Darkest Dungeons of Canterlot

Chapters

Arrival
Getting Situated
Four Crusaders and the Ruined City
New Sacrifices and Old Hurts
A Land Dark and Twisted

Arrival

Ruin has come to our nation. You remember our glorious city, a shining gem of harmony, gazing proudly from it's stoic perch on the

mountain. I spent many a year in that secluded city of dreams surrounded by decadence and luxury, and yet I began to tire of conventional

extravagance. Ancient singular tales told of old magics of fabulous and unnameable power. With relic and ritual, my sister and I bent every

effort towards the recovery and excavation of these long burred secrets, exhausting much of the nation's coffers on sordid work and sturdy

picks. Eventually, in the grimy crags of the mountains lowest foundations we unearthed that damnedable door, that portal to deluding evil.

Our every hoofstep unsettled the ancient earth, but we were in a realm of death and madness. In the end, I alone fled, crying and wailing

through those blackened archads of antiquity until consciousness failed me. You remember our glorious city, petulant and harmonic, it is a

festering abomination! I beg yo! Return here! Answer my call! And deliver our nations from the ravenous clutching shadows of this

darkened city.

Beseechingly
Celestia

~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~

Along an old seldom used road sped a rickety old wagon pulled forward relentlessly by an withered old stallion, whose thin desiccated limbs still maintained a near constant sprint along the forest flanked mountain road. His every ragged breath coming out almost as a wolfish laugh as he sprinted down the road pulling his two passengers. The passengers in question, two young mares who glanced nervously out the dark windows at the forest filled with twisted vines and half seen shadows stalking through the brush, held their weapons close to themselves as if fearing the other would leap upon them or some malicious specter might appear before them.

The pair flinched as the entire wagon rocked with a sound unnervingly similar to shattering wood and glanced out the windows half expecting to see a lumbering beast slamming itself against the wagon. Instead they saw only the fading light of the sun filtering through the thick branches the reached out over the road like thousands of twisted claws. One tried to produce a nervous chuckle only for the sound to die almost before it had been uttered.

"It was always obvious that things had gone to shit," one of the mares said trying and failing to force a smile, "Kind of sends the whole message home seeing the roads like this."

The other mare opened her mouth, perhaps to respond, only to be interrupted by another loud wooden crack accompanied by a jolt that tossed both mares into the air. The crack was soon accompanied by a resounding crash as the pair were tossed about inside the small cabin of the wagon, smashing into each other and every other solid surface inside as the wagon twisted, flipped and finally slowly skidded to a halt. For a moment there was only silence both inside and outside the wagon as the world paused to observe its latest tragedy. The silence was soon replaced by the sound of keratin against wood as one of the mare swiftly kicked the door off the broken wagon and staggered out battered and bruised, but surprisingly whole.

The mare shook her head and blinked, brushing the strands of her purple mane that had escaped her pony tail out of her eyes and straightening out her ruffled orange coat and checking her wings for obvious damage, "Well that was unpleasant, you still okay in their Babs?"

The second mare spilled out far less gracefully, clutching her helmet in her teeth as she massaged her head dizzily obviously still stunned and disoriented from the crash. She spat her helmet into her tan hooves and grimaced at the large dent in her helmet before sliding the piece of metal back over her short cropped magenta mane, "I think okay is a somewhat relative term." The mare named Babs said slamming her visor into place, "How's the driver?"

The orange pegasus glanced at the crumpled front of the wagon where a couple grey withered limbs protruded from beneath the crumple wagon and the deep furrow in the earth. Her eyes traced the ten meter long furrow in the trail behind the wreck, taking notice of the thick chunky carpet of red with the earthen trench. "Looks like he managed to run himself over and turn himself into road pizza."

"Rather flippant way of putting it don't you think Scoots?" Babs asked her mouth twisting between sorrow, relief, disgust, and worry.

"Trust me I've seen worse," the pegasus shrugged, "I'm personally glad he's not split in half and screaming." She smiled as her companion's face visibly greened, she sobered quickly, "Either way we need to move now, I hope you've already grabbed your sword because we need to move now."

"Seems a bit abrupt, can't we take a moment to catch our breath and gather our luggage?" Babs asked turning away from the mangled corpse to pick up two small pouches.

"No, you saw those things in the trees, and damn near anypony who's still got the guts to live within a hundred miles of the city know that this forest is crawling with bandits. With how loud the crash was, I bet all the beasties and baddies withing a couple miles are sprinting this way to loot the wreck."

Babs paused for a long moment before sighing, "Fine, I guess it's better to travel light since we're hoofing it anyways. Lets get moving."

"Not along the main road," Scootaloo mutters pushing her old friend off the road and into the bushes, "I saw enough while the crazy driver was sprinting like a vampire bat out of tartarus to know that the main road is all but completely over run by bandits and beast. We'll need to stick to the side paths until we meet up with the others."

"Fine then, since you know so much about traveling these roads, you lead." Babs snorts moving away from Scootaloo.

"Tartarus no, you're the one with all the armor little ms holy knight, you lead."

"But I don't-."

"Just follow the game trail here," Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "We aren't that far from where the bitch supposedly set up her little hovel so we won't be out here for more than maybe an hour tops."

The pair walked in near silence as Babs stumbled through the thin undergrowth in her ill maintained huaberk's chainmail jingling loudly while Scootaloo followed silently behind her ears folded back and a deep frown on her face. The dark woods continued to echo with unsettling sounds as the precious sunlight overhead continued to slowly fade into dusk as the pair marched through the woods. One constantly looked about her eyes dancing almost expertly to gaze into various hiding places in the growth around them as the other shuddered inwardly at the gloomy atmosphere and alien smells that surrounded her. It wasn't long until one spoke up to try and calm her nerves.

"So Scoots, what have you been up to the last few years?" Babs asked narrowly avoiding stepping in a small but deep hole. When Scootaloo didn't answer she continued, "It's been like what six years since we heard anything from you. I was actually kind of surprised to see you at the last stop. I kind of figured you must have gotten killed by one of those thugs that have been making their home around-"

"Can you please shut up?" Scootaloo hissed.

"Why are you being so hostile? I just want to-."

"And I want you to practice some noise discipline. Seriously did you not learn how to do that while you were spending time in your big fancy temple in Manehattan? Or do you want to attract-"

"Hello ladies," a gravelly voice called from behind a small forgotten graveyard off to the side of the trail.

"The various vile cutthroats that live in this shit hole," Scootaloo finished with a growl.

From behind the tombstones emerged a grizzled pegasus his face and mark hidden behind a green hood and cloak. What the cloak didn't hide was several large knives and equally large scars on the stallion's body. He wore a toothy smile showing missing teeth and a couple large blades were already fixed to his wings as he easily moved in front of the pair.

"Now ladies I'd like you to go ahead and-." Scootaloo forcefully ended the conversation, this time with a rusty knife slicing across the stallion's neck, drawing a deep bleeding wound, "Fucking cunt!" he gurgled.

The Stallion leapt after the speeding pegasus his own blades flashing, but finding only air. He growled angrily and rose to give chase when a rusty longsword pierced him from behind. The stallion gurgled a surprised, "oh," before collapsing to the ground in a heap. Babs grunted as she yanked her sword out of the stallion and looked sadly down at the dead stallion before spitting her sword into its sheath to yell at Scootaloo, "Scoots what the actual tartarus?"

"What?" Scootaloo asked expertly flicking most of the blood off her knife before tossing it back into its sheath, "He was going to rob and kill us, I killed him first, and stop yelling, this moron probably has allies nearby." Scootaloo quietly muttered to herself as she approached the still bleeding body.

"We didn't need to kill him though!" Babs argued, "We had him outnumbered and could have easily forced him to back down."

"Right let him shank the next pony he found, also you're the one who dealt the killing blow if I recall correctly," Scootaloo began to nose around the bandit's body.

"You slit his throat, he was already going to die a slow death. And if I just let him bleed out like a beheaded chicken he might have killed you too. Mind, you kind of had it coming but-. What in Faust's name are you doing?"

"Looting the moron's corpse duh," Scootaloo rolled her eyes clutching a large bag under her wing, "Asshole had a fair amount of change on him. Also Babs, real tribalist remark, I thought the church preached equality."

Babs sputtered as Scootaloo began to walk forward again. Babs followed, "I'm not being tribalist, you know damn well what I meant. And stop trying to change the subject, you just murdered a pony in cold blood and looted the body and you're okay with that?"

"Well yeah," Scootaloo shrugged, "Also it was really more preemptive self defense. Besides, just leave the goods laying there? It's not like he was using it anymore or like he'd earned them through any better means. We will probably need the shinies in here when we get to the Nation Slayer's little base of operations, I seriously doubt ponies are going to be willing to give us free stuff just because, 'we're mighty heroes here to save them from the cruel dark brought on by the false gods of old.'"

"Don't you go misquoting scriptures at me," Babs snarled, "I-"

"Noise discipline."

Babs made an angry sputtering as they rounded a cluster of overgrown tombstones to reveal a small campsite. Well calling it such might have been a stretch, it was more a single ratty brown tent half collapsed under an old tree. Scootaloo quickly swept through it like a gust of wind turning the camp into a mere memory. She clutched another bag that jingled when it moved and tossed it onto Babs' back causing the mare to squawk in surprise and cast a glare at the smaller pegasus.

"Seriously how did this guy manage to find so much bling? He was a nothing and complete moron." Scootaloo muttered as she resumed the trail.

"Are you planning to loot everything we come across?" Babs asked.

"Yeah, you aren't? I thought the great and glorious Church of Faust loved it when it's little tin soldiers brought them donations after a mission."

"The church does not loot and pillage the areas it liberates!" Babs shouted angrily, "We are a force of good and anypony in our ranks who is caught looting is harshly punished."

"Good thing there's always someone like me around to pick up the blood money then right?"

Babs' coat turned a rather interesting shade of purple as she sputtered and roared, "What are you implying?"

"Babs noise discipline," Scootaloo said silently pushing open a rusty gate on a overgorwn stone wall.

"Don't you 'noise discipline me! Are you imply that the church sends looters along with its knight to pillage the lands it protects?"

"Babs, not now." Scootaloo hissed.

"Yes now, I get that you don't seem to to like the church but that is no reason to make such horrid-"

"Hey, who's that?" a voice like rumbling thunder boomed.

"Great job Babs they noticed us."

