We stared at each other, each as surprised at the others sudden appearance. My knees wabbled, and I suddenly found my hindquarter on the floor. Here, after over fifteen years or wandering the wastes, I had finally found another of my own species. He stood before me, staring, jaw hanging open. His coat was brown, unlike my gray, but lightened around his eyes and muzzle to a light tan. I could see a few scars on the back of his neck, and another across the bridge of his nose. His mane had been slicked back, something I knew from experience took a lot of effort to get into any shape then our species typical moehawk. He was dressed in a pre-war suit of dark blue, a green and black striped tie around his neck.

"Oh my sweet Celestia, you found one." He said, in a voice so low I was pretty sure only I heard.

I sat, staring, trembling, not quit believing my eyes. I... I wasn't alone. There really was another left. And then, I was abruptly shoved out of that brief moment of happiness.

Abruptly, the Jack before me wiped the look of shock from his face, adopting a more haughty, distant expresion. "Good, good." He said smoothly, turning to Shade. "You've earned yourself quit the bonus." His gaze drifted down to where the kid was shackled at Shade's feet.
At his questioning look, Shade responded "He's with her." Shade said with a shrug. "Went along to protect him." Well, not really, but I guess it must have looked that way. Well, at least that might work in the kids favor.

The Jack glared. "You didn't harm ether of them, correct?" He said in a low, menacing tone.

"Hey, I know the orders." Shade said, rising from the chair. "Don't harm donkey's or any foals with them. They're fine." Oh great, apparently I could have just bolted, and he would have done nothing. Well, maybe not, it would have been my word against his if the kid got hurt after all. Or no word at all, if he had just shot me.

"Leave us." The jack ordered. "I'll see to your reward later."

"But boss if she..." Shade started to say.

"Out!" The jack barked. "And unchain the foal!"

Shade did as comanded, unchaining kid and heading back downstairs, glowering back at me as he went. I matched him glare for glare until he disapeared out the door. The kid raced behind me, cowering againt my legs. Finally, my mind caught up with everything happening, and I found my voice at last.

"Ok, who the flipping feathers are you, and why do you want me?" I demanded, stamping a hoof. I pretty much had the "why" figured out, but I needed to hear it myself. His response though surprised me.

At my words, the jacks eyebrows lifted in surprise, and his jaw dropped once more. "Scrounger?" He asked.

My jaw dropped as well, and I backed away a step in shock. "Ok, how in Tartarus do you know my name?" I demanded. What the crap was going on here?

The jack raised an eyebrow. "There's only one Jenny I know who couldn't even say Fu-" He glanced over to the kid. "Well, those words. Seriously, you never overcame that?"

"Who the crap are you, how do you know me?" I snarled. I was trembling slightly. How did he know me, was he...

"Really, you don't remember me at all?" He asked, looking a little hurt. "Well, it has been quit a while. And you never did have much time for the little colt who kept dipping your tail in paste."

I blinked. If my hindquarters hadn't already been on the floor, they would have fallen there again. I looked at him, and suddenly instead of a slave lord, I saw a small brown fuzzy-headed colt that indeed, had glued my tail to the floor on several occasions. "Forge?"

"Well, about time you remembered!" He exclaimed, lunging forward. I had already brought a hoof up to strike back before I realized he was hugging me. My whole body tensed, unused to this close contact, and he drew back, looking almost perplexed. He came to the completely wrong reason why. "Oh, right. No worries, your not going to be a slave." He said, waving a hoof dismissively.

That brought it back, I blinked, and stared at him. "What the fudgebucket are you doing here Forge?!" I shouted, jerking to my feet. He backed off a step, and even the kid cowered closer to the forge. "I've been looking for anyone since Bray fell, spending years out there in the wastes, and I find you in a fricking fortress leading a bunch of slavers? What is wrong with you! Look what they did to us! And you put a bounty out on your own kind!?" Before my rant could continue, Forge interrupted.

