War. Everything Ajax had ever done had led to war.
His creation had marked the beginning of several of the bloodiest wars his universe had seen. Through his life he’d caused and ended countless wars that raged across hundreds of planets. His release from Hyperion’s cold, harsh service had sparked yet another war, one of which would see him fighting the very people he sought to save. Ajax knew that the only thing left for him to do would be to die.
What would Ajax’s death bring he wondered.
Would his valiant last stand echo in the hearts of every free man in the universe? Would everyone who shares his vision of a universe free of Hyperion’s tyranny try and best his legend and make as big an impact as they can in their death? Would they try and complete his task of freeing the universe to avenge him? Would they end the war?
Probably not. Ajax had been fighting for as long as he could remember. One death couldn’t spark such a deus ex machina ending to the fight. There’d never be such a simple solution as one death that would resolve a war. It would always take the death of a million martyrs to end a war. No, Ajax expected his death to go unnoticed. He’d die by the hands of this maniacal monster and it wouldn’t make any difference.
“Ajax! Wake up damn it!” A voice yelled.
It sounded distorted to Ajax. It echoed as if it were yelled from far away. Even still, it was like someone was yelling it through a megaphone right in front of him. The sound drummed in his mind and made his thoughts cloudy. He couldn’t remember anything save for one thing.
The options.
He didn’t need to think about those though; he knew what he had to do.
Equestria was the best place he’d ever known. It was tranquil, it was friendly, and it was at peace.
As much as Ajax wanted to stay in the paradise of Equestria, he couldn’t jeopardise the creatures that inhabit it. He just couldn’t, it wouldn’t sit right on his conscience letting an entire planet take the fall for him.
“Get! Up!” The voice repeated, much clearer this time. Ajax could feel the clarity returning to his thought, but as it returned it brought with it a wave of woe. He would have to leave this place. For ever…
But, it was a worthwhile sacrifice. He’d be saving all of the ponies he cared dearly for.
And he did care dearly for them, he was certain of it now. He’d developed so much in his short stay in Equestria. So much so that he’s willing to die for them.
“Get your scrap ass up!” Completely clear now.
The siren, Maya, was giving Ajax the least motivational speech that Ajax had ever heard.
If you want someone to move, don’t call them scrap.
Ajax painfully hauled himself to his feet. He felt the same sensation he’d felt when he’d came to Equestria. That being oil trickling from his body. Falling quite a height had taken its toll on Ajax’s metal body. Seals that Ajax had placed over cracks had split and were leaking once more. His body’s system pumped oil around rapidly to try and compensate for the dropping levels of fluid, but only served to increase the loss. Even though Ajax was a mechanical, what people call “The Immortals”, his body still suffered from the same issues man kind’s bodies did.
Even though he was faster than anyone in Equestria, except maybe for Zero, he felt slow. Well, he didn’t feel slow. The world felt slow.
Things moved as if in slow motion.
Oil spurted from ruptured pipes in a visible cascade. Tears fell from Fluttershy’s eyes as if they were made of syrup.
Bullets flew so slowly you could flick them out of the air as they flew towards you and as the struck the ground tiny mushroom clouds of dust ascended into the air. Plasma flew out of the Saturn’s cannon, the waves of heat given off by it clearly rippling in the air.
Ajax didn’t know if it was some sort of near death experience or some of that blasted Sirens witch craft trickery, but everything seemed so much clearer now.
He knew what he had to do to save Equestria.
In the seconds it took Ajax to have the revelation, the world sped up again. Tears streamed from Fluttershy’s large eyes. Bullets fired from the Saturn’s cannons, ones that were aimed at the still fighting Vault Hunters, struck the ground near Ajax kicking up clouds of dirt. Searing waves of heat washed over the entire land as the Saturn continued to rip the town apart.
Nothing else was on Ajax’s mind besides the plan.
He turned and located Twilight. She hadn’t really been harmed, her magic had protected her.
The wards she could probably cast would boggle the mind of the Siren in her company.
Ajax grabbed hold of her and earned surprised looks from every other person present.
Ajax whispered something to her. No one heard besides Twilight. No one could even begin to guess what he’d said, but whatever it was had upset Twilight. A frown even bigger than the one she’d previously worn took shape and tears began to rim her eyes.
“Are… Are you sure?” Twilight said, completely ignoring the fact that Ajax had tried to whisper.
“Yes. Do as I command Twilight.” Ajax ordered, throwing away his previous act of whispering and announcing it for everyone to hear.
