“You sleep well?” Pyre asked me.

“Yeah,” I mumbled. I had not slept well. I had barely slept at all. Any semblance of sleep I might have gotten had been shattered by gory, bloody nightmares.

“Good. You’ll be busy today,” she said. She beckoned with her head, and led me towards the eating area for breakfast.

I didn’t feel like eating, but I managed to finish an apple.

“Colonel wants you to meet the others. I’ll be showing you around the place,” she said. I nodded. I wasn’t really in the mood for meeting people.

“Hey, something wrong, Equestrian?” Pyre asked.

“I’m just feeling kinda... out of place,” I said.

She smiled. “Nothing wrong with that. You are.” She winked at me and flicked her tail suggestively. I ignored the hint.

We trotted to another unfamiliar side cave. This one looked much more artificial than the others, with a clean-cut doorway and a relatively flat floor. “This is where the clan eggheads pass their time,” Pyre explained. She led me inside.

The first thing I noticed about the room was the long table filling up one side, festooned with alchemical tools and containers of every size and shape. Burners, flasks, tubes, and a furnace competed for space. Most of them were shoved up against the sides of the table, with a select few given the privilege of being neatly arranged in the middle. The place felt like a chemistry class. Two recusant stallions were debating about something, standing before an empty flask and waving chemicals around at each other.

“This is a lesson. Not an experiment. Right now we’re making poisons, put the octaazacubane down and pay attention,” the green-furred, gray-maned one said patiently, waving a bottle of something in the face of his student.

“But Blight, just imagine what we could get if we substituted some into this process instead of the lipopolysaccharides!” the student implored, holding another bottle up. He was the biggest recusant I had seen so far, with grey fur and an orange mane. He kind of reminded me of Cleaver.

“That is not a toy, Flintlock! One false move with a sample that size and the whole clan will come down with—”

“Hey, ladies, you meet the Equestrian yet?” Pyre interrupted casually. The two arguing stallions turned to face us, surprised. Flintlock accidentally knocked down a flask labeled with a dreadfully long name, spilling a bright yellow liquid on the floor. It hissed and steamed as it touched the ground. They both flinched as the glass broke and put down the chemicals they had been brandishing a few seconds ago.

“Oh, hello. Giving him the tour, Pyre?” Blight asked. He glared at Flintlock. “Clean that up right now before you kill us all.”

Flintlock smiled sheepishly and grabbed a broom leaning on the wall nearby. “Hey, Pyre. Hey, new guy,” he said.

“Hello. I’m Dissero,” I offered, glancing at the hissing liquid nervously. I wasn’t a scientist, but the stuff looked like it was about to explode.

Blight walked up and shook my hoof. “Greetings. My name is Blight. I’m the poisonmaker around here. Over there is Flintlock. He’s supposed to be my student, but he seems more interested in...explosives.” He shook his head disapprovingly.

I nodded. “So, uh, what does that... stuff, do?” I asked.

“Don’t you worry about it. It’s very stable,” Blight said. Part of it burst into flames. “Do you mind if I get a few shavings off your horn sometime? I haven’t really been able to procure any samples of unicorn dust and I’m curious to see what it can do.”

I blinked. Why is it everyone around here wants a piece of my horn? You’d think that they had never seen a unicorn before. “Uh... sure?”

“Oh, great! I’ll be right back,” he said. He trotted through a doorway on the other side of the room.

“Blight was Colonel’s best friend when they were younger,” Pyre said. “They built this clan together. He could boss us around if he wanted, but he’s more interested in his poisons.”

Flintlock finished cleaning the spill. “So, Dissero. Unicorns can cast spells, right?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes, but we’re limited by our cutie marks.”

Pyre stepped between us, grinning. “Woah, woah, woah, slow down. What the fuck did you just say?” she asked.

“We’re limited by our... cutie marks?” I repeated. Do they get pissed off over cutie marks too?

