Sundance stepped out of the DropShip and glanced around at the open field they had landed in. It was a tundra in the northern part of Strana, probably about half a day's travel from the mountains by 'Mech. The rocky ground had patches of moss-like grass here and there and was mostly flat. He could see large grey buildings in the far distance, presumably the Clan Ghost Bear facility. It would probably take a few hours to get there by Mech, but an aerodyne DropShip like the Leopard could probably make the trip in just over an hour.

"Um... Not a lot of cover out here. Is this really the best place to hold?" Chartreuse asked as she scanned the barren ground around them.

"We don't have a choice. This is as far north as the Lions could alter their drop paths so we have to hold here. We've got about an hour before those Mercers hit the ground. The Ghost Bears weren't very open to helping us, so we can't run to them for help," Hazelnut said over the comms.

"You're telling me those DropShips heading towards us are all Mercers? They can each hold a full binary Mechs, and there are six of them! We can't fight off sixty mechs on our own! How are we supposed to survive without help?" Mist asked as he glanced worryingly up at the massive spheres rapidly descending towards the atmosphere.

Hazelnut clicked his tongue. "Ah, I didn't say nopony was going to help us, just not the Ghost Bears. Clan Wolf is sending dropships to our location. They'll get here a little under an hour after the Mercers, so we just have to survive on our own for that long."

Mist sighed and dropped his head into his hooves. He took a deep breath then sat back up, leaning into his seat. "Alright, fuck it. Do we have a plan?"

"Our DropShips should deter them from landing too close, though they'll likely try to land within range to provide some assistance to their 'Mechs while they fight. I was thinking we could try to use our Lions as cover since it's pretty empty out here. The scout 'Mechs can all hang around behind the DropShips and attack when the enemy starts to get closer. We only need to delay them, not kill them, so that makes it a little easier."

"That's it? That's our plan?" Mist said.

Hazelnut sighed. "Slate was the one who was always in charge of this stuff. That's the best I could come up with, so we're gonna have to stick with it."

The massive bay doors of the Lion DropShips opened slowly, revealing the 'Mechs and infantry that were inside. Sundance saw quite a few large 'Mechs step out, shaking the ground with their weight. "And I guess nopony's told you yet, but despite being a freeborn unit we've got quite a few strong 'Mechs. This mission shouldn't be too impossible, assuming everything goes to plan," Hazelnut said, stepping out of one of the DropShips in his 'Mech. Since there wasn't room on the Leopard DropShips for their own 'Mechs the commanders had to keep them on the Lions. It didn't matter too much in a situation like this where they had plenty of time, but it could be annoying at other times.

"Damn. I take back what I said. We might actually survive long enough," Mist said, surprised.

Sundance glanced over the 'Mechs that had stepped off the DropShips. He couldn't recognize all of them, but if he had to guess, there were two lights, six mediums, eight heavies, and four assaults, excluding the ones from the Leopard DropShips. Hazelnut and Obsidian walked over to Sundance and his friends, both in very large 'Mechs. Obsidian's 'Mech seemed to be a Summoner like Mist's, but something was a bit different about how it looked. It looked newer in a way.

"Wow, a Blood Asp and a Grand Summoner." Mist stared at the two 'Mechs, practically salivating. Sundance had never heard of either of those two, but considering the names, he assumed the Grand Summoner was the one that looked like Mist's 'Mech and the Blood Asp was the one with two massive guns on top of it.

"Yep. Being the terribly important assets to our Clan that we are, we get only the very best equipment," Obsidian said jokingly. "Wait, no, actually we aren't and we don't. We took these as salvage a while back because we were issued ancient 'Mechs that could barely move, like yours. No offense."

Mist shrugged. "I don't disagree. I love this 'Mech but it shows it's age sometimes. It could really use some work."

Sundance turned to Mist as the two commanders walked away to do their best to boost the morale of the other soldiers. "So how exactly will we know which 'Mechs to shoot at? Every 'Mech on the battlefield is going to have Clan Draconequus's symbol painted on them."

"It's shouldn't be too hard to tell. While all of our 'Mechs are painted in the standard forest camo, theirs should be painted in our Clan's colors. If you see a 'Mech that looks more like a foal's school art project than a war machine, shoot it. Simple, right?"

Sundance nodded. "I guess so."

"Is that who I think it is?" Sundance heard a voice over the comms exclaim. He turned to see a large 'Mech sauntering over to them with a bright pink swirl painted on it as the pony's cutie mark. He recognized the 'Mech as a Gargoyle, another one of the aging 'Mechs from the same era as his own.

"Carmine? You're still alive?" Mist said as he turned to face the larger 'Mech.

"Surprisingly, yeah. I certainly never expected to see any of you again. That's mostly thanks to Chalk, though. He's been doing most of the keeping me alive," Carmine said jokingly, a curious edge to her voice. She rotated the torso of her Gargoyle around to look at another, much larger 'Mech, which was walking slowly towards them. There were quite a few short white lines drawn on it near the cockpit, which Sundance was pretty sure signified the number of kills the pilot had. This pilot had more than either of the commanders, meaning they must be a very dangerous MechWarrior.

Sundance glanced at one of his screens, which showed the 'Mech was an Executioner in configuration E, a ninety-five ton assault 'Mech with a nasty weapons loadout. He thought he recognized the bomb-shaped cutie mark painted on it as belonging to Bittersweet, but brushed it off as too much of a coincidence. However, his hopes quickly fell when he heard the other pony speak up.

"It's not my fault you can't defend yourself. If you weren't so careless you wouldn't need saving all the time," Bittersweet said with a frown.

Carmine shrugged. "You'd have nothing to do if I wasn't constantly in danger. Besides, I'm pretty sure half of those kills of yours are indirectly because of me."

Bittersweet sighed. "I'm gonna die trying to save your ass one of these days, and I won't be happy about it." He turned to Sundance and looked his 'Mech over equivocally, scratching under his neurohelmet with one hoof. "Can't say I ever thought I'd see you again. I was surprised when they put you on the Constellation, and not in a good way."

Sundance shifted in his seat nervously. He had actually kind of been hoping that Bittersweet would be dead by now. After everything the green pony put him through, he wasn't exactly happy to be standing in front of his tormentor again. He wasn't really sure what to say, either. This wasn't a situation he had thought he would ever be in.

Luckily for Sundance, Vermilion moved his Timber Wolf in between the two of them before he could react. "Leave him alone, Bittersweet."

Bittersweet raised his hooves. "I wasn't gonna touch him. I'm not an idiot, you know. Even somepony like him can do at least something in a 'Mech like that before dying, and we need all the help we can get here." He turned to go but stopped for a moment. He rotated the torso of his Executioner back around to glance at Sundance. "I heard you were one of the ones to off Sienna. That took guts, even if it was just a fluke." He nodded to Sundance before walking over to another group of heavies and the other assault. Carmine waved to the group and followed Bittersweet over to the other 'Mechs, frowning slightly to herself.

"Is it just me, or did he compliment Sundance? I'm not going crazy, right? He actually said that?" Mist asked, glancing between his friends.

