Rarity awoke to the sound of a crackling fire, accompanied by laughter. Opening her eyes, she realized she was laying half-buried in a small mound of garbage. Disgusted, she quickly stood up and lost her footing, falling onto her back in the dirt.

“Ew!” Rarity cried out. “What in Equestria am I doing here?” Rarity asked herself, getting up and trying to brush the bits of filth from her coat. After removing as much as she could, she focused her eyes on her surroundings. Directly in front of her were a few ponies, all wearing old rags, surrounding a trash can, its contents having been set ablaze. The sight made her a little queasy, and if she were in her boutique right now, she’d be helping them with finding the proper attire.

Surrounding those ponies and even her were massive piles of trash so big, they might as well be classified as mountains. It quickly became clear to her that she was in a dump of some sort. How did she get here…? Ah, she remembered now. Brief remembrances of portals flashed about in her mind. Those gateways must’ve brought her here. She looked over to the ponies surrounding the fire and began walking over. As Rarity approached them, she could hear one of them talking to the rest.

“And so I said, ‘That’s not a bugbear, ya idjit! That’s a radroach!’” one pony said before bursting into laughter. The rest of the ponies joined in on the hysterics, their cheerful voices filling the air.

Rarity’s mannerisms would normally prevent her from interrupting, but this was a situation that was dire. “Excuse me, but could any of you please direct me to a place where I can clean up?”

One of them, a dark green pony, ceased his laughter and looked at her. “Clean up…? I wouldn’t know any places with actual working showers except Tenpony, and that’s about a day or two away from here. Why not stick with us until daylight? The fire’s plenty warm.”

Rarity, not wanting to be rude, gave a nervous smile. No place with a working shower? What kind of place was this? “Well, I suppose I could, and it is rather cold.” As she approached the fire, her nose was assaulted by the stench of burning garbage. “Ugh…”

“Something wrong?” the green stallion asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing, darling,” she said with a forced smile, trying not to offend.

Looking into the garbage can fire, she was then greeted with the most horrific sight known to equine. They were using, of all things, the horror! Oh, the absolute worst of horrors! The worst possible thing!

Cotton/silk blend scarves being used as kindling!

“Wh-What is this?” Rarity asked, trying not to faint, eyes locked onto the poor burning articles of fashion.

“A fire,” replied the green stallion. “You’ve never seen one before?”

“I have, but I’ve never seen this being used in one!” Rarity pointed out, floating a barely intact scarf from the fire, the burning glow still present in some bits.

“Oh, yeah. We cleaned out an old building full of ‘em. No use for ‘em. They don’t really keep ya warm like these ones do,” he said, pointing to his own tattered and thick light-green scarf.

“But this is a crime against fashion!” Rarity objected.

“What’s a crime,” the green stallion said, “is that an overgrown hellhound took what little wood we had.”

Rarity raised a question. “A hellhound? What in Equestria is a hellhound?”

“A hellhound is a nasty beast,” the stallion answered. “Mutated diamond dogs that want nothin’ more than to kill ponies.”

“K-Kill?” Rarity was surprised at this word choice.

The other ponies grinned as the green stallion continued. “Yeah! They’ll kill ya in mere seconds. They’ rip ya to shreds with their massive claws!” he said.

“That sounds awful,” replied Rarity. “Perhaps I may be able to lend some assistance.”

“You?” The green stallion looked surprised. “No offense, lady, but you don’t look like the kind of pony we need to handle this.”

“I beg your pardon? I’ve been on more than a few adventures myself, thank you,” Rarity clarified.

The ponies looked at each other, muttering to one another in quiet conversation. Inevitably, the green one looked to Rarity and said, “Fine. But don’t blame us if ya get killed. I’m not supplyin’ ya with weapons, either.”

“That’s just fine,” Rarity said. “I don’t need weapons. I’ve got style and I’ve got flair!”

The green stallion rolled his eyes. “You’ll probably find him over that mountain of trash right there. He doesn’t come out here when we’re awake, but when we do sleep, he’s stealin’ left and right. It’s a wonder why he doesn’t end our sufferin’.”

Rarity looked to her left to see the large trash pile. “You mean I have to travel across this heap of trash?”

“I mean, you could go around,” said the green stallion, “Ain’t that hard.”

Rarity smiled in a bit of embarrassment. “Oh, right. My mistake. Thank you,” she said before walking towards her next destination.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

The campfire crackled and popped as it ate away the dead wood with intense heat and licking flame. Having taken shelter in a cave, Cozy Glow was deep in thought while Tirek and Chrysalis argued.

“I think it would’ve been easier had we procured minions,” said Chrysalis.

“Nonsense. With our strength alone, we could’ve handled the large crowd. It was that magic those six have,” debated Tirek.

Cozy was stumped. She had the upper hoof and she had still lost. She went over every scenario in her head, trying to figure out where she went wrong. Watching the fire burning brightly, she focused on the days leading up to her defeat. Everything was going perfectly before that final day. What did we do wrong?

“Cozy. What is your take on this?” Tirek asked, distracting Cozy from her train of thought.

Cozy tried to think of an answer, but could only say, “I don’t know.”

Tirek leaned back against the cavern wall, thinking. “Hm… We need to formulate a new plan. To beat their magic, we need a special magic of our own.”

“But we had Grogar’s bell,” said Chrysalis. “Nothing was supposed to be stronger than that.”

“Their friendship must’ve been stronger?” Cozy brought up. Chrysalis gave an angry glare.

“I refuse to hear anything about their friendship!” Chrysalis exclaimed! “I hate their disgusting bond with each other! This is just a temporary setback! Do you hear me?!”

Cozy leaned back with a bit of fear. “Calm down! I don’t like what happened either!”

