The world as I knew it, went out in a series of fiery explosions, balefire blasts, and radioactive clouds. I wasn’t there to witness the final hours, but I suppose I was one of the lucky ones. I survived. I emerged, decades later, without any knowledge of the events that transpired. My world was gone, and for me it happened in the blink of an eye.

But right now, as I feel a cold shiver running down my spine while watching the makeshift bomb Cora made go off in the town of Neighton, I think I can imagine what the world looked like that day. The flames engulfing the town, instantly leveling a few nearby buildings. The screaming. If this is what scaled down versions of balefire bombs can do, it is no wonder the world was decimated. The damage that has been done…

The tank’s engine and the squealing of its tracks snap me back to my senses. “Move up!” Bronze shouts and the ponies around me begin to move. I move with them, and we crest the hill the tank is hiding behind. As soon as we do, bullets start to ricochet off of the tank and hit the dirt around us. Off to my right, I can see the AIs and the Junk Rats advancing. Their armor and larger weapons drawing more attention than us.

That is, until the tank’s main gun goes off and completely obliterates a small building at the edge of the town. The blast is almost deafening and shortly after it, the amount of shooting focused on us is doubled. The tank’s machine guns start rattling off in controlled bursts. The other militia members begin shooting as well, and soon I join them with my gatling lasers. It is still too far to actually hit anything without a scoped rifle, but it is keeping them from advancing towards us or pinning us down while we make our approach.

Despite the chaos going on around me, I am struck by a strange thought. I shouldn’t be here. Something inside of me is screaming at me, telling me that I should have no part in this battle. That it isn’t my fight. That I’m not even supposed to be in Hoofington right now. But if not for me, this battle would not be happening in the first place. I told these ponies what to do, I gave them a plan, gave them hope. So...what is this feeling?

Just then, Bronze Star shakes me. “Ratchet! Why are you just standing here? You’re a sitting duck out here!” He yells at me over the boom of the tank’s cannon and the gunfire around us. It is then that I realize that I’ve been standing completely still for the past minute or so with bullets flying around me. I’ve just been staring at the town.

I shake my head and focus on Bronze. “I...I don’t know. I’m fine though, keep going,” I tell him. He gives we a worried look before running back into the fray. I follow after him a few seconds later, and help the others fire upon the zebras.

By now, several dozen zebra have taken up positions on the rooftops of the town. Not only that, but a large mass of the traitorous ponies painted like zebras have charged out of the town towards us. They are lightly armored, but are doing enough to slow our advance. On Cora’s side, I can see more of the fake zebras charging out to meet them. But my focus is quickly drawn to the force attacking us as a bullet strikes my barding. It is a light caliber round, so it doesn’t penetrate, but it is enough to stop me from getting distracted.

I steady myself and concentrate on the gatling lasers on my saddle. Aiming into the mass of approaching enemies, I let loose a red beams of death. At first, the shots are slow, but as the barrels spin up my shots increase in speed. Holding down the triggers, I sweep across the ponies charging us. There isn’t much cover between us and the town so I manage to make multiple hits, and even turn two bucks into piles of glowing ash. The ones I hit stop long enough for the other militia members to finish them off.

A group of the fake zebra have started to drag their injured members to attempt to treat their injuries. Unfortunately for them, they are gathered up in a fairly tight cluster. The explosion that comes from them seconds later, and the rain of blood and limbs is a clear indication that Ember noticed them as well. The high explosive 120mm shell from the tank wipes them out completely and when the dust finally clears, there is nothing but a red stain on the earth where they once were.

I stare at the spot in shock for a few long moments before I hear a bullet pass inches from my head. I hear a scream behind me and turn to see Brisk, fall to the ground with a hole in his neck. The boom from the tank’s cannon momentarily deafens me as I run over to the fallen buck. He is still alive, but not for long. I pull out a potion from my bags and try to put it to his lips, but he weakly raises a hoof to block it and mutters something that my ringing ears can’t make out properly. The next moment, his hoof falls limply and the light in his eyes fades.

I call his name and shake his body, but it is too late. I hold his body in my hooves as the battle rages on. Sky Shaker lands next to me then raises his wing between me and Brisk. He says something I can’t make out. I got too close to the tank when it shot last time. I look at him blankly. He raises an eyebrow, and then a knowing look comes over his face. Sky puts a hoof on my shoulder and then gestures with his other. He is pointing at the tank...which has smoke rising from the engine.

I look back at him as the ringing slowly fades from my ears. “-elp...ix...nk-” I can barely make out his words. Rising to my hooves, he repeats himself, “Go hel...ber fi...e tan-”

“Go...help?” I mutter in question. Sky nods and shakes his hoof over at the tank. “Fix the tank?” I ask, and he nods again. “Gotcha,” I tell him and start running towards the tank. Ember is already climbing out of the hatch in the top. She is wearing a combat helmet and some fairly protective barding. She has a few tools in her mouth and her horn glows red as she opens the engine cover. I reach her a few seconds later. “What’s the problem?” I ask as I take a look inside.

“Looks like an oil leak,” Ember tells me as she floats her array of tools in front of her. “The rough terrain and just the natural shaking of the tank probably shook something loose.”