Babs took her eyes off Scootaloo and glanced up to see a small clearing in the forest with an absolutely massive earth pony who's body was completely covered in scars and unicorn mare half his size drawing what looked like one of the new blunderbuss weapons. They were both looking right at her and Scootaloo.

"You see this why you practice noise discipline when you are in a dangerous area and don't start shouting because someone offends your delicate sensibilities." Scootaloo said as she quickly drew her knife.

"They look like they's got monies boss," the earth pony rumbled as he rose off the crate he'd been sitting on, "Can we kill them and eat 'em?"

"Sure why not, they look pretty easy." the unicorn chuckled.

"Any complaints with killing these assholes?"

"May the light of the great goddess Faust shine upon your souls and deliver unto you your justice due." Babs chanted drawing her sword once more.

"Take that as a 'no'," Scootaloo dawned a smile wickedly similar to that worn by the towering brute.

Dashing forwards like an orange blur, Scootaloo rocketed at the unicorn with the gun. The unicorn flinched, but a massive hoof blocked Scootaloo, "Where do you think you're going little fil-YOUCH!" The stallion shrank back blinking dumbly at deep bleeding wound in his leg. The leg wound successfully distracted him from the charging mare who sliced another gash into the stallion's chest.

The towering stallion roared, grabbing a whip from his side and raining down a series of lashing blows on the pair of mares, the leather of the whip covering the pair with stinging bleeding wounds. A loud boom accompanied the snap of the whip as the unicorn recovered enough to spray the pair with shot. The two mares grunted, but Scootaloo drew a blunderbuss of her own and fired at the surprised pair, causing them both to yelp in pain as the metal bullets gouged at their tender flesh. Taking advantage of the break in the enemy's attack Babs again slashed out at the brutish earth pony, her blade digging deep into his leg, almost completely severing limb.

The giant staggered and drew his own tiny pistol and pointed it right at Babs chest and fired. Babs gasped and reeled back as the bullet easily ripped through her armor and slammed into one of her ribs. The big stallion smiled at her pain and then blinked in surprise as the orange mare was in his face, her eyes full of fire and brimstone as the stallion suddenly found it very hard to breath and wondered why his vision was growing so dark all of a sudden.

The earth pony toppled over as the unicorn mare blinked in surprise, when she saw the armored earth pony quickly recover from her wound and charge her. The unicorn fired a hurried shot that missed by a good foot and felt her weapon tumble away as the mare's longsword dug deep into her shoulder. It hurt like hell, but if she just grabbed her gun she could just shoot these mares again, they were both injured so one more shot would probably fell them, she just had to-.

And then Scootaloo shot the mare in the head just below her horn, the unicorn dropped like a sack of oats and was still.

"Well that hurt," Babs moaned falling to her knees, "That hurt a lot."

"Oh suck it up you city slicker," Scootaloo laughed seeming to ignore her own numerous injuries as she poked through the bodies, "You'll live, none of those injuries are life threatening and we can stitch you up proper when we reach the town."

"Which is how far away?" Babs grunted, slowly rising back to her hooves.

"Literally at the bottom of this hill," Scootaloo said pointing to a small gathering of wooden huts. She also seemed to have a few more bags of loot. "Think you can soldier on for that long your majesty?"

"Oh give it a break, please," Babs groaned taking a few shaky steps before glancing at the box the large stallion had been using as a seat, "What not going to crack open the loot trunk?"

"Pfft, that thing is both obviously trapped and empty. Besides, we already got like three grand from these three goons and are suppose to earn five grand just for showing up at town." Scootaloo turned towards the shacks and called over her shoulder, "Come on Babs the other are probably worried about us at this point and we are long overdue for a reunion."

"Yeah we really are," Babs chuckled sadly.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, Heroes of Equestria?"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, Heroes of Equestria," Babs said a genuine laugh escaping her.

"Glad to see that church life hasn't wrung all the fun out of you yet," Scootaloo laughed.

"Faust dang it, would stop with that?"

"Oh, blasphemy! I'll have you fixed yet." Scootaloo laughed as Babs threw her a poisonous look.

Author's Note

Well that's the end of chapter 1. I'm really looking for feedback on this story as I want to make it all that it can be and I'm worried that I might end up making it to dark or light hearted at times. I'm really depending on you, no not you the guy behind you, yes of course I mean you, to tell me what you think and why you think this story is great, awful, or just so terribly meh.

Getting Situated

You shall arrive along the old road. It winds with a troubling serpent like suggestion through the corrupted mountain side. Leading only, I fear, to even more tenuous places. Their is a sickness in the ancient pitted cobbles of the old road and on its writhing path you will face viciousness, violence, and perhaps other damnably transcendent terrors. So steel yourself and remember there can be no bravery without madness. The old road, take it to Tartarus, but in that gaping abyss, we will find our redemption.

~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~

The two injured mares walked slowly through the inexpertly crafted shacks and huts along a mud street in what could easily pass for a small ghost town. There was no sound but the wind and the gentle squelching of their hooves in the mud as they walked through the dark hamlet. The usual smells of life were absent, no lights graced the twisted and rusted poles lining the farce of a street, only the smell of compost and rot that seemed ever present welcomed them.

"You sure this is the right place?" Babs asked glancing constantly about wondering her eyes darting to shadows as if expecting to find something twisted watching them from there.

"Yeah this is about where that crazy coach driver said the hamlet was," Scoots said, her own ears constantly flicking about as if listening to a dozen conversations, "He mentioned it being a bit unfinished, he didn't say it was a literal shit hole though. Shouldn't they be around here already?"

"Maybe they crashed as well?"

"I find it highly unlikely that both our carts crashed on the way here, they should be around here some-," Scootaloo started turning to glance back at Babs.

"Scootaloo!" a melodious voice squealed with almost childlike cheer.

Scootaloo turned in surprise reaching for her weapons only to be instantly knocked off her hooves by a white projectile wrapped in brown robes. Scootaloo tried to throw off her attacker, but found herself trapped in an inescapable bear hug. Babs looked on in surprise as she heard a voice behind her, "Hello Babs."

Babs whirled and yelped in surprise to find a pair of orange eyes gazing out at her from behind a white bird like mask and a dirty red cloak. Babs took a nervous step back as she spotted the knife and mysterious vials adorning the masked mare, and promptly tripped over Scootaloo who still struggled with her opponent. Babs stagger and collapsed to the ground as her injuries got the better of her leaving her prone before the pair.

"You okay Babs?" the masked mare asked pushing her mask up to let her yellow coat and allowing a ruby mane tumble free, "You're looking rather worse for ware."

"Our wagon crashed and we got attacked a few times," Babs said returning slowly to her hooves, "Damn it Applebloom don't startle me like that, this place already has me on edge without you appearing behind me in that get up."

"Sorry cuz, I couldn't help myself," Applebloom smiled bumping hooves with her cousin.

"Dang it! Let me go Sweetie," Scootaloo shouted as she continued to struggle in vain against Sweetie Belle's vice like hug.

"Nope," Sweetie tittered, "I haven't seen one of my best friends in years, so I'm going to give her several years worth of hugging."

"Sweetie, it's probably best you let her go for now," Applebloom said, "She's got some injuries on her that look rather rough and could probably use some healing."

Sweetie Belle blinked and looked at the tall orange pegasus she was hugging and noticed the dozens of shallow wounds in the other mare's coat and the many holes in her over coat as well. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Scootaloo. Don't worry I can fix you up in a jiffy."

"It's fine," Scootaloo grumbled before she blinked, "Wait, you can? How?"

Sweetie Belle didn't answer, ignoring both the new blood stains on her robes and her friend's question, instead her horn glowed green beneath her hood as she levitated out a symbol of an ivory quill and obsidian inkwell set over a bronze medical cross. The glowing magic around the symbol shifted from green to gold as Sweetie Belle sung a few crystalline notes of a somber hymn. The symbol flashed a brilliant light causing Scootaloo to flinch away, "What are you doing?"

"A bit of the Faustian church's healing magic," Babs stated, "Most Vestals are trained in healing magics. Speaking of, Sweetie, mind giving me a few hits of the healing?"

"Babs? By Faust's great plan what happened to you!?" Sweetie Belle shrieked rushing over to the injured earth pony.

"We got into a few fights and a crash," Babs snorted, "Some healing please, these wounds hurt just as much as it looks like they do."

"Sorry!"

Scootaloo trotted over to where Applebloom watched the scene with an amused smile. "I can't believe they are both parts of the church, hell I'm completely baffled how Sweetie is still so exuberant and bouncy. How in the deepest pits of Tartarus is she still so cheery and bouncy?"

"She's probably just excited to see you both again," Applebloom shrugged, "She was actually a quivering worried mess before you two arrived, she was certain something horrible had happened to the both of you and was second guessing everything."

"Heh, sounds like she's still the same ol' Sweetie then, glad I won't have to try and tease both her and Babs out of their super serious church doctrines," Scootaloo smiled as Sweetie attempted to lock Babs in a crushing bear hug, "Also quick question, why are you dressed up like that? I was expecting you to be more like Babs, all tricked out in armor and swinging a sword. Well hammer actually, hammer seemes like it would fit you better."

"Yeah, well I was expecting you to be acting a lot more like Sweetie, was actually afraid you two would crush each other," Applebloom chuckled tiredly, "Things rarely go like you'd expect."

"Wait, did something happen to your company?" Scootaloo asked turning to look her old friend in the face, "It didn't go under did it?"

"Kinda," Applebloom shrugged, "I sold it, kind of not much business in building new homes when everypony's dying of plague. Needed the money to make medicine too, looks like all that time spent with Zecora and in Twilight Time paid off for me."

"So, you're a doctor?"

"Nah, more an alchemist who just happens to know a thing or two about treating maladies. Speaking of," Applebloom reached under her coat and pulled out a blue vial, "Drink this."

"What is it," Scootaloo took half a step away from the vial, "It looks like poison joke mixed in water. This isn't going to turn me into another Rainbow Dash knock off is it?"

"Nah not this time," Applebloom chuckled as Scootaloo took the vial and gazed at it suspiciously, "It's a mix of a clotting solution and blood purifier. Is a decent quick fix for both bleeding wounds, poison, and disease. Wanted to give you a little patch job until Sweetie can pull herself away from greeting somepony she hasn't seen in two days."

"Was she like this for you?" Scootaloo smiled softly listening to the soothing melody Sweetie sung as Babs wounds swiftly began to seal themselves.