"You are going crazy, but that doesn't have anything to do with Bittersweet," Chartreuse said, poking fun at him. She walked over to them and sighed. "This all feels like it's going too fast. Everything was normal this morning, but it's not even lunchtime yet and we're suddenly about to fight for our lives."

Sundance nodded. Everything had gone downhill rapidly after the Captain walked into the briefing room. He had been prepared to fight 'Mechs in a war, not kill a pony face to face, almost die during a risky jump through hyperspace, and finally have to fight for survival in an open field while waiting for backup. His anxiety had been at an all-time high the entire day, and it certainly wasn't getting any better.

Breathe, Sundance. Calm down before you panic again, Solis said. She hadn't even been aware that anything was going on until Sundance powered up the Hellbringer half an hour ago. It definitely seemed like a dire situation to her and a panic attack right now certainly wouldn't do him any good. They both needed to keep calm for the coming battle.

Sundance nodded again and took deep breaths, calming himself and thinking through the past few hours. Even though it had been an incredibly stressful morning he wasn't sure he would have preferred it to have happened much differently. Attacking another Clan on Strana would have been awful, and he wasn't entirely sure he could have gone through with it. He hated that Slate and Cotton had had to die for it, but it didn't hurt quite as much when he thought of their deaths as sacrifices rather than unfortunate casualties of war.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if the other WarShip is still alive. From what Mist said, the gravity should be taking its toll on it by now," he thought, glancing out of his cockpit up at the sky to try and find the ship. However, he felt his heart miss a beat when he realized it was nowhere to be seen. All he could see was the wreck of the Constellation.

"Mist? What happened to the other WarShip?" he asked, confused. It couldn't possibly have jumped again or moved away from the planet that fast. He didn't know that much about WarShips, but he knew the KF drives couldn't do subsequent jumps because they had to recharge, which took days normally.

"Shit, they're not there? They're just gone?" Mist asked, slumping back into his seat. He rested his chin on one hoof. "Hmm... They might have jumped, probably to some point out of the star's gravitational field."

Sundance scratched the back of his head. "How? I thought the KF drives had to recharge before being used again. Doesn't that take a really long time?"

Mist nodded. "They do, but there is a way to jump twice. The Constellation should have been able to as well. It uses a Lithium-Fusion battery, which basically acts as a second charge for the KF drive. They must have had a functioning one on board. I'd imagine the one on the Constellation wasn't functional, considering we're here instead of somewhere in deep space.

"Anyway, jumping from a point with high gravity is almost as dangerous as jumping to a point with high gravity. There's a lot less room for error, making a misjump much less likely, but the ship is still going to suffer pretty severe damage. With any luck, it'll be enough to destroy the ship." Mist glanced back up at the DropShips, which had just entered the mesosphere and looked more like meteors than ships. "Not that it's important to us right now. We don't have long until they're on us."

Sundance sighed and leaned back into his seat. The other 'Mechs had begun to move into their positions, preparing for the fight. "Damn. Even after all that they still might survive."

The four of them walked over to stand beside one of the Lion DropShips, lined up by weight with Chartreuse in the front. Since she had the most armor she could take any stray hits from the Mercers as they landed. The other assaults and heavies lined up in a similar fashion, and even a few of the larger mediums were in formation. The lights and more fragile mediums were hunkered behind the large DropShips, waiting for their opportunity to join the fight. All of the infantry were still onboard the ships, similarly waiting until they could be of use. After a few minutes of silence, Hazelnut spoke up on the comms.

"Alright, soldiers. This is it. We hold them off here while we wait for reinforcements. Our Lions are equipped with anti-missile systems, so don't stray too far until the enemy gets closer. Try to stay behind the DropShips until then. You don't need to take any excess damage, and we only need to survive until the Clan Wolf forces arrive. Does everypony know their role?" Hazelnut said, walking to his place in the formation between the two Lions. "Yes? Good. Save your ammo for the 'Mechs when they step out. Don't bother firing at the DropShips. From the distance they're landing at, they can't do too much anyway."

Sundance glanced behind the other DropShips at Tangelo's 'Mech. They weren't likely to see each other in battle too much, considering their hugely different roles. "I hope she'll be okay. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't make it through this."

Sundance watched as the Mercers broke through the atmosphere and plummeted towards the ground. They were huge, bigger then the Lion he was hiding partially behind. They certainly looked intimidating as the massive engines began firing, slowing their descent. He ran his tongue over his missing tooth nervously.

The Mercers slowed almost to a halt as they neared the dirt. Now that they were more or less level with the 'Mechs on the ground, the enemy ships began firing their PPCs at them. At extreme ranges like this, they weren't hugely accurate or powerful, and most of the shots hit the Lions and dealt negligible amounts of damage to the sturdy machines.

The ground shook as the six DropShips touched down, just a few seconds apart. If Sundance had to guess, they were a little over a kilometer and a half away. As long as everypony stuck to the plan and didn't move too far forward, the DropShips wouldn't be much of a threat to them.

The doors slowly opened one after another and 'Mechs began spilling out of the giant ships. Even though he knew they had the advantage with the enemy having to come to them, Sundance couldn't help but feel fear at the sight of so many 'Mechs charging towards them.

Sundance took a deep breath and placed his hooves nervously on the controls. "Here we go. Ready to hopefully not die?" he thought, glancing at the advancing Mechs. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest like a jackhammer and he could barely keep his hooves from shaking.

Of course. Let's give them hell, Solis said. While she was a little scared, she was also excited at the prospect of finally participating in a real battle. Maybe it was a little barbaric, but as a training 'Mech she had always wanted to fight on a battlefield and destroy enemy 'Mechs. Now she just had to live through it.

"Assaults and heavies, now's our time. Once we've got their attention, we'll need the slower mediums to support us and keep their lights away from our rear armor. Our lights and faster mediums should circle around and shoot at the assaults and heavies from the rear. Infantry, do your best to help after the lights have entered the fight. Stick together and call your targets. With that many enemies, we really have to focus just a few 'Mechs at a time if we're going to survive. Everypony ready?" Hazelnut asked, stepping forward from the cover of the DropShips. "Good. Now charge!" He ran forward towards the enemy 'Mechs, a group of heavies following close behind. The rest of the assaults and heavies followed his lead, dispersing out into the battlefield and firing at the enemy.

Sundance glanced wildly around the battlefield as he followed his friends into it, trying to keep his fear under control. Even though he had known this was going to be terrifying it was still more than he had expected to have to handle. "There's so many of them," he said, starting to lose hope. Could they really hold off two whole Clusters of 'Mechs on their own long enough for Clan Wolf to get there?

"Let's not worry about their numbers. Sitting here isn't going to do much good. Let's just focus on one thing at a time," Vermilion said as he fired his missiles at a distant 'Mech.

Mist nodded. "If the four of us stick together and focus one 'Mech at a time we should be good. Me and Sundance can run in and shoot them from up close while you and Chartreuse get them from a bit further back. We can make it through this, just stick to the plan." He glanced around the battlefield, assessing possible targets for a moment. "There, an Ebon Jaguar to the right, cut off from the rest of them. You guys ready?"

