This building was probably once an apartment, a place where ponies once lived, laughed, and loved. Now, like all the buildings that surrounded it, it was nothing more than an empty shell, a husk of its former self. Inside, five ponies sat patiently waiting as the sun slowly fell below the horizon, the shadows growing long and the streets darkening into night.

Paper sat up on a small pile of bricks from a collapsed interior wall, his binoculars trained on the large circular coliseum in the distance, Foxtrot sitting next to him and using the detached scope from his rifle. Bastion appeared to have fallen asleep just across from them with his back against the wall as he sat just below a window. In the corner, Nightfall sat with a map out in front of him. Star Mist sat just across from him.

It was a large city. If the massive skyscrapers, or at least what remained of them, didnt make that clear then the map certainly did. Street after street ran across the sheet of paper in a crosshatching pattern with plenty of labels to congest it even further. Had it not been for the color coding and grid, one would easily get lost in it. What the names of any of the streets were in their time was anyone's guess.

"So...?" Star asked, not entirely sure what she was looking for. Nightfall had been staring at that damned map ever since they got to this position an hour ago and hadn't said so much as a word since. It meant that he was thinking and she wanted to hear what was on his mind.

Nightfall initially only responded by leaning back out of his hunched over position, a thoughtful look only barely visible through his visor as he tried to relax. "It's not good," he finally answered.

"Oh, you dont say," Foxtrot remarked without taking his attention from his scope. "We're cut off from home, being hunted by the enemy, and the comms are being jammed. And here I thought we were doing just fine."

"We have a lot of hurdles to get over," Star said as more of an out loud thought. She paid the pegasus no further mind and turned back to Nightfall, who was still carefully studying his map. "Any ideas?"

"A few," Nightfall answered simply. He pointed to the west side of the map. "I'm thinking that since we can hear each other in the city, but cant communicate with the outpost, the jammers have to be somewhere here in the west. If that's the case there should be a dead zone, which we can use to narrow down a location."

"And what if it's one of those fancy ones that keeps signals from leaving a certain range?" Foxtrot called over. "You cant use a dead zone if there aren't any there."

"Well then, we're screwed and you can go find a nice cool spot to freeze to death," Nightfall shot back, not appreciating Foxtrot cynicism.

"Very funny," Foxtrot replied. "But I was serious. What if we cant do it? What if there is no way to contact the outside world?"

Nightfall didnt respond, not wanting to entertain such a thought. He had to though. He couldn't afford to not consider every possibility. "I don't know," he finally admitted. "Look, everything I've got so far is nothing more than speculation, but the plan hasn't changed. We'll figure out what to do once we have more information."

Foxtrot just huffed, going back to looking through his scope.

Nightfall's eyes glanced down to the map once more, but only for a second before coming back up to Star Mist. Meadow Spring. "We're going to figure this out," he whispered to her, his hoof falling into hers.

"I know," she replied. "I dont doubt it." It was true. There was no doubt in her mind that Nightfall would figure it all out. What to do and how to go about doing it, but figuring things out wasn't what worried her. It was the execution. You could be the smartest pony in the world and still things could go wrong. They had both experienced that first hoof.

"Speaking of our current goal," Paper spoke up, carrying on their previous conversation, "I haven't seen one bit of activity since we got here, and as far as I can tell there aren't any signs of anyone ever being here."

"Well, we'll know once we get over there," Nightfall replied. He walked over and gave Bastion a nudge, rousing the earth pony from his sleep. "Let's go over the plan once more."

"I'm staying outside to keep watch over the entrances," Foxtrot stated. "I'll get up high and make sure nothing comes in behind you."

"Bastion and I are entering from the east side at the top level and working our way down," Paper followed. "We'll stay in radio contact and meet you and Star at the bottom.

"You and I are entering at the bottom level, east side, and investigating for signs of hostile activity," Star was last to say.

"Good," Nightfall acknowledged. He looked to his wrist display before taking a peak out the window. It would be proper dark soon. "We'll move out in a few minutes. Check your gear and make sure your NVGs are working. We'll approach low and split at the intersection just in front of the main entrance. Good luck everyone."

Everyone nodded in confirmation that they had understood, before beginning to tend to their gear. Bastion let out a short yawn while Paper tightened the NVG mount on his helmet, fixing goggles to it properly. Foxtrot simply went about loading more ammo into his carrier, clearly seeming ready for a fight. Star Mist just sat and watched.