"Pretty much. Locked me in a bear hug and then proceeded to interrogate me about every last thing I'd done for the past six years before moving on to telling me all she'd done and then rolling onto worrying about you two. Speaking of, how are you doing? You stayed in Ponyville and I ain't heard the best things about it lately and you haven't written a word to me in nearly four years."

"I'm just fine," Scootaloo lied, "Been busy helping out the few decent folk still in Ponyville and mail carriers don't come through much anymore."

"So what have you-?"

"Sorry for the wait Scoots!" Sweetie Belle squeaked sliding to a stop in front of the pair, "Babs looked to be in worse shape and-"

"It's fine Sweetie, just go ahead and do your thing," Scootaloo said holding the blue potion out to Applebloom, "Looks like I won't need this."

"Drink it anyways," Applebloom said simply as a golden healing magic washed over Scootaloo, "Sweetie told me in painful detail how her magic can only handle actual injuries, not things like sickness and poisons."

"Sorry about that," Sweetie Belle said as she ended her spell and slid her holy symbol back into her robes, "I've been trying to learn those spells too but they're really hard."

"It's fine Sweetie let's just-"

"Ah so you have arrived," a quiet voice said behind the group. All four ponies leapt clear of the ground as they whirled to face the voice with weapons drawn. When they saw a towering off white form of alicorn wrapped in a black mourning gown that had been worn grey and ragged with a muted rainbow mane hanging dead and limp out from beneath a tattered bead studded veil, their weapons lowered but their posture did not soften. "I had many doubts that any would still answer my call, even with the offer of treasure to bait the greedy."

"Speaking of how about you fork over the coin you promised us," Scootaloo demanded fixing the towering figure with a heated glare, "We didn't come here out of the goodness of our heart, Kinslayer."

The towering alicorn in black did not visibly move, but the four felt a gaze drift through them causing them all to shudder. The alicorn gave a small nod, "A fair reminder. Fret not, your bait awaits you in the quarters I have made for you and any other fool blinded by greed, duty, or glory to dare join us on this nightmarish frontier. Follow, I shall lead you to your meager shelter against the clawing dark."

The broken goddess turned and walked slowly down the street head bowed and tail dragging through the mud. The lamps flanking the street flared up with a bright blue flame as she approached and quickly began to fade as she passed. The four young heroes glanced at each other as they cautiously followed the mourning figure.

"Well she's certainly different than I remember," Applebloom muttered.

"She got creepy as fuck," Scootaloo agreed as her other two companions remained silent.

When the alicorn stopped, they all stopped, tensing as they awaited an answer to their sudden stop. The alicorn in black turned her head and pointed with her blackened and chipped horn at a large building built out of the shoddiest of rotten timbers and the most flammable of boards. At least it had a large yard of mud and dead grass and a knee high wall of poorly stacked stones forming a crude fence. "Welcome to your new home, such as it is. This squalid homestead, these corrupted lands, they are yours now and you are bound to them." The mare nodded to the four before resuming her slow progress through the streets.

"I get the feeling we've made a very poor career decision," Scootaloo snorted watching the building as though she expected it to collapse.

"What more would you expect from a mare like her?" Babs snarled casting a glare after the retreating form of the monster, "To think we use to think she was a god."

"Well at least there's no holes in the roof," Sweetie Belle said, "You can fix it right Applebloom?"

"Given decent material sure," Applebloom eyed the building as though it was a particularly neglected dog, "though looking around we're going to have to import that which is probably going to eat most of the five thousand bits she offered us."

"Assuming she actually left us the promised shinies," Scootaloo grunt trotting forwards.

The door squealed loudly as it was yanked open and with a loud, ping, fell off its hinges. The orange pegasus snorted in disgust as she walked deeper into the building vanishing from the view of the others. The three remaining crusaders watched as the building creaked and moaned, but remained standing.

"Well it didn't collapse on her like I thought it would so that's something," Babs said offering the building a withering look that made it groan ominously.

"It isn't like we haven't stayed in worse places right Babs?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Maybe when we were at war with some of those cults."

"Ah, don't let 'er appearance fool you ladies," Applebloom said giving the door frame a kick, "She might be a little worn and battered with age, but her bones still be good and solid. She just needs a little work and she'll be good as new. Maybe even better if I can get some good lumber."

"Good luck finding any," Scootaloo snorted reappearing with a half dozen new bags on her back, "Aside from a whole mess of rot this house ain't got much to her anymore. Hell you'd be hard pressed to fit even a dozen ponies in there comfortably with all the rubble and rot."

"Scoots, we ain't exactly a dozen ponies," Applebloom said, "Also what's in your packs if this place has nothing."

"I did say anymore. The place did have a whole big mess of old paintings, bust, family crest and even a few old deeds laying about, but it doesn't anymore. Such a shame to," the pegasus flashed a toothy grin, "I know some folks who could get us some serious bling for that kind of stuff."

Babs placed a hoof to the bridge of her snout and sighed, "Scootaloo, no. Just, put that stuff back or something. We didn't come here to make a quick bit."

"We didn't?"

"No! We came here to stamp out this vile corruption that has been killing our country for years and do what we can to restore our country to brilliance, right Applebloom?"

"Yeah," Applebloom said weakly hiding behind her mask, "What she said."

"I don't mean to disappoint you all, but armies and gods couldn't stop this shit, I doubt four fillies are going to even make an applicable dent against this stuff," Scootaloo laughed before sobering. "And don't make any assumptions about me having such lofty goals, in case it isn't obvious I came for the bits."

"Does that mean you're going to leave us now?" Sweetie Belle asked her ears drooping.

Scootaloo flinched and diverted her gaze briefly before saying, "Hells no Sweetie, I'm in this for the bits and I've made more money today than I have in months, not only that but there's a whole damned city for us to loot. And since I know little miss holy hooves there has issues with taking money that's not being used, somepony has to stay to make sure all that money is properly retrieved and cataloged. Not to mention released into the economy."

"Then get your flank back in there and help me clean this place up," Applebloom said biting down on Scootaloo's tail and dragging her along with her.

"What why me?" Scootaloo screeched as she made a failing attempt to fight the smaller earth pony's strength.

"Sweetie," Babs began.

"If there are bunk beds I call top bunk," Sweetie Belle said rushing into the creaking mansion of ruin and rot.

Babs sighed giving the building a foul look and noticing that it seemed to be leaning noticeably to the left. A crash sounded from inside and Babs watched as a shingle tumbled free of the roof and shattered on the ground. She sighed heavily and began to walk slowly toward the decrepit shack as the sounds of arguments echoed from inside wishing the building was the only thing she had doubts about.

Four Crusaders and the Ruined City

A thick blanket of black smog covered the sky, the sun hidden and incapable of piercing the dark veil settled for letting a few stray rays trickle through, casting the whole town in a dim fiery light. Into this hellish gloom the four little mares who dared to defy the empty city ventured, their heads full of ill gotten gains and prestigious fame for succeeding where armies had failed. Needless to say these dreams were painfully dashed against the cruel jagged rocks of reality.

"Well we're off to a great start," Scootaloo grumbled from atop a small pile of rocks.

"Not the time Scootaloo," Babs grunted as she lifted Applebloom free of the spike trap she'd fallen in.

"I mean seriously, we've barely gotten through the front gates and Babs has already broken down sobbing and Applebloom has gotten her leg mangled in some ancient trap, maybe we should turn back."

"Scootaloo we're fine," Applebloom grunted, "Sweetie, a bit of healing?"

"Oh right, sorry." Sweetie Belle began her soft sonnet.

Scootaloo took this time to look around at the ruined town spread out before her. The shining white town of gilded glory that she recalled from the times she had visited in the lost era of Sunshine and Peace was far from how she recalled it. The gilding had fallen away with the white plaster covering the buildings to leave only graying stones in the rough memories of streets and buildings. What few splashes of color that she could find were muted under the thick ever present gloom that blocked out the sky around the old city like a thick burlap bag. Foul scribblings and and weathered bloodstains covered the walls and streets where they were not covered by old armor and shattered bones. Scootaloo's eyes drifted up to the most shattered or the ruins sitting like a slumbering dragon above the city, the blackened and broken castle of Canterlot. Scootaloo swore she felt it watching her.

"Better?" Sweetie asked breaking Scootaloo from her staring contest.

"Good enough," Applebloom grunted favoring her leg still red with blood, "We don't have time to get me at one hundred percent out here. We could be attacked at a moment's notice by-."

"Skeleton soldiers!" Babs shouted slamming her visor down and drawing her sword.

"I was going to say crazed cultist, but that works to," Applebloom said likewise dropping her mask over her face and moving in front of Sweetie Belle.

The group braced themselves as several of the broken bodies around them seethed an ugly black aura and rose to form a pale mockery of the ponies they had once been in life, a trio of mercenaries and one skeleton dressed in once fine clothing smiling toothily as it clutched a shining goblet in a flickering aura. The skeletal ponies carrying a club and rusty sword advanced to the front as the one with the crossbow moved to cover the laughing noble. For the briefest of moments the two sides simply glared at each other neither willing to make the first move. They each waited, waiting for the other side to make a mistake, to trip, to flinch, to blink. Despite the stalemate lasting for only a second, the moment seemed to stretch towards infinity as the leather grips on weapons creaked and the smallest bit of sweat dripped down Babs' face.

Predictable Scootaloo was the one who broke the stalemate, "I call dibs on that chalice!"

She darted forward drawing both blades and pistol as she swept past Babs and fired are round into the skull of one of the skeletons up front causing it to howl and stagger back a step as she swept past it and charged the noble. The noble simply laughed at her and tossed its goblet full of wine in her face. Scootaloo screamed back pedaling rapidly as the long rancid wine burned her face like acid and she was knocked flying as she felt a club smash her in the jaw.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie screamed.

"Hold the line Babs!" Applebloom shouted casting a worried look down at her injured friend before snarling and flinging a caustic vile at the injured skeleton, smiling as it glass shattered covering the skeleton with a thick green slime. The skeleton screamed and thrashed as it slowly dissolved into a pile of mush. Her smile was stolen away as a bolt slammed into her shoulder.

"Applebloom," Sweetie Belle gasped drawing a breath and holding out her holy symbol.

"Scoots first," Applebloom snarled.

Sweetie Belle flinched and turned to the pained pegasus whimpering out a small hymn as Babs swung her sword through the club wielder and scattering it across the pockmarked road. She was rewarded with a swift dagger to the gut, thankfully for the tan earth pony her armor absorbed most of the rusty implement's blow, but a nasty bruise would remain to remind her of the attack.

