Chapter 4: On The Trail
The 3 Eternal Knights woke up with a headache, groaning in pain. “What just happened?” Fletcher asked as he found himself with the others on a meadow.
“I don’t know. Everypony okay?” Midnight asked as he got up.
Wolf vomited. “Never use portals right after a meal. I'm sure there's a rule for that.” She got up. “Where are we?”
The green stallion looked around, seeing what appeared to be a city with many skyscrapers, protruding meters into the sky. “In any case not in Equestria, I can tell that already.”
The bat pony thought for a moment. “Hard to tell at this distance. Who's betting we're on Earth again?”
“That is very likely,” Fray concluded.
“At least we have it better than last time,” Wolf commented before noticing something. “Where’s Dinky?”
Not seeing the filly anywhere, the unicorn casted a tracking spell to locate her, slightly smiled as he pinpointed her current location. “Bad news: She isn’t with us. Good news: She isn’t far from our current position.”
Midnight grabbed his blade. “Then let’s go!” Then he noticed that the blue mare was slightly wavering, holding her gut. “You’re okay?” He asked concerned.
White Wolf held up a hoof. “It's all right now.”
He nodded in return and they moved out, avoiding the city, taking the route through the nearby woods.
They all wondered if they had really landed on Earth and if yes, when on Earth.
Still, they hoped the young filly was alright.
After a while, Wolf saw something in the distance. “Hey, I see smoke!”
“I can see it too. Proceed with caution.” The grey stallion warned.
The trail led outside of the woods and a horrible sight greeted them. “Oh my…” Midnight mumbled in slight shock.
The smoke came from a destroyed settlement, made out of old buildings, outfitted with metal plates for protection or as a roof it’s residents slaughtered. Their bodies lying covered in blood everywhere. The bodies were male and female, mostly of Caucasian race, dressed in casual clothes. They were human civilians, hinting the Knights had indeed landed on Earth. “I guess it’s not a peaceful era. Poor guys, they never stood a chance.” He commented with an expression of disgust before Fletcher walked towards the bodies. “What are you doing?”
“Checking for supplies, we need food and water.” He replied as he checked the bodies and settlement for anything of use.
Surprisingly, the supplies of the settlement were completely intact, allowing the knights to make themselves some saddlebags for food and water.
The bat pony and Pegasus took also notice how Fletcher inspected an Assault Rifle, together with a Revolver. “They will come in handy for sure.” He said and crafted a strap for the rifle and a holster for the revolver. “You remember what I did in Africa in case I can’t use magic it wanted to save it until I need it? I suggest you do the same.”
“I'm good, thanks,” Wolf replied.
Fletcher gave her a firm look. “Wolf...”
“Come on, Fletch, you know how much I hate this clunky plastic curd! I don't see why humans love them so much.” The mare pointed out with disgust.
“Look, Fletcher has a point, Wolf. I don't like it any more than you do but right here, right now, we have no idea what we might be up against and it'll help to be able to fight them with their own weapons. We can always just use our own if it's more effective.” Midnight countered.
The mare pointed to the corpses in response. “They didn't do these poor bastards much good.”
Fletcher nodded. “Yeah, well, let's hope we're better shots. Rule Number 28. Find and carry at least one native weapon in non-Equestrian territory until departure.”
Yeah, yeah...” The Pegasus mumbled as she sulkily looked for a gun she liked the look of.
While the grey stallion got himself an Assault Rifle too, Wolf got herself what looked like a Bullpup pump-action shotgun, perfect for her close range fighting style. “Well, I'll use it but I won't like it.” She commented with disdain as Fletcher also equipped a bolt-action Sniper rifle.
The group continued their walk through the woods until it became slowly dark, showing that the night was coming. Normally, they all three could be awoke until late in the night before having to rest, but for some reason, they all started to show signs of fatigue, having a yawn, their eyes struggling to stay open. Also, their head ached quite a bit.
“Ugh...damnit. This must be what Grandpa and Dawnwind feel like after farseeing.” Wolf held her head in pain.
“I guess it comes from the aftereffects of the portal. Let’s rest.” The unicorn suggested and his friends agreed, making a campfire.
Wolf held her hooves close to it to warm herself, admiring the looks of the stars. “It’s hard to believe we landed on Earth again. But It makes me wonder…remember Quince?”
“Yes, why?” Fray asked.
“How did he end up on Earth and how long had he been there? I mean his last sighting had been over 1000 years back in the civil war.”
