//------------------------------// // Scenes of a Memory // Story: Equestrian Steel // by Shieldheart204 //------------------------------// Scenes of a Memory The damaged watch was imbued with a powerful memory recording spell. It contained various scenes of his alternate self. Shield started by the oldest. This was about his return to Vanhoover after the diamond dog incident. The city was in its summer glory. The skyscrapers dotted the city, reflecting the sun with their glass walls. The various green parks were filled with the joy and laughter of children. The train station was filled with the various traveling businesspeople. Each one looking at a news paper, some of them were gasping, others screaming in horror, and very few of them said "My investments!". Most were using their scry-phones, Some of them weeping when no one answered their calls. Shield approached one of the stands, and worried he took one of them. It was the Equestrian Daily. The front page sported a blood red margin. The headlines read Manehattan falls to Changeling invasion! The cover depicted the Tames Square on ruins. All the great skyscrapers were destroyed, flames consumed the various posters. Cars littered the street, most showing damage from falling debris. A few corpses were scattered, though most were covered by black bags. It was a sad scene, but what intrigued him most was that it was all drawn. He looked at the date, 2nd of June. It made some sense. Manehattan was about two days away, so there would be no way that anyone would be able to take pictures and send them in less than a day. He kept reading the article. His heart froze when he saw the casualty list. Among them were various corporate leaders including Gold Tooth and Money Bag. But what mattered was the last ones: Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. In the blink of an eye his attitude switched from happiness from another job well done to complete misery. He had just learned that his two best friends had died yesterday and that there was a new threat, one that had managed to wipe out the Metropolis. There was no time to waste, the memory flashed to three days later, in a meeting with the Princesses. "I understand your anger Shield Heart, but there is nothing we can do! I will not let you go on a wild goose chase in the middle of a destroyed city just in the hopes of finding someone we know is dead." said Princess Celestia, her regal white dress standing still. " It is not a wild chase, I need to make sure that there are no survivors. What if they managed to survive? We can't lose hope!" shouted Shield Heart. He refused to believe that his two most important friends had died and Princess Celestia refused to do anything. "I know that they are dead..." she said, her tone was very somber. He managed to spy tears forming up on her magenta grey eyes. Luna answered, her face revealing the sadness of her sister. " We received their corpses, their bodies were defiled with the green fire." "Them we have to seek retribution! We cannot allow them to mock us!" his anger was rising, "Shield, now is not he time to act with violence." said The Princess of Dawn. "No Princess, now is the time to act, we cannot allow this to go unpunished. They must know that they cannot treat us like ants, we know how to defend ourselves." " No, I refuse to use violence. We have never been at war, and I am not about to let that fall." " So you will just let them walk upon our lands unchecked, slaughtering our people?" his anger was filling up, he needed revenge. Princess Celestia looked at him with angry eyes. " Do you really believe that you are the only one at a loss? Do you seriously believe that it does not pain me to know that my people a in peril? I have lost more than you. I lost my Niece, the future Princess of the Crystal Empire. I lost my captain of the Royal Guard, the best one I have had in decades. I even lost my Apprentice, the only one capable of wielding the Element Of Magic!" Shield was taken aback. In his rage he forgot the importance of the three main casualties. Also, he had indirectly insulted the Herald of Dawn by implying that she was a coward. He decided that it was better to apologize now. " Your Highness, I apologize for being so rude. How can you forgive me?" She reverted to her usual, calm self. " There is no need for that Shield Heart, I understand your feelings." " But wait, there is one thing thing you could do..." interrupted Princess Luna. " What is it?" " We need you to travel to the ruins of Manehattan to recover an object of supreme importance." "Luna, no it is too dangerous!" intervened Celestia. "It doesn't matter. What is it?" said the Warden. " We concluded a month ago that the Elements of Harmony should be with their representatives. Twilight Sparkle had the element of Magic with her when she left with her brother." Said the Princess of Night. "Very well say no more, I shall return it as soon as possible." and before Princess Celestia could say anything, he left. .oOo. The memory flashed into the future, revealing a destroyed city in front of him. He was carrying some equipment he had not used in a long time, not since Stalliongrad. He was wearing a set of astronomican grey shirt and matching pants. He wore a special ceramic breastplate, colored pitch black, which bore the insignia of the Krauts, a black cross in a fitting white square, on the back. The Krauts were a mercenary company from Germaneigh that took him in while he was off adventuring across the world. He was wearing a great coat colored in Codex Grey and a steel helmet padded with dark leather on the inside. He also had black boots and his leather bracers. On his back he had his large backpack, which mostly contained supplies in case he got stranded. His hands were holding something he never wished to use again, it was Wanda. The plastic covered device was a survival friend from his time as a soldier. Inside the black cover was a dark steel barrel. A small curve started from the Beginning of the barrel to the start of the trigger. It left a small area specially made for placing a monocular in the middle to serve as a scope. The inner mechanism was chambered with the common 5.56 mm rounds used anywhere that had an army. Equestria was not in that list, and Shield had to illegally craft the ammunition in his base back in Vanhoover. It was a standard fortress grey XAR-42 assault rifle with a 30-round magazine, the