Twilight’s eyes shot wide open as a loud knocking from the front door woke her up. She sat straight up in her bed, momentarily confused as to where she was. It didn’t take long for her memories from the previous day to catch up with her mind. Her heart dropped when she realized that it had not been a dream. Out of habit, she looked around for a clock. How long had they slept anyways? She was still exhausted from the events of the previous day and was slightly irritated at the sudden awakening. Before she got up, she would have liked to at least check what time it was. Unfortunately, no clock was found. The absence of windows in the small building she and Rainbow had slept in made it impossible to judge the time by the position of the sun. Though, the more Twilight thought about it, the more she realized that probably wouldn’t have helped her anyway. Considering she was on a foreign planet, it wouldn’t be wise to assume the rotation of the sun followed the same schedule the princesses did. Especially considering the moon and the sun were both in the sky yesterday. Maybe it was something she could ask those humans.

Another loud knocking came from the door. Rainbow, who had been sleeping in a corner of the room, angrily threw the blanket she was wrapped in off of herself and grunted. She sat up from her position and stared furiously at the door.

“Ugh, come on!” she whined. “Can’t a mare get some sleep around here?” Twilight didn’t respond to the angry pegasus. Instead, she got out of bed and headed towards the door as Rainbow slowly got herself on her hooves to follow. Twilight opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a slightly drunk looking Mordecai. He flashed the two tired ponies a small smile and waved.

“Hey you two,” he slurred slightly. “Sleep okay?” Rainbow looked up with angry eyes at the man.

“I might have if you had given me a couple more hours,” she spat as she pointed an accusing hoof at him. “What’s the big idea waking us up anyways?” Twilight looked cautiously at the angry mare. She knew Rainbow wasn’t a morning pony. However, Twilight really didn’t want to start the day off with a fight. She bit her tongue for the moment and hoped that Rainbow would calm down as the day wore on. Mordecai shrugged at the two ponies.

“Hey, sorry Rainbow,” he replied sincerely. “Wasn’t my idea. In fact, I was trying to convince everyone to let you two sleep more. I bet you need it.” Rainbow shakily opened her mouth to speak but closed it as the man’s last words seemed to hit her. She merely nodded in agreement. “Anyways,” he continued, “come with me. I got some stuff for you two.” He beckoned for them to follow. Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and quickly put them on before exiting the small house. Rainbow followed closely behind. It was at this point that Twilight realized that the sun was still out. As they turned the corner and walked up the stairs leading to the center of town, Twilight looked up at Mordecai.

“How long did we sleep anyways?” she asked. Mordecai shrugged.

“Dunno, maybe six or seven hours. I don’t really keep track of the time.” Twilight cocked her head in confusion.

“Huh? Then why is the sun still out?” she asked. He looked up in the sky towards the light of the sun. The sun itself could not be seen due to the buildings of the city blocking the view, though they had a perfect view of the large moon that orbited Pandora.

“Days and nights last pretty long out here,” Mordecai replied. “How long do they last on your planet?” Twilight paused in thought as they walked to the right around the large central structure that kept the city afloat. The three continued on towards the city’s headquarters, desperately trying to ignore the odd looks from the many citizens that were out and about.

“Well,” she quietly mumbled to herself. “Princess Celestia begins raising the sun about five-thirty in the morning. By eight o’clock at night, Princess Luna raises the moon as Celestia sets the sun.” Twilight looked back up at the curious looking Mordecai and spoke more clearly. “I’d say days last about fourteen hours. The remaining ten hours of the day consist of the night cycle.” Mordecai chuckled to himself and shook his head.

“So, you go by the twenty-four-hour structure then,” he said simply. Twilight nodded her head.

“Yes. What do the people on this planet do to know the time then?” Mordecai shrugged at that.

“Depends on the person really,” he replied. “Me? I don’t give a shit what time it is.” Twilight winced slightly at the foul word. “I sleep only when I’m tired. There are towns and bandit camps who try to run a twenty-four-hour time schedule, but it’s all so damn inconsistent. You could go to Overlook, and they’d tell you it’s two o’clock. But then you go to Opportunity, and the clocks say six. It’s all bullshit.” Twilight decided to ignore the foul language. She felt it wasn’t right to try to impose her world’s standards on a foreign one. She took a moment to look back at Rainbow Dash, who had been unusually quiet. A subtle agitated scowl plagued her face. It seemed she still had not recovered from being woken up. That or something else was bothering her. Twilight quickly looked away the moment Rainbow had met her gaze.

The three reached their destination and entered the building. Ignoring the disgusted scoff of Patricia Tannis, they headed upstairs towards the large vault. The two ponies stood behind Mordecai and watched him open the vault. He reached towards one of the lower shelves and took out a large cardboard box. Closing the door, he set the box down on one of the bottom bed bunks that sat on either side of the vault. Twilight and Rainbow Dash peered over at the box in curiosity. The first thing Mordecai pulled out looked like a strangely shaped saddlebag of some sort. It had two large pockets that seemed to be roughly stitched where they met the belt. The belt itself held many small pockets and loops. He motioned towards Rainbow Dash.

“This is for you,” he said. “It’s meant for humans, but I had a friend of mine in the city re-stitch the pockets. Should fit you okay.” Twilight grabbed the belt with her magic and strapped it to Rainbow Dash. The large pockets sat snugly on her flank, indicating that it did indeed fit well. Rainbow shot Twilight a grateful thanks, then looked over her new wear. She looked up at Mordecai and raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, thanks, I guess?” she said. “But what’s it for?” Mordecai pulled two more items from the box. To Twilight, they looked like some kind of strange radio device from the world beyond the mirror. The front held screens that took up half of the device. Below that were various knobs and switches. They each had a handle on top, as well as a strap to attach it to a belt. He held the objects out to them.

