//------------------------------//
// SEQUENCE 2: A Question of Fire 
// Story: Equestria Girls: ZX 
// by MasterZadok 
//------------------------------//

	[So, first thing's first. You'll probably notice you're a little more durable than before.]
"A little, yes." The armored boots ground the cliff face into dust as Zero slid down the mountain, his fingers biting into the stone to control his speed.
[I'll be honest with you, Zero, this is completely new technology. No one knew whether or not the M. E. G. A. system could work, let alone if it would.]
"What does that mean?"
[Magically Enchanted Gemstone Augmentation.] Sunset explained. [Right now, every cell in your body is infused with my crystal magic circuits. But there's a mental element to it too, so I can't just megamerge with anybody!]
"And your first visitors in centuries just happened to have a suitable host?" Zero frowned.
[My hero.]
The young Hunter ran out of stone wall and let himself fall the last five meters into the mountain river.
[Oh, but I should probably mention-]
Spla-thunk!
Zero opened his eyes to find himself standing solidly on a bed of river rocks. Above him, the water's surface rippled like a silver shawl.
[Your new body is considerably more... dense.]
"Helios! How much do you weigh!?" The boy clambered for air, but he might as well have tried swimming in wind.
[I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.] Sunset huffed.
"Not good." Zero's mouth filled with water. "I can't breathe!" The Biocrystal, however, seemed mildly amused.
[That's what I'm saying, kid. You don't have to.] To the Hunter's surprise, she was right. The tightness in his lungs that usually signified asphyxiation was simply nonexistent.
"Very well. Anything else I should know?"
[Not really. I mean, we could probably survive in space the way we are now. Not that I'd recommend it. Also, stay away from the Mariana Trench. And lava. And buster shots. And spikes. But hey, how does it feel?]
"Wet." Zero said dryly. He trudged along the stony riverbed until a shallow bank presented itself. As he sloshed onto the shore, he noted how deep his feet sank in the mud. His downward gaze eventually drifted back to the crystal clear river and his reflection therein. A figure looked back at him, humanoid, but wrapped in a blood-red carapace of metal and adorned with a horned helmet. In the middle of his forehead sat a glowing triangular gem, burning with the same blue light he had seen in Sunset Shimmer's eyes.
"Am I a petroid?" He asked. The Biocrystal didn't respond immediately.
[Not exactly. We're more of a... hybrid.]
"Can I take you off?" Even more silence.
[Zero.] Sunset whispered. [I'm sorry. I... I did the best I could, but... You pretty much died back there.]
"I see..." The boy's hand gently touched his stomach.
[I stopped the bleeding. Filled the hole, but really... I'm the only thing keeping you alive right now. If we split-]
"The wound will reopen." Zero straightened himself. "I guess that just makes traveling incognito harder. We'll stand out wherever we go."
[I'll take that as a compliment.]
"And what is this?" The Hunter reached behind his helmet and grabbed a train of yellow and red hair running down his back. "This isn't mine."
[No, It's mine. We never figured out why, but more magic and more hair just go hand-in-hand. Pony up and next thing you know, L'Oréal's calling for an endorsement.]
"'We'?"
[My friends. Those of us studying magic. I used to be a PhD of Arcane Sciences. Though I'm not sure if it counts since we practically invented the field.]
"You mean before the war?" Zero's voice fell cold.
[Yeah.] Sunset murmured. [So there really was a war, then?]
"You didn't know?"
[No, I knew. Everyone had magic weapons when I was locked away. I guess I was holding on to the hope no one would be crazy enough to use them. Still can't believe it.]
"I see..." The Hunter's eyes narrowed. "Might want to keep that fact to yourself for now."
[What fact?]
"That you researched the arcane. Humanity is still suffering from what happened, Sunset. Someone has to take the blame."
[What? You think we wanted this to happen? No, I don't need to hear that! Not from you! You have no idea what my friends and I-]
"I don't care." Zero turned from the river. "It doesn't matter who's to blame. It's irrelevant to our current situation."
