Trevor found a trail of the MAX’s footprints quickly after parting ways with Mat. He tracked them south and east toward the edge of town, just as he suspected they would lead him. The heavy prints were easy to see even in the hard packed earth. Once he was on the trail, he picked up the pace, eager to catch up to them. Any pony that he passed on his way through town quickly ran away. He ignored it and pushed on.
The footprints followed a path that led toward the forest. He slowed up and started scanning carefully for signs of what waited up ahead. He spotted a cottage tucked away around the bend in the road and saw that the path led right up to it. He moved into the tree cover and skirted around behind the cottage to determine if this was the base he was searching for. He crept up as close as he could without leaving cover. What he saw surprised him and sent a thrill of excitement down his spine.
Easy pickings, he thought with a grin.
The MAX suit was standing open and unguarded next to the cottage. There didn’t seem to be anyone nearby but Trevor figured the pilot wouldn’t have gone far. He couldn’t see anything through the windows and nothing was moving in the yard. He started toward the cottage at a snail’s pace, making sure not to make any noise. He made it to the fence and stopped. He’d seen some movement in a corner of the yard beneath a tree. He watched for a minute and then saw it again. It was the slight movement of a hand and the rise and fall of a small yellow animal’s restful breathing.
The pilot is just lazing around under a tree? Trevor thought incredulously.
He thought briefly of hopping the fence to get closer but discarded the idea. He’d make too much noise trying to get over it with all of his equipment. He decided to move along the fence for a better angle. As he moved farther, he could see the pilot better. He was leaning back against the tree trunk with his eyes closed. The pony next to him was curled up under his arm.
Not much of a clear shot as far as collateral goes, Trevor thought with a frown. Ah well, sometimes they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time and you have to deal with it.
Once he’d gotten all the way around in front of the resting pilot, he slowly raised his Brawler and took aim. As his iron sights lined up, the yellow Pegasus opened her eyes. Trevor froze, hoping she wouldn’t notice him.
Then again, he mused regretfully as her eyes went wide. I’m wearing bright blue armor. Not much hope there.
The Pegasus shouted in alarm and shook the pilot, who sprang to his feet with surprising dexterity. Trevor pulled the trigger and a spray of shot flew out at the startled pair. The Pegasus dropped to the ground with her hooves over her head as splintered bark rained down. The pilot yelled in pain as a pellet torn into his arm. The second shot missed the pilot completely but the Pegasus yelped as her leg was hit.
By now, Trevor was standing upright and raining bursts of pellets after the pilot, who had thrown himself behind a chicken coup. Trevor fired through the thin wooden structure, causing the chickens inside to panic and fly out in a shrieking white cloud.
“Anthony!” the Pegasus yelled helplessly in warning as she watched Trevor fire away at him.
Trevor’s magazine clicked empty and the pilot broke cover, headed for the MAX suit. Trevor hopped the fence and drew his Mag-Shot. The Pegasus suddenly launched herself on him in a desperate attempt to stop him from continuing to fire. He got off one shot that hit the pilot’s leg and brought him to the ground before the flurry of hooves and feathers disrupted him. He grabbed at the Pegasus and got a handful of her mane. She landed a pair of punches that succeeded only in pissing him off. He tossed her to the ground and kicked her in the chest when she attempted to rise. She went down with a gasp and struggled to rise again fruitlessly.
He aimed his Mag-Shot at her for a tense moment but noticed the pilot staggering behind the MAX suit and decided there were more important things to deal with. With some sort of last ditch effort, the Pegasus managed to get her hooves under her again and gave chase as Trevor closed on the MAX. The pilot slipped into the suit and engaged the armor. The chest piece was beginning to swing shut when Trevor skidded to a halt in front of it. He saw the mask look down at him and he could imagine the shock and fear that was on the face inside.
“Surprise, bitch!” he said with a wicked grin.
He swung up his Brawler and fired the under-barrel shot just before the plates came together and locked into place. The MAX suit powered up, stood tall briefly and then slumped forward again, standing limply and unmoving.
“Anthony!” the Pegasus screamed. She threw herself at Trevor and swung at him through her blinding tears.
