Gjallarsong

by BlackRoseRaven

Verse Six

Verse Six
~BlackRoseRaven

Valthrudnir and Princess Celestia stood side-by-side in the war room, alone in the catacombs of shelves and desks and easel display boards. They were both studying a map of Equestria silently, where a large red tack had been placed over a city to the west. One of the largest settlements in the country, which had been protected by high walls, a sky outpost, and a massive military base... and they had lost contact with it completely more than a week ago.
The worst – and most confusing – part of it was that it was within their borders. Deep within their borders. And until this event, they had been steadily pushing the griffins back. Ever since the war had truly begun in earnest, some eight months ago now after Thesis had gone on his first mission with the Dark Angel unit, the griffins had been forced to fall further and further back under the onslaught provided by Equestria's battleships, Dogmatists, and the other dangerous technologies that Valthrudnir had provided for them.
Celestia's eyes roved across the map to look at a blue dot near the Horsehead Mountains: she remembered how Thesis had come back from that first mission... both elated and upset. She hadn't lied to him... but she hadn't told him the truth, either, and Thesis had been shocked when it wasn't just a griffin tower they had brought down, but a dragon aerie, almost all of the juvenile dragons killed in the collapse, and those who weren't surely crippled.
But that was war. Celestia knew the cost of war very well, and she knew what had to be done. And part of the reason she had waited for so long, given up so much territory to the griffins, was because she had counted on the griffin's aggression to compel their army to try and press deeper into Equestria. A ruinous mistake, because the overzealous griffins had been left without any hope of reinforcement when they had finally flown right into a blockade of Equestrian airships.
They had chased the griffin army for miles, until they had finally stopped to do what the griffins hadn't and set up an outpost where they could gather their forces and build up their defenses. The griffins were too used to nomadic battle: they would attack a village or city, plunder it, and then burn it down and move on. They only rarely stopped to establish bases or outposts, and when they did, it was usually because their allies had already started to build something there. Most of their weaponry was either salvaged from the cities they raided, made from raw materials while they traveled, or brought to them from the griffin homeland by special transports.
Celestia knew that her own tactics were cruel: crueler, perhaps, than most would realize. She was allowing her people to be displaced, to be moved around and sacrificed like pawns on a chessboard. And likewise, even though she'd said she was trying to bring the griffins to a peaceful solution... she had known from the start that a peaceful solution would almost be impossible. Just as she had been maneuvering the griffins, from the very beginning, into a position where they would be at their most vulnerable.
She had almost thought that she had stopped this war dead in its tracks after Thesis had brought down the aerie... but even though the griffins had been shaken by the sudden counterattack, it hadn't been enough to make them back down. Wary, certainly, and the attacks that had followed had encouraged them to retreat and regroup...
But... “What happened, Valthrudnir? How we lose contact with an entire city, and with all the ponies inside it? The griffins don't have that kind of power.”
“No, they do not.” Valthrudnir muttered, rubbing slowly at his chin as he scowled at the map... and pointedly refusing to meet Celestia's eyes. The last thing he needed to admit was that he was honestly surprised himself... and worse than that, honestly frustrated. He had already attempted to scry the area, and had been surprised when his efforts had been rebuffed by some sort of powerful anti-magic shielding.
In order to understand what was going on, he would have to send one of his Dogmatists in to investigate, or waste his time going there himself to spy on the happenings. Their pathetic anti-magic defenses were like a paper shielding: it would interfere with him seeing at a distance what was going on, but he had no doubt that his presence alone would be enough to destroy the protection they had over the city.
That would be a waste of effort, however, and it could jeopardize his game... and besides, he also had servants to deal with such trivialities, didn't he? “We should send Thesis and his unit to investigate and destroy the defenses the griffins have erected around the city. All the same, this is an unexpected change in tactical procedure...”
“It worries me. It worries me more that they did this within our borders. Valthrudnir, they are only a few hours away by flight from Canterlot. How is it possible that-”
“Quiet.” Valthrudnir said moodily, holding up a hand towards Celestia and cutting off her worrying. He shifted ever so slightly, however, almost reaching towards her as he continued in a rational voice that was the closest he ever came to being comforting: “Our forces have been concentrated along the fronts shared with the griffins. The griffins now have allies in both the dragons and diamond dogs, among other unknowns. It is unlikely, but still possible, that they were able to move in a wide arc around our forces to take over that city.”
“I don't believe that, and I don't believe you do, either.” Celestia said softly, and Valthrudnir scowled at her before the ivory mare returned her eyes to the map, saying quietly: “I know you were unable to see past the fog of dark magic that covers that city. I wasn't either.”
“It is anti-magic.” Valthrudnir said stiffly, but then he frowned when Celestia smiled over at him. “What?”
“No, it's not. Anti-magic doesn't simply blot out sight magic, it creates a static effect, and a... tingling.” Celestia turned towards Valthrudnir, raising her horn towards him as she said softly: “If you don't trust me, you're more than welcome to check for yourself.”
“I do not desire to read your magic or your mind.” Valthrudnir said distastefully, shifting uncomfortably away from the mare before he shook his head and crossed his arms, scowling at the map. “The griffins have no magic.”