For a long time, the Hunter traveled in steely silence, his companion either stunned quiet or measuring her next words carefully. Finally, her voice asked,
[What's the plan?]
"Evade capture. Link with the commander. Finish the mission."
[And that is?]
"Yet to be determined." At first, fulfilling Doctor Xiel's contract had been the boy's top priority, but after discovering what his employer was unearthing, his future, Sunset's future, and even the future of the Hunters had been thrown into limbo. The only thing that was certain was that the rules were changing.
At long last, the mountain's stony bones gave way to churning foothills and Zero found himself looking out over a scene of lush planes split by yawning fissures. Evening was heavy in the sky and the first stars had long since awoken, but the dark hulls of Enterprise airships were already coming into view, their prows turned toward Xiel's hidden vault like sharks tracking blood.
[Do you know where we are?]
"No, but judging by the forest, I'd say it looks like Area A."
[That's very helpful.]
"Agricultural territory. Sparsely populated, but that's for the best. It means less attention. If we can find a homestead, we might be able to get some information, some food, and a disguise. Then we'll vanish."
[How about a traveling caravan?]
"Even better."
[Well, then, your wish is my command!] The entity turned Zero's gaze downwards to a meandering dirt road skirting the edge of the forest. Through the deepening night, he could just barely make out the lumpy forms of wagons and their owners. Flashes of magic fire and panicked shouts rose into the night. The sounds of battle.
"We should investigate." Zero threw himself forward, flying low between the black trunks of the trees. For as heavy as his feet pounded the turf, his body moved and reacted as quick as instinct and within moments, he had come upon the scene.
Two covered wagons fashioned from prewar trucks were parked on the road with their tenants sheltering within. One of the vehicles bore deep gashes in its metal hide and was missing a wheel. Zero didn't need years of experience with mechaniloids to find the culprit.
"An Ursa. I guess Athena was right." Lumbering alongside the first wagon was a construct of magic and metal that looked as if someone had welded together an orgy of refrigerators. The mechanical bear pawed at the front of the vehicle while its defiant driver opened fire with an old buster from within.
[Ready to dance?] Sunset sneered.
"Wait."
[For what? They need our help!]
This time, it was Zero's turn to guide the Biocrystal's attention. Like a moth to the flame, the black shape of an Enterprise dropship fell from the sky. Beams of light fell from its underside as its lanterns swept the road and the surrounding trees.
[Oh, are they going to step in?]
"Doubtful."
"Hey! Hey, help! Help us, please!" The wagon driver waved frantically at the ship. "I can't stop it!"
The Enterprise ship hovered silently for a moment and then turned its prow back toward the mountains and fired its engines. The caravan owner panicked.
"No! Don't go! Please, come back!" He screamed, turning his buster skyward. Two knots of molten magic flew up into the night like distress flares. The Enterprise immediately reacted.
"MAVERICK IDENTIFIED!" A voice boomed through the night and all searchlights swiveled around to face their target. The stunned caravan owner found himself awash under the radiance of their gaze.
"No, I-!"
Even as he spoke, the belly of the aircraft split and from it sides dropped two armored figures. The newcomers were made entirely of purple metal and hung in the air from stunted wings in their backs. Their right arms were bulky magic cannons and their spherical heads were featureless save for a single crimson eye sunk in the very center. The Enterprise's Paragons.
[What are they-?] Sunset's question died. The flying soldiers opened fire, peppering the wagon with bursts of magic. There was a sharp scream from the man within, and then silence.
"MAVERICK TERMINATED!" At that, the purple figures returned to their ship and the transport continued its patrol. In the darkness below, the Ursa went on ripping apart the metal sides from the wagons.
[No way...] The Biocrystal whispered. [Please tell me that didn't just happen!]
"Let's go." Pushing his newfound strength into his legs, Zero shot towards the Ursa like a missile.
[Right!]
