Fallout Equestria: Angels Feather

by ImSilverTongue

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Adventure, Crossover, Sad
Length: 17441

A one million cap job peaks the interest of a Griffon Mercenary, rousing her out of her relaxing vacation in New Pegas.

Gwyn Blackfeather is a Talon Mercenary.

Taking whatever jobs come her way in the barren Marehave desert, she's looking for a little bit more out of life.

That little bit more came to her in the form of a One Million Cap job to locate the child of the Pony that controls the New Pegas Strip.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-20 07:57:31 UTC

Introduction

War... War never changes.  10 years ago, a young mare, fresh out of Her Stable found that out.  Shot up by raiders, attacked by mutated beasts, irradiated to no end...  But she fought through it all, ridding the wasteland of evil, and ultimately saving everypony.  She founded the New Canterlot Republic with the help of the Talon, Gawdina Grimfeather.  President Gawd has moved her influence quite drastically, and the NCR is on the verge of settling in our little slice of paradise...  In the middle of the Marehave desert.  Why anyone would want to settle in this mostly desolate expanse is beyond me...  But I see signs everywhere I go... NCR banners, lone troops... I sometimes get hired as a bit of extra muscle, which is fine by me.

I'm a mercenary.  Fulfilling contracts keeps me sane.  Most of my contracts involve taking out raider camps, or protecting trade caravans.  I've seen a lot of the Marehave...  Too much, if you ask me... It's time for this Griffin to rest her weary wings...  And I know just the place.  New Pegas...

New Pegas contained an outlying area, called Freeside.  Smaller shops are set up along the roads of Freeside, which gets quite a bit of traffic.  I’ve led numerous caravans here for their own trades, and led quite a few out to other parts of the Marehave.  I looked toward the gates on the far end of Freeside.  Guarded by a small group of Security Bots.  The entrance to the Strip.  Getting into the strip is a challenge in itself, but it’s higher class.  Everything is clean, the beds are soft, and everyone is... More than friendly.

Here I sit, playing Blackjack with two ponies and a bottle of Wild Pegasus.  I keep seeing the Little Pegasus Mare looking toward my bottle of alcohol with longing eyes.  I’m winning quite a bit more than they are, so I sigh and call over a waitress and tell her to bring over three glasses.  As I pour the three of us a drink, I raise the glass for a toast.  “To Pegas.”  I muttered.  The two mumbled something as well as we clinked glasses and took a drink.

“Thank you.”  The pegasus said with a happy smile as she drank half of hers.  “My name is Lightning, and you?”

“Gwyn.”  I mumbled, taking the chips I won from this hand.  “You look a bit young to be drinking, aren’t you?”  I asked.

She recoiled a bit and shook her head.  “N-No... Finegood says you’re never too young to start...  He was half my age when he started...”  She muttered, still not sounding fully convinced.

The Earth Pony between us just continued playing the game, barely drinking any of the liquor offered to him.  Lightning reached out a hoof to him for a hoofshake.  “Nice to meet you, Mister...”  She muttered.

The Earth Pony shot a sideways glare to her, causing her to recoil a bit.  “Red Mane.”  He muttered.

Lightning raised an eyebrow.  “But your mane is Green.”  She muttered.  He grinned slightly.  I caught the Dealers uneasy look as she dealt the next hand.

“Red Mane...  As in, Red Manes Enforcers?”  I asked, playing the next hand while eying him carefully.

“Yeah... Whats it to ya?”  He asked, looking uneasy.

“Eh, Just wondering.  Saw a couple bounties posted for your little group.  I was looking at it.  Piqued my interest.”  I said, shifting in my seat slightly as he stood.

“I’m done here.”  He muttered, walking off with a huff.

“Wait...  Was he a raider?”  Lightning asked quietly.  I nodded.  “Really?  And you’re going to let him go?  Why?”

“Not my problem until caps are involved.”  I muttered, taking my winnings from this hand, with all my earlier winnings, and standing up.  I could hear hoofsteps behind me as I cashed in my chips.

“You’re a Mercenary?”  Lightning asked.  “That’s so awesome!  Thunder and I have always wanted to be Mercs... but we’ve never been able to get a contract...”  She muttered.

I looked her over and sighed.  “Not something you’d be good at, Lightning.”  I said, putting a talon on her shoulder.  “It’s a lot of dangerous work.  You’re just too... Frail?”  I tried to use a word that wouldn’t upset her.

I failed.

A sad look crossed her face and she pushed away from me, walking away.  She muttered something about not being frail and working with Hellhounds...  I shrugged, and made my way for the exit.  Three ponies entered.  One of which was the Red Mane I spoke to earlier.  “Oh, hey, good, we caught you before you left.”  He said with a grin.  “Hand over what you won, and we may let you live.”

“Really... Just as easy as that, eh?”

“Yep, as easy as that.”

“You won’t just shoot me in the back the moment I walk away, so I don’t take that contract?”

“She’s on to us...”  One of them muttered.

The earth pony kicked him in the side, causing him to yelp.  “Thought so.  No.”  I muttered, stepping toward the Earth Pony, who stood a good foot shorter than me.  “I’m keeping my Caps, and you three can keep your lives.  Deal?”

His response came in the form of a close range shotgun blast to the chest.  I stumbled back, silently thanking the Armor I was wearing, which caught most of it.  I felt a couple pellets burning in my chest that got through the armor, but it was a manageable pain.

I pulled my Shotgun and blasted at the Pony to the leaders left.  His head exploded in a shower of blood before I rounded on the second.  His head exploded as well.  As I brought the shotgun to point at the leader, I grinned.  “Give up yet?”

“Nope.”  He muttered cockily, firing his shotgun at me, catching the side of my wing.  I felt large chunks of it tear free as feathers fell in heaps.  “You’re using a two shot caravaners shotgun.”  He muttered, another shot blasted the gun from my claw.  “You fired both shots.”  Another blast caused me to fall back.  “What you need is a Clip fed Riot shotgun.  Less power, but more shots.”  He muttered, another shot and I felt my wing as it was removed from my side.  “See, it took 6 shots to finish you, but I have a clip for that.  Half of my clip, but I didn’t get caught in a reload...”  He muttered, placing the gun against the side of my neck.  “Nice try though.”  And with that, I heard a loud pop as my eardrum blew out... along with the side of my neck...

Chapter 1: Life

“The angel represents divine perfection; even the smallest feather is imbued with beauty and benevolence.”

I don’t know how many of you have died before, but it sucks...  A dark emptiness everywhere, inability to move anything, and time seems to stretch forever...

And then I woke up.  Not something I expected in my death was waking up on an uncomfortable bed in the middle of a musty smelling room...  I grumbled and sat up, my head killing me.  As I stood, I stumbled, catching myself against a far wall.

I could hear two voices in the next room.  One Male, one Female.

“So... Why are you giving me Fifty-Thousand Caps?”  The Mare asked.  A unicorn with a pale beige coat and unkempt grey mane.  She levitated a cup of something from the table shakily and took a drink as she looked toward the other pony.

“I need her...  I’ve heard ponies speak highly of her.  A griffin Merc with her skills will be a valuable asset.”  The Colt said.  Light Brown coat with Straw-Yellow hair.

“But You’re paying me Fifty-Thousand for something I was going to do anyway...”  The mare muttered quietly.

“I’m aware... I just want to make sure you have the funding to keep her alive, should anything arise.”  The colt said with a definitive nod.

“Now...  Why me... Specifically?”  I asked as I stumbled into the room.  The colt caught me and led me to a chair to sit.  I nodded a quick thank you.

“Like I told Bee here, Ponies speak highly of you.  And you are a Talon Mercenary.  You are the only one I can trust to get this job done.”  He grinned, reaching out a hoof.  “I’m Silver Tongue, by the way.  My friend here is Barbed Heart, but everyone calls her Bee.” I took his hoof and shook it, then did the same with Bee.

“So... What kind of Job and what kind of Pay?”  I asked, taking a bottle of water that Bee had passed to me and taking a long drink off of it.

“Straight to the point... I like it.”  He chuckled.  “Well.  Red Mane has been causing quite a ruckus in New Pegas.  I want them dealt with.  But beyond that, the primary job I need done...”  He stopped, let out a sigh, and looked at me with sad eyes.  “They took my daughter, Gilded Rose.”

Bees eyes widened, but she remained quiet as the two of us spoke.  “So... Swoop in, get your Filly back, and force the Red Mane to leave?”  Silver Tongue nodded.  “How much will it pay?”

“One Million Caps.”  Bee coughed up the water she had been drinking.  I raised an eyebrow at him.  “My Filly means the world to me.  One Million Caps is NOTHING comapred to her safety.”

My first instinct would usually entail weaseling more out of the deal with a line like that.  I decided, however, his deal seemed sufficient.  I could Retire on one Million Caps...  “Deal.  I can start immediately... Just point me in the right direction.”

SIlver nodded, but Bee hopped up.  “No.  I can’t let her leave!  She was killed A WEEK AGO.  She was dead until yesterday...”  She muttered, looking at me.  “And I just reattached the wing today...”  I folded my wings out and realized they were both, infact, attached.  A pink scar on my left wing showed that it had been recently healed.

“Griffins are sturdy.  I’ll be fine.”  I said with a wide grin.  Bee gave me a look that caused me to recoil a bit.

“You’ll just be back again tomorrow, and I’d have to patch you up again.”  She said with a stern voice.

“I’m getting a Million Caps for this job.  I can pay you for your services next time.”  She looked at me with tired eyes.

“Just... go.  Save little Rosie, and make sure you don’t hurt yourself too much?”

I nodded, looking toward Silver. “I’m going to need a new gun.  Mind if I get a small advance on that payment?”

He chuckled, walking out with me.

******

I felt like a happy little fledgeling again as I examined the shotgun I bought.  A riot shotgun.  I laughed at the hilarity of deciding it was a good weapon after being blasted apart by one.  I put it into the holster on my side, and put the varying ammos away in my bag.  Regular, Flachette, Explosive, and EMP.  Each ready to do some damage to Red Mane.

I looked back at Silver Tongue, who nodded at me.  I grinned.  “Well.  I should get to it, eh?”

He nodded, looking to the north.  “Their encampment is up that way.  Larger office building in the center, and four small buildings around the premises.”

“I figure I can fly up to the top of the office building and work my way down...”  I mulled it over for a moment.  “How much resistance should I expect?”

“From what I understand, they’re a band at least thirty strong.  Not a lot considering the size of their facility, but you should still be careful.”

“Always...  I’ll be back here by nightfall, hopefully.”  I chuckled, stretching my wings for a moment before flying up a few feet, looking back down toward Silver.  “I’ll do all I can to bring your daughter back.”  He nodded hopefully as I flew to the north.

It was a twenty minute flight before I spotted the office building.  I landed on a roof not too far from the compound and watched for a moment.  One pony patrolling the roof.  I can handle that...   Several in the yard below.  If I’m quick, I can avoid them.  I waited for the patrolling pony up top to have his back to me and I flew forward as quickly as I could, landing behind him softly.  I covered his mouth with my talon, muffling the surprised yelp as I dug my talon into his neck.

When he stopped thrashing, I set him down and entered the doorway with the stairs into the building.  Slowly creeping down the stairs, I saw two more ponies walking the hall.  I pulled my shotgun and raised it, ready to take the shot.

“Hey, Did you hear?  We got a new shipment of slaves.”  I waited as I listened to them talk.  “Down in the Cafeteria.  Four little colts, three fillies, two Stallions and one Mare.  The mare isn’t going to fetch much, she’s not right in the head...  She doesn’t even have a Cutie Mark...”  the one muttered with a sigh.  I felt the conversation was over, and took a shot with the shotgun, moving and firing at the second.  They both dropped, and I dropped into a nearby room and listened.  No hoofsteps... Good.

