//------------------------------// // Breaking and Entry // Story: Me and My Shadow // by The DM //------------------------------// Dillemuth sighed contently as his titan continued to run across hills. His passengers were contently talking amongst themselves while Villarreal’s titan ran ahead. Occasionally Dillemuth would have to tell the faster pilot to slow down. This was usually met with a snarky remark about how much slower and dumber IMC pilots were. As usual, the mercenary pilot replied  with a threat that involved the forceful removal of certain limbs. Now though, it seemed that the two pilots had reached a silent understanding. Threats were exchanged slightly less, with both pilots opting to make the cross-country journey in silence. Celestia, however, took this opportunity to learn a bit more about the one she knew as Dillemuth. Taking a break from watching the world through the fingers of a titan, she casually looked over her back toward the swiveling triple-eye of the Ogre. “So, Mister Dillemuth, I just realized that I know next to nothing about you, aside from your name,” Celestia stated. “This is true, I take it you have some burning questions?” The pilot asked over his titan’s loudspeaker. “I do. Would you be opposed to me asking a few?” “Eh, you’re going to find out sooner of later, might as well make it sooner. Ask away,” Dillemuth replied. “I guess a good starting question would be ‘what are you?” Celestia asked. Inside the titan, Dillemuth’s wandering mind was brought back to reality by the pony addressing him. Hitting a switch on the wall, the hatch on his cockpit swung up. He thought for a moment about putting on his full-face helmet, but found himself rather enjoying the cool night wind.  Celestia was intrigued to see the pilot’s true face. He was a fair skinned man, with short, light brown hair. His lower face was covered in a bit of light colored stubble, making the scars on his left jawbone almost invisible. Even in his sitting position, Celestia knew he was capable of looking her in the eye when standing. Though most noticeable was how tired he looked. “Fair enough. My race are called humans, we’re an advanced species of apex predatory primates. Personally, I live on Mars with my mom and sister. Now I’m out here fighting terrorists and insurgents.” Celestia did not seem at all satisfied with the pilot’s answer. “There must be more to your life than that. Like, your family, what made you leave them behind and come here?” Dillemuth sighed as he looked up to the stars. “My sister suffers from a genetic disorder that basically makes everyday life for her nearly impossible without assistance. Because of that, my mother is the primary caregiver, leaving me to make enough money to support our family.” “Your father wasn’t around?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow. Dillemuth shook his head. “No. He died in a mining accident on Phobos when I was sixteen. That’s where I got this titan from. Originally, titans were created to help in large mining operations. Then someone thought that if you gave it a big gun, you could really ruin someone’s day. Anyway, after my dad died, I took his place in the mines. For a few years I bounced around from mines on Phobos and Mars, barely making enough to live on. Then this war on the frontier broke out.” Celestia couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow for the pilot. “I’m sorry for your loss.” The young pilot simply shook his head. “I’ve had time to come to terms with it. Anyway, when I was twenty two, I got offered a job with the IMC. While I didn’t really care about the whole civil war thing, I needed the money. So I signed up as a mercenary pilot for the IMC. I’ve been fighting the Militia for almost a year now.” “I see. I must confess, I believed you to just be a hired sword looking for riches in the suffering of others. I’m sorry for that,” the Princess replied with a bow of her head. “It’s alright. I’ve gotten used to it. Hell, almost all the IMC soldiers I worked with hated me just as much as the Militia did. Most of the other soldiers thought I wasn’t loyal enough to the IMC. They were expecting me to betray them at any given moment,” Dillemuth said with a shrug. “That must have been difficult.” “Again, I got used to it,” Dillemuth replied dryly. The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Celestia spoke up again. “So what will you do now? Try to contact your own people again?” “I’m not sure if that’s possible