the other zebra was hard at work, disarming the ponies that had entered earlier. When the guardsman was done he handed them a shiny token in return.

“You’re going to have to give me your weapons. You’ll get them back when you leave.” A guardsman approached me, and I lowered my head so that my horn wouldn’t draw attention as it poked from beneath my hood.

Tight security. Well they can’t take away my magic. My rifle and pistol were taken, placed inside a metal box, and locked. There were many other similar boxes next to it.

The guard gave me a metal token. “Just show this at the gate when you leave and we’ll give you your guns back. There are a few of your buddies around. You’ll find them at the magister’s. The big house to the right, you can’t miss it.”

I inclined my head and went for the general direction he pointed to. Ponies and the zebra that entered earlyer were giving me chilly looks as I went by.

No love for the Remnant I see.

“Wow…” The town looked even bigger on the inside. There must have been at least twenty houses, big ones, most had three stories. True enough, there was a four story house to the right which stood a little apart from the rest. If the Remnant are staying there, I certainly won’t be. I turned left to what appeared to be the local watering hole.

Light shone through the windows, and I could hear the clamor of voices inside. I took a deep breath and went in.

A silence fell and heads turned my way. Ok I’m still wearing my cloak they can’t see my horn. There seemed to be a light fog in the room, and it smelled awful. A lot of zebras had these smoking sticks in their mouths, they were probably the cause of the stinking mist that hung in the room. Some were playing cards, and on a peculiar table near the corner, four zebras appeared to be poking colorful balls with sticks. The object of the game appeared to be making them collide with one another. Some fell into holes in the corners of the table. All eyes seemed to follow me as I went to sit at the counter.

“So. What would you like?” Asked the zebra bartender, while he put away some small shot glasses he had been cleaning.

“What do you have?” I asked.

“Well we’ve got beer, whiskey, scotch, Sparkle-Cola… If you’re hungry we’ve got dog meat, rat meat…” Meat!? I think I’m going to be sick!

“Just… a Sparkle-Cola.” I said before he could finished listing his gruesome menu.

"Ten caps." The bartender pushed the bottle to me, and took the caps. Now, Zebras have remarkably dexterous hooves, like earth ponies. I went trough the motions, but had to use magic for a better grip, but I made it look like I was only using my hooves.

Around me zebras started talking again, and the room was slowly being filled with the din of conversation, clinking of glasses and the rolling and collision of those colorful balls.

I sat and sipped my drink. I’ve made it. Sumaj. Now what do I do? I need to resupply. Well it’s late now, maybe in the morning I could find something to do? Speaking of which. I waved my hoof to get the bartenders attention.

“Do you have any rooms available?”

“Umm… yes. But don’t you usually stay at the magister’s…” The innkeeper zebra gave me a confused look. Yea, that’s not happening.

“Well tonight I would like to stay here. Is there a problem?” I filled my voice with every ounce of cold, arrogance I could muster while praying for him not to call my bluff.

“What…?! Of course not! It’s 30 caps for the night.” The innkeeper's face grew paler than the white stripes on his coat. I presented the caps, and he gave me the key to my room with no further questions.

There was still Cola left in my bottle, and I wasn’t in a hurry, so I continued to sip it slowly. Taking my time to enjoy the lukewarm yet sweet, carroty taste.

“Hey, Remnant.” I heard somepony say quietly. A zebra sat to my left, resting both his hooves casually on the counter. He hadn't touched his glass, which was filled with an amber colored liquid.

“What do you want?” I asked, turning my head a little and looking at him from beneath my hood.

“I might have some information that could be of interest to you.” The zebra informant whispered to me quietly while scratching his chin. Information, for the Remnant? Definitely worth looking into.

"Really?" I made an effort to seem disinterested, while taking note of my informant not drinking from his glass.

“There are ponies in this town.” Well that was useful. I know there are ponies in town, I’ve seen them enter.

"I already know that, you waste my time." I drank more from my Sparkle-Cola, and watched as my informant nodded.

“But did you also know that there are unicorns as well?” Picking trough my memories, I could recall those three ponies from before. All of them Earth-ponies. He had my attention now.