“These,” he said raising them up to the ponies, “are Echo Communication Devices. Echo Comm for short. They let us talk to each other using radio waves. As long as you’re tuned into our group’s frequency, you can always contact us using it.” As Twilight took the two devices with her magic, Mordecai pulled out two earpieces from the box. “Here. Hopefully these will fit okay.” He put the ear pieces onto the ponies and gently clipped it onto their ears. Thankfully, they seemed to stay snug. “Strap those Echo Comms on your belts. You can use the dials to tune into the group’s frequency. I’ll have Lilith give you the info later, though. You won’t need them right now anyways.” Twilight’s eyes rose at the mention of the woman as she followed Mordecai’s instructions.

“Speaking of, where is everybody anyways?” Twilight asked. “I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask Lilith.” Mordecai shook his head.

“Sorry Twilight,” he said remorsefully. “Everyone’s at Overlook right now. Things are getting kinda crazy over there since you two arrived. They wanted the extra men to help defend the city.”

“Defend the city?” Rainbow Dash spoke up. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at Mordecai. “What’s happening?” Mordecai sighed.

“Well, that bandit camp you escaped from is pretty pissed that you two got away. They started making threats towards the town they’re situated above. Lilith thinks they’re gonna attack the town.” Mordecai shook his head. “Let’s worry about that later. I’ve got more stuff for you.” He continued to pull out more stuff from the box. One of the objects the two ponies received was what Mordecai called a shield. According to his explanation, it defended the wearer from taking any damage to their bodies while it still held a charge. Twilight was definitely happy at the prospect of being able to have a shield without using magic. Still, she understood that the charge went away after significant damage was taken and she still had to be careful. The two ponies attached the shields to their belts and immediately saw a translucent aura momentarily flash over their bodies, indicating the shields were working. Mordecai then gave each of the two ponies a stack of green paper bills.

“Here’s some cash for you. Five thousand each. Should be enough to let you live comfortably for a while.” Twilight looked down at the cash in her hoof. She gasped as she realized exactly what Mordecai had just said.

“F-five thousand?” she asked shakily. “I…I dunno if we can accept this much.” She ignored Rainbow’s grunts of disagreement. Mordecai waved Twilight’s worries off.

“Don’t worry, I can spare it. Besides, you two are gonna need it for food. And, uh, other stuff too.” Mordecai sounded very hesitant as he finished his statement. Twilight decided to save questions for later.

The next thing Mordecai pulled out was called a “heads-up-display.” This small circular device, Mordecai had explained to the ponies, would allow them to access many different types of information. Twilight smiled when she learned that it would also allow her to keep a personal log. Mordecai said the log was for marking off tasks that Vault Hunters would often receive, but Twilight doubted she would use it for that. Mordecai walked over to the two ponies and prepared to clip the devices to their belts. He gave them a sheepish smile.

“Fair warning, this might sting a tiny bit,” he said. Twilight’s eyes widened.

“What?” she yelped.

It was too late. Mordecai had already clipped both of the strange circular devices onto the two ponies’ belts simultaneously. As the metal clip made contact with her body, Twilight felt a small electric shock shoot through her and she jumped along with Rainbow Dash. The pain left as quickly as it came. Immediately, Twilight saw what she could only describe as a strange digital loading menu appearing in her vision.

BOOT SEQUENCE INITIALIZED

INITIALIZING HEALTH DISPLAY MODULE

INITIALIZING SHIELD DISPLAY MODULE

INITIALIZING DIGITAL MAP DISPLAY MODULE

The menu disappeared. At the bottom left of her vision, Twilight could see two digital bars. One blue, one red. The top right of her vision held what she assumed was the digital map that the boot sequence had mentioned.

“Wha…w-what is this?” Rainbow Dash asked desperately. Her hooves visibly shook as she backed away. Twilight was also a bit frightened at what she was seeing, but she kept calm. She recognized that the technology was just part of this world. Mordecai turned to Rainbow and tried to calm her down.

“Don’t worry,” he said as he waved his hands at her. “It’s just your heads-up display. The blue bar is your shield’s capacity and the red bar is your vital signs.” Twilight felt a strange chill ripple down her at the prospect of needing to know your vitals at all times. “If you don’t feel comfortable seeing the display all the time, you can turn it off by…”

He continued to explain to them how to use the devices. Within less than an hour, the two ponies were able to pull up maps of the area as well as their personal logs. After Mordecai felt they were comfortable enough with their new equipment, he turned to the vault once more.

“One more thing,” he said somewhat sullenly. The two ponies looked over at him in curiosity as he opened the vault once again. He shifted through some of the many items inside, apparently looking for something specific. Twilight tried to peer past Mordecai to see what he was grabbing, but his hunched over body had unfortunately blocked her view. When he found whatever it was, he stood back up and closed the vault door. He slumped his shoulders as he let out a heavy sigh. He turned around to face the two confused ponies. The goggles on his face blocked his eyes, but Twilight could still see the frown on his face. Mordecai brought out his hand from behind him and held it out to Twilight. She backed away slightly in fear of the object sitting loosely in his open palm.

It was a gun. A pistol, if Twilight remembered her studies correctly.