“No. The griffins do have magic.” Celestia countered, and Valthrudnir frowned over at her. “They are an extremely talented race, Valthrudnir. A warrior race, yes, but those who do not become warriors or leave their homeland for adventure must find different ways to excel: the griffin fortresses are almost indomitable, and they house both talented engineers and occult schools. But most griffins consider magic to be a weapon of last resort, and those who are born with the gift are considered cursed and sealed away in the schools.”
“I didn't ask for a lesson on their culture, Celestia.” Valthrudnir said irritably, and then he turned his eyes back towards the map, frowning as his mind whirled away before he murmured: “The griffins have destroyed several of our airships, and when we salvaged them, pieces were reported missing.. I considered these to have simply been destroyed, but is it possible that...”
Celestia frowned over at him, and Valthrudnir shook his head before he turned around and began to shuffle through papers piled over desks and tables, moving from pile to pile and simply knocking stacks of parchment flying when they didn't seem to contain what he wanted. “Where are the lists of casualties? Dogmatists, specifically, I require-”
Celestia sighed, turning around and flicking her horn to lift several scattered papers from the ground, and Valthrudnir scowled over his shoulder at her before he snatched these out of the air as they floated towards him. He paged quickly through the papers, then muttered: “Ridiculous. But there's no way that these barbarians could replicate... it's not possible that...”
“Valthrudnir, almost all of the technology you provided us with has been built right here in Equestria. Often you yourself stressed that these were machines we could learn to create ourselves with the right materials and instruction...” Celestia hesitated, then looked back towards the map, adding uneasily: “And from the beginning, the griffins have been recruiting outlaws and prisoners, and offering rewards and honor to anyone who had specialized skills they were willing to put to use in service of the griffin army... and... that city has both major factories, and several prisons and-”
“Impossible. Impossible!” Valthrudnir shouted, throwing the papers aside as he snarled and turned towards the map, his eyes blazing. “These... these barbarians, these plebeians could not possibly learn to crudely imitate my own work, my own designs, I... I will not stand for it, Celestia! Call Thesis, assemble the Dark Angels! I will see that city burned to the ground before I allow those ignorant savages to crudely ape my designs!”
“Valthrudnir.” Celestia said sharply, and the dragon rounded on her... before visibly flinching when the mare reached up and shoved her hoof into his stomach, leaning up towards him and saying quietly but firmly: “Get yourself under control.”
Valthrudnir reached up and grabbed Celestia's wrist, grinding his teeth together as he leaned down in her face and snarled: “Do not speak to me like I am one of your... like... I am one of your...”
Those cold amethyst irises glared into his, fearless and indomitable, and Valthrudnir's amber gaze flickered before he dropped his eyes. They settled on his hand, looking at how his fingers were crushing into her foreleg hard enough to bruise... but yet even when he forced himself to relax his grip, she didn't pull away. She didn't flinch, or tremble... she only slipped back just enough to rest her hoof on his palm so she could lean further up towards him, saying in a calm, controlled voice: “I will talk to you the way you deserve to be talked to, Valthrudnir. But that means if you start acting like a foal, I will scold you like a foal.”
“I am not a foal. I am certainly not your foal.” Valthrudnir grumbled, throwing her hoof away before he reached up and smoothed out the lapels of his dress jacket, glaring down at the mare... but not quite raising his eyes to hers, glowering more at her neck than her face. “This new problem requires urgency. We must move quickly to-”
“What we require is precision, Valthrudnir, not haste. Haste will only create more difficulties.” Celestia answered in an unyielding voice, the dragon glaring at her as one of his eyes twitched, his hands clenching into fists... but all the same, he listened, as the mare continued: “I agree that we should assemble the Dark Angels. But we will not give them the order to seek and destroy. It's more important that they gather intelligence than go into the unknown and attempt to engage a foe we have no knowledge of. Especially one that's been sly enough to move into the kingdom under our very noses.”
“The enemy has outfoxed the lazy eyes of your generals, Celestia. I am not nearly as impressed and frightened as you are by the fact that the enemy has captured a nearby city. If anything, I would question the strategy and hubris in doing so.” Valthrudnir retorted, and Celestia shot the dragon a cynical smile.
“Not that you would know anything about pride and ego, would you, Valthrudnir?” she asked contemptibly, and the dragon bared his teeth at her before Celestia said quietly: “I know what I'm doing. And I feel that there's more to this than just the griffins attempting a sneak attack. Too much about what's going on doesn't make sense.”
“Fine, have your conspiracy theories, Celestia. I leave things in your hooves.” Valthrudnir retorted, giving a short, mocking bow. “And when everything falls apart or you miss your best opportunity to destroy this foe because of your caution, you can bear the full weight of that on your own shoulders. But then again, horses always were meant to bear up under heavy burdens, weren't they? You ignorant pack-beast.”
Celestia smiled thinly up at Valthrudnir, and then she replied in an almost pleasant voice: “And no matter how they might dress themselves or the fancy words they teach themselves to use, dragons will never be anything but brutes and beasts, will they?”
