P.O.N.I.E.S: Shadow of Canterlot

by GoldenGust

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Original Character, Horror, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Crossover, Death
Length: 21252

A unicorn travels to the quarantined wasteland that was once the grand city of Canterlot and its surrounding areas.

On a mission from the surviving member of the royalty in Equestria, SilverBullet is tasked with entering the exclusion zone around Canterlot in search of any information on what caused the disaster and the location of Celestia and her pupil, Twilight Sparkle.

Making his way inside he finds a whole new world order he is forced to comply with.

(Thank you to SoloSuerte for their work proofreading!
https://www.fimfiction.net/user/552101/SoloSuerte

Published 2023-05-12 21:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-03-13 03:51:10 UTC

Chapter 1: In the shadow of a city

The sound of lonely hooves filled the silence of the makeshift throne room. The white unicorn stallion looked back through at the stallions in golden armour holding open the heavy wooden door, he gave them a small, thankful nod as they shuffled back, letting the door creak to a close behind the unicorn. He glanced around the room with his amber eyes, the room was hardly fit for a princess. It was a shoddily put together, temporary home for the Moon Princess Luna, who, after a scan of the room, the eyes of the unicorn eventually rested on. She stood gracefully, facing a window overlooking Equestria, which was now tainted with the sickly smog pouring its way out of Canterlot. The view of the once great city and the towns surrounding, consumed and shrouded by fog.

"Silverbullet ma'am" Silverbullet stepped forward to bow but stopped halfway as he glanced up towards Luna, taking a note of her worried expression and her fixed gaze. Luna stood like a statue, her flowing hair the only thing betraying her stiffness, even her chest hardly raised with each breath. She had seemed different; the past few years took a toll on her, the stars in her flowing mane not shining as brightly as they once did. Silverbullet let out a small, attention-grabbing cough, which stirred the princess. Luna let out a small, shaky sigh in a false attempt to compose herself as she turned herself around to face Silverbullet.

"Ah, there you are. We hope your journey from Vanhoover was a pleasant one" Luna smiled down at the white unicorn. Silverbullet awkwardly stood up from his semi-bow, flicking his silver mane out of his face. He had started to analyse the princess' face subconsciously.

Her eyes were heavy. Crying? Or simply tried? She’s swaying, she never did that before. Increased anxiety? Worry? Can’t blame her. Her voice is soft, almost weak. She had a more commanding voice outside. An attempt to keep appearances, maybe? Her hair isn't flowing as much as it used too.

"Silver? Silver, are you OK?" Luna's softer tone broke Silver out of his examination.

"Oh! Of course!" Silver offered a friendly smile to the princess, who reciprocated gracefully. "My trip was fine, long, though. I came as soon as I could." Silver followed Luna as she turned to look out the window, Silver placed himself beside her and followed her gaze to the depressing ruins of Canterlot.

"Almost eight moons?" Luna looks down at silver with a smile, emphasizing the jest in her voice. "We did ask you to be discreet. You have pulled that off perfectly." Luna now rolled her cyan eyes with a small chuckle and a twitch of her wings, her jest turning sombre as her eyes fell upon that accursed city once-more.

"Yes. My apologise princess" Silver smiled at Luna, trying to reignite a smile in the alicorn to no avail. "Things have been busy back home. First the war prep, now this." Silver nodded his head in the direction of the doomed city. "People are all sorts of jumpy." Silver found himself taking in a small breath and looking back up at Luna, waiting for a response. A smile? A smirk? A look? Anything?

"I'm glad you could make it." Luna fulfilled Silvers wish with a soft smile and a look. "We have some work to do, I'm sure you are curious about what we have in store for you." Luna's horn burned a cobalt blue as she gently pulled down on the shoddy brass handle and opened the large glass door they were gazing out of, before trotting calmly onto the balcony overlooking a small garden with a statue of Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. Silverbullet admired the craftsmanship of the stone sculpture, now resting in its improper place, the first signs of moss growth can be seen on the hooves and horns. Luna gracefully trotted over to a table with two cushions at either side, then moved her head in a beckoning motion before taking a seat on her cushion. Silverbullet nodded back respectfully, making his way over to the free cushion and taking a seat, letting out an audible sigh as he feels the aches of a long trip that he was ignoring fade away somewhat.

"Shall we get down to business? It has been a long while since you asked for me personally." Silver inquired, keeping mindful of his posture, before a look from the princess put his body at ease. This was less of a job and more of a favour between friends. Feeling the tone shift further, he slouched and leaned in with a caring expression, "What do you need, Luna?" He reformed his question in a less formal sense, which Luna seemed to appreciate. She took a breath, buying time to think about her request.

"Sixty-seven ponies" Luna takes another breath, this time her voice had a soft quiver, "Sixty-seven ponies have gone missing because of that damnable fog." She grits her teeth, "Forty six have been found dead, twenty of them killed by things coming out of the fog. My guards have held the line and silenced any information getting out to the rest of Equestria, but I can tell they are spooked." Lunas hoof tapped, a signal of her anxiety shooting through her body and rushing to find ground.

"Is it moving?" Silver asked, concern flooding his voice as he leaned forward.

"There are these thundering crashes and blinding lights that shroud Canterlot almost every day, it seems to be pushing more fog into the air somehow." Luna trailed off, the frustration of not knowing plastered her face, and her hoof taps quickened. Silver looked past Luna at the towering fog.

"What about the Pegasi guards? Have you sent any in?" Silver pondered as his eyes tracked up the impossibly high mountain of fog, wanting to see any end to it.

"We sent a detachment inside a few weeks ago, none of them came back." Luna responded. She took another breath. "We are scared." the sudden but expected confession from the princess shot through SilverBullet like a jolt of lightning.
"I understand, Luna, and I think I understand what you are trying to ask me." Silver offered a pleasant smile to Luna, but the Princess’s worry didn't fade.

"Ponies who have been in… haven't come back out." Luna looked down at the white unicorn and put on the best smile she could muster. "But you have never failed me before. You were the only one we could think of." Her horn lit up again and, accompanied by a poof, a small hoof-held computer device appeared next to Silver. "We will be overseeing your excursion personally."

"A PDA? You are spoiling me Luna" Silver attempted to brighten the mood slightly as his horn lit up, Slightly obscured by his thick, curly, silver mane. The aura was a frosty white, pulling the PDA to his face and inspecting it. "These things were all over the place in Canterlot. I missed it when I had to leave." Silver began to navigate the tabs, everything from a map to a radio was on this handy little device.

"You didn't take yours with you?" Luna asked with an intrigued shock in her tone.

"I couldn't. The radio dishes that they connected to never made it past Ponyville and its surrounding areas. Was no point in taking it all the way to Vanhoover" SilverBullet smiled, still focused on the PDA safely ensured in his magic.

"We have set up a radio tower just outside this castle, you may have seen it on your way in? Regardless, we will use it to communicate with you." Luna explained, there was a palpable worry in her voice as she turned her head to look back at Canterlot. "We have reason to believe that those radio towers around the Ponyville and Canterlot are still operational, we have been getting-" Luna stopped for a moment, her voice getting less and less confident by the word. "Worrying transmissions, like there are ponies still living in there. Maybe ghosts from the past? Maybe we are finally losing it." Luna stated under her breath.

"I'll promise to look after myself" SilverBullet offered his comforting words which garnered a sigh from the moon princess, who looked down to him. "In my line of work you have to be prepared for anything and everything. You know that." He closed his eyes for a second which made his horn glow brighter. The PDA raised slightly before vanishing. Silver let out a satisfied sigh. "Have any other things for me? You know I adore your gifts" SilverBullet let himself get comfortable for a moment. "Full debriefing?" He tilted his head.

"Enter the fog, get to Ponyville, assess the situation, report back. After your report we will give you your next set of orders." Luna smiled softly "Get yourself ready. There is a carriage waiting for your arrival." She stayed seated as the smaller unicorn stood up with a respectful nod and a confident smile. "Oh! And Silver!" Lunas voice boomed as she leaned forward, it wasn't commanding but loud worry.

"Yes princess?" Silver responded. Turning away from the glass door to the makeshift throne room.

"Be safe, ok?" Luna's voice filled with concern. Silver chuckled, his horn lit up as he pulled a small standard issue police revolver, spinning it softly before tightening his magical grip around the small, ivory grip of the firearm.

"I'll be fine." Silver let determination flood his voice as he narrowed his eyes and smiled. A satisfied and comforted smile from his princess friend was all he needed. With a spin, he slid the gun back into his saddle holster and tugged the glass door open with his magic.

He opened the fabric door to a small tent. He trotted inside and looked around. It was a barracks of sorts, or at least it was at one point, now cleared out for his personal use. He walked over to a locker and a bench that was situated on the left side of the tent, on his way past he caught himself in the mirror. His fluffy and curly, unkempt mane almost concealing his horn. It was a mix of greys, from gunmetal to slate. Using a forehoof he nudged his mane, now letting his horn be completely consumed in the fluffy mess. He continued to look down his body, a dark leather saddle bag accompanied by a holster stood contrast to his white fur, the ivory grip of his police issued peashooter complementing the ensemble perfectly. He caught a glimpse of his cutie mark. A magnifying glass with a crack in the top right. It made him sigh in determination, reminding him of his job. He continued his journey to the locker. Looking down at the PDA, freshly teleported here not a moment ago, he opened the locker, pulling out a padded and armoured hoodie. It would protect him from the cold, but bullets? Not so much. At the least, however, it would give him a few more seconds of life to make peace with whatever god he could before he fell. He slid his left forehoof in, and then his right, comfortable in his outfit. He looked back inside and floated two boxes of .38 special rounds, holding about fifty a piece, into his saddle bag. He opens his small pouch of bits, a metaphorical moth landing on his nose and causing his nose to scrunch up. He had thought about getting a more powerful gun, but it seemed that upgrade would have to wait. He floated the comically low number of bits into his saddlebag along with everything else.

He walked back over to the mirror, gazing into his own blazing amber eyes.

Armour? Check. Gun? Check. Ammo? Check. Meds? Meds… I knew I was forgetting something, but I didn't see any in there. Did I forget to pack some? God you look like a scared colt. She put her trust in you and you are-

"Sir! Are you ready to go?" A stallion called. A strong earth pony clad in golden armour.

"Err, yeah! Yes, I am" SilverBullet smiled as he walked towards the fabric door of the tent, he looked back at the mirror into his own eyes and swallowed.

Terrified.

Chapter 2: The fog, all consuming

The waggons fabric roof gently flicked and moved in the wind. The day would have been pretty, The sun shining brightly down, making rays of light through the small worn holes in the roof. Silver tracked the rays as they moved from the front of the waggon to the back. The feeling of the waggon running over a rock and a gruff voice snapped him out of his thought.

"You're the one they sent?" The voice came from a pegasus guard that was situated across from Silver. His tone wasn't angry, the guard sounded worried like he was concealing an unfathomable amount of fear and needed to say something, anything to take his mind off of what was coming.

"Yes, I am. SilverBullet" Silver stated his name and took in the reaction from the guard. The guard's eyes widened slightly as he leaned in.

"You're that secret service stallion, huh" The guard looked Silver up and down and tilted his head, his tone sounded disappointed. Silver met his eyes with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "I pictured you'd be a little..." The guard fought against his own mind, looking for the right words.

"Bigger?" Silver chuckled and widened his smile. The guard looked away and rubbed the back of his neck with a forehoof.

"Well, yeah." The guard looked back over to him. He was a rather large stallion, The trademark golden castle guard armour fit him well and was full of scrapes and dents from years of use. "But with the new weapons coming out because of the war, you don't need to be a big stallion to be a dangerous one any more." The guard nodded towards Silver's holster, the gun within reflecting the sunlight that penetrated through the holes in the roof. "You must be a unicorn too. Considering you don't have one of those bulky battle saddle things." Silver smiled, lifting a forehoof he parted his mane slightly to reveal his horn.

"Guilty as charged" Silver shifted a little on the wooden bench, getting more comfortable and shifting his weight to the side a little to face the guard. "Shall we address the gryphon in the room? You ever been past the fog before?" The guard looked down for a moment.

"None of us have. We were all just stationed near it, moving back as it marched forward. I've heard things from inside it though and-" The guard stopped and looked around for a second before looking forward towards the two earth ponies pulling the wagon. "Onyx and Smoky know more." The guard nodded his head towards the earth ponies. One is as black as night and the other only a minuscule amount brighter. The lighter one looked back and then looked at his darker companion. The black stallion turned around a large, fresh scar across his left eye.

"Those..." Onyx took a breath. It sounded laboured but not from the hours that had passed of him pulling the wagon. "The things in the fog could not have been made by pony kind. Deformed and aggressive, not even the pits of Tartarus could hold them." Smoky, the lighter earth pony gave his friend a soft nudge and offered an optimistic grin.