Midnight put a hoof to his chin. “It’s a good question but I think it’s better for us if we don’t know. But get some sleep you two, I keep watch.”
“Okay, Midnight, goodnight.” The blue mare replied and made herself comfortable at the fire, drifting off to sleep with Fletcher.
While being able to stay awake for a long time, it didn’t take long until the bat pony had to yawn, his eyes started to get heavy.
“What's wrong with me? This bloody...headache...Hurts to...blink…” He mumbled and closed his eyes.
The grey stallion woke up to a strange sound, opening his eyes. To his surprise he found himself with his friends on obduction tables, unable to move, His heart almost skipped a beat as a man in a white scientist coat walked in, staying in the dark unable to be recognized. The man grabbed a scalpel.
Midnight looked at it in fear, his heart racing, but his body was numb, wanting to scream as he was cut open, the pain beyond any he had experienced so far.
“This fearsome creature, known to their kind as the 'Record Keeper' appears to be a subsidiary of the common race of equine aliens we've been studying. It’s blood magic could be of great use for our troops in the field.” The man said before cutting Wolf open, her expression was empty, making Midnight wonder if she was dead or just as aware as he was.
“This specimen, henceforth referred to as the Stormrunner, seems to have considerable healing magic and immunity to diseases. By studying these, we might be able to make our troops more resistant towards poison.” Then the human worked on Fray, his expression was also empty.
“The Battle brother appears to be kept alive by crablike creatures in his blood, allowing rapid regeneration of wounds. Those could be used to make our troops more resistance towards any damage. Also, the creature is abnormally warm to the touch for a corpse, and I must say, it's quite disconcerting.”
At this moment, all three ponies awoke with a gasp, their breathing rapid as they aimed their firearms in all directions, before calming down.
“Phew…That was one hay of a nightmare…” Midnight mumbled as he wiped the cold sweat of his face.
“What did you dream?” Fray asked in a shocked voice.
“Getting…autopsied while being still alive…” The grey stallion shuddered.
His friends glancing at one another uncertainly. They rarely had nightmares thanks to Luna. If they had, they were never that intense.
Midnight took slowly deep breaths to calm down.
“I had the same dream,” Fray replied with a terrified expression, shuddering too.
They all looked at each other with an unsure expression, wondering if this was really coincidence if this could mean something.
This was way too real… The mare thought with fear as she took a deep breath.
“Me too.” Wolf added in the same voice.
“I really don’t want to know what that means…” The bat pony sighed. “Anyway, let’s try to get some rest again…”
Despite this, they all slept peaceful for the rest of the night.
The next morning they moved on, reaching the end of the woods. “Finally…” Wolf commented before a loud sound echoed in her ear. “Gunfire.”
They moved towards the source, coming to a small hill.
They saw a small battle going on between armed civilians and human soldiers in black armor, led by a soldier in red armor. The civilians held bravely their ground, but one by one, they got slowly killed by the solders. Strangely, their rifles fired red colored bullets.
“Watch out, Sectoid!” One of the civilians warned as a human like creature came into view, having no hair or clothes, but a device on the right arm. It looked towards the sky and a purple cloud formed above its head and then shot towards a civilian.
He screamed in pain before starting to shoot his friends, then ran towards a group with a grenade, killing himself in the process.
“No! Chryssalid!” Another yelled as a four-legged purple colored creature, having two claws and very sharp tow formed teeth, and glowing yellow eyes came into view.
It leaped towards one civilian, hit him into the chest with its teeth, lifting him into the air, the human screamed in pain before becoming limp.
“We must help them!” Fletcher exclaimed bit Midnight held a hoof up.
“Fletch, no! We can't go in blades-a-blazing like this. This is their fight, not ours.” But they all looked disgusted as the creature dropped the body, implanting what looked like an egg into the human’s chest.
After a few seconds, the dead human groaned and stood up, eyes glowing red, skin pale. It stumbled slowly towards the few survivors, shrugging off any bullets before starting to bleed from the mouth and vomited blood, collapsing.
What happened next shocked even the Knights.
The body twitched as if it was about to burst.
And it did burst, a smaller of those creatures hatched from the body, having a visually lighter color. Together with the other creature and soldiers, it wiped out the surviving civilians in seconds, before leaving.
“Oh…dear...” Fletcher mumbled in disgust and shock. “That’s sick.”
“Yes, it is. Are you okay, Wolf?” Midnight asked as the mare looked at the body the small creature had hatched from with a terrified expression, trembling.
