Shadow looked through the scope of Soarin’s Lightning. He was tracking a small raider gang. It wasn’t the first he had taken out since he eliminated The Pack. It certainly wasn’t going to be the last. Black Widow was cleaning up the streets of Manehatten.

He had been tracking their movements all morning. It was a group of no more than 8. Shadow had a perfect view through their window. He had three or four in sight at all times.

The raider on watch ducked down and the others moved to hiding positions. Shadow took note of where they were. The building walls would not stop his bullets.

Shadow pulled back from the scope and looked around. A pair of ponies came into sight. One blue and one gray. Side by side the carefully worked their ways through the ruins. They were no first timers. They knew how to move properly. Their bags had plenty of scraps and materials to sell. They were on track to head to Tenpony Tower.

A foal’s cry pierced the air. Shadow looked down his scope at the raiders. He saw nothing to indicate they had a foal. They didn’t even react to it.

Shadow glanced around from his perch. The blue pony had broken off from the other and was moving towards something in the street. Shadow realized it was a cart, probably to push a foal around. Back home they used clouds, but here that wouldn’t work. A four wheeled cart like the one below was a good way to get around with a foal.

Shadow missed the yells from the blue pony, but he didn’t miss their meaning. The bastards he had been watching all day had the cart rigged. The explosion went off and Shadow felt his heart shatter.

He had seen others in the city, moving and scavenging. They had never been a problem or gotten in the way. The raiders didn’t target them. This was the first time his hesitation and choice to observe caused a problem. A death. A preventable death. The raiders were small enough that he didn’t need superior tactics to take them out.

Shadow opened up with Soarin’s Lightning. He drilled the entire magazine along the wall. At least half were taken out by it. He abandoned everything and dashed down the building’s stairwell, leaping past the missing parts.

His hooves hit the pavement and he charged across the open ground. It went unchallenged. So did bucking open the front door. He didn’t even bring the cloak He was going to blast the inside apart. Shadow gunned down one unicorn poking his head around the stairwell. He bolted up the stairs.

He had gone unchallenged because the other half of their group was trying to recover. They were peppered with wall fragments. The powerful bullets had turned the inside of the building into a shotgun. Shadow knew who the leader was and pulled his revolver and dispatched the last three.

The Leader was his target. A mare with a nasty scar on her chest and a gimped rear leg. But she was strong enough to put fear into others and lead despite the physical abuse her body had taken.

Shadow bucked her into the wall and drew the zebra combat blade. “I watched your little trick. I have been watching you all morning. But I never saw that trap. If I had taken a small chance and come after you earlier, there is a chance they never would have died. You will be begging for a bullet to the head by the time I am through with you.”

She never had a chance to reply and Shadow slashed the blade along her spine. Immobilized from the pain, it was easy for Shadow to skin her alive. She deserved more than the little time he could afford to give her.

The blue mare’s actions reminded him of Dream Catcher. She would have been dumb enough to risk a trap to try and save a foal. It was noble. It was right. And Shadow was not going to let it ever happen again.

Once the coat was removed he tacked it to the wall. They had some cooking oil handy, so Shadow set it on their hot plate and heated it up. The mare was groaning in pain on the floor.

When the oil was boiling, Shadow pulled the pot off the hot plate and then set it in front of her. She couldn’t put up much of a fight as Shadow picked up a hoof and dropped it into the oil.

He had made his choice. He was blind to her suffering. It didn’t make him happy. He had no joy, only a deep sorrow. One that couldn’t be quenched. One that the Wasteland had stabbed him with. Six times it had driven it’s blade into his heart. It was barely functioning.

It felt like these rare moments were the times he was able to strike back the wasteland. He would be a monster when it was required. His very existence below had him labeled as a monster, just because he had wings.

Shadow did more to her. He spent three hours stretching her life out. By the end, she was barely alive. He left her like that. If anypony stumbled upon their den, they wouldn’t even believe she had been their leader. They would see a victim of vicious raiders.

Shadow went back to Tenpony tower, but he first he needed to secure his items. After washing the Black Widow clothes, locked the gear away and got up to the tram line. He was almost out of food and he was in need of a real bed, as expensive as it would be. He was learning how to take things here or there. Ways that even the best detective would not notice he had taken something. Plus, he found some real gems in the upper floors of the buildings that most ponies couldn’t scavenge from.

When Shadow saw what time it was he was confused. It was already dark outside. He had though he had lost track of time, but that wasn’t the case. It had gotten dark much earlier than it should have. The only reason the sky darkened early was for a storm. He doubted it was any different below than it was above, except that there was no weather ponies below the clouds.

