It was cold. That was the first thing I really noticed in the darkness that held me, after slowly getting used to an alicorn body that didn't feel the elements in nearly the same way, the chilling sensation of actual cold was a shock that made my teeth chatter.

"We're almost there boss, just hang on!" Val's voice made me look up to the source of anything other than this blackness, she sounded so faint and far away though...

A dim crimson light nearby brightened with the Shroud's voice, making the void rumble and illuminating the dark, bringing some kind of order to what had been nothing but darkness. The source was close by and I approached hesitantly, at least knowing where I was thanks to the round red window and glowing seams of a familiar shape, Stasis Pod #101...

I was in my head, still unconscious, that's why Val's voice and the muffled replies of Zed and Swan sounded so far away. The crimson light spilling out of the battered and dented stasis pod ahead let me see more of the mental representation of this part of myself. I'd only been here... well, seen this kind of projection, once before, with Ivy helping me... I'd never come to this dark and cold part of my addled brain myself, I wasn't too happy to find myself here now either...

Taking a better look around with that shifting red light to see by, I saw I was wearing my Stable barding. The snug suit felt a little different with wings poking out of the leather, but still like a comfy old friend. My faithful Shrouded Stallion armor was in a heap at the base of the towering black stasis pod, weighed down by my Shroud action figure Zed insisted was a soul jar itself. Looking up, I saw my hat perched on the top of the pod far above.

"Leave me alone! What do you want!" I stamped my hooves and shouted at the cursed pod and whatever was locked up under all those chains surrounding it.

Not that I expected much of answer, I just hated being here, hated that part of me and what it was capable of. I hated that I needed it too... as it had demonstrated so effectively by withdrawing its support in Stable 75. When the shifting red light brightened with its words, my surprise at getting a response was overtaken by a sense of dread taking a better look at the mental construct that kept it locked away.

Several chains were broken... The strange power cables routed through the pod fizzled and sparked, drawing surges of energy from the depths of myself behind it. An area I thought of as the generator room from Stable 111 that Ivy said was the wellspring of my magic. The gap of the stasis pod's hatch had widened, the pod itself was dented by something inside pushing out, the round porthole full of that swirling red and black was even cracked...

My head ached and my ears laid back with each rumbling declaration, whatever 'Be Dark...' was, it wasn't much of a conversationalist. Flashes of images and feelings came with each though, like a form of unity... Not that surprising since this was all in my head, no telepathy with outside minds required.

I saw Jade, Jade and all her sisters, Val, Witchy, Summer Wind, Cocoa Latte, Sunset... A string of fillies along with a rush of desire and urgent need. I saw a mountain of dead enemies, raiders, Gunners, Institute robots and brains in jars, tasted the coppery flavor of blood and felt my muscles twitch with power and anticipation.

"Why's his leg all crooked like that?! His nice apple should have fixed him! Help him, please..." Swan's voice drifted in from the outside world, full of worry and anxiety.

Knowing she was out there and scared for me, that Val and Zed were too, along with Witchy, Jade and Glitter... My little filly Glitter... The thought of them, of her, helped me stand up straighter against the menacing aura radiating off the stasis pod. I stopped my unconscious retreat away from the roiling shadow stuff pouring out of it, letting the oily darkness that made this part of my mind nothing but a red torch in a sea of black lap at my hooves.

I realized I could make out the swirling shadows because things had gotten brighter, my Stable barding now showing vibrant blue and yellow colors, no longer tinted by the red glare. The thought of my loved ones had summoned five colored motes of light circling above pod 101, bringing pure illumination that made the dark retreat back to the jet black pod. Each one flared brighter with thoughts of the different members of my wasteland family I clung to, singing over the hiss coming from the dark Shroud's prison.

"It's broken and wasn't set when you fed him that. It's healing, but the wrong way..." Zed's voice came from the waking world in an distracted mutter. The amber wisp of 'Be Strong!' resonated with his voice, the strong and stern zebra always was brutally honest.

A flash of the sweet batpony Witching Hour brightened the violet spark of 'Be Unwavering!', a beautiful mare who was always willing to give of herself to help, even without getting what she joined us for. The bubbling sound of Glitter's wonderfully infectious laughter, sent the pink light of 'Awareness!' flaring and joining her giggles. A sound that always made me feel hopeful for the future, the world I'd always try to make just a little better, for her.

"Well can ya fix it Stripey?! Or do we need'ta shag ass an get 'im to Blue?" Val's concerned squawk in the real world made the blue beacon of 'Be Awesome!' give a fiery flare. The brave griffon's loyalty to me was unwavering, always at my side to protect me and put me first, no matter what stupid thing I did.

Just her mention of Jade brought up images of my beautiful wife, a gentle healer whose kindness to everyone was an equal even to the soft yellow light of 'Be Kind...' glowing brightly. Jade and her virtue matching that of her heroine Fluttershy was an easy connection to make, but I'd never really considered how the rest paired so well with my other companions before.

The most important virtues of ponykind weren't our exclusive domain though, of course they could be found in griffons, zebras, mutant alicorns and more. I felt stupid for not seeing it before actually, absently wondering if I had met anypony already whose virtue may be magic itself.

"I can improve it... It won't be pretty, but best to do so now while he's still healing." Zed's pensive voice came from outside the construct of my mind's eye, but I was still focusing on the display before me.

The five balls of light representing nearly all of the Elements of Harmony and the Ministry Mares that once wielded them sped around pod 101 in a shrinking circle, confining the rippling darkness that surged and pushed back with an angry roar. Whatever this part of me was, the little fragments of soul really were helping to keep it locked up... The chains surrounding the stasis pod clinked and grew taut again, glowing with their light, turning the bonds into rainbow colored ribbons stretching from every direction like bizarre party streamers, winding around the battered prison and its shadowy occupant.

'Be Dark...' raged from inside the spinning circle of light, of all the things that seemed to set off that angry voice, the Ministry Mares and their efforts to contain it brought out a unique species of venom in it. If it was just me I could see it being a stubborn resistance to cheering up, wanting to wallow in anger and stew. If it wasn't me though...

Well, as long as I was here anyway... I never had much opportunity to talk to this part of myself before, though it had worked in the Gunners' Stable. It might be schizophrenic, but I may as well try it...

"No! You're locked up for a reason, s-so you can either get with the program like those five or just wait until you're needed! You getting out usually causes trouble! You made Val scared and angry! Jade wouldn't like it either! Or Glitter!"

While that rumbling voice had a limited vocabulary, it managed to communicate well enough when it wanted to given our unique ....closeness. Possessiveness was always one its major traits, especially concerning those it kept urging on my more lascivious impulses towards. Mating and murder, in either case it wanted to indulge and enough was never enough. Who knew what kind of horrible pony I might be if it wasn't kept trapped here, even in a weakening prison. Jade said the wasteland corrupted everything, was this all an elaborate hallucination displaying my loosening hold on sanity?

"W-What the hell are you anyway! What do you want! Why won't you leave me be!"

In reply, a tendril of shadow managed to slip outside the magical circle of protection the bulk of it was trapped in, oozing across the ground and reaching the heap of my Shrouded Stallion armor. As I watched, the black trenchcoat rose from the floor and seemed to inflate, filled with shadows taking on a rough pony shape, the sleeves ended in rippling black hooves, the tail and hindlegs waving indistinctly, a pair of large, fearsome looking wings flared from the back. My black fedora drifted down from atop the stasis pod to rest above the amorphous blob of darkness forming a horned head. A pair of gleaming crimson fires lit below the brim and stared back at me, while a jagged maw opened to speak, defined by the same red inferno raging beneath all that inky darkness.

Even while taking an unsteady step back, I was annoyed to realize the shadowy Shrouded Stallion before me was taller than I was. It looked more like the strong and powerful character from the comics, taking slow, pained steps forward, against bright chains reaching out to pull it back to the stasis pod. Cringing and retreating from it in my old Stable barding made me feel even smaller and weaker too... Barring the new wings trying to rise up for me to hide behind, how I looked in here was... me... The old me I had always been back in Stable 111, the awkward, anxious, lonely colt that lived the bulk of his life safely hidden away in a deep bunker. Of course the Shroud was bigger than I was, he was an idea, bigger than life, a dream brought to the waking world, a stronger, braver, tougher version of me I had leaned on since leaving the Stable.

Of course it was also a selfish, self indulgent, angry, violent version of me too. The mental flashes I got with its growls all concerned things it wanted, visceral feelings and base desires. It was a part that viewed my loved ones as MINE, that wanted to rut and claim as many females as it could to add to that herd, that enjoyed fighting and violence for its own sake. This Shroud wasn't like the idealized Shrouded Stallion from my comics and radio shows of my youth, it was a rough beast whose hour had come at last when I found myself in the dangerous wasteland, where the strong preyed upon the weak and death was so common.

Just when I thought the mental image looming over me was going to simply reach out and eat me, a bright light shone out behind it, arresting its forward motion and dragging it back. The Shroud snapped and strained with frustrated growls, unable to resist the gentle pull of the tiny beacon of blue light reeling it in. Peeking from behind my feathers, I was surprised to see it wasn't the Ministry Mares who had succeeded in stopping it, though they were definitely helping. Instead, it was the nearly overlooked action figure glowing with the same light as the magic from my horn. Bathed in that pure light radiating a feeling of innocence and idealism, the pristine toy felt more like the Shrouded Stallion I grew up with, a hero...

The shadowy Shroud roared and struggled against the powerful pull dragging it back, digging its rippling forelegs in and creating dents in the metal flooring in its battle to remain out. My shaggy mane whipped in the wind howling like the partially open stasis pod had become a vacuum, but I didn't feel nearly the same suction that was stretching and swallowing the wraith's hindlegs. The indistinct head shouted and snapped inches away from mine, but couldn't exceed its shrinking range, the red fires of its eyes boring into mine as it fumed and fought.

"No! Go back to sleep! I know you're not worthless, I admitted I need you, but you're dangerous and... and w-wrong! There's more to life, to me, than just the things you want! I may need you sometimes, but I need my friends more! Just behave yourself dammit! Stop fighting me and trying to take over to do bad things! Why can't you be like the real Shroud, like that!" I cringed and backpedaled away, afraid of even being near the raging beast now half sucked back into pod #101 as it struggled, pointing a shaking hoof to the toy.

The howl of the chill wind rose in pitch as the shadow's wings were caught and slurped down the bright red gap, the Shroud's armor fell to the floor, emptied of the swirling shadows occupying it. Only the fedora wearing head remained as the shadows stretched like taffy and it lost ground, the sense of anger and indignation communicated through the flickering flames of its eyes was tinged with ...sadness... from the caged monster. It didn't like the comparison...

It managed that much of an answer before the last wisps were swallowed and the jet black stasis pod's hatch slammed down. The whole tall coffin shook and teetered in place with muffled roars from inside, making me retreat further as the chains lit with rainbow light of the Ministry Mares snaked down and tightened around it, trying to bind it again.

I shuddered at the noise shaking this entire, weird part of my brain, hiding under my wings and hooves in fearful confusion when Zed's voice filtered in from reality. "Hold him very still... this won't be pleasant..."

I had a moment to wonder what exactly that ominous statement meant, then a catastrophic amount of pain from my hindleg shattered the dream around me.

"WHHHAAAUUGH!!!" I screamed and struggled blindly as several sharp cracks preceded even more agony from my leg, panicking as I realized I could barely move to escape whatever was attacking me.

"Hold him! He must not move!" I spun towards Zed's voice, a blur of black and white beyond the red and purple that took up most of my vision.

His stern face resolved out of the tears in my eyes, full of concentration looking down to my leg with his foreleg drawn back to strike. My confusion at the posture fell away when his hoof shot out and another wave of pain came with the sharp crack of breaking bone.

"What the fuck!?! S-Stop! Why!?..." I screamed and bucked, realizing I was held down by the heavy weight of a lot of purple alicorn sprawled across my chest and the feel of Val's sharp claws gripping my hindlegs beyond her.

Swan's big muzzle swung from looking down to Zed's assault, nuzzling my face and cooing anxiously. "Sssh... It's ok Fast, the zebra is fixing you, just hang on, don't cry!"

