Fallout Equestria: Space Captain Andromeda

by Weavers of Dreams

Chapter Eight: The Unicorn's knife

Pink tendrils, stretching thinner the further from their origin they crawled, swept across the ground, pulling their wanted materials straight from the soil and all the stood upon it. Grass turned brown and died, the leaves fell from the trees and the bark shrank, splitting apart as the moisture was torn from it. Rocks crumbled, and any animal without a sixth sense met an unfortunate and painful demise as the tendrils continued their indiscriminate search for materials.

As the forest was slowly consumed for resources, at the center point of the tendrils, was Hope, beginning to look as good as new. The torn engines were sealing up smoothly, all fuel-scorch discolorations were virtually gone, the cockpit was healing over nicely with even the view screen closed up, the rod Mercy had removed from her chair was put back, and all the fire damage was removed. On the exterior, the white ceramic tiles on the nose for reflecting heat on reentry, most of which had been lost in that very act, were almost all back on their Velcro pads(she still found it hard to believe that they used Velcro at all). If it weren't laying on its side inside of a hole that other tendrils were constantly making deeper in the search for more resources, it might have been more impressive.

As the full moon peaked in the sky, a few clouds drifted over this wild, untamed wilderness, not needing the aid of pegasi in the untethered winds. It moaned through the dead trees like tortured souls calling out warnings, but there was no pony to hear it their pleas. The one being that could hear though, was hardly a pony, and it did not fear the damned.

There was a spark in the dashboard of the cockpit, and a single, grainy screen flickered on. Words began to dance across the screen. ---ROCKETSHIP AT 32% EFFICIENCY---REQUIRED FOR FUNTIONALITY: 100%---68% DEFICIENCY---ERROR---ANALYZING FOR SHORTCUT TROUBLESHOOT---ERROR---OBSTRUCTION---TROUBLESHOOT DEACTIVATED---INSUFFICIENT POWER---SCANNING FOR PILOT---RED ALERT: SUBJECT: CAPTAIN MERCY ANDROMEDA NOT FOUND---SEARCHING FOR PIPBUCK SIGNATURE---SEARCHING---SEARCHING---LOCATED---SUBJECT: CAPTAIN MERCY ANDROMEDA---ITEM: PIPBUCK 6BFF---SUBJECT STATUS: DECEASED---CONDITION: STRESSED---CANNOT RETRIEVE---REQUESTING MINISTRY ASSISTANCE---SITUATION: HOSTILITY UNKNOWN---RECOMMENDATION: DEACTIVATION OF SUIT INHIBITORS---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---AWAITING MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---STANDBY---UNKNOWN PROGRAM DETECTED---ERROR---ERROR---ERR$#---E#R*(R---#$%*R---!/+-&--@#$&*(%^%#%$^&&*<>:>?>OHY^&G&%VF%$DFHT%NH%^$#!~----------------------------------

The screen flickered out with an ominous hum. All became still, even the tendrils, and for a while, nothing moved. It remained like that for several long moments, and then it flicked back on again, dimmer, but gradually growing brighter.

DEACTIVATION OF SUIT INHIBITORS: DENIED BY MINISTRY OF MORALE AND MINISTRY OF AWESOME---NEAREST SPRITEBOTS RELOCATING---MINISTRY MARE ORAL CODING REQUIRED---WILL AWAIT MINISTRY MARES' ORAL CODES---REEVALUATING REPAIRS---NEW DIAGNOSTICS IMPLEMENTED---ESTIMATED TIME TILL COMPLETION: IRRELEVENT---REPAIR FOCUS: ELDRITCH CANNON 003---INTENTION: DEFENSE OF SPACE CAPTAIN MERCY ANDROMEDA---

The tendrils bean to move again, this time focusing on one aspect of Hope. A panel on the exposed side of the rocketship creaked opened, the hinges not yet cleaned, and a crystal barrel surrounded in magnetic rings extended out. A socket joint, moving smoothly on ruby bearings, allowed the barrels to rotate and aim in the direction of the wayward mare with pinpoint precision.

