//------------------------------// // 8. MED // Story: Metroid Equis II: Duality // by Flammenwerfer //------------------------------// Ponies have always been the champions of peace; seeing the light in the darkness and the best in the worst with the aid of the Elements of Harmony. May you rue the day that all of Equestria cast these principles aside and cried for war… Metroid Equis II: Duality Section 8 M.E.D. “Oh, Twilight? Are you home?” Fluttershy called as she entered the Library with Sapphire in tow, who in turn, let out a friendly skree. Bringing up the rear was Samus, her previously-wary expression transmuting into a smile to complement her slightly flushed complexion. She closed the door behind her and light-heartedly juggled the bottle of wine in her right hand. “Sure am!” Twilight called out as she exited the kitchen with Spike by her side. “Oh, hey Samus! Haven’t seen you all day,” she added brightly. “Yeah, I was speaking with Luna today over in Canterlot about some military matters… but at any rate, I’m here now... and I bought some wine on the way back. Fluttershy and Sapphire met me at the landing site since apparently they were coming here, too,” Samus answered, handing over the bottle of liquor for Twilight to examine in her magical grasp. The lavender alicorn spared another look at the Hunter, easily noticing her colored cheeks and more-jovial-than-usual demeanor, and quickly put two and two together, giggling. “Have you been drinking?” “I’ve only had about three drinks, nothing that’s really ‘impaired’ me, really...but it’s definitely warmed me up!” she replied, dismissing Twilight’s implicit inquiry as to whether she was actually drunk. “I am in a great mood though, so we can finish that bottle off tonight if we would be so inclined,” she suggested. “Fluttershy, you’re obviously welcome to join us, of course.” “M-Maybe just a little bit…” the pegasus offered shyly. Sapphire floated off towards the ceiling of the Library with a happy gurgle trailing her movements. “Fine by me!” Twilight said, floating the bottle over to the kitchen counter. “Spike, could you go to my room and get—” Twilight was interrupted when Samus’ wrist console vibrated obnoxiously, along with a jarringly familiar ‘alert’ tone that the Hunter hadn’t heard in a long while. Her face was instantly glued to her wrist. “Alert! Six unidentified contacts approaching the Library on foot at high speed; ETA: twenty seconds,” Adam warned. Adrenaline crashed through her system as her senses surged into overdrive, sobering her immediately. Instinct and training returned to her in a flash, and her eyes darted around the room, gauging its defensibility. “Twilight, kill the lights!” she ordered, the intensity of her voice brooking no argument. Twilight, thrown by Samus’ sudden severity of her orders, complied wordlessly, a flash of her horn being all that was needed to snuff out the candles. Spike hid behind Twilight while Sapphire took refuge behind Fluttershy, the metroid the first to recover her voice. “Mama…what’s happening...?” “Samus? What’s going on?!” Twilight demanded, her eyes still adjusting to the sudden onset of darkness but the Hunter’s words were quite telling of impending danger, yet were not forthcoming with any answers, even further muddled when Samus closed off her guard, seemingly preparing for combat. “Twi, Shy, take Spike and Sapphire into the basement and lock the door,” she rattled off rapidly, ushering them all towards their destination with extreme urgency. Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but Samus cut her off, refusing and unable to explain. “Do not argue with me! Just do it! No matter what happens, do not open that door, do you understand!?” With a wide-eyed stare, Twilight finally nodded and ushered everypony into the basement, Fluttershy and Sapphire quickly entering followed by Spike. Before the door closed fully, Twilight shot Samus a pleading look, one which held so many questions but ultimately conveyed ‘be safe.’ Samus nodded to her, and with that, the basement door was sealed completely. She moved to engage her suit, but stopped just short of doing so. Samus glanced at the darkened library and realized, almost too late, that were she to engage her suit, the resultant light given off would ruin her element of surprise. With a steady breath, she hunkered low and, silent as a grave, disappeared into the shadows of the Library. “All teams in position, sir,” Malcolm’s voice sounded over the radio from the opposite side of the Library. Nodding, Igor directed Melissa to the other side of the front door in preparation for breaching. “And...sir? Windows are open; no one’s on the ground floor.” “Understood. Give me a moment…” Igor replied, reaching into one of his pouches for a small fiber-optic camera. Feeding it under the door, he surveyed the inside of the structure. He cycled through visible light, infrared and ultraviolet, but saw nothing of value or concern. He retracted the camera, spooling it up and tucking it back in his gear. His brow furrowed and he reconsidered his initial battle plan. Taking a chance, he gingerly grasped the doorknob and turned it...surprised to find it unlocked, and even more surprised when it opened nearly noiselessly. “Alright...well, looks like we won’t be needing those breaching charges after all,” he reported with a cautious shrug. “They didn’t shut the lights off for nothing. Expect anything, take nothing for granted. Enter as you can.” After the rest of his team raggedly acknowledged, Igor shoved the barrel of his rifle through the gap in the door and pushed inside. Melissa tucked in right behind him, head behind her optic, blood up and ready to engage anything that wasn’t them. Disturbingly, their motion trackers were completely barren; nothing that wasn’t them was moving within a thirty-foot radius. As they pushed into what they quickly recognized was the common area of the darkened structure, all that stood in their path besides the daunting blackness was a collection of hastily-abandoned stationery and technology. A few creaking floorboards towards the upstairs bedroom briefly startled both troopers, their rifles twitching upward, but their instincts proved correct when both Malcolm and Hannah quietly made their way down the stairs, joining their comrades. “Anything?” Igor asked, though he was already fairly certain what the answer was, given that neither he nor Melissa had heard any struggle. “No, sir. Master bedroom is completely empty, bathroom and all,” Hannah reported. “Where’s Tori and Jamie?” “Right here,” Tori’s voice sounded from above, and the four troopers swung their gazes upward towards the entrance to the observatory. “Guest bedroom’s window was sealed tight… and since we decided on a more stealthy approach I figured it wouldn’t be wise to break into it. We found another way in; observatory is clean,” she explained, the two remaining troopers joining and bringing their squad back to full strength. “Captain, I really don’t like this…” Melissa voiced, an uncharacteristic concern lacing her words as she glanced around the oddly barren library. A slight shiver ran up her spine, courtesy of a nonexistent chill that ran through her surroundings; the bookcases and