Once upon a time I loved the winter. When I was living in Blackrock, the snow meant cold. This was good for me because it meant the others in my year avoided leaving the barracks when they could, leaving the halls and courtyards wonderfully empty. It was a time when I could be alone almost wherever I wanted to in the castle, as long as I was willing to brave the cold. And I can name almost no occasions where I’d rather face conversation than a mere chill.

But, as I slammed the tavern door shut behind me, shaking the powdery snow off my coat and stamping my hooves to keep blood flowing to them, I hated the winter. Shivering, I threw back my hood and made my way to the fire. Closing my eyes, I relaxed in the warmth for a moment or two, before I turned to face my surroundings.

This was my first time in a tavern, so I wasn’t fully sure what I expected of such a place, but I found myself unsurprised by what I faced. The place smelled of spilt ale and tobacco, with the sources of those odors readily apparent in the form of worn looking ponies practicing their chosen vice. The wooden table and benches were scuffed and scratched, but for the most part clean and shining. I took note of exits and briefly considered whether it’d be faster to leave the place by running over the table or between them.

The ponies in the bar were of more interest than the building itself, at least for me. Near the door, a brutishly large earth pony glared at all who entered or drank, ready to do violence. His face bore an oft-broken nose and enough knife scars to make me note him as a potential problem should a fight break out. Serving drinks was a fat gold-brown unicorn who wore an apron and smiled at everyone from behind a frankly ridiculous looking moustache. To me, the customers looked happy enough, filling the bar with a happy murmuring sounds and crowding the place enough that I felt a little uncomfortable. I’d much rather be eating and drinking on the east wall of Blackrock.

With a sigh, I brushed some more snow off myself before I approached the fat unicorn. His bulging gut wobbled sickeningly as he turned around to face me. A seemingly happy smile broke out on his face, pushing his grossly bulging cheeks upwards, but I’d been taught enough of the world outside Blackrock to notice that his eyes regarded me as just another obstacle between himself and my coin. He wasn’t grossly overweight, but growing up in Blackrock had exposed me to very few portly or rotund ponies, and I often found it hard not to stare when I did encounter one. They were just so… gross.

I was glad the illusion magic kept my eyes emotionless, so all I had to do was keep the disgust off my face.

His eyes met my lies, and he asked me, “What can I serve you, lass?”

“Room.” I glanced at the large bouncer, who was watching me wearily. “One night.”

“Sorry lass, but all the rooms are taken.” He shrugged apologetically.

“Bed then. One night.”

“Those are full too, what with all the travelers sheltering from the fresh winter.”

Fighting the urge to grit my jaw, I growled. “A place to sleep. One night. The common room will do.”

“I’ve got nothing for you.” He shrugged. “Already have eight ponies paying to sleep on the floor.”

“Then throw one out.” I hissed. “I need a place to sleep, or I will freeze.”

“Sorry lass, I can’t just throw out a pony who’s already paid. What kind of business would I be running if I took their coin without housing them?”

“Then I’ll throw them out.” My hoof came down on the bar hard. “Just point me at them.”

The unicorn glanced me up and down, before replying, “If you start a fight I’ll have you thrown out.” He’d try. “But if you can convince one of these stallions to share a bed with you, I’ll take your coin for the night.”

My lips parted in disgust. Glancing over my shoulder, I examined the room’s occupants. Picking out a smaller, weaker looking stallion who was reading a book, I pointed at him. “Does he have a room?”

“Yes, he does.” He’d opened his disgusting mouth to say something else, but I’d already left the bar and probably wouldn’t have paid attention to it otherwise.

The earth pony wearing the glasses failed to notice me until I tapped him in the shoulder. Startling like I’d snuck up on him, he turned around to glare at me. “Yes?”

I looked him up and down, taking note of the scrawniness of his limbs as well as his unscuffed hooves. “I need a room.”

He blinked, before frowning, “Then talk to the owner.”

“I did. There are none.” After a moment I added, “I want yours.”

Closing his book, he peered up at me through his glasses, “Now see here, I have no reason to surrender the room which I paid for to you just because you asked-”

I leaned down so my face was right in his. “I wasn’t asking.”

His eyes widened, before he scrambled back against the wall, looking like he was ready to run. “Are you threatening me?”

“No.” I stepped closer. “Informing. Get your money back from the owner.”

Swallowing, he looked over my shoulder before shouting, “Lode Stone, Half Full, what am I paying you two for? Get this ruffian away from me!”

