The Lunar Worlds

The Lunar Worlds

Chapter 2:

The Orange Flash

* * * * *

Up in the Lunarian sky, the grand celestial body slowly spins in an eternal dance of azure hues, mocking me for my lack of will.

My answer to the marauder's proposal should come easy to me, a griffin of high standing and impeccable morals. Nevertheless, I mull over it longer than I thought I would, all while the smug planet goes on taunting me with its circling stream of... of silver.

My breath recedes as a peaceful scent washes over me, and through rose-tinted glasses the world reemerges for an instant; like a pink feather swaying jovially in the wind, just to be drowned in a sea of melancholy.

Silverstream, the whole foundation of the cosmos whispers. Where are you?

"You!" the stern fine-mare shouts, harshly snapping me back to reality. She marches toward me, an irate scowl on her face. "Just what do you think you're doing being all chummy with these lowlifes? Weren't you just leaving?" She stops to produce a booklet, likely about lunar policies and regulations, and proceeds to browse through its pages furiously as her short pink tail wags with intensity. "I'm sure this is an infringement or two, lemme check."

Such an unnerving interruption fills me with killer intent, enough to drive me to wrap my talons around my holstered gun. Nopony dares stand between me and such a nice memory of Silverstream. For all I know, until I can remember how exactly I came to be on The Harmony, that’s all I have of her. Memories.

The mare is too engrossed in her little book to notice me begin to slowly withdraw my pistol. I could get away with it. Her friend from earlier is nowhere to be seen, and if questioned I could make the claim that a marauder we missed got her before running off.

Right as I nearly finish pulling the entirety of my gun from its holster, the mental image of a yellow gleam causes my talons to suddenly lose dexterity. I clumsily drop the gun as a result, and in a panic I instinctively fumble for the thing, trying and failing to snag it from the air before it hit the ground.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I finally manage to grab it by the barrel, but that proves to be a short-lived comfort, namely because I notice that the mare no longer has her face in her book, and is instead peering over it to look directly at me. Her brow is raised, but other than that I can’t really tell what she could possibly be thinking.

With my gun still held awkwardly in my claw, I shrug and find myself searching for words. Any words.

"Eh, you see…" I begin, my cheeks already hurting from how forced my smile is. "I was just, uh…” My eyes go from my gun to the logo on her armor, and with it comes an idea. “Oh! I was just explaining to these gentlecolts how the new Luna's Choice™ pistols are now at least thirty percent more likely to knock out ponies when whipped at their napes."

Somehow, my ploy works, as her face lights up. "Oh yes, absolutely!" she says before turning towards the marauders. "I can personally attest to th-"

And personally attest she can. The corporate pony groans and stumbles to the ground flatly after I, unsurprisingly, whip my pistol at her nape.

Utterly shocked, the raiders' gazes dart between the unconscious mare and me. Despite their efforts to convince me to do this very thing, they clearly did not expect me to.

The bandits watch silently as I strip the mare. I strap her weapons to my waist for easy accessibility, and I make use of my new bag by tossing in a couple magazines of ammunition. I notice each magazine holds eight bullets each, meaning that if my headcount was right, my gun probably has five shots remaining. With the choice-ponies’ gear being standard issue, I now sport a twin set of blades and pistols, just like a proper space pirate should.

With a choice, Luna’s Choice™, crossed out, I turn to the outlaws, shaking my head. Maybe the best option I could have taken was not choosing at all. Regardless, what’s done is done--I can’t reverse time back to when things were more convenient.

I give the trio a look of cold indifference; the same look I imagine a manticore gives its prey before pouncing. I raise my deadliest talon in the air, its sharpness positively glinting in the daylight. Without any warning, I fiercely strike, the three immediately shrinking in fear. It’s over in a blink, the marauders rendered speechless as their bindings come loose and unravel off them.

"Shit, dude!" shrieks the stallion who had a griffin fall on top of his head earlier, "I thought you were gonna kill us!"

"Ha! One second he's all nice and dandy, the next one he goes all psycho!" exclaims the marauder mare, shaking the rope off herself. "Fucking creep, I love him!"

Yeah, I’m not one for murderous hill-folk, so I’m hoping she means that in a nonsexual way.

Ugh. Whatever, I need that ship. "Hacker, now!" I remind them, waving my guns very threateningly at them. "Lead the way."

"Whoa buddy, not so fast," Tresh interrupts. "Given how the other choice-bastard took our weapons, and how you’re now a walking arsenal, and how we're very likely to run into trouble on the way there..." He pauses, only to then finish with, "Well, I don't suppose you can spare a gun or two?"

I don’t even entertain the idea. However, an imaginary marshmallow unicorn mare of refined standing tries to remind me about the importance of sharing deadly gear with complete strangers despite legitimate concerns for my personal well-being.

Like any sane creature would in my position, I chose to ignore that voice.

"Um, yeah. No. I don't think so," I tell him coldly.

The stallion didn’t take it well. Not that I thought he would.

"Hey, you owe us," he accuses. He then paces around me and points at my rifles, "You think I don't recognize those carbines strapped under your wings?" He stops for a moment, and reaches for his chin with a hoof before pointing out, "Besides, if one of our lookouts spots us disarmed with you leading us at gunpoint, they're gonna blow your head the second they have a shot."

I keep one gun each trained at his friends, but my eyes remained fixed on him. Just who the hell is this smooth talking horse?

The marshmallow gleefully reappears to lecture me about how random acts of generosity can lead to long lasting friendships. This might be insane of me to do, but...

"Fine," I tell in resignation to both imaginary and non imaginary ponies.

As I begrudgingly unstrap both rifles, I realize the other two marauders weren’t where I thought they were at all. The smooth horse was distracting me, allowing the other two to circle around my blind spot. Huh, I guess I wasn’t giving these three enough credit.

Despite my tail twitching like crazy, I take a leap of faith and toss a weapon to the stallion whose dark gray tail might have been pure white once, then turn around to throw the other one at the orange-tailed mare.

