Chapter 27 - Discovery, Part 2
“The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.”

Gertie hooked me into the harness for the skywagon and we were off in short order. Our destination was Fountainview to rescue Silver. Gertie was flying next to me, helping to keep an eye out for Enclave soldiers in case Muddy, or more likely the General, was done playing games.

“What do you think he’s really up to?” Gertie asked me. “Muddy, I mean?”

“I wish I had a clue, Gertie,” I answered. Truth was I had absolutely no idea what Muddy was playing at. “If he wanted everypony dead, he would have just killed them. If he wanted to torture me, he would have killed you guys in front of me. But this… this game? I have no idea why he is doing it this way.”

“Do I even have to say what I’m thinking?” she continued, with a smirk.

“No,” I said with a nod. “I know it’s a trap. It may or may not be waiting for us in Fountainview or The Garden, but I know Muddy has something planned.”

“Can I ask you a dumb question?” Gertie asked, her face betraying her concern. “Why do you continually risk yourself like this? I mean, the Wasteland sucks and it will always suck. Muddy has all but promised to kill you unless you help him. And if not you, he will kill the four of us and make you watch.” Her features softened. “Since the Wasteland can’t really be made any worse, why risk it? Not to mention the offer he has made to you… to return to the Enclave where things are better?”

“I don’t want anypony to get hurt, especially because of me,” I responded.

“But, Dust… ponies are getting hurt because of your choices…” she shot back. “I mean, revenge I would understand. Hell… I could even have accepted bloodlust as an answer. But while you are trying to save everypony, ponies are getting hurt and dying… especially those close to you.”

“Yes.. but…” I started to argue, but realized she had a point. I was getting my friends hurt. Or, to be more accurate, I was leading them to Muddy to get hurt. Even if I wasn’t actively trying to stop Muddy, he would probably be hunting me down, and using my friends to get to me. “He won’t stop. That much is obvious. And as shitty as the Wasteland is, I can’t just let it get worse. Not because of me.”

Gertie looked like she was going to argue the point, but the words never came. “So… Flower...,” she finally said. Gertie shook her head a little. “Still can’t believe she is a Dashite and that they took her wings. That shit is fucked up.”

“I always heard the rumors,” I grunted. “They are so afraid of the civilians learning the truth, they go to extreme measures to hide everything. If nopony sees the truth of what’s down here, then nopony can contradict the government line.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “And I never thought I would be a pony to say stuff like that. I used to be such a good, loyal Enclave soldier… until I came down here.”

“Hey now!” Gertie laughed. “Maybe that’s not the Wasteland’s fault. Maybe you’re just a shitty soldier.”

“Gee, thanks, Gertie,” I laughed back. When the laughter died down, I had to bring up something more serious. “So, what do you know about the cult that is supposedly at Fountainview?”

She let go a long whistle. “Buncha nutjobs if you ask me,” she answered. “They call themselves the Sunfire Cult. They worship some kind of fire pony.”

“How crazy are we talking here?” I asked, trying to formulate a plan. “Are we talking like the closeted Rainbow Dash admirers who just hope for a better tomorrow? Or are we talking more like the Dashites who make sacrifices and actively work against the Enclave?”

A tight grimace flashed across Gertie’s face. “It’s worse than that, from what I’ve heard,” she answered. “We’re talking robe-wearing, weapon brandishing, demagogue-worshipping type of cult.”

“Well, won’t this be fun,” I scoffed.

The skies began to darken as we continued flying. “Sun must be setting,” Gertie commented. “Let’s hope we can find Muddy’s soldiers before we can’t see.”

“That won’t be a problem,” I said, pointing to a small clearing a good distance from town itself. “They’re not even trying to hide. Then again, that’s not their goal, is it?”

Gertie huffed in response.

I began descending towards the clearing. As I thought, the soldiers made no move to attack or defend against us. The skywagon landed with a gentle thump behind me and Gertie landed right next to me. Shortly afterward, I heard the hatch on the skywagon creak open and Flower’s hoofsteps behind me.

“Took you long enough,” one of the soldiers, a blue mare, grunted. “Please tell me we’re the first place you came to,” she said.

“Sorry, we went to Trotwood first,” I said mockingly. Their faces twisted into a frown. “Lost the bet, I guess.”

“Fuck you, traitor,” the other soldier, a cream colored stallion spat out.

I had to admit, I took pleasure in ruining their day that way. “Where is Silver?” I asked.

“In town, somewhere,” the mare responded, nonplussed. “We dropped her off about, what, midday?” she said, looking at her partner for confirmation. He nodded back. “Alright, Twister, let’s head back to the farm.” The two soldiers walked towards their skywagon and paid us no further mind.

“Let’s go scope things out,” I recommended, pointing to a small rise which would give us a good look at the town.

We walked over to the rise and Gertie pulled out her sniper rifle and peered down the scope. After a few tense minutes, she hoofed the rifle over to me. “Take a look. You’re not gonna like what you see.”

She passed me the rifle and I peered through the scope. Fountainview was a lot like most Wasteland towns. The buildings were ramshackle collections of scrap metal and pieces of wood cobbled together into passable buildings. Most were one story buildings, but the occasional two story structure stuck out like a sore thumb. In fact, if it weren’t for the large, ornate, marble fountain in the center of town, I could think we were back in Coltington.

However, it was the ponies that made things really different. There seemed to be two different groups of ponies in town. One group of ponies were wearing nothing but rags. They were the ponies doing all the work: the carrying, building, farming, etc. They didn’t seem particularly mistreated, but they all were working with no sense of purpose, no urgency.

The other group was a different story altogether. These ponies were all wearing fancy-looking robes. They were all white, embellished with trim that was iridescent teal, purple, and blue. Where each pony’s cutie mark should have been, the robe had a different mark altogether. It was a stylized sun with arms of fire radiating out from it.It seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn’t really put my hoof on it. These ponies walked around town not really doing much of anything, except occasionally, one of the robes ponies would hit and yell at one of the ragged ponies.

“That the Sunfire Cult?” I asked Gertie, pulling the rifle away from my face and hoofing it to Flower.

“Looks that way,” she answered. When she saw the confused look on my face, she continued. “I have never really seen them before. Our company doesn’t usually operate this far west. We got rumors from merchants we ran across who had been out this way.” Her face tightened. “I also remember hearing that they aren’t too welcoming of strangers.”

“Uhh, Dust,” Flower muttered. “Yer gonna wanna see this.”

