*Boom... Boom... Boom...*

Butch clutched his rifle as he heard that noise again, it was louder this time, and it only got worse as time went by. The stomping of metal hooves, the clanking of gears, the loud suction sound of hydraulics. The Friedenstruppen was approaching.

*Boom... Boom... Boom...*

Butch raised his head just above the trench to get a closer look, trying to catch a glimpse of the armored infantry headed their way. He felt a hand grab at his shoulder, tugging him back down into the mud.

"The hell do you think you're doing, Lieutenant?" It was Major Kore, his commanding officer; he was whispering, but Butch could tell that he was holding back the urge to yell. "Do you want to be shot?"

"Sir, I was trying to-... never mind. No, sir." Butch shook his head as he fastened his helmet tighter onto his head, visualizing his head being popped open like a bottle of champagne by a sniper's bullet. He ran to the other side of the trench where Elliot was. He and his group of comrades had been playing cards, but the noise of the looming enemy alerted them, and they set their heavy caliber rifles on the trench line, waiting for Frieds to emerge from the thick fog that blanketed the battlefield. They had been pinned down by snipers for days, and support was far away. "Do you think it's a patrol, Elliot?"

"I don't know. They've been sittin' behind that fortress of theirs for hours. They could've been musterin', gathering forces." Elliot said in hush tones as he aimed his rifle, the clanking noise growing exponentially louder within a matter of seconds. "Randy, what do you see?"

"Nothin', just more fuckin' fog." Their machine-gunner replied from his slightly elevated position as he loaded up a belt of ammunition. "Wait, I-." A bullet whizzing through the air silenced him, and a red mist coated Elliot's face.

"Shit!" Elliot exclaimed as he leaned into his rifle, trying to hide his head. A hail of enemy fire began to barrage their position, and Elliot began to return fire. "Somepony get on that gun! Switch to armor-piercing rounds! All they've got is ponies in suits! Remember, they don't have any artillery! Major, when will our tanks arrive?!"

"They hit a snag! They were jumped by jet-bombers!" The Major shouted to Elliot as he radioed in to command. "We're on our own, Captain!"

"Shit! Fuck!" Elliot hit the side of the trench with a clenched fist in frustration. "They said they'd be here in seven hours! Seven fuckin' hours!"

"This fog is too damned thick! They keep gaining ground! What do we do?" Butch asked Elliot as he put a round into the chest of an armored Friedenstruppen. "We can't hold off another attack! We've lost too many already!"

"I know, I-..." Elliot stopped firing as he slouched against the side of the trench. "Fuck! Where's the plasma grenades?!"

"Here, Captain! Here!" Private Andrews shouted to him as he ran over to him down the long trench. He handed him three grenades, and Elliot immediately tossed them into the fog. The blast of the grenades cleared the fog just enough for Elliot to get a clear shot.

"Get on that machine gun, now!" Elliot ordered the private.

"Yes, sir!" The private began firing into the visible crowd of charging soldiers, mowing them down with his machine gun. "Their getting chopped up, sir! But they're still coming in hot!"

"Damn it! There's too many of em'!" Elliot growled as he reloaded his rifle. "We've got to hold it here, colts! We can't let the enemy advance beyond this point or they'll turn Kumpfer and its civilians to ash!"

"But sir, we can't-!" The private flailed as three bullets struck him; two in the chest and one in the check. He gargled for a moment before passing out.

"Fucking hell! Fuck!" Elliot was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Hours of death looming over him was beginning to wear on what Butch thought was an impenetrable soul of steel. "We can't lose this... we can't!" Elliot ran past Butch and tore the machine gun off of the tripod, placing it on the edge of the trench where he had put his rifle. He began firing once again. "Get me more ammo, Butch! I'll run out soon! Go to the Major!"

"Alright, Elliot! Please be alive when I get back!" Butch shouted to him as he ran along the trench, hopping over the corpses of his fallen allies. He eventually stopped at the other end of the trench where he assumed the Major would be, but he didn't see him at all, just a pile of debris and more corpses. "Major?! Major!"

"Here..." A voice groaned from beneath a pile of bodies. The Major's body was scarred and mangled around his head and chest, it was clear that he wasn't going to make it, but Butch was in denial. "Some bastard shot me up with a plasma rifle. I'm cooked, son... you've got to get this ammo to your brother."

"I can't leave you, Major! You can't die here!" Butch yelled as the enemy fire grew louder.

"I'm an officer, son... I was meant to die here... on the battlefield, not you. That's my job. You go and fight back, live a little longer. Kick some ass." He gave Butch a withering smile as he stared off to the side, his eyes going blank.

Butch ran back to Elliot, praying to The Four Founders that he'd be alright when he got to him. Luckily, Elliot was still alive and delivering ferocious resistance, mowing down more soldiers that dared to get close to him. "Fuck you assholes! Fuck you all!" He was so caught up in the violence of it all, that he almost didn't realize that Butch was right beside him. "Load it up, Butch! We've got to keep these bastards back!"