Trevor pushed her away almost effortlessly but she came at him again. He gave a huff of contempt and backhanded her hard. She was sent head over hooves into the ground and this time she stayed down, dazed by the blow. Trevor shook his head at such a pathetic display and began wondering where the other TR were.
He had his answer before he was ready for it.
~*~*~
Gadrik was lost. He’d never been unsure of anything before in his entire life. But now, he was faced with a situation that he had no answers for. Home was out of his reach, his list of allies was thinning rapidly and his enemies were proving more problematic than he’d anticipated. The worst part in all of this was his lack of control. With only one soldier to command, he was lacking the feel of the command structure that had defined his life up to this point. It all left him with a headache and a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He leaned back in the small chair in Fluttershy’s living room. His absent gaze found a pair of birds up near the ceiling. They returned the gaze, chirping to each other as if commenting on their thoughts of him. He imagined that they were sharing their dissatisfaction at his performance over the last day or so. He turned away with a soft growl. He played his options through again, trying to find something to do that could give him a sense of purpose again.
He could defy the Princess and return to town, perhaps demanding she help them leave this world. He couldn’t see that turning out any better than his last incursion. He could leave with the Corporal and some supplies and hope he could find some other entity out in the world that could and would offer help. It was such a long shot that he wasn’t keen to even consider the odds. He might try to stay around town until the Princess could be convinced to help them again. But counting on Fluttershy’s continued hospitality would likely be a long walk over a field of eggshells.
He sighed. Nothing seemed to be coming up favorably. In the past, he’d have turned to someone higher up the command chain, followed orders and let things fall where they would. If all else failed, he’d die a few times and call it a day. Now it was more complex. The stakes were higher and his choices were growing more limited by the hour.
Shots rang out in the yard. He sprang to his feet with wild eyes. Somehow he hadn’t thought it was possible to be attacked here. Something about this part of town had seemed inviolable and it had left him off his guard. But as the sound of gunfire continued, his mind started working again. Combat. It was a concept he had no trouble understanding. He snatched up his TRAC-5 and made his way to the door. He rejected the idea of simply running out the back door into whatever was happening and left by the front door instead.
He ran as stealthily as he could around to the back yard, all the while hearing the sporadic fire of weapons that even TR greenhorns would know belonged to the NC. As he got around the side of the hilly dwelling, the sounds of fighting stopped. He stepped around the corner with his carbine up. He saw the MAX, the Pegasus and the NC Heavy and knew instantly what had happened. Long years of experience coupled together with what he knew about the sound of NC weapons to tell him that his vengeance would be easily dealt.
He walked calmly into view of the Heavy, who looked surprised to see him so blatantly approaching. The Heavy swung up his Brawler and aimed it at Gadrik. Any new recruit would have pissed themselves and run for cover but Gadrik just gave the soldier a sneer and waited. This unnerved the soldier visibly but when he pulled the trigger, he began to panic in earnest. He had forgotten that the magazine was still empty. He pulled the trigger on the under-barrel with the same result.
The Heavy threw the Brawler aside and reached for his Mag-Shot but Gadrik had had his fun. He emptied the magazine of his TRAC-5 into the Heavy, tearing his over-shields apart and pounding through his shields. His armor held off the bullets admirably but couldn’t withstand the entire volley. The Heavy toppled over and laid still, a look of disbelief and shock on his face.
Silence reigned.
Gadrik stood over the Heavy’s body and stared at it numbly. He wasn’t feeling the same kind of satisfaction he normally got from dispensing the Republic’s justice on these rebels. In fact, he didn’t think whatever this feeling was had anything to do with satisfaction. The vengeance was bitter and nothing else. He’d done nothing to change what had happened and the death of an enemy only made it marginally more bearable.
He was dimly aware of Fluttershy struggling back to her hooves. She stumbled slightly as she approached the MAX. A nasty bruise was forming on the right side of her face and her left foreleg was bloodied. She was breathing raggedly as she limped along. She made a visible effort to not look at the NC body as she passed it.
“Anthony?” she asked, her voice breaking from pain and worry.