I turned around to see two large ponies in chainmail jerkins who’d been sharing a drink at another table, stand up with mutually annoyed sighs. Glancing back at the smug looking pony, who I only just realised was a merchant, I glared before focusing my gaze on the new arrivals.

One was a dark brown, almost black and he seemed to limp just a touch on his hind leg, where the other was a darker orange and at least the same size as Stern Conviction had been. They held themselves like they’d fought before, and weren’t remotely afraid of me as they approached. Their mistake.

The larger one loomed in front of me, smirking as he eyed me up and down. “Listen, girly, you better take a step away from him or else-”

Taking advantage of how close he was standing, I slammed my forehead against the bottom of his chin, making him bite his tongue. His knees buckled as blood sprayed, and I threw a kick into the side of his knee. Spinning past him as he dropped to the floor, I threw a punch at his smaller friend. He blocked it, looking shocked, and even avoided the follow up I made, but failed to keep his pacing on the back hoof and was thrown into a table as a consequence.

I turned to face the larger pony as he was climbing back to his hooves, and seeing that both his hooves were occupied with pushing himself back up, threw all my weight into a blow to the face. His head snapped back and he rolled onto his side, exposing his belly which I was tempted to take advantage of, however he was wearing chain mail so instead I kicked at his face again. A tooth was thrown loose, and with one final blow to the temple he was fully unconscious.

I turned around just in time to see the other guard charging at me. Dropping low and to the left, I avoided his punch and dived for his weaker back hoof with a reasonable punch. He was thrown off balance, and I made use of this by throwing my shoulder up under him. Flipping us both over, I used his body to soften my landing against the hardwood floor. With most of my weight focused onto one point on his chest, not even his chainmail saved him from the sharp crack of breaking ribs. He wheezed in pain as I stood up and turned to face the scrawny, terrified looking merchant.

The hoof I’d used to elbow that stallion felt sore from the attack, and I shook it out as I growled to him. “Your room.”

He swallowed as he stared at me, opening his mouth to stutter out some pathetic whine I didn’t really care to hear, but was interrupted.

The innkeeper, followed by his massive scarred thug of a bouncer, shouted, “You, get out!” His hoof was pointed towards me angrily.

The entire room had gone silent, everypony in it staring at me, my victims, and my opposition with eyes that varied from nervous to apathetic. My gaze settled on the bouncer, taking in his size and muscular build. I considered my chances of defeating him with my bare hooves, before deciding that if I started to lose I could cut him down with my ghost blade anyway. I was trying to avoid using it because then word might spread and get to the Celestians, but if push came to shove, shadow magic would guarantee me victory in most fights. In this case both my opponents were unarmed and unarmored. Without steel to protect them, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

I took a step back, rolling my neck till it cracked and lowering to a fighting position. “I’m not leaving. I will stay here tonight.”

“By all the paths of the Pale, you will!” The fat unicorn screamed, spittle flying from his lips. “Get out of my bar, right now!”

Glancing back at the bouncer, I decided it would be best to seize the initiative rather than wait for him to take it. Darting forward, I pulled myself just short as a blue brown mass put itself between me and my foes.

“Hold on, hold on!” Taking a step back, I saw it was a unicorn stallion blocking my attack. “Le’s all jus’ talk about our issues a‘fore this situation escalated into one o’ unnecessarily violent consequences.” Dressed in a grimy black coat, and smiling at me with a mouth full of chipped teeth, the unicorn gave me a wink before turning to the owner. “Now, I ain’t much of a fighter me’self, but’cha lady there just put those two mercenaries down in less than ‘alf a minute, see? Wishin’ no offence to your lad there,” he tilted his head at the bouncer, “but’cha sure he can throw this lady out?

Blinking in surprise, the fat unicorn opened his mouth to answer, but the interloper continued over the top of him with that strange fast talking accent of his. “And o’ course she’d turn to a means o’ violence when you was trying to throw her poor little soul into the cold dark night like you was. She’d freeze to death out there, this is a matter o’ survival for her! I can’t think of no reason that we as reasonable ponies of business can’t come to some kinda agreement.”

In response, the owner frowned, glaring at me for a moment before saying, “What does it concern to you?”

“Meself? I’m just a perfectly legal merchant with a heart o’ gold looking to help us all out o
this mess with our dignities intact sir, honest.” Continuing on, he smiled that chipped grin again and said, “So, how’s about I share my room with the girly, cover the cost o’ her stay me’self, and me and her can square the difference, just the two of us.”

“Who’s going to cover the damages?” The barkeeper frowned.

