Fallout Equestria and The Number Station

Chapter 22: Hellhounds, Lawyers and Other Dangerous Foes

A week and a half later...

Night. Artemis laid in her bed in a strained sleep. She had taken the room with the Oubliette hatch, it seemed appropriate. The bed was nice if a little too soft for her taste but it had several fluffy blankets and pillows. It wasn't the deluge outside that kept Artemis from falling asleep and ashamedly she wasn't wrestling with the people she had killed before, she just wasn't that type of person. But what was keeping her up was that damnable book. The Tale of Littlepip. It was so addictive, Artemis couldn't put it down and she had read through it all within a week! The others were reading some other copies brought up from Oubliette but none of them seemed to really get the story like she did.

A savior born in a stable, an archetype if there ever was one...

The story was so simple but yet had so much grandeur to it at the same time. Littlepip had been a stable dweller just like Aroma had surmised. She left her home in search of her friend and it all escalated from there to impossible heights. Honestly Artemis was wordless about the book, the questions it answered only left two more in its place. Perhaps most intriguing of all is the thought that Pip didn't save Equestria so much as open the window for Equestria to be saved. After Littlepip logged into the Single Pegasus Project and defeated the Enclave only then did Homage, Calamity and the others go out to find the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and activate the Gardens of Equestria. Who those ponies were, it could not be said. The book ended before that.

Hearing about Pip's tale had a double effect on Artemis. While it amazed her to no end it also made her diminish her own self-worth in her own mind. No matter what she did Artemis could never come close to what Littlepip did, not by a long shot. She was no Lightbringer, no hero. She was a griffon with a dysfunctional family. She wasn't on a heroic quest to save Equestria or to find her virtue. No, she was a quest to find a pre-war megaspell retaliation station that can tell the future. The cause was good, to stop the Legion from getting a hold of it yes but why had the others decide to follow her in such an obscure endeavor? Artemis rolled over in her bed and looked at the ceiling pondering that very question.

“Mmmrgh...” Aroma groaned as she lifted her head from under the covers next to Artemis. “Artemis...” She moan in a groggy whisper dreadfully tired. “What's wrong? You keep moving...”

That's how the sleeping arrangements were at the moment. There weren't enough beds or rooms for everyone so it was decided that Artemis and Aroma would sleep in one bed, Verity and Hans took the futon much to Verity's subtle dismay.

Artemis let out a sigh. “Aroma, why do you follow me?”

The tired pony blinked slowly half covered by blankets. “What do you mean?”

Artemis frowned at the ceiling. “Why didn't you leave? I'm mean, you gave me your pipbuck, you were pretty much home free but yet you stayed.”

Aroma rolled over on her pillows. “Hmm, I can't say why. When I first met you I didn't give you my pipbuck right away. I gave it to you so you could fight of that hunter.” Aroma looked down at the wrinkled sheets. “And... that was it.” She admitted with guilt in her tired voice.

“It's okay, I don't care about the pipbuck thing anymore but I just want to know why you still followed me to Gryphondale when you could have gone anywhere else.” Artemis asked again still gazing at the ceiling.

Aroma uncurled and laid her head on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling as well. “Personally... I dunno. You guys are kinda like my family now, I couldn't imagine bein' without you guys.”

Artemis gave the ceiling a soft smile. It felt good knowing that she had made an impact on Aroma's life. “When did you consider me your friend?” Artemis asked.

Aroma opened her mouth but closed it again to find the right answer. “Remember when you and me were eating after you helped the doctors back in Happenstance?”

Happenstance. It felt like a lifetime ago, ethereal, almost like it was a dream. It dawned on Artemis that she too couldn't imagine her life without her friends as well. “Yes, you had some qualms about eating meat.” Artemis answered.

Aroma nodded. “It was there. You risked your life to save mine, I don't even think most of the people in my stable would have done that for me.” She confessed poorly masking her disappointment.

“You mentioned that before, that many of the dweller of Stable G were really...” Artemis's sentence trailed off. Personally she couldn't bring herself to say not many people in Aroma's stable liked her.

Aroma released a quick sad huff. “Yeah, the ponies back home thought I was, annoying. They never really like me, I never knew the right things to say and I always came across as a nuisance. I bet half the stable partied when I left, hell maybe they still are now.” Aroma's spirits seemed to dwindle.

“That's why I value you as a friend. You took me in and you didn't even know me.” Aroma added before continuing.

“Stellar was the only pony that would give me the time of day. She was my only friend in Stable G, I don't know why she liked me. Pity, maybe making herself look better by comparison? No, I can't think like that. Stellar really liked me... She was the only pony that kissed me.”

Artemis perked up but remained still. “So you and Stellar were more than friends?”

Aroma stuttered a little. “I- well- y'know- yeah- sorta -no -maybe. I can't tell, I never really had any attraction to anypony. It just never clicked with me. I get the idea of romance, but I don't feel strong enough to make it. Sheesh listen to me ramble.” Aroma gave an embarrassed chuckle.

“What does that make me? Gay, straight, bi ugh.” She added trying to clean things up but in vain.

“Don't worry too much Aroma. I didn't mean to get you upset about home and I'm sure Stellar's just as worried about you. Though if you want you could talk to Hans, he knows everything about love, it's his special talent.” Artemis whispered in an upbeat tone.

Aroma gave a light chuckle. “Sure I'll talk to him soon. Goodnight Artemis.”

“Goodnight Aroma.” Artemis concluded and soon all there was to be heard was the rainstorm outside.

“Psst! Hey Artemis I almost forgot. I made a couples name for you and Verity.” Aroma whispered after their final goodnights.

“What is it?” Artemis asked shyly. She felt a little fluttery now knowing Aroma had really noticed the two of them even though Artemis they were felt estranged at times but she found this couples name endearing nonetheless.

“Artery.” Aroma chirped quietly then snickered under her breath. Artery, how quaint and spelling-case correct. The “Art” of her name and the “er-y” from Verity's. It was actually pretty ingenious when you thought about it.

“Clever. I like it.” Artemis whispered warmly before rolling back over for the night.

Morning...

Artemis blinked daintily a few times before her eyes were fully open. It was morning, the sunlight shone in her room from the small window near the ceiling. She rolled over ruffling her wings and found Aroma was gone, odd. Artemis kicked off the covers and sat up but strangely no morning headache, not that she was complaining maybe it had to do with sleeping in a real bed for once. She let out a yawn and twisted her back left and right with resounding pops, then Artemis proceeded to pop her knuckles. It was a habit.

Artemis examined the messy bed but ultimately decided not to fix the covers, she had them the way she liked them. After fixing her bedhead feathers Artemis walked into the living room where everyone was getting their breakfast in the kitchen except for Hans who sat on the futon that had been reverted back to a couch. He sat in that awkward position that only ponies looked awkward in and he held a flask between his hooves.

Artemis sat next to her pink friend while the others milled about in the kitchen. “Isn't it a little early for the booze Hans?” Artemis asked cooly. She didn't care when he drank hell vice was a part of who he was, it's just how they talked to one another almost like brother and sister.

Hans took a drink from his silver flask. “I'm just trying to get my back pain to go away.” He griped and rubbed his back in discomfort.

Artemis chuckled. “Hehe you didn't get fresh with Verity did you?” Artemis smirked but Hans didn't seem to care, his face of discomfort remained.

“Quite the contrary honey, I learned something about your man last night.” He took another drink of the flask before taking it out of his mouth and held it upside down. Seeing it was empty he just threw it in the floor.

“What'd you learn?” Artemis indulged.

“Hmph. It would appear Verity Preensdale is a cuddler in his sleep. I think he mistook me for a body pillow last night.” Usually Hans would've enjoyed cuddling with a man but he legitimately sounded pained by last night.

“Aww but that's so cute.” Artemis cooed and glanced at the cornflower blue griffon, he didn't seem to catch her though. “If you want we could switch sleeping arrangements, you could take Aroma besides I think she might need to talk to you anyway.”

Hans chuckled shallowly. “So Aroma has some sexuality problem I take it?” Wow he was good but Artemis had come to expect that kind of skill out of Hans. It did explain his heart cutie mark after all.

“Yeah, Aroma's confused I think...” Artemis's sentence trailed away into silence.

“Nope, Aroma's just asexual with homosexual tendencies.”Hans declared matter-of-factly as if it was common knowledge.

“How could you tell?” Artemis wondered, she wasn't surprised but just bewildered at how he always knew.

Hans sighed and tried to move his back. “Body language, I watch where her eyes glance, I've even seen her glance at you sometimes.” He gave a smug smile.

Okay that was a little off putting. Aroma had actually looked at her with intimate thought. Now sharing a bed was a little awkward. Hans continued nonchalantly.

“Don't go thinkin' you're on Aroma's mind all the time, I've just caught once or twice. No, Aroma is asexual which means she doesn't feel attraction to someone but she can crave physical intimacy at times. Asexuality does come with a sub-sexuality like hetero or homophilia. There's a science to sex Artemis, and I got a PHD.”

Artemis nodded finally with his diagnosis. “That I have no doubt but about Verity, we can switch if you want and my bed's more comfortable.”

Hans gave another coy smile. “Hmph. You wish, I ain't ready to become an uncle yet. I don't want to risk you getting the D just yet.”

Artemis raised her wings over her head and hid her face in the cushions blushing furiously. “Goddesses Hans I just said we could switch sleeping arrangements, I'm not gonna let him charge up my loading ramp.” She corrected clumsily.

The pain on Hans' face gave way when he giggled before leaning his head close to her. “Don't worry baby girl, you've spent nineteen years of this self-imposed abstinence you'll know when the time comes and you'll know when it doesn't.” He wore a suggestive smile. Artemis only blushed harder, nearly her entire face was rosy.

“Prepare yourself Artemis, I watch you too. The time is fast approaching, I notice when you get intimate with Verity: Outside Clopton, when you destroyed that tank, and don't think I missed that little escapade when you first found the hatch.”

Hans stopped antagonizing her and weakly stood up. “Nrgh I'm gonna head out baby girl and see if I can find a nice massage and maybe some afternoon delight.” He slowly walked to the door and turned around. “Oh, and I won't be going to Stable 2, me and stable's don't mix y'know, sorry...” He announced regretfully but Artemis understood. Hans had fallen down an elevator shaft in a stable nearly lost his leg, his was normal. The more Artemis thought about the hellhounds the more she wanted to forget about Mathlete.

But it was breakfast time. Since Hans was out getting some afternoon delight there was one less pony at the table. That same feeling of misplacement crept into Artemis's forethought. Seeing everyone around the table eating food so casually just seemed so pedestrian again they weren't wastelanders. Artemis felt wrong for wishing she was a wastelander but honestly that's what she truly believed she was back in the San Palomino, she still felt embarrassed for being so naive.

Artemis sat down at the table and grabbed a biscuit from the bowl in the middle. Everyone had a decent meal, oddly Alpha sat by a bowl of cereal as if he was going to eat it.

“So what's the plan for today, Artemis.” Hayseed inquired pleasantly.

Again why did this decision fall to her to make? Artemis hummed and took a bite. “I supposed we'd better get to helping Mathlete, then we need to get on to Fillydelphia and I need to see if Ditzy's still working on my baby.”

“Sounds like we have a plan.” Verity rumbled as he quietly ate.

“Right, where did Hans go?” Aroma asked from her chair.

Artemis answered. “He went out to get some afternoon delight and he said he can't come with us to Stable 2.”

“Why isn't he coming with us?” Aroma asked a little worried.

Artemis glanced around the table and the foals. “Well Hans and stables don't have a good history. You see a couple years back me and him were trying to get a water talisman out of a vault and eventually Hans fell down an elevator shaft when we were attacked by Steel Rangers and nearly lost his leg.” Odd  didn't Rusty say that the Steel Rangers were brought into the NCR as heavy troopers?

Aroma looked worried from Artemis's recounting. It seemed she couldn't have imagined Hans being vulnerable Aroma made a habit out of raising individuals above their actual talents and mortality.

“And.” Artemis began her second announcement. “When we go to Fillydelphia I want one of us to stay behind and watch this place and you guys.” She motioned to Hayseed, Lady and their two foals.

“Nope. Remember Artemis, I said we stick together no matter what.” Hayseed clopped his hooves on the table in stubborn loyalty.

Artemis rubbed the back of her head. “I know your heart's in the right place but Fillydelphia is a dangerous place and you guys.. you guys.” Artemis trailed.

Lady sighed and adjusted her mane. “Hayseed honey, Artemis is right we're not soldiers besides we'd just get in the way.” She nudged her husband.

Hayseed sighed begrudgingly. “I still can't help but feel like wer' leavin' our friends high and dry. How do you plan to get there?”

Artemis logged on her pipbuck. “We're gonna take a train up north and find the lair of the pink one.” Skipper was most likely referring to the Ministry of Morale hub in Fillydelphia. She had learned that from Littlepip's book to be honest.

“No, I think it would be more prudent if our whole group goes to Fillydelphia.” Verity chimed in as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“Really now?” Artemis defaulted but tried her best not to sound sarcastic.

Verity nodded. “If you believe we are being followed then if the spies see us all leave for Fillydelphia then they might suspect we were just traveling with Hayseed and his family thus keeping them from being ponies of interest.” Hayseed and Lady exchanged worried glances at the mention of possible spies.

“What do you mean by spies?” Lady asked with trepidation in her voice.

“Yes, maybe you should explain dear.” Verity suggested in his steely tone. Still it felt oddly cute when he called her dear though.

Artemis thought about how to word things so the family wouldn't be perturbed so badly they would flee New Appaloosa while they were away. So Artemis told them the truth, sugar coated naturally. “Well, basically...”

“A zealous cult about Littlepip? That explains the masked ponies about town passing out pamphlets and preaching in the streets.” Hayseed thought aloud.

“But I want to help Mathlete before we go.” Aroma added in hastily almost as if she begun to think the others had forgotten about her dilemma.

“Agreement: I concur with User Verity and User Aroma. If my memory cards are in Fillydelphia then I must try to acquire them.” Alpha sounded determined and the cereal bowl in front of him was empty now... curious.

Artemis stood up from the table and pushed her seat in. “Alright guys we got a busy day today so let's get on the road.” The others stood casually and Aroma did so quickly, eager to help her former teacher.

“Vale.” Verity told Hayseed and Lady as the gang made their way out of the apartment.

“This is why the decision comes down to you Artemis...” Verity whispered in her ear with his hot breath.

“What do you mean?” She whispered back not quite seeing what he was getting at.

“You made a plan and we're executing it without interjection. People follow you once they get to know you. You told us to get up and we did so without hesitation.” He whispered back almost purring. Artemis hadn't really noticed it before, she really could command on a small level even if she wasn't conscious of it. Her mind immediately went to her being able to command Artemis Arrow & Associates but she could only see her mercenary dream as a laughable fantasy now.

“Beware, Artemis that power of command comes at a terrible cost. Remember that.” Verity added ad walked on to the others.

