We are back in the savannah, amongst the tall grass again. Looking back I could still see the mountains we climbed down from. IronClaw went ahead of us, seemingly deep in thought. Shrapnel was talking animatedly with Saw while Cog added a quick quip here and there. I looked up at the sky. A nice and clear day, well almost, there was the occasional cloud here and there. I felt relaxed and my thoughts began to wander.

Will Azar take Darmas as an apprentice? I don’t know if he already has one, and couldn’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t introduce us. All I know is that Darmas was practically bouncing with joy over the prospect of having so many books to read. Perhaps one day I will visit Massif again.

“Hey Mist. You never told us what happened while you were with Azar?”

“Hmm?” Cog’s question brought my head back from the clouds. “We talked. You know, shaman stuff.” He wasn’t satisfied. “He knew the zebra I studied under.”

“Can’t imagine she’s thrilled that you joined the mercenaries, and how did you end up with her anyway?”

“She saved my life after my parents died.” Cog looked uncomfortable then cleared his throat.

“Well her lessons must have been pretty boring to make you leave.”

“She died from the taint. There was no reason for me to stay, and I guess I needed to go away for a while.” My answer completely killed the curiosity in Cog.

He found a sudden interest in his hooves, I also noticed that IronClaw was giving me a sidelong glance, but said nothing. I thought back to the day Zaeryl passed. Holding her cold, lifeless body. Something connected with my shoulder, and I winced. It was Saw.

“Ow.” I rubbed my shoulder and gave her a confused look.

“That’s for telling Cog about my past.” She said flatly. Great. I can only imagine what stupid things he said to her. I swallowed.

“What did he do?” I turned to look for the green buck only to find him talking with Shrapnel.

“He gave me a whiskey and apologized.” Why did I tell him? I should have… Wait. What?

“He apologized and gave you a whiskey?” She nodded. “Then why are you angry with me?”

“You fucked up our dynamic!” Your what? I raised an eyebrow and gave her my best ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ look.

“He apologized and bought me a whiskey. How am I supposed to make fun of him now?”

“Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll be at each other’s throats again in no time.” She huffed, irritated at having her favorite pastime postponed. I could hear Cog and Shrapnel talking behind us.

“How was I supposed to know? It’s not like he talks about that stuff. I don’t blame him though. If I was in his hooves I would probably try to forget and leave all the crap behind me.” Cog was telling Shrapnel in a whisper, but not quiet enough to prevent being overheard.

“Speaking of which. How long is your ceasefire going to last?” I turned my attention back to Saw. She grinned.

“Until I finish the bottle.” She pulled out a half empty bottle of whiskey.

“So until tomorrow?” She didn’t answer, just snickered.

Right. Well I hope IronClaw enjoyed the peace while it lasted. Saw appeared to be in a good mood, so I decided to get some answers. The reason behind her hatred of zebras for instance.

“Saw, you don’t like zebras do you? Why?” She gave me an incredulous look. “I mean you were particularly hostile to Darmas.” Saw sighed.

“Yeah you were right about him. He’s just an idiot. The rest though. I don’t like the way they treat ponies.”

“Because your daughter-“

“It’s not just because of her! You of all ponies should understand. They hate us! You were a slave too.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off with a hoof. “Yeah I know not all of them are shits that deserve a bullet between the eyes. The one that saved your life and Darmas for instance, but I’m not seeing the rest giving much of a damn.”

What about in Equestria? I wonder how the zebras fared there so I asked her.

“The only zebras in Equestria are those that want to kill ponies. I’ve yet to meet one that tries to make an honest living.” She scoffed. “Honestly they are scared of us, and they envy us too. A bad combination.”

“Envy us?” That was hard to believe. We are all in the same mess.

“Fuck yes! We were winning the war! Until they blew everything to hell with those fucking megaspells.” She took a swig from the bottle and stared at the ground in front of her. A pregnant pause ensued, broken only when Shrapnel approached with Cog following close behind.

“Ummm guys. Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead Shrapnel.”

