Duke Polished Jade. I can’t say I was all that impressed with the stallion, a bit too portly and soft for my likening. Though I bet that didn’t stop the mares from throwing themselves at him. Even with the stallion/mare divide not being as bad here, there was still at least a 2 to 1 difference, as far as I knew. Red Steel on the other hoof, was more impressive looking. A pretty little thing, yet she had an aura of authority about her. Not only that, but it looked like Polished leaned to her guidance more than she did to him, almost like she was the one in charge here.

Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I returned my attention to Polished Jade and got back to the task at hoof. “So if we agree to take her to the next station, then we will get our royal passes?”

“In the simplest terms, yes.” Polished responded quickly enough that it was plainly obvious he didn’t want any questions asked. From the way he treated my sister like eye candy, I was fairly certain it was because he had other things on his mind.

Rototom slurped on her juice getting out attention. “So, what’s the catch?” she asked out loud.

Polished frowned. “This is why nopony here like’s to deal with you Orthrus ponies. You’re all so straight to business and no fun at all.”

“I’m not going to fuck you, Polished.” Rototom blurted out.

The stallion didn’t flinch at her words. “A shame, but not unexpected.” He then pulled out a box, inside was a bunch of dice. “How about we play 21 dots? You win, I give you the pass with no strings attached. You lose? Well then, you have to put on a show for me.” His eyes drifted over too me. “I know I have an outfit that would look simply amazing on a frame like yours.”

A long sigh came from Temboril, “Fine, but first some ground rules. No asking for sexual favors from us. No asking for us to strip in front of you. And if we catch you cheating, then we win by default.” She looked over at the princess and nodded at her. “Also, she is exempt from this stupid little game of yours.”

The stallion looked over at Harp, and nodded. “A shame really. I have a few of my daughter’s clothes I wanted her to try on. She has such a striking resemblance to a niece of mine.” I couldn’t tell if the stallion was pretending not to know about her, or if he really did simply think she just looked like Harp. Either way it was creepy as hell and I’d have already dragged her far away from him if we hadn’t needed his help. “But fine, I agree. Either you win, or I’m satisfied.”

Shamisen came out with our fries, placing them on the table. “Anything else?”

“A round of your house brew.” Polished requested. “Put it on my tab.”

“Right, your tab.” Shamisen sighed. “I’ll be back with your drinks.”

“Excuses me, my good noble stallion.” Red Steel spoke as she stood up. “But I need to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. Mind if I take one of these strong ponies with me for a short stint of time?” The Duke nodded, and Red Steel pointed her hoof to me. “Come, let’s go for a walk.”

Babysitting a noble mare did not sound like fun, but neither did playing a game with ‘Duke, I want to dress you up sexy’. At least walking around the station would count as scouting the area, and I got to keep my dignity at the same time. Along with the fact that she felt different than the Duke, it was probably the a better option for me anyway.

“Lady Red was it?” I asked as I too got to my hooves. Looking back, Sweet Stuck her tong out at me playfully, I did a funny face back at her. “Sure, I’ll escort you around the station then.”

_____________________________________

“Amazing, is it not?” Red Steel spoke to me as we trotted through a corridor.

“Amazingly depressing.” Was my answer, “I’ve never liked the Solaris made stations. Never enough room to feel comfortable in.”

“Yes.” She responded, nodding. “This station was clearly not made with the intent to be a shelter, much less even a temporary home to so many. But even still, the ponies here try their best to survive. That’s why it’s amazing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing new there. Almost every station has a population problem. We survive, only to find that there are too many of us.”

She chuckled to herself. “Not a problem if you could leave the island. But that aside, I heard of another station, Charon’s Stop was it? I’ve heard that it manages well with a high population.”

“Ehhh.” This mare was starting to rub me the wrong way. Too cheerful about a topic most ponies know to avoid in anything but the most desperate of social circumstances. “Yes, but that’s only because is a show station. It was built to be bigger and better from the start, and probably why the rest of Solaris stations were a bit of the cheap side. All the money when on the one they would put in their advertisement.”

“Strange then, why name it Charon’s Stop?” She put on a bemused smile, probing me for an answer. “A bit depressing if I might say.”

“Apollo station was it’s original name.” I sighed. “But when the power went out after the apocalypse, and the bodies started piling up, the ponies living there started calling it ‘The station where Charon make frequent Stops’.” I paused as another odd piece of trivia came back to me. “Though, at one point it was called Mort’s Stop. Even today nopony remembers or knows why.”

Red Steel paused for a moment. “Mort you say? sounds familiar, like I’ve read it somewhere before.” She shrugged. “Oh well, it’s no matter I suppose. So, what makes the Solaris station different from Stable-Tec ones? Other than more ample room, of course.”

“The difference is fairly simple, really.” I stopped at a part of the corridor not covered in junk crammed full of ponies. “Stable-Tec built their stations like they built Stables, so they’re made to be lived and expanded into as need, even if that was not the sole purpose for them being built. Solaris stations were made to look good, not to support ponies for any extended amount of time.” The bare wall we stopped at had been plastered over with cement, but signs of water damage were clear as day to me. Pointing my hoof to it, I drew her attention to the wall. “Because of that, Solaris stations are in constant need of maintenance. Not to say Stable-Tec stations are without their own types of problems, but let’s just say that ponies in them get more breaks when it comes to keeping them functioning living spaces.”