"Surprise you undead asshole!" Scootaloot roared springing away from Sweetie Belle's ministrations, her orange coat already regrowing. Her wing blades tearing at the noble's clothing and leaving deep chips in its weathered bones. It snarled angrily back at her, but continued smiling as the crossbow wielder approached from behind and stabbed out at Scootaloo, only to find its blade digging into Babs armor. The skeletal crossbow paused, almost seeming to be confused until another green vial slammed into its head filling the air with a painful hissing sound.

"Enough of this," Babs grunted dropping her sword to pull out a holy symbol of her own, "May Faust strike you blights on her land down and deliver you to your just rewards!" The symbol sparked and shown with a powerful golden light that pulsed with an almost palpable pressure. The remain dead around her recoiled as if struck and shattered falling once more into inanimate bones and rusty weapons. And with that, the brief battle ended and the streets fell once more into silence aside from a slow weary wind that seemed to carry a pained moan wherever it went.

"Well that was a lively twelve seconds," Applebloom grunted ripping the bolt free of her flesh with a grunt.

"Somepony want to explain to me how fighting a couple bones can hurt so much?" Babs asked, collapsing to the ground and softly poking her injuries.

"Evil black magics?" Sweetie Belle offered laying her holy symbol against Applebloom's injury.

"I wasn't looking for an answer Sweetie, just grumbling in general."

"Well quit your grumbling and let's get a move on it," Scootaloo said, "chances are there's more than enough bones for whoever raised these shits to make more."

"What not going to loot them first?" Babs smiled ruefully as she rose back to her hooves.

"Already did," Scootaloo smiled back, "And a couple of nearby buildings. You really need to pay attention Babs."

"What? But how? When?" Babs cast a confused look to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, both of whom seemed as surprised as Babs.

"Come on fillies, we need to get moving if we want to finish this quest the Betrayer gave us." Scootaloo said giving Babs a small push.

"And what exactly was this quest?" Applebloom asked pausing to peek into a nearby house and grimacing at what was inside.

"She just told me 'Wander the streets of your ancestry, once familiar, now foreign.' and then looked at me like it meant something. Way I figure it we'll clear like three streets and then call it a day."

"Well I admit it hardly looks like it did the last time we were here," Sweetie Belle said looking sadly up at the topple building that blocked the road before them, "The town was so pretty back during the wedding, I wish it was like that again. I'd even keep the part with changelings attacking everything, at least we kinda know what they are and that we can beat them."

"Sweetie we know what these monsters are," Babs grunted around her sword as her, Scootaloo, and Applebloom quickly dispatched a small swarm of overgrown maggots that had sprung up from under a large rock, "The *nrrg* False Goddess and her sister in their hubris dabbled in the darkest of magics and unleashed these horrors on the world. Faust, she even admitted as much in her latest cry for others to fix her mistakes. Shit those things just eat right through armor."

"Are you okay?" Sweetie asked worriedly.

"I will be," Babs looked worriedly at the several bit sized holes in her leg not speaking her silent thoughts.

"At least it wasn't YAARG!" Applebloom howled in pain as another of her legs became trapped in a horrid net of spikes.

"Damn did the guard leave this crap behind thinking it would help stop these monsters?" Scootaloo asked jamming her blade into a small piece of the trap and giving it a small twist letting the trap fall to pieces.

"I doubt it," Applebloom grunted quickly bandaging her leg, "It looks to recent, I think someone else laid these traps. Probably the same jerk that went and did that bit of necromancy back there."

"You think they're watching us now?" Sweetie Belle asked, casting a worried look at the countless darkened windows in the crypt like houses glaring spitefully down at the four intruders.

"Undoubtedly," Scootaloo said her trained eyes catching numerous shadows moving like sentient things, curtains blowing in absent winds, piles of bones and armor rising from beneath a large pile of rubble, "Shit! More skeletons!"

~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~

"Okay that didn't go to badly," Applebloom said shaking the bone dust off herself.

"Speak for yourself," Babs snorted as she helped Scootaloo remove a bolt that had pierced the pegasus' leg, "Whatever those things have in their goblets is nasty, and I think there's still some in my armor. It stings like the world's worst sun burn."

"At least Scootaloo found more treasure right?" Sweetie offered as she once more applied her holy symbol to Scootaloo's wound.

"Hardly," Scootaloo grunted trying to not scratch the itch her regenerating flesh was making, "A couple hundred bits and a couple family crest."

"I still want to know where you're finding this stuff in the time it takes us to take stock of our injuries." Babs muttered spitting out the bloody bolt.

"Let's just get moving before we," Applebloom stopped as she was brought up short by Scootaloo grabbing her tail, "What's up Scoots?"

"You almost stepped on another trap," Scootaloo said stepping in front of Applebloom and jamming her knife under a rock. The reaction was instant, another nest of blades shot through the rubble covering the road attempting to pierce a limb that wasn't there.

"Okay this is getting ridiculous," Applebloom snarled.

"Yeah, that trap wasn't there before the fight and I didn't see anyone moving about while we fought." Scootaloo said leering at the countless windows again.

"Okay now you're just letting the city get to you," Babs chuckled walking past the pegasus, "You sure like to pretend you know what you're doing but you're really *nrg*!"

"Feel like finishing that thought?" Scootaloo asked smirking at Babs.

"Shut up!" Babs snarled forcibly ripping her leg free of a second spike trap, "Fuck that shit hurts."

"Hold on Babs, I can fix this," Sweetie Belle said holding out her holy symbol.

"Forget it Sweetie," Applebloom said lowering her mask once more as she quickly stitched up Babs wounds, "We need to start heading back. We're tired and its becoming obvious that someone is both toying with us and trying to lure us into a trap. I say we call it a day and fall back."

"I'm fine," Babs snorted, "I can keep going." Babs feel silent as she caught a brief glimpse of two somethings up ahead, one of which looked big. "Right," she slapped her visor down, "Calling it a day. Let's go."

"That bitch better pay us for this," Scootaloo muttered her gaze lingering on a shadow where the roof of an old town house had fallen away to reveal an empty attic. She snorted and quickly turned to follow her friends.

From those shadow emerged a single mare. Her face obscured by a tarnished silver skull cap shaped in a cruel mockery of the sun, with voluminous black and red rolls of fabric flowing out from beneath its cruel light. She watched the four injured ponies make their way back towards the ruined gates and a wide cruel smile slipped out from beneath her scull cap. Why not give them one last parting gift?

She reached behind her and clutched her golden staff in her hooves. She muttered a few quiet twisted words into the scepter and, despite the lack of horn or wings, caused it to become surrounded with a thick black tar-like aura. She pointed the scepter towards a pile of rocks and chuckled as a new batch of undead rose and attacked the four. She turned away with a quiet hum. If this was like the last few times, she'd have plenty of opportunities to properly begin playing with these foolish little ponies that dared try and defy her and her masters. She cackled quietly as she imagined tearing the foalish little creature body, mind, and soul.

New Sacrifices and Old Hurts

"Well at least we got paid," Babs offered as she followed the disgruntled pegasus in front of her down the darkening street full of abandoned and half collapsed buildings.

"That doesn't do us much if there's nothing to spend the bits on!" Scootaloo snarled through her bandanna, "And why are you still wearing all your armor? We're in town shouldn't you be relaxing and walking around in your civvies or something? Or is a knight of Faust forbidden from ever looking casual?"

"You know if we weren't in a mostly abandoned town built out of loose stones and rotted timbers a mere stones throw from the deepest most foul pit of evil and terror ponykind has ever known that might be the case," Babs lifted her visor to smirk at Scootaloo. "I had assumed that's why you were still carrying all your weapons and bandit disguise."

"Sure, lets go with that," Scootaloo snorted, pointedly ignoring her more religious companion's worried frown, "I know I saw something that looked like a bar around here somewhere."

"Scootaloo, we've been searching for almost an hour, I think you might be mistaken about seeing a tavern. Even if you did, it's probably been long abandoned." Babs silently hoped that she was wrong.

"I'm telling you it has to be around here somewhere." Scootaloo glanced down a side street and stiffened, "Who's that with Applebloom?"

Babs looked around in confusion before spotting two figures standing halfway down the side street. "That's not Applebloom, her robes are much redder than that doctor's robes."

"That's what doctors wear these days?" Scootaloo asked giving the pair a weary glare, "I honestly thought Applebloom's bird mask get up was some custom tailoring or something, why the hell would that disturbing get up become popular?"

"I don't really know, you could always ask her if you're curious." Babs pointed at the now approaching figures.

Scootaloo jerked back to look at the pair to see they were now indeed approaching. Her eyes narrowed and a hoof reached under her coat for her rusty pistol, Babs lowered her visor and stood a bit straighter, but made no move for her sword. The pair paused and briefly chatted, before the figure in doctor's scrubs put her head to her compaions rump and pushed her forwards. Cloaked in a blood red jacket that shown crimson against the mare's pink coat, the figure approached her face half hidden beneath a wide brim hat that had obviously seen better days. What had Scootaloo on guard was belts full of knives and darts hidden under the mare's jacket. The pair finally stopped when Scootaloo could see the nervous purple eyes peering at her from behind the doctor's bird mask.

The silence lasted for almost a minute before Babs finally asked, "Pardon me, but do you two happen to know if there is a pub around here? My companion swears that there is but we have been unable to locate it."

The doctor seemed to relax as she answered in a posh tone, "But of course my dear knight, we were actually on our way there ourselves. It is but a block from the church so I'm rather surprised you were not aware of it already."

"We're quiet new to this village so I was not even aware that a church had been established here? Who is the church dedicated to?" Babs asked smiling behind her visor.

"I do believe that it's dedicated to Fuast," the doctor tittered, "You needn't worry about a cult worshiping the corruption or the false goddess here. The few that have remained in town this long have had quiet enough of both." The conversation died as both Babs and the masked doctor noticed that their mutual companions had yet to relax and continued to eye each other with mutual suspicion and distrust. The doctor rolled her eyes and gave her pink companion a light bump on the flank, "Wasn't there something you were wanting to ask these two?"

The pink mare wrapped in red grunted and reluctantly looked at her companion before turning back to Babs and Scootaloo. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times, turned into a scowl, then a sneer, before she finally sighed and asked, "We were wondering if you two had plans to take the Tainted Light up on her latest plea and enter the city."

"We actually just got back from our first foray actually," Babs said.

"Why?" Scootaloo snarled.

"We likewise seek to answer her plea and would like to know if we could accompany you or aid you for a share in the promised rewards." the pink mare said.

