Fallout Equestria: Desperados V3 (Bonds of Platinum)

Fallout: Equestria

Desperado’s V3: Bonds of Platinum

Ch 9, A Black Flag, Part 1.

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Again returning to the Desperados camp, we were pleasantly surprised to find both Reed and Slick trapped in stockades. The crud, but fully fitted wooden planks kept them from doing anything more than loudly complaining or glaring at us as we trotted over.

“Now that's a good look on ya two, that's for sure!” Live mocked the stallions.

Slick growled at her as Reed snarled out, “Come closer and I'll be a good look on ya!”

Trotting over, it was clear the two had been roughed up, both sporting black eyes, among other bruises. “I'm guessing your little stunt at the gate wasn't well received?”

“Fuck you bitch.” Slick said, spitting at me.

A brown something then hit Slick in the muzzle, and soon after the smell of actual brahmin shit assaulted my nose, causing me to step back in disgust.

Trotting over was Crankshaft, the big, burly, and tattooed Desperado, looking more angry then I had ever seen him before. “Ya both refuse to learn!” He snarled, wiping the shit off his hoof and onto Slicks face. “If Grams was still with us, she'd be ashamed of ya!”

Slick chucked. “Aww, grandma's little colt is upset.”

Crankshaft back hoofed Slick, and then Reed before he could say a word. “Another word. Another fucking word, and I'm braking a leg!”

Both stallions just glared at Crankshaft, not saying a thing.

Throttling over to us, Crankshaft let out an exasperated sigh, the stallion himself looking like he hadn't been getting enough sleep. “Sorry about them, Big Papa says we got to love our family, but they're too much like their parents to deserve unconditional love.”

“What, brothers, cousins?” Star asked.

“Cousins thankfully.” Crankshaft said with a smile. “Gram got me out of their herd when I was still young, but sadly had to leave those idiots behind.”

My eyebrow raised at that. “If you don't mind me asking, but why?”

“Long story short, chem abuse.” He told us before motioning for everypony to follow him as he trotted away. “Not every Desperados herd is as well put together as Big Papa's Route 50, some have even gone full raider and had to be put down. My old herd has always been on the edge of that, as they were the biggest chem pushers in the region, but they started using their own supplies. My own parents tried to get control of the situation, not that they were much better, just smart enough to not get high on their own supplies. But some idiot caused their own trailer to blow up when my parents were collecting the chems from it, killing them and those nearby. Gram came over to pay respects, and left with me when she saw how bad it had gotten.”

“That's horrible.” Slowtrot gasped, “I guess there's nothing like the Foul Welfare Agency out here.”

Crankshaft physically shivered. “And thank Celestia for that.” We gave him an inquisitive look at his response. “It's another long story, and a rather grim one at that. But as for my old herd, they're still out there, rotting away in some forgotten corner of our territory. Probably why those two are here, it was either join a warband, or waste away like their parents. Actually, if it wasn't for their personalities, I'd have been proud of them. Too many ponies just let the wasteland consume them, and become a shadow of themselves.”

“Ya, but seriously, what the fuck is even wrong with them? Last I met those two, they were just your normal assholes. Not suicidal assholes?” Live asked in an annoyed tone.

Crankshaft shrugged. “Elder Big Papa wants to know that too. The situation here is too tense to be natural. But we suspect it has to do with those Darkheart sisters.”

“Let's not forget that the Tin Cans seem to be doing a right job in making everything tense.” Live commented.

“You mean that Umberfoal place, what even happened there?” I spoke up. “Also, the Coven of Clovers also suspects Swift's wives as well, so it's not an unfair assumption.”

Crankshaft let out a chuckle. “A powerful stallion being driven mad by love, not the first time I've heard that. But it will be hard to prove if they're plotting anything, and any accusation would only result in Swift doubling down. As for the rangers, clashes between them and us are fairly common, the last major one being over Umberfoal. It's a strategic position due to the rivers crossing it, and after the skysim with the Applejack Rangers, several chapters fell back to here. With so many rangers in one spot, they up and decided to kick us out of Umberfoal which spurred us into declaring war. Both the Platinum Guard and Coven of Clovers had to step in to stop the fighting. Unfortunately it wasn't until, both Swift's father and the Elder of the local Ranger chamber had killed each other.”

