DAY 1

I found myself being strapped to a chair. My body had just gotten out of the paralysis and now I’m being surrounded by pegasi in Enclave gear. I said nothing as they took my gear away from me, including my PipBuck, loaded them in a crate and loaded them up into the tortoise vehicle. They had taken me to an Enclave ship called the Commander Hurricane. I would have been awestruck at the size of the ship if I hadn’t been in paralysis. The commander had dropped me into the hooves of other Enclave officers and taken me to this dark lit room. When they fully bound me to the chair with a straight jacket, they stuck a needle in me that had removed the paralysis. I bowed my head once free of the feeling and felt sick all over.

I looked up to see Viper Strike glaring down at me with that evil grin.

“Better hope your friends are dead. Cause you won’t be lasting long in the cells.” She said. I said nothing and gave her my blank look. No. They aren’t dead. I just know it! They could take care of themselves. I prayed that Comp had gotten out okay. I prayed that Silver Iris wouldn’t come find me. I’ll know she’ll try to. But they would expect her to come flying after us once she had been free of her powered down armor. But I wished she wouldn’t. Comp had been bleeding out. She needs to take care of them. I couldn’t tell her this in my paralysis state, so I prayed she wouldn’t do anything brash.

“Heh. You think you can be tough around the Enclave? You better think twice.” She reared back and swung a good one across my chin. I lurched and drooped my head, feeling the daze in the process. Damn, she packs a punch. I spat newly formed blood but not at the ground, but her face. She glared at me as I smirked.

“Got something on your face.” I said coolly. She reared back again and I felt another one. And another one. And then a good slug to my stomach to finish it, making me gag and cough for air.

“That’s enough, Viper.” A stern voice said right as she was about to lay another one on me. She looked over and growled.

“Back off, Cloudwing. This bitch humiliated me! And I’m going to show her not to disrespect her captors.” She then turned and gave me a final one hard across the cheek, making me and the chair fall to my side.

“Viper! That is enough!” the stern voice of Cloudwing said. She huffed and made a motion with her tail sliding under her chin at me before stepping aside. I coughed, looking up to see the armored pegasus looking down at me. When he retracted the helmet, I could see why Silver Iris could have fallen for him. He looked good. Almost like a prince. But he didn’t have the personality of a prince. The pale blue hide glowed in the dim light and his blonde mane shagged in front of him. And he looked down at me grimly. I felt myself being lifted with the chair and sat upright. I watched as Cloudwing trotted in front of me and gave me a calculating look. I said nothing and waited. We waited for a full minute before he spoke.

“Do you know why you are here?” he asked. I said nothing and waited for him to get to the point. “Do you realize what you have done that made the Enclave mad at you?” I now retorted.

“Where’s Rex, you bastard.” I said coldly. Cloudwing narrowed his sapphire eyes at me before speaking.

“And that is why they are mad at you. You rode an FEV. And not just any FEV. A failed one.” He sighed. “They are mad because a non-pegasus was able to pilot one so well.” I spat at him.

“Rex is not a thing. He’s his own person.” I said. Cloudwing did not look amused but he kept pressing on. Stoic bastard.

“You really think that Subject A42EV is a person?” I heard the laughter of the other Enclave. But Cloudwing wasn’t laughing. I know this game. This isn’t the first time I’ve been questioned like this. Once on a delivery, I was bagged and gagged before being tied to a chair and tortured to give up answers for who keeps sending a certain package. A life of a courier. But I wasn’t laughing either when I replied.

“I do.” I said. He narrowed his eyes before giving a slight nod.

“I see.” He said. Playing the good cop? I smirked. Viper however, did not like me smirking and went to lay a good hoof on me, making me spit more blood out. Cloudwing turned to her. “I said that’s enough Viper! You either obey a direct order or it’s to the brig for you.” He said. Viper glared her eye at me before huffing and trotting after Cloudwing, leaving me alone in a dark lit room. As much as me being tortured goes, I really did not know what they were trying to get out of me. I really must have pissed off the Enclave for that action in Las Pegasus.

So I sat there in the dark lit room for a couple of hours. But it gave me time to think. And I was ready for whatever they threw at me when Cloudwing and Viper came back. Viper wasn’t too pleased about something and Cloudwing looked as stoic as ever. More questioning? Nope. I found myself being lifted onto a trolley and being wheeled down a hall. I darted my eyes to take in my surrounding. The walls were white and cerulean. Nothing else other than the walls. I guess it would make sense considering I was in an Enclave ship. But when we reached a ramp that led down, I narrowed my eyes at the huge room that expanded it. This must have been one hell of a ship.

This has to be a prison carrier. I don’t recall Enclave really keeping any bad ponies with them. But I saw a bunch of cerulean jump suites down below. I squinted and saw that all the ponies were either pegasus, unicorn and earth ponies ranging from tons of different colors. The only thing that made them stand out were the cerulean jump suites. My trolley jerked and we stopped. I found myself being lifted by a pair of heavily armored pegasi and flown down into the coliseum like room. They stopped and hovered at a cell with another unicorn in it.

“Hey, Popper. You have a bunk buddy. Play nice now.” One of the pegasi said. The vanilla unicorn with the charcoal mane said nothing and just kicked back on her bunk. The cage opened and I felt the straps around me loosen and was shoved into the cage. I fell forward on my face with a thud and tried moving my hooves, only to see that they hadn’t even freed me from my straight jacket. The pegasi flew away leaving me to just lay there in silence.

“Welp. Guess you’re my new bunk buddy.” The unicorn, Popper was her name, said. I said nothing and just laid there. There was a pause and then a ruffle. “Don’t talk much do you?” Again I said nothing. “You a mute?” Again, nothing. She just sighed. “Well then, let me just tell you something. You stay away from me during free time and we will be fine. When we are in here, don’t fucking annoy me got it?” I said nothing and this time I slid up onto my knees and then stumbled forward from having to try to stand on my hind hooves onto the bed under Popper. The bed was rough. The steel cold. At least there was a small white pillow. I slid myself into my bed and just laid there.

