I could hear the scavengers fumbling outside the door, doubtlessly looking for a way inside the medbay. A muffled conversation was just barely audible through the thick steel plate. “Anythin’ you can do ‘bout gettin’ this open, Cracks?” the older stallion, asked.

“Not without power,” the mare from before answered.

“Well we definitely don’t have enough explosives to punch through, so I guess that means you’re up, Riveter. Cut this thing open.”

“Can do, boss,” a new stallion answered. What were they planning?

Regardless, I needed a strategy. There were twelve shots in the pistol as well as two extra magazines. Of course I still had the element of surprise, and several of these ponies already seemed pretty shaken. By my count, I could take out at least two of them before they even realized what was happening. After that…

Fillies and gentlecolts, I have the incredible honor of introducing the master strategist Dipshit the Enduring. How has he survived for so long with this obvious retardation? Who the fuck knows?! But you can bet he’s gonna put on one hell of a show!

A burst of light suddenly erupted from the darkness, translating to a blinding flash through my night vision goggles. I yelped in pain, shielded my eyes and removed the specs. Spots of white danced across my vision as I blearily rubbed them away. When silhouettes began to re-emerge from the void, I spared a wary glance back toward the door.

A rain of sparks was dripping from between the sliding steel panels. Molten metal trailed down and pooled against the floor, the acrid smell of ozone began to infuse the air. They were cutting their way through.

“Shit,” I swore quietly before once more donning my goggles. Whilst cautiously avoiding a direct gaze at the light show, I started to reevaluate my plan. The cutting torch would certainly open the way, but it would be slow going for the intruders.

Even then, without power, the Auto-Doc they were obviously seeking would be nearly useless. It was designed to only preserve the life of a patient in the event of a power outage, but would certainly not be capable of starting a new procedure. Couple that with how quickly they’d made it here, and it was almost a certainty that they weren’t attempting to use it now. They were just working to clear the way before bringing in the impaled mare. That gave me some time.

I steadied my breathing and mentally laid out my repertoire of spells.

Seven years. Seven long, lonely years I’d spent in this prison. While all of my physical needs were more than cared for, the psychological toll that had raked across me had not passed without inflicting harm. The deep yearning for companionship had scarred me far more than any conflict I’d been forced to endure. Even my days fighting in the Pit had involved contact… of a sort.

The other residents I’d invited into the Stable had done little to alleviate that aching in my heart, but at this point even the flimsiest strands were necessary to anchor the final remnants of my sanity. Everything I’d ever read on the subject informed that an Equestrian’s need for love and friendship were nearly tantamount to that of food and water.

I didn’t know how long I could last in this state, but the books were the only thing that had made it bearable. From that very first moment of arrival, I’d never allowed myself to be without some kind of book for more than a few hours at a time. Even a full night’s sleep was impossible without being broken up by a few sessions of reading. He tried at every turn to distract me, but I had always managed to will my way through. The quiet moments of absorbing the wide array of texts were the only times that had drowned him out, kept my mind from dwelling on the oppressive mountain of sin that was my burden to bear.

Now it seemed to have all worked out in my favor. Science fiction, mysteries, chemistry, memoirs, and history. This entire library was mine, with little else to distract me from their wonders. I could almost perfectly recite the entirety of the Daring Do series, word for word, from memory. Not due to any eidetic capability, but merely from the repetition of devouring my most cherished books.

And the one subject that had enticed me far more than all others had been spellbooks. The Complete Compendium of Starswirl The Bearded’s Most Eclectic Enchantments, Divining the Aetheric Plane with Mistmane, Arcana Spanning the Millennia by Princess Celestia herself. Days, weeks, months, and years spent studying the mysteries contained within, and what better way to bridge the times between books was there than practicing the lessons they taught? Although I’d previously held no desire to use them in any manner but to distract myself from the horrors of reality.

Until now that is.

A few moments of meditation brought forth a simple, yet elegant, solution to my current predicament. With a slight modification to a spell intended for little more than a harmless prank, I could show the entire wasteland the repercussions for intruding on my sanctum.

And this time the targets might even survive.

My horn began to glow and spark with a brilliant font of aetheric energy. The warmth spread across my forehead and danced across my skin. An intoxicating current of magic electrified my every nerve as I directed my horn toward the heart of the medbay.

