Caress was fed up with this hospital gig. She'd only been in there for two days. Two days and she was going crazy. She had her jaw bandaged still to make sure the break wasn't aggravated. The pain from the dislocation was gone by now. It had only lasted a few hours to be honest, although the pain from the bone being reset had lasted for ages. It still pained her occasionally. Blits had visited almost every day, but Caress could see it was tiring him. She tried to tell him to go home, but she couldn't voice what she wanted to say. She had tried to ask for quill and parchment, but the nurses couldn't understand her enough to oblige her. It was so frustrating! At least she could move around her hospital room. The nurses seemed to trust her enough for that thankfully.

"Miss Caress? You have a visitor."

Caress, looking out a window at the time, frowned. It couldn't be Blits again. He'd already visited, and he'd be asleep right now anyway. Slowly, she turned around to face the door and, had her jaw not hurt so much, she'd have smiled. Instead, she waved and Ambrosia waved back.

"Hey Caress," She said softly, "I'm sorry I couldn't visit earlier... I've been a bit preoccupied."

Caress shrugged and waved it off. Ambrosia smiled feebly.

"I'm glad to see you're okay... It doesn't hurt too much does it?"

Caress's eyes scrunched up a little and she moved her head in a weaving motion, holding her hoof up and shaking it slightly. So-so. Ambrosia nodded sadly.

"I see... Look, Caress..."

Caress sat down and patted the floor in front of her. Ambrosia obliged her, approaching her and seating herself.

"Caress," She began again, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I wasn't there. I never meant for any of this to happen..."

The purple pegasus put a hoof to Ambrosia's lips, silencing the older mare and pulled her into a hug. Ambrosia swallowed heavily, holding back a sniff before returning the hug, tightly, and pushing her head into the hollow between Caress' shoulder and neck.

"I should have been there... I'm so sorry..."

The pair stayed as they were for a while before Ambrosia sniffed, pulling back, her hooves moving to rest on Caress' shoulder, a determined glint in her eye.

"But I'm going to make this right. I'm going to get the Star back, and nothing on Celestia or Luna's green Equestria is going to stop me, I swear. I'll make this right Caress, and I'll hunt down whoever did this to you and make them pay."

Caress sighed and, just barely, did smile, rolling her eyes. She'd been with Ambrosia long enough to know that glint in her eye.

"You were an art graduate weren't you?" Ambrosia asked seriously. Caress' eyes lit up and she nodded quickly. This was a little known piece of Caress' life. She'd taken, and passed, advanced art classes before her time as a petty thief and pickpocket, and subsequently, her time with Ambrosia. Amber nodded seriously.

"I'm going to get you some paper and a pencil," She said calmly, "And you can draw your... molester... on it. I'll pass it around anywhere I can to find out who it is. I'm not sure what I'll do to him yet... but I'm sure I'll think up something."

Ambrosia left the hospital fifteen minutes later, trying not to cry. This was not a situation she saw herself in. No, the hospital is not the place she saw herself visiting, especially not for one of her girls, and not for a rape. At least she had an appointment. With that appointment came an agreement from Gild himself. She was not to be touched by the guard. No arrests, nothing.

"What are you doing Amber..?" she mumbled softly, "What are you going to say..? How do you even make an argument like that? 'I'm sorry Princess, I know had drugs, but don't take it out on my girls?'... No, I don't think that'd work."

She sighed despondently and started walking, barely watching where she was going.

"Hello Princess, my name is Ambrosia, and my girls aren't responsible for any of the stuff your guards found. Please let them go."

"Your Highness, if I might beg of you your time? My girls aren't guilty of anything, the drugs you found were mine. Take me, but please let them go."

"Princess, you let my girls go now! It's me you want!... No... not that either."

"Princess-"

And she promptly ran into a cart.

Head first.

It took the beleaguered mare a moment to realise that she had her head stuck in the cart. Better yet, she had her head stuck in a cart stuck in a poster. Ever better because the universe seems to love messing with ponies, she had her head stuck in a cart, stuck in a poster and buried in somepony elses hay. It was sticking in her mane. She had made sure that mane was perfect that morning. And now it was not only covered in straw, but there was straw all through it as well.

