Chapter 12, Part 2.

The hold door cracks open, filling the Pearl with fresh air, the rear gun descends from the ceiling, Hex wraps the triggers in her magic and fires wildly into the crowd below, mulching Fiends here and there. I take a deep breath, extending my suit's wings and leaping from the SkyNaut, gliding 40 feet to the ground just in front of the gate, frantically throwing Fiends off of me when I land.

My shields pop as a rocket slams into me, the blast killing a few raiders around me and sending me sprawling into the cover of a ditch. A stallion falls in on top of me, a small chainsaw gripped in his teeth, trying his best to fight out of the magical grip I have around his neck and bury it in my throat.

I grab my own knife, jamming it in his neck, gagging slightly when he vomits foamy black blood all over my visor, "What the fuck are you on man?!"

He just hisses, dropping his chainsaw and biting at the filthy glass of my visor. I shove my knife deeper, just between a vertebrae and his skull, twisting it to separate the two then smashing both forelegs on the handle, pushing up on his chin and wrenching his head clean off.

I shuck his body aside, roll to my hooves and grab the saw, leaping out of the hole and tackling the nearest raider, burying the sharpened tip in her rib cage and squeezing the trigger, cutting through bone like butter up to her throat, tearing her head off by the weakened neck with my hooves.

I roll onto my back, blasting one with my shotgun as he tries to leap on me, his ashes peppering me, sticking to the black blood already caked on my armor. Another lands on me, I bear hug her, snapping her back like a twig, scrambling out from underneath her paralyzed form when she continues to violently head butt my visor. I level Love on her forehead, squeezing the trig-

Something hits me like a speeding freight train, popping my sheilds, tearing apart my armor, shattering my visor, collapsing my rib cage and dishing out enough pressure to make one of my eyes pop completely out of the socket. I’m flying now, fast enough to pulverize the 20 or so Fiends unfortunate enough to be in my path. I smash through several flimsy brick walls, letting out a blood accompanied shriek of agony when a steel beam is sturdy enough to stop me.

I fall to the ground, completely limp, in more pain than I’ve ever experienced in my life. Red lights start flashing on my visor as it repairs itself, hundreds of them, warning notifications that I don’t need, I’m broken, everything’s broken, and I know it.

The armor starts spasming, I cry out again as it snaps my broken bones back into place, tears and blood rolling down my cheeks as I mentally command it to force me to my hooves. My vision blurs and darkens as I stand, clearing briefly as an electric shock snaps me back into full consciousness, fading again as the suit’s magic starts putting my eye back in place.

I groan quietly, shaking myself off, wincing at every tiny shard of shrapnel that leaves my body, relying on the armor to stay standing. I’m woozy, blood’s been lost, a lot of it, and some organs that I’m fairly certain I need to stay alive are failing me. Beta is screaming something about cardiac arrest in my ear, and right now I’m deaf enough to pretend I’m not ignoring it. I start moving, slowly, my fractured joints and splintered bones cracking as I tentatively step forward out of the dessicated foundation of an ammo depot 400 or so feet from where I was shot.

There's something moving through the mob assaulting the fort, huge, rusted, mechanical. It's sporting a massive barrel and two .50 caliber machine guns, and it's littered with piked heads and chained corpses. If it's associated with the Fiends, it's not showing it, it's rolling through the mob, crushing anything not smart enough to move out of the way beneath its treads as it wildly fires the main gun to blast entire sections of wall to bits.

"Bandage!" Beta screams, "Stop!"

"Fuck that..." I mutter, reaching back with my magic to unfold Whisper, letting out a labored sigh and tossing it aside when I realize it's been torn apart by the blast.

I do a quick inventory, all my small arms are still intact.

"Figures," I grumble, "of all my weapons, it's gotta be the anti-everything gun that gets busted."

Beta's concerned expression flickers in my visor, "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," I reply dryly, trying not to focus on the taste of blood in my mouth, "the fuck is that thing?"

"A very decrepit zebra battle tank with some rather disgusting aesthetic modifications."

"Weaknesses?"

"A few."

"Recommendations?"

She smiles sheepishly, "Run and live to fight another day?"

"Nah."

She sighs, "I was afraid you'd say that... At least take some time to recover."

"Why?" I ask, trying to ignore the wooziness slowly overcoming me, "I'm fine."

"Bandage..."

"I've walked off worse."

"No you haven't, not without medica-"

"Mute yourself." I order coldly.

"Excuse me?"

"If the words coming from your mouth aren't of strategic relevance, I don't want to hear them."

"...Bandage, I'm concerned about-"

"Beta, I don't need your fucking concern right now, I need a game plan, so if you don't have one just shut the fuck up and let me work."

There's a long pause before she replies, and her avatar is shifting from bright red to dark blue, "Yes ma'am."

She doesn't say anything else, but my eyes forward sparkle hones in on an especially weak looking hatch on the mechanical beast, "Considering we don't have enough firepower to punch through that armor you'll need to pry open that hatch and attack the crew directly."

I nod, wincing when some blood mixed with clear fluid oozes from my nose. I stagger forward, every step shooting pain through my entire body, I ignore it as best I can and go from a slow crawl to an unnaturally fast gallop.

Fiends spot me, try to stop me, I plow through them with sheer momentum, crushing heads and breaking backs as I trample over them. The tank hones in on me, firing the main gun, I dodge the massive round, just barely, but the force of it flying by is enough to knock me off balance.

I slam into the side of it, unable to set my hooves and stop. I start climbing to the hatch, ducking back down when a Fiend swings one of the .50s around and starts firing.

I dodge left as one charges me from behind, chuckling when she barrels head first into the tread, gagging slightly when the tank starts moving and she's sucked into the gears and crushed to death. The turret swings left to right, trying to find me, lobbing explosive rounds at it's allies. I leap up and grab the barrel, swinging myself up to balance on it, yanking free the .50s with my magic and turning them on the gunner.

A few seconds of sustained fire and his head is gone, blasted into nothing but bits. I rear my hind legs up, smashing them down on the barrel with all my might and snapping it in half.