“I see,” I mutter as I look over the engine. It is hard to see with all the smoke. Everything that I can see looks intact. I hook my PipBuck into the system to see if I can determine where the leak is. After quickly scanning the readout, I find the source. “Oh no...it is deep in the engine. Given how hot it is, we are going to get a little burned trying to fix it,” I tell her. Since we can’t see the leak, we can’t use our magic to hold things in place. Which means, we need to feel around with our hooves until we can use our magic.

Ember frowns, looks at the engine and then back at me. “I’ll do it,” She says, floating some tools in front of me. “Once I find it, you seal it up. Use my leg as a guide for the tools and you can use your magic,” She tells me.

“What? But-” She raises a hoof to silence me.

“All I’m doing is riding in a tank and giving orders about what to shoot at. A few burns won’t slow me down. But you’re actually fighting on the ground. A burn could get you killed,” She says. “We don’t have time to argue. Just do it.” Then she reaches her front hooves into the engine. She lets out a scream but quickly stifles it, gritting her teeth instead. Ember reaches deeper and deeper until she has to press her chest on the engine. If not for her barding, her chest would be nothing but burns right now. “I...err...got it,” She struggles to say.

I waste no time in guiding the tools into the engine with my magic. Feeling around for her hooves. “Down a little more,” Ember tells me. I lower the tools a bit. “Now, about an inch to the left.” I move them again. “Yes, right there! Can you feel it? I think I’ve moved the part back into place, you just need to secure it,” She tells me. I takes me a moment to find exactly what I have to do, but once I find it I waste no time securing the part once again.

“Got it!” I shout as I pull the tools out with my magic. Immediately afterwards, Ember pulls her legs out of the engine. When they hit the ground again, she winces. Her legs, up to her chest are covered in blisters and most of the fur is gone. They are blotchy red and look blackened in parts. Even the barding covering her chest is a bit melted.

“G-Good,” Ember mutters. “Can you...close the cover?” She asks me. I wrap the cover in my magic and close it.

“Medkit!” I call up to the doctor sitting just above us. “Ember has some pretty bad burns, you need to treat her quick!” I tell him.

Ember carefully climbs back up onto the tank and looks at Medkit. “Just wrap them. I don’t need a potion or any Med-X. Save that for the ponies who will need it,” She says.

“But, Ember,” Medkit says, worry clear on his face, “these burns…” She doesn’t let him finish.

“I know, doc. I know. Wrap them. We have a battle to win,” She tells him. I am about to speak up to convince her to let him treat her, but she interrupts me before I can begin. “Eclipse! Tank is good! Start her back up!” She calls. A moment later, the tank roars to life once again. I try to speak up again, but this time Medkit cuts me off.

“Go Ratchet, I’ll see to Ember. The others need you,” He tells me. I quickly look between him and the others fighting.

“Fine, take care of her doc,” I say, and then dash away from the tank and towards where the other militia members are fighting. By now, we have chewed into the enemy lines. Bodies of the fake zebras litter the landscape. I see Shaggy and Jay use their axes to clothesline a buck and then proceed to swing the axes into the unfortunate buck. Blood arcs with each swing they make. A few more bucks try to catch them by surprise, but the two of them fight them off with apparent ease.

Bronze and Scarlet and fighting together as well. Their guns cutting into the enemies that they set their sights on. Jackpot and Onyx are together, the two of them holding their own. Sky flies overhead and strafes the fakes. Only around ten more enemies stand between us and the entrance to the town. The zebras haven’t come out of the town yet. Only the fakes have. I guess the zebras are letting ponies take the damage for them, for now.

Or that is what I think, until a shimmer forms near Onyx and then reveals a zebra in a cloak. The zebra grabs Onyx and slams him to the earth. The zebra catches Onyx off guard, and he tries to scramble back to his hooves. But the zebra slams a rear hoof into his face, sending him flying back once again. I spin up my lasers, but stop before they go off. I can’t shoot at this range with these, I might hit Onyx. Instead, I charge towards the pair. Jackpot is busy with the fakes and Onyx is losing one on one.

I draw two of my knives as I close the distance and throw one at the zebra, who somehow manages to backflip over the knife. I push my shock aside and continue charging towards them. My slight distraction gives Onyx the time he needs to stagger to his hooves. He wipes a hoof over his nose before charging at the zebra. I throw my second knife and the zebra dodges it by standing on one hoof. Onyx uses this chance to spin around and try to buck the zebra. But the zebra jumps on his single hoof and lands on Onyx’s back, then kicks off him and lands on its rear hooves. Onyx falls flat at the sudden shift in his balance.

The zebra then cartwheels to smash its hooves down on Onyx’s head, but luckily Onyx manages to roll out of the way in the nick of time. But the zebra presses the attack and slams all of their hooves down at where Onyx just rolled to. The zebra’s hooves come down on one of Onyx’s legs. I hear the snap from here followed by Onyx’s howl of pain. But just as the zebra is about to finish him off, a single bullet flies through the air and punches a hole in the zebra’s head. The zebra’s eyes go wide for a single moment before its body falls with a thud.

