“I would like to begin by apologizing,” Twilight said, half hearted from atop her pedestal.
“I am sorry to those who have lost family and friends to this. I am sorry to the families of the Royal Guards who died last Friday. I am sorry for lying. I am sorry for not making a statement sooner. I am aware that what I did was immoral, unjust, and frankly unacceptable.
“Though I am not only here to apologize. I also have to make a few things clear. I did cover up the existence to this project, although I did not know what was happening in the facility itself. I was left unaware of how bad things had gotten until it was too late. It is true that I tried to destroy evidence of the facility, which obviously was wrong. It was a selfish action to try and keep my name clean, so me and the journalists who hold all of the data have been working together to give the citizens all of the information they desire, while preserving the identities of the scientists and engineers to not encourage violence towards them. Most of them are good ponies who are undeserving of punishment. Some, such as Mecha Machine, the pony who was shot early last night, who were actively aiding the AI, are going to be punished. We have been told that one other such enemy of the Guard is known as Surreal Step. We are asking for her to step forward peacefully, and if she does, we will take that into consideration during sentencing. Otherwise, we will find her and take her down with as much force as necessary.
“The final thing I would like to announce is that after I track down this 'Cardinal', as she is called, along with any of her accomplices, I will be stepping down from my role as Governor of Equestrian Science and Technology, along with my CEO position at the Twilight Foundation of Science and Computer Engineering. My replacements, Starlight Glimmer and Moondancer, respectfully, have been chosen as the best ponies to lead our society forward in these fields.
“I would like to apologize again, to anypony who has been affected by this awful tragedy and anypony who has lost trust in the government. From now on, we promise to always be completely transparent about everything we do, and will make sure that such a thing never occurs again.
“Thank you for your time and your ongoing patience.”
“I SPARED YOU!” Cardinal screamed at her, getting into a defensive stance as she brought her head down.
“You shouldn't have...” Holly gargled out, flipping up her helmet once more she raised up her machine gun. “‘CAUSE I WOULD NEVER SPARE YOU!”
Holly opened fire on Cardinal, unloading the riveting power of her machine gun into the robot. She screamed and laughed madly along with the gunfire.
Cardinal raised a hoof as the first few rounds went into her, protecting her face.
After a few seconds of barraging, Cardinal felt a grin coming on as every bullet bounced off of her, barely making a scratch.
She threw out her wings and began firing back, lowering her protective leg as she felt the relieving safety her armor provided.
Holly was greatly taken aback, feeling an inkling of fear as the pony in front of her stood unscathed. She retreated back to the wall, defending herself as she received her returning fire.
Cardinal sent a few hundred shots her way over a course of a few seconds before she took a breather and ceased her gunfire, assuming that in the gust of dust and smoke she had just created was Holly's dead body.
She was wrong, which came as a surprise to both ponies as Holly stood up, not a single hole in her.
The two of them gave each other a dirty look, seeing that guns would not be the decider in this fight.
A nameless pony came over the side of the railing, jumping down at Holly with a crowbar as a weapon, trying to support Cardinal.
Holly flicked up her machine gun, putting a few dozen holes in him as he fell, his motionless body crunching into the ground. Holly, making sure nopony else would get any ideas, pointed her gun up into the spectators and gave it a good spray in one motion going all around the stadium, killing a bunch of them and sending the rest into a panic.
This gave Cardinal an opportunity to charge at Holly, and before she realized, Cardinal had dove into her, both of them rolling onto the ground.
“YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE!” Holly screamed at her attacker, as she was pinned to the ground.
Cardinal cocked back her right leg, holding down Holly with the other by the neck, down against the dirt. She threw the punch down into Holly's scull, who just barely swung her head to the side at the last second, leaving Cardinal's punch landing in the dirt, creating a tiny crater.
Holly pulled back her flank and hind legs, then kicking them upward into Cardinal's groin, launching her off of herself. They both pulled themselves from the ground, now standing barely out of hoof-range of each other.
“Leave, you don't need to do this... I don't want to kill you.” Cardinal spoke as both of them circled each other.
Holly didn't even consider what Cardinal said as she dashed forward at her, swiping a rage-filled blow that was easily dodged by Cardinal, who, in her step back, prepared her own attack that she came shooting into Holly with. The base of her hoof slammed into Holly's chest, launching her back, far into the arena, being stopped by hitting a chunk of concrete wall, smashing some of it and dislodging her machine gun, leaving it in the dirt beneath her.
Cardinal began a slow walk to her opponent, giving Holly plentiful time to pull herself out of the wall and grab one of the bent rebar, equipping it as some makeshift weapon.
Holly came at Cardinal swinging, slamming the sharp and jagged spike into Cardinal's neck, between two of the bottom plates as Cardinal was overcome by the madpony's strength. It stuck into her, a magical charge of electricity sparking out.
Cardinal made an uppercut swing at Holly, throwing her off once more, dazing her on the floor a few meters off.
“Please! Nopony needs to die anymore!” Cardinal yelled, angry at the Royal Guard.
Holly made her way back up, shaking in pain. “No... You… need to... die!” She spread out her wings, also covered in the thick armor. Light blue lights came up underneath her wings as she flapped, being launched into the sky with unnatural speed, propelled up by the suit.
Once in the air, Holly orientated her body toward Cardinal and boomed down at her, flying down with a punch mid-motion. Cardinal threw up a hoof to attempt to block her, unsuccessful as the Pegasus slammed Cardinal into the dirt.
Cardinal felt her back ache and her skin beneath her face-mask sting as she landed in the sand.
Holly used her momentum to move into a charge, and just as Cardinal lifted up her nauseated head, Holly was already galloping into her. With a powerful jump, Holly shifted her body into a flying double-buck to the face with her hind legs.
Cardinal's mask gave, a large dent leading into her left eye, the display cracking harshly as she was launched backward with an immense force. Her back slammed into the old car, curving its hull as she cratered into it.
Cardinal flipped down her mask, revealing her muzzle as she coughed up a few blots of pink goo. She looked up to see Holly stomping toward her, going in for the kill.
