Lost Pegasus

== Chapter 2: Vancy ==

    "Wow, Grey. Your magic is getting stronger! Not only did you rival the firework show from last year, but the discharge spell has never been so potent!" Fortune giggled and smiled at me. When  my horn... It releases a spell that leaves the pony (Fortune) feeling good. Like, muscles relaxed, stress relieved, body in a state of pleasure. It launches colorful sparks everywhere, too.

    "Mmhm..." I mumbled, still enjoying the sensation. How Fortune was moving, I didn't know.

    "C'mon, get up! I wanna know what Victory is doing." Fortune nudged me in impatience.

    "I'm sure she's up there, watching for zombies," I somehow managed to mumble. "Let's not bother her..."

    "If you don't get up I will invite her down here and give her a turn," Fortune threatened.

    The will to get up and shrug off my feeling of bliss landed, forcing me to my hooves, followed by a good stretch. "Ok, ok, I'm up. I'm walking to the kitchen, see? Why don't you stay here so you don't cause any more trouble?" Fortune just giggled at me and I shook my head as I walked into the kitchen. Pots and pans littered the floor, food on the ground here and there. In the corner of the kitchen was a staircase, a trapdoor to the roof closed. Walking up and opening the trap door, I looked out upon the night sky.

    Victory had fallen asleep on the roof, her gun pointing off into the distance. I walked over to her and attempted to lift her onto my back with magic. My horn only fizzled and crackled, spreading warmth throughout my body, this time not as potent. Victory, however, being the target of what should have been a telekinesis spell, blushed slightly. "See? I'm not the only one..." I murmured out loud.

    I shifted, pushed, and pulled, until I could get her on my back, carefully carrying her downstairs and dropping her on the bed next to Fortune. "Jus'... One more shot..." She mumbled in her sleep. I turned around and went for the kitchen.

    "Where are you going, Grey?" Fortune whispered. I didn't turn in my response.

    "Just grabbing Victory's rifle. I left it on the roof," I whispered back.

    "Why didn't you just levitate it after you?" She asked, a confused look on her face.

    I turned back to her and attempted to lift her up with my magic as hard as I could. The last bit of spell discharge left my horn as Fortune slackened in pleasure, making a cute sigh while her wing unfolded, and I eased up as well. "That's why. Now, hopefully you can stay outta trouble while I get the gun..." I once again turned for the kitchen, and went up the stairs. Once on the roof, I grabbed the rifle with my teeth and spun around.

    I wasn't alone.

    Three zombie Pegasi were on the opposite side of the roof, staring at me. I didn't know whether to try to learn how to use the rifle, or make for the stairs. The last pegasus I had killed had been incredibly nimble. One was a problem, but three? I didn't like those chances.

    Luckily for me, the trio made the decision for me by quickly stumbling in my direction.

    My horn, still a tad inefficient so to speak, let out a few sparks as I managed to lift the gun. I had fired one once, and figured them all to be the same. Looking it over till I found the trigger, I aimed the scope towards the group and fired. The first shot tore through one that was farthest left, tearing off both right legs. It fell over and started flapping it's wings, unable to stand, nor could it fly. The other two, sensing the danger (much to my dismay) lifted off. Taking aim again, I put the head of the one in the middle into the crosshairs. Pulling the trigger, I watched as the head disappeared and the body tumbled to the ground.

    The last zombie was about to be on me, so I lifted the rifle up horizontally just in time to push back the pegasus. Even so, it chomped ferociously, only a couple inches from my body. The exertion from using my already taxed horn was making me sweat, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold it back. The zombie pushed hard and nearly bit off my face. I staggered back and held up my hooves in defence as the gun landed on the ground, the pegasus no longer hindered. It lunged at me.

    Another pegasus (and one of my personal favorites) shot the attacker in the head. It slid to a stop, a heap at my hooves. A once more startled Fortune was standing at the trapdoor, the pistol from downstairs in her mouth, her tongue able to operate the trigger. Shaking, she dropped it and galloped to me. "Are you ok? W-what was that!?"

