'Tis been a while, yes.

Been a long time since we've seen our beloved sun.

Ever since that giant problem with Celestia and Luna fighting, causing Equestria to swing just too close to the sun.

Radiation hot enough to cook now exists. It pools everywhere, even invading the deepest regions. The sea's evaporated instantly, causing heavy mists and fog to develop everywhere as well.

The pollution is so bad, anypony who goes out without a gas mask chokes to death instantly.

That's if he or she is lucky. For we don't quite know who, or WHAT, lurks out there...

Diebus Apricis

"Wait, stop." Orion breathed heavily. The entire four truck convoy ground to a halt as she disembarked.

She pulled out her trusty Vector, aiming into the smog. The rest of the forty Pony crew looked around as well, guns up. They formed a protective cordon around the three rear trucks, carrying food supplies, water and enough medicine for her Bastion City, "Concordia". The first one mounted a portable Radar.

She wiped her mask quickly. A sudden loud scream caused her blood to run cold. "EVERYPONY BACK TO THE TRUCKS, SCREAMERS INBOUND!"

True enough, a giant insectoid Screamer dashed out of the clouds, spitting balls of highly acidic goop. It soared overhead, causing the whole team to duck and dash.

"DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!" She shouted as she mounted the M47 'Dragon' Turret.

The truck gunned as it roared away at seventy miles per hour, but the Insect was still gaining.

Son-of-a-bitch... "Here it comes! Hold on!" She triggered the unguided missiles. They soared unerringly towards their target...

To no avail. The insect simply brushed off the explosions and caught the last missile.

She watched, enthralled by its antics, as it seemed to throw the missile...

Right...

Back...

The last thing she heard was a giant explosion, and the world went black.

Heya guys.

Now, from what you've read, this is an excerpt from a story I've been planning for quite a bit. You'll also realize that this time, it's gonna be mostly land based.

So I would appreciate it if you left a comment or two, roleplaying this scenario out to give me ideas for my story. It's doesn't have to be centered on Orion and Company, you could build your own characters.

UNFORTUNATELY...
1) No humans.
2) No aircraft. (Yet)
3) It's not always sunshine and rainbows at the end of it all.
4) Deal with mischief.
5) Just relax and let your ideas flow.

Indeed.

In a musty castle far away from the site of the ambush, two changelings observed what the Screamer saw with an almost bored expression on their faces.

"And there goes another Supply Convoy. Queen Aurora's Screamers sure are doing their job well." One Changeling, Swarm Leader Scion, said to his colleague.

"Scion. I am the scientist in charge of the Screamer project. Did you honestly think I didn't know about that?" Foerster, Head Scientist of the New Changeling Army looked at him with a look of bemusement on her face.

"Ah, yes. I probably should've realised that." Scion blushed. Foerster turned around and walked out of the chamber.

"Foerster? Where are you going?" Scion asked.

"I am going to check out the Ambush site for myself. Recall the Screamer. I shall record the effects of a Screamer Attack...and see what improvements have to be made." There was the distinctive flash of a Teleport spell, and Foerster was gone.

Back at the site of the ambush, Orion saw a flash in the smog, then a figure moving in her direction...

(I'm liking this already. I don't think this is a position to throw my characters into the fold yet, but I will when the time comes)

Ahh, bugger. I had an idea for an RP, but she can wait while I work on'er some more. But I can't help but thank you this, it's a much needed distraction from this weeks past events.

"Stupid suka..." Grumbled the weary pegasus, as he began scavenging the dead-stallions corpse. Sadly, the now deceased unicorn thought mugging the lone pegasus in the dark, and crumbling tunnels would provide him an upper hoof at snagging his L1A1... or so he thought.

However, what he never took into account, was the possiblity that his prey was a pre-event combat-trained soldier. His former home in the skies gone, now made use of his skills in the decaying underground metro of Volgograd. Which by now... had become his home.

"What a surprise... 7.62mm, AND filters? My have you been a busy Rat." The snowy pegasus remarked, as he stuffed the filter into his rucksack, and the rounds into his pouch. This small... event, had delayed the stallion from his destinaton for another hour. An hour whch could be better spent on drinking, or sleeping his life away.

However, those would need to wait, as a symphony of claws began to echo down the darkened tunnel.

"Fuckin' hell... *Click-Snap-Chickchack!* goddamn Watchmen, everywhere I go, those stupid bastards always know. I'm getting too old for this bullshit at 47." Sneered the agitated veteran, as Hell's minions began to charge the grizzled warrior.

1142481>>1141284>>1141815

She awoke with a start.

Fire licked the sides of a visible truck, charring its sides with black tendrils of soot. Orion just laid there for a couple of minutes, before trying to sit up.

Bad idea. She felt a loud crack echo throughout her body, and whimpered a little. She slowly reached over and gently touched her injured left wing, crushed under a steel reinforcement beam, locked in such a way that there was no way to get it out without injuring it more.

I have to get back to Concordia and tell them to abort supplies through this route... I have to do it...

She sighed loudly, before looking up with a grim determination. She reached down to her vest pocket, and pulled out a bit of scaling rope, shoving it between her teeth. Breathed in deeply.

Once... Twice...

She leaned back and placed her full weight on the appendage. It snapped cleanly and hung limply. She bit down on the rope with enough force to fray the edges, bits of scream leaking out from around it. the hollow scream echoed loudly across the wreckage. Orion took a minute or two, just to rest.

A sudden ping caught her attention. It sounded... like...

A teleport.

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed in the smoke. It looked armed, and walked ever closer.

Oh crap... Did he hear me?

Pushing bits of debris off her ruined wing, Orion scrabbled for the cabin of the wrecked truck. The shadow approached, and she could see the insectoid shape.

Definitely changeling.

She had just crawled into the cabin and out of sight when the shape solidified. It looked around, surveying the wrecks.

"Cabin. Activate protocol 'Metal Rain'. Engage Battle Saddle." She whispered low at the flickering computer.

Immediately, the seat turned around and pushed her into the safety of a full body armor suit. She felt safer already, as the heavy Nightsteel enclosed her body. The helmet descended into place, HUD springing up as the suit ran diagnostics.

A loud thump sounded out as the Mark IV battle saddle latched onto her back. It boasted a harnessed M-60 on her right, with the bullets being fed in from a drum that hung on her left and over her back. A miniature turret on top of the belt feed on her back held a single shot M-203 grenade launcher.

But this all created noise. She grimaced as a loud creaking was heard from the outer skin of the truck.

"Alrighty, come at me, you little green piece of shit." Her HUD flashed ready once.

Coiling up, Orion burst from the truck, bashing her way through the thin sheet metal of the hull.

"YOU'RE GONNA TUSSLE WITH CONCORDIA'S BEST!"

1145953>>1142481

A few miles away from Orion's position, a grouping of two military-grade Humvees and a small civilian truck were in a dirt field, wind kicking up and making visibility limited to just a dozen feet, if that.

Around them, a team of ponies wearing strange looking gas masks but drastically different clothing were poking through bodies and pieces of metal.

"Got anything?"

"Nothing of value... think These are bullets on this one."

"What caliber?

"Not sure."

One pony, who appeared to be the leader of the small gathering with a brown jacket and Fedora, wiped the sweat from his head.

"Hey Storm." One pony wearing what appeared to be a tattered Noble's outfit approached him.

"What is it Desert?

"The visibilty is getting terrible out here. We may want to head back to the Enclave."

"Ya... You're probably right." Storm said, trotting over to one of the vehicles. "We haven't found anything good anyway...."

"Thank Celestia!" Another one, this one a Pegasus wearing a scarf around his neck despite the hot weather.

"Command, this is Victor Three reporting in."

Static.

"Damn piece of junk, Rads must be screwing with it again..."

Foerster changed into a mare with a peach coloured coat, a long black mane in a Researcher outfit, then turned around to see a pony in a Mark IV battle saddle take aim at her with a M-60. She decided that Fight or Flight would not work, as both would end off with her getting turned in a colander.

She waved at the pony inside the battle saddle. "Hey, I'm a...uhhhhh...a researcher! An unarmed....uh....Please don't shoot me!"

1148531>>1142481>>1151690

Orion looked around warily, eyes visually scanning the terrain, whilst her radar pinged out quickly, detecting only the 'Researcher', and the wreckage.

"Huh... Could have sworn..." The M-60 pivoted upwards, engaging its safety. Her helmet depolarized.

Turning to look back at the mare, she asked, "Why are you out here, alone, investigating my wreckage?"

The mare simply shook in reply. Orion snorted in disbelief. Luna-damned egghead...

"Fine... Whatever. You won't survive an hour out here alone and... Ahem... Unarmed." The word seemed foreign, sliding off her tongue. "Do you have a safe place nearby that I can escort you to?"