"I guess so," Sundance said. He glanced at his loadout. "Slug ammo on the LBX and medium-range missiles in the ATM. That's about as good as I'm gonna get in an open field like this," he thought as he took a few more deep breaths.

"Let's go, then." Mist charged forward in his Summoner and sprinted towards the smaller 'Mech, who had its back facing him. "Turn around and face us, you motherfucker!" he shouted, firing his SRMs and small laser at the Ebon Jaguar. The 'Mech turned around to look for who had dared to shoot it in the back, only to be met by a volley of shots from Mist's UAC/20 across the center and left torsos. After a moment the 'Mech oriented itself and brought its weapons to bear on Mist's Summoner, backing away from the larger 'Mech.

Sundance ran his tongue over his missing tooth again as the Ebon Jaguar's targeting data pulled up on one of his screens. "Moderate damage to the torsos, but the CT has the worst of it. I guess that's where we're gonna aim," he thought, pushing the throttle forward. He fired his large and medium lasers at the 'Mech as it turned its torso to follow Mist, not really dealing any significant damage but managing to grab its attention. He waited for the torso of the enemy 'Mech to turn around to face him, and instead of just a few autocannon shots this time a volley of energy weapons and missiles smacked directly into the 'Mech, fired from Vermilion and Chartreuse. That was enough firepower to strip the armor from the Mech's torsos, and Sundance followed up with a slug from his own autocannon which punched straight through the weakened armor on the left torso and widened the hole in the armor.

"This is going strangely well," Sundance thought. "I guess having two massive DropShips close enough to use their short range weapons helps a lot." As if on cue, one of the Lions fired what seemed to be half a Star's worth of lasers at the Ebon Jaguar, dealing more than enough damage to destroy the Mech and kill the pilot inside.

"Damn. I guess that's one for the DropShips," Mist said jokingly.

Sundance nodded. "Is it just me, or is this a lot easier than it should be?"

"They've underestimated us. They had the advantage until they split apart like that." Vermilion shook his head and glanced around the battlefield. "Their lighter 'Mechs didn't wait for the assaults and larger heavies, so we don't have much opposition yet. The problem comes when their main force gets here."

"They really made a huge mistake there," Chartreuse said, firing at a light 'Mech as it ran by. Sundance saw one of the tiny 'Mech's arms get destroyed, but it managed to sprint away before taking any more damage. "We might actually survive this."

Just then an ungodly roar split the air as a hail of bullets flew through the air and smashed directly into Chartreuse's Marauder, exploding on the thick armor plates. The shots just kept coming, and Chartreuse let out a cry of annoyance. "Fuck! What's going on? I can't see a god damn thing!"

"It's a Bane on the far ridge. Those things mount a ton of UAC/2s," Mist said as he turned to look at a far away assault 'Mech. "It's not within effective range of any of our weapons. We need to get deeper into the fighting if we want to avoid it. Hurry!"

The four of them rushed further into the battle where they were safe from the Bane but became subject to fire from more enemies. Sundance flinched as he felt a burning pain in his left shoulder. He turned and saw a small 'Mech dart past him before moving behind another allied 'Mech to pester them instead.

"How are you holding up, Chartreuse?" Vermilion asked, firing his lasers at the back of a medium 'Mech. It turned to face him, only to get shot in the back and killed by what Sundance thought were the massive guns on top of Hazelnut's Blood Asp.

"Not too good. That Mech really fucked me up back there." Chartreuse turned as a light 'Mech tried to flank around behind her, but Sundance warded it off with a shot from his autocannon and blew off a side torso and the attached arm. She sighed. "The entire front of my 'Mech is pretty beat up. This is a shitty situation to be in."

Sundance watched the small 'Mech run off, trailing smoke behind it. His mind went to Tangelo who very well could be in a similar situation, or dead already. Light 'Mechs were quite fragile as he had just seen. Sundance shook his head. He was distracting himself by worrying about something he couldn't control again. He would just have to make sure he survived this battle and hope she would be able to do the same.

"I hate these small bastards. They're so hard to hit." Mist turned in a circle as a light 'Mech ran around him, peppering him with lasers. He let out an exasperated noise and stepped forward, tripping the 'Mech as it ran in front of him. "Aha! Not so slippery now, are you?" He shouted as he turned to face his fallen opponent. He walked forward and brought one of the legs of his Summoner down on it, pinning its torso to the ground. He pushed his full weight onto that leg and crushed the small 'Mech and the pilot inside. Glass shattered outwards as the cockpit was flattened and Sundance saw blood spray out. He shuddered, his mind going back to the previous events of the morning.

Chartreuse shook her head and fired at a heavy 'Mech who was engaged with one of their mediums. "Holy shit, Mist. That's kind of brutal."

Mist shrugged and turned to fire at the 'Mech Chartreuse was shooting. "War is war. We have to do whatever it takes to survive."

The battle continued, slowly getting fiercer as the heavier enemy 'Mechs trickled into the fray. While it had been manageable before, Sundance was pretty sure most of the enemy heavies were there by now and he thought he even saw a few assaults running around. Most of the enemy lights and mediums were dead, and the ones that weren't were backing off to play a more supportive role. There was only one friendly casualty as far as he could tell, but that was likely to get much worse very soon.

"Shit's starting to get hard now. How many of them do you think are still up?" Chartreuse asked as she destroyed an enemy Hellbringer. They still focused enemy 'Mechs as a group whenever possible, minimizing the damage they took while maximizing the damage they dealt.

"I'd say we've killed about a quarter of their forces, but going by firepower instead of numbers, I don't know if we've made much of a dent. All we did was destroy a bunch of lights, mediums, and two or three of the faster heavies. This fight is far from over." He glanced around, looking for a new target. "Clan Phoenix Hawk to the right. Let's do this."

Sundance and Mist rushed towards the Phoenix Hawk which had noticed them and turned its torso towards them, firing its twin autocannons. The pilot wasn't sure who to shoot at first, but they quickly settled on Sundance. He grunted as he felt the large shells slam into his 'Mech's side torsos but he kept running forward to get within effective range of his own weapons.

"Now!" Mist shouted. He and Sundance both fired their autocannons at the assault 'Mech's center torso then split apart to allow Chartreuse and Vermilion to attack with their own weapons. However, the pilot managed to see through their attack and fired the 'Mech's Jump Jets, carrying them out of the way of the follow-up shots. The Phoenix Hawk landed after a couple of seconds and turned to face Mist, who was running past him off to the left. It leaped forward and swung with one of its weaponless arms, connecting with the slightly lighter 'Mech and sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Over here, you big bastard!" Sundance shouted, firing his lasers and autocannon at the rear of the 'Mech. The LBX slug punched straight through the softened armor and satisfyingly blew the entire torso apart. The large 'Mech toppled to the ground and exploded in a massive fireball out the open chassis.

Mist pushed his 'Mech to its feet and groaned, rubbing his head. "Good shot. That was almost really bad."

"How'd he die so fast? You killed him with one salvo," Chartreuse said as she walked over towards them.