word Wanda etched to the inside of the stock and the Kraut insignia imprinted to the other side. It was a rifle that could withstand endless hardships, from the humidity of the Haysead Swamp to the wastelands in the Frozen North. On his back he had a belt holster, where Remmy was contained. This was a 12-gauge Neighington shotgun. Stockless, with a five round capacity and with a wooden grip, it was not the weapon used for precession, or stealth. It was only suited for close encounters, like on the narrow streets of Stalliongrad, where it served its main term. On his right thigh he had his trusty 10mm hand gun named Maria. This was a simple service sidearm that helped Shield get out of small situations. Consisting of a twenty round magazine, it tended to serve as a last resort before reloading. It also served when he paired it with tower shield when he got into a tight spot. On his left flank he had his gladius, neatly tucked in its scabbard and Ebony, his wand, next to the sword. His first objective was The Stable Hotel. It was the most luxurious hotel in all of Manehattan. That was where all three of his friends were living. And to his pleasure, all safeties were off. No more wimpy don't kill anyone morals anymore. Now it was personal. Crossing the ruins was easier said than done. Several streets were covered in rubble, and others were infested with changelings. He managed to make it to Mane Street unnoticed, and was now in front of the hotel. The large rectangular cream structure with a green roof stood as possibly the only undamaged structure in the city. The only problem was that there were patrols near it. He studied the changelings. They had a humanoid figure, with black skin, empty blue eyes an two large fangs protruding from their mouths. They sported insectoid wings, several holes on their arms and legs, and had what Shield could assume was a rifle. It was weirdly shaped. It had a main dark grey stock and body. The front middle part was divided in three parts, one following the stock and two prongs starting from the top, but aligned to the centre. On the bottom frame, there was what looked like an emerald. He looked at the building, his first objective was ten stories high, and he doubted the elevators worked. So climbing the front wall was his best choice. Only problem was that he would be a sitting duck if he started now. He decided to record the patrol movements from a ruined building in front of the hotel. His choice was a two story house, it still had food, clothes and everything, as if everyone had disappeared. After two hours of watching, it was six o'clock according to the silver watch. Shield had finished recording the pattern. There was a ten minute window in which he could climb up. If he used his grapple hook spell he could do it in five minutes tops. He withdrew his wand and waited. The changelings were away, and he grabbed his opportunity. Sprinting as fast as he could, he pointed the wand to the roof and fired a white beam. He grabbed the pearly rope with his right hand while putting his wand away with his left, and started climbing. It took him half a minute to climb. He had underestimated his ability yet again. He was at the window of room 1023, the room Shining Armor had acquired. Opening the window, he proceeded into the presidential suite. It was tidy... And far too romantic. Between the red heart shaped bed with matching pillows and bed sheets, the large amount of rose petals scatter throughout the floor and the rose bouquet in the dresser, it felt like he stumbled into the honeymoon suite instead of a regular presidential suite. The fading scent of roses confirmed his suspicions, but left him wondering: Why would Shining Armor and Cadence rent a honeymoon suite instead of a presidential or imperial suite? It wasn't like they were married or anything. He dismissed the thought, knowing that the answer was lost with his friends. He imagined that his search would be unsuccessful, but he decided to rummage through everything anyway. Inspecting the suitcases he found nothing of value, no letters, no documents, no nothing. The only surprise Shield found was linger, which made him somewhat addled. His brain, for no reason, immediately projected an image of Cadence wearing it. He immediately took it down, he felt like he had offended her. Meh, it was nothing to worry about considering his situation. He continued searching, hoping to find either his objective or clues. He went for the safe, and using a magnetic force spell, he picked the lock. Zing he thought as he moved the safe door. Inside there were two drawers, the top one had jewelry and the bottom one held three letters. He grabbed one that looked liked rolled parchment. This was from Twilight. He grazed through it and found the important part, Twilight was staying in room 595. Shield continued looking, but found nothing of value. Lifting his rifle to shoulder level, he opened the door outside. He scanned both hallways, and they were empty. The memory flashed to a small room. Unlike the romantic suite he had just visited, this one was very small, and with not much to see. A single suitcase adorned the closet. Shield immediately opened it, and he found the Element of Harmony. It was more beautiful than what was described. He Concentrated back to the task at hand. He put the tiara in a special metal briefcase inside his backpack. He picked up his rifle and stared at the window. It was going to be a simple matter of sneaking back out to the train station where his one-man ride was waiting for him. Suddenly, he started hearing shrills and other bug related noises. He looked outside and saw that the street was getting flooded with changelings, each pointing their weapons toward him. In the blink of an eye, Shield was ducking for cover behind the wall when an odd toc-toc-toc sound erupted from the enemy weapons. Green bolts of energy shattered the window, and managed to pierce the roof. It was time to strike back, heading for the window Shield prepared for a respite from his enemies. When it came he flicked the safety and aimed his new monocular. He managed a headshot and five body shots before he got pinned down again. He had used half a clip just that brief moment. He took a peek outside, and saw that the enemy numbers had multiplied. And there was one that was holding a large cylinder. This object seemed familiar to the soldier, and then he remembered, it