“...Come again?” I stared absently at Ionic Bond.

Apparently not one to repeat herself, Ionic Bond ended the hoof shake and motioned for us to follow. “Technically the Pip-Buck is the missing component but it had to be attached to an earth pony.” She sprung into a monologue as she walked us deeper inside the labs. “I cannot believe the odds of you showing up, it would be like finding a vein of astatine after moments into an excavation.” She snorted. “Could you imagine?”

“I literally can't,” Gale teased.

The mares guarding the door stared us down. The blue one made sure to keep a lot of distance between us as we passed. Her body had scattered bruises and not until I saw her from the side did I notice the size of her stomach, she was pregnant.

We turned and what revealed itself stopped me in my tracks. Terrified foals and mares filled the lab, most of the mares were in different states of pregnancy while the foals stayed hidden behind them. A pile of dead raiders in sickly green armor were stacked against a wall.

“Just past here,” Ionic Bond chirped in a peppy voice, unaffected by the sight. “We heard rumors that most of Pandora’s Children were leaving today. The goal was to move slow and quiet before they could notice but it seems some ponies decided to make a ruckus and botch up our plan.”

What? They can still get out of the back exit I saw in the blueprint.

Ionic Bond took a seat at a desk with a terminal and camera feeds of the hallways. Pandora’s Children knew we were in here, the lieutenant with the metal claws was outside the door ordering the other raiders around. Ionic Bond frowned but her voice remained optimistic. “I'm assuming your plan was to escape via the secret exit down here.”

My brow furrowed. “How did you-”

“Well too bad, they blew the tunnel ages ago. Nothing left but a mile of rubble.”

Shit! Wait, so they are all trapped here because of us?

Gale tilted his head. “I don’t quite get what's happening?”

“We are all trapped,” I explained. “They planned a prison break and our escape ruined theirs.”

“At least you’re quick on the uptake,” Ionic Bond praised, “But I'm a prisoner, they are breeding stock. I might actually recover from this but they have been tortured far beyond…” Ionic Bond lost all joy in her voice as she slumped down. “Their leader has a thing for logistics and planning for the long term.”

The eyes on most of the pregnant mares were sunken and void. The blue mare who had been guarding the door was now passing out food. She placed the cans next to the mares, being careful to avoid any physical contact. Most of them hardly noticed, they were completely detached from the things going on around them. Even on the day of their planned escape they had not bothered to hope for freedom.

I clenched my jaw as if I had just been called barmaid. “You said I could get us out of here, how?”

Ionic Bond lit up and jumped from her seat. “I'm not entirely sure what this place is, but they were building weapon prototypes designed by a genius.” She flipped a few switches on a control panel and yellow lights flashed as a hole in the ground opened up.

A thin mist rose up as a platform in the middle of the room opened. A platform raised to fill the gap, carrying a massive metal suit. Thick armor plating equal to that of a sentinel covered every square inch. A large gun with three barrels had been mounted to one side and a grenade launcher to the other. It somewhat resembled the steel ranger suit, just on steroids. Considering how Nibble treated her rocket launcher I can only imagine the things she would do to this marvel.

“Aren't you a prisoner?” I asked perplexed.

“Was, I'll be dead before I'm that again. They assigned me to get things like this operational. Which is ridiculous. See the mark?” She pointed at her flank. “I'm a chemist, not an engineer. They thought they could just throw any pony with a lab coat at the issue and they'll figure it out. I mean, I did… but that's not the point!”

I re-phrased the question, “Why would they trust a prisoner to fix weapons?”

“Well I can't use it.” She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. “This model wasn't built to handle unicorns, also requires a Pip-Buck. The other thing I got working couldn't be operated by one pony. Heck not even with all the prisoners. The majority of Pandora’s Children may be as dense as platinum but their leader knows what he's doing. He is more like iron… No, more flexible and quick to adapt, maybe gold? Well he could be-”

“Okay, okay.” I waved a hoof to get her to stop talking.

“Sorry it's been forever since I've been able to talk to somepony normally, you know, without the usual threats and demands. Could you undress?”

“What! why?”

“The suit is form fitting and connects with you to read vitals. Wearing armor would interfere with that.”