“Like I says, I will, and she can square the cost of it to me.” Without waiting for an answer, he reached into his coat and took out a coin purse. “So you charged me thirty bits for a night’s stay, right? Well let’s make it forty for the premium service, as well as any damages. I see no broken mugs or tables, but there’s some blood on your floor there, so that’ll be five bits for a bucket to clean it, another five for a good mop, and ten for the lye you’ll need to clear out the red.” He grinned again, holding out the counted bits to the owner.

Glancing between me and the cheerful stranger, the owner frowned before taking the bits. “She’s not covered for a meal in the morning.”

“O’ course.” A sweeping bow, followed by him doffing a strange wide-brimmed hat. “Wouldn’t o’ dreamed of taking advantage of this fine establishment’s hospitality like that there, no sir.”

As the owner and bartender walked away, the scrawny merchant spoke up. “What about me? What sort of compensation do you propose for me?’

“You?” The crooked grin fell off that face like it was never there. “I don’t owe you shit, so shut’cha fuckin’ face and be glad I saved your life.” Leaning in closer though, he grinned. “On’a free though, getcha cash back from those two guards you hired ‘cause they was worth exactly piss all.” Adjusting his hat, the unicorn turned away from him and smiled at me. “If you’d like to follow me, milady, I got’s us a pretty room up the stairs where you can sleep courtesy o’ m’self in exchange for one lil’ ol’ service.”

My eyes narrowed. “I will not sleep with you.”

He blinked for a moment, before barking out a laugh. “Wouldn’t dream of it! I’m a married sod m’self, wouldn’t dream a cheatin’ on my darling beauty. Nah, I was more thinking of your rather impressive display in the area of violence that I just saw. But it’s an awful dirty habit to be talkin’ ‘bout business before we’ve introduced ourselves. Why don’t you just follow me up to my room, I’ll tell you my name, and we can talk about how much you owe me.”

I eyed him up and down before nodding. He didn’t seem like much of a threat to me, and if he went so far as to suggest something unreasonable, I could kill him and sleep in the room anyway.

With another tip of his hat, he turned around and I followed him out of the common room. He took the steps at an oddly quick place, and as he did I noticed the outline of something that looked like a knife pressed up against his coat. Making a mental note not to stand in front of him, or within easy stabbing distance, I took the steps two at a time to keep pace.

We arrived at the room together, and after glancing over his shoulder to make sure I was still there, he knocked on the door. “Cat, it’s me. Open up.”

There was a pause, and from inside the room I heard hoofsteps until the door opened. Standing there was a mare earth pony, scrawnier than I’d expect of her tribe. She was just a bit shorter than I was, but her coat was an odd blend of streaking greys, tan browns and black. It reminded me of her namesake.

“Who’s this?” She knocked her head at me, but directed the question at him.

“Our new muscle, now let us in,” he replied, shoving past her.

She glanced back at me, before walking back into the room. “She don’t look like much, then.”

“Oh, you shoulda seen her down there.” He answered over his shoulder, taking a seat at the end of the bed.

The mare lay down on her belly, a card game laid out on the ground in front of her. “What’s her name, then?”

“Don’t know yet.” He smiled at me, taking his hat off. “Why don’t you step in and close that door behind you? We gots business to talk, and I did promise you a night indoors, didn’t I?”

I glanced between the two of them, before entering and closing the door behind me. Rather than move further into the room to get comfortable, I stood near the door, watching them cautiously.

“Got a right ol’ stick up her ass, don’t she?”

Coughing into his hood, the stallion smiled at me. “Why don’t you tell me your name, girly?”

Honesty knew my name already, so perhaps it was time for me to come up with an alias? Unable to think of a decent name off the top of my head, I answered, “Tell me yours.”

“Very well,” He bowed, flipping his hat in his hooves as he returned it to his head. “I’m Life Astray, but among most circles I’m better known as Stray.”

My eyes turned to the mare. “And her?”

“Tom Cat,” she answered cheerfully. “Me ol’ mum mustn't o’ known the difference between a filly or a colt, cause she gave her daughter a pretty bloody stupid name for a filly, eh?” She looked up at me smirking. “Me friends call me Cat, hate it when I get called Tom.”

Tom it was. I nodded in reply.

“What’s your name, dearie?” Stray asked.

“March.” I decided after a moment, picking the name of the Third from my year. “Blessed March.”

Tom snorted. “Names almost as stiff as you is.”

I just gave her a flat look.

