//------------------------------// // Welcome To The Team // Story: Fight As One // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// One Month Ago... The sounds of a cold icy wind blowing filled the air, causing Sterling to shiver. "Can somepony close that window?" Sterling thought aloud. Opening, Sterling found himself back in the Infinity, much to his surprise. The area was unusually dark, the wall torches all out. "What the... what am I doing back here?" He frowned. "I never wanted to come back to this place... and why is it so dark in here?" Sterling looked around, and saw that the darkness wasn't the only strange thing about the place. "It's so empty." He frowned. "So quiet... what's going on?" His hoof suddenly bumped against something. Looking down at the obstruction, he saw a horrifying sight. It was Ricochet, one of his closest friends, and former comrades among the Forefathers. His body had bolts sticking in him everywhere, presumably having been involved in a vicious shootout… and he lost terribly. "No..." He whispered, aghast, “Ricochet…” As he looked around, his blood grew colder, as he saw the dead bodies of his other friends: Doc and Ignite, their broken bodies sprawled on the floor. Ignite had a few bolts in him… and Doc just had one bolt in his forehead, piercing his mask. "No, no, no..." He shook his head. "What happened here?" Sterling was afraid to go any further, but a morbid curiosity had overtaken him. As marched further into the darkness, he witnessed the most unnerving sight of all: Loveless Irons, his mentor, was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, his wheelchair overturned and shattered nearby. "Loveless!" Sterling yelled, rushing to him. "No, not you too!" Sterling cradled Loveless's prone body. As if in response, Loveless suddenly let out an agonizing wheeze. "Loveless, you're still alive!" Sterling realized. "St-Sterling?" Loveless groaned. "Just stay with me." Sterling urged. "I'll get you some help-" "Why?" Loveless suddenly asked. "...What do you mean?" Sterling frowned. "Why... did you do this... to us...?" Loveless croaked. "Me?" Sterling gaped. "But... I didn't..." Expelling his final breath, Loveless slumped backwards, his eyes rolling back in his head. "No, please..." Sterling shook Loveless's lifeless body. "Don't leave me!" "Mission accomplished." Sterling turned, and saw Elite emerging from the shadows. Besides him was that bald stallion that Sterling faced during the ambush against Black Knight. If he recalled, his name was Ballista or something... "Congratulating on a job well done, Sterling." Elite declared, a rather twisted grin on his face. "Yep." Ballista nodded smugly. "Couldn't have done it without you." “Wait… you did this?” Sterling mumbled… before glaring at Elite, “You… we had a deal! You swore that-” "Oh, please." Elite scoffed. "You should had known that we don't make deals with terrorists." "The only reason we were even looking for you was so you could help us take down your Forefather buddies." Ballista added. "And who would be better suited for that job than one of their own." "You were just using me all this time?" Sterling scowled. “It was nothing personal. Just business.” Elite shrugged contemptuously, “...Speaking of which, Ballista, if you would…” “Gladly.” Ballista raised his crossbow. “W-What are you doing?” Sterling stepped back in shock. “Well, Sterling, you had been of great help to us, but I am afraid with the Forefathers no more, you will no longer be needed.” Elite sneered. “What?! So you’re going to kill me?!” Sterling yelled, “I thought I was a part of your team!” “My team? You think…” Elite let out a dark chuckle… before slugging Sterling right in the face with his metal hoof. “GAH!” Sterling gasped, falling to the ground, clutching his face, “Ohh…” “You are not, nor will you ever be, on my team.” Elite sneered, “You think I got to be director by doing something so stupid?! Because only a deluded moron would let somepony who had done the awful things you have onto his team. All you are is just another expended asset that needs to be discarded…” “You… you…” Sterling hissed. “We’re done here. Ballista, if you would?” Elite turned to Ballista. "With pleasure." Ballista pointed his crossbow at him. Sterling was frozen, not just in fear, but with guilt. 'This is all my fault.' He thought. 'All of it. I never should've agreed to join those guys...' Just as Sterling thought this, Ballista fired, the bolt struck him right between the eyes. Suddenly, Sterling sat up straight. He found himself on the carriage he had boarded after accepting Elite's offer, still en route to Quanticolt. Elite was sat next to him, a worried look on his face. "Are you alright, Sterling?" Elite asked. "You looked like you were having a bad dream." "Yeah." Sterling nodded awkwardly. "A real nightmare..." "After what you've been through, a past like yours, I don't blame you for having nightmares." Elite declared solemnly. "It's not the past that worries me..." Sterling frowned. He couldn’t shake the thought of the Elite he saw in his dream. While the real Elite seemed nice enough, he only just met him that day. There was no telling with the stallion. Maybe his nightmare could become a reality if he wasn't careful… “That is understandable.” Elite nodded, “A new beginning can be quite overwhelming at times. But I assure, you've made the right choice." 'That remains to be seen.' Sterling thought. "Yeah." Fury, seated across from them, smirked. "Better choice than running around in a cloak, or hiding on a farm." "Very funny, Fury." Elite sighed. "You really should be a comedian." Sterling scoffed. "What can I say?" Fury sneered. "I'm a Griffon of a thousand talents." "Too bad one of them isn't keeping your beak shut..." Sterling muttered. Soon, the carriage came to a stop. “Sir, we have arrived at the base.” One of the pullers announced. “Ah, excellent!” Elite smiled, as he turned to Sterling, “Sterling, allow me to welcome you to RDL headquarters!” Elite opened the door, revealing the base's entrance. It was far more modern and militaristic than the Infinity, sleek and new rather than old and stone-edged. “So… this is the place?" Sterling frowned, as he stepped out of the carriage. On his back was the odd-looking sword that was dropped on their carriage en route to Quanticolt, presumably given to him by Loveless as a parting gift. "Yeah." Fury joined them from behind. "Why? Got a problem with our digs? Think it's not as good as your fancy Forefathers headquarters?" "That's enough, Fury." Elite sighed. "This is Sterling's new home. We should strive to make him feel comfortable while he's here, wouldn't you agree?" "Yeah, yeah." Fury rolled his eyes. The three of them entered the base. It was just as sleek on the inside, with stark white walls, metal doors with color-coded paint, a pair of elevators, and more. "Not bad." Sterling nodded. "I'm impressed." "I'm glad you like it." Elite smiled. As they continued walking, some random RDL agents took note of Sterling. "That's Elite's new recruit?" Sterling heard one whisper. "What is he thinking?" A second added. "This could go so badly..." A third hissed. Sterling chose to ignore them. “...So…” He told to Elite. “Would you mind pointing me to where I’ll be staying? That nap didn’t help much, and I am exhausted.” "I'm afraid that won't be possible just yet." Elite declared. "You do remember what I told you earlier, right?" “...Oh, right.” Sterling frowned, “Interrogation, right?” “Yes. But do not worry. It’ll be like a quick trip to the dentist.” Elite assured, “If