“Did you notice the pictures in the temple while we were at Massif?”

“The alicorns on the ceiling? That was Celestia and Luna right?” Cog offered while tapping his chin.

“I don’t think so. There were more than two of them, and they looked different too.” Shrapnel explained to Cog who squinted at the sky before answering.

“Yeah now that you mention it, they did seem different. The hell was I thinking about then?” I looked at Saw as one of her eyes twitched. She brought the bottle back to her lips again and took a mouthful of whiskey. Obviously trying to drown out any retort she had to Cog’s question.

“You don’t think that the zebras somehow knew that the magical radiation would make the alicorns in Equestria?” The armored mare asked.

“The fuck would they paint them for?” Saw said after finally parting from the bottle, Shrapnel shrugged.

“Wait. Magical radiation created the alicorns?” How does that work? Before I could ask Cog stepped in.

“Shrapnel you’re thinking ghouls.” Then he turned to me. “No one really knows anything about them. They just showed up one day.”

“Quiet!” We fell silent at IronClaws command and almost bumped into each other.

“What is it boss?” Cog asked while surveying the surroundings for threats. Shrapnel was also hard at work scanning the area.

“Over there.” IronClaw pointed to off to the distance ahead of us. I couldn’t see anything. Squinting and straining my eyes I tried to see what he was pointing at.

A very thin grey column came into view.

“Is that smoke?” I asked and received a nod from the griffin.

“I’m not sure what it is, but we’ll do things smart this time. Mist you go on ahead and scout out the area. I want no conflict, just assess the situation and report back.” I nodded and started pulling my hood up. “The rest of you just keep going.”

He pulled out his SMG’s and spread his wings. “I’ll go and take a better look of our surroundings from up high.” With that he was off. I tapped the gem at my neck and shimmered out of sight. No doubt Saw, Cog and Shrapnel saw me as I pushed through the grass, but as soon as I moved further away I knew that only IronClaw could see me.

The grass reached up to my neck, which meant I had an unobscured view of the column of smoke that steadily grew in front of me. Occasionally I glanced up trying to spot IronClaw, but he was well out of sight. While I moved ever closer to the source of the smoke, buildings came into sight. Putting my new rifle away, I took out the sniper in order to get a better look at the area.

Six, no seven houses. One is two stories tall, and the smoke appeared to be coming from a few of the smaller homes. I carefully moved the sniper along the perimeter of the village, in case there was movement. No good, I need to get closer.

I started moving to the left, advancing slowly. The street that passed between the houses was in sight now, so I took position and raised my sniper. Before I even got a good look the wind had shifted, and was now blowing at me. It carried the faint smell of burnt flesh with it.

The entire village was covered in a light pale mist that at obscured vision, it was difficult to make out the darker shapes at first, but then I started noticing the bodies in front of the houses. Slowly black and white corpses came into focus, Zebras. They were laying in dark pools, but they weren’t the only victims. I started noticing pastel colored bodies too.

“What the Hell happened here?” I whispered to myself. The sniper trembled in my magical grip, my heart was beating faster. “Just don’t think about it. Just don’t.” I kept telling myself. All too familiar screams of dying ponies echoed in my mind, as memories of the night I lost my parents came surging forth.

I let out a shaky breath and swallowed while desperately trying to find something to distract myself with.

Rifles, pistols, shotguns, all lay close to the bodies. This meant that the fight happened recently. Scavengers had yet to arrive. Most of the windows on the houses were broken, and flames were peeking out. Seemingly trying to follow the smoke that was escaping the confines of the house.

A little calmer now, I closed my eyes and sent a prayer to Celestia and Luna to help me keep it together. I needed to check the bodies to make sure we weren’t walking into an ambush.

Sitting there on my haunches and looking through the scope, I moved the crosshairs slowly from one body to another. They were completely still, none of them drew breath. The others should be here any minute, so I put away the sniper and headed back.