She put her hoof against the plates and waited for a response. There was none. The MAX remained unmoving. Fluttershy stood on her hind legs and tried to pry the plating near the chest open.
“Anthony?” she called again, more urgently. “Hold on. I’ll help you.”
She pulled on the plating with all her strength but the locking mechanism held.
“I’ve just, urgh, got to get, hmmph, this armor open, rrahh!”
She continued to grunt and strain at the plates even though they showed no signs of giving way. Gadrik finally realized what she was doing and gently pulled her away. She batted his hands away and went back to prying at the plates.
“Let go of me! I have to help him.”
“You can’t do anything for him now,” the Major explained. “Besides, those plates aren’t going to open up for you.”
“You might just give up on him, but that’s because he doesn’t mean anything to you!” she shouted at him angrily. “You just give him orders and make him do things. You don’t care about him!”
“That’s not true,” he responded indignantly.
“Yes it is!” She stopped pulling at the armor and rounded on him. “You never really listened to him when he was telling you something. You might not think I was paying attention but I noticed how many times you told him ‘I don’t care’. Those were the words you said,” she said, practically screaming at him now. “‘I don’t care!’”
She coughed violently and held her chest, the pain making her wings twitch. Gadrik opened his mouth to deny her accusation but realized he couldn’t. He remained silent and she went back to pulling at the MAX’s armor after she’d recovered from her coughing fit. He frowned at her futile attempts to reach the Corporal.
“I might not have listened as well as I should,” he said at last. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re not going to be able to pull open those plates.”
“Then help me instead of just standing there,” she said without looking back at him. “He’s in there and he needs help.”
“It’s too late, Fluttershy.”
“It isn’t too late!” she snapped at him immediately. “He’s hurt but if we can get him out of there and…”
“No Fluttershy,” Gadrik said, cutting her off as gently as he could. “I can tell what happened from what I could hear. And judging from the damage to the suit, I know I’m not mistaken. He’d have moved by now if he were still in there.”
“No,” she said defiantly. Tears built up in her eyes and she wiped them away. “He’s not de-” She choked on the word. “He’s still alive.”
“I’m sorry Fluttershy,” Gadrik said sincerely.
“He has to be alive! H-he still n-needs to tell T-twilight…”
The rest of the words were lost as her grief overwhelmed her. She turned back to the MAX and started looking for some sort of release switch. Gadrik tried to pull her away gently again.
“It was the under-barrel at close range,” he observed. “Don’t open the suit. You don’t want to see that.”
Fluttershy didn’t resist this time. Instead, she turned to Gadrik and wrapped her hooves around him tightly. The Major was caught off guard by the hug but knelt down and let her take what comfort she could from his returned embrace. Admittedly, he was taking a measure of comfort from hers.
~*~*~
Katie and Rarity arrived at Twilight’s library to find Nathan waiting outside. He was hiding amongst the bushes, nearly invisible even without his cloak. He revealed himself as they drew near.
“It looks like Twilight has been busy with repairs,” he observed, gesturing to the window Katie had been forced to shoot out to escape earlier.
The broken glass outside had been cleared away and the broken window had been replaced. Rarity knocked on the door and waited anxiously for Twilight’s answer.
“I just hope nothing important was damaged. A window or two shouldn’t be too much trouble but if any of her books were caught up in all of this…” Rarity trailed off meaningfully.
Twilight opened the door to admit them.
“It should be on the desk up there,” she called over her shoulder toward the stairs. “Just be sure to put everything back how it was before you come down again.”
When she turned back to her guests, she opened her mouth to greet Rarity but noticed Katie and Nathan. Her relieved expression fell away, leaving her stunned and gaping.
“Not expecting us?” Nathan probed.
“No,” she replied. “Well, not right away in any case. I figured you wouldn’t be back here for a day or so after…after what happened.”
“We’re not about to be scared off so easily,” Nathan said. “Our work is too important.”
“Right,” Twilight said distractedly, looking toward the stairs again.
“May we come in?” Katie asked when Twilight didn’t say anything more.
“What?” Twilight jumped slightly as she came back to reality. “No! I mean, uh, yes. Come in.”