“And how do you know this?”

My informant smiled, not looking up from his glass. "There are ten of them, four Unicorns, at the least. I saw them come in not two days ago during the night. Doran. The local shop owner was there too. They all entered his home. It’s obvious he plans to sell them. And since he hasn’t contacted you yet he must mean to sell them to the Separatists.”

“What do you expect me to do about it? And why tell me?” Sumaj was established by the Free Tribes. They try and remain neutral. If either the Remnant or Separatists want to trade with them, then they have to obey laws established by the Free Tribes. Unfortunately for them, no slavery is one of those laws. But if one of Sumaj’s own was a slaver? I had to help those ponies.

“Well nothing right now. But he must move them, and soon. Feeding that many mouths can’t be kept hidden for long and once it becomes know the magister will have no choice but to kick them out. News travels fast and the Separatists won’t be far behind. Our magister wouldn’t want Sumaj to become a battleground. If you keep an eye out for Doran. You can catch them outside when they leave, and as to why tell “you”. I prefer dealing with Remnant then the Separatists. You don’t forget those who helped you and you reward loyalty.” My informant downed his drink in one go, and left me to think on his words. How much had Santir been paid for his loyal service to The Remnant?

I can’t allow such a massacre happen again, not if I could stop it. I finished my drink, and headed upstairs to my room. Nothing extravagant, about what I expected. A bathroom, a bed, an old dresser and a chair.

I went to the bathroom first, and was pleasantly surprised to find a working shower. The water was cold, but finally, I could wash away the grime, dirt, and sweat of my travel. I hadn't felt this great in days.

Just to make sure I locked the door and propped a chair against it. At last I was going to sleep in a bed. Sleep didn’t come easy though. I tossed and turned for a good hour before settling in and drifting off sleep.

All around me ponies were dying. They were being shot down by zebras, but no one paid any attention to me. I couldn’t move, only watch. When the killing was done, and the zebras left I was alone, surrounded by corpses.

One rose. It was the mare that had her filly taken from her. She looked at me hole on the side of her head dripping blood.

“Why didn’t you help us?” She asked me. Other ponies started to rise too. Bleeding from their wounds, some missing limbs and eyes. They shambled toward me crying in unison.

“Why didn’t you help us? Why didn’t you save us?” They chanted.

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak! All I wanted to do was get away from their accusing eyes.

“You just watched. And did nothing.” They were coming closer. I started panicking, the world around me was burning and the stars shone in the red sky.

They were getting closer, my limbs wouldn’t move! “No! No!” I screamed in my mind. They were upon me.

I jerked up from the mattress I was lying on. Frantically I reached out with my magic and grabbed the pillow, sending it flying across the room. It took a few moments for me to realize that I was alone in the dimly lit room. Specs of dust appeared as they passed through the beam of light that shone from between the curtains. It was just a another nightmare. Stumbling to the bathroom I almost fell. My hooves were shaking as I tried to splash some water on my face, my magic felt clumsy too.

Back on the bed I closed my eyes and tried to meditate, to calm myself.

Once I could function again, I ate some dried fruit that I still had in my pack. Alright, time to get going. Gathering all my things and putting the cloak on, I moved the chair away from the door and went out.

The main room looked different during the day. There were only two or three zebras present, the smoke that hung heavily last night was gone now. They still regarded me warily when I came down to return the key.

Sumaj looked different too by daylight. The houses were made from ether wood or brown stone and the streets had a few zebras going about their business. They gave me a wide berth as I passed them by. There was a zebra mare standing next to a food cart in front of one of the houses. She wasn’t selling any meat, so I went straight to her.

“H-hello. What can I do for you?” She gave me a nervous smile.

“Do you have anything that doesn’t spoil easily? Provisions for the road?”

“Oh yes! I’ve got plenty of dry fruit and vegetables and some preserved boxed food too.” She pointed at her stall. Some of the food I recognized came from the jungle. They were probably a few days old but well preserved. What drew my attention were the boxes that had “Cram”, “Sugar Apple Bombs” and “InstaMash” on them. I bought a box of Sugar Apple Bombs, some dry fruit and I was lucky enough to find some plants that I can turn into a healing salve.
I paid her and went to do some more exploring.