Valthrudnir slowly ground his teeth together, and then he snorted through his nostrils before turning and storming towards the exit. Celestia only watched him leave with cold eyes, studying him silently until she heard him slam through the door that was half-hidden beyond the stacks and shelves... and then, finally, she allowed her head to drop, letting out a rattling sigh before she murmured: “I just wish you'd learn you can be anything you want, Valthrudnir, if you'd just let yourself be something more than... a dragon in a fancy suit.”

Thesis felt uneasy as he strode slowly over the deck of the battleship, Red Sky walking beside him. He smiled hesitantly over at her, and she smiled back and nodded firmly in response, saying quietly: “I have a lot of faith in you, sir.”
“I'm not on duty yet. I'm still just Thesis for now.” the stallion muttered, even as he reached up and uncomfortably adjusted his black fiberglass armor. He ran a hoof over it slowly, then added moodily, as he looked out at the massive, whirling black mass of thunderheads in the distance, barely visible in the darkness of the early morning sky: “This really doesn't seem like a good idea to me. And when I think something isn't a good idea...”
“Then it probably really isn't, no.” Red Sky looked ahead, gazing uneasily at the whirl of dark clouds herself before she shook her head and murmured: “But whatever's going on there, it has to be stopped. And you and the Dark Angels are the best ponies for the job, right?”
“That's not really a compliment anymore.” Thesis replied with a slight grimace, reflecting silently on how many times he'd heard those words... and then he and his team had ended up burning bridges, razing encampments, assassinating crucial but non-military personnel. Thesis was beginning to question just how much of himself he was going to lose by the end of this war... “I... sorry, Red Sky. You know I get nervous before mission.”
Red Sky only smiled at him comfortingly, and then the Wonderbolt sighed and looked ahead, saying in a quieter voice: “But it's scary, isn't it? They somehow invaded the city without anyone noticing, and now... who knows what's happened in there?”
Thesis nodded, steadying himself and taking a slow breath as he rose his head. Right, that was true: he wasn't being sent in on an assault against a 'priority target' that would end up being a food center or a mobile hospital this time: these were unknown targets that had taken over an entire city, and they were being sent in to gather intelligence on the situation.
“Well, I'm glad that I've got the best fliers in Equestria watching my back, at least.” Thesis said after a moment, then he turned his eyes back ahead, smiling briefly. “I just hope you're half as good as you always said you were. Because if you fly anything like you dance...”
“Shut up, Thesis.” Red Sky huffed at him, and the stallion laughed before the mare hesitated, then stepped towards him and reached up and squeezed his shoulder. “You got this.”
The stallion nodded a little, and then he strode up to the prow of the ship, leaning forwards before he sighed a little. “Okay. I guess we better give the signal to stop. My team will move in from here by RAP.”
“At least you get to fly.” Red Sky said, and Thesis smiled wryly over at the mare, unable to resist a grumble of agreement. There had been one or two good things that came with this job.
But even as Thesis and Red Sky turned around to go about their business, the stallion felt his thoughts uneasily going back to everything that had happened since the creation of the Dark Angels. Not just the assaults, and the attacks, and the razing of facilities and camps, but the changes he had seen throughout all of Equestria...
In very short order, the Royal Guard had been equipped with dangerous, advanced weaponry: within a month the entire army had been taught to use weapons that electrified anyone they touched, and were given explosive crystals that could turn boulders into dust as part of their standard equipment. The griffins still had their anti-magic, their bolas, their own bombs... but their technology paled in comparison to the weaponry now even the lowest-ranking soldier in Celestia's army had. Even incredible devices like the Rapid Acceleration Packs, which gave even earth ponies the ability to fly short distances, had become almost commonplace.
Massive, portable cannons replaced catapults and ballistas, and the cavalry had been given slow but indomitable machines that rolled along wheels and tracks, crushing anything in their way. Soldiers had gone from frightened of becoming monsters, to accepting and in some cases, even eager to be given Dogmatism... and along with the living, mechanical ponies had joined the battlefield, heartless golems often dropped straight from flying transports and battle carriers into danger zones to support the Equestrian army and annihilate the griffins and their allies.
And of course, then there were the shadow units like the one that Thesis commanded... he knew his group wasn't the only set of Dark Angels out there. Likewise, he had begun to see more and more Dogmatists from Decretum here... whatever Decretum was.
It had been eight months since his first deployment as leader of this unit, and Thesis still didn't have the courage to ask his mother or Valthrudnir what that name meant, and where these Dogmatists were coming from. More and more, he'd come to realize that the Celestia he knew wasn't the only Celestia: there was another side to his mother that... frightened him a little, he thought. It was very well hidden, and it only rarely showed itself during political debate or strategy sessions... but more and more, Thesis was getting glimpses of it. Of that other side of his mother...
The stallion shook his head briefly as he headed to one side of the loitering battleship, his preparations complete. His armor was tight, his helm was on, and its strange, glowing visor that gave him battle information pulled down over his eyes. His equipment packs were tightly secured against his body, and his RAP was on his back, ready for deployment.
His team was waiting for him at the deployment pad at the edge of the airship, and they saluted when he came to a stop beside them. Thesis saluted back, and the four relaxed without needing the order, making Thesis smile a little. He at least had discovered that, with enough time and effort, even these Dogmatists had started to become more... pony, for lack of a better word. He didn't know if it was because they were remembering what life was like before their mechanical upgrades, or if they were just learning to imitate his behavior... but either way, it was one of the very, very few things that made him feel a little more at ease around the mostly-synthetic ponies.