I didn’t want to say anything. I really had nothing to say. I had a plan and I was going to stick by it. I can only pray that my friends are okay without me. They treated me like a leader as well as a friend. I never went with the leader bit. I made sure everyone played their part. They were my friends. We had to work together. Because friends working together means we can accomplish anything, right?

DAY 2

There was the sound of a buzzer and something clicking. A robotic message came on over the intercom.

“Good morning. I hope you have slept well. But it is time to get up and begin work. Five hours before lunch time. The weather today is partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy your stay here in the fabulous carrier The Commander Hurricane.” There was a beeping tune and I heard Popper hop out of her bed and tapped my shoulder roughly.

“Yo, new bait. We got work to do. You don’t want to lay there.” She said. I said nothing but thought to myself. Why? It’s not like anything bad is going to happe- WHOA! I rolled out of the bed just in time as the beds collapsed into the walls. I landed on my side with a thud and looked up to a not amused Popper. Okay, point taken. I found I was still in the strait jacket. Why did they not take it off of me? I wiggled a bit and found to my chagrin that they did indeed loosen the straps. I silently groaned to my idiotic self and wiggled my way out of the jacket.

“Put the suite on.” She said as she stood by the caged door. Suite? I stood up and looked around. I saw nothing but a toilet, a sink and a locker. I trotted over to the locker and opened it. A cerulean jumpsuite hung there. I took it with my magic and… wait, what happened to my magic? I poked my horn in confusion. No magic cancel ring. Then, I looked around the walls. Is it something about the walls? Is it the ship? Something must be canceling my magic, but I can’t figure out where. I shook my head silently and put it on the old fashion way. I slid my hind legs in before biting the cuff and putting my forehooves in. Once in, I zipped it up. It was a little big, but I can manage it. I stood awkwardly by Popper and watched as the cages were opened. I followed the group of ponies chatting and whopping amongst themselves.

This is strange. I’ve never seen prisons act like this. Not saying that I have been in one. I just heard that prisons were more brutal. But this one seemed organized. Albeit slightly. I was shoved aside by a pegasus.

“Watch it, new bait.” She hissed. I said nothing and narrowed my eyes to her wings. They were strapped together by a collar. Following the horde of ponies, I gapped when I reached the bottom. There must be thousands of ponies here! This place was just too big and I now know why. On one side, they had a conveyor belts where some of the colorful ponies in the cerulean suite worked on something passing by them. Another big part of the room was a cafeteria. A pony was putting sludge (breakfast) onto trays and the prisoner ponies just went about on their merrily way.

The more I walked around, I found that this place had everything! Well, not really everything, but work wise yes. I cocked my head in confusion as a groups of ponies went into a white mist and vanished. I realized later that it was a giant cloud, thanks to a pair of ponies that trotted by me with weird looking claws in their teeth. I was then suddenly confronted by two heavily armored Enclave.

“Get moving, uni.” One said. I felt a twinge of annoyance. But I stayed calm and cocked my head at them. “You work the conveyors. Now move.” They looked at me as I turned to see the conveyor belts with the ponies slaving over it. Saying nothing, I trotted over and looked awkwardly to see a spot. I found one fortunately. However, it required me standing next to a griffin and a zebra. Now I had realized that these weren’t all just ponies. After seeing those two, I found, as I looked, more and more zebras and griffins. I took a deep quiet breath before standing in between them. They said nothing as they worked with the strange puff balls that were zooming by on the conveyor belts. I arched a brow.

“All you do is wave your hoof over them.” I turned to the griffin. She said nothing else after that and for my own curiosity, tried it. When I did, I was surprised to see them morph slightly into something. I did the same thing as another one came. Maintaining the motion, I glanced up to where the conveyor belts end and I saw a strange looking device puffing out mist into the cloud that covered a chunk of the room. My hoof began to get tired, but I kept going, taking in more of my surroundings.

Looking up, I noticed that the room did not end with the ramp. In fact, the ramp hanged high overhead. I then heard a small scream of pain and looked over to see a mare crumple to the floor, holding up her hoof and hissing in pain as it twitched. An Enclave came down.

“Get back to work!” he ordered.

“I… I can’t… I have a cramp…” she cried. The Enclave motioned for another Enclave to lift the earth pony mare into the air. “NO! I don’t want to go! I’ll die!” she screamed.

“Don’t stare.” I heard the zebra say. I looked and saw the zebra buck still working. I heard the screaming mare get fainter and fainter as I kept waving my hoof over the puff ball. I had to remain calm. But I did question where they were taking her. Where ever it was, she said something about dying.

My hooves cramped when the intercom beeped for lunch. I stood quietly in line with a tray in my teeth and waited patiently for my turn. When it was my turn, I was instantly shoved away. I looked back to see a griffin look at me with cold eyes.

“Get lost, new bait. And don’t ever cut in line either.” He said. I said nothing and just glared at him. The zebra behind the counter plopped a sludge looking piece of vegetable on the griffin’s plate and he shoved me again to get by me. I narrowed my eyes and quietly made my way to the back of the line as his posse seemed to leer at me.

By the time I had gotten my lunch, I turned and the intercom beeped.

“Time to get back to work.” The robotic voice said. The intercom beeped again. I looked at the tray and the sludge on it. It didn’t even look appetizing. So I just put it on the table and left it for some poor fool that would risk their stomach for it. I went back over to the conveyor belts and began the same routine for another three hours.

The intercom beeped again after those three hours.

“Please don’t do anything you will regret. Thank you.” The robotic voice said. The conveyor belt stopped suddenly and I blinked, watching the ponies, zebra and griffins began chattering to themselves and laughing. Some remained quiet. Others seemed to be walking around like a ganger. I narrowed my eyes. Maybe they were gangers. I could see a faded insignia on their neck. Have the Enclave been rounding up ponies from below? Why? And for what reason? The more I looked, the more I began to realize that this was considered “free time”.