Feeling her kissing away the salty tears spilling down my cheeks, I looked past her flowing pink mane and found Val's unhappy grimace watching me, clucking worriedly. "Almost done boss, just hold still an' suck it up ya big baby... Go on, do it quick Stripey..."

"Do whaaaAAUUUGGHHH!!!!" I sniffled and tried to calm down in confusion, returning to screaming when Zed yanked and my throbbing hindleg was wrenched around and flared with a fresh wall of pain.

I bucked and strained against Swan keeping me pinned, barely able to focus on anything as the hateful zebra kept shifting and yanking my poor leg around. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore and would welcome even scary dreams, just as long as they came with escaping this pain through unconsciousness, Zed shifted and grabbed nearby junk, a series of deft movements binding my aching leg.

"There, that's the best I can do until Jade can treat him properly. You can let him go you two, my apologies Fast, take it easy and breathe." Zed's stern voice held a masked note of concern and relief at being done with his torture, peering over Swan's head as he patted her pink mane.

His advice was a lot easier to follow when the bulk of Swan's weight finally lifted off my chest. I sucked in a shaky breath and whimpered, taking a moment to recover and get my bearings, while the worried filly kept right on nuzzling me anxiously. I was flat on my back, staring up at a hole riddled ceiling that let the cold drizzle of rain from the leaden morning sky drip down around us.

Val's upside down face appeared in my view while I tried to make sense of it, snapping her claws in my face and clucking at me. "Hey, boss! Ya alright? Quit bein' a pussy an' walk it off... eh... maybe not walk it off, but c'mon, yer tougher than this, right? Boss?"

I knew my faithful bodyguard well enough to tell when her insults and teasing were covering for real worry. With a tired groan and sniffle, I pushed myself up to a sitting position, returning some of Swan's attention wearily as I panted in place and looked around. We were in a partially ruined home, the battered and weather worn furnishing bearing signs of post war habitation.

Everyone looked ok at least, tired and bearing their own bandages and scars from our raid on Stable 75, but most of their focus was still on me. Trying to wriggle into a more comfortable position sent another bolt of pain from my leg and I hissed, finally taking a look at the damage.

"Sorry for the rude wakeup Fast, better to rebreak and set it now though, rather than let you keep healing a hobbled leg the wrong way. I'm no expert on mutant biology, but I believe time is the best medicine now." Zed sounded apologetic as I took in his first aid treatment, but I couldn't really fault him.

He had bound my shattered hindleg in a splint tightly, forcing it back into a proper shape and keeping it that way. Already I could feel the itching sensation of the bone knitting under my fur. A quick glance at my pip-buck's rad meter confirmed what the ball of warmth and gurgle in my guts did. I was still all the way at the purple end of the gauge, the half of a radioactive balefire apple Swan forced down my throat fueling my body's regeneration.

Considering Rapid had completely smashed my leg under her huge robot yak, I wasn't surprised at his explanation. Mutated biology had its perks, but some of the same old rules still applied. Radiation may be as good as a super healing potion for me now, but bones had to be set properly even when a normal pony used one to heal. We hadn't done that after it happened, so my bruised and swollen leg had been mending wrong.

"I-It's ok... I'm ok Swan, Val, t-thanks Zed. Where are we?" I sighed in relief when Zed jabbed my flank with a vial of Med-X, looking around blearily at the unremarkable wasteland ruin.

Location Discovered: Big Mac Salvage Yard blinked in my vision as I limped my way up to my hooves, coming just ahead of Val's updated description of where we sheltered. "Ol' junkyard boss, it was the safest place I knew of in the area an' we needed ta stop."

Taking a look at my map and the new icon marking our location near the unexplored marker for Magpie Roost, I hobbled my way over to the window and took a look outside. It was still morning, so I hadn't been out of it too long at least. If not for the handy clock my pip-buck provided, I'd have a hard time pinning the time down beyond that though. The skies were overcast and a light, steady drizzle came straight down, plinking and pinging on all the scrap and junk I took in outside.

The ramshackle house we were in was on top of a hill, providing a sweeping vista of a mountain of junk in the shadow of a plain old mountain. It was full of rusting train cars, ruined trailers, wrecked sky carriages and wagons, stacked in precarious heaps and rows that made the place a maze. It was all centered on a dilapidated yellow crane, the bent boom cocked at an angle that ensured it wouldn't be moving any of this around with the rusting magnet swaying in the gentle breeze.

The chaos betrayed a hint of order on a closer look, the warren of scrap had rickety walkways connecting the tallest pillars and ramps going up and down all over. Bent and ruined fencing surrounding the scrapyard had been patched and reinforced here and there, while the approach to a pair of smaller buildings near the cracked roadway was clear and the rusty old gate to the yard squealeded and swung in the breeze.

We were in what seemed to be the residence for the prewar owners, down the hill was a roadway shop and a battered old garage, angled to match the severe turn to the street winding around and going up the mountain behind the building. The somber look I caught on Val's face watching me take in the scenery made me wonder why she brought us here, it looked like being here bothered her.

"You know this place Val? Is it safe?"

My bodyguard watched me wince and stumble my way back from the window, crossing the living room of the old home and giving me a shoulder to lean on as she answered. "Yeah I know it, I umm.... used ta hang out here, long time ago. Safe enough, should be anyway. C'mon, let's get you somewheres better ta put yer hooves up, there's a bunch'a them old wrecks leakin' radioactive goop too if ya want big stuff."

If it weren't for the rather large, ragged hole in the southern wall, I doubted Swan would have squeezed her way through the front door creaking gently back and forth in the wind. Though she was only tall enough her horn raked the ceiling when she stood and nodded eagerly, which was fairly small for Swan, so not surprising she'd welcome a little industrial waste.

"I'd like that Val! Er... for a little while anyway, until I'm all better. You can cuddle and feel better with me Fast!" Taking a better look at the giddy filly knocking ruined furniture aside, I spotted the bloodstained bandages wrapped around her middle and remembered the horrible wounds she took finishing off Rapid.

I realized that for once, Swan wasn't eager to find radiation to super charge herself and get bigger, she actually needed it to heal and seemed less excited by the prospect of soaking it up to reach her preferred stature. The reason for her change in attitude became clear enough when Val shut down her hopes of snuggling outside with me as her teddy bear.

"Maybe later tons of fun, takin' boss somewhere dry and comfy ta recover. He don't need ta sit out in the muck with ya, an you won't fit." Val tapped the rainbow colored gauge on my hoof to demonstrate, eliciting a pouty whine from the big alicorn.

"I'll keep watch up here and poke around a bit I think. I'm in the best shape and the house seems like a good lookout point. I've done all I can, everyone just needs time to rest before we're on our way." Zed waved us off absently, climbing a sagging set of stairs near the front door Val helped me towards.

A good look around at my companions showed the zebra spoke the truth. The previous day was all a blur of fighting and danger, fighting off a horde of Gunners and more at the Ministry of Peace, driving a swarm of breezidores to the edge of the Glowing Sea, assaulting the Gunners secret Stable... Beyond just all our numerous injuries, it was plain everybody needed a chance to recuperate. Zed and Val didn't even have the benefit of being able to absorb rads and regenerate like Swan and I could. They both masked it well, but even the strong zebra looked weak and tired, dark bags visible on the pale patches of his striped face under his eyes. I wanted to rejoin Jade, Glitter and Witchy as soon as we could, but I couldn't push my friends on when we were all exhausted.

"Right, if Val says it's safe, lets all get a little sleep and move on. You too Zed, I'm sure Swan wouldn't mind pulling a little guard duty once she rests up." I called after the zebra, noting hoe he had stumbled on a step and looked back to Swan's beaming nod wearily.

I hobbled off the front porch on three legs with Val's help, squelching in the mud a few steps before remembering I had two newer appendages to take up the slack for the crippled one. Fluttering up above the puddles drained some of my stamina, but the concentrated balefire still being digested in my stomach gave me energy to spare, despite the aches and weariness after being up all night fighting the Gunners.

Hovering along with Val leading the way also put me up at Swan's level, a fact she took advantage of cheerily, nuzzling and smooching at me as we wound our way through the warren of junk. As far as she was concerned, it had been a lovely evening of smashing Gunners and she was ready to play, though holding back and worriedly snuffling at the splint on my leg.

A few twists and turns led us to an isolated part of the scrapyard, the broken and rusted remains of a pile of sky vehicles leaking green goop that puddled beneath them and made our pip-buck's chatter as we approached. Swan pranced ahead when she spotted it, trotting in tight circles around the radioactive waste and easily lifting the flattened remains of more vehicles in her telekinesis, forming a rusty lean-to over her little nest. She still looked annoyed when she settled in though, biting her lip and shifting in place uncomfortably.

"But I want Fast... I like sleeping with him, it's nice and cozy... Can't I have him Val?" Swan's whine made me feel more like a favorite stuffed toy for a very big filly, one who didn't want to go to bed without it...

While her amorous look and pouting lip made my mane itch and me distinctly twitchy with so much radiation in my system, Val shut her down and pulled me away. "No ya can't have him goofy, I'm borrowin' him an' we're gettin' outta here just as soon as everybody's up ta movin'. Yer apt ta roll over an' break his leg all over again."

"No I won't..." Swan whined as Val dragged me away by my hoof, flicking her eyes up recalling a memory of doing exactly that.

"We'll have more time when we catch up to Jade and the others Swan, just get some rest for now ok?" I called back over my shoulder as Val led me back through the junkyard, trying to ignore the friskiness that came with being overcharged and made me want to go back to play with the big mare.

With her out of sight, my attention returned to Val prowling down the maze of wrecks and junk with practiced ease. While I caught myself leering at her muscular feline form from my elevated vantage, being dragged through the air like a balloon on a string, I did at least consider how well she seemed to know this place. My curiosity was piqued when she paused near a jumble of scrapped traincars, kicking a pile of junk aside and digging after a rusty old refrigerator. Once she had it uncovered from fallen down sheets of corrugated steel and bent old hubcaps, she tore the freezer door open and reached in, yanking down a lever that had no business being there.

In response, the faded yellow traincar resting on its side in the muck nearby gave a resounding 'clunk' noise and Val snorted in victory, bounding up the crushed remnants of a yellow cab leaning against it and dragging me to the open sliding door of the mysterious traincar. A short hop down to the gloomy shipping container led to a small hatch in the tipped over side facing the ground, something that had been cut out and added a long time ago by the rust.

Ignoring my curious look with a smirk, Val wrenched open the hatch and hopped down, shuffling around for a minute before dim light sparked to life in her strange hidey-hole and she called me down. Fluttering down carefully to avoid banging my injured leg on the narrow entrance, I drifted down and gaped at the carefully hidden secret hideout.

"Whad'ya think boss? Like it?" Val grinned and waved a claw proudly when I joined her, inviting me to take it all in.

A small bunker had been excavated under all the junk above. It was cozy and dry, the concrete walls keeping out the drizzle and chill, if not the dirty roots penetrating the ceiling. The soft, multicolored light illuminating the room came from a variety of hearth's warming lights strung from the ceiling, powered by a spark cell Val had wedged in the crude receptacle wired into them, near a dusty old ham radio. A pair of musty but clean mattresses made a set of bunkbeds to one side, while a slightly bigger bed was on the opposite wall that Val directed me towards.

Following her pointing claw, I plopped down on the lumpy double bed and took in details with wonder. It appeared to be a prewar bunker made for a small family, but a lot had been added in the intervening years. There were pieces of scrapped weapons and armor strewn all over a disorganized workbench in one corner. Wonderbolts posters shared real estate on the walls with ones for famous griffons I didn't recognize, mercenary companies by the intimidating looking warrior griffons depicted.

There were empty liquor bottles littering the floor, along with a miraculously half full bottle of Wild Pegasus Val dug out of a cabinet in the corner that seemed to be the basic kitchenette, a narrow doorway nearby leading to a shelf covered closet she rooted around and snagged a bag of apple chips from. Beyond that corner was another doorway, this one covered with a rotting sheet I presumed was for privacy, given the faint but unmistakable smells of a bathroom my sensitive nose caught.

"Yeah! This is really cool Val, how'd you know about all this? You said you used to hang out here?"