She jumped onto Cardinal, holding her down with her legs as she shoved her down, further into the car.
Cardinal wheezed in the pain, looking up to Holly with two desperate, pleading eyes. “Please...”
Holly just laughed from behind her mask, making it sound more menacing than anything Cardinal has ever heard.
Holly leaned in uncomfortably close as Cardinal struggled, even with her enhanced strength she couldn't throw Holly off. “This is for Twist,” she whispered into Cardinal's ear.
Cardinal felt heavy hearted, “Tell him I'm sorry, for what I did to him... And for this.” Cardinal swung her head down to the base of her neck, biting down at the rebar and swinging it out as she held it in her muzzle, using Holly's proximity to her advantage as she stabbed it in between the seams around her muzzle in her helmet. The bar stuck in, causing Holly to recoil back as blood squirted out of the hole.
She lifted up her right hoof off of Cardinal's left, pulling the chunk of rebar out, causing her entire mouthpiece to come off.
Now with a free left leg, Cardinal reached around Holly's neck and grappled her.
Holly struggled but was stunned stiff for a brief second as she heard a little flicking noise come from Cardinal's mouth as she saw the nozzle of a flamethrower appear above Cardinal's tongue. Holly began to freak out as she realized there was now a hole in her mask, leaving her mouth completely exposed. This panic to get out of Cardinal's grip simply helped her as Cardinal got her right hoof up and dug into Holly's head, using the spikes to catch onto her.
Cardinal held the flailing Pegasus down with all of her might and concentration.
She turned on her flamethrower, a gargantuan ball of fire coming blasting out of her mouth and into Holly's face.
Holly screamed and cried as she felt the flames against her skin, the pain like a slow blade sinking in further into her flesh.
Soon, Holly's strength began failing, along with her consciousness, letting Cardinal draw her in closer to the source of the flame as the inferno barraged against her.
Cardinal yanked down Holly's head into her own, bringing her exposed area as close to Cardinal's blaze as she could. Holly's armor began tinting red as it heated up, the flames splashing against it like water out of a high-power hose.
Cardinal felt Holly shake as she shrieked in her hooves as Cardinal pulled Holly's devastated, burnt and shredded mouth into her own.
Their lips met in a deadly, flaming kiss as the fire stopped encompassing Holly's head, and instead poured down her throat.
Holly trembled, shaking like an earthquake tremor with muffled screams as all of her insides were melted. Not a single part of her body was left untouched as she began crisping up, her skeleton turning black and her organs into sludge.
Cardinal could barely see past the black-tinted glass of Holly's visor. Seeing a pair of tortured eyes begging for mercy as they lost their whites and Holly's unwilling lips embraced the kiss of death.
A few moments of this agony passed until Cardinal felt no more resistance coming from the Pegasus.
Cardinal released Holly, letting the body slump down onto her lap. Cardinal let her head back, looking up as she rested, taking several well needed breaths.
After the dust settled and ponies began coming out of hiding from behind their seats, the announcer turned on his microphone.
“That...” His terrified voice echoed throughout the stadium.
“That, was, BRUTAL!!” He screamed in amazement.
Cardinal sighed, kicking the corpse off of her lap and into the dirt.
She looked down at the dead Pegasis with pity and remorse.
“I'm sorry...”
“I know, I know.” Joint escorted Cardinal out of the chopping block for the second time, “But it's nothing, really. Trust me, you are defiantly worth the resources.”
“You are still one of the more generous ponies I've seen. All of you.” She nodded to the other engineers who had spent the last few hours repairing her, again.
“Most ponies I've met outside are scared of me, or want to kill me.” The two of them strolled out of the stadium, going toward the front door.
“You can say that about most of us, actually. Half of the ponies in here are criminals. The other half are homeless. Only a few of us have actual jobs.” He brought her out to the ''lobby'' of the makeshift robot-fighting stadium. It was the first room from the main entrance, filled with old couches and rusty fold-up chairs. “But all of us are also really into robots. It's why all of us kinda flipped our shit when we found you... You were asleep for that, but there was a little riot to get into the room to see you.”
“Why are so many criminals and homeless ponies into fighting robots?” She gave him an odd look.
“There aren't,” he said as if it was obvious, “Most ponies couldn't give a shit... We get, hmm... Four hundred? Yeah, about four hundred on a good day in the stadium. I think there was five this week because it was the finals, but either way, compared to the crime rate, that's less than one percent of the city, even less with the poor. We are a minority of the minorities.”
“Oh...” Cardinal replied, disappointed by the state of things. Cardinal stopped around the center of the room, seeing that there were a few other ponies at the exit preparing something. “Hello.” She nodded to them, giving them a smile. One of the ponies trotted up, holding a one-sided saddlebag in their teeth. They placed it down on the floor in front of Cardinal.
“Your things, miss.” The pony gave a quick bow.
Cardinal scooped up the bag in her hoof, flipping it open to peer inside.
Inside there was her amulet, which she bit down onto the chain and threw it around her neck, the white princess chess piece, a map and a yellow can of spray-paint.
She turned back up to the pony, grinning. “Thank you, so much.”
“I's nothin’, miss.” They nodded and trotted back to their friends, every once in a while looking back at Cardinal like a giddy fangirl meeting their favorite star.
Cardinal threw the bag onto her back, hanging it onto her wing. “So I guess this is goodbye?” she said as the two of them approached the small door in the top right corner of the room.
“I guess it is. You be safe out there, alright? And come back to visit whenever. We'd love to see you again.”
“I'll make sure to return soon, after.”
“What'd ya say you were going to do now?” He said, hoof against the handle of the door.
“I'm going to see an old friend one more time, then I'll go live in the forest for a bit, until the attention I've drawn dies down.”
“A forest? Good luck finding one outside the city. Most of it's been cut down. There's a small one a few miles west of the city, but it is pretty small.”
“Well, it'll do. See you soon, Joint.”
“Have a good one, dude.”
