A Work in Progress

I was sitting at the desk in my room. Mother had given me a really really big task. I had to read this big history book on the era before Nightmare Moon’s return, then write a short essay that still contained a lot of information.

It was scary, because I didn’t know where to start. But I wanted to make Mother happy, because when she was happy, I was happy.

Mother used to smile a lot more, but now she was always frowning. I tried asking her why, and she told me that an easy way to make her happy was to do well in my studies.

So I tried my very hardest, but sometimes it wasn’t enough, and Mother didn’t look happy.

Then there was the fact that Father might get angry if I didn’t get it right. I didn’t like it when he got angry. He could get very loud, and it made me want to hide.

And so I would work very hard and make sure I did it well!

I was watching Mommy fiddle with a box while explaining something to my big sis Sliver. Sliver was really smart, and mommy always praised her. I wanted to be like Sliver when I was bigger. Or better yet, be like mommy. But that would be difficult, since mommy was so awesome.

I didn’t understand what they were talking about, so things were getting boring for me, and I started looking around the room. Mommy said we would spend the night here and find as many things with lots of value as possible. I liked doing that. I liked shiny things very much, no matter how well they hid!

There! On top of that big, uh, piece of furniture! Something brilliant! I trotted towards it.

I put my front hooves on the second shelf and pushed myself off the ground with my back legs. Then, I repeated the same with the third, then the fourth.

Almost… there…

“Chippy! You’re gonna get hurt!” shouted Mommy. That startled me, and I lost my grip. I managed to regain my balance, but the furniture was starting to fall with me!

I fell, but suddenly Mommy caught me, then rolled with me. My head hit the ground, and it hurt, so I started crying.

A moment later, the entire shelf fell on top of Mommy. But Mommy was strong, and she didn’t cry, even though she looked like she wanted to. She shoved the shelf aside and kissed my forehead. I stopped crying, and she said, “Oh, Chip, please be careful… I couldn’t bear seeing you hurt.”

I was suddenly startled by a knock on my door. “It’s alright,” I whispered to myself. “I’m just reading. I’m allowed to read. I didn’t do anything wrong.” The words did very little to calm me down though.

The door to my room opened, and in stepped Mother, her gait as elegant as always. I relaxed a little, but the expression she wore still worried me.

“Sonata, oh my poor filly,” she said. “I’ve corrected your schoolwork.” I felt my heart sink. That could only mean I did poorly. “Is there anything I can do for you? Anything to make work easier?”

I climbed off my bed and walked towards her. “I… I don’t know, Mother.” I gulped. “Why, is my work really that poor?”

She slowly nodded. “It… it saddens me to see it. You are so smart, and yet you are terribly underperforming. Am I not helping you enough? Am I really that horrible of a mother?” The look in her eyes cut deeply.

“N-no, Mother, I swear it isn’t your fault. You are the best mother in the stable, and I love you.” I tried to give her a smile like she’d taught me, but in the moment I just wanted to cry.

“I’m not. I couldn’t possibly be, for what else would make you underperform so harshly? It must be something I did.” She met my gaze, her eyes sad enough to make me tear up. “I don’t even want to imagine the alternative, as it would be so much worse. It would mean that you don’t love me, and that is simply a thought I cannot bear.”

“O-of course n-not, Mother!” I could hardly keep my sobs under control.

“Then please try harder to find what’s causing you to struggle so. So that I can help you, just like I’m helping you by providing you with the best possible stable life.” She was right. She was giving me so much, and I still wasn’t good enough. What was I doing?

After a moment of silence, she added, “After all, if you are to step in your father’s shoes one day, you will need the best education possible, and I have been making sure you get it.” She paused in thought, then added, “Perhaps those novels you’ve been reading are a distraction?”

No! I didn’t want to lose them, they were so much fun!

But she was right… if I kept wasting my time, I could never live up to what I was meant to do…

My sisters and mom were all out, searching the neighbouring houses for anything valuable. It wasn’t fair that I was the only one who had to stay behind. Just because I was the youngest didn’t mean I couldn’t help. I could pick locks, carry things, and find shinies!

Oh, but I could do that from in here, too… There were piles of trash all around this house. The junk itself was quite varied; torn clothing, rubble, empty and mouldy cans, broken furniture, plastic wrappers, and many other small items, all stacked on top of each other.

The rest of the house was very clean though. Why would somepony clear most of the building except for those few piles? After a few seconds, the answer struck me. Somepony had already gone through here and had discarded everything they didn't find valuable.

Of course! My family and I weren't the only ponies looking through old stuff, so it made sense! But didn't that mean I wouldn't be able to find anything? Well, I wouldn't know if I didn't try!

Where to start, though? I walked around the apartment, taking a brief look at every pile of junk. At first, none of them struck me as particularly interesting; they were just trash, after all.

However, at some point I found one that stood out to me. At first I couldn't tell why, but then I realised that it was right up against a wall, and that at the very bottom there was a broken desk. Other piles usually had furniture haphazardly stacked on them, but this one looked like it had been started on top of that desk. Maybe there was still something in the drawers?

I had a good feeling about this. After a few minutes of digging through the trash, I was ecstatic to find a small, golden watch stuck between a few plates of wood. I didn't know how much it was actually worth, but it was pretty, and I'd found it all on my own. My chest swelled with pride, and I knew that this was the one thing I was really really good at.

The moment the door closed behind him, I couldn’t hold back my sobs anymore. My entire body hurt, and I felt horribly dirty.

I’d been doing so well with my schoolwork, and yet… What did I do to deserve this? Why was he always so angry? I’d even been careful to stay out of his hooves… Why come into my room and demand I talk to him?

I tried, I really did try to be as polite as possible, but even that wasn’t good enough. Why? I just wanted it to stop…

But not even Mother could do anything. He was the overstallion; he had the right to do whatever he needed. Or wanted, as long as he justified it.

Things like this were why my studies were so important; so that I wouldn’t abuse my power like he did. But why was he like this? Or was it really just my fault for not being good enough?

If only I was as resilient as Daring Do. Or as cunning. Or anything better than myself.

I picked up my copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue and started reading. I could afford to, I was done with schoolwork for today, and I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything complex with how badly my bruises hurt.

I’d show them. Out of the four of us, I was the best at finding stuff, and by a lot. I knew my way around buildings, and I knew what to look out for. I wasn’t a kid anymore. I’ve had my cutie mark for almost two years now.