I look back at where the shot came from. On top of the tank, I see Wick waving a hoof with a sniper rifle under him. I wave back and then turn back to Onyx. Bone is sticking out of his leg. Definitely not a good sign. And if I give him a potion or anything with it like that, it will heal wrong. Instead, I carefully help him to his hooves. “Do you think you can get to Medkit?” I ask him.

“I...Maybe?” Onyx grunts as he tries to walk on three legs.

“He won’t have to do it alone,” Jackpot says as he trots over. “I’ll help him. Sorry. If I would have finished up sooner…” But Onyx shakes his head.

“It is fine, shit happens, right?” Onyx says with a forced grin. “Let’s get going. Who know if the-” But he doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence as his head explodes. Blood and soft tissue showers Jackpot and I as we stare in horror.

“Sniper!” Sky calls down as he passes over us. “Move now!” The two of us quickly snap out of it and start moving again. Damn it! If only we hadn’t stayed in one place for so long! I charge at the next group of fakes and quickly send a few of my knives at them. Their light barding doesn’t cover much, so my knives find purchase. The shock of the knives gives me just enough time to spin up my lasers and finish them off.

The fakes between us and the town are all but gone and we are only a few yards from the entrance. The zebra are doubling their efforts on us, trying to pin us down. Static comes over my PipBuck, followed by Ember’s voice. “Ratchet, Cora, tank team is heading into the town,” She says. “We will find a place around the clearing to hold and our passengers will clear out a nearby building. Medkit will set up shop in there to treat the wounded. I’ll fill you in when we get there.”

“Gotcha!” Cora replies. I begin to speak but shooting from the roof of a nearby building interrupt me. Instead, I charge quickly towards the town and take cover against a wall.

“Ember, can you hit that building just inside the town on your left? I think they have a machine gun set up on top of it,” I tell her.

After a moment, she replies. “I see it.” A roar erupts from the radio and a second later, the building begins to fall over. “Got it, it’s coming down. Shit, it is coming down in front of us. Eclipse, full speed, ram through the debris,” She shouts. I watch as the tank rapidly approaches the town and slams into the falling debris. The tank further destroys the building but manages to power through. “We’re through,” Ember says over the radio. “See you gals on the other side!”

Snowflake and Wick’s group gallops past me after the tank, climbing over the rubble. Without the zebras on that roof shooting at me, I catch back up with Bronze and the others from my group. Besides Brisk and Onyx, everyone else seems to have survived the approach. Jackpot looks a little rough for wear and Hammer has his right legs bandaged up. Everyone else has a number of minor injuries, but nothing too major. “Alright, Ratchet, what now?” Bronze asks as we all catch our breath.

I look our group over and quickly devise a plan. Since we are in town now, staying as a large group could result in friendly fire. Instead, we should split into two groups. “Bronze, you take Hammer, Shaggy, and Jay. Sky, since you can fly, move between the groups and provide them with cover. Stay low, though. We don’t want you to get shot out of the sky. Everyone else with me,” I tell them. “We’ll split up and clear the town.”

Bronze nods. “Right, you heard the lady! Let’s go!” He shouts and starts leading his group away. I lead mine a different way, down an alleyway. The four of us proceed carefully. There is no telling when a zebra with a stealth cloak will attack. We make it through the alley and then enter the closest building. I can hear gunfire above us, but I can’t tell for sure if it is coming from this building, or a neighboring one. The entire city is ablaze with shooting anyway, so telling where one particular shot comes from is impossible. Not only that, but the occasional sound of the tank’s main gun going off drowns out much of it.

After clearing the first floor, we continue up the stairs to the second floor of the building. The first few rooms are empty, but as we make our way down the hall I hear the gunfire getting louder. Hook, who has one shotgun on her saddle and an assault rifle on the other, takes point. We are about to reach the next door when Jackpot suddenly yells out, “Stop!” But his shout is drowned out by the explosion that erupts from under Hook, severing two of her legs immediately and sending shards of metal into her stomach.

“Shit!” Jackpot curses as he pushes past me to try and stop Hook’s bleeding. But I can already tell she isn’t going to pull through. The mine she stepped on sealed her fate. She knows it too as she reaches up to Jackpot with one of her good hooves. Jackpot cradles her in his hooves as she touches his cheek.

“W-win…” Hook murmurs weakly. Then her hoof falls limply to the floor and she grows still.

“Damn it!” Jackpot yells. “Not Hook too…” But I hear something else other than Jackpot’s anger. Or, perhaps the lack of sounds, since the gunfire that was coming from beside us until recently has stopped.

“Get out of the hallway!” I yell as I start running backwards. As soon as the words leave my lips, bullets start flying through the walls of the hallway. Chunks of wood are sent flying and barely miss Jackpot as he tries to rise to his hooves. I gesture for him to stay down and he does so as bullets fly over his head. Scarlet is right behind me as we make it around the corner, but she took a few hits. After a while, the shooting stops and the house is silent. Jackpot looks at me then at the door we were about to enter through.