I was between houses when I spotted two cloaked figures walking towards me.
Remnant! I can’t let them see me. The cloak might fool the locals, but I was done for if they ever asked me anything, or got a good look at me. I turned for the alley between the houses. And tapped the gem at my neck.

“What the…” Something was wrong. My cloak didn’t seem to work properly. Only patches of me were invisible. Those few patches of invisibility were running across the entire cloak as if trying to cover everything by themselves. Great! Just what I needed! Why now?! I looked around the alley and spotted a door to one of the houses. What have I got to lose? I opened the door and went inside.

It was dark inside. And hot. I was in a small room that had shovels and pickaxes hooked on the walls. I went through another door, and a wave of heat hit my face. There was a furnace with two zebras wearing goggles rhythmically shoveling coal into it. Steam was hissing from a few holes in the pipes and the clang of metal could be heard now. This must be the generator for the town’s electricity.

“What in blazes are you doing here?” Shouted a zebra. He had the same black goggles, he was so dirty from the coal that the white of his coat could barely be seen, he was almost completely black.

“Umm… Just looking around.” I offered lamely. The clamor around us seemed to quiet down a little, more Zebra stopped what they were doing to look at me.

“Well as you can see we’re just working. There is no reason for you to be here.” He said rather hotly but seemed to shrink away when I moved further in. Those Remnant could still be outside.

Okay, if I was a real Remnant operative, what would I be doing in here? Inspection.

“I have to make sure. You can tell the rest to continue as they were.” He looked ready to protest but then gave in. The repair-zebra nodded to his companions, and they slowly returned to their jobs.

“Follow me. I’ll show you around.” The zebra grumbled with annoyance, and so my tour of the facility began.

Like most zebra tech, this facility used steam to provide the machines with power, the land around us is rich in coal, and below Sumaj lies an underground stream. They can easily pump water from it, and there is enough to satisfy all their needs. This makes it a perfect place for traders. They sell their wares here, rest, refill their canteens and move on.

There even was a small coal mine right under the building, a few floors down. The zebra foreman convinced me that only miners went down there and that it could get quite unpleasant. I believed him and actually didn’t feel like going down into the hot, cramped tunnels where it was difficult to breathe. Especially since I was just pretending to be Remnant, and wasn’t really looking for anything.

A good half hour wasted, I exited the facility, (through the front door this time), and sure enough there weren’t any Remnant ready to descend on me.

After a few more minutes of exploring I found the store that zebra had mentioned. It wasn’t easy, all the buildings looked the same.

When I entered I was treated to a sight of a zebra balancing on a chair, trying to put some boxes on the highest shelf.

I coughed and cleared my throat to get the zebras attention. His head whipped to my direction, and he almost fell swaying to and fro.

“Oh! Yes! What can I do for you?” He asked while clumsily getting down from the chair.

“Are you Doran by any chance?”

“Y-yes I am. I’m sorry have we met?” He asked, nervously rubbing his left hoof against the right one.

“I was told you sell ammunition. Why are you nervous?” Have to play this carefully. That zebra could have lied to me.

“Yes, yes I do! I’m not nervous just… um excited! I don’t usually get costumers from the Remnant. Not that there is anything wrong with you choosing to shop here.” Well he’s obviously hiding something, but I can’t tell if it’s just because he thinks I’m Remnant, or because he thinks I’m Remnant AND he’s hiding ponies.

“Do you have any 10mm and 5.56mm rounds?” There weren’t any guns in the shop, but there was an extensive assortment of ammo and gems.

“Yes I have.” He trotted up to one box and started sifting through it. I used the opportunity to look around a bit. His store had a staircase at the back, probably leading to the upper floor and another door beside it. So I casually went to stand by the staircase and tried to peer up. There was a door at the end, there was nothing more to see.