So why were they still treating me like I couldn’t do anything on my own? I’d be back in the morning with enough valuables to get us through the month, and they would have to accept I was grown up now.

We were staying in the Baltimare outskirts, and I’d been walking in the city proper now. The trip here had taken the better part of an hour now, but I was close to my destination.

My mom and sisters believed I’d gone to bed early, and wouldn’t notice I wasn’t there until the morning.

I turned a corner and saw it: the Bank of Equestria, Baltimore division. I knew it had been scavenged to death, but I trusted my ability to find what others had missed.

I entered the building and went to work. I managed to get through two rooms before finding myself muzzle to muzzle with a shotgun. I fell on my rump, and the mare floating it smirked before shouting, “Found him!”

I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Why? How? Who?

She levitated out a chain and clamped four shackles around my hooves before adding a collar around my neck. This had to be a dream. It didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be.

A large green buck came into view. “Ah, perfect. By the way, I’m taking a bigger cut, since I’m the one who spotted him.”

The cyan mare rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine, fine, you greedy cunt.”

I watched my father's corpse and had a weird feeling wash over me. On the one hoof, I felt happy that I'd finally gotten my cutie mark, and that I'd rid of my father once and for all. I'd paid him back for everything he'd done to me.

But on the other hoof, I felt like something had snapped inside of me. Something that could never go back to the way it once was. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, just odd.

I’d done something inexcusable by stable standards, but in a way it felt oh so liberating. For once, I was the one deciding what happened. For once, I was the one in control. Not only could he never hurt me again, nopony could.

I couldn’t become a perfect overmare anymore. I doubted I could even become overmare at all. But in many ways, that was a good thing.

I was free, wasn’t I?

"If you want it so bad, why don't you pull the cart?" I said, turning away from the old mare who had bought me. Shortly after, the crack of a whip resounded in the town's streets, and a searing pain shot through my back.

The pain was worse than I'd imagined, and I gasped. I felt tears ready to well up, but did my best to hold them back.

"Quit whining," the old mare holding the whip said in a dangerous, low voice. "And start pulling."

I gulped down my fear and answered, in as venomous a tone as I could muster, "Or what, you'll tickle me again?" There was a moment of silence, quickly broken by another crack of the whip. This time, I was ready for it and didn't even budge. I turned around to face her. "What? Is that all you got, you old hag?"

She was my fourth owner, and it seemed like she was by far the most whip-happy. Unfortunately for her, I'd gotten used to it a while ago. Unfortunately for me, she seemed particularly skilled at inflicting pain.

She gritted her teeth, then swung her whip again, this time on the tip of my muzzle and hard enough to break skin. "Harder! Or are you scared your heart will give out? Too old to properly discipline a slave?"

She wouldn't kill me. She'd paid "good caps" for me. She couldn't even do anything that would break my body in any meaningful way, for risk of losing caps. She couldn't do anything to meaningfully hurt me, and I knew it.

I was lightheaded as I approached the caravan towards Dodge Junction. I hadn’t eaten anything substantial in a few days, and I was really starting to feel it.

One of the ponies pulling the cart—a brownish unicorn wearing kevlar barding—pointed her rifle at me. However, the buck next to her motioned her to calm down. “Wax, it’s just a filly, chill.” Turning to me, he asked, “Are you lost?”

I shook my head. “I’m looking for work. I’m a caravan guard, you see.”

He seemed confused by that, as ponies usually were. When I breathed an indignant sigh, the mare glared at him, and he quickly added, “I-I mean, why are you all the way out here? Wouldn’t you have better luck near the centre of town?”

I grimaced and shook my head again. “The other guards tend to chase me away if I approach their clients, because of my age and all that.” I didn’t let them respond as I clarified, “Even though I’m perfectly capable.”

Wax frowned, then tried to give a sympathetic little smile. “I wish we could, but we really can’t afford a guard at the moment. Things have been rough. I hope you understand.”

I just nodded, trying to keep my disappointment and worry from showing up on my face. As if on cue, my stomach gurgled.

“Oh, you poor thing,” said the stallion. “Let me give you some food, we can at least do that, can’t we?” He asked that last part of Wax, who nodded.

“I don’t need your pity…” I said in a voice entirely lacking any sign of the indignation I was feeling. How dare they? I was a fighter and a killer, and they were treating me like a poor little orphan! I could kill them both right now, and then who’d be the defenceless weakling that needs strangers’ help?

As Wax levitated out a piece of bread, my stomach gurgled again, much louder than before, and I simply accepted the food.

The wounds on my back burned horribly. Even when I wasn’t moving, the dozens of tiny cuts didn’t let me forget about them for even a second. And yet, the pain was the least of my worries right now. I’d failed.

Thankfully, the other slaves had left me alone for now. It was kind of surprising, really. I would have almost expected some to come gloat at me, or kick me while I was down. Instead, nopony came. In a way, it was disappointing; it might have helped me distract myself from the pain.

That lashing was by far the worst I’d ever received. At some point, I broke. The slaver had me gagged and blindfolded, as if he knew that the one thing that allowed me to endure anything was to be able to defy my master in any way I saw fit. I couldn’t do that, so all of the emotion that usually allowed me to stand up for myself instead got pent up until I couldn’t help but cry in pain and wish I could at least beg him to stop.

But I couldn’t even do that. In under a week, Fillydelphia had broken me where a dozen slavers and slaveowners had failed.

I wanted to tell myself that I wasn’t broken, that I hadn’t lost yet. That I’d just lost a battle, but the war was still going.

But I knew better. I was scared of him, and that was more than anypony had ever managed. Even if I resisted for a while longer, he’d immediately picked up how to shut down my ego, and there was no way I would win. The only way to win would be not to play, and the only way to manage that would be to take my own life before I couldn’t anymore.

But would I really be willing to commit suicide just for my ego’s sake?

Then again, my ego was everything I had, wasn’t it? Life without my feeling of self wouldn’t be worth it, not ever. Tomorrow I’d find something to throw myself under, or a tall place to jump from. He wouldn’t win. Today, though, I was too hurt to go anywhere.