the hollowed out tree itself seemed to speak to her, and they did not want them past their threshold. “I feel like we’re being watched right now.” Igor sighed. “She’s right; the longer we stay here, the higher the probability of failure. Still, if worse comes to worst, everyone be ready to retreat. Hannah, Jamie, Tori: you check out the basement. Melissa, Malcolm, and myself will look into the guest bedroom.” The other five troops nodded, breaking into their groups. Igor’s detail headed for the guest bedroom, but stopped when the other group called to him from the door to the basement. “Sir,” Malcolm called, seeking the Captain’s attention. “Locked down tight. Should we blow it?” Igor paused. “If the basement door’s locked,” he reasoned, “they’re probably holed up down there. Shock and awe value of blowing the door gives us the advantage. Do it; if anything down there so much as blinks at you aggressively, shoot it. Or...floats at you aggressively,” he quickly amended, turning back to the stairs. Almost as if cued, something crashed inside the sealed guest bedroom, capturing every individual’s attention immediately. Everyone spun around and leveled their weapons, drawing lines of destruction towards the thin, lone barrier that separated them from their potential quarry. “Captain, I recommend we bail right now; We may be compromised,” Melissa urged breathlessly, gripping her rifle that much tighter. Something just felt wrong to her, wronger than she could remember. She was the veteran of several brutal campaigns, but never before had she felt this particular, unique terror. “You’re a lot more skittish today, Melissa… but you may be right. We’ll only be at this a little longer, in that case,” Igor remarked, then gestured to Tori, Hannah, and Jamie. “You wanna find out what that was while the rest of us wire the breaching charges?” “Nah, the faster we get this door open the better; I’ll check out the room myself,” Tori replied nonchalantly, cautiously approaching the fatefully sealed bedroom door. Meanwhile, the others resumed with lining the basement door with some low-grade charges. While they could have simply booted the door in, Igor reasoned that the light, smoke and noise from the charges would plunge the occupants into disarray. “Alright, but be prepared for anything. I want you calling for backup the instant you suspect that Samus or the metroid are present, understood?” Igor cautioned. Tori glanced over her left shoulder and nodded in affirmation. “You got it, Cap. Motion tracker’s not picking up anything inside, and if they’re not in the basement, they might’ve bailed for whatever reason. I’ll be back in thirty seconds at most,” she answered, stretching her arm out and taking hold of the doorknob without any further direction from Igor. Silently turning the metal knob while leading inward with her rifle, Tori crept in and was greeted by...nothing special; a dimly-lit guest bedroom that had a spartan-looking bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and not much else. Tori huffed, keeping an eye on her motion tracker as she tried to find anything out of place with the room she was in, a reason for the noise they heard; there were no signs of struggle to indicate that Samus or anyone else had left in a hurry. The last place left to check, at that point, was the bathroom. Hanging a sharp right at the door, Tori took a few easy steps towards the small washroom, entering and finding exactly what she expected. A counter was present on the left side with a few amenities and toiletries as well as a mirror. The right side held a shower, whose curtain was half-open, and a toilet against the far wall. Nothing. She shrugged and turned around, heading back towards the bedroom. As she exited the bathroom, however, she heard a soft ‘ping’ coming from her left. Immediately, her rifle came up, meeting her shoulder and aiming at the source of the sound. Advancing towards the bed, she saw a GF standard tablet half-concealed by the bedsheets. Flipping the linens aside with the muzzle of her weapon, she leaned in to observe the notification screen, showing a text message from a contact named “WorshipMyMoon.” Tori smiled under her visor. Jackpot. “Captain, it’s me,” Tori opened up a commline so she didn’t have to go back out just yet. She picked up the tablet and examined it. “I think I found the Hunter’s datapad, but no sign of her.” Being occupied with contacting her commanding officer, as well as trying to maybe find a way to interact with the goldmine of data on the tablet in her hand ensured Tori was plenty distracted… distracted enough to not see a lone, shadowy figure descend menacingly from the top of the bathroom. “Copy that. She’s probably holed up below then… shit,” Igor reflected. “It’d be suicide to funnel all of us through one doorway. We could map the basement and tactically place other charges to drop down below.” “...that sounds like it could take a while, sir.” “...that sounds like it could take a while, sir,” Samus was able to hear the female trooper’s side of the conversation clearly; though she was trying to keep her voice down, Samus’ enhanced hearing and the silence of the library rendered such a task trivial. It was no matter though, as her only thought was moving at the right pace in deathly silence to avoid tripping the motion trackers. She moved low, nearly on all fours as her eyes burned with a silent rage at the gall these soldiers had to violate her home and that of one of her closest friends… geared up and ready to kill. She was able to catch snippets of the conversation, and was able to determine that these Federation Stealth Troopers were here for her… and not to merely arrest her. She unsheathed her combat knife when she got sufficiently close, the metallic blade glimmering in the afforded moonlight. “But will there be enough time? Should we split?” Not on Samus’ watch. All she needed was an extra moment of stealthy movement and this soldier would not be going anywhere. She had debated merely subduing the troops non-lethally, but her job would be significantly more difficult given their armor, as well as her own when she would equip it. Seeing the rifles and hearing enough conversation to know that this was a ‘search and destroy’ mission was all she needed to convince her to simply dispatch her enemies. None of them would leave this place. Now! Samus struck, righting her posture and closing the remaining distance between her and the trooper. Tori had just enough time to notice the blip on her motion tracker before said blip was upon her. Her weapon hung slack in her grip as Samus’ left hand wrapped around her visors face, pulling her head back as her right hand drove the knife into her neck. Tori lacked even the time to scream as the knife slipped in with a morbid grace, the flexible fabric underlayer posing no barrier as the blade passed through the soldier’s throat, nearly touching her spine. She gurgled, the knife sealing its own wound for the moment as her legs quivered, straining against Samus’ iron grip. Samus narrowed her eyes and tore the knife sideways, severing the soldier’s jugular and carotid and effectively splitting her neck open. Tori’s eyes widened, and she tried to scream, but only