Cardinal raised a brow.
“Dudete, sorry.” He pulled down on the handle, but with a loud crash, somepony busted through the door, knocking Joint out of the way and slightly dazing Cardinal. “What the..?”
“JOINT! IS CARDINAL STILL...” The pony shouted out into the room, stopping in her tracks as she saw the new and improved Cardinal. “Here...” Surrie whispered, shocked at her friend's new apperance.
“Surrie!” Cardinal, now unfazed, jumped over to Surrie and hugged her.
“Y-you’re...” Surrie stuttered, amazed.
“I told you we'd fixed her up real good,” Joint said, pulling himself back up. “Grand job the lads did, am I right?”
Cardinal pulled away from the hug, the two of them looking into each others eyes with Surrie's hooves planted onto Cardinal's shoulders. “Wow...”
“Surrie, how did you find me?” Cardinal spoke giddily.
“I set up connections with ponies all over the city, Joint being one of them... How you get all of this done in just a day?!?” She turned to her contact.
Joint shrugged “Got a lot of talented ponies in here.” He took a step closer to her. “What took ya so long?”
“I got arrested, again. Apparently leading a movement against the government to protect Cardinal doesn't make you very popular with the Guards. They just released me an hour ago. I galloped all the way here after.”
“Why did they let you leave?” Cardinal asked.
“Don't know. They gave me back all my shit too.” She levitated a phone out of her jacket, showing it to Cardinal.
“Surrie!” Cardinal shouted, panicked by what she realized.
“I took the tracker out, Cardinal, calm down. I also took out the other three in my jacket, my wallet and in my hair, which I am still puzzled about how they got one in there.”
“Oh, ok. You scared me.”
Joint held the door open, “Well, as I was saying before you rolled up... Good luck out there, Cardinal. make us proud.”
“Where are you going, Cardinal?” Surrie asked as she watched her trot to the door.
“To see a friend, first, then find a place to hide and wait this thing out.”
“A friend?”
“Her name is Bun. I'll explain on the way.”
With that, the two mares walked out of the building, being waved out by Joint.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
“Yes!” Cardinal pressed up against the glass, spying into Bun's house from the back.
“Well she isn't here. She's probably in school.”
Cardinal hopped around to Surrie, the hood on her disguise, a large jacket and skirt which Surrie had bought from a store for her, fell down as she landed her hooves into the dirt. “What time is it?”
“Six thirty...” she said, pulling up her phone and seeing the clock.
“Exactly.” Cardinal pointed out, turning her head back toward the glass, hoping to see her friend.
Surrie tapped her hoof, dying to leave as she watched Cardinal's head jump around, looking into the house.
Cardinal couldn't find her. She dropped her head in disappointment, sighing.
A faint buzz came from behind her, causing her to jump up. “What is that?!” Cardinal twisted around, looking at Surrie.
“It's only my phone. Let me take this.” She took out her phone, pulling it up to her ear as she trotted further back into the yard, moving out of Cardinal's earshot.
“Diamond? Is that you?” Surrie said to the pony over the phone.
Cardinal watched her as Surrie was listening, letting the other pony speak.
“N-no, of course not, if I knew where she was...” Her sentence was cut off.
“What's wrong?” Cardinal asked, trotting up to her friend.
“W-what? No, I don't...” Surrie continued.
Surrie stopped pacing around, her head falling as if she was just stabbed in the heart, contemplating a question before whispering it out. “And... And what if she doesn't go?”
“What if who doesn't go?” Cardinal prodded her, being ignored.
“Fine... But I swear to Celestia, Diamond, you will rot in tartarus for this.” She shut off her phone, throwing it in her pocket.
Cardinal shook Surrie's shoulder, “What is it?!?”
“It's...” She sighed, looking up into Cardinal's eyes, “It's your friend, Cardinal, the Royal Guard have captured Bun and are threatening to kill her unless you surrender yourself.”
“W-w... Wh...” Cardinal fell back, falling down onto the ground, her expression bleak and empty. Her head slowly tilted down, she began to breath heavily and a low growl came from her. “Where.”
“West, outside of the city near Discovery Peak. Diamond says they will give her back only once you’re detained.”
“We're going, now.”
“Cardinal, please, let's think this through, first. You know they’re going to kill you!” Surrie attempted to stop Cardinal as she stood up and began stomping out.
Cardinal stopped, slowly turning her head around, back to Surrie. “What is there to think through, Surrie? I'm going to go there, get Bun into safety, and then kill them. All of them.”
“Cardinal, you don't want to just fall into their trap! You know better!”
“Surrie, I do. So please, trust me.” She pulled up her hood, covering her head.
Surrie sighed, “Fine, give me the map. I'll show you where we're going.”
“Are you sure this is the place?”
“That there is Discovery Peak,” Surrie replied.
The two of them stood at the base of the slope of the giant mountain, a steep cliff at the top. They began trotting up, the sun gently bidding the world goodnight as it set in the west, hidden from their sight by the grassy incline. They followed a rugged dirt path upward, paved by ponies who came before them, leading all the way to the edge. This spot was a very popular one for tourists. Being quite close to the city, it provided the greatest view in Equestria. Or, at least, that is what all of the advertisements from Manehattan claimed.
On their way up, Cardinal could see nopony else, apart from Surrie. Neither were there trees or bushes for anyone to use for cover. The landscape seemed extremely worn and used, the grass spotty in places.
After their lengthy walk up to the cliff, the two of them held their ground, seeing the marvelous view. The bumpy, clean landscape went on for miles, finally reaching a small forest, which perfectly aligned with the sunset, sending parted gleams of red sunlight coursing through the air up to them.
“Huh,” Surrie mumbled.
“What?” Cardinal paid heed to her.
“I've never been up here, but that forest there, there's this large outdoor recreation camp. I used to go there as a filly for summer camp.”
“What is it called? The forest.”
“I don't know. I don't think that part has a name. They cut it down so much of it since, that they couldn't classify it as a woodland anymore. It use to span from all the way from the south to the north over there... Pity, really.”