Great. Juuuuuuust beautiful.

After being snapped at and yelled at for a few minutes by the hellishly overreacting owner of said cart, Ambrosia snapped, yelled at the insolent stallion, and stormed away. She may have questioned his breeding and his mother's loyalties once or twice which would explain why she left him in a state of almost apoplectic rage. As it was, she had other things to do, and this was not the time to waste scolding some random pony with a cart in the street.

No, she had to get to the market. Get some parchment and a quill and ink for Caress, get back to the hospital.

She ignored the straw in her mane. Some things were more important than appearances. The market was still at least a fifteen minute walk. She didn't want to rush too much in case she crashed into something else. So she took a more measured pace as she walked, keeping her eye out for other wayward carts or ponies, making sure to avoid them. She had a small bitbag on her of course, this for getting parchment and quills, ink. The stall she had in mind was a little one that sold stationary and small trinkets such as paperweights. It was run by a bookish stallion with large glasses and a shy disposition. At her measured pace, it took her twenty minutes to reach the market, and five more to reach the store. The manager of the stall was only too pleased to get her the items she asked for, and tried to offer her a discount as well. She managed to dissuade him from that, paying him the full amount. Now with parchment and quill in hoof, she started making her way back to the hospital.

Again, it wasn't a long walk. Twenty odd minutes. She managed to get into Caress' room again and gave her the parchment, quill and ink. Caress' eyes shone at the implements and she sat herself down at the closest table, organising her workspace to suit her needs and, quickly, began to draw. Ambrosia sat quietly, watching Caress work. She was like a demon, or at least a pony possessed, as she worked. The quill flew over the parchment like fire through a dry grassland. Scritching, scratching and painting a picture of something that Ambrosia couldn't see. Not yet, anyhow.

Then suddenly, Caress groaned, scrunched up the first sheet, and threw it aside, starting on the second sheet. Ambrosia felt a stab of fear. She'd only bought five sheets. Hopefully that was enough. Caress had gone back to scribbling wildly with her quill, drawing her way to clarity. It wasn't the first time she'd done something like this, making a drawing of somepony. Wouldn't be the last either, she was sure of that. Was the first time drawing her assailant, but...

Three sheets were thrown away before Caress decided she was happy with what she'd depicted and handed it to Ambrosia. Three sheets of ink covered paper now thrown carelessly into a waste paper basket. But the picture was made, and now Ambrosia knew what the bastard who raped her girl looked like.

Now she could get justice.

"Hey. You been here for a while Ambrosia?"

Amber started and spun around. In the doorway was Blits Brazier, a worried smile on his face.

"Hey Ressy. You good?"

Caress rolled her eyes and nodded her head yes. Blits noticed then the parchment in Ambrosia's hoof.

"Hey. What's that?"

Ambrosia looked at Caress, who nodded. She looked back at Blits and offered him the paper. He took it and looked at the picture, a dark frown sweeping over his face.

"Caress... Is this..?"

She nodded slowly, deliberately. His face darkened further. Ambrosia frowned.

"You know him?" She asked, surprised. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah. His name is Shatter. He's a sun guard."

"Then I can nail his dick to the wall," Ambrosia snarled. Blits shook his head and handed the paper back.

"No. Not with Gild. He won't defend him openly, but at worst he might spend a few days in jail before he's let out and stuffed back under Gild's hoof."

He looked very seriously at Ambrosia, and she felt a shiver down her spine. His eyes were filled with a black rage that she couldn't bear to look at for long.

"Let me and Star handle this. We'll see that he doesn't do this again."

Ambrosia hesitated.

"Blits... I really think I should at least try-"

"Ambrosia, I mean you no offense," He replied, cutting her off, "But that would be useless. Sometimes you have to take the law into your own hooves, and sometimes that means doing things most ponies would consider unethical. Just stay out of it Ambrosia. We will handle this."

Ambrosia arrived at her apartment late that night. She'd decided that, if she lived in the same spot as Bubbles, she risked getting her arrested, so instead she'd rented her own apartment separate from Bubbles', in a completely different building. She didn't even bother having something to eat.

