Fallout: Equestria — Foal of the Wastes

In the distance, I spotted another abandoned settlement. Thankfully, it didn’t look anything like the previous one we encountered about a week ago. In contrast to Skybridge, this was just a regular small pre-war town. Still, my mind couldn’t help but wander towards Skybridge.

Now was not the time for melancholy, however. “Hey, Gloam, you should hide in my shadow for now. When we get to town, you’ll need to look around, see if anypony’s trying to ambush us.” While I was reasonably certain we wouldn’t encounter any bandits, I still didn’t want to invite any opportunities.

She nodded, then disappeared. I didn’t know if I was imagining it, but I would have sworn that I could sense it when she hid in my shadow. There was no reason for me to believe I was capable of such a thing, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling. Like I was being watched, except I trusted the observer.

As we approached the town, I found my mind constantly wandering back to Skybridge. It had immediately struck me as odd, but for the longest time I hadn’t been able to put my hoof on it.

At some point, however, it jumped out at me. The vast majority of its buildings had been shoddily constructed shacks made out of sheet metal and planks. And yet, only one of them had collapsed. I didn’t know how long such makeshift huts could last on their own, but I knew it couldn’t be very long. Skybridge had only been deserted for just a relatively short while.

Worse still, most of the cabins looked similar, like they’d all been made by the same group of ponies. That, coupled with the fact that I’d never heard of a settlement around here, made me realise that this had been a very young town when the bandits attacked it.

That was my assumption, at least. However, it didn’t seem quite right; there just wasn’t all that much damage to the buildings. If there had been an attack, there should have been more to show it than a few bullet holes. Still, it was my only theory for now.

It wasn’t just the mystery of it all that kept it coming back to haunt my mind. I’d heard many tales of new settlements being founded, only to meet with the harsh reality of the wasteland. I knew it was something that happened all over Equestria.

But seeing it with my own two eyes? It made me a lot more emotional than I liked to admit. Of course, knowing it happened sucked, but telling yourself that it wasn’t your problem was very easy; this was just the way things were in the Equestrian wasteland.

And while I knew the fate of Skybridge wasn’t my problem, seeing it for myself was an intense reminder of how much the wasteland really sucked. Maybe one day I’d be well enough off to afford trying to improve the situation.

Realising that I was getting very close to town, I forced myself to stop thinking about Skybridge. Gloam had probably already moved to a different shadow and started skulking, but I still needed to be on guard.

I didn’t fully understand the limits of her magic. I knew that, without shadows, there was little she could do. That much was obvious, but the fact that she was able to jump from one shadow to another messed with my mind. How did that even work? How big did a shadow need to be?

Whatever, back to Lightford now that I was in the town proper. It was a bog-standard pre-war town. It was unlikely that it used to be a farming town, since the region was not only covered in thick forest, but also surrounded by hills. Instead, it had probably been a rest stop that got most of its caps, er, bits, from travellers heading towards Detrot. Indeed, it didn’t take long for me to spot signs of inns, restaurants, and hotels. I probably would have noticed them near the entrance of town if I hadn’t been distracted.

Soon, I found myself in the centre of town. Maybe Gloam and I could stay here tonight, instead of setting up camp somewhere in the wilderness. If she didn’t find anypony, there really was no reason not to. Lightford was big enough for somepony staying here to remain unnoticed by travellers.

Suddenly, I froze as I saw a pink mare walking out of an alley. My telekinesis reached for my weapon, and when I trained it on her, she stopped in her tracks. She lifted her left leg, waving it defensively. “I don’t mean any harm.”

Given that the shotgun at her side was still holstered, I lowered my pistol.

“What do you want?” I asked, before noticing a shadow move behind her. No doubt, this was Gloam’s way of showing me she was here and ready to back me up.

As the mysterious mare grew closer, I couldn’t help but notice she looked a lot like Candy Cane. Only, she had a primitive prosthesis for a right leg, wore glasses, and… Well, I didn’t remember Candy well enough to list off all the differences, but there were many. Probably.

She wore rudimentary barding very similar to my own. The kind of armour that ponies only wore when they couldn’t justify the cost or the weight of something more substantial.

“Well,” she said, “I’ve been heading north-west for a while now, and wanted to ask if you wanted to travel with me.” Her tone was casual, and her question genuine.

I furrowed my eyebrows, which prompted her to add, “I know it’s a bit of a stretch to travel with a stranger, but I get really lonely otherwise. Then, there’s the added safety benefit of travelling with somepony.” Her gentle smile made part of me want to trust her, but I’d been around Banter long enough to know that a trustworthy exterior usually meant you were hiding something. If somepony put in the effort to seem likeable, they likely shouldn’t be trusted.