"I've got quiet a few alchemical mixtures that would be useful in a fight, I've also got a little skill as a field medic," The masked doctor hurriedly offered, "And Diamond here is great with her knives and really good at finding and disarming traps. What do you say?"

For a moment the silent town seemed to grow even quieter. Then Scootaloo asked, "Diamond? You wouldn't happen to be Diamond Tiara would you?"

The two flinched at the ice in the pegasus' voice as the pink mare demanded, "Yes, what's it to you? How do you know that name?"

"You are rather hard to forget unfortunately," Scootaloo snarled yanking off her bandanna, "Seeing as you made my youth decidedly unpleasant. What sort of bully mocks someone's disability?"

"Scootaloo?" the doctor lifted her mask revealing her silver grey coat.

"And Silver Spoon too, great, should have known it was to much to ask that you two were lost to history," Scootaloo spat at the pair's hooves, "Let's go Babs, that bar's gotta be close."

"Agreed, you two may join the Crusaders if you are still willing." Babs said lifting her visor, her face forcibly nuetral. Three mares all promptly proclaimed their disbelief with various levels disbelief and venom. "Get over yourself Scootaloo, you saw what the ruins are like, we are going to need help with this nut. Yeah they were complete and utter plotholes as kids, but ponies change, especially after the Reckoning the Sisters Wrought. I for one am not above accepting help freely given or offering these two a chance to redeem their actions of the past." Babs glanced down at the pair of earth ponies and Diamond Tiara flinched under her gaze. "Besides it is probably wise for us to have a few extra bodies in case something horrible happens or one of us need to take a break, or need time to heal."

Scootaloo stood there, her face constantly twisting and contorting itself between a variety of unreadable emotions before she finally let out an almost feral roar and jabbed a hoof at Silver Spoon, "You! Take me to the bar now or I swear somepony is going to get killed. I need a thrice bucked drink!"

Silver Spoon shuddered and led Scootaloo deeper into the ruined town. Babs turned to gaze coolly at Diamond Tiara, who once again flinched under the larger pony's gaze. "Will you be joining us Ms. Tiara?" Diamond Tiara managed a weak nod as she further hid her face behind her hat's brim, "Great I would like to see what my companions of the faith have managed with the church here."

~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~

The next day found Babs in the Church of Faust, kneeling before the alter, her front hooves folded over her head as if bound and her face buried in the cold stones of the rickety old church. Babs sobbed at the base of the alter as a balding old grey unicorn in a faded white robe watched on from one of the rotted pews. Babs whimpered many quiet prayers around her sobs as she crouched beseechingly before the small pewter holy symbol placed upon the alter before her. The stallion turned away, his face still neutral as he resumed his losing battle against the dirt, rot, and grime that covered most of the dilapidated building he had established his church in. He paused for only the briefest of glances at the offering box noting the few bits placed in the usually empty box before resuming his battle to keep his one corner of the world pure.

The doors creaked open and yellow mare wearing doctor's robes the same color as her mane entered. Her eyes quickly locked onto Babs' prone and sobbing form, she trotted forwards filling the church with the sound of hooves hitting stone and left a noticeable trail of various dust, dirt and grit in her wake. The grey stallion grit his teeth, but said nothing. The yellow mare was not so courteous, "Babs, are you okay? What's the matter cuz'?"

"Would you terribly mind being quiet?" the stallion's disapproving tone cutting like a keen blade, "This is a place for one to find sanctuary in silence and prayer. I will not have you disturbing those seeking solace here you boisterous ruffian."

The mare stopped and flashed a glare at the stallion, who returned it with his own level glare, and opened her own mouth as the sobs stopped. Babs voice cut through the argument before it formed, "It's fine Gallows, what's wrong Applebloom."

The grey stallion nodded, and respecting his patron's unspoken request and resumed his work. Applebloom however turned her gaze back to Babs and all but shouted, "What's wrong? Babs, I just found you weeping like a foal in front of an alter after spending almost an hour looking for you. Do you have any idea how worried I am? I'm the one who should be asking you, what's wrong!" She approached the orange earth pony and lay her hooves on her cousins shoulders, "What's wrong Babs? Why are you here crying?"

"It's really nothing Applebloom," Babs lied, her gaze shifting to the ground unable to meet her cousin's golden gaze, "I'm just getting a bit wrapped up in my daily prayers is all."

Applebloom's concern morphed into a rocky slate as she force her taller cousin to meet her gaze and said, "Cuz' I'm going to tell you something that somepony important once told me. 'That's the biggest load of horse apples that I've ever heard.' Now tell me what in Tartarus is wrong with you?"

"I told you, it's nothing, just praying," Babs again turned her gaze to the floor.

"Rancid. Minotaur. Shit!" Applebloom shouted drawing a poisonous gaze from the grey unicorn behind her, "I've seen you pray before cuz', I've even seen you get emotional. This ain't that, now you are going to quit acting like a foal refusing to take its medicine or I'm going to force this blabber mouth potion down your gullet and make you?"

"You wouldn't dare," Babs hissed, eyeing the vial full of sparkling clear liquid sitting in her cousin's yellow hoof.

"You wanna bet?" Applebloom flashed a cocky grin, "I don't believe you ever beat me when it came to wrestling."

"Fine. I, I was praying for guidance," Babs sighed her shoulders and head drooping.

Applebloom's head jerked back as if struck and her grin squirmed into a confused frown. She squinted her eyes and looked around before scrunching her face like she'd caught a whiff of something foul. "What do you mean asking for guidance? What you needing guiding for? And why not ask one of us?"

"Because it's so much worse than I expected!" Babs shouted, she stomped her hooves and shut her eyes trying to hold back her tears, "I've seen results of corruption before, heck I spent years putting down ponies gone mad and cruel, but these mutations, these abominations, all those traps. I never, not in my worse nightmares, expected to discover ponies actively working against us, raising the dead, setting such vile traps. And those writings." Babs was cut off as another sob tore itself free of her throat.

"What writings Babs," Applebloom's face was once more the image of concern and worry, "Help me understand. I'm your friend. Your cousin. Your ally in arms. You can tell me."

Babs sobbed into her hooves for a moment before muttering, "At the gates," she took a shaky breath before continuing, "While Scoots was getting you out of that trap. I found a book near one of the corpses by the gate. It was a journal, written by a mare who had gotten trapped behind the gate when they closed the city. She was so sure that the guard would open the gate to let them out at any moment, so were the ponies she was with. Such horrible things happened to them, they had to do such cold things to survive. But the worst, the worst part was that she never gave up that hope, she kept praying and assuring herself that the gate would open and the guards would come and save her." Babs took several ragged breathes as new tears soaked into her coat, "If such could happen to her, if despite all her prayers and faith. Why, why would Faust, would any god allow her to die such a slow horrible death."

"I honestly don't know," Applebloom said slowly. Her firm confident stance crumbling.

"Neither do I," Babs gave a small fragile smile that shattered instants after its births, "That's why I need to pray here, to beg Faust for an answer." Babs turned back to the alter, tears still leaking out of her eyes and body trembling with suppressed sobs.

Applebloom lingered behind her cousin and finally asked, "Did this mare have a name?"

"Minuette," Babs said once more folding her forehooves together.

Applebloom breathed a deep sigh of relief and her confident posture returned to her as she quietly walked up and gave her cousin a soft hug, "Take all the time you need cuz' just try and be home before dark. I don't want Sweetie and Scootaloo worrying about you when they get back from today's mission." Babs didn't answer.

~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~

Applebloom glanced the orange haze overhead as she finished tossing out the last of the broken boards and ruined masonry that had been cluttering up the old house they were living in. If she had to guess she'd place the time as just before sunset, it was hard to say with that thick black haze that always seemed to hang over the area blocking both sun and stars, if any stars still existed. Applebloom really hoped the haze wouldn't be hazardous to anypony's health, though she strongly suspected it would be.

The soft clinking of metal made her return her gaze to earth, she smiled seeing Babs walking past the almost non-existent gate. Babs still had the stains and matted coat of somepony who'd had a fresh cry, but the smile she gave Applebloom was nowhere near as shaky and fragile as the one in the church. Applebloom walked out to meet her and smiled up at her cousin, "Feeling better?"

"Not really," Babs said meeting her cousin's golden gaze, "But I think I'll be able to keep doing what we're doing now." The two smiled and embraced each other, "If you tell Scootaloo about any of this I swear I will make you regret it cuz'."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Applebloom gave her companion a tight squeeze, "I know exactly how she'd act if she found out our big tough knight was crying, she'd be all,"

"The actual fuck is wrong with you? You retarded piece of cowardly shit!" Scootaloo screamed as she appeared appeared at the end of the street leading three obviously distressed mares behind her, "Who the actual fuck goes up to a creepy twisted alter in the middle of the most evil and corrupted place in the known world and actually does what it says? I thought doctor's are suppose to be smart! And will you both shut the fuck up? I'm sick of hearing your blubbering and raving."

Babs and Applebloom looked at each other and hurried to meet the group, even from the house they could tell something was very wrong. Sweetie Belle was a sobbing mess, Diamond Tiara was looking at every shadow like it was about to eat her, Silver Spoon's eyes were fixed to the ground her mouth constantly moving. As they got closer it was obvious that the group was in worse shape than previously thought. Everyone's clothing an armor was an absolute mess, little more than rags and a few twisted pieces of mangled metal holding themselves together with little more than stubbornness and prayers. Their coats showing signs of rapid and crud healings, blood stained their coats a sordid black where their coat wasn't simply gone. Strange protrusions poked out of there limbs, protrusions both Applebloom and Babs recognized as badly broken bones, the fact that the group was even still walking seemed nothing short of a minor miracle. And yet Scootaloo still found the energy to verbally abuse the group.

"Well despite all your complete and utter lack for a single brain or spine between the three of you, we managed to get home," Scootaloo cast a furious glare at at a shocked Babs and Applebloom. "What do you two want?"

"What do we want?" Babs sputtered, "What in Faust's name happened to everypony?"

"Oh that's easy," Scootaloo snarled, "These two retards," she tossed her head at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, "Decided on the way out it would be a great idea to go and play with a creepy alter made out an unknown material. The fuckers opened a portal that released a towering grey tentacle abomination which then proceed to summon two smaller tentacle freaks and all three attacked us. I tried to fight the things, but these thrice damned cowardly fucks decided all bail on me and I had to run for my life from something the size of the house."

