The Shadow of a King
Hit hard, Hit Faster and Obliterate (Part 2)
Author: Draconis187

Rarity and Joystick were sweating bullets as they followed Siegfried across the scorching desert, thankful that their several mile long trek was near its end as Rarity could make out a small town nestled in the distance and beyond it was foliage not native to the arid landscape.

“Finally I can get some water, a much needed shower and some rest,” Rarity said wistfully as she walked between Joystick and Siegfried with a small smile on her face, her mind already envisioning some luxurious desert resort.

“We won’t be staying long,” Siegfried replied sharply, removing the smile from Rarity’s face almost instantly.

“Aw… why?” Rarity asked, pouting a little as she looked at the knight.

Siegfried didn’t even flinch at Rarity’s facial expression, “Because we need to stay on the move, otherwise we will get attacked again.”

This response, however, made Joystick turn his head to look at Siegfried with a confused expression upon his face. “Uh, Siegfried… Not wanting to be rude or anything but we’ve been attacked while we’ve been walking. Sure there was the Adrian but we were still technically moving.”

“We are not sticking around and that is final,” Siegfried replied curtly.

“Well… that was rather rude I must say, dear Siegfried,” Rarity said with a slight hint of sadness in her voice. “A good rest can do wonders for one’s complexion, not to mention if we do get attacked, a good night’s rest could help keep our reflexes sharp.”

“I never said how long that stay was going to be, now did I?” Siegfried said, making the two white ponies look at him with bewildered expressions.

This made Rarity giggle a little, “Why, Siegfried I do believe you pulled a prank on us. And do I see a smile on that face of yours?”

“I did not trick you two,” Siegfried said with a very sly and very faint smirk on his face. “It was your minds that dictated incorrectly.”

Joystick laughed, “Remind you of somepony, Rarity? A certain fashion mogul maybe, hm?”

Rarity found herself in the middle of a giggle fit, “Oh posh, Joystick. But I will admit that Siegfried did have me going. How rude of you to misdirect a lady such as myself, Siegfried.”

Siegfried’s small smile still stayed on his face as he replied, “You may be female but you are like no lady I’ve ever encountered.”

“Oh? What kind of ladies are you generally acquainted with?” Rarity asked, the gossip in her rearing its head.

“Most of them are trying to kill me with some form of weapon,” Siegfried replied as the small town got ever closer, starting to loom overhead. “The rest I avoid.”

Rarity’s ears fell back, “Oh… right. Kind of forgot about that.”

“How can you forget something that big?” Joystick asked. “We’ve almost been killed a few times now and yet you didn’t notice some of them were female?”

“It was the heat of the moment, Joystick. I do not focus on my opponent’s gender when I’m fighting to ensure I will see the next day,” Rarity replied, “Although, knowing when they’re male does provide an additional option to neutralise them and leave them open for a more fatal follow-up attack.”

Joystick cringed as his mind made the connection, trying to cross his hindlegs. Siegfried however didn’t flinch at all, either due to the fact he had been in many fights where tactics such as those were commonplace and he knew how to dodge them or it was the protective guard he wore to protect the aforementioned sensitive parts.

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

The Humvee that Rico drove skidded to a grinding halt as he stopped just outside the wooden fence post that separated Karl Blane’s home from the rest of the world.

Karl Blane seemed to be living quite the high life, if the two-storey mansion of a building was any indication. Although, despite it was more of a house than the rickety, wooden shacks that Discord was used to seeing, the garden did seem in dire need of a mow and even then there were large patches of dirt in amongst the grass.

Then there was the fact that the house looked like it had been neglected for ages. The paint was peeling off somewhat, revealing hairline cracks in the building’s structure that would worry any building inspector.

Discord breathed in deeply with a small smirk on his face, “Reminds me of home, if home were a dreary hovel that I wouldn’t even use as an outhouse. Seriously, and I like things falling apart around me but this… this is just sad.”

“I can not argue with you there but we aren’t here to question where he chooses to live. We are here to find him and learn what he knows,” Rico replied as he got out of the Humvee, Discord doing the same on his side and closing the door.

The worn-out, wooden fence had a large section missing from it that was wide enough for even the wide Humvee to fit in comfortably. The long, low trenches in the dirt further cemented the thought that the area there was used for a vehicle but there was not one present at the moment.

“Hope he’s here,” Discord said as he followed Rico, his combat shotgun slung over his right shoulder. “I’d hate to have come out here for nothing. I could be spreading some lovely chaos right now and I’d hate to have missed out on the fun.”

“This coming from a guy who can just vanish, then reappear on the other side of the island in a second?” Rico replied, looking back at Discord with a raised eyebrow.

“What can I say?” Discord said, smiling broadly and spreading his arms with his palms wide open as he gave them a few quick, fast shakes. “Not everyone can be as perfect as me.”

“There are so many things wrong with that statement,” Rico replied, facepalming before he looked through a window to see if Blane was somewhere inside.

Discord however decided to snap his fingers, his chaotic magic being focused on the door which decided to unlock and unhinge itself. Rico watched with a blank expression on his face as the door hopped off the porch and towards the road where a truck soon ran over it, sending splinters flying everywhere. The truck continued on its way as if nothing happened.

“Discord… what did I say about you doing that shit?” Rico asked as he gave an exasperated sigh, walking up to the empty door frame and walking inside the house.

“Dunno, I think I forgot,” Discord chuckled. “Is he there?”

“No… and looks like he hasn’t been here in a number of hours,” Rico replied as he exited the house.

Discord and Rico heard a motor engine getting closer and stopped their conversation to look at the source as it came in through the gap in the fence. Discord and Rico could tell it was a woman, given her figure as she got off the bike, making sure the engine was turned off while they readied their weapons.

She pulled her helmet off to reveal her short black hair and the brown eyes it was hiding. She had fair, tanned skin while she wore a black leather catsuit and walked right up to Rico and Discord.

“What are you two doing here? This is private property you know,” She asked, eying the pair intently as she sized them up.

Discord chuckled, “Why my dear, we are simply looking around for someone. Perhaps you know of him? Karl Blane?”

“Karl Blane? Why?” She asked, folding her arms.

“I’m not telling everyone I meet who I am looking for and why so unless you know of his location, goodbye,” Rico said callously.

“And who are you to tell me to leave?” She replied calmly.

As Rico was about to retort, Discord cut him off quickly. “I am Discord, my dear. And this here is Rico. We’re from the Agency.”

Rico facepalmed with a free hand as the woman nodded her head, “Jade Tan. I work for the same people.” She turned her head to look at Rico. “I suggest you find a way to keep him quiet. The Agency is not supposed to have unwanted attention.”

“Well, with Discord, that is a bit difficult.” Rico replied as he holstered his weapon, Discord doing the same. “Where is he?”

“Blane’s most likely at the casino gambling as always,” Jade answered in an annoyed tone. “He’s racking up huge debts and I doubt they’ll just let him walk away this time.”

Discord chuckled, “Ah gambling. I remember gambling and losing my left fang. Oh wait, I never had one on the left. Nevermind.”

Rico could only sigh in annoyance as he looked back at Jade, “Where is this casino? I’d like to get this done now before I try to strangle Discord.”

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

The town they entered was not something that either Joystick or Rarity would write home about nor could Siegfried find anything that would make the town even somewhat memorable. The buildings were made of clay bricks but the individual bricks were hidden under a thick layer of plaster. They could see the bricks though some holes in the aging plaster.

The roads running through the town were of the dirt variety as horse-driven carts went across them with some people walking around, going about their business. Some gave the trio odd glances, especially at Rarity and Joystick due to their manes, and more specifically what was jutting out of their heads.

The pair were beginning to get slightly uncomfortable as people continued to stare and gossip to one another about Rarity and Joystick. Siegfried however didn’t bat an eye but he did look at the pair and whispered to them in a low voice. “Not one word, got it?”

They nodded their heads at him as they continued to walk through the town, keeping close as they could to Siegfried as they felt comfortable. Rarity kept looking over her shoulder at the onlookers with a worried expression on her face.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Rarity whispered to Joystick and Siegfried.

“That would be your fault,” Siegfried whispered back. “Suck it up. Like I said, we won’t be here long. I never plan on staying in one place for very long anyway.”

Rarity nodded her head and waited outside a building with Joystick while Siegfried walked in. It looked like an inn but the language the sign was written in was something none of the Equestrians had ever seen before so it useless to try read it as they quickly gave up.

A few onlookers began to get uncomfortably close, mumbling about them being unusual, never-before-seen creatures and some other comments. Rarity took a few steps back when a dark-skinned man wearing a white hood over his head walked up to them, seemingly quite interested in them. She could make out one of his eyes weren’t natural as it looked like it were made of some yellow metal, possibly gold but she wasn’t sure. Even stranger was the fact that his normal eye was grey in colour.

He had a large medallion hanging by his chest with a thick green belt around his waist, making Rarity take note of his green pants, mostly hidden by his thigh-high white boots. On it were a few more golden trinkets that glistened and shone brightly in the sun. He reached out with his one hand, wearing white, fingerless gloves that covered three quarters of his forearm. Most of his white clothing and some of the finer detail were traced with some golden strips, often following the contours of the apparel in question.

“Strange creatures… in an equally strange land,” He said in a calm, monotonous tone. “Not natives, most curious.”

Rarity took a few more steps back from the man, Joystick doing the same but getting in between the two, eying the man intently to try and figure out what he was trying to do. He was close enough for them to note he was rather well-built and two large pauldrons on his shoulders but it appeared to be a single piece of metal. Whether it actually was or was not true was hidden by the man’s hood as it covered the bottom to his neck.

The man also noted the two’s weapons: Lucifer on Rarity’s shoulder and Blue Rose in its holster on Joystick’s side. This made him raise an eyebrow. “How unusual to see creatures such as you and burdened by such peculiar devices.”

At that moment the trio heard the clanging of metal on metal, announcing Siegfried’s return. He scowled at the man with his arms folded, “Who are you?”

The man bowed respectfully, “I am but a humble traveller. Where did you come across these creatures? In all my travels I have never seen such magnificence.”

Rarity blushed noticeably but the man’s focus was on Siegfried, contemplating as the armoured knight spoke again, his voice forceful and commanding. “Leave. Now.”

The man simply bowed once more, “As you wish. I do wish to warn you to avoid a certain clocktower, twelve miles to the northeast of here though.”

“Why?” Siegfried asked, his scowl only deepening as he glared daggers at the man.

“They say whoever enters never returns,” The man replied with a small smile. “I myself have not ventured in lest I fall prey to the myth should it turn out to be true.”

Siegfried grunted in response and gestured for Rarity and Joystick to get inside. The two white ponies complied without any resistance as the look he gave them meant he would take no nonsense from them. He watched them as they walked inside and gestured to the stairs.

“Head my warning, fallen knight. That tower may kill you but could provide valuable insight about the sword you seek to destroy,” The man said calmly.

“What do you-” Siegfried turned around quickly as he spoke but the man had completely vanished “-mean? Perfect…”

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

The casino towered over Rico, Discord and Jade as they got closer to it, driving in their respective vehicles. Discord and Rico rode in the Humvee while Jade rode astride her motorcycle, a short distance ahead of them. The Panauan military had the place thoroughly surrounded while more searched every single floor, carrying weapons of various sizes and calibres.

“Aw…” Discord said in a slightly saddened voice as he got out of the car and cocked his combat shotgun.

Jade took off her helmet but managed to catch Discord’s lament. Rico made several gestures in an attempt to take her attention away from Discord but it proved fruitless as she finally asked, “What?”

“They’re having a party and didn’t invite moi?” He said, looking at Jade with sad eyes. “I am deeply hurt. No party is complete until I arrive.”

Rico sighed, “Take it up with their complaints department.”

“Who?” Discord asked in response, turning his attention back to Rico.

“Them,” Rico answered, pointing to the large number of guards near the dual entrances to the massive casino.

Discord merely chuckled, “Oh goody. I don’t have to go too far then.”

“Well, you boys enjoy your fun and tell me how it goes,” Jade said as she placed her helmet back on her head and getting back on her bike.

She revved the engine a bit before the tires squealed and she turned the bike around, speeding off down the tarmac of the road until she vanished around a corner.

“Well then, shall we go say hello?” Rico asked as he pulled out his guns.

Discord laughed, “I’ll give them my special greeting card!”

Rico chuckled softly, “Well what are you waiting for? An engraved inv-”

Rico did not even have to finish as Discord instantly vanished in a bright light as always. Rico yelled and leapt onto the hood of the Humvee, firing a few shots at two different guards before jumping off the hood and running towards them.

The Panauan military immediately opened fire but something stopped one from doing so. The reason wore a tan jacket whilst pointing a combat shotgun to his face. The soldier had no time to let out a shout as Discord pulled the trigger and fired, blowing the man’s head to oblivion and back.

The soldiers nearby were shocked with Discord’s appearance and turned their weapons on him instead, ignoring Rico to a degree as he killed a few more soldiers. Gunfire flew across the area as a teleporting ‘human’ and Rico thinned the military’s ranks at a phenomenal rate.

“You’d think with this body count, they’d give up,” Discord said as he laid upside down on a hammock that was tied to nothing but thin air, swinging to and fro slightly while he ate a mango smoothie with a green, plastic spoon.

“Well, I doubt they were hired for their brains, Discord. As long as they can shoot something, they’ll keep shooting until their dying breath,” Rico replied nonchalantly as he took cover near the base of the left-side tower of the casino.

Discord raised an eyebrow as he saw a soldier slightly different from the rest as he didn’t carry a gun. It wasn’t until he threw several beeping boxes at the duo that Discord realised, he was carrying explosives.

Rico rolled and got out of the blast range but Discord opted to stay and finish his smoothie. The explosion rocked the area a little and engulfed the disguised Draconequus in smoke and fire. The dust cleared, revealing Discord and his hammock to be unscathed. Sadly, his smoothie was obliterated.

Discord turned his head to look at the demolitions officer with a deadpan expression, “You blew up my smoothie. And it was my favourite flavour too.”

The demolitions officer merely scoffed, placing his hands on his hips and laughed at Discord, thinking he was joking. The embodiment of chaos shrugged his shoulders and snapped his fingers. The officer’s laughing was cut short as the sound of several items beeping filled the area, coming from him. Discord had armed and activated all the explosives he had on his person.

Discord could have sworn he heard the man call for his mother or it was his twisted imagination as the explosives detonated in one massive explosion, killing him instantly and creating a small crater in the ground. Fragments of ground, concrete, plantlife that was unlucky enough to be too close to the impromptu bomb and various other small items fell to the ground in a small shower.

Discord chuckled, “Now, let’s go find this Karl Blane shall we?”

Rico looked at Discord, keeping his guns held up as he walked up to the building. He began to speak in a slightly disturbed tone as Discord teleported next to him with his combat shotgun in his hands, “Discord, remind me to never blow up your drinks.”

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

Dante was laughing as the Diamond Dogs died under a massive hail of lead and Vergil’s – too fast to follow no matter how slow you dialled a video recording of it down – slashing with his Yamato. The devil brothers worked in unison as Vergil got close and rushed past a group so fast he was nothing but a blue blur.

The tactic served as a diversion as Dante followed up with a Drive attack with Rebellion, carving up the ground with a shockwave and cutting through the Diamond Dogs as their attention was focused on Vergil.

“If we keep this up, we may be responsible for the genocide of an entire race,” Dante said thoughtfully as he shot off a Diamond Dog’s ears with Ebony and proceeded to kick it into a building with bone-crushing force.

Vergil sighed as he backflipped over a Diamond Dog and sliced through the air with Yamato, landing in front of it and facing Dante while his back faced his target. For a few moments the Dog simply stood there before thin lines of blood formed and the Dog literally fell apart. “Brother, I doubt these cretins are the entirety of their race. No doubt there are far more than these roaming about all over this world.”

“Perfect,” Dante replied sarcastically, “Anyone know the number of the dog pound?”

“And when we finish with these beasts, the dragons above will no doubt see no reason to keep hovering and will strike once more,” Vergil continued to say matter-of-factly. “We need a proper plan or in your case, blind luck and hope something comes in time to alleviate that problem.”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix. Am I right, Vergil?” Dante said with a smirk.

“I will not dignify that with an answer. It would be impossible to dignify anything you ever say,” Vergil answered, facepalming for a moment before slicing four Diamond Dogs’ heads clean off their shoulders in one slash of his blade.

“And you love me anyway, right?” Dante asked in a rhetorical manner.

‘You’re lucky I can just barely tolerate your existence,’ Vergil thought coldly. ‘I swear that Nero character would be more tolerable. Should have had him come instead of Dante. But may as well make due with what I have, no point wallowing in the past.’

“Verg? You alright? You zoning out on me,” Dante said as he fired several rounds at some Diamond Dogs. A few got some in either their legs or arms, making them cry out in pain. This was short-lived as Dante walked up to a few of the ones that got shot in the leg and killed them at point blank range.

“I am fine,” Vergil replied as coldly as ever as Yamato left its scabbard, swinging through the air and killing a few Dogs that got too close to his person.

“Sheesh. Just worrying about you like a brother should,” Dante said as he hurled Rebellion at a Diamond Dog and killing it in an instant as it passed through the Dog’s stomach and impaling the wall behind it.

“Worry once this is over, Dante. Only do something that meaningless when we can afford to do it,” Vergil replied once again as he fired off a few ethereal blades at four Diamond Dogs, tearing into their throats and flooding their lungs with blood, drowning them.

“Fine,” Dante said, shrugging his shoulders and twisting his body around to use an underhanded slash on a Diamond Dog. He hit him with the flat of the blade, launching a howling Dog into the air where Vergil appeared just above it and brought Yamato down on its throat.

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

Fluttershy sat in the back of the car that served as MEGAS’ control centre with Kiva sitting beside her. Coop was driving just the car itself around New Jersey, showing Fluttershy all his favourite places to eat and drink.

Coop introduced Fluttershy to his favourite beverage on a hot day: the Mega-Slush. Jamie and Coop watched as Fluttershy took a few tentative sips, killing their fun as they had hoped she would go overboard and slurp it like Kiva did with her first Mega-Slush.

Jamie laid back in the passenger seat, downhearted as he wanted to see the yellow mare’s reaction to a brain freeze. “Aw, man. I was hoping you’d drink it quickly.”

“I know of a few cold drinks and how to drink them right,” Fluttershy replied with a small smirk on her face, “Too bad for you.”

Coop chuckled as Kiva smiled at Fluttershy, “When I had one I felt a terrible headache within seconds. But this was because I had never had these beverages in the future. We were too busy fighting the war against the Glorft to ever indulge in something that didn’t involve some form of combat, training or an evacuation drill.”

Fluttershy’s ears pinned themselves back as she looked at Kiva with sympathy, “I’m sorry…”

“There is nothing you can do,” Kiva replied, “I need to get the time drive on MEGAS to work then I can hopefully go back to the Battle of the Last Stand, change history by defeating the Glorft with MEGAS and secure a real future for humanity.”

“Pfft,” Jamie scoffed, “Why bother? You’re in the past and every attempt has failed. If it were me, I would have given up long ago.”

Before Kiva could retort, Fluttershy grabbed Jamie and pulled a protesting human to the back, making him look her in the eyes. She gave Jamie a look that was only a few degrees short of The Stare in intensity, “That’s because you lack belief and will. You lack any desire except to just meander around life like its one big party and everything will just fall into place for you.

“Guess what? It won’t,” Fluttershy’s glare intensified to the point she finally gave Jamie The Stare, “I’ve found out the hard way how hard it can be to just survive. I’ve had to sleep with a dagger under my pillow in case I was attacked whilst sleeping and quite frankly I still do from time to time just to feel safe. Grow up and stop being an idiot for your sake if not for anyone else’s.”

Fluttershy released Jamie with a little force, giving him a small case of whiplash. Kiva smiled a little, “You and I are really going to get on well.”

Fluttershy’s ears pinned themselves back again, “I’m sorry… I don’t like being mean to others. I seem to have a very short fuse…”

“Knowing Jamie, I doubt it got through his thick skull,” Kiva replied.

Jamie scowled a little as he shouted back, “Hey! Not my fault the universe likes me.”

Jamie cringed as he noticed a yellow glow from behind his seat. The soft whir of Jealousy’s motor made the skinny man turn very slowly and his eyes widen when he saw the multi-barrelled machinegun, “Holy mother of god! I take it back, I take it back!”

Jealousy simply whirred once more before Fluttershy deactivated that form, returning Pandora to its original form. Coop laughed uproariously, “Remind me to never argue with you. Well, time to go back home and watch The Return of Cosmotron, Destroyer of Worlds!”

Kiva sighed as Coop and Jamie fist-bumped each other in their own signature way, “I still don’t see how you find anything entertaining in something that stupid.”

Fluttershy giggled a little and placed her head out the window, allowing her mane to billow in the wind. At first it got in her eyes until she managed to move it out of the way with her hoof. Even though she knew that anything stupid enough to go through her stuff was less than three feet away from her and in the driver’s seat, she decided it was best to travel fully-armed.

“What? It’s a good movie,” Coop defended. “The screams, the destruction and the level of pure level of total carnage!”

‘So you watch the form of carnage you wreak in real life? And I thought Rainbow’s Daring Do obsession was bad,’ Fluttershy thought.

“Probably because it is the only thing your primitive intellect can understand,” Kiva replied.

“Not everyone can jump start and mod a ride like MEGAS you know,” Coop answered with pride in his voice.

“Or utterly ruin it and turn the last hope I had to saving my timeline into some idiot’s personal toy,” Kiva rebuked.

“Hey, I worked hard on MEGAS!” Coop replied, his voice rising a little.

Coop drove the car into his mother’s garage, shutting the engine off as he turned his head to look at Jamie with a massive grin on his face. “Now for the mega movie extravaganza of total carnage and mayhem!”

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

The rooftops and the dark night helped keep Dash and Gilda under the radar since walking through the city of Detroit as mythical creatures tended to make people both nervous and suspicious if they were seen walking out of Sarif Industries’ front doors.

Gilda was the happiest between her and Dash since she barely had been able to fly at all, most of the blame there was on Adam and Sarif’s orders. Her propulsion system fired in small, controlled bursts, just to keep her aloft as Dash kept close by, her fantail engines keeping her in the air but a short distance away from Gilda, keeping the briefcase of Project Excelion – or Nevan as she knew it – in her mouth by the handle.

The Griffon landed on every rooftop like a ton of bricks, each one loud enough for the occupants under her to hear and feel each shockwave. But this brought a smug grin to her face as she imagined the damage she could deal with that much force behind her landing. Bloodwing would be proud of her.

Adam had decided to not traverse the roofs and walked through the streets as the pair of flyers kept to the buildings as close to the streets Jensen was using. The police station was not too far, shorter for Gilda and Dash as they had nothing to hinder their progress.

“Got a plan for getting in, Jensen?” Gilda asked through the Infolink. “I doubt they’ll just let you stroll in.”

“Simple. Walk in through the front door and if that doesn’t work I’ll sneak in,” Jensen replied as he walked through the slightly empty streets, his eyes keeping a look out for trouble of any kind.

There were a few police officers in the street but once Jensen walked into an alleyway, he found the police presence to be quite lacking. Gilda and Dash changed course, turning as he did as Dash kept an eye around him with Gilda watching out for her and herself.

“Well, that sounds like a plan. For a wuss,” Gilda replied with slight disappointment in her voice.

Rainbow landed next to Gilda as the Griffon landed on the next rooftop and began walking to the edge to go to the next. The mare tossed the briefcase upwards and positioned herself so it landed between her wings. The sound of metal hitting metal hit her ears but the only thing she felt was the instant pressure of the case as it was forced to stop falling.

“Hey, if you want to go and get onto their wanted list that’s your problem,” Dash said in an annoyed tone. “We aren’t here to bash in the heads of everyone who looks at us funny. It’ll only get you in trouble or are you itching that badly for a fight of some kind?”

“Dash, we got these awesome things in our bodies, hell we can punch through walls for goodness sake!” Gilda said, her augmented wings flaring a little as they picked up the signals her brain was sending off whenever Griffons felt threatened or aggressive. This however had no effect on Dash. “Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious about the damage you can do?”

Rainbow shook her head, “I’m not. I prefer my old wings and hoof, thanks. I am not comfortable with the constant noises they make and the cold feeling I get when my wings touch my body. How can I do a Sonic Rainboom when I got these things?”

Gilda scoffed, “Have you tried to do one yet? No, you haven’t since you haven’t exactly had chance to because we’re supposed to be keeping a low profile as you, Jensen and that Sarif character keep telling me!”

Rainbow sighed, “The hiding is getting to you isn’t it?”

Gilda’s wings collapsed as she stopped at the edge and turned to face Dash, her expression softening, “Maybe just a little…”

“I know, G. I don’t like being indoors for so long, goes against being a Pegasus,” Rainbow said as she sat down next to Gilda, the case sliding off her back and landing on her tail. Rainbow winced as she felt a quick jolt of pain run up her spine. Getting held down by her tail was one thing but having something land on it – near the base to be specific – was far worse.

Rainbow collected herself as she continued, “Pegasi aren’t ones for staying grounded so I can relate but that doesn’t mean you should take your frustrations out on everything within, or just outside, distance of your claws.”

“Yeah I know, Dash. I’ll keep myself in check,” Gilda responded. “You gonna be alright? That thing seemed to hit you rather hard.”

“Stings a bit but we both know I've been through far worse,” Rainbow replied before she picked the case up in her teeth again.

Gilda soared into the air again with Dash hovering for the most part as they followed Jensen to the police station. The building shouted authority as police officers left and entered the building’s double doors, the building was about three storeys tall and who knew how deep its underground section was.

Gilda landed on the nearest rooftop as Dash landed beside herm placing the case down again. She activated her Infolink, “If Plan A and Plan B don’t turn out well, we’ll get in and get it as Plan Awesome.”

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

“What the?” Coop was leaning over the television set, the crackle of static filling the air and annoying Fluttershy’s ears, making the mare find earplugs consisting of multiple balls of wool.

“Come on, Coop. Hurry up, we’re going to miss it!” Jamie complained as Kiva and Fluttershy stayed back while they argued.

“I don’t get it. It was working fine this morning,” Coop commented to no-one in particular. “Power’s on and…”

Coop decided to use the old credo that many a human went by when faced with none-working equipment: hit it with a hammer. Sadly the hammer didn’t work after Coop nearly broke the device’s plastic casing. Jamie simply sat on the couch with a frown on his face while the two females in the room simply watched on.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with the satellite,” Coop said as he got up and placed the hammer on the table.

“You know what that means?” Jamie said with a smirk. Coop shared his look as they cried out in unison, raising their hands into the air. “Road trip!”

“I still fail to see how traversing space is considered a road trip when there are no roads to travel on,” Kiva commented.

Fluttershy looked at Kiva quickly, “Space?”

“Well, yeah. That’s where they like to hang out and broadcast from so that’s where we have to go to fix it because the TV is just fine,” Coop replied.

Jamie scoffed, “Should’ve known she wouldn’t know what space was.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, “I know what space is. I just never thought I’d ever go into space.”

“I gather your kind have not invented space travel?” Kiva asked.

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, we haven’t.”

“Well, Flutters you’re in for a treat. Everyone get in the car and we’ll get this show on the road!” Coop said with a grin.

Several minutes later - after Jamie emptied his bladder - the gang were all present and accounted for in the red muscle car that was MEGAS’ head. Everyone got comfortable in their respective seats as Coop put the key into the ignition and turned the car on.

The engine roared to life as Coop revved it, pressing on the accelerator while the vehicle remained stationary. Coop disengaged the parking brake and in an instant they were all propelled upwards as MEGAS shot out of the garage, turning it into splinters probably for the eighth time that week.

Higher and higher the robot flew with the four sat in the car’s seats. Fluttershy clung onto the back rest of Jamie’s seat as if it would save her if the robot fell apart. She kept a very stoic expression as she closed her eyes and hoped the turbulence would end before it made her sick.

Fluttershy dared to open an eye and saw the clouds below them become smaller and smaller while the blue sky steadily grew darker. She began to see stars as the sky thinned to the point of nonexistence, leaving Earth’s atmosphere.

Fluttershy had been many places in Skyrim, Equestria and her travels with Dante saw her travel across continents and yet this new area where sky and earth did not exist trumped them all. It looked peaceful, serene and pure, untainted by the hazards of the planet below. Or at least New Jersey.

Fluttershy looked at Kiva, “What are we looking for?”