Shrapnel, Cog and Saw were where I expected them, and to my surprise they were taking things seriously. They talked in hushed voices as they moved, and were on full alert for signs of danger.
I knew that Cog’s and Shrapnel’s EFS couldn’t detect me while I was cloaked so I moved closer to them before turning off the invisibility. My sudden appearance was greeted with a yelp of surprise, and I had to duck away from a hoof that belonged to a wary annoyed Saw.

“Mist, you’re back. So what’s the situation?” Cog asked, still grinning a little at Saw.

“There is a village straight ahead. I have no clue what happened, but every zebra and pony there appears to be dead.”

“Who were the zebra? Remnant? Separatist?”

“I didn’t get close enough to check. But it looks safe enough. If there are any survivors they probably left in a hurry.”

Cog raised an eyebrow. “And why do you think that?”

“They left the weapons behind.”

“Sweet, scavenge.” Saw grinned.

“Maybe they were attacked by those bug things or the invisible lizards?” Shrapnel offered.

“The Mallar? I doubt it. They seem to live only in the dessert. You could be right about the shifters though. However the bodies I saw were intact.”

Shrapnel just shrugged, her armor clinking softly. We started moving to the village slowly, our weapons ready.

“When do you suppose boss will come back?” As if on cue the griffin landed in front of us, the wind from his wings tugging at my cloak.

“Hey boss, find anything?” Cog asked.

“No. Nothing. No movement in the area, just corpses in the village. Mist, you find anything?” I shook my head.

“If there is someone still alive then they must be in one of the houses that aren’t burning.”

IronClaw nodded grimly. ”We are going to check it out, keep close and stay alert. Mist, I want you invisible but don’t strey away too far, stay with us.”

I pulled my hood up, and tapped the gem at my neck.

“Ughh. The fuck? This is horrible!” Saw cursed as she wiped her muzzle.

She was right. The whole village was covered in a thin mist that stung the eyes, smelled of burnt flesh and Celestia knows what else. I could taste ash in my mouth. Every now and then I had to snort air out through my nose to keep it from getting clogged, and rub at my itchy muzzle with a hoof.

“Huh, guess this place is called Firth.” Cog said while looking at his PipBuck.

“More like Filth.” Saw spat to the side. “Damn that’s nasty!”

“Is it really that bad?” Shrapnel asked trying to sniff through her helmet.

“Take off that bucket and find out.” Cog offered with a grin.

“Uhhh, no I think I’ll keep it on.”

IronClaw readied his SMG’s and pointed one of them at the two-story house to our right. “Cog, you and Mist go look if anyone is still alive in there. Don’t shoot unless you have to. We need answers. Shrapnel you stay with saw and look over the bodies. See if any of them are still alive.” We nodded and trotted off.

I could feel sweat on my brow. The flames combined with the smoke that hung in the air preserved heat all too well. Cog and I were careful as we stepped over the corpses and approached the house. It looked like most of them died from gunshot wounds, but not all. One zebra had a piece of glass sticking out of his skull, and the head of one pony was completely smashed open. Only half of the skull remained intact, the brains were spilled on the ground. Flies and maggots were already feasting on the carrion.

“This is disgusting.” Cog said next to me. I simply nodded, trying to hold back the contents of my stomach. I’m glad we missed whatever happened here.

A turned over food stall was smoldering to my right. Just in front of the door to the house Cog and I were supposed to search. I moved around it and yelped in surprise when a piece of wood crackled.

“Mist. You alright?” Cog asked weaving between the bodies.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.” Just got the crap scared out of my by a piece of burning wood. I grumbled to myself.

Stepping around the wreckage I noticed another body, and moved in to get a better look. An earth pony mare lay still before me. She was covered in scars and scorch marks. The blood had long since dried and crusted on her coat, mingling with the ash and dirt. Her throat was torn open, while her mouth and eyes remained frozen in a soundless scream. She held something in her forehooves. It was badly burnt, almost charred completely black. “No…” My throat tightened, the magical grip I had on my rifle faltered and the silenced tip hit the ground.

“Mist. Mist! Damn it, what’s wrong?” Cog placed a hoof on my shoulder and shook me. I just looked on, my teeth clenched. Sorrow had coiled itself around my heart. Cog looked at the corpse, confused.