"You alright?" Nightfall asked, noticing her sitting there, seemingly frozen in place.

"What? Oh, yeah," Star said, trying to sound calm and dismissive. "I'm ready when ever you are."

Behind that helmet, Star really couldn't tell if Nightfall was convinced. She was ready. She really was. She was just nervous was all. After that firefight that had gone down the previous night she still felt a little apprehensive about going out and getting into even more trouble, but she'd do what needed to be done.

Nightfall suddenly motioned for her to follow him, which she did, and the two of them both stepped out of the room, rounding a corner so that the others would be out of earshot.

"Everything all right?" Star asked, knowing full well that things were only going to get more tense.

Nightfall removed his helmet, clipping it to his belt. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said simply, despite the fact that he seemed more than a little anxious. "I just wanted to make sure you were ready for this is all."

"Yeah, I'm..." She stopped, a thought coming to her mind. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"I'm scared," she admitted, hanging her head lowly and fidgeting with her hooves. "Not of being out here with you guys. I've gotten used to it. I'm scared of what's going to happen later. These crystals, the alicorns, it's all so much bigger than us. I cant help but feel like were all falling towards some big disaster."

Nightfall placed his hoof under Star's chin, Meadow's chin, and brought her gaze to his own, before bringing his hoof around to the latch on her helmet. With a slight but firm tug the jaw plate fell open and the collar split, allowing him to slowly pull the helmet from her head.

Meadow's mane stuck to the inside lining and rose up with the helmet before falling down over her eyes. She was quick to brush the dirty loose strands away. Nightfall's own mane was much shorter, but it wasnt in much better condition. They must have looked like a couple of dirty hobos, a thought that Meadow couldn't help but smile a little at.

Nightfall returned the expression. "Turn," he said kindly, taking her mane in his hooves as she sat in front of him facing the other way. "You wanna know something else? I'm scared too," he said as he began working the knots out of Meadow's hair. "There's a lot going on here that we dont yet know about. But that fear is a good thing. It means we understand what's at stake and are taking it seriously."

"I guess," Meadow replied with a sigh. "I'm still anxious though. I want to get this over with and go home."

"I know," Nightfall said, finishing up with Meadow's mane.

Meadow ran her hoof through her mane, the twists and tangles now gone, but having been replaced with a long three strand braid that kept it out of her eyes and neatly tucked away. "Thank you," she said.

Nightfall just smiled, planting a kiss on Meadow's forehead. She replied only with a quick hug before Nightfall handed her her helmet and she took on her fake persona once more. "Let's go get this done," he said and they both went back to the room where the others were waiting.

Each of the rangers were now fully geared up, a set of NVGs atop each of their helmets and fresh ammo loaded into their rifles. While Paper and Foxtrot both continued to stare out the window at their target, Bastion threw Nightfall and Star their respective weapons, which they promptly caught and checked the breaches of.

The walk down the stairs was a quiet one, as they each made their way through the husk of the building, minding the gaps in the ancient concrete and prodding seemingly unstable areas before committing any amount of weight to them. When they reached the fourth floor, they dropped from the windows and into the snow only a few feet below. They then marched on through the street for three blocks, cutting through a few building whenever convenient.

Foxtrot split from the group one block away from the coliseum, checking in with his radio once he had found himself a nice perch from which to provide overwatch. Nightfall, Star Mist, Bastion, and Paper all approached low and quiet, taking care to not make too much noise but also to not stay out in the open too long. Despite it being night, the city was still dangerous in its own ways.

Quickly taking positions along the exterior wall, Nightfall unloaded his gear on the ground while Star kept her rifle trained on their six o'clock, watching and scanning surrounding windows for any threats. From her position, she could see Foxtrot sitting up on the twelfth floor of a neighboring structure.

With his gear deposited on the ground, Nightfall undid his suit zippers and allowed his wings to be free, taking Bastion up to the top floor of the coliseum before returning back for Paper, each of them remaining silent as they were lifted up into their entry point.

Bastion gave a quick whisper over the radio that they were set and all at once, the four entered the building, rifles at the ready and NVGs down, save for Nightfall who simply had the tented layer of his visor slid up away from his eyes.

