//------------------------------//
// Kingmaker 
// Story: Entrenchment 
// by SFaccountant 
//------------------------------//

Entrenchment
An Age of Iron story


Chapter 10
Kingmaker


****


Centaur III – CNN broadcast studio


“Hello, dear viewers! You’re watching the Company News Network! I’m Scoops, your host, and this is my good friend and angry comic relief, Kilroy!”
“THE BLOOD OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND INNOCENTS SHALL CLEANSE THE RIGHTEOUS FOOLS FROM THIS WORLD!! CHAOS ASCENDANT!! MORE AT ELEVEN!!”
Scoops briefly straightened the papers on her desk, grinning toward the vid recorder. “Let’s get right to our Battle Report segment!”



Scoops beckoned to the title graphic, and it shifted to a regional map showing several Chaos Stars and mobilization arrows. “The last of the major minotaur settlements, Bovine Burroughs in the great Clove Canyon, was overrun yesterday! With nothing left of the minotaur tribes other than small, scattered villages and outposts, the 38th Company has officially declared the minotaur nation a vassal state of Equestria!”
Kilroy nodded. “Although the campaign could not account for a substantial number of minotaur citizens, many wounded and captured beast-men have been transferred to the labor camps. Productivity has jumped considerably, further feeding the purifying flames of war!”
“My stock portfolio doubled in value this morning!” Scoops said happily.
The pegasus mare raised a hoof into the air, and Kilroy slapped a hand against it.
“Along with the diamond dogs being – heh – hounded from their tunnels and losing settlements daily and the Griffon Kingdom shattered, the only two major racial powers still openly defying the 38th Company are the dragons and Yakyakistan,” Scoops continued. “Kilroy, what’s your take on the continuing resistance?”
“USELESS!!” the Cultist roared, slamming a fist on the desk.
Scoops hesitated. “Uh… can you give us a breakdown for the people at home?”
“Certainly, Scoops.” Kilroy laced his fingers together, adopting a more professional posture. “Of the two remaining military powers, neither present a credible threat to the forces of Chaos that lay claim to this helpless, pathetic world. The yaks are dim, incompetent, poorly-armed creatures. Their demise has been delayed only by the challenging geography of their homeland, located deep in the snow-capped mountain ranges. The dragons are powerful individually, but they are relatively few, and their people are not unified into an organized military force. Both factions present unique challenges to the mighty armies of Chaos, but their demise is inevitable. Soon the rivers of this land will run red with the blood of the righteous.”
The Cultist idly adjusted his tie while he continued speaking. “The only matter of mild concern is that Company forces have found little evidence of the insurgent warriors that provoked our wrath to begin with. Those fighters are more clever and seem to have acquired modern armaments somehow. Attempts to locate these munitions caches or discern any sort of centralized command structure have met with no success.”
“As we process the prisoners and interrogate the leaders of the rebel nations, it is our hope that additional intelligence will surface to aid our search. But for now, our armies focus on securing order in the new vassal states,” Scoops affirmed. “Equestrian governors have been dispatched to the conquered regions to oversee security and replace local leaders. Economic development and infrastructure are being prioritized to improve transport links and local control.”
“That concludes our Battle Report segment!” Kilroy shouted. “Pray to the Dark Gods that our foes soon falter before the coming slaughter! Lord Khorne, take these unworthy skulls and bless your wretched children with your power! HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!!”
As Kilroy continued to laugh maniacally, Scoops smoothed her mane and waited for him to peter out. Once his cackling tapered off to unstable chuckling, she smiled at the vid recorder again.
“Speaking of conquered nations, the Griffon Kingdom is now officially under the control of Golden Rule, the new provincial governor!” Scoops beamed. “We’ve reached out to the governor for an exclusive interview, to get a better sense of what we can expect in the coming days of violent oppression!”


A smaller holo-screen flickered into being behind Scoops and Kilroy, and they turned slightly to face it. A unicorn mare in a velvet gown appeared on the screen. Her fur was bright orange, and her shining blonde mane flowed over one side of her neck all the way to her knees.
“Governor Rule! Greetings!” Kilroy shouted, pounding a fist against his chest. “It is an honor to meet the enforcer of the Lords of Chaos in our newly subjugated lands!”
Golden Rule chuckled, her voice like a glass bell. “Oh, dear. Please, just call me Goldie,” the mare said with a smile.
“I will not. I much prefer the name ‘Rule,’” Kilroy retorted. The Governor blinked in surprise, but he continued on before she could speak. “Please, enlighten our viewers as to the current state of the Griffon Kingdom under our mighty armies!”
“Oh, well… for starters, it’s no longer the Griffon Kingdom,” Golden Rule explained hesitantly. “Now that the EGA treaty has been signed by the Prince in return for his personal amnesty, these lands are now officially the Northern Territories of Equestria.”
“What is the EGA treaty, exactly?” Scoops asked.
“The Equestrian Global Alliance treaty has been drafted for all territories that are under Company occupation, in order to assist the transition to protectorate administration. The main articles-“
“ASININE!!” Kilroy suddenly shouted. Golden Rule recoiled in surprise. “You bore our audience with your talk of law and civil order! What of the resistance? What is being done to suppress the dissent of the unworthy fools that dare defy us?!”
Golden looked quite flustered by the demand, and she started stuttering. “W-Well, there have been many soldiers that were unaccounted for, according to Griffonstone’s military records, but-“
“Excellent! Then it is only a matter of time until the bloodshed begins once more!” Kilroy crowed. “Shall the unfaithful be slaughtered where they stand, or made to suffer the humiliating, slow death of forced labor for their new lords?”
Golden’s ears flipped down, and she nervously turned to look at Scoops. “Is he always like this?”
“Pretty much. He polls REALLY well with the kids.” Scoops giggled into a hoof, and then composed herself. “But do you have any news on the state of the rebellion, Goldie?”
“Only that it is not being based in the Northern Territories, I’m afraid,” Golden admitted. “Through security sweeps and reports by informants, we’ve learned that insurgents were recruiting and operating within griffon settlements. However, it seems that they disappeared quickly once the capital was taken.”
“Cowardice!” Kilroy snarled. “Why do they not stand and perish before the might of Chaos? The chosen of the Dark Gods demand that their souls be taken and consumed by our masters!”
“I… feel like you answered your own question,” Golden pointed out timidly. “In any case, the main focus of my administration is to update the Northern Territories with modern infrastructure to improve the lives of the citizens living under a brutal alien dictatorship.”
“Which you are willfully aiding, of course,” Scoops pointed out.
The governor looked annoyed, but nodded. “It’s true. But if these are the circumstances under which we are to survive, I will do my part to make these territories a fair and just place to live. In time, the division and resentment between our peoples will heal, and we will form a united front to the remaining enemies of Equestria.”
“United, under the glory of CHAOS!” Kilroy barked, leaning forward on one elbow. “The streets shall run red with the blood of the innocent, and the foul xenos will be buried beneath the tread of our glorious warriors!”
“Sure,” Golden sighed, “but for now I’m mostly concerned with establishing a functional vox-net and installing a modern power supply.”
“Your service is greatly appreciated, Governor Rule,” Kilroy said, his voice suddenly calm and collected. “Thank you, and good night.”
Before the unicorn could say anything herself, Kilroy drew his laspistol and fired it at the holo-screen. The projection broke into a series of flickering shards, which then swiftly disappeared.
Scoops stood up higher in her chair as the screen faded. “Next up: is Princess Celestia’s control of the planetary orbit a scheme to ensure her unchallenged reign over Centaur III? Watch our journalist panel take on the TOUGH questions!”
“You’re watching CNN!” Kilroy barked. “We report! Then we decide, also!”


****


Ork camp Killrokk


The call came in the middle of the night.
A massive explosion came from a fuel tank next to the Mekboy’z workshop. The detonation rolled through the camp, waking even the heaviest sleepers from their rest and sending them groping for their weapons.
Gretchin emerged from their pits and trash heaps and scattered in a panic. The smaller greenskins didn’t know what was happening, but fleeing at the sound of explosions was usually a smart first instinct. The Orks were subject to the exact opposite inclination, and they stepped out of their huts with weapons ready, prepared to defend their home or at least make someone pay for waking them up.
After a few minutes, it became obvious that whatever happened was not the result of a sustained enemy assault. There were no further explosions, no engine noises, and very little gunfire (a few Grots on guard duty had especially nervous trigger fingers, but that seemed to be all). Some suspected that the explosion was a singular act of sabotage, while others considered that the Mekboy in charge of the fuel had simply made a boneheaded error, as they were wont to do.
Either way, the greenskins eventually noticed something else odd: there was a tall plume of fire coming from a different fuel tank. It seemed to be on a slow burn, but still stretched up into the sky and illuminated the camp like a primitive beacon.
Which it was, apparently.


Gox stood beneath the ruptured tank, her arms crossed over her chest and a burning torch in her hand. She had taken the form of a Nob, and was wearing a collection of ramshackle body armor. Her off-hand carried a large choppa, which at this point was the only Ork weapon she trusted to work properly.
“Oi, whass all ‘is, den?” A small mob of boyz trudged up to the tank, looking around the area.
“Wot’z wit da ‘sploshuns?”
“We’z fightin’? I don’ see nuffin’.”
Gox snorted and cast a look up at the roaring pyre shooting from the tank. More Orks were arriving, and those already here were swiftly becoming restless.
“’Ey! Yoo bust da fyool drum? Wot’z goin’ on?” This latest question came from a Nob, who was approaching the gathering with several similarly-sized friends. “Hoo are ya, anyhow?”
Gox decided she had sufficient attention to proceed. “Greetin’s Orks o’ Killrokk! Da naym’z Gox!” She pounded her hand against her chest and glared out at the warriors surrounding her. “I’m heah ta intra-doos yer new Boss!”
The Orks surrounding Gox started mumbling amongst themselves. One of the Nobs punched a boy in the back of the head, and then jabbed a finger toward the camp while the smaller alien struggled to stand up.
“Go get da Boss. He’z gonna wanna see dis,” the hulking warrior growled.


