She got out her carefully folded map from her table and showed it to me. It was next to useless about building locations: It just had the site blocked off and marked 'Albite Manor.' Around the heavily aged map were other marked off areas with names that were illegible at best. The only symbols on the map that were legible, other than the named manor, were various collections of six symbols. Curious, I asked Sunset, "What are those symbols?"

"Those symbols represent destinations for gate spells. Some locations have gate receptors, flat disks with an enchantment to allow someone who is able to initiate a gate spell to directly access the enchanted locations. They have a set of enchanted symbols engraved in them to make it easier to identify the receptor."

"That seems very insecure, Sunset, especially given this place was affected by a war."

"It takes a unique unicorn to be able to create such a gate receptor, and it takes an inordinate amount of skill to correctly initiate a gate. I am one of the few unicorns from my world who is particularly gifted with gate spells, and I can count with my hooves how many others I knew during my education at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. In my experience, as long as these symbols are kept hidden, and the gate receptor guarded, it can be considered to be very secure."

Sunset and I talked for a few more hours, understanding each other's theories and understandings of magic. I went in depth with the eight types of magics, while she discussed the way her people divided up magic based on where the energy is drawn from.

When I brought up the weave of magic and briefly mentioned a god controlling it, she got angry and told me their was no such thing as a 'god of magic' and that magic is provided by the interaction between multiple overlapping dimensions.

We almost got into blows over this, but after we calmed down and continued discussing, we reached an understanding that our two approaches towards this are different ways of explaining the same concepts, and we agreed to disagree as to their origins.

We finished talking as we began to prepare for going back to the manor and rescuing the slaves. She had me try to use the revolver on random targets in her . . . home? . . . No, I'll call it her base. Let's just say I was so bad with the weapon, she took the weapon away from me, claiming that I would be more of a threat with the weapon at her side than the slavers.

Huffing at the insult, I moved over and sat by the table as I absorbed the remaining batteries she gave me, as I did not want to take the nearly fifteen minutes to drain them in a hostile zone. While I drained them, somehow Sunset finished making a holster for my dirk, a holster for her new revolver and her new pistol, and efficiently repaired the two of them at a nearby workbench. I still don't know how she did that so quickly, but whatever.

As I slipped the holster over my neck, I noticed Sunset was grabbing some bandages, potions, and a few things that had needles on them and tossed them into a pair of saddle bags. Into one bag she slipped a few black rectangular objects into, a couple of ring-like objects that contained bullets in a circular pattern, and what looked like two blue potions rather than red ones.

She slipped one of the saddle bags on me, quipping "You put it on backwards last time," as she slipped her own on her back, put on the two holsters for her pistol and revolver, and strapped a long two-barreled weapon onto her back. Seeing me glance at the weapon, she says, "Its called a shotgun. If I pull it out, be prepared to run."

"Sunset, what is our plan here?"

"We don't really know how many opponents we have, so I am thinking our primary goal is some stealth scouting, and then we will come up with an attack. I'll redirect the gate from the gate receptor to that small side building, so that we can arrive without immediately being discovered." She seemed to unconsciously shutter at that statement, but I didn't press her for why.

As she focused on her gate spell, I carefully observed the structure she was making. It was an elegant system, although well beyond my understanding of alteration magics. I saw the target symbols, and then noticed her carefully implement an offset before initiating the gate connection. The gate ended up directly inside the small building, and we quickly walked through as she closed the gate.

Looking through the broken wooden slats, we were able to make out three intact buildings, the main building and two side buildings; a collection of thick cages in a large fenced off clearing; and the edges of the so called 'grove' on the other side of the main building. It looked like two or more buildings were also collapsed due to age or damage. It was good to have a few moments to actually pay attention to the surroundings this time rather than being concerned with being seen.

Keeping my voice down, I ask, "What defenses do they have around the cages? All I see is a fence and the cages that are a bit off the ground."

