Fallout Equestria: Race for Vindication

by Jumping Jack

Rating: mature
Tags: Violence, Sex, Fallout, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Death, Alternate Universe, Thriller, Original Character, Mystery, Spike, Profanity, Adventure
Length: 18291

An infamous surgeon and her relic hunting lover are on a race against time when an ambassador of Ironshod R&D is assassinated and must prove their innocence.

A mid-size settlement on the outskirts of Hoofton, called Wheatfield Acres, is home to an off-site Ironshod R&D building, where the actual factory is about a ten minute walk away. It is one of the many few still in production. In it, the settlement is consistent of not only gun totting enthusiasts, but one of the Empire's top medical training stations. Goldenlee, an infamous surgeon who has saved many ponies lives from the brink of death, visits Ironshod to support her childhood friend, the head of Ironshod's Empire branch Dusty Trail, from being shut down and turned over to a competitor. With her friend and lover, Shining Star, accompanying her on his visit to the settlement, something drastic happens. Before the papers of transferal are signed, the ambassador to Mr. House is assassinated. With tensions being high, evidence has been found to accuse Goldenlee of the assassination. However, Goldenlee knows for a fact she didn't do it.

Now, it's a race against time, as Mr. House himself, gives Goldenlee and Shining Star an entire day to come up with evidence to prove Goldenlee's innocence. Will her and Shining Star be able to make it in time? One thing is for certain, the mysterious Ghost of the Wasteland has been sighted during this time and only means to observe the duo’s plight.

Published 2022-03-01 16:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-03-20 15:42:54 UTC

An Angel Among Mortals

Author's Note

Attention: It is highly recommended to read Fallout Equestria: Lineage to understand half of the events.

An Angel Among Mortals

An Angel Among Mortals

In a strange, but familiar location, a pony sat at a wide expanse of terminals. A sprite bot accompanied the pony, hovering between monitors. The antennae on the bot blinked rapidly as it accessed data base after data base. The pony, wearing a straw hat and a tattered brown duster, was in a posture that didn't even look like he was looking on the screen. Yet, he could sense the bleeps and bloops that rang through the area like a casino arcade, only scientific. The sprite bot was playing a jazzy tune that seemed to accompany the decrepit and rusty surroundings they were in. Yet, everything was well kept. Behind the pony, was a big, cylindrical pod that had seen its' fair share of days. The glass window being foggy, but upon closer inspection, you could make out a silhouette of a pony. Yet, their attention remained on the many monitors before them. The sprite bot eventually blipped, making the pony flick his ears in its' direction.

"I take it you found something, Watcher?" the pony asked, his voice gruff and a little raspy. The bot turned to the pony and bobbed happily.

"Heh, it was only a matter of time. We just needed to decode through the encryptions and get past a few firewalls. All thanks to a special pony." the bot said through a small bit of static. The pony nodded and tipped his hat, looking over his shoulder to the cylindrical container.

"Indeed. What would Equestria be without its' light?" the pony stated. The big monitor over the two expansive metal doors crackled to life and the image of a pony playing cards with another pony, a majestic looking alicorn with a flowing mane, sipped some digital looking tea.

"Don't start getting philosophical now, Lyon." the pony in the monitor said as she placed a card on a tiny table before them. Lyon peeked out from under his hat and slightly cocked his head.

"Cards?" he asked. The alicorn pony spoke up this time.

"Yes! We are playing Blackjack!" she said. "I've only ever seen the Canterlot guards play them, but I could never find a time for some R&R." The pony nickered.

"Well, we have twelve and a half years of it." the pony said. Watcher zipped over to Lyon and crackled through.

"Speaking of, Little Pip. I know all is calm in the Realm Beyond. But maybe we could use some more... brain power?" the pony nodded and waited for the alicorn to play a card, which she did after a brief thought. Little Pip played another card before speaking.

"Hero of the Equestrian Wasteland. Even in death, I'm still around helping, aren't I?" She looked over to them and smiled. "Found this neat little audio file your dad left behind. Might clue us in on what he found out about his travels." Lyon nodded.

"Play it." Little Pip lifted her foreleg and tapped her digitized Pip-Buck. Another blip sounded and the overhead speakers crackled to life.

"In my years of traveling the Equestrian Wasteland, I have come to realize that conflict was always backed by those who deem to conquer it. That being of Security, whose journey was far more painstaking and telltale than any other ponies I've encountered. Quite an interesting character. Yet, she played her part just as the Lightbringer has. However, war will always come, no matter how impactful the sacrifices are or how strong their perseverance is. Hope would be lost. Innocence tarnished. Compassion a happenstance. Courage a fault. Sacrifies all for not. There needs to be more that needs to be done to this land. Some enjoy the new land. Others wished it dead. Most would focus on their own kin and people. And others deem to conquer it.

"This land of Equestria was bright, awake, vibrant. More than just rainbows and sunshine. From the Old World stories, it has many magnificent beauties that had been laid waste to ponies who thought they could control it. The zebra weren't the true cause, this we know. The ponies reaped and sowed their own ignorance. And like many wars before ours two centuries ago, a new one is on the horizon. I can feel it. Sense it quake in the land. It won't just be pony and zebra again. It'll be griffons. Zebra. Ponies. Kirins. The stray changelings. Their leaders. Their heroes. Their villains. Yes... a tale like in a story of war. Somepony had said to me that war never changes. And I hope that what I will do, I will not only get ponies to understand that meaning, but have somepony to walk that road.

"I need to get back to my deliveries. Post Box will be wondering where I am.

The audio file blips off. Lyon rubbed his chin, his expression covered by the dark shadow his hat casted over his glossy eyes. Watcher studied the pony. He looked a little paler and weaker than before. It hovered around him curiously.

"What are you thinking?" Watcher asked. Lyon waved his hoof slightly in a nonchalant manner.

"These audio recording must have been when he discovered Little Pip's pod. He must have spent quite a bit of time in here gathering as much info as possible. Even stealing the data off of Security and Little Pip's Pip-Buck." The alicorn in the monitor frowned.

"He was quite a rude pony. Couldn't let the dead rest, could he?" she said with a dismissive whinny. Lyon nodded.

"But there is still no real motive reason to why he chose this path. It just sounded like he had wanted to do it for a long while. But I have no idea of his foalhood, let alone any remnants of his past." The Watcher chuckled.

"Well, we can go down Lineage Lane?" he stated. Lyon peeked out from under his hat again, eyeing the sprite bot.

"What are you implying?" Lyon asked stoically and nigh emotionless. Watcher bobbed softly.

"We just dig a little deeper. Say, the Great Beyond?" Lyon went quiet, shifting his head back to facing straight ahead at the monitors.

"To walk the road that was intended for somepony else? Perhaps... but their aftermath left the island shattered and nothing more than a crater. What's there to find anymore?" Watcher took a moment, unsure of how to respond to an idea flopping. But Little Pip spoke up through the monitor.

"Well, there are still plenty of audio files that I can have Blackjack help with." she said. "Most of them are just Twilight dating and talking about an interesting theory or subject she read from a book half the time. And the creations of the Gardens. And her... depressing self-talks. B-But that is beside the point. If we can just fan out and look for the right files, I'm sure something will come up about your father's ambition or just something that will give us a clue as to why he started his road." Lyon stood up and nodded.

"I'll join you in a bit. I need to have a bit of time to prepare." His horn glowed and a bright rune blinked behind him. The magical circle swirling with its' intricate design. He stepped through the rune and it blinked. The pony was gone. Watcher sighed and turned to the two ponies on screen.

"I guess we should take a break for now. I kind of want to check up on something." he stated. Little Pip nodded as did the alicorn. The alicorn spoke.

"Ah! This is so much fun! I kind of feel like a detective!" Little Pip rolled her eyes playfully.

"Easy there, princess. Let's conserve our power for now and get back into it after." the alicorn nodded and the monitor flickered to a screen that read Offline on it. The Watcher hovered silently. Through the bot, the purple dragon stretched as much as he could in his tiny space. He frowned and looked around, flicking the joystick in his claw in focus of switching the monitors.

'I need a new living space soon.' he stated in his head. As amazing as it sounded, he still couldn't leave his cave at the moment. He had to focus on finding out more about Lone Road. The Courier One that has stirred dead heroes into trying to unravel a mystery of himself. He stopped as his monitor flicked over to a screen that showed the sprite bot passing through a settlement. He stopped it and turned to read the sign above the entrance.

Wheatfield Acres

I stirred awake, feeling rather well rested. I shifted over onto my back and sat up, the blankets dropping from my chest. I stretched, grunting from the pleasant feeling of rest and stiff muscles. Once I got out of bed, I walked my way to the wash room. While the building I lived in has seen better days before, I did my best to keep everything clean and tidy. Especially the wash room.

Being a surgeon, the blood and bodily fluids tend to make quite a mess at times. I thought about this, washing my hooves in the sink with a frown. There is one thing I can’t stand, it’s the fact that someponies like to blacken their insides with chems and harmful substances. It made some incisions and, if I am to be frank, surgery a lot more difficult than it should. But I would complain more if I was just any normal surgeon.

When I was a filly, I had quite the hawk eye for things. My father was proud of me for having felled three Bloodsuckers, nasty irradiated mosquitos, down near the EMIT in the Common Wealth to harvest blood sacs for medical purposes. Ahh, EMIT. Equestrian Medical Institute of Technology. What had once been a mutant ridden facility, became a valuable resource of studying more on the pony anatomy. Thanks to the help of quite a few figure heads that retook the Medical Institute, upcoming doctors in training or those that already practiced well in the arts found it a good place to preserve and archive new and old discoveries.

And with the help of a few ex-Applejack Ranger Scribes, they managed to copy as much medical books as they could and fixing the old technology that used to be active two century ago. Oh my, it’s been a long while since I’ve been in the Common Wealth. Can’t believe it’s been well over seven years. But it’s what mom and dad would have wanted. They were proud to see me begin my own office in the Empire. I was an excited mare, with rifle on shoulder and my journey across the beginning of the Lightbringer’s work.

Yes, I will admit, The Empire isn’t at all an ideal place for habitation, but the ponies here adapted well. What with all the snow and blizzards that tend to happen. The only good change of environment here is the curious ecotone border that divides the Frozen North and The Strip. Having been to The Strip a few times, I can safely say, passing by the actual Las Pegasus, it definitely was an impressive city of envy. Yet, Mr. House, a title more than a name in The Strip, couldn’t compare to the real House. But I do applaud the pony behind it for capturing the near similar identity. Just as ruthless and cunning.

I found my well rested mood beginning to shoot down as I had gone from washroom to throwing on my apron and fashioning my mane into a bun. The thought of the Empire’s Mr. House is not a pleasant thought. In fact, it really began to bother me. But I pushed it aside for now, wanting to get started on several appointments that were made.