I sat there on one of the cafeteria benches alone and darted my eyes, taking in the activity. I came to a conclusion of how these groups of people worked. The griffins seemed to be dominate class. They walked around, talking to others and looking down on them. I would understand why some of the ponies feared them. But every now and then I saw a few ponies and zebras the griffins were cool with. The zebra seem to keep to themselves. They stood in groups, chatting with themselves or watching ponies, griffins, even their own in suspicion.

Then, of course, the ponies. They were lower class. But lower class meant heads of the lower class. And my bunk mate Popper seemed to be the head of the lower class. She walked down with a group of hardcore looking mares and stallions. The bad news being that they were heading my way.

“Hey, new bait. Get out of here. This is our turf.” Popper said. I arched a brow and said nothing. She snorted. “Go on. Get, you mute!” Again, I said nothing and glanced at them. I then narrowed my eyes as they gave me questiongly and intimidating looks. Popper banged her hoof on the table. “I won’t ask you again, new bait. Now get out of here!” I gave her my blank look. I noticed her bristling. I then smirked. Popper didn’t like that and she quickly lashed a hoof across my cheek. I went spiraling out of the seat and onto the floor. I looked back to see them take their seat. “Pssh. You won’t even last a night.”

“How much you wanna bet he won’t make it by the end of free time?” a gruff looking stallion with a five o’ clock shadow asked.

“Shut up, Caramel. I didn’t say you could talk.” Popper retorted. I just smirked and some of them looked at me with arched brows. Their quick chatter suddenly grew quiet and Popper spun around in her seat and looked me squarely in the eye, smirking herself. “Think you tough, huh? You don’t have to say anything when I know full well you are disrespecting me behind my flank.” Her posse made sounds of me-going-to-get-it. Well, I won’t lie. I told myself that I had a plan and I’ll stick by it. So I just stood up, rubbed my cheek and gave her a challenging smirk.

She arched a brow and looked to her posse before kicking the chair over and walking towards me intimidatingly. “By that look of yours, I say you are trying to start something." Keeping my smirk, I nodded, getting questioning looks in return. Popper looked me over before nodding. I suddenly found myself on the floor again and the cheers from Popper’s posse rang. “Well, then you got it. Now get up, new bait. Time to teach you a lesson.” A lesson huh? If I know myself, I’m a quick learner when I can be. And I guess I have to start learning now because Popper didn’t give me a second to react. She pinned me down and began swinging. On her third swing, I held up a hoof and locked it with hers right before it impacted. She lashed out her other one and I caught it as well.

She blinked in confusion. I then brought her forward and rammed my horn straight into her own horn. The force made her yelp and stumble off of me. I was up and ready. She growled and spat out blood. “Lucky shot.” I arched a brow coolly at her, edging her on. She took the bait. She galloped forward, rearing back and lashed a hoof out. Time to show these ponies what a courier can do up close. I reared back myself, only to side step and lock my hooves around her outstretched fore hoof. I then heaved her over my shoulder and she flew a couple of feet away and landed with a thud. I felt eyes on me, but I kept my focus on Popper.

I had to get the Enclave’s attention somehow. Popper looked dumb founded and I just bobbed in place, giving her that challenging smirk. I saw her bristle, scramble to her hooves and gallop towards me. “You’re dead!” I ducked and side stepped as she swung wildly. I may not be as taught in melee combat as Iris, but a courier has to at least have to know decent dodging and counters. When I got her to rear up more, I quickly duck, spun and gave a good applebuck to her chest. She stumbled back. I had to admit, she had the poise necessary to take that hit. She glared at me and again lashed out at me. I hopped away, bobbing in place again. “Stand the fuck still!” I smirked. Who’s the new bait now? She galloped for a tackle but I saw it coming.

This time, I lashed a hoof out. And planted it right into the cheek of Popper. She looked confused as to what had happen. But I didn’t give her the chance. I dashed up, planting two good hoof strikes to her face before swinging overhead and sent her spiraling to the floor with a small blood trail. Her muzzle was bleeding now. Even in all my ducking and dodging, I hadn’t really come out unscathed either. She managed to get a few good grazes that still hurt. But I stood over her, bobbing quietly in place. I know these types of ponies. They never quit. But I needed to find a way to get the Enclave’s attention.

I looked up and smiled slightly as I saw the Enclave looking our way. Good. Gotta keep the show up. Popper finally stood and looked even more confused as she was ready to kill. I’ll be damned if I die this day. She yelled and galloped towards me. I let her tackle me. And when she did, I rolled with her and pinned her to the floor. She blinked and I kept striking and striking, seeing the blood flow. It kind of felt good to hit a pony like this. I mean after all, I did say I felt it satisfying to plant hooves on the ponies that either pissed me off or given the chance. And my chance had been given and I took it.

“Alright, break it up!” An Enclave pegasus flew down and pulled Popper away while the other one took a stick and jabbed me. I screamed as the electricity coursed to my body. I fell to the floor and felt myself being lifted up from the ground. I gasped for breath and looked to see Popper shaking off the Enclave and look at me with narrowed eyes. I gave her a smirk. Step one of my plan completed. Now for the next step.

DAY 3

I rubbed my chin and winced. Viper knew how to hit. And I guessed she enjoyed every single moment of me being strapped and given the blows. It was the Enclave’s way of saying “behave and this won’t happen”. But I’m a tough mare. And I showed it to a group of people. I noticed the griffins and the zebra looking speculatively at our fight. I, the new bait, had just beaten a lower class gang head and came out victorious. I guessed that upped me because when I was let go from Viper’s “pay back” time, I noticed ponies, zebras and griffins glancing my way. Nothing too intimidating. Though I can’t say the same for my bunk mate.