    "Night terrors," I said grimly. "Let's get inside before more show up." Something growled from on the roof. Looking over, I saw the two-legged zombie slowly crawling towards us. I walked over to the shiny pistol and picked it up with my magic, looking down the sights. A moment later, there was a hole between the zombie's eyes and it was stilled. I picked up the rifle with my magic and went downstairs, Fortune close behind me. The door closed behind us as we walked down into the kitchen. Walking out, we found the Victory was wide awake, the blush from earlier still upon her face.

    "Damn I feel good... Wha... What happened?" She asked blearily as I set the two guns next to the bed.

    "I had a lingering spell discharge... Instead of my telekinesis spell, it was a... Hmm... Yeah." I turned away and rubbed the back of my head.

    Victory turned to Fortune and said "So that's why you like him! Was that so hard to say?" She gave a sly wink at her. "Anyways, it's late. We'd better get some sleep." She scooted around so we all had room to lie down. This is where I got uneasy.

    "But, the night terrors... What if they attack us in our sleep? We'll be massacred!" Victory looked at me like I was loony.

    "You believe in them too? Aw hell, right when I was warming up to you, you're a crazy... There aren't any night terrors," Victory said with conviction.

    "There are. I mean, they're not something special. Just the pegasi. From what I can tell, they're faster, smarter, and I think they hunt in packs. I didn't see any at all today, yet there are tons of pegasi in Las Pegasus. I'm guessing that's why he called them night terrors. They attack at night." I hoped my logic broke through to her.

    "I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't think we should worry about it. That trap door won't open any time soon, and the front doors are locked."

    "I think she has a point," Fortune said, lying down on the bed on the side that was farthest from Victory. She patted the bed's middle with a forehoof. "Come on, go to sleep. We'll be fine." I was hesitant to walk forward. Fortune patted the spot again. "That's right, right here in between us." That was when I caught on. My dark red coat lightened once more, I shook my head and backed away.

    "I'm ok, I'll just... Go sleep over there..." I turned and walked towards the other side of the room.

    Fortune dragged me against my will to the bed, where she continued to put me down next to Victory. She giggled and snuggled up against me, resting her head against my side. Victory shifted a tad closer and sighed, resting against my other.

    I never slept a more uncomfortable night in my life.

  == Morning ==

    I woke up to find that I was the first. Fortune and Victory, who had further advanced upon me until I was nothing but a bundled up pillow, continued to sleep peacefully. Fortune, as usual, was red in the face and giggling softly in her sleep.

    That is all that will go through her mind.

    Victory, however was sleeping quietly. I would have gotten up, but the two were still out, so I rest my head and attempted more sleep.

    Five minutes later, I shifted around until I woke them both up. Once they got off of me, I got up and stretched, releasing a nice yawn. "Sleep well, you two? I bet I make a comfy pillow."

    "You also have a tasty lollipop on your head," Fortune said as she stretched. Somewhere in my autobiography I'm going to describe myself as light red instead of the dark red I'm supposed to be.

    "What flavor is it?" Victory asked as she stood up, following suit.

    "I don't know, but it sure is sweet!" Fortune said, winking at me.

    "Well, don't tell me that, I might taste it myself," Victory mentioned.

    "Why do you torment me so!?" I exclaimed as I looked away, my face brighter than the sun.

    "Because it's fun," They said in unison. Then they looked at each other, and both fell down laughing. Sighing, I dug through my bags and pulled out some cans of food. One of them caught my eye, a simple can of corn.

    I put it back in the bag and brought out some spinach instead, taking no risks. If the night terrors weren't some crazy delusion, then the corn might not be either. Using the pull-tabs on top, I opened the cans and dropped each next to the mares and began eating my can, as I was quite hungry. It was a can of salad, and it was quite bland.

    "Gotta love salad out of the can," I said through the mouthful. "That fresh, green taste. But, it's from a can."

    "You know what tastes better, Victory? It rhymes with Hay's pi-"

    "Th-that's enough, Fortune!" I sputtered, doing what I undoubtedly do best. "I'm trying to eat here and you're obviously giving Victory ideas!" Victory smiled up from her can innocently.