"They sure as buck not invincible though, you got first hoof experience. You bounded in like a bat pony straight from Tartarus! Smashed that thing right in the jaw?" Smoky joyfully pondered, not expecting any answer. "I guess it was a jaw. could have been anything with how odd that thing looked" Onyx rolled his eyes with a weak smile.

"Please shut up, little brother." Onyx tried to match his brother's energy but just couldn't. Silver could see the thoughts swirling around in the large, black pony's mind.

Silver let out a small sigh as he turned back to the azure pegasus. "Sir, I don't think I caught your name. Since we are all getting aquatinted" Silver asked as he got back into his comfortable position.

"Sapphire Arrow. Captain of the fog gu-" Before Sapphire could finish, Onyx interrupted.

"Acting captain. You ain't captain fully until we get confirmation of Solar Dice's condition." Onyx explained with an air of professionalism in his voice. Smoky chimed in, lacking the earlier professionalism of his older brother.

"If anyone can survive in there, it's Dice! He's tougher than-" Both of the earth ponies fall silent and the wagon jerks to a stop.

"State your business" A Hardened voice came from outside, this one was female.

"Official business, from Princess Luna," Onyx explained as he nudged his brother.

"Oh!" Smokey stuttered "Documents are in the saddlebag, ma'am" Smokey looked up at the insurmountable wall of fog and his ears flattened. Silver and Sapphire both sat up to look out of the front of the wagon. Silver, spotted a fired-manned Pegasus with sunglasses, She was wearing a worn bomber jacket with some old ribbons and awards sewn to it. Next to her was a younger-looking red unicorn in formal attire. She walked over, and her horn lit up crimson, she pulled out the documents and gave them to the yellow Pegasus, who looked over the top of her sunglasses at the documents.

"First time on the front?" The yellow Pegasus eyed Smokey.

"No ma'am. Just got back from transfer" Smokey kept his posture straight.

"So you were here with Dice and his squad when things went to shit, huh?" The Pegasus nodded towards the red unicorn, and she put the documents back in Smokey's saddlebag. "Let them through" The Pegasus looked over at Silver and eyed him up and down, he felt his very soul being inspected. "I sure hope you know what you are doing" She turned and walked away, and the wagon jolted forward, signalling the journey's continuation.

"That was Spitfire" Sapphire broke the silence. Silver recognized the name.

"Spitfire, huh? Wasn't she a Wonderbolt?" Silver asked, his eyes focused on the wall of fog that was getting closer. He could taste the dread in the air.

"Yeah," Sapphire tapped his hoof on the bench. "They disbanded when war prep started" Sapphire explained, his wings twitching as he followed Silver's gaze to the fog. "Don't worry about being scared. Still gets to me too" The Pegasus offered a smile to Silver. "Times like this, if you ain't scared, you are stupid" Silver took a deep breath and looked back at the blue Pegasus.

"I appreciate it" Silver tried his best to get comfortable again as the sun stopped shining through the holes in the roof of the wagon. Now being replaced by a thick smoke. Silver covered his mouth instinctively, but could still make out the soft laugh of sapphire on the other end of the fog in the wagon.

"It's not toxic. As far as we know" Sapphire's smile could be barely made out through the consuming smoke.

"It'll pass" Onyx's voice cut through the fog as he explained, "A couple of minutes of this, and then we will be through." the road got notably rougher as the waggon continued carving its way through the wall of fog.

"Once we are past this. Where are we going?" Silver moved his hooves from his mouth, still nervous about breathing in the fog, but it didn't turn his lungs to liquid yet, so that soothed him.

"Ponyville!" Smokey chimed in, his voice was shaky, but he was fighting his own nerves with optimism. "The Plan is to drop you off there and see what you can scrounge up from the library Twilight was based at. Once we are done there, we either follow the lead or get the buck out of here" Smokey took a breath. Silver waited and watched as the fog thinned, looking out the front of the wagon. The trees were dead or dying, like a gradient of decay. The once bright and luscious green grass is now a sickly, pale brown. Shrivelled shrubs dotted the landscape, breaking up the monotony of destroyed grass and rotting wood. A suffocating silence replaced the disappearing fog. Silver felt a chill up his spine, which compelled him to fire up his horn and clutch his gun.

"Welcome to Tartarus boys" Onyx shatters the silence. "Keep your heads on a swivel. SilverBullet! I want you to keep the gun handy. SapphireArrow! Get your combat harness on. If something swoops out at us, we might need someone in the air" Onyx's voice changed, more authoritative and commanding. It gave Silver the push he needed to whip out his gun and cling to it with his magic, so tightly he could have cracked the ivory grip. Silver ears flicked as he snapped out of his fixed gaze on the dilapidated road in front of them, which seemed to stretch on into infinity. He pulled his eyes away to look at the Pegasus guard, who was digging a harness out of a large duffle bag. It was a black saddle strap with a large metal cannon on the left side, almost the entire length of his body. The Pegasus laid the weapon on the floor of the waggon. Kneeling down and slipping his head under a curved metal magazine which led into a side bag. He slid the ornate, metal muzzle into his mouth while beginning to stand. His wings unfolded and moved through small holes on either side of the saddle, folding back into a comfortable position. He gave his body a shake, and the rattle of the weapon echoed through the silent forest road. He looked towards Silver and smiled, moving his head to the left until there was a small pop, and he let out a sigh before moving forward to join Silver at the front.

"Locked and loaded sir," Sapphire said in a joyful and playfully mocking tone which produced a scoff from Onyx.

"I would have forgotten more about combat than you could hope to remember. If I forgot anything, to begin with," Onyx narrowed his eyes back at the Pegasus who responded with a respectful smile.

"Why do you think I gave you the job?" Sapphire stated rhetorically before narrowing his eyes at the tree line, scanning it for any movement.

"How long till we get there?" Silver asked, joining Sapphire in his diligent scanning.

"From here to Ponyville is about three days. We have camping equipment and food for the trip, we are to keep a low profile, so we don't have lots of defences, but we are trained, and we know these things can die." Onyx explained, which soothed Silver's hyperactive nerves somewhat. "We are expecting minimal resistance with the route we are taking. The map shouldn't have changed much. We are still in Equestria at the end of the day." After Onyx's words, All that filled in the space of the silence was the noise of the waggon wheels creaking and the earth ponies trotting. Nothing else. No birds or any animals whats so ever. Just suffocating silence broken by the ruckus of travel.

"When we set up camp, should we set up sleep shifts?" Silver's hoof bounced off of the front wall of the waggon. he crossed his forelegs on the front, keeping his eyes trained on the tree line.

was that movment? or the wind? I can feel my heart pounding. Left? Clear. Right? Clear? Is that something? I can't breathe

"We do have shifts. I was going to go over it when we set up camp but it is important info. I will stay up first. Then Smokey. Then Sapphire. Silver, you should stay rested. We got your back, you are our precious cargo after all" Onxy explained. While the black earth pony was talking. Sapphire gave Silver a small nudge and an understanding smile. For a moment, Silver stopped scanning the trees and looked towards the armoured Pegasus and took a deep breath. Silver responded to Sapphire's smile with a thankful nod.

After a while of travelling through the fog. The trees and grass are replaced by a small town. It was full of dilapidated buildings, some abandoned and some boarded up with signs of a struggle. And the first signs of the repugnant stench of death. Silver tracked one of the previously boarded up doors, its boards now splintered and shattered across the concrete steps and splayed out inwards into the dark room. He peered through the door frame and was illuminated by the sickly amount of sunlight that had clawed its way through the fog. Inside, framed by grey sunlight. Was a corpse. The pony was unrecognizable, A pegasus, one of their wings missing. Silver locked eyes with the corpse.

Species? Pegasus. Decomposition? about 8 months worth, later stages. Cause of death? Unknow- wait. No, is that a gunshot?

Silver froze. in the ponies, half rotten forehead was a bullet hole. this was a murder.

"First time seeing the dead?" Sapphire asked, giving another gentle nudge to Silver. "Don't worry. you ge-"

"That pony was killed but another pony" Silver interrupted, his voice was emotionless due to shock. The entire waggon jolted as Smokey froze up, causing Onyx to stumble and look back.

"What did you say?" Onyx let a small whisper of fear escape through his voice. "How can you be sure?"

"Follow me." Silver turned around and hopped out of the back of the waggon. Somthing pushed him towards the door. Silver peered in, casting another spell to help illuminate the rotting house. The walls were peeling, the hooves of time tearing at the wallpaper. The smell was more powerful, filling his lungs like rotting sewage. His time as a detective made him able to shove the smell out of his mind. Silver's eyes landed back on the corpse. The corpse's eye gazed back at him, the other was gone. Bugs swarmed around it, slowly and steadily chewing through their pony-flavoured banquet. Sapphire moved next to Silver, his face turning up in disgust.

"Ah Sweet Celestia, He had a rough day huh?" Sapphire slowly moved into the room, his head on a swivel. Silver followed him in, aiming his pistol around with his magic. He reached the corpse and leaned his head down. "You sure that's a gunshot?" Sapphire kept his back to the corpse, aiming at the stairwell at the left side of the room. After a moment, the other two earth ponies came in. Smokey's face went white and he stopped at the door.

"Stay outside, keep watch." Onyx's voice was softer than usual. He gave his brother a soft smile, Smokey nodded and leaned against the door frame.

"See the hole in their skull? You can see the residue of old gunpowder. Whoever shot this pony wasn't using the best ammo. The hole is roughly about point seven inches. So I'm guessing a shotgun slug." Silver explained, continuing his analysis of the body, noticing the saddle bag sitting a few paces away. It was splayed out, its contents long ransacked. On the open top of the saddlebag was an expertly sewn-on patch. It depicted an embroidered symbol of the magic hazard symbol. a yellow warning triangle with a black silhouette of a unicorn on one side and an unstable explosion on the other. "Did you guys know anything about this?" Silver turned around to see Sapphire now looking closer at the hole in the ponies skull, tracking his gaze down to the missing eye.

"How, did you get all that?" Sapphire asked. Visually shivering off some uncomfortable feeling as he pulled away. "You got a good eye huh? Pun not inten-AHH!" Sapphire's voice erupted into a scream as an unidentified bug clawed its way out of the eye socket of the corpse, After gorging itself on rotting insides it flopped down onto the floor and crawled slowly towards Sapphire. "KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT" Sapphire squealed and stumbled away, falling down into a sitting position. Onyx stamped on the bug, destroying it utterly.

"Well, if anypony didn't know we were here, they sure as Tartarus know now." Onyx rolled his eyes unamused, wiping his stained hoof off on Sapphire's azure fur, Causing the Pegasus to recoil and jolt away. Onyx turned to Silver. "We had heard communications but nothing we could make out. We knew somthing was talking in here but..." Onyx shook his head slightly like he just had an image flash into his brain which disturbed him. "Those monsters can speak, not very well but they can. Wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that some of them were talking into mics absentmindedly and broadcasting their words to anypony that would listen to them." His voice became sombre as he looked into a random spot on the ruined wall. "We should probably move on. Don't want to stay still for too long. We need to make it to the camp spot before dark." Onyx stated and walked back to the door "Smokey! We are leaving..." There was no response from Smokey. Causing Onyx to stop in his tracks for a moment. Silver turned around and looked at the door frame. Sapphire's eyes darted to the door frame as well.

"Smokey? You there bud?" Sapphire talked to the doorway to no response, his rebuttal was to put the muzzle into his mouth and resting his teeth on the button. His eyes looked at Onyx whose face was filled with worry. Onyx slowly made his way to the doorway before looking out.

"Little brothe-" Onyx's face went pale, and his eyes narrowed.

"Onyx?" Silver's voice broke the decade of silence. he got no response, the earth pony stood motionless. he almost stumbled out of the doorway. That's when both Sapphire and Silver noticed the pool of fresh blood at the bottom of the concrete steps. Before they could protest, a bullet ripped through Onyx's neck. His body slumped to the ground and twitched. Silver's eyes shot wider and his body solidified. Sapphire clenched his teeth, causing him to fire the rifle on his hip. The noise echoed through the landscape. Slowly being replaced with giggles getting closer. And closer. Before abruptly stopping. The silence dragged on for an age before it was broken by the clatter of an object rolling through the doorway.

"OH SHI-" Sapphire's protests were interrupted by a blinding light and thunderous bang. Silver felt his body get flung back and the feeling of him hitting the back wall. Silver clattered to the ground. his vision fading.

"Outsiders have been dealt with ma'am, The Donor is safe."

"Yes ma- GUAH"

"Poor bastards. Let's hope The Sence left something behind- Oh this is new. We have a live one"

Chapter 3: Friendly faces in rundown places

”I found one. From the border. SENSE got to him before I could"

"You know what to do with-"

"This one is alive.”