“What is she holding?” He tilted his head. His eyes grew wide when he realized the mare was holding on to a body of a foal that had burned alive.

How could this have happened? The cracked, burnt skin had no other marks on it. The foal was literally cooked alive. I wanted to scream, but couldn’t find my voice. Cog pushed me away until my sided bumped up against the wall of the house. He looked me straight in the eyes, tears beginning to film over them.

“Look Mist. Let’s just. Let’s just go inside.” I nodded weakly. My heart was still beating like crazy.

The wooden door had multiple holes in it and it hung crookedly on its rusty hinges. The knob glowed with the green light of Cogs magic, and then the door fell inwards. Cog and I exchanged looks, raised our weapons and went in.

The air in the room was blissfully cool. Both of us breathed easier, but the smell of death was heavily present. Cog turned on his PipBuck light and I tapped the gem on my chest. We examined the room carefully, our weapons hovering in front of us. The place was filthy. An old overturned table occupied the middle of the room next to a torn up couch. Tiny spears of light came in through the holes on the boarded up windows.

Damaged pictures hung crookedly on the walls. I turned to examine one of them, shining the light from my gem at it. It was an image of zebras frolicking in a field. Somepony had used it for target practice, there were holes where the zebras head and bodies used to be.

“Ughh that’s nasty.” I turned around to see Cog sniffing at the couch.

The thing was in a sorry state, its stuffing peaking out of the many tears. The cushions were soaked in blood, and possibly other bodily fluids that were best not to think about.

I looked up to see Cog going through a door that leads to another room. He had his shot gun raised as he went in. Looking around I spotted an old wardrobe and went to see if there was anything interesting in it. Planting my rump in front of it I levitated out a bobby pin and screwdriver, and went to work.

*gasp!* klanck!

Crap! I snapped the pin and turned to look at the door Cog had just gone through.

“Cog? Are you alright?” No answer. Shit. I got up to my hooves, the wardrobe completely forgotten, and ran to the door.

Cog appeared at the doorway before I could get in. He looked pale. His eyes were open wide yet the pupils were shrunk to pinpricks.

“Cog. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” I looked him over. He didn’t seem hurt.

“No. No I’m fine. Come on, let’s go check the upper floor.”

“What’s wrong? What did you find?” I tried to look over him, but he just moved his head along with mine and blocked me.

“Nothing come on lets go.” Is he serious? I looked him straight in the eyes. I’m really not in the mood for this crap. He didn’t move.

“Fine.” I shoved him back into the room and went in.

“Damn it Mist! Wait!”

I started casting quick glances around. It appeared to be a bathroom. There was a first aid kit on a wall nearby. It was opened, guess Cog got to it or somepony else had before us. There was nothing out of the ordinary in here. Why the Hell wouldn’t he let me come in?

A dirty old toilet, a sink with a broken mirror above it. There was blood on the floor sure, but I’ve seen blood before. Too much, too often to really shake me. One thing drew my attention. The bathtub. The curtains were pulled over it, and while this is unremarkable by itself, I noticed that Cog had left his shotgun beside it. I went over to it, grabbed the edge of the curtain with my magic and pulled it away.

I stared at the bathtub for a moment, my mind not registering the sight before me. But realization came all too soon, and the shock was like a strike from a hammer.

Five bodies. Five little foals, beaten, bloody and dead laid together in a shallow pool of blood in the bathtub.

My heart started beating faster. I felt cold, like all the blood had surged out of my limbs. I kept looking at their faces. Some still held the look of pain and anguish on them. Swollen eyes, from beatings no doubt, cast half lidded empty stares. Necks twisted at unnatural angles. Was that blood? Between the little fillies thighs?

I trembled, hooves giving out from under me. I would have surely fallen in if I hadn’t caught myself on the edge of the bathtub.

“Mist. Shit, let’s just get out of here.” Cog said gently beside me. I wanted to. I really did, but couldn’t tear myself away.