Chrysalis, forcing herself to swallow her anger, exhaled and closed her eyes. “I remember better times…”

Tirek sighed as well, slumping. “Indeed… We’ve fallen very low.”

Cozy, looking down, kicked the dirt. “There’s gotta be some way we can get back on top.”

Chrysalis’ eyes looked over Tirek’s pitifully weakened form, then looked over to Cozy Glow. “Without Tirek’s strength and my changelings, we can’t hope to win.”

As Cozy Glow leaned pondered, she could hear a faint whispering. Where was it coming from? It certainly wasn’t in her mind. She looked towards the back of the cave, feeling uneasy. “Is there somepony in here with us?” Cozy asked, standing up. She inched closer to the back, then stopped the moment she saw a shadowed silhouette of what appeared to be another pony.

She stepped back, then saw Chrysalis walking forward. “Who dares spy on us?” Chrysalis asked with a hiss.

Finally, the unknown visitor made his voice heard. “Do my eyes deceive me…?”

Chrysalis stepped closer, unafraid. “Who are you?” she asked. As the stranger stepped out from the shadows, a wicked grin spread across Chrysalis’ face.

Tirek watched in curiosity. “Is that what I think it is?”

“But how is that possible?” Cozy asked.

Chrysalis giggled to herself in such a way that it sent a chill down Cozy’s spine. “This,” Chrysalis said, “is the beginning of our ultimate revenge.”

. . . S t u d y G u i d e . . .

“No,” insisted Study Guide. “I don’t need makeup.”

“But the host insisted!” exclaimed her manedresser. She looked over Study Guide’s messy hair. “At least let me help mat it down!”

Study Guide gently pushed her out of the way. “Get away from me. I don’t need anypony helping me.”

Suddenly, a loud voice spoke over the speakers. “And now, for our guest star, Study Guide!”

As she walked out, Study Guide could see the light blue host sitting comfortably in his chair, front hooves on his desk. His name was Filibuster, and he was the number one talk show host in all of Fog City. How he rose to fame so quickly within the span of a week? It was all thanks to Littlepip. With Littlepip the ‘Wasteland Menace’ as a popular topic on his show, he was able to get his ratings to skyrocket.

Study Guide sat down in the guest seat, a small one compared to Light’s. It wasn’t very comfortable, either, but she wasn’t here for comfort. She was here to educate. “Thank you for having me here,” she said.

“Good to have you,” replied Filibuster. “So… Twenty-six teams, huh?”

“That’s right,” confirmed Study. “Scattered all over the wasteland. My team, however, is the best you’ll find out there.”

“And would you mind explaining to the audience what these teams do? How do they contribute to our society?” Filibuster asked.

Study Guide, looking out at the audience of pegasi, sighed and said, “These teams are meant to explore, discover, and then report back to the Enclave. Each team governs its own specific field of research: plants, animals, wastelander psychology, etcetera. My team is different. We’re a combination of most of those fields, but most of the time we focus on what many citizens would like to call ‘The Monsters of the Wasteland.’”

She could see the pegasi murmuring quietly to each other. This was a topic that was on everyone’s mind as of late due to pegasi having been forced to live on the surface in cities made from fog clouds.

Filibuster smirked. He knew just what to say, and Study Guide knew that. “And from what I hear,” he said, “it’s the hellhounds that have been wreaking havoc on Enclave equipment recently, right? Even going so far as to attack our defenses?”

“That is… correct,” Study Guide affirmed. She squirmed a bit in her chair, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible. “There are many types of creatures out in the wasteland, but it is the hellhounds who have been the most aggressive towards us at the moment.” Not surprising, she thought. We literally attempted to control them like they were puppets.

“And what are the chances of a hellhound making it into the city and killing some poor citizen?” Filibuster asked. The audience seemed to be on the edge of their seats, some even leaning forward to get a better listen.

Study Guide stayed silent for a moment before answering coldly, “Within ten years…? Ninety percent.”

The audience gasped collectively, and Filibuster grinned mischievously. “Really? That’s a certainly high number. Why is that?”

Study Guide peered at Filibuster. “I’m not going to lie. We’re running out of resources. We’ve been running out since the bombs dropped. We’ve been recycling the same equipment over and over, and with recent events, we’ve lost much of it.”

“So do we even have a chance?!” Filibuster asked, feigning great and dramatic concern.

“We do,” answered Study Guide. “We can educate ourselves on what to do if and when hellhounds or any other mutants enter our city. There’s a reason you’ve all been seeing certain types of educational material being handed out in schools, such as flyers and booklets. We’re trying to prepare you all for a possible collapse of society.”

“Would you care to give us an example of your sky-famous lessons?” Filibuster asked.

Study Guide blew strands of her mane from her eyes and replied, “Hellhounds are known to have various traits at their disposable. Long claws, heightened intelligence, and preferences in laser weaponry. These beasts can slice through solid concrete with their claws, with rare exceptions allowing them to get through heavily corroded metals.”

“Solid concrete?!” Filibuster exclaimed. “Wow! That sure sounds like quite a threat! How can we protect ourselves from such monstrosities?!”

You’re a monstrosity, Study Guide thought to herself before answering, “High pitched frequencies are capable of driving them away. They don’t like these certain sounds. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a professional singer of sorts.”

“So you’re telling me that if I can sing opera, I can defend myself against these things?” Filibuster asked.

“That, or anything similar to scratching hooves on a chalkboard. Anything at all that can emit these high-pitched frequencies will work, but it’s not guaranteed. It’s just effective, not foolproof.”

Filibuster seemed to be enjoying the crowd’s interest. Obviously the ratings were going to exceed expectations at this point. “Wow! Now tell me, how big can these dastardly abominations get?”

“Your average hellhound can get up to five or six feet tall, perhaps even seven,” Study Guide replied.

“Average?” Filibuster interrupted. “You’re saying there could possibly even be a giant hellhound out there somewhere?”