The tank stops, the engine rattling to a halt. The hatch is swung open, and a deformed armored figure emerges from the hold.

He's grotesque, twice Stripe's size, furless, half of his face covered in bulbous tumors, his right foreleg three times the size of his left and covered by a huge sharpened plate of armor. Swollen muscle is bulging through gaps in his armor, the veins looking close to a bursting point.

He's wearing scavenged power armor and a large backpack, with thick tubing connecting into his body.

"You break Meat Wagon's toy," he says dumbly, sporting some obvious mental deficiencies, "why you do that?"

"It pissed me off."

He huffs quietly, "That not very nice of ya."

I swing Victory over my shoulder and fire, hitting him right in the forehead, he slumps over, I snort, "I'm not a very nice pony hon."

His body convulses and he rises back up, tumors swelling out of the bullet hole, his piercing yellow eye blinking back into consciousness, "AGGHH, STUPID, METAL, MARE!!! MEAT WAGON CRUSH YOU!!!"

He advances with a surprising burst of speed, hitting me square in the chest with his hulking leg and sending me sprawling off the tank into a small crowd of Fiends.

I throw them off and regain my footing, immediately backpedaling as Meat Wagon jumps down after me, he starts swinging wildly, cutting Fiends in his way clean in half, then bum rushes me, slamming me into a wall with his normal foreleg, raising the other to cleave my head off.

He pauses, chuckling to himself, drooling, "Gonna, eat your legs when yer dead, cunt."

I snap, pressing both pistols to his head and firing until they click, every shot showering me in his grotesque black blood. He just laughs in my face as his head regenerates and throws me, slowly limping after me as I get to my hooves and load fresh mags. He rushes again, I leap backwards and blast his leg with my shotgun, disintegrating it. He falls flat on his face, then props himself back up with his hulking leg, wiggling his burnt stump until a fresh, and tumor encrusted foreleg sprouts out.

He laughs again, wiping drool from his mouth, "Meat Wagon got da Hydra, take more 'an yer puny guns t' stop 'im."

I growl quietly, absently disintegrating a Fiend as she rushes me, cracking my neck. He charges, laughing hysterically, I do a quick hop, skip and jump, wrenching his head with my forehooves as I twist through the air over him. His hulking form goes limp as the meaty snap of his neck sounds out, his head is on backwards now.

I dust myself off, groaning quietly when I hear bone cracking back in place, gagging a bit when I turn around to see Meat Wagon's head readjusting its orientation.

"AGH," he shouts, "THAT HURT!!!"

I sigh, holstering my weapons, focusing all my magic on something else, "Hey Meat Wagon, wanna see a magic trick?"

He brightens slightly, "Eh? Sure, Meat Wagon like magic."

I smirk and let go, he glances up just in time to see the tank crush him into pulp, "Regenerate from that, asshole."

The tank shifts, sliding through the mud, I recoil slightly, "No fuckin' way..."

The Pearl does a flyby, blasting the tank apart with plasma fire, melting through to the spare ammunition, detonating it, sending a huge and jagged hunk of scrap flying right towar-

*0*0*

Hex is calling my name, I can hear her, but I can't, like everything is muted or something. My chest hurts, bad, and my heart is racing, but I fight through the fear long enough to bite down on my mouthpiece and kill the Fiend that shot me.

Roho is with me in an instant, he picks me up, then bolts for cover, laying me down gently and rolling me onto my back. Hex presses a potion to my lips, I drink it, and the glorified flesh wound underneath my barding seals shut.

She's looking me over frantically, her visible eye wide and frightened, "Are you okay?!"

"I'm f-fine," I grunt, gently pushing her away as I get back to my hooves, "Roho, where's my mom?"

"No clue, but Stripe and Rawr ran to get her, sure you're alright?"

"I'm g-good, just stings like a b-bitch."

Hex hugs me, I roll my eyes and pat her on the back, "You need to be more careful."

"I t-told you I'm fine." I say quietly.

Juni awkwardly scrambles into cover with us, she falls on her face, and I catch her helmet as it rolls off her head. She blows her bangs away and smiles sheepishly, Roho sighs and helps her up, "My love, you are very smart and very beautiful, but you have about as much grace as a one-legged cat."

"Yeah..." she mutters, taking her helmet from me and putting it back on, "Buuut, I did get te turrets back up and running, should give us some relief from tese psycho fucks."

"What knocked the grid out in the first place?"

"Plasma damage, flash fused some important shit, my guess is one of tese assholes somehow managed to sneak in here and blast te breaker."

I frown slightly, "B-but Fiends d-don't have magical weapons..."

Roho nods, "And I doubt one would be smart enough to sneak into the compound and sabotage the grid..."

Juni shrugs, "Vhatever, let's just plant tese emitters already so ve can mop tese fuckers up."

Roho nods, checking the two glowing orbs in his satchel, "Damn." he mutters.

"Vhat's wrong?"

"Bandage and Rawr still have their emitters."

"We can go g-get them," I offer, "it's just outside the g-gate."

"Sveetheart I don't tink-"

"It's a good idea," Roho interrupts, "they can maneuver through the raiders more easily than we can."

Juni pauses, "You sure? I mean if tey get hurt Bandage is gonna kill us in a fairly inventive vay."

"If we d-don't get the holograms up and running we're all f-fucked anyways, how Mom k-k-kills you is irrelevant at that p-point."

Juni huffs, thumping the side of her helmet and whispering to herself, "Gods, I'm te vorst fucking foal-sitter ever..."

I cock my eyebrow, she sighs in defeat, "Fine, go get te emitter tingies, but don't get killed, okay?"

"Vhatever," I say mockingly, dragging Hex behind me, "c'mon Hexy, mission t-time."

Roho yanks us back abruptly, just in time to keep us from being crushed by an armored sky carriage, three more touch down with it, dropping off a bunch of unicorns sporting weird tattoos in place of cutie marks. A bold red buck in the same armor as Mom steps out into the mud last, briefly adjusting his glasses before barking orders at his troops.

They disperse in an instant, blasting Fiends off the walls with magical fire and arrows, shielding those without cover and healing the wounded. The gate screeches open, Dad storms through with Mom on his back, Nightmare Company and Rawr right behind him.