Silence reigned. She sighed heavily.

"Yeah... Whatever. Just... Just stay here, okay? I'm going to salvage what I can."

Orion dusted off her trusty Vector, slipping it into the predesignated harness on her belly. Her saddle bags were packed full of either rounds or rations she had salvaged from the wrecked trucks, and three canteens dangled from her M-203.

"Hey, I'm ready to..." She turned around. "Go?"

The mare was gone, running away into the fog.

"Damnation! She was the changeling! Now she'll tell them of my position!" Orion smashed her hoof down in frustration.

"I'll have to catch her!" She turned and set off at a brisk gallop, running towards the unknown.

(Now now, my dear Arch. Do I have to go poop on your page?)

"Hee hee, Sucker!" Foerster cackled as she charged up a teleport spell. "She's obviously a member of a Bastion City. I guess I have an excuse to attack her city now." She teleported back to the Hive as Orion cursed in Frustration.

"A Bastion? Are you completely NUTS?" Scion screeched. Foerster shrugged.

"Ok, A Bastion may be the hardest nut to crack in these parts," Foerster replied, "But they're no match for the full might of the Screamer Swarm. We've taken out Cities that were literally fortresses. A Bastion is just a.....a......"

"Bastion?" Scion suggested.

"...Yeah. But what i'm getting at is...oh for pity's sake, look at the footage from Mirskai City." Foerster showed footage from an earlier siege, showing a City-Fortress and its inhabitants getting massacred by Changeling forces. Scion felt sick as a filly was ripped apart. Foerster ended the tape and looked at him. "Anything made by ponies can be unmade. Granted, her Bastion may be a fortress, but we have the weapons needed to destroy it."

She then telepathically sent a message to her soldiers.

Get the Firebombs, the Airships, and the Screamers. Today, We destroy a Bastion City!

As Orion trudged up the hill that looked over a nearby City, her nose picked up a lot of acrid smells. Smoke. Fire. Blood.

"Oh.....no....." Orion ran up the final 25 meters of the hill, and surveyed the City, a literal Hell on Earth. The Fires reached up for the heavens, Airships dropped Firebombs on pockets of resistance, Screamers and Changeling soldiers were killing or capturing any civilian they could find, and the centre of the Bastion's Government, the Palace, was an inferno.

Orion didn't notice the Screamer sneaking up behind her until it knocked her out.

1156113>>1154989>>1148531
Sorry Lads and lass, but I was visiting my dear friend... who now resides at the local cemetery. It's been quite the hard week with his loss. On a lighter note, I'm godawful at third-person writing.

So my apologies for the delays, just having a hard time... well, doing anything really.

1156113>>1156885>>1148531

(OOOkkkaaayyy... K, I think you've got it topsy turvy. "Bastion Cities" are actual Cities, not one named city. Although I suppose a city on the walls is possible... Tell me if you wanna change. )

Orion awoke to the sound of rushing wind. Looking upwards, it was obvious that her body had rolled down the ridge and ended up in an open monorail trench. Probably left for dead. She winced slightly as a loud whistling grated on her ears.

Wait... Monorail...

She rolled over and into a ditch as the giant train roared pass. Sparks flew as the hull scraped her helmet. As fast as it came, it was gone.

Standing up, she dusted off and engaged a rappelling rope, climbing up to the surface.

Orion wandered through the empty city, ghosts of those who laid dead on the ground wandering with her. She could see the 120 mm cannons on the walls, once regarded as mighty and impregnable, now lying empty and desolate without their crews.

She wandered around the wreckage of a Heavy tank, driven purely by curiosity. A sudden loud crying sound emanated from her right, in the rubble of a burning building. She turned to look, her heavy armor clinking.

The building collapsed, the cries suddenly stopping.

Recoiling from the wind, she raised a leg to cover her helmet. By the time she turned around, the building was a giant bonfire of rubble.

You can't save them all... She sighed heavily and walked on.

She finally reached the other end of the city, the end that kissed the edge of charted territory. Beyond that, Concordia, the first outpost city beyond Equestria itself, waited.

Surveying the terrain, Orion noted the monorail that nearly smashed her face in just now, rolling into a dark tunnel.

"Whelp. I guess I follow the Luna Line for the best..." She mused as she entered the dark tunnel.

(Smoers, I can meet up with you now!)

(Well... I can't say anything, Rundown, but I understand your loss. You're not the only one with a stone to visit.)

1159124

"Ok everyling. Eyes front." Lieutenant Nagata of the Changeling Army led her four-changeling squad through one of the tunnels leading to the Bastion City. It had been about an hour since they realised that Bastion was simply a brand, a name, that the Siege of Bastion would have to be replicated several times over in order to conquer the Wastelands. The Fireteam had ventured into the tunnel to kill/capture any survivors that may have fled into it.

"Hey, Lieutenant." PFC. Audrey whispered to her. "Heartbeat sensor's picking up something. Seems to be alone, near the mouth of the tunnel."

"A survivor?"

"Could be." Audrey said, loading her M4A1 machine gun. Nagata called over the two other soldiers, Audrey's friend Amy, and Sergeant Sturm. As they neared the corner to the tunnel, the Monorail passed and Nagata motioned for them to turn off flashlights. They ran out into the entrance chamber, monorail now a distant memory, before fanning out to cover the entire area. with the gloomy light from outside, visibility was near zero.

There was no pony there.

"Audrey, are you sure you read that sensor correctly?" Nagata asked.

"She's Audrey. A bookworm if ever I knew one. If she misread it, I'd be shocked." Amy replied, setting up positions by a rock outcrop on the far side of the chamber.

"Ugh....Let's say it was a false alarm....Where's Sturm?" Thee pairs of eyes looked at where Sturm was, near Amy.

"He was right there a second ago." Amy said, before letting out a strangled gasp and leaping out of the outcrop, flying over to Audrey instantly. Audrey, Amy and Nagata moved along the walls to the tunnel opening, setting up positions on either side of it.

"Amy! Are you alright?" Audrey asked.

"Something's in there, and it's not friendly." Amy replied.

A flashlight from the other side of the chamber and moved across the walls. By now Nagata and Audrey were spooked out of their minds. They dropped their weapons and ran outside, before cowering in a ditch. Amy moved to join them, but seven bullets from an M-60 slammed into her immediately, disintegrating her weapon and, while not killing her, severely damaged her legs, sending her down on the ground in front of the opening.

Orion knew that if the Changelings called in reinforcements, she would have a lot of heat on her flank. But before she could go after them, she had to move the wounded changeling lying in the opening.

(Your turn, Calamity)

1159124>>1159233

"Control this is Victor Three, do you copy? over." Storm repeated for what seemed to be the millionth time. Finally, a voice came through the static.

"This is Control, we hear you loud and clear Victor 3."

"Thank Celestia..."

"Sensors are in place, and we've scavenged all we can around here. Request permission to return to Enclave."

"That's a negative Victor Three."

"Oh come on..."

"We're getting some very weird readings from an area East of your location, we need you to investigate. How copy, over?"

"...Solid Copy Control, we're checking it out now." He signed off the radio, then turned to his group. "Pile in everyone, we're moving out!"

Little did they know, they were being watched from afar by an insectoid figure...

Considered a defect by his people, Cipher was only kept around for his masterful arts of spying and infiltration, even among Changelings. Now, he was going to put it too the test...

The vehicles continued on toward the investigation site.

"This is Captain Storm Chaser, broadcasting on all channels, does anyone copy?"

1159124>>1156113>>1148531
I had a feeling I wasn't the only one... I appreciate it Calamity. Now, let us journey away from the darkness and into the light.

I slowly rose off the decaying tracks, as my bones and muscles protested in great agony. All around were the corpses of mutations from the radiation. Athough I may have decimated them, they sure as fuck took a chunk out of my old wrinkly ass... again.

I turned my attention from my wounds, to the path that still remained until I reached my destination.

"Suka, suka, suka... I pray that the bar is still open when I arrive. And that the pay is good for this damned package." I grumbled aloud, while giving the suspect bag a hard stare. It's the rason why I'm here, near the heart of Volograds Metro Network. Instead of resting easy at Rizhskaya... enjoying a smooth drink of tea.

No sense in waiting here anymore... GAH! Murphy Maker, I'll feel all of this in the morning.

"This is Captain Storm Chaser, broadcasting on all channels, does anyone copy?" My radio squawked, the stallions young voice echoing roughly in the tunnel. Although it was hard to undersstand with the static, I could recognize that voice anywhere. Hell, how could I not?

"Captain now is it? My, my it's been awhile since we've spoken young colt."

1161119

The response came back over the radio. It sounded familiar... just like...

No...it couldn't be...

"Identify yourself!" Desert demanded.