Sunset shook, er, shuddered a bit before replying, "Zombie Ponies. They have whole herds of zombie ponies under and around the cages. The outer fences have turrets to keep the zombie ponies within the area. The slavers use shock batons to keep the zombies off of themselves when they are grabbing slaves to sell."

"Troublemakers are taken to one of the two side buildings and tortured until they submit or die. Unicorn slaves are stored inside a cage with some kind of magic sensor that electrifies the whole cage when triggered. I was warned about it by the other slaves. The main building is used by the slavers as their living quarters and sleeping areas. Don't go into the Grove unless you have to. Bad things happen in there."

"Do you think it will be okay to take out the slavers before attempting to rescue the slaves? I don't want a bunch of prior slaves getting injured during a fight to save them."

"I didn't see anything that suggests that the slavers have a way to quickly take out the slaves in the cages if fighting starts, so I guess we could leave them in the cages. I don't like it though, as they are trapped if the slavers decide to shoot them."

I nod, but then explain, "Slavers are generally protective of their . . . goods. I doubt they will start randomly shooting slaves unless they realize they are loosing."

Sunset looks at me with a guarded expression before nodding. With a careful motion, we open the door to the shed and carefully move into the grounds, keeping our bodies close to the ground.

Sunset and I split in different directions. Sunset carefully maneuvers towards the center of the manor grounds as I circle around the outside just about five or six yards from the outer walls. We then carefully made our way around the grounds of the manor, getting a good view around the main manor house and the side buildings.

The main manor house had four stories, three balconies, a glass observatory, steep roofs, and had two primary entrances, one in the rear and one in the front. The main entry way had two 'turrets', while the rear entrance had just one and a ruined hulk, partially melted by what looked like extremely hot, probably magical, fire.

The outer buildings seemed . . . well, bland, compared to the manor house. They were likely used for servants before the war. I barely got behind cover as a set of three guards approached the outer building nearest me. I risked a glance, and saw that they were switching with three other guards. It looks like they buffed security from when we were last here. Great.

Curious, I took a glance for magical protections. Sunset said the Lady was an earth pony, so maybe it wouldn't have a lot of magical defenses, but it is a good idea to check anyway. Let's just say that I was nearly blinded when I looked at the manor house. 'So much for that logic,' I thought to myself.

As I was examining the defenses, squinting to see specific matrices, Sunset came up next to me. She tried to whisper something, but I didn't quite make it out as I was focused. I carefully was able to make out a few common protective spells and some general teleportation defenses.

As I further examined these teleportation protections, I happened to glance over to Sunset as she was preparing to teleport. I nearly jumped up in panic and quickly tapped her horn. My unexpected action caused her eyes to shrink to pinpricks. She quickly lost her concentration as I drained a bit of her mana from the momentary contact. She immediately shoved me away from her as she wobbled slightly from the drain. She started glaring at me, narrowing her eyes as she took a sip from a blue potion she got out of her bag.

I crouched back down and started to explain, "The manor is protected. You were about to try to teleport inside it. If you did that, you would have ended up right over there," I continue, gesturing over to the front door and between the two turrets.

The silence of the night was shattered as a bullet whizzed between Sunset and me, embedding itself in the grass followed by the sound of the gun shot. Startled, we both jumped up, only to be met with the sounds of more gunfire. We were unmistakably spotted.

Reacting swiftly, Sunset shoved me with her behind a nearby crumbling wall, seeking cover as the grounds filled with slavers pouring out of the side buildings, clearly prepared for intruders. We started to head towards the shed carefully when the shed was impacted with a fast moving object and exploded into shards of wood.

Our path of escape closed, I started leading us towards the grove, reasoning that guards might not want to head in there to follow us. As we began to move again, a trio of guards showed up out of the darkness around us with guns pointing outward, as if they were a scouting party looking for us. Sunset carefully moved up to one of them, but immediately paused before backing back towards me.

"These guys are friendly," she assured, her voice low but urgent. "They're trying to mislead the others. Keep moving towards the Grove."