The bottom halls seemed entirely empty, a hauntingly ghost-like quietness having crept into this places very being a long time ago. One step after another came as Nightfall and Star both made their way down the entry way and into the main floor towards the center of the coliseum. They moved slowly across the interior wall, passed what used to be a ticket booth. Taking the stairs to the second floor, they kept moving, every corner they turned having a chance of concealing a once unseen foe, but with each corner that they did turn they found that there was nothing. Nothing except the concrete and ice that clung to every surface.

They continued onward, eventually finding themselves at the top of the stairs that lead down between the seats of the bowl shaped building. The seats were all still there, the exterior walls having shielded them from the worst of the elements for hundreds of years. They were not immune to time though, as the nonmetal pieces had all been stripped away, leaving only thousands of metal skeletons, watching and waiting for someone to disturb their tomb.

The roof of the building was also still mostly intact, save for a large hole that ran nearly the full length of one side from which an array of faded moon beams shown through. A great pile of snow had built up directly underneath. The rest of the main floor was completely empty and Nightfall and Star slowly made their way down the steps and to the rail and ten foot drop that separated it from the seats.

"Bastion, Paper. You guys got anything?" Nightfall asked over the radio. "We've got nothing down here."

There was a brief moment of static before Bastion's voice replied. "Same here. All clear. We're coming down now."

It only took a few seconds before both Bastion and Paper were visible on the upper level, just above Star and Nightfall.

"How's it going down there?" Paper called from above, giving his teammates a playful smile as he looked down at them. "You look good from this angle."

"We checked everything," Bastion said. "The whole floor is completely empty. Any luck down there?"

"Nothing yet," Nightfall replied. "Haven't checked the main floor yet though. Keep an eye out would you?" Without waiting for a response, he vaulted over the rail down to the floor below. He was followed right after by Star, whom he caught halfway down and dropped onto her hooves. For a moment the two only sat there, looking out in total silence at the empty space.

"Doesn't look like there's anything here at all, not even litter," Star pointed out, beginning to walk along the wall.

Nightfall only remained silent, trying to focus on whatever stuck out. But nothing did stick out. The entire place was completely clean, as if no one had ever been here to begin with. He removed his helmet and placed the side of his head down on the ground. It was freezing cold, causing his ear to hurt, but he kept his head down, trying to find any discrepancy in the smoothness of the floor. Still there was none, and he promptly placed his helmet back on.

While Nightfall began to walk the floor, Star stopped and stood at the corner where a deep dark corridor led down into what would probably be a series of hallways. If her few experiences at the Canterlot Convention Center told her anything, then her best guess said that this was where a sports team would have entered after prepping in the locker room. "You think anything's down there?" she asked when Nightfall inevitably passed by her.

Nightfall replied only by calling to Bastion and Paper over the radio and having them meet them at the corner. The two promptly left their spots on the upper level and found their way down the stairs. Arriving at the entrance of the corridor, they raised their rifles and began a slow approach into the darkness.

Star and Nightfall both began the same approach down the neighboring corridor at the opposite corner. It was slow and quiet. The walls were made from a smooth concrete that quickly turned to a discolored tile, large chunks having somehow eroded away and collected on the floor. Coming to the end of the first hall, they found themselves at a T section. Looking to their left they found only more darkness. To their right, they could see Bastion and Paper looking back at them.

The earth pony waved, to which Nightfall gave a wave of his own, before motioning with a hoof to head the opposite direction. They turned left and took their own path.

Bastion and Paper headed right, away from Nightfall and Star Mist. As they continued on through the dark, they opened any door that wasnt frozen shut. Mostly they were closets or offices, many of the contents having been miraculously preserved.

"Wow, it is really dusty in here," Paper said, taking note of all the particles floating in the air. The center of the room had a desk with several large stacks of blank paper sitting on it. A book shelf sat in the corner and what appeared to be a potted plant grew just across from that. "Fake," Paper noted, seeing that the leaves were made of plastic.

Bastion picked up a picture frame that sat on the desk. Inside was a single photo that had survived the ages, despite being severely discolored and torn at the edges. There were two ponies. A mare and in a stallion. Judging by the white dress and black suit, it was a wedding photo. What he found most interesting though was their coats. They were much shorter than any pony he had seen, their fetlocks being neatly trimmed as well.