I made my way through this floor, making sure there was no one else on this level.  I carefully made my way through the other levels, making sure the slavers wouldn’t follow me down as I saved everypony.  As I made it to the lower level I looked over and saw the Cafeteria straight across the hall from the stairway.  Cages lined the wall filled with ponies in bad condition.  I made my way in and shot the slaver in the room, looking at the cages of scared ponies.  “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.”  I said, hoping to calm them down.

One mare sat in the corner with a collar chained to the wall.  She was a unicorn, but she wasn’t pulling the collar off.  She looked at me with blank eyes.  “Do you understand me?  Do you want to get out of here?”

“Don’t waste your breath, she’s stupid.”  The voice ruffled my feathers as I turned, staring at the Earth Pony that had shot me up in Pegas.  “I killed you once... Why do I have to do this again?”

“Griffins are sturdier than you think, you son of a bitch.”  I snarled as I lunged forward, taking a shotgun blast to the chest.  I brought my gun up and unloaded three rapid shots into his side and dropped the clip, loading in a new one.  He slowly stood and looked up at my shotgun at his forehead.

“No... Don’t kill me, Please.  I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Heh... Sparing you wouldn’t be worth my time...”  I pulled the trigger.  Three more ponies flooded in behind me.  I swung around, but the gun was shot out of my hand.

I saw as the ponies walked forward at me slowly.  I grabbed the shotgun that the earth pony had dropped and fired at the trio.  One shot was in it.  “Damnit!”  I threw the gun at the next one, pegging him in the forehead.  Not a lot of damage, but it opened him up to allow me to tear into his neck with my claws.  The last pony kicked me in the ribs and knocked me aside.

He stood over me, his gun lowered at my head.  I heard a pop from the corner of the room as the mare teleported out of the leash, reappeared next to me and blew the ponies head off with my shotgun.  She levitated it down to me and grinned.  “So.  Do you have an escape plan?”

“Wait, you can speak?”

She chuckled. “Of course.  Needed to get in here, and what better way than to play dumb...  We can’t leave them here, but we can’t put them in harms way...”

I looked over to the cages.  Two Pegasi were locked away.  “Can you two fly?”  They nodded slowly.  “Can you carry anypony?”  They thought for a moment and nodded again.

“Not for long, but we can help.”  One answered.

“There’s  ten of us... Counting her.”  The other replied

“I can carry three of the Foals myself.  You two can each carry one.”  I looked at the Mare.   “How far can you teleport?”

She thought for a moment and sighed.  “Depends on how many ponies I take with me.  I could get the other two fillies a few hundred yards...  Why?”

“I’ve got an Idea.”

Ten minutes later, all of the cages were open, and the foals were shaking in fear.  “Don’t worry, little ones.  Griffins are part Eagle, part Lion, and all Awesome.  I’ll get you all out of here.”

That didn’t seem to help a lot.  I sighed, leading the group up to the next floor, and directly into a barricade set up by three of the remaining Red Manes.  As they opened fire, I winced, but there was a bubble of magic around us as the Blank Flanks horn glowed.  “Huh... Useful.”

“It gets better.  You can shoot through it, they cant.”  She grinned.  Each shot that hit her shield caused her to shudder a bit.  She couldn’t hold it forever.

I raised my shotgun and took three shots, two of the ponies fell.  The other ducked behind the barricade.  I sprinted forward and leapt over him as he came up, leveling his weapon at the shield.  I blasted him in the back and caused him to fall over.

“Well then, Shall we?”  I chuckled as I led everypony up to the roof.

“See that building over there?”  I pointed toward the nearby building I used as a lookout.  Everypony nodded.  “That’s where we’re heading.  It’s far enough away they wont be able to shoot at us, and we can make our way to the ground floor and walk south.  Theres a town there, and I have a couple ponies waiting for me.

They nodded and I picked up three of the fillies, two in my arms, one on my back.  The Pegasi loaded a couple onto their backs, and BlankFlank teleported with the other two.  The three of us remaining flew forward quickly and carefully.  As we landed, I set the two in my arms down carefully as the third jumped from my back, glaring toward the building angrily.  I looked back and noticed a small device in her hooves.  Where the hell had she gotten that?

I noticed she was noticeably larger than the other foals, and had a cutie mark.  A wrench and screwdriver laying across a gear.  “I’m sick of that place.”  She muttered, looking back to the others with a grin.  “Time for some fireworks.”  She pressed a button on the device and a second later a large explosion blew out the side of the building, causing it to topple over slowly.  “Huh... Bigger than I expected...”  She muttered, turning around to the surprised looks she was getting from Everypony.

“I was able to sneak bits and pieces together from my cell to build a makeshift bomb... They never found it.”  She shrugged.  “It’s what I do.”

I shook my head and chuckled.  “Well, Lets head back to Wellspring, shall we?”

It was an hour long walk to get back, pretty uneventful.  The pony with the affinity for explosives, who’s name I found was Bronze Gear, was currently asleep on my back.  The others told me stories of how she was used quite a bit for the slavers to get a quick fix in the sack.

I shook my head and looked at the sleeping filly.  “That’s rough...”  I muttered.  She was exhausted today as they were getting the most out of her before selling her off.

I entered Bees house after a light knock, seeing her sitting on the couch in the next room, talking with Silver.  “I’m home, and I brought Company...”  I muttered, bringing Everypony in as Bee scrambled to check over them all to make sure they were in good health.  I stopped her from checking the filly on my back and shook my head.  “She’s fine...  Just tired.  I don’t want to wake her.”  Bee nodded and levitated her gently over to the couch to get some rest.

Silver Tongue looked distraught.  “She’s... Not here...”  He muttered, looking to the Mare with wide eyes.  “What... Where Is she?”  He asked her.

“I don’t know,Silver...  She wasn’t there when I got there.”

“What were you doing there anyway?”

“I heard what happened and made my way in to find her...  But she’s been sold off already.  I couldn’t figure out to where yet, but it seems somewhere out East...”

“So, we find her.”  I said, interrupting their conversation.

“Easier said than done... There’s a lot of slave operations out East... It would take years to find her, and that’s assuming she stays in one camp.”  Silver said.  Looking toward the Mare.  “Penumbra...  Do you have any way you can find her?”

The mare stepped forward and nuzzled his cheek.  “I will do everything in my Goddess given power to find her.  You mark my words on that, Silver.”  She kissed his cheek real quick and nodded to me.  “Thanks.  I was looking for a way to get all of the slaves out, and you happened to show up...”  She shrugged, looking toward the door.  “I can’t waste any time... I have some Contacts up north I can talk to...”  She muttered as she made her way out the door.

I looked to Silver, who sat down worriedly.  “So, you know the BlankFlank?”  I asked, he shot me a glare.  “Sorry... Penumbra, was it?”

“Yes... I know her.  She’s Gilded Roses mother.”  I nodded and sighed.  “And she’s not a blank flank.  Not really.” I raised an eyebrow, expecting the rest of the story.  “Twenty years ago... When the Goddess still caused havoc around Canterlot and the outlying areas...  Unity was a big thing.”

“Yeah, I remember.  A glorified slave operation?”

“Not quite.  The disembodied conglomeration of four unicorns was giving ponies the ‘key to a better future.’  In that, they were turning them into Alicorns.  Penumbra and her mother were brought forward, and offered Unity.  Unlike most Alicorns, they were actually given a choice in the matter.

Penumbra declined, but her mother wanted Unity for both of them and forced her into it...  The Goddess reversed it as best as she could, but there were remnants.  She’s got an advanced magical aptitude, and shes sturdier than the normal unicorn.  But she’s still missing her cutie mark, and still heard the whispers of the goddess like other alicorns...  She says she still hears them, but I don’t know...”

“Huh... That’s interesting...”  I muttered, looking toward the ponies who sat around on the other side of the room talking amongst themselves.  “Theres a lot of foals... What are we going to do with them all?”  I asked quietly.

Silver shrugged.  “It’s not my job to know.  I’m just looking for my daughter.”

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  “They need Somewhere to go, though.”

“Theres plenty of places out there.  Let them find their own way.”

“Look at them.  Even with Bees healing, they’re not that strong.  They’ll be recaptured or killed in a few days...”  He shrugged again.  I stood and leveled a glare at him.  “Then how about this.  I take thirty thousand caps from what you’re paying me, and I help fix up the hovels on the edge of town.  That way, they at least have somewhere to live.”

Silver looked at me with narrowed eyes.  “So, you’re asking for an advance on your payment?”  I nodded.  “To help these ponies?”  I nodded again.  He looked over at Bee who was currently feeding the group.  “I guess I can arrange that.  If you don’t find my daughter, though... you’re paying back every cap yourself.”

“I still plan on finding her.”  I said sternly.  He nodded and plans were worked out with the ponies.  The foals were mostly orphaned.  One colt had family in Shanty.  Bee talked with a few townsfolk who agreed to care for the orphaned foals, and the hovel was fixed up rather quickly for the Pegasi.  Not a lot, but it was enough, and they could always fix it up further.  The thirty grand was divided between the families that took the orphans to make sure they wouldn’t starve.

Feeling relatively good about myself, I grinned, and felt a hoof tapping my side.  I turned and saw Gear next to me.  I completely forgot about her in my plans...  “Hey, Gear.  How are you feeling?”

“Less tired.  Where is everypony?”  She asked, looking around the town with me.

“Safe.  I’m taking the colt in there-”  She interrupted me.

“Frosty.”

“I’m taking FROSTY to his family in Shanty...” I paused, looking at the Filly.  “How about you... Do you have family to go back to?”

She looked like she was thinking for a moment.  “I... Don’t know, honestly.  My family moved a lot.  I don’t know where they are, or if they’re alive anymore.”  She looked at me with a sad smile.  “If you don’t mind... I want to help you find the Filly for him.”  I looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.  “I woke up when I was moved to the couch and I listened to your conversation, until I got bored and fell asleep again.”

“Why would you want to join me?  It’s going to be dangerous.”

She shrugged.  “I figure, while we’re searching for her, I may find sign of my parents...  Besides, you may need a good explosion here and there!”  She said with a chuckle.  “Though, I’m pretty good with any electronic or mechanical system, so I could keep your weapons in top condition, and hack just about any terminal.”

“Well...  That could come in handy...  Until we find your parents, I guess I could use some conversation.”  I reached out a talon, and shook her hoof, and we made plans to head out first thing in the morning.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Rapid Reload -- Your talons give you an edge over most ponies.  This edge is represented in a 25% Bonus to your reload speed!

Chapter 2: Reunion

"Wrath is no vice when inflicted upon the deserving."

I stretched as the sun rose, filtering through the window and waking me from my sleep.  I stood and extended my wings with a content sigh, looking around for Gear.  She leaned next to the door, waiting for me.  “It’s about damn time.  Let’s get a move on!”  She called with a grin.

I chuckled and tossed my armor back on and put my shotgun into its holster.  “Fine then.  Where’s Frosty?”

“I’m right here!”  The colt said as he scrambled from the next room.  “Miss Bee gave me some things to bring with us.”  He said, pulling a small bag from his side and handing it to me.  A collection of Stimpacks and Radaway.

“Well then.  Let’s head out.  You ready to go home, Frosty?”

He nodded excitedly and followed Gear out the door.  From Mercenary to Babysitter in one night...  This should be an interesting day...

As we walked through the town, ponies waved happily as they went about fixing up houses and expanding their small, makeshift farms.