"Bullshit! You're lying!"

"Let the zone take me if I am!"

The sound of a unicorn's magic filled the office. A light blue magic aura gently cradled a chipped and worn porcelain tea cup. The unicorn lifted the cup to their lips. The heat of the tea filled her body with fleeting comfort before they placed the cup down on a clean coaster, despite the table under said coaster's derelict condition. They got comfortable on their haunches before eyeing the typewriter in front of them with annoyance. They flicked their well-maintained mane before lifting plain, metal-rimmed glasses, resting them snuggly on their snout and beginning their work.
Personal Notes: 8 Months since the Incident

Found a survivor from outside the fog today (which is a rarity). SENSE hunters don't usually leave survivors. When I brought the stallion back, Molten Bit complained he would be too much of a hassle, but I was able to silence him with the stallion's PDA. Bit didn't tell me what was on it, but that look in his eyes could mean only one thing: profit. For now, the stallion is in my care in the infirmary. I've removed some shrapnel from his back legs and treated some burns on his body. All of that should heal fine. What I am worried about is the damage to his horn. I won't know much about his mental state until he wakes up so (with my current tools) I won't be able to identify any brain damage, but you don't need to be a doctor to understand how serious horn damage can be. For now, all I can do is wait.

Days turned to nights. Time marches on.
Personal Notes: 10 Months since the Incident,

Still no response from our stallion friend. When I went to talk to Molten Bit about our next course of action, he was surprisingly adamant that I keep him alive. I'm not complaining, but it's a rare bit of compassion from the merchant. He showed me the PDA, and it turns out, our Stallion is called Silver Bullet. Silver is working for Luna. She was surprised to hear from me, of all ponies, and after our conversation over PDA, Bit and I had a long talk about what should happen next. The stallion may be greedy and sanctimonious, but he understands just how important this is. I will continue to keep Princess Luna updated on Silver's condition. Molten Bit sent some Mercs to Ponyville but they haven't returned. I sure hope this stallion is everything Luna said he would be.

Silver's mind was a blur. He heard voices and saw lights flashing red, blue, red, blue. He could hear sobbing and commotion. Then, a scream that could split the sky dragged the white stallion to consciousness. The rain from his dream has turned into a cold sweat. He felt a sharp pain carve its way through his body, up his spine, and to the tip of his horn, which ached like a pulled tooth. Silver groaned and caught himself from falling backwards by putting a hoof behind him, using the other one to soothe his head with a rub of his free hoof. He looked around the room. It was a classroom converted into a makeshift hospital. It seemed surprisingly clean for being in the fog. Silver remembered just how decrepit the building with the corpse in it was. This place was a palace in comparison, But there was something off. The smell of the corpse was still filling the room. The sulfuric stench of rotting flesh clawed its way into Silver's snout as he looked around for the source of the smell. His eyes landed on the silhouette of a large earth pony stallion. Looking out of a broken window at a field of dead grass and shrubs, the sky was a kaleidoscope of colours, with an eclipsed sun framed in the centre.
"Onyx?" Silver stuttered; his throat was like sandpaper as the smell seized its chance to fill his mouth. The black stallion did not respond. Onyx simply stood there, admiring the sky, entranced by it. Silver tried to come up with something to say, but memories flooded his mind; he remembered the split-second look of horror and grief on the soldier's face. Before Silver's mind could give a response, a buzzing noise filled his ears. Silver's eyes focused more on Onyx, noticing little black flies covering and swarming the stallion. Silver felt this sinking feeling of dread. He was staring a Cockatrice down; his body was stone, glued to Onyx. "I'm sorry," Silver felt his lip quiver, trying with all of his might to tear his gaze away, unsuccessfully. The buzzing was slowly taken over by a deep, bassy vocalization. It got louder and louder. Onyx's neck and head twitched before bending backwards with a sickening crunch of the bones. The thing locked eyes with Silver. Its eyes were void, a deep chasm that Silver was confronted with. Silver attempted to respond, but the creature's mouth opened and opened. It didn't stop; the sickening pop of the thing's jaw tore through the room before it lunged with speed toward Silver, snapping and cracking its body on the floor and the beds. Silver felt the scream well up from his stomach before he was able to finally shut his eyes.

Silver jolted awake. A scream ripped through his throat, causing him to cough, and the noise of shattering porcelain snapped him to attention. His eyes locked with the azure eyes of a mare who was breathing heavily before taking one final deep breath and getting to her hooves. She flicked her well-maintained, indigo mane out of her face and collected herself. Her white coat was covered by a doctor's robe. It was clear there were attempts to clean it, but there were still bits of dried blood around the cuffs. Her tail swung softly behind her, matching her mane in colour and curls. She rushed over to assess the situation.

"Please, darling! You need to lay back down!" The white unicorn's horn lit up with urgency, Silver felt himself get forced down with gentle necessity. "You scared me! You could have woken up half the settlement!" Her brow unfurrowed, her face showing concern. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah," Silver felt the pain from his scream still pinching his throat. The dull throbbing soreness of his horn persisted into his waking moments. "You must be Rarity," Silver stated, looking up at the mare who was now turned around and looking through some notes. She froze, then turned her head to look at the stallion with confusion.

"You know me?" Rarity smiled warmly as she turned back around, looking at a steel tray with some syringes.

"Everyone in Equestria knows you; you shouldn't be surprised." Silver offered a small smile through the pain. Rarity turned around with a syringe clutched in her magic.

"Lend me a hoof, please. This will help with some of the pain." Silver extended a hoof out. After feeling the small prick of the needle and the cool enter his body, the pain began to subside.

"What's in that stuff?" Silver raised an eyebrow, attempting to sit up again before Rarity's horn flashed again and forced him back down. Her face scowled like a mother disciplining her son. After a small moment, Rarity's face softened before she explained.

"There are many odd things in the zone. Some are dangerous, some are helpful. Most are both," Rarity turned around mid-sentence. "What I injected you with is the latest combat stims from our dear friends over at the Rock Farm Research Centre. I'm not entirely sure what's in it, but it works, and they have told me it is safe." She turns back to face Silver with a hair flick and a confident smile. "I trust them, so don't worry, you won't turn into some horrific monster." Silver felt soothed enough, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He turned his head to face Rarity to ask the burning question.

"What happened to me?" Silver's eyes narrowed for a moment. He felt the wave of warmth from the explosion ripped through him. He heard somepony yell something, but it was too muffled to tell.

"You ran into SENSE," Rarity's expression soured, and she rocked a little, adjusting her stance slightly.

"What's that?" Silver questioned.

"Faction of zealots from deep in the CMPP core. No pony knows what they worship, and no pony cares. You just avoid them. Even bandits don't shoot back; you just run." Her eyebrows furrowed. She stared off into a random section of the floor before snapping back to attention. "It's a miracle you are still with us; normally, they leave nothing behind." Her look shifted to a more thoughtful one. "Now that I think about it, the ones that ambushed you must have been new. They didn't even notice me."

"You saved me?" Silver asked softly. "You said that most ponies would just run."

"I was looking for somepony. I found you instead. I know what those beasts do to survivors," Rarity smiled proudly "I'm a medic; saving lives is just part of the job."

"I remember finding a body. Were they..?" Silver stopped himself, looking at rarity to gauge her reaction. She nodded somberly.

"A Newbie. I sent them out on a simple fetch quest. I guess they didn't listen to my warnings," she sighed. "Being new around here is dangerous. Everything is out to kill you. Sometimes even the air you breathe is a hazard." A smile graced her face once again. "That's why you need a good mentor. From what Luna has told me, you are already trained with weapons, right? Although, that ‘peashooter’ you came in with won't do much to anything that isn't a pony. Don't worry, we can get you equipped, but first." She rushed over to where she was sitting at the beginning, a small stool at a wooden desk with a candle and typewriter. On the floor, next to the spilled liquid and shard of porcelain, was a large, expertly crafted leather saddle bag with an embroidered patch just out of view. Out of the bag, she pulled some purple-rimmed glasses, placing them on her snout while pulling a clipboard off the desk. In one motion, she turned around and pulled her saddlebag over her back, where it sat comfortably against her side. She cleared her throat. "Just some basic tests before the more specific tests."

Rarity begins to fill out some paperwork. The quill danced across the page with the light blue glow wrapped comfortably around it. "What would you need to test me for?" Silver asked, beginning to sit up once again, this time not being scolded by the mare.

"First a physical, normally used to determine the cause of the coma, but I think it was pretty obvious since I spent the first week pulling shrapnel out of you," her words sent a shiver down Silver's spine. He finally got a proper look at himself; most of his back legs had expertly woven stitches, and his wounds looked like the seams of a designer dress. "If you are interested, you had around 12 different lacerations, some very deep, countless bruises, and.." She trailed off for a moment, searching for words. "No unicorn wants to hear this, but your horn was damaged. Not broken but cracked." Rarity was gentle with her words. Silver's heart quickened. The loss of his horn would mean the loss of everything for him.

"So it's just fractured? It can be fixed right?" Silver stuttered, beginning to fidget.

"Of course it can. The healing process is already near its end. After a mental check, I want to see your magic, just to make sure you can still do simple spells without too much strain." The quill stopped as she looked up "I am aware you have had trouble remembering the event, right?"

"Yeah, it's just static with some weird flashes," Silver explained as he turned around into a more comfortable position, lying on his side facing Rarity.

"Quite common, especially around here. You had a nightmare. That's common too. A pony with trauma can be triggered by anything. We call it PTSD. It's different for every pony. Just try to keep on top of it. I will help; it's my job to," her voice had her signature care that Silver had felt from her but now with needed professionalism. "Your dreams can access those memories that your mind blocks. Talk to Princess Luna when you can. I don't know if she can physically help you here, but she knows more about dreams than anypony. She will know what to do." Rarity finished her documentation and the satisfying sound of quill to page finishes. "Now, I want you to stand for me" She took a step back as Silver moved.

Silver planted his hooves on the wooden floor; its slight unevenness made him stumble. He quickly found his hoofing with a small, embarrassed smile.

"Don't worry about it, darling. I'm surprised you can stand at all," she took some more notes before floating some forceps over to Silver. "Try to grab it with your magic."

Silver's snow-white magic aura enveloped Rarity's blue. He could feel just how weak his magic had become. He could float the forceps and operate them, but attempting a more complex spell like teleportation could be disastrous. "I got it," Silver reassured himself mostly as he looked at Rarity, like a student looking towards their magic teacher for validation.

"You are doing great, darling." Rarity smiled genuinely. "Your levitation articulation is intact. A great tool to have around here. You can still operate a trigger." Rarity stated, with a smile still on her face. "No fancy spells though. So you may need to give more thought if you are going to jump into work." She leaned in slightly "I will get my work partner to give you a discount, somehow…" She rolled her eyes with a chuckle.

"A discount? You run a shop all the way out here?" Silver twitched his ears and sure enough, outside of the room were the faint noises of trotting and assorted dialogue.

"Welcome to RookieVille. This place is a melting pot of ponies or as we call ourselves, P.O.N.I.E.S" Rarity explained, flashing the embroidered patch more clearly. It was the universal sign of dangerous magic: a yellow triangle with a black outline and in the centre was a horn surrounded by unstable magic.

"What does the acronym stand for?" Silver asked, admiring the stitch work.

"Plunderers. Operators. Navigators. Intruders. Explores. Scavengers. It describes all the types of ponies you can find around the village and on the job. I am a co-founder," Rarity explained with pride. While Silver looked, her cutie mark caught his eye: three vibrant, blue gems now with a large, neatly stitched-up wound across it. "My eyes are up here, darling," Rarity smiled gently as Silver nervously stammered. "Relax, it's fine. The bandits got a lucky shot. Molten Bit saved my life. It's why I trust him, despite his greed." She moves over to stand next to him. "Follow me, I would normally say that you should be resting more but…" Her face grew more serious, "We have some work to do."

Chapter 4: Generosity's partner in greed

Stepping out of the makeshift infirmary, a flurry of assorted feelings slammed into Silver's senses. Foremost was the smell—the potent smell of gunpowder and a hint of musty, decayed wood swirled together into a smell that wasn't entirely repugnant. The scent resembled that of an old construction yard, derelict but still soldiering on. The sun shone through the clouds with all of its might; if he were anywhere else in the world, Silver would have called it a beautiful day. His mind wandered slowly to Luna as he followed Rarity while soaking in the sights. Raising both the sun and moon like her sister had before her would undoubtedly put a strain on her. Silver's eyes wandered, focusing on an earth pony stallion covered head to hoof in thick armour. It was odd to see a regular pony wearing something other than just a saddlebag or something fancy for an event. Silver found himself analysing more closely.