She just let herself fall and hit the bed, falling asleep almost the moment she hit the pillow, having wandered through her troubles, unable to sleep until then.

Shatter, on the other hoof, was not having such a peaceful night. After waking up with a monster headache, and being told to leave the jail on threat of dismissal, He'd spent the next hour an a half being yelled at by his superiors before being told finally to go home. He was taking a shortcut through an alley. He took it every night. It never bothered him before. Nopony in Canterlot had the balls to take him on anyway, so he didn't really worry.

So you can imagine his surprise when, at the end of the alley, under a streetlight, stood a silhouette. The big stallion scowled.

"Who goes there?" He called powerfully, flexing his muscles, "In name of the law, reveal yourself."

The silhouette huffed.

"Don't flatter yourself Shatter. Name of the Law? I think not."

The shadowy figure took a step, and the distinct sound of metal on cement clinked through the alley.

"You're a lot of things, Shatter, but a lawpony you're not."

Shatter's eyes narrowed as he tried to discern the identity of the pony in his way.

"Who are you, to dare insult me?"

"Insult you?" Came the pony back "Shatter, you insult yourself."

The silhouette started trotting faster. Shatter stood his ground.

"You insult your uniform, you insult the city, you insult the law, you insult the very ground you walk upon."

Shatter felt his face turn red, his anger rising.

"And who you to accuse me?" He growled darkly. The silhouette barked with laughter.

"Somepony who knows what you've done."

The pony stepped out into the light, revealing Blits Brazier. On his hooves were a set of atypical Nightguard weaponry. Wickedly shaped claws, designed to tear and maim.

"Caress is a friend of mine Shatter," He growled darkly, "And you did the unthinkable. And now, it's time to pay for your crime."

Shatter looked down at the smaller stallion and chortled.

"What, small pony?" He asked tauntingly, "You? You and what army?"

Blits smiled darkly.

"Mine."

With a satisfying 'thunk' of metal on flesh, Shatter went down for the second time that day, crying out in pain as a round ball smashed into his face, breaking a cheekbone and probably dislocating his jaw. Behind him, holding the handle of the flail that struck him, was another pony. An earth mare with a light grey coat and a silvery white mane reaching her ankles, her green eyes were lit up with fire. On her flank was a morning star, spikes and all, emblazoned as her cutie mark.

"My wife and I," He said slowly, standing over the fallen Shatter, "We know what you did. You fucked with the wrong girl Shatter."

Shatter spat something at them in another language, something dark and guttural. Blits snarled and, as Shatter tried stand up again, he landed a powerful punch right on Shatter's busted cheek. Shatter roared and fell again, his hoof coming up to protect himself.

"You showed Caress no mercy. And now, we're not showing you any."

Blits nodded to Star, and she lifted the flail high, bringing it down on Shatter's hind leg. There was a gruesome, sickening crack as the bone broke and, before Shatter could scream, Blits punched him in the throat, leaving the big stallion gasping for breath, choking on his own lungfuls of air. Another foul crack as the flail landed on the other leg, then one of his forelegs. Crippled, Blits nodded to his wife, who nodded back, a silent snarl on her face, and left.

This wasn't her fight.

"I'm going to show you true pain Shatter," Blits growled darkly, drawing one of the sharp points of the flanged claw across Shatter's brow, "And when you beg me finally to let you die... I just might listen."

With an angry thrust, Blits drove the point of the claw into Shatter's brow. Short of breath, Shatter couldn't even yelp as blood started streaming from the wound. A pained, soft groan came from the helpless Shatter.

"Don't fall unconscious on me now tough guy... I'm only warming up."

It was early morning when Ambrosia was woken from her slumber by a knock on the door. Bleary with sleep, she stumbled over to the door and opened it aggressively. Outside was a solar guard, and he didn't look happy.

"Ambrosia," He stated arrogantly. It grated on Amber's nerves.

"What?" She grumbled back.

"You're wanted immediately by Guard Captain Gild. I'm to escort you to his office."

Ambrosia glared at the stallion for a few seconds, before slamming the door in his face. There was a moment of silence before another knock on the door. Ambrosia opened the door again.