Shadow got a room first and unloaded some things in it. Then he went to sell what he had scavenged. It was enough to offset his stay here, and barely cover the resupply.

As Shadow was eating dinner, he saw the same mare that had been in the street. It was unmistakably her. She had a microphone device on her flank, and her bags were filled with the stuff Storm was always picking up. Technology.

She was holding together well, but the pain was evident in her eyes. Shadow didn’t have to stare at them to see it. But the average pony never would have realized it. At least not how recent the trauma was. They all seemed to have deep traumas and just live with it.

The wasteland loved to take, but never gave.

With the rain falling in sheets Shadow had the perfect cover to go to the radio station above. It would cover any flying he would be doing. This storm would ground most Pegasi and it would blind most ponies if they looked up.

Getting out was the problem. The entrance was too secure. Even with the cloak, he couldn’t get in and out safely. Shadow turned to the back of his room. It didn’t have a window, but the exterior of the tower had glass. That meant they had probably sealed most of it up for safety and security. Besides, it wasn’t like they were blocking a good view.

The couch was along the back wall. With a little work Shadow was able to pop the painted board out from the wall. The window was thick, but cracked. Shadow let the howling wind and crashing lightning cover him as he broke more of it until he could squeeze through.

The board would be impossible to push open from outside. He braced it open with his battle saddle and then slipped out into the night with nothing on. He glided to the building where he had his stuff stored. It took nothing for him to log into the system he had set up and the safe popped open.

Shadow geared up and then faced the storm. It was torrential. And each drop carried with it a myriad of troublesome chemicals. He would have to cleanse himself when he got back. Chemicals or not, he would not fall out like he the first time he faced Marble Falls’ water day.

Shadow launched into the storm. He was going to have to tell Marble Falls this story. He was confident he could handle it because of her weather training sessions. They no longer felt over the top as they once did.

Shadow took his time and made strong, purposeful moves. The wind tried to pull him different ways and the rain was blocking his vision. But his training was superior.

The lightning was of little concern. It was a long held belief that a storm couldn’t strike Pegasi. If you found a way to purposefully shoot lightning at a Pegasus they could be hit, but to a storm, he wasn’t charged correctly to receive a bolt of lightning.

When he found the tower’s roof the array on top was impressive. It was accessible by a short ladder that was on the wall of an inset balcony. Shadow landed on the balcony and almost slipped. The rain was assaulting the wasteland faster than it could drain off the roof.

The door was reinforced glass, see through if the storm wasn’t so dark. It took nothing to unlock it and Shadow stepped into the building. He was certainly in the right room. To his left was a wall full of equipment. Shadow had no idea what he was looking at, but he knew he was in the right place.

The door ahead of him had light under it. The outside door opening and closing was noticed and a red unicorn stallion entered the room. He was levitating a teacup.

“Ah, I was wondering when you would show,” He said with a grin before taking a sip of his drink. “Come in from the door more. I don’t bite. And I know you are not here for me.”

“And how do you know that?” Shadow asked as he walked towards the Unicorn.

“Because I believe in you,” He said with a wink. “And all the stories I have heard, you have a reason. I can think of no reason for me. I am a simple pony who runs this station. I have for years. And before that, I ran errands for the DJ before me.”

“So, you are not DJ Pon3?” Shadow asked, confused.

“That is the great secret. But I know you care for your secrets. I am DJ Pon3, but I go by other names as well. The radio name, DJ Pon3, has been going since before the war. Passed on from DJ unicorn to DJ unicorn, just like the voice changing spell that allows us to all sound the same. It is to spread cheer and happiness through the wasteland. Mostly through music, but we share the news. We warn of danger, and we celebrate the good.”

“And I am?” Shadow asked.

His grin deepened. “So far, to me, good. But tell me, the truth for why you have come and why you do what you do. I only have second hoof accounts to work from. On the radio, most of my reports are neutral about you.”

“Alright,” Shadow said with a nod. “I did not come up with the name. It was given to me, and I was forced to own it. I am called by the sages, long ago. They knew a rift would be coming, so I was prepared. That is all I can speak on that matter. But I was not the only one, am not the only one. Other came before, and other are yet to come.

“I am the one sent to mend this rift. Equestria was once unified, but the war began to tear it apart, and then after the spells, it was fractured. Those that wish to keep it torn or act in ways to keep it torn, they must be stopped.

“The binding chain that I am forging to once again unify the land can only be made from blood. The blood of those who are guilty of destroying this land. The land must be purged, burned, so that a new, fresh growth can come. If there was any other way to do it, I would not have been foreseen, and Equestria would not have called me all the way here. For I am not from Equestria, but my ancestors are. And it is the land I hope to one day live in and raise my children in.