Kiva was working with several holograms detailing various parts of MEGAS which Fluttershy, Coop, nor Jamie understood. “I’m scanning for the satellite responsible for Coop’s… show…”

Fluttershy could see Kiva was not comfortable with using MEGAS’ systems for something it was never designed for. Fluttershy looked around as best she could, confined to the blue behemoth’s red head so she wouldn’t die in the vacuum of space.

She saw several metal objects of varying size simply floating in space, circling the globe. Some were spherical, some were cylindrical and the rest looked like a foal’s building blocks hashed together into some deformed metal monster.

All of which Coop ignored as MEGAS navigated the maze of satellites, in search of the one responsible for broadcasting his movie.

“Which one is it, Kiva?” Coop asked as he turned and accidentally crashed into the new PoPTV satellite, destroying it. “Uh oh…”

“Luckily not that one,” Kiva replied flatly as her hands skimmed the surfaces of the multiple holograms. Her expression changed from annoyance to confusion in the span of just a few seconds. “Odd…”

This got Fluttershy’s attention and she turned her head to look at Kiva, “What’s wrong?”

“I am reading a 23% decrease in satellite constellations and there hasn’t been an increase in space junk via malfunction or other means and there is no debris indicative of them being destroyed,” She replied. “They just… vanished”

“And I guess they don’t do that?” Fluttershy asked, more rhetorically than actually asking.

“Why, do yours like to play hide and seek with you?” Jamie asked, only to hear Fluttershy facehoof.

“We don’t have satellites and I was being rhetorical,” Fluttershy replied flatly.

“Well, not my problem,” Coop said nonchalantly. “I just want to watch my movie.”

“It will be your problem, Coop because the satellite in question is missing.” Kiva pointed out as her displays confirmed her statement.

Coop’s eyes widened and wailed loudly, making Fluttershy wish she had brought her woollen earplugs, “No!”

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

Las Pegasus was literally burning once again as dragons burnt the buildings and Diamond Dogs looted the rubble once the fires became smouldering embers. Not that they got much as most of it got either incinerated or melted from the fires so they hit a few that had yet to meet a fiery demise.

Ponies hid in basements, wardrobes, under tables and in the cupboards under their sinks as the Diamond Dogs broke into their homes and took everything that was not nailed down. One even took the kitchen sink and left the cowering colt under it alone. Most likely because the Diamond Dog didn’t notice the colt’s dark coat and it got distracted by one of its comrades sighing in annoyance over the theft of a sink that had absolutely no value whatsoever.

But all was not a simple looting and pillaging as within the city, a few ponies as well as a couple of Changelings mounted futile efforts to stem the attacks on their homes. While their resistance was not as strong as Ponyville’s, they kept trying to keep the dragons and Diamond Dogs from taking everything and killing their loved ones.

The head of the ragtag resistance movement in Las Pegasus was one of the few Changeling Elites. Specifically it was a Heavy Elite, wielding a bell-shaped hammer that possessed a head as large as the average stallion, the weapon, not the Elite. Unlike most Elites, this one possessed no name other than the number it was assigned from its ‘birth’: 47. 47’s armour was pitch black and like most Heavies, it covered a vast majority of his body. He sought refuge in the basement of an aging apartment complex with a few other Changelings and several ponies.

The ponies were from each of the tree tribes while 47 was the only Elite Changeling in the city. As such he was the de facto leader of the Changelings in the city and because of it, he was also responsible if anything happened to them.

The room they were in was solid concrete and bare, save for a large oaken table in the centre that they all stood around and a few tiny windows large enough for a foal to squeeze through being their only way of seeing the nearby street. An aging light bulb flickered as the filament was slowly giving out, swinging slightly from time to time due to a small breeze coming in from one of the open windows.

“We are not making any progress…” 47 stated bluntly, his voice gruff and deep, resonating through the silent room as all the occupants’ eyes and ears were directed at him. “I fear we’ve lost this city.”

“Not again…” A pale blue mare said dejectedly. “We’ve lost this city once and I do not want to lose it again.”

“Unless a miracle happens, our guerrilla styled tactics merely delays the inevitable: the total destruction of Las Pegasus and the death of all its denizens, pony and Changeling alike,” 47 replied flatly.

“Sir… what about the other cities?” A Changeling asked, somewhat fearfully as if 47 was about to crush him for merely speaking.

“We will have to hope the one we evacuate to is not under siege as well. If it is… we will have little choice but to assist any resistance fighters in the city,” 47 answered.

“What about Seaddle?” Another Changeling asked. Unlike the previous one, this Changeling was far more confident as he spoke. “Surely the main hive is protected? Why not flee there?”

47 nodded his head, “Yes, that does sound like a reasonable destination if not a far one. Seaddle is about two days away since we can not exactly use the train station.”

“Yeah, the dragons torched it and the train there is nothing but a smouldering pile of ash,” A stallion said in annoyance. “I liked that train…”

“Just be glad you weren’t nearby when they attacked,” A mare almost spat, highly annoyed as the stallion had done nothing but complain about his precious train.