Right, that makes sense. I nodded and removed my battle saddle, saddle bag, and barding. Holding the leather armor almost frightened me. Gale wasn't kidding when he said I needed new armor. The thing was riddled with holes, cuts, and blood stains, a large hole in both sides brought an unpleasant skewering memory to mind. I tossed the rags away and hoped the memory would go with it.

Gale poked at the the metal tail of the suit. “I thought Steel Rangers required months of training before being able to handle these things?”

“Yes, but not this one.” Ionic Bond jumped into her seat and opened up multiple text files on her terminal. “Like I said, designed by a genius. The spell matrix in the suit cooperates with the spell matrix in the Pip-Buck, and it's not additive it's multiplicative!” She turned to us with her eyebrows raised and a wide smile. Gale and I looked at each other and shrugged. The scientist sighed.

A muted explosion shook the ground and the lights went out. The children and mares cried out in horror, but a moment later the lights were replaced with spinning red strobes. Ionic Bond wheeled her seat over to view the camera feed as it flickered back on.

“It okay!” she avowed in an attempt to calm everypony. “They tried to force their way in so the blast doors activated. We have a while before they get through those.”

The whimpers of the adults ended, replaced with soothing coos in an attempt to calm the still crying foals.

“You said your name was Ardent?” Ionic Bond confirmed. “Here is what you need to know. The lifespan of this things is an hour, at best. Less whenever you use one of its abilities, and there’s like.” She bobbed her head as she mentally counted “Ninety two.”

My ears dropped. “How am I-”

“I have a spell.” Ionic tapped at her horn. “Before I get it started I can give you everything I know in a moment. Just realize each ability you use affects the battery life. The connection between the spell matrices is amazing but burns out fast. This thing was built to do massive damage in a short amount of time. You need to blast a hole for us to escape in that time. Got it?”

Realization dropped on me like a quarry eel. She expected me to get in that suit and save them. It is literally all up to me. My mouth hung open as I tried to come up with something to say.

“Good, no pressure.” Ionic Bond patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry there’s always the chance I fail to get it up and running before they break through.” She left to plug in various wires into the suit and hit a button near the left shoulder. Interlocking metal along the chest and head snapped open. The armor splayed apart like the maw of a large monster, the inside covered in black padding. The metal reached out like it wanted to grab somepony. Ionic Bond rummaged around inside the armor.

“Let's hope with two Pip-Bucks you'll never have to actually aim.” Gale laughed.

He could have been trying to lighten the mood in his own way, or maybe just thought we were doomed; either way the crushing weight of responsibility weighed just as heavy. I turned to him, ready to ask if he thought I could pull this off but was flooded with a sense of deja-vu as a sharp pinching pain stabbed into my flank. I looked back to see a syringe with a glowing white liquid empty into my body.

“Ionic, what the fu-” A surge of power ripped through me. I dug my hooves in place and felt immovable.

“Oh no,” I whispered, knowing what was about to happen. Sure enough, a jumble of images flashed and I lost consciousness.

I spread my legs, squared my shoulders, and took in a deep breath. On the exhale I bit down on the trigger and the rifles on my battle saddle fired. After I recentered from the recoil I fired again and again until the clip emptied. I flicked a switch and the paper target came closer for inspection. Four of the six shots had landed within the center red circle, the other two within the circle after that.

“Not bad,” Bolo bemused. He tilted his target, you could barely tell it had been shot six times given the single hole in the dead center.

“How did you get that nickname again?” I asked.

“Our platoon had an ironic theme.”

The doors to the shooting range slammed open. An orange mare with three apples for a cutie mark stormed out with a unicorn who struggled to keep up. Bolo and I held a salute as the ministry mare passed.

“Please Miss Applejack, you have a meeting,” the unicorn said, trying to slow Applejack down

“To hell wit’ it,” Applejack spat. “I got other matters to attend.”

“At least bring an escort,” the assistant pleaded.

Applejack paused. “Fine.” She spotted Bolo and I. “You two with me, we’re goin’ for a ride.”

“Yes ma’am,” we replied and unison.

