Adrenaline, fueled by fear and anxiety, threatened to consume both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as they chased after their targets. They had just reached the palace when they watched a pair of familiar armored figures smash through the stained glass windows: Private Arkanna and Staff Sergeant Kell’s limp bodies helplessly plummeted from the castle’s tower towards the uncaring rocks far below. On instinct the pair of fliers made a mad dash towards the falling men.

Their wings beat hard and fast as they pushed their bodies to their limits to catch up to their swiftly-falling comrades. A cold lump or realization began to swell up inside of Rainbow Dash’s stomach as something became horribly clear to the mare: They had hit terminal velocity, the ground was fast approaching and it wouldn’t be long before their friends cracked like eggs against the stones. Mad with desperation, she pushed her mind alongside her body to find a way.

In a flash, it struck her; there was a way to save them, but she’d need Fluttershy to pull it off. Rolling to the side she locked stomach to stomach with the shy mare and began adding her own wing power to her friend’s.

Initially confused by the act, Fluttershy quickly realized her friend’s plan as their speed began to pick up exponentially. Focusing herself on the plummeting Mandalorians below, she pushed her wings to strengthen their descent.

The air around the two mares began to thicken to almost suffocating levels as the laws of physics demanded their obedience, but this law they intended to break. An invisible wall began to squeeze and contract around them, threatening to break the pair should they slow even for a moment. Pushing harder against the unseen, it started to relent and budge beneath their wings until, finally, everything broke.

In a flood of light and sound that tore the air apart and split the overhanging clouds open, a multi-layered corona of pink, red, yellow and blue exploded. A twisting, turning helix of rainbow and pink energy and light formed behind the pair as they disengaged to split off and cut a path towards one of the Mandalorians below them. With newfound speed, the Pegasi had no trouble reaching their comrades. Rainbow Dash latched herself onto Kell’s side as Fluttershy looped her limbs around Arkanna, hugging tightly to his chest.

Far and wide across the city, the sight of the technicolor explosion could be seen from beyond the torn and cracked buildings and walls as its blast tore a sunlit hole through the grey sky. The sight of this filled their hearts with a newfound flicker of hope as an omen of possible victory.

From their position in the back alleyways of the once-gilded city, Twilight and the others could see the waves of color tear open the sky, its true purpose lost on all but her as they watched this veritable fireworks display.

This display of light and color drew Teth’s attention back to the window as he watched the colorful jet-streams trail behind the Pegasi. An impressed smirk drew across his face as he watched them swoop down and take hold of their allies, “These aliens are just full of surprises.”

Fluttershy’s heart began to sore as she and Rainbow Dash managed to grab hold of Kell and Arkanna. They had done it! They’d saved their friends, just like always. But something gnawed at her, though; something that she and Rainbow had clearly over looked. They were still heading towards the ground, and they were going far too fast, now. Against the onslaught of wind, she managed to glance to the side and see Dash already starting to arc her path to avoid slamming into the ground.

Try as she might, Fluttershy just wasn’t as strong a flyer as her friend. Pouring everything she had into her wings, she managed to level out just in time to brush against the high, unchecked grass below the mountain. Her victory would be short-lived, though, as the terrain ahead became uneven and hilly.

Fluttershy’s mind touched on the night of the firefight in the castle ruins, the leap of faith he’d taken with her in his arms. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for what she was about to do and the pain she knew was about to be put upon herself. Tucking her wings into her sides, she rolled to the side to place herself between the ground and Arkanna. It was a well-known fact that Pegasi were built to absorb high-velocity impacts, living at such high altitudes.

As the ground began scraping against her body, Fluttershy fought back the urge to scream. The soft loam quickly gave way to long-buried stones and rocks beneath the lush surface; she could feel every hard surface beating against her armor like hordes of claws scrabbling for the flesh and bone beneath the protective shell. Her body dug out a shallow ditch as she skidded across the ground, holding tightly to the human’s body as she beat back every instinct to scream. Arkanna’s words echoing in her head, “Don’t scream,”

Rainbow Dash watched helplessly as her friend cut a path of overturned dirt into the edge of the woodlands just beneath the capital. The weight of her own burden had finally begun to take its toll on the plucky athlete as she quickly lost speed and altitude. With a tired grunt, she let Kell’s body land as gently as she could beneath a nearby tree.