“I get what you mean,” Nodding, a genital smile formed on her face. “it’s the difference between a finely crafted sword, and one that only looks like it was finely crafted. There is no substitute for quality.”

“Hard to argue with that.” I responded. “Aside from that, aren’t you worried about walking around here? I mean, there are worse places for a rich mare to be, but this is still far from a safe place as you can tell.”

“Dangerous, my dear?” She waved her hoof dismissively. “I’m like a shark in a pool full of guppy’s.” she opened her jacked just enough to show a very small pistol inside. “I always keep a few Liberation-45’s on me at all time. They may just be a two shot pocket pistols, but the .45 caliber cartridges are enough to put down even the most tenacious of foes.”

That put a little smirk on my face. “That gun can hardly do much, like what’s it’s effective range? A yard or two at most?”

“You’d think so,” She laughed and pulled her jacket shut again. “but it’s accurate enough at around twenty yards. Good enough to take down some pony in a small place as cramped as this station is.”

I had to nod in agreement. “Most fights in a station do tend to be nose to nose, so I get your point.”

Speaking of a fight, the sound of two ponies shouting drew our attention. Rounding a corner, we saw the old preacher from before on stage with a younger mare, both looking ready to attack each other. The mare was a earth pony with a deep purple coat and a vibrant red mane. Her manner of dress was odd, being a bulky green military fatigue that has seen better days, a so had a worn looking gasmask and a saddlebag held together by fishnet strapped to her sides. On her left foreleg was what looked like an old pipbuck, it’s screen still lit up like the mare didn’t know to turn it off.

“If thy are going to talk about the Goddesses, the booketh of the two sisters is what thee should promote, not you’re thy dibble about torment. The Goddesses art about love, and tolerance, not vengeance thee twat! ” I almost tripped over myself herring the mare speak, this was just something I did not need right now.

“Blasphemy!” the old stallion shouted. “This world is an example of the Goddesses wrath! We must suffer, we must struggle, only then can we return to their good graces. The Goddesses care not for the weak.”

The mare who I already knew had to be Mayall, scoffed and pulled out an old book. “It’s writ hither, in this booketh. ‘Thoughts, and inquiry about Friendship.’ Witten by Twilight Sparkle herself. Love and Tolerance wast personally hath taught to that lady by Cel…”

The priest interrupted her by smacking his book on Mayall’s head, making a “Clunk” sound, but barely even moving the mare. “Ye not even say the name of the false prophet, or ye be struck down by the Goddesses chosen ones! Burn the blasphemes tomb, or be cursed!”

Mayall reeled in shock “Burn this booketh!? You’re as barbarous as mine sister!” she returned the smack she’d recieved with one of her own, hitting the preacher with her book quite hard and knocking him to the floor.

I stepped in, hopping onto the stage in hopes to get these two to stop it before thing got more violent. “If you two are just going to hit each other with books, then it’s time to go home.” I glared at Mayall, who shrank back a little as I spoke at her. “Nopony wants to see a freak show, so you both better just drop this right now.”

“Hey, I want to see a freak show!” A pony spoke up from the crowds that shifted around the stage. As I glared at them, they quickly retreated into the crowd and disappeared.

I turned back to Mayall, only to see her putting. “What is it now?”

“You’re being mean.” She said with a huff.

“For the love of,” I face hoofed with my grappling leg, hurting myself a little with a thud. “Whatever. Come back with me before things get worse, and we can sort all this out at the pub.”

Looking over at the preacher, I was a bit worried that the pirate might come back with a gun. However, I saw him being waved off by Red Steel. The old stallion left with a huff, saying some gibberish that I couldn’t quite make out.

Trotting up to Red Steal, I had to ask her, “You sure it’s safe getting involved?”

She pulled out a red and silver fan, covering her mouth with it. “It’s fine, dear! No need to worry, as I simply told the gentlecolt that the crowd was getting a bit too rowdy. Hard to deliver his message when the ponies around are to riled up to properly listen. He may not like having to leave, but I’m sure he won’t do anything foal hardy.” She turned to walk off stage, but suddenly stopped, and picked up a book. “A shame, he forgot his book.” In her magical grip was a black book that depicted a green circle of thorns, with a red teardrop in the middle. “What should we do about this?”

Before I could interject on the question, Mayall had jumped in, and grabbed it in her hooves.

“I’ll readeth it.” She stated in a matter of fact tone.

“What an inquisitive little mare you are.” Red Steal chirped pleasantly. “Am I to guess she is an acquaintance of yours, miss Vibraphone?”

“Yes, you can say that.” I sighed, feeling a little dejected at the new situation. “This is Mayall, you can say that she’s a wandering Bibliophile.”

“Oh, how delightfully rare!” The unicorn seemed to beam with joy. “I’ve heard about ponies like that, just like Daring Do right? Seeking out lost knowledge so that it can be preserved, and fighting those who would exploit it. It must be a truly exciting life you live.”