---CHECKING ELDRITCH CANNON 003---MAGNETIC ALIGNMENT: 12%---SAPPHIRE CONTAINMENT FOCUSER: 98%---COPPER BRIDGNG: 0%---MICROWAVE VORTEX: 0%---ETHEREAL HURRICANE CHARGE: 0%---EVALUATION: MOST INTACT ARTILLARY PIECE AVAILABLE---COMMENCING REPAIRS---PRE-CALCULATING RANGE AND TRAJECTORY---MARGINE OF ERROR: NOT AN OPTION---ACTIVATING MICRO-CAMERAS---PURPOSE: EVALUATION OF FIREND/FOE RATIO---

One of the surviving cameras on the outside of the rocket, a small thing that couldn't be seen unless you knew what to look for, swiveled about until it focused in on Andromeda's pipbuck signature and used infrared lenses to pick out what was going on. Andromeda appeared to be standing back-to-back with two small ponies, fighting off nine other figures. The nine figures were automatically designated as the enemies in the situation. Something worth noting about the nine figures, was that their bodies did not let off a very bright heat signature. The two figures standing with Andromeda were similar, but they appeared to be getting warmer for some reason. One of the nine suddenly vanished completely, Hope chalked it up to being deceased.

---EVALUATION: EIGHT HOSTILES/TWO FRIENDLIES---TRANSFERRING CAMERA DATA TO PIPBUCK---ERROR---ANTENNAE DESTROYED---ANTENNAE REPAIRS ON STANDBY---PRIORITY: ELDRITCH CANNON 003---MINIMUM REQUIRMENTS: 76%---CURRENT STATUS: 22%---OBJECTIVE: PROTECT SPACE CAPTAIN ANDROMEDA---PURPOSE: REDEMPTION---

* * *

Mercy swung a shield, knocking away one of the eight remaining attackers when he tried to leap at her from a tree. She was grateful that non-lethal measures could be used without restraint, but sourly disappointed that she could continually bash them; Her fantasies of wielding a mighty magical hammer still so far away. The guns were constantly running out of a charge, luckily they recharged at a reasonable speed, but every so often Andromeda would just have to concentrate on throwing up more shields to guard all sides. Pintsize and Cold would help by calling out enemy positions, and using their own special abilities.

Pintsize, if dirtpony was a racist insult, he made it a thing of awe, his spiked hooves seemed to slice through the ground like a red-hot blade through butter, almost as though her were molding the ground itself, throwing up a screen of dust. At the same time, he was scooping up rocks and launching them with almost terrifying accuracy. Not just any rocks either, he would break them first so that they would have sharp points. There would be more than one gash that needed stitching this night, if any of the remaining eight survived that is.

Cold Wind was proof of why she was part of the team, she used her teal magic to create shaped winds, with which she collected portions of Pintsize's dust cloud and threw them in the direction of her enemies. This allowed her to disorient them, blinding them to openings or forcing them to break off an attack. She could even use this technique to cloak some of the earth pony's rocks, giving the apprentices a nasty surprise. The wordless chemistry she and Pintsize had in combat was quite extraordinary.

The eight apprentices were concentrating most of their attacks upon the odd unicorn mare, seeing her as the greater threat. their bullets and magic merely glanced off of her armor, and her own magic was quite impressive, so far impenetrable to their devices. But what really drove them to concentrate on her was the fact that she wasn't using her magic a weapon, when it could so easily become something devastating. She was treating them like playthings, while keeping them on the move with her magical energy weapons, somehow knowing they wouldn't just run away. They even suspected that she was a better shot than she was displaying, she had taken out one their members who had she had found a vantage point with a single shot, a simple whip of her head and a deft pull of the trigger, an arrogant cattish motion to display her skill. They even saw something wrong with the two ponies who had once been acolytes, the dyes and tattoos now paled, obviously under some spell by this powerful mare. It made their vision turn red with rage and anger fueled their resolve to destroy her, no matter the cost.

Contrary to anything the apprentices were imagining, it was all luck and desperation. Andromeda was completely unaware she had even killed one of them, and actually in a form of panic, rendering her appearance calm, a little smile even, but her heart was fluttering like a hundred startled humming birds, and something felt wrong in her stomach. She found herself wanting to sue Promise for food poisoning. But surely that could wait.