Letting out a sigh myself, I quickly grasped the situation. “So basically, if we piss off Swift and cause infighting, that could cause the Steel Rangers to act?”

“Worse actually, if there is infighting, then the Rangers could convince Platinum Hill to push us out, possibly even to surrender Umberfoal.” Crankshaft told me as he shook his head. “The last thing we need is to be fighting two wars.”

“Not to mention the other threats out there.” I lamented. Felling a bit down, I then decided that changing the topic was in order. “So, I can't imagine getting those two idiot's punished was easy, how'd you do it?”

“Simple actually, Rack End got pissed off, along with almost every parent in camp.” Crankshaft told us. “It's one thing to start a fight when you're all fighting aged ponies, but this camp has foals and elderly in it now. And after Ashy Oaks attempted to wipe us out back near New Appaloosa, none of us wants that trouble right now. A stampede of angry mothers isn't something to ignore after all. That said, thanks for keeping things calm.”

“Well, for what it's worth, almost everypony in the city didn't want that flight. The Platinum Guard will be keeping a closer eye on things to prevent another incident like before.” I told him.

We then stopped outside our tents, Crankshaft giving me a soft, but not the happiest smile. “Still, thanks. If Grams was still with us, I know she'd make ya something good to eat as a reward.”

“Ya, I wish I could have saved her, if only-” I began to say, but Crankshaft cut me off.

“No if onlys. Grams died protecting those who couldn't protect themselves, just how she hoped to go out.” He said right before patting me on the shoulder. “We can't save everypony, so just focus on those you can reach, and hope those you save will save others. Now go take a break, Elder Big Papa got a big meal cooking in celebration of your find. That GAR you got him has him in a good mood.”

“That I will. After the day I've had, there's a lot for me to process.” I told him, and Crankshaft then trotted off.

Turning to return to our tent, Slowtrot moved to enter the Stallion tent, already removing his outfit. As much as I liked my own dress, once we were back in our tent, I quickly had it unbuttoned, and put it away neatly, leaving me in my white underdress. It wasn't much, but I was also getting used to almost everypony in our herd being underdressed. Live and Star just took everything off, and leaving it on the ground but Fizzy actually kept it all on.

“You can take some of it off.” I told her.

“I’m… good.” Fizzy said nervously, having lost all that life she had just a moment ago.

Worried, I asked her, “are you okay?”

She nodded. “I'll be fine. It's just that if I don't cover up. Ponies tend to, like, stare at me. A lot.” She clearly looked uncomfortable as she spoke. “And when they, like, do that, they then try to talk to me. Not that I don't like talking with others, but right now, I'm, like, kind of out of energy for dealing with other ponies.”

Star trotted over, giving Fizzy a bit of a hip bump. “I can understand that. It's really tiring having ponies talk behind my back all the time, it made me want to give em a black eye. Must be even worse with those tits of yours.”

Rubbing her leg, Fizzy now looked downright shy, a complete flip from how she was not long ago. “Ya… they don't help either. But I just, you know, don't feel like being around so many ponies right now.” She then began to fidget. “But if I had a calren, or a blank book, I'll feel better soon.”

“How's that supposed to help?” Live asked.

Fizzy shrugged. “I don't know, it just does, for me.”

A journal and pencil then landed next to Fizzy. “You can have this,” Azure said, appearing out of nowhere.

Startaled and shocked, I instantly covered my body with my hooves. “Wh… when?”

The Lurker rolled his eyes. “Miss Harp, you needn't cover yourself, ponies don't interest me in the slightest. And I was here before you all got back. I just happened to do some sleuthing on Arras's request, and there's something you might want to know.”

