//------------------------------// // Amethyst // Story: The Sins Of The Celestial Empire // by Erol carstein //------------------------------// ++ RECEIVING AUDIO-FILE FROM CELESTIAS GRACE++ ++DOWNLOADING++ ++DOWNLOADING++ ++DOWNLOADING++ ++AUDIO-FILE DOWNLOADED++ ++OPENING AND PLAYING AUDIO-FILE++ ++HELLO? CAN ANYONE HERE ME? FUCK IT, HERE I GO ANYWAY. THIS IS EROL CARSTEIN FROM ENGINEERING. IF YOUR LOOKING FOR ACTION THIS CHAPTER YOU WON'T FIND IT. TURNS OUT THAT THE AUTHOR GUY DECIDED TO EXPERIMENT WITH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT++ ++IF YOU'VE GOT ANY TIPS FOR HIM ABOUT IT THEN LEAVE A DATA-FILE ON THE SERVER INPUT BELOW. "LEAVE A COMMENT" I THINK HE SAYS. LOOK I GOTTA GET BACK TO WORK. SO ENJOY++ ++OH. AND IF ANYONE SEES LYRA TELL HER THAT HUMANS DON'T EXIST. YOU'D THINK A GROWN PONY WOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW++ ++END AUDIO-FILE++ ++MOTTO FOR THE DAY: THE SURVIVAL OF THE EMPIRE IS WORTH MORE THEN THE SURVIVAL OF THE INDIVIDUAL++ ++STANDBY++ ≤ΘΘΘ≥ The first deployment was always the hardest, that moment when you had to let everything go and trust that it will all be ok is possibly the most difficult thing to face. Amethyst had been with the program since the very beginning, watching over the subjects. She fed them, clothed them, made sure they slept at night and that they treated with each other with respect. Though Amethyst had never had foals of her own, looking at the team now, she felt a maternal compassion for them so strong she had to fight to hold back her tears. Within the amplification chamber where seven genetic modification units, and sitting in the units where the members of the team. Six where within a deep, medically controlled coma, their brainwave emissions and pheromone outputs being carefully monitored to ensure that their immune systems didn't attempt to reject the reconstruction of their helical DNA. The units themselves where specially designed tables, each padded to keep the occupant comfortable. Metal straps where placed around the arms and legs in order to keep the subjects muscles in the correct positions needed to maximise blood flow. In the centre of the head piece was a small hole, and through this hole was fed an input jack, designed to deliver electrical data to the chemicals and pheromones being injected into the subject so that the correct sequences of DNA where added to the helical spiral. Though Cloudy, Ignia, Red arrow, Poker face, Darkstar and Russet cheer where already undergoing amplification, Daredevil had yet to be put under. 'Poor thing' Amethyst thought 'she's always been scared of this room' Daredevils mother had been a political prisoner of the new Lunar republic, a dignitary from the planet of Dalmora who had been captured during a specialist operation and brought to Threnor for interrogation. At the time of her capture the mare had been six months pregnant, though the foals' father had been long dead. When high command had been unable to find any use for the prisoner and the interrogation had proved that the mare had no knowledge of any imperial troop movements, it was decided that the mares' as yet unborn child would be placed in the new amplification program and trained as a new breed of soldier. The filly had been born free of any defects both physical and mental, and was taken from her mother only minutes after she was born, the mare had then been transferred to Aurelia had hadn't been heard of since. Though she had never known her mother, or for that matter even been held by her, Daredevil had grown strong. She was quiet and subtle, never making a noise or attracting attention to herself, she was also intelligent and demonstrated remarkable aptitude for science, but lacked any interest in anything else. She was also fearless, never backing down from anything 'except for this' Daredevil had always been afraid of the amplification chamber, from the very first time she laid eyes on it. When they'd brought her in for the first time she'd begun screaming and thrashing, trying to escape. The second time she'd been more restrained, but had still needed to be heaved onto the unit and sedated before the process could begin. Now the filly had her fear of the chamber under control, but she'd still needed somepony to be with her whenever she went for amplification. For the first nine years of her time in the facility, Daredevil would only enter the chamber if Amethyst had been with her, and every day for nine years Amethyst had to stand beside the filly as the process began, and return when the process ended. When Red arrow had been admitted into the program Daredevil had taken an immediate liking to the stallion, and Amethyst was replaced. But now Arrow was under sedation, and Amethyst found herself in a familiar situation. "Everything's going to be ok" she told the young filly "I'll be right here when you're done, alright?" the foal nodded and laid back on the unit, closing her eyes tight shut. Amethyst felt the girl tense as she tightened the metal straps around her hooves, strapping her down on the cool metal of the unit. "Will it hurt?" Daredevil asked her, Amethyst smiled. Every time she came in here it was the one question she would always ask, no matter who she was with. Amethyst gave her the usual reply. "Only for a moment" the mare said. The filly nodded, her eyes still shut. Amethyst turned to the touch screen control panel by the side of the unit and pressed "activate sequence" with a metallic whine that began to gently rise in pitch, the unit tilted backwards until Daredevil was facing the ceiling, from the metal roof above a bright cyan light flared up, illuminating the proceedings below. As the unit came to a stop wires and needles began to emerge from tiny ports dotted around the edges, slithering across the cold metal and writhing their way along Daredevils bodies. The filly squeaked quietly and screwed her eyes shut even tighter, but kept her body still. The needles got into position, and for a brief moment they reared up like the snakes they resembled before they simultaneously stabbed down into the flesh of the fillies arms and legs, piercing her coat in one swift motion. The needles where connected to the unit by several thick transparent tubes, and now thick orange liquid began to pump through the tubes and into Daredevils body, the pony gasped and opened her eyes. Her irises had expanded to make her eyes seem blood red, and her pupil looked like a deep pool of black ink. Daredevil gasped again and her pupil expanded once more to consume her eyes, turning them black. "It's ok" Amethyst said, gently taking Daredevils hoof in her own, the filly tried to answer her, but could make no sound. The amplification drugs that where being pumped into the fillies body had caused her to go blind and had paralysed every muscle in her body save for her heart, it was only natural she would be scared. From the floor beneath the unit, directly below the hole in the centre of the head piece, there emerged the input jack, four inches long and an inch thick. Its surface shone dull silver in the cyan light, and slowly the thick wire began to pool on the floor as the jack rose up towards the back of Daredevils head. On the control panel appeared the words "initiating amplification" and with a single thrust the input jack shot upwards and plugged itself into the docking port at the top of Daredevils spine. The filly convulsed as her mind synchronised with the machinery of the amplification unit, and then fell still, closing her eyes and sighing deeply. A computerised female voice sounded over the intercom. "All subjects are now ready for amplification, please enter the activation code to begin" Amethyst nodded to herself and gave the recumbent form of Daredevil one final look before she turned to the panel and typed in the activation code, the panel giving off little beeps as she did so. Upon entering the code the voice said "code accepted, beginning amplification procedure, initiating phase one" and Amethyst stood back to watch as the chamber became filled with the sound of whirring gears. From the ceiling above each of the units, several articulated hydraulic arms began to descend on the unconscious ponies, the medical implements attached to their ends gleaming wickedly. Each unit possessed four of these mechanical