Waking up in the early hours of the morning, I stretch out my legs and look to the hole in the roof to find that the rain has died down, leaving only gusts of wind which batter the wooden structure we've taken shelter in. Looking down at Velvet, I watch as she stirs slightly in her sleep. I can't help but smile as I look down at her, feeling a sense of comfort which I imagine I'll be feeling all too often in the near future with my own kids.

Leaning to the side, I grab the rations which Deka had left for me and begin to dig through my field pack for the hexi-cooker and begin to set it up in the free space between Rainbow and myself. With everything set, I place in the small fuel block and set it alight with a set of matches. With the heat building up on the cooker, I pour the last of my water into a mess tin and place it over the cooker to start boiling.

It seems that the heat is enough to wake up Velvet as she slowly opens her eyes to look at the source of the sudden warmth. "Morning," I say softly to her with a smile. "I'm making you something to eat. Are you hungry?" Velvet slowly nods her head as she rubs her eyes, her gaze turning to Rainbow alongside me who's snoring out loud.

Once the water has boiled, I place the ration pack into the water in order to heat it up for her. I'm not particularly worried about eating these rations. With the ponies being vegetarian, that also meant that their rations are fairly shit. I've been sure to get my rations straight from Griffonia for myself and the other Griffins in my unit, giving us a bit of meat and the traditional style MRE's I'm used to back home.

As the food slowly begins to heat up, I grab my own ration pack and take out the biscuits as I wait for my turn to heat up my food. It doesn't take long until Velvet's food heats up. Once it’s ready, I take it from the water and open the packet before emptying the contents into another mess tin. Once I pass it to Velvet, I begin to heat up my own food as she slowly begins to eat her breakfast.

The smell of the cooked food seems to wake up Rainbow as she releases a loud yawn as she stretches her legs. Lifting her head, she looks to the food before turning her attention to me. "What? You're not making me breakfast?" Rainbow teases as she slowly sits up.

"You're a grown girl," I reply as I watch my food cook. "You can cook your own breakfast. Besides, I doubt it will be long before we're moving out."

"True. But, what are we going to do about..." Rainbow pauses as she glances to Velvet who is too busy eating her breakfast.

I follow Rainbow's gaze before slowly running my hand through my hair. "We'll make a quick detour to Coltchester. Stop by one of the orphanages in town. Make sure she has somewhere safe to stay."

"Anywhere in particular?"

"I don't know. Wherever we can be sure is safe." Taking my food out of the boiling water, I open the packet and begin to eat the contents within. "The sooner we leave here, the better."

"The weather should clear up in an hour or so. We'll be able to fly with chariots then to get everypony back to base."

I nod my head, "Good."

As I return to my breakfast and Rainbow begins to put on her kit, Shining steps around the corner and up to the both of us. "We've had an uneventful night, apart from a sighting of a Diamond Dog on the hills to the south."

"What were they doing? Performing a reccy on us?"

"Seems so," Shining confirms as he steps in front of me. "They were there for a couple of minutes then headed off before we could intercept."

I rub my chin as I release a sigh. "You think they're gonna try something? Gonna try to access the gems below the farms?"

"Maybe. We'll keep a detachment of guards here to keep an eye on things. Use this location as an outpost to operate from.” Shining paces on the wooden boards between me and Rainbow as he looks down at me and Velvet.

I follow his gaze to her. "I'll take Velvet someplace safe before returning to the FOB." As Velvet finishes her food, I take the mess tin from her and place it on the side. Grabbing my kit, I keep a hold of her as I slowly rise to my feet. Rainbow simultaneously joins me as I stand alongside Shining. "Come on. Lets ge-"

Without warning, the floorboards below us gives a heavy creak as the wooden panels snap. I find myself tumbling down a steep tunnel which leads almost directly downwards, my arms and hands keeping Velvet close me to in an attempt to cushion the fall for her. Without a helmet, my head repeatedly collides with the stone walls, my vision becoming blurred as my ears ring with every movement.

As we enter total darkness my back collides against the solid floor, the wind being knocked out of me as the metal of the armour warps inwards and puts pressure on my chest. At the same time as I hit the floor, two other forms land alongside me as the tunnel we fell through becomes filled with debris, a series of large stones acting as a makeshift blockade and preventing them from landing on top of me.