was the cannon used by the diamond dogs to nearly kill him in the monorail. The cannon fired and hit the wall the Warden was on. The blast pushed him to the wall, where the armor absorbed some of the impact. Shield was left on the floor, his face was covered in blood and scratches. His right eye had stopped working, and he was left with only one way of seeing. His ears were ringing horribly, so much that he couldn't hear anything else. His vision revealed that there were several insectoids were nearing his location. They lifted their guns, but failed to fire. I cannot die like this! Shield thought to himself. He managed to grab Remmy and pointed it to the nearest opponent. With a large bang the weapon discharged a storm of bullets toward an insectoid, shredding it, while confusing the others. He pumped the gun with his left hand and grabbed Wanda with his spare, storming out to the hallways. He touched his right eye and confirmed his fears, the eye was lost. It must have been damaged when pieces of rubble graced his eye with the green blast. But there were more pressing matters, such as getting out of Manehattan alive. He continued to run, holstering Wanda to his backpack along with Remmy. He withdrew Maria and looked back. Two changelings we after him, firing their black guns without control. Two shots hit Shield in the thigh, and five dissolved into the breastplate. He fired five shots, the paft inaudible to him. His opponents dropped, killed by the bullets. He proceeded to the stairs, where pain started to take hold. The adrenaline was wearing off, giving Shield pains everywhere. He reached for a pocket on his calf and withdrew a syringe filled with a white substance. He removed the cover and injected it to his arm. He was using Med-X, a painkiller, developed specially for soldiers, it was fast acting and covered his body in minutes. His ringing also stopped. He switched his pistol for the rifle and headed to the stairs. Using caution, he descended to the ground floor, where he was ready to fight his way out. The lobby was filling up with changelings, all waiting to kill him. He dashed forward, sliding over a desk while he fired the rest of his clip. He rolled to an overturned table and reloaded. He was storing his ammunition on his backpack and his pockets. As the green bolts flied over him he meditated on a strategy. If he went commando he wasn't going to survive for three minutes. And that was in the best of circumstances. He needed to formulate an escape plan, and fast. He looked outside and saw a motorcycle. Yes, you read that right, a motorcycle. They were only found in Manehattan, Las Pegasus and Vanhoover, mostly that is. Only these cities had the streets required to use these, that and the fact that Cantelot hated pollution. There were also a few taxis, but the Fast-and-furious skill for Shield Heart wasn't exactly at regular standards. As he imagined his escape plan, he was reminded that the were some enemies after him when they appeared from the stairs. He aimed and gunned them down as they appeared. One of them dropped its weapon toward the soldier, who picked it up and examined it. It was an energy weapon, the gem was used to provide magic bolts. He tested its weight, it was a little heavy for an assault rifle, but it could deal a good number if used as a club. He finally came up with a plan, it contained high probabilities of him dying, but he was probably going to die anyway, so what the hay? He began a sprint toward the alleyway, to the left of the enemy mass. His right arm had a translucent red tower shield powered up, it was absorbing each beam of magic, creating ripples across the smooth surface. He vaulted through a window, getting himself scratched by glass in the process. Then he went for a Warhog motorcycle. The large vehicle was legendary for its history as a bike of destruction. It sported a black gas tank and same colored leather seats. The mechanical part was composed of shiny chrome plating, making it shine with any source of light. The black rubber tires looked brand new, as if they had just been replaced. He got on it, and noticed that it was magic-blocked. Using his hand to transmit a signal powerful enough to break the weak lock, he turned it on. Revving it, he removed the brakes and took off. His right hand was holding the curious weapon, and it fired like a charm. Being stockless, it was comfortable to hold with one hand, and produced little to no recoil. It also appeared to have unlimited ammunition, because it fired forever. He took a couple of shots on the helmet, breastplate and calf. But it was nothing that he could not handle. His ride-and-gun trick was working. He was going to reach Central Station in half the time with only a thousand flying changelings behind him. His mind processed the last thought, he had completely forgotten that the vermin had wings. As he neared the train station, he got off his transport and ran. He managed to get into his personal train, a small train car with an electric engine, and flashed out of existence. .oOo. His next memory was Canterlot. But it was a ruined version. The pearl white towers were now chunks of debris and rubble. Shield walked around, his eye scanning for survivors, but like Manehattan, he failed to find a single body. It was as if they vanished upon death. He toured the city, reaching the Dark Tower, the Grey's headquarters. He found nothing, but signs that there had been a struggle. He flashed out. .oOo. The next memory was in an unfamiliar town. Very rustic, with houses being made of wood, thatched roofs and dirt roads connecting everyone. The place looked like it was used to peace, and today was the day to panic. People were running around, screaming, crying, shouting for people. In one word: chaos. Shield looked around, his marble right eye was capable of seeing perfectly, and much more. It was enchanted to be able to outline any hostile creatures. Even though it was August, he was wearing a space wolf grey trench coat, not something you should wear for late summer. His fedora helped fend off some of the sun, shading his eyes. He stroked his short full beard. He had come to love his new facial hair. It was a good calming technique that harmed absolutely no one. He noticed that there w a little too much chaos for his job, so he did the one thing that would help everyone calm down. He lifted Remmy and fired a bullet to the