I trotted down the stairs from my room down the hallway. Upon walking past lined sepia pictures of my home in the Common Wealth and my parents, I walked through the doorway and entered a lobby. I had benches installed for waiting patients and lounging chairs for those that wanted a little something homier for traveling, what I call, Road Warriors. Believe me, the couriers that wander the Empire always loved to “find themselves” in clinics more often than not.

But like the great Hippocrates, I took up the mantle of aiding those in need, no matter how dire. Even our resident Road Warriors who can be quite the mix of personalities. I’ve met many couriers on their endeavors when on duty, each their own issues and health problems. Some felt the need to get up from the operating table with half their organs still out in the open. Which is a miracle in itself. But also, quite the annoyance. Which is why I’ve gotten ahold of some great medicinal herbs that will knock out even an Ursa Major. It’s quite harmless, I assure you. Though… some side effects are a little… psychedelic? As amusing as some personalities are under the affects, I’ve thought I’ve done a pretty decent job at mending their wounds.

And if it isn’t our Road Warriors, it’ll be our resident gun totting enthusiasts. I sighed at this thought. Too many self-injuries over who has the biggest heat. It’s a wonder why Wheatfield Acres is home to so many doctors and surgeons. Yes, I am not the only medical pony in the settlement. But, I can’t help but chuckle to say I am the best one there is. The Road Warriors and some of the locals have begun to call me Angel. Saving them from the brink of death more times than I can count. They call it a miracle, but I call it elementary. It is sad to say that I do not hold a streak of saving pony’s lives.

There have been occasions where I have lost many under my care. Due to dire circumstances, or unable to revive them no matter how hard I tried. It was a challenge I was willing to accept, but damn me if it isn’t demoralizing. Even worst is having to deal with the paperwork after and relaying the messages via courier to their next of kin… if they have any of course. I am sorry, I do tend to get lost in my own thoughts, but it does help me focus more on my job.

And after clicking on the neon “Open” sign at my office’s window, I couldn’t help but notice already a few patients waiting outside. I frowned and opened the door, the bell ringing as I motioned them inside.

“Really now, you all need to not harm yourself more than you have. I’ll get the fire going, but please, I can charge you so much more if that is what you all desire.” The variety of ponies exchanged glances, each having worse for wear winter barding as they filed in the clinic. I sighed and shook my head. If it’s one thing about Frozen North Empire ponies, they are quite the stubborn bunch.

The day went by like any other. My time away from the clinic hasn’t dwindled my skills as a surgeon. Quite the adventure I had for a time. I do wonder what became of my dear friends. I haven’t heard a single peep out of them. I do hope they are okay. After sewing up the last of my clients, I took some smelling salts and woke the pony up. The pony grunted and looked around groggily.

“Huzzabawah?” The mare slurred. I smiled as I went to the sink and washed my hooves.

“Rise and shine~! Your wounds have been disinfected, treated and I patched you all up.” I said. I could hear the mare shift and groan before speaking, gratitude in her voice.

“Urgh, my head is dizzy. But… thank you, Angel.” I rolled my eyes playfully.

“Honestly, I’m not saint. Just doing the best I can. Now then, off you go. And don’t get yourself injured or killed on the way out. My charges increase on visits per day.” The mare nodded.

“Noted. Thanks again, doc.” She said before trotting out of the clinic, looking much better and no worse for wear than when she had entered before. Having cleaned my hooves and sterilizing my equipment after washing them off, I reorganized my tables and took the mop with my magic. Cleaning up and around the operating table, I put everything away and went to my clipboard to see any more patients.

‘Let’s see… got a couple of couriers that are on their way to get patched in the evening. Have a patient appointment at 8 tonight. Other than that, I have done my tasks for the day. And with a register full of caps, I can help myself to the shooting range!’ I felt giddy, thinking about the shooting range in town. It always felt stress reliving to fire off high caliber rounds. Yes, I am not a mare that enjoys little guns. I prefer the whole package.

Nothing beats the feeling of a heavy LMG vibrating in the air in my magic. I could feel the serotonin flow back through me. I’d even hone my hawk eye with a .50 cal anti-material rifle. The force and punch it had. Just felt right down to the sensitive areas. Yes, I love big guns. But I prefer bigger rifles. And nothing more enjoyable than spending those oh so satisfying moments with my dearest and oldest childhood friend, Dusty.

‘Speaking of, I wonder if he is going to be at the range today?’ I thought. Thinking now would be a good time to go on a break, I clicked the neon sign off and placed the “On Break” sign at the window. I went up to my room, shifting through my wardrobe. Among the pre-Rarity dresses I adored, none were fit for winter travel or weather. Spying my mother’s old bomber jacker, I smiled and pulled it out. While my dad was a good doctor himself, my mom flew Vertibucks. She was quite the young and fiery pilot in her days.

While I knew nothing of arial flight and have more of a knack with doctoring, I can’t help but smile that I inherited her hawk eyes from her. She told me a few dog fights she had with Applejack Rangers and how she was called the Blue Barron of the Skies. Her blue painted Vertibuck a challenge to any who dared contest her in the skies. She still has her Vertibuck resting in the bigger shed outside their homestead. It was quite the marvel to me when I was a filly. Mother would spend half her time in there working on her pride and joy.

My parents were proud to have me as their daughter. And I can’t help but caress my mother’s bomber jacket, wondering the many tales it had seen. I threw on the jacket and buttoned it before digging through the drawers and withdrawing a comfy pink scarf. Over the years of working in the Empire, I feel I have adapted well to the weather here. But it still gets pretty nippy for me. As I gathered my saddle bag and walked to the door, I heard my door open, and I froze.

I narrowed my eyes and looked to see a pony had stepped in. I then beamed when I felt my heart sing with joy. It was a stallion. But not just any stallion. It was my stallion. He stepped into the building and shivered. He shook himself of the snow and met my eyes. I could tell mine have grown bigger as I admired his neatly quaffed hazel nut mane, his charming and handsome smile. Those spectacles protecting such a luscious pair of emerald eyes. And the quite fashionable merc wasteland wanderer outfit that perfectly accompanied his rustic hide.

The stallion then shivered and sneezed, sniffling as he rubbed his muzzle, adjusting his glasses back up on his muzzle.

“H-hey, Lee. S-sorry to bother, but can I warm up by the fire?” He asked. I blinked, snapping out of my daydream and hurriedly nodded.

“O-oh yes, of course! I’m sorry, Shining Star.” I rushed over and helped him to the fire, seeing his rather confused look as I dragged him along and placed him in front of the fire. “Are you okay? Do you need something to eat? Drink? Maybe a little more warmth?” I said this as I cuddled up to him. Shining Star gave me his handsome smile, though… I was certain he was giving his best smile he could to me.

I know I’m a bit of a worry wart. Sue me, okay? Shining Star then wrapped a foreleg around me and kissed my forehead.

“Missed you too.” He said, his smile no longer awkward. I smiled and kissed him back.

“How were your travels? Did you find anything interesting?” I asked. Shining Star rubbed his chin in thought.

“Quite a few, actually. But we can discuss that over lunch.” He said with a grin. I nodded as I stood up.

“I was just on my way to the shooting range to meet up with Dusty. I’ve been worried about him, so I want to check up on him and shoot off a few rounds.” I said as I began to trot towards my door. Shining Star stood up, having appeared to be warmed up enough (thanks to my professional cuddling) and trotted after me.

“Been needing to get my carbine adjusted a bit. I was on my way to Swashington’s Tail Armory to handle that.” I frowned and when I looked back at Shining, he shrunk back a bit. “Wh-what?” I sighed and shook my head.

“The better service would be Ironshod. You shouldn’t do business with thieves like Swashington.” I said. That name has always left a sour taste in my mouth. Ever since they showed up in town a few years ago and quickly began the go to place, I’ve found it to be a bitter after taste. I never understood why everypony thought they were the better option than Ironshod. I mean, we have a giant factory of it still in working order. In fact, it is the heart of the town about a good walk away from here.

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that the heart hasn’t been beating lately. My worry for Dusty grew. Shining pat my back.

“Come on. You’ll feel better after firing off a few rounds with Dusty.” He said. I gave a small smile and we trotted out the door and into the snow.

It was that time of the week. What the ponies of the Frozen North would call “Sun Day” being the only day where the Empire is exposed to the sunshine. It was quite a beautiful spectacle as the snow glittered like crystals around them. The angel rays dotted the horizons beyond the mountains and hills. Wheatfield Acres was usually busy during the one day of the week. But I couldn’t help but notice the quiet air in the place.

“Just this morning I had several patients on the table. And now, it looks like no pony is busy.” I stated with a curious furrow of my brows. Shining Star stopped and gulped a bit, motioning ahead of us. I looked ahead and my jaw dropped. There were several bulky looking robots on one wheel. The monitor screens having gruff looking cartoon soldier pony faces. I noticed ponies that were doing some shopping did their best to avoid any contact or confrontation of the mechanical beasts. What was even more terrifying was that they were spread out and standing guard in front of the Swashington building. I groaned.

“Uhh, Goldenlee, I don’t mean to be a bit of a downer, but maybe we should just head back to the office and have lunch there.” Shining said. I shook my head and marched up to the mechanical creature.

“Securitron, as a concerned citizen of this settlement, I demand to know why you are here.” I said, taking Shining by surprise. The Securitron faced me, the metallic commanding voice of the cartoonish soldier pony unmoving.

“Citizen, please mind your activities in the vicinity. Strip business is currently ongoing.” I cocked my head.

“So, what does Mr. House want with Swashington?” I asked. The Securitron responded as I expected.

“Please, return to your daily activities. Nothing to see here.” I looked over my shoulder to Shining. He looked a little like deer in headlights. He can brave the dangerous enviornments of the Empire’s lost relics, but confrontation isn’t his strong suite. But I do remember him having quite the way when it came to robots. I motioned my head at the Securitron and he looked at me, at first confused before realizing what I was getting at. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“E11 C83 D10 LK7.” He said. The Securitron was silent. Me and Shining looked at it in anticipation. When it seemed like nothing has happened, the Securitron suddenly jolted, making us back away from it a bit.

“Bzzzt - Bzzt Bzz-zzzt - zzzt.” It hissed smoke from its’ sockets before rebooting up and the Securitron jittered. “What is it y-y-you want to a-a-a-ask?” Shining Star looked past the Securitron, noticing that the others were on standby, guarding their positions. He then smiled and nodded to me. I cleared my throat and spoke.

“I just want to know what Mr. House’s Securitrons are doing around Wheatfield?” I asked. The Securitron seemed to have fixed its' bug in the voice box as it responded to my question.