managed to groan and gurgle. As her struggles waned and life fled her eyes, Samus lowered the woman to the ground almost tenderly. As she stood from her kill, Samus claimed the dead trooper’s rifle for her own, checking the magazine as she stepped towards the door. “Tori’s vitals just went critical!” Melissa shouted, shooting her gaze towards the ajar door. All the other troopers stopped what they were doing and aimed their rifles to the door… which suddenly, and mysteriously, slammed shut. Everyone else’s heart rates shot through the roof as if in sympathy with Tori’s and everyone could hear the others’ ragged breathing. “...and they just flatlined,” Hannah added in a horrified whisper. “God… damnit!” Igor growled. “Jamie, you take point and get that door open. Hannah, the moment he opens it, lob a grenade in. I don’t want anything alive in that room!” “Yes, sir!” Jamie responded immediately, jogging to the door and ready to bust it down with his heel, as there was no time to appropriate one of the breaching charges. Hannah stacked up against the left side with a hand grenade in her hand, ready to prime while Igor, Hannah, and Malcolm sank to one knee with rifles trained on the door. Jamie steeled himself as he looked to Hannah—who nodded curtly—and back to Igor, who did the same. “Do it.” Jamie complied instantly, bringing his knee to his chest and driving his heel forward with all his might against the door, breaking the latch and deadbolt, slamming it open against the far wall. Right when Jamie was supposed to barrel out of the way so Hannah could roll a grenade inside, the former was confronted with a sight that made his eyes shoot wide open, and stop in his tracks completely; Tori’s armored body slumped against the bed, facing the door. “STOP, IT’S TORI!” Jamie cried reflexively just as Hannah was about to release the spoon on the grenade and toss it in. Another second, however, and Jamie caught sight of a torrent of blood staining the front of her onyx armor, and her body in a position that couldn’t comfortably be assumed by a living body. So preoccupied was he with seeing his squadmate having been brutally killed that he did not notice a rifle aimed directly at him from across the bed until it was much too late. Samus’ gaze was steeled, and she gripped her requisitioned rifle more firmly after having lined up the sights with the invading trooper’s chest. Not today. Samus pulled the trigger to the rear and held it there, the rifle dumping its entire magazine, hardlight rounds zipping past the doorframe and chewing through Jamie’s armor. The rifle exhausted itself in a matter of moments, Jamie quivering on his feet before flopping ungracefully to his back, his torso riddled with holes. Jamie continued breathing, agonized, for a moment or two longer, his vital signs fibrillating wildly before ebbing away entirely. “JESUS CHRIST! Toss that grenade in and fall back! FALL BACK!” Igor screamed, and Hannah lobbed the explosive into the room. It landed on the bed and Samus hit the deck, dropping prone to the floor and equipping her Suit moments before the grenade detonated. The explosive annihilated her bed and sprayed shrapnel around the room, though Samus’ shielding was barely affected. Her suit’s systems automatically damped the sound and light to preserve her senses. With that, she bounded to her feet and tore towards the door to the common room with her Power Beam charged... where she found the four remaining Stealth Troopers scrambling for cover in four different directions, desperately trying to gain a defensive position. She didn’t know who any of these soldiers were. She didn’t know who sent them, why they were here, or what they intended to do. All she knew about them in this moment was which of the remaining troops would be the next target. She then released her shot, and the charged hardlight sphere sailed straight into the unfortunate trooper’s back, completely blowing open the armor at the point of impact and cratering her lumbar spine. “UUAAHHH!!” Hannah shrieked as she was propelled forward with great force, dropping to the floor and skidding along the boards. By that time, Malcolm, Igor, and Melissa had already slid to safety, and Samus took the opportunity to stack up next to the doorframe. From behind cover, she unleashed a one-warrior fusillade of unforgiving Power Beam fire, and the troopers responded in kind. “Hannah’s been hit!” Malcolm cried out, but his words were drowned out by both the gunfire and Hannah’s sharp, struggling breaths. “I c-can’t move! I-I can’t breathe!” the downed soldier cried desperately, screaming in pain. She writhed on the ground, and the Hunter’s withering counter-fire made assistance all but impossible, though it would not have mattered in the short run… “Stay with us, Hannah!” Melissa urged after a little bit of time, but received no response at all. “Fuck…” “Melissa… you and I provide covering fire. Malcolm, move along the side of the room, get into position, and drop more grenades inside. Go!” Igor commanded, and on his last word, he and Melissa leaned out from the kitchen entrance and spit fire from their rifles. The hardlight rounds either flew through the doorway where Samus was standing a moment prior, or impacted on the wall behind which she was taking cover. Behind said cover, Samus held her cannon close and waited for them to deplete their ammunition cores. At the same time, her arm cannon’s barrel whirred and opened up as she armed her missiles. As she waited for the right moment to strike, several thoughts flickered through Samus’ mind, foremost of which was how poorly these Stealth Troopers were performing against her in a stand-up firefight. These types of soldiers were the best of the best, veterans of countless missions against the Space Pirates and colonial insurrectionists throughout the galaxy behind enemy lines. Their deadliness, however, stemmed primarily from their ability to sneak around unseen and strike when the opportunity presented itself, from far behind enemy lines. Why would they attack her in this way? These questions were driven from her mind by the momentary lapse in rifle fire flung in her direction. Samus stepped out from around the doorframe, cannon leveled towards the other troops, about to lob a missile into their formation, but movement to her left, in her peripheral vision, caught her attention. She turned her head, and caught sight of Malcolm sneaking along the left side of the room, not having counted on Samus’ quick reaction. He hadn’t even pressed the primer. Samus instantly turned her cannon on him, firing a single missile that drove directly into his chest. The lighter armor the Stealth Troopers wore was not able to withstand a direct hit from the devastating concussive blast, though it did save him from getting completely torn to shreds. Without even time to scream, his body was blown backwards, slamming into the stairs and dropping to the floor like an unstrung puppet. The unprimed grenade rolled out of his dead, mangled hand. The two remaining troopers shied back from the light and noise of the missile blast, their senses rattled. “NO!” Melissa snarled, ready to charge out but Igor stiffly held her back with an arm across her chest, preventing