The slick, cold, wet cobbles produced an odd sensation under my hooves as I made my way down the darkened Equestrian street. I was not used to such chilly, dank weather. Not only that, but the nights here were cruel and bitter, not like the warm, tropical climate of my homeland. The spirits of this place were detached, unbounded with the land's inhabitants and alien to their culture.

The city around me was in a whole other league of unusual, tall stone buildings with regal glass windows and balconies that rose up like great fortress walls on either side of me. They loomed over the narrow street until the cloudy sky above was almost invisible through the small slit between the upper floors. Of course, that did little to stop the rain. Turning the light drizzle into glimmering slithers as it cascaded down from rusty gutters and broken drains.

Equestria, it seemed, was no place for my kind, nor were its inhabitants anything special. I hugged my hood close around my head, hiding my shimmering eyes from a group of drunk noble ponies as they staggered by. I eyed each of their horns with wary suspicion, unsure whether any equine should have such easy access to magic. Behind the unicorns trailed a pair of shabbily dressed ponies that lacked the horns and wings of their cousins. Earth ponies, as I'd come to learn, were typically no more than farmers or slaves in places like this.

I could only suppose that was what aspirations of getting beyond their role in society got them, yet my lack of a horn or wings did at least allow me to offer some sympathy as the pair trudged by after their rowdy masters. I sincerely hoped that nopony here got any ideas about trying to treat me in such a way, they'd find that my stripes more than made up for my lack of feathers or magic.

It certainly hadn't been my first choice to come here, I'd heard of zebras living in the pony lands long before the great winter. But those tales had always been filled with power, greed, and arrogance. It wasn't too different than the tribe I was running from, I supposed. Yet I doubted any of my former fellows would follow me here. They lacked the intimate knowledge of this land that allowed them to hide so easily as they did in the homelands.

Nevertheless, right now I would certainly take the baked savannas or tropical swamps over the cold, dark streets of the pony fortress city. Even great Rome herself would be preferable. Nevertheless, there were still things I had to attend to, and as I rounded a torch-lit corner, passing under an arch to an even narrower alleyway, I finally laid eyes upon my destination.

'The Rusty Horseshoe' Proclaimed the rocking wooden sign positioned atop the rickety door to the back alley tavern. Looking both ways across the street, I swiftly galloped over, rain whipping at my hood as mist pooled around my hooves. Arriving at the mangy wooden door I checked my surroundings yet again, before knocking. The sound of rough merriment from the other side was complemented by the silhouettes I could see through the misted window to the right as there was a clink and a rattle from within. A moment later a small, wooden panel on the door slid open and a gray stallion peaked out.

"Coin, or business?" The gruff buck asked, and I wrapped my hood over my muzzle, looking up at him.

"Business, I'm here to see the one you call Prancer," I said, and the stallion's eyes bobbed as he nodded.

"Very well." There was another clunk and a moment later the door swung open, the warm air cascading out as the sound of bustling ponies came with it.

I stepped inside, marking a group of stallions looking at me by the door with a glare. The moment they saw the gleam of my orange eyes glowing under my hood, they returned to whatever dice game they were playing in a hurry.

"Far table, on the right is where you'll find him. Warn ye' though, that's where the weird folk linger." I gave the door-stallion a nod in acknowledgment before he shut away the cold night behind me.

Stepping through the crowd was like trying to cross an angry river, these ponies were so unorganized. Even with my tribe as it was, I at least appreciated the stern demeanor the equines of my homeland upheld. Here there didn't seem to be even a slither of honor or pride. Just the reek of alcohol, sweat, and the rabble of two bucks fighting at the bar or thwacking a maiden's flank. Even under my hood, my sensitive ears picked up on the muffled sounds of voices cast my way.

"That must be one of them wonders, say they're from beyond the Everfree," one stallion muttered, followed by two more.

"Vagabond."

"Hermit."

The hushed tones were like snakes amidst the grass, yet as I looked over the sea of pastel-colored faces, no pair of eyes dared meet my own veiled gaze.

Ponies bumped against my sides, throwing each other around as they laughed and bellowed. My nimble hooves simply weaved where others tripped and sprawled in a drunken mess. Until one stallion finally fell in front of me, rolling on his back as a rather large earth pony mare stepped over him. I stopped, glaring down at the repulsive equine, but he was far too intoxicated to even notice. Then the apron-adorned mare bent down and kissed him on the muzzle for almost a minute straight.

I recoiled, a forehoof folded against my breast. Do these ponies lack all dignity?

"Witch."

"Shaman."

"I'd take that one as an exhibit for my exotic collection."

The mutters and verbal snipes flowed like the lies of a river in drought as ponies noticed me. Yet as much as I'd have slit the throats of everypony here once, I simply trotted around the commotion and over to the far side of the tavern.

Here, as far from the door and the cold night as possible, smoke lingered in the dank gloom. A green hue hung over everything, moldy growth on the rotting walls adding to the effect. My sharp eyes caught the scattering of rats in the shadows and my ears perked at their scuttling squeaks. In the gloom, there were only three booths, each lit by a single, wax-weeping candle. One look over the place and I found that only one of them was occupied by a single cloaked stallion. A long pipe glowed with smoke and embers as it protruded from under the green brim of his hood.

"Prancer?" I asked, trotting up to the booth. Yet the stallion did not move.

"Who's asking?" he grumbled, voice low and rough as his eyes remained fixed on the fire of the candle at the table's center.

"I am the one your kind calls; Spectre." At that, he at least had the decency to shift a little, a puff of smoke hissing from his pipe.

"Take a seat, if you please." He motioned to the opposite end of the booth and reluctantly I did as suggested, wrapping my cloak tightly around myself and trying not to think too much about the repulsive surface under my haunches.

The torn cushion and straw were less than comfortable, especially considering it was damp. Just another reason my opinion of Equestria was substandard in comparison to my homeland. Nevertheless, I forced myself past how disgusted I was as I regarded the pony across the table from me.

"So, I hear you are what folks call, a little strange?" Prancer asked, removing his pipe and blowing a ring of smoke my way.

"I would prefer to call your lands strange, not I. Yet from what I hear, you are an outsider to most also," I retorted, and he chuckled.

"I'll take that as a compliment. The part about me that is, I have no love for this place either," Prancer said, glancing out at the other bar patrons.

I cocked my head a little.

"Oh, and why would that be?" He gave me a look that wondered why I'd needed to ask that.

"Survived the worst winter anypony could think of and the moment we get here everypony just throws off leadership and swears loyalty to two ponies we don't even know." He scraped a hoof on the table before grumbling. "Celestia and Luna, what's a horn and wings worth?"

I looked down at his hoof scraping layers of grime off the rotten wood. "The mother of the sun and the child of the stars, I thought they'd ruled over your lands for decades now?"

