"Arrggh, dammit!" Masami moaned in pain as she sat down on the cold hard floor of the maintenance room.

"Alright, Masami, I need you to breathe." Evelyn tried soothing the injured mare as she opened up her medical kit and drew from it, a needle and thread, and peroxide. "Here, put this in your mouth."

Evelyn handed her a piece of leather, and Masami bit down hard on it; straining her jaw muscle to distract her body from the excruciating pain her arm was in. As Evelyn sewed her up, she groaned and fidgeted; still trying to power through the pain. Every time Evelyn punctured some of her skin, she jerked her head in response, and bit down harder on the leather, until there was almost nothing left to bite down on. After she was done stitching, Masami spat out the chunk of leather like chewing tobacco.

"Alright Masami, this will sting a lot," Evelyn warned the stitched-up mare as she popped the cap off the bottle of peroxide.

"Gee, thanks for sugar-coating it for me!" Masami growled as her arm tensed up; sending a jolt up her shoulder as Evelyn dabbed the deep gash with a cotton pad she soaked in the antiseptic fluid. "Son of a bitch! Motherfucker!"

As Evelyn dabbed the wound a few more times, Masami felt instant relief, although her wound still felt like a nest of hornets repeatedly stung her arm. She jerked her head back and took one last deep breath before getting up off the concrete floor. Draven steadied her as she rose up, and Gin patted the dust off her back.

"We need to get you back to the mansion, now." Evelyn insisted with sharpness in her voice. "Your arm is still shattered."

"No, we've got a mission to complete, and I ain't sittin' on the sidelines and watching. We're finishing this." Masami stubbornly grunted as she used her good arm to adjust her communicator.

"We can handle this ourselves, you know that." Evelyn reached up to place her hand on Masami's shoulder.

"I know, I know... but if something happens while I'm gone I'll never forgive myself. I won't do anything stupid Evelyn, I promise... I just want to keep you all safe." Masami tried convincing Evelyn, and to Draven's surprise, she was moved.

"You are an imbecile, Ms. Akiyama, but I suppose I can commend you for your tenacity." Evelyn smiled as she picked up her medical kit.

Masami could be as stubborn as Butch or Winslow when she felt it was necessary, and she impressed Draven and Gin with her steadfast nature. She didn't lose faith in her team, and they in turn, they did not lose faith in her. It was obvious who the leader of the team was, Masami was like a mother-figure; watching over the task force like a parent would.

"What next? Do you want us to get up there and help them?" Draven interjected as he fastened his jacket.

"Yes. In fact- here, let me get in contact with everyone. They're probably scared shitless." Masami laughed to herself as she began turning a dial on her communicator to tune into everypony's frequency. "Hello? Is anypony there?"

"Masami? Oh, thank the forefathers! I thought you were dead!" Liazo replied through her earpiece; relieved to hear her voice.

"Masami, I thought you were gone! Are you okay-." Rainbow Dash stopped herself before sounding like a romantic, but the damage had been done. "I mean... are you okay, Masami?"

"Oooo... so you do care about little ol' me!" Masami instantly perked up; ignoring the burning pain in her arm out of sheer excitement. Evelyn rolled her eyes in response to Masami's teasing. Even with a mangled arm, she still couldn't help but tease every mare within a five-mile radius with her charm.

"No I-. Aarrghh! Just tell us the plan, okay?" Rainbow Dash growled as she ran her hand through her mane out of impatience.

"Okie-Dokie, Kitten!" Masami pestered Rainbow Dash further before clearing her throat and switching to a serious tone of voice, similar to a mother about to lecture a child. "Alright. Twilight, Edgar, Winslow, you guys there? What's the situation down there?"

"We're here Masami, we tried checking some of the tanks as they passed by, but all of them were operated by machines," Twilight explained as she looked around; noticing more approaching floats on the way. "Although there are some floats coming up here quick. I'll see what I can find."

"Good. Liazo, see anything suspicious?" Masami inquired as she fiddled around with her long black hair.

"If the tanks are safe, I wouldn't doubt they'd be tryin' somethin' else." Liazo uttered with a puzzled expression. "What do you figure-. Oh, fuck!"

A deafening bang resonated through the whole street, and within milliseconds, one of the cheerleaders on a parade float had her head blown to pieces. The bang was loud enough to be heard for miles, and as various ponies lining the streets started realizing the danger, they started to scatter with their hands above their head- a desperate attempt to shield themselves.