Dash’s blood began to run cold as she galloped to the edge of the trench her friend’s body had just dug out, “Fluttershy!” With no hesitation, the adventurous flyer threw herself over the edge and rushed towards the pair of battered forms at the end of the dirt path.

Fluttershy laboriously pulled herself to her hooves with Arkanna draped over her back. There was a blinding pain that tore at her body and tried to force her legs to give up. Her armor had been scraped and torn in areas where the rocks had tried to rip into the mare. A jagged cut ran down through her left eye, the attacking stone just barely missing the chance to blind her, but the unbearable sting of blood and sweat forced the orb closed regardless. Multiple bruises littered her unprotected face, her mane and tail had lost their usual, impeccably-styled look as her right wing hung limply at her side. A fierce pain jumped up and down her front-right leg as she began limping her way forwards.

Running to her friend’s side, Rainbow quickly gave her a hoof with the heavy load as they carried the unconscious warrior away. Leaning the warrior’s limp body against a tree, Fluttershy breathed out a tired thank-you to her friend as she continued to fight the urge to fall over.

Noticing the uneasy wobble the mare had about her, Dash placed her fore-hooves on her friend’s shoulders to steady her and get a better look at her condition, “Whoa there, Fluttershy, you need to take it easy after that landing.”

“I’m… I’m fine…” She managed to force out between labored breaths, “… Need to check Arkanna and Kell’s condition,” Fluttershy stated as she fought to pull away from her friend.

“You’re hurt,”

“I’m a medic,” She stated flatly before pushing past Rainbow Dash, making her way over to Kell’s side.

Dash bit down on the urge to tackle her and just knock the Pegasus out cold, “Fluttershy,”

The gentle mare had already removed the Staff Sergeant’s helmet and was at work examining his condition, “Rainbow, we both know I’m not much use in a fight to begin with,” Her voice shook slightly as she kept her attention on her work, “and right now I’m in no condition to fly,” To add emphasis to this she tried in vain to move her injured wing, “The best way I can help is to make sure these two are alright and do my job as a medic.”

The sounds of blaster fire rang out in the direction of the city drawing the attentions of both mares. A sad frown came across Fluttershy’s face, “But right now, you’re needed up there.”

Rainbow Dash gave her a long sad look before drawing in a deep breath, “Well… I wanted to be a part of the big battle,” She stated sarcastically, “Think you and the boys can get along without me?”

Fluttershy gave her a warm smile despite the pain that wracked her body, “Oh, don’t worry about us. I’ll make sure they stay safe.”

None of them wanted to take this route, but their choices were more than a little limited at the moment. Rarity took a deep breath as she stood face to face with the devastation she and her friends had helped cause. They could hear the sounds of fighting deeper into the city calling to them.

“Are ya sure ‘bout this sugarcube?” Applejack questioned hesitantly.

Another steadying breath forced the posh Unicorn to fight off any hint of unease in her voice, “I’m afraid so; our friends are fighting for their lives at this very moment, and I for one will not sit idle. Could either of you?” Her deep blue eyes searched Pinkie and Applejack’s faces for doubt.

Pinkie strolled past her friends into the charred remains of the front gates, “No way am I gonna let those meanies hurt our friends!”

Applejack smiled weakly, “Not a chance.”

The three ponies picked their way through the wreckage carefully as the sounds of blaster fire bounced off the blackened walls around them. With no warning Pinkie stopped mid-stride, shaking uncontrollably as she found herself staring down at her hoofwork. The charred, half-crumpled remains of a Deathwatch trooper lay out before her. Armor half melted away, seeming to fuse with the humanoid’s skeleton, cementing it to the ground and wall it was slumped against. She quickly shut her eyes tightly as tears began pour out from her eyelids as she tried control her breakdown.

Rarity moved up beside her and found herself riveted to the unfortunate wretch on the ground. She could feel a steel grip twisting her insides and threatening to force their contents out of her, “Pinkie, darling, we really can’t stay here, we have to keep movi-”

Her words fell flat as a form from the darkness came slamming into her with all its might. The Unicorn found herself toppling head over heels down a collapsed chunk of street and stone into the now-exposed sewers below. Her head met a rather large stone at the bottom of her descent, bringing her to a sudden stop, and into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Now, in better light, the attacker could be clearly seen: Half-charred armor of a Deathwatch trooper hung to the feminine curves of her body as her visor looked back and forth between the only two ponies still standing. Not wasting time or her advantage, she quickly made for Applejack, slamming her knee into the face of the stunned apple farmer, “I was hoping you’d come to finish the job,” Kraus stated coldly as she turned her attention to Pinkie Pie.