The door opens a crack and two grenades roll out. Jackpot’s eyes go wide, but luckily Scarlet is quick on the uptake. She takes the grenades in her magic and throws them to the end of the hallway away from Jackpot. The grenades go off a moment later and blow out the wall. Then, a shimmer comes out of the gap in the door. Jackpot sees it too and fires at it. Blood flies from the blur and it falls to the floor. A dead zebra with a few holes in its head appears where it fell.

“My turn,” Jackpot says as he pulls a grenade out of his bag and tosses it into the room. I wrap the door in my magic and pull it closed once the grenade is inside. An explosion follows, as well as screaming and then silence. I trot back over to Jackpot and carefully peek inside the door. Two dead zebras, or what is left of them. I don’t notice any other shimmers in the room.

“I think you got them, Jackpot,” I say as I pull my head back out.

He is just staring at Hook’s body. “What the fuck are we doing?” He asks. “This is what it took to clear a single building? We...we can’t win this…”

Scarlet walks up and puts a hoof on his shoulder. “She...had some bad luck,” Scarlet offers, trying to find the right words. “If we would have noticed it sooner...We wouldn’t have lost her.”

“But we did lose her,” Jackpot counters. “And Brisk, and Onyx too. Who knows how many those Junk Rat ponies have lost. And those ponies from Ebon, they barely have the strength to fight. Not to mention each of these zebras have had those damn stealth cloaks! We are fighting a losing battle!”

I slam my hoof in the floor. “Shut up!” I yell at him. “What do you want us to do, run away? Then Hook and the other will have died for nothing! We all knew there was a risk we would die in this fight. Despite that, the survivors of Ebon, the Junk Rats, and me and my friends joined up with the militia to fight against the zebras,” I tell him as I glare at him angrily.

“Do you know why we are all alright with fighting against the zebra, even knowing the odds?” I ask him rhetorically. “Because we all know, if they aren’t stopped here they will continue killing. So stand the fuck up, stop your complaining, and let’s get back out there and kill every last one of those striped Luna-damned pieces of shit!” I yell. I watch him for a few moments as my words sink in before I turn and start to leave the building. “Or stay here by yourself and die. But I’m going back out there and I’m going to fight until all of them are dead or I am.”

I don’t look back as I keep walking. “Well, you certainly gave him a good lecture,” a familiar voice says from in front of me. An instant later, a red cloaked figure appears in front of me.

“If he isn’t going to fight, he will just get in the way. You’re War, you should understand. Besides, Hook told us to win. I’ll make sure we do,” I reply.

“My my,” War says with a chuckle. “And here I thought you were a kind mare. Seems you’ve changed. Before, you wouldn’t have given him an ultimatum. You would have tried to reason with him, instead of going off on him like that,” He tells me.

“This time is different,” I counter. “We aren’t dealing with some random raiders here. These are invading zebras set on taking over Equestria.”

“Honestly, it isn’t all that different. Both groups want control over others,” War replies. “What is so different between the Fallen Legion and Discordia? In fact, I’d say Discordia was worse. It wanted to destroy, not just to conquer. But, I think you’re blinded by pre-war hatred of zebras. Or maybe it is that you really have changed,” He says with a shrug.

“They are the ones who are enslaving ponies and crucifying them,” I say as I glare at him.

“Right. And I’m sure ponies don’t enslave other ponies or that raiders don’t mutilate and torture ponies either, right?” War asks. “But...we both know that they do. You’re just fixated on them because they are different.”

I roll my eyes as I reach the first floor. “Don’t you have a job to do? Or do you not collect the souls of stripes?” I sneer.

“I do. I just thought I would say hello. But really, Ratchet...if you can even call yourself that anymore...You should take a long, hard look in a mirror. You’re not yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not,” He says, and then disappears an instant later.

“Yea, sure, run away,” I mutter as I continue walking towards the door. But I stop when I hear hoofsteps coming down the stairs. I turn and see Scarlet and Jackpot making their way down. Jackpot looks at me with guilt covering his features.

“I’m sorry,” Jackpot tells me when the two get close. “I was...out of line. I know you are just here to help...but...they were my friends, you know?” He lets out a sigh. “And you are right. We need to keep fighting, or else Hook and the others will have died for nothing.”

I nod. “I’m glad you came around,” I reply. “And...I’m sorry to. I was being overly harsh. I don’t know what came over me.”

“I’m glad you two made up and all,” Scarlet interrupts, “but incase you forgot, there is a battle going on around us. Let’s go.” She walks towards the door. Jackpot and I exchange a soft smile and follow after her.

The three of us step back out into the street and instantly gunfire is directed at us. We scramble for cover, but I feel a few bullets hit my barding. Not enough to penetrate, luckily. Once in cover, I can see five zebra down the street from us, but two of them disappear behind their cloaks. I fire my lasers at where they were, but can’t tell if I hit them or not. Instead, I sweep my lasers across to the others that I can still see. I hit one, but the others duck behind cover, dragging the one I did hit with them. A moment later all three spring up again and start returning fire on me.

But Scarlet and Jackpot’s shots quickly shift their focus from me, two of them anyway. The other seem dead set on shredding the wooden barrel I am behind into swiss cheese. The zebra is using a large caliber rifle, and large chunks of the barrel splinter off with each hit. I wait for him to reload before attempting to return fire.