"Ammunition explosion, I think. It happened to me during one of our training exercises a few months back," Sundance replied, glancing at the fallen enemy. "You alright, Mist?"

"Yeah, I'm good. My armor's still holding up pretty well." Mist turned to look out at the battlefield, which they had managed to stray towards the edge of again. "We shouldn't be all the way out here. I can't imagine the others are faring to well. We need to go help them."

Sundance nodded and turned to follow him back into the thickest part of the fighting. He spotted a couple more friendly 'Mechs lying in pieces, which was concerning. While their own 'Mechs had been fighting for a while now and were all damaged to some degree, the enemy still had fresh 'Mechs pouring in and they were getting heavier and stronger with each wave.

Sundance glanced around him but stopped when movement off to his left caught his eye. There was a large group of enemy 'Mechs charging across the battlefield, heading straight for them. "Shit. Guys?" He started turning to face the new enemy but flinched back when he felt a sharp pain in the center of his chest. He clasped a hoof over it and let out a gasp.

Moderate damage, center torso. Gauss Rifle fired from that group of 'Mechs, I think, Solis said. Things had suddenly taken a bad turn, and she wasn't entirely sure they could survive a fight against the five 'Mechs that were charging towards them.

Suddenly one of the DropShips shifted its attention towards the enemy Star of 'Mechs and began firing at them, managing to heavily damage one of the heavies with its lasers. "Still looking out for us, I see," Sundance thought, glancing back gratefully at the ship before turning to face the enemy. He pushed forwards again, running to the aid of his friends who had already begun engaging the group.

Sundance winced as he felt lasers rake across his 'Mech and turned to face his new opponent. Similarly to the Grand Summoner and Mist's 'Mech, this one looked like a newer version of his own. He pulled up the 'Mech's targeting data which simply named it Hel, a sixty-five ton 'Mech just like the original Hellbringer, only with a more dangerous weapon loadout and more armor. Two Gauss Rifles, two ER Large Lasers, and a Streak SRM-4 launcher. "Shit, this is bad," he thought.

Sundance fired his autocannon at the Hel's right torso, rocking the enemy 'Mech at just the right time to throw off the return shots from its two Gauss Rifles. Sundance felt a stinging pain in his left foreleg as of the massive slugs glanced off the edge of his Hellbringer's ar, while the other missed entirely. He followed up with his lasers and missiles before turning his torso to absorb the return missiles and laser shots in one of his arms.

Moderate damage, right arm. Light damage, right torso.

Sundance turned back towards the enemy 'Mech hoping to get another shot into its left torso. However, the Hel's reload was a split second faster than his own and it fired both of its Gauss Rifles directly at his center torso. Sundance recoiled, the pain not unlike getting hit with a sledgehammer. He let out an agonized cough and gripped the controls tighter.

Critical hit, center torso. The others can't help right now. You have to be careful, Solis said, worried. She was concerned for Sundance's safety of course, but she would die too if the Hellbringer was destroyed.

"I know, I'm trying. I don't know what I can do in this situation," Sundance thought, feeling the fear rise in his throat. He turned the torso again to take the return missiles in the left arm before turning back to fire his autocannon and lasers. Some of the lasers missed the target but the LBX slug managed to connect with the left torso. He glanced at the targeting screen. "This isn't good. They've still got a lot of armor left and our CT is open."

The Hel fired its lasers again, and Sundance winced as he felt a burning sensation in his left foreleg. This was followed by the most intense pain he thought he'd ever felt as the 'Mech fired is Gauss Rifles at the same spot. Sundance doubled over in his seat and stifled a yell, clutching his left foreleg to his chest.

Arm destroyed. Weapon destroyed. You have to do something. You're not going to last much longer, Solis said, rising as close to panic as she had ever been. While she had always wanted to fight in a battle and destroy enemy Mechs it had never occurred to her that she might be the one to get destroyed.

"I can't do anything. What am I supposed to be able to do here? They have every advantage in a one on one fight," Sundance cried out, fighting back tears from the pain. He gingerly placed his hooves back on the controls and turned to face the enemy 'Mech. He fired his large laser and missiles again, only to be met by another salvo from the Hel's weapons. Sundance clutched a hoof to his right shoulder and threw his head back as he screamed in agony.

Right torso destroyed. Weapon destroyed. Damage critical. Solis began beeping sporadically in what Sundance assumed was full-blown panic, but he wasn't able to understand most of what she was saying.

Sundance glanced at the weapons loadout screen. "Just an ER Small laser left. So this is what happens when a skilled pilot fights somepony like me," he thought hopelessly. The pain from his damaged 'Mech was almost unbearable at this point and Sundance gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face. The Hel wandered into his view, its torso turned to face him. Sundance's reflexes shouted at him to do something, but deep down he knew he couldn't lift a hoof to save himself. He had never been much use on his own, and even in a life or death situation he couldn't protect himself. Sundance tightened his hooves around his aching body and stared out at the enemy 'Mech, waiting for it to finish him off. "I'm sorry, Tangelo."

Suddenly a bright light flashed around the Hel and he saw a few small shapes dart past the bottom of his cockpit. The back of the enemy 'Mech exploded in a giant fireball as it tumbled to the ground. "What the..?"

"Need some help?" he heard a wonderfully familiar voice say over the comms.

"Tangelo, you're alive!" Sundance breathed as she stepped into view, her Piranha looking like it was barely damaged. Solis let out what he thought was a terrified sigh of relief.

"Yep! We've been charging around the battlefield causing all sorts of hell for the enemy heavies and assaults. It's hard to hit what you can't see," she said before turning to help the others with their own fights. Sundance saw two more lights and a couple of mediums follow behind her, one of them being Fern in his Ice Ferret. Between all their 'Mechs and the DropShip assisting them, the enemy Star of 'Mechs was quickly dealt with and the group took a moment to rest and catch their breath. The pain in Sundance's body had begun to fade though he still felt a sharp twinge whenever he moved too suddenly.

Sundance glanced at his friends. Vermilion seemed to be the better off of the four of them with seemingly minimal damage. Mist's Summoner had definitely seen better days, but as far as Sundance could tell his armor was still holding. Chartreuse, however, was not in such great condition. Almost all of the armor plating on the torso of her Marauder had been stripped off and her left arm was lying in a heap on the ground. At least they were all still alive, though.

Tangelo walked back over to Sundance and let out a nervous sigh. "I'm glad we got here when we did. Another second later and you would have... well, thankfully you're still with us."

He nodded. "I almost gave up there. Thanks for saving my ass."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for," Tangelo said, winking at him.

Sundance grinned at her, feeling lucky in more ways than one at that moment. Even on the battlefield, in the middle of all this death and destruction, she still managed to warm his heart and melt all of his fears away. Tangelo really was an amazing pony.

"Shit, it's that Bane again!" Mist shouted, a hint of fear in his voice. Sundance's head snapped around towards the enemy 'Mech just as the barrage of shells ripped through the air and tore into Tangelo's Piranha. He turned back towards the small 'Mech and felt his stomach drop as he saw the armor shred itself, pieces of metal flying off in every direction from the force of the explosions. The cockpit shattered from the shells pummeling it, eventually giving way and allowing some to pass through. The Mech crumpled to the ground in slow motion as Sundance realized what had just happened.