“Hey,” came a soft voice from behind me. I jumped, then winced at the sudden pain all throughout my back. Near the window, I saw a light blue mare with an off-white brownish mane. “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, “I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you heard me since your ear moved, and, uh…” She shook her head. “Anyway… I saw what that slaver did to you, and I was worried since I knew you were new…”

I chuckled despite myself. “I’m alright, thanks. Far from the worst flogging I’ve been through.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” she said. She lowered her tone and added, “I’m not supposed to be here, but I don’t think anypony saw me sneak in.” She gave me a wide grin. “I’m Cookie, by the way. What’s your name?”

Her smile was infectious, and I couldn’t stop myself from sharing it. “Pocket Watch.”

“Oh? I can’t say that’s what I would have picked for you. But then again maybe it’s your cutie mark?” The more she spoke, the more excited she got, before realising she was getting louder and louder and quieting down a little.

“I can’t say I would have picked ‘Cookie’ as your name either.” I chuckled, entertained by her antics.

I was awoken by the sound of a wagon passing nearby. I was really tired. Falling asleep had been difficult. On the one hoof, my stomach hurt, and on the other, I couldn’t stop worrying about not waking up.

I stood up and left the closet—I figured it was the safest place to sleep, as nopony would be able to see me from the outside—before making my way towards the living room where a large window gave a decent view of the street below. In fact, it was the reason I was staying here.

I took a peek through the window, and my heart missed a beat or three. How dare they.

How fucking dare they?

I’d make them pay. I’d show them. I’d make them regret it. My rifle floated through the gap in the window, and I aimed it at Fire Control, the earth pony guard who’d caused me the most issues.

I pulled the trigger and didn’t even give the cunt the time to regret not wearing a helmet. I saw the earth pony buck fall into a panic while Wax jumped for cover, aiming her rifle in my rough direction.

I closed the entire distance with a single teleport that sent a shockwave of agony throughout my horn and into the base of my skull. But that pain was nothing compared to the burning hatred in my chest. Wax didn’t react in time as I blew her brains out.

The earth pony buck cried out, but was cut off by my rifle’s round embedding itself into the concrete next to his head.

Given that he was unarmed I couldn’t stop myself from screaming at him, “Can’t! Afford! A! Guard! Huh?” I punctuated each word with a shot ever closer to him.

“P-p-p-please, y-you c-c-can have everything I own, just d-d-don’t k-k-kill me!” He had the entirety of five seconds to plead for his life before I put a round through his skull.

As his limbs fell limp, I started laughing. I couldn’t tell if it was happy, angry, sadistic, or all three at once. What I did know, however, was that I felt amazing. Why had I not done something like this before? This solved all of my issues! I wouldn’t have to go hungry, and I wouldn’t have to deal with ponies unwilling to give my skills the respect they deserved!

And this had been so much fun! Maybe I wouldn’t have had to deal with this situation if Candy was alive, but now that she was gone, I was free from her stupid rules! I would be my own pony now, and no one would ever tell me what to do again. This time, I would stick by that and wouldn’t allow anypony to change my mind!

A light blue mare sat at a desk in a tiny, cramped room. Papers were strewn all around her, covering what little of the floor was free from furniture. The walls were made of grey concrete, and the rush of air and hum of electricity dominated the soundscape.

She stood up and turned around, leaving the room through an open metal doorway. The corridor beyond it wasn’t much different from the cramped office, though she could now clearly see air ducts running along the ceiling.

Eventually, she made her way towards an open giant cog-shaped door. Stepping through it, she turned to the left, where she was greeted with the green glow of a terminal.

A pink glow spread over the keyboard, and she swiftly typed in her username, “arcane.spark”, alongside her password. Unfortunately, I was not able to pick up on it, as she typed too quickly for me to keep up.

What a shame, knowing her password would have saved us a lot of hassle.

Us? Who was us? Why did it matter? Did I know this mare?

Eh, whatever.

Then, she connected her PipBuck to the terminal and copied a script onto it before deleting it from the former. In a few swift telekinetic strokes, Arcane ran the script and opened a text file.

She typed, “Just started pushing the updates, testing them, and I can just tell this is going to be one long afternoon. Last time I updated the firmware, it took me the entire day to run the entire test suite, checking for defects one by one. I really wish I could find a way to automate it. Oh well, I should continue working. I can tell I’m not going to remember today in a week from now.”

In a few more keystrokes, she saved the file in a folder titled “work logs” before locking the terminal and turning away.

After she finally left the cave, she took a moment to watch the scenery. In front of her, a lush forest of conifers spread as far as the eye could see. Moss and branches covered the ground, and even though there wasn’t any grass where the trees cast their shadows, it still seemed incredibly alive.

The top of the hill, on the other hoof, was exposed to sunlight and overgrown with long grass and flowers of every colour. Arcane continued on her way, and when she saw the road a few dozen metres away, she stopped again and started casting a spell.

After a short channel, she appeared on the concrete and started trotting downhill. Before long, she teleported again. This cycle repeated until she eventually found herself near a railway.

She pulled out a shawl and covered her head before putting on a long coat that was definitely too warm for the weather.

She turned to her left and looked ahead. The railway tracks stretched out for kilometres on end in a straight line. She started channelling another spell, taking much longer to do so than any previous teleport.

With a loud crackle, she reappeared somewhere on the tracks. She looked back, checking the distance she’d travelled. Satisfied with the several kilometres she’d just crossed, she turned back towards New Detrot.

She trotted off the rails and started walking for a few minutes before repeating her spell. This cycle continued for another half hour, and Arcane’s horn was starting to feel sore.

I’d never imagined a horn could feel this way. Wait, why hadn’t I? Why did I not know what casting a spell was like? I was clearly inside a unicorn’s body.

She wasn’t me, that much was obvious, but who was I? Was this a dream? Part of me doubted it, but what knowledge did I have to draw from?

Eventually, she reached a train station, where she bought a ticket for the blue line. Even back then, the underground reeked of piss and mould.

‘Back then’? Had I been here already? But I didn’t recognise the name.

Even during the long trip towards the city, no answers came to me. I realised that I knew certain things, but had no recollection of how I’d learned them. I knew I was in Detrot, but I knew I’d seen it in a different time. I felt a weird nostalgia for my surroundings, but I didn’t know why. I knew who Arcane Spark was, but didn’t know why it mattered.

Finally, she stepped out of the traincar. She turned left and trotted forwards. With every step that she took, she seemed to become less certain of her destination. While she did occasionally look around, her hesitation mostly stemmed from a constant reluctance to take the next step. With every corner she turned, building façades grew dirtier, and graffiti more common.