“We are on duty to escort an ambassador to Mr. House. He is scheduled to overlook the transferal of ownership of Ironshod to Swashington Tail.” I balked. Well, there goes my afternoon. I grit my teeth in worry. Shining Star eyed me curiously.

“I take it you want me to cancel your appointments and clear your schedule?” He asked. I was already quick on the draw as I took off galloping past the Securitron, not stopping as they expressed dissatisfaction with my galloping.

“Shining, cancel my appointments and clear my schedule! We’re going to see Dusty!” I shouted back.

“No running.” One Securitron stated. Shining Star was right on my heels. He’s quick in adapting to sudden changes in the situations. It’s one of the reasons I don’t worry too much about him. That and I already chastise him enough when it comes to him being reckless. But he’s cute when he gets nerdy about relics he finds.

We darted through the streets of Wheatfield, heading towards an offsite building I know of that Dusty uses when he’s not in Hoofton. I wasn’t slowing down for a second. When we arrived at the front door of the tall red building of the Ironshod office building, I hadn’t noticed the Securitrons outside. My tunnel vision focused on the doors before I found two 9mm submachine guns pointing at me. The Securitrons looked down at me as I didn’t move a muscle.

“You are trespassing on House property. Please leave or we will escort you by force.” I took a deep breath and backed away from the gate, Shining Star finally catching up to me as he panted and wheezed from running. I nudged Shining with my hoof.

“Make them let us by.” I whispered to him. Shining took a moment to gather himself before managing to speak.

“I… I can only do it once every day now.” He rasped. He took a gulp of breath before continuing. “Ever since their hardware was updated, the firewalls are quick to catch on. There’s a grace period for every time I bypass them. If I do anymore throughout the entire day, I’ll most likely be vaporized.” He took his final pant before rightening himself and adjusting his glasses. I gave a small pouty puff of my cheek at the Securitrons.

“Well, damn it all. How am I going to see Dusty?” I asked, thinking over ideas and scenarios. Shining Star looked at me coolly.

“He could be in the town, and you were too worried about him that you may have bolted by him.” He said. I flushed and rubbed the back of my neck.

“M-maybe… Err, I shouldn’t have gotten ahead of myself.” I stated with a bow of my head. Shining lifted up my chin to meet his eyes. His smile making my heart flutter more than it should.

“I’m sure everything is alright, Lee. Let’s just head back to town and look around.” I sighed and looked up at the building.

“I never could get an audience with House. It’s why I left in the first place. How I met you.” I said, sounding defeated. Shining nodded.

“Indeed. It was quite the adventure. Braving the Enclave. An entire changeling kingdom. Managing a prison carrier. Or a bit of it at least. Even tackled the wilds of the Frozen North and The Strips. But if I recall, you did tell somepony that you’ll have to face the inevitable.” I nodded. He was right. With what me and our friends have been through, it did help clear the air about this situation. But it’s been six months since then. It was quite the surreal situation.

I can remember it clearly. I was standing next to Shining. Our strong, silent and stoic demolitionist, Brick, was standing next to a tiny insect looking pony. No more than a colt, the changeling was such a brat towards me at times, but he is a child who was scared and alone. Next to him was a hulking timberwolf that sat obediently, as if it was staring at the spot and whining as if it just lost a dear friend. In front of them was a silver colored pegasus, her mane glinting like the snow as the sun was peeking out and the angel rays descended on us. She had tears trickling. Down her eyes.

We all stood together, staring at a worn and tattered looking Old World flag, billowing on top of a hill. Behind us, I could remember looking back and seeing s crowd of ponies. Most of them couriers. Some, residents. The town behind them laid quiet. As I looked back, I noticed that Brick, our stoic and silent demolitionist, suddenly contorted and then vanished. It was like we were frozen in a picture. I looked back and saw that the crowd of ponies, save for a few, remained exactly as I have remembered them. I then looked back ahead and saw, what the Empire has begun calling it, The Ghost of the Wasteland. The dark, ominous shade stared at the ponies. Its’ eyes eventually fell on me. I heard a soft gulp and looked to see Shining Star, moving and staring directly at the shade.

“G-G-Goldenlee… where are we?” He asked. I blinked in confusion. So… this wasn’t a dream? My quizzical look made him shrink a bit. “O-oh, good. So, I’m not the only one that is seeing it. I-I-I thought it was just a myth.” The shade seemed to make a gesture, but the figure was hard to make out. It was a pony, for sure. But I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It felt familiar, but I can’t rack my brain around it. Shining continued.

“S-s-so what happened to Brick?” He asked, shivering uncontrollably. I gave him a worried look, but I found myself a little terrified as well. We couldn’t completely move. Just our heads. Our heads suddenly shot forward and stiffened as a pony walked past us. A tattered duster and a straw hat covered his figure.

“You still have a long way to go. Even if you meet them, they can’t understand you, yet. You reconnected with the Walker. But these ponies still do not remember you. You shouldn’t rush this. You’ll only hurt them.” The pony was talking to the shade. The shade seemed to quiver and contort. I tried glancing to my lover, but I could only sense that he was unable to do anything either. The pony then looked back over his shoulder, a glossy eye peeking out from under his straw hat and looking at us. “The Angel and the Hunter. The Lost Wanderer, the Lone Wolf and the Exiled. I understand you want to reach out to them just like you did the Walker, but I cannot let you interfere this time. You can, however, observe them.”

The shade quivered again. A small smile creeped under the straw hat. It only made things rather terrifying. Where even are we? This was all too surreal. Were our memory of this moment being manipulated? How? How is this possible? My concentration on trying to move anything was broken as the pony stepped towards us, his horn glowing. I gulped and stared terrified back into my own reflection that looked back at me through his glossy eyes.

“You’ll return to her, soon. For now, somepony needs you more than The Ghost does.” There was a blinding flash of bright light and me and Shining Star found ourselves back in front of the Ironshod factory. We took a moment, gathering ourselves as we tried to think about what happened. We looked around before exchanging each other knowing glances. Something had happened to us. And the fact we could remember it made it even more terrifying. Shining Star was the first to break the ice.

“I-I’m going to have nightmares about that.” He said with a weak smile. As relieved as I was to see us okay, something else compelled me to look ahead. Out from the door was a vanilla-colored stallion, his brown mane slicked back into a cow lick. His brown rarity suite clean and professionally tailored. I smiled and trotted over to the pony, stopping only upon seeing a certain mare. Her pink hide beneath a pre rarity suite herself, a blond mane and a smug looking expression on her face. It made my blood boil.

This mare has been a thorn in Dusty’s side ever since she renovated that wagon body shop into a Swashington Tail Gun store. Swashington have always been shady and cutthroat when it came to business. And they made no hesitation to target Dusty’s business. Eventually, the espionage caught up to him and he had no choice but to go down with the ship. This mare may not be the root cause of his downfall, but she is a representative of it. And the smug proud look she had on her face just looked very disgusting on a mare. I felt a hoof pat my shoulder softly and I turned to see Shining smile reassuringly to me. I sighed and nodded. As preposterous as this whole ordeal is, even if I tried to fight it, the end would be the same. The House always wins.

In between the two was a very unusual Protect-a-pony. It had the design of a Securitron, but it had a dome like head that lit up when it talked, if I could recall. I remember a long time ago asking Dusty why he was keeping such a disturbing tech freely roaming around.

“Chipper just wants to bring moral to an all-time high with the employees. He’s quite the helper.” He would say. I never really liked “Chipper”. What with the cartoonish smiling pony face that looked way too happy than the room had. “It’s just his default expression. He’s supposed to be programmed to change expressions depending on the situation. One of Mr. House’s special designs.” Dusty would say. Shining looked at me worriedly and broke my train of thought, as well as my dagger staring look at the robot, as I noticed Dusty excusing himself and trotting over to us.

When he got close, I smiled and threw myself onto him a big hug. He smiled and hugged back before we pulled away.

“Goldie! I had a feeling you’d show up.” He smirked. I flushed a bit but nodded.

“Oh, you know me, Dusty. Saving lives and checking in those that matter.” I said. Dusty nodded before eyeing Shining. He gave him a grin and a wink.

“And what’s your name, handsome? Friend of Goldie?” Dusty asked. Shining shifted a little uncomfortably at the look.

“Err… Shining Star… I’m uhh…” He seemed to lose his words and I rolled my eyes playfully.

“Forgive him, he tends to be a bit shy around new ponies unless it’s a dire situation. Dusty, this is Shining Star. Suave and handsome relic hunter.” I teased. Shining blushed through his glasses and adjusted them nervously. Dusty eyed him up and down before giving an approving nod.

“So, this is the relic hunter you talk about. I remember seeing you once. For a brief moment. I believe you were passing through with a group of others.” He said. Shining nodded.

“Yes. Lee tagged along to help you settle the dispute with House. Though uhh… I can’t really remember what happened in between that and finding myself staring up at an Old World Flag on a hill.” He said. I frowned as well and nodded.

“A very unusual event. I have no idea what we were doing there gathered like that.” The images of the shade flashed before me. It came as a bit of a shock as for a brief moment, I felt like I was being watched. Shining seemed to experience that same feeling as we looked around, making Dusty raise a concerned brow.

“Everything okay?” He asked worriedly. I slowly returned my attention to him after scanning the street down further.

“Err… Dusty! I remember why I came here! Shall we grab some lunch?” I asked, hoping that it would shake off this sudden paranoia. Dusty nodded but glanced over to the Swashington mare talking to Chipper and a couple of Securitrons.

“Actually, we had just finished up the ‘planning talk’. We are breaking for lunch right now. I’m afraid I can’t join you.” He smiled at me. “Maybe tonight for dinner? You can invite your friend here, hopefully?” He winked at Shining. Shining nodded.

“I wouldn’t miss dinner.” He said. That seemed to brighten Dusty’s day a little. Which made me feel relieved that Dusty would enjoy a brief respite from all of this. I then looked over to the Swashington gal talking to Chipper. I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes. Was she acting a little… suspicious? I could see the nervous look she gave as she looked over her shoulder, eyeing the area suspiciously. Didn’t help that Chipper seemed to change from happy to an animated nodding expression. Her eyes met mine and gave me a knowing look. I heard Dusty clear his throat.

“Ahem. I shouldn’t keep them waiting. Got to do the transferal papers today after lunch.” I furrowed my brows. Something wasn’t right. Nothing sat well with me. And it’s not me thinking about fighting House on this. I had a feeling today was going to be a long day. I then turned to Dusty and smiled.