Strangely Artemis didn't feel as frightened about going to Fillydelphia as most people would be. Personally she just felt refreshed with finally being off the road and out of the wagon. However, the NCR was not without its own brand of danger albeit more systematic and invisible. The Cult of Littlepip still remained ominous to Artemis and after she read more of Littlepip's book the more she saw the inconsistencies of The Cult's version of her. Artemis really needed to see Calamity again to ask him... something. She couldn't even formulate a question to ask besides “Why?” Was that all she could muster?

They had reached the main street of town, a wide dusty dirt road that led to all the smaller streets.

“Alright guys you head over to the saloon and get Mathlete ready, I'm gonna see if my famas is finished.” With that Artemis flew off to Absolutely Everything, she just called another shot hadn't she? Part of it made her feel tingly on the inside, another part felt like she was ignoring any suggestions her friends might have. But it was just a small matter right? No big deal or maybe that's how it starts. Maybe it'll spiral out into a-!

“No Artemis dammit quit thinking in these circular motions.” She told herself. It could really become annoying when her when her mind would race with frivolous thoughts that got her nowhere, all it did was add unnecessary stress.

Artemis landed outside Absolutely Everything flapping her wings as she came in for the landing. A handful of ponies looked at her as she landed but that was probably because they weren't expecting a casual flier. She sometimes forgot ponies aren't accustomed to folk of flight besides the pegusai of which Artemis had never noticed in New Appaloosa until now. The only pegusai she had met was Calamity, Ditzy Doo and Alpha.

“But! I can ponder that another time.” Artemis told herself and dispelled her pondering on the pegusai.

She entered the heavenly air conditioned super store and quickly made her way to Ditzy's desk in the firearms section of the store. The blaring music died as Artemis neared Ditzy's office door away from the speakers. She also had some questions about Oubliette if Mrs. Doo wasn't too terrified of The Cult stalking her. Artemis knocked on the door just as Hans had about a week ago. A couple minutes later Artemis heard the sound of several locks being unlocked and bars sliding. This level of paranoia didn't seem to fit the happy-go-lucky pony ghoul. The door slowly opened only slightly enough to reveal the ghoul mare's crossed eye.

“Hello Ditzy Doo.” Artemis greeted nicely if a little awkwardly.

The eyeball only stared off into space before the door closed shut. Artemis backed only an inch at the noise of the door shutting but she heard the telltale noise of scribbling.

Ten seconds later her chalkboard scooted under the door. “Hello. Have you seen Oubliette? Did you bring me any muffins?”

Artemis let out a lighthearted chuckle. “Sorry Ditzy Doo no muffins today but I did see Oubliette... why, why was it down there?” She whispered and slid the board back under the door.

There was no scribbling noise this time but like clockwork Ditzy returned her message. “Bad stuff. Nearly twenty years back, I can't say much, they watch me.”

Artemis grimaced. “You mean The Cult don't you? I've seen them, in their cathedral. Why are you letting them pervert her story? I read about you in her book.”

The board returned moments later. “I have no choice. They'll hurt me and family if I try anything.” Artemis could feel the desperation in her written words. She was beginning to become frustrated with  Ditzy Doo's fatalism but then again it really wasn't the poor mare's fault. The real villain was The Cult.

Artemis sighed. “Look, Ditzy I'm sorry. Just, where could I get some answers from you guys?” She apologized softly and leaned on the door.

A few seconds later. “I'm sorry too Artemis. I'll put you in contact with Calamity, don't worry.”

As Artemis finished her reading the door opened and there stood Ditzy Doo who looked tired and fearful. Only now did Artemis realize what she was going through, the sight of the once lighthearted and happy ghoul now looked weary and forlorn. Has to be awful, living in fear and having to watch something you fought so hard for to be warped retold as a lie. Artemis's heart sank at the sight of Ditzy.

The pegasus mare reach behind her door and gave Artemis what had to be her famas wrapped in a brown cloth. Artemis held her rifle like a child in her arms. “Thank you Ditzy, I really appreciate it.”

The ghoul mare picked up her chalkboard. “No, thank you. C can give you answers, I'm being watched too closely. You should go before it looks like you're here for more than a weapon pickup.

PS. I also added a grenade launcher for you.”

Artemis unwrapped her famas and sure enough it looked brand new, no scorch marks, melting, or dents and under the barrel of the rifle was a single grenade barrel. Hell yeah! It wouldn't fire common hand grenades but it looked like it would fit a 40mm grenade capsule. This was sure to come in handy since she expected to be fighting hellhounds later today.

“Wow thank.... you.” Artemis slowed as she saw Ditzy had closed the door. It was just wrong seeing such a cheerful mare suddenly full of fear. Artemis just had to make it right she just had to!

Not Long Later...

Artemis had purchased a few 40mm's and made her way back to the saloon where Mathlete had been staying. It felt right to have armor and her famas again. The Drescott vest fit her well, while not as heavy as her older combat armor it would be more protective than nothing at all.

The saloon was your typical bar but it did have a more pioneer-y feel to it seeing that it was made out of lumber instead of being repurposed from a pre-war building like Absolutely Everything. Inside were people from about the town that had settled in for some spirits. Ponies sat at tables playing cards and drinking their alcohol. Many of the ponies here looked as though they worked down at the rail yard with their convict/slaves. Artemis felt a slight revulsion at them, she was rigidly anti-slavery/forced work since her mother is a slave and has been for nearly her entire life.

Artemis sat at the bar, a few heads turned since again she was the only griffon to be seen. The bartender walked up. “What can I get you?” He said nonchalantly but his mustache must have been the envy of mustached men.

“Um, just a shot of whiskey.” She answered and scanned for the others.

The bartender smiled. “Maybe just one little lady, we don't you getting tipsy with that piece on your back.” He commented sardonically as he poured her a small glass. Artemis snorted as she imagined herself getting drunk and having target practice with empty bottles.

“Fair enough, I gotta be going soon anyway.” She agreed with him and drank her shot. She felt a warm warmthyness inside her.

“You headin' back to Fillydelphia?” A gruff cyan stallion asked from the other side of the bar. How would he know?

Artemis almost didn't want to tell the truth so she'd just remain ambiguous about it. Technically not lying. “Yeah, long ride back y'know.” She said casually spinning her talon around the rim of her empty shot glass.

Another stallion perked up. “So you're one'a Gawd's Talons, wokrin' down at Talon Steel.” He said heartily and tipped his beer towards her.

Gawd? Was he referring to Gawdyna from Littlepip's book? Gawd's Talons was her mercenary gang but what was Talon Steel? Artemis gave a weak smile and rubbed her head. “Yeah, I'm kinda new though, I still don't get it really.”

“Hehe.” Cyan chuckled. “Talon Steel's only the biggest producer of steel the NCR has. Hell our president is the daughter of Talon Steel's founder.”

President of the NCR? If Artemis surmised correctly then Gawdyna Grimfeathers might be the founder. Although she wasn't too sure about NCR history though. Maybe she could coax it out of these construction workers.

The bartender saw Artemis was fit for another drink and wordlessly poured her another shot. “I'm a bit dusty on my NCR history. Could you fill me in?” She asked and drank her shot.

Cyan hummed. “Hmm well I'm no history teacher but the Lightbringer purified the land and after that Gawdyna Grimfeathers became the first president. She ruled for about ten years and then her daughter Regina became president and she's ruling up to present day actually.” He explained rubbing his chin.

Artemis would have asked more questions but her excitement boiled at the mention of Reggie Grimfeathers, still alive and president of the NCR at that. She read about Reggie in Pip's book, damn Reggie had to be almost in her early sixties by now. It felt hard to imagine the rambunctious preteen from the book now being president of the NCR. Artemis also remember Kage Grimfeathers who was killed in chapter... damn she couldn't remember but if it wasn't for him then defeating the Enclave would have been near impossible.

Another stallion piped up. “Oh yeah that was back when those heretic terrorists were defeated!” He announced sharply almost spilling his drink.

“Terrorists? Heretics?” Artemis asked in a muddled tone as she drank another shot. Good thing she wasn't a lightweight or did that mean you got drunk faster?... ugh.

A yellow mare with a short silver mane nodded seriously. “Yeah totally. Almost twenty years ago there were these false disciples that denied the Lightbringer's gospel. They yelled and yelled about some whacked out dogma until they took the Grandeur de Littlepip Cathedral hostage. Luckily they were brought to justice and they've never been seen since.”

What the hell? Did that mare mean what Artemis thought she meant? Did the normal people of the NCR know Calamity and the others false disciples? The Cult was indoctrinating them with their chantry, distorting the truth of Littlepip. Artemis felt lightheaded. She knew the truth, the horrible unaccepted truth. Littlepip wasn't a holy alicorn, she was a normal mare but this was madness. The most sickening part of all was how they all acted so casual and righteous even when they believed lies! They believed The Cult's lies and took them as fact and scorned Calamity and the others for saying differently. Would the same happen to her if she spoke out against their dogma? But this mare mentioned the false disciples were never seen again yet Calamity is the general of the NCR regiment holding Hoofer Dam? Artemis began to suspect some fowl play behind closed doors. What had Calamity and the others done? Artemis ached for the truth like one would ache for food or maybe the alcohol was causing the aches...

“Ms. You feelin' alright?” The cyan stallion asked with legitimate worry.

Artemis stumbled off her stool and started making her way to the swinging doors of the saloon. Standing was a task in and of itself, three shots.

Artemis stumbled out of the saloon and leaned on one of the wooden beams supporting the roof of the porch. All she could do was cynically laugh in disbelief. Those people actually believed The Cult's dogma and took it as fact! Artemis imagined that Calamity, Ditzy Doo and all the others must be burning in silent anguish from seeing the idle indoctrination of the country they gave blood, sweat and tears for. At least she hoped they were, Artemis couldn't fathom the thought if Littlepip's friends betrayed her.

Artemis was brought out of her preoccupation when a voice called out to her. She tried not to seem inebriated but that care was replaced with a seed of dread when Artemis saw a Cult mare levitating a pamphlet. She wore the telltale gold mask she had to be sweltering under it although her robes were not as ornate as the priest back at the cathedral.

“Hello drunkard, can I tell you about the Lightbringer and how you can repent!” She said happily even as her eyes seemed to dart in her mask.

Artemis had some questions alright but they were probably the ones that would get her and her friends on their blacklist. However Artemis was not in her most cognitive state of mind. She leaned off the pole but still held on. “Not, right now. But I have some questions... for you.”

The cleric seemed to backpedal slightly but did not back down. “Sure! I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have about The Cult of Littlepip.” She somehow sounded overly pleasant.

Artemis snorted. “First, what's the Grandeur de Littlepip? Second, what's under your mask cuz' I don't trust ponies that wear masks.” She slurred as her inebriation turned to drunken discontent.

The mare perked up. “Oh! The Grandeur de Littlepip is the largest cathedral we have and it's the first cathedral. His holiness the Archbishop Prophet resides there. It was built in the Everfree Forest where it was believed that Littlepip slew Red Eye and sent his anti-cathedral to hell. She built The Grandeur over it so the church would always keep the evil locked away. Praise be the Lightbringer!” Like all the cultist she spoke so fervently it scared Artemis.

“What was your other question?” She asked coming off her religious soapbox.

Artemis almost forgot after that little display, almost. “Your mask, what do you hid?”

The Cult mare's eyes seemed to narrow before answering. “They are aesthetic, our faces maybe be disturbing to most people.” She answered ambiguously but Artemis was buzzed enough to press on. Where were Verity and the others all ready?

“Why? Are you branded? Cybernetically enhanced?” Artemis persisted.

Her eyes looked downward. “I will show you, it's a symbol of pride but I must warn you it may not be pretty to you.” She warned but Artemis detected a slight pride in her tone. Artemis nodded in understanding or more of an agreeing bobbing of her head.

The mare exhaled and reached her front hooves behind her mask and began clicking whatever was on the back of her head to unlock her mask. What Artemis saw was grotesque to say the least. The mare, the wine purple mare was deformed under her mask. Her lips were gone revealing pink gums and white teeth, her nose was removed too just leaving a sickly diamante hole in her face. Artemis didn't want to look anymore. Before she could tell if the mare still had eyelids she waived her hand beseeching her to put her mask back on.

“Oh goddesses, who did that to you? I'm so sorry.” Artemis stumbled albeit her vision was beginning to clear and gave her a clumsy hug.

But The Cult mare did not return the gesture. Instead she gently pushed Artemis back. “I told you but these are good among The Cult. We do this to show our love for the Lightbringer that loved us when ponykind was at our worse. It's a sign of fierce admiration and commitment to our savior, it also represents how the Lightbringer gave herself even though we could never come close to what she did. I took my first Severance after my seventeenth birthday, glorious.” She sighed in a grim revelry.

“How do you perform a Severance?” Artemis asked in sobering horror.

She seemed to glance inconspicuously at her pamphlets. “Ah, greatest day of my life. It was at The Grandeur, I stood in the drained baptistry and my Bishop and fellow clerics watch as I showed the Lightbringer that I was fit to preach her gospel. I did it, it was bloody but I did it. I took off my bottom lips. Many can't do it their first time but I did.” She paused. “Praise be.” She added with dark finality.

The drunkenness came to an icy end. Something about the cultist mare's pride in her self-mutilation just brought Artemis to a sobering collapse. The Cult of Littlepip, the lies, the indoctrination but why the blood? They had the power, the money, the influence but why did they find it necessary to deform themselves? Was this Archbishop Prophet just a sadistic pony who just wanted to see gullible ponies gut themselves for his pleasure but then came the awful possibility that this Archbishop might actually believe this dogma himself and might believe the lies himself. It just seemed too awful to imagine.

The mare spoke again but pointed behind Artemis this time. “I guess those are your friends come to take you home. Thank you for your time and we'd love to see you in church sometime.” The cordiality had returned to her. That innocent voice once belonged to such an innocent mare.

Artemis glanced back and saw Verity and others minus Hans. Mathlete looked perturbed by the cultist she had been talking to and rightly so. Aroma looked downright afraid of them. Telling her the horror of what lies beneath the mask wouldn't help lighten that fear either.

“Ah... Artemis is it? Glad we found you.” Mathlete spoke up and trotted to her.

“You alright Artemis?” Aroma asked with an innocent tilt of her head.

“Goddesses, Artemis you've been drinking haven't you.” Verity divulged with modest disdain. “Intoxication is a sport of the dissolute.” He added.

Artemis wrapped an arm around him. “It was just casual drinking and I forgot how much I was drinking but don't worry, I'm sobering up real quick. I just had the most disturbing conversation with that cult mare.” Artemis explained and pointed to The Cult mare who was walking down the street talking to other ponies.

“They're a cult? I've been wondering what those masked ponies were doing.” Mathlete commented cordially but in actuality he was probably just trying to get the attention focused on him and getting to Stable 2 already.

Artemis dismounted Verity and tried to see straight. Her vision was fuzzy in places but it was beginning to clear. “Where do we need to go, Mathlete?” Artemis cut to the chase and Mathlete was quietly thankful.