1161170>>1159233>>1159124

"Identify yourself!" Who the fuck is that?

"What, can't an old stallion chat for a moment? I swear, no respect for your elders these days..."

"I said identify yourself!" I kept a steady limp as I walked, favoring my left legs to ease the pain on my right.

"Alright, alright... jackass, I am Sargeant Centennial of the Rizhskaya Guardians, better known locally as Archangel" I said slightly strained. Suddenly I stumbled, causing part of the device to poke through the protective package. Although undamaged, the nuclear warning symbol upon the steel container remained a constant reminder of this high-priority delivery.

Although... As a Stalker, I've never really felt uneasy about retrieving supplies and items before...

... then why is it that I do now?

1161216

Storm grabbed the radio from his squadmate.

"What are you doing out here old timer? Don't you know it's dangerous?" He asked, a bit of mocking in his voice.

1162862>>1159233>>1159124

"Really? I never would've guessed with the new drapes I hung in the parlour..." I sarcastically replied, the sarcasm dripping from my maw, "Good heavens, dear colt! What do you expect from one of the few decent Stalkers still around? They need sombody to fetch their shit for them, and it's good pay too... as long as one doesn't mind the mutants and radiation." I harshly added, reminded of my emerging condition.

In the darkness, I could make out the distant yet familiar sign that indicated that I was approaching one of the Hanza stations. I believe it's called Perovo? Or is it Kievskaya?... nevertheless, my destination was ahead, and so was treatment for my freshly inflicted wounds.

"It's been awhile, five years I believe? The last time we spoke, you were a freshly promoted Second Lieutenant. Now look at you, a Capitan! Either your better than I first thought, or they're REALLY desperate."

1162901

"Hell, these days you ain't gotta do any more than survive." Storm snorted. "You know the basic life expentancy of an officer in the field is similar to that of a fruit fly. Not that I'm downgrading my amazing-ness."

He kept his eyes out the window, trying to see if there was anything worth seeing within his limited range of vision.

"So what exactly are you out fetching right now?"

1162911>>1162901>>1159233

The male one wasn't so hard, as Orion dragged his life-less body to one side of the Monorail, unhooking her Garrote and allowing it to retract back into her hoof gauntlet. She crawled into her other predetermined hiding spot just as his friends wandered past.

"Leaving so soon?" She whispered creepily as the M-60 came up blasting.

Shifting as swiftly as possible, Orion shimmied out of her hole, crouching over the injured Changeling. Patting it down, she stood up.

It whimpered feebly, trying to crawl away.

She sighed. Turning around, she pulled out her knife. Pure fear seemed to rush through the insect.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." Orion pulled out what little medical supplied she had left, and splinted the insect's leg with typical Stalker efficiency. Slapping it and giving it a solid push onto the rails where its friends could find it, Orion turned around and slid deeper into the tunnel.

In her new spot, she could see the entire platoon. They chattered about... On the tracks. "Perfect."

She could hear it coming, a monorail roaring down the Celestia Line, headed straight for them. Gotta time it right...

The train roared past as Orion tossed the IED. It beeped for a couple of seconds, before being smashed by the train and releasing its deadly payload forwards, burning anything in its way. The train, being controlled by a computer, just kept going and spewing flames.

It must have been intimidating. A flaming speeding hunk of metal.

She watched with glee as the insects scattered before the behemoth, disrupting their cohesiveness.

And not too soon, as the Luna Line Monorail came around the corner. Orion stood up, in plain sight, and concentrated, getting ready to jump.

The Changeling sniper bullet ripped through the dense Nightsteel, cutting through muscle tissue and bone as it penetrated her shoulder. Orion stumbled.

Once,

Twice,

Another bullet copped her in the flank, spinning her around. The train rumbled ever closer.

Another. This one sent her flying into the train, breaking glass and crashing into the cabin. Supplies rained down on her as the world turned red.

"Son.. Of... A..." She croaked, blood turning the floor crimson. Orion slumped, and closed her eyes.

"Got another train coming in. Supplies for A-12."

"Roger. Check first?"

"Wait... This door has a leak? Red stuff?"

"That's not any leak... Give me a hoof!"

"She was destroyed!"

"Yes, well, she won't make it if you keep gaping! Now move!"

"Stalker 4-2, hold tight. You're gonna be fine...

fine...

fine...

fine...
"

1163634
"So, let me get this straight." Foerster said. "You lost contact with your Fireteam why.....?" She waited for Colonel to reply.

"Eh he he he.......I....don't actually know what happened." Vorkov said sheepishly.

"Train Incoming!" One of the changelings called out. Vorkov and Foerster turned to the soldiers, while Vorkov's top sniper Ossa realised somepony was in the vicinity.

"Alright. let's get into position and--" Foerster was cut off by the sound of the train derailing and the shouts of frantic changelings diving out of the way. Vorkov tackled her into a Service as the derailed train screeched past. The two disgruntled changelings untangled themselves from the electrical wire they wound up in, glaring at the tracks.

Ossa had dodged the train, and fired three shots at the pony she had seen throw the device, sending the bomber flying right into another train.

"Ouch." Ossa winced. "Hey guys, I shot it----!" She turned around to see that the other changelings had bolted farther into the tunnel. "...Guys? Hello, Anyone? .........Fuck you all, anyway!" She trudged off in the direction of the tunnel entrance, where she would find a dead changeling, and wounded changeling, and two changelings hiding in a ditch. After she healed Amy, she, along with Nagata, Audrey, and Amy headed out to follow the train that Orion had crashed into. After a while they found it, several Stalkers setting up a perimeter around it. The four changeling landed on top of a small hill near the train.

"We needed those supplies badly...." Ossa groaned.

"We're never going to get them now..." Audrey sighed.

"Well...we're going to have to surrender if we want a chance of getting even a sliver of them." Amy said.

"And how are you going to do that?" Audrey hissed.

"Relax, you three. I got this. Nagata winked at the rest of them before laying down her weapon and trudging slowly towards the Stalkers, who turned their weapons on her. Nagata, motioned to the other three to lay down their weapons and come out with her, before calling out to the Stalkers. "Don't Shoot! We Surrender!"

1164960>>1163634>>1162911
So, you expanded on the Stalker front, Eh?

Now came an important question... do I bullshit him, or do I give him an honest answer? I had to act fast, without arousing suspicion, so I did what I knew best.

"It's nothing too out of the ordinary, a piece of pre-war trash somepony hopes to find a use for. I can't honestly tell you what it is, because I absolutely have no idea what it was in the first place." I said cooly, I wasn't lying and I was bullshitting him too. It WAS pre-war, but as for what kind of tech... I'm uncertain except for the obvious.

"Halt! Step into the light, lower your weapon and identify yourself or you'll be shot!" Came a commanding voice from behind the barricade, as a spotlight exploded to life.

"Chyort... I must go for now, young colt. Hopefully we'll speak again soon enough, until then, ever prepared." I switched off the radio, as I began complying with the station guards.

"Hello comrades, we meet again so soon, no?"

1164960>>1167723>>1162911

(Rundown, actually was thinking of my own elite troops, didn't notice you also took Stalkers.

I was thinking of the Night Stalkers. Me and my friends created this little cell of ours that played this game we call 'Laser Tag', where it's like a giant warehouse of obstacles and we vs. with seven other teams in 'Search and Destroy'.)

The Stalker team looked uneasily at each other.

"Should we? They sound sincere." Stalker 4-3, Riocus whispered.
"Hell no. They're our enemy, probably the same one as that which smoked Orion." Stalker 4-5, Herion pouted.

A tinkling sounded out between them. Looking down, it is immediately obvious that the glowing bullets are Changeling.

"Look what the medics found. And the signature matched the one carried by that insect there." Hawker, Stalker 4-1, pointed at the Changelings down the tunnel. Feelings quickly changed.

They all pulled out weaponry.

"There will be no prisoners." Hawker shouted, before turning to the troops.

With a glint in his eye, he ordered.

"Close the bulkhead behind them, trap them. Then...

Sic them."

Immediately, seven different machine guns of varying caliber come up.

At the checkpoint, Stalker 2-1 identified the approaching figure.

"Should have known. Let him in." He ordered.

The giant metal grating scraped loudly as it was drawn back to allow the aged stallion back on his way.

Suddenly, he dropped a package. Stalker 2-2 caught it.

"Here you... Wait... What is this?" He pushed the canister close to the side of the bag, clearly showing the radioactive sign.

Stalker 2-1 narrowed his eyes. "Gonna explain? Or will we have to detain you?"

(BTW, Bastion City Concordia is a frontier city, outside of Equestria. Monorails join the Frontier Cities with their inner, Bastion cities in Equestria. Luna Line heads out, whilst Celestia Line heads back to the inner regions.

