Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Devil in Disguise, Part 3

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"The end of the Campaign of Conquest” as Harp Melody called it, came when Stable 50 finally made contact with the rest of the Islands. They found the remnants of Stable-Tec, now called Orthrus, along with what was left of the Equestria Government, simply called The Republic. With their help, the rest of the bandit clans and mutants were cleared out of the stations, thus allowing the Royal Family to simply govern.

Though many of the nobility were against it, the now old Queen Majesty agreed to let Orthrus to start their Mirage Pony treatment on the Gathering Islands. This stopped the birth of more mutants as well as helped the population of the island to finally grow properly." ~ Azure Dice

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Waterspout placed Cloudy on the backroom couch and quickly ran to get a healing potion. He poured a bit on her face before forcing a bit more into her mouth. I could see the damage on her face slowly fix itself, but it wasn't perfect. A little bit of bruising remained.

An annoyed sigh came from Waterspout as he fed a bit more healing potion to Cloudy. “If I knew that Elements of Harmony would lower the effectiveness of healing potions, I’d have buried my stock deep underground.”

Holding onto Cloudy’s hoof, a thought of what I could have done to stop this ran through my head. It was my fault in the first place. It’s always my fault! By working here, I, of course, would have attracted the attention of that asshole peasant. “She will be okay… right?”

Waterspout grimaced. “I hope so. She took a blow to the head. That can cause damage that healing potions can't simply just fix. We should probably take her to The Followers in the morning to make sure she is fine.

“And she was due to perform later, too,” he added with a frustrated sigh.

“Is that all you actually care about?!” I growled.

He gave me a cold glare that sent a shiver down my spine. “Miss Harp Melody, you do know that if she can't work, then she can't get paid. My concern for this business is directly tied with her ability to buy food for herself. So ya, it’s all I care about, and that includes my best mare being happy and healthy.”

With ears lowered, I felt... deflated. “S… Sorry.”

Finishing giving Cloudy the rest of the healing potion, Waterspout corked it and put it to the side before placing a claw on her neck. “You should be. Pulling a gun out like that ... if there was a shootout, who knows how many would have gotten hurt or killed.”

After a moment, he took his claw off her neck. “Looks like she will be fine. Physically, at least. Now, before any of you ponies go on about how False was in the wrong, please remember none of us here has any control over that son of a radroach, so just focus on Cloudy.”

He then huffed in annoyance. “Anyways, I’ll go talk to the mayor about this first before seeing Ashy. No matter how good he is at sweet-talking, the mayor still cares more about his reputation and the bottom line. Any incident like this is not going to reflect well on the town. There’s too many witnesses.”

A groan came from Star Charter as she patted down her beer-soaked mane with a rag.

“I know at least ten ponies willing to shoot that fucker for enough caps,” Star suggests.

“And I know that most of those ponies will take half the caps and pay somepony else to do it, and spend the other half on chem.” Waterspout countered.

“Right, right. Last time somepony put a hit on Ashy, the caps actually went through four hitponies. That fourth pony was just some bumbling oaf who actually challenged her to a shootout at noon,” Star added.

“And Ashy was able to go up the line to find out who originally paid the hit. Five bodies were swinging from the gallows that night.” Waterspout said with a sigh as he picked up his shotgun and trotted back to his office.

I felt Cloudy moved a little. Her eyes were slowly opening.

“She’s awake!” I yelled.

Waterspout poked his head over. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. If she was out for much longer, then it could have been bad. Just make sure she stays awake.”

Cloudy looked up at me as I held onto her hoof. “Did something happen?”

She then winced, pulling her other hoof over where False had hit her. “What hit me?”

“Somepony that should be taken out back and beaten like an ill-tempered gecko, that's what,” Star grumbled angrily.

As Cloudy sat up. I gave her a hug, feeling relieved that she seemed fine. “There was… an incident with False Cap. He hit you.”

There was a momentarily silent pause before Cloudy nodded. “I… think I remember something like that. It’s still hazy, and I got this ringing in my ear.”

Pulling back, I could see that, on her confused face, tears were forming in her eyes.

