Five ponies gathered in a simple room, far above the ground.

They all faced the far wall, gazing somberly at the array of candles. They would have put up pictures, too, but they didn’t have any. Any pictures they may have had had been lost a long time ago, when they were enslaved by Robber Baron. They didn’t have any keepsakes to use, either. After their escape, everypony had just carried everything with them; they didn’t have enough stuff to really need to put it anywhere. So when Dissero had fallen off the Omega, almost a month back, he had taken all of his life’s possessions with him.

Instead, a simple sheet of paper was propped up on top of the shrine. Stormslider had written his name on it in her best writing. It was horribly inadequate. It was the best they could do.

Ember watched the ceremony with an almost detached attitude. What had the unicorn been to her? An employer. An escape. Yes, he had done much for her by taking her into his crew, and she had lived with him for years, but in the end he was just another boss. Not even a very good one at that. Although she did feel the loss, she wouldn’t exactly call it grief. He had always lacked backbone. With him gone, maybe the crew could now truly go somewhere.

One by one, they stepped up to say their last words. Silver Feather was first to approach the shrine. Tears flowed freely from his face, and his goggles hung limply around his neck instead of their usual spot in his mane. Even they were saddened by the loss. He bowed his head, whispering softly to the written name. His body shook, and it seemed to take all his strength to step away and rejoin the rest of the crew.

Stormslider didn’t cry. It wasn’t like her to show that much emotion. Nonetheless, her eyes reflected her sorrow. Phoenix Down could barely make the walk. She had bid everything on Dissero, following him out here into a strange and hostile world, abandoning all she knew, and now he was dead. Ember wasn’t sure if the gentle earth pony was troubled more by his death or by the prospect of having to live with four ponies she barely knew, in a world she had never seen.

It was Ember’s turn. She stepped somberly before the sad excuse for a shrine. No tears wet her eyes, but she still felt something for the dead. She had never really respected Dissero as a leader, but she had known that he always did his best. She bowed her head.

“Goodbye, Dissero,” she whispered. “Thanks for... everything.”

She took her place amongst the crew, and Cleaver stepped forward. He gave his last words, and then turned to face the rest of the crew. He filled the little room with his deep baritone as he sang a simple Stalliongrad funeral dirge. Nopony understood the words. None but him knew the thick language of Stalliongrad. Nonetheless, they felt them.

He finished, and the survivors dispersed quietly. Ember waited for the others to leave, silently listening to the words of the ship as it floated through the air. It sounded somewhat subdued. Even his ship, it would seem, mourned Dissero’s death.

Silver hung back, eyes fixed to the hard metal he stood upon. The floor was wet beneath his forehooves. He looked up and took a deep breath, glancing towards Ember.

“He can’t be dead,” he said.

Ember sighed patiently. She had been through this before. A part of her wanted to walk out on the pegasus, to go and talk with the engine, but she knew that he needed her right now. “We’ve searched for over a month, Silver, with no signs of him.”

“I know, but... I just feel like if he was dead I would... feel it.”

She cocked her head. Ponies never made any sense to her mind. “I think you’re definitely feeling something. Face reality, Silver. Dissero is dead, and we need to move on. You need to move on. If not for yourself, then for us. We need you to fly the ship.”

He stomped a hoof down, his good wing flapping angrily. “What about him?” he snapped. “We can’t give up on him! He could be out there, lost and afraid, and we’re going to just... move on?”

Ember stepped forward, coming nose to nose with the distraught pegasus. “What do you expect?” she shouted. “Do you think we can just spend the rest of our lives searching for a body, to get some fucking peace of mind?”

“He would have done it for us!” Silver replied, raising his voice to match hers. She didn’t need this yelling, she hated yelling. How she longed for the calm reason of machinery!

“He was a fool! A goddamn fool that led us into slavery, and then to this! We’re better off without him!”

Silver leaped on Ember, pinning her down, teeth bared. “How dare you!” he snarled. “After all he’s done for you! You would be dead if it wasn’t for him, and now you want to abandon him!”

“Silver, get the fuck off of me,” she said calmly. Her cool voice made a stark contrast to the fury within her. Pounce on her, will he? Lucky for him that she wouldn’t hit a grieving ally! A tense moment passed between the two.