Popper didn’t even look at me as I was tossed into the cell. And I didn’t push it either. I had done what I wanted. Now I just need to be patient for the right moment. I couldn’t help but nicker to myself. I was in a hell of a lot more trouble with the gangs of the Wasteland. Now I’m on my way of being in a hell of a lot of trouble from both Enclave and gang heads. I couldn’t tell what time it is, but when the intercom beeped, I had just answered my own question. Viper had a nightly session with hitting me.

“Good morning. I hope you have slept well. But it is time to get up and began work. Five hours before lunch time. Weather is partly cloudy with a chance of rain.” The robotic voice said.

I stood next to Popper quietly. I made no reaction when I noticed her glancing in my direction. When the cages opened, I followed the herd and went to my station in between the griffin and the zebra. This was nothing like a slaver camp. I bet the Enclave weren’t even calling it a slaver place as well. It really is a prison. But I had to keep pressing on. I had a plan. My friends are out there. I know they are going to find some way to try and get me out. But I prayed that they would take their time. With my plan in motion, I went quietly to work. The griffin and the zebra next to me stayed quiet as well and we kept working even when distractions aroused.

At least a few dozen ponies, zebra and griffins all had some sort of problem and the Enclave had taken care of it. The way the Enclave handled the griffins, they quickly latched a heavy body weight on them. I wondered if the thing was made of a certain material, because the armored Enclave guards carried it with ease. With the zebra, they either came quietly along or held them at pole reach. I noticed those poles were thermic lances. I found it interesting that they would have such a thing. Either way, it was not part of the plan.

When the intercom beeped for lunch, I waited quietly in line like the others. When it was my turn, the same griffin shoved me aside. Only this time, he didn’t say anything. I looked at him with narrowed eyes and he returned my look with a speculative look as well. In my mind, I cheered. But the griffin was for the future part of my plan. He got his food, gave me one last look with suspicious eyes before walking away with his griffin buddies. I winced as the sludge was plopped into my tray. I found a seat and quietly took it. I squinted at the thing. I tapped a hoof to it and it jiggled. I scooped up a small bit of it and sampled it. I perked up. Fruity after taste. I took another sample, found it to be simply fruity before chowing down on it.

I looked up and sighed quietly, feeling stuffed. I honestly thought the prison food would be bad, but I guess it was okay. Not that I would believe it a full course meal. But I found that it had sustained me for the last three hours of work before free time. When the intercom beeped, I didn’t go for the same spot as last time. I took a seat at the table next to it. And just as I had expected, Popper’s posse were heading my way. Only, they seem to give me suspicious looks. Popper, however, ignored me and sat quietly. The gang took a moment of the silence in before finally chatting it up. I turned my head away and focused on the activity that went on.

I couldn’t help but notice that the same griffin from the lunch line talking with a group of zebra. They glanced quickly at the flying Enclave overhead before going back to chatting. I watched them do a small hoof bump that consisted of some slight and quick motions. I narrowed my eyes as the griffin took one last glance at the Enclave before his gaze fell to me. Our eyes met and I narrowed them. He returned the look before turning and walking away. I’m no expert at lip reading, but I think they were going to start a riot. But I had to get to the griffin before they tried that riot.

DAY 7

At this point, I realized that the cloud mist acted like a small shower in a sense. I had been upped from hoof waving to mist sweeping. I held a small broom in my teeth and waved my head up and down, making the mist part slightly. This was even tedious than hoof waving. My neck began to hurt. And it wasn’t like we were completely hidden in the mist. This certain area had two Enclave inside. Their armor being normal.

I soon found out they had built in EFS. One of the enclave turned and fired a needle from the gun into the mist. There was a faint thump before the Enclave went back to standing there. After that, I silently swore to myself. No wonder they had seen us through our own ambush. Their suites had EFS. My neck began cramping as I waved away the mist inside the cloud. What was the point of this? Is it just a way to make sure that ponies, zebra and griffins try not to pull anything funny because they know? Or is it to test us into something? I assumed the former. I heard the intercom beep and walked out of the mist, completely drenched from the humidity in there.

I stopped when I saw the same griffin from the lunch line look down at me. We said nothing and narrowed our eyes at each other. I noticed his posse behind him.

“Quiet Fire.” The griffin said. I blinked and cocked my head. Quiet Fire? Who’s that? I realized that he looked at me when he had said it. I couldn’t speak. I had to keep quiet. So, I just nodded. The griffin arched a brow and then looked at his posse before looking back at me. “I saw that little fight you had with Popper. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting new bait like you to even survive her.” I said nothing but look confusedly at him. “Me and the guys have been thinking. Maybe we should let you in on a little secret.” He glanced around before motioning me to follow. And so I did. When I had, I noticed that ponies were quickly moving out of his way and looking at me nervously. The griffin led me with his posse to a secluded area of the coliseum like prison before turning to me. “Just who are you?”

I said nothing and gave him my blank stare. His tail flicked before speaking. “Are you really a mute?” I nodded. “So I guess you won’t complain then. Good. I need someone that doesn’t complain.” I waited for him to finish. “Now listen. Me and a few others are planning on starting a riot. We need someone with your skills to put to use. You can fight. So you and a few of my guys here distract the Enclave while me and a few other buddies of mine get the keys from the warden.” I looked over and up to a small station that over looked the prison grounds. I turned back and noticed the metal weights on his wing and motioned at them. He held up his wings. “These things aren’t nothing. Once we get the key we can finally take them off and get out of here. But we need you to distract them.”

I narrowed my eyes. This griffin had it all wrong in his plan. There were a lot of wide open holes that could surely bring his downfall. And I also had a sneaky suspicion that he didn’t care about the others and wanted to break free himself. So I looked at his posse with a calculative look before turning and nodding. The griffin smiled. “Good. No arguments. No complaining. Just the pony to keep this quiet. Now get out before everyone starts getting ideas.” I trotted away, giving them one last look before heading over to the seat next to Popper’s posse. They quieted when they saw me and Popper looked even more grimmer. When I sat down, I glanced at them.