She had found a rhythm with the pistols, using only one at a time, and only when she knew a direction in which to shoot, this way one could recharge while she tried to obliterate the competition with the other. She also tried to keep some focus on the shields to protect her two new friends, have stopped spinning them, and using them more like barriers, while attempting having one close to herself to knock away and of the attackers that got too close, or protect her friends' backs. This was the extent of her stratagem. Generals and commanders would call it lousy, but even they would have to admit it was working extremely well.

Mercy tried to follow one of the apprentices, a unicorn buck with a sawed-off shotgun gripped in his blue aura. But all her shots either hit just behind him, in front of him, or over his back. She cursed her inexperienced aim and brought up her next pistol as the buck vanished behind the brush. She blasted away at the last place she saw his retreating backside, hoping she might hit him.

Cold whipped her horn in an uppercut, sending a dust cloud into a treetop where a shot had come from, just barely missing her. She then fired a couple shots right up after it. The foliage exploded, and it was odd that nothing seemed to catch fire. One downfall of the pistols was that she could never tell if she hit one of them or not. It made everything blow up.

At least it was consistent.

While ducking behind a shield and searching for another target, she deftly encapsulated another one of Pintsize's rocks in dust, and timed her wind as he tossed it in the air, turned around, and bucked it with his hind legs, sending it rocketing through the air. Unfortunately, the apprentices were starting to grow wise to their tricks, and it's intended target dodged to oncoming cloud. The broken rock sunk into a the trunk of a poplar, where it would remain until the tree grew around it and eventually died in an age yet to come.

Andromeda flinched a little when some buckshot ricocheted off her helmet. "That was loud," she muttered as her ears ran in tune with the vibrating glass. She placed a hoof against it to stop the high-pitched vibrations and let out an angry little growl. "I'm not going to go deaf. I will not miss my daughter's first recital. Do you hear me you filthy bilge-rats?"

Cold wasn't sure what bilge was, but it sounded vile, and adding rats to it brought disgusting images up to mind. She shuddered a little and moved out from behind the shield, to fire a few shots at an earth pony mare. Magic energy weapons differed from ballistics, using imperfect gem diodes that allowed shots to be spread over an area, increasing a pony's chances of hitting the target in a skirmish. These were something else. They probably had lab-manufactured gems, as opposed to ones grown on a rock farm, for pinpoint accuracy. Something highly impractical for a magical energy pistol.

Magic weapons were meant for open combat, as the beams could easily be seen, making them useless in stealth operations. But the pinpoint accuracy was something one would usually find in a stealth weapon. Why would any pony make a magic pistol like this? It wasn't some competition pistol either, there telling where the shooter hit the target, as the target would simply be reduced to splinters.

All this meant that her spray-and-pray shooting was actually less effective as she could easily just put a shot in the same place twice. Three times was a real slap in the face. Not to mention the low amount of charges they had. They could only fire about a dozen or so shots before she had to wait for it to recharge itself. At least it had the shock value of explosions. She gave an annoyed half-sigh half-growl, ducking behind the shield again and launching dust clouds.

Pintsize didn't really pay all that much attention to the specifics of the pistol, he was more concerned with defending his sister's body, throwing rocks, keeping up the dust cloud, and returning fire. Blood seeped from a bullet wound in his left shoulder, but the righteous rage welling up within allowed him to ignore it. He felt as his hoof spikes scraped against the soil, and pinged on the rocks, and he felt the sharp points of broken rock slide against his thick callouses. He felt all this and more. His eyes narrow slits that screamed out his anger and frustration.

Every time he missed a target, failing to kill one of the apprentices, he would roar and curse around the gun in his mouth like a madpony. His frustration was beginning to make him neglect the shields, and risk being an open target. But he made sure to keep within jumping distance of Pepper Shot's body, ready to shield her from a hail of bullet if necessary.

Fortunately, marauders tended to be little more than occultist raiders, relying on hit-and-run tactics mixed with saving their own skins. Unless they were acolytes, who learned how to work together in teams. A hail of bullets was about as likely as volcanic eruption on the moon. Apprentices were also merely average shots, another bonus.

Pintsize didn't flinch as a bullet skimmed through his mane, and quickly fired off the last of his pistol's charge in retaliation. Using a back hoof, he slicing through the ground and found medium sized boulder. Smashing it with a quick strike, he flung the shards up over his back with the same hoof. The shards wiz through the air, making noises like angry hornets, straight at an earth pony apprentice.