anymore. Our two ships did a great job of blowing each other straight to hell. So for the time being, Shit-face and I are stranded here. If I’m really lucky, the IMC will consider me dead,” Dillemuth said with a chuckle. “Why would you want that? Don’t you want to go home to your family?” Celestia asked with shock. “I would. But that’s no longer possible, even if I got back with the IMC. A few months ago, the Militia blew up our main refueling depot, effectively stranding us light years away from the core worlds. It’ll be years before we can even think about going home.” For Dillemuth, it hurt to admit this to the Princess. He had since come to terms with it, but having to vocalize it brought up repressed feelings. “Wouldn’t it be worth it to wait? Surely you will be able to return home some day?” “That’s the thing. I was only supposed to do two tours with the IMC; so six months. I chose that number because I was afraid of the war changing me into someone my own mother wouldn’t recognize. At this point, it would be better if my family just thought I was dead. I wouldn’t want their memory of me to be tainted by what I have become…” Dillemuth said as he looked down at the passing ground. “And what is that?” Celestia asked, even though she could easily predict what he would say next. “An absolute monster,” muttered the young pilot. A few more minutes passed before the Princess thought of another question. “So… if this ‘IMC’ thinks you’re dead, what will that mean for your family? Don’t they still rely on your paycheck?” Dillemuth chuckled at this. “That’s the other half of it. My contract with the IMC includes a ‘Death Clause’. If I were to die while on my tour, my family would continue to receive my salary for at least fifty years. It’s the IMC’s way of maintaining a positive image. Nothing makes people happier than seeing a corporation take care of the families of fallen soldiers.”     “What about him?” Celestia asked as she motioned toward the Stryder. “No clue. Only met him today after we tried to kill each other,” Dillemuth replied with a shrug. This left Celestia to wonder about the other pilot. She still wasn’t quite sure what to think of the two humans. Dillemuth had quite a lot more to him, other than the title of mercenary. This left the Princess to wonder what Villarreal had in store. As the Ogre crested yet another hill, Dillemuth was surprised to see Villarreal standing just under the crest, looking through the scope on his railgun. Before the pair was what looked like a massive orchard, leading to a small farm house and barn. “An orchard, huh? See anything cool, Shit-face?” Dillemuth asked as he lowered the hatch on his cockpit. “Fuck you, and yeah. Remember those little fucks that we kept running over while fighting What’s-his-fuck?” Villarreal replied as he kept his weapon leveled. “Yeah, the little things that were with Tirek. Why?” “Because I see five of the little shits running through those trees. Looks like they’re heading up the hill toward the head of that farm,” the Stryder pilot announced over the radio. Popping open his titan once again, Dillemuth looked to Celestia through the opening. “Does this area seem familiar?” “Why yes, this looks like Applejack’s farm. Ponyville should be just over that hill,” Celestia replied with a nod. “Oh…kay… Is there a way you could, like, hang on to something? I might need the use of my hands soon,” Dillemuth asked as he looked between Celestia and the other two ponies. “Well, this thing is metal, right? A simple magnetism spell would let us essentially latch on to anywhere. Why do you ask?” Celestia replied with a question of her own. “Remember those little minions of Tirek’s? Shit-face over there spotted a group of them moving through the trees down there,” Dillemuth stated as he leaned back into his seat. “The Diamond Dogs? Are you sure?” Celestia’s tone taking on an air of seriousness. “Yup. So I might need to move you three up higher. The best place for you would be on my back, right above the reactor pack. So I would appreciate if you did that magic thingy of yours,” the pilot stated as he closed the cover on his titan. Quickly, Celestia looked to Cadance and Shining. “Cadance, can you cast a magnetism spell on the three of us? Dillemuth needs us to move up high on his titan.” With a simple nod, Cadance cast the spell on herself and the other two ponies. Seeing the flash of light from the pink pony, Dillemuth first raised his left arm up to the top of his