“Here,” Mordecai said simply to her.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared at the gun in his hands in a mixture of confusion and fear. The pistol had a silver barrel, with a stock that almost looked like it was made with a golden-stained wood. Twilight stared directly at the barrel. She didn’t like what was being implied.

“Uh…I…W-what is…” Twilight stammered her words. She didn’t even know what to think. A hard painful lump formed in her throat. Rainbow Dash stayed silent, though her wide eyes and slight hyperventilation gave her fearful emotions away.

“This,” Mordecai said as he firmly grasped the gun in his hand, “is a Jakobs Iron. It’s a very powerful revolver with a ton of stopping power and pin-point accuracy. This model can shoot twelve shots before it needs to be reloaded, which gives a lot of room for error. Shame it doesn’t have a scope, though.” He rapidly twirled the gun around his finger and caught it with the barrel facing up. “It’s also pretty easy to use. Great for beginners.”

“No.”

Twilight blinked. She realized that she was not the one who had spoken. She turned to Rainbow Dash, who had a vicious scowl on her face. Her eyebrows dug into her as she narrowed her eyes. She stepped out in front of Twilight as if to protect her from some sort of danger.

“No?” Mordecai asked, cocking his head. Rainbow threw a hoof out towards Mordecai.

“No. Absolutely not. There is no way we’re using those… those things.” Rainbow’s voice cracked as she finished her statement. Twilight meekly looked at Mordecai and nodded her head.

“I… I agree,” she said shakily. “Guns don’t even exist where we come from. After being on the receiving end of gunfire for the first time in my life, I could never bring myself to use one. I don’t see why we’d need to anyways. We aren’t looking to put ourselves in danger.” Mordecai let out a humorless chuckle.

“Not many people on Pandora are,” he said. “That don’t mean they’re never in danger.” He let out a sigh and put his free hand to his face. “Look, I get it. I mean, I can’t imagine what you two must be going through right now experiencing this world for the first time.” He lowered his hand and held the weapon out to Twilight once more. “Unfortunately, there really isn’t much time for you to adjust. If you’re gonna to survive on this planet, you’re gonna have to learn to play by its rules. And rule number one is always carrying a gun on you at all times.” Rainbow snarled back at Mordecai.

“You can’t just expect us to commit horrible violence!” She ruffled her wings in frustration. “And why are you giving it to her? You’re gonna force a royal princess to shoot a gun?” Mordecai frowned at the pegasus.

“I’m not expecting or forcing her to do anything, other than learning how to protect herself,” he said with a slight edge in his tone. “And the reason why I’m giving it to Twilight is because I thought she’d be able to operate it with her magic. I dunno if you’ve noticed Rainbow, but nothing on this planet is built to be used by ponies. How do you expect yourself to shoot a gun if you don’t even have fingers to pull the trigger with? Hell, how would you even be able to aim? You’d have to stand on your hind legs just to be able to hold the weapon!” Rainbow didn’t have a reply. She merely stared angrily back at Mordecai. After a short staring contest between the two, Mordecai broke eye contact and turned to Twilight who had been contemplating Mordecai’s words.

“I…I don’t know about this,” Twilight said shakily. “I mean, I have no idea how to use a gun. What am I supposed to do with it?” She let out a shaky breath and stared at the ground. “E-even if I knew… I mean, I could never shoot…” She trailed off as tears began to form in her eyes. Mordecai finally put his hand down and placed the pistol in one of his free holsters before letting out a loud sigh. He stared off to the side of the two ponies.

“Twilight, believe me. The last thing I want you to do is to shoot someone. I’m not saying you have to shoot anybody. In fact, I’m not even saying you have to use this pistol in combat at all.” His gaze met Twilight’s distraught eyes. “But knowing how to use a weapon is the difference between life and death out here in this wasteland of a planet. And I’m going to teach you how to use that pistol.” Twilight broke the man’s gaze as she thought about what he said. Twilight didn’t know anything about this planet other than what she had learned in less than a day of being here. She did have first-hoof experience of how dangerous it could be, however, she had a feeling that it could only get worse. The thought of even holding the weapon in her magic frightened her. She didn’t want to imagine actually using it.

“What about my magic?” Twilight asked desperately. “Can’t I use my magic to defend myself?” Mordecai shook his head.

“All the magic in the world ain’t gonna do shit if you got a bullet in your brain.” Twilight winced once more at the harsh and blunt language. “I admit I don’t know much about your magic stuff, but if it’s anything like how Lilith’s is, I’m sure using too much magic in too little time can tire you out. If you want to use magic as your primary means for defense, that’s fine. You still need a backup plan if your magic doesn’t end up working out so good.”

Unfortunately, Mordecai had a very valid point. Twilight knew exactly how draining magic could be. She still felt exhausted from the ordeal she had been through. Magic was certainly taxing on the mind and Mordecai was correct in assuming that using a large amount of it could drain any pony’s energy quite rapidly. Twilight considered her options, though she knew she really only had one option in the end. Besides, like Mordecai said, she didn’t have to use the gun if she didn’t need to. She just needed to know how to use it.

“Okay,” Twilight finally said. “I understand.” Rainbow Dash shot her head towards Twilight so fast the alicorn almost thought she heard a snap.

“You’re joking!” Rainbow shouted.

“He’s right,” Twilight asserted, turning to face her friend. “If my magic can’t defend us in a situation, we need to have a backup solution.” Rainbow shook her head violently. Her pleading eyes met Twilight’s. She brought her front hooves together and begged Twilight.