I lean out of cover to do so, but all of the zebra are gone now. “Oh no…” I mutter as I look around for shimmering. Scarlet and Jackpot seem to be doing the same. “Stick together!” I call over to them and we gather up and put our backs to each other. A few tense moments go by before I see a shimmer. “There!” I shout and start shooting. I can tell my lasers are hitting something so I keep shooting until a dead zebra takes form laying on the ground. “One down…”

Then the others are upon us. A hoof catches me in the jaw and sends me sprawling to the ground. Judging by the sound of hoof striking flesh, the others have suffered the same fate. I quickly shake off my daze and look around. Scarlet has been kicked a ways away from me, but Jackpot is still close by. Between the two of them, I can see a zebra standing on its rear hooves with its back turned to me. It looks like it is about to attack Scarlet again. Thinking quickly, I draw a knife and throw it at the standing zebra.

My knife strikes them in the back and they turn to look at me, a scowl on their face. Before I can react, I feel a hoof kick me in the side, followed by another slamming onto my back. I scream out in pain as Jackpot shoots at one of my attackers, catching them in a leg. The fourth zebra kicks Jackpot in the head again, sending him reeling. This is bad. We can’t fight back like this. We need some space. “Stay down!” I yell, and receive a series of kicks to my face and sides. I grit my teeth through the pain.

I focus, gripping each of my remaining knives with my magic. In a quick motion, I draw all of them and slash them around myself. A few of my knives hit the two zebras that are attacking me, causing them to jump away. Carefully, I get to my hooves and find the other two zebras. They are standing over Scarlet and Jackpot, pounding away at them mercilessly. Without skipping a beat, I send three knives at each of them. They don’t kill them, but it is enough to allow Scarlet and Jackpot to finish them off.

One of the remaining zebras tackles me and I collapse onto the ground once more. The other zebra seems to be done messing around and raises a rifle, aiming it at Jackpot while standing on two hooves. I realize this is the same zebra who was destroying the barrel I was behind. I try to call out to warn Jackpot, but a hoof to my head prevents me from doing so. The next instant, I hear the gunshot followed by the thump of a body hitting the ground.

When I look up, I see the top of Jackpot’s head is missing. The zebra is already taking aim at Scarlet. Without hesitating, I draw Forgiveness and empty the cylinder into the zebra. Every shot hits, and the fourth shot penetrates its skull. The remaining zebra kicks my horn, making me drop the gun. It then draws a gun of its own and presses it against my head.

I close my eyes. Well. This is it, I guess. At least I managed to save Scarlet...for now. Maybe she can fight off this zebra, and then regroup with the others. Maybe they’ll win. But just as I’m about to accept my death, a gunshot rings out, but not from the zebra’s gun.

Opening my eyes, I watch as the zebra falls to the ground, a hole in his head. I look over at Scarlet, but her eyes are up towards the sky. Struggling to my hooves, I turn to follow her gaze just as Sky lands beside me. “Are you two alright?” He asks. I’m at a loss for words.

Scarlet answers for me. “We are now. But...Jack…” She mutters as she looks towards Jackpot’s body. She shakes her head. “How is everyone else doing?” She asks.

“It is hard to tell,” Sky replies. “Seems most of the zebras have those damn stealth cloaks, so it is hard to tell if we are winning. Bronze’s team has lost Jay, but other than that they seem to be holding their own. I saw the Junk Rats and they seem to be down two members,” Sky informs us. “Oh, and Ember has found a place for the tank. The clearing has an alcove she backed it into that has a good view of the rest of the clearing. Snowflake and the others are working on taking the nearby buildings. Don’t know how well they are faring.”

“I see,” Scarlet mutters as she limps closer to us. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yea, for the most part. Don’t think the zebra know how to fight a pegasus. Not while I’m flying around, at least,” Sky replies.

“I suppose they’ve never fought one before,” I mutter, holding my ribs. I think one might be broken. “You’re kind of a rarity in the Wasteland, you know. They probably don’t have many where they’re from either. But, still, be careful,” I tell him as I float out two healing potions. I drink one as I float the other one to Scarlet. She takes it and drinks it as well. I’ve got potion left now.

Sky nods. “Of course. You two going to be alright on your own?” He asks.

“I think so,” I tell him. “We’ll head for the clearing, so if we run into trouble we should be able to get some help.”

“Sounds good. For the most part, the west side of the town looks clear,” Sky says. “The Junk Rats have gotten the focus of most of the zebra in the south. And the north side of the town where the bomb went off is pretty barren as well. The east is probably where the rest of the zebras are collecting. The tank is going to draw a lot of attention, if it hasn’t already.”

I nod with a smile. “Thanks for the info. Take care,” I tell him.

“Take care,” He replies. Sky spreads his wings and takes off again.

“Alright Scarlet, let’s head for the clearing,” I tell her I start for the east.

“Right behind you,” She replies.

I float my knives back to me as we walk. “Scarlet...I don’t mean to come off as rude or anything, but you seem to be handling the deaths of your friends fairly well,” I say. Despite a few worried words she seems to be holding herself together rather well.