My vision blurred as tears started flowing. I felt my throat tighten as I choked back sobs.
Why? Why would anyone do this? They were just foals. They didn’t do anything to deserve this. Dying in pain and fear.

Something was constricting my heart, and every beat caused it to ache. I wanted it to stop beating so I wouldn’t hurt anymore.

Pushing myself away I almost fell to the floor, but Cog caught me. I couldn’t move so he had to drag me out of the bathroom.

Thoughts raced through my head, trying to find a reason behind this atrocity. Anything, just so that the pain the foals went through wouldn’t be pointless. I found no answer.

“Mist. Look, there is nothing we can do for them now. They’re gone, to a better place. Don’t fall apart on me now.”

We were back in the room we had first gone into. I was sitting with my back against the wall. Cog was holding me propped up with his hooves while looking me straight in the eyes. I looked back not really seeing him.

Despair and sadness slowly gave way to anger. I welcomed it. It gave me the strength to move again.

“Are you going to be okay?” Cog asked with concern. I noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and the fur around his muzzle was ruffled. He had been crying too, but at least he was dealing with it better than me.

“Yeah. I’ll be alright.” I said while nodding, my voice strained.

Rising a bit too fast, I felt light headed and almost plopped back to the floor. Luckily the wall was close. Leaning on it I managed to stay on my hooves. Cog had gone back into the bathroom, and before I could ask him what he was doing, he trotted out levitating his shotgun and closed the door behind him.

Shuffling to the wardrobe I picked up the screwdriver I dropped and looked at the lock.

“Damn it.” Not only did I break the pin, but somehow I managed to get the rest of it jammed inside. There was no way we could pick it open now. My annoyance grew and I thought about shooting the damn lock.

“Just leave it. We have the rest of the house to search and the top floor.” Cog said, probably sensing my intentions concerning the offending wardrobe.

Performing one last sweep before heading for the stairs, we found only a few caps, empty bottles and tin cans. Junk.

“What the?” Cog stopped by the stairs and looked up. “Someone is alive up there.”

“Really?” My heart started beating faster again. Maybe we’re not too late. We could still save someone.

“Yep. One green bar. Not hostile.” He turned and grinned at me. I had no idea what he meant by green bar, but I guess that’s how that EFS thing works.

The steps creaked as we climbed. Despite Cog only detecting a single living being up on the second floor, we still proceeded carefully. Levitating our weapons before us.

“Right here.” Cog whispered pointing to a door with his hoof.

“I’m going in first.” He nodded and waited for me to open the door.

My magic carefully enveloped the handle and I pushed the door open.

This room was surprisingly well lit. the windows weren’t boarded up like downstairs. All the furniture was tossed and turned over, like a fight had occurred here.

A bloody trail on the floor drew my attention. It led to the left side of the room, opposite the window. I followed the smear, and my rifle snapped up when I found its source.

A badly wounded zebra mare in leather armor laid next to the wall. An old rifle was on the floor beside her, as well as an empty healing potion and a syringe.

I motioned to Cog with a hoof to come in while I slowly approached the mare. Her eyes were closed, but she was still alive. Blood bubbled and slowly leaked out of her mouth as she breathed.

No matter how carefully I wanted to approach her, the floorboards creaked and she stirred. Cog and I both stopped and raised our guns at the zebra.

She coughed and turned to look at us, eyes half lidded. She smiled and I felt a chill go up my spine.

“Come to fi-cough-finish me off?” She looked at me still smiling. Cog also turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow. I took a few steps more and when I thought I was close enough I reached out with my magic. Getting a good grip on the rifle I gave it a tug and sent it rolling away from her. She didn’t seem to even notice or didn’t care.

“Who are you?” I asked, still keeping my rifle ready. She chuckled, or at least tried to. A coughing fit came over her and she spat out more blood. At this point I doubt a potion would help her. She lost too much blood. I looked at her and saw multiple bullet wounds. The leather armor was almost completely shredded.

“I’m no one. Just a cunt who’s luck finally ran out.”