Groaning, I lift my head and try to look down at Velvet as she coughs, only to find myself unable to see her in the pitch black. After a few seconds, a purple aura fills the cavern and illuminates the area. Looking to the other forms, I find both Rainbow and Shining around me as they both recover from the fall.

"Are you okay?" I ask Velvet as I cough from the dust.

"Y-yeah," She responds shakily as she looks at me.

Letting go of her, Velvet stands up alongside me as I stumble to my feet, my head spinning from the various impacts. Much to my surprise, I'm unable to find any cuts along my head to find any bleeding injuries. The same can't be said for Shining as I notice a sizeable gash along the side of his neck. "Are you alright?" I ask as I help him onto his hooves

"A little dinged up," Shining responds with a groan, "But I'm okay." He turns his gaze upwards to the caved in tunnel we passed through.

Rainbow wipes her flight suit of the dust as she looks at me. "What happened? How did we fall through the floor of a barn?"

"T-that was mined through... Diamond Dogs."

"We're in their tunnels?" Rainbow asks Shining with some alarms as she pivots on the spot, looking at the numerous passages that lead elsewhere.

"Seems so."

"How much you want to bet that this wasn't an accident?" I query as I adjust my rifle and place it over my back. "This must have been planned out."

"More than likely." Shining paces past us and examines a tunnel which leads to the side followed by a shallow incline. "We need to reach the surface. None of the other tunnels are large enough for us to go through. This way is our only option."

Drawing my pistol, I step in front of Shining and wait at the entrance of the passage, "Agreed." Taking a couple of steps in, I soon find myself having to duck in order to prevent my head from hitting the jagged rocks that hang overhead. "I'll take point. Shining, stick behind and provide some light and keep Velvet close to you. Rainbow, watch the rear and make sure nobody sneaks up behind us."

"You can hardly fit in there," Rainbow points out. "Shouldn't one of us lead?"

"You can't hold a pistol and Shining has a head injury. We shouldn't strain him, not to mention he's also the one giving us any light."

"What about your rifle?" Shining asks as Velvet steps close to him. "Why aren't you using that?"

"Because a pistol is better for up close and personal. The rifle may be short but it'll be difficult to navigate these small passages with it." Using my hand against the walls and ceiling, I struggle to squeeze through the narrow gaps as we gradually climb up an unstable dirt slope, the stones and mud underneath sliding away below my feet with each step.

It doesn't take long until the ground levels out, the walls closing in even further making it even more of a struggle to move through the gap. Turning my body to the side, I try my best to shimmy through the passage with the pistol held in front to engage any Dog's that decide to try and come after us. As we reach the end, I slowly begin to exit as the tunnel opens up into a large chamber, only for my hand to be immediately grabbed and for me to be yanked out with force.

Rolling over the dirt, I lose my grip of the pistol as it drops to the floor. Frantically rolling onto my knees, I jump up to my feet and stare down at a Diamond Dog directly in front of me. Not being able to reach my pistol I instead opt to draw my sword and active the rune in order to engulf the blade in the arcane flames, illuminating the entire passage.

Charging the one that took hold of me, I swiftly lunge the blade directly towards his gut causing him to jump backwards in order to dodge the sword. With his back now against the passage where we came from, Shining rears onto his hind legs and wraps his forehooves around the Dog's neck in an attempt to choke him out. The Dog falls forward with Shining on top of him allowing me to rapidly turn to find a group of three ready to attack me.

Before I can act, the one on the left is quickly engaged as Rainbow leaps over my left shoulder and tackles the Dog before taking out her sword to engage him. Leaving me with two targets, I prepare my stance in order to counter their incoming attacks.

With the pair simultaneously charging for me, I dive towards the one o the left and lower my body. Turning as I move, I slam my back into his chest in an attempt to restrict his swinging arch in order to engage me. With him temporarily unable to strike me, I twist the blade in my hand and thrust it behind me, piercing his chest with ease as the hot steel burns through his flesh.

As he falls backwards, I quickly jerk my head to the side as the second Dog swipes for my head with his razor-sharp claws. Rolling to the side, I stop on my knees before sprinting directly towards him. As he begins to unleash a succession of rapid strikes I'm able to bring up my sword and slap the flat edge of the blade against his paws, blocking each of his attacks whilst causing him to frantically pull back as the flames severely burn him.