“I’m…f-fine…” She replied with a slightly shaken voice.
The two stallions looked at each other, they rarely saw the Pegasus so shaken or scared by something.
“Take a deep breath, neither a…Sectoid nor a Chryssalid will stop us.” The grey stallion advised and she did as told, stopping to tremble.
“Right.” She sounded calm, but a small hint of fear remained in her eyes as they checked the bodies.
Fletcher looked at one corpse being covered in blood and black shrapnel. “I guess he tried to use one of the soldiers’ rifles and it blew up in his face. Quite an effective yet cruel way to prevent unauthorized users from using them.” He commented with disgust.
“Yes. Any idea what this human-like creature did?” The blue Pony asked.
“Some sort of mind control I think.” He suspected, “And even if it looked human, something tells me it isn’t. Has Dinky’s location changed?” Midnight asked Fray.
The unicorn casted the tracking spell in response. “No. If we follow the road, we should be able to get to her without any delay.”
“Then led the way.” Midnight replied and they moved out.
The country road seemed abandoned as they encountered no resistance during their walk, taking regularly breaks, is it was a warm day.
Eventually, the evening slowly showed presence and Midnight had to wipe sweat of his forehead, as it became quite humid. “Ugh…it’s so humid! Mind if we take a cool place to rest the night? We can’t keep up if it’s so hot.”
“Agreed. What about this cave?” Wolf pointed to it to her left.
“Sounds good to me.” Fletcher replied and they entered it, the cool air was a nice change for them, falling asleep fast.
White Wolf couldn’t tell how long she had slept before a strange noise awoke her. Looking around, she couldn’t see her friends anymore. “Fletch? Midnight?” She called out but got no response.
A terrible groan came from outside, making her flinch. “I better check this out.”
Walking outside, the mare found herself in a dark forest, nothing but silence, the ground was squishy, which unsettled her. For some reason, she felt fear, despite her battle experience.
She wasn’t afraid of the darkness but something told her she wasn’t alone, walking carefully through the woods.
Without any kind of warning the ground in front of her crumbled, an insect like Alien jumped up, causing to fall on her back with a shriek. Crawling backwards out of instinct, the mare saw that, if she remembered correctly, a Chryssalid as the resistance called it, stood in front of her.
She attempted to grab her knife out of her leather band…
It wasn’t there.
The Chryssalid leaped towards her, it’s claws grabbing her forelegs, effectively pinning her down. Screaming in panic, Wolf tried to break free but the Alien’s grip was strong. The Eternal Knight knew exactly what the Chryssalid intended to do with her.
“No, no, no! Don’t you dare!” She yelled in panic, completely terrified.
The four-legged Alien then looked down at her hind legs, It took only her a few seconds to see that the Chryssalid had in mind, instead of killing her.
The creature was about to…
“NO!” White Wolf screamed at the top of her lungs, waking up, gasping from a terrible nightmare, breathing heavily, cold sweat on her face.
“Wolf, are you alright?” Midnight asked as he and Fray looked concerned at her. In a flash, she had wrapped her fore legs around the bat pony, who in return patted her back. “Calm down, it was just a dream.” He and the unicorn could tell she had been a terrible nightmare.
“I…I dreamed one of those Chrysalids tried to…” She tried to say with a shaken voice but couldn’t finish.
Fletcher gave her a smile. “Don’t worry, Wolf, we keep you safe from those things. They won’t harm you.” Or else Dawnwind rips my and Midnight’s head off.
“Plus, you can fly, remember?” Midnight pointed out.
“Yeah…Maybe I just…” The mare took a deep breath and smiled weakly. “It was just a dream after all.”
With that, they went to sleep again.
In the morning, Fray checked Dinky’s location again and was a bit surprised. “It appears her location has changed.”
“So she’s further away from our position?” The grey stallion asked.
“On the contrary, she’s closer to us.” Fray replied with a slight smile.
“Well, that’s convenient.” Wolf commented.
As they moved out, the bat pony said, “Fletcher, try not to die this time.”
The unicorn chuckled in response. “You worry about yourself, old stallion.”
Wolf rolled her eyes with a grin. Back then, Quince had almost killed Fletcher, but thanks to the quick action of Dinky and her 2 friends, he had survived. The Farman stallion had nearly died, having been afraid, but neither she nor Midnight blamed him, it was natural. And he took it quite serenely after everything was over.
He and Midnight had been so long friends with her that she didn’t even want to think about what her life would be without them. Fletch, she really loved how jovial he was, always having a way to brighten up the mood, even in the worst situations. As such, she didn’t wanted him to die, nor Midnight.