“I didn’t think that small bit of money would help that much... but everypony seems to be enjoying it.”  I said as I waved back.

“You gave them Thirty GRAND...  That’s enough for people in Fillydelphia to improve their lives...”  Gear said as she looked toward me.  “Around here, that’s enough to build several small towns.”  I nodded, stopping for a moment as one of the Pegasi that I had helped yesterday walked up to us.

“I just wanted to thank you again...”  He said quietly, looking toward the two foals.  “They’re still young... try to keep them safe?”

“Of course.  Frosty will be back with his parents in just a few hours.  And Gear seems like she can take care of herself.”

“She was just as timid as the other foals were when we were first brought in.  She wouldn’t talk to anypony and kept quiet.  The brief time she was in with Red Mane... it changed her.”

I nodded.  “Don’t worry.  They’ll be safe.  Just worry about yourself.”  He nodded slowly and returned to his hovel.

“GWYN! COME ON!”  Gear called from up ahead.  I nodded and rushed to catch up to the two.

Halfway to Shanty, where the road made its way through a small valley with a booth set up, blocking the roadway.  I looked at Gear and told her to stay back with Frosty as I moved forward.  “Why, hello there!”  Called a pony from inside.  “If you wanna get through, it’ll be one hundred Caps.”  He said with a grin, looking down at me.

I looked up at him with a glare before grinning.  “Or, you can let me and my friends pass, and you keep your life.”  I growled the last few words which cause him to recoil a bit.

“Sorry, Ma’am.  Company policy states Everypony has to pay a toll.”

I flew up to his level, hovering in the air in front of him with narrow eyes.  “Does your little policy have stipulations for when you have your throat torn out by Griffons?”

He recoiled a bit and I landed in front of him.  “N..No?”

“Well, maybe after this, they will.”

“WAIT! No, please.  You can go... Just don’t hurt me!”  He cowered back.

“That’s what I thought... Who do you work for?”  I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“His... His name is Silver Tongue.”  He muttered, catching my surprised expression.  “Wh...What?”

“Nothing.  You’re letting us through, yes?”  he nodded.  “Can you give Silver a message next time you see him?”  he nodded again.  “Tell him...  If I find out he’s as much of a bandit as Red Mane was... I’ll rip his throat out myself.”

“Who... Who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter.  He’ll know who it is if you just tell him it was a Griffin, I’m sure.”  And with that, I hopped down from the building and led the two foals forward.

A few minutes later, Gear caught my scowl.  “Awe, the Griffin is pissy that the person that hired her set up a little toll road?” She asked with a grin, which was quickly removed from her face as I glared at her.

“I... Don’t know.”  I sighed, shaking my head.  “It’s just, it seems like something a bandit would do, and I hate bandits with a fiery passion.  They’re worthless scum, hurting innocent ponies...”

“There’s more to this story, right... A reason you don’t like them?”  Frosty asked, getting a surprised look from Gear.  “Sorry... I’ll be quiet.”

“No, it’s true.  When I first started out, I’d work for anyone who would pay.  I’ve been hired by raiders, just to terrorize villages.  After a few years of that, I realized how much I was hurting ponies and I started to think about my contracts before accepting them.”  I said with a nod.

“So...   you hate bandits because you kinda were one?”  Frosty asked quietly.

“I guess you could put it that way.”  I said, looking toward the foal who was now quiet.

The three of us made it into Shanty as the sun was starting to set.  Frosty gave me the description of his parents to keep an eye out for before I hoisted him up onto my back to ride out the rest of the journey.  He was tired from the walk, and didn’t mind carrying him.

It took about five minutes of asking around but we found the right house.  I woke Frosty up, and tapped on the door lightly.  A mare opened the door with sad eyes.  “He-hello... What can I do for you?”  She asked, seeming slightly put off by my presence.

“Momma?”  Frosty asked, poking his head around mine to look into the door.

The mares eyes instantly widened. “F...Frosty!  What... What are you doing with this griffin?”

“She saved me, Momma...”  He said as he hopped down and rushed to his mother, who instantly wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Is this true?”

I nodded with a soft smile.  “Yeah... I got hired to find another ponies daughter, and I happened upon this little guy locked up in a cage...  I couldn’t leave him behind.”  The mare looked at me as if judging me.  I smiled and nodded to her real quick.  “I should be going.  Got a lot to do and whatnot.”

“Thank you... for saving my son.”  She said, walking out and handing me a small sack with a few caps in it.

I handed it back to her with a slight grin.  “You keep the money.  I couldn’t leave him behind and I was headed this way anyway.”  I said, ruffling Frostys hair with my talon.  “And you, stay away from Slavers.  I may not be able to save you next time.”

Frosty nodded, batting away my talon and grinned.  “I will!”  He said happily, following his mother back into the house.

Gear looked at me questioningly.  “Gave the caps back?”  She asked.  I nodded.  “Why?  We could’ve used them to help with our search.”

“I’ve got enough on me currently to keep me going for a long while, plus the payout of this contract is a million, minus the cost of fixing up Wellspring.”  I said, looking to the mare, who still looked at me questioningly.  “And I’ve got the benefit of being able to score some free drinks and a free room at the tavern.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“Batting my eyelashes and flaunting my girlish charm.”  I said sarcastically as we entered the tavern and made our way to the bar for a drink.

“What can I get you?”  The barkeep asked.  The small pink mare looked up from the glass she was cleaning for a moment, looking at myself and Gear before returning to cleaning.

“I’ll take a glass of Wild Pegasus.  And my friend here will have-”

“I’ll have an Applejack Daniels.”  Gear interrupted.  I looked at her with a bored gaze.  “What?  I’m old enough... Sorta...”  She muttered, not meeting my gaze.

I chuckled and looked at the bartender.  “Clawdia around anywhere?”

“She’s in the back.”  The bartender gestured toward a door on the other side of the tavern.

“I’ll be right back.”  I looked toward Gear.  “Stay here.  This could get a little messy.”  I said, walking toward the room in question.

I knocked, and a perturbed sigh left the room.  “What?”  The voice inside sounded angry.

“I’d like to talk to the manager.”

“Sorry, complaint department is closed.”

I opened the door slowly.  “Even to family?”  The griffin inside turned with a raised eyebrow at the comment.

“Gwyn?  The hell are you doing here?”

“Good to see you too, Clawdia...  I’m passing through.  Got a good paying job and was hoping for a place to stay.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Why shouldn’t I make you pay for a room like everypony else?”

I shrugged.  “Because I’m your favorite daughter?”

“No... You’re not.”

“But, I’m your only daughter, right?”

“Your point?  I know Raspberry out there more than I know you anymore...”

I chuckled at that.  “Awe, how sweet.  Fine, how much for a room?”

“Just... Take room two...”

I grinned.  “Thanks, Mom.”  I muttered, walking back toward the bar and sitting down with my drink.

Gear looked at the empty glass in front of her, as I stared down at the empty glass infront of me.  “Did you drink both of these?”  She nodded, almost falling from her chair.  “Are you insane?”

“It... Tashted good. -hic-”  I caught her as she started to fall again.

“Raspberry, is it?”  I asked as I looked at the bartender.  She nodded.  “Clawdia said I could take room two... Can I get a key?”

“Hundred caps.”  She said flatly.

I sighed.  “Clawdia is comping it to me, the family discount or whatever.”  Raspberry regarded me for a moment and tossed me the key.  I hoisted the filly onto my back and looked at her.  “If you puke on me, I’m going to kill you.”

“Yes ma’am...”  She slurred, barely conscious at this point.

I opened the door to Room 2, and set the filly in one of the two beds, covering her up as she mumbled incoherently at the wall.

I layed down in the other bed to rest my legs, and quickly fell asleep as well.

I snapped awake at the sound of shattering glass downstairs, and rushed out of the room, looking down at the bar down below.  I saw Claudia, pulling a bottle of Applejack Daniels from the back and tearing it open, taking a long draw from the bottle.

I walked down and sat at the bar, chuckling slightly.  “I knew you liked to drink, but I thought you were Civil about it...”

“Shut the hell up.”  She said, glaring at me.  After a few intense minutes, she poured me a glass and slid it to me.

“So, what’s the occasion?”  I asked as I took a drink.

She glared at me.  “Felix is dead.”  My blood chilled as the words hit me.  “He was killed by some asshole bandits not too far from here... to the south.  An outcast Steel Ranger...”  She muttered, taking another long draw from the bottle.

“When.... When did this happen?”  I asked quietly as I took another drink.

“A week ago...  He came in here all high and mighty, demanding shit from me.  I told him to go fuck himself.  When He attacked me, Felix stepped in and got his brain splattered all over the wall...  Then ,the piece of shit just left.”

I finished my glass silently, the blood in my veins going from chilled to boiled.  I stood, walking toward the door. “Hey.  Where are you going?” She called to me angrily.

“I need some fresh air.”  I snapped back at her.

“Fine...  Leave like you did four years ago...” She muttered, and I was splashed by some of the liquid as the bottle shattered against the doorframe.  I shook my head and slammed the door shut as I left.

It didn’t take me long to find the camp the raiders had set up.  Six of them in total.  One in power armor with a grenade launcher and a larger assault rifle.  This was going to be fun.

I walked into the center of the camp and pulled my shotgun, whirling on the first one and blowing his head off without a warning.  The gun swiveled to the second, drooping him as well.  My claw tore out the throat of one that charged with a knife, and I glared at the other two, who open fired with their assault rifles.  The rounds hit the armor of my chest as I blew their heads off.  I looked toward the Ranger and narrowed my eyes.  “YOU.”

“Die, Bandit scum.”  He growled as his weapons open fired.  I avoided the explosions of the grenade launcher as I neared him, and grabbed him tightly as I flew upward.  He was heavy, but I was strong enough.

“You killed my brother.  Because he tried to save a barkeep you were demanding shit from?”  I dropped him, listening to him scream as he fell to the ground with a thud.  I dove down as he tried to stand back up and slammed him into the ground again.  “Did it make you feel big.  Killing a little griffin, barely older than a fledgeling?”

“You don’t understand...”

“NO.  You don’t understand.  When you mess with a griffin, you’re liable to get your throat ripped out.”

“You filthy bandits are all the same.”

“Yeah, because I’m the bandit here.”  I growled, slamming his head into the ground again.  “You’re the one terrorizing Shanty.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”  He asked, trying to struggle.

“You terrorized Shanty and killed my brother no more than a week ago.”

“Your brother was shot by the griffin barkeep for interrupting our business.”  The ranger said, causing me to glare at him again.

“Why would she kill her own son?”  I asked, slamming his head into the ground once again.

He stopped struggling and grumbled.  “We were passing through Shanty on business.  Selling wares.  That young griffin got high and mighty, telling us to get out of shanty and whatnot.  When he was about to attack us, the other griffin shot him, saving us.”

“Why would he want you out of Shanty?”  I asked, stepping off of him and allowing him to get up.

“They’re merchants, and they deal with anyone that has caps.  Bandit or otherwise.  Your brother didn’t like that.”  He said, checking his weapons to make sure they were undamaged.

I looked around, just now noticing the caravans of various goods.  “So... they were merchants, with a Steel Ranger escort?”

“Not a Steel Ranger.  We bumped into one a few months back that taught me how to use the power armor, and sold it to us for next to nothing.  He said he was running from something.  I didn’t question it, and I threw it on so I could protect the caravan...”  He sighed, looking around at his fallen allies.  “But you fucked that up.”  I heard his weapons start back up.

I barely avoided a grenade as it blasted behind me.  I swapped out the rounds in my shotgun and whirled, firing at him once.  Blue sparks of electricity arced over his body as he stood still as a statue.

