Snarling Fang looked at the bag on her bed and sighed. She had been packing and unpacking for the last half hour, gathering up all of her belongings that she thought she would need and her mind rebelled once more that she didn’t need any of it. With that said, she emptied the bag of her meager belongings and shifted through them. A couple of those trashy romance novels her squad mates got her as a joke, a few interesting knick-knacks that she had picked up over the years, her combat blade, a few blankets, a few knives, her bedding and a few extra bolts for her crossbow.

Looking at it, she groaned and began to repack it all. It was hard to wrap her mind around the idea that she was going to go out and look for a random pony that she barely knew because Nocturne thought she was interested in the pony, the perverted old biddy!

Fang froze in fear, realizing that she just thought of Nocturne like that and how wrong it was! Nocturne was the lifeblood of the Bat pony tribe and without her, there could be no Bat ponies! She deserved all the respect and adoration of her ponies, no matter what!

Even if she is a very dirty old mare.

Fang spun around with the combat blade in hoof, the thought almost certainly not her own although she could not help but agree with it. The sooner she could get away from Nocturne’s influence, the better. It was a known fact that an alicorn could influence their tribe, that the power of an alicorn was connected to every single pony of their tribe. Some had said that power went even deeper the closer a pony was to their alicorn or how much the alicorn was focusing on a pony, that they could even change their minds!

Although, if that were the cause, the Bat pony tribe would be very different from what she knew Nocturne was really like. In any case, the sooner she was out of Erebus, the better she would be mentally and the clearer she could think.

Although, it might be cold, so it might be good to take warmer clothing.

With a loud hiss, she tossed the blade onto her bed and threw her face into her pillow to scream into it at this latest bout of intruding thoughts, while the intruding thought laughed in glee at her torment.

Fang locked the door behind her and flew out the pegasus window in the hallway, enjoying the breeze that came from living high up in the apartment lofts designated for soldiers like her. With a chirp, she landed on the busy street, ponies making way for her as she joined the masses.

While she could have easily flown out of the city, it was also highly illegal to fly near the towering buildings that housed so many of their tribe without due cause, being part of the police force that patrolled the skies or having a messenger permit. Not even Nocturne or the other alicorns were above that law, and Nocturne strongly enforced the law. According to lore, it had happened twenty five hundred years ago when somepony had flown around and set the buildings on fire only to run into a furious Nocturne who had smacked the poor fool down with only her glare. Now, everypony had to either live in the building to fly there or have invited permission if caught going to another one.

Shaking her head clear of the thoughts, Fang made her way to the city’s gates fairly quickly, most ponies recognizing that the mask on her saddlebag and the posture of her body marked her as a soldier and thus got out of her way. The capital wasn't large; no tribe capital really was but she’d heard Erebus was smaller than average, especially for a tribe their size. But it was home, which made Fang perk up a bit.

As she walked down the cobblestone road, she smiled as she looked at the statues of previous alicorns, her heart swelling with pride. There were countless statues in the city, glorying them for what made them unique in their tenure, with massive ones placed atop of each the living facilities of her tribe. Nocturne had yet to have a statue raised to her as she still lived, but according to the rumours, she was going to either be remembered as the Teacher of the Young due to having a hoof in the education of the younger generation of alicorns - Helios, two thousand years old and the youngest of her students so far, and Velocity, seven thousand years old and the oldest of her students - or as the Ancient One if she outlived Hard Head, the alicorn of the crystal pony tribe. He was one hundred and twenty-five thousand years old and counting proudly, so that was in high dispute.

Fang shuddered at living that long, not understanding how anypony could live that long and still be sane.

Maybe that was why she was just a pegasus and they were alicorns...

Shaking her head at the nonsense of trying to comprehend alicorns, she made her way to the gates that led out of the city.

“Where, by the Ancient Ones, do you think you are going?” Sharp Claw shouted, running across the street. Fang stared at her squad leader, trying to come up with an adequate excuse for leaving all of a sudden that didn’t sum up to her leaving to find a Flutter pony because Nocturne had told her that he might be her special somepony.

Something told her that saying that would only get her into trouble.

“Out, sir,” Fang snapped a salute at him, her mind racing for a proper reas- “I am going out to the Neutral Lands for personal reasons.” Okay, so she was going with honesty mixed in half truths, apparently. Wonderful.

“Out of the question,” he snapped his fangs at her, his hard eyes boring into her before softening. “Fang... I-, we are all worried about you, the squad I mean,” he sighed, eyes going to the side. “We’ve seen how depressed you have become since we’ve come home and... look, I cannot in good conscious let you leave right now.”

Fang shuffled on the spot, feeling her cheeks heat up at this gesture. Well, she knew that Claw wasn’t attached to-

“Message for Squad Leader Sharp Claw,” a pegasus messenger flew in, snapping a salute to the both of them. He had a letter out for the Squad Leader as well as a packet of other letters and what smelt like foodstuffs… “From Lady Nocturne herself, sir.”

Claw’s eyes bulged at that, and shot Fang a look that demanded a long and detailed explanation. Which might mean destroying his beliefs in Nocturne, and learning the truth of your alicorn was not to be done sober.