This continued on for another quarter hour, before her gaze finally settled on a nearby building's sign, Detrot Gentlemare club. Two bucks dressed in risqué—though not quite indecent—outfits stood in front of it, looking around. One of them winked at her as he noticed her staring, and she quickly averted her gaze. As she passed by them and trotted into the building, she remained quiet as she stared at the ground.

Once inside, she hesitantly looked around. Wallpaper was peeling off the walls, while the tiled floor was cracked in many places. The other buildings she’d been in all seemed so new and clean, but this one could have been something from the wasteland.

Wait, wasteland?

Before I could continue that thought, an older stallion sitting at the reception waved her over. Still hesitant, she trotted over to him. “Now, now, there’s no shame in being here, young miss.” Arcane opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off. “Ponies have certain needs, and in today’s society, they can’t always be met through… conventional means.” He smiled. It was a mixture of gentle, understanding, and knowing, but also of the grin of a salespony who knew how to sell wingblades to a unicorn. “Now, do you have any preference? We got bucks of all sizes and tribes. Even have an elusive batpony; he’s quite handsome if I do say so myself.”

For some reason, his words set off alarm bells by the dozen in my mind, but I couldn’t tell why.

My own emotions were starkly contrasted with Arcane’s burning cheeks and embarrassed, almost sheepish demeanour.

“I was, uh… recommended… someone by the name of, uh, Pyrite. Who works here. Or so I’ve heard.” Her face grew even hotter.

What was such an important figure doing in a shitty brothel, blushing like a schoolfilly?

“Oh, apologies for any assumptions. Force of habit. Pyrite should be in today.” His eyes scanned down a list out of Arcane’s view. “It also happens that she’s free right now. Room two-oh-six.”

Arcane swallowed nervously and headed upstairs, where she found the room in question and knocked. “Come in,” said a sing-song voice.

Taking a deep breath, Arcane opened the door. Inside the room, she met the amber eyes of a golden yellow mare sitting upright on a bed, wearing just enough clothing to be lewd.

Pyrite smiled and waved her over. Spark took a hesitant step forward, before closing the door behind her. Pyrite patted the bed next to her and let herself fall to rest on her side. Spark reached the bed after what felt like an eternity of a slow, hesitant walk.

However, she didn’t settle on the bed right away. Instead, I felt her whole body lock up as she spoke up, “Are… you the one that… that I was told, to… uh, see?”

“Well, who else would I be?” Pyrite practically purred in response. While Arcane stumbled for words, cheeks on fire, Pyrite responded, “Now, what should Miss Pyrite do for you?”

“I… I, uh…” Arcane hesitated, before blurting out all at once, “I think I’m in the wrong place. I gotta go now.”

Before she even got to the door, Pyrite cooed, “Aw come on, Sparky, don’t leave.”

“Don’t call me that,” Arcane protested with a certain automation in her voice. Then, she furrowed her eyebrows and turned back around to face the golden mare. “How… do you know my name?”

Pyrite’s smile grew smug. “Arcane Spark. Thirty-seven years old. Born on Summer Sun Celebration in a tiny village a hundred kilometres east of Acornage. Birth complications were almost lethal, but left no lasting damage.”

Spark opened her mouth to rebut, but then simply mouthed ‘Oh’.

Pyrite simply grinned, then asked, “Yeah, I was told you might come. So, what did you want to talk about?” She patted the bed next to her.

“Here? And now? Isn’t the,” Spark lowered her voice to a whisper, “MOM going to find out?”

Pyrite gave a derisive laugh. “Oh please, they have too much on their plate to worry about a single whore making a few side bucks.”

“Alright…” Any sign of embarrassment was long since gone on Arcane. “Normally I’d be bolting at such a statement, but I trust my source on this.” She took a deep breath and sat back down on the bed. “There is a major vulnerability in Stable-Tec’s terminals.”

Pyrite’s eyes widened for a moment. “And what do you want in exchange for that knowledge?”

Arcane just shook her head. “Nothing. I just want this war to end as soon as possible.”

Pyrite raised an eyebrow. “Even if it means losing?”

Arcane stared at her for a short moment that seemed to stretch on for hours. “Especially if it means losing.”

The earth pony mare shrugged in response. “Alright, then. More profits for me.”

“Anyway, the flaw pertains to how passwords are stored on a terminal. By comparing a random guess to the stored, encrypted information—well it’s not the technical term but it’s good enough—you can extract information about how many letters your completely random guess has with the true password.”

Pyrite seemed to be thinking about the implications of this, so Arcane continued, “I would have brought my notes on it, but that would have been much too incriminating to be found with.”

“So wait, it allows you to guess a password, letter by letter? Can’t you do that normally? I mean—” Then, she mouthed a simple ‘Oh’.

“If you want, I can try to get you my notes, and—” Spark was cut off.

“No need. This should be good enough to at least catch my clients’ attention. They’ll decide what to do next.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Couple of years. I’ve stashed away enough money that I could afford to switch professions. But why bother when this is so easy?”

They continued chatting for a few more moments before Arcane finally excused herself.

The way back was the same as before, but I was slowly starting to think again. I still couldn’t figure out who I was, but I was remembering more and more things about Arcane now.

Eventually, she arrived at her cottage near Stable 4 and walked towards a mirror.

“Hey, me. Well, I guess it’s possible that you aren’t me, but in that case I’m fucked anyway. The reason I’m going to extract this memory should be obvious by now. The reason I’m going to keep it in a memory orb instead of destroying it is because I know my actions will lead to the death and suffering of many ponies, and I don’t want to take the easy way out. I don’t think I need to say it, but if you watch this memory orb too soon, just get rid of the memory, alright?”

I… was I alive? Or was this merely the afterlife? No, it was hard to imagine my throat would be this sore if I no longer had a physical body. No, I definitely had survived, somehow.

I was riding on something larger than myself. Probably a pony. Probably Iron. Yeah, she’d probably been the one to save me.

I couldn’t tell how long passed, as I constantly drifted in and out of consciousness. I didn’t have the strength to open my eyes, but I was also too sleepy to care. Over time, I woke up more and more, eventually realising just how close to her I was.

Normally, being this close to a mare would have made me flush, but I was way too exhausted for my mind to wander in such places. Besides, this was Iron. Sure, she was strong and dependable, but she was still a murderer, an ex-raider, and a serial drug addict.