He scanned his pipbuck's map screen closely. “Okay, I've done some scouting and if we follow the NCRCCSR Line it'll eventually lead us to the Ponyville and the Hellhound Sanctuary.” Now his speech seemed to slow in hesitation. “Then I guess we'll be sneaking into their nest and hoping to find a pipbuck master key in the Overmare's office.”

Damn they hadn't left New Appaloosa and already things were getting hairy. The idea of sneaking past hellhounds sounded like a pipe dream at best and with five people going in on this mission only stood to slim their chances of success. However, Artemis thought back to The Tale of Littlepip. The hellhounds were just as sentient as ponies or griffons, perhaps sneaking and fighting did not have to be the main course of action. But that memory of Clopton stood to give her pause, she remembered the one Follower pony that was killed by that legionnaire hellhound- wait! Legionnaire hellhounds! If the hellhounds somehow had an alliance with the Legion then Verity could serve as an olive branch. It wasn't much of a plan and it was crazy enough to get them all killed but then again, the last time Artemis got one of those crazy ideas she blew up a tank and when dealing with hellhounds there was always the probability you would end up dead.

“Mathlete.” Artemis interrupted. “I got another idea.” She turned to Verity with determination. “Verity, if my memory serves correctly then you might be able to get us in as diplomats.”

Verity raised his eyebrows in ever clam surprise. “Really now, do tell.” He asked in his steel voice. Artemis imagined he was thinking about how she naturally assumed the role of leader.

Artemis formulated her idea into words. “Okay, in Clopton I saw a hellhound in Legion armor. Since hellhounds aren't native to the San Palomino then they must've come from the NCR. I'm thinking, if the hellhounds have set up some kind of alliance then maybe they'll recognize you and we can get a diplomatic foot in the door so to speak. Then we just feign to be Legion ambassadors, claim that there's something Cesare wants down in Stable 2.”

The others were silent neither agreeing or disagreeing. They exchanged contemplating glances to one another. But it was Mathlete and Aroma who looked the most worried about meeting the hellhounds. Although Aroma had to have read about the hellhounds when she read Littlepip's book she still retained an anxious demeanor.

'I say we do it.” She spoke in a meek tone. Personally it wasn't what Artemis expected but she welcomed the idea of Aroma being on board.

“But Aroma, I've heard terrifying stories about those hellhounds I-” Mathlete shortly protested until Verity interrupted.

“Would you rather us all fight them?” He asked rhetorically.

Mathlete lowered his hoof. Verity spoke. “If Artemis thinks she can get into the hellound sanctuary without a firefight then we need to try.”

“Chiding Statement: User Verity, I did not expect clemency from you.” Alpha chimed but his voiced crackled as if he was amused by himself.

Verity turned to the synthetic pony. “No, I mean that hellhounds can put up fierce offensives and if we can avoid it for our goal then it is only the most probable course of action.” He eyed the machine closer. It was clear he didn't trust Alpha. That was strange though and Artemis didn't entirely blame Verity. Alpha did seem, odd at times. He would often be silent until he would usually give some scientific advice but it somewhat disturbing when he acted like he was a real pony, he came across as alien and disturbing especially if she felt hints of an inflection in his robotic voice. Verity wordlessly turned away from Alpha, the others did seem put off by Alpha's interjection. It was just strange when Alpha emulated organics.

“Right. Anyway, I say we get underway before it gets dark.” Mathlete suggested awkwardly after his meeting with Alpha.

Later. The group, minus Hans, is walking along the NCRCCSR...

The group walked along the train tracks that raced ever outward towards Ponyville. The earth had been cleared to make way for the steel rails that formed the tracks. However, they were not walking along some forgotten rail line that the old Equestria had used before their annihilation, no. This was a new train track that the NCR had laid to suit their new needs, most likely laid by the convict slaves she had seen when they first got to New Appaloosa. They had spent nearly two weeks in the New Canterlot Republic and now Artemis found herself with time to reflect.

Artemis and her friends had reached this country that had the means to rebuild what was lost in the Great War, something that sounded like a fantasy before. Perhaps what was the most fascinating thing in their foray to the north was the discovery of Littlepip's book. The real story of the Lightbringer straight from the horse's mouth, literally. Littlepip wasn't a deified pearl alicorn that turned her enemies into dust instead she really was a normal pony, normal being relative in her case. But this wondrous discovery was overshadowed by a new type of monster, The Cult. Perhaps what made The Cult so dangerous was that they didn't force ponies to call Littlepip lord but they convinced them they should. The Cult wasn't an army that was taking over the NCR through brute force but instead they had made political connections with NCR's leaders and fortified a place in the spirituality of the common pony. This wasn't a monster Artemis could kill with a weapon.

When The Cult came to the forefront of Artemis's thoughts Calamity and Littlepip's old friends followed in tow. What had happened to the others like, Xenith and Spike? Artemis knew or at least part-knew what had happened to Calamity, Velvet Remedy, Littlepip-sort of, Steelhooves and Reggie. Calamity was now the general of the NCR army defending Hoofer Dam although he seemed glum about his desk job. His wife Velvet Remedy was a medical officer at the dam with her husband, more likely she was the head medical pony at the dam. If anypony from Littlepip's book touched Artemis more than Littlepip herself then it was Velvet, she held on to her morals against the ravages of the wasteland and even though she could have been a supreme bitch at times she still was the kindest pony.  Artemis bemoaned her naivety at truly believing she had lived in the Equestrian Wasteland. Sheesh how stupid could she have been. If anything her generation had things going great for them. Littlepip had assimilated into the Single Pegasus Project and now had control of the weather but whether or not Pip lived anymore remained to be seen. Her mind conjured grim thoughts of Littlepip's skeleton lying in the SPP pod in Neighvarro. However morbid, it was unlikely. Calamity was older than Littlepip and yet he was still alive but still deep down Artemis couldn't even imagine existing in the same dimension as Littlepip. The Lightbringer just seemed so abstract and intangible when you really tried to imagine her living and breathing before you. Last but not least was Steelhooves and Regina Grimfeathers. Steelhooves had been killed by hellhounds just after Littlepip killed the goddess at Maripony. In many senses Steelhooves reminded her of Verity with their stoic or grim natures. Artemis remembered when she read the scene with Steelhooves's death, she almost didn't believe the words and had to reread that scene to see if she had read it correctly. Then that one hellhound had the audacity to throw his decapitated head at the Sky Bandit! Artemis wanted jump into that book and strangle that hellhound with his own intestines. Thinking back, if Steelhooves's grave still stood she might pay a visit. Finally there was Reggie, daughter of Gawd. Artemis would admit that seeing a griffon as the leader of the NCR did instill a feeling of pride in her. No one was really sure what race Cesare belonged to, there was only speculation among the lower rungs of the Legion. The officers that knew Cesare would sooner cut out their own tongues than disclose any information about Cesare.

Among the many things that stood in Artemis's mind with The Tale of Littlepip was something that could actually help her in the present. In chapter thirty-seven Littlepip was in Canterlot trying to find the black book for the goddess but what Artemis found most intriguing if slightly disturbing was the mention of twin mares in the Ministry of Arcane Science. If what Artemis believed was true then those two mares were the twins that she had been seeing, Gestalt and Mosaic. They matched the description that the book gave to a haunting degree. If Artemis ever saw them again she planned to invoke their names and see what kind of reaction she gets. Even then, Gestalt and Mosaic had met their demise and were joined with the Unity almost two-hundred years ago. If that wasn't enough they were “killed” when Littlepip detonated a balefire bomb under Maripony but still they live. Why? No doubt Gestalt and Mosaic had a hoof in making the Dead Hoof Retaliation Network that would later become the number station.

The zebra's that fired on Canterlot started armageddon but the Dead Hoof finished it.” Grandpa's words echoed in her thoughts.

Not long later...

The rails eventually led to the train station where the NCR freighters make most of their shipments to Ponyville. The station had been built after the apocalypse but it showed that it was not brand new per se like the remodeling of New Appaloosa. Artemis guessed it was built perhaps ten years after the founding of the NCR.

The gate was no problem with Artemis, Verity and Alpha simply carrying the ground-bound ponies over the gate. Aroma hopped off Artemis's back and stepped on the patchy dirt. The gate they had flown over had rings of barbed wire crowning the tops serving as a deterrent to would-be trespassers. But that wall was nothing compared to the inner wall Artemis saw. Behind the front gate was a large steel wall almost a good fifteen feet high. It was reinforced with steel rivets much like Oubliette's hatch and it had tall pylons that hummed with electricity even from, Artemis could hear them even from where she standing. Did this gate serve to keep the hellhounds in or keep curious ponies out?

“Artemis, we got company.” Mathlete announced worriedly as he pointed to several NCR uniforms that were making there way into the receiving area.

“Halt! You are trespassing on Crystal Canine embassies. Relinquish your weapons and prepare to be detained.” The NCR soldier buck said as he approached them with several other armed guards.

The others tensed up feeling a firefight was imminent but Artemis wasn't, she merely stood nonchalantly. She imagined her uncaring expression might have worried the soldiers that she had something up her sleeve, which she did. Artemis drew her Ranger Badge and held it in her hand and revealed the gold plate badge. The soldiers only flinched before realizing what it was.

“A Ranger?” A young stallion whispered in amazement.

The previous soldier glared at the young buck for speaking when he should have been silent. Then he turned to Artemis. “A Ranger, I suppose you wish to speak to Commander Tight Ship.”

Relieved that the firefight would not ensue Artemis cooly replied. “Yes, take us to your commanding officer.”

The group was escorted further into the base which consisted of your standard base having; Barracks, Mess Hall, of course the receiving area they snuck into but what was stood out was the great steel door that lay at the end of the tall walls that made the interior hellhound sanctuary wall, almost like a killzone funneling targets into scope.

Not Long Later...

“So...” The gruff yellow unicorn mare hummed unamused by the group in her office. Her office was much like Calamity's only darker and there wasn't pleasant view of the valley. The commanding mare sat behind a dark wooden desk with papers and pens arranged to an almost painfully precise order. She also had a NCR flag on a pole along with pictures of her and a painting of President Reggie. There she was, the teen from Littlepip's book all grown up and at the helm of the NCR.

“Hey Ranger I'm talking to you.” The commander snapped bringing Artemis out of her reverie.

Artemis blinked and returned her attention to the commander. “Yes, Commander Tight Ship we're trying to get into the hellhound sanctuary.”

The mare smiled cynically. “Ha. Well Hellhound isn't racially sensitive or politically correct. They prefer the name Crystal Canines. I'll thank you to use the correct terminology, Ranger.” She corrected putting emphasis on Hellhound and Crystal Canines and with the disdain when she showed it was clear Commander Tight Ship didn't like the Rangers.

Artemis had no quarrel with the commander but they needed to get to Stable 2 so they could help Mathlete and get on their way to Fillydelphia.  And it appeared that the plan of using Verity as an ambassador to the hellhounds -sorry Crystal Canines- was going to have to wait until they actually met the hellhounds. Artemis was actually surprised she didn't see something like this coming. Regardless Artemis decided to go with the good cop routine.

“With all due respect commander my squad is trying to contact the Crystal Canines so we can get something important from Stable 2. So if you would be so kind as to get us past the paperwork so we can get back to Ranger business we'd really appreciate it.” Artemis requested courteously but her words had a curt undertone.

Commander Tight Ship scowled. “Nrgh that's why I don't like you Rangers, untethered by the law. You do whatever you please under the ordinance as the right hand of the president but you can't be held accountable by a court of law. You don't pay for your actions but uniforms like me and my men do. If I let you through the border and you cause a diplomatic incident then it'll be my ass that gets chewed out, and not in the good way!” She hit her hoof on the desk sending one of her pencils slightly off position. She rectified this with my telekinetically moving the pencil back in place.

So the commander disliked the Rangers because they weren't tethered by the cumbersome bureaucracy that everyone else was tied to. It seemed somewhat like the government was trying to a problem they weren't willing to admit; Founding the NCR Rangers and giving them immunity in the name of keeping the peace only showed that the system was already too much for the NCR to handle. Even though Tight Ship seemed to despise the Rangers it was odd when Artemis noticed a picture of a younger Tight Ship in a wedding dress next to a cream colored stallion that wore the same armor Rusty wore, guess opposites really do attract.

“Is, that your husband?” Artemis inquired nicely. Hopefully this could get them some more maneuvering ground.

Tight Ship glanced back at the photo. “Yes...” She admitted sounding playfully annoyed. “He'll be the death of me. Buck's pretty much the antithesis of me, and a Celestia damned Ranger.”

“And isn't he one of the best soldiers? To be a Ranger?” Artemis added slyly to her query.

The yellow mare rolled her eyes. “No he's a terrible soldier, but he does get results quickly. They don't just let any schmo be a Ranger y'know.”

Artemis nodded. “Right, so you know we can get what we need and there won't be no incident, and if luck's on our side the Canines won't even know we were there.” She assured cooly.

Commander Tight Ship turned back to face Artemis in her leather chair. “Dammit all to hell. You better be careful because the Crystal Canines are big, mean, they have sharp claws, big teeth and most importantly they have a helluva legal firm and will sue your ass into next year.”She threatened menacingly somewhat angered by losing the argument.

“Don't expect any less.” Artemis reassured cordially. But the commander's grimace remained.

The commander began writing on one of her papers. “I'll open the gate for but if you fuck this up so help me Luna I'll penetrate you with the throbbing cock of bureaucracy.” Ew that was new phrase, Artemis imagined Hans would've found that throbbing cock phrase a nice addition to his foul repertoire.

The group exited Commander Tight Shift's office back into the better lit hall of the NCR embassy. That had gone better than expected to be honest. Artemis couldn't really explain what came over her but the words just rolled off her tongue. Not to mention her friends that had remained silent during their little meeting. Aroma was actually the first to bring this up.

“Wow Artemis you really persuaded her! I really didn't know what to say to her but you, you were all like-” Aroma slicked her mane back. “-Hey commander, we want into hellhound territory, that's all.” She said mimicking Artemis's voice.

Artemis blushed a little. “I actually don't know what came over me.”

“Hmph, our fearless leader in battle and in voice...” Verity smirked and nudged her with his wing.

“I take it you're the head of the group then, Artemis?” Mathlete surmised with a waive of his hoof.

“Resigned Statement: I would have contributed to User Artemis's conversation with Commander Tight Ship but it appears my speech is not as well received by other organics.” Alpha almost sounded annoyed. Had his feelings been hurt when his clemency statement had been met with... mixed results? Wait no, Alpha was a machine his feelings couldn't get hurt but then why did Artemis feel this vibe from him?

“Alpha, did we hurt your feelings?” Artemis asked with a faintly guilty inflection.

The robot pony shifted in place. “Query: Feelings are moods the brain creates through the release of certain chemicals, I have no such feelings.” Now he sounded defensive, as if Artemis had pressed one of his buttons. But she didn't like the idea of having possibly upset one of her friends even if he couldn't recognize the emotions of being upset.