Val turned to the bunkbeds, grabbing a couple of battered pillows and propping my leg up gently as she answered in a subdued tone. "Yeah... Long time ago, found it diggin' around up in the junk, it was our... my secret hideout. Ought'a be safe enough fer you ta rest up anyway. Go on, catch some Zs so we can get goin' soon."

I wondered about her little slip of the tongue, moving gingerly to undo the buckles of Blue Moon and remove my bloodstained armor with little groans while she continued rummaging around. My blood matted fur under the black trenchcoat wasn't much better... and trying to shrug out of it made me aware of every little ache and pain from my battered body. Even with a super charge of balefire radiation coursing through my system, I felt bone tired, despite the annoying arousal that kept my lidded eyes firmly focused on Val's flanks as she moved through the small space.

Tearing my leering stare away just as she caught me with a smirk and flicked her tail, I tossed my armor to the floor and settled in, looking around the room for anything to distract me. My roaming eyes spotted another detail that explained some of the sadness she was trying to hide. There were simple crayon drawings on the walls here and there, the one on the cracked concrete wall nearby easy enough to figure out.

It was a crude and childlike drawing, my Glitter was more talented quite frankly, enough colors from the crayon box had been available to make it very clear though. A red griffon and a white griffon were displayed, wings spread and claws clasped together, both wearing wide cartoonish smiles of true friendship. A simple creed scrawled below the two joyous little griffons left no doubt, reading; 'Fire an' Frost! Bestest mercs in the world!'

"Freya... You and Freya used to stay here Val?"

Following my pointing hoof to the image, Val's expression turned sour, then softened sadly as she nodded. "Y-Yeah... When we were just fledglings. Havin' a place ta hide all our loot an' stay safe together saved our bacon more than once, just us against the world..."

I winced scooting my way closer to the wall, patting the lumpy mattress beside me as I hung my hat on the bedpost and kept redirecting my roving eyes as she unbuckled her green riot armor, showing all that scarred but beautiful griffon flesh underneath. "Umm.... Y-You really were good friends then, all the way back to when you were kids? Err... what was it like? It was just you two? What about your parents? I still really don't know enough about you Val, sorry I never asked before... I mean you know all about my folks, but I still don't knmm mrmmpfh..."

Val pinched my muzzle shut to cut off my jabbering with a smirk, waving off my apologies and prowling off to the tiny restroom with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "S'ok boss, not like I ever volunteer nothin'... I don't exactly like talkin' about my past. Tell ya what, I'll do yer silly pony sharing bit with ya if you do the same sometime, like why you think yer crazy? Still ain't happy you didn't tell me nothin' about that shorty..."

"Umm... o-ok, that's fair I guess... Y-You go first though."

Trying to avoid her questions was pretty transparent by her huff, but she nodded and pushed past the ratty privacy curtain, disappearing from view thankfully and calling back in a bored voice. "Me an' the ice queen there were on our own boss. Neither of us knew who our dads were, an' mom was a drunk ol' merc what didn't come back from a mission one day, same deal with her. It uh, ain't that uncommon 'round these parts. Gunners an' other mercs don't make fer the best parents."

"Oh... s-sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything too sad Val..."

I could hear her moving around in there after the tinkle of water ended, grunting and shuffling as she answered in a dismissive tone. "Meh, like I said, pretty common around here boss, no biggie. We made out alright, things were tough, but we was tougher ya know! Made a name fer ourselves an' climbed the ranks, filled our contract with that ol' buzzard an' made it to the big leagues together. Gunners was the best of the best ta get hired on with, course if'n I knew then what assholes they was, I would'a gone with some small time outfit I think."

While I was curious about a few things she said in there, it sounded like she was partly talking to herself. I wondered what 'old buzzard' she meant, but I got the gist of the rest. They had aimed for the top of this messed up world, and the Gunners were surely the best work around this grim area of the Commonwealth.

I could tell thinking about old times bothered her even with her unconcerned tone, but I risked asking more while she was willing to talk about her past. I still didn't know nearly enough about my best friend, none of the more mundane little details of her younger life. Those were the kinds of things friends should share though, things I wanted to know about my partner and pal. Plus so long as we were talking about her, we weren't talking about me and my insanity, or letting the lusty growl in my head that seemed part of it get me too worked up.

Of course that idea fell to pieces when she finally came back out, my jaw dropped and I was suddenly a lot less tired and a lot more horny, Val was wearing her pilfered Stable 75 barding... The dim room brightened appreciably as my eyes widened and alicorn night vision took in as much light as possible to drink in the sight.

Imagining what it might look like paled in comparison to the real thing, the form fitting Stable barding was somehow even sexier than even a glimpse of her out of her armor entirely. My mane itched furiously as I gulped at her grinning approach, she knew exactly what she was doing and quite enjoying herself dammit...

"Welllll? What'cha think boss? Damn thing is tight as hell, but actually pretty comfy once ya get in. Check it out, new PJs I'm thinkin'. Sooooo? Like what ya see?" Ok, the striptease music she was humming under her breath as she posed was just overkill..

"Duh... ummm... y-y-yeah... like... lots..."

'MINE....'

I shook my head forcefully at the hungry mutter of 'Be Dark...' waking up briefly, looking up to the ceiling nervously and cringing back as I cast out for a distraction. "S-So you two were really good friends? Umm... what happened? How come you tried to kill each other back in Stable 114? You both seemed pretty mad..."

Val's fluttering bedroom eyes showed a hint of annoyance as she crawled into the bed beside me, lying on her side and propping her head on her elbow sinking into the mattress and tracing a claw on my chest as she spoke. "She was a loyal Gunner boss, and I turned traitor. Nothin' personal, I probably would'a done the same. C'mon, I don't wanna talk about the bitch, I wanna celebrate... We just kicked those assholes square in the balls, twice! Gots my payback, now I want my pay... So pay me boss..."

"Ummm... Val, a-are you ok? H-How come you... wooo! d-don't touch there! S-Seriously Val! Why... Is something wrong? Y-You know what I get like when I'm all charged up... T-This isn't funny..."

I squeaked at her beak nipping my neck and the places her claws her were lightly stroking, fighting the lust fogging my brain and the insistent demand to give in and pounce. This wasn't right, I thought about doing this with Val plenty and she loved teasing me, but she never went this far and something just seemed... off...

My rapidly crumbling resolve just made her more insistent and direct, her muscular hindleg hooked over my waist and her fluffy tail swished up to tickle my face, nearly hiding the flicker of agitation on her face. She was careful of my mending leg at least, but was delightfully rough elsewhere. My stupid body kept going right along with it, even as I struggled to think rationally.

The feel of her sharp claws running through my incredibly itchy mane was wonderful, while I found myself returning her nips with little love bites of my own with extending fangs. When she vaulted up and straddled me in one fluid motion, most of the blood rushed away from my head and towards other parts, leaving me loopy as she began to gently rock against my belly.

Her lidded eyes sparkled down at me, a soft smile curling her beak as I moaned weakly, ignoring the panicky alarm still trying to tell me something was wrong. It was overwhelmed by the growl of 'MINE! WANT! MORE! NOW!' demanding satisfaction.

"That's it boss... Let's celebrate gettin' those assholes back, make me feel good..." Val spoke in a husky voice, but the way she said it managed to get through to the last vestiges of my self control as she slugged back the rest of her whiskey and sped up, tossing the bottle aside.

This was more than teasing and different than expressing real love with someone I really did care about. Someone I cared enough about to know when something was wrong, that this was all wrong... that I didn't want to do it like this, no matter how much I did want it. Despite the passion guiding my firm grip on her rump and tender kisses to her chest, I grunted with effort and pushed myself away, punching my muzzle hard enough to feel a trickle of blood from my nose.

"N-NO! Stop... t-this isn't right, this isn't how I want to b-be with you Val! Something's wrong! What are you doing!"

Val stopped immediately at my yelp, looking very cross and flustered, but also hurt... She rolled off me with a huff and curled up against the wall behind us, hugging her hindlegs to her chest, turning herself into a tight, defensive little ball of pouting griffon.

"Just wanted ta have a lil' fun, no reason ta freak out about it boss... Go on an' pass out if yer not gonna pay me. I'll just go an' leave ya alone if ya don't want none. Guess yer only into other mutants, jerk..." Val muttered with her chin on her crossed forelegs, refusing to look at me and sounding angry and wounded.

I did have to take a moment to get myself under control and steady my ragged breathing, shaking off her hurtful words clearly meant to push me away. Instead of falling for it, I held a hoof out to her shoulder when she moved to escape. Leaning forward to try to catch her shimmering violet eyes resolutely looking away from my concerned stare.

"Val... You know that's not true. I do want to, a lot... like a lot a lot... But... not like this. It feels wrong, I thought you wanted silk sheets and candles, flowers and all that, right? What's wrong? Why are you doing this all of the sudden? Do you really even want to?"

She frowned and curled in on herself tighter at my touch, but did at least look my way when she huffed. "Why do I gotta have a reason? Maybe I just wanna quick lay fer fun, huh? Ain't exactly had a lotta opportunities hangin' around with you boss. Ain't gotta be no lovely dovey crap involved, just a little slap an' tickle fer shits an' giggles. T-That's all..."

"Val... please?"

I had to wince and shuffle my way across the bed, turning to sit face to face and pleading with my hooves raised in a beg. There was a long silence that stretched out between us, at least giving my racing heart time to slow back down. Eventually patience won out, she stopped trying to divert her gaze and looked at me directly, those beautiful violet eyes sparkling with tears that trembled in place as she fought them back.

Her voice was cracked in a pained squawk when she finally answered, rubbing her cheeks with her foreleg to wipe away the tears she was so obviously ashamed of. "C-Cause I wanna feel good here dammit! I don't wanna think about stuff, I didn't even wanna come here! It was the only close place I knew was safe an' ya needed ta get patched up!"

"I don't wanna think about that cunt ice queen, about when we was... f-friends... You wanna know so much, how 'bout when she fuckin' hunted me down in some shithole in the city when I ran? She could'a wasted me then I guess, I was too drunk an' fucked up ta care... But you wanna know what she said boss? Said killin' me like that was a waste! That she was a merc, not a garbage collector... that she didn't.... t-take out the trash..." She punched the wall and the cartoon Freya as she continued, her voice growing dark and angry.

"Or how about this one asshole? You know who the last pony I had in this bed was? Wanna take a wild guess!? So what if I wanted... w-wanted ta... t-ta feel good like that again here... ta remember... s-say goodbye..." Val's screeching rant trailed off into sobs and I felt horrible, lunging forward and tweaking my leg to curl around her, nuzzling her cheeks before she could completely fold in on herself to hide her shame.

I should have known... should have thought more about how she felt... We were back in her home turf, where it all happened. She brought us here to protect me, even when it hurt her so much being back...

"Val... Val I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you like this... You're always doing so much for me and I... I just didn't think, or I did, but I was too stupid to figure it out on my own. I asked because you're my best friend and I wanted to know all about you, e-even the bad parts. I wanted to know because I love you, because you're awesome and great, not trash. And I want to b-be with you, but I don't want to replace him, I never could. If we do t-that, I want it to be you and me, together... partners. Not you, me and his memory..."

At that, Val's wide crimson wings folded around us, forming a feathery cocoon to muffle her sobs against my neck as her claws clasped around my back desperately. She clung to me like a life preserver in an ocean of grief, while I stroked her back and nuzzled her, kissing away her tears and just being there to hold onto.

"S-Sure about that boss? Y-You like t-threeways, r-right?" Val's cries finally tapered off, her hoarse voice managing a sniggering joke that made me blush as I pulled away and looked her over anxiously.

She sniffled and looked up to me with bloodshot eyes, but didn't try to hide her tears or pain, lifting her wings away and chuckling at mine standing up at odd angles. The stupid, automatic reaction proved her point and I was glad to see even a crooked smile warming her face, but I wanted her to know I was serious too.

"I'm sure. I'm selfish and want you all to myself if we do that, we have a contract right? It's me and you together Val, us against the world now, huh? Partners and best friends."