"They have ... I'm older than I look. But make no mistake that the moment somepony proclaimed the royal sisters in charge they've silenced everypony who dared question it. Not since the days of Princess Platinum has anypony been important enough to get a word in edgeways." He leaned back in his seat, flicking dirt from his hoof.

"They're heading for chaos, they'll see one day soon, believe me. Why are you so interested anyway? I know you are not from around here, talk of equines like you come in with the slavers on expeditionary vessels?" he finally asked.

"True, the first landing of your people on my homeland's shores sparked controversy, but your kind is nothing new to us. We had cities in Equestria long before you called it that," I explained and from under his hood I saw a pair of green eyes finally meet my own.

"And what did you call it back then?" I looked right at him.

"The land of fallen stars, a place to be feared ever since the fall of its great city long ago," I finally admitted, and he fidgeted slightly.

"So it is true, what I see... In the nightmares," he confessed, yet seemingly more to himself than anypony else.

"I see that it is true that the rumors about those nightmares are real then?" I added and he shot me a wary look.

"Folks don't know what they're howling about when it comes to me. I'm the town pony to be avoided," he stated, scraping a hoof on the table again.

I watched the limb move, peeling the dirt up in arching waves until his scuffed hoof started to bleed from the splinters.

"I have come to ask you what it is you see, and if I am as different from the common pony as you claim, then it is my hope that you may feel free to divulge the contents of your visions in the night." I gestured a hoof to the crowd as a group of ponies shouted and cheered rowdily at another table.

Prancer looked at me, and for a moment I thought he'd lash out and try and kill me before telling me anything else. I could feel the pain behind his eyes, the rage in his soul. If I had to, I'd scorch his mind with a single glance. Then the hooded stallion let out a breath.

"I see darkness in my sleep, stars, and orange fire. I see things I don't even know how to describe and at the center of it all, I see her. Coat black as midnight, armor like pale moonlight," he elaborated, trembling as he looked over his shoulder and at the crowd.

"Who is that you see?" I asked, leaning close and pulling something from my cloak before sliding it towards him.

"I don't know, Princess Luna, but she's different. No pony ever sees that sister, she's always scaring them away, but..." He stopped the moment he saw the rearing alicorn engraved on the stone tablet I'd presented.

Her wings were spread, horn alight with flame and at his gaping look, I knew exactly what he'd seen because I'd seen it too. Just one of the many things I'd seen in the starry eyes of my Great Master.

"How do you know this, who are you?" Prancer demanded, slamming a hoof on the table and drawing a few wary glances from around the tavern.

I sank into my hood and stood up, snatching the tablet back.

"If you want to find out, come with me, pony." With that, I turned and made my way back into the crowd.

The sudden sensation of freezing cold water hitting my face was enough of a shock to blast me right back into the waking world. I gasped, and a fit of coughs later, I was able to open my eyes only to see gloom around me. My head was throbbing as it lulled and as I tried to lean forward I found that my back was against the wall, with my right forehoof caught. Instinctively I looked up, seeing in my fuzzy vision that my forehoof was cuffed to a metal pipe. One tug and it was pretty clear the thing wasn't coming off. Seconds later, I tried to fire up my horn, and all I got for my trouble was a small spark and an increase in my headache.

"Inconvenient isn't it? Not having magic." A familiar voice said from the shadows before Heatstroke flicked on a lone light bulb. "Might I say you're looking rather fetching, by the way," she said with a nod to my soaked skimpy attire.

I stopped tugging, slumping against the cold wall as I glared at the sandy coated mare. Pear Pudding was with her, a band-aid across his muzzle as he rubbed his forehooves together.

"How are those hoofsies treating you, handsome?" I cooed, and the stallion frowned as he took a step back.

"I'll deal with you properly later," Heatstroke muttered, glancing at him before she looked back at me. "Right now, I have this pain in the flank to deal with."

"Oh so now I'm a pain in your butt, that's funny? What the fuck are you doing here, I thought this was your idea?" I finally snapped, and she smirked.

"If you mean setting up Pear and his little crew here in the first place was my idea, then yeah. But sending you in here to mess everything up was my father's idea, not mine," she retorted, and at my confused look, she rolled her eyes. "You seriously have no idea how politics work out here, do you?"

"But wait, I thought you wanted him to be in charge?" I asked, and she stomped a hoof.

"No, I want to be in charge! What don't you get about the 'ambitious one'? All my father would do if he was head of the town is run it into dust, if only to protect his precious collection," she snorted, and Pear took a step back from her.

"Well, if you were behind all this then why not just take the place anyway, hum? You have all those robots?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"Unfortunately, the republic does not respond well to hostile takeovers with robots, how do you think negotiations would go down afterward, hum?" she elaborated.

"Then they'd brand you a raider," I muttered to myself as things started to fall into place.

"Great, so you do have a brain. Though, warlord feels more fitting." She flicked her mane back. "They'd take this army for themselves if I'm not careful, so as you can see my options are limited," she snapped.

"And yet you had to drag me into this mess!" I exclaimed, and for once she looked just as angry with the fact as I did.

"You are the one who pissed off Crimson Springs, that gave me an excuse to activate the robots. I could not let my father know I was the one who had the password, now could I? But then of all the places he sends you, it's here," she went on, pointing a hoof at me before turning it on herself.

"You both sent me here!" I retorted, and she laughed.

"I agreed with that mad-stallion I call a father." She stomped a hoof. "I've played him for years, stupid foal."

"Why? He seems to care enough about you?" I wondered, and she snorted.

"You're joking, right? He doesn't give a shit about any of us, not me, not Sky, not Flare, none of us because we're not a precious pegasus like she was," she snapped, stomping a hoof on the floor again. "If he knew I knew how to activate these robots he'd get it out of me or die trying, beat me, rape me... My sisters might tell you he's innocent, but I know he's not the perfect gentlecolt behind closed doors!"

For a moment there were tears in her eyes, and Pear backed right away. Yet as she went on, I couldn't help but feel two sides of my conscious going at each other like rabid Hellhounds. Could that be true? Sky and Flare didn't seem like they'd been treated in such a way? Then again did anypony really seem like they'd been abused? I thought back to how I'd found Cherry only a week or two ago, slipping down against the wall as my mind worked. I felt disgusted by the stallion I'd been in the office with a day ago, yet Heatstroke had been nothing but deceitful so far.

"So why not just kill him then?" I asked bluntly, only feeling that it may not have been the best thing to say after I'd said it.

"Oh, believe me, I've wanted to, but what part of being branded a raider do you not understand? I didn't want any harm to come to Crossroads or my sisters. So I played along with father's little plan to get you to liberate the town for him. To be honest, I'd hoped you would die trying. That would solve one of my issues, at least." She waved a hoof in the air dismissively.

"You should know that it takes more than a fat idiot to kill me," I growled, glaring at Pear.