The armour looks thick, with plenty of scratches and dents, some caused by bullets. Saddle rifle, can't tell the make but it's high calibre. The saddlebag is heavy, sagging under the weight, likely filled with supplies. The mask resembles a military-issue hazard mask, with a thick plate on the forehead, as if covering a hole. Was it previously damaged, or maybe scavenged? Upon closer inspection, it looks like a battle mage mask.

A glint of sunlight off the towering stallion's mask visor snapped Silver out of his studying. "Rarity," the stallion uttered, his voice calm and monotone.
Rarity had continued unknowingly a few paces before being stopped by the voice. She turned around with a smile and retraced her steps to the smaller stallion's side, nudging him to continue. Silver put up no protest, dragging his eyes off of the mountain of armour that was once a pony. "The ex-SENSE ponies don't like being stared at," Rarity explained calmly. Silver's eyes widened before Rarity continued, "Free P.O.N.I.E.S are a collection of anypony who has no other home. That can be former members of other factions or new blood like yourself." Rarity's explanation put Silver at ease.

"Do you have many SENSE ponies here?" Silver asked to pass the time, his mind lingered on the foggy memories of his arrival.

"No. SENSE ponies are usually fanatical. Usually, they kill themselves instead of being captured," Rarity said, her expression stonefaced. The words sat in the pit of Silver's stomach. He had dealt with the seedy underbelly of ponykind before, but the reality of this situation was setting in.

"Celestia, what have I got myself into," Silver asked himself under his breath with a small shake of his head. Rarity responded with a chuckle.

"It's only going to get worse, darling," Rarity was frank, but her gaze was soothing. "Come on, we are almost at the shop." Rarity picked up the pace. Silver followed behind her, noticing her interacting with some other ponies in passing. There were probably more weapons in this small town than there were in the entire Equestrian army. Some ponies were adorned in light armour, others in similar heavy armour to the large stallion from before. Weapons of all lengths and calibres were strapped to flanks and harnesses. Rarity greeted them all like old friends. After a short while, Rarity stopped at a storefront. It had no name; the original name had long faded. Hanging from a rusted rod above the door, on a rotted wooden sign, were two simple words: "Guns, Armour."

Rarity pushed open the red door, and the noise of a dull ringing bell filled the small shop floor. Directly in front of them was a counter with an old wire fence used to protect the store clerk, who was currently missing, much to Rarity's chagrin. In the fence were cut rectangle holes to process transactions. The walls to the left and right were covered in locked guncases with names and pictures of the weapons held inside. Rarity tapped her hoof in frustration before turning around to face Silver.

"Please forgive me, darling" Rarity didn't give time for Silver to process her preemptive apology, She gulped air and shouted, "BIT!"

"Sweet Celestia! I'm in the back!" The voice of an older male stallion was muffled by the walls but still loud and authoritative enough to make Silver snap to attention. Rarity made her way to a door that led behind the counter. Silver followed her into a back room. It was a large workshop with assorted gun parts, ammo, and armour parts were strewn about. In the centre was an older, dark gray stallion with a saturated blonde mane. Out of his forehead was the stump of a horn. It didn't look broken but melted. The stallion's bright, golden eyes were trained on a machine holding a half-constructed rifle. Working on the rifle was a small, early teen-aged mare with a bright white coat. Her mane was curled and had streaks of pale purple and pink, and her green eyes focused on the gun, tools held in her green magic. She had her tongue out in concentration. "And what do you do with the bolt?" The stallion asked in a teaching manner.

"Stick the pin in the bolt carrier, then pull," the mare's actions matched up with her words. "Insert the firing pin and the firing pin retention, and done!" She smiled. The stallion looked over the bolt carrier.

"Looks good. I'm sure you can work on the body while your sister and I talk." The mare nodded, and the stallion stood up, his gaze locking with Silver's. "So you're Luna's champion, huh? You don't look like much." He made his way over to Silver and Rarity. He was much taller than him. "Then again, I don't look like a teacher, so I guess we're both full of surprises. Molten Bit, a weapons engineer and businessman." Bit bowed his head in greeting.

Rarity rolled her eyes with a smile. "Your gloating is sickening," Bit responded with a soft glare.

"There's always something with you, Rarity. I do hope you have told our guest here about the mound of shit he has got himself into. Deadly mutants, dangerous anomalies, bandits." Bit chuckled as he moved to Silver's left, to a counter full of drawers, hunting for something.

Rarity scoffed but kept her smile. "Not yet, I was going to let you do that." Her smile faded to confusion. "What are you looking for?" A wave of sudden realization shot through her. "You lost his PDA, didn't you?"

Bit groaned, "I didn't lose it. I misplaced it."

Rarity, not satisfied with the answer, shook her head and moved to help search. "Honestly, Bit, if you just let me clean up around here."

Bit cut her off. "If you cleaned up, I would be able to find nothing. I have learned from my mistake, that's why we have separate workshops. Aha! I knew I didn't sell it." Molten picked it up in his mouth and set it on the counter, using a forehoof to close the drawer. Silver used his magic to float it over to him. It was scratched up but otherwise undamaged; he turned it on and was surprised to see an accurate map of the place.

"I didn't think the pylons would reach down here from Canterlot, let alone still function," Silver asked, looking up at the stallion.

"They don't. You are connected to our network. Big enough range to get you to the fog wall but won't work beyond that. Thank our cartographers for the detailed map. This place is always changing but the landmarks stay the same. Usually," Bit explained. "It can make and receive messages like your usual PDA but now has voice-to-text. I'm sure you wouldn't want to fumble with a touchscreen keyboard while suppressed."As he was speaking, a message appeared on the screen. Nothing important, just somepony's musings. "Everypony worth a damn is on this network, from our quaint little hamlet, all the way down in the remains of Cloudsdale. Keep your eyes on it; you never know what somepony might say." Bit made his way next to Silver and pointed at the screen. "Tab for an encyclopedia; it should automatically update when you encounter something. You don't know what it is? Somepony smarter than both of us combined does and has given you that information. The more you know, the longer you'll last. The next tab is a ranking system that tells you the top one hundred ponies in the zone. Some competition seems to keep ponies sane. The higher you are on the list, the more respect you get." Bit smiled as Silver scrolled down the list. Names, ranks, and reputations were all conveniently in one space. Silver felt a bit disappointed that his rank was so low, although it wasn't unexpected. "Any missions you get will also be tracked. Gives you some directions and a written brief if the client provides it. And finally, a radio because why not." Bit chuckled. "I think that's everything. Ponies you meet will be added to your contacts. Rarity and I are already there."

"Now that you are finished showing him around, shall we get to business? I'm sure the princess would love to hear from you, darling," Rarity smiled before turning to Molten Bit. "We have other things to discuss. We will leave you to it, Silver."

Silver nodded in appreciation as the mare led the stallion away. Silver took a seat on his haunches and clicked through his contacts until he found the princess. He pressed the screen to begin the call. After a moment of waiting, the call connected.

"Greetings," Luna began after a few moments of fumbling.

"Hello, Luna," Silver responded, glad to hear her voice again.

"Silver!" Luna was shocked for a moment. She cleared her throat. "I was worried about you. I—" She stopped for a moment, and even from such a distance, Silver felt her sorrow.

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt too bad," Silver softened his tone, addressing her as a friend. "I just hope the fog hasn't progressed too much while I was out."

Luna swallowed nothing and responded, "We had to move to the Crystal Castle. We are hoping that Cadance's magical barrier can protect us, but we haven't had to test that theory yet." Luna's voice was tired and filled with months of stress.

"I'm behind schedule, but the mission is still on. I'm going to head to Ponyville as soon as I can." Silver wanted his words to comfort the princess, but it was difficult to tell.

"We won't be of any help, I'm afraid. Even if we could send you some information to use, we wouldn't know the land like those ponies inside. I would recommend sticking with Rarity." Luna's frustration was audible in her voice.

"I was going to. She's capable," Silver's eyes drifted to Rarity, who was looking over a map with a sour expression.

"Good. Stay safe," Luna's breath shook. She had other words on her tongue but couldn't bring herself to say them.

"It wasn't your fault," Silver uttered softly to no response. "Okay. I have to go. I'll check in with you every night and call at the end of every week. Okay?"

"Okay," Luna replied, her usual voice replaced by fear. She left it at that, and the call ended.

Silver stood up and floated the PDA into his saddlebag as he made his way over to Rarity and Bit.

"That's the third one this week. Ponyville is a death trap, and you want to go there yourself? For what? Sewing supplies?" Bit's voice was a mixture of anger and concern.

"I refuse to send anypony else to their grave. I can take care of myself, Bit, and with a smaller traveling party, I have less of a chance of being spotted," Rarity countered, her eyes glued to the map on the table.

"You are heading to Ponyville?" Silver spoke up, Standing at the opposite side of the table. "That's where I need to go." Rarity looked up at him with confusion.

"What in Celestia's name would you be doing in Ponyville?" Rarity's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Silver took some consideration to the classified nature of his mission. He rocked on his hooves before deciding the mission was more important than keeping it a secret. "Luna tasked me with finding some way to stop the fog. The only lead we had was Twilight. My original stop was going to be her treehouse in hopes of finding any information on her location."

Rarity stopped for a moment, like a deer in headlights. Bit looked at her knowingly. "You were going to do the same, weren't you?"

Rarity looked down and sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry I lied."

"Don't apologize, I understand. This changes things," Bit thought for a moment. "You are both insane. You ain't gonna get far without my help." Bit walked away from the table before stopping.

"So you will help us?" Rarity smiled with gratitude.

"Yeah. But you," his eyes trained on Silver. "First off: don't get used to free handouts, and second off," he stepped closer. "If your incompetence gets her killed, there will be no corner of this wretched zone you can hide in." His voice was icy, causing Silver to gulp and nod frantically. "Good. I'll get you set up with a weapon I can spare and some ammo, don't expect anything life-changing." The stallion grumbled and made his way back over to the younger mare to check on her progress.

Silver moved around the table to Rarity's side, looking over the map with her. It was crudely drawn, showing the centre plaza of Ponyville. Marked in red marker were a few zones around the town, some over houses, and some dotted around the plaza and up the path to a treehouse. "He is right. The place is a deathtrap," Rarity spoke up solemnly. "If anyone would know about what happened, it would be Twilight. Before this, she was becoming more distant. She would disappear for days on end and refuse to speak about what was bothering her. She looked like she was run ragged, working more than she should. The day everything went to shit, Pinkie went to deliver some cupcakes to Twilight. She always had a sense for these things. If anyone was going to find her, it was her. She left early in the morning that day and was rushing around. I think we should go to Sugarcube Corner first and see if she left anything behind." As Rarity spoke, there was a small flash of pain on her face near the end of her sentence. Silver didn't pry and looked over the map again, noticing a sign covering the bakery depicting a brain with sparks flying from it.

"Do we have protective gear?" Silver asked, pointing to the bakery. Rarity's eyes filled with annoyance.

"When did that get there?" She let out a sigh of frustration. "OK. Change of plan." She leaned over the map before pulling out her own PDA and placing it on the paper map. "We go to Twilight's place first, see what we can find. If we don't find anything, we need to head to the Rockfarm," Rarity explained, beginning to type something down on her PDA.

"What would we need at a rock farm?" Silver questioned as his PDA buzzed in his saddlebag. He pulled it out with his magic and placed it on the table, seeing a new mission.

"Place was retrofitted into a scientific base by Starlight Glimmer and Trixie. They might have something that can help us get through those psy-hazards," Rarity explained, her eyes still trained on the poorly drawn bakery. There was a flash of emotion on her face. The mare inhaled before clearing her throat.

After a moment of silence, Molten Bit comes over with the smaller mare by his side. The mare had a big proud smile on her face as she floated over Silver's small revolver. "I was pretty damaged when I got it, but it was nothing I couldn't fix." The smaller mare's face was lightly covered in gun oil and gunpowder.

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle," Rarity addressed her with love as Silver gripped his newly renovated pistol in his magic. He flicked open the cylinder a few times.

"You know your way around a weapon, good." Bit let a small, relieved smile come across his face.

"Yeah. I was an investigator for a long time. I'm trained," Silver reassured him as Bit gave him an old box of bullets.

"The box of ammo you brought with you will do in a pinch, but you might find these a bit more consistent." The box was old but full. Silver nodded in thanks and loaded six rounds into the cylinder, flipped it closed, and slid it into a holster by his flank. Rarity and Bit exchanged gazes for a moment.

"Sweetie, darling," Rarity walked slowly to her sister's side. "I'm going to Ponyville." Rarity didn't mix words; her honesty was powerful. Sweetie's face dropped, and her brow furrowed.

"I don't know what you think you are going to find there," the smaller mare scrunched up her face and rocked nervously.