“Laruarius… captionem,” I whispered. The old ponish phrase tumbled from my mouth as if the words themselves had grown some physicality. The floor immediately in front of the door instantly shimmered with an astoundingly intricate rune. The magical glyph began to spiderweb across the entire space, looking as if the room was about to shatter under the power flowing from my horn. Then, just as the light reached a blinding intensity, it snuffed out, leaving no trace of the enchantment now humming within the steel walls.

A glance back toward the door showed the scavengers had nearly cut through. I smiled slightly, it was finally time to see just how far my skills had come.

I spared a glance back toward Tender Heart as she lay on her side beneath the counter. “Stay out of sight,” I warned her. “This will all be over soon.” I shimmied my way back inside the air vent and peered cautiously over the edge.

Just in the nick of time as a clattering of metal marked the locks on the Medbay door crashing to the ground.

“Fuckin’ finally,” I heard the older stallion swear. “Riveter, help me pull this thing open. The rest of ya, cover the door.”

A groaning shriek of metal rang out as the sliding, steel door resisted the effort, but eventually acquiesced to the intruders’ demands. A chorus of guns cocking followed as the others took aim inside.

“Anythin’?” Whiskey asked.

“Not a damn thing,” Cracks answered.

There was a moment of silence, “I don’t like this. What in the fuck is thing waitin’ for?”

“Pfft,” a younger stallion scoffed. “Probably sent that cowardly lil’ shit runnin’. Move aside ya pansies.”

The rifle-wielding scavenger stepped into view, shoving past the others and over the threshold.

“Crosshair wait!” somepony cried, but it was too late. The moment Crosshair’s hoof stepped inside the medbay, a subtle blue snaked across the floor as my enchantment was tripped.

Geeet…. ouuut, a growling tone whispered. I grinned wider as the poltergeist spell was unleashed.

Well stick a pumpkin up my ass and call me spooky. You actually did it, he commented.

“Who’s there!” the stallion shouted, unholstering his rifle and spinning about. “Show yourself!”

A cabinet of beakers on the far side of the room began to rumble and shake, the tinkling glass echoing in a haunting ring.

Geeet… Ouuut! the growling repeated, now almost a roar. The cabinet slammed open as one of the beakers fired across the room and crashed right in front of Crosshair’s hooves.

The stallion cried out, “What the fuck!”

GEEET… OUUUT! the voice screamed as a shrieking wail tore through the room. The remaining contents of the cabinet shot out in every direction, several smashing across the panicking scavenger. The resulting shards sailed into the air before instantly redirecting back downward and firing into Crosshair’s skin like a barrage of tiny daggers. He yelped in pain and shielded his face from the onslaught.

Dozens of instruments all across the room began flying about in a gale of broken glass and sharp metal. Bone saws buzzed through the air, scalpels lodged in walls and flesh alike. A glass vial of some clear liquid crashed into the terrified stallion, shattering across his muzzle and drenching him.

The open wounds across his flesh began to sizzle and foam, trailing chemical fumes into the air. A piercing shriek erupted from the stallion as he began to thrash across the floor. “Help me!” he cried. “Please!”

“Cracks! North Star!” Whiskey cried. “Get ‘im the fuck outta there!”

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a big N O from me boss,” Cracks replied worriedly, her widened eyes locked onto the display. “Dealing with ghosts is pretty fucking far out of my pay grade.”

“You chicken shit coward!” he snapped back, then turned to look at the second mare. “Come on, we gotta help ‘im.”

“Right, boss,” she stated obediently. The two ponies fell to the ground and began inching their way toward Crosshair.

Alright, that’s probably enough for the opening act, I thought. I sealed my eyes and brought up the enchantment in my mind. They always appeared to me like some fine spiderweb, their individual strands strung across the space and interwebbing with each layer the spell required to enact itself. Several strands dictating the sound and pitch of the voice, where it would emanate from, how it would echo. More still strung across every loose item in the room, ready to fling them through the air when dictated to do so.

The threads fueling the spell began to unravel as I gently tugged upon each line, tendrils of aetheric energy spiralling away as the power was cut. Just as the spell was almost completely dismantled, the threads instantly resealed themselves.

I jerked back, completely caught off guard by the enchantment’s defiance. Once again I peered into the aether before witnessing gilded reinforcements clamp down around each thread.

Heeeeey everypony, he started singing, let’s have some fun.