Roho and Juni run up to intercept them, quickly retrieving their orbs before sprinting off to deploy them. Nightmare Company and Rawr stay at the gate, fending off the swarm of crazed ponies trying to flood in, Dad storms into the library, the armored unicorn follows him casually, Hex and I gallop after them.

I stop dead in the doorway, an odd surge of fear passing through me, Mom's laid out on the table, bleeding everywhere, there's a huge gash in her torso, a foreleg wide, stretching from her left shoulder to her right hip, and the right side of her face is torn open and crushed in, the mangled eye loosely hanging from the socket.

I can see some of her organs, her intestines, her stomach, her lungs, and her heart, still beating, just barely. She jolts awake, screaming, a torrent of blood exploding from her mouth as her body flexes. Dad pins her, the unicorn uses some magic on her, calms her down, she's panting now, whimpering loudly as blood slowly oozes from her nostrils.

The unicorn pulls a milky white orb from his saddlebags and presses it to her horn, she closes her functional eye, relaxing considerably.

He sighs, tossing it back in his bags, Dad tears his helmet off and prompts her armor off so they can work.

"I've got things handled in here dear boy," the unicorn says coolly, "I believe your skills are of better use to the soldiers outside."

"Sure..." Dad mutters quietly, grimacing as he looks over her mangled form. He wheels around, putting his helmet back on, tousling my mane as he trots past.

I trot to the table tentatively, observing as the red buck weaves intricate healing spells, wincing when I hear the meaty snap of bones shifting back into place, "Can she, y'know, f-feel that?"

He glances at me sideways and smiles sympathetically, "No child, she's in a memory orb, can't feel a thing."

"Oh... Are they uh, g-g-good memories?"

He chuckles quietly, "I don't have good memories child, I'm very old and I've lived a very violent life, but I did place her in memories lacking in physical pain and heavy combat, don't need her heart racing whilst I'm removing shrapnel now do I?"

I nod, grimacing yet again as the gaping wound on her torso starts knitting back together, "She's g-gonna b-be okay right?"

"Yes child... good friend of yours?"

"Mom, kinda."

"I see... well, you've got a very tough mum, and I'm a very good doctor, so you've nothing to worry about, okay?"

"Yeah..." I mutter, looking over her still form as magic works to mend it. I lean up, planting a quick kiss on her cheek, "Love you Momma."

I wheel around, prompting Hex to follow as I canter back out into the chaos of the courtyard.

We hit the dirt as the door opens, narrowly dodging a stray rocket. Things outside are crazy, Fiends are flooding into the gate, surging over the low points in the wall, trampling over the hundreds of their fallen comrades' bodies and fearlessly sprinting into oncoming fire.

The gate is a choke point, with turrets, holograms, Nightmare Company and Dad mowing down wave after wave, but they keep coming. The weird Trinity unicorns are blasting away with their magic, holding back the Fiends pouring over the low points of the battered walls while the soldiers work to pile up the corpses for barricades.

Hex and I rush forward, ducking into cover next to Rawr. I stand up just high enough to peak the barrels of my shotguns over the short barricade and start firing, dropping any raiders that manages to rush past Rawr's killzone.

He ashes them, I mulch them, we're doing well, I think, but it's not enough, there's just too damn many...

A grey magical field envelopes the gate, closing it against the resistance of piled corpses and fighting raiders, slamming it shut after some apparent struggle, cutting some unlucky bastard in half. The armored grey unicorn that closed it turns to help his comrades next, blasting the Fiends from the walls with massive surges of telekinetic energy. The others join in, using magic to rapidly repair the huge gaps in the walls, cramming packed corpses between massive slabs of concrete to fill in empty space.

The soldiers mop up the rest, the automated defenses start laying down fire outside the walls.

They start celebrating, hooping and hollering, Nightmare Company lets out a war cry, Rawr lights himself a cigarette-

There's an inequine roar, the metal gate squeals as something slams into it, shaking loose rust and dust. Rawr grunts and crushes his cigarette, I load fresh drums into my shotguns and smile back at Hex reassuringly, jumping slightly as it hits the gate again. Bolts start popping loose from the doors as it bashes it again and again.

Everyone in the courtyard blindly opens fire as the gates fly off their hinges, one massive door taking out a sky carriage and the other smashing through the roof of the library.

Something... wrong, rushes through the gate, a massive furless pony, roughly the size of a train car, his entire body made up of grotesque growths and swollen muscles, a pony sized metal backpack infused with the flesh between his shoulders, and something resembling a tentacle wriggling out of his empty left eye socket.

It roars again as the soldiers pepper it with rounds, a small geyser of black blood spewing from it's throat. It rushes forward, trampling a few Fiends dumb enough to run under it, smashing through Nightmare Company's barricade, rearing up on it's hind legs to crush them, stumbling backwards when Dad hits it dead center in the face with a rocket.

Rawr vaults over cover as it staggers, running on all fours and jumping 20 feet through the air to dig his claws into the hulking creature, climbing up its body, tearing out its throat and clawing away at the thick muscles of its neck, falling back to the ground as a literal flood of blood pours over him.

He stumbles back to the barricade with us as the beast regenerates, vomiting, "Ugh," he mutters as he finishes wretching, wiping black blood from his mouth, "Rawr's coughin' up blood that ain't his, that's just fuckin' wrong..."

"How are we sup-p-p-posed to kill this thing?" I ask, watching as the flesh of the gargantuan Fiend knots back together and it continues rampaging through the fort.

Rawr grunts, spitting out some bile, "Dunno little pony, big pony a shit load tougher 'an most."

Juni falls into cover with us, fumbling to pull her helmet off, "Te backpack!" she says, smiling excitedly, "If ve take out te backpack ve can drop tis fucker!"

I cock an eyebrow, "How d-do you know?"

"It's Paragon tech, shock trooper harness, replicates Hydra and pumps it directly into te bloodstream, take tat out and he von't regenerate."

"We need a p-plan then."

"Already told Stripe, said if ve can get it on te ground he can blow up te harness."