air. Everyone, shocked with this new noise froze in fear. "Listen up residents of Ponyville, do not worry, I am the Grey Warden Shield Heart..." he said and he withdrew his badge. "... And I am here to get you all to safety, now of you will please follow my colleagues from the Dawn Guard..." he instructed as he pointed to several men and women, dressed in white combat uniforms. "... They will take you to the train station where you will be evacuated to Las Pegasus." A tall grey-haired woman stepped up, her poise signaled authority. "All right everyone, do as the man says, we need to evacuate before they arrive. Form three lines, one for kids, another for the elders and the last one of adults." immediately They followed her instructions. "Sir, do you really think they will attack? This could be another trap like Baltimare." said one of the guards. "I don't know, but I do not plan on sitting idly while Equestria burns. This threat looked real enough, and it was the Princesses' last wish that I save Ponyville. They have the elements of Harmony, and we need to save them if we plan on fighting back. We just have to find a new Element of Magic." replied Shield Heart. The evacuation was in order, until suddenly one of the kids, a girl with: red hair and a southern look, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and denim overalls, pulled out of nowhere a changeling rifle and in the blink of an eye shot both the guards next to Shield. She attempted to hit him, but he managed to pop his tower shield with milliseconds to spare. The two girls next to her, one with purple hair and the other with a half-pink half-lavender cotton candy shaped hair followed suit. Suddenly, his right eye started marking various people as hostile. He withdrew Maria from his side holster and shot three adults. With only seven bullets he took them down. His real problem was that he couldn't bring himself to shoot kids. And there were at least ten of them taking down all of the uniforms. Black Briar, one of his assistants, pulled out Wanda, breaking the leather strap that attached it to his back, and opened fire at the midget changelings, their bodies returning to their dark form as they fell lifelessly into the ground. "Thanks Black." said the knight. "Don't mention it." said the towering man. "Well this couldn't possibly get any worse." said Shield. And right on cue, the clouds disappeared to reveal dozens of insectoid black nightmares. "Oh, COME ON!" he exclaimed. And without wasting a single second, he took Wanda from his savior and reloaded. He dissolved his magic shield and opened fire, he managed to shoot down several aerial menaces, but it wasn't enough, they were just too many. Black Briar was caught in the crossfire and fell down. Two bolts hit Shield in the neck, but for some reason it didn't hurt. Actually, he couldn't feel anything. His neck had gone completely numb. He then noticed what was going on. The changelings were sleeping everyone, and then hauled them off to green pods. They took several people, But for some reason they couldn't take down a blond mountain man clad in a red checkered shirt, blue denim pants and brown leather boots. This towering human had managed to grab TWO changeling rifles and was shooting like there was no tomorrow. He seemed to be immune to the bolts because there was no stopping him, no rendering him unconscious. For some reason the word gunzerker came to mind. "Hey big guy!" Shield called out. After finishing off the last of the wave, the mountain looked to him and replied: "Eeyup?" "Okay, would you like to be an Auxiliary Dawn Guard member?" "Why?" "Because you look like you can resist a couple of hits. That and the fact that I have no one else to help me. We weren't supposed to encounter any problems." "All right." "Big Mac! Have ya seen Apple Bloom?" asked a female voice. "Not since she got on the line. She must have been lost." A well built blonde was running to the new recruit. She too was wielding a rifle. She was wearing blue denim shorts and a white shirt tied in a knot on the stomach. Her hair was tied to a long braid, and she was wearing a cowboy hat, the left side of her stomach revealed three red apples. Her face was adorned with freckles, her eyes were deep with worry, and her neck sported a jeweled orange necklace with her cutie mark in a beautiful ruby color. "Great, now we have ta look for her." "Excuse ma'am, but would you be interested in joining the Dawn Guard?" "Sorry partner, but Ah can't, I'm lookin' for, a small red haired girl, have ya seen her by any chance?" Shield's face became pale with fear. So that girl had a family, obviously. Gulping hard, he said: "I hate to be the one to tell you this miss, but I am afraid she was here, but she turned into a changeling. My friend was forced to kill it." She looked stupefied, almost as if she couldn't believe it. Then again, neither could he. It was hard to imagine that this little, peaceful town had become a living hell, pretty much like Stalliongrad. Only that this time, it wasn't happening in the border between Germaneigh and the Hooviet Union. It was happening three hours away from Canterlot, the supposed Utopia of Equestria. The Changeling Swarm had managed to swipe the East coast in a month, Canterlot falling only a week after Manehattan. This world is going to hell, and I can't seem to stop it! Thought Shield Heart. The blond woman seemed confused, refusing to believe. "Are ya sure?" she asked. "Very sure, I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do. The only thing we can do is get to the train station before they attack again. And I need you to help me escort everyone to the train, we have stayed long enough. I am sorry about your daughter." "Wha'? She ain't mah daughter, she's mah sister." "Sorry, I just did a wild guess." "Fine, I'll help ya, but Just what is this Dawn Guard of yers?" "The Dawn Guard are a group of men and women who serve Princess Celestia. But since she is dead, we now coordinate our efforts to help complete her last wishes." "Fine. The name's Applejack." she said while holding out her hand. He extended his and said: "Shield Heart at your service." They proceeded without another word. The mayor had managed to survive, and was helping rally everyone. The trip to the train station was uneventful, with the most exciting part being hauling off the unconscious people to the infirmary. The train was about twenty five cars