“Here we are.” Doran said as he placed a few boxes of pistol and rifle ammo. He looked up at me waiting.

“How about extra magazines for a pistol and rifle?” I asked while sifting through the ammo he brought me. If I’m caught in a firefight, being able to quickly change to a fresh magazine when I run out would be nice.

“I’ll go have a look.” Doran went scurrying to some other boxes.

The door beside the staircase was open. I could see a dark line between the wood of the door and the frame. Gently pushing it with a hoof, and praying to Celestia and Luna that the hinges were oiled. I slowly opened the door. Nothing but darkness.

Doran was still rummaging through his boxes, so I took a few steps down. This door led to a basement. If what that zebra from the bar had told me was true, then Doran had to be keeping them down here, and sure enough I heard faint voices from the darkness, sobbing even.

I sent my magic to a light switch. A single bulb came to life and it illuminated a small room at the bottom of the stairs. The room was filled with haphazardly placed boxes. The crying was coming from behind three larger boxes stacked one on top of the other. I reached out with my magic and moved them one by one. They were empty and I had no trouble setting them aside, but what remained in their place was a door.

As I pushed open the door, and the light from the bulb seeped into this hidden room, and I could make out.. At least a dozen pony shapes. Most were mares, but I could also make out smaller foals: fillies and colts, a few unicorns as well. They were shivering, huddling close together, shying from the light. They looked up at me, faces wet from tears and eyes full of fear.

My mind returned to the burned caravan, and the bodies I had found in the savannah. Had they cried? Had they begged? Eyes filled with terror as The Remnant gunned them down? I won’t allow a massacre like that to happen again!

Feeling something push against my shoulder, I reacted quickly. I was not going to stand idly by this time. I moved my right hoof back and up in a half circle. A striped hoof was on my right shoulder, and my own hoof was on the joint of the zebras. It was Doran. Pushing down with my hoof on his shoulder joint, and lifting up his hoof with my shoulder I forced his face to the ground. I could easily dislocate his hoof now. I continued to push down. He started grunting and tried to get up. I waited a moment then instead of pushing down I pulled him up and sent my left hoof to his face. He stumbled back, muzzle bleeding. He grabbed one of the smaller boxes and threw it at me. It was heavier than it looked, but I managed to deflect it with my magic. Before he could throw anything else my way, I pinned him to the wall, and sent a hoof to his stomach. He gasped, having the air knocked out of him and started to flail his hooves trying to hit me and only managing to pull my hood down. I could see his pupils widening with surprise.

“Not what you expected? I won’t let you hurt anypony ever again.” I hissed through gritted teeth. As I continued to push him against the wall. He sputtered.

“No… Le… Don’t…” I felt something on the back of my head, and then the world went dark.

“Ughhh…” My head was throbbing in sink with my heartbeat. Wha…what happened? Thoughts flew through my head without rhyme or reason. I was… Am at Sujam. There was a store… and a zebra… ponies? Ponies were in trouble, I was trying to save them! I lurched up and promptly got dizzy and fell again.

“Wow. You really hit him hard.”

“I said I didn’t know! I panicked!”

There were some ponies talking. About… me? I slowly opened my eyes. The light hurt and everything was blurry.

“Shhh… he’s coming to. Don’t shout.” Said the male speaker.

Both ponies were a blur, but after some blinking my vision started to clear. No. Not ponies. Zebras! I need to…

“Easy there, we’re not enemies.” Said the zebra with a bloody rag stuffed up his nose.

“Doran?”

“See he remembers. And you were worried about brain damage.” Said the other speaker, who I saw was a zebra mare.

“Well you had almost broken the bat with that swing.” Doran continued. I rose to my hooves.

“Not enemies. Then what were those ponies doing cramped in that basement? Having a tea party?” I was angry now. Some of the ponies I had seen were injured, and they were all scared out of their minds.

“Now, now… I know what it must look like but I’m actually trying to help them.” Doran raised his own hooves defensively, but when I didn't say anything nor make a move to hit him again he continued.

“First. This is my sister Lenya. The one that knocked you out.” He pointed to her with a hoof. She was scratching the back of her head with one hoof and blushed.