I flopped back to the bed beside her, glad to feel her foreleg draw me to her side to snuggle against as those wonderful claws scratched my mane for me, making my hindleg twitch rapidly at the dextrous digits working their magic on my itchy scalp. That seemed like enough agreement to me as she dragged us both down to lie against each other on the bed in a tender and true embrace, even with her soft mutter of, "Right boss... you an' me."

We held each other like that for awhile, the silence of the prewar bunker let me hear the slow beat of her heart as it settled to a soothingly calm rhythm. She kept right on scratching my mane for me with my head on her chest, while I enjoyed the slow rise and fall of her feathery breast, stroking her side and trying to console her with my fumbling touch. Time became meaningless down in the sealed bomb shelter, both of us may have dozed off and woke repeatedly in each others embrace. Eventually I cautiously broached the subject of her old friend again, unable to leave it alone when the pain it caused stood between us.

"Hey Val?"

"Mmmm? Wha boss?" She mumbled sleepily, but cracked a clearer eye open and looked down at my earnest stare.

"I was thinking... umm... about Freya, what she said... Maybe that was her way of trying to help? Or she was mad at seeing you like that? She didn't kill you when she could, right? I still don't get you two fighting the way you did, but maybe she could do that for real since you were doing better? I bet she still cares about you, umm... you have to care about somebody to get really upset anyway, right? I don't get a lot of stuff about griffons, just going in that Stable was enough to make that crystal clear, but you were friends... Friendship is magic Val, it doesn't just go away."

"Gawd yer sappy boss... Ok, maybe yer right, it's a nice thought anyhoo..." She muttered under her breath, but didn't sound nearly as upset at least.

"Well... She's at the Castle with Fancy, maybe you could ask her when we get there? She's not a Gunner anymore either, she's Fancy's bodyguard now, so there's no reason you can't be friends again, right?"

"Maybe... C'mon boss, quit bein' all cutesy an' tryin' so hard, yer makin' me wanna abuse ya again..." Val chuckled softly, pulling me into a headlock as her voice grew warm and sultry.

"Well... you're really not the only one you know..."

Being so close to an attractive female who had just propositioned me made stamping down on the needy growl of 'Be Dark...' an ongoing battle, but I was in control and it felt different now that she had opened up. Snuggling together with my friend was nearly as good, and I really loved her claws continuing to lazily scratch my mane for me, but the feeling of being close and warm, together... was a little much to resist.

Not meeting any rejection, I kept right on softly kissing and stroking everywhere my busy hooves could reach, looking up through lidded eyes to her happy sighs and questioning murmur of assent. "Oh? So now ya wanna pay me? After ya got me ta be all mushy and weepy, huh boss?"

"I like seeing your softer side Val. I think we're both too tired to go for the full silk sheets treatment though, so consider this a down payment..."

I wouldn't call what we did the frenzy of a proper romp I knew we both wanted, it was slow and tender in the dim light and under the ratty covers instead. Our motions were so soft and subdued in the sleepy haze, only the odd gasp or husky moan betrayed anything, but the pain and fury of the long, long day fell away, replaced with a warm bliss that unkinked sore muscles and drove away hurt and sadness.

The world beyond the grey concrete walls fell away and nothing else mattered outside of our embrace. Not the Gunners or the Institute, not the ghosts of the past or questions of the future, just Val, my Valkyrie... MINE... No! Shut up... My friend and I, drifting in and out of sleep together like that. The eventual sweet release earned me a few oozing claw marks on my back and flanks, but they sealed back up immediately with the rads still gurgling in my stomach. Plus our quiet tryst banished any more bad dreams of stasis pods and scary voices, letting us both fall to a peaceful, well earned slumber.

"Ewww... what're they doin'?"

"Gross! Did they just..."

"S-So what? I think it's nice guys! They look so sweet together!"

"Yeah, cause you listen ta them Groverite kooks too much Lila! Freakin' feather fever.... Shaddup all of ya, we got a job ta do. HEY! Wake up lovebirds, no funny moves or we'll blast ya..."

I blinked blearily at the whispered voices I had thought were part of some weird dream, my eyes snapping open when some watchful part of me finally made it through the fluffy grip of sleep and let me know they were real. It was even dimmer in Val's old hideout, the spark cell powering the lights must be losing charge. All I was really aware of at first were four strange marks on Eyes Forward Sparkle, all still green, but all intruding on what had been a restful sleep.

I heard Val's squawk waking up beside me, the two of us moving in unison being caught unaware and unarmed. A sharp crack to my temple made me see stars and pause, letting my eyes adjust and realizing we were really caught with our pants down. Somewhat literally since our armor and saddlebags containing all our weapons were abandoned. Another thunk and Val's angry screech drew my attention to our attackers as my horn flickered with lightning magic, preparing to incinerate whoever was hitting us.

A frantic look around for a target made me come up short, the annoyed growl of 'Be Dark...' and chipper bounce of 'Awareness!' that helped wake me suddenly fizzling out along with my magic. Kids... we were surrounded by armed griffon kids... Even though they held a variety of weapons on us, including some of our own... the normally gleefully violet bit of insanity in my brain fell as short as the rest of me. I couldn't hurt kids... Neither could it apparently...

"Wha? Who? Wha's goin' onnnmmmrrrhm" My frantic questions were cut off by Val's own 12mm pistol shoved in my muzzle, pilfered from her holster tossed to the floor.

Val seemed less confused than I did, giving a furious cry and easily flipping a skinny brown and black griffon chick when he tried smacking her again with his wooden bat. She wheeled on the silver and red kid holding her gun on me with her dark claws tensed to strike, pausing when the little jerk flicked the safety threateningly.

"Hold it right there Bloodtail, Magpie wants ta talk to ya, alive preferably... We got the drop on ya, so just give it up and come peaceful like." The young male sounded firm and threatening, even though I could feel a tremble transmitted through the barrel shoved in one nostril.

"Fucking Mabel... still usin' brats ta do her dirty work huh? She bother tellin' ya much about me kid? Like the fact I can take all four of ya a part with my bare claws if'n you twitch an' hurt the boss? Better gimme that thing back 'fore I get really mad..." Val seemed less confused than I did, and more than willing to kill the dirty ragamuffins trying to look tough around us.

I'd never seen griffon fledglings before, and while I was somewhat annoyed to discover they were already nearly my size, the rest of the view pained my heart as much as seeing any kids in their condition. They were painfully thin and dirty, wearing rags and bits of leather scrap and junk for makeshift armor. The one in charge with the gun in my face seemed mostly unshaken, but the other three were visibly nervous, pointing crude pipe pistols and a rusty double barreled shotgun that shook in their claws.

Val might seriously have no problem killing kids to protect me, but I couldn't, even the frustrated growl in my head seemed completely uninterested, which was strange... 'Be Dark...' wasn't withdrawing its assistance like it had before, but it was strangely quiet and blank, ceding all my fractured mental real estate to the soft whisper of 'Be Kind...'. A small wonder I'd file away for later, all I could really think of now was the trouble we seemed to be in, and how the quartet of wasteland brats reminded me of Glitter when we first met, underfed and struggling to survive.

Moving very slowly, I held a hoof up to Val and spoke in a soft, even voice, hoping to defuse this before it went further. Seeing guns in the claws of kids made me very nervous something might accidentally go off. Besides my attachment to keeping my screwed up brain where it was, I knew if I got hurt there'd be nothing to stop Val from following through on her threat.

"Easy... eeeeasy... Everybody just calm down. Nobody's killing anybody, especially not kids..."

"Boss ya don't understand, just shaddup an' lemme handle thi.." Val grumbled out the side of her beak at me, cut off when my voice rose above hers sternly.

"No kids. Period Val. That's an order."

Whatever angry retort was brewing behind her glare as she fell back to all fours petulantly never got a chance to be voiced. A fifth even younger griffoness popped her bright blue head down the hatch leading outside, chirping excitedly and with a hint of terror. "Bruno! Bruno! Y-Ya gotta come quick! T-There's this other one up there an' we can't handle her! S-She's... b-b-b-b..."

With Val standing down and me never moving against them, this Bruno brat in charge flicked his stern green eyes back in a huff. "Heidi shaddup and slow down! Act professional like, It can't be that b..."

The little chick's beak snapped shut with a click, the last sound audible before the whole room shook and a furious roar came from outside, prompting the little one to finish her report in a whisper. "Big..."

"Oh shit... Swan!" I yelped in fear, but for our attackers instead of us. Swan and most of her sisters seemed to have a soft spot for kids, but I didn't doubt for a second that Swan would respond to violence in kind no matter who it was, especially if they weren't pony kids. Everybody looked small to Swan, slightly smaller griffons would offer her no pause. The leader of the little crew looked confused and a little scared, staring up at the dust shaking from the roots piercing the ceiling, then back to my sudden yammering.

"Kid, let me go stop her! Please!"

"Y-Yeah... sure, just let you go, this is some kinda trick ain't it buddy... M-Muggers don't spook that easy..." Bruno squinted at me suspiciously, but more roars and heavy thuds outside drew his attention away again.

Val wasn't nearly so concerned, polishing her claws on her feathers in a bored gesture. "Aw let big stuff have her fun boss, screw it. Puttin' the fear of Gawd in em will do em some good."

"M-Maybe we should do what he says Bruno? T-That doesn't sound good... He did stop the old lady here..." A sunny yellow griffoness with vibrant green highlights chirped up worriedly, the battered pistol in her rich orange claws drooping away at the tremors of Swan rampaging out there, and she flinched at Val's squawk of "Who you callin' old lady twerp!?"

He might be a griffon well on his way to being a tough merc like Val, but Bruno was still just a kid after all. The booming shriek of Swan's voice was enough to cause terror in hardened grown ups, hearing it even through the sturdy bunker made his grey face pale. "GO AWAY ANNOYING BIRDS! WHERE'S FAST!!"

"A-Alright... go stop... whatever the hell that is, because I said so though! An' I'm goin' with ya, y-you guys just stay here and keep those guns on Bloodtail, I'll be right back!" Bruno's dark claws wound around my tail as I scampered for the hatch, keeping up with my lurching flight easily as I made for the open air outside.

It was brighter, but still drizzly and overcast, my brief view was blocked by a wrecked chariot whistling through the air at us however, forcing me and my captor to dive to the side to avoid getting swatted out of the sky. When we righted ourselves and climbed, I could hear a nervous squeak from Bruno right on my tail, something I'd take more pleasure in were it not for the deadly chaos and danger to a lot more kids out here.

Swan wasn't gigantic at least, probably only about triple the size of one of her sisters, she was completely healed and in a foul mood though, which was more than enough. A veritable swarm of young griffons were fleeing from her wrath, looping through the air around the heavy objects her telekinesis kept launching up at them, while she stomped and bucked at the few brave enough to try attacking her.

"W-What the holy fuck is that!?!" Bruno finally found his voice, squawking in barely masked terror when I made a beeline for her. "HEY! No! Don't go towards that monster!! Are you out of yer fuckin' mind!!!"

"Don't call her a monster! Just stay quiet and let me talk to her, before your friends get hurt!" I growled back and sped on, dodging a crumpled ice cream cart that gave a surreal tinkle of sad music warbling from the horn. "SWAN!!! STOP! It's ok! Here I am, see! Calm down! They're just kids!"

"FAST!!" To her credit, Swan stopped immediately, launching herself up and scattering the bravest pint sized griffons in her wake. As soon as she had me in her hooves, her bright violet shield formed around her, blocking out any further threat they posed as she nuzzled happily. "I'm glad to see you! I thought these little pests might have hurt you Fast. They tried to fight me though... can't I smash them all? You're sure they're kids?"

"Gah! Make her let go! I'm gonna get smooshed! Stop this crazy mon... umm... pony..." Bruno squawked and struggled below me, caught up in Swan's super sized hug and clearly not enjoying it as much as I did.

At least he shut up seeing both of us turn our attention towards him at once, pulling his hind legs free and frantically struggling to yank his tail loose as I booped Swan's nose soothingly. "I'm sure, see? Just a kid, smaller than me even, er... by a little... We don't hurt kids, I can't..."

Absently watching as Bruno freed himself and tried to escape, only to smack into the bubble of a shield keeping him in, Swan growled in a clearly audible grumble. "I can... If they wanna fight I don't mind, some kids are bad and deserve to be smashed. Like raiders! They started it..."

