Chapter 12

Upwards

Shady barely had time to leap aside as Eucalyptus tried to run her down. I knew the damage those armored hooves could do, and the last thing Shady needed was to stress her bad leg any further. I leapt in then, Gawd and Cherry following suit. Bullets pinged and sparked from the suit, but my weighted hooves did more, while they lacked the penetrating power of a bullet, they did carry more mass. Despite his superior weight, my hoof strikes did make him move. If I could keep him moving, he would be less likely to injure my friends.

As I thought that, Cherry’s pistols barked, but like before the bullets did little more than scratch and dent the thick armor. I kept him moving backwards in a circle, throwing my hooves again and again at his face. Then, as I felt like I was getting the upper hoof, I noticed for the first time a weapon on his back. It let out a soft “Thump.” Then the wall on the other side of the room exploded away. “Grenade launcher!” Gawd shouted and began pulling back, her and Shady blasting slugs into Grunt.

I looked back over my shoulder for a second, to see Velvet standing still, a look of pure horror on her face. She had been the closest to the grenade, and had several cuts and nicks on her hide, but worst of all was the pool of watery blood pooling on the floor between her rear hooves. “Shady!” I shouted, and the grey mare noticed where I was looking. “Her fuckin’ water broke!” She shouted and made to move for Velvet, but another grenade kept her back. “Zakk!” Gawd shouted, and the Stallion stopped hurling bobbleheads at the armor, and took notice of the Charcoal unicorn behind me.
Zakk shouts at the top of his lungs, “Wait!” making every one of us stop in mid fight. I looked back over my shoulder at him, my hoof held in place against Grunts armored cheek as Zakk disappeared once more, and then appeared by the frozen Velvet before grabbing her and pulling her to safety. Gawd, Shady and Zakk shielded Velvet with their bodies, Shady shouting back at me and Cherry. “It seems the concussive force of the blast broke her water!” every one of us paused, even Grunt, who did nothing but stand there for a second. “Then get her out of here. You know more about this than either of us!” I shouted back. Shady nodded, and scooped Velvet up and began moving off. “Gawd, Zakk, keep them safe!” I shouted again.

The Gryphon narrowed her eyes, knowing she was probably leaving Cherry and I to our deaths. “Go!” I commanded, and Gawd wordlessly ran after my friend. I turned to look back at Grunt, who was standing patiently off to the side. I glanced at Cherry, her eyes narrowed at Grunt, her horn sparking as she levitated up one pistol. “I thought you both were dead… guess if you want something done…” He said and took up a defensive posture. I wanted nothing more than to leap at him and slowly tear him apart, but he was an experienced soldier, and had more time to get used to that suit of armor than I did. “You fucked up Grunt. You shouldn’t have let us get on that boat.” I snarled, and the tone of my voice made Cherry look at me in concern. I ignored her as I began to step toward Eucalyptus and stare him intently in the eye. “There are a few ponies I want to kill, and you are number two on my list.” I said lowly. If he was surprised by my words, he didn’t show it. “Of course, LittlePip would be number one.” He said, making me draw up short. Then to my surprise, he opened a bag on his side I hadn’t seen before and pulled out my old journal.

“Quite an interesting read. I was particularly a big fan of how Phanes plans to take control of the NCR. I never would have thought he would use pure water the way he is.” Grunt monologued, before shrugging and looking back at me.” I know you Moonshine, this journal bared your soul to me, and I know, you won’t kill me.” He said, before tossing the book into the air, and then firing one more grenade. I watched in horror as the shell hit my journal, detonated, and tore my journal apart. I watched, anger boiling over, as scraps of my previous journal rained down around us.
I screamed, not a sentence, or a word, just an unintelligible shout as I leapt at him. He tried to get into a defensive posture, but I dove into him. I punched his head down, then up as I caught his chin in an uppercut. His head rocked back and forth, and all I really got for my efforts was a pained groan. Then with a mighty sweep of his right foreleg, I was sent tumbling aside into a wall. I groaned as well now, feeling like I had been hit by a missile. Then I looked up to see Grunt advancing on me, his armor deflecting any and all Shots from Cherry’s dual pistols. “Son of a Bitch!” I shouted and forced myself to my hooves and charged him again.

On the outskirts of the dam, just beyond the reach of any search lights coming from the guard towers, Honesty and her Ponies waited. BlackJack sitting beside her on her own Radscorpion. Honesty gave the odd mare a glance, seeing her duct taping multiple old whiskey bottles together, and setting the impromptu crown upon her brow. “I’d heard of you before, but I was a filly around the time you ran around the Hoof. We all grew up hearing tales of the Whiskey Queen, and yet here you are, no weapons, no barding.” Honesty said lowly, and BlackJack just smirked.

“I admit, I am a little rusty, but it’s nothing a good fight can’t fix.” She said, and her eyes adopted the scariest gaze Honesty had ever seen. BlackJack’s crimson eyes flashed in excitement, but also bore the look of some pony out for blood. Many ponies in the past who saw this look and lived, called it her shooty look. Just as Honesty was about to ask Blackjack how she planned on fighting if it came down to it, an alarm sounded from the dam, and more and more spotlights illuminated the interior of the camp. “Looks like they were discovered.” Blackjack growled, and Honesty nodded.

The bandit mare chittered to the gathered scorpions, and the front line crouched, and burrowed into the ground at a rate that amazed Honesty. Ponies on hoof, followed the scorpions down into the holes. If they were to attack now, charging the distance from here to the fence, they were sure to be gunned down by machine guns mounted on the towers. But they were designed to keep things out, not deal with things that were inside already. It took five minutes for the scorpions to dig their way under the fence, and deep into the compound.

Just under the surface of the earth, the bandits waited eagerly. When Honesty gave the signal via more chittering, the lead scorpions burst through the layer of soil and into the camp. Shouts of confusion were quickly becoming ones of alarm as a swarm of bandits entered the compound. In the first thirty seconds, many of the drugged up N.C.R. had been incapacitated. Honesty was the last out, her particular choice in mount causing more fear than the entire swarm, due to the very distinguishable markings of a deathstalker entering their midst.

Honesty smiled as her companion swatted and bowled over any ponies in the way. The bandit mare looked around, seeing flashes of white amidst the orange gunfire, a sign that BlackJack was teleporting around, and taking out as many tactical targets as she could. In one minute, the entire camp was chaos, but soon that changed as they organized faster that the bandits anticipated. Machineguns chirped out, and bandits fell under the shower of lead, and many scorpions lost limbs or worse under the onslaught. The Battle had just started, and already casualties were mounting.

Grunt looked over his shoulder, the screen showing the battle that was now waging in the compound. I even saw flashes of Blackjack teleporting around. The fight between us and him was growing longer, and cherry and I had both been batted around like toys compared to the armor’s capabilities. But I had helped Calamity rebuild it, and I knew all to well the limitations of that suit. My paint job now bore many scuffs, and the new plating had been dented and creased. There were scorch marks from my ballistic hooves, and there was a small crack in once of the visor panels. I pushed myself yet again to my hooves, feeling like I would be one large bruise later.

“Why, why wont you stay down! Why do you have to fuck everything up!” He shouted at us, and despite feeling like I was fighting a loosing battle, I smiled. “Because that’s what we do best.” I said simply, and Cherry nodded as she too stood up beside me. She had a black eye and a bloody lip, not to mention her armor had been torn in many places along her chest. “Any bright ideas?” I asked in a soft whisper, and she nodded slowly. “One, but it will take time, and considering how badly he is kicking our butts… I’m sure you can handle it.” I rolled my eyes, but she did know I was holding back. If only because any damage done to the armor I would have to fix later, but that was beginning to look like there may not be a later.

Cherry loaded her last magazine into her pistol, and I leapt back at Grunt. We met, hooves slammed into muzzles. I felt the impact more than he did, and I felt my nose break, and the respirator crack from the force of the blow. I flopped back to the ground, blood and tears streaming from my face, but I paid it no mind as I rolled aside, sensing he was going to stomp me into paste. Cherry took pot shots, her pistol now in her mouth as I saw her magic charging up from the corner of my eye. I continued to roll, but went too far, and rolled right of the room and onto a catwalk below. Grunt paid Cherry no mind, seeing me as the biggest threat he followed me out.

I managed to scramble aside as he landed where I had been, the entire catwalk protesting and bending from the impact of his landing. I began backing away, keeping myself ready for the charge which was sure to come. I watched him paw at the metal floor, and then the panel under him broke as he launched himself at me. Steel panels bent and twisted under his hooves, and I barely managed to get out of the way by leaping over the railing and hooking myself on the railing with a foreleg. I rotated, my body dangling over nothing as I came back around and kicked him hard in the back of the head. That was when his grenade launcher hooked on my rear leg, and I got pulled onto his back.

I wrapped my hooves around his neck, trying to hold on as he began to buck and hop, trying to shake me loose with a deep growl. I held on for dear life but took the opportunity to kick his gun free. With a screech of metal, the gun was torn free of the power armor, and sent tumbling over the railing and into the abyss below. Eucalyptus roared in protest and managed to shake me from his back. I rolled on the rickety floor and bounced up to my hooves. The crack in my respirator dripping blood, and multiple scuffs and scrapes along my own armor.

“You mother fucker!” He shouted at me, and I smirked inside my own helmet. This fight would be much easier without having to worry about grenades turning me into pony soup. I looked over his shoulder to see Cherry, her horn still charging up an attack, running up behind him. I knew I only needed to hold him off a little while longer, but he wasn’t going to give me the chance. He screamed and began to stomp his front hooves into the metal grating I was standing on. I felt the whole catwalk lurch, and I grabbed onto the railing for support. Again, and again he pounded his fore hooves onto the floor, and I felt it slowly begin to collapse. Then with another twisting screech, the entire structure on myside began to sway, and buckle under its own weight.

“Oh Fuck!” I shouted as it tilted to the left, and I looked down into the churning water below. There was another section of catwalk, it was going be tough, but I leapt out, and managed to get my front hooves to catch on the grated floor. My rear hooves dangled helplessly, and I looked back over my shoulder to see Grunt turn and face Cherry, her spell very nearly complete. There wasn’t anything I could do at this point but hang here. And that wasn’t easy either as the section I was on was an area already weakened by Grunt in the power armor.

I felt the structure groaning under me, and it too eventually began to collapse around me. I looked back toward Cherry, and her eyes were entirely focused on me. I saw the fear in her eyes, and the dawning realization that I was about to die. I never took my eyes from her as the catwalk gave way, and I fell into the darkness below.

Honesty fell from the back of her mount, one bullet had grazed her cheek, and cut a deep gash into it. She howled in rage and pain as she landed on her broken ribs, but hopped up, and used her armored companion as a shield while she returned fire. Her pistol barked, and a few ponies fell to the dirt, holding their shoulders and legs that had been hit. Not being able to kill put her ponies at a disadvantage, but she would do what she could to not kill any ponies. Blackjack was also nearby, using a magically created club to knock any ponies on their asses. She had been cut and shot a few times, but nothing life threatening. She was next to Honesty in an instant with another teleport and clubbed down one N.C.R. buck who was coming up behind her.

It had been ten minutes since the battle outside had begun, and now things were relatively even between both sides. “We aren’t trained soldiers!” Honesty shouted, and Blackjack just cackled and blocked a knife that had been hurled at her. “I know, isn’t it great!” she said and then teleported again with a soft pop. Honesty just shook her head and fired a few more rounds and dropped one more pony to the dirt.

The battle waged on, more bandits dropping dead, and N.C.R. dropping to wounds, or getting knocked out. But then things took an even tougher turn when those who had the time to raid the med kits and dose themselves up joined the fray. Honesty ducked under one mare’s sledge hammer and fired two rounds into her chest. She didn’t want to kill these ponies, but the mare felt no pain, and no matter the injuries she suffered, she had gotten up four times already, and had killed five of her bandits. Things began to look bleak, more than three quarters of the scorpions were dead, and there were only seven our eight bandits left. Even BlackJack was looking worn out, her diet of snack cakes and whiskey wasn’t doing her any favors.

Honesty slumped against a crate and reloaded her pistol with shaky hooves. She was alone now and had little more than a bandage to heal her injuries. She pushed her pain aside, despite shedding tears from her eyes, and got back up. By her estimate, there were still thirty or so ponies in the camp still able to fight, and even more getting back up. Things were looking worse and worse for the bandits, but Honesty suddenly had her spirits lifted as Slug and Wrench came running up. Wrench was favoring a broken leg, and Slug had an eye missing entirely. But despite his wounds, Honesty could see his features brighten at the sight of her. All three grouped together and did a quick ammo Check in the shadows of an empty tent. “I got four slugs left.’ Slug said and winced as Honesty wrapped her healing bandage around his head and did what she could to cover his wounded eye. Wrench lifted his wrench, it had been bent at awkward angles, and his pistol had only two rounds left. Honesty wasn’t much better off, she only had five shots left as well.

“Got any ideas?” Wrench asked a moment later. Honesty shook her head, she had no clue what to do. There was a reason no pony attacked this camp, and this was it. “I don’t know, we shouldn’t even be here, but we are, and there is no changing it.” She said softly, and then sighed. “I guess the only thing we can do is hope for a miracle or die with dignity.” She said and lifted her tired body back to her hooves. Slug likewise stood with her, and Wrench with his brother. Honesty then reached up and patted her deathstalker, thanking it for the help in getting this far. Then BlackJack was back, more open cuts, and an injured rear leg, but a mirthless smile on her lips.

