The Shadow of a King
Turning up the heat (Part 1)
Author: Draconis187

Four Thunderhawks roared and clattered about as they entered the atmosphere of planet Calderis with four groups of Space Marines loading and double-checking their various weapons. Spitfire checked the blood red armour she was given for a moment, still finding it hard to believe she was given it in the first place and on such short notice. Several Techpriests performed several rites on the entire set, giving the smaller mare more protection and allowing her to be able to use the power armour without the painful surgery every Space Marine went through before joining.

It looked pretty standard in colour and design with its red and minor gold adorning the chest area but she lacked the heavy pauldrons on her shoulders. Her wings were inside the armour, unable to be move but the area was heavily padded to avoid discomfort and second-hand injury. To make up for it, she had a large jetpack strapped to her back with the symbol of the Blood Ravens on it.

“Now then. Your orders are to assist Davian Thule and repel the Orks attacking his position,” Angelos said over the intercom system she had in the collar of her armour. “You are to listen to Thaddeus’ every order as well as any other superior officer, is that understood?”

“Understood, sir,” Spitfire responded as she pulled the charging bolt on her Bolter back, loading the first round. She also had a standard chainsword on her side, ready for use as it whirred softly.

The Thunderhawk opened its doors and the Assault Marines began to jump out, igniting their jetpacks as they neared the ground to soften their landing. They all still landed relatively hard on the ground as the rock cracked under their feet but not one of them were injured in any significant manner. Spitfire didn’t even feel the impact from within the armour.

No sooner did they touch down, a group of Orks noticed their loud arrival and began to open fire. Spitfire alongside Thaddeus and two other Assault Marines that made up their squad took cover behind some crates and a low rock formation. Blaster fire bounced off Spitfire’s armour, her armour absorbing most of the impact but she could still feel it trying to knock her over.

She and the Marines retaliated with their Bolters while Thaddeus and the other Marines got closer to the attacking Orks, still firing as they ran. Their jetpacks fired up, launching themselves at the Orks and pulling out their chainswords as they got close and slicing at them with fervour.

Thaddeus flew into an Ork, shoulder-first before he brought his chainsword down on the Ork’s head, cleaving its head apart and splattering its blood and – surprisingly real – brain across the scorching-hot ground. Spitfire got up from cover and found an Ork less than a metre away from her. Reacting, she pulled the trigger on her Bolter and the Ork’s body was torn apart as the Bolter shredded the Ork’s armour, staining the arid landscape behind him with his blood and body parts.

“Looks like you’ll do fine, Spitfire,” Thaddeus said as he took his chainsword out of an Ork’s chest, the chainsword cauterising the wound.

“Thanks. How far are we from Thule’s location?” Spitfire asked as she reloaded her Bolter.

“We are two clicks north of his position and we’ve landed behind enemy lines. Assault Marines, move out!” Thaddeus shouted as he fired up his jetpack, the rest following close by.

They flew over a tall wall, landing in a small settlement and directly into the line of fire again. Growing slightly more confident in her abilities with her armour and weapons, Spitfire moved up with the others as they charged, firing their Bolters until they got close to cleave their enemies apart with their chainswords.

The advancing Orks turned around to spy the group of Assault Marines attacking them from behind. One large Ork: a Warboss who was steadily climbing the bloodied and gore-lined path of the chain of command, turned around to order his boys to retaliate.

“Kill da ‘umies! For da Waaagh!!” The Warboss shouted. As the Nobz complied, another yell broke through their lines from the east.

“For the Blood Ravens!” Angelos tore through the side of the Orks’ offensive line as they were distracted by the Assault Marines. “Kill the Orks!”

**** **** **** ****

The caravan arrived in the scorching desert city of Lut Gholein. The city was built mainly with stone, clay and straw but they kept the occupants cool with their large windows which Trixie thought were just large holes the builders decided to leave open.

“So this ‘ere’s Lut Gholein?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, this is the port city of Lut Gholein. We stop the Dark Wanderer from finding the tomb of Tal Rasha and freeing Baal, Lord of Destruction,” Deckard Cain replied.

“Why’s he doin’ this anyway?” Applejack asked.

“I fear he has fallen prey to the very monster he supposedly slain in the labyrinth beneath Tristram,” Cain responded. “It is a very long and dark tale that spans many lives.”