With his ability to strike me reduced, I deliver a swift kick to his shin, knocking his leg to the side before I elbow him in the side of the head. Knocking him to the ground, I step onto his back and plunge my blade downwards, punching straight through the back of his skull. With his movements ceased, I withdraw the blade and look to Rainbow as she finishes off her own opponent by dragging her own blade across his chest.

With her target incapacitated and both of mine eliminated, we step back towards Shining as he climbs off the Dog he took down to the floor.

Panting for breath, he looks back at Velvet before meeting Rainbow and me in the middle of the passage. "Who knows how many of them are down here."

Before I can answer him, we hear a number of voices shouting from a large tunnel to the left of us before a group of Diamond Dogs run through to meet us. "A fuck tonne!" I shout out as I jump to the route we came through and grab my pistol from the floor as I roll through the dirt. Quickly sitting up, I take aim and fire rapidly at the first of the group. As the first few drop to the floor, the rest quickly retreat back into the tunnel they emerged from. "Rainbow, take point! Shining, behind her and keep Velvet close! I've got the rear!"

"Where the buck are we gonna go?!" Rainbow responds as she looks at the numerous passages which lead off in various directions.

As another Dog tries to peer around the corner and take a shot at me with a crossbow, I preemptively fire and hit the wall next to him, causing his shot at me to go wide. "Anywhere but here!"

Picking the opposite passage to where the Dogs are trying to rush at us, Rainbow quickly runs ahead with Shining and Velvet close behind. Back peddling behind them, I continue to fire off a shot every few seconds in order to keep the advancing horde at bay. It's only when I start losing light and realise that I'm lagging behind the others that I turn and run after them. Firing another round behind me, the slide locks to the rear as the magazine empties. Attempting to reload as I sprint, I fail to catch the magazine as I remove it, causing it to clatter to the floor and vanish in the dark behind me.

Due to the distance between myself and the others, I'm forced to sprint at full speed in order to keep within the edge of the light as Rainbow leads us through a network which seems to continuously rise and turn. When the light stops moving, I slide to a halt as I find the trio stood at an opening which seems to hang over a large chamber. Coming to a stop, my eyes widen as I realise that we're stood on a makeshift platform above a group of what must be thirty Dogs armed with old Griffonian rifles and crossbows aimed directly at us.

Pivoting on the spot, the group which was pursuing us are gathered within the rock walls of the passage with swords at the ready. It's only when a purple shield surrounds us that I'm able to catch my breath as I finally have an opportunity to try and think of a way out of here. Holstering my pistol, I swing my rifle around and grasp onto it as I look around the rest of the room. Approximately fifteen metres across the way is another elevated stone platform which has a rope ladder leading up a vertical tunnel which will hopefully take us to the surface, a way out.

"Well isn't this a cosy reunion?" A deep voice laughs from below along with the sound of clapping. Looking down at the source, I narrow my eyes to find the Griffin which I had hoped I killed, Silverwing. Raising my rifle I take aim at him, ready to fire when the shield drops. My actions only get him to laugh as he shakes his head. "That isn't a smart idea. Besides" -A series of green flashes illuminate the shadows as a trio of Griffins that look like Silverwing step out- "How do you know that you're aiming at the real Silverwing."

"Because the real one is full of himself. I can safely say that I'm aiming at the real one. So tell your bugs to drop the act."

The two of us stare at one another before he chuckles, "Smart guy." Turning his head to the identical copies of himself, he gives them a nod. The trio quickly drops their disguises in another sickly green flash, revealing their black carapaces. "I must admit, you have a knack of being a thorn in my side. Even now you somehow stumble across me."

"I've been known to be a shit magnet." Lowering my rifle and resting the butt against my hip, I briefly glance to the others as I try to think of a way to escape. "So what's the plan this time? Try and get the Diamond Dogs to invade or some shit?"

"You're not gonna get me monologuing, this isn't some sappy movie or book. All you need to know is that you'd better not underestimate the power and influence I have here-"

"-Your power and influence is a crock of shit. You attempted to overthrow the Government of Griffonia and return it to the 'old ways'. You failed and lost all your power within Griffonia, so you've come here and are attempting to influence those who have been moved away from their homes... just like you."