I don’t suppose it would help to ask the Goddesses for a miracle would it?” Wrench grumbled, and Honesty shook her head. “Probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt.” She said. And Wrench nodded before looking up to the heavens and began to whisper a silent prayer to Celestia and Luna, then stopped half way through, something in the sky had caught his attention, and he focused more intently on the spot. “What the…?” He asked, and every pony looked up just in time to see one purple flash, then another, and then five, and then ten.

Blue, Purple, and Green Alicorns were appearing in the skies over the dam, all of them hovering just out of range of any gun fire. “Looks like you get your miracle after all.” Said Slug as he bowed his head and looked over at Honesty with a tired smile. “Looks like it.” She replied with utter shock in her voice.

Cherry watched as Moonshine fell into the darkness below. If he had a little more time, his wings would have developed enough for him to at least glide, but right now she doubted he could even manage that. Once she lost complete sight of his falling body, she cast a glance at Grunt, who likewise watched Moonshine fall to his death. Then she heard him chuckle, a low gravely sound that raise the hairs on the back of her neck. Pain and sadness were suddenly washed away in a blazing inferno of rage. Like Moonshine she too felt fear while facing him, and knew he was responsible for so much that had gone wrong in their lives. But that was little to her compared with how enraged she became just then.

“That’s my Moonshine!” She screamed at Grunt, who snapped his head up to look at the red mare. But unlike the first time he had seen her hazel eyes, now they were a brilliant red. Grunt marveled longer than he should have, as her magic began to spark, and little jets of flame spewed from the gathered magic she had been charging up. Cherry grit her teeth, her breathing haggard and forced as she glared at him. Even through his suit he could feel heat radiating from her, and the metal catwalk began to glow a cherry red.

Then she screamed in rage again, and Grunt could do nothing but watch as her beautiful red coat flared red, then brightened to a pure white, and her cutie mark become nothing more than an intense inferno. He took as step back, out of fear, as Cherry’s mane began to wave and move on its own. for the first time since the fight had begun, he felt afraid of his opponents. Cherry screamed yet again, her howl of pain and anger reverberating through his skull. Her normally perfect teeth took on a jagged appearance, and then her mane and tail erupted in flame as well. If there were ever a ponification of Hell, Grunt felt he was looking at it now.

Grunt took another step back, his hoof dislodging a bit of scrap metal, which clanged loudly around him. The mare that had been Cherry wine panted and heaved, but her burning gaze never left the General. Then she stood straight, still breathing hard, and standing a full head higher than she had before. Grunt hesitated, frozen in fear and bewilderment as he beheld the true shape of Cherry’s soul. Dangerous and all consuming, but beautiful all at once. Cherry said nothing as she began to walk toward the frozen Stallion, her hoof steps causing the metal floor to glow nearly white, before melting behind her. Then She was standing close to him, her gaze level with his.

“Wh…What are you?” He asked despite himself. Cherry just looked at him. No Looked into him. Her burning eyes stripping away everything that wasn’t his soul. She saw him for what he really was, just like he saw her as she was. She then spoke, her voice low and deadly, but smooth and melodic. “Justice.” Came her response, and then she slammed her hoof into his jaw. He winced and grunted as his helmet was torn from his head. Bits of molten steel dripping onto his cheek. Grunt fell at her hooves, feeling for the first time a helplessness that he had made so many before experience.

“Are… are you Celestia?” He asked, looking up at the mare who was no longer Cherry Wine. She looked down at him. Condemnation in her eyes. “Celestia wishes she was me.” The mare snarled, before reaching down and picking Grunt from the floor. The weight of his power armor was nothing to her, and she held him up before her eyes.

The mare called Justice looks at the pitiful soul before her. She knew what he had done, and what he had planned. She wouldn’t allow this thing to persist any longer, though it had been so long since she had last been free, she wanted to enjoy this a little while longer. With hardly a sound, she tossed him like a rag doll, his armored body denting and crumpling the metal flooring. “This is just too fun!” She sang, and danced along the railing, not even considering her precarious perch. Then she landed back before Grunt, who was struggling to his hooves. By the time he looked up, she was on him again, this time hitting him with an uppercut that lifted his body from the floor. She then spun around and with only one leg kicked his body, sending him crashing into a brick wall.

Grunt felt his jaw break, and sat, stuck in the wall with blood oozing from his lips. Whoever this “Justice” was, she packed one hell of a punch. He looked up to see her stalking toward him. He knew he couldn’t beat her, she had been holding back, but why he didn’t know. Grunt managed to free himself from the wall, and crumple on the metal floor once again. Then she was there, her hoof wrapping around his neck, and lifting him effortlessly. He just hung there like a limp rag doll, the joints of his armor having been pinched, and his range of motion limited to nearly none.

“You know what has to happen now don’t you?” She asked as a flaming sword of pure magic materialized before his eyes. It was easily twice his size, and he knew the end had come for him. With great effort, he lifted his one functioning hoof, and wrapped it wound hers. “Jus…. Jus do it.” He groaned out past his shattered jaw, and for the first time embraced death. Justice looked him in the eye, and silently levitated the sword to his throat. He closed his eyes, and felt the heat blister his skin, but made no noise. Then he felt it, just a slight motion, which made his eyes snap open in surprise.
He had lowered to the ground, it wasn’t much, but it was there. When he looked back into the eyes of the Mare that was about to kill him, he saw her struggling, her eyes narrowed, and her teeth bared. “No…Not yet, I’m not done.” Justice hissed. Then as abrupt as it began, the image of Justice cracked, and like a peeling painting, bits of her began to flake away, leaving the image of Cherry wine slowly being revealed like a prewar scratch ticket. Then, like the sound of shattering glass, Justice was gone, and Cherry Wine was left behind in her wake.

Grunt fell to the floor, landing on his hooves, and now Cherry collapsed at his hooves. Her eyes sunken and hollow. She couldn’t even muster the strength to move a leg, let alone try to move aside as the once defeated General lifted his one functional hoof, ready to crush her head. “You put up a hell of a fight, too bad you couldn’t control whatever that was.:” He taunted, then made to crush her skull under his armored bulk.

“Cunt!” Came an angry shout, and Grunt paused to look of to the left. Moonshine was there, his respirator gone, and his face covered in his own blood. But what’s more, he wasn’t standing on the platform. His wings beat in rhythm beside him, keeping him aloft. Then Moonshine lifted his hooves and clutched in them was the grenade launcher Grunt had lost earlier. “Son of a…” Was all he said before a soft “thump” came from the launcher. The grenade hit him in the middle but didn’t go off. But the force was enough to upset his balance. Being unable to stop himself, Grunt tumbled from the catwalk, and fell.

Death didn’t like being cheated of a fresh soul, and Grunt knew there would be no miracle to save him this time. He didn’t even scream as he fell. Moonshine looked over the edge to see Grunt tumble and fall right into one of the turbines. Even over all the noise, he still heard the crunching and grinding as the metal blades chewed him up within. Then, to make sure he was dead, Moonshine fired one more grenade, this one right into the heart of the turbine. The entire thing gave one last screech of metal in protest before, like Eucalyptus, its life too was cut short in a might explosion that wrenched the generator from its structure before falling into the water.

I landed gently upon the catwalk, the grenade launcher falling from my hooves as I slumped next to Cherry and pulled her to me tiredly. “You… flew.” She said slowly. And I nodded as I stroked her mane. “Yeah, and you turned into… well whatever that was.” I said, no note of fear in my voice as I cupped her cheek and held her closely. “I’ll… tell you… Later.” She said, and I nodded. There was no rush. While I did want to know what she had done, I was so happy we were both alive to worry about it. I sat there, holding Cherry and slowly breathing in and out. I had finally gotten Grunt, despite almost dying, I had killed the bastard. I should have been happy, but all I felt was hollow.

“Moonshine!” I heard a voice shout, and it took me a moment to recognize it as belonging to Shady. “Up here!” I said as loudly as I could. It took another minute before Shady showed herself, sweating and tired looking, but nothing compared to how Cherry and I felt. She trotted over, concern in her eyes as she saw the beating we had taken, but also relief in seeing that we had survived. “Luna’s naughty bits, you two look like shit.” She said, and I chuckled then winced from the pain I was in. “Must…be like…looking in a…mirror.” Cherry gasped out, and it took a moment for Shady to register the insult, but I was already holding back my chuckles. “You get a pass for today.” Shady growled and I grinned at her.

Honesty and the others watched as multiple wings of Alicorns dove into the camp, their magic disabling the N.C.R. ponies in almost no time at all. Not a single gun was fired from the alicorns, instead anesthetic spells, and restraint spells flew with abandon, in in less than five minutes, every one of the surviving N.C.R. ponies were captured and restrained. When one wing of alicorns moved in on Honesty and her friends, they took one look at them and ignored them. “Velvet must’ve told them we were friendly.” BlackJack reasoned, and Honesty shrugged. Not really caring. She began walking around the camp, not many of the corpses were those of N.C.R., but of her own bandits and the radscorpions. While she was pleased they had won the battle, she was hurt that it had caused so many of her ponies to do it.

BlackJack walked along with Honesty, and after a time, she understood where Honesty’s mind was, and gave her a comforting hug. “I know what you are thinking, was it worth the lives lost. But this is the wasteland, albeit a different one than a few years ago. Things will change, things will evolve. But there is always one thing. War. War never changes.” She says somberly, and Honesty nodded. “I know, I just hope it was worth all of the death and sacrifice.” She said softly, and Blackjack smiled before making Honesty look in a direction by repositioning her head. “Why don’t you ask for yourself.” Blackjack said as Gawd drew near them.

Honesty faced down the Gryphon, not blinking as she looked into her eye. “Was it worth the death Gawd?” She asked, and the leader of the N.C.R. looked down at the ex-bandit and sighed. “It’s never worth it, nothing we ever say to justify it will seem sufficient enough. But, their sacrifices won’t be in vain. Even if Moonshine and Cherry fail in defeating the General, we have his army. There is nothing he can do now, and this camp will return to normal, and protect those of the Hoof instead of subjugating them.” She said and at her words an explosion sounded from inside the dam. Chunks of cement and stone blasted away from the dam, and a stream of water gushed out of the hole.

“Holy crap, if that is any indication of the battle inside, I’m suddenly happy to be out here.” Said Wrench, and every pony and gryphon present couldn’t help but agree with the little stallion.

Shady helped me to my hooves, I felt like doing nothing but laying down, but we had to move. Shady and I both bore Cherry’s weight, and together we both slowly made our way down to ground level. By the time we hit the ground, Cherry had developed a serious fever, whatever happened to her was burning her up from the inside out. We exited the dam and went down the concrete steps. Shady led me to a small building that wasn’t here the last time, and Shady quickly told me that Zakk built it around Velvet in less than three seconds. It was supposed to act as a maternity ward or whatever that was.

Shady took all of Cherry’s bulk, and quickly took her inside. I made to with her, but she kicked me in the Chest and told me to stay out. This was a mare’s only club kind of thing, and I easily took the hint. I flopped onto the ground, as I suddenly heard shouting and metal objects falling inside the small room. I jumped back up and made to move in like there was a threat, but then the door burst open, hitting me in my already broken nose. Then Zakk was roughly shoved into me, a crimson glow leaving his body behind and trailing back into the room.

“Guess they don’t like my humor.” He said loosely, and I shoved him off. “Get the fuck off me!” I snarl and then roll onto my back, and tenderly poked a hoof against my swollen nose. “Whoa, what happened to you?” Zakk asked, and I fixed him with a dark glare. “I fought a suit of power armor and I won.” I said, and Zakk smirked. “I forgot you were fighting him.” He said and chuckled. I rolled my eyes and flopped into the dirt. I just wanted to sleep for three days straight, but I had Cherry to worry about, and Velvet was also in labor. As evidenced by her screams and groans.

After a few minutes, Shady came back out with a healing potion, coated in blood, and looking haggard. She gave me the potion and rubbed her temples. “I guess it’s not going well?” I ask after I gulp down the sweet, magical, drink.” Shady sighed and shook her head. “The concussive force made the kid turn sideways, I won’t tell you what we are having to do, but it’s not pretty.” She said and winced as another scream came from Velvet.

“How is Cherry?” I ask and Shady shook her head again. “Not good, she is burning up, and her magic keeps fluctuating. “what ever she did during the fight is making her magic go wild.” She said, and I nodded. I was probably the only pony alive right now who saw what she became. I had a theory about it, but I wanted Cherry to tell me herself. “Will she be ok?” I asked, and she shrugged.” I’m not a unicorn, so I don’t know. If her magic stabilizes, then probably, but I doubt she will be using her magic any time soon.” I nodded, and we sat in relative silence, save the occasional shouts from within in the make shift birthing suite.

Another ten minutes passed, and mercifully all went silent for a few seconds, then even through the thin paneling, we heard a small gasp, followed by the strongest scream of a new born infant pierce the air. Despite the shrill alarm it was the most wonderful sound to those of us who had gathered outside. Shady looked like she wanted to shed a tear, but Zakk didn’t hold back. Even the normally goofy pony was brought to tears as a new life was brought into this world where death was the norm.

A few moments later, looking haggard and tired was Fluttershy. I was quite surprised to see her here, and even more surprised to see her coated in blood. It was not a look I would have associated with the quiet Pegasus. Fluttershy moved over to us, her mane disheveled and her eyes, while tired bore a relieved expression. “It’s a happy and healthy filly.” She said, and every pony around cheered happily. I looked around to see Honesty hug Slug, and his surprised expression warranted a chuckle on my part.