“Cutie? Cutie?” She fell over laughing. “You call them fucking cutie marks! That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard!”

I blushed and looked away. Flintlock was snickering too.

Pyre recovered and sat up, wiping a tear off her face. “Listen. Dissero. If you want to be taken seriously in the Outer World, don’t call that stamp a cutie mark. Out here, we call them lifemarks.”

Right. I guess it is a pretty silly name for something to base your whole life on. Flintlock pushed past Pyre.

“So, what spells can you do?” he asked. “Anything explosive?”

I scratched at the ground shyly. I didn’t really have any spells to speak of, besides a simple navigation spell to determine an airship’s heading. But I didn’t want to look like a pansy. “No, nothing explosive,” I said.

He frowned. “Oh, that’s too bad. Do you mind if I get some shavings off your horn? I’ve never worked with unicorn dust before and I’m curious about what it could do.”

Deja vu. So far, three of the six recusants I’d met wanted my horn. “Sure,” I said.

He smiled. “Great. I’ll be right back!” He trotted away towards where Blight had gone. I heard him talking to someone else in the hallway, and an elegant orange mare stepped out into the room.

“Hey, Pyre!” she said. The two mares embraced briefly. “What’s up?”

“Just showing the Equestrian around,” Pyre said. The orange mare looked to me and smiled widely.

“Hey! I’m Faerie!” she said. She trotted up to me and gave me a hug. She took me off guard, and I didn’t react fast enough to hug back before she pulled away. Great, now I look like an idiot. “What’s your name?”

“Dissero.” I really needed a name tag. I was getting tired of introducing myself over and over. At least the mares here are pretty.

“Oh, that’s a cute little name,” she said. “How are you liking the Outer World?”

I fell off an airship the first day I got here, got ‘rescued’ by a band of crazy warped ponies, am constantly being threatened with a gruesome death, shadowed by a creepy little sadistic mare, and beaten by wooden sticks. Oh, and I just saw a helpless griffon get torn to pieces for nothing.

“It’s... wonderful,” I said.

She giggled. “I could show you a few little cubbyholes I know sometime, if you want,” she purred. She walked past me, briefly rubbing her flank against mine, and flew out into the main cave. I found myself looking after her, heart beating faster.

Pyre stepped into my vision. “You like what you see? I’m sure you’ll get your chance eventually. Just don’t die or piss us off first,” she said. “Anyways, knowing Flint and Blight, they’ve gotten distracted with something and it’ll be hours before they get out here. I dunno about you, but I’m not up for the wait. Let’s go meet Shatter.”

We left the room. Pyre led the way towards the sandy pit in the middle of the cave. “Shatter is our best martial artist. He usually spends all day practicing at the pit and sparring with whoever’s around. You didn’t see him yesterday, though. Colonel didn’t want him around, with you fumbling all over the place,” she said.

“I wasn’t fumbling,” I muttered half-heartedly. She laughed.

As we approached the pit, I began to hear the sound of metal striking metal. Ping, ping, ping, ping. It grew in volume as we got closer, never settling into any one pattern. I saw Blitz fly into the air, wearing a pair of wingblades, and then dive back down.

Coming to the edge of the pit, I found the source of the noise.

Blitz was flying, rolling, and running around his opponent furiously. He moved faster than any pegasus I had ever seen, striking, moving, and striking again. He ducked low, lashing out at his opponent’s legs.

The white recusant he was fighting moved even faster. He held a rapier in his feathers, expertly dancing away from Blitz’s attack and riposting, but Blitz was already out of the way, moving to attack from another angle.

“There he is. Looks like Blitz managed to coax him into a spar,” Pyre said.

Holy hay, I thought. I stared in awe as Shatter danced away from another attack. His hooves were a blur, each step precisely placed, measured, and purposed.

Blitz skidded to a halt in the sand, panting heavily. Shatter planted himself opposite, holding the rapier out in front of him confidently. They stared each other down.