Gox watched the smaller Ork stumble to his feet and run off. She made no move to stop him. So far this encounter was proceeding according to plan.
The Nobs started pushing their way through the mob toward Gox, and the changeling guardian gripped her choppa a little tighter. She didn’t expect to fight these brutes, but as an infiltrator being the center of attention for any reason made her anxious.
“Youz gotta lotta nurv messin’ wit da fyool,” growled one of the warriors. He lifted his machine gun and pulled back the slide, causing a loud shriek of metal scraping against misshapen metal. “Da boss ain’t gonna be happee, Grot-lovah.”
Gox sneered at the Nobs. “I don’ cayr wot yer sissee boss finks. Dere’s a new boss, now!” She raised her axe into the air. “Lookit all youz sorree gitz, sittin’ in da mud an’ waytin’ fer da humies to off ya! Wen wuz da las’ tym youz had a gud fight?”
There was some more murmuring amongst the mob. It wasn’t an especially deep or clever appeal, but Orks weren’t especially hard to persuade. The Nobs weren’t so easily convinced, though, and were anyway annoyed at having an Ork of the same size talk down to them.
“We fight plentee! Boss Razgatt duz gud!” snarled the Nob leader. He aimed his gun up into the air. “We’ze gotz lotsa lootin’, an’ dere’s a soopa-weppen, too!”
Gox snorted, lowering her choppa. “Pleez. Yer boyz look bored. Yer scrap heep’z tinee. Even yer Snots look haff-ded!”
The Nobs seemed to get angrier as Gox spoke, and the disguised changeling smirked.
“It’z tym yoo gitz got yer act togethah. Tym sumwun tawt ya how ta kill humies propa! Tym ya took da fight to da ‘ardest gitz on dis rokk!” Gox turned and held up her axe in the direction of Ferrous Dominus. “Dere’s a stahm brewin’, an’ soon da humies iz gonna pay. An’ da boss hoo’z gunna leed us to-“


The Nob in front of Gox suddenly exploded. Not metaphorically, due to anger, which she was expecting and generally prepared for, but literally. His torso burst open in a fiery, expanding ball and blasted the surrounding greenskins with flaming Nob bits. Gox was thrown backward from the detonation, slamming her back into one of the struts supporting the fuel tank. Most of the Nobs were knocked down as well, and the mob of lesser Orks erupted into a frenzy of cheering and laughing.
Despite her experience with the Orks so far, it still took Gox some time to come to her senses. She also had to fight down the terrified urge to revert forms and fly away. She had seen plenty of casual violence and graphic death since infiltrating the greenskins, but seeing one blow up mid-conversation was new. She rolled onto her back and then scrambled back to her feet.
When she got a good look at the Ork that was making its way through the crowd, she again had to resist the urge to run. The alien was enormous, nearly thrice the size of the Nobs, and wearing a heavy frame of ramshackle armor. One of the arms had numerous rokkits bolted onto it, while the other ended in a serrated power klaw.
“Hoo’z cawssin’ all da trubble?!” the Warboss snarled.
The smaller Orks parted before the giant, and Gox stumbled backward. The Ork Warboss sighted her quickly and lumbered forward, stepping over the remains of his Nob without so much as a downward glance.
“Hoo’re yoo?” the Warboss demanded. “Wot’s dis all abowt?”
Gox started backing away and stuttering, trying to think of an excuse to ward off the alien for a few more moments. “Th-This is, I mean, dis iz a chaynj-“
The Warboss lunged forward with his klaw, and Gox made a shrill shrieking noise that would probably never come from the throat of a real Ork.
Before the pincers touched her, however, a beam of green energy struck the klaw in the side, knocking it away. The Warboss staggered slightly, surprised, and Gox backed away into one of the support legs of the fuel tank.


A hush fell over the mobs as another Ork emerged from behind the structure. This one was large; almost as large as the Warboss. It had a long, blue topknot on its head and, in a curious reversal from most Orks, its canine teeth were much more pronounced than the tusks that extended from its lower jaw. It had a suit of plain, shabby armor, and a large, rusty choppa was held loosely in one hand.
It wasn’t immediately clear where the beam had come from, and the Warboss narrowed his eyes angrily at the newcomer. “Oi! Da naym’z Warboss Razgatt! Hoo do ya fink yoo ahr, ya Grot-“
“Shut it, nummskull,” the newcomer snapped, continuing its approach.
Gox stepped forward again, pausing to breathe a sigh of relief. “Dis heah iz yur new boss, gitz! From ‘ere on owt, dis tribe belongs ta Warboss Changeyface!”
Gasps rolled through the mob of Orks. Some of the greenskins started mumbling to each other, while many others began spreading out around their Warboss to get a better view for everyone. They had all seen this before, and they knew what was coming next.
“Warboss… Changeyface?” Razgatt mumbled, his lower jaw shifting from side to side.
Changeyface waited silently a few seconds, and then leaned over toward Gox and whispered, “Are you SURE that name will work?”
Gox nodded silently, gripping her weapon tightly.
“Feh! Nevah heard o’ya!” Razgatt barked eventually. Then he pounded his klaw against the chest plate of his armor. “An’ ‘round heah, I’M da Warboss! Youz work fer me, or youz bitz will feed da Grots!”


Chrysalis almost sighed in relief when it seemed that the Orks took no issue with her name, restraining herself only to keep up appearances. She still found it hard to believe that the aliens could be so stunningly dull and ignorant when they possessed a (mostly) working society and significant (if not shoddy) technology. This was a species that had mastered space travel?
Case in point, Razgatt was now aiming his rokkit-armed hand at her. “So, youz gonna joyn Warboss Razgatt?” He didn’t seem at all concerned that his opponent was standing right in front of an enormous fuel supply. Chrysalis was fairly new to the specifics of explosive energy supplies, but given the way the first tank had gone up, she imagined that detonating the other could kill every Ork in the crowd.
“Warboss Changeyface don’ tayk ordahs from nobodee!” Chrysalis snarled, stepping forward threateningly. “Youz work fer me now, or I’ll blast yer away!”
Razgatt laughed. This new Warboss was a hulking beast compared to his underlings, but laughable compared to an Ork of his experience. The feeble equipment, lack of war trophies, and half-hearted boasting all spoke of a clueless wannabe who didn’t know his place. Many uppity would-be bosses had rusted his armor with their blood, and this one would be no different.
“Youz got gutz, Changeyface,” Razgatt said with a laugh. “Mebbe I’ll mayk sumfin’ neet outta dem.”


Razgatt raised his arm, aiming the attached rokkit launcha at the upstart Warboss. The crude metal crosshair bolted onto his fist – barely any aid to the weapon at range, and certainly not at such close distance – settled over the enemy greenskin. A few red lights on the Ork’s shoulder started blinking, indicating that the warheads were armed.
Chrysalis tilted her head to the side, and then glanced over at Gox. Her servant cringed and started stepping away, confirming for the changeling queen that, yes, Razgatt was about to destroy all of them with his stupidity.
She looked back at the Warboss, and her eyes – colored a bright green rather than the angry red of most Orks – began to glow.
Razgatt released a belly laugh, and then released a volley of three rokkits. The warheads blasted off in random directions almost immediately, curling through the air, and the surrounding Orks whooped and cheered at the impending explosion.
Although the inaccuracy of rokkits was well understood and expected by the greenskins, many of them were quite surprised to see all three of them curve completely away from the tribe’s challenger and the fuel tank behind him, missing both of them by more than a full meter. The cheers trailed off in confusion as the rokkits kept turning, eventually arcing completely back around toward a stunned Warboss Razgatt.
The rokkits converged on his chest, and Chrysalis was knocked off of her feet by the force of the resulting explosion. She hit one of the supports of the fuel tank and grunted in pain, slipping onto her knees. She hadn’t been expecting the shock wave to be THAT bad, and she had always felt obnoxiously off-balance when imitating two-legged creatures.
When she stood up again, the smoke was just starting to clear around her hapless opponent. Razgatt lay on his back, groaning, with a blackened crater over his chest where his breast plate used to be. It was difficult to tell where metal ended and flesh began amongst the burnt mass. But it was clear that the mighty Warboss was not dead yet.
“Yoo… dumm… git…” Razgatt huffed painfully, his power klaw groping and snapping at his side in search of something to grab on to.
None of his subordinates stepped forward to help; they knew that a fight to determine leadership was a strictly one-on-one affair once their Warboss accepted. They were as likely to get smashed aside for their effort as thanked, anyway.
“So dis iz da kwal-uh-tee o’ Warboss youz gitz got owt heah?” Chrysalis sniffed and strolled up to her opponent, her hands tightening around her choppa’s shaft. “Wen I’m da boss, youz bot lovahs won’ git away wit bein’ so soft!”
“Grot lovahs, not bot,” Gox corrected from behind.
“Shut it, Gox!” Chrysalis snapped. Mimicking Ork speech patterns was exhausting, and she felt honestly ashamed every time someone used her Ork cover name. Luckily, snarling irritation at subordinates was also a very familiar trait to the greenskins. “Dis iz da way Warboss Changeyface deals wit’ low-lyff gitz!”
Chrysalis raised her choppa in both hands and then swung down into the Warboss’s head. A sharp crack came from the impact, followed by a spurt of fluids. The choppa wedged deep into the Ork’s skull, and she gave a few experimental tugs before letting go of the weapon.
“Now ya gitz see wot happenz ta yoosless softeez!” Chrysalis growled, turning to the mob around her. The changeling queen felt an uncommon nervousness when scanning the crowd of brawny aliens. She was taking Gox’s word that the horde of greenskins wasn’t going to descend on her after slaying their leader, and she doubted she’d be able to escape if things didn’t go as planned. “So, dis iz wot we’z gunna do now dat I’m in charj! We-“
“Oi! Razgatt ain’t ded yet!” shouted a Nob, pointing at his former master.
Chrysalis glanced down at the heap of metal and surly green flesh next to her and saw that the Warboss was indeed still twitching. She growled and kicked at the axe head, driving it slightly deeper into the alien’s thick skull.
“How ‘bowt now?” the Changeling Queen asked.
Gox leaned forward cautiously. “Don’ fink so, Boss.” When the larger infiltrator growled, Gox elaborated. “Da git haz a pritty tuff skull. I fink-“
Before the Guardian could utter another word, Chrysalis stepped back and her eyes flashed with power. Shrouds of green mist swirled in front of her, and then crackling bolts of emerald magic lashed out at the fallen Warboss. Razgatt spasmed weakly as the tendrils seared his flesh, and in seconds his body was covered in green fire, armor and all.
“Dere. Dat otta tayk cayr o’ him,” announced Chrysalis. She turned back to the crowd, judging their reaction. Most of the Orks looked surprised by her magic, but not particularly angry about it. Chrysalis could barely fathom such an absolute lack of loyalty from one’s subordinates, but it seemed that Gox had been correct.
“Now den, boyz,” she shouted, holding a fist up in the air, “you’z all gotz a-“
“Hold on, dere, Changeyface!”