The second weapon barely leaves my claws when the now familiar shivers return. Without even thinking about it, I vault sideways into the ground and fire my new offclaw pistol from the hip like lightning at the now-armed pony who stood behind me. The bullet imbeds itself into the armor of the stallion's right shoulder, the impact causing him to drop his newly acquired weapon as a bolt of light blue plasma coincidentally zips past me, melting a nearby rock along the path where my head should have been.

Plasma bolts travel slower than conventional bullets, meaning I’d be able to dodge them without the need of weird cryo powers.

Remembering the mare should now be armed as well, I quickly aim my other pistol at her. However, she just stands in confusion, strangely not having any intent to shoot me.

"F-fuck…" The backstabby stallion squirms and reaches for his shoulder with his other hoof. "Nimble bastard."

I stand up and carefully approach the stallion, both of my guns remaining trained on their respective ponies. "You seem to have a deathwish," I rebuke.

"For Celestia's sake, Ash!" Tresh exclaims, quickly crouching beside his partner. "Just give me that gun."

Upon gathering his bearings, the hurt pony, Ash, stands back up and calmly pick ups his weapon, refusing to surrender it. "It's fine, I'm fine," he says with a smug grin on his face. "My hoof slipped, is all."

"Woah," the marauder mare tells nopony in particular as she turns to me curiously, "It's like he has eyes at the back of his head!"

"Maybe," culture pony adds. "I've heard some birds have a vision range so wide they can see their butt at all times."

"I wish I could see my butt at all times," she sighs.

"I wish I could see your butt at all times," Ash counters with a lusty smile.

"Fuck off, Ash," the mare bellows in disapproval.

"Yeah, why don't you take point, Blaze?" suggests Tresh, very suggestively. "We can all drool over your fine ass the whole way."

Appearing rather offended, the mare snaps, "Fuck all of you." Despite this, she takes point, swaying her curvy tail hypnotically while throwing us a seductive nod.

Just when I’m about to take my first step, a thought occurs to me. “Is it safe to just leave the ship here unguarded?” I ask.

“Pfft, then I guess we better not delay any longer than two months, lest the ship be impounded!” sneers betrayal horse as he motions me to move with a hoof, his weapon now safely holstered. While I’m not thrilled about the idea of traveling with him behind my back, much less with a weapon he mishandled, I now feel rather confident about my ability to react to anything funny he might try.

Whether it be due to respect, or fear, these marauders now seem to tolerate my presence. As it's clear nopony will be trying to kill me anytime soon, I skillfully spin my pistols back into their holsters and march forward, following the raiders into the east, or what I assume east is based on stern mare’s earlier indication of where north was.

* * * * *

Nopony says a word for most of the way, either out of precaution for nearby threats or simply because they aren’t comfortable talking around me. Nevertheless, after travelling for most of an hour, double-crosser horse is the first one to break the uncomfortable silence and initiate some small talk with his peers. I barely pay him any heed as it seems like a bunch of gibberish.

"...and when the judge announced my cupcakes only placed second, I shot him in the face," Ash explains thoughtfully. "Watching the molten plasma reduce him to cinders was wildly satisfying."

"And thus," Hunt intervenes, "his ruthless defiling of pastry earned him the name: Ash."

"I see," I nod in understanding. "So it was all because he wanted to be the very best baker," I sigh before concluding, "like nopony ever was."

"No, my cupcakes ARE the best!" the frustrated baker grumbles. "They're just ahead of their time and beyond the comprehension of lesser creatures!"

Having met Equestria's premiere cupcake baker personally, I'm highly skeptical of that claim.

Speaking of ashes and cinders, we arrive at their ramshackle camp, though it appears to have been the sight of a recent skirmish.

Scrapped armor litters the ground, splattered by green gooey blotches of plasma refuse. Whatever body parts aren't liquefied lay scattered with their respective bloody trails, or entrails. The contents of several broken down makeshift tents are indiscriminately dispersed around. Strangely enough, though, all the weapons seem to have been looted, unlike the makeshift but still usable armors or other supplies.

"Alright," Blaze says, throwing her hooves in the air, clearly enraged. "Your hacker should be one of those piles of goo." Kicking an empty box of Flampicillin, she bellows, "We're done here!"

I don't reply immediately, still not being sure of what to make of the scene before me.

Tresh kneels nearby and studies the ground, focusing on a particular set of hoof tracks. "Cloven ones…" he mutters.

Having heard that, Ash begins scanning the surroundings nervously, his weapon primed and on a hair trigger. "In this sector?! Th-they must still be around, stay sharp!" he says in high alert.

Seeing fearless marauders flustered over those 'cloven ones' is rather unnerving. Just what are we dealing with here?

While the other two lock and load their weapons, I ready my pistols and try to still my mind, not letting the faintest feeling go unnoticed. A tense-filled minute passes, however, and yet my predator senses fail to pick up anything unusual.

Playing it safe, we all remain immobile for a few more minutes, looking for any sign of danger.

"Over there!" Blaze suddenly exclaims, motioning with her right hoof towards a path to the south. Her shouting was completely unexpected, almost causing us to shoot her by accident once we turned to her. "Fresh hoofprints leading to the safehouse, there might be survivors."

Tresh and I lock eyes, then nod in understanding. We rush towards the southern path, following the trail toward the potential survivors. Still unsure of what's going on, I run alongside Mr. Ponypedia himself.

"So, what's this about cloven ones?" I ask Tresh. "What are we dealing with, exactly?"

"What?" he replies in surprise. "Have you been living under a rock?" My stoic expression urges him to add, "Better that you don't answer that."

"Nopony knows exactly what they are," Blaze interjects, "Some say they’re horribly mutated ponies gone feral, others that they’re aliens native to these worlds." She takes a nervous gulp before continuing, "Some insist that they're the vengeful spirits of the ponies left behind in Equestria, returned to haunt us all."

None of those explanations seem to make much sense, but one does catch me completely off guard. "What was that about Equestria? Wait, did something happen?" I worriedly inquire.

Ash closes in and says, "It's kind of an open secret, no official statement yet." He collects his thoughts before continuing, "Rumor says The Lunar Corporation hasn't been able to contact Equestria for years, that they’re not even sure it's still there anymore."

"In my opinion," Tresh leans closer to comment. "That only speaks for their own incompetence when it comes to communicating across the vastness of space. One of their satellite relays probably busted again, like the last twenty or so times."