Artemis walked to Alpha and picked up one of his hooves with her hand. “Alpha, you might be a machine but you got the soul of a pony.” She gave him a nice hug in which Aroma joined in too although Verity was far too tough hug and Mathlete looked more disturbed than anything.

“Statement: Soul...” He said leaving the word to trail into the infinite as if he was philosophizing.

…..

The gate at the very end of the embassy killzone opened with an iron hiss that threw dirt into the air. Beyond the dirt and dust Artemis saw the remains of the Ponyville area. While not all was revealed she did noticed what must have been the town hall and the final remains of had to be Twilight Sparkle's library. Part of Artemis wanted to see it all Sweet Apple Acres, the library just to see the places Littlepip had been. Artemis remembered back to Littlepip's book, if they were heading to Stable 2 then that would actually take them to Sweet Apple Acres since the stable had been built into an apple cellar. Score! Two birds with one stone.

“Remember Ranger, don't tarry.” Tight Shift warned disdainfully from a catwalk overhead. “And don't let Pembroke find you, she'll sue your ass so hard your grandchildren will still pay the bill.” She added finally. Jeez they really were terrified of these hellhound lawyers. Personally Artemis couldn’t help but snicker internally.

Once inside the Ponyville enclosure the small town seemed more like an arena with the giant steel wall corralling the entire town in. Much of what the town was seemed to have worn away a little more than when Pip first described it. Although now there was vibrant green plant life which now overgrew most of the outlier buildings. “Ponyville.” Her pipbuck identified. Artemis almost forgot it did that. She casually went into the settings interface and changed the name to “Hellhound Sanctuary”.

“Jeez, where could Stable 2 be in all this mess. We could be looking for hours!” Mathlete despaired when he saw the decrepit town.

“I have a feeling our boon will be found on the farm due east.” Verity grumbled casually but Artemis saw it as a stroke of ambiguous genius. If she or Aroma had spoke first they might have unwittingly told Mathlete about Littlepip. That kind of information had to stay under wraps, good to see Verity was in right state of mind. Not bad Verity, not bad.

“How would you know?” Mathlete complained checking his pipbuck again.

“... Gut feeling.” He replied shortly.

“Well what are we waiting for?” Aroma stamped the lively dirt in anticipation.

The group made their way down the dirt road until they finally reached the town hall. The majority of the roofing had fallen in on itself leaving the building little more than a ruin with degrading patios. But something felt off. There were no hellhounds skulking about but where could they have gone? Then in a second Artemis felt the faintest tremor underneath her feet, only a second. She didn't have to time to warn the others, fly up or at least yell.

CRASH! The hellhounds could burrow! Dammit why hadn't she remembered that!

The hellhound erupted from the earth knocking Artemis upward until she landed with a sick crunch! Her vision was horribly fuzzy and her hearing was concussed, replaced with a high pitch whine. All she could make out was  Aroma screaming something and she heard Alpha's gatling laser fire. Well fuck so much for a clean diplomatic mission. But then in her incapacitated body she began hearing more gunfire and more gunfire, way too many guns to just be her group returning fire. Her pipbuck was flashing a warning message as Artemis tried to pick herself up. She strained amidst the chaos of the background but before she pick her hind legs up she felt a sharp crippling pain in her chest.

“Goddesses I landed on my famas.” She thought to herself in painful dismay. That crunch was her rib n doubt.

More weapons were being discharged, the hellhounds must be fighting each other. But why? Regardless Artemis knew she was going to get intentionally or unintentionally in this crossfire. Fighting the pain Artemis start crawling to one of the porches but she was going nowhere fast without being able to stand or fly. But Artemis was saved when a blur of orange ran out from behind the porch she was crawling to and picked her by her arm.

“Don't worry Artemis I got you!” Aroma shouted but it sounded more of a muffled yell. Aroma was pulling Artemis out of the fire. How about that. She could feel carrying her limp body weight was putting considerable strain on the petite pony. Aroma halted and fell to her haunches panting heavily. Aroma was fatigued but seconds later she muscled her way onto the porch and laid Artemis up against the wall.

Artemis's vision began to clear and she saw Aroma had been damaged as well. Small dribbles of blood ran down her face from the top of her head. “Thanks Aroma- nrgh!” Artemis cringed as she tried to move.

“Don't move Artemis stay still until I can find help.” Aroma ordered against the gunfire.

Artemis nodded in pained agreement. “Fine. Where are the others? What happened?”

Aroma cringed as an explosion rocked the battlefield. “I don't know!-” Boom! “One moment we were walking and then the next was chaos. The hellhound, they're fighting each other. I think Mathlete and the others are-!” Boom! “Across the street in that building.” Aroma pointed across the street at a building nearly identical to theirs.

“Halt!” A voice commanded fiercely from above. There on the one of the balconies of the town hall stood a snow white hellhound.

“Begone Vox Canis, your kind are not allowed here!” He shouted and aimed his rifle at one of the hellhounds on the ground. Then Artemis noticed there were two distinct differences among the hellhounds. One side wore the worn pre-war vests like their ancestor before the war and the others wore red. Several wore red capes with hoods, red cloth tied around their arms, bandannas.

One hellhound with a helmet adorned with red plumage shook his fist at the snow white hellhound above. “You can't suppress our will by bowing to the ponies, Pembroke!” So the snow white hellhound was the infamous Pembroke.

“Get the hell off my land!” Pembroke shouted and shot her rifle. It did not pop like a rifle but instead seemed to hiss.

The hellhound call Vox Canis backpedaled as he was hit before angrily shouting. “Your rivet gun won't kill me!”

“Ha! I don't mean to kill you yet but you will the when the cavalry come in.” Pembroke retorted purposefully antagonizing the angry hellhound who was plucking the screws out of his arms like they were nothing.

He clenched his fist so hard Artemis thought his bones were going to break of of his skin. “Fall back! Fall back to the camp!” He shouted and waived his obsidian claws. He turned again to Pembroke. “You might win today, but it is fleeting! Mighty Cesare will fall on you and your dissolute father!” He shouted before running away with his red brethren. So those must be the legionnaire hellhounds and apparently their alliance with Cesare has been met with... less than happy results. But why would the hellhounds ally themsel- argh! The broken rib or ribs- gah!

“Oh no...” Aroma grimaced as she tried to help Artemis but they had no professional medic, no Velvet Remedy. They were more of an attack team which had its pros... and its cons.

But that wasn't scared Aroma. The fighting was over but Pembroke's hellhounds remained. Worse yet they started approaching Aroma's fortification on the porch. Even with their weapons holstered or slung over their backs they still managed to instill panic in the orange pony.

Aroma tried to move Artemis like she had before but the adrenaline had left her leaving her a tired husk. Artemis tried to tell Aroma but breathing had become strenuous on its own. She wanted to tell Aroma that the hellhounds did not look hostile, even to herself Artemis found it hard to believe but it seemed as if the hellhounds were approaching with pause. Aroma reached for her shotgun and weakly hobbled over to the stairs ready to make her final stand. No no no Artemis couldn't let Aroma die like that, not when they looked friendly- if just not full on hostile.

“...No.” Artemis whimpered as she cringed in pain trying to pick herself up. Aroma turned her head.

“What?” She whispered in subtle horror.

“You'd best listen to your friend pony,  we come in... mutual peace.” Pembroke, the white hellhound snarked as she jumped off the balcony. “It's about time the NCR sent me those specialist I've been requesting.” She added nonchalantly as if Artemis knew what she meant.

“Ppp- lease we've got wounded.” Aroma stuttered uneasily as Pembroke closed in.

Pembroke walked on the porch and examined Artemis. She rubbed her chin with her furry finger that ended in a large claw that easily dwarfed her own. “Hmmm. We don't know much about... non Crystal Canine but I do think what we have back at the farm will suffice in getting you back to working condition.”

“The... farm? Sweet Apple Acres?” Artemis moaned.

Pembroke nodded or at least it looked like she nodded, it was hard to tell with hellhounds. Aroma interrupted Pembroke's examination. “Oh goddesses, no!” She exclaimed then ran off out of Artemis's field of vision.

“What happened? Verity?” mumbled. Now Pembroke's attention had turned to whatever took Aroma's.

“C'mon. Let's get you out of here, hold on.” Pembroke said bluntly but with resolution. Before Artemis could protest or question the white hellhound picked her up off the ground. Artemis cringed and gasped but tried to the pain in. Even though her vision and hearing had returned Artemis still could not see what the others had gasped at. What if it was Verity? Was she really that self-centered? The first thing her mind jumps to is what will affect her. Deplorable yes but yet Artemis couldn't help but worry more about Verity.

…..

Artemis remained conscious through it all. Pembroke had carried Artemis to Sweet Apple Acres and her pack's undisputed territory. They didn't go down into the stable cellar but instead Pembroke took her inside Applejack's old house. If she wasn't in so much pain Artemis would have enjoyed the thought of being somewhere Littlepip had been. Who was she kidding even through the pain Artemis internally squeed at the idea of being in the same house Pip had been.

Pembroke sat her gently on the old ragged couch before walking off to another room without a word. Artemis laid on the brittle yellow stained couch and examined her surroundings. The living room  was dark save for the sunlight that was cast in from the long shattered windows. The tattered curtains in window fluttered almost like ghost or specters of the past that used to inhabit this home. Beyond the sunlight the rest of the house remained in shadows, it faintly reminded Artemis of the home she and Aroma had visited on their way to Gryphondale. Broken refuse and debris littered the ancient wooden floor along with a large mat that was slowly decaying. The walls were torn and damaged revealing their age, the wallpaper was peeling in places and in others chunks of wall were outright gone. This was what Artemis expected the rest of the world to be like- broken, decaying and in disrepair. But even then she had sunlight and green plants instead of the ugly seas of brown and the never ending cloud cover. In one sense the Hellhound Sanctuary was like a bastion of the wasteland, completely untouched by the new NCR. Artemis still couldn't help but feel ashamed by her secret want of the wastelander life. She had grown up thinking she and Hans were living after the apocalypse but now she's learned that her entire life has been a lie, a sham. She should be happy things were starting to get better and she was in a sense but still Artemis felt like she had just wasted nineteen years of her life thinking she had been a bonafide wastelander when really she was just a fool.

She wanted to talk to someone, Hans or Verity, see what they thought about it. Hans was probably getting drunk in New Appaloosa right now and Verity, she didn't know about Verity. It's like she could do much though, all she could do was wait for Pembroke to return.

And return she did. Pembroke walked back into the living room carrying a large crate labeled “NCR” in black stencils. The white hellhound opened the nailed box like it was nothing. She reached in and pulled out a large healing potion and handed it to Artemis. “Here, drink up, there's more if you need them.”

“...?” Artemis mumbled as she slowly took the potion. “...Thanks.” That was all she could articulate. She was at a loss of words, it was just so strange to see such a hulking monster act so cordially. Even then Pembroke seemed less... brutish and maybe even refined for a hellhound at least.

Pembroke arose wordlessly and started making her way to the door. “Wait, Pembroke.” Artemis murmured but it was loud enough to get her attention. Her ears shot up and she turned her head.

“Yes, griffon?” She asked in a low but gravelly voice. Again, her voice didn't sound as gravelly as the other hellhounds.

“Do you know what happened to my friends?” Artemis muttered in worry.

Pembroke returned t leaving out the front door. “We have your associates but the red one needs urgent help. Stay here until I return, Ranger.” She ordered coarsely before closing the door. Now Artemis was all alone.

She rolled onto her back on the couch and looked up at the decrepit ceiling. Red one... That had to be Mathlete, Verity was blue and Alpha was... metallic. She wondered how badly Mathlete must have been injured or if he was even alive. If Mathlete was dead than this foray would have been for naught. Then that would just leave Ellis as the last hunter pursuing Aroma. Looked like either way Aroma's game was coming to an end and before long they'd be making the long drive back to the San Palomino. With her curiosity piqued Artemis looked at her pipbuck's map screen and skimmed the map until she found the icon of Stable GoE-EoHS, jeez that name was a mouthful and what did the letters really mean anyway? General of Electronics? Games of Election? Gardens of Equestria? The last two made plausible sense, maybe not so much the Gardens of Equestria though. But what did EoHS stand for then? Empire of High School, Artemis chuckled at that thought. She zoomed in on the icon and- whoa... If the icon was correct then Stable G was located in the Baker's Spine! The Spine was a long series of spires that formed a mountain range, they were the steepest mountains in the San Palomino and Stable G was nestled deep in its interior. Hell, how did Aroma get out of the mountains without a Zerpa? Guess they'll come to that bridge or mountain when the time comes. More than likely Ellis would go into hiding and try to wait for Aroma to be killed by some other means... like walking into a hellhound city!

Artemis bit the cap of the potion of and spat it out on the floor. She drank the potion's contents and put the bottle on the ground with the rest of the trash. She felt the pain recede and her rib mending. What would we do without healing potions? Artemis reached into the box and grabbed another red bottle. The entire box was choked full of the things! Artemis would have suspected that the hellhounds were great scavengers but these bottles were too clean looking to be pre-war medicines. Great. The NCR was now making their won medicines too. She was practically just a gun-toting citizen at this point.

Eventually her ribs began to feel better and later she could sit up again. Artemis waited for Pembroke to come back from wherever she had gone to but there was no sign of the hellhound. Artemis sat upright on the old couch interlocking her talons out of boredom. Then it re-dawned on her; Littlepip had been here almost fifty years ago back when the wasteland- err land was a very different place. Then Artemis got an idea. Pembroke had told her not to leave the house but Artemis wouldn't need to do that for what she was planning. She hopped off the couch and ruffled her wings before walking up the stairs at the right of the living room. In Littlepip's book she found a message from Velvet Remedy the night she left Stable 2 on a computer upstairs and if Artemis was correct then that very computer may very well be up there.

Artemis walked up the old creaky stairs, the rails were long gone leaving only spikes running up the side of the steps. More ghostly light shone down from the top of the stairs, she wasn't one for ghosts but did place did seem more... surreal. Something about the Apples that used to live here until the war began and the world ended. It seemed sad that the picture perfect family had been torn asunder and now this old house was all that remained. This feeling seemed to amplify as she got closer to the top of the stairs.

The hall split into three directions. Straight, led to a dusty bathroom with a shattered toilet and more torn curtains flowing in the breeze. Right, well... the right path was boarded up actually. Planks of wood varying in length and width were haphazardly nailed on the walls successfully blocking that half off.

“Pip didn't mention that in her description...” Artemis thought to herself. Was it pretentious that she referred to her as Pip?

Regardless, the final left path led into what looked like an office. Artemis walked in and felt an odd reprieve from the dread she felt on the stairs. Well well well, there on an old wooden desk sat a Stable-Tec home computer. The screen was black and dusty from no usage in the last four or five decades but if this computer could have lasted two-hundred years then it could have probably weathered fifty more.

Artemis sat on the stool in front of the computer and pressed the power button. The console was silent until a barely audible whine could be heard. Would you look at that, when Stable-Tec built something they built it to-!

Crack-Snap! The stool splintered and broke under her weight! Artemis fell with a grunt but other than the slight shock she was okay.