“Oh sweetie! It’s going to be fine.” Star said as she trotted over and gave Cloudy a hug. “You're safe and we're here for you.”

We let her cry for several minutes as we held onto her. The fun-loving and alluring mare now felt so small and fragile.

As much as I was relieved that she was fine, I couldn't help but think of ways to get back at False. Not something so simple as a beating or loss of his positions. That was for ponies who could still return to being productive members of society. Knocking them down so they can build themselves back up.

What I wanted to do was install fear to his core. Something he would never be able to forget or truly recover from.

The royal guard’s favorite interrogation technique involved food, water, and sleep deprivation along with random beatings. If done long enough, the pony would be left mentally scarred.

I know that my eldest sister was a fan of removing the hooves and making the pony march. I never saw it myself, but she would tell me about it to give me nightmares. The pain would cause the pony to cry and wail until they passed out. Even after the hooves regrow, the pain only dulls but never goes away.

Then again, mother knew best. Castration and the removal of any healthy origins they could live without. She would only do this when there was more than one pony to torment, giving the others the opportunity to confess or suffer the same fate.

“It’s okay, Harp,” Cloudy said as she pulled me into her chest, “It’s okay.”

I don't know why, but tears also welled up from my eyes. “I thought I lost you! I thought… I thought I lost somepony I cared about again,” I said as I choked back a sob.

She patted me on the head as the smell of cheap perfume filled my nose. “Gees, and weren't you the one who said that we’ve only known each other for a few days?” Cloudy reminded me.

We stayed in each other's hooves for several minutes. Star trotted off to wash the beer out of her mane. It was comforting and put my mind at ease. Thought about tormenting False still ran through my head, but each time they seemed too good for him and too much effort on my part. Eventually I just let it go, fingering it was better to see what happens later. Maybe I’ll come up with a way to punish him after.

When Star had returned, I couldn't help but be shocked how good she looked with a wet mane. It was wavy like seaweed. It had a shine to it that reminded me of the crystal clear waters of my home. Yet, something about how her wet mane hung to her face, hiding it, which made her appear like a predator waiting for her prey to come near.

“What?” Star said as she again started padding her mane down.

“N… nothing. You just look good with a wet mane. That’s all,” I replied.

A sharp jab to my side from Cloudy got my attention.

“Don’t be going after other mares when you have me,” she pouted, then chuckled. “But ya. I don’t know why, but Star is just stunning when drenched. There was one time she got caught in a sudden downpour before going out on stage. The customers were absolutely silent watching her.”

Waterspout trotted over to us then passed a rag and a vile of healing potion to Cloudy. “I’m not going to ask you to go out on stage, but if you're feeling good for work, go help the bartender. I’ll also pay you for the wage lost, so don’t worry about the caps. I’m going to make sure to wring those lost caps out of False.”

Cloudy applied some of the healing potions to her bruise, wincing a little. “Thanks, boss, but I really shouldn't have stepped in like that.”

The hippogriff looked over at a still pissed Star, then back to Cloudy with a stern look. “You are absolutely right, Cloudy Sunrise! A mare like you does not have the strength to give or take a hit. Not like Star. So, the next time someone pushing Star’s buttons like that, go get me.”

He again looked over at Star. “You, on the other hoof, handled it… as well as we can reasonably expect. Frankly, if he was any other pony, I’d let you break all his legs.”

Waterspout’s eyes shifted again, landing on me. He reached out with his claw and flicked me on the head. “But you are an idiot! I know I already said this, but pulling a fucking weapon out, a gun no less, fucking Tartarus! I know I let you girls defend yourselves, but not at the risk of a shitstorm king shootout!”

He grabbed me by the muzzle, holding it shut hard. “I’ll say this once, as I know you're smart enough to listen the first time. If you ever pull that shit again, make sure you're ready to die or leave town forever. You put not only my business in danger, but all my employees at risk too, and a lot of them know ponies who don’t care about Ashy’s justice. So, next time you want to play hero, do it off the clock and go somewhere else.”