“Look... I’m sorry.”  I started, walking toward him.  “I was told you were bandits that killed family.  I expected my mother to tell the truth about something like this...”  I looked back toward Shanty.  “I know.... there’s no reconciliation here, but I dont want to kill you, so please... just don’t shoot at me?”

“You have until my suit boots back up, Raider, until I start shooting.  If you’re not gone by then, I wont be so nice.”  I nodded and made my way back toward Shanty without another word.

I walked back into the tavern slowly, hearing Clawdia grumbling to herself behind the bar.  I listened to her for a few moments before slamming my clenched fists on the bar, causing her to jump.  “The hell do you want?”  She asked angrily as she stood back up, glaring at me.

“Answers.”  I growled, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and pulling her face to face with me.  “Did those ponies that I just shot up REALLY shoot Felix... Or did you do it to secure a god damned trade?”

“You shot them?  THEY WERE SOME OF MY BEST CUSTOMERS!”  My eyes widened in surprise.  She actually shot him, and LIED TO ME about it?  I opened my mouth to say something as a clawed hand tore three deep gashes in the side of my face.  “You shouldn’t have attacked them, Gwyn.  Even if the DID kill Felix, he isn’t worth killing for.”

I glared at her, blood oozing down the left side of my face.  “He was your son... and you killed him.”  I growled at her, my eyes narrowing.

“He was a burden, hurting sales.  I did what I needed to so I could survive.”

“And killing family is the right way to go?  That’s a load of shit.”

“Hey.  Both of you were burdens that i dealt with after your father left.  He didn’t leave me shit to help.”

“HE DIED SAVING YOUR LIFE!”  I growled at her, lunging forward and pinning her to the wall by the throat.  “He should have just let you die you worthless bitch.”  She clawed at my arm, making me drop her as she lashed out at me with her claws.

After a few slashes I reared forward with a headbutt that caused us both to reel for a moment.  It was at this time I realized just how good my mother could fight while drunk...  As she charged me again, I grabbed her and hefted her up, dropping her through one of the tables.  It shattered under the force and she fell to the ground with a growl of pain, her right wing twisting oddly with a sickening pop.

I pinned her once again, and put my claw to her throat, applying pressure.  “I should do the world a favor and take your life right now.”  I growled at her as she stared up at me with scared eyes.  “You’re a pathetic excuse for a mother...”  I grumbled, letting her up.  I turned to see Gear looking toward us with a fearful gaze.  “Get your stuff, Gear.  We’re leaving.”

She nodded and scrambled back up the steps, gathering her things quickly and following me out of the building.

It was a silent walk in the night as we left shanty, headed eastward toward whatever we ran into.  After a long hour, Gear finally broke the silence.  “What was all that about?”

A low growl rumbled from my throat, and Gear took a few steps away from me.  “Don’t worry... I’m not going to hurt you...”  I sighed, shaking my head.  “She killed my brother, and told me raiders did it.  Turns out, the Raiders were merchants, and I slaughtered them in cold blood...”

“Wow... Harsh...  I don’t know where my parents are, and you wanted to kill yours.”  She said with a slight chuckle.  “So... Your father is dead, and your mother is a bitch.”  I glared at her.  “Hey, you’re the one that described her as one...  We’re not all that different, I guess...”  She hopped up onto my back and Yawned.  “You woke me up, so I think it’s only fair that I don’t have to walk?”

I looked over my shoulder at her with a glare, but she had already fallen back asleep.  I chuckled lightly to myself and continued walking, my mind jumping between everything that’s going on currently.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk:  Friend of the Night -- Your Eagle Eyes work almost as good at night, allowing your eyes to adapt to low light quickly!

Chapter 3: Justice

“Her wings are the prayers of the devoted; her sword, the despair of the vile.”

I awoke to Gear kicking my side repeatedly.  “Gwyn! Wake up!”

I grumbled at her something vaguely similar to piss off.  I had walked for another two Hours before finding a small building devoid of life to hide out in.  After everything that happened, I was dead tired.

“Ugh... Are all griffins this lazy?”  She asked, walking off to the other end of the building.  I heard the rattling of her checking lockers and desks.

I had almost fallen back to sleep when I heard a loud "WOAH!" from her direction.

I looked over to see her gazing into one of the footlockers.  “What did you find?”

“Come see for yourself.”  She shot a look back to me and I sighed.  Next time she wants a piggy back ride, I'm going to toss her off a cliff...

I walked across the room slowly, looking into the cabinet she had opened.  There were three assault rifles, two larger pistols, and a sword.  I grabbed said sword and pulled it out of its sheath slowly.  The blade looked untouched by any form of rust.  I shrugged, putting it away and tying it to my side.  “Could fetch a good price in Pegas.”  I loaded the rest of the weapons into my bags and looked toward Gear.  “You still don’t have a gun, do you.”

“Nope.”  She chuckled for a moment, reaching into my saddlebag for one of the rifles.  “Eyup.”  She slung it over her shoulder and grabbed a couple boxes of ammo.

“Do you know how to shoot an assault rifle?”  I asked her with a slight chuckle as she seemed to think and then shake her head.  “You’re an Earth Pony, so it may take some getting used to...  You take the weapon into your mouth with the bite grip.”  I watched as she slung it around and took hold of it.  “And you pull the trigger with your tongue.”  I glared at her while silently thanking the armor I was wearing.  I reached up and pulled the bullet from the armor as she slung it over her back once again.

“Sorry...” she muttered softly, recoiling a few steps.

“Nawh, don’t be... Not the first time I’ve gotten shot.  Hell, if I was a raider, I’d probably be dead, or damn near it.”  That seemed to brighten her spirits a bit.

“That’s good!”  She said happily, walking toward the door.  “Now, lets go find somewhere to sell those extra weapons, shall we?”

I nodded, and we set off to the east once more, looking for any sign of civilization.  What we found ten minutes later, however, wasn’t much in the way of a city...

I looked around at the broken buildings of the small town.  Ponies with bandaged limbs hobbled around, fleeing from the sight of me and Gear.

Finally, one Pony stepped out of a doorway, holding a gun.  “S-stop right there.  We... we’ve had enough of you.  Get out or I’ll sh-shoot!”  He said, holding the gun shakily.

“Woah, woah...  I don’t mean you any harm.”  I said slowly.

He looked at me.  “Yer one of them bandit folk from the prison.”  He said with certainty.

“No, I’m not.  We came this way from Wellspring.  Just looking for my friends parents.”

He looked at us for a few moments, and lowered his weapon.  “Sorry...  Raiders attack here... A lot... With explosives.”

I looked at Gear, and she gave me a nod.  “My friend here is pretty good with explosives, maybe she could help?”  I asked with a hopeful grin.

“Aint no helping against Dynamite...”  He muttered, turning and returning to the building he came out of, before waving us in.

“Well, maybe we could help some other way?” I asked.

“The only thing that’d help is killin all them bandits.”  He said, popping a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it.  “And aint no way that’ll happen...”  He said, sitting against the wall.  “If you did that, it’d be a miracle.”

I looked toward Gear, and she grinned.  “How well armed is your village?”

“We have this shotgun.”  He said, looking at me with raised eyebrows.  “Why?”  He shifted to grab the shotgun again.

“I was going to sell these, but I figure, your town may need them more than me.”  I reached into my pack and pulled the assault rifles and pistols, setting them on the desk.

His eyes widened slightly as he picked up the dual pistols in his telekinesis.  “What’s the catch?”  He asked warily.

“No catch.  Just doing a good deed...”  I muttered.

The door bust open and another pony, Earth, bust in.  “Sheriff.  They’re here again.”  He grumbled.

The unicorn nodded, tossing one of the rifles his way.  “Let’s get to it, then.”  The Earth pony caught it and grabbed the gun, leaving the door again.  “You two, grab those.  Help me give them to the others who want to help.

A quick few minutes, and the weapons were divvied up.  I looked down at Gear once more, who sat with an assault rifle and almost laughed.  It was awkward for her to hold because of its shape, and her lack of experience.

As we stood, an explosion blasted chunks of concrete away from the road in front of us.  I shifted, blocking the rubble from hitting either me or Gear in the face.  As I came back up, Another explosion tossed three of the ponies to my left around, scraping them up pretty badly, but beyond that they looked fine.  Everyone started to open fire as another stick of dynamite was thrown.  It exploded prematurely in the air and Gear let out a laugh around the mouth grip of her gun.

“AHAHA!  Oot tem out of the ky!” She said happily opening fire at another one headed our way.

“Oh, shoot them out of the sky?”  She nodded.  I grinned, and looked toward the group. “Focus your fire on the raiders.”  I spread my wings and took to the air, using the shotgun to blast dynamite out of the air.

Another shot, and another dynamite burst.  I turned a stick of dynamite hit my wing, and fell straight down.  I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the explosion.

Two more shots, and two more sticks fell.  I watched as a few raiders dropped to the ground below me as the townsfolk shot at them.  I pulled my shogun up and shot the next stick, this one a bit too close.  The explosion sent me reeling, and sent the shotgun plummeting to the ground.  I dove for it, but shots from the raiders kept me from getting to it.

I growled, looking toward the bandits and pulling the blade.  It seemed to sing as I pulled it from the sheath.  I flew forward, spinning to avoid another stick before landing between two raiders.  One wide swing, and both of them fell.

I spun, swinging at another.  He avoided the blade, but I brought my open claw around, catching him in the throat.

I finally caught a count of how many bandits were around me.  I was in the middle of a horde of thirty, at least.  I cut two more down, and started to take to the air, but a shotgun blast caused me to waver and fall to the ground, a stinging pain in my wing.

I continued to fight with the blade, bullets from various weapons hitting my armor.  The guns weren’t penetrating the armor very well, because of disrepair, but I could feel bruising with each hit.

Finally, two earth ponies lunged forward, tackling me and pinning me to the ground.  One stood on my arm, preventing me from moving the blade, while the other stood on my neck.

I could feel life fading, and heard calls in the distance.  “Get up!”  “Don’t die!”  “We need you!”  “You promised to help me find my parents...”

My eyes snapped open and I tossed my head forward, my beak hitting the pony on me in the chest.  I swung my body sideways, clawing the other pony across the chest.

I felt reinvigorated, my blade still singing as it cut into bandits.  I grabbed one bandit by the collar of his barding and flew upward.  I slipped the blade into its holster as he squirmed.  I lit the four fuses I could see sticking out of his pockets and dropped him once again.  He scrambled to toss them away as he fell in the midst of the group, but it did him now good.

A large explosion cleared a good portion of the remaining bandits.  I swooped down, into the smoke and went back to work, cutting through these opponents.  Then, another pony finally tackled me, knocking the blade away and doing her best to keep me pinned with a reverse-levitation magic.  She reared back, and planted her forehooves into my neck.  Then again, then again.  I could feel my breathing growing ragged as she did so.

After the fourth hit, a shotgun blast rang out, but I didn’t move...  Pain was finally catching up with me and I didn’t want to move.  Let the shotgun wielder take me.  As I was contemplating this I saw Gear poke her head into view, grinning past my shotgun.  She set it down next to me and nudged my side.  “Wake up! We’ve beaten them back.  They’re running.”  She said happily.  I looked over to three more raiders running off.  I stood, grabbing my sword and shotgun, returning them to their rifle spots slowly.

“Thank you, Miss.”  The Sheriff said, coming over.  “You gave us the confidence to beat those raiders.  Please, feel free to stay here for the night.  You don’t want to be on the roads when it gets dark...”

I nodded, limping forward.  “Yeah... I could use a nap...”  I mumbled as I followed the Sheriff.