The apprentice let out a screech as he felt one of the shards slash his spine. His hind legs died and he collapsed in agony. Another rock to the side of his head finished that. He remained there for moment, then was disintegrated by one of Andromeda's wild shots.

---EXCESSIVE STRESS DETECTED---ADMINISTERING TESTOSTERONE---

Andromeda let out a soft moan as the male hormone mixed with her estrogen. "Knock it off, Peppy," she muttered in a low voice so no pony would hear. "I don't feel like staining the inside of Ministry property." She battled bedroom eyes that threatened to cloud her vision, and the itch developing in her lower self was beginning to grow uncomfortable. How did stallions manage to concentrate on anything with this stuff pumping through their veins?

---RECALCULATING---ADMINISTERING RAMPAGE-4---WARNING---HEART FALIURE IMMINENT---ADRENALINE ON STANDBY---

Andromeda's eyes went wide in horror at what just flashed across her HUD. "On second thought, I'd rather stain the..."

She stopped talking suddenly. Her eyes dilated like black voids, and her heart pumped hard enough to make all the veins in her face flair up with an excess of blood. Time seemed to slow down, and she became aware of every little detail in the immediate vicinity. Colors and shades of them stood out like sore thumbs, nothing blended in, and the starlight seemed brighter than sunshine. Every movement, even just a blade of grass in a breeze, was seen individually without her having to turn her eyes. But she could hear nothing, save her slowed heart, and the blood rushing through her body like a mighty river.

She observed as an apprentice leapt out a tree towards her, hooves extended, and a short rifle in his mouth firing away at her. She watched the bullets fly from the barrel in a fiery bloom, saw their spinning motion, and then watched as a few mushroomed against her helmet and then bounced away. She turned one of her pistols and looked into the stallion's malicious eyes as she lined up the iron sights with his face. She knew she was about to kill him, but didn't feel anything, the drug suppressing her emotions. She didn't even blink when she fired that single shot, effectively erasing him.

The remaining six apprentices had seen these final two deaths, and paused their attacks. These were such deft kills, with skill that surpassed their own. Her strange armor remained unscratched, and her face was a picture of tranquility. That last apprentice she slew with such an unnatural glint in her eyes, as though something unholy dwelt behind them. They felt fear, unlike any they had ever felt before. Terror even.

To disobey a master's orders meant a horrible form of punishment. But, as of now, they were beginning to weigh these punishments against continuing fighting against this indestructible mare. The sight of the small craters and splintered remains of trees helped sway them. After all, they were used to fighting small caravans with merchants and lightly armored mercenaries guards, not some pony in impenetrable armor and carrying pistols that could easily level an entire town.

Discretion was the better part of valor.

Master Hunter did not agree, however. He rose up out of the ground as they began to flee and slashed the throat of a unicorn mare, before glaring at the remaining five. They fell on their faces before him, silently begging for mercy. He looked over to the three ponies standing amidst a sea of devastation.

It shocked the apprentices to see him heaving a sigh on relief.

"New orders," he whispered just loud enough for the apprentices to hear. Even then they had to strain. "The overlord wants them alive."

"How do we do that?" an earth pony stallion asked. He was promptly smacked across the head by Master Hunter. He cowered like an abused dog and whimpered in fear.

"There is no we," Hunter growled at them all. "You're lucky you're all so incompetent. To think I was worried about not getting here in time." He looked back at the three ponies, who were getting a little antsy in the silence, except that strange mare. "Wait here, I be right back."

With that, he became a shadow again and begun his way towards the small group.

Andromeda wasn't sure how long the effects of rampage-4 would last, and with her emotions suppressed at the moment, it didn't really seem to matter. Even the notion of imminent heart failure didn't effect her that much. She thought these things over, even as she observed the broken world around her. Everything was so clear, and would have overwhelmed if she had emotions. It was quite the experience. She even watched as a disconnected shadow swam across the ground towards her and the small ponies.

It was as black as ink, and slithered across the ground like a snake. It seemed more creepy than threatening, but it exuded a sense of dread and made the air go cold. In the darkness of night, it would have been a perfect camouflage.