Butch and Elliot roared in a blind rage as they fired their weapons into the crowds of soldiers, knocking more and more of them down. Butch grabbed a grenade from his belt and tossed it into another group of enemies, scattering their ranks. After Elliot ran out of ammunition, he pulled out his two combat knives and eviscerated soldiers that jumped into the trench by sneaking his blade into the gaps between the plates in their armor.

Butch also ran out of rifle ammo, and he switched to his massive revolver. The force of its shots blew back opposing soldiers, but the recoil was severe, and it wore on Butch's wrist long before he emptied the drum. "I'm out of ammo!"

"Then pick up a rifle!" Elliot said as he grabbed a rifle off of Private Andrews' corpse and began firing.

Eventually, even the rifles ran out, and Butch and Elliot pressed their backs against the trench, left with flimsy ten-millimeter handguns and six fragmentation grenades. The low caliber side-arms were almost useless against armored opponents, but the grenades could do some damage. Elliot loaded his pistol. "Butch, remember when we went skeet shooting? When you told me I needed a little more practice?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Butch's voice was barely audible over the sound of gunfire.

"I think it's time for some practice," Elliot grinned as he handed Butch the six grenades. "Toss em'!"

Butch tossed a grenade into a crowd, and just before it could land, Elliot shot it with his pistol, which killed a few of the Friedenstruppen soldiers. Butch then tossed another, then another, and then the rest. It spared them a few minutes to scavenge for more rifles. However, just as Elliot picked up a new rifle, he looked over to Butch, who had also found a rifle. It took less than a second for Elliot to realized that there was a live plasma grenade just beneath Butch's hooves.

Elliot pushed Butch away without any hesitation. In that moment, Elliot knew his fate, he knew there was no time for him to run from the blast. Butch and Elliot shared one last look at one another as time began to slow around them. Elliot's mouth opened slowly. "I'm sor-." The blast cut Elliot off, and he was almost completely shredded as he shielded Butch from the blast.

"Elliot!" Butch screamed in horror as he looked down Elliot, who was on the on the ground; Butch began to cry as he heard The Friedenstruppen get closer and closer. He crouched down and cradled Elliot's scorched, nearly lifeless body; his legs were blown to pieces, and he only had his left arm. "Elliot, stay with me! Stay with me!"

"Butch, I want to go back to the farm... with you and Rosie. Remember how happy we were?" Elliot coughed as his eyes began to flutter. "Rosie and your daughter, they-... I'm sorry Butch. Now you've lost me too... I guess I inherited Pa's brains, huh?" Elliot grinned as he looked up at the sky that was beginning to clear up, revealing the stars above. "You think Ma's up there, Butch? Rosie? You think there's a plot of land up there for me?"

"I-..." Butch choked up as he tried to calm himself for Elliot. "Yes, there is, Elliot. And everpony you love'll be there... and you'll be so-." Elliot passed away in his arms, and Butch laid him down with his head bowed, tears running down his face.

Butch grit his teeth, trying to contain an animalistic cry of vengeance and pain. He grabbed his rifle and jumped out of the trench with red eyes, hungry for blood. He shot a soldier in the head, then another, and another. He unloaded his rifle and drove the bayonet into an enemy's mouth. Butch abandoned his rifle and continued onward into the fray. He took a machine gun from the corpse of a dead Friedenstruppen and killed scores of enemies, but he received three bullets to his right arm. Regardless, through sheer will, he used his mangled arm to tear off the helmet of another soldier and snap his neck. Butch growled like a maniac as he tore out a soldier's throat using his bare hands, crushing his fingers.

Butch killed more soldiers as they tried to stop his relentless frenzy. They fired at his legs to slow him down, and it worked; Butch crawled over to another corpse and picked up his gun. Butch fired at them again as he fell to the ground. He screamed as he slew more and more of them. However, they eventually overpowered him, and a soldier subdued him by blasting off his arms with his shotgun and knocking him in the head with the stock. A Friedenstruppen officer grinned as he looked down at Butch, snickering. Butch could barely hear what they were saying as his vision began to fade.

"He's still alive. Should we kill him, Commander Aschetunn?" A soldier asked the officer as he pointed his gun at Butch.

"Do not kill him, gentlecolts..." The officer said with a voice like a viper as he pushed the soldier's rifle away. "I think I have something in mind for this one. We've been looking for resilient scum like him... put him in a medical pod."

"Elliot-..." Butch was cut off as the officer's hoof impacted his face. His eyes fluttered as his head fell to the side. He heard the deafening noise again.

*Boom... Boom... Boom...*

"Butch, are you okay?" Evelyn asked Butch, noticing him staring off into space.

"What?" Butch looked around to recompose himself. He realized where he was; he was walking along a narrow street with the rest of the strike team, approaching the government building. Evelyn was walking along beside him. "Yeah, I'm fine... sorry about that."

"Are you sure?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical about his response.

"I'm sure, darlin'– just a little anxious is all." Butch insisted as he pointed at the fortified government building ahead; he wanted to change the subject quickly. "Masami, how do we get inside somethin' like that?"