Relaxing, I then trotted over to him. “Is it anything urgent?”

“It's something you might want to know sooner than later, but nothing that needs immediate attention.” He explained. “Just come see me in the stallions tent after you've finished settling down.”

“Right, I'll do that. Celestia knows, my brain needs a break from… everything.” I told Azure. Then my eyes drifted to the book and pencil. “But are you sure you can just give those away?”

“The blank book, ya it's fine. I can emphasize with Fizzy in needing alone time, introversion can be challenging when so many people are around you after all. I also did a bit of shopping as well, found a pony that was selling books, and made a trade. Made sure I had plenty to spare. Though I'm sure the history books I got are heavily propagandized, sadly that's true no matter what dimension you're in. Still, it should give me more insight on what your culture used to be like.”

“That's actually rather depressing now that you pointed it out. Makes me wonder how much of my own history I was taught was just propaganda.” I pondered to myself.

Azure let out a rather long sigh. “When you live as long as I have, it becomes very clear that history in of itself is around three fourths propaganda.”

“And how old are you?” I asked the lurker.

He shrugged. “I stopped counting after fifty when I became a hermit. So I don't know how old I was when I started treasure hunting, but I've been doing this for over a hundred and eighty years now. So I gotta at least be over two hundred and fifty.”

“H… how long can you live!?” I asked in shock.

“Oh we don't get old like other creatures, though the time between molting does get longer each time. But so long as we take care of ourselves, a Lurker can practically live forever.” Azure informed me. “Oh and, there are things we can do to induce molting if we really need to. so even an old shell isn't that much of an issue.”

I watched as Azure left, my mind bouncing about on how old he could actually be, and if there were any creatures here that could be older than him? Also, a hermit, why was he a hermit?

Pushing those thoughts aside, I trotted over to my own sleeping spot to rest my legs, just flopping over onto the large cushion like a robot that ran out of power.

“Harp, if you need us, we'll be at the old gift shop. Supposedly that's where some of the other mares are, doing some arts and craft shit.” Star told me.

Live rolled her eyes. “What she means is that we're going to hang out with the other mothers as the mending clothing and shit. My mom has been badgering me about joining them since I'm expecting, the bitch. Not like she even needed to, since I already hang out with them more than mom does.”

The two then left, leaving me alone in the tent with Fizzy. The mare trotted over to me with her blank book and flopped down on a cushion not far from me. I was a bit worried she was going to start babbling about cola or something, but instead she just opened her book and started scribbling.

Taking the silence for what it was, I opened the box with our talismans that I kept near my cushion, and pulled out one of the blank industrial quality talismans.

I had only managed to finish working on one of the purple quartz gemstones, imprinting a beam spell onto it. Our long ride to Platinum Hill made it difficult to concentrate, but as Pyrope had said, industrial quality talismans were far tougher then military quality talismans. It also happens to be that they are harder to imprint spells onto, taking a lot more time. It was probably why the military didn't use them, since it would be more expensive and take longer to make. Best to go with cheap and easily replaced.

Why did I ever think military quality ment good quality?

As I concentrated, remembering the shape of the spell, the power and intent, then replicating it inside the cut gemstone. Making sure not too much magic went into it so to not break the gemstone, but not too little or the spell wouldn't take. Doing it manually wasn't easy, but without access to an arcano-tech imprinting machine, this was the only way.

Strangely, the sound of Fizzy taking pencil to paper helped clear my mind, bringing me back to my foalhood when mother would teach me about magic. Mother was already an old mare when I was a foal, and though I did my best to not think about it, it was obvious I was a bastard, since the pony I had thought to be my father died a year before I was even born. Yet she still raised me in her home as one of her own, not sending me away as other bastards were.

Actually, it wouldn't have been hard for my mother to just cover up my birth and have me raised as a maid, or have me taken in by my real father. I know that's what happened with Silk Carnation and her bastard daughter. Maybe that's why Silky never treated me that badly, since she was absolutely devastated when she found out she couldn't keep the foal. Silver Majesty on the other hoof was in high spirits because of it.