titan. He listened for the tell-tale sounds of someone climbing on his hull before lowering the hand and raising up Celestia. After a few more moments of noise, the young pilot reached back and pulled his titan’s weapon from the magnetic clamp underneath the reactor pack. “Alright Shit-face, let’s go fuck shit up,” Dillemuth said with a chuckle. “Ah, now that’s something I would be happy to do. Shall we make chase?” Villarreal asked over the radio. “Yes, we shall.” The two titans took off at a full sprint toward the orchard ahead. The plan was simple, cut off the Diamond Dogs and try to capture them, otherwise destroy with all due prejudice. The night was about to get a whole lot more interesting. ~~~<<<>>>~~~ It was the perfect night for this. Lord Tirek had ordered Snapper and her small pack to gather as much information about Princess Sparkle and her friends as possible. For the five Diamond Dogs, this was going to be an easy night. Moving through the orchard toward the Element of Honesty, the pack moved almost undetected. Almost. With the sound of a loud crack, the trunk of the tree directly behind them exploded in a shower of splinters. Two of the dogs let out loud yelps as pieces of wood tore through their backs. While not fatal, it was incredibly painful. As her pack members recovered from the sudden attack, Snapper began looking behind them, trying to pinpoint the source. The Diamond Dog didn’t need to look far, coming at them from the side was a massive monster the likes of which Snapper had never seen. With a quick bark, the other dogs split up and headed in random directions. Dirtpad was one of the newer members of Snapper’s pack. For the young Diamond Dog, this was his very first mission for Lord Tirek. Now, it was looking like it would be his last. In a spark of panic, the Diamond Dog tried to dig into the ground, only to be stopped by the intricate root system of the trees around him. Doing the next best thing, he quickly ascended the nearest tree. While he couldn’t see past the leaves, he could easily hear everything. His pack mates were growing more distant, as the mechanical thumping sounds also faded. It had seemed like his hiding place had paid off. Just as he was about to drop from his hiding spot, a deep thud caused him to freeze. *THUD* *THUD* The sound was very steady and slow. Almost like something was slowly walking around. *THUD* *THUD* The dog’s heart-rate skyrocketed as he listened to the sound get closer. *THUD* *THUD* Dirtpad clenched his eyes shut as his tree began to shake with each step. *THUD* *THUD* The tree shook even more as the sound continued to get closed. He could barely hear a constant high pitched whining sound. The dog opened a single eye, only to see the leaves in front of his face. After a few seconds, only the high pitched whine was audible. Curiously, Dirtpad moved forward to see what was outside. Slowly, the dog began to part the leaves. As soon as he moved the branch, a massive hand reached into the tree, grabbing his entire body. The Diamond Dog screamed in terror as he was ripped out of the tree by one of the massive metal monsters. The monster held Dirtpad up to what he thought might be its face, before turning around and walking away with him still in its grasp. Dirtpad began to struggle in the monster’s grip as it began to jog through a path of ruined trees. He couldn’t hear the sounds of his packmates anymore. Only the sounds of machinery from this monster filled the night time air. The Diamond Dog cast a quick glance up the hill toward the farmhouse, only to see all the lights on, and a number of ponies leaning out the window. In a split second decision, the dog began shouting and wiggling. In a single fluid motion, the titan slammed its palm into a nearby tree, smashing the dog instantly. ~~~<<<>>>~~~ Dillemuth charged down the dirt road in hot pursuit of the other four dogs. Villarreal had broken off to chase a straggler deeper into the orchard. As the Ogre came up on the village, certain features began to come into view. On the outskirts of the town was a large area surrounded by what looked like bleachers, making it look like a temporary stadium. However, half of the seats looked to be made of a white fluffy substance. Ahead of them on the road were a number of banners and flags erected on poles. Rather than try to avoid the oncoming obstacles, the Ogre titan simply ran straight through. With a quick swipe of his titan’s hand, Dillemuth ripped the banner out