“Why don’t we join you for lunch? We can stop by the Cantina. I could go for Frost Deviled Eggs.” I said, my stomach embarrassingly growling at the thought. Though I tried to keep a positive and lady like air about me, sometimes it felt great to just let the professionalism drop from time to time. Shining nodded.

“Could go for an omelet myself.” He said. Dusty looked between us.

“Are you sure? I don’t know if they’ll allow ‘citizens’ in on the transferal.” Dusty said worriedly.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it!” A voice said. We looked to see Chipper roll up to us. It looked even unnerving up close. The cartoonish pony smiling from one end up to his ear. “In fact, I think more ponies for lunch would be delightful! Mr. House would think so too! Makes him feel a little more at home if more were in attendance.” I shivered, not liking every red flag I was getting about this day. Shining cleared his throat before speaking.

“We would be delighted. This’ll be a great chance to ease the tension.” He said. The Protect-a-Pony gave a garbled chuckle before replying.

“Indeed! With tensions being high now more than ever, it’ll do wonders for every party involved! Once you have your food, come meet us back here and we’ll go over the process of transferal!” And with that, Chipper turned and began rolling away, swinging its’ limbs in an upbeat manner. I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

“I hate that robot.”

We sat in an office space, the wallpaper peeling and the red rug underneath us having been cleaned as much as it could, but to no avail. You can’t get rid of two centuries of muck and grime of abandonment. My food, some nicely prepped looking Deviled Eggs and Shining’s, who was already digging into his, an omelet with some sprinkled spices on it and some wheat grain on the side. Dusty helped himself to a hay sandwich while the Swashington gal helped herself to something a little more expensive. A court on bleu.

In the room with us, seemingly snacking on some seeds as a snack, was a neatly groomed stallion wearing a black pre-Rarity suite and bow tie. A suite case that had some papers sticking out of it at the side of his chair. Chipper was standing, watching us eat our food and just being… well… chipper. There was a Securitron inside the office, guarding the door. With another guarding outside of it. Mr. House didn’t want to take no chances for anything. The cracked and decrepit windows blew in a winter breeze with the soft warmth of the angel rats from the sun.

Once we all had finished our food and set things aside, the well-groomed stallion cleared his throat and looked between all of us.

“Now then. Onto business. I am here on behalf of Mr. House to oversee the transferal process of Ironshod R&D Co. over to the new management of Swashington Tail’s Armory. I have here, with me…” he reached down and brought the suitcase up and plopped it on the table before us. He clicked the latches open, and the papers seemed to comically spring out into a disorganized looking stack. The stallion, with no hesitation and all business, seemed to have everything in order despite it and separated the papers to Dusty and the Swashington gal. The mare cleared her throat.

“Is… all this really necessary? I thought we were going to just sign and be done?” She stated. I frowned as I looked at her. I still couldn’t shake the feeling something was going to go wrong here. The ambassador to Mr. House nodded.

“Mr. House wants to remind you all that we are not tribals or savages. We are to do business as they have in the Old World. Which means reading fine print and uhh, dare I joke, shady dealings? Yes? No? Anyway, just take the time to read over the paperwork and we’ll get to signing the contract. I marked the areas where you need to sign.” He then pulled out some pens and placed them on the table.

Time went by rather slowly as the two read through the paperwork and both looked not too interested in it. However, Dusty was taking his time while the Swashington gal was hurrying through. Me and Shining watched the proceedings from the side. I was slightly beginning to doze off, resting my head on Shining’s shoulder. Shining was helping himself to reading a book that I remember seeing back in the Common Wealth. It was a book published about the Lightbringer and her tales.

The thick volume with a silver engraving of an intricate design of Little Pip on the cover made for an interesting cover indeed. A good depiction of the struggles of Equestria’s very own Lightbringer. As minutes became hours, I had a strange dream of a pony. I was in my office. I had a pony on the chair. Brick, one of my friends as well as Comp and Shining Star had come in, looking rather panicked. I recognized the barding of the pony Brick had on his back. A Road Warrior.

They mentioned something about having fought one of the members from The Family and the pony had this strange mutation that they wanted me to look at. I remember digging around aside from a very slight cataract, nothing else stood out. I then remember the pony telling me they would escort me to The Strip to talk to Mr. House about Dusty and Ironshod. The dream flashed forward to us standing in Tipson. Yes, Tipson. The now ruined town abandoned, the horrible event that transpired from it.

Thanks to the intimidating influence of New Roam’s own conflict finding its’ way into our region, the zebra influenced by their Caesar to remind ponies of what the torture they exhibited, albeit exaggerated by their leader Lanius, two centuries ago. While most of the world have moved on, it takes one bad apple to ruin it all for everypony else. The Remnants, their cousin faction, split from the Legion after the Lightbringer brought back the sunshine and rainbows.

Having come to terms with their past and moving on, The Legion however, put them at an impasse and thus are stuck in a neutral power. Which it seems they want their independence, but with The Legion close by, they are paranoid more of an invasion and being overthrown by a tyrant. As awful as it sounds, we have our own struggles here, sadly. And while the zebra still are being shunned for their actions, they are at peace with the past and want to walk with Equestria into the future.

Walk with Equestria

My eyes suddenly shot open as the dream faded upon hearing a maniacal laughter from the pony and the burning sensation of fire on my hide. Shining smiled down at me and nuzzled his cheek against my mane.

“Bad dream?” He asked. I didn’t want to move, so I just rested there on his shoulder. I nuzzled his shoulder and wrapped my hooves around his foreleg. I felt them a bit and didn’t realize the muscles he was developing. He must have been working out a little more. Probably from finding more ruins to explore. I blushed and closed my eyes again.

“I’m fine. Though, it wasn’t a dream?” I looked up at him. “It was like a… memory.” I was trying to piece together what I witnessed. And that pony manically laughing as the fire in front of them began to surround them along with the burning silhouette of the town and The Legion patrol that terrorized the town. Yet, as brainwashed as they were, I wouldn’t wish that on even Lanius himself, even if he did deserve a form of punishment for what he is exhibiting. But nothing like that memory.

Dusty and the Swashington gal rolled their necks and jaws as they had signed so many papers. Once the ambassador of Mr. House shifted through them and put them in their respective folders, he then pulled out a pristine sheet of paper. I’ve never seen such a pristine looking paper before. Usually, they were yellowed and decayed from old age. He placed the paper on the table between the two. Chipper made a clapping gesture.

“Well, isn’t that swell! All the paperwork done and no words to be said. Just pure and simple transferring power over to another. Almost like Mr. House did with - bzzzt -“ We all looked at the robot, wondering where that sudden cut off came from. Chipper spoke again. “My apologies, everypony, I got too excited and almost spoke out of place. Oh gee, I hope I don’t get scrapped by House and my parts salvaged by prospectors. Boy, that would be quite a predicament, wouldn’t it?”

I shivered in disgust as Chipper didn’t change a single expression throughout all that. I hate that robot. Dusty and the Swashington gal stared at the paper. The gal smirking and staring Dusty in the face.

“It’s been quite a pleasure, Mr. Trail. I will miss the fine products your company processed. But it’s time for a newer generation to take over, wouldn’t you agree?” Dusty frowned and grumbled something under his breath. The ambassador held up a quill

“Alright, last bit. Just need both party’s signature and ownership will be fully transferred.” Dusty looked worriedly, hesitating as he then looked back at me. I returned his look. I didn’t know what else to do. What could I do? The House always wins. There would be no way of coming back from this. I gave a defeated sigh and nodded. Shining pat my back reassuringly. When Dusty turned and sighed himself, he picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink. When he placed it on the paper, my instincts suddenly went full alert. There was a sudden feeling of killing intent somewhere.

And before we knew it, there was a distant crack and the glass window shattering. The wall and table exploded and splintered. The Swashington gal shrieked, and Dusty stood up, backing away and crouching low. Me and Shining followed suite as the gal cowered behind the sofa. Chipper and the other Securitron in the room drew up their arms, the weapons at the ready. I couldn’t believe it. A sniper? My eyes scanned the area of impact. It had to be a .50 cal. No other round would cause that much destruction, let alone blow off the head of an unfortunate pony.

And to everypony’s horror, the one victim of this all was the ambassador of Mr. House. The pony’s head completely blown off and spraying blood everywhere. The Swashington gal cried as she was beginning to be coated in blood. The area around the body had turned a dark red and when the “fountain of blood” became small spurts, the pony’s body slumped. Dusty turned a little green and the Securitron in the room was blaring an alarm.

“All Securitron units in the area, shots have been fired and a casualty is counted. Find the assassin and detain them.” There were blips and bloops from the robot before turning around to everypony in the room. “You are all to be questioned. Any resistance will be met with force if you do not comply. That includes you too, Chipper.” The robot looked between us; the blood having been splattered over the screen. The eerie cartoon pony face smiling behind it.

“Well, shucks. This is quite the pickle, isn’t it?”

Race For Vindication

Author's Note

It's slow going as Elden Ring has absorbed my time for writing. But I will continue none the less.

Race For Vindication

Race For Vindication

It was a harrowing two hours. Ponies had gathered outside, wondering why so many Securitrons were guarding the building while several others were now invading personal privacy to find the culprit. I couldn’t help but frown in disgust as I stared out the window. I had finished my own questioning session with Mr. House, who had surprised us by taking over a Securitron in the room to begin questioning. I have to admit, despite being behind a screen and changing the face to a neatly groomed looking pony with an imposing stoic face, he did have that air about him that made him intimidating.

But I wasn’t necessarily worried about what the House imposed anymore. Dusty had opened the door and walked out with Mr. House. The Securitron looking between all of us. Shining looked rather grim as he leaned against the wall, eyeing Chipper, who was just humming happily on the other side of the room. The Swashington gal, who we now know as Prattle Tale, had a blanket and some hot coffee brewed, sitting as far away from the now headless pony that used to be House’s ambassador. Mr. House broke the silence by speaking, his voice sounding unamused and serious.

“I appreciate you all for your compliance in this matter. As unfortunate as the situation is, however, The Empire doesn’t have many detectives. Or detectives that are even worthwhile. I can only name of one, but he is currently on another case.” Mr. House sighed. “I’ll be frank, this is not a pleasing matter. I am still repairing the damages caused by the invasion of changelings in my city. So, I don’t have much time to really deal with this matter.” He then turned to Dusty. “Is everything in order?”

Dusty shifted uncomfortably and looked at the table. The once pristine paper now coated in blood and mixed with a bit of spilt ink from the bullet. And speaking of, I couldn’t help but notice a small glint in the wood. I narrowed my eyes and adjusted my sight a little to see it clearly. Something was embedded into the floor. As I was using my magic to wriggle out what I can tell was the bullet itself, Dusty spoke up to Mr. House.