arms, which were used to deliver minute loads of specialised re-constitution chemicals, apply electrical pulses to certain nerve clusters, and perform internal surgery on a microscopic scale within the subject through nanotrites. One was equipped with a medical syringe, another with what could be best described as an electrical cattle prod, and the last two where equipped with an array of cutting tools. All of the arms on every unit worked simultaneously, mirroring each other as they worked. Amethyst watched the mechanical limbs begin to work on Daredevil, observing the process with a critical eye to ensure everything went as normal, genetic amplification was a tricky science to work with, and even the slightest error in the reconstruction of the helical spiral could lead to fluctuations and mutation, an outcome that was best avoided. The limb equipped with the medical syringe lowered itself down until it was about ten inches or so above Daredevils body, hovering over her heart. A bright blue light shone from a diode on the side of the needle as it scanned the filly's heart, checking that it was in the correct position. There was a faint bleep and the blue light disappeared, then there was a blur of motion as the needle thin syringe pierced through Daredevils coat, through a gap in her ribs and into her heart. The foal convulsed and spasamed, but the metal restraints held her tight and the input jack signalled the release of several types of endorphins into her blood stream to prevent her from regaining consciousness. In the space above the control panel there appeared a holographic projection, glowing a bright orange. It showed the silhouette of a pony, arms and legs spread apart. A small dot of orange flashed over the holograms heart, and smaller dots began to radiate out from it like a sunburst, the hologram mapping the route of the nanotrites as they were fed directly into the blood stream and spread along the veins and arteries. Within a few seconds the foals' entire circulatory system was saturated with nanotrites, the nanoscopic machines filling her body. With a dull whining and a disgusting sucking sound the needle retracted from the fillies' heart and was retracted back up towards the ceiling, the articulated limb that was equipped with it folding up into the roof. All across the chamber the other units had mirrored the process move for move, each had a holographic projection of a pony's silhouette above it, some were of pegausi and others were of unicorns. "Initiating phase two of amplification procedure" as one, the mechanical limbs equipped with the electrical application tools descended in perfect synchrony, a high pitched whining filling the air as the tools began to charge. The dual-pronged tool held above Daredevils unit began to make sharp zapping sounds, bolts of electricity shooting across between the prongs, the electricity painting razor edged shadows across Daredevils serenely calm face. "Beginning electro-shock stimulation" the tool descended and lightly tapped against Daredevils chest. Even though she was unconscious and unresponsive, her subconscious mind was still capable of registering pain. Daredevil screamed, a high pitched, undulating noise that seemed to reach into Amethysts head and pull at her mind. Across the chamber, lying upon their own units, the others were screaming too. Cloudy was whimpering beside Roulette, who wept loudly, Ignia was screaming almost as loudly as Daredevil, which was unusual given her rugged and harsh exterior. Red arrow and Russet cheer where both struggling violently against their restraints, the only one to remain silent was Darkstar. Checking that the procedure being performed on Daredevil was going as planned, Amethyst made her way over to the silent pony, who lay completely still and serene on the cold metal surface of his unit. Contrasting sharply with the white metal of the walls and floor of the chamber, the stallions' coat seemed to make him a solid shadow, darkness given form, a deep midnight blue that was streaked through with bands of black, held tightly to his large frame. His build extenuated the contrast between his coat and the unit. Darkstar was heavily built; every inch of him well defined muscle. From his wide set shoulders to the powerful muscles in his legs, the stallion seemed to radiate an aura of strength. Spread out from underneath him where his wings, the feathers a deep glossy black that seemed to drink up the light, making them appear even darker. His jet black mane was cropped short in a typical military fashion; though he hadn't opted for a buzz cut. Darkstar had been indoctrinated into the program three years ago, and was perhaps the most interesting specimen Amethyst had ever studied in her life. The Pegasus was calm and quiet, never raising his voice higher than a shout and always keeping a level head. Whereas the other members of the team where always laughing or making jokes, Darkstar always kept himself distant from the rest of the team, watching, waiting like a predator. He always did as he was ordered and followed commands to the letter, where the others would shout and complain and resist, Darkstar would simply nod in mute acceptance and follow on behind you. It had not taken a lot of thought for Amethyst to decide who should be team leader, Darkstar was the obvious choice. Level headed, quick to adapt to any situation and possessed of an almost unreal level of battlefield prowess, there was no other pony in the team who had the capabilities to match Darkstar. Yes, Red arrow was stronger, Ignia was more powerful and Russet better with mechanics, but none of them could plan even so much as ten minutes into the future, let alone formulate a plan of action in the middle of a battle. Darkstar had been in the program for three years now, and for three years he had exceeded every expectation that had ever been laid in front of him. He had been a fast flyer and strong before he joined the program, but with regular genetic amplification he had gone beyond the limits of what his natural body could ever have granted to him. The pony had the capability to punch through solid ferrocrete with the same ease as any of the empires synthetic Alicorns, and was capable of reaching flying speeds of mach two when in flight. The amplification process had also widened his mental faculties, and the pony now possessed the same processing capabilities as a genome class bio-computer. But the thing that was the most unsettling about Darkstar was his eyes. They were constantly shifting in hue, never retaining one shade for too long. At one moment they would shine as bright as the midday sun, seeming to glow with an ethereal light of their own. The next they could darken to a deep twilight blue, giving his eyes an almost soulless appearance. More than once Amethyst had seen those eyes watching her, their predatory gaze filling her with a sense of unease and dread ... and something else. She knew that she had no need to fear Darkstar, but she also knew that left to his own devices the stallion was extremely dangerous. the chamber suddenly fell silent, and Amethyst looked around to watch the electric application tools begin to retract away from the unconscious bodies of the team and rise back up to the ceiling, the excruciating electric current that flowed through their tools giving off a last set of cracks and snaps as the remaining energy dissipated before falling silent. "Initiating phase three, beginning genetic reconstruction, estimated time until completion: one hour" the holographic projections above each of the units flickered before disappearing entirely, their orange light fading to leave only the brilliant white of the roof lights and the gentle cyan glow of the lights set into the units. Amethyst quickly went back over to Daredevil to ensure that everything was running smoothly before she made her way down the line of units towards the glass door at the far wall. As she passed each pair of units the lights went off behind her, causing the room to begin to black out and leaving the cyan light of the units as the only source of illumination. Amethyst reached the door and typed in an access code in the small terminal to the doors right side, the buttons making faint beeping noises as she entered each number. With a final beep the door slid silently open and Amethyst stepped through, the final pair of lights shutting off behind her. The door closed again and the unicorn mare looked back through the glass door to see that the chamber was completely dark, save for the islands of light that where the units. "It's been so long..." Amethyst said to herself, glancing towards the back of the chamber where she was just about able to make out Daredevil, her eyes closed and her face calm. It was hard to believe that anypony so young would have to see the horrors that the filly was about to witness, that only a mere foal would be forced to watch the devastation of war, it wasn't right. 