The griffin wanted me to cause a distraction. And he knew that my fight with Popper caused Enclave to look at us. I was still considered new bait, but it seems I’ve been donned a nick name in the process. “Quiet Fire.” I played with my bangs. They called me that because I’ve been silent ever since I gotten here and my mane and tail had the color of fire. I found it kind of fitting to be honest. I even nickered at the thought.

“What’s so funny, new bait?” I looked at Popper’s posse and they must have been watching me. I blinked before giving them a smirk and a little hoof wave. The bald headed Caramel didn’t seem to like that. He stood up and marched over to me. I didn’t react. What is this fool even doing? “You are gonna pay for what you did to Popper.” He growled.

“When did I say you could speak, Caramel?” Popper barked without even looking at us. Caramel looked back at her and pointed a hoof at me.

“But, Popper. You gonna let this punk get away with what he done to you?” he said. I felt really annoyed at the fact he was calling me a guy. But I remained calm. Then, I questioned myself as to why ponies thought of me as a guy? I don’t have a figure of a stallion. My features looked like a mare. Was it because of my mane? I furrowed my brow and blew my bangs out of my eyes. I guess it is getting a little longer. But I know for damn sure I’m a mare. Popper seemed to notice my reaction to being called a guy and arched a brow.

“Hold on… you’re not a colt.” Popper said, looking at me now. I rolled my eyes. She thought I was a colt too? She then snorted. “Well at least I know now that I don’t have to watch myself at night anymore and having to be raped.” I blinked and gave her a concerned look. She narrowed her eyes and balked at me. “W-what is that look for? It’s not like I have been!” I must have made my expression clear when she suddenly faltered a bit and then bristled. “So what, you think I’ve been raped? Is that what you’re thinking!?” I said nothing. She must have really thought I knew. Unfortunately, I did. And I know her pain. She’s acting like this now because of that reason. She slammed her hoof on the table, stood up and instantly scooped a hoof under my jump suite and looked me dead in the eyes.

“Well then, say it!” I said nothing and again gave her a concerned look. I was suddenly having a strange sense of déjà vu. She drew a hoof back and planted one on my face. I went to the floor. “Why won’t you say something? Come on, I know you aren’t a mute! You always talk behind my back. That’s what you have been doing since day one.” I stood up and shook away the daze before looking back at her. I didn’t have to say anything. She set herself up for this. And now she was going to follow through. She yelled and galloped at me and I let her hit me. I had to be the better pony.

And so I let her wail on me. I took each and every hit, feeling my sides and face stinging and feeling the blood on my muzzle. She swung around and sent me spiraling to the floor. I didn’t retaliate. I understood her pain. And she doesn’t know it yet. She pinned me down and began wailing. I felt my vision blur and when she finally stopped, I coughed and spat out blood when she stood up. She glared at me before spitting at me. “Yeah, you just got lucky last time. Now don’t you dare disrespect me again.” She suddenly blinked at me when I stood up, wiped my muzzle and gave her a reassuring smile. Gritting her teeth, she turned and stomped away, her posse following her.

I kept smiling. My plan was going perfectly. Unless it goes to shit when the griffin decided to start the riot. I looked over to see the griffin give me a questioning look. I winked at him, making his eyes narrow suspiciously before turning and walking away.

DAY 10

The monotoness days passed and Viper was enjoying every moment of beating me. For the past few days I had been just minding my own business, getting strange looks from everyone in the prison. And every day it was the same thing. Wake up. Go to work. Eat. Work. Talk. Sleep. Rinse and repeat. Now I truly knew how Iris felt when she was in the Enclave. And now it was the day of another questioning only instead of a being carried away, Cloudwing himself decided to visit. I sat quietly by myself, chowing down on the fruity jell sludge when Popper suddenly shushed her posse and looked up. I noticed that the ponies, griffins and zebra looked up and following their gaze, I narrowed my eyes as I recognized the pale blue pegasus in the Enclave armor.

Apparently, Cloudwing is feared around here. I had heard stories from others here that Cloudwing was indeed a snake. Saying that he has that knack for making ponies talk. Either the good looks or his charisma made it happen. But I never was into stallions to begin with. And I know a few stallion on stallion, mare on mare pairs here. And even those that preferred stallions seem to feel giddy as well as the mares. Honestly, I had never seen such a thing in the stallion. Maybe because he was Silver Iris’s ex colt-friend. And when he flew down with a group of heavily armored Enclave and landed next to me, I gave a slight smirk.

“I have heard of your recent baring’s here.” Cloudwing said to me. I said nothing and arched a brow. Try and get me to talk. You’ll only hear what I want you to hear. He looked at me speculatively before continuing. “Come with me. We need to talk.” Again, I said nothing and just stood up. Two heavily armored Enclave stood at my sides and locked a hoof around my forelegs before lifting me up off the ground, my hind legs dangling as the many colorful ponies in cerulean jump suites grew smaller and smaller.

Before taking off, I saw Popper giving me a suspicious look and the griffin watching with peak interest. I smirked now. I had gotten what I needed. Now on to step five of my plan. Landing me gently on the ramp, I walked with Cloudwing as he led me down halls and offices while talking.

“… in the event of a break out, we Enclave take it personally. Each and every person down there are dangerous. Criminals to the land below and above.” He said.

“And yet, you also have innocents down there as well.” I said. I had to keep up the act down there. But I also want to give Cloudwing what I want him to hear. He looked at me with an arched brow.

“No pony is innocent.” He said. I snorted.

“I guess that makes you a villain as well. Just like me.” I said coolly. To my slight annoyance, he actually agreed. Then, he asked me the solemn question we both knew might end up badly.

“Who is she to you?” he asked. I looked at him.