“So I go, to forge the rebirth. To prepare the land for the reunification. I don’t know who will unify it, but it is not me. I am a sword on this world. It will take somepony softer. One who can rally the different places to stand with them. But they won’t survive in such a dark place. I need to clean this place out for them. I need to reshape the balance so they will be safe. Well, safe enough.

“The scale I use has almost no balance point. Either you are weighed to be guilty, or you are weighed to be innocent. It is the same as either being black or white, the sun or the moon, the light or the dark. I don’t get to choose, I only get to act. And some days, that is a big burden.”

“I can imagine,” DJ Pon3 replied, thinking. “But, this is your first time in Manehattan?”

“I have been around, but my first time here as Black Widow.”

“I can image that you can not just go do around doing this unmasked. You have to live as well, and that requires caps and supplies. A safe place that no one will recognize you as Black Widow.”

Shadow gave a nod. “But I earn my caps legally. I do not raid the filth of the wasteland. Their sins must be showcased for all to see.”

“That is one thing I have heard about,” DJ Pon3 nodded. “Whole gangs cleaned out without anything taken, or bodies touched after they were killed. Some stories are more gruesome than others. And some are more understandable than others. You said your judgment scale doesn’t have much of a balance point. I assume the stories about the collateral damage about the chained slaves are true?”

Shadow didn’t duck his head away like he wanted to. He had to stay strong. He just stared at DJ Pon3.

“I do what I must do,” Shadow finally said. “Fire is not always easy to control.”

“And the dark places never stay cleaned out,” DJ Pon3 added. “Ponyville has new gangs in it. Trottingham has new gangs replacing the Hawks. Fillydelphia has changed hooves five times since I have been alive. Each gang rises and falls for various reasons.”

“But now they now have a spirit to kill them,” Shadow said firmly. “Now they have a ghost to give them something to think about. Now I am here.

“Although, while I was at Trottingham, I did not kill the Hawks. That was not my work. I killed a slave trader there, and two copycats who tired to pass their sins off as me. And I retook their power plant from a gang trying to extort them. Also, I recently blew up the Lux.”

“I caught wind of something about that. But I didn’t have details. Trottingham gets my station loud and clear, but it is not always easy to get reliable information from. They are on the other side of Equestria proper after all. The Lux was a casino, correct?”

Shadow gave a slow nod. “But it wasn’t a den of thieves. They played fair. But they were destroying lives, and knowingly doing. Offering debauchery as a service. As something that a pony had a right to. Drugs and Alcohol is one thing, but they had dancers barely clothed for their player’s viewing pleasure. And they sold them for the evening.

“Those ponies had no choice. Most of them were born into the Lux and were told what they would be. They were slaves, who if they didn’t do what they were told, they would be thrown out into a nasty world, with nothing to protect themselves, no map to get anywhere, and no usable skills to survive. And they didn’t care. I blew up the entire place, so that it could never be rebuilt.

“I know ponies will often retake the old raider territory, but at least I can go back and clean them out. It saves me the trouble of having to find their new dens. Besides, the newer raiders are not as dark as the previous ones. It slowly gets better.”

“Any plans for Manehattan?” DJ Pon3 asked. “At least that I can know of?”

Shadow smiled under the mask. “If I could issue a warning, I would. But I don’t know the names of any gangs left. I already I took out The Pack. Collateral damage was unavoidable, but it wasn’t by my hoof. They had trained attack dogs, and they unleashed them to hunt me. It failed, badly. Not just because the dogs were useless to find me, but the dogs turned on everypony. The slaves were torn apart. The dogs tore everything apart.

“Today was also a bad one.” Shadow took a deep breath in and let it out. “I was casing a den, picking out the target and making sure that when I strike, it was one swing and they go down. But I was too late.

“They had set a trap before I had arrived. I think it was a remote switch. It was a baby basket, rigged with an explosive. It was probably a recording of a crying foal. It baited one of two manes in. Both were smart enough to know of the risk, and both were adept at surviving. The blue one who died, she appeared to try and disarm it. I didn’t have the best view from my location, but it was over quickly. The other ran and I blasted the bastards apart. That pony was avenged, but it didn’t feel like a victory.

“The other, she made it to the tower. She appears to be tech savvy from her loaded saddlebags. It reminded me of an old friend, and the stuff he would scrounge up. I speak of it because I know you said you used to run errands for the previous DJ Pon3. And she may be a good candidate for you if you don’t have a runner. She has a audio speaker, microphone device thing on her flank. Technology isn’t my thing.”

DJ Pon3 sighed deeply. One soaked in pain and trouble. “I had one, but the Disciples got a hold of him. The pictures I got were anything but nice. They knew who he was. Are you going after the Disciples?”