Rarity offered a comforting smile. "I know you're worried, and I'm sorry, but I have to know. I can't just sit here not knowing what happened to my friends." Rarity hugged Sweetie; they locked in an embrace for a moment. "I won't be going alone either." They turned to face Silver.

Silver gazed back and offered a smile. Sweetie narrowed her eyes on him; he felt her gaze pierce through him.

"I'm not some defenceless maiden!" Rarity scoffed. "I'm sure I can teach him enough by the time we get there. The road is safe enough." Her words seemed to soothe the smaller unicorn. "I'm collecting my things, and then we will be off." Rarity walked back to the table, grabbed her PDA, and rolled up the map. "Let's get going, darling."

Chapter 5: Learning the ropes

An old purple door creaked open to reveal a room in stark contrast to the messy and unkempt workshop Silver was in before. Rarity's portion of the shop was neat, almost clean enough to make you forget where you were. The only thing that betrayed the spotlessness was the old, rotten floorboards that had been expertly covered with assorted hoof-made rugs. Silver looked around in bewilderment. Rows and rows of tables, all with organised armour pieces, started with assorted fabrics and metals on a table to the far left and ended with finished clothing on the right; you could see every step of the process. Rarity weaved past the tables to a small, half-workstation, half-living space at the back left of the room. Silver traced her hoof steps through the room, being extra careful not to disturb the balance of the room. Rarity lifted some armour in her magic and slipped behind a relatively well-preserved screen.

"This thing has holes in it, no peaking, darling" Rarity joked as a cacophony of rustling clothes came from behind the screen.

Silver let a chuckle escape his lips, and a small grin emerged on his face. He found himself looking around the makeshift living quarters.

Hmm. Nothing too out of the ordinary—a bed, an end table. Huh, she keeps lots of photos. These look old. This one is of her and Sweetie Belle in some sort of fashion shop; I assume this is her old home. Huh, it doesn't look too different from here, just brighter. There's an orange pony in this one, wearing a cowboy hat, on a beach somewhere. They look happy. And this one is-

"Enjoying yourself?" Rarity's voice was calm. "When I said don't peek, that wasn't an invitation to go rummaging through my things," Rarity teased. She wasn't angry; she wore a smile as she made her way next to Silver, now clad in a dark brown, heavy-armored coat. A gas mask hung just under her muzzle, and the hood folded back behind her neck.

"I-I'm sorry" Silver stuttered, looking away embarrassed, "I guess I'm still in detective mode"

"Don't worry about it, darling. It's not like my past is a secret or anything." Rarity floated the final picture frame that Silver was looking at to herself and stared at it fondly. It depicted six ponies on a green hill set against a backdrop of a clear blue sky. In the middle was Twilight Sparkle. Just below her was a yellow pony with pink hair and a shy but content smile. To the left of her was Rarity, looking much brighter and less tattered than she was now, and to the right was the same orange pony that was in the beach photo. Over Twilight's right shoulder was a pink pony who radiated joy, and to Twilight's left was a blue pony with a confident, almost arrogant smile. Rarity continued to look at the photo, reminiscing on times long gone. "Back when the world was simpler. You didn't have to be worried about if the shadow up ahead was friend or foe." Rarity tore herself away from the photo and placed it back on the end table. "How long have you been a detective?" Rarity asked as she turned to the countertop, pulling open an organized drawer of bullets.

"Since I got my cutie mark. I was always inquisitive as a colt." Silver engaged in her small talk happily.

"I was wondering about your cutie mark. You can tell a lot about a pony from their flank. But yours puzzled me. Seems simple enough. A magnifying glass, but why is it broken?" Rarity asked, placing her large caliber revolver on the countertop to give it a clean.

Silver stopped for a moment, lost in thought.

"Darling?" Rarity uttered while looking back at him, still rubbing some gun oil over the cylinders of her weapon.

"Lots of ponies have wonderful stories about their cutie marks. Mine is... different," Silver struggles to find his words. He sighs softly. "I think if anypony would understand, it's you. You felt it, didn't you? When shit hits the fan here, that... shattering of the glass and peeling back of the curtain. Happiness and friendship took a backseat too. This, and you can't ever go back." As Silver talked, Rarity nodded in understanding. "I was able to bust some pretty major criminal activity in Vanhoover, and after years of not getting my cutie mark, I finally did. When I saw my father in hoof-cuffs, I saw his criminal empire shatter over a few months. It was my doing. I pieced everything together but I didn't want to believe it. I thought my father was a good pony." Silver trailed off, staring into space.

"And after that, it wasn't the same?" Rarity offered her sympathy as she slid her revolver into a holster that covered about half of her cutie mark.

"I enjoyed my work. I still do; it was just... The world was a little darker," Silver admitted. "But I can't imagine how you must feel. The fashion world is certainly more drab outside of the zone now." Silver joked to lighten the mood. Rarity smiled and flicked her hair.

"Well, of course, darling!" Rarity smiled smugly. "I always bring an exorbitant amount of sophistication and style, even in a drab location like this." Even with the sarcasm, there was a hint of pride in her voice. She continued to collect some assorted items like binoculars and food, but what stood out was a small pouch seemingly filled with random bolts and spent shell casings.

"What are those for?" Silver inquired, tilting his head slightly.

"Anomalies. Concentrations of magical energy cover the zone. It pools together and forms otherworldly hazards. The best way you can deal with them is to avoid them, and step one is figuring out where they are." Rarity opens and throws the small bag to Silver, who catches it in his magic. "You hear something odd or smell something weird? Throw a bolt at it. If nothing happens, you can continue. If something does happen, well, you know where not to go now." She collects another bag of bolts and stores it in her saddlebag. "I'm sure Sweetie won't mind me borrowing her set for today." Rarity smiled and moved her way past Silver, "I need to collect some medical supplies from the hospital, but first!" Rarity trotted her way over to the right of the room, looking through her finished projects before landing her eyes on Silver's armoured coat. It took him a second to recognize it; it had been refurbished and modified. Rarity made her way back with a skip in her trot and floated the coat over to Silver; he took it from her, admiring it.

"It didn't look this good, new!" Silver admitted with a beaming smile.

"Of course it does! It is my job to make things look magnifique~" Rarity chuckled and bowed. "Now go get changed! I want to see if I got the fit right. It was difficult to get your measurements without making your injuries worse," Rarity admitted as Silver slipped behind the screen. The armour fit snugly. It felt more robust and protective but didn't interfere with his movement like it used to. Silver strutted out from behind the screen with confidence in his step, which made Rarity roll her eyes and smile. "You look ravishing, darling," Rarity looked over her work. "Does it fit okay?"

"It's perfect. It's an odd sensation. The coat is heavier but simultaneously easier to move in." Silver looked over himself before Rarity floated over a gas mask.

"Some tweaks to weight distribution make the balance better. This should finish your ensemble. Not pretty but necessary." Rarity helped the gas mask over Silver's head; it hung down under his chin like hers did. "Come on, I need to get a few more things then we can set off." Rarity led Silver out of her workshop back onto the main floor of the shop where Bit and Sweetie Belle were waiting.

"Heading out soon, hmm?" Bit smiled as he looked at Silver. "Well, I'll be damned! You look like you belong." Bit's words made Silver smile shyly. Bit slid a pouch of his namesake across the counter to Silver. "A bit of capital to get you started, don't say I don't do anything for ya."

"I'll be handling medical while you are away, sis," Sweetie leaned against the counter with a worried smile. "Remember to call and please stay safe." Sweetie trotted her way over to Rarity for a hug. They held their embrace for a while. Rarity pulled away and pressed her forehead to Sweetie's.

"I can handle myself, Sweetie darling. I won't get hurt again," Rarity promised with conviction as she pulled away gently from the embrace. She gestured for Silver to follow her. Silver followed Rarity to the main door of the shop. Rarity looked back and smiled before opening the door and heading out.

Silver felt more confident as he walked alongside Rarity back to the hospital. Rarity looked over to Silver. "Bit is right, you know. You look oddly at home."

"Well, as is said back in your workshop, it's almost comforting knowing someone else feels the same way I feel about the world. Is that selfish? It sounds selfish." Silver rubbed the back of his neck to calm his nerves. Rarity nodded in understanding. "Sweetie seemed worried about you. You two family?" Silver asked.

Rarity nodded. "My little sister. The last time I went out, I got pretty badly hurt, so she's on edge," Rarity openly explained. "Trust me, if I come back hurt, you will have bigger problems than the end of the world as we know it. Speaking of disaster scenarios, I hope you find what you are looking for in there." Rarity gave a determined smile to the stallion.

"You know, I have a feeling what we are looking for is in that bakery," Silver offered his hypothesis.

"Normally concentrations of Psy energy like that mean artifacts. So even if we find what we need, I would recommend giving it a look." Rarity nodded to herself. "Of course, we are going to need some lead-lined containers. We can pick them up at the rock farm."

"Artifacts?" Silver questioned, his ears perking up.

Rarity smiled and chuckled at his reaction. "Seeing bits already, huh? I can make a PONY out of you yet." Rarity teased before continuing. "Artifacts are objects formed when anomalies cluster together. Scientists pay a lot for them. Vital research. Artifacts mean bits. Bits mean supplies. Supplies lead to more artifacts. It's a lucrative cycle. If you can get your hooves on them, that is. Some P.O.N.I.E.S claim they even give you abilities." Rarity explained theatrically. Silver was listening intently.

"Noted," Silver nodded as they arrived at the hospital. Rarity pushed open the schoolhouse door into the makeshift infirmary. The creaks of the floorboards filled the quiet hospital, filling the air with an eerie tension. The tension was broken by the nonchalant rummaging of Rarity through medical supplies.

"Let's see... Bandages, First aid kits, Anti-rads, steroids just in case, Morphine, and some psy-block." As Rarity talked, she used her magic to pick up an amount of each item and split them evenly between the two pony companions. "That seems to be everything. I wouldn't want to take all of the supplies from Sweetie. Although..." Rarity sighed dejectedly as she looked over the field of empty hospital beds. Silver followed her eyes and understood. He stood there with Rarity in silence before she spoke up. "It's a blessing and a curse, I suppose. I was just happy to have somepony to work on. Ponies around here just tend to die before I see them." Rarity took a pair of forceps in her magic, twirling them around absentmindedly.

"You saved me. That's got to mean something, right?" Silver's words overflowed with gratitude, causing Rarity to give back a smile.

"I was just in the right place at the right time, darling," Rarity put the forceps in her saddlebag along with some other surgical tools. "I hope I won't need to use these, but an unprepared pony is a dead one." She had regained some light to her voice as she flicked her head, beckoning Silver to follow. "I'm not done playing teacher yet. How about we see if that horn of yours can handle any simple combat and utility spells." Rarity led Silver out of the rear exit of the school into a dilapidated playground. "You can comfortably levitate things, that's good. Now, try to cast a light spell."

Silver nodded and focused. By now, some of the power had returned to his horn, causing his conjured light to be brighter than he had expected. Rarity let out a sigh of relief. "It doesn't hurt either, although the cracks make me feel nervous."

Rarity nodded and took a mental note as she turned to face an old, worn, and rotten tree. "Research isn't my forte, but from what I know, police unicorns were taught some basic combat spells. You were taught how to do a simple magic bolt, right?"

Silver searched the grand archives of his brains. "It's been a while. With everything going on, not many ponies have been committing crimes," Silver admitted as he got his memories together. He shook his head and slowed his breathing. He focused his magic into the tip of his horn; this time it stung like a rotten tooth. He was able to launch a crystal white bolt into the old tree, burning a small hole into it. Rarity had noticed the wince and puff of the stallion.

"Don't push yourself, darling. Try to limit your combat magic use. Utility is usually less taxing. It's not like we are going to be teleporting to Canterlot anytime soon. Speaking of teleportation. Due to the damage to your horn, I doubt you will be able to. If you couldn't before, great! you aren't missing anything." Rarity did one final check on her gear as she spoke.

"I've always enjoyed long walks anyway," Silver stated, making his way closer to Rarity. "Anything else? Or are we just procrastinating at this point?"

Rarity playfully scoffed. "I have never procrastinated..." Rarity's eyes shifted from side to side. "...intentionally." Both Rarity and Silver chuckled together for a moment before Rarity spun on her hooves and started in a direction. "Ok. Let's get this over with. We have a long walk to Ponyville. The path the PDAs are going to take us is relatively safe, but do stay aware."

Silver trotted briskly to walk next to his new traveling companion. It felt odd. A place so full of fog and darkness was starting to feel like home.

Chapter 6: Ponyville bound

"So darling, what were you up to before this mess?" Rarity and Silver had been passing the time with banter and questions. The land was dull and barren. Rarity stood out like a lighthouse through the fog, her purple mane being the only colour for miles.