I moved slowly over to Fluttershy, who propped herself up on a wall and rubbed her muzzle tiredly. “How is Cherry?” I ask, and she looks back to me and shrugs. “I’m unsure, I’ve never seen a unicorn burn themselves out so badly. I will go back in and do what I can in a minute, right now we have her in an ice bath to keep her fever from getting worse.” She said softly, and I nodded. “Well if you need some help let me know.” I offered, and she fixed me with a knowing gaze. “You just had a fight, and even with a healing potion you aren’t up for doing more than resting.” She said quietly, and I chuckled tiredly. “I know, but I can’t rest while Cherry is like this.” I said honestly, and the yellow Pegasus looked at me with a knowing gaze.

“I once pushed myself to illness trying to help an old friend back before the war. I know your feelings, but trust me she will be alright, just give her some time. You need to go and rest. You’ve had a long day.” She said with a touch of motherly scolding that made me want to do what she said right then and there. ‘Alright, I’ll do that, but I need some food first.” I said, and Shady pulled me aside by my tattered coat.” We will go eat in a second.” She said and went to grab everypony we knew. In less than a minute, Shady, Zakk, Honesty, Slug, Wrench, Blackjack, Gawd, Rogue, and myself all pushed our way into the cafeteria we had eaten at over a month ago. The whole place was empty, but the kitchen area was intact, and we all went about cooking ourselves a meal. Rogue and Shady set about working the oven, while the trio of bandits searched for ingredients. BlackJack and I set a table, Zakk went about mixing the ingredients, and Gawd over saw the whole thing. In less than half an hour, we had whipped up some pancakes, sliced apples, and oatmeal. Each seat also got a sparkle cola, and before long, we were all seated, but no pony dove into their food just yet.

“Gawd coughed at the head of the table, drawing our attention, and a quiet hush fell over the table. “A lot has happened tonight, more than I want to say right now. But we all managed to do something important not just for us personally, but for the whole of Equestria. We couldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been for the efforts of every pony at this table now. And on behalf of the N.C.R. I thank you all.” Gawd said, and with tired nods all around, we dug into our meal. I know it seemed out of place to have a meal like this, especially when Cherry and Velvet were unable to join us, but we did need to eat, and I had made her a plate earlier.

We finished our meals, and I silently excused myself from the rest of the group and made my way back down to the room where Velvet and Cherry had been placed. I knocked softly, and the door was opened by Fluttershy, who looked just as tired as ever. I held out a sparkle cola with a wing, and she took it gently with a soft thank you, and I pushed my way into the room. The whole place was a wreck, but it was a lot cleaner than I though inside. Some how Zakk had created what looked like a sterile hospital room out of scrap. Velvet was laying on a gurney, a small bundle held in her forelegs.
I left the sleeping pair alone, they both had an eventful evening, and the last thing I wanted to do was wake them up. I moved past an impromptu divider, and found Cherry curled up on another gurney, a wet wash cloth over her forehead. “We got her fever down, and her magic stabilized enough for us to slide a retaining ring around her horn.” Fluttershy whispered, and I nodded as I moved over to the red mare. She had her eyes closed, but as soon as she heard my hooves on the wooden floor, she slowly cracked them open, and looked at me.

“Do.. Do I smell pancakes?” She asked, and I heard her stomach rumble loudly. I chuckled and moved over by her. “Yeah, we made them a bit ago, and I came down here to give you some.” I said gently as I placed the plate on the side of her bed. I saw her struggle to move, but I put my hoof on her side and shook my head. “Don’t you really over did it earlier, let me help.” I said, and she slumped, unhappy about it, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. I moved her into a sitting position and propped up her back with a pillow and my coat. “Is Velvet ok?” Cherry whispered, and I nodded with another small smile. “Yeah, and she gave birth to a healthy little filly.” I said happily as I used my wing to lift a spoon with a bit of pancake on it to her mouth.

She blushed in embarrassment but took the bite I was offering her. Slowly she chewed, and I could she was enjoying the taste. “Who made these?” She asked, and I smiled. “all of our friends.” I say as I cut another section off and scoop it up to her mouth. She took the bite with a little more strength than before, and I could tell the good food was having a positive effect on her emotionally. I continued to feed her, despite her being grumpy about it, she was grateful for my company. After the food was mostly gone, and she slumped back, full and happy. “Moonshine I…” I cut her off by pressing a hoof against her lips. “Later. Get better first then we can talk about it.” I said and then climbed into the bed beside her. “I am sorry, I know the bed is a little small, but I am exhausted and need some sleep.” I said quietly before yawning and hugging her closer. “I prefer intimate.” She whispered before giving me a weak kiss and closing her eyes. I kissed her cheek tenderly, before laying my head down as well, and closing my eyes.

"Alright Children! Today is the day I get to finally tell you all a little story I have been sitting on for over a month now. Do you all remember when I made a broadcast about the day The Jacks camp fell out in Hoofington? Well I had the facts wrong on that day, and I knew a month ago, but because of a promise I made to some friends, I couldn’t tell any of you all about it until now! You see the whole thing was a set up. The General running the N.C.R. Camp at the Hoofington dam was using the Jacks to build an arsenal to take control from GawdynaGrimfeathers. Three ponies, hired by the General, went to discuss “Peace, but it was all an elaborate plan to take the Power armor and weapons of those three ponies. The best part? They came here personally after escaping an attempted murder by a group of Bandits hired by General Eucalyptus Grunt. They told me their story, resupplied, and then went back!"

“This time with friends. Gawdyna, our very own Velvet Remedy, and a hoof full of others made their way too the Hoof, inducted the help of a group of Bandits, and took the dam over night! The battle looked one sided, but then the Alicorns of the Followers of the Apocalypse joined in and restrained the N.C.R. ponies at the dam. Why did they not kill them I hear you ask? Well the General was keeping them docile by feeding them Chems. This camp had secretly become the biggest bandit gang Equestria had ever seen, and a small group of ponies put a stop to all of it. Now I hear you asking, DJ-pon3 who are these ponies you keep mentioning. Well would you believe me if I told you that two of them are the very ponies I outed in a broadcast almost two months ago? One of them was the leader of a town called Respite, and the other was her previous employee, the Child of Arbu. That’s right Children, the pony most of you called a monster went above and beyond to help the Mares and Stallions of the Hoof. Maybe now you all will think twice before judging a book by it’s cover.”
Now this day doesn’t seem like it could get better, but it does! Velvet Remedy, in the middle of the battle, went into labor, and gave birth a short time later! Every pony rejoice as a new, healthy, baby filly enters our bright new world, and if you see Velvet in the future, congratulate her and her little filly for being a big part of what happened last night in Hoofington. That’s all I have for the news, lets hope things only continue to get better from here. This was DJ-PON3 with the news!”

I awoke sometime around noon. It had been only a scant few hours since I had fallen asleep next to Cherry, and now, feeling a lot better, my eyes slowly creak open. Cherry was still asleep, but it seems her fever broke as she no longer felt like fire against my belly. Silently I kiss her forehead and eased myself from the bed. My limbs felt like Shady had hit me repeatedly with a baseball bat, but I ignored my discomfort and stretched, feeling the satisfying series of pops down my back and up my neck. I grabbed my gear, and stuffed it into a bag I had found, before trying to head out.

I only got past the divider before Velvet jumped and stifled a scream when she realized it was me. Her jumpiness, in turn, made me jump and drop my stuff as I looked over at her. Then I blushed and looked away quickly as Velvet covered herself back up. The little filly was nursing, and I had just witnessed it. “S…Sorry” I say as I cover my eyes and blush brightly.” I didn’t have to use my eyes to know she was embarrassed as well. “I thought I was alone in here.” She said softly while nonchalantly wiping her newborns mouth, hoping I wouldn’t notice. Which of course I did. “I came in late last night, you were passed out with your baby, and I fed Cherry and ended up falling asleep here.” I said.

Velvet nodded, still beat red. “So, I guess that since you’re here that means we won.” She said, logically concluding our victory. I nodded and then sighed as I began picking my belongings off of the floor again. “Yeah. I had to kill Grunt. He almost turned Cherry’s head into paste.” I said, and then shuddered. I had just described a scene I would rather not remember. “You did what you had to.” Velvet offers kindly, and I nod. “I know, and he didn’t give us a choice. I wanted him dead, but the way it happened…” I shook my head to try dislodging the mental image. “I know what you mean.” She says softly and I nod, knowing she had seen her share of gruesome deaths.

“Anyway, I need to go find my friends. You take care.” I said, as I made to move for the door. “Wait Moonshine.” Velvet said softly, but with an edge of importance in her voice. I looked back at her over my shoulder, seeing for the first time the infants face. She was a gentle cream color, and her eyes were a bright and innocent blue. “tell me a name, some pony who was important to you in Arbu.” She said seriously. I knew immediately what she wanted to do, and the gesture meant a lot to me, but did I have the right to pick a name for her daughter? I mulled the question over in my head, but after a moment, I saw no harm in just telling her a name. After all, I already had one in mind. “Clear Glass. She was one of the filly’s my age who LittlePip… well I liked her a lot.” I said, and Velvet went quiet for a moment, looking at her daughter. “Thank you Moonshine.” She said after a moment, and wordlessly I turned and left the room. I knew Cherry would be safe with Velvet there.

But I second guessed myself as I heard a shout behind me a few seconds after I left the building. “Moonshine!” I turned to look, only to see a disheveled Calamity with two likewise foals trailing behind him, one I recognized immediately as Amity. “Where is she?” He asked out of breath, and I pointed at the shed I had just left. “She’s in there.” I said, and without a word of thanks he ran off toward the building, Amity right on his flank. The younger filly looked up at me for a second, before giving a small wave. I smiled softly and waved back as she turned and ran after her father.

I moved along the camp, my gear slung over my shoulder as I tried to search for my friends. The whole camp was a buzz of activity, the ponies here were already being processed for either rehab or if they were too far gone, discharge. Alicorns came and went, more than I had ever seen in my entire life. The Followers of the Apocalypse consisted mainly of Alicorns, and they all answered to Velvet directly. I gave them a wide birth as they moved this way and that, taking over the work Velvet couldn’t. Fluttershy dashed around here and there, binding wounds and treating as many ponies a she could. She was like a little hurricane, doing the work it took three alicorns to do. I supposed being two hundred years old, and the most experienced healer would do that to a mare.

It took me a while to find the rest of my friends. Having to ask for directions more than once, but once I did, I trotted toward the armory. Shady, Zakk, and the others were there, sorting out the weaponry, and fixing what had been damaged in the battle. Shady greeted me with a tired smile, showing me, she probably hadn’t slept since the fight. Zakk was moving rapidly, sorting through the pile of weapons, and giving them to Honesty and the other bandits who were field stripping and cleaning them. “Moonshine.” Shady said softly, drawing my attention. I looked over to see her shuffle subtly and then, pull a small towel aside to reveal my power hooves. They looked to be unharmed, though I knew Shady would repair them if they were. Then she pulled the cloth away entirely, and sitting there, I saw the revolver I had lost when Shady attacked Serious Lee. I knew it was mine by the blood staining the wooden grip.

My stuff fell to the floor, and my heart stopped. I did want this gun back, if only because I knew in my hooves it’s legacy of unjustified death would come to an end. With a shaky wing, I picked it up and inspected it closely. While I had two others just like it, this one felt so much heavier, as if it contained the soul of the child I had seen die by this very weapon. I hadn’t known how much this gun meant to me until that very moment, when I felt its weight. Shady sat by and watched me quietly, and offered my a gentle pat on the back as I shook softly and a single tear fell down my cheek. “Shady, do you know the names of the two colts who died in Respite?” I asked for the first time, my voice tense and on the verge of breaking. From the corner of my eye I saw her nod, and then turn my head to look at her with a hoof. “Their names were Quartz and Cobalt.” She said, and I gave her a thankful look. I then pulled the pistol I had gotten from Steel Hooves shack and placed them side by side on the work bench. Quartz and Cobalt. Those are good names.” I said, and Shady took the hint.

“I’ll take care of it Moonshine.” She said and wrapped up the two Pistols in the towel and set them off to the side. I then looked at my old power hooves, and then back to Shady. “Can you make those work on my rear hooves?” I ask, and she nods. “I designed them that way just in case. Give me a little time, and I can fix them up. How did your gear hold up?” She asks, and I set the bag on the table. I had stripped off the armor while feeding Cherry, and only now was I getting a good look at the damage.

The leather coat was torn and tattered, exposing the armor underneath, which had been dented and creased. My Ballistic hooves had scorch marks and scratches, but otherwise looked alright. But my helmet had taken the worst of it. The respirator was missing all together, and it had been hammered to resemble a large golf ball rather than a helmet. “Sweet Luna. It’s a wonder you only had a broken nose.” She said, and I nodded, suddenly feeling the pain of the door hitting my muzzle last night. “I can fix the armor and sew up the coat, but this helmet is pretty much toast.” She said holding it up to look it over. “I can probably remove the internal guts and put them in the other helmet you have on the sea horse.” I nod and thank her, letting her get to work. If there was any one pony I trusted with my gear, it was her.