She stood aside, smiling widely to cover for her awkward response. Nathan dismissed it with a shrug and walked in. Katie followed, looking around at the partially repaired interior. The bullet holes in the walls still gaped back at them but the books that had escaped damage were back on the shelves while those whose fate had been less favorable were stacked in one corner of the room as if in some sort of memorial.
Twilight caught Rarity’s attention and pulled her aside. She whispered to her urgently. Rarity suddenly gasped at what she heard.
“But we must tell them. If there’s one so-umph!“ Rarity began, but Twilight cut her off by magically clamping her mouth shut.
Twilight cast a worried glance at the VS troops. Nathan was giving them a suspicious look over the top of the notes he had been reviewing. Katie was looking over the damaged books, but noticed that the attention of the room had shifted and glanced around to find the source of the disturbance.
“No, we can’t,” Twilight hissed, attempting to keep her voice low enough to not be overheard. “Not yet. It’s…not what you think.”
Rarity didn’t look convinced but let the matter drop. Nathan looked less inclined to ignore the strange exchange. He glanced at Katie as if to assure himself that she was still there to support him before rising and approaching Twilight.
“What’s all this? Some sort of trouble?” he said, spreading his hands in a gesture that offered his assistance.
“No. Nothing you need to worry about,” Twilight said quickly. “But I was going to ask you, is it possible for us to move to another location to finish our research?”
“I’d rather not have to move everything and set it up again when this place is as safe as any.” Nathan reasoned. “The TR aren’t likely to attack the same place twice. Not when we obviously left after their first attack.”
Twilight shifted uncomfortably.
“Do you have reason to think they will?” Nathan asked.
“No,” Twilight said, and then changed her mind. “Actually, it might not be a bad idea to move anyway. I mean, why risk it, right?”
She searched for some sign of agreement but none was forthcoming. Nathan’s face was an unreadable mask that made his Infiltrator’s mask look like a veritable fount of expression. Twilight’s appeasing smile faltered under the stony gaze.
“Why don’t you end this little game and just tell me what you’re hiding,” Nathan said dryly.
Twilight’s expression changed from hesitant to hostile like a switch had been thrown.
“Fine. I’ll tell you what I’ve been hiding.” Her tone was sharp and filled with ire. “I’ll start with how I’ve hidden my feelings for this entire situation. I thought it was going to be a great learning experience for us both. But all of this fighting is unacceptable. I refuse to put more effort into study than I have to until all of the violence is over. And then there’s the prevalence of demands. Especially demands made of me! I don’t appreciate it when others take that tone with me and I’m sure your mood would turn sour if someone else did with you.”
She took a breath that was meant to be calming before she continued. It had very little effect.
“You all seem to think you’re so important that everypony should drop what they’re doing to bend to your needs. That isn’t the case. We see that you need help and we’re willing to offer it, but you need to realize that it’s charity on our part, not any sort of obligation to you. So I think a little appreciation is in order.”
Nathan waited for her to stop speaking before inquiring further.
“That’s all important information to share with us,” he nodded. “But you’ve left out the part that you’ve been dodging around since we got back here. Judging from Rarity’s reaction, it would seem to concern us.”
Twilight growled her aggravation.
“This is exactly what I mean. I don’t have to tell you squat if I don’t want to!” She made another effort to calm herself and met with more success. “I need you to move your research to another location while I take care of something very important here. You need to trust me that it’s better you don’t hear about it until I’ve finished.”
“I’m not sure I do need to trust you,” Nathan said, folding his arms defiantly.
“Nathan, please,” Katie said, putting her hand on his shoulder in restraint.
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t be allowed to know what this is,” he replied. “Does she think we can’t handle it? Does she think that keeping knowledge and information from us is in any way helpful to the situation?”
“Nathan, I don’t think she means to…” Katie began but stopped suddenly.
Silence fell over them all as the sound of footsteps on the stairs reached them. They all turned to see who was approaching. An NC Light Assault appeared, frowning intensely at something in his hands.
“Um, Twilight? You wouldn’t mind explaining this would you?” he said, holding up the husk of Katie’s Beamer, and in doing so noticed the other occupants of the room. “Uh…Oh, shit!”