"Oh, sweet Celestia!" Twilight screamed in horror as the cheerleader's lifeless body fell off the float and onto the pavement not far from Winslow. "What was that?!"

"Did everypony hear that?!" Spike wailed in dismay as he ducked behind one of the statues along with Butch.

"Where did that noise come from? Liazo, what's going on out there?" Masami shouted as loud as possible into her microphone.

"A Sniper! He took out a bystander! Everypony get to cover!" Liazo ordered the others on the ground. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to get airborne! Get out of firing range, and find that sniper! You're a pegasus. You've got keen eyes! Spot that fucker! Take him out!"

"On it!" Rainbow Dash rocketed into the brisk air and tapped on her earpiece for further instructions. "What am I looking for?!"

"The shot came from that skyscraper just across the street- in Liberty Square just above Butch and Spike! Look for a broken, or open window- something out of sorts!" Liazo was almost breathless from sheer panic.

"What do we do, Masami?" Draven asked the spastic mare as she furiously flailed her one good arm.

"Get up there with Gin, make sure everypony gets to Riker's Station, and for the love of Ivan Aquarius, stay under cover!" Masami opened the maintenance room door and practically pushed them outside, then turned to Evelyn. "Eve, I need you here with me!"

"Right." Evelyn nodded as she stood still.

"Butch, Spike, I want you two to clear the streets- escort everyone to Riker's Station! The police won't get here in time before the next shot is fired! Twilight, Winslow, Edgar, where are you guys?!" Masami demanded; her heart pumping frantically. "Twilight? Twilight?! Edgar, where is she?!"

Twilight stood motionless in the street; staring blankly at the headless body of the cheerleader on the pavement nearby. Ponies scattered, trash bins were knocked over in the chaos, some were being trampled in the maelstrom of fear and confusion. However, Twilight paid no attention. All the voices around her were reduced to muffled cries and gagged sounds of clattering and stomping of hooves. Winslow tried to grab her- snap her out of it, but she remained silent. Edgar remained motionless in his dumpster and watched

"Twilight! Twilight, get a grip! We've got to get to cover!"

Twilight felt warm blood on her face- the cheerleader's blood, it was running down in a steady trickle. As she felt the red liquid soak her forehead, she heard a whisper in her left ear- it was Gek, who stood beside her with a maniacal smile stretched across his face. He leaned in slowly and whispered to her- words that made Twilight's soul quiver.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

As Twilight turned her head to face Gek, he vanished into thin air, and the thick haze of shock and confusion began to dissipate around her; the world returning to normal. Winslow jerked her again, but she still was immobilized by fear, and down at the end of Riker's Street the sniper noticed Twilight standing out in the open. He poked his rifle through the hole he made in a window pane and focused his rifle; honing in on Twilight, and aiming right for her skull.

"Twilight! Twilight, please!" Winslow panicked as he finally woke Twilight up from her daydream.

As another shot echoed in the air, the bullet zoomed towards Twilight; only missing her by a fraction of an inch as Winslow finally was able to nab her and toss her aside- into the alleyway with Edgar. She was still breathless.

"Liazo, I think I just saw the sniper's gun over there!" Rainbow Dash pointed towards the broken window across the street.

"Get after em' then!" Liazo responded with haste as he began climbing down the side of a building down to the ground. "I've got to get the rest of these ponies to safety!"

"Got it!" Rainbow Dash nodded before racing towards the sniper's position.

Rainbow Dash zoomed past the tall glass building where the sniper made his nest and took a sharp U-turn; smashing through some more glass on the other side of the building, so as not to launch a full-frontal-assault. She covered her face as she fell into a dive-roll, and as she got to her hooves, she heard the sound of the sniper standing up from his probing-position upstairs, and slowly moving towards her. Rainbow Dash ducked behind a corner and poked her head out to spot him. As their eyes met, the sniper fired a shot to scare her off, but she didn't budge, and she stayed behind cover- waiting for the sniper to get too curious. As he carefully trotted downstairs, he drew his dagger and prepared to strike. The noise of his blade unsheathing alerted Rainbow Dash, and she responded with a blinding counterattack. She sped out of cover at light-speed and knocked the knife out of his hand before he had a chance to slash.

As Rainbow Dash moved in to strike again, the cultist brought out a pistol and fired wildly at her. Luckily, Rainbow Dash was one of the fastest of her kind and dodged the gunfire as if it were water balloons thrown by a foal. When the sniper ran out of ammo, he readied another dagger and started to swing recklessly at her. She dodged again and spun around; landing a roundhouse kick right on his jaw, and launching his head into the hard drywall on the staircase.

Rainbow Dash expected her foe to yield right away, but the sniper was driven- he was consumed by an insane bloodlust that only a maniac could experience. He tried punching her and missed; slamming his bare hand into a nearby wall. As he pulled it out, it looked mangled and broken, but the cultist didn't mind, instead he resumed his crazed attack- ignoring Rainbow Dash's kicks and punches, regardless of how many ribs she shattered. His eyes shone a distinct purple as he charged towards his foe with his fists clenched. The cultist threw another punch, but this time, Rainbow Dash caught his hand and smashed his face in with her elbow.

"Damn it, do you guys ever quit?!" Rainbow Dash growled with impatience in her tone, and a mixture of exhaustion and rage in her expression.

"I have the Lord on my side. With his power, I am invincible-." The cultist was cut off as Rainbow Dash gave him a firm kick to the groin, and he exhaled slowly out of sheer pain with a wheeze as he crumpled to the floor.

"I'd like to see your 'Lord' protect those." Rainbow Dash grinned as she kicked him in the temple; rendering him unconscious. "Guys, I knocked the sniper out!"

"Good. Get down here, the police will arrive shortly to clean up the mess." Masami informed her before banging her head against the maintenance room wall. "Damn, We should've seen this coming. How could I have been so stupid?! Somepony died today!"

"It wasn't your fault Masami, we had no idea what they were capable of until now," Evelyn reassured the shamed mare as she hung her head in disappointment. Although, Evelyn's expression contradicted her words, and it weighed on Masami- making her failure harder to bear. Reluctantly, she turned her communicator back on and adjusted jer communicator to match Rainbow Dash's frequency. "Listen, I want you to get that sniper back here. Maybe we can get him to talk."

"I'm on it." As Rainbow Dash turned towards the cultist, he grabbed her leg suddenly; looking her straight in the eyes with a crazed expression.

"I have failed my prophet, and my lord. You must punish me, Sinner... like sinners punish each other." The cultist reached into his pocket and brought out another knife (more like a sharpened letter opener), and attempted to hand it to Rainbow Dash. "You must end me, Sinner. You must send me unto a lake of fire, where I must answer for my failure!"

"Are you crazy?! I'm not going to murder you!" Rainbow Dash backed away as the cultist pulled out a small leather-bound book from his tattered satchel. "What are you doing?"

"Then in purgatory I must dwell..." The cultist placed the book on his chest and raised his knife; puncturing the book, and driving the knife through his heart.

"No, stop!" Rainbow Dash kneeled down and pulled the knife out of his ribcage; letting the blood pour out of the hole in his chest. "Why?!"

"Because it is the will of my lord and prophet." The cultist choked on his blood; coughing and hacking away as he tried to speak. "May Father Kaiser cast you into oblivion and inflict endless suffering upon you and your kin."

As the cultist drew his last gargled breath, Rainbow Dash looked away; trying to ignore what she had just witnessed. She tapped her communicator lightly before closing the cultist's eyes with her middle and index finger. "Masami, the sniper is dead."

"What happened?" Masami wondered; hearing the anguish in Rainbow Dash's voice.

"He... killed himself right in front of me." Rainbow Dash was on the verge of crying, but held back her tears, as she felt it would be immoral to cry over a psychotic murderer. "What do you want me to do?"

"Leave him there Kitten, you've had a rough day. I think we all have. I'll get the police collect his body for identification." Masami insisted as she let out an empathetic sigh and gently placed her forehead on the maintenance room wall. "What a mess..."

****

The Ausrüstung authorities showed up within minutes and blocked off the area encompassing the incident. Bodies of the fallen cult members were collected, and the dead cheerleader's corpse was tucked into a body-bag. As one of the police officers approached the corpse, he zipped it up; Twilight watching from the sidelines along with the rest of her friends.

Draven stood beside Twilight, and with a sympathetic half-smile he patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay lass, these things happen..."

Butch walked over to Evelyn, who crossed her arms uncomfortably, and as he drew closer, she turned her head away. "I'm sorry, for worrying you." Butch said nothing, and instead he gave her a grunt of approval.

Evelyn moved over to one of the ambulance drivers packing up the corpses and unzipped one slightly, to make sure it was the right one, the sniper. She drew out a wallet and showed the stallion her ID. "Excuse me, sir, my name is Evelyn Aquarius, head of the A.M.S. Could you send the autopsy results to this address, please? Official government business."

Evelyn brought out her notebook and wrote down a few numbers, then tore off a page and handed it to the driver. "Of course Dr. Aquarius, you'll have the full report in by tomorrow morning."

Rainbow Dash sighed as the sniper's corpse was rolled inside a hovering air-tight container along with the others, and Masami noticed the somber pegasus. She wrapped her good arm around Rainbow Dash's hip to try and comfort her; pulling her closer, but not enough to cause discomfort. "We don't win every time, Kitten. I guess that's a lesson I need to learn."

"Why did he just... you know, kill himself?" Rainbow Dash stared at the ground as she went on. "What the hell was going through his head?"

"I've dealt with cults before, and they're always the same. They're just following the teachings of a loony, trying to gain self-validation by following somepony powerful." Masami explained although Rainbow Dash remained silent as she thought to herself. Rainbow Dash broke away from Masami's grasp and turned to Spike, but looked back after hearing the compassionate mare whimper to herself as she clutched her shattered arm. "Damn."

"Are you-. Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash stuttered slightly as her eyes met with Masami's enchanting silver-gaze. "Your arms is-."

"Don't worry, Eve will fix it up when we get back." Masami's chuckled to herself as Rainbow Dash inspected her arm again. "Really, I'm alright."

Spike stood beside Liazo and Winslow, who were both leaning up against a brick building- away from the bloody scene. "So... what happens now?"

"Well, I just called in a bi-copter- should be here shortly," Liazo replied calmly. "We've got to get back to Chuck, reorganize ourselves."

"Do you think there'll be more attacks like this?" Spike swallowed nervously as he looked down at the blood-splatter on the nice clean street.

"No. This was just a warm up- a declaration of war." Winslow chimed in and gestured to Liazo. "I believe they're trying to cause a panic amongst you and your fellow team members."

"It worked, didn't it? Damn, we haven't lost anypony in years, and now..." Liazo trailed off as he clenched his fist, then dug into his pocket and lit a cigarette. "Chuck isn't gonna be happy."

A soft, yet loud whirring noise announced the arrival of a small black aerial vehicle (well... small in comparison to the Ambassador). It was armed with machine-guns and various other weaponry, and it had two large propellers on either side of the airship that allowed it to take-off and touch-down easily. It landed near the crime scene and lowered its landing gear, then a side door slid open to reveal a large seating area, enough to house everypony. Evelyn, Twilight, and Draven jumped inside, then Edgar and Butch. Gin was followed by Rainbow Dash and Masami, and she waved at Spike and the rest of his clan.

"Alright guys, everypony inside!" Masami called over to Liazo and his group, who hung back a little longer than the rest. She gave Liazo a slap on his rear as he walked up the steps into the bi-copter, and the half-changeling shot her an evil look, to which she replied with a smug grin. While Spike could tell Masami's spirit had been dampened, she still remained cheerful in order to lift everypony else up.

Evelyn rolled her eyes as she buckled everyone into their seats, and Masami stuck her tongue out at the stuck-up mare as she trudged over to her spot near the cockpit. She turned her head to the pilot and gave him a signal; pointing up as she spoke to the driver. "We're all in."

****

In the north, a long forgotten district began to stir, The Silence. This district was where The Dictatorship dwelled more than a decade ago, where the tyrannical Empire of Ausrüstung was born, and where it was destroyed. After the civil war shook the nation, the new social-democracy of Ausrüstung used this walled-off plot of land- hundreds of miles wide, to house its criminals. Serial killers, rapists, drug lords, only the worst were thrown into this terrible place. The district was destroyed by a chemical bomb near the end of the war; killing off all the plant life, and ponies inside. To prevent any method of escape, an energy shield was put in place to trap the civilians, and even after the war, it remained active- a testament to an age of violence and war that came to an even more violent end.

Beneath the chaos of The Silence, lay buried an old laboratory that once housed the greatest minds of the Dictatorship, The Maze. Now, this labyrinth houses a civilization of lunatics, psychopaths, test subjects left behind. In this chaotic world they call home, they worship their prophet, the sacred guardian of knowledge who was chosen by god to bring a message to those who were willing to listen. Thousands gathered around the sacred altar of Gek, the fountain of chaos where the prophet would drink his fill of the waters of life.