“Anyway, Miss March,” Stray shifted where he sat. “You might find yourself wonderin’ why I saved you from the pickle of a situation you found yourself in.” Saved me? Please. “Well, I’ll be honest with you. It certainly wasn’t out of the kindness of me dear ol’ heart. Nah, you see, me and Cat found ourselves in need of a decent bodyguard, and I’m hoping that with the promise of a more than generous payment upon arrival in Roam, that’d be you.”

Roam. The name of the city gave me pause for thought. An uncomfortable thought. Where was it I wanted to go exactly? I had no plan, no destination in mind. What was the place Chase had told me about? The Temple of the... Stars, I think it was. Where was that?

I still hadn’t searched through the maps, reports and papers in Chase’s saddlebags. Despite having had two days and nights since I’d left Hoofens, I hadn’t summoned up the fortitude to search through that collection of painful reminders. The truth was that I was putting it off.

Apparently I’d been silent for two long, because both ponies were staring at me curiously. “So, you uh… interested?”

“Maybe.” I answered after a moment. “Why do you need a guard?’

“Who doesn’t need a guard in this day and age?” He answered with a grin. “Just you wait ‘till the news gets to Luna’s armies that the big bitch herself has up and vanished.” I managed to keep all reaction from my face, but I was sorely tempted to kill him for that comment. “They’re either gonna disband or go completely damn rabid. Plus who knows how long it’ll be before the Celestian armies get here to take taxes and make life hard for a legitimate business pony like meself.”

Tom piped up, “Also, he owes a lot of money to some really nasty types.”

“Oy!” He threw a pillow at the back of her head. “Keep yer mouth shut, stupid.”

“You’re in debt?”

He shifted uncomfortably where he sat. “Yeah. That’s why I’m heading to Roam, see? I got myself a valuable but slightly unlegal cartload of opium I can sell there, at top coin too, and once that’s done I can pay ‘em back with interest. But with this weather and so many nasty types making life hard for us merchants, I feel like I can’t risk losing my shipment in transit. It’s my last hope, see?”

“Plus we flogged his opium from some bad folks back in Hoofens.” Tom added.

“Shut’cha mouth!” Stray snarled, slicking back his mane and giving me a nervous smile. “But yeah… like she says.” He swallowed, before saying, “And I figures having a finely tuned instrument of violence and physicality on my side like yourself is only a good idea in my current circumstances.”

“Seriously, lady.” Tom placed one card on a pile without looking up at me. “You’d have to be the stupidest pony alive to take his job offer.”

I glanced between the two of them, not offering any comment.

“L-look, I know it’s dangerous, but I can promise you plenty of bits once we get to Roam. A-and you’ll be safer travelling with a group, than alone. Plus you owe me bits! So-”

“I’ll consider it,” I interrupted him. “For now I’ll sleep.”

“Right. Of course.” He grinned cheerfully again. “Nothing like sleeping when makin a big decision.”

Tom snorted.

“Anyway, seeing as how I’m the one paying for the room, I’ll be taking the bed, and you two lovely ladies can argue over who gets which blanket and which bit o’ floor.” With that, he took of his coat and hat before flopping onto the bed.

I paid him no mind as I trotted to a corner of the room and lay down, unstrapping my saddlebags before I did. Laying on my belly for a moment or two, I found my eyes drawn to Chase’s bag. The time was now. I really had been putting it off for far too long.

Swallowing, and blinking my eyes to keep them from tearing up, I nosed it open and started to search through it. Honestly, I was disappointed by what I found. Being submerged in water had filled the bag with water, destroying all the maps and papers Chase had brought with her. The only thing that seemed remotely intact was the diary we’d found at the Temple of the Tides. Even then, most of the pages were sticking together, and the few that weren’t appeared to be nothing but runes and spell sheets. I suspected the pages were protected by enchantments, but didn’t really have a way to test or prove it.

Setting the diary aside to look through later, I removed the rest of the wasted papers, before continuing my search. There were a few different changes of clothes, but they smelled bad after their wetness and confinement. I suppose if I cleaned them I could make use of them later, but for now I took them out and folded them into their own pile. Also in the bag was a sack of coin, and when I counted through it I came up with seventy bits.

“How much did I owe you?” I asked, looking up at Stray.

He looked across at me. “Uh… I believe the sum was eighty bits total.”

I frowned, thinking back before shaking my head. “No, it was less than that. The room should have been thirty, but you paid forty. And a further twenty for the damages. That’s sixty.”

He shifted where he sat. “That doesn’t include interest.”

“What interest?” I growled, standing up.