    "I don't know what you're talking about~" she said, going back to eating.

    "Oh, Grey, I'm just joking around. Lighten up." Fortune went back to eating, a smile on her face as she avoided eye contact. I bet I could get a cutie mark from blushing, seeing as I've had so much practice. Was it me, or was Fortune getting more... Graphic?

    After the meal, Victory and I went on to the roof to survey the surrounding streets. It was fairly clear to the south, which left me in high spirits. "So... What're you going to do now?" I asked Victory.

    "Honestly, I don't know. I was just trying to hold my own here, hoping somepony would pass by. Here you are. Where are you going now?" Victory asked.

    "I'm heading south, towards the closest border. Hopefully we can get out of Las Pegasus and get home. I'd like to put all of this behind us once we do and help Fortune get over the horrors we've seen. If you don't have any other plans, would you like to tag along?" I offered.

    "Sure, it beats sitting around here, waiting to be eaten. You know how to work a gun?"

    "Yeah, I can figure it out. How much ammo do you have for these things?"

    "Not a whole ton for that pistol, but I have plenty for the rifle in my saddlebags."

    "I can handle myself fairly well with that baseball bat. Maybe I should give Fortune the gun? I want her protected, and while I could easily do it myself if I had the firearm, I don't think she can fend them off herself." Victory contemplated what I had said.

    "It depends on how well she can aim. If she's just going to miss every shot, or endanger us with it, it'd be better off in your hooves, or mine. If she can really take care of things, however..." She shrugged. "Let her have it if that's what you think is best."

    "Time to break the news, then! Pack up and be ready to go in a few minutes. I'd like to get out of town by tomorrow. If we leave now we can get to the edge of the bigger city today and pass through the residential areas the next." I went down the stairs to the kitchen, passing through to the dining area, with Victory following close by.

    "So how does it look?" Fortune asked before I could speak. She was lying on the bed, her saddlebags next to her, open.

    "Clear, we shouldn't have much trouble on our way out of town. About your choice of defense... Victory offered to let us use her pistol. I was thinking that maybe you ought to use it," I said.

    "B-but, I can hardly swing the bat! How do you expect me to shoot them? They used to be ponies, Grey! I've only attacked because we were in danger... I don't think I can shoot them." She turned away, and I went over to her.

    "The gun is designed to be used by an earth pony, so a pegasus like you shouldn't have much trouble using it," Victory put in as I hugged Fortune.

    "You with that bat won't be as effective as you with the gun, Fortune. Please, do it for me?" I begged.

    "Do you really want to owe me again, Grey? I'll do it if you want to owe me again." Fortune gave me her look, causing me to use the technique I learned through excessive exposure to Fortune.

    "I suppose... I suppose I can deal with that. As long as you're kept safe, then I'll owe you. Anything to take care of you, Fortune. I love you." I kissed her, and she kissed back.

    "I love you too, Grey." I levitated the gun to Fortune, who bit it and stuck it in a pocket on her bag.

    "Well, if we're all ready, I'd like to get going," I said as I put my saddlebags on.

    "I'm ready to go," Victory said. Fortune glanced at her bags before nodding to me.

    "Ok, then let's go." We made for the doors and left the restaurant, turning south and moving closer to the border of this cursed town.

    We walked for hours. The zombies were no trouble thanks to Victory. With the path clear every time she pulled the trigger, it was a simple walk down the road. I could almost have enjoyed it if there wasn't so much blood and so many bodies.

    Victory's rifle went off, and the last zombie for the next few blocks fell over. Victory laughed and reloaded. "This is too easy, I tell you." Victory smiled and slung the gun over her back. After she did, we continued walking.

    "What did you do before all this happened?" I asked.

    "I worked at a shooting range, training ponies how to aim. It's something I've done for years. I got my cutie mark when my daddy insisted on making me shoot a gun." Victory showed me her mark, a bullseye. Fortune swatted me over the head.

    "Ow! What did I do?" I complained, rubbing the back of my head.