Flower hoofed the rifle back over to me and I peered back through the scope. All the robed ponies were gathering near the center of town. After they had all collected, the door to the largest building in town opened, and one of the rag wearing ponies was being dragged, forcibly, towards a large pile of wood with a stake in the middle. The two robed ponies that were dragging him then tied him tightly to the post.

After a few moments, another pony strode from the large building. He was a large crimson unicorn stallion with a golden mane and tail. He was wearing robes similar to the cultist ponies, but his was fringed in gold trim. His aqua colored eyes were welcoming, but also held a hint of something more sinister.

He strode confidently towards the wood pile. He began to talk to the collected group. If only I could read lips. The robed ponies would respond to some of his speech and he would continue on, frequently gesturing towards the sky, the collected group, or the pony attached to the stake.

Finally, with a grand sweep of his leg, the horns of two nearby unicorns became enrobed in light. The edge of the wood pile came alight.

“Oh, fuck, no,” I muttered. “They’re burning him alive!” I said more out of shock than to inform my friends. They simply gasped in response.

The wood must have been dry because the flames spread very quickly and very soon made it to the pony. He was struggling fiercely against his bonds, but he was secured too tightly. His clothes caught fire and I saw his mouth open in what I could only imagine were screams of pain. The fire beneath him grew in intensity. I could see patches of his coat burn away and the skin underneath start to bubble.

I dropped the rifle. I couldn’t bear to watch anymore. One’s drowning face flashed quickly in my mind, but I pushed it away. I didn’t want to think about which was worse.

There was a very uneasy silence that fell over the group. We could only exchange knowing glances.

“Sooo… we’re going to have to disguise ourselves and try to blend in then?” I asked uneasily.

“Well, I wasn’t saying it, but yeah,” Gertie answered with a nervous laugh. “Hey, at least it’s going to be dark out soon?” she phrased as a question, but it was clearly rhetorical.

“Yeah…” I huffed. “At least we can get closer without getting seen. But we still need to get our hooves on three sets of robes and learn more about them so we can blend in.”

“Dust,” Flower added after clearing her throat. “Do ya really think that’s such a good idea? I mean, I don’t see no other griffons in there… Gertie might stand out, in a bad way.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, Dust, she’s right,” Gertie admitted with a sigh. “I can provide overwatch and protect you from the air, especially if you wait until it’s dark. During the day, I’ll have to take up a position out here somewhere.”

“I’m not a huge fan of this plan…” I said, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it. “I don’t like leaving anypony behind anymore, but I can’t see any other way this will work.”

“Why don’t ya two try ta get a coupla hours sleep,” Flower offered. “Ah’ll take watch… ah got some shuteye on the flight over here.”

At the mention of sleep, I involuntarily had the biggest yawn I could remember. “That’s not such a bad idea.” Gertie nodded in agreement and followed me to the skywagon. I closed the door behind us with a clang. The windows on the skywagon were still letting a little light into the cabin, but I drew the integrated blinds which darkened the interior, hopefully, enough. After setting out the bedrolls we had packed, we both lied down on top.

After I got settled on the floor, Gertie rolled over and tried to rest her head on my shoulder. “Dust, do you mind if I, um, ya know…” she mumbled.

“You know I don’t think...,” I began to say tersely, but then I looked down at Gertie’s face. Her features were tight and even in the twilight inside the cabin, I could see her eyes welling up with tears. “Ah, fuck it. Sure.”

A small grin erupted on her face as she slid up next to me and rested on my shoulder. “Dust, I know I’ve been a little selfish regarding you,” she said softly. “I know you were with Silver first and you have feelings for her, but it doesn’t change how I feel. And while I know that I can never replace her, just know that I’ll always be here for you.”

“Gertie, please…” I began to say, but she placed a talon across my lips.

“Shhh,” Gertie hushed me. “You don’t need to respond, it’s OK.”

I stopped trying to answer her and just laid there trying to sleep. I heard and felt Gertie’s breathing deepen and slow until I knew she was asleep. Shortly afterwards, I did the same.

A soft rapping on the skywagon roused me from my sleep. Gertie jumped up as if she’d heard a gunshot.

“Huh? What? Who?” she stammered as she frantically looked around the cabin, reaching for her rifle.

“It’s OK, Gertie,” I tried to comfort her. “It’s just Flower waking us up.”

“Oh,” she mumbled as I saw her visibly relax. “I guess it’s time to go see what’s up.”

We got up and worked our way outside the skywagon. Flower was waiting a few steps away looking toward Fountainview. The town was lit up with lantern light which flickered and cast shadows on the other buildings.

“Yeah, a cult overrun town at night lit by flickering lantern light,” Gertie deadpanned. “Not creepy at all.”

“Alright,” I began to describe my plan, as it was. “Gertie, get overhead and watch us from above. I’m not expecting much interaction tonight. Especially since we’re really just trying to see what this cult is like so we can fit in. If you can see a way to get some robes easily, that would be great.”

Gertie gave me a terse nod. “Be careful, Dust,” she said, her eyes betraying concern. “All I hear about this cult is bad.” She glanced at Flower, but not with the same depth of emotion as she did with me. “You too, Flower.” With several flaps of her wings, Gertie was airborne and disappeared into the dark.

“Alright, let’s see how close to town we can get,” I said, pointing towards the nearest building. Flower simply nodded.

We both crept towards town, keeping an eye for any movement that we could see in the dark. Fortunately, if it was too dark for us to see somepony else, it would be too dark for them to see us also.

We got to the buildings at the fringe of town without incident. Edging our way along the side of the nearest building, we moved to a position where we could see a lot of the town.

There were barely any ponies out in the central square at this time of night. A lone sentry ambled into view, yawning and shaking his head to fight off his fatigue. He was armed with a combat shotgun attached to a battle saddle, but the firing bit was in the inactive position. I couldn’t make out the grumbling he was doing under his breath, but he was obviously unhappy about guard duty.

Flower tapped my shoulder and pointed at the other end of the square. Another guard was strolling into the view. As the two approached each other, they stopped and shared an intricate hoofbump.

“May Celestia shine her light down on you,” the first guard intoned, seeming rather bored.

“And also on you,” the second guard responded. “I hate the fucking night shift.”

“Yeah, I hear ya,” the first replied. His mood then brightened visibly. “Did you hear?”

“Yeah! We’re going to have an Ascension soon!” the first said, positively giddy. “Can’t believe they found somepony important to sacrifice.”