“B-but for my fine friend, I can give you a very reasonable rate. How’s about we call it sixty five and square it there.”

My eyes narrowed. “Sixty.” I said flatly. “If you want more you can try to take it.”

“R-right.” He scratched the back of his head, before giving a sheepish grin. “Can’t blame a stallion for trying, can you?”

“Can’t I?” I gave him a warning glare, before counting out the bits. “Here,” I dropped the coins onto the bed in front of him, before turning back to Chase’s bags. Blinking in shock, I growled when I saw Tom searching through my bags. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What’s this thing?” She asked, before pulling her head out of the bag. In her teeth was Chase’s Green.

“Don’t touch that!” I hissed, diving for her.

Dropping it, she backed away, blinking in surprise. Even though I knew I ghost blades weren’t delicate, I winced when it hit the floor. “What, is it valuable or something?”

I snatched it up, searching it over for any signs of damage before snarling and pressing her against the wall. “Touch it again, and I will kill you.”

“Alright, alright, relax-”

“I promise it will be very painful.” I added over the top of whatever she was about to say.

Her eyes widened a little, and she nodded. “O-okay. No touching.”

After glaring at her for another moment, I let her down. I watched her as she walked away, and she glanced over her shoulder at me, touching her throat.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” she muttered, before going back to her card game.

Shaking my head, I lay down again, cradling the Green in my hooves. I caught Stray watching me curiously from the bed, but when he realised that I’d noticed him staring, he rolled over and pretended he hadn’t been.

The Green was one of two things I had from Chase that were implicitly hers. I didn’t ignite it now, but just the thought of her name on the blade was… not comforting, but… something. It felt important to me. Eventually, I put it back in the bag and continued searching. I found Luna’s Blue, which I held reverently for a moment, before putting back along with the Green. I wasn’t permitted to use that, not without Luna telling me so.

The last thing I found in the bag, that I didn’t dare take out with two thieves in the room, was the Element of Loyalty. I didn’t even want to touch the foul thing, and I packed the folded clothes down over the top of it. After putting everything back inside except the wasted paper and the diary, I closed it up and set it aside.

Tom was watching me curiously again, and didn’t look away when I glared at her plainly. After a while, I gave up on silent communication, and started trying to read what little of the diary I could. Almost all of it was just high level magical junk that I didn’t understand. In Blackrock we’d been taught high end magical theory as well as rune work, but along with almost all the works of the mind we were expected to learn, it meant little to me.

Though I did find one thing of note before I lost interest. One page that had a simple magical equation on it, and the words under it, ‘Only in Tender’s Reach. Need help from Higher Calling. Need him to scribe this in case stolen.’

“Where is Tender’s Reach?” I turned to ask the other two.

Stray shrugged. “Never heard of it.”

Tom answered after a moment, “It’s a few days away from Roam. It’s a decent sized town, pretty flowers all over the hill. The church there makes some real nice honey.”

I nodded in understanding, and looked back down at the diary. It looked like I had a plan.

It was only once I thought that that I realised how desperate my ‘plan’ was. I needed to travel to Roam, a city that may well be occupied by the enemy, get from there to a town I knew nothing about, find a scribe who I’d never even heard of, hope that they somehow have a copy of this diary, and then with the knowledge inside that diary somehow get into contact with Luna by entering her dreams. It was a horrifically vague plan, relying too heavily on information and skills I didn’t have.

It wasn’t like I had any better options, though. I had every intent of killing Honesty regardless of whatever else happened, but that was only a small thing that needed to be done on the long road to reclaiming Equestria from the damned Celestians. My head hit the diary as I closed it.

I really was an idiot. Without somepony else telling me what to do, I had absolutely no direction. Roam? Was that where I was headed? It seemed like it, but…

Putting the diary back in the saddlebags, I couldn’t help but feel a disappointed. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting to find in the bags, or even hoping for really, but it was something more than what I found.

Would a letter from Chase have been too much to ask for? One detailing where I should go and what I should do and repeating how much she loved me and cared for me and… and… Sniffling, I rubbed another tear from my eye.

Three days. She’d only been dead for three days. I used to think heart break was a figure of speech, but there was a very real pain in my chest. A dull ache that worsened whenever I thought of her. I hated that. It hurt in a way that I’d never felt before. I didn’t want to remember Chase as that, nothing but a source of discomfort. Truly, I loathed that I was avoiding thinking of her, but it was all I could do to keep going and not break down like I had in front of that Celestian, Summer.