Feeling a bit more relieved and not wanting to sidetrack the conversation anymore, I continue pondering about the splithooved creatures, since they were the most immediate concern. "Anything else you can tell me about these monsters?" I ask.

"Yeah, when you see one, run," Ash says flatly before regarding my wings. "Or fly, just flee as fast as you can."

I don’t find that information to be very helpful, thus I continue pressing on. "What do they look like, though?”

"There are very few accounts of them given how they mercilessly butcher any would-be witnesses," Blaze replies matter-of-factly. As she seems to be enjoying having others look up to her and being the center of attention, she is then compelled to elaborate while putting up her best Nightmare Night story voice. "They supposedly look like very tall and emaciated ponies, the hairs on their tails having completely fallen off, leaving but tiny stumps due to the high toxicity of their blood. The horns of those who might have once been beautiful unicorns twist in weird and unnatural ways. And of course, like their namesake suggests, their hooves look painfully split in half."

Uh, ignoring the eerie way she said it, I can actually think of several very normal creatures back home that could objectively fit that description. Could those beings simply look alien to these lunar ponies? I did meet a couple marauders who thought I was some sort of plagued pony earlier today after all. Guess they don’t fully grasp what a griffin is.

"Doesn't sound scary at all, why flee when I can shoot them?" I smirk with a clawpistol-shooting gesture, mouthing Bang! Bang!

"That's just it, though,” Ash replies in resignation, “nopony knows how to kill them."

Hm. Then good thing I’m no pony, then.

"Both bullets and plasma bolts either ping right off their hides or go straight through them as if they weren't even there,” Blaze explains. She stops, all so she can add the dramatic effect of waving her hooves out while saying, “Like ghosts, oooOOOooo~"

That’s nonsense. Everything has a weakness, even if it involves some crazy super scientific biochemical weapon or a convoluted magical spell. If it ever comes down to it, I know I can find a way to handle them. Well, assuming they don't kill me first, that is.

Thankfully, we appear to be arriving to the aforementioned safe house, as a couple marauder lookouts pop into the distance. With some luck the house will honor its name and actually be safe.

Behind the marauder guards, I spot a small patch of… trees? Like, regular Equestrian trees, their lush greeness decidedly standing out among the rest of the mostly blue alien landscape.

With the goal in our sights, we pick up the pace and approach the outpost.

* * * * *

Concealed by walls of jagged rocks, in the bottom of a cliff lays what appears to be an apple orchard. Half a hundred trees brim with life right in the middle of a mostly dry and dreary alien wasteland. Several shacks made out of scrap metal surround the area. Just in the middle of the encampment, a power facility of sorts.

A few dozen or so marauders idle around, polishing their weapons while talking about their recent exploits. Surprisingly, all of them are earth ponies. I can’t help but wonder if there are any of the other two pony tribes on this moon at all.

Anyway, when they said camp or safe house, I expected there to be just a few ponies in them, something I could shoot my way out in case things went south. Not a small army! I suddenly feel like I absolutely made the wrong choice setting foot in this proverbial lion's den. I like not having any excess breathing holes, so I better keep my cool and do what I can to stay in their good graces while I’m here.

“Password?” demands one of the heavily-geared stallions, barring us from entering into the sanctuary. While his improvised armor is not unlike my companions, his twin X-TAL 5000 plasma repeaters hanging from each side of his battle saddle impose a certain authority.

Blaze steps forward and graciously takes her headwear off with a swipe of her wavy mane, revealing her sleek crimson coat and sensual amber eyes. “Fuck you, Hardie,” she answers.

Without flinching, Hardie bluntly replies, “That’s not the password.”

“It is now,” she pipes, pushing her way in as if the stallion wasn’t even there. He doesn’t seem to mind and puts up no resistance, just letting her pass through. Once in, the mare quickly blends into the settlement and disappears, not giving us any regard.

Tresh steps forward, then leans toward the guard. “Say, anypony from Ripper's crew came through recently?” he asks.

“Just Queen and Priest, why?” Hardie answers, suddenly looking a little worried. “Something wrong?”

“Eh, rest of their gang’s been wiped out,” Tresh replies before turning to me and saying, “but hey, looks like you lucked out, Blue--hacker’s still alive.”

“If the rest have gotten themselves a bundle deal on coffins, you better hurry in and tell Havoc then,” the sentry suggests. He points a hoof at me, then asks, “Hey, what’s with the bird?”

The four ponies standing around me regard me for a moment, before Ash finally says with a smirk, “New recruit.”

Ironic. I was hoping I’d be the one doing the recruiting as my ship might need a crew, but given the position I’m currently in, I decide not to dispute it at the moment. Thus I simply nod at the guard and hope he doesn’t either.

The imposing bouncer stares at me inquisitively for a spell before finally stepping to the side. “Fine, he can go in. Just make sure he doesn’t get into trouble, Tresh.”

“If the trouble happens to be the fun kind, well… Heh, no promises. Anyway, I’ll catch up with you later, big guy,” Tresh says to Hardie with a wave of his hoof as he and Ash walk by him, me following closely behind the two. Upon entering the settlement proper, Tresh stops and turns back to us. “Ash, you and Gallus go talk to Queen, alright? I’ll go find Havoc and give her the bad news.”

“No problem,” Ash says. Once Tresh turns a corner, my chaperone pats my side, then gestures for me to follow him towards a nearby shack. I happily comply; I’m the one following behind him this time, meaning I don’t have to worry about him shooting me in the back again.

* * * * *

Stopping just outside of the shack’s entrance, Ash asks me to wait a minute, then proceeds to unfasten his helmet and visor. He had a bit of difficulty, but his headwear comes free, revealing a charcoal coat and deep blue eyes. Despite appearing rather young, his eyes seemed rather tired and contemplative, as if he didn’t have anything to look forward to anymore.