Gritting her teeth, Pinkie charged in at Kraus in a mad dash. The party pony lunged at her with a battle cry, only to find herself suddenly with her hooves being grasped tightly in the trooper’s hands, “Uh-oh…” Cold realization sank into the poofy-maned mare as her mistake became violently apparent.

With a quick tug and a twist, Kraus used Pinkie’s momentum to her advantage, swinging her into the remnants of a pillar. Pinkie let out a painful grunt as the weakened stonework crumbled on impact and found herself half-buried in rubble. She had little time to test her rocky restraints before a fist connected with the side of her face, turning her whole world into a black canvas.

The sound of galloping hooves drew Kraus’ attention to the charging, orange mare behind her. This one seemed to know what she was doing, as she moved in quickly and gave her very little room to maneuver. Rising to her hind legs, Applejack let loose a volley of anger driven blows with her forelimbs. Kraus’ arms came up to block and protect as she found herself being forced back. The Mandalorian renegade had to admit that the pony’s blows actually hurt quite a bit through her armor.

An opening finally presented itself when one of Applejack’s blows went wide. Behind her visor, Kraus sneered from ear to ear as she quickly made the pony regret her mistake. Stepping in, she buried a fist into her gut before striking an elbow across her face. Applejack found herself stumbling back from her opponent as she lost balance with her hind legs and reverted to all fours.

Snarling in defiance, the apple farmer reared back on her forelimbs to let loose a powerful blow with her prized hind legs. Kraus found herself barely avoiding the deadly assault as it slammed into the stone wall behind her. Beneath a strike that would unlatch even the most stubborn piece of fruit from its branch, the stonework cracked and crumbled away into dust.

Falling back through the scattering debris, Krause made a quick escape from the powerful earth pony. Clearly, a direct attack wouldn’t help her with this opponent. Applejack, however, was not about to let her enemy escape so easily and gave chase through the thick cloud of dust. The mare strained her eyes against the thick veil as she found herself instinctively taking far more cautious steps the further she trekked.

The farm pony could feel glaring eyes watching her from the shadows as she moved deeper into the newly exposed room, “Y’all best be listenin’; now Ah’m willin’ ta go easy on ya if’n ya give up peaceful-like,” She half-pleaded. Debris finally settling around her, she could see the room at least appeared emptier than it felt.

Applejack’s body tensed as she scanned every corner of the room, searching for signs of her attacker. Slowly trotting to the center of the room, she could feel every shadow glaring at her. Eventually she turned her back on the wrong one.

Kraus had been waiting for this moment, when “Jacquelyn’s” attention would be away from where she was hiding. With trained and honed swiftness, the trooper closed the gap between herself and her prey, tightly grabbing the unsuspecting pony around the waist and hoisting her body into the air. Applejack let out a yelp in surprise and a brief protest as she demanded to be released. Letting herself fall backwards with the pony hoisted over her shoulder, Kraus used Applejack to absorb the fall, gravity only serving to enhance the cruelty of the blow.

Rolling away from her prey, the renegade trooper instinctively drew her wrist-mounted blade, ready to finish the mare. Much to her delight, her opponent laid out in the rubble, unmoving but barely breathing. A smirk came to her face as she pulled herself to her feet, “Good, don’t want you to die until after I deal with HER.” The words dripped with spiteful venom as she stalked into the crumbled hole the Unicorn had tumbled through.

Rarity had just begun to regain her senses as a blinding pain beat rhythmically inside of her head. Her vision blurred still as something started to dawn on her, that rhythm wasn’t just inside of her head, something was clacking on the ground. Hoof-steps maybe, “Well well well, look at the little witch now,” The voice caused her eyes to spring open as fear gripped at her heart.

Rarity had very little time react as the hard tip of Kraus’s boot connected violently with her gut. The pain forced her to curl up as she cried out in pain, “Oh, I’m sorry, did that hurt?” The words oozed disdain, reflected in another blow to the Unicorn’s ribcage.

Kraus was enjoying the sounds of her pain, a sick symphony that brought her so much joy. Pulling her helmet off, she let the half-burnt piece of armor fall to the ground with a loud THUNK, “I wanna watch you squirm with my own eyes, you little freak.” The armor may have saved her from the explosion, but the effects were still clear: her skin, once a pristine pale was marred red from the heat, her rough-shorn auburn hair looked to be partially singed, “You and your kind need to be shown your place in the galaxy,” She snarled at her before grabbing the mare by her mane and dragging her out of the hole.