The way led them towards another of those improvised towns, still intact. “I guess those soldiers didn’t discover this town yet.” Midnight commented as they entered it.
Strangely it looked like it was abandoned.
“It’s too quiet.” Wolf said, suspicious.
A wiring sound entered their ears and they looked into the direction it came from, looking at a pole. On it was a cuboid formed object with a lens on it, making the wiring sound.
The Knights walked up to it, it followed their movements as they inspected it, realizing what it was supposed to be.
“A surveillance camera?” Midnight asked.
Suddenly green gas sprayed from it and they coughed violently, struggling to stand, Fray tried to cast a shield spell but collapsed, seeing faintly two silhouettes before everything became black.
“Wake up!” A voice yelled and they slowly opened their eyes, finding themselves in a big cage in an isolated area of the settlement consisting of a fenced backyard.
Two humans, both men, stood before them, armed with a pistol and Rifle. The rifle one was quite muscular, having a short beard with brown long hair and eyes, his face and chin broad. The other had also a short beard, but short black hair and green eyes, looking rather thin. His face was rounded, the chin narrow.
They both appeared o be dressed in camouflage uniforms, hinting they were experienced, the muscular man appeared to have a scar on the neck.
“Who are you?” The muscular man demanded, his voice was German.
“Stay calm. Let me first make it absolutely clear that we are not with ADVENT.” The bat pony tried to explain.
Lie! Every Alien is with ADVENT.” The thin man yelled in distrust, sounding also German.
“No no no! We are not with ADVENT. We are not okay?” Fletcher quickly replied.
“Now, you ain’t human but you could be a spy. Do they look like a spy to you, William?” The thin man asked with distrust his friend.
“Nope.”
“Hang on, hang on. Now we way be aliens, we just...” Fray tried to explain before the thing man asked,
“Why should we believe you?”
Wolf groaned in annoyance. “Buck this.” She and Midnight got up, the latter still had his blade, cutting right through the cage and stood with her before the too men. “Let me say this again. We. Ain’t. With. ADVENT. We got precious little time for this. We are looking for a lost friend and just want to pass through.”
The muscular man grinned, showing no fear. “Impressive.” He turned to the other man.
“Manfred, get them some soup.” The tall man said and the other residents slowly came out of hiding.
The thin man made the Knights some tomato soup. “It’s my mother’s recipe, I hope it’s good.”
Wolf took a sip and enjoyed the warm taste going down her throat. “It's good. Thank you.” She said as she watched how the people did their daily tasks and children played.
Frank sat down opposite to them. “So, who are you and what are you doing here?” He sounded rather curious.
“It’s kind of a long story” The grey bat pony said and explained their situation, the 2 men listened with interest.
“Sounds very…fascinating. But it seems your young friend had bad luck.” William said.
“Why?” Fray asked in confusion.
“ADVENT. They are those soldiers you have seen. If they have found her, then it most likely they killed her. Or captured, tortured and interrogated before… being forced to join their ranks. I have heard this is the fate of captured rebels or people of interest…” The man had fear and disgust in his voice.
The Knights looked at each other, not sure what to think about it. Still, there was something. “What Is ADVENT exactly?” Midnight asked.
Frank took a deep breath. “It all started 20 years ago. Earth was attacked by Aliens. The militaries and a special unit called XCOM fought bravely, but eventually, they were overwhelmed and Earth surrendered. The aliens claimed to have come to in peace and that the governments responded wrong. It’s a lie.” His voice was shaky.
“I was there when the invasion began. It was a warm spring day and suddenly, black pods crashed into the ground, released green gas that sucked everyone in that was too close to it. Then the aliens abducted people and attacked our cities, showing no mercy. And after it was over they said it was a misunderstanding…” He trembled slightly, his expression terrified. “I used to be a farmer back then, so I was able to make this all.”
“Me, I am his best friend, having lived in a small village before it was wiped out, having been a mechanic.” Manfred said before William continued,
“ADVENT was founded by the Aliens as a new global government. But there are still people who resist them. I lead of those settlements.”
Again, the Knights looked at each other, they did not want to imagine how horrible it must have been. “I see, but we managed to locate her not far from here.” Fray replied.
William thought for a moment. “If that’s the case, then she might be in the next settlement close by, led by a man called Denfather. But it’s on the other side of an abandoned city.” He warned.
“What’s the problem with that?” Wolf asked, not able to understand.