Silverwing lifts his talon, stroking his beak as he watches me with intrigue as I take out my phone with my left hand. "You shouldn't underestimate what the Diamond Dogs are capable of. Your government stuck them out here, tore them away from their homes and left them to fend for themselves of the edge of some godforsaken desert. They built settlements and communities underground and you took what little they had."

I cock a brow as the Dogs begin to mutter agreements with one another. As I continue to watch Silverwing, I begin to type a message into my phone with my left hand as I occasionally glance at the screen. "And what? You promised them salvation and the chance to return to their homes if they help you?"

"They're a strong group, capable of giving your military a run for its money. However, they lack leadership and organisation. I can give them just that. Lead them to tear apart your nation, just like Equestria did to the Griffin Empire. Equestria likes interfering with everyone business when it doesn't concern them. We're going to show them the error of their ways. It's all for the greater good."

"The greater good?"

"The greater good," A group of Diamond Dogs repeat from down below.

"Shut it!" I shout at them before looking back at Silverwing. "So you get yourself an army. They may not share your ideas but they're willing to fight alongside you in order to get some revenge of their own."

Holding my phone in front of Shining, I show him the screen in order for him to see the message I typed out for him.

Can you teleport us across the way to get access to the ladder? Tap your hoof once for yes, twice for no.

Upon reading the message, Shining taps his forehoof on the stone floor below him. Pocketing my phone, I step to the edge and look at the Changelings. "And what part do the bugs have in this? Why would they follow you?"

"Maybe it's what their Queen has commanded of them," Silverwing starts as he chuckles. "Maybe it is not a Queen and a Changeling King who ordered them to assist me. Or they could just be acting on their own accord. That's the fun thing, you'll never know. There is also no way for you to know how many of them have already infiltrated Equestria. They can form almost anyone they want."

To emphasise his point, the trio quickly changes form before my very eyes. The one on the left impersonating Rainbow Dash, the one on the right mimicking Shining Armor and the last one deciding to push my buttons by taking the form of Luna. Looking at me, the Changeling is able to speak in her voice, "What's the matter, fiance? Don't you love me anymore?" It teases as it begins to laugh.

I narrow my eyes as I look at that one with a sense of hatred, my grip tightening on my rifle. They're able to pull off perfect copies of those they're imitating, the only exception is the fact that they're left without any of the clothing or armour the real versions of the copies are wearing.

"You guys really think that I wouldn't notice someone trying to take Luna's place? She is capable of all manner of shit that your little brains can't comprehend." I step back to Velvet as I pick her up. Whispering in her ear, I hold her close to me, "I need you to hold tight onto my neck." When she looks at me, I move her around so that she is pressed against my back with her forelegs wrapped around my neck and shoulders.

"You know, I find it adorable," Silverwing teases as he rests his talon on the back of the Changeling that is impersonating Luna. "The only one of his kind, marrying the Princess of the land. It's like a fairytale. I wonder how she'll feel when her one true love dies on the battlefield, especially when she sent him away to fight." He chuckles as he shakes his head. "She’d likely go into a fit of rage and be overwhelmed with guilt. I wonder if she'd return to her true self, reveal her true colours once again... losing herself to Nightmare Moon."

"You should have learnt by now. I'm hard to kill."

"Everyone can die. And you are somebody who I'm really eager to see with a slit throat."

Lifting my left hand, I give him the universal symbol to fuck off. "Then you'd better come and catch me." With a brief flash, my head spins as the world shifts around us in the blink of an eye. Recovering before the Dog's below are able to figure out where we moved to, I aim at the crowd at the passage where we came from and open fire. The rapid automatic fire from my rifle shreds the group, piercing their flesh and tearing chunks out of them as they collapse to the floor. As soon as I stop firing, Shining throws the shield all around us again, leaving an opening at the top for us to climb the ladder.

"Rainbow, up top, now!" Following my order, she flies as fast as she physically can up the passage, quickly followed by Shining as he starts to climb. Turning back to Silverwing, I give him a mock salute as I grin, "Auf wiedersehen." Letting my rifle fall against my chest, I grasp onto the rope ladder and begin to climb as quickly as I can behind Shining.