His claw let go of my muzzle. “You understand?”

“Crystal,” I said, looking him in the eye. “Next time I’ll make sure this place is not involved.”

For a moment we stared at each other, then he nodded. “Right. As long as you remember that, you will be fine. But…”

I raised an eyebrow, “But what?”

“But you still need to make up for the commotion you caused. You did spook several customers.” Waterspout pointed out. I felt like I was going to not like what he was going to suggest next.

“Boss, can’t you let her off?” Cloudy spoke up.

He shook his head. “No. An example has to be made. Even if I can pin this shit all on False, Ashy is still going to want some sort of punishment for Harp. If we do it here and now, that should be enough to appease her.”

“What kind of punishment?” I asked, feeling dread wash over me.

Tapping his beak, Waterspout sized me up with his eyes. “I think we should take this discussion to my office.”

I nodded. I was about to follow until Cloudy held onto me tighter. Star also gave the boss a less than pleasant look.

The hippogriff sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll explain it to her here.” He looked down at me with a serious stare. “I’ll require you to do special work to make up for the trouble. If you want it to be easy, I can put you up for auction for the brothel. Half your earnings will go to paying off Espresso.”

Cloudy shoved her hoof in front of me. “Like that’s ever going to fucking happen!”

“That’s up to Harp, not you.” Waterspout said coldly.

I thought about it for a moment, not even sure how I’d even feel about it, but I did know that the idea of ponies I didn’t know doing whatever with me filled me with absolute disgust.

Shaking my head, I gave my answer. “No. I’m not going to whore myself out, and absolutely not because of that bastard False.”

Waterspout nodded. “Thought as much. Then how about this; for free, you can put on a special show later tonight to really get our customers in the mood for the brothel, or you can put on a dance. You’ll have to wear a special outfit and be out there until the customers demand you leave.”

I really didn’t like the sound of going on stage.

“What a special show?” I asked.

Star spoke up as she slowly shook her head. “In short, you simulate sex in front of the customers and the brothel workers hang over them like vultures. You normally get a small cut from the brothel mares for it, so several new mares will do it to make a quick cap. Unfortunately, they rarely understand how long some customers will just stick around to watch, so unless you're into that, it can be excruciatingly humiliating.”

She gave Waterspout another annoyed glance. “I know what you're trying to do, and no, she is not going into the brothel, so stop playing this game!”

“Wait, what are you talking about? Didn’t he agree to not push the brothel?” I asked.

I felt Cloudy hold me from behind and said. “He may care about us working mares, but don’t ever let your guard down around him.”

Star nodded. “He is trying to give you two time consuming and clearly embarrassing options to make you think the Brothel is actually the best of the three.”

I was missing something here, so I asked. “What's wrong with the pole dancing?”

Waterspout explained. “The special outfit you would wear, if you choose the stage, is magical.”

“It’s the saddalarabian dancing slave dress he picked up long ago,” Cloudy said, holding me a bit tighter. From the corner of my eye, I could see a slight smile.

Waterspout continued to explain. “It’s made of an enchanted silk and gold that makes whoever wears it dance against their will. Without somepony to stop it, it’s possible to dance yourself to death.”

I was seeing the logic. As slimy as it was and how much it sickens me, I understood my options.

The problem with the special show is, as Star said, there's no guarantee that it will be quick. Worse, if it goes on for long enough, a mare could still give up and choose the brothel. I also already didn’t like not having my clothes on and Waterspout knew it. This option was a trap.

As for the pole dancing, there's a good chance it could last all night, possibly become torture for me. It would be like performing several ballet performances in a row.

Memories of my pirouette instructions came flooding in. My instructor was way too into teaching princesses how to dance and use harsh disciplinary methods. It even gave me nightmares for a year.

I suddenly felt faint and lost my balance.

Cloudy held onto me. “Are you okay, Harp?”

I took a moment to regain my composure and smiled. “I’m fine. Just remembered something I rather not have.”

So, with how awful those two choices were, the brothel sounded like the easy solution. Like what I was told, a mare's first time in there often nets them a lot of caps. On top of that, I was still young, never slept with a stallion, and as those random mares said before, I was exotic.