“Well, these fog pods made them very…infested. When the governments fell, millions starved, many fled to cities like this to scavenge for food. They did not heed the warnings. We call those…the Lost. I regularly send scouts to check if any of them might have left the city and to avoid they get here. Officially, this city no longer exists, but my scouts still report sights of ADVENT troops. I think they are called Purifier.” He warned with an uneasy voice.
“In my experience, anyone who uses the word 'pure' in anything other than chemistry shouldn't be trusted.” Fletcher commented.
“Careful is our middle name.” Midnight said in a calm voice.
“Still, if you could need some extra firepower, I may have something for you.” Manfred walked over to a small garage and came back with what looked like a drone in tracks, having a minigun as weapon. “XCOM used those back in the invasion. They are called Super Heavy Infantry Vehicle, or S.H.I.V. I found this one pretty damaged while on patrol outside the settlement.
“Nothing I can’t fix.” Fletcher said with pride in his voice.
Most of the drone systems were burned. Probably from serve damage but Fray with his skills and magic managed to repair it in only a few minutes. Pushing the start button, the drone whirred to life, making beeping noises. “And it works again.”
“Then good luck. And watch out, the Lost are sensitive to sound.” Manfred warned.
“Duly noted.” Midnight replied before they moved out towards the city.
The city came slowly into view and had an unsettling slight, greenish glow.
“Fletch, can I ask you something?” Wolf looked at him.
“Shoot.”
“You told me once about your encounter with those Nepaeae things. The ones you found in the Hippomorphian Forges. Is…is there a male version?” Her voice sounded slightly afraid.
Nepaeae had a similar means of reproduction as the Chryssalid. Fray thought for a moment. “Can’t remember exactly but I think yes, being harmless though.”
“You were very lucky back then, Fletcher. I don't want to go through that.” Midnight commented as Fray had barely avoided dying to those things.
“Yeah, but stay focused.”
Strangely, the outskirts of it weren’t barricaded at all, allowing free entry.
“Stay sharp.” Midnight warned as they entered.
The city was dark, littered with abandoned cars, and victims of the fog pods, being lifeless statues, standing or lying on the ground in protective or scared poses next to the leftovers of the fog pods. Even after 20 years, they still maintained a greenish glow, covered in what looked like green roots, covering some of the victims too.
“Poor people, I dread to imagine how horrible this must have been.” Fletcher commented with pity at the sight.
“Yes.” Midnight replied before several bestial howls echoed through the empty streets, startling the ponies a bit. “I guess those ‘Lost’ already know we’re here. Let’s move.”
Yet, they barely made a few meters before a horrible groan came from one of the buildings up ahead.
A group of humans stumbled out. Yet their appearance was far from being alive. Their skin was grey and rotted, their clothes torn, the eyes glowing green.
“And that must be the Lost.” The gray stallion said before the drone opened fire, mowing the former humans down with well-placed headshots. “Good to know.” He added before another horde came down the street.
The Eternal Knights took aim and fired, Fletcher noticed that his friends rarely missed a shot, having good aim as he had despite not having used human firearms before. It wasn’t really surprising for him.
Yet they quickly ran dry so they switched to their sidearm, firing at every Lost that stumbled towards them until the area was clear. They used this to reload, Fray flinched briefly at a cracking sound behind him.
Turning around, he saw a dead Lost behind him, the gating gun of the drone was smoking. “That was close. We need to move, we can’t stay at one place for too long.” He realized and Wolf started to grin.
“Run and gun.”
The group ran down the street, followed by the S.H.I.V., not encountering any Lost until a hiss of a flamethrower entered their ears.
They stopped at as few meters in front of them, a burning Lost stumbled out, making screening noises before it collapsed.
Out of the flames came 2 ADVENT soldiers wearing distinctive orange armor and fully enclosed helmets, armed with flamethrowers, having gas tanks on their backs.
They aimed at the Knights and fired, Fletcher out of instinct, created a magic shield wall but while focusing, he was also frozen in terror at the sight, due to his experience in the civil war with fire and Solomon.
His friends used this to flank the soldiers, Wolf fired at the head of one soldier but the spread of her shotgun accidently also hit the tank, and it started to hiss. Fray’s eyes went small. “Get back or these guys are going to have a horse-meat barbecue!” He warned but was already on the way down and rolling around at the explosion, his vision was blurry, his ears ringing.