Easy enough?)

1168182

"Oh come on, that's Bullshit! Doesn't the Geneva Convention count for nothing now?" Nagata yelled back.

"Yeah! your pal dropped a train on our platoon! You should be lucky we're surrendering!" Ossa shouted.

"Um...Why are they closing the door?" Amy asked, hearing the door close behind them.

"What gives?" Audrey yelled down the tunnel. The reply they got were seven machine guns firing at them. Nagata teleported away from the area immediately, but as the other three didn't know the spell, they were caught in the hail of bullets. Audrey and Ossa were killed immediately, while Amy, for the second time that day, ended up incapacitated. Two of the Stalkers walked over to her.

"Uh, Hey...could you...please not shoot me any more times? This is the Second time...today!" Amy gasped out.

1168420>>1162911>>1168182
Really? I borrowed them from the Book Universe of Metro, as the life-blood of this Metro.

I smiled, while internally I had cursed myself for a stupid mistake. Letting my wounds get the better of me? How weak...

"Well, if I knew I'd likely tell you. All I know is that a... Commander Steel Ward, ordered this to be recovered from the surface, and brought to him immediately. If you don't believe me, ask him and he'll say the same."

1168635>>1168420>>1168182

"Archangel? ARCHANGEL?! Son of a bitch..." Storm cursed. "Control this is Victor Three there's nothing here. Request permission to return back to an Enclave."

"Permission Granted Victor Three. Just keep letting out calls until you reach the safe zone."

"Affermative." Storm switched back to an open Frequency. "This is Captain Storm Chaser.."

1168420>>1168635>>1168747

"You heard the commander. No prisoners. And certainly no survivors." Riocus pulled out his pistol.

The others turned away.

A shot rang out.

"Yeah right. Private Steel Ward was demoted for treachery!" Stalker 2-1 shouted.

The checkpoint flared to life. Two more Stalkers appeared on in the bunker, and foot soldiers poured out, surrounding the stallion.

"Sir, i'm gonna ask you once, and once only... Will you come quietly?" Stalker 2-2 whispered.

1173128
"Boom Shaka Laka." Vorkov smirked, having shotgunned Riocus into swiss cheese. As the rest of the Stalkers swivelled the weapons around, 30 armed changelings aimed at them with various weaponary. Somehow, they had even teleported a tank down there.

Foerster Walked out from among the changelings, addressing the rest of the Stalkers.

"Good evening, my rather ruthless friends. I should let you know, the changeling you were about to shoot was not responsible for your pal's injuries. If she was, I'd consider giving her a promotion."

"Really?" Amy asked, before Vorkov looked at her with a withering look.

"We, unlike you are feeling pretty merciful, having just wasted Concordia and so on, so we'll just take our dead brethren and poor Amy over here, and----."

"In your dreams, bitch! We'll fight until your kind are all dead, you fucking whore!" HAwker lashed out, savagely.

"Ok then. I didn't want to have to do this, but now, we'll have to do this the hard way." Foerster turned to the platoon. "Shoot them."

As the Stalkers brought up their weapons, Tank shells and machine guns slaughtered them. Just as they said to Amy, No Survivors.

1173372>>1173128>>1168747

I frowned, normally I'd consider blasting my way out of a foul situation. However this wasn't the case, as I'd be murdering those who serve alongside what us few do. Not to mention, I was clearly out-gunned, and out-flanked by my fellow scavengers and warriors-for-hire.

"It seems I have no choice... I'll accept. This old bastard isn't stupid, I know when I'm beat."

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, but my tablet thought it might be funny to set fire to the motherboard, which is only available in Taiwan with a two week shipping to my country. So that's out. Usually I'll use my Dad's computer but recently he has been busy with work so no dice there. However, today he should be done with it, meaning the next part should be out within 24 hours. Meanwhile, please bear with me. Thanks. Oh, and BTW FIMfiction doesn't quite like my phone, thus this large ASS block of writing.

1183215

That feeling when you realise you can't uphold a pledge.

1200349>>1174858>>1168747

The seven Stalkers lay dead on the floor. Satisfied with their handiwork, the Changeling battlaion trundled off.

Suddenly, a quiet counting was whispered. "Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven..."

The Changelings reached the open bulkhead.

"One. Execute."

The giant door slammed close once again, sealing the dead bodies on one side and the changelings on the other.

Riocus opened his eyes. The blood on his armor seemed to flow off as he struggled to stand back up.

"Alright, Stalkers. Up and at them." The six other 'dead' bodies stood up, blood pouring off them.

Up above, three unicorns dropped from the roof, landing quietly.

"Thanks. Without the protection, swiss cheese would be a reality." Riocus smiled grimly as the three unicorns dropped the illusion and protectiong spells.

The red 'blood' turned black, revealing itself to be simple oil. The air surrounding the Stalkers' armor popped and made a 'Whoosh' sound as it rushed back into place, where the magical barriers once were. Rounds simply dropped like metal rain from the unscathed armor.

"Our pleasure. Come, Concordia awaits. Stalker 4-2 has been packed and is ready for transport." The lead unicorn murmured.

Riocus grinned. "Saddle up, ponies."

The Monorail proceded down the Luna Line quickly, turning the normal three day trek into five minutes. It emerged from the tunnel, bathing the cabins in white light.

"Concordia, ETA one minute." The P.A. system blared.

The city lay in ruins. Buildings collasped, the walls were on fire, and the monumental Stalker H.Q. was crumbling.

"How long?" Riocus asked.

"Can't have been more than an hour ago... Look, there it goes." The unicorn pointed.

A loud creaking was heard. Suddenly, the buildings of the Frontier City rumbled, and they all totally collapsed, creating a giant dust cloud.

Within that dust cloud, several weird and creepy noises were heard, and it glowed a dark blue.

Autorepair was a heavy functionality of the Frontier Cities. They had to be strong and be ready at all times to defend Central Equestria from the frontier monsters. Hydras that breathed liquid fire, dragons that easily dwarfed their equestrian counterparts, and the occasional Death Hound, dogs from Hell itself.

The single minute was passed in silence, as the soldiers watched the city rebuild itself in awe. Giant 40mm triple barreled turrets adorned the walls, along with upgraded Missile defences, all glinting in the sunlight.

Then, the Monorail rushed into Concordia station. It grinded to a halt.

"All personell, disembark." The door swung open, and the medics rushed onboard, grabbing the strecher and carrying it with practised ease.

"Well... That's done. Back to H.Q.?" Riocus formed up with his squad.

Hawker nodded. "Let's go."

The smuggler didn't trouble the Stalkers too much, as they escorted him to another, quieter place. The old stallion hugged the package, refusing to let it go.

Stalker 2-1 silently wondered if the stallion was even worth his time. They reached the inner checkpoints.

"One for smuggling. You guys take care of him, the standard interro, then get his package analysed by Science." He shouted out.

"Sure! Hey, smuuggler! Step into the spotlight where we can see you!" The Loudspeaker blared. He complied.

Stalker 2-1 turned. "Let's head back swiftly. He's not our problem now."

Suddenly, his radio crackled to life. "Stalker 2-1, 2-2! Eastern post under heavy attack by unknown forces! Suspected Changeling! Bring the Luna-dammned PTRS-41, they've got tanks!"

Stalker 2-1 picked it up. "Roger, headed there, ETA, two minutes!" The 21-kilogramn gun weighed heavily on the two Stalker's harneses as they trudged along the rail route.

(My Quad processor actually set itself on fire. What do you expect me to do?)

Orin Miyashiro. Leader of Delta Platoon, a band of soldiers from the far off nation of Europa. Of course, Europa was big into using children as weapons, so Miyashiro was no less than 14 years old, most of the years had been spent learning to use weapons. They were equipped with Valkyrie 5 Armour, tough enough to take a mortar blast, but not strong enough to take a tank shell.

(BTW Europans are Humanoid, looking a lot like humans....if humans could have natural hair like, say, purple and be capable of shape shifting like changelings. Orin has brown hair, by the way)

As of now, The Europans had loosely allied themselves with the Changelings, but Orin didn't trust them one bit. The Changelings had a nasty habit of roleplaying as the Judas to their Jesus. Not that religious metaphors would sweeten the deal.

Orin, and two other members were now posing as a band of travelling civilians. Their objective was Concordia. As they reached Concordia on another Monorail, Orin turned to the two soldiers.

"Now look. The ponies here don't know much about humans, so if anyone sees you in human form, kill them. We can't risk exposure."
They switched into pony form, loaded their weapons and went out.

The place was deserted.

"Huh. You sure this is the right address, Takeo?" Orin asked.

"Yes, i'm sure."

"If you're sure, then where the hell is everyone?" A tumbleweed bounced by them to emphasize the point.