"Hey, who you calling..." Heatstroke silenced him with a single stern look.

"I needed somepony stupid enough to settle for caps, sex and nothing else. I paid off that crew, he just gives most of the dumb orders," she stated and the stallion deflated. "And yet I trusted that Girder could at least deal with you before you got here." She looked back at me. "But no, I had to come here and see you three and your little orgy."

"Orgy, you're joking. I'd sooner burn his cock off than have it anywhere near me!" I declared, growling at Pear as he shrieked.

"What, she was going to do things to me... Horrible things." For a second he reminded me all too much of Mirage as he looked like he wanted to tug at Heatstroke's mane.

"I'm literally surrounded by idiots," Heatstroke moaned as she face-hoofed.

"So what now, I've seen the whole victim act before. Even if you're telling the truth none of you should be allowed the power I saw in that hanger," I told her, eyes locked with hers.

‘Wow, that was an odd sense of nobility, Dragonfire. What, do you want a round of applause or just to impress Cherry?’ My mind asked, but a squirming in my gut suggested that at least one little pony was clapping for me.

"Now I'm left with very little options. The major pony in my way is still alive and Crimson Spring's slavers could attack at any moment." Heatstroke lifted a hoof to her chin. "Fortunately, you may finally prove useful to me, Dragonfire."

I snorted. "I think you're the last pony I'd help right now. If I had my magic you'd be a pile of ash." She didn't even flinch as my horn sparked pathetically.

"Well, I didn't mean to imply that you had to do anything for me. You see, the only pony in my way now is my father, and I need to make it look like somepony other than me killed him." Her smile as she pointed at me made me sick to my stomach. "And you fit the bill perfectly, an evil outsider pony and her friends for everypony to hate."

"And you turn the stallion who supposedly abused you into a martyr, ironic?" I stated, but she shrugged.

"I can live with that as long as that ungrateful stallion is dead. I'll be queen of the hill and he'll never be on top of me again," she assured, she then turned towards a metal door in the far side of the room. "So if you'll excuse me I have a bastard to kill, then I'll be right back to frame you and that stupid oaf Vertigo. All the little nuisances taken out with one shot."

I squirmed against my cuffs, growling at her snide look as she trotted to Pear. "I'll overlook this embarrassing little issue of yours if she's still here when I get back. Then you can have all the mares and chems you want," Pear perked up like a happy puppy promised a biscuit from his master.

"Yes, ma'am." The salute he gave was all but ruined by the rolls of fat quivering on his foreleg.

"Good, though if you fuck up this time she won't be the only one ramming crops up your rear," Heatstroke threatened, making the large stallion chuckle nervously before she finally trotted out and slammed the door behind her with a rear kick.
The second she was gone Pear turned to me with a grin, yet I was too lost in thought to notice. I'd been played from the start, was there any end to ponies treating me like a fool? First Overseer, the Transcendent, Vertigo, now Heatstroke! Was I sure those were all not linked somehow? Still, if she was telling the truth and her father was like that, then what happened to saving ponies?

I saved ponies if I could, and only killed monsters, it was okay to kill monsters. On the other hoof, if she was lying like she had been all this time, then could I really let her leave Sky and Flare without a father? Of course, there was the whole, frame me for murder aspect too, and the last thing I needed right now was the whole of Crossroads or NCR justice on my tail with her as part of their government. Not only that, but could I really let Vertigo or Cherry take the fall with me? Out of all of that, only one thing was certain, I needed to get out of here. That idea was only strengthened as a hot, sweaty flank nudged my side.

"Hey, look who's all alone with me and chained up now, huh?" Pear purred as he rubbed my side. "Heatstroke only said to keep you here alive, she didn't say I couldn't have a little fun, huh, pretty diamond."

That was as far as he got before he received one hard hoof to the face and one buck to the abdomen.

"She only cuffed one hoof, genius!" I shouted as he crumpled on the floor, gasping.

For a second I could not help but feel Heatstroke had hoofcuffed me to the wall like this and left him here with the intent of this exact thing happening. Even so, it didn't make her any less crazy. As Pear rolled around whimpering I tugged hard on my restraints, yet the cuffs were not about to come off without my hoof still locked in it any time soon. In another act of desperation, I tried to spark up my horn.

‘Focus, focus on the fire Dragonfire... If you could do it as a foal, you can do it now!’ A layer of glow slowly crept across my horn as my face scrunched and my eyes watered. Then a lance of pain shot through my skull and the magic faded with a smoking pop. Goddesses, I hate magical burnout!

I slumped with a huff, no magic, no weapons, no friends, and I was sat here looking like a mare from the local whore house! Rolling my head to look down at Pear Pudding I gave my cuffs a futile tug.

"You're going to be ash the moment I get out of here... Somepony is going to get it for this," I grumbled, yet I could do little more than pout.

The stallion did nothing more than climb over to the wall just out of my reach, a hoof rubbing his newly bloody muzzle. From the look in his eyes it still seemed he'd rather fuck me overkill me, but despite Heatstroke's orders, he was keeping his distance.

‘Good, if he has the decency to get out of my sight before I get out then maybe I won't kill him either!’ I grumbled mentally, tugging at my restraints again and again and achieving nothing.

About half an hour later and I was utterly done. "Fuck this!" I called, and Pear chuckled from his gloomy corner.

"Haha, shout all you want, this shed's on the far side of the warehouse, nopony is going to hear you," he snickered.

"Then no pony will be able to hear you when I melt your face off either, smart flanks!" I declared, and that at least shut him up again.

‘Goddesses what I wouldn't give for my magic, or my friends.’ Cherry could get me out of here no problem and even Vertigo had his uses.

If nothing else I'd rather be locked in a room looking at his handsome face than the slob I was trapped with. I slumped again, my head drooping as I finally realized that there was virtually nothing I could do. I'd fought dragons, monsters, and robots and here I was beaten by a troubled mare with a superiority complex.

'So much for making the wasteland a better place?' It was then that there was a knock on the door, and at the metal clang, I looked up.

Pear did too, and groaning the overweight stallion rolled to his hooves and slumped over, still rubbing his bloody face.

"Who in Equestria?" he mumbled, right before the opened the door and he received another slap to the face.

"Pear Pudding, you two-timing slime! I've been looking for you all over and here I find that you've been in here with that stupid mare from town! How dare you!" Mirage exclaimed, practically blazing into the room as Pear slid back across the floor away from her.

"I thought I was your favorite! We were about to have the greatest sex of all time, but the moment Heatstroke's shows you a little favor, you're following her like a stray dog!" she went on, her words rapid as Pear covered his face.

"Hey, babe, you are my favorite. I don't have anything with Heatstroke, she's just my boss," he stammered, but Mirage sat between his rear legs and crossed her forehooves.

"Sounds like another word for your best marefriend. I bet you don't even remember my name do you?" she went on, prodding at his chest.