It takes us a minute before we start to see a bright light illuminating the top of the passage, it doesn't take long after that until we finally find ourselves at the top of the tunnel. Climbing out, I let Velvet jump off of my back and onto the sand. Reaching the top and waiting at the top, I aim down the router we came from and find a series of Dog's nearing the top. Firing off the last of the magazine, the ones on the top lose their grip and fall down the tunnel, knocking down the others behind them.

With a few seconds to catch my breath, I draw my sword and cut the rope of the ladder sending it tumbling down along with any Dogs that were still able to keep their grip. Standing back up, I sheath the sword and begin to reload my rifle as I try to figure out where we are. We appear to have surfaced in the middle of a series of hills, numerous large rock faces and ravines which restrict our movement and act as natural barriers with a sharp drop being the only way down, giving us the only option to travel upwards.

Kneeling alongside Velvet, I keep a hold of my rifle as I take out my canteen and offer her the last of my water. "Are you okay?"

Velvet slowly takes the Canteen from my hand as she looks at my rifle with distrust. "What is that? It's... loud."

I glance at my rifle before returning my gaze to her, "It's my weapon from my homeworld. You don't need to worry about it. Only I know how to use it properly and it is to keep us safe." As she finished the water, I take the empty canteen back from her and place it back into my webbing. "I'm not going to let them hurt you or anyone else. Okay?" Velvet nods as I take a hold of her. Lifting her up, I move her so that she is able to climb onto my back and keep a hold of me by wrapping her forehooves around my neck.

With Velvet keeping a hold of me, I step up to Shining as Rainbow finishes wrapping a small bandage around the cut on Shining's head. "So, what's the plan?" I ask as I look to the Major.

"We'll have to make our way up," He states as he points to a small path leading between the rocks and slowly climbs up the side of the hill. "Rainbow Dash can fly ahead and scout the way from above, making sure there are no Diamond Dogs or Changelings in our way."

As Rainbow nods her head and prepares to take off, I reach out with my hand and take a hold of her back to stop her. "Not to put a dampener on the plan, but maybe it would be best if she just went overhead for now and make sure we've got nobody sneaking up on us before we move. We shouldn't separate with the Dogs on our asses. I bet you that they're still coming after us and will have more routes to reach the-"

As if on cue, a crossbow bolt soars between Shining and me and embeds itself on the dirt at my feet. Pivoting, I follow the source of a series of shouts to find a group of Diamond Dog's preparing their crossbows with a second group sprinting to the left in order to reach the path to cut us off.

"Shining!" As I call to him, I take out my pistol and pass to him. As he takes it in his magic, I take aim at the advancing group as he focuses on those overhear. "You only have seventeen shots and no spare mags!" As soon as I hear him fire off a shot, I take aim at the leading Dogs as he charges down and rushes at me on all fours. Compressing the trigger, I fire off a single shot which pierces his foreleg, sending him tumbling off to the side as I adjust my aim to those behind him.

Firing fully automatic, I'm able to quickly rinse those at the front of the cluster while the others quickly leap off to the sides to find cover from the barrage. "You two, on me!" I bark at Rainbow and Shining as I begin to push up the path. Taking the momentary pause of the enemy advance, I reach into my webbing and quickly draw my rifle bayonet before fixing it onto the muzzle of the weapon.

Moving as quickly as I can whilst keeping aim up the pathway, I fire off the occasional round as those who jumped for cover begin to peer around the rocks to find an opportunity to lunge at us. With debris and bullet fragments pinging off the large rocks around them, they instead opt to retreat back up the way they came and quickly run out of sight, leaving us to fight those with ranged weapons up above.

Taking a knee as the climb begins to level out, I fire off the last of my magazine at those who stood overhead, sending a number of them tumbling over the side and the rest dropping to the floor as Shining runs past me. Promptly following him, I reload my rifle as Rainbow begins to fly ahead, occasionally dropping down below the various natural barricades before resurfacing.

As we continue to rush as quickly as we can, the sounds of gunshots crack through the air as dirt is thrown up around my feet. Stealing a quick back glance, I find a number of Diamond Dogs who have now decided to come after us using weapons which they had captured, old Griffonian muskets and the rare Dog armed with a Valkyrie bolt action rifle which they likely captured during the attack on Coltchester.