her from committing suicide. Four of his squad had been killed… no, massacred; he felt himself responsible for their deaths, the deaths of his friends. He had been on enough missions to know that this was no longer a fight, but a slaughter… and a rising tide of remorse crashed over him at the realization that he had made a terrible mistake; it was the height of folly to think that, even with tactics and surprise on their side, they could actually defeat the Samus Aran. In that moment, Igor resigned himself to the inevitable. “This is your only chance!” Samus’ voice bellowed aggressively through the Library, though neither Igor nor Melissa could see her directly on account of cover. For one of the few times in their entire careers, they were both afraid… very, very afraid. “Throw your weapons towards the door and surrender now!” Melissa looked to Igor, and she could tell that he was looking directly at her. They both knew the rules; Stealth Troopers were not permitted to surrender to enemy forces. Their only choices were retreat or death. “Melly… I’ll distract her; you get the hell out of here, okay?” he whispered. “The evac’s still on standby, get out and run… get to a safe place, call it in. Tell Conway what happened when you get back to the Oculus.” “I’m not leaving you here, Igor!” Melissa immediately protested, but the Captain was not having any of it. “That’s an order, Lieutenant!” he growled, though without much in the way of force behind his words; here, at the end of their world, he was a friend talking to a friend. Melissa pursed her lips and held her emotions in check, taking his hand in hers and shaking it firmly. “Yes, sir,” she stated, her voice flat. Her mission now was one of pure survival. “You have five seconds!” Samus called out once more, counting down in her head. When their time ran out, she would just rush their position; she knew she had enough shielding to absorb any punishment they could throw at her. While obviously, Samus would allow the troops to surrender if they so chose, she planned no mercy if they refused. These soldiers, these intruders, had violated her home in a (quite poor, all things considered) attempt to kill her, and the lives of her friends had been and were still being threatened as a direct result. The longest five seconds in history passed with no movement from the shadowy enemy. At the end, Samus advanced forward from the doorway, leading the way with her cannon. She marched past the cooling body of the trooper whose back she had blown out as her footfalls resounded like the harbinger of death itself, and she hoped the sound struck fear into the hearts of the invaders. They had had their chance; now, the place Samus called her own ‘Sanctuary Fortress’ would serve eternally as their tombs. Halfway to the kitchen, one of the two remaining troopers leaned out from behind cover with their rifle drawn, immediately opening fire on the advancing, hulking Hunter. Her shielding absorbed the first few incoming rounds without much difficulty, draining her about half an energy tank before she was able to stack up against the parallel wall. As Samus loped for cover, the soldier closer to the outer wall broke for the window. Unfortunately for her, Samus’ reflexes were quicker than her movements; the Hunter took lighting-fast aim and fired a single Power Beam round that found its mark in one of the trooper’s flexible side panels, eliciting a shrill, feminine scream of agony as the trooper collapsed, fetching up against the wall underneath the window. A moment later, Samus turned her aim to her previous target and fired again, though instead of scoring a hit on the last remaining trooper’s body, his quick retreat into cover resulted in her shooting his rifle, rendering it useless. Samus was about to continue her onslaught when, in a last act of desperation, Igor chucked his now-paperweight of a rifle at the Hunter with all of his might as he simultaneously charged her, roaring his challenge. Taken by surprise at the suddenness of such a brazen, bullheaded act, Samus failed to bat away the rifle, which connected with her helmet. Though it didn’t dent or even scratch her armor, it did distract her long enough for Igor to knock her off her feet, crashing into the floor. Recovering a split second before the Hunter, Igor straddled her and drew his fist back, prepared to crack her visor with the sheer force of his fury. Samus denied him that honor. The first hammer-fist that Igor threw was immediately intercepted by Samus’ left hand. She caught his fist in her hand and squeezed, crushing armor and bone alike, eliciting a pain-filled howl from the enraged Captain. In the next moment, she released his fist and decked Igor in the visor, spiderwebbing the plasteel and forcing him to fall back and release her. Though she was on her feet in an instant, Igor recovered almost as quickly, fighting as best as he could with one hand out of commission. Though Samus found no real trouble deflecting or dodging his attacks, she was forced to acknowledge his sheer stubbornness. Igor fought like a coordinated wildcat, making every attempt to whittle her down and managing to hold Samus at bay longer than most people would be able to, but he wasn’t able to land a single blow. As Igor grew desperate, he grew sloppy. Samus batted his arm aside with her cannon, leaving him crucially open to counterattack. Samus seized the initiative, slamming her armored fist into the right side of his helmet, denting it severely and shattering the right half of his visor. He staggered to the left, put off-balance by the crippling blow, whereupon Samus lashed out with her right leg, forcing him to one knee. Samus spun almost gracefully, moving behind Igor. The soldier was winded, trying to catch his breath so that he could stand up again. Unfortunately for him, Samus had decided playtime was over, her cannon brought to bear against the back of his helmet. One shot was fired, the loudest and last sound the Stealth Trooper would never hear. A moment later, what was left of Igor Butenko collapsed to the floor. It was done, and yet, Samus’ breathing rate didn’t return to normal; if anything, she grew more agitated. While she was fighting, she was calm and collected; yet, when the reality of what had just happened hit her, she realized that not all was as well and good as she had hoped. As of right now, she felt that the Federation was indeed plotting against her and possibly those she held dear, and though she did not wish to jump to conclusions just yet, she knew there were things that had to be done immediately. Millions of thoughts flowed through her mind like water through a faulty dam, flooding her head with implication after implication. Though she was able to get her breathing under control finally, standing in the middle of a room of dead soldiers was not helping solve any of her problems. Thankfully, the most important thought of all fought through the rest and came to the forefront. “Twi…” Samus looked around almost frantically, her eyes boring in on the basement door. “Shy… Spike… Sapphire,” she whispered the rest of her friends’ names as she jogged over to the explosive-laden entrance. “Adam… are these charges primed?” Samus asked, kneeling