“There are,” Study Guide answered. “There are very rare cases, cases that I once thought to be impossible.”

“What kind?” asked Filibuster.

Study Guide leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. “Hm… There have been at least six cases I’ve seen where a hellhound was born in what we like to call an ‘overgrown state’.”

“Overgrown?” Filibuster repeated.

“Yes. Most hellhounds stop growing at a certain point,” Study Guide replied. “Some don’t stop. Mutation is a bitch. Overgrown hellhounds can even be grown in litters, with the majority being up to fifteen feet tall. However, there are some runts who stop at five or six, yet keep the strength of an overgrown. Think of a wall of pure muscle and that’s what you’d get.”

“How do we defend ourselves from those?” Filibuster asked, eyes wide in false shock.

“High-pitched frequencies can still work,” Study Guide answered. “Bullets… are a different story. While they do penetrate the skin, the overgrown won’t even notice if it’s attacking. They’re often fueled by rage at that time, and this is what keeps them from feeling pain. I’ve seen an enraged overgrown take over a hundred bullets before stopping in its tracks.”

“You hear that, folks?!” Filibuster shouted. “A hundred bullets!”

The audience was almost frantic at this, close to panicking. Study Guide, seeing this, then said, “However…” She cleared her throat, looked directly at the audience, then continued. “The ninety percent chance that I’ve predicted is based on a time limit. We have ten years or less, and before then, we’ll be back up in the sky, safe from the creatures of the wasteland.”

The audience collectively sighed in relief, many pegasi looking embarrassed for even worrying. Filibuster grinned. This would reel in plenty of views on the Pegasus Broadcasting Network.

Study Guide, thinking back, was aware of Filibuster’s propaganda. He liked to exaggerate details, and she was surprised he didn’t do much to smudge her facts a bit. Either way, the Enclave wouldn’t be too happy with her sudden appearance on PBN. She’d get in trouble, most definitely, but not fired. She was too important to them.

And she knew it.

. . . S t u d y E n d . . .

Rarity was most definitely sick of seeing nothing but trash. She’d much rather be back home, working on one of her latest pieces. Instead, she was trudging through garbage just to get to her destination. She was just about ready to give up and turn back to plan another way through when she heard a howl.

Up ahead, standing upon a small pile of trash was the beast she was warned about. It was indeed a hellhound, hunched over, with an upper torso composed of mostly gray-furred muscle. As he stood up slowly, Rarity could see that his hind legs weren’t exactly as full of muscle, but still muscular nonetheless. This was a dog who had obviously never missed a single day at the gym. His fur was a light gray, and his body was covered in old scars, the most gruesome one over his right eye. His lower jaw was a darker shade on its right half, and his tail was rather long, ending in black spikes.

Rarity, not wanting to assume the worst, spoke in a kind manner. “Hello! I was wondering if I could have a word with you? I don’t wish to be rude, but it is rather important.”

The hellhound hopped off the trash pile, landing on the ground with a thud. Each step he took was accompanied by his paws scraping the ground. This canine was more prone to walking like a gorilla rather than a regular diamond dog. Considering his muscular build was much like one’s, it made sense.

As he approached Rarity, she had a sense of worry in her mind, but pushed it down quickly, feeling the need to act professionally. Soon she was face to face with him. The hellhound quickly exhaled from his nostrils, the hot air messing up Rarity’s hair a little, strands now out of place.

“Ahem…” Rarity attempted to stay focused. “From what I’m hearing from a couple of gentlecolts, you’ve been resorting to acts of thievery?”

The dog stared at her, unmoving, silent.

“I think it’s about time that you apologize to them. No good can come from taking other ponies’ things,” said Rarity. “Perhaps if you were to do something nice for them? I was thinking a gift as an apology, or perhaps even a-”

“Pony talk too much,” the dog said, turning around and walking away.

Rarity was offended. Immediately following him, she noticed some more scars on his back. Where did he get them all. Rarity certainly couldn’t live with such blemishes, ruining her own image.

“Darling?” Rarity started. “Where are you going? We should be discussing your apology.”

The dog grunted, speeding up his pace. Rarity speeded up her own, not letting the canine off that easily.

“You listen here,” Rarity said. “I know apologizing might seem a bit unusual to you, but ponies tend to do so if they’ve committed a wrong.”

The canine ran, with Rarity now having to chase him down. How hard was it to say sorry to somepony? As she followed him, he led her through many twists and turns, over and around piles of garbage. The pursuit lasted well over at least ten minutes.

Then she saw it as they finally came to a stop: an old shack made from rotting wood and rusted sheet metal, just barely staying up with the support of some old pipes. The canine, having stopped in front of it, turned around to face Rarity.

“Oh, uh…” Rarity looked at the shack more carefully. “Is this your home, dear?”

The hellhound grunted, then turned, throwing open the heavily decayed door. It slammed against the wall of the shack, causing a gutter to fall loose. The half-pipe structure swung, pointing in Rarity’s direction and allowing mossy water to pour down atop of her.

“Eeewwwww!” Rarity cried out, catching the canine’s attention.

The hellhound, rolling his eyes, said, “Follow,” as he stepped into the shack. “Have fire. Dry off.”

Rarity, pulling bits and pieces of wet trash and moss from her mane and not really knowing what to say to this, obliged. She walked through the entrance and noticed that in the middle, there was a campfire of sorts, and surrounding it were a few foals.

Rarity looked at the hellhound, who had sat down in between two foals and stared at the fire. She chuckled nervously before asking, “Who are these three?”

The hound looked up at her and said, “Orphans.”

Rarity looked back, her eyes wide in disturbance. “You were stealing firewood; for them?”

The hellhound snorted out hot air, messing up Rarity’s hair even further.