“That just sounds like you want us to protect you,” I retorted. She was going out of her way to make it seem like a win-win; maybe it was, but I still couldn’t let my guard down.

She shook her head. “No, I can hold my own in a fight. I know I don’t look the part, but I’m fairly good in close quarters.” She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes. “Wait, you said ‘us’? Where’s the rest of you?”

I shrugged. “Skulking the town and making sure we don’t get ambushed. I saw one around here before I met you.” If this was a ploy to get me to reveal my cards, I wouldn’t let it work. “Anyway, I don’t know if I can trust a stranger like that; I don’t want to wake up missing all my caps, or with a gun to my head and one of your buddies ploughing me.”

Surprisingly, that took the wind out of her sails. “I… I swear I’m not a bad pony. I’ve… I’ve just been so lonely since I lost my husband and foal.” Great, she was trying to make me pity her. Worse yet, she might be telling the truth.

I sighed. If she really was out to get me, there was a good chance she was with the group of bandits. She didn’t look like a bandit, but was I really going to go off of looks alone?

When I saw her eyes light up with hope, I let out a breath that I didn’t realise I’d been holding. “Fine, but we’ll take precautions. You’ll sleep away from us, we won’t tell you where we will sleep, and we obviously won’t let you keep watch at night. Finally, you’ll be walking in front of the group.”

The mare nodded, and I realised I still didn’t have her name. “I’m Lock, by the way. What about you?” Using my old name, Lockpick, just didn’t feel right anymore. Using my new name, Lock and Key, might give her the wrong impression of me. She’d think I’m a slaver, and I didn’t want that.

“I go by Bubblegum.” The sugary name struck me as an odd coincidence. Though then again, with this shade of pink it made sense, so it probably wasn’t all that uncommon.

“Okay, so, Bubblegum, we’ll be staying in this town tonight. Gloam and I will find a place to sleep; if you or anypony else follow us…” I dragged the edge of my hoof across my neck.

“Gloam? Is that one of your companions?” she asked.

I nodded. “She’s my marefriend.” Bold-faced lie, but it was a good cover story. At worst, ponies would think we were a really weird couple, and I would take that over being branded a slaver. Then again, given a loose enough definition of a relationship, it might not even be a lie to call her my marefriend. “She’s been behind you this entire time.”

Bubblegum turned around, looking about. After a few moments, Gloam seemed to get the hint as she walked out from behind a trash can, less than two metres behind Bubblegum. I could swear I saw the latter shiver. Good.

“Anyway,” I said. “We meet here tomorrow at sunrise. We won’t wait for you if you’re late.”

“So, what’s got you heading north?” asked Bubblegum.

We’d been walking for about ten minutes before she finally turned around and broke the awkward silence. I’d asked her to walk ahead of us, and she reluctantly agreed.

I didn’t take my eyes off the landscape. “One of my friends is currently in New Detrot. I want to see her again.”

“New Detrot? Isn’t that a slaver town now?” She sounded curious, but didn’t seem surprised. Then again, there really wasn’t much up there apart from that one town.

“She was a slave there. Was recently set free; followed Red-Eye’s rules, put in the hard work, and was allowed to go. Don’t ask me why Red-Eye’s rules apply all the way up there. Her letter said she still needed to finish a few things there.” I met her gaze, and she held mine. I had to admit, I was a little bit surprised that she dared walk forwards while looking back, especially with that prosthetic of hers.

“Isn’t she scared of being captured again if she stays around for too long?” she asked before turning back to face the road.

My ears perked at a sudden, distant noise in the forest, but I quickly relaxed. “Nah, once you do your time, Red-Eye’s rules guarantee you freedom. Same thing goes for Gloam and I.” It really only applied to me. Gloam’s case had been special.

“Oooh. I guess that makes sense.” She kicked a pebble that rolled along the road. “For a while, I had a weird feeling you were a slaver and Gloam was your slave. Something about the way she talks to you, I guess.” To my surprise, I didn’t hear any relief in her voice. Like she hadn’t been afraid I was a slaver. Or perhaps she didn’t really believe me? “I assume you two met as slaves and finished your sentences together?”

I groaned on the inside. Why was she so determined to ask all the really annoying questions? “In a way. I did the hard work immediately after being tossed into Fillydelphia. I didn’t want to live as a slave; I preferred risking it all for a chance at freedom. In the end, my master gifted Gloam to me as a way to thank me for my service.” The lies were really starting to pile up. Thankfully, half-truths were the safest form of deception, so I hadn’t quite lied myself into a corner just yet.

“How did you two get captured?” Before I could reply, she added, “I’m sorry if I’m asking too many personal questions, I’ve just never met freed slaves before.”

“I’ll answer this one, but let’s drop the subject after that, okay?” I waited for her answer, and she just turned her head around and nodded before looking forward again. “Gloam was caught as a young filly. Not much more to it, but she’s been a slave for a long time.” I mentally kicked myself for my choice of tense. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice. “It’s why she’s so shy around strangers.”