But, thanks to rampage four, the black blotch stood out like ink on paper. Andromeda turned both pistols towards the shadow and pulled the trigger. The ground exploded where the shadow had once been, leaving behind a crater. Andromeda looked on without emotion at the hole.

The shadow crawled up over the edge of the crater and raced forward again, this time zigzagging about in erratic patterns. more shots went off, Cold and Pintsize seeing the strange mare shooting at something started returning fire, not sure what they were trying to kill. But this only slowed Hunter down.

Andromeda and the teenagers stopped firing when the shadow got too close for such powerful weapons, and watched as it sprouted an appendage that reached out and touched the shadow of the dead teenager. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she knew it was bad, and she coiled her legs to lunge for the poor filly.

---WARNING---HEART FAILING---ADMINISTERING ADRENALINE---

Andromeda let out a cry and clutched her chest as her heart promptly stopped. She collapsed to the ground and heaved a deep breath while pounding at her chest. Her vision started to become fuzzy and everything was going dark. Her emotions no longer suppressed, she felt fear and terror at the thought of dying without seeing her family again. Tears started to fill her eyes as she felt the tips of her hooves start to become cold. Then the adrenaline kicked in.

Stars danced in her vision as her world exploded in pain. Her heart beat rapidly in its attempt to spread and dilute the adrenaline, this made all her bruises flair up, feeling like they were splitting open. Cries of pain echoed throughout the forest, long and shrill, causing birds to wake up and fly off in all directions. That was, until Peppy enacted the next part.

---ADMINISTERING TESTOSTERONE---

The effects were quickly apparent.

"So much for not leaving a stain," Andromeda muttered as she rolled over and staggered to her hooves with a rubbery wobble. She looked about, everything was dark now, but she could just make out some shapes.

Cold was holding Pintsize down on the ground, all four hooves wrapped about the raging stallion. Pintsize was gnashing his teeth and cursing up a storm while struggling against the small unicorn, who was fighting a losing battle. Andromeda soon saw the reason for this.

Pepper Shot was gone, dragged away by the shadow, and Cold was keeping her brother from chasing after her. The look on that colt's face tore Andromeda's heart in two, the tears and pleads mixed with his rage, the quiver in his voice, and the strength of his struggles. He wanted his sister something fierce, and he wasn't about to let anything stop him. To make it all worse, Andromeda knew that these malicious fiends knew this all too well. There was no way the poor colt could make any rational action at this point in time. Their chances of survival without his dust screen would be zero, and they couldn't just hold him down and force him to help.

There was only one clear path to choose.

Andromeda picked up her pistols from the ground and tossed them with her magic towards where she had seen the shadow coming from. She grabbed the other two pistols from nearby the teenagers and did the same with them.

"We surrender," she said in a loud, broken voice. She gritted her teeth and growled. "Please... don't do anything to his sister's body. We'll go quietly."

There was a long pause of silence, Pintsize included. The two teenagers gaped at Andromeda as though they couldn't believe she was actually doing this. Andromeda gave them both a smile and mouthed 'it'll be okay'. Then she straightened herself up, took on a serious expression, and sat down to await the next move.

"Uh... you'd... better," came a rather uncertain voice, showing that Andromeda had somehow managed to catch her adversaries off guard. "We've received orders to bring you back alive. So here's what's going to happen. We'll split into teams, and if you try anything... well, her body won't be very recognizable. And there'll be a couple guns at the back of your heads at all times. So, any false moves, and you'll die."

"If you harm her...," Pintsize began to say, but was quickly muzzled with Andromeda's magic. She gave him a little shake of her head. He quickly calmed down.

"We understand," she said with a sigh and a slow nod. "That was such a waste of a drug," she muttered to herself in regards to rampage-4. It had only allowed her to take out one of the apprentices, and then almost killed her.

She suddenly found herself suppressing the urge to vomit with the sudden realization. She had just killed another pony. It had been her intention, and she understood that she had to do it. But still, this was knew to her, and the fact that Peppy had administered it to her without permission, making her do it without any emotion whatsoever, only made it seem worse. Her swallowed the contents that threatened to spill from her mouth and shivered.