long, and it was about enough to transport the entire population. They were about to depart when Applejack emerged from her car, yelling: "Rarity! Where are you?" she continued asking, but to no avail. Someone from the infirmary car emerged, she was a tall, delicate-looking girl. She was wearing a yellow sundress, and her pink hair was covering the left side of her face. Her neck was adorned with a yellow necklace with three pink butterflies in the center. "Applejack, can you please keep it down, the a lot of sick people and your noise is making them uncomfortable. I mean, of you don't mind that is." whispered the woman. She was wearing the red cross armband, meaning she had become an auxiliary nurse. Well, at least this town was joining the effort, unlike those spoiled brats back at Baltimare. He needed to end this now, because he was sure his gunner was about to leave them in order to go on a merry chase throughout the war zone in order to save one friend. And considering the fact that half his staff was dozing off, unconscious thanks to the relentless attacks, while the other half couldn't know which end of the gun they should be pointing at an enemy. "Hold it, maybe I can help, where is your friend?" "She's probably holed up in her shop, she must've missed role call." "Probably, you stay here, I need someone capable to stand guard. If there is another attack, leave immediately. I don't want to risk losing the entire town just because I might come back." Applejack seemed to hesitate. "If I find your friend I will find a way to take her to Las Pegasus, trust me, I am very crafty." "Fine, just try not ta get held up." "Don't worry, I want to leave this place as soon as possible. And do you have any passphrase in order to convince this Rarity that I am not a changeling?" " Tell her that Tom is just a rock." Shield looked at her with a puzzled look. "She'll understand it." "And how do I get to the shop?" "Go straight through town, it's the only shop with a merry-go-round. Ya can't miss it. " "Very well, I will be back soon." and he departed. Going through town he saw various changelings knocked out, their bodies imitating corpses. And some were actual corpses. He noted that the pods they we using had somehow vanished. The craters that the contraptions made was there, but he didn't remember seeing them float away. He continued walking, passing various shoppes and houses. One particular building looked like a two story house, and was complete in decorations. Upon closer inspection it looked like a bakery. It had a tray of thirteen fresh cupcakes. Shield looked around, Remmy ready to fire anyone that moved. He noticed that there were several chairs and tables, something unusual for most bakeries he had visited. He reached for a cupcake, ready to grab one and blow the head of anyone trying to surprise him, but to his disappointment there was no action. He proceeded to taste the pastry, and was marveled. The sweet treat was an improvement over his last meals which mainly consisted in dried meat and fruits. His taste buds begged for more, so he submitted to his sense of taste. He finished the remaining dozen, hoping that the vanilla frosting and chocolate bread would never end. He rummaged through the kitchen, finding several bags of flour, some soda bottles and sacks of potato chips. He considered taking everything, in case he got held up, but he dismissed it. The weight would be too much for him to bear. He still had several kilos worth of guns, ammo, healing poultices, first aid kits, and water canteens. He exited paradise to return to the ruins. And after ten minutes of walking he arrived to his destination. It was a quaint shop, the outside was quite colorful with a merry-go-round on the top, and the curtains were a beautiful golden stripe pattern. Shield guessed that he was on the right commercial building, unless there were more carousel-themed shops in this town. He went for the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He knocked three times, hoping that whoever was inside could open but nothing happened. "I am going to break the door, if anyone can hear me, please step away I don't want to hurt you." and having said that, he withdrew his wand and casted a bomb spell. With an orange bolt, the door disintegrated, shedding light to a very dark room. He attached Ebony to his shotgun via a wand attachment to the left side of the barrel. He initiated a flashlight spell and began scanning. The lobby was a originally a dress shop, or at least Shield guessed. With several scattered garments of every shape and color, plastic limbs, heads and bodies of former mannequins the place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. Suddenly, Shield saw a patch of a darker shade move, and then he noticed the green glow of the changeling gem's rifle. He pointed his gun, but his light revealed a tall, beautiful woman clad in a black linen cloak. Small turfs of violet hair poked out of the hood, and two gigantic sky blue eyes full of rage looked into him. He questioned wether she was a friend or foe, but gave the luxury of doubt. " Come to kill me bug? You should at least have the decency to show your true form." the woman said. Defenetly friend. He thought to himself. In order to prove that he wasn't lying, Shield put Remmy on the ground. "I am Shield Heart, Warden of the Order of the Greys, I am here to help you miss..." "I am not about to tell my name to some random minion, prove to me that you are human!" "Your friend Applejack sent me..." "You aren't fooling me." she huffed "She said that Tom is just a rock." Instantly, she retracted her rifle and stood up. He picked up his shotgun and extended his hand. "My name is Rarity, I am very sorry that you had to see this mess, but when they arrived it was the only thing I could think of to defend my self." her hands seemed to shake, and he managed to see green blood on her delicate fingers.So she had been forced to strike an unlucky bug and take the weapon. He had to admit that she was incredibly crafty if she managed to think of this very strategy fast enough. Her camouflage was flawless, and if a changeling had entered, it would have been pulverized or stunned by the weapon the second it came into view. She stared at him her eyes filled with awe. Truth was, he was something to look at. Between his face which his mother always said was handsome, his half-burned scar and his white eye