Touching my hoof against the ribbon around my neck, I frowned before wiping the last tear from my eye. I stood up, and looked across to see Tom watching me curiously again.

I grit my jaw, before saying, “Give me your help.”

She blinked in surprise, before frowning. “What with?”

“Tie this around my ear.” I pointed at the ribbon. “My damaged one.”

“Uh… why?”

“That is not your concern.”

“Don’t see why I should help, then.”

I glared at her. “Because I will break your bones if you don’t.”

Tom blinked again. “What?”

I just kept my eyes fixed on hers.

“Alright, alright.” She held up her hooves placatingly, before standing up. “You really need to work on your social skills.”

“I’ve been told.” I turned around as she approached.

She did as I instructed, untying the ribbon and looping it around the base of shortened ear. “Your ear’s bigger than it looks,” she muttered, “And fuzzier.”

“Are you done?”

“Yeah, but what’s this thing?” She touched the crown on my head.

I jumped away from as if burned, and lashed out at her with a hoof. She stumbled out of my reach, eyes wide with surprise.

“Okay, okay. Touchy subject. Is there anything we can actually talk about that’s not gonna make you hurt me?”

Rather than justify a question with such an obvious answer, I knocked my head towards her card game. “We’re done. Go away, now.”

“I don’t even get a ‘thanks’?” She scoffed, walking past me in a huff.

Rolling my shoulder, I lay back down, doing my best to adjust to the new weight on my ear. “Do either of you know much about the Bearers of Harmony?”

Tom and Stray looked at each other, eyebrows raised, before looking back at me. After a moment it was Stray who answered. “Why?”

“Because I want to know.” I frowned at him.

He chewed his bottom lip. “You’d know more about that than me, wouldn’t cha?”

I blinked at that and tilted my head to the side.

“You know, what with you being a…” He waved a hoof at me in a pointlessly vague gesture.

My eyes narrowed and I stood up. “A what?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Uh... a deserter?”

I blinked. “A deserter?”

“Well, no offense intended, miss, but you didn’t think it was the best disguise, did you?” He pointed at my circlet. “That’s enchanted metal, and if I had to guess, I’d say it’s from under a royal guard’s helmet. Plus, when was the last time you met a pure white pegasus? Only white pony with wings I know of is Celestia, speaking o’ whom, I know if we look under that robe o’ yours, we’d find her sun on your flank.”

I frowned at him, eyes narrowing. If he figured out my disguise so easily, had others already?

“H-hey, I ain’t calling you a coward or nothin’ like that, honest. I talked to a bunch a you Celestians while I was in Hoofens, I know what the attack on that fade palace was like.”

I really doubted that.

“Some of ‘em was sayin’ that more than a thousand of you guys died in there. I bet lots of ponies deserted rather than go down into that pit with those bloody fades.” He shook his head. “Bloody insanity is what it sounds like to me. I would’a run, that’s for damn certain.”

I remained silent, considering his words. A deserter? A Celestian deserter? That’s what I was probably going to be mistaken for. Most of me was disgusted by the idea, but the smaller, smarter part of myself reminded me that I didn’t have a better disguise available. Regardless of my feelings about this hideous face I was forced to wear, there was no alternative.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said after a moment, looking up at him.

“Huh?”

“About the Bearers of Harmony.”

“Ah, right…” He shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

I considered his question for a moment, before answering, “Assume I know nothing. Tell me everything you know.”

“Uh… okay?” He shifted where he sat, thinking. “Well, there’s five of ‘em. Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter and… I forget the last one.”

“There’s six of them, idiot.” Tom interrupted, shaking her head. “And the one you’re forgetting is Generosity.”

“Nah, I already listed that one. Kindness.”

Tom shook her head. “No, they’re not the same thing.”

“Who’s the idiot now? They’re exactly the same thing.” Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, he looked back at me. “Anyway, whatever the last two are, I know that the lady who had Loyalty died at that fade house. Think her name was Pyre or something… I met the lady who was Kindness once, though. Prettiest damn mare I ever saw.” He shook his head wistfully. “Unicorn, she was bodyguard to some merchant family. Took one look at me and told her boss to cancel the deal we was about to work out.” He scoffed as if offended. “Anyway, the only other one I know about is that big one.”

I grit my jaw. “Honesty?”

“Yeah, him,” he tapped his chin. “I think his name was uh… Ironshoes?”

“Ironshod,” Tom corrected.

“Right, that.” Stray nodded in agreement. “That was definitely his name, Ironshod.”