“Sorry about the whole, knocking you unconscious thing. You were beating my brother senseless, and I thought you were Remnant.” She offered.

"I know what you probably thought, but I'm not a slaver, and if I were you'd be dead by now. I didn't even disarm you, or take your stuff. Those ponies down there, they were just hiding. Hiding from you, and they where scared too. Because of you." He pointed a hoof at me. “When my sister saw you from the window she told me the Remnant was coming. You can’t really blame her, what with that cloak and all… anyway the ponies hid and I pretended to go about my business. I was really scared that we’ve been discovered. You see those poor ponies managed to escape a raid by the Separatists a week or so back. They needed a place to lay low. They were hurt and hungry, I had to take them in.”

“Why would you help ponies?” This was… unexpected.

“This might be hard to believe, but some of us actually want things to return to the way things were. Before the bombs, and the war. Back to the way of peace, when there was no slavery.” Doran was either an unusually skilled liar, or he actually believed that things could go back to the way they were. I just wanted to help ponies and zebras. The good ones at least. But I never considered restoring the world back to the way it was. It’s impossible. Isn’t it?

“Let’s say I believe you. What were you planning to do with the ponies?” Today just keeps getting weirder and weirder. But I’m willing to give them the benefit of a doubt.

“We planned on moving them out tomorrow night.” Lenya cut in “We convinced a couple of friends to take them south. Where there are other tribes who will take them in. I thought we were done for when you came along, but now we still have a chance.”

“You were discovered. I met a zebra at the bar yesterday, and he pointed me here saying you harbored ponies, and planned to sell them to the Separatists.”

“Who? Do you know his name? What did he look like?” Doran leaned closer.

“He didn’t introduce himself. Umm… brown eyes, quiet, shifty looking, striped…” I didn’t pay much attention to what he looked like.

“Would you be able to recognize him if you saw him again?” Lenya asked.

“Yes I think so.”

“Good. Then I’ll go with you. We’ll walk around Sumaj for a while, you just point him out for me, and then my brother and I will keep him quiet. At least until the ponies have safely left.” Lenya rose impatient to get under way.

“Come you should meet the other ponies. They are quite curious to meet this unicorn that fights like a demon and wears Remnant clothing.” Doran said as he went to the stairs. We were on the first floor I realized.

“Wait! You didn’t tell us your name?” Lenya asked while looking through a drawer.

“It’s Mist.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Mist.” She said shaking my hoof. “And here is your cloak. There was a little bit of Doran’s blood on it, but I got it out.” Lenya said tossing me the cloak, which I snatched and clasped it around my neck.

“I only wish the darn thing still worked.”

“What do you mean?” Doran asked from the stairs raising an eyebrow.

“I mean this.” I touched the gem, and the invisibility spell began swirling, revealing patches of fabric rather than conceal the whole cloak.

“Oh that. That’s normal.” It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. ”It’s not malfunctioning. Our magister knows something about magic. He placed spells inside the city walls. They interfere with your cloaks magic. Once you’re out side it will work properly again.”

Umm… Ok…

“Why would the guards let you keep it and only take your guns? If the Remnant could turn invisible inside these walls, a single squad of their well trained soldiers would have wiped us out. We would be dead before we even knew what was happening.” Lenya helpfully put in. Hey! Cut me some slack I’ve been through a lot lately. Not to mention the blow to the head…

The ponies down stairs went silent when we came down. They weren’t approaching me, but the look of fear had been replaced by one of curiosity. The fillies and colts were braver than the rest, and they were the first to come to me.

“Are you Remnant? I’ve never seen a pony Remnant before, so you must be the good Remnant right?” Asked the filly who appeared to be the leader of the group. Flanking her was a unicorn colt and three unicorn fillies and another earth colt. The ringleader herself was an earth pony with an orange mane and light purple coat.

“No I’m not with the Remnant I’m a pony like you. The clothes were a gift from… a friend.”