“Yeah...” Cardinal agreed with disappointment.
“Should I call Diamond and tell him we're here already?”
“Go ahead...” Cardinal sat down on the edge of the cliff as Surrie went off, calling up Diamond.
As she waited for Surrie to finish up, Cardinal stared intently at the sunset. The beautiful aura of colours poured into the atmosphere, a beauty wasted on such a terrible place. Cardinal threw off her hood, unzipping the jacket and throwing it off the cliff, then tearing the skirt and doing the same, ditching her disguise.
“He says one minute.” Surrie trotted over, sliding her phone down her pocket. “Now, can we go over whatever plan you have cooked up so at least I'm on the same page?”
“I need to find out one thing once they get here,” Cardinal said, not leaving the sunset with her eyes.
“And that is?” Surrie sat down next to Cardinal, noticing the immense cliff beneath them, certainly a fatal drop.
“Whether or not they are willing to kill Bun.”
“How are you going to figure that out?” Surrie was genuinely curious.
“I can-” Cardinal was cut off by the shout of somepony behind them.
“Step away from the edge and approach us slowly, do not brandish any weapons or we will kill the filly!”
Cardinal and Surrie hopped up, turning around to look down the hill at a large battalion of Royal Guard, the pony speaking seemed to be the Captain. “That's it, nice and slow!”
Apart from the twenty or so regular guards in the back lines, there was the Captain, Diamond at her right side, looking quite uneasy, and four Guards wearing the same Juggernaut suit that Holly had been. One of them, at the Captain's left side was holding Bun in his grasp, a pistol magically being levitated to the filly's head.
Bun had been crying for what looked like hours by how red her eyes were, only a spark of hope coming to them as she saw Cardinal.
“Release her,” Cardinal demanded, not moving from her spot at the cliff's edge.
“We will be doing no such thing until you surrender!” The captain shouted back, utterly peeved.
Cardinal turned her head to Surrie, receiving a worried look of uncertainty. Cardinal turned away and took a few steps toward the battalion, flipping up her mask.
As she moved in closer, each of the Royal Guards hoisted their weapons up, aiming at her and ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Cardinal felt a cold shiver run down her spine, she knew she couldn't win this fight. Fighting one pony in one of those suits was difficult enough for her, but this was far more than she could handle.
Although as these doubts ran through her thoughts, she noticed something.
They were all shaking.
All of the Royal Guards were pissing themselves. They all knew what she had done before in the past, and taking another look at herself, she realized how her fear factor had risen expediently. She couldn't run or fight, but she didn't need to. All she needed to do was make them think she could.
Taking a bold stride toward them, she turned a viscous eye, hidden behind her mask, at the pony holding her friend, who was struggling to get free.
She gave him a long and painful stare, seeing the gun in the air quiver.
“Lie down onto the floor with your legs spread out!” The Captain blared at her, thinking that Cardinal was in fact about to surrender herself. “Or the filly gets it!” She added for good measure.
Cardinal dismissed her completely, not even regarding her with a look. “You're not going to kill her, are you?” She spoke to the pony holding her friend hostage. Seeing the fear she sent through him pulse.
“I will! Don't you get a step closer!” the Guard ordered, sounding quite menacing and heartless with the grit of the artificial voice amp.
She felt her power, sending her gaze to the rest of the Royal Guard on her left, watching them all recoil before she did the same to the right.
Cardinal grinned, turning around, she walked back up the hill up to the cliff edge beside Surrie once more.
“HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE!” The Captain shouted, the rest of her squad exchanging confused chatter. “WE WILL KILL HER! I SWEAR ON CELESTIA'S NAME!”
“Do it then.” Cardinal casually remarked, strolling back up to a shocked Surrie.
“WH... Wha...” The Captain stuttered, genuinely confused.
Cardinal looked over her shoulder at her, still smiling.
“Do it! Shoot her!” The Captain turned to the pony holding her. The filly kicked and screamed in fear as the pony hesitated, not willing to pull the trigger. “What is wrong with you, soldier?!?” She beckoned him to shoot the filly.
“STOP!” Diamond finally snapped, moving between the Captain and filly, turning to the pony. “Let her go.”
“YOU WILL NOT LET HER GO!” The Captain grabbed Diamond, who turned to her and shoved her back.
“THIS IS MY PLAN! LET ME CALL THE FUCKING SHOTS FOR ONCE, ALRIGHT!?!” He blared at her, stunning her as she was clearly no longer in control of her pack.
“Let her go.” Diamond gave a quick look to the pony over his shoulder, who quickly released the filly.
“CARDI!!!” The filly screamed, galloping with all the might in her tiny legs up toward Cardinal, who embraced her in a tight hug with warm hooves.
The two of them cried onto each other's shoulders as they both burst into joyful tears.
“Guess I no longer owe you a hug, huh?” Cardinal whispered into the filly's ear, who just giggled.
Cardinal stroked the filly's mane, comforting her as they gradually pulled away from one and other.
“You look new again, all different!” the filly exclaimed.
“I know, I got fixed. Are you ok? Did they hurt you?”
“N-no... But they did shout at me a lot...” The filly stuttered as she finished the sentence, biting her bottom lip as she remembered something. “I'm, I'm sorry...”
“What for?” Cardinal now was crouched down at the filly's height, holding up her mane from covering her face.
“I-I, I told them I knew you, and, and that is why they did this... It was my fault.”
“No, no, come on. It wasn't your fault, not at all.” Cardinal said with a cheering warmth.
“It isn't?”
“No, it isn't. Those ponies are just bullies. They are mean to you because they are jealous of us.”
“Really?” She cracked a smile.
“Yeah, really. They don't want us to be happy because they aren't happy. That's why they keep picking on me, and now they are picking on you because we are friends.”
“Yeah... You're right.” Bun wiped away a tear.
“Now, here, let me introduce you to one of my other friends.” Cardinal motioned for Surrie to come over, who was as baffled as she was amazed.
“This is Surrie. She is going to take you home and make sure you are safe.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I am going to make sure that these bullies never hurt me, you, or anypony ever again. Alright?”
“Yeah... Alright. See you later.”
Surrie gave Cardinal a knowing nod before she crouched down, a smile appearing on her face as she approached the filly. “So, you are Cardinal's best friend I've heard so much about.”
“Best friend? Wh-what other things did she say?” The filly was gently pulled away by the hoof by Surrie, getting her to trot away with her.
Cardinal's eyes jumped as she had an idea, “Hey, Bun!”
Bun spun around. “Yes?”
Cardinal reached into her saddlebag with her extensively flexible neck, lifting out a can of yellow spray paint and rolling it over to the filly.
“Rainbowdash looks like she could use some repairs.”
The filly giggled, Surrie picking up the can for her telekinetically.
Cardinal watched as the two of them turned away and walked down the soft slope. The guards doing nothing as they strode passed.
An awkward, silent stand-off played out as Bun and Surrie trotted away.
Once she saw them reach a safe distance from the Royal Guard, Cardinal turned herself back toward the cliff, sitting down to watch the sun set once more.
A confused and terrified hushed whisper went around the Guards, finally being ended by Diamond. “LET ME! Alright, let me talk to her.”
Before long, Cardinal heard the steps approach from behind her, Diamond soon appearing at her side and sitting next to her.
He sat down calmly, trying to keep up a smile. “Hey, there...”
Cardinal shifted her eyes to him, then back to the horizon, her head perfectly stationary.
“I'm sorry for this, dirty trick. We needed to make sure you came. We want to make a deal. It's what I wanted to talk to you about back at the facility...”
She didn't give the slightest implication that she was listening to him.
“Twilight and the Royal Guard, they want to keep everypony safe. That includes you.”
“They shot at me,” she said with her stone cold voice.
“They were scared, Cardinal. They wanted to defend themselves... They've seen what you can do.” Diamond flinched as she turned her head to him.
Flipping open her mask she asked him a question, “What's this ''deal'' you speak of? Is it like the bullshit deal I was given when I first met Seeker? Because I have no interest in going to wherever Canterlot is.” She lowered her brow.
“N-no!” Diamond replied with a panic. “We want to bring you to somewhere safe, isolated from anypony else. Where you can live your life without us interrupting.”
“Where would that be?” She asked, wondering what they possible could have in mind for her.
“There is a large forest outside of Equestria. It's full of bunnies and plants and all those things you like. It's also far away from other ponies, so nopony can come and hurt you and you can't hurt anypony else. All you have to do is come with us. Let us help you.”
“And this is what Twilight wants, even after I killed all of those ponies?” Cardinal swayed her head back to the horizon, growing tired of this conversation.
“She wants as much of a peaceful resolution as she can get. So does the Captain, though she may not act like it.” Diamond tried to be comforting while being set uneasy by her occasional glares.
Cardinal gave a quick glare back, the Captain was watching intently, a still burning fire in her eyes whenever they met with Cardinal's. Her entire battalion was preparing themselves for anything, but showing signs of hope as they watched, ever so slightly dropping their weapons, even if it was on a subconscious level.
She turned back to Diamond. “Why should I trust you?” She asked him with a sense of menace in her voice.
“You know me, Cardinal. I was friends with Seeker... A bit more than friends, actually. She trusted me with her life. You can too.” He put a hoof on her shoulder.
Cardinal sighed. “So this isn't a plot to get me to surrender so you can execute me without me being able to fight back?”
“I would never do such a thing to you, Cardinal.” Diamond and Cardinal locked eyes. He gave a genuine smile as she saw Cardinal soften up.
She looked almost disappointed by the answer. “Alright.” She gradually stood up, taking her sweet time as she stretched out her legs.
The two of them, standing dangerously close to the cliff's edge, turned their backs to the view and faced toward the Royal Guard, who were still in their defensive position.
“She's coming with us!” Diamond yelled back, delighted. This even gave the Captain a grin.
“Diamond...” she said sheepishly, drawing him near. “This is the last time I'll ask. Do you promise they aren't going to hurt me if I come with you?” she asked, as if she trying to deny the truth she knew.
He looked directly into her eyes, with an almost cocky smile. “I promise, you'll be safe.”
“Well then... I'm sorry,” she replied. Putting her own hoof onto his shoulder, gently placing it there as her face filled with discontent.
“Sorry for what?” he asked, bewildered.
Cardinal looked deep into his eyes, seeing the slightest hint of fear.
“I can tell when somepony is lying...”
His heart skipped a beat as he was reminded, and before he could react, Cardinal wrapped the hoof on his shoulder around his neck.
“PLEASE, NO!” he shouted out as she swung her leg, throwing him by the neck down to the side.
He scrambled as his chest and forelegs hung over the edge, he looked down, screaming at the top of his lungs as he saw the immense drop. He tried to scrape back up, but he had no time to save himself as Cardinal threw a quaking punch down into the dirt, the ground rumbling as the dirt beneath the two of them came loose with a large crack and slid out of its spot in one large chunk.
Cardinal casually sidestepped, watching Diamond finish pulling himself back up as the ground he laid on fell. He tried to jump back at Cardinal, Not fast enough, he came down with the chunk of earth.
Cardinal peered over the edge, watching him fall across the cliff's jagged, rough, exposed stone face.
The yelling and crying was put to an end as Diamond smacked against an extruding lip in the cliff's face, being knocked out instantly, leaving a splatter of blood on the stone, his side cut and crushed, his head bleeding out of the muzzle.
Her emotionless face remained unmoved as she watched, even once the Guards began firing at her, the bullets feeling like a light hail plinking off of her armor.
Soon, the question of whether or not Diamond had died yet was answered quite decisively as his unresistant body flopped through the air and into another, larger extruding rock. Landing on it with his neck, his entire upper body became disfigured and his head cracked and bent back before gently sliding off and continuing in his topple down the cliff.
Cardinal, now satisfied, spread out her wings to their full span and flipped up her mask, taking a step forward, she leaned over the edge. As she hopped down, she could hear the Guards rushing behind her, the Captain barking the order to go and get her.
As Cardinal began to nose dive down, she angled her wings, allowing her body to gradually shift from falling down to where Diamond's corpse had splattered, to gliding toward the horizon with an incredibly quick speed, dashing through the air faster than most Pegasi.
“CALL TWILIGHT, NOW!” she heard from behind her as the Royal Guard's barrage ended, all of them now standing at the edge and watching Cardinal glide away from them at an insane speed.
The gentle grass caressed the tips of her hooves as she floated just above the ground, coming to a landing.
She took a few running steps, slowing down as she lowered her wings, her flight coming to a soft and pleasant landing.
Cardinal turned her head backward, seeing the cliff in the distance. The Royal Guard had cleared from the top, most likely starting their search for her.
Cardinal paid no mind to them, taking in her surroundings filled with a new sensation of hope.
She was walking along a beautiful open plain, nothing but her, the grass, and the sunlight. It was moving into the evening, the sun still brightening Equestria with its lovely heat on this fair-weathered day.
The forest of no name was close. Cardinal knew she could make it there before nightfall.
She began lightly trotting down the field, content.
Cardinal took in the fresh air as she strolled, feeling like all of her worries have begun to fade. She had saved her friend, she was healed and she had come to peace with herself.
Surrie wasn't kidding about what she said, it soon came clear how much the ponies have cut down of this forest as she scaled the horizon. Further than she could see, there were stumps coming out of the small patch of forest still remaining, stretching out to forever to either side.
This left Cardinal with a heavy heart. It was almost as bad when she saw her own forest burn to mere ash.
With a sigh, she lifted her head and continued forward. She was going to fix it. She could now.
The sky began to tint darker and deeper as the sun hid from the world. Cardinal walked to the small patch of forest.
Now looking at it from up close, she could see the edges in scale, the entire forest approximately the width of a few city blocks. It had a large and strong cast of deciduous trees packed together in this little sanctuary, most of them lacking their leaves, a very select few still holding on with beautiful purples as they fought against the cold. Old tracks from heavy machinery could still be spotted beneath the regenerating grass. Stray logs of lumber thrown about and never bothered to be collected were now covered in moss, the earth slowly digesting the trunks as the wood rotted back into the ground.
Cardinal looked behind her once more, seeing the cliff far off in the distance. Nopony was there watching her anymore. Perhaps they are now after her, or hopefully, they have given up. With a hopeful thought of not being found, Cardinal turned away and went to trot into the forest.
As she spun around, she saw a fox prowling around the foliage, hunting with its head low. At first, Cardinal thought it was the Fox, but as it came to the edge of the forest and spotted Cardinal, it became stunned, as if it was scared of seeing a pony.
Cardinal felt a strange sense of joy as she saw a wild fox once more, instead of her old, shape-shifting friend.
It growled, slowly stepping backward as it tried to escape from Cardinal's path. She took a step forward, trying to be as non threatening as she could.
Then, her head flew back in a jarring confusion as she heard the fox quack like a duck, “WAAK! WAAK!” It cried out at her, creating a bewildered look on her face.
It wasn't long before the ''wild'' fox couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. He fell onto his side, laughing his ass off.
Cardinal took a second before she shook her head and chuckled herself. Hi, Fox.
Ha! Your damn face! You should have seen it! You were all like, he made a creative rendition of what Cardinal looked like with his fox expression. Holy shit, I got you, too!
What do you mean you 'got me'? she said in between chuckles as she shifted into the forest, going to the Fox.
That's what I mean. It took me an entire week, but you finally laughed at one of my jokes!
That was... Stupid. Really, really stupid. What are you even doing here? I seem to be in perfect health, currently.
What? Can't I just visit because I want to? They began walking alongside one another, going deeper into the forest along an overgrown path, being led to someplace.
It's not like you to want to visit. You’re much more of the ‘I'm going to wait for the worst possible moment to appear, be snarky about it, and then tell me off for being stupid before you help me out of that spot’ type.
You know me too well! That's why I have to keep you on your toes, sis. Can't have you just predicting my actions.
So is that all? Came here for the joke?
Well, I also wanted to see the place we're going to be spending the rest of our existence. He hopped between bush and bark, taking in the little forest.
The rest of our existence? Cardinal had never thought about how long she intended to hide, and the thought of this forest becoming her new, permanent home had piqued her interest.
Do you plan on leaving?
Not exactly... Maybe to visit Bun or Surrie.
He climbed onto a toppled log in their path, standing up tall on his hind legs. My point exactly. This is your new home, Cardinal! Take a second, breath in that beautiful forest air. I would if I existed! He raised his two paws into the air, pretending to take a huge breath.
Cardinal took her own breath, although smaller. It was a bliss. The mossy, wooden aroma filled the air.
This place is perfect. He stood down, turning back to Cardinal. Could use some expansion. Feels a little claustrophobic for a forest, don't you think?
She trotted up to the log and began to lean on it with her two front legs, slightly propping herself up to look at eye level with the Fox. We have time, Fox. Calm yourself. We will grow it soon. Don't you remember I am still being hunted?
That may be true, but do you really think they are going to be able to find you? Manehattan is quite the distance away. He reached out a paw in Manehattan's direction, as if he was trying to point it out to her.
She did not bother to turn around. Even if there wasn't half a forest blocking her view, she knew she would be unable to see Manehattan. I'm just acknowledging that it's not over yet. Let the dust settle before we do.
Yes, you are right. Make sure Twilight is finished first, but go and explore; rest. you deserve it. I bid you goodnight, Cardinal.
Goodnight, Fox.
The Fox slipped down from the log, vanishing behind it.
Cardinal went to continue down the path, the forest giving her a feeling of familiarity in this foreign world.
In good time, Cardinal found where the path lead as she approached a moss covered, pony-made archway. It held an engraved wooden sign, reading ''Camp Foxtrot''.