Before the creature even knew he was there, the Hunter skipped off the ground and threw his boot into the monster's jaw. There was a deafening clang as the mechaniloid tottered sideways and fell to the dust.
[Finish him!] The Biocrystal shouted. [Wait, Zero, what's wrong?] Instead of pursuing the fallen Ursa, however, Zero turned back to the wagons. Two men, a woman and two children were inside, staring at the boy's sudden appearance in shock.
"Evening." He nodded. "My name is Null, an independent maverick hunter. I would advise purchasing my services to avoid any further damage to yourself or your caravan."
"A hunter?" One of the occupants, a younger man, pushed himself forward. "You just- Did you just kick an Ursa?"
"My fee is standard operating rate. Fifty energy crystals base plus scavenging rights."
"F-fifty!?" The man quailed.
[Zero! What are you doing?] Sunset scolded. [That thing's getting back up!]
"If you cannot pay the base rate, barter is acceptable."
The ground trembled as the Ursa righted itself and worked its jaw.
"We don't have much!" The man's eyes flicked between the rising beast and Zero's glinting armor. "We shuttle produce from Ivywood to Rust!"
"I would be willing to exchange my services for a map of the local area, a radio, if you have one, and," Zero pointed, "your cloak."
"My cloak?"
[Sweet mother of- What is with you? Monster first! Shopping later!]
"If you do not agree with my terms or do not want my protection, then I won't trouble you any-"
"Rrawwrrr!" Zero's words were obliterated as the machine charged at the wagon like an avalanche.
"Yes! Yes I agree! Helios-damned pirate! We agree to your terms!"
[Zero!] The stars were eclipsed by a metal paw.
Z-woosh! Zero spun in place and a brilliant crescent of fire lit up the night. The Ursa's roar turned into a scream as its claws were sent flying through the air like railroad spikes. Continuing his momentum, the Hunter swung Sunset's saber once more and the mechaniloid's voice fell silent. A moment later, its face hit the ground, gemstone brain smoldering like firewood.
"Good choice." The boy glanced at his awestruck employer.
With only a fleeting look back at the sky, Zero knelt beside the Ursa's body and reignited his sword. Or tried to. The hilt of pale metal remained dormant at his command.
"Sunset?" No answer. "The sword, Sunset." Finally, the delta blade flashed to life.
[What the hay kind of a stunt was that?] The voice demanded. [You did not just extort somebody!]
"We made an agreeme-"
[No! Saving someone's life isn't about getting paid, Zero!]
"You would fight gratis?" The Biocrystal stewed silently. "I don't know where you come from, Sunset, but around here, amity is a sure way to get hurt."
As the family of traders cautiously emerged from the wagons and surveyed the aftermath, Zero cut into the side of the Ursa and removed its plates of armor. From its core, he recovered the precious energy crystals, a squat glass tube housing a shimmering blue diamond. Sunset whispered,
[What if they didn't pay you? Would you have let them die?]
"Probably not, but I wouldn't be obligated to protect them, either." From the heaviness that pulled at his lungs, the boy could tell that his companion wasn't happy with that answer.
[Zero, of the two of us, are you sure I'm the one made of stone?]
He didn't reply.
"Um, sir? Mister?" The young man appeared behind Zero, holding a poncho made of a heavy brown canvas. "We're still looking for your map."
"Thank Luna you showed up when you did." The woman held one of the children against her leg. "But to loose Jor like that..."
"[I'm just sorry we didn't get here sooner.]" Sunset murmured.
"Who's she?" The man stared at Zero's helmet.
"You can hear her?"
[I recycled the radio from your old headset.] The Biocrystal explained quickly. Aloud, she said, "[Yes, I'm Zer- I mean, Null's operator. I'm monitoring him from our base. Very far away. With my coffee.]"
"That's quite the operation." The caravanner mused.
"[Is there anything else we can do to help?]" Sunset offered. "[You've had a pretty rough night.]"