“No no no no no no,” I whispered panickedly. This wasn’t happening, I’d been so careful. Did he really still have this much control?

More vials of disinfectant sailed into the air, these crashing against the mare trying to get to Crosshair. She sputtered and spat out the acrid liquid, looking a bit confused at her treatment by the ‘ghost’. A pair of Bunsen burners slowly emerged from their cabinets, their igniters clicking, until a shower of sparks preceded two brilliant, blue flames illuminating the darkened space.

You only live but once, and when you’re dead you’re done.

Whiskey looked at the burners, then back to his soaked companions as he put together what was happening. “North! Crosshair! Get the fuck outta here right n-”

Too late. The burners fell, and there was suddenly quite a bit more light in the darkened space. The disinfectant ignited instantly, completely engulfing the pair in a chemically fueled, purple-tipped curtain of flame.

So let the good times roll.

The mare was the first to react, crying out just as the flames began to consume her. Crosshair seemed preoccupied with what he’d already sustained, but his focus swiftly turned as well. Their wails sputtered at first, as if they were not quite able to accept what was happening. But reality has an annoying way of making itself known, and their tortured shrieks soon mirrored it.

Whiskey managed to jump back before the inferno consumed him as well. Crosshair and the mare were soon nothing more than silhouettes within the blaze, thrashing and rolling across the ground, desperately trying to smother the flames. The screams the pair unleashed pierced the soul like an icicle. Burnt mane and roasting flesh soon dominated the air and the smoke trailed right up into my vent. I coughed and sputtered against the vile fumes, but I knew this smell would never leave me.

“What… *cough* *cough*... did you do?” I rasped.

Well it’s about Goddess-damned time, Koe said exasperatedly. We’ve been down here how long? We haven’t even shared our jerkin’ it schedules. I was actually starting to think we weren’t friends anymore, but that would be silly.

“You piece of shit,” I growled.

Apology accepted, and I hope we can move past this. B T Dubs, I’m kind of a whenever the feeling strikes me sort of guy. You’re not looking at nearly enough porn, but sometimes that Daring Do describes how she’s tied up in just such a way that… mmm. You know what I’m talking about.

“SHUT UP!” I screamed. My attention locked onto the enchantment again before I took the magical equivalent to a sledgehammer against the spiderweb. The strands shattered apart in a violent shower of sparks. Lances of magical energy danced across the space as I battered the spell to pieces. It was basically the difference between turning off a light switch and smashing the bulb with a rock. Same effect, one was just a little less elegant, and a lot more noticeable.

The poltergeist spell instantly fell to pieces. Flying instruments clattered to the floor, the disembodied voice disappeared, and only the dying wheezes of the torched ponies remained until the room fell totally silent.

Aw, party pooper, Koe lamented.

“Fuck you!” I shouted. “Why?! Why do you always do this to me?!”

Uh, chief.

“Everything was fine!” I continued, ignoring the voice. “I was just going to scare them off, instead you just dragged me right back down into this pit of shit!”

Venture…

“Enough! I’m so fucking tired of you! I don’t care what it takes now, I’m ending this! Do you hear me?! I’m finally putting that fucking bullet right through-”

You might not have to worry about that, Koe interrupted.

“What are you-” I began to growl, then stopped. I slowly turned my gaze back down through the vent, only to find Whiskey and his companions glaring right up toward me. The stallion’s face was locked in seething hatred, his breath gushing between his clenched teeth. He was only illuminated by the dying embers dancing across the remains of the two burned ponies, and as they slowly started to fade, we were plunged back into darkness.

So I’m just gonna let this next part speak for itself.

“He’s in the vents!” Whiskey shouted. “Kill that son of a bitch!”

The three remaining scavengers all turned their guns upward and unloaded. Whiskey’s shotgun blew the vent cover right off its hinges. I lurched backward, just as the heavy thumps of a revolver began peppering the thin metal with holes. Something automatic joined the fray, carving chunks out of the vent as it trailed toward me.

I scrambled against the smooth surface, desperately backpedaling away from the medbay. I yanked the 10mm from its holster and blindly fired back, hoping against all odds to pull off a lucky shot.

There was one, but it wasn’t mine.

A scorching pain lanced through my rear leg as a bullet struck home. It passed through the skin, accompanied by a spray of blood that coated the interior of the vent.