Bolo glanced at me, a glance that held a thousand questions, but questions are for the higher ups, our job is to follow orders. I obeyed and took to Applejack’s right side. Bolo wisely followed my lead without question and took to her left. Applejack marched straight out of the building and into a carriage. Bolo and I sat together and left one side entirely to Applejack.

The driver strapped himself in. “Where to ma’am?”

“Flim Flam Headquarters,” Applejack seethed through clenched teeth. She stared out the window as the carriage pulled forward. Fire burned in her emerald eyes, and only intensified as the we rode. Bolo tried to ask a question once but the moment he opened his mouth the sideways glance from Applejack sealed it shut.

“Follow.” Applejack stomped out of the carriage.

I obeyed and stepped out. The HQ had been built with a gold trim between tinted window panels. Giant cutouts of Flim and Flam looked down on us from the top of the building with condescending smiles. The only difference between them was Flam’s moustache. Flim’s cutout was lowered enough so the white stripes in their red mane lined up with each other.

Applejack barged through the front doors and made a beeline for the receptionist. Quiet whispers filled the air as dozens of employees talked in the main lobby. The inside shared the same tinted glass panels covering offices. Clear glass railings spanned along the stairs and walkways on higher levels.

“I need to speak with Flim and Flam this second!” Applejack slammed her hoof on the counter.

All the workers in the immediate area ended their conversations at the commotion. Two earth ponies dressed up in blue security uniforms stepped out of a nearby office and slowly enclosed on us.

The receptionist went wide eyed. “Do- do you have an appointment?”

Applejack grabbed the poor mare and pulled her in. She spoke slowly, “Get them down here now.”

One of the security guards moved in and placed a hoof on Applejack. Without hesitation I grabbed the guard and pulled his hoof up around his side. He yelped in pain and more security ponies started to emerge from behind marble pillars and out of tinted offices.

“Well what do we have here!” a stallions voice yelled out and all the guards ceased their enclosure. Flim and Flam were on a second level overhang looking down on us with the same condescending smiles their cutouts had. They hopped on a glass railing and slid down to greet us.

“Our good friend, Applejack,” Flim greeted as he bowed down. Flam did damage control as he dashed from employee to guard at impressive speed waving them away and back to their duties. A hoof tapped my shoulder and in the time it took me to glance over something slithered between my hoof and the guard I was holding.

Flam had freed the guard and joined his brother. “To what do we owe this prestigious visit?”

Applejack fumed, “You know da-”

Flim suddenly popped up between Bolo and I, wrapping his hooves around us. “Why don’t we talk about this in a room more fitting a ministry mare.”

Flam pushed Applejack along. “Only the finest for our visitors.”

We relocated into the nearest conference room. Drinks and fresh fruit were set along the table, and the scent of apple cider filled the air.

“Get your thievin’ mitts off me!” Applejack bucked at Flam, but the unicorn slipped out of the way.

“Why Applejack.” He fused with his bowtie. “Where is this hostility coming from?”

“You know darn well where it’s coming from. You stole one of my Steel Ranger suits!”

Flim and Flam’s jaws dropped. Flam recovered first. “That’s a mighty big accusation.”

“I ain’t accusin’, I’m tellin’.”

“Well certainly if you're telling, you have some evidence,” Flim said. Applejack could only grit her teeth. Flim and Flam shared a smug grin.

Flim started, “Let's say possibly-”

“Hypothetically-”

“Theoretically we were the ones to take this armor-”

“What would we want with it?” Flam finished.

“I ain’t got a clue. You two only care for makin’ bits and it's not like you could sell it without my notice’n,” Applejack said.

“So you have no evidence-”

“No motive-”

“No reason to think it’s us,” they said simultaneously.

“I know you're concocting some sort of scam, just like with your shiny bolt shooters. Thank Rarity and her ministry that your ads ain't reaching real soldiers.”

“Oh?” Flam raised an eyebrow. “Is that what she told you?”

“Well no.” Applejack scratched at the back of here neck, her anger distracted by other thoughts. “To be honest we haven't spoken in awhile aside from quick calls, same for the others. I just know she would never allow you to advertise your faulty weapons to our soldiers.”

“It seems like Rarity understands what were selling because we never claimed they were weapons. That's why our advertisements reach almost every civilian.”