Blitz flapped his wings, kicking up sand as he dashed forwards for another slash. Shatter dipped his head, slid underneath the wingblades, and lightly nicked his opponent on the neck with his blade.

Drops of blood stained the sand.

“Your loss, Blitz. Blood on the sand,” Shatter said. He slid his rapier into a scabbard on his back.

Blitz spat into the sand, ignoring the cut. “It’s no big deal. Let’s go again.” He flared his wings and slid into a fighting stance.

Shatter sighed patiently, but nonetheless reached to unsheath his sword.

“Hey! You two!” Pyre said, trotting between them. I followed slowly, getting a closer look at Shatter.

His ears twitched as he turned to face us. His slow, measured movements spoke of a calm composure and quiet confidence. His white fur contrasted with deep blue eyes and similarly colored patches on his legs and wingtips.

“Yes?” he asked politely. Blitz scratched at the ground impatiently.

“Cool off, Blitz. Go patch yourself up while I introduce Shatter to the Equestrian,” Pyre said. He snorted, looking to Shatter for backup.

“Go ahead, Blitz. We can do more later,” Shatter said. Blitz snorted and flicked his tail, flying away angrily.

“So, you met the Equestrian yet? His name is Dissero,” Pyre said. She waved a wing in my direction. I stepped forward, dipping my head politely.

“Hello,” I said.

“Greetings,” Shatter replied. He looked me over carefully, and I fidgeted nervously under his gaze. I got the impression that he was sizing me up for something.

“Want some advice?” he asked.

My eyes widened in surprise. “Uh... sure.”

He grabbed a practice sword and tossed it to me. I reflexively caught it with my magic and held it out in front of me.

“Colonel’s idea of teaching consists of swamping you with experience. She’ll beat you a thousand times and expect you to figure out what’s wrong by yourself. If you fuck up bad enough, she’ll give you a hint. I subscribe to more conventional methods,” Shatter said, taking a position opposite me in the sand pit. I braced myself.

“Loosen up,” he said. “The first key to surviving in combat is right frame of mind. You won’t fight well if you’re tense or worried.”

Makes sense. I tried to push away the terrifying image of being beaten by the best fighter amongst a clan of insane outlaw bandits.

“Second: stop thinking of your weapon as a weapon. Think of it as part of you, like your hooves. Think of it as just another feather on your wing. A feather you can use to protect yourself.”

I looked at the sword awkwardly, unsure of how to interpret the advice. Pyre spoke up from the sidelines. “Hey Shatter, in case you didn’t notice, he doesn’t have any wings.”

He cocked his head. “An extension of your... magic. Just another spell.” I nodded.

“Third: never allow your focus to slip. You must be aware of everything around you at all times. You must know the terrain under your hooves before you step on it. You must know where every immediate threat is and where your weapons are, always.”

I nodded again. This is getting complicated...

“Fourth: Practice. Fight imaginary opponents at whatever speed you require, until fighting becomes instinct.”

So is he gonna attack me or.... are we just gonna stand around and chat or what?

“Fifth. Stop thinking. Clear your mind and let your body think for you.”

What? “How am I supposed to focus, think of this sword as part of my magic, and be constantly aware of everything without thinking?” I asked.

“You’ll get it, eventually,” he said.

Okay then... “So, now what?” I asked.

“Now, you pay attention.”

Time passed. Over the course of a month I learned the lessons the recusants taught me. Shatter’s training session helped immensely in my bouts against Colonel. They became more than a desperate struggle to stay on my hooves. I even came close to winning once.

We began as we usually did, circling each other slowly from opposite sides of the pit. Only Shatter was watching at the time; the rest of the clan were off doing whatever it was they liked to do.

I levitated my practice sword in front of me confidently. I no longer feared her assault as before. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep her off forever, but I felt... prepared. Unlike before, now I was ready for it.