With that sorted, and my remaining pistol strapped to my flank, I set out back to the room we had slept in the last time we were here, and where we had left Rogue. It took me several minutes to navigate the catwalks, some having been damaged by the grenade I had fired down into the generator. Already construction ponies were hard at work, trying to repair the damage I had caused. I paid it little mind as I pushed into the room. Rogue was indeed still there, laying comfortably on the bed, while BlackJack was sitting on the floor, three empty whiskey bottles laying on the floor beside her. “…And then this nasty bastard of a tumor started growing out of the socket!” She said with a laugh, to the disgusted and horrified look on Rogues face.

“Goodness, that sounds horrible.” He responded and then waved a hoof to me as I entered the room, cutting off Blackjacks story. BlackJack, despite apparently having had three bottles of whiskey, seemed otherwise fine, I had to marvel at her tolerance. “I just came by to check on you. Last night seemed to take a pretty heavy toll on you.” I said, ignoring BlackJack’s appraising glance at my flank. Rogue nodded and rubbed the side of his head. “Yeah, woke up with a bitch of a headache, but I’ll be alright. You look like you went through the grinder though.” He said gesturing at me. Even though I had a healing potion the night before, and a good sleep, I still looked like hell. I even had two black eyes from where my nose had been broken.

I shrugged it off and sighed. “The General looks worse, I suspect the construction ponies will be finding chunks of him for a month.” I said, no mirth in my voice. Rogue and BlackJack raised their eyebrows at my response, but both remained silent, wanting me to explain further. “I… I knocked him into one of the turbines. Then I used a grenade to blow up the generator and make sure he was dead.” Saying the words out loud made me feel… nothing. I felt no joy or pain at his death, and neither did I feel guilt. In truth I felt like I had simply taken out the trash. BlackJack caught the puzzled look in my eyes and summed it up in one word for me. “Acceptance.” She said softly, and I looked to her quizzically.

“Moonshine, I had done many good and bad things in my time, and very rarely did I feel what you feel now. That emptiness you sense is just simply acceptance. You took care of one problem, one you felt responsibility for. And that’s that. It was not personal for you.: She said, and I shrugged. “I don’t know, ever since my last home fell, I never wanted to kill if it could be helped, but this time I wanted to. It was personal. But once I did it, I felt like it isn’t important. Like part of me slipped away, and I just accepted the role of killer.” I said and rubbed my muzzle tiredly.

BlackJack and Rogue shared a look, before she spoke again. “Then you’re just in shock. Keep in mind, you and your friend took on a suit of power armor and survived. There aren’t many ponies who can say the same. Maybe you are just in shock.” She said, and I paused to mull that thought over. To be fair there had been a lot going on all at once. Cherry had… well done what ever she had done, I had flown for the first time, and Cherry was about to get crushed. And I had killed some pony who I felt deserved it. On top of it all, Velvet went into labor, and all my friends had gone to take care of her. BlackJack’s words hit a chord with me, and I simply chocked it up to being overwhelmed.

I thanked the pair and left them to get back to their conversation, I had something a little more important I wanted to do just then and talking to Cherry would be the first and most important part. I quickly trotted back through the maze of stairs and catwalks, and out into the Hoofington weather. Rain began to splash on my exposed hide. It felt refreshing although a bit annoying. I quickly made my way back to the shack where I had left Cherry and Velvet earlier, using my wings to protect my head from the ever-increasing rain. By the time I made my way inside, water was dripping from my feathers, and I shook them a bit to dry them.

It wasn’t immediately noticeable, but I suddenly felt many pairs of eyes upon me. Looking around the room, I saw Velvet’s family, Cherry, Gawd, and Shady all staring at me. “What?” I asked defensively, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “I see you are getting more control over your wings.” Gawd said with a small smile, and every pony nodded, except for Calamity that is. “Wait, how do ya have wings?” He asked, and it took me a moment to remember that my wings were still small and growing and hidden under my padded vest that I had on at the time. “That… well it’s a long story. Ask Velvet she already knows.” I said and moved past them all and took a spot beside Cherry. She looked a lot better than she had last night, and I could see a small amount of her usual spark in her eyes.

Every pony began listening to Velvet as she spoke, but Cherry and I paid it no mind as I reached up and gently pressed a hoof to her cheek. Her hide was comfortingly warm, not at all like the feverish state she was in during the night. “I’m glad to see you are doing better.” I say softly as Cherry closed her eyes and pressed her face against my hoof happily. “I am, though even a fever would be better than having my head crushed like a tomato.” She said, and I could detect the slight tone of relief in her voice. I smile softly and nuzzle her quickly. Do you think you up to taking a walk?” I ask, and she nods. “Not too far, I still feel pretty weak.” She replied, and I nodded ad I helped her from her bed. I had her lean on me until she got steadier on her hooves, and with a quick explanation to the rest of the group, we excused ourselves and went outside.

Cherry led the way, though I was right there if she needed me. We didn’t go to far, only to a small shed. There was only a roof, and one wall facing east. The rest were open with only wooden poles to keep the structure standing. Cherry climbed onto a small crate and lay down, and I took a seat on the ground beside her. “So, you wanna know what the hell happened last night.” She whispered, and I recognized the rhetorical question for what it was.

I was the only pony aside from the General who knew what happened during the fight, and seeing as how he was dead, that left only me. I nodded slowly, and my ears stood on end, showing her, she had my rapt attention. With a small stretch and sigh, she began to tell me her story. “Well, you are now aware of how the taint changed my magic. What you didn’t know was to what extent.” I listened quietly paying close attention to her. “When the change came over me, it wasn’t quite so subdued as your wings. Fire is almost impossible to control, and my magic was much the same way. My parents… they didn’t know what to make of it. Now this all happened shortly after we moved to the surface, and the last thing they needed was a filly with uncontrollable magic. So my dad found and repaired a magic restraining ring.”

I leaned on the crate, but she took no notice, her eyes baring a wistful look. “I hated the damn thing, it was uncomfortable as you would imagine. But, the longer I wore it, the more my magic would build up, eventually I developed a fever and I nearly died. Then one night… SHE came.” I tilted my head to the side, and Cherry elaborated for me. “Justice. That’s is the name of the mare you saw last night. Anyway, I felt the change begin, and I remember stumbling out of the house in my delirium. What happened next, I do not know, but I remember the first time she took control. I heard her voice, I felt her power. She was arrogant, self-entitled. But there was a conviction to her. She hated those who have done wrong.”

I had to ask her a question, this was a lot to take in here. “Whoa whoa, are you saying that your magic has a personality all its own?” I query, and she nods. “Yeah. I don’t know who she was or where she came from. But I knew she would not let me die, because if I do, she does too. Anyway, by the time my magic burned out, and Justice faded away, I was left weak and drained in the middle of a raider camp. Well, what was left of it. She had destroyed the camp and burned every raider there. I remember the sight of charred and burned corpses lying around me and the smell of cooked fur and flesh.” I winced, her description bringing back memories of Arbu.

Eventually, my parents found me. But my magic was wild and uncontrollable. My mother got burned as she came to my aid. My dad finally managed to get the restraining ring around my horn, and get me and my mother to a doctor. I made a proper recovery, though my magic was so burned out it took weeks before I could levitate anything. When I got enough strength back, I packed my supplies and left home. I didn’t want to lose control like that again around my parents. I knew if I stayed, there was a high chance my parents could be the next ones caught in the fury of Justice. So, I left, and for two years I walked the wasteland around Hoofington. There were a few incidents with Justice gaining control, and every time I would return to find camps of slavers, raiders, or bandits wiped out by her. And every time she gets free, I feel her getting stronger within me.” She paused and took a breath, and I remained silent because I knew she had more she wanted to say.

At one time, Justice wiped out a bandit ship who were attacking another ship for their cargo. By the time Justice faded, I was left weakened and I fell into the water. I nearly died again, but the ponies Justice had saved fished me out of the water and nursed me back to health.” I smiled and placed my hoof over hers. “It was Captain Thrush wasn’t it?” I asked, and Cherry smiled and nodded. “Yeah it was. They helped me get back to my hooves, and when the Captain saw my reaction to the sea, she offered me a job. At first, I thought it was to keep me around incase an attack happened like that again. But it turns out they thought I was a mare who had been captured by the bandits. I never corrected them, because I heard them talk about the mare of fire, and while there was admiration, there was also fear on their part.”

I nodded softly again as she continued her tale. “Anyway, I spent another two years aboard the Sea Horse, and while ponies slept, I went above deck and tried to learn how to control my new magic. It was slow going but being out at sea I didn’t feel like Justice had any hold on me. Like we were to far away from the bad thing for her to sense it. Then you and Shady come along.” She said, giving me a happy look. “I thought I had gained control over it entirely. But last night… when I saw you fall, everything went away. I actually welcomed her back if only to kill the pony who I thought had killed you.” I was touched, the thought that she cared so much about me to welcome back that nightmare meant a lot to me.
Then she ripped that rug right out from under me.

“That is why I can’t go with you anymore. I can’t hurt you like I did my mother. I almost hurt Shady and possibly Velvet before Shady managed to sedate me enough for even my magic to stop. Whatever this is inside of me is so dangerous I can’t risk getting the ones I care for hurt or killed.” She said, a single tear falling down her cheek. I wasn’t so reserved. Her words hurt me in a way I hadn’t felt before, but what’s worse was that I couldn’t think of anything I could say that would change her mind.

“Cherry, you know that’s not… I don’t agree… We need you. I need you.” I stammered, my emotions overwhelming me. No matter what I wanted to say, my brain betrayed me by failing to say what my heart wanted to. Cherry just looked at me sadly, another tear falling from her eye as she pulled her hoof from under mine and stood up. She then picked up a bag, which I figured she had stashed here earlier and slung it over her back. “Moonshine, I don’t want to, but I have to go. None of you are safe with me around.” She said, putting it all in a simple way so I could understand it with no possible hidden meanings. She was going to leave. She wanted to leave. I couldn’t help it as tears began to fall down my cheeks. Why did she have to do this now? We had gone through hell together, and we had a working relationship. What the fuck did she want me to say or do. I cared for her so much, I wanted to make her stay, but I knew she wouldn’t. The only card I had left to play that didn’t end in disaster, was letting her walk away.

I felt like I was falling again, the entire world having been ripped away from me, leaving me in a hollow void that left me feeling alone more than I had in the past. I watched as Cherry looked at me sadly, her own emotions hurting her as well, before she finally turned her back to me, and began a slow walk… away. Just away. I wasn’t sure she had a destination planned, but she still walked. I suddenly jumped to my hooves, looking at her back, feeling my heart breaking I said the one thing I knew I should have said sooner, but never found a good time to. “I love you!” I shouted at her back. Cherry froze, and I could tell she wanted to look back at me, but if she had, her weak resolve would have broken entirely. Instead she looked down at the dirt beneath her hooves, and softly, so softly I almost didn’t hear it, whispered, “I know.” Before beginning to walk away once more.

I stood, crying freely as I watched her form turn into a little red dot, then disappear behind a small hill, and leave my sight entirely. I don’t know how long I stood there. Feeling more lost than I had in a very long time. I didn’t know if I wanted to break down entirely, or hit something, or resurrect Eucalyptus and kill him again. But by the time I decided, the rain was falling even harder, drowning out my sobs as I just fell into the mud and cried. I can’t recall how long I lay there, but I do remember Shady coming and picking me up and taking me back inside the medical area.

Every Pony there gave me my space, not questioning why I was so heart broken, and why Cherry wasn’t back. I think they all pretty much figured it out based on how I was feeling. Shady was the only one who hung out nearby, keeping quiet as I wallowed in my own pain and loneliness. Even Zakk had the wherewithal to leave me alone. Then the next thing I remember, Shady pushed a clear mason jar into my hooves with a simple looking clear fluid. “Drink up.” She said, and I didn’t even question her as I took a sip. At first it tasted like lighter fluid and burned immensely as it went down. Then the alcohol hit, and I realized the drink for what it was. I was named after this beverage, and having some of it now, I understood its fame. Before I realized it, I was chugging the booze, taking long and deep gulps. I had never been drunk before, never felt the inclination to drink until now. and Moonshine being what it was, I got pretty messed up very quickly.

Finally, Shady ripped the jar from my hooves, looking at the half empty jar in shock. “Sweet Celestia…” Gawd said in surprise, looking at me, amazed I was even able to stay conscious. I admit, I felt drunk for the first time in my life, and having experienced it first hoof, I could understand why BlackJack drowned out her sorrows in booze. “Moonshine, I gave you some of that for your nerves. I didn’t expect you to chug half the fucking jar.” She said with an irritated, yet still shocked voice. I felt my entire being beginning to buzz, like I wasn’t entirely connected to my body any longer, but neither was I connected to my feelings. I think I felt better about what Cherry had done, but that was probably a side effect of the alcohol so that is my excuse for what I did next, which probably wasn’t my brightest idea.

“Oh, fuck off Shady, I’ve had enough of ponies tellin’ me what I should or shouldn’t do. I’m a grown ass Stallion, and I deserve to be treated like one.” I said, or thought I said anyway, it probably came across as a slurred and unintelligible message, but I was too fucked up to care. I pushed myself back to my hooves and shoved Shady aside. “Wait, where are you goin”! She shouted as I stumbled toward the exit, many pairs of eyes upon me as I tried to make my exit. “Ta do whatever the fuck I want.” I slurred and left the shed. To Shady’s credit, she tried to grab me and pull me back in, but I kicked her away, and spread my wings before taking to the skies above her. She looked up in astonishment, and I gave her a clumsy wave before heading off in a random direction.