"We couldn't kill it," Diamond Tiara collapsed to the ground trembling, "Bullets, knives, potions, magic, we kept attacking it but it just wouldn't die. The noises it was making, it was like something was tearing at my mind and tugging on my soul, and the little ones, they kept chirping and every time they did I felt one of my bones break. We need to keep moving, it's still after us, it's going to end us, we need to keep running."

"It's not still after us you stupid coward, we lost in those alleyways before we even left that damned pit of Tartarus and now its somepony else's problem unless it decides to wait for your stupid ass to come back in so it can do the world a favor and end you!" Scootaloo shouted slapping Diamond Tiara hard enough to knock the mare over.

"Scootaloo what the heck is wrong with you?" Applebloom demanded moving between the pegasus and Diamond Tiara's still trembling form.

"That was completely uncalled for," Babs agreed, snorting as she moved up beside Applebloom.

"Maybe it would ignore us if we made it a cake, or apologized, that always works for Fluttershy and Pinkie right?" Silver Spoon asked her eyes wide with desperate hope before she returned her gaze to the ground and began to murmur near silent bits of madness.

"Well fuck all of you right in the ass," Scootaloo bucked off her bags and bucked them at Babs who nearly fell over from the massive weight of the jingling bags. SCootaloo took several shuddering breaths as her legs gave out on her and she staggered back to her hooves growling, "I do not need this shit right now, I'm going to go to the bar and see if I can't drown myself in the pisswater that rag dares call alcohol. See you fuckers when I next decide to play with a bunch of whiny nags that need to get rutted something fierce!"

Scootaloo stormed away into the fading evening light leaving a shocked and confused Applebloom standing around a struggling Babs, trembling Diamond Tiara, weeping Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon who seemed to be lost in her mutterings. Babs tossed the heavy bags over into the yard and Joined the stunned Applebloom looking at the shattered remains of their group. She heaved a deep sigh, "Come on Applebloom, help me get them back to the church, see if Gallows Prophet can't do something for them." Babs easily slid Sweetie Belle onto her back, "Sweetie's in no condition to try and do magic right now."

Applebloom grunted as she lifted Diamond Tiara onto her back, the pink mare was nowhere near as heavy as Applebloom expected, but carrying a grown mare was still difficult. She took a moment to find her balance and called, "Come on Silver."

The mumbling doctor didn't respond but did follow after the group. Applebloom tired to ignore the sounds of her friend's sobbing and her former enemies ranting, but found it difficult as Scootaloo's cruel words echoed around her head. A glance at Babs showed the mare with a tight frown on her face. "Applebloom? What are we going to do now?"

"I really don't know," Applebloom reluctantly admitted.

A Land Dark and Twisted

Applebloom walked into the darkened tavern and returned the wave from the crusty yellow unicorn working the bar, her eyes caught on the orange pegasus sitting at the bar and her ears drooped. She forced her gaze away from the pegasus and the many empty mugs surrounding her limp form and searched for the tan form of her cousin among the scattered and rough looking crowd in the dingy tavern. She spotted Babs sitting alone at a table, glaring at the back of a very tall mare wearing an old tattered funeral garb who was drinking deeply from her mug.

"How's she doing?" Applebloom asked sitting down and letting out a small moan, glad to be off her sore hooves.

"Well she's not verbally abusing anything within shouting distance anymore, but she certainly isn't in any condition to be going on any forays today. Same goes for the others, they're calming down and no longer in critical condition, but you can see it in their eyes, they're scared and a hairs breath from snapping again." Babs paused, quietly murmuring, "What did they see in there?"

"We're certainly going to need more help then, the two of us just aren't enough to deal with the monsters infesting the area," Applebloom sighed and rested her head on the table, "And despite the fact ponies are regularly flowing into town I haven't been able to find anypony willing to join us." She glanced up as Babs, "Don't suppose you've had any better luck."

"As a mater of fact I did," Babs said smugly, "Two of them in fact, experienced fighters from what they say, and the way they carry themselves gives me reason to believe them." The smile fled Babs face, "We aren't really about to go back into that city are we, that thing Diamond and Silver summoned, what if it's still there?"

"We'd fight it and do our best to kill it," Applebloom said waving the question away with a gesture, "Besides we've got a different target this time."

"We do?" Babs asked, her smile returning.

"Yeah as soon as these two mystery ponies of yours show up we I'll go over today's plan," Applebloom sat up, "Where the hay are they anyways?"

"We were taking the time to relieve ourselves after the long trip," a heavy baritone said from unnervingly close. Applebloom whirled around and leapt clear over to the other side of the table when she found herself looking at an intimidating mix between a skullcap and executioner's hood. She landed on three hooves as her fourth vanished into her robes when she spotted the hooded figure carried a large blood stained ax and several rusty hooks over his scale mail. The figure tenses as well, one of his hooks sliding along a length of rope into one of his hooves. Applebloom prepaired to toss one of her concoctions at the stallion, only to be stopped as Babs jumped between the two.

"Whoa, calm down everypony! No need to start killing each other over a little surprise right Applebloom?"

"Right," Applebloom said still not taking her gaze off the hooded stallion as she slid the volatile potion back into her belt.

"That's a relief," a new voice said from behind Applebloom, "I'd have hated to shoot you in the ass after all this time Applebloom, how's my second favorite baby sitter doing these days?"

Applebloom whiled to spy an orange maned unicorn mare clad from the neck down in heavy platemail armor and levitating a rather heavy looking repeating crossbow in her blue aura. Applebloom opened and closed her mouth a couple times as she looked into the mare's smiling blue eyes. "Pumpkin?"

"How about a hug for old times sake?" Pumpkin Cake laughed, her toothy smile nearly splitting her face in two.

Applebloom launched herself at the younger mare, not caring about the heavy metal armor keeping them apart as they both embraced each other a bone crushing hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you, look how much you've grown!" Applebloom smiled at the hooded stallion, "Does this mean that's Pound Cake?"

Both the hooded figure and Pumpkin flinched at Applebloom's question, the smile vanishing from everypony's face as Pumpkin's hug became much more brittle, "No. Pound's dead."

"I'm. I'm so sorry," Applebloom said her face seeming unable to settle on horror or sorrow. She hugged the armored mare tightly, "I didn't know."

"I know," Pumpkin whispered, a deep shudder went through her rattling her armor as she pulled away and straightened herself out, "Applebloom, I'd like to introduce you to my teacher and partner in business-."

"She knows who I am," the hooded stallion said lifting his navy blue hood to reveal a cheery white face with a large splotch of brown fur around his right eye, "Though she might not recognize me now that I'm not quiet as small and cute as I use to be."

"Pipsqueak?" Applebloom screeched.

"The one and only," he let his hood fall back into place, though his brown eyes still sparkled in the dark, "How have you been Applebloom?"

"What? But, how, when? When did you get so big?" Applebloom ask a small tinge of red coloring her cheeks.

"I started to fill out about a year after you left for Appleloosa," Pip chuckled behind his hood, "And my career choice has helped with the whole process."

"So what exactly do you two do?" Applebloom asked frowning at the weapons the two carried.

"They're bounty hunters Applebloom," Babs said looking down at the table before her, "If the list of names they told me is accurate, damned good ones."

Applebloom paused before she cast a hurt and confused look back at Pumpkin. Pumkin looked away. "We have our reasons."

"Indeed, and if what your friend here was telling us before is true you need somepony with skills in fighting monsters." Pipsqueak sat himself down in Applebloom's vacated seat, "So how about you quit pouting and please explain to us what we will be doing?"

Applebloom's gaze lingered on Pumpkin before she took a seat next to Scootaloo. Pumpkin sat opposite her, but kept her eyes firmly locked on the rainbow maned mare loudly weeping into her mug. Applebloom shook herself and said, "While Canterlot is our main goal, we are going to need a lot of supplies to crack that nut, supplies that we are having a lot of trouble getting due to the woodlands surrounding the city's walls. I'm sure you all remember how fraught with peril your trip here was," the other three ponies at the table nodded and Babs shuddered as Applebloom continued, "To help break this strangle hold on both ourselves and this town, we are going to go into the woods near the trade route and see if we can't make travel between this ramshackle collection of huts,"

"Forelorn Hope," a mountain of yellow pony flesh said as he slid four drinks onto the table.

"What?" Applebloom blinked, broken from her train of thought.

"This ramshackle collection of huts is called Forelorn Hope," the bartender said flashing a gap tooth smile, "Enjoy your drinks ladies, might even toss you some discounts if you really do clear that road."

Pipsqueak watched as the stallion returned to his place behind the counter and snorted, "Applebloom, could you please continue?"

"Right," Applebloom tossed the stallion behind the bar a look, she could have sworn he had been back there until the instant he'd appeared at their table, "Like I was saying, if we can clear the road out even a little, it will increase the amount of supplies at our disposal and drastically reduce the cost of everything in this town."

"Shouldn't we wait and ask Scootaloo to come along with us when she's better?" Babs asked, "She seemed really knowledgeable on those woods on the way here."

All eyes briefly turned to the mare in question. The orange pegasus seemed unaware of the gazes upon her, her head resting against the bar as she hugged one of her mugs. "No real guarantee that she'll ever get better," Applebloom said softly giving her full mug a squeeze, "Even if she does, we really can't wait. Despite the small hoard of treasure we've managed to rake in, the prices of everything in this town means we'll be broke within a week. That's also a lot of the reason I'm proposing this mission, we need to do something to lower prices here and this seems like a good start."

"Sounds like as good an idea as any I've heard," Pipsqueak said lifting his hood and tossing back his drink before setting down an empty mug, "You girls go on ahead I'll settle things with the barkeep and catch up."

Babs and Applebloom rose quickly, walking towards the exit. Pumpkin Cake lingered raising an eyebrow, Pipsqueak shook his head, Pumpkin nodded and followed the other two mares. Pipsqueak stood and approached the bar, pausing to whisper into the ear of the orange mare at the bar, "I know what you've done Scootaloo."

In an instant, Scootaloo was on her hooves, alert and blades drawn as she glared at the towering stallion before her. The stallion gazed down at her impassively reaching for something in the folds of his armor, the barkeep still reached for something behind the bar. "Know that I am watching," he said tossing a small bag that jingled with coin onto the bar, "It be a true shame if your friends had to lose something else."

Scootaloo didn't move as she watched the stallion turn away and walk out the door. The pegasus slowly returned to her seat, ordering something strong as she quietly massaged an old scar.