“Right,” she said. “I think we, um, may have gotten off on the wrong hoof. Perhaps a proper introduction is in order. My name is Rarity.”

The beast grunted, seeming very annoyed. Rarity gestured to him, hoping he would introduce himself. He merely grunted again before responding with a burp. Rarity was disgusted. How would she ever get this dog to cooperate?

“Darling, I’m trying. Really, I am. Could you please just give me something to work with?” Rarity asked.

“Brute,” said the canine.

“I am not a brute,” said Rarity, offended.

“NO. BRUTE’S NAME IS BRUTE!” the dog shouted loudly, looking very annoyed.

Rarity blinked, realizing her mistake. “Oh! Your name is Brute!”

The hellhound named brute nodded slowly, then went back to staring into the fire. Rarity glanced over to one of the orphans, a filly who looked no older than Sweetie Belle. She was holding a stick in between two hooves, cooking something in the fire. Rarity wasn’t quite able to see what it was as it stayed in the fire. It appeared to be brown, with some of it being blackened.

“So you’ve been stealing firewood to keep these foals warm?” Rarity asked.

“He’s a good guy,” said one of the foals.

“He keeps the raiders away, too,” said the filly who was cooking food. She had a dark gray coat with a rusty brown mane, and she looked as if she hadn’t eaten in days.

Rarity was a bit confused, but tried to ignore it. “Would you mind telling Brute to stop stealing firewood from those stallions on the other side of… whatever this place is?”

“You mean the dump?” asked the filly. “Nope.”

“Nope?” Rarity repeated. “But stealing is wrong, darling.”

“It’s only wrong if you get caught. And even if you do get caught, it’s to stay alive around here,” replied the filly. “You don’t seem very smart. Did you come from that fancy new place over by Ponyville? You sure look like it.”

“Fancy new place? What are you talking about?” Rarity asked.

“Some dumb setup,” replied the filly, pulling out the strange brown piece of food from the fire. “It appeared there around two, maybe three days ago. I heard about it from a traveling merchant.”

As the filly bit into it, Rarity couldn’t help but ask, “Might I inquire as to what you are eating right now? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

As the filly chewed, she replied, “Radgator meat. You want some?”

Rarity’s fur stood on end. “M-Meat? Why in Equestria would you eat meat?!”

“Because we ran out of snack cakes,” replied the filly.

“Snack cakes? Those sound familiar,” said Rarity. She thought back to a very small shop in Canterlot. It never really got off the ground, but they were pretty good. “But why would you depend on nothing but snack cakes?”

The filly took another bite before saying with her mouth full, “They’re one of the few foods that are leftover from the war.”

War? Rarity hadn’t heard of any way. “What war?” she asked.

“Oh, wow. You’re really dumb,” said the filly. Rarity did her best not to take any offense. “The big war between the ponies and the zebras.”

“Now, why would ponies and zebras fight? It just doesn’t make any sense,” said Rarity. She began to wonder… was she in a horrible future of some sort? It would certainly make sense, considering everything was a mess and there was a massive diamond dog of sorts in front of her.

“I dunno,” said the filly. “I don’t dig through old libraries.”

Rarity looked over to Brute and asked, “Well, where are these foals supposed to go? I don’t suppose you know where they could stay? I’m sure any place would be better than this.”

“City unsafe,” Brute replied. “Only place Tenpony Tower, and walk there dangerous.”

Rarity tilted her head a bit. “Tenpony?”

“Yeah, it used to belong to some ponies who’d probably never make it in the wasteland,” said the filly by the fire. “Now it’s kinda like a shelter, but it’s way too far for us to travel.”

“What if I helped?” asked Rarity, smiling confidently. “I’ve been on a few adventures myself.”

Brute grinned smugly, baring his teeth. “Pony not last a day.”

“Excuse me? I’m offended,” said Rarity. “I’ll have you know that I’ve helped save Equestria from many evildoers.”

Brute snickered a little before bursting into laughter. As he let out his bellows, he fell onto his back, holding his stomach as he finished his chuckling fit.

“And just what’s so funny?” Rarity asked, even more offended.

Brute sat back up and said, “Wasteland not saved. Wasteland same as ever.”

Rarity was a little unsettled. “Wasteland? What wasteland?”

“Um… Are you from a stable?” asked the filly.

“What? I’m not from a stable, I’m from Ponyville,” said Rarity.

“Ponyville’s filled with raiders,” said the filly, squinting her eyes, looking confused.

Rarity was even more unsettled now. "Raiders? I wouldn’t really know anything about any ruffians, but what I do know is that I was sent here on a friendship mission with my companions.”

“Hmph… Friendship Mission? Brute smell brahmin shit,” said the hellhound.

“It’s true. I’m here with the Princess of Friendship,” replied Rarity.

Brute looked over to the filly, the filly looking back, both with confused expressions on their faces.

The filly whispered to Brute, “I think she’s on something.”

It was at that moment that Brute started snickering again, as did the filly as well. Then both fell onto their backs in fits of laughter. Rarity, seeing this display, was in quite possibly her most offended state.

“Well, I never!” said Rarity.

. . . S t u d y G u i d e . . .

Opening her room door, Study Guide stumbled in, a bottle of alcohol in her hoof. “Fucking idiots,” she muttered under her breath. As she fell into bed, what greeted her eyes was the picture frame on her small dresser. In it, she stood in the middle with two stallions standing behind her and a young colt standing in front, all of them smiling. It was the picture perfect family photo, and it always reminded her of what she had been tirelessly working for these past twenty years.

A knock on the door made her flinch, the drunken researcher not expecting visitors. “Whaddya want?” she slurred. “Lemme just catch a wink. If you’re with with committee, tell them the paperwork’s not done yet.”

“Can I come in?” asked a voice. She recognized who it was.

“Double Blind? What do you want?” she asked.