Rawr grunts again, throwing his cloak off, letting loose his mangy scar covered coat, "Good enough fer Rawr."

He lets out a fearsome howl and sprints forward in a frenzy, hacking through Fiends in his path, severing one of the creature's massive forelegs with one powerful swipe, bear hugging the other and using all his might to wrench the giant to the ground. The beast throws him a hundred feet through the library entrance, bellowing with rage and writhing as its leg grows back, screaming in agony when 10mm rounds start slamming into its backpack.

A torrent of black blood and yellow liquid starts spewing from the tubes in its back as Dad chips away at them with machine gun fire. Its leg stops regenerating halfway, sealing the bloody stump with tumors. Rawr bolts out of the thick double doors, literally digging into the raider's forehead, disappearing into it, bursting out of its neck a few moments later and hacking away at it until its head is clean off.

The Hellhound stands there in the remains of its tracea, covered head to toe in black blood, gore and brain matter, panting as it drips from his coat.

It's quiet for a moment, quiet enough for me to hear his laboured breathing, the shots start ringing out again, more Fiends start pouring in, and this time, we don't have a gate...

*0*0*

I stretch my wings in the cramped hold, testing my goggles' targeting sync on Saule's face, smirking behind my dust mask when she sticks her tongue out at me, nodding my thanks to my brother when he finishes tightening the straps of my battle saddle. I'm packing dual 12.7mm zebra assault rifles, modified to act more as light machine guns; extended barrels, heat guards, recoil compensators, and 120 round assault magazines; as opposed to the bare bones model the nervous mare across from me has resting on her lap.

"Thanks again for helping guys," Token says, "it's a shit storm back there."

Star and I shrug, Saule rests a hoof on her shoulder, "No problem. We're greedy assholes, but we watch our friends' backs."

I snort, "I just wanna give that asshole Motor Runner a black eye."

"And I'm just here for the looting." Star Punch finishes.

I chuckle and elbow him, he smirks and elbows me back.

"Holy shit..." Kimba mutters over the comms, "Uh, coming up on Bookfort, you guys may want to take a look."

The door opens, I peek out, letting out a whistle. It's chaos below, hundreds of Fiends in the courtyard of the ramshackle Trinity outpost, thousands more waiting to tear through the gates. I snort again, chambering a round in each rifle, "Looks just about wrapped up, let's get down there, can't let the soldiers have all the fun."

The Pearl descends rapidly, Saule blows me a kiss before rolling out onto the library roof and setting up her .50 cal machine gun, I bail next, gliding down into the bedlam, taking the high ground on the massive headless corpse of what I assume was a Fiend, laying down covering fire while Kimba touches down to drop off Token and Star.

Stripe clambers up next to me, unloading on the mob with a barrage of 10 mil rounds, "Nice of ya t' join us!" he shouts over the gunfire.

"You kiddin'?!" I shout back, "Wouldn't miss it!"

My targeting spells start kicking on, directing my 6 round bursts to individual targets, pulverizing heads then moving on to the next. We both click, Star leaps over cover as we reload, rear bucking the nearest Fiend, sending him flying into the mob. I smirk when the raider explodes like a HE grenade, shrugging when Stripe glances at me.

Star Punch starts utilizing his special talent, taking heads clean off with single swings, turning raiders into flying bombs with his hind leg ballistic hooves.

The familiar rapid crack of Saule's modified .50 starts sounding off behind us, spewing a torrent of the massive rounds into the enemy, taking off legs, destroying chests, and otherwise decapitating Fiends. Stripe and I open up with her, joined by Token, and next Nightmare Company. We make a huge dent, mowing down ponies until the bodies are stacked 3 meters high, finally stopping when the sentries go back to passive mode.

Smoke is pouring off my red hot barrels, and Stripe and I both have massive piles of brass at our hooves. I pull down my dust mask and push up my goggles, wiping soot from my face, smirking as I look over my work and nudging the armored zony next to me, "Have fun cleanin' this up."

He snorts, pulling off his helmet and sweeping back his sweat drenched mane, "Ain't my fort."

I chuckle, but my ears perk at the distinct whistle of a certain Prench mare, and I wheel around to stare apathetically at Saule, "Hey asshole!" she shouts, "Come up here and get me down already!"

I pause, scratching my chin, then shrug, "Nah."

She starts shouting in her native tongue, mostly curse words from what I can pick up, I snort and nudge Stripe again, "Where's the nearest hooch peddler? This shit works up a thirst."

*0*0*

I wake with a jolt, a geyser of blood spewing from my mouth as I writhe and scream in agony, someone pushes me down to the table, someone strong, but my eyes are too blurred with blood and tears to make them out. A red magical field passes over me, calming me down, and for a brief moment a piercing pair of cybernetic eyes flash in my vision.

Something is pressed to my horn, I let myself receive it, ready for some relief...

oooOOooo

The humidity is intense, and the reek unfamiliar, the exotic plants all around us are bustling with the sounds of wildlife. Frankly it looks like a setting from Daring Do.

My host shifts slightly, peeking through the thick leaves at a small jungle trail below. Somepony moves next to him, he glances sideways at his camouflaged companion and nudges her, "You alright poppet?"

"Just nervous," she whispers back to him, "sorry Chryses."

Chryses snorts quietly and looks back to the trail, "My dear, we're in a strange land, meeting with informants that could very well have been killed and replaced by trained assassins, please don't apologize for being nervous."

Something moves through the bushes ahead, a tiny smirk tugs at his mouth as he shoulders a silenced assault rifle, "Game time poppet."

A small group of zebras outfitted with makeshift camouflage emerges from the tree line, warily looking around them, "Two!" one shouts.

"Five!" the mare with Chryses shouts in reply, "What do all lost dogs strive for brother?"

"To return home dear sister."

The two holster their weapons and climb down from their perch, Chryses approaches the leader with a bright grin, greeting him with a warm hug, "Good to see you again brother, what news from the capital?"

The zebra sighs, reaching into his satchel with his tail and passing a sealed scroll to Chryses, "Nothing good I fear, the Caesar has begun experimenting with weaponized megaspells, I believe dark times are upon us brother."