“U-unfortunately, Mr. House, we were about to sign when the assassination happened. The uh… transferal paper is in bad shape.” He said with a bit of a stammer. Mr. House waved the Securitron’s claw in a dismissive manner.

“That doesn’t matter. Paper is easy to make. Quite simple, really. Plenty of dead trees around the wasteland. But that’s beside the point. Since I can’t get a physical copy of the transferal papers, which my ambassador was here for entirely, I here by declare that Ironshod R&D is now a Swashington Tail Armory company. My word is final.” Dusty looked like he wanted to say something, but he thought better of it. However, I wasn’t going to drop it.

“Perhaps you should reconsider, Mr. House.” I stated as I was now working at getting the bullet out with my magic, which was using a lot of my concentration. Shining looked worriedly over to me as well as Dusty did, giving a sigh.

“Goldie, please. I told you, it’s no use to argue with this matter. This was a long time coming.” Mr. House made a nodding motion with the robot.

“Agreed. And I do not care to discuss the matter any further. Business is concluded.” I grunted and growled as I then finally pulled out the caved in bullet. It was as I suspected. A 50 cal round. I let out a huff before holding it up and examining it. I then looked to Mr. House.

“That maybe, but wouldn’t it hurt your reputation to just leave a murder unsolved?” I asked. Mr. House turned to me.

“What are you implying?” He asked, keeping his serious tone. I couldn’t help but smirk. Tyrants like House are easy to read.

“I’ve heard the tales of how you reformed three families of tribals into working under you. The Family, am I correct?” I continued. Mr. House sighed.

“Yes, my reputation proceeds me. What of it?” He replied. I motioned to the body.

“He was your ambassador. If I am to wade into the water here, usually ambassadors are also messenger representatives of their affiliated party. Yours was just assassinated. And a pony like you definitely makes quite a bit of enemies, both politically and literally.” I held up the bullet. “So, wouldn’t this be considered an attack on your person? More of a message that you are being hunted and this time you may not be safe behind the screen?” Mr. House may be a static face of a pony on the screen, but I can’t help but think he smirked behind the screen.

“And your point being? I do make enemies and some enemies my friends. It’s not the first time I’ve had representatives on business trips and had been attacked. The land is full of savages and I hope that ones I’ve reformed would be my enforcers.” Shining shook his head.

“But as we learned from the changeling invasion, The Pride took advantage of the situation and wrecked just as much havoc.” Mr. House turned to Shining. I could tell, he wasn’t enjoying this. But, I had an idea and so far, the lead up is working.

“Yes… quite. The Pride may need a little more discipline than I had anticipated. Desecrating their shrines wasn’t enough. And I am quite livid still about one of their members owning a special piece of tech that doesn’t belong to them.” I shivered, remembering having faced the said tech. In fact, we were quite surprised when we had arrived at the conflict to see giant mechanical alicorn being piloted by one of The Pride’s members. Its’ arsenal was meant to be a full force to be reckoned with.

Yet, we had defeated it before, haven’t we? Yes… we have. I remember… somepony. Somepony sealed its’ fate as well as the member of The Pride. Who was that pony, though? An image of a distorted figure was seen moving away from the robot as it exploded. The shade morphing with every movement.

Walk with Equestria

I shook my head. Ever since that shade has shown up in the Frozen North, and this strange gap in my memory, my mind has been feeling muddled and confused. It was quite bizarre. I wasn’t the only one experiencing this either. New Pegas has had some individuals on his talk show relay their vague memory gaps. And it all started with that mysterious broadcast that started to cut in and out of New Pegas’s radio station. The gruff and raspy voice of a pony telling somepony that Equestria would awaken once more and a garbled voice followed after it, telling to “walk with Equestria”. No pony really has any idea what it means.

I focused my attention back to Shining, nervously looking at the Securitron.

“Y-yes, well. I know for a fact we, being my friends and some of your Omareta friends, have bested the tech in question. But, back onto the point, despite the law and disorder, you do have the desire to ‘tame’ the savages?” Mr. House was silent for a bit.

“Go on.” He said. Shining adjusted his glasses as he pushed off from the wall, trotting over to the body.

“So, it’d be rather concerning that, with your reputation of upholding civility, as mixed as it is, that letting a murder in the very company that you now own with your partnership of Swashington, would go unpunished. Wouldn’t that hurt sales? The company’s reputation? Your reputation?” I couldn’t help but smile at my lover. Quite the smooth talker when he isn’t nerding about over some relic of the past. Mr. House made a thinking motion with his Securitron.

“I see your point. It would be rather tiresome to have to deal with bad sales at the same time I am trying to rebuild my city. And while the destruction has been great, it does lead open to newer possibilities of better operations and business to expand. Even new ones.” He said. Shining nodded.

“Now, since I know a pony like yourself doesn’t like to keep being indebted to others and prefer to have them indebted to you, our victory over The Pride’s attempt of take over with this tech you speak of. I’d say, if we can solve this murder, you’d return the favor of… let’s say… keeping Ironshod open, having Dusty keep his job. You’ll still have Swashington as your partner company, what with the new open areas of Las Pegasus now.” Mr. House was quite again as Shining continued.

“Think about it. With Swashington built in the city, all the resources from the company will continue to flow into your pockets, if not more since there are no Ironshod competitors in your city. This Ironshod is too far from The Strip. And while you do have a Swashington placed here in Wheatfield, it shouldn’t matter if you are just going to make a better and newer factory production in the city. Ironshod is outdated, no offense.” He nodded to Dusty, who was a little speechless at this. “So, instead of shutting it down, keep the ownership as it was before and instead, they can provide you materials to supply Swashington with imports from the Central Wasteland. Everypony would have a job, you would have more bits and caps for your city and in the end, The House wins.” Everypony was quiet.

Mr. House specifically, was quiet the longest. It did give me time to examine the bullet more. The brand is R&D on the bottom. And based on how the bullet isn’t completely bent fully in, the rifle must have been in poor condition. I then eyed the bullet hole and visualized the direction it came from. I looked out the shattered window and trotted over to it. I scanned the area, my eyes catching nearly every detail. I then remembered the sound of the distant crack. From the sound, I remembered hearing it and the second the bullet broke through the window.

It took, from putting everything together, the bullet to travel 500 yards. And upon scanning the horizon, the closest landmark to that would be…

“The abandoned hotel.” I said quietly to myself. It was a building that did peek over the others at six stories high. It used to be brothel hotel before Mr. House decided to evict the ponies and set it as to be demolished. I snorted, catching the attention of Chipper, to my chagrin.

“The scenery is quite amazing, wouldn’t you say?” He spoke in an eerily cheery voice that sent an uncomfortable chill down my spine.

“Yes… quite…” I replied with a furrowed expression at the machine. It returned my look with only its’ all too happy cartoonish expression.

“It’s just so swell to see another pony admiring the view. You know, this place used to be nothing more than a toxic filled dump. But thanks to our ever so tyrannical overlord, Mr. House, it’s been refurbished and revitalized as a place where you can learn not only medicine, but guns as well!” He explained. I frowned.

“I know all that already.” I grumbled. Chipper spun on its’ wheel.

“Oh, I know most ponies here know the history of this dump of a town, thanks to our ever so vigilant and suave businesspony, Mr. House.” Chipper said. “But what most ponies don’t know is that Mr. House has an ever expansive web of info that currently runs through all of The Strip all the way to Tennpony.” I arched a quizzical brow. How odd. A Securitron was divulging certain secrets that I felt would have been secret. But maybe, if we think about it, with the info Mr. House acquires through his network, it may not concern him as much to have something like him bugging Tennpony. It just made me even more frustrated that I would have stood no chance against House in changing his mind. I then glanced over to Shining, who was still conversing with Mr. House, who now seemed thoroughly convinced on the matter.

“You made your point, hunter. An interesting proposition. Very well. If you can figure out who murdered my representative, be it savage, tribal, mercenary or otherwise, I don’t care who or what is responsible, and bring them before my Securitrons stationed here in Wheatfield, I’ll reconsider this transferal process.” He then turned to Dusty, who looked even more impressed with Shining. “Mr. Trail, if they succeed in this investigation, consider yourself rehired and lucky. Farewell.”

The stoic, imposing static pony face on the screen flickered and a gruff, military face of the Securitron took his place. I walked over to Shining, who was giving me a pleased smile. I returned it, knowing full well what had happened. I then gave him a peck on the cheek that made him stiffen with a cute, dumb smile on his face. Dusty smiled as well and gave me a playful pout.

“Damn. He’s already taken. How’d you get yourself a stallion like him?” He asked. I gave him a sly smirk and waved my hoof.

“Oh, you know. A bit of eye fluttering here, some special favors there…” Shining blushed brighter than I thought he would as he shifted and readjusted his glasses.

“E-err… sh-shouldn’t we be going?” He stammered cutely. I nuzzled up against him, wrapping a foreleg around his.

“Of course, honey.” I cooed teasingly. Dusty shook his head and sighed defeatedly.

“Always getting ahead of me.” He said with a smile.

We walked out of the building, Dusty and Prattle Tale behind us as well as Chipper. I sighed, turning to Prattle Tale. It was bugging me how quiet she was.

“You’ve been awfully quiet. Just a while ago you were walking around like you owned the place.” I stated. Prattle looked a little pale, but she shot me dagger eyes.

“I would have too if all of that hadn’t gone down!” She retorted. I frowned.

“You know, I can’t help but be a little suspicious of somepony who hasn’t said a word over the matter. For all I know, you could have tried to sway Mr. House in your favor with the questioning.” I began. Prattle snorted.

“What, you think I did it?” She began. “I’ve got better things to do than hire an assassin! Let alone one that would ruin the transferal, something I’ve been working hard towards!” I bristled a bit. I was not liking her attitude.

“You had no right to barge in and decide to say ‘Oh, I’m going to bitch at Mr. House to get me to own Ironshod so I can make it Swashington!’” I said mockingly. “And not only that, you had to act all smug and proud that you are ruining the life of somepony’s dreams.” Prattle stomped her hoof and got right up into my face. Our snouts scrunching and foreheads pressed hard against each other as we shot venomous looks at each other.

“And what about my dream!? I worked my flank off for the past several years doing Swashington proud! I’ve bent over backwards for the company to get where I am!! I wanted this job for a long while!! It’s the only thing I have left in this pathetic dump of a Wasteland!!” She growled. “I’m going to run Swashington one day, and damn me to the moon if I am going to let some marshmallow thief run off with Swashington product!” I pushed back with my head, growling as well.

“Thief!? Pot, meet kettle!! That wasn’t Swashington product!! You sold an Ironshod product under the guise of a Swashington product and instead of lowering the price, you had it raised at a ridiculous amount!?” I fired back. Prattle returned fire.

