Reks and the others were on their way back when- “Sir, do you smell that?” Gaz asked.

Reks sniffed the air, and the smell he met was horrendous and horrifyingly familiar. “Poison!” he cried out. “Everypony, back to the base on the double!”

Poison had always been lethal only to consume, but Imperial scientists had developed a concoction that was just as deadly to breathe in, most likely to be used on rebel outposts such as this. What this meant was the Empire no longer gave a damn about casualties and reinstating peace.

Once they got back, it was too late. Ponies laid dead inside and out. They never had a chance. Fear crept into Reks as he panicked and realized… “Anna!” He turned around and even his own troops had fallen already to the poison. As quickly as he could, he rushed to the top floor where Anna, his wife and Annabelle, his daughter, were residing.

Once he got back to his room, his heart almost stopped. He saw Anna and Annabelle were on the bed, holding each other, their heads nodded off. “No!” He went up to them and shook them gently. “Anna! Annabelle! …No, not you two, please wake up!” But they were gone, and Reks’ solid nature crumbled immediately as he held them, weeping silently.

It was strange, the poison was not as potent as it was, meaning it was starting to dissipate slowly, which in turn meant he was spared, much to his dismay.

(A/N: For this next part, the song I’m using is “The Unforgiven” from Final Fantasy VI.)

Quietly he laid them both down on the bed so they could rest peacefully. But before he could leave, he started shaking with rage. “Those… cowards…” he muttered. *“Those filthy cowards… I will make them pay for this!”

In a sudden rage, he ran, heading back to the front lines. He was the last one standing, but he wasn’t going down without a fight, not until he made every last one of them pay, including the one who gave that final order.

Upon seeing the first group of soldiers, he yelled and charged with his sword, startling them with fear. They didn’t stand a chance. Reks’ swordsmanship as well as his sudden rage made him all too powerful.

Meanwhile, once the coast was clear, Applejack and Pinkie Pie came out of hiding. “We gotta get out of here!” Applejack said. “The rebels here are doomed and we need to get back and explain what happened.”

Going outside, they quickly saw other Imperials were engaged with a lone pony, who was attacking with such ferocity that they’ve never seen before. “Looks like he needs our help!” Pinkie Pie said.

“May we provide some assistance?” Applejack called out to the pony.

“Most appreciated!” Reks said as more soldiers came. The three of them worked together and were able to take them down, but Reks sprinted ahead and attacked once more.

“If we’re going to get out of here, we need to work together!” Applejack said.

“My thoughts exactly!” Reks replied. After the second wave was defeated, the soldiers started retreating back.

“We need to find a way outta here!” Pinkie Pie said.

“No, not me,” Reks said. “I won’t be satisfied until they’re all dead!”

“Taking them all on is suicide!” Applejack said. “You won’t last forever against them!”

“Whatever it takes,” Reks said.

“Look, I know you lost some friends, but getting yourself killed won’t bring them back nor change anything,” Applejack said. “If you want to honor the fallen, you have to keep fighting for them, not cast away your life.”

“…You’re right,” Reks said, nodding. “Very well, how do you suppose we get out of here?”

Applejack smiled. “I think I might know just the thing…”

“You sure you know how to use one of these things?” Pinkie Pie asked, getting strapped into a mech.

“It can’t be that difficult,” Applejack said, switching the system online. “Just don’t blow me up okay?”

“I cannot believe I’d actually be using their own weapons against them,” Reks said.

“At least the controls are simple,” Applejack said as they started moving. It wasn’t long before they had company. “Okay, let’s see here…” The buttons had a small symbol for what magic the mechs could use, but the big black one she did not recognize. “I wonder what this does.” She pushed it and suddenly a missile launched from the mech’s right wrist, blowing up the three other mechs in front of them in the process. “Woo nelly! I think I might like using this thing after all!”

However, those mechs would not be a problem compared to what came next. A larger mech with thicker armor and bigger guns suddenly. “Uh oh it’s a bigger one!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Must be a prototype,” Reks said. “Ideas?”

“Yeah…” Applejack said as it’s gatling gun started rotating. “Eject!” She punched a red button and her seat suddenly shot into the air. The others did the same before the gun started firing, cutting the other mechs apart like Swiss cheese.

Luckily for them, they landed far away enough that they wouldn’t be spotted. “Phew, that was clooooooossse!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Sure was,” Applejack said.

“I have to thank you both,” Reks said, bowing his head slightly. “The loss of my wife and foal… was too much for me to bear and my rage took over. If you hadn’t come when you did, I would’ve met a similar fate. My name is Reks.”

“I’m Applejack and this is Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said. “Well Reks, you know this area better than we do, what should we do now?”

“If we head into the woods, we should lose them,” Reks said. “Hurry, I’m sure Imperial forces will be on us shortly.”

It wasn’t the Everfree Forest, but it was certainly just as thick. Regardless, the area seemed much calmer as nothing could be heard except for the sound of them walking. “What’s that up ahead?” Pinkie asked, pointing ahead.

They crossed into a valley and suddenly they found railroad tracks. “Tracks… still here?” Reks asked. “There hasn’t been a running railway here for almost ten years.” All of a sudden there came the sound of a whistle as a train started approaching.

“Apparently they got it starting again,” Applejack said as the train approached and soon stopped in front of them. “Well, I guess we better get on.”

“Wait!” Pinkie Pie said. “I’m getting weird vibes about this.” It was true, she was shaking slightly.

“Oh come now Pinkie, it’s just a train,” Applejack said impatiently.

“It could be a trap…” Reks said.

“We don’t have much of a choice,” Applejack said. “Let’s just get on and worry about all that later.” The other two nodded and they got onboard and headed into one of the passenger cars.

“Uh… nopony’s on,” Pinkie said, looking around. It was true, the entire car was empty, so where was it headed to?

“Oh, wait there’s somepony,” Applejack said, going over to the corner where a pony sat, his head staring down at the floor. “Uh, excuse me, sir?” The pony said nothing. “Sir?” She went to tap him on the shoulder… and her hoof went right through him. Applejack yelped back in surprise. “I-It’s a ghost!”

“This train is haunted!?” Pinkie cried.

“No…”  Reks said calmly. “Now it all makes sense now. This train is no ordinary train and it only has one destination.”

“Where’s that?” Applejack asked fearfully.

“…On.”

(A/N: Sorry for the late update, I had this down awhile ago and I totally forgot about it. DX)