Still, I really didn’t like the idea of sleeping with some pony I don’t know. It might be fine with a mare. But, if it’s a stallion, I don’t even know how it would feel like or how I would feel about it.

I knew one thing for certain, and that was Cloudy didn’t want to share me. I don’t know how long this relationship was going to last. I didn’t even know if we were just caught up in passion and next week we will feel nothing for each other. Right now I wanted to just stay with her and have no pony else with me.

“Alright. I’ll put on the slave dress,” I decided.

Again, Cloudy held tightly on me. “You can just not do any of it. Just trot away.”

I shook my head. “No. Waterspout is right. I should have held my cool. If I don’t do something to help the tavern, and at least make some penance, then I’m no better than that fat piece of hogshit.”

Waterspout looked a bit dejected. “I’ll go get the dress, but if you ever want to make those extra caps, just tell me. I’ll get a special room ready for you.”

“Fuck off, boss,” Cloudy shouted.

I looked at Star who had returned to padding her mane down. “Say, Star, did you ever do any of that?”

She chuckled. “Well, I already told you, I never do brothel work. The same goes for the special show. If Bridget ever found out about my job here, I want to at least say I never did that stuff and not lie.”

“And the slave dress?” I probed.

She tried to hide a smile from behind her hoof as she looked away. “Oh, how do you think I learned to dance so well?”

“What?” I said.

“Waterspout suggested it when I first started, and it became my theme for the first few months. Now, I just do it once a month for a party hour,” she explained.

“Why? Shouldn't that, like, hurt?!” I exclaimed.

She shrugged. “It hurt for a while, but after a month, you get used to it.”

A huff came from Cloudy. “I don’t know how you do it, Star. I was out all the next day the one time I threw that damn thing on.”

Popping his head out from his office, Waterspout spoke up. “Go get yourself freshened up before getting redressed.”

With a sigh and a nod, I did just that, accepting my fate.

When I finally saw the dress, I didn’t think it would look so beautiful. It was made from fine transparent silk in a vibrant red, all held together with several gold rings. The dress was decorated with what looked like ancient gold coins from saddalarabia that shined like they were still new. More interesting was the engraved gold cuffs and collar that radiated with magic.

It was a magic much like a talisman, but stronger than I had ever seen. It seemingly flickered as though it was alive. I figured I could suppress its effects a little with my own magic, but when I put it on, it grabbed hold of me. Drawing magic out of it only made its hold on me stronger. Giving it magic clearly fed it.

Whatever this magic was, I had no ability to resist it at all.

Fortunately, they didn’t close the collar in the dressing room, though I could feel it trying to close itself on me.

“Say, Waterspout, where did you get this dress?” I asked the older hippogriff.

A wicked grin formed on his face. “I got involved in tomb raiding in my youth. I found this in the burial chamber of some ancient warlord. From the inscriptions, it seemed that he liked to execute mares by having them dance to death for his amusement. When he died, they put the dress on his wife and locked her in the tomb with his corps.”

Cloudy shivered in disgust. Star just shrugged.

“So a standard nobility burial,” I said flatly.

Waterspout patted me on the shoulder. “You, Harp, clearly grew up around powerful ponies for that to be standard.”

With myself prepared, I was escorted to the stage by Star where plenty of ponies began cheering, and a few others looked confused.

“Alright, our wonderful guests, we got a special treat for you,” Star shouted over the now lowered music. “For all our regulars, you know what's about to happen. For the new company, count yourselves lucky. Now, for your enjoyment, and as an apology for the shit show earlier, Harp Melody will be performing the saddalaraibian slave dance.”

The music picked up, and Star shut the collar before hopping off stage.

The magic now wrapped itself around me as I began to lose control of my body. I thought I’d fall over, but I stayed standing. I was only able to move my eyes.

Slowly at first, my body moved on its own, swaying with the music. Then I began trotting around the pole, eventually placing a hoof on it and standing on two hooves. My hips began to shake, and shake, almost nonstop. My hips only gave it a break when my body decided to do some sexual pose, making me glad that my backside was well covered by the dress.