“What’s she saying?” I waved off Cog’s question with a hoof.

“Do you know what happened here?” I asked the mare.

“Was su-cough-supposed to be a rest stop. But those animals went nuts. The next thing I know bullets were flying everywhere.” Animals? Animals did this?

“What kind of animals? Wild dogs? Shifters, ripper?”

“Heh. Naw, it was the ponies.”

Ponies? Ponies did this. Cog was calling me, asking me to translate, but I was busy trying to figure out what she said.

“You are a slaver, aren’t you?” She chuckled again.

“Pretty sure I’m a corpse. But yes I am a slaver.”

Now things were falling into place. I felt the same coldness in my limbs and ache in my heart, but now there was the anger too. Cog must have noticed this too. He kept asking if I was alright. I ignored him and pressed on.

“How did this happen? How did the killing start?” I asked the mare while contemplating if I should ease her passing.

“How? Like all fuck ups happen. –cough- Someone wasn’t paying attention to what they were doing. The fucking ponies broke loose and went crazy. Fucking unicorns. I told them that we should have killed them all. Maybe leave the foals. –cough- Smack the young ones a few times and they behave.” She finished with a snort, hacked out some more blood and groaned.

“The foals. They were. Some of them were raped. Did you-“

“What? Do it? Don’t be disgusting. No zebra in their right mind would touch a filthy pony. They did it themselves. They even started killing and raping their own. Animals.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Ponies did this? To their own? I felt sick, I wanted to throw up. This. Why? Why would they do this?!

I gritted my teeth and fought back tears. When I opened my eyes again I saw that the slaver was looking at me, blood still dripping from her mouth.

“Your. Your Remnant right?” She must be delirious from blood loss.

“Oh I understood that.” Cog said raising his shotgun back at the mare. “Mist she’s working for the Remnant right? They torched this place?” I didn’t answer him, but continued to look at the mare. She didn’t seem to be aware of Cog at all.

“Look I’ve got caps. I know you gu-cough-guys don’t care much for that, but I also know where you could get more slaves. Unicorns even. Better then the shit we were gonna sell. Just help and I’ll tell you everything.”

“Mist?” Cog looked at me.

“No she’s not Remnant, and she’s not working for them either.” I was surprised at how steady and calm my voice seemed, because inside I felt like I was being torn up by a ripper.

I raised my rifle, aimed at the slaver’s head and ended her pain. A far more merciful end then the foals were given. Cog opened his mouth but was cut off when we heard shouting from outside. I turned around and rushed to the window.

IronClaw was in the air while Saw and Shrapnel appeared to be chasing a pony.

I dropped my rifle beside me and pulled out the sniper. The pony in question immediately appeared in the scope. I might have said that the stallion had a red coat, but in fact he was covered in blood. The speed at which he was running made me certain that the blood wasn’t his.

“Mist don’t kill him!” IronClaw shouted, but it was like the command didn’t reach me.

The stallion glanced back at his pursuers and that’s all I needed to be sure. The crazed look in his eyes. The blood around his muzzle. I took in a deep breath.

“Was that IronClaw? Mist the Hell’s happening?” Cog asked I ignored him, and focused on the target.

“Damn it Mist! I said don’t shoot him!” I opened my left eye in time to see IronClaw jerk in the air and start doubling back to me. I closed my eye and kept looking through the scope with my right eye. The stallions head bobbed a little as he ran.

Slowly I breathed out. The head went up, then down again, then up. I pulled the trigger. The stallion went down.

“I told you not to kill him. I gave you an order.” IronClaw was staring at me. He didn’t raise his voice, and he seemed more annoyed and disappointed than angry. I already explained why I killed him. The pony was insane and what they did to the foals. I opened my mouth to tell him again when he raised a talon silencing me.

“I already heard what you had to say, but you still disobeyed an order. That pony could have had information. Information that is lost to us now.”

“He was insane! What could he have possibly told us?! The slaver already explained what happened!”