The next hours were spent with Lenya, helping the other ponies with cuts, bruises, and making sure they ate. The young ones were particularly delighted when I gave them my box of Sugar Apple Bombs. I swear, I blinked and it was empty. We also talked, and I'd learned how these ponies had been attacked. How they had fled, and reached Sumaj. Doran talked to the older ponies, explaining where he was sending them, and who to turn to after leaving Sumaj.

“Alright! Let’s go find this mystery zebra. Come on lets go.” Lenya said tapping me with a hoof.

“Good luck. And be careful.” Doran added after us as we left.

The sun was going down. Lights were being turned on in some of the homes around us.

“We should check the bar first, that’s where he found me.” If we are lucky, he would be there again.

“Sooo… where are you from?”

“Huh? From Navarost. A village to the east.” Why was this important all of a sudden?

“They taught you how to fight and gave you that armor and cloak?” She looked at me like I had just said the sky was pink.

“No. I was thought by an… Ex-Remnant.” Okay I know how strange that sounds.

“Uh huh. And this friend of yours… he gave you his stuff… why?” What? Does she think I killed a Remnant then just put on their clothes for the fun of it?

“Actually it was a she. She… helped me when… I lost ponies I cared about.” That night… I honestly didn’t want to think about it again. Luckily she must have sensed it and didn’t press me further.

We walked for a few minutes talking about the weather and other trivial things. She waited outside while I went in to the bar to look around. If I spot the zebra, I would try to lure him out. It would have been suspicious, if Lenya was seen walking around with Remnant all day long.

“Nope. Not in there.” I said as I exited.

We walked around some more, and finally I spotted him going into a house. I pointed with my head, and nudged Lenya forward.

“Tellen. Are you sure it’s him?” I nodded.

“Positive I remember his face. Who is he?”

“Just a zebra, really nothing special. He’s the quiet sort. I’ve sometimes seen him talking with Santir.” Santir!

“What do you know about Santir!” I demanded maybe a bit too roughly. She shied away from me.

“Whoa! Relax. Santir was just a hunter. He left town a few days ago with his wife Zera. What’s got you so upset?”

“I’ve met him. And Celestia forgive me, I helped him.” I told Lenya everything. How I found Santir and his wife. How I helped them. I also told her about the bodies, the mare and her filly and what I overheard. She listened taking it all in her mouth slightly opened.

“I… I didn’t know… And you…” She couldn’t finish. She looked down at her hooves. I could see tears landing on the dry ground.

Great. Now I feel guilty for making her cry.

“Look. We can’t change what happened, but we can stop it from happening again.” I offered. She nodded wiping her tears away with a hoof.

“You’re right. I’m okay, let’s go.” She wasn’t alright. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with her and I shouldn’t have gone into details of what I saw. She had no part in the massacre, so why did I want to make her feel what I felt? I guess misery really does like company.

Lenya knew where Tellen lived, so we went to his house.

His door was locked. I knocked a few times and waited. Tellen opened his door a little and peeked through. He saw me and started pulling the door open, but when he saw Lenya he tried slamming it shut. I managed to stick my hoof and stop it from closing. He tried pushing but when he realized he couldn’t get it to close he gave up and ran. Slamming the door open I went after him with Lenya following close behind.

Tellen ran up the stairs, and I heard a door slam. We ran after him. The door wasn’t locked, I went in and found myself in a hallway with two doors on either side. I went for the first one to my right. The room had a desk, and a lot of papers on it and a few books. The door creaked, and I heard Lenya yell. Tellen rushed out from behind the door and pinned Lenya against the wall. He looked at me then bolted back out into the hall, leaving Lenya on the floor gasping for air. I rushed to her side.

*cough* “Hnnghh… I’m… ok… just got the wind knocked out of me. Go… catch him! She wheezed. I nodded and went after him. The furthest door to the left was open. I entered cautiously and found wooden steps that lead to an open door in the ceiling.

I was on the roof now. Looking around I spotted him, as he leapt to the roof of a nearby house. The houses were packed so close together that the gap was only the length of two maybe three ponies. Running after him, a quick prayer was sent, wishing that the guards would not look up.