“No,” Shadow said with a single shake. “I am not the one to do that. There is another who will destroy them. They will not last long though. I know… I know that’s not something which brings comfort to those the Disciples will prey upon in the mean time, but it is the truth.”

“I hope it is soon,” DJ Pon3 said with watery eyes.

“It will be,” Shadow said softly. “When I stop to listen, I hear the wasteland’s cries. And I hear Equestria’s responses. But maybe that is only for me, and ponies like me who have been Called.”

“Tell me, you know of Tenpony Tower and the no Ghoul rule?”

“The signs only,” Shadow replied.

“It wasn’t that long ago when it happened. It was a violent transition when they booted every Ghoul out of the tower. Many lost all they had. I am sure some died in the transition, or because of it. Do you have plans for that?”

Shadow stood there, thinking. Kifo Herixleta wasn’t on him, but he heard the whisper. If you could call it a whisper. It was a fact. He wasn’t the one to do it. Equestria had other plans.

“I have no ill will against Ghouls,” Shadow replied. “I have know some very great Ghouls, and in my younger days, even fought alongside one. But I am not the one to right that wrong. I don’t get to pick my targets. It will take a softer pony than I am to properly right that wrong. I am just a sword, a weapon.”

“You have a lot of ‘don’ts,’” DJ Pon3 commented.

“And too many ‘do’s,’” Shadow replied. “Too many.”

Shadow took a deep breath in. “But I have one big ‘do.’ The greatest rift of all. That between the land and the sky. The Pegasus Race is going to have to give some answers. The scale is not in their favor.”

DJ Pon3 chuckled deeply. “I am not going to be surprised to hear of you walking on the clouds. If anypony can figure out how, it seems like it would be you.”

“Can your radio contact them above? I know you use the SPP Towers.”

DJ Pon3 took a deep breath in. “I have tried, just like every other DJ Pon3 has tried before me. But even though I use the SPP towers, any attempts to breach the clouds ends up with them bouncing right back down. It is convenient for broadcasting at longer ranges. I am able to bounce broadcasts to where I am needed out in the boonies, far from the SPP towers.”

“Convenient,” Shadow replied. “But I need to get a message above. That will happen in due time.”

“I will get back to work trying to break through the clouds. If I do, or any DJ Pon3 does, we will make news announcements for you to hear. How does ‘Black Widow has ascended’ sound?”

Shadow chuckled twice. “It sounds good. Appropriate, subtle, but strong.”

Shadow turned around and headed for the door. He paused right before opening it. “Thank you. You have done good work. For me as well as for this forsaken land.”

“For you?” DJ Pon3 asked.

“I won’t give specifics, but you have given me import information and messages. I have saved the lives of ponies because of it, and I have protected others for it.”

“Your work may be dark, but its got redemption at it’s heart. Don’t lose focus on that.”

The door slammed shut behind Shadow and he launched straight up. It had been a long while since he had been able to launch straight up. Through all the sounds of the storm, he heard the door open. He hadn’t deployed his wings when he jumped and there had been no lightning. To that unicorn, he disappeared like the ghost he was supposed to be.

It was a hard fight back to the building where he could store Black Widow’s costume. But he knew how to manage the winds between the buildings thanks to Marble Falls. And then he managed it back to his room.

It was slippery, the outside rock was slick. He was on the leeward side of the storm, but he still got tossed around as he slipped in. The glass was sharp and sliced him along his back. Shadow fought the pain and kept himself from seizing up as he crawled in. Seizing up would cause more harm.

Inside, safe, Shadow quickly got himself bandaged up so he wouldn’t bleed all over everything. He had some blood he had to hide. The carpet was soaked at the window. Shadow let the boards go back to their position and he tried to patch it up.

He did a decent job, and when it all was put back together, the wet floor was under the couch. The couch was dry. He would have to hope that the staff would believe that the glass had been damaged in the storm and leaked. Few would believe he could have squeezed through as little as a hole as he did. And he didn’t make it cleanly through on his entry. It was the best he could do.

Shadow would have made an early exit, but the storm was still pounding away at them, keeping him locked. He was stuck inside for three more days before he could leave.

When Shadow finally got to leave he made a swift, but unhurried exit. He had to pick up some soap for his clothes before he headed out. Black Widow’s clothes were still soaked and starting to smell. Shadow took up residence by the safe and got a fire going. He washed them and then strung them out to dry properly. Over the next two days he washed and rewashed them several times, cleaning them back to their proper, pristine state. Pristine enough to not smell like mold.

Next Chapter: Chapter 129 - Rock of Destiny Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes