//------------------------------//
// Chapter Three 
// Story: A Method in this Madness 
// by Xeroed_In 
//------------------------------//

Chapter III:
Altogether the recon/supply run/ kill Shock's mission had proved quite bountiful for the three young ponies. They had amassed a stockpile of food and bottled water that could last them a few weeks, found a few choice pieces of metal that could be molded by unicorn magic and smelting into armor-plating and found new blankets to replace the tattered ones back at home. They arranged the items into different categorical pile and stepped back to allow Silentsong use her magic to divide the hoard and distribute it evenly amongst them, levitating the items into their saddlebags. Speedfreak went back over to the rubble to check for anything they had missed, steering clear of the disemboweled, decapitated and utterly dead Shocks that lay on the ground at various intervals, the pools of toxic green blood having fast dried on the pavement, a milky film forming on the surface.

Quickfix lay on her back against a pile of rubble and let the last remnants of battle worn adrenaline filter out of her body, lying on a ragged and stained pillow she had found wedged underneath a bed. It smelled slightly. She lay there, gazing up at the sky as it slowly turned from pitch to a lighter blue and purple combination, and chewed a long piece or barley that she had picked up. She let her gaze from the celestial canvas right above her to the dull orange-yellow sunset that was beginning to break the horizon in-between the houses. She sighed, content, as the memory of watching the same sunset with her sister came back to her, except they had been in the roof of a barn and not the smashed open candy shop. Silentsong huffed something unintelligible at her, but Quickfix got the meaning. Come and help you unobservant, lazy, no-good, yellow-bellied-  Quickfix tossed a hoof at her in return and then went back to lazily brushing away flies that were being attracted to the newfound corpses. 

Still with the mutilated owners of Sugarcube Corner in her sight, tears began to well in Quickfix's eyes, a dam of emotion threatening to break. Mr and Mrs Cake had been so well known in their community, their cakes and sweets the pride of all Ponyville. They hadn't been mean, or strict, and had definitely never done anything to be deserving of this fate. Still, at least there was no one left to properly mourn. The world had changed since childhood, so much violence in everything they did. Everyday was spent in apprehension, every night in coiled anticipation. Every move they took, every bite they ate, every punch they threw, had to be wary of everything around them. She sniffed back her sorrow and stood to allow Silentsong place a loaded saddlebag on her back and tighten the straps until they were at chafing point.

Her bags full, Quickfix wandered over to Speedfreak who was sitting on her flanks and rolling an object between her forehooves. Quickfix observed it's elliptical orbit around her body, rolling a shallow trench through the earth until it bumped against her hooves and she bent down to look at it closer. It held roughly the same dimensions and size as an apple, and it was green as well, but there was a strange metallic ring sticking out from where the stalk would usually protrude. It radiated a strange aura of danger, a subconscious warning of explosive power.
"What is it?" she asked.
"No idea," answered Speedfreak, rolling it back towards her. "What do you think it is?"
"Ah think it's trouble." said Quickfix, edging away from it.
"Maybe trouble is something we might need." said Speedfreak and then stood, calling to Silentsong. "Hey! Chuck this in my bag, will ya?"
The other pony tapped her hooves impatiently against the ground but nevertheless picked up the object with her magic and dropped it into Speedfreak's left saddlebag. 
Speedfreak staggered slightly, "Whuff! Whatever this is, it's got some weight!"

"Quit yer whining'" Quickfix helped Speedfreak stand and gave her a quick once-over with her gaze. She dusted Speedfreak's suit down and checked over the armor plating to see if it was still tight. The metal had been strong sheet metal taken from the very houses around them, raided at varying times of the past 8 years. Unable to do anything but survive, the three ponies had taken it upon themselves to 'borrow' anything they needed, seeing as most residents of Ponyville no longer needed their abodes. Speedfreak winced as Quickfix's hoof brushed her back, "Careful back there!" and Quickfix peeled back her suit to expose the wound. The three ragged scratches from a Shock's claw-hoof had taken off the first few layers of skin and coat, leaving three almost parallel cuts running across Speedfreak's back. They were shallow and didn't bleed, but was still serious enough to restrict movement, which was something the three had to be able to do a lot. "Medic!"Quickfix barked in true military fashion and Silentsong stepped over, laying their personal first-aid kit on the ground. She selected a bandage and some anti-septic, which she poured over the wound, causing Speedfreak to hiss and squirm as the anti-bacterial agents stung the exposed flesh. She wrapped the bandage around her midriff once, twice, three times and then stepped back to nod at her handiwork.

Quickfix trotted over past Silentsong, aiming towards the distant sunrise and home. "Come on girls, ah don't want to be out an' about in the day." 
Speedfreak grumbled as she stood and came over towards them, then stopped, "Wait! We're forgetting the most important part! Silentsong, if you would?"
Silentsong nodded silently in reply and produced a paint spray-can from her saddlebag and stepped over to the nearest standing brick wall shaking it. She quickly gauged the size of the wall and adjusted her magic to suit.
Shaka-shaka-shaka.
A few telekinetic slashes and she stepped back, throwing a manic grin over her shoulder at her comrades. This was how they knew they existed, how anypony surviving knew they existed. Painted in vivid, almost blood red paint, this was their calling card, a straight up call-out to the malevolent ruler of their new world.
WE WERE HERE. FEAR THE CMCRUSADERS.