Mayall didn’t respond, as she was already reading the preacher's book. With a groan, I shut the book forcefully and pulled the disguised lurker off the ground. For her small stature, she was deceptively heavy. “You can read it later when were back at the pub. I’ve had enough fresh air for now, so let’s get moving.”

Much of the crowd had dispersed as we left the stage, but some of the ponies seemed to keep a keen eye on us from a distance. A station like this was bound to have bandits around, and three dumb looking deep dweller mares probably looked like fine targets to them. The more of a scene we made out in the open, the more it garenteed that we’d run into some bandits when we got moving with our job again.

Thinking about it, killing a few savages may be just what I’d need to calm my frantic nerves. For now, I already had another solution in mind. Opening the bottle of chill pills, I popped two in my mouth, and swallowed. The effects were quick, allowing me to feel a little calmer. Now, back to see who’s won the gambling game.

Arriving back at The Lusty Unicorn, I was greeted with the sight of Rototom in a black and red gown that barely covered enough of her to be considered clothes. Temboril wore what looked like a slutty Daring Do outfit, and Merit didn’t look half bad clad in wartime cheerleading clothes that seem a bit short and small on him. Sweet, Sorrow, and Harp were surprisingly, and thankfully, untouched.

“Ah, you have returned just in time,” Polished smirked as he waved me over before glancing over to Mayall. “And you brought a friend! This has been so much fun, it be a shame if you missed it all.”

“Do I really have too?” I asked

“Don’t pout, not yet that is.” Polished said mockingly. “So sit down, and lets have some fun, unless you don’t want out of this station?’

With a sigh, I sat down at the table, joined by Mayall. “Right, so twenty-one dice, is it?”

He scratched his chin, “So, is your friend playing?”

I looked over at the Lurker in pony form. “You want a crack at it, Mayall?” I heard a few smacks as both my sister and Temboril face hoofed behind me.

She nodded. “I love games, what’s the rules?”

“To roll a twenty-one on these dice.” Polished spoke. “The losers do whatever the winner says.”

“No, not anything the winner says.” I pointed out.

“The cutie there was not part of that deal.” Was his rebuttal. “So, what do you say?”

“It’s fine,” Mayall waved her hoof up and down as she smiled. “not like ponies keep their promises.”

I wanted to correct her for a moment, to warn her about what she was getting herself into. But it clicked that having her lose might teach her a thing or two. Plus, it’d be funny as all Tartarus. “You know, whatever, let’s play.” I rolled my eyes and held my hoof out to the deplorable stallion.

Polished Jade passed the dice to me with his dubious smile. I quickly tested it for cheating, rolling each one a few times. He gave me a hurt look, but I didn’t care. Mayall on the other hoof rolled the die’s a few times playfully. Some drinks were placed in front of us, and the game was on. The first one to three wins was the victor, then either way, we were out of here.

I rolled a 6, 5, 2, 1. Polished a 4, 2, 6, 4. Mayall all 5’s, beginners luck.

Re rolling my 2 and 1 became a 3, 5. Polished rolled his 2, getting a 5. Mayall rolled two of her fives, getting two 6’s putting her over by one point.

Mayall was out, and I rolled again changing my 3, and getting a 1. Polished rolled one of is fours, getting a 5. Unwilling to take the loss, I rolled my new 1, it becoming a 6. His win.

The second round went to Mayall, who managed to roll 21 on her first go. The third round went to Polish after a prolonged bout of me re-rolling one die, only to end up going over. It made me glad I was not playing with bits, or I’d have lost quite a few that round. The next round finally went in my favor, though Polish and I rerolled die many times before he went over. Polish won the next round, as I rolled four 6’s at the start, and Mayall not even paying enough attention to the point she turned a winning roll into a losing one.

With a big smirk on his face, Polished stretched his legs before getting out of his seat. “It’s a shame that two of you got away, but a win's a win.” He pointed at me. “I got something nice for you to put on.” His hoof moved over to pointing at Mayall. “And you, the same rules don’t apply to you, so you’re going to provide me with a private show.”

Red Steel trotted over to me and whispered, “Are you sure this is wise, miss Vibraphone”?

I shook my head, and whispered back, “No, but it’s going to be funny, just trust me. Mayall is not a normal pony.” Looking back at the others, I couldn’t help but snicker at Merit, his skirt barely covering anything with how short it was. Though, if I had to say, he didn’t look all that uncomfortable in it. “So, Merit, enjoying the skirt?”

He shrugged. “This is not as bad as flight camp I guess. Some of the other stallions and I decided to mess with the mares when they were training. Short skirts, pompoms, and a few of us even threw wigs on. It was hilarious how all the mares kept falling over themselves looking at us. Of corse, the raging boaner one of the other stallions had probably was the main distraction. The drill sergeant had us clean the base in those outfits for a week because of that little stunt.”

Sweet snickered, and I immediately knew what she was thinking, but she was too far away from me to shut her up. “One time when we just got our mercenary job started, some pony had mistaken our escort work for the not bodyguard kind. The pony even provided the outfits, the surliest looking red dresses we’d ever seen. Well, the idiot was lucky she’d hired us anyway, cause some loan sharks were waiting to collect on her ass. They didn’t see us coming, but they did manage to run off with Viby’s dress. Seeing her walking around in sexy undies for the night was almost too good, but the best part…”

I could feel my face turn red as I banged on the table. “could you not.”