Gloam, who’d been walking behind me this entire time, let out a quiet “Mhm.”

“And me?” I shrugged. “It’s a long story, but essentially my friends and I were betrayed by somepony we really shouldn’t have trusted.” I was tempted to add that it had only been Banter who’d been stabbed in the back like that, but this really wasn’t anything a stranger needed to know.

“I see…” said Bubblegum.

“What about you?” I nodded towards her even though she couldn’t see me. “Why are you headed north?”

“I have nowhere to go.” She slowed down to walk next to me. “So I just go anywhere. And that anywhere is north, at the moment.”

“So… you picked a region rumoured to be home to a huge group of bandits?” I raised an eyebrow. Something wasn’t adding up here. Unless she was completely disconnected from the world, why would she go here of all places?

She shrugged. “I’d heard there was some bandit activity here, but I figured I’d be fine. I did say it before; I’m a pretty capable fighter.”

Normally, I would have called bullshit, but she seemed so convinced in what she’d said that I doubted she was lying. Not to mention the fact that she did seem quite bulky underneath that flimsy barding… Plus there was the fact that I didn’t really believe the bandits were still around either, though she didn’t even take that into consideration.

So, it was weird that she wasn’t concerned about being ambushed; even the best of mercenaries could fall when caught off guard. Plus there was the fact that this wasn’t a small group of bandits… “Didn’t you see what they did to that town south of here, Skybridge?”

“I did, but I thought this wasn’t the work of bandits. The village was deserted, but not destroyed; bandits wouldn’t simply empty a village.” Her face twisted into a scowl. “I think that was the work of slavers, really.”

She did have a point, and I realised I hadn’t even considered that option; then again, slavers would have also caused collateral damage when fighting the town’s guards, no? This whole thing was enough to rekindle my suspicions about Bubblegum, and I fell quiet.

We continued to walk for a few hours. Bubblegum had gotten ahead of me again, seemingly fully lost in thought.

Eventually, Bubblegum sighed and came back to walk next to me. “Sorry to bring this up now, but there’s a thought I can’t shake.” She took in a long breath, then said, “You remind me of someone I met a long time ago. I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’re her, but the fact that you haven’t recognised me at all really throws me off.”

I stopped. “That’s creepy, because I feel the same way about you, except the mare you remind me of is dead.”

Bubblegum furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. “So… are you the same Lockpick that travelled with Banter and Petal…?” she asked, just as confused as I was. She knew my pre-Fillydelphia name, so there was no doubt it was her. Admittedly, it probably wasn’t too hard to guess if you’d seen my cutie mark… But she hadn’t.

“Yes…” I replied slowly, realising how badly I'd mixed things up in my head. I'd assumed Bubblegum couldn't be Candy, because I thought she was dead. In reality, I knew very well that she was alive. Banter had told me so… And I knew she’d been married to the fucker responsible for all this…

I had to play my cards right, or she wouldn’t believe me. “And that probably means you are Candy, but Iron was sure you were dead…”

Her eyes went wide. “You’ve… you’ve met Iron? Is that why she never tried to find me? Because she believed I had died? I can’t blame her, but…”

I nodded. “After the incident with the ‘alicorn’, she had some hope you’d survived, but a buck told her he’d already buried you.” I sighed. “To think all this happened because of a misunderstanding…”

“Fuck…” she muttered, slowly shaking her head. Her tone grew hopeful when she asked, “How was she doing? How long ago did you meet her?”

I grimaced and drew a sharp breath through my teeth. “Not great…” I stared at the cloud cover while I tried to find where to start. “For one, she turned to drinking after your ‘death’. I heard her addiction got pretty bad, too.”

“What? But… but she’s too young to drink.” Her ears drooped down, and her tone fell as well. Her objection was so naïve that I almost laughed.

“That never prevented anything in the wasteland…” I sighed and looked away for a moment. “Neither her age nor her drinking problem were enough to stop her from becoming a great markspony and a badass merc, though.” And then, she lost a close friend because of it, I added mentally.

I started walking again, now that the initial shock had worn off. “I can tell you more of what I know of her, but it’s a long story, so let’s keep moving.” I paused for a moment while she caught up to me. “I also wanna know what happened to you.” For one, I was genuinely curious about the things I didn’t know. On top of that… It would be a good way to reveal what her hubby had done, wouldn’t it?

Oddly enough, she seemed to hesitate. “About that… Well, I have something pretty important to tell you. It’s just a pretty long story, and there’s something I need to know first.” She gave me an expectant look, and I returned a confused shrug—which almost caused me to trip over a piece of rubble. “When’s the last time you saw her? Do you know where she was headed?”