"Swan, please... Think about Glitter, you'd never hurt her right? Kids aren't responsible for what grownups teach them, they deserve a chance to be better. My new pal Bruno and his friends here didn't mean to make you mad, I'm sure you just scared them is all. Isn't that right brat?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Just lemme go already! Keep her calm! Hey! You guys ok out there!?" Bruno pressed his back to Swan's shield and tried to keep backpedaling away from her unconvinced glare, turning to shout down to his scattered forces warily coming out of hiding.

More than a dozen griffons of varying ages sounded off below us, their colors tended towards more primaries and muted neutrals than the pastels and vibrant neons of some ponies, but there was still a rainbow of variety poking their heads up anxiously as Swan landed in the muck and released her shield. As soon as he was free, Bruno bolted off, checking on each of them and forgetting to keep his pilfered pistol trained on me. That was a good sign at least, the little merc was worried about his friends more than taking me prisoner.

A lot of guns were still pointing our way, even if they were crude, poorly maintained and shaky, making this less of a friendly conversation than I'd hope when Swan finally let me go to flop to the mud. Her long legged stance spread protectively over me, her head low and growling at the slightest perceived threat, no matter my pleas for peace.

When Val came prowling out of the tipped over traincar hiding her bunker, she had the three griffons left to guard her in tow, all disarmed and rubbing rather large bumps forming on their heads. She had a resigned smirk as she joined us, shoving her captors off to rejoin Bruno and sticking her beak up at my raised eyebrow. "What? I didn't kill em... just knocked em around a lil', they're used ta worse, believe me boss."

I was afraid that much was true, none of the anxious little mercenary crew I heard Bruno refer to as 'Maulers' looked much better than the initial four I saw. Glitter and her sister and mother made their way in the wasteland as scavengers, I was guessing griffon children's lives were a good deal more violent than hers had been.

"Alright, no more fighting. Now, who wants to tell me what the hell is going on here? Why'd you attack us? Do you know anything about this Val?"

With a roll of her violet eyes, Val groaned and shuffled, still wearing the vibrant blue and yellow Stable barding and hurriedly buckling her armor over it as she replied. "They're Magpie's boss."

"Magpie... like the name of the town up there?" I asked in confusion, nodding up to the craggy mountain to the south and the dim ruins perched at the top.

"Magpie's Muggers! That's right mister!" The youngest of the flock, the chipper sounding Heidi, beamed and nodded, setting her blue, pigtail-tied feathers bouncing, getting a series of proud nods and shouts of agreement from her comrades.

Buckling her battlesaddle to her flanks, Val strode up and shook her head at the boistrous answer, sighing an answer for me. "Mabel Magpie boss, she runs Magpie Roost, has her lil' army of pipsqueaks to run errands like this. Guessin' she sent you twerps ta send more of an invite, not abduct a bunch that can grind ya inta the dirt if'n boss lets big stuff there off her leash."

Swan's predatory grin overhead punctuated her point, making the young griffon not complain when Val snatched her pistol back. "Ma gave us a mission ta come get ya, so... y-you all just come along quietly...."

"Yeah, not happenin'. Gots other places ta be, an' no desire ta talk ta that old buzzard again. C'mon boss, let's get goin'." Val dismissed the younger griffon, turning to leave and pausing at the sound of a lot of clicks from their rusty weapons, hissing in annoyance and turning back to the small army of kids aiming at us. "Don't do this the hard way brats, yer outgunned an' outclassed."

"You're coming with us... o-one way or the other. You can't threaten us, we heard yer boss, you can't do nothin' to us Bloodtail!" Bruno seemed to be regaining a little confidence after working out my orders in the hopes for peace. He was brave and pretty smart to think things through and realize he had me over a barrel, I had to give him that.

Of course confidence only went so far when staring down a giant alicorn and a grumpy merc with a lot more experience. Swan snorted and pawed the ground in anticipation, just her shield would end any threat those piddly pipe pistols posed, but as always the big mare was ready to fight. Val simply powered up her weapons and sneered, she might listen so long as I was safe, but I had the feeling that was the only thing holding her back. I didn't see Zed anywhere and worried what might have happened to let our 'captors' get by his watch, but a black and white blur at the corners of my vision let me breathe a little easier, he was safe anyway.

That still left me with the sticky situation we were stuck in. I couldn't hurt kids... I just couldn't. No matter what kind of insane monster I might be, I wasn't that bad yet. If it came to a fight we'd win, after everything we'd faced together already, a bunch of mini-mercs were practically trivial, but this wasn't like facing full grown Gunners, Institute robots or raiders. I could feel all the little voices I carried with me backing me up, even 'Be Dark...' agreed with the Ministry Mares and myself, for once its insatiable bloodlust was entirely absent, though I could feel it watching. Split personality or personal demon or whatever it was, it wasn't a childkiller thank Celestia.

I flapped up and spread my limbs wide between my friends and the cluster of mercenaries in training, gulping at the realization I was bare of all my armor with a lot of guns trained on me.

"Everybody just stop! We'll go with you, alright!? No fighting! We... We surrender!"

"This is a baaaad idea boss..." Val grumbled at my side, drawing my attention away from gawking on our slow flight up the mountain, following the twisting roadway and looking over the rusty train tracks occasionally crossing it before disappearing down dark tunnels in the mountain.

Another tattered billboard passed by as we flew up the craggy peak the town of Magpie's Roost was situated on, this one once identifying it by the prewar name of 'Grover's Roost'. Most of the inviting image of a picturesque town was peeled away though, the rest covered over in graffiti that matched other such crude signs we had already passed.

This one had yet another odd symbol, a fiery feather in glittery, golden spray paint that seemed made of fire, along with another simple advertisement for what Val informed me were mercenary companies. The 'Phoenix Feathers' apparently specialized in 'Treasure Hunters Extraordinaire'.

Talking with Val without the threat of guns pointed at us distracting me made me blush, getting hazy flashes of what the flock of kids had woken us up from. Though I did at least notice her glare soften and a soft smile on her beak at my red faced reply. "W-Well, we're not exactly prisoners anyway... I mean they let us have our stuff, they even gave us these nifty rain ponchos Val. Maybe you're right and this is more of an invitation. Besides, we've got Swan waiting, if they try anything and we don't come back soon, she's not going to be happy..."

Our escort gave a collective shudder at just mentioning Swan waiting back at the scrapyard for us. The big filly hadn't been happy at all being asked to stay behind, but the brief tutorial on locator tags and the timer I helped set up on her pip-buck soothed her a little, as well as providing a some insurance for us. If the arcano-tech device on her large leg beeped and we weren't back, she was apt to fly right after us using my mark on her map as her guide and go on a rampage, no matter the pair of griffons left to 'guard' her. I left her looking very annoyed and sitting on her radioactive junk pile despite a lot of nuzzling and attention, but the promise of mass destruction by an even bigger mutant did motivate our escort at least.

Thinking of Swan and her pouting at 'smelling play' on me, I shuffled in the tattered old plastic rain slicker we had been provided with a weak smile to Val, somewhat glad to be wearing it with the steady rain sloughing off the material and very glad Swan wasn't jealous. Val wore the same over her gear, clearly not nearly as grateful for the gift by her snort. "Ya can bet they didn't give it outta the kindness of ol' Magpie's heart. It's a disguise goofy, neither one of us really needs ta be seen by the riff raff ahead, so keep that hood down."

While I was interested in even the shabby ruins lining the twisting roadway winding its way up the mountain, I realized she had a point and pulled the grimy yellow hood down further. Griffon architecture still drew my eye, and not just because I was keeping a lookout for Zed who seemed to be tailing us. The few buildings standing looked even more weathered and beaten than the ruins of pony civilization below. I never got to see where Auntie Broom lived as a foal, now I sincerely hoped the battered thatched roof roosts and treehouses built up in blackened trees clinging to the mountain used to look a lot nicer than they did now.

The smallest little fledgling Heidi flew closest as our escort, chirping brightly in agreement with Val's grousing. "Ya-huh, Ma Magpie said not ta let anybody see ya when we come back, so no cool hero stuff Mr. Shroud."

I had to grin at the blue cutie, even griffon kids must read the Shroud's comics. As much as I sometimes worried that what was in my head was the real Shrouded Stallion from ancient times, a spirit corrupted by Nightmare Moon that was supposed to be sealed away by Celestia herself, I couldn't help but feel good when kids mistook me for the Shroud I knew and loved. It was half the reason I took up the mantle after all, not just to scare the bad guys, but to give kids like I was something to believe in. A hero in a world where they were pretty thin.

As thin as the scrawny chick beaming at us I realized, digging in my saddlebags and floating over some of Glitter's stash of snack cakes to her excited squeal. "I promise kiddo. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

I got some funny looks reciting the ancient pony oath, but several of our aerial guard swooped in and excitedly started sharing the food, prompting me to pull more from my packs and spread it around. I didn't necessarily need to eat anyway, but I had been keeping more on hoof since I started trying to learn to cook with the breezies. Now I wished I had stocked up more in the Ministry of Peace kitchens...

"Mmm hranks mmstr!" Heidi's smiling beak covered in frosting reminded me even more of Glitter, full of joy at so simple a gift and repeated from the stuffed cheeks of several of her friends.

"Hey! No makin' nice, act professional dammit! Gonna let him buy ya off with a lil' food?" Bruno was the only one abstaining, though I caught a string of drool on his beak hastily wiped away.

The older canary colored griffoness ruffled Heidi's feathers and stuck her tongue out, turning back and letting me realize she shared the same bright yellow-green eyes and similar features. "Oh stuff it Bruno, he didn't ask fer nothin' first, he ain't tryin' ta bribe us. Thanks mister, that was really.... nice."

Bruno bristled at the insubordination, squawking back and sticking his beak up proudly. "You sound just like those Groverite assholes you hang around with Lila. Don't matter if he asked or not, that's how they get ya, bein' all sappy like that. Unlike you an' yer stupid sister, I'ma pro an' don't get fooled! That's why I'm gonna get signed on with the Gunners once my contract's up, while you two starve with those nutjobs."

Watching the bickering was providing some information about where we were going I was trying to absorb, so I was somewhat annoyed by Val's sudden interruption, via a can of Cram smacking Bruno in the back of the head. To his credit he spun and caught the missile before it fell to the ground, glaring at Val's smirk back.

"Ain't you the lil' go getter, huh brat? Go on, even Gunners don't pass up free food. I'd reconsider yer career path if I was you though, they ain't as great as ya think." Val's voice was gruff, but I wondered if she saw a little of herself in the younger griffon. Getting her to give anything away for free was unusual, even a 200 year old can of meat.

The brat huffed and grumbled back, though at least I spotted his sharp claws fidgeting on the can as he sneered in a low voice. "Yeah, you'd know all about it, huh Traitor?"

In response to that ill advised crack, Val swooped forward before I could stop her. Her claws grabbed the punk by the dense feathers of his red breast and she turned her best 'bad ass merc' look on him, making him quail in her grip. "Yeah, matter of fact I would. Like only real Gunners get ta call me that ya little bastard. Not two bit punks still takin' orders from Ma Magpie"

"Val... let him go..."

She obeyed grudgingly, letting the robin colored griffon go to flap away from her range with a panicked look. The conflicted expression she had doing it resolved to a smug smile before he could voice any complaint too, pointing back to me watching closely and puffing up proudly. "See there brat? That's a real boss, gots me somethin' way better than signin' up with them assholes. We gots an open contract, that's what's savin' yer tail from a proper spankin' twerp. Now eat yer meat."

There was a collective gasp at that, several of our escort goggling at me in a way that made me uncomfortable being the center of attention. I flushed at all the whispers, turning to Val still smirking and gliding along proudly to find any distraction. "So... Who is this Magpie anyway Val? You know her? What's this place like?"

I didn't like her conflicted frown, or the way she hid her eyes by tucking her hood down further as she pointed ahead. "She's... It's... Just, see fer yourself boss. An' no goin' crazy or lettin' anybody see the whole wings an' horn package, fuckers up here will sell us out fer less than the food ya just tossed out."