“Twilight, no way. Please reconsider. Please.” Rainbow almost looked to be on the verge of tears. Twilight wanted to think she understood why her friend was acting like this, but honestly, this was a bit too much of an overreaction to be merely an aversion to using guns. She opened her mouth to speak but only let out small short breaths. Rainbow’s behavior had been very strange ever since they had teleported. Still, she figured the unwanted change of scenery and setting had really messed with the pegasus’s mind. She shook her head.

“It’ll be okay Rainbow,” Twilight said softly. “I’m not going to use the gun on anyone. I’m just going to learn how to use it.” Rainbow let out an angry huff but did not say anything more. Twilight looked away, unable to meet her furious eyes anymore. She turned back to Mordecai who had started walking out of the room.

“Come on, follow me,” Mordecai beckoned them.

They exited the building and turned left, heading further into the city. Twilight’s steps were small and shaky. Her heart pounded at the prospect of using the weapon, but she had already made her choice. She was already beginning to regret it as she stared at the pistol that sat in Mordecai’s holster. They all once again ignored the strange looks from the citizens. Twilight was beginning to get used to them. She turned to Rainbow Dash, noticing the agitated expression she had been wearing ever since she woke up. Twilight sighed at the sight. Hopefully, she could figure out a way to cheer the angry pegasus up.

They followed the road towards a building with a large sign above it. The sign had a picture of a funny looking smiling man with the word “GUNS” emblazoned underneath. Mordecai entered first and began walking down the stairs with the two ponies following behind. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted with a booming voice with a slight Russian accent to it.

“Mordecai! So good to see you once again! Here to finally replace that rusty old sniper of yours, da?” Twilight looked up at the source of the voice. Behind jail-like metal bars sat a heavyset man with short hair and a burly goatee. His arms were held out open as if to welcome them. He didn’t seem to catch sight of the two ponies yet. Mordecai scoffed at the man.

“Hell no,” he said waving his hand at the man on the other side of the cell. “Definitely not with one of your crappy guns Marcus. Call me when you start stocking something that isn’t made of plastic.” Mordecai brought his palms up in defense.

“Hey now, there’s no need to be like that. Maybe you should check out my item of the…” He was cut off by Mordecai.

“No thanks. Last ‘item of the day’ you offered was a fuckin’ rubberized Bouncing Bettie. What makes you think anyone would buy that crap?” Marcus sighed and finally took notice of the two ponies following behind Mordecai.

“What’s with the freaks?” he asked. Rainbow made a rude gesture with her hoof at the large man.

“Screw you!” Rainbow lashed out. Marcus raised an eyebrow. Twilight wanted to ask Rainbow to calm down, however, the anger she felt from Marcus’s insult kept her mouth shut. Mordecai shook his head.

“Look, we didn’t come to start a fight with you,” Mordecai said. “We just want to use your shooting range.” Marcus pounded a fist on the counter in front of him.

“Bah! I really should start charging you Vault Hunters to use it. Those bodies aren’t easy to come by, you know.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances and simultaneously mouthed “bodies?” to each other. Mordecai leaned in closely and dropped his voice, though not quite enough that Twilight couldn’t hear him.

“Just give us paper targets.” Mordecai looked back down at the two ponies and met their worried expressions. He nodded to them and turned back to Marcus. “And ix-nay on the odies-bay," he whispered. Twilight didn’t want to ask exactly what they were talking about.

“Eh, whatever,” Marcus said as he shook his head. “Help yourselves.” Mordecai broke off from the man and walked over to the vending machine that sat against the wall to the left. Twilight looked at the vending machine. It bore the words “AMMO DUMP” and had a cartoonish picture of a bullet casing with legs juggling grenades. Twilight expressed her disgust at the tasteless imagery. Mordecai ignored her and pulled out a few paper bills out of his pockets. After inserting a few into the machine, Mordecai pressed some buttons and received a few boxes of ammo clips. He opened the box and clipped a few pistol magazines onto the strap Twilight’s saddlebags. He put the rest into one of her pockets.

“Alright, you’re stocked up on ammo. Follow me.” The two ponies took tentative steps towards Mordecai as he walked through the doorway of the shooting gallery. It had four lanes where anyone could practice their sharp shooting skills. The lanes seemed to last forever as the light in the room gradually faded further down the lanes. Twilight’s ears perked at the sound of machinery grinding. Moments later, a metal panel came forward from the darkness of one of the shooting lanes. It held a piece of paper with an outline of a human head and torso. Twilight shivered as she looked at it and couldn’t help but imagine a real human in place of the target. It stopped roughly one hundred feet from the standing area of the range. Mordecai walked up to the lane that held the target and detached the holster holding the pistol from his belt. He turned to Twilight and waited expectantly. Twilight turned to meet Rainbow’s upset gaze for a brief moment. Rainbow said nothing and turned away from her to sit against the wall.

“Hey,” Twilight said softly to her friend. “If you don’t want to be here for this, you can go back to our, um, house and go back to sleep.” She looked up at Mordecai. “Right?” Mordecai nodded.

“We can come find you when we’re done,” Mordecai said. Rainbow shook her head defiantly.

“No. I’m not leaving Twilight here alone.” Twilight cocked her head.

“Rainbow, I’ll be fine. I promise.” Rainbow merely shook her head once more. Twilight sighed. It was then that Twilight realized that Rainbow had been extremely protective of her ever since they arrived on Pandora. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. After all, Rainbow had been the Element of Loyalty and Twilight was a princess. It shouldn’t surprise her that Rainbow would go out of her way to keep Twilight away from harm. However, Twilight trusted Mordecai. He seemed to be the friendliest human they had met so far. And yet, Rainbow refused to leave her alone with him. Maybe Rainbow just didn’t trust him yet.