The Element of Generosity fought back against the uncaring fingers that grasped her tightly and drug her across the stone surface. Reaching the top, Kraus threw her forward before connecting another heel to the mare’s shoulder, “This is where you belong, under the heel of someone stronger than you!” She was on the verge of screaming as she rained a few more blows onto Rarity who curled herself up in defense.

Kraus let out a laugh as she struggled to get away from her, “Batting your eyes like some harlot, twisting my comrades around your little finger; all the while you were simply slipping the noose around our necks!” Another harsh blow met Rarity’s chin, causing a dribble of blood to be drawn from the side of her mouth.

Grabbing her hind legs, Kraus pulled her back before she could crawl away. Smiling happily, she set herself down on the pony’s chest, pinning her forelimbs to her sides with her knees. The pain and weight made breathing nearly unbearable for the fashionista as she struggled against the irate Deathwatch trooper, “Does it hurt?” She cooed coldly while forcing her eyes to stay with hers, “It’s only gonna get worse; I’m gonna make this take a long and painful time before I finally kill you.” Kraus glanced between Pinkie and Applejack, “Don’t worry though; your friends get to die quickly.”

Her fingers quickly clasped around Rarity’s neck and began to squeeze tighter and tighter. She struggled harder against the pressing hands at her windpipe as her oxygen came thinner and thinner. Gagging and gasping, Rarity did her best to break free as fear and panic reflected in her eyes and tears rolled down her face.

“This is where you die, an’ I’m gonna drink in every second of the light leaving your eyes.” Kraus snickered as her sick game continued to play out. She teasingly would let her grasp loosen just enough to allow enough oxygen in to keep her awake and most importantly, alive, “That’s right, keep struggling; maybe you’ll get free!” Kraus teasingly laughed at her as she felt her forelimbs fight against the pin that held them at her side. Behind her, Rarity’s back legs kicked helplessly as she fought to free herself.

Kraus leaned in close and whispered into the mare’s ear, “After I’m done here, I’m going to hunt down every single one of your mutant kind,” She teasingly let her words pour into Rarity, “Your mother, your father and anyone with a drop of your blood in their veins. I’ll hunt them down and squeeeeeze the life out of them,” Her grip tightened quickly with her words forcing out a weak, choking gasp from Rarity, “They’ll all die… Just… Like… Yo-”

Tunnel vision had always been a problem of Kraus’; she would become engrossed with something to the point where the world around fell out of focus. This time would prove rather disastrous for her as a solid, blunt force connected with the side of her head. Had she paid more attention to her prey, she might have noticed the sudden shift in her eyes as they flashed from stark terror to pure rage, or even the faint, blue glow around her horn. Kraus tumbled off of the pony as a solid blow from a levitating rock struck her on the side of her head.

Rarity coughed and gasped as the sudden influx of oxygen filled her otherwise deprived lungs. Her head spun wildly with a mix of rushing blood and mounting rage. Bringing herself to her hooves and fighting off the uneasy shaking in her knees, she sluggishly brought herself to where Kraus had landed. The human before her fumbled pathetically to pull herself upright as a long trail of red ran down the side of her head mixing with the grime and sweat that caked her skin.

Breathing heavily, she fought to keep her feelings and her mind moving in one coherent direction, continually reminding herself that she was better than whatever dark, horrid fantasy was driving her, poking and prodding her from the forbidden recesses of her mind. She had seen the kindness, and to some extent, even selflessness that this thing’s kind could display. But then again, could Rarity even call this monster human? Or even a Mandalorian, for that matter?

Standing over the lost and disoriented form beneath her, she could hear her words bouncing off the inside of her skull. She could see Kraus’ dark dream playing out in her head: Her mother, her father, even Sweetie Belle. She would make good on her promise, she’d kill everypony she knew and loved, regardless of how old or even how young they were. Something equally terrible dawned on her: just how many had died by this woman’s hand already? How many cowered in fear of this uncaring alien and her attacking race? Rarity knew she had her answer, this thing in front of her wasn’t a human, it wasn’t some other kind of alien; it was a beast, formed by taking all the worst and most horrible things in galaxy and compressing them together till they formed a sentient life form.