He struggled to up as everything went clear again, seeing only smoke where his friends had been. “No…” he said in shock, “It can’t be…”
Then coughing came from it and he saw both ponies stumbling out, covered in dust, having slight combustions. “Thanks for the warning, Fletch, next time we keep our distance from the Purifiers.” Wolf coughed smoke as the unicorn casted a healing spell on her.
Midnight spotted a fallen over officer, lying against a car, still alive. He limped over and grabbed him at the head, his hooves glowing faintly red and the officer groaned in pain as the stallion used his blood magic to heal himself.
After a few seconds, the officer became limp and Midnight let out a sigh of comfort. “Much better.”
Again, several bestial howls echoed through the city. “Oh...damn it.…” Midnight mumbled in terror as another horde came down the street. But those Lost kinda sprinted in a crouching manner, being way faster than the last horde.
The Ponies and drone opened fire, managing to mow then down before they came too close. Behind them was a large Lost, walking in a slow yet threatening manner, only flinching from the hits it took. “This thing’s tough!” Wolf commented with frustration.
Fletcher aimed down the scope, firing at the head, with a loud crack, a part of it splattered from the body and it collapsed. “Not that tough.”
Midnight then inspected the bodies of the ADVENT soldiers, finding what looked like laser sights carried by the Purifiers. “Those should come in handy.” He attached one to his rifle and gave one to Wolf. Fray found also one on the body of the officer.
“Okay, move out.” The grey stallion took the lead.
As they walked carefully through the streets, Fray said, “I can’t help but think if Solomon had to do the Purifier’s work, if he would like it or see it more of a waste of his talents.”
“A bit of both I suspect.” Midnight replied as a gigantic Skyscraper was insight just down the street. “If we go up there, we might be able to find out where the next exit is.”
“Good idea.” Wolf liked it as they moved forward, neither Lost or ADVENT in sight.
As they approached it, they saw this side of the building was the underground car park, eying the surroundings for any dangers. “Clear.” Midnight said and they entered, only to startle as a loud groan, followed by a rumble. The group turned around, seeing the entrance had collapsed, the drone was crushed under it.
“Guess we won’t get out that way.” Fray commented before they took the stairs up, he switched to his pistol to the close room, making their way to the 60th floor, slightly out of breath afterwards.
“Let’s check the rooms.” Fray casted a spell, scanning the area. “Several ADVENT soldiers, on the left and right room.”
“We’ll take the left, you the right.” Midnight ordered and the unicorn nodded.
The bat pony took position at the door and kicked it open as Wolf nodded. She stormed it and fired her shotgun, catching the soldier completely by surprise before they could react. Fray did the same with the right door, shooting 2 troopers and one officer in the head with his pistol before they could react.
Midnights ears twitched as he heard running, quickly turning around and fired a round as an ADVENT trooper rushed into the room, blood splattered from the helmet and the soldier landed head first on the ground. “Nice shot.” Wolf complimented her friend.
“From the roof, we should be able to see more.” The stallion suggested and they both took a look while Fray stayed on the floor to check for more hostiles.
“It looks like this building is near the outskirts.” The bat pony informed him via his sonar, allowing them to communicate without having to speak.
“Then we are on the right track.” Fray replied before he heard a strange noise. “What was that?” He took a look, coming to a balcony, watching carefully around. “Guess it was nothing.”
In the moment he was about to walk back in, the glass of the window shattered as another trooper rammed through it, causing the unicorn to cover himself from the sharp shards, hissing in pain as one grazed his horn, interrupting his magic.
Before he knew it, the trooper threw him over the balcony and he screamed.
“Fletch!” Wolf exclaimed and dived after him.
It felt so natural to scream as his life flashed before him, the ground coming closer and closer, he knew it was impossible to survive a fall from this height.
“Gotcha!” The Pegasus just barely managed to catch him seconds before he had hit the ground, landing with him on a roof of another building.
“Fletch? Are you alright? Fletch? Everything’s gonna be fine.” White Wolf had worry in her voice as the unicorn was trembling heavily, not responding, just staring, also having wet himself. She and Midnight couldn’t blame him, they had probably too had they been in his situation.
Slowly, the stallion brought his forelegs around her for a hug. “Th-tha-thank you...” He stuttered, still shocked.
Wolf smiled warmly. “No need, as long as I live, I won’t let any of you die.”
“Plus, you’re our only ticket home, Fletch.” Midnight added, relieved he was alright.
Fletcher just nodded and they jumped and climbed from roof to roof to avoid any further hostiles until they finally got out of the city, seeing it was getting evening, the sun setting.