Chrysalis groaned at the shout. A new Ork was pushing its way forward now, shuffling through the crowd with a copper staff.
The Changeling Queen almost recoiled when she got a good look at the greenskin interrupting her. A bent-backed, quivering alien wearing dirty brown robes, he looked much older than the other warriors and was smaller than the Nobs. What was most bizarre and repulsive, however, was that the top of this Ork’s skull had been removed, leaving his brains exposed to open air.
Gox spotted her Queen’s hesitation and quickly rushed up next to her. “That is an Ork magic user, Queen. The Weirdboy. A violent alien shaman,” she whispered.
Chrysalis didn’t know quite how to react as the Weirdboy shuffled over to her, glowering all the way. When the Ork psyker got to within arm’s reach, he stopped and stared at the newly victorious Warboss. Leaning on his staff, his brain matter churned visibly, and wisps of strange light seemed to shine within the Ork’s eyes.
Chrysalis bristled. She could feel the Ork’s psychic presence pushing against her. It was a crude and reckless probe – perfectly befitting a race that treated machine guns like party favors – but its effect was intense. Chrysalis felt her disguised flesh grow hot under the Weirdboy’s gaze, as if fighting the urge to revert back to form. She didn’t doubt that a drone would have broken down in an instant and revealed themselves under the mental assault.
“Dere’s sumfin’ not rite ‘bout youz,” the Weirdboy snarled, glancing down at the burning Warboss Razgatt. “Youz gotz a tuch o’ bad enerjee to ya! Ya don’ feel… Orky!”
That was easily the most ridiculous claim of suspicion Chrysalis had ever heard in her long and colored career of infiltration and subversion. And yet, grumbles started moving through the surrounding mob as the greenskin soldiers discussed the charge.


“I dunno, da Boss did looz…”
“Wut was all da green stuff?”
“Iz Changeyface a Weirdboy? He don’ look all brayny…”
“Wot’z it mattah?”
“He don’ look so tuff t’me. Mebbe he got luckee…”


Chrysalis took a step toward the Weirdboy. “Oi! You… grot-lovin’ weerdo!” she snapped, stumbling over her insults. “I’m in charj now! You betta bakk off, ‘fore ya joyn yer old boss in da dust!”
The Weirdboy seemed unimpressed. “I don’ see no blud in yer eye! Gork dosn’ fayvah Warboss Changeyface!” He turned around and pounded the butt of his staff onto the ground. “Lissen up, boyz!”
Chrysalis started sputtering furiously, trying to talk over the psyker without success.
“Warboss Razgatt wuz a rite ‘ard wun! Dis git beat ‘im wif sneeky trikks an’ stinkin’ magik!”
The Ork mob was getting riled up, now. Chrysalis could feel the mood of the crowd shift against her. This could be it; if she didn’t convince the aliens she was one of them, she and Gox would be torn apart in short order. She had to do something, and she had to do it NOW.
“Dis wun iz a bad omen! I can see it in da Great Green! I see-“
A green fist slammed into the side of the Weirdboy’s head, pitching the Ork to the ground. Chrysalis hesitated briefly after the shaman fell, wondering if the other greenskins would charge in to protect him.
They did not.
“Da noo boss seems a’right t’me.”
“Heh heh heh! Warboss Changeyface got ‘im gud!”
“WAAAGH!!”
Chrysalis was reasonably perplexed as the Orks started cheering her on, but didn’t stop to ponder it. She pulled the Weirdboy’s staff up from the ground and slammed it down over the shaman’s head.
The laughing and whooping got louder, so she did it again. The staff bent sharply from the impact this time, and Chrysalis winced as a small wash of blood splattered over her leg.
“An’ let DAT be a lessun to ya gitz!” Chrysalis spat, tossing away the copper staff. “Gox! Git ovah heah!”


The Orks in the crowd were all fired up now, chattering loudly, cheering, and otherwise acting very happy that a stranger had wandered into their home and murdered two of their peers for the purpose of being able to tell them what to do. It made absolutely no sense to Chrysalis. But it didn’t have to. She wasn’t here to seize a city or a kingdom. She was here to lead a thousand alien pawns into a war machine until their bodies choked it to a stop. For that purpose, at least, circumstances couldn’t be better.
“Now look heah, numm-skullz! No moh sittin’ abowt! We’z gotta big fight comin’!” Chrysalis shouted while Gox approached.
The mob was instantly inspired. Ork boyz whooped and cheered even louder, and several of them started firing their machine guns into the air. Some of the Nobs started screaming battle cries, as if they were ready to charge an enemy then and there.
“It’s a little scary how easy this is,” Chrysalis mumbled under breath before placing a hand on Gox’s shoulder. “Dis heah is Gox! He’z my undah-boss! Youz gitz’re gonna do wut Gox sez lyk it wuz me sayin’ it! Dat cleer?!” she roared.
The lesser Orks kept cheering, but at this command some of the Nobs fixed Gox with suspicious looks. “I dunno, Boss. Dis git looks skwishy t’me.”
A howling bolt of green fire slammed into the dissenting Ork, and he was blasted off his feet and onto his back. The Nob screamed in pain and tried to pat out the magical flame, but the others merely pointed and laughed at the sight.
“Aneewun elz gotta probbem wif Gox?” Chrysalis asked, her lip curling up to show her fangs.
The Nobs shook their heads quickly. Some of them turned toward their immolated peer and started kicking him. At first Chrysalis thought they were trying to put out the fire, but their intent became obvious after the flames died out and the greenskins didn’t stop.
“Wut’re we gonna do, Boss Changeyface?” one of the unit leaders asked, his power klaw snapping open and closed. “Wayr’s da fight?”
“Da fight iz wiff da… uh…” Chrysalis hesitantly glanced over at Gox.
“Spikies,” the Guardian reminded her, fighting not to roll her eyes.
“Yeh! Da spikies! We’z gonna CRUSH ‘em, wonz ‘n fer all!” Chrysalis thrust a fist into the air. “I gotz a plan, see? We’z gonna tayk da sitty!”
The Orks seemed to like this idea a lot. Several started cheering, and a few began shouting ideas for the future assault; mostly involving wrecking the base or simply charging the wall, of course.
“Shut it, gitz! I ain’t dun yet!” Chrysalis snarled, swiping a hand through the air. She focused on the Nob that had approached her. “I gots to chek da lot o’ ya, an’ see wot ya gitz can do. Den we can git on wif it.”
“Gotcha, Boss Changeyface. Ovah heah.” The Nob turned away and started clearing a path through the mob.


Chrysalis growled slightly, and then waved Gox along before walking after the Ork. Gox followed cautiously, moving close enough that she could whisper into her Queen’s ear.
“The aliens are excited at the prospect of battle, my Queen, but their mood will spoil quickly if you do not lead them to war. Violence is to the Ork almost as love is to us,” she said quietly.
“I noticed,” Chrysalis hissed back. “You’ll need to keep these clods in line once I’m gone, Gox. I have to move quickly to guide your sisters in the assault. Along with my other assets.”
Gox nodded silently. She did not know the full extent of the plan, but the general idea was that all the rebel forces would attack Ferrous Dominus at once, before the Iron Warriors returned from their journey. Of course, the details of such an assault were paramount; if the changelings simply had their proxies rush the walls to scale or try to destroy them, then it wouldn’t matter how many fools there were in the charge or what grade of soldier manned the palisade. The rebels would be massacred.
One would think the Orks would be better prepared to overcome such an obstacle, as they had been warring with humanity for a long time and apparently did so on a more or less equal level. As Gox and Chrysalis followed the Nobs through the camp, however, they saw little that impressed them. Sure, there were piles of machine guns, hundreds of vicious green-skinned brutes, and several clanking war machines that could have ripped its way through a changeling hive with ease. But they all paled before even the vague stories of the Iron Warriors’ dark fortress.