“Goddess-dammit,” I swore, clutching at the wound while still trying to shuffle away. The telltale click-click-click of a dry magazine followed my panicked barrage. “Fuck, fuckity, fucking, fuck!”

Your newfound vocabulary is truly a sight to behold.

I holstered the pistol and kept crawling, ignoring the lancing pain shooting up my leg. The gunfire soon ceased as I finally pulled myself safety. I collapsed against the cool steel, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. The distant voices of the scavengers soon echoed through the vents.

“Hold your fire, he’s gone,” Whiskey snarled irritably.

“So, what now?” Cracks asked.

“It’s still three on one, four countin’ the doc,” the stallion answered. “We are goin’ to find this piece of shit, skin ‘im alive, and then I am makin’ myself a new pair of Goddess-damned, psychopath leather boots!”

“Good to hear you’ve thought this through,” she jibed.

“Follow the vents,” he spat back. “We’ll find ‘im soon enough.”

So what brilliant stratagem are we thinking up now, mon capitan?

“Did they say, doc?” I asked, clenching my teeth as I tried to put pressure on the wound. “As in, doctor?”

Looking for somepony to patch that hole? In case you’ve forgotten, this is yet another member of the band of merry marauders looking to turn you into a set of discount hoofwear.

“As in somepony they probably left behind to tend to our little scarecrow,” I continued. “Somepony a bit less combat-focused.”

Hmmm?

“Somepony alone,” I clarified.

I like where this is going, the voice said gleefully. See? I knew my boy was still in there.

“I’m not your boy, and I’m not your friend,” I growled. “When they’re gone, we’re right back we started. You don’t get to exist in my world.”

Aw, come on. Isn’t this getting kinda-

“Shut the fuck up, Koe!”

Time was against me.

I limped down the corridor toward the Stable’s entrance, a trail of crimson following close behind. A sloppy layer of magical bandages was wrapped around my leg, the bleeding having already saturated through the material. The single medical box along my route had only contained them and a syringe of Med-X. I’d left the painkiller behind, I needed to stay sharp.

Pfft, sobriety, Koe scoffed.

“I don’t need it,” I grumbled.

Now where have I heard that one before? the voice said whimsically. Come on, you’re only addicted to Rage, reading, bitching, and murder, not painkillers. What’s the worst that could happen?

“I fly into a blind rage and kill this doctor instead of taking them hostage like I planned,” I offered.

Eh, I can think of worse. Like having to face the realities of existence sober. Blech, no thanks.

We continued on. Navigating the winding maze of steel corridors had become second nature to me. Every so often we’d come across another resident of the Stable, and I’d quickly escort them from the halls and back to their rooms.

“Keep the kids safe, Lemon,” I said reassuringly to the yellow-painted mannequin. I led her around a corner and into the nursery with several others.

This is just getting sad.

“They’ve done more for me down here than you ever have,” I quipped. “How’s that for sad?”

Ow, my feelings, he moaned mockingly.

Occasionally I would hear the distant scuffling of our pursuers and be forced into one of the vents. The darkness and my night vision goggles barely saved me time and time again. They interrupted our journey a frustrating amount of times, enough that I began to feel some cruel god was toying with me. Maybe this was my comeuppance, that I’d run from my punishment long enough and it was time the price was paid for the lives I’d taken. On one such occasion, peering down the hallway toward the scavengers, I pondered just how easy it would be to step into view and finally let it end. But something kept stopping me, be it either Koe or my own undeserved cowardice I couldn’t be sure, but I knew I didn’t want to die. This was the only way.

Soon after, we reached the entrance hall.

I peeked around the corner, trying to assess the situation. The impaled mare was right where I’d left her, flanked by the decapitated heads of her friends. Flashes of the encounter ripped through my memory. Surprising the group, knocking out the mare, having her fade back into consciousness and meeting her gaze as I sawed through the necks of her companions. Drenched in blood and never wavering as I dropped her paralyzed form onto the spike. She screamed so pitifully for mercy.

I felt a pang in my chest, but shook the feeling off. There wasn’t time for remorse, later, but not now.

A second pony stepped into view. I couldn’t get a good look at them, but it must have been the doctor.

“I spy with my little eye,” she was saying, “something red… oh maybe not. Uh, how about I spy with my little eye-”

“Please… stop… helping.” the impaled mare whimpered.