I winced, then bit my lip. “Yeah. That…” I gulped. “You won’t like this.” I broke eye contact and looked around, for no real reason other than to buy time. “You remember my friend in New Detrot? That’s Iron.”

Her jaw dropped in horrified shock, and it took a few moments for her to mutter, “Sweet Celestia, Iron…” Candy fell quiet for a few more moments, eyes tearing up. “I had no idea. I knew I should have tried harder to find her, especially after I found a trail… From what I’d heard of her, I thought she was doing okay… Luna smite me, I’m such a horrible sister…” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t think like that.”

She set her gaze onto the road ahead of us and sighed. After a moment, she said, “Do you know how long she's been enslaved? Was she… you know?” Then, she muttered to herself, “Sweet Luna, that poor filly…”

It took me a few moments to understand she was referring to rape. I really didn’t want to answer that. “She got to Fillydelphia with us.” Thankfully, I had ways to dodge the question. “In fact, the pony who sold us out did so because he had a grudge against her. Petal, Banter, and I were just unfortunate casualties.”

“Who would do such a thing?” Her tone was dripping with disgust. “What kind of monster would enact such a horrifying revenge on a filly?”

“Oh. Right…” Now came the fun part. “There’s no way to wrap this nicely.” I didn’t want to hurt her, so it took a surprising amount of effort to get it out. I avoided her gaze for a moment, then met her eyes again. She looked equally confused and curious. “It was a pegasus by the name of Airdrop.” Calling him by the other name Banter had told us about just didn’t feel right.

Candy missed her step and fell face-first to the ground. Instead of getting back on her legs, she sat up. Blood was dripping down her muzzle, but she didn’t care. “That… that can’t be. Why would he do such a thing?”

All I could say was a lame, “I’m sorry…”

Her head snapped towards me, torn between anger and confusion. “You’re lying, you have to be.” Then she looked back down at the ground. “But why would you lie?”

“I promise I’m telling the truth, or at least it’s what Banter told me, since he went behind our backs to talk to Airdrop.” The pity I felt towards Candy made hiding my animosity towards Airdrop easy. Plus there was the fact that the buck was apparently already dead. I would have loved to ruin his life like he’d ruined mine, but it was too late for that.

“Then he’s lying. Platinum would never do such a thing. He’s a good pony, a bit obsessed with his black and white sense of morality, but—” She gasped so intensely that I heard her throat clasp shut. “I really need to talk to him… What did she ever do to get on his bad side?”

Didn’t she say he was dead? Maybe when she said ‘lost’, she’d meant it more in a literal way?

I grimaced, took a sharp breath through my teeth, and said, “There’s… there’s more to this. I know the reason why Airdrop did what he did, and it’s not pretty.” I took a deep breath and sat down next to her. “Truth is, Iron had to do some pretty horrible things to survive on her own. In many ways, she was a bad pony. Far from the worst the wasteland has to offer, but you wouldn’t be proud.”

Candy was pale as a ghost underneath her fur, fear painted on her face. “What… what did she do?”

“She attacked a hoofful of caravans; ones that were poorly protected.” While Candy stared in disbelief, I continued. “Then, when she started working as a hired gun, she took on any job that paid well.”

Candy closed her mouth and shook her head. “I knew this would happen if I ever split up from her. Why, just fucking why did that random asshole have to tell her he buried me? Why couldn’t he give her a better description of whoever he buried‽” She slammed her front hoof on a small piece of concrete, crushing it under her metal shoe. She was looking away from me, but I could see tears running down her cheeks. “So much death and suffering caused by such a stupid misunderstanding.”

I almost didn’t have it in me to tell her it wasn’t a misunderstanding. I wanted to dig Platinum’s grave a bit deeper, but hurting Candy was not easy for me. “Candy, I don’t think it was a misunderstanding. The pony who told her that was Airdrop, when she knocked on his door.”

Candy’s eyes went wide, and she let out one more sob, but didn’t say anything else. After a few minutes of silent crying, she let out a long breath and turned to me. “I need to go see Platinum. After that, I’m coming with you to New Detrot, with or without him. I’m hoping this is all just a huge misunderstanding, and I’ll be damned if I don’t hear out every side.”

At least that gave me the chance to voice my previous question. “Didn’t you say you lost him? Or was that another husband?” I asked her, apprehensive of sounding stupid.

“Oh,” she said with a frown. “You see… I kinda lied to you…”

We continued our journey as we talked. As it turned out, Candy was here with an express purpose. She was the leader of the group of “bandits” who’d been attacking caravans.

When she’d seen the state of Skybridge, she and Platinum investigated, only to find that its fate was the work of slavers who didn’t want to pay the toll. Under the promise of getting them rich, Candy gathered some bandits, then lured passing caravans into ambushes using the same persona she’d shown me.