“I’m used to it,” She replies. “When the legion first attacked, I lost my town. Then when I joined the militia, I lost comrades. The first dozen times, I cried, I got caught up in the sorrow of their deaths, but I soon realized that sorrow has no place on the battlefield,” Scarlet explains. “If you mourn the dead while fighting, you’ll only get yourself killed.”

“I understand,” I mutter as we continue. Neither of us are in good condition. One potion each didn’t help us much. I can feel my face swelling up, but it isn’t enough to force us to stop. As we come to an intersection, two zebras run out in front of us. They aren’t wearing cloaks like the others and don’t seem to notice us. Scarlet opens fire and I follow with my lasers a moment later. The zebras are dead before they can even react.

“I think the clearing is just a few more blocks,” I say as we turn down the road the zebras were coming from. Maybe they were running from Ember and the others? We make it another block before what it really was. A trap. In front of us, seven zebras appear from behind their cloaks with weapons trained on us. “Shit,” I curse under my breath as Scarlet and I come to a stop a few yards from them.

One of them steps forward and says something in zebra. The zebra throws his cloak aside, revealing intricate metal armor and a helmet made to resemble a wolf. In one fluid motion he rises to his rear hooves and raises his gun, an anti-machine rifle by the look of it, with his front hooves. The next instant, he fires a single shot, missing me completely. But I hear the fleshy impact that it made from just behind me and feel warmth pelt my back. I turn around, wide eyed and stare at Scarlet’s headless body resting on the ground behind me.

I let out a scream and start to spin up my lasers to shoot the zebra, but he fires two more shots. He doesn’t hit me, but my gatling lasers, causing them to shatter into scrap metal. “Your resistance is useless,” The zebra buck says, tossing his rifle behind him for the others to catch. “I am the Legate of the Fallen Legion, and you are nothing but a worm before me. But you...You are different from the other worms. You seem to be the one in charge, from what I have seen,” He tells me.

He turns to the other zebras and says something in their tongue. The rest of the zebras lower their weapons. “I will fight you in one on one hoof-to-hoof combat. I will break you, make you regret your actions here, but before you die, I will save you,” He says as he stares at me from behind his mask. “I will take your broken and bloody body to the highest point in the city, and crucify you. Make the other ponies gaze upon you. Their spirits will break and then they will share your fate.”

I laugh. “And I suppose if I beat you, you’re zebras will just finish me off anyway?” I ask, shaking my head. One way or another, I’m going to die.

The Legate shakes his head. “They are to let you escape. Unlike you ponies, us zebras have honor and stay true to our word. The battle will not end and you are free to rejoin it, but you will leave here alive,” He explains.

“I suppose I don’t really have a choice, anyway. Well then, let me ask you another question. Will they shoot me if I use my knives?” I ask him.

“Since it seems like you do not know how to fight properly, I will allow it,” He replies. “Now then, prepare yourself.” The Legate strikes a pose as he stares at me. I draw my knives and ready myself for his first attack. The next moment, he flips towards me rapidly and stands on a forehoof as he kicks at me a rear leg. I raise two knives to block the kick, but when his hoof strikes them they are knocked from my magic. Another kick follows his first and strikes one of my legs, causing me to fall over. “Such a lack of discipline,” He mutters as he gets back to his rear hooves. “How you came to lead these ponies, is beyond me.”

I slowly get to my hooves. “True, I’m not a fighter,” I tell him as I grab the two knives off the ground again. “I’m more of a thinker. A mare with a plan, you might say.” I say that, but it isn’t like I have a plan right now. I just need to win.

He charges again, but this time I throw two of my knives at him. Of course, he nimbly dodges them and the launches himself at me with a single hoof. His other three hooves impact my body and send me flying a few feet down the road and all my knives drop from my magic at the impact. This time he doesn’t relent and continues the attack. He jumps through the air and twists his body to try and bring a hoof down on my head. I roll out of the way just as he stomps down on the ground, his impact cracking the road.

I pick up some knives in my magic and swing at the Legate, but he just dodges effortlessly. “Really, your attacks are slow and obvious,” He tells me. “Even if you do strike me, I doubt they’ll have any power behind them.” I continue swinging and as if to demonstrate his point, he blocks my attacks with his hooves, stopping them instantly. “That is the thing with you unicorns,” He says as he leaps closer to me, “you focus so much on your magic, you forget about using your body in combination with it.” His front hooves slam into the ground and he swings his rear hooves under him and into a fierce kick that hits me squarely in the chest and knocks the wind out of me.

Staggering back, I gasp for air as I swing wildly at him, even throwing a few knives to try and catch him off guard. But no matter how I go about attacking him, he avoids or blocks my knives. Even if I strike from behind him. “Pathetic,” He murmurs as he delivers a sweeping kick that knocks my hooves out from under me. “Let’s end this.” He jumps and slams his hooves down on my left foreleg. I let out an ear splitting scream as I feel the bones in my leg snap. He rolls off and gets back into his stance. “Well? Can you stand? Do you admit defeat?” He asks.