of his titan’s face. As he entered the town, the dogs split into two groups. One group headed deeper into the village, while another group headed for the stadium. Figuring the Stryder would catch up shortly, Dillemuth charged after the group heading toward the stadium. The dogs were making it rather difficult for the young mercenary pilot to line up any shots. Rather than waste ammo trying to hit his targets with no certainty of scoring a kill, Dillemuth opted to continue his pursuit. Unbeknownst to him, the ponies riding on top of him were hatching their own plan. “Cadance,” Celestia nearly had to shout over the sound of the titan, “take Shining and go find Twilight! Tell her what happened and get word to my sister. I’ll stay here and do what I can to keep him from hurting anypony.” Cadance nodded and quickly teleported away with her husband. Now, Celestia was on her own. Standing atop the shoulders of a titan, she had a perfect view of everything around her. Surprisingly, most of Ponyville still slumbered, with only a few lights coming on around the outskirts of town. Dillemuth weaved around another tree before coming into the main arena of the stadium. Slowly, he began to sweep the grandstands with his cannon, looking for any sign of movement. With the lack of any artificial light, Dillemuth was forced to turn on his titan’s night optics. With the flip of a switch, everything became bright as day. This sudden change in visibility gave the pilot the edge he needed. Crawling behind one of the benches was a single Diamond Dog. As soon as he raised his weapon, the dog got up and took off running. Unfortunately, the Diamond Dog wasn’t fast enough to dodge the titan’s fist. With a loud crack, Dillemuth punched clear through the large wooden grandstands. As soon as he removed his fist from the grandstands, the second dog took off running across the arena. To the pilot’s absolute surprise, the dog seemed to run straight through the white bleachers. Following close behind, Dillemuth too charged straight through. As expected, he passed clean through. Unexpectedly, however, the white material seemed to dissipate as soon as he passed through it, leaving a perfect titan-shaped hole. Just behind the bleachers were a number of boxes, crates, and a few other wooden object the pilot couldn’t identify. However, what he could identify was his target trying to hide among the crates. Rather than alert his target that he had been spotted, the Ogre merely ran through the crates, destroying and crushing everything, including the hiding dog. As soon as he charged through the crates, flocks of birds seemed to flee from some of the broken boxes. Satisfied that this area was clear, Dillemuth began to work his way back toward the road leading into town. ~~~<<<>>>~~~ Cadance pounded on the door to Twilight’s home as the sounds of the nearby titan grew slightly more distant. After a few moments of pounding on the door, it finally opened. Rather than Twilight, Spike stood in the entryway. “Princess Cadance!? What brings you here?” Spike asked groggily. “Spike, is Twilight here?” Cadance asked with urgency. “No, she’s not. Princess Luna summoned her to Canterlot a few hours ago. She didn’t say what it was, but I bet it was important. She looked really worried,” Spike replied as he began to hear odd sounds. “Is something going on?” Cadance cast a quick glance over toward the edge of town before ushering Spike back into the house. “Shining and I will explain everything inside.” ~~~<<<>>>~~~ Villarreal and Dillemuth slowly crept through the town. They had tracked the last two dogs into the town, and were now methodically searching in between every building. On Dillemuth’s Ogre, Celestia was trying to get the pilot’s attention, but to no avail. Inside the cockpit, the pilot was totally focused on the search for the dogs. The pair had been searching a block of the village when the Stryder pilot spotted movement across the street. The block was long and narrow, with a line of back to back houses. This provided a small alleyway behind, and next to, each building. Slowly, and on opposite sides, the two titans began to scrutinize every dark corner of the alleys. It was then that Dillemuth spotted the Diamond Dogs hiding next to a group of trashcans. As soon as the dogs noticed the titans, they took off running at a full sprint. Both the Ogre and Stryder kept pace with the running dogs along the length of the alley. As Villarreal’s titan sidestepped along