However, the main reason behind that scheme was to avoid attacking innocent traders by first getting to know everypony passing through. She tried to get extra information about the slaver town up north, but the ponies involved always ended up tight-lipped.

Over time, most of her band dispersed due to lack of profits, but there was still a small core group left. Unlike the rest, they were primarily in it to hamper the work of slavers, either because of a personal vendetta or some kind of hero complex.

I was extremely thankful that she didn’t bring Iron up anymore, because I grew a strong suspicion she was involved in what happened to Skybridge…

“Tell me the truth, Platinum.” Even though I was outside, I could still clearly hear their argument through a hole in the wall. I wasn’t going out of my way to eavesdrop, but I also couldn’t be bothered to get up and find another place to wait. Gloam just seemed too comfortable, her head resting on my lap. At least that was my excuse; in reality I did want to hear Platinum lose everything.

There was a short pause, before Platinum said, “I am telling the truth, Candy. You merely refuse to accept it. I do not know why you are so eager to be deceived by—”

“Spare me that bullshit, Plat. Look me in the eye and tell me you’ve had nothing to do with Iron and I getting split up. Tell me you’ve had nothing to do with her getting enslaved.” I’d never heard Candy this angry before. Admittedly, I hadn’t talked to her all that much, but there was a cold, bitter fury in her voice that didn’t belong with somepony as kind as her. It chilled me to the bone, and I never wanted to be on the receiving end of such a feeling.

There was a long silence inside, and I found my eyes wandering over to Airwaves—or Snowfeather as was apparently her actual name—who was partly watching the two foals run around on the old concrete road and partly looking out for any potential danger.

She’d tried to chat me up, but I’d shut her down immediately. I knew what she’d done to Iron, and while I didn’t want to bring it up, I couldn’t deny my feelings of disgust towards her.

Inside, I heard Candy speak up again, barely loud enough for me to hear, “I knew it…”

A moment later, she stormed out of the cottage, the fur on her face drenched in tears. She didn’t turn to Gloam and I, instead continuing on towards Snowfeather and the two fillies.

Platinum, flying closely behind her, pleaded, “You do not understand, I can explain.”

“You were given plenty of opportunities to explain yourself. Many during this conversation, and so many more before that. Yet you chose to lie to me, so you can fuck right off.” The last part of her sentence was punctuated by a sob.

Having noticed the commotion, Snowfeather flew over and landed in front of Candy, blocking her path. “Hey, what’s going on here?”

“Nothing. I just found out that my husband is directly responsible for enslaving my little fucking sister. Nothing worth mentioning, really. Can’t blame him for not bringing it up.” I couldn’t tell if she was about to burst out in tears or a fit of shouting.

I couldn’t hear it from where I was, but I saw Snowfeather’s mouth open and let out a “What?” She furrowed her brow and shook her head, then said at a volume I could hear, “Why would you do that? That’s horrible!”

“She was a dangerous bandit who had just attacked Dodge Junction’s caravans. I had an opportunity to get rid of her without getting anypony hurt, is that not a good thing? The only casualties were her accomplices, and it pains me so that you would take their word over mine.” He pointed at me with contempt, but I just sighed. He was really going to lie until the bitter end, wasn’t he? At this point it was his word against mine, too.

Too bad for him that Candy had already chosen which of us to believe. She turned around to face him, “Oh, and whose fault is it that Iron became a bandit?”

Platinum groaned in frustration. “You cannot be serious, Candy. You cannot possibly blame me for the actions of somepony else. She chose to be a bandit, not I. I did not put a gun to her he—”

“Spare. Me. The. Bullshit.” Candy’s tone was low and dangerous. Knowing her, I doubted she was going to get physical; she just didn’t seem like the kind of pony to hit her loved ones, no matter how angry she got. And yet, I would be terrified if I was in Platinum’s place. In fact, I’d be scared to no longer qualify as a loved one after pulling such a stunt.

“Wait, wait, what?” Snow repeatedly moved her gaze from one to the other. “You two need to slow down. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Candy turned back around. “You see, Platinum thought it would be a lovely idea to lie to Iron in order to get her away from me. He told her I was dead.”

Again, Snowfeather’s jaw dropped. “Why… Why would you do that? I thought you were better than that…”

Finally, Platinum’s mask cracked. “Because I fuckin’ thought it was fer the best!” Gone was the clear enunciation, gone was the prim and proper choice of words, both replaced with a rustic accent. He turned to Candy, who was grinding her teeth. “You told me everything that happened to you since y’all went ahead and left the stable, and do you know what I thought? I was darn glad she was out of your life. She was ruinin’ it, and you were lettin’ it happen just ‘cause you were stuck with her.”