She didn't exactly make it sound pleasant, but I looked ahead with interest at her direction at the sudden flash of text in my vision. 'Location Discovered: Magpie's Roost' blinked in the corner of my eye as we rounded the last bend in the road, coming around craggy peaks that had blocked the ruined town from view.

It wasn't much to look at... The ruins on the way up were in slightly worse shape than the ones up here, but only slightly. A mix of pony and griffon buildings were scattered on the peak of the mountain at varying heights, a complex network of crumbling roadways going up and down and all over. The narrow brownstones built by earth pony hooves lining the main strip we landed at were in the best shape, while the broken nests and round stone towers built for griffons and wispy cloud structures ringing the peaks overlooked it all.

Most of the ruined storefronts lit up on our path bore the symbols of various mercenary companies, more than I would have thought and all seeming to specialize in some different service. There were ones that sought treasure in wasteland ruins like the Phoenix Feathers whose ad I saw, ones who acted as guards for caravans and traders, courier services for those deliveries the glowing Red Rocket station I spotted were insufficient to guarantee delivery of, bounty hunters and assassins whose hard stares I shied away from, all those and more lined our slow walk through town that attracted more attention than I'd like.

There were also lots of others businesses, some of which were surprising to me. One street corner we passed had a scrawny male griffon at a broken down old food cart, hawking such predatory fare as Iguana on a Stick in a bawdy voice. There was a diner that looked to do a brisk business, the savory smells coming from the kitchen staffed by a brown and white griffoness in an apron, who reminded me of nothing so much as a plump old hen.

While the majority of vendors specialized in armor and weapons, I spotted simpler spots selling warm knitted clothing and even jewelry in the ruins of a Talon's outlet that made me pause. There was actually a lot of glittering gold in the dusty cases I could see through the half ruined shop. I called Jade my wife and she agreed I was her husband, but I felt bad I never gave her a ring or had a proper ceremony.

Thinking of her, I noticed there were also families in the crowd. Innocent civilians, even among the tough griffon society up here. Moms and dads... elderly grannies clucking at unarmored chicks. Just like ponies, they were just folks trying to eke out a living...

"What, you didn't think we was all mercs, did ya boss?" Val chuckled at my staring, figuring me out as well as Jade herself.

"No... I mean... sorta. Sorry, I guess I knew some griffons did different stuff in theory, it's just weird seeing it..."

The noogies my sheepish answer got answered with felt good, knowing our relationship was still as close and unchanged by our earlier activities. "We do other stuff boss, we're just the best there is at bein' bad asses, so that's what our rep is."

A gruff nudge broke off Val's lesson that griffons were just people too, Bruno glared and poked us along faster, the reason easy enough to puzzle out when I saw the tall office building near the trinket shop. Like most of the buildings here, it bore jagged gaps in the walls, but these had been repaired or reinforced with sandbags and steel blockades, each war torn gap staffed by a hard faced merc in Gunner green, matching the pony skull flag flying atop the fortress.

Seeing the small crew of Gunners milling around the place, I ducked my head in my hood and made to look like the numerous pegasi I saw flitting around town. Looking away sharply, I was stunned to see a small ruin in the process of restoration flying the blue flag of the Minutemares right across the street. There were only a few of the ponies and griffons in blue, but they had a cheery looking mare at a counter right out front, audibly extolling the virtues of the group and soliciting for new recruits, offering contracts with terms to be discussed.

There were a lot of hard stares and combative looks sending sparks across the street as we passed, but both the Gunners and Minutemare crews looked to behave and be doing essentially the same thing, offering work and taking contracts, or requests for aid in the case of the small gaggle of Minutemares. I was glad to see friendly faces anyway, and that ponies weren't all that remarkable here, letting me blend in better. Most were of the winged variety given our lofty height, but there were plenty of unicorns and earth ponies too. Quite a few of the happier looking ones coming and going from an L shaped roadside motel.

Seeing scantily clad mares and griffons drawing in customers made it easy enough to figure out what kind of business that was, but there were several pairs of griffons and ponies who looked a lot closer than simple worker/client relationships. Many going in and out of a ramshackle church next door that displayed the same symbol as the motel, a golden idol of some kind. My sharp eyes picked out quite a few griffons with pictures on their flanks to my surprise too, cutie marks?

"What, wanna go check it out griffon groper? Did we interrupt yer feather fever freakiness? You and the pony lover ought'a fit right in with those Groverite nuts." Bruno sneered at us, making me flush at the sniggers and giggles of his crew.

I was glad when the bright yellow Lila came to our defense, before Val could pummel him into the ground for making fun. "Oh shut up Bruno, they're not all about... that. Groverites are nice, they teach stuff like having pride and not being so greedy, getting along and doing stuff for others cause you wanna, not just cause there's somethin' in it for you. A-And besides, who cares about that other stuff, it's their own business who they wanna do that stuff with. You love who you love, it's not hurtin' you."

While the brat looked like he wanted to put his junior in her place, one look at Val's hard glare just waiting for him to say something made him shut up. My relief at the subject being dropped was short lived though, little Heidi gave a wide grin fluttering ahead of us, looking back and forth between me and Val curiously. "They are really nice, I don't see what the big deal is though. Griffons an' ponies bein' all lovey dovey like that I mean. You an' her like each other, huh Mister Shroud? I mean you were..."

"HA! Er... hehe... y-yeah... we... umm..."

"Heidi! It's still rude ta ask that kinda stuff!" I gave Lila an immensely grateful look for ruffling her sister's feathers and shoving her aside, noting even Val had pink roses on her cheeks as she continued to us. "Don't mind her, or that jerk either. Lots of folks do that here, Bruno's just a dick about it 'cause he wants ta be a Gunner, an' they don't like it at all. It's 'unnnn-naturaaaal...', most of them go to the Silk Roost an' spend their caps like everybody else though, hypocrites..."

"Well when yer contract's up, you an' yer stupid sis can go join em Lila! Go get yer butts stamped and earn yer caps on yer backs, maybe when I make it big, I'll throw a few caps yer way even. I'll only rent out other griffons, even smart mouthed twats like you tw...." Bruno was stupid enough to not leave things be, opening his beak again and getting it shut for him by Val's dark claw smacking him upside the head hard enough to drive the little merc to splash in a muddy pothole.

"I know ya said no kids boss, but c'mon.... this brat is old enough, right? If'n he's big enough ta run his mouth, he's big enough fer a beatin' at least..." Val cracked her knuckles in anticipation over the twerp, straddling the mud puddle he floundered in and shoving him back down when he tried getting up.

"He's definitely asking for a spanking anyway. It's not nice to treat your friends like that kid, keep it up and I might look the other way... There's nothing wrong with ponies and griffons being together, or zebras, yaks, buffalo, anybody. Like Lila here said, you love who you love. I love Val, enough to let her do what she wants next time..."

Choosing to ignore his huff and insulting grumble to the effect of 'we all saw that much', I was grateful most of the giggles were directed his way as he flapped ahead to escape Val's wrath. We kept trotting along in silence, broken by Lila's soft whisper at my side as we started winding our way higher, towards a wrecked old building overlooking the town ahead.

"Umm... Mister? I was just wonderin'... Did she mean what she said? You two really have an open contract? You like... are equals? Partners?" Lila padded along beside me quietly, her eyes earnest and wide, framed by the pretty green highlights to her feathers.

"Sure do. We're partners, best friends and... umm... m-more. I really do love Val, she's not just my employee. A dear friend taught me the oath when I was Heidi's age, so we wound up together. I'm really glad we did too."

The young griffon looked to mull what I said over carefully, whispering back and forth with her younger sister. Their look of mild disbelief went away at Val's proud clucking next to me, her claws shoving my hood down and a playful flank check sent me stumbling as she crowed. "Yup, boss is awesome alright kiddo. Best move I ever made, lots of loot, lots of fun, plenty of fuckin' up assholes what deserve it. Plus I get this lil' nerd ta mess with whenever I want! Helluva lot better than bein' a Gunner, or workin' for the ol' buzzard up yonder."

'Up yonder' turned out to be a school, my pip-buck even identified it helpfully as we passed the gates; Location Discovered: Boreas Elementary. It was a big, metal building, more vertically oriented than most schools I had seen at three stories tall in places, though painted in peeling red that reminded me of Mrs. Patience's little red schoolhouse I attended briefly.

The playground was even riddled with high hoops and other obstacles to fly or play on in the air, clearly made with the griffon population in mind. The rusty fencing surrounding the campus had been mended and reinforced with junk, cobbled together guard perches staffed by older griffons and a few pegasi. Muuuuch older griffons in some cases, I spotted another ghoulified specimen prowling the rooftop as we passed the gate, marking a fairly sizable undead population I had seen on our way in.

They were outnumbered by the crowds of kids I saw running around everywhere though. Griffons and ponies both charged about the school yard, running through obstacle courses and engaged in training with paintball guns from the nearby ruins of a paintball range, full of walls and other obstacles that had been absorbed by the school, the training weapons making their soft 'pfft!' noises I could pick up even at this distance. I'd think it was still a school or even an orphanage, if not for the very real guns I saw many of them holding. Val wasn't kidding, this Magpie we were going to see had herself a veritable army of kids, many with the grim and grimy faces of real killers.

As we approached the entrance, we went around a damaged statue of a familiar griffon and pegasus locked in a corroding hoofshake of green metal, their wings spread wide in flight and touching above their outstretched forelegs, forcing me to pause and knock some of the dirt from the plate at the base.

Seeing Gabby and Scootaloo showing griffons and ponies together gave me a little hope their message had filtered through the centuries, even if the subject seemed to be a point of contention around here. They had tried, and donating to teaching the young had been a good idea, if only they had more time...

Leaving the long dead pair behind, we entered the school building itself and had to dodge a flock of winged toddlers zipping by. The school was in poor shape, lots of battered pots and pans plinked with dripping rainwater and fire barrels provided the heat. Most of the former classrooms we passed were occupied, there were ratty beds in nearly all of them, for both adults and children. Passing by another of these, I slowed to a shuffle and goggled at a room full of nests holding eggs the size of beach balls, a sputtering space heater chugged away in there, and a bored looking griffoness traded her roost to a male shrugging out of patchwork armor sleepily.

"Magpie takes em in boss... no questions asked. No shortage of em either, I told ya, mercs don't make the best parents..." Val whispered in my ear, nudging me away from my gawking I realized may be rude, but really... I'd never seen griffon eggs.

"She can't be so bad then, right? Taking in orphans like that?"

Val rolled her eyes and snorted at my question, sighing softly as we moved on. "Yeah she can boss. Sure she takes kids in an' raises em, but that's where she gets her lil' army from. It's more an investment than charity."

"Oh..."

Continuing our strange tour, the counselor's office looked to be an armory now, full of somewhat better weapons than our guides used and not as much ammo as I'd expect. The armor not currently being worn wasn't in much better condition than what our guides wore, patchwork leather and bits of scrap the prevailing trend.

We kept moving at Bruno's insistence, flapping up and bypassing a rickety looking set of stairs to the second floor and a large office marked 'Principal', with 'Magpie' added to the wooden placard in claw scratched letters. It was here that our guide left us, admonishing us to "Stay put...' as he slipped inside.

The rest of Magpie's Muggers weren't nearly so fussy as their leader, letting me trot about and look around from the balcony. It made me sad seeing so many kids in such conditions, reminding me forcibly of the orphans of Goodneighbor and making me think of Ivy, hoping she was doing ok. We had managed to help those kids... maybe we could do something here too, no matter Val's warning not to try my so far mixed results at diplomacy. I really wished Jade was here though...

I got to watch the residents moving about above and below with purpose, things were obviously tough, but they made the best of it. The adults were nearly half ghouls, both ponies and griffons, but there were plenty of living grown ups riding herd on their young workers.

Val didn't seem nearly as interested in looking around, though I guessed she had seen it all before. The way she crossed her forelegs in a huff leaning against the wall by the door made me concerned, she had the look of a foul tempered student waiting for punishment sitting near the principal's door like that, on a scratched old wooden bench that she seemed familiar with. Joining her and fidgeting in my seat beside her, I couldn't help but feel the same way, even though I never really got in trouble in school.