you would follow me, we can get this over with.” “I guess.” Sterling shook his head. "Have fun, Cross." Fury smirked. Sterling reluctantly followed Elite down a hallway, reaching a dead end, and a door painted with a dark blue stripe. Through the door, on the other side, was a small room with a table, two chairs, and to Sterling’s surprise, the same bald stallion from before. He looked a bit older, but he looked pretty much the same. And standing right besides him was another familiar face: a large brown-coated Diamond Dog that was with the bald stallion when they came to rescue Black. Judging from the suspicious stares on their faces, they remembered him too. “Sterling, I assume you are familiar with Cutter Ballista, correct?” Elite asked. “Yeah. He’s that stallion who stepped in with those other guys when me and the others ambushed Black…” Sterling recalled, distastefully recalling the nightmare he had of Ballista, “It’s been a while though…” "It sure has." Ballista nodded, crossing his hooves. “And this big guy here is Titan.” Elite indicated the Diamond Dog. "Rrf." Titan said gruffly. "Uh, hi..." Sterling said awkwardly. "So... how exactly is this going to go?" “We’re hoping it would go smoothly.” Ballista shrugged, “Me and Titan here will just be asking you a few questions, that’s all. I pray you will be more than willing to oblige, right?” “Or what? You’re going to have Scooby here break me in two?” Sterling frowned, narrowing his eyes. “It’s just a few small questions, Sterling.” Elite declared, “Mostly regarding your former comrades. Just tell them everything they want to know. Unfortunately, I am needed elsewhere right now.” He then glanced at the odd sword on his back, “And if you don’t mind, I can have your ‘item’ taken to your quarters. We don’t usually allow the interrogated to have weapons on them.” “Oh, right.” Sterling grimaced, as he handed him the sword, “Just… be careful with it.” “I will. I wish you all good luck.” Elite nodded. With that, the director left the room, leaving only Sterling and his two interrogators. “Okay, now that dear ol’ pops is gone, let’s get down to business.” Ballista declared, “Take a seat, Cross.” Sterling let out a sigh, as he sat in one of the chairs. Ballista soon followed, sitting across from him, while Titan simply leaned against the wall behind him. “So… not even here five minutes, and you guys want me to spill everything I have on the Forefathers already?” Sterling mused. "In so many words, yes." Ballista nodded bluntly. "It’s not everyday that we have a prominent member of the Forefathers grace our interrogation rooms.” “And what makes you think I’m prominent?” Sterling asked, “As far as you know, I was just a double agent.” “A double agent that the Forefathers saw fit to break out of prison.” Ballista pointed out, “In my experience, they don’t usually do breakouts… only shut-ups.” “...I guess you have a point there.” Sterling admitted. “Though they did take their sweet time.” Ballista continued, “How long were you in prison? Six, seven months?” “I really don’t know.” Sterling shook his head, “But I can only assume it had something to do with one of my fellow Ouroboros.” “Ore-row-what?” Ballista frowned. “Ouroboros.” Sterling corrected, “That is a title given to highest ranks in Forefathers. I was one, and so was Solomon.” “Solomon, as in that lightning psycho who orchestrated Titanfall?” Ballista mused. “The very same.” Sterling growled, the thought of him still bringing a bad taste to his mouth, “...I've been meaning to ask, Elite said you guys were looking for me partially because of my knowledge of the Forefathers. What? Didn’t Solomon tell you anything?” “No, he didn’t.” Ballista shook his head, “The poor draft horse haven’t been speaking much since his horn got blown off.” “...Blown off?” Sterling frowned, a bit surprised. “Yeah. He ‘allegedly’ tried to overpower the magic cancelling ring.” Ballista explained, “Chances are, he’ll never be able to use magic again.” “...I did not know that.” Sterling admitted, knowing full well that Solomon didn’t do this on purpose, ’Lauren Faust, Father. Solomon was a monster… but to blow his horn off?’ “As it stands, he is useless.” Ballista declared, “Which is why we’re glad that we found you when we did.” “What exactly do you want to know?” Sterling asked. “You can start by telling us exactly where their base is.” Ballista requested, “All the other guys we caught couldn’t or wouldn’t tell us.” "Sorry, but I can't tell you either." Sterling shrugged. "Rrr..." Titan growled threateningly. "Can't, or won't?" Ballista frowned. "It's not what you think." Sterling shot back. "The Forefathers’ headquarters, which we call ‘Infinity’, are in a mountain range. That’s pretty much all I know.” “You can’t be serious.” Ballista scoffed, “You and the others have been coming and going for years, and you have no idea where it is?” “Look, it’s complicated.” Sterling groaned, “From what I was told when I first joined the Forefathers, Father cast some serious enchantments over Infinity, causing the whole place and its’ surroundings to be shrouded in a perpetual blizzard. The blizzard’s so dense and so powerful that you can’t make it in or out, and that you can’t see anything.” "Oh, really?" Ballista asked. "And how is it that you and your fellow jailbreakers found your way back before?" “We simply went to one of the outposts the Forefathers had set not far from the Crystal Empire, and took an airship.” Sterling explained, “Not sure how it works, but I believe it’s through Father’s own magic that any and all agents of the Forefathers are granted safe passage and guidance back to base. Considering I’m not a Forefather any more, there is no way I can help you guys find it, let alone get in. Sorry.” “Well, it was a long shot.” Ballista grumbled, “...How about ‘projects’? Can you tell us anything about what they have planned?” "Well, I have been gone a while." Sterling admitted. "And I’m pretty sure you guys already took care of most of them. Black Thorn, Transcendence, Titanfall… and I read recently you guys took care of Project: Infestation.” “That we did, but is there any more we have to worry about?” Ballista urged. “Well, there is one that I am concerned about.” Sterling mused, “You see, another Ouroboros, who goes by ‘Doc’, has been working hard on this thing called ‘Project: Bad Dreams’-” “Bad Dreams? You mean Dysley’s project?” Ballista gaped, “The one about Nightmare Moon? That’s still going?” “...Yes. Despite you guys killing Dysley, Doc carried on with the project.” Sterling scowled, barely able to hide his disdain, “Last I checked, they were looking for pieces of Nightmare Moon’s armor… and from I heard, Doc has been taking care of something... what it is or what he has planned… your guess is as good as mine.” "Rruh?" Titan tilted his head. "Well, it sounds like trouble to me." Ballista mused, “What else is there?” “There is another project, but I don’t think it’s anything serious… it’s called…” Sterling grimaced a bit, “‘Party Over Here!’