'No' she thought to herself 'Daredevil is a soldier, this is what she was trained for ... no; this is what she was born for' Amethyst knew that it was unwise to build any sort of emotional attachment to her charges, she had been tasked to train soldiers, not to treat them like they where her own children. 'they were born for this' she told herself as she made her way down a stark white corridor, her hoofsteps echoing quietly on the cold metal floor 'you shouldn't feel any connection towards them, they're just lab rats to be used and disposed, there's always plenty more where they came from. Red arrow was a murderer, Ignia's incinerated hundreds, and Darkstar is a P.O.W. who was bred and trained to kill NLR citizens' That much was true to say the least. Red arrow had butchered his father and mother in their sleep with a cleaver. Ignia had been an insurrectionist who had single-hoofedly incinerated two hundred riot control officers during the Pragmix uprising. Darkstar had once been part of the solar military program known as "the blue-blood orphans", a highly skilled shock tactics unit that specialised in blitzkrieg style strikes on vital military assets, and the stallion had only been captured by the combined efforts of five NLR synthetic Alicorns, two of which died for their efforts. 'this is how it was always going to end for them, fighting for the new Lunar republic and dying in a final blaze of glory' Amethyst tried to hold that thought, that her charges really where meant to die fighting for the glory of the republic, but the dream turned into ashes in her mouth, and all she could think about was the sight of her precious foals getting cut down by merciless gunfire. But now wasn't the time to start letting her conscious get in the way, princess Cadence wanted the team ready for deployment as soon as possible, and as a loyal citizen of the NLR it was Amethysts duty to ensure that the war effort went unhindered. She'd reached the end of the hall way, and was greeted by another door, this one made of solid white metal and four inches thick. The current corridor she was in was part of the entrance way in the subjects living quarters and as a result access to both the subjects' areas of the facility and the outside world was heavily restricted. Only Amethyst and select members of the inner circles of high command where allowed direct access to the subjects, with the only way in and out being a door made of solid adamantium that was four inches thick and conducted a deadly electrical charge once sealed. Amethyst laid her hoof against the centre of the door and waited for a moment whilst the sensors and receptors implanted in the surface of the door registered her genetic signature. There was a faint beep followed by a deep grinding and clanking as heavy gears and cogs built into the wall slid back the sealing bolts and deactivated the heavy magnetic field that kept the door sealed. With a final deep growl the door spilt in two and began to clank open, the top section rose upwards into the ceiling and the bottom section sank into the floor, leaving a doorway for her to step through. Amethyst went through the door and out into her laboratory, filled with tables and workbenches that where piled high with everything from nuts and bolts to old plasma coils and miniature fusion reactors. She turned around and pressed a button on a small terminal at the right side of the door, causing the heavy door to close sink back down from the top of the door frame. It locked back down into place with a deep clanking noise, followed by grinding as the sealing bolts slid into place and a high pitched whine as the door was electrified. Amethyst turned away from the door and was greeted by a formidable visage, she yelped in fright. Towering over her was an enormous griffin, who gazed at her with emotionless eyes. The coat on his lionessque body was a bright caramel gold, whilst the feathers on his avian head where snow white, the feathers on his wings where a deep chestnut brown, bleaching at the tips to the same golden sheen of his coat, around his eyes where the rings of black that all griffins had, and the eyes themselves where a deep gold. They where cold eyes, eyes that showed no sign of emotion or gave any inclination to what the griffin was thinking, his beak was scarred and chipped, a single thick scar ran down the griffins right cheek. "Brute ... " Amethyst managed "you scared me" the griffin shrugged unapologetically. "Brute heard the door open, but could not see who was coming through. Now Brute knows, so the end justifies the means" Amethyst simply stared up at the griffin, her eyes wide. Brute stared back, his eyes empty. "The little one wants to see you" he said in his clipped accent, Amethyst cocked her head slightly. "The...little one?" she asked, she had no idea who that could be. "The griffin means me, Amethyst" from behind a stack of Ceramite plates there emerged Princess Cadence, Amethyst dropped to her knees. "Princess" Amethyst looked up to Cadence "how may i be of service?" Cadence had opted for a simple garb today, trading away her silks, satins and jewels for a simple torque of gold around her throat with a purple topaz crystal set into the centre. Her rich pink coat was well groomed and had a glossy sheen to it, and her mane and tail, striped through with purple, pink and cream, shone with its own illumination. Her dark purple eyes seemed bottomless and twinkled gently; a soft smile was on her face. "You have three hours until your team has to be deployed, i simply came by to see how everything was going" Cadence flicked her mane "and to get away from my generals, they babble like children calling to their mother for attention" Amethyst blinked, she wasn't really sure what to say, no princess had ever paid her a social call before. She cleared her throat. "It would be my honour, Princess" Amethyst stepped around Brute, uncomfortably aware that the griffins eyes where following her every move. "The team is currently undergoing a final procedure in the amplification chamber, but they will be ready for deployment in roughly two hours" Amethyst swallowed, her next words seeming like lead in her mouth. "I must confess that i'm worried about my pon ... I mean my charges" she corrected herself at the last moment, but the flash of recognition that went across cadences features told the unicorn that she'd misspoken. "Your ponies?" Cadence asked, a sad smile on her face "did you really just say that?"Amethyst lowered her eyes and kicked one of her hooves half-heartedly. "Yes, princess" she murmured. For a few moments there was silence, and Amethyst looked up to see Cadence smiling, sadness twinkling in her eyes. "Are you affectionate towards the subjects?" "Yes, princess" "And ... Is that affection strong?" "Yes, princess" "Then there is no fault in regarding those ponies as your own" Cadence told her. The Alicorn looked around the cluttered lab, taking the sterile white walls and the neatly organised stacks of components. "I imagine that down here they don't receive as much love and care as others do" Cadence walked over to one of the tables and picked up an old plasma coil, a blackened spiral of grey metal that faintly glowed blue. "So tell me, Amethyst. What is it you specifically do down here?" "I'm the teams primary technician" the blue unicorn answered "i keep their weapons maintained, their armour up to scratch. I programme the amplification units and make sure that no errors occur during the process" Cadence gave her an even look. "Something tells me you do more than that" she said in a level tone. "That filly, Daredevil, she's far too young to be without her mother" Amethyst