I don’t remember falling asleep, or getting into this building, but I certainly feel pretty refreshed at this point.  I stretched, and realized it was pretty cold where I was.  Almost to the point I could see my breath.

I felt squirming next to me and looked under my outstretched wing.  Gear was curled up, using my wing as a blanket to shield her from the cold.

I was awake, and not going to get much more sleep tonight, but I couldn’t move and leave the filly to the cold.  I sighed, and smiled softly as I curled up around the Filly, blocking her from the cold a bit more as lay there, awaiting the first signs of morning.

Another hour later, the sun was starting to rise, and I felt squirming next to me.  I lifted my wing slightly, and looked at Gear as she yawned, then blinked, then turned red as she hopped to her feet and took a few steps away from me.  “S-Sorry, Gwyn.”  She muttered quickly.

I shrugged.  “Don’t worry.  It was cold last night and you needed to stay warm.  I understand.”

“Yeah... I was cold...”  She muttered, looking away and stretching.  “Well...  Are we done here?” She asked, changing the subject.

“I think so...  I mean, we took out a large portion of the raiders.”

“The sheriff did say that was the largest attack yet, and with most of the numbers they could see on their patrols...”  Gear muttered.  “He’s taking the group we armed to the facility and clearing out what’s left.  They may even move the city into it.  It’s easily defensible, should another attack happen.”

I nodded at her response and made my way out of the building.  As I looked around the town, I saw nopony whatsoever.  I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Gear.

She shrugged.  “They did say they were moving to the Prison as soon as they could...”

“It still seems a bit off to me...”  I muttered.  She nodded in agreement.  “Let’s go check on the prison.”  She nodded again.  I grabbed her and lifted her onto my back.  “Hold on tight.”  And with that, I took to the air, flying in the direction the bandits came from last night.  Hopefully I’d find the prison without too much trouble.

After a few minutes of flying, I landed.  We stood on a rocky outcropping not too far from the prison, but far enough away to remain partially hidden.  I watched for a few moments and saw ponies pacing in the watchtower nearest us.  “It looks like they’re here.”  I muttered, moving out of cover to make my way toward the prison.

“MORE INTRUDERS!”  I heard the shout from the watchtower as a gunshot rang out, chipping the pavement in front of me.

I hopped back, looking at the pony in the watchtower as he took shots at us.  He wasn’t very accurate, luckily.  “Stay low.”  I said to Gear, who dropped down, hiding herself behind the rocks.

I flew up, shifting every few seconds to give the pony a harder target.  I made my way into the watchtower and put my shotgun to his head.  He dropped his rifle, and gulped.  He was dressed like the raiders from last night.  “Where are the villagers?” I demanded.

He growled at me.  “The ones that attacked us?  They’re locked in the cells... Where they belong.”  He said.  His chuckle was cut short by the shotgun blast that took his head clean off.  I hefted him over the wall of the tower, and dropped him to the yard below.

I flew back down, hoisting Gear onto my back again, and bringing her to the watchtower.  As we sat, the raiders below stirred.  “So, not the stealthiest entrance you could have mustered.”

“It was effective.”  I looked at a pair of ammo boxes in the watchtower.  As I attempted to open them, I found they were locked.  “Damnit...”

“I’ve got the ammo boxes.  You go find the Townsfolk.”  Gear said.  I looked back at her and she nodded once.  I sighed and dropped down into the yard, blasting the ponies with my shotgun as I descended.

I walked through the prison yard as three ponies rounded the corner.  They spotted me and brought up their weapons.  One fell quickly to a shot from the watchtower behind me.  The next to my shotgun blast, and the third to my claw.  I quickly checked these three, looking for the key to the cell.  They had nothing.

I grumbled as I entered the main building.  Two stories tall, and with plenty of Steel...  I looked around the nearby room for a few moments, finding just a sleeping unicorn with a small rifle.  I made my way into the room quietly, and pulled the sword.  One quick swing and his head fell aside with a flop.

I checked his side, and found a keyring with a few different rings on it.  After checking a few of them on the nearby door, I was able to enter the main area of the prison, full of Cells.  Most of them were open.  The few that were closed, I could see a few ponies inside.  As I spotted the ponies from the town, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head.  I turned just in time to see an earth pony with a metal pipe, which she brought across the side of my head with a lot of force.

I woke up quite a bit later, locked into one of the cells.  I could hear sobbing from the corner of the cell.  I moved closer, slowly, and placed a talon on the curled up pony.  The pony jumped, and shakily looked back at me.

“I... Don’t want to be in a cage anymore, Gwyn.”  Gear said to me with so much dread.  I reached out and pulled her into an embrace, wrapping my wings around her for extra comfort.

We sat for a good five minutes, me slowly stroking her mane and telling her everything is going to be okay.  Her, crying and trying to believe what I said.

“How sweet.  The bird has a friend.”  Came a voice from the cell across the way from mine.  “I heard them bringin you two in here... What made you think you could attack this place and not get caught?”

I glared toward him, not giving an answer.

“Fine, don’t say anything...  Just know this.  Most people who find it okay to attack this place don’t see tomorrow.”  I heard a coughing from him.  “Unless you’re lucky enough to survive the firin squad, then you see more days, but they don’t fix you up.  You get to stick here with bullets in your chest...”

“Let me guess, you survived?”

“Barely...  Been holding on for the last few weeks...  It’s hard, let me tell you.”  He coughed once more.  “The only hope anyone has of getting out of here is juicin themselves up on Chems...”

“And where do you expect we get these Chems?”  I asked with a roll of my eyes.  “It’s not like they’re going to just give them to us.”

“No... But I can.”  He muttered.  “I was able to swipe a few chems while they were walking me back from the firin line...”

A small pouch flew from his cell, into my hands.  I opened it and surveyed the contents.  I grinned, looking at Gear.  “I’ve got an idea.”   Somehow, that didn’t seem to cheer her up any.

When I heard the guards coming, I quickly took the chems handed to me.  Dash, Rage, Buck, and Med-X.  Probably not good for my health to be taken all at once, but it was our only shot.  My vision faded for a moment as I heard them unlocking the door.  Every tumbler clicking into place.  When the door was starting to open, I sprinted forward, leaping at the door and knocking the pony behind it away.  I turned, planting a powerful claw strike on the next nearest pony, ripping through his thick leather armor like butter.

The next one rounded his gun at me, and I bent the barrel upward, wrenching it from his grasp and bludgeoning him with it.  I spun, shoving the butt of the assault rifle into another ponys neck, the grotesque snapping signifying he wasn’t going to stand up again.

I charged up the Halls, tearing through every raider I saw with ease.  As I rounded a corner, I came face to face with a shotgun.  My shotgun.  Being held by one of the low lifes that captured me.

I jumped as he fired, taking the brunt of the damage to my chest.  I fell forward, my claws digging into his back and breaking his spine.  I could feel the warmth of the blood seeping from the wound in my chest, but I didn’t stop.  My body didn’t allow it.  I slung the shotgun over my shoulder and continued with my charge.

Rain hit me as I entered the courtyard.  A cool, soothing drizzle that matted my fur and feathers.  The blood on my chest washed away slowly, and I took half a second to breathe in the scent of fallen rain.

Then, I noticed the group of bandits waiting for me.  Ten in all.  One wielding the sword I had when I came in.  I grabbed the one remaining drug on my side, and inhaled it.  The Turbo slowed the world around me, and I could see the water droplets fall in front of me.  I pulled my shotgun and fired two blasts before the clip emptied.  Both aimed at the pony with my sword.

I watched as the ponies in front of me pulled their weapons, and watched as the pellets separated and slowly cleared the distance between myself and the pony with the sword.

I watched as his face was slowly stripped of flesh, and his skull was slowly shattered by the double shot from my shotgun.  The sword flew upward, and I leapt, catching it as the other ponies opened fire.

I spun, cutting through the arm of one pony, then the chest of another.  I saw a bullet moving toward me, and brought the blade up, splitting it in two.  Turbo...  I needed to get more of this.  One by one, the bandits dropped, and I avoided every shot they took with relative ease.

When time sped back up, the last of the bandits fell, and I saw Gear staring at me with an almost fearful expression.  “Gwyn... You’re hurt.  Badly.”

“Nothing a quick stimpack won’t heal...”  I said with a grin as I took the scabbard of the blade from the pony who lost his face.  Fastening it to my side, I took a moment to wipe the blade clean before putting it away.

“You should probably sit down... and take the stimpack...”  Gear said worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be...”  I paused as my vision blurred and the drugs quickly wore off.  As the Med-X and Buck wore off, I let out a loud roar of pain.  The wound in my chest felt like someone had a claw grasped around my heart and was twisting it.

I collapsed in a heap, trying to remember how to breathe through the pain, when I felt a sharp needle stick into the side of my chest.  Slowly, the wounds felt less painful, and I was able to breathe normally.  I looked down, and saw the wounds slowly close up.

I looked up to see an unfamiliar face standing over me with a grin.  “I have to say, a Juiced Griffin is quite a spectacle.”  He said with a chuckle, helping me back to my feet.

“Names Dixie.  I’m what you could call a Pharmacist from New Pegas.  Those chems I gave you were ones I mixed up myself, but left out my special ingredient, for now.”  He gave me a sly grin.  “If you ever want any more, come look ol Dixie up, and I’ll get you nice and buzzed.”

“I’ll keep that in mind...”  I muttered as I shook slightly, looking toward Gear.  “So.  Let’s see if we can find the townsfolk, shall we?”

“They’re up ahead...  Dixie and I already got them out.”  She said as we walked. “The guards were busy with you, so it seemed pretty easy.”  I nodded and grinned, giving her a soft push.  She stumbled a bit in surprise,  “The hell was that for?”  She asked confused.

“Just a few minutes ago, you were in tears about being caged up again.  Now you’re doing my job for me.

“Your job?  You’re not getting paid for this, you know.”  She said with a grin.

“What, you think Mercs are only in it for the money?”  I asked with a fake offended tone.

“Uh, YEAH.  That’s the point of mercenary work, right?”  She nudged my side with a hoof.

“Well, yes... But that’s beside the point.  I did this out of the kindness of my own heart”  I said, a slight smile crossing my face.  “I mean, these people needed help, right?”

She nodded.  “Just kinda weird, that’s all.  I mean, you found me in a cage because you were looking for someone else, with quite a bit of pay...  Now, you’re helping people out without pay.”  She shrugged.

“You’re right... Lets put these people back in cages and demand payment.”  I said with a grin.

“I’d rather you didn’t.”  The Sheriff said as we rounded a corner, I opened my mouth to respond, but decided against it.  “Looks like you two saved us again.”  He muttered, looking around.  “Wish there was some way I could repay that debt.”

I shook my head.  “No need.  I was passing through anyway.”

He looked at me, almost shocked.  “So, you fought off Bandits, got locked up, and fought your way out to save us a second time... and don’t want anything in return?”  He let out a laugh.  “I never knew Griffins were this crazy.”

I let that comment fall by the wayside, and looked toward Gear.  “Well then.  We should probably head out.”  She nodded, and we made our way toward the north, continuing our search for Gilded Rose.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Iron Fist -- Everyone knows that Griffins have razor sharp claws... Now your opponents will know it well.  You do bonus damage with unarmed strikes!

Chapter 4: Darkness

“When angels despair, what hope can remain for mortals?”

“We’ve been walking for hours... I thought bullet wounds to the chest are supposed to slow people down.”  Gear complained as she walked alongside me.

I nudged her with a chuckle.  “Not Griffins.  Remember, we’re half lion, half eagle, and all awesome.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed.  “We should still find a place to rest...  After our daring rescue at the prison, I could use a nap...”