"NOOO!" Sundance shouted as he shot forward out of his seat to stare at the fallen 'Mech. His mouth hung open as he stood there, and while he could hear the sounds of weapon fire and ponies talking on the comms all his stunned mind could process was the fact that Tangelo's 'Mech was lying in a smoking heap in front of him. He flung the access hatch open and climbed frantically out of the cramped space.

Wait, Sundance, you can't exit in the middle of a battle! You'll get killed! Solis said in as close to a yell as she could manage. He didn't listen to her, however, and he hastily sped down the side of the Hellbringer.

"Come on, come on! I have to hurry!" he thought. Too fast, however, as one of his hooves slipped and he lost his grip on the rungs. The wind whipped hungrily past him as he plummeted towards the ground. He turned his head just in time to avoid a broken neck as he smashed into the frozen dirt and he felt the sharp SNAP of bones as he landed.

The neurohelmet was flung from Sundance's head by the force of the impact. He lied there for a moment, gasping for breath. "Fuck..." He coughed a few times and pushed himself shakily to his hooves, wincing at the pain in his chest and right foreleg. He hobbled over towards Tangelo's Piranha with his broken limb held limply against his chest. "Please be okay. For the love of Celestia, please, please don't be dead," he begged as he neared the hunk of metal.

Sundance pulled his battered body on top of the 'Mech and towards the cockpit. His hopes quickly fell as he saw the blood splattered on the inside of the cockpit that stained the glass red. "No..." He pounded on the glass with his good hoof, trying to see inside through the cracked glass and ichor. "Tangelo? Tangelo!" He reached frantically for the access hatch and unlatched it. It swung open slowly and Sundance felt his stomach churn dangerously at the gory mess inside. If he had eaten breakfast that morning, he probably would've vomited on the spot.

Blood was spattered all over the cockpit, giving off a sickly warm scent. There were four massive holes in Tangelo's torso and what looked like her intestines were leaking out of a couple. Sundance was pretty sure that was her stomach lying on the floor. A few of the rounds had grazed across her legs, but one must have hit bone because her left hind leg had been severed just below the hip. He could see a hoof wedged tightly underneath the seat where it shouldn't have been.

Sundance gaped at the terrible scene, unable to move. He was shaking so badly he felt he might topple right off the Mech. "This... this can't be happening," he thought, his jaw quivering. "She was fine. Ten seconds ago she was just fine. We-we were going to make it through this and everything was okay, but now..."

Tangelo's head moved slightly and she let out a low groan. Sundance gasped and catapulted himself into the cockpit, not caring about the blood and guts he landed in. "Tangelo!" he cried, carefully removing her neurohelmet with his left hoof.

Tangelo blinked weakly at him, her eyes struggling to focus. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "Hey, Sundance. Sorry you had to see me like this," she said softly. She coughed painfully, blood beginning to trickle from her mouth. Her breaths were shallow and crackled like paper.

Sundance placed his uninjured hoof behind Tangelo's head, gently supporting it. "Why did this have to happen? We were doing so good. We were gonna make it out alive." His voice cracked, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He could feel the burning heat from the tears building up in his eyes, and the lump forming in his throat was threatening to choke him to death.

Tangelo let out a coughing laugh. "That's war, I guess. It doesn't care who you are or how happy you are or how hard you try. It'll take your life just the same." She wheezed, struggling to form words around the blood pooling in her lungs. "It's cruel, but... it's not so bad to die in the company of the one you love."

Sundance cupped her head with his hooves delicately as she coughed again, much weaker this time. He gritted his teeth at the pain in his right foreleg but pushed through it. "Please, you can't die! There's so much we haven't gotten to talk about or do yet," he whined as tears began to flow down his cheeks.

Tangelo smiled sadly, her own eyes beginning to water. "I wish I had a choice. Look at me, Sundance. It would take more than a miracle to keep me alive. Life isn't some story where everything turns out alright in the end." Her voice had almost quieted to a whisper at this point and Sundance had to strain his ears to hear her over the sounds of weapon fire. "You have to move on. You have friends... who still need you."

Sundance rested his forehead against Tangelo's and squeezed his eyes shut. "But I need you."

Tangelo raised a hoof weakly and ran it through Sundance's ruffled mane. "And I need you. But this is how it is." She sighed quietly and coughed up more blood. "I don't want to go. I want to grow old with you and have your foals," she said, smiling slightly. "But that won't happen now. This is the end for me. But you... are still alive. You have to keep going."

Tangelo raised her head feebly. "You're such a kind stallion. You made me feel wanted... even after you knew how broken I was. Never let... that part of you change. You're such a blessing... to this cold universe." She locked her lips with Sundance's one last time, pouring the last of her love and emotions into him. The tears began slowly rolling down her face, not for herself, but for everything she was putting Sundance through now. For all the pain he was feeling, the one pony who ever made her feel truly special. The pony who completed her. The pony she loved.

"All things considered... It really wasn't such a bad life..." Tangelo thought as her mind went dark. She let out a sigh as the light left her body, sad but content. Undeniably, it had been a fulfilling last few years.

Sundance broke the kiss as he felt the foreleg wrapped around him relax and flop lifelessly to Tangelo's side. He stared at her peaceful face, her eyes cracked open ever so slightly, her lips wet with her crimson blood, her mane aglow from the light of Strana's star spilling into the cockpit and blanketing her entire body.

Sundance clenched his trembling jaw shut and dropped his head down on Tangelo's body, his hooves gripping her tightly. His shoulders shook violently as he began to sob, his tears flowing freely now. "I'm sorry," he whimpered in between shaky breaths. "I'm so so sorry." He leaned back and cried out his lament to the world, cradling the body of his one true love. He cried, cried until his throat was ragged, cried until his tears ran dry, cried until he had nothing left to give.

Chartreuse gasped and glanced back at Tangelo's Piranha as it fell. She gritted her teeth and turned back towards the enemy mech, looking to trade a life for a life. The Bane shifted it's attention towards Sundance's Hellbringer just as the access hatch swung open and Chartreuse stepped forward, firing her remaining ER PPCs at the massive 'Mech's center torso. While it still was quite a ways away, it had wandered into the effective range of some of their weapons. "No you don't!" she shouted, drawing its focus. Its targeting data pulled up on one of her screens. "Ten UAC/2s on a one hundred ton 'Mech!? What the fuck?"

Chartreuse recoiled back into her seat as the Bane began firing at her again, but the onslaught didn't last more than a few seconds as the friendly mediums and remaining lights rushed at the assault 'Mech. Fern ran at the head of the group, shouting something unintelligible as he fired his own PPC at it. The Bane oriented itself and pedaled backward, trying to get away from the oncoming swarm of Mechs. It fired its autocannons at the medium at the back of the charging group though it was taking considerably more damage than it could give with the help of Chartreuse and Vermillion.