“Well, we got the time,” Trixie replied. “Not like we can just up and leave.”

As the caravan stopped just inside the city and began to unload, the city’s residents and some travelling merchants that came with the caravan began to buy and pedal their wares respectively. Warriv waved goodbye as the trio as he wished to help the Rogues rebuild their monastery by bringing trade goods back.

“Well, it all happened quite some ag-” Cain’s story was interrupted as Trixie bumped into a woman in purple robes and promptly fell onto her rear.

“Pardon me, miss. I did not pay attention to where I was going,” Trixie apologised. The woman just didn’t seem to care and dusted herself off. “Uh… are you alright?”

“You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve suffered a terrible loss as of late but that’s not your problem,” The woman replied. “I am Atma and I run the tavern here in Lut Gholein.”

“What is wrong? I am sure we can help out. We can can’t we, Applejack?” Trixie said, looking at Applejack.

The farmer adjusted her Stetson and nodded, “Ah’ll say we can help out.”

“Well, if you want to help, I would be grateful. There is a foul beast that roams the sewers. Radament is its name. Its hunger for human flesh has already claimed my husband, my son as well as several others. Please if you can, slay this beast,” Atma implored.

“Shucks, ah’ll ya needed ta do was point us ta where ya’ll wanted us ta go,” Applejack said. “Killin’ monsters like ‘em is our specialty.”

“Quite. This beast shall rue the day it decided to plague this city. Let’s find ourselves a sewer monster,” Trixie said as she looked to Applejack.

“The entrance is just outside my tavern. The sailor Meshif may know of another entrance to the sewers, you may find him by the docks,” Atma said, a small sigh of relief escaping her lips as she pointed the mares to the docks in question.

“Thank ya kindly and don’t ya worry none, we’ll get that monster,” Applejack said as she and Trixie walked over to the docks.

**** **** **** ****

Another Ork was torn to shreds as Spitfire flew into its abdominal area, buckling its makeshift armour before bringing her chainsword upwards, killing it as it shredded past its groin and carried on upwards. She wanted to throw up in her helmet there and then but thankfully didn’t get a chance as she was fired upon, forcing her to seek cover and purge the thought.

The Warboss was getting angrier with each passing second as his Orks died around him. He brought a form of chainaxe down at Angelos, only for the Captain to block it with his hammer, God-Splitter. The two weapons were pushing their owners away as they battled in that moment to push the other away and gain the advantage.

The Orks attacking Davian Thule’s position were cut down as the Assault Marines came down at them from the air, tearing them apart in a bloody mess. One landed on an Ork’s head, smashing it into red paste as it collided with the floor. Thaddeus tore an Ork’s arm off before plunging his chainsword through the wound, and forcing the tip out through the Ork’s ribs.

“Forward, Marines! For the Emperor!” Davian shouted, rallying his men to charge the Orks’ position.

The Orks were in disarray as they were attacked from all sides, even the air thanks to the Assault Marines. The Warboss finally fell as Angelos slammed God-Splitter against the ground and forcing the Ork to fall backwards onto his back.

Capitalising on the Orks’ predicament, Angelos leapt into the air and brought his hammer down hard. The hammer shattered the Warboss’ chestplate and carried on through, crushing his ribs and leaving a large hole in his body.

“Thank the Emperor for your timely arrival, Gabriel. It has been a long time,” Davian said as he and Gabriel shook hands.

Davian was of similar build but it was hard to accurately tell from all the armour all the Marines wore. His right eye was missing, replaced by a whole technological apparatus to replace it and make him fit for battle. He treated Gabriel with respect and comradeship.

“Glad to see you too old friend,” Gabriel said with a smile. “What happened here?”

“We don’t know. The local Orks just all up and started to assault our bases. It’s strange,” Davian said before turning his attention to Spitfire. “What’s with the xeno?”

Spitfire looked at Davian, “I am Spitfire. It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Thule.”

Davian looked at Spitfire, sizing her up as he reluctantly shook her hoof, “I’m sure… Angelos, are you certain bringing a xeno is a wise decision?”

“I will admit I had my doubts, Captain,” Angelos said, looking at Spitfire. “But her prowess in battle this day has removed such thoughts from my mind. She will be a formidable ally to our cause until such time she can return home.”

