Isaac and the others dived behind a crate, just in time as a hail of bullets hit it.

"Ya head to make them angry! Didn't ya!?" Applebloom yelled.

"Just help me shoot them before we all get shot!" He yelled back.

Applebloom rolled over to the side, with a pained grunt she slung her Pulse rifle out and started to fire, her light head made her miss most of the time.

"Ah can't hit any of them. Ah think ah lost too much blood." She said. "Scootaloo, think ya can get rid of em'?"

Scootaloo's horn lit up, the panicked shouts of the soldiers following. When they all looked over, every soldiers was covered in red lights.

In a multitude of lights, a deafening bang went through the air. Limbs and other pieces flew everywhere, blood painted the ground, the snow and ice blown away. All that was left were the black scorch marks from the grenades.

"Come on, when we find Sweetiebelle, you can come get that leg fixed." Scootaloo said.

"Or, when we get a med pack, I can fix it up." Isaac said. "When you all left, I became a veterinarian in the city. Getting a bullet out and stitching up a wound shouldn't be too hard."

Applebloom shared an uneasy glance with her friend.

Scootaloo picked up her friend, carrying her as they approached the next door. Cautiously they all went in, Applebloom snoring from fading in and out.

"We're getting slaughtered here!" A Unitologist soldier yelled over the comm. "We need reinforcements-wait! What the hell is that!?"

The door opened and they were back underground; the room had three bodies, a small room down below with a yellow gas coming out. And small, Necromorph's taking possession of the bodies.

"Shoot the heads!" Isaac yelled as one of them shot a rifle at him. "They can use guns now!?"

The head was filled with bullet holes when Babs Seed shot the gun at it. She turned to the second and saw it aiming at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo charged her horn and tore the gun away from the creature. She teleported over to it and wrapped her tentacles around the head; leaning close, she tore what little essence it had and let go.

It stood at attention, picking it's gun back up.

They all hurried into the door ahead, got in and gasped at the sight in front of them.

"What... The... Hell..." Isaac said, unfolding his helmet.

A frozen Nexus was standing miles away, but even from their distance it was a monstrously huge.

"Wow..." Scootaloo said. "Is that a Hive Mind?"

"No." Issac replied. "It... I'm not sure what it is. What confuses me is why it's frozen."

"Yeah." She said as they continued on.

As they turned the corner, three soldier came out, shooting at approaching Necromorph's.

"Shoot it! Fucking shoot it!" One yelled as his buddy was cut in half.

A Waster broke off from the group and went over to them. Scootaloo rolled her eyes as it brought up it's axes.

She wrapped a tentacle around it's wrists, holding it in the air.

Another Waster, followed by two Slasher saw it and came running to kill Scootaloo.

She lit her horn and they stopped, an eerie black glow encasing them. She trotted up to them, wrapping a tentacle around each of the Necromorph's wrists and releasing the spell on them.

She took the soul of the first Waster, she used that tentacle to hold the Slasher she did next in place better. She took the soul of the other Waster and fully entrapped the final Slasher.

It struggled and screeched, sending snowy flakes of blood at her. She looked back at her small group and a Waster walked off the cliff. She turned back to the Slasher and took it's soul, replacing the Waster lost.

"Now where?" Babs Seed asked. "That way or towards the door?"

"The door." Isaac said, watching the blue line speed to the door. "Hey Scootaloo, I see something you'll like."

Scootaloo tilted her head, before glancing forward. Her eyes glazed over as she saw the large machine.

She quickly ran to it, scanning every bit and part.

It had a large screen, a similar keyboard and no other seems.

"Wow... What is this?" Scootaloo asked.

"It'e a piece of Sovereign Colony tech. It's like the panels we have today, only you have to move the two sticks there to move the circuits."

"All that trouble to keep the hackers out?" She gave a mock pout. "Too bad I can still hack it." She grinned.

"You need thumbs and... Forget what I was saying." He said.