"We need to get out of here or we'll be picked off!" Shining exclaims from ahead of me as he attempts to throw up a shield, only for it to falter from the incoming fire.

"What's happening with the shield!? I've seen you hold back an artillery barrage!"

Shining pants as he tries his best not to stumble over the loose stones under his hooves. "I-I'm not used to teleporting! It takes it out of me! The head wound also isn't helping!"

"Fuck!" I exclaim as a round hits a rock alongside me, sending small amounts of debris against my face. "We need the others to find us!"

"I have an idea!" Rainbow shouts from overhead. "I'll be right back!" Without any hesitation, she immediately begins to climb, flying straight up into the sky overhead. Almost stumbling, I tear my eyes away from her as I begin to weave between a series of dead trees which lie on either side of a small dried out stream as we begin to finally make out way down a small slope of the hill.

As I begin to run along the dried up stream, a bright flash fills the air around us, followed shortly by a monumental thunderous bang. Losing my footing from the sudden eruption overhead, I slide over the floor on my knees and roll into a small ditch, causing Velvet to fall alongside me before I finally come to a stop with my back impacting the floor.

Looking up, my eyes widen in disbelief as I notice the figure of Rainbow Dash high in the sky with a series of prismatic shockwaves rippling through the sky. As she flies out from the shock waves she is followed by a trail behind here which seems to be joined at the epicentre of the explosion that took place overhead. What... the actual fuck... was that!? Was that the Sonic Rainboom she boasted about when I first came to Equestria?

Snapping myself out of my trance, I roll onto my side and look at Velvet as she shakes a large gathering of dust from her mane. "Are you hurt?" I ask her as I take a hold of my rifle.

"I-I'm okay," She stammers as she looks up at Rainbow flying overhead.

Sitting up, I take aim at a group of Diamond Dogs in the distance as Shining jumps into the ditch alongside me. Pulling the trigger, the rifle only fires one round before failing to fire. Turning it to the side, I notice that a large gathering of dirt and earth has made its way into the ejection port, jamming the magazine and preventing the magazine from feeding correctly.

I hear Shining groan as he sits alongside me, leaning back against the natural wall of the ditch. "I bet the others will have seen that." As I try to clear the jam, Shining lets out a groan as I finally realise he'd been hit with a bolt in his hind leg. Looking down at his own injury, he releases a heavy breath as he tries to throw up another shield around us. "We haven't got long. You won't be able to carry me out of here."

Finally clearing the blockage, I remove the sling of my rifle and look around at the Diamond Dogs as they seem to be distracted by the light show in the sky overhead. "I can take them," Davies states confidently in my head. "Give the Rupert your rifle and let me go out there. You haven't exactly got much choice."

Knowing that my options are limited and that the Dog's won't be distracted for long, I reluctantly hold my rifle out to Shining. "You know how to use this?" Shining reluctantly nods as he takes the rifle in his magic, simultaneously pulling my empty Glock from underneath his armour and resting it on the floor.

Removing my webbing as quickly as I can, I drop it alongside him so that he can get access to my magazines. "Magazine release is on the left side of the housing. Press that and pull the mag to remove it, then put another in. Push the bolt release catch on the left of the butt down and tap the cocking handle forward to make it ready."

"What are you doing?" Shining asks with a pained his as he looks at the buttons I just walked him through.

"Something you're probably not gonna like." Closing my eyes, I try my hardest to focus as I give Davies the order out loud, "You know what to do."

"It's about fucking time!"

My hands clasp as I'm able to quickly take control. Unlike usual, I only find myself in a little discomfort as my muscles finally relax and allow me to fully control my body. With a fiendish grin, I turn to Shining who quickly recoils upon seeing my eyes. "Missed me?" I mockingly ask him as I reach out to the SA80 and pull the bayonet free from the end of the weapon.

Standing up I move my head from side to side, causing my neck to audibly crack. Pointing at the shield, I click my fingers until Shining finally realises what I want and collapses it long enough so I can sprint out into the open. Finding the first trio of Dogs who are still distracted by Rainbow's lightshow, I rush up a large boulder alongside them in order to drop directly in the centre of them.