“Remember,” she said, “Don’t limit yourself.” She had been telling me that for the last few days now. She had been repeating the tip over and over, before each bout, and I knew she would keep repeating it until I learned the lesson she wanted.

Relax. I felt my muscles loosen up. My hooves slid through the sand. I waited for her to spring into motion.

Colonel flapped her wings. Sand rose into the air as she dashed towards me, hooves just inches above the ground. I held my sword out in front of me. Not a weapon. Just another spell.

A spear flashed for my neck. I sidestepped, and raised my sword to deflect the second spear. She flew past me, and we both whipped around to face each other.

I charged forward, swinging for her neck from the side. As expected, she blocked it easily, using her other spear for a rapid counter attack. I ducked underneath it, rising up inside of her range. She leaped back before my sword reached her, and it swept through empty space. I stumbled briefly, unbalanced.

She came running back the instant her hooves touched the ground. Her spears flashed in and out towards me with practiced expertise, and I stumbled backwards. I couldn’t find any opportunity to regain my balance amongst the fierce assault. My steps became uncertain and I found my sword lagging behind my thoughts. I could barely get it up to block each attack by the time I reacted.

Stop thinking so much.

I cleared my mind. My body took over, and my sword caught up to Colonel’s attacks. I gained confidence. We continued to exchange blows, blocking and countering as we traversed the sand.

Don’t let your opponent lull you into a pattern.

Fuck, I thought. I tried to break away, but I was too slow. She lashed out and tripped me. I fell onto my back and crawled away, frantically deflecting her spears. My sword was too slow. I couldn’t move out of the way when her spears slipped past my guard. I began to falter.

Don’t limit yourself.

Okay, how the fuck am I limiting myself? What assets did I have that I wasn’t using? Magic? I was already levitating a sword, and I lacked any other useful spells besides telekinesis. I didn’t even have a very strong telekinetic grasp or range. I just had a knack for levitating a few things at once.

Wait...

I risked a glance towards the weapon rack where I knew the swords were kept. I noticed there were two more practice swords waiting—

A spear grazed my cheek and slammed into the sand by my head.

I turned back, diverted a spear headed for my neck with my sword, rolled out of the way of her other spear, and directed my magic towards the sword rack. Unable to look for fear of getting a spear to the face, I groped around with my magic and managed to grab a second sword.

I brought the sword around just in time to block a spear slash to the head. Colonel jumped back, eyeing my new weapon. I climbed to my hooves, grinning at her.

Now I was on the attack. The second sword added a whole different dynamic to our fight. I was no longer forced to block two attacks at a time with a single weapon. I was pushing her back. It was fair now.

Why stop there? As we passed by the sword rack, I grabbed a third sword for my arsenal. It was hard to divide my magic three ways, and for a split second it faltered, but I recovered before Colonel could take advantage of the weakness.

She danced away from me, but I kept up the attack. Now she was scrambling to hold off my assault. I stopped aiming and started to just swing the three swords at her as fast as I could. It took all my focus just to stop them from hitting each other.

Then it happened. A sword broke through her defenses. She fell back, and within the second I had all three practice swords at her neck.

“My win!” I shouted. My heart was racing. Adrenaline filled my veins. My mind filled with images of my superiority.

She nodded approvingly. “Impressive, Dissero. But you seem to have forgotten the fundamentals again.”

I cocked my head. “What?” I asked. She gave me an evil little smile, and I saw her wing twitch. I looked down just in time to see one of the hard wooden tips of her spears hit me in an obscene place.

I yelped in pain and keeled over. She got up and dusted herself off, still smiling at me as I shuddered in the sand. “Be aware of your surroundings at all times.”

Despite the pain and embarrassment, the fight had still proven my worth to the recusants. Colonel declared that I was now capable of being useful to the clan, and then immediately put me to work.