We casually invite ourselves into the shack, and I discover that the interior isn’t very spacious. The ‘furniture,’ if you can call it that, consists of nothing more than a small table placed in the center surrounded by a couple shelves and three sleeping bags. Seated at the table are two ponies, both in the middle of a discussion. To my surprise, they’re the first non-earth ponies I’ve seen on this moon so far: a young unicorn stallion and a middle-aged pegasus mare. Further setting them apart from the rest outside is the fact that their gear is nothing like the rest of the marauders.

Taking a wild guess, I’m gonna assume that the female pegasus is Queen. Several tools and other arcane mechanical widgets for who knows what purposes stick out of her baggy utility barding and backpack stowed between her orange wings. Said barding is probably a couple sizes too large given how loose it's around her hooves. Atop her rather unkempt magenta mane rest goggles that seem more suited for welding than flying, though they’re currently not shielding her equally colored eyes.

Her friend, the male unicorn, must be Priest then. His jade mane and tail are in a style that, had they been longer, would remind me a bit of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s back in her earlier days, what with the way his mane falls over his sinister dark eyes; a very rare iris color for ponies. His ochre coat is covered by a long black robe with dark blue accents, adorned by countless stars and a large moon not unlike Chairmare Luna’s cutie mark.

The weary pegasus looks around and sighs. “Havoc ain’t gonna like this. We’re gonna have to move a lot sooner than we thought.”

“If such is the will of causality, we shall prevail,” replies the unicorn. His voice is strangely serene, albeit a bit nasally.

The mare, though, she somehow looks familiar. I find myself staring at her, thinking that perhaps she’s an old childhood acquaintance from decades ago? That shouldn’t be the case, because judging by the amount of time I must've been frozen for she would have to be ancient, yet she doesn’t look any older than me.

Hmm… Bah, all ponies just look the same. That must be it.

Ash steps forward, then clears his throat loudly, garnering the attention of the two ponies who seem pleasantly surprised to see him.

“We found a ship,” Ash reports. “It’s a freighter class vessel, abandoned and just waiting for the taking.”

The pegasus seems rather shocked at first, then displeased after hearing the last bit. “What?! Well what’s keeping you from taking it then?”

“Uh, because it’s been certified by Luna’s Choice, that’s why,” Ash bluntly explains. I find it rather weird to hear the company name for the first time without the usual flair the corporate ponies give it. Ash shifts around a bit, then adds, “It’s also parked too close to Haywater, so their security detail have been poking their noses around it.”

The mare seems contemplative, though only for a moment. “Fine, then I'll just head on over there at once,” she says, planting her hooves on the table before motioning to rise from her seat.

Ash raises a hoof, instructing the mare to stay put. “Hold up. Before you go anywhere, I just want to know what happened back at camp.”

“What do you mean?” she replies, decidedly confused. “What happened at camp?”

“It’s been destroyed, no survivors,” he says, giving the pegasus an insidious look. “You were there when it happened, weren’t you?”

The mare seems a bit lost in thought for a moment, then utters, “No…” As her gaze shifts around nervously, she adds, “We were summoned back here. Don’t know what to tell you.”

Still looking at her firmly, he spits, “Hmm. How convenient.”

“It is what it is,” chimes in Priest with his eternally calm expression, completely failing to calm anyone else.

“So uh, any idea who did it?” inquires Queen.

Ash looks around, likely considering his next words. Once he did decide on some, he put them forth in a grave tone. “Don’t have anything solid yet, but from the look of it, it might've been The Legion.”

“Oh you’re kidding!” the mare snaps, positively fuming. “Did you just walk here right after you barely missed their onslaught?!” She fiercely stands up, forcibly flipping the table to the side, “You’ve just led them here!”

While I’m still left in the dark on a few things, her sudden reaction really puts me on edge, enough to have me scanning the immediate area for any threats. My claws prime over my pistols as I fully expect the whole place to explode any second now.

A few tense moments tick by, time spent where Queen stares down Ash incredulously and vice versa. Other than that, though, nothing happens.

Despite the staredown, everyone appears to simmer down without anything needing to go explosive. A heavy silence lingers in the air, though Ash is the first to break it. “We did no such thing, I made sure of that.” He’d know, he was the one guarding the rear on our way here after all.

Actually, his words might as well have jinxed the whole thing. Watch, something bad is gonna happen now…

Any second now... Just stay put a sec.

Is it getting cold in here or is that the shivers? I’m not sure anymore.

“It’s alright,” the pegasus mare huffs. “If we get that ship's parts, we won’t have to worry about that anymore.”

I think I’ve heard enough. That ship’s important, I can feel it. I’m not just gonna let anypony strip it down for parts. Thus, unable to hold my tongue any longer than I already have, I blurt, “You’re not getting anything.”

Hearing that, Ash turns to me and his face contorts to display both annoyance and disbelief; likely he was hoping I would just quietly play along with whatever scheme he was cooking. Queen looks at me in shock for a moment, and Priest is just sitting there lost in his own world or something.

Realizing I’m now the focus of everyone’s attention, I silently chide myself. I’m... not sure why I said it out loud, I could have at least waited until we were back at the ship to bring it up, but I couldn’t stand hearing them talk about it as if it was theirs. Damn my griffin genes!

“What did you just say?” she says menacingly, finally regarding my presence while eyeing me thoroughly. “Well what’s this? A griffin on Luna Three? And just who are you supposed to be, anyway?" Her eyes scan me top to bottom, then, to my confusion, her demeanor suddenly changes. She gradually went from somepony who’s annoyed to have their conversation interrupted by a total stranger to somepony who’s seen a ghost. "What are…” She pauses, then smiles and gives a little laugh. “Heh, nice colors. What are you, some kind of deranged Wonderbolts fan I presume?”

It takes a deranged fan to know one.

“Nice colors…? Oh.“ Realizing what she meant, I run my claws through my yellow and blue head feathers, then say with a smirk, “Oh yeah, these are all natural. Jealous?”

“Cool,” the pegasus replies with cold indifference, though her subtle body language tells me she’s actually very jealous about it. She balks once she notices the logo on my jacket, however, then turns to the marauder standing beside me. ”Ash, what’s this Luna's chosen clown doing here?”

Ash opens his mouth, but before he can reply, I raise my claw and interject. “The ship’s mine. I’m only here because I want you to crack it for me.”