“Guess Stable-Tec didn't make chairs...” Artemis mumbled dusting herself off.

The familiar green font danced about on the screen as it booted itself. It actually worked how awesome was that! She was where Littlepip had been and now she could see the very same message that Velvet Remedy left her. Thinking back she didn't realize the magnitude of meeting her meeting with Calamity and Velvet in the flesh. But that was before Oubliette. If Ditzy Doo really could get her into contact with Calamity Artemis would be able to talk to him and get a first hand... or hoof account of what happened.

The computer opened up a command screen displaying: Log off, Messages, Options and several other selections but Artemis had already selected Messages. She skimmed through the messages that were mostly corrupted until she found the mail named: “To any pony who has left Stable Two in search of me” Holy crap, that was the message! Artemis clicked on it without delay.

“Please, go home. I am –------------- if she –-------------- be back. Do not look for –---------------- my sake. Forgive me.” Artemis let out a disheartened sigh. The message had suffered some corruption throughout the years. Shame but it did go on to prove Littlepip's book more factional. Artemis downloaded the message as a keepsake.

“So I take it you are recovered ,Ranger?” Pembroke's hard voice cut the silence.

Artemis turned around to the white hellhound and quickly turned off the computer. “Yep. Feelin' a lot better now.” She answered nervously.

Pembroke nonchalantly shrugged. “Do not worry, I don't care about what you did to that computer. We don't really use them if you couldn't tell.”

Artemis eased up. “Thanks. Are the others okay?”

“That's what I came to talk to you about. The only one I worry about is the red one.” She turned and waived her hand as she started to make her way down the stairs. “Come, follow me.”

Artemis glanced computer one last time before following Pembroke. In the living room back on the first floor Pembroke picked up the crate of healing potions with no heft. “Where did you get all those potions anyway?” Artemis asked.

Pembroke rolled her green eyes. “They just kept sending them. I've been filing for a meeting with the NCR ambassador for months now but whenever I send my request I just get these boxes of supplies about a week later.” She sounded almost frustrated by it. Pembroke shrugged. “I mean, the supplies are nice but I have a desperate need to speak with the ambassador.”

“Why do you need to speak to the ambassador?” Artemis asked a bit bewildered. Pembroke looked at her with a disbelieving expression.

“Why? Did you land on your head and get short-term memory loss? You saw Vox Canis' warriors out there. It sounds like they've made some kind of alliance with a foreign power and they're hammering us inside here. I keep requesting a summit with the NCR but they just send us these crates of sundries.” She rolled her eyes in frustration.

Artemis continued to follow her into the kitchen where she picked up two more NCR crates. “Personally Pembroke, it sounds like they're just appeasing you by sending you supplies.”

The hellhound sighed. “That's what I've told myself sometimes. They're afraid of us, afraid to meet with us. I think they still think he hate their guts for Splendid Valley Holocaust-” She corrected herself. “-Well, some of the older Crystal Canines and the Zealots still do but...” She noticed Artemis's confused expression.

Pembroke but the boxes down and them for Artemis to sit on. Casually Artemis hovered and perched on them as the hellhound laid against the kitchen counter. “I guess I should fill you in on the deets of our peoples situation. We were granted the Ponyville area after the end of the Enclave Wars, back when my father was a youth. Since then our kind have broken up into several political factions: First. You have Vox Canis and his zealots, they want to fight the ponies and get revenge for the holocaust. Second. You have my father who is an Isolationists, he and his pack just want to stay away from the ponies and live without their interference. The Isolationists and the Zealots are the two parties you saw fighting today.”

“You speak as if you're not an Isolationists like your father?” Artemis inquired. It still seemed strange to see hellhounds being more than the overly hostile monsters from Littlepip's book.

Pembroke shrugged and crossed her long arms, at least it looked like she smirked but Artemis couldn't read hellhound expressions well. “Personally I'm not. I'm the head of the smallest faction here in the Sanctuary, I am an Ambassadorial. I want to have political relations with the outside world, trade, cultural exchange.”

That certainly was a... different viewpoint for a hellhound. “I take it your ideas aren't very well received with the populace.”

Pembroke nodded dourly. “You bet. My father thinks I'm just going through a phase and the Zealots only see red and won't accept anything less than pony blood flowing like a river. The Zealots' cry for blood was ignorable for a time but now they've made an alliance with this Cesare character and now their numbers and weapons swell along with their support. I fear if left unchecked or intervened Vox Canis could do some serious damage. That's why I keep trying to get the NCR's attention but they won't listen.”

“Wow, that's some high tension political strife.” Artemis admitted but personally she was surprised how intricate the hellhounds actually were. She had not expected this kind of division, Artemis always imagined they lived simple tribalistic lives but apparently that was not so.

Pembroke sighed and rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. But the worse part is, both sides are wrong. The extremes won't win in the long run. If Vox Canis wins then he'll spill out of the border and start slaughtering ponies again. Then the NCR will fight back and we'll be driven to extinction as bloodthirsty beast. If the Isolationists win then we will slink away from the world but that can't last forever, you have to become a part of the world or become its victim.

“This must be a pivotal time in hell- Crystal Canine history.”

Pembroke nodded. “It seems that the present will always be the most pivotal moment in history. But it looks like things are taking a turn for the better for once. Now that you're here that means that the NCR finally heeded my call, though I didn't expect them to send Rangers though.”

Aww shit, it just dawned on Artemis. No this wasn't happening. They were just here to find Mathlete's key, getting involved in a hellhound war was the last thing on their list. Artemis wanted to tell her the truth but she remembered Tight Shift's warning about being sued to death. But if Artemis didn't come clean then she and her friends might get lacerated to a literal death. Then again, both choices put Artemis in the path of an angry hellhound. The real question was: How many hellhounds did each path hold? Now it wasn't that hard of a choice.

“Well, if you need to see the NCR ambassador then why don't you use your legal team to get an appointment? The Commander at the embassy said you guys had a great law firm.” Artemis asked but really she was subtly surveying Pembroke's response.

She sighed in defeat. “We have no legal team. I'm the only thing close to a lawyer/ambassador. I spent my entire life learning NCR politico.” She reached into the long broken freezer and pulled out several paper and handed them to Artemis. “Those are the letters I sent to the embassy and the letters I got in return stapled to those supply crates.”

Artemis skimmed to the papers legitimately surprised by how decently Pembroke could write and articulate herself.

Dear NCR Embassy,

I have reason to believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that a faction among my people have allied themselves with a foreign hostile power. I know your time is short but I must urgently request a meeting with the ambassador. I wish to come to a resolution to halt the infighting among my people and I believe this may be possible with our cooperation.

I await your reply,

Pembroke, Ambassador of the Crystal Canines

The letter was dated several months back. Next Artemis found the response letter.

Dear Ambassador Pembroke,

We are very thankful for your letter and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. We hope to get you into contact with our ambassador in the following months.

Best wishes,

NCR High Command

That response sounded decent enough if a little too ambiguous. But if the tables were turned and Artemis was in Pembroke's position she probably would have accepted that response until the months began to pass. Artemis checked Pembroke's other writings to the NCR. With each letter she seemed more and more desperate but each and every NCR letter was the exact same, all spewed the same droll.

“Jeez, they-” Pembroke interrupted Artemis a little ticked by the memory.

“They gave me the wrap around that's what they did.” She took a breathe to regain her composure. “They had given me the wrap around but now you're here. I'll confess, I would have rather preferred the ambassador but I can work with Rangers. I hear you guys are the best of the best.”

Artemis grimaced and look downward. “Well... you see...” She explained the situation.

“What!” Pembroke exclaimed. Artemis had explained the truth to her and to know surprise she was... less than enthusiastic.

The hellhound facepalmed. “I should have known. Serves me right for thinking the NCR would take me seriously.”

Artemis simply brushed her feathers. “If it's any consolation, I'm sorry.”

Pembroke shook her hand. “No, it's not your fault. I was the one that assumed you were here to help us.”

“Guess you'll want to see your friends and we'll get you on your way then.” She added plainly but disappointed no less.

…..

The giant steel door of Stable 2 opened with a metallic groan. It felt like going back in time, Artemis felt like the door would open and inside would be ponies milling about doing their mundane business. Littlepip would be back in the back of the stable, in the maintenance wing. Going back to where it all began, a door to the past.

Everything was the same but it was all different.

After the door opened it rolled on its gear toothed legs behind the wall and there stood Pembroke at the controls to the door. Now the past became the present. The passing of time would not stop for anyone, not even the Lightbringer or her home.

Stable 2 was now home to the Isolationists hellhounds, along with the miniscule Ambassadorials. The stable door had been sealed but Pembroke burrowed beyond the door to open it from the inside like so many hellounds did casually. The hellhounds of Pembroke's pack walked about the stable as if it had been built for them and they had made themselves at home. Even with all the excitement of being where Littlepip had been Artemis couldn't help but find the stable a bit claustrophobic if not downright cramped. These hallways and doors were built for ponies, not griffons and if not griffons then especially not hellhounds. Artemis found herself ducking to go through a doorway more than once and in certain places her head almost hit the light fixtures.

“How did Aroma live in one of these things?” Artemis thought to herself after just barely dodging yet another light!

“We're almost there, your friends are in the infirmary.” Pembroke commented as she entered the atrium. Here the stable opened up to where they could both stand comfortably. Near the ceiling there was a circular window, the Overmare's office. Where she lorded over all creation... in Stable 2 of course. Artemis noticed several hellhound shaped figures in Overmare's office, no doubt Pembroke's father.

“Can tell me about your father?” Artemis asked as the hellhound opened one of the doors for her.

“My father? Yeah sure, he's the Isolationists pack leader. He was in Splendid Valley when the holocaust happened. That's also where I lost my mother, I was only a pup then...” Pembroke said sadly.

Artemis blinked. “You're nearly fifty years old?!”

“... Yes, forty-eight exactly. We Crystal Canines have longer lifespans. That's also why Vox Canis is able to rally so much support for the Zealots. He was there at Splendid Valley, and so were many of his constituents. He irritates old wounds and makes the survivors call for blood.”

The more Pembroke spoke about the strife her people faced Artemis couldn't help but feel so, so foreign. Though seeing the tense situation they were in maybe being foreign wasn't a bad thing. Even still Artemis wanted to help, futile as it might be seeing that this conflict has been going on for a while but nonetheless.

Artemis entered the infirmary and saw Aroma sitting at the side of one of the beds. She turned to see Artemis when she entered, the orange mare seemed okay with just a light gauze wrap around her head to soak up any blood. Artemis almost let a gasp escape at the sight of Mathlete. The maroon stallion laid unconscious in the bed with a tube helping him breath. Artemis couldn't make out the wound on Mathlete due to his reddish coat but the blood on the white sheets of the bed boded ominously that he had been savagely cut during their encounter in town.

“Oh, Artemis... why...” Aroma despaired and kept her teary eyes on her old teacher.

Artemis lowered a wing over the disheartened earth pony. “I'm sorry, Aroma.” She condoled at a loss of words

Aroma sniffled. “I.. I.. I, it should've been me.” She buried her face in Artemis's chest whimpering quietly.

Artemis patted her head. “Hey, don't talk like that. This is no ones fault but Vox Canis's.” Artemis reassured gently.

“I just, I just wanted something to go right in this damned waste-... land. What am I supposed to do now?” Aroma bemoaned.

Artemis lowered her beak to her ear pieces. “What do you think you should do?” She whispered.

Aroma pulled her face out of Artemis's chest. “I.. I will kill, Vox Canis.” She declared softly with tears mixing with newfound determination. The sadness would eventually boil to rage.

Artemis had the innate feeling that she and her group wouldn't be leaving without disposing of Vox Canis anyway, gut feeling. It felt odd seeing the sweet pony swear revenge on Vox Canis, even though Equestria was no longer a wasteland it still had a way of changing you. Aroma was experiencing that first hand, she wanted blood for the blood of her former teacher. She was almost like the Zealots Pembroke had described.

Artemis nodded. “And so you shall have it.”

Revenge. Base and honest, there was no complicated scheme or plot twists. Aroma simply wanted revenge, to do unto the Zealots as they had done unto Mathlete. Revenge was so simple yet you could build an epoch on it. It all depended on Aroma's drive, her will to see Vox Canis dead. Aroma seemed to ignore the fact that Vox Canis was a hellhound, not the easiest of kills for a pony like her.

“And I want Mathlete to wake up without his pipbuck.” Aroma amended turning her gaze back to the unconscious stallion.

“Speaking of that Aroma I want to introduce you and the others to Pembroke.” Artemis said glancing to the waiting room outside the infirmary.

“Can she get us the Overmare's key?” Aroma asked bluntly.

“Yes she can in fact she wants us to meet her at the Overmare's office.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Aroma asked rhetorically and walked to the door only stopping to give Mathlete one last look.

They left the relatively sterile infirmary and found the others waiting outside. Verity wore a few new scratches but no worse for wear. Alpha... was just Alpha really. He just stood there turning his head every few seconds.

“I see you two are okay. I was almost...” Verity mumbled.

“Worried?” Aroma cooed.

Verity didn't respond. “Declaration: I too was worried about the well being of you Users as well.” Alpha chimed with his synthesized voice.

Artemis gave Verity a quick “I was worried about you too” before checking her pipbuck to find the Overmare's office. “Alright guys follow me, and I have some major information to catch you guys up on.”

Artemis recounted her discussions with Pembroke before entering Stable 2. She mentioned the political powder keg Ponyville had become over the last fifty years as they made their way to the Overmare's office to speak with Pembroke and her father.

“So, Vox Canis has allied him and his followers with the Dreadsaw Legion.” Verity purred almost proudly. Aroma seemed to wretch at the mention of his name.

“Yeah, but this also explains the hellhound we saw at Clopton too.” Artemis reminded the group but it had been Aroma that had seen I with her when the city was under siege.

“But why would Cesare need the hellhounds in the first place? And how would he even have any voice this far north?” Aroma asked aloud.

“Cesare's reach is far longer than you'd imagine, I wouldn't be surprised if he's had agents in the NCR already.” Artemis could help but detect pride in Verity's voice.

“But that still doesn't explain the whole hellhound thing.” Aroma added.

“Warning: User Aroma remember, Commander Tight Ship said the name hellhound was racially insensitive and they prefer Crystal Canines.

“Theory: It may be that Cesare wishes to use spies to turn NCR assets to his favor.”

Verity hmrph. “No, the Legion would never resort to such treachery or skullduggery...”

“Skullduggery? The Legion takes over new tribes by pretending to be their friends and then brutally slaughtering them.” Artemis countered.

Verity was quick to defend his Legion. “No, those schemes are the domain of the frumentarii. We centurions are honorable officers of Cesare's will.” There Artemis remembered Verity was still patriotic towards the Legion even though he had abandoned it after his defeat in Gryphondale. He had left the Legion because he had been ashamed of her...

That made Artemis think.

…..