"Sure I do, it's ... It's ... Babe?" He was cut off by a firm jab to the gut.

"No it's not ... See, you don't care about me... Where is that Heatstroke, is she in here, she better not be..." I manufactured a week smile, my ears folding back as she fixed on me.

‘Come on, Dragonfire think, the world is throwing you a bone here, think of something.’ I jingled my cuff and once again put on my best innocent look.

"Hi, sorry, I told him we needed you to continue the act. It felt so real before Heatstroke interrupted. But he wouldn't listen, he just kept saying over and over that she was his best mare and he didn't need anypony else." Anypony a little smarter than the bubbly mare may have seen through my improvised response, but she looked right back down at the stallion.

"What! How could you? I thought we had something special!" She smacked his face again and he groaned.

"Babe, just tell me what you want and I'll give it to you, please," he begged as she lifted a hoof to her chin.

"Well, I suppose if you let her go and say that I'm your one and only favorite, then I might consider letting you off the hook. But she has to go." She pointed a hoof at me and my hope peaked.

"What, no ... I can't, Heatstroke would kill me," he responded, earning another slap.

"Heatstroke again? I see how it is, you're just so in love with her and you will do anything. Fine, that's it, I'm leaving." She stood up and spun to the door with a huff, slapping his muzzle with her tail.

"Wait no, I..." He reached out with a forehoof, sitting up. "I–I'll do it, okay. For you my favorite mare." I could not tell whether it was poor hygiene or his 'marefriend' that had knocked several teeth out as he gave her a wide tooth-gapped smile.

"Oh, Pear, you would, just for me?" In a flash, she went from hating him to hugging, then kissing his lips.

'Wow, love must really be strong because I didn't think any mare could be horny enough to do that.' I thought, cringing at the sight.

"Now, about her." Mirage nodded to me and oddly enough, she smiled.

"The keys are in that yellow barrel over there, you got to let her out. I'm done getting beaten up my mares," Pear groaned, propping himself up against the wall and rubbing his face.

Mirage smiled gleefully, retrieved the keys and trotting over to me with them in her magic. "Hey, cutie. I'm not mad at you, just him. Better watch out though, because if I see your fine flank around I'll be coming for it, especially I find you dressed like that."

She nodded at my outfit, then bumped my rump with her as she undid the cuffs with her magic and I fell forwards, blushing harder than ever.

"I'll keep it in mind, thanks," I retorted, rubbing my free hoof as she batted her eyes at me and grinned.

"Don't mention it, now run along, I've got to teach this one a lesson." Most ponies would have got a buck to the face when slapping my butt, but the way she did it, it made me want to run for the door faster than any monster ever could have made me gallop.

I felt a small twinge of sympathy for Pear at that moment as I ran by, he certainly was in for a lesson or two. Still, I avoided the urge to buck him in the face one last time, if only to make sure he was conscious for whatever Mirage had planned. Seconds later, and I was back out in the dull, overcast gloom of the desert, and for a second, even the Dust Bowl made me feel cooler for a change.

True to Pear Pudding's taunting, the shed I emerged from was across a large, asphalt loading area from the warehouse. I could just make out the rusting old building through the haze of rising heat in the distance. I didn't want to think what Heatstroke may do with those robots once she didn't have to hide them from her father. Looking around, I saw several holes in the rusted mesh fence, and carefully squeezed through, ripping the blue sleepwear.

‘Damn, I had to get this stupid thing off. No, I had to get back to town and stop Heatstroke! No, I had to find my friends!’ My mind raced as I trudged up the hill at the rear of the compound and finally slumped against a rock.

‘Seriously, why did it feel like I was sweating more while wearing this?’ I thought, remembering some really crazy kinds of fetish enchantments I'd seen on these kinds of outfits.

One thing was for sure, I could not save the town looking like this. ‘Goddesses forbid Cherry or Vertigo see me like…’

"Wow, damn. Must be my lucky day." I felt like nothing more than burying my head in the sand at the sound of a certain purple stallion's voice. "Blue, really goes with your eyes."

Vertigo's shadow appeared on the rock above me before the stallion leaped down and landed on all fours in the dust. For once I really wished he had a helmet on, his ear to ear grin was almost unbearable.

"Very funny, smart flanks. Where in Equestria where you? You said you'd be right behind me?" I exclaimed, waving a hoof and finally trying to struggle out of the stupid sleepwear.

"What, I got hungry? Besides, you do realize that right behind you doesn't literally mean right behind you, right?" he confessed, and my right eyelid twitched.

"What, of course I know that! And what do you mean you got hungry? I had the rug pulled out from under me in there and you were hungry! Are you really that oblivious?" I exclaimed and he gasped, pressing a hoof to his chest as he back peddled.

"For your information, I was being 'oblivious' a lot closer to you than you think. At least when you were in Pear's office, I totally didn't see that," he assured me.

‘Oh, thank the goddesses.’ I mentally sighed. ‘Wait, why did a part of that sound sarcastic?’

"Dragonfire? Oh, thank the goddesses you're okay!" The sound of Cherry's voice came seconds before the pink mare holstered her rifle and barreled into me.

After all the awkward tension I'd been through, her embrace was all too great of a release.

Then she took a second to look at me, razing an eyebrow. "Erm, what are you wearing?"

I went redder than I ever had in my life. ‘Really, Wasteland? Dressed like this in front of the one mare I think I might have a genuine crush on?’ Her blush was nothing compared to my own as I took a step back and brushed myself off.

"All part of the job, just a part of it, yeah," I improvised, offering a nervous smile as my burning ears folded.

"Of course it is," Vertigo muttered, still admiring the view.

I'd have bucked his teeth in again if Cherry didn't silence him with a mean look. Or at least as mean as the cute mare could look.

"Great... Now, does anypony have my barding? Crossroads is in danger and we don't have much time," I added, struggling to get free of the skimpy outfit.

I felt both hot and grateful when Cherry came to my aid and I really, really tried to bury every trace of my arousal. From the look on her face, it didn't appear that this was any less awkward for her, but there was no way I'd be letting Vertigo do this.

"Cherry, my knife, cut the stupid thing here," I suggested and with a flash of her horn the pink mare delicately cut the bow and the whole thing slid off as I gasped. "Goddesses, that was tight."

"You okay, what's wrong in Crossroads?" Cherry asked as she levitated over my barding and Vertigo teleported to retrieve my battle saddle from wherever he'd stashed it.

The stallion was back in a flash a moment later, before I finally informed them about Heatstroke and her plan.

"And now she's going to kill her father and blame it on us. She'll be a victim, and make him a martyr," I finished.

"Damn it, how could I have not guessed she'd be the one to set this whole thing up? She always seemed to just go with whatever her father did," Vertigo growled, stomping a hoof.