“I see… I shall honour and respect your judgement, Gabriel,” Davian said. “You’ve yet to prove me wrong of any bad decisions of recruits.”

The Marines broke off into groups of five men each. Thaddeus, Spitfire and the rest of the Assault Marines went with Davian to one of the towns, clearing it of stragglers with extreme prejudice. Spitfire had to admit that while the battles were very bloody and filled with gore – one had its head torn off then kicked up another’s rear before getting a chainsword through the back as it tried to retreat – she knew that she had little choice in the matter and had to make the best of it in order to live.

As they awaited further orders, Spitfire sat at the edge of a cliff near the town, dangling her forehooves over the edge. She looked out to the horizon and saw a few other towns with the faint glow of weapons fire as well as the odd, faint explosion. Davian walked up to her and breathed in deeply before speaking harshly.

“On your feet, soldier,” Spitfire was quick snap to attention, surprising Thule a little, “This town is secure. We are regrouping on the far ridge with one of my detachments, move out.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Spitfire said as she saluted. As she looked out to the horizon once more, donning her helmet again, she noticed something odd with the sky above. “Captain, permission to speak freely?”

Davian blinked a little but nodded his head, “Granted.”

“Is the sky supposed to look like that?” She asked, pointing to the sky. It was murky brown, green colour and seemed to expand over the skies.

Davian looked to where she was pointing and scowled as a foul screeching noise echoed through the landscape, “No…”

**** **** **** ****

The sewers were just as Trixie imagined them to be: cold, dark, damp and stinking to high heaven. They encountered skeletons upon skeletons but their numbers didn’t deter the mares’ onslaught as they carried on through them. Applejack had to pull some of her swings, lest she sink Lut Gholein into their own sewerage system.

They began to encounter reanimated corpses, wrapped haphazardly in bandages. While they were slow without Trixie and Cerberus freezing them, they created a terribly pungent odour that make them feel sick to their stomachs and made them cough badly as the poison racked their bodies.

“Ugh… this place reeks,” Trixie complained. “Let’s just find this monster and be done with it.”

“Ah ain’t gonna disagree there,” Applejack agreed.

The tunnels were still fraught the undead but they couldn’t withstand the damage they had to try and withstand. One mummy collided with a tunnel grate and exploded upon impact, covering the ground in remains.

The formula was essentially the same as they kept going further down into the sewers. The tunnels opened up into a larger area, held up by large, supporting columns. Standing with several monsters was a tall mummy that towered over them. Its one hand had long, sharp nails and it wore a large, gold and onyx headdress.

“Uh oh…” Trixie muttered as the monster pointed to them, signalling its minions to attack. “I’ve got these upstarts. You take out big ugly over there!”

Applejack nodded and charged forward, swinging Volendrung around her body to knock back the charging skeletons. With a clear path to the monstrosity, she yelled a battlecry and continued her charge.

Trixie whistled, somehow getting through to the skeletons as they looked at her, “Come along then. Come and get a piece of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

The skeletons charged at her while some fired arrows at her from a short distance away. She smirked and used Ice Age to protect herself from the projectiles. She broke the ice barrier as her melee assailants got close, assaulting them with shards of ice. Trixie slammed Cerberus into the ground, using Crystal to cleave a path through their ranks as the shards of ice shattered them apart.

The skeletons that were not in the path of the attack drew closer, raising their swords and axes into the air. Trixie slammed Cerberus down into the ground again, using her Million Carats attack to tear the skeletons apart, scattering bones everywhere across the ground.

Applejack swung Volendrung hard at the mummy, only for it to catch it with its grotesque hand. For a moment she tried to wrestle the hammer from Radament’s grip but it opened its mouth and breathed out a green mist. Applejack coughed and released her grip on her Daedric hammer as the poison assaulted her body.

The hammer was tossed to the side, out of Applejack’s reach. Trixie looked as the beast was about to deliver a fatal blow, “Applejack, behind you!”

Applejack bent her forelegs and raised her rear into the air, pulling her hind legs back as well. In one movement, she extended them both and her hind legs connected with Radament’s chest. The sound of bones buckling and shattering under the force echoed through the room, the force sending it flying backwards into the wall.

The monster was about get up when Applejack landed on its abdomen, Volendrung in her hooves once more, “Outta luck, partner.”