As Chrysalis saw more and more of the camp, she became increasingly agitated. Mostly from having to keep up the damnable Ork accent and also from all the new Orks flowing in to get a look at the new Warboss and loudly calling out “Changeyface!” But no small part of her frustration came from the tour of the tribe she had just conquered. It was small, with merely several hundred Orks affiliated with it. Chrysalis knew that Warbosses typically went on a conquering spree of other Ork tribes in order to obtain more power, but she had neither the time nor the patience for such a campaign.
“Izzis reely all dere iz?” she asked in exasperation.
The Nobs leading the way halted, looking back at their new Warboss.
“If we’z gonna tayk da humie fort, we need bettah wepuns!” Chrysalis pointed out.
“Mo’ dakka,” Gox corrected.
The other Nobs nodded eagerly at Gox’s explanation, but to the chagrin of their new Warboss.
“Sorree, Boss. Da Meks been reel bizzy wit’ Razgatt’z fing. Dey ain’t been maykin’ da dakka, an’ lootin’z been bad.”
“But now dat you’z da Boss, we c’n get sum good fightin’ in, yeah? Mo’ fightin’, mo lootin’!”
Chrysalis didn’t like the sound of that. “Da Meks. Ya sed dey’s workin’ on sumfin?”
“Yeh. Razgatt’z fing. Da Big Bloo.”
Chrysalis turned to Gox for an explanation. Gox shrugged helplessly. Whatever this was, it was new to her.
“Wot’z da Big Bloo?” Chrysalis finally asked, glaring at the Nobs.
The aliens glanced at each other, and then wordlessly gestured for their new master to follow. Chrysalis did so, and they were diverted away from the Ork camp.


Outside the camp, Chrysalis and Gox saw some kind of enormous pit dug in the ground and surrounded by ramshackle cranes and rickety scaffolding. Several of the cranes were lowering huge guns and crates into the pit, while trains of Gretchin and Meks worked around the edge. It was a much bigger operation than anything they had seen in the camp proper, although it wasn’t at all obvious what they were working on.
“Whazzis, den?” Chrysalis demanded. She and Gox had spotted the pit on the way in, although they hadn’t observed it very closely. She wasn’t interested in the industrial processes of the Orks, especially when the results were so lackluster.
“Dis iz Big Bloo,” the lead Nob said, pointing toward the pit. He stopped well short of the edge himself.
Chrysalis hesitated, wondering if this was some kind of trap.
Then she heard a deep, rumbling growl.
Not from Gox, or the Nobs, or any of the aliens milling about the pit. The sound seemed to send a tremor through her bones and set her predator’s senses on edge. A few of the scaffolding rigs shook and groaned.
Chrysalis turned and walked toward the edge of the pit. Gox followed her, but the other Orks stayed behind.
The smooth, steep walls of the pit gave way to jagged rock deeper down. Huge chains ran across the pit’s sides, pegged to the walls with iron girders. The pit interior was swarming with Mek, Gretchin, and other Orks that had been pressed to assist, who labored over a hefty metal weapons platform. The platform’s deck space was stacked with tank turrets, machine guns, ammunition supplies, and armored huts. A truly enormous cannon, large enough for Chrysalis to stand up inside it (in her true form, at least) was mounted in the center of the deck and leaned forward at an angle. Crates of equipment, bullets, and armor plating were still being carried down, so it was clear the war machine wasn’t complete yet, either.
All of that was far more impressive than anything else Chrysalis and Gox had seen in the Ork camp until now. But the weapons platform was insignificant compared to what was holding it up. Chains wrapped tightly over blue, strangely translucent fur, pinning down enormous limbs and securing the armored deck. Greenskin corpses littered the ground around the restless giant, creating a veritable carpet of gore. Yet Chrysalis had to imagine that they represented but a fraction of the cost in lives it had taken to subdue the creature below her.
“Is… Is that...” Gox stumbled over the question and dropped her accent, unable to believe her eyes.
Chrysalis had the good sense to look around first to ensure there was nobody listening in before she replied. “Yes, it is. That is an ursa major.”
Another growl came from below. Steam blasted from the massive beast’s maw, and the chains that pinned the creature down rattled dangerously. Chrysalis and Gox felt the rumbling tremor down to their very bones, and every sense instantly came alive with a desperate, primal desire to flee. The ursa major dwarfed even the largest dragons, and no creature on Centaur III could consider the beasts either prey or peers. They were primordial creatures, ancient and rare, with bodies completely saturated with raw magic and given over to an insane level of growth. The star-studded bear was a monstrous,  completely unstoppable behemoth, and every inhabitant of Centaur III knew as much.
Evidently, no one had told the Orks that. So they captured one and then strapped weapons to its back.
“Heh heh… he he he he he…” Chrysalis slapped a meaty green hand over her mouth to keep her chuckling down. “I believe I understand now why the ponies fear these aliens. What a wonderfully stupid race!” She tilted her head to the Hive Guardian, grinning. “It’s PERFECT.”


****


Crimson Crags (designated dragon nest Gamma-7)


“Yeeeee-HAH!!”
Rainbow Dash blasted through the air in a high arc, blasting her afterburners to their limit. Her mane whipped about in the air, free from the confines of her helmet, and the flames from her flight pack left a trail of inexplicable colors behind her.
She reached the apex of her ascent and cut the power, twisting into a dive toward a cloud bank. She hit the bank on her hooves and her suit hissed sharply, releasing pressurized gas in sequenced bursts around her legs. Rainbow herself didn’t even notice the suit’s function, galloping across the cloud surface to the edge. She leapt off the end of the cloud, letting the sensation of free-fall take her.
An angry roar came from below.


Rainbow Dash twisted in the air, and the impulse blasters in her boots fired. The pegasus shot to the side, clearing out of the way just before a pair of massive green jaws snapped shut behind her.
She hit her thrusters and twisted upright again, barely dodging out of the way of a large, leathery wing sweeping past her. A final dodge sent her curving sharply to the right before a long, scaly tail whipped by.
Rainbow released a self-indulgent chuckle as she swung upright again. Then her helmet slipped up out of her gorget to clamp shut over her head. The visor covered her eyes in a carmine tint and then lit up, the display coming alive with runes and targeting data.
One of the runes was activated with a blink of her eyes, opening up a vox channel. “Found us a live one! Big guy, too!”
“Confirmed. We’re in position, Dash. Lock the target and then choose an approach vector.”


Rainbow looked up at the mighty green dragon, and her visor drew numerous target reticules and data runes over the beast. She banished the mostly useless information, locking her shuriken catapult onto the dragon’s head.
“Hey, there!” she called, her voice booming from her vox grille. “I’m just stopping by to let you know that this place is Protectorate territory now! We just wanted to give everydragon notice before the tanks rolled in! If you still want to live here, all you have to do is register-”
Dash jolted to the side to avoid a smoldering fireball. It struck a rocky crag below her, exploding into clusters of flame and blasting stone shrapnel into the air.
“So, I’m guessing you’re not up for talking about your lease, then? We offer pretty good terms!” Rainbow taunted.
Puffs of smoke blasted from the dragon’s nostrils. “Flee this place, equine scum! Neither you nor the wretches from the stars are welcome in these lands! Flee, or I will burn you to cinders!”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed behind her visor. “Yeah? You and what army?”
A screech came from below. Rainbow backed away through the air as two more dragons – one a rusty brown while another was bright red – flew upwards through the air to join the larger green one.
“Oh… okay, yeah, I might have a problem, here,” Rainbow admitted.
“Kill it!” snapped the green dragon. The trio of serpents launched forward, their wings churning against the wind.


Rainbow Dash cut her main engines, dropping suddenly beneath the red dragon before it could bite at her. Her boosters fired a few seconds later, and the pegasus pulled up into an arc behind the beasts.
“Hey, I’ve got a bunch of dragons on my tail now! You guys better be ready!” she shouted into the vox.
The three serpents curled about to follow Rainbow, their roars causing her visor screen to shudder. A few lines of Gothic crawled across her view screen in rapid succession.
“You’re choosing an alternate approach vector? We won’t be able to get a proper crossfire from that angle, you know.”
Rainbow swung tightly to the side, and a swirling fireball struck a cliff wall looming up next to her. “What does that even mean?! I’m bringing you the dumb lizards, you do the rest!”
“It means that we won’t be able to ground all the targets quickly. Can’t you bring them back around by the East valley?”
Another roar came from behind her, and Rainbow’s heart leapt into her throat when her visor flashed red warnings at her and her hind quarters started heating up. She banked hard, turning away from the stream of flames chasing behind her.
“No, I can’t just bring them around! I don’t have a lot of room for error, here!”
Dash shot upwards, then dove in behind several spines of rock to try to create a barrier between her and the dragons. The sound of rock being shattered behind her made it clear that her pursuers didn’t intend to give her that respite.
“Geez, would you guys relax a little?!” Rainbow complained as she soared ahead of the beasts. “I haven’t even shot any of you or anything! This is way too hostile!”
Her visor started beeping again, and Rainbow Dash looked over the warning runes in askance. These seemed to be warning about heat, which she reasonably assumed was because of all the fireballs exploding nearby as well as getting caught briefly in the fire breath earlier. She didn’t really understand what the problem was, though; her armor hadn’t been breached, so the damage was nothing, right?
She started understanding the issue a little better when her flight pack shut down.