before the door to get a better look; she did not want to take any chances at the moment. Almost instantly, a small blip appeared just above her motion tracker on her visor; Adam’s Eye. “Most likely. Put your arm in NFC range,” he requested, and the Hunter did just that, extending her fist towards the two breaching charges that had been wired mere minutes prior. After a few moments, Adam’s eye glowed gently. “Charges defused.” “Thanks,” Samus uttered, before ripping the now dormant explosives off the door and setting them aside. She then knocked on the door three times. “Guys, it’s Samus! Are you okay?!” “Samus?!” A shaky, muffled voice came back from beyond the door, easily recognizable as Twilight’s. “We’re fine, but we heard all this gunfire! What the fuck is going on up there?!” “I…” Samus began to speak, finding herself at complete loss for words. How could she possibly explain the six bodies in the alicorn’s home? “I was attacked…” “WHAT?! Are you hurt?! Is it safe to come out?!” Samus reached for the handle and cracked the door open, finding the questioning gazes of Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike. Sapphire floated curiously around Fluttershy’s mane, and seeing their faces made Samus ask herself just how she was going to approach this; was she going to let them just emerge to the scene of a slaughter? “Umm… it’s safe now but…” the Hunter struggled for words from inside her helmet. “I had to defend you all and myself, just know that, okay?” Samus pointed out, as if she was trying to convince her friends before they even knew what happened. “Samus, what’re you talking about? What happened up there?!” Twilight persisted, trying to sneak a glance through the darkness, but the Hunter blocked her vision. “Sapphire, bury yourself in Fluttershy’s mane. Fluttershy, close your eyes. Same to you, Spike. I don’t want you guys seeing this; I’ll lead you outside,” Samus requested, which the three in question obeyed at once, but left a multitude of unanswered questions for Twilight. “You may wanna do the same, Twi.” “No… I can handle this.” “I’m sorry, Twilight,” was all Samus said before she lead the group up, taking Fluttershy’s hoof and leading the others to the front door. Twilight’s insides seemed to twist in unfathomable knots when she laid eyes on the bodies. Her mouth dropped, her eyes widened, and she fought for air as she began hyperventilating. Horrible memories that she once thought she had put behind her were suddenly dusted off, placed right before her, and demanded her attention. She shook her head, wondering how this could’ve happened yet again, and why?! Of all questions she had, that took the most precedence. Still, Twilight had to remain strong for everypony, and she shook off what she could to help open the Library door to the outside… only for the entire group to see yet another shocking site: ponies had gathered at a respectable distance, clearly at a loss for why gunfire was erupting from Twilight’s home. Murmurs and wide eyes permeated the entire scene when they emerged, and ponies pointed toward Samus, commenting on the fact that she was armored up. It was no matter… Samus brought Fluttershy and the rest of them outside and allowed Sapphire and Spike to separate. Most uncharacteristically for the metroid, she was oddly silent. “Alright, stay here, guys. Twi, don’t let anyone inside the Library right now,” Samus softly ordered, disengaging her suit and immediately bringing up her wrist console. “Alright, but what do we do? I don’t even know what happened!” Twilight asked, and then exclaimed with sudden realization. All she saw inside were the bodies of what she thought were some kind of soldiers, but the armor was much too dark to belong to the Federation forces she was used to seeing on a near daily basis. “Twilight, I promise I’ll explain everything tonight, but right now, I need to deal with this. I don’t want you, ‘Shy, Spike, or Sapphire staying here tonight,” Samus resolved. “Wait… then what are we doing?” Twilight inquired. “I’m taking care of that right now,” Samus answered, bringing her console level with her face and signaling Princess Luna. Thankfully, she picked up not a few seconds later. The midnight-blue alicorn’s face took up the screen, and she was clad in her usual regalia. “Samus? Please disregard the last message I sent you, it wasn’t meant for you—” “Luna, we have a problem.” The Hunter cut her off abruptly, which elicited a few hard blinks out of the Princess. “...and what’s that supposed to mean?” “We…” Samus shook her head, fumbling with her words. “I was attacked at the Library. Federation Stealth Troops. I need a dropship here, now.” “You were what?!” Luna questioned imperiously, her complexion darkening considerably. “I’ll summon the ambassador at once!” “No, Luna… this is… I don’t know! But I’ll explain everything tonight; I’m bringing Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, and Sapphire. Can you send a dropship, please?” Samus evaded the question, just wanting to sort everything out first. Luna visibly calmed down and nodded. “Of course. I’ll order transport immediately and send a squad of soldiers. I can expect answers upon your arrival, yes?” “Absolutely,” Samus affirmed with a curt nod. Luna returned the same gesture. “Thanks, Luna. I’ll see you soon.” With that, the Hunter cut the transmission. Twilight had trotted back to the entrance to her home to peek inside, and Samus felt it would be wise to disperse the crowd at the moment. Running her fingers through her hair, she turned to the gathered ponies and spoke. “Okay everyone, all is well and everypony is safe! There’s nothing to see here! Local police and military will take it from here! Please return to bed!” “Samus!” Twilight shouted over her shoulder, a certain urgency in her voice that demanded immediate attention. Samus spun on her heels to face her. “I’m hearing groaning inside…” Twilight did not need to elaborate further, especially in the presence of a slowly dissipating crowd. Samus understood the message entirely, and jogged back to the entrance of the Library, poking her head inside. Like Twilight had, she too heard the strained groans and sharp breaths, the telltale indication that someone was alive inside. “Twilight, grab your tablet inside and call emergency services,” Samus said, and Twilight complied at once, nodding and rushing inside to find her prized piece of technology. The Hunter entered as well, and was able to locate the source of the pained sounds within a few seconds. Standing in the entrance and looking to her left, Samus found the second-to-last trooper that she remembered shooting in the side, propped up against the wall and weakly clutching her wound. Her breathing was shallow and she weakly tried to keep her head up with marginal success. She then locked eyes with the Hunter. Shakily, she reached to her other side and attempted to grip her sidearm, but Melissa was so concentrated on trying to utilize her weapon that she did not see Samus already in front of her. Her pitiful attempt at one last stand was put to rest when the blonde-haired Hunter pressed the boot of her Zero Suit into her armored hand, pressing it firmly into the ground and forcing her to slacken