~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~

Among the forest that dotted the land of Equestria, the Everfree had always been unopposed for its title of the most dangerous and terrifying forest known to exist. That began to change ten years ago when Canterlot fell. The Canterhorn Woods rapidly underwent a metamorphosis from a well maintained woodland to a nightmarish hellscape seeking to claim all that dared trespass into its canopy of leaves. Even on the rare day the sun managed to peer down through the ever present haze, light never reached the forest floor, the plants and fungus seeming to thrive and feed off the malevolent dark and spilled blood that existed beneath the twisted thorny branches and thick serpentine vines that seemed to twitch and move even on the stillest of days.

These cursed and corrupted woods stirred, its beast and residents drawn by the light and sound of those foolish few who dare walk their home's darkened pathways.

"No," Babs growled biting down on Applebloom's ruby tail as she dug in her hooves attempting to drag the yellow mare.

"Babs, please understand! Just give me a minute," Applebloom planted her hooves fighting her cousin.

"No."

"But think of all the good that could come from it, I just need a little time to,"

"No."

"It will take but a moment," Applebloom protested.

"No," Babs managed to yank the smaller mare off her hooves, "You can examine those mushrooms on the way out."

"But I want to examine them now," Applebloom whined as she tried to drag herself back towards the large patch of mushrooms that had recently attacked her, "They might expire after emitting their toxic spores. They might be the only patch of their species in existence and will die without me ever getting to examine them."

"We can only hope to be so lucky," Babs grunted as she dragged Applebloom over to where Pipsqueak and Pumpkin were standing, Pumpkin visibly attempting to hold back laughter. "Now will you walk on your own or do I have to drag you through the rest of today's venture?"

"I can walk on my own," Applebloom's pout easily piercing her mask as Babs spat out her tail. "When did you get so mean?"

"When did you get so stupid?"

The two mares blew raspberries at each other and Pumpkin began to shake from contained laughter as Pipsqueak sighed, "Are you two done or do you wish to continue acting like immature foals in the middle of a woodland full of monsters?"

"Hey we haven't seen any proof of monsters existing out here," Babs pointed out, "just a bunch of feral animals and bandits."

"Then what do you call those?" Pipsqueak asked pointing behind the two mares.

They both whirled and saw a cluster of corpses covered in mushrooms start to rise. It looked like they had been a small family once, a mare and a stallion, their coats now a faded patchwork of grey against their yellow flesh. Their heads were almost lost behind the twisting and bulbous mushrooms that appeared to be growing out of the two corpses' eyes, mouths, ears, and in places where they seemed to burst through the victims very skull. Two little foals rose behind the adults their guts having bust out into a vile bloom of spongy red mushrooms with such violent force that the foals' jaws appeared have been violent separated from the rest of the skull. One of the foals still had a single eye which twitched rapidly about dripping a viscous green ooze, it almost looked like it was crying as it shambled behind one of its parents.

"Faust have mercy," Babs muttered slamming her visor down and drawing her blade.

Applebloom gazed in horror at the dead family, her yellow coat going grey as blood fled her features. Pipsqueak stepped in front of her drawing his ax and lazily twirling a hook around his tail. The tingle of magic sounded behind her and Applebloom heard Pumpkin whisper, "Do I need to protect you now old friend?"

"I'd be a pretty sorry excuse for a foal sitter if you had to protect me," Applebloom said with a shaky laugh.

Pipsqueak and Babs both charged forward their blades biting into the blighted Stallion eliciting a gurgling moan and a wild swing from the corpse, the two fighters easily evaded the blow. One of the foals hissed and the mushroom spilling from its guts fired a vile green fungus from within its spongy mass. The mold struck Babs and quickly sank roots into her armor and flesh. The mother jerked as if struck and lunged at Babs her jagged hooves finding purchase in the knight's hindquarters and ripping deep gashes into the mare's flank.

Babs' cry was answered by a foal screaming in pain. One of the blighted foals had large crossbow bolt buried to the fetching lodged in its body causing the abomination to stagger to the side before slowly regaining its footing. The second foal answered its sister's cry, its eye locking onto Pumpkin as it spat a thick cloud of spores that quickly washed over Applebloom and Pumpkin. Pumpkin hacked and coughed on the spores and found a glass vial shoved halfway down her throat, she reflexively swallowed its content.

"I'd strongly advise against breathing that stuff," Applebloom said drawing a long thin knife, "Think you'll be okay while I gather a sample?" Pumpkin nodded.

Applebloom lunged at the injured stallion, her blade slicing through several of the mushrooms growing out of its head. The fungus stumps oozed a thick black fluid as the stallion staggered drunkenly about before falling over with a final gurgling wail. The mother answered the call turning away from Babs to roar at Applebloom, Pisqueak and Babs instantly took advantage of the distraction to roughly decapitate the dead mare. Her body remained standing for a moment before it collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. The foals both hissed, but with a mechanical click, one of them collapsed, its eye pierced and exploded as another bolt dug deep into its body. The foal collapsed with a pained whine its sibling spewing another cloud of spores which its targets easily evaded. Three blades and a crossbow quickly disabled the last fungal abomination.

"What the actual hell were," Babs started only to get cut off.

"Burn the bodies," Applebloom said, her hoof wrapping around the fungus and tearing it off Babs with painful ease, "I don't want those things spreading. Pumpkin, can either you or Pip help me bandage Babs?"

"Yes," Pumpkin flinched a bit at Applebloom's cold tone

"Good," Applebloom snatched the torch from Pumpkin's aura, "Then go patch up Babs."

Pumpkin nodded quietly as she slunk over to Babs and began to clean the larger mare's wounds as Applebloom applied the crackling flames to the long dead ponies so recently slain. The bodies caught like oil and quickly became a roaring bonefire as they weakly flailed and screeched as the fires consuming them. They burned quickly and brightly, being reduced to nothing but bones and ash in less than a minute, Applebloom watched them burn, the fires reflected in her goggles. Pipsqueak approached, his face equally unreadable behind his hood and asked, "Are you okay?" Applebloom gave him only a simple nod, her eyes still locked on the smoldering embers among the bones. "Then shall we get moving again? We accomplish nothing by staying here."

"Of course," Applebloom said in a painfully neutral tone.

"Are you sure you're alright Applebloom?" Babs asked rising to her hooves.

Applebloom looked Babs in the eyes, her goggles making her golden orange eyes shine oddly in the dim torch light, "I am fine Babs." Her tone remained as neutral and hollow as before, seeming almost like something spoken by a machine as her crow mask muffled and distorted the words as they slithered free.

"If you're sure," Babs wilted under that odd empty gaze.

"I am fine Babs. Let's go."

The four continued on into the forest, now far more tense than they were before. Every hoofstep now echoed with worry and fear, three sets of eyes now scanned the woods and lingered on one form, the last set of eyes were lost in the shadows and glare of dancing flames reflected off glass. Countless conversations were attempted, only to die within their first moments, unable to survive in the heavy atmosphere of concern that threatened to crush them. It was almost a relief when Babs walked into a tree showering her with thick maggots the size of terriers.

Babs shrieked and swung wildly as the massive larva landed on her and began to tear bit sized holes in her flesh and armor. A quick snap shot succeeded in dislodging one of the grubs before it could bit off Babs' ear, and Pipsqueak swiftly knocked off two more with a well aimed buck. Applebloom simply tossed a small vial at the back of Bab's head, the vial shattered off her helm and exploded in a burst of light. The maggots shrieked, falling off Babs and writhing like snakes set aflame. Applebloom swiftly stepped forward and sliced off on of the vermin's heads as her allies looked at her in shock.

"Finish them off you fools," Applebloom said irritation seeping into her voice as she flicked the blood from her blade and effortlessly dodged a maggot lunging for her throat.

Pumpkin nodded and fired another bolt which bit deep into one of the monstrous vermin, it screamed in a terribly equine manner as it thrash throwing its grey blood everywhere as it struggled fruitlessly against death. Pipsqueak followed suit his ax cleanly bisecting one of the bugs, it growled up at its executioner and began to rise, only to vomit a truly surprising amount of blood and collapse. Babs swung blindly, stunned and disoriented, narrowly avoiding decapitating Applebloom as she tumbled down onto her face. The remaining maggots, sensing weakness leapt onto Babs and began to tear at her with vigor, Babs screamed out in terror and pain as the vile vermin tore chunks from her.

Another vial broke against her and the maggots screamed again, pausing in their feeding frenzy to thrash and bite at the empty air. Pumpkin grabbed the monsters in her aura and tossed them into the air where a quick flurry of her crossbow and Pipsqueak's rope blades quickly reduced them to a pile of corpses that rained down around the quivering and bleeding form of their fallen knight.

The three stood, looking down at the once proud earth pony, her chainmail hanging loose and full of holes, her hide so full of holes it looked like she'd been shot repeatedly with buckshot. Her countless wounds oozed weakly, her own red vital fluid mixing in with the maggot's grey to yield a sickly hue. Only her helm seemed to have weathered the vermin's assault and protected the mare's head as she lay on her side, her breathing a disturbing metallic rasp behind her visor. "I'm not dead you know," she hacked, "Some help would be appreciated though."

"Hold her still."

"Here drink this."

"Think you can keep her alive?"

"Come on everypony," Babs chuckled, "You're acting like I'm dying."

Applebloom ripped off Babs' helmet and tossed it to the side as Pipsqueak and Pumpkin worked furiously to clean and bind the injured mare's wounds. Applebloom's breath caught as she saw her cousin's eyes looked like they had a grey film forming over them and she was wearing a resigned smiled. She forced one of the potions on her belt into Babs mouth and halfway down the mare's throat causing the mare to gag as she nearly inhaled the thick paste. Before she even had chance to complain Applebloom was forcing another vial down Bab's abused gullet.

Babs coughed and retched violently, her face twisting into a fiery glare, "What actual buck Applebloom? Are you trying to kill me?"

Applebloom wrapped her hooves tightly around Bab's head and forced her cousin's face into her chest. Babs instinctively tried to pull her head away, but found it trapped in the yellow mare's vice grip and further paralyzed by the soft sobs echoing out from behind the white beak of the expressionless mask. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Babs. I let myself get distracted. I was so busy thinking about those poor ponies behind us that I almost, I almost," Babs gently pressed her least injured hoof to the sobbing yellow doctor.

"Hush Applebloom, none of this is your fault," Babs smiled color returning slowly to her eyes, "Besides it's mostly aesthetic damage, no real harm done. Right you two?"