"Pfft, If you need me to crack it then it's obviously not yours," she snickers. “And besides, why would I do that anyway?”

Okay. Clearly a little incentive is needed...

“Uh, because I spared this lowlife and his buddies’ lives, twice, in exchange for your help.” I unholster my weapons in a flash, pressing one barrel to Ash’s temple and aiming the other at the pegasus. They didn’t anticipate it at all, not with my claws being likely faster than their sight. “If you want to dishonor our deal, then go ahead, but know that it’s the only thing keeping me from fucking killing you all right now,” I threaten.

Through the pistol’s barrel and into my claw gripping the gun, I can clearly feel the charcoal stallion shaking in his hooves, terrified. He had faced death twice by my claws already, and he knew very well that the third time would be the charm.

“Are you fucking stupid?” the mare exclaims. ”You’re standing smack dab in the middle of our garrison. Fire that gun and you ain’t leaving this place alive.”

“Do I look like I give a shit?!” I proclaim, further pressing the gun into Ash’s head. I’m really selling it, I can tell that much from the look in the pegasus’ fearful eyes.

“P-please…” the stallion begs to his friends, “just do what he says!” He’s about ready to start pissing himself. “You haven’t seen him fight--this guy’s the fucking devil!” Well, he got that part right.

"Dammit Ash, why are you going around making deals with unhinged strangers on my behalf just to save your own tail?" The mare sighs. "Maybe we’d be better off if you had just died instead."

It’s clear that Ash is hurt by that comment. He stops shaking, indicating that he’s now more upset with Queen than afraid of me. "It was a good deal," he tells the mare, his eyes hardened and filled with rage. "He's not with Choice. He was heading straight to Haywater, and we kept him from joining them. He can be a good asset."

I'm not gonna be anypony's fucking asset, that much is clear. And now I'm even more curious about these Haywater ponies; maybe I should've sought their help instead after all.

The pegasus' gaze races across the room for a bit, and it’s my bet that she’s thinking of a way out of this situation. Realization seems to strike her, and a smile soon creeps onto her muzzle. "Perhaps we won't need the ship after all…" she tells nopony in particular before turning back to me, raising an eyebrow. "If we just so happen to have a psycho on our side who can stroll into heavily guarded outposts and casually blow ponies' heads up, well..."

I see where she's getting at. She’s looking to haggle a little extra out of me before deciding to budge. Well that might work on some, but clearly she’s forgotten just what I am.

"Ha ha, yeah, no. I did my part of the deal already when I spared your friends," I yell at her. "They ain’t dead, and now I want you to hold up your end of the bargain and make the ship's astrogator recognize me as its captain. After that, maybe..." I hesitate to say it as I don't actually mean it, but I figure I gotta give them something if we want to avoid more senseless bloodshed today. "Just maybe, we can see about doing more business in the future."

Why is negotiating with ponies always so complicated? No matter how clear the terms are they always try to cheat their way into getting a bigger slice of the pie.

"Ah, so I see that the griffins' obsession with their contracts really is legendary," the unicorn speaks up, much to everyone's surprise. "Their unquestionable loyalty to them is as predictable as their insatiable lust for wealth." He turns to the mare and nods in approval. "We can trust that, at least."

I'm not that type of griffin, and I’m not exactly thrilled of ponies always thinking that way of me.

While Queen’s still clearly upset about the deal forcibly laid upon her by the three marauders, she finally relents. "Alright, fine. I'll honor the deal. We can't have anypony or griff go around saying that The Crystal Raiders aren't true to their word."

Despite still being trailed by my gun, she approaches Ash and gives him a pitiful look, one that the stallion returns with a shy smile. Without a warning, though, Queen's hoof lands squarely on his face, staggering him towards the shack’s wall. It appears to be made of some pretty flimsy material, because Ash creates a him-sized hole through it and falls on his back outside with a groan. Several nearby marauders who were just going about their business stop to observe the commotion.

She approaches the knocked out pony and spits on the ground near him, saying, "Your weakness caused this, remember that. We'll see how you can make up for it later." With that done, the pegasus then turns to me. "Alright, let's go then. It should only be a ten minute flight, and maybe afterwards I can convince you to give me a ride back here."

With negotiations completed, I give my pistols a couple well deserved spins before returning them to their holsters. I mean, I was just trying to intimidate them, I wasn't about to go on a murderous spree if things didn't work out.

I think, maybe.

I… just don't know anymore.

The pegasus fiddles with a small interface panel on a device attached to her hoof, causing two small thrusters to extend from the bottom of her backpack. They reveal themselves to be an integrated jetpack of some sort, helping her take to the sky after she extends her wings. I think it’s a bit odd for her to use such a contraption for flying when she’s a pegasus, but other than that I pay it little mind. She lags in the air, motioning for me to follow.

After stepping out of the shack through the newly made hole, I give my wings a little stretch. I’m unsure if I would even be able to do this, though I suppose I have walked around for a few hours, so my muscles certainly feel much less stiff than when I had just woken up. If there was a time to reattempt flying, this was it.

Not wanting to keep the mare waiting any longer, I take a jump and flap my wings vigorously. Though fumbling slightly, I successfully take off and reclaim the ecstatic feeling that always engulfs me as I finally return to my rightful element.

And so, as two free souls unshackled from earthen bounds, we head far into the northwest.

* * * * *

The air of Luna Three feels denser under my wings than what I recall of Equestria. It makes flight easier as a result, if slightly slower.

As we fly out of the canyon surrounding the desolated marauder lands, I let myself get lost in my surroundings as I glide a few hundred feet above the ground, the wind gently thrusting me across the sky and carrying with it the whispers of the land.

What is in the north? I beckon, and the wind promptly answers...

Haywater. A large industrious community of the Luna's Choice™ family judging by the gaudy entrance sign I can see even from up here, bustling with activity as ponies tirelessly work around the clock. My eagle sight also reveals large fields surrounding the settlement, growing what seem to be genetically modified crops for their inhabitants sustenance and exports, which is decidedly lacking if the anemic looks of the settlers' emaciated bodies are anything to ascertain.

What about the south?