her grip. A weak moan also fell from her lips. “That’s enough,” Samus solemnly spoke, kneeling down and removing the pistol before tossing it away. The black-clad trooper could only watch in unbridled fear as she awaited Samus to execute her… but that never came. Instead, the Hunter switched knees and reached for the hand coddling her wound. “Let me look,” Samus softly ordered, and Melissa was in no place to deny her. Samus pried her enemy’s hand away and observed the entry point of her Power Beam round. It was a pinpoint hit, a clean puncture through the softest part of the armor. There was bleeding, but the high heat of the Power Beam already cauterized most of the broken vessels. In Samus’ estimation, though the trooper had definitely lost no small amount of blood, the wound wasn’t fatal. “Emergency services are on the way,” Twilight told Samus over her shoulder, and the alicorn spared a momentary glance at the wounded soldier, her eyes playing host to a cold fury that she did not know she was capable of. Somehow, Melissa felt it. “Thanks, Twilight. Come over here, I need your magic to help with some medical treatment,” Samus requested, and Twilight nodded. She didn’t want to, though. Something inside her wanted to just walk away and leave the unknown soldier to her fate, but she of all ponies knew that kindness and compassion, even to those who sought your death, was a core tenet of the friendship she held so dear. “Alright, what do you need?” she asked, ready to cast any spell Samus deemed appropriate… within her power, of course. “A pain-killing spell first, please. She’s in a lot of pain,” Samus noted. “On it.” Samus pressed both her hands to the underside of the soldier’s helmet and unsealed it, a hiss of air escaping as the positive-pressure seal was broken. Sensing no resistance from the soldier (whether she acquiesced or simply had no strength, Samus couldn’t say), she continued on, and gingerly pulled the helmet off of the wounded warrior. Setting it aside, Samus and Twilight set their eyes on one of the former’s would-be assailants. Dark brown hair fell to just above the fair-skinned woman’s shoulders, and her face was absolutely matted in tears and sweat. Her features were soft, which gave the impression of someone who looked much younger than they were, and three small freckles dotted her right cheek in a straight line. Her large, hazel eyes did not dare look at the Hunter, nor her companion. Samus stared her down emotionlessly for a few moments, memorizing the face of one who would see her and possibly her friends killed. She turned to Twilight and nodded, giving her the implicit permission to cast the spell. Twilight did just that, and a warming, tingling sensation diffused through Melissa’s entire body. And just like that, the pain was gone. “What’s your name, trooper?” Samus asked, though she expected no answer from one who barely had enough energy to keep her head up. Indeed, she made no response, her breathing slowing slightly, eyelids fluttering. She mumbled incoherently before her head fell forward. “I-Is she…?” Twilight ventured to ask. “...No. She’s fine, but we’ll need to tend to her wounds some more before emergency personnel arrive,” Samus said, shaking her head. “You have any medical supplies?” “Yeah! In my room; I’ll go get ‘em,” Twilight snapped into action, teleporting out of existence. Samus laid her eyes on the place where her friend was, then turned her head sluggishly towards the unconscious Stealth Trooper. In the moment of silence, she elected to stretch out her legs and have a seat for the first time tonight, sinking her head tiredly into her palms. This is gonna be a long night… [Canterlot Castle | Two Days Later…] The Hunter stood, clad in her Suit sans helmet, as she leaned against the wall of the elevator which was bearing her down… down into the depths of the mountain upon which Canterlot was built. At the bottom lay the Equestrian Situation Room, as well as several R&D and weapons labs. She looked idly to her sides, the shaft walls flickering past reminding her of countless elevator trips on Tallon IV and Aether. Her face was expressionless as she mulled over the events of two days ago, and the rapidity with which even a deeply-held inner peace can completely and utterly implode on itself. It was too good to be true… She breathed a sigh and gently shook her head, placing a lock of hair that dislodged itself from her forehead back into place. Her gaze narrowed subtly when she felt a pair of eyes linger on her, which could only come from a single source: a batpony Lunar Guardsmare that was tasked with escorting her down to the Situation Room from the castle itself. The onyx armor of the Lunar Guard remained largely the same as it had pre-Federation save for some technological modifications such as built-in proximity motion trackers and newer helmets that gave them a heads-up display through a clear visor strip, but still retained the obviously ceremonial edge that they had had. This particular pony, though, was interesting. Samus swung her gaze to the other pony, banking on reverence and intimidation to cause the other pony to avert her gaze. This pony, however, seemed to be made of sterner stuff than most, and her gaze grew analytical, almost penetrating as her piercing, golden eyes swept up and down Samus’ armor before returning to her face. Samus returned the gesture, looking the thestral over in kind. She thought she could see a slight blue tinge to the normally-grey coat that most thestrals bore. Her navy-blue mane was mostly obscured by her imperial helmet, though some locks escaped their alloy prison. “Uhh… Can I help you?” Samus finally ventured to ask when she realized that the mare would not stop gawking at her. “Niiice armor, mate…” the batpony complimented, her speech mildly accented Federation standard. Samus identified it as ‘Scottish,’ and it never ceased to amaze her how closely certain elements of Equestrian society paralleled human society… namely languages and dialects. “T-Thanks,” the Hunter responded, if a bit awkwardly. “And look at the fuckin’ size of those fangers!” the mare exclaimed, violating Samus’ personal space and taking the Hunter’s arm in her hooves. She ran her appendages over the curved spikes on the human’s arm where her Grapple Beam used to reside. Her eyes widened, lighting with an almost sexual gleam. “You could castrate some poor bastard with these!” Samus had to restrain a throaty chuckle. She definitely needed that laugh. “Heh, never thought of it that way…” she replied in good spirits, examining her own armored arm in the process. “I’ll have to remember that.” The mare extended her hoof with a confident, toothy grin. “Stella Sabre.” Samus shot her a friendly half-smirk and reciprocated, taking the mare’s hoof in her hand and shaking firmly. “Samus Aran. Nice to meet you.” “Aye, the pleasure is all mine, Hero of Equestria,” Stella replied, Letting Samus onto the fact that her reputation preceded rather pervasively. Suddenly her helmet’s visor blipped and signaled an incoming transmission. “Sorry, gotta take this…” Stella tapped her left forehoof to the side of her visor. “This is Sabre.” Samus nodded and opted to relax for the rest of the ride