“Oh, come on, it was romantic!” Sweet frowned, “Ehhh, I’ll tell it anyways. Basically, she got hammered with the client, and they ended up sleeping with each other. Along with this cute little waitress, and some stressed out business mare.” She snickered again. “Amazing how Viby scored three girlfriends in one night.”

I downed the beer in front of me, not caring who’s it was. “It took a month to get them to stop calling me, I had to go to one of their places personally to tell them to stop.”

“Oh, is that why you went?” Sweet added. “I seem to recall that you were there all night.”

“She was crying, going on about how lonely she was,” I just sighed. That had been an awkward night I wish I could just forget. “I couldn’t just leave her like that.”

“and...?” Sweet prodded me with her grin.

“Fine!” I blurted out. “We ended up sleeping with each other one last time. She was not a bad looking mare, just... not my type.” Deadpanning at her, she stuck her tongue out playfully at me. “So are we done bringing up my past? Or should we talk about your little flings, Sweet.”

She shrugged. “Be my guest, it’s nothing I’m embarrassed by.”

“Like how you dated a bandit for over a month.” I pointed out.

“Oh ya, she was awesome!” She gave a soft laugh. “I mean I didn’t know about the banditry part, but her style, so sexy. Little studs pierced all over, the black markup and cloths….”

I cut her off again by banging on the table. “You know what, fuck it, let’s just not.”

“So…” Merit spoke up. “Does anypony here think Mayall even understands what Polished wants?”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” the scream came from Polished’s room. The door flung open, and the stallion deftly rolled out of it. Springing over to us, his hooves hit the table. “What the fuck is that.”

Mayall trotted out of the room, missing her military jacket, and her disguise not on. The crab pony simply waved her leg at us, to which I waved back. She honestly looked a bit too innocent for a mutant abomination.

“That’s Mayall,” I head back a laugh as Polished couldn’t take his fearful eyes off her. “She’s a mutant sand-lurk… that glows.”

Polished looked from me to Mayall, and back to me a few times. “How?”

“Don’t know, and I don’t rightly care because she’s a friend.” I shrugged. “But if you don’t stop fucking around with us, then maybe every pony will find out that you got all hot and bothered over a crab.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” He huffed, glaring into my eyes.

My revolver slipped from my vest, and pointed into the Dukes face. The levitation talisman imbedded into the gun made the movement smooth and strong, like I had seen some unicorns do.

“I’ll be straight with you,” I began, making him swallow his own anger as my gun pressed againsth is chin. “from what I’ve heard already, you getting off on crabs is probably not the worst thing I’ve heard said about you. But that aside, we need to get moving, the sooner the better.” I put my revolver away and looked over at Harp. “We have an important delivery to make, so if you would be so kind and help us out, and then we can pretend none of this ever happened.”

“I see I was right about you Orthrus ponies.” The stallion pushed himself off the table, brushed himself off, and regained his composer. “You’re not much fun. It’s a shame really, because you look like you could do with some downtime.” Polished Jade Kept his distance from Mayall as she rejoined us, turning her disguise back on. “But it’s going to take more than a day to get the paperwork ready, not to mention greasing a few wheel’s to get you where you need to go. With a request like this, my head could end up rolling if I did anything rash.”

Before he could trot to the door, he was cut off by Shamisen. “Good sir, I know that today has not been the most hospitable, and catering to one as important as yourself is what we're here for.” She paused for a moment to rephrase, “Well, that’s what my sister is here for. I on the other hoof, manage mercenaries, smugglers, and the occasion bandit team. Real ugly business sometimes, they don’t get along well you see.”

“And your point is, Mirage?” Polished said with a snarl.

“Well,” Shamisen just smiled. “recently my place of business had a run-in with the republic. You know the kind, fanatics backed up by a solder or two. Which means I can’t do my business there anymore, so I’m setting up shop here. That includes my dealing with mercenaries, smugglers, and the odd bandit team. Which means this station is going to start having new ponies passing through on the regular. And before you ask, no, they’re not the whores my sister manages.” She looked over passed Polished, and waved at me. For as fuming as his expression had become, Polished followed her eyes over to me. “For your information, she’s one of the nicer mercenaries who does business with me. So you’d do well to keep your grabby hooves in check around here from now on, or I won’t be liable for what may happen to them.”

“I’ll have your papers ready in an hour,” With a huff, Polished trotted to the door. “you can pick them up at the north gate. But don’t expect any extra special treatment from me after this. And once this is finished, definitely don’t come asking for my help again.” The door slammed as he left.

Temboril trotted over, looking less than comfortable with her revolver floating next to her. Her burning glare was almost as bad as Polished had been, but somehow I felt like I didn’t deserve to be on this end of it.

“Next time, keep your gun holstered, or I will shoot you.” She placed her gun in her tight-fitting jacket, and trotted off. Okay… had she not just experienced the same shit from Polished that the rest of us had? Her very real threat to me was lessened by the all too tight fitting shorts she had on. I may not be into mares, but Temboril did look hot in those shorts.