“No no no no nononononono!!” Rainbow Dash plummeted to the ground, trailing wisps of smoke behind the tips of her impulse engines. Her altimeter screamed at her, but she banished the distraction with a thought. She didn’t exactly need her power armor to let her know she was in trouble right now.
Rainbow hit the ground on her hooves, and between the suit compensators and her own extensive experience with bad landings she managed to stay upright and keep running. Metal ground stone to dust as she galloped through the uneven crags, and she sputtered pony curses while the heat level indicators wobbled before her eyes.
The dragons seemed surprised at the sudden drop, and they spread out around the grounded pony to cut off any attempts to flee.
“Stupid suit! Hurry up and fix yourself!”
The visor alarm only seemed to get louder. The heat levels were slowly sinking, but the dragons were already covering each of her escape routes and swooping in for the kill.
One blasted a stream of fire at her, and Rainbow hit her impulse blasters. They vaulted the pegasus into the air, and she landed unsteadily on a higher crag.
The rock shook under her as the red dragon smashed his tail into the base, and Rainbow Dash quickly jumped away again. She hit her impulse blasters at the apex of her leap, launching her forward again in mid-air.
This barely kept her ahead of a pair of jaws snapping shut behind her. The green dragon soared past, flapping his heavy wings to slow himself. One of the wings came down on Rainbow’s back before she could get away, swatting the pegasus out of the air and sending her flailing back toward the ground.


Rainbow Dash yelped as her shoulder pad crashed into stone, and she started rolling over the uneven ground. Shards of rock jumped up in the air, and trails of sparks ran off of her wings and leg plating. She pushed herself up the moment she could get her footing, and her armor creaked from the strain.
Before she could take more than a step, a fireball struck one of the rock spires behind her. Flames washed over her flight pack and scorched her afterburners, and the mare clenched her teeth as her heat readout jumped again.
“Hey! Is anybody reading me? I need some help over here!” Rainbow Dash shouted while she sprinted underneath a stone outcropping.
The vox returned a blast of static before the current mission lead replied to her. “You need help? Well, that’s a new one. I thought you said you didn’t need an escort unit.”
“They grounded me! The stupid armor is too hot! They’re seriously going to kill me!”
The brown dragon landed roughly in front of Rainbow Dash, and she hit her blasters again to leap back out of range of a swiping claw.
“I need an artillery strike! Or an air strike! Give me an explosion or two, would you?!” Rainbow complained, kicking off from a rock facing. The dragon’s claws tore into the stone behind her, gouging deep holes in the surface but missing the pegasus entirely.
“Affirmative, Dash. Available assets are… uh oh.”
Rainbow Dash fought the urge to scream. “What?! What’s wrong now?!” she demanded while running under an arch. Another dragon flew over her, roaring angrily and positioning itself to intercept the armored mare.
“Arguably, nothing. In fact, you might like this. Looks like someone else was listening in on your call.”
“What?! Who?! What’s happening?!” Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt when the red dragon landed in front of her, cutting off her path again. The others were circling around, but keeping their distance; apparently they were intent on ending this chase for good rather than risking her slipping away again.
A locator rune flashed on Rainbow’s visor. The dragons hesitated, hearing the sound of a roaring rocket engine above them. Rainbow Dash’s panicked grimace shifted into a feral smirk.


“IRON WITHIN, BECOME THE IRON WITHOUT!! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!”
Tellis screamed down from the sky, trailing streams of fire behind him. The dragons looked up, alarmed, and the rust-colored one took to the air to intercept the Iron Warrior.
The Chaos Lord twisted about, arching up to meet the dragon at full speed. The serpent snarled, but its ascent showed hesitation. The incoming foe was approaching far too fast, to the point that it couldn’t really tell what it was facing.
By the time doubt turned to dread, it was too late.
Tellis struck the side of the dragon’s head, sending the beast twisting about in the air. His claws bit deep into the dragon’s hide and into the bone of its jaw, but the sheer force of the Iron Warrior’s fist propelled by the full power of his flight pack sent shock waves down the serpent’s spine. The dragon spun around in the air and then dropped onto the ground in a heap, not unconscious but thoroughly stunned. A heavy, serrated fang bounced across the ground at its feet, having been forcibly knocked free of its jaw.
Tellis landed behind the dragon, his boots carving furrows into the solid rock underneath. He slid to a complete stop, and then a chuckle came from his vox grille.
“Heh. I punched a dragon in the face.”
Then a giant green tail smashed into his back, sending the Chaos Lord tumbling away.


“Tellis! Are you okay?” shouted Rainbow Dash while she galloped across the crags.
“What? Oh, yeah. I’m good.” Tellis bounced to his feet and then vaulted into the air, his flight pack vomiting fire behind him. The green dragon pursued, sputtering flames from its jaws.
“Watch out for the fire breath! If it hits you, your jets overheat!” Rainbow Dash warned.
“They do? No they don’t,” Tellis shouted back.
“Seriously! I’m grounded right now because my flight pack got too hot!”
“Is that how it works? I don’t think that’s how it works.” Tellis jolted to the side, barely avoiding the dragon’s jaws as it tried to bite him.
“Well, just let it blast you! Then you’ll see!” Rainbow shouted.
Her vox crackled. “This is Command. I would have to recommend against that tactical decision.”
“You stay out of this!” Rainbow Dash barked.
A fireball exploded next to her, scorching the mare’s side before the red dragon charged after the pegasus. She hit her impulse blasters again, leaping away just ahead of the serpent’s sword-like teeth.
“Rainbow Dash, one of the Dark Techpriests is speculating about system damage with your flight pack,” said the vox. “Are your heat sinks out of order?”
“My what?” the pegasus asked, kicking off of a spike of rock to avoid the dragon’s claws. “Have you even seen power armor? There’s no room for a sink!”
“No room for-Oh, for Dark Gods’ sakes,” the man on the connection grumbled. “Your HEAT SINKS, Dash. They’re the system that keep your flight pack from overheating. Flush your heat sinks.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rainbow confessed while sprinting behind another outcropping. “How do I flush the-“
In that instant, several glass filament rods sprouted from the boosters of her flight pack, sliding from between the armor sheaths. They glowed a blazing pink from the absorbed heat and began a rapid cooling process that poured swirling clouds of hissing gases into the air above her. Rainbow stumbled to a halt, and her eyes widened when her system heat levels swiftly dropped into the safe range.
The red dragon advancing on her hesitated, and it too stumbled to a halt as its prey was swallowed by a scalding shroud of coolant vapor. While the serpent could hardly be harmed by hot steam, it didn’t know what else to expect from this equine. Every time it seemed they had her cornered she managed to slip away, and the beasts had no real idea what the pony’s strange armor was capable of.
“Rainbow…” The steam cloud rushed away, and the dragon felt largely vindicated in its restraint as it stared down at its prey. Rainbow Dash was now facing her opponent, crouched on the ground, and her impulse thrusters were trembling behind her with building energy. A low-pitched whine came from the central booster, and a crackling arc of prismatic energy danced across Rainbow’s helmet and chest plate.
“BUSTER!!”


The armored pony blasted toward the dragon like a cannon shot, and the kinetic refraction field sparked. The dragon screamed in pain while Rainbow Dash plowed into its chest, and was smashed aside in a blast of rainbow-colored light. The pegasus curved upward, rocketing into the air, while the dragon painfully rolled across the rocks below.
“Every time I think power armor can’t get any better, it does!” Rainbow laughed, curving and twisting through the air.
“Yes. Just imagine what your combat efficacy would be if you actually read your damn wargear primers,” grumbled Command.
“Just be ready for me, okay? I’ll be there in a sec with some target practice.” She switched over her vox and spun around in the air. “Hey, Tellis! I’m good to go now, buddy! Thanks!”
“You’re welc-OW!” Massive hooked claws cut down the Iron Warrior, scraping across the plating of his power armor and throwing him to the ground. The rust-colored dragon promptly pinned Tellis with its other claw, roaring victoriously.
“Uh… you need me to lend you a hoof, dude?” Rainbow asked, keeping her own visor locked on the two other dragons.
“Nah, I’m good!” Tellis reared back and arm, and then reached his fist between the dragon’s claws to stab it in the wrist. It flinched, but did not release him. Tellis stabbed it three more times in rapid succession before the beast could even move, and on his final attempt the sizzling powered claws punched into a nerve cluster.
The dragon shrieked and recoiled, leaping back. Tellis jumped upright immediately and then burst into the air. The wounded serpent glanced up at the Iron Warrior, then down to its bleeding wrist, hesitating.
“Okay, well, these two look like they want a piece of me, so I’ll catch you later!” Rainbow shouted through the vox while dodging a fireball. “If you need help, get to me later!”
“Cool! See ya, Rainbabe!”


The red and green dragons flew after Rainbow Dash, paying no obvious heed to the Chaos Lord that had enabled her escape. Which was poor tactics, as far as Tellis could tell. Combined, the three would have had a fair chance of catching and killing him, but apparently they were more interested in hunting down the small, weaker target that had annoyed them rather than a real threat.
Which he could totally sympathize with, actually, but still: not smart.
The remaining dragon eyed Tellis warily, deliberating on its course of action. It had already been injured twice by the alien marauder, and his armor had proven astoundingly resistant to dragon claws. It seemed objectively silly for a dragon to hesitate before a creature barely a tenth its size, but as it stared up at the Iron Warrior it felt its every instinct screaming to flee. There was a dark, primal energy that coursed through this warrior’s body; something similar to magic, but more… raw and brutal.
“What are you waiting for, lizard?” Tellis taunted, beckoning with a hand. “You taste too much iron already? This is your one and only chance to dine on Khornate flesh! Limited time offer!” He hammered a fist into his chest, laughing.
“You vile creatures will never take our lands!” the dragon snarled, a blast of fire puffing from its nostrils.
Tellis did not respond right away, staring down at the serpent while his flight pack burned at a steady hover.
“… Wait, you guys can talk?” he mumbled.
The dragon was clearly the more surprised of the two, and it scowled angrily. “Of course I can speak! Do you apes think dragons are mere animals?!”
“Uh… kind of? I mean, it’s hard to tell what counts as a dumb animal or not on this planet,” Tellis mumbled. “Wait, what about the rock alligators? Can THEY talk? I never asked!”
The dragon arched an eyebrow. “Such foolishness. You stand before Ignil, and this-“
“You even have names? This is wild,” the Chaos Lord interrupted.
“Of course we have names, fool!” Ignil snapped. “And we also have land! And property! And wealth! You dare to think us mere beasts?! These are our homes, our people’s sacred territories!” The dragon reared up, spreading its wings and baring its (remaining) teeth. “We will not bow to you vile cultists! We will not surrender our birthright! You will take this world over our cold, dead bodies!”
“I am DOWN with that,” Tellis assured him, raking his claws together. Tiny red arcs of power lashed between the adamantium blades, popping angrily at the contact.
“Feeble ape! You will BURN before the mighty serpent kings!” the dragon roared, leaping into the air and taking flight.
“Uh-huh. Sure. I’mma kill you and take your stuff now.” Tellis spread his wings and blasted forward, his flight pack screaming into the wind.