The hydraulic stable door opened and led into the Overmare's office. A large circular room with a semi-circle desk and a wall of computer screens behind it. The same circular window Artemis saw earlier was present in the office as well. Pembroke and her father along with several other hellhounds waited. Pembroke's father sat in the Overmare's seat, his daughter stood behind him. His fur was a deep brown bringing Artemis to believe Pembroke got her white fur from mother.

Pembroke walked past her father and his advisers. She spoke solemnly, the once brash attitude was replaced with quiet respect.  “Father, this is Artemis and her companions. Artemis and companions, my father Chief Welsh.” Then she stepped out of the way allowing her father to get a good look at them.

Chief Welsh looked old even with his fur and unreadable features. He eyed them with same green eyes Pembroke had. “So... you're from beyond the wall.” He stated in a gravelly voice that made Pembroke's sound like a singing bird.

“Yes and we were just looking for a key that you might have.” Aroma spoke up.

Chief Welsh shifted and looked into his desk. “Hmm yes, I might have a key but we need to talk. If you haven't guess outsiders aren't welcome among our kind, especially ponies.” He glowered at Aroma.

Artemis interjected cordially. “We mean you no harm Chief Welsh-”

The old hellhound leaned on his table propping his head up with one of his sharp-clawed hands. “I know your kind. Ponies, griffons, zebras. You do mean harm even if it is not your intention. Destruction follows you people wherever you go.” Welsh interrupted grimly.

“Then why is the entire tribe splintered and fighting each other? Tell me that?” Verity smirked.

Welsh narrowed his eyes at Verity. “Because, Vox Canis would doom our kind to a second and final genocide at the hands of your kind.”

“Query: User Chief Welsh, why have you not attacked him as he has attacked you?”

Welsh turned his gaze to Alpha but still did not move from his chair. “Don't you think we've tried that? the Zealots and we Isolationists are equally matched and we can't mount a full assault on Vox Canis and Sugar Cube Corner without laying waste to both of our armies and then we'd all die out.” Welsh pointed to one of his advisers who pulled out a crudely drawn map of Ponyville.

“You can't hold up this fight forever, Chief Welsh. If what your daughter says is true then Vox Canis's forces grow by the day. If you continue like this the Zealots and their faceless backers will bleed you and your men slowly.” Verity spoke grimly but he seemed to know what he was talking about, he even elicited looks of intrigue by the advisers.

“...Go on.” Welsh said simply.

Verity continued to walk over to the circular window and stare down at the Isolationist hellhounds. “It's called attrition. If you wait too long and waste resources in groundless skirmishes then you only delay the inevitable and soon your people will be too few to mount an assault on Sugar Cube Corner.”

“But I can't assault Sugar Cube Corner without devastating our people beyond repair and then my daughter Pembroke will have no people or a future.” Welsh interrupted worriedly.

Verity turned to the chief and walked to his desk. “And if you don't do something then Vox Canis and his warriors will come crashing through Stable 2 wipe you all out....” Verity paused when he slammed his talon on the old desk.

The advisers exchanged worried glances. “Chief Welsh, maybe we should heed the griffon's words.” One said sheepishly.

“How do you know?” Welsh asked Verity.

“I've seen it happen before, done it myself. If you want your daughter to have a tribe to rule then you must act quickly or else she and everyone you will end up as slaves or dead.” Verity warned again.

“Father.” Pembroke broke in. “Verity has point but we don't have to do something that drastic yet. Let me get help from the NCR, I am the Crystal Canine ambassador. I can get support, we don't have to go all out on this preemptive strike. Let me go with Artemis and her friends.”

That's when Welsh rose in his seat. “I cannot allow that, Pembroke. The ponies outside will not understand you, they will only hurt you. The ponies would sooner see us burn in balefire again before they help us with a fight that ours to fight and ours alone!”

Pembroke threw her arms in clenched fists at the ceiling. “Nrgh! Father not every pony is like that. We bleed and die in Ponyville everyday fighting each other. Your scared isolation and Vox Canis's warmongering will be the undoing of our species!”

“And if you bring the world to our doorstep then our way of life will be over!” Welsh returned fire but then stopped after seeing he had yelled at his only child.

But Pembroke wasn't phased. “Way of life?! We're engaged in abloody civil war when we barely have the numbers to sustain a population.”

That really hit Artemis. After Littlepip's balefire holocaust the hellhounds were nearly pushed to extinction. Now nearly fifty years later they're engaged in a bloody civil war with one another when they should be trying to mend their numbers and if what Pembroke debated was true then the hellhound race was hanging by a thread. The real question was whether that was a thread or a noose that her race hung by. Were they dangling for life or slowly killing themselves...

“You'll understand one day, Pembroke. I'm doing this for you.”

Pembroke was not dissuaded. “I'm not a pup anymore father. If you won't let me go then I will defect. They are my ticket out of here.” She pointed to Artemis and the others.

“No! If you leave then you'll end up like-” Welsh paused unable to bring himself to say it.

“Mother.” Pembroke said. “If we can't put our grievances with the ponies aside then we'll be seeing her again very soon.” She said grimly but her voice had lowered.

Welsh lowered his head on the desk. “Pembroke my daughter, you know I love you but if I let you go into that maelstrom outside I'll never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you.”

“That's my problem father, I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself out there.”

The room fell into silence until Welsh released a heavy sigh a minute later. “I can't let let you do that. I forbid it.” He turned to Verity to ask about the assault but Pembroke raged.

“Nrrgh! Why won't you listen to me!?” She turned away from her father. “Fine, you've forced my claw. I'm leaving. I'll get the help we need.” She spat. “I will go with Artemis and the Rangers.”

“No.” Aroma muttered under her breath but nonetheless angered. Pembroke paused. “I want Vox Canis's head.”

“What?! You mean you're going to buy into this madness?” Pembroke argued.

“It's settled!” Welsh said with finality slamming his fist on the table. “We attack at dawn. Artemis, you and your squad take up whatever position you want outside Sugar Cube Corner.” Welsh's advisers looked surprised and spoke to each other in hushed whispers. That was it there was gonna be a war. War was back in Equestria. Pembroke angrily stormed off without a word. But Artemis imagined she had some choice words that rhymed with “buck chew”.

Welsh sat back down in the Overmare's seat. “Forgive my daughter, she is very headstrong like her mother. You four can stay down in some of the room in Maintenance. I'll send for you in the morning.”

“Thank you.” Verity said in his deep voice.

As they walked out of the room Welsh called out one final time. “Wait!” He said. Aroma turned and the old hellhound threw the Overmare's key to the orange mare who deftly caught it in her teeth.

“Shank hou.” She said through the key in her teeth as she ran back towards the infirmary.

Later that night

Night or at least that's what the clock on her pipbuck says. Artemis sat alone in one of the room in Stable 2's maintenance wing. The room was small, dark, a tad cramped and all the amenities had been stripped off the wall save for the lights and the yellow wallpaper. Littlepip was right, they really did buzz if you listened hard enough. She filled the pockets in her Drescott with magazines for her famas, two on each side and she took whatever potions she could fit in her saddlebags. Something in her gut told Artemis this was going to be bad. They were fighting for the future of the hellhound species, if they lost that would mean the end of Pembroke's kind. What was even worse was the knowledge that winning the battle could still mean the end of the hellhounds. Their numbers could be so spent that even if the war ended there wouldn't be enough DNA left to keep the species alive. Only now did Artemis truly understand the urgency Pembroke must have been feeling this whole time. Her kind was driving itself to extinction after surviving near annihilation fifty years ago.

Artemis was brought back to reality when there was a knock at her door. Who could it be? Littlepip's specter telling her about the coming battle, Verity, Pembroke come to crack her skull or Gestalt and Mosaic?

Artemis opened the door with a low hiss and there stood Verity. Choice B after all. In fact Artemis felt that the two of them needed to talk. Artemis let Verity inside.

“Something wrong, Verity?” Artemis asked casually.

Verity sat on her bed. “I think I might know who's backing Vox Canis.” He admitted someberly.

Artemis hovered over in attention and sat down next to him. “Really? Who?”

Verity sighed grimly. “It's just a guess but I think it might be Vulpes Incolta.”

“Vulpes Incolta?” Artemis asked.

Verity nodded. “You've probably never heard of him. He's the leader of the frumentarii, sneakiest bastard you've ever not seen. But this is all speculation.”

Artemis blinked and cracked her fingers nervously. “And there's one other thing...” Verity added.

“I... I'm sorry for starting this war. I had to tell Welsh, he was leading his people to disaster.” Verity apologized and yet it still felt odd to see the Legion centurion say he's sorry, especially to a female.

Artemis patted him on the back. “Hey don't apologize because... I kinda wanted to fight too.” Verity looked up at her questioningly.

Artemis continued. “The hellhounds, they're not mindless monsters, they're just like us and they need out help now more than ever. They're on the verge of extinction and if there isn't a miracle at this battle then they may very well be done for as a species.”

Verity looked away. “So this is an uphill battle. Pembroke's the only one who can save her race but yet her leaders refuse to listen and she wants to join us.”

Artemis nodded. “I think she'd make a good addition, a hellhound diplomat and especially since we're going to Fillydelphia in a couple days we could use a tough ally.”

Verity smirked playfully. “The hellhound diplomat would fit right in with the meek stablepony, the self-aware synthetic pony, Hans and me and you.”

A small chuckle escaped Artemis. “Artery.” She giggled.

“Hmm?” Verity hummed slightly raising a brow.

“Oh, it's just Aroma's couple name for us.” Artemis answered and gently laid her talon on his.

Verity looked at his hand then at her. “You, you still consider us a couple?” He asked somewhat surprised.

“Of course.” Artemis answered somberly trying not sound overly attached. “Why, did you think otherwise?”

Verity took his hand back and assumed his steely attitude. “It's just... sometimes I can't help but feel like we're just a relationship of convenience. I was there when you had your... accident in White Tail and you've clung on to me and I feel that's the only reason you even like me.” He glanced towards her. “I really like the intimacy but I feel like we're off and on and I can't keep up.”

Artemis's heart just about broke into a million pieces. Verity had been falling apart the whole time and she was none the wiser. She really was an awful partner wasn't she? But in truth Artemis didn't really know how to be a partner, romantically.

Artemis wanted to wrap him in her arms but something told her not to, for better or worse. “Verity, I'm so sorry... I never meant to hurt you.”

Verity slightly shifted away. “I just don't know where we stand. I don't know what we are. Are we just on and off? Are we just physical? Is there even an us?”

Artemis's heart broke a little more. She wanted to tell Verity how sorry she was, for everything.  The worst part was that she was so romantically inept she couldn't pinpoint what she had done wrong. When had she ignored Verity's needs so badly that he felt this way? What did Verity need? That's how inept she was.

Verity was questioning whether or not the two of them were in a real relationship or was this pretend. Deep down Artemis had to wonder the same thing. Would she have fell for Verity if he hadn't been there when she had her mental breakdown? Would she? But that was beside the point, she had clung to Verity when her psyche snapped and now was the time to choose if she really wanted Artery to be more.

Verity was a griffon of several sides. Some good, some bad. He was a legionnaire and a high ranking one at that. That was a bad mark because her mother, Priscilla was a slave for the Legion and although he had fled Gryphondale he still had ties and loyalties. He was a steely person and hard to know but yet Artemis sensed a lot of pain in him. Verity was also a father. He had fathered two children that died in infancy. That's where Artemis suspected a lot of his pain came from, no matter how indifferent he acted he had to grieve for his two children in his own way. Artemis remembered something Verity had told her a couple weeks back, back in the San Palomino. He talked about how the Legion's views on romance had twisted his to a very plain almost bleak outlook. Verity was a man with baggage even if it was baggage he didn't admit to having but Artemis couldn't make a decision so robotically. It came down to one simple but complex question.

Did she want them to be more?

Artemis reached her hand out to hold Verity's again, he did not protest this time. “Verity.” She said softly. “I know we've had a rough start and I have not been the best partner for you but... but if you'd be willing to do it again I'd really want to try again too.”

Verity looked back up at her. “You promise? We'll actually be something more?”

“Yes. I promise.” She gave Verity a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Would you... want to stay the night? With me?” Artemis asked in a sheepish voice.

Verity looked up at her before giving a soft smile. He held her hand in turn. “Of course.”

…..

“Well, there's Sugar Cube Corner and the surrounding camps.” Pembroke pointed out next to Artemis. The next day had dawned and with it the Battle of Ponyville. The Isolationists forces led by Welsh and seconded by Verity and Alpha were down the road from the candy store. Artemis and the others went with Pembroke to find a vantage point in one of the empty buildings outside the Zealots territory. Strange things was, Artemis didn't see any camps per se just the old candy shop.

“What camps?” Artemis asked as she looked through a pair of binoculars. All she saw was an abandoned store.

Pembroke groaned. “They're underground remember?”

That added alarm to Artemis. She had almost forgot that hellhounds could dig underground. You'd think she'd remember that having experienced that fact firsthand and not to mention she had been to a hellhound settlement in a subterranean stable.

“How about sentries?” Pembroke asked hunkering down next to Artemis to get a look at Sugar Cube Corner.

Artemis looked but oddly she didn't see anyone really. No movement no nothing. Either they were lying in wait or they had set some trap. She was sure of it.

“...!” Artemis yelped as she noticed Gestalt and Mosaic on one of the neighboring rooftops. Sure enough it was the two green mares and they had appeared too far for her to yell to them, almost like they knew. Artemis's blood became ice when the twins suddenly turned their faces and stared directly at her, but they just stared. When Artemis rose her head from the binoculars the twins had vanished. They always did have a habit of appearing before battles.

“Did you see Vox Canis?” Aroma asked coldly as she loaded her shotgun.

“It's a shame it's come to this. I fear that whoever wins this battle the Crystal Canines will lose as a people.” Pembroke lamented. Artemis truly felt sorry for Pembroke. If anything Artemis and her friends tipped the scales in the wrong favor. She wanted to help Pembroke and the Ambassadorials but in the end they ended up causing the exact opposite. If they could somehow kill Vox Canis before too many died then maybe this situation could still be salvaged.

Artemis gave her binoculars to Aroma. The earth pony was out for blood. Artemis picked up her famas and loaded the small grenade launcher. “I know it's worth much but I'm sorry things turned out the way they did...”

Pembroke shrugged and leaned against a pile of boxes trying not to sound too upset but then again how could she not be? This would be the point of no return for her people. If this battle turns into a bloodbath the hellhounds simply won't have the numbers to continue their species.

“I'm gonna hope that if we kill Vox Canis then maybe his supporters will surrender. Unlikely but what else can I hope for?” Pembroke said pessimistically.

Aroma cut in grimly. “Vox Canis is mine.”

BOOM!

All three of them hastened to see what caused the commotion. Artemis took the binoculars and stared down by Sugar Cube Corner. Isolationist hellhounds had burst out of the ground and were firing on the old shop. Every minute more and more of the Isolationist warriors erupted from the ground and encroached on Sugar Cube Corner. However the Zealots did not seem to be firing back or even present for that matter.