“You claimed they are for self defense,” Bolo exclaimed. Applejack turned in surprise as if realizing just now that we were still here with her. I mentally sighed. Both of them were letting their emotions control their actions. Taking emotions out of this Flim and Flam were destroying Applejack in this conversation, and they were about to school Bolo as well.

“And they are,” Flim confirmed. “Giving you valuable time to run if you were in danger, but they provide our customers with something far more valuable.”

“A false sense of security,” I answered, noting my insubordination would most likely be ignored given Bolo’s outburst and lack of punishment.

“A false sense to you maybe.” Flam pulled at his moustache. “But to the average Equestrian it give peace of mind, a valuable thing in these troubling times, and has the added benefit of being non-lethal in case any mentally unstable ponies get a hold-”

Applejack bucked the table over, the fruit and bottles falling to the ground. Flim and Flam flinched back from the violent outburst.

“Enough dammit!” Applejack yelled as she re-found her reason for coming here. “I know you took my armor! It's not just me either. Twi and Pinkie have taken notice of a few things disappearin’. Even Applebloom says she lost some inventory after dealin’ with a few of your sales ponies. And don’t think we haven’t noticed the ponies disappearin’ around your facilities.”

Flim and Flam actually shared a look from that accusation. “Ponies disappearing you say?” Flim pulled at his bowtie.

“It’s only a matter of time till we find the evidence!” Applejack turned to leave. “After that you'll have to answer to the Princess.”

I struggled to wake up as two ponies argued with each other, but my mind lingered on the dream. The image I created for Flim and Flam had come from the poster back at Featherweight’s Printing Press. Even in my dreams Flim and Flam seemed to be the focus point of many problems. If there was any consolation at least I was a stallion again.

“It was in the armor,” a mare's voice pleaded. “I thought it was necessary for the pilot.”

“He used another one like that before,” a stallion this time, he sounded like Gale. “He became paranoid and delusional. Who knows what two could do to him… If he dies I'll-”

It is Gale! I jolted awake as all drowsiness disappeared, the feelings from the dream faded as memories from moments ago caught up with me.

“Ardent!” Gale rushed over and I instinctively brought up my hoof to block the flashlight he tried to shine in my eye.

“I'm fine,” I answered before he could ask. “Could we not do the flashlight thing, please.” I spotted the injector that had rolled under Ionic's desk. The engraving glistened against the red light, “Be unwavering.” What element did this one represent? What was I on top of honest and loyal?

Gale lowered his head to get a peek at me. I dropped my hoof and stared at him. “See, fine.”

An explosion shook the ground.

Ionic Bond glanced at the camera feed. “They got through another one. We’re going to be cutting it close.”

“What can I do?” I asked.

Ionic Bond shook her head. “It's charging, only thing left to do it wait.”

Ever since I joined Elpis we had been in motion, either constantly in action or on the road. For the first time since then the only thing I could do was sit and wait, and it drove me crazy. I knew a fight was just around the corner but could do nothing to prepare. I sat among the rest of the prisoners, listening to the explosions, each one echoed louder and shook the ground more violently than the last.

A small maroon filly started to cry and two other fillies at her side cuddled against her. The three had yet to get their cutie marks and were alone without any of the older mares watching over them.

I got up but before getting too close the silver foal among the three broke off and confronted me. “J-just stay away.”

I put on a small smile as the shaking foal stood her ground. “Okay, I'll sit here. I was just about to tell a story, if any of you were interested?”

The maroon one stopped crying any wiped away her tears. “What kind of story?”

“It's a story of a small brown earth pony. It's about how he ended up going on a crazy adventure all over Equestria.”

The final filly, her coat may have been white but the filth had made her appear grey, asked, “What's his name?”

“He… Hey…” I fumbled as I attempted to improvise. It’s one thing to blatantly retell my story but to put my name in it would be a bit much. “Heiod! Heiod the Storyteller. You see Heiod use to work at a store. Day in, day out, he did the same boring tasks. The only thing that kept him going was hearing about the amazing things that happened in Equestria from customers. He desperately wanted to go out and see these things himself but he couldn't.”

The silver filly raised her hoof, but did not wait to be called on.“Why not?”