"There's supposed to be an exhaust vent on the other side of the cliff the building is sitting on, a large air-filtration vent. It's big enough for us to take inside. Let's see here..." Masami reached into a pouch on her utility belt and grabbed a map of the ventilation system. "Yeah, it'll split into four sections, I think, each leading to a section of the underground complex where our creepy little Infernalgear members are..." Masami sighed as she rolled up the map and placed it in her pouch, and she muttered to herself as she bowed her head. "Including Ichirou..."

"Hey, you okay?" Rainbow Dash lowered her voice as she moved closer to Masami.

"I'm fine, I-..." Masami ran her hand through her mane as she hung her head. "Is it wrong for me to feel like it's my fault?" Masami rambled without giving Rainbow Dash any background information. "Oh, I'm-... I'm sorry, Kitten. I just feel like I could've done something for Ichirou. Could I have done something different? I just-. I just want to go back and fix all of this, fix him. I know I can't change the past, I know that. All I just want to know why, why did he kill Hiro the way he did?"

"Oh, Masami..." Rainbow Dash put her hand on the frustrated mare's shoulder. "You can't change ponies. You just can't. You can raise them, teach them right and wrong, but in the end, they're their own pony. Ya can't change who he is..."

"I know, but I refuse to believe he just killed Hiro like that, his own father," Masami crossed her arms and held them against her chest. "He must've been corrupted or-..." She trailed off.

"Maybe, but... there was something about him, a flaw. Nopony is born evil, right? Isn't that what everypony says?" Rainbow Dash tried to cheer her up, but it didn't work too well. Rainbow Dash then tried to cheer her up a different way, and she wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pulling Masami closer. "It's not your fault. Really, it's not. It was his decision to do the things he did."

"How do you know that?" Masami said to her softly as she rested her head on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

"Because I know ponies like him." Rainbow Dash replied as she patted Masami on the head.

Masami was silent for a moment, simply staring ahead, processing what she said. "I'm sorry."

"What? Why?" Rainbow Dash was confused by her random apology.

"I keep forgetting about everypony else. I keep forgetting about everypony else's problems and how they're so much larger than mine. I always think I'm just this... special cookie, you know?" Masami shook her head, rubbing it against Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "I barely know about all of your problems; Butch's problems, Evelyn's... yours. I always pay too much attention to myself, ruminating on all of my decisions. I'm not like you."

"No, we aren't that different." Rainbow Dash insisted. "You're leaning on the shoulder of the Queen of Arrogance here, Masami. Don't keep feeding yourself lies. My mom always told me that 'a lie can become truth if told enough times'. You're a good pony. And if you keep telling yourself you aren't, then you might end up like your friend, Ichirou."

"Your mom kinda sounds like my mom." Masami chuckled lightly as her eyes lowered to the ground.

Rainbow Dash was perplexed by Masami before, caught off-guard by her tricks and flirtations. However, it didn't take long for Rainbow Dash to finally figure her out. Masami –although she didn't show it– was more than just a cunning fox. In her own way, Masami held within her outer shell the spirit of the rabbit. She was scared, doubtful, afraid of the past and what the future may hold. Masami was real, a real character like everypony else. It took some time to unravel her, but Rainbow Dash finally understood her. Rainbow Dash then felt a warm feeling in her chest. This sensation was not infatuation or lust, but genuine love.

"Sorry if I'm being all mushy and shit, it's not like me..." Masami shook her head again as she looked forward.

"No, it is you, and it's me too." Rainbow Dash turned her head to Masami, and she turned her head to Rainbow Dash. Masami was blushing. "I finally got you..."

Masami's face became redder, having fully exposed herself to Rainbow Dash. "I'm not blushing, I-! Yeah, you got me..." Masami laid her head on Rainbow Dash's shoulder once again, smiling. She sneakily planted a kiss on Rainbow Dash's cheek. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know." Rainbow Dash laughed as they continued walking together.

"Hey, you two! Are you too lovers comin', or are you gonna sit back and talk about your feelings?!" Butch shouted from far away; he was way ahead of Rainbow Dash and Masami. "Remember... the strike team?!"

"Ah, shit..." Masami cursed to herself as she raced ahead of Rainbow Dash. "C'mon, Kitten! Can you keep up?"

"You know I can!" Rainbow Dash shouted to her as she followed.

Fluttershy smiled as she looked back at Rainbow Dash, as chipper as ever. Her laughter reminded her of countless memories, all that brought her immediate joy. As she continued to stare, Winslow began to notice.

"Is there something wrong, Fluttershy?" Winslow asked as he leaned in towards her.

"No, there's nothing wrong." Fluttershy's smile faded for a moment as she replied, but it soon returned once she saw Rainbow Dash giving Masami a playful punch on the shoulder. "I just forgot how much I missed Rainbow Dash."

"Come on, you guys! We've got ourselves a cult to crush!" Evelyn shouted at everypony as she walked alongside with Butch.

Author's Notes:

Wow, I actually posted a chapter on time! That's new! As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you next chapter!