* * *

The walk through the forest with two apprentices as an escort, two more in the trees with shotguns aimed at them, and one somewhere else with Pepper Shot's body, was a relatively quiet one. Pintsize kept on looking about anxiously, trying to catch a glimpse of his sister's body. Cold was keeping her head low, and her ears laid back in submission, dreading what was to come, and every now and then, she gave a sour sniff. Andromeda on the other hoof, was keeping up a calm façade, though not without a little trouble, her eyes forward and ears erect, unwilling to show any weakness.

Master Hunter was nowhere to be seen, as he had opted to stay behind to lick his wounds and rest. He had used to excuse of wanting to examine the strange mare's guns. Besides, he hardly wanted to face the black unicorn again that night. The forest would keep him safe while he slept, and soon he would be ready to hunt proper prey again. Ponies who wouldn't steal his acolytes and humiliate him. He hoped his master would leave at least a small portion of the mare untouched, so that he could exact his own revenge upon her flesh.

The apprentices led their captives along no distinct path, quite literally walking right through the brush with bruising a single leaf or snapping a twig. Thorns left them unscratched, and loose stones on rocky descents held firm for them, boasting a dark union of nature and pony. The only thing that gave any of them away was the periodic cackling they let loose, whether it was an uncontrollable result of upbringing or dark magic was unclear. Whatever sanity they possessed appeared to be limited to the amount of control they had in any given moment. They tried to kill their former companions without hesitation, considered abandoning the task when things were going south, quivered before an old unicorn buck, and now acted as though none of that had happened since they were in control. Not even their four dead companions phased them at the moment.

Andromeda was committing the terrain and distinct landmarks to memory, wanting to be sure to describe it in detail when she reported this to the Ministries. This was barbaric, beastly behavior akin to a rabid parasprite infestation. She wanted to see this whole forest covered in royal guards, dragging these monsters from their dens and throwing them into cells to await judgment. She was certain she could get the teenagers off with just some heavy counseling and therapy. After all, nopony would convict such young, physically abused ponies. The threat of desecrating the earth pony filly's corpse snitched the fact that they were often unwilling participants under threat of cruel and unusual punishment.

The tree soon gave to a clearing, and at the other end of the clearing was a mossy canyon. At the mouth of the canyon were poles mounted with the skulls of rodents, birds, and even ponies. Firefly lanterns hung above the canyon floor, suspended by twine strung to the underside of sturdy bridges that arched across the divide, swaying in breezes like little spirits. The sides of the canyon were full of caves, some natural, and some pony made, and each was covered with curtains of fur. Andromeda tried to reason that they were all animal hides, but some were just too colorful to ignore.

The two apprentices who were following in the treetops were now walking along the ground behind them, grinning maniacally. The one who had been charged with holding onto Pepper Shot's body could be seen off to the left, keeping a good distance away. He watched Pintsize's horrified expression with glee, and made some rather lewd gestures to the dead filly draped over his back. Andromeda ran a warm aura through the colt's mane so as to comfort him.

As they made their way through the canyon, Mercy began to see that the entire floor was riddled with bones. Old and new, they lay about carelessly, moss growing over them, slowly breaking them apart and turning them brittle. Again, she couldn't ignore the watches and cheap bracelets on some of them, lesser treasures that these murderers didn't think worth taking. Some of the bones were even being gnawed upon as they walked through.

It wasn't just adults that were gnawing on the bones, but foals too. Colts and fillies of all ages could be seen rummaging through the bones, searching out treasures, or even sword fighting with them. One small filly was beating on a pair of skulls with a femur as though they were drums. Her shark-tooth grin was disturbingly endearing when she gave Andromeda an innocent wave, unaware of the unholy crime she was committing.

The adults bared their filed teeth at the prisoners, making lewd gestures and curses, which were copied enthusiastically by the foals. A couple of old mares threw some rather indecent garbage at them, causing all three ponies to flinch a little in disgust. One stallion even urinated over the edge of a bridge upon them, receiving raucous laughter from the growing crowd that was following them. Some older colts wanted to get in on the action, making little hit-and-run attacks at the prisoners with jawbone, using the teeth to try and draw blood. The adults encouraged this.

"This is evil most foul," Andromeda snarled quietly, unable to ignore anything anymore. She was grateful at this moment that her helmet contained such pleasant scents, as she was sure the scent outside might kill her. Felt pity for the two teenagers, seeing their old friends and comrades now tearing at them with words and refuse.