Kraus’ eyes began to refocus as she found herself on her back. A sharp, throbbing pain in the side of her head made moving a cumbersome task. She quickly discovered this while trying to sit up, only to find herself slipping back onto her back. Upon the return of her eyes, she found herself staring up into the face of the mare she vowed to torturously kill. Kraus could see the conflict of emotions beating back and forth within overly expressive eyes.

A dark sneer etched across Kraus' face, “You don’t have the ba-,”

She had put up with enough; enough of her taunts, enough of her threats. Rarity’s forehoof slammed into Kraus’s face with a loud cracking sound. The force of the hate-filled blow sent her backward into the shallow trickle of water running along the sewer floor. Breathing heavily and sharply, Rarity glared down at the woman beneath her, the pain in her limbs quickly becoming numbed by the growing rage. The voice of reason that had dominated so many of her actions in the past was now nothing more than a whisper being pushed far away from her.

Her hoof rose up and struck another hard blow to the woman’s face. Her body moved on its own as her limb rose up and struck her across the face again and again. Kraus gurgled out what might be protests or maybe even begging for her life, all were quickly silenced by the mare’s blows. Rarity pounded the woman again and again as a deafening noise rose up, barely drowning out the sounds of bone and flesh giving way to hate and fury. With every blow she could see this woman ending the lives of her loved ones, one at a time, strangling them all. The visions came fast and tinted dark red as her forelimb fought against the lethargic pain growing within it, fatigue and wear setting in.

Suddenly something wrapped tightly around her and pulled her back to the sewers, back to the battlefield of Canterlot and away from her darkening fantasies. Panting and wheezing, Rarity fought to free herself from the vice like limb around her midsection, “Rarity, now calm down, sugarcube!” Applejack’s words pleaded with her, “This ain’t you, Rarity, an’ Ah know this ain’t a road ya wanna walk!”

The veil of violence had fallen away from her eyes as the shades of red started to fade back to normal. Breathing heavily, she was finally aware of the screaming pain in her forelimb, her lungs and throat ached from yelling. With great hesitation, she cast her eyes upon the outlet for her rage, broken and bloody at her hooves. Flesh swelled up and bruised while skin tore and bones broke as Kraus’ chest rose and fell in a shallow rhythm. Rarity began to tremble in Applejack’s embrace, no longer fighting back as her actions started to crash down around her.

Rarity was no judge of human tastes but she could only assume that she may have been considered lovely at one point. Not anymore, not after what she had done to her. Her eyes traveled to her own fore-hooves, her pure pristine white fur was stained with drying redness. Tears welling up in her eyes as she felt her stomach lurching from side to side, “I… I… Pinkie Pie, somepony needs to check on her.” She quickly stated as she pulled herself free.

Applejack sadly watched the mare stumble away from the scene she’d created with her own hooves. A pain-wracked chuckle drew her attention back to the broken human behind her, “Heh, should’a let ’er finish it,” Kraus coughed out behind a spattering of blood and pain.

The apple farmer’s eyes narrowed tightly on the Deathwatch trooper. Trotting over to Kraus’ side, the normally gentle and kind mare could only stare down at this creature in contempt and disgust. Through broken teeth and trickling blood, the broken woman continued to laugh between flashes of pain, burning deeper into Applejack. Taking a steadying breath, she took her growing anger under control, “Ah just didn’t want ’er ta know how it feels ta take a life,” Her hoof rested on the woman’s neck and pressed down as the broken trooper barely struggled to fight back. Emotion faded from her eyes as she put her full weight into it, “Already know what it feels like mahself, what’s one more?”

Mandalore Shaysa Fett drank in the organized chaos of the bridge crew around her. Men and women moving from station to station as this small portion of her fleet prepared to secure this system before the rest of her forces arrived. She always enjoyed these moments before battle, the feeling of energy in the air as everything started to come to a boiling point. Her armor’s red and gold color scheme set her far apart from any other armored Protectors on the bridge, making her a bright beacon in the sea of confusion.

Her fingers tapped out a rhythm on the helmet tucked under her arm as she watched and listened to the unfolding scene, “Mand’alor,” Fett’s attention shifted to a young private scanning over a datapad, “We’ve completed analyzing the ships; they matched the fleet that attacked Ordo’s dry dock.”

A playful smirk came to Shaysa’s lips at this information, “So our opponent is that traitorous dog Hrask,” Everything she knew about the diminutive Admiral told her to expect a rather bloody exchange in the next few moments, “Move all ships forward to engage the aruetii forces and scramble Havoc and Ripper squadrons to take off after the opening volley.”