"Thank you for offering," The woman sighed. "but-"
"But we don't need anything else from you." The man snapped. "Just collect your payment and go."
"Besides, we shouldn't linger." Zero reminded. "Now that my radio miraculously fixed itself, we should be going."
"Wait!" The woman objected. "You saved our caravan and all you're taking is a map and an old rag?"
"My rag. Besides, he agreed to the terms." The man huffed.
"Strass, we owe him our lives and you know it!" She snapped. "I'm sorry, sir, we don't have much, but please help yourself to whatever you like. I would offer a meal as well, but you're petroid, correct?"
Zero opened his mouth, but Sunset spoke first.
"[Actually, he's human and he would love to stay for dinner.]"
"I would?"
"[Love.]"
"Oh, alright then!" The woman blinked. "I'll get the stove going."
"And we'll just see to Jor then, shall we?" Strass and the other man turned toward the first wagon where the steam was still rising from the corpse of their fellow caravanner.
"Sunset," Zero muttered, "we can't stay. Once the Enterprise gets reinforcements, this land will be choked with patrols."
[These folks just lost somebody because we were hiding, Zero.] The Biocrystal hissed. [Despite that, this amazing woman still wants to properly thank you and you are going to accept her hospitality or so help me I'll stub your toe on a table leg!]
"I don't-"
[Your pinkie toe!]
"Last I checked, I don't have an intestine anymore." Zero grumbled.
[Jeez, kid, a cat made out of lemons would be less of a sourpuss than you!] Sunset huffed. [Look, I need organic molecules to rebuild your body, okay?]
Zero leered at the sky, but followed the lady.
The caravan they had found was running a loop across Area A, shuttling fish and produce between the coastal villages to the north and the farming communities to the south. Zero and Sunset Shimmer hung over a hand-drawn map of the local geography while their hostess, Carina, boiled a pot of onions and dried fish. Despite his efforts to focus on the paper, Zero couldn't help but feel the unblinking eyes of Carina's daughters on his back.
"Looks like we're less than a day south of the Freshwater Sea." He muttered. "The towns there are a perfect place to cover our tracks."
[So here's a question,] Sunset asked privately, [Who in their right mind builds a giant metal bear?]
"After the war," Zero intoned, "lots of larger animals were either extinct or endangered. The Enterprise created mechaniloids to fill the void, controlling the populations of prey animals like rabbits and mice."
[Again with this Enterprise.]
"Sometimes, though, they go maverick and attack humans, but their creators always seem reluctant to put them down." The Hunter paused. "And I swear, I've seen the mechaniloids fighting for the Enterprise before."
"Here you go, sir!" Carina appeared with a bowl of pale brown broth. "This should warm you up."
"[Thank you.]" Sunset offered.
As the weak stew hit his stomach, the Hunter could feel the Biocrystal reducing it to plasma.
[Could use some salt.]
"Do these people look like they can afford salt?"
[Oh...] Aloud, Sunset offered, "[Are you folks going to be all right without Jor?]"
"We'll manage." Carina smiled bravely, "We always manage."
"[If you don't mind me asking, who was he?]"
"What does it matter?" Zero frowned. "Ah-!" Suddenly, the armor on his shin clenched as if someone had kicked him.
"Jor was my older brother." Carina shrugged. "Strass is my husband and old Skeel is my father-in-law. My brother always insisted that he'd protect us... I guess the Enterprise had other plans."
"[Just who do they think they are anyway?]"
Carina blinked, unsure how to respond. Zero, however, knew what the prewar consciousness was really asking.
"They're the saviors of humanity." He answered simply. "When all the former nations destroyed one another, the New Moon Enterprise were the ones who gathered the ashes. They swept the world, collecting the survivors and uniting them into a single utopia, Neo Arcania. As far as they're concerned, humans and petroids proved their inability to govern themselves, so now we're all the property of the Enterprise."
"[That's ridiculous!]" Sunset huffed, ignoring the sharp gasp from Carina. "[Then who's in charge?]"