“I saw you on television today. Were you supposed to do that?” he asked.

Study Guide smiled smugly. “You tell me. I wonder what the committee’s gonna say when they find out I spilled the beans.”

“Why would you do that?” asked Double Blind.

“Because why not? They had a right to know. We’re only making it worse if we don’t prepare them.” Study Guide explained. “Between you and me, I don’t trust those assholes. It’s all about control with the higher-ups. As long as all their little ducklings are perfectly lined up, they’re happy.”

“Shouldn’t you be a little more cautious with what you say?” asked Double Blind.

“There are some topics I won’t touch” Study Guide replied as she swirled the liquid in her bottle. “The only topics I won’t go over are what we’re actually doing behind the scenes.”

Double Blind swallowed. “Behind the scenes? What’s behind the scenes?”

Study Guide stared at him, one eyebrow raised.

Double Blind then realized his mistake. “Oh, right. You can’t talk about it.”

“Can I just go a single day without some nutjob politician trying to use my research for their own gain?” asked Study Guide. “Every day, it’s at least one scientist who leaks my shit, and then the higher-ups use it as a way to stir up fears in the flock. Some of my stuff, I’ll tell them when I need to, but these damn hooligans in suits like to take what I’ve said and use it as ammunition.”

“Then why go on the talk show?” asked Double Show.

Study Guide’s mouth slowly grew into a mischievous smile. “It’s simple. If they want to use my own words against me, I’ll use my own words against them. If ponies are aware that hellhounds will inevitably get in, politicians are going to attempt to say they’ll be able to make big changes in security. What they don’t know, however, is that I just lied to the public.”

Double Blind was taken aback. “Wait, what? You lied?”

Study Guide nodded.

“What’s the actual chance of a hellhound getting in?” asked Double Blind.

Study Guide’s smile vanished, her eyes looking stone cold now. “There’s already one within our barriers.”

“What?!” Double Blind was even more shocked. “Where?!”

“We have a big one, one who’s in custody,” answered Study Guide. “Goes by the name of Ripper.”

“Ripper? Sounds like a villain from a comic book I used to read,” commented Double Blind. “Wait… Do they have comics in the wasteland?”

Study Guide rolled her eyes with a mutter. She wasn’t really used to having somepony to teach. “Keep your mind off the minor things,” she said. “You should be more focused on the bigger picture.”

Double Blind tilted his head. “Which is…?”

“Doing your job while I do mine,” she answered. “I do the teaching, you do the learning, the enclave put out their propaganda and the politicians do their little song and dance.”

Double Blind smiled. “Well, where’s the teaching?”

“Ripper’s going to get out eventually,” said Study Guide. “How he gets out is anypony’s question, but when he does, the first ponies he’ll go after are the soldiers. Hellhounds can have the nasty habit of holding a grudge for years. Most of their encounters can be easily remembered. In fact, we’ve been trying to study their hippocampuses because of their unnaturally long memory.”

Double Blind blinked. “Hippocampi?”

“Hippocampuses,” corrected Study Guide.

“Hippocampi,” Double Blind repeated.

“I’m drunk,” said Study Guide. “Don’t correct me.”

“Alright?” replied Double Blind, a little concerned. “By the way, might I ask what you’re doing this weekend? Because I need help with a project.”

“What project?” Study Guide asked before drinking more from her bottle.

“I want to do a survey of my own,” said Double Blind. “I’ll need somepony’s help with handing out sheets.”

“A survey?” Study Guide swished the liquid around in her bottle. “What kind?”

“Just a general opinion survey of the Enclave,” he answered. To this, Study Guide laughed.

With a snort, she said, “The only opinion you’re gonna get of the Enclave is that they’re great. You know very well that they’re always lying to the populace. Why take a survey now?”

Double Blind rubbed his chin. “Well, considering recent events, I have heard quite a bit of dissatisfaction from my friends who are still in college.”

Study Guide scrunched up her eyebrows, thoughts floating through her head. A grin slowly spread across her face. “Actually, I’ll clear my schedule for this.”

This caught Double Blind by surprise. “Wait, really? I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

“Of course I’d say yes!” she replied. “But uh… If you don’t mind, I’d like to look at the sheets you’re planning on passing out. I’d like to add a few of my own questions in there if you don’t mind.”

Double Blind slowly nodded and hesitantly responded with, “Ooookay?”

“Don’t worry,” said Study Guide. “We’re gonna have some fun with this project.”

. . . S t u d y E n d . . .

Standing just outside of the badly-built shack, Rarity gazed upwards at the stars, or at least, tried to. There were small dots, but they weren’t as bright as they were back home. In Equestria, the stars were always shining brilliantly at night. Here, they were dull and lifeless, just barely pinpricks of light that could barely illuminate anything.

From what she was able to gather, the foals were recently orphaned, having escaped from ponies called slavers. Rarity was absolutely appalled when she had heard of such savagery. She had heard of ponies hurting ponies before, but it was normally through words. She had never heard of it being like this before.

Her gaze inevitably fell back down to ground level, where she caught a glimpse of something that piqued her interest. She saw what looked to be a fridge, and it was chained up tight. Whatever was in it, somepony had clearly gone through the trouble of keeping it safe, even out in a dump such as this.

It was then that Rarity’s mind started to drift, small glimpses of images of events that she had never seen before, and yet were somehow still familiar at the same time. Barely audible voices could be heard. She could only hear hints of a single word repeated over and over: ‘book’.

“Book…?” she muttered. “What book?”

Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a small, familiar voice. “Hey.”

Rarity turned her head, seeing one of the foals from earlier next to them. It was the same dark gray filly who was cooking and eating meat. “Ah, Hello,” said Rarity. “What are you doing up this late? It’s well past midnight, I think.”

“Heard you muttering,” said the filly.

“Have I been? I haven’t noticed,” replied Rarity. “By the way, what is your name? I never caught it.”