nodded. "Daredevil never knew her mother...i raised her myself, princess" Amethyst smiled shyly "i'm...i'm the only family that she's ever known. Me and the other members of the team" Amethyst stepped up beside Cadence at the workbench and began to idly tinker with a small device she'd been working on for the past few months, a musical box made out of Ceramite and several old gears she'd salvaged from a decommissioned war-mech. "she's never been outside of these walls, she doesn't know what the outside world is like" Amethyst picked up a small Alan-key and began wind up the music boxes internal mechanisms "she spends a lot of her time in the simulator in order to make sure that she can function on a mission, but this will be the first time she's ever actually seen the sun or the stars, or felt the wind in her mane and the rain on her face" the box began to chime, the gears and cogs within meshing together. She set the musical box down on the work-surface and watched it, beside her Cadence looked on inquisitively. "this song...i know it" the princess said, gently picking up the box in her hooves "it's a lullaby, i used to sing it to Twilight" she closed her eyes and slowly moved her lips as she remembered the words 'though the night rides, and the sun no longer flies, oh no dear child, don't cry' "Twilight, princess?" Amethyst asked. Twilight was a common name throughout both the republic and the empire; there were literally millions of ponies who bore the names of the holy saints. But Cadence was a princess, and a high ranking general in the NLR military, how could she have ever sung a lullaby to some foal? As far as Amethyst knew, the only Twilight cadence could have ever sung to was... "Twilight Sparkle" she said the name aloud with both reverence and awe. Twilight sparkle, the bearer of the element of magic, was the patron saint of unicorns across the length of the whole galaxy, particularly of scholars and navigators. During the first expeditions Twilight sparkle had served as the navigator of the first fleet, using her knowledge of the stars and constellations to map the route of the fleet as it traversed the empty void of space beyond the system of Equine prime. After her death on the far flung planet of Ianose during the first griffin insurrection it had been decreed that she was to the first of the six saints, and had been immortalised in the history of the equine race for the entirety of time. Amethyst herself had prayed to Twilight for guidance for the whole of her life, indeed the first words and phrases she had ever been taught had been prayers to the lavender unicorn. Cadence smiled sadly, opening her eyes and gently placing the musical box down on the work-surface. "Yes, Twilight sparkle" Cadence looked towards Amethyst, and the blue unicorn could see sadness in the immortals eyes "thousands of years ago i used to baby-sit Twilight when she was only a young filly, she was so small and innocent back then, it was hard to believe just by looking at her that she would one day be a saint" Cadence broke her gaze with Amethyst and turned her attention back to the musical box. "Pardon me, princess. But...what was she like?" Amethyst asked hesitantly. Only natural born Alicorns where given the gift of immortality, synthetic Alicorns would usually die after a thousand years or so. Cadence herself was immortal, and had known the six saints when they were alive. She was a cornucopia of knowledge from an almost mythic age. However, almost all immortals never talked about their past or the things they'd seen, when a being continues to go on living forever and is forced to watch their friends and family grow old and die until they have to carry on alone, it can change them. Amethyst didn't really expect Cadence to be an exception. For a few long moments there was silence, until Cadence sighed. "She was...she was kind" Cadence turned away from the box and looked around the lab, in the few seconds before she turned away Amethyst thought she could see tears in the princesses eyes. "She was a good and kind pony" Cadence walked around the work-surface and began walking down one of the makeshift aisles that ran between the work benches, Amethyst followed behind her. Brute seemed to have disappeared, which was unnerving given how small the laboratory was. "She was always working hard, always fretting about work and friendship reports, and she always had her nose in a book" Cadence had reached the far wall of the lab, and before her where rows of bookshelves, the shelves themselves built into the wall and made of white metal, just like everything else in the lab. Sitting on the shelves where hundreds of old leather backed books, containing everything from biological thesis reports that Amethyst read in her spare time to books full of old pony tales that Daredevil had loved so much she'd read all of them twice. Cadence seemed to stare at the books without really seeing them; her mind was away somewhere else. "I married her brother, Shining armour" she said quietly, more to herself then to Amethyst "and there where changelings ... " Cadence suddenly blinked and shook her head, tossing her colourful mane. "Pardon me, Amethyst, but...i would rather not talk about it. Immortality has its burdens, and i would rather keep them to myself" Cadence smiled and turned to gesture to the whole of the laboratory, making a sweeping gesture with one hoof. "So tell me, what is all this equipment used for, exactly?" Amethyst, a little put off by the princess' recent phase-out, eagerly seized the new topic. "Well, here in the lab i perform maintenance on the team's weapons as well as their armour. I also research upgrades and augmentations for the team" at this Cadences brow furrowed slightly in confusion. "Augmentations?" the Alicorn asked "I though all the members of your team where natural?" Amethyst nodded. "they are princess" "So what are these 'augmentations' for?" "well, as I explained the last time you where here, the process of genetic amplification creates several base chains in the helical spiral that don't occur naturally" Amethyst paused to make sure Cadence understood before continuing. "These new chains aren't synthetic, as they are created more by accident then by design, it's more rather that they're mutations" Cadence frowned again. "Mutations...i have reason to believe that the NLR has a strict policy against the employment of biological weapons in the field" In the beginning centuries of the war both the Solar Empire and the new Lunar republic had fielded unstable biological weapons against each other, from such creatures as hyper evolved evolutionary offshots of the equine species such as the pyro's to genetically unstable mutants whose wildly fluctuating genetic structure meant that they could be anything from vicious killing machines to degenerates that would simply collapse at any moment in quivering piles of rotten flesh. These creatures had been used in a time when the concept of economic genetic synthesis for military purposes, such as the creation of synthetic Alicorns both quickly and cheaply, was still a dream. Indeed, it was only in the previous five hundred years or so that the levels of technology required for synthesising Alicorns for military application had been reached. Amethyst bristled slightly. "With all due respect, princess, my charges aren't mutants" "I meant no offense, Amethyst. I'm simply having trouble getting my head around the concept of what this genetic amplification process is. I believe that what you're telling me is that genetic amplification doesn't alter the subjects' natural DNA structure, but it still creates mutations?" Amethyst nodded slowly. "Yes. What happens is that during the process we inject a variety of different chemicals into the subjects' blood stream. These chemicals bind with the bases that form the subjects DNA and alter their fundamental properties, which allows the helical spiral to be rearranged. In the process, several new chains of bases that wouldn't naturally occur are created, and these are the mutations that are a result of the process" Cadence took a few moments to mull this over. "And these augmentations you research. They have something to do with these mutations?" Amethyst nodded. "Correct. Though these new genetic codes are mutations, they don't exhibit any outward