“Theres a small campsite up ahead.  We’ll stop there.  Another thirty minutes or so?”  Gear glared at me but sighed, nodding in agreement.

The campsite was more of a large, fenced in area with some overturned skycarraiges acting as shelter.  A few merchant carts sat around the site, travellers resting up as well I assumed.

As the two of us entered, a guard at the gate nodded to us.  “It’s 30 caps each.”  He said firmly.

I raised an eyebrow.  “Since when?  I was here just a month ago, and it was free.”

“That was until raiders would sneak in and steal things while everyone was asleep.  Now, we charge for entry.  It deters criminals.”  He said with a nod.  “The boss set it up, and upped the guard here to make sure people were safe.”

“The boss, huh?”  He nodded.  “And who is this Boss of yours?”

“He goes by the name of Silver Tongue.”  The guard said, holding out a hoof.  “30 Caps, each.”

“Not surprised to hear his name...”  I muttered, paying the 60 caps and entering the campsite.

We made our way to the back of the site, finding an overturned carriage that no one had staked claim to yet.  After placing our extra stuff down, Gear walked over to the merchants and started talking about various things.

I yawned and stretched, deciding it’d be best to get some rest.  I curled up on the bedroll in the carriage and looked out toward Gear, who had already found herself making friends with the caravaners.

After a few minutes of talking, Gear rushed over to our carriage and nudged me.  “Gwyn!  You won’t believe this.  The Merchants are headed in the same direction as us, and are looking for an escort!”  I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.  “They’re paying Two-Hundred Caps each!”

“Hmm.  Two-Hundred Caps each, there’s four of them.  Eight-hundred caps isn’t that bad of a haul, really.”  I mulled it over for a moment and looked over to Gear.  “Tell you what.  This one is yours.  I’ll let you do the negotiations, and agreements.”  I said, smiling at her excited face.

She scampered off and the negotiations started.  I watched this go on for a few more minutes before fatigue got the better of me, and I fell asleep.

A squirming next to me woke me up.  I lifted my wing slightly, peering at the sleeping form of Gear under it.  I smiled softly, and felt something squirming on my other side.  I slowly turned, looking in the other direction to the form of a pony dragging themselves into the bed next to me.  I hopped up, pushing Gear behind me and pulling my shotgun, pointing it toward the pony.

The newcomer looked over at me, smiling despite the shotgun barrel in her face.  “Hey... Gwyn.  Long time no see.”  She said softly, her voice cracking before a fit of coughing.

“Penumbra?  What the hell happened to you?”  I could see deep wounds all over her body, and she looked quite ragged.  “You look like you’ve been through a meat grinder...”

She chuckled slightly, then winced.  “Don’t worry... I’ve been through worse.  Just need a bit of rest.”  She said, her eyes closing, and her head falling to the Pillow.

I looked at Gear and she returned my confused glance.  I shrugged, curling back up on the bed, and lifting a wing.  Gear looked away for a brief moment before climbing into the bed and curling up next to me, under my wing.

The rest of the night was rather peaceful, aside from the yips and calls of some animals to the east.  Not sure what they were, but they weren’t a threat.

Penumbra groggily pushed herself to her hooves, wincing as she put pressure on her left hind-leg.  A brief glow from her horn and I could see the pain leave her face.  I had also noticed her other wounds were gone as well.  “Well, that certainly is much better.”

“What happened?”  I asked as we made our way outside.

Penumbra followed me, using her magic to pull bits of rocks and sticks out of her mane.  “I found another group of slavers, tried to find their pens to see if Gilded Rose was there.  I blacked out for a few moments and when I came to, I was surrounded by slavers.  They attacked me with their knives and guns.  I barely made it away.  Then, I saw you two getting into the carriage, and decided to let my magic recuperate for a few hours at least.”

I nodded, looking toward the merchants who were cooking up some breakfast.  I smiled softly as Gear did what she could to help, and even organized a small Buffet of sorts.  She convinced each merchant to offer up some food, and it was divided amongst everyone.

I’m not sure where she got it, but Gear supplied a few cans of preserved carrots, and Penumbra some Nightstalker meat.

The morning was enjoyable, and everyone had a good time talking about their pasts, their families, and their jobs.  Then, the topic of the slavers came up.  “They’re a big nuisance in the Marehave lately...  Ever since The Hoof and Fillydelphia have been cleared, they’ve taken to this barren waste... Who would ever want to help out this little slice of paradise...”

“That’s right...  Now, we have to pay for protection, or we get killed, or sold off!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you to your destination safely.”  I said with a grin.  Gear nodded, agreeing happily.

“I’ve gotta go back... They might have Rosie.”  Penumbra said with a sigh.  I looked at her, then back to the group.  “We’ve already signed up with these merchants.  Why don’t you join us, Penumbra.  They’re not going too far, and we can double back after we get them to their destination safely.”

Penumbra looked at me like I had just slapped her in the face.  “What if my Daughter is in there?  I can’t just leave her to her fate!”  She said, standing up and pointing a hoof at me.  “You can leave, but I’m not going to risk my daughters life.”

“You barely made it out alive last time.  Four hours is all it’s going to take to get there and back. Then, Gear and I will help you find your daughter, and clear out the raiders while we’re at it.”

Penumbra glared at me, and I returned her gaze.  After a few minutes of tense silence, she sighed.  “Fine.  But we should hurry...”  She muttered, starting to walk.  The Merchants followed her, and I shrugged to Gear as we started walking.

Just a short way up the road, we reached a small shack set up.  Three ponies exited, two with assault rifles on Battle saddles, and one with a grenade launcher held in her telekinesis.  “Whelp, looks like they’re trespassing on our turf, fellas.”  Said the Unicorn with the grenade launcher.

“Get out of our way, or you’ll be sorry.”  Penumbra said angrily.

“Oh, did you hear that, lads...  We’ll be sorry.”  The trio laughed, until everything went dark.  I pulled Gear close to me, and blinked a few times, my vision somehow adjusting to the extreme amounts of darkness.

I could see Penumbra lunging forward at the trio, a knife held in her Telekinesis.  Two swipes and the battle-saddle wearers fell.  A grenade fired at Penumbra, but bounced off an invisible barrier, and flew wide before bursting.

“I told you.  You’d be sorry.”  Penumbra growled, pushing the pony forward with the invisible barrier.  Soon, the pony was being pushed against the wall of the shack.  “Who do you work for?”

“V-Viper”  The unicorn said, unable to breath.

“Who is Viper?”  Penumbra asked calmly.

“Slaver... In the market.. Nearby...”

“Do you have a small tan filly, with pink hair...”  The unicorn didn’t speak.  “ANSWER ME!”

“I don’t... I don’t--”  The unicorn fell limp.  Penumbra wasted no time bringing the knife across her throat before the darkness ebbed.

I let Gear go, and made my way over to Penumbra.  “That was...  Interesting.”  She looked at me with sad eyes.  “Remind me to never make you angry?”

She let out a sad chuckle.  “Deal...   I still don’t know if Rosie is there.  I have to find out.”

“We will.  I promise you.  But for now, we have to keep moving.  The more time we waste, the less time we have.

She nodded, and started walking again.  The merchants followed her, and I followed them.

“Wait for me!”  Gear shouted before rushing up to me and hopping onto my back.  She was definitely heavier than she was yesterday.  I looked over my shoulder, and saw the young mare with the two battle saddles and the grenade launcher.

“What are you doing, and why aren’t you walking?”  I asked with a sigh.

“I think I can rig this launcher to this battle saddle.”  She said, pulling some tools from her saddlebag.

“Do you even know how to use a battle saddle?”

She looked at me with a blank stare for a few minutes before returning to work on the guns.  I chuckled and continued following the merchants.

We made it to the small settlement the merchants were headed toward without too much problem.  A few large geckos tried nipping at us, but they were easily dispatched.

“I GOT IT!”  Gear shouted happily as the Merchants handed us the pay.  I took two hundred, gave Penumbra two hundred, and gave Gear the other four.  It was her job, after all.

“Got what, Gear?”  I asked, looking over my shoulder at her again.  She was sliding the battle saddle on, and tightening it around her torso.  It was still a little loose on her.  Something we’d have to fix soon.

She hopped from my back and stood proudly, until she tipped over from the weight of the grenade launcher.  “That gun is almost as big as you are.  Not something you’ll want to lug around...”

She glared at me as she stood back up, balancing out.  “No, I just need another one to even things out...”  She muttered.  She sighed and took the saddle off, quickly replacing the other assault rifle on it.  She strapped the grenade launcher to her back, determined to keep it.

We quickly returned to the Market that the slavers had set up shop in.  We looked in through a broken skylight on the roof, and found the slave pens.  Gear grinned, pulling the grenade launcher off her back.  “I should be able to buy you two a few minutes to get in and get to those cages.  Get to the front doors, and wait for my signal.”

Penumbra and I looked at each other, then at the filly.  She blinked a few times and looked back at us.  “What?”

“That’s... not a bad plan.”  I said, looking at Penumbra who nodded.  “Alright.  On your signal.”  I said as Penumbra and I made our way to the front.

She dropped down, putting her knife into the back of one guards neck.  I swooped down, and planted the other ones face into the ground forcefully.  We nodded to one another just before a loud explosion echoed from the inside of the market.

“Was that...”  Penumbra started.  I nodded, opening the door and rushing in.  We quickly made our way to the cages, the slavers over near the wall that had just burst, looking for its source.  A second grenade burst, throwing back three of them.  One looked up toward Gear and opened fire at her.  She returned fire with her battle saddle.

Penumbra and I reached the cages, and she quickly looked at the ponies in them.  She looked at me and shook her head sadly.  “Let’s get them out of here.  We can take them to the village we took the merchants to, for now.”  She nodded, and went to work unlocking the cages.

I turned in time to see a slaver rounding a large shotgun at me.  I pulled mine and fired, causing him to stumble, but he still took the shot, peppering my armor with huge buckshot.

I swore I felt a rib crack from the force, and searing pain in my chest from whatever punched through.  Standing up and ignoring the pain, I took another shot, blowing the large shotgun wielders legs out from under him.  As he hit the ground with a thud, my blade came out and tore through his back.  Another explosion rattled the far end of the super market, followed by a loud screech of a young filly falling from the ceiling.

I saw Gear falling toward the floor and attempted to fly toward her, but pain shot through me as I moved, causing me to fall to the ground and watch helplessly as she fell into a pile of rubble.  A cloud of dust rolled past, causing me to turn away for a moment.

“GEAR!”  I called out, pushing to my feet and rushing forward.  I pulled some rubble aside, finding Gear, curled up on her side.

She smiled up at me.  “Cleanup on Aisle 3...”  She muttered weakly.

I carefully pulled her from the rubble, lifting her onto my back.  Making my way back toward Penumbra, she glared back at me angrily.  “Uhhh...  Something up?”

“There’s only two slaves left here.  They remember seeing A filly that fit Rosies description here.”  She said, obvious anger on her voice.

“Do they know where she went?”  I asked, hopeful.

“No.”  She snapped, looking toward the two, who were standing off to the side wondering what to do now.  “They say she was sent out an hour ago.  If you wouldn’t have been so wrapped up in escorting those merchants, We would have found her.”  She growled.

I looked back at her, and sighed.  “Yeah.  So we would have...  It was something that could have done differently.  Right now, though, Gear is injured, I’m injured, you’re pissed.  We need to get to a town.”

Penumbra looked at the two slaves that were slowly scooting away, but froze when they were looked at.  “Pegas isn’t too far away.  I think I could get those two there with my magic.  As for you two... I could heal one of you, but I don’t think I have enough magic to heal both of you...”