Still, warmth and support felt nice and comfortable, no matter the source.

My mind briefly turned to the series of dreams I’d had, but forming coherent thoughts was getting harder by the second.

I kept drifting in and out of sleep, thoughts wandering like in a fever dream. None of them stuck with me, leaving me to only remember the general feeling. It was almost serene in a way. Time passed, but my mind simply continued to drift.

I wasn’t even feeling well, I just didn’t have the energy to feel bad.

Only when Iron set me down did I finally have the strength to let out a tired groan.

“Cherry? You awake?” she asked in a gentle tone uncharacteristic of her, before taking a step back.

I opened my eyes, and as the brightness overwhelmed me, I let out another low moan. “Sort of. Have been for a while, but also not. Been dreaming really weird shit.”

Through my blurred eyesight, I saw her moving closer towards me again, before gently wrapping her hooves around my torso and leaning close to me. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” These words, spoken no louder than a whisper, carried so much more emotion than I was used to from her.

“Me too, me too.” Part of me wanted to poke fun at her for getting emotional. Nothing major of course, just to lighten the mood. But I just didn’t have it in me to joke, instead just accepting the hug. “How long was I out?”

“About sixteen hours, according to my PipBuck.” She sighed. “I… I thought you were gone. You weren’t breathing, and then I blacked out. But when I came to, you seemed to be stable. I didn’t know if I was imagining things.” I could feel her breath on my neck as she spoke, but didn’t have the energy to be grossed out.

When I leaned into her embrace, I realised just how little my wounds hurt. That wasn’t to say they didn’t, just… My throat didn’t feel like it had been torn out. It didn’t even feel like it had been fixed up by a potion. It felt like I was recovering from a flu at the very worst.

Iron’s voice broke me out of my thoughts. “I swear, I won’t let you get hurt like that, never again.” She stroked my back, an act that normally would have been unpleasant, coming from her. Instead, it was even soothing. Maybe it was because of those dreams? My opinion of her hadn’t changed that much, had it?

I sighed. “And I’m sorry for first insisting on coming along and then picking one of the more dangerous places. I thought that just because you’re strong, you can do anything. I didn’t bother listening to my own gut when it told me this was a bad idea. You really didn’t do anything wrong.”

Now that my eyes had gotten accustomed to the outside light, I could see we were on top of an elevated platform, surrounded from every direction by utterly ruined buildings, stretching out further than I could see. A scavenger’s paradise.

I didn’t even notice Iron had fallen quiet for a moment. “I…” She let go of me and turned around. “I fucked up, and I think this is my fault. If I hadn’t been going through Mint-Al withdrawal, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. I should have just taken another instead of risking both our lives.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference.” A thought crossed my mind, and I paused for a second. “I guess I can’t even fully blame myself for this. In the end, there’s a good chance we’d have ended up under the hill anyway. In the end, it may be true that we both screwed up, but…”

“It’s Star Seeds’ fault we ended up in this situation in the first place,” she finished for me before turning around.

When I met her gaze, my heart stopped. The smile on her muzzle was genuine, but my blood ran cold regardless. “Your… your eyes…” I muttered.

More than anything, she looked perplexed. “What… about them?”

Now I was confused as well. “Your pupils… they’re slit.”

Shaking her head, she mouthed a quiet ‘What?’

“You know, like a cat’s, or a snake’s, or…”

She shushed me with a motion of her hoof. “I know what you mean, it’s just that…” I saw her shudder. “I really don’t want to believe it. Or think about it.” For a few moments, she looked utterly terrified, but snapped herself out of it with a shake of her head. “Let’s… talk about something else. You said something about weird dreams?”

I gulped and nodded. “I don’t remember any specifics at all, but I think I dreamed about my foalhood.” I furrowed my brows. “And about yours, I think. I didn’t really notice during the dream itself, but I was growing up in a stable at some point…” I really didn’t want to let her bottle up whatever she was feeling. She had a bad habit of doing so, and I didn’t like to leave my friend like that. However, now wasn’t a good time to have such a deeply emotional talk.

“My condolences,” Iron deadpanned before cracking a small smile.

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, after that I had an even weirder dream. It’s especially bizarre how precise everything was. I was a stable technician mare, before the bombs fell. I ran some kind of script on a terminal before going to Old Detrot.” Iron looked more and more confused with every word I said and seemed to want to get a word in.

After hesitating for a moment, she said, “And then you went to a whorehouse and gave up an important secret?”

My jaw dropped. “I…” I muttered, leaving my mouth open. “I… How? What?” I pulled myself together. “How the fuck do you know that?”

She dug into her saddlebags and produced a small crystalline orb, tinted blue and black. I recognised it as the one we’d found on Foal Mountain. How was that related? She answered the question before I could vocalise it, “Because that’s exactly what happened in this memory orb. I don’t know how or why, but you ended up viewing it with me.”

None of this made sense. “And you really have no idea?”

She sighed. “It might be related to why my pupils are weird now. I’ll tell you on the road since it’s a long story. Can you walk?”

When she got up, I could have sworn she stood even taller. I tried standing, but my front legs buckled out from under me.

After picking me up and resuming our journey, she said, “Have you ever heard of alicorns in the wasteland?”

While Cherry spoke to me, I pulled on my cigarette, finishing the rest of it before tossing it out of the window of my quarters. I closed the window with my telekinesis. The night was warm enough to keep it open for a while, but it was starting to grow chilly inside.

“Thanks, it was really getting cold here,” Cherry said. “Where was I? Right, I know. In the end, it’s because of Cookie that I somewhat accepted this name. She really liked calling me that.”

Over the past few days, we’d mostly just been resting. Cherry was recovering from his wounds while I was taking care of slower business in town, like informing Star Seeds I finally had a way into the stable. He’d been very pleased, but also quite surprised. Not even he had heard of memory orbs locked behind a specific thought; that of her holding her daughter. I’d figured it out during my very last Mint-Al high.

I’d also been dealing with the consequences of that for the past couple of days. There’d been a constant mental fog on my mind ever since our trip to Detrot. I couldn’t tell if it was just the Mint-Al withdrawal, or if Unity had something to do with it.

I was doing a bit better in that regard, and the fact that my pupils had gone back to normal made me believe that, whatever had happened, it was now over. Though, on the other hoof, I was pretty sure I’d grown at least half a dozen centimetres.