She brought Volendrung upwards, the hammer connecting with Radament’s head and dislocating it from the spine. The skin and tendons in its neck tore apart as the hammer went upwards. The head refused to leave the rest of the body but the hammer took a consolation prize: his face.

The face left the body, resigning its fate to the hammer as it flew away and landed somewhere in the room to forever be forgotten. Applejack kept the hammer’s momentum, swinging from the vertical plane to horizontal and connecting the head with the monster’s exposed brain. A large splat echoed through the area as the skeletons fell to the ground, dead once again as their master expired on the spot.

Trixie and Applejack surveyed the room and Trixie picked up a strange looking scroll with strange writing, “What do you suppose this is, Applejack?”

“Dunno, can’t read that gibberish,” Applejack said. “Maybe that Cain feller knows what it says.”

**** **** **** ****

The Zebrican landscape was covered with the bloodied heaps of dead dragons and assorted body parts. Bloodwing chuckled as the remaining dragons had cut their losses and retreated back across the sea. Luckily for Bloodwing’s blood pressure and the retreating dragons, they fled in the direction of their territory.

“That’s it! Flee before I mount you all on my wall and fashion your teeth into a backscratcher!” Bloodwing shouted from the bridge of the Arbiter.

“Sir, all targets have flown out of our maximum range, heading for their territories,” The Griffon on the radar said flatly.

“Good,” Bloodwing replied, only half-listening. “When were we meant to meet with the Zebrican delegates about this Snowfeather criminal?”

“Sir it was… ten minutes ago,” The Griffon down in communications responded.

“Wasn’t this the meeting point?” Bloodwing asked.

“Yes sir but even our long range radar hasn’t detected anything else other than the dragons,” The Griffon by the radar system replied.

“We… we’ve been had…” Bloodwing said, looking out to the skies where the dragons fled. “Tell the fleet to change course, bearing 245!”

The Helmsgriffon snapped to attention, “Setting course, bearing 245!”

The 54th fleet began to turn, the large ships of steel and firepower pointing in the direction of Equestria. Bloodwing was angry for the Empire not realising a false document and that his time was wasted.

“All ahead full! Next stop: Ponyville! Let’s see what these new engines can really do!” Bloodwing shouted as the 54th fleet’s engines roared in deafening unison, the vibrations akin to constant thunder rumbling across the land as they moved.

**** **** **** ****

The hot desert sun began to set into the horizon, fighting the night for all it was worth as the golden orb was forced to give way to the moon and stars. The ponies could feel the temperature drop very quickly, becoming a very manageable temperature to go trekking through the dunes.

“Let’s move, we don’t have all night to get to shelter again,” Siegfried said to Joystick and Rarity.

“Do lead on, Siegfried,” Rarity said with her usual flair as she swung her mane a little. “We are strangers to this land after all.”

Siegfried didn’t respond, instead choosing to walk out of the temple. The night sky was littered with stars of varying intensity and arrangements but in the ponies’ eyes it didn’t compare to Luna’s night sky. The Princess had a certain flair to arranging the stars that the world they were in couldn’t copy.

The desert was empty and quiet, save for a few sparse nocturnal fauna and the trio, Siegfried’s clanging armour the only thing to add to the ambience of the area they all strode through.

They took several hours to walk across the wastes, climbing dune after dune of sand. Rarity complained as usual but they were few and far between since the thought that a spa was nowhere for miles yet helped to curb her whining to a degree.

‘It’s not hard,’ Siegfried ignored the thought in his mind. ‘All it takes is one swing. They look like they have strong souls.’

Siegfried knew the thoughts were not his own, the man subconsciously looked to his right arm, absent-mindedly rubbing it as if secretly fearing it would warp into its old, disgusting form. He knew the blade was growing desperate since now he had others who were willing to support his venture without knowing the full story.

Rarity and Joystick smiled at him as he looked at them, trying to make him feel more at ease. Although it would take far more than a simple smile – like destroying Soul Edge and ridding the world of its evil forever – to make the knight feel at ease.

“I may not be one for architecture but is that building over there meant to have a large, disgusting hole in it?” Rarity asked, pointing to a pyramid in the distance that had a large hole cleaved into its side that could only have been formed from a very large blade.