I was so drunk I don’t really remember much about that flight, but I remember flying for a while, and began to feel better. That was until a bright white flash appeared in front of me, and I suddenly felt a set of hooves grab me and drag me to the dirt. We crashed, hard. Whoever had grabbed me let go, and we tumbled in a haze of dust and limbs before we came to a stop. When I finally did manage to set eyes on my attacker, which took longer than I would like to admit, I realized it was just BlackJack. “Get *hic* the fuck off me.” I growled past my drunken hiccup as I rudely shoved the pale mare into the dirt.

BlackJack rolls around, and then bounces to her hooves, a very angry and disappointed look in her ruby eyes. I struggled to stand but did manage to with the help of my wings. “Moonshine you’re better than this.” She said softly past the steel in her gaze. I rolled my eyes, and scoffed, before looking back at her and saying cockily, “Fuck you!” but what’s more, once I said it, my right wing popped open, and one of the middle primary feathers stood up, while the others folded back on themselves. I shrugged it off and my wings begrudgingly fell back to my side. “I don’t need you to tell me what I should or shouldn’t be doing either. Especially one who drowns all of her sorrows in a bottle.” I snarled, and the words hit BlackJack like a ton of bricks.

I watched her lean back, surprised by the venom in my words, then her eyes narrow dangerously. “You don’t know shit. You think just because your mare friend abandoned you, you get to act like a piece of shit toward your friends?” I narrowed my eyes as well now. My wings bristling as I advanced on the white unicorn. “What like yours? Or did your friends kill themselves just to be rid of you.” I growl, malice entering my voice for the first time in my life. However I didn’t get a chance to add insult to injury, because BlackJack charged me, her magic igniting on her tiny horn. I laughed for a second, before she barreled into me, and knocked me flat on my ass. “Don’t talk about my friends.” She warned, a flat and deadly tone in her voice.

“Fine, how about I talk about you instead you smug cunt.” I say lowly, now fully engulfed by my anger as I reach out hard with my back leg and kick her hard in her clit. I know it didn’t hurt mares like it did stallions, but I also knew the over stimulation would make her back off. It did, but the look of anger that overcame her told me that she was beyond caring about me at that point. If the stories about her were true, I had just royally fucked up. Instead of just sitting there like a blue target, I leapt up, and instead of running away, I pulled a card from Shady’s book, and charged BlackJack. She sidestepped my awkward lunge, but I knew she would. My wing snapped out and caught her under the chin, snapping her head up, and making her fire a telechinetic bullet straight up. I knew about that attack, and that meant she was trying to kill me this time. That made my own hesitation disappear as I pivoted and pressed my drunken advantage.

The mare’s experience saved her as she managed to dodge most of my strikes. I didn’t even care that I had no gear, I was going to rip her apart. All of my pain and anguish over Cherry’s desertion flooded forth and fueled my attacks. My hoof slammed into her muzzle, and I felt the bone give but not break. Then I was knocked on my ass again from an uppercut to the jaw, which made my teeth slam together. I rolled back, and jumped to my hooves, despite being drunk, my training paid off and kept me stable enough to launch myself into the air. I looked down at the white mare as I gained altitude, knowing my advantage was in the skies now.

That didn’t stop her though, with another white flash she was gone, and in less than a second, she was right beside me, trying to disable my wing. But I moved aside in time and kicked her in the side. She plummeted for a heartbeat, but another white flash, and she was back with me. Unlike on the ground, my advantage should have been up here, but her constant teleporting made it almost impossible to guess where she would appear next. Three more times she teleported around me, each to a different spot, before she finally appeared before me, and slammed her own hoof into my jaw. I felt the bone crack from the force of the blow, and I was sent tumbling through the air. But a benefit of being drunk meant I felt little of the pain.

I managed to right myself, and keep flapping, before charging at her again, but like before, a soft pop was all I heard, and she was gone again. This time I felt her land on my back, making my wings bend backward painfully and drive me into the dirt one more. I landed hard, feeling my ribs crack from the impact, and my breath come out in a hard whoosh. BlackJack reappeared before me, a look of death in her eyes, as her magical sword appeared before her, and press against my neck. “Go ahead bitch. Do it. It can’t hurt worse than anything else I felt recently.” I growl past the blood falling from my lips. She just remained silent, as she glared down at me. But instead of slicing my throat, she instead lifted a hoof, and smashed it into my face. I felt my head bounce off the ground, but I didn’t feel it land again. She had completely knocked me out cold.

Cherry Wine kept walking. Her destination was to head to the mountains on the outskirts of Hoofington. One in particular drew her attention. I looked to be made entirely from carved onyx, and a large structure was hidden atop it. Her gait was slow and heavy, despite only being burdened by a small bag containing her armor and one of her surviving pistols. No, her burden came from what she had done only a few hours before. She had grown quite close to Moonshine and the others, she had a friendly relationship with Shady, but there was more she felt toward Moonshine. His last words echoed in her skull as she walked, his proclamation of love towards her. She knew how he felt, had known for a while. But to hear him finally say it nearly broke her conviction.

The only reason it hadn't was her own love for the blue stallion dictated that she leave to protect him. Cherry had been entirely truthful with him earlier, hoping he understood her fear of whatever was occupying her magic. But she had neglected to tell him one thing, Justice never left entirely. Cherry could not only hear her thoughts, but also feel her emotions. And right now, Cherry felt confusion, pain, and exhaustion from the magical Mare. "Why did you leave them?" Cherry heard her ask for the thousandth time. Which would drive her crazy had she not been asking herself the same question.

"I won't let you hurt them in your rage. Life you did to my mom." Cherry responded silently, her thoughts conveying the message for her. In response, Cherry felt amusement, and a mocking sympathy from her alter ego. "No, you didn't want me to lay a hoof on that sweet Pegasus dick." Justice taunted, making Cherry's ears fall back, and a low growl to escape from her throat. "Shut up, you get the same pleasure I do from him." Cherry responded begrudgingly. She hated how Justice crooned when her and Moonshine participated in their... well activities. But Cherry couldn't deny she enjoyed it as much as Justice did.

"You know leaving them was a mistake, right?" Justice asked quietly, further compounding Cherry's inner conflict on the matter. "Doesn’t matter. None of them are safe with you around. I would rather suffer heart break than let them suffer because of your carelessness." Cherry responded solemnly. And then more confusion from Justice, but also a touch of compassion, an emotion never before emitted by the magical Mare. The new emotion confused Cherry, but she pushed it out of her mind, and for a time, even her own thoughts were quiet.

Then a purple flash lit up the darkening world behind her, but Cherry didn't need to turn around to know it was only Rogue. Her hoof steps ceased, and Rogue cautiously, and carefully moved up beside her. She felt his eyes upon her, but she didn't look up. She knew if she did, she would cave, and return with him. She didn't ask why he was here, or what he wanted, she already knew. And he didn't say, because he knew Cherry already had the answer. Instead, they stood silently for a time, before Cherry spoke first. "I'm not going back." She said quietly, and Rogue could hear the sadness and pain in her voice, but also the tone of necessity. "I know." He responded, and Cherry finally dared to look up at him.

He had his gear likewise slung across his back, and a small smile on his face. "Shady asked me to go with you and keep an eye on you. Not for herself, but because of Moonshine." He said slowly, indicating there would be no argument on the matter. And as weak as Cherry was, she couldn't force him away if she wanted to. Finally, she sighed, and narrowed her eyes at the Alicorn. "Alright, but tell me, you are not here as a spy, or to take me back when I sleep, are you? He just kept his small smile and shook his head, and Cherry knew him well enough to believe him. "Fine. Just... Don't ask questions." She said, a pleading tone in her voice, and Rogue agreed amicably. "I am just here with one of my friends." He responded, and it made Cherry feel a lot better.

The pair traveled in mostly silence for a few more hours, by this time the sun had gone down again, and the duo decided to break camp. Cherry set about preparing a few cans of beans for dinner, while Rogue went and collected whatever wood he could find. In no time at all, he returned with a sizeable collection, and set it down, before patiently waiting for Cherry to go ahead and light it. But when she pulled out a lighter, Rogue spoke up. "Wait can't you use your magic?" He asked, which elicited a sigh on Cherry's part. "Normally yes, but my magic is burned out, and can't even levitate this lighter, let alone fire." She said grumpily. Rogue fell silent and didn't press her as she watched her work the lighter. In little under a minute, she had it going, and their cans sitting nearby, cooking their food.

After their small meal, Rogue broke the silence again. "I just realized something." He said, and Cherry looked at him quizzically. "We follow Shady, but Moonshine was the reason we all stayed together." He said, and Cherry felt a twinge inside her as Justice stirred in her mind. "Yeah well, he has that effect on ponies." Cherry said, feeling her soul getting crushed under her guilt. "True, he is a strange stallion though." He said, and Cherry bristled. "What do you mean by that?" She said defensively and he just held his hooves up. "I mean, back when I first met him in Tenpony, he didn't seem the type to want a fight. But then on the boat, he showed he is very capable. Then we saw how he held his own against BlackJack."

Cherry relaxed and slumped back against the log she was using as a seat. "You didn't know him before the dam. He was a mess of emotions, scared, determined, and confused all at once. I don't know how he managed to hold himself together the way he did." Cherry admitted, and Rogue sat silently, listening. " The first time we went to the dam, things got pretty fucked up. It ended in a fight there, and moonshine gunning down the majority of the camp with a minigun.' She explained, and Rogues eyes widened.

"Wait, the fight at the dam happened only a few days before youall met me, I never would have guessed he was capable of something like that." Cherry sighed and took a drink of water. "He isn't actually. But Shady was injured, and I had only just joined them a day before. I think he was scared more than anything and did what he had to out of desperation." Cherry said, her memory cast back to that resolution to the fight. It still chilled her bones when she pictured Moonshine holding down the trigger on the minigun, his eyes filled with nothing, but regret and fear as he knew what was happening around him, and the death he was causing.

Cherry shook her head, trying to dislodge the memory before focusing on Rogue again. "Must've been an ugly sight." He said, and Cherry snorted and gave an empty laugh. "Yeah it was, but I can't quite put into words how enticing yet scary moonshine looked right then." She said, and then smiled. She realized then, that her feelings for moonshine were not just simple love, there was an understanding and acceptance there, a feeling of oneness she hadn't felt before. "You don't just care about Moonshine, you love him a lot." Rogue said softly, and Cherry nodded softly, before she felt her heart breaking all over again. She knew what she was doing was right, but why did it feel so wrong?

I awoke later that night, my head throbbing, and my torso feeling like I had been beat with a club. "Oh, you're awake now." Came a very soft and timid voice. I cracked open an eye, the light making my pounding head hurt even more. "F...Fluttershy, is that you?" I croak out, my throat feeling like I had swallowed sand paper. "Yes, it's me. Miss BlackJack brought you here, your injuries were bad enough that we had to feed you healing potions via an I.V." The timid little Pegasus spoke, but even with her soft tone, it sounded like she was yelling into my skull. "Wh...What happened?" I questioned, and there was a moment of silence from the mare, before she coughed, and said "Blackjack said she found you after you crashed into a tree, flying while drunk was very irresponsible." She said with a touch of motherly annoyance. Now I knew where Velvet got it from.

I groaned, feeling like my brain was trying to claw its way out of my skull. "Rest Moonshine, you don't just have a hangover, you also have a concussion. And judging from your scans, not the first one in recent history." I grunted an acknowledgment, well aware of how many concussions I had gotten recently. "You will need to take it very easy for a while Moonshine. Concussions are very dangerous, and you have had three in the last two weeks." The small Pegasus whispers, and I put a pillow over my head, her voice, as soft as it was, was pure agony to me right now. Seeing me in distress like I was, Fluttershy fell silent, and quickly finished checking me over, before leaving the room as quietly as possible.

As soon as she left, the memories and my broken heart came flooding back. Cherry had left us, deciding she was keeping us safe from whatever entity lived within her. I knew she wouldn't just go like that, and like me, I also knew her heart was broken. Celestia Knows I don't agree with her choice, but because I loved her I had to respect it at least. That's what I kept telling myself, but even passed those reassurances, my tears still fell down my cheeks. I knew I loved her, but the feeling wasn't something even the four-letter word could describe. I also knew it wasn't just because of the sex, though that was a bonus. It was everything about her, her craving for adventure, her faith in me and Shady. She had even done a difficult mission to help me and Shady when we were injured. I really loved her.

I lay there, both in physical and emotional pain for Luna knows how long, before an unexpected visitor came to pay me a visit. Blackjack pushed open the door and made her way over to me, I didn't need to look at her to feel the anger and confusion radiating off of her. In the time I had laid here in silence, I had pieced together the events of last night the best I could. I had done some bad stuff while drunk, and most of it was directed at her. "BlackJack..." I started before she quickly and harshly shusshed me before tossing a bottle of pain pills onto the bed beside me. "Look, you were drunk, probably was the first time based on your behavior. I'm pissed at what you said and did. But I had no right saying what I did about your marefriend." She said, and I sniffled before wiping my eyes. I took the bottle, and pulled the cork out, and took four of the little tablets.

"I shouldn't have said what I did Blackjack. I was hurt, and drunk, but that was no excuse for taking it out on you or my friends." I said sadly, and BlackJack nodded. "True, but now you are hurting, probably the hang over from hell and another concussion." SHe said and I scowled. "You hit me in the face." I growled, and BlackJack smirked. "YOU HIT ME IN THE FACE!" I said louder, which made my head throb.