“I’m Rebar,” said the filly. “Don’t forget it.”

Rarity smiled. “Well, hello, Rebar. I’m Rarity, and might I say, it is a pleasure to meet you.~”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Rebar, waving her hoof dismissively. “Look, lady. You’re not gonna gain my trust right away. I mean, you came into the shack saying you were on a ‘friendship mission’ or whatever. Sounds like a lie.”

“I would never lie about something as important as a friendship mission,” said Rarity, offended.

“Whatever,” muttered Rebar. “Anyways, if you’re wanting to take me to Tenpony Tower, I want to rescue my own friends first. If you can pull that off, I’ll trust you.”

“And just where are your friends exactly?” asked Rarity.

“Just outside this dump,” answered Rebar. “If I’m lucky, the slavers won’t have left yet. Whether you’re helping or not, I’ve still got Brute to help me.”

“And you expect those slavers to just give your friends back?” asked Rarity. “If anything, this reminds me of a situation I was in with a group of diamond dogs. They’re not going to just give them back.” Although, in her mind, Rarity mentally noted that the diamond dogs DID give her back, but only after twenty-four minutes of whining.

“You gonna help or what, lady? I don’t wanna hear you runnin’ your mouth all night,” complained Rebar. “Geez. With a mouth like yours, who’d want you as a slave?”

Certainly not diamond dogs.

“Oh, I think I know who wouldn’t,” said Rarity. “But yes, I’ll help. Just point me in the direction, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Alright, neat,” said Rebar. “Where’s your gun?”

“My what?” asked Rarity.

“You know, the pew pew shooter,” Rebar tried to explain.

“I, uh… don’t have one,” said Rarity.

“You’re useless,” Rebar said bluntly.

“That’s certainly uncalled for,” said Rarity.

“Well, how am I gonna rescue ‘em if I just got a meat shield?” Rebar said.

“Why, I’d never!” exclaimed Rarity. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?”

“Orphan,” said Rebar.

Rarity frowned, realizing what she’d said. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Uh huh, sure,” Rebar replied. “Bet you grew up with two parents.”

“Well, I--”

Rebar continued, interrupting Rarity. “Bet you lived the fancy life, huh? Got your mane in a nice little curl, like one of those poster ponies. How long have you even been out here? Bet you couldn’t survive a damn minute, now could ya, prissy pants?”

Rarity mulled over her situation. She didn’t really know where she was, but from what she’d seen so far, everything looked like it was in its worst state possible. This filly had probably grown up seeing this throughout her short life, and Rarity was only here for a few minutes, not having really faced any danger so far. How bad was it outside the dump?

Rebar stamped her hoof on the ground. “Hey, lady! I’m talking to you!”

Rarity shook herself out of her own thoughts. She then said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked such a hurtful question.”

“I don’t really care at this point in my life,” Rebar stated. “I just wanna know if you’ve even got a weapon.”

Rarity thought for a second, then replied, “I do know a few spells I’ve learned from a friend.”

“I guess that’s something,” Rebar muttered, rolling her eyes. “Ugh… I’ll get you some grenades.”

“Some what? asked Rarity.

“You know, the boom boom ka-doom,” answered Rebar as she walked inside. Walking back out, she held what looked like a belt with what looked to be…

“Apples?” guessed Rarity.

Rebar looked at the belt, then at Rarity, then asked, “Are you stupid or somethin’?”

“Would you please stop with the insults?” asked Rarity. “It’s very rude.”

“Just pay attention,” said Rebar. “These metal things? They’re grenades. You throw ‘em, and things go kablooey.”

Rarity had a hard time believing that these small objects could do such a thing. “Kablooey?”

“Kablooey!” Rebar repeated. “Ya just pull the pin on em and toss em before they explode.”

“And what do you want to do with these?” asked Rarity.

Rebar grumbled, then said, “I’mma blow up the slavers! What else would I do with ‘em?!”

“They could be useful as a distraction,” said Rarity. “Blowing up ponies isn’t a good thing to do.”

“They’ve enslaved ponies,” countered Rebar. “They do nothing but hurt everypony around them.”

“Yes, but wouldn’t it be best to punish them properly?” Rarity suggested.

Rebar rolled her eyes, saying, “This is proper. It’s the only punishment that fits! I’m not gonna play the role of goody goody four shoes and let a group of adults debate on how to punish somepony when the clear method of punishment is obvious.”

Rarity was conflicted. She didn’t feel that violence was the answer. Yes, these ponies had hurt others, and they did deserve punishment, but this kind of punishment felt a bit too… permanent. It was the kind of punishment that made the punisher stoop to a lower level, and that felt wrong in Rarity’s mind.

“What does your canine friend think of all this?” asked Rarity.

“Oh, Brute? He wants to smash the slavers,” answered Rebar. “But they always have mines set up around their campsite.”

“Mines?” asked Rarity.

Rebar sighed. “They’re like the round things that go kablooey, but they’re flatter.”

Rarity nodded slowly in faux understanding, only to immediately shake her head no.

Rebar simply facehoofed.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

After spending nearly six hours of bumbling around in the sewers, the great and powerful Trixie had had enough. She kicked a small pebble into the rapidly running water to their right. “This is ridiculous!” she complained.

“I don’t like this any more than you do,” said Starlight, her horn still lighting up the path before them.

“At least you didn’t almost become some monster’s lunch!” said Trixie, her mood sour.

“Would you stop, already?” asked Starlight. “You’re lucky I was able to save you!”

Trixie went quiet, grumbling a few words under her breath. Her coat had taken nearly an hour to dry after she had been rescued, but she still smelled like whatever that abomination from earlier was.