He couldn't help but to let a small smile pull at his muzzle, the image reminding him of his own wedding. It was somewhat sad though, to think that these ponies were now long dead. He found another picture just next to that one. The same two ponies appeared, though they seemed just a little older and a small colt and filly were present between them.

He was pulled from his thoughts suddenly when the sound of Paper rifling around in one of the desk drawers met his ears. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Paper shrugged. "I dont know," he answered. "There's gotta be something interesting in here. I mean, this stuff is hundreds of years old."

Bastion sighed. "You're not still hung up on the whole treasure thing, are you?"

"No!" Paper defended. "I'm just curious is all." He suddenly seemed very disappointed when all he found in the drawers was paper and pens. Regardless, he took one that seemed to be in good shape and placed it in his pouch. "Just a souvenir," he assured, before heading for the door.

Bastion just rolled his eyes as he followed Paper out. They searched several more rooms, most of them being either broom closets or some kind of maintenance access ways. They had elected not to mess with any of the equipment in a large electrical room, given how many warning signs were hanging on the walls. They even managed to find a Zamboni, something that they both found quite a bit ironic.

The final room they came to was at the very end of the hall, the walls and floor being made from the same dark green tile and a series of rusted lockers surrounding them. The air seemed much thicker here somehow and almost warmer, though the temperature still remained below freezing. That was not what caught Bastion's attention when he rounded the corner into what had been the showers. "God damn," he muttered under his breath at the sight of three black mounds laying on the floor, long streaks of red running from the bodies towards the frozen over drains.

Paper's expression soured as he just stood there, staring at the bloodied silhouettes, his brain trying to make sense of what his eyes were telling him. As it raced in search of a possible explanation, his hooves moved automatically as he reached for his radio. "Nightfall..."

Nightfall stopped in his tracks at the mention of his name and looked to Star Mist, who kept her weapon at the ready. "Go ahead, Paper," he replied in a hushed tone.

"We've got several corpses here." There was a pause over the radio, but both Star and Nightfall could practically hear the gears in Paper's head grinding to a halt. "It looks like they were executed," the unicorn finished.

"Copy that," Nightfall replied. "Any identification?"

There was no response for a few seconds. "No," Paper's voice eventually came. "It's messy though."

"We'll be right over."

"Team Five?" Star asked hesitantly, fearing that they may truly be alone in this now.

Nightfall sighed heavily, having had his fill of dead bodies to last a life time, though he got the distinct feeling that more were to come. "Let's hope not," he said, walking passed Star and motioning for her to follow.

Star checked their rear more time before finally trotting along to catch up with Nightfall. The two picked up speed as the doubled back the way they had come and briskly made their way to Paper and Bastion's position. They passed their entry point, their faint hoof steps echoing around them.

Chills shot through Star Mist's whole body as she saw a dark silhouetted figure step out into view at the end of the hall, her nerves flaring up and every instinct she had telling her to get out, that something was wrong and that she was in danger. She was relieved when it turned out to be only Bastion.

The two quickly followed him into the locker room, taking their positions around the scene. Their NVGs were put away and replaced with flashlights.

"I don't get it," they heard Paper speak up. "It doesn't make any sense."

The scene before them was a gruesome one. Three ponies laid on the ground in a line, each in a slumped over position that suggested that had just fallen over like dead weights, all life having left them before they even hit the floor. Three bodies. One gunshot wound each. Long splattered blood stains ran down the wall directly in front of them. A mix of blood, brain matter, and skull fragments was present just below them. Each shot had been in the back of the head.

They wore standard snow suits, save for their helmets, but they had been completely striped of their gear. No pouches. No holsters. Not even their vests were still on them. They also lacked any kind of identifying patches. They had been completely looted.

"They're not ours," Nightfall concluded after looking them over carefully. There was nothing to suggest they had any relation to the TRST or Project.

"Still though. This is sick," Paper said, now sitting in the corner and sounding uneasy, trying his best to not look at the corpses. "I mean, combat is one thing, but this... who does this?"

"Evil ponies," Bastion offered, not so sure of the answer himself.

Nightfall hooked a hoof under one of the jaws and inspected what remained of the head. The eyes were looking away towards the other end of the room. He followed the dead pony's gaze to the wall. There was nothing there. "This was an execution alright," he confirmed. "They probably brought them in here because it's out of the way."