Now I got you! Up ahead was the magister’s house. The only one that didn’t have a flat roof, and it was too far away to jump across. Tellen seemed to think so too. He stopped turned back and started coming to me. I slowed down. Good, now if he doesn’t come peacefully I’ll just knock him… What is he doing? He took a few steps towards me then turned back again and galloped at full speed. He couldn’t possibly be thinking of jumping? I started running again, but it was too late he was already in the air. I watched my mouth hanging open.

His forehooves touched the edge of the roof, but as the rest of his body slammed into the house he lost his grip and fell.

I watched as he hit the hard ground, head first. Even from up here I could hear the snapping of bones. Tellen was dead. His head twisted in an unnatural angle. A zebra screamed and soon more were crowding around the body.

I better head back before somepony sees me. Lenya was waiting for me on the roof of Tellen’s house.

“What happened? Did Tellen escape?” She asked worriedly.

“No. He didn’t escape. He fell and broke his neck.” She gave me a wary look.

“He just… fell…?” She gave me a wary look.

“Yes! He thought he could make the jump, but he couldn’t and he fell. I didn’t push him off the roof if that was what you were thinking.”

“Right. Let’s get out of here.”

Back at Doran's shop, all the lights were out. Lenya turned them on, and we looked around only to find nothing. The shop was completely empty.

“Helloooo! Doran are you in here!” Lenya shouted and we both jumped out of our skins when a box went flying. Revealing in its place a little filly with an orange mane. She seemed quite pleased with scaring the daylights out of us.

“Raspberry Blaze! What do you think you’re doing!” Lenya asked annoyed.

“Where are the others?” I asked after my heart went back to its normal rhythm.

“They’re down in the basement. Here, Doran left you a message.” Raspberry explained giving me a piece of paper.

“And he left you all alone to give it to us? Why didn’t one of the older ponies do it? I’m going to have a serious discussion with my brother.”

“I wasn’t scared! And I’m the quietest and sneakiest of them all.” Raspberry said puffing up. Lenya just shook her head.

“Mist what does the note say?”

“It says that two Remnant were seen leaving Sumaj and that he went to the “Lonely Stripe” to ask around and make sure. He also says that we should meet him there. If the Remnant had really left, then tonight would be the perfect opportunity to move the ponies. He also says that some mercenaries have come into town recently and that we should be careful.” I finished looking over the paper. “The Lonely Stripe? That’s the bar right?” Lenya nodded.

“Raspberry, lock the door and don’t open it for anyone except Doran, Mist, or me. And tell the others to start packing their things. You might all be leaving tonight.” She nodded as we turned to leave.

We went to the bar as fast as possible. And when we reached it something didn’t feel right.

“Come on Mist! What’s wrong?” Lenya asked annoyed.

“Do you hear that?” I asked, while perking my ears up.

“Hear what?”

“Exactly. When I first came here I could hear zebras talking. It was noisy, and now it’s quiet but the lights are still on.” I pointed out. Her ears moved as she listened.

“Maybe there are fewer guests tonight. Let’s just go in.”

“I’m going in first.” I said pushing past her.

Doran’s muzzle was bleeding again. There were a couple of zebras in the bar, but they just silently watched as a one of them in a blue cloak was cleaning the blood from his hoof. Damn it.

“Oh no…” Exclaimed the bartender when he saw me. The Remnant turned his head towards me.

“You. I don’t know you. What unit are you with? Show me your face.” When I didn't obey his command, the Zebra had his suspicions confirmed.

“You’re the imposter! A pony pretending to be one of us!” I heard zebras gasp around me. We were circling one another now. He was sizing me up.

“That cloak and uniform have to be earned.” He said as he rushed at me.

He stopped just a few steps away from me leaning and turning on his front hooves and sending his back hooves to my face. I managed to duck and escape the blow. He was already standing on his rear hooves and jabbing me in the face with his front. But I took the stance as well and deflected his blows. He seemed surprised by this, I took the opportunity to buck him with one hoof in the stomach. I hit him but he just rolled away with it.

“Impressive perhaps you are not as unworthy as I thought.”