"Ambrosia, I must insis-"

Again, she slammed the door in his arrogant face. Another pause. A series of angry knocks. She opened the door again before he could finish knocking. His mouth opened to speak and, once again, she slammed the door in his face. She opened it as he went to knock again and held up a hoof.

"Shut. Up," She said bluntly, "You are not 'escorting' me anyplace. You will shut up, follow me, and not do anything stupid."

With that, she pushed her way past the stunned guard and, ignoring his existence, walked away.

Gild's office was a decent walk. The Castle wasn't close to her motel, so she had to walk for a good thirty minutes, occasionally telling the guard to shut up. Upon arriving at the Castle, and being shown to a foyer outside Gild's office, she was told to wait.

"You want me to wait," She said bluntly. It wasn't even a question. The guard looked at her as though she were stupid.

"That's it," She snarled, "It's early, you woke me up and dragged me halfway across the city to see this joker, and now you're telling me to wait?"

She pushed past the guard again, ignoring his sudden and very angry series of protests as she busted open the door to Gild's office. Gild looked at her from his desk. He didn't look impressed.

"What are you doing?" He asked angrily, "you're meant to wait until you're called!"

"I'm not going to wait like a common pony until I'm summoned by you, Gild," She snarled, "Tell me what you want."

Gild growled darkly, but spoke.

"Last night, one of my guards was killed. Slaughtered in an alley and left to bleed to death. His corpse was hung from a fire escape with 'No Mercy to sinners' carved into his flesh. Care to explain that to me?"

Ambrosia frowned and shrugged.

"What makes you think I could do it?" She asked irritably. Gild barked a laugh.

"Don't be stupid. I know you couldn't do it," He replied angrily, "Shatter was much too large to be taken down by a mere mare like you."

Ambrosia felt a stab of irritation. A mere mare? A mere mare!?

"So," She said, trying to force her anger down, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Shatter is one of the guards I sent to your little whorehouse," He snarled back, the feathers on his wing that could still be used bristling, "So it makes sense that you'd have something to do with this!"

"I know nothing about this!" She snarled back, "You've had me under observation ever since I crashed your party with the pansy brigade! You'd KNOW if I had something to do with it!"

"Don't lie to me Ambrosia!" He yelled at her, "I will not be taken for some fool!"

"And I will not be taken for a murderer!" She yelled back, stamping a hoof defiantly, "These are MY girls! I will NOT jeopardize their safety for some sick, twisted crime that, to be blunt, sounds like some religious extremist doing a number on a giant dick!"

Silence. Ambrosia glared at Gild, and Gild glared back. The tension in the room was so thick it was suffocating, but both ponies held their ground, one from behind his desk, with all the power of the Canterlot Guard behind him, and the other with nothing but a few hundred bits to her name. For two minutes, they glared at each other, until finally, Gild growled and looked at his desk.

"That will be all, Ambrosia. Leave."

Ambrosia huffed, turning on her heel. Just as she exited the office, he called.

"Oh, and Ambrosia."

Her head turned to glare at him again.

"There's been a change in the schedule," He said casually, a smirk on his lips, "Celestia is meeting with the Gryphon ambassador on the day you booked, so I'm afraid your appointment has been relocated from next week to three months hence, bearing the time required. Have a pleasant day."

And, without letting her answer, the guards slammed the door in her face, leaving her wide eyed, furious, but most of all, losing hope.

Author's Note

For those of you wondering which accent I think of in terms of Shatter, if you've ever played Skyrim, I'm thinking of the Nordic accent. You know, that kind of gravelly, scandinavian type deal. Nordic. Mmmmm. Speaking of which, I just made a Nord character and beat the heck out of the Imperials for a change of pace instead of killing Ulfric (With great pleasure I might add). I must say, I greatly enjoy the Battle Cry power, although I accidentally activated it in town and got a bit of a bounty on my head... >.<

Ahem. So, what's your favorite Skyrim Race? Not counting Mods/custom races. And are you a Stormcloak supporter, an Imperial supporter, or are you Neutral? Just curious.