“Silver Iris?” I smiled now. “She’s a pretty cool mare.” Cloudwing nodded. He looked tired now. I groaned in my mind. I might or might not regret this. “Listen, she told me about what you have done to her.” He looked at me before speaking.

“And now she’s going around saying how bad I am for doing that to her.” He sighed. “That is just like her.” To his surprise, I shook my head.

“She had never said anything bad about you. When she told me about it, she just said it. No personal things about you. No insults. She just said it.” I looked at him, giving him my blank look. I bit my lip. I hesitated before speaking. “She still loves you.” Cloudwing narrowed his eyes at me. “It’s true. I found a holodisk she recorded on the day she left the Enclave. She was hurt, Cloudwing. She still is.” I felt myself faltering. I didn’t want it to be true. I thought she had moved on. But I guess we both haven’t really. I’m still not over my trauma and she still has feelings for Cloudwing. He spoke.

“You genuinely aren’t lying.” He said. Then he chuckled. “Unexpected. Yes, I did hurt her. I saw the pain I had caused to her. And I regret it.” He sighed, looking sad now. “I honestly regret doing that to her. She was my first for everything. But then Viper came along. She seduced me.” He growled. “She is the true snake in all this. She acted like a friend to both of us. And she turned her back on all of us, ruining the relationship in the process. All because she hated Iris for having me.” I looked at him, sad now.

I knew it. Deep down, I knew that Iris wasn’t really over it. Just like me. But I thought I could. She made me feel like I could move on to anything. A pained thought came to mind. Had she just been using me as an excuse to hide her pain? Does she honestly and truly love me? I felt a tear run down my cheek. She still loved Cloudwing. And Cloudwing had regret that day for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to force her back. He didn’t want to use Rex. It was all because of one pony that had started it. Viper Strike.

“But you still haven’t told me what she is to you.” Cloudwing spoke, startling me out of my thought. I looked at him.

“I… I love her.” I said. He just looked at me with that stoic expression. I continued. “I love her to death. She makes me feel like I can keep going. I understood her pain. And she understood me.” I sighed. “But after hearing that holodisk, I’m starting to think that I’m just a pony she thinks that can heal her pain. And I want to believe that. I truly want her too.” I felt more tears. “I want to be her special somepony. And then I find that she still loves you as well.” I looked at him now, ignoring the tears. “She forgives you.” Cloudwing seemed shocked by this. But I wasn’t lying to him. He studied me before speaking.

“That’s Silver Iris for you.” He said. I blinked. What did he mean? Cloudwing seemed to smile as he spoke. “Silver Iris may not show it, but she’s a pretty confusing mare too. But she’s forgiving. She’s been bullied and teased and yet even after wailing on them in defense, she forgave them. She had mercy.” He looked grimly now. “And she had mercy on Viper too. Viper had always treated her badly. Like she was different. But Silver Iris always forgave her in the end. And her forgiving me for doing that. She also forgave Viper again.” I said nothing. He honestly did regret doing that to Silver Iris. And I felt sad. Sad because I thought Silver Iris had moved on. Sad that she forgave them.

After what had happened to me, I never had mercy. I always pushed others away. I only loved myself and my family. And after meeting my friends and loving Iris, I felt like I could move on. But she hadn’t moved on from the pain. And I had. I actually had moved on. When Post Box made me confront them, I didn’t forgive them. They had hurt me and I secretly felt glad that they had suffered the consequences in the end. But Silver Iris? She always forgave ponies. She forgave them for hurting her. She hadn’t moved on. And I failed to be her Courier. I knew I would never find that type of happiness. It was too good to be true. I hadn’t realize I had been crying in front of him. He looked worriedly at me.

“You want to believe she still loves you.” Cloudwing said. I sniffled and nodded. I did want her to still love me. I wanted her to be with me. To care for me. Cloudwing sighed. “I have to tell you something, Courier.” I blinked and looked at him. He knew my name? But I said nothing and waited for him to speak. “Two days ago, the Enclave had spotted Iris and your friends tampering with a broadcast tower.” I gapped. “We tracked the broad cast and found her and your friends waiting for us. She wanted to know where we were keeping you. She looked me squarely in the eye.” I said nothing. Silver Iris wanted to be tracked by the Enclave? Why?

“Why did she want to be tracked there? For what purpose?” I asked. I felt my heart beat in hope. He smirked.

“Silver Iris wanted to tell me that if I or the Enclave had hurt you, she would put an end to us.” He smiled. “And I had told her that the Enclave had questioned you, forcefully.” I cocked my head in confusion. Why is he so happy about that?

“Why did you provoke her?” I asked. He looked at me reassuringly, to my surprise.

“You want her to still believe she still loves you.” He said. I furrowed my brows, even more confused. “We need to hear what Iris truly feels. And so, I provoked her.” I gapped.

“But aren’t you Enclave too?” I asked. He nodded.

“And won’t abandon my post. I gave Silver Iris the incentive we both need. Now we just have to wait.” He said. I narrowed my eyes now.

“What are you planning, Cloudwing?” I asked. He arched a brow coolly at me. He then looked around before his tail flicked. I blinked and felt it brush my tail. I flushed and backed away. “No way! I won’t let you!” I looked at him with a glare, backing away. He smiled.

“Third floor. Science area. I don’t have to say anything else.” He said. I blinked. What the hell? Did he just try to pull something on me? Oh, if he was, I would then know for sure that he wasn’t seduced by Viper at all.

“Sorry, pal. I’m strictly mares.” I said. He looked at me.

“Well, you are a smart girl. You can figure it out. I won’t be in there. But I know someone that could help you.” He said. I cocked my head. “I know you don’t trust me. But Iris speaks very highly of you. So I’ll take her word for it.” I said nothing. Why is he going out of his way to help me? What is his motive? I didn’t get the time to answer when I was suddenly picked up by two Enclave officers and was flown back to my cell.