****


Rainbow Dash banked hard, dodging out of the way of a fire stream threatening to engulf her from behind. Her flight path brought her within inches of the jagged face of the cliff, and a tremor shook her wing from the an impulse jet scraping against passing bits of stone.
She turned her head slightly, and a series of reticule markers flickered into place. “Almost…”
Then the visor screen was swallowed in flame.


The fireball struck her from below, exploding against the plating under her belly and blasting her to the side. This in turn slammed her against the rock cliff, and the pegasus carved a short furrow into the stone before she bounced off and plummeted into a spin.
“Gah! No!” Rainbow tucked into a roll while her visor blasted alerts at her, turning her armor into a flaming buzzsaw that arced down through the air.
The drake that had ambushed her from below flew up to intercept its target, only to have the blazing wheel of metal strike it in the shoulder. Rainbow Dash bounced off the dragon, barely avoiding the flailing wings and whipping tail while it roared in pain and fury.
Rainbow pulled out of her somersault, landing roughly on a stone plateau and stumbling onto her side. She was up again and moving in an instant, her muscles burning from the abuse and adrenaline flood. Her heat sinks were already extended while she fled, generating a trail of steam for the great beasts pursuing her.
“There is no escape, equine!” roared the great green dragon. “Now you die for your arrogance!”
Rainbow’s vox crackled. “Target marked. Fire at will.”


The first shots hit the dragons’ ears like a thunderbolt, but they hit their bodies in the way only an armor-piercing hellbore shell could. Explosive blasts stitched a line across the green dragon’s chest and wing, blowing holes through the fire-tempered scales and swatting the great serpent from the sky.
The dragon roared in agonized fury as it fell, and Rainbow vaulted into the air again just ahead of its tumbling body. Her flight pack flickered and ignited, and she banked hard to evade the great red dragon just before it overtook its green sibling.
The crimson serpent started to turn, but it paused to look over the edge of the plateau. It was difficult not to, what with the thunder of guns and hail of bullets currently tearing its brethren to shreds. There was a small group of Company vehicles sitting in the middle of a large crater, along with a substantial crowd of soldiers. The units had fortified themselves behind duracrete barriers and fire rock crags, and the pair of armored vehicles boasted quad-barreled anti-air guns that spat a constant chain of fire into the green dragon. Between them was a platoon of mercenaries with rocket launchers, and within seconds a volley of flakk missiles streaked up into the air.
The red dragon twisted away, recognizing an ambush when it saw one. A line of quad fire followed it, but the serpent managed to evade while it sought to flee the scene. The heavy shells sliced through the air overhead, and a flakk missile curved through the air on an intercept course under the heavy gunfire.
The missile exploded under the dragon’s wing, and the serpent hissed in pain as hundreds of white-hot flechette fragments punched into its side and stung its wingflaps. Despite the pain and the echoing boom in its ears, the dragon powered ahead, desperate to get out of range.
When it heard the roar of more rockets approaching, it assumed more missiles were on the way. This was a reasonable guess, but it was wrong.


Rainbow Dash struck the serpent in the side of its head, grazing the creature’s jaw while her kinetic refraction field flashed. The dragon flinched in pain, but it wasn’t obviously injured by the surprise attack.
“Ponyfeathers! Missed!” Rainbow growled, spinning in the air to strafe the dragon. Her shuriken catapult spat a volley of monomolecular-edged razors into the great beast’s wings, slicing into its thinnest tissues and weakening it even more. “You can give up any time now, you know!”
“We will never surrender, equine! Never!” roared the dragon. “Die in flame along with your alien masters!”
Rainbow suddenly jolted upward through the air, avoiding a screaming fireball that had been aimed at her backside.
“Ah, ah, ah! Fool me once, shame on you!” Rainbow taunted, spinning around in the air. “Fool me twice… well... you didn’t fool me twice, so whatever. I’m gonna shoot your face full of ninja stars now.”
The other dragon was a much smaller creature than the others, colored a much darker shade of red and barely much larger than a Terminator. It still had wings and a projectile breath weapon, however, and its smaller size apparently let it sneak up on its targets instead.
Rainbow jolted forward, and the beast swooped in to meet her. The dragon turned its head aside from a flurry of shuriken, flinching at a critical point and wasting its attack. Rainbow kicked off the dragon’s head at high speed, flipping higher into the air while the dragon flailed.
“I’m telling you guys, you should just surrender now!” Rainbow Dash warned. “Greenie already bit off more cannon shells than he could chew!”
“Foolish equine! We know where your little ape friends are now!” The larger serpent landed on a crag, and then scraped a handful of flechette needles out of its hide. “We will purge the humans in due time. But they cannot reach us here, and-“
A thunderous crack pierced the air just milliseconds after a heavy rail pierced the red dragon’s back. The projectile punched through hardened scales like so much paper, slicing through bone, flesh, and internals before exiting out of the beast’s chest in a puff of hot blood. A shimmering line of blue light drew a line along the projectile’s path, the ionized air currents flaring briefly in Rainbow’s retinas.
The dragon stayed perfectly still for a moment, as if unable to comprehend what had just happened. Then its body slumped forward, collapsing onto the ground with its eyes still wide with shock.
The culprit buzzed low over the cliff that marked the edge of the plateau, its sleek armored body a patchwork of blue over a black undercoat. The Tau Hammerhead kept its railgun trained on the red dragon for several seconds, slowly circling the body. Only once its scans confirmed that the beast was losing body heat rapidly did it swing around for another target.
“Is there any reason you’re showing up now, rather than five minutes ago when I needed back-up?” Rainbow Dash yelled down at the hover tank. “I mean, you guys can pretty much fly, and apparently you were just waiting here along with the rest of the guns! What the hay, guys?”
The Hammerhead Gunship floated underneath her, its railgun barrel slowly tracking from one side to the other. Rainbow frowned, and then let her altitude drop until she landed on top of the turret housing.
“Hey! Are you listening?!” the armored mare demanded, kicking the turret. “Why didn’t you show up earlier?”
The gunship stopped, and after a few seconds her helmet vox received an incoming signum.
“Are you trying to yell at us through the hull? We can’t hear you without a comms connection.”
“Don’t get smart with me, jerk!” Rainbow Dash snapped.
“If we did, how would you know?”
Rainbow scowled and gave the turret mechanism another kick. “Whatever! Finish off the last one and let’s take this place!”
“What, the green one? It has been critically wounded already. Command is debating whether to bring it home or finish it off.”
“No, not the green one! I meant the little red-“ Rainbow Dash suddenly snapped her head up, and her targeting reticule bounced around the boundary of her visor display for a few seconds. It returned zero targets, and the pegasus groaned.
“Ah, ponyfeathers. He got away!” Rainbow griped. “I nearly got cooked alive corralling these guys! You couldn’t even bother to show up until now? You grays are useless!”
“I take it back. Go back to yelling at us through the hull,” the pilot retorted, cutting the vox connection.


****


The dragon Valk poked its head out of a hole in the cliff face, its bright orange eyes squinting against the light.
A pair of Tau Hammerheads slowly navigated the uneven crags below. Their turrets pivoted back and forth, covering any gap or outcropping large enough to hide a dragon waiting in ambush until they could complete an area scan and determine it was clear. There were many such places in these mountains, but other than Valk there were no dragons left to lay a trap.
The scream of an engine came from overhead, and a Hellblade Interceptor blasted through the sky. Valk gulped and slipped further into the cavern, his heart thundering in his chest. If the alien machines stalked the crags and the skies, there would be no escape until they left.
IF they left.