...” "...You're pulling my chain, right?" Ballista asked. "There's no way that can be the actual name of an project." "Oh, that's the name, alright." Sterling nodded. "Trust me. Ricochet is... let's say, more creative, than most." “Ricochet… is he that crazy crossbowpony that was in on Titanfall?” Ballista questioned. “Yeah…” Sterling begrudgingly admitted. "And what does this 'Project: Party Over Here!' entail, exactly?" Ballista asked. “As far as I know, it’s just recruiting ponies for the Forefathers. How Ricochet does it, or where, I don’t know. And unless Ricochet somehow manages to recruit that big dragon he has been trying for, I think it won’t be a problem.” “Well, we’ll be the judge of that.” Ballista mused, “Anything else?” Sterling took a moment to think. He reflected on the previous days' events; his brother, Crystal being attacked by Lunard, who was far stronger than an ordinary Griffon. "Well, there is this Super Soldier Serum..." He admitted. "Super Soldier Serum?" Ballista repeated. “Yeah, it’s something Gridlock and Harlhooves made a while back.” Sterling nodded, “Adapted from some nutjob scientist's work. It makes anypony who injects or ingest the stuff super strong and nearly invulnerable. Not to mention it heals up any wounds within moments. That’s what made Lunard so strong. Same goes to the dead guy the others probably found at the Crystal Empire prison. It’s something you might want to give your guys a heads up on.” "We'll definitely take that under consideration." Ballista nodded. "Could be trouble in the future..." "Rrr..." Titan agreed. “...So, I reckon that’s all you have for us?” Ballista asked. “Pretty much, yeah…” Sterling nodded, “Sorry if it wasn't exactly what you were expecting from an Ouroboros." "It's enough to be getting on with." Ballista shrugged. "And every little bit helps in a war like this..." "Rrr." Titan nodded. "Well, now what?" Sterling asked. "What happens after the 'interrogation'?" Titan got up, and padded over to Sterling, an odd look on his face. Despite his usual courage, Sterling was unnerved by this. "What is this all about?" Sterling asked. "Think you can ask this gorilla-armed dog to back off?" "Can't do that, sorry." Ballista smirked. Titan moved closer to Sterling, who leaned back in his chair, expecting the worst. Titan grabbed Sterling by the shoulders, leaned in closer... Then started licking him. "Ugh Yuck!" Sterling gagged. "Rrf!" Titan barked jubilantly. "What does that mean?" Sterling cringed. "It means 'welcome to the team'." Ballista grinned. "A hoofshake would have gotten the message across just as well." Sterling groaned, wiping the slobber off his face. “Well, Titan always was the affectionate one.” Ballista chuckled, “Now that we got the interrogation out of the way, we can move onto better things… namely, welcoming you into the the team.” "Great." Sterling nodded. "Let's get to it, then." "Follow us, please." Ballista stood up. "Rrf!" Titan smiled. Ballista led Sterling out of the interrogation room, and after a few minutes of walking, he is taken to an conference room. Inside was Fury, who was leaning against the wall, with a bored expression, and several stallions of different colors standing around. They immediately took note of Sterling as he entered the room. Sterling immediately recognized three of them, a midnight blue Unicorn with a red mane, a pale purple blue-maned Earth Pony, and a gray Earth Pony with a reddish-brown mane and beard. They were with Ballista and Titan when they came to save Black all those years ago. However, there were two more ponies he didn’t quite recall: a rather young tan-coated Earth Pony with a haughty look about him, and a brown Unicorn stallion, clad in a rather spiffy suit and a goofy smile. Fury was also with them, standing apart from the others. “Well, look who it is. The stallion of the hour.” The midnight blue Unicorn sneered, clearly not pleased. “Hmm, the interrogation didn’t take long.” The purple Earth Pony frowned, “Did our maverick have little to say?” "Probably not." The tan Earth Pony said dismissively. "Maybe he didn't want to betray his former masters." "Maybe he just didn't have anything interesting to say." Fury smirked. "Let's just take it slow, and easy here." The grey Earth Pony said cautiously. "Easy like a Sunday morning?" The brown Unicorn stallion asked. "Can do!" ’This is off to a good start.’ Sterling grimaced. “Okay, guys, knock it off.” Ballista stepped forth, “Now, I reckon you already know him, but for courtesy's sake, allow me to introduce you our newest member. A stallion who have been on the wrong side until recently, but is sure to be a great asset-” “There’s no need to play me up, Ballista. I take it from here.” Sterling stepped forth. "Excuse me?" Ballista frowned. “Rroo?” Titan frowned as well. “Look, I can tell right now these guys don’t really care for me. And no amount of sweet talk will change that.” Sterling pointed out, as he turned to the others, “I’m not going to mince words. I didn’t come here, expecting to be welcomed with open hooves, because I know some of you are probably still hung up on my past as a Forefather. And I don’t blame you for that. That past is something I don't have much love for myself." He sighed heavily. "But I've chosen to put that all behind me. And I want to try and work with all of you, if you'll have me." The others sat for a moment in silence, as if Sterling wasn't even there. Then Armory stepped forward. “Well, as far as speeches of good intentions go, that was pretty good.” Armory smiled courteously, as he held out a hoof, “Welcome to the team, Sterling. We haven't actually been formally introduced. I'm Heinrich Armory, team inventor and mechanic. But everycreature calls me Armory. I hope you enjoy your time with us." "Thanks, Armory." Sterling nodded, shaking his hoof, “I hope so too.” "I wouldn't get too friendly with our new comrade so soon if I were you, Armory. That’s asking for trouble." Incognito frowned. "Indeed, Incognito." Master Mind agreed. "You shouldn’t let yourself be swayed by some cliché speech. Until we know for sure that he has truly left the Forefathers behind, it would behoove us to exercise caution." "I know I said I don't mind you holding my past against me." Sterling cut in. "And I meant it. But I'd prefer that you don't talk about me like I'm not here. If you have a problem with me, you can say it to my face." "Duly noted." Master Mind said coldly. "Though how a delinquent like you think you can lecture me on niceties is beyond me." "Come on, Master Mind." Armory frowned. "Be nice." "Hmph!" Master Mind scoffed. “If you ask me, we’re still making a mistake letting you on board.” Incognito scowled, “Because when I think of teammate material, a traitor and a deserter doesn’t come to mind.” “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.” Sterling said firmly. “Not as sorry as you will be if you cross any of us. I’ll be watching.” Incognito snarled. “Seriously. Sterling hasn’t even done anything yet.” Armory grunted. “Don’t worry about it, Armory.” Sterling sighed. "Like I said, I wasn’t expecting a welcome party.” "Hi!" The brown Unicorn suddenly tackled Sterling in a hug, hoisting him up. “Gak!” Sterling gasped, being squeezed hard, "I'm Caboose! Nice to meet ya, new pal!" The Unicorn smiled. “...Okay, I was definitely not expecting this either.” Sterling deadpanned, as he glanced at the Unicorn, “Not I don’t enjoy the bear hug, but could you please put me down?” “Okie-dokie!” Caboose declared, immediately dropping Sterling instantly. “Whoa.” Sterling faltered a bit, as he regained his footing. As he glanced at Caboose, he felt a sense of familiarity, “Say… haven’t we met before? I feel I saw you somewhere before.” “We certainly have. We had that three-on-three on that big metal spider over a month ago!” Caboose smirked. “Three-on… wait.” Sterling lit up, “That’s right. You were with the director!” “That’s right. But don’t worry about that, it’s all water under the bridge!” Caboose slapped Sterling on the back, causing the stallion to gasp, “I’m really looking forward to working with