“This is literally my only job!” the doctor whined. “I swear, I can do better. How about… ooo! I know, we don’t even need to see for this one!” She rummaged a bit in her saddlebags before withdrawing some kind of canteen. “I’ve got whiskey,” she sang enticingly. “How about we say the names of provinces in Equestria, and if we can’t think of one, we take a shot?”

The impaled mare perked up a bit, “Can I… start?”

“Sure… wait,” the doctor said seriously, pulling back the flask. “Will that mess with your painkiller? Are you even supposed to drink when you’re bleeding out? I’ve gotta think about-”

“Just give me…” the other mare hissed, “the Goddess-damned… whiskey!”

The doctor sighed, “Well it’s not like it could do that that much harm.” She unscrewed the cap and titled it back for the dying mare, then took a shot herself. “Ok, Cloudsdale, now you.”

“Mare... jave,” the impaled mare gasped.

“Appleoosa.”

“P-pass.”

“Ooo, you gotta take a shot,” the doctor said before giving more to the mare. “Now me, um… Ponyville.”

“P-pass.”

“Hey, are you taking this seriously?” she asked suspiciously. “It seems like you’re failing on purpose.”

“Don’t know… ‘lotta places… only lived… out here.”

“What? You never learned about geography in schoo- oh, right,” the doctor sputtered awkwardly. “How about we just drink?”

“Best idea… you’ve had.”

Damn, Koe commented. That’s my kinda doctor.

While the two traded shots from the flask, I started to creep into the room. The doctor started regaling the mare with some story, but I tuned them out. I focused on getting up behind her. When I was fully out of sight, I stalked closer. I climbed up onto the metal platform she sat upon and began to prepare the knockout spell. The glow from my horn cast a bit of light, and the impaled mare locked her gaze onto me.

“Mmmph,” she groaned panickedly, her eyes growing wide as she started to flail. The alcohol and loss of blood was obviously impairing her speech.

“... and then I said ‘oatmeal are you cra-’... hey,” the doctor said worriedly, “you’s okie kay?” I guess she was a bit of lightweight. Made my job that much easier.

She stumbled to her hooves and walked up to the mare, trying to calm her, “Heys now, ‘ts all gonna be fine. I’m righ’ here, and duh udders are pr’bly on their way righ’ now wit’ dat bastard’s head on a spi-” she slapped her head and giggled a bit. “Oh fuck, I did it again.”

“B-be... behi… behind,” the impaled mare gasped.

“B-beyind?” she slurred, then laughed again and slapped her flank. “Oh, why thank y’ for noticin’. I think it looks purrty good t-” she trailed off, the other mare’s words starting to register. Shakily, she turned her head back and finally spotted me. Her eyes snapped open as she began to hyperventilate. “H-h-h-b-b-y-y-”

“Hello there,” I growled sinisterly, then unleashed the spell. A flash of light briefly illuminated the space as a bolt of magic slammed into the doctor’s head. She stumbled a bit, then slumped to the floor unconscious.

A terrified series of gasps escaped the impaled mare. I guess she wanted to scream.

“I’m not here for you just yet,” I sneered before plucking the doctor up in my magic, turning my back on her, and making my way back inside the Stable.

“Please,” she whimpered quietly.

I paused, sparing a look back at her. The light from my levitation spell bathed the room in a dim, blue light. I could just barely make out the girl’s pained, pleading look.

“Don’t go… please… kill me.”

I sighed, “Is that really what you want? Your friends might still beat me, get you fixed up. I know it hurts right now, but death is just so… final. The end. Life is so full of possibilities, even for you. Who knows what’ll happen in the next few hours? Would it be kinder to kill you, or give you a chance at-”

“Spare me…” she gasped angrily, “your fuckin’... philosophy lesson.” She turned her head away, a few shimmering tears trailing down her face, “You’ll kill them all… we both… know that. I just don’t… wanna hurt… anymore.” She faced me again, “So just… fuckin’ do it.”

“But I-”

“YOU DON’T GET…” she screamed, coughing and sputtering with the last remnants of her strength. “TO FEEL SORRY… FOR ME!”

I looked at the floor, “I’m sorry you got caught up in all this.” I walked back toward her, surrounding her neck in my magic.

Her head jerked sharply, a loud snap echoing through the air. A gasp escaped her lungs before her body fell limp.

“This is what’s best for everyone.”