The intercom beeped signaling that it was time to go to sleep. I waited, pondering what Cloudwing had said. Silver Iris and my friends are trying to find me. And she risked herself of getting captured to do it. But, she still loves Cloudwing. Cloudwing hadn’t seem to notice that she had forgiven him and that she still loves him. And that brings me to another problem. Viper Strike. Her constant joy of beating on me for answers was a sick turn on for her. And I felt really uncomfortable when she had gotten up close and personal. But then again, I’m a tough mare. I took everything she threw at me. Clubs, whips, hoof swings, anything that could inflict pain.

Cloudwing had said that Viper Strike had seduced him. She hated Silver Iris. But why? What did Silver Iris do that was so bad? Cloudwing said it was because she was going out with him. But something definitely felt off about the whole thing. And whatever it was, it was going down one way or another. I narrowed my eyes. I brushed my tail, shuddering at the fact that maybe it wasn’t Viper Strike that had seduced him. He tried to pull something on me. And if he did, I would have done whatever it took to make sure he doesn’t do it… again… wait, what is that? I blinked as my hoof brushed something metallic in my tail. I was about to find out what when Popper finally arrived to our cell.

She gave me a cold glare before climbing up to the bunk, whipping her tail at my face to add insult to injury, before quietly kicking back. The lights had gone out and the cages close. I sat there for a while. When I heard the soft snoozing of Popper, I quickly slid out whatever was in my tail. I squinted in the darkness. When my vision adjusted, I now saw the form of a red card looking object. Seeing it, my eyes quickly darted to the cage. Out of sheer curiosity, I went over to the cage. Looking through to see that the Enclave are patrolling, I waited in the shadows till the coast was clear. Taking the card in my teeth, I put it to the cage and was surprised to hear it click and swing slightly open.

Cloudwing had given me an override card. I looked back to my sleeping bunk mate before quietly pushing the cage open, stepping out crouching and quietly closing it. I set my sights on the station that the spiraling ramp started. I peeked out to see the Enclave now patrolling the lower areas. Looking up, I was relieved to see that none had decided to take to the air. Keeping low, I crept silently up to the station. Upon reaching said station, I peeked in to the window. I saw a snoozing Enclave mare kicking back on the chair. I looked at the card, putting it to the door and smiled when the door clicked. Whatever Cloudwing was planning, it required my wits. I frowned at the thought. Why me?

Shaking it off, I snuck in. My magic was still being canceled in here as with every other part of the ship. I darted my eyes, seeing that the room being just a plain lookout station. But what caught my eye was a dangling card key that seemed to be shinier looking than my override card. I crept over and plucked it from the hanger and quickly stuffing it in my tail. Making sure it was hidden, I looked around to see if I could find anything else of use. To my chagrin, nothing other than this override card. Quickly sneaking back out the room, checking to see that the Enclave were still patrolling the bottom floor and headed for my cell. Using the card and closing the cage, I crept into the bed and fell asleep to the loud snoring of the other inmates.

DAY 15

I was not expecting this encounter during lunch time. I headed my way to my lonely seat when I was suddenly stopped by the griffin again and this time, with some zebra and ponies. I darted my eyes to them before looking at the griffin.

“I’ve been thinking, Quiet Fire. Maybe you really aren’t cut out for the job.” I noticed he was looking pissed. “I heard that someone ratted out Gahilda. Do you know who that is?” I arched a brow. “Someone I actually enjoy spending time with.” I rubbed my chin and shrugged. Lover, perhaps? Who knows? I never heard of a Gahilda. What happened next was completely unexpected for me. Thankfully, I had reacted, hopping away from a claw swipe. I bit down hard on my tray, trying to keep it in my grip. It was too soon for this to happen. But hey, I can improvise. And I did just that when the griffin came at me again. I tipped my tray and flung the sludge into the face of the griffin, making him screech and wipe the sludge away.

I had never fought a griffin before. And let me tell you, I had gotten really lucky with Razor. I found myself galloping over and under ponies, tables, zebra and even more griffins as the one who wanted my head kept close behind, swiping everytime he got close. We caught the amused attention of the Enclave and some cheers from other gangs as the griffin closed in. I had to find some way to slow him down enough. My gaze caught to the mist. Time to make a gamble. I turned sharply, making the griffin miss and slid comically across the floor and into a crowd of cheering griffins and zebras before scrambling after me.

I galloped nimbly to the mist and leaped in, sliding slightly on the slippery floor. The Enclave that were supposed to be in here were one of the ponies watching my death defying chase. And since no other ponies out there could see us in this mist, it was the Enclave that were getting the sight of two bars moving. I saw the silhouette of the griffin and crouched as low as I could.

“I know you are in here! Show yourself! I wanna see how you handle a griffin.” He growled. I blinked. I felt funny. Was it the mist? I looked around and saw that my horn was glowing slightly. I was doing magic?? How in the world am I doing that?!? Did the mist cancel whatever material that canceled my magic? Karma had finally given me another break. I imagined myself splitting. Cutting myself in half and then morphing that half into me. When I opened my eyes, I found a pair of gold eyes and fire colored streaked mane smiling back at me. What the hell is this mist anyway? But I smiled. And then smirked.

I nodded and my copy spun around and quietly vanished into the mist. The griffin was still looking for me. Improvising time.

“Coward. Come on out and fight a griffin. I saw how you handled Popper.” He said.

“Yes, I could tell.” I said, startling the griffin.

“W-what the hell? You can talk after all?” the griffin asked. I heard the utter shock coming from the tone and pressed on.

“Or I’m just merely projecting my voice into your thoughts. Who knows?” I said. My copy dashed by the griffin, making him look one way and I dashed the other direction, making him look my way.

“How are you doing that? Unicorns can’t do magic down here. They make sure that everyone has been handled. How are you doing this?” the griffin said, darting her eyes. I sighed.

“I honestly am not sure. But since you’re here, I may as well say something in the least. That riot you are planning? It’s going to go horribly wrong.” I said. He swiped into the mist, nearly nicking me, but I backed away and my copy’s silhouette made him look the other way.