Taking the group off guard, I swiftly eliminate one of the threats by bringing my knife along the largest's throat in a backhand motion, causing him to instantly slump back as blood spurts from his neck and covers the others around him as he frantically looks at them to help.

With the last two in shock, I decide to quickly incapacitate the tan-furred dog by stamping on his shin with all my might. The force of the impact is enough to fragment the bone with a resounding crack, the bone protruding from the flesh as it escapes it’s housing. With him crying in agony as he collapses to the floor in a heap, I leisurely turn to the last one and give him the biggest shit eating grin I can muster.

Mockingly, I point to the floor in front of me and click my fingers. "Sit!" I order to him like a domesticated pet as I stare him down. Much to my amusement, he releases his weapon and kneels in front of me, cowering in terror as his eyes remain locked on me. "Good boy," I laugh as I rotate the knife in my hand so that the blade is pointing out in the same direction as my pinky finger.

Rather stupidly of him, I notice his paw reaching for a small shiv what has been tucked away in the front of his belt. Reacting faster than him, I slam my knife against the top of his skull in a chopping motion. With the blade lodged in his head, I use my free hand and hammer it in further with one solid strike, causing the entirety of the steel and the majority of the handle to drill through the bone and into the delicate organ inside. Pulling it free, I casually step to the side as he collapses forward and impacts with the dusty ground.

Shaking the dripping blood from the knife, I turn my focus to the tan Dog and step over him. Swiftly forcing my boot against his muzzle, the force is strong enough to knock him out as a series of teeth are forcibly ejected from his mouth. Looking down at his unconscious form, I cock a brow as I find a captured Griffonian revolver tucked underneath his cloak. Leaning down, I take control of the weapon and pull the cocking hammer to the rear with my left thumb.

Stepping to the side, a loud thud and a plume of dust kicking up around me puts me on alerts as I quickly pivot and aim the revolver. Quickly realising that it was just Rainbow as she finally landes, I swiftly pull the revolver back and turn away from her and look towards the next group who are quickly advancing. "I could see the farm in the distance," Rainbow announces as she catches her breath. "They'll know we're here and their Pegasi will be here in the next few minutes."

"Good," Strolling through the cloud of dust and sand, I look to a pair of Dogs and a Changeling as they try to set up on the ridge above us. "Until then, I'm gonna have some fun..." Firing a cartridge at the Dog with the heaviest armour, the powerful .44 calibre is able to tear through his shoddy breastplate like a hot knife through butter, his armour tearing open and sending rusty shrapnel into the freshly made wound.

With the other Dog aiming a musket towards me, he tries to fire off his round before me. He's able to succeed but is off target as his musket ball hits the floor almost a metre away from me. Shrugging off his poor attack, I once again pull the cocking hammer back with my thumb and immediately fire back at him. Unlike him, I'm able to hit my target as the bullet tears through his gut.

Not wanting to give me another chance to shoot, I'm instantly charged at by the Changeling as he leaps from his high ground and dives straight for me. Sidestepping, I'm able to dodge his strike as I instinctively slash at him with my knife. Much to my surprise, I'm able to hit his wing, tearing the delicate appendage and restricting his ability to fly as he collides with the floor.

Stepping up to him as he remains dazed, I press my boot against the top of his spine and laugh. "You should probably learn this, but humans are notoriously disgusted by bugs. We take no better pride than crushing one of you creepy crawlies." With that, I lift my over foot and force it down with all of my might against the rear of his skull. To my surprise, it doesn't knock him out, his exoskeleton seeming to protect the brain within, yet only just being able to withstand the impact.

"The only good bug is a dead bug." With that, I shuffle my foot away from the rear of his head and replace it with a .44 penetrating the reinforced carapace and dashing straight through the brain matter within. Jogging along the route where the group emerged from, I kneel down behind a dead tree and observe another group of four Dogs which are approximately fifteen metres away. Further back is a larger gathering of enemies who aren't in a position to engage me once I close the gap between the first group.

Before I advance, Rainbow moves alongside me and looks at the surrounding area. "John? You're not really going to charge them, are you?"