“Ironshod…” I repeated, my short ear twitching as the memory of it being torn off. “Ironshod…” I wasn’t sure if it was a hiss or a whisper. That was his name. “Ironshod…”

“Why, you meet him?” Stray watched me curiously, but flinched away when my gaze met his.

“Does he have a family?” I asked.

“Uh… I don’t know, why?”

I would like to kill them. Answering with a grunt, I turned away and lay on my belly. “I’m going to sleep now. If either of you approach me while my eyes are closed, I will kill both of you.”

“Uh… right.”

Rather than answer, I grabbed the saddlebags and pulled them closer to my head. Using them as a pillow, I closed my eyes.

In the morning, I awoke feeling restless and unrefreshed. Sleeping during the night never fulfilled me the way sleeping in the day did. Regardless, I was glad for the rest and sat up with a yawn. My shoulders and neck popped satisfyingly, and when I stood up straight I almost stumbled as I did. Frowning, I touched my shortened ear, flicking it in annoyance. I was so used to the feel and movement of my own body, that the slightly different weight on the side of my head had caught me by surprise.

This was the scar I’d chosen to bear. I’d just have to get used to change. Once I started thinking about that, I couldn’t help but wince a little at the unintended metaphor. I guess I’d just have to get used to her not being there, too.

Gritting my jaw and blinking away tears, I made sure my circlet was in place before falling into my morning exercises. A number of stretches intended to loosen muscles before pushups, wing touches, and other repetitive exercises that I only needed space and my own body to work on. Victory had always told us to do a hundred of each, but I never could be bothered to keep count, so I just kept doing them until I felt tired. I usually finished after the others in my class anyway, so I guess the exact number I did wasn’t very important anyway.

By the time I was done, Tom and Stray had bother woken up. Stray had gone down stairs after questioning me about accepting his offer, to which I only grunted at him in annoyance. I was just about to finish my last set when I noticed Tom was still watching me.

I frowned at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “Just… watching.”

“Well don’t.” My eyes narrowed into a glare.

“You do these every morning?” She asked, ignoring my instruction.

“What does it mean to you?”

Rolling her eyes, she stood up before heading out the door. “You’re a real unfriendly bitch, ain’t cha?”

The moment the door swung shut, I switched from simple exercise to practicing forms.

So, at the moment it seemed like my destination was Roam. I had a reason to go there, and no particular reason to go elsewhere. Really, there was no reason I could think of to not go to Roam. Did that mean I should travel there with these two, though? They were certainly as annoying as anypony I knew, but I suppose that shouldn’t really be a deciding factor when it comes to survival.

Travelling with two ground bound earth ponies would slow me down, sure, but was time really a great concern? Luna’s forces were already parting like leaves before the wind without her. I would have to free my mistress before spring ended to make any difference, really. The war would more or less be put on hold until winter ended, with only those damned gryphons able to fight effectively in the colder parts of the year. Even then, those savages had always been hard to predict. To call the alliance between the Celestians and the united tribes tenuous would be generous.

So, no. I had another three or four months until the snow thawed, and there was very little chance of Luna’s forces suffering too much more than they already had. I could afford to travel at the pace of a pair of earth ponies for now.

I paused, frowning as a new thought entered my mind.

A bitch. That was what that mare had called me. That was how many in Blackrock had described me. It was no secret that I found it difficult to communicate with others, usually only succeeding in annoying myself and them in the process. Perhaps it would be a good idea to travel with them purely because they would be the ones who usually talked with strangers. They were strangers as it was, but I already knew who they were and what their goals are. Plus, it seemed clear that if they did attempt to turn on me, they wouldn’t pose much of a threat. They were simple thieves, and not very competent ones at that.

I could try travelling with them for the meantime, and if their presence became too unbearable I could simply kill them or leave them behind. It could well be safer to have them to direct suspicions away from myself. They were career criminals after all. They had to have some skill in not drawing attention, right? More than I did, certainly. And I was certain that I was more than enough to deal with whatever simple criminals came after them.

With a sigh, I realised what my conclusion was.

After putting on my bags and cloak, I headed downstairs to tell Stray I would accept his offer for now.

“Ugh,” I groaned. Travelling with those two? I really wasn’t looking forward to it.

When I arrived back in the common room, I spotted him at the bar, sitting next to Tom and talking to the barkeep. As I approached him from behind, he turned around to face me.

“I’ve decided to accept your offer.”

He blinked in surprise, before smiling. “Really?”

I nodded.