with the dogs, he began to charge his railgun. With a loud crack, the railgun discharged, sending a plasma round into the alleyway. Unfortunately, the round impacted the ground right behind the dogs. It did, however, break the windows of the houses near the Stryder. Dillemuth sighed as the Stryder fired it’s first shot. If the town didn’t know the titans were there, they sure did now. With the block running out, Dillemuth dashed toward the upcoming intersection, intent on cutting off the fleeing dogs. As the Ogre charged further up the street, Villarreal kept the pressure on the dogs. In a matter of seconds, he would drive the filthy beasts into the hands of the waiting titan. “Alright, who wants to eat shit first?” Dillemuth muttered as he waited to the side of the block. As if on cue, the first dog came running out of the alleyway at a full sprint, followed closely by the second one. Unfortunately for the pilot, the first dog split away from the second while the Stryder was still trying to catch up, allowing the Diamond Dog to escape into a nearby building. The second dog was much less fortunate. After watching the Diamond Dog in front of him get away, the second dog paused to look for a new hiding spot. Unfortunately for him, the Ogre titan noticed this, and moved in for the kill. With a quick dash forward, Dillemuth was standing practically right on top of the last remaining dog. Rather than just kill it outright, he decided to squeeze this one for some information. Reaching down, Dillemuth quickly snatched up the dog in his titan’s hand. Bringing his new prisoner up to eye level, he popped the cockpit hatch before crouching on the open edge. “Alright, nod if you can understand me.” The dog nodded an affirmative. “Great, let’s make this quick and just get the cliche questions out of the way. Who are you, where are you from, who do you work for, and why are you here? Go.” The Diamond Dog looked at the pilot and titan with absolute terror. “M-m-my name Quartz.” Dillemuth nodded as he pulled a large revolver from under his seat. “Alright Quartz, where are you from?” “Badlands. Me and pack live in Badlands,” Quartz replied shakily. “There’s nothing in the Badlands except for changelings and a few nomadic tribes of buffalo. What possible purpose could you have there?” Celestia asked from the back of the Ogre. Quartz quickly began shaking his head. “Pony wrong! Pony very wrong! Stupid pony know nothing about Him!” “Hey! Eyes forward fuck-face. Who the fuck is ‘Him’?” Dillemuth demanded as he lazily pointed the hand cannon at the fearful dog. “Lord Tirek, of course! Lord Tirek true master. Lord Tirek crush stupid ponies. Won’t make mistakes like last time!” Quartz exclaimed with vigor. “That’s great, cupcake. Now why are you here?” Dillemuth asked. However, the Diamond Dog took no notice of this question and continued to rant about Tirek. As the dog continued to shout about the wonderful nature of Tirek, Dillemuth began to really take notice that the town was waking up. It would only be a matter of time before ponies started coming out to investigate. The young mercenary tapped the side of his helmet as he looked to the Stryder standing at the end of the block. “Hey Shit-face. This guy is useless. Wanna play a game?” Dillemuth asked as he closed the hatch on his titan. “Fuck you, and it depends on the game.” Villarreal stated as he too began looking around town. “Catch!”  The Ogre titan quickly tossed the Diamond Dog straight at the unsuspecting Stryder. However, Villarreal was quick enough to activate his titan’s Vortex Shield, effectively catching the dog and keeping it suspended at the end of the titan’s arm. “Right back at ya, fuck-tard!” Villarreal shouted over the radio as he deactivated the shield. While the Vortex Shield was designed to catch enemy projectiles and then throw them back at the target, it worked surprisingly well with a live target. Dillemuth chuckled while the dog screamed as it flew through the air back at the Ogre. Rather than try to catch the flying dog, the mercenary pilot simply slapped the dog out of the air and straight into the ground. Looking around, Dillemuth and the Stryder continued their search for the last dog. The Ogre pilot had seen which direction his target had headed off toward. Carefully moving around the block, both pilots scrutinized every building for signs of forced entry. It didn’t take long. As the pair approached a large structure that looked almost like a giant gingerbread