“I know! It’s rare to find a pegasus,” the second sighed. “I can’t wait to bask in Daybreaker’s warmth. I hope the rest of the night passes quickly. I can’t wait. But I guess we better get back to it. Glory be to the sun.”

“And Celestia’s ever-lasting flame.”

The two parted ways and left the clearing. I looked at Flower and she furrowed her brow. Nodding, I agreed with her. I gestured around the back of the building and we both crept away.

“Let’s see if we can find where they might be keeping Silver,” I whispered.

We circled the town slowly, looking over every building we came to. None of the buildings had windows so we couldn’t really see what was inside, but we tried to discern the function of each building based on what was around. We found what we thought was an inn, a bar, several houses and a shop. Several of the buildings, however, were so nondescript, we couldn’t figure out what they were.

Until the last building. This was one of the few two-story buildings in Fountainview. While the construction was nothing unusual, the building was appointed with several crimson banners with the same stylized sun and fire symbol we saw on the robes of the cult members. It was also the only building where there were signs of activity on the inside. Flower and I crept our way to one of the corners near the front of the building and peered around the side. On the porch, flanking both sides of the door, were two more sentries, both armed with shotguns on battle saddles.

I gestured to head back behind the building and we crept our way back.

“I guess we found the headquarters, or whatever you want to call it,” I declared, shaking my head. “Heavily guarded in the front, and no way of knowing what’s inside. Luna be damned.”

“Dust, we have no way of knowing if that’s even where Silver is,” Flower whispered back. “She may be kept in another building completely, or…” she paused, shifting her weight between her hooves. “We may already be…”

“Flower, please, don’t say it,” I interrupted. “I need to believe she is still alive. If I lose anypony, especially her,” I said, pausing for a brief pang of guilt, “I don’t know what I will do.”

Flower simply responded with a nod. “We need ta find those robes and get inside that building then. What about the other two guards… we can probably isolate and take ‘em out one at a time. Let’s just hope we don’t come across any surprises.”

I smacked my hoof against my head so hard, it actually hurt. “You had to go ahead and say that, didn’t you.”
Flower gave back a sheepish grin.

Finding the first sentry wasn’t hard at all since he was ambling right towards us, just on the other side of the buildings we were slinking behind. Flower hid behind a different building as I went to check on the location of our first target and make sure there were no other guards around.

After feeling satisfied that the coast was clear, I watched the sentry with baited breath. He was taking his dear old time making his rounds. Eventually, he got close enough for our plan to work. Picking up a hoofful of dirt, I threw it against the nearest building. The mix of dirt and small rocks clattered against the steel sheeting that made up the walls of the structure.

“What the…” the sentry said as he turned in my direction.

I slunk further back down the alleyway I was in and waited to see if he took the bait. After several agonizing seconds, the hooded figure appeared in the alleyway and began to peer down the narrow path. His lantern cast a narrow circle of light around him, but did lend some light to the alley.

Picking up another hoofful of earth, I threw it up in the air between the buildings. The larger particles clattered on the ground, but the finer material made a cloud that lingered. The sentry crept down the alley towards me and neared Flower’s position. He swung the lantern left and right, looking for the source of the unusual sounds.

He approached the rear of the building that Flower had hidden herself behind and was about to turn to continue his search. However, before he had a chance, I galloped between two buildings as he was peering away from me.

“Wh… who goes there!” he cried out and I heard his hoofsteps quicken.

I turned and waited for him to approach. He turned the corner and swung the lantern towards me. I was momentarily blinded by the bright light thrown off by the flame.

“Who the fuck are…” he started.

Flower crept up behind him with her rifle in hoof. She raised it above her head and brought the stock down against the pony’s head with a sickening crunch. The sentry’s eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed like a sack of rocks.

“That’s one,” Flower called out cheerfully as she rummaged in her bag for rope and some cloth. In short order, I had stripped the sentry of his robes, and anything useful. The pony didn’t have much besides his weapon, a hoofful of caps, several rounds of ammo for his shotgun, and a small book. The leather bound tome was barely larger than a magazine for an assault rifle. The cover had the words “Scripture of Flame” stamped in gold leaf. Probably the mad ramblings of their leader.

Flower had the pony tied and gagged in short order. “We will have ta carry him back to the skywagon, but he should be out fer a while,” she whispered. “Let’s find the other sentry.”

We circled around the town again, but did not cross paths with the sentry.

“Dust, ah hate ta say this, but maybe we should split up,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe we’ll have better luck finding him.”

“I don’t know… I don’t like the idea of us splitting up,” I argued.

“Dust, we need a second set of robes,” she began to argue. “And we have ta do it before it’s morning. Besides, we have Gertie watchin overhead.”

“But…” I began to disagree but realized she was right.

After sharing a tense nod, we walked away in opposite directions. I was circling around town in the same direction we had already been traveling, while Flower was going the opposite.

Being alone, the lantern-cast shadows seemed more imposing, and the alleys and roadways felt like they were closing in on me. My hoofsteps sounded amplified in my own ears. The small, random sounds of the nighttime Wasteland caused me to jump a little.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts I didn’t hear the hoofsteps of the sentry growing louder. What I did manage to hear was the racking of a shotgun.

“Who the fuck are you!?” a stallion shouted out from behind me.

Instincts kicked in and I spun quickly and dove behind the nearest building. Peering around the corner, I saw the other, and only other, I hoped, sentry.

“Show yourself, slowly!” he yelled again.

Checking my weapon, I had a full clip and one in the chamber. If I played my cards right, I could spin out and take out the guard, if needed. But I needed to try to knock him out. A bloodied set of robes with several suspiciously bullet-shaped holes would bring too many questions.

A voice coming from directly behind me shattered my concentration. “I would do what he says,” another stallion voice called out.

Spinning around quickly, I saw another robed figure with a combat shotgun mounted on a battle saddle aimed squarely at me. However, next to him, manacled, gagged, and tied to a rope, was Flower. She had a pained look on her face. Fuck.

I dropped my weapon to the ground and tried to appear as harmless as possible. The stallion approached me and jabbed me in the gut with the barrel of his shotgun. “Move!” he growled.

“May Celestia shine her light down on you,” I recited, trying to convince them that I was a member of the cult.

“Nice try,” he grunted as he forced me forward.

“Brother!” the first guard called out when we rounded the corner of the building I had been using for cover. “I see Celestia has blessed you with luck this evening!”

“Celestia be praised indeed,” the second cultist answered back. “I found this one on the other side of the complex. I was bringing her to the Prophet when I heard you shouting at this one. I decided to come to help.”