“We are very close, no time to rest now.” Fray said with determination to get to Dinky as fast as he could.
Unfortunately, a checkpoint was up ahead, along with several guards. “I’ll take care of this.” Wolf flew up to a nearby cloud and pushed it over the guards and punched the cloud. With a loud thunder, several flashes of lighting struck them, they twitched and fell to the ground.
Then, howling sound entered their ears, noticing a wolf pack coming out of a nearby forest. “Well, that’s convenient.” The mare commented and walked up to the animals, they bowed immediately.
A sound of an engine echoed in their ears and a light blinded them from the sky. It belonged to an airport transport, dropping off soldiers.
“Butts!” One of the officers yelled, pointing at Wolf.
“Now, let’s show them what we got!” Wolf yelled and drew her knives, slashing the ADVENT troops while her loyal pack distracted them or rip them to pieces.
Midnight teleported around to strike ADVENT troops, using his grenades and boomerangs against groups of them.
Fletcher drew his bow, firing at every ADVENT soldier he spotted, his arrows glowed green and blood splattered once they hit their target, knocking the soldiers back. Those who hid behind cover weren’t safe. When he fired an arrow, he went right through it, leaving a glowing green spot on the surface it had penetrated or flew up into the sky and homed on, blinking in a green color, securing the kill. Those who were in melee range or rushed him became victim of his spear as he teleported between targets until the checkpoint was secured.
“Okay, now let’s-” Midnight was cut off by a groan as all killed soldiers started to rise, a purple glow above their heads. The stallion roared in rage and charged forward, slicing them all in seconds with his blood rage. He breathed heavily after he had taken them all out, about to walk back to his friends as he noticed a shadow, behind the security both.
It looked human, being thin and its chest glowed sickly green, having big black eyes and a device on the right arm.
It turned out to be a Sectoid, the purple glow coming from it, roaring at him, showing a visible mouth with teeth as it charged at him.
“Alright baldy, fresh freak-sushi coming right up!” Midnight yelled as he lunged at the Alien, swinging his blade, cutting the Sectoid in half, yellow/orange blood splattered from it before it fell dead to the ground.
“Since when do you like Neighpon food?” His friends asked in unison.
“Three years on a pilgrimage in Ema, learning the ways of the Shinobi under Kuroni Hanzo. I didn't eat bucking bamboo now, did I?” He asked in return.
“Right…Mind controlling the dead, that’s new.” Fletcher commented as they moved on. It was getting dark, but being so close, they didn’t have time to rest now.
The filly had slept well as the morning came, yawned and she blinked he eyes open and stretched herself. “Good morning, Dinky.” Edward greeted as he walked in with a breakfast board, on it bread and a glass of juice.
“That’s very kind of you.” The bread was soft and very fresh, Dinky enjoyed every bite of it, the juice was refreshing. She smiled. “Where is Rosie?”
“Outside.” He led them to her as the woman breakfasted on a table, enjoying the warm weather.
“Good morning, Rosie.”
“Morning, Dinky. I hope you had a pleasant night sleep.” The mother smiled warmly at her.
“Of course I did! And you?”
“Like a stone.”
The two children used the early morning to play together while Rosie watched them, drinking her tea.
Eventually, the two children laid down on the grass, laughing. “You really remind me of a good friend of mine, Edward.”
“I do?” The boy sounded curious.
“Yeah. His name is Pipsqueak. A pinto colt from Trottingham but he goes to Ms. Cheerilee's in Ponyville. He's like me, came out really small, still is actually. Whenever I feel down, he cheers me up, being a good friend. Just like you.” The filly replied with a smile.
“Glad to hear it. You’re a good friend too.”
Dinky's ear twitched.
There was an odd sound on the air.
The filly turned her head towards the sound and her eyes went small in terror.
Several ADVENT transports moved in, the doors open and troopers opened fire.
“Get to cover! Move!” Denfather’s voice ringed in her ears and she wasted no time to run with Rosie, seeing out of the corner of her eye how the man got caught in an explosion.
She, Edward and Rosie sprinted through the door of a hut. They piled in and Dinky shut the door. She turned around to see Edward and his mother hiding in the corner.
“Mommy, I'm scared.” He hugged his legs close to his chest, tears streaming down his face.
His mother hugged him close, "Shh, shh. It's alright. Everything is going to be okay," Rosie tried to sound brave for her child, but Dinky could tell she was just as terrified as her son.
The filly tried to stay calm, but even she was scared, trembling as she heard the sounds of battle and slaughter outside.