That was one of the few times Silky ever came to me as a sister, even cried in front of me. She wasn't a bad sister, it was just that our family wasn't normal. So much responsibility was expected of us, and so many vultures waiting to pick at our bones.

Maybe, If I ever get the opportunity, I should go looking for my niece. If any of my family escaped the pirates and made it to Orthrus, she probably did.

The spell took proper form, solidifying inside the talisman. It was far from being complete, but parts of it had stuck in enough that stopping now wouldn't reverse my progress.

Again my mind wandered to the past, to my mothers lessons. How to concentrate and meditation. How to feel with my magic, have it take shape. She taught me spells and their effects. I learned why most unicorns couldn't do more than basic levitation, as most spells were actually several spells carefully woven together. Without practice and education, Unicorns were likely to hurt themselves then cast a spell.

It was frustrating to me back then, as I wasn't a Unicorn. I'd never cast a spell like my family could. It made me so jealous, and angry… and depressed. But the longer I'm out here, the more I miss it all.

Also, A unicorn likely couldn't do what I did with those Steel Rangers. I never even knew I could do that, forcefully diverting the armor's power from its spell matrix to stop them from moving or firing their guns. Same for helping the Gunrunners with their spark batteries and making that talisman copping device. Also, the Smuggler wouldn't run as well without me providing it extra power.

If only I had realized all this sooner, maybe I'd still be with them, and so many ponies wouldn't have died because of me.

More of the talisman was reaching completion, and I released I had been here in silence for quite a bit. Fizzy was still busy doing whatever she was with that book, her hole focus on it.

It was weirdly bothering me, with how quiet it was. I could hear the ponies outside, but inside our tent, it was just still. Maybe it was just that another pony was with me, yet nothing was being said.

As though feeling an itch, I needed to say something. “Say… do you miss them? Your family I mean.”

It was a long moment as Fizzy continued to do whatever she was doing, slowing down before glancing at me. “I… sometimes do, or maybe I, like, miss the idea of them.”

“The idea?” I said inquisitively.

“It's hard to explain, and It took me a long time to understand it myself.” She said, sounding unsure. “Are you sure you want to know, it's not a good story.”

I let out a sigh. “Trust me, my family had problems, lots of problems. Last I saw of my brother was right after he perged a station. I never even found out why he had all those ponies… removed. Only that it had happened.”

Their faces were watching me as I swam through that corpse filled water, desperately trying to keep Vibraphone's head above it. Their eyes were all dead, but each one was staring at me, blaming me for what my family had done to them.

“H… Harp, you okay?” Fizzy asked in concern.

Slapped my face, breaking my concentration. I needed to force that memory back down, put it in a box like mother taught me. As a royal I can't let such things affect me!

“I'm fine.” I told her with a smile, unsure if it was fake or real. “don't worry about me. I'm actually curious what it was like, a cult I mean.”

Fizzy took a deep breath, slowly letting the air out of her lungs and she was centering herself and likely digging up her memories. “As a foal… it wasn't bad, not for me at least. Father and my mothers showered me with love, and never once hurt me. I never went without food, and all that was expected of me was the memorization of the Book of Venus. So didn't understand all the other stuff going on at the time until I was an adult.”

She lifted back her mane and up her glasses. “A pony doesn't get eyes like mine just because they're being raised as the cult leader's successor.” She then let her mane drop back down. “They were attempting to summon our goddess, and I was to be her vessel.”

“Oh… ohhhh!” I said, realizing the implications.

“Ya, looking back at it, it was real fucked up, all of it.” She then bitterly chuckled. “Thank Venus that my eyesight has always been bad. I never quite understood the things they were doing around me because of that. Not the drug use, or all the sex. Even now I'm not sure how much of it was consensual. I'm sure my father could cast charm magic like I can, so I don't even know if my mothers even did love me, or was just charmed into loving me.” A sigh then came from Fizzy. “But even still, sometimes I miss them. How my father would hold me, and my mothers would sing to me. If it wasn't because of the cult and that black book, I'm sure they would have at least been decent ponies.”