It had been just a day since my martial breakthrough, and I was trekking through the mountains with most of the clan. We were all wearing barding or heavy clothes for protection. My barding was made of hardened leather, strapped around the legs and chest in separate pieces to maximize flexibility and movement, which recusants often relied on to survive. On my back I had three scabbards holding three arming swords. A pair of empty saddlebags bounced off my sides as I walked, ready to carry any loot back to the cave. My bandanna hung around my neck as always, with a backup knife strapped to my neck underneath.

At first I had cringed at the concept of wearing the skin of another creature, but Pyre convinced me that it was necessary.

“Why do I need this? How is this going to protect me?” I had asked. “I can cut right through this.”

“Trust me, Dissero. You can’t block or dodge everything. When you mess up, you’ll be thankful you had some extra padding to save your skin,” she had said. I tried not to think about it too much.

After a few hours of walking, we reached the bottom of the mountains. The wasteland I had first seen upon arriving in the Outer World stretched across the horizon before us. Navery looked up at the night sky briefly before taking the lead. The rest of us fell in behind her.

I walked between Pyre and Hunter, near the back of the group. Blight and Flintlock were in front of us, heads together as they argued over some chemical. Blitz and Colonel took up positions at our flanks, watching warily for any sign of life. Shatter followed quietly from behind. Blood had stayed to watch the cave, though I suspected that Colonel probably didn’t want her going out of control on the mission.

“So, where are we going?” I asked. Nobody had told me before we left. They had only said that we were going out on an “expedition,” and that I should be ready to fight.

“We have rivals, Dissero. There’s only room for one recusant clan around here, and we need to drive another one out. They came in a week ago and started fucking the place up, raiding every caravan that comes within ten miles. If they keep it up, the merchants will complain and before you know it there’ll be fucking mercs swarming all over the place,” Pyre explained.

“But don’t you guys raid caravans too?” I asked

“Yes, but not so much that we become a major nuisance. As long as only one caravan out of fifty goes missing, they won’t complain too much,” Pyre said.

I nodded, glancing up at the sky in the hopes of seeing the Omega. Nothing. “So why aren’t you flying?” I asked.

“Besides the fact that we have to take care of you? The sky is dangerous. You can be seen for miles around when you fly,” she said.

“So what’s the plan?”

“Colonel will tell you when we get there,” Hunter said.

We walked in silence for a few more hours, stopping only for a quick water break and a short conference between Colonel and Navery. After climbing to the top of a nondescript hill, Colonel called us to a stop.

She beckoned us closer, and we gathered around to listen.

“You all know what we’re here for,” she began. “This other clan cannot be allowed to continue as it is... but I would prefer to avoid a fight.

“Me and Blight will try and talk to their leaders. If they do not agree to leave, then we will be forced to kill them.”

I blinked. What? They wouldn’t... no. No, they wouldn’t kill a whole clan just like that.

“Pyre will wait on a nearby cloud for a signal from us,” Colonel said. “If they refuse, she’ll drop one of Flintlock’s flares. Then Hunter and Dissero are to kill the lookouts while we stall. They will have five minutes before I call for the rest of the clan to attack. Any questions?”

The recusants had no questions, and I didn’t give any voice to mine. We piled up our saddlebags and anything else we didn’t need to fight on the hill. Hunter pulled two cloaks out of his bags, colored in a dark brown and green pattern, and hoofed one to me. “You know how to be sneaky?” he asked.

I gulped. I was starting to get butterflies. “Don’t step on anything noisy and stay in dark corners, right?”

“Pretty much. Keep movement slow and minimal. Oh, and no magic. That horn of yours gets pretty bright,” he said.

“Then how am I supposed to... uh... deal with the lookouts?” I asked. I never really got a handle on the way earth ponies held things in their mouths. Or with their fetlocks. It was like... impossible.

He pulled a wire out of his bag. “Here,” he said, handing me the wire. “Sneak up behind them, and choke them with this. Once you start, don’t let up.”

Gingerly, I floated the wire into my upturned hooves. It suddenly occurred to me what the clan was asking me to do. I might have to kill someone.