“Yeah but still…” The train engineer replied, miserably.

“Just shut up about your train!” The mare shouted, deciding to let him have it. “You’ve done nothing but constantly complain about the thing since you joined up with this movement! They can build a new one so just shut up about the damned thing and move on!”

“Remind me not to make her angry,” One of the changelings whispered to one of his compatriots who only slowly nodded in response.

“Are you two done with your lover’s quarrel?” 47 asked. Their mouths flapped in response but no sound escaped their lips. “Good. This is the plan: we get as many out of here as possible and head for Seaddle. I will send one of us to fly ahead and inform Broken Skies of the danger. Hopefully we are not too late.”

The group nodded their heads in turn as the Changelings began to discuss who would fly ahead. Little did they know one of Skies’ own scouts were heading their way as fast as it could.

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

Manhattan was a city consisting of many towering buildings made of steel, concrete and glass with denizens going about their monotonous, repetitive daily lives. Or at least they would have been doing so if it were not for the outbreak of deformed creatures Luna had discovered was the E.V.O. outbreak White had spoken about.

Luna had thwarted the machinations of many a monster in her exceedingly long life, alongside her sister. From tyrants like Discord and Sombra to many other creatures that ponies nowadays regard as simple myth and old mare’s tales.

However her experience with holding down her lunch was tested as she saw a news feed from one of the local news channels. The creatures had a multitude of deformities from a single oversized leg or arm to vaguely resembling an insect and standing two storeys tall. One even had no eyes. Instead it possessed a massive mouth on its head with rows of jagged teeth.

“All units prepare to deploy to contain the threat,” Calan said to the group consisting of Luna, Rex, Six and Bobo. Dr. Holiday was staying behind unless her expertise was required on the ground.

“If this is what you define as ‘a small outbreak’ I do not wish to know what a full epidemic consists of,” Luna commented. “These beasts could only have been born of some demented mind.”

“Those ‘beasts’ are people. They have no idea what they are doing,” Rex replied almost solemnly as he walked with the rest into the Keep’s many hallways. “And it’s my job to cure them.”

Luna nodded her head, “I understand you possess rather… unique capabilities due to these nanites in your body. And I have already witnessed one of your many… ‘builds’ I believe you call them?”

Rex grinned, “Yeah, pretty cool aren’t they?”

Bobo scoffed, “I doubt you have a chance with the horse princess, Casanova.”

This time it was Luna’s turn to scoff, “For the record, Mr. Haha. I am a pony. A horse comes from Saddle Arabia. They are a lot skinnier and taller than the average pony. While my sister does stand as tall as they are, it is due to her being an Alicorn. Which is what I am as well.”

“You ponies are just plain weird,” Bobo replied with slight annoyance.

“‘Weird’ is a matter of perspective,” Luna answered coolly and with a sly smile.

The group arrived in one of the Keep’s hangars. There were several craft inside, similar in design to the Keep which annoyed Luna a bit at the lack of originality. All around them were squads Providence agents were climbing into smaller aircraft to fly them down to the ground below.

All except for Rex as he waited near the massive doors. Luna slowly walked up to him, knowing full well why he was there: he had his own method for getting to the ground below. He was not the only one capable of flight.

She stood next to him, not saying a word as the doors opened slowly, as if time had slowed down around them. The wind blew through the hangar, making Rex’s short hair wave about while Luna’s seemed unaffected as it moved on its own volition as always.

“Ready?” Luna finally said, looking out into the Concrete Jungle that was Manhattan.

“Me? I’m always ready to kick some butt,” Rex answered with confidence.

Luna gave a very soft chuckle, barely audible enough for the young man to hear. “Well, I thought you cured them? Not beat them into a pulp?”

Luna already knew the answer but as she looked to Rex, she could see there was some pain in his eyes. “I can’t always cure them all…”

Luna made her thoughts backpedal almost instantly. The pain on his face spoke greater volumes than his words. The mere thought of not being able to cure an E.V.O. seemed to cut him a lot deeper than she first thought.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t save them,” Rex said, making Luna blink. “We just lock them up and Doc can search for a cure.”

Luna nodded, “And I gather when they resist… you…”

“Persuade them,” Rex said, smiling a little more.

“Rex, get going. We’ll meet you on the ground,” Luna and Rex looked back to see Six and Bobo enter one of the drop ships. Six seemed to be the one talking to Rex.

“And leave some for us will ya?” Bobo said in an annoyed tone as if he found some twisted pleasure in the violence and hated Rex taking it away from him.

“So, do you have an actual plan of attack?” Luna asked.

Rex smirked, “I have a plan: attack.”

Rex placed his goggles around his eyes as one of his builds took form. Luna took a few steps back, recognising the build as the one he used to fly. Rex leapt out of the hangar as the drop ships began to rise off the floor.

Luna looked over the edge and saw some of the E.V.O.s she saw on the news. She took a deep breath and spread her wings, “And so it begins…”