Valk crept through the uneven tunnels, turning and twisting around sharpened spikes of rock and pinching gaps. These passageways provided a veritable network of access tunnels to the nests of the larger dragons, yet were inconveniently too small for those same dragons to use. In the years past they had allowed Valk to sneak into their hoards and sneak a ruby or two, but now the tunnels presented a critical path of retreat from the army taking over their mountain lairs.
“It doesn’t even make sense,” the drake hissed to himself. “What do they need these lands for? They have their territory! What are they even here for?!”
Valk reached the end of the tunnel and pushed himself free, dropping down onto the floor. This cavern was much larger, and lit by a pair of bronze oil torches that burned with blue dragonflame. The torches stood on either side of a veritable mountain of gemstones, gold coins, silver bars, and the odd sword or elaborate helmet that looked exotic enough to sit amongst a dragon’s treasures.
The red serpent frowned at pile of valuables, which towered several meters above the floor and peaked about halfway to the cavern ceiling.
“Well, I suppose there might be SOMETHING around here worth taking,” Valk admitted, his eyes sparkling at the mound of treasure. While he’d certainly miss his broodmates, especially with hostile alien machines flying about his home, there were advantages to suddenly being the last dragon left in Crimson Crags.
A scraping noise came from the shadows, and Valk snapped upright, instantly on alert. He scrambled around the great pile of gemstones and riches, and soon spotted the source of the noise.
A single changeling stared up at the dragon, peering through large eyes of pale blue. It was a mere drone, and the creature buzzed its wings in irritation while it waited for the serpent to speak.
Valk grimaced. “Hello, insect. You were right. The killers from the void have come, and we were unable to stop them.” He sighed, and his tail knocked a sapphire from the vast mound behind him. “Grall and Kurn are gone. I’m pretty sure Ignil is as well, although I didn’t see what happened to him.” He picked up the sapphire and popped it into his mouth, crunching down on the gem.
The changeling grimaced, baring its short fangs to the serpent. “No good! Dragons fight the aliens with the changelings! Vzzzzzzzz!” The insect’s wings buzzed urgently at the end of its request. “Creatures of our world fight together or die alone! Vzzzzzzz!”
“Grall thought you were just trying to manipulate us. And you probably are,” Valk admitted, swallowing the sapphire, “but you’re not wrong.” He kissed his claws briefly, and then ran his tongue over his lips. “I’ll tell you what, insect: if you can help me get this treasure out of here and to a safe place, I’ll help you with getting more dragon allies.”
The drone tilted its head to the side, and then looked up at the veritable mountain of treasure. Then it looked back at the dragon, perplexed.
“Call your broodmates, or whatever you refer to the other disgusting bug spies as,” Valk instructed impatiently, “get more of them here to help me sneak this out and away from the humans. Then I’ll show you to more nests and speak to the others.”
The changeling continued to look perplexed, and Valk groaned. “If you insolent creatures merely show up and insist that we obey you or be killed by the apes from the stars, you will be turned away every time. If you’re lucky.” The dragon snorted, and puffs of flame came from his nostrils. “You insects are creatures of deception, not diplomacy and honor. We have no reason to believe you. Help me, and then-“
Valk’s ear fin twitched, and he stopped talking. There was a sound coming. Periodic and heavy. Like footsteps. Many footsteps.
The changeling perked up as well, and then started to panic. “Intruders! Vzzzzzz! We must flee!”
“No, wait,” Valk mumbled, glancing down at the equine-shaped insect. A smirk stretched across his face. “I have an idea.”


The footsteps got louder, echoing down the large stone hallway that led to the dragon nest. Some of them were particularly loud, and the sound of clanking metal and cracking rock boomed through the cavern long before the first glint of gunmetal was visible.
Once the metal was visible, one could see it was part of a four-legged suit of Terminator armor with a Stetson sitting on top.
“Mah stars, that’s a lotta shiny rocks!” Applejack said, a whistle coming from the steely slits of her vox grille. “Rares! Ya gotta see this!”
Three men in crimson carapace armor followed Applejack into the cavern, each of them carrying a pulse rifle; Fire Lancers. Behind them was Rarity and Delgan.
“Oh, MY!” Rarity gasped, her eyes lighting up. She currently had her helmet off, and a fourth soldier was carrying it behind her.
Delgan was equally pleased, although he didn’t show it as easily. “The dragons don’t make proper settlements, and they certainly put up more of a fuss than the others. The gains from conquest are more direct, though.” He snapped his fingers and glanced over to the guard with Rarity’s helmet. “Get a pair of transports here. Devilfish. It will be easier for the Tau to move this material than trying to get a Chimera up the cliffs.”
“Yes, Trademaster.”
The other soldiers started approaching the treasure mound, and Delgan snapped his fingers again. They stopped in an instant, looking back.
“Not so fast, gentlemen. This region isn’t conquered just yet. Miss Apple, are we quite certain that this prize no longer has an owner?”
The farmer grimaced behind her mask. She wasn’t completely comfortable yet with the reality that they were invading another creature’s home in order to kill them and seize their property. “Ah recall the boys saying they took down two big’uns that Dash baited. Tellis jumped another one, but Ah dunno how that ended.”
“We can guess how that ended,” Rarity quipped.
Applejack turned her head to look over the room, and her visor flickered with targeting indicators and sensor inputs. Small runes blinked into place in a rapid cascade, offering streams of data about material composition, structural integrity, and ambient heat.
One unusual heat signature seemed to appear in the wrong place, behind the treasure pile, and Applejack frowned. Before she could take a step toward it, however, her visor detected movement to the side.
“Whoa, there!” she shouted, spotting something moving at the edge of the hill of valuables. “Come out nice and slow, partner!”
The creature did so, stepping into view one trembling hoofstep at a time. To the intruders’ surprise, it was a mustard-colored pony, rather than a dragon. A unicorn stallion, specifically, with a scruffy black mane and a beetle for a cutie mark.
“Oh, my. Are you all right?” Rarity asked. She had her plasma gun floating next to her, and she quickly shifted the weapon to point up toward the ceiling. “You’re not with the Company, are you? Did these dragons capture you?”
The stallion gulped, nodding his head slightly. “I’ve been here a few weeks… they made me a slave,” he said, his voice scratchy and his eyes unfocused.
“Tch! Consarn lizards!” Applejack huffed, turning to glare at Delgan. “Not that we can say much on the topic of slavery…”
“Why are you looking at me? I don’t use slaves,” Delgan scoffed. “Their service is atrocious. I prefer the loyalty earned with a living a wage.” He leaned back slightly, placing his hand on the pommel of a power sword. “As for you, pony, where is your master? I’d prefer to confirm his death before absconding with his things, and you’re no different.”
Rarity huffed and rolled her eyes. Applejack shook her head, turning back toward the stallion.
Her visor beeped, sensing more movement at the edge of her line of sight.


The fireball came with too little warning, even with the alert offered by Applejack’s visor runes. The detonation struck her side, and a plume of flame swallowed her completely while blasting two of the Fire Lancers off their feet. The third human soldier wasn’t struck directly, and he quickly darted away from the explosion to seek cover.
Valk pounced like a tiger, bounding off the side of the treasure pile and landing on top of the mercenary with a bestial hiss. Long, hooked talons sliced through ballistic cloth between plasteel plates, and then dug into the vulnerable flesh underneath.
The Fire Lancer screamed, stabbing his rifle bayonet up into the dragon’s chest. The adamantium blade bit into the scales and split them, spilling hot blood onto the trapped man, but the attack did little beyond a flesh wound. Valk vomited fire onto the pinned mercenary, cooking him alive within his armor.
With a huff and a snort, Valk looked up from his first kill.


Were the dragon slightly slower, he might well have lost his head then and there. He recoiled suddenly, and a pair of crackling blades slashed across Valk’s neck, barely breaking through the scale layer.
Delgan only had time to click his tongue in annoyance before the dragon twisted about in the air, whipping his tail about at high speed. The Trademaster darted backward to evade, giving Valk enough clearance to flee.
The dragon took ample advantage of the opportunity, launching toward the pyre he had made with its first attack. A string of screaming plasma bolts followed after him as he bounced off a stalactite and then flapped his wings, adding critical height to a final leap toward his target: one of the scorched soldiers that had been knocked prone already.
To Valk’s surprise, however, he found himself with a face full of angry, armored pony instead.
“Consarn lizard!” Applejack snarled, ramming into the dragon while flames still clung to her armor. Valk recoiled, and then he slashed his claws against the mare’s helmet and stabbed his other talons into her side. Claws like diamond-edged blades shrieked against ceramite, striking with enough force to knock the pony back.
Applejack countered hard. Her boot hammered Valk in the stomach, and the dragon roared in pain. Or rather, he would have, but Applejack spun around and smashed her tail into the side of his head, stunning him.
Then she bucked the dragon in the chest, striking with the force of a thunder hammer. Valk went flying across the cavern, spinning in the air and slamming into a brazier before crashing into the treasure mound. Valk sputtered and coughed, wheezing hard while he scrambled to get to his feet.
Delgan pointed a blade toward the dragon. “Open fire. Aim for the wings; it will reduce beast’s mobility.”
The two Fire Lancers that had been knocked down by the first attack were still picking up their weapons. Rarity and the man carrying her helmet, however, had simply been waiting to get a clear line of attack while Applejack was fighting up close. A plasma bolt struck the dragon in the wing next to a trio of pulse bolts, searing the serpent’s heat-resistant scales and burning through to cut a molten hole through the flesh.


Valk made a quick calculation and scrambled for one of the tunnels, ducking behind the treasure hoard to evade incoming fire. He had killed a man and wounded a few more, but the blasted ponies were turning out to be even more dangerous than their sapien friends. He needed to retreat and lick his wounds before trying again.
The dragon heard the pounding of heavy boots galloping behind him, but paid the charging pony no heed. He glanced up at a hole in the rock, some two meters from the ground, and leapt into it. He was faster than the mare, and ponies were generally poor climbers anyhow. As soon as he was away from the guns, he would be safe.
“Oh, no ya don’t!” Applejack growled, her tail snapping forward.
Valk yelped when he felt something hold his tail in place. It was a strange sensation, as the appendage hadn’t been physically skewered or pinched, but the serpent tried to tug it forward with absolutely no result.
“Git back here!” Applejack pulled back, and the gravity lash yanked Valk out of his escape tunnel and sent him rolling across the ground. The dragon howled as the impact rattled his injured wing and ribs.
Applejack stomped up to the dragon. “Ya give up yet, varmint?!”
Valk’s response was a blast of dragonfire directly into the mare’s face, washing over her helmet and spilling around her gorget. Her armor temperature rose dangerously, and the bands of plating around her neck started to burn against her fur.
Applejack pushed forward through the flame, reared up, and decked the dragon in the jaw. Valk reeled backward, blood and embers sputtering from his mouth. He slashed across the pony’s faceplate, his claws shrieking angrily against the adamantium plating, and received another boot to his gut for his effort.
“Treacherous equines! You betray your own world for the alien scum!” Valk howled while he retreated. Steaming blood dripped from his jaws along with the odd bit of shattered teeth. “You will never succeed! This world will never be yours!”
His backpedaling stopped when a blade pierced him from behind. With a hiss and a series of electric pops, the tip of a power sword punched through Valk’s chest in a burst of blue sparks. Blood and smoke spurted from the wound in nearly equal measure, and the dragon froze in paralyzing agony.
“Darling, don’t be so melodramatic,” Rarity said with a sigh, standing behind the dragon. Her plasma gun floated up next to Valk’s head, a pulsing hum coming from its magnetic chamber. “We’re just doing our jobs.”
The plasma gun discharged, and Valk’s life was extinguished in a flash of green light.