you, Sterling!” He turned to the haughty stallion, “And so's Fletcher! Right, Fletcher?" “...Ecstatic.” The one named Fletcher said sarcastically, disdain clear in his voice. “Oh, I remember you now, too.” Sterling mused, approaching the stallion. He noted the faded scar on his snout, still healing from the broken snout that he himself gave him, “...I hope there isn’t any hard feelings.” “You do not wish to know what it is I feel towards you.” Fletcher said coldly, “Especially towards ponies who betrayed everypony around them." “...You hear that, Sterling?” Caboose nudged Sterling, “We’re gonna be a great team!” “Right…” Sterling muttered, as he then came face-to-face with Fury, “Oh, hey. No introductions needed here-” Suddenly Fury sucker-punched him in the chest. “Fury!” Ballista snapped. “Well, well, not even a sentence in and Fury slugged him. You owe me twenty bits.” Incognito smirked at Master Mind. “Faust dammit…” Master Mind grunted as he pulled out some bits. “Ohh…” Sterling grunted, as he glared at the griffon, “What the hell was that for?!” “Consider that a belated ‘flap you’ for breaking Lunard out of prison!” Fury snarled, “Because of your little jailbreak a while back, Eclipse and his family nearly got killed!” "Hey, it's not like I knew in advance that a criminal Griffon I helped would end up having a connection to this random family that took me in!" Sterling pointed out. "Kinda weird how often stuff like that happens around here, isn't it?" Caboose asked. "Besides, it all worked out, didn't it?" Sterling asked. "You swooped in and saved the day, like a big hero, End of story. So why don't you get off my back about that?" “Not a chance in hell, bub.” Fury snarled, “I don't how high up you were when you were with the Forefathers. Around here, you're the new recruit. Fresh meat. And I won’t hesitate to do onto you what I did unto Lunard. So you better stay in line, unless you want to join your psycho brother." "First of all, do not bring mention my brother, ever." Sterling scowled. "And second, don't think I'm going to just stand here and take guff from you, or you'll be in for a big - and painful -surprise!" "Ooh, scary." Fury mocked him. "I'd be happy to show you what real pain is." “Okay, you two, knock it off.” Ballista stepped in, “The point of this meeting was to break the ice, not bones.” “Right you are, Ballista.” The others turned to see Elite entering. “Hello, everyone.” Elite began, as he turned to Sterling, “Sterling, I trust things are going well in here.” "Oh, sure." Sterling said sarcastically, casting a glare at Fury, who shot one back. "Making lots of new friends..." “That’s good to hear.” Elite smiled, “Since you’re now part of the team, it is important that everypony makes an effort to get along with you…” He gazed at the others, “And I do mean everypony. It doesn’t even have to be a full effort. A little effort at least would be much appreciated… right, everyone?” "Yes, sir..." Incognito said begrudgingly. "Well, put, Elite." Master Mind nodded stiffly. "Yeah, yeah..." Fury scowled. "Your wish is my command, sir." Fletcher said obediantly, hiding his disdain. "I'd be happy to give it my full effort, sir." Armory smiled. "Me, too." Caboose agree. "But I'm suspecting somecreature hasn’t been putting in any effort at all..." 'Now that's a leader.' Sterling thought, ’Barely half Father’s size, and he knows how to keep everyone in line.’ "Would you mind coming with me, please?" Elite asked. "There's somepony I'd like you to meet." "Oh, goody..." Sterling reluctantly followed Elite out of the room. "So, there's another member of your team I haven't met yet?" "Yes, indeed." Elite nodded. "And I think this one may grab your interest." “I wouldn’t count on it…” Sterling muttered, before pondering, “Although now that I think about it, when I was still in the Forefathers, I heard that you guys recruited this armor-suited stallion not long after Black Knight died. I haven’t seen him yet.” "Well, those rumors are true." Elite admitted. "The armored warrior is indeed on our payroll, so to speak." "No kidding?" Sterling mused. "So he's the guy you're taking me to meet?" "Indeed, he is." Elite nodded. "He must be pretty ugly." Sterling remarked. "Why else would he hide his face like that, unless-" His voice soon died in his throat as he and Elite entered the operations room, as Sterling saw somepony was in the room waiting for them. Somepony he never expected to see alive: Black Knight Paladin. "What the..." He gaped. "Hello, Sterling." Black said nonchalantly. "Long time, no see." “Black? Black Knight Paladin?” Sterling gaped, “But… but… how?! You’re dead! Everypony saw you die at the Crystal Empire! There were reports from everypony!” “Well, you’re not wrong.” Black shrugged, “I was in a coma for a few hours. The bolt that ‘killed’ me barely missed my heart by about five centimeters.” “A inch, Black.” Elite rolled his eyes, “It gets shorter each time you tell it.” “Yeah, well, you get shot in the chest after getting hit by several magic blasts, and then you can tell it your way. Either way, that bolt nearly killed me.” Black explained. “Unbelievable…” Sterling shook his head, as he glanced at Elite warily, “And you just let him come back to the team, after that crap he pulled with the Crystal Sun?” “It is as I told you before, Sterling, Black is a special case.” Elite explained. “Yeah, but I’ve heard and seen all the things he did before that.” Sterling frowned, “Especially with how he murdered everypony in Reinadh!” “You know, you shouldn’t judge things at first glance, Sterling.” Black declared. “Huh?” Sterling frowned. “It’s quite a long story, Sterling.” Elite admitted, “But the short version is that Black is not the monster he is believed to be in the eye of the public. Black here has been a big part of our long-term plan to destabilize the Forefathers' power base. From even before Reinadh, Black had been acting in the shadows, fighting the good fight. Surely, as a former member of the Forefathers, you would be aware of that, correct?" "Yeah, I guess…” Sterling nodded, “...But then how do you explain the Crystal Sun and that little stint before where he was apparently harassing the changelings?” “I won’t lie… I was going through some very difficult times.” Black shook his head shamefully, “Caused me to go a little ‘off-script’ for while. It’s no excuse for what I’ve done… but all that matters is that I’m back where I belong.” “And I’ve never been happier.” Elite smirked, “Black here is going to be part of the new taskforce I told you about, Sterling. You, he, Fletcher, Caboose, and Fury will be a brand new unit, whose purpose it will be to attend to the most serious of issues." "You want all of us to work together?" Sterling blanched. He glanced at Black, a bit hesitant. "That's not going to be a problem, is it, Black? You know, considering our... past encounter." "Eh, not really." Black shrugged, his expression passive, "To tell you the truth, I barely even remember you." "Oh." Sterling said flatly. "Good... I guess." "Excellent." Elite smiled. "Now, Sterling, you mentioned earlier that you needed to rest? Well, I think you've more than earned it. Allow me to escort you to your dorm." "Yeah, sure." Sterling nodded, still a little nonplussed that Black had little recognition of him. "I guess I’ll see you around… Black." “Yes you will.” Black said curtly. As they continued down the corridor, Elite took note of Sterling's awkwardness. "Is there a problem, Sterling?" He asked. "I understand learning that Black has been alive all this time must have