"The Hecate, of course." Zero slurped his stew. "The Emissary of the Stars,our divine lord, Twilight Sparkle."
"[What!?]"
The Hunter coughed into his food, splattering beige water as Sunset's voice shouted both inside and outside his head.
"Don't do that!"
"[That's not right! That can't be right! You're telling me those creeps outside were working for Twilight!?]"
"Keep your voice down!" Zero hissed through clenched teeth. Behind him, Carina was gently ushering her children out of the wagon.
"Those 'creeps' are the Paragons of the New Moon Empire, the Hecate's holy knights." Strass appeared, glaring at Zero. "I'd suggest you tell your radio friend to watch her tongue when talking about our deliverers."
"Ha! Right! Because it was our 'beloved masters' who saved us from an Ursa just now." A voice like a bucket of gravel proceeded the old man Skeel. "Oh, wait, no it wasn't!"
"Please, everyone-" Carina's pleaded.
"It's been a strange night!" The young man snapped. "I'm sure the Paragons had more urgent duties!"
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you. Must've gotten dirt in my ear from burying Jor just now!" Skeel's leathery face was that of a dried apple, but his eyes flashed fire. Turning to Zero, he said, "Saviors of humanity? Ha! Let me tell you, boy, the Enterprise didn't save us, they claimed us! Humanity? Pheh! There's no place for humanity in their 'perfect world'. Made us their pets, their oxen, is what they did. Doing what we do best, breeding, so they can shove more cogs into that giant machine they call a city!"
"You fool!" Strass bristled. "If someone heard you talking like that, they'd brand you a maverick and we'd all be terminated before Helios returned! You may have lost your family, Skeel, but I still have mine to think about! Neo Arcania is a perfect society! Free of crime and fear and want! You've seen the wasteland! I'ts Tartarus without the Enterprise."
"Oh yeah? Then what do you call this?" The old man shoved his bony fingers into his shirt and withdrew a metal rod.
"Put that away!" Carina paled.
"A fuse?" Zero wondered.
"[A fife.]"
The room fell silent as all eyes turned toward Zero's helmet. Skeel's face twisted into a grin.
"That indeed." He cackled.
"What does that mean?" The Hunter asked.
"[Come on, you can't be serious.]"
To answer, the old man wove his hands around the device and prepared to spit into a hole drilled into the top. Instead of mucus, however, the wagon was filled with the sharp sound of a whistle. To Zero's dismay, the old man bent the noise, lifting it and dropping it to weave a tapestry of emotion into the air. At once, uninvited images of sweeping vistas and gentle rivers filled the Hunter's mind.
"Stop it." He ordered.
The man obliged, but kept his twinkling eyes on Zero's face.
"[How can you not know what an instrument is?]" Sunset scoffed. "[And don't try telling me-]"
"Music is an encrypted form of communication." The boy stated. "Save for a few hymns, of course it's illegal!"
"[Well, partner, this might be a bad time to tell you, but music is my passion. Non-negotiable.]"
"Leave me out of it." Zero leered at the fife. "It makes me feel things and I like to keep my head clear."
"[Hmph! Were you born a lemon cat or did you have to go to school?]"
"Now I ask you," Skeel grinned, "how can something so beautiful really be wrong? The Enterprise claims that they're saving humanity from itself, stamping out the traits that led our ancestors to torch the world. But I say, you can only add so many bandages before you suffocate the patient."
[Zero,] Sunset said privately, [I know what our mission is. We need to see Twilight Sparkle.]
"You're mad." The boy said flatly.
[I'm serious. Look, I don't know what this 'Hecate' is, but I knew a Twilight before the war.]
Zero lifted an eyebrow.
[She'd give everything to save a single life. She bled and cried because she believed that each person had the right to live, the right to be free, and the right to make their lives better. Something's gone very wrong since I've been asleep and his thing, this 'Enterprise', is the exact opposite of everything my Twilight believed in. Everything I believe in.]