Chartreuse had begun to think they had this fight won as the small 'Mechs closed the gap and got within spitting distance of the Bane, but that hope rapidly changed to despair as another large 'Mech, which she recognized as a Warhawk, came out of seemingly nowhere. It swung one of its massive legs at Fern's Ice Ferret and knocked it to the ground before stomping down on its cockpit. Fern screamed in fear, which was quickly cut off when the large 'Mech's foot smashed through the glass and crushed the torso of the small 'Mech. This was followed up by four ER PPC shots that slammed into one of the light 'Mechs charging towards it, making short work of the thinly-armored machine.

The Bane finished off the medium 'Mech it was shooting at, and their remaining light 'Mech ran off to avoid the same fate. However, this fleeing was short lived as the small 'Mech ran straight into a barrage of autocannon slugs fired from another enemy assault 'Mech as it crested the ridge. "It's over," Chartreuse thought hopelessly as she watched the four small 'Mechs get swatted like flies. She gripped the controls of her 'Mech tightly as her body began to shake. "We failed, and now we're all going to die to these fucking casket born."

Suddenly, a voice Chartreuse didn't recognize came in over the comms. It was gruff and sounded like it belonged to a very old pony. "Mind if we drop in?"

Chartreuse glanced up at the sky as a group of blue dots pinged on her radar. She saw six DropShips barreling towards them with a red wolf head in front of a red five-pointed star painted on each of them. They looked a lot like the Leopard-class DropShip she had arrived on, but a big difference made itself clear when the bay doors began to open. In addition to the four doors like on the Leopards, there was a fifth door situated at the nose of the ship, allowing it to carry a full Star of 'Mechs.

"Galaxy Commander Peregrine! I've never been so happy to see anypony in all my life," Hazelnut exclaimed. "We really were in a tight spot."

As the bay doors finished opening and the DropShips flew over the battlefield, Chartreuse saw a Dire Wolf, a one hundred ton assault 'Mech, step out of the ship at the head of the formation. It plummeted to the ground and landed right on top of the Bane in front of her, crushing it into the ground with its momentum. It then turned its attention to the Warhawk and used its blistering array of lasers and autocannons to take apart the enemy 'Mech's armor. Chartreuse and the others took the opportunity to fire at the remaining assault 'Mech, which her targeting computer labeled a Canis, to keep it off of their new ally.

"I was beginning to worry we were too late. We would have been here sooner, but I was busy convincing a certain Colonel to lend a hoof. While I did bring a Cluster of assault Mechs, I felt this battle could go a lot smoother if we had more help." The Clan Wolf 'Mech finished off its opponent just as the others destroyed the Canis and the Dire Wolf turned towards them. "Get yourselves behind those Lions. We will take care of it from here."

Chartreuse nodded and the three of them turned to move towards cover. The rest of the Clan Wolf 'Mechs had all jumped from their own DropShips by then and were engaged in the battle, the terror of thirty assault 'Mechs dropping from the sky causing mass confusion among the enemy ranks.

"You convinced Colonel Dash to help us? That can't have been easy," Hazelnut said, a slight hint of admiration in his voice.

"It was not. It took the better part of two hours for me to get him to budge. Stupid Ghost Bear philosophies."

"Our philosophy of 'wait and see' is not stupid. It is a belief that has served our Clan well for centuries," another voice said. This one was gravelly, and the pony behind it sounded much younger than the first. "I have brought a Trinary of assault and heavy 'Mechs. We will attack from the opposite side and crush the scum between our claws. Get your soldiers out of the fight, Commander Hazelnut. We will handle the rest."

"Aff. We are in your debt." Chartreuse heard a click as Hazelnut switched to their unit's private channel. "Everypony take cover behind the DropShips. The Wolves and Ghost Bears have got our backs."

Chartreuse sighed and slumped back into her seat. She ran a hoof along the back of her mane as she turned her Marauder around. "Holy fuck, it's finally over. I can't believe we all made it through."

"Well, almost all of us. Fern and Tangelo..." Mist glanced down at Tangelo's Piranha, where Sundance was still bowed over her corpse.

Chartreuse felt a twinge of an unexpected emotion as she glanced down at his huddled figure. While she obviously felt sorry for him and she was a little sad that Tangelo had died, she also felt... victorious. She felt like she'd won somehow, seeing the broken orange body. Even now she couldn't forget that night she saw the two of them together in the forest, and it felt impossible to ignore how she felt about Sundance. Chartreuse bit her bottom lip and looked away, unsure how to feel. "Is that really the kind of pony I'm turning into? The kind who feels joy at the pain of others and who only cares about themselves? I know it's terrible, so why do I feel so... happy?"

"Chartreuse, you go on to the DropShip. Mist and I will stay here and guard Sundance. You shouldn't stay out here in your condition," Vermillion said as he stopped by the wrecked Piranha.

Chartreuse nodded gratefully to her friends. "You got it. Thanks," she said as she glanced at her damage indicator. It really was a miracle that she was still alive in her state. She walked past them and headed for the Lions which were a few hundred meters away. As she got near them, however, a loud beeping caught her attention.

Warning.

Chartreuse glanced at the top of her HUD and felt her stomach drop when she saw the missile indicator light up. "Fuck, not now! I'm not within range of the DropShip's AMS yet!" She turned around and saw a stream of missiles arcing towards her, launched from some far away 'Mech hoping to get one last kill before being taken out by the forces surrounding them. "Uh... guys?"

"Shit! Get out of there! Eject!" Mist shouted as he turned around. Vermillion charged forwards to try to put his own 'Mech between hers and the missiles, but he wasn't nearly close enough to get there in time.

Chartreuse's hoof hovered over the ejection lever under her seat. She was shaking in fear, and while every muscle in her body was screaming for her to pull it and launch herself to safety a nagging thought in the back of her mind froze her entire body. "You deserve this. A terrible pony like you shouldn't exist in this world. You've become who you so desperately despise and now you have to suffer for it."

Chartreuse stared at the missiles as the world slowed around her and these thoughts circled in her head. All she could do was sit there with her mouth open. "It's karma. I'm getting what I deserve," she realized, her body trembling as the missiles began crashing into the exposed internals of her 'Mech. The last of the armor on her Marauder was blasted off and the synthetic muscles disintegrated as her entire 'Mech was engulfed in a massive fireball. The glass of the cockpit cracked before eventually giving way to the relentless onslaught of missiles. Chartreuse didn't scream as her body was enveloped in fire. She simply sat there as the flames licked hungrily at her body, and as the 'Mech tumbled to the ground, everything around her went black.

Bittersweet smashed the arm of his Executioner into the cockpit of his opponent and fired one of his ER Large lasers, destroying the internals of the 'Mech and vaporizing the pilot inside. He stepped back to allow the heavy 'Mech to crumple to the ground, defeated.

"Nice one, Chalk. What's that, your third kill today?" Carmine asked, engaged in her own fight a short distance away.

"Fourth actually. They're not any tougher than those Clan Bugbear dregs we fought last month." He turned to look around the battlefield. Now that Clan Wolf had joined the fight and the Clan Ghost Bear mechs had just begun dropping from their own ships, there wasn't much left for him to do. The fight would probably be over in a matter of minutes with so many skilled pilots on their side.