"That is a question I cannot answer, if we are supposed to find out, we are to continue with mission." Takeo replied walking into the streets.

Orin and the other soldier looked at each other, and followed him.

Near the second monorail station, Orin motioned for them to get into an alley. There they changed back into human form.

"What was it, Orin?" The second soldier, who's name was Mikami, asked.

"Pony patrol. It's ok though, I don't think they spotted...." She turned around to see the Stalkers aiming their weapons at them. "Oh, f**k me."

1219189

"What the..." Stalker 3-1 muttered.

Behind him, Stalker 3-2 called it in.

The giant citywide PA blared. "Concordia is now on Status Black. All Civilians are advised to stay inside. All Monorail movements have been suspended. Blastgates are in position. All Platoons, report to your respective staging areas for posting. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

"Hey, 3-1. HQ says to bring them into the brig, dead or alive." Stalker 3-4 approached him.

He smiled grimly behind his polarised visor. "Huh... Really?"

Stalker 2-1 and 2-2 set up about four hundred meters behind the checkpoint. They could see down the straight tunnel for a thousand meters, before a bend obscured their line of fire.

"Harness ready, good to fire." Stalker 2-2's gun harness swivelled and took up the front end of the monster rifle, bracing for 2-1's shots.

"Fire." The rifle bucked wildly, launching a ball of solid lead down the tunnel at dizzying speeds, ripping right through the Changeling's hastily erected riot shields.

The gun cycled, cooling the barrel. A second round ricocheted down the tunnel, smashing several insects along the way.

"Tanks at two o'clock." The dual pony combination shuffled, bringing the Anti-tanks rifle to bear.

The gun belched, destroying a turret. The remaining Changelings fell back.

"Thanks." The heavy blast door rolled into position, before glowing a ghostly blue, welding itself to all four walls, effectively sealing off that tunnel forever.

Orion awoke with a start. Her body still ached from where the heavy bullet had hit her, but she had been through worse.

"Hello?" She rasped. The doctor came over.

"Ah, Stalker 4-2, Orion Lightfeathers... Feeling better?"

Orion smiled and nodded. Long ago, she had learned that treating your doctors well usually meant you survived well.

"You have go to stay off using your wings at anything beyond MACH 1, and try not to stress the wounds too much." The doctor pulled out a form. "Clean bill of health. Get out and wreck shop."

"All connections to other Frontier Cities confirmed. All ready for a surprise attack."
"All blast doors confirmed closed and welded shut. The only way they can get at us now is by the overland."
"All Stalker Platoons accounted for."

"Contact, Contact. Vector south, fifteen mikes out, dust cloud. All units, report to the Walls."

1220404
(In the Brig)

"..."

"Orin, what do you think is going on out there?"

"..."

"We kinda messed up didn't we?"

"Mikami, WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?" Orin snapped. "It's bad enough we got caught, but in our human form, no less! So, no, we didn't mess up, we royally f**cked it up!"

Stalker 3-1 stood by, amused at the two female creatures yelling at each other while the third held his head in his oddly shaped hooves.

"Sigh..." Foerster grumbled. She had teleported the surviving changelings out of the tunnels, but they were now stranded. None of them were able to fly and half of them were injured. If anyone opened fire on them it would be curtains.

In fact, it was curtains. They could see many soldiers, several dozen flying objects and heavy tanks moving in on their position. But they moved around them, continuing on to their destination. Five supply trucks moved up to them, and a human Captain got out.

Hannah Berlitz of the Europan Joint Strike Force surveyed the pitiful remnants of the battalion, and ordered the drivers of the truck to "Get them back to base."

She then turned to the driver of a truck carrying an Olympus EMP-9 Electro Magnetic Pulse missile.

"Is Concordia and the surrounding area targeted?" she asked.

"Yes sir."

"Fire."

Around Concordia, the E.M.P shut down the Giant 40mm triple barreled turrets and Missile defences, the vehicles, the monorails,, anything that needed power found itself without power.

Over Concordia, speakers inside Helicopters broadcasted a message to the ponies of Concordia.

"Citizens of Concordia. your defences were built for monsters. They were not built for us. We have Long Range artillery and gunships ready to decimate all resistance you can muster. But I am feeling merciful. You have one hour to surrender. After that, we will attack. That is all."

1221079

The Command Centre was in a disarray. Ponies rushed around, sending messages by voice and generally making a scene.

"Move, ponies! Get the spark charges from Hanger 17 up to the southern batteries!" The High-commander shouted.

"Sir, we are in contact with three full Stalker platoons with fully functional armour. One of the operatives has a StarStreak Anti-Air missile launcher ready, and has all the choppers overhead targeted." A report sailed in.

"Good! In that case, redirect the spark charges to the Proteus Shield Generator, get a five mile radius." He ordered.

"Aye, sir!"

Orion huffed loudly as she dragged the heavy StarStreak up the stairs. Behind her, the rest of heer platoons also wasn't spared as they carried the missiles, 20 KG's apiece.

After being discharged, she was hoofing it home when the... Bomb... detonated above. She had immediately changed direction and galloped to her Platoon's base, a discrete house.

The Mark 2 Stalker suits had only survived the blast because they ran off Spark Energy, a ridiculously hard-to-produce but extremely high-yield fuel, made from pure magic. The rest short-circuited.

Their drawback was that they weren't full suits, only covering vital areas like the chest and the head.

Now, as she bucked the roof door clean off its hinges, her exposed fur began to smoke as the noonday sun dried the fibres.

"Son of a buck. Let's get this over with." Orion sank into a more stable position, a kneeling position, knees bent and nearly sitting down on her belly. The tube slid open, permitting the first missile.

Riocus knelt next to her. "Ready to fire."

"Psalm! Tarus! Get me a fucking target!" Orion shouted to the sniper duo, hiding on an adjacent building.

"Hold on! The laser is heating up!" They shouted back. Orion turned and stared at the black shadows soaring overhead.

Hawker stacked the missiles neatly in a pile next to the breech. "Loader, ready."

A red beam lanced out, painting her first target. Orion breathed in, holding her breath.

"FIRE!" She screamed, turning away. The tube jumped, ejecting the missile. It soared five meters before igniting the solid booster, soaring to MACH two in five seconds.

The bladed bird turned away and tried to outrun the missile.

It would have made it.

However, StarStreak missiles were designed to work on Frontier Dragons.

The missile burst apart, turning into a giant net with three attached rocket boosters. The net landed squarely on the blades, entangling them and causing the bird to drop like a stone, exploding somewhere in the streets.

"Load!" She ordered, feeling the breech snap open again. Riocus and Hawker rammed the second missile home, closing the breech. The missile screeched as it took off unerringly.

The second bird fell to a similar death, leaving three. But they were getting smarter. The birds jinked all over the sky.

"Get me Team Two." Orion established a connection. The leader of team two responded.

"Ready to fire on your command." Orion nodded and focused on the birds. The third and final missile leaped away, soaring high up above.

The birds all turned away from the falling net. One turned northwards...

Right into Two's curve of fire. The bird smashed into the side of a building.

Orion stood up, ejecting the spent missile launcher. "Let's soar!" She shouted as she jumped off the building, extending her wings, her team following closely behind.

Orion adjusted her angle of attack slightly, soaring way above the birds.

She sported a new gash across her left forearm where she had gotten too close to one and got swatted by the spinning blades. Orion had did a mid-air bandage, but it wasn't going to last. The blood already soaked and was dripping.

"Teams Two and One are in retreat. We've been ordered to activate the Proteus Array. Sorry, Four." Her helmet crackled.

"Okay. Stalker 4-2 to 4 Actual. We've got to defend until the Proteus fires. I've got a plan..."

"Hold the fucking press, Orion has a plan!" Laughter emanated from her wingmates.

"Har-har. Riocus, take Hawker and acquire Team One's StarStreak and their last missile. Psalm, Tarus, get to a good position to sight on Metal Bird Two." Orion looked at the other one, fast approaching.

"I've got MB One." She frowned as her team-mates turned and burned.

Okay, so what do I know? I know that the top spinny thingy will kill me if I get close to the top, and the sides have pretty decent armour, so... Orion flapped quickly, accelerating.

"I wonder..." The chopper grew larger on her HUD. Within seconds she was close enough to see the panicked faces off the occupants.

Orion twisted mid-air, aiming her hoof at the large front window. "Right down your fucking gullet!"

The canopy shattered, and Orion soared straight through the cockpit and ended up in the large cargo bay behind. She crumpled intentionally against the rear metal plates, denting them heavily.

The crash was so severe, Orion was dazed for a moment.

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted by her mane. She spun quickly, bucking the aggressor. She jumped up, crouched against the plates and took off leaving a spiral in her trail.