Just as Starlight was about to give up hope on finding an exit, they came upon a giant metal door, one that reminded Starlight of a bank vault, its shape very much resembling a gear, and it gave off an ominous tone. Across the door was a big eighty-three in bold, white numbers.

“What is this?” Trixie asked, walking up to it.

Starlight noticed a control panel next to the door. “Looks like the entrance to some kind of underground base, and I think this opens it.”

The panel had a chipped yellow coating. Age must have worn this thing down a bit, and she couldn’t help but notice the numerous scorch marks on some of the buttons. One particular part that was the most damaged was a slot that looked like a keyhole, the area around it being blackened.

She began to fiddle with the panel, her magic investigating every nook and cranny of it. On the right side of it was a small lever, which took some effort to pull all the way down. When she did, however, a loud thud could be heard from behind the door, followed by the sound of metal grinding on metal. Both Starlight and Trixie covered their ears, the noise being a bit too loud, in Starlight’s opinion.

The door was suddenly pulled inward by an unseen force, and rolled out of the way to reveal that it was being opened by large mechanisms from the inside. Starlight had the strangest sense of deja vu, and she couldn’t figure out why.

Trixie took a step behind Starlight. “You first,” said Trixie, to which Starlight rolled her eyes.

Taking the first step in, Starlight felt like she was walking into a hospital. Everything in here looked clean and sterile. Starlight noticed that she was in an artificial trench, the walls being the base for a slighter higher floor. On her right, she could see a stand, and on top of it was what appeared to be the back of a control panel.

There was a ramp that went up to the slightly high floor and led into a small hallway. Stepping into the hallway, Starlight was suddenly struck with some kind of electric force, her body felt as if someone were shaking her like a ragdoll. It was unpleasant and it felt like she couldn’t make any of her limbs move, the mare being stuck in place.

After a few seconds, the shock ended, and Starlight couldn’t help but hold her head in her hooves, a massive headache having occupied her headspace. Trixie immediately rushed to Starlight and asked, “Are you okay?!”

Starlight wobbled a bit. “I feel like a caffeinated Pinkie Pie rubbed balloons on me, and the static built up in me like I was a lightbulb.”

Trixie looked up, pointing. “I think I know what did it.”

Looking at where Trixie was pointing, Starlight could see a burnt gold-colored metal strip built into the ceiling. “What is that?” Starlight wondered.

Trixie “Call me crazy, but I think it’s one of those magic disablers they use in the Equestria Games to prevent cheating,”

“Why do you say that?” asked Starlight.

“I’ve seen it a few times,” answered Trixie. “But it wasn’t built into the ceiling, and it certainly didn’t zap you, neither.”

“Then how do you know what it is?” asked Starlight.

Trixie shrugged. “I’ve been around.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. Still, she couldn’t help but feel curious. Wanting to test if it was true, she attempted to light up her horn. Trixie was right, surprisingly. Starlight couldn’t produce a single spark of magic. “Huh… Whaddya know?”

And then the panic started.

Starlight started to hyperventilate. She had never been without her magic, and to lose it now of all times was even worse. What would she do? How would she defend herself?

Trixie waved a hoof in front of Starlight to get her attention. “Hey! It’s okay! Take a deep breath!” advised Trixie. Starlight took a deep breath. “Now breathe out,” said Trixie. Starlight breathed out, a bit of stress leaving her.

Starlight smiled. “Thanks, Trixie.”

“Trixie knows best!” declared Trixie.

Starlight rolled her eyes with a smile and continued down the hallways with her friend. The walls were white, metal, and looked sterile, and at the end of the hallway was an elevator door. As they walked up to it, Starlight had a bad feeling about this.

Trixie pushed the button, making the doors open, which elicited a scream from both mares once they saw what was inside. Inside was a skeleton, the skeleton of a pony, to be exact.

“Starlight! I wanna go back!” Trixie cried out.

Starlight was unsure whether to go all the way back and face raiders or whether to continue onward from here. It was a difficult decision. She had lost her magic, so if she were to go back right now, she’d never be able to defend herself. Perhaps there was something in here that could help fix her horn if there was already something that could remove magic.

“I’d rather not go back and face hostile ponies, especially without my magic,” reasoned Starlight.

Trixie looked at the skeleton, then looked at Starlight, very hesitant to use this elevator. “Starlight, you’d better know what you’re doing. Trixie doesn’t want to end up like this pony.”

“I’m sure it’ll be… fine,” said Starlight, swallowing her fears. “Besides, I need to see if there’s anything here that can fix my horn.”

“Fine,” said Trixie, still scared, her body trembling. “I’ll trust you.”

Starlight and Trixie stepped into the elevator, then turned around, facing the buttons. Trixie looked at the buttons with suspicion. Something wasn’t right about these numbers.

“Starlight, how deep down can an elevator go?” asked Trixie.

“I don’t know,” Starlight replied, now a little concerned. “Why?”

Trixie pointed to the bottom button. “Because Trixie doesn’t think an elevator should be able to go ten stories below the sewers!”

“I… I’m sure there’s a good explanation,” Starlight tried to reason. She couldn’t quite convince herself that something wasn’t wrong. “Maybe it doesn’t go that far down. Maybe it just came with these extra buttons.”

Trixie didn’t not hesitate to push the bottom button. Immediately the elevator closed and started descending down, with Trixie giving Starlight an annoyed glare. “Yeah, sure, Starlight. These are just extra buttons.”

Starlight chuckled nervously. She didn’t like where this was going. There was a screen above the elevator door, displaying the numbers slowly going all the way to ten. She secretly wished that this was all just a very unsettling dream.

The elevator shook a little as it halted.. When the door slid open, Starlight saw that it was another hallway, but this time, it was with doors on either side. Starlight stepped out of the elevator and walked up to the first door on the left. It slid open automatically, making her jump, as she was half-expecting another pony skeleton on the other side. Thankfully, there wasn’t.