An image of a bloody griffon flashed through my mind, and I barely managed to hold back the bile rising up my throat. I had never killed another person before. If Old Ironhide had been alive... would I have killed him?

I wasn’t sure.

Colonel and Blight trotted down the slope. The foreign clan was camped in a sinkhole in the middle of a shallow depression. A path leading down into the camp was guarded by a pair of watchers, armed with simple rifles and swords.

Hunter beckoned to me. “C’mon, let’s get in position,” he said. He led the way towards a patch of bushes near the sinkhole, raising the hood of the cloak. I saw Pyre fly up towards a nearby cloud as we crept forwards. The guards caught sight of Colonel and Blight and trained their rifles on them.

“We come to parley!” I heard Colonel shout. One of the guards yelled something down into the sinkhole, waited for a reply, and lowered his rifle. Another recusant trotted out to escort the diplomats inside.

Hunter and I reached the bushes, and we picked up the pace, making sure to keep our hooves on quiet surfaces. He beckoned me closer and pointed towards a small bush near one of the guards, and then to me. I nodded, pulling up my bandana and hood, and he disappeared into the darkness.

I crept forwards, placing my hooves with excruciating detail. I heard a twig snap behind me and froze. Nothing grabbed me, killed me, or shot at me, so I pressed onwards.

I positioned myself under the bush Hunter had pointed out. The guard closest to me was sighting down his scope at the stars as I settled into place less than three meters away. He looked bored.

The guard looked over to his buddy. “Hey, Pendulum. What time is it?” he asked.

Pendulum looked up at the stars and squinted momentarily. “1:43,” he said.

“Fuck, that’s it? Feels like it’s been hours.”

“Shut up and do your job. If you don’t pay attention we’ll both end up dead.”

“Hah! Yeah, right. What do you think of those recusants?”

“I’ve heard of ‘em. Stygian Clan. Leader is one of those ‘hide and survive’ fuckers. No balls, no gold, I like to say.”

“They’re just afraid we’ll cut into their trade routes. Greedy bastards.”

“Didn’t I just say to shut up?”

The guards lapsed back into silence. My snout itched, but I didn’t dare move a hoof to scratch it. A light drizzle began to fall, but the cloak kept me from getting too wet. I heard a loud exclamation from the sinkhole, but no flare fell from the clouds. Glancing upwards, I saw that the stars had moved halfway across the sky.What’s going on down there? It’s been hours, I thought. Did they manage to kill them before Blight could signal? For a moment I wavered between fear and relief. Maybe I won’t have to do this after all.

Then I saw it. A fizzling green light, falling from the clouds, shining briefly before sputtering out. The guards saw it, too.

“Hey, what was tha—” Pendulum’s voice suddenly cut off. Quiet scuffles and choking noises came from the shadows. The other guard drew his sword, backing towards me cautiously.

Here we go. I steeled myself. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Don’t let them down.

Despite myself, I didn’t move.

Go! Go go go! Shit! My body refused me. I looked down at the wire, between my hooves. Do it! The choking noise died down. Stop thinking! GO!

“Pendulum?” the guard called. “You alright?”

I rushed out of the bushes, heart racing, the wire between my hooves. The guard was peering towards the darkness where Pendulum had been just moments before when he heard me.

He tried to turn and raise his sword, but he was too late. I wrapped the wire around his neck and pulled hard. He gagged, rearing up, and managed to shake me off. I sprawled on my back. He fell to the dust, coughing.

I quickly recovered and leaped towards him. He rolled onto his back and raised his hooves to fend me off, but he was still fighting to breathe. I straddled him, pinning him on his back, put all my weight onto my forehooves, and pushed the wire into his neck. The guard flapped his wings frantically, scratching at my face.