Carefully, I pull myself to my hooves, but I can’t put any pressure on my broken leg. Each time I attempt to, immense pain runs through it, even more than the already blazing pain it is causing already. I try to pick up my knives, but I can only manage two now. I float one into my mouth and pick up another. If he gets close, I will stab him with the one in my mouth. Not to mention having something to bite down on helps ease my pain a bit. “Still have some fight, I see? Not for long,” He says as he attacks again.

I slash my knives at where he is heading, but he jerks backwards to avoid the slashes and then flips over my knives. In midair, he twists so his rear hooves are pointed upwards as he flies towards me. Before gets too close, in one fluid motion he swings his rear hooves down so fast that I cannot avoid them. His hooves strike the top of my head, slamming me onto the ground and making the world spin around me. For a short time, the everything is silent as he lands just in front of me. I try to move, but I only feel myself twitching.

“Can’t move?” The Legate says as he stares down at me. “Very well. The victory is mine.” Then he starts speaking zebra to the others. Oh no, am I going to be crucified now? I hear some zebras approaching from behind me. When they be next to me, they grab my legs and lift me up. One is holding me by my broken leg, but I am too messed up to do more than groan out at the pain. More zebra talk and then they start dragging me backwards. I weakly move my eyes to glance at Scarlet’s body. Moving my lips, only soft whispers of air escape. ‘I’m sorry.’ Is what I try to say, but I just don’t have the strength.

Gunshots ring out and I fall limply to the ground again. I hear yelling in zebra and heavy hoofsteps. The Legate steps into my vision, standing on his rear hooves and shouting orders in that zebra tongue. A moment later, a suit of power armor enter my vision and locks hooves with the Legate. The power armor...it looks like...Lance? The two of them struggle for control and as much as I want to witness the outcome my vision slowly fades into darkness.

When next I awake, the sounds of fighting has dwindled. A few gunshots ring out, but it is nothing compared to what was going on before. Slowly, I open my eyes which is an effort in itself. My body aches, but I see Cora sitting over me. “C-Cora?” I mutter weakly.

“Ratchet! You’re awake!?” She exclaims happily. She then turns and shouts, “Medit! Ratchet’s awake!” I hear hoofsteps coming closer and then Medkit appears in my vision as well.

He smiles weakly down at me. “Ah, good to see you awake,” He tells me. “Lance carried you here unconscious, despite not being in the best condition himself. I gave you hydra to heal your broken leg and gave you a single healing potion. But you’re body is still weak.”

I blink and attempt to sit up, but he stops me with a hoof. “But…” I mutter weakly. “The...battle...everyone…” I fall back to the ground as I become lightheaded.

Cora nods to Medkit, and he leaves us. “Lance and the Junk Rats took down the Legate,” Cora explains. “They took his body and strung it up in the clearing. It wasn’t long before the legion fell apart at the sight of their fallen leader. Some fled, but others tried fiercely to reach his body. We held here, and now are trying to finish clearing the town.”

“Who…” I take a careful, deep breath. “Who...survived the attack?” I ask.

“Macro, Soar, and Hal are doing alright,” Cora tells me. “Lance is hurt, but still alive along with three of the other Junk Rats. Um...Sky Shaker lost a wing, but he should survive. Medkit is helping him right now. Hammer is the only one who survived from Bronze’s group…” She trails off as she looks around the room we are in. “I’m not sure about the other groups. It has been fairly crazy since I got here. The tank was destroyed though,” She mutters.

Another set of hoofsteps approach and I turn my head to the right as Wick sits down beside me with a lit cigarette sticking out of his mouth. “The doc told me you were awake,” He says. “I guess...we won?” He mutters weakly, not looking at me so much as staring past me. “Things were...bad. We lost a lot of good ponies today,” He says with a frown.

“Y-Yea…” I mutter in agreement. “My group was decimated. What about...your’s?” I ask him.

Wick takes a drag of his cigarette and then exhales slowly. “Snowflake is alive. Medkit is watching over her. The rest died. Now, the only folk left from Ebon are me and the three that rode in the tank,” He says sadly. “I hear that Ember...she made sure they survived,” He glances aside.

“Then, the tank crew survived?” I ask. “I was worried when Cora said the tank was destroyed.” I breath a sigh of relief, as little a relief that is. There has been enough death today. But Wick’s face is dark. “What is it?” I ask.

“Ember didn’t make it,” He tells me. “I don’t know the details, but she didn’t make it out of the tank.” I close my eyes. Ember was a good mare, during the time I knew her, that is. All of the ponies who died today were good ponies. But...at least we won...right? Right?

“So...of everyone we went in with...eighteen of us survived?” I ask for clarification. eighteen...counting the Junk Rats, the AI, and me. We started with thirty-six. Half...we lost half of our group, but we won. I have mixed emotions. Should I be thankful that only half of us died? Or should I be sad that we lost so many?

Wick blows another plume of smoke. “Half,” he mutters. “But now, Hoofington will be safe. No more towns will suffer the same fate as Neighton or Ebon,” He says. “At least, once we drive them all out. Most have died or retreated, but there will still be remnants here and there. Snow...She’s going to track them down with the rest and finish them off. I’m going to help. Once I bury my family, that is,” Wick tells me.

“I see. That’s good,” I mutter.

“What about you?” Wick asks. “Will you help us get the rest of them?”