"Indeed..." Chryses mumbles, looking over the scroll, "This will be sent to the Princess right away," he tosses the zebra a large sack of gems, smiling at his striped comrade's surprise, "excellent work brother."

"We need no reward brother, we are performing our duties to serve the crown."

"Not a reward dear brothers, just a gift, sell them, feed your families."

The zebra smiles, pulling Chryses into another hug, "Thank you brother, long live Luna."

"Long live Equestria brother, long live Equestria..."

---

His expression feels bored, and he's staring at a metal holding cell floor, humming quietly as fresh blood drips off his coat. His ears perk as the door opens and he glances up, smiling politely at the disappointed frown of the curly maned pink mare that steps in, "Miss Pie."

She sighs quietly, popping some Mentals into her mouth and chewing as she rubs her temples. She sighs again and looks back at him, her eyes tired and sad, "Why Chryses?"

He shrugs nonchalantly, "Couldn't tell you ma'am, felt spectacular though."

She shudders, then regains her composure, staring down the blood-drenched buck, "You're headed for the Tower."

"Understood..." he mutters, looking her over with a slight frown, "I apologize Pinkie."

"That doesn't make what you did any better."

"I know."

---

"Sixty seven?!" a buck asks in disbelief.

"Yeah," a mare mutters in reply, "twelve of them were kids."

"Thirteen were kids," Chryses says behind the steel of his bite mask, "it was an especially graphic death though, papers preferred to say he was an adult."

"Oh..." she says awkwardly, "thanks for clarifying."

"My pleasure, may I inquire as to who this visitor is?"

The buck shrugs, "Some hybrid from OIA."

"Silver Stripe..." Chryses mutters to himself, tapping his cuffed hooves together.

"Yeah that's it, says she's looking for above average 'volunteers', hear she broke that rapist from the army out a month ago for the same shit."

"Lucky me..."

---

Everything is just... wrong. The limbs and the eyes are there, I just... can't feel them, exactly, not in the traditional sense anyway. Chryses shifts uncomfortably, getting up from his cot to trot to the sink, promptly falling on his face, "Bollocks..."

He scrambles to his hooves unsteadily, awkwardly trotting to the sink and looking at himself in the mirror. He's shaved bald all over, and covered in hundreds of fresh surgical scars, he runs his new metallic hoof through the stubby leftovers of his mane and frowns, "Bald isn't a good look for you old chap."

He sighs and rests his head on the metal counter, closing his eyes at the cool sensation, "'Any regrets?' Why yes, turning myself into a machine is definitely top three on that list. 'Why's that?' Well for one I'm battery operated, oh, and learning how to walk again is fucking humiliating..."

He glances back up at himself and smirks, "You're so damn crazy."

---

Chryses is sitting up, reading a detective novel and drinking cognac, large wires protruding from his station plugged into his body. The door slides open and he glances up, immediately looking back to his book when Dart drunkenly staggers in, "Bienvenue Lightning Dart, what can I do for you this fine day?"

She throws a bottle of Wild Pegasus at him, he catches it in his magic and carefully sets it aside with his book, "I wasn't aware I'd crossed you poppet, care to discuss it?"

"Fuck you!" she spits, "You friend stealing puke."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said you smug mechanical fuck," she approaches him, poking him in the chest, "Eclipse is my best friend and you stole her, you, you... friend stealer!"

He cocks an eyebrow, she huffs impatiently, "She's my best friend and you stole her, she's my best friend and I, and I..." her lip starts quivering, and tears start rolling down her cheeks.

"And you love her." he finishes, his apathetic expression softening.

She nods, wiping her tears away, "I've been trying so long, but she never listened, and then you come in, and she just, just falls for you, it's bullshit..."

He smirks sympathetically, patting her on the shoulder, "I love her too poppet, sort of why we're together."

She huffs, "I know it's just, it's not fair, ya know?"

"Life rarely is Dart, best you just roll with it."

"I know, and I am, I'm just wondering what you have that I don't."

He darkens a bit, nodding in agreement, "I'm wondering that too poppet..."

---

A bright flash, like a small green sun. Another, and another, hundreds of them, demolishing buildings, vaporizing ponies, setting fire to everything, and buffeting my host with radioactive wind. He smirks to himself, looking over the chaos with sick admiration, "Spectacular..."

"Chryses?" Data's shaky voice asks over the radio.

"Go."

"Are you outside?"

"Affirmative."

"How uh, how bad is it?"

"How bad do you think?"

"Right, uh anyways, you've been reassigned, sending you the coordinates."

"Roger... good luck Data."

"...Goodbye Chryses."

oooOOooo

Everything hurts, again. The right side of my face is covered in magical bandage, along with the rest of me for that matter. There's a tube down my throat, pumping healing potion into me, and a mare in a dirty white lab coat with a fantastic ass looking over my vitals.

"Miss," I rasp out, "where am I?"

"Bookfort," she replied absently, "med tent."

"How long was I out?"

She shrugs, "Day or so."

"Did we win?"

"Obviously," she scoffs, trotting past me, "I'll go get the commander, he wanted to speak with you."

I try to sit up when she leaves, immediately going back down as immense pain shoots through my entire body.

Somebody chuckles, and Rampart comes into view, grimacing a bit, "Just lost 500 caps."

"For what?"

Stripe peeks over, grinning and planting a kiss on my forehead, "I bet him you'd be dumb enough to try and get up, he had a bit too much faith in yer intelligence."

I scowl at him, "Glad to know my injured state is a source of income for you love."

He smirks and pecks me on the lips, "Thanks baby, and I'm glad yer okay."

I roll my eye, he snorts and nuzzles my cheek affectionately, "I'll go round up the gang."

"Thanks love," I mutter as he trots out, rolling my eye around to look at Rampart, "what's up big guy?"

"Those holo emitters saved our asses, that's what's up, we owe you big time Bandage."

I wave a dismissive hoof, wincing immediately as a sharp pain explodes in my shoulder, "Bollocks, just make sure I get paid at the end of my contract and we're square. How'd the battle go by the way?"