"Whoa, its not what you think." He said in a tone meant to be calming, holding up a hoof to stop me. "I was looking for others. I couldn't just wander the wastes at random, but with the ponies at my disposal, I took the option I had. And you heard Shade, I had orders none could be harmed."

I paused, taking that in. That still left so many questions unanswered, but before I could ask them, the door Forge had come in through slowly swung open. A small pink head peered into the room from beyond the door. "Daddy, who's yelling?"

I froze, staring. It was a filly, pale pink in color, with the legs and body shape of a pony, but with large ears and a bright pink Mohawk. It had been a while, and I had only met the one, but I still knew what a mule looked like.

"Gem, I told you to stay upstairs." Forge said, with more exasperation then actual anger. Then, he looked to kid, and smiled. "Hey little guy." He said, lowering his head. "I want to talk to your friend here, want to go play upstairs with Gem?"

Kid looked to me, and I nodded. Anywhere Forge kept his... holy crap, he had a daughter? Well, it would be safe enough. Kid trotted over to Gem, who happily trotted upstairs with him, chatting happily. I noticed that while Shade had unchained him, the steel collar still bound his neck. I would have to see about that.

Once the two foals were out of hearing, I turned back to Forge. "So, you're with a pony now?" I asked, a little more coolly then I had intended.
He looked at me, and I could see a little anger in his eyes. "So, you have a problem with my daughters parentage?"

"No," I sighed. "I'm not like the elders. Mules can't help that they can't... well, continue the lines." I glared at him. "But for someone so happy to see another donkey, I wasn't expecting you to... be with someone."

This time, he sighed. He looked back, making sure the kids weren't at the door. "I'm not. Gem's mother... She was the slaver who... owned me."

I flinched, realizing I had just accidentally torn open some very deep wounds. Oh holy cheese, if he had a child with his slave owner, that meant...

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize..." I said, trying to back away from the subject.

"No, you need to understand." He said, firmly, though I could still see the pain in his eyes. "You need to know why I've done... all this, become what I am." He sighed again. "How much do you know about what happened to Bray?"

"We were attacked, I hid, everyone ether died or was carried away." I said simply. In my mind, I could still hear the screams, here my mother telling me to run, coming back to a town turned to a ruin overnight. "I followed the tracks after I ran out of food. Tracked for a couple days before they vanished. Took me years to find out what happened to them. Found out a whole slaver caravan full of donkeys got ambushed near Baltimore by raiders, and no one survived.

Forge gave a sad nod. "Yes, the whole caravan had been sent north for auction, but they never made it." He sighed. "What you don't know is that this was the slaver outpost responsible for taking Bray." Seeing my expression, he quickly elaborated. "None of the slavers responsible are... here anymore. I made sure of that when I took over."

"Why did you take over a freaking slaver compound?!" I demanded. "You were a slave! How can you do this, working with the kind of ponies that destroyed our home, nearly destroyed our species!?"

He held up a hoof, stopping me again. "Please, I will explain, but you need to know everything first." I glared, but nodded. I didn't understand this, couldn't. But if he was going to try and explain, I would listen. "First, I was captured with the others during the assault on Bray." He began, eyes growing distant in memory. "My mother had been killed trying to let me escape, but they caught me anyway. We were all taken here, to this fortress. Would have been sold off one by one except a big slave auction was going on up north shortly after and the boss at the time thought he'd get a better price there. I was... "Fortunate" enough that one of the slavers thought I was cute, and wanted a "Pet". My father objected. They shot him."

He went quiet for a moment, and I couldn't make up my mind to try and comfort him or not when he began to speak again. "Everyone else was dragged off in the caravan. Didn't even know what happened to them until I heard the boss complaining about all the lost caps from the slaves being massacred. My... Master spent the next years dragging me around on a leash, ordering me to do whatever she pleased, treating me like a dumb animal." He sighed. "I guess I owe her a little thanks, she liked to use me as an example of a "good slave". Kept me fed better, and since I was her pet, I didn't do hard labor. Didn't end up with malnutrition and feeble limbs like a lot of the slaves that were here. But then, after several years, the boss died on a raid, and my master managed to seize control of this place, and everything changed."