"Wow, Déjà vu" She said with a wistful gaze in her eyes. And I understood that look by now. She was remembering something involving her friends. Then she shook her head and looked back at me. "Anyway, I didn't come here for that, I just wanted to see how you were doing, and to tell you Shady wants to talk to you if you feel up to it." She said, but the way she said it made me know I didn't have a choice. I nodded anyway though, and she nodded, before leaving the room, the door left open behind her. I heard a few whispers outside but couldn't make them out. Then sullenly, Shady entered the room.

I looked at her, a sad and hurt look in my own eyes. Shady said nothing as she approached my bed and remained silent as she looked at me for a few moments, weirding me out. "Shady I..." Was all I got to say, before she hushed me with a hoof over my mouth, and then, before I knew it she had her hooves around me, hugging me to her chest. I blinked in surprise for a few moments, before hugging her back silently as more tears fell down my cheeks. We stayed like that for a time, Shady patting my back, and hugging me like she meant it for the first time. But that triggered something in me, we had done this before.

When I awoke after getting shot in the chest, Shady and I hugged then as well, and that sent me on a trip down memory lane, and I got an idea. After Shady and I broke apart, I felt a little better, and determined. "Shady, Grunt destroyed my first journal. Can you find me another one, a nice one where I can re-write our adventure?" I asked, and Shay smiled, a single tear in her eye, then she blinked, and it was gone.

"I already have. I figured you would want to write it down again." She said, and then dropped the saddlebag she had been wearing. Funny how I hadn't noticed it earlier. She dumped out the contents, and I saw all of my gear spread out on the floor. Shady had gone above and beyond, making my armor look better than it had when I got it. And my helmet, she had somehow managed to fix the helmet Grunt had destroyed during our fight. Even my weapons looked great. My ballistic hooves were cleaned and polished, and my power hooves had been retooled for my rear hooves and the armor had been beefed up as well. The old pony shoes were replaced with a heavy set of leather boots. Then my eyes fell on my revolvers. They had been polished, oiled and cleaned. But something I did notice that brought fresh tears to my eyes. Set in the barrels of each weapon, were set a series of small gems. Quartz set along the barrel of the one I had gotten in Respite, and Cobalt set along the other barrel.

I scooped up the Quartz one and turned it over in my hooves. The other side of the barell was likewise inlaid with Quartz, and elegantly etched between the Gems was the name Quartz. Shady had not only made it look amazing, she had honored the brothers by carving their names into the revolvers. I let my tears fall freely, these weapons were beautiful, but carried a weight now that explained the sensations I felt when I held them. I had subconsciously promised myself to use these to fix what had happened in Respite. I sniffled, and held the weapon up, looking at the light refract through the quartz gems. "there is more to those gems than just decoration. They are all enchanted, giving you better accuracy, rate of fire, more range, and less recoil." She said. I looked the gun over more carefully, also seeing that the frame had been hardened, and what had once been a round cylinder making up the barrel, they were box shaped, and there were tactical rails along the top, allowing me to add different attachments.

"Shady these are amazing!" I said, letting my wing take it. It felt better balanced, and immediately it felt right at home. I smiled as I spun it around the primary feather, before taking it by the barrel and giving it back to Shady. She smiled at my approval, before taking it back, and putting it back in her bag. Then she held out a deep red journal, the pages looking mint condition. Then she gave me a new pen as well and set it atop the journal. "I figured you would want to re-write your previous journal anyway, so I picked this up when raiding Grunts office. As well as..." She pauses and pulls a roll of paper from her saddle bag. "… some interesting information involving our favorite Gryphon." She says and rolls the paper out across my legs.

It took me a few moments of browsing the page, but then one thing finally stood out to me. Grunt knew about Phanes, he knew what he was going do. "Shady, he's..." She nodded and looked at the paper as well. "Going to take over the N.C.R. by dominating the water supply. He is going to flood the market with enough pure water to make the new currency worthless." I read over more of the page, confirming that Shady spoke the truth. "Where could he get that much water? I mean it's not like he can de-salinate the oceans." I said, trying to imagine a purification plant big enough to handle that undertaking. "I agree, and there is only one place I could imagine him going." She said, and pulled out another roll of paper, this one a map of Equestria and the surrounding lands. Then Shady tapped her hoof above the northern border, and my heart froze.

"He's going to the Frozen North." I whispered, and Shady nodded. "Chances are that he is already there." I did a few quick calculations, estimating the time it would take to travel there. "Yeah, I think you're right. But even if he is there now, it would take him a while longer to set up a purification plant, and to transport it back to Equestria." Shady nodded again, and then pulled out another page. "This document is a list of pre-war projects that would take place across the border. Of course they all have code names, and only a generalized location. But one stood out to me the most." With that she unrolled that one as well, and I skimmed over it, before my eyes fell on a codename that chilled my blood. "Project Purity..."

I wanted to get my gear on right then and there, chase the son of a bitch that burned my home, but Shady had different ideas. She told me that we still had some time before any damage would be done, and now that we had an idea where he was going, we could afford a few days to get ourselves right again. This included taking time for me to heal up after Blackjack thrashed me like a rag doll.

Three days. I spent three days cooped up un a hospital bed while Shady set about gathering our supplies, ammo, and things of that nature. I sat in my bed, losing my mind despite the distraction of rewriting my adventure to this point. Sadly, there were a few details lost to time, but I managed to get most of it re-written. I got to admit, the three days of bed rest did wonders for me physically. I felt better than I had since leaving Tenpony tower almost three weeks ago.

Finally, I was strapping on my rebuilt armor, feeling more complete as it hugged my torso. I was eager to get moving, but a small part of me wanted to stay incase Cherry changed her mind. I knew she wouldn't, but I still held hope. I even left a note in the room where we spent our first night together, and she almost crushed me.

Shady, Zakk, and Blackjack were waiting for me at the gate, the others elected to stay behind. I couldn't blame them though. Velvet had a new baby to look after, and I knew Calamity would stay with her. Gawd had to get the dam functioning like a proper stronghold, and Rogue... wait, where was Rogue. I asked Shady as much, and she sighed in response. "I sent him with Cherry. I figured with her magic burned out, he would have to keep her safe." I gave her a small smile, grateful to her for making sure Cherry would be alright.

BlackJack coughed, and drew our attention, and once we were all paying attention, she had a hard time saying what was on her mind. "Look, I like you all, but I can't go traipsing around the hoof again, too many memories." She said, her eye drawn to the stone carving of an Alicorn. "I will guide you to a safe place, but after that, I have to go back to Chapel." I felt both a sense of relief, and sadness at the fact that she would more than likely fall back into her pit of self-hatred and drunken stupors. I silently placed a hoof on her shoulder, not having to speak the words, Blackjack already knew them. With a small nod, she turned and lead us out of town, and toward the west. Zakk followed Shady silently, his troupe of bandits staying behind to heal up and regroup. What used to be twelve, was now only four as we left the dam behind and moved toward the unknown once more.

Cherry and Rogue traveled north, both of them taking their time, and enjoying the walk, despite the rain that had begun to drop on their heads. The place they were headed wasn't far from the dam, but they took it slow in order to let Cherry's magic restore itself. Three days they had been on the move, and by this point, she had only recovered enough of her magic to be able to levitate her lighter. Rogue had expressed his concern about her magic, but she had shrugged it off, merely stating that it was normal, and soon she would be back to normal.

Normal though was subjective for her. She had yet to tell Rogue what had happened in the dam, or about Justice. The former, growing stronger at a similar pace to her magic. She knew the events weren't unrelated. "So, you really are determined to leave Moonshine?" Justice asked in her head, and Cherry did her best not to scowl. "If that's the case, and you don’t want to hurt any pony, then why let that lovely Alicorn travel with us. Do you not care about his safety the way you do the others?" Cherry grit her teeth and did her best to form a mental barricade between her and Justice.

The truth was, she was very scared about Rogue getting hurt if Justice got free again. But unlike the others, he was well versed in powerful magic, and she felt some comfort at the thought that he could handle it. It was at that precise moment that Justice gave Cherry's horn a metaphorical kick. "OW!" The red unicorn shouted and collapsed to a knee as a powerful gout of flames shot from her horn, searing the ground, and Rogues hooves. He jumped back, pulling his rifle free with his magic as he flared his wings and made some distance with a powerful flap.

Cherry knelt on the ground, smoke and burning grass surrounding her as sparks and small geysers of flame shot from her horn in multiple directions. Rogue took the sigh in quickly, using his security training at evaluating threats, to realize this was a side effect of whatever she had done to burn her magic out. He held his distance, letting the spell wear her out. Before long, she fully collapsed, her horn burned, and an ashy black. Her eyes were screwed tightly shut, and her breath came in shallow gasps. Being as careful as possible, Rogue set his weapon down, and tried to lift her up. The brief contact between them, caused blisters to appear on his legs, and he unceremoniously dropped her back into the dirt. Feeling his legs burned, he took to the air, and levitated up the unconscious mare.

Taking a quick look around, he spotted a small stream, and flew over to it before dunking cherry in the water with care. As soon as her body made contact, the water evaporated into steam within seconds, and the sound of sizzling and boiling water grew louder as he tried to cool Cherry down. Eventually, the stream cooled her down enough to no longer be boiling the stream. Rogue looked down at the mare, his quick thinking had probably kept her from self-combusting, but he was left to wonder what that was about.

Then, her hazel eyes snapped open, and she jerked. Her head burst through the water, and she coughed and gasped for air. Rogue shouted in alarm, Cherry regaining consciousness had startled him. He grabbed her in his magic again, before pulling her to the bank, where she collapsed, dripping water into the brown grass. Rogue landed beside her and wrapped his hooves around her. "You're ok Cherry. Thank Luna you're ok." He said in relief. Cherry shivered and gasped for air. Her eyes wide with the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

It took an hour for her to recover enough for Rogue to return and grab their fallen gear. The entire area was singed, and smoldering, but their gear was unharmed. Thankful for a lucky break, he returned to Cherry, who was sprawled in the grass, and letting herself recover. It took a little while for Rogue to set up camp on his own, using a magical shield to protect Cherry from the worsening rain. By the time he had gotten the tent set up, he was soaked to the bone, and shivering. But he paid it little mind as he got Cherry inside and lit a fire for them to get warm and dry.

Together they hunkered in the tent and weathered the storm. Neither said anything, not even when Cherry slowly moved off to the side and slumped against their saddle bags. The storm grew worse as the sun began to set, not that the pair were aware of it, it had gotten dark long before. Finally, after having a meal consisting of carrot soup, did Rogue break the perpetual silence. "So... what the hell was that earlier." He asked, and Cherry crossed her forelegs and looked aside defensively. "I... lost control of my magic. It happens." She said shortly, making Rogue raise an eye brow.

"Pardon me if I am out of line, but that’s a load of crap. I've seen plenty of Unicorns burn out before, but this is different. Your magic felt sick." He said, and Cherry was suddenly regretting letting Rogue tag along. His knowledge of magic was greater than she knew. "Cherry, we are friends right. Will you tell me what happened?" He queried. When Cherry remained silent, the set of her jaw telling him that she didn't want to talk about it, but her eyes said the opposite.
That was one thing Rogue was very good at. He could read body language and knew old interrogationtechniques. Not to mention, being part of unity gave him a certain... skill set in interrogation. Before she knew what he was doing, her pounced on her, and pressed his horn against hers. "What the fuck are you doing!" She shouted, and tried to struggle, but she was weak from her episode earlier.

"If you won't tell me, I will look for myself." He said as his horn alit, and a connection was made between both spires. Putting two and two together, Cherry realized what he was doing. "Wait don't. She'll kill you!" Cherry shouted, and Rogue looked down at her in confusion. "Wait wha..."

It was indeed to late, the connection was set, and the world washed away from them both. Neither were aware of their bodies. Rogue had inserted his mind into Cherry's to investigate the root of the problem, but he wasn't ready for what he "saw". Cherry's mental image of herself was there, tired and broken. She looked tired, and her coat was seared in places. Some of the patches were still smoldering from the fresh abuse her magic had caused. But sitting beside her, looking regal and magnificent if a little intimidating was Justice. The Mare made of fire looked down on Rogue, who suddenly felt very small and insignificant compared to her. In truth it made him feel like he was part of Unity once more. "Good Evening Rogue, welcome to MY Neighborhood." She said with a melodic voice, sounding like resonating glass, but dripping with malice. "Let's talk." Said the burning mare, as her eyes flashed a fierce red.

Shady came back into our tent, dripping wet. Her mane clung in clumps to her neck and cheeks as she dropped our fire wood into a pile in the center of the canvas shack. I set about emptying the contents of three cans of carrot stew into a pot and setting it by the fire to cook. Blackjack provided the entertainment by pulling a pack of playing cards from her bag, and a fresh bottle of Wild Pegasus. Zakk flopped onto his side, exhausted. And for once, I didn't mind him falling asleep so quickly. Over the past day, he had run circles around us, literally. Zakk had set himself up as a scout, and zipped around, scouting for threats. I flew above the group, using my height advantage to scan the horizon and also scan for threats.