“Don’t give me that shit!” he barked.

“But I can. And I will. And what I’m saying is true. I don’t know who this Gahilda is. But I bet somepony else knew about it. I mean, are you sure you can trust some of the others?” he wasn’t liking this.

“Bitch please. I’ve known my guys since being here. Some of them have been here longer than me and already made me leader.” He said.

“But I am asking can you really trust them? I’ve been watching you for the past couple of weeks. You, chatting with everyone you think you know can pull it off? And look at what happened to Gahilda. She’s been ratted out and taken away from you.” I sighed. “I, for one, am sorry about that. I truly am. But right now, if you decide to pull off the riot like this, then it’s bound to go downhill.” The griffin swiped at my copy, making her back away.

“Quit playing with me!” he barked.

“Oh no. What I did to Popper was playing. I know her type. That wasn’t my first time dealing with ponies like her. And it is definitely not my first time dealing with gangs either.” I chuckled. “I’m a courier. I do shady dealings with gang heads all the time. I’ve even pissed off a lot more. You two are really just beneath all that.” I squinted my eyes, getting a better look of his confused face. “Though I will be honest, I did get lucky with Razor.” His eyes widened.

“How do you know Razor?” he hissed. I smirked. Inmates couldn’t have set themselves up even more.

“I don’t. But I was the one that got him and Bullhorn to come to a truce. After that, I’ve been targeted by a lot more deadly ponies that could even have you running for your life. My home had been threatened. My friends have been injured. I suffered trauma for all my life. I’ll hate saying this, but it’s true. You are nothing compared to the shit I dealt with. And damn me if I die by wanna-bes like you and Popper. I have to get back to my friends. And you are going to help me in the process.” The griffin gritted his teeth.

“I don’t have to help you in anything!” she said. I smirked more.

“You want to save Gahilda?” I asked. That seemed to do it. So, Gahilda does mean something to him. He bowed his head and growled.

“I do. She was the only thing that kept me sane here.” He said.

“Good. Now I have a plan. But I have to keep silent. You are the only one who knows I can talk. And I’m the one that can help you save Gahilda. I have something that will help us greatly. But I need you to cooperate. If you don’t, I won’t know what happens to her. Viper enjoys beating on me because of what I did to her in Las Pegasus. Who knows what she will do to her.” The griffin blinked.

“Wait. Are you saying you are the one that rode their timberwolf? You?!?” I blinked.

“Why so shocked about it? Of course I did. And Rex isn’t their timberwolf. I plan on getting him out of here and take this carrier over. These past couple of weeks I’ve been keeping quiet and listening into every conversation. There are a lot of good people here. And they don’t deserve to be here. So I plan a full on liberation.” I paused. “But you need to cooperate with me on this in order for it to work.” I waited. Seeing the silhouette of the griffin bow his head slightly, thinking. He sighed.

“Fine. But I’m only doing it for Gahilda. What do you want me to do?” he asked. I smiled.

“First, tell me your name.” I said. He made a sigh of annoyance before speaking.

“Guillotine.” He said. I blinked. Interesting name. Wonder how he got it? I shook away the thought and focused back on the task at hand.

“You know people here. But I only want you to go to a select few. One of them is Popper.” I said. She scoffed.

“Popper? Really?” he said. I narrowed my eyes.

“Do you want to save Gahilda?” I asked. He made a grunt of defeat. “Good, now for the others.” I said. I had named off some of the ones I know just by watching them. In these last couple of weeks, I had gotten to know everyone here. Well, mainly the gang heads. One is Xanthos, a zebra that I’ve seen chatting with others. I heard of his tale of how he got here. How he was taken from his tribe on a scouting mission. And he seemed to distrust a lot of people here. But I told Guillotine how to convince him. I then told him about another higher class gang head in the pony division. A pegasus by the name of Ghost Pepper. I’ve seen her fight. And she may not be as tough as Iris. But her quick reflexes and skills made her a good candidate. Then, I told her about another griffin that would also be good for leading a small group of ponies named Piffon. He seemed to question this, but I told him how to convince each and every one of them.

“Any last questions? We gotta hurry up, because the Enclave will soon be looking for us. And they have EFS.” I said.

“Yeah. Are you always this scary when it comes to talking?” he asked. I just chuckled.

“Trust me. I’m a courier. My silver tongue and knowledge is more scary than me fighting a giant robot alicorn. Okay, now to make it look good. I’m going to show myself and you throw me as hard as you can. I don’t care how hard, just as long as it doesn’t kill me. And you know… keep calling me Quiet Fire. I kind of like it than my other name.” He scratched his head with a talon.

“Then what’s your name?” he asked. I walked up with my copy in clear view of him, smiling as my copy faded.

“Courier.” I said. I winked at him. “Now let’s impress our audience.” I looked at Guillotine as he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Courier… I’ll remember that.” He said before suddenly picking me up and suddenly heaving me out of the mist. I flew straight over a crowd of inmates that were getting in close and curious as well as a couple of Enclave that were about to go in. I heard them cheer as I fell to the floor with a hard thud and rolled on my side, straight into the cafeteria tables. I saw stars. Wow, Guillotine has an arm. I shook away the daze and narrowed my eyes as Guillotine stepped out of the mist. He looked coldly at me.

“Don’t get too cocky, punk. Next time, you won’t get lucky.” He said. His posse and a few others cheered. I stood up, shaking slightly. My side hurt and my back numbed. The Enclave waved the crowd back to work when the intercom beeped. I said nothing as I walked back into the mist with a broom in my teeth. I smirked, waving the mist away slightly. My plan was in motion. Now to get Rex and deal with a mint colored mare pegasus named Viper Strike.

Footnote Level Up!
Perk Added: Brawler: You learn how to handle yourself in a hoof-to-hoof confrontation. Melee and Unarmed increased by 5.