“Firebrand will be so delighted!” the first guard gushed. “More heathens for sacrifice!”

“Truly!” the second guard muttered, his excitement clearly overcoming him. “It’s rare we have an ascension ceremony, but to have so many offerings! Daybreaker will surely bestow her blessings upon us.”

“Yes, she…” the first pony said, but cut off with a gurgle. Blood began to run from the corners of his mouth as his body slumped to the ground.

“What the fuck?” the second guard said from directly behind me.

I didn’t hesitate. Leaning forward, I bucked back as hard as I could. The now-too-familiar feeling of the shock ran up my legs and the sickeningly wet crunch met my ears. The stallion was driven backwards but remained upright.

Flower dove as soon as she saw the guard distracted. She threw her hooves over the head of the guard and pulled backwards hard. The rope between her hooves dug into the neck of the stallion and he began to gasp for air as he clutched his throat. Flower, to her credit, was not letting up. Even the gasping and gurgling ceased as Flower kept her grip tight. The stallion attempted to throw hooves into Flower, but he never had the angle.

The movement of his hooves slowed as his face began to take on a sickly blue hue. The attempted strikes became nothing more than taps. Eventually, the blows stopped altogether as his hooves dangled limply by his side.

After several seconds of inactivity, Flower loosened her grip and dropped the body to the ground. The body just lay there as we confirmed that he was, in fact, deceased.

“That’s two,” Flower said between ragged breaths. “And three?” she said, her inflection turning it into more of a question rather than a statement. She glanced past me at the body of the guard that had died unexpectedly.

A thud from behind drew my attention. Gertie had landed besides us, looking rather proud of herself. “I just can’t take you anywhere without running into trouble, can I?” she teased. “Did you see that? Completely neutralized from fifty yards up while hovering!” she continued, gushing.

“Yes, very impressive, Gertie,” I agreed. “I’m just glad the third guard was here so we got our second set of robes”

“Wow, way to be a killjoy, Dust,” Gertie deadpanned. “Need help moving the bodies?”

“Yeah, ‘specially since there are three now,” Flower mused. “Ah’ll go get the first one. You two can grab these guys.” She trotted off into the darkness.

“I hope we’ve got all the ponies on guard duty tonight,” I grunted as I lifted one of the bodies onto my back. “I don’t think I can handle another surprise.”

Gertie slung the other body over her shoulder. “Geez, what do these ponies eat!” she grunted as she strained under the weight.

“Did you happen to see anything else interesting while you were up there?” I asked, shuffling while trying not to drop the body.

“Nothing you probably don’t already know,” she answered. “I think you got all the night security and the only building with any activity is the two story building you and Flower hid behind for a while. Do you have a plan?”

“Far as I can tell, she has to be in that building,” I mused. “It’s the only one with lights on and guards posted in front. Where else can she be?”

“Okay… so how do you get inside?” Gertie asked.

“We can’t right now… the guards will probably never let us get close…” I began to brainstorm out loud. “During the day, we can probably mix in with another group going in and get past the guards.”

“Um…” Gertie looked at me nervously. “What if Silver is the sacrifice in the morning?”

“Oh… um,” I gulped. I hadn’t thought of that. “I don’t know… it’s not like we can just shoot our way through. All the cultists we’ve seen so far have been well armed. I can only imagine what a whole group of them would do.”

Gertie reached into her pockets and pulled out a frag grenade. “We do have these…” she offered.

“I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that,” I countered. “I don’t want to kill anypony unless we have to. Besides, it might hurt or kill Silver accidentally.”

We got back to the skywagon and dropped the bodies next to it. Gertie pulled off the good set of robes from the choked out guard. The other set had gotten too blood stained to use. Flower arrived a few minutes later with her pony. He was still unconscious and his bindings held.

“Gertie, get back airborne and watch from above until daylight,” I said, formulating a plan. “When it gets light enough to be seen, land and get the best vantage point you can. Flower, you and I have a ceremony to attend.”

Gertie nodded, jumped, and became airborne again. Flower took out the set of robes she removed from the pony earlier and slipped into them. They were a little big on her, but it wasn’t really noticeable unless you looked closely. I slipped into my set of robes which were a good fit, even with the armor and wings.

Flower drew her hood up over her head. When it was in place, you could barely see her face with only the tip of her snout sticking out. It was great concealment. I drew my hood up also and got an approving nod from Flower.

We made our way back to town. On the way, we had formulated a plan to continue circling the town like the guards had been to maintain our cover. It would also allow us to get a closer look at the front of the building we thought was where Silver was being held. But it also meant we had to split up again. There was no argument though… it would be too suspicious if two guards patrolled together when they hadn’t been doing it before.

The first time I drew near the building, one of the guards spoke. “May Celestia shine her light down on you,” he recited, almost mechanically.

“And also on you,” I responded.

“Don’t normally see you during rounds, everything OK?” the guard asked.

Shit. “Yeah, just figured I’d mix things up… try to stay awake…” I explained, hoping it would pass muster.

“I hear ya… don’t forget you’re needed for setup shortly before sunrise.”

“Y… yeah… gotcha,” I answered. Setup for what, I wondered.

I continued my “rounds” and ran into Flower. “See anything?” she asked.

“No… the guards questioned me,” I informed her. “The guards don’t usually patrol in front of that building.”

“Noted… “ Flower said, but was interrupted by a rhythmic, banging sound. “The fuck?”

The sound was coming from the direction of the headquarters, for lack of a better term. We both gave each other a knowing glance and started walking back towards the main building. Hiding in the shadows, we peered around the corner.

A unicorn in rags had his horn was aglow in orange magic. In front of him stood a large post. A sledgehammer held aloft in a matching orange field was pounding away on the top of the post. Meanwhile, several more of the ponies wearing rags were either pulling carts filled with wood or holding piles of wood in magical fields. The wood was being piled up around the base of the post.

“Oh, crap, this doesn’t look good,” I mumbled. “Does that look like…”

“Yup,” Flower answered, not letting me finished.

“You don’t think they intend to,” I asked, in shock.

“Yup,” she repeated.

“Shit,” I muttered. “And dawn isn’t too far away, is it?”

Flower looked over her shoulder and the sky in the distance was beginning to lighten. “Nope.”

Slowly, more of the ponies in robes filtered into the main square of the town. The long robes and the large hoods concealed most of their features except their snouts. Most were getting close to the wood pile. Others had stopped to talk to other ponies.