"All part of her plan, even if she did not like it." I responded, and for the first time, he actually looked angry for a change.

"But that's stupid, Sky and Flare would never let her. Plus, neither of them ever suggested anything about being abused like that?" Cherry suggested, but all I could do was shrug.

"That's because they're both unicorns, better to have magic then nothing in Pick-Me-Up's eyes, even if he was after wings," Vertigo elaborated.

"And after her brother ran off the twins always had each other, she was the only lone earth pony," I added, and despite myself, I found my feelings leaning more towards Heatstroke actually telling the truth for once.

"Well, we can't let her kill anypony, even if they might deserve it," Cherry stated, and once again my heart fluttered at her commitment.

Seconds later (and with more of Cherry's help) I had my barding back on and slipped into my helmet, making extra sure the battle saddle modifications still fit.

"We need to get back to town. Vertigo, can you teleport us there?" I asked.

I had no idea what it may do to me in my state, yet any apprehension was diminished by urgency. He gave me a flat look, however.

"What do I look like, an alicorn? No way can I take three ponies that far," he stated, but Cherry was the one to perk up.

"But you can take yourself, you can get there before her," she suggested.

"I suppose, but if she's there she'll kill her father the moment she sees me... unless..." He lifted a hoof to his chin. "The way back to town is just over the hill, get to the doctor's house as soon as you can. I'll meet you there!" With that and a wave of his hoof in the general direction, he was gone in a flash.

"Are you serious?" I asked, as both myself and Cherry stared at where he'd stood. It was my companion that went into action first, however.

"Come on, you know he'll have some trick up his sleeve, let's just do what he says," she called as she trotted off.

‘Wait, since when was Vertigo in charge?’ Regardless, knowing Cherry, it was most likely just her urge to save ponies that was driving her to follow his orders.

She was clinging onto the only strand of a plan we had. 'How can you not respect that, huh?’

I shook my head and finally started to follow. Vertigo better be right, because right now the whole town was riding on his brief moment of inspiration.

After a few minutes of running through the humidity of the desert, it became pretty clear that actually knowing what was wrong with me did nothing to change the fact that my body really disagreed with me moving like this right now.

‘All for the sake of a town you really owe nothing too?’ My mind questioned, yet I shook off the idea. 'Great idea, so let her brand us all criminals instead?’

I could not let Heatstroke believe she had free access to the power I'd seen in the warehouse. I knew her type, and no matter what she'd been through I had no doubt she'd use those robots for more than just battling Crimson Springs or winning over the NCR's favor. She may not have wanted to be branded a raider, but I doubted she'd be anything but noble with the power. Not only that, but I doubted Cherry would forgive me if I didn't try to help her prevent Sky and Flare losing their father, even if he may have been evil too.

Cresting the next hill, I stopped, taking a deep breath. I was at least glad I wasn't the only one who was exhausted, Cherry looked just as winded by the gallop as I did. Across the hill, I could see the asphalt of the freeway running over the top of the town, and below, the bustling settlement looked nothing out of the ordinary. Even from here I could see the large metallic house Doctor Pick-Me-Up had greeted me in, his tower pressed up against the bridge's supports. Above, built atop the mass of twisting roads, were a number of small shacks and bridges spanning the gaps where the concrete had fallen through.

"Wait a second, Vertigo's right, if she sees us coming she's bound to have a plan," I called to Cherry, blocking her with a hoof as she tried to trot toward the town gate.

The way she looked at me made me just a little hurt, but it was pretty clear she understood what I was getting at, then she slumped.

"There's only the two ways in past the wall? How are we supposed to get to her?" she asked, and I looked around.

Gates were a no go, she'd probably have somepony from Pear's crew watching them. In fact, she probably had eyes on the whole town.

‘Great, this sounds like it was going to be a piece of cake.’ My mind groaned as I finally looked across at the mass of tangled bridges and shacks. ‘You can't be serious, catwalks suck, remember?’

I threw my anxiety right to the back of my mind as I looked at Cherry. "Come on, I have an idea."

It was becoming pretty clear to me now that I could add heights to the growing list of new things I really hated. The tangled catwalks, cables and electrical gondolas spanning the bridges above Crossroads were very similar to those of Churn, yet instead of a gargling river below me, there was a good thirty foot of nothing before the crowded street. Several of the taller houses were connected to the bridge by yellow elevator carriages suspended from wires, and even more of the gondolas were used to span some of the larger gaps between the ruined overpasses.

There were ponies up here too, mares and stallions that looked considerably less well cared for then the ponies in the town below. The tattered robes that clung to their battered hides were the only thing they seemed to own aside from the chems that had driven them completely out of their minds.

A few warning shots from my side mounted weapons made it pretty clear that I wasn't here to hand out Dash or Med-X to the few addicts that came begging. A kick off my rear hooves warded off a ghoul mare as she not so subtly tried to pry my weapons from my battle saddle. Cherry seemed to have more of an issue telling the desperate ponies no, yet after the first few times she had to dart away from them, she was once again walking right by my side. It once again made that heat in my heart flare ever so slightly to see that she felt safer right next to me, even if I really didn't like the reminder of the frightened mare she'd been only a week or two ago. Nevertheless, one stomach-churning gondola ride, and a fear that the rusty contraption could fail at any second later, and we were positioned over Pick-Me-Up's home.

I was glad that his office was on the top floor, not to mention the fact that it had a balcony. Not only that, but it was one of the buildings connected to the bridge via an elevator, and Heatstroke had apparently left it unwatched.

‘Guess she didn't expect anypony to wade their way through all the Dash-heads to get to it? Thank the wasteland for small favors.’ I mentally sighed, trotting over to the elevator car.

Then that posh entity that managed my fucked up world laughed in my face. ‘Of course, it was powered off.’

With a flick of my hoof, I sent an empty Sparkle-cola bottle flying over the edge of the bridge, cursing to myself. A pair of chains wrapped around a set of rusty pipes tethered the elevator to the roof, and I could only assume they were to ensure none of the chem addicts could take a free ride down should it be activated. Cherry looked a little uncertain, glancing at me before peering back at the lingering crazy ponies prowling around us like hungry radwolves. Then the pink mare moved to the edge and peered over the broken rail, ears folding as she noticed the easily eight-foot drop between us and the roof.

"Goddesses, where's that teleporting idiot when we need him," I grumbled, glancing over the edge too. "There's got to be some way down."

"Urm, Dragonfire..." Cherry muttered, and I looked to see her pointing a forehoof at the encroaching crowd of crazy ponies.

‘Come on, Dragonfire, think! There's an elevator like this in Churn. In fact, this one is even longer! What do you know about elevators? I pressed both forehooves to my helmet as I wracked my mind. I know they're horrible, falling death traps. They're really dangerous and will fall with even a little too much weight.

I paused, head perked as I looked between the elevator and the crazy crowd of chem addicts.