Bittersweet sighed and leaned back in his seat. From the time he had stepped out onto the battlefield and claimed his first life he had realized this was what he was meant for. The clashing of steel against steel, the smell of gunpowder from his machine guns, the screaming of his victims... There wasn't a better place in all of the universe for a pony like him.

"Yeah, they're not all that good. I was expecting more resistance." Carmine let out a cry of triumph as her enemy's torso exploded into bits, the ammunition setting off a deadly reaction. "That's two for me. I guess we should head behind the DropShips now."

Bittersweet sighed again and turned to head back after casting a longing glance at the fighting. From the sound of it he'd end up joining Clan Ghost Bear after the battle, and he didn't want them to think he couldn't follow instructions. They'd probably relegate him to the laborer class if he continued against orders and he certainly didn't want to live a life like that.

"Fuck, where'd you come from? Hey, I'll catch up to you in a moment. I've got something to deal with," Carmine said. Bittersweet glanced at the rear-view camera and saw her fighting an enemy Mad Dog Mk IV. It wasn't exactly an even matchup in favor of the small heavy, so Bittersweet left her to deal with the negligible threat.

Bittersweet heard a loud explosion behind him. "Ah shit. I might actually need some help back here. Bastard's got friends." He glanced at the small screen again and saw an Omen had appeared to back up the Mad Dog. He shook his head.

"This is what I meant about being careless," Bittersweet said before turning his Executioner in a slow circle. As much as he wanted to rebuke her, she had given him an excuse to rejoin the battle which was the one thing he really wanted at that moment. He pressed the throttle forward and activated his 'Mech's MASC, temporarily pushing the Executioner past it's walking speed of sixty-five kph.

Bittersweet fired his missiles at the back of the Omen, dragging its attention towards him. He shot his heavy lasers as the smaller 'Mech turned around and followed up with his large lasers. The 'Mech had already been lightly damaged in the battle, and his volley of shots had almost managed to destroy the last of the armor on the 'Mech's left torso. He turned the torso of his Executioner to absorb the return shots which caused a fair amount of damage to one of his arms.

Bittersweet turned back towards the Omen and fired the heavy lasers again, stripping the last of the armor from the 'Mech's left torso. He fired his missiles at the breach and watched as the torso crumpled, the missiles ravaging the internal structure of the enemy 'Mech.

The Omen fired its weapons again and Bittersweet glanced at his damage indicator. "I'm starting to take some pretty heavy damage. I've been out here for too long," he thought. As much as he wanted to enjoy the fight he had to end it quickly. Sighing, Bittersweet activated the MASC again and rushed forward before twisting the torso of his Executioner and slamming its right arm into the exposed structure of the 'Mech. He fired the large lasers, watching in satisfaction as they ripped through the cockpit and killed the 'Mech's pilot.

Bittersweet flinched as he felt the torso of his 'Mech rock forward sharply. He turned and saw a Deimos stepping towards him, its twin autocannon barrels smoking. The Mad Dog was also running towards him off to the left, and Carmine was nowhere to be seen. Bittersweet cursed under his breath. "Where is that retarded pony?" He shook his head and rushed forwards toward the Deimos. "Fine, I'll do all the work myself!"

Bittersweet fired the heavy lasers directly at the Deimos's cockpit, damaging the reinforced glass. It fired it's autocannons again and Bittersweet hissed at the computer's irritating voice.

Critical hit, left torso.

"Shut up, bitch. I have eyes." Bittersweet hated whenever his Mech piped up. He knew more of what was going on in the Mech than it did and the voice only served as a distraction. "Why is there no way to turn that shit off?" He fired his missiles again then followed up with the large lasers. His missiles peppered the enemy's torso and one of the large lasers managed to hit the cockpit, further compromising it. He smirked as the distance between the two of them quickly closed. The Deimos was walking backward as fast as it could, but it didn't have a chance at outrunning an Executioner with its MASC activated.

"You're mine now!" he shouted as he got within melee distance of the enemy 'Mech. He swung at the cockpit of the Deimos and growled with satisfaction as the arm of his Executioner passed straight through the weakened glass. The assault 'Mech fell backward and crashed to the ground, trailing shards of glass stained with blood.

Bittersweet turned around just in time to take a volley of SRMs to the left torso, which was soon followed by a PPC and autocannon shot to the center torso.

Left torso destroyed. Weapon destroyed. Damage critical.

"Fucking little cunt. Let's see you do that again up close!" He pushed the throttle forward again, the MASC beginning to take its toll on the legs. While the speed boost was helpful, it could be damaging when used for prolonged periods of time. He fired his missiles at the Mad Dog's cockpit, obstructing the pilot's vision and dealing a respectable amount of damage. Bittersweet turned out of the way to avoid the return shots from the temporarily blinded pilot. He smirked again as he got into grappling range with the small 'Mech and grabbed one of its arms with the hand actuator on his Executioner. Not many 'Mechs had hands and Bittersweet tended to use his quite a bit. His unorthodox fighting method was one reason he was such an effective MechWarrior.

Bittersweet wrenched the Mad Dog to the ground and stepped on the center torso of the 'Mech, grunting in satisfaction as the arm clenched in his 'Mech's hand ripped free. The armor on the Mad Dog began buckling from his Executioner's weight, and before long it collapsed entirely. The 'Mech exploded in a bright fireball and the glass of the cockpit shattered outwards.

Bittersweet let out a sigh and stepped back. He glanced at his damage indicator again. "That could have ended badly. I don't know why nopony ever thinks to use melee attacks or aim for the cockpit. It's a good tactic if your opponent is as inept as they were."

"Nice work. I kind of thought they had you there for a second," Carmine said as she sauntered over to Bittersweet.

Bittersweet turned angrily towards her. "That wouldn't have happened if you had helped at all. What the fuck were you doing, chasing a butterfly?"

Carmine nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. Sorry. I didn't mean to get distracted."

"Can't you just use your brain for once in your life? Why are you always so useless?" He snarled.

Carmine sighed. "Fine, you want to know why? You want to know the reason I'm always running off and getting into stupid situations where you have to save my ass?" She could hear her voice rising in pitch, but she didn't particularly care. She had been waiting years for this very moment, the right time to say what she'd always wanted to, to do what she had been planning for such a long time.

Bittersweet snorted contemptuously. "Fine, tell me why you're such a worthless pony."

Carmine shifted in her seat as the felt the strong emotions welling up inside of her. She'd always dreamed of this moment, but now she almost felt too nervous to say just a few words to the pony she'd been around for most of her life. It should be easy after everything they'd been through but she could still feel the words catching in her throat. She glanced out at the battlefield and took a deep breath. "It's now or never," she told herself. "I'm always putting myself into these situations where you have to risk your life for me on purpose. I wanted you to get hurt protecting me, but still survive." Carmine took a step towards his 'Mech until they were almost close enough to touch. "I'm always doing that because I wanted to work up the courage. The courage to tell you that I..." She swallowed and took a deep breath as the corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

"That I'm the one who killed you."