Candy opened her mouth, but he continued. “What I saw in front of me back then was a bright young mare who’d gone through a hell she didn’t deserve. A young mare whose beautiful worldview was slowly gettin’ chipped away with every fucked up thing that happened to her.”

He landed in front of her. “Truth is, Candy, I fell in love with you in just a few short days. Whenever I saw you, I just wanted to preserve that beautiful, innocent way to look at things.” Looking her straight in the eye, he added, “I just didn’t wantcha to get hurt…”

This time, Candy was speechless, mouth agape. He reached out and gently touched her cheek. “I’m sorry for goin’ behind your back, I really am.” She didn’t immediately swat it away, instead lightly pushing it aside. Platinum broke eye contact, watching his hoof being moved with a hurt look. His expression had me holding back a sneer.

“But…” she tried to rebut.

“It’s just… when I saw Iron, standin’ there, right in front of me… I realised I couldn’t let you go back to hurtin’ yourself.” He looked Candy in the eye, and I saw her expression soften further. She still didn’t look fully convinced, but I could tell she was coming around. Had I been wrong? Would I need to take my revenge in a more direct way? I’d feel bad for Candy, but Gloam could definitely kill him while he slept. It also wouldn’t be nearly as fun… Maybe I’d need to think this through a bit more.

She sighed and lowered her head. “But that was not your choice to make…” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, just sad.

Platinum slowly nodded. “I know, and I’m sorry for that. I shoulda told you way sooner, but I was scared of your reaction, because I knew what I did was wrong.” He placed his hoof on her cheek again, but this time she didn’t push it away. “I just didn’t want to see somepony as precious as you lose yourself for the sake of somepony like her.” Wrong choice of words, bucko.

Candy’s face twisted into a scowl, and she took a step back. “‘Somepony like her’?” she spat in a vicious tone. “Do you have any idea of what she’s been through? I told you some of it, but I never told you that her father used to rape her! That’s why she killed him! And her mother? Treated her like a blank slate; a tool to fulfil her own dreams.” She stomped on the ground hard enough to startle the foals. “She had issues, but none of them were her fault! She didn’t deserve to be cast out just because of how she was brought up! She was a good filly, Plat!”

Back to schadenfreude, then. Platinum stumbled backwards and fell on his rump. I couldn’t see his face, as it was obscured by Candy, but I could see his jaw open and close repeatedly. I really wanted to see his expression right now, but knowing he was hurting was good enough for me. Just to make sure that he wouldn’t become an issue down the line, I’d have Gloam kill him when she got the chance. Now, I wouldn’t even have to feel bad for it.

Candy let out an angry sigh before turning to me. “I’m done here, Lockpick. Let’s go.” While I started getting up, she looked at Snowfeather, who was still shell-shocked. “If you want to leave with us, feel free.”

That snapped Snow out of her stupor. A few moments later, she said to Platinum, “I just don’t get it. I really don’t.” She shook her head in disapproval. “I would never have thought you would do anything so heinous. I always believed you were such a good pony, but to find out you would do something like this…”

That one sentence was enough to make me change my mind. She was acting like she had the moral high ground, how fucking ironic, all while pretending she didn’t know. She was going down, too.

“What? That’s odd,” I spit in a mocking tone, sneering. “I could have sworn you knew about it. Iron said she’d told you about it when you were getting her drunk. What was it, three years? Three and a half?” I let out a laugh, filled with every last drop of contempt I felt, taking steps towards her. “Or were you maybe too busy staring at her tiny, juvenile flank to listen to any of her worries?” With how low her head hung, I was towering over her, even with my small stature. I let out another mirthless laugh. “I bet you were begrudging that it wasn’t blank, weren’t you? Disgusting.”

“That’s… that’s not true…” she muttered. Was that genuine remorse I heard, or was she just ashamed she’d gotten caught? “She made the first move, and I didn’t get her drunk… She was drinking on her own, and I just joined in.” She pawed at the ground and swallowed. “She’s the one who insisted on following me to my place… She kissed me, and I was too drunk to think it was a bad idea… She wanted it, too…”

She genuinely sounded like a foal caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. What the fuck…?

I wouldn’t let her get away with it. “No, she didn’t.” I punctuated my words with a stomp of my hoof. “You know what she actually wanted? Somepony to hold her and tell her things would be okay.” Yeah, she couldn’t have known, but that was hardly an excuse.

Snow lowered her head even further. “I didn’t know that…”

Thankfully, Candy wasn’t willing to treat her like a filly either. “Sweet fucking Luna, Snow! What the fuck is wrong with you?” she screamed, then turned around and started pacing and ranting to herself. “She goes and does something as heinous as taking advantage of a drunk filly, then has the audacity to sound like this. How can anypony sink so fucking low?”