"Ah, so the little ponies want to play rough, eh? Those stupid fuckers don't realise we have a lot more where that came from." Berlitz watched from the cargo bay of the Mil Mi 24 Hind as it circled the city. Artillery from the west pounded the city buildings into rubble while their attack helicopters strafed ponies trying to fight back. Those net launchers were a problem, but Helicopters had already parachuted the 8th Armoured battalion into the city.

Berlitz would have assumed that there would be no drama on the helicopter, until a Pegasus slammed through the windscreen. Berlitz was the first to her feet, while a soldier lifted the Pegasus by the mane, only to receive two hooves to the stomach. The Pegasus then took off, before anyone could shoot.

"Little twerp..." Berlitz gave the Pegasus the finger, while the Pegasus looked back and laughed.

"Hey, Captain. I've got visual on some sort of array near the center of the city. It's....glowing. It seems to be charging up."

Berlitz guessed that what would happen next wouldn't be good. "Take us down to ground level."

"But Captain, I-"

"NOW!" Berlitz and another soldier slid the door shut as fast as they could while the helicopter pilot made an attempt to land. from the door, she could see the Pegasus that had just rammed through the window look at the array, make the same conclusion, and dive to the ground.

They didn't make it. the Proteus Array fired, wiping out all electronic equipment and sending the helicopters crashing to the ground. Berlitz was lucky. Her helicopter was at 100 feet. Even though, the crash was jarring enough to knock her, 4 soldiers and the pilot out, while killing 3 other soldiers and the co pilot.

The Tank crews of the 8th Battalion found themselves climbing out of their now useless tanks and retreating with the rest of the ground forces. It was a humiliating setback.

The survivors in the helicopters found themselves stuck in enemy territory while Berlitz found their helicopter stuck in the middle of a street. Berlitz could now see the Pegasus from before and several pony soldiers now moving towards their helicopter.

"Oh boy..."

1168747>>1174858>>1227039

"Proteus online. Reserve batteries now soaking excess charge."

"Shields at 100%. Switching to fluctuating hexagons mode."

The giant bubble shattered, reforming into a giant dome of hexagonal plates. They lazily spun in place, ready to block any damage.

"Western Civil District in heavily damaged. All support teams have been routed to clear rubble and find survivors."

The commander smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "Damn, we never usually face this much resistance."

Another messenger caught his attention.

"Most of the unknown creatures have escaped the walls and headed away from our city. However,we still have some remaining in the ring. Stalker teams have been dispatched alongside the Defender teams."

His face hardened. "Seek and capture. We need to know what we're facing."

Orion poured water over her fur, sighing in happy relief as the stuff evaporated quickly, cooling her down.

The sun was no joke. Standard room temperature was 50 degrees Celsius, easily reaching 70 in the middle of the day.

Excess water dripped and sizzled on the hard pavement. The Defender unit she accompanied waited, watching carefully.

"Ready to go?" The medic asked, tossing empty packets of burn-salve away. Orion nodded, stepping into her disassembled suit. It quickly reformed, pieces shifting and sliding across each other to form the Mark 2.

She grabbed the new weapon she had received, a simple M63A1 machine gun, with stun rounds. All of them had switched to stun rounds, since it was a "Search and Capture mission."

The rubber rounds mimicked a normal bullet in every way, shape and form, but, obviously, were non-lethal. They did leave a nasty bruise and swelling where ever they impacted, and Celestia help you if you got nailed in the head, hooves or groin.

Every fifth round was a synthesised foam round, which exploded into a hard outer covering of foam, effectively immobilising any target. Good for running ones.

They piled into a small light assault vehicle, and sped off to the crashed metal bird site. It towed another wagon, completely covered and insulated against the heat, acting like a prisoner transfer van.

They arrived in good time.

Orion advanced with the Infantry behind her, walking boldly right up to the door.

She gave it a good buck, cracking the metal armour. She raised herself for a second one, but before it impacted, the door burst open. Immediately, several soldiers piled out, running in different directions.

They didn't get far. The Infantry opened fire, spraying them with bullets. Many fell to the ground screaming and tossing in pain, whilst others were sent flying and could be seen in several positions through the clear impact-resistant foam.

Orion herself had not even bothered to turn. Her targeting computer had done all the work, moving the gun gimbals and spraying with accurate fire.

A sudden force on her hind legs caused her to lose balance, and she felt an arm descend across her throat, choking her. The soldier pulled her up to its full height.

Suspended by only her neck, Orion struggled as darkness slithered into the sides of her vision. Bucking hooves made no connection, however.

The gimbal spun wildly, trying to lock onto the target, out of it's operating angle.

All her troops turned and aimed at her assailant.

"Move, and her brains will decorate my helicopter!" Orion felt a barrel being pressed uncomfortably into the hollow under her ear.

They all hesitated. A video feed popped up in her HUD, showing the view of a Defender. She could clearly see some sort of rank on the Soldier's shoulder, possibly a higher ranking one? Whatever it was, Orion could now see that it was the same soldier which had insulted her. And that it was aiming a large calibre gun at her head.

The darkness creeped in even more. Orion gasped for air, hooves scrapping away the the arm constricting her airways.

"Back off! Or she dies!" She heard the soldier scream. The Defenders moved back, still keeping their weapons trained.

Usually, in this situation, Orion would have already stopped the chokehold and smashed her opponents face in, but she had no leverage. The soldier was taller than her standing on her hind hooves.

Orion felt her grip on reality slowly slip away.

Stalker 3-2 was still patrolling the brig, with the weird creatures in his ever watchful eye.

"Hey, Stalker 3-2. Attack repelled, Code Black lifted. You're clear to leave them." The Stallion outside the high-security doors radioed in. 3-2 tapped the door in reply. He turned back around.

"So... I have heard that your worthless friends outside have failed in their task... So don't hope for any kind of relief... Maybe some more friends to talk to." He laughed out loud at the face of despair.

The heavy metal doors slid open, and 3-2 and his group left the room. Behind them, the solid doors slammed closed.

"Security is tight here... Never been this far down." They piled into the only elevator, which then closed and spiralled upwards, ten kilometres up to the surface.

"You're telling me. I heard the freaking cell blocks are solid titanium with no vents, no welds, no nothing. The only exit is the doors and this elevator."

He was about to reply, when his radio crackled. "Emergency rerouting! All available troops head to Sector 41. A creature has a grip on Stalker 4-2 and threatens to kill her. We are to allow the creature any demands within reasonable parameters, but all focus must be on keeping the Spectre alive.

Reasonable parameters include releasing it, and it only, back to the outside of the wall; food and water; asylum or death. That is all."

"Let's get moving. 41 is not that far."

(BTW, Concordia is designed like Griswall, with the giant ring surrounding it, called "The Wall.". Instead of Meson turrets, it's giant Trip-120mm cannons and missile arrays. The Spectre H.Q. replaces Gaiuss tower. Have fun!

Griswall from Ace Combat X. Google it.)

1237705

No need. I just have to slot in Ace Combat X and fire up the PSP.

Hannah Berlitz was never athletic. Sure, she was built regularly, but her stamina levels were always very low. Even the adrenaline stopped abruptly, so immediately after she grabbed the mare she knew that it would not end well for her.

"Back off! Or she dies!" She screamed, but anyone could see that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She glanced at an empty alley next to her, looked at the pony and considered her options: Kill the Pony, and get killed, or distract them...but how....

She then threw the pony at them, knocking over several, while she attempted to make her escape. She probably would have gotten farther if she had not tripped on the kerb.

THUD

Out like a light.

(Several Minutes Later)

"Ugh..." Orin drummed her fingers on the small table they had been given, by now bored out of her mind. "Hey! Equine.....whatever your name is! What the hell's going on outside?"

No answer.

"Think they're gonna kill us?" Mikami asked.

"Course not. We didn't do anything to them....besides trespassing." Takeo said.

"You idiots! We can shapeshift, right? They open the door, e turn into moths and flutter on out of here! Orin whispered.

The door opened. Berlitz and several soldiers got tossed in.

1237991

"Goddamn..." Orion rubbed her neck. It sported a lovely bruise where the soldier had squeezed it with force.

She turned and walked over to the problem. Behind her, Defenders were rousing their comrades.

"You're going into the deepest brig I can find..." She muttered, picking up the limp body.

Orion took some amount of pleasure in tossing the body into the cell.

"Let the interrogation begin..." Orion smiled evilly, walking in with them. Her list of questions was quite long...

And her tactics were disputable...

1245011

Immediately after the mare had entered the air grew quite chilly. Takeo and Mikami edged into the corner while Orin stood her ground.