I looked at Gear for a moment, who lifted her head weakly.  “Heal Gwyn...”  She muttered.  “I’ll be fine until we get somewhere.”

I nodded and Penumbra placed her horn against my chest.  A white light spread across it, and I felt my ribs setting and healing.  “Thanks...  See you in Pegas.”  Penumbra nodded, moving toward the other two.  With an audible pop, the trio was gone.

“Alrighty, Gear... Let’s get you to a doctor, shall we?”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Intense Training -- Who says getting shot at all the time is bad?  All the fights you’ve been through have toughened you up, and raised your Endurance!

Chapter 5: Home

“Swifter than an angel, crueler than a demon, and relentless as a ghoul.”

Pegas was a little different from the last time I was here.  In a short two weeks, it went from being a happy, free place to a place that was quiet and hushed outside.  You could still hear the livelihood of the casinos, but the streets were all but dead.

As I reached a small clinic on the end of the strip, I found out why.  Banners hung over most of the buildings on this side of the Strip, each adorning NCR colors.  The New Canterlot Republic has finally reached this little expanse of desert.

I brought Gear into the small medical tent, which had a few soldiers laying back on the cots.  They didn’t look all that injured, but I wasn’t about to judge.  “Oh, dear, what happened to the little one?”  A nurse asked as she rushed over.  She led me to a bed in the back, and I placed Gear on it softly.

“Slaver attack...  She kinda had a building dropped on her.”  I replied.

“Oh, dear!”  The nurse rushed off, grabbing a few things.  The tent was very simple.  A few cots, two of which had machines next to it.  Presumably for ponies in a bad condition?  I shook my head as the nurse came back with a couple rolls of bandages.  “This may take a few minutes.  I’ll have to check her injuries and treat them.  You can wait outside, if you want.”

“No.  I’m not leaving her side.”

“Miss Blackfeather.”  A voice came from behind me.  I turned to see Silver Tongue standing with an air of confidence.  “Come with me.  We’ve got a lot to discuss about your contract.”

I sighed, placing a claw on Gears head Gently.  “I’ll be back, Gear.  I promise.”  I followed Silver Tongue out.  Out of the NCR outpost.  Past Chimera, past The Trots, past The Lux.  He took me into a casino called the Lucky 38.  Through a crowd of gambling ponies.  Past the hotel rooms, all the way to the top floor.  A nice view of the entire strip, and a good portion of the wasteland was visible from up here.

I looked for a few moments, and grinned as I turned back.  “This is the reason I love wings.  Sights are so much better form high up.”   Silver Tongue didn’t return my happy expression.  Instead, he walked over to a desk and sat down.

“What’s this I hear about you Terrorizing my associates?”  He asked bluntly.

“What’s this I hear about you working with bandits?” I retaliated.  Silver Tongue just smiled.

“I reformed bandits.  They work honest work for me.  I keep their families fed and safe here in my establishment.  In such a harsh wasteland, what more could be asked for?”  I looked at him for a few moments, but sighed.  He was right.  I didn’t like how he was going about it, but it is an honest job...

“Next order of business.  Penumbra just passed through and was yelling something about you letting our daughter go?  I mean, she was angry, so I’d like your side of the story.”

“Not much to tell.  We were escorting some merchants, and decided to get them to their destination before doubling back on a small slaving ring set up in a market.  A slave says they thought they saw Gilded Rose there.”  I said.  SIlver Tongue looked like he was thinking for a few moments.

“Well...  Not much we can do about that now.”  He said.  I could tell he was upset about it, but keeping his calm demeanor.  “What’s your next step?”

“Gear was injured fighting the slavers at the market earlier.  I’m going to stay here with her until she’s better.”  I replied, then looked out over the wasteland.  “Then, try to figure out where they would have sent your daughter.”

He nodded, sighing slightly.  “You can stay here, if you wish.”  He said, also looking out over the wastes.  “Hopefully Penumbra can find information about Rose soon.”  He turned toward me with a slight smile.  “Now, go.  Check on your friend.  And be careful of the NCR.  They’re not to be trusted.”

I nodded slowly, unsure of why they shouldn’t be trusted, but kept my mouth shut.  I made my way out of the casino, heading toward the end of the strip once again.  I rounded the corner to the NCR base just in time to see Penumbra leaving with another pony.  This other Pony had a light red coat and orange mane.  What struck me as weird was the metallic legs she had.

“Oh, Gwyn.  I see you made it alright.”  Penumbra said, looking back at the other.  “This is Flash Fire.  She’s an old acquaintance of the NCR.”

“Oh, yeah... Acquaintance...”  She muttered angrily.  “Penumbra dragged me here to help intimidate the NCR and get them off Silvers back.”

Penumbra shrugged, and looked back at me.  “I also noticed you found Gears family?”  She asked.

“What are you talking about?  I’ve been talking to Silver Tongue since I got here.”

“Two ponies just left the hospital with her, heading to the NCR farms just outside of town.”  Penumbra said, a realization hitting her.  “You didn’t know?”

I took to the air, flying toward the nearby farmland.  Rows and Rows of irrigation equipment watered slowly growing crops.  I guess that’s one thing the NCR is doing right...

I landed as I spotted Gear, sure enough, limping alongside two other ponies.  She looked so happy...  She looked over to me, smiling from ear to ear.  “GWYN!  Glad you could make it!  These are my parents.  Apparently, they’ve taken up residence with the farmers here.”  Gear said, excitedly.

I walked forward, holding a talon out toward the two.  “Gwyn Blackfeather.  I’m glad you three got reunited.”

The male took my talon, giving it a firm shake.  “My name is Nightshade, and this is my wife, Frostbite.”  He said with a smile.  “Thank you for bringing our daughter back to us.  We were so worried something would happen to her... Please, Join us for dinner?  It’s the least we could do.”

I nodded, accepting their invitation and following them to their home.

Gear filled her parents in on everything that happened to her since she was taken, starting with the sexual acts the slavers put her through, to being saved, captured at the prison, all the way up to her getting buried under rubble, leading to her current injuries.  Her parents kept looking toward me with worried looks, and I couldn’t bring myself to return their gaze.  “So... Miss Blackfeather.  You are a mercenary?”  Nightshade asked.

“Uh, yeah...  I was hired to find a clients daughter, who had been taken by slavers nearby.  Stumbled across your daughter and a few others while trying to find her.”  I explained, taking another bite of... whatever it was on my plate.  Something with the texture of wet mud.

“So, if something happens, we can hire you to help us, right?”  I nodded, raising an eyebrow.  “Good.  I’m glad there’s someone trustworthy enough to help those in need in the wasteland.”  Nightshade smiled, finishing what was on his plate.

“I’ve been thinking.”  Gear piped up, sighing.  “Thinking about what I’ve been through lately.  I wanna keep travelling with Gwyn.  I can do plenty of good for the wasteland if I do.”  Gear said with a nod.

“I don’t think so, young lady.”  Frostbite said, placing a hoof on Gears back.  “You just got back.  We’ve missed you and don’t want you running off and getting hurt.”

“She’s right,”  Nightshade said, “You should stay with us, until you’re a little older...  The wasteland is no place for a kid.”

“Gwyn, tell them you’ll keep me safe!  Take me with you!  I’ve had so much fun over the past few days.”  Gear pleaded.

“Look, Kid...  They’re probably right.  It’s dangerous out there.  You had a building dropped on you and it’s just going to get worse.  You should stay here, at least until your injuries are healed.  Spend some time with your parents while you still can.”  I said.  Gear looked at me in disbelief.  “Don’t give me that look... I’m not going to force your parents to let you come with me.  I’d be no better than a slaver if I did.  I’ll be in town for a couple more days, feel free to visit if you’d like, but I can’t let you come with me when I leave.”

Gear continued looking at me with sad eyes and rushed over, wrapping me in a hug.  “I’ll miss you, Gwyn...  When I’m better I will find you.  I swear.”  Gear muttered.

I wrapped an arm around her, hugging her gently.  “It’s been fun, kid.”  I stood, shaking Nightshades hoof once again, and nodding a goodbye to Frostbite.

I walked back into The lobby of the Lucky 38, looking out over the casino floor that had led to my near death not long ago.  I sighed, continuing through the building and to an active elevator.  I made my way up to the suite that Silver had allowed me to take.

As I exited the elevator, I heard talking from the other room.  “She should be here soon.”  The first voice sounded like Penumbras.

“Alright, and you want me to take care of her once she gets here?”  The other voice asked, an unrecognized voice.

“It’s what you do best, right?”  Penumbra asked.

“Careful, though.  You’ll have your hooves full.  A griffon may be more than you can handle on your own.” A third voice, Flashfire?

“I’m pretty sure I can take care of her as easily as I would anypony else.”

I pulled my shotgun as I entered the room, holding it between me and the trio.  Penumbra and Flashfire looked at me with confused looks.  The third pony cowered behind the two.  “Put that away before you hurt yourself.”  Flashfire said, exiting the room.

“Gwyn, this is Lilac.  I decided even though I was less than happy with the Rose situation, it wasn’t your fault.  So, to make it up to you, Lilac is going to help work out some of your tension.  She gives the best massages in Pegas.”

“J-just take off the armor, get on the table, and we can get started.”  Lilac said sheepishly.

I glared toward Penumbra.  “Just do it you big chicken.”  She said with a grin.  I looked toward her for a few more moments before taking off the armor and setting it aside.

As I layed down on the table, I looked back at Penumbra.  She grinned back at me.  “This is stupid...  I don’t get massages.  They’re a waste of time.”  Lilac placed a hoof on my back between my wings, and pressed down.  It sounded like a gunshot going off in the apartment, but it felt so much better.  “Maybe... I do have some time for this...”  I said with a content sigh as Lilac continued.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Shotgun Surgeon -- You’ve used a shotgun your entire career.  Ponies with armor scoff at your choice, until you rip their armor apart and damage them anyway.

Chapter 6: Betrayal

"An angel's sword impales only the body; her righteousness penetrates the soul."

I awoke the next morning feeling refreshed.  A nice massage and a good nights sleep was what I really needed.  I stood, stretching my wings as I did so, and looked over toward the chair I had ditched my gear on last night, but the chair was empty.  I exited the room and saw Flashfire walking out of the kitchen area, groggily.  “Flashfire.  Have you seen my armor and shotgun?”

Flashfire glared toward me, “Yeah...  Penumbra walked out with it while you were with Lilac.  Not sure where she went with it.”  She muttered, plopping on one of the couches and yawning.  I looked over, noticing her cutie mark.  A raised hoof with an aura of fire.  Above her cutie mark was a straight scar, running almost the whole length of her Flank.

“What’s with the mark?”  I asked her with a raised eyebrow, taking a seat across from her.

She raised an eyebrow at me.  “I used to be NCR.  Trained in hoof-to-hoof combat.  I was able to harness my magic and create flames around my hooves that would hurt my enemies, but not myself.  Got my mark not too long after that.  Funny enough, it was the same day I lost my legs and horn.”

“I meant the scar.”  I said, noticing her uneasy look.

“Have you heard of Arbu?”  she asked.  I nodded slowly.  “Well.  That’s where I was born.  It’s pretty hazy, but I remember shooting someone that came by the town, and we ate that night.  My parents told me they were proud, and they marked me.  I found out later that I had eaten the mare I shot.”  She muttered, sighing.  “I never thought I’d like the taste of other ponies.  Luckily, I’ve been able to do away with that part of me.”

“I thought that Vault Dweller shot the place up, killed everyone with marks.”  I said.