A chill ran up Siegfried’s spine as he looked at the scene. The group walked up to the pyramid and Siegfried inspected the gash. In his mind he already knew this was the handiwork of Soul Edge as very little else could have been responsible for such destruction and the blade’s foul energy hung in the air. How it was possible when he carried the infernal only served to worry him more.

“Hey! You guys come to check out this place too?” A young voice said. “They say it was made by a powerful sword and since I am looking for it, I came to check it out for clues.”

The group looked around to see a very young man with a green, oriental open jacket that showed his chest and abs as well as a pair of baggy pants. He had a very goofy grin on his face and he seemed very energetic, not unlike Pinkie Pie.

Siegfried stepped forward and stared at the man straight in the eyes with an intensity that threatened to burn straight through the man, “Leave this place. Do not search for that sword. Forget you ever heard of it.”

“Sorry but I can’t give up. I got a duty to my home,” The man said, “Where are my manners? I am Yun-seong, what’s your name?”

“My name… is none of your concern,” Siegfried replied callously as he hefted Requiem off his back, the blade shining in the moonlight.

“Oh you want to fight? Why didn’t you just say so?” Yun-seong replied cheerfully as he pulled out a dao – or Chinese sword – from his side.

**** **** **** ****

The Normandy opened its main hatch underneath its body and a large, white, six-wheeled machine launched out, its engines roaring in the atmosphere as it plummeted. The M35 Mako engaged its vertical thrusters as it neared the surface, landing gently as the wheels’ hydraulics hissed, ready for action.

Pinkie looked at her bright pink armour with a grin. She made sure Anderson painted it the brightest shade of pink in the known colour palette. The only parts that were not covered were her mane and tail, instead being protected by a biotic field since Pinkie apparently stored her weapons in the collection of gravity defying hair.

She refused any other weapons, opting to keep her Party Cannon and Kalina Ann. Most would have argued that weapons like those would not work in low gravity or any other situation that was different to Earth-esque conditions but Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie as were her weapons: don’t bother asking because you will not understand the answer.

The Mako trudged along the arid landscape of the planet Therum in the Knossos system within the Artemis Tau Cluster. Pinkie was giggling happily as the Mako bumped around as it navigated the landscape, traversing the unstable land. She kept her eye on the sights of the turret as Sheppard drove the Mako. Garrus and Wrex looked at each other, each wondering when they would get out and silently praying for whoever was unlucky to get caught in Pinkie’s sights.

“We’re here,” Sheppard said as the Mako grinded to a halt and opened up the back hatch.

“Let’s find ourselves an Asari!” Pinkie cried happily as she leapt out the hatch with Sheppard and the rest in tow. As they neared the underground excavation site, laser fire shot past, barely missing Pinkie’s head. “Oooo! They brought friends!”

The ‘friends’ Pinkie was referring to were Geth Hoppers, modified Geth that moved at extremely high speeds and were capable of scaling any surface, even capable of hanging upside down on the ceiling with ease.

Kalina Ann was impaled in the rock in front of Pinkie as she pulled the tertiary trigger on the rocket launcher, firing a full Hysteric salvo. The mini-missiles tore across the battlefield, destroying a Geth Trooper as a result. Sheppard fired his sniper rifle alongside Garrus, trying to hit the Geth Hoppers while Wrex charged up the centre of the line and rammed his hard head against a Geth Trooper, crushing it under his weight.

As they neared the entrance, a large white Geth monstrosity – which Pinkie would find out later was call an Armature – descended upon their position. The group were quick to fire upon the slow, lumbering beast of a machine, whittling its shields down as the Armature fired back at them, charging a powerful blast that made Pinkie’s ears ring.

Sheppard distracted the Armature with Wrex, charging up at it before sliding into cover to avoid the attack. Sheppard let a Shockwave attack loose, the raw biotic power cascading along the ground, impacting with the Armature, shattering its shields.

“Now!” Sheppard shouted.

Garrus fired with his sniper rifle, taking out chunks of the Armature’s shell while Wrex’s shotgun did the same. Pinkie ran and jumped up into the Armature and jammed Kalina Ann into the holes made by the group and fired a massive cloud of confetti into it. The confetti found its way into every motor and jammed it, causing a massive overload and destroying it.