manifestations. Indeed, it seems as if they don't exhibit anything at all. From what my studies have told me, the new codes are in fact blank. The augmentations i'm creating will allow me to use these mutations as a sort of blank canvas, meaning i can use them as inventory slots for a whole host of genetic abilities" "So what you're saying is-" Cadence began, but an excited Amethyst cut her off. "What i'm saying is that these new augmentations will allow me to alter the abilities of anypony who has undergone the amplification process. Think about it, princess. Say one soldier becomes wounded in battle and is unable to reach a medic in time, if that soldier had already been amplified that it would be possible to alter one of his mutations so that his body naturally has accelerated healing abilities" The unicorns eyes glittered with fevered excitement. "The possibilities are endless, there are so many abilities just waiting to be created. Pryomancy, telekinesis, with the potential of latent psionic abilities there's no limit to what these augmentations could accomplish. Genetic amplification is quicker and more effective than creating synthetic Alicorns, with enough funding and time i could revolutionise the NLR military, create a new breed of soldier" Amethyst cheeks where flushed and she was breathing hard, but then she suddenly realised her sudden bout of fanaticism about this single concept, and she immediately tried to regain her composure. "But of course, it's an empty dream" she said quietly, lowering her eyes "It would take too long for the entirety of the republics military to be amplified" Amethyst coughed lightly, raising one hoof to her mouth as she did so. "Please forgive me for my ... rant, princess. I tend to get carried away when it comes to science" to Amethyst surprise, Cadence smiled. "There's no need to apologise, Amethyst. Twilight was the same when you got her going on something to do with friendship or magic" Amethyst smiled shyly, and then realised that she had been talking for a rather long time, the amplification of the team would almost be complete. "Princess, if you would follow me, i would like the team to meet you one more time before i begin to arm them for deployment" Cadence nodded in agreement. "Lead on" she said, and gestured for Amethyst to do so. The unicorn curtsied and turned back around to start making her way back to the magnetised door. They walked past three rows of the white metal tables stacked high with their odd bits and pieces and then took a left turn at the far wall towards the door, Brute was waiting for them. "Brute, i'm going into the facility to meet the test subjects one more time, kindly wait here for me" the huge griffin tensed. "Little one" the enormous creature said in a deep rolling voice that sounded like thunder "Brute doesn't believe that to be a sensible course of action, Brute insists that he accompany you" Cadence smiled. "Always protecting me, truly you are a stalwart defender, Brute" Cadences smile became sad "but i fear that your presence may cause the team to believe i...doubt their abilities. I am perfectly safe here, Brute, nothing will hurt me here" Brute frowned, but made no move to continue the argument. Amethyst stepped past the griffin and began to enter the access code into the input terminal beside the door, the buttons making light beeping sounds every time she touched the pad. There was a sharp whine as the deadly electrical charge flowing through the door dissipated, followed by the deep rumbling of metal on metal as the locks and bolts in the door where retracted, the noise ending with a deep clanking sound as the door split into two section once again and slowly vanished into the walls, leaving an opening into the white walled corridor beyond. Amethyst stepped through, followed by Cadence, Brute stayed behind, frowning at them through the door as it slowly closed behind them. "It's very...sterile in here" Cadence said as they walked along the corridor "so much white and not a single speck of colour, do you not get sick of it?" Amethyst shrugged casually. "To be honest, princess, the lack of colour doesn't really bother me" "But...do you not want at least a bit of colour down here?" "Of course, but the white's a necessity. It's sterile, so there's less chance of any genetic infections spreading amongst members of the team" Amethyst sighed as they continued onward "once i did try to decorate the walls of Daredevils room pink, but she hated it. She kept saying that pink was an ugly colour and that she preferred white, so i keep it that way" They had reached the door to the amplification chamber, and Amethyst entered the access code into the terminal at its side. As the door silently slid open and icy chill seemed to seep from the room that ran down her spine and made her shiver, within it was pitch black, save for the lights of the units. The units where powering down as they entered, filling the air with a deep grumbling sound as the various mechanical arms retracted up to the ceiling. A thick fog swirled around the floor as the two ponies entered, shrouding the floor from sight. "It's from the coolant systems" Amethyst explained as she led Cadence past the rows of units to Daredevil at the back of the room. "too much heat and the helical spiral becomes unstable and collapses, so we have to keep the subjects cool whilst they undergo amplification" there was a final whirring sound from the units and then the chamber fell silent, the only remaining sound was the gentle hissing of the vents set into the floor as they filtered out the thick fog generated by the coolant systems. Amethyst stepped up to the control panel by Daredevils unit and tapped the screen lightly, causing it to light up and wash her face in a monochrome blue light. On the screen of the panel where the words "Amplification sequence complete, initiating revivification cycle" there was a high pitched whining and the lights set in the ceiling turned back on, flooding the chamber with brilliant white light. The bright cyan lights above the units faded away into nothing. With a deep beeping noise the input jacks plugged into the cerebral port at top of the ponies spines disconnected and disappeared back into the floor at the same time as the smaller needles that were injected all over the fillies body where retracted and slithered back into the metal of the unit, all over Daredevils body blood began to well up from the tiny circular cuts caused by the needles. Amethyst pressed another button on the screen and the metal straps the bound Daredevil to the unit unfastened themselves and fell free, releasing Daredevil from the unit. For a few moments there was nothing but silence, even the ventilation had become silent. Amethyst glanced at the units monitor and saw that the fillies heart rate and vital signs where normal. "Come on, Daredevil" Amethyst said gently, taking the fillies hoof in her own "time to wake up" As if the fillies body was waiting for those exact words, the young foal opened her eyes. Her pupils where still dilated, and covered the majority of her eyes, but around the edges was a faint ring of red. As her pupils slowly constricted back to their normal size, the filly blinked and sat up, her motions jerky and autonomous, as if she were a machine. "It's ok, i'm right here like i promised" "Amethyst, i still can't see" Daredevil said, rubbing at her eyes with her free hoof "it's still so dark" "Just give it a moment, Daredevil. Everything will be normal again in just a second" the young filly nodded slowly and gripped Amethysts hoof tightly. Behind her Cadence gave a small smile. "It's ok, Daredevil" came a deep voice behind them, and Amethyst looked behind her to see Red arrow walking up to them, a look of concern on his face. Amethyst stepped aside and let Red take Daredevils hoof from her. The large colt took hold of it gently and leaned in to the filly, who seemed tiny compared to him. Immediately Daredevil fumbled blindly until her hooves found Reds shoulders, she hugged herself tightly against him, her eyes closed. Red arrow began whispering gently in her ear, and whatever he was saying caused Daredevil to cling even more tightly to her partner. Amethyst smiled to herself, Cadence leaned in to whisper in her ear. "That is so sweet" Cadence said, Amethyst nodded "what's their story?" "Daredevil was born into the project, but she was always alone. When Red was introduced into the programme Daredevil took an immediate liking to him and they've been together ever since" Cadence made an 'Aww' noise. "Amethyst" said another deep voice from behind them, and Amethyst turned to discover Darkstar towering over her, a predatory gaze in his dark blue eyes. The Pegasus looked at her coolly, taking note of her every move. His eyes momentarily glanced towards Cadence, taking special note of her presence. "Ignia, Cloudy, Roulette and Russet are ready for armament, we await your command" as soon as he was done, Darkstar stood to attention, his wings shifting gently against his back. Cadence looked the pegausi up and down, and then nodded approvingly. "right then, let's get going" Amethyst gave Daredevil a glance to see the filly was back on her hooves, and then she led the group out of the amplification chamber and onwards down the corridor deeper into the facility, Ignia, Cloudy, Roulette and Russet fell in behind them. After a minute of silent walking down the cold metal corridor they reached another door, and when Amethyst entered the code into the access panel the door slid open silently. Inside the room was pitch black, but as the assembled ponies stepped through the doorway lights set into the ceiling switched on and flooded the room with light, revealing rows and rows of weapon racks. The rows stretched back to the far wall, each rack filled with neatly stacked weapons, their cases shining dully in the light. There where pulse rifles, pulse carbines and plasma rifles. Placed in mountings on the walls where power weapons, each one with the destructive potential to smash through solid walls. On the right wall was a row of display cases, each containing a set of armour, above each was a pair of mechanical limbs equipped with multiple digits. "Welcome to the armoury, princess" Amethyst said, looking across the rows of weapons with pride. Half of them she'd constructed herself, pouring all her heart, soul and dedication into making each of them a work of art. "You're certainly well equipped" Cadence remarked as the team spread out from behind them, moving towards the sets of armour. "I've constructed most of these weapons myself, princess. Each one of them is a labour of love that was crafted individually for each member of the team" by the cases each member of the team lined up in front of their armour, except for Red arrow, who disappeared towards the back of the room to a specially constructed armoury where his own suit of armour waited, as it was too big for regular machinery to equip it. Darkstar looked down the row of ponies to make sure everyone was in position before he entered an access code into a small terminal on the right side of the display case that contained his armour. Immediately there was a hissing sound and the glass of the case slid into the wall, leaving the pieces of armour suspended in a magnetic field. The mechanical limbs above the pegausi whirred into life and immediately took hold of the armours chest plate. With a soft hissing and the grinding of cogs the chest plate was lowered down and joined with the back plate around Darkstars chest, locking him inside the chest piece. The same was occurring simultaneously to all the other ponies, the mechanical limbs working in perfect synchrony with each other. "Amethyst, who have you designated as the team leader?" Cadence asked, never taking her eyes off the armouring process. "Darkstar holds that rank, princess" Amethyst stated, moving up towards the weapon racks and picking up a pulse carbine, studying its chassis with a critical eye. "He has a history of military service, so he served as the most logical choice for squad sergeant" Amethyst tapped the side of the carbine and with a gentle whining a set of gentle cyan lights lit down the length of the weapons short barrel. Amethyst closed one eye and glanced down the sight before nodding with approval and placing the weapon on the rack. She glanced over to see that the armouring process was half complete, Darkstar was encased in armour from his legs and chest, only his arms, head and neck were left bare. Amethyst watched as the muscles at the base of his wings flexed and tensed as wing blades where attached to the rims of his pinions, their razor edges catching the light and causing it to flare blindingly bright. "Quiet a specimen, isn't he?" Cadence asked, a knowing smile on her face, Amethyst blushed lightly and looked away, turning her attention back to the weapons. "Oh, come on, Amethyst" Cadence smiled again "not going to talk about it? Well, that's your choice I guess. There's no point in hiding it" Cadence reached up and tapped her cutie-mark lightly "I'm the princess of love, remember? I can see the affection you have for that colt as plain as day" Amethyst didn't react, instead she inspected a shotgun with a critical eye, wondering if its gauge was sufficient enough to blow a ponies head off. Cadence looked back to the pegausi, who had his back turned to them. "He has got wonderful wings though. Strong and powerful wings" the Alicorn ruffled her own wings as she spoke "but gentle as well, i can see that too" Cadence turned back to Amethyst, surprisingly there was a look of concern on her face "you must be careful of that Pegasus, Amethyst. I sense something...dark about him. 'White wings and a broken horn, no...Darkstar is not the one i must fear' "Darkstar has my complete confidence" Amethyst said, still blushing as she examined a rail rifle carefully, checking that the entire magnetic rail guide system was in position and that there were no anomalies with the power distribution array. "He's the perfect soldier, born and bred for war. He's not going to betray me" Amethyst swallowed "he won't betray me" she whispered to herself. "And will the team succeed?" Cadence asked "is your Darkstar skilled enough to ensure the success of this mission" "Of course" Amethyst began to bristle slightly at the Alicorns tone "This team is no ordinary squad of soldiers, Princess. This team is a machine made for war. I've poured my heart and soul into making these ponies what they are, countless hours of research and development into turning these creatures into more than colts and fillies" Amethyst gave the princess an accusing stare "until yesterday you didn't even know these ponies existed, Cadence. Don't presume to judge them" Amethyst pulled back the bolt action loading system on the rail rifle and inserted a clip of five highly magnetised Ceramite bolts before pushing the loading bolt forward and arming the weapon with a clicking sound. "You don't know what they've been through, you never could" Amethyst picked up a pair of gauntlets covered in flame designs from the rack and began checking them over, inspecting them for defects. "I do" Amethyst left Cadence' side and approached the members of the team, just as the armouring process was finishing, silently cursing the princess behind her. Darkstar approached her first, his heavy duty armour clanking gently. His armour was similar to that of a specialist, sturdy and durable, made for heavy wear and tear. However, Darkstar had made some more personal modifications to it. It was made of a compound that contained both Ceramite and titanium that Darkstar had engineered himself, and as a result it was both lighter and more flexible, allowing for greater freedom of movement. The armour also possessed a more pleasing aesthetic quality to it, where as the armour of a specialist was bulky and possessed of more hard edges and straight lines, Darkstars armour was smooth and sleek, the metal of the framework almost seeming to flow like liquid. Even the colour matched its owner perfectly, a deep midnight blue covered in swirling flame patterns of black, the same as the pegausi' coat. Amethyst handed him the rail rifle, his personnel weapon of choice. "souped up and ready to go" she told him as he inspected the weapon himself "i replaced the plasma coil with one i made myself, i bypassed the induction system so you'll have a higher rate of fire, but in order to do that i had to strip back on the coolant systems so it'll heat up more quickly. I've also replaced you usual ammunition with special conductive Ceramite bolts with armour