“We’ve kept these bugs buzzing,” Bloodgood said observing the pegasi activity throughout town. Instead of giving up, they’d increased their patrols well into the nighttime. They used spotlights to peer into every shadow searching for a foe they didn’t quite know existed. He wondered if they’d found the bodies of their comrades on the surface yet. So far, they avoided detection, but Bloodgood didn’t want to challenge his good fortune.
The building they were scouting buzzed with activity and its defensives looked formidable even without the general alarm. High-tech cameras and torrents were everywhere and sported some impressive-looking locks. They would be a challenge even to Murder Machine’s considerable skill. He worried it might require some serious noise to break inside.
“Got an idea.” Murder Machine pointed towards a small vent. A vent that size, only a filly had a chance of crawling through it. This was the perfect job for Murder Machine’s ability.
They waited for the guards to pass and Murder Machine used Bloodgood’s back to reach the vent. With a flick of his tools, Murder Machine had the vent open and Bloodgood stood on his hind legs pushing his friend inside.
Here is where the weirdness happened. The vent was tiny compared to the lanky stallion, but Murder Machine’s joints dislocated allowing him to fit inside. His stand, Born of a Broken Man, allowed him to perform such impossible feats. His bones seemed more like rubber. Misshaping his body didn’t even cause pain or discomfort and he even seemed comfortable crammed in there. It wasn’t easy, but he scooted further into the vent using only his shoulders and back legs. Bloodgood shut the vent. Just in time for a guard passed by moments later.
Minutes passed and Bloodgood waited for his partner to reappear. He didn’t worry about Murder Machine knowing the stallion could take care of himself. Minutes later a side door opened and Murder Machine gestured for Bloodgood to enter. Bloodgood sighed in relief when he entered unnoticed. He was in a bland hallway though this one was cleaner than any he’d seen on the surface and still had paint on the walls.
“See anypony?” Bloodgood whispered.
“Most went home for tonight, but I heard some commotion coming from the lab area.” Murder Machine replied.
Bloodgood furrowed his brow. “At this hour? Come, let’s investigate.”
---
Aurora laughed as her wife told a strange story about their neighbor getting caught inside a window for almost a day. He’d been too stubborn to call for help and spent hours trying to wriggle free. He’d eventually given up and called Weather Report for help. It took considerable effort with plenty of cooking oil, but she’s finally freed him.
“How did he get there, anyway?” Aurora carried some leftovers given to them after the potluck ended. The volunteers had almost every street cleaned of debris and the worker ponies had repaired several cloud houses. They’d all done a fine day’s work. Aurora worked hard serving food to the hungry volunteers and left satisfied she’d done her part despite her injuries.
“I don’t know.” Weather Report said laughing. “I’d never gotten an answer out of him.”
Aurora laughed too. “Is that right?” She froze when she noticed something scurrying through the shadows. Had she just seen a dirt pony? Had Break escaped? She felt certain she’d seen a stallion.
“Is something the matter?” Weather Report asked. “You got that look on your face.”
“I’m not sure.” Her mind might only be playing tricks on her, but she wouldn’t take any chances. Maybe Break and Skyway hadn’t come by themselves.
“I’ll be at home.” Weather Report took the bags from Aurora’s hooves, reading her wife’s mood perfectly. “Stay safe, okay?”
Aurora kissed her wife. “I will.” She took off towards the direction the shadow had gone.
Aurora hid behind a wall and gapped at what bizarre scene stood before her. An earth pony stallion was pushing another earth pony into a tiny vent on one of the science buildings. It was an impossible feat, but much to her amazement, the stallion entered the vent without a problem. What was that pony? Were they even an equine? His companion waited outside and soon the first stallion opened a side door letting his companion inside.
From their appearance, they were raiders, but how did they get into New Cloudsdale? Wasn’t that the building the Break was being held in sedation? She cursed and ran towards a terminal. She needed to report to the higher-out about the situation. The first stallion did something she’d thought impossible. Pony bodies didn’t bend like that. Could it be a stand? If they were friends of Break, that made sense. She accessed the terminal and contacted her CEO.
“Yes?” Commander Blackwing sounded tired, but alert.
“It’s me, commander,” Aurora said.