The far larger force of ships under the banner of the Neo Protectors moved in closer to the smaller Deathwatch fleet. Volleys of turbolaser fire and missiles from both sides tore across the empty void of space. The airless vacuum drained all sound from the exchange as hundreds of turrets unleashed countless salvos into one another’s shields.

From either side, star fighters began to pour out of the larger, carrier-class ships. Deathwatch’s forces entered the battle in heavily-modified R-28 star fighters, their armor and weapons systems having clearly been overhauled to combat modern threats. The Protectors, however, preferred the use of a swept-wing fighter closely taking design nods from the old Mandal Motors fighter known as the Scyk, creating a new dual engine interceptor simply dubbed the Scyk MKII.

A careful exchange began to take shape as these smaller combat vessels fought tooth and nail as they ducked and darted between the exchanges of capital ship weapons. One particular Protector fighter moved ahead of his formation in order to chase down a Deathwatch fighter. The pursuit took these pilots through the shrinking gaps between their capital ships and dangerously close to the spraying fire from these massive behemoths. Though the Scyk MKII lacked the heavier armor of the R-28, it made up for the lack of defenses with speed and agility - speed it was able to use to close the gap just enough to riddle the fighter’s hull with blaster fire. The vessel swung away from the fireball in time to avoid being caught in the blast, “Havoc Three, splash one!” The words excitedly rang out across the coms.

From the bridge of her massive vessel, Fett drank in the flashes of blaster fire exchanging back and forth between the hulking warships, while in between the smaller star fighters cut swaths of destruction, filling in any gaps in the skirmish. An excited smirk came across her features as it became apparent that all the rumors of Hrask were true: Despite the smaller size of his fleet, he was able to hold his own. The Mandalore was impressed when one of her assault frigates became the first casualty, entirely consumed in a ball of fire. Twice the ships meant her opponent had twice the targets to choose from. But Fett didn’t need to wipe him out, only stall till the rest of her forces entered the system.

Teth’s attention forced itself away from the most incredible display of physics breaking he’d ever seen in his life in order to return to his children. His posture quickly switching back into parental mode, “Are you two alright?” The concern hanging from his words brought a feeling of sincerity to them.

The pair slowly nodded in unison as they both struggled to understand what had just happened. This brought out a soft smile in Teth, “Thank goodness,”

Sounds of heavy foot falls snapped the pair of colts out of their stunned silence. Quickly jumping from their seats, the pair made for what seemed the safest place in the room as of yet: behind Teth. Their human protector quickly turned to face the new intruders. A pair of his men pushed their way into the room in a near panic; they came to a sudden stop as they caught sight of the dead troopers. Teth’s steely gaze brought them both to attention.

“The two of you had best have a good excuse for being so late while my SONS and I were being attacked!” Teth bellowed causing them to flinch.

“S-sir, we, uh,” One of the pair stammered as he tried to organize his thoughts, “Sir, the Neo Protectors have entered the system and have engaged our fleet; Admiral Hrask has ordered a full retreat and our men have begun pulling out of the city.”

Teth had never been quite so thankful for his inhuman talent for masking his emotions as the rage in his gut wanted to spill out and crush these messengers, “I see,” A sensation through the Force drew his mind to a spot not far from the palace, his true prey in this fight would be here soon. His gaze moved to the colts at his feet before returning to the troopers, “Take my sons to the shuttle and get them to safety, I will remain and deal with Mandalorian Knight outside the palace.”

Both troopers shared a look from behind their visors, one of them almost making the mistake of asking how he knew this, “Yes, sir!” Instead they made the smart choice of simply following their orders and snapping off a salute.

Teth knelt down to the pair of colts, speaking softly and confidently, “I need you both to be strong and go with these men. I’ll be right behind you both, alright?”

The sharp stench of ozone filled the warehouse as the small contingent of guards fought against the smaller force of invaders. Mackers and Yazan had taken refuge behind a system of pillars doing their best to draw any stray fire away the caged civilians. Spitfire, however, preferred a more direct approach to the battle.

Her blinding speed and impossibly smooth maneuverability had been trained up from years of stunt flying. Try as they might, the Deathwatch couldn’t keep her at a distance, continually losing valuable ground as she darted from target to target. The length of chain wrapped around her forelimb had gone from restraint to deadly flail in a fraction of a second as it scored bone-shattering hits as she zipped about the room.