"So it's an impromptu kill room then," Bastion said, a look of disgust present across his visage.

"But why?" Star Mist asked. "Why execute them? Aren't they part of the same group?"

"Maybe," Nightfall answered, not so certain about anything at this point. "Could be a rival group for all we know."

"How many mercenary groups are in this city?" Bastion asked in frustration.

He didnt get an answer, as everyone just silently reflected on the little information that they did have. Nightfall was the first to stand and leave the shower room, now carefully taking note of the surrounding lockers, checking the few that could still open for anything of interest. He was followed closely by Star Mist, who now seemed to cling to him just a little bit closer.

Nightfall's ears twitched suddenly as a faint sound met them, one that originated close by. Paper was about to say something when he harshly ordered for everyone to "be quiet."

The room was completely silent for several seconds as everyone just quietly listened.

"Do you hear that?" Nightfall asked, only extracting confused expressions from his teammates.

"No," Paper answered, his rifle now at the ready as he scanned the room.

Nightfall took a few cautious steps as he attempted to get a bead on where the sound was coming from. It was faint and soft. He wasnt surprised that a non-thestral would not hear it, but he could and he now he knew where it was coming from. "There," he said pointing to a large locker at the corner of the room, one more than big enough to fit an entire pony. He gave a few hoof gestures, to which everyone responded to with raised rifle, their sites set on the locker.

"Come on out," Nightfall demanded towards the locker. "Now," he added sternly.

There was no response initially save for a few slight, but still very visible shakes. Someone was in the locker and they were testing Nightfall's patience. "I'm not going to ask you again," the thestral said, shouldering his own weapon and loudly chambering a round. Slowly, but surely, the door opened a little and a grenade rolled out at their hooves.

"Grenade!" Bastion cried as loud as he could, jumping back onto the ground.

The air in Star Mist's lungs was practically knocked straight out as Nightfall tackled her to the ground and into the shower room. Paper wasted no time diving away as well.

!!!!POP!!!!

There was suddenly a deafening noise and a great blinding flash of white as the flashbang discharged, the only audible noise following being the sound of everyone's own ears ringing.

The locker door burst open and the pony within made a mad dash for the exit, sprinting as fast and as hard as he could away from his pursuers. He slammed through the door, out into the open hallway.

"Not so fast!" Bastion yelled as he rounded the corner and followed in close pursuit, having been mostly shielded from the blast. Paper was hot on his heals at first, but stumbled and fell into the wall. He staggered and tried to get up, not at all wanting to leave Bastion to go after the pony on his own. He eventually made it to the door and slowly began to pick up speed as one hoof fell in front of the other and he soon found himself in a dead sprint through the dark corridor.

"Gah," Nightfall groaned in angry annoyance, his vision now one solid blurred color and his ears buzzing so loud that his brain seemed like it was rattling. He rolled over off of Star Mist and onto his back. "Meadow," he managed. "You there?"

There was no reply at first, but before he could even open his mouth to put out more words, he felt a gentle hoof fall onto his chest and another wrap around the back of his head. He reached out, finding a hard rounded surface just a few inches above him. As his vision slowly returned, he found that his hoof was on the cheek of Meadow's helmet. She was saying something. He could tell by the way her head moved, but he couldn't tell what.

"Don't let him get away!" Paper called ahead as he ran as fast as his hooves could take him.

The sounds of three sets of hoofsteps in full sprint echoed through the halls as the three ponies ran, followed by the occasional sound of someone tripping over their own hooves. The pony in front was no exception to this, as he had somewhat flashed himself involuntarily. Rounding a corner, he slid on all fours, desperately trying to gain traction before slipping and careening straight into the wall. He only managed to pick himself up just in time to not get body slammed by Bastion, who had also slid into the wall. Paper came next, colliding with Bastion full force.

Rebounding off the larger earth pony, Paper managed to make it to his hooves rather quick, before falling flat on his face, just as the pony currently running from them just did. He got to his hooves once more and the chase was back on. "Stop," he yelled as he left Bastion in his dust.

Bastion stumbled upwards before beginning to sprint again, Paper and the other pony now seeming much smaller than they had only seconds earlier. He grabbed his radio. "Foxtrot! You there?" Without even waiting for an answer he continued. "Get your ass over here. We got one coming out. North West exit!"