The crowd grew larger and the din grew as a multitude of conversations were being held. The snippets of the conversations we could hear from where we had been waiting were mainly about the ceremony. Nopony was talking about details, just that it was going to be an amazing ceremony, whatever this Ascension was.

After full daylight had filtered through the town, the door to the main building swung open. The two guards flanking the door snapped to attention. The crowd immediately in front of the building ceased their conversations and fully focused on the doorway. Eventually, the silence filtered its way through the crowd.

The large stallion from the previous night appeared in the doorway of the main building. He strode down the stairs and across the main square towards the wood pile. He stopped several paces away and turned to face the crowd.

“Good morning ponies!” he bellowed. “It appears Celestia has graced us with her eternal light again! Glory be to Celestia!”

“Glory to the sun!” the crowd returned, in unison.

“May Celestia shine her everlasting light on you!” the leader bellowed.

“And also on you!” the crowd droned.

“Today is an auspicious day!” the leader droned on. “It has been far too long since we have had an ascension!”

The crowd erupted into cheers. Ponies were excitedly chatting between each other. A small group of ponies near the front looked especially excited.

The leader reared up on his legs to calm the crowd down. “We have been fortunate enough to have been given a suitable sacrifice for Celestia! On this joyous day we will reinforce our love for Celestia and all she so generously gives us! We will bask in her light!”

“Celestia be praised!” the crowd cheered.

“Bring out the sacrifice!” the leader bellowed.

The crowd erupted into another set of cheers as the doors to the main building in the square reopened. Two robed ponies emerged holding ropes in their mouths. Behind them was another pony in a flowing, white hooded gown. Her entire body was hidden by the garment. She was being partly dragged by the ropes of the lead ponies tied around her neck. Two additional robed ponies trailed the rest of the group with their weapons trained on the pony in the gown.

She was led to the wood pile and the four ponies went to work securing her to the post. It took several minutes as the pony began to struggle against the cultists, but it was to no avail. Eventually, the four stepped away leaving a clear line of sight. The hood had fallen away from the face of the pony. It was Silver!

“Sil…” I began to cry out before a hoof slammed across my mouth.

“Goddess damn it, Dust,” Flower hissed at me. “Yer gonna get yerself killed if you do that!”

“But we have to…” I began to protest.

“Ah know…” she answered, “but we need a better plan than just runnin’ in there all half cocked.”

The crimson stallion reared up once again to calm the crowd. “Oh great Celestia!” he began. “Your loyal servants wish to demonstrate their love and devotion to you. You bless us with the gifts of food and shelter. You keep us safe from the other threats of the Wasteland. And for that, we are grateful.”

“Praise be to Celestia!” the crowd responded.

“And now, to show our love,” he continued. “We wish to make an offering to you!”

“Celestia is love! Celestia is life!” the crowd droned.

“And look!” the stallion gasped, pointing behind the crowd. “We have been honored with her presence here today!”

“What the fuck does he mean…” I began as I turned my head to look.

From the east, a white form began to emerge. As it got closer, details could be made out. It was a white pegasus… wait… no… pegasi didn’t have horns, too. It was an alicorn! This would not be good… alicorns always fucked things up whenever they appeared. But something felt off…

Flower and I looked at each other. “A white alicorn?” we said at the same time.

“I have never even heard of white alicorns, anywhere,” Flower said in shock.

As the alicorn drew nearer, you could make out the flowing teal, blue, and pink mane and tail. On her flank, there was a sun with radiating arms cutie mark. Holy shit.

Flower gasped. “No…. it can’t be… this isn’t possible,” she muttered, her words matching my thoughts. How could this be? Didn’t Celestia die in Canterlot on the Last Day?

Celestia flew overhead. If this was a fake, then it was a damned good fake. She landed gently next to the cult leader. All the ponies, dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves.

“Rise, my little ponies,” Celestia boomed. “How are my favorite ponies today?”

The cult leader rose and addressed her. “Celestia, your grace. We are overjoyed to share in your light and love today!”

The crowd, standing back on their hooves, responded. “We are honored by your love, Celestia!”

“We are thankful for your protection and bounty out here in the wretched Wasteland,” the leader incanted.

“Through Celestia’s gifts, we shall survive!” the crowd chanted.

“And in thanks for your gifts, we present you with one of our own,” the leader said, pointing towards Silver on the stake.

“Thank you, Firebrand,” Celestia cooed. She glanced at Silver. “Your sacrifice shall be for the benefit of all here.”

Silver struggled against her bonds and mumbled through her gag. I could hear my own heartbeat as I fought off the urge to just run across the square and save her. But Flower was right. We were woefully outmanned, and even without an alicorn here, outgunned as well.

“But, your Grace, there is more than meets the eye this time,” Firebrand said with a nod. The two ponies nearest silver pulled the gown away from her back so her wings were now visible. “This time, we offer you a pegasus!”

Celestia’s face twisted in a way that sent chills down my spine. “This is, indeed, a special gift. You offer me a traitor to pay for the sins of the pegasi in turning their back on us all those years ago?” she bellowed. “This is indeed a special day! You will help to atone for the sins of your predecessors, little one.” Celestia kicked off the ground and began to hover above the crowd. “Little ones! Your undying love and devotion to me is always loved. You offer your lives, obedience and loyalty to me. And your presents to me do not go unnoticed. But today… today is special. Today is a day where the pegasi can pay for what they’re done to my land… your land… and you…”

Celestia’s eyes darkened to jet black. Her mane and tale lost the bright, pastel hues they normally had, exchanging them for orange and yellow. If I didn’t know any better, I would say her mane and tail were basically aflame.

“And now, I, Daybreaker, will exact retribution for their crimes from this traitor for turning their backs on their nation, their rulers, and you!” Celestia-turned-Daybreaker shouted above the crowd.

“Flower, we have to do something!” I pleaded.

“I know… but what?” she responded. “You’ve heard the rumors about alicorns. Regular weaponry won’t work against them!”

Daybreaker’s horn began to glow as if it, too, were on fire. She reared back her head.
“Silver…” I cried. “I’m so sorry.”

The magic in Daybreaker’s horn built up to almost blinding levels. Suddenly, a shot rang out. Everypony jumped at the sound. However, there was no apparent target. Nopony was wounded, and there were no ricochets to indicate a missed shot. However, Daybreaker had disappeared.

“Dust, ya think that was Gertie?” Flower started.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t usually miss,” I answered.

“Somepony out there tried to attack our queen!” Firebrand bellowed. He pointed behind the crowd. “The shot came from that direction! Everypony! Find the heretics! Bring them here! They shall pay for their insolence! Secure the pegasus!”