By the time we made camp, we were all exhausted. My wings ached, and a headache was creeping up on me from the sound of wind in my ears. Shady flopped down beside me, her bad leg outstretched away from her. I knew she was also hurting but had insisted on braving the storm to gather any wood she could find that wasn't already soaked with the heavy down pour of rain. Blackjack popped the lid on her bottle and took a hearty swig of the alcohol then passed it to me. Learning from the last time, I took a small sip. It burned my throat, and made my eyes water, but when it hit my belly, I felt a warmth spreading in me that had nothing to do with the fire.

Shady took some as well, probably using it to numb the pain she was feeling in her leg. Then Blackjack dealt out a set of cards, two each, and then herself. "What game are we playing?" I asked, and the pale mare smirked. "I'll give you a hint, it's my name." Shady rolls her eyes and takes a peak at her pair. "Not much of a hint then." She grunted, making me crack a small smile. "Umm I don't know how to play." I say softly and over the next ten minutes, they instruct me in the rules of the game. It seemed really simple.

"Hit!" Shady said enthusiastically and hour later, her sobriety having nearly deserted her." Blackjack and I too were having fun, the booze being taken much more carefully than the last time. I felt good and had a good buzz coursing through my body. Blackjack seemed unaffected though, and slyly slid Shady her requested card. "Oh,twenty-seven. Bust." Blackjack taunted, making Shady uncharacteristically stick her tongue out at the mare. I chuckled and looked at my pair, having an eight and a jack. I knew I should stay, but since this was only a game for fun and there was no money riding on this, I made the opposite call. "Hit." I said calmly, and Blackjack cocked an eyebrow.

"You sure?" She asked, and I nodded. With a grin, the unicorn mare slid me my card, and I looked at it with trepidation. It was a three. With a triumphant grin, I flipped over my cards, showing the twenty-one to the pair of mares. Shady looked at me, an accusing tone in her voice as she called me a cheater. Blackjack laughed and set the cards down. "It's not cheating, its strategy." She said and Shady growled in response. I was confused though.

"Wait, how am I cheating?" I ask and Shady looks away grumpily. Blackjack lifted her bottle with her magic and took a drink before responding. "You were counting cards. It means you were able to calculate the probability of the next card and knew it would be a three or lower." I lift an eyebrow. I honestly wasn't trying to. I just began to recognize the different creases and bends on the back of the cards. "Well, it's not a big deal. You were just doing what was natural." She said and flopped on her back, her legs hanging over her belly. Shady too fell onto her side and let out a contented sigh.

Every one of us was still exhausted, and the heat of the small fire, and the booze was making us all drowsy. Even I lay my head on myforelegs and closed my eyes. It was only supposed to be for a minute, but before I knew it, I was being woken up with a gentle tap on my back. I groan softly and a soft shush filled my right ear. I could tell it was Zakk, but this was unusual, even for him, to wake any of us up intentionally. I crack open my eyes, the small fire having died out hours ago, but it was still dark outside, and the rain had let up a bit. It was no longer a storm, just a steady torrent. "Wha?" I said groggily, and Zakk shushed me again, before motioning with his head outside.

My heart rate increased with adrenaline. If Zakk was waking us up in the middle of the night, there was something wrong. I stood up, and made a move to wake Shady, but Zakk made a noise, and stopped me before jerking his head toward the flap leading outside. Now more curios and confused than scared, I silently followed the Stallion outside. Immediately the rain pelted my hide, and my mane hung low over my eyes. Zakk lead me a minute or two from the camp, before turning to face me.

"What's this about Zakk?" I ask, and he cracks his neck before speaking. "Remember how we sparred on the White Rose? I want to fight you again." He said and smiled. I however scowled at him and snarled, " I was asleep, for a change I was getting some much-needed sleep, and you woke me up to fight in the middle of the night. What the fuck is wrong with you?" I growl, and Zakk just smirks back at me. He didn't need to respond, I already knew there was a lot wrong with him. "I'm going back to bed." I seethe and make to move back to the tent.

Before I even got a full step in though, Zakk had closed the distance with me, and slapped the back of my head hard enough for me to lose my balance on the muddy ground. I fell with a splash into the muck. The cold slimy earth clinging to my coat. "Mother fucker." I growled to myself as I pushed myself back onto my hooves. Zakk was only a meter from me and smiling like a foal in a candy store. "Ya know, I try to like you. I try to forgive you. But this is the reason why I can't." I said, wiping my muzzle to try and get the much from my lips. Zakk paid my words no heed, and just stood there. "I'm fuckin sick of it!" I shout at him and sling a hoof full of mud at him. But he dodged it, his balance unaffected by the mud.
My wings unfurl from my back, dripping with mud and water as I stomped angrily toward him. "I'm sick of fighting because others want me to!" I scream and take swing at him. This one he let connect, and he was a lot more solid than I would have thought. It felt like hitting a brick wall, and that only pissed me off more. "I'm sick of all these Goddess damned ponies with superpowers acting like their shit don't stink!" Another punch into his chest, this one making him slide back in the mud a few inches. But through it all, he remained silent, only smiling that dumb smile.

"I'm sick of death! Destruction! Hatred and war! I hate being dragged into this, all I wanted to do was sit in a shop and tinker on stuff! All I wanted was to have a conflict free life after LittlePip ruined it!" I holler, my punches still connecting and pushing him back. "AND MOST OF ALL, I HATE THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT THINKING THEY KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR ME. I HATE ALL OF THIS, I HATE THAT I FELL IN LOVE, AND THEN HAD MY HEART TORN APART. I HATE THAT ALL I HAVE NOW ARE HOOVES TRAINED TO HURT OR EVEN KILL." I shouted as tears fell from my cheeks, mixing with the warm summer rain. All through my tirade, I kept pounding my hooves into Zakk, hitting his chest or his muzzle.

Then, like a switch, my energy left me, and I fell to my knees in the mud, my anger also falling from me as my pain was left exposed to the Hoofington rain. "Are you done whining?" Zakk said down to me, making me look him in the eye. His question bothered me, not because he said it, but because I had just been whining, and throwing a temper tantrum. I wiped my eyes, and gave a small sniff, "Yeah, I'm done." I said, feeling empty and, if I am honest, selfish.

Zakk knelt next to me and sighed. "I know that your life has been a constant stream of shit. And now, with you out here in the wide wasteland, that has compounded even further. We all have regrets, pain, sorrow. What you feel is normal for every pony. But unlike most of them, you bottle it up. You hold it in until that bottle breaks. When it does, Shady, Cherry, any others you care for get stuck in the middle of it. You need to learn how to deal with your pain and anger in a healthier way Moonshine, or one day, it's going to get you and the ones you love killed. "

I slumped and looked to my hooves in shame. Zakk was right, but it did nothing to ease the pain in my heart. Then the Stallion wrapped a foreleg around my middle and lifted me back to my hooves. "It's ok Moonshine, normal ponies are afraid of their feelings, you just opened up to me, and that is a start in the right direction. If you ever need to talk, or just vent, let me know alright?" He asked, and I nodded softly. "Got it, but don't wake me up in the middle of the night like this again. I barely get enough sleep as it is."

Zakk smiles and nods in agreement as we move back to our tent, letting the rain wash the majority of the muck from our coats. By the time we got back, only our hooves still had mud on them, and we each took turns wiping our hooves off as best we could before stepping inside. Zakk didn't waste time, before falling onto the floor and falling asleep in moments. I had to relight the fire and let it dry me off, and before long, my eyes were getting heavy again, and the last thing I remember, was Shady rolling over, and flopping her hoof across my back.

The next morning, the rain finally let up enough for us to move on. But the going was slow and dirty. Mud clung to our legs, I had to stash all of my gear in a bag or risk ruining them with the sludge. It took half of the day for us to find a patch of ground dry enough for us to take a break. We all flopped on the ground and try to wipe the accumulated mess from our hooves. By now, I had an idea where we were going, there was a tall mountain of black stone with what looked like a castle carved out of the stone.

"What's that?" I ask, pointing at the mountain and Blackjack casts another wistful gaze at the castle. "Black Pony Mountain. We are going to meet an old friend of mine." She says and begins walking once more. We all hop up and follow her, but no matter how far we walked, the mountain never seemed to come in range. It kept getting taller and larger in every axis, until finally, we were looking straight up. The sun was just touching the horizon, casting this side of the mountain in darkness. "We make camp here tonight, it would be dangerous to try going up with the sun going down." Blackjack instructed and gestured at the pathway that spiraled around the circumference of the mountain."

Readily agreeing, we set up camp, not even bothering with the tent tonight. Shady made dinner for us this time, and I slumped against a log, letting myself relax. We ate in silence, a sense of weariness coming from Blackjack. "After we eat, there is a hot spring nearby where we should all get cleaned up. We are going into a palace tomorrow. Might as well make ourselves presentable."

With the promise of hot water nearby, every one of us quickly polished off our meal, and together made for the hot spring. When we did arrive, it was everything Blackjack promised and more. It looked like a little slice of heaven had made a home in the wasteland, and it seemed this was a secret area only a few ponies knew about. We all quickly stripped out of our gear and entered the water with varying levels of enjoyment. Zakk cannon balled in, creating a wave of hot water that washed over us all. Shady slowly entered, letting her bad leg soak in the hot water and ease her discomfort. I moved in at a slower rate, and sunk in up to my neck, letting the hot water seep into my bones.

I let out a satisfied and content sigh. My back, where my wings had grown, felt tingly and the new muscles relaxed for the first time. I looked around the small pond, and saw my friends enjoying the hot spring, all except Blackjack. She was sitting on the edge, her gaze drawn over to a small copse of bushes on the far side. Her eyes misted over with glossy tears, but she never let them fall. I wanted to ask if she was alright, but I knew she wasn't. She was having another memory of a friend she had lost. Even though it was one of many whom I hadn't learned the name of, I knew they were important to her.

We all relaxed in our own way, Zakk floating on his back, Shady sitting on the edge of the pond, her bad leg hanging in the water, and I was sitting on a rock, the water lapping at my chin, which I had only just noticed, had a rather thick goatee growing. It alarmed me to realize I was developing a beard, but I paid it little mind, the days of being vane about my appearance were a memory now. I closed my eyes and sighed, loving the hot water.

Once we all had our fill of the hot water, the effects of which made all of us drowsy, we turned in for the night. Blackjack took first watch, and none of us tried to stop her. All of us had been with her enough to know when she needed some time alone. I let the thoughts slip from my mind, and all of us quickly fell into a restful slumber.

The next morning, after having a quick meal, and polishing off the rest of our supplies, we began our trek toward the top of Black Pony Mountain. The going was slow but steady, the entire path was a long spiral around the mountain. Each step meant our journey was drawing to a close. Around mid-day, we all stopped for a break, letting Shady rest her leg. While she insisted on continuing, we all felt it would be smarter to stop. The last thing we wanted was her stressing the still healing bones any more than she already had.

By the time we did reach the summit, every pony save Zakk was exhausted. Blackjack paid her aching hooves no mind however as she drew near a large gate. The metal a dark silver, almost blue in its hue. She didn't get too far before several shimmers appeared around her. I gasped, having never seen them but hearing of them, as eight Bat-Pony's surrounded Blackjack, spears and swords in their muzzles. I made a move to jump to her aid, but Shady held me back. "Just watch." She whispered, and I grew still, hoping Shady was right about her assumptions.

"State your business here." Said one mare, a jagged scar running the length of her left cheek. Blackjack smirked, and I could tell part of her was itching for a fight, but she held back, and instead looked at the mare who had spoken. "I'm here to see Whisper and Tenebrae." She said, and all of the bat ponies shared a glance. From their response, I could tell they weren't used to outsiders knowing the names of their own. That being said, the mare with the scar who had spoken earlier, spoke again, "What's the code word?" Blackjack stared blankly for a second, at a loss for words. I felt as confused as she was, but with typical Blackjack fashion she decided to bullshit her way through it.

`"Ummm Date?" She says wearily, and the bat-Pony Mare gives her a skeptical look. "Are you asking me or telling me?" She probed, and Blackjack bristled a little. "Telling you." She said more confidently. The scared mare nodded, another of her subordinates rifling through an old pipbuck for a few minutes. We all waited withheld breath, if she pulled this off, it would be the luckiest breaks we have ever had. Then the record keeper looked up at Blackjack, who just smiled. "It's an older code sir, but it checks out."

Blackjack puts on her "I'm gonna be a good pony" smile, but the scarred pony didn't buy it. "You watch yourself in there. Few outsiders are allowed into the castle, do not make us regret admitting you or your...friends." They warned her. Blackjack just shrugged it off and nodded. "Yeah whatever, been here before." She said, and the mare looked rather surprised, but she didn't get to question Blackjack further as the gate swung open, and we all slowly walked through, leaving the Bat-pony Mare dumbstruck.

Blackjack did seem to have been here before, as she lead us quite easily through the palace, and eventually into a grand hall, a few thrones lining the far wall, and other seating and tables scattered throughout in a systematic order. Blackjack trotted down the center aisle, not caring about the fact that so many Bat-pony eyes were upon her and us. "WHISPER, TENEBRAE, GET DOWN HERE, IT"S BLACKJACK!" SHe shouted, her voice echoing around the hall, making many of the Bat-ponies shy away and cover their ears.

At first nothing happened, all stayed silent for over a minute, then our attention was drawn to one side of the hall, where the Ponies parted, and a pair of Mares walked toward us. One was a petite and calm looking mare. Her eyes were wide and sweet, yet the pupils were slits. A pair of bat like wings sprouted proudly from her back. I couldn't deny she was rather pretty.