piercing capabilities that are designed to delocalise the electrons of the targeted area upon impact" "Explosives" Darkstar said, nodding to himself "i appreciate it" "And what about me?" asked Ignia. The mare was resplendent in her flaming armour armour; her thin and lithe body belied the deadliness beneath the red exterior of her coat. "Do i get any toys?" Amethyst smiled. "Don't worry Ignia; I've got toys for you too" Amethyst produced the gauntlets "Prometheus pattern flamer gauntlets, custom made, took me a month to complete" Ignia took the gauntlets and attached them to her hooves, there was a clicking noise followed by a whining as the gauntlets connected to her armour "they're designed to sync with some systems i built into your armour, some storage tanks containing promethium that'll fuel the burners. be careful though, promethium is highly volatile, burns like wildfire, it'll consume everything in its path and keep burning until there's nothing left. If you run out of fuel, however, you can use them to project your natural pyromantic abilities" the mares pink eyes seemed to burn with a fire of their own as Amethyst talked. "Oh Amethyst" the mare said with an odd glitter in her eyes, licking her lips as she stared at the muzzle of one of the flamers, Amethyst knew that look all to well "don't you know that fire is my special talent?" "Sorry, Cloudy, Russet, Roulette, but i'm afraid that i haven't got anything for you. However..." Amethyst turned to Daredevil "i do have something for you though" Amethyst turned back towards the weapon racks and disappeared down one of the aisles, Daredevil followed behind her. "It's here somewhere, i know it is" Amethyst said to herself "come on...ah, here we go" Amethyst pulled out a slim pulse sniper from one of the racks. "It's a custom design, lightweight, durable and packing a hell of a punch" Daredevil took the weapon almost reverently from Amethyst, running one hoof down the streamline barrel of the gun. "It works on the same principle as a pulse jezzaile, but I've stripped back the ionising compartment and coolant systems to the bare essentials, so it's got an increased range of accuracy to about ten miles, but it'll over heat if you maintain a constant rate of fire. Once someone gets in your sights, they're as good as dead" Daredevil grinned, and ran a hoof down the helical spiral pattern that had been ingrained into the metal of the barrel. "It's beautiful" the filly breathed. "And deadly" Amethyst suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of sadness crash down on her. This was Daredevil, a foal she'd raised from birth, practically her own child, and now the young filly was going out into a war zone. To kill and bring death and destruction in the name of the republic 'she's too young' Amethyst thought to herself 'she shouldn't be here, she should be someplace warm. She should be somewhere where she can feel the sun on her face and the wind through her mane, somewhere where she can have a real foalhood' Amethyst felt like crying but instead she hid her tears and smiled. "Come on, i have a Valkyrie gunship waiting for us up on the docking pads. It's time for deployment" the words felt heavy in her mouth, and the message they imparted made her feel even worse. They turned back and went to rejoin the group, who had armed themselves during the pair's temporary absence. Red arrow had appeared carrying his plasma cannon; a walking mountain of metal seven feet tall. Amethyst nodded to Darkstar "All right everyone" Darkstar said, his voice loud and clear and filled with authority. "It's time for deployment, let's go" Amethyst smiled proudly as Darkstar talked, knowing she had made the right choice for squad sergeant. Darkstar headed for the door and the rest of the squad followed behind, moving out of the door in single file, Amethyst and Cadence followed behind, Cadence walked beside Amethyst. "Amethyst, please forgive me for what i said, i shouldn't have said what i did" Amethyst kept looking ahead, watching the light play along the rims of Darkstars wing blades. "Amethyst?" "No apologies needed, Princess" the unicorn said, not turning her head to look the Alicorn in the eye. "Please. I didn't mean it" Amethyst stopped in her tracks, gritting her teeth. "The relationship between Darkstar and I is purely professional, and as for your comment on his capabilities" Amethyst looked Cadence in the eye, her own blue eyes where seething wells of anger "Darkstar has seen more of the war in his life then you have in the whole of yours. I don't know how many ponies he's killed, or how many friends and family he's lost because of the conflict. I don't know how many mares he's raped and how many foals he's orphaned. But i do know that he's one of the greatest soldiers I've ever seen and that I trust him with my life" Amethyst turned back down the corridor and proceeded towards the magnetised door at the end of the hallway where the team where waiting for her to deactivate the security systems. Cadence watched her go and then sighed; it seemed like no matter what she said Amethyst wasn't going to forgive her anytime soon. Amethyst made her way through the team and entered the access code for the door. 'That mare!' she thought to herself as the electrical current flowing through the door powered down with a whine and began to split in two and open 'How dare she come down here and question the efficiency of my team!' the door finished opening with a deep clanking boom 'And to talk about me and Darkstar like that!' she thought as the pegausi in question walked past her and through the door 'How dare she!' through the door Brute was waiting for them, and the griffin growled deeply as he watched the heavily armoured group go past, mentally taking note of the ponies strengths and weaknesses and formulating a plan of attack should they become a threat to his charge. "Brute" Cadence said as she stepped through into the lab "I believe we have outstayed our welcome" "As the little one says" Brute said in his clipped voice "Brute can smell the stink of these unnatural creatures, it makes Brute sick" the griffins eyes glanced towards the group of genetically amplified ponies, growling. Cadence glanced over to Amethyst to ensure the unicorn hadn't heard her, the relationship between them was already stretched thin and a comment like Brutes would only make things worse. Thankfully the mare hadn't heard. "But though Brute agrees with the little one, Brute thinks that the little one should see the team leave" Cadence gave the griffin a glance. "Did you really just state your opinion, Brute?" Cadence asked, raising an eye brow at her guardian. The griffin nodded. "These ponies are about to go out and die for the little one, it is only right that the little should see them leave" the griffin closed his claws into a fist and beat it once upon his chest "it is an honourable action amongst griffins" Cadence saw the look of resolution on the griffins normally blank gaze and sighed. "Very well, Brute, We shall see them leave" Cadence turned and made her way through the lab to rejoin the team as they were stepping onto the wide lift that would take them up to the landing pad. Her hooves made gentle clanking noises on the metal floor, and Brutes claws made clicking noises as they scraped against it. Amethyst entered a code into the elevators terminal and the metal disk began to rise, leaving the laboratory behind. Cadence glanced across to Amethyst, but the mare refused to meet her gaze. They rode the rest of the way up in silence. After ten minutes the lift came to a slow halt, and a pair of curved double doors opened to let in a gust of cold wind, with the clanking of metal on metal the armoured group of ponies along with Amethyst, Cadence and Brute following behind. The landing pad a circular disk of metal thirty-five meters in diameter, facing towards the east and exposed to the elements as it jutted out from the side of the spire. The metal surface was wet with the night's rain, and pools of it had gathered in depressions in the metal. In the west two of the moons where sinking below the horizon whilst the third, Threnor minor, held its place in the sky, its blue oceans shining bright. In the east, Threnor primes blue sun was rising, painting the western horizon and the low hanging grey storm