Trembling, he backed off. The tears had returned to his eyes. Ember climbed to her hooves, listening to the sound of Silver’s hooves as he walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him.

Ember shook her head. She would have to get these ponies under control. Their grief would be the death of them. Her ears twitched as the engine hummed a little louder, at the rear of the ship. It was worried about the crew.

“Yes. I know,” she said, patting the wall affectionately.

She snuffed the candles on the way out.

I was exhausted.

Where am I?

I was starting to get tired of this thing with the unknown beds and the waking up and the lack of memory. Where was I? What would I face when I opened my eyes?

A massive headache, that’s what. Sweet Celestia, that hurts.

Focus. I ran through what I could remember from last night. There was the raid, and then the party, and then the drinking, and then… Oh. Oh no.

Drinking was bad. I had never been the type to hold my booze in well and Silver Feather wasn’t around to play wingpony anymore. I prayed that I hadn’t done anything I might regret, let out a hoarse moan, and rolled over.

I came snout-to-snout with Pyrestripe.

“Why hello, Dissero,” she purred.

Well, that was unexpected. I felt my cheeks warming as my pulse quickened. My eyes darted side to side in search of escape. I was in one of the recusant’s rooms, probably one of the mares, but I wasn’t sure which and was in no way capable of reasoning it out right now. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind and yet at the same time I found it impossible to think. I desperately grasped for something to say, and leaped for the first thing that came to mind.

“Uhm… good morning,” I croaked. I noticed her tail wrapped around one of my hind legs.

She smiled sweetly and slid out of the bed, offering an excellent view of her flanks as she stretched.

“You enjoy the party?” she asked.

“I’m… not… sure…” I managed to say. I was starting to have some trouble breathing. I didn’t know if I was pleased or ashamed, but I was certain that I wanted to remember what happened. I just felt so let down about it all, kind of like reading a great book, forgetting the whole plot, and missing out on all the juicy details.

“I know I did.” She licked her lips. “You Equestrian stallions are… so much more satisfying.”

“What happened, exactly?” I asked. A triumphant sense of satisfaction sparked within me as I stifled my stutters. I spotted an exit, but Pyre was standing in my way.

“Oh, you know. You got drunk. You really open up when you’re drunk, Dissy. A real party animal.” She giggled and looked away wistfully.

“Oh…” I rolled over again, too shy to look at her, and noticed Faerie sleeping next to me. I almost fell off the bed.

She raised her head groggily. “Wha… time for round six?” she asked.

Round six!? What the fuck! “Uhm… No, thanks I was... just…” I crawled out of the bed and stumbled for the doorway. Wow, the air was really thick in here. And dark. The ground started moving in a way I found to be disturbingly un-groundlike.

“I was… just leaving…” I said, having some difficulty figuring out which way was gravity.

Hunter appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Dissero, wanna go hunting?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed. I almost fell on him, and I took some time to steady myself. “I love hunting! Favorite thing ever,” I added enthusiastically.

He cocked his head, raising a brow. “Okay… well, come on then.”

He turned, and with a breathless farewell to the mares I shuffled after him. My knees were shaking, and I kept falling to the side, having to catch myself on the walls.

“Uh, you okay, buddy?” my savior asked as we emerged into the main cave.

“Yeah,” I said with the voice of someone who was completely not okay and was trying desperately hard not to look like a total wimp who can’t even handle waking up with two mares he hardly knows.

He grinned. “So, guess you had an exciting night, huh?”

I shook my head, wide-eyed and confused. “I… I don’t even know. I think I’m gonna… I dunno.” I moved to walk away, but he blocked my passage.

“Whoa, now. You promised me we’d go hunting,” he said, pushing me back. “And hunting we will go.”

I just want to lie down, really, I protested silently.

“Grab your stuff and meet me at the sandpit in ten minutes.”

“What do you know about guns?”

Hunter and I crouched in the undergrowth, hiding under the shade of one of the many trees that covered the Stygian clan’s home valley with green. We both wore our barding and weapons of choice, but Hunter had added a bow to his repertoire, as well as the gun which was lying before me now.

“Well, you point them at things, and shoot them, and it kills them. That’s about it,” I said. I had calmed considerably since my distressing morning, putting my mind into the intricate climb down the mountain. It felt good to be out in the woods. I hadn’t done anything like this for a long time.