"I have been to Canterlot a few times for weapons training for the guards. The new weaponry was outpacing them. Every time they learned about a weapons platform, some new colt would invent the next best thing, and it would replace the weapons you learned," Silver explained. He kept his head on a swivel, looking out over the fields of sickly brown grass and forgotten stumps.

"Ah, I see. I remember hearing about places like Vanhoover and Manehattan becoming industrial meccas. You lived in Vanhoover, right?" Rarity asked, looking over to Silver.

"Yeah, the place was booming for the war effort," Silver stated. "And the advent of more advanced firearms meant different types of crime, so I had my hooves full."

"The war..." Rarity shook her head. "It never came. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was all a farce from the beginning, but I'm not sure what to think."

"What's got you confused?" Silver questioned.

"Twilight. She always knew what was going on. She was rushing around from the moment the war was announced. Over the years, she got more... what's the word? Jaded? Absent? Hostile even? Maybe all those things. She just seemed wrong." Silver enjoyed Rarity's openness. Rarity shook her head. "She always had a drive. A functioning workaholic. She just became a plain old workaholic after everything. Disappearing for days on end without so much as a letter."

Silver absorbed her words, letting her get everything out before trying to think of the right words to say next. "Why are you telling me all this?" Silver's words were blunter than he'd have liked. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that; I'm just..."

"No, I understand, darling," Rarity's chuckle defused some of Silver's anxiety. "That's an odd question. I think it is a mixture of why you are here in the first place and a smidge of attachment from looking after you. I invested a lot of care into keeping you alive and stable. Plus, if you are serious about what you want to do here, I must help. I've saved the world before. The only difference is the new faces and the lack of old ones." Rarity explained, her voice becoming softer near the end of her sentence. Silver felt a question get caught in his throat, causing a lull in the constant flow of conversation. "Go ahead. I was never one for keeping secrets anyway."

"What happened to the others?" Silver asked, his voice more cautious.

Rarity let the question simmer in the air for a moment while she thought. "Well, you know Twilight is missing. Pinkie is missing too. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy run other factions of ponies here in the zone. They haven't been on speaking terms with each other for quite a while, and they stopped talking to me, which I think is for the better," Rarity attempted to start on the next sentence. Silver counted in his head, connecting names to faces. He gave Rarity some time to collect herself. The silence weighed a ton. She took a deep breath and swallowed down a painful chunk of air. "Applejack is dead. Raiders, I was told. She used to run E.O.A. with Dashie. After Dashie and Shy had their falling out, AJ formed her mercenary group out of her old apple farm. B.U.C.K., I think it was called. I'm sure Big Mac is holding down the fort just fine. The loss hit us all, but I can't imagine how Mac feels. I think about what it would be like if I lost Sweetie. Tartarus, my world shattered when AJ died. What would I even do?" The question was rhetorical, a question to herself. She gritted her teeth before lifting her head. Despite her best efforts, tears forged their path down her cheeks. She sniffed and pulled out a handkerchief from her saddlebag. She dried away her tears as she slipped the large revolver from her holster. "She taught me how to shoot. How to protect myself. Not to be afraid of getting my hooves dirty for once." The gun looked immaculately taken care of.

"Are you ok?" Silver offered as much comfort as he could, still taking in everything.

"No point in crying over it now. AJ wouldn't want me to. There are just, lots of things left unsaid. I don't even know where they buried her," Rarity huffed as she admired the revolver held firmly in her magic. Her eyes lingered on the three red apples on the grip. "I don't talk about it. It seems like now is as good a time as any though. Sometimes, bringing up old demons can be the only way to find answers, right?" Rarity smiled at Silver, the pain still covering her face.

"If you don't confront them, you will never heal," Silver offered some advice, paired with a soft, understanding smile. "I appreciate you talking to me about this. It gives me even more incentive to get to the bottom of this place." Silver pulled his gaze back to the horizon. Being inside the fog was like being inside a dome. The wall of fog curled back to cause a permanent overcast day. He saw a few dilapidated houses in the distance, not Ponyville yet, but they could be a good place to rest for a moment.
Rarity collected herself and wiped away the last of her tears. "The cleanup is so much easier without all the makeup," Rarity chuckled, placing the handkerchief back into her saddlebag while also sliding the revolver back into her holster. Her eyes also saw the buildings, her gaze turning cautious. "I don't remember seeing a settlement between us and Ponyville." Rarity pulled out her PDA, which Silver mimicked. Sure enough, the path before them on the map was clear. "Be on guard; this place seems to get a kick out of turning mundane days into deadly ones."

As they both got closer to the set of buildings, Rarity led Silver off the path to a boulder on top of a small hill. She pulled out her pair of binoculars. The buildings looked as though they had been uprooted from somewhere else and placed down in a random location. "Spatial anomaly, it looks like. Interesting things. We used to joke that items we had misplaced were taken by them." Before she could react to her joke, something else caught her eye. Movement. Her eyes trained on a pony leaving one of the buildings—an earth pony stallion with a saddle rifle. Silver was also able to make out the small moving figure.

"Who is he?" Silver asked, keeping his voice low as he huddled next to Rarity. Rarity shrugged and zoomed in with her binoculars.

"I'm unsure. Looking for a patch to see if he's just a P.O.N.Y.," she stated as she looked over the target. Her eyes landed on something that made her grimace in anger. A black patch depicting the skull of a unicorn. "Raider," her voice was uncharacteristically filled with disdain.

"Shit. Should we go around?" Silver's voice became even quieter.

"No. No, we don't. A raider this close to the rookies has to be dealt with. I'm not going to let him run amok on the off chance he doesn't do anything. My sister's life is not a gamble I'm willing to take." Silver found himself swayed by Rarity's words, although it wouldn't have taken much convincing anyway.

"I'm guessing we aren't just going to walk up and have a civil chat," Silver said as he pulled out his revolver.

"Trust me, darling. I tried that before, and I almost died. These ponies speak two languages: bits and..." Rarity let the implications speak for themselves. "And before you ask, no.”
"I wasn't going to!" Silver defended himself with a silent squeak, his face flushing for a moment before he collected himself. "Murder it is, then. I get it."

"Murder is a strong word. I prefer 'forced relocation.' Just so happens that the location they are going to is Tartarus," Rarity smiled at Silver.

"You are scary when you want to be. You know that, right?" Silver admitted.

"It's dirty work, but it's got to be done. Are you with me?" Rarity asked, her face turning serious. Silver nodded in reply.

"Let's wait for a moment. See if there's anypony else with him," Silver suggested. Rarity accepted his request.

"Not too long. Don't want him calling his buddies," Rarity said as she pulled out her revolver and checked its cylinder. Fully loaded and ready to go.

Rarity let an hour pass, not taking her eyes off the raider in the distance. "OK, I'm done waiting. If anypony else is there, they aren't going to make themselves known until it's too late." Rarity slid her binoculars back into her saddlebag. Silver agreed with her and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Ok, let's get this over with," Rarity said, placing a hoof on Silver's shoulder. The comfort helped him collect his thoughts. With a silent nod, they both set off towards the collection of misplaced buildings, paying close attention to not broadcasting their movement. They hid behind a ruined wall within shouting distance of the unknown raider pony. The pony had pulled out a sandwich at this point and was inaudibly mumbling angrily to himself. Before Silver and Rarity could make their move, another raider made themselves known, leaving the same misplaced building which, upon closer inspection, seemed to be a bank. Rarity and Silver decided to get closer, weaving behind some of the buildings and finding a new spot to hunker down, now being able to hear the raiders speak to one another.

"Fuck Sal, I preferred Trager over him!" The one with the sandwich yelled through a full mouth.

"Well, Trager got himself killed, didn't he? Like a dumbass. He should have dealt with those pricks from the village months ago," his companion rolled his eyes and sat on his haunches, stretching his wings out.

"I didn't say I liked Trager. I said I preferred him. Trager was also a cunt," the sandwich raider grunted. "How did the scouting go?"

"Alright. Small town to the south. Filled with ponies. Probably our mark," the companion's words shot through Rarity, confirming her fears and screaming at her to act.

"Fucking finally. Those pricks gave some good information after all," the sandwich raider swallowed a chunk of his chosen food before continuing. "What they were doing in that ghost town, I'll never know."

"Which one? This place is like, ninety per cent ghost town," his companion chuckled, causing Sandwich to roll his eyes.

"Pretty easy to narrow down. Rockfarm's full of eggheads. The small parts of Cloudsdale that aren't covered in those EoA pricks are full of fucking mutants and not much else and don't even get me fucking started on the Everfree," the sandwich raider pulled a matchbox out from his saddlebag. "Hold this." His companion took the box in his hooves, and Sandwich used his mouth to strike a match and toss it into the campfire, causing it to slowly ignite. "I meant Ponyville." Silver could see Rarity starting to fill with anger, threatening to explode and give away their position. Silver put a hoof on her shoulder, feeling the tenseness of her muscles.

"Oh, those colts. Who got them to talk in the end?" the companion set the box of matches down.

"Shard," Sandwich said bluntly. "That bitch is scary. Just slit one of their throats, and the other two started screaming for their mommies." Sandwich took a mocking tone and pouted his lips distastefully. That was the final straw for Rarity. She pulled away from Silver.

"Rarity, wait!" Silver yelled. His voice was cut off by the sound of a powerful gunshot which shattered the companion raider's skull. The pegasus hit the ground and slumped over, his blood splattering over the dirt. Before the sandwich could react, Rarity had the earth pony pinned down, her left foreleg bent and held to his neck.

"Where are they!" Rarity growled, only putting more pressure on the earth pony's throat. He choked in response, only being able to muster a defiant spit. Rarity used her free hoof to wipe saliva from her face in disgust. Silver caught up and assessed the area first, his head on a frantic swivel.

"Don't worry. I'll tell ya," the raider choked out. "Your buddies are probably still squirming in their shared coffin under six feet of dirt right now." The raider was cut off by the sensation of Rarity putting her entire body weight on the raider's neck. Silver continued his survey of the surroundings, missing one thing.

The sound of another gunshot rang out, shattering the window of the bank. The bullet carved its way through the air, narrowly passing Silver's snout and embedding itself in Rarity's hind leg, causing her to let out a pained scream. Silver quickly snapped his head towards the direction of the window and fired five shots through the window back at the aggressor. The sound of a body hitting the wooden floor and the horrific cacophony of drowning in blood followed from inside the bank.

At that moment, Sandwich had taken the injured Rarity into his hold, wrapping his foreleg around her neck and using her as a shield. Silver aimed his gun at them, warning, "Don't be a fucking idiot." Rarity struggled and kicked in the earth pony's grasp despite her injuries. Sandwich taunted her, promising to take care of her, but his words were cut short. A shot rang out, zipping past Rarity's ear and striking Sandwich in the forehead, causing him to collapse like a house of cards.

Rarity coughed on the ground. Silver shook his head and blinked his eyes for a moment before springing into action. He picked Rarity up and carried her inside the bank. He laid her down on the floor and examined her hind leg. "No exit wound. Fuck, I'm unqualified for this," Silver muttered, feeling his breath shorten as his thoughts raced.
"Get the tweezers out of my bag. This is why we prepare, darling," Rarity smiled through her pain. Silver narrowed his eyes on her before rummaging through her saddlebag and pulling out the tweezers. He found the wound and prepared himself.

"This is going to hurt," Silver offered his sympathies, which Rarity brushed off.

"Darling, I know it will. Let's just get this over with. It isn't necessary, but I'd rather not have a random bit of metal in me," Rarity explained.

"The calibre of his gun seemed low. It shouldn't have gone too deep." Silver took a deep breath and looked to Rarity for approval. She gave him a small, pained nod. Silver carefully inserted the tweezers into Rarity's leg. She winced and shook; trying to keep as still as possible.

"Feel anything hard?" Rarity stuttered.

"Yeah, I think I got it." Silver gripped the object with the tweezers and pulled it out as gently as he could. "Bingo got it."

"My hero. Now bandage me up. Would rather not bleed out in a random bank." Rarity stuttered as she tried to take deep breaths.

"That, I know how to do" Silver reached into his saddle bag but was stopped by Rarity.

"Use mine, keep your own for yourself. Never know when you'll need them." Rarity rested her head on the floor. Silver nodded in response and used Rarity's bandages instead. "First aid training?" Rarity asked to break the tension in the air.

"Yup, it was mandatory when you joined the force, but that was before bullets were even a thing." Silver spoke as he tended to her wound, wrapping the soft fabric around her leg with his magic and pulling it tight. Rarity's gaze landed on the now corpse that was in the same room as them. The life had long since drained from him. She tried to get up. "Hey, stay here, I'll clean up the mess." Silver stood up and walked over to the body. His adrenaline was now gone from his body.