With a frown, he read the first line to himself before sighing. He then spoke loudly, reading it aloud, “‘To sir Sharp Claw, Squad Leader of the Terror Masks, I, Lady Nocturne, Alicorn of the Bat Pony Tribe, do wish you to read this note aloud so that Snarling Fang can hear my words through your lips. I have observed my little pony’s current mental state and I have felt that it would be best for Snarling Fang to withdraw from Erebus to allow herself time to think about certain matters. Snarling Fang is to be given extended leave up to and lasting no more than one year, at which point I shall personally go and aid her should such a situation arise.’”

Claw paused as he heard Fang gulp loudly at this, but she wasn’t about to explain why.

“‘Further note, I bestow a bag of one hundred fifty coins, ten of which Swift Note has pocketed,’” Claw glared at the messenger, who gulped and pulled out the stolen coins and the heavy purse. Fang took both and waved over a unicorn so he could do a proper co-

“‘Tell Snarling Fang that getting a unicorn to count the coins is not needed as I know for a fact that this is not the first time that Swift Note has stolen from me and he has always taken ten coins as it is very easy to miss them. Regardless, Sharp Claw please inform Swift Note that he is now fired and that if he follows on his thoughts of flying away to the Ice pony tribe for sanctuary, I will be most cross at this act as it would be a further insult to me as well as pointless as Soft Snow will not grant him asylum as she is far more harsh than I. Also, I am not reading your mind Swift Note, I am just that good.’” Claw looked at the panicking pegasus stallion who now was in awe of their alicorn’s ability to predict the future so clearly.

“‘Inside Swift Note’s messenger bag are several foodstuffs to last Snarling Fang a short while until she manages to obtain some herself from the towns in the Neutral Lands, some tinder and matches, first aid, and several other necessities that she has forgotten. Again, I am not reading your mind but I am just that good.’” Claw paused to clear his throat, rubbing it with his free hoof. He was not a talkative pony by nature, more suited to give orders only once or the pony that couldn't understand the order would be out of the squad.

“‘Sharp Claw is now rubbing his throat despite the orders of the doctor, whom he is seeing discreetly to avoid Snarling Fang and the rest of the Terror Mask squad’s teasing, to leave his throat alone, to which Tender Touch has been informed of and will not be displeased with you as I am making you talk more than you should be. Once more, I am not reading any of your minds, I am just that good.’” Sharp Claw shot a look at Fang, who was torn between beaming in mischievous glee at her captain who was seeing somepony at long last and panicking at Nocturne’s ability to predict the future.

“‘Tell Snarling Fang to relax and not overthink the matter as I have had a long time to hone my abilities,’” Claw shot Fang a look and went back to reading. “‘In addition to the purse, packets of meal rations, a first aid kit, and the miscellaneous items, I have also placed a packet of letters that Snarling Fang is to fill out once per week on the details of her journey so far and I have placed a spell on each one of them to make sure that Snarling Fang fills them out as she will find out right now.’”

Fang did not have any time to blink as a letter flew out of Swift Note’s bag and started to smack her across the face until she managed to grab it and pull it open. With a snort, she reached into the pack for the enchanted quill she knew would be in there and started to write something that told Nocturne exactly what she thought of all this. As soon as she was done, the letter took off into the air and back to the Mirror Palace, Nocturne’s home. She then realized she had said all that to Nocturne!

“‘Please tell Snarling Fang not to worry, as I have most likely heard far worse in my long life and will be pleasantly pleased if she wrote something new. In conclusion, I wish Snarling Fang the best of luck in her journey and that she finds what she is looking for. Nocturne,’” Claw said, breathing a bit heavily after reading all that. With a frown, he pushed the scroll up a bit more. “‘P.S. The mountain we discovered was a lovely climb and I wish we had enjoyed it together.’”

Claw snapped a look at Fang, who was blushing horribly under her coat and started to shuffle on the spot. He seemed tempted to ask about the ‘mountain’ they discovered but thankfully something told him that it would be a horrible idea.

Letting out a sigh, Claw rubbed his face before looking at Fang again, who moved the small bag from Swift Note to her flank, covering her descending sword cutie mark. “How much do I want to know?” he asked her as she tightened the straps while a pair of police officers had come over for Swift Note.

“Honestly, sir? None of it,” she answered truthfully as she took a short flight upwards to test the bag. Landing in front of him, she was aware that she wouldn’t be seeing him or any of her squad mates again for a long time. True, they were just put together out of luck but she was fond of her squaddies and leader... they were like family, in a fashion and she was leaving them all without so much a proper farewell. “Sir, could you please inform the rest of the squad that I am leaving?”

“Of course,” Claw gave her a friendly smile before snorting. “Of course, knowing them, they just might try and follow you.”

“Wonderful…” Fang rolled her eyes, before giving a toothy grin, snapping to attention. “I will see you once I can, sir.”

Answering back with his own salute, he gave a nod of his head before saying, “Dismissed, soldier.”

With that, Snarling Fang turned around and trotted out of Erebus.