Thesis glanced quickly towards them: he didn't have to check to know they all had their equipment readied, but it was a habit he had gotten into. The Dogmatists would always equip whatever was left in their specific lockers by whoever was in charge of equipment distribution, after all: more than once, Thesis had found they had taken damaged or incorrect equipment for the mission.
More than once, Thesis had spoken to the quartermaster about this, but he always got the same arguments: someone switched the equipment, someone else was responsible for the Dogmatist's gear, the Dogmatists had to follow the same procedures as everypony else.
He hesitated for a moment, frowning over at Napalm: something about the giant's RAP seemed a little... off. He couldn't quite place it, but... well... “Everyone, idle status.”
The four Dogmatists moved almost in synchronization, reaching up to hit the large blue buttons on the side of the metal boxes they all had strapped on their backs. And, again in almost perfect time, small sets of stubby wings shot out of the sides of each RAP as hidden panels slid upwards along the machinery, revealing specially-designed thrusters and guidance systems.
Thesis could hear them all gearing up properly, and he gave a brief nod before he turned on his own, feeling the faint vibrations of the RAP through his armor. He looked forwards, unable to deny the excitement he felt coursing through his veins: this, after all, was the closest he would ever really get to flying on his own.
“On wings of eagles.” Thesis said softly, and then he shook his head before glancing to the side as Red Sky approached, the mare smiling at him through the goggles on her face. “Do I have clearance, Princess?”
“You're good to go, Lightning Hoof.” Red Sky responded, and then she hesitated before adding quietly: “Just watch out, and move in low. There doesn't seem to be a lot of activity around the walls, but for all we know, we might already have eyes on us. These ships aren't known for being stealthy, after all.”
Thesis smiled briefly, then he nodded quickly before he took a slow breath and turned his attention forwards, clearing his throat before he strode up to the edge, gazing down through the air at the ground several hundred feet below. He took a slow breath as his heart thudded in his chest: as much as he loved to fly... this part never failed to scare him, as much as he didn't want to admit it.
“Alright, colts, let's go!” Thesis shouted, and then he leapt forwards and dove off the edge of the  airship, pinning his forelegs against his sides to streamline his body. As he fell, he heard the RAP gearing up further, but he resisted the urge to activate it as numbers rapidly flashed by on the visor over his eyes as the wind tore around him and he shot faster and faster towards the barren earth below...
The visor suddenly began to beep, the word 'caution' flashing over it before it was replaced by a shriller alarm and a bright red 'WARNING,' and yet still, Thesis allowed himself to fall as time seemed to slow and the air seemed to turn to sludge around him, as his adrenaline-excited mind processed everything that was going on.
He could feel his heart in his chest, thumping: powerful, rapid beats, so loud they drowned out the wind and the blaring alarm from his helmet. His throat was itchy, his eyes were dry: side-effects of adrenaline. When he looked to the side, he saw the world passing by, blurry in his vision; when his eyes flicked down, he saw the earth below through the flashes of red over the visor, growing closer by the slowly-passing second.
His hoof inched backwards, then hammered home into the button on the side of the RAP, and the boosters flared into life as he arched his body, moving slowly... and then everything went back to full speed, and Thesis split the air as the boosters sent him rocketing towards the walls of the city.
Thesis almost reached the city before his RAP began to gear down, and the stallion readied himself before the machine on his back beeped loudly, then suddenly burst apart into pieces: but as most of the device ejected itself, boosters and all, a large set of flexible cloth wings deployed from the remains, turning his short flight into a smooth, steadily-declining glide.
The stallion began to smile... and then he looked over his shoulder in surprise as he heard a blare of sound, before he was almost knocked out of the air as Napalm shot by, zigzagging out of control as smoke poured from his RAP. The dark-coated stallion shouted uselessly... then stared in horror as the Dogmatist was driven down into the ground, the RAP exploding in a terrible blaze of fire and shrapnel on impact.
Thesis grabbed at the harness of his glider, hitting the button to pop it open so he could drop to the earth. He landed with a thud in the empty fields, spinning around to sprint towards Napalm, who was dragging himself slowly free from the wreckage of his RAP. His tanks were cracked and leaking volatile fuel, and he was badly scorched and bleeding, yet the stallion barely showed any sign of pain even as one of his hind legs uselessly sagged behind him...
Thesis quickly slipped under the stallion and grunted as he lifted the mechanical pony, hurrying away from the flaming wreckage. Not just to try and avoid being spotted – as if it was possible to hide in this goddamn field – but because the trail of fuel behind Napalm was starting to catch on fire. Thankfully, he wasn't leaking in streams, but droplets, and Thesis was able to carry the Dogmatist all the way to the heavy stone wall surrounding the city before he dropped him, placing him back against the barricade.
“I am... damaged. My operational status is... compromised.” Napalm said quietly, and he looked up at Thesis... and god, the stallion thought there was such pain hidden under those glassy eyes... “What are your orders?”