Digging deeper and deeper, the pony gave all he could in his effort to get away. He looked over his shoulder several times to look at those who were chasing him. Paper was getting closer and closer on the straightaways, but with every sharp turn he took he managed to add a few extra meters to his lead. Eventually, he found himself at the exit, just out of reach of freedom where he would be able to lose his pursuers in the snow, never to be found again. Or so he thought.

Clunk! He went down hard, momentum and gravity now being the only thing carrying him after taking the butt end of a rifle straight to the face. He slid on his chest right into the wall of snow that covered the entrance, coming to a stop for only a split moment before being helplessly dragged back into the building and thrown on the floor, a set of hooves on his back and a gun barrel now pressed to the side of his head.

He muttered a few words of disdain towards his attacker, but was unable to lift his head. Instead, he only saw the hooves of two more ponies approaching him.

"Look what I found," Foxtrot said happily, patting his new prisoner on the shoulder before picking him up a few inches and throwing him back into the ground.

Bastion winced, partly from his own bruises and partly from seeing the pony's ragdoll body being slammed against the floor. "That's enough of that," he said, shooing the pegasus away.

The prisoner was relieved of his weapons, or weapon, the only thing on him being a side arm that wasnt even loaded. Despite remaining entirely silent, his mind raced as his nerves flared up, causing him to shake in terror at his current situation.

"Guys, we got him," Paper said over the radio.

"Um..." Star Mist's voice returned. "We're going to have to call you back."

Paper made a confused face, but didn't question it, his attention now solely set on this mystery pony. He appeared to be like any other that would be caught out in the dead city. He wore the same snow suit that one would expect and carried supplies in a set of small saddle bags, along with standard snow shoes and a side arm. Really, there was nothing special about him at all.

"Look, pal, I dont know what you want and I'm sure I cant get it for you," the pony pleaded, rambling the words of rather rapidly. "Please. Just let me go. I swear, you'll never have problems from me ever again."

Bastion could hear the fear in his voice, much of it no doubt being a result of the pegasus currently atop him with a gun held down at his head. "Who are you?" Bastion asked calmly. "What's your name?"

"Red," the pony answered swallowing hard. "Red Fern. Please dont shoot me."

"We're not going to shoot you," Bastion assured Red. He waved off Foxtrot, who only responded by stepping off of Red and putting his gun away.

Red managed to sit up, slowly and cautiously sitting back on his haunches but not daring to move from his spot. He kept his head low to the ground and didnt make any sudden moves, lest he be shot at. His body tensed up suddenly as Bastion reached out towards him to remove his helmet. Underneath the armored plating a normal earth pony was revealed, his coat being a dark red very similar to Bastion's own.

"What are you doing out here, Red Fern?" Bastion asked simply, but sternly. "Why did you run from us?"

Red Fern fiddled with his hooves for a moment, eyeballing the guns and knives that his captures were wielding. "I- I... I..."

"Spit it out!" Foxtrot demanded harshly. "Why are you here? Who do you work for?"

"I dont know!" Red Fern cried nervously. "Look. I only signed on with those guys as an extra hoof. I didn't know they were going around targeting Initiative bases and they made me a decent offer and it all seemed like easy money and I swear on my life I wasnt a part of that attack. I just stayed here and loaded up equipment and then when they got back they dragged a bunch of ponies off with bags over their heads into the tunnels and then when a few protested this guy in a hood had them executed. That's why I hid. I didnt want to get wrapped up in all of that."

"Hold on," Bastion said, stopping Red Fern, who was talking a million miles an hour as adrenaline raced through his veins and his heart thumped away in his ears.

Bastion turned to Paper quickly. "Are you getting this?"

Paper nodded, having produced a notepad and pen in his magic, and was writing everything down word for word.

"What do you mean you dont know who you're working for?" Bastion asked.

Red Fern just stared for a moment, seemingly not so sure of the answer himself. "Uh," he said. He then noticed the pegasus behind him growing angry and rushed to explain. "I'm serious. I don't know who I was working for. We just our orders from the higher ups who were getting them from someone else."

"Higher ups?"

"Yeah, y'know, like an officer or something," Red explained. "They've got this whole chain of command thing going. The ponies you found in the locker room used to be some. Then they started arguing with this guy in a cloak. They weren't happy about the attack or something and then that was the last we ever saw of them."