I realised I hadn’t been listening to Cherry at all and snapped myself out of my thoughts.

“So since some nights in Fillydelphia can get really cold, we ended up cuddling up really close to each other, and one thing led to another, and, you can figure the rest.” Cherry’s blush was visible even through his red coat. Before I could react, he added, “Shit, sorry, you probably don’t wanna hear about that.” He really didn’t hold his alcohol well.

“It’s fine, I think I can handle a little bit of bragging.” I giggled before pausing for a moment. We’d come back from Old Detrot just a few days ago. Cherry had already regained a good portion of his strength, but given how much of a lightweight he was… “I think you’ve had enough for now. I know you have that whole earth pony thing going, but you still haven’t completely recovered.”

“Come on,” he slurred, “I only had two drinks, same as you!” Except that I’d hardly even registered them, while this was clearly the most he’d ever drank.

Then his brain seemed to catch up with my words. “And I wasn’t bragging, I was just—” He looked away, face scrunched up. “Well what about you, then? Why don’t you ‘brag’? Tell me about your first time! Was it with that group of raiders? They’re pretty much constantly banging.”

I felt all mirth disappear from my face, and it took him a moment to notice. I’d already opened my mouth to respond when he caught on and continued digging himself into a hole, “Don’t tell me that you went and raped someone for your first time, and only now realised it was fucked up?”

“No,” I replied in a slow, annoyed voice. I couldn’t blame him for thinking it, so I just sighed. “I’m barely even into that stuff to begin with, too many bad experiences.”

Cherry’s eyes went wide. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. It’s fine, I understand,” he blurted out at a barely intelligible speed.

“It’s,” I hesitated for a moment, “...fine. It is a bad topic, but one I’ve been meaning to bring up at some point. You know, as part of the whole ‘opening up’ thing.” I sighed, finishing my glass and starting to pour myself another.

Noticing this, Cherry proudly professed, “That’s your third, and last!” How many times was his mood going to swing? And was he happy that he’d remembered to bring it up?

I had asked him to stop me at three glasses, but I was almost regretting that decision now.

“Is it? That’s a shame.” That same old voice inside me said I needed to be way more drunk for this, but I knew he was right. I talked as I poured, “So, anyway, my first consensual time was a few years ago, right here in New Detrot.”

He winced and opened his mouth before scowling and looking away. After a short silence, he mumbled, “I’m sorry to hear that…”

“Eh.” I shrugged. “It is what it is. The culprit is long dead, so there’s really not much to do. Still don’t like talking about it, though.”

“Well, if that’s the reason you didn’t want to talk about it…” He hesitated for a moment. “Now that it’s out of the way, what about your, uh, proper first time? Surely that was better, right?”

I stared at my hooves for a good minute, ignoring the urge to finish the bottle before taking a deep breath. “In a way. In others, it was worse, since I can only blame myself for those shitty memories.” I gave a bitter, cynical laugh. “Fuck, I don’t even like mares.”

I took a large sip of wine, not even appreciating the taste, just the way it burnt on the way down. “I was just really drunk and sad, and wanted somepony to hold me.”

I continued talking about Airwaves for a while, telling him about some of the things that led up to my night with her. Thankfully, I didn’t break down crying this time; it was more of a calm regret that flowed through me as we sat, though I still shed a few tears.

By the time I finished my drink, Cherry had gotten up and lain down next to me, leaning against my side. I didn’t feel like telling him off; he’d probably regret it tomorrow anyway.

When I finally got to the end of that story, we sat in silence for a few moments before Cherry broke it. “That seriously sucks… I’m very sorry you had to go through that.” He furrowed his brow. “But I don’t think you should blame yourself at all.”

Confused, I turned to look at him.

Catching my look, he explained himself, “Well, you were young as all hell, weren’t you? We all do dumb shit as foals, and it’s the adults’ moral duty to make sure we get out of it unscathed.” With every word, he was getting more and more pissed off. “Or, at the very fucking least, not take advantage of a sad and lonely filly!”

I frowned and tilted my head from side to side. “Been a while since I saw myself as a filly, so that’s really not how I see it.” I shrugged. “Yeah, at first I wanted to kill her, but I realised that wouldn’t do anything to help me. I think that was the first time I recognised that I couldn’t fix all my problems with a bullet or two.”

“I’m… sorry.” He leaned against me, and I embraced him, taking in the comfort.

We sat like this for a minute, until I spotted him open and close his mouth. After a few moments, he did it again.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I… uh…” Cherry said, avoiding my gaze. “I was wondering—and feel free to tell me off if I shouldn’t be asking about this. But…” He looked me in the eyes. “I take it there’s more? Since you specified that one thing, you know…?” What was he talking about? “I take it it was in Filly?” Oh, he meant the less-than-consensual part.

I tried to shrug, but the motion came off as more of a spasm. “I mean, are there any slaves who didn’t go through it?” I was deflecting the question, but I knew I would have to tell him sooner, rather than later.

Cherry didn’t reply at first, instead leaning into me further. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” His voice was barely above a whisper. Any quieter, and my ears wouldn’t have picked it up. “I thought I had a shitty life, but in under a year you went through so much hardship.” He let out a long, drawn out sigh. “I’m sorry. For thinking you’re just like them. For thinking you didn’t know what it’s like. In fact, I’m the one who doesn’t know what it’s like.”

I squeezed him just a little. “Water under the bridge.” Then, the implication of what he said struck me. “Wait, you mean, in all these years, you never once had an owner get a bit too, uh, friendly with you?”

Cherry slowly shook his head. “I… don’t think it’s as common as you believe. Or maybe I was particularly lucky.” He sighed. “I know this might sound a bit shitty, but I’m really glad it didn’t. I tried imagining the scenario in my head, and how I’d defy my master until the last second. Or how I’d use that opportunity to kill her and escape.” He shrugged. “Never happened. At some points I was hoping for it so that I could prove that nothing they did could hurt me. In hindsight, it probably would have completely broken me. Don’t know how you managed to remain yourself.”

I held in a bitter laugh. “I wasn’t too bad, really. It was kind of gross at first, but at least it didn’t hurt.” Just saying that out loud sent a shiver down my spine. “Eventually I got so used to it that I found it… relaxing.”

At Cherry’s horrified expression, I added, “In hindsight, that’s so much worse; knowing that he had me wrapped around his hoof, just like that…” I shuddered.