“On that note, I should get changed too.” Merit spoke up as he turned to me with a smile. “You mind helping me get this off?”

“I don’t mind getting you off.” I nodded without thinking. Merit’s eye’s widened for a moment as I realized what I’d just said. “Get those clothes off, yes, I can do that.” Smooth as silk, Vibe...

I could still hear Sweet snickering as we entered one of the rooms, making me feel a little uncomfortable. The room itself was dimly lit, and the bed… the bed was a big heart. Actually, everything in here was heart shaped for some reason. Paintings of mares and stallions decorated the walls, each of them dressed up in some surly looking outfit and posed in a suggestive manner.

“So why do you need help with this again?” I asked Merit.

“The damn thing is hooked together, and it’s too tight for me to reach on my own.” The stallion sighed and pointed his hoof at his back. “Sweet was the one who put it on me, same for the top.”

“Right, just sit there, I’ll get… I’ll unhook you.” He sat down on the bed, and I couldn’t help but find the now venerable stallion as a little cute. Though the cheerleader outfit was just not him, even a mare his age would have had trouble pulling the look off. But it was not going to stop me from having a little fun with him. Instead of getting up behind him, I instead sat on his lap and reach behind him. “This will just take a moment.”

He just stared at me deadpanned. “You know I was having enough trouble keeping it at half-mast, right?”

I giggled a little, “well keep in down unless you want me too…” I felt something poking my stomach. “well undoing the skirt is going to be a bit... difficult with that in the way.” You know, maybe there was something else that could help deal with my stress instead of taking more of those damned pills.

Merit smiled. “You could always help a stallion out in a different way.” Maybe I wasn’t the only pony who needed to relax a bit either.

Rolling my eyes, I pushed him on his back as a smile pulled across my muzzle. “Let’s make this quick.”

The duke had not decided to show up at the gate, sending a messenger pony in his place with the documentations needed for us to pass.

“Everything checks out here.” The guard spoke. “Including an order to shoot all of you if you try to come back. Except for the mare in red.” Waving at another guard, the gate opened, and we hopped down onto the tracks. With everything on royal lockdown, we were going to have to hoof it.

The gates closed behind us, surrounding us with almost complete darkness. Only the faint light from the single old light bulb on the gate itself provided little help to beat it back. Switching on the backlight to our pipbucks, the green light provided us just enough light to see where our hooves stepped, but not much else.

“Alright everypony, there’s a split in the rails two miles up. That’s where we part ways, but until then, Vibraphone and I will take point. Temboril and Sweet, you cover the rear. The rest of you, just stay between us and we will take care of the pests.”

The walk through the darkness was reminiscent of a walk on the big island, just with no plant roots breaking through. It was strange though. The tunnels from the big island always gave off a feeling of wilderness run amok. But here, in this tunnel, it gave off nothing but cold concrete and steel. It was a place where nothing lived, where nothing could live.

“Eyes forward.” Rototom whispered. “With the rail lines shut down, there should be a lot more activity from the undesirables.”

“If it’s rad-roaches, then nothing new sis.” I rolled my eyes. “If you’re talking about bandits, were too heavily armed for them to want to try.”

“Heavily armed or not doesn’t matter to a drugged up bandit.” She sighed. “Expect the unexpected little sis, but you already know that.”

“Like you, and stupid your plans.” I spat back at her.

“I was trying to help you.” Was her response, which to be honest felt like it was missing a whole lot more of a sincere tone than it definitely needed.

“Help… right.” It just pissed me off how she always thought she knew what was best for me. “I was doing just fine working with the administration. You may think that paper pushing isn’t any fun, but it pays well, and you don’t end up getting shot at.”

“Really,” I heard a little groan come from her, “you wanted to spend the rest of your life looking over other ponies’ paperwork? Dotting and crossing the errors they missed when you could do so much more than that.”

“You mean get shot at and rarely payed all that well.” I had done so much to relax back there with Merit that I’d actually had a good feeling going on. Now thanks to her, it was now gone. “I prefer boring and safe over this shit anyday.”

“You’d rather have dead end boring busywork?” Rototom said in a mocking tone at me. “They shoved you in some back corner and were in the process of forgetting you even existed. But what do I know? It’s not like ponies call you the dragon slayer now or anything.”

“And it’s not like a collective group of assholes cut open your skull and fucking raped your brain!” I spat back at her, looking her in the eyes. “I’ve heard that ignorance is bliss, and think I might agree! No, you know what, I know it’s true. Right now, I’d rather be working a boring desk job, making a meager living that lets me go out drinking with Sweet, rather than worrying about all of us being turned into brains in jars for some goddess damn soulless republic computer network! So why don’t you shut up and get off my fucking back for once!”

Rototom glared at me for a moment before turning her head back down the tunnel. “Fine, but I’m right and you know it.”

I didn’t respond, continuing talking with her was too frustrating to want to even keep arguing. I had better things to do that talk with her. Instead, I simply kept my eyes open for something to fill full of holes to bleed off some of this frustration. Because as it sat, Rototom’s flank was looking like a pretty good target at the moment.