"Well hello there, equine. If you're going to ask us those kind of questions, allow me to remind you that we are in fact scouts. So if you want battle plans or our biology or how we have the balls to attack your city, allow me to answer you with these. You won't get our battle plans, You won't get our biology, and we attacked your city because we fucking can. Been there, Done that." She glanced at one of the soldiers that had just been tossed in. "Hello, Magari."

"Hiya." Magari, also 14, replied.

Orin smiled nastily at the mare. "I've heard about your kind. back about, say, 15 or so years when Twilight Sparkle was out and about, you ponies had a Royal Guard which was pitifully hopeless, armed with spears and whatnot. You even had carriages. So, tell me. What happened? Where'd you get the guns, the vehicles, the high-tech buildings? More importantly, where did you get the balls to use them? What can you do with those pathetic hooves of yours? I don't recall Ponies having interrogation techniques. Care to enlighten me on what I missed?"

The Mare chuckled. "If you want, then."

"So this is Concordia." Foerster surveyed the city from high up in the clouds. What the ponies didn't know that the Europans were actually trying to fix the planet. They had gotten a device from far to the north years earlier , but the Crystal needed to operate it was now somewhere in Equestria. It didn't help that another country, Estovakia, had caught wind of what the Europans were up to and were now waging war against them. The Estovakians loved the chaos the Sun had caused, and were now attempting to stop any effort to fix it. But that was a classified secret. No pony interrogation method could wrangle it out of Berlitz or Commander Miyashiro. Foerster chuckled and took off.

1237705>>1168747>>1245162

"You're quite the stallion, I'll give you that much..." For the past while now, they've been trying to lay the squeeze on for my information. So far... they've been very unsucessful.

"Thank you-"

"But you will tell us, what was the device and where was it going!" The arogant shit snapped, shoving his lousy muzzle inches from mine in a lame attempt at intimidation. I've been through worse before the event, and after it. If this child thinks I'll talk, he has another thing coming.

"I'll keep repeating the same answer child, and it's no. That information is between me and my client."

Sorry for the lack of posts, been a tad busy. And now I'm the proud owner of a load of old CF material.

1251748>>1245162

Orion flipped through her notes. "Orin, is that correct?"

The defiant girl nodded.

Ahah... Very headstrong... I can sense a deficit in her walls... Raring for battle... Orion gestured for her to follow, turning slowly and leaving the room.

Orion decided to take the girl through one corridor after another, and past multiple groups of guards, taking a circuitous route to subtly remind her that there was no escaping this place.

Orion opened up another room, smaller with nothing inside but a table and chairs, after ensuring the others did not escape and shutting the doors.

"Sit, Orin." She gestured to the opposite chair, after sitting on her own in a non-hostile way.

Whether she sits or not will tell me more... Orion thought. Most likely not...

True to her deduction, Orin did not sit down. Orion sighed theatricality, pulling off her visor glasses and placing them on the table.

"Very well, Orin. If you don't want to sit, then you can stand." Orion flipped her pages slowly, trying to aggravate the child's inner displeasure of waiting.

It was slowly working, but it wasn't overly noticeable.

"Orin, you know what you did wasn't considered an act of war in anyway, right?" Orion placed down the Defender report about Orin's intrusion, highlighting the recommended course of correction, being a "No-problem."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, I could have you out of this place and home bound if you answer my questions. We have no problem with you being here, just you need to answer questions. We're both mutually curious, why can't we help each other?" A pen flipped from feather to feather, slipping through Orion's wing, in a hypnotic up-and-down fashion.

"Hah, sure. You think I'll help you? You must be some kind of retarded mare or something." Orin smirked.

Sighing, Orion stood up. "Fine, fine. If you want it that way..." Orion knocked on the door. A Unicorn, this one had a light blue coat, with a dark blue mane, a single silver stripe running through the hair.

"Orin, meet FrostFyre. He is another captain, just like me." Orion shook hooves.

"What, gonna play Good Captain, Bad Captain with me? Cause you won't get muc...."

Orin slammed the table. "Normally Orin, yes. But idiots like you don't deserve good captains."

"So you've gotten two bad ones." FrostFyre spoke with a gravelly tone.

Orion hopped up and sat on the table.

"We'll give you this one chance to tell us what we want to know on your own volition. If you cooperate, then we'll either send you home or lock you up for the rest of your worthless life, instead of hanging you like the miserable sack of dragon-bait you are."

"And if I don't?" Orin whispered.

FrostFyre reached over and dropped a small vial on the table. It glowed a sickly green, and the liquid seemed to move on it's own violation.

Orion picked it up. "Then we use this. The Zebra's call it 'Perniciosus mendaciloquorum'. We call it 'Bane of Liars'."

"That stuff will slither through your brain, and dig out the info we need," The pegasus said with a sad smile. "You can imagine how difficult it is to keep secrets from the Zebras."

"Unfortunately for you, our striped friends down south don't care for the health of their prisoners once interrogation is over," FrostFyre added. "Side-effects after this toxin wears off include partial permanent paralysis, loss of memory, seizures, migraines, uncontrollable muscle twitching..."

"Or, if you're weak, your brain just dribbles out of your ears," Orion finished. "Either way, we're going to get what we can out of you. It's your choice how it's going to come out."

Orin seemed to think.

Orion grinned. "Take a minute or two to think. Meanwhile, you could also look next door..." She pointed to a wall, which turned transparent, revealing another room.

There, in a demented ceiling trap, hung both Takeo and Mikami, both bound upside down using a system to pulleys and harnesses. They couldn't talk, couldn't scream.

Both looked very scared. Orion pulled out a small radio. "Experiment ready?"

"Yep."

A couple of blades descended ever closer. "We do need to see inside your bodies to figure out what to do with you..." Orion whispered sadly. The first fine saw created it's first incision.

She turned back. "The longer you take, the more hurt they become... We'll leave you alone."

The two left the room. Shutting the soundproof door.

"This is cruel. Physiological torture may be my forte, but this? She's just a kid!" Orion was angry.

"Yawn..." Orin yawned as she looked at the saws about to slice Mikami and Takeo into pieces. Fortunately for the two Takeo was able to figure out what was going on and looked at Orin with an expression that said

If you don't tell then what they need to know and leave us to be dissected, then I will gladly tell them what they want, then tell them about that embarrassing incident between you and the Sergeant last year.

Orin's eyes grew wide as she realised what this would mean for her. "Uhh, I'll tell you everything you want to know! Just don't hurt them!"

Takeo smirked.

Good Girl.

1252854>>1251748

Orion walked in, and dropped a pen and paper in front of the soldier, along with the questions list.

"Shame. I would have enjoyed seeing your brains dribble out of your ears." She smirked.

The list was actually smaller than she had first though. The first few questions wanted a basic layout of their physiology, followed by some biological stuff, then standard interrogation questions.

Meanwhile, the saws backed off. The two of them seemed to breath a sigh of relief.

Orion watched closely as the girl filled up the questions quickly.

A bit TOO quickly...

"Sure you've got the right answers, Orin?" She asked dryly.

The girl nodded. Once.

Orion picked up the paper, pretending to scrutinise it. "You're really sure? Don't wanna change anything? Anything at all?"

She shook her head.

Orion sighed. "Well, it's your head."

She reached into her vest pocket and pulled out another confession, this one written by another, older soldier. There was a small grey smudge on the bottom corner. When Orin gestured to it and asked what it was, Orion raised and eyebrow.

"He didn't cooperate. What do you think it is?" She returned to checking the answers.

Some didn't seem to add up. Orion frowned, pulling out a knife and twirling it.

FrostFyre entered the torture room.

"Hey, you two. Where's your injuries?" He asked as the door closed and welded shut.

Orin wasn't the stupidest soldier on the block. She knew that they were using psychological torture. Of course, the Grey Matter kinda shook things up a bit. But from what the mare suggested, the Equestrians knew zilch about the Europans So she decided to downright lie about things.

One, They were survivors from their ruined country (Europa had gotten through relatively unscathed)

Two, The Entire Europan Military had attacked, (Only a fraction)

Three, They were led by a Dictator who wanted Equestria to burn to the ground (They were looking for an artefact of utmost importance)

Four, They were scared out of their minds (She wasn't.)

"I know you Equestrians Like to know the facts, so I'll tell you something. We may want you to die, but we are looking for something important to our survival, and we will destroy anything in our way. Any new questions, or is this delightful conversation over?"

A Stealth Helicopter and a swarm of Parasprites approached Concordia's border. However, after they landed on top of the building Orin, Takeo, and Mikami were in, the Parasprites shapedshifted into Changelings while Europan Commandos armed with silenced weapons descended from the helicopter. They approached the room containing Orion and Orin. They breached. Two soldiers knocked Orion unconscious, while several soldiers blasted through the wall, hitting a shocked Frostfyre in the head by an assault rifle, shattering his horn and also knocking him out. They took Orin, Mikami, Takeo and the unconscious Orion and Frostfyre back to the helicopter, No one realising the break-in had taken place until the Helicopter had vanished. Along with Orion and Frostfyre.