One of the few remaining defenders attempted to make a run for freedom as he let fly blind blaster bolts over his shoulder. Passing far too close to one of the slave pens, one colt decided it was time for some payback of his own. His front hooves reached out between the bars and took hold of the man’s leg, yanking hard to pull the captured limb into the bars. The trooper let out a painful yelp as the electrical current trapping the bars coursed through his body causing his muscles to spasm. Fighting through the pain, the colt held on tightly to the leg and the bars.

This act of defiance would unintentionally pay off in a pretty big way for both the colt and everypony else. The massive surge of electricity passing through the cage, its occupant and the trooper was enough to cause an overload throughout the system. With a loud pop, the cages began to swing open, the locking mechanisms blowing off from the sheer influx of excess energy. The newly-freed ponies were quick to join the fray against the last two of their guards and tormentors. All but one colt, who’s smoking body clung tightly to the leg of a still trooper smoldering inside his armor.

With a proud smirk, Spitfire took charge of the fresh reinforcements, landing herself before them and the exit, “All of you, I need you to listen to me! Right now your friends, your neighbors and loved ones are fighting just outside to free our city. I understand you’ve been through a lot, but we need your help if we’re ever going to push these aliens off our world!” Her wings spread out wide as she puffed out her chest, creating an almost regal look, “We need to show Deathwatch the strength of Canterlot and Equestria! Who’s coming with me!?”

It wasn’t hard to convince them to keep fighting; the adrenaline high these ponies were still riding was palpable. A famous figurehead like a Captain of the Wonderbolts could push them to do just about anything after she fought so hard to set them free. Cheers and shouts of support quickly grew from the crowd of Equestrians when their savior lifted her chain-wrapped hoof to the sky in defiance. Drinking in the joy and adulation, Mackers and Yazan joined in with the crowd as they started to pour out the front doors of the warehouse.

Spitfire couldn’t help but be impressed with herself as she watched the throngs of ponies gallop into the streets. For the first time in days her heart soared high and showed no signs of falling. With a wide smile, she turned towards her current partners in crime and began trotting towards them. She was starting to consider that maybe not all of these aliens were the same.

As Mackers turned his attention to the pony, his eyes immediately were drawn to a small red dot creating contrast against her fiery coat; the dot moved along her side towards her head, suddenly flicking a few warning lights off inside his head. Darting towards her, everything seemed to move in slow motion as he leapt to tackle the mare out of the way. He yelled at her to get down, but his words came out at a crawl from his adrenaline-fueled maneuver. His body collided with her, toppling them both out of harm’s way as several blaster bolts struck the ground.

Yazan quickly leveled his weapon with the attack in the rafters, letting loose several bolts of energy that buried into the structure around him. Gritting his teeth, the Twi’lek trooper continued to spray fire into the ceiling as he tried to keep up with the frantic movements of the Deathwatch trooper overhead. A clinking noise behind him drew his attention to the grenade that had landed during his spray and pray moment. Cursing loudly, he dove out of the blast radius as he was propelled by the explosion into a stone pillar, slumping to the ground.

Spitfire quickly pulled herself free of Mackers, glaring daggers up at their attacker, “Think you’re safe up there!?” She called up at him as her anger began to flare up again. With a swift motion of her wings, she was quickly launched into the rafters with a triumphant sneer, “Think again!”

Caught off-guard, the soldier stumbled back as he let several blaster bolts fly blindly. The ever-confident stunt mare deftly avoided them with ease. Her fur stood on edge as the familiar heat of energy weapons came teasingly close to her, only serving to fuel her actions as she ducked and dodged across the tight quarters of the rafters. With a swift burst of speed, she slipped behind the Mandalorian traitor, wrapping her chain tightly around his neck. Her back hooves pressed into the small of his back as she used his body for leverage to tighten it and cut off airflow; instinctively, his grip on his weapon tightened, sending off several shots wildly into the room before his body went limp.

Spitfire stood over her prey in triumph before casting her eyes to her allies below, only to become filled with shock at what she saw. Just below her Mackers lay on the ground, holding the front of his helmet and screaming in pain. The edges of his visor were scorched and shattered as blood trickled through his fingers and the lower edge of his helmet. Her blood began to run cold as her eyes followed the fresh blaster marks along the floor leading towards her wounded alley as he writhed on the ground. Slowly her attention drifted to the chain around her hoof and the dead trooper hanging limply from the rafters, her mind eventually finishing the equation.