Inside was… a bedroom, with a single bed and a cabinet. Everything was neat and tidy, with nothing left out of place. Starlight was expecting for there to be at least a mess, considering what they had seen in the elevator. By the door, within the room, was a desk, with neatly stacked papers. After failing to lift one of the papers with her magic, she sighed.

“Trixie has this,” Trixie declared, picking up the top sheet and floating it in front of Starlight. She wasn’t sure if Trixie was trying to be helpful, or just gloating that she still had her magic.

Upon reading the paper, Starlight was unnerved, no, more than unnerved. She was horrified. It was a list of ponies, a list of ponies who were to be executed. “Trixie, what is this place?” asked Starlight.

“What?” asked Trixie. She looked at the paper herself and went pale. “Oh…”

Starlight exited the room, then looked in the next room. This one was much messier, with a cabinet having fallen over, books and papers scattered everywhere. Whoever was in here, they obviously struggled. Starlight’s blood ran cold as she checked the next room. Another mess, but with scorch marks on the walls.

Suddenly, Trixie screamed in the next room. Starlight rushed into the hallway. Around the corner end of the hallway in another room was Trixie, standing on the desk, screaming, “Get it! Get it! Get it!”

Starlight saw a large cockroach in the center of the room. “Seriously?” she asked. She sighed and attempted to blast it with a bubble containment spell, but her horn, of course, didn’t work. “Hm…” She then looked at Trixie. “I never thought I’d play teacher today. Hey, Trixie. You want that thing away from you, right?”

“Do you even have to ask?” answered Trixie. “Yes! I want it gone!”

Starlight facehoofed, then said, “I want you to imagine a bubble around that roach while charging your magic. Then fire away.”

Trixie looked at the roach, a disgusted expression on her face. Then, after charging up her horn, she fired, a globular bubble enveloping the roach. It wobbled until it finally burst, releasing the roach, the roach now more active and scurrying around.

“Ew! Ew!” Trixie fired another beam, and this time, it was more of a wobbly pyramid, this one bursting as well.

Starlight gritted her teeth. “Trixie. Stop freaking out. It’s messing with your magic. You need to calm down. Close your eyes and focus.”

Trixie took a deep breath, then released a sigh. Focusing with all her mental might, she fired at the roach.

Starlight tilted her head, the most puzzled of looks on her face. Instead of a bubble around the cockroach, it was a transparent, upside-down teacup on the ground. “How did…? Never mind,” said Starlight. “If it works, it works.”

Trixie hopped off the desk, still wary of the scurrying roach under the teacup. “Ugh… Bugs…”

Sometimes, Starlight wondered how Trixie could handle being on the road.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Rarity fumbled with the sniper rifle, not knowing exactly how it worked. All she knew was that it worked kind of like a telescope, as it allowed her to see far away. She spoke into her walkie-talkie, “What does this thing do again?”

“See the plus in the middle of the scope? That’s your crosshairs,” explained Rebar. “Line ‘em up with the bad guys’ heads, pull the trigger, and boom! Heads explode!”

“Oh, dear. I wouldn’t want that,” she said, looking out at the campsite through her scope. She saw three ponies wearing some atrocious spiked leather and holding chains, one of them hooking a chain up to one of the fillies. “How undesirable,” she said to herself.

“Hurry up,” said Rebar. “Scare ‘em off, and Brute and I’ll come out and break the fillies free.”

“Why couldn’t you do it?” asked Rarity.

“I can’t even hold it with my short legs,” answered Rebar. “Try living like a midget, wisemare.”

Rarity thought to herself as she sat in silence. “Are you sure this is necessary, darling?” she asked. She didn’t want to hurt anypony, even if they had done bad things. She had only hurt somepony once or twice in retaliation, and those were special occasions.

“Look, prissy pants, if you think you have a better idea than this, go for it, otherwise, blow up some heads,” said Rebar.

Rarity looked around for anything that may have looked useful. Upon doing so, she noticed the water tower that the campsite was nearby. The supports for it looked awfully weak and rusted. “Darling? Did you say these bullets made things explode?”

“Yeah, they’re explosive rounds,” answered Rebar. “Perfect for blowing shit up.”

Rarity aimed carefully. “Perfect,” she said to herself. She pulled the trigger, but as she did, she was roughed up a bit, the rifle knocking back into her. “Ow!”

The bullet missed, a small explosion being heard by the slavers. One of them looked towards the direction. She could hear one of them shouting to each other, “What was that?!”

“Oh, satin and silk!” she said, lining up the crosshairs again with the support. “Okay… Lean into it. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.” She reloaded, then aimed a bit higher, taking into approximate wind speed and gravity, based on which direction it missed, having noticed that as she fired, the bullet was a bit off its target. When she had lined up her shot, she said to herself, “Let’s hope this one hits.”

She fired, the bullet zipping through the air and hitting the support, the metal partially blown off, but it didn’t seem to be enough to topple the tower over. By now, the slavers were scurrying. “Grab the cages! Load ‘em up! Hurry!”

Rarity quickly reloaded, then lined up another shot, her eyes taking note of where she had hit. She just needed to hit it once more. “Sorry, darlings, but I’ll have to cut your camping trip short.”

She fired the round, the explosion tearing up enough of the metal that the tower groaned and creaked, slowly tilting until it fell at a greater speed, smashing into the ground, mossy water spilling out and muddying the dry dirt. “Forget the slaves!” the slavers cried out. “Run for your lives!”

As the ponies ran, Rarity couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride, having resolved the conflict without hurting anypony. “Well, darling, we’ve done it. Get your friends out of there.”

As she saw both Rebar and Brute hurrying out to the cages, Rarity couldn’t help but wonder what else was in store for her on this adventure. There was one thing she knew, however. She had to find her friends.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long for this one to come out. We got busy.