“Oh yeah? I hear rumors about you!! You call yourself a business?! You charge your patients per visit!! And knowing that taking one hoof step outside of this dump you could get shot, just like House’s ambassador! I’ve seen the way you’ve handled those couriers too! Their service to the Empire isn’t without a price and you feel the need to charge them lower prices while normal patients have to pay a little more than that?!” She pulled away and spat at the ground between us. “Some ‘Angel’ you are!!”

I balked and was about to retort when Shining got between us and pulled us away from each other.

“Ladies, please! You’re causing a scene and this isn’t the time to be at each other’s throats.” I huffed and while I appreciated Shining stopping this from going any further, I did feel a bit annoyed that he got in the way of me telling off Prattle. Prattle snarled and continued to shoot daggers my way, but I stuck my tongue out. Shining sighed and rubbed his muzzle. “Look, what happened six months ago was just that. Prattle, Goldenlee would have given it back, but when she returned to Wheatfield, she was bombarded with over due appointments.”

I looked at Shining with furrowed brows. I remember having arrived back to my office after that unusual ordeal of being in Pleasant Town. Having gone our separate ways with our friends, when I arrived back, I couldn’t help but notice that there were ting camps outside my office. When they saw me walk over, I was suddenly being asked to heal a lot of ponies. I was dumbfounded, wondering why they wanted to go to me and not every other surgeon in town?

Turns out, the other surgeons were booked full. I have also come to realize that our settlement was the conflict of the RCE facing off against a ganger group calling themselves the Jackals. Apparently, the Jackals had a couple of heavy weapons that did damage and caused a lot of injuries. Some fatalities. I didn’t get a wink of sleep for four days straight. I was surprised that I managed to patch up a majority of the ponies. The majority being RCE troops. Some civilians and then the occasional Road Warrior. I couldn’t help but be amazed that the two couriers that happened to be stopping by got caught up in the conflict and they looked no worse for wear, just battered barding and only mild lacerations and concussions.

Our couriers are quite the force to be reckoned with. You would almost think they were war veterans. But no, it’s just the extensive training they get in Pleasant Town. Yet, I had this inkling feeling that if I said this to a certain pony, she would be either laughing or stating how gruesome being trained in the Stable is. And now that I think about more, I never really been in a Stable. My thought process was cut short when Shining turned to Prattle.

“We already settled the situation with House. You’ll still be on the job; with the position you desire. We just need to figure out where the shot came from.” I looked to see Prattle, having calmed down a bit but still looking sour, glance around. I then cleared my throat.

“Ahem, I do think I have a lead.” I said. Shining and Prattle looked at me. Prattle scoffed.

“From that bullet you wrenched out?” She asked. I nodded and smirked as I raised it up.

“With careful observation and a bit of math, the direction came from the abandoned hotel about 500 yards away from us.” I said. Shining smiled and nodded. He then turned to Prattle.

“If you want, you can come along with?” He asked. Me and Prattle shot him a glare, which made him shift uncomfortably and rub the back of his neck. “N-not as a way of trying to get you two to come to a truce! J-just figured you’d like to see some evidence and get some closure on who ruined your dream and helping out House.” He said quickly. I sighed and couldn’t help but smile. He definitely picked up a thing or two from her. I had a slight flash of looking at the back of a pony in a black duster. I frowned and shook my head of the thought. That shade will have to wait. I’ve got other important matters to attend too. I looked up at the sky. The rays were slightly dimming in and out of the clouds.

“If we can get there with the rays still bright, we’ll be able to make it back before they are gone completely.” I said.

“A road trip? That sounds wonderful! Get those legs stretching!” A robotic chipper voice chimed in. I groaned in disgust and looked over to see Chipper roll up to us. “I think I can help out with this investigation.” The cartoon pony’s face was that of a salute and wink with that overly eager smile. “Chipper, reporting for duty!” I whinnied slightly.

“It’s not a road trip. It’s just about several blocks away from here. If my hunch is correct, the terrain would match that of the direction of where the bullet came from.” I began, annoyed now thanks to Chipper.

Chipper was awfully ecstatic about tagging along. His humming was starting to get annoying by the minute. Out of all the robots in Equestria, who decided to make this one the “special case”. And why am I unlucky enough to be in this situation where he had to tag along. Shining walked next to me, looking quite flustered with himself. He was having me worried. Prattle was quiet and hung behind us. She seemed more interested in the decrepit metal shacks that spaced out quite a bit away from each other. I sighed as we turned a corner and a decrepit hotel began to loom over us. The hotel indeed has seen way more better days in the past. But if I were to think on this more, this hotel was built even before the Great War. Before the Ministry Mares existed. To me, at least, that’s what I think how old the hotel is.

I heard Prattle gulp and Shining gather himself before turning to me.

“L-listen, Lee? I-I know this isn’t what you were expecting to happen today. But, I just want you to know that I am trying to do my beat to benefit all parties.” He slumped and bowed his head. “I’m sorry if it makes you upset that we have to do this with present company. I really had no intentions of having you two make up. I just figured if she came along, she would be able to get a better situation on the issue and not be so uptight about it. And err…. As Chipper is, well, it would be great to have something that is Mr. House related to relay updates.” I smiled and pet his perfectly quaffed mane.

“I know your intentions, sweetie. I’m not holding it against you. Though if you are trying to impress me, you’d have to do a littler better than that. Let’s say later this evening?” I fluttered my eyes at him and Shining flushed bright red.

“O-oh! U-uhhh… I mean uhh… I-I’d be happy too.” He stammered. I giggled quietly.

‘Cute.’ I cheered in my head. Playfulness aside, I looked up and stopped as we were at the steps of the hotel. The building looked like a manor on the outside. Grimey copper gargoyles decorated the two outside pillars at the top and bottom of the entrance. The window boarded up and the wood around the outside of the building showed ages of weathering and peeling. The color that previously coated the hotel was now just white faded wood and rotten as well. This building looked on the verge of crumbling any minute. I shared Shining’s gulp. To think that somepony came in here and managed to assassinate from this place.

“Wow! I hope our assailant had fallen through a hole in the floor and is stuck there. Ripe for the detainment! The assassin with no where to go.” Chipper said happily. Prattle knocked on the metal shell.

“Uhhh, hello?! This place is very unsafe! It looks like it’s going to collapse any minute!” Prattle protested. She then looked us me and Shining and shook her head. “I’m not going in there! I’ll wait outside if I have too, but I’m not going to risk my life just on some hunch!” She growled, taking a seat where she stood. Chipper waved a claw.

“I agree! While I maybe along for the ride on this exciting adventure, my weight will probably cause the whole place to sink!” Chipper laughed. “If only I had a proper diet!” We all shivered unnervingly at the care free robot. But I perked up from it.

“Fine by me! We’ll let you guys know if we find anything.” I said with a small hoof wiggle towards them. Shining was about to say something, but stopped as I leaned and whispered between my teeth. “I don’t want that robot following us.” Shining blinked at me before giving a nervous nod. I then spun him around and gave the other two my best smile, pushing Shining towards the hotel. “Don’t get too cold! And uhh… up and away and all that!” I turned to Shining, who was confused and unsure of how to respond to this, but I just hissed under my breath. “Just smile and wave, dear.”

We reached door, seeing that the gargoyle face was the knocker. I reached with my magic and jiggled the handle. I frowned, realizing it was locked. I stepped back a bit and studied the front of the house.

“Time to find another way in.” I stated. But Shining smiled and reached into his coat’s pocket. He pulled out a lockpick and a bobby pin.

“Or, we can still try the front.” He said as he trotted up, taking the pick and pin in his teeth. He had just reached down to the lock when the door suddenly creaked and fell forward with a loud thump. Shining blinked and turned to me. I smiled and shrugged.

“You just have a certain magic about you, babe.” I teased, trotting past him. Shining rubbed his head quizzically, stuffing his kit back into his pocket and following after me.

The place reeked. The foyer was about as expected. Peeling wall paper. A broken chandelier in the middle of the room. The red carpet rug moldy and ripped. The stairs leading up to the second story on both sides had collapsed. To our left, the door was destroyed and blocked off with debris from the floor above it. The ground was littered with paper, clothes and decay. This place is indeed, super unsafe. But, I can’t go back empty hoofed. I have to find the exact place that the assassin camped at. Shining had to cover his snout. Poor dear was looking a little green.

“A-and I thought I’ve been to worser places. Just mind where you step.” He said. I giggled and nodded.

“Yes, sweetie.” I teased as I trotted forward and scanned the foyer. There was an open back room hall that I am certain if I can get around the fallen debris that would lead me to other rooms. I looked to my right and saw a hole having been blown out. The hole wide enough for us to fit through. Motioning for Shining to follow. He kept close, his eyes darting around in an alertness that I’m certain most Wastelander wanderers would do. Yet, I found myself staring at cracked and faded out pictures and some decor.

To think, this place used to have ponies coming to and back. Either to take a break away from everything or on the road. There were some left over luggage on a bell dolly that was leaning against the wall. I was curious to see what were in them, but with the awful smell of the place, I feel like we would have choked on the fumes that would exhibit out of them. I started to gag a bit as we made our way through another hole in the wall that lead to small, dingy and rotted room.

“Urgh…. I-I don’t think I can go any further… This smell and decay is awful…” I said, turning green and trying to keep my lunch in check. I then blinked when something was placed onto my muzzle. I started to breath air. The smell lingered a bit, but then vanished completely. I looked over and saw Shining wearing a rebreather. He nodded to me and I smiled underneath my own. Strapping on the rebreather and able to continue further, I took a moment to gather myself. Feeling refreshed, we proceeded with caution.

The further in we went, the more the fumes were beginning to increase. We had to wear some smudged goggles to continue as our eyes were starting to tear up. I had to hand it to Shining. His relic expertise is really saving our hide right now. We kept walking down the hall, our hooves crunching over the peeled wall paper. Our eyes darted in a heavy alertness, as if we were being watched. Which, strangely didn’t feel too far off. Even Shining was checking over his shoulder. When he did so again, he stopped and quickly tapped my shoulder. I looked to him and I saw the color have left his face. I turned around to see what he saw.

I’m not necessarily a huge believer of the paranormal, unlike a certain friend of ours. But even I had to question my skepticism. There were several spectral figures down the hall. Each one moving about as if it was an ordinary day. We backed away as a ghostly figure of a mare was pushing alongside a spectral cart. It knocked on the door, which was broken beyond repair. But she made the motion that it was still there. My ears were soon starting to pick up voices. Softy and distant at first, but soon, the hotel seemed to have erupted into chatter.