“You keep saying mothers, you had more than one?” I asked.

“Five mothers, though I don't know which one was my real mother, but my father had to have five. It is the number that Venus is associated with, so it has power when invoking her magic.” She explained. “I'm sure I had siblings too, and a lot of them, but I was never allowed near them. Only my father and mothers were allowed near me.”

“Ya, I get that.” I told her, empathizing with her a bit. “For a long time I wasn't allowed to associate with ponies outside the stable. I had thought it was because I was a shame on my mothers, and to keep me pure until they found me a husband. But the more I think about it, I think my mother had been protecting me. Unfortunately that protection didn't feel like it.”

I was starting to feel down again, so to distract myself I refocused on whatever Fizzy had been doing. “So what's in the book?”

She got a bit defensive, hiding it a little. “Just a little art and some writing, nothing all that great or interesting.”

Now I was curious. “Order, bring me that book!”

“Yes my lady!” Order replied from my pipbuck, and before Fizzy could stop it, the drone swept down and grabbed the book, dropping it in front of me.

Looking down at it, I cocked an eyebrow. On the first page was a sketch of a mare with a stallion's private part in her mouth, and on the other page was a very graphic story of it. Looking at the mare I began to recognize certain features that were unmistakable.

My eyes then drifted up at Fizzy, who looked quite embarrassed now. “Did you… make porn… of me!?”

She chuckled nervously. “S… sorry. It's a habit of mine.”

Closing the book and giving it back to her, I decided that I wasn't going to let it bother me. “Just ask next time, okay.”

“Oh, then could you tell me about your experience? For a story I mean.” Fizzy then asked excitedly.

“N.. no fucking way…” then I thought about and shrugged. “Ya know, fuck it. Just change the ponies in the book.” It was weird, but after the brahminshit I've seen in the wasteland, this was rather tame.

Getting caught up in talking about our more recent life, it was probably the closest thing to actually girl talk I've ever had. Star and Live were mares as well, but they were too rough about girly stuff. Cloudy was very girly, but I was also dating her at the time. But Fizzy was just a normal mare, well a normal mare with charm magic and other crazy stuff.

What I was not expecting was how much experience she had with stallions, making me feel rather meek in comparison. She didn't go into any grate details, but I got a feeling that she wasn't all that proud of her body count, and that not all of it was her own choice, though she never once mentioned rape or anything like that. It just felt that at some point in her life she was put into a bad situation and made the best of it.

We also seemed to have the same taste in stallions, which was neat.

Just as she got into giving me advice about what I should try the next time I'm with a stallion, Cherry returned with our laundry. As much as I'd like the conversation to continue, I took that as my cue to go. So getting dressed in my normal clothes, and keeping the underdress on for extra layers, It was my time to go.

“Say Harp.” Cherry asked. “Can we dress up Fizzy? All that clothes gives me ideas.”

I laughed. “She's all yours.”

Feeling the red ballistic weave cocktail dress and Stable-tec jacket back on me, I nolong felt as exposed. Stepping out, the sun was starting to get low, so I adjusted Vibraphone's Metro-Cola hat to shade my eyes, and trotted over to the other tent.

Inside I saw the yak Amralt and the thief Pilfer were playing cards with a few other ponies, paying me no mind. It took a moment for me to find Azure, even though he was in plain sight, requiring me to sense with my magic to get past his perception blocking.

The Lurker was writing in one of his journals, with the same focus as Fizzy had. Trotting over, he thankfully wasn't drawing porn, but making notes about Demon grass.

“Researching about grass?” I asked him.