It sounded like a plea... and Thesis bit his lip before he looked uncomfortably over his shoulder at the other Dogmatists. They had all landed and assembled perfectly, like the neat little ducklings they were... and the stallion gritted his teeth before he forced himself to calm down. He was in charge for a reason. He was the one who had to make the best decisions he could for the entire team. “I... Lamella. Can you repair Napalm?”
Lamella looked at Napalm for a few moments, before Hierophant interrupted emotionlessly: “Scans indicate that Napalm has suffered compromising damage to both mobility and offensive capability. Napalm is currently regarded as a liability. He is also not necessary to-”
“Repairs are possible.” Lamella interrupted, and Hierophant fell silent, looking towards Lamella... but the Dogmatist didn't look away from Napalm, and Thesis smiled faintly before he nodded slowly.
“Then repair him, and stay with him. We'll either retrieve you after the mission or send you a signal when we're done.” Thesis said quietly, before he turned towards Hierophant and Zone. “We're here to gather intelligence. Prioritize stealth.”
“Intelligence has been noted as a secondary objective in the briefing.” Hierophant corrected, and Thesis frowned as he tilted his head. “Primary objective is destruction of the anti-magic barrier.”
“I... no. That's not the order I was given.” Thesis said, confused, and Hierophant studied him silently before Thesis said finally: “Look, I have no problem sabotaging what we can while we're in there. But first we have to get in there, and we have to be quiet.”
“Parameters accepted.” Hierophant agreed, and then he turned towards the wall, glass eyes roving over the obstacle before he said: “Mapping indicates multiple entrances via gates, but wall surface is comprised of brick and lime, bonded by mortar. It is possible to scale.”
“Then let's climb the wall. Hierophant, continuous scans, let us know if anything's coming.” Thesis ordered, and Hierophant gave a nod of acknowledgment before the dark-coated stallion reached back into his equipment pack, pulling out a set of narrow gauntlets that would fit over his front hooves and were rigged with climbing spikes.
As Zone and Hierophant began to climb, the stallion took one last look at Lamella and Napalm. He smiled briefly at them as Napalm passively allowed the other Dogmatist to remove shrapnel from his body, and then Thesis shook his head before heading quickly to the wall and mounting it.
He climbed quickly, bracing himself with his rear hooves and pulling himself up front hoof over front hoof along the wall, breathing steadily in and out. He passed Hierophant and Zone on the way up: the Dogmatists were strong enough that they were able to almost punch holes in the brick with their hooves alone, negating the need for climbing tools, but they were much slower and more methodical in their movements.
Thesis reached the top of the wall first... and frowned uneasily as he hauled himself over the battlements and onto the walkway, looking uneasily back and forth. Something was wrong here: there wasn't a single sign of a griffin in the air, and nor was there any sign of defense along the top of the walls. No patrols, no cannons... not even a bored griffin with a telescope.
The stallion's eyes roved down into the city, and he bit his lip as he shifted hesitantly forwards to the edge of the inner wall. Some of the buildings seemed to be in ruins, and others had been destroyed completely... but it didn't look like there were any fires burning, or any signs of life. It looked like a localized earthquake had hit a few buildings, which he supposed could have been caused by diamond dogs, but otherwise...
Thesis ground his teeth together slowly, and then he looked over his shoulder at Hierophant as the stallion climbed onto the walkway beside him, the dark-coated stallion ordering: “Scan the area. Wide as you can, for any signs of life at all.”
Hierophant's glass eyes glowed as it looked back and forth, and then it announced calmly: “Minimal life detected within five hundred meters.”
“What the hell...” Thesis muttered: he knew that 'minimal life' was a fancy term for saying Hierophant hadn't picked up more than a few rats or small animals... or smoldering remains he had mistaken the heat of for something alive. “Alright. Let's move in. Keep me updated.”
Both Dogmatists nodded silently, and Thesis grimaced as he turned around and used his climbing gauntlets to carefully descend the wall. The sound of the claws scratching through the stone somehow seemed so much louder in this dead city... what had happened here? Their last contact with this city had been a week ago... even assuming the griffins had attacked right after that, how could they exterminate an entire city in a week, and right under their noses?
Thesis landed on the ground with a grunt, and a moment later the Dogmatists landed on either side of him before Zone suddenly rose his head, a faint beeping going off before he announced in his gravelly voice: “Warning. Substantial levels of radioactivity have been detected ahead.”
“Radio... what?” Thesis asked uneasily, and Zone looked at him emotionlessly before Thesis frowned and prompted: “What does that mean?”
“Neutron reactions have caused the ionization of atoms, resulting in the emission of harmful energies.” explained Zone, Thesis looking blankly at the Dogmatist before the synthetic pony added in a voice that Thesis thought he heard the faintest hint of urgency is: “This area is unsafe without appropriate protective gear.”
“Right.” Thesis muttered, and then he quickly pulled off his climbing gauntlets, putting them back before he reached around to another pack to remove a set of compressed black fabric.
He peeled the pieces of fabric apart into a set of boots and a a facemask: he hated the feeling of slipping the sock-like boots on, and the way they sealed themselves against his hooves. The mask was just as uncomfortable, with a little filter he had to bite down on and breathe through in the front. But he supposed survival was more important than comfort, especially if this radiation was toxic enough to set off Zone's sensors...