made him someone who people tended to stare at. "What do we do now?" she asked, trying not to look at him. "We need to get to the train station, there is no point in waiting any longer. I know that the changelings will be preparing for another attack, and we have already lost far too much time just sitting here, so if you will please accompany me." said the Knight They suddenly stopped, having heard several insectoid noises near the shop. Shield immediately tackled Rarity, sending her to the ground. Quickly, he placed himself over the violet haired woman and shifted his body to the front. "What are you doing?" she asked , managing a response through the weight of Shield As they hit the ground, thousands of green bolts pierced the walls and scorched everything they touched. The door opened and two blue empty eyes peered in. Instantly, the eyes lost their glow as nine small pellets embedded themselves into the skull. The body dropped to the floor, and another one came through, rifle aiming forward. With a swift pump, the shotgun went off again, this time hitting the target in the chest. He reloaded and stood up. He trusted his hand to lift her up, and she gladly accepted his help. "Okay, listen, if I get held up, don't stop, the train is instructed to leave in case there is another attack. And that probably means we are done for, but there is a chance they are giving us a five minute window. They always do that." said Shield. He holstered Remmy and withdrew Maria on his right hand and his tower shield on his left. Then, he charged forward, smashing his energy protection against a foe. His pistol fired a storm of bullets, taking down all opponents unlucky enough to come in within range. With a brief respite, the Grey Warden reloaded his pistol. He then proceeded to dissolve his shield and advanced forward. "That was, rather brief. Do you not think so sir?" said Rarity. "That was just the first wave, they were merely scouts. I fear if we do not hurry, we will never make it." "So lead the way sir." "Ladies first." But still, Shield took point. He switched to Wanda, knowing that the rifle was going to pack a greater punch that his pistol. They were halfway through the Town when Shield said: "Well, this is going better than expected, nothing could stop us now." And then fate accepted the challenge, the silence was broken by a piercing screech. It was so high-pitched that both humans were forced to cover their ears. They looked up to the skies and saw two large black masses flying really high in the sky. "No, they can't be, please Celestia, anything but that!" said Shield, the color of his face had been drained with fear. "What was that?" asked the violet woman. "That was the sound of nightmares, the stuff you never want to hear,ever." "But what sort of beast could produce such a sound?" Shield pointed to the sky, and the previous masses were now visible in full detail. They looked like dragons, but they only had two hind legs, and their hands were placed on their wings. They were as black as they could, with glowing blazing orange eyes that looked right into them, and the pupils showed a faint green glow. "They are Fell Wyverns, two times more powerful than a dragon, and half as reasonable." One of the monsters charged at them, Shield grabbed Rarity and pinned her to the ground. It missed them, just managing to scratch the knight on the back. "Is this how you always treat women?" asked Rarity. "If they are in danger of dying or being mauled by monsters, then yes." The dragon perched itself in various houses, but the thatched roofs were not made to withstand the full weight of a dragon. So the roofs collapsed, bringing down the monster to the ground. Rarity was thinking of saying something clever but instead she kept silent. And instead focused her weapon. She started firing, but her strength betrayed her. The gun was a bit heavy for someone of here physique, and the result was bullets being scattered in every direction. The bolts did not hit their mark, and only brought the attention of the beast that was hunting them. The sound of the train whistle startled them, and made them realize that from now on, they were on their own. It also made them realize that the beast now was within range to snap them. Shield discharged his weapon on the enemy, and the bullets bounced off the hard natural scale armor. He then proceeded to step in between the mouth of the dragon and the woman in black. The monster took a deep breath, and exhaled a loud roar along with yellow flames. Shield reacted by placing his arms in front of him forming an X. Rarity was pushed back, and could only see the blond man engulfed by the flames. She screamed, swearing that her savior would be burned to ashes. But to her surprise, as the flames faded the Warden stood. His arms had created a crimson barrier. His clothing was slightly burned, and his face showed no emotion at all. He dissolved the barrier, withdrew his sword and created a crimson buckler for his left hand. He charged, leaping forward toward the wyvern. He slashed at the beast, who snapped its jaws in return. This blow hit the buckler, but Shield felt a house coming down on his arm. He shook it off, concentrating on delivering another slash at the dragon. He managed a cut to the jaws, dark red blood dripping from the wound. Since the events of Manehattan, Shield had dissolved the enchantment that dulled the blade and now it was capable of drawing blood. He continued fighting the wyvern, trying to dodge the attacks as often as possible. But he needed to get his VIP to safety, that was his top priority. He charged, but was caught by the jaws of the monster. The rows of razor-sharp teeth embedded themselves into his body, tearing through his meager clothing.he managed to catch a glimpse of Rarity, and yelled: "Run you fool!". He managed to grab Maria, and tossed her to the ground, along with whatever ammo he could. Subsequently, he was tossed into a large tree with a window. Shield crashed through, the glass shredding though his body, one large piece in particular slashing his face from right to left in a diagonal fashion. As he landed, his left foot took the full force, making a sickening crack sound. The Warden faded. And the memory flashed out .oOo. Shield looked at his clothes, they were drenched in blood, and the bite mark had left several cracks in his system. That's a lot of blood. Shield thought as he inspected