"Hey, Cherry, you have any Med-X left in those bags?" I called, and she shot me a suspicious look.

"Yeah, Sky gave me some for my ear? Why?" she asked, and little did she know that, behind my visor, I was grinning.

‘You're seriously going to do this?’ My thoughts questioned as I undid the elevator's chain anchors. ‘What, it's not like I actually intend to be on it when it falls.’

"Toss some here," I called to Cherry, and with a flare of her magic, a pair of syringes landed in my forehoof.

The eyes of every drooling pony around me locked onto the chems like hungry dogs as I held them up and proclaimed. "Hey, today's your lucky day everypony! Come get the drugs!"

I threw them into the car and within seconds as many ponies that could fit in the long box were rocking the thing back and forth like a ship in a storm. A few almost fell out, and at least some were cautious enough not to go barrelling in as the thing swung away from the bridge and gave a painful whine. I took a step back, backing over the chains and looking at Cherry.

"We're going to have to climb down the wires when it falls," I suggested, my gut churning at the idea.

She didn't look any more enthusiastic about it, yet her determination to do good was far stronger than any stomach-turning nausea. Of course, that was when the motors in the elevator crane sparked and with a loud twang, the left wire snapped instead of unwinding. The crane supporting the cradle fell over the edge, rattling down to the roof as the elevator plumited vertically, throwing ponies all over the roof. With a grinding chorus, the right wire began to loosened and the elevator fell.

‘Well, not exactly as planned, but at least it's something to climb down.’ I thought as I heard the jangling of chains, seconds before I felt metal wrap around my foreleg and yank it out from under me.

I shifted my balance to my rear hooves as I tried to keep from falling on my belly and being dragged down with the elevator.
I didn't even have a moment to call out my utter hatred for the wasteland before I was dragged from the bridge, over the rail and slung over the elevator car as it fell.

‘This was it, I was going to die, it really is going to be falling that gets me!’

With a grinding crunch, the elevator shunted to a halt, suspended vertically mere feet from the bridge and leaving me dangling by my foreleg from the chain just above the roof.

‘Goddesses, why did that hoof have to be tied up so much today?’ I thought as I looked up, seeing several addicts heaped in a pile on the elevators side rail, each looking as if they were a mere second from vomiting.

"Dragonfire!" Cherry cried moments before her head appeared over the rail of the bridge. "Goddesses, are you alright. Wait right there, I'm coming down." The mare swallowed her fear and gulped as she slung Responsibility over her back and weakly began to climb down the cord onto the vertically slung elevator.

"Not going anywhere any time soon," I groaned, but as her movements shook the whole thing and it lurched closer to the roof the chain slipped.

‘Fuck you, wasteland.’ The thought coincided perfectly with me landing face first on the metal roof of the building as the chain fell slack across my back.

Thankful for my helmet, I lifted my head, looking to my left to see a pair of ponies sprawled out across the roof on their backs, groaning about Dash and Buck. Shakily I rose, my stomach heaving as I really tried not to throw up. It was official, I hated heights!

"You okay?" Cherry called from where she clung to the vertical rail of the elevator car, slipping down inch by inch.

"I will be so long as I don't have to hang by my hooves again anytime soon," I grunted, planting my butt on the floor as I tried to steady my buzzing head.

Then Cherry gave a loud shriek as she slid down and fell from the elevator. I moved faster than I ever thought I could, darting over and flaring my horn. Of course, when it failed to produce so much as a pathetic spark, I fell forward and she landed right in my trembling forehooves. Her sealed eyes peeled open, saw me, and then her one ear folded as she went red.

‘Goddesses, helmet, I love you!’ I internally cried as I felt my own cheeks burning once again. And yet for a long few moments, I just held her in my forelegs.

"Erm ... Thanks," Cherry stammered with a nervous little laugh. "I think I'll be okay now, Dragonfire," she added and like that, I was dragged back to reality.

"What! Oh, right yeah, of course," I fumbled as I let her go and got back up, brushing myself off. "Er, where were we? Right, stopping a mad mare, yeah."

With that I turned, stepping over a buck who was begging me for some Med-X before I reached the edge of the roof overlooking the office balcony. I really wished my E.F.S could tell me what levels targets were on as I could only see the field of blue bars created by the street ponies below. I couldn't even make out Heatstroke from the few red bars I assumed were either skulking radroaches or hostile chem addicts. Nevertheless, as I peered over the edge and sunk my head under to see the room below I found the office empty.

"Looks clear, she must be somewhere else in the house," I informed Cherry before swinging around and dropping down onto the balcony.

Her head appeared over the edge above me. "Then I guess she doesn't know we're coming?" she asked as she began to clamber down after me.

I really tried not to look at her butt as she dangled there. She was just hanging down by her forehooves, rear hooves scraping the floor when somepony walked in through the office door opposite. It was a stallion I recognized, the bald patch on his butt and back was a dead giveaway. That, and he was armed.

"You!" Girder growled the moment his narrowed eyes locked on me. "What in Equestria are you doing here, you're supposed to be locked up?"

"Change of plan, I got out. And a lot easier than you did by the looks of it." I nodded to the painfully red patch of flesh on his rear.

"You, I'll kill you!" he declared, drawing a pistol just as Cherry dropped from the ceiling, landing on her rump with an eep.

‘Oh well, so much for the element of surprise. But at least we're inside.’ I ducked and pulled Cherry down behind the Doctor's desk with me as he fired twice.

One shot punched a hole through the desk's draws and the other glanced my shoulder, scratching the cyan scales as I stood up and bit down on my battle saddle. He leaped behind the chair I'd been sat in only yesterday. Unlike the desk, the frail wood and cushions sparked into flames as the magical beams of my energy shotgun blasted it apart. Leaving the earth pony with more than just a hairless flank to worry about.

He fell to the floor, dropping his weapon as he called out in pain, both forelegs and his chest scorched red. Luckily for him, it had not been my Saddle Blaster, otherwise, he'd have been dust right now. At least I thought it was lucky, trotting over and seeing his new burns I guessed he'd rather be dead. I angled my weapons to his face, then caught Cherry's look as she perked up from the desk and hesitated.

"Cherry, give me another Med-X, please," I called and the syringe appeared in a bubble of lime green magic a second later. "Now, you are going to tell me where Heatstroke is, right now," I demanded, jabbing the painkiller into his burned foreleg.

He grit his teeth, looking at me as a small breath of relief escaped his throat. "And why should I do that?"

"Because I know you don't like her, I didn't melt your brains out, and I just spared you a Med-X. Now, I won't ask so nicely again." I pointed my weapons back at his skull for added encouragement.

"Damn it all, this is why I should have been in charge of this whole thing! She was down in the main hall last I knew. She's got more ponies between here and there though, you'll never get the drop on her," he finally admitted, and I retracted my weapons away from him.