"Just so you know," Zero muttered into his hand, "that's blasphemy. You're fortunate I don't care for the Enterprise. Still, they grew a nation out of scorched dirt and diseased humans and it's lasted for centuries. There's something admirable about that kind of efficiency."
[But what if I told you there was a better way?] Sunset pressed. [A world where each life is precious and not just a slave?]
"Like the old world?"
[The old world... lost their way. We couldn't save them, but that's no excuse for this one to suffer. So what do you say?]
"I'd ask why. Why fight the thing that people find safety in? Sunset, these people and I are the minority, the Neo Arcanian outcasts balancing on the line of 'maverick'."
[And what if you're not? What if, deep down, everyone wants to be free?]
For a long time, Zero didn't answer. The Biocrystal didn't have the slightest idea of what she was talking about, but her feisty attitude was somehow refreshing. It clashed spectacularly with the rest of the faces in the room, each one weighing weather or not to report this conversation or join in. It felt like an itch that had long gone unscratched.
"You'd still be a fool." Zero said. As he spoke, however, a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.
"You should go." Strass whispered, stepping aside. "Please."
"We never spoke." Carina nodded. Her bright eyes flicked between Zero's helmet and the fife in Skeel's pocket.
"[Thank you again.]" Zero turned to the night outside. "[Oh, and I'm sorry again for your loss.]"
The Hunter was suddenly thrown off balance as the Biocrystal took one of his hands and laid it over Jor's old buster. There was a soft ringing and a flurry of square shards of light and the boy's energy crystal count began to drop. When Zero finally regained control of his limb, Jor's buster was gleaming softly, its core reading a full charge. Before the Hunter could object, Sunset swept him out into the cool air.
"Son," The gravely voice stopped him, "I don't know where you're going, but might be best not to use to roads. Something's got the Enterprise in a tizzy and just today we saw them hauling prisoners down the mountain."
"Prisoners?" Zero echoed.
"I know nothing." Skeel clarified with a wink, "But it looked like there was a bust. Hunters from the looks of their uniforms."
"How many?" The boy's voice was cold as steel.
"Don't know if they've nabbed any since, but we saw two."
"Alive?"
"Yeah, a tall buck and a gal with rose red hair." Skeel deflated. "Shame, really. They'll be riding the Ore Line before dawn."
"I'll be sure to stay out of the Enterprise's way, then." Zero nodded curtly and tugged on his new cloak.
[Zero?] The boy's boots pounded into the night. [Zero, did something happen? Your vitals just went through the roof!]
"Athena and Boreal." The Hunter muttered. "They're alive."
[That's good, right?]
"It would have been better if they'd died."
[How can you say that?]
Zero unfurled the caravan's map.
"In special cases, the Enterprise likes to strut their prey before a sham court. The end result is always the same."
[But why? To be malicious?]
"To send a message. It's their reminder that no one escapes them. Right now, they're telling every other Hunter to give up or face the same fate."
[We can still save them!]
"No, we can't."
[You're just going to let them die?]
"No one deserves a better death than Athena and Boreal, but if we interfere, we forfeit our cover, risk capture, and betray who our allies are. Best we continue hiding."
[Bull!]
"Huh?"
[You might play the tough guy, Zero, but I'm your Biocrystal! And right now I know there's more adrenaline in your veins than blood!]
"You can't fight the Enterprise!" Zero snapped.
[Oh, really? Because last I checked, you took my hand!] Sunset's words hung in the boy's mind for a moment. [You're a fighter, Zero. You've had to run from the Enterprise before just to survive, but now I'm with you. Now you can make a stand.]
The boy didn't say anything, but his feet had stopped marching. A war of arguments and counter-arguments clashed within his mind.
[You said the Enterprise was sending a message? Let's send one of our own.]
Zero glanced back down at the map and the thin ribbon of ink titled "Ore Line" running parallel to the road.
"Can you stop a train?"
[I fought three sirens armed with nothing but a microphone. I can sure try!]