Cherry finally tried to pull me into a full hug. For a moment, he ended up loosely hanging off of me instead before realising he didn’t have the body coordination to hug someone taller than him right now. Then, he went back to leaning into me. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was simply the fact that we had gotten closer, but this didn’t feel nearly as awkward as I would have expected.

We continued talking like that for a few more hours. I slowly opened up further and further, feeling more and more miserable with every single sentence. And yet, the awful urge to drink just wasn’t there, or at least it was easy to ignore.

Finally, during a long silence, Cherry dozed off.

The slaver ushered me into the old hangar, where a weak scent of cigarette smoke floated through the air. I’d gotten my back leg injured today, and was supposed to rest up for about a week. Back in Filly, they woulda just whipped me harder. Frankly, it surprised me that the punishment for causing too much trouble in Fillydelphia was getting sent to a place where you’re treated better. Though then again, it was definitely a case of slaves being more valuable here. They couldn’t just let us die, especially given how harsh the conditions were.

In the corner of my eye, I saw some movement, and noticed the Guard Dog lying on one of the cleaner mattresses with a cigarette in her mouth, reading one of her books. A few beds from her slept her assistant. His name was Cherry, if I remembered correctly. As the slaver shut the door behind me, I heard a lock click closed.

I took a step forward, hesitating for a moment. I’d been wanting to talk to her for a while now, despite what Lucky Break had told me. I knew it was a terrible idea, since fighting her would only lead to ruin for me, regardless of who won. Still, the mare’s scars, the look in her eyes, the scowl that seemed etched into her face even when she wasn’t doing anything. All of that made me think of her as one of my people. There was some bandit in her, no matter how she tried to present herself.

Back in Filly, I would have just seen her as a rival and gone out of my way to fight her. Now, I was just lonely, and somehow she seemed like my best bet. The other slaves were alright, but talking to them made me feel like a stranger, no matter what.

The only times I’d seen Guard Dog show any other emotion was when she was reading, and right now she seemed just as pissed as usual, so at least she wasn’t really all that invested. Since this might be one of the less bad moments to chat her up, I walked towards her and sat down on the mattress next to hers. “Hi.”

She seemed surprised by that, even though she had obviously been keeping her eye on me. “Hey.” There was no anger in her voice, only barely noticeable curiosity. Or maybe something else, I was never really good at reading ponies.

It was then I realised I hadn’t planned anything to say. I didn’t want to get on her bad side, though not because she scared me—in fact, she seemed weaker than the last time I’d seen her—but simply because I actually kinda wanted to befriend her. Oh, right, I could mention that previous thing, if only to buy time. “Been a while since I last saw you.”

“Yeah, had a rough mission or two.” She nicked one of the pages before closing the book. “Sorry if this is out of the blue, but I’ve been wondering for a while now… How did you become a slave? Kinda rare to see one of your kind in shackles.”

“Frankly? I don’t know. I kind of just woke up all bruised up in a cart full of other slaves, and they took me to Shattered Hoof, then eventually Filly.” I had some speculations for what might have happened, but I doubted she wanted to hear my paranoid ramblings about the past.

Dog nodded. “I see. You a Talon before that?”

I shook my head. “Just a lowlife bandit. Then I tried to get my life together, but ended up a slave for my fuckin’ efforts.”

She gave a low, dark chuckle and her features softened. Without her serious expression, she seemed a good bit younger. “Hah, if it isn't the story of my fucking life.”

Despite my previous attempts to remain cool, I couldn’t stop myself from exclaiming, “Hah, knew it! I can recognise that look from a mile away.”

She snorted and actually smiled. “I wasn’t exactly a raider for long, mostly a merc and hired gun. Though given the contracts I took on, I might as well be a raider the whole time.”

I found myself chuckling. “Yeah, it’s a lifestyle, not a job description.”

She shared my laugh, but her expression returned to a somewhat serious one, though still a lot more casual than her usual one. “It’s a good thing you chatted me up, then, ‘cause I wanted to talk to you about something else.” I nodded for her to continue. “Seeds allocated me a Talon for my work, but she got herself killed. Was the kind of inexperienced chick that thinks she’s ready for the wasteland just because she’s a trained merc.” Dog shook her head in disappointment. “But anyway, I doubt I’m going to get a replacement since we’re already tight on security personnel. On the other hoof, I could really use someone else for my next task.”

I could see what she was hinting at. “And you think he’d give you a slave instead?”

“Maybe. I know that he sees you as necessary expenses. If you accept, I'll ask him about it.” She tapped her hoof on her mattress. “In the near future, we only really have two jobs to do, and one of them involves finishing our previous one and searching in the Detrot metro. They’re dangerous enough that I really don’t wanna do it alone.”

“You’re telling me I can get out of hauling scraps all day, and get to see some action? That’s not even a question, of course I’m fucking in.” I was in the moment she mentioned fighting.

Dog gave a mild chuckle. “Figured you’d say something like that, but still wanted to ask.”

“I mean, it’s not like I could have said no if a slaver ordered me to do it.”

“And potentially give you another reason to stab me in the back?” Dog shook her head. “No thanks. I’d rather have someone who wants to do the job.”

“Good enough reason, I guess.” I shrugged. “What’s your ‘next task’ all about?”

“Taking over a stable. Your job would mostly be to watch my back while I prepare it. We’re probably gonna have to make the trip at least three times to get everything,” she explained. “Though depending on how we go about it, you could also help with the coup itself. Not much is set in stone yet.”

Oh, that was kinda lame. “So mostly walking, huh? Whatever, beats hauling concrete.”

Dog nodded. “By the way, what’s your name? Don’t wanna keep calling you ‘griffin’.”

“Oh, right.” I shifted to my side and extended my right hand to her. “I’m Grace.”

“Well, good to meet you, Grace.” She shook my claw with her hoof. “I’m Iron Sights. You can call me Iron or Sights, whichever is fine.”

I immediately raised an eyebrow. “Huh? But I thought—”

“That my name was Guard Dog? That’s just what the slaves call me. Can’t exactly say I blame ‘em, since to them I’m just another pony between them and their freedom. But nah, my actual name is Iron Sights.”

The name rang a bell, but I couldn’t quite place it. I’d definitely heard about her at some point or another. Or maybe I’d heard of somepony with the same name. Why did ponies have to name themselves after everyday objects so often?