He snorts, "Between the holograms, the Pearl, those scavs from the factory and the Arcane Corps' timely arrival, well, let's just say the buzzards are eating well today."

I cock my eyebrow, "Arcane Corps?"

"Yeah, freaky bunch, but I guess if you're practically raised by Chryses you can't be expected to turn out normal."

"I take offense to that Commander."

I shudder as Chryses comes into view, he smirks, his glowing red eyes looking me over behind his sunglasses, "No need to be frightened dear girl, I put time and energy into putting you back together, no point in tearing you apart just yet."

Rampart coughs nervously, "I'll just uh, go check on the barricade repairs, or something..."

"You do that." the ancient cyberpony says absently, still smiling down at me whimsically, "You're a tough little shit, even for somepony in Sleipnir armor. Not many can take a direct hit from a tank and walk it off, let alone sprint it off."

"Impressed?" I ask snidely.

He chuckles, "Intrigued, not impressed, I'll let you rest, but I have a proposition for you when you're back on your hooves."

"Sure." I mutter, looking my ancestor over warily. He nods and trots out, and mere moments later tiny hoofbeats tear through the tent.

Shaky leaps onto my cot, immediately followed by Hex, and both decide it's a good idea to hug my tender body, I frown when Shaky looks up to beam at me, immediately spotting the bullet hole shaped scar on her chest, "What did that?"

She cocks an eyebrow, "What? Oh that, .308 r-round, it's n-no b-b-biggy, vest t-t-took the b-brunt of it."

I frown more, "It is a 'biggy', why were you out there fighting?"

"We weren't," Hex answers, "when the tank blew up it took a big chunk out of the wall-"

"And outta you." Shaky adds teasingly.

"Yeah, and you, and then the Fiends got in so we helped Roho and Juni fight them off-"

"Until we almost g-got overrun, then Chryses and his f-freaks saved our sorry flanks-"

"And then that hulking thing broke down the gate-"

"And Rawr k-killed it-"

"And then Storm Shot and Star Punch and Saule came to help too-"

"And they k-k-kicked their fucking asses! "

I stare at her flatly, "Yeah cool story, tell it again sometime, so back to you getting shot?"

Shaky rolls her eyes, "I said it was n-n-nothing, I g-got shot, Hexy g-gave me a potion and I went right b-back to b-blastin' those junkie fuckers."

I scowl slightly, she sighs and scratches behind her head, "I g-got hit, and it... hurt, really b-bad, and I was scared, that what you're wanting me to say?"

I nod, she sniffs, trying not to tear up, failing miserably, I smile sympathetically and pull her to me, she nestles her face against my neck and lets the tears flow freely. Hex hugs her too, nuzzling behind her ear. It only goes on for a few moments, then Shaky pushes away from us and wipes her eyes, "What ab-bout you? You t-took a huge chunk of m-m-metal to the everything."

"You know me poppet, I'm bloody invincible."

"You're bloody stupid." my mare says behind me, craning her head into my field of vision, "Seriously, you have to be fucking mentally retarded to think taking on a tank solo was a good idea."

"Good to see you too love." I say brightly.

She rolls her eyes and plants a quick kiss on my lips, I smirk, she scowls and flicks my forehead with a hoof, "Stop getting hurt dumbass, you're stressing me out."

I wink, a fairly useless gesture considering my bandaged eye, "No promises Toky."

She sighs quietly and wheels around, leaving the tent, I frown and glance down at Shaky, "What's her deal?"

She snorts, "You're and idiot and she w-worries ab-bout you."

I stare at her dryly and flick her nose, "What do you know? You're eleven."

She looks me over and droops slightly, "I know you're n-not as t-tough as you think you are, and if you k-keep overestimating yourself you're g-gonna end up dead."

I open my mouth to say something, unable to find any words, she smiles sadly and hops off my cot, trotting out of the tent with Hex.

I huff, grunting as I try to sit up again, flopping back on my pillow as sharp pain shoots through my abdomen. A pissed off looking holographic mare flickers into existence next to me, *"After the first time I figured you'd be smart enough not to do that, and, not surprisingly, I was mistaken."*

I stick my tongue out at her, "Bollocks to ya."

"Shut it." she says coldly, her hue shifting to a deep red.

I flinch a bit, "What's up your ass?"

"We're supposed to be partners, you're supposed to be my friend, but you don't listen to me and you order me around, just like your bitch of an ancestor."

I open my mouth to respond, she cuts me off with a snarl, "She treated me like a machine and now you're doing it, and I'm not a fucking machine, I have free will, and feelings, and you're stepping on both. That stops, now, got it?"

"Yeah..." I mutter, looking over her aggravated features, "Has anyone ever told you you're unbelievably sexy when you're pissed off?"

She sighs, her hue shifting back to light blue, though I smirk as I spot a few stray wisps of pink floating through her form, "Just... Just don't treat me like I'm part of the suit, okay? It hurts."

"Sure," I say quietly, "and I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"So, how fucked is my face?"

"We'll know tomorrow..." She smirks slightly, "But at this point wouldn't anything be an improvement?"

"Ow," I pout, "too mean."

She chuckles softly, "Get some more rest Bandage."

***

I punch the dirty mirror, shattering it into nothing, wheeling back around to glare at Chryses' calm features.

"Don't look at me," he says, pointing to himself, "I just patched you up, that mess on your face is someone else's doing."

I growl, rear bucking the metal sink through the wall and smashing the cracking tile floor with my forelegs. He tsks scoldingly, "No need for a tantrum child, it's not that bad."

I glance down at a sliver of mirror, snarling at the collection of lambent scars adorning the right side of my face, and the glowing iris of my right eye, "What the fuck is this shit Chryses?"

He shrugs, "Could be the nanites replacing tissue, but it never looked like that for me."

"Fascinating..." Beta mutters, "It's not organic in nature, but it's not synthetic either, it's something new, a hybridization of some sort."

The suit creeps over and encases me, a tingling sensation briefly washing over me,"Remarkable, the suit is directly interfacing with your nervous system."

"Symbiosis effect?" Chryses offers, looking me over.