“Oh? Did she also tell you where she got the ponies from? Who’s their supplier? No. How about how many more of them there are, or what made them the way they are?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then closed it again. Damn it, he was right. IronClaw shook his head.

“You can’t ju-“

“Boss! Incoming!” Cog shouted. He was sitting next to Shrapnel, both of them were gazing up at the sky.

IronClaw turned back to me. ”We’ll finish this discussion later.” And with that he walked away leaving me alone to feel like crap.

“You did the right thing Mist.” Saw sat next to me, and put a hoof over my shoulder.

“Killing the pony or the slaver?”

“Both. If you hadn’t shot the bastard I would have gelded him and fed him his own dick and balls. As for the slaver, well she was a slaver. You kill that scum where ever you find it.” I nodded and turned to look the way the others were.

Three birds seemed to be flying right for us. No those weren’t birds. Slowly the shapes became more apparent. The “birds” turned out to be griffins. This was unusual. I watched IronClaw with interest, he was standing as still as a statue.

The griffins hovered for a while above us before descending. They all wore the black armor with a white talon painted on the chest which marks them as members of the Talon company. The griffin that walked up to IronClaw had a strange rifle like weapon. Most likely one of those magical energy weapons. The other two carried ordinary rifles. Saw and I both got up and walked to join the rest.

“Commander IronClaw!” The griffin in the lead had put away her energy rifle and saluted. The other two did the same. “Sir it’s good to see you again.” She said smiling at IronClaw, and from the sound of the voice I was certain the griffin was female.

“Lieutenant. What brings you out here?” IronClaw said curtly, but I could see a hint of a smile on his beak.

“Scouting mostly. Heard word of Remnant movements to the east. The hell happened here?” The griffin looked around at the mess that used to once be a village.

“Slavers. Looks like the slaves escaped and burned the place down.”

“Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same if I was in there hooves.” She turned to look at me then back to IronClaw. “New addition?”

“Temporary. Any word from HQ?”

“Oh yeah, right. Razor is worried that you somehow managed to get yourself killed. We were told that, should we run into you, we’re to tell you to get back as soon as you can. Things are getting… heated at Vostoris.”

IronClaw nodded, his face serious. “That’s where we are headed. We should be there in a day or so. Are you in a hurry?”

“Umm depends. If you need our help you got it.”

“There are bodies here. Innocents were killed. We don’t have time to bury them, but a pyre should suffice.”

“S-Sure thing commander. Alright boys get to work.” The griffin turned to the other two standing at her side and they went with Cog and Shrapnel. Saw waited for a moment then she too left. I went to join them when IronClaw stopped me.

“Not you. We need to talk. Lieutenant excuse us.” The griffin nodded and went to join the others.

I followed IronClaw to one of the single story houses. He gestured to one of the chairs there, I hesitated for a moment but eventually sat down. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous. What is he planning?

“We need to get one thing straight. While you are under my command you will follow my orders.” His golden eyes bore into mine. I didn’t look away. His stare soften a bit and he continued. “I understand why you did it though. Terrible things were done to innocent ponies. They deserved to be executed. But you can’t let emotions cloud your judgment.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Did you really think I would have let that pony live after we caught him? Hell I’d even let you borrow my blade so you could punish him how you want.” He tapped the long curved blade at his side. What really made me uncomfortable was the way he said it, without emotion. “How did it feel?”

“How did what feel?”

“Being an executioner?”

Was I really an executioner? I guess I was. They were defenseless. The slaver I probably helped, she was beyond healing and would have died slowly. NO! That’s just an excuse! Dear Celestia what have I done?! The realization seemed to strike me suddenly. It shook me to the core. I thought back to Zaeryl. To all that she taught me. This wasn’t self defense, it was murder. For the first time in my life I was glad that she was gone. Because I don’t know how I would live with myself if she was here now.

“Good.” I looked up at the griffin, tears streaming down my cheeks again. What was good? Nothing is good.