"Oh, I think we'll do just fine," I stated, then looked at Cherry. "Glue his butt down again and then let's go."

The look on the stallion's face was so done with everything as he grumbled. "Of course, you wouldn't just kill me like anypony else, freak."

True to what Girder had told us there were at least five ponies patrolling the house, most of which I recognized to be dressed similarly to those that had been guarding the warehouse gates. For a moment I almost wished I had Mirage to flirt them into submission again. Instead, I had Cherry and only my useless weapons, not to mention one hell of a growing stomach ache after my fall.

‘Goddess, I swear I'm not stepping a hoof out of town until I have my magic back!’ I internally screamed.

‘That's assuming it comes back.’ My mind sneered, and with a clang of my helmet against a wall I shut my thoughts up in an instant.

"Sorry, E.F.S was glitchy," I improvised as I got an odd look of concern from Cherry.

Regardless, neither of us had a lot of time to worry as we descended a set of stairs next to a wall lined with anatomical images of pegasi wings. At the bottom was the large balcony that ran around the edge of the house's central chamber. One look at the paper-laden table and stuffed mare in the corner, and I knew exactly where I was. There were a pair of guards in here too, and I doubted we could sneak by the two of them in the open. One thing was for sure, Heatstroke was nowhere to be seen.

"You think you can cover me from this side while I try and get around?" I asked Cherry, nodding in the guards' direction.

I could assume Heatstroke was somewhere downstairs. Cherry nodded, drawing Responsibility. But before she could do anything one red mark on my E.F.S caught my attention and I spun. The pistol was knocked from the air as a surprised Pick-Me-Up fell back into the corridor.

‘Damn, I really did love this thing when it worked.’ I internally squeed. ‘Yeah, yeah, but you do realize that it could have well been just another Radroach creeping around behind you, right?’ I whacked my head with a hoof. 'Shut up, brain, give me this one!’

"You... What are you doing here, I thought I told you to go clear out the warehouse?" Pick-Me-Up stammered as he scurried back.

"Yeah, newsflash, you're whole warehouse deal really wasn't all it cracked up to be," I retorted, and the red stallion frowned.

"You mean you weren't up for it, now you've got these thugs crawling all over my house," he grumbled, and I rolled my eyes.

Before I could say another word, however, a shot rang out, then another. The clanging of a bullet striking metal was followed a moment later by a searing pain in my rear as the second bullet stuck my rump.

"Oh by Celestia, I'll have somepony's head for this!" Pick-Me-Up hissed as he rolled to his hooves and Cherry returned fire with Responsibility.

I grit my teeth, really hoping that pain in my butt was just a bruise and the shot had failed to penetrate my rapidly degenerating armor. It at least kept my rush of adrenalin going long enough for me to dive on to the doctor's back and pin him there as I shouted back to Cherry.

"Cherry, come on! There's better places to hold up than this!" It was a shock just how good she was getting with the golden rifle, but as she drew back from the rail and turned, I pinned a hoof on the doctor's chest and unleashed a blast of suppressive fire with my battle saddle.

"Up the stairs, go, take him back to the office," I instructed, and with a nod, Cherry was trotting away, Pick-Me-Up scurrying behind her.

I backed up the stairs, still firing until the guards were out of sight. The rattling of hooves on metal, however, suggested that they'd be coming round and be on top of us again at any moment. I turned to bolt up the rest of the stairs, then I heard Cherry call out. My heart skipped a beat as the pink mare fell from the top of the stairs ahead of me and came tumbling down into my forehooves. My legs slipped out from under me and the pair of us landed in heap at the base of the stairs, right as the two guards came round to point their guns at us. Our attackers were the last thing on my mind, however, as I sat up and lifted Cherry.

"Cherry! Cherry, are you okay?" I cried out as the mare groggily lifted her head and rubbed her face.

"Ouch, my head... Dragonfire, she's..." Her words were cut off by the clang of the doctor falling down the stairs and landing with a thud before us.

"Well, would you look at this, the perfect crime scene and two likely criminals all in the right place at the right time. I really am a genius," Heatstroke mused as she strode down the stairs, rifle slung at her side.

Cherry shook her head as she sat up, the guards making extra sure to remind us where their guns were aimed as they lurched forward. Pick-Me-Up rubbed his bloody nose as he sat up, took one look at the guards, and flinched. The stallion turned and came face to face with his scowling daughter, and in an instant, went from confused to very, very displeased.

"Heatstroke, what are you doing... You... I think you broke my nose," he stammered, frowning at her.

"Oh boo hoo, did I hurt your little nose, father? Well, that's nothing compared to how much you've hurt me," she snapped, flicking his muzzle and making him wince.

Even so, the stallion recoiled a little more at her words, chuckling to himself as his eyes passed from Cherry to me in a flash.

"W–whatever do you mean, precious? I–I haven't done anything to you," he stammered, edging away from her ever so slightly.

"Don't deny it, father," She directed a forehoof at him. "Or do you still prefer, daddy? The game is up, and you've been played for the sick fool you really are. Now it's time for me to hurt you just as much as you hurt me!" She glared at him with a look that could melt steel, there and then, I really had no doubt that she was telling the truth.

"What are you talking about... I... thought you wanted me to be in charge, to get rid of Pear?" he went on, rubbing his forehooves together.

"Pear was a joke, I set that whole thing up to keep you from the one thing you wanted, power. All my life you've done whatever you wanted to me, now I'm done being your little fuck-filly." She aimed the rifle at him and I had to hold Cherry back as she jumped

Heatstroke was crazy, but I still had no love for a stallion that would treat her the way she was describing. If I tried to save him then I'd be trying to save a monster. If I let her win I'd be handing power to a mad mare and letting her frame me for the crime. They were both monsters in their own right, and now my moral compass was spinning too fast for me to keep up.

"Heatstroke, precious... I... I was only trying to do what was better for you... You wouldn't shoot me," he pleaded, but she didn't even flinch.

"The only way I'd have been better in your eyes is if I sprouted wings. All you ever said is that you were making me a mare, treating me as any real stallion should." She jabbed him hard with the rifle.

"And I wondered if you were right. Thought it was all you did to that stupid pegasus who was your real precious. Now I don't care, but you'll be going right back to fuck her in Tuataras!" She pressed the gun to his head.

"Wait, you don't need to kill him, you–" I pulled Cherry to my side, begging the goddesses she'd forgive me.

One wrong move and we'd both have our brains blown out. I doubted even my helmet could take a shot point blank. I had no idea what to do other than keep the mare I cared about most alive. Yet was I really about to let Heatstroke's plan to brand us all as criminals go forward either?

‘Damn it, why did trying to be a good pony hurt my brain so much!’ Heatstroke didn't even spare either of us so much as a glance.