“Ah, Aurora! How are you? Are your injuries faring you well? Jack tells me he saw you at the community center helping feed the volunteers. Well done! Shame I couldn’t come either, but paperwork you know.”
“Sir, I spotted intruders.” Aurora cut off Blackwing’s friendly ramblings. “They’re both earth ponies. Raiders from their appearance.”
Blackwing’s good mood died. “So there are the intruders. Raiders you say? Where?”
“Wasteland Research Department. Two of them.”
“I see, wait there. I’ll contact Wing Guard. He’s been searching for them all day. Somehow they stole a transport and snuck into the city.”
“They might have stands, sir,” Aurora added, “I saw one of them do something impossible. I fear they’re connected to the earth pony Break Point.”
Blackwing let out several colorful curses. “Sorry to ask you this. But could you help Wing Guard apprehend them? I know you’re injured, but if they do have powers, we need all the help we can get.”
“Understood, sir.” Aurora stood straight her voice determined. “They won’t escape.”
“Good mare.” Blackwing hung up and she waited for reinforcements to arrive. She only hoped they would arrive before the raiders rescued Break.
The response time was better than she’d expected. It took them only four minutes to arrive. It wasn’t a huge force, but it would suit their purposes. Twenty heavily armed and armored pegasi exited a troop convoy. Half wore Enclave issued power armor with laser rifles. A burly stallion in a commander’s uniform exited the ship with a cigar in his mouth. He puffed at it thoughtfully as he approached.
“So, you’re the pony Commander Blackwing told me about? The one with the strange powers?” Wing Guard sized her up noticing her injuries and giving her a doubtful look.
“Yes, sir!” Aurora gave a prompt salute. “I’m afraid we have little time for chit chat. The intruders are attempting to reach a dangerous prisoner. For what exact purpose, I can’t tell.”
Wing Guard nodded and gave his troops commands to surround the building. Some would stay to prevent any escape attempts and covered every entrance. The rest joined Aurora to pursue the criminals.
“Any questions?”
“No, sir!” The troops and Aurora replied.
“Come magic girl; let’s hunt down this raider scum.” Wing Guard followed Aurora as she made her way into the building. She winced when they discovered the blood of two pegasi guards splattered over the walls. It appeared like something had crushed them to death with a tremendous force far beyond any psychical feat of a pony.
“What could cause this?” Wing Guard asked.
“Stand powers, sir. As insane as it sounds, they are very real.”
“Truly?” Wing Guard winced. It appeared he believed the powers business to be nothing by the talk of overeager cadets until now. A position he quickly revaluated. They found more corpses of guards as they rushed towards the lab also beaten to an unrecognizable pulp. There were signs of a fight, but these raiders were beyond these simple guard’s means. Aurora hoped their heavy weapons would tip the scale in their favor. They arrived at the lab to the sound of shouting. Somepony screamed out in pain.
“I’ll ask you only once.” A stallion with a rough voice said. “Where is the Black Cat?”
Black Cat?
“I don’t know who you mean!” A scientist pony replied. He cried out in pain and whimpered when the raider caused him pain. Another scientist cowered not daring to move.
“The purple earth pony mare.” The stallion growled. “She has to be here.”
“Right, make it easier for yourself.” Another raider added. “You don’t want to end up like your friend.”
“She’s over there in sedation.” The scientist pony pointed somewhere across the room. He screamed and the body landed in a bloody misshapen heap against a wall.
The second raider laughed. “Sedation. That weird old pony was right. She’ll be easy to kill! This is perfect.”
Kill? So it isn’t a rescue mission? Is this to silence her? The mention of an old pony piqued her interest. It shouldn’t be possible for any surfacer to have info on the city. These were questions to answer later.
“Hooves in the air.” Wind Guard’s commanding voice echoed through the room. “This is your only warning.”
The first raider, a red stallion with a tawny-orange mane cursed and turned and flipped a table. His cutie mark was two daggers crossed in an X. His fellow, an emerald green stallion with a navy mane jumped after him. His cutie mark was a bloody saw. They were typical raider scum.