“I think… I think Heiod was scared,” I answered. “Do you know what it's like to be scared?”

The filly flushed and looked away, but nodded.

“Well, one day the adventures came to him. A giant robot dog attacked his town. Whenever it barked bullets shot from its mouth. Woof, bang. Woof, bang. Heiod was going to run away but then some other ponies showed up to fight the dog.

“Those ponies were so brave and each one of them had amazing abilities. One had super strength. One could fly. Another could build crazy machines, she was also very pretty. The last one could control fire, and make you feel better if you got hurt.

“The brave ponies fought the robot in an epic battle. Heiod stayed out of the fight but found a place to hide so he could watch. What surprised him is even with all their powers the brave ponies started to lose. In desperation the pretty pony put together a giant cannon to defeat the robot but before she could use it she got injured. Heiod only watched even though he knew they needed help, but what could he do? He didn't have any amazing powers so it's not like he could fight, but then Heiod realized something. The ponies fighting the robot were the ones creating the stories that he loved. He needed to do something even if it didn’t work, even if he got hurt trying. Heiod ran over to the canon and hit the big red button. A giant rocket came careening out and struck the giant robot dog. It destroyed it with a huge explosion!” By chance an explosion rang out at the same time. The children were immersed in the story, all three fillies were in awe at the sound effect instead of fearing it.

“After that the brave ponies asked Heiod to join them on their adventures,” I continued. “Now you see Heiod never felt like he belonged where he lived, he never had friends or family. He had his boss but that was… complicated. So when these brave ponies asked him to join it was like they were asking him to be apart of their family. Since Heiod longed for that kind of inclusion he said yes.”

I went on telling them about how Heiod saved a pony who saved him when he was young. About the fight with the unicorn who controlled bugs.

The longer I went on the more the other children and mares came closer to listen. By the time I told the story of the quarry eel and Lazuline, the stable dragon, everypony had gathered around. Even Gale had been taken in by the tale. I went on and on about Heiod and his adventures. The blood wing infested sewers. The relaxing time at Tenpony. The time he met the buffalo.

Eventually I caught up to the present. Heiod had just found all the ponies who wanted to escape. He and the others were trapped and the bad guys were closing in. I paused, not sure what to say.

An explosion shook the room, the noise sounding like it was right behind the door.

The maroon filly pulled at my leg, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at the door the raiders were about to break through. “And then what happened?”

My story so far was full of decisions that I took to survive, decisions that simply let my story continue even if I had no idea how they affected the future. This time I knew how I wanted the story to play out. “After the smart unicorn got the magic armor working, Heiod got in and saved everypony.”

Then I saw it in all their eyes, the foals who had only know prison, the mares who had been through hell. Hope shimmered in their eyes.

A loud buzz rang out and Ionic Bond jumped up. “It's ready!”

I went to follow but Gale stepped in front of me. His mouth hung open as he struggled to find the right words. “Ardent this… What we're doing out here, traveling around, it... it suits you. So make sure the story doesn't end here.”

A surge of energy rushed from the nap of my neck through my entire body. My hair stood on end and I felt like I could take on the world. “It wont.”

As soon as I caught up with Ionic Bond her horn lit up and she touched it to my head. Knowledge rushed into my mind; weeks of research condensed into moments. Detailed information regarding the Steel Ranger Mark II and it's equipment, minigun, rocket jets, injectors, a variety of defense mechanism. The list kept going, ability after ability, how to use them, but then I learned about the drug inside the suit. It mixed in elements of Buck, Dash, Stampede and other chemicals. Designed to make the pilot bloodthirsty, that's why it required no training because the pilot went into a rage and killed everything in sight. For a moment the side effects of drugs were brought up, anxiety, depression, severe mental stress, split personality disorder, suicide. The survival rate amount users was zero percent, each user had committed suicide within days of using the drug.

I gasped as the spell ended. “Your going to kill me,” I tried to yell, but it only came out as a whisper. The spell had made me groggy like I had just woken up.

“It may not be that bad,” Ionic Bond tried to argue, “and if you do save us maybe I can help. Maybe…” Her eyes teared up as her peppy facade finally shattered. “There is another reason they have prisoners here.” Ionic Bond pushed me into the armor and hooked in my Pip-Buck. “If I refused, if I didn't work fast enough, I would wake up with a dead foal at my door.” She pushed a switch and darkness consumed me as the armor closed.