He nodded. “More or less. Do you know how they work?”

“Not really. We have something like this back home. It uses a spell to propel the bullet.”

“Ah, magic. I hear you Equestrians are big on that, but you won’t find much of it over here. Anyways, our guns are somewhat different. When you pull the trigger, it lights a spark, creates an explosion in the barrel, and pushes the bullet out.”

I raised a brow skeptically. “That sounds dangerous. And dirty.”

“It is. You have to be careful you maintain good guns, and you shouldn’t try using any unfamiliar guns you happen to come across. They’ll blow up in your face.”

"Is the technology flawed?”

“Not exactly. It’s just… new, kinda. Most guns are just clobbered together wrecks made by amateurs. You’d be better off if you only took guns with this mark.” He pointed to the butt of the gun, and I picked out an emblem of a shining sun, with a single line through the middle.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Means its a good gun. One you can trust. Anyways, we best get going if we want to catch anything. Here.” He held the gun out, and I levitated it into a sheath strapped to my side.

With a flap of his wings, Hunter was in the trees. He leapt silently from branch to branch, using his wings to aid his travel, while I followed on the ground, body low and eyes scouring the forest.

After some time, Hunter landed next to me. “There’s a herd of deer in a clearing to the south. You creep up to the north edge, and I’ll fly around and drive them to you.”

I nodded, and soon I was trotting through the woods on my own. The walk to the clearing’s edge only took ten minutes, and soon I was hidden amongst the bushes. I pulled the gun out of its sheath, taking a moment to watch how the sunlight gleamed off the strange emblem, and set it down before me. I was ready to fire.

My ears twitched at the sound of thundering hooves. I squinted as a small herd of deer turned a corner, sprinting straight towards me.

With a glimmer of magic, I took aim.

I was so intent on the shot that at first I didn’t notice the hissing coming from the trees behind me. I turned around, curious, just in time to see something lunging for my face.

I threw myself away, rolling into the clearing and holding the gun out before me. From the corner of my eye I noticed the herd of deer turning away. Shit. The hunt was ruined.

“Hunter?” I called, eyeing the creature nervously. Ten more just like it emerged from the trees, spreading out to surround me. I began to take cautious steps backwards.

“Hunnnteeerrrrrr?” A little louder this time.

I almost couldn’t hear him over the wind. “Raptors! Run away!”

Good enough for me.

I fired the gun, flinching as it kicked back and struck me hard on the shoulder. The raptor's scream barely reached my ringing ears as I sheathed my gun, turned tail, and ran through the smoke left by the shot.

It took all of ten seconds for one of them to catch up and pounce on me.

I screamed as the talons dug into my sides, reflexively bucking the creature off of me. It fell off, tearing away my flesh with it. I drew one of my swords and impaled its neck before it could get back up.

My sides burned. I could barely walk with the pain. I turned around, drawing my other two swords, and tried to figure out how I was going to defend myself against nine of these ravenous Outer World beasts.

Hunter fell from the sky, cracking one’s spine with his landing and leaping onto another, knives bared. He rolled away from it, turning towards me for half a second.

“Go! I’ll distract them!”

I limped away as fast as I could, trying to ignore the searing sensation in my sides as I made for the trees. Upon reaching them I skidded to a stop and looked back, hoping Hunter could handle the beasts.

He was doing fine. But four of them had broken off and were heading straight for me. Time to run again!

I galloped through the forest, dodging trees and jumping over fallen logs, slowed by my attempts to keep weight off my injured leg. The soft sound of raptor claws tearing through the earth behind me spurred me on, but they were catching up. I couldn’t outrun them. My heart pounded as I searched frantically for a way out. I couldn’t climb trees. I couldn’t hide. I couldn’t fight. They would surround me and pounce all at once.

Unless I could find a way to funnel them to me, and take them on one at a time.

I angled my path towards the mountain closest to me. The raptors didn’t look like they were very good climbers; their claws may get grip, but their tiny forelegs wouldn’t be able to grab anything. I could climb up onto a ledge, and pick them off as they tried to follow..