“You regret it.” He continued. “Kill when you must. When you have too, but never develop a taste for it.” He pulled out one of his SMG’s. ”Every time I kill, I do it because it’s my job. I get no pleasure from it. You killed out of rage and grief and I can understand that.” He slowly slid the SMG back into the holster on his flank. “Never take pleasure from killing. Because then you’re no better than the monsters you’re fighting.”

Did I feel any pleasure or joy when I pulled the trigger? No I did not. But I felt that it had to be done.

“Thank you. For gathering the bodies and the pyre.”

The griffin sighed. “You are welcome. Don’t think that just because I’m a griffin that I think ponies deserve less. I’ve seen messed up crap done by both sides. We’re not so different.” He seemed to be looking off somewhere only known to him.

“Can I go and help them?”

“If you think you are up to it.”

“I think I can.” He just gestured to the exit.

I opened the door and turned back to look at him. He was still gazing off somewhere in the distance. His eyes seemed sad. He was flexing and rubbing his steel talon. I left him alone.

Outside night had already fallen. We got the flames under control, and now the only fire that burned was the pyre at the center. I breathed in and prepared myself for the grim task ahead.

The griffins were surprisingly gently and respectful with the way they moved the bodies. I have to remember to thank them all later. We didn’t discriminate between zebra and ponies. Saw wanted to us to leave the zebras for the animals to pick through. I told her that they had already paid their due and that there is no reason to leave them to cook in the Sun. That wasn’t enough for her, but then Shrapnel gave her the saddest look that I have ever seen on a pony, ever. Not even Saw could resist that, and she caved in.

The work done, we sat around in one of the houses. We plundered the others for furniture and brought it all here into this one house. The same one where IronClaw and I had our little chat.

Pulling together alcohol from what the griffins brought with them, what was left in the village and what Saw had stashed away. We got together and started talking and drinking. It was… good. I was both emotionally and physically drained after today, it was good to relax.

Saw and Cog were back at it, and it would seem they were making up for lost time. The two griffins were holding their sides from laughing. I looked off to the side. IronClaw and the lieutenant were alone in an adjacent room, sitting by a table and drinking from shot glasses while talking quietly. I had no idea if there was anything between them, but the female griffin said something and I caught a rare glance of IronClaw chuckling. I couldn’t help but smile. It was good that he was enjoying himself too.

“Hey Mist. You tired?” Shrapnel asked plopping down beside me. She was still wearing her armor but at least she had taken off the guns and helmet.

“A little.” And to emphasize my point I yawned. “How are you holding up?”

“Oh you know I’m fine.” Her smile faltered. “Actually I. What happened here. I saw the bodies. The foals. There were more of them and a few adults in the home Saw and I looked into. It was bad.” I put a hoof on her shoulder. She smiled back at me then looked at me seriously. “You were right to shoot that pony. I saw ponies go crazy before. The waste it breaks them you know. In the head.” She tapped the side of her head with a hoof.

“You don’t think that the pony was simply bad?”

“There are no bad ponies. Only ponies who made bad choices, or had bad stuff happen to them.” I didn’t know what to say to this. I thought about telling her how bad choices are made by bad ponies, and how bad ponies do bad stuff. But I couldn’t, I wanted her to continue to believe that ponies are good. Because I needed to believe too.

The night continued. Jokes were told, stories shared. We got a few gasps of amazement from the griffins for our Nubian story. Eventually we went to sleep, right there on the floor. We had to use our saddlebags as pillows, because Shrapnel commandeered the entire couch. Cog took watch with one of the griffins. They continued to chat in hushed voices, snickering occasionally. The day had taken its toll on me. My eyelids were as heavy as lead, but part of me was afraid to rest. Because I knew that nightmares awaited me in the land of dreams. With Saw’s snoring and the somewhat audible breathing of the others it was a losing battle, I was lulled into sleep in mere moments after laying my head down.

Footnote: Level Up.

New Perk: Quick Draw – Rainbow Dash can clear the skies in 10 seconds flat! Well you can’t do that. But when it comes to drawing your weapons and holstering them, you’re fast. Damn fast! Faster than a striking reptile! You equip and holster your weapons 50% faster.

(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!)