down, though she would undoubtedly catch some… enlightning snippets of Stella’s conversation with a fellow soldier. “...Ooooh no. I am not bailing yer ass out a second time. This is your problem, not mine. You fucked it, now you unfuck it, mate, how copy?” ...I like this mare. The elevator finally slowed to a gentle halt as it made quiet contact with the lowest level, which led to a rather spartan looking hallway with no doors and only one way to go: straight ahead. “Yeah, not my fuckin’ problem. Sabre out.” Stella ended the transmission and looked to Samus with a less than amused expression, shaking her head. “Coworkers,” she said, channeling all her disgust into that single word. “Eeyup. That’s why I don’t have any,” Samus agreed, and the mare gestured for the Hunter to exit first. There, the two walked the length of the corridor which opened right up into the massive Situation Room, a strategic planning hall that housed the most powerful computers in Equestria as well as one of the largest transmission screens that Samus had ever seen. The room itself was circular, with several layers of workstations forming concentric circles around a central pylon that held a holographic representation of the planet Equis. Behind that hologram stood Princess Luna and Celestia, garbed in military uniform, speaking to a Federation officer. Stella beckoned the both of them forward, conversation becoming more and more clear. “...still most disturbing to hear of Federation troops attacking Samus. I’ll file a report of this immediately and get some teams out there to investigate, based on the pictures and evidence you’ve given me,” the cleanly shaven Admiral agreed resolutely, his arms uncrossing and his hand then cradling his chin in thought. “We would most appreciate that, Admiral. I wish for this unit’s commanding officer to face an immediate court-martial and for this to all be put to rest; royalty was in danger, as well,” Princess Celestia said, nodding her head deeply in respect. “Verily,” Luna weighed in. “Were you able to find any information on where this unit came from?” “Negative,” the human officer said, shaking his head. His hands then extended downward to fiddle with a keyboard “Running the names through databases didn’t turn up their personnel files, unfortunately… though, based on the armor designs from the pictures you forwarded, they’re Stealth Troopers, and it’s GF protocol not to list their members in generally-accessible databases, so that stands to reason. Further…” the man’s words trailed off as he looked past the Princesses. “It looks like we have the person of the hour gracing our presence.” Turning on their hooves, both regal sisters smiled at the Hunter’s entrance, and for the sake of decorum in front of a powerful officer in the Federation Armed Forces, they opted to salute each other as opposed to going straight for a hug. “Samus! Thank you very much for joining us tonight,” Luna greeted, then turned her appreciative gaze towards Stella. “Thank you again for your help, Corporal Sabre. You’re dismissed.” “Yes, Your Highness,” Stella replied with a grin, saluting before turning on her hooves. Before she left, however, she shot a glance over her shoulder towards the Hunter. “See ya around, Samus.” “Have a good one, Stella,” Samus returned the greeting in kind. Once the batpony had retreated down the hall from whence they came, all returned their attention to the big screen. “Samus, this is Admiral Fredrick Conway, commander of the Galactic Federation’s Sixth Fleet. They’re the closest battlegroup to Equisian space, so they’re our point of contact,” Celestia introduced the two of them, and unlike with Luna and Celestia, the two did not salute each other. The Admiral said nothing, staring her down for a few moments. “Good evening, Samus,” Conway had the first words, smoothing out the cuffs on his uniform. “It’s a pleasure to meet the Galaxy’s hero… though I wish it were under better circumstances.” “Likewise, Admiral. I’m assuming I’ve come in at the end of a conversation… and there’s nothing groundbreaking to report?” Samus asked, getting straight to the point. Her suit made a subtle pinging noise, Adam’s signal to her that he was listening. “Regrettably not. In accordance with Federation military protocol, the unit and its members are known only to their direct commander. Even their electronic tags would only have contained their names and ranks, nothing else… though possibly some buried metadata,” Conway reiterated. “However, what we can do—as I explained to Their Highnesses—is we can deploy some teams to perform an investigation on the ingress route of these Stealth Troopers. With the Fourth Fleet having rotated out, High Command wanted a  battlegroup to remain in the 51st Sector to counter any possible remnants of Space Pirate activity. We can knock out two objectives, and make a stop at Equis to further said investigation.” “That sounds like a sound plan for the moment,” Luna nodded, interjecting into the conversation. As for Samus, she glared at the Admiral, trying to read him… but to her consternation, she had quite the difficulty in doing so. She had little reason to distrust him, but simultaneously, she had little reason to not distrust him. “We, and Samus, of course, shall aid you in whatever capacity you need, Admiral.” “I appreciate it fully, Princess,” Conway bowed his head. “First, we’ll need the general e-tags from the dead troopers… I’m only assuming you killed them all in self-defense, right?” he asked with the utmost understanding. Time slowed to a halt in Samus’ head; by the way Conway phrased his question, it was clear that he didn’t know of Melissa’s survival. Clearly, the Princesses would have told him everything to aid in an investigation, and because they saw fit to omit this information, so did she. “Well… yes,” she lied. “I didn’t have the chance to scan the bodies since half the town showed up to see what the commotion was, but we still have them. We’ll collect the e-tags and submit them to you as soon as possible,” Samus affirmed. Conway shot her a respectful half-smirk and nodded. Conway held up his hand, shaking his head slightly. “Don’t worry about the time. We’re all just happy that none of the ‘good guys’ were killed or wounded,” he added. “Indeed,” Celestia piped up. “Very well, Admiral. Thank you very much once again for meeting with us and addressing our concerns. We hope to meet in person soon.” “Likewise, Your Majesties,” Conway said, saluting the two alicorns, who reciprocated the gesture. “We’ll be poring over the data tonight, and with luck, we should have our ships in orbit by the end of the month. Until then, have a wonderful evening,” he ended, and with that, the video transmission ended. “Well, I’m glad we got that sorted out, at least for now,” Celestia sighed, but, finally able to drop the facade, she threw her front legs around Samus’ neck, enveloping her in a crushing hug which the Hunter gladly returned. “I see you both didn’t tell him of Melissa,” Samus astutely noted. “And we were hoping you would not,” Celestia replied, relieved. “We wished to question her after she recovers before disclosing her existence.” Samus agreed completely, and the three silently, tacitly agreed to