“The Isolationists had gotten through the tunnels that quickly?” Pembroke wondered aloud in a worried tone.

“I got a bad feeling about this.” Artemis forbade. She wanted to tell Verity to fall back but more and more Isolationist troopers spilled out into the open.

Aroma mumbled and grabbed her gear. “Fuck it. You only live once and I'll be damned if I let someone take my kill away from me.” She turned to Artemis pointing a hoof. “Artemis, fly me over to Sugar Cube Corner and throw me in one of the windows.”

Artemis protested outside the one-sided gunfire. “No Aroma that's too dangerous. If the Zealots are lying in wait upstairs they'll kill you.”

Aroma waived a hoof in determination. “Irrelevant. Fly me there or I'm running but either way I'm gonna kill Vox Canis, you promised me.”

She had promised Aroma, dammit. Artemis cursed under breath and slung her rifle over her back and picked the orange pony up. The duo flew out the window leaving Pembroke behind. Artemis flapped her wings with the extra weight but she was able to sustain the flight. Flying would make them airborne targets but it seemed as if the Zealots weren't putting up a fight. Out of the corner of her eye, Artemis glanced at the rooftop where she had seen Gestalt and Mosaic minutes before but the twins had disappeared.

The gunfire outside Sugar Cube Corner had died as the Isolationist were starting to cease fire. The pre-war sweet shop had been nearly obliterated by the onslaught but still no Zealots to be seen.

Artemis flew Aroma up to a large window. Hold on!” Aroma yelled. A second later Artemis was forced backwards in air as Aroma shot the glass window with her shotgun. “Throw me in!” Artemis hovered closer to the window and with a heave tossed Aroma inside the window. The pony landed with a roll and soon ran off out of sight.

“Well well well.” A cool voice said lowly. Artemis looked up and saw a pony leaning on the tip of the vaulted roof. Artemis flapped up to meet him. The thin sea blue pony carried himself with an air of poisonous leisure. His armor was Legion, no doubt about that but his choice in hat wear was different. He wore the pelt of a coyote's head with the mouth and skin removed to show his face but even on his face he wore a visor obscuring his eyes.

Artemis couldn't think of what to say. She wished Verity was here but then again maybe it's good he wasn't, he'd have qualms about killing him. “Vulpes... Incolta?”

He grinned maliciously. “Fox Boy. I just thought I'd stay behind to tell you my underling Vox Canis and his associates have abandoned this frivolous civil war. They've gone to where they can be of real, tangible use to mighty Cesare.”

Artemis raised her famas and pointed it at Vulpes's direction. “And tell me why I shouldn't kill you now?”

The Legion spy stood perfectly on the tip of the roofing not even swaying in balance. “Because, Valiance said you didn't have it in you to attack unprovoked. Valiance was most displeased when he learned you had escaped White Tail alive. I imagine you two have some family issues?” He asked sarcastically.

Artemis teetered on going into SATS. She wasn't going to let him get under her feathers about her family, messed up as it was. “Lemme guess, there's a big ass bombs here or something isn't there.”

Vulpes smirked. “Why? Cesare's loyal hellhounds will need a place to return to as victors and if they killed the Isolationists then who would be the slaves? That doesn't sound very smart, Artemis...”

Artemis wasn't relieved by his assurance and refused to believe anything that came off his snake tongue. “What're you doing in the NCR?-”

Vulpes cut her off with a waive of his hoof. “I'm afraid that's enough questions, I must be off for Gryphondale. Ta ta, Artemis.” Blue feathered wings erupted from his sides. Vulpes Incolta was a pegasus! Pegusai were unheard of in the Legion. Fox Boy flew away soundlessly south leaving Artemis stunned.

Artemis almost gave chase to the pegasus but then she heard Verity call from the ground. “Artemis?!” She turned back to where Vulpes had been flying but the illusive legionnaire was long gone and out of sight.

Artemis landed on the ground outside Sugar Cube Corner where the Isolationists had all gathered around and were talking with one another presumably about the absence of the Zealots no doubt. The hellhounds seemed more confused than worried but this meant that the clock was ticking, the Legion had an invisible foothold in the NCR and wherever Vox Canis and his supporters had left to only boded ill for their return. But where could Cesare possibly need hellhounds? Artemis imagined keeping hellhounds as slaves in Gryphondale would be more trouble than it was worth-!

Then it came to her!

She should have realized it sooner. It all made sense, Clopton was the prime example: Cesare sent his emissary, Vulpes Incolta on a mission to the Hellhound Sanctuary. Vulpes fanned the flames of discontent among the hellhounds, they splintered and one faction allies itself with the Legion, granting Cesare fierce hellhound warriors. If Cesare was calling his loyalist back to the San Palomino then that could only mean he was amassing for an attack on Hoofer Dam. She had to warn Calamity but the Dam was days away. If Ditzy Doo could get her in contact with Calamity early enough maybe just maybe she could warn the general.

“Artemis, do you know where all the hellhounds have gone?” Verity asked as he made his way through the crowd Alpha in tow.

“This is bullshit, come out and face me Vox Canis!” Aroma raged storming out of Sugar Cube Corner.

“She's really angry.” Verity commented in disbelief at the usually cheery pony. He turned back to Artemis. “Did you see anything up there? Who were you talking to?”

Artemis glanced back up at the perch. “Your suspicions were correct, Vulpes Incolta was behind this civil war.”

Verity grimaced. “...What did he say?”

“He said that Vox Canis and his legionnaires have left under Cesare's orders back to the San Palomino. I think he's going to assault Hoofer Dam...”

Verity rubbed his beak. “Unlikely but possible mayb-!”

The ground by them sudden broke and Pembroke pulled herself out of a mound of dirt. She dusted her white fur off. “I can't find any Zealots, they've all disappeared, I can't tell if I should be happy or extremely worried.”

“I wouldn't call it a day just yet. This civil war is not over, not by a long shot.” Artemis warned being sure to leave Vulpes out of the conversation.

Pembroke didn't relax. “Something in my gut told me that this was too good to be true.” She said disappointed.

Artemis glanced at Verity then to Pembroke. “If you want your people to survive the Zealots homecoming slaughter then you will need the NCR. Are you still interested in accompanying us?”

The white furred hellhound looked outward at the Ponyville wall. “No one else will. This is a fleeting victory the Isolationist but I think now I could be able to convince my father to let me go with you guys, who knows maybe I'd fit in with you guys.”

“Artemis sure knows how to pick them.” Verity scoffed.

“But there is one last thing we have to check up on.” Artemis noted.

While the celebrations were getting underway Artemis and her friends had returned to Stable 2. The infirmary. Aroma looked at her teacher, the anger in her seemed to have finally cooled. She held his open pipbuck in her hooves and quietly laid it on the nightstand next to his bed.

“You're out of the game now, Mathlete. Just Ellis is left. Survive damn you, for those daughters you risked life and limb for.” Aroma whispered under her breath.

Mathlete's eyes fluttered open weakly. “... Aroma.” He looked at his foreleg. “You, you did it. Thank you, thank you.”

Aroma leaned nearer his face. “Be safe, Mathlete. I... I have to go. My friends need me and we need to be going north, when we come back I'll find you here or in Ponyville.”

Mathlete tried to hold a smirk. “...I'll hold you to it. You've changed so much since I last saw you, you've grown up and become such a confident mare. Those bad ponies up north are gonna need more backup.”

Aroma smiled and back downed from his bed. “I don't want to hurt them too much.”

Mathlete sniffed. “Give em' hell Aromatherapy, I'll be here.” He rubbed his bare foreleg where the pipbuck used to be. He closed his eyes and fell back into his slumber.

Aroma turned back to Artemis and the others. “I believe we have a train to catch in New Appaloosa?”

The gang stood outside the giant steel opening of Stable 2. Things had changed so much Artemis could scarcely believe she had been in Littlepip's stable but that stable was now a home to a different form of life that really wasn't that much different. Pembroke and her father stood by the entrance inside the stable.

Welsh grumbled. “Nrgh, while I don't like it at least we have Vox Canis off our backs for a time and if you truly think you can help end this civil war then I guess we have to try.” He still sounded reluctant to let his only daughter leave the stable but here he was.

Pembroke slung on of her bags over her back along with her rivet gun. “Don't worry father this will simple, I go to Manehattan, talk to President Grimfeathers and get a sanction to help us. Hopefully I'll be back before Vox Canis.”

Welsh nodded and gave his daughter one final hug. Hellhound do hug after all. Pembroke walked out of Stable 2 just like Littlepip had so long ago. Artemis reckoned that was the thing about stables, they were meant to be left one day. Everyone has their stables, hers was the San Palomino and now she was a thousand miles away from home but that's you grow isn't it.

The stable door with the iconic 2 in the middle churned and screamed shut with a metallic groan. With the shutting of the door also came with a darkening of the apple cellar.

“Wait, Pembroke. Wouldn't the NCR get mad at you leaving the borders?” Aroma asked.

Pembroke smiled and shook her head before pulling out a small scroll from her bags. “Not with this baby signed by my dad. I am now the Crystal Canine ambassador and therefore am granted diplomatic immunity on NCR soil.”

“So basically you're telling them to eat one.” Artemis snarked.

Pembroke chuckled. “That's what politics is all about.”

“Then you're gonna love Commander Tight Ship.” Verity assured.

…..

Back at New Appaloosa

The group was at the train station, Railright's old station to be exact. After all the commotion in New Appaloosa they were going to go up north to Fillydelphia and find the MoM hub and try to find the first piece of the number station clues. Personally Artemis wasn't really sure how she'd go about it. Would it be a code, or some kind of memory orb? They would also scope out the MWT or MoA buildings and see into possibly finding Alpha's memory cards. It was no secret that they'd have their work cut out for them in Fillydelphia make no mistake. Rumor, speculation and Littlepip's account made Fillydelphia out to be a hellhole but with luck and outdated information maybe Filly could turn out to a decent city that produces steel.

However they had not heard from Hans, well that was until an engineer came to talk to them. “Uh, lady, does he belong to you?” He asked and pointed down the rails. Artemis looked and sure enough their lay Hans in the middle of the train tracks passed out.

“Celestia dammit Hans. Yes, he's mine.” Artemis admitted and hovered nonchalantly to her pink friend.

Hans lay passed out around several bone dry beer bottles. “Hans.” Artemis poked the drunken unicorn. Hans just groaned like a filly not wanting to wake up for school.

Artemis opened one of her canteens and poured the water on his faces. He quickly sputtered and sat up rubbing his eyes. “No honey we already did the golden showe-!” He noticed he was talking to Artemis.

“Arty baby!” He clambered to his hooves stumbling a little. “Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for like two whole days.”

“We helped Mathlete and added a new member to our motley little crew.” Artemis explained.

Hans picked up a bottle then threw it when he discovered it was empty. “Knowing the peeps we happen to pick up I wouldn't be surprised if you picked up a teenage dragon with mommy problems.”

Artemis chuckled. “Close, a hellhound/lawyer actually. What were you doing on the train tracks?”

“I was here last night giving some buck the deuce and we had decided to do it on a train tracks to make things more exciting and it was glorious.” The pride radiated from his words.

Artemis shook her head. Hans was always up to some dangerous antic but she couldn't help but smile. “Hehe and I worried about you when you were in that asphyxiation phase.”

Hans narrowed his eyes. “Ugh don't remind me. That whole myth about hanging yourself while climaxing is bs, all I did was fall from the ceiling and break my tailbone.” He interrupted his rant and looked down at the others by the train. “Oh shit that's right we're going to Filly. Carry me maybe?”

Artemis rolled her eyes and scooped him up in her talons. The others were already boarding. But it was here with a griffon's eye view that Artemis noticed that she and her friends were the only people getting on the relatively small train to Fillydelphia. Guess Filly wasn't high on the NCR's tourist attraction lists, couldn't imagine why.

“Thanks baby girl.” Hans said as she let him go. He stepped on the train but he lost his footing a second later. Like a flash one of the hostesses caught him before he hit the ground.

“Watch your step sir.” She smile and picked him back up.

Hans looked back at Artemis. “Looks like you got competition for saving my ass honey.”

Artemis entered without incident thankfully. The interior of the entry car consisted of a long hallway with doors to the rooms spaced in equal intervals.100 101 102 103 104 were the rooms listed above the doors.

“Excuse me miss but I'm afraid we have six in our party.” Artemis interjected.

The hostess that had caught Hans fluffed her mane cordially. “We heard about your robotic partner. I regret to inform you that this train had enough room to accompany Mr.... Alpha is it. But we hope you would be consent to him staying in the kitchen overnight. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Alpha in the kitchen all night? It didn't seem fair, it just made Alpha sound like a utility to stow away. Artemis also imagined Alpha trying to make conversation with their toaster all night. Regardless that was not her decision to make, it was Alpha's. “I'll ask him ad see if he's okay with it.” She replied.

The hostess almost turned away when she remembered something. “Oh and you should get your rooms and stow your things, our chef is preparin' supper. The meal car is down this one.” Then she disappeared beyond the door ahead.

“I'm guessing this is a dry train isn't it.” Hans hollowly complained to himself as he opened his door.

Artemis's room was exactly the same as the other rooms to her left and right. Small, cramped but oddly cozy along with a small indent in the room for a tiny restroom. She approached the window looking out at the train yard. Docked trains, conductor ponies, cultists preaching and travelers walked about on their own business. It reminded her how she had done everything in New Appaloosa except for freeing the convict slaves. It had just slipped her mind truly it did. With everything that had happened her mind was preoccupied by the hellhound civil war, The Cult of Littlepip, Oubliette and the truth of Littlepip. It seemed like the truth about Littlepip seemed to be more paramount than her actual quest for the number station. That was just the thing, what could she possibly do about Oubliette and uprooting The Cult's lies? From the patrons in the bar earlier it seemed as if Calamity and the others tried to do the same thing but were ultimately defeated without the real Lightbringer. Artemis really wanted to speak with Calamity to get some concrete answers but it would appear she would have to wait until after their escapades in Fillydelphia. After that they would make their way down to Hoofer Dam to talk about Oubliette and warn him about the Legion.

An idea spawned in Artemis's head. She thought back to when they had first arrived in New Appaloosa  and that soldier buck was giving them trouble at the gates. Artemis had used her Ranger Radio to call Rusty!

“These people are on special ranger business, you're gonna open the gate and let them in and if they call me again I'll have your job and your dick am I clear?” Rusty's words echoed in her thoughts. Without further delay Artemis retrieved her radio and tuned it.

“Hey Rusty you there? Hey Rusty you there?” Huh that strange, it sounded like her voice was doubled.

“Come in Rusty? Come in Rusty?” Artemis tried again. Her voice sounded distant but yet just outside her door.

Artemis brushed her head feathers in confusion when the radio crackled. “Uh- shit. Hello Artemis is someone giving you trouble again?” Rusty sounded rushed and oddly her voice seemed double as well.

“Are you okay? Has the dam been attack?” Artemis asked again her voice sounded doubled.

“Dam attacked? No. What is you need I'm kinda busy at the moment.” Rusty inquired shortly.