I was forced to stand on the tips of my hooves several times during the dance. This was something I had already trained to do when I was younger, so it was not the problem for me. But, after several minutes of this, by fuck were my hips starting to hurt!

A crowd of ponies started to form to watch me. They seemed to be in a trance, but it was hard to tell because of not having any control over my own head.

I lost track of time. The burning of my mussels only got worse as the dance went on. I at least had solace in attempting to feel the magic holding me, though it was hard to feel it when the collar was on. But, now that I was partially used to this and didn’t need to control my own body, I put as much mental effort into studying what this dress was.

It might have been because of it controlling me, but it responded less to my attempts to probe it with my magic, as though it cared more about controlling my body. Closing my eyes as I felt it, I could make out a shape in my mind. It was something more than just a spell.

A mare, much bigger than me, slender and graceful.

This was not a talisman, nor a spell, it was a pony. A saddalarbian. It was faint, but this dress had a similar feeling to that of a pony, yet lacking the feeling of life. It was stagnant like a ghoul, but without the feeling of chaotic or necrotic magic. Strangely, it felt... happy.

Opening my eyes, I was… not in the Ruffled Feathers, but in some large decorated tent. Strange music was playing particularly vigorously at me, as a tall and thin ponies watched me dance. The outfits they wore reminded me of the portrait of a saddalaribian prince my family kept in our vault.

As I danced, I looked over to see several other dancers try to get the sultan's attention, but he had only eyes for me and my dance. They can wallow in their own jealousy, for I was the greatest dancer in all the land, and I will be till the day I die.

All I wanted to do was dance. I will dance for the sultan, then maybe show the world itself my splendor.

...

“Harp! Wake up!” Cloudy said frantically.

Opening my eyes again, I found myself on the couch. My head was on Cloudy’s lap.

I felt confused. “Uhh, what happened? I was just dancing a moment ago.”

“You were, but then you passed out after a few hours,” Cloudy informed me.

“Hours!?” I said in shock.

“Well, we did say that it would make you dance forever,” she reminded me.

I tried to get up, but my body screamed at me in pain. “Ow…” I whimpered.

Cloudy patted me on the head. “There, there. It will be alright.” She looked over at Waterspout’s office and spoke up. “She’s awake, boss.”

After a moment, the older hippogriff trotted out, holding a glass of water.

Passing it to me, he then pulled out a small jar filled with tablets. He passed several to me. “Take this for the pain. You clearly need it.”

“Is this normal?” I asked.

If this pain was normal, then maybe the brothel was not a bad idea after all. I just need to find some wealthy mare before hoof.

“Some pain is normal, but you went wild out there,” he told me as he passed over the glass of water. “You practically became another pony out there. Normally, like with Star, you would put on a series of dances that would rotate. Lots of hip-shaking, several seductive bending, the normal. It catches the eyes of the customers and makes it easier for my mares to get them to drink more.”

“But?” I spoke up before taking the pills and water. I spilled some due to my poor sore muscles not wanting to move right.

He answered, “But you started doing dances I had never seen before, and with a lot more energy. It really got every ponies attention, as though you put a spell on them. Because of that, we all lost track of how long you had been out there. When Star had gone to check on you, she found you passed while still dancing.”

I thought about it for a moment, remembering what I saw, and what I felt. I was certain now that this was not just magical, but possessed by a dancer from long ago. It was a strange sensation, feeling that I was her, even thinking I was. The magic I felt was still fresh in my mind. I couldn't get it out, as though whoever she was, she wanted me to forever remember her, and that she was the world's greatest dancer. Unfortunately, I could not recall ever hearing the name of the mare.

Thinking about it, I decided to not tell the others that the dress was actually possessed by some ancient ghost, whoever she was. At least she was not malicious. It’s just that she loved to dance more than life itself. It would be a shame if it got locked away again.

“I think I might have just been more susceptible to whatever magic it was. That’s probably it.” I half lied.