“It’s time to finish this, once and for all.” Ajax flatly said as he walked to Fawks. He was still laughing.
“You’ve caused this world more trouble than it deserves. You’re a monster and a war criminal.” Ajax spat at Fawks, his words filled with clear hatred and disgust.
“I’m a war hero.” Fawks spat back with just as much hate.
“Well then,” Ajax said as he lifted Fawks up, his voice showing the slightest signs of laughter.
“Die a hero’s death. Maya, with me.” Ajax ordered as he turned to face the Saturn.
Maya was quickly by his side, the prospect of combat exciting her.
They stood silent. Maya didn’t understand why they were, but she continued to do so. She could wait a little longer. After all, she was in no hurry to do combat with a Saturn.
Ajax was deep in thought, formulating more of his plan and considering the outcomes. He simply stared at the Saturn and the three men doing almighty battle with it.
Twilight was quietly explaining what Ajax had told her, much to the displeasure of the other ponies.
“…then we use the Elements of Harmony to send them all back.” Twilight almost cried.
She didn’t want to see Ajax leave. No one did. He’d grown on all of them. The way he acted, the way he spoke and the way he desperately tried to earn trust.
“Do we really have to Twilight? I don’t want my flying buddy to leave! He’s the only challenge in Equestria!” Rainbow Dash complained loudly.
“It’s that or…” Twilight looked to the Saturn firing salvos of rounds that impacted on buildings, turning them to dust.
“Or let that thing stay…” Twilight nervously finished.
Everypony shared scared glances and argued no more. Although it was a terrible end, it was that or complete destruction.
“Finished?” Ajax asked.
“Yes…” Everypony sadly confirmed.
“Very well. You know your jobs?”
“Yes.”
Ajax hauled Fawks onto his shoulder.
“Then let the story come to an end.”
Ajax and Maya ran forward with incredible speed.
Ajax had explained the plan to her and she knew it was the right thing to do. The odds of the other plan succeeding were slim at best.
This seemed like the only logical thing to do.
Ajax carried Fawks on his shoulder with one hand and shot his shotgun at the Saturn with the other. He reloaded it flawlessly with only one hand and did so aggressively. This machine was the symbol of the thing he despised so. His shells may have done little damage to the thick armour of the Saturn the sight of explosive shells smashing into it brought him no small pleasure.
Destruction, even if pointless, was always glorious.
“Guys!” Maya yelled to her comrades.
“What?! We’re kind of busy!” The commando yelled back as he loosed a burst from his assault rifle.
“Too busy for a plan?” Maya offered back.
Axton angrily slapped the last clip he had into his rifle and ducked back into cover as another cannon began shooting at him.
“You know me; I’m never too busy for one of those.” Axton laughed as Maya and Ajax joined the fight. They’d run hard and fast, which had displeased Fawks. He’d bashed his head hard against Ajax several times. They’d covered the ground it had taken several minutes to cross originally in seconds. Not having a plasma cannon sending supernovas rocketing your way tends to make things easier. But now they were into the fight. Axton had found a nice piece of cover, one seemingly made from the bedrock of the ground itself, possibly a final gift from Celestia? A suitable piece of cover in which Ajax can explain his plan? No one would ever know. Axton’s cover, while protective, wasn’t productive. Sitting idly behind cover doesn’t destroy contraptions. Ajax needed this plan explained quickly so that it could be executed before anymore of Ponyville was destroyed. Zero and Salvador were doing a fine job of keeping the Saturn from destroying Ponyville. Zero and his fascinating phase out device were doing an admirable job of confusing the best artificial intelligence the universe had to offer. Your target being a good ten metres away from you one moment and slicing out at you with a sword the next would be enough to confuse anyone. And how Salvador was distracting it?
Well, the very idea of a considerably small man wielding two comically large tri-barrelled shotguns was enough to attract the attention of the Saturn’s guns. Hell, some of them weren’t even shooting. Some were simply looking and silently laughing to themselves.
“So, what are your plan then Ajax?” Axton curiously yelled over the discharge of heavy cannon upon the Saturn.
“Pay attention soldier man. The original plan that I woke up to this morning was: the Elements of Harmony blast me with their energy; I contribute my reactor’s power to the mash; and finally the energy build up rips the plains of reality and sends me home.” Ajax explained.
“Uh… I sort of follow. How does that help us?” Axton asked.
“Well, we can use the same idea here. I have instructed the Element Bearers to strike with their energy upon my command. We can merge my power, theirs and that of this monstrosity to send all of us home.” Ajax finished.