The flash that appeared behind her a second later, however, did at least capture her attention. Sting gave a sharp whoosh as the two guards behind us fell to the floor, clutching at the holes punched right through their forelegs. They'd most likely never walk again, but Vertigo was far from done there, clad in full black barding the stallion's eye domes locked onto Heatstroke as she spun and pointed the rifle at his head, Sting coming around and locking the pair in a tense standoff.

"You... What are you doing here?" the earth pony mare hissed.

‘Was that the question of the day or something?’ I inwardly asked myself as Vertigo retorted.

"Why, did you miss me, was that part of your little plan too?" The anger in Heatstroke's eyes flared, yet I had a feeling she knew that his helmet would provide him with far more protection against her shot then her bare face would from one his weapon's darts.

"Heatstroke, stop this now!" Every pair of eyes not locked in a staring contest to the death looked to see Wing Flare step over the whimpering guards, Skylark close beside her.

‘Okay, now that was a glare that could win a staring contest of doom.’ I thought as I saw the look on the orange unicorn's face.

Cherry shot to her hooves, flanking Flare on the opposite side from her sister as I stood and looked between them all, my morals in a complete and utter spin.

"No pony has to die today," she muttered and at her words, the sting of guilt shooting through my chest was almost crippling.

"Oh, look who came to join the party. Couldn't you leave finding out about this until after I killed him?" Heatstroke groaned, spitting out the rifle and motioning to her cowering father with a hoof.

Vertigo relaxed a little, but his eyes did not leave the crazy mare. Heatstroke, it seemed, had little care for the armored buck as she rounded on her sisters. In fact, she didn't seem to care about anypony else.

"What in Equestria do you think you're doing?" Flare demanded, gesturing to the wounded guards at her hooves as Sky looked them over. "There better be a really good reason you dragged us away from work."

"By Luna, I'm going to need so much alcohol after this," Skylark moaned, sighing as she wiped her brow.

"I wouldn't expect either of you two to understand. Just go back to whatever it is you do these days and leave me alone like you always do," Heatstroke spat picking up the gun and training it on her cowering father again.

"We're doctors, or did your ego get too fat for you to see? We help ponies, what are you doing?" Flare went on.

"Goddesses know everypony else forgets all the work I put in," Sky added, and for a moment I could have sworn she was looking at me as she frowned.

"I'm helping myself. It's not like either of you ever did, you had your magic, Grape Juice and Lily had each other, and why do you think Sidewinder ran off? No pony ever cared about what he did to me." She jabbed the barrel of the gun at his head, no care in the world as Vertigo aimed at her again too.

"That's because you never told anypony? We're your sisters, Heatstroke, pride shouldn't get in the way of that!" Flare exclaimed, but Heatstroke shook her head.

"I shouldn't have had to! If you're as good a doctor as you say then you should have seen. But no, you're just a fool like everypony else, and I'm done listening to fools!" Time almost seemed to move in slow motion as she pulled the trigger.

I sat there, helpless, no magic, no time. All I'd been able to do this whole time was sit there and watch. Even the wounded guards could have been more useful than me as I just watched. I saw a flash of that mare in the tank, Buck Shot tethered to the tunnel walls, Babs Seed trapped in an endless nightmare. I'd been useless to do things then, now I was just as useless. I didn't know who to save, the monster or the victim driven to acts of desperation just to get revenge.

There was a click then a clatter as the clip fell out of Heatstroke's rifle. She looked at the gun in bewilderment as Vertigo, horn glowing, kicked the clip aside with a forehoof, and trained Sting on her as she staggered back. There was a shot, a loud bang and the earth pony's eyes went wide as she fell back against the wall.

Everypony jumped, even me as the pistol I'd swiped from Pick-Me-Up levitated behind him in a glowing orb of his magic. The stallion looked down at his daughter, a bloody hole punched right through her chest. Then Vertigo's hoof struck him across the face and the gun went flying.

"Heatstroke!" Sky and Flare called in union, appearing at her side faster than Vertigo could teleport.

Cherry's face was awash with utter shock. Her eyes wide and coat paler then I'd ever seen. Vertigo knocked the doctor to the floor as the buck stammered about how no filthy, dirt-digger daughter of his would ever do anything disobey him again. I just sat there, morals spinning in a storm as I sat down.

"I need a healing potion, now! Hydra, bandages, anything!" Flare called, holding her sister's hoof as Sky pressed down on the wound.

"Don't be stupid Flare, we need to get her to the clinic now!" the pale blue mare growled. "Damn, I'm really not drunk enough to be dealing with this!"

"Here, this is all I have," Cherry declared, pulling out every bottle of healing potions and every syringe of pains killer she had and levitating it over.

She was rummaging through my saddlebags a second later in search of more, and yet all I could do was still just sit there. What was wrong with me? She was bad, he was bad? I'd seen good ponies die, I’d seen their loved ones cry. I'd been as powerless as Heatstroke when he'd had his way with her, and I knew how it felt. Yet right at that point of my life, when I'd lost it all and hit rock bottom, was there anything I wanted other than to die?

"Come on, stay with me, Heatstroke," Flare demanded, forcing her to down a healing potion.

"Shut up, Flare, stop shaking her! The thing's gone right through her heart!" Sky yelled, and my heart sank even further as she finally leaned back.

That look on her face, I'd seen it before. That's how she'd looked when she thought there was no hope of saving Ochre.

‘Come on, Dragonfire. You pulled a miracle out of your sorry butt then, do it again now. Do something!’ My mind scrammed.

Cherry glanced my way for a brief moment, the smallest glimmer of hope in her eyes. As that hope faded I felt nothing but cold inside, even my churning gut was silenced.

"You, can you teleport her to the clinic, please!" Flare begged, grabbing Vertigo's shoulders.

The stallion was the only one who didn't look broken as he answered. "I'm sorry, that would probably do more bad for her then good, she's-." He at least had the decency not to tell her what we all knew he was about to.

"She's done, Flare. There's nothing we can do," Sky admitted, ears folding as she sighed and bowed her head.

"What, no!" Flare was back in front of her wounded sister. "Come on, Heatstroke, you stubborn mule, don't you die on me!"
The sandy earth pony coughed, blood seeping from her muzzle as she looked up into the firm green eyes of her elder sister.

"Wing Flare..." Her words faded as she gasped and her sister leaned close. "Don't ... Don't ever let him ... control you ..."

With one final breath Heatstroke's words finally faded, and as the last seeps of air escaped her lungs I could only watch from over the shoulders of Cherry and the dying mare's sisters as the last vestiges of life finally fade from Heatstroke's eyes.

---

Foot note: Level up

New Perk Added: Cherez La Filly - And here you thought you were alawyas the mare on top. You do +10 damage to the same sex, and extra +5 Speech for seduction purposes on same-gender individuals (whose barn door swings that way)

Next Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Two: Headquarters Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 21 Minutes