"And who was this guy in a cloak?"

Red Fern shrugged, but immediately held his hooves over his head to shield himself. "I swear I dont know. Please don't hit me! He- he was a unicorn though, and he kept going on about how plans had changed and there would be a significant bonus for our extra efforts."

"And you didn't feel inclined to take the extra cash?"

"Sure, maybe at first, but then I found out they had just hit the TRST base and then they executed those guys and I got the hell out. No amount of money is worth all that!"

"So I'm guessing you also didn't know that they've been hunting us even before the attack," Foxtrot said is an accusing tone. "Or did you just conveniently forget until it became too much?"

"What?" Red Fern questioned, his heart sinking to the bottom of his stomach.

"We're pretty sure the mercenaries you've been working for have been killing off our guys," Bastion began. "We had five KIAs the same day that we arrived here. Do you know what it is that they're doing here in this city?"

"I thought they were just Divers," Red Fern answered. "I guess I was wrong about that," he added under his breath.

"Divers?" Bastion repeated. "You mean freelance treasure hunters that go down below the snow is search of valuable objects."

"Yeah," Red Fern confirmed. "They hired me on to help maintain their gear. That's how I got a hold of the flashbang grenade. They have this whole tunnel network that connects to the metro lines and helps them avoid the windigos." He suddenly gasped as he realized something, his eyes lighting up and a lightbulb turning on inside his head. "I can show you them. Then you'll know I'm not lying!"

Red Fern stood up to lead the way, but immediately sat back down when he noticed Foxtrot level his rifle at him. "Or not," he mumbled.

"What do you guys think?" Foxtrot asked Bastion and Paper. "Do we trust him?"

"I don't see the harm it," Paper said, looking up from his notepad. He closed it and stuck it securely back in it's proper place. "Might as well check it out and see what we find," he said as he grabbed his rifle.

"Ah, what the hell, Foxtrot replied. He gave Red Fern a hard nudge on the shoulder with the muzzle of his own rifle.

Red Fern responded only be slowly getting up. When he had finally made it too his hooves, another shove was delivered, causing him to stagger forward. Looking back over his shoulder, he now saw that he was three meters out from his captors, the pegasus still keeping his weapon at the ready while the others watched him carefully. He sighed, knowing full and well that he had gotten himself into a real mess. Without any further hesitation, he slowly took his first steps forward, leading them all back into the darkened bowels of the building.

"Oh god, I feel like I just got hit by a train," Nightfall croaked, his ears still ringing and his brain feeling like it was about to explode.

"Um... we're going to have to call you back," Meadow said over the radio, before removing her helmet and placing it down beside her. "Nightfall," she cooed softly, taking one of his hooves in her own. "Can you hear me?"

"Yep. I here you," Nightfall grunted as he slowly sat up. With help, he removed his helmet, his ears still ringing like an alarm clock as he began to massage them. Still, only pain came. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Meadow assured, despite still having the mother of all headaches. "I want to know if you're going to be alright."

"I'll be okay." Nightfall somehow managed to get to his hooves, but his legs went shaky and he found himself leaning against Meadow for support. Together, they slowly walked to the door, stopping every few seconds as waves of dizziness began to assault them, several drawn out minutes passing as he fought the urge to just fall over. It wasnt long before Nightfall found himself sitting on the ground again, his back against the all and his rifle acting as a sort of support. "Go," he said to Meadow, still feeling like he needed to vomit. "Find the others and meet me here."

Meadow hesitated to leave, but complied nonetheless. "I wont be long," she promised, before racing through the halls. She didnt dare to walk or stop. She ran as fast as she could, having no desire to be leave Nightfall alone, or be alone herself for any longer than she had to. Fortunately, she didn't even have to make it out of the halls before she was among company again.

Four figures appeared in the dark, stepping into view of her flashlight.

"Goddamn, freaking blind us with that thing why dont you," Foxtrot complained, throwing up his NVGs and turning on his own light. Bastion and Paper followed, putting up their own NVGs and turning on their own lights.

Meadow nearly had a heart attack as she realized that there was indeed a fourth pony amongst them and that she had not been seeing things. Jumping back, she instinctively pulled her weapon and aimed.