“Okay Rainbow,” Twilight said sadly. She turned to Mordecai who had attached the gun’s holster to the strap of her saddlebags. He pulled out the gun and held it up to her, pointing out a small latch on the back of the gun.

“This is the safety," he told Twilight. "Keep it on for now and don’t take it off until I say so. Here.” Twilight cautiously grabbed the gun with her magic. “Normally,” he continued, “I would tell you to always keep your finger off the trigger unless you intend to pull it, but I dunno how that applies to your magic... stuff.” He gestured his hands towards the purple aura that surrounded the gun. Twilight adjusted her magical grip and held the gun steady, keeping her aura away from the trigger. Mordecai pulled out another pistol from his backpack. “Before we even get into shooting, you need to know how to hold a gun.”

Mordecai went on with his lecture for a little while. He taught Twilight how to aim down the iron sights as well as how to reload the gun. Thanks to her studious nature, Twilight already knew a few things about the weapon. This made it easier for Mordecai to teach her the more subtle natures of holding and aiming a gun. After enough time had passed, Mordecai nodded in satisfaction. He walked over towards the door that led to where Marcus sat and called out.

“Hey, Marcus! Can we borrow some earmuffs?” The door opened and revealed the confused heavyset man.

“What, are you joking? Since when did you ever need earmuffs?” Mordecai frowned and motioned his hands towards the two ponies. “Ah, right.” He went back into his store and grabbed the items that were requested. He handed Mordecai three pairs of strange looking earmuffs. They were far bigger than the ones Twilight was used to and they seemed to be made out of hard plastic. Mordecai put one pair over his ears before handing one to Twilight. Rainbow looked over in curiosity.

“What are those for anyways?” she asked as Mordecai walked over. Rainbow took the last pair of earmuffs and put them on snugly over her ears.

“To protect your ears obviously. Guns are loud, amiga.” He turned back to Twilight who had been sitting in front of one of the lanes. Her pistol was grasped firmly in the tendrils of magic. Mordecai stood next to her and looked down at her. “Okay, we’re gonna try shooting the gun now. Here, I’ll go first so you can get a good look at how it’s done.”

Mordecai steadied his stance and brought his pistol up. He used his other arm to steady his aim. He took in a deep breath and flicked the safety off. After a few moments of steadying his aim, he pulled the trigger. Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash jumped at the explosion of noise that came from the gun. Even with the protective earmuffs, it was extremely loud. It wasn’t the first time they had heard gunfire, but considering the circumstances Twilight felt her resolve almost break at the noise. As the gunshot still rang in her ears, she shook in her hooves. She looked at the pistol she had been holding. She was supposed to fire this thing? Looking over at the target Mordecai had been aiming at, she saw a bullet hole in the dead center of the silhouette’s head. Chills ran down her spine.

“Alright, your turn,” Mordecai said suddenly. He relaxed his stance and backed away from Twilight. “Take the safety off.”

With a small gulp, Twilight flicked the latch on the back of the gun. This small action made her doubly aware of the dangerous power the weapon held. Now that the safety was off, there was nothing stopping Twilight from pulling the trigger. Well, nothing but her nerves. She took in a deep shaky breath and raised the gun with her magic. She tried to brace herself with a firm stance, however, the uncontrollable shaking in her hooves had not subsided. The gun’s barrel twitched slightly as Twilight somewhat clumsily adjusted her aim. She was just about to pull a tendril of magic around the trigger when Mordecai gently put a hand on her back to stop her.

“Hold the gun further from your face,” Mordecai told Twilight. "You don’t wanna get hit by the recoil.” She did as she was told. “And you gotta relax more,” he continued. “I know you’re jittery, but do your best to keep calm. Focus.”

A bulb went off in Twilight's head as she recalled Cadence’s old stress relieving technique. She took in a deep breath and brought a hoof to her chest. She threw he hoof out forward and exhaled before bringing it back into her chest. Repeating this technique several times had always helped calm her down in the past. While she had never come across circumstances this grave before, it seemed that Cadence’s tried and true method still worked. She ignored Mordecai’s strange looks directed at her as she felt the shakiness in her hooves subside a little. After a few moments, she breathed in deeply once more and re-stabilized her stance. Twilight could almost sense Rainbow Dash tensing behind her. She took aim once more, this time a little more confident, though no less scared. A small aura of magic looped around the trigger. Eyes narrowed, Twilight took the shot.

She nearly dropped the weapon in shock of both the noise and the recoil of the gun. Rainbow Dash behind her had yelped loudly. The quick breathing of Twilight was the only thing that was heard immediately after the gunshot. Twilight’s adrenaline had shifted into overdrive. Her eyes looked up at the target. A second bullet hole could be seen just below the target’s neck. She almost smiled at the prospect that she had even hit the target at all. Realizing the implications of the situations she was training for, however, kept her smile in check. Mordecai suddenly started clapping.

“Alright, Twilight! Not bad at all!” Twilight looked up at him and caught his wide smile. “Seriously, the fact that you hit the target on your first try is impressive!” Twilight chuckled lightly and forced a smile.

“Y-yeah… thanks.” She looked back at Rainbow who met her eyes with a somewhat neutral expression. No forced smile, though Twilight didn’t see any indication if the mare was upset. That one was probably a given, though. The pegasus had been upset since they teleported and as time went on she only seemed to be getting worse.

“Yeah, good job Twi,” Rainbow said with strained enthusiasm. Twilight frowned and turned back to Mordecai.