"My master didn't want a pet anymore, she wanted a plaything, in every sense of the word." He shuddered visibly, and I did as well. Oh my word, year of... that. It was a wonder he was still sane. "Then, she got pregnant with Gem. Never thought she would keep her. But... she thought she could use her, get even more control of me. It was like I was some sort of obsession with her, she wanted me to be a total slave to her, never questioning, always obeying, never even thinking. She waited until Gem was just a toddler when she threatened her life in front of me the first time. I don't really remember what happened after that, but when I came back to myself, my master was dead... very, very dead. I was only lucky enough to be alone with her when it happened. Then i realized I had a choice, escape into the wasteland and try to survive, caring for a toddler, without any skills or family to turn to. Or..."

He gestured around him. "I had a hard choice to make, and I choose to do what I could for my daughter. I had been allowed many times to move about on my masters orders, so I did the only thing that would keep my daughter safe. I armed the slaves, smuggled guns and ammo out of the armory and told the slaves that anyone who fought for me would go free, as would their family if they died. It only took a few hours after I killed my master to put me in charge of the compound. The slaves always had outnumbered the slavers, and an army of them put the few who still fought down. I kept my promise and freed most of the slaves. But that left me with a lot of freed slaves and a bunch of surrendered slavers, and a large compound to care for. I let the former slave choose, they could stay, and help guard the compound and grow food, or they could leave. Most left. So I had a few slaves who hadn't tried to earn freedom, a few freed slaves, and many unhappy slavers. I know you will think what I choose makes me a monster, but I had to try and give my daughter a good life. I had to take the one chance to give me more then a daily struggle just to live. So I choose to run this place the only way I could. I sent most of the slavers out to get more stock, put the few slaves back to work, and let the free slaves choose their duties. I've run this place ever since."

I just sat, staring at him. He had faced things I couldn't even begin to comprehend, such evil had been done to him, yet when given a choice, he choose to let this place continue doing this to others. He choose slavery when he could have freed them, choose to continue this blight of the wasteland. I wish i could say I didn't understand, I grew up with this jack, how he could choose something so monstrous should have been beyond me. Heck, he even admitted I would find him monstrous for this. But... That was the wasteland. It took and took from you until nothing, not even your morality, was left. Unless you found a way out. Heck, I had spent my whole life trying to get out of the wastes. This haul was supposed to do that for me. Bring me into a life that was more then mere survival. And had he really done anything I wouldn't to save myself and my child?

Forge just stood for a long moment, looking at me, watching how I reacted. Then, he abruptly turned and motioned for the door he had sent the foals through. "I know, its a lot to process, and I'm no where near done explaining myself. But I assume you'll want to check in on your foal... friend?" He ended it as a question, and I slowly nodded, my brain still working to process everything I had heard from him.

"Yeah, he's... well, more of a traveling companion really. He's great getting into computers." I admitted.

"Ah, what's his name by the way?" He asked.

"Um..." I tried not to look to embarrassed. "I just call him kid." Forge was staring at me now, looking very confused. "Hey, found him fresh out of a stable and let him tag along. Thought he would have gotten himself killed doing something stupid right off." He stared even more. "Didn't want to get attached." I tried to explain. I really wasn't liking how he was staring at me. He was a freaking slave lord for gosh sakes, and he was acting like I was some sort of monster. Hey, I was just being practical.