Finally, Bruno came back out and ushered us in, past the front counter with a flickering terminal a tired looking mare tapped at and to another door. Beyond this thick wooden portal sat who I assumed had to be Mabel Magpie, a plump old ghoul who raised a feathery brow at our entrance, waving Bruno to take up a guard nearby with a rotting, scaly claw.

She was an intimidating old bird, Val's refering to her as 'old buzzard' seemed fairly apt considering she looked like one. She had a long, leathery neck with peeling skin, and a dingy, hooked yellow beak that curled in a smirk at our approach. The plumage on her head was fairly thin, but styled in curls held in place by a bow. The thick ruff of feathers at the base of her neck was a dirty white and molted here and there, covered by a strategically placed brooch of gold and ruby. She wore a clean pink dress that covered her potbellied, dark black body and whatever missing chunks of flesh beneath. A wilted fan of feathers was spread out behind her back in the creaky, highbacked office chair she sat in like a throne, and her claws tapped at the nicked surface of her desk in a slow click-click-click.

Safely in her office, I followed Val's lead and shrugged out of the hood hiding my face, replacing it with my fedora and cocking a curious ear at her croaky voice. "Well, well, well... always a good day when one of my wayward chicks comes back to the nest, welcome home Val. And of course Ma Magpie extends her welcome to yer famous boss Mr. Shrouded Stallion..."

I seriously doubted the old bird was a comics fan, but the dim glow of electronic equipment arrayed on a counter behind her cleared up her foreknowledge. Beyond the burnt out school PA system I couldn't help wanting to tinker with, there was both a radio and an impressive ham radio setup that squawked and buzzed with low volume chatter.

"Umm... Hi! Pleasure to meet you Miss Magpie, er... my name's actually Fast, Fast Ti..."

"Cut the bullshit Magpie, whatdya want? We gots places ta be and I don't appreciate yer little 'invite', in case the twerp didn't tell ya, yer under a deadline keepin' us here..." Val interrupted my introductions, leaving me to withdraw my outstretched hoof. The way Magpie's bloodshot red eyes narrowed at me made me uncomfortable, but she kept a pleasant smile.

Magpie chuckled at Val's rudeness, leaning back in her chair and waving my gasp away. "Ahh, good to see you haven't changed brat, you always were a problem student. I heard all about yer 'monster pony', so stuff yer threats. Not sure if I believe it, but whatever. As fer what I want... take a wild guess. You two have a bounty that would make a greedy dragon's head spin. Not that I care too much for the Gunners in general, but they do pay up... Figured I'd give you the chance to make a counter offer, since yer so famous hangin' around with that Princess I hear so much about. Her an' this Shrouded Fast feller gotta have lots of caps, right?"

At the threat of turning us in, Val tore her dirty poncho away and tensed in a combat ready crouch, her weapons giving a warning click as she growled back. "Try it... Even without our big backup that is very real, I got no problem gettin' outta here again Mabel."

While I struggled to keep up and beat back the angry hiss in my head that wanted to join Val, Magpie's sharp gasp and shakily pointing pistol that had appeared like magic aimed at Val managed to distract me. Her wide eyes were locked on Val's armor though, or rather the bright blue Stable barding still underneath. "W-Where did you get that?! How..."

Even Val was surprised by her reaction, squinting at the shocked buzzard leaning over her desk to stare at the golden '75' on her collar. "What? This thing? Heh, took it from those very assholes an' their secret Stable they been hidin', souvenir before we wrecked the place. So what? Gettin' back ta yer point, here's my counter offer, we leave and you keep... well, not livin' obviously, but don't get blown up where ya sit."

Val ignored Bruno's screech and the click of his beaten old sawed off shotgun at her side, barely deigning to unholster her 12mm pistol and waggle it his way without even looking. She might not consider him worth her attention, but his presence reminded me of our situation and prompted me to intervene before this went south. If we killed their leader and had to fight our way out, there were a lot of armed children that would surely get involved, I couldn't have that.

"Val... We can't..."

"Shaddup boss, I can and will if'n she thinks she's turnin' you in. I'll try ta wing the kids what get in the way if it makes ya happy, but I'd be happy ta put the old buzzard down right now. Wouldn't mind a lil' payback for all them swats with that fuckin' thing ya still got hangin' on the wall Mabel, maybe I'll return the favor 'fore I blow yer brains out." Val sneered and nodded up to a worn paddle hanging on the wall behind Magpie, making me wonder what kind of past these two shared.

I shrugged out of my own poncho as I wiggled my way between the two griffons, revealing my Shrouded Stallion armor and tipping my hat to Magpie with a sheepish smile, trying again to hold my hoof out and calm things down. Whatever the reason, I was glad Magpie was still staring at Val's outfit with a stunned expression, letting me try for introductions again.

"Er... Look, we can work this out without anybody getting hurt, can't we Miss Magpie? I'm Fast Times and my wife is Princess Jade that I guess you've heard about. I don't know if we can match all the caps the Gunners are offering, but we could figure something out I'm sure. Her Followers and the Minutemares would be happy to try to help out in your town however we can, we just made friends with folks who could supply a lot of food for example. You umm... seem a little lacking in that department."

"Don't listen Ma! We should turn em in and take the bounty! He ain't with no Princess, he's just some feather fever pony, we caught 'im an' Bloodtail goin' at it even!" Bruno decided to chime in with a disapproving sneer, looking a little lost when Magpie simply sat still and goggled.

"Times? Fast.. you... what? Stable? The Gunners... they still had it? You... You two? Together? C-Can't be..." As intimidating as Mabel Magpie had seemed when we came in, now she looked to almost deflate in her creaky chair, looking back and forth between us and stammering. Slowly she worked through whatever was messing with her, shaking her head and speaking in a shaky but firmer voice. "Out... I need'ta think, Bruno dear, take them to detention while I decide what to do."

"But ma! We should..." Bruno tried to resist, but was shut down by the old crone snapping at him.

"Now! Do as yer told brat, before I take down Ol' Spanky! You two can just cool yer jets, we still got time before this monster comes a knockin', so lemme consider yer offer ...Fast." Magpie sounded like she was on firmer hoofing yelling at her young subordinate, dismissing us with a claw waving over her chair as she spun and stared at her shelf filled wall.

Bruno pouted and kicked at the floor, wordlessly shoving us back out and into the twisting halls and stairways of the schoolhouse. We attracted a little more notice leaving without our disguises, but were mostly ignored and led towards an empty classroom labeled 'Detention'.

When the lock clicked behind us, Val groaned and shoved me gruffly, leaning down to rub it in. "Told ya this was a bad idea boss..."

"Wait, so ya hear voices... that's what yer so worried about boss?"

Covering my growing concerns about my sanity took awhile, but so far we had time to fill and Val had held me to my promise. Overlooking her disbelieving squint, she really sounded curious and caring while I went through the mounting evidence for me really being batshit insane too. Now that I had laid it all out for her, I couldn't help feeling a little defensive at the way she seemed to dismiss it though.

"Not just voices... I mean I hear stuff from the little statues, the Ministry Mares I mean, but Jade and Zed say that's no big deal since they're soul jars, they really do have like... an echo of somepony else in there. The other one though... The one I think of as 'Be Dark' like the other statues all say 'Be... something' except for Pinkie anyway... A-Anyway, that one is different, mean... W-When I get too angry or lose control, it's because of that voice. Sometimes I... I black out and don't know what I did..."

Admitting all that both hurt and felt like a huge weight off my back. Val scoffed from her reclined position in front of where I had been pacing as I spoke, but her eyes were soft and understanding, her long tail flicking out in my face to wipe away the embarrassed, worried expression there with a sputter. "Meh... Ya should'a told me boss, but that's no biggie. I met folks way crazier than that before. Their voices tell em ta do stuff like eat people or diddle puppies fer fun. Everybody gets pissed an' mean, I think them other creepy statue things are just messin' with ya, makin' ya think everything is some other voice like them. Ought'a lock them things up, or let Stripey have em."

"But... I like them. They help me, hell they've saved me before Val. That other one... Zed thinks it's some kind of spirit, and I'm starting to get scared it might be... t-the real Shrouded Stallion somehow..."

Her bawdy laughter made me turn red and stammer, doing little to get her to stop snorting and giggling at me to my blushing horror. "The comic book guy!? Bwahahahaha! C'mon boss, now yer just messin' with me. Ya ain't got no goofy old world superhero stuck in yer skull. You been wearin' that thing too long, yer own stories are gettin' to ya!"

"It's not funny..."

I turned my back and fumed, regretting telling her this stuff even as her sniggering tapered off and she cleared her throat, reaching out to pull me by the tail and drag me back to her. "Awww, c'mon, sorry boss. I didn't mean ta make fun, just... it does sound kinda crazy..."

"That's what I'm worried about!!"

"Oh ya know what I mean, crazy ha ha, not nuthouse crazy. Look, if yer worried about it I take it serious, but I don't think it's any big deal. Hell, I like when ya get all hardcore like that boss, I just wish ya'd quit that runnin' ahead shit. Other than that, it's a real turn on ya sexy shrimp..." Val scratched my mane and made my leg thump, her syrupy coo of seduction just waking up the very voice I was worried about with a frisky rumble.

Even though my rainbow colored rad meter had dipped back down to the yellow/green border with a few hours sleep following a bit of ...exercise... to burn off some of that energy beyond healing my wounds, I didn't want to get that part going again. Especially here, where ponies and griffons getting up to shenanigans was such a taboo subject. Left with little else to do and not much more to tell her about, I cast out for change of topic, trying to turn the conversation around and hear more about her instead of talking about me.

"So... you were raised by that old ghoul Val? You grew up here?"

My griffon friend had been reluctant about filling me in while we sat around twiddling our tails, withdrawing her heavenly claws from my head and grumbling a reply from the cardboard mat of a bed she was sprawled on in the corner. "Yeah, yeah... I told ya, me an the ice queen both were like these brats. Magpie's a bitch, but she did feed us and teach us a trade. Old crone actually used'ta be a teacher here if'n you can believe it. Still can't wait ta see ol' Swanny stomp this place flat. Now quit with the trip down memory lane boss."

"I told you Val, I want to know all about you, even the bad parts. So she really has contracts with all these kids? How did you end up leaving? What was it like? Were you happy at all? Did you have other friends?"

With her deft touch gone and that joking, reassuring tone to her voice drying up so suddenly, I got up to pace and explore again, hoping she'd answer and not giving her the chance to try to distract me by making my wings pop up again to her amusement. The detention room of the old school looked like it was used frequently to this day, though not repaired or kept up even as well as the rest of the school. By the crude drawings and epithets on the broken chalkboard, I had gleaned nobody much liked the ghoulish griffon in charge, but of course all the ones here to scrawl them here were 'in detention' too, so I wanted to hear what it was like from someone with firsthoof experience.

My prowling around the room gave her time to pout, ruffling her feathers and thinking while I kept poking around. A few books survived in here, so I floated the most interesting tome over to one of the numerous school desks, fighting my wings to slide into the creaky seat and pretending I was back in school like the old days. 'Crusading for Equality: A Guide to Interspecies Relations' was actually a good book, another donation from Gabby and Scootaloo apparently by the Stable-Tec logo I found stamped on the inner cover...

'Griffons may appear surly and unfriendly to ponies, but give them time and they'll eventually open up if you make the effort! It might not look like it, but they have feelings just like ponies, they just express them differently. Be patient and keep trying, you're sure to earn a loyal friend if you do!'

Choosing to follow the book's advice, I abandoned my seat to go plop down in the floor beside Val, waiting quietly and nuzzling her hunched shoulders, giving her the reliable puppy eye treatment when I got her to look away from scowling at the floor.

She made a noise like a teakettle and her feathers puffed up in agitation, but did finally groan out an answer. "ERRGH! We gots other stuff ta be worried about ya know boss! She really might turn us in dummy! They could always use the caps here if ya ain't noticed... Just lemme pick that lock and we'll blast our way outta here, done it plenty of times before..."

"I want to hear what she has to say, find a better way. We've got some time yet and other help out there. For now I want to hear about you. You know all kinds of stuff about me and my folks, where I grew up, all that stuff. Fair's fair, I love you Val, so I want to know. Please?"