Intrigued, Cardinal quickened her pace as she cantered through, finding herself entering a large, decrepit camp, a few dozen cabins of all sorts circled around the fireplace in the center. Around the fireplace was an open area, where all the paths connected to, leading to all the other segments.
Everything was worn down to the bone, buildings decaying and succumbing to the nature around them. Cardinal trotted into the center and looked all around her, realizing that not just was this the camp Surrie had attended as a child, but this is most likely reason this last bit of the forest was not cut down. It must be private land.
Going along and surveying every building, Cardinal spotted a lodge that stuck out from the others with its upkeep. It was clean of any rouge plant life and the path had been recently cleared outside of it.
Cardinal went up to the door and pressed it gently. It opened without resistance, softly gliding open.
Cardinal peeked her head inside. Seeing into the dark room, the glow from her eyes revealing floating dust.
She stepped in, “Hello?”
She did not receive a response.
Going further into the room, she could barely see a thing, bumping into a stand at the wall.
Cardinal looked down and saw a candle sitting on the stand. She lowered her jaw and flicked down her flamethrower, toning it down until she sent out a flame barely reaching out of her mouth. She lit the candle, then sheathed her flame, looking around the room.
It was a humble living space, a low tech kitchen and traditional dining area all connected together to a bedroom on the other side of the lodge.
Cardinal jumped back when she noticed a pony in the bed, fast asleep.
As she backed up she stopped for a moment, seeing something was not right with them. “H-hello?”
They still didn't respond. In fact, they seemed to be completely still.
Cardinal softly trotted over to the bedside, looking down at the extremely aged pony body laying in the bed.
They weren't breathing.
She placed her hoof onto the pony's side, giving them a gentle shake. “Hello?”
Cardinal shifted her hoof over to his neck, pressing down lightly she noticed their lack of a pulse. They had died, not too long ago.
Her eyes were then drawn toward the bedside table, a folded piece of paper lying on it with a fresh ink and quill alongside it.
Cardinal hesitantly unfolded the paper, revealing its hoof-written contents.
She began to whisper aloud as she read, “My dearest Silver Lining, I thank you for coming... I understand why you have not been responding to my letters over these last years, and I am truly sorry for what I have done and I understand why you would not want to speak with me. I know I cannot make it up to you. This place is not worth a portion of what we had, so I know it is not enough, but it is all I can give you. In the wardrobe, there is the deed to the camp and all of its acres. You can finally sell it as you always told me to do. This entire camp could go up in a blaze and I wouldn't give a damn. Not anymore, at least. It is a shame I never got to see your face in the flesh again, but if you are reading this, that means it was my time. Just know that I regretted nothing more than choosing this place over you. My sincerest apologies and love, Grey Cloud.”
She turned her head up from the letter, placing it back down onto the wooden surface of the nightstand. Then she opened the drawer, finding the small certificate of Camp Foxtrot, sitting next to a thick book titled ''The Journal of Camp Foxtrot''.
Cardinal shut the drawer, giving one downcast glance toward Gray Cloud before leaving the cabin.
She then found another, similar cabin that was just slightly more decayed than the one she had left, where she then spent the night resting, waiting for and hoping against an attack from the Royal Guard.
Cardinal fiddled with the locket around her neck, leisurely playing with it as she waited. The night had passed almost like a breeze, a calm flow of time with no rush to go anywhere.
She hadn't been disturbed since she stepped inside of this humble little cabin. Now that the soft chirping of birds broke through the cracks, she raised her head with a wholesome safety swelling in her heart. Twilight had not come for her. Or, at least, she had not found her.
Cardinal propped herself up onto a leg, stretching her head, and then soon after, her legs. Like a cat, she pulled down her head and raised her flank, then doing the opposite, feeling relaxed.
She searched around the room, noticing a long, bright red strip of light running across the ground in the center of the room. Her eyes running down it, she found the curtain that held back the sun from entering through the window.
Cardinal swung each curtain to her left and right respectively, seeing the newly rising sun give way to tomorrow.
The all mighty sun's rays dodged around the many bare trees, reaching Cardinal, despite the obstacles, bringing new life to the wilderness. She left the cabin, feeling the gentle, cold air whisper to her as it grazed along her cheeks.
The camp was still. The wind had been calm throughout the night, and remained so now. Cardinal took a stroll around the entire camp, seeing the several rows of large tables, where an entire festival of ponies could be sat. She found the outhouses. The recreation area was filled with old, tattered camping equipment.
She then proceeded to explore the forest, seeing a few odd critters here and there, waking up to begin their day's work. From the few wild birds, to the foxes on the prowl, all of the forest animals came together here, animal population denser than nature had originally intended, due to the lack of space. She even thought she spotted a white rabbit go by.
Eventually, Cardinal found herself at the edge of the forest, being met by nature's graveyard.
An entire field was nothing more than stumps and wasted logs thrashed and chopped to bits. She could even spot out a few old strips of marking tape and bits and bobs from heavy machinery that had been left behind like a hoofprint on a murder victim's body.
Cardinal had a subconscious reaction. She instinctively grabbed hold of the locket, pressing her hoof over it.
She took a glance down, close to her heart as she lifted it up.
With an eager and careful approach, Cardinal used her wing to flip open the locket.
Instantly feeling the strength leave her, as her head was tugged down by its own weight, she took a deep breath and lifted up her eyelids, seeing the ground beneath her begin to flourish with new life. The grass became thicker and taller as small saplings began to sprout, flower stems floating up above the grass and opening with a grateful welcoming of sunlight.
As Cardinal felt herself about to go over the edge she shut the locket with her hoof, pressing it against her chest as she took a breath.
She opened her eyes once more to see her work. Around her, in a clear circle, was a stunning example of life's beauty. Every tree had regained its lost leaves, and new trees had formed on the side of death. Not to mention that her step was now met with a cushioned pillow of grass whenever she moved to sniff at the new dandelions clustered about.
Her heart was filled with both a sense of accomplishment, and new beginning, seeing that she had barely made a scratch upon the surface of this forest. By her estimates, if she were to do this a few times a day, it would take her years to regrow the entire thing, and she was prepared for it.