The chamber in which they performed the ritual was dark, only illuminated by a few dozen torches surrounding the mass of ponies who bowed their heads in prayer as the prophet spoke in a voice that demanded respect.

"My brothers and sisters, children of the Lord, I have gathered you all here today, to pray for our fallen kin, who so bravely sacrificed their lives in the name of our Lord, Gek! May they walk beside him in his Palace of Glass, and feast with his brethren that have also passed on!" The prophet bellowed to the crowd of ponies as he closed his leather-bound book. "But fear not my brothers and sisters, for Gek has shown me something spectacular! Our Messiah is upon us, soon the sacred mare of legend shall lead us into a new dawn!"

"Bless Father Kaiser! Bless Gek!" The cultists prayed as they stood up with their hands clasped together.

The prophet wore his ceremonial armor fashioned out of an old mechanized suit and held together by the prophet's raw power. The armor shone like a silver star- various laurel patterns decorated the steel that housed his body. The armor was necessary to sustain the prophet, as he needed the pain to survive. Being a prophet of Gek- he was cursed to live out his existence in need of suffering to keep his body strong. Overtop of his armor was his red robes- a sign of authority amongst the worshippers, and lordship. Various metal spikes on his back and gauntlets dug into his flesh to fill him with strength- pain, but it did not harm him, as Gek's power could heal his wounds instantly. His unicorn horn looked more like a jagged steel saber than a horn, and long pale blue mane stretched down to his waist. His hollow black eyes had, but a speck of purple within them- mere dots, and his dark gray fur was sleek and majestic. His eyes gazed upon his followers for a brief moment before approaching his fountain.

"For you, my kin, I drink!" The prophet grabbed a metal dish and dipped it into his fountain, he lifted it high in the air, and as he did so, the mass of ponies cheered. Kaiser poured the dish filled with green liquid into his mouth. It sizzled as the fluid made contact with the back of his throat. Only the prophet could drink the blood of Gek, as it was highly acidic. "May your grace give us strength my Lord, and may it lead us into the future!"

"Praise Gek! Praise the prophet, Kaiser!" The cultists chanted.

"Go now my children, spread your gift around the world! I shall see you all soon for our next hour of prayer!" Kaiser shooed his followers away, and they listened, retreating into the shadows- back to their decrepit homes.

Kasier kneeled down before the fountain and prayed one last time, then walked over to a nearby panel; flipping a switch to reveal an entire pool filled with acid right behind the fountain- his chamber of solitude. He removed his armor slowly with his magic power until he was naked and exposed. He stepped in slowly; feeling every satisfying burn as his skin and fur made contact with the green liquid. He exhaled slowly as he felt a euphoric feeling send a shiver up his spine into his head, and he closed his eyes as he began to recite a prayer to his dark god. However, before he could let his pleasure fully consume him, he was interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps nearby.

"Father Kaiser, we have returned with good news." Kanakirigoe hissed as he kneeled at the edge of the lake of acid, with Ashurr and Gar Nichts kneeling beside him. "We have tested the abilities of this 'Task Force', and they have proven themselves worthy of our attention."

"Good my children, good..." Kaiser uttered in a soft, yet rough sounding voice- like fine sandpaper. "You have done well."

"Shall we mobilize our forces, Father?" Ashurr suggested, although Kaiser's disappointed expression answered before he even spoke.

"Oh, Ashurr you are too impatient." Kaiser grinned as he waded in his green pool; moving his hand across the top- just above the acidic liquid. "Gar Nichts, Ashurr I want you two to go downstairs and talk to Dr. Gearza in his operating room, tell him to activate his skeletons. Gek has shown me the identity of our Messiah, a mare."

"As you wish, Father." Gar Nichts and Ashurr bowed before running off.

"Father, who is this mare you speak of?" Kanakirigoe asked as he gazed into the green pool with his head bowed.

"One of the Equestrians that just arrived in Ausrüstung. An alicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle" Kaiser sneered as he emerged from the acid pool and reconstructed his armor with his telekinesis. "Gek has informed me of her importance... I must have her."

"And what of Charlotte, the android?" Kanakirigoe wondered as he raised his head. "All she talks about is Evelyn Aquarius, she won't stop rambling on about her."

"She shall get her satisfaction soon enough, but we have more pressing matters to attend to." Kaiser gestured to Kanakirigoe "up", and he rose to his hooves to prove his obedience. "The gears of chaos are turning, my child..."

Author's Notes:

As always I hope you enjoyed! Leave a like and comment if you did! See you in the next chapter!