She gave a long, drawn out sigh and drummed her legs in a tantrum, then her tired expression softened and she nipped my perked up ears waiting for her reply affectionately. "Fiiiiine... Gawd yer an annoyin' lil bastard sometimes boss. The old crone runs this place, the town I mean. The brats get the crappy gear, but she's got her fellow dead heads and grown ups what sign on with her usin' the good stuff. She's... fair I guess... I mean she has all the kids under contract yeah, but it's yearly, not like it's lifelong or nothin'. Every birthday ya gotta decide to sign on again, or head out on yer own. Enough stay on that she keeps right on runnin' her lil' kingdom like she has since the beginnin'."

"Most everybody else in town is fine with it too, hell, she raised half of em... and if she's in charge, there ain't no fightin' over who else is. She don't like Gunners, but they don't mess with her and she don't mess with them. She really does still teach stuff too, not just how ta shoot an' fly neither, all that egghead kinda crap you like too. The real nerds she'll even pay ta send ta University Point, learn how ta do stuff like you can, course they're still under an extended contract ta repay the edumacation an' all."

While that was all informative and relevant to our current situation, it carefully avoided anything personal, things I wanted to know just as much. Seeing as we were alone, I snuggled closer and kissed her cheek, looking up hopefully as I gave her a gentle nudge.

"About you Val. Stuff about you, that's just as important to me. You lived here, this was home, for awhile anyway. This is where you grew up, you've seen where I came from, now return the favor. We're friends, let me in a little..."

A friendly headlock came along with a soft chuckle and little normal Val teasing that made me blush to my hooves when she continued. "I did let ya in, remember? Just happened goofy, or ya tellin' me I'm forgettable? I mean I know we was tired and it weren't fireworks or nothin' but..."

"V-Val! Come on... you know I didn't mean... I-I'm serious, that's why I want to know this stuff after all. I'd never forget umm... t-that, there was... er... f-fireworks... f-for me anyway... It meant a lot to me, you mean a lot to me. So tell me all about little Valkyrie Bloodtail, my best friend in Equestria."

My wings springing up didn't help trying to sound serious, but did get a laugh and demure smile, wearing down her defenses as she hugged me back and sighed in defeat. "Jeez... yer such a sap boss... Dunno what ta tell ya, I mean... it was what it was, ya know? Guess I wasn't much different than that little brat what put us in here, that Bruno kid. Same stupid goals... same fucked up ideas... We trained, er... me and the bitch I mean... Freya... We did jobs for the old buzzard, we had our own little cots and usually got ta eat, we got in trouble together... we... we was kids, friends..."

Looking up to see her violet eyes growing misty, I froze seeing an upside down, black and white face on the other side of the cracked glass and wire mess of the windows. Zed's grey eyes were curious and a little shamed, giving a quiet cough and tap to the window to let Val know he was there subtly. She spun at the noise and shoved me off her in a rush, squawking and rubbing her eyes with a sniffle, puffing up her feathers and glaring at the upside down zebra looking away innocently.

"Sorry... I errr... just arrived. Are you alright? It took me time to sneak in and find where you were hidden, do you need help?" Zed tried to steer the conversation quickly, still an unfamiliar, sheepish look on his face when I stumbled up from where I had been flung.

"What the fuck stripey! Where the hell you been! What did you hear...." Val shouts made him wince nervously, looking around outside as she stormed up to the window and ended on a threatening growl.

"Zed! You're ok! I wondered... I mean I saw your locator tag following us, and I thought I spotted you, but I didn't know what happened. I thought something may have happened to let those kids get past you." Shaking off the stars circling my head, I trotted between them and leaned against the windowsill, trying to divert Val's embarrassed glare with her claw flexing around the grip of her pistol like that...

Our missing zebra companion gave a weary sigh, scratching his spiky mane in a guilty admission. "I... fell asleep... I'm sorry, both of you. The battle took more out of me than I realized, I pushed myself and... forgive me. When I awoke, it was to Swan's tantrum outside and we were already surrounded. I hid and followed your lead, I tried to let you see me on the way up here. What's going on now? You appear to be prisoners... I did speak with Swan before following you, but she was stewing on her radioactive waste and diligently watching the timer you set for her. It won't be long before you have a very grumpy mare up here..."

"Shit... We warned them, but we're running out of time there. We're not really prisoners per se... we're waiting on the ghoul in charge. We might have to fight our way out, but there are a lot of kids here and I really don't want to. I'm hoping to talk our way out, but this Magpie lady is taking her sweet time. Do you think you can hold her off if it takes too long? Tell her we're fine?"

By Zed's flat stare back, I saw how unlikely I thought that was reflected back at me and groaned with his eventual reply. "I can try... If it comes to violence, I may be able to help. I can merely knock out the children if need be. That would most likely be preferable to risking her making her way up here. She was quite large even when I left... I believe I heard her mutter something about smashing buildings..."

"Ha! Good! Let her come boss, can't wait ta see it!" Val grinned and nodded happily, rubbing her claws together in glee at the prospect of a giant alicorn attacking the city.

"Swan isn't exactly a precision weapon Val, there are innocent people here, families and kids right here... Look, if don't make any progress soon, we'll break out and leave before that happens. For now, can you just keep an eye out Zed? If we need to leave then knock out the kids and help us get clear, if we don't then things are still going good and you can try to stop her before she gets here?"

"I'll do as you say then, allow me to make up for my failure, I won't let you down again Fast, I prom..." Zed nodded back firmly, but was cut off mid-sentence and disappeared from the window, just as I heard the lock click and the door creak open behind us.

It wasn't Bruno at least, I was much happier to see Lila and her sister Heidi acting as our guard this time, the feeling even seemed mutual and shared by Val. She was less cranky being escorted by the more pleasant pair at least, though not happy to be returning to 'Principal' Magpie's office.

When we arrived, Magpie waved them off to wait outside with a strangely subdued look on her mottled features. A scorched, dirty and stiff piece of some kind of paper flicked back and forth in her claws in a nervous gesture, and she stared at our entry with a suspicious look focused entirely on me, making me shuffle nervously.

She dragged the silence out, the sound of that paper flicking back and forth becoming maddening in the creepy quiet of being in the same room with someone who was essentially a living corpse. Finally, she spoke in a low voice, turning her gaze over to Val for the first time to point at her Stable barding again. "75... You got that outta Stable 75..."

"No shit Sherlock, what was yer first clue? The freakin' numbers plastered on this goofy get up?" Val grumbled back, forcing me to hush her. Whatever was behind this strange behavior, it involved Stables, therefore it had my full attention.

At least Magpie didn't seem too bothered by Val's wisecracking, hooking a thumbclaw over her shoulder at her muted ham radio. "No smart ass, it was the Gunners on there freakin' the fuck out about 'Black Site Alpha' all day, 'fore they shut up entirely anyway... I could'a believed ya just found the damn thing, but... You really got it straight from the source, didn't you kid?"

"Umm... Sorry about her... Yeah, we did Miss Magpie. So? What's it mean to you?"

Apparently I wasn't going to get to ask any questions here, I could actually see the old vulture as a school administrator by her hard stare. It was the same look I saw on my own old teacher's face when someone was naughty or fibbing, a glower that had the magical ability to make you want to confess just to make it stop. Only the smiling realization that Jade had that same ability helped me hold up under it while I waited, though that paper flicking in her claws was starting to get to me. 'Awareness' chimed in on top of my own senses puzzling it out, not card stock.. well preserved but very old...

"And yer name? You said Times? Fast Times, that right?" Magpie pulled me away from focusing on the hypnotizing motion, glaring even harder at my nervous nod. "C'mere... want you ta see somethin', tell me what you think..."

At that, the old bird heaved herself from her chair with a squeal and hobbled out the door, leaving us to follow after with equally confused looks as Lila and Heidi leaping up from their post outside. Magpie prowled on without looking back, not leaving the office area of the school, merely moving a few doors down to what I guessed was her own chambers by the nearly comfortable looking bed and variety of knick knacks adorning the walls.

She strode on confidently, stopping beside a stationary closet and holding the door open, waving me ahead to take a look. I gave Val a questioning look, but she looked as bewildered as I did, shrugging back and shooing me on curiously. Left with no real reason not to, I trotted ahead hesitantly, peering in as Magpie reached over my head to pull a rusty chain and bring a buzzing fluorescent light to life in the small space.

What it revealed took me a moment to take in, then I simply gaped, absorbing it all slowly. It was a... a shrine of some kind... The object in the most obvious place of honor was a tattered garment hung on a bent hanger, a faded, sky blue bit of clothing, the yellow 75 peeling and flaking in places... There were other objects of interest, a battered old pip-buck, along with a gleaming 12mm pistol much like Val's, but with a polished ebonwood grip etched with a cutie mark similar to Rainbow Dash's own famous mark. A puffy thundercloud, but with a wide wing rather than a lightning bolt.

It was the faded picture in a bedside frame between these two items that made my mouth dry up however. A steely grey griffoness smirked back at me from the strange little shrine hidden away back here for who knew how long, looking exactly as I remembered her... a twinkle to those kind lilac eyes that made my own tremble with tears as I whispered in a croaking voice.

"A-Auntie Broom..."

While I was trying to cope with the shock of seeing mom's old friend looking back at me, Magpie's rotting claw shot out, winding around my scarf in a flash and slamming me against the wall by the door, her long beak inches from my muzzle opened in a shout that overrode Val's sudden squawk of warning. "Where'd you hear that!?! It's not possible!!! Who the fuck put you up to this!? Where'd you get yer intel, some lil' spy runnin' around under my feathers!?"

"W-What?! Why do you..."

The click of Val's pistol behind Magpie's head barely got either of our attention, while our two escorts squeaked and fumbled for their own guns to cover the screeching merc. "Let 'im go old bitch! Right now!!"

Choosing to ignore the threat with barely a flick of her yellowed eyes, Magpie shoved the half burnt paper in her claws to my face in a shaking grip, her own voice a suspicious caw as I reeled trying to take whatever all this was in. "THIS! Fast Times!?! Fast fuckin' Times!?! It's not possible! Start talkin' squirt, I want answers right this damn minute!!"

It was a photo... Even more aged and damaged than the one of Auntie Broom in the frame, singed at the edges and distorted with age, but familiar. Jade had one exactly like it in much better shape in her saddlebags, one of her favorite family photos she forced me to go dig out of Stable 111's storage. A picture of me in the firm grip of Auntie Broom's bright orange claws, whooping in glee with the wind blowing my scruffy mane back, the grey griffon's face a wide grin at taking me up for a wild ride once upon a time.

"V-Val... it's ok, put it down. I think we both have some explaining to do Mabel, for my part let me introduce myself again. I'm Fast Times, son of Olden Times and Bright Skies-Times, I'm... kinda older than I look, and that is an old friend of the family, though I'm guessing you knew that already. So, how did you know her Magpie? How did you know Brunhilde Stormwing... My Auntie Broom?"

With my sad, even voice, Magpie's wrinkled face paled and she let me go to fall to the floor on my rump, backing away and clutching the beaten old photo to her the mottled feathers of her chest in shock. She backed away from me like she had seen a ghost, which in a way I supposed she had...

New Perk Added!--------------------

Equestrian Emissary----------
---Can't we all just get along? Your own ...exploration of interspecies relations, along with seeing how others can both despise and encourage the same, has really made you think. Beyond your mutation driven, equal opportunity attraction to pretty much anything female with a pulse, exposure to the varying races and cultures of the wasteland has broadened your horizons.

You now gain increased initial reputation and unique dialogue options with all the sentient races of Equestria, including; griffons, zebras, minotaurs, hellhounds, yaks, buffalo, dragons, changelings and more! There may be some bigoted factions that react negatively to such an open view however...

Reputation Change!-------------------

Magpie's Roost: Shunned
---With the Gunners next door and a population of griffons with mixed feelings on everything from your goody-goody Princess to your even closer relationship with a certain infamous hometown girl, it's probably best to keep your head down when daring to go to this grim corner of the Commonwealth. A surprising link to the leader of the town doesn't make gracing its borders a death sentence at least!