"Fuck no!" Pipsqueak snorted angrily, his boots painted red as he compressed the flesh that Pumpkin was furiously bandaging.

"I've never seen a living mare so torn up before," Pumpkin growled, twisting her head to try and get the bandages already stained red tighter.

"See, I'll be fine in a couple minutes," Applebloom released Bab's from her chest and instead brought her head to glare through her goggles at Babs' toothy smile, "I've had worse."

"Babs this is no time for you to play Scootaloo," Applebloom growled, "We need to get you back to town and see if that hospital can't fix you up."

"No," Babs yanked herself free of Applebloom's hooves and staggered to her own hooves ignoring the protest of her companions, "I think I can fix this." She wobbled ominously, balancing on three hooves, reaching into her saddlebags and drawing out a series of sticks which she assembled with at a slow, almost meditative pace. In just over a minute she had assembled a towering cross which she set down next to herself, reach once more into her bags, drawing out a roll of cloth. Her companions watched with worry and anticipation as the blood soaked mummy of a mare carefully hooked the roll of white fabric to the cross. Babs gave a small smile and with more energy than any of her captive audience would have credited her with she raised the cross high into the air, letting the fabric unroll into a banner of the holy Faust and roaring, "Holy mother Faust, the Writer of All Things, I ask that you lay your blessings upon me so that I may continue your great works and banish the darkness from the pages of your great book."

The banner's bright white cloth seemed to burn almost like a small sun in the dark of the forest causing the ponies watching, and several unseen beast, to scream in shock and cover their eyes. By the time the spots had cleared from their vision, Babs had lowered the banner stand to the ground and had a happy smile on her face. She uttered a giggle that quickly grew into a boisterous barking laugh as several of the holes in her hide dissipated like a hole being filled with rainwater.

"Babs?" Applebloom asked, worry in her voice as she slowly approached the laughing knight, "Are, are you okay?"

"Okay? I'm ecstatic!" Babs laughed, "I've never actually gotten that prayer to work before and it's great to finally get it right."

"Shame it's going the only thing ya got right," a voice greasy enough to cause a heart attack chuckled from nearby.

The crack of a gun, buckshot flew through the air, tearing at flesh like a dozen angry ants, pinging off armor like hailstones, and causing all four of the Crusaders to draw back in pain. A pea soup green pegasus dropped from the trees, screaming like a feral beast, his knives flashing in the dim light, slashing through air as both Pumpkin and Pipsqueak leapt back away from his murderous attack. Another crack and foul scent of old powder filled the air as another swarm of buckshot tore through the clearing, scattering the adventurers as they dove for cover.

"Got ya," a sky blue earth pony chuckled leaping from the trees, his thick dagger plunging through Pipsqueak's armor and sliding through his ribs. Pipsqueak coughed, a thick glob of liquid staining his hood. He weakly raised one hoof to the stallion's withers. "What ya want to give me a kiss before ya die dumb ass?"

Pipsqueak's leg, tightened around the raider, pinning him against his own body. Pipsqueak raised his ax high and slammed it down into the raider's abdomen. Pipsqueak grunted, ripping his ax messily free of the raider, spilling blood and deep purple intestines across the muddy ground, and kicked the injured raider away from him. The raider's smile vanished under a look of mortal terror as he staggered and slipped on his own guts, his mouth wide in an airy squeak that slowly faded into a whimpering silence.

"Ya damn bastards!" the green raider screamed starting forward only to have a tan armor clad figure slam into his side. He grunted and turned to face the knight with a snarl, he blinked in confusion at the fresh red on the mare's longsword and looked down in confusion at the wide gash in his side. "How," He found it suddenly very hard to speak, as is normal when one suddenly finds a crossbow bolt lodged in the back of one's throat.

"Bullseye," Pumpkin chuckled around a wide cruel smile as she reloaded her crossbow.

Another vial flew from Applebloom's hooves, this one exploding in the shrubs just off the narrow trail and silhouetting two dark equine forms. They both screamed and there was another crack of gunfire as one of the nearby trees began to shower splinters of wood among the shrubs. "Make it count," Applebloom shouted, "Running low on those."

Into the dark danced a vicious hooked blade affixed to a sturdy rope, the rope jerk taunt and Pipsqueak gave it a yank as if he were simply reeling in a large fish. His catch was jerked free of its shadowed protection by the hooked buried deep in her, tumbling into the dim mocking light of the torches. Her tear stained eyes looked up pleadingly as she fumbled with her blunderbuss, but she found no mercy from the behind the purple hood or the steel helm of the towering crusader, raising her sword high for the finishing blow. The bandit mare died with the sound of a heavy blade cutting effortlessly through meat.

"Just one left," Pumpkin hummed, she aimed her crossbow at the darkness, and for once the darkness blinked first. A brief flash of light, a loud crack, and a terrified mare who's last desperate shot had left her perfectly exposed. A crossbow bolt tore through the mare's head, and Pumpkin's armor laughed off the mare's last attack. "Anypony injured?"

"What do you think?" Pipsqueak grunted tossing his head at the knife still buried in his own back, "Do you mind?"

"What you mean do my job?" Pumpkin laughed trotting over to the stallion, "Now lay down and I don't want to hear any bellyaching from you this time you overgrown baby." Pipsqueak obeyed with a grumble and Pumpkin ripped the knife out and began to bandage the stallion, "Serious how did you ever manage before you picked me up?"

"I was careful," Pipsqueak snorted, watching as Applebloom and Babs talked quietly as they looked down at the corpse of the mare he'd dragged out onto the trail, "Now that I have you to patch me up I can afford to be a bit reckless."

Pumpkin opened her mouth and froze, as did everypony else on the trail. They all quickly jumped to their hooves and formed an outwards facing circle, weapons drawn as Pumpkin lit up a new torch. Their eyes danced through the darkness, their ears constantly swerving, and the grip on their weapons tightening as a far too long the silence reigned supreme in the woods. Then a single sound slithered into their ears, seeming to come from everywhere at once, surrounding them like the ever tightening coils of a snake. The slithering grew louder as the group pressed together tighter and tighter as the slithering transformed into a hissing rattle, ready to strike.

Pumpkin's sharp intake of breath caused all to see the horrors she was witnessing. The freshly killed bodies of the bandits were beginning to twitch and convulse like somepony suffering a violent stroke, they twisted and flailed, their mouths twisting in unheard screams as they struggled in death. Their flesh began to bubble. blister, and run like tar on a particularly hot day, slowly flowing off their white bones stained red y their own blood. A thick black aura that moved like sentient molasses began to claw its way around the bones as they slowly rose to their hooves on unsteady legs, not unlike new born foals. As the thick aura began to force its way into the bones' eyesockets and the last few traces of flesh and organs plopped to the ground like unwanted chunks of mud, it all vanished. The bones clattered to the ground and the rattling hiss was replaced by the baying of hounds.

The sounds of approaching dogs reigned supreme until Pumpkin dared challenge it with her own timid voice, "Do you think somepony is coming to help us?"

As if called by that one timid whisper, four feral dogs leapt from the darkness and surrounded the four scared horses. Though perhaps calling them dogs was something of a misnomer, their sparse coat, skin hanging loose off their bones, and eyes so sunken as to appear as nothing more than yellow specks gave them a monstrous otherworldly quality. Their lips seemed to have been pulled back into a permanent snarl, or perhaps hunger had caused them to eat their own lips, as they circled their sunken yellow orbs shining with their own intense light as the circled. Their heavy ragged breath poured from them, generating a foul yellow mist that was quickly lost in the heavy gloom of the woods. As one they charged the crusaders from all sides.

The first tore at Pumpkin's face, the second tearing a chunk out of Babs' face. Pipsqueak managed to sink his ax into the second hound as it tried to retreat out of range, but the mutt turned monster shook off the wound as third hound nearly sunk its teeth into Pipsqueaks leg. The fourth hound sank its teeth into Applebloom's throat and ripped most of it free causing the mare to stagger down to her knees as blood flowed out of her body like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Time seemed to freeze as three other ponies looked down at Applebloom and the massive pool of blood under her in terror and the snarls of the circling hounds seemed to become taunting jeers. Darkness seemed to close once more as all seemed to hold a breath.

Applebloom, resolutely roared back to her hooves and threw back a potion, her bleeding stopped and her mortal wound roughly knit itself together as she drew her knife and roared, "It that the best you can do? I grew up with dogs scarier than you!" The darkness seemed to pull back and the hounds hesitate before this cry. A smile danced across the lips of every Crusader present and with a roar they charged the hounds like a tide of steel and blood. Pumpkin's crossbow fired wildly, peppering three of the hounds with a flurry of bolts, Pipsqueak danced between the bolts, his rope blades slicing deep gashes into the hounds, Babs raised her holy symbol in the air filling the area with golden power. Two of the hounds withered to dust and the third injured mutt rushed towards Applebloom perhaps seeking to down injured prey or perhaps extinguish the hope she'd conjured. Applebloom stepped into the beast's attack, her knife finding its heart with practiced ease, "Another corpse for the pile."

The final dog hesitated, seeming suddenly cowed before the four ponies full of confidence and blood-lust. It snarled and barked a challenge, the Crusaders answered by striding forward calmly, weapons drawn. The hound seemed to consider fleeing before it leapt forward with a roar. The poor fool of a beast was dead before it had hit the ground.

A brief silence filled the woods as the four victorious ponies awaited the next challenger the woods could offer them. This time the forest seemed to have nothing to offer them but the distant bird calls and a weak wind rustling the dense canopy overhead. Confident in their victory the Crusaders let out a breath, and Applebloom once more fell to her knees weakly downing another potion and hacking a large red glob. The other three ponies looked at each other and nodded.

Babs approached Applebloom and nudged the mare, "Hey Applebloom, I think we've done enough for today, let's head back for now."

"I'm fine," Applebloom snorted rising painfully to her hooves.

"I didn't say you weren't," Babs said with a soft smile, "I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Probably lost a bit too much blood. Come on, lets go check on Sweetie Belle, she's probably worried sick about us."

"Fine, but I'm going to walk next to you and support you if I think you're going to collapse."

"I wouldn't have it any other way cuz'," Babs smiled warmly down at the mare leaning heavily against her, "Us Apples have to stick together."

Babs slowly lead her smaller cousin forward back towards their run down old mansion in the middle of a broken village. Pipsqueak walk in front of them like a proud guard escorting princesses back when everything was good and Pumpkin covered the rear a small sad smile staining her face.

"They look happy don't they Pound?" she whispered.