Ghostly figures of ponies wearing old fashioned attire I didn’t know existed were walking up and down the hall. Shining turned around, only to stop and breath heavily through his rebreather. He came face to face with a pupilless stallion. The ghost was neatly groomed and smiled handsomely at him. It reached out a hoof and Shining planted himself against the wall as he saw a spectral hoof shoot out of his chest and take the hoof. A ghostly mare nodded to the ghostly stallion and side by side by side, the glided down the hall, their motion looking like they were walking, but a wispy trail followed them as they moved. I could tell Shining was having a panic attack. I went over to him quickly and muffled through my rebreather.

“Sweetie, it’ll be alright! They don’t seem to know we exist. Let’s just keep going.” I said as I put a hoof on his shoulder. He looked me in the eyes, fear on his face. But he nodded weakly and pushing himself off against the wall, we continued.

It was so surreal. These ghostly apparitions were acting like the hotel was still in business. Bell ponies escorting luggage with the guests behind them, ponies sitting on decayed furniture, chatting and seemingly having a good time. The figures even acted like they were going in and out of their rooms. One in particular made me flush a bit as it seemed they were giving each other looks before vanishing in a completely collapsed room. It felt like the hotel had suddenly sensed them and wanted to tell its’ story. And something told me that while believable, my skepticism remained true.

We had to be under the influence of hallucinogenic. The fumes we inhaled earlier. We may just be experiencing psychedelic residue and our brains are tricking us into thinking things are there. We kept going, eventually turning into a room and seeing the ceiling had collapsed, making a ramp up into the next floor. Shining knew what I was thinking and without hesitation, we scaled up the makeshift ramp and it surprisingly lead us to a room that lead out to the second story foyer. Here, we had to becareful. While the ghostly ponies had no problem pretending the floor wasn’t soft, we however felt our hooves sink into the ground a bit. I gasped as the foyer was suddenly alive.

Below us, the ponies came and went. The employees helping the guests. Chatter hummed in our ears. There were even fillies and colts. I saw in the corner of my eye, Shining having another panic attack. I was starting to get worried. We hardly got to start exploring and already Shining was suffering a bad side effect from whatever is in the air. I was almost tempted to just tell him it’ll be okay and we’ll come up with a different plan. But I stopped as he then turned down the hall. We both saw it. A darker and more solid figure. It stared at us, white pupilless eyes staring us down.

I really wished I had something to defend ourselves with. It was a stupid idea to explore a place like this without proper defense. But I half expected to just find the right area and knew that this place had been explored before. And I never heard of this place being haunted or otherwise. The ferals that were occupied here had been cleared out. So… something else was going on. The shade turned and walked into a wall. As it did, the wall it vanished into seemed to crumble and lead into a room. This one lead out to a balcony. Me and Shining exchanged glances, ignoring the ghostly figure of a stallion phasing past us. We cautiously entered the room, my heart skipping a beat as there was a fancily dressed stallion sitting on the bed.

His transparent body a little more solidified than the rest. Shining gulped as we watched him mess with a gun on the table. It was a small snub nosed revolver. He was filling it with rounds in the barrel, clicking it closed and spinning it. There was a knock on the door, well… at least there should be a door. The stallion quickly hid the revolver in his suite and got up. While his ghostly expression was unnerving to loon at, it was his actual expression that made us shiver. He looked on the verge of snapping any minute now. He tipped his hat and his blurry motion disappeared through the doorway. Shining sighed and looked to me.

“W-wouldn’t it be funny if a ghost actually killed House’s ambassador?” He asked weakly. I shook my head and placed the back of my hoof on his forehead, putting my other hoof on mine. Our temperatures were about the same. I smiled under my rebreather and replied.

“Glad the fumes haven’t gotten to us too much. We should hurry up and find whatever we can that can give us a lead and get out of here.” I said. I then looked out the balcony. I could see Wheatfield expand a little further below us. I happened to perk below us and surprisingly, I could see Prattle and Chipper chatting to each other. I could see Prattle’s decision through her expression, regretting the choice of staying behind. Chipper was the more vocal and while I hadn’t paid attention to what he was saying, I could hear his unnervingly chipper voice from below.

“Hey, Lee. Look at this.” I turned my head over to where Shining called my name. I saw him in front of a terminal. It was humming quietly to life. I cocked my head.

“A terminal in this place? I thought this place was too old fashioned to have something like a terminal installed.” I stated quizzically. Shining shook his head, clearly having a bit of trouble hacking into it.

“You’re right. This place appeared to be too old fashioned to be involved in the technological advancement of Equestria. Even with the Ministry Mare’s influence hardly touching the Empire, that didn’t mean the country wasn’t open to trade from the south and central. But I can say this.” He backed out of his attempt and pointed at the screen. “This was recently installed. I also couldn’t help but notice.” He motioned past me and I looked back. I could see an open suite case. In it was several opened cans of cream corn and beans. Several used cigarettes were dumped into an ash tray. There were some scattered rounds around a chair. My eyes immediately shot to a larger shell on the ground.

I withdrew the bent caliber round and lifted up the shell. I put them side by side and visualized it. It was a match. At least, from an outside point of view. I looked around and saw a couple of books stacked on top of each other. The top book read “The Wings of Icarus” while the bottom one was Dante’s Comedy. I hummed in thought before holding up the Icarus book.

“Somepony was a little into deeper meaning.” Shining adjusted his glasses and smiled.

“Nothing wrong with studying mythology. The pegasus that wanted to save the land by flying to the sun, only to have his wings burned and came crashing to the ground. A tragedy, but one that exhibited morals. And dare I see Dante? Indeed, whatever taste they had, they might be a little cultish.” He said as he managed to get into the terminal. My eyes darted the room and I saw something glinting in the dimly lit room. I furrowed my brows and looked under the bed. I reached with my magic and balked. I withdrew a .50 cal anti-material rifle. But this one was familiar.

Of course it was familiar. This was my anti-material. I looked quizzically at it, many thoughts rushing to my head. How did it get here? I had this locked up in a gun cabinet? And it definitely doesn’t leave my sight. The design of an Ironshod product. In perfect condition no less. This was the rifle I took from Swashington to argue a point for Dusty, only to have unintentionally stolen it. Well, it felt like I stole it. But Dusty paid for the gun. His own product. To Prattle Tale no less. It made my blood boil. But calming myself, I still don’t know why it was here. I heard Shining hum.

“Well, we do have a slight idea now. Take a look at this.” He said, staring at the screen. I walked over to him and looked at the screen. Shining pointed to a file. “This was recent. About a couple of weeks ago. And it’s the only one in here.” I looked at the file. It read “Descendant Angel”. I clicked my tongue.

“They certainly have a bit of edge to this. Play it.” I said. Shining pressed a button and the audio file played.

“I leave this message for the one who descends from the heavens. You have inspired me. Saved my life. I have an eternal debt and gratitude to you. And thus, like Dante, I descended into the very hells to search for your sin. And I have found it. The shackles that held your wings down. The meeting will take place and if you have found this, I have returned the favor. Yet, with one sin, another can take its’ place. Like a seed of evil attempting to germinate inside of you. Dante never gave into his sins. No matter how tempting. I will watch over you, my fallen angel. As you have with me when I was on the brink of death. I will be your shadow. Even, if you have to turn your light away from me.”

The audio file blipped and the room went quiet. I rubbed my chin in thought. ‘Fallen angel? Dante? What does all of this mean?’ I heard Shining tap the desk in thought.

“It seems like whoever was here had a strange dramatic fondness for you.” He said. I blinked and looked at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked. Shining stood up and tapped the side of the terminal, as if looking for something.

“Your title given by your patients, specifically the couriers. They like to use code names more than actual names, if they aren’t too acquainted to you. Not saying all the couriers here do so." He smirked. “Just the ones that are a little over the top.” I had feeling somewhere out there, somepony, a courier that belonged to the Empire, sneezed at the mention. As funny a thought it was, this matter is pretty dire.

“So… our culprit is a courier?” I asked. Shining shrugged.

“Or somepony you nursed long ago. Meet anypony that stood out?” He asked. I thought long and hard about it. The Road Warriors has their unique mixes of personality, but I can only think of one that truly stuck out. Yet, their name alludes me. I sighed and shook my head.

“Unfortunately, I get a lot of personalities in and out of the office. I can’t say where to begin. But I will say…” I held up my rifle. “Someone used my rifle.” I even cocked the bolt back to show an empty chamber. I then took out the cartridge and was a little surprised to see it empty. I frowned. “And it seemed they were pretty confident with the kill.” Shining studied the rifle and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, let’s see if Chipper has a magic residue detector.” He said. I blinked. Shining took my confused look to explain. He adjusted his glasses. “I’ve done some observation on House’s new and improved Securitrons. They apparently can detect magical residue now. A way to cover basis on everypony. Pegasi, Unicorn, Earth. Our species does have magic. Earth with their affiliation with the earth itself, and pegasi to be able to fly. Unicorn is a no brainer. Easier to detect now.” I frowned again. House is starting to sound like a paranoid tyrant.

“So… if we give my rifle to Chipper to scan it, wouldn’t my magical residue be picked up?” I asked. Shining nodded.

“Indeed. But it will also tell us if there was another magical aspect on it. Unicorns have a variation of color when it comes to their magic. You think two purple unicorns who look alike have the same magical aspect color. But if you look carefully, you can really tell one is a shade lighter or perhaps a shade darker. Rarely would you get the same magical aspect. Not saying there isn’t the same shade. But the residue don’t overwrite each other. Because not only do the colors not match, the density of the magic is also a thing.” I arched an amused brow as he continued. “So, even if two magical aspect match, their density would be on trial. To see if one measures per speck.” I ruffled his mane playfully.

“If you say so, nerd.” I teased. He adjusted his glasses with an embarrassed. I holstered my rifle over my back and gathered the evidence together. Shining, unfortunately, could not withdraw the holotape from the terminal. And we couldn’t lift the terminal either. It was too heavy, even for my magic to handle. As interesting as Shining’s speculation of magical aspects in ponies was, perhaps it was the same with the other species. Brick maybe surprisingly strong in his own right, but Shining lacked a little err… strength despite his affiliation. But that’s not a big deal for me. He came with the right packages. With certain thought invading my mind, I put them aside for now to focus on getting out of here.

We peeked out of the hole in the wall and heard the hotel being eerily quiet. I could feel the tingling through my mother’s bomber jacket. The atmosphere of the place felt alive now. All the more reason to get out of here. Shining was probably feeling it too, as he put a hoof on the wall.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to stay asleep for now. We aren’t the ponies to help you.” I cocked my head. It was ridiculous, if I am to be frank, to think a building would be alive. But the atmosphere is different, that’s for sure. And no signs of ghostly apparitions either. The psychedelic fumes must have left our systems and the protection we wore kept us safe until we made it out. After descending the second story carefully from the main foyer, we exited the hotel and took off our rebreathers, taking in the fresh and usual tainted air of the Frozen North. Shining looked to have regained his color as he spoke.