The crowd turned and galloped out of the town square. Two of the guards quickly untied Silver and dragged her back inside the building. After several seconds, the only ponies left behind were Silver, Firebrand, two guards, and us.

“Where did Daybreaker go?” Flower mused.

“That was weird… I didn’t see her fly off,” I pondered. “Where did she go?”
Flower shrugged.

Firebrand was pacing in the square. “Who the fuck dares to interrupt me!” He then shifted his view to the balcony atop the main building. “And where is Mirage? Get her the fuck out here!”

The two guards galloped into the main building. A few moments later, they came back out dragging a gray unicorn mare in robes out the door. The look of terror on her face was unmistakable.

“What the fuck happened!” Firebrand bellowed as he approached Mirage. “You can’t break focus like that!”

“S…s…sorry Firebrand,” she stammered, shying away from him. “The g…g…gunshot startled me.”

“But you can’t drop it like that!” Firebrand shot back. His hoof snapped out and struck Mirage, and she was thrown a couple feet back. She clutched her face and began to weep. “You have to keep up the illusion! Now get back in there and prepare for when they all come back!”

Mirage scrambled away back into the main building.

“Unbelievable!” Firebrand continued, pacing around the square. “What was supposed to be a glorious day was ruined by this… once I get my hooves on the pony that did this… ugh… come, we have preparations to make. Bring the pegasus.”

We were soon left alone with an empty square in front of us. “So, Celestia is an illusion?” I muttered. “Damn good illusion if you ask me. But thank Celes… um, it’s great that she’s not real. But, what in Tartarus are we going to do about Silver?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Flower said shaking her head. “She is always under well-armed guard. Not to mention the faithful,” she said, imbuing the last word with sarcasm.

“We need to find Gertie and make a plan,” I finally concluded. “We have to do something to get her out of here.”

Drawing our hoods over our heads, we started to make our way out of town towards the skywagon. We made sure that we weren’t being followed and were careful to avoid interacting with the cultists as much as we could. Unfortunately, our luck was going to be short lived.

Gunfire drew our attention and, of course, it had to be coming from the direction of the skywagon. Flower and I shared a quick, grave glance before we broke out into a full out gallop. As we cleared a small rise, the skywagon came into view. Ringing the vehicle were about a dozen cultists, all firing on the wagon.

“Don’t tell me she is stuck inside the wagon,” I grumbled.

Almost as an answer to my question, the door to the cabin opened slightly and I saw the barrel of a rifle stick out and fire off a few shots. Quickly, the cult fired back in unison and the cabin door slammed shut.

“Well, that answers that,” Flower muttered. “What are we going to do?”

I had no idea. For once, I couldn’t even begin to formulate a bad plan. Going in guns blazing would most likely get us killed. We couldn’t sneak, as the fracas probably was attracting attention of more cultists and somepony would see us.

“Go get Firebrand!” one of the cultists was shouting. “He’ll know how to deal with this nonbeliever!”

Shit.

Two ponies galloped off back towards town. It wouldn’t be long before he came back. We had to do something.

An idea flashed across my mind. I turned towards Flower. “I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it,” I told Flower. “I would say watch my back, but if this doesn’t work, I don’t know if there will be anything you can do.” I left all my weapons with Flower. “I’m going to get us back to town so I can get close to Silver… you will need to give me a distraction when the time is right. Remember, the pony projecting the illusion hides out on the balcony of the building.” Flower simply grimaced in response.

I trotted out into the open, sure to be seen by the other cultists. “Brothers! Sisters! Hold your fire!” I shouted trying to attract the attention of the nearest cultists. They eventually stopped firing, and the effect spread slowly over the clearing. All the ponies’ heads were now pointed in my direction. “Gunfire is getting us nowhere! Let me try to talk sense into the fool!”

The ponies responded with some low grumbling, as they, no doubt, were questioning my sanity, if not my tactics. “If you want to get your head blown off like Pious did, be our guest!” a random pony shouted. Most snickered at his statement.

Cautiously, I trotted towards the skywagon. “Non-believer!” I yelled. “There is no need for violence! I am sure the cleansing light of Celestia will reveal itself to you!” I intoned, putting on my best faithful tone. “All I ask is for several moments to talk. You’ll notice I am unarmed and pose no threat to you!”

The cabin door cracked open and I could see Gertie’s beak in the slim opening. “D…” she started to say.

“Yes! Celestia is great!” I interrupted her. “Her love and wisdom knows no bounds! She can be a great and loving guide!” I kept approaching the fuselage. As I got closer, I could make out Gertie’s face and could see that she was clearly confused.

After several seconds, I reached the door. “Dust, what the hell is going on?” she asked, still looking mixed up.

“I’m trying to save all our asses here,” I explained. “Listen, Silver is being held under heavy guard. This cult is being manipulated by Firebrand through an illusory Celestia.”

“I knew something was fishy!” she exclaimed. “I tried shooting her when she was threatening Silver. I saw the shot. It impacted directly behind her. There is no way I missed.”

“Listen, this cult is going to come in here and take you by force soon,” I informed her. “It would be best if you let me pretend to capture you peacefully. This will let us get close to Silver. Between the two of us, we should be able to get her clear, while Flower gives us a distraction.”

“Dust,” Gertie said, shaking her head. “That has got to be one of the most feather-brained plans I’ve ever heard, and my head is covered in feathers!”

“Can you think of a better one?” I shot back. “Especially considering this town is already set on burning Silver at the stake?”

Gertie opened and closed her beak several times as if to say something, but nothing ever came out. Eventually, she just sighed and dragged a claw across her face. “Dust, I’ll be surprised if we make it out of this alive.”

“I know, Gertie,” I admitted. “I know.”

Taking a coil of rope out of my saddlebags, I told Gertie to step out of the wagon. I made a great show of tying her up, but made sure that the knots I was using were not going to hold under any strain. Continuing the show, I disarmed Gertie, stowing her weaponry on myself. After she was disarmed, I could almost hear the surrounding cultists breathe a sigh of relief. That was followed up with the sound of several weapons being stowed.

“Very good work, brother!” a voice bellowed. Looking in that direction, the imposing form of Firebrand was making his way over to the wagon. He turned his attention towards Gertie. “I never would have imagined a griffin mercenary would be causing all this trouble. And to try to murder our Goddess? Shame. No matter, though. She will make an excellent offering to Daybreaker as well as the pegasus. She will soon learn the error of her ways!”