I nod my head as I keep the revolver at the ready. Not wanting to give them the opportunity to notice me, I sprint at full speed with the weapon held out directly in front of me. As soon as the sights line up with the largest of the group, I compress the trigger and send him to the floor as the bullet tears through his shin, taking his leg from underneath him. Closing the gap as the rest turn to me, I ram my full body weight into the closest target and jam the barrel of the revolver into his abdomen.

With the barrel pressing against his flesh, I cock the hammer and fire off the round before repeating the process and firing a second round, sending blood and small chunks of flesh ejecting from his back as he falls to the floor. Hearing one of the opponents taking a swing at me from behind, I instinctively duck and perform a sweeping kick, taking his legs out from underneath him and causing his back to collide with the floor. With him on the floor and winded, I turn to the last Diamond Dog as she turns a crossbow and aims it at my chest at point blank range.

Swinging my arm to the side, I knock the weapon off course as she pulls the trigger, sending the bolt into the paw of the Dog I initially downed as I charged them, pinning the appendage to the floor as the bolt penetrates his flesh and buries itself into the dirt floor.

When I turn back to face her, she backhands me with her paw, the tips of her claws scratching my cheeks. When she tries to slash at me again, I point my knife upwards and intercept her strike, forcing her paw to impale itself on the blade with the force of her strike. Screaming as the serrated steel pushes itself into her muscle, I lift my boot and force it against her gut to knock her back, the impact forcing her paw away from the blade, causing it to tear more of her muscle.

Before I can advance on her to finish her off, the Dog that I kicked to the floor pulls me down by the leg and quickly jumps on top of me. With him pinning my body, he's about to slash for my throat before Rainbow delivers the same move she did when we first met; flying for the Dog, she turns at the last minute in the air to force her hind legs into his head. With him thrown from on top of me, Rainbow continues to engage him as I turn to the one armed with a crossbow as she holds it as a makeshift club to engage me.

Standing still as she stares at me, I remain stationary as I wait for her to charge. Coming for me, she swings the butt of the crossbow for my head, which I'm able to easily dodge by lowering my head and sidestepping, simultaneously slashing the blade of the knife against the rear of her knee, causing the leg to buckle. As she tries to swing again, I grab ahold of her arm and force the blade into the inside of her elbow, slicing the tendon which causes her to release the weapon which slides off to the side.

Not wanting to let her continue fighting, I jam the knife into the centre of her sternum, puncturing her heart. Noticing that Rainbow was just finishing up her own fight, I notice a group of Pegasi flying overhead as they've likely come to investigate Rainbow's light show, giving us some reinforcements. I look for the large Dog that I initially shot in the shin and notice him trying to reach for the crossbow that is laying on the floor.

Stepping in front of him, he freezes and looks at me as I point the revolver at his head. "I know what you're thinking, 'did he fire six shots or only five?'. Well, to tell you the truth, in all of this excitement I kinda lost track myself. Buddy, this is a .44, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off. You've got to ask yourself one question. 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?" Staring at me with uncertainty, his paw no longer moves as he finds himself to reluctant to try reaching for the weapon.

Placing the knife inside my belt I lean down and grab the crossbow with my free hand. Leaning closer, I press the revolver against his forehead and pull the hammer back before compressing the trigger, causing the weapon to click as there are no more rounds contained within it. Chuckling, I stand back up as a group of Wonderbolts land alongside me as others continue to pick off the Diamond Dogs which are scattered around the area.

Stepping away from them in order to return to Shining to get my kit back, I throw the crossbow away as I decide to keep the revolver for myself. "You should let me out more often," I say out loud to John. "You never let me have any fun."

"There's a reason I'm a little... reluctant." John replies inside my head with some trepidation. "What you said just then to that Dog, was that-"

"-It was," I chuckle as I rest my hand on the knife.

"That's sad."

"Says the guy who quoted The Evil Dead."

John remains silent for a moment, "Touche."

Grimacing, I retake control of my body as I continue to return to Velvet and Shining. Watching as other groups of Wonderbolts and Army Pegasi fly overhead to surround the area, I pace along the dirt floor as I return to the dried-up stream. Seeing Shining's shield drop in the distance, I watch as he limps out of the ditch with Velvet alongside him.

I need to find her somewhere safe for her to stay.