    "Don't look at other mares' flanks!" Fortune scolded. Victory suppressed a laugh.

    "I was just looking at her mark, that's all!"

    Fortune hit me again. "No. Looking!"

    "F-fine! Geez! No need to be so violent!" I rubbed my head as we continued down the road.

    "What did you do, Grey? For work?" Victory asked. She checked my flank to see that it lacked a mark. Her eyes widened, but she said nothing.

    "I wasn't ever able to find my talent," I admitted. "So instead I take whatever menial jobs I can. I work as a cashier, or a janitor... I just do whatever I can that doesn't require much skill." Victory looked at me with horror.

    "You mean you never found your calling in life? You never found out what you're best at? That must be terrible!"

    "My calling in life is Fortune," I said before turning and pecking her on the cheek. "She completes my life, and I would take her over my cutie mark any day."

    "Wow. You two are strong. What about you, Fortune? What do you do?" Victory glanced at my flank one last time, probably to make sure she hadn't seen it wrong.

    "Well, I-" She began to say.

    "She is a torture expert with an insatiable lust. She also robs casinos legally." Fortune shot me her look.

    "Insatiable lust, so you say? I can show you insatiable if you want~" Light red once again, I looked away and let Fortune finish her sentence.

    "My cutie mark is a shooting star. I'm a very lucky pony. I tend to just buy lottery tickets, or play my hooves at some slots whenever we need a few extra bits. If we don't need any money, I just sit around the house and straighten it out. The bed tends to need cleaning every couple of days, if you know what I mean~" I tried not to blush miserably, followed by a terrible attempt to hide it.

    "Like I said. Torture expert." Victory chuckled at my response.

    "What were you doing at the time of the infection?" Victory asked.

    "I'm not quite sure. When did it start?" I asked.

    "It happened late at night. I'll share my story first. I was just closing up shop at the shooting range when I ran into my first one. I thought the thing was a pony and it was injured. Went to help it, and it nearly bit me! It's eyes were lifeless, you know what I mean? So I put it down. After that, I learned that there was more than just that one, so I grabbed my rifle and went further into town. Thought I was the only one left, I did. Decided to hole up in the restaurant and wait to see if there was anypony left. You?"

    "Fortune and I were... You know..." I couldn't quite complete the sentence as memories flooded back with intense detail. My color isn't difficult to guess.

    "Making love!" Fortune finished. "I had to thank him for such a nice ring~"

    "And thank me she did. We probably passed out at, what, 2 'o clock? Anyways, we woke up around 9 and I went into our hotel lobby. Vacation. Had to kill the receptionist, used a lamp. I went outside, and that's when I ran into Quick Draw. After he knocked me out, I managed to get back to Fortune around noon. From there, we got a map and some bats and started heading south for the border."

    "Vacation, huh? Sounds like that's going well." Victory got out her rifle and took a shot. I didn't even bother checking. Victory hadn't missed a shot yet. "Sorry to hear it." The gun returned to over her shoulders.

    "So am I." I kissed Fortune and lifted her onto my back with magic. She giggled and wrapped her forehooves around my neck. "Everything will be ok as long as Fortune is ok." Fortune nibbled my ear softly. "H-hey! Stop that!"

    "Do you have a special somepony, Victory?" Fortune asked.

    "I don't, sadly. But luckily, too. If I did, where would he be? It's better that I don't, for now. I might go find somepony someday, saying I survive this whole ordeal." Victory smiled as she pulled out her gun and took out another zombie that was a few blocks away. "Hopefully somepony cute, like Grey here."

    "I'm not cute!" I shouted. Fortune and Victory both laughed. "Seriously! I'm not!" They both kept laughing. "Fine, you two wanna be in cahoots, you two can carry each other." I lifted Fortune off my back and onto Victory's.

    Fortune got off of Victory, a smile on both of their faces. We continued to walk in silence for awhile more, Victory's rifle occasionally breaking it to clear the path.