The crowd of ponies around us cheered. Firebrand turned back towards town. “Come, my children! We have a ceremony to finish!”

The cultist ponies began to fall in line behind Firebrand. I fell in line with Gertie in tow. Several ponies ran out in all directions. Most likely, they were recalling their other brethren who were still off on the search.

In short time, we were back in town and I was directed to bring Gertie to the stake. Silver was dragged through the door in short order and lead back to the stake. She was still wearing the white, hooded robe and kept her head down. As she approached the stake, she looked up and her face lit up in shock.

“Gertie! They got you, too?” she asked, her voice pained.

“Yeah,” Gertie muttered.

Silver looked over at me and her face lit up again. She quickly looked back at Gertie, who simply shook her head.

“Tie them to the stake!” Firebrand bellowed, emerging from the main building once again.

I herded the two ponies to the stake and used the remaining length of rope to secure both ponies to the wooden post. Again, I made sure to use very loose knots that could be pulled free quickly, if needed. When I was done, I retreated a few steps near the front of the mob.

Firebrand strolled into the center of the mass of ponies. “Brothers and sisters! Earlier today, we were about to begin a joyous offering to Celestia for all she gives us, all she provides for us! But we were sorely interrupted. This, griffin,” he said, contempt dripping off the last word, “sought to take it all away from us and tried to murder our Goddess.”

The crowd began to hiss.

Firebrand reared up and waved his hooves, calming the crowd. “It was foolish for her to think such would be possible, but this world is full of fools and nonbelievers! But Celestia did fly away! Let us hope and pray for her return!”

All the ponies around me prostrated themselves on the ground. I quickly followed in suit.

“Oh, Celestia!” Firebrand incanted. “Please forgive us! We meant to offer you our love and gratitude, but we were not careful enough to keep non believers at bay! We ask for your return so we can set things right again!”

The ponies around me began chanting some verse about the great Celestia and her cleansing light. I couldn’t make out the exact words among the din of the entire crowd, but you could tell they were words that had been uttered before. Glancing upwards, I saw a white spot appear in the sky and approach the town once again. It was Celestia. Sneaking a peek at the balcony, I saw Mirage hiding in the doorway, her horn aglow.

“Celestia” flew into town much like last time, her iridescent mane and tale flowing in the wind. But there was something wrong. The movements weren’t fluid. They seemed almost unnatural.

“Oh great Celestia! We are humbled you have returned to us, even after our past mistakes!” Firebrand spoke.

The loud, bellowing voice responded. “Oh, Firebrand, I understand it wasn’t your fault. I know there are non believers that would try to prevent me from spreading my love.” The alicorn looked towards the two bound ponies. “Is this griffin the one who tried to kill me earlier?” Firebrand nodded his confirmation. “Oh, you silly bird. Don’t you know you can’t kill an alicorn? And for that, as well as all your race’s crimes against ponykind, you will pay!”

Again, Celestia’s mane and tail turned into flame. Her eyes darkened and her horn began to glow. But the horn wasn’t glowing orange like last time. It was more pure, more white, as if it was still that of Celestia’s.

“It’s time,” I muttered. I jumped up, causing several ponies around me to begin to protest. I was waving my hooves and gesturing towards the balcony. I’d never be able to get a shot off here… but Flower…

“C’mon, Flower,” I mumbled as more ponies began to protest.

“We have another snake in the grass, I see!” Firebrand yelled. “Brothers and sisters, get him!”

The cultists around me tackled me to the floor. I strained against them, but I was too outnumbered to break free of that many hooves.

A gunshot rang out. The ponies around me slackened their grips and stepped away. As the space around me cleared, I looked to see what had happened. On the balcony, prone but squirming, was Mirage. Her horn was no longer aglow in any magic. Many of the cultists were looking between her and the now empty sky where Celestia had occupied.

Many of the cultists were asking where Celestia had gone, but a few of the voices were muttering about an illusion. Some ponies were asking each other if Celestia had been a fake. At first, there was some resistance, but more and more voices began to join the chorus.

“B..brothers and sisters!” Firebrand stuttered. He actually stuttered. “Have no fear, I am sure she will return!”
“N… no, I can’t,” Mirage muttered from the balcony.

“Mirage, don’t you dare!” Firebrand bellowed. Mirage slunk back on the balcony, recoiling in fear.

The cultists were now fully confused. They were all questioning what had just happened. However, the loudest protests came from the rag-wearing ponies, who I had not noticed had collected at the rear of the square until now. The raw anger I saw jolted me to my core. This even paled the anger I saw from raider ponies from time to time. This was visceral, yet focused.

The rag wearing ponies began to press in from the back. Firebrand retreated several steps towards the large building, two of the cultists stepping in to form a protective wall in front of him. The two guards drew their shotguns with their magic and held them aloft.

“Gertie! Now!” I shouted as I ran behind Silver and helped undo the loose knot. I shed the robes I was wearing and tore the white gown off of her.

She grabbed me and hugged me. “Dust, I knew you’d come,” she gushed.

“Silver, now is not the time. We have to get out of here!” I shouted over the din.

She pulled back sheepishly. I felt bad snapping at her, but things were deteriorating rapidly. And then the first shots were fired.

It took all three of us by surprise and we all ducked by instinct. “Everyone OK?” I shouted. Both Gertie and Silver nodded back. I glanced out over the crowd and saw what had happened. Several ponies, both robed and ragged, were motionless on the ground. The front line of cultists had drawn whatever weapons they had been holding at the time. The ragged ponies, to their credit, were fighting back with only their hooves.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here while the getting is good,” Gertie snapped as we slinked away from the main body of fighting. I couldn’t argue. It had turned into a cacophony of screams, yells, gunshots, and the sound of hooves striking bodies. We ducked down a small alleyway between two buildings and just galloped.

We didn’t get off scot free, however. “Hey, we got a few trying to escape!” a gruff voice yelled behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the robed forms of two ponies galloping behind me. Their shotguns pointed in our direction gave me reason to worry.

The first shot boomed from behind me. I felt several impacts along my armor, which surprised me more than hurt. However, several pellets found the unprotected parts of my legs and neck. The pinpoint pain and burning made me stumble, but I kept my footing.

Silver, however, wasn’t as lucky. She had fallen to the ground and rolled a few times before skidding to a halt. She curled up and began to cradle her rear left leg. I saw the pink hair began to bloom over with red.

“Silver!” I cried out and skidded to a halt. By the time I was able to turn around, the cultist and I were the same distance from her.