I start to answer, but Cora speaks up first. “We are going to return home,” She says. “Ratchet is in no condition to keep fighting.” I want to argue, but given how I am feeling right now, she is right.

Wick sighs. “I’m sorry to hear that. Well, I’ll be going then. Snowflake and some of us are going to go help the Junk Rats clear the town completely,” He says as he gets up.

“Wait,” I call up to him. “Can you have one of the tank crew come here?” I ask. “I want to hear what happened to Ember.”

Wick nods. “Of course,” He says, and then continues walking away.

“Cora,” I start, “why can’t we stay and help them? Sure, I’m hurt, but I will recover after a while. You and the others could really do some good, though.”

“Our supplies are getting a little low,” Cora explains. “And, we have spare medical supplies at Icicle Lab. We can heal you up easily without using any of the militia’s already small supply. Besides, the major battle is over. It is just clean up now.”

“I see. I guess I understand that,” I reply. “But still, it feels like we should be helping, not leaving.” Cora doesn’t reply, but just lowers her head.

A sudden chuckle from my left draws my attention. I carefully turn my head and see the red cloaked figure of War. “She’s lying, you know. In truth, she and those other AI were never here for the ponies of Hoofington. They were here for Ratchet’s sake,” He says as he shoots me a glance. “Oh, and you’d best not reply. She’d think you’ve gone crazy. Head injuries tend to do that sort of thing,” War says with another chuckle.

“I do have to get back to work. But listen kid, you should take my words to heart. Look in a mirror and see if you’re truly worthy of the name Ratchet anymore. Because honestly, you’re nothing like her,” He tells me, and with that he disappears again. Not worthy of the name Ratchet? I laugh slightly to myself. I haven’t changed, I’m the same as always.

They did tell me they watched me because they got bored. War must be looking to stir up more action. But I won’t turn on Cora that easily. She is my friend and I made her myself. Cora can’t lie to me.

Hoofsteps approach once more. This time it is Eclipse who stands beside me. “Wick says you wanted to hear about what happened with Ember?” He asks.

“Yea,” I tell him. “I hear she didn’t make it. What happened?”

Eclipse sits. “The zebras finally brought out the AM rifles and rockets. We managed to withstand a few shots, but the eventually caused a fire to erupt inside,” He tells me. “When we weren’t able to put it out, we had to abandon it and escape out the hatch. As the commander, Ember made sure we all got out first, but she was in a bad way already.”

“Those burns she got, they started getting worse, sitting in the hot tank. After helping us all out, she wasn’t able to pull herself out. The flames climbing around her didn’t help the matter either,” Eclipse says grimly. “I was the last one out, I tried to pull her out, but I think her armor got caught on something. In the end, the flames reached her and finally she told me to let her go and get away.”

He shakes his head with a frown. “I wouldn’t. I was going to drag her out of that tank if it was the last thing I did. She knew that. And so, with the strength she had left...she took her pistol and shot herself in the head,” Eclipse says as his voice chokes up. “I was shocked, but I left her to take cover from the zebras shooting at me. I suppose suicide was easier than burning to death.” He lets out a long, sad sigh. “She saved our lives. Saved my life. After I got off the tank, the remaining shells we had exploded. I would have died if I stayed there a moment longer.”

“I’m sorry,” I mutter. “It was my fault she got the burns in the first place.”

Eclipse frowns. “No, it wasn’t your fault. It is just the kind of mare she was. Helping others even if it meant hurting herself. You know, she rarely slept while fixing the tank. She was determined to make it run so we could use it,” He explains. “If anything, I should thank you. She got to see the tank working and commanded it before she died. I could tell it made happy.”

“I...I’m glad,” I say, smiling weakly. “Still, it doesn’t change the fact she’s gone. She’ll be missed.”

“Yea. She will be. But, we’ll remember her. Right?” He asks with a smile.

I nod weakly. “Right,” I agree.

Eclipse stands back up. “Well, I’ll let you get some rest. Take care, Ratchet,” He says.

“You too, Eclipse. Thanks,” I reply as he trots away. “Hey Cora, I think I’m going to go back to sleep. Okay?” I tell her. I feel really tired.

“Of course. I’ll be here when you wake up,” She says. And with that, I close my eyes and quickly drift off to sleep.

After I woke up again, the battle in the city had ceased. The militia pushed out all the zebras. We had completely won. The militia members found a few carts to use to load their injured and dead into and the Junk Rats used one for their dead.

The AIs and I saw the two groups off and then, I got in Cora’s armor. I was still pretty weak, so she maintained control of the armor and the four of us make our way back to Icicle Lab. Once we returned, Cora helped treat my injuries. It took a few more days before I was back at one hundred percent, even with the help of potions.

In the end, thinking back on the battle, I didn’t really do a whole lot during the fighting. The others are the ones who did most of the work and Lance really stole the show. I state as much in the entry on my terminal.

A lot of ponies died, but in the end, I think it was worth it. Equestria will remain safe from the zebra threat. Until they mass again to try another invasion. If they manage to at all. I hope that day never comes. I hope they stay back where they came from.

For now, however, I’ll get back into the pod until I’m needed again.