She decided to face Snow again and said, “Snow, this is like somepony raping a slave, then claiming it’s okay because the slave never dared to say no!”

Shattered was my schadenfreude, and I winced. Did she know? Was this aimed at me? No, it couldn’t be. I wasn’t like that. Gloam never said no, but I could tell she did want it. To her, it was the ultimate reward! I was nothing like Snow. I couldn’t think of a single instance of Gloam and I doing it where it would have been wrong.

I turned my attention back to Candy’s ranting at Snow. “… and for a moment I didn’t know why you’d keep something so important from me, but I guess I can’t fucking blame you for wanting to hide the fact that you’re a gigantic fucking creep.”

Neither Platinum nor Snow said anything after that. Snow was quietly crying, while Platinum seemed like his soul had left his body. I had to admit, I was very happy with myself.

After warning the two against following her, Candy picked up the worried-looking pegasus filly, and the four of us set out for New Detrot once again.

Candy and I were sitting around a table in a small cottage, with Moonwing sleeping on her mother’s lap, having somehow managed to curl up tightly enough to perfectly fit. A fire was burning in the chimney behind me, and we’d used it to brew some tea to ward off the cold. We’d still need a while for the room to heat up.

I had to admit, I wasn’t used to being around foals this young, and somehow I couldn’t stop myself from thinking she was adorable. I always thought I would have hated travelling with a foal; they were loud, demanded a lot of attention, and overall were a huge nuisance. And yet, I didn’t mind Moonwing. Maybe it was because Candy was taking care of her so well, or maybe it was some kind of maternal instinct waking up in me.

Gloam was asleep too, as she would take the first watch after Candy and I went to bed.

We’d been travelling together for the better part of two weeks now and were slowly approaching New Detrot. While I was excited to meet Iron, I also had something on my mind. Candy had hinted at it a few times, but now I was really running out of time to ask about it. I was just really afraid of the answer.

I cleared my throat and spoke in a quiet tone, “So, do you have anything else to do in New Detrot?”

Candy nodded. “I still need to bring to justice whoever did that to Skybridge. I know I can’t get to Star Seeds, not without a huge band to get past the guards. What I can do, however, is take out his blood-soaked right hoof. The pony who does his dirty work.” Noticing that I was trying to get a word in, she paused for a moment.

“I thought you used to have a very large amount of bandits at your disposal. Why didn’t you attack back then?” I was dodging around the topic. I was afraid to accidentally bring up Iron, but I also wanted to understand the situation better before I said anything.

She grimaced. “That was the original plan, yeah. With every successful attack, we managed to find more ponies for our cause. I was worried that if we attacked with too few members, it would end in a bloodbath. Maybe we’d win, but at a considerable loss. So I always wanted more.” She sighed. “Then, the caravans stopped coming. Every week without a hit, we lost ponies. At first it was just the bored ones; the ponies who weren’t committed to the cause at all, and who were just looking for a quick buck. Then, more and more left, until there were just six of us remaining.”

“Ah shit, talk about bad timing.”

Candy nodded. “All that to say that Star Seeds is well out of my reach for now. However, like I said before, I’d need to kill his right hoof anyway before I even got to him.” She took a deep breath and continued, “As far as I know, she’s just as guilty as him, because she’s the one who attacked Skybridge.”

“You mean a single pony took out that town?” That much wasn’t even a question anymore, not with everything I knew.

“Yeah. I didn’t believe it either when we were told, but judging by the damage, it wasn’t any sort of large group. The pony we asked had no reason to lie, either.” She took a long sip out of her tea, prompting me to do the same. This far north, the cold was starting to get through my coat.

Candy put down her cup. “Platinum investigated, and pretty much confirmed that Seeds has a pony he calls his right hoof. She’s a deadly, ruthless killer. And worst of all, she’s very capable.” She sighed. “I’m… I’m scared to take on a monster like her. But if I don’t, the tragedy of Skybridge might happen again.”

“I don’t think it will. Skybridge was destroyed because they stood in Star Seeds’ way. If nopony builds another town like that, it shouldn’t happen. You don’t have to risk your life.” Frankly, I just didn’t want either Iron or Candy to have to kill their sister.

Candy took another sip of her tea and frowned. “Maybe… but it still doesn’t feel right. Leaving a demon like her alive just doesn’t sit with me. The crime she committed is too great, the lives she destroyed too many. I can’t forgive that.”

“I… didn’t take you for the vengeful kind, Candy.” My worst fears were coming true. I shouldn’t have put off this question, all I’d done was reduce how much time I had.

She grimaced as she looked at her reflection in the cup. “Me neither, but that town meant too much to me. I can’t just accept its destruction.” She shook her head. “I know I’m being overly emotional. I know I’m being a hypocrite. I know I wouldn’t do this for any other town, but I feel like it is my duty to kill the mare who destroyed a place I loved.”