“A little.” Azure replied. “Botany isn't my thing, but I do know a few things. Unfortunately what I know means nothing here, as everything is magical here. Still, it doesn't hurt making notes of it.” He then tapped on one book that was labeled as property of the Coven of Clovers. “For example, a mare by the name Blackcharry Blackroot theorized that the demon grass is a mutant variant of a zebra grass, which likely was smuggled here as research materials or as to intentionally cripple the region. If true, there could be a type of zebra lands animal that could be imported to keep the grass in check.”

“Is it okay to have that book?” I asked.

Azure put his notebook on top of the book in question. “I'll be returning it soon, so no worry.”

Putting the book theft aside, it was time to find out what he wanted to tell me. “So, what did you find out that I must know?”

“Right, we probably should move to someplace less… watched.” One of his antennas then pointed to the side of the tent, where I could see a faint outline of a pony too close to the tent to not be listening in.

“And where might you suggest?” I asked.

His mandibles moved to make a smile. “Actually, I found a rather nice spot.”

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Following the Lurker, he took us to what was a bar called “The Old Buzzard,” which was filled with ponies, with plenty of them Desperados. I even saw the Kirin from the market dropping off a keg of their own drink. The owners of this place were clearly Talon mercenaries, as much of the staff were griffins, and all armed.

Taking a seat at a booth between some very chatty ponies, and a group of loudly laughing griffins, we both ordered a pinet each of their house brew. It was rather funny watching Azure squeeze in, as his tail was more like a sail than anything.

“Damnit, I do hope I molt soon, I can at least break my tail to segmented it.” He complained.

“It must be really weird to have your body change like that.” I said, feeling some sympathy for my crustacean friend.

He groaned. “You have no idea. Not having my claws is bad enough, but this tail is not suitable for tight places. Anyways, it should be safe to talk here.”

I looked around, seeing how busy it was here. “Are you sure about that?”

“Very.” He said confidently. “From here we can see the entrance, and if any pony wants to hear what we have to say, they'll need to get right up to the table. Now if you look carefully, we're not the only ones having a private conversation here. But please, only use your eyes to look, don't turn your head more than necessary.”

Doing as he said, and with only the slightest move of my head, I looked around. It wasn't hard to notice once I looked for it: ponies using mugs to hide their lips as they spoke, or leaning in to talk quieter.

“I see, that's rather clever.” I told Azure.

He chuckled, “I know, and that is why I wish someone told me this trick when I first started treasure hunting. Talking in quiet places almost got me killed a few times before I started doing this.”

“Is your… profession that dangerous?” I asked the lurker.

“Only if you make it dangerous.” He said as our drinks arrived, Azure then tipping a slightly chubby hen a few caps before she left. “Fortunately it's normally not as exciting as they make it seem in books and films. Most artifacts are only worth anything to collectors, who sign very strict contracts to higher people to find said artifacts, and who'll later put the artifact in a museum. So the chain of ownership is a very important part of the job, and because of that, people in my profession are fairly friendly with each other. That said, when you start flapping your mandibles about a big job recovering valuable artifacts, the local thieves start paying very close attention to you. And they're often too stupid to understand what is actually valuable or dangerous.”

“That… makes sense I guess. But what about things like raiders or mutants?” I further asked.

“It really depends on where you are, as most places aren't a blighted hellscape of a wasteland, though some places can be worse. It's a completely different world, remember. Different dangers, different rules, and different magic.” Azure then took a moment to drink some of his beer. “Wow, is this mostly just water? I think I could breathe this if I was desperate enough.”

I took a sip as well, and found myself disappointed. I could barely taste the beer, and what I could taste wasn't that good.

“Anyways, let's get to the subject at claw… or is it hoof, I guess you wouldn't use the word hand here?” Azure looked at his own hoof shaped appendages with disappointment.

“It hoof, we use the word hood in such sentences. Though the Griffins do use the word claw instead of hoof, so both work.” I informed him.

“That's good, the last thing I need is to get back home and accidentally say things like everypony and such.” He said with a chuckle. “Now getting back on track, like I said, I did some sleuthing, and found something you might be interested in.”