His eyes stared into mine. I saw him realize that he was about to die. I saw him fill with regrets. Truths gone untold, dreams never accomplished, wrongs left unrighted, opportunities untaken. I saw him think back and realize hundreds of things he should’ve done better. I pushed down with the wire relentlessly as tears streamed down my face. I didn’t want to kill him. I wanted to let him live, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. He started to weaken. His hooves fell into the dust. One moment he was staring straight at me, and then suddenly he wasn’t. I heard the last breath leave his body.

The life left his eyes, and his body went slack.

I fell over. I just killed someone. Fuck. I felt sick. The griffon flashed before my eyes. He’s dead. I stumbled to my hooves and into the bushes, retching. I was shaking. I couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of my heart. The rush of my blood. I was having trouble breathing. I started to hyperventilate. Fuck. I just killed someone. I couldn’t get his eyes out of my head! Dead. I couldn’t see anything else. I closed my eyes and curled up on the ground, but the terrifying image wouldn’t leave. Fuck! I heard Colonel call out, as if from far away, and the rest of the clan flying into battle.

Whimpering, I calmed down enough to notice Hunter standing over me. He looked worried.

“First time?” he asked softly.

“Yeah.”

He nodded grimly. “We’ll handle the rest.”

I just killed someone.

I looked back at the guard’s body warily. His eyes stared back at me. Those eyes. His mouth was open, as if still struggling for breath.

Murderer.

Crawling, I crept up to the body and tentatively reached out a hoof. I closed his eyes and mouth. Somehow he seemed less... I wasn’t sure. It felt right. I felt like I would shatter if I didn’t do it. I had to get out of their sight.

It didn’t help. Even closed, it felt like they were staring into my soul. Blaming me.

Murderer.

The festivities felt out of place.

The expedition had been a success. The clan leader had refused to move away, and we had killed them all without a single casualty. I had sat out most of the battle, curled up in the dirt, too disturbed to take part in it.

Now we were back at the cave. Although Colonel had disapproved of the foreign clan raiding so frequently, she had set no limits on what loot we brought back. The sinkhole had been full of booze, food, gear, and valuables. We didn’t have enough room in our saddlebags to carry even a third of it back.

Upon our return, Colonel had announced a gathering in the training sands. With the rest of the clan sitting in the sand, Colonel called me up to the top of an outcropping in the cave wall.

“You have learned our lessons well since your arrival, Equestrian. Tonight, you killed for the clan. You are now one of us. If you are ever in need of aid, the Stygian Clan will be there for you,” she had said.

Cheers and applause. A small, shameful feel of pride. I wasn’t sure if it was worth it. If I could go back, I would’ve asked to stay in the cave with Blood.

Now I sat on one of the pillows in the eating area, staring at nothing. The rest of the clan was celebrating the successful mission with booze and food. Blitz was engaged in a one-sided bragging contest with Shatter, Blight was explaining the intricacies of some poison or other to Blood and Faerie, and Hunter and Flintlock were in the midst of a drinking contest, with Navery watching silently. Colonel was nowhere to be seen.

Pyre trotted up to my side, holding a bottle in her feathers. “Having fun, sitting off to the side all alone?” she asked.

“I killed someone,” I said. Murderer.

She frowned. “Oh. First time?”

“Yeah.”

A few silent moments passed. She smiled. “Hey, cheer up and have a drink. Those recusants had some of the good stuff,” she said, holding out her bottle.

I grabbed it half-heartedly. “What was your first like?” I asked. I suddenly realized how personal my question was and rushed to take it back. “No, don’t answer that.”

She hesitated with her smile. “It’s alright. I... you get used to it.”

“Right.” I nodded and took a drink from the bottle. It burned on the way down, but the warmth that followed was surprisingly satisfying. “This stuff is pretty good.”

“Yeah, I think it’s some of that... what is it, Stalliongrad? From Equestria. Home sweet home, right?”

Despite myself, I managed a small smile. “Yeah... sure.”

Author's Notes:

Dissy kills for the first time. Now with a few changed words for added affect.

Really, that has got to be the best paragraph I've ever written.