Cardinal went to trot back to her new home, but as she turned her back, she heard a shout behind her. “HALT!” somepony yelled at her.
She spun around to see a frightened Royal Guard Pegasus holding up a spear in Cardinal's direction, shaking as the robot faced her.
“Stop, in the name of Princess Twi-” She didn't even finish her sentence before Cardinal had made her way on top of the pony, throwing them down onto the ground.
The guard had dropped her spear and covered her face in both wings and hooves, sent to the brink of tears.
Cardinal, with one swift punch, sent the Guard's head to the side, not moving as her legs flopped to the side.
Cardinal then quickly checked for a pulse, relieved when she found one along the pony’s neck.
She then dragged the unconscious pony back into the forest, in fear of her being found or waking up and exposing her position. The guard was bought into the first cabin Cardinal found, then tied up by some spare rope, which the camp was riddled with, along with multi-tool knives and fire starters.
Cardinal then sat looking at the guard, waiting for her to inevitably awake.
Although before the pony reawakened, her radio sparked to life. “Ell, please check in.”
Cardinal hopped up from the ground, snapping the radio off of the ponies uniform.
“Ell, are you there?”
Cardinal threw the radio onto the ground, stamping it into bits of scrap on the ground.
“Shit,” Cardinal exclaimed, noticing the Royal Guard's head bob up with a slight groan.
Soon, the pony spotted the monstrous beast of a robot standing over her. She fell onto her side as she struggled, realizing the restraints both sets of her hooves and wings were bound to.
“Please! Don't hurt me!” she pleaded to Cardinal, who just sighed in disappointment and leaned down to the trembling Royal Guard.
“I'm going to need you to answer a few questions.” She forcibly dragged the pony back to sitting up straight, her armor scraping against the wooden wall behind her. “Anything! I'll tell you anything!” she replied.
“How many others are around here?” Cardinal asked, her grizzly feminine voice right in the ponies face.
“I-I don't know, at least fifty...” she answered, trying to veer her muzzle away from the angry death machine.
“What kind of equipment are they armed with?” Cardinal pressed the pony harder against the wall every time she struggled.
“I'm just a scout! We have a bunch of ponies in juggernaut suits, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, fuck, even Twilight is-”
“FLAMETHROWERS?” Cardinal screamed in her face, the fact she tried to brush past the fact they were bringing flamethrowers into a forest.
“Y-yes...”
“FUCK!” Cardinal pushed off, standing back up and pacing back and forth, looking out the window she saw nopony, only a small rabbit eating some stray grass. She eventually trotted to the door and bursting out of it onto the path outside.
She turned her head to see the pony grabbing her waist, where the radio had just been. The realization that it was lying in front of her in bits had just set in.
“Try something, and next time I won't be so fucking generous by sparing you.” Cardinal stated before slamming the door shut, leaving the pony in the pitch black cabin.
What do I do now, Fox!? She ran into the opposite cabin, leaning against the wall and speaking out to in the general direction of the rabbit, who cocked back his head in surprise.
How did you... The rabbit began speaking with the Fox's tone, being cut off by a deadpan stare from Cardinal.
Well, if the Guard are here, just leave and hide for now. Come back after. I don't see too much of a problem. The fox morphed back into its own form.
That's the thing, Fox, if I leave, they are going to burn this place down to ash just looking for me. You know they will.
What do you want to do, fight them? You know you can't do that.
Cardinal didn't respond verbally, just swaying her head away from the Fox.
You can't, Cardinal... You aren't strong enough, even with the upgrades!
What other choice do I have? I don't want to, but what I fear is that there is nothing else I can do!
Sis, I don't think it's the smart choice. To be honest, I wouldn't place my bets on you... But, you have done some shit I never thought possible. I never thought one of you would ever get out of stage one, especially not make it into the real world.
So you want me to fight?
I want you to do whatever you think is right, somewhat so you can't blame me for when you fail, but also cause I am open to being proven wrong.
Yeah... I think this is right. I think this is what I have to do... This is what I need to do, and I can do this.
Good luck, see you on the other side, sis. Don't die on me! The fox sprinted off, disappearing around a corner.
I'll try... she whispered, sighing to herself.
She looked up, down the path of the camp, past the gate in the distance, she saw an orange glow. “I'll try.”
She pushed off the wall, taking a closer look at the light. It was far brighter than the sun's rays, not to mention it was on the opposite side of the forest from the sunrise.
Cardinal began trotting to the gate, beginning to see the black smoke tower up into the sky at the entrance to the forest.
She arrived at the archway, looking to all her sides as she heard movement as forest critters began sprinting away from the forest fire.
Cardinal looked down at herself, a wandering eye leading down to her bag. She reached into it, finding only the white princess chess piece inside.
She took it out and gave it a good look up and down. She was about to go into a battle where she was outnumbered and outgunned heavily. If she let herself lose the element of surprise, she would surely fall. No, if she was going to win this, she would have to out strategize them. In fact, if Princess Twilight Sparkle was indeed here and leading the charge, and Cardinal managed to take her out, then the rest of them would surely stand down or flee.
It was no more complicated than a game of chess.
Cardinal tucked the piece back into her one sided saddlebag, patting it for comfort after she closed the bag's flap.
She gave the slightest flinch as flocks of birds crashed their wings over her, nearly leading her to collapse into the dirt.
Although her eyes just ended up on the sign, she gave it a nod and then placed a hoof onto the right archway beam, grazing it a few times. “You're not burning down today, not as long as I still stand,” she said to herself, feeling the attachment already growing strong with this place as she let herself slide off, turning out to the forest.
Cardinal then stepped forward, now officially outside of the inner camp, and she flipped up her mask with one fluid swipe. She stretched her hooves out, making sure all of her weaponry was fully functional
She then raised her head up high, taking in a calming breath. Her eyes shot open, now blood red.
“My turn.”
She ducked into the forest, beginning her hunt.