The odd oversized insect crossed our path a few times, however most of them smart enough to scurry away as soon as they saw us. Which of course, didn’t help with my frustrations. Other signs of life were of the pony variety, though it was mostly the skeletal remains of long dead and forgotten ponies.

Orthrus didn’t maintain the tunnels here, and it seemed that the Orphic Kingdome didn’t care to regularly patrol or clean them. Every now and then, small squatter camps could be found. Some were totally empty, others still held a dead pony or two long forgotten by the world. We didn’t stop to see how they died, not like much evidence was left to check, as the insects down here had striped their flesh long ago. It hadn’t taken too long before we came to the first fork in the road. Rototom trotting to the left side, took a long look down the tunnel before speaking.

“Right, time we part ways, so remember the plan.” We all nodded in agreement, no pony wanting to spill the beans with Red Steel around. With luck, we can just drop her off at the next station without any trouble.

Parting ways, we were down three ponies, not that it bothered me. To be honest, having Rototom gone took a lot of weight off my shoulders. But still, the unexpected addition of Red Steel still worried me. Red Steel seemed capable on her own, sure, but deep dwellers were known for looking far more capable than they actually were. Which is partly why they could walk around with impunity most times in markets like back at the station.

Mayall on the other hoof could probably trot through the jungle aimlessly and be perfectly safe. It was probably because she was not an actual pony, but some crab monster in the shape of a pony. Still, I just had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t send any station into a fit panic.

A strange thought occurred to me. Both Mayall and Turnip both could trot around a station without too much of a problem so long as they wore the simplest of disguises. Maybe they had some sort of innate magic about them. It would make sense, seeing that machines had a hard time picking them up, and my pipleg couldn’t even detect her unless she was right there next to me.

I looked down at my mechanical leg as we walked, wondering if it was affecting my senses at all. I’d remembered that I had seen a few horror movies using cybernetics as a plot point. They always showed the pony lose their sense of self the more mechanical they got, slowly becoming a monster. Having grown up in a society surrounded by cybernetics, the thought was laughable to me. Still with recent brain related events, I had to wonder if I already put more trust in my augmented limbs than I should.

“Haya!” I almost jumped out of my skin as Red Steel shouted and trotted up next to me. “If it’s not too much of me prying, I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to have just a teensy bit of sister issues going on?”

“A bit, yeah.” I responded. “But if you want to talk about ponies with real family problems, you should talk to the two younger mares behind us. They make my problems look childish in comparison.”

“Ah, such is life.” Red sighed as she seemed more relaxed than one should be for trotting through a dark tunnel. The light of my pipleg illuminated her face, and the little grin on her face all but confirmed the odd calmness about her. “But I want to know about you. Like how you got the title of Dragon Slayer?”

“Somepony talks to much.” I sighed, “But ya, I killed a Paradise Dragon. Two actually, but it had more to do with luck than any amount of skill.”

She nodded. “Still, dragons are not something easy to kill. And two of them makes that quite the feat.”

“Yeah, they’re not easy to kill. At least, that’s what the legends and guides say.” I tapped at my air rifle. “But the dragons here are nothing more than overgrown lizards. If you have the right tools, and can avoid getting ambushed, anypony can kill one. With more than a bit of luck, of course.”

“Says the pony called Dragon Slayer.” Red chuckled.

“Introduce me to a real dragon, and we’ll see if the title sticks then.” I lightly huffed as Red kept a smile on her face. “So, what dealing do you have at the next station?”

“Oh, not much.” She said, “Some of my subordinates have been getting too rowdy, so I need to make an appearance in order to calm them down.”

“Sounds troublesome.” I responded.

“Those louts can be dumb as bricks at times, and they like the drink a bit too much.” She nodded. “But I need them to maintain order, or even worse problems will bubble up to the surface.”

The sound of hoof steps to my right caught my attention. Merit trotted up alongside of me, his eyes darting about every so often. “Sorry to eavesdrop miss Red, a bit hard not to here in a tunnel such as this.” Miss red Nodded. “But I wanted to ask you something. A bit of a hypothetical question.”

“Shoot, Flyer” she responded.

“If the deep dwellers were offered a way off the island, like let’s say, secured passage inside a cloud city. How likely would they be to take it?” I see what he was getting at, and I couldn’t really blame him. Gauging what one of the nobles though about the idea of being free from the metro was actually a good way of getting a sort of unbiased opinion, free of metro governmental bureaucracy.

Red Steel stayed quiet for a moment as she mulled the question over. For a few moments, the only sound in the tunnels were that of our hoof steps.

“Can’t rightly say.” She sounded conflicted, or just not sure of her own answer. “Power structures can be a fragile thing, yes. It’s an opportunity to become free, but that freedom comes at the cost of power. It’s like being a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in an ocean. Only those willing to take the risk will seek freedom, the others? Well that’s where strength of arms comes into play.”

I saw Merit nod with a solemn look on his face. “I can see that, for some ponies, it may not be worth it.”

“True.” Red said with a nod. “But that’s not all. Some ponies find power in the freedom that there’s nothing holding them back. Live by the gun, die by the gun. Think of it as a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.”

“Ya.” Merit sighed. “Either way, ponies are going to suffer. I guess the question is, which option makes them suffer less?”