With the Geth outside destroyed, the group walked down into the entrance of the excavation site. The rock had been widened enough to support even Wrex’s height with considerable headroom left. The metal catwalks twisted around the top section of the site, leading to an elevator shaft.

Pinkie happily bounced as the elevator began to descend. Although it stopped before reaching the bottom due to a short circuit, forcing the group to abandon it in favour of getting to the bottom on foot, it failed to dampen Pinkie’s spirits. She was jovial even when they came under fire again, talking about the most unusual nonsense before getting up and firing.

One of the Geth firing at them carried a rocket launcher built for firing from any location on the universe, from the vacuum of space to a high gravity world and everything in between. As the missile left the tube, Pinkie got out from cover and pulled the trigger on Kalina Ann.

The two self-propelled explosives collided in mid-air, creating a shockwave that knocked Wrex off his feet. But while the Geth’s rocket was a standard explosive, Pinkie’s was filled with taffy. The explosion caused the Geth to get covered in the goo, getting it into their motors as they struggled to fire at Sheppard and the others. The taffy hardened, sealing the Geth in place, unable to struggle as the group finished them off at point blank range, execution-style.

**** **** **** ****

Siegfried was kicked in the abdomen, sending him falling to the ground with a thud as Yun-seong ran up to him, ready to strike again. Yun-seong leapt into the air and somersaulted, bringing his leg down at him but Siegfried rolled to the side and used his momentum to get to his feet again. With a heavy swing, Requiem made contact with Yun-seong’s back and sent him flying forward, landing in the sand face-first.

Rarity and Joystick could only look on at the scene, unable to help as a few people came to help the Yun-seong, believing Siegfried to be in the wrong. Although it was the knight who instigated the fight, he did it to force the younger man to give up his quest. He could not allow another to wield the blade that stole his life, his will and his soul from him.

Several of the ones trying to stop Siegfried carried weapons of their own, mainly a sword and shield combination with a few large clubs in the mix. Rarity used Lucifer’s explosive blades to create a line in the sand, separating the two fighters from those who wanted to stop them. Rarity and Joystick could have interfered and gotten them to stop but they knew Siegfried had his reasons for starting the scuffle.

“That all you got?” Yun-seong taunted as his dao was blocked by Requiem’s larger surface area.

“Give it up!” Siegfried retorted, putting his shoulder into the flat side of his blade and digging his feet into the sand before charging.

Yun-seong was not prepared for the change in attack and was easily over-powered by Siegfried in his armour. He lay in the sand and rolled as Siegfried brought his foot down on him, almost kicking him in the chest.

“Stay down!” Siegfried shouted as Requiem came down in a sweeping arc, slicing across Yun-seong’s chest and creating a thin wound as it took a part of his jacket with it.

“I liked this jacket!” Yun-seong complained as he leapt up, kicking Siegfried multiple times. His attack bashed against Requiem as Siegfried blocked it.

Joystick fired several rounds at several individuals as they kept trying to get into the fight. His twin shots knocked the weapons out of their hands on several occasions while others landed less critical hits on their bodies, either hitting their legs or arms.

“Enough!” Siegfried swung Requiem down hard in and overhand arc, the blade colliding with Yun-seong’s dao as they met above the young man’s head.

The force of the strike stung Yun-seong’s hands, the side of his own blade digging into his palm before his grip failed him. Requiem collided with his skull, knocking to the floor in an unconscious heap.

The young man’s body had a few cuts here and there but nothing was life-threatening, “I avoided your vitals… you’ll live.”

He walked towards Rarity and Joystick, “Move.” The last of the interfering fighters cut their losses and fled as Siegfried walks towards them. “Our destination is still the Far East. We can take the Silk Road in order to get there.”

“Will he be alright, darling?” Rarity asked as she looked at Yun-seong’s sleeping form.

“Yes. He will be bruised and sore but he will still live,” Siegfried replied curtly before muttering under his breath. “And I pray it is not to seek the sword again.”

**** **** **** ****

“How did you get there?” Sheppard asked as he looked at an Asari from the other side of an unknown barrier.

“I must have triggered some form of defence mechanism when I tried to get away from the Geth,” She replied, ashamed she allowed herself to make such a mistake.

“We’ll find a way to g-” Sheppard was cut off by a shrill shout.