In contrast, a bright yellow pony trotted beside the other. Her mane and tail reminded me of Fluttershy's, but were a few shades darker yellow than her coat. Even her eyes were gold. Unlike the other pony beside her, her eyes were those of a normal pony like the rest of us, but from her back likewise sprouted a pair of bat wings. "You have a lot of nerve, Blackjack died in the core years ago. And soon after those who thought it would be smart to look like her went back to their lives after her death." The yellow one said, eyeing Blackjack coldly.

"Your dad was GoldenBlood, your Mom was Fluttershy. You once bet Rampage to throw herself into a wood chipper. When you and... Stygius first got physical, I told you, if he puts it in you, he can lick it up." Blackjack fired off, making the Yellow Pegasus, who must have been Whisper, reel. I was amazed as well, and a little grossed out at the implications of what she mentioned about this pony named Stygius. Whisper looked to the other pony beside her, who must be Tenebrae. Both of their eyes wide as they look back at Blackjack.

"That's impossible. You died." Tenebrae whispered, and Whisper nodded. "You both and I know that wasn't the first time I died, and it won't be the last." Shady and I looked to each other, confused about this entire conversation, but it seemed to make sense to the trio as Whisper flew over to Blackjack, and looked her over closely. "Sweet Luna you even smell like her." Whisper grimaced and leaned back. "So like booze, sex, and regret?" Blackjack teased, and from that response, the remaining doubts here thrown aside in Whispers mind.

"Holy crap, you are alive. I don’t know how, I don’t wanna know. What I do wanna know are two things, why are you only just now letting us know you are alive, and who are these ponies?" She gestured at us without taking her eyes off Blackjack. Also, without breaking eye contact with Whisper, BlackJack pointed right at me. "I can answer both with one answer. He dragged me out of my home and made me fight at the dam." I balked and gave Blackjack an indignant look.
"I didn't make you do shit Blackjack. Velvet asked you to come." I said indignantly and Blackjack just wave me off.

"Semantics. Either way, I brought them here, in particular him, because he is like you Whisper." She said, making all of us, look back in confusion. "I mean, he fights like you. But he is unskilled and could use some pointers." Blackjack amends, and Whisper nods. "Yeah ok, maybe in a bit, but we already have other strangers to deal with, and I can't be split between doing both." Whisper explains, and just as Blackjack is about to ask what she meant, another young batpony came running up behind whisper and Tenebrae. "It's happening again Miss Whisper!" He says loudly, and both Whisper and Tenebrae look troubled.

"What is it?" Shady askes, and without hesitation, turns to follow the little colt. "Follow me and you can see for yourselves." She says, and leads the way back where they came from, though this time at a brisk trot. We all follow in confusion, but hurry after them. We move through some twisting corridors. "We picked up these ponies two days ago. A few scouts had stumbled upon a camp that was burning. Two ponies were found, unconscious. But they weren't knocked out. It looks like the Alicorn tried to use some mind magic on the unicorn, and something went wrong. It seems whatever is happening between them is not going well for the Alicorn." Tenebrae explains as we follow.

Shady's behavior changes at the mention of an Alicorn and a unicorn traveling together. I saw what looked like concern in her emerald eyes, and I immediately pick up on her silent thoughts. You don't think it's..." I ask, unable to finish the thought. Shady though didn't have trouble with it. "Yeah I think it is." She said somberly. Before any pony could ask what we were talking about, we arrived at a door, and there were several alarmed shouts coming from within. Shady and I didn't stop, and shouldered open the door roughly, wanting to confirm if it was indeed who we thought.

My heart sank as I looked into the room. Cherry wine was lying on a table, her left side bandaged. Rogue was nearby, also injured, but it seemed his injuries were much more recent. "What the fuck did you do to them!" Shady shouted before rounding on Tenebrae. Then Whisper, stronger than she looked, grabbed Shady's face, and made her look back at the pair of unconscious ponies. "Shut up and watch." She commanded, and we did.

At first nothing happened, but then we finally saw what was going on. A small sliver of violet magic connected Rogue's and Cherry's horns. Then there was a small flash from Cherry's which back fed up Rogues magic and into his horn. Then we saw a lick of flame scorch his flank, and a gash open in his cheek. Whatever was happening, Rogue was getting injured badly. I didn't stop to think, I couldn't. Cherry was here, and so was Rogue, two of the ponies I cared for, and they were in serious trouble.

I grabbed Blackjack, and dragged her with me as I neared my friends. "Wait, you can't...." One of the ponies struggling to keep Rogue alive tried to order, but the look of malice I wore shut them up. "I know you have some Alicorn magic or whatver. I don't care how, but get me in there, where I can help them." I said, my understanding of how magic worked was of little consequence to me at the moment.

Blackjack's horn alit, but she paused and looked back at me. "You sure, there is no telling what will happen if I do this." She said, and I shook my head quickly. "No, I am not, but it Doesn’t matter. You'd do it if it were your friends. The ponies you loved" I said, and she nodded. Both of us understood the other perfectly. Then her magic reached out, and connected Cherry's horn to my forehead, and then Rogues with beams of white magic. "This is preposterous, no pony here knows how mind magic works, let alone capable of attempting it." Shrieked a mare, and Blackjack fixed her with the most intimidating look she could. "I can, now sit there and shut up. I need to concentrate. I stood still, feeling the cool magic reaching into my skull, and connecting to my nerves. Then, everything went black, and my body hit the floor.

I wish I could properly describe what happened next. The sensations I experienced could be classified as "feeling" despite not being in my body. Everything I felt was what my mind told me I should feel. I found myself in an empty white space, but despite the brightness, my eyes had no problem adjusting, and I felt no pain while looking around. I "felt" gravity holding my hooves to the ground, and I had a sense of direction, I know what was right and left and up and down. I only got a second to get my bearings, before a magical blast picked me off my hooves, and tossed me several meters away. Only spreading my wings at the last second kept me from hitting the ground harder than I did.

I rolled to my hooves and dashed off to the right, using my peripheral vision to scope out what was going on. I saw two figures, both trading magical attacks, but even at a glance I could tell that one was being over powered and was only just holding off the barrage of the other. It seemed neither took notice of me, but I couldn't count on that for long. I chose then to launch myself into the "air" and circle around in a tight bank. Now I had a proper view of the fight, and what I saw filled me with dread.

Rogue was barely holding on, he looked tired, hurt, and on the verge of falling unconscious. But his foe was what gave me pause. I knew her, I had seen her that night at the dam. Cherry had become this pony, or vice versa, whatever it was, it was confusing. But here was something I understood, and despite the fact that I saw this mare toss Grunt around like a Goddess damned ragdoll, I fell into a steep dive as she let loose another burst of flames aimed for Rogue.

Not sure what I was doing was sane or logical, I dove in the path of the flames, and let the heat wash over my hide. It hurt like hell, and I felt blisters develop more blisters, but that was the extent of the damage, and while it hurt like hell, I knew it could and should have been much worse.

When the flames cleared, and I blinked to clear my vision, I saw Rogue standing beside me, looking tired and surprised to see me, but his surprise was subdued compared to the flaming Mare before me. "What... Moonshine! How are you here?!" She shouted. From what I remembered, I knew she was usually well composed, but my appearance now really shook her.

Then I looked past her, seeing Cherry with a blank look upon her face. If she knew I was there she showed no notice of it, which lead me back to focusing on Justice. But instead of saying the many words of pain, joy, and love I felt at seeing her again, I buried them deep as I faced the one mare who caused it all in the first place. I took a slow, and deliberate step forward, and fell into an offensive crouch, my wings spread wide and my eyes narrowed at her. "Rogue, sit this out, you've done enough. Now it's my turn." I said lowly, and the tone of my voice left no room for debate. Instead Rogue flopped onto his side, and without a word uttered, he cast a final spell before falling asleep.

I felt a surge of energy I hadn't had before, something alien and unknown. It took me a while to realize this was alicorn magic, and Rogue had given all he had left to me in the hopes I could get us all out of this. Justice took a step back, a sign of the conflict within her. "Moonshine, you made a mistake coming here. There is no way to get back out, MOTHER FUCKER! I have no control over this place, I only know it fades if I am beaten back. At least that's how Cherry manages it." She said before casting a glance at the catatonic mare behind her.

I narrowed my eyes further. If I had a heartbeat here, I knew it would be thundering in my chest, but I didn't, and I wasn't going to back down from this bitch. She had torn me and Cherry apart! I thought it was time I take her down a notch. I felt Rogues magic coursing through me, making my wings twitch with unexpected spasms. It felt like I had been wired into a spark generator. The magic flowing in my veins taking on an electric tingle, and the smell of ozone exuded from me. Then I took a step, and a shower of sparks came from my hooves, then again and again, each step emitting more blue sparks.

Then I was standing right before Justice, looking up into her ruby eyes with malice and contempt. She looked back down upon me, unnerved to her core. I think she was going to make an attempt to talk, but I silenced her with a quick and powerful punch to her cheek. I expected another shower of sparks, but instead I got a clap of thunder and a surge of electricity that made my mane stand on end as a bolt of lightning shot between my hoof, and her jaw.

I fell back, stunned silent and in shock. But Justice was blasted a couple of meters to the side, where she landed in a stunned pile of her own limbs. I forced myself back to my hooves, and with one flap of my wings, which when I glanced back, had gotten a little larger, and magical electricity shot between my feathers like a living Jacob's ladder. Justice was stunned, I was sure she had never gotten blasted aside like that, and I didn't know what was going on, but I just went with it. By the time she even registered the fact that I was there again, I pivoted on a foreleg, and kicked back. Both rear hooves connecting solidly in her chest and sending her spinning backward again.

When she finally did land, she did so without her usual grace, and it infuriated her. It didn't take her as long this time to get back up, but when she did, I felt a mix of rage and confusion emanating from her. "This... This is all wrong, you can't be this strong, nothing about this makes sense!" She screamed, her magical mane flaring with her rage. I grinned like a fool then and closed the distance in a flash of electricity. Justice's eyes pivoted down to look at me, surprise mixed a little with fear as she stared down at me. "If it helps make you feel better, I got this energy from Rogue before he fell unconscious." I said and then gave her an uppercut that I had never delivered before.

I felt and heard her teeth crash together, and another crack of thunder echoed around us and made my ears ring from the force of the blow. Justice was thrown into the air, her mouth becoming a fountain of blood as she rose. Half way into the air I saw her eyes flash red, and then she screamed. Flames blasting out from her and helping keep her aloft as she rotated and glared down at me. "That's not how that works, you know nothing of Alicorn magic, yet you are using it like a pro!" She screamed. "Fuck that!" She screeched as her worn alit and I could feel and see the flames of a powerful spell developing.

I knew if that hit me, despite my powerup, I would be screwed. I felt my new powers gathering in response, more an instinctual reaction than anything. I stood upon my rear hooves, and felt my wings spread wide, magical bolts of electricity arcing between my primary feathers at a faster rate. I knew it was going to come down to this one last move, and I chose to dump the rest of the borrowed power into this one move. I pressed my forehooves together, a surge of power building between them. I noticed my mane and tail standing on end and waving around my head and flank. Even my cutie mark felt like it was on fire as I charged my attack.

Justice saw what I was doing and doubled her efforts to charge her fire spell building on her horn. "It's over Moonshine, I'm putting all of my power into this attack!" She shouted. I ignored her and felt myself adding whatever I could of my own energy into it, with a glance, I saw a large orb of surging electricity building between them. Then with a building menacing laugh, Justice launches her spell. I watch as a large ball of twisting and writing magical fire flew toward me. I held out as long as I possibly could. The surge of adrenaline doubling the size of my own magical attack in a heartbeat.

Just before her attack hit me, the heat searing my face, I let lose my own built up power. I felt myself screaming but couldn't hear it over the roar of thunder coming from my hooves. I force my hooves forward, and the ball of electrical energy collides with the fire ball and stops it in its tracks. Then, slowly, it began moving back toward Justice. Then it built up speed rapidly and moved back toward Justice, who was barely managing to float there. I continue to scream, as I keep forcing more of my energy into the attack.

By the time Justice realized what was happening it was too late. She shouted back at me in defiance a she placed her hooves on the ball of fire to stop it, but it was all in vain. As soon as her hooves touched the magical orb, it was swallowed from the other side by my magical blast. 'Ohhhh FUCK!" She shouted over the thunder. Then it hit her chest, and with a mighty explosion it was all over. I stood, balanced on my rear hooves, forelegs pointed forward and panted, struggling to draw breath that I knew I didn't need here, but it still felt better and more natural.

Then I flopped onto my face, and lay there, panting and exhausted more than I had at any point in the past. I was only able to lay there for just a second, before Justice flopped onto the ground beside me, her chest smoking and raw. I knew if she had been a living pony that blast would have killed her. But even now, she was nearly unconscious, and like me unable to move. "you know I can't die here, but If it makes you feel better, that hurt like hell." She croaked, and I managed a small smile. "Good. Now you need to release your hold on me, Rogue, and Cherry." I said, and she nodded slowly, her eyes closing slowly. "Yeah sure..." She slurred before slipping away. Then everything went fuzzy, and I felt myself fading and slowly trailing my way back to my own body.

level up. New perks added.

Tough hide level two, you are now tougher and harder to hurt. Did you get metal plating surgically installed? Because enemies now find it harder to hurt you. Gain +2 to your defense stats.