(You can't get ol' Orion and Frostfyre back just yet, Calamity, This is in an area completely unknown to the Stalkers. Also, No one saw where the Helicopter went)

(In an unknown location)

Orion woke up with a gasp, noticing that her legs were chained to the wall and that her wings were chained to the wall as well. She could see Frostfyre across the room, chained up and his horn completely destroyed. He was still unconscious. Orion knew that without a horn he wouldn't be able to use magic for a long time.

The door opened and Orin walked in. Instead of the uniform Orion had seen on her earlier, she was now dressed in a Very high-ranking uniform, Maybe a General's.

"Pleased to see you are awake, My equine friend. General Miyashiro, at your service." Orin smiled maliciously. "Please do not try to escape. We've had dragons chained and whining like kittens in here. You are not the first, or by far the last, to be imprisoned here."

Orion promptly tried to escape, but found that she couldn't. Miyashiro had an Europan soldier wheel in a trolley with various sharp objects, such as knives and axes, fastened to it. Orin took a lethal looking knife, and unchained Frostfyre. Orin then picked him up, and brought the knife to his throat.

"You Equestrians disgust me. No sense of honor at all. Psychological torture is one of the most barbaric, but by all means effective, forms of torture. Let me show you MY torture. Tell me what I want to know, or he dies. Now, Question One. How much emotional pain can you ponies tolerate?" Orin asked.

"It varies." Orion replied.

"Ah, but for you? Frostfyre is a Childhood friend, we gleaned it from his interrogation. You two are friends, maybe...lovers? Trying to start a family on this hellish planet? Not in this life." Orin said with finality, before slitting Frostfyre's throat from ear to ear. Blood gushed out in copious quantities, spraying Orion and most of the wall surrounding her in blood. Orin continued hacking at Frostfyre's neck until he was fully decapitated.

Frostfyre was dead.

"Well, you ponies certainly have a lot of blood in you." Orion remarked. before getting out a hacksaw and putting it to Orion's right wing. "Chop Chop."

The last thing Orion remembered before passing out was the burning sensation of her wing being cut off.

After Orin had cut off Orion's right wing, she proceeded to do the same to the other one, leaving Orion crippled.

She then dumped Frostfyre's corpse and Orion's wings into another trolley, before wheeling them outside. She motioned to a squad of soldiers, who immediately got two flasks of corrosive acid and dumped them on the trolley and the contents, which were soon corroded away into nothing.

Frostfyre is dead, Orion's crippled and no one knows where they are. No takebacks.

1251748>>1260428

(I'm finally gonna make a name for my Commander of Concordia.)

During attack...

"Missile batteries 14 to 57 trained on sector, ready to fire, sir."

Ardent rubbed his neck. "Don't fire, they'll have my Stalkers onboard, probably."

It had been three minutes since the Proteus Shield had registered a fluctuation in one of its sectors, setting off several red lights in High-command.

Already, three hundred and one missiles were aimed at the vague region where they expected the intruder to be, covering all angles, with more coming online every second.

Then came the alert from the prison block. Several low-key detonations had occurred, and camera's in the interrogation wing had gone offline. By that time, most of the Defender troops had been mobilised and were converging on the building.

The atmosphere was electric. Everypony on guard.

"Contact, Contact! Enemy bird, overhead, headed north-north-west!" A missile battery commander radioed in.

"Sir?"

Ardent hesitated.

"Sir, if we don't fire, they're gonna get away."

He shook his head. "No. Weapons tight."

There was a short silence.

"Yes sir."

Orion stirred. She felt a gentle throbbing of a metal floor under her stretched wings.

She quickly made the connections. I've been taken... I'm in the cargo hold of one of the enemies birds, most likely.

She risked a peek. They were alone in the small bay, but a metre ahead of them was a row of seats, backs facing her. She could hear the loud laughter from the soldiers as they congratulated each other on a successful mission. From under the chair and between their legs, she spied the deep purple glow of the Proteus Shield.

I don't have much time left... Where are my Shards? Orion forced herself to be slow, creeping a hoof through her relatively bushy tail. A sharp prick of pain.

Her hoof curled around it, pulling out a translucent crystal, designed after her Cutie Mark.

It was a Shard, which only High-Level Stealth Stalkers received. It was basically a stored teleportation spell, which one may use to teleport a message to another place.

But it had its flaws too. It only worked within the magical aura of the Proteus, meaning that it was useless once out of the shield barrier. The Shards were also only good for a one time use, teleporting only a short coded help signal.

Orion frowned, reaching through her tail again. Only one? Dammit, I didn't restock again... She chided herself for her oversight.

"Stalker HQ, High-Com, Level Ten, Room Four, Ardent." She whispered.

The Shard shattered loudly, carrying her message on the crystal fragments, whilst coating her with a small layer of Bio-tracker. The glowing core bounced in front of her.

Orion had barely grabbed the core and hid it back into her tail when a fist smashed her forehead into the deck.

HQ

Ardent was reading Hawker's event report when the Shard appeared in front of him.

He immediately recognised the symbol. The Shard shattered, leaving a small Core behind.

Ardent collected the Core, carefully placing it into a special box on his table. Immediately, the two cores, one with Orion, and one with him, established a connection, revealing her position briefly. It was never accurate, but it did greatly reduce his search area.

"Hawker... Orion invested herself into the Paladin Project, right?" He asked the Pegasus, standing at attention to his left.

"Sir, yes sir! Stalker Orion Lightfeathers did make successful contributions to the Paladin Project, and currently had a set of armour in store." Hawker hesitated.

"And?" Ardent prompted.

Hawker looked down. "Stalker Orion Lightfeathers, at the time known as Paladin Light, was expelled from the Paladin Project when an unknown amount of Arcana inside of her unstable mental state broke their bonds, resulting in the 'Fallen Angel' incident, where she destroyed the entire Dragon Mountain Range using nothing but her Swords, including several rural towns in the Mountains."

Hawker stopped for a while, recalling the decade old incident.

"She murdered the platoon of Paladins sent after her as well, before being subdues by the Princess herself. She was tried for a thousand counts of murder in cold blood, but Princess Luna stepped in and lifted the trial, on account that Orion was a Pegasus and therefore had no control over her Arcana levels, blaming the incident on the Paladin Project. All other knowledge is classified."

Ardent nodded and turned. "Get me Sat-Command. I want her Armour located and brought to ready."

He wrapped a hoof around the Core.

"Now."

Currently after torture sequence.

Orion stirred for the third time. The fiery sear that existed on her back was gone, replaced with a dull ache.

Her fine brown fur was darkened and matted down with blood. Not of her own either. She gagged slightly, rattling the chains which suspended her from the ceiling.

"FrostFyre..." Orion closed her eyes, feeling the new raw wound.

Everything Orin had said was spot on. Orion just didn't know how to react to his sudden departure.

She took the whole matter and shoved it into her emotional strongbox, locking it away.

The ironic fact was, she wasn't scared. Not when her interrogator was a blood lusted child.

They've had dragons chained and whining like kittens in here? Orion mused darkly as she swung on her chains. They probably have never met me either... I could forgive them...

Orion felt a sudden impulse to laugh, at some funny matter that she couldn't quite find. Her laughing was in stark contrast to her condition, and she could hear the hurried whispers outside.

"Laughter... She's insane!"
"I heard she took down three helicopters by herself."
"She scares me..."

Orion grinned, dripping blood from her muzzle.

"That's right... Fear me... Fear the Paladin..."

1266797

"She's laughing? What the...?" She spoke into a P.A connected to the Torture Chamber. "I am not exactly a trained interrogator, you may understand. But if I had four crocodile clips and a Car Battery and a good knowledge of your biology, I could connect the clips to your nerves and...." She winced. "You...may get the picture. Fact is, pony, What neither of your leaders realise is that we are trying to save this blasted planet, but none of you ponies seem to support us! At the start, you had us hanged, then impaled, then..." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We're pretty fucked up, You're pretty fucked up, but we....to hell with it. Your kind isn't even worth saving. Tell your Princess, if you meet her that he has until the 21st of June to divulge the location of Project Harmony. If not, We get our Allies, Princess Eclipse of the New Equestrian Republic and Queen Aurora of the 9th Changeling Dynasty to send our Planet into the sun, while we go off-planet. And yes, I realise that sounds batshit insane, but that's what I was told. Goodbye, Stalker 4-1."

Half an Hour later, all Europan personnel had left the base, leaving Orion locked up in the chamber.

1266797

Ground Control To Major Cal...

It would be nice to continue the RP.