Applejack huffed angrily through her vox grille, still feeling the intense heat within her helmet. “Consarn dragon jumped us outta nowhere! Never figgered them fer the sneaky type.”
“You get all kinds, darling,” Rarity admitted while she tenderly placed a boot against the dragon’s corpse. Her magic took hold of the handle of her power sword, and she slowly drew it from the beast’s hide.
One of the Fire Lancers – the only one who hadn’t been attacked in the skirmish – stepped up behind Applejack, holding his pulse rifle at the ready.
“Watson’s dead, obviously. Climes and Saggan got burned, but they’ll-“
“Darling,” Rarity interrupted, suddenly glaring at the man, “weren’t you carrying my helmet?”
“Huh? Yeah. So?”
“SO, I don’t see it with you. Where is it?” the unicorn pressed.
“I don’t know. I dropped it so I could-“
“You DROPPED IT?! On the GROUND?!” Rarity shrieked.
“Aw, hay. Here we go,” Applejack groaned. She turned around and started walking back around the treasure pile.
“What are you yelling at me for?”
“What am I-are you DAFT, sir? You dropped my helmet on the ground! The rocky, uneven ground covered in sharp edges! What if it gets damaged!”
“Are you serious? That thing is made to shrug off weapons fire!”
“I’ve taken my share of weapons fire you oaf, and I assure you the finish is far more sensitive than that! Do you think the Techpriests have nothing better to do than polish my armor over and over?! Use your head!”


Applejack grumbled under her breath while she trotted back to the two injured soldiers. One of them was still kneeling, but both had their carapace armor blackened and cracked from the dragonflame.
“All right fellers, we’re all clear now. You boys gonna be all right?”
“Affirmative, Jack. Sorry we weren’t much help back there,” grumbled one of the men.
“Naw, it ain’t nothin’. Critter took us all by surprise; I just happen to have thicker skin.” She chuckled and banged a hoof against her chest plate.
“Heh, yeah. Thanks, Jack,” mumbled the man still on the ground. He paused briefly, staring at the armored mare. “Wait, so… how is your hat okay?”
“Never mind her hat!” Rarity shouted, galloping out behind the farmer and looking typically indignant. “Somebody find MY hat! For all I know it’s lying in some horrid puddle of cave muck!” She looked over the cavern, pursing her lips. “Also, what happened to that stallion? The one who was being held here?”
“I think I saw him run off right after the dragon attacked,” volunteered one of the men. “He probably wouldn’t get far with the rough terrain and not being a flyer. Should we pursue?”
“No need. I got him,” came Delgan’s voice from the gloom.


It took everyone a moment to remember that Delgan had gone in with them, and yet had disappeared after getting in a quick attack on the dragon himself. The Trademaster emerged from the entrance tunnel, his swords sheathed. In one hand, he carried Rarity’s discarded helmet. The other he used to drag the mysterious unicorn behind him by the mane.
“Ow! Ow! Stop!” the unicorn complained while he was tugged along. “I thought you guys were nice to ponies! This isn’t very nice!”
Delgan shoved the stallion forward into the cavern, knocking him on his side. Then he pointed to the last guard standing. “Arrest him at once.”
Rarity blinked in surprise. “Arrest? For what? The poor dear was a captive! He must have been terrified!”
“Miss Rarity, I’ve run into my share of traps and nibbled my share of bait,” Delgan explained, staring coldly at the quivering unicorn stallion. “This equine absolutely knew that dragon was in here, and offered us no warning. He issued no surprise when we were being attacked. And once the lizard began to falter, he wasted no time in sneaking out, and not before.” Delgan drew a power sword with his free hand. “I know the difference between a captive and a collaborator, and this pony is the latter.”
“Even so, Mister Delgan...” Rarity huffed, preparing to lecture the merchant.
He spoke before she could continue. “Also, yes, your helmet did get some cave muck on it.”
“THE VERY WORST THING!!”


The sound of power armored boots came from the tunnel behind Delgan, and Applejack perked up.
“That from our transport?” the farmer asked, pleased that this mission was almost over.
“Negative. That’s Astartes power armor,” Delgan grumbled, lowering his sword. “And there’s only one Iron Warrior on assignment in this area...”
The humans and ponies groaned together, equally dreading what was coming. Only the captured unicorn seemed confused about what was happening.
As such, he was the only one surprised rather than exasperated when Tellis sprinted into the cavern.


“Yes! YES! That is what I’m talking about!” Tellis laughed, pointing at the treasure pile.
Rainbow Dash flew in behind him, sweeping around the Chaos Lord into a hover. “Nice! A real treasure stash! Now we’re getting our piracy on!”
Delgan took a deep, calming breath. “My Lord Tellis, we-“
“Dibs!” Tellis shouted.
Delgan stopped talking, frowning up at the Iron Warrior.
“I called dibs. That means I get it,” Tellis explained, jabbing a thumb into his chest plate.
“… Yes, Lord. I… suppose it does,” the Trademaster said through clenched teeth.
“WHOOOOO!! Las Pegasus, here we come!” Rainbow Dash cheered, spinning in the air while her impulse jets surged.


Applejack just shook her head. Rarity slumped onto the ground, groaning. The unidentified stallion looked over at them incredulously.
“THIS is one of the fabled Iron Warriors?” he asked.
“Yeah, he is. He’s a little more ‘fabled’ than the rest, in fact,” Applejack admitted. “Ah know he sounds like a goof, but if the vox logs’re right, that goof just took down one o’ the bigger dragons ‘round here.”
“So in a way, I suppose it makes sense that he claim the lion’s share of the treasure,” Rarity mumbled, shrugging.
“Yes! That. What she said.” Tellis walked over to the ponies, who all backed up warily. Then he pointed to Rarity. “By the way, you’re the fashion horse, right? You do clothes and stuff.”
“There is no POSSIBLE way this conversation is going to end well,” she replied, her ears flipping down.
“Don’t be lame, whitey. I just need to know how to skin a dragon for a cloak.”
“No! This is not happening! No, no, no!” Rarity shook her head wildly.
“I tried to do it on my own, but it didn’t come out right. Those suckers have a lot of meat on them, you know?”
Rainbow Dash floated up next to the Space Marine’s shoulder, chuckling through her vox grille. “Let’s just say Tellis is pretty lucky his armor drinks blood, because YUCK.”
“Stop it! I’m not listening! Somebody give me my blasted helmet!” Rarity cried, curling up on the ground and covering her head with her boots.
“And what’s this guy’s deal?” Tellis suddenly rounded on the only stallion present, and the mysterious pony yelped in surprise. “He doesn’t have armor or weapons or anything! Is he even with us?”
“No, Lord Tellis,” nodded one of the Fire Lancers, “he was captured by the dragons, apparently. We were-“
“By the dragons? So he’s part of the loot pile?” the Chaos Lord asked.
“Uh... I suppose that’s one way of-“
“MINE.” Before the unicorn stallion could stutter a reply, the armored giant grabbed him by the barrel and hurled him across the room, into the treasure mound. The pony yelped when he hit the small mountain of gems and valuables, and then started rolling down the side, out of control.
“You’re taking the pony?” Rainbow Dash asked, swinging around in front of Tellis. “Why would you want him?”
“Depends on what his special thingy is,” Tellis replied. “If it’s cool, I’ll keep him around for that. If it’s dumb, then I’ll probably just use him for shipping.”
The stallion tumbled down the face of the treasure pile to the ground, and ended up striking his head on the stone floor. He wailed in pain, and then his body was suddenly consumed by a flare of green light.
Applejack and Rarity gasped in shock. The Fire Lancers had their rifles up in an instant. Delgan clicked his tongue and brought up his sword. Rainbow Dash growled and landed, her shuriken catapult swiveling into position.


Tellis, who was facing away from the treasure pile, glanced from soldier to soldier in confusion. “What? What’re you all aiming at?” he mumbled, turning around.
On the ground lay a creature shaped like a pony, but bearing a black carapace rather than fur. Numerous gouges, notches, and holes riddled its legs, body, and the pair of gossamer wings on its back. The creature hissed in pain, clenching its teeth and revealing a pair of needle-like fangs beneath its lips.
“Huh… He turns into a bug. Bug horse. Okay, yeah. That’s a pretty good trick,” Tellis mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can work with this. Might ship him anyway, though.”
Applejack brought up her vox. “Command, can Ah get an ETA on that transport? We’ve got a critter here we’re gonna need to take back to Ferry D.”
“Affirmative, Applejack. The Devilfish you requested are two minutes out. Captured a dragon, did you?”
“Naw. Worse. Much worse,” Applejack groused. “We got changelings.”