    == == == == ==

    It was about 1 pm before we agreed that a lunch break was in order. We had been walking for hours, and had made a nice amount of progress. "Ok, you two, pick your poison. 'Ted's Antiquery,' 'Heavyweights,' or 'Tunemakers.'" Ted's Antiquery had a bunch of old looking stuff in the windows that wasn't too interesting. Heavyweights had a large, white, overly-buff pegasus with small wings flexing over the name of the store. Tunemakers had a white unicorn with purple shades next to a grey pony playing a cello over the store name.

    "Do we have to eat inside? Why not just out here?" Fortune asked. There was some blood here and there, the dead bodies that Victory had made were lying on the ground.

    "First of all, it's rather filthy out here. It's ok, Victory, don't worry about it. Second, it's easier to barricade a door from the inside so we have some spare time as opposed to looking up and being surrounded." I thought it was simple, common sense to not eat when the possibility of being surrounded at any moment was present.

    "I say we avoid Heavyweights. I bet it smells nasty in there. Oh, and that antique store is probably filthy with dust. Let's eat at Tunemakers," Victory said. I summed it up and nodded. Fortune shrugged with her good wing and pulled out her gun.

    I love her so much, putting up with all this.

    I got out my bat and made for the door, Fortune behind me, Victory holding up the rear. I reached out my magic and flung it open. The lights were on. Music was radiating out from inside that couldn't be heard before the door was open. Guitars lined the walls,  a counter with a register at the back of the store. A door behind it led deeper. At the center of the room, I found the source of the music.

    There was a blue pegasus with a yellow-orange mane playing the piano. Using both hooves and wingtips, the musician pressed the keys just right, producing a dreadful tune that conveyed anger, sadness, and hopelessness.

    I motioned for Victory and Fortune to be quiet while we walked inside. The song continued on while we quietly closed and locked the door. "Stay put," I whispered, barely audible. Walking along the edge of the room, I slowly got to the other side, where I was in view of the piano pony.

    The pegasus was a stallion. Once we were able to see each other, I slowly advanced to the center of the room. After I got to the piano, my presence seemed to register to him. His music faltered, then died away. His eyes were impossible to read.

    "Afternoon. I'm Grey."

    "No, you're red," the pegasus responded.

    "What I mean is, my name is Grey. What's yours?"

    "Oh. Call me Prince. Pleasure to meet you." Something about this pony was... Off.

    "Odd time to be playing a piano," I noted.

    "I figure I don't have much time left. Playing the piano is what I'm best at. I decided I'd like to enjoy my last hours. Is that so odd?" His tone hinted annoyance.

    "Don't have much time left? You seem fine. The only reason you won't last is if you just stay here and wait for the zombies to find you."

    "They're going to find me. I can't escape them. Nopony can. It's only a matter of time before they eat all of Las Pegasus, then they'll take out the rest of Equestria. It doesn't matter if they find me today or ten years from now. Either way, I'm going to be one of them! You are too! We all will! What's the point of even trying!?" The sudden outburst made me flinch back. I put some thoughts together as quick as possible and tried to calm Prince down.

    "We can stop them! Celestia, and Luna, they can team up and cast a spell to turn them all back to living ponies! There's hope, there's gotta be something that can fix them and make everything like it used to be!"

    "I don't think you understand... It doesn't work like that. This can't be fixed with magic alone. No, it'll take more. And we didn't have the time to figure out what that was. Now it's too late, and everypony in Equestria will die!" Prince shouted in frustration and began playing the piano again, a fast and dark tune filling the room.

    "We? What do you mean, we? What're you talking about? Do you know how this started!?" Prince ignored me and continued to play his piano angrily. My horn glowed and I shoved him as hard as I could from the instrument.

    "Let me enjoy my moments in peace!" He shouted. Wings unfurled, he dived and tackled me. Rolling, he ended up on top and started bringing his front hooves down, attempting to smash in my head. Flinging up a forehoof, I hit him in the face and stunned him enough to shake him off and get to my hooves. As soon as I got up, Prince flew to his piano and began playing again, faster and filled with loud, angry notes.