“Hmm… I understand. When can all of you be ready?” Axton asked, deep in thought. He was calculating the many variables that came with Ajax’s plan.
“We are ready. All I need is for us to be close enough together.”
“Then what the hell are we waiting for? Maya, go tell the other two to stick close to the Saturn.” Axton ordered.
“Sure Axton,” Droned as she emerged from cover and ran towards Salvador and Zero,
Ajax began to stand, but Axton’s hand stopped him.
“Hey, tin man. A word.” Axton firmly said.
“What is it you need soldier man?” Ajax curiously asked. He’d decided to say “Soldier man” instead of Axton’s actual name. The fact that Axton had referred to him as “Tin man” was offensive.
“We met on the ice plains of Pandora on a bit of a bad note. We met with guns pointed at each other. Now we’re collaborating in a different dimension.” Axton said. He should have said it plainly, he was stating a fact. But when the words flowed from his mouth emotion followed. Strong emotions. Happiness and pride.
“It’s been a hell of a trip,” Axton said. “One I’ll be glad to see end.”
Axton, Ajax, Maya and the other Vault hunters fought with ferocity never seen before on even the most feral worlds. They shot every single bullet available to them at the cannons mounted on the horrific machines body. When bullets no longer fed themselves into their guns, they sliced, punched and hammered the damnable cannons.
And when bullets had been spent and blades blunted, they used their useless guns and blunted blades as crude clubs. They weren’t trying to do anything in particular in the way of the plan; they were simply trying to do as much damage as possible before they enacted the plan.
It was more of a comfort thing though. Ajax was certain that such a large thing would be damaged on the return trip. The destruction gave Ajax no small joy; the sight of a Hyperion mechanical being hit by four of the most feared warriors, on his behalf too, gave him such joy. But the joy was fleeting, for the harsh reality of things set in.
Destruction had a certain type of beauty with it, Ajax knew this. There was always a certain amount of awe to every explosion. A certain amount of grace to a head exploding from the force of impact from a mace. But not today. This was unwanted, ugly destruction.
Ajax was going to be destroyed, and it wasn’t fair.
But Ajax knew about fair. He’d learnt the only rule about ‘fair’ you need to know.
--Battle log opened—
-Opening file “Reclamation of Mars”
-WARNING. FILE TAG “CLASSIFIED” DETECTED. AUTHORISATION REQUIRED
-Identification “AJAX” Accepted
-Loading relevant geographical data (Including but not limited to maps, holo-maps.)
-Visual recordings loaded
-Geographical data loaded
--Playing recording(s)—
The creature lay in a ditch, undisturbed.
It had been killed several months ago, caught in the crossfire of two fighting factions.
It was a hardy creature, the planet of Mars bread only the strongest creatures, but it had succumb to the hail of armour piercing, acid filled rounds fired by the invading forces. Only the highest quality round would do when you’re invading a planet like Mars. It was the hub of all metals and arms in the entire universe, trumping that of even Titan in output. At one point, the inhabitant work force went insane and decided to mutate themselves beyond belief, replacing near enough all of their limbs and organs with mechanical replacements. Even the wildlife, the little that existed on the desolate rock, was turned into metallic horrors.
The creature, named “Shift Wyrm” by the inhabitants. Its name came from the boiling, shifting metal that composed its body.
Its body was hard and pockmarked from the heavy impacts. The body of the shift worm went solid if it felt threatened but usually went back to its normal state afterwards, but the toxins contained within the bullets that hit it had stopped that transformation. Strangely, the body was cracking.
Slowly cracks spread across the surface. Flecks of metal peeled away and chunks of solid matter fell to the hard, dusty ground.
Eventually, a hole appeared in the skin of the dead creature.
And from it, emerged something glorious. A smaller version of the original creature stood on its many, insect like legs. It looked horrific to begin with, dripping metallic puss that looked rust like. But as it crawled from its parent’s corpse its shifting skin began to harden and become less liquid and more fluid. Its skin was a masterpiece of flowing colour.
It was beautiful. Even the death of such a horrific creature can spawn something beautiful.
It scuttled across the ground for a moment before standing on its hind legs and spread a magnificent set of white hot, glowing wings.
*CRUNCH*
The gigantic metal foot came down on the creature’s skull, crushing the molten liquid that acted as the brain out of the fluid like head.
The creature died before it had even gotten a chance to live.
Proof, if proof were needed, that the universe exists without any sense of fairness. The planets spin regardless of whatever injustices were committed upon them.