Bursting out of the trees, I stopped before the mountain to briefly catch my breath. There was nothing to climb. The mountainside here was nothing but a sheer and steep cliff. I cursed under my breath.

I spied a cave, and made for that instead. They wouldn’t be able to surround me in there. It wasn’t what I had been hoping for, but it would do.

Stepping over a fallen sign and entering the cave, I turned around to face my attackers. I slid into a defensive crouch as I drew my blades, ready to fight to the death.

The raptors didn’t seem nearly as eager. The squawked in alarm and skidded to a stop at the treeline. They chattered to each other nervously, pacing side to side but refusing to come any closer.

I grinned. Smart little bastards. They were too afraid to attack me! Weren’t willing to take me on in a fair fight! I stepped forward, snarling.

“Well? Come at me, then!”

They quieted down, backing into the trees as they eyed me warily.

Wait… they’re not looking at me… Oh, fuck.

I glanced down at the sign. Beware of Baron. Slowly, I turned to face the inside of the cave, coming face to face with the largest and most terrifying mouth I had ever seen.

Rows upon rows of gleaming white teeth lined a massive wet hole at least twice my size. Saliva and disgusting green fluid dripped from the teeth on top, and formed into little puddles around the teeth on the bottom. The monster let out a breath, and the nauseous scent that emerged from the shaded depths made me gag. Then, it roared at me.

The sound alone was bad enough. It was the sound of imminent death. Even without the mighty wind that accompanied it, it still would have pushed me back onto my rump from fear alone. It was like being in the Breaks all over again, like the roar of a thousand thunder clouds. It engulfed my entire being. I felt a warm liquid pooling around my rear.

Saliva flew out of its mouth with the roar, and when I came to my senses I was covered in the sticky slick stuff. I would’ve thrown up right there if some wiser part of my mind hadn’t decided that there were more important matters at hoof.

The mouth reared back, and my eyes widened.

“HUNTER!” I leaped to the side as its mouth slammed into the ground where I had just been standing. I shrieked, backing up against the cave wall. I looked out through the exit and saw the raptors waiting patiently for dinner to be served. My heart sank.

The cheeky bastards had known the whole time!

The monster rose for another strike, and I turned my focus to survival. It lunged, and once again I rolled away with just a few inches to spare. I could feel the thing’s mouth as it flew past, and the shockwave as it hit the cave wall pushed me off my hooves. This was not the time to be thinking about the raptors.

As the monster struggled to recover from the miss, I was able to get a clear look at it for the first time. Some of it was underground, with what I was fighting now rising from a burrow in the middle of the cave, but from what I saw it was some kind of giant worm. Jumping up, I sprinted to its side and stabbed a sword through its armored sides.

No, wait. The sword broke.

Well, fuck.

Luckily, it didn’t seem to notice my attack. I ran back to the cave wall, preparing myself to dodge another strike. Just like before, it lunged straight at me, and I was able to jump away. The monster may have been strong, but it was hardly an innovative beast.

I dashed to its side, gritting my teeth through the pain of each step. This time I stuck the sword under one its massive scales, working it back and forth to try and loosen it. But I took too long, and the monster rose up and tried to smash me with its heavy body.

I leapt forwards, barely making it out. I pulled my tail out from under the great weight and moved away. If it lunged for me again, I could get back at the scale.

Predictably enough, it did. I was getting the hang of things. I managed to jump away at the right time to put plenty of space between me and its fearsome ring of teeth. I almost chuckled! I got this! As long as I didn’t let it tire me out or hit me, I could win.

I rushed back to the same scale, prying it up with the sword. The blade broke. I tossed the pieces aside and grabbed the scale with my hooves, pulling with both might and magic.

I felt something give, but I couldn’t pull it all the way off. Panting, I ran back to the cave wall to prepare for another strike.

Hunter grunted as he pulled his daggers out of the corpse of the last raptor.

He had killed five raptors. Excellent. Even if the deer had gotten away, he at least had these. He rolled his shoulders and cleaned his blades on some grass. Something was nagging at him. He cocked his head thoughtfully.

Weren’t there nine raptors at first?

He glanced around. There were definitely only five bodies, but he was certain there had been nine of them.

Off in the distance, faintly, he thought he heard someone calling his name.

His eyes widened. Where’s the Equestrian...? Damnit.