"No," she mutters absently in reply, "similar, but it's not nanites replacing the tissue, it's nanites infusing with the tissue, I wonder..."

I start moving, without wanting to, awkwardly, shakily taking a step forward, "Too weird." I say, though I didn't say it.

"Beta?"

"Gimme a sec," she says through my mouth, scrunching my face up to concentrate, then losing all focus entirely, "wait, do you have to pee? I think you have to pee, no wait! Your throat is dry, that's thirsty right?"

"Beta-"

"How the hell do you focus on walking with all the other sensations going on? Ugh, is this what everything smells like? Makes me glad I don't have a nose, and what's that taste in your mouth? Your mane's kind of itchy, you're sure you don't have to p-"

"BETA!!!" I scream, "OUT, NOW!!!"

I regain control, her avatar flickers in my visor, smiling sheepishly, "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"No more of that shit!" I bark, "I've been subjected to more than my fair share of body snatching."

Chryses clears his throat, "Right, sub-organic nervous system shenanigans aside, I think it would be prudent to have the Twins give you a proper examination."

"No time," I grumble, trotting out of the decrepit latrine building, "too much work to do, on that note what was that proposition of yours?"

"All business," he mutters under his breath as he trots alongside me, "anyway, there's been a large spike in activity in the Char Fields, and I'd like to know why."

"Description and why it's important please." I say flatly,

He snorts, "Stretch of balefire ash to the south, Fiends own it, and it's not important, so I'm wondering why Paragons are crawling all over it."

My ears perk at the mention of Paragons and I nod, "I'm in."

"Good, I'm eager to find what it is they're looking for."

Chryses stops us in front of a unicorn wearing makeshift armor and a filthy grey shawl, he glances up, his face completely covered save his bright yellow right eye, which is surrounded by intricate tattoos, "As I said before Mentor," he says, his voice soft and raspy, "they seek Bale."

Chryses waves a dismissive hoof, "Nekros, you'd be wise to push that superstitious snake charmer rubbish out of your head."

Nekros shrugs, "You have your theories and I have mine."

"Indeed, and yours make no sense, if the Paragons are taking the time and resources to sift through mountains of ash, I'm fairly certain they'd be searching for useful technology, not a mythical zombie dragon."

"Doesn't matter," I say, stopping briefly to glare at a soldier looking a little too closely at my new scars, "they're where they're not supposed to be, we're gonna get in, sabotage whatever they're working on and kick their sorry asses back over the sea where they belong."

Chryses chuckles, "You remind me of Eclipse."

"Whatever," I mutter, "just come get us when you're ready to go, I'm gonna go let the guys know."

"Right, good luck explaining, eh," he points at my face and awkwardly waves his hoof, "that."

I just grumble quietly in response and trot into the library, ducking my head to dodge the painfully obvious stares of the busy ponies inhabiting it. I canter the rest of the way to the command room, kicking the heavy oak door shut behind me. I hear Token gasp first, enough to sap any confidence I had left and keep my eyes firmly glued to the floor.

I start tearing up when I hear her hoofsteps, they're tentative, she's hesitant. Her forehooves finally appear in my field of view, one presses to my chin gingerly and she props my head up. She's concerned, fear obvious in her eyes, "Babe," she says quietly, staring intently at the trenches of 'sub-organic tissue', "what uh, what happened?"

"I dunno." I mumble, pressing my face to her chest for some comfort, barely containing a sob when I feel her flinch.

I brush past her, shrugging her hoof off when she rests it on my shoulder, wiping my eyes and approaching Stripe, Umbra and Rampart, who all stop looking over a map of the region to stare at me.

"Hey boss..." Stripe mutters, "You alright?"

"Peachy." I say with an obviously faked reassuring grin.

He nods, obviously unconvinced, then kicks the table to hit Rampart in the shin and motions for him to keep reading. I sigh and trot up, looking the map over briefly, "Chryses has a job for us, mind getting everyone rounded up for me, not really in the mood to walk through an ocean of awkward stares again."

"Yeah, no problem."

I stop him as he goes to trot past, resting my head on his neck, practically bursting into tears when he hugs me, "Thanks big guy." I say quietly.

He nods and props my head up to kiss me, then smiles warmly before he breaks away and leaves the room. I sigh when I hear Token's lighter hoofsteps follow him out, flopping down on my rear end and absently staring at the wall.

Umbra shoos her husband out of the room and trots over to sit down next to me, "You okay?" she asks awkwardly.

"Yeah," I sigh, wiping my nose and eyes, "just been a rough morning."

She tries to smile assuringly, "She was just in shock."

"Sure..." I mutter, scratching the back of my head absently.

She nudges me, "I'd be pretty shocked if Rampart came in looking like that, she needs time to get used to it."

I nod glumly, she smirks and tousles my already messy mane, "C'mon, perk up, you're harshing on my good mood."

I snort, smiling a bit, "Whatever."

"Maybe I need to go get your daughter to knock you around a little bit hmmm?"

I chuckle quietly, elbowing her, "She'd have no objections."

She darkens for a moment, looking me over, "Has she, ya know, seen this yet?"

I frown, shaking my head, "Not yet..."

"Shouldn't you show her?"

I sigh drooping, "I don't want her to think I'm some kind of fucking monster."

She props my head up, smiling down at me, "You're not a monster, you've just got some nasty scars."

I nod, slumping against her, "Thanks Umbra."

She gives me a quick hug with her wing and stands up, "No problem hon, I've gotta go feed the squirt before she gets fussy and starts levitating ponies, lemme know if you need to talk."

I nod, tearing up again when the door closes and curling into a ball on the floor.

***

Shaky reacted better than expected, Storm Shot, however, greets me a bit more bluntly, "The fuck happened to your face?"

Saule grapples his neck, thumping him on the head and scolding him in Prench, "Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas chez toi?! Idiote insensible!"

He snorts, glancing up at her, "Quoi? Pas comme si elle ne connaît pas son visage est en pagaille."

She thumps him again, dragging him into the next room, "Ce n'est pas le point de trou du cul!"

"Sorry about him," Star Punch mutters, "he's kinda... socially inept."