“Look how it bleeds the very metal the freaks of this world filled our bullets with. Does it not fascinate you?” Dex chuckled as he rubbed the remains of the creature’s head into the dusty ground.
“Does it not amaze you how easily life can be extinguished?”
“No, it does not. I do not care.” Ajax said sharply, not masking his disinterest in talking. He didn’t want to talk on this planet. The horrors that had been committed were disgusting. The howling screams of the maniacal mechanicals that had been fought. The grating death groan each made as their vital organs were dissolved by the acid filled bullets. There was no glory in liberating this world.
“Humph… You’re no fun.” Dex unhappily sang back.
There wasn’t even any point: Hyperion’s output was about to overtake that of Mars.
Ajax had fought, side by side with his brothers in arms and for what? Mars: a barren rock covered in crazed craftsmen?
Pointless. So many unjust deaths. Unjust. Unfair. Ajax, on the blood stained dust of Mars learned the one lesson. Life isn’t fair.
--End recording---
Ajax knew the universe had no concept of fairness. That wasn’t bad though. It had changed him. Hardened him. He could deal with the unjust. He could deal with this.
“Ajax!”
Axton’s voice jerked Ajax abruptly back into reality.
“Any time now would be good!” Axton yelled as he sliced with a combat knife at a thick wire hanging out of the Saturn’s leg. It seemed to disable one of the cannons on the Saturn, but the turret healed soon after. Never made sense to Ajax: the Loaders miraculous ability to heal. No matter how badly damaged one was, it always healed with time.
“So eager to go back through Oblivion?” Ajax grimly laughed. He was trying hard not to show the sheer sorrow he was experiencing.
“Into the breach, as always!” Axton laughed back.
“Prepare yourself!” Ajax ordered as he began to power up his warp device.
It glowed its familiar colours and hummed its comforting tunes. Ajax couldn’t tell what exactly was comforting about them though; they signalled an imminent doom.
The power began to jump from capacitor to capacitor, the electricity being held within becoming too much for them to handle.
Twilight and her friends saw the energy building up and began their part of the sequence. They focused their feelings for Ajax and all began to gather energy.
Within a matter of seconds, the air surrounding the ponies began to alter in the colour spectrum and pulsed with raw energy. It began to focus into a beam on Twilight.
Neither party wanted this to happen. Ajax loved this realm and its inhabitants, just as much as they loved him.
But Ajax had learnt the one bitter truth while fighting hell spawned abominations over weapons, watching his mechanical brothers die for the pure sake of Hyperion exercising their power and dragging his boots over the dust ridden terrain of Mars: the universe doesn’t care.
When the beam hit, it was not the beam of friendship that Celestia had promised. It was a concoction of friendship, sorrow and despair. It did nothing to improve Ajax’s mood; in fact, all that negative energy causing through his entire body was unbearable. It was not the painless experience Celestia had hinted at either. The pain was even more intense that his original transportation and it caused along every nerve and servo that made up his entire being. Pain shouldn’t be so intense that you feel it in your mind. Celestia was maybe trying to help him when she said it was painless though, Ajax saw the sense in it. Being told something like “We’re going to send you home but it will hurt like absolute hell.” Could, for some unknown reason, scare the hell out of someone. Better that they believe it’s going to be painless. That way, when the excruciating pain kicks in, the thought of being lied to builds into a roaring fury that overrides the pain. At this very moment in time, this was the case. Ajax was so enraged by Celestia’s cold, brutal logic that he just didn’t give a damn about the pain.
The Vault Hunters however...
Their screams were something to behold. Well, for a time they were. The Vault Hunters were tough, no doubt. They’d taken out millions of foes without so much as a scratch on themselves and caused the downfall of the biggest tyranny to befall the universe. But a million and one – Wait, what would friendship be measured in? Joules of energy. Does that word have any application here? Hell to it, Joules it is. - Joules of friendship energy can’t be ignored by any creature in existence, and by no means by a human. They… looked like they’d had acid poured on them. They were kneeling on the quickly vanishing floor clawing at their bodies. Luckily they passed out before any damage could be done. Speaking of humans screaming, Fawks was transmitting a satisfying howl as his suit slowly cooked areas of him. Ajax wanted to laugh, and he did. Hysterically so. He laughed and laughed right until him, his companions and the Saturn condensed into a singularity and vanished from the face of Equestria.