clouds a band of deep blue. Waiting in the centre of the pad was a valkyrie gunship silhouetted against the rising blue sun, the darkness of the remaining night painting the gunships chassis black, save for the blinking red lights along the rims of its wings and the yellow light that poured out the open boarding ramp and the nozzles of its thrusters. The air was filled with a high pitched whining as the VTOL turbines set into the wings powered up. Amethyst looked across the team, taking in what could be her last sight of her charges. Cloudy was looking towards the rising sun, his face calm and deep in thought. Ignia and Russet where talking, Russet said something that Amethyst couldn't hear, but whatever it was made Ignia to laugh lightly, causing her mane to gently flare up and flicker momentarily with golden flames. Roulette had produced a pack of playing cards from seemingly nowhere and was flicking them from hoof to hoof. Red arrow and Daredevil where also deep in conversation, leaned in close and talking in low voices to each other. Darkstar simply looked towards the rising sun; Amethyst couldn't tell what was going on behind his dark eyes. Ignia, Poker, Cloudy and Russet walked towards the gunship and went up the boarding ramp, their armour clanking on the metal of the ramp, to take seats inside the gunship, Russet pulled out a mechanics kit from underneath one of the seats and kneeled down to open it up and check everything was in place before sliding it back under and taking a seat. Ignia pulled down a heavy machine gun from one of the overhead weapon racks and gave it to Cloudy, who then stepped back down the ramp, walked round to the side of the gunships chassis and climbed up a small set of metal rungs. Once he got to the top he pulled open a small dome of glass that was a gunners post and placed his machine gun on the pintel mounting before he sat down inside and pulled the dome closed. Amethyst approached Red arrow and Daredevil just before they stepped onboard the gunship. Daredevil heard her approach and turned to watch her approach, her eyes glittering. "Well" Amethyst said, trying to keep the tears from her voice as she smiled at her little pony. "what do you think of the outside world?" she asked Daredevil. The filly looked toward the rising sun and closed her eyes, breathing deeply as the weak morning sunlight washed across her face. A gentle breeze blew up and caught hold of her mane, causing it to billow out behind her. In that one moment Amethyst felt her heart wrench, all she wanted was to take Daredevil back to the safe lab and protect her from the horrors she was bound to see. "Is that the wind?" the filly asked as she raised a hoof and ran it through her indigo mane. She smiled as it flowed over her hoof; lapping against it like water "Is that the sun?" she opened her eyes and took in the sight of the small ball of deep blue before she looked towards Amethyst. "Yes" Amethyst said, smiling gently. 'She's too young...far too young' "It's more beautiful then i imagined" Daredevil looked towards Red arrow "it's even prettier then you said it was" the colt smiled. Amethyst stepped up to Daredevil and wrapped her hooves around her, holding her in a tight embrace and gently nuzzling the filly's muzzle. "Stay safe" she whispered, the filly nuzzled her back. Amethyst glanced at Red arrow. "Keep her safe" she told him, Red arrow nodded. "I will" he promised, his voice deep and sincere. With that Daredevil broke the hug and nodded to Red arrow before they both turned and stepped up the boarding ramp to take seats in the gunship, their armour clanking on the metal. Finally Amethyst glanced over to Darkstar, who was stood on the edge of the landing pad staring out at the blue sun as it slowly rose above the horizon, the mares heart got caught in her throat. 'You have to say goodbye, you can't just let him go. This could be the last time you ever see him' Slowly Amethyst walked up to the stallion and stood behind him, her breathing became tense. "This could be the last time we see each other" Darkstar said, not taking his eyes off the sun. Amethyst nodded mutely. "Darkstar ... there's something i have to tell you" her heart was thumping in her chest, Amethyst licked her lips and was about to continue, but before she could speak Darkstar began to speak. "This is the first time in seven years i'm going into combat, it feels ... strange" the pegausi turned and looked down on Amethyst; he was a full foot taller than her. "I've done a lot of bad things in my life, Amethyst. Things that no pony should ever do, and now i'm carrying the weight of my actions on my shoulders" Darkstar sighed, his wings ruffled sadly. "So many sins, so many wrongs that have to be made right. Do you think I'll ever be forgiven, or will i have to carry these things for the rest of my life?" "Don't say that. You did what you thought was right, nothing else. Don't ever say that you're a bad pony" Amethyst laid a hoof on his cheek, staring deep into the pegausi' dark eyes. "You're not a bad pony...you're not" she whispered, Darkstar gave her a sad smile; his dark eyes seemed to glimmer in the early morning light. "Pray for me, Amethyst. Pray to the six and ask for my deliverance" Darkstar turned away from her to have one last, long look at the sunrise. Then he sighed, and turned to board the gunship. Just before he slipped from her reach Amethyst reach out and grabbed one of his hooves. The pegausi turned to look at her. "Star ... I ... goodbye" Amethyst felt the words catch in her throat. Then, as if he knew what she was about to do, Darkstar stepped up to Amethyst and wrapped his hooves around her. Amethysts breath became sharp as Darkstar leaned in and took a deep breath before his lips met hers. Amethyst squeaked quietly as their tongues met, a shiver running down her back. Darkstar spread his wings around her and covered her in their soft feathers. For a few moments longer they held their embrace, and then they separated slowly, Amethysts breath was shallow and fast. "I ... I ... " she managed, before she took a deep breath and hugged Darkstar tight, burying her muzzle into his neck. "Bring them home, Star. Bring my foals back to me" Amethyst looked up and locked her gaze with his "Come back alive" Darkstar nodded, folded in his wings and headed towards the gunship, Amethyst watched him go, her heart sinking like it was made of lead. Once he was onboard the gunships engines began to power up with a high pitched roar and slowly began to take off, gently rising off the metal pan to hover a few feet in the air. "I love you!" Amethyst shouted over the roar of the engines. Darkstar, who was still on the boarding ramp, gave her a sad smile. "i know" he shouted back "I've always known" and then with a deep throaty scream the engines of the gunship fired up and the gunship shot off towards the horizon, taking Darkstar and her foals out over the city and beginning their mission. Amethyst stood on the wet pad and watched the ship go until it shrunk to the size of a fly and eventually receded from view. For a few moments her composure held before she broke down and began to weep uncontrollably, tears running down her cheeks. She wept for Daredevil, and the fact she might never see the filly again. She wept for Darkstar, and the impulse she should have acted upon. But most of all she wept for the loss of the ponies she had cared about for her entire time with the project. Cadence walked up beside her and spread a wing over the crying mares back, making gentle shushing noises. Brute simply watched from a distance, his face placid and his eyes emotionless. "I should have told him before he ... he ... " Amethyst managed between sobs, Cadence smiled sadly and hugged the mare. "It's ok, Amethyst. He'll come back, they all will, and when they do you can tell him how much he really means to you" Cadences voice was soft and gentle, she knew all too well how it felt to lose somepony you loved. 'Shining armour ... ' "I hope he comes back" Amethyst said, her eyes red from the tears. She looked towards the rising sun, watching as the sky turned from black to blue "he has to come back" Cadence hugged the mare again, all the while only one thought was running through her head 'please, Twilight sparkle, please. Bring him back to me. Bring them all back to me'