A red dot appeared on my E.F.S. likely another bug, but I readied rifle, preparing myself for a fight. Red and Merit stopped too, looking down into the darkness of the tunnel ahead.

“How much do you want to bet it’s just a rad-roach?” Merit chuckled.

“Bloat sprites seem to be common around here as well.” Red added.

The dot didn’t move, ligating in front of us, meaning that it was not a bug. At the very least, it was something smart enough to try to not give itself away. I readied my rifle, levitating it to my side as I shouted down the tunnel.

“Whoever’s out there, lower your weapon, we mean you know harm!” My words echoed down the empty tunnel as I brought my rifle closer to me.

A long pause stretched out for merely a minute before another red dot appears, along with a voice from our back spoke up. “You fucking spooked them you idgit.” A dirty mirage pony stepped out, wearing two modified AG3’s on her sides. The guns didn’t look like much, but I was sure that even corroded air powered blunderbus like she wore would rip through us like paper.

A few more dots appeared on mt EFS, and soon the ponies stepped into the light, five, six, nine of them surrounding us on both sides, each one armed with either a junky looking AG, or similer AG3’s with large air tanks like the first pony had. The bandits looked like they were in serious need of a wash, and something to eat. Most of them were down to just skin and bones, and some of them looked fairly battered and bruised.

“Oy, give us all the food and drink you have.” The first mare spoke up. “And anything else valuable if ya wanna live.”

Thought as much. Starving ponies pushed into banditry. “We don’t have much, but we can give you some of our rations.” I could probably take them out with the help of the others, but not without a substantial risk to Red. So, giving them something was the better option.

“You don’t get to choose what you give up bitch.” The leader was stern, she probably had to be, but she was also getting on my bad side. “Drop it all, or you die.”

“Oh my, you poor souls.” Red Steel spoke up, catching their attention. “To think, such suffering ponies lived under the kingdoms noses. You must live such harsh lives.”

“Yas.” One bandit sniffled and nodded sadly.

The bandit leader rolled her eyes. “Enough! Everypony, strip them, don’t leave nothing behind, got it?”

The other bandits nodded and moved in closer. I looked back at Sweet, who simply winked back at me. Six shots each, nine ponies to get rid of, we were going to have to make this quick. But that’s what they made SATS for...

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

Each bandit dropped as bullets flew out like somepony had fired an SMG. I nearly threw myself to the ground due to the sheer volume of fire that poured through the air. Who the hell had opened up? Was there another group around? Scanning with my EFS, I didn’t see a single red blip left.

Next to me, standing as proud as ever, was Red Steel. Six liberation-45’s floated in the air around her as she wore a smile too pleasant for having just gunned down all those bandits.

“like a shark in a pool full of guppy’s” left my mouth as she reloaded her guns before putting them back into the various hiding places on her body. Looking at the Bandits, they all took a bullet to the head. Impeccable marksponyship if I must say, though with how week they looked, any shot on them would likely have killed them anyway.

“So,” Red spoke up, looking pleased with herself. “Shall we resume our journey?”

“Let’s, before any more bandits show up.” I spoke with a nod, feeling a bit taken back. Our hoofsteps once again echoed down the dark tunnel, leaving the sudden burst of violence behind us.

Lights beamed away the darkness around us as we arrived at Polynices Station. It wasn’t uncommon to light up the tunnels like this at entrances, seeing as once your eyes adjusted to the dark, the intensity really screwed with you. At least it messed with everypony except for Sweet that is. The brightness was something I was forcing myself to deal with while wondering if having my eyes scooped out like Sweet did would be worth never having to deal with this shit again.

“Turn back you ragged vagabonds, or we’ll start shooting!” A stallion shouted from behind the light.

“Wait,” Another voice called out, this time a mare. “Hold up, they’re not stripes.”

The stallion grunted. “You’re right. Hay, what the fuck are you all doing out here? Are you trying to get robbed by the dirty stripes?”

“We have business at this station.” I signed, remembering why I hated dealing with deep dwellers. I lifted my pass. “We have passes signed by Duke Polished Jade, so let us in.”

“Right, right. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” Spoke the mare. Now that he mentioned it, I wish I’d brought some extra panties with me for this trip. “Let us see if your passes check out, and then you folks can get moving.”

Most of the lights turned off, and we could finally properly see the entrance. Two ponies guarded it from a rickety balcony that had been constructed over the entrance. The stallion kept his gun trained on us while the mare busily lowered a basket down to our level.

“Now don’t make any strange movements, or I won’t hesitate to roast you all.” The stallion said as he tapped his gun. “This here javelin launcher is armed with an incendiary grenade head, so marked yourself properly warned.”

The Javelin Launchers, a class of air rifle, and commonly used as air propelled grenade launchers. From what I've heard, their one of the more popular heavy air guns in this part of the metro. Basically, just an air container, a shaft, a rig, and the javelin or arrow, depending on size of the launcher. The one the stallion was using was extra beefy, meaning it would have a lot of power behind it, probably enough to get any kind of pony armor. I figured the pony was compensating, but it didn't make him any less dangerous.