What an interesting image for the ponies to see of their heroes: four of them fainting and the last one holding a howling madman in his arms and laughing madly. No one could piece it together. Instead, they simply wept. The odd pony tried to say something, but none got them off. Their emotions said enough. They knew that their sorrow was causing this. They could’ve stopped it and taken their sorrow out of the beam, but when they saw the screeching Fawks, they pushed their woe into it even harder. Actions speak louder than words, and right now the ponies of Equestria were yelling with a world shattering force. It all happened so fast. One moment they were there and the next they weren’t. The only thing that remained of the fearsome army was scrap.
Scrap, and the morbid, echoing laughter of Ajax. It echoed and echoed and echoed, a chilling goodbye, until Celestia ordered Rainbow Dash to silence it with a sonic Rainboom. Ajax had told Celestia that it was customary for a soldier who died a hero’s death to have one last gun fired at their funeral.
That would have to do…
Pandora.
The crowd burst through the bleeding rip in reality with tendrils of sickly energy following them, trying to pull them back into the immaterial that was the void. The vault hunters tumbled first, flying speedily out onto the hard floor. They were still unconscious. That was all Ajax saw as he came through the portal after them. That was all he saw period. The pain, the sorrow and the solid floor’s impact knocked him unconscious. In this state, he’d surely be killed.
He welcomed the death…
“Tick toc Ajax…”
The voice was an unwelcomed awakener to Ajax. He’d hoped to pass away, but the fact that he could hear was just reminding him that he was alive.
He really didn’t want to live any further. He’d lost everything. His friends, his future and most importantly, his purpose. What good was a loader if not for destruction?
Ajax wanted to destroy something to remove some of the blind rage from his system.
“Get up…” The voice said.
It wasn’t any voice he recognised… It wasn’t any of the vault hunters, it wasn’t the deranged ranting of Fawks and it lacked the mechanical grind of a generic loader. It was…
“You ass, where’ve you been?! Things have gone to hell since you went you bloody spark plug!!!”
Ah ha…. Someone Ajax did know then. But… How was Dex contacting him? His warp device? Was it still a functioning radio?
“Got yourself a radio there tin can?” Another voice laughed.
This time it was one Ajax knew fairly well.
Fawks…
The one who fought back… The one who ended Ajax’s time in Equestria… The Hyperion…
The enemy…
Ajax snapped back into reality. What had happened to him? For a moment there he’d actually been wallowing in self-pity!
That’s not Ajax. Ajax doesn’t give up. Ajax never admits defeat. Ajax will die with honour and never yield.
He switched his optics back on.
The world had quite literally gone to hell, as Dex had claimed. The sky was scared by the marks of where orbital strikes had pierced the atmosphere. Smoke billowed from the many craters that littered the grey stone ground Ajax laid on and gunshots could be heard all around. Fighting was taking place nearby, and it sounded to be heading this way. The air was thick with toxic fumes and it hung to the barren ground like pain to wood.
*Thud*
That was an odd sound, Ajax thought. But then he realised it was actually very familiar, and very bad.
The Saturn… It was slowly hauling its broken body back onto its towering feet. It wouldn’t be a minute before it was back on its feet and had its weapons aimed at Ajax. A minute… A minute to do what must be done.
Fawks…
Ajax had no weapon; he’d lost it on the way through. He didn’t know if he had enough power to warp one in.
Fawks…
The vault hunters were unconscious. There would be no help from them.
Ajax had nothing but his blunted blades.
Fawks…
He still had his faith… And that was enough. Ajax stood. He felt more than a few pipes well and truly break. Not just crack this time, fully break. They poured his black life liquid out of them and slicked his limbs with sticky fluid. He could barely stand and his arms shook in a near violent fashion.
He stood to see Fawks standing high atop his bionic legs. He was tall, but not as tall as Ajax. He stood out like a sore thumb in the grey stone landscape. Well, there wasn’t much besides Ajax’s black and white plate and Fawks yellow on the entire stony plain, so there wasn’t much else to stand out. He held the only weapon for miles, looted from the prone forms of the Vault Hunters. It was the fancy plasma sword that the assassin had used. Fawks was extravagant, even at the end.
Fawks limped towards Ajax, one of his bionic had been rendered almost useless upon travel. He didn’t have far to travel as the vault hunters hadn’t fallen far from Ajax himself.
Ajax was too slow to react; his body was just too damaged. Life moved as if in slow motion, but Ajax saw the blade move with lightning speed. He felt no pain as the blade sliced through his leg. Ajax’s mind went into a state of enhanced focus, but left just enough consciousness for Ajax to see his left leg be severed at the knee and be kicked away from under his feet. He dropped to one knee. Ajax felt only the impact of a hard truth: we are all fated to die, and some of us are fated to die in a pit, with no one around to witness your last moments.