We spent maybe an hour about each of our lives as bandits. Even though it was not something I was proud of, I'd come to terms with it, and that it would always be a part of me.

She on the other claw seemed to be a lot more regretful about it. She didn’t dwell too much on her regrets, but I could see it on her face every time she brought up an atrocity she committed. Though with the way she talked, I could definitely tell she had enjoyed it as much as she now regretted it.

Unlike me, she wasn’t born into it, but instead spiralled downwards after she got her cutie mark.

Overall, it was a surprisingly nice conversation, because we were each able to talk about our actions without a hint of judgement from the other party. Of course, we were still strangers who’d just met, so I didn’t tell her everything about my life, and I doubted she did, either.

At some point, Cherry woke up and joined in on the conversation, though by then it was more small talk than anything else.

Finally, Iron decided to go back to reading, but she agreed to lend me a book as well when I asked.

I was excited to finally get some practice again!

I was pacing in my quarters, worry gnawing at my mind. Gloam should have been back hours ago already.

I shook my head.

No, she had to be fine. A few hour long delay was well within the plan, and there was no reason she would have failed.

The plan was very simple, after all. She was to tail a salvage operation and effectively escape Fillydelphia using her shadow magic. I had to hope she wouldn’t ditch me, but given that a single word from me could get her to kill somepony, I doubted she would betray me like that. For better or for worse, I was her entire world.

After that, she was to quietly take out some of the slavers and guards, and make it seem like the slaves had rebelled and were attempting to flee. Then, she would come back. Easy, right? Couldn’t possibly go wrong.

Oh, who was I kidding? I’d banked on something extremely risky, just for my personal gain. Well, I’d done it for Petal and Banter, but it was still much too high a risk to be worth the payoff.

Sweet Celestia, what if something happened to her? The poor mare didn’t deserve to die for my greed. Why did I have to agree to Crow’s plan?

On paper, it was sound. I would stage an escape attempt, and he would be ready to catch the escaped slaves. With the way Fillydelphia worked, this would mean they would become his after he recaptured them. My side of the deal would be to get half a dozen for my own stock.

When he got me to agree to it, it sounded so good. However, now I really wasn’t sure. I was the one taking all the risks, and I wouldn’t even profit as much as he. If Gloam was caught, the connection to me would be made immediately, and I would have no way to prove that he was in league with me. Not to mention, she was actually risking her life.

As I trotted in circles, so did my thoughts. I’d been at this for Celestia knew how long, and just couldn’t convince myself to sit down.

I lost track of time and didn’t dare to look at any clock. What if everything had gone down the drain? As long as I didn’t know exactly how late it was, I couldn’t tell how likely it was that I was screwed.

No, it was better to assume it would all work out. Everything would go well, and I would get my own small workforce. They would produce things we could sell once we finally escaped. I knew where I could find an unused reloading bench, but I would need to be a bit more resourceful when it came to other things.

I could probably get my hooves on a few sewing machines if I looked hard enough. And, uh, maybe some chemistry stuff to make gunpowder. Yeah, I had no idea how that stuff worked.

Point was, I would be able to create a small stash to give us a head start once we left Fillydelphia. But then… What would I make of my stock? Escaping with three other ponies was already hard enough on its own, but nine? Practically impossible.

In a way, working for me was already a much better alternative than for the vast majority of slavers in Fillydelphia, even if it was only for a limited time.

Then, the realisation of what I’d just thought hit me. Sweet fucking Celestia, I was really becoming more and more like Crow. Was I actually trying to justify slavery just because it ‘wasn’t as bad when I did it’?

I couldn’t finish that train of thought as I noticed Gloam, standing in the corner of the room, waiting for me to acknowledge her presence. How quiet she could be scared even me. However, try as she might, she couldn’t hide how upset she was.

“Hey, Gloam. How did it go?” I asked as casually as I could.

“Good evening, master. Everything went according to plan. Master Crow Call will send you your part of the deal tomorrow.” She tried to keep her tone flat, but by now I knew the signs that something was wrong.

I walked over to my bed and waved her over. When she sat down next to me, I started gently patting her mane. “You did well, Gloam. You’ve helped me a lot, and I must thank you for getting it right.” This wasn’t the first time I was praising her, but it was the first time I was showing her this kind of affection.

In truth, I knew why she was so upset. The first time she’d killed in my name, it had been in self-defence. An enslaved raider had somehow gotten his hooves on a knife and stumbled into us while we were away from any crowds that could have saved us. Luckily, the raider didn’t spot Gloam in time to avoid her knife. That day, I’d decided to make an effort to find a proper gun, but to no avail.

Today, though, was different. She’d killed those slavers in a calculated move. I'd made her do it. I'd turned an innocent mare into a killer. All for my own benefit.

I felt her relax under my touch as I continued to whisper words of praise and gratefulness into her ear.

She really didn't deserve this. She was such a poor, sweet thing, and I was just exploiting her. I really wasn't a single step above Crow anymore. I was just treating her well to make myself feel better. There was nothing morally good about how I treated those below me, and it was time I stopped lying to myself.

I was a shitty pony, and there was no use hiding it. Instead, I'd just have to distract myself from that horrible truth. Luckily for me, there was a pony here who needed distraction just as much as I did, and I was tired of pretending like I was better than anypony.

“I think I should give you a proper reward, shouldn't I?” I said as I pushed her onto her back, while my gut tied itself into a knot.

At that moment, I hated myself more than anything. I hated myself more than I hated Crow. I hated myself more than I'd hated my mother. I hated myself more than I hated this goddesses forsaken city. I hated myself more than I hated that pegasus.

But that would soon melt away.

She was significantly older than me, but I was allowed to want this. Bad ponies were allowed everything, after all. Yes, I would be free of the shackles of decency.

I gave Gloam my best gentle smile before I leaned forward and kissed her on the neck.

Author's Note

One of those chapters I had to hand off to my editor before I was 100% happy with it. But I can't let perfectionism get in my way.

This chapter was originally going to be one block, along with 23 and 25. That would have been a 24k word monster with zero thematic cohesion, so I’m glad I split it up.

Also, you’ll notice I got new cover art (finally!). It’s not the piece I originally commissioned, but that artist is MIA.

2023 Etyco: Damn, looking back this is probably my favourite chapter. I just love the dream sequence so much.