“I found it!” Pinkie said as she stood by the controls of a large, mining laser, pointing slightly downwards. “Now if only I knew where the popcorn button was…”

“This’ll work,” Sheppard said as he activated the laser.

The laser fired forwards and drilled a large hole into the dirt, creating a tunnel for the group to circumvent the barrier and enter the site of the Prothean structure. They walked up to a platform and Sheppard activated to rise up to the level the Asari was on.

Pinkie slammed her armoured hoof onto the console, effectively shutting the field trapping the Asari off and allowing her to land on the ground safely.

“Thank you. Who are you anyway and why are you here?” The Asari asked.

“I am Commander Sheppard,” Sheppard said. “That is Garrus, Wrex and tha-”

Pinkie interrupted Sheppard once again as the party mare tackled the Asari to the ground. The Asari was unsure of how to react to the tackle and the abrupt invasion of her personal space.

“I… I’m Liara T’Soni,” Liara said slowly, looking at Pinkie with a highly bewildered expression.

“Any relation to Matriarch Benezia?” Sheppard asked coolly.

“She’s my mother,” Liara replied. “Why?” Before Sheppard could answer her, a tremor rocked the ruins. “Oh no. These ruins are highly unstable. You must have caused a seismic event with the mining laser.”

“Well what are we waiting for?! Let’s get out of here!” Sheppard said, shouting to the others as he helped Liara reach the elevator. “Joker, get your ass over here!”

“Roger that, Commander,” Joker replied.

As the elevator reached the top, the door on the far side of the circular room opened up. A Krogan Battlemaster on Saren’s payroll and several Geth came out, all carrying an assortment of weapons from sniper rifles to rocket launchers.

“Look what we have here,” The Krogan said happily.

“You idiot this place is coming down!” Garrus snapped.

“Exhilarating isn’t it?” The Krogan replied cheerfully.

“So much for diplomacy,” Wrex commented as he took out his shotgun.

The group dispersed, all charging for cover as the two Krogan charged at each other, shouting battlecries handed down to them for generations. The resounding crash they made caused them to fall backwards onto their backs before getting back up and duking it out, trying to tear the other apart.

Laser fire and biotics flew across the room as Sheppard and Liara used their biotics to send some of the Geth into the air, against the walls or into each other. Pinkie tapped a Geth Sniper’s shoulder, getting its attention. As it turned around, its torso was separated from the rest of its body as Pinkie’s Party Cannon fired a fully baked, three-layered vanilla sponge cake with dark chocolate icing. It would have been a delicious treat had it not been used as ammunition.

The Geth were losing quickly as Pinkie fired a Hysteric salvo once again, the warheads filled with glue. Their motors were glued together, causing overloads and making them easy targets for the group. Their tube-light heads were blown off by Garrus and Sheppard’s sniper rifles.

Wrex shouted triumphantly as he smashed his head with the other Krogan’s own, knocking him to the ground. Wrex stomped his foot on his chest and took out his shotgun once last time.

“It’s just business,” Wrex said as the shot blew the Krogan’s face apart, tearing the flesh with ease and fracturing the hard plate on its head.

“Let’s move!” Sheppard shouted as the group holstered their weapons and ran out the entrance.

All around them rocks were falling, dust covering their vision and forcing them to don their helmets. Liara had a mask which she placed over her mouth but the dust still got into her eyes, which made Sheppard slow down to lead her over the catwalks and out of the excavation site.

“Someone call for a lift?” Joker said over the radio as the Normandy thundered overhead.

**** **** **** ****

“This is fun!” Dante said as he swung Rebellion along the floor, using his Drive technique to tear a Diamond Dog apart.

“This is boring. They are no challenge at all,” Vergil replied as he moved past some Diamond Dogs, Yamato flying out of its scabbard and moving at lightning speed. He sheathed his blade, the blade making a soft clicking sound and killing the Dogs instantly as their bodies were massacred.

“Still, beats those oversized ladies’ accessories above us,” Dante said, pointing up at a dragon.

“Until these mongrels have concluded their… business I would surmise that these beasts above us will attack again,” Vergil said as two ethereal blades pierced the chest and throat of another Diamond Dog, killing it and adding its corpse to the terrifying pile the pair of them had already accumulated.

“Seriously, Verg… can’t you ever be optimistic, just once?” Dante asked as he threw Rebellion, tearing into a Diamond Dog’s chest with ease.