The Crystal Raiders, improbably self-organized outlaws with impossibly expensive weapons, likely a guerrilla funded by a corporate rival of Luna's Choice™ to disturb Haywater's operations. Surprisingly, their orchard's produce quality appears to be fairly superior to that of Haywater's crops.

In the west?

The thunder of brimstone storm clouds and gleams of dark magic. Screams of agony and rage drowned in eternal emerald flames. Unholy chants accompanied by the whirring echoes of nefarious war machines.

And to the east?

A mysterious flower field beyond the arid badlands encircles a large blue crystal several stories tall. The crystal radiates with a strong magical aura and hums in harmonic tunes as it slowly spins on its own axis, lightly levitating inches from the ground. Around it, three ponylike figures clad in pure black clothing looking directly at us through their sinister orange visors.

Down below?

The smuggler's ship, surrounded by a dozen Luna's Choice™ ponies aiming their weapons right at us.

Despite the welcoming committee, the pegasus mare does not slow down and heads straight to our target. Recklessly, we descend, lading firmly atop the vessel's roof.

* * * * *

Having anticipated our arrival, the corporate ponies await clumsily hidden behind the cover of rocks and sturdy alien plants, ready to shoot at us at the slightest provocation. Neither stern-mare nor cave-colt seem to be among them, hopefully having gotten an early leave to treat their injuries. The bravest of them moves forward to address us, despite his wage being likely insufficient for such a task.

Queen leans closer to me and whispers with confidence. “Listen griff, we can take them,” she points leftwards with her left wing, “On my signal you take the five on that side plus the idiot who stepped out of cover,” she then points to the right with the corresponding wing. “I’ll take the other six.”

“I don’t know,” I tell her unconfidently. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Taking six perfectly lined shots in an instant, even with my already impeccable skills assisted by time dilation seems like a long stretch, and that’s assuming she’s actually capable of holding up her own without me needing to pick up her slack.

“Heh, you know,” Queen says with a grin, “I always considered myself the quickest shot on this moon. But, with that mad drawing speed you pulled back in the shack, now I'm not so sure anymore.”

“It’s not that,” I say, “its--”

“It’s like my whole life I keep finding myself under the shadow of others who are faster than me…” she says, lowering her head, “Better than me, actually.”

I sigh. “I’d just like to go through today without having to kill anymore ponies, you know?”

“Yeah, well, sometimes you’ve got no other choice,” she says in defeat.

"No," I refute. "There’s always another choice. We’re just too blind to see it, or too stubborn to take it." There’s a faint smile on her muzzle, and I take that as a sign that she really likes my reply.

Well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter if she liked that or not. We’ve still got our present situation to deal with.

Now, if I recall correctly, those Luna’s Choice™ ponies are a bunch of pussies. They had to hire a total stranger, me, to deal with the marauders earlier. Perhaps we can just scare them away. I mean, what’s the worst they could do?

The pony they sent out, a rust-coated stallion, finally stands within earshot. He stops to whip his long, black tail, then calls out to Queen and I. "Yeah, you've got a lot of nerve showing your snout around here after all you've done." He points a hoof menacingly at my pegasus partner, his brown eyes staring fiercely at her as he declares, "Raider Queen."

She just gives him a curious look and doesn't humor him with a reply. For a second there I was sure he was addressing me, but in hindsight it makes sense the marauder mare has got to have far more accolades than this newcomer background griffin.

"And you, 'freelancer'…" The stallion turns to me, "You were with the marauders all along and merely played dumb just to make us lower our guard, weren't you?"

"Uh, no. Completely inaccurate," I reply truthfully, casually reaching for my offclaw pistol. "I'm still just a freelancer." I do it so smoothly he doesn't react.

"Yeah, you griffins are all the same," he paces around carelessly while waving his right hoof, "You take a contract to fuck someone up, then take a contract from said someone to fuck the one who originally sent you to fuck them first. A disgusting cycle of greedy fuckery."

Knowing that’s definitely not my case, I refute with utter confidence, "That's simply not true." If there was ever anygriff who fought against the griffin norms, that was certainly me. Well… actually there was one other I could think of, but heck if I know where she is.

"Hah! Yet you just admitted it!" the pony practically squeaks. "If you weren’t with the marauders from the start, that means you accepted our deal to capture them, and as soon as you were released from our contract, you accepted one from the marauders to set them free again," he says with a smug, punchable face. "Or are you a fucking liar?"

Okay, well when he puts it like that…

"It… uh… it wasn't like that…" I gulp nervously.

The stallion notices my flinching, and presses on. "I have little tolerance for despicable behavior such as that. However… her Most Esteemed Highness Chairmare Luna, with her millenary wisdom and kindness, devised a way to help those poor souls such as yourself who simply cannot help themselves.” He raises his hooves as if praising the sky, “Thus she created The Eternal Contract, by which sorry creatures like you no longer have to worry about the creeping void of unemployment that tempts you into the shameful pitfalls of betrayal!"

Growing tired of the super-villain monologue, I groan. “Why are you suddenly telling me all of this?” Before he can reply, I throw him a suspicious look and denounce him with my most righteous talon pointed in his general direction, “You just applied for a promotion, didn't you?! Is that what this is?! A show for you to earn good boy points?!”

The stallion lowers his hooves and grins awkwardly for a few moments. “Um, yeah. As a matter of fact I did file a promotion request... After all, saving both of my colleagues from bloodthirsty marauders earlier today did earn me some merit."

I lurch forward, my eyes wide and unblinking as I stare at him in disbelief.

Oh. My. Grover. This snake took credit for my work, and still has the nerve to shamelessly point a hoof back at me...

“But that's besides the point,” he continues. “What I'm offering you is a way to redeem yourself, you know!”

Translation: He knows he's outgunned and wants to improve his odds by selling me some pipe dream. Unfortunately for him, I can read between the lines there.

“I don't know, dude,” I say as I scratch my nape, rolling my eyes, “The Eternal Contract sounds a bit... permanent.”

"Yeah… I may have spread the honey a bit too thick there...” The pony looks down, scratching the ground with a hoof. He seems rather disappointed with himself, but suddenly, he looks back up and exclaims triumphantly, “Oh, maybe I should have started with this instead!" The stallion produces a roll of paper and with that creepy dexterity that only earth ponies have, he throws it perfectly into my right claw.