“Well, ready to test our theory?” He asked. I wasn’t that in a hurry to go to Chipper. But the two had saw us step out. And I could see Prattle eyeing the rifle on my back suspiciously. And sure enough, as we got closer, she spoke.

“Now, ain’t that a familiar looking gun. I wonder where that came from.” She snorted. “Did you at least find anything else?” I was about to retort when Shining chimed in.

“As a matter of fact, yes. Quite a few bits of evidence. From the balcony up there” he motioned to the balcony we were just at. “A terminal with an audio file and what looked like somepony having recently camped up there. Food cans were littered and shell casings and cigarettes. And we found a gun that belongs to Lee.” Prattle was already shooting me suspicious looks.

“Figured it looked familiar. So why’d you put it there?” She asked. I growled and looked to Chipper, holding it up to him.

“Chipper, do you think you can scan the magical residue on this rifle? It’ll have mine on it, but it might have another pony’s.” I asked. Chipper hummed, the image turning into a cartoonish pony thinking with their tongue sticking out in thought.

“Hmmm, I believe I can! Thanks to the co-operation of the Lightbringer and our ever illustrious Mr. House for the upgrades, all Securitrons are equipped with-“ I nodded quickly.

“Mhm, yup. I know. Just scan it real quick.” I stated. Prattle spoke up as Chipper began making blips and bloops.

“What’s to say she didn’t set it all up?” Prattle began. “You didn’t like me getting up in your boy toy’s business and deemed to ruin me. You even tried to convince Mr. House to change his mind.” I arched a brow.

“Go on. Enlighten me on why you think it’s me.” Prattle spat.

“You’ve been trying to bring down Swashington operations for a while ever since you got back. For six months I had to deal with complaints and rumors about how our products were cut throat.” She growled. “It brought bad business. I had to turn away no good ponies over the couple of civilians that were scared shitless in the store.” She stuck a tongue out disgustedly. “Hell, one of them did shit themselves and that was a bitch to clean up!” I couldn’t help but nicker at the thought. She shot her glare at me when I did. “The point is, you knew Dusty was in a bind. And when that clock ticked down to the eventual meeting, you probably hired a mercenary or assassin to disrupt the proceedings. Even made it a direct threat to Mr. House himself!” I scoffed.

“I may bitch and moan about Mr. House ruining my childhood friend’s life, but whose life has he not ruined before.” I retorted. “Think about it. The more Swashington and House are in bed, the more you’ll end up being pawned on. You’re at the expense of a tyrant, Prattle. I hope you have another job opportunity. Because what’s to say House won’t make your life living hell?”

“Everything, if I must chime in.” A voice said. I stiffened and turned around to see Chipper’s cartoon pony face replaced with a stoic and imposing loom of a neatly groomed stallion looking down at me. “I maybe a tyrant to some, but I can recognize talent when I see it. Reforming the tribals wasn’t an off job. They have their uses. I, however, cannot say the same to you.” I blinked and shrunk back a bit.

“What do you mean?” I asked, his intimidation actually snuck into me. He motioned the claw over to my rifle.

“I’ve matched the residue and traced it back to you. Density, molecules and aspect all match. Your magic is the only thing on this rifle.” I felt my heart sank. No other residue? Only mine? B-but that’s impossible!

“Impossible! Why would I keep my rifle in a dangerous place like this?!” Prattle smirked triumphantly.

“So I am on something then! You probably planted it there for the assassin to use. You went in there and discarded any trace of evidence. Whose to say there really is a terminal with an audio file in it. It was probably your manifesto!” She pointed a hoof at me. “You’re a thief and a murderer!”

“And a saboteur. The attack on my ambassador really threw a wrench into my plans. And I have you to thank for it.” Mr. House spoke, creeping closer to me. I backed away a little. Shining sprung out in front of House and me. He held up a hoof.

“W-wait just a moment, Mr. House! I can attest to this situation! We did find a terminal in there with somepony’s voice. They were reading Dante and Icarus. Freshly put out cigarettes! Shell casings! Food cans! Somepony camped out here for a couple of weeks.” Mr. House waved his Securitron’s claw dismissively.

“I never said I didn’t believe you. But you have the murder weapon. The gun’s tag matches the bullet fired.” I balked again and Mr. House noticed. “You need to brush up on your forensics a little more. My robots were able to collect all this info in the amount of time you left the building. Bringing the rifle back, or the murder weapon, solidified it. Everything points to you ordering the hit.” I sputtered.

“B-but that’s not true! Why would I do something like that?! I try to save ponies, not kill them!” I stated. Prattle whinnied.

“I think that Angel title is getting to your head. I hear the chats coming from other ponies in town. Your patients, specifically, have heard you mutter under your breath about how much you despise House and Swashington being cut throat. You have all the more motive to do this! Hell, you would have probably aimed for me too! I was in direct line of sight as well!” She spat again to the side.

“Ptoo! You make me sick. I can’t believe you are a surgeon. Some noble goal you have! You probably sell some of your patient’s organs!” Shining butted in, his expression annoyed.

“Or, have you thought that she would be too overwhelmed with work to do anything? When she got back, all she did was work. Mentioning those things was to vent frustration. And believe me, if she wanted you dead, she wouldn’t miss.” I blushed a little but also felt like that hadn’t helped. “Mr. House. Please reconsider. We have only just begun investigating and need more time to gather the remaining evidence!” He stated. Mr. House sighed and made a frustrated gesture with his robot.

“I grow tired of this game… fine, I’ll give you the rest of the day to find what you can. But by early sunrise, you better have evidence or turn yourself over to face House justice. Court adjourned.” The screen flickered and the happy go-lucky expression of the cartoon pony took House’s place. He hummed happily.

“That was a swell nap. Did I miss anything?” He asked. I bit my lip and me and Shining exchanged glances again. Without saying much of anything, I trotted past everypony, Shining trotting after me. Prattle growled.

“Can’t wait to see you hang, thief!” She stated. I said nothing, growling myself. I couldn’t believe this. I was being accused for something I didn’t commit. Why would I possibly spend time setting up something like this? I was busy with patients! I don’t have time for something so petty. Let alone one that doesn’t benefit Dusty. Dusty would never approve of it. Hell, Shining wouldn’t approve of it. He’d dump me right then and there. And I know for a fact she wouldn’t let it slide. I blinked. Who is she? The name keeps escaping me. And anything of trying to remember events from six months ago?

I shook my head furiously. That’s not going to help my issue. I looked back at the hotel. Whoever camped there had made on thing clear. They were doing something for me. It may have been vague, but with my title and my profession, it made me sick to my stomach that I may have treated our culprit. But that’s the hypocritic oath for you. Now… who have I treated before that would do that? My eyes furrowed. I could make out the shade standing over the balcony. It stared down at us. Shining stopped ahead of me and looked back.

“Something wrong?” He asked. I sighed and looked back at him, having blinked once and the shade vanished. I looked at him tiredly.

“Just a lot of paperwork to go through when we get back to the office.” I said with a tired smile.

When we arrived back around the area to my office, I couldn’t help but notice the Securitrons now patrolling the settlement. What was even shocking was that on a screen of one of them that was static in front of my office had an image of me. I was baffled when I read:

Goldenlee (Angel); Wanted on charge of murder in 5 hours 47 minutes 18seconds

Shining rubbed the back of his neck.

“Mr. House isn’t taking chances. Took my advice a little too far.” He said with a nervous smile. I sighed and was tempted to short circuit the Securitron, but I didn’t want to add “tempering with House property” as a charge. Mr. House is giving us the rest of the day to find the culprit. Not enough time, but I am hoping a quick look over of notes and some talking around town will help. I noticed the screen flicker and saw Shining’s image.

Shining Star; Wanted as accomplice to murder in 5 hours 46 minutes 58 seconds

I grumbled and turned around, putting my hooves on Shining’s cheeks and bringing him in. I looked into his eyes, my face determined. He returned my determined look quizzically.

“Shining, I need a favor of you. Ask around town. Anything about any recent suspicious activity. Don’t miss a single detail. Our lives depend on it.” I said, my tone serious. Shining spoke through his squished cheeks.

“What about you?” He asked. I let go of his cheeks and pat his head, my dazed lover adjusting his glasses.

“I’m going to look through my patient files and see if I can remember anypony that stuck out. And be careful, I’m sure if this assassin knows we are looking for them, they may set up a way to get rid of us.” Shining gulped but gave a salute before turning around and galloping off into town. I sighed and spun back around, heading to my office. I slowed my pace when I noticed a strange looking pony sitting on the waiting bench outside. His leather armor showing a lot of wear and tear. He was messing with a revolver. I then saw two other ponies with him. Their barding showing just as much wear and tear. But they were dressed in a way that was very familiar. These were bounty hunters. And they were gathered outside, cleaning and messing with their guns. Their eyes glanced up to me as I walked up to my office.

I had to be the business pony for this matter. I still have time, but it unnerved me that my hunters were waiting outside my office. I opened the door and looked at them.

“Please, don’t loiter in front of the patient waiting bench. Those are for patients.” I said. The grizzled stallion looked out from under his helmet. He eyed me up and down and grinned.

“No worries. We’re patient enough. After all, angels gotta fall at some point.” He said in a gruff manner. I bit my lip, feeling quite intimidated. The others continued to do what they were doing. But they were casting the same glare and smirk. I gave them my best smile.

“Th-then can I ask you to at least sit somewhere else? This area is meant for patients and from what I can gather, you are all in perfect health.” I think at least. Maybe a little unhinged, but they exchanged glances and stood up. The mare in leather roadie barding nodded, her eyes serious and stern.

“We won’t be far, Angel.” She said. The three moved just a block further down. I quickly closed the door and looked around my office. Those ponies really got to my nerves. I was in a bit of a panic. I had to take a few deep breaths. Gathering myself, I went upstairs to my desk and began pulling out files out of the filing cabinets. I quickly stacked them over up, being a bit messy in a hurried panic. I sat down and sighed, going to the first file.

With my hunters outside, the time was ticking and I couldn’t afford to waste anymore time. My own clock ticking away as I silently went through the files as quick and thorough as I could. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was also being watched. Somewhere in the corner of my office, was a presence. One that I ignored as I couldn’t afford to look up. It was a familiar presence, but it was also unfamiliar. The shade in the corner watched me. Unmoving and silent. But physically there. A soft whisper reached my ears:

The answer lies within the heart.