“Apologies if I do not live in Fantasy Land like you do,” Vergil callously replied.

“Come on, try it just once. We have cookies in Fantasy Land,” Dante said with a grin as he pulled out Ebony and Ivory, firing .45 calibre rounds into several poor Diamond Dogs.

“I shall repeat myself, Dante. No,” Vergil said curtly.

“Always the stiff,” Dante muttered.

“Always a buffoon,” Vergil replied, loud enough for Dante to hear.

**** **** **** ****

Fluttershy stirred awake, her body aching all over. She smiled a little as she felt the soft surface of her bed, putting the mare at ease as she tried to recall why she felt sore in the first place. It all came flooding back as she recollected flying at the UMD and tearing it apart using her DAT state and the Whirlwind Sprint combination.

She groaned as she finally lifted her head off her pillow, surveying her bedroom. “So you’re up.” Fluttershy turned and looked around, looking at Kiva who was leaning against the wall by the door. “Your vitals were low but stable so we brought you here.”

Fluttershy rubbed her head with her hoof, “Uh, thanks… whatever happened to that… thing?”

“The UMD?” Kiva asked. Fluttershy nodded her head. “It’s nothing more than a wreck. That was… a highly irregular strategy. How did you know it would work?”

“I didn’t,” Fluttershy responded as she carefully got down to the ground. “I just took a chance and hoped it would work.”

“It did, the Glorft retreated for now but they will not underestimate you again,” Kiva replied.

“Where are those other two?” Fluttershy asked.

“Coop and Jamie are ‘celebrating’ by watching an inane recreational sport that involves vehicles combating one another by colliding with one another at high velocity until one is functional,” Kiva said with annoyance.

“Ok… where are my things?” Fluttershy asked, noticing she was not even wearing her coat.

“I found a compartment that seems to be designed specifically to house your weapons and coat,” Kiva responded, pointing to the cupboard Fluttershy used.

Fluttershy walked up to it and opened the doors. Inside it, all her weapons – save for Beowulf which had refused to let go of his mistress and was still attached to her legs – were safely tucked away. Her jacket seemed to have been dusted off and cleaned as well, the polished leather shining brightly.

Fluttershy picked up her coat and donned it. Pity and Fool were next, followed the Devil Arm swords. Fluttershy placed her head through the necklace with the Amulet of Talos attached to it and picked up Pandora, swinging it over her shoulder.

Kiva smirked a little, “It took a lot of courage to get fired out of MEGAS.”

Fluttershy nodded her head, “I’ve done a lot of things I… would not have ever dreamed I’d do.”

Kiva left Fluttershy, walking down to the ground floor of Fluttershy’s cottage before leaving through the front door. Fluttershy followed and found the city already being repaired once again thanks to the battle that had ensued.

The mangled wrecks of the Glorft mechs were being carried away by cranes, trucks and scavengers looking to make a quick buck. The remains of the UMD had been stripped of anything light enough to be carried by the average pick-up truck.

“How long was I out?” Fluttershy asked as she walked on all fours next to Kiva as she observed the scene.

“Four hours, ten minutes and twenty-eight seconds,” Kiva replied. Kiva stopped and looked back as Fluttershy stopped dead, looking at the clean-up. “Something the matter?”

“They did all this… in four hours?” Fluttershy asked.

Kiva nodded, “These primitives are nothing if not industrious and annoying.”

The remainder of Fluttershy’s day encompassed getting to know Coop and Jamie better as they watched ‘Attack of the Robotic Pirate Ghosts of Dimension Five’ while eating junk food. Fluttershy chose not to touch the chips and soda, opting to raid Coop’s mother’s pantry for vegetables.

As the day carried on well into the night with a meaningless, boring marathon of video games, Fluttershy looked out of the small window in the basement and saw the New Jersey skyline returning in earnest. This city was strange, the three humans she was with were even stranger and Jamie clearly didn’t trust her if his scowl meant anything but he was a coward when she placed Pandora on the floor.

This world was also set upon strange enemies, all looking for the rotund, idiot pilot of the blue robot outside. She may as well stick around to keep him from causing too much damage. How hard could it be?

Author's Notes:

Here we go! Spitfire has formally joined the Ravens' ranks! May the universe tremble.