his wounds. That's a lot of MY blood. He started to feel faint, with various liters of blood lost, he wasn't in the best condition to move. He put his arm against his chest, and with a soft glow he cauterized the jaw marks. He started feeling better, but not by much. He then proceeded to cauterize his face which hurt very badly. He decide to look around where he was. His surroundings revealed he was in a bedroom. And the dragon was nowhere to be seen. He looked for something to help him stand up, and using one of the walls, he managed to get on his feet. But as he put weight on his left leg, he immediately fell down. The pain was staring to become unbearable, so he decided to take a shot of Med-x to help ease the burden. He touched his head and noticed that his fedora was gone, probably lost when he was flying across town. As he started limping, he neared the bed, and saw a wooden picture frame. The picture depicted six young women, in everyday clothes, smiling and hugging each other. All of them sported bejeweled necklaces with unique figures for pendants. All except the one on the center, her violet hair with pink streaks was decorated with a golden tiara with a pink star in the middle. Shield knew he had seen the tiara somewhere. And then it hit him. That was Twilight Sparkle, without a doubt. And he recognized Applejack, now wearing a fully buttoned shirt. He also noticed the pink haired medic, and to his surprise he noted Rarity. Her blue eyes and violet hair made her stand out like a diamond amongst piles of coal. He stopped his brain for a moment and considered that the reference was really rude. Sure Rarity was without a doubt the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and having seen the Valkyries of Asgard that was saying something, but the other ones weren't ugly. His vision started blurring again, and he remembered that the jaws had also injured his back. He managed to cauterize his back, hoping that his body would regenerate the loss of blood soon. He looked around and managed to see two sticks that could form a makeshift bracer for his leg. Having finished securing his leg, he checked his equipment. He still had Wanda holstered to his back, with a few teeth marks, but still working. Remmy also had similar dents, but he was confident that it would work. He had thrown Maria so that Rarity could use it as a substitute, since that rifle wasn't going to do her much good. He thanked Celestia that he had the custom for keeping ammo in different bags. He noticed that he lost his sword, it probably slipped off when he got tossed like a wet rag doll. He grabbed Remmy and reloaded the weapon. He was happy that he still had Ebony attached to the shotgun. He limped his way down the ledge to see that there were several shelves filled with books. In the center of the shelves lied a small hallway going downward. He continued his slow walk, cautiously holding his gun in case anything decided to sneak up on him. Descending the spiral stairs, he managed to see the door. He sighed relief, and started moving faster. He started hearing the buzz of wings and the hairs on the back of his neck stood. Suddenly, a thousand green bolts pierced the windows, walls and door. Shield was immediately immobilized, having been struck by most of the magic bullets. His torso and legs had become inactive, but his head had been left untouched. He started feeling his arms, they seemed to have received the least damage, and started crawling his way to his shotgun. He needed to remain calm, since losing control could lead him to make fatal decisions. And the best way to calm himself was to hold a killing machine. "Hahahahaha my, isn't that cute?" said a female voice. Alarmed, Shield looked around, and he couldn't bear to relax. A tall woman, with black chitin-scaled skin and semitransparent grey blue hair looked right at him with her piercing gradient green eyes and black slit pupils. She wore a matching breastplate and thong with the same gradient as her eyes. He back sported the changeling wings, with several holes in between the flying membranes. Her arms and legs had several holes, and her pierced slender fingers were holding a VERY large pistol. The gun possessed a soft green glow on the barrel, which looked like a sawed-off version of the standard rifle. "Who knew that the legendary Shield Heart would have fallen here, in the humble town of Ponyville. Thanks to you, my plan for revenge was simplified. I no longer have to worry about you and your merry band of warriors. With your death and the death of all elements of harmony, Equestria will finally be mine!" she said, and turned her back on him. "This day has been just perfect, just as perfect as the attack on Manehattan. First I slew Love and Now I will slay Harmony!" As she was giving her evil speech, Shield started crawling stealthily toward his shotgun. At this range, he was confident that he could blow her brains out. It was obvious that he was going to die, but he didn't care. He had welcomed death before, and this was going to buy Rarity some time so she could escape. Just as he was centimeters from Remmy, his arms were paralyzed. The queen and three minions approached him. Two of them seized him by the arms, a third one aimed its weapon at him and the Tall Woman passed seductively a hand into his duster. She pulled out the silver watch, now completely broken by his flying and the shots taken, and opened it. He tried struggling, hoping to break free, but these insects were really strong. The woman was engulfed in green flames, and what came after was Shield's worst nightmare. Standing in front of him was the only person he had ever loved. He warm smile calmed his nerves, he had always enjoyed seeing Cadence happy. Then his brain registered the error. Cadence was dead, he himself had seen the body. But the woman in front of him looked just like her. It was a huge conflict inside his brain, but his body demanded that he do something quick. The Med-X was wearing off and the pressure from his captors was staring to feel quite evident. "You like this?" Said the woman in Cadence's voice. "Take him to the pod, let's process him like everyone else." The grunts moved him with ease, and he could do nothing about it. They took him outside, stripped him of his weapons, and they put him inside a green capsule filled with a transparent gel. They closed it with an almost transparent membrane