“Caution. Standard biohazard countermeasures will only provide minimal protection in more severely-effected areas. Risk increases significantly after thirty minutes of exposure. Recommendation:  avoid severely impacted areas, minimize time spent in area.”
Thesis frowned uneasily over at Zone, but then he gave a hesitant nod before muttering: “Thirty minutes in and out, got it. We shouldn't need too long anyway to gather intelligence here, if it's that toxic. Start the timer, Zone, and let's get ourselves moving.”
Zone nodded calmly, and the Dogmatists and their commander started forwards, Thesis keeping himself focused on the mission at hoof. Yet his skin was crawling, and everything felt... absolutely, terribly, utterly wrong. Not just the fact that Napalm's RAP had malfunctioned – and he wasn't nearly stupid enough to believe that had just been an accident – but the fact that this place was so toxic, this city so dead...
The griffins couldn't have done this on their own. The stallion's frown only grew deeper as they inspected buildings here and there on their way into the city, and they failed to locate a single corpse...
“This radiation has to be some kind of plague...” Thesis muttered, as he stopped to grasp a crumbled brick wall, scowling at the way his hoof pushed straight through it. Yet on the other side of the street, the walls were perfectly fine.
He turned his attention towards the ruins of the building surrounded by the brittle wall, the stallion beginning to step forwards- “Warning. High levels of radioactivity detected.”
Thesis halted, looking over his shoulder as Zone approached. A moment later, Hierophant did as well, the two seeming to study the building until the glass-eyed Dogmatist said emotionlessly: “Thermal energy detected in wreckage. Unknown object detected: scans indicate presence of modified radioactive isotopes.”
“Request permission to attempt neutralization and retrieval.” Zone said, turning towards Thesis, and the stallion's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
But after a moment, Thesis nodded, saying finally: “Just don't put yourself at risk.”
Zone nodded slowly in return: a surprising gesture. But it was enough to remind Thesis that these weren't just machines he was talking to, no matter how they acted, as Zone headed calmly into the building.
There was silence for almost a minute, apart from a few muffled sounds that came from the ruin. It was beginning to grate on Thesis... and when Zone emerged carrying a satchel, he couldn't resist a sigh of relief. But almost immediately after, he frowned uneasily as he realized that Zone hadn't just retrieved the object, but had coated it in a thick, cement-like substance... along with most of the saddlebag. “Did you really have to do that?”
“Yes. Integrity of shielding is already beginning to decay. More suitable shielding is required.” Zone said calmly, and Thesis grimaced a bit. So whatever they were carrying around was so toxic it was eating through the gunk the Dogmatist had poured over it...
“Maybe Lamella can do something about it.” Thesis said finally, before turning and muttering: “We should head back, anyway, there's obviously nothing here, and we're running short on time.”
“Thirteen minutes.” Zone acknowledged, and then one of the panels on his side clicked up and open, and Thesis grimaced as Zone lifted the satchel and slipped it into the hollow cavity of his own body. Then the plate slid shut, and Zone added calmly: “Hull integrity is currently at optimum, but will not act as sufficient shielding.”
“I really wish you wouldn't talk about yourself like that. Come on, we'll get back to the ship, and then we'll move it to a lockbox.” Thesis said finally, turning and heading back the way they had come.
They were silent on their return to the wall: Thesis briefly thought about simply leaving through one of the gates, but realized it would waste too much time, especially if the gates weren't already in an open position. The return was uneventful, as was their ascent.
He still felt uneasy, like they had missed something, or something was terribly wrong apart from the fact that the city had been turned into a ghost town... but all the same, Thesis looked over at Hierophant and said finally: “I guess we should signal the ship from here. There's no point in making Napalm walk to extraction when there's nothing here.”
Hierophant seemed to grimace slightly... but then nodded, the Dogmatist unicorn raising his head as his horn glowed before he fired a bright red flare of magic into the air. Thesis leaned on the battlements for a moment, watching as the ship began to approach before he gave a quiet sigh, muttering: “Guess they must have set up some kind of totem in the city to generate that dark magic cloud above... after they dropped those... devices everywhere. I wonder what happened to all the bodies, though... I mean, are they so toxic that...”
“The retrieved object is as yet categorized as an unknown device. Primary findings do not indicate that biological damage would be so great as to erase evidence of living beings to such extent, however.” Hierophant answered, before the Dogmatist added calmly: “Most likely scenario involves deployment of devices followed by retrieval of bodies for unknown purposes.”
Thesis shivered a little at this, and then he looked ahead, watching in silence as the airship drew closer before he murmured: “Well, either way, we have to report back and hope-”
Thesis was cut off by a tremendous boom from above, the stallion blinking in surprise... but before he could look up, his eyes instead were drawn with horror to the battleship, as a massive, green-tinged flare of fire went up as something tore through its hull. There were two more terrible booms, one after the other, and two more explosions of emerald hellfire as Thesis shouted in despair, leaning forwards and staring in horror as the entire airship began to list, before the stallion looked up in disbelief as a black shadow fell over him.
Above, some sort of massive ship rolled out of the black fog of energy, dark energy sparking along its hull as the thunderhead of black magic crackled and roared around  it. Thesis stared in shock:  the flying ship glided through the air with no visible method of flight, cylindrical and ugly, its smoothness broken only by the open hatches out of which jutted smoking cannons...