    "Hey! HEY!" I was hardly audible over the notes as he continued to mercilessly mash the keys of the piano. I pulled out a can of corn with my magic and waved it in front of him. He stopped playing and swatted at the can, missing as I pulled it away from the blow. "What can you tell me about this?" I asked. Prince kept trying to swat the can out of the air.

    "It's a can of corn. Ponies eat it and normally enjoy it. However, like most cans of corn around town, eating it will turn you into one of them." Prince sounded thoroughly annoyed, continuing to swing at the can in hopes that I wouldn't be fast enough to fly it away.

    "But why? Why does it do that?" I pressed.

    "I can't talk about it. I was instructed not to..." Prince looked down and was sad for a moment. Then he sprang back to his normal, angry self. "Look, I'll do you a favor. If you see any cans like this, save yourself the trouble and toss them. They're not a safe thing to have in your bags." He finally managed to hit the can out of the air, and it clattered to the ground a few feet away.

    "So you know a lot of what happened? How this started?" Prince didn't answer me. "If you had the time, would you be able to change them back?" I pressed.

    "Theoretically, yes. But I was just an assistant. We're going to need one of the lead researchers. All I did was fetch things, do some simple stuff, and entertain them when I couldn't help otherwise." Prince didn't sound nearly so angry when he said this.

    "Then maybe you can escape town with us? We can help you get out, and you can go back to playing the piano. We'll find some scientists and you can work on a cure or something. What do you say? You think you can come with us?" Prince said nothing and glanced at his piano. He rested a hoof on it, and slid it across the top. He began to play a slow song.

    "Yes. I'll come with you. Just... Give me a few moments with this old thing." Regret filled his eyes as he gingerly played the piano.

    I nodded and went to Fortune and Victory. They were just finishing eating, all the cans of corn set in a pile a few feet from the door. None of them had been eaten. "What if he had pulled out a gun?" I whispered so Prince didn't hear.

    "We figured you had yourself taken care of. That, and we were hungry," Victory said around the last mouthful of her food. She swallowed and turned to Fortune, who nodded in agreement. I sighed and pulled the top off of a can of asparagus. I began eating, picked up another can of food with my magic, and brought it to Prince as he continued with his song.

    "Hungry?" I hovered it closer to him. He nodded his head and continued to play. I opened the can and offered it to him. He opened his mouth, and I put the lip of the can in. He knocked it back as he continued to play, and I went back to Fortune and Victory to eat in peace.

    Prince finished his song right after I finished eating. He spat his can out away from the piano, which hit the ground with an empty clang, then sullenly walked to the back of the store. He opened the door behind the counter and went inside. When he emerged, he was wearing saddlebags and had quite the determined look on his face. "If I get bitten," he said, "kill me. Whether or not I've turned. I don't wish to suffer the agony of changing." I nodded and turned to the door.

    "Let's be off then." I exited the store with the other three following closely. I pulled out my map, found south, and continued the journey out of the city.

  = = = = =

    Prince had been quiet and rather nonsocial as we traveled towards the edge of town. Victory had continued to do well with her rifle, keeping us safe. Fortune walked close to me, leaning her head against me as we walked.

    "Rather uneventful, things have been," I noted. The sun was nearing the horizon, and we all knew it. "I like it. We should find a place to settle down for the night." The gunshots we had heard the first day had become extremely infrequent. We used to hear a few every hour or so, but today they had been one every four or five. My hope for the inhabitants of Las Pegasus had dwindled away.

    "If you need a place to stay," Prince said, "There's a hotel nearby. I can show you if you like."

    "Is it really big?" I asked.

    "Not really, just a couple floors."

    "Sure. Lead the way." Prince nodded and took a right, and walked a block before taking a left. Just a block down was the hotel. It was heavily barricaded and there were a few zombies outside the doors. shadows were moving in the windows. Victory picked up her rifle and looked down the scope.

    "Survivors!" She exclaimed. "A good amount, too."

    "Other ponies?" Prince asked. There was hope in his eyes. "Finally, an audience..." Audience for what?