The cushions inside inflated and deflated until the armor fit like a second skin. The visor revealed a darkened world beyond the tinted glass. Ionic Bond moved the others away into a cell in the back. A new and improved HUD altered my vision as the suit sprang to life. Ammo, suit status, battery life, auto targeting, and more placed neatly onto the visor.

Before I had time to panic the drug set in. A burning sensation started at my flank and flowed throughout the rest of my body. I flexed repeatedly, each time my muscles feeling more powerful. I slammed my hoof down, denting the metal floor.

The last blast door gave way and half a dozen Pandora’s Children flooded in. SATS didn't need to be activated, instead it targeted hostiles automatically and didn't use any energy until I fired my grenade launcher. The first wave vaporized into a red mist that coated the walls, and the battery power went from a hundred percent to ninety-nine.

My eyes rolled up as pure ecstasy washed over me. Killing them scratched a major itch I never knew I had. My thoughts swam with all the possibilities of how to kill other ponies and I begged for more to come through the door. Instead it appeared they no longer wanted to play as red dots on my EFS moved away.

“Cowards!” The armor had a filter that dropped my voice a few octaves. I took chase and fired down the hall but only killed one who took their turn too slow. The narrow halls and frequent turns would make the grenade launcher ineffective, but one of the suits attacks came to mind. This will be fun.

I leaned forward, the position opening a compartment on my shoulder. I targeted the wall at the end of the hall. The battery life lost four percent as the bomb launched forwarded and exploded. Flames ran through the halls followed by a wondourus chores of screams. The suit didn't even flash warnings as I was surrounded by the fire. Red dots flickered out one by one and by the time the flames died off only charred corpses remained. The filter on the suit stopped the stench of burnt flesh from reaching me, what a shame.

There were no more red dots in my immediate vicinity but I knew where I could find more. Instead of trialling through the halls I simply jumped. The ceiling and ground above me gave no more resistance than a wet blanket. I ripped out of the earth and bursted out in the middle of the square where Epimetheus had his speech. My visior filled with new targets. Pandora’s Children scattered like ants, shocked by my sudden appearance. The minigun at my side spun as I prepared to fire. Some of the raiders grew a backbone and turned to fire. Their bullets struck the armor yet I could not feel their impact. I prioritized SATS on the brave ones first.

The minigun spit out three thousand rounds a minute and drained at the battery life. SATS only stayed on target for a second, because by that time they were no more than a pile of red mush. I entered my trance and focused on my vision. I watched their eyes as they realized they were about to be killed. I watched the bullets rip through them, each shot enough to tear off a limb or strip large portions of flesh. I left my trance and laughed as I continued to massacre them, but my joy prematurely ended as the minigun ran out of ammo. The suit automatically detached the weapon to reduce the weight which unlocked a new list of abilities.

The SATS locked onto a potential threat at the top of the main gate. A pink raider had jumped into a mounted turret and was taking aim. I shifted my legs and activated the jet boosters. Three percent of my battery disappeared as I flew through the air, landing next to her. Before she could swivel the gun I smacked her off the seat and pinned her head under my hoof. I recognized her as the mare that let us in as she flailed helplessly under my weight.

I leaned down and whispered, “Scream for me.”

She obliged, “Please don’t! I’ll do whatever you want! Help! Hel-”

“Yeah, that's the spirit.” I slowly applied pressure. Her eyes turned crimson as blood vessels popped inside her head. Her body spasmed after a few cracks of her skull until the bone gave way. Her head sank in, most of the contents splattering outward.

I took a moment to enjoy my work and failed to notice the warning of an incoming projectile. A rocket exploded against my side, ruining the mare below me. The visor flashed orange and gave a timer which showed how long before the self repair spell fully fixed the armor. I growled and turned to face whoever dared interrupt me.

The lieutenant with the eye patch had fired the rocket and she had another rocket launcher at the ready. She was flanked by two raiders who also took aim with their own rocket launchers. Behind them looked like an armoury. Fucking Jackals couldn't steal the rockets? I'll make sure they suffer. All three raiders fired in unison. My visor turned red to to inform the attack could be lethal. Symbols in top right appeared to offer possible counters to the incoming attack.