Quickly after catching it, I unfold the paper and give it a skim. It looks like a wanted poster with a mean-looking criminal printed on it.

It appears to offer a reward for The Raider Queen…

Who is to be turned in Dead or Alive…

The artist certainly took a lot of liberties when it came to overemphasizing the murderous look in her eyes. She looks like she's about to jump out of the poster at me and devour my entrails.

The reward offered in bits is:

Two.

Hundred…

THOUSAND!?

My jaw hits the floor and I drop to my knees in astonishment. By the beard of ol’ Grover! That’s more money than what my yearly salary was as Twilight's Captain! And I had to take down dozens of baddies every year to maintain peace, not just one.

"Yeah, do you understand now, my feathered kitten friend?” the choice-stallion chimes with a very smooth voice. “Turn in that pegasus who’s standing inches by your side, and you'll have enough money to not only pay off all of your accumulated fines,” his voice grows with passion as a wicked grin draws over his muzzle, “but also become the legal owner of this fine ship immediately. You could even invest the remaining tens of thousands in the Bank of Lunaria to live leisurely at the heights of Elysium for the rest of your days out of attractive risk-free increments!"

"Did you just say, own this ship, immediately?" I ask incredulously.

"But of course! The Outstanding-employees Program, which you would most certainly become part of by turning her in, has all sorts of special privileges," he beams with radiance. "Like premium priority attention on all of the services The Lunar Corporation provides, holiday bonus, and a wide coverage health insurance." And if that wasn't enough, he then adds, "Hay, shut down the murderous spree of this terrorist and maybe Chairmare Luna herself will make you a shareholder in the board of directors!"

I’d be damned, even the premiums are better! Forget Celestia! Forsake Twilight! Vote Luna!

“Uh, you’re not seriously considering his offer,” the pegasus mare looks at me insidiously, before worriedly adding, “are you?”

Oh I am very seriously considering his offer.

The raiders might have reluctantly offered me a place in their ranks but they’re just waiting for the chance to kill me in my sleep, I know it!

While the Luna’s Choice™ ponies have only done good to me so far, I have abused their trust twice. I can probably forgive the chatty yes-stallion for stealing credit on the saving-from-marauders thing given how I pretty much betrayed them immediately after. And the fines were my own fault out of my ignorance, and you know what they say: Ignorance of the law excuses no one!

Why did I ever think cooperating with outlaws was a good idea?!

…

Wait, if Tresh's words had any actual substance behind them, there might be good reason not to accept this offer.

Maybe… I can ask her!

“Hey, why did you become a raider?” I desperately question the pegasus.

“I um…” she tries to mutter something but has difficulty coming up with an answer. Scratching her mane she shrugs then ultimately answers with, “Got tired of following the company policies and just wanted to fuck shit up?”

I balk in disbelief. That’s not helping your case!

Noticing my reaction, with a nervous grin she elaborates, “But my case ain't a good example, I’m sure there must be ponies who have legit tragic stories involving the corporations.” She looks away in shame before adding,“I just don’t personally know any of them either…”

I faceclaw, so hard. Not helping your case at all!

Having overheard that, the corporate stallion is now just happily dancing and laughing maniacally, celebrating his impending victory in earnest.

There’s something else I can try. Something I’ve forgotten until now. Perhaps…

I grab the pegasus by her barding and urgently ask, “Eternium. Do you have any leads on Eternium?!”

“Pfft, who does?” she sneers at me, not minding my sudden roughness. “Isn’t everypony desperate to get some of that these days?" She casually shrugs, "Ain’t none left up for grabs in the system as far as I can tell.”

WHAT?!

Her words completely short circuit my mind. Was the quest I had just begun been impossible all along? The mad scientist mare better have a good plan. A super awesome, brilliant plan, or else!

Taking advantage of my inner turmoil, the pegasus backflips and breaks my grip by kicking straight into my chest with her hind hooves at blinding speed. The impact painfully empties my lungs and sends her vaulting into the air. She then skillfully lands on the opposite edge of the ship's roof with a loud clunk from her hooves as they strike its cold metallic hull.

The raider then gives me a stink eye and glowers. "I'm getting the impression you really want to claim my bounty." She swipes her mane sideways and grins with narrowed eyes. "You're welcome to try but I'll definitely shoot your beak off if you do."

As far as I can tell she's not carrying any weapons, unless they're concealed under her barding or in that backpack of hers. She might have just admitted I could be the quicker shot, but I’m wearing my weapons in plain sight thus she'll see me coming. On the other claw, I might not even realise her intentions until it's too late. With an outrageous bounty that large, she's definitely dangerous.

I remain silent, my mind being too occupied as it races through all the possible outcomes of this encounter.

The corporate ponies are positively excited to see two legends face-off right before their eyes. They now scream and holler, cheering on each one of us, placing bets and all.

"Bitch killed my cousin, avenge her!" a mare roots for me.

"Show that fledgling who's the queen around here!" a stallion cheers for the raider, much to the disdain of most of his colleagues.

Other screams are more ambiguous. "Pluck the chicken!" yells a third pony.

The wind blows, its chilling breeze flustering the feathers that cover every inch of my upper body.

I begin to stand on my hind legs cautiously, my wings faintly unfurling behind me to help maintain my balance. My claws prime over their corresponding pistols by my sides, releasing the wanted poster to the wind. I turn to the raider, my gaze narrowed. "How many ponies have you killed?" I demand of her.

The pegasus lowers her head, spreading her hooves and wings slightly, assuming a guarding stance. Her fierce magenta eyes never trail away from mine as she answers severely, "Not enough." Without flinching, she counters, "What about you?"

"Too many," I sigh, a well known feeling of cold growing by the second within me as my heart rate increases vehemently.

I don't have to kill her, just incapacitate her. Then I can turn her in alive so she can be judged for all the crimes she's committed and make up for them. I avenge the ponies she’s wronged and make a name for myself in the process. If worse comes to worst, one pony life to save twelve and potentially many more future ones is an acceptable outcome. It’s not about the fame nor fortune, this is just the morally correct thing to do.