Carmine rammed the right arm of her Gargoyle into the exposed internals of Bittersweet's Executioner and pushed it in as deep as it would go, tearing apart the inside of the 'Mech. She fired the LBX autocannon in that arm and giggled maniacally as the cluster ammunition tore through the inside of the 'Mech and shredded the synthetic muscles, electronics, and finally, Bittersweet. She watched the blood spray across the cockpit, and her hooves went to her face is the larger Mech tumbled backward, defeated.

"If you honestly thought I'd just sit back and take your abuse for the rest of my life, you're even dumber than you looked!" Carmine shouted in between breaths, still cackling uncontrollably. She threw her head back and laughed even harder, running her hooves down her face and onto her chest. There was a raging inferno of conflicting emotions inside of her, but she knew the one she felt the strongest right then was twisted, corrupt glee. She was finally rid of that bastard, and not a single fiber of her being felt guilty.

"You traitor!" a scratchy voice shouted over the comms. Carmine's laughter cut off and she turned her head to look at the 'Mech that had appeared in front of her. It was a Kodiak with a gold tree overtop of a blue shield painted on it as its unit designation. It charged towards her and knocked her Gargoyle to the ground before planting a foot over top of her 'Mech's torso. "If you were one of mine I would kill you here and now. But regrettably, your fate is up to Commander Hazelnut."

Carmine glared up at the larger 'Mech and rubbed a sore spot on the back of her head. "Look at this fucking asshole, all high and mighty. He doesn't know the shit I've been through," she thought bitterly. "You can fuck off. This matter is none of your business," she said, raising the arms of her Gargoyle at the Kodiak.

"You do not want to do that," the voice said dangerously.

"Try me." Carmine fired the autocannons in her arms at the Kodiak, aiming straight for the cockpit. Having expected this, the pilot shifted their 'Mech slightly and the cluster rounds smacked into the side torso of the 'Mech. She followed up with her missiles, trying to get the 'Mech to move off of her.

"You asked for this," the pilot growled as he reared his one hundred ton 'Mech upwards. He brought the torso and all of its momentum back down towards Carmine's 'Mech and she screamed as a large claw on one of the Kodiak's arms pierced the cockpit and sliced her in half. Blood quickly gurgled in her throat, muffling her struggles, and she stared out at the other pilot.

"You can't... do this..." she struggled out through the blood flooding her lungs. She had been sliced cleanly in half, right through the middle of her torso. Her vision began going dark as the blood flowed out of her body at an alarming rate. "You... scum..." Carmine sighed and her head flopped to the side, her eyes still open and staring angrily out at the world.

Colonel Cobalt Dash sighed and stood his Kodiak back up, pulling the 'Mech's claws from the Gargoyle underneath him. He glanced ruefully down at the dead pilot. "I will have to explain this to Hazelnut. He will not be happy if he finds out otherwise." He hadn't really wanted to kill her but she'd left him with no choice. He turned towards the fallen Executioner and bowed his head slightly. The skilled pilot had taken on two assaults and a heavy alone, not a feat many can claim to have survived. Losing a MechWarrior with that level of talent was something he deeply regretted. "You die with honor, MechWarrior. I wish you good hunting in the afterlife."

Cobalt turned back towards the battlefield and surveyed the ongoing destruction. A few enemies had been taken out in Death From Above attacks when their 'Mechs had jumped from the DropShips. It was a favorite tactic of the Clans though it was rarely performed in that manner. Typically that type of attack was restricted to Mechs with Jump Jets. The rest were being swiftly dealt with by the hardened MechWarriors from both Clan Wolf and his own unit. Cobalt nodded to himself. Even though Keshiks rarely saw battle being the personal units of high-up officials, that didn't mean they were inexperienced. Every one of his warriors was capable of defeating Mechs many tons heavier than their own with ease, providing an average pilot was behind the opponent's Mech.

The sound of weapon fire began dying off as the battle came to a close. Cobalt walked around the battlefield, observing but not participating. He had complete faith in the skills of his warriors and their Wolf allies, and with the numbers now heavily in their favor, there was no need to get in the way. He would leave the glory to the MechWarriors already engaged in fights.

A Blood Asp not too far from Cobalt kicked a Mad Dog to the ground and fired its twin Gauss Rifles at the 'Mech, exploding it in a violent fireball. The victor lowered its arms and looked around it and turning towards Cobalt as the pilot noticed him. "Colonel Dash, I'd assume? I'm Commander Hazelnut. Thank you again for your support."

Cobalt nodded to the junior warrior. "It was what needed to be done. We could not let the Wolves be the only ones to assist you after you saved countless lives." He growled quietly to himself. "If only I had been quicker to come to your aid. Many lives were lost because of my hesitance to believe your words." Cobalt sighed deeply. "One of your MechWarriors, the exceptional pilot in the Executioner, was betrayed and killed by an ally Gargoyle. I attempted to immobilize the traitor but I was forced to kill her when she fired on me. I apologize for this. Her fate was yours to decide, not mine."

Hazelnut frowned and let out a disappointed sigh. "So he's dead, huh? Bittersweet was so talented, though I can understand how he made enemies. He was more than a little rough around the edges. But to die in such a manner? Murdered by an ally? I never thought Carmine would stoop so low." He shook his head.

Cobalt glanced at the dying battle again and noted the inactivity of the warriors. There must only be a hoofful of enemies left for them to be idling around like that. He turned back to the Commander. "I think now would be a good time to make a decision on your future. I would like to personally extend an invitation to you and your surviving MechWarriors to join the Silveroot Keshik, at least to the ones who accept and pass our trial. It is not an easy task, though the reward is great."

Hazelnut sucked in a breath. "Join the Silveroot Keshik? Are you sure? That's a huge honor."

Cobalt nodded. "Your warriors are skilled to have survived this fight and I believe they have a place in my unit providing they choose to accept. In addition to the usual process of becoming a bondspony and eventually an abtakha, they will need to pass an additional trial completed by all members of the Silveroot Keshik."

Hazelnut was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected to be offered a place among a new Clan so easily, especially as part of such a venerable unit. "My fellow commander and I would be honored to join you. However, I'm not sure how many of our soldiers would be willing to continue to fight. They are strong, but none of them became soldiers by choice. Many of them may choose to become merchants or laborers instead."

Cobalt turned his gaze towards a small group of 'Mechs in the distance. He could see three heavy 'Mechs standing proudly, their pilots skilled, dedicated, and loyal, though young. He had seen them fight as his DropShip had neared the battlefield and he had a feeling they had great untold potential. It was a shame the Marauder pilot had been killed, however. She had seemed to be the most talented of them all.

He glanced down at the Piranha where one of the pilots was crouched. While seemingly not as strong as his companions, there was a certain spark in the young pony. The death of his friend would only serve to strengthen him and fuel the fires of his resolve, and Cobalt was particularly interested to see where the MechWarrior would go. He was certain that group would accept his offer even if none of the others did. He could sense strength in ponies, and even from such a far distance, their determination was emanating like a visible aura around them as they mourned their fallen comrades. They were fighters; that much was certain.

"Do not underestimate your soldiers, Commander. There is much more to them than meets the eye."