Let's go with this one. I scraped my front hooves together until they locked in place. The moment the rockets were range I pulled my hooves apart as the battery life dropped five percent. A wave of magical magnetism shot out and when it touched the rockets they spun one hundred and eighty degrees. For only having one eye the lieutenant was first to react as she dove back into the armoury and slammed the door behind her. The two raiders outside were blown to bits and the whole building ended up collapsing.

My visor flashed orange as a bullet tore through the armor and my leg. I didn’t feel any pain, just annoyance. My visor created a line from where the bullets impacted and traced it back to raider a few stories up in the black tower. My EFS zoomed in on him. His eyes went wide when he realized I had him in my sights. Another fun ability came to mind and the battery dropped another percent as a ray of light beamed into the sniper’s eyes. I saw him cry out and wave around frantically. I had just blinded him, permanently. In his panic he fell from the building and crashed into a hut below. He might have lived had he not landed on the edge of a piece of scrap that cleaved him in two.

After my EFS zoomed back out I realized Pandora’s Children had been shooting at me. It seems any weapon weaker then a rifle didn't even get a warning. My SATS did me the favor of locking onto all the mounted turrets along the wall which could possible damage me. Hatches along my back opened up and all the missiles I had decimated the walls defenses, along with a few raiders who were trying to get in them.

I watched the panic below me as the raiders fled aimlessly. My visor flashed orange as two metal claws cut into my visor but the material stopped the momentum of the attack right before it reached my eyes. I pulled away and the self repair spell started. I peeked over the side just as the lieutenant flipped up to my level. He had not only managed to escape the fire bomb but had just scaled the wall. My visor remained orange, designating him a moderate threat.

He rushed forward, slipping under me and the self repair spell timer increased. Though I couldn't feel it I bet he cut along the underside of my armor. I bucked hoping to hit him but instead the timer just increased again.

“I'll kill you!” I spun around just to catch a claw to my face as he raced behind me again. I grit my teeth but a cooling sensation sank into my flank as something injected into me, the frustration that had been building suddenly melted away. I ran down the list of close range countermeasures of which there were many. The creators of the suit must of known that close range, agile enemies were a danger. I finally found one fitting of this lieutenant. I dropped down and curled up.

The raider turned out to be ruthless as his assault continued. “Look at you,” he mocked. “All that armor and fire power and you give up at the slightest challenge. I'll have fun stripping your flesh piece by piece after I claw you out of- What the fuck!”

Looks like it kicked in. I got up with great delight and watched the raider as the flesh eating spell went to work.

The lieutenant stared at his hoof in absolute horror. Patches of hair fell away as his skin disappeared in rapidly growing patches, revealing raw, red flesh that just as quickly started to fade away. Soon the spell worked its way up his leg and the effects started all over his body.

As a last ditch effort the raider took a swing. The claws wrapped around his hoof no longer had enough to cling to and slid off. By the time his hoof reached me it was nothing but bone that shattered against the armor. I blamed the lack of screams from the fact most of his nerves were most likely gone, and he had a few holes in his throat. His face melted away and by the time the spell finished all that remained was a pile of hollowed bones.

Beautiful.

I turned back to the raiders that remained and debated all the ways I could mutilate them. With a flash of inspiration I decided on my final trick. It would need all the raiders on the ground level to be gathered together. I rolled my head and a dozen holograms of me appeared. It ate ten percent of my battery life but this would be worth it. I ordered the spell to chase as many raiders as possible near to the main gate. While they went to work I took a stroll.

I paid a visit to any raider who refused to get chased the right way or somehow had the brains to realize the other suits were merely holograms. More than a few times the raiders thought I too was a hologram. The realization in their face when I grabbed them was priceless.

Eventually, what remained of Pandora’s Children were boxed in by the main gate. Most of them weren’t even fighting back anymore, they just cowered and cried like children. That’s okay, the finale is mainly for show. I rotated my shoulder and a warning indicator popped up with a countdown. I turned so my grenade launcher faced the crowd. The armor activated every grenade I had stored and ejected them out.