"Woah, woah there!" Paper cried, stepping in front of Star and placing a hoof atop hers, slowly pushing the weapon downward. "Dont worry, he's with us," Paper assured. He looked back to Red Fern and gave him a look that was both questioning and threatening. "You are with us, right?"

Red Fern responded with the most nervous of chuckles after hearing Foxtrot say, "He better be, or else I'll break his legs and dump him in a windigo nest."

"Of course I'm with you," Red Fern said, sweat still pouring down his face, his nerves not at all calmed by the latest addition to their group. "You guys just say the word and I'll take you to those tunnels I told you about." This was followed by another nervous laugh. Red was currently doing his very best to seem as nonthreatening as possible, but with every move he made he felt like someone around him would interpret it as him trying to fight or escape. Every word that left his captors' mouths, regardless of what it may have been, made him freeze just slightly.

Bastion looked to Red Fern and then to Star Mist. They definitely needed to get moving as soon as possible. There was just one question that he needed to ask. "Where's Nightfall?"

"I'm sorry?" Mythic Rune questioned as a large metal drum was dropped at his hooves. "You want me to do what now?" His tone was filled with shock and surprise, as if he had just been asked to raise the dead.

"You heard us, old man," the mercenary replied. "Fix it."

Mythic stared blankly at the large container before him and then looked to Etcher, who also seemed to share his confusion. "I don't know if that's possible," he said cautiously. "What you're asking... It would take tools, resources, time..."

A large duffle bag was slid to him, the sound of metallic objects within reaching his ears. Slowly, Mythic stood and undid the zipper with his teeth. Inside were tools, far outdated ones by the MSAD's usual standard, but they were adequate for such a job regardless. "I see," he muttered.

"And if we refuse?" Etcher dared to challenge.

"Then we'll shoot your colleagues in the head, one by one, until you give us what we want," the mercenary said simply, slowly pulling his sidearm from its holster. That shut Etcher up.

Mythic gulped as he thought hard on what had been laid before him, before looking up to his horn, the inhibitor still firmly planted around it. He sighed. "I would also need the use of my magic," he said. "Realigning the crystalline structure is far more complicated than simply gluing the pieces together. I'll also need assistance from my fellow mages. I hope that wouldn't be an issue."

"Not at all," the merc assured. He produced two metallic rings, each with the diameter of a pie tin, from his satchel. Pressing a button on his wrist display, arcs of electricity suddenly shot through the center of the rings. "We'll let you have your magic, but if you try anything, we'll make sure that it hurts for a long time." He dropped the shock collars at Mythic and Etcher's hooves.

"Alright, but let's say we succeed in this task," Mythic began. "Let's say we are able to put what pieces we do have back together. You would still be short of a full focusing crystal. What do you plan to do with it?"

"That's none of your business," the mercenary said darkly. "We dont need a full focusing crystal, just most of one. All we need from you, is to make it for us."

Mythic's breathing became heavy and his heart began to beat ever faster. He began to realize what it was that they were going to be doing and how dangerous all of this would be. "I hope you understand the risk you are taking. These fragments are extremely volatile. Without our lab equipment, one false move could mean the end of us."

"Then I guess you have some incentive to not screw this up. Now, are you in..." The mercenary slowly put his hoof over his sidearm again. "Or are you out?"

Mythic looked to Etcher for only a brief moment, to which is fellow unicorn responded only with a nod. "I suppose we are in," Mythic said.

"Good."

And with that, they're shackles were undone, and the collars placed around their necks just before the inhibitors were removed.

"Now get to work," the mercenary commanded, pointing to the large metal drum.

Mythic and Etcher both slowly approached the container, carefully popping the lid off and removing the contents. What they found inside, shook them harder than they already had been before. Inside was a containment unit, a small white metal cube with transparent sides through which they could see the crystal fragment, along with the magical fields currently keeping it stable. That was not what was unsettling, rather it was the label printed on one of the edges.

A1-01

It was the label that a crystal fragment from Alicorn 1 would have been given. Specifically, this was crystal fragment number one, the first one ever found by the MSAD. But if this was truly the case, then it could only mean one thing, something that should not have been possible.

Mythic and Etcher both went deathly silent, before looking across from them where six more drums sat, ready to be opened. For a brief moment, there was only one question on each of their minds. "How?"