I knew I was going to regret this, even before I opened my mouth. And yet… “What if she didn’t have a choice? Seeds is a slaver, you know?”

“You always have a choice, Lockpick.” She put down the cup on the ruined table with enough force to spill some of it. “A slave strong enough to take over an entire village on her own especially sounds like she has a choice.”

“Life isn’t that simple, Candy. And please stop calling me that. My name is Lock. Lock and Key. I don’t deserve my old name any more, not after what I had to do.” Candy looked utterly confused. With my nerves threatening to sew my throat shut, I swallowed. “In Fillydelphia, I was forced to become a low-ranking slaver, or become a slave myself. Gloam isn’t my marefriend, she’s my slave. I tried to set her free, honest, but her mind is so deeply shattered that she believes I’m her only purpose in life.” I didn’t give myself any breaks to breathe, fearing I wouldn’t be able to finish what I had to say.

“I…” Candy tried to speak, but nothing else came out of her mouth. She wasn’t looking at me with contempt, just… disappointment. That stung more than I liked to admit.

Still, I continued, “I want to pretend like she’s a free pony. A pony who made the decision to go along with me after we were both set free. I knew she would die if I forced her to go. But I still don’t like the implications of letting her stay.” I looked at my reflection, almost like I was trying to see my younger, innocent self in there. Like I was trying to undo who I’d become. “Because ultimately, it makes her my slave, and me her master, no matter how I look at it.”

Candy’s expression softened, but she remained quiet.

I let out a long breath. “My point is… what if Seeds' right hoof is the same? A mare with a psyche so shattered that she doesn’t think on her own. Would she still deserve to die?” I knew it wasn’t the case, but I didn’t dare mention that. I just wanted Candy to see the nuance, and this would all be better.

“I…” She hesitated for a long while, before finally responding, “I don’t think she deserves it, but she still needs to face the consequences of her actions. A mare like that cannot be allowed to live, even if her story would be tragic. She would be too much of a danger to leave alive.” She slowly shook her head. “Killing her wouldn’t make me a good pony, but it is still my duty.”

“Are… are you saying you would kill Gloam if I made her do something similar? You’ve seen her, she’s pathetic.” I didn’t like drawing her ire on myself, but if it was needed to make Candy see that this wasn’t such a clear-cut situation…

Candy slowly nodded. “I think so. And then I would kill you, if I could. Even if you saw becoming a slaver as a necessity, you ultimately still made that choice. So if you were to commit an atrocity like Skybridge, I would have to put you down.”

Her tone really struck a nerve with me. It was serious, but still too casual for what she was saying. “You threaten me to my face, and you act like it’s no big deal? Excuse me, but what the fuck?”

“Lock, please, calm down,” Candy said with a pained expression. “I’m not threatening you. I don’t want to hurt you, but if we become enemies, I know I can’t afford to treat you any differently.”

I gritted my teeth, but managed to contain my outburst. I opened my mouth to say something, but realised I didn’t know what to say. Candy was always a good pony, and always the type to protect others. It wasn’t her fault that I’d become somepony to be protected from.

No, the fault lay with Platinum and Star Seeds, and they were the ones who needed to feel my wrath. Platinum was already done for. I still wanted to kill him to make sure he wouldn’t be an issue in the future, but he’d already disappeared by the time Gloam went back to their hideout.

Star Seeds on the other hoof? I could definitely still carve up and kill.

I let out a long, drawn out sigh in an attempt to calm myself down. “You’ve changed, Candy Cane. I have as well, so I can’t really blame you for it, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep talking about this.”

Face glum, Candy nodded. I took a few more moments to find a way to word my next sentence properly. “I think we should split up before getting near New Detrot, and that you should come into town at least a few days after me. I’m going to kill Star Seeds, and I don’t want the townsfolk to suspect you or Iron. We’ll meet up again in Lightford, and hopefully things will be better between us by then.”

Candy furrowed her brow in disbelief. “Kill Star Seeds? Why and how?”

“I’d be lying if I said it’s not for revenge. I blame the fucker for what I’ve been through, but it’s a long story that can wait for later.” In fact, it was better if Candy and Iron met up before I told it. “But I also want to prove that I’m not your enemy.” And, if I got rid of Star Seeds, Candy wouldn’t feel obligated to kill Iron, hopefully. “As for how? Using the same underhoofed tricks I learned in Fillydelphia. I won’t involve Iron, though, don’t worry.” Mostly because Iron was about as stealthy as a glowing ghoul in the middle of Tenpony Tower.

She nodded, but didn’t say anything while I gathered my things. Once I had everything, I said, “Goodbye for now, Candy. I hope your reunion with Iron goes well.”

Within five minutes, Gloam and I were already on the road again.