We went upstairs. It was obviously a private residence. We entered into a larger room with comfortable looking furniture, maybe to entertain guests. I hadn't seen anyplace as nice since the last trading run to Tenpony. He led me to one of the many doors off this one, and I found myself looking into a fillys bedroom. Everything was brightly colored, or pastel shaded. Toys were scattered all over the floor, and I saw the foals playing in the corner with a dolls house. Kid was laughing as he chased Gem's toy pony around the house with a toy car, and I realized I hadn't seen him this happy since... well, never. It made me feel... bad actually. I hadn't made him happy the whole time he was with me. But that really wasn't my job to make him happy, right? Gem saw her dad watching and waved, grinning. Kid looked up, and my gut wrenched a little when I saw his smile drop a little as he saw us. I tried telling myself it was because of Forge, but I wasn't sure anymore.

"Hi pumpkin," Forge said to Gem. "Dinner will be ready soon, so pick up the toys, ok?"

"Yes daddy." She replied, smiling up at him.

We turned, and he led me to to a small dining area. "I would appreciate if we could keep to more... child friendly subject matter around the foals." He said, moving towards an intercom on the wall.

"What, you want me to make small talk or something?" I asked. Lets face it, speaking wasn't, and isn't, my biggest skill.

"If that's what you want." He replied, "Just keep slaves, death, and that kind of thing out of it." I was going to protest, but he raised a hoof. "I will speak to you again after we eat, but some things foals shouldn't know quit yet." He raised a hoof and pressed the intercom. "Two guests for dinner Chopping Block, a mare and a foal." I heard an affirmative, and he turned back to face me. "Sorry, Chopping Blocks a good pony, but he wouldn't know what to do if I said I had a Jenny for dinner."

"Found a slaver good at cooking?" I asked, a little pointedly.

"No, Chopping Block was one of the slaves I freed." He said, raising an eyebrow. "He choose to stay, and he cooks wonderfully." I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't understand how any slave would choose to remain in the place of his captivity. We stood there, both unable to think of what to say to the other until dinner finally arrived. The foals came in, and Forge sat us around the table which I noticed had seating for more then the four of us. Which was odd, since it was just the two of them here normally. Was he expecting more people here in the future, or had their been more here for past slave masters? Dinner turned out to be fresh vegetables from the fields outside. We tucked in, the kid and I more greedily then Forge and Gem, after all, they didn't have to face the feast or famine diet of the wasteland here.

As we ate, Forge turned, and spoke to Kid. "I'm sorry, but I never did get your name."

The kid swallowed the mouthful of corn he had been chewing, and replied. "I'm Flux." I saw his eyes glance over to me for a moment as I took it in. Fine, now I knew his name. Wasn't going to change anything now. I really couldn't figure why Forge cared.

"Well its nice to meet you Flux." Forge said. "Its nice for Gem to have someone to play with." The meal continued, while Forge and... Flux, made small talk. Gem spoke up a little, but most of the time she kept staring at me. It was a little disconcerting, but I burried my muzzle in the food and tried to ignore her. "So, I can see from your barding your from stable 56 right?" I heard Forge ask. Flux nodded. "Interesting, I hadn't heard of that stable, has it opened recently?"

I tried to give the kid a look, but he ether didn't see or ignored me. "No, I... um, hacked the door on a dare." He said, running a hoof through his mane. "Then they locked me out."

Forge looked confused. "Why would they do that?" He asked, looking concerned.

"They thought it was to radioactive to survive outside, so when I got out and didn't come right back, they locked me out so I wouldn't contaminate the stable."

Forge put on a puzzled look. "Why would they think its so radioactive out here?" He inquired.

I coughed lightly, giving the kid a look that said "Say nothing." I knew he saw it. The idiot ignored me.

"The exit was leading into the megaspell crater in Seaddle, so we got really high radiation readings on the door sensors." The kid said, loving the attention. I fought the urge to pound my head on the table. The prattling went on, the kid explaining how his "friends" had dared him to hack the door to get out, how he had gotten lost, and met me, explained most of our trip here before dinner ended. I was only gratefull that dinner ended before the story got to Bray.