The remaining scientist took this opportunity to fly towards the ceiling hoping to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. The Enclave laser rifle burned holes into the table and the raider scrambled to find better cover. A figure appeared over the red stallion floating protectively over him. She was right. They were stand users. Something bizarre happened moments later. A shot hit wide striking one the lighting fixtures causing it to smash into the head of a nearby enclave soldier. The soldier bumped into Aurora so hard she lost her breath. His helmet protected him, but it was a nasty bump and knocked him out cold. Another Enclave soldier ran towards his prey gun raised, only to slip on a spilled glass of water when the table got destroyed. His rifle went off shooting into the skull of a nearby soldier in power armor hitting a weak point on the neck. He stared in horror and got shot in the eye for his trouble. The next soldier took out a grenade and chucked it over towards their target. Everypony waited for it to explode, but seconds passed with nothing happening.
A dud? What the heck? She watched as her troops had their plans ruined by random bad luck. One pony in power armor tanked the raider’s bullets flying towards them, only for the scientist pony to crash his head on the ceiling, and fall into the armored pony’s path right as he had a bead on the red stallion. The raider used his stand to throw a nearby table into both of them at high speed crushing them with tremendous force. The armored pony wasn’t dead only dazed, but the scientist wasn’t so lucky and blood came out of his ears.
This chaos happened in moments. What seemed like a surefire victory went pear-shaped. Aurora stood up and regained her breath. She wasted no time joining into the action, though she hid her stand’s existence for the time being. Instead, she pulled out her laser pistol and readied it for action. Another soldier joined her and they moved to surround the green raider. They’d take out the easier target first. His leg stuck out from under a desk he was hiding under. They froze stunned when they pointed their guns into the hiding space, only to find a disconnected leg lying on the floor. Her partner screamed as a bullet pierced her neck and fell dead. The green raider had somehow hidden in a small cupboard his body scrunched up at impossible angles. His shot at Aurora too but his first shot alerted her to his presence and her stand punched the incoming bullets giving her time to escape. The green raider’s eyes widened surprised by the sight of her stand. She turned pointing her weapon at him giving him no time to react.
The green raider frantically struggled to vacate his hiding spot as Aurora aimed for his head. She winced as an ashtray connected with her hoof knocking the weapon to the ground. She turned to find the red raider wearing a scowl on his face.
“Another stand user?” The raider said. “It ain’t going to matter. You’ll die just like the Cat.” Much to her surprise, instead of facing her, he turned running towards the holding cell containing Break Point.
“After him!” She said commanding the remaining soldiers. She yelped as something wrapped around her neck. It was a pony’s leg, only it moved more like a rope than any pony limb.
“Stop or your commander dies.” The green stallion said coming from behind her. She could smell his rancid breath as his head reached her ear.
Her troops froze unsure what to do. They didn’t want to abandon her. She summoned her stand to fight back, but it disappeared when she lost focus when the raider tightened his body so hard she couldn’t breathe. How did this simple fight escalate so out of control?
“I can crack your neck before you can kill me.“ The green raider said. “It’s pointless to fight, anyway. We’re after the same thing. Don’t you want the Black Cat dead for what she did to your town?”
What is he talking about? Her face turned blue, unable to get any oxygen and the world turning black. She cursed. The soldiers’ inactivity would get Break killed. It might get her killed, but taking down a stand using a raider and protecting Break would be a good trade-off. She refused to be a hostage.
Weather Report, I’m sorry. She summoned her stand where it would be difficult to notice. She winced in pain as he punched her in the chest making her lose any remaining air in her lungs. Life faded from her. Her desperate gambit had failed. He’d seen it somehow and now she’d die for her failure. As she blacked out, she believed she deserved this for her foalishness.
Somepony screamed and soon light returned to the world. Aurora forced glorious oxygen in her lungs gasping and wheezing. She had a nasty bruise over her neck, but she’d survive. What had happened? The green stallion whimpered grasping at his leg which had a nasty bullet wound. An Enclave soldier had used the distraction of Aurora summoning her stand to free their commanding officer. They fired on the prone raider, but he twisted his body and snuck under a table a filly couldn’t fit under. Aurora scurried away on her knees grabbing her gun while doing so.
“Are you okay, sir?” The soldier sent a volley of bullets into the table the raider was hiding under. The bullets shot through it without difficulty but they missed.
“I’ll live.” Aurora regained her composure before going after their enemy. The hiding raider screamed as a bullet struck him and pooled from under the table. She ran after the red raider leaving several soldiers to terminate the injured one.