"I'm sorry that I let my emotions get to my head." Rarity shamefully shook her head. "I should have known somthing like this would happen."

Silver snapped out of his stare to respond, "I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't angry but what's important is we are both alive. I think the bullet is punishment enough." Silver turned around and smiled. Rarity nodded and smiled back.

"Do as I say, not as I do." Rarity said with a chuckle before her face returned to a more sorrowful expression. "How are you holding up? Killed anypony before?"

"Death and I are no strangers, but..." Silver felt the fresh blood touch his hooves. It was sickenly warm. "Never pulled the trigger myself so to speak." Silver stepped out of the pool and used his magic to grab the pony by the hind legs. "I'll at least get him outside." Silver spent some time dragging the body outside. The pony's head made a thump sound as it dropped from the door frame. While Silver was outside, he took a deep breath. Something managed to reflect the small amount of sun there, which perfectly went into Silver's eye. He located the source and found Rarity's revolver. Picking it up, he took it with him back inside.

Silence hung in the air for a moment. Silver pulled the door behind him closed and trotted over to Rarity. "My gun! Did I drop it? Crazy how your priorities change when you've been shot, huh?" Rarity joked as she took the revolver in her magic. Silver didn't respond, he just sat down on his haunches next to her. The cocktail of emotions flowed through him. Rarity looked away, "Look, I'm sorry, darling." Rarity's apology snapped Silver out of his moping.

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." Silver felt his face tense into a scowl, "All that talk about being prepared and stuff flew right out of the window." Silver's shoulders went limp and he hung his head. "We got incredibly lucky. What in Celestia's name would I have done if you got yourself killed?" Silver let the question hang in the air, "You aren't even taking this seriously."

Rarity thought about a response, "Darling, this place is Tartarus. You let it get to your head and you'll go mad. Humour is just how I deal with everything now. I understand how you feel though and I'm mare enough to admit I was wrong. Should have never dragged you into a fight that wasn't yours to begin with." Rarity stopped for a moment, "The guilt of sending those ponies to their deaths has been eating at me."

Silver sighed, "I'm not angry about that. I would have joined the fight anyway. Just keep your wits about you next time. I get that you are angry, but who's going to protect Sweetie Belle and the town if we both get killed because of some vendetta?" Rarity nodded in agreement, "Anyway, I'm done being a teacher for now. That's supposed to be your job." Silver let a slight smile make its home on his face. Rarity responded with a smile of her own.

"I needed that… I'm glad you came along with me." Rarity admitted. She turned her gaze to the broken window at the dusk that was quickly becoming night, "Well guess we are stuck here for the night. I should be fine in the morning."

Silver agreed, feeling the sudden weight of his body. "Yeah, I'm gonna secure the rest of the building. Wouldn't want a raider telling their friends about our little heart-to-heart." Rarity gagged theatrically at the thought.

"Oh, Celestia no that wouldn't do at all!" Silver and Rarity shared a smile, bringing a piece of mind to both of them.

Chapter 7: Twenty questions.

"Favourite colour?" Rarity asked as she was limping alongside Silver.

"Hmm, Blue. Least favourite colour?" Silver countered.

"Green. You aren't great at this." Rarity giggled.

"I'm bad at thinking of questions, ok!" Silver squeaked in embarrassment. Rarity laughed at the noises coming from the stallion as she thought of another question.

"Ah, here's a good one. Your name, Silver Bullet, were you named before or after the invention of firearms as we know them today?" Rarity tilted her head.

"After. Silver Bullet is a code name." Silver explained as he got a hang on his nerves again.

"Ooo, like a spy?" Rarity said playfully.

"Kinda, yes. I've had many names over the years. Silver was just the one that stuck. Now that I think about it, I didn't have a name before then," Silver pondered momentarily. "This is technically classified information, so don't tell anypony." Silver rubbed the back of his neck as Rarity put a hoof over her heart.

"Wouldn't dream of it, darling," Rarity put her forehoof back on the ground before she stumbled over herself. "Now, I'm curious, though. How many code names have you had? What was the worst?"

"Well, my job was to fit in, be innocuous enough that I could be a fly on the wall and collect information. A background pony, if you will. So usually the name is to fit the environment. Dusk Heart, White Song, and things like that. The worst one, though? Pony Horse." Rarity snorted in response to Silver's words.

"Did you say… pony horse?" Rarity looked in disbelief.
"As you can imagine, that moniker didn't last long," Silver responded with a smile. Rarity took a deep breath to collect her thoughts, deciding to move on before erupting into laughter.

"Ok, I have another question. Don't feel compelled to answer this one if you don't want to. I'm simply curious, darling. Luna. What is your relation to the princess? I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with her. You seemed oddly consoling," Rarity asked, raising her brow.

Silver pondered on how best to answer. "Luna and I met a while ago, back when I first did detective work for the royal family. The smaller, more nuanced stuff that you wouldn't be called in for. I dealt with mundane threats to Canterlot rule. Luna and I forged a friendship during the time I was stationed in Canterlot. She just understood me like Celestia didn't. Don't get me wrong, Celestia was jovial and kind, but Luna helped me; I've been trying to return the favour ever since. When this all happened, I wasn't able to get in contact with her. She wasn't in Canterlot at the time, thank Celestia. I had done some things for her off the books, so to speak. So when she called me in to investigate this, I just had to," Silver explained, reminiscing about his time spent in Canterlot before everything.

"Did you ever see Twilight while you were there?" Rarity wondered.

"Well, it's hard to go anywhere in Equestria without hearing about you six. But living so far away, I was never able to put names to faces. Plus, I never really paid attention, if I'm honest. Had my worries. I know you because of your influence in the fashion scene, but the others? Not much. I saw Twilight towards the tail end of my stay. She was interesting. Kind but dismissive, like her mind was elsewhere. A few collection chores later, and that was the last I heard about her," Silver pondered on his own words.

"What did you get for her?" Rarity pressed, leaning in slightly.

"Assorted herbs, some tools. Nothing out of the ordinary, unfortunately," Silver searched his archived memories for anything else before landing on something. "Wait, wasn't one of your friends a baker?"

"Pinkie, yes." Rarty's eyes widened in anticipation.

"Could be nothing, but I do distinctly remember the smell of pastry on her. No, I wasn't just sniffing the princess for fun. It was prominent. Kinda like a tea party." Silver and rarity thought for a moment.

"Leading up to the disaster, there was this tension in the air, like something was wrong. Pinkie seemed to feel it the most. They were both acting off," Rarity let out a frustrated sigh. "I hate it. The more I think about it, the more confused I get. I wouldn't dream of accusing them of hiding something from us all, but what other conclusion am I meant to draw?" Rarity shook her head as the sight of a familiar town approached from the distance. "Let's hope we find some answers here."

Rarity and Silver entered the town. The look on Rarity's face was one of a mind awash with memories, a mix of joy and sorrow conflicting to form an unnatural expression. Her old haunt now felt ghostly. "Let's go to the Boutique first. There are a few... personal things I would like to grab," Rarity somberly trotted towards a round, two-story building. There was a dilapidated horse statue on the roof, and an empty place where its twin once stood, now embedded in the ground. Rarity was stopped by her door. She pushed her back into the creaking door and slowly opened it with a screech. She stood panting for a moment and stepped aside. "My house is your house," she smiled weakly.

"Such a gentlecolt," Silver smiled back and stepped inside, with Rarity following close behind. Silver felt the air in this place; it was thick with melancholy, which Rarity mimicked. "This is a beautiful place, even in this state," Rarity let a smile grace her face for a moment.

"Thank you, darling. I enjoyed decorating the place. It was my pride and joy," Rarity sighed, dragging her hoof along a desk before pausing to think for a moment. "I want to find my old sewing machine. It's a custom model I made myself. It can do things the ones on the market can't." Rarity began her search. "I hope to Celestia it hasn't been stolen," she expressed with concern. Silver joined in the search, looking around the space for the distinctive sewing machine.

"You customised it yourself?" Silver asked to fill the silent air.

"Yes, I used to tinker in my spare time. Applejack taught me," Rarity smiles weakly. "It's a blessing and a curse to have memories like that. It's sad, of course, but it's nicer to remember the good we had. When rumours of a war started, she convinced me to acquire more practical skills. Being a tailor was good, but being seen as an engineer was better," Rarity chuckled to herself. Silver found a dusty sewing machine and table combo. The machine was red with some golden highlights and a metallic wheel, standing out even under layers of dust.
"I think I found it!" Silver shouted, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet space. "It's bigger than I thought it would be."

"Oh, thank Celestia!" Rarity comes rushing over and hugs the machine. "It's so good to see it again!" Rarity giggled and stood up, igniting her horn, and making the machine puff into a colourful cloud of smoke. "I hope they won't question a random sewing machine appearing out of thin air," Rarity laughs and smiles fondly at Silver. "Thank you for joining me."

Silver felt his cheeks light up a little, "It's no problem. Do you need anything else?" Silver smiled back.

"No, let's get to why we are here." Rarity took one last nostalgic look at the room before exiting with silver.

Silver kept his ears perked as he felt the clammy air on his face. Rarity pulled out her gun, and Silver followed suit. "So, we are heading to the big treehouse?" Silver asked, and Rarity acknowledged with a nod.

"After that, we go to th- Agh," as Rarity glanced over to her old friend's bakery, she held her hoof to her head and grunted in pain. Silver did the same, feeling a burning sensation in his brain before he forcefully ripped his gaze away from it.

"I'm guessing that's the psyfield you mentioned?" Silver asked. Subcontiusly standing between Rarity and the anomalous bakery.

"We will need to visit the rock farm after all. Starlight will have something. Plus, it would be nice to see her again," Rarity admitted as she continued limping her way towards the treehouse. Silver reached the big red door first; there was an empty candle holder on it with a broken window above. Silver nodded to Rarity, and Rarity nodded back. Silver opened the door, leading with his firearm. Any attempt to be sneaky was trumped by the squeak and cry of the door. They both made their way inside and began to search the rooms, finding the place completely barren. Empty bookshelves and hardly any furniture. "This place looks ransacked. But what would raiders need with some old furniture and a dragon's horde of books?" Rarity was puzzled, standing at the top of a double staircase. Silver took another look around his surroundings before thinking it over.

"They wouldn't. No scrape marks from the furniture being moved, which means it was teleported or floated away. And specifically, all the books are gone. It would be more disorganized if raiders did it—if they wanted the books at all," Silver analyzed the surroundings and noted a circular groove at the base of a bookshelf. "I've found something; seems Twilight needed a secret door." Silver made his way over and looked over the bookshelf for anything out of place. Rarity made her way next to Silver. "Locking hex, and a powerful one at that. With my horn in this state, I won't be able to open it." Silver looked over to Rarity. "Wanna learn some espionage magic?" Silver smiled.

"I could give it a go but Twilight was an alicorn." Rarity said werily.

"Magic is odd. Alicorn magic may be powerful, but there are things you can do to help yourself. Place your hoof on the door," Silver asked, and Rarity obliged. She felt a small vibration in her hoof. "Feel it vibrating? Kind of pulsates too? A trick I learned was to match your breathing to the pulse." Rarity nodded and breathed slowly. "Now, envision the person who made the lock and picture them giving you the key." Rarity furrowed her brow in confusion and chuckled. "I'm not joking; it does help!" Silver giggled softly and let Rarity get on with it. After a moment of picturing, Rarity's horn burst into magic, which seeped into the wood of the bookshelf. Rarity stumbled backwards and landed on her haunches with a thud.

"What just happened?" Rarity blinked in shock.

"You just revered an alicorn spell, well done!" Silver laughed and went over to help rarity to her hooves.

"Where did you learn that?" Rarity shook her head to regain her composure.

"Got to thank Luna for that. Magic is as much about knowledge as it is about feeling. You can learn a spell, but to master it, you need to understand its nuances from emotions. Then you can truly harness it," Silver explained, turning back to the bookshelf and pulling it open. Peeking around it, he shook his head and laughed.

"What's wrong?" Rarity tilted her head.

"Twilight is always prepared, huh? There's a vault door behind this bookshelf. Combination lock." Silver continued to open the bookshelf, "It's not magically locked I don't think but..."

"There's always a but." Rarity playfully rolled her eyes. They landed on something pinned to the inside of the bookshelf, "What's this?" Rarity used her magic to float the note over to herself.

"To Twilight,

You know what you did. I refuse to be a lab rat anymore. I know you know the combination off by heart so I took something else. This door won't open until you come to see me and we talk about this. mare to mare. I'm waiting.

p"

Rarity blinked a few times. She felt the hostility in the letter. It shook her, "This… this can't be right, can it?"

Silver moved to look at the letter, "A lab rat? Was Twilight doing tests on Pinkie?"