“...Why?” Tom asked, shaking her head. “That’s gotta be about the worst job offer anypony’s ever made to anypony… ever.”

I just gave her a glare.

“Ah, don’t listen to her.” Stray grinned, throwing an arm around my shoulder. “You won’t regret-” He cut off with a grunt as I punched him in the ribs, before slamming his face into the bar, and levering his free hoof behind his back.

“I have conditions. One of them is that you don’t touch me. Ever.”

“S-sure.” He swallowed.

“The second is you take me to Tender’s Reach.”

“Uh… I kinda need to get to Roam first, you know?”

I frowned. “Then Tom can take me while you complete your business, there. Or you can give me a map and directions. I don’t want or need you to be there with me.”

“Okay, okay, sound good to me. Anything else?”

“The last condition is I don’t have to do any talking unless I want to. You will answer any and all questions unless I want to answer them.”

“...What?” He sounded.

“That’s my condition. I don’t want to talk. To anyone. Got that?”

“Uh… sure, probably for the best anyway.”

Exactly. With that, I released him and took a step back. Honestly, just touching him made me feel like I needed to bathe.

Rolling his shoulder, Stray turned around to face me. “G-glad to have you onboard, and just in time too. See, just a few minutes ago, some less-than friendly gentleponies came through asking for me, and I was thinking it was about time we skipped town.”

Two ponies looking for him? I frowned. “Would it help if I killed them?”

He blinked at me before shaking his head. “Nah, there’d be too much mess and we’d be drawin’ too many eyes.”

“For now we run,” Tom stood up, shrugging a black coat over her shoulders and tying a scarf around her neck. “If they come after us on the road, though, you can take a crack at ‘em if you want.” She eyed me up and down, “Don’t know your chances against three of ‘em, though.”

Blood. Lots of it. Not mine.

Those are the three details that seemed most important to me. Other ones worth noting were, ‘stinks’, ‘not Stray’s or Tom’s either’, and, ‘all over me’.

“Fuck me,” Tom murmured, staring at me with eyes wide and bile on her bottom lip. “Are they dead?”

My eyes turned to the last of the thugs. He was still moving, groaning and stirring, but his eyes were wide and unseeing. I suspected I’d fractured his skull.

“Not yet,” I answered, bending over one of the bodies and unstrapping the small blade from its hoof. Rather than put it on my hoof, I simply held the weapon in my mouth before stabbing the last of Stray’s pursuers. He gave one final gurgle before his eyes finally shut and his writhing stopped.

“They had knives… and… and armor…” Tom backed away a step. “And there was three of them!”

“I told ya’ she was good!” Stray crowed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

The thugs had had no training, and all they knew about fighting came from mistakes they’d survived making. Really, it was a little tricky, not using my ghost blade or shadow magic, but I managed with only a few bruises to show for it.

They really hadn’t known what they were doing, and the ambush spot they’d chosen wasn’t a good one at all. Not to mention that they didn’t attack right away, they seemed to be under the impression that it was a good idea to talk to us first. Once they made it clear that they weren’t planning to let us go, regardless of what Stray said, I simply seized the initiative and attacked.

One of them was even deluded enough to believe that he could save his own life by taking Tom hostage.

Tom rubbed her neck and swallowed. “You knew he was gonna fall like that, right? ‘Cause if he jerked that knife the wrong way…”

Rather than answer, I spat out the blade in my mouth and said, “Is there somewhere I can clean myself? A river nearby?”

“Yeah,” Stray nodded, still grinning from ear to ear. “Just a bit of a walk up the road, there’s a stream where you can get y’self cleaned up. You was worth every penny!”

“You haven’t paid me yet,” I gave him a flat look.

“All in good time, filly, all in good time.” He looked around at the bodies. “‘Reckon we should move ‘em off the road?”

I looked around at the blood soaking into the soil, my nose twitching at the smell of feces ejected by dying bowels. “Why bother? A fool would know a fight happened here, even without the corpses.”

“True. I say we just leave and hope that it doesn't get linked to us. Even if it does we’ll be far enough away that they’ll need a flight of pegasi to catch us.”

“I-is it just me, or did you bite that guys throat out?” Tom swallowed, pointing a hoof at one body and looking green. “I could’a sworn it looked like you did.”

“Let’s go,” I agreed with Stray.

Carefully stepping around a pool of red, Stray led us up the path, and Tom followed a few moments later, not looking very happy.

“I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship,” Stray mused to himself, sounding pleased.

Please. Eventually a time would come when killing this stallion would be an easier solution than any other.