The scene was comical as she saw the red dirty pony trying and failing to force open the locked examination room. Break sat upon a chair unconscious drool escaping the corner of her mouth. The raider’s stand grabbed at the door attempting to rip it open, but it withstood the pressure only budging an inch. His eyes bulged when Aurora and several soldiers rushed into the room. He searched for cover as the soldiers took aim. The room comprised nothing but the entrances to several examination rooms giving him nothing to hide behind.
“Out of luck this time,” Aurora smirked, keeping her stand at the ready. Whatever good luck he’d had before was about to fail.
“Never.” The raider sweated eying the guns with uncertainty but refusing to give up.
He jumped out of the path of the incoming lasers avoiding them by a hair throwing himself to the ground. He pointed his gun up to return fire, only for Aurora to rip it from his hooves. Aurora had used her power to steal some speed from a laser bolt to surprise their enemy. She ran back towards the protective line of soldiers giving him no chance to use her as a shield. Guns jammed again, but it didn’t stop a bolt from leaving a nasty burn mark on the raider’s back. He collapsed on the ground screaming in pain his eyes fanatic searching for anything that might save him.
His luck power is waning. Aurora figured luck was a fickle mistress and even the best luck couldn’t save you forever. She cursed when several stray shots took out the lights above them drowning the room in darkness.
It didn’t matter. Each soldier had a flashlight attached to their helmet, but it gave the raider enough time to try something. Aurora winced at the sound of a door squeaking open and she cursed. The raider used his stand to force open the door. It wasn’t strong enough to withstand the pressure and he ripped right open. The light returned as the raider limped into the examination room. The soldiers fired, but he was inside before the lasers reached him. Aurora didn’t dottle and used her speed stealing trick again running inside the room before her troops.
There Break was laying a restraining chair with her limbs bound with metal cords. Her head lulled to the side her eyes closed in a dreamless sleep. The red raider pulled out another gun ready to blow the mare’s head open, but Aurora had enough speed to punch the weapon from his hand. The raider stared at his empty hoof in surprise before sending a hateful glare towards Aurora’s way. He sent a punch towards his hated enemy, but Aurora interrupted his attack with a speed stealing one of her own and he froze unable to move. The rest of the soldiers rushed in guns pointed towards the raider and he didn’t move when movement returned to his body.
“Come on, stand power.” The raider muttered. “Anytime now.” But no freak luck came to his aid this time and he sweated fear of the situation hitting him hard.
Strange. Perhaps his stand power only works when his life is in danger? She thought back to their fight trying to piece together the strange random luck that had aided the scum.
“Come quietly, or you will receive a bullet in your head,” Aurora kept her stand in view planning to unleash a paralyzing punch if he tried anything.
“You don’t understand.” The raider pleaded. “She’ll kill us all. The Black Cat is a curse on everything! We need to kill her before she gets free!”
“What?” That was her only response to the crazy nonsense the raider was spewing.
“I’m only doing what’s best for the world!” The raider continued.
Maybe he isn’t with Break’s mysterious group after all and he’s only a crazy pony? How did he get a stand power? Did he use another part of the alien creature, or were some ponies born with stand powers? She hoped this raider would shed some light on this mystery.
A clanking sound caught her attention and she looked down to find a disconnected hoof holding a laser pistol twisting in her direction. She dove out of the way as it fired several shots at her. The red raider tried using this to attack her from behind, but she froze his stands attack before it reached her. Aurora grimaced as her cheek impacted the cold metal floor. The other soldiers watched the disconnected hoof in pure shock giving it the opportunity to fire on them. Thankfully, their senses returned and they dove out of the room for cover. They’d received some minor wounds, but they weren’t too serious.
“He’s behind you!” Aurora cried out seeing the other raider standing on the other side of the room with one leg with another weapon in his hoof. She’d expected him to be a terrible shot with his clearly non-dominate hoof, but his aim was deadly and he scored a headshot on one soldier.
The red raider tried moving again, but Aurora put a quick stop to his attempt. She froze this body with a punch to his body. This gave his stand room to attack her, but she dodged out the way and blocked the punches with her stand. The hoof was focusing on the soldiers giving her breathing room to dodge. Her allies fired at the disembodied hoof and, much to the green stallion’s horror, blew it into bloody chunks. He grimaced in pain and collapsed to the ground. He was lucky and landed inches away from a turned over table and dragged himself behind it before he joined his hoof.