Waterspout scratch his beak. “Maybe. I’ve met a few creatures who are just more affected by magic than others. Saw one pony that basically just exploded when they touched a killing joke vine. Chunks were blown everywhere. If you're like that, you should be really careful out there. The horror stories know no bounds about such things.”

When I was finished with the water, he took the glass from me. “Alight. Just sit there and wait for Star to finish her show. I want her to make sure you two get home safely.”

Cloudy and I watched him go back to his office and shut the door. As we snuggled, I came to the realization that I was naked, but I was too sore to care right now.

Some time passed, and Star came to the back of the tavern where we put our work clothes away. From there, I got dressed. Cloudy complained a little, but I was about done being exposed for the night. I just wanted to go straight to bed.

With Order lighting our way, I found that New Appaloosa was surprisingly cold at night. It was as though, without the light, the heat had been drained away, leaving nothing but a cold that felt like death. I didn’t like it since I was used to living underground where it was rarely ever cold. At least I had clothes on to keep me warm, which, as a result, got Cloudy to stick as close to me as possible.

The ambiance of the town was quiet. Aside from the random pony yelling or a glass bottle breaking, it was practically still. I imagine that there would still be ponies mulling about, some thief watching us from the shadows, or a drunkard stumbling about.

Everything was too still. I could feel it.

“Hold up, girls,” Star called out, her ears having gone flat. After that, she shouted, “COME THE FUCK OUT! I KNOW YOU’RE UP TO NO GOOD AND I REALLY NEED TO BREAK SOMEPONY’S BONES TONIGHT!”

There was a breeze as we stood there for several seconds, waiting for a reply.

A set of eyes shined back at us.

“Well, look at that. Here I was hoping I’d get the drop on ya mares,” a unicorn stallion in rags stepped out into Order’s light. His eyes were pinpricks surrounded by yellow, and the rest of his face was painted white to form a skull.

“And do what? Beg for some caps to buy chems with?” Star mocked him.

He smiled, showing his yellow rotting teeth. “Oh, something like that.”

The stallion whistled. Over a dozen ponies stepped out of the shadows, surrounding us. Many of them were in crude armor made from scrap which had an overused application of spikes. They also sported the white skull face paint.

“Remember, our sponsor wants the pink one alive, but I want the other two for myself. Rough them up if you must, but don’t ya fucking kill ‘em. I’ll even let one of ya have first dibs on the pegasus,” he said. Shortly later, the other ponies rushed in.

Cloudy and I got close to Star who gave a hoof jab to the first pony to get close to us, knocking them into another pony.

I fumbled to get my revolver out of my jacket and aim, but even with my pipbuck levitation spell, my body was just too sore to do much of anything right now.

A rather haggard-looking mare ran up on Cloudy and I. Her eyes were wild and yellowed with chem abuse. Cloudy slashed the foul pony with her knife, but the mare didn’t flinch. She just smiled with a bloody mouth.

The attacker stopped as Order sent a bolt of energy at her. It knocked her to the ground as a smoldering burnt pony.

Three more ponies came upon us. I looked back at Star for help. She currently had two ponies on top of her, trying to pull her down, and two more were joining in.

“Don’t resist! You two have pretty faces. I’d hate it if I have to rearrange them,” one of the ponies said as he grabbed onto me. His breath was putride as though he was rotting from within.

“Order!” I shouted, but only to see a net get thrown over it. My drone got tugged to the ground with a thud.

Looking over to Cloudy, they already had her on the ground. A look of terror was in her eyes. One of them pulled out a rope.

Star had been overpowered as well, but she had one of their hooves in her mouth and was spilling a lot of blood.

I looked back at the first stallion and shouted, “WHO ARE YOU?!”

“YOU’LL KNOW SOON ENOUGH, MY LITTLE SLAVE!” he shouted back.

Looking around, I knew there were ponies all around us, watching us, but why has no pony done anything? Did they not care, or were they paid to be quiet?

Damnit, why won’t somepony help us!

As a second dirty pony grabbed me. This one was a unicorn levitating a gag.