With a powerful flap of his wings, he was off. He simply would not allow that naive bastard to get himself killed. That wouldn’t be any good at all.

So the fight went on. Over and over, the monster lunged for me, stupidly smashing its head into the rock behind me, and I would rush up and do whatever I could to loosen the scale. The wound on my shoulder wasn’t helping. I felt myself slowing down. This is taking too long!

Again, the mouth smashed into the wall. Again, I ran up and tried to pull the scale off. I braced my hind legs against its body, pulling with all the power I could muster from both body and mind.

A crack echoed through the cave, and it finally broke away.

I fell back, landing hard on the rocky ground, and raised my last remaining sword. It plunged easily into the monster, slipping through the exposed skin like butter. The monster roared and reared up, seeming surprised that I had managed to hurt it.

The movement pulled the sword out of my reach, and I scrambled back for the cave wall. I waited for it to topple over. For it to bleed out, release a moan of agony and die.

It roared the roar of a beast that had been stabbed by a tiny little sword and was starting to get pissed at the little pony that simply refused to be eaten.

My heart sank. All that work for nothing. It reared up again, and I prepared myself for another dodge. My mind raced as I tried to figure out some kind of plan.

But it didn’t lunge this time. Instead, it spat. I was so surprised I almost forgot to dodge. Too slow. Some of the green spit landed on my flank as I jumped away. I yelped as it began to sizzle and burn. Now the thing is spitting acid!

It lunged again, and I just barely avoided getting chomped. The acid hurt one my good legs, and it wasn’t able to hold weight. I toppled over, trying to drag myself away, but something was holding my tail!

I screamed as I was lifted into the air. The monster hissed in delight, pleased that it had finally managed to capture the pesky little pony.

“HUNNNTTEEERRRRR!!”

Suddenly I was falling. I shrieked and closed my eyes, waiting for thousands of teeth to sink into my flesh.

“Oof!” My face slammed into the cave floor. I spent a few seconds lying there, dazed from the impact.

I looked up to see Hunter flying above me, daggers bared, brow furrowed, flashing a confident smile. “I see you found our resident baron!”

“Just kill it, for the love of Luna!”

The monster roared in fury, expressing great disappointment towards the tiny recusant that dared to interrupt its meal time.

With a flap of his wings, Hunter dove into its mouth. My heart stopped. That stallion is insane!

A few scales exploded off the monster’s side, and Hunter popped out, covered in blood and gore but otherwise unharmed. He took a breath and dove back in. The beast roared in pain.

Suddenly, it went quiet, moaned softly, keeled over, and died.

Tentatively, I climbed to my hooves and looked into its gaping maw. I squinted, trying to pick out details through the darkness.

Hunter flew out lazily, daggers bloodied and body coated in all colors of the gore rainbow. He landed next to me and slapped me on the back. I cringed as all sorts of inside parts were rubbed into my coat.

“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” he asked cheerily.

I looked over to him, mouth wide open, and managed to get out a grunt of resigned agreement.

“You must be tougher than I thought, to survive that long against one of these babies.”

I poked one of the monster’s teeth with a hoof. I drew back, hissing. The tooth was razor sharp, and coated with the burning acid.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t touch that if I were you. Baron teeth still make acid, even after death,” he said.

I shook my head in disbelief. “What is this thing?”

He chuckled. “It’s a baron wurm! It’s what you get when you leave the local wurm population untended. One of them rises to dominance, and pretty quickly grows into something like this.”

I pointed to the exit, where the raptors were lying dead. “What are those things?”

“Raptors. Pretty common in the Outer World. You can find them almost anywhere you can find prey.”

I nodded sagely, taking a few seconds to work it all out in my head. “This place is fucking insane…”

“Yeah, you could call it that. Too bad we missed out on the deer. Bad luck, with the raptors. But hey, we still caught something!” He gave the dead wurm an appreciative kick.

I sat down and sighed. I took a big breath, and then another one. I lay down on my back and looked up at the rocks above me. I had thought I was dead back there.

“Yeah. Sure.” The Outer World was definitely not the place for a pony like me.

Author's Notes:

Oh, Hunter. He just gets so forgetful sometimes.
But really, don't you hate it when you go hunting with someone that can't even kill a few raptors?