“No!” The red raider cried out in horror at his friend’s loss and instead of attacking Aurora as expected, punched Break’s chair throwing it out of the room. It rolled across the room before landing face-up near the west exit.
The green stallion struggled to his hooves and pulled out a knife diving towards Break’s head. Aurora pointed her weapon at the raider but knew she wouldn’t make it in time. The blade clanked against wood burying itself deep by the power of the thrust. Much to Aurora’s astonishment, Break had twisted her head out of the way moments before impact in a random sleep twist. How lucky was this mare? The green stallion tried and failed to pull the blade free and received a nasty shot to his remaining front knee for his trouble leaving him defenseless. Good. Aurora wanted him alive for questioning.
“Murder Machine!” The red raider cried out in horror sending Aurora a hate-filled glare. A soldier pointed their weapon towards his head, but Aurora stopped him.
“No, don’t threaten his life; it would only activate his power. Secure the prisoner instead.” Aurora said. “I’ll handle him. That’s an order.” The remaining soldiers reluctantly agreed to leave her alone with the lone threat.
“You think you got what it takes to beat me, eh?” The red raider said showing teeth. “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with.”
Instead of attacking Aurora as expected, he darted out the room pulling out his own knife and drove it towards a nearby soldier. The soldiers raised his guns not realizing their mistake until it was too late. The red raider used his stand to take a soldier’s leg from under him and his shot hit a nearby soldier in the head killing him. The raider pulled the dead soldier in front of him using as a pony shield. Every shot struck the corpse giving the raider time to stick his knife into an eye socket splattering blood everywhere.
Aurora gave chase throwing a punch with her stand in the raider’s direction, only for him to throw the corpse in her path stunning her for a moment. The soldiers forgot her orders and opened fire on the raider. A soldier with power armor readied his laser rifle, only for the raider to use his stand to push another soldier towards his fellows cutting them to pieces. One soldier ran to aid her, only to slip on a pool of blood chipping a tooth on Break’s chair. The raider grabbed Break’s chair with his stand and used it as a shield against a power armor wearing mare. She froze daring not endangering the prisoner. In one swift motion, the raider pulled out another knife pressing it against Break’s neck threatening to slit it if pushed.
“You won’t escape,” Aurora said her voice ice cold.
“Watch me.” The red raider replied. “Are you okay Murder Machine?”
“Been better.” Murder Machine groaned. “Don’t worry about me, go.” He didn’t want to abandon his friend, but Murder Machine couldn’t walk or even stand up.
The red raider used his stand to pick up the chair but kept ready to kill Break if anypony tried anything. Aurora and the other soldiers followed looking for the best opportunity to strike when he least expected it. She waved away one soldier’s attempt to get an unexpected headshot. It would only activate his power. No, they needed to apprehend him nonlethally. Easier said than done. Moments later, the raider was outside looking for any way to escape. Just as she expected, her enemy didn’t have a real plan other than survival. It amazed her that he got this far.
“We don’t care about this Black Cat that much,” Aurora said bluffing, “put her down and surrender and we won’t kill the both of you.”
The red raider gave out a bitter laugh. “My best friend will die soon because of the Black Cat. It might be best if I die with her. Got nothing else to live for. I ain’t interested in returning to the life of a scavenger.”
I’m losing him. Her mind raced to salvage the situation. If only he wasn’t out of her stand’s reach, she’d end this in seconds. Talk, which was her only option, her only chance to save Break’s life. But how did one talk with somepony with no hope?
Moments passed and the raider and his hostage got closer to the end of the solid streets. Few steps more and his hooves would be touching nothing but cloud causing his certain doom. Aurora cursed looking for some way to stop him before he got himself and Break killed. A soldier, True Blue, gestured with his eyes. They were confident and steady? Was True Blue saying he could make the shot without endangering the hostage? There wasn’t much to close, was there? Still, could she make this order? One slip up would cause a death. Darn it, she never wanted this level of responsibility. When she joined the Enclave, she never expected to actually get into real dangerous combat situations. They were safe in the cloud, what could possibly happen?
Aurora took in a deep breath and readied herself. Do or die, she would complete this mission. She would stop this raider's rampage. Aurora looked True Blue in the eyes and nodded giving the order.