been quite a surprise." “That’s an understatement.” Sterling admitted, “I mean, that guy back there was the guy everypony back in the Forefathers were afraid of… we even lost a few because of him. That’s actually what led me to be a part of that ambush…” “Is that so?” Elite mused, “...Interesting. If you hadn’t been in that ambush, none of us probably would had ever heard of you… and we might not be having this conversation.” “That’s one way of looking at it.” Sterling murmured, recalling the argument the Loveless he had leading up to it, the bout he had with Ballista, and the stallion who ended up not coming back from the ambush, “Black certainly left an impression on me…” He then frowned. “Though I thought maybe I would had left a bigger impression on him.” “I wouldn’t take it personally, Sterling.” Elite shrugged, “That battle was a long time ago… not to mention Black was going through quite a lot in that time. But now that you two will be working together, Black will see that you’re a stallion worth remembering.” "Somehow, I doubt he'd care either way." Sterling scoffed. "Seriously, did you see him in there? I've seen cardboard standees that showed more emotion." “Well, that’s Black for you.” Elite gave a small smirk, “He can be a bit reserved at times, but I can assure you, he is the kind of teammate anycreature would be lucky to have." “Well, seeing that he doesn’t outright want to kill me, I guess I could consider myself lucky.” Sterling snorted, “Still, it seems like most of the team isn’t really thrilled with working with me.” “Give it time, Sterling.” Elite said sympathetically, “Once they get the chance to know the real you, you’ll find your place soon enough.” "I'll believe that when I see it." Sterling snorted. Soon, they stopped at another door. "Now this is your dorm." Elite opened the door, revealing a sparse room with a single bed and table within. Sterling’s sword was laid about on the table, "It's not much, but I'm sure it will suffice." "Eh, I've suffered through worse accommodations." Sterling shrugged, “Nothing I can’t manage.” "Then by all means, make yourself at home." Elite urged. "I'd prefer just lying on the bed and sleeping... for a few days." Sterling joked. "Of course." Elite nodded. "See you in the morning.” Once Elite exited the room, Sterling removed his jacket and hung it on a wall hook. He then placed the sword Loveless had restored for him and placed it on the table. 'Feels more like home already.' He joked to himself. Sterling climbed into bed, finding it to be similar to the bed he slept in at the Crystal Empire's barracks. 'Looks like I'm a military stallion again.' He thought. 'Hopefully, this time, things won't end as badly… then again, it can’t possibly go as bad as it did back then… right?' Nothing but silence responded to his remark, as the stallion let out a small sigh. As he laid there, he then glanced over at his sword, taking in the design, and the odd-looking machinery that separated the handle and the blade. His mind immediately drifted to the stallion he had left behind in Infinity… ’...Loveless…’ Sterling murmured, his eyes misty, ’...I really hope we will see each other again. Without you, Ward, Ricochet, and the others… I’m really all alone. Just like I was when Gold died…’ Once again, regret and self-pity threatened to consume Sterling. But he did his best to resist. 'Come on, Sterling, focus.' He told himself. 'You're doing this for Equestria, for Echo and Sunset, for Loveless. You can't let them down. You have to stand strong, and do the best you can. This is a new life, a new beginning. You can't give up on it before it even starts.' On that thought, Sterling drifted off to sleep... The next morning, Sterling made his way over to the mess hall for breakfast. A couple of RDL agents were already there. He couldn’t see any of the Taskforce members or his would-be new teammates, but that was fine, Sterling wasn't in the mood to socialize. So after getting some eggs and toast, he took a seat well away from the others. For their part, none of them seemed to care much... except for one. "Aww, look at the guy." Caboose frowned, as he and Fletcher were seated at another table, having arrived shortly before Sterling. "He's all alone. What he needs is a little company..." As Caboose moved to join Sterling, Fletcher grabbed him and pulled him aside. "I would advise against that." Fletcher said sternly. "What, why?" Caboose asked. "Because Cross used to be one of the Forefathers' higher-ups." Fletcher pointed out. "As such, he can't be trusted." "Oh, come on!" Caboose scoffed. "He's on our side now, remember? He's a good guy!" “A good guy? This is the same pony that tried to kill us over a month ago on that spider.” Fletcher frowned. “Well, he isn’t trying to kill us now.” Caboose reasoned, “Doesn’t that count for something?” "Not everything in life is as simple as you think they are, Caboose." Fletcher rolled his eyes. “Well, not everything in life is complicated.” Caboose shot back, “Elite wants him on Project: Freedom. And he wants us to at least try to be pals with him. When are you one to diss orders?" “Look, I respect the director. If he says ‘jump’, I ask ‘how high’.” Fletcher nodded, “...But I cannot fathom why he believes Sterling is even worthy of our trust, let alone our friendship, after all the things he did.” “So he made this whole convoluted plan about getting a dark magic powered pony laid so he could make a dark magic powered baby that ended up getting a few ponies killed.” Caboose shrugged, “No biggie.” “You breezed over the fact that his older brother was killed because of the griffon he helped broke out of prison.” Fletcher glared, “Not to mention nearly getting Mr. Barrel-Roll and his family killed.” “But wasn’t that older brother a scumbag senator that was going to kill Red and his family anyways?” Caboose pointed out. “You’re missing the point.” Fletcher growled, “I have a bad feeling about him. Until we know where his loyalties truly lies, we can’t trust him.” “And how long will that take?” Caboose asked. “I don’t know, Caboose. It could be weeks, months, years. Until then, you shouldn’t consort yourself with him.” "Oh, you're just being paranoid." Caboose rolled his eyes, as he gestured to Sterling, chewing on a bit of toast, “Does that look the face of a evil mastermind to you?” "I'm serious." Fletcher said coldly. "Caboose I want you to promise me that you won’t try anything with him." "But we barely even-" Caboose started. “Promise me!” Fletcher urged, “You’re my best friend, Caboose. I don’t want you to come to harm!” “Okay, okay, I promise.” Caboose pouted. "But I still say you’re wrong. And you’re gonna feel like quite a fool in the end." "We'll see." Fletcher retorted. "We will see..." Meanwhile, Sterling was still sitting by himself, finishing off his breakfast, and thinking about what to do afterward. He also glanced around him, taking in his surroundings. 'Doesn't look like anycreature will invite me for some post-breakfast pasttimes.' He thought sarcastically. 'I should probably get in training, so I can get back into practice. It's amazing how rusty you can get when you're hiding out...' Shortly after breakfast, after asking for some directions, Sterling made his way to the gym to work out a little. Once there, he saw that Black was already exercising, striking a punching bag with great force. ’Nuts. He’s here…’ Sterling frowned, ’...Perhaps this might be a better time than any to make nice with him.’ "Hey." Sterling declared, as he walked over. Black paused a bit, glancing at Sterling… as he then turned back to punching. "Hey." Black said nonchalantly. "Mind if I join you?" Sterling asked. "I won't stop you." Black shrugged. "Good." Sterling stepped over to the other punching bag. With a punch from his enhanced hoof, he sent swinging wildly back, then caught it on the backswing with that same hoof. "Hmm, impressive." Black admitted, still striking his punching bag. "Guess you've really toughened up since the last time we met. That is one strong hoof you’re packing." “It is. But I can’t take all the credit.” Sterling said truthfully, “This hoof of mine got messed up a while back. It would've been totally useless if I hadn't had a special serum injected into it. It brought it back better than ever." He flexed his hoof. “Serum? You mean like the stuff that Lunard was hopped up on when he killed your brother?” Black frowned. “Sorta…” Sterling winced, not liking the mention of his recently deceased brother, “The stuff I got was just experimental. I probably wouldn’t had done it now, but looking back, I’m kinda glad I did…” "So basically, you got lucky." Black mused. "I wouldn't say having my hoof chopped off was 'lucky'." Sterling scoffed. "No, but having you Forefather buddies inject you with something that gave you super-strength in that hoof was." Black pointed out. "Must've come in useful a lot, huh?" "Well... yeah." Sterling nodded. “That’s good… and it’s also worrying.” Black declared, “If you’ve been relying on that hoof of yours, then it means you haven’t been working as hard as you should have.” "Whoa, who says I'm relying on it?" Sterling growled. “Hey, there’s no need to get testy, Sterling.” Black retorted, “I still think you’ve gotten tougher… but you won’t get much farther if you focus on that hoof.” He ceased hitting the punching bag. "Well, I'm done for the moment. Focus on your other hoof, or else you’ll find yourself at an imbalance." With that, Black marched out of the room. Snarling, Sterling punched the bag with his normal hoof. “Okay, what the hell?” He scowled, “Here I am trying to be nice, and he goes off on me like that? It’s not I can just switch this off…” He glanced at his other hoof. "Besides, it's not like he had any problems using Sombra's horn, the lousy hypocrite..." Sterling continued his work out, taking out his frustrations on the punching bag. It wasn’t till late in the afternoon that another agent came in, telling Sterling to come to the briefing room. Wondering what was going on, Sterling made his way over there. As he arrived, he found that Fury, Black, Fletcher, and Caboose was there. “Ah, Sterling, glad you could make it.” Elite smiled, “I hope you didn’t have trouble finding your way here.” “Oh, no. This place isn’t that hard to get around.” Sterling shook his head, as he joined the others, casting a small glare at Black, “But what’s going on? Why you call us here?” “Because I have a mission for all of you.” Elite declared, “I know it seems a little soon, what with you only just got getting here, but we've gotten word of some smuggling activities over at the Luna Bay area. According to our sources, the Forefathers are behind it. There's a shipment coming in tonight, and I need you all to be there to stop it, and apprehend the fiends." "That's it?" Sterling asked, “Huh, that doesn’t sound too bad.” “Well, this is only meant to be a test run, Sterling.” Elite explained, “By sending you all into action, we will be able to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of Project: Freedom, and work out any kinks or flaws you five may have.” "I guess that makes sense." Sterling admitted. "Let's get to it, then!" Caboose cheered. "We're gonna kick some flank!" "Unless, of course, you have a problem with going after your old teammates?" Fletcher glanced at Sterling. "Hey, I haven't been part of the Forefathers for a while now." Sterling declared firmly. "Besides, it's not like I know all of them. Do you know everyone in the Royal Guards?" “I almost know everyone who works for me and my brothers.” Caboose butted in, “Even this really weird guy who dresses up in faceless mask. No clue how he sees anything, though...” “...Good for you.” Sterling nodded awkwardly, “But the point is, you don’t have to worry about me.” "Good." Black nodded. "I prefer it when I don’t have to worry.” "Let's get to it, then." Fury nodded. "I'm itching for a fight.” “You always seem itchin’.” Black rolled his eyes. “Yeah. You should probably get yourself checked. You might have fleas.” Sterling joked. “Ooh.” Caboose hooted. “Are you making fun of me?” Fury snarled, “Because I don’t like being made fun of!” "You don't seem to like anything much." Sterling smirked. "Especially not big-mouthed wiseguys." Fury growled. "You must have a serious case of self-loathing, then." Sterling jeered. "Now, now, that's enough." Elite said sternly. "You're all on the same side, and I expect you to act like it. Am I making myself clear?" "...Yes." Fury said bluntly. “Sorry, sir.” Sterling lowered his head. "Good." Elite smiled. "Now, go and get yourself armed up. Armory is waiting." The five made their way to Armory’s workshop, where owner of said workshop was indeed waiting. “Hey, guys, Elite’s about to send you all on your first mission as ‘Project: Freedom’?” Armory smiled. "Yes, he is." Black nodded. "Even though it's the same kind of missions we went on before." Fury pointed. "That suits me." Fletcher declared. "I think there's enough unknown variable here at the moment..." "I like the unknown." Caboose smiled. "All kinds of surprises there..." "A mission's a mission." Sterling shrugged. “Well, to mark the occasion, I prepared a few things for tonight’s mission.” Armory smiled, as he handed a pack of items to Caboose and Fletcher, “Sleep-gas dispensing arrows for Fletcher. And a few mini-bolos for Caboose.” "Nice." Caboose grinned. "Thanks, Armory." Fletcher smiled. "And Black, I've got your armor all ready to go." Armory continued. "Armor?" Sterling frowned. "Of course." Black walked over to a suit of armor and started putting it on. "I'm supposed to be dead, remember? I can't really afford to show my face." "Oh, right." Sterling shrugged. "Don't feel left out, Sterling." Armory grinned. "I have some gadgets for you too." “Yeah, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” Sterling shook his head. “Huh, why?” Armory frowned. “The thing is, Armory, I already have a gadget pony that I left behind, and even though he and I are no longer working together, I’m a one-gadget pony guy. I’m not going to use somepony else’s gadgets. Sorry.” "Well, that doesn't say anything about your allegiances at all." Fletcher sneered. “Not to mention very tweaked.” Fury grunted, “But I can understand you not wanting to use those worthless tinker toys. I’m no fan either.” He produced one of his spears, “This is all the gadgetry I need." "Same here." Sterling produced his own sword, which he got en route to the workshop. “Oh, Elite mentioned that somepony dropping that weapon while on the way back.” Armory mused, inspecting the sword, notably the machinery on it, “If you’re not up for using my gadgets, could you at least permit me a chance to inspect it sometimes?” “Yeah, sure.” Sterling nodded, “It’s new, so I don’t even know what this doohickey here does.” “Excellent.” Armory smirked, “I wish you all good luck with the mission.” Sterling chose to ignore that remark as they departed. Shortly after, they departed in a carriage. As they traveled to the Luna Bay, they sat in silence. "So..." Sterling spoke up trying to strike a conversation. "Is it always so quiet in here?" "Most of the time." Black shrugged. "I prefer the silence, myself." Fletcher declared. "I don't." Caboose admitted. "I like it loud!" "I prefer a certain kind of noise." Fury smirked. "Screams of pain, for instance..." "Okay..." Sterling frowned. "So, how about the name of this little team? 