Scootaloo's horn was glowing, she moved the two thumb-sticks, making the circuitry re-align itself and activate the proper nodes. In a flash of sparks, the screen went blank again, smoke coming out from the screen's edges.

The door opened and Sweetiebelle was sitting there, a bundle of wires in her mouth.

She spit them out and waved.

"Hey...?" Isaac waved back. "Where did you go?"

"I saw a group of soldiers try and sneak up on the roof." she said. "I followed them and got lost. When I heard your shouting I just followed you here. Plus, I found something really cool! Come on!"

As they entered the doorway, Sweetiebelle noticed Applebloom stirring.

She set Applebloom down and looked at her leg, she lit her horn and the familiar white light came out. Applebloom winced as the bullet fell out and the wound closed. Not a second after, the fabric and metal mended itself, sealing the hole.

A small smile appeared on her friends face as she opened her eyes.

"H-hey Isaac, ma'h leg feels better. Did ya find a med pack?" She asked.

"No, Sweetiebelle fixed it. Wait... What kind of bullshit is this?" He said, looking out as the door opened. "We have to cross that?"

The others got out and looked down the slope.

"Is that a drill?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, and we have to get past it." Isaac groaned. "Hey, there's a bench down there, we can get some new weapons and hopefully fix my suit." He said running down the slope.

They all ran, Applebloom slightly slower from blood loss.

Isaac had already taken off his suit and was watching the machine apply a new sheen of paint.

He took it out with a smile, nodding at it as he slipped it on.

"Well, what do you guys think?" He asked.

His suit was now midnight black, the armor rows on the shoulders, legs, neck and chest a dull orange. And the light's coming from the visor matched it.

"Pretty cool." Scootaloo said. "Now, what did you say about new weapons?" She asked.

"Yeah, these benchs are designed so you can combine parts or make parts. Even two attachments and eight circuits for it to improve the functions. You can just use what I have, I think I have just about every part here."

Scootaloo got to work immediately.

After a few choice options, she had come out with a Force gun that had a semi-automatic gun on the bottom with an acid attachment. An electric Ripper and A Flame thrower with a Line gun on the bottom.

Babs Seed went up next. She struggled before getting two new weapons. A Pulse rifle with a plasma blade on the bottom and a Plasma cutter with a shotgun.

Applebloom went up and got a Rocket launcher with a shotgun underneath and a Planet Cracker Plasma cutter with a plasma blade on the bottom.

"What about you Sweetiebelle?" Isaac asked. "Anything you want?"

"No, I'm going all natural this time." She said.

He shrugged before starting up the motor controlling the gate.

"I-Issac..." Babs said. "Can I talk with you for a second, before we, ya know."

"Uh, sure." he said.

They left the other three crusaders to stand at the entrance, looking at them.

"Well, what did you want to talk about? Were on a schedule."

"I-It's about everything. I'm just scared..." She said.

"Scared huh? Well, I remember when Sweetiebelle got scared on Titan Station. She ran from her friends after a Stalker snuck up behind them. And what she did, was only natural."

"But I don't know what to do? I just freeze up."

"Well, just imagine it this way." He said. "Replace the fear with something else, let fear control a different emotion. Something that will help."

"Replace it? Like use it for another emotion?" She asked.

"That's what I just said. Now, I'm guessing were about to test that. Come on, it should be fun."

She merely gave him an odd look under her helmet.

As they proceeded into the center. Sweetiebelle had already taken out one of the gates and was currently chewing on the other one.

"You do know that we could just lower them?" Isaac suggested.

"Where's the fun in that?" Applebloom asked.

"Good point."

The drill started and slid out from the snowy incline, Sweetiebelle jumping back before it got her.

"Alright, my guess is, is that we have to find a weak point on it." Isaac said. "Aim for the circuits inside it!"

A childlike chittering was heard from the vents, they all turned and saw nearly skeletal Necromorph's come out.

'I guess it's time to replace my fear.' Babs thought as one put it's sight's on her.

Author's Notes:

I gave the two country ponies shotguns. Don't judge me for that, it just suits them.