    "C'mon, let's go." Victory began shooting the zombies by the doors, and we moved forward to lend a hoof. By the time we got there, however, they were all dead. I bet Victory could shoot an ant off an apple without destroying it from a thousand miles away. After she reloaded, she slung the weapon over her back and trotted up to us, smiling.

    "Hello out there!" Somepony yelled from inside. "I'm up here!" We looked above the doors to see a light orange unicorn stallion with a red mane waving to us from out of a window. "We'll move some of the stuff from inside so you all can get in. Just a minute." He disappeared from view, and we started moving the stuff that was outside so we had a way in.

    The double doors opened and the unicorn smiled at us congenially. He took a look at Fortune and his eyes screamed with lust. I stepped in front of Fortune and looked at him. "Hi, I'm Grey. Who're you?" I asked with a hint of annoyance.

    He reasserted himself before saying "I'm called Flare around here. Welcome to Vancy!" He smiled and gestured for us to come in. I waited for Fortune to walk ahead of me before going in.

    "Vancy?" Prince asked. "I thought this was the Manticore!"

    "Yeah, well, that doesn't sound too friendly. Besides, we here decided it would be more fun to name the fort Vancy due to the 'no vacancy' sign getting shot to hell." Prince parted with the group now that we were in the lobby and walked towards the corner of the room, where a grand piano sat, polished and sparkling in his eyes. He quickly began to play a light, slow tune. Flare raised an eyebrow at me.

    "Piano enthusiast?" I looked about the room. There was a unicorn talking to a pegasus by the front desk, and a set of stairs to the right of the piano led up a floor.

    "I'm going up that window to pick off the undead," Victory said before heading up the stairs.

    "Say, Flare, how many ponies are in this hotel?" Fortune asked.

    "Including me, and excluding you lot, around 20." The pegasus talking to the unicorn by the desk noticed Fortune's bandages and walked towards us.

    "Is she bitten?" He asked in a gruff voice.

    "No, broken wing from before this."

    His eyes widened. "You're the pony who beat down that mob! I-I don't want any trouble!" He backed away in fear.

    "What do you mean? I'm not going to hurt you," I said as he continued to back away. "You probably heard one of the inflated rumors. Look, they attacked us for our bits. I'm not some killer psycho. I just did what it takes to protect my Fortune. And I do a damn lousy job." I looked down in shame. Fortune nudged me and I looked at her. She looked back with worry in her eyes.

    "Anyways, I can set aside some rooms for you all if you'd like," Flare offered. "You can bunk in my room, cutie," He said to Fortune. She looked at him in disgust and stepped closer to me.

    "No thanks. But I'd like a private room with Grey here." Flare glared at me. Straightening up, he smiled falsely and showed us to our room on the second floor. It was clean enough, and as we entered, he walked off, mumbling something about needing a mare. Must be angry that Fortune was already taken.

    "Isn't he friendly?" I asked. Fortune frowned.

    "I don't like him. Let's leave here as soon as possible," she said.

    "Agreed." We made use of the shower one at a time and dropped off our things before leaving our room. Downstairs, Prince was still playing the piano, a darker tune now, and he had (If Flare was right) about half of the ponies in Vancy listening. He finished his song and a round of ponies clopping their hooves against the ground swept through the crowd. Prince smiled and flushed a bit before moving onto another, brighter song. I was glad to see he was in a better mood.

    "Do you want to stay here and listen, or do you want to come with me to see how Victory is doing?" I asked Fortune. She kissed my cheek and leaned her head against mine.

    "How about we go back to our room instead~?" She whispered so only I heard. My face lightened in response.

    "Let's at least make sure Victory is ok first?" I pleaded.

    "Fine... But it's straight to the bed afterwards!" Fortune giggled at my bright red face and kissed me. I walked upstairs and looked for a room that might overlook the front doors. As we passed one of the doorways, I heard sounds of a struggle in one of the rooms, followed by a faint cry for help.

    "Stay back, Fortune," I whispered. I carefully and slowly opened the door, and saw Flare and Victory. Flare was attempting to push Victory down.

    That scumbag Flare was trying to rape Victory. And he had a gun pointed right for my head.