“Let me guess, it has to do with Swift's two new wives.” I guessed.

Azure nodded. “I guess them being a problem isn't a big secret, and using women to manipulate men is an age old tactic no matter where you go.”

“Wait, using… women?” I asked, abbit confused on the terminology.

“Sorry, I ment using mares to manipulate stallions.” He clarified, and then pulled out a small notepad from his jacket pocket, flipping it open and pushing it to me. “I saw this and it reminded me a lot of that symbol you and Star told me about.”

It felt like a massive hole had formed in my stomach, threatening to devour me from the inside. On the notepad was a drawing of a teardrop inside a thorned ring. Even without color I recognize it as Thorn Roseland's cutie mark, and the main symbol of those who worship her as a prophet.

“Are you sure?” I asked, hoping it was just a mistake.

Azure nodded. “This symbol was on a few of their things, jewelry, weapons, and even a small altar. But it wasn't the most common symbol.” He flipped a page on his notepad, revealing another symbol, this time a heart shaped skull with two crossed swords. “This was imprinted on almost all their things, and most prominently on the many bottles of alcohol they had. Where the other symbol felt more religious, this one feels like a branding, or a family crest.”

“Darkheart, you mean?” I asked, seeing the logic.

“Yes, and from my investigation, it's clear that those two sisters are part of something bigger, and I don't mean just being pirates.” He flipped the notepad again, where I saw several symbols on what looked to be a book. “Unfortunately I couldn't read what was inside, but it seemed to hold more importance than another book they had about Thorn Roseland. But I recognize occult stuff when I see it.”

He lost me again, so I just tilted my head.

“Right, sorry.” Azure apologized. “Think magic, but taken from a higher power. Generally it's always bad news, as those higher powers are indifferent at best, and malevolent at worst.” Pulling back his notepad and closing it, he Azure then let out a sigh. “Seeing that, I took it as my time to go, as bad things happen when around the occult for too long, and decided to talk to ponies instead.”

Flipping his notepad, he then continued. “From what I was to gather, the Darkheart sisters arrived in Umberfoal, along with their extended family, a good six months ago, trading alcohol. They were looking for land to settle down, and a settlement had recently opened up. Swift wasn't originally open to the idea, as a few ponies mentioned, but the trade of guns and a few drinking parties changed his mind. Supposedly the marriage only happened because one of the sisters ended up pregnant after one of those parties, the clingy one I think. Oh, and the other sister isn't actually married to Swift, but nopony knows why she acts that she is. And lets see, right, as of recently, the Darkhearts, along with growing some sort of orchard on their land, have also joined up with the Warband in holding Umberfoal.”

That was just a lot to take in, so I took my beer,andI shot it down the back of my throat, drinking it all in one go, then slamming the mug back down. “Well, thats just fucking grate, Thorns Chosen aren't just alredy here, they've already started integrating themselves into the Desperados!”

“My thoughts exactly, though it might not be Thorns Chosen.” Azure pointed out. “That said, it is often the fastest way to convert a civilization to a new religion by being the claw that rocks the cradle. Or to try and convert the leader directly.” Azure said, his words only making me feel even worse.

“You think that could be their goal?” I had to ask.

He let out a sigh. “I can't say for sure, but I did scan over the holy book about Thorn. The tenants laid out by their prophet are straight out of a warlord mentality, in which the only options for outsiders is to convert, to become slaves, or to die. Coexistence wasn't an option.”

I took his drink and knocked that back too. “Well, this isn't going to end smoothly. No, it's going to be a bloody mess, that I'm sure of.”

“Only if you let it, miss Harp.” Azure said to me with a grin in his mandibles. “I heard that you were making friends today, maybe they can help? Also, and it may be my own bias talking, you could just ask them directly. In my experience, people of faith like that tend to be rather open about their goals.”

That was something to think about. Instead of being cloak and dagger about this, just cut to the chase and ask them. “I'll need to talk to Arras first.”

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