And another joined it. And another, and another, Thesis saw with horror, as the dark magic cloud above began to break apart... before he realized with dread that there was some kind of... massive, monstrous floating island floating behind the at least half-dozen sky-ships rumbling through the air seeming to lead it onward.
Thesis' eyes widened in alarm at the sight: how had such a monstrous thing slipped by them? Except at the same time, Thesis saw, all too clearly, how it had: the island wasn't just made of metal and rock, but dark, roiling thunderheads, and black clouds twisted and rumble around the massive island as it began to sail slowly in the direction of Canterlot. These sky-machines, he realized with mounting fear, had been hiding in the clouds, likely using them for cover, and now-
“Orders?” Hierophant asked coldly, and Thesis trembled, looking with disbelief at the Dogmatist.
Hierophant began to look towards him again... and then Thesis saw too late that one of the sky-machines had left the pack and was instead circling back towards them, cannons already turning towards them-
There was a bang, a flash of light, and then the wall beneath them exploded as the shell tore through it, Thesis and the Dogmatists flung through the air in a hail of stone and broken brick. The stallion crashed down on his face with a gasp, before he looked up in horror as he heard another boom... and this time, the reality of what he was seeing crashed in on him, the stallion screaming in denial as another of the griffin ships pummeled the crippled Equestrian battleship from above with cannon fire-
The battleship sank towards the ground, explosions ripping through its body, the ship cracking in half from the onslaught as emerald flames ripped through the hull. Thesis scrambled to his hooves, staggering towards the battleship as he realized Red Sky was there, Red Sky was in that ship, the ship that was going down, the ship that was burning, the ship that had already been destroyed but they kept shooting at it, they kept shooting-
An explosive shell hit the ground nearby, and Thesis was flung through the air, crashing limply down and rolling with a gargle before he came to a halt in a prone pile. He gasped for air through the respirator of the mask covering his muzzle, then he reached up and wrenched it off, looking up at the griffin ship floating nearby. It moved slowly and inelegantly, but it moved almost soundlessly, the only visible means of propulsion a massive turbine on the back of the ugly, lion-headed cylinder as it seemed to lose interest in him...
But Thesis saw why, as he looked over his shoulder at the sight of Napalm and Lamella. Napalm was uselessly firing at it with a cannon strapped to one foreleg, barely making dents in the armored face of the ship as Lamella steadied his comrade and created a thin membrane around them with his powers-
A single cannon fired, the cannonball smashing into Napalm with a sickening crunch and knocking him backwards in a broken sprawl, before there was a horrific explosion of green flame. Thesis felt the concussive force even from where he stood... and tasted death in the blast as he was knocked onto his back, gasping in pain.
He rolled disbelievingly onto his side, his eyes watering, staring at the crater where his soldiers had once stood before he whimpered, his mouth falling open as he looked towards the flaming ruin of the battleship, which was being circled mockingly by another of those ships as the rest simply sailed away, like they were inconsequential, like they didn't matter, like all the lives they had taken weren't even worthy of acknowledgment-
And all of a sudden, something in Thesis simply... shut off. He stared hollowly up at the airship that was slowly turning towards him, feeling a strange calm overtake him as he studied the way the cannons moved, and how the ship rotated itself through the air. Tears were drying on his cheeks, and blood was running from a split lip, but he felt neither as he slowly straightened, no longer paying attention to anything around him but the ship above.
He wasn't numb. Numbness implied that the emotions were still there. For Thesis, there wasn't any emotion. There were just cold, hard facts, and logic: it was a fact that the battleship had been destroyed, and that two of his unit were dead. But they were just numbers in an equation now, not people he had cared about, not lives with some subjective value.
The cannons were turning to face him: they were moving in such a way that told Thesis the cannons were likely manually operated. The ship itself was slow to rotate and was continuing to move forwards: it was likely unable to turn from a stopped position.
Thesis ran forwards, not feeling his aching muscles, his eyes locked on the war machine. Before either cannon could lock on to him, he was already beneath the flying ship, and neither cannon seemed capable of revolving enough to fire straight down.
The ship rumbled in a slow turn, and Thesis stayed beneath it, tracking its speed, timing its turns. He noted that machine was descending slightly, and that there were visible hatches on the underside of the ship.
A door in the bottom opened, and Thesis watched without emotion as two griffins in body armor leapt out with cold grins on their beaks, both of them with hooked swords in their claws as they shot eagerly down towards Thesis, one of them shouting: “No pony will ever be stronger than the-”
Thesis picked up a loose rock and flung it sharply at the griffin who was speaking, shattering his beak and knocking him backwards with a gurgle of horror as he flopped out of the air. The other griffin made the mistake of looking away even as he continued to dive towards Thesis, and Thesis tensed before leaping high into the air, seizing the griffin by the face before he could react and then yanking him down, slamming him headfirst into the hard earth with a sickening crunch.