I smile glumly, "It's fine, he's just saying what everyone's thinking."

He snorts, "Saddle Arabia doesn't exactly produce ponies with good manners, someone has to apologize for him or it won't get done."

"You're from Saddle Arabia and you seem pretty well-mannered."

He chuckles, scratching his messy mane, "I swindle people all day, being able to smooth talk is part of my job. Storm runs security and recovery, shooting and looting are his only two concerns."

"He's a nice enough guy."

"I guess, once you get to know him anyways. Mom raised him almost exclusively, he's got some of her Enclave 'shoot first ask questions later' mentality running in him, makes him abrasive and trigger happy, that's why Saule's his only friend, he doesn't let people get close."

"You're not his friend?"

He cocks his eyebrow, "You kidding? He's my bro, we're best fucking friends, I just meant outside of immediate family she's his only friend. Good friendship too, they're both insanely rude and love to kill people."

I chuckle, shaking my head, "So, you guys game to tag along with us? Fiend strongholds and Paragon expeditionary troops, should be loads of fun."

He smirks, "Sure, why the hell not, haven't been out of the house in awhile, some punching'd probably be good for me."

***

"She's getting too big for my lap." I whisper glumly as I gently stroke Shaky's mane. I hadn't noticed the size difference until now, but it was there, her head was just past my shoulders when we stood side by side, she's almost full grown.

Stripe chuckles quietly, kissing her forehead and scooping her up in his foreleg, trotting to her cot and laying her down next to Hex. The two attract like magnets in their sleep, curling together in a heap like puppies.

I smirk at the cute, giggling quietly when Stripe eases in behind me and kisses up my back, "Sup beautiful?"

I nestle into him, smiling and closing my eyes when he hugs around my waist, "Oh nothing, just wallowing in my dear stallion's affection."

"Talked to Blue yet?"

I sigh and shake my head, "Not yet, can't muster up the courage."

He scoffs, "Please, you can flirt with a full-grown dragon, but talkin' to yer mare takes too much courage?"

"Shut up!" I whine, "I've got low self-esteem..."

"Which makes no fucking sense cuz yer fuckin' gorgeous."

I huff and flop my head on the pillow, "It's too late now anyways, we're leaving without her before dawn."

"Yeah, who's all goin' anyways?"

"You, me, Rawr, Roho, Star Punch, Storm Shot, Saule, Nekros and a few of Chryses' troops."

"Shakes ain't gonna like bein' left behind."

"She won't be, she's going home."

He snorts, "She really ain't gonna like that."

"I don't care, she's not going to be here if another siege goes down."

He pauses for a long time before replying, "I know childhood is different in stables, but out here she's considered old enough t' take care of herself."

"I know," I mumble, "I just don't like it..."

***

"We got a fuckin' sky carriage," Rawr grumbles, "why we got t' walk?"

"Stealth," I reply, "now quit whining."

He recoils, offended, "Dogs don't fuckin' whine, don't ever fuckin' whine, stupid pony."

I snort, kicking a chunk of dirt back at him, Stripe shoves me, "Both of ya knock it the fuck off before I turn around an' stomp the shit outta ya."

"It's Chryses' mission anyways," Roho says, "I don't see why he has us doing it."

"Mentor is strange like that," one of the few Arcane Corps unicorns accompanying Nekros answers, locking onto him with her unsettlingly stony expression, "he sends many to do jobs he could easily accomplish on his own."

"Why?"

"To weed out the weak." Nekros replies, glancing back at me. "We should be quiet ahead, we're entering Fiend territory."

I snort, glancing about the dead forest surrounding us, "Place doesn't look very charred to me."

Storm Shot chuckles and nods ahead, "Wait til we get to the top of this hill."

I shrug and trudge the rest of the way, letting out a long whistle at the sight laid out in front of me. The Char Fields, black ash, scorched trees, and the burnt out remains of what used to be a city stretching on for miles.

Through my visor's binoculars I can spot a compound in the far horizon, a prison, with high concrete walls covered in razor-wire and spotlights, surrounded by intricate and heavily fortified trenches, its air space buzzing with odd looking propellered vehicles outfitted with long rifles and heavy machine guns.

The center of the city is engrossed in a massive battle. Fiends, hundreds of thousands. Paragon troops, better equipped and better trained than the ones I'd fought in the Divide, supported on the ground by assault outfitted auto carts and in the air by the flying vehicles at the prison. A third party, all pegasi, Enclave by the looks of them, swarming down from a massive ship peeking through the clouds, their heavy airborne vehicles lighting up everything on the ground while their troops engage Paragon pegasi in one-on-one combat.

I zoom back out and sigh, glancing back at my friends, "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us guys."

"Maybe sooner than expected..." Saule mutters, following something with her eyes.

I cock an eyebrow and turn, sighing again when I spot the trio of flying vehicles heading right for us, bulkier and more lightly armed than the ones in the fray below.

We all prep our weapons, but I take the crosshairs off the pilot's head when I notice all three are blue tic marks on my eyes forward, "Hold up, they're non-hostile."

The crafts move in on us, their dual propellers stirring up clouds of ash as they descend. The engines kick off as they land, and several Paragon troops pile out of each, forming a protective perimeter around a tall unicorn in familiar white riot armor.

I tense as the Marquise approaches me, glaring back at her cold stare. She looks me over and snorts, then nods back at the vehicle, "Get in te transport, ve have vork to do."
------
LEVEL UP!!!
New Perk: Sub-Organic Organism: You're- well, frankly we're not quite sure what the fuck you are, but hey, we love you anyways, have some passives.
+30% hp regeneration rate.
Poison immunity.
+10% RAD resistance.
More primitive turrets and robots have difficulty locking on to you.
------
Dear reader,
Holy piss, long wait, amiright? Anywho, gonna start hard charging on Chapter 13 now that the difficult part of my training is over, try to push it out as quickly as possible, hopefully end of May or early June.
Hope the tense change wasn't confusing, but present is just easier for me now.
Input more than welcome, as always, and I really appreciate y'all taking the time to read.

Deuces.
Bomber Ted.