Inside our makeshift guard party, we stayed low and kept moving towards the grove. As we got close, the guard party moved together around the grove as we moved into it. "Ponies." We heard a snort and clack and turned to face what looked like a heavily damaged bird-creature, missing half of their feathers and staring at us, staying mostly in the shadows.

"Follow." Came the gruff voice as the bird-creature slipped into a well in the middle of the grove. Having no good option, Sunset and I carefully held onto the rope of the well as we slipped slowly into it. After about thirty feet down the well, a pair of hooves and claws grasped us and pulled us onto a ledge with a very low ceiling within the well.

The same gruff voice and bird-creature said "Ponies," in a disbelieving tone before heading deeper into the tunnel.

The hoofed creature looked like an emaciated looking pony. . . or, at least a quadruped creature. It was challenging to discern its true form through the decaying skin, patches of missing fur, and a motley, ragged appearance. Actively rotting flesh exposed several large gashes, creating a grotesque image that defied the boundaries of life. Honestly, it seemed impossible that this creature could still be alive.

Sunset recoiled in horror at the sight of the creature's appalling condition. Without hesitation, I rushed forward, retrieving a healing potion from my bag. Surprisingly agile, the creature met my approach with a mixture of shock and suspicion, quickly brandishing a knife in response. However, upon noticing the healing potion in my hand, it let out a raspy laugh and slowly sheathed the knife.

As I stood about three feet away, holding the healing potion forward, I couldn't help but study the creature's form. Its pale, decaying flesh seemed almost translucent in places, emphasizing the ghastly nature of its existence. Despite the shocking appearance, it remained strangely animated. The creature spoke, somehow still chuckling, "Now, filly, I know I look ragged, but don't bother with your potion. This isn't that bad. Like an old movie once said, 'Tis only a flesh wound'."

It paused a bit before continuing, "It seems that you and your friend are in a tight spot." The rattling chuckle that followed made me recoil slightly. "Do you have anypony else coming to support your rescue attempt?" it asked, directing the question toward both of us.

Sunset and I nearly simultaneously say, "No."

The new creature seems to sigh and says "Ponies and their illusions of grandeur. . ." She seemed to think the last part was said in a way that we wouldn't hear, under her breath. She pressed her hoof to a small device in her ear and says "They are alone. Shade, Vex, and Mirage: Go back to your normal positions."

Sunset seemed more offended by the creature's speech and says angrily, "How can we trust you, mule?"

The creature just sighs and looks at the ceiling and murmurs "Nine decades. . ." She then exhales slowly before staring right at Sunset. "First and foremost, you are currently within my Lady's manor. As such, you must follow her rules of conduct, and the use of slurs to describe her staff is forbidden. Failure to comply with this rule will result in temporary expulsion from the manor. This will be your first, last, and only warning, phallic horse."

Sunset looked as if she was physically slapped and stood up quickly, clearly upset, only to slap her horn and head roughly against the ceiling and collapse in a daze.

The creature just nodded primly and turned to face me. I stammered a bit before asking, "Not to be a bother, but what are you? I have never seen anyone like you."

The creature paused and gave me an odd expression: "Anyone?" it asked under its breath before responding with, "I was a Donkey before the war, and now I am what is called a Ghoul. My name, however, is Rose Quartz. Please call me that." Rose turns around and says, "Follow me, we need to talk somewhere more secure."

Helping Sunset to her hooves, I couldn't ignore the slight wince as she rubbed her head and checked her horn for damage from the collision with the low ceiling. 'You okay?' I asked quietly. Sunset glares at Rose before saying, "I am fine," and taking a short sip from her blue potion and a similar sip from a red healing potion before we continued down the tunnel together.

Author's Note

Footnote: Level Up (?)
Companion Perk: Sunset's Insight
With Sunset nearby serving as a reference, you can interpret nearby spells cast by unicorns to predict their outcome, with accuracy relative to your Perception. You can act before such spells resolve as long as the caster and Sunset are within 30 feet of you.