“Well, let’s keep going,” he said. Twilight nodded and took her stance once more.

---

After about a half hour of Twilight practicing in the shooting range, Rainbow Dash had grown far past agitated. Seeing Twilight shoot that wretched weapon over and over again really struck a nerve with every shot she took. Since the only experience she had with guns was being on the receiving end, she never wanted to see another one ever again. That, of course, was nothing more than wishful thinking. If Equestria was run by magic, then Pandora must be run by guns. Rainbow looked up at Twilight as she took another shot with her pistol. The pegasus winced yet again at the loud bang that echoed in the room. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. She absolutely despised the idea of Twilight using a gun. She certainly didn’t want to watch her do that very same thing. As dead set on staying by Twilight’s side at all times as she was, the prospect of leaving became more and more appealing as time dragged on one gunshot at a time.

“Awesome, you made good progress Twilight,” Mordecai suddenly said. “I think it’s time you get used to using other types of guns.” Rainbow shot up on her hooves.

“Hold on, you’re gonna give her even more guns?!” she yelled. Mordecai shook his head and tried to calm the mare down.

“No, I’m just gonna show her a few other guns you two might come across. It’s best if you know the basics of how to use everything, Twilight.” He turned to Twilight and rummaged around in his backpack. Rainbow threw her hooves up in frustration.

“Ugh! You keep acting like we need to protect ourselves,” she said angrily. “I mean, I get Pandora’s dangerous and everything, but isn’t that what this city is for? To keep everyone out of danger? I don’t get why Twilight needs to learn how to use a gun. It’s not like we’re gonna leave the city looking for something to try and kill us!” Mordecai sighed and turned towards the angry Rainbow Dash.

“Well, to be honest with you, we kinda figured you two help us find the other pieces of the vault key,” he told her.

“Seriously?” Rainbow spat. She cocked her head and her brow went up. “That stupid thing is what brought us here! What the hell makes you think we want anything to do with it?” Twilight turned towards Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, Princess Celestia assigned me to…”

“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT WHAT PRINCESS CELESTIA SAID!” Rainbow Dash’s loud yell cut Twilight off. Twilight’s jaw dropped wide open. Mordecai subtly backed away. Rainbow’s breathing had increased significantly. She looked at Twilight, then at Mordecai. The tension in the room could have been enough to blow up the city. “I j-just want to go home,” Rainbow’s voice cracked. She broke her gaze and stared down at the floor.

“Rainbow,” Twilight said softly, taking a few tentative steps towards the pegasus. “Believe me, if I knew a way to get home, we would be there already. But I don’t. And right now, I’m willing to try everything.” She stood next to Rainbow and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “That piece is what brought us here. What if it’s the key to getting us home?” Rainbow thought about that for a moment. It seemed to make some sense, but at the same time, the risk far outweighed the very uncertain reward. If she was assuming correctly, attempting to find the missing pieces of the key would surely put both ponies in great danger. Most importantly, it would put Twilight in danger. Rainbow didn’t like it. Unfortunately, even if the alicorn’s fearful expression told Rainbow that she too did not want any part of this, it was clear that Twilight had made up her mind. Rainbow sighed, shook Twilight’s hoof off of her, and headed towards the door.

“Whatever,” she said, defeated. “Do whatever you two want. I’ll see you back at the house, Twi.” Ignoring the pleas from Twilight to reconsider, Rainbow stomped out of the shooting range. She passed by Marcus and headed for the stairs.

“Having problems, I take it?” Marcus asked from behind the bars. Rainbow turned and glared at the man. He had what Rainbow would call a shit-eating grin on his chubby face. His gold tooth seemed to twinkle in the light. It only made Rainbow angrier.

“Fuck you, pal,” she spat. Marcus just belted out a hearty laugh.

“Sorry for laughing,” he said as he snickered. “I just didn’t expect to hear such… ah… colorful language from you.” The man snickered once more. Rainbow turned away and began walking up the stairs.

“Whatever.”

“You should listen to Mordecai,” Rainbow heard Marcus call out to her. “You know, without a gun on this planet, you’re nothing but skag food.” Rainbow ignored the man and headed outside. The daylight seemed to be slowly fading away as the sky had turned slightly dim. The many buildings of the city blocked Rainbow from checking the position of the sun. Deciding to explore the city a little, she took a left turn and walked down the street. The baffled looks from the citizens Rainbow had gotten so used to seemed to die down, though only slightly. Those who didn’t stare at her simply ignored her. Her eyes narrowed every time she passed one of the armored guards she had been flanked by the day before. None of them paid her any mind, merely looking away whenever Rainbow had caught their gaze. However, her attention mostly kept to the guns they carried and she huffed in disgust every time she saw one.

As she continued down the street, she came across a building with a large pink and red neon sign. A small animation of a leg kicking up and down sat above the sign that spelled “MOXXI’S.” Rainbow assumed it to be a restaurant of some sort. That thought suddenly made her stomach very aware of how empty it was. The idea of food was something that enticed her very much. She entered the building.

Inside was indeed a restaurant, complete with a bar top in the front. Loud electronic music blasted throughout the interior. The décor of the place reminded her a bit of those lavish bars that could be found in Las Pegasus. The placed seemed to be busy, though not overly crowded. Neon lights and signs were plastered all over the place, some in the shape of stars. The walls above were adorned with short red curtains attached to the ceiling. Perhaps the strangest decorations were the traffic lights that sat on posts by the bar. Rainbow took a look around, trying to find a place to sit. Most of the booths seemed to be occupied. Not really wanting to sit near anybody at that moment, she opted to sit in one of the chairs at the surprisingly empty bar top. With no bartender in sight, Rainbow suddenly felt very aware of some of the stares she was receiving from the other patrons of the establishment. The conversations that were ringing throughout the building had also gone suspiciously quiet. She looked at them angrily.