'Project: Freedom'? Sounds a little too much like one of the Forefathers’ projects." "Sounds more like a cliche to me." Fury snorted. "Why does it sound like a cheesy dish?" Caboose frowned. "That's a quiche, Caboose." Fletcher rolled his eyes. "I'll admit the name could be better." Black confessed. "What does it matter what we call ourselves?" Fury growled. "As long as we get to kick some tail, who cares?" "Of course you'd think that." Fletcher chided. "Mindless violence seems to be the only thing you think about." "You say that like it's a bad thing." Fury retorted. "You should try it sometime, egghead." "Alright, know it off." Black growled. "We're almost there. Get your game faces on." "Mine is always on." Fury smirked. "Wouldn't that make taking family pictures tough?" Caboose asked. The others rolled their eyes, while Sterling smiled lightly at Caboose's antics. A short while later, the group were positioned at the Luna Bay docks, staking out the area, and waiting for their targets. Caboose and Fletcher were positioned by an empty warehouse, Fury perched on a sea rock, Black below a jetty, and Sterling was on a beach, far away from the others. 'You'd think I've got Blue Flu, or something...' Sterling thought bitterly. “...So…” Caboose whispered through a mirror, which was connected to the others, “What’s the plan again?” “It’s simple, Caboose.” Black declared, “We wait for the ship to come in. Once they get off that ship, we’ll take them.” “Well, they better hurry the hell up. I’m getting bored.” Fury growled through his mirror. “You won’t be for long. I’m seeing something.” Fletcher glanced at the sea, “Unidentified ship moving in.” As they watched, a nondescript nameless ship moved into the docks. A group of shady looking individuals (some of whom were in Forefather robes) emerged from one of the buildings to meet it. “Faust, it’s so weird being on the outside…” Sterling murmured. "That's our cue." Black declared. "Let's take 'em! Fletcher, Caboose, attack the left flank! Fury, Sterling, circle around and-!" "Finally!" Fury spread his wings and darted towards the enemy. "Been waitin' too long for this!" “Fury, wait!” Black yelled, “Faust dammit, not again!” “I’m guessing this isn’t the first time he did this?” Sterling deadpanned. "That's none of your busine-!" Fletcher started. "Yep." Caboose nodded. "Feisty little guy, ain't he?" "Better get after him." Black sighed. "Before he does something we'll regret..." The group charged after Fury, who was almost upon the enemy. "Looks like rain!" He yelled, flinging a shower of spears at them. "We're under attack!" One agent yelled. "Where are these spears coming from?" Another yelped, trying to dodge. "Who cares?!" Another ducked, as the rest tried to run for cover. "Just get clear of 'em!" "That won't be so easy, pal." Black punched him with an armored hoof. "More intruders!" The leader pointed. "Waste 'em all!" "It's not polite to point!" Caboose fired a crossbow bolt into the leader's outstretched hoof. "Argh!" The leader yelped. "Kill him!" "You'll have to go through this first!" Fletcher fired an arrow from his bow, nailing another agent in one of his back legs. By then, Sterling had finally caught up with the others. "My time to shine..." He unsheathed his sword. Sterling swung the blade at the nearest agent, but his attack was awkward and clumsy, missing the target. "Hah!" The agent sneered. "What is this,your first time or something?" "Shut up!" Sterling yelled. He swung again, and the agent avoided the attack. But this time, Sterling raised a kick into the agent's jeering face. "Laugh at me now, pal..." The battle continued. Fletcher notched another arrow, ready to fire. "Say cheese, scum..." He prepared to fire. Before he released the arrow, the agent he aimed for went down, courtesy of a bolt from Caboose. "Whoops!" Caboose called. "Sorry, Fletcher! Didn't know that was yours!" "That's okay, Caboose..." Fletcher sighed. Fletcher aimed for another target, only for Black to take him down with a tackle. "Seriously?" Fletcher growled. He readied another shot, only for Sterling to headbutt him. "Come on...!" Fletcher saw a smuggler heading his way. "This one's mine..." He smirked. However, that agent was taken out by a blast of wind from Fury. "Too slow, Ulysses!" Fury taunted him. "Rrrr!" Fletcher growled, barely able to hold in his anger. “Dammit, I did not sign on for this!” A smuggler yelled at another smuggler, “Let’s get out of here!” “Oh no, you don’t!” Caboose smirked, as he pulled out the bolas that Armory gave him and slung them at the smugglers, snaring their hooves. “Gah!” The smugglers groaned. "Sorry!" Caboose taunted. "You haven't been cleared for departure!" "As for your ship..." Fury held up his talons, as suddenly, a wind funnel appear and batterted the boat, sending it careening over and capsizing. "It's been sunk!" As Sterling took down another smuggler, he quickly noted a Forefather agent making a run for it. “I got this one!” Sterling yelled to the others, as he gave chase, putting his sword on his back. The Forefather agent was quick to note his chaser, as he tried to shooting back with a crossbow. Fortunately, he was a bad shot, the bolt hitting nowhere near his target. Sterling was able to quickly catch up to the agent, tackling him and pinning him to the ground. “Gotcha!” Sterling snarled. “No!” The agent panicked, struggling to free himself, fear in his eyes, “Please, don’t! I don’t wanna-” He paused a moment, as he glanced at his captor. “Sterling?” The agent gasped. “...Uh-oh." Sterling gulped, loosening his grip. “Sterling? What’s going on? Why are you here?” The agent asked, “Why are you with them?” "I, er..." Sterling stammered, stepping back. "Ya gotta help me!" The agent begged. "You're undercover, right?" "Uhh..." Sterling said awkwardly. "Please, save me!" The agent pleaded. "I got a family! A sick mother! Don't let them take me away from them!" "I..." Sterling froze up, shaken. “Sterling, why are you-” Suddenly, a arrow flew into his shoulder, knocking him down, “AUGH!” Sterling snapped out of his stupor, as Fletcher and the others caught up with him. “Got you, villain.” Fletcher said coldly, before glaring at Sterling, “Way to do your job, Cross.” “Hey, I had him!” Sterling said awkwardly, “I was gonna…” "It looked to me like you were hesitating." Black pointed out. He looked disappointed. "Like you were unwilling to bring in one of your former comrades..." “Well, you’re wrong! I was going to bring him in!” Sterling snarled. “Sure you were.” Fury sneered, “Here’s a tip for you, dumbass. Don’t hesitate. This punk could had gotten away, and it’d have been your fault. Elite would've loved to hear that..." Sterling hung his head in anger and shame. "Come on, guys, cut him some sla-" Caboose started. "No." Black retorted. "New or not, a mistake is a mistake. One that could have affected us all." “Well, what could you expect from a former Forefather?” Fury scoffed. “Like you can talk, Fury.” Black growled, “Once again, you went in recklessly without abandon.” "It got results, didn't it?" Fury said petulantly. "Results aren't everything." Fletcher cut in. "It's the execution that counts." "Execution is exactly what I'm after." Fury snorted. "But you hardly ever let me do it." "Okay, that's enough." Black groaned. "We should go do some clean up before we call you authorities. This place is a mess..." The group once again split up to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Caboose went with Fletcher. "You okay, Fletch?" He asked. "You look a little... frustrated." "I'm fine." Fletcher scowled. "Let's just focus on finishing up here." "Oh." Caboose frowned, taken aback by Fletcher's tone. "Okay..." After the smugglers and agents were left for the authorities, the group made their way back to the Taskforce headquarters. On the ride back, Sterling acknowledged that none of the others (save for Caboose) could barely look at him. Black himself was casting an occasional stink-eye at Fury, who returned it with a look of sheer disdain. ’Well, way to ruin your first mission, Cross.' Sterling admonished himself. 