house, Dillemuth spotted a broken window in a smaller structure behind the gingerbread house. Dillemuth held up a hand with his titan and pointed toward the small building. Villarreal slowly walked up to stand next to the Ogre. “In there?” Villarreal asked over the radio. “Broken window. I’d wager he’s in there. Lemme check,” Dillemuth replied as he reached into a bag under his seat. Over the course of his time with the IMC, Dillemuth had “requisitioned” some extra supplies. One such supply was a small microchip. Dillemuth carefully picked it up and removed his helmet. With a quick press on the back of the helmet, the pilot opened up a small slot. Carefully inserting the chip, the pilot closed up his bag and placed it back under his seat. “Alright Shit-face, gimme a few seconds and I’ll have this guy spotted...” Dillemuth slowly began to scan the building from inside his titan. “Then what? You gonna go kick down the door and shoot him?” Villarreal asked sarcastically. “More or less.” Every few seconds, a radar pulse shot out from his titan, revealing every living being in a short radius around him. Looking to his right, Dillemuth could see five ponies sleeping in the gingerbread house. With a chuckle, he turned back to the smaller building, just as his active radar pulse echoed again. ~~~<<<>>>~~~ Dredger had never been so scared in his whole life. He had just managed to escape the two metal monsters and was now hiding in the refrigerated storage locker for the local bakery. The small building was full of freshly baked delights for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. Breathing heavily, Dredger finally began to bring his heart rate down. Sadly for him, it didn’t stay that way. A bright light began to shine through the window he had smashed to get into the building. Fear once again sent his heart into overdrive. Defying what any sane being would do at the time, Dredger slowly peeked through the open window, only to see the the metal monsters shining some kind of light at his hiding spot. He quickly jumped over a nearby table and hid behind it. Just as he thought the monsters couldn’t reach him, the entire structure exploded in a shower of splinters and wood as the larger monster simply charged through the building. The dog couldn’t even scream before a pile of debris crushed him. ~~~<<<>>>~~~ “Damn son, you IMC guys can be fucking brutal,” Villarreal remarked over the radio as the Ogre walked back through the ruined building. “I have my moments.” Dillemuth replied as he looked around town. “So... I think we’ve caused enough damage here. Shall we, I dunno, run like hell before a lynch mob tries to chase us down with pitchforks and torches?” “While I despise the idea that an IMC pilot could say anything intelligent, I will have to agree with that. Let’s get the fuck outta here, after we grab your other two passengers.” Villarreal answered as he turned and took off running down the street. “Shit... where the fuck did they go?” Dillemuth muttered. “Ask your other passenger, retard. I bet she knows.” “Uhh, Princess? Where did the other two ponies run off to?” Dillemuth asked over his titan’s loudspeaker on the quietest volume setting. Silence. “Princess?” “Was all of this necessary? Destroying so much of the town?” Celestia demanded. “To be fair, we didn’t do that much damage,” Dillemuth replied cautiously. “How can you justify destroying the livelihood and property of so many ponies?!” The Princess asked with anger in her voice. “Because if we hadn’t eliminated the Diamond Dogs, then they would have gone back to Tirek with who knows what kind of information, endangering the lives of everyone. Buildings can be replaced, lives can’t.” Celestia sighed in frustration as she looked at the ruined building behind Sugar Cube Corner. “You’re right, I apologize for my outburst. It’s been a rather stressful day.” “I totally understand. We’ve all had different people trying to kill us today,” Dillemuth replied. “But don’t think for a second that I’m just going to let you two off the hook for this. You will pay for the damage you have done,” Celestia said sternly “Alright, alright, fair enough. Now, about the other two.” “I told them to head to Twilight’s house. They’ll be safer with her,” Celestia stated as she looked to Twilight’s home. “If you say so,” Dillemuth replied. With  their work in the village concluded, the two titans quickly sprinted out of town and continued heading toward the city atop the mountain.