And technically, I wouldn't be betraying her since I'm not currently working for her. She's the one working for me. It would be like a sudden layoff. Damn, did I just make a business analogy? Those corporate ponies sure have been rubbing off on me!

Then I could hang out with the choice-ponies for a bit and learn their side of the story, and if it turns out to be rotten I might be able to regain the marauder's trust by jailbreaking this mare. Perhaps the corporate ponies can also point me towards some Eternium unlike this hopelessly useless raider.

With an impeccable plan perfectly laid out, I take a deep breath and focus, my cryo-weird perception of time activating by my pure sheer will as the cheers of the company ponies warp into incomprehensible background noise.

I set my sights on her right shoulder blade, near her wing joint. A well placed shot there should be shocking enough to neutralize her without risking a fatal injury.

As my talons hover millimeters over my weapons, her deadly fixated stare makes me hesitate. She IS VERY dangerous, every fiber of my body tells me.

Afraid I might not be trying hard enough, I push my concentration further, time seeming to slow even more as my head starts pounding intensely. Either due to another one of my recent hallucinations, or my overclocked mind perceiving the frequency of light differently, the world begins to flicker in what seems like a shower of rainbows.

And so, as I assume the pegasus will not expect an offclaw attack, I unholster my second pistol with breakneck speed and pull the trigger faster than ever before, much faster than anyone should be capable of.

Try as I might, however, there’s a loud bang and my weapon is sent spinning out of my grip and into the air completely scrapped.

Without even thinking about it, I Instinctively reach for my mainclaw pistol, but before it's even fully unholstered, it also explodes away from me.

Two of Luna's chosen try to take advantage of the distraction I provided and begin trailing their weapons towards the raider, just to have both of their heads immediately burst into a red mist. At the sight, the rest of the corporate ponies turn tail and gallop in terror as fast as their hooves can take them, the cowardly rust-coated snake fleeing the fastest among them.

The pegasus remains still, kneeling with both of her forelegs extended sideways in the air as four azure spiral trails dissipate around her.

Fuck. If the neon letters that my beautiful eagle eyes spot on her weapons' receivers are any indication, she had twin X-TAL R-500P portable railguns strapped around her cannons, concealed under the sleeves of her barding all along. What with railgun projectiles travelling several times quicker than a conventional bullet, not even I can see them with my cryotime.

Damn! Now even my thoughts are like advertisements. Fucking corporate ponies ARE rubbing off on me!

Having finally processed what just happened, I recall the pegasus had moved with inequine speed. She was seriously fast, more like, impossibly fast. Even through my lapse of enhanced perception, her hooves shifted with mad haste by standard conventions, as if time had not slowed for her at all either, or perhaps we all just appeared too slow to her all the time. Her swiftness was absolutely ridiculous.

Outmatched, I crumble and splay myself onto the ship's roof. I overtaxed the time dilation, as my head feels as if it’s ready to pop. Equally as painful are my claws, their muscle tissues burning fiercely after having their weapons violently ripped away from their grip. By some miracle, my limbs hadn't come clean off themselves despite having been shot at by such high powered weapons. Perhaps because the pegasus had intentionally missed by a few inches.

The raider recovers and begins approaching me between limps, her impressive performance likely having taken its toll as well, although to a much lesser effect.

She stops in front of me and punches me squarely across my beak, spraying my blood over the ship's hull. Those hooves, and the concealed weapons attached to them, hurt like a motherfucker.

"You think you can sneak into my home and threaten to kill all of my friends!" she snaps as another one of her hooves sinks into my gut, and with it goes half a can of Harrots. "Then turn on me over a little cash after I agreed to help you despite not having any obligation to!"

She lands a kick squarely over my spine, probably ending my flying days. My chest impacts harshly against the metal hull of the ship, then I immediately use what little strength I can manage to flip onto my back. I find myself looking up at an unfamiliar sky, my chest heaving and blood bubbling out of my nostrils as I struggle to breathe.

"You're fucking disgusting," she spits on my face. In hindsight, I guess I fucking am. "The only reason I didn't aim for your head was because you somehow reminded me of a pony who's very dear to me." She stops her ruthless assault on my body to sigh, though maybe she's still kicking me but I’m physically incapable of feeling shit anymore. "Maybe it's your coat pattern or the way your blue feathers race through the wind. I don't know."

The marauder sighs, then proceeds to step away from my pathetic self.

After taking a couple steps, however, the pegasus turns around and points her right hoof at my head, readying her weapon. With her eyes displaying unrestrained rage, she makes a final demand.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now."

What does anyone even answer to that? More so anyone in my position, stranded, forsaken in an inhospitable world. I have no possessions nor information and my word has likely no value to her anyway.

What is it that these raiders value more than anything, other than their plunder? Is it Strength? Guts? Comradeship? Loyalty?

It doesn’t matter if The Crystal Raiders are the good guys or the bad guys or whatever. I quite frankly can’t tell yet, they might as well be somewhere in between. Though, Queen told me earlier she was looking forward to working with me in the future and I need to survive now.

Thus, between rasped breaths and drips of blood, and with my eyelids getting heavier by the second, I utter what I know too well will be my last words.

"B-because then… I--” I cough blood, “I w-wouldn't be able to... give you a ride back."

Hearing my answer, the pegasus reluctantly lowers her weapon and raises her gaze towards the sky, looking beyond the horizon and into the stars, a faint smile forming in her snout.

“What kind of shitty answer is that?” She turns back to me and tells me while shaking her head. “Hadn’t you just sided with the corporate ponies not ten seconds ago? You switch sides quicker than your draw.” And with a roll of her eyes, she finally sighs. ”Am I gonna have to foalsit you in order to keep you from choosing 'stupid' everytime you make a decision?”

While my words didn’t have the exact effect I expected, at least I'm not dead yet.

My sight of the mare blurs before eventually going dark. The last sensation I feel before my mind follows suit is the back of my head banging as it falls onto the ship's roof.

* * * * *

Footnote: New Companion Available

Queen - After decades of tuning the pimpest rides, all forms of hardware now practically bend to her will. She's also kind of a speed freak who values loyalty above all other virtues for some reason.