not speak a word of it. Surely they trusted Twilight to also say nothing, but Samus would follow up with her just in case. “Quite. Now, Samus, you and I can get along with the second reason why I asked you down here,” Luna chimed in, magically adjusting her visor-cap. “I’ll take it from here, sister. You go and get some sleep.” “Sounds good. I’ll see you both tomorrow,” Celestia said, nuzzling both Luna and Samus on the cheek before taking her exit down the hall. The Lunar Princess glanced to Samus with an excited grin. “This way,” she beckoned with a tilt of her head, and Samus fell right into step. The Hunter did not realize it when she first entered with Stella, but there was another hall that exited out of the Situation Room and led deeper into the mountain. “I’m glad we’re in agreement that it would be best for you to acquire more powerful weapons… I want you to have a better way to deal with  this ‘situation,’ should it arise again,” she admitted. “Oh trust me, I was gonna approach you first about it… but the problem is that I wouldn’t know where to start,” Samus elaborated. “I can’t access my native Chozo weaponry, and the weapons that I had coming from BSL are still not precise enough, in my opinion. That, and I’d rather not ask for a reconnection to magic, just so I don’t have to deal with a possible resurgence of the Nightmare,” Samus spoke, gesturing vaguely. Luna smirked at her sideways as they continued their trek. “Nor I, but I believe we now have the solution to that problem… if you’re willing to be the test subject of a so-far highly promising weapons and armor system,” Luna replied with an enticing edge. “...New weapons systems? Lulu, you treat me way too well,” Samus added whimsically, earning a chuckle out of the regal alicorn. Samus could see, up ahead, the entrance to what she guessed was a proving ground of sorts for magical weapons. “I trust that I need not explain the PED system to you, yes?” Luna asked as the two closed the distance to a guarded door, circular, with a sophisticated locking system at its center. Two Equestrian troops stood on either side of it. “Not at all. The Phazon Enhancement Device… though it’s a bit useless with Phazon being destroyed,” Samus confirmed. The two soldiers saluted Luna as she passed, angling her head and letting the scanner in the center of the door scan her horn. Confirming her identity, it irised open into the brightly, blue-light lit room. There was a single lane, much like one would see at a firing range, along with a single orb of pulsating magic at the center, never settling on any one color, which was being monitored by four pony scientists. “Quite so… we were too late to receive any for our soldiers before you destroyed Phaaze,” Luna continued. “But we wished to develop a system so that earth ponies and pegasi could serve as combat infantry, able to harness magic for offensive and defensive use, despite not being able to willfully project their magic outward. This has been a job reserved for unicorns, as going into modern combat without any ability to use ranged weaponry is laughably suicidal. Because of that reason, our ground forces have been limited in size.” “Go on…” Samus beckoned with a twirl of her hand, the duo’s walking pattern having slowed to a halt in front of this electric-looking orb of magic that lay suspended in a transparent holding tank. It reeked of a powerup. “As such, I felt with your Suit’s adaptability and modularity, you would be the perfect candidate to field the first fully operational solution. May I introduce you, to the MED!” Luna proudly proclaimed, gesturing toward the magical item in question. “Magic Enhancement Device?” Samus asked, her eyes squarely locked with the powerup. “Precisely!” Luna replied giddily. “The MED is a magical object, and when it binds with a being who lacks the ability to manifest external magic, it shifts form into an augmentation that absorbs ambient magical energy around it. It’s very similar in concept to your old PED, in that you can inject an energy tank into it, but it will also passively collect aetheric energy from the planet, allowing you to use magical weapons and armor… as well as replenish your energy shielding and what not.” “Wait! Direct injection?” Samus questioned immediately. “Does that mean…” “Yes!” Luna exclaimed. “Like the PED variant, you can inject an energy tank to replenish magical supply. If your supply is full and you inject an energy tank, you enter ‘Harmony Mode!’” “Harmony Mode… but that was when I had the Elements of Harmony bound to me. How’d you manage that?” Samus countered. “Erm… well, we just call it ‘Harmony Mode,’ as the overload of magic activates the Magicka Beam you were privy to during your first visit,” Luna admitted a bit sheepishly. “But, as well, you can use stored magic at your own whim!” “Like my Kinesis Beam…” “Yes! Provided you have stored magic, of course. Because magic will then flow through the module as a discrete entity and not your person, there’s no risk of Nightmare Corruption,” Luna concluded with a smug smile on her face, clearly proud of her ingenuity and her team’s efforts. “Yeah, but the problem is that my suit, when I have it on, is both separate and part of me. If magic runs through my suit, it’s gonna run through me.” “That shan’t be a problem; ambient magic that overflows will pass through you harmlessly, like the natural field around all of Equis. Not to mention, the MED never fully integrates with the individual. After all, I can cast spells on you and there’s no risk of corruption… but the threat arises when it comes from within... and the induction of the Kinesis Beam directly affected your person, making you inherently magic sensitive,” Luna explained. “With you as a nonsensitive being, the MED is the source for your magic needs, and by both Magical Spectral Theory and the Magical Dichotomy Theorem, you and magic can work together, yet remain separate,” Luna concluded with utmost conviction. Samus locked eyes with her for a few moments, her emotions wholly unreadable as she processed the information given to her. “Can… can I put this thing on now?” Samus asked, her eyes lighting up almost impatiently as she heard the guarantees. “Of course! Ready the MED!” Luna commanded, and her scientists immediately set off to work. At the same time, her console vibrated with the arrival of a notification, and she opted to ignore it for the time being. She watched the small bit of preparation, which essentially entailed the scientists removing the small barrier between her and the magical powerup. “Ready?” Luna called, smiling excitedly at her and pointing at the MED powerup, signalling that it was all hers for the taking. The key to the girl’s rearmament awaited. Dusting herself off and stretching her back, Samus readied herself for the coming experience, the feeling of being connected with Equis’ magical field. Now, as she was faced with it again, she finally realized how much she had missed it. “Right! Let’s do this, just give me one second...” Samus brought her console to her face just to check what that notification was, and found it to be a text message from Adam, one which was so simple yet held such a profound meaning to it: [Do not trust Conway.]