She thought again. It was possible these ponies might not have even recognized Pintsize and Cold. The dyes and tattoos were so faded they may as well of been somepony else entirely. Although, she wondered, would that really make such a difference? These ponies were wicked monsters, and they trained their children as such. It was probably ingrained in them as an instinct now.

A rock glanced off her helmet, jarring her from her thoughts. She looked about for the perpetrator, but found it fruitless as others were beginning to pick up rocks as well. Not just rocks, bones as well. She acted quickly, using the DMCs to shield the teenagers. She pulled back her lips and growled at the assembled horde.

This shocked them. The rocks and bones stopped flying as quickly as they had begun, and everypony back up from the angry mare that had effectively covered both the acolytes in impenetrable magic boxes. Even the foals pulled back, feeling scared and running to find their parents for whatever comfort they could provide.

The apprentices were the most shaken of all. Knowing the strength of that strange magic. Nevertheless, they kept moving, urging them on with vile threats to the dead filly. They became relieved when Andromeda dropped her shields once she felt confident nothing more would be thrown.

They soon exited out the other side of the canyon and started walking up a trail. Tree stood on either side of the well-worn path, firm beneath their hooves, and the sound of rushing water could be heard somewhere off to the side. The mass of ponies followed the apprentices and their prisoners at a safe distance, wanting to see what was going to happen. They were silent now, only their hoofsteps audible in darkness.

The soon passed the tree line, and the first thing everypony saw was the black unicorn standing in front of the lake. His turquoise eyes held no feeling, and the way the main crowd hung further back told Andromeda he was rather important. Even the apprentices' steps became slower as they drew closer. Even their smiles began to fade. When they were within jumping distance of him they back away, putting their prisoners in between the unicorn and them. The unicorn regarded the prisoners without expression. It stayed this way for so long, that when he did speak, more than one pony jumped. Andromeda managed to subdue a squeak that tried to escape her throat.

"Are you the strange mare Master Hunter spoke of?" the black unicorn asked, producing a knife from nowhere and holding it up to eyelevel to twirl it about in his magic. His eyes bore into Andromeda's searching for some rhyme or reason for her very existence. It was hard to tell if she baffled or intrigued him.

"The one who kicked his pathetic flank and made him resort to cheating, then yes," Andromeda said as nonchalantly as she could. She watched the knife with little interest. He didn't know that her suit could stop bullets.

The stallion looked past her at Pintsize and Cold. "And these are the traitorous acolytes to the Harlequin Mask Marauders?"

There was an audible gasp from the group. Apparently they hadn't recognized them without the dark dyes and tattoos. The two teenagers tried to be brave, standing up straight like the strange mare and puffing out their chests. They nodded firmly.

The black unicorn turned back to Andromeda. "You are a strange pony. What power do you posses that could turn a couple of my acolytes against me? We train them so well."

Andromeda didn't answer, she just narrowed her eyes and took a step forward.

The apprentices growled and aimed their guns at her. The black stallion raised his hooves and shook his head. They lowered their weapons a little.

"You even scare the rest of them," he said in a tone that almost made it seem like a compliment. "I could use a mare like you." He looked her over wordlessly, then back into her eyes. He grunted. "Good child-bearing hips. I can offer great rewards."

Andromeda pulled her head back in disgust. "I'm afraid I've got some nasty teeth between my legs. I'm afraid you'll want to decline." She made sure not to make any mention of her having family.

"Merely a thought," the black unicorn said with a shrug. "But, perhaps you could still be useful."

"I don't plan on it," Mercy told him with a growl.

THWACK!

Andromeda crossed her eyes to see the tip of the unicorn's knife resting just fractions from her face. It had pierced right though her helmet. A helmet that had survived bullets, extreme pressures and intense heat, healed itself, and could quite possibly be used to bend steel. She gulped and took a step back.

The black unicorn withdrew the blade with a smile that made Mercy's blood turn cold. He pun it around and circle and it somehow became two, which he then held against the throats of the teenagers. He stepped up to Mercy and pressed his face against her helmet.

"Now, let's make a little deal."

Comments

[msgunner501]

I like this master unicorn guy. By like, I mean watch what he'll do next and then make him die slowly. Good story.