Out of the front of the rifle stuck the specialized ‘grenade’ round. It was pretty much just an old world pressurized jug filled with highly flammable liquid stuck onto the end of a forcing rod to project it out of the launcher. It sported the same hoof painted flame job across the warhead part of it that most did, which I always thought was a bit too flashy. Flashy drew attention in a firefight, and that was not something you want getting shot before you can launch it at whoever was attacking you. I rarely saw them in any other part of the metro, mostly because of all you had was one shot, and reloading could take up to a minute or more to do.

I took the rest of every ponies passes and put them into the basket, sending them up to take a look at them. After a few long minutes, and a good bit of trying not to stare down the stallion who was among the APG at us, the mare dropped down the basket to us.

“It all checks out,” She grumbled as I cleaned out the basket and hooved back the passes to everyone. “Welcome to Polynices Station, now keep your nose clean. Cause no trouble.”

The door to the station slowly creaked open, bathing us in the light from within. My eyes quickly adjusted as we entered, and immediately I felt a bit more at ease. The cold gray tunnels we’d gotten used to, gave way to a warm station filled with colors. The walls were decorated with tapestries depicting the old world, with ponies frolicking in grassy fields with happy smiles across their faces. Unlike Silver Screen Station, there was a lot more space here, with no ponies sitting crammed into small homes that were packed together along the walls. The ponies that were around were all clean deep dwellers. All of them.

As we trotted further into the station, I had a distinct feeling that we were being watched. I was not too surprised that we were, as same thing happened at Silver Screen Station. Entering a station during a lockdown was suspicious, and I’d be looking into anypony who didn’t seem to display that. Merit trotted up to me, looking a bit nervous.

“Not to sound paranoid,” He gave me a weak smile as he spoke softly, “but I have a strange feeling that every pony is watching us.” I was about to agree with him, but he continued. “Also, it might just be me, but it seems like their all ready for a military ball, or something. I mean, what’s with the parade attire?”

I looked around, and every pony here did seem a bit dressed up, with many sporting a royal purple uniform accented with silver. Those with the sharp military outfit also sported hats depicting the platinum crown. Other ponies who didn’t wear said uniform seemed to be working, and were all clad in plain tan uniforms. The workers looked to all be armed with both javelin launchers and 10mm pistols, which was quite the loadout for basic workers. Among all of them though, not a single Mirage pony could be seen by me. Coming from a place on the lslands where it was feasible to go your whole life without seeing a deep dweller, and only ever see Mirage ponies, it made me more uncomfortable than I’d like to admit.

Looking back at Merit, I nodded in agreement. “Let’s not stay long here.” Remembering one of our two tagalongs in this mission, I trotted over to Red Seal. “Miss Red, now that you’re safely here, I think it’s time we part ways.”

“I do agree.” She responded, but nodded past me. “Except that I think that pony ahead of us wants to meet with us all.”

I looked on ahead to where she’d directed my vision. The direction to the surface exit was blocked off by tan uniform ponies, as were all the other ways out of the main tunnel we were in. At the end and only viable exit, was a pony sitting on a podium that was surrounded by guard’s ponies. A stallion with a pale blue coat and a blond mane sat prominently behind it, dressed in a snappy black suit with purple and silver trimmings. The whole getup along with the way he sat made him look regal, and very much like he was the one in charge here.

Golden Rule, Harps older brother, looked down at us, seeming less than pleased by our presence. “You do know that this is not the best time for ponies to be moving about between stations. You could be mistaken for stirring up trouble. Now state your business here.”

His eyes drifted between us, but he didn’t seem to recognize me, or Harp. That or he pretended not to, It had been sometime since Ironshod, but still, I had a bad feeling about this.. “Me, and my friends are just passing through, and our only reason to be here is as escorts of lady Red Steel. Now that she is here, we’re due to leave as soon as we can.”

“Good genital stallion,” Miss Red Steel stepped up, catching Golden Rule’s eyes. “I’m here looking to get in contact with a group of ponies under my employ. A bit of a rowdy bunch, I was sure if they were left alone for too long, they my cause problems.”

Golden Rule frowned. “I believe I know of whom you speak. Those thugs were cast out of the station a few days ago, along with the other undesirables who don’t belong here. We can’t have them tracking mud all over and filling this place with their impure stench.”

“Oh, is that so?” Red responded with a song like tone. She looked from Golden back over to me. “A shame. Looks like I’ll be sticking with you a little longer.”

“Did you pack a gasmask?” I asked flatly. This was not part of the plan.

She nodded. “I’m tempted to put it on wherever I go, the air here is just terrible.”

I looked back at Golden Rule. “Right, It seems that you don’t want any visitors right now, so if you just let us leave to the surface, well get out of your mane as soon we can.”

“That would likely be for the best.” The stallion nodded. His eyes lingered on me for a moment before drifting to the side, the side Harp was one. “But there’s a small problem, maybe you could help me solve a question of mine.” His eyes drifted back to me. “Miss Dragon Slayer, why is it that you have brought my littlest sister here?” He raised his hoof up, and all the gaurds ponies aimed their guns at us.

I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “Well, fuck.”

Footnote:

-Status Effect: Chill Addiction (Withdraw) -1 to charisma and Luck.