It seemed like hours, making them all pray they would survive this.
But that hope was shattered as the door burst open and what could be described as a monster came in. It was a four-legged purple colored creature with spines, talons and razor-like skin, nearly identical to that in her nightmare.
The unicorn was frozen in fear, unable to do anything.
She screamed as it raised its claws to strike at her.
A scream of pain.
But it was not hers.
“Oh no, you don’t!” A familiar voice yelled.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw that the creature’s claws had clashed with a spear, held by a green unicorn stallion, holding it back as he smiled warmly at her. “Hope you didn't miss Uncle Fletcher.” He then turned back and shoved the creature back.
Dinky slowly smiled as she saw White Wolf joining the fight, a pack of Wolves attacking any ADVENT soldier they saw.
But then she spotted an ADVENT trooper running towards her, ignoring the battle all around him. This soldier was thinner than a regular trooper and wore grey angular armor decorated with small red lights, the top of the breastplate and small pauldrons were stamped with a red ADVENT logo, and under the armor was a grey bodysuit with red knuckles on the gloves. Instead of the black ammo packs worn by standard Trooper, he also wore plates of armor over his stomach secured by a belt.
Also, the helmet had a crimson-red polarized visor.
She stared at him and he stopped in front of her and reached for what looked like a lance from his back, it started to buzz and glow a menacing red.
“Please, no! Don’t!” The filly screamed as he was about to strike her and closed her eyes.
Another loud clang followed and another voice yelled, “How about picking on someone your own size?” She looked up to see Midnight having clashed his Blade with the Lance, pushing the attacker back.
The filly breathed in relief as she saw how Jane and Sasha together with the Eternal Knights gained the upper hand, neutralizing all enemy forces. The woman then looked surprised at the knights. “We weren’t expecting help.”
“That’s the point. Nobody expects us.” The bat pony replied with a grin.
“Dinky! You’re bleeding!” Edward pointed to her right forehoof, it had a bloody cut with a yellow liquid and suddenly she felt weak, struggling to stand.
“Don’t worry, I got that fixed up in no time.” A German voice said and she saw an XCOM sniper walking up to her, holding a Medikit.
He wore a dark blue cap with a headset, his eyes were a calming blue behind glasses and short blond hair. His face was round with a narrow chin, his build slim. His weapon and armor was colored in a forest green.
He pressed a button on the Medikit and a cold blue vapor came out, cooling her wound and she was in a bliss afterwards. “See? Much better.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Jane took the word. “Now, let's get any survivors out of here.” She turned to the Knights. “You are free to join if you like.”
“Nothing more than that.” Midnight replied.
It was a relief to Dinky as they walked to the Skyranger, none of the children had died, yet most of the buildings were destroyed, making the settlement unusable, making her wondering what would happen to the survivors. Also while a only few adults had been killed, some of the children looked at them with sad faces, making her wonder if they had lost their parents.
They had possibly lost everything, nowhere to go, making her thinking why it had to come to something terrible as this, they all had nothing wrong done, just wanting to live their lives.
None at such a young age should suffer like this.
At the entrance to the settlement, she came across a fallen ADVENT trooper, lying against the wall with his back. She looked at him in confusion.
How could they kill civilians without regret? How could these people call themselves 'peacekeepers', it doesn’t make sense. Her mind struggled to get up an answer.
She stepped back as the corpse raised his hand, pointing at the little filly before him.
It was then that Dinky noticed the pistol.
The Enteral Knights started as a gunshot echoed in their ears, turning around to see Dinky falling to the ground with a cry of pain.
In response, Wolf let out a roar and fired her shotgun at the Trooper, screening him with shotgun bullets as he fell over to the side, the pistol slipped out of his hand. Even after running dry, she proceeded to hit him violently with the butt of his weapon in a fit of rage.
“H-help…” The foal’s voice tore her out, seeing the unicorn lying on the ground, holding her chest as she was bleeding pretty badly.
“Gyro, stabilize!” A British voice called out and she saw a purple colored GREMLIN fling over her. Next to it stood a man with light skin, broad face and slim build, wearing a purple bandana. She noticed that he had Shoulder-length, dark-brown hair and green eyes with glasses, his armor was colored the same as the drone, mixed with a Tartan-like color.
The drone released the same cold blue vapor and she blacked out.
“She’s stable. Let’s get her to the Avenger ASAP.” The Specialist said and Fray gently picked her up, looking at her with worry.
Hold on, Dinky. Don’t die…