Heh… Dying alone… Ajax never could stand the thought. He’d always thought he’d die fighting, gun in hand and comrades by his side. Ha, so much for that. Ajax may not have a weapon, he may not have his comrades, hell, he may not even have half of a leg, but he had memories. Memories of the happy time he’d spent in Equestria. Memories of the joy he had felt, and the laughter he had shared.
He remembered Equestria, and he felt at peace… He would die with pride in his heart.
*CRACK*
The crack of lightning powerful enough to shatter the skies themselves rang out across the plain. If anyone had cared enough to look at the barren plain in which the group resided, they would have been blinded by the pearlescent light that filled it for the briefest of moments. But, no one really did care. The plain was of no interest to anyone. Too few resources or any tactical advantages for Hyperion to take it, and too much open, exposing ground for any bandits to claim it as theirs. They were a dumb group of inbreeds, but even they knew a killing ground when they saw one. Ajax was too focused on his memoires to even realise what had happened. All Ajax saw was the diminishing light, the closing rip in space, and a weapon on the ground. The weapon… It looked… No, it couldn’t be his, could it?
“What games are you playing…” Ajax thought.
Ajax was just as dumbstruck as Fawks by the mysterious appearance. Ajax, despite his missing limb and broken body, reacted quicker than Fawks
He snatched up the weapon in his broken clawed hand. It was his shotgun alright… Had he dropped it on the way through? He couldn’t remember.
It felt… Almost identical to his weapon, but the area around the handle felt rough… Like there were small markings or grooves on the handle. Ajax had never been sentimental about anything, so he’d never had words inscribed onto his weapon. Nor did he remember his handle having anything that would make it rough. He liked the smooth feeling plain metal gave. But there was the certainty that something was different… Ajax wagered that it was a carving or grove it had picked up from the fall.
Ajax held the weapon to his eye with his free hand, the one that did not possess any modifications.
He was correct: something had been carved there… He read it.
“Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Unyielding Faith, Dependable Shield…” Ajax mentally read, all the while Fawks was regaining his maniacal composure.
Ajax looked for another name, but didn’t find one.
Where was Twilight’s name? Ajax suspiciously thought. It was nowhere to be seen on the handle… He couldn’t quite fathom why Twilight, the person who seemed to understand him the most wouldn’t have placed her name on this parting gift.
Where could it be? Ajax searched.
“I knew you’d come around to my ways…” Ajax quietly chuckled as he examined the shells loaded inside the shotgun. Three of them, glowing a pearly white. The only thing that wasn’t white was the glowing purple text on each shell… It read:
“Twilight Sparkle ”
“I knew it…” Ajax breathed.
But… There was something smaller engraved into the shell below the glowing purple text… So small Ajax had to use his zoom function to read it. He could barely make it out, as it was rendered almost unreadable by the glowing purple and the blinding white, but it looked like it said “Your leg”… Ajax cast it off for nonsense. A message that should have been, but became garbled as it was written. Should it have said “Your legend?”? Maybe “Your legacy?”? Something to think about in his last moments? Maybe… Maybe not….
A blessing though, all the same… Ajax could only guess at how this had happened…
Maybe his emotions brought on by thinking of Equestria had provided enough of a connection to send something through realities? Or maybe…
The how really didn’t matter to Ajax; all Ajax needed to know was in front him. He realised what the text meant. It wasn’t supposed to say any of what he thought it might… Ajax caught a glimpse of the mural on his leg plate that Rarity had painted for him… And he knew.
What he knew?
Well, Fawks’ next words would answer that exact question. It’s as if Fawks had read Ajax’s mind and was trying to coax the words out of him... Ajax did love when people fed him his lines.
“So, you’ve got yourself a gun eh? It’s pointless Ajax, you’ve lost. You’re kneeling before me, and I’m about to kill you! What are you even fighting for, fool?!” Fawks bellowed as Ajax held the shotgun.
“I’m fighting… For freedom…” Ajax snapped the shotgun back into working order. The chambers leaked pearlescent light that hurt the eyes to gaze at.
“For justice…” Ajax primed the weapon. It hummed a harmonic tune as the various components glided effortlessly into their places.
“For me…” Ajax looked at the mural on his leg. He felt nothing but pride.
“For them…” He hefted the shotgun painfully upwards, and pointed it at Fawks’ head. The light emanating from the weapon reached all and bathed it in a soothing glow.
For Equestria...
*Bang*