My fear for Silver gave me an adrenaline surge and I broke out into as fast a gallop as I could. Unfortunately, the cultist did not have to change directions and reaccelerate. We were closing the gap, but he had the advantage.

I dove, trying to close the gap. The robed pony saw what was coming and sidestepped my drive. He then placed his hooves on my shoulders and rear legs, flipping me head over hooves. I flopped to the ground, causing me to expel all the air I had in my lungs and causing me to see stars.

There was nothing I could do as I saw him turn and level the barrel of his shotgun right at Silver. I strained to get to my hooves, but my labored breathing and dizziness caused me to lose my footing.

The cultist began to laugh as he brought the barrel close to her head. Fearing what would come next, I closed my eyes and began to hope against hope that Silver would survive.

The report of the shotgun sent a shockwave through my body. My mind was blank as one of my only reasons for living had been snuffed out right in front of me and I couldn’t have done anything about it. Visions of her eyes and smile filled my head, trying to fight off the nightmare that would soon start.

“Hey, Dust,” Gertie grunted. “Are you going to help or just sit there?” she said, her voice strained.

Opening my eyes, I saw an unexpected sight. Gertie had her two claws wrapped around the barrel of the shotgun, with her and the cultist fighting for control over it. The barrel would move back and forth between the two, each trying to point it squarely at the other to end it. I fought my way to my hooves and dove into the fray. Wrapping my hooves around his neck, I tried to pull him away from Gertie and the gun, but damn he was strong.

Gertie had a slight advantage now, but it was still a tug of war. The cultist reared and I felt myself get lifted off the ground, dangling from his neck. To Gertie’s credit, she still had a death’s grip on the gun, but I felt myself losing mine on the cultist.

Knowing I was losing effectiveness, I just let go and dropped to the floor. I turned quickly and lashed out with my hooves. Reacting faster than I thought possible, he ducked under my kick and I met nothing but air. However, this caused his balance to shift and he fell forward on top of Gertie, the shotgun between them.

As the two bodies hit the floor, the gun erupted once again. A cloud of red mist burst forth from the pile of bodies, which became eerily still.

“G… Gertie?” I cautiously called out, moving slowly towards the pile.

After several seconds of silence, chills began to run down my spine. “Gertie? Are you OK?” I repeated, slightly louder this time. I was greeted with another uncomfortable silence.

“D…Dust, you don’t think…” Flower started.

I raised a hoof to stop that line of thought. She couldn’t be dead… she just couldn’t.

A low groan from the pile made me jump. I drew Gertie’s rifle and held it in front of me.

“Ugh,” Gertie groaned. “Is anyone gonna help me get this lump of shit off of me,” she continued, struggling with the corpse on top of her.

I galloped over and helped lift the deadweight off of her. She slowly got to her paws and shook her head. “Gertie, are you OK?” I asked.

“Huh? You’re going to have to speak up,” she shouted back. “Ears are still ringing from being so close to that blast.” She began to fidget with her ears, trying to deal with the noise.

I hugged her. “I am so glad you’re alright… I thought you had…” I half-shouted at her.

“I thought so, too,” she said with a chuckle. “Still sucks… fucker was heavy.”

Silver sidled next to me. “Dust, you’re bleeding… are you OK?”

In the scuffle, I had forgotten about the shot I had taken. But now that Silver mentioned it, it was beginning to hurt like hell, but nothing I hadn’t dealt with before and a healing potion wouldn’t fix. “Yeah, I’m fine… I really should be asking you that question… are you OK?” I asked, looking at the bleeding wounds on her legs.

“It hurts, I won’t lie,” she admitted. “But, I can still walk…”

“Good, you scared me there, too,” I said, wrapping her in an embrace. Her only response was to tighten her grip around me.

“Alright, let’s get the hell out of here,” I said, sweeping my leg away from the center of town.

We galloped out of town and back to the waiting skywagon. Flower was waiting for us, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw us gallop over the small rise.

“Oh, thank Celestia,” Flower said with a sigh. “When the fightin’ broke out, I didn’t think ya guys would make it. Things went ta shit fast. The cultists are slaughtering the workers… but the workers ain’t giving up the fight. They are incensed!”

“Can’t say I blame them… can you imagine being lied to just to keep you under control?” I posed. “I mean, the slavers are bad, but at least their methods of control are in your face. This was more insidious.” I gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Nice shot, by the way,” I complimented her.

“Eh, twas nothin,” she sheepishly said. “Once ya pointed out the unicorn, it was an easy shot. I hope I didn’t hurt her too bad.”

“She seemed OK when we left,” I said. “But, I think we should get the hell out of here though, just in case the cultists come back looking for us.”

The three nodded in agreement as Flower and Silver headed for the passenger compartment. Gertie followed me to the harness and she began to hook me up. “I’ll take my weapons back, by the way,” she chuckled. “Dust… seriously… thanks for your help… I don’t know if I could have beat that guy by myself… he was too strong.”

“You’re welcome, Gertie,” I said. “But you would have done the same for me…”

“I know… but still,” she demurred. She leaned in and gave me a small peck on the cheek. I felt my cheeks redden.

She quickly finished hooking me into the harness and we took off. As usual, Gertie flew as my wing-griffin and we took off. As soon as we took off, I turned and headed towards the town.

“Uh, Dust, the Garden is the other way,” she objected.

“I know… I just need to see what’s going on…” I answered.

In a couple of minutes we were over the town. Bodies littered the streets. Robed and ragged ponies both were lying motionless on the streets. There were little skirmishes going on in almost every part of the town.

“PUT ME DOWN!” a voice bellowed near the center of town. “YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! CELESTIA WILL BURN YOUR SOULS FOREVER!” Adjusting our path, I headed towards the voice.

Firebrand was the pony that was yelling and for good reason. Several of the worker ponies had them in their grip and they were dragging him towards the stake that was supposed to be Silver’s funeral pyre. Several of the ragged ponies were fighting back a smattering of cultists, but they were holding their ground.

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer pony,” Gertie said mockingly. “C’mon, Dust, you don’t need to see this.”

She was right. No matter what evils he may have perpetuated, nopony deserved this. I banked the skywagon to my left and headed to the northeast.

“We’re coming, Brownie,” I muttered to myself.

Level up!

Speech (+5)
Perk Obtained:
“Cult of Personality”– You are now able to convince ponies of many things, regardless of the strengths of their beliefs. CHR +1 when dealing with strong-minded ponies.