'You weren't exactly Mr Popular to begin with, but this sure isn't going to help...' Later that evening, Sterling was once again back in the gym... only this time, he was practicing his sword swing. He threw his new sword through the air, attempting to improve his style... but he was struggling. He hadn’t really handled a sword since his last fight with Jetstream, and having not felt an urge to do so in the longest time. But he felt compelled to try and learn, since this was a gift from Loveless… In addition to his struggles, Sterling was feeling lousy in general. Ever since they got back and gave a brief debriefing of what went down in Luna Bay, everypony seemed to have given him a wide berth. Even Caboose, the one who hadn’t really said anything negative towards him, was avoiding him. Another side-effect of Sterling's time in Dodge Junction was that he had gotten used to being part of a family. Now, he couldn’t go back to them, and he couldn’t go back to the Forefathers. Once again, he was all alone… and it sucked. 'What was I thinking, accepting Elite's offer?' Sterling thought angrily as he swung his sword again. 'Forget potentially getting screwed over by them. Everypony around here are a bunch of assholes. Stupid griffon. Stupid pretty soldier boy. Stupid Black. With the way things are going, I probably would had been better off letting the Forefathers kill me. At least in the afterlife, you only get judged by Faust or something.' “Hey, need a little company?” “Huh?” Sterling frowned, as he turned to see Ballista walking in, “Oh, it’s you.” “You know, a simple ‘hi’ would do, Sterling.” Ballista deadpanned. “Yeah, it would. But apparently, the same don’t apply to a former Forefather.” Sterling sneered, as he swung his sword again. “Ah. Had a rough day, have ya, mate?” Ballista asked. “Look, I don’t care what the others said, I wasn’t hesitating!” Sterling snarled, turning to him. “Hey, relax.” Ballista soothed, “I read up on the debriefing. You shouldn’t feel bad, Sterling. Ponies freeze up sometimes on their first mission.” “Really?” Sterling growled, “I’m not some rookie who just came off training day. I’ve been doing missions like that since I was barely a adult. Tonight should had been a walk in a park.” “Well, in the debriefing, it sounded like you were doing quite well.” Ballista agreed, “But then there was that one agent you were taking a bit to apprehend.” “Look, it was stupid…” Sterling shook his head, shame in his eyes, “I was more than ready to take the guy… but then he recognized me… or rather the old me. I didn’t know the guy, and he was begging me to not take him in… I don’t even know why I paused.” “If you ask me, Sterling, I’d said a part of you still believe you’re a Forefather.” Ballista mused. “But I’m not!” Sterling insisted, before scoffing, “But no one seems to care! I make one small mistake and my so-called teammates won’t even give me the time of day!” “You’re frustrated. That’s understandable.” Ballista nodded, “But you’ve only been here for a day. Everypony around here has been fighting the Forefathers for a while. It’s going to take time before they realize that you’re not a Forefather anymore.” “That’s what Elite said.” Sterling shook his head, “But if you ask me, it’s like what you told me when we first met: I’m in way over my head.” “Sterling, that was years ago.” Ballista pointed out, “That was then. But it’s plain to see that you've changed a lot since those days." "Yeah, I finally followed your advice." Sterling scoffed. "I quit while I was ahead. Maybe I should just do the same thing all over again, and get outta here while the gettin's good." "No, you shouldn't." Ballista shook his head. "I told that before because you were a kid on the wrong side. You made some poor decisions. It happens to all of us, even me. But here and now, you stand before me, now a member of the RDL and Project: Freedom. It’s proof that you can do good and that you want to do good. You can't give up on that, or yourself." "Easy for you to say." Sterling sighed. "Everycreature else already seems to have given up on me." "Not this stallion." Ballista retorted. "Why do you think I’m here right now, talking to you? Does that sound like a pony who has given up on you?” “No… I guess it doesn’t.” Sterling admitted. “Exactly.” Ballista smirked, “It may be tough now, but it’ll get easier. You just gotta keep at it. Who knows, things might get better.” "Easy to say, not so easy to believe." Sterling sighed. "Especially when you've had a hard life." "True." Ballista admitted. "But there's always hope. Nopony can take that from you." "Yeah, I guess..." Sterling shrugged. “...You know, I couldn’t help but notice that you’re having problems with your swordwork.” Ballista pointed out. “Is it that obvious?” Sterling cringed. “Not entirely. You look like you have a grasp on how to wield a sword. But that’s about it.” Ballista mused, “Considering that sword was gifted to you by a friend of yours, I would think that you would be a lot better at this…” He then added, “No offense, mate.” “None taken.” Sterling shook his head, “To be honest, I did plan on learning to use a sword but…” His thought went to the day Jetstream died, and how he practically forced him to kill him with his own sword, “...Stuff happened. And I just didn’t feel the need to learn till now.” “Well, sounds like you need a teacher.” Ballista smirked, “I could help you train if you want.” “You don’t have to, Ballista.” Sterling frowned, “I don’t wanna be a bother.” “Oh, it’s no bother at all.” Ballista declared, as he went over to a nearby weapon rack, pulling out a simple broadsword, “One of the first things they teach ya when you’re in Her Majesty’s Service is swordsponyship. I’m no world famous swordspony, but I could give you a few pointers. Whattaya say, mate?" Sterling almost said 'no', but Ballista's sincere offer to help struck a chord with him. It almost reminded him of Big Red, and even a little of Loveless. "...Okay, you got yourself a deal." He nodded. "Let's do it." "Great." Ballista smiled, as he held up his sword. "Now, watch my position, and do as I do." As Ballista took up a battle stance, Sterling mimicked him, waving his sword in the same way he did. He felt a bit better, knowing that at least one pony was willing to accept him into this new life. While the day didn’t quite pan out the way Sterling hoped, he knew he wouldjust have to keep on going, not just for himself, but for Loveless, too. And yet, a part of him was still worried about the dream he had of Elite and Ballista. 'It was just a dream.' He told himself. 'You're just worried Sterling... but you will persevere. You've got to...' And persevere Sterling would. After all, tomorrow was a new day.