"No!" Rarity snapped, her face was contorted into anger for a moment before it softened, "I'm sorry." Rarity stuttered for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Sometimes the past hurts, I don't blame you but, we need to look at every possibility" Silver was compassionate, making Rarity smile.

"This must have been the cause of all of the tension I saw. They must have sorted something out because Pinkie went to see her before everything collapsed. She even had cupcakes." Rarity held her head in confusion, "Can we magic this door open?"

"We would need to disengage the lock first. It's a vault door so rods are holding it in place. We'd need to move them first. It seems like Pinkie has something vital to the door opening, maybe even the code itself. Either way, we need to get into that bakery." Silver huffed in frustration.

"Let's get on the way to the rock farm then. Times wasting!" Rarity pocketed the note.

"Even if it's hostile, Maud would probably want it."

"Family?" Silver asked.

"Maud is Pinkie's sister, their parents owned the rock farm before it was converted into a research base." Rarity explained before heading to the door.

"Let's get going. Sure hope Pinkie has what we are looking for." Silver nodded with determination.

Chapter 8: A Rocky Road

The distinctive sound of a rifle ricocheting off a rock sent a surge of fear through every inch of Silver's body. Silver stumbled with a high-pitched squeal. Rarity pushed in front of the station, and her horn began to glow. A jolt of light shot into the air, a signal flare in a vibrant yellow colour. She stood tense for a moment. The ponies braced for another crack of gunfire, but none came. Rarity broke the stillness with a chuckle, gradually increasing to loud laughter. Silver cleared his throat and puffed his cheeks in frustration at the mare.

"It's Maud." Rarity managed to muster a few words through her laughter. "A warning shot. She doesn't recognise you but trust me. If she wanted you dead, you would be." Rarity playfully bumped her side into Silver's side. Silver relaxed for a moment. He looked ahead at the fortification in front of them. It was a large wooden wall made from individual tree trunks, reinforced by a wall of rocks at the base. The wall was about the height of a small house, and at the top of the wall was a row of barbed wire broken up by small sniper nests. The one that was housing their attacker was now vacant. Breaking up the main wall was a metal gate that had now swung open. Standing in the frame of the gate were two mares, both with long rifles at their flanks—the mouth bits with the firing mechanism now hanging below their chins. The mare on the left was slightly taller, with a bluish-grey coat and straight, saturated violet hair. On one side of her body was a full saddlebag; on the other was a long gun. The rifle had a port at the top for the intake of rounds, a belt of bullets curved over the mare's back and into the saddlebag. It had a wooden buttstock adorned with pebbles and rocks. Attached to the mouth bit was what looked like a monocle but was a compact scope she used for aiming. Standing next to her was a smaller mare with a similar equipment set-up. She had a bluish-grey coat but with a silver and messier mane. As Rarity and Silver got closer, Silver could feel the eyes of the silver-maned mare burn a hole in his face.

"Hello." Maud's voice was monotone, and her face was expressionless. Her voice made Silver's ears twitch. "It's been a while, Rarity." Maud looked her up and down before her turquoise eyes landed on Rarity's leg wound. "You are hurt." Maud's eyes landed on Silver. Her gaze was harder to figure out than her companion’s, but it felt bad.

"Girls, please, I would be dead if not for my stallion friend here." Rarity moved herself in between the two mares and Silver.

"Fine," the silver-manned mare grunted sharply. "Come on, let's get you looked at. Marble should be with Starlight."

"Lead the way, Limestone." Rarity followed the two mares and beckoned Silver to do the same. The compound was large. Some of the farm looked worn by time, and old fences lay tattered, but the small farmhouse looked well taken care of. There was a porch with a rocking chair, swaying in the wind. They walked towards a repurposed grain silo; on the front was a bulkhead door. Maud rummaged through her saddlebag, there was a constant jingling of bullets before she pulled out a small, silver card with a split geode on it. She swiped it across a card reader next to the door. The door clicked and hissed, the wheel spun, and the door creaked open. The four ponies trotted in, and the door closed behind them. Some steam filled the room, turning a red light green and opening the last door of the airlock.

Limestone led them through a small corridor, passing a counter and getting a glimpse into a room with coolers and shelves filled with medical supplies and tech. Maud knocked on a metal door, causing a sudden rush of assorted rummaging sounds. The door was unlocked, and behind it was a pale pink unicorn mare. Her mane was purple with light blue streaks, haphazardly bunched into a messy bun. Her Persian blue eyes were framed by heavy eye bags, and her horn constantly glowed with a turquoise aura. She wore a white doctor's coat with some multicolour stains and burns.

"Rarity?" The mare's voice was tired and soft at first before she straightened to attention, "Rarity! What are you doing here?!"

"Hello, Starlight." Rarity began before being gently coaxed inside by Maud, clearly eager to get her wound checked. The bandaged leg caught Starlight's eyes.

"Celestia! What happened?" Starlight moved out of the way to let Rarity and Maud enter. Limestone joined, followed by Silver. Starlight was too focused on Rarity to notice Silver. Silver closed the door behind him and looked around the room. The room was circular. On the right side was a medical bay; some of the beds were filled with ponies of all kinds. Rushing around was Marble, an earth pony with a similar grey coat to her sister’s, hers being much lighter. Her slightly green-grey hair was tied back and tucked into the collar of her blood-stained doctor's coat. She lifted her head, and her ears perked up at the commotion. Marble trotted her way over and led Rarity to a free bed.

"I'm fine, darlings. It's not the first time I've been shot," Rarity attempted to downplay the situation. Which only made Marble move faster. Laying her down, probing her leg up and unwinding the bandages.

Starlight got a closer look at the bandages, "Did you do the bandages yourself? It's shoddier than your usual work." Rarity chuckled softly.

"No, I had a helper." Rarity nodded her head towards Silver. Starlight turned around confused before jumping at the sight of Silver.

"How long have you been standing there?" Starlight held a hoof to her chest.

"I came in with the rest ma'am." Silver rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled under his breath, "I was pretty proud of my bandaging skills." Silver pouted.

"It is pretty impressive for an earth pony." Starlight smiled, causing Rarity to laugh.

"Who's going to tell her?" Rarity looked over to Silver with a playful smile. Silver chuckled and parted his fluffy mane to reveal his horn. Starlight moved closer to Silver and looked over his horn.

"You are full of surprises, huh? It's a bit damaged." Starlight started using her magic to pull Silver's head down to get a closer look at his horn.

"Got it in an accident while entering the zone," Silver explained, now staring at the floor.

"You got here from the outside? Why would you do that?" Silver pondered Starlight's words for a moment before sighing.

"Misson from Luna. It was supposed to be top secret but it's becoming apparent that I need to be open if I want to get anything done." Silver sighed in embarrassment.

"Luna is alive!" Starlight shot up, "Are you in contact with her?"

Silver nodded "My PDA seems to be able to get into contact with her, pretty lucky."

"That's odd. We have tried to get in contact with the outside, but it's like our signal is being blocked. Where did you get it?" Starlight raised an eyebrow.

"Luna gave it to me herself." Silver explained.

"Could be some alicorn spell. Maybe it's because it's from outside. Whatever the case, it is extremely fortunate. Having some guidance from a princess right now would be nice." Starlight's voice became sombre as her hoof tapped nervously. Limestone noticed this, her face becoming a mixture of sadness and frustration.

"Is something wrong?" Silver tilted his head. Starlight sighed and shook her head. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Limestone walked over and spoke on her behalf.

"A friend has gone missing." Limestone stated.

Rarity turned her head, "Trixie? She's gone?" she asked softly. Starlight moved to the other side of the room and began to float some Petri dishes over to a microscope, starting to work compulsively. Limestone shook her head.

"She won't talk about it, trying to block it out with work, I guess," Limestone looked over to Rarity. "Trixie went out to test some gadget. That was a few weeks ago. Nothing since. I've been keeping an eye out, but I've not been able to go out to search. I need to be here to protect the farm with Maud. The place is too big for her to hold down by herself."

"Why don't we have a look?" Rarity offered. "What was she testing? Where did she go?" Limestone looked over to Starlight, who was still working away.

"An hour or so west of here to a psyfield that some ponies had told us about. The place was crawling with changelings," Limestone shook her head. "But you know Trixie. She rushed off in the middle of the night like an idiot. Guess she was trying to prove it worked."

Rarity locked eyes with Silver, "Well that changes a few things." Rarity tapped her forehoof on the bed. "That psyhelmet is why we are here." Rarity's words made Starlight stop for a moment. Starlight turned around.

"Why would you need the psyhelmet?" Starlight asked.

"Silver, would you grab the note from my bag?" Silver trotted over to the bed and rummaged through her bag, pulling out the note and giving it to Limestone, who began to read. Horror slowly took over her face.

"Pinkie wrote this? Where did you find it?" Limestone's words made both Maud and Marble rush over to look.

"It was on the back of a bookcase in Twilight’s old home." Rarity explained. She looked over to Marble with a small, thankful smile as she stood up. She tapped her injured back leg's hoof on the floor to test it for pain, letting out a sigh of relief when there was none to be found.

"This doesn't sound like Pinkie." Limestone looked at the floor, "Then again, Pinkie wasn't acting like herself at all." Limestone huffed in frustration.

"We need the psyhelmet to look into this further." Silver stated, "Her bakery is-"

"Surrounded by psyfields, we know. We planned to go reach it ourselves when the helmet was finished, but we need to be here." Limestone shook her head, “We need to get the helmet first."

"We'll go. I am feeling much better, and Silver needs the experience." Rarity trotted her way over to Silver's side.

"I'll come with you!" Starlight raised her voice and said bluntly. "I need to find Trixie… I-" Her voice cracked, causing her to swallow.

"You don't need to explain yourself. An extra pair of hooves would be lovely, darling." Rarity smiled sympathetically.

"Changelings are a bit… difficult for training." Limestone's eyes fixated on Silver, "You sure he can handle it?"

Rarity nodded "He's going to have to learn somehow, and I'd rather not let our only connection to the outside world get ripped apart by changelings by himself." Rarity looked over to Silver. "I will fill you in on the way but for now, let's get some rest." Silver nodded in agreement. "If you will have us?"

"You are always welcome," Maud said softly. "Come on. You should get some rest too, if you plan on going out tomorrow." Maud looked over to Starlight, who nodded. Starlight took a breath as the aura around her horn fizzled out, leaving a small wisp of light bluish-grey smoke to dance away from her head. Both Silver and Rarity recognised the telltale signs of an overworked horn and shared a look. In silence, the trio followed Maud out of the silo to the small farmhouse on the other side of the courtyard.

"Maud, darling." Rarity broke the silence. "Is Mud Briar staying or is he still out working with Cheese?" Rarity asked, wanting to take their minds off of the job tomorrow.

"Mud Briar is out. Their job went well. He's heading back now." Maud responded dryly. Silver noted a small shift of her eyes. The stallion got a hint of worry from the mare, but even with years of detective experience, her poker face was impeccable.

"They have been out for a good while. I wasn't expecting their trip to Sweet Apple Acers to as long as it has." Rarity flicked a strand of hair back into place.

"Mac had them do some hunting," Maud explained.

"Ponies or mutants?" Rarity glanced over to Silver who had been looking over Starlight. Giving him a soft nudge to pull the stallion back to earth. She gave him a knowing look but was taken aback by the genuine dumbfounded expression.

"Bit of both, Mac had told them about some brainless in a school nearby, but you know how these things go." Maud said.

"Brainless?" Silver asked. "Like… zombies?"

"Zombies, brainless, afflicted. Lots of ponies have their names for them." Starlight spoke up. "Wandering groups of ponies who have had their brains melted by psyfields and such. It's an awful fate." Starlight looked down at the grey dirt with a soft look of sadness.

"They are not like the zombies you have read about. They can use guns which is just our luck." Rarity sighed with an odd mix of compassion and frustration as they reached the balcony of the house. Maud opened the door and gestured her head for them to enter.

"I'm going to head to my room. It is nice to see you, Rarity." Starlight let a tired smile stretch weakly across her face. She looked like she would immediately shut down upon contact with her bed, "Nice to meet you." She nodded in Silver's direction.

"Likewise." Silver smiled at her back as the unicorn slinked away up the stairs.

"You two don't mind sharing a room, do you?" Maud asked.

"As long as it's better than our last place, we'll be fine." Rarity grinned and chuckled.

"Anywhere is better than that place." Silver stated.

"Oh, ho, ho… you have no idea. That was a beautiful hotel compared to some of the Tartarus holes we will find on our adventures." Rarity rolled her eyes. She began to trot up the stairs. Silver followed her, giving a small nod to Maud who nodded back before leaving the house.

"Wait, adventures… plural?" Silver questioned with a laugh.