"Why don't we move into the living room to talk?" Forge said. I nodded, and walked out with kid. We got through the door first, and before the others followed, I grabbed him and hissed in his ear. "If you say anything about us going to Bray, findind that facility, or megaspells, I will leave you here with the slavers." Then I stepped away and sat calmly on a sofa while he stared, eyes wide. Gem and Forge followed us in, and we all sat and talked aimlessly for a while. I made up a story that we had still been trying to find the end of the trail of facilities, and that it was somewhere between Dodge and Baltimare.

It was surprisingly hard for me to keep up the deciet. This was... nice. I hadn't had anything like this since I was younger then Flux. A safe place, plenty of food, others around who, if something happened, might actually shed a tear about me before looting my corpse. And I hadn't realized how much that kind of thing meant to me. I had been alone for so long, I had actually managed to make myself forget how much I needed things like this. Peace, hope... even family. I kept finding myself almost admitting the truth, telling Forge everything. But even with all this, the nice place, cute filly, great food and all, I couldn't quiet forget the cost. Especially when I looked to Flux and saw the steel collar still around his neck. But it was getting harder to remind myself that this place could never be home.

Then, something happened. Gem, who was stil staring at me disconcertingly, pipped up.

"So are you going to be my mommy?" She asked me, and I fell off the sofa in complete shock.

Forge stood up quickly. "Time for bed Gem." He said. He swiftly sent both the Foals to bed, Gem in her room, The kid... Flux, I really had to get used to that, set up in a guest room.

"What was that?" I snapped, the instant the foals were gone. He just shook his head. Then he ushered me out onto the balcony. We looked around at his operation, slaves in for the night, fires buring outside guard barracks.

"What do you see?" Forge asked me after a minute.

"Slavery, death, control." I said shortly.

"Really?" He asked, looking at me, expression a little sad. "Thats all?"

"All that matters." I replied.

He sighed "You don't understand." He said sadly. "Which I really can't blame you for. It's a lot to take in. And if I simply told you everything...." He paused, looking out over the railing for a moment before turning back. "You really think I'm a monster, dont you?"

I raised a brow at that. "Am I supposed to see something else?"

He sighed. "No, I suppose not, at this point." He seemed to think a moment before speaking. "I want you to sleep on this. And spend all the time you need in the next few days looking over the compound."

That did surprise me. But not enough to keep me from asking "So, I can't leave?"

"Oh, you can leave." He said. "But you need to give me a little warning. I need to have a team ready to escort you out of the swamp. There are... things out there that... well, lets just say their the reason no one has tried to settle the swamp before. Once you think you've gotten the lay of the land here, we'll talk some more."

I opened my mouth to protest. I needed answers. Heck, his filly thought I was going to be her mother! But he simply held up a hoof.
"I'll explain to Gem that your a friend, but not a mother for her." I could read the "yet" in his eyes. "I need you to really see what I've been working towards here. And it can't all be from my explanation. When you've seen enough for yourself, I'll tell you the rest."

With that, he turned and walked inside. I just sat there, overlooking what he had built. But he was wrong. I never said I just saw a monster. I understood far to well how much of your own morality the wasteland took from you, just to survive. That Forge had managed to escape slavery and build all this, horrible as it was, still impressed me. So no, I didn't see a pure monster. I saw a father desperate that his foal would have a real family. A Jack terrified that he was that last of his kind, and someone who had taken some of the worst fortune that the wasteland could spit out, and still managed to make a life for himself and his daughter. So no, I didn't see him as a monster. I just wished I was far enough from that darkness to still know what a monster was.

Level Up!

New Perk Added: Chipping Away: Careful, that mental armor you work so hard on is chipping. +1 to charisma.

Author's Note

Gah that took forever to write. Spent way to much time rewriting to try and make it perfect and still didn't even come close. Finally decided to just post. Hopefully I'll get chapters up more frequently now.