and left him tied up. He could barely move his hands, and his feet were in no condition to move. His breathing was not impaired, so it had to have certain magical properties. He heard muffled sounds outside, and Pseudo-Cadence was smirking at him. Some humming noises later he started to feel weaker than before. He lifted his hands and noticed that they were wrinkling. His face felt severe deformation and his eye lost more sight than before. He managed to free his arms and started banging the cover, but to his surprise, it was thicker than expected. Several changelings had flown off, leaving only three guards with the woman. She seemed to laugh when she saw Shield trying to escape, but the muffling could not let him confirm anything. He continued pounding away, his strength fading in the process. But he couldn't give up, not like this. He summoned every mana of magic he had left and augmented his punches. The first blow produced a crack, but it did not break. Alarmed, all three guards pointed their guns at him. The woman simply flew away, her face showing a lot of fear. He should say pale, but with the black skin it was hard to tell. As he delivered a second blow, he saw two guards drop, each clutching different parts of their body. The third one was startled, and initiated firing. The Warden delivered the last blow and crawled out. His body gave him a dose of adrenaline and he jumped at the remaining guard. His last bit of magic was concentrated on one final punch, which managed to dislocate the changeling jaw. Panting, he looked around and was surprised to see Rarity. She was clutching Maria with both hands on the grip. And her head sported her hat. He took a step forward she did not hesitate to point her weapon. Most people would be terrified, but Shield noticed that the slide was pushed back meaning she had no more ammo left. "You can relax, they have left the town." said a soft aged voice from Shield's mouth. He immediately covered his mouth, hoping that the sound came from elsewhere. But it was impossible that someone repeated the same exact words as him. "I swear it's me, Shield Heart! I rescued you from your shop!" She eased a bit, lowering her gun. Suddenly, she started sobbing and dropped Maria. He approached her and did the one thing his heart told him to do. He extended his arms and hugged her as tight as he could. He tried to control her sobbing, but in the end she won and he shed a few tears. He has to admit, this day had been the most stressful so far. As they were Exiting the zone, he picked up Wanda, Remmy and his watch. He decided to leave his sword behind, he was sure that they wouldn't come for the night. Night was starting to fall and they needed to find shelter. He proposed the bakery, which he learned was called Sugarcube Corner. Having settled down, Rarity told him all about this place. It was not only the best bakery in all of town, but it also served as a hangout for most people. She also said that one of her friends worked and lived here. The knight cherished this last thought. It had been a VERY long while since he had time to relax. He had taken off his shirt so that it could be washed. Blood was not very attractive, and neither was it healthy. Thankfully, he found a spare shirt in a closet. He was amazed when he saw Rarity get to work on his shirt. With a flick of her yew wand, she extracted all the blood forming a big ball of gory liquid which floated in he center of he room. She also managed to transmute the torn parts back together, making it look better than before. When she had finished mending his short, she went for a first aid kit and patched up his leg, covering it in a special bandage slathered with kolto gel. After the patching up had ended they sat down in front of the fireplace with tea cups. He saw Rarity shiver, and he gave her his coat, which she thanked him for. "Do you know why it started getting colder?" she asked. "It's the windigos, with so much hate and war, thy are moving here. It won't be soon before they freeze all of Equestria." he said. She started inspecting the coat and took out the time device. Much to his horror, she opened it and saw the image on the inside of the cover. The watch did not posses a photograph of Cadence, but instead a special spell that replicated various pictures depending on which have been scanned. "Why do you have a picture of Cadence here?" She asked. "Because I am a masochist. During my youth, as in until today, I loved her with all of my heart. Naturally, she never did see my as a love interest. If you click the lock the pictures will change." said the war horse. She did so, and every time a new picture would arise, he would explain who it was. "So you lost everyone in the siege of Canterlot?" asked Rarity. "Yes, I lost my parents, my job, my older brother, Saphira my Drake friend, my baby brother Hawk Eye, half of my friends and my hopes of winning this war." he answered. "But you can't give up! You fought a dragon, that requires nerve to do!" "But I lost, I got tossed around like a ragdoll, imprisoned in a lifeabsorbing capsule and finally now the train with the Ponyville residents is destroyed by two wyverns. And as if that were enough, I no longer posses the age to help anyone. If only I could turn back time, but I no longer have the mana to accomplish it." "What if I gave you my strength?" "Not to sound rude, but there is no way you can posses the required mana to cast the spell." "Maybe you are right, but I have this..." and she unbelted her cape. The result was pure awe as he saw the single most beautiful woman ever. But more importantly, she was wearing a bejeweled necklace with a three diamond pendant. "The element of generosity should serve as a suitable source of magic, don't you think so sir?" Shield was too stunned to speak. An element of Harmony was more than enough to send him back to before Princess Luna got banished, but how could he keep himself in time long enough to get the message to his past self? That was the question. "We should go to sleep, prepare ourselves for tomorrow. Because when the sun rises we will rewrite history." The memory ended. .oOo. Shield Heart was in the caves of Mount Mare, holding a broken pocket watch and looking deeply into the night sky. He was scared, for the first time war wa going to his doorstep, and his friends had front row seats for the bloodbath. The main problem was that they were the the blood.