Artemis cut to the chase. “I just needed to know if you could put your father on, I have some questions for him.”

The radio crackled for a second before Rusty came back. “Daddy? Err no, not right now, he's talking with my mother and I have to go too. Ciao baby.” With that Rusty disconnected and radio became silent.

“Well so much for getting to talk to the general.” Artemis said to herself and deposited the radio back in the bag. She entered the small restroom to prepared for dinner.

Artemis looked at her face in the mirror, her face tattoo looked odd with the scar under her right eye. That was something ponies didn't understand about griffon warpaint or feather dye. They just saw it as men and women wearing makeup on your face or dying the tips of your fathers but to a griffon the paint on your face stood as a symbol of who you were, it set you apart from the other griffons almost like the pony equivalent of a cutie mark. That made griffons fundamentally different to ponies, whereas ponies find who they are, griffons spend their entire lives making who they are, it was a journey that started a day after you were hatched only ended when you died and then it fell to your hatchlings and friends to carry on your memory. The tiny paper cut scar under her eye stood out among the red of her eyeliner like a stain on a cloth but in some way she liked it. It hurt when the twins cut her but now it made her different and that's what griffons were all about. They didn't have sub-species like unicorns or pegusai everyone was the same and that's why griffons ally themselves with factions or family clans to differentiate themselves, hell that accounts for why she made Triple A.

Artemis digressed and stopped washing her hands.

Night. Artemis entered the dinner cart where the others were sitting down in twos at the small tables. Hans and Pembroke would be getting better acquainted with dinner tonight. Aroma and Alpha sat together although she wasn't too sure why Alpha was present seeing that he didn't eat but to each his own right? Last but not least left her and Verity, the match made in heaven.

The lights were dimmed and the majority of the light at each table came from a small candle on each of their tables. Verity entered not long later and made made his way over and sat down in his chair at Artemis's table.

He looked at her cool as he slid his sword under the table. “So, just me and you tonight.”

Artemis noticed him hiding his weapon but couldn't find the words to ask so she leaned forward and tried to look casual. “Mhmm just like last night. Is something wrong, Verity?”

The blue griffon sat down but continued to look around the car uncomfortably. “No, nothing's wrong between us but I still can't help but think something's off with this train.”

So Verity was paranoid? As far as Artemis saw the train seemed to be okay, maybe they could have better signals for radios but other than that it seemed okay. “I don't know what you mean... But c'mon lets just have a nice dinner, the two of us.”

Verity still didn't lower his defenses but at least he tried to act calm. “Yes, the two of us.”

Artemis smiled sheepishly but Verity wasn't giving her a lot of conversation to go on. “What do you think we'll find in Fillydelphia?”

Verity lightly scratched his head. “I can't say for sure, a ruined city no doubt. I do want to talk to you about something though.” He lowered his voice and Artemis leaned in to hear him.

“Yes honey?” She asked nicely but in a low tone like his.

Verity paused as if he was hesitating at first before he began. “Before we found New Appaloosa you promised me you'd tell the others about the twins you've been seeing and it got swept under the rug. The only people that know are me and Alpha, I understand if you didn't want to tell Hayseed and his wife but you must tell Aroma and Hans, Pembroke too if she stays.”

“May I take your order mademoiselle?” The cream colored waiter snuck up.

Artemis halted her thoughts abruptly. “Uh, yeah, sure.” She picked up the menu. “I'd like the brahmin wellington please and a scotch and soda.”

The waiter took Verity's order and then they handed him their menus. “Thank you, I'll put your orders in right away.” He said classy as hell before leaving for the kitchen car.

Now where was she? Oh yeah.

Goddesses she really had forgot. She told Verity she would come clean in New Appaloosa and here they were New Appaloosa a spec in the background. “Honest to Celestia, Verity I forgot what with all this Oubliette/Littlepip nonsense. I-” Artemis was interrupted.

“I wouldn't call, Littlepip, nonsense Artemis.” Calamity said sitting at a dark table. He closed his newspaper and laid it on the table. Velvet Remedy took off her black sun hat and veil.

Artemis gasped, she was glad to see them but she was startled as well and being startled can be startling. “Calamity?”

“I'm here too, Artemis.” Velvet Remedy smirked. “I do hope you're enjoying your evening together.”

“I knew it.” Verity grumbled and clenched his talons. “Let me guess, these ponies wokring the train aren't staff either.”

Calamity nodded smugly. “Nope. They're Rangers to be exact, can't be too careful nowadays.”

“Hey guys.” Rusty called out nonchalantly as if this was no big surprise. She wore the uniform that the other employees wore. Now it explained the bad radio signal from earlier. The train didn't have a bad signal she was just hearing two voices at once!

“Calamity, but you're supposed to be at the dam?” Aroma asked turning in her chair.

The rust colored pegasus sat up. “Ditzy Doo told me you needed to see me and as it happens I need to see you as well Artemis.”

“Oubliette...” Artemis muttered. Calamity and his wife exchanged a short glance.

“So you know now, don't you...” Velvet choked almost as if she didn't expect her to approve.

“I know about, Littlepip.” Artemis confessed then paused. “I need answers, The Cult, the SPP and I heard something about you guys taking the Grandeur de Littlepip hostage.” She wanted answers and finally they had all the time in the world.

Calamity seemed perturbed by her wording of the happenings at the Grandeur de Littlepip. “What happened at the Grandeur was a disaster, a botched plan. Looks like I better tell you what happened after the Tale of Littlepip ended.”

“About ten years after the book ended and the NCR was just really getting on it's feet a new kind of fanaticism started to spread about the Equestrian Wasteland. I don't know who but it was those damned Children of the Cathedral that started the whole thing, they would later become the first cultist. At first when we heard word of them we merely saw them as a broken fragment of Red Eye's Unity and thought nothing more of them.”

Calamity looked regretfully at his wife with his hazel eyes. “A couple months later I led a caravan with some Followers to see if they needed any medical help when we... when we discovered the Grandeur. When I saw it I could barely believe it, they had dismantled the Thunderhead Overcast and built the Grandeur out of it. When the cultists came out to greet us they started preaching... preaching their Dogma of Light.” Calamity scowled at the recounting.

“They, they had become fanatics about her, they worshiped the ground she didn't walk. Then came the blood...” The general grimaced.

“They would do horrible things to themselves, all in the name of appeasing the Lightbringer. I saw ponies gouge out their own eyes just so they could see the Lightbringer in her heavenly form, ponies that cut off their tongues so they could speak to her and ponies that destroyed their eardrums so they could hear her. The Grandeur was a bloodbath, a self-induced bloodbath.” Calamity had to turn away whimpering softly.

“That wasn't the worst part.” Velvet added. “I was there with him, those cultists, when they did those things to themselves they... they were so happy. They were jubilant. The buck that gouged his eyes started leaping for joy like some kind of lunatic, he didn't survive to the next morning but it really felt like those last few hours were the best moments of his life.”

“But how did things get so, so bad?” Artemis asked in shock.

Calamity turned back around. “They started evangelizing. Ponies like me and Velvet, our age group knew better but even then some of our numbers did buy into The Cult's dogma. When they found that not as many adults would turn as they'd hoped they turned to the children. Before long The Cult was speaking in schools, playgrounds, daycares you name it. The foals, the foals were much more susceptible and they took The Cult's dogma as fact.”

“And time made it worse...” Verity injected.

Calamity nodded. “Yes. About twenty years after that those foals grew up and became adults that believed The Cult wholeheartedly. Soon their preachers were common and accepted in the public eye.” Calamity sighed. “The Cult of Littlepip, was born.”

“What was thought to be a benign faction ended up spreading across Equestria faster than Red Eye's army. Me, Velvet and the others that traveled with Lil' Pip knew we had to do something.”

“But, Calamity. How did The Cult become so, so powerful? I mean faithwise.” Aroma asked sheepishly from her chair.

Velvet answered the young pony. “A perfect storm of articulation. And you have to remember The Cult believes what they're preaching, enough to gut themselves too. They preached with a fiery fervor and their Dogma of Light accounted for how the world changed from being a wasteland their parents and grandparents lived in.”

“That's when they started reaping the Heretical Scripture.” Calamity but in. “After so long The Cult began being granted special rights, they were above the law to rout heresy.” Calamity stopped for just a second. “I know what you're thinking but imagine, The Cult had a lot of money from their followers so lobbying the Council wasn't too hard but I digress.” He started back on the reaping. “Over a series of nights cultist stormed homes and businesses all throughout the NCR. They were taking the real Tale of Littlepip. With those books out of the way their future would be absolute and their dogma unquestioned.”

“But luckily we and the others, Xenith Celestia rest her soul, Homage, Regina humored us but Gawdyna was too busy grooming her to do much. We were able to save some books and store them in Oubliette” Velvet was soon interrupted by her husband again.

“And another thing, Djpon3. I bet you heard of him out in the San Palomino. Bet he talks about avoiding radiation and normal survival crap huh? Bet he never mentions anything about the Legion does he.” Calamity smirked grimly. He knew about the Legion?!

Artemis thought back. Djpon3 was more of a rarity in the San Palomino, you were lucky to catch his signal. He really didn't talk about the Legion! If Djpon3 was our voice out in the waste... land then why would he have turned a blind eye to the Legion's wrongdoings? She had to go deeper though. In a revelation of disturbing dismay Artemis remembered that not only were Djpon3's broadcast the same ambiguous garbage but they were literally looped messages! Those times she heard of Djpon3 was not live, pre-recorded.

“Goddesses.... you're right.” Artemis said paralyzed in shock.

Calamity nodded solemnly. “The Cult pulled the plug on Djpon3 and replaced it with Cerberus Radio. Cerberus Radio is how they really control the masses. CR is made of three DJ's, get it? Cerberus?” Calamity continued. “You have Dj Politico who has all the updates on the political bullshit in Manehattan. Dj Salvation who reports on all the doings that The Cult wants you to hear. And last but not least is Dj With It, he reports on all government and Cult approved stories.”

Hans shifted in his chair and put out a cigarette. “From Littlepip's book I couldn't imagine Homage being the type of pony that would've taken that lying down.”

Calamity snorted. “And she wasn't but in the end she was forced to.... retire. It's been years since either of us have spoken to Homage, and I imagine she's still upset at me.” Calamity looked to his unicorn wife with a hopeless gaze.

“You guys and Homage have a falling out?” Hans asked raising a brow in surprise.

Velvet looked at her husband with sorrowful eyes. Calamity lowered his head. “Yes, she didn't understand... she refused to believe we'd been defeated by backdoor politics and under-the-table money exchanges.”

“Is that what led you guys to the Grandeur de Littlepip?” Artemis asked but in her heart she knew the terrible answer. Littlepip's friends were defeated by politicians and lobbyists.

Calamity sighed. “I... I don't want to talk about that right now. Besides, you're a smart griffoness I have no doubt you can piece together what happened.” He stood up and pulled his beret off in defeat. “I'm going to retire to my room. I'll get your information tomorrow and bring you up to speed on the Fillydelphia Situation.” The rust colored pegasus walked off to his room but Velvet lingered.

“I'm sorry Artemis but my husband gets very upset when the... incident at the Grandeur surfaces. I would tell you but it's rather late and I suggest we all go to our rooms and get some rest.” The charcoal mare stopped at the entrance of the door to the hallway. She turned her head back to Artemis and the others, her mane hiding her eyes. “Just know, that the Grandeur de Littlepip was what landed me and Calamity behind desk jobs for the last twenty years.” The door closed behind her

Alone now, Rusty had left wordlessly earlier. The dinner car rumbled under her feet. There it was, the ugly half truth. The ending after the ending to Littlepip's book. Littlepip's friends lie broken and dismayed with each other while The Cult perverts her tale into what they see fit. Calamity and Velvet Remedy seem to have made the best out of their situation but the legacy of Djpon3 was shattered by Cerberus Radio, Homage the freedom fighter was retired, it seemed Xenith had passed away and Regina Grimfeathers was the President of the NCR.

This was not a happy ending.

“Jeez, I guess I'm really out of it.” Pembroke said rubbing the back of her head in befuddlement.

“Don't worry too much honey, I'll try my best to get you up to speed tonight.” Hans promised. Soon everyone started to leave the dinner car when Artemis halted everyone.

“Wait.” She paused, this had to be done now or never. “I. I need to confess something to you guys.” Verity smiled in approval.

Artemis told them the truth, about Gestalt and Mosaic and how they've been tormenting her for the past month. She gave them the truth and she didn't feign being unsure about the twins' existence, there was no doubt in her confession.

“Can you forgive me for lying to you guys?” Artemis asked demurely.

Aroma trotted up to her and gave her a warm huggle. “I can, Artemis. You forgave me so now I'll forgive you.”

“I knew it.” Hans spat. “You tried to hide it but I knew you were being troubled, I personally thought it was Verity and I was preparing to beat his ass for the past few days. Glad to see I can cancel that plan.”  He smoldered cooly.

“But can you forgive me?” Artemis inquired again.

Hans narrowed his eyes then they relax and so did she. “You bet baby girl... but tell me when you see these twins so I can kick their asses.” He stabbed out his forehooves in a boxing motion.

“You ponies really are strange.” Pembroke added sardonically.

Artemis opened the door to her room and stepped inside. The window now showed a night kissed landscape with the faint light from her room. She turned when there was a knock at the door. She opened the door and saw Verity standing with his usual indifferent look about him.

“I really proud of you, Artemis.” He said giving a faint smile.

Artemis blinked and tried not to sound foolish. “It was there or I don't think I could have done it anywhere else but I suppose I could have if-!” Verity interrupted her with kiss. Their beaks met and she nearly lost her footing.

Verity pulled away after the kiss ended. “Goodnight, Artemis.” He said and started walking down the hall to his room.

Artemis poked her head out into the hallway. “Would you want stay, with me again?” She asked.

Verity stopped. “Didn't we stay over last night?”

Artemis twisted her talons nervously. “Well, it's just we hardly have to time just for the both of us with all this craziness going on.”

Verity turned back! He tilted his head pondering. “I bet Hans would steal the towels from my bathroom if he knew I was gone but I think I can manage.”

In bed

The room was nearly pitch black save for the small traces of moonlight entering through the window. She was curled up next to Verity's warm body and he had his arms around her, maybe a wing too but she couldn't see that much. It felt good to have someone to hold you, a calm in the storm of the enigmatic number station, Gestalt and Mosaics' phantasmal apparitions, The Cult's siege on the truth of Littlepip, Legion vs. NCR but even with all of that she still felt as if all those things had faded away.

“Verity.” She asked in the darkness.

“Mhmm?” He moaned.

“Do you think we'll always be able to have this? Us. The way things seem to be going we might all end up dead.”

Verity was silent except for his breathing. “This isn't easy road, Artemis nor a safe one and I can't promise you'll be safe from harm but just know that I love you...”

Her heart melted. “I love you too, Verity.”

She felt his talon ruffle her head playfully. “Now try to get some sleep Artemis, trust me.”

She squeed. “Goodnight Verity.