“Well, what are you all looking at?” she spat out at them. Many of them gasped. “You got a problem or something? Can I not walk through this stupid city just once without everyone staring at me like I’m some kinda fucking walking disease or something?” Everyone who had been staring quickly shot their eyes elsewhere. The conversations picked back up and Rainbow turned away angrily. She was suddenly met with a woman standing behind the bar.

“So, I’m guessing you’re one of the new arrivals?” The woman talked in a sultry, almost seductive tone. Her crazy choice of outfit played off the almost sexual nature of the woman. She wore a loud purple top with black and white striped sleeves and collar. The outfit covered almost everything except her rather large cleavage. The massive amounts of makeup she wore almost made her look like some sort of twisted clown with rosy cheeks. Atop her head sat a purple top hat which matched her outfit perfectly. Rainbow cocked her head at the display for a moment before answering.

“Yeeeaah,” she said unsurely. The woman smiled and held out a hand.

“Sorry, let me introduce myself,” she said sensually. “The name’s Moxxi. I run this little tavern.” Rainbow hesitantly met Moxxi’s hand with her hoof and shook it.

“Nice to meet ya, Moxxi. I’m Rainbow Dash.” She paused for a moment as she waited for the laughing that surely would come from Moxxi. When it didn’t come, Rainbow continued. “Um, do you serve food here? I’m starving.” Moxxi nodded.

“You like pizza?” Rainbow’s expression finally morphed into some semblance of happiness. With a small grin, she nodded enthusiastically.

“Hell yes! Uh, no meats please,” she added.

“Anything to drink, sugar?” Rainbow felt slightly awkward at the nickname Moxxi had used, especially with that tone of voice. Rainbow thought for a moment.

“Do you have apple cider?” she asked hopefully.

“Only if you like it hard.” Moxxi giggled slightly at her own innuendo as Rainbow rolled her eyes. She thought about it for a moment before answering. She never was a big alcohol drinker. Being a lightweight does that. The only time she’d ever even have one drink was in a social setting. Drinking alone was something Rainbow had always vowed to avoid. Not only was it a depressing prospect, it was potentially unhealthy if it became a habit. For a moment, she considered just having water. Then again, she really could go for some good apple cider, even if it was alcoholic. And on top of that, maybe the alcohol would help take the edge off.

“Yeah, alright,” Rainbow said. Moxxi was quick to pull a bottle from a cooler behind the bar and poured it into a mug. She slid it over to Rainbow who immediately grasped it in her hooves and took a nice big sip. It didn’t hold a candle to Applejack’s secret hard cider stash, but it was certainly refreshing. The subtle twinge of alcohol was mostly overpowered by the taste of fresh (though, not as fresh as AJ’s) apples. She took the mug away from her lips and gulped down the remnants of her chugging. Letting out a deep breath in satisfaction, she gestured to Moxxi. “That’s some pretty good stuff, Moxxi.” Moxxi smiled at her.

“Thanks, sugar. I try to only stock the best.” She walked out of the bar area and towards a door nearby. “Wait here. I’ll go put your order in.” She opened the door and headed though which left Rainbow Dash alone at the bar. A few minutes passed by as she sipped at her cider. She was honestly surprised it tasted as good as it did. With how run down and crappy everything seemed to look on this planet, she didn’t expect them to have the luxury of great tasting drinks. Hopefully, the pizza would be just as good. Rainbow’s head perked up as Moxxi walked back through the door and into the bar. She turned her attention to Rainbow and leaned her arms on the bar counter in front of the mare.

“So, weren’t there two of you?” Moxxi asked. “Where’s your friend?” Rainbow broke her gaze and huffed angrily. She stared into her drink as she tried to calm her emotions.

“Shooting range,” she said sharply.

“And I’m guessing you’re not exactly happy about that?” Moxxi asked knowingly. Rainbow shook her head.

“The last thing I want Twilight to be around is a gun,” Rainbow stated. “And now they’re making her learn how to use one. All because they want to find those stupid vault key piece things.” She took another sip of her cider. Smacking her hoof on the bar counter, she angrily continued. “And the worst part is she’s actually going along with it.” Moxxi hummed to herself.

“You’re very protective of her, aren’t you?” she asked. Rainbow nodded.

“Well, yeah. She’s like, one of my best friends.” She paused for a moment. “She is my best friend.” Moxxi brought a hand to her chin in thought.

“Well, if Twilight is agreeing to it,” Moxxi said as she motioned her arm towards Rainbow, “why are you so upset?” Rainbow stopped for a moment to consider Moxxi’s question. As she did, certain memories flooded her mind. Memories of the vision, and more importantly of the dream. She shivered visibly and looked away from Moxxi.

“I… because…” Rainbow’s shaky voice trailed off. When her answer didn’t come, Moxxi continued.

“I hate to say it sugar, but the first thing you need to learn about Pandora is that no one lasts long without a gun to protect themselves. Even this city isn’t safe from violence.” She motioned towards the many patrons of her establishment. “Murders have happened here in the past, and unfortunately, they’re likely to happen again in the future. No matter what anyone tells you, nowhere on Pandora is safe.”