“You’re pretty chatty. Worried?” I asked. He just smiled. I didn’t like that smile.

“I wasn’t expecting a pony to be trained in our fighting style, but now you have my full attention.” He finished and attacked me again. Damn it! What was I thinking? I don’t know the full set of moves, and I don’t have their stamina or strength. I was dodging now. Desperately trying to deflect his blows. Each one felt like it came from a hammer.
Sometime during the fight my hood went down, and I could hear voices in the background.

“Any takers?” I heard one voice ask.

“Fifty caps on the unicorn!” Another said.

“Are you crazy!? Here, fifty on the Remnant!”

“Anyone else? Boss?” asked the first voice.

The remnant made a feint to the side and brought a hoof to my stomach. Damn it! I couldn’t breathe, and I knew what was coming next. Bent down the way I was I knew he was going to bring the tip of his other hoof to the back of my neck.

“Easiest caps I ever made!”

“Don’t be so sure Saw it’s not over yet. Come on! Get up!”

I did the only thing possible. I pulled my head backwards, and his hoof collided with the back of my head instead of my spine. I must have lost consciousness for a moment and thank Luna I wasn’t knocked out.

I rose and lunged clumsily at him. He grabbed my hoof, heaved me across his back, and sent me flying. I remember landing on a surface and hearing a snap. Dear Celestia please don’t let that be what I think it is.

I heard the Remnant curse. I looked around I was spread out on a table. It broke when I landed on it. The colorful balls rolled around me, and onto the floor, one of those sticks used to hit the colored balls lay broken besides me.

Lenya had jumped the Remnant and was pulling his hood over his head. He managed to throw her off. I picked up one of the balls with my magic and threw it at him. He knocked it away with a hoof and charged towards me. I picked up the broken stick with my magic and stood up. I swung it from my left. He ducked. I swung from the right, and this time he didn’t duck but rather leaned away. I rushed at him with my right shoulder. He raised his hooves to push me away, but I brought up the broken stick with my magic and jammed it into his right shoulder. He hissed gritting his teeth and I saw his left hoof going to my face.

I must have blacked out. I was on the ground, and there was a coppery taste in my mouth. When I looked up the Remnant was glaring daggers at me. He had walked back into a table and was leaning on it. The piece of wood still in his shoulder and blood was running down his right hoof. He stumbled towards me on his hind hooves, his lips pealed back into a snarl, rage burning in his eyes. I tried getting up, and pain jabbed at me from my left side. A lingering burning pain that made the room violently shake as I continued rising. Drawing breath was agony.

“I’ve seen enough.” Said a gruff voice I haven’t heard yet.

A shadow appeared behind the remnant much taller than he was, but he didn’t notice it. He only saw me. Three sharp metal digits that were attached to a leathery claw grabbed the lower jaw of the Remnant and the other claw grabbed the back of his head. He raised his left hoof to try, and defend himself but the claws gave a sharp twist. There was a snap and his body fell limply to the ground, his eyes still open and peering at me.

“How would you like to join us? We could use a pony like you.” The gruff voice asked. All I could do was stare wide eyed at the speaker, blood dripping from my lip and nose.

Footnote: Level Up.

New Perk: Iron Hoof – Long hours of practice, bucking and punching trees paid off. As a result your hooves are stronger, tougher and they inflict more damage. Permanent +20% damage in Hoof to Hoof Combat.

Additional Perk gained: Scoundrel – You sure have a way with words. You know how ponies think and therefor have an easier time convincing them to your way of thinking. Whether it’s convincing others, bluffing, or haggling, your chance of success has been permanently increased by 10%.

(Thank you Kkat for making such an awesome story and world in which other ponies like myself can play and let loose our imagination. Somber deserves thanks as well. For proving that side-stories can be just as amazing and unforgettable as the original. Special thanks to Damhoof, Mentidabrony and Isphone for helping me edit and sort out the convoluted mess I've made out of Mist's story. Thanks also go to DamnfoolBrony for working his magic and helping me set up the perks. Oh and very special thanks to Lauren Faust!)