Flashfire shot an angry glare back.  “Yeah.  The Bitch slaughtered my family.  We were surviving.  When she started shooting, I hid.  I saw my family die.  They screamed from bullets, and the wastelands hero stood there, and watched.”  She growled.

I stood, walking over to her and placing a talon on her back.  “I’m sorry.”  It was all I could say.

Flashfire sighed, and stood up, walking to a room on the other side of the suite.  As she exited the room, the door to the suite opened, and Silver Tongue walked in.  “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”  He said.

“No... Not really.”  I muttered, sitting back down.  “Hear anything about Rose?”

“Not yet.  But I did hear something else that I think you’ll want to know.”  He said, taking a seat across from me.  “I have eyes and ears all over the wasteland.  You already know that.  My informant in the Crystal Clade, A small group of slavers to the south, they just got a bit more ‘inventory’.  One was a brown filly with a rust colored mane.  Cutie mark was a Wrench and Gear.”

“Bronze Gear?”  My eyes widened.  “What.. What happened?”

“From the sounds of things, she was sold off.  According to my informant, it was a duo by the names of Frostbite and Nightshade.”

I hopped up, heading for the door.  I knew two ponies who had to answer for a couple things.  As I exited the building, I bumped into Penumbra, who had my armor and Shotgun levitating in front of her.  I grabbed them, putting the armor on and the shotgun in its holster.  “Wow, not even a thanks?  I knew griffins were rude but...”  I didn’t hear the rest of the sentence.  I was airborne and making my way to the farmsteads.

I busted the door to the house that Nightshade and Frostbite resided in, startling the two of them as they counted their caps on a table.  Grabbing Nightshade by the throat and pinning him to the wall I glared at him.  “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO.”  I demanded.

“We... We needed the money.”  He choked out, I squeezed his neck a little harder.

I saw Frostbite moving out of the corner of my eye.  I pointed the shotgun at her with my free talon.  “You sold your own daughter into slavery, AFTER WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH?”

“She’s better off this way.  She’d just starve to death here...  We barely have enough food for ourselves!”  Frostbite demanded.  I cracked her across the side of her head with the barrel of my shotgun, knocking her into the table.  I turned, throwing Nightshade at her.  They both let out yelps of pain.

“You two make me sick.  Count yourselves lucky that I’m letting you live.”   I growled, looking toward the caps that are scattered across the floor.  “I hope your daughter was worth the money.”  And with that, I left, headed to the south to meet up with the Crystal Clade.

The Crystal Clade were hold up in an old School.  It seemed mostly intact.  The bits that would have been broken were repaired.  They had Eight sentries on the roof, so that was out of the question.  Four guards by the front door.  Two by the back.  As I started to move toward the back, two mares walking to the door caught my eye.  Penumbra and Flashfire.

I listened as best as I could at this distance, but couldn’t hear much of anything.  After a few moments, Penumbra blinked out of sight, and I heard a popping behind me.  “You know, they saw you twenty minutes ago.”  Penumbra said with a chuckle.  “Now come on.  Let’s get your friend.”

“They’re just going to let us in?”  I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They don’t kill potential clients on sight.  We’re going in, buying your friend, and leaving.  No heroics.  This group is too much for us to handle.”  She gestured toward the door guards.  “They’re called Crystal Clade because they have rifles that fire beams through a magical focus crystal.  I’ve seen them reduce ponies to dust.”

I nodded, walking with her toward the guards, and then into the building.  “Here at the Crystal Clade, we don’t believe in treating our merchandise poorly.  Each slave is given a reasonable sized room, a bed, and a few more amenities.  It keeps them happy.  We figure, it’s the least we can do for them before they’re brought into some backbreaking labor camp, or what have you.”  The ‘tour guide’ droned on.

“Where can we see who’s available for purchase?”  I asked, a low growl apparent enough on my voice that Penumbra shot me a glare.

“Straight to the point I see.”  The Guide said as he turned toward us, a smile on his face.  “And what were you looking for exactly?  Three lovely ladies looking for a nice Buck?”

“We’re looking for somepony good with explosives.”  Penumbra said before I had a chance to say anything.

“I think we can work something out.  If you ladies would have a seat, we’ll bring out the candidates.”  And with that, he trotted off to the back room.

We sat in silence for a few long minutes when the Colt came back with three ‘candidates’.  A Unicorn Colt with a light grey coat and black mane ‘Coal Dust’.  A Pegasus Mare missing a wing, called ‘Feather’.  And the third was Gear.

“What are their prices, and qualifications?”  Penumbra asked.  The Colt grinned, placing a hand on the Unicorns shoulder.  “Coal here can contain explosions with a magic field, in case things got bad.  He can also rewire most explosives without even opening them up.”  He said.  Penumbra nodded slightly.

“Don’t let Feathers appearance fool you.  She may not be able to fly, but her touch is as light as her name.  She can disarm just about any explosive in a few seconds, and can walk over clusters of mines without triggering any of them.”

“And Little Gear here says she’s good at improvised explosives.  She can cobble an explosive out of just about anything you can find.”

“How much are we talkin?”  Flashfire asked.

“Well, Coal and Feather are both rather experienced, so let’s say 20K each.  As for Little Gear...”  He paused, looking toward me with a sly grin.  “I’ll have to say 100K.”

“What?  Why so much?”  I asked angrily.

“Well, She’s younger.  Young ponies are a rather hot commodity.  Plus, with the ability to build explosives out of scrap?  I gotta protect my future investors.  And on top of that, I can see you really want her in your little crew.”

Penumbra stood up and walked toward the colt.  “Surely we can work something out to get that cost down?”  Penumbra purred, nudging the side of the Slavers neck with her cheek.  As she walked past, she tickled his nose with the end of her tail, winking back at him.

“M-maybe we could work something out.  10K for Gear.  And this little lady and I get to talk in private for a bit.”

Penumbra smiled.  “Deal.”  She tossed the man a bag of caps, and he nodded to Gear, who rushed forward and gave me a hug.

“I’m sorry, Kid.”  I muttered, holding her tight.

“How’d you know I was here?”  She asked, sniffling a bit.

“SIlver caught wind of it, and let me know. I uh... Talked to your parents before coming here.”  Gear looked at me with scared eyes.  “They’re still alive...”  I muttered.  She seemed to calm down a bit.

“They sold me...”  Gear said, pushing away from me and walking out of the door.  Flashfire and I shared a confused look and followed her.

“Gear?”  I called to her as she made her way back toward New Pegas.

“They sold me...  They didn’t want me anymore, so they got rid of me... twice.”  I could hear an anger in her voice.  “They need to be punished for what they did.”  Flashfire shot me a grin and I glared at her, causing her to take a few steps back.

“Now, Gear... Think this through.  Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

“I won’t regret it.  They don’t want me and find I’m better off a slave?  I don’t need them anymore.”

“You’re not going to kill your parents...  I’ve killed plenty, and couldn’t kill my mother.”

Gear spun, looking me dead in the eyes.  “Did your mother sell you into slavery, where you were beaten, starved, and raped at all hours of the day?  Did your mother lock you away hoping you’d never be free’d again.  If it wasn’t for dumb luck and running into you, I would probably be long gone by now.”  She pushed a hoof against my chest for emphasis.  “They put me back a second time.  Never again.”  Gear picked up the pace as she walked through the farms.

I sprinted forward, grabbing her forehoof and turning her around, lowering my beak to her snout and looking into her eyes.  “You don’t want this.  You’re angry, I know.  But think about what you’re about to do.  You don’t want to live with their blood on your hooves.”  I said.  She glared back at me before bringing a hoof to the side of my head, causing me to reel.

By the time my vision straightened back out, she was gone.  “Damn.  That was one hell of a punch.  Looks like she chipped your beak pretty well.”  Flashfire said.

I glared at her, and raised a talon to my beak.  Sure enough, there was a large chip taken out of it.  I stretched my wings and took to the air, flying toward Gears house.  With any luck, I could get there and stop her before she did anything she’d regret.

Today, however, luck just wasn’t on my side.  I entered the house to see gear standing over her cowering parents, a rifle lowered to Nightshades head.  “G...Gear.  Please, just calm down... We can talk...”  Frostbite was interrupted when Gear cracked her across the head with the rifle.

Flashfire entered the house behind me.  “Stay here.  Don’t let her parents leave.  Knock them out if you have to.”

“What are you going to do?”  Flashfire asked.  I leaned my shotgun against the wall behind her, and looked toward Gear.

“Come on Gear.  Settle down.  You’re not going to shoot anyone.”  I started.  She proved me wrong by firing at the duo, grazing Frostbites flank.  I lunged forward, and grabbed the barrel of the rifle and pointed it upward.  She fired into the ceiling, causing me to flinch slightly from the heat of the barrel.

I lifted her up, tearing the rifle away from her and casting it aside.  She turned, bringing her rear hooves into my chest with a strong buck that knocked me back a few steps.  As she dove for the rifle again, I grabbed her by the neck and hoisting her onto a nearby table, causing her to yelp slightly.  “ENOUGH.”  I shouted at her.  “Just... Stop.  I’m trying to help you out here.  You’re making it REALLY difficult to care for you, Gear.”

“Then just leave me here.  I don’t care.”  She growled at me.

“Yes.  You do.  And you know I can’t just leave you.  We’re partners now, remember?  What happened to the little filly who cuddled up under my wing because she was cold just a few nights ago?”

Gear looked away, a sad look in her eyes.  I let her go, and looked toward Nightshade and Frostbite.  “I know they hurt you.  But I know you don’t want to kill them.”

“Then what do we do with them... We can’t not punish them...”  She muttered, looking toward the duo as well.

I walked toward the two, narrowing my eyes at them.  “I say, an Eye for an Eye.”  I looked back toward Gear, who frowned slightly, nodding.

As we neared the Slaver compound dragging along Nightshade and Frostbite, Penumbra was just exiting the building.  “What are you doing back here?”

“I’ve got a delivery to make.”  I said as I entered the School.

“I thought she was against Slavers...”  Penumbra muttered.

“I’m surprised she didn’t kill them, honestly.”  Flashfire muttered.

“They deserve it.”  Gear said solemnly.

“Welcome back Ladies!  What can I do for you?”  The Slavemaster asked.  He had a certain spring in his step he didn’t have last time I was here.  I looked to Penumbra who just shrugged.

“I wish to discuss a trade.”  I pulled the duo forward and looked to the Slaver.  “I’ll sell them pretty cheap.  Few caps and some information?”

“Depends on what information you’re looking for.”

“I’m looking for a small tan filly, with pink hair.  She was taken a while back, and traded a few times.  I hear she came by somewhere near here?”

The Slave master gestured for me to follow.  Flashfire, Gear, and Penumbra stayed behind, watching the ‘merchandise.  “Small Tan Filly, Pink hair...   Calls herself Gilded Rose?”

I nodded.  “That’s her.”  I raised an eyebrow.  “You remember her?”

“I try to remember all the slaves that come through the Crystal Clade.  They may be destined for a life of servitude, but a little luxury while they’re here is something I try to provide.  Allow me to check my logs for what happened to her...”  He tapped a few keys on a terminal before nodding.  “Ah, yes.  I sold her just yesterday.”

“To whom?”  I asked.

He grinned at me.  “That’ll cost you.”

“Both of the slaves I brought you.  No caps needed.”

He pondered for a few moments.  A small bag of caps hitting the table helped him make up his mind.  “I didn’t get a name, but she was delivered to the Lucky 38.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Ferocious Loyalty -- You show your companions a loyalty that is almost unheard of in the wasteland.  When you’re injured, they’ll step up to help you, and take less damage doing so, It’s a win-win!