The explosions created a tidal wave of blood and blew away a massive part of the main gate. I cantered through the red rain, letting it shower the suit a beautiful crimson. Internal organs and bits of flesh also speckled the armor which I thought added a lovely touch.

I stepped past the gate and took a low bow to my decimated audience. “Tada!” I had left Pandora’s Children headquarters on fire and riddled in death. I knew that last trick was the pinnacle of what I could do, but something wasn’t right. I wanted more. I needed more.

“He did it.” My suit picked up on Ionic bond’s voice. I watched the neutral indicators appear on my hud.

I held perfectly still. I knew what Ionic Bond would look for, she shared it with the information she gave me in her spell. She would want to check the light on the chest to see if the suit still had any power before letting me out because she knew I would kill her if the drug was still in effect. She trotted cautiously around me, staying far out of hoofs reach. She squinted her eyes trying to see past the blood.

“Ardent?” She waved. “Are you… okay?” She took a step closer.

I remained a statue in her eyes, but my eagerness to rip her apart was reaching its limit. Every muscle in my body started to tense with the anticipation.

Final Ionic Bond caved and ran over. “I’m sorry Ardent, but it will be okay. Let me get you out of there.” She wiped away the blood and stiffened. She looked up with a mixture of shock and fear, a look that drove me into a state pure euphoria. I caught her by the throat and lifted her up.

“I never want to leave.” I twisted my hoof and her neck snapped like a dried twig. I flung her body to the side and faced the crowd who would be my encore. All the women and children were there. My battery only had two percent remaining and all my ranged weapons were used. I laughed. It will be more fun this way. Hopefully the kids will provide a decent chase. I began my slow trot towards them, my stomach fluttering at some of their expressions. The hope I instilled in them faded, which was only right after all. I had given it to them, therefore it was within my right to take it away. Some of them probably weren’t even going to run.

I spotted Gale in the crowd and paused. Should he be first, or last? I wanted to save him for last, the perfect dessert after full meal but he would realize his fate while I slaughtered the rest around him. No, he had to be first, I needed to see his reaction to being betrayed. I began my trot towards them.

“Not another step!” a low raspy voice yelled.

I turned and the visor went red as multiple warning lights sprang to life. I froze as I stared into a pair of pink pupils.

“YOU..u…” my voice died off as my jaw froze. The ghoul stared me down and shielded the prisoners from his gaze. My battery ticked to one percent as diagnostics went wild. The suit tried everything to free me but was only burning through what little battery I had left. Nooooooo! I needed more! I’ll kill this ghoul! I’ll tear those eyes from his skull and jam them down his throat!

“Gale is that you?” the ghoul asked, slightly lowering his hoof to see his mohawk.

“Your real?” Gale replied. How dare they ignore me! I’ll take my time with them when I get free. I don’t need the armor I’ll do it with my bare hoofs!

“Of course I’m real. Where is Ardent?”

“You're staring at him.”

The ghoul almost blinked and that would be all I needed. A single blink and I would close my eyes. After that they would all be mine.

The ghoul kept his eyes open though. “What happened to him?”

Gale and him droned on with conversation. I don't care. I want blood. I preoccupied myself with fantasies of what I would do to them when I got free. Tearing Gale’s horn off and using it like a dart to skewer a filly. The battery finally hit zero percent. I could rip the skin off a mare and see how long she stays alive. HUD indicators flickered out one by one. Stomping on their stomach till their insides are forced out of their mouth. The burning sensation in me started to ebb away. Strangling them with… with their own torn off tail. A new burning sensation formed around my eyes. Ripping out their… their tongue and… and getting out of here. A cool liquid ran down my face. I need to get out of here. The drug wore off and all the memories of my terrible deeds forced their way into my mind. I want out of this thing! Please Luna, Celestia, anypony, help me!

Footnote: Level Up New Perk; Sniper: +25% chance to hit the targets head in SATS
New Perk; Generosity Injection, Your endurance has been permanently increased by 2.

Author's Notes:

Well this is it, the official end of part 1 of 3! To see what's next check out the blog, also need some commission ideas.

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/829647/fallout-equestria-anomaly-part-1-of-3-complete-art-inside