Then, out of nowhere, like a violent gust of wind, both of my captors and I were knocked to the ground. Getting up, I noticed that, next to the downed attacker was the pegasus mare Thunder Crack in her Desperado black vest. She looked really pissed.

“Who fucking told ya raiders you can go doing shit with us around?” Thunder Crack asked loudly.

“Kill the gangger!” the first stallion yelled, but then got tackled by a very large stallion.

From the shadows, several more Desperados charged out and began fighting the raiders. Slashed Rubber had a rusty machete and Grease Gears was using a tire iron.

The fight was brutal and quick with the raiders who were holding down Star and Cloudy unable to put up a fight fast enough. The Desperados were clearly stronger and more vicious, taking the raider’s hits just so that they could hit them back harder.

“FUCK! LET’S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” the first raider shouted.

With a flash of light that blinded everypony, the raiders had vanished, only leaving a few rusty weapons and several trails of blood behind.

The Desperados didn’t give chase, letting them get away.

After another moment, the largest of the Desperados trotted up to us.

“You alright? I’m glad we got back here in time.” It was the pony that had talked with us at the Stable-Tec factory, Crankshaft.

Star brushed herself off after using a bit of dust to get some blood out of her fur. “In time, but how the fuck did you know we were under attack?”

Crankshaft pulled out a rag and hoofed it over to Star. “Some asshole asked one of ours to do an under the law job. They told them to fuck off since as we’re trying to play nice out here. Still, luckily they listened in, and whoever it was wanted to abduct a mare. Your name was dropped, Harp. When they told me, I had a small crew rush over to make sure you're safe.”

Great! I was now having pony nappers after me. I was too tired for this shit right now as well as too sore. I wanted to blame False for this, but there were two other ponies who wanted to take me, and I could see them doing this as well. It was all too frustrating and frightening.

“But why come and save me?” I asked the Desperado.

He thought about it for a moment, but then shrugged. “We got our own honor and shit, and you're related to a good deal we're getting, so you're under our protection. Technical.”

“Then thank you! I owe you a debt for saving me from whoever they were,” I told Crankshaft.

“Midnight Raiders. It has to be them,” Star said with confidence. “They are the only active raiders still in this region. The fuckers are so sneaky that we only know rumors about them.” She spat on the ground.

Cloudy held onto me tight, trembling. “I heard that their actually evil spirits of the raiders that the Lightbinger killed and banished to the shadows.”

I pulled her in closer. “Spirits or not, they were driven off. We should be safe now.”

“I wouldn't put my caps on it,” Crankshaft cautioned. “We will escort you mares home to make sure they don’t try for round two tonight.”

With several Desperados around us, I felt more at ease as we trotted to Cloudy’s place. At first I was going to just drop her off and then go back to the Gunrunners, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone, so I decided to stay with her for what was left of the night. Her place was sturdy and had a big fucking bar lock to keep the door shut, so I was sure it was safe there.

I still wanted to figure out who sent these Midnight Raiders after us, but I was too fucking tired and too fucking sore to do much about it. I doubted I could do much about it anyways, but I knew I was going to get Order some fucking guns.

As my head rested on Cloudy’s chest, my thoughts dulled and sleep took me.

Today was way too much, and in my dreams, I could feel eyes following me wherever I went. Greedy hooves reached out to take me away, yet none could get me.

In my dream, a headless mare in black armor stood by me, keeping the nightmare at bay as I danced.

_______________________________________________________

-New Spell Obtained-

(Dancing Curse) makes a magical item that, once worn, will force the wearer to dance and any creature who sees it is forced to watch.

-Reputation-

-Ruffled Feathers-

Jealousy and amazement is felt from Harp's performance. Although most claim it was just the dress, it is clear that Harp can move if given some help.

-Down Towners-

Harp’s performance was mesmerizing. Word will quickly spread about it. Still wary of her, they are also looking forward to seeing her again.

-Level up-

-Slowtrot-

Lv4,

Repair now at: 49

-Harp Melody-

Lv4,

Science is now at 62

-Star Charter-

Lv4

Melee Weapons is now at 45