He looked up and saw that the hatch above was still open, a single griffin staring at him with shock: in one quick movement, Thesis reached back into one of his equipment packs, pulling out an explosive crystal and squeezing it hard to activate it before he flung it in one smooth, liquid motion, the crystal hitting home up inside the ship-
There was a massive explosion, the entire ship rocking with the blast before another, then another blast went off as the volatile explosives inside the ship went off in quick succession. The cylindrical ship listed to the side, smoke pouring up from its body before another massive explosion tore through the war machine, sending chunks of the ship flying in all directions as the lion-faced front fell to the ground with a tremendous crash, the remains of its body and back peppering the earth around Thesis as he only sat.
Without even a twitch, the stallion reached up, catching a sharp chunk of broken plating from the hull in one hoof before it could pierce into his skull. He studied it silently as the rest of the flaming remains of the ship crashed hailed around him, before the stallion slowly turned to look at the griffin he had knocked from the air earlier.
The soldier was coughing blood through his broken beak, staring with disbelief at Thesis before he began to straighten, raising his claws-
Thesis simply threw the piece of shrapnel, and it tore through the griffin's throat, the soldier flopping backwards with a gargle. Thesis watched the griffin die without emotion, before he looked slowly up towards the distance.
The other griffin warship had left, and the massive island was fading into the distance with its escort of ships. Thesis stood for a few moments, staring after the leaving ships, before his eyes slowly roved towards the burning remains of the Equestrian battleship. He cocked his head slightly as he stared at the green-tinged flames, before he murmured: “Chemical reaction. This is... radiation?”
He paused, then slowly looked over his shoulder as he heard the clanking of metal parts, the shuffle of hooves. He saw Hierophant and Zone approaching, both damaged from their fall, although they seemed functional. Thesis assessed them with only a look, before he turned his eyes ahead and said calmly: “We will retreat to Canterlot. Hierophant, wait thirty minutes, then send up a distress flare and begin to contact any Equestrian forces regarding the events. We must send a message to Princess Celestia.”
Hierophant only nodded, mute. But it was still acknowledgment, and that was all that mattered, Thesis thought, as he began to stride towards Canterlot. There was little chance that they would be able to get a warning to Canterlot before the griffins attacked... but Thesis wasn't entirely concerned by that. It would not be logical for the griffins to stage a rushed attack: even if Canterlot was taken by surprise, their battleships would be a formidable defense, if not ambushed, and there were other defenses ready to be deployed...
Thesis felt his thoughts fall into silence: all he had to do was lead. There was no need for orders, or commands, or to think. Even as they passed the burning wreckage of the battleship, Thesis didn't look up. He barely felt the heat of the flames as they walked by, changing his course only when Zone stated: “Concentrated levels of radiation detected. Recommend alternate route.”
Thesis altered his route, but he didn't take his eyes away from the horizon. He didn't look down, as he walked over the broken remains of a soldier's armor, any more than he looked at the singed corpses, or went to search for the crying, pleading soldiers who had somehow survived the destruction of the ship.
He had a mission to complete.
He would complete his mission. Nothing else mattered. The battleship, and those who had died, were only statistics. They did not matter.
None of them mattered.
Red Sky was only one of several hundred ponies who had died.
Thesis walked on.
Hours passed, and Thesis walked on.
And as dawn broke, and they reached the mountains, Thesis looked up to see a battleship slowly sailing towards them. Thesis stopped, then looked over his shoulder at Hierophant, who said emotionlessly: “I will alert them to our location.”
Thesis nodded... then frowned slightly as he realized that Zone was missing. The stallion strode past Hierophant, not flinching as the Dogmatist sent up a flare of red magic with a boom and flash of light: instead, the stallion retraced their steps with hollow curiosity up to a ridge, where he found Zone laying, dead.
Thesis looked down at the corpse of the mechanical stallion, reaching down and touching him almost curiously... and the moment he touched that mix of still-warm pony and cold metal, everything rushed back. The pain. The hate. The anger. The despair. The impossible loss, as the ship had burned, falling slowly from the sky like a crumbling meteor, and he heard all those hundreds of souls aboard screaming, dying-
Thesis saw Red Sky's smile in his mind, and the stallion fell to his knees, then flung himself forwards, burying his face in Zone's neck and embracing the Dogmatist as he screamed in misery. His chest heaved as he broke down into sobs, desperately clutching the mechanical pony as he shrieked: “Don't go! D-Don't go!”
“He is dead.” Hierophant said tonelessly, and Thesis looked over his shoulder, tears streaming down his cheeks, his whole body shaking with pain as he stared with disbelief, and anger, and hate, and sorrow up at Hierophant, before he stiffened as the Dogmatist reached forwards, before baring his teeth in a snarl, pulling Zone away, not letting this... this monster touch his dead friend-
Hierophant's hoof settled gently on Thesis' head, silently, awkwardly smoothing out his mane, before he said in his toneless voice: “I am sorry.”
Thesis trembled, his whole body going limp, chuffling breath in and out as tears rolled down his cheeks. Hierophant looked at him for a moment longer, then reached out and gently touched Zone's face, before carefully brushing his staring eyes closed.
For a few moments, there was silence, and then Hierophant straightened and turned slowly around. And Thesis could only sit in stunned misery, clutching his dead soldier to his chest as the battleship slowly descended towards him and ponies leapt down, shouting words Thesis couldn't process, couldn't understand.
All he knew was that he couldn't be a pony, and he wasn't an emotionless puppet, either. All that he was... was hollow, and failure.