Rainbow Dash was speechless. Considering how friendly Moxxi had been up to this point, it was shocking to hear her be so blunt. The implications of her words came crashing down upon Rainbow. She had no reason to believe that anything Moxxi had said was false. In fact, she knew exactly how dangerous this planet really was. She hid her face in her hooves resting on the countertop as she felt her emotions begin to bubble up. She tightly closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling down her face. Unfortunately, she failed to withhold the gentle sobbing she began to display. With each cry, her entire body shook. She desperately tried to bottle it back up once more. Despite how awful everything had been, she still did not want to let a stranger see her cry. Moxxi put a comforting hand on Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Hey, come on,” she said softly. “What’s wrong?” Rainbow struggled to stop her cries. She directed her tear filled eyes at Moxxi.

“Have you ever had a dream… where someone very close to you died?” she asked through her sobs. Moxxi raised her eyebrows.

“That’s what this is about?” she asked. “A dream?” Rainbow desperately shook her head.

“It wasn’t just a dream,” she insisted. “It… it felt so real. It felt just like the vision I had when I touched that vault key back in Equestria.” Moxxi cocked her head.

“Vision?” Rainbow waved her off with her hoof. She took another sip of her mug, which was almost empty.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she said. “I don’t even wanna think about it. All I’ve been able to think about since I got here is that dream. I keep hearing the screams over and over again. I can’t get rid of the sight of Twilight lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. If we go along with finding the other pieces, all that’s going to do is put us in more situations where that dream could become reality.” Rainbow sighed shakily. Despite the horrifying nature of the dream, it actually felt good to finally talk to somebody about it. Moxxi shrugged and stared sadly at Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, listen to me,” Moxxi said. “I’ve lived that dream. And I’m not even a Vault Hunter. I do my best to stay out of trouble. Hell, I’d bet most of the people on Pandora have lived it too. People die on this planet all the time.” Rainbow’s tears welled up again.

“I… shut up,” she spat angrily and shook her head. “That’s not helping. I can’t let Twilight die.”

“Which is exactly why she needs to learn how to use a gun,” Moxxi rebutted. “Honestly, if you could use magic too, you’d still be at that shooting range with her learning how to shoot. It’s one of the most important skills to learn here.” Suddenly, a ding was heard. Moxxi perked her head up and looked towards the door by the bar. “Your pizza’s ready. I’ll be right back.”

In a flash, Moxxi had gone through the door and retrieved Rainbow’s food. She set the pizza box in front of Rainbow and opened it.

“Here,” Moxxi said as she offered Rainbow some napkins and paper plates.

“Thanks.” Rainbow wasted no time and dug right into the cheesy pizza. Within seconds, the first slice was gone and Rainbow was already placing another onto her plate. She took the last sip of cider from her mug and exhaled happily, glad to finally have some food in her stomach. Moxxi looked at the display with some amusement.

“Listen sugar," she said to Rainbow. "You can’t think of your friend learning how to use a gun as a bad thing. The only thing it will do is help protect both her and you. Even if you don’t go along with the Vault Hunter crew to find the other pieces.” After a few moments, Rainbow slowly nodded her head.

“I know.”

“Do you want another cider?” Moxxi asked, motioning to Rainbow’s empty mug. Rainbow considered saying no. Two hard ciders probably weren’t enough to get her drunk, but it was best not to give into temptation. Still, it was damn good cider. And who could eat pizza without a drink of some sort? One more couldn’t hurt too much.

“Yeah, screw it. Hit me.” Moxxi pulled out another bottle of cider and poured the golden liquid into the mug. Rainbow thanked her and took a big sip from her mug before biting into her second slice of pizza.

“This pizza ain’t half bad, Mox,” Rainbow said happily. Moxxi laughed.

“You’re lucky I like ya sugar,” she said with a small wink. “Usually, no one would get away with calling me by pet names like that.”

“Heh, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, sug'.”

Rainbow continued to munch on her food, as well as drink her alcoholic beverage. The two new friends shared a few stories, though Rainbow was the one doing most of the talking. She explained to Moxxi a little bit about Equestria, such as the princesses as well as the different races of ponies. Moxxi had her own story to share as well. She told Rainbow Dash about what she called her Underdome. She seemed to spare a lot of the details though, which Rainbow was grateful for. From what Moxxi told her, it sounded absolutely barbaric and brutal. Still, Rainbow wasn’t gonna let that ruin her new friendship. She was beginning to realize that violence and death were just some things that were commonplace on Pandora. She still didn’t like it, but unfortunately, it didn’t matter what she liked or didn't like. What mattered was that she had to adapt to her new surroundings. It wasn’t going to be easy, but if Twilight could do it then so could she. Rainbow decided to apologize to Twilight as soon as she saw her.

Though, as she finished off the last of her cider and went for her fourth slice of pizza, she decided that her apology could wait just a little a bit longer. The alcohol had given her a nice buzz. It felt good. Really good, in fact. She actually felt happy for the first time since she arrived on Pandora with Twilight. Rainbow Dash stared at the empty mug for only a moment before looking back up at Moxxi.

“Hey Moxxi, how ‘bout another cider?”

Author's Notes:

Well, I did it again. I went overboard with the horse words. Over 9k goddamn words. On top of that, this chapter also took a long time to get done. Very sorry for keeping you waiting with this one.

So yeah. I'm playing around a little bit with the Borderlands lore with this chapter. Hopefully you guys receive it well. Either way, it's too late